With a strong background in business and educational leadership, Dr. Cynthia Herrera has been named the Associate Vice Chancellor of Strategic Partnerships, Enrollment, and Advancement at the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD). In her new role, Herrera will oversee all aspects of workforce development programs, grants and other academic and student support initiatives.
At (Oct. 6’s) Board of Supervisors meeting, we received an update on COVID-19 and we are still in the Red Tier according to the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy metrics. Currently we have 4 active cases in the South County Unincorporated Areas (which include Montecito, Summerland and the City of Carpinteria), 11 active cases in the City of Santa Barbara, and 118 active cases County-wide. This is a significant reduction compared to the peak of nearly 450 active cases County-wide during the spike in July. As you can see from the graph below, daily hospitalizations are decreasing overall as well.
VENTURA COUNTY — The effort to expand environmental education for Ventura County students is getting a boost from the national AmeriCorps volunteer program. Kate Bilse has joined the Ventura County Office of Education as an AmeriCorps volunteer for the 2020-21…
Ventura County (on Oct. 6) moved off the most restrictive tier of the state’s COVID-19 watch list, which means schools could soon have the option of reopening for in-person instruction at all grade levels. If Ventura County maintains its status for two additional weeks, schools may choose to reopen as early as Wednesday, October 21. However, it will be up to each individual school district to determine exactly when they can safely begin welcoming students back to class. Some schools may choose to reopen their campuses later than October 21 for a variety of reasons.
Thanks to recent progress being made in the fight against COVID-19 in Ventura County, businesses such as restaurants, gyms, movie theaters, massage businesses and places of worship may now open indoors, following California Department of Public Health sector specific guidance for reopening, as of 12:01 pm today. The changes come after the County qualified to move into the less restrictive red tier of the State’s four-tiered, color-coded reopening system. Until today, Ventura County had been in the state’s purple tier, the most restrictive tier.
The Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program gave awards to 15 shipping companies for reducing speeds to 10 knots or less in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Santa Barbara Channel region in 2019. The voluntary program is an initiative to cut air pollution and protect endangered whales. The 2019 program ran from May 15, 2019 through November 15, 2019. Although COVID-19 public health guidelines prevented an in-person awards event, the companies received trophies, plaques, and certificates according to their levels of achievement.
Hispanic Heritage Month gets justifiable criticism, but it’s still worth celebrating. Here’s why
It happens like clockwork: At least one corporation ends up apologizing during Hispanic Heritage Month because their campaign intended to celebrate Latinos ends up offending them. This year’s loser is Twitch.
Don’t delay! Take the Census today!
The deadline for the Census has been extended to Saturday, October 31. If you haven’t already, please participate today by completing the Census online at my2020census.gov or by calling 1-844-330-2020.
ore than 300 Pioneer Valley High School freshmen defined their future in the world with progress report success during the pandemic.
The freshmen arrived on campus Monday for a special physically distanced drive-through visit.
When CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) alumnus Danna Hernandez immigrated to Oxnard from Mexico with her family when she was six, her parents couldn’t afford tutors to help her as she struggled with elementary school.
“I had no tutors or any help at home,” Hernandez said. “I was learning English as a second language and it was already a challenge just to overcome that. It gave me a motive to want to help others.”
Hernandez, 25, is now able to realize her desire to tutor children as part of the newly-formed Center for Community Engagement (CCE) STEM Corps. The Corps was launched this fall thanks to a CSUCI Strategic Initiative Grant of $43,000.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and two local agencies, RISE and Restorative Partners, are working together to bring awareness to an increase in domestic violence during this time of the global pandemic. RISE provides emergency crisis counseling, shelter, advocacy and therapy for local survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence.
Restorative Partners provides a continuum of programs and services designed to meet the diverse needs of people impacted by crime, including those in custody and returning from incarceration.
(On Oct. 1), the State of California announced that the County of Ventura has met the State COVID-19 metrics for one week. If the County meets the metrics for an additional week the State will allow the County to move into the Red Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. “I am excited Ventura County has been cleared to go to this next phase,” said Supervisor Kelly Long, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “Ventura County has consistently exceeded the standards in five of the six initial metrics set by the state. Clearing this last hurdle is a testament to the public’s patience and adherence to safety protocols. I look forward to more latitude and flexibility for our local businesses and social activities that will help our local economy and improve our quality of life.”
The Community Environmental Council (CEC) announced a goal of achieving one megawatt of solar on regional nonprofit agencies by 2023, and has expanded their successful Solarize Nonprofit program to Ventura County to support this move toward a carbon neutral community. Nonprofits that own their buildings or are in long-term leases are encouraged to see if the no upfront cost program fits for them at SolarizeNonprofit.org.
With a vision and a plan, Gerardo Aldana steps into his new role as dean of the College of Creative Studies.
On September 23, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-80-20. The Order extends to March 31, 2021 the time frame for local governments to provide commercial eviction protections due to COVID-19. The additional protection is not automatic, however. Commercial landlords and tenants will have to wait and see if local governments in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County or surrounding areas enact or extend the protections authorized by the Order.
At the (Sept, 22) special Board of Supervisors hearing, we received an update on COVID-19. According to the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy metrics, Santa Barbara County has met the State’s red tier case rate and positivity rate criteria for two consecutive weeks. As a result, the risk of COVID-19 spread in Santa Barbara County has been downgraded, effective immediately, from widespread to substantial, allowing movement from the purple tier to the red tier. Currently we have 3 active cases in the South County Unincorporated Areas (which include Montecito, Summerland and the City of Carpinteria), 13 active cases in the City of Santa Barbara, and 170 active cases County-wide.
This week we go virtual and get real with WeSpeak, the program where students speak their own truth through the stories of their lives. Click below to hear from OC alumnus Vance Garcia, who brought us his incredibly inspiring story about rising above life’s most challenging circumstances.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29 signed Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara)’s Senate Bill 493 to ensure California colleges and universities provide a transparent and fair process for all students involved in a sexual assault allegation. The bill goes into effect on January 1, 2022.
In direct response to the Trump Administrations’ attempts undermine Title IX — the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded schools — SB 493 will require state-funded colleges and universities to adopt common-sense procedures that ensure a fair, transparent, and consistent response to reports of sexual violence.
A lot has changed this year. What hasn’t changed at the Santa Paula Art Museum is our commitment to our mission and our desire to serve, uplift, and inspire everyone in our community.
While the Museum’s indoor galleries have been closed since March, our staff has been working to provide our community with a wide variety of virtual programming, as well as outdoor art classes, free classroom art kits, and over 1,800 free Art To-Go Bags. Click here to see what your continued support has helped the Museum to accomplish over the past 6 months.
Biomedical research should reflect the nation’s diversity both for equity and for more effective medical practices. The COVID pandemic is an example of how different populations are affected differently according to genetics, culture, socioeconomic pressures and availability of healthcare, to name a few factors.
“We need to make sure biomedical research meets the well-being of all citizens,” said CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Program Chair and Professor of Health Sciences Sonsoles de Lacalle, M.D., Ph.D. “We have different genetics, different mindsets, different cultures and we need to incorporate all of these variables. We know the same old, same old doesn’t work.”
Reimagining Instruction for the Student Experience, a recent seminar for faculty, set the stage for a robust and rigorous fall quarter of distance learning.
The prospect of students returning to their classrooms is getting closer to reality as the coronavirus situation in Ventura County starts to improve. Before schools are allowed to reopen to all students, Ventura County must move off the most restrictive level – the purple tier – on the state’s coronavirus watch list and stay off of it for two weeks.
Freshmen and upper division transfer students are invited to apply for CSU Channel Islands’ (CSUCI) fall 2021 semester beginning Oct. 1 through Dec. 4.
The California State University (CSU) system has temporarily lifted requirements that first-time freshmen submit their SAT and ACT scores for admission for fall 2021. The temporary change will also apply to winter 2022 and spring 2022 admission cycles.
Santa Barbara City College is pleased to present the 2019-2020 Report to the Community, an informative and beautifully illustrated account of the college’s events, activities and accomplishments during this past academic year.
Good afternoon, There are 51 new cases today (4 (7.8%) of which have a lab collection from September 18th or earlier), 833 additional people tested, and 3 additional deaths (68 year old female, 37 year old female, and 99 year old male, all with comorbidities). The current doubling time was 121.4 days.
Ventura County is currently in the purple tier which they have designated as widespread transmission as of September 22. Our current data published as of September 22 is 7.4 (purple tier) for the case rate and 3.8% (orange tier) for the positivity rate for the measurement period ending September 12; this will keep us in the purple tier until the next measurement which will be on September 29.
The year 2020 will go down as one of the most challenging years this nation has faced. A continuing pandemic, large nationwide demonstrations for civil rights, a contentious election campaign season — all during a time when the nation was attempting to complete the 2020 Census.
Now, there is word that the Sept. 30 deadline to complete the Census may be pushed back to its original Oct. 31, 2020 pandemic-altered deadline: Please see — CNN — Federal judge orders nationwide 2020 census counting to continue through October 31.
But since the ruling is subject to appeal, and nothing else appears predictable during 2020, it would be best to continue to fill out those Census forms as quickly as possible.
Oxnard’s drab City Hall will soon be sporting a fresh new look thanks to muralist Mauricio Ramirez.
The mural, which takes up the entire side of the three-story building, was highlighted in the Ventura County Star story of Dec. 8, 2019: Oxnard’s past, future to be represented in new City Hall murals
It is one of two murals being placed on the city hall building by Ramirez and Celeste Byers.
Ramirez’s mural, which focuses on Oxnard’s future, features a Latina graduate, rapper Anderson .Pakk., an African American girl and a child wearing traditional Mexican dress.
The year is 1938. The Third Reich is rising along with radio evangelism and The City of Angels is constructing the freeways that will transform it into a metropolis. When a grisly murder shocks the city, the first Chicana/o in the Los Angeles Police Department, Tiago Vega, and his partner, Lewis Michener, investigate while being pulled into the deep traditions of Mexican American folklore.
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies Nicholas Centino, Ph.D. was recently honored for his use of the compelling, atmospheric “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” series on Showtime and several other creative teaching twists—innovation that continued when CSUCI’s classes went virtual with the COVID pandemic.
Under Executive Order, the Governor declared the November 3, 2020 General Election an all Vote By Mail election in the state of California. County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters Lunn stated, “With the current Coronavirus pandemic and the confluence of the flu season upon us, I encourage all voters to utilize the Vote By Mail ballot they receive at home to take advantage of the health and safety measures that voting by mail provides.”
Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest classical musicians of all time, composed a musical piece entitled (in translation) “Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Opus 112.” Beethoven was inspired by the eternally stirring poetry of the renowned philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whom he had met and to whom he dedicated this work.
Two Ventura County Schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2020 by the U.S. Department of Education. The schools were selected based on or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The Ventura County winners are among 367 public and private schools to be selected nationwide. The local honorees are:
Meadows Arts and Technology Elementary School in Thousand Oaks
Charter school authorized by the Ventura County Office of Education
Weathersfield Elementary School in Thousand Oaks
Conejo Valley Unified School District
The 2020 edition of the U.S. Latino GDP Report was released today by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to reshaping the perception of Latinos as part of the American social mainstream.
“The report shows that, during 2018, the nearly 60 million Latinos living in the U.S. generated the world’s eighth largest gross domestic product (GDP),” said Matthew Fienup, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, one of the report’s co-authors. “The GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced by a region in a given year.”
Thank you to the amazing donors who have helped us raise over $10,000 in the first week of our Perfect Match campaign!
We are off to a great start and we need YOUR help to reach our fundraising goal.
Ventura County Community College District announces that?due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, a?majority of its classes at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges will continue to be remote for the spring 2021 semester, which begins Jan. 11. Strict protocols will still be in place for students and faculty who must be on campus for courses that cannot be remote.
The Southeast Ventura County YMCA and the Columbia Memorial Space Center have collaborated on a new advanced STEM program for local middle schoolers. The YMCA’s STEM Club begins October 19 with virtual meetings.
The program is divided into three units–Aerospace (October 19 through December 18), Solar Chemistry (January 18 through March 26) and 3D Printing and Robotics (April 12 through June 18). Club members meet Monday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (virtually and when approved, in person).
The Ventura County Public Works Agency – Watershed Protection (VCPWA-WP) is preparing the Matilija Dam Ecosystem Restoration Project Subsequent Environmental Impact Report (SEIR), and they are soliciting community input.
Santa Maria High School seniors already academically prepared for universities received recognition during a drive-through event in the Thornburg parking lot on Sept. 24.
About 250 Saints, who have met A-G requirements (university entry mandates), plan to pick up a certificate, lawn sign, senior toolkit and enter a raffle for prizes. The UC/CSU application process is approaching.
The State of the County presentation took place on September 17, 2020. The annual event, hosted by local Chambers of Commerce and the Ventura County Tax Payers Association and community groups, provided an inside view of the dynamic coordination of COVID-19 response. “2020, what can you say? Recovering from disasters, responding to a new disaster and preparing for future disasters has become our new normal. The pandemic impacts all communities but not many communities have had the emergencies we have faced. Our community had to answer the call yet again, and you did. We have done better than most and I think we will emerge stronger than most because of the selfless generosity and compassion of our community,” said County Executive Officer Mike Powers as he kicked off the event.
Students are still learning remotely, but in partnership with local school districts, our educators are supporting families throughout the whole day, and not just with homework!
A new report reveals for the first time the level of terrestrial synthetic microfiber emissions on a global scale.
