Author: Amigos805.com

Frank X. Moraga is publisher / editor of Amigos805, providing information for and about the vibrant Latino community in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties — "Bringing cultures together by sharing information."

Commentary: National Women’s History Month

By Mona AlvaradoFrazier /Guest contributor Since 1911 in Europe, March 8 is the day to celebrate International Women’s Day. In 1978 in California, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women began a “Women’s…

Small Business Development Center adds advisors

Trio  join roster of about 30 business experts available free to companies CAMARILLO — Three business advisors with expertise in developing cash flow, productivity, accounting and taxation have joined the Small Business Development Center of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties,…

Bilingual report: Teatro still seeking art entries for ‘The Prodigious Shoemaker’s Wife’

Teatro de las Américas is providing a new e-mail address for those who have submitted art entries for “The Prodigious Shoemaker’s Wife / La zapatera prodigiosa,” the organization reported this week in a media release. We did not receive any entries…

CLU students rally against Cal Grant cuts in Sacramento

Students from throughout state to descend on Capitol THOUSAND OAKS — Five California Lutheran University students will travel to Sacramento on March 7 to protest a proposed cut to Cal Grant awards for students at independent nonprofit colleges, the university…

Mexican Consul Flores appears on program in support of Children’s Resource Network

Brad Pomerance, of Headline News — Charter Local Edition, interviews Lisa Ray, president and chief executive officer with the Children’s Resource Network of the Central Coast in Pismo Beach and Mexican Consulate General of Central California Rogelio Flores. Children’s Resource Network…

CLU graduate students to be consultants for area businesses

SBDC’s Ray Bowman teaches new MBA class CAMARILLO — Twelve California Lutheran University MBA students are blending academics with real-world experience as they explore the field of small business consulting by providing services to three local businesses, the Economic  Development…

Zaragoza holds breakfast fundraiser in Oxnard

A group of more than 500 enthusiastic and dedicated supporters crowded into the Casa Lopez Restaurant in downtown Oxnard to celebrate and raise funds to re-elect John Zaragoza to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, the Zaragoza campaign announced in…

Two Oxnard teens honored as BGCOP’s Youths of the Year

OXNARD — Singled out among several outstanding local youth, Genesis Mena and Taylor Penny, both from Oxnard, were recently named “2012 Youth of the Year” by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme, the organization reported Friday…

MusicaLatitudes / Teatro de las Américas to present ‘Agustin Lara …’ March 3, 4

MusicaLatitudes and Teatro de las Américas, two Ventura County arts organizations dedicated to popularizing Latin American art and culture, will present “Agustin Lara, Now and Forever…” at 7:30 p.m. March 3 at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Auditorium, 4000 So.…

LULAC’s March 3 meeting to feature candidate for Congress

The League of United Latin American Citizens — District 17, will hold its monthly meeting featuring a presentation by Assemblymember Julio Brownley, candidate for Congress, at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 3 at Clinicas del Camino Real, 200 So. Wells Road,…

Commentary: The mystical river of time

By David Magallanes / Guest contributor On a recent afternoon I happened to be in Solvang. I was the typical tourist, looking into all the store windows I passed, classifying the items I saw as useless (to me, anyway), interesting,…

Premier issue of Amigos805 print edition coming in April

The premier issue of Amigos805, a 10,000-copy bilingual print edition, is coming to the region in April to better serve the community in the California Central Coast region. The publication is then scheduled to go weekly starting in May, the…

California Strawberry Festival unveils 2012 poster

Art features an element never before included on posters OXNARD — The third time proved to be a charm to Charis Werner of Thousand Oaks who won the 2012 Official Poster Contest for the 29th Annual California Strawberry Festival. Werner was…

Williams introduces bills promoting energy efficiency

SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) recently introduced three bills aimed to help promote green energy technology, facilitate guidelines for efficiency upgrades and optimize investments in distributed generation, his office reported in a media release. AB 2339 will require…

SBCC’s Luria Library receives $10,500 in scholarships

SANTA BARBARA — The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is pleased to announce that the Friends of the Luria Library has presented SBCC’s Eli Luria Library with 21 scholarships, each valued at approximately $500. A total of $10,500-…

Latino Links: Political trends

While Time Magazine’s latest cover story has received positive reviews for its assertion that Latinos will “Pick the next President,” not everyone is agreeing with the writer who said during a recent news program that Latino vote for the upcoming…

Just Communities to honor outstanding community members on Feb. 26 in Santa Barbara

Amy Van Meter Courageous Conversation Award to be presented to Esther Flores, Andrew Sanchez and the Dos Pueblos High School PTSA Committee on Equity and Excellence at 10th anniversary celebration SANTA BARBARA — Just Communities will celebrate its 10th anniversary…

Commentary: Speech, appearance, language and notation

By David Magallanes /Guest contributor What do we perceive when someone on the street approaches us and tells us, “Hey, you got some change?  ‘Cause I ain’t got no money and even though I gone to the agency, they won’t…

Southern California Gas Co. awards $20,000 grant to Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme

BGCOP will use money for its College Bound program OXNARD —The Southern California Gas Co. presented a $20,000 grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme recently as part of a 2011 Education Initiative, the…

Volunteers needed for MICOP meetings on Feb. 25 in Oxnard

The Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project will present its next monthly community meeting on Saturday, Feb. 25 at Harrington Elementary School, 2501 Gisler St. and at Rio Real Elementary School, 1140 Kenny St., both in Oxnard. “Both locations can use your…

LULAC to hold District 17 meeting on Feb. 25

The League of United Latin American Citizens — District 17 — will hold its next membership meeting from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25 at Clinicas Del Camino Real, 200 So. Wells Road, Ventura. Click here for directions: (Google…

Latino Links: Economic trends

As the nation continues to recover from effects of the great recession, Latinos are expected to account for nearly three-quarters of the nation’s labor force from 2010 to 2020, according to a recent media release by the Pew Research Center…

UCSB to host Chicano Movement conference on Feb. 17-18

Event will examine impact of movement and how it relates to today SANTA BARBARA — “Chicano Power!,” a two-day conference at UC Santa Barbara to examine the Chicano movement of the 1960’s and ’70s, a major formative period in Chicano history, will begin…

Spanish Harlem Orchestra to perform for Ventura Music Festival’s annual Latin Jazz Concert on Feb. 18

Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the 2011 Grammy-winning Latin jazz ensemble, will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 at Ventura High School Auditorium, 2 N. Catalina St., Ventura. Directed and founded by pianist, arranger and producer Oscar Hernández, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, now in its…

Commentary: When a combat veteran dies

By David Magallanes / Guest contributor We read about them in the news all too often: the combat veteran who dies eating lunch or drinking coffee when an errant vehicle rams through the wall of the building. Or when he’s…

Commentary: What’s a Red Dress have to do with heart disease?

By Mona AlvaradoFrazier / Guest contributor For the past week, you’ve seen red hearts, candy, flowers and Valentine cards everywhere. Well now that Valentine’s Day has passed, it’s still appropriate to talk about the color red and hearts. February is also…

Election 2012: Endorsements, fundraisers in the news

Amigos805.com staff report The election season continues to heat up with a number of candidates reporting endorsements and upcoming fundraisers in the 805 region. Several candidates announced this week that they had received endorsements from the California Democratic Party last weekend…

Sheet metal workers help Camarillo’s ACE charter high school

Tri-County trade organizations donate to construction-prep high school  CAMARILLO – Representatives from two local trade organizations, Tri-counties Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning National Assoc. (SMACNA) and Sheet Metal Workers Local Union #273, recently joined forces and donated funding for Camarillo’s Architecture, Construction…

CSU Channel Islands to award honorary degrees to Hank Lacayo and Kathy Ireland

  Political and civil rights leader, designer and entrepreneur to receive doctorates CAMARILLO – Labor and civil rights leader Henry L. “Hank” Lacayo and designer and entrepreneur Kathy Ireland will receive honorary doctorate degrees from CSU Channel Islands (CI) during the university’s…

Wells Fargo supports Women’s Economic Ventures through $25,000 grant

SANTA BARBARA — Non-profit Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) has received a $25,000 grant from Wells Fargo for the organization’s continuum of programs, which helps women (and men) succeed at every stage of the business lifecycle, the organization reported Tuesday in a media…

Bilingual report: Exposición de la artista Gloria Hidrogo, Jueves, 16 de febrero

OXNARD— Un exposición de pintura realizada en tortillas de harina de la artista Gloria Hidrogo, Jueves, 16 de febrero de 2012 a las 6:00 pm, Consulado de México en Oxnard, 3151 W. Fifth St., Oxnard. Gloria, Artista Plástica Mexicana nace en la ciudad de…

CLU to screen ‘Which Way Home’ on Feb. 16 in Oxnard

California Lutheran University’s Reel Justice Film Series will screen the documentary “Which Way Home” at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16 at the Oxnard College Performing Arts Center, 4000 So. Rose Ave., Oxnard. The event is free and open to the…

Bilingual report: Deadline is Feb. 27 for CSU Channel Islands Social Justice in Education proposals

CAMARILLO — The School of Education at Channel Islands (CI) invites you to submit a proposal to present at the 4th Annual Conference for Social Justice in Education. The daylong conference will be held on Saturday, April 28, on the…

Commentary: Don’t wait until it’s too late!

By Michael and Stephen Szakos / Guest contributors As we continue to work with the Ventura County community, we are saddened to see how many people wait until it’s too late to save their home, with expectations that a few days to…

Latino Links: Cultural trends

While the national television audience was fixated on activities going on inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night — Adele capturing six Grammy awards, heartfelt tributes to Whitney Houston who died on Saturday, and performances from various…

‘!Viva México!’ film screening set for Feb. 15 at UCSB

The UCSB Multicultural Center will present its Cup of Culture film screening of “!Viva México!” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15 at the center’s theater. In the heart of Los Angeles in the film, undocumented Mexican immigrants are hunted by the…

Mobile Consulate services set for Feb. 12 in San Luis Obispo

The Mexican Consulate in Oxnard will present mobile consulate services on starting at 9 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 12 at Pacheco Elementary School, 261 Cuesta Drive, San Luis Obispo. Take all original documents. Call 805.984.8738, ext. 100, 103, 105 or 111 or visit…

Capps votes for House Passage of the STOCK Act. Says stronger bill must be signed into law

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) on Thursday applauded the House of Representative’s passage of the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act.  Capps is a cosponsor of an earlier version of this legislation that would ban insider…

Capps applauds mortgage fraud settlement, urges additional action

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) on Thursday applauded the announcement that the federal government and 49 states, including California, reached a $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to penalize robo-signing and other bank…

Busy weekend in store for 805 region

El Centrito baile, Oxnard ArtBeat, promotores workshop among events Amigos805.com staff report Those in the 805 region looking to find something to do this weekend will have no shortage of events. From Oxnard to Santa Barbara, the event calendar is…

Das Williams unveils middle class scholarship program

SACRAMENTO — Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara) on Wednesday unveiled new legislation to create a middle class Scholarship program aimed to make higher education more affordable for working families. The proposal, which was introduced by Speaker John A. Pérez, (D-Los Angeles),…