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Author: Community Contributor
Burnin’ Mouth selects The Collection at RiverPark for first location
New restaurant from Silverlake Ramen development team soon to open at The Annex Food Hall OXNARD — Burnin’ Mouth, a new restaurant from the development team behind local favorite Silverlake Ramen, has signed a lease to set up shop at The…
United Way of Ventura County — United to Help Homeless Veterans (COVID-19 Update)
We hope this finds you well and you have a moment to read about the inspiring work of our team and partners. As a result of the generosity of community members like you, we’ve been able to temporarily house and provide daily meals for 44 veterans and 17 family members in local motels since April. We’ve also transitioned six of these veteran households to permanent housing and a total of 30 households have been permanently housed since our Landlord Engagement Program launched nine months ago.
Over 4 million pounds of fresh produce distributed during Covid response
Since mid-May, Food Share of Ventura County has provided a staggering 4.1 million pounds of fresh produce to people experiencing hunger in the county.
The scale of food insecurity in Ventura County has nearly doubled since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Current projections from Feeding America show that 115,000 people, including 42,000 children in our County, are now facing a daily struggle to access enough nutritious food.
The fresh produce is a result of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Farmers to Families Food Box Program.” Oxnard-based wholesale produce distributor, The Berry Man, was approved to deliver the first 3.6 million dollars of a 14.7 million dollar contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to nonprofits throughout the Tri-Counties Area. The majority of the produce is locally-grown.
County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 11 — Be Counted
2020 Census The Census helps determine how our community gets the funds we need to support education, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. By participating, you make an impact on our community for the next 10 years.
If your haven’t filled out the 2020 Census, you can complete it today by visiting www.my2020census.gov or calling 1-844-330-2020.
UCSB — The Current — Sneak Peek
The Library presents its shortlist of books under consideration for UCSB Reads 2021 and invites the campus community to vote for their preference.
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No-Cost Healthcare for Front Line Agriculture Workers in the Age of COVID-19
While California battles the second wave of COVID-19 cases, local agriculture workers are putting themselves in harm’s way to produce product for consumers and businesses. Latinos represent the majority of California’s essential workforce and make up around 55% of the state’s confirmed COVID-19 cases to date. With their lives on the line to provide for others, these workers not only face the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, but many do not have health insurance should they need medical care to treat the virus.
CARES Summer Grant Program helps more than 500 CSUCI students stay on track
A total of 539 students were able to stay on track with their studies, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Summer Grant program at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI).
Transfer Student Success Activity Director Veronica Montoya, who headed the grant program, was thrilled to see so many lives impacted by the$586,350 worth of funding that went toward the students’ education. Montoya said the value was not only in the class and what that student will eventually contribute to society, but also the psychological boost of staying on track, even after the global crisis had disrupted their lives.
EDC News Alert – PPE Distributed Across Local Business Community
The Economic Development Collaborative’s Small Business Development Center, the Solvang Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Santa Barbara Organization has proudly distributed one million units of personal protective equipment free of charge to businesses across Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
Thanks to the hard work of our staff and partners, we have distributed 30-day supply packages of hand sanitizer, masks, and face shields for up to 10 employees for 1,500 businesses and 17,000 employees.
County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 10 — Pop-Up Pantries in Ventura County
Ventura Harbor Increases Sustainability and Ventures into New EV Charging Stations from SemaConnect Five new electric vehicle charging stations support EV drivers at Harbor Cove Beach and Ventura Harbor Village
The Ventura Port District has installed five new SemaConnect charging stations for Ventura Harbor visitors. The new Series 6 charging stations replace a pair of charging stations previously installed at Island Packers and are open to all plug-in EV drivers that visit the harbor.
Pioneer Valley High School ‘Link Crew’ Helps Out New Students
The masked and physically distanced PVHS “Link Crew” projected school spirit to create a temporary break from COVID-19, helping freshman receive their schedules, ID cards, tablets and textbooks Thursday and Friday.
The “Link Crew”, junior and senior leaders, greeted the majority of the more than 800 incoming freshmen offering an early welcome in an environment designed to alleviate the stress of starting a new school. The student’s leaders also gave each freshman a goodie bag with tablet trouble-shooting tips, zoom information, distance learning guidance, a pencil, other school information and a lollipop.
Laura Lizaola Barroso Selected as VCCCD Vice Chancellor of Human Resources
Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) Chancellor Greg Gillespie has announced the appointment of Laura Lizaola Barroso as Vice Chancellor of Human Resources. Barroso has more than 28 years of experience in California within higher education and public agency. Since joining VCCCD in 2018, she has served as the Director of Human Resources Operations and as Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources.
In her new role, Barroso will provide collaborative senior administrative leadership across all functional areas within the District Office and Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges. She will have direct oversight of District recruitment, human resources operations, benefits, employee professional development and labor negotiations.
CSUCI Associate Professor of Mathematics Selenne Bañuelos wins national award for extraordinary teaching practices
California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of Mathematics Selenne Bañuelos, Ph.D., remembers walking into her college math classes as an undergraduate and seeing no other women of color as tenure track faculty nor Latinx women born in the U.S.
“The STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) world can be very lonely for women, especially for a woman of color,” Bañuelos said. “You can feel like you don’t fit in. At that moment, I had not met a female in academia — especially a woman with children.”
But a love for the complexity and possibilities of mathematics compelled her to keep going, and in late July, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) awarded Bañuelos one of the top awards in the nation for a university math professor.
Key Santa Barbara County Youth Mentoring Programs Merge
The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) and Family Service Agency (FSA) announced that FSA’s Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program has closed and South County mentoring matches have joined the School Based Mentoring Program at CADA as of July 2020.
CADA and FSA share similar goals of making a positive difference in the lives of young people and have been collaborating since April to facilitate a smooth transition for the youth, their parents, and their mentors.
Bilingual commentary — Time to Reflect on the American Diet
The apparently never-ending coronavirus pandemic has punched a hole in the panorama that was our American diet up to now. Suddenly, beginning earlier this year, meat became scarce. Delicately balanced supply chains were knocked off-balance, partly due to meat production workers “dropping like flies” as the virus surged through factories and warehouses. Meat counters in grocery stores became sparse and the cost of the meat that was available started to rise due to demand for the limited supply. Major grocery outlets started rationing quantities of meat to its customers to avoid the toilet-paper-hoarding fiasco that occurred at the beginning of the pandemic.
Guest commentary — 2nd Open letter to Scott Whitney, Police Chief of Oxnard
Now that the people have defeated the unconstitutional Oxnard Civil “Gang” Injunction (OCGI) what is the next move for the OPD? You, Scott, and all your current staff of Assistant Police Chiefs were with you back in 2003, all as aspiring “by the book” future police chiefs, you guys then were just following orders; when Greg Totten, the Ventura County District Attorney, your boss at the time Police Chief Art Lopez and the Oxnard City Council secretly conspired to create the Oxnard Civil “Gang” Injunction (OCGI) that the people of Oxnard just slayed after 17 years of community and court room fights.
Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — ¡Viva La Fiesta…Safely!
Last week I was talking with a constituent who was worried about the mask wearing habits of tourists while walking outside. I acknowledged it is important to promote people planning on wearing a mask even as part of an outdoor excursion (such as where there are bottlenecks and the inability to keep physical distance from others) even if there are times when it is not necessary (certain types of exercise do not require a mask, especially outdoors and if there are no other people around). Then I pointed out the vented mask she had been wearing around town for the past two months does not work to protect anyone around you and has been banned in some jurisdictions, such as our County, because it only filters air coming in and not the air you breathe out.
Museum of Ventura County — Archival Exquisite Corpse Project + “Hard Day’s Night” discussion with Ivor Davis
The Museum partnered with Ventura College photography professors Brian Paumier and Jessie Groves for a new take on the exquisite corpse concept. Students were asked to use the Museum’s online photograph archive to find inspiration for a final project.
Presented are the original photograph screenshots the students selected and the images they created based on those selections.
County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 6
The California Department of Public Health has issued Youth Sports Guidance. Youth sports training, conditioning and physical education is now permitted in Ventura County when those activities include continuous physical distancing of at least six feet and a stable cohort, i.e. the same children at each meeting. Teams, classes, and other youth sports activities that involve contact, competitive or team play are not permitted. The State guidance document may be found at COVID-19 Industry Guidance: Youth Sports.
Campus and community welcome to audition for CSUCI’s first Virtual Choir
Few can forget the Italians perched on windowsills serenading one another while quarantined with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is with that same spirit of resilience that the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Chorus is inviting the campus and the community to audition for its first ever virtual chorus.
“Our voices must sing and the song must endure and no pandemic can stop that,” said Dean Butler, CSUCI alumnus, choir member and Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) president. “Music throughout history has been the universal expression of healing, love, hope and peace.”
UCSB — The Current — A Framework for the Future
Researchers collaborate on a strategy for sustainable aquaculture, the world’s fastest growing food sector.
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County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 5
There are 76 new cases today (46 (60.5%) of which have a lab collection from July 29th or earlier), 872 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (68 year old female and 96 year old male, both with comorbidities).
Current doubling time is 52.3 days.
The California Department of Public Health is experiencing delays in laboratory reporting. The information for August 5 is preliminary until the data system issue is resolved. Learn more by clicking here.
6th Annual Back to School Bash Supports over 500 Foster Youth with over $100K in Donations
On Saturday, August 1st, James Storehouse hosted their largest 6th annual back-to-school event in collaboration with Homes with Heart VC. Due to Covid-19, the event was transformed into a full service drive through experience complete with socially distanced superheroes, princesses and a Mister Softee treat to round out the day.
The event drew in over 700 pre-registered families along with over 500 youth in care to select from a variety of brand new backpacks, name brand tennis shoes, and other essential school supplies all passed out by masked community volunteers.
Port of Hueneme Dock Talk eNews – August 2020
Port Lands $1.68M Grant for State-of-the-Art Technology
FEMA announced that the Port of Hueneme has been awarded $1.68 million in the Port Security Grant Program. Aimed to achieve the goal of a secure and resilient nation, the funding will aid the Port in modernizing their security, including improvements to the main gate entrance, and upgrading the Port’s CCTV surveillance system with cutting-edge technology.
Bilingual report — Mi Vida, Mi Voz Community Collaboration Provides Critical Resource Information for Spanish Speaking Community
Due to the current coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, many people in the Spanish-speaking Latino community are not getting the important information they may need for themselves and their families. For years, the Spanish-speaking community has struggled to receive timely, culturally-appropriate information related to emerging needs. In April, Mi Vida, Mi Voz (MVMV), a collaboration of local Latino-serving organizations, pivoted to address this critical need. With the pandemic’s disproportionate health and economic impact in the Latino community, this critical information is more relevant than ever.
Teatro de las Américas presents ‘Pláticas on Wednesdays with Ivonne Coll on Aug. 19, other upcoming events
SBCC announces hiring of two new deans
As Santa Barbara City College prepares for the Fall 2020 semester, two well-respected employees will be assuming new roles as deans.
Paloma Arnold has been selected as the next Dean of Student Affairs. …
Elizabeth M. Imhof, Ph.D., has been chosen as the new Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
Outdoor Art Classes at the Santa Paula Art Museum
While the Santa Paula Art Museum’s indoor galleries remain closed, its art classes have moved outside! All classes are being taught within the Museum’s outdoor courtyard to allow for art making while social distancing. Space is extremely limited as class sizes are being kept small, and preregistration is required. Register for class and read more about the Museum’s new policies for maintaining a safe learning environment on our website: www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/creativity.
County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 4 — Community Forum on Aug. 5
On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the County of Ventura will host a virtual Community Forum open to all members of the public online via Zoom to discuss the intersection of race and law enforcement in our community. The Community Forum will consist of a panel of County leaders and community representatives who will participate in a roundtable discussion, followed by questions from the public.
Click here for more information about the forum.
Old Boney Mountain Hot Summer Night Festival Brings Community Together in Celebration
The third annual Old Boney Mountain Hot Summer Night festival had an added mission this year—to encourage the community to support the almost 20 participating local businesses including restaurants and breweries that continue to operate while following social distancing rules. In addition, the July 11 virtual festival raised money for Rotary charities, first responders and the Grossman Burn Foundation for its care of burn survivors. Presented by Old Boney Mountain Hot Sauce Corp. and the Rotary Club of Newbury Park, the premiere sponsor was Farmers Insurance.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) looking for volunteers to serve as mentors
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ventura County (BBSVC) is celebrating 50 years of service through youth mentoring in 2020! The organization serves all of Ventura County and because of that there are nearly 100 youth waiting for a mentor. BBSVC is asking the community to imagine the impact they can make as a friend and role model.
UCSB — The Current — Using Artificial Intelligence to Forecast COVID-19
Nicole Lamartine is ready to do the heavy lifting as the campus’ new choir director.
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County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 3
Here’s your COVID-19 update from the County of Ventura from Friday-Sunday. There are 533 new cases today (231 (43.3%) of which have a lab collection from July 27th or earlier), 4,217 additional people tested, and 0 additional deaths; this includes reports from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Current doubling time is 43.8 days.
Bilingual report — County residents asked to turn in seed shipments from China to Agricultural Commissioner’s Office
Residents across the country have been receiving unsolicited and mysterious seeds shipped from China. The seeds are arriving in small mailer envelopes labeled with descriptions such as “stud earrings”, “jewelry”, “handmade flowers”, and “wire connectors”. Since it is illegal to ship seeds unless they meet the import requirements of the United States – including proper labeling with the name of the shipper, the type of seed, and certification where required – the small packets are sent mislabeled in order to pass through Customs undetected.
Ventura County Arts Council announces ‘Call to Artists’ for online exhibit beginning Aug. 21
CALL TO ARTISTS
Ventura County Arts Council Visual Arts Committee
invites your submissions for
Environment
Addressing your surroundings
Online exhibition beginning Friday, August 21 st
Bilingual commentary — County of Ventura to hold virtual community forum on the intersection of race and law enforcement on Aug. 5
On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the County of Ventura will host a virtual Community Forum open to all members of the public online via Zoom to discuss the intersection of race and law enforcement in our community. The Community Forum will consist of a panel of County leaders and community representatives who will participate in a roundtable discussion, followed by questions from the public.
The August 5th Community Forum will be moderated by Monique Nowlin, County of Ventura Diversity and Inclusion Task Force representative and Deputy Director of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging. Panelists will include:
Bilingual commentary — Lessons from the Least Terns
This past weekend I had the opportunity to wander around the “settling ponds” by the water treatment plant in Ventura. To the casual outsider, this might sound like the last place on earth to go for a stroll, but it’s really a bit of a hidden treasure in our community.
One of the highlights of this location is the quantity and quality of the bird-watching that is available. I’m learning that birds have much to teach us, and the more I learn about them, the more in awe I am of them.
Guest commentary — The Oxnard Civil Gang Injunction is DEAD! Reconciliation, Healing and Reparation Begins NOW!
After 16 years of illegal profiling, harassment and enjoining Mexican youth and adults, the racist and unconstitutional Oxnard Civil “Gang” Injunction is DEAD! Irrational fear, ignorance, and racism created this unconstitutional monster. There is the universal antidote to irrational fear, and racist hate and it is love; and love is at our miraculous and transformative disposal any time we wish to act boldly and put love into action. Oxnard here is where we must act boldly and immediately with love on a local level.
County of Ventura COVID-19 update for July 30
Summary
New Cases 106
Total Cases 7,103
Recovered Cases 3,797
Current Hospitalizations 76
Current ICU 21
Active Cases Under Quarantine 3,232
Deaths 74
Total People Tested 110,221
Registration Open For New YMCA KEY Academy and Childcare During Upcoming School Year
Southeast Ventura County YMCA is taking registrations for the Y’s KEY Academy to coincide with school openings in August. The KEY Academy is designed to enable parents to meet work demands while provide their children with a safe, structured environment for learning.
Parents can drop off their children at one of the three Y branches’ designated education centers. You can contact your local Y: the Conejo Valley YMCA in Thousand Oaks, the Simi Valley YMCA in Simi Valley, and the Yarrow Family YMCA in Westlake Village for more details.
UCSB — The Current — ‘And She Could Be Next’
The CWC Docs virtual dialogue with filmmakers Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia centers on the women of color who are transforming politics.
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Carnegie Art Cornerstones — Meet Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales
Vanessa’s story really embodies the spirit of the Carnegie Art Cornerstones mission. We aim to empower emerging artists to grow, create, and share their art. Our ability to do this in a traditional sense has been challenged, but artists like Vanessa, and the art she creates, are still incredibly important to our communities.
Cornerstones lifts emerging artists by providing them with resources, mentorship, and exposure that helps artists pursue dedicated careers – we believe this kind of work is vital to keeping art as the cornerstone of our local communities.
“Ekhobot” expands its reach to all CSUCI students thanks to a $36,625 grant
Beginning Aug. 1, all California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) students will have access to a popular campus chatbot named Ekhobot, after the University’s mascot, Ekho the Dolphin.
Ekhobot is a text platform that was designed for new freshmen and transfer students, but the chatbot is now coming to every student’s mobile digital device thanks to a $36,625 grant from CSU Northridge and the Irvine Foundation in support of the “CSU AI Consortium.”
County of Ventura COVID-19 update for July 29
Good Evening, Here’s your COVID-19 update form the County of Ventura. There are 104 new cases today (53 (51.0%) of which have a lab collection from July 22nd or earlier), 636 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (86 year old female and 90 year old male, both with comorbidities). Current doubling time is 41.2 days. Currently, the County of Ventura is on the state monitoring list for case rate per 100,000 population over 14 days and % of ICU beds available; in order for us to get off the monitoring list, we need to have less than 850 reported cases in a 14 day period which is an average of 60 cases a day. Total, there have been 73 deaths (age range 29-107 years; 45 males and 28 females; 35 Non-Hispanic White, 31 Hispanic, 4 Non-Hispanic Asian, 1 Non-Hispanic Black, 1 Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native and 1 Non-Hispanic Other). Current hospitalizations are 75 and current ICU is 25.
EDC Business Alert — Paycheck Protection Program Deadline is Aug. 8
SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application deadline is August 8,2020. PPP is designed to help small business, nonprofits, veteran organizations, Tribal concerns, self-employed individuals, independent contractors, and other eligible borrowers keep their workers employed during the COVID-19 crisis.
CSUCI spring semester 2021 enrollment begins Aug. 1
For the first time, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is accepting first-time freshmen and both lower division and upper division transfer student applications for its Spring 2021 semester.
Applications for spring 2021 will be accepted beginning August 1 and continuing through August 31.
CSUCI typically opens spring enrollment only for upper division transfer students, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed circumstances for many students and CSUCI is seeking how to best meet those needs.
New Book Offers Guidelines For Happiness, Health, Success in A COVID-19 World
A new book from Camarillo-based psychologist and author Dr. Noelle Nelson, “I Survived COVID-19, What Now?! Finding Happiness and Success in a Post COVID World” (available on Amazon), looks at how we can take what we’re learning from the pandemic during our forced introspection and turn it into a positive future.
“Whether it was our intention or not, we’re all learning things about ourselves during these long months of quarantine—how we think, work and dream, about how we interact with family, friends and the world,” says Nelson. “We are in a unique moment in time because of COVID-19. Everything is different now. It can feel positively overwhelming—one minute our lives are ‘reopening,’ the next minute they’re forced to closed again. It can drive us crazy if we’re not careful.”
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) Take Proactive Steps to Continue to Serve Community through the Pandemic
As soon as COVID-19 made its way onto the scene, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) was proactive in their response starting in the spring and continuing throughout the summer.
When the pandemic hit, the BGCGCV closed for two weeks to assess the COVID situation and then reopened under the guidance of health professionals and with the implementation of safety standards.
Bilingual report — County of Ventura agencies recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officers for excellence in communications
Agencies from across the County of Ventura have been recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO) with Excellence in Public Information and Communications (EPIC) Awards. The County Executive Office, Ventura County Area Agency on Aging, and the Ventura County Fire Department received awards recognizing outstanding communications publications and campaigns. The County of Ventura publications and communications initiatives were chosen from among 275 award entries from across the state of California.