This Is the First Day of Your New Life

Change is brewing.

It is obvious from the minute you fall out of bed and stumble into the kitchen for that first cup of coffee and the morning paper. You reach for the Ventura County Life section and there it is: that wake-up call, your first cup of coffee.

This one--a dark, rich, steaming bowl of French roast--looks a lot better than that generic stuff you usually buy on sale and with double-value coupons at the local market. Not that we’re poking fun--$1.99 for a pound of coffee isn’t bad.

But there are some things about this cup that disorient you. For one, you can’t actually drink the coffee, then there’s the aroma of newsprint--not unpleasant, but not mocha java either. It finally hits you--what you’re looking at is the new Ventura County Life.

The idea has been percolating for some time now.

We wanted to take the best of our old Life and blend it with a new one--give you more on where to go, how to get there and what to do when you arrive. Expand our movie guide, add more entertainment columns and listings, and offer more consumer information.

Essentially, we want to give you the best weekly guide to going and doing that you’ll find anywhere in Ventura County. And in a package that is easier to read, more fun to look at and nicer to keep around all week.

Rodney Bosch will still be digging, picking and plucking for his At the Market column, while our restaurant reviewers continue to find the creamiest risottos and richest creme brulees at local restaurants. Jane Hulse will track the best family activities in For the Kids, and, for the rest of us, she will point out the best day trips in Jaunts. Frances Halpern will keep waxing poetic in Words and Images, while Bill Locey continues to assault us with rock news from the mosh pit.

In our new columns, you will be hearing from Robyn Loewenthal, who will be two-stepping around the county on the Country Music and Dance beat. Kathleen Williams will fill us in on the latest fashion trends, while Julie Sawyer and Leo Smith show us how to get the stuff cheap in our new Bargains column.

And don’t forget our weekly cover story, which today takes us back to that cup of coffee. The compelling cup on the cover is one of many that can be found locally, as the coffee, espresso, latte and cappuccino craze sweeps the county. Hilary Dole Klein tells us what to drink, where to drink it and offers tips on making a perfect cup at home.

The brew is changing.