
After months of COVID-related delays and cancellations, research vessels are once again sailing the ocean to study its carbon cycle.

Ventura County high school students are invited to attend the Hackathon by the Sea, a two-day computer coding event presented by the Ventura County Office of Education with support from the U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Engineering & Expeditionary Warfare Center. Hacker Fund, which is a national nonprofit network of STEM mentors, is joining us again this year to deliver the event.

Get rent relief at VCCDC! If you’re struggling with paying rent due to a COVID-19 financial hardship, and you’re an income eligible household, you may be eligible for the State of California’s COVID-19 Rent Relief Program! You can receive help with past due or future rent and utilities, especially if you’re at risk of eviction. VCCDC is a Local Network Partner approved to assist you with applying for this program!
Contact VCCDC to schedule an appointment today:
805-273-7800 or vgalicia@vccdc.org

Thousand Oaks Arts (TOArts) Presents is back with a diverse lineup of entertainment for the community. With a mix of virtual, outdoor, and eventual in-person events, TOArts and the Bank of America Performing Arts Center (BAPAC) are excited to bring back safe and fun performances to the Conejo Valley.
TOArts Presents kicked off in May with “TOArts Scene at the Greens” at the Los Robles Greens golf course. Upcoming performances will include a trio from professional orchestra and Resident Company, New West Symphony, and comedian Craig Shoemaker. Tickets will be sold in pod seating to ensure social distancing and community safety.

“People getting vaccinated could make us feel a little more safe and comfortable because we’re not getting a virus that could potentially be fatal to us. It could really help us continue to have a normal life while still receiving treatment.” – Jacob Gibson, 16
We met Jacob and his mom Heather Gibson today before he received his treatment at the Children’s Center for Cancer and Blood Disease at the Ventura County Medical Center. Jacob receives chemotherapy once a month to fight his Leukemia and is feeling healthy these days. Jacob and his mom both had COVID-19 last year and thankfully recovered.
Now they’re asking our community to get vaccinated to protect kids and teenagers like Jacob. Many who are treated for blood disease do not respond to the vaccines because their immune systems are low.

MCASB is proud to present Quaranteen, a group of video works by the 2020-2021 Teen Arts Collective. Featuring seven individual bodies of work, Quaranteen explores the lived experience of each artist throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent quarantine. Quaranteen aims to embody an experience that has been both universally shared and individually unique, from the teenage perspective and through the medium of film. The Teen Arts Collective comprises seven students from Santa Barbara and surrounding areas, spanning across several different schools and grade levels.

Gill’s Onions will match all donations up to $10,000 for every dollar donated to Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) during the month of May as part of SEEAG’s second annual Double Your Impact Challenge.
Gill’s Onions, based in Oxnard, is one of the nation’s largest family-owned onion growers and processors. Products sold nationally include whole, sliced, diced and slivered onions. It is a long-time supporter of SEEAG’s agricultural education programming that has reached over 60,000 elementary school students in central and southern California since its founding in 2008. All SEEAG programs are 100 percent cost-free to schools and students.

The Economic Development Collaborative encourages you to sign up for our no-cost webinars. Space is limited. Register today!
COVID-19 BUSINESS RESOURCES: THE RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND
This event will be held simultaneously in English and Spanish
El evento se presentará simultáneamente en inglés y español

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of History Robin Mitchell, Ph.D., is headed east in the Fall after receiving a year-long fellowship from Harvard Radcliffe Institute in Cambridge, Mass.
“It is humbling and really wonderful,” Mitchell said. “Most of the time we apply for these fellowships that don’t come through. So, we’re encouraged to apply for multiple fellowships.”

Later this morning, I’ll be rolling up my sleeve for the second COVID-19 vaccine dose. While I’m not looking forward to the potential side effects, I know I’ll feel safer seeing friends and family at various celebrations and gatherings that have been put on hold for far too long. You can learn more about why the vaccine is one of our most powerful tools to ending the pandemic at www.vaccinateall58.com.

Spring is a vibrant time for our food system – farmers are harvesting their first crops of the year, eaters are savoring the abundance, and many of you are busy working on and/or trying to garner funding for projects (see below for the latest funding opportunities).
This season, SBCFAN is sharing stories of collaboration that are activating closed loop systems and projects that build resilience, access, justice, and sovereignty into the food system – read our South County Community Profile to learn more.

Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV), in partnership with the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), has been awarded a $500,000 Grant for the 2021 Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) Entrepreneurship Program from the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and the Employment Training Panel (ETP). WEV and MICOP will use the SEED Initiative funding to support underrepresented and marginalized individuals who face significant barriers to employment by providing them with entrepreneurial training, technical assistance, and micro-grants to launch or grow their own businesses in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
“We are thrilled to partner with MICOP to launch the SEED Program,” said WEV CEO Kathy Odell. “With MICOP’s expertise in supporting and empowering the indigenous migrant community in our region, and WEV’s history of providing small business training and small business loans to women and other local entrepreneurs, we have the combined expertise to provide our SEED participants with pathways for economic self-sufficiency.”

Former senator from Pennsylvania Rick Santorum echoed last week what many of us learned in school about the history of early America: that the original white “settlers” who arrived from distant shores had planted the seeds of American culture. In fact, he said that there was “nothing here” when the colonizers arrived. He flatly declared that “there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.”
Mr. Santorum’s baseless claims about the absence of Native American influence on our national character is a continuation of white nationalist propaganda that ignores, or at least gravely understates, the vast impact of Native American culture upon ours. To say, as he did, that the first settlers to arrive on our eastern shores “birthed a nation from nothing” is to erase the wisdom and knowledge that was already present and predated the birth of the United States by several millennia.

At the Keys to Empower You in the System (KEYS) Leadership Academy, which was housed at the Café on A, Oxnard, we believed that the best community safety is where all adults, young adults, kids and everyone else in Oxnard (all the cities of this nation) feels a real sense of civic involvement and transparency, responsibility of ownership, peace, love and respect. We know full well that safety is mostly perceptual, thus any community safety program must incorporate a rigorous mental health and wellness component. We have relied much too long on “traditional policing” alone to bring us safety. As a sobering reminder, let us not forget that Oxnard is yearly designated by highly reputable demographers as one of the safest cities in the country for it size in the entire nation.
Yet, we have often let others assign us the “bum rap” about “crime riddled Oxnard”.

En este video de servicio público, los miembros de la legendaria banda Los Tigres del Norte animan a todos a recibir la vacuna para el COVID-19 porque es muy importante cuidar a nuestros seres queridos, nuestra familia, nuestros amigos y todos los que nos rodean.
Listos California, en asociación con la Liga de Ciudadanos Latinoamericanos Unidos (LULAC) y la Fundación Nacional Hispana para las Artes (NHFA), produce la serie de conversación en línea “InformaGente” para fomentar una cultura de preparación para emergencias entre las comunidades latinas.

The County of Ventura has partnered with the Ventura County Community Foundation and Complete Reach Committee to launch a public outreach campaign to build community immunity. “The pandemic has shown the strength of our partnerships here in Ventura County. Those partnerships have been critical in moving us forward. Now, more than ever, working together we can build community immunity through outreach and education,” said County Executive Officer Mike Powers.
Grant funding is now available to Community Based Organizations (CBOs) to support outreach activities. Organizations are invited to submit a grant application at https://vaccinatevc.org/. Applications are due by Friday, May 7, 2021. The Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) in partnership with the County of Ventura, CBOs, businesses, local cities and individual grantees will expand vaccine education, awareness and outreach activities.

As students transition back into school after the many challenges the county has faced over the past year, Ventura County Public Works Agency (VCPWA) is celebrating the strength and resilience of the community by gearing up for its largest annual educational event for National Public Works Week (NPWW) for the second year in a row. While VCPWA is unable to accommodate an in-person event, on Monday, May 17, the agency will launch a dedicated webpage featuring a virtual tour of the multi-faceted agency and its five departments.
Growing upon the success of last year’s event, VCPWA took another innovative approach to its digital curriculum by incorporating feedback from the participating teachers, allowing a more customized experience for not only students but members of the public as well. During the week, students, faculty, and the general public can access a virtual tour with a robust curriculum featuring video demonstrations, educational materials and interactive projects.

Maria Hernández, a community member in Santa Paula, shares why she rolled up her sleeves and got vaccinated.
Watch for the special appearance from her mother, Elvia Hernández, from Proyecto Esperanza and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Santa Paula!
Thank you Maria for protecting yourself, your daughter, and your community.

Kids and their families participating in SEEAG’s “Let’s Grow A Garden” home garden program picked up donated potting soil from Agromin and vegetable seedling from Plantel Nurseries last week. More than 1,000 4-quart bags of potting soil and over 3,000 seedlings were distributed at Agromin’s Oxnard headquarters and at Ventura County elementary schools.
“Our busiest day was Earth Day,” says Caitlin Case, program director at Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG). “Thank you to Agromin and Plantel Nurseries for making the giveaway possible. Now, the students can get to work planting, caring for and harvesting their vegetables including kale, lettuce, tomatoes, bell peppers, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower.

Moorpark College student Lauren Rosenthal was recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship in the annual Community College Public Relations Organization (CCPRO) Writing Scholarship. The award was for her inspiring profile article on Moorpark College alumni Carmel Gutherz, a first-generation American who earned her master’s degree in education from Southern Methodist University and currently works for Teach for America as a corps member in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
Rosenthal started as an intern in the Ventura County Community College District’s Public Affairs and Marketing Department in 2019 and is now a student worker with the department. Throughout her time with the District, she has written a number of articles that appear on the District’s website and in local publications.

RISE is proud to announce the launch of its latest campaign, raising awareness about RISE’s expanded services to survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence who have disabilities.
Funded by a $125,000 grant from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal-OES), RISE has bolstered services for survivors with disabilities, including advocacy, case management, crisis support, and shelter. RISE will also begin offering an end-to-end encrypted website chat feature providing access to their state-certified crisis counselors for those who are not able to make a confidential phone call. This pilot program will begin with limited hours in late May 2021.

Santa Susana High School in the Simi Valley Unified School District is one of just 33 schools in the state to receive the 2021 California Exemplary Arts Education Award from the California Department of Education. The winning schools engage students in quality arts education that meet California Arts Standards for Public Schools and demonstrate progress on indicators on the California School Dashboard. The award is designed to celebrate successful efforts to engage students in arts through exposure to a variety of disciplines.
“Even more so during the pandemic, the arts give students a vital creative outlet and a chance to connect with their peers,” said Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. “I want to commend Santa Susana High School for maintaining its commitment to arts education during distance learning and for being recognized at the state level with this well-deserved award.”

There are 55 new COVID-19 cases. There have been 3,359 new tests performed. There have been 0 additional deaths.
The current R-effective (average number of people each infected person will pass the virus onto and represents the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading) is .75 which means that spread of COVID-19 is likely decreasing; R-effective for CA is .88 right now.
COVID-19 vaccines are now available by walk-in! No appointment is required. There are locations offered throughout the County. Vaccine eligibility is now open to everyone 16 and older. You can also make an appointment at myturn.ca.gov or 833-422-4255.
Ventura County is currently in the Orange Tier. Learn more about the State of California’s Blueprint for Safety Economy here.

oin us for the next installment in our new Zoom series, Local History Happy Hour with Jeffrey Maulhardt, author of “A History of Oxnard,” on Tuesday, May 18, 2021 from 5—6PM. In this series, local authors and historians sit down with The Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director Elena Brokaw to discuss their unique perspectives on our region’s history, and take questions from the audience.
This online program is free, but requires advanced registration.

A veteran teacher who has spent his career working with students with disabilities has been named Teacher of the Year for schools operated by the Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE). Shamus Auth has been a special education teacher at VCOE schools for 18 years and currently teaches young adults with disabilities at VCOE’s Dorothy Boswell School in Ventura. Mr. Auth will now be in the running for the Ventura County Teacher of the Year award, which is open to all teachers countywide.
Mr. Auth found out about the honor today when his family, his Principal Aran Burke and Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Dr. César Morales made a surprise visit to his classroom. Also on hand to break the good news were VCOE Associate Superintendent of Student Services Dr. Consuelo Hernandez Williams and VCOE Executive Director of Special Education Holly Minear.

Ventura Land Trust (VLT) launched a major reforestation project at its 2,100-acre Harmon Canyon Preserve with the planting of a new oak grove on Saturday, April 24th. The 4-acre grove, funded by a grant from SoCalGas, is planted in a terrace area of the preserve near the preserve’s trailhead.
With 10 miles of trails for hiking and biking, Harmon Canyon Preserve is Ventura’s first large-scale nature preserve.
SoCalGas’s grant award funded the planting of 50 coast live oak trees, as well as 150 native plants like California sagebrush, purple sage, coyote brush, bush sunflower, and Yerba Buena. A trail winds through the grove, so that the public can see and enjoy the reforested area.

The Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge business plan and pitch competition returned for its 11th season on Friday, April 23, showcasing some of our region’s most exciting, innovative, and cutting-edge college and high school student entrepreneurs. The event was live streamed on YouTube and the video can be viewed on the Scheinfeld Center’s YouTube channel.
Students from Santa Barbara City College and University of California, Santa Barbara, kicked off the collegiate tier of the event, followed by the high school tier, which featured students from San Marcos High School. The aspiring entrepreneurs competed for over $15,000 in cash awards and startup support.

United Way of Ventura County is excited to share with you that we’ve created a website to exclusively cover our United to End Homelessness Initiative efforts. This website will be a central hub that features resources, upcoming events, volunteer opportunities, tenant and landlord testimonials, resources and beyond.
The website will continue to evolve and expand as we develop more efforts related to this initiative.

There are 20 new COVID-19 cases. There have been 5,727 new tests performed. There has been 1 additional death of a 40 year old female.
The current R-effective (average number of people each infected person will pass the virus onto and represents the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading) is .88 which means that spread of COVID-19 is likely decreasing; R-effective for CA is .87 right now.
60% of people 16 years and older have received one dose in Ventura County. 19.8% of the population 16 years and older have received one dose in CA.
Click here for information about COVID-19 testing.
Vaccine eligibility is now open to everyone 16 and older. Make your appointment today at myturn.ca.gov or 833-422-4255.

Now On View: Erin Hanson: Colors of California
Exhibit runs May 1, 2021 to July 25, 2021
West Coast artist Erin Hanson has earned a huge following thanks to her unique painting style, which has been dubbed “Open Impressionism” and is now taught to art students worldwide. (She also started selling paintings at the age of 10!) Open Impressionism is a blend of classical impressionism and modern expressionism, with a dash of plein air style. In other words, prepare yourself to be completely impressed. Erin Hanson: Colors of California is on view now through July 25, 2021.
The exhibit can also be enjoyed online, although we encourage you to visit all four of our current exhibitions in person!

Support Women, Art, and Small Businesses
Tomorrow May 1st from 11 am-4 pm join the Fundraiser Mixer at Open Door Studio to celebrate local women, small businesses, and the creative arts.
Live Music, Free Art Classes, Food, Vendors, Prizes, and an all-female exhibit. At 329 W 5th St.
For more info: ARTGIRLS#!T

Open Doors 2020 Study Abroad report has ranked CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Study Abroad as 9th in the nation for the 2019-2020 academic year. The 2020 Open Doors report is released by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Institute of International Education (IIE).
The pandemic cut the programs short at the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, but the Study Abroad staff is ready to go when it’s safe for students to travel again.

Rotary Club of Montecito officially announces the chairs of its “Back 2 School” fundraiser as Tony Morris, Club Director of Vocational Service, and Cathy Cash, past Club President.
Since its founding in 1953, Rotary Club of Montecito has been developing projects and delivering service to their community and the wider world for over 67 years. Continuing that philanthropic mission, the Club is hosting a “Back 2 School” fundraiser on May 19, 2021 for Santa Barbara City College student scholarships.
As productive members of the California Central Coast philanthropy community, Tony Morris and Cathy Cash are charged with planning and oversight of the fundraising event for the SBCC Foundation.

Two Ventura County high schools are being honored as 2021 California Distinguished Schools by the California Department of Education. Oak Park High School in the Oak Park Unified School District and Rancho Campana High School in the Oxnard Union High School Districts are recipients of this coveted award.
“I want to congratulate everyone at Oak Park High School and Rancho Campana High School for being named 2021 California Distinguished Schools,” said Dr. César Morales, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools. “It’s an especially impressive achievement in this school year that’s been filled with unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic,” he said.

COVID-19 Update
There are 21 new COVID-19 cases. There have been 4,817 new tests performed. There have been 0 additional deaths.
The current R-effective (average number of people each infected person will pass the virus onto and represents the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading) is .79 which means that spread of COVID-19 is likely decreasing; R-effective for CA is .88 right now.
41.3% of the county population of 16 years and older are completely vaccinated.
Click here for information about COVID-19 testing.
Vaccine eligibility is now open to everyone 16 and older. Make your appointment today at myturn.ca.gov or 833-422-4255.
www.venturacountyrecovers.org

There are 11 new COVID-19 cases. There have been 4,183 new tests performed. There has been 1 additional death, 90 year old woman.
The current R-effective (average number of people each infected person will pass the virus onto and represents the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading) is .80 which means that spread of COVID-19 is likely decreasing; R-effective for CA is .85 right now.
Click here for information about COVID-19 testing.
Vaccine eligibility is now open to everyone 16 and older. Make your appointment today at myturn.ca.gov or 833-422-4255.
www.venturacountyrecovers.org

Our highly rated Digital Marketing Science course combines online learning with weekly live, group sessions.
Marketing in the Digital Age
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Mapping Strategy to Tactics
Research competitors, investigate concepts like brand, persona, and journey, then define the messaging and content that best connects with your target audience.
Mastering Digital Marketing Channels
You will learn marketing analytics, search engine optimization, paid search, paid social, multichannel campaigns and more.
Using Marketing Technology
Understand the martech stack, gain in-demand technical certifications, and learn how to manage complex multichannel campaigns that influence the customer experience.
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You’ll walk away with industry-recognized certifications and a Strategic Digital Marketing Playbook that showcases your robust digital marketing skills to current and future employers.

For the sixth year, people from around the globe can get up-close-and-personal with an endangered California condor chick in real-time through live streaming video of a cliff-side nest in a canyon near the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge in Ventura County, California.
California condor chick #1075 hatched on April 10, 2021. Its parents are ten-year-old female condor #594 and 15-year-old male condor #374. This is the pair’s first nesting attempt together and they are using a nest cavity used in 2018 by #374 and his former mate. Female condor #594 previously paired with male condor #462 in 2018 and 2020, successfully fledging one chick each year. This year marks male condor #374’s sixth nesting attempt at raising a chick; he has successfully fledged four chicks in previous years.

We are coming down to the wire, just a few more days/hours to vote in both competitions! We have surpassed our goal of 800 participants voting by 400% but we want more. If you haven’t seen the work of our students, check it out today and select your favorites. The PRiME Competition closes on Tuesday followed by the New Venture Fair on Wednesday.