Home Care In Simi Valley, CA

Macy's has decided to close its Simi Valley location, which is among five stores being shuttered around the country, including another in California.

The local Macy's, at 1475 Simi Town Center Way, anchors the Simi Valley Town Center.

The closures, along with plans to lay off about 2,350 people, or 3.5% of the department store chain's overall workforce, were initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.

A closure date for the Simi Valley site wasn't provided in a statement to The Star from a Macy's spokeswoman, who said the decision was made after careful consideration.

"At Macy’s, we continue to reposition our store fleet to better meet the needs of our customers in each of our markets," said the spokesperson, who declined to provide her name.

Macy's employees were previously informed, she said, and severance benefits will be available for eligible workers. Employees might be considered for jobs at other Macy's stores.

"The decision to close a store is always a difficult one, but Macy’s is grateful to have served our customers and the community at Simi Valley Town Center," the spokeswoman's statement said.

The Simi store opened in 2005 at the same time as the rest of the mall. Macy's continues to operate stores at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks and the Pacific View shopping center in Ventura.

Elsewhere, Macy's is closing stores in the Bay Area city of San Leandro as well as in Lihue, Hawaii, Arlington, Virginia and Tallahassee, Florida.

Local officials said they weren't surprised by the Simi Valley store's closure.

"It came as a disappointment to me," said City Councilmember Elaine Litster. "I was very hopeful they would stay in that spot and possibly retool themselves so they could continue to anchor the town center."

Litster has talked with a representative of a company interested in the space at both the current Macy's store a vacant former Macy's space at the same mall, she said.

The Macy's closures reflect the challenges of surviving the online age, said John Tolson, membership and business development director at the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce.

He said the chamber promotes local businesses by stressing advantages for consumers. People buying locally can see a tangible product right in front of them, as opposed to a photo on a computer or phone, Tolson said.

"And local business owners give back to the community," he added.

The general manager of the Simi Valley Town Center couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

Dave Mason covers East County for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at[email protected] or 805-437-0232.

The 2024 California high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across California.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in their respective CIF Section Championship Game, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across California. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason Power 25 rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action and the Third Annual Prep Baseball California Spring Invitational.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across California. Each week we will be releasing our Power 25, Players of the Week, Diamond Notes, Podcasts and much more.

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

High School: Simi Valley PioneersHead Coach: Scott VermetteCIF Section: CIF-SS, Division 2Conference League: Coastal Canyon 2023 Record: 21-8Team X Handle: @Pioneerbaseball

Team Strengths: Defense No. of Returning Starters: 3No. of Returning Pitchers: 1Areas of Improvement: Pitching and Hitting

TOP UNCOMMITTED SENIORS

+ ‘24 OF Hector Pina - 5’11 170 lbs.+ ‘24 MIF Landen Adair - 5'9 165 lbs.+ ‘24 RHP Raul Centeno - 6'0 178 lbs. + ‘24 RHP Diego Barajas - 6'3 170 lbs.

TOP UNCOMMITTED JUNIORS

+ ‘25 OF/LHP Liam Blake - 5'10 170 lbs.

TOP UNDERCLASS FOLLOWS

Class of 2026

+ ‘26 INF/OF Quinton McGahan - 5'9 145 lbs. + ‘26 LHP Kyle Casey - 6'0 155 lbs.+ ‘26 LHP/OF Jackson Goshorn - 6'0 155 lbs.

Class of 2027

+ ‘27 C Evan Rodriguez - 5'9 145 lbs.

TEAM OUTLOOK

After amassing a successful 20-8 overall record and a 9-2 record in league play, the Pioneers look to build off that as they head into their 2024 season. Leading the way for the offense will be ‘24 Hector Pina who led the team last year in RBIs. Up-the-middle will be ‘24 Landen Adair, who will be a four year varsity starter for the Pioneers. On the mound, senior ‘24 Raul Centeno will be in the mix, whether it is in a starters role or at the back end of the bullpen to close out important games. Fellow senior, ‘24 Diego Barajas is another experienced arm that could see himself as the Pioneers’ No. 1 starter this year. ‘25 Liam Blake is another upperclassmen that is expected to make some two-way contributions this season, too.

A number of underclassmen will see some significant playing time this year, according to Coach Vermette. Amongst those, ‘26 Quinton McGahan is an athletic sophomore to know on this squad. ‘26 Kyle Casey and ‘26 Jackson Goshorn are two sophomore arms that are expected to see time on the mound. Freshman ‘27 Evan Rodriguez will man responsibilities behind the plate and Coach Vermette said he “should start all four years on varsity.” While it is a relatively young team, the Pioneers are littered with experience and also have some young names that have the ability to make an impact right away on varsity.

Despite an impressive showing from its offense, the Simi Valley football team’s state title hopes were dashed on Saturday, as the Pioneers fell 55-38 to Central Valley Christian in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 2-A championship game in Visalia.

Simi Valley trailed 41-17 at one point in the first half as Central Valley Christian (14-1) raced out to a big lead with a seemingly unstoppable offense that was led by standout running back Bryson Donelson, who scored five touchdowns.

Donelson returned the game’s opening kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown before tacking on three first-half rushing scores, including one that went 76 yards. He gained over 250 all-purpose yards prior to halftime.

CVC advances to next week’s CIF State championship game and will face Los Gatos on Dec. 8 or 9.

Simi Valley finishes the season with a 9-5 record and won its first CIF Southern Section football title. The Pioneers topped Mira Costa 44-38 in overtime in the Division 6 championship game on Nov. 25.

Pioneers running back Brice Hawkins scored three times Saturday. The dynamic junior finished the season with over 2,400 total yards from scrimmage and led Simi Valley in catches while finding the end zone 27 times this year.

In the first half, Simi Valley scored on a 9-yard pass from Jesse Serreno to Eddie Santiago, a 32-yard field goal from kicker Jack Reed, and Serreno threw a second half 14-yard touchdown to Dominic Demaio.

CVC led 47-24 at the break.

A strong effort by its defense in the third quarter allowed Simi Valley to close the gap. After forcing punts on CVC’s first two possessions of the quarter, the Pioneers stopped Central Valley from adding to its lead when Santiago picked off a would-be touchdown in the final minute of the third.

Hawkins’ third score of the day came on the ensuing possession when he took a screen pass into the end zone with 11:21 remaining, cutting the Pioneers’ deficit to 47-38.

Donelson put the game away for Central Valley when he ripped off a 29-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth.

The Fresno State commit pushed his state-leading touchdown total this season to a whopping 55 – 46 of which have come on the ground.

There was drama, there was excitement, there was comedy. Jim Benkert, the first football coach in Simi Valley High’s 103-year history to win a CIF title, got home at 1 a.m. Sunday after his team’s 44-38 overtime victory over host Mira Costa in the Southern Section Division 6 final and needed an immediate shower.

“They hit me with Gatorade for the first time in my career,” he said. “I was uncomfortable for two hours on the bus. That stuff is sticky, smelly and disgusting.”

Simi Valley’s story is wild. The team has scored seven touchdowns off blocked kicks this season, six of them punts, including Saturday night. Carlos Ferreiro blocked a punt just before halftime and Seth Knight returned it for a touchdown to make the score Mira Costa 28, Simi Valley 17.

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“We were dead,” Benkert said of his team falling behind 21-0. “We were hopelessly dead. We blocked the kick and life happened.”

The game went into overtime. Mira Costa was stopped on its first possession. Simi Valley players went onto the field with a chance to win the game. That’s when the stadium lights went dark.

“The kids are going, ‘Oh, they did it on purpose,’” Benkert said. “No. It’s cold, there’s a conference with the officials, no lights are on. It was a surreal environment. Just to be honest, I had to go to the bathroom. I told the referee, ‘Don’t start the game until I come back.’”

After a 20-minute delay, Simi Valley players were telling Benkert what play to run and how they intend to celebrate.

“Our kids came up, ‘Coach, when we win it, I’m going to carry you off the field.’ I’m going, ‘Can we focus?’ They were so sure we’d win.”

On the second play of overtime, Brice Hawkins ran 20 yards for the winning touchdown.

“Oh my gosh, it was so gratifying,” said Benkert, who has 302 career victories and previously won CIF titles at Westlake and Oaks Christian. “I’m so proud of these kids.”

Seven of the starters played junior varsity football as juniors. The team’s starting quarterback was prepared to switch positions until learning the expected starter had transferred. The defensive coordinator, Doug Semones, lives in Puerto Rico. The special teams coordinator, Darrell Talavera, lives in Maui. Another special teams coach, Kevin Sterling, lives in Utah. Somehow, someway, Benkert has made it work.

In a season where there has been very few surprises at the upper levels of high school football in Southern California, Simi Valley (9-5) heads a group of teams celebrating improbable championships, including Mayfair (Division 7), Torrance (Division 10), St. Monica (Division 13), Bell Gardens (Division 14) and Los Angeles Jordan (City Section Division III).

All will get to play in state bowl games that were announced Sunday. The marquee matchup is the CIF Open Division bowl game set for Dec. 9 at Saddleback College featuring Mater Dei against San Mateo Serra. City Section Open Division champion Birmingham opens play in a Division 3-AA regional on the road Friday in San Diego against Del Norte, coached by former Green Bay Packers linebacker Nick Barnett.

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Regional games will be played this week, with winners advancing to the finals to be played at Saddleback, El Camino College and Pasadena City College on Dec. 8-9.

Simi Valley will face Central Valley Christian (13-1) in Visalia on Saturday night. When Benkert coached at Westlake and Oaks Christian, his teams were routed in state bowl games, so he’s changing tactics this week. There will be no shoulder pads worn during practices. They will be walk-throughs as players try to heal bruises and banged-up bodies.

“Let’s enjoy what we accomplished and have fun” is Benkert’s message.

Along with, “Let’s block another kick.”

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- A Simi Valley man is among the dozens of Americans who have finally been able to escape Gaza by crossing a border to Egypt, but concerns continue to grow about the threat to civilians as Israeli forces move in on Hamas militants.

Sohail Biary traveled from Southern California to Gaza City at the end of September. The 53-year-old visited his parents and other relatives for the first time in 15 years.

He became trapped after the deadly surprise attack in Israel by Hamas, followed by the devastating bombing in Gaza by Israeli military forces.

Israel expands ground assault into Gaza, Hamas releases new hostage video

The family initially sheltered in their longtime home in Gaza, but with the danger increasing, they were forced to flee. A border crossing from Gaza to Egypt provided a pathway to safety for hundreds of American families trapped.

The Biden Administration said 74 U.S. citizens were among the foreign passport holders allowed to evacuate, including Biary.

"He decided it was going to be the best to go towards the border, the Rafah border, and that was the instruction given to us by the state department, so him and his sister made it down to their aunt's house in Rafah," said his son Khalid Biary.

Over the last few weeks, Biary, his aging parents and other relatives desperately searched for safety as bombs destroyed buildings, leaving thousands of civilians dead and injured.

Biary, a utility supervisor for the City of Los Angeles, sent sporadic text messages last week, describing the danger to his son, the oldest of his four children.

"He's lost his hearing. He told me he's lost his hearing at this point ... just constant ringing in his ears and the bombing happens the most at night," said Khalid.

Also among those evacuated Thursday were Lena Basiso and some of her family members, including her grandson Aden.

"I'm happy but sad at the same time. I have friends here they might die and maybe I won't see them ever again," he said.

Khalid said he's relieved his father is free but worries about relatives who remain in Gaza.

"We see dead people, dead kids, family members being pulled out of rubble piles, and the first thought is, 'Am I going to see family members being pulled out of rubble piles?"

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