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Category: Business
April 25 — Used outdoor gear to be sold to raise funds for Ventura Land Trust
April 25-26 — Bilingual report — Community Environmental Council — Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival returns to Alameda Park
April 27 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) to present in-person event — Are You Ready for California’s New 2026 Business Laws?
April 27 — Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce to present ‘2026 Business Law Update: What You Need to Know’ at Fillmore City Hall
April 29 — SBCC’s School of Extended Learning invites the community to its annual ‘The Future Looks Bright’ Job Fair
April 30 — Community invited to SBCC’s 44th annual Faculty Lecture on timely topic, ‘The Power of Human Language in the Age of Generative AI’
Bilingual report — April 30 — Local Business Roundtable in Santa Paula present Health Care & Workforce: What’s Ahead for local business
May 1 — Community Environmental Council (CEC) — Powering a Fossil-Fuel-Free County at Climate Fridays Santa Barbara
May 2 — Bilingual report — El Concilio Family Services to present FREE Citizenship Fair
May 2 — Picklr Santa Barbara to hold Grand Opening Celebration
May 2-3 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — IN-PERSON EVENT: Bring the Party to Your Business Now! Join the Jackalope Block Party Live
Bilingual report — May 5 — County of Santa Barbara — Join Board of Supervisors Meeting
May 7 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) to present FREE Webinar: How to Open a Restaurant
May 7 — County of Ventura District 2 Supervisor Jeff Gorell to present 2nd annual District 2 Supervisorial Leadership & Excellence Awards
May 9 — District 2 Supervisor Jeff Gorell — You’re Invited – Santa Rosa Valley Firewise Event
May 9 — Public is invited to attend the Santa Paula Police Memorial Event
Bilingual report — May 12 — County of Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors Meeting
May 15 — Senior Concerns celebrates family caregivers with annual recognition event in Thousand Oaks
May 16, 17 — 40th annual California Strawberry Festival features designs and crafts from nearly 150 artisans and crafters
May 18 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — FREE Workshop: Build Your Coffee Brand
May 18 — Central Coast Community Energy (3CE) holding Santa Barbara open house
May 19 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — In-Person Event: Small Business Roundtable: Hiring and Workforce Needs
May 20 — Ventura County Taxpayers Association (VCTA) to present ‘The Hive that drives economic vitality’
Bilingual report — May 20 — Peoples’ Self-Help Housing — We’re celebrating new affordable housing in Grover Beach – Cleaver & Clark Commons!
Bilingual report — May 26 — ‘Santa Paula Hospital Forum — Your Voice. Our Community. Our Healthcare’
May 27 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) —NO-COST In-Person Workshop: AI for Small Business: Use Cases You Can Apply This Month
May 28 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — FREE Webinar: Employee Recruitment, Retention, and Culture
May 28 — Center Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) to partner on conversation: power, climate, and our communities
May 28 — West Ventura County Business Alliance (WVCBA)
May 30 — SEEAG’s free ‘Farm Day Every Day’ at Rancho Olivos in Santa Ynez
June 3 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — NO-COST In-Person Workshop: Small Business Start-up Basics in Agoura Hills
Bilingual report — June 6 — El Concilio Family Services — FREE / GRATIS…Green Card Renewal Fair
June 6 — My Way Home — 14th Annual Ventura County Homebuying Conference to be held in Oxnard
June 7 — Senior Concerns to present 32nd Love Run in Westlake Village
June 11 — West Ventura County Business Alliance (WVCBA) to present Oxnard Mayor Luis A. Mc Arthur’s 2026 State of the City address
June 13-14 — Ventura County Potters’ Guild announces 68th annual Ojai Pottery Market at Libbey Park
June 20 — Stellar winery lineup to pour at 38th annual Ojai Wine Festival
Through June 30 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — ‘Work Smarter, Grow Stronger with AI webinar series for small businesses
Continuing — Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice provides a variety of grief & bereavement services
Bilingual report — 2025: A Year in Review from People’s Self-Help Housing
As we reflect on the past year, we’ve compiled some of the top stories that highlight what we were able to accomplish together. These stories were made possible by strong partnerships and visionary investments from people like you. Thank you for your advocacy, goodwill, and generous support every step of the way!
Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-CA 26th District) — 2025 by the Numbers
This year has been especially difficult for working families across the country, and my focus has been on delivering real support here at home. From reckless and aggressive immigration operations in our communities, to massive disruptions to the federal workforce caused by a record-breaking government shutdown, to the erosion of judicial independence, to the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, to an all-out assault on healthcare affordability and food assistance, our community has endured challenge after challenge.
End of Year Gift to Ventura County Animal Services
Choose Ventura County Animal Services as your end-of-year charity! Make your tax-deducible donation by December 31st, 2025 to ensure it applies to this year’s tax returns. Thank you for supporting our lifesaving mission!
Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) free event and webinar schedule including ‘SCORE: INCREASE SALES AND PROFITS WITH PRICING AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES’ at 1 p.m., Dec. 30
You’ve developed a wonderful new product or service and understand the costs, but how should you price it? This workshop is part of SCORE’s Small Business Essentials series. SCORE will start by reviewing different distribution and channel strategies and help you choose the method that best gets your product or service in front of your satisfied customers. The rest of the workshop focuses on pricing and will begin by covering some basic pricing concepts. Then SCORE will review a detailed process to help you determine the price of your product. Since pricing a service differs from pricing a product, there will be a special section that covers the separate process for pricing your services. Price: $10.00.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
January at the Santa Paula Art Museum
In 2025, the Santa Paula Art Museum welcomed 5,600 visitors to its exhibitions and events. The Cole Creativity Center delivered more than 100 classes in fine arts, fiber arts, and ceramics to 892 students of all ages. In addition, the Museum provided 1,677 hours of free arts education programming to more than 6,400 K-12 students throughout Ventura County. And 2026 is shaping up to be even bigger!
Santa Barbara County Food Action Network (SBCFAN) — CASE STUDY: SATICOY FOOD HUB
Nestled in the heart of an unincorporated community to the east of Ventura, the Saticoy Food Hub stands as a beacon of hope in a food desert. Despite being surrounded by vast fields of agriculture, the town of Saticoy has been designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a low-income, low-access (LILA) census-tract, meaning that the area has a poverty rate of 20% or more, and a significant portion of the population lives more than a mile from the nearest supermarket. More than 80% of its households with children rely on SNAP/EBT benefits, and its families struggle to access fresh, healthy, and affordable food.
District 216 — WEEK OFF: Happy New Year from District216! (A perfect time to setup your Circle Account for Online Membership
As 2025 comes to a close, we’ve been taking a moment to zoom out, not just to look at the numbers, but to reflect on what those numbers actually represent. Because behind every event, every ticket, every late-night teardown and lingering conversation… there are people, this community.
This year wasn’t built by algorithms or hype. It was built by humans choosing to show up with curiosity, vulnerability, courage, and care.
And for that, we want to say thank you.
United Way of Ventura County — United we are changing lives
United we are changing Ventura County ?
?one step at a time to a community where everyone can thrive! Your gift today means services, shelter, and hope for a homeless senior, a child needing dental care, a low-income family needing tax preparation in 2026. Make a difference today.
Your generosity will change lives!
Happy New Year!
Community Environmental Council (CEC) — Year-end giving ends soon – act now
There are just two days left to help us reach our $100,000 year-end goal. Federal rollbacks have left a $1.5 million funding gap, threatening programs that keep our air clean, food systems resilient, and communities prepared for a changing climate. And now, with proposals to reopen the Santa Barbara Channel to offshore drilling, protecting the progress our region has fought for over five decades has never been more critical.
Without SBCFAN, $500,000 in local food wouldn’t be reaching our communities
Santa Barbara County’s food system is powered by many small, community-based organizations working to increase access to fresh food, strengthen local agriculture, and support community health. Yet these organizations face the same challenge: they are deeply embedded in their own neighborhoods but lack the capacity to navigate countywide opportunities, state and federal funding, or cross-regional partnerships. SBCFAN serves as the essential backbone that connects these efforts.Continued investment in SBCFAN ensures that organizations like Route 1 can thrive, scale, and sustain their impact.