This free event will feature a variety of speakers and workshops in English and Spanish on increasing opportunities and removing obstacles for all students. Food, drinks, and language interpretation will be provided.
Keynote Presentation
We are thrilled to have a keynote presentation from Shane Safir and Dr. Jamila Dugan, the authors of Street Data, the landmark book about rethinking the ways data can be used to promote equity in schools.
CAMARILLO — CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will join other CSU campuses across California on Feb. 23 for Super Sunday, a day when predominately Black and African American faith-based organizations gather to stress the importance of preparing for college.
This year’s Super Sunday event will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center (OPAC) at 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard. Super Sunday will include food, activities and entertainment, as well remarks from CSUCI President Richard Yao. Staff members from CSUCI will be available to provide information on the application and admission process for prospective CSUCI students.?
“Super Sunday in this iteration is designed to bring together community in celebration of the importance of education in our own backyard,” said CSUCI Vice President for Student Affairs Eboni Ford-Turnbow. “I look forward to how this event continues to grow and how community relationships support our students.”
A team led by research associate Jeff Prancevic provides the first ever predictions for the dynamic flooding and emptying of stream networks.
Read more about their findings
VENTURA — A winter whale watch excursion is the perfect way to gather with family and friends to witness the inspiring migration of Pacific Gray whales as they travel through the Santa Barbara Channel near Anacapa and Santa Cruz Island.
“This mammoth migration of more than 20,000 whales and 6,000 miles continues to remain a major attraction in Southern California,” said President Cherryl Connally of Island Packers. “Located in scenic Ventura Harbor Village, we invite visitors to plan on booking this “must-see” experience soon as part of their fun for the entire family Spring Break activities. “
Volume 20 / Number 73 / February 2025 Your Livable Communities Newsletter VISIT OUR WEBSITE For almost 20 years, the Ventura County Civic Alliance Livable Communities working group has been publishing its quarterly newsletter. These newsletters were grounded by the American…
The Ventura County Community Foundation, your community foundation, has been in awe of this county’s love and generosity since we first opened our doors in 1987, and when we come together and bring our passions and talents to support our neighbors, anything is possible. From community leadership to philanthropic consulting, we work hand-in-hand with our neighbors to envision an engaged and thriving community inspired by growing generosity.
We invite you to visit our brand-new website and get to know your community foundation below. You may learn something new about the good work happening in your community! Thank you for joining us on this exciting journey into the future of philanthropy in Ventura County.
VENTURA COUNTY — Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools, was recognized last week by the California Association of Latino Superintendents & Administrators (CALSA) for his outstanding contributions to educational leadership. Dr. Morales received the prestigious M.A.S. Award—representing Mentorship, Advocacy, and Sponsorship—during the CALSA aPODERar Symposium in San Francisco.
The award was presented by Dr. Terry Walker, Director of the CALSA Women’s Leadership Network, who commended Dr. Morales for his commitment to creating opportunities for advancement in educational leadership.
Outside forces are conditioning our young people to absorb information from dubious sources via sound bites and swipes across tiny screens. As a result, it has become more challenging than ever to convince them that learning how to write—and write well—is increasingly important.
We could list countless indisputable reasons for the importance of learning how to write well. Among all those reasons for young people in particular, there are two that should serve as potent inducements: academic success and career advancement.
LULAC is proud to announce the official launch of El Pueblo Unido: A Resource Guide for Community Leaders—a vital tool designed to help key institutions navigate recent policy changes impacting immigrant communities.
This guide builds on El Escudo: Immigrant Rights and Resources Toolkit, which we launched just a few weeks ago. El Escudo serves as a one-stop shop for immigrants to understand their rights, prepare for potential deportation, and access critical resources. True to LULAC’s legacy of using El Escudo—“the shield”—to protect Latino communities from injustice, this latest resource shifts the focus to empowering community leaders so they can support and defend those most vulnerable.
The Center for Economics of Social Issues invites you to register now for its upcoming conference, which will be held on February 28th at California Lutheran University’s campus. We implore you to come and see what is going on around you. The conference will release a comprehensive study that sheds light on the urgent challenges of enjoying a dignified life on the central coast of California.
Trump Is Sending Migrants to Guantánamo Bay to Look Tough Your weekly summary from the Council. LATEST ANALYSIS Sending Migrants to Guantánamo Bay Is a Costly, Optics-Driven Shift in Immigration DetentionPresident Trump ordered the Secretary of Homeland Security to expand…
“Public Texts: A Californian Visual Language” at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum explores how artists use text to challenge perception, critique culture and reflect California’s evolving identity.
I hope this message finds you well. I want to take a moment to provide important safety information regarding the upcoming storm impacting our community.
The Ventura County Sheriff Office – Emergency Services and the National Weather Service are closely monitoring a moderate storm expected to impact Ventura County from Wednesday through Friday. Rainfall is anticipated to begin Wednesday morning, peak Thursday afternoon, and taper off by Friday morning.
Storm Details:
Rainfall Projections: 1”-3” along the coast and valleys, 3”-6” in the hills and mountains.
Rainfall Rates: .10”-.33”/hr, with the remote possibility of .50”-1”/hr during thunderstorms.
Wind: Gusty Westerly winds of 20-40 MPH throughout the region.
Residents are urged to stay updated with weather forecasts and monitor their homes for any changing conditions.
VENTURA — The City of Ventura is thrilled to announce the official groundbreaking for Marina Park’s new playground. This project represents a key milestone in the revitalization of one of Ventura’s most treasured parks, delivering a modern and thoughtfully designed play space for the Pierpont Bay community and surrounding areas.
In 2022, the original playground was removed due to structural deterioration after years of exposure to seaside conditions. Plans were immediately made to replace the equipment with a more resilient design using traditional wood materials, better suited for the coastal environment.
“We want to ensure that every student has the opportunity to participate in our hands-on Farm-to-Food Lab programs. Covering transportation costs helps remove a major financial barrier,” says Caitlin Paulus-Case, SEEAG executive director. “We often hear from students that their trip to Farm Lab is their very first field trip. It leaves a lasting understanding of the connection between agriculture and the food we eat.”
Daniela Soto has earned a prestigious fellowship with eight years of funding to study the evolution of human brains from a genomic perspective.
?During the workshop, Hancock staff will be available to help participating students and their parents fill out a FAFSA (Free Application?for?Federal Student Aid) or a California Dream Act application. Students will also be able to apply?for?state and federal grants, including a Cal Grant, which offers?cash?for?college?and does not have to be repaid.?The application process takes about one hour to complete. Spanish-speaking staff will also be available.
VENTURA COUNTY — The Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 Ventura County Academic Decathlon, which was held over the past few weeks. The winners were revealed at a ceremony this evening in Camarillo. The three teams with the highest overall scores this year are:
1st Place: Westlake High School
2nd Place: Channel Islands High School
3rd Place: Thousand Oaks High School
In the last 10 years, Oxnard-based Gibbs International Truck Centers has donated $1.3 million in financial and equipment to support the two-year program. Since the program began in 2015, the company has donated commercial diesel trucks, engine blocks, tools and lab space, and helped write the curriculum and hire instructors. It provides paid internships and scholarships to students in the program and has hired graduates.
On Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, hundreds of angry Oxnard Union High School District and Oxnard School District students sounded the tocsin of resistance to the ICE raids unleashed by President Frump. They walked out in protest from the campuses of R.J. Frank Intermediate and the high schools of Channel Islands, Del Sol, Hueneme, Oxnard, Pacifica, and others. Some lined the streets and avenues adjacent to their campuses; others marched and drove to the City of Oxnard’s ombligo, la placita, where mi raza, in alliance with other working-class gente, historically organized similar rallies demanding immigrant rights as well as the end to police violence.
Cars and pickup trucks roamed the intersection of Fifth and C Streets to affirm the students’ cause with repeated honks, blaring banda music, and the deafening revving of V8 engines. The students responded in kind with hoots while pumping their pawky placards and Mexican colors. School administrators and teachers protectively observed the youth as did boomers like me, Gen Xers, and millennials—yes millennials you are no longer young.
If we have any ambition at all, we will want to make a difference, leave our mark on the world, and know that our existence, once it’s over, meant something. But how should we approach this daunting task?
Let’s consider a few ideas about how we can go about this sacred mission.
First and foremost, we need to discover our passion, or passions. Our healthy obsessions are fundamentally unique because we are, in essence, supremely unique. Whether we pursue science, music, art, writing, creating movies or work as an acrobat in the circus, we enrich our lives according to our natural talents and interests. Likewise, we enhance the lives of others who are inspired by our dedication or who see a reflection of something profound in our passionate approach to life.
Our three-alarm opera begins very early in our house each morning. First, Lady Whiskers, our huge Coon cat, meows politely, already in front of the bedroom door telling us quite empathically that she is ready to go into the darkness of the morning and begin her early dawn hunt. Our puppy, Maximiliano (Mad Max), hearing his sister, begins crying for attention and some warm milk. Half an hour later our family alarm goes off, all the while classical music is mesmerizingly reminding us to be mindful, trucha, and cool for the battles that lay ahead. This how we had begun our morning wakeup ritual for a while, until Trump ascended to the Monarchy of the United States roughly three weeks ago, and completely highjacked, assaulted, and disrupted our world.
Recognized for his stories of farmworker families in the vast and complex Central Valley of California, Muñoz is also a past recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
At the workshop, participants will learn about financial assistance, up to $350,000 per household, to help them purchase a home in safer, lower-fire-risk areas of California. The assistance, which is forgiven after five years, is designed to help bridge the affordability gap between what applicants can afford with a First Mortgage Loan and the purchase price of an eligible property.
Across the country, deportation is often discussed as an absolute end. What seems to be missing in the conversation is that for the deported people and their families, it’s the beginning of a new set of legal obstacles that often require advocates on both sides of the border to resolve. It is also the beginning of a new and often hard life chapter.
SANTA BARBARA — Professor Tania Israel at the UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, has received the 2025 Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest from the American Psychological Association (APA). Israel is in the Counseling, Clinical, & School Psychology Department at the Gevirtz School and is also the Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
The APA award recognizes an individual whose single extraordinary achievement or a lifetime of outstanding contributions meet one or more of the following criteria: (a) courageous and distinctive contribution in the science or practice of psychology that significantly supports efforts toward a solution to one of the world’s intransigent social problems, (b) distinctive and innovative contribution that makes the science and/or practice of psychology more accessible to a broad and diverse population, and (c) an integration of the science and practice of psychology that serves the public interest and advances social justice and human welfare.
“In 30 years of clinical practice, I’ve seen childhood change dramatically due to screen time. With kids spending more time in online neighborhoods than offline neighborhoods, digital injuries increasingly contribute to child distress,” said Dr. Bennet. “The key to prevention is awareness, information, and a strong parent-child connection. That’s the mission behind GetKidsInternetSafe. I’m so grateful to community leaders like Ventura Charter School for supporting their families during difficult times.”
As we recover as a community from the major fires in LA, and as we remember the Thomas Fire and the Montecito Debris Flow, MCASB in partnership with Paseo Nuevo, and many organizations and individuals, will host a free intergenerational and family-friendly event on the Arts Terrace and throughout Paseo Nuevo on Sunday, February 9th from 11 am-2 pm. There will be opportunities to come together as a community around the healing power of art, art making, and learning about how we can all participate in building our future together.
Event-goers will have the opportunity to take part in many different activities, highlights include a guided painting workshop, art kit making stations, and Collecting Art to Change Lives: Art Collecting 101 – a conversation with arts industry leaders with insights and encouragement for collecting art now to support our LA arts community as it heals and rebuilds.
OXNARD — A one-day symposium, “Dementia Beyond Drugs & Disease,” will be held March 6 in Oxnard. Healthcare professionals, administrators and family caregivers will learn the latest on person-centered and non-pharmacological care for people living with dementia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 percent of adults aged 65 and older have dementia. “It’s important for caregivers to have the tools that emphasize dignity, well-being and meaningful engagements with individuals with dementia,” said Keith Gosselin, executive director of Long Term Care Services of Ventura County, which is organizing the symposium. “Dementia care is evolving as we better understand the disease. The symposium will present the most up-to-date methods to improve quality of life.”
Contribute to the County’s Recreation Master Plan
The Recreation Master Plan sets out a roadmap for public parks, trails, and facilities to meet countywide needs. Chime in by mail and via email or join a virtual meeting on February 6th!
SANTA MARIA — Allan Hancock College invited students taking spring classes to a fun and informative Bulldog Bow-WOW welcome event on Feb. 5 at the college’s Santa Maria campus.
Students who attended the event had the opportunity to meet faculty and staff, learn about support services such as counseling and financial aid, and explore various academic and career pathways. Attendees also enjoyed free food, music, and giveaways while engaging with the college’s many student clubs and organizations.
“This is a great way to get out and let students know about what our club does and what we are about,” said Emily Limon, a Hancock student and member of the college’s Fashion and Design Club. “For new students, joining a club can break the ice and also open them up to trying new things.”
As a Ventura County resident, we are asking for your input to help shape the future of arts and culture in our community – and win tickets to our signature events and venues!
Take just 10 minutes to tell the County how you experience arts and culture, and you could win free tickets* to:
LONG BEACH — The California State University (CSU), the largest and most diverse public four-year university in the country, announced (on Feb. 5) a first-of-its-kind public-private initiative with some of the world’s leading tech companies, including Adobe, Alphabet (Google), AWS, IBM, Instructure, Intel, LinkedIn, Microsoft, NVIDIA, OpenAI, and the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom that will leverage the power of artificial intelligence to create an AI-powered higher education system that could surpass any existing model in both scale and impact.
The CSU’s unprecedented adoption of AI technologies will make trainings, learning, and teaching tools—including ChatGPT—available across all 23 CSU universities, ensuring that the system’s more than 460,000 students and 63,000 faculty and staff have equitable access to cutting-edge tools that will prepare them to meet the rapidly changing education and workforce needs of California. The CSU expects to make these tools available within the next few weeks.
SANTA PAULA — The Museum of Ventura County’s newest exhibition will celebrate and highlight the pride and resilience of the Mexican Indigenous community living in the region through photographic portraits taken by internationally acclaimed photographer Diego Huerta during his month-long 2024 Artist Residency at the Museum of Ventura County. Sixteen large-format photographs are accompanied by quotes from the individuals portrayed, revealing deep emotional connections to their cultural heritage and expressing pride, hope, and a commitment to preserving their traditions as they make Ventura County their home. For almost two decades, Mr. Huerta has been photographing Pueblos Originarios—Indigenous communities—in Mexico. This is the first time he has photographed these groups outside of Mexico.
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Lumina Alliance is honored to announce a vital $963,000 investment from Must! Charities, expanding resources for survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in San Luis Obispo County. This partnership will enhance Lumina Alliance’s donor and volunteer programs, improve crisis and therapy services, and expand housing options—ensuring more survivors have access to safe, stable support as they rebuild their lives.
“This support from Must! Charities will create meaningful change for survivors in our community,” said Jennifer Adams, CEO of Lumina Alliance. “Must! Charities’ commitment allows us to expand our services, reduce wait times for therapy—especially for Spanish-speaking clients—and create a lasting impact for survivors seeking safety and healing.”
A trio short films by undergraduates — “Not Just Water,” “quwa’” and “The Kelp We Breathe” — will be featured during the festival’s Santa Barbara Documentary Shorts programming.
CAMARILLO — The Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) welcomed newly elected Trustee Joe Piechowski to the Board of Trustees during the Annual Organizational Meeting on December 17. Piechowski was installed with Trustee Stan Mantooth, who was re-elected in November.
At the meeting, Trustee Gabriela Torres, who has served on the board since 2018, was elected board chair. Trustee Lou Lichtl was elected vice chair, and Chancellor Rick MacLennan will serve as secretary.
VENTURA — The City recently launched a new geographic information system (GIS) map to showcase Ventura’s expansive public art pieces. Discover over 240 pieces of public art by more than 80 artists across town. Since 1991, the City’s Public Art Program has integrated different art forms into city landscapes, including murals, mosaics, sculptures, and more.
“There’s a story behind each piece, and this tool makes it easier than ever to connect the public to these works of art and the artists who created them,” said Recreation Supervisor Elena Waller. “It’s possible people have walked right past them and didn’t realize what was hidden in plain sight.”
Edgar Jahir Trujillo is an architect, researcher, and artist based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Three of his mixed-media paintings are featured in our current exhibition Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Contemporary Art on view through April 27th at MCASB. His principal medium for his paintings and sculptural artworks is cochineal. He considers his practice as coexisting with the ancient red pigment and dyestuff, and intended to excite visual pleasure, disrupt conventional reflections on nature, while celebrating an equitable global ecology.
CAMARILLO — Registration is now open for CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI)’s new Master of Health Care Administration (MHA), which will be offered through its Extended University (EU). Classes begin in Fall of 2025.
The program is entirely online, which will make it convenient for working professionals interested in a career in the administrative side of a hospital or patient care facility. What sets CSUCI’s program apart from others is that students will have the opportunity to also earn a certificate in gerontology by completing additional coursework.
