Category: Cultural

Guest commentary — On love, gratitude at year’s end

by Community Contributor • December 23, 2020 • Comments Off

I am an immigrant and I thank the Great Spirit that I am alive today. To be able to celebrate the holidays and 2020 years end, with my family, my loved ones, and friends. Even in this terribly painful, agonizing and deadly year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am committed to the “good trouble” revolutionary struggle with faith, eternal gratitude and love cautiously navigating adelante into the coming New Year.

I am a 70 year old Chicano who has weathered and been humbled by the long twisted, unpredictable, sometimes euphoric, and at times wicked turn of my life’s trajectory. I am eternally grateful for both the velvet kisses and the many ass kicking that I have received in revolutionary service to my community! I do not want to die, just yet, I have a lot to contribute. But if the time comes for me to return to celestial star dust, I’m cool. While I have breath in my lungs and love in heart life here are some of the things that I am especially grateful for.

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update: 751 New Cases

by Community Contributor • December 23, 2020 • Comments Off

There are 751 new cases of COVID-19
There have been 8 additional deaths: 64 year old male, 65 year old male, 87 year old female, 89 year old female, 65 year old male, 84 year old female, 43 year old male all with comorbidities, and a 50 year old male with no comorbidities. Our thoughts are with their loved ones during this time.
8,148 new tests performed
Current doubling time is 28.9 days.
Current hospitalizations: 327 and current ICU: 67.

Ventura County Arts Council — Call to Artists: Ventura County Artist Showcase

by Community Contributor • December 23, 2020 • Comments Off

You are invited to submit proposals for our ongoing Artist Showcase in the storefront windows at Victoria Ave. and Moon Dr. in Ventura. Each of four storefront windows will be dedicated to a unified installation created by a single artist or created as a collaborative project by more than one artist.

2020 was a year of challenge, grief, longing, questioning, reflection and, hopefully, insight. To kick off the new year, we are looking for artwork that represents your experience of this time. Selected artists will conceive of each window as a diorama, a space in which an installation of accumulation, sculptural pieces, work in any medium uses the three-dimensional space dynamically.

Social Justice Fund for Ventura County Monthly Update

by Community Contributor • December 23, 2020 • Comments Off

Greetings from the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County (SJFVC). This update is the last of 2020, a very tough year for all with the pandemic and a toxic political atmosphere. Despite all this difficulty, I take heart that there are many people, young people, struggling for fairness and equity, and trying to bend the arc of history towards justice. SJFVC, thanks to our donors and supporters, has been able to support this effort. Here is the latest update:

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update: 2,049 New Cases

by Community Contributor • December 21, 2020 • Comments Off

Ventura County we need your help. Our hospitals are filling up with COVID-19 patients. The cases continue to rise. During other emergencies like recent fires you could see the smoke. You could see the devastation. This emergency is like a fire but the people impacted are often not seen. Please help us respond to the emergency by following the public health guidance. We must bring down the numbers.

Santa Barbara Art Museum — Season’s Greetings!

by Community Contributor • December 21, 2020 • Comments Off

It’s hard to know what to say at the close of a year like this one, so we thought we’d leave it to artists Jessie Arms Botke and Cornelis Botke and a new virtual exhibit of their famous handmade holiday cards.

We’ve said it before, but it’s very much worth repeating: all of us here at the Santa Paula Art Museum are so grateful to our community, members, donors, docents, teaching artists, board of directors, and fellow staff members for encouraging us to continue the work that we love and believe to be important. Thank you. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season.

While it remains uncertain when California museums will be able to reopen to the public, the Santa Paula Art Museum already has a lot planned for 2021. Check out our upcoming virtual offerings below!

Holiday Grieving further Complicated by COVID-19

by Community Contributor • December 18, 2020 • Comments Off

The holidays are here and for many it is hard to find joy after the year we’ve experienced. This is usually an exciting time to be making wonderful memories with our close friends and family but this year, whether you are grieving the loss of someone special or the loss of normal life due to COVID-19, we all can agree there is an empty space where our typical holiday traditions used to be.

Though grief is a normal part of life, it can be especially difficult to cope with loss during, what is supposed to be, one of the most joyous times of the year. We are all grieving in some way and Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) is offering support during this time to help us get through this, from grief counseling, to COVID-19 resources, to Speaker Series and holiday events via Zoom – HSB has created an online community to support those grieving this holiday season.

Museum of Ventura County — Send Art & Joy!

by Community Contributor • December 18, 2020 • Comments Off

Dear Community Member,

You are invited to explore the new MVC Gallery Marketplace! The MVC Gallery Marketplace has been created to help regional artists sell their works. The Museum’s Fine Arts Committee and Cultural Team has selected notable artists working in many media, who represent some of the finest work in our county.

(We have partnered with the UPS Store at 35 W Main Street in Ventura for easy and secure shipping.)

Bilingual commentary — Cultural Influences in a Country’s Music—Part 2

by Community Contributor • December 18, 2020 • Comments Off

When Latinos in this country think of indigenous music originating in Mexico, our thoughts and hearts turn wistfully to the Aztec dancers we see performing at our cultural festivals, political protests and religious celebrations. The music consists of unfiltered rhythms from the sacred beating heart of Aztec ritual that celebrated life and death as both sides of the same mystical coin. Copal incense wafts past us, reminding us of the frankincense and myrrh that is cast into the air along with our prayers at Catholic rites such as the exposition of the Eucharist and funerals.

Guest commentary — Covid-19 in America, where do we go from here?

by Community Contributor • December 18, 2020 • Comments Off

Out of Nowhere, Disease, Death and Dread: At the start of the year no one knew what the Corona virus was, by the end of 2020 there is no one left in the world that does not know what COVID-19 virus is, and had not been devastated by its relentless and deadly onslaught. This day Monday, December 14, 2020 the United States death toll from the covid-19 virus topped 300,000 and worldwide the death count has moved pasted 1.62 million souls that have succumb to this deadly virus that has infected the entire world, with no let-up into the foreseeable future. It seems that everyone in this country, indeed throughout the world, in some painful way knows of someone close that has died or suffered horribly from complications brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update: 731 New Cases

by Community Contributor • December 17, 2020 • Comments Off

Ventura County,

There are 731 new cases of COVID-19.

There have been 3 additional deaths (93 year old male, 85 year old female and 68 year old female, all with comorbidities). Our thoughts are with the loved ones of those who have passed away.

Current doubling time is 37.5 days.

Current hospitalizations: 249 and current ICU: 55.

UCSB — The Current — On the Radio and more news

by Community Contributor • December 17, 2020 • Comments Off

The Library’s Special Research Collections to become home to the American Radio Archives.

United Way of Ventura County — United Now & In the New Year

by Community Contributor • December 17, 2020 • Comments Off

December is my favorite month of the year: lights twinkling on houses, a slight chill in the air, and the holiday cheer of neighbors and strangers wishing each other well. While this year’s holiday season looks much different, I’m touched by the generosity of our community and the dedication of our nonprofit partners who find a way to provide their vital services despite the restrictions.

Consulado de México en Oxnard — Foro virtual informativo sobre DACA – 17 de Diciembre 2020 a las 6:30pm

by Community Contributor • December 17, 2020 • Comments Off

Foro virtual informativo sobre DACA – 17 de Diciembre 2020 a las 6:30pm

RHS ASTRA CLUB Reverse Holiday Advent Calendar Schoolwide Food Drive

by Community Contributor • December 16, 2020 • Comments Off

Righetti High School’s ASTRA Club will wrap up its food drive at the end of this week, delivering donated items to families and veterans challenged by these unprecedented times.

The last day to drop off nonperishable items is between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. in the parking lot in front of the library this Friday. The food drive deliveries begin Friday and continue Monday.

Called a Reverse Advent Calendar Schoolwide Food Drive, students are encouraging each other to give something each day instead of getting something each day.

Children’s Resource Network of the Central Coast —2020 Free Toy Giveaway Details

by Community Contributor • December 16, 2020 • Comments Off

DO YOU KNOW OF A CHILD IN NEED OF CHRISTMAS PRESENTS?
If you know a family who needs help
providing Christmas presents to their children,
please invite them to one of these events.

Pioneer Valley High School Holiday Lights Drive Through

by Community Contributor • December 16, 2020 • Comments Off

Student leaders lit up Pioneer Valley High School for a “Holiday Lights” drive-through event on Saturday, December 12.

Adding joy to the season, the PV Student Council and helpers decorated an area of the campus with holiday lights, candy canes and cheer. Visitors joined in with more than 300 vehicles including some that were also decorated.

The event was designed to “give our community a place for the family to see holiday lights and celebrate the season with our PVHS family,’’ according to Panther Activity Director Lisa Walters.

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Testing Schedule for Dec. 16

by Community Contributor • December 16, 2020 • Comments Off

The following COVID-19 testing locations are open today:

Oxnard College 4000 Rose Ave 10-7
Moorpark College 7075 Campus Rd 10-7
Santa Paula E Main/N Ojai 10-7
El Rio, Revive Community Church 2640 Alvarado St Oxnard 1-7
Community Park, 901 S Kimball Ventura 9-3:30

CSUCI Health Science faculty member research shows impacts of elder mistreatment go beyond physical safety

by Community Contributor • December 15, 2020 • Comments Off

Looking out for the welfare of older adults is hard enough during a pandemic, to say nothing of the holiday season with its increased risk of loneliness and isolation.

According to research conducted by CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Health Science Ronald Berkowsky, Ph.D., investigating the impacts of elder mistreatment should go beyond assessing physical safety and mental health. Berkowsky’s research suggests that elder advocates should consider how well older Americans are doing in terms of human potential issues such as self-worth, sense of purpose, autonomy, and positive relationships.

UCSB — The Current — An Alternate Savanna and other news

by Community Contributor • December 15, 2020 • Comments Off

Animals are back at Gorongosa National Park after a civil war, but the savanna community doesn’t look quite how it used to.

Guest commentary — Amazon is Coming to Oxnard: Please Don’t Shoot the Messenger!

by Community Contributor • December 14, 2020 • Comments Off

Amazon takes on the World: The creation of Amazon, in 1994, by Jeff Bezos, is by any standard an incredible American entrepreneurial success story. …We, the 1,500 workforce and community, were excluded from the initial bargaining and negotiation process, we will not be excluded from future workforce deliberations and collective bargaining actions that will assure the protection, the health and safety of the workers, their family and the entire greater Oxnard area. “We are excited to join the (Oxnard) community” is the way Andre Almeida, Regional Director of Amazon Operations, put it. The community of Oxnard is also excited about the new business partnership, but we will also be vigilant and support our local workforce to make sure that Amazon in Oxnard gives as much to the community as it takes!

Anthony Morales names new Athletic Director at Pioneer Valley HS

by Community Contributor • December 14, 2020 • Comments Off

Pioneer Valley High School is pleased to announce that Anthony Morales will be taking over the Athletic Director duties beginning in the spring semester.

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be at PVHS with such an outstanding academic reputation, to be at a school with such a phenomenal sports background,’’ Morales said.

Longtime coach, and current AD, Jeff Monteiro is retiring in December after a remarkable 39 year coaching career, and 34 years as a respected teacher in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. Coach Monteiro helped open Pioneer Valley HS in 2004 when he came over as the Social Science Department Chairman and Varsity Football Coach. He was integral in helping build a successful athletic program PV while coaching football, wrestling and track.

Bilingual report — Homes with Heart VC Encourages Community Members to Make their Lives more Meaningful

by Community Contributor • December 11, 2020 • Comments Off

Local human services agency urges community support to open their hearts and homes to children and older youth in (foster)care, as additional census shows a growth in need during the pandemic. VENTURA — The holidays are a special time of…

Museum of Ventura County — We need your help…

by Community Contributor • December 11, 2020 • Comments Off

Dear MVC supporter,

A gift to the Museum of Ventura County serves your community by helping us…

…Make history accessible. The Research Library has digitized and made available 2,500 photographs and responded to over 150 remote research inquiries.

…Provide virtual education lessons and field trips to students, teachers, and parents. These programs help kids with remote learning and are designed to meet the specific needs of low to moderate income students.

…Present important free livestream programs and online content that changes daily. These included the first installment of our Changemaker series with Dolores Huerta and Jorge Corralejo, interviews with renowned journalist Ivor Davis, and a Dia de los Muertos altar workshop with Dr. Roberto Vargas.