Category: Education

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Aug. 25 — COVID-19 Testing Available – No cost. No appointment needed

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Week Day Drive Through Sites Monday through Friday 10 am to 7 pm
Moopark College, 7075 Campus Road, Moorpark
Ford Dealership, 128 S. Hallock Drive, Santa Paula

Weekend: Oxnard College, 4000 S. Rose Ave., Oxnard. The site is open Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Walk In Monday Through Friday 9 am to 6 pm
Ventura County Fairgrounds,10 W. Harbor Blvd in Ventura, Enter Gate 2.

Pop Up Testing: In addition to the regular testing locations there will be pop up testing sites offered in the coming weeks. Learn more about the locations and times in the image below.

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A Guide to Flourishing Financially and Emotionally During Chaotic Times

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If your relationship to money has become shaken in these unprecedented times, revive your prosperity pulse with “C.P.R., Core Prosperity Relief,” an inspirational transformative audio class offered in 15-minute day doses delivered direct to you September 1 through 30th. 

Hosted by Dr. James Mellon, a sought-after teacher, author and inspirational leader in the field of personal growth, the program has helped thousands of people break free from the limiting beliefs that have kept them from recognizing their wealth with purpose. 

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SBCC Math Tutorial Lab recognized as finalist for Examples in Excelencia

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On August 20, Excelencia in Education — an organization that works to accelerate Latino student success in higher education — announced that SBCC’s Math Tutorial Lab has been named a finalist for the 2020 Examples of Excelencia. Of this year’s 112 national submissions from 24 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., the SBCC program was one of six at the community college level recognized for its leadership in effectively serving Latino students.

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Bilingual report — CEC Launches Program to Continue Responding to Frontline Community Needs During COVID-19

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Community Environmental Council announces Community Ambassador Resilience and Equity Response (CARER), a new pilot program aimed to foster community resilience and support climate justice efforts by responding to immediate needs of frontline communities during the pandemic.

CARER’s primary goal is to provide critical outreach to frontline community members, sharing resources and information related to COVID-19 public health, food access, and tenant rights. One way they are doing this is by conducting direct bilingual outreach to frontline community members and convening online or phone-based house meetings.

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Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — APCD Air Quality Warning for Santa Barbara County

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The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District issued an Air Quality Warning for Santa Barbara County. Smoke from wildfires burning throughout the state, including in Monterey County, are affecting local air quality, and conditions may continue over the next several days. Due to elevated temperatures and stagnant air conditions, we are also experiencing increased ozone levels in regions of the county.

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Local Author donates 100% of Proceeds from First Children’s Book Dragons on the Purple Moon to Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation

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Local author Peter Martin is releasing his first book, Dragons on the Purple Moon in honor of his son’s successful recovery from brain cancer. He will be donating 100% of the proceeds to Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. 

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Bilingual report — Ventura County Complete Count Committee to encourage Census participation with special Census caravan event

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The Ventura County Complete Count Committee will lead a Census Caravan on Saturday, August 22. The caravan, which will have the participation of organizations and groups such as the Ventura County Mobile Library, Child Development Resources, and the US Census Bureau, will begin its route in Thousand Oaks at 9:30am and will end in Simi Valley around 3:00pm. The goal for the caravan, which will make its way through most cities in the county, is to encourage participation by residents before the Census ends on September 30.

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Oxnard College Receives $1.2 Million to Serve Disadvantaged College Students

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Oxnard College has received a $1,265,160 grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Education to support its TRIO Student Support Services program. TRIO programs are especially important to Oxnard College because they support the large number of first-generation and low-income college students who require additional services to help them stay in school, graduate and transfer to four-year universities. Through the federal grant, the college will serve 140 students annually over five years.

Congressperson Julia Brownley’s office notified Oxnard College in early August that it had earned a perfect score on its application, beating out strong competition for the grant.

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CEC Joins Born This Way Foundation for its Third Annual “#BeKind21” Campaign

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The Community Environmental Council (CEC) and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation on Aug. 19, with support from 165 additional partners, announced the launch of Born This Way Foundation’s third annual #BeKind21 Campaign. As communities across the world face the trauma of a pandemic, the ongoing racial inequalities, and a host of global challenges, this year’s campaign has been uniquely designed to be responsive to today’s movements, showcasing that kindness is not an empty gesture; rather, kindness is a verb. To be kind is to speak up. To be kind is to prioritize your mental wellness. To be kind is to advocate for a world that values, validates, and respects all people.

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Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 19 — Sign up for VC ALERT

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There are 54 new cases today (11 (20.4%) of which have a lab collection from August 12th or earlier), 626 additional people tested, and 1 additional death (65 year old male with comorbidity). Current doubling time is 85.7 days.

View today’s press conference at www.venturacountyrecovers.org.

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Ventura County Public Health Accepting School Waivers

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Ventura County Public Health has announced today that public and private elementary schools in Ventura County can submit school waiver applications to allow in-person instruction at their campuses. The waivers cover Tk through 6th grades.

In accordance with state guidelines, waivers may be granted “when requested by a local superintendent (or equivalent for charter or private schools), in consultation with labor, parent and community organizations. Local health officers must review local community epidemiological data, consider other public health interventions, and consult with the California Department of Public Health when considering a waiver request.”

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2020 RISE Up Award Winners Announced

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The RISE Up Awards recognize excellence in community service supporting RISE’s sexual abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence programs; the 2020 RISE Up Award winners are Megan Baliterra, Amber Hollarman, the Portola Inn, Cal Poly’s Safer, and Heidi Spencer.

RISE will present the awards at the 6th Wine Women & Shoes on September 13th at 1pm, online. Wine Women & Shoes is a wine and food tasting, boutique shopping experience complete with raffles, silent and live auctions, a fashion show, and the presentation of the 2020 RISE Up Awards.

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SBCC — The Bridge — SBCC to begin Fall fully online

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Superintendent/President Dr. Utpal K. Goswami announced an update regarding plans for the Fall 2020 semester. Given current community conditions, classes will start fully online. Although the plan is for all  courses to begin online, the College will be pursuing a very limited exemption for some classes that support essential and critical infrastructure. The Fall term starts Monday, Aug. 24.

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) Receives a $5,000 Grant from Farmers Insurance®

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) recently received a $5,000 grant from Farmers Insurance® to help fund COVID-19 relief efforts.

The grant will help provide healthy meals, high-speed internet access and academic support, vital enrichment programming to bridge gaps in virtual learning, social & emotional learning and more for vulnerable families and youth.

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Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — Historic Heat Wave & Energy Shortages – What You Need to Know

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There is a significant warming trend and heatwave impacting California and the rest of the West Coast that will put pressure on our energy grid. In order to avoid electricity shortages, we are asking businesses and residents to reduce energy usage in order to prevent service interruptions.  

It’s especially important to limit energy usage from 3 pm to 10 pm, especially air conditioning, electric car charging and other energy intensive technology.

Sign up to receive Flex Alert notifications from your utility provider to help California conserve energy during times of grid stress. You can also check out https://readysbc.org/psps/ for tips on what to do before, during, and after power loss.

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El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Ventura Comenzará de Otoño El Martes 18 de Agosto

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14 de agosto del 2020- El Distrito Escolar Unificado de Ventura (VUSD) comenzará las clases el martes 18 de agosto del 2020 utilizando un modelo de aprendizaje a distancia. Todos los estudiantes formarán parte del modelo WEAVE el cual permite una mezcla de herramientas y técnicas de aprendizaje para permitir una mayor interacción con los maestros, un mayor apoyo y una educación mejorada fuera del plantel escolar. Todos los distritos escolares del Condado de Ventura comenzarán con el aprendizaje a distancia durante el comienzo del semestre de otoño del 2020, sin embargo, la Mesa Directiva de Educación de VUSD decidió en julio que permanecerían en el aprendizaje a distancia hasta enero del 2021 para proporcionar estabilidad a los padres de familia. El Distrito también ha adoptado un entorno tecnológico 1:1 asegurando que cada estudiante reciba un dispositivo del distrito.

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Santa Paula Art Museum — It’s the Purr-fect Week to Make Some Art!

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Our recent, adorable visit from Lucky the dog got us thinking about how artists celebrate pets and animals in art, so with the help of Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center, the Museum’s August Art To-Go Bag is all about animals (see below). We also took a moment to appreciate the animal art in the Museum’s permanent collection. You’re probably quite familiar with Jessie Botke’s birds, but do you know about John Nichols and his beloved cat, Sespe Red? Hear the story behind the artwork. It’s part of our collection of local artist self-portraits. And be sure to check out this week’s outdoor art classes at the Museum below.

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Ventura County Civic Alliance — Welcome to Our Summer 2020 Livable Communities Newsletter

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We are in a revolution!!  These last 6 months have been nothing short of that. This is not true for just a couple of isolated area or topics, but in general across all walks of life.  Some aspects of the revolution have been like technology, where we knew we were going to change over the next decade, but now we are changing over in a matter of months, not years.  Other aspects of the revolution were more surprising.  Could any of us have predicted the rapid and comprehensive changes in social order and public policy that are being proposed for policing and justice reform?

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) Announces School Year Programs

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The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) is ready to assist parents with back-to-school programs and activities in addition to childcare.

The programs include academic support, assistance with online learning, sports & games, performing & fine arts, science, socialization, social emotional learning, and leadership development.

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Teatro de las Américas presents ‘Yo Cuento (I Tell)’ Zoom workshops on Aug. 18, 25, Sept. 8, 15

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YO CUENTO (I TELL) continues..
with James Donlon

Tuesdays: 
August 18, 25,
September 8, 15 
7-8PM 

Learn basic storytelling, acting, directing, and staging to produce an original Teatro work using your own personal stories.

James Donlon: actor, director, and playwright presenting his original performance work internationally for 5 decades. 
Film coach to Oscar winners.
Pre-registration required, no fees
info@teatrodelasamericas.org

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Oxnard Housing Authority Resident Services Youth Summer Mural Program installs “2020” mural in La Colonia area of Oxnard!

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Oxnard Housing Authority Resident Services Department from La Colonia is proud to announce the completion of the fifth mural installment of the Youth Summer Mural Program. This year’s mural is aptly named “2020”. The mural is located in the back parking lot of the Oxnard Housing Authority Resident Services Offices, located at 1500 Camino Del Sol, Oxnard.

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United Way of Ventura County — United to Help Homeless Veterans (COVID-19 Update)

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We hope this finds you well and you have a moment to read about the inspiring work of our team and partners. As a result of the generosity of community members like you, we’ve been able to temporarily house and provide daily meals for 44 veterans and 17 family members in local motels since April. We’ve also transitioned six of these veteran households to permanent housing and a total of 30 households have been permanently housed since our Landlord Engagement Program launched nine months ago. 

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CARES Summer Grant Program helps more than 500 CSUCI students stay on track

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A total of 539 students were able to stay on track with their studies, thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Summer Grant program at CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI).

Transfer Student Success Activity Director Veronica Montoya, who headed the grant program, was thrilled to see so many lives impacted by the$586,350 worth of funding that went toward the students’ education. Montoya said the value was not only in the class and what that student will eventually contribute to society, but also the psychological boost of staying on track, even after the global crisis had disrupted their lives. 

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Pioneer Valley High School ‘Link Crew’ Helps Out New Students

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The masked and physically distanced PVHS “Link Crew” projected school spirit to create a temporary break from COVID-19, helping freshman receive their schedules, ID cards, tablets and textbooks Thursday and Friday.

The “Link Crew”, junior and senior leaders, greeted the majority of the more than 800 incoming freshmen offering an early welcome in an environment designed to alleviate the stress of starting a new school. The student’s leaders also gave each freshman a goodie bag with tablet trouble-shooting tips, zoom information, distance learning guidance, a pencil, other school information and a lollipop.

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Laura Lizaola Barroso Selected as VCCCD Vice Chancellor of Human Resources

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Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) Chancellor Greg Gillespie has announced the appointment of Laura Lizaola Barroso as Vice Chancellor of Human Resources. Barroso has more than 28 years of experience in California within higher education and public agency. Since joining VCCCD in 2018, she has served as the Director of Human Resources Operations and as Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources.

In her new role, Barroso will provide collaborative senior administrative leadership across all functional areas within the District Office and Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges. She will have direct oversight of District recruitment, human resources operations, benefits, employee professional development and labor negotiations.

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CSUCI Associate Professor of Mathematics Selenne Bañuelos wins national award for extraordinary teaching practices

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California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) Associate Professor of Mathematics Selenne Bañuelos, Ph.D., remembers walking into her college math classes as an undergraduate and seeing no other women of color as tenure track faculty nor  Latinx women born in the U.S.

“The STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) world can be very lonely for women, especially for a woman of color,” Bañuelos said. “You can feel like you don’t fit in. At that moment, I had not met a female in academia — especially a woman with children.”

But a love for the complexity and possibilities of mathematics compelled her to keep going, and in late July, the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) awarded Bañuelos one of the top awards in the nation for a university math professor.

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Key Santa Barbara County Youth Mentoring Programs Merge

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The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) and Family Service Agency (FSA) announced that FSA’s Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring program has closed and South County mentoring matches have joined the School Based Mentoring Program at CADA as of July 2020.

CADA and FSA share similar goals of making a positive difference in the lives of young people and have been collaborating since April to facilitate a smooth transition for the youth, their parents, and their mentors.

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Museum of Ventura County — Archival Exquisite Corpse Project + “Hard Day’s Night” discussion with Ivor Davis

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The Museum partnered with Ventura College photography professors Brian Paumier and Jessie Groves for a new take on the exquisite corpse concept. Students were asked to use the Museum’s online photograph archive to find inspiration for a final project.
Presented are the original photograph screenshots the students selected and the images they created based on those selections.

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Campus and community welcome to audition for CSUCI’s first Virtual Choir

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Few can forget the Italians perched on windowsills serenading one another while quarantined with the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is with that same spirit of resilience that the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Chorus is inviting the campus and the community to audition for its first ever virtual chorus. 

“Our voices must sing and the song must endure and no pandemic can stop that,” said Dean Butler, CSUCI alumnus, choir member and Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) president. “Music throughout history has been the universal expression of healing, love, hope and peace.”

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County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 5

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There are 76 new cases today (46 (60.5%) of which have a lab collection from July 29th or earlier), 872 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (68 year old female and 96 year old male, both with comorbidities).

Current doubling time is 52.3 days.

The California Department of Public Health is experiencing delays in laboratory reporting. The information for August 5 is preliminary until the data system issue is resolved. Learn more by clicking here.

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SBCC announces hiring of two new deans

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As Santa Barbara City College prepares for the Fall 2020 semester, two well-respected employees will be assuming new roles as deans.

Paloma Arnold has been selected as the next Dean of Student Affairs. …

Elizabeth M. Imhof, Ph.D., has been chosen as the new Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.

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Outdoor Art Classes at the Santa Paula Art Museum

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While the Santa Paula Art Museum’s indoor galleries remain closed, its art classes have moved outside! All classes are being taught within the Museum’s outdoor courtyard to allow for art making while social distancing. Space is extremely limited as class sizes are being kept small, and preregistration is required. Register for class and read more about the Museum’s new policies for maintaining a safe learning environment on our website: www.santapaulaartmuseum.org/creativity.

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County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 4 — Community Forum on Aug. 5

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On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the County of Ventura will host a virtual Community Forum open to all members of the public online via Zoom to discuss the intersection of race and law enforcement in our community. The Community Forum will consist of a panel of County leaders and community representatives who will participate in a roundtable discussion, followed by questions from the public.

Click here for more information about the forum.

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County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Aug. 3

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Here’s your COVID-19 update from the County of Ventura from Friday-Sunday. There are 533 new cases today (231 (43.3%) of which have a lab collection from July 27th or earlier), 4,217 additional people tested, and 0 additional deaths; this includes reports from Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Current doubling time is 43.8 days.

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Bilingual commentary — County of Ventura to hold virtual community forum on the intersection of race and law enforcement on Aug. 5

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On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the County of Ventura will host a virtual Community Forum open to all members of the public online via Zoom to discuss the intersection of race and law enforcement in our community. The Community Forum will consist of a panel of County leaders and community representatives who will participate in a roundtable discussion, followed by questions from the public.

The August 5th Community Forum will be moderated by Monique Nowlin, County of Ventura Diversity and Inclusion Task Force representative and Deputy Director of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging. Panelists will include:

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Registration Open For New YMCA KEY Academy and Childcare During Upcoming School Year

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Southeast Ventura County YMCA is taking registrations for the Y’s KEY Academy to coincide with school openings in August. The KEY Academy is designed to enable parents to meet work demands while provide their children with a safe, structured environment for learning.

Parents can drop off their children at one of the three Y branches’ designated education centers. You can contact your local Y: the Conejo Valley YMCA in Thousand Oaks, the Simi Valley YMCA in Simi Valley, and the Yarrow Family YMCA in Westlake Village for more details.

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Carnegie Art Cornerstones — Meet Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales

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Vanessa’s story really embodies the spirit of the Carnegie Art Cornerstones mission. We aim to empower emerging artists to grow, create, and share their art. Our ability to do this in a traditional sense has been challenged, but artists like Vanessa, and the art she creates, are still incredibly important to our communities.

Cornerstones lifts emerging artists by providing them with resources, mentorship, and exposure that helps artists pursue dedicated careers – we believe this kind of work is vital to keeping art as the cornerstone of our local communities.

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County of Ventura COVID-19 update for July 29

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Good Evening, Here’s your COVID-19 update form the County of Ventura. There are 104 new cases today (53 (51.0%) of which have a lab collection from July 22nd or earlier), 636 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (86 year old female and 90 year old male, both with comorbidities).  Current doubling time is 41.2 days. Currently, the County of Ventura is on the state monitoring list for case rate per 100,000 population over 14 days and % of ICU beds available; in order for us to get off the monitoring list, we need to have less than 850 reported cases in a 14 day period which is an average of 60 cases a day. Total, there have been 73 deaths (age range 29-107 years; 45 males and 28 females; 35 Non-Hispanic White, 31 Hispanic, 4 Non-Hispanic Asian, 1 Non-Hispanic Black, 1 Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native and 1 Non-Hispanic Other). Current hospitalizations are 75 and current ICU is 25. 

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New Book Offers Guidelines For Happiness, Health, Success in A COVID-19 World

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A new book from Camarillo-based psychologist and author Dr. Noelle Nelson, “I Survived COVID-19, What Now?! Finding Happiness and Success in a Post COVID World” (available on Amazon), looks at how we can take what we’re learning from the pandemic during our forced introspection and turn it into a positive future.

“Whether it was our intention or not, we’re all learning things about ourselves during these long months of quarantine—how we think, work and dream, about how we interact with family, friends and the world,” says Nelson. “We are in a unique moment in time because of COVID-19. Everything is different now. It can feel positively overwhelming—one minute our lives are ‘reopening,’ the next minute they’re forced to closed again. It can drive us crazy if we’re not careful.”

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Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) Take Proactive Steps to Continue to Serve Community through the Pandemic

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As soon as COVID-19 made its way onto the scene, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) was proactive in their response starting in the spring and continuing throughout the summer. 

When the pandemic hit, the BGCGCV closed for two weeks to assess the COVID situation and then reopened under the guidance of health professionals and with the implementation of safety standards.

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CEC Launches Solarize Santa Barbara with Webinar on Solar and Battery Storage

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The Community Environmental Council (CEC) announced the launch of this year’s Solarize Santa Barbara – a community-led, group purchasing program for solar and battery storage systems open to residents of Southern Santa Barbara County from July 28 – October 31. CEC’s 2020 program is offered in partnership with the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria, and the County of Santa Barbara.

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Bilingual report — Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Online Meal Program Application & Cafeteria Pre-Pay

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The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District announces its policy to serve nutritious meals every school day under The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines.

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United Way of Santa Barbara County Delivers Impactful Virtual Fun in the Sun Program in Light of COVID-19

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Thanks to the generosity of over 50 funding partners and service delivery partners, United Way of Santa Barbara County’s (UWSBC) Fun in the Sun program has the capacity to support up to 350 children and families this year through a virtual format in light of COVID-19. Seven virtual sites are serving students from Carpinteria Unified School District, Santa Barbara Unified School District (4 school sites instead of its usual 2 school sites), Goleta Union School District, and school districts throughout the Santa Ynez Valley. 

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Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — Let’s Get Out of this Together

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America, and even our community, is very divided on how to respond to the strange times we are in. However, we must be united in concern about the futures of our children and grandchildren, preserving lives, and saving as many jobs and people from poverty.

How can we do all that?

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Bilingual commentary — Racism in Oxnard’s Past, Part III

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Last week we rummaged through Oxnard’s past and found some interesting and unsettling history regarding the former Colonial House restaurant and motel complex in the city’s downtown.  The ambiance had been designed to invoke the feeling of the “Old South,” as if people were visiting a Southern plantation, with all that that implied. 

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