Category: Local

EDC Business Alert- COVID-19 Updates & Small Business Resources

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Governor Newsom addressed the State of California yesterday, Thursday December 3rd regarding the new Regional Stay Home Order. This affects regions with less than 15% ICU availability. Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties are in the Southern California Region, which is at 20.6% ICU capacity remaining as of December 3, 2020. It is anticipated this Region will reach the metrics by early December. All three counties remain in the Purple Tier at the time being, but each have their own protocol regarding this new order. Please refer to your specific county’s communications in regards to business operations. For more information CLICK HERE.

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Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Launches Season of Hope to Help Families Facing Pediatric Cancer during the Holidays

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The holidays can be tough on families, especially this year during the pandemic and it has been even tougher for families in the Tri-Counties who have a child facing pediatric cancer. In light of this, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) has launched “Season of Hope,” a campaign that will run now through the holidays to help give these families a joyful holiday season and support them with basic needs going into 2021.

During this challenging year, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) has been providing even more services for families, including money for rent assistance, grocery gift cards, additional emotional support groups with licensed therapists, virtual and in-person tutoring, meals and care package delivery, and virtual family fun events to keep their kids engaged. Community support has made it possible for TBCF to provide additional financial assistance to families severely affected by the pandemic.

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¿Que hace la Orden Regional de Permanecer en Casa?

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La Orden Regional de Permanecer en Casa permanecerá en efecto por 3 semanas después de que sea activada y se les de instrucciones a los Californianos de permanecer en casa lo más que sea posible para limitar la mezcla de otros hogares que puede llevar a la propagación del COVID-19. Permite el acceso a (y viajar a) servicios críticos y permite las actividades al aire libre para preservar la salud física y mental de los californianos. Este cierre limitado ayudará a que se detenga el aumento y prevenga sobrecargar la capacidad regional de unidades de cuidados intensivos. 

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Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Dec. 3 — Regional Stay Home Order

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Today the Governor announced a Regional Stay Home Order, it will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU availability. It prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.

The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3-week period. Learn more about this order.

The State projects the Southern California Region, including Ventura County, to fall below 15% capacity as soon as tomorrow, and likely within a week.
When a region is placed under an order, these sectors will be closed:

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CSUCI welcomes four new foundation board members

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Collectively, the four new members of the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Foundation Board have decades of experience with the University, some dating back to when CSUCI was still an idea.

New board members and longtime CSUCI volunteers Cheryl Broome and retired pediatric dentist Mark Lisagor as well as Irene Pinkard, Ed.D., a 30-year resident of Ventura County and Santa Barbara financier Jonathan Wang.

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Peoples’ Self-Help Housing — Your support needed for our 50th Anniversary Year End Appeal!

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Since our founding in 1970, we have certainly changed as an organization, both in scope and scale, but what has remained constant during those five decades is the core of our mission – to provide affordable housing and supportive services to our residents.

For those who want to pursue the American Dream of ownership, we help convert their sweat and building commitment into a down payment for a home; for others, we provide the finest in affordable housing as one of the best developers, property managers and service providers on the Central Coast.

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CSUCI ranks as a Top 20 college in the nation for social mobility 

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CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is once again on the Top 20 list of CollegeNET’s 2020 Social Mobility Index (SMI) national rankings. The campus also made the Top 20 last year. 

This year’s rankings measure social mobility for 2019 with CSU and University of California (UC) systems dominating the 2020 rankings, accounting for 70% of the Top 20 spots this year.  

The seventh annual 2020 SMI is being released at a time when studies are showing that the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately affecting low-income students, forcing them to abandon, delay or alter their pursuit of a college degree and the potential that degree provides for social mobility—when in fact it’s never been more important to stay on track. 

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Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Dec. 2

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Good Afternoon, There are 794 new cases today, 3,650 additional people have been tested and there have been 0 additional deaths. Current doubling time is 50.9 days. There are 102 people in the hospital and 33 in the ICU.

Due to an expected wind event tomorrow the Moorpark College Testing location will be closed. It will reopen Friday and have new hours: 7 days a week from 10-7 pm.

Please stay up to date on testing locations, hours and wait times at www.venturacountyrecovers.org.

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EDC Partner News- CSUCI Entrepreneur Survey

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In collaboration with a group of international researchers, CSU Channel Islands Entrepreneurship & Small Business Institute is studying how entrepreneurs deal with the consequences of COVID-19 during this most unusual year.

This research focuses on the impact of emotional intelligence and resiliency on entrepreneurial well-being world-wide during a black swan event. Upon taking an 8-minute survey you can see your scores for emotional intelligence and resilience. You can opt in to receive information via email to learn more about what your scores mean and to explore the range of results from the study.

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Pioneer Valley High School Senior AVID student, Evelyn Letona Robles, won the prestigious QuestBridge Match Scholarship which entitles her to a full-ride scholarship to Yale University

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A PVHS AVID student who achieved high school greatness despite many challenges has been rewarded with a full-ride scholarship to Yale University.

Evelyn Letona Robles, ranked first in the Class of 2021 with a weighted GPA of 4.83, won the prestigious QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship. The program connects high-achieving seniors from low-income backgrounds with full four-year scholarships to the nation’s top educational institutions.

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Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Dec. 1

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Good Evening, There are 127 new cases today, 2,111 additional people have been tested and there have been 2 additional deaths (98 year old male and 85 year old female). Our thoughts are with the families of those who have passed away. Current doubling time is 48.4 days. There are 103 people in the hospital and 29 in the ICU.

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County of Ventura’s First Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer Announced

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After a nationwide recruitment that garnered over 150 applicants, the County of Ventura has selected Phin Xaypangna (pronounced Pin) as the County of Ventura’s first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.

“Phin is a dynamic and results-driven leader with more than twenty years of experience in diversity, equity and inclusion,” said County CEO Mike Powers. “Her extensive experience will serve our County well. We are deeply committed to ensuring that all employees and those we serve have a sense of safety, belonging, justice and equity and this position will help lead us forward in improving our efforts.”

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Bilingual commentary — Not Since the Civil War

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For the past half-dozen years or so, there have been two warring governments in Libya. The resulting disorganization and chaos had led to a power vacuum that terrorists were only too happy to fill. 

Venezuela’s presidential elections in 2018 resulted in two presidents claiming victory.  The United States was quick to condemn the strongman who refused to concede, despite a vote count that was deeply flawed. …Could these scenarios presage our fate here in the United States, where only months ago we’d said, “Oh, that could never happen here”?

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Santa Barbara County Food Action Network — Support local food system resilience by donating to SBCFAN

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Local is always in season! We work year-round to support efforts that strengthen our local food system.

Give back this holiday season by donating to our ongoing work of connecting, aligning and activating a network of food system actors to develop a robust local food economy, a healthy and just community, and a well-stewarded, resilient foodshed.

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Bilingual report — Oxnard College offers English as a Second Language Classes 100% online

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Learn English form home with online classes at Oxnard College. Registration for ESL classes are open for the spring 2021 semester at Oxnard  College. Credit and non-credit classes start January 18 and will be delivered online with flexible morning and afternoon schedules.

Instructors will contact each enrolled student to provide instructions on the program used for online classes.

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Give A Holiday Gift of Whale Watching & Excursions To The Channel Islands With Island Packers Gift Certificates

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Island Packers, the official boat concessionaire to the Channel Islands National Park, now makes it easy to shop for the upcoming holidays by offering seasonal whale watching holiday gift certificates that can be purchased via phone.  The family owned and operated company provides shoppers with the convenience of having gift certificates mailed or emailed to friends and family.

The company suggests a gift of an Island Packers excursion for the nature enthusiast on their list, and gives shoppers a myriad of options in which to choose that include everything from half-day Whale Watching trips to an all-day excursions to Anacapa or Santa Cruz islands.  The company offers daily departures from Ventura Harbor Village in Ventura, California. Visit www.islandpackers.com.

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Downtown Oxnard — Give the gift of joy on Giving Tuesday

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Dear #OxnardStrong Family,
Please help us light the way to a better, brighter 2021 by donating to the Oxnard Downtowners Foundation “Season of Hope” Fundraiser.
Local merchants who’ve faithfully supported AYSO, Little League, and many other causes, now need your help to keep the Heart of the City alive and vibrant. 

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CLU School of Management — Upward – School of Management Community Newsletter

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Even in these unusual times, California Lutheran University’s School of Management continues to provide a stimulating environment for our learners and the community around us. Today, we are once again happy to share a selection of exciting news, updates and upcoming events to our communities in Southern California and beyond.

If you want to stay current on things going on at the School of Management, please follow our brand-new page on LinkedIn.

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SBCC Theatre Arts Department announces Sara Evelyn Smith Scholarship winners

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The Santa Barbara City College Theatre Arts Department is proud to announce the winners of the Sara Evelyn Smith Monologue Competition. These talented students competed with monologues over a Zoom format and were awarded $1,000 each for the 2020-21 school year. The Sara Evelyn Smith Scholarship competition is judged by faculty members of the Theatre Arts Department and Anne Smith Towbes, who was a past member of the SBCC Foundation Board and instrumental in establishing the scholarship in 2001.

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Friendship Center — December Newsletter – Holiday Hacks for Happiness

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“We are very thankful for the caring wonderful people that work at Friendship Center who have brought many great moments to my life. Your Staff are always willing to go beyond what is expected and that is what Makes Friendship Center!”
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“We want to thank all the staff and everyone that worked so hard to put together and deliver such a wonderful lunch. There was enough food to serve not only Jon and myself but also for my frail 86 year old mom and my step-dad Jay, who is on hospice at home. Jay loved the lunch and was able to eat all of his. For Jay, the pecan pie brought back happy memories of his mom who had a pecan tree in the front yard and made delicious pecan pies. It was a story we never heard before and it made him happy to share it with us.

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Bilingual report — Community Health Centers of the Central Coast Receives Quality of Care Awards

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CenCal Health, the publicly-sponsored health plan for Medi-Cal in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, annually recognizes the work of local network physicians and healthcare centers through its Primary Care Providers (PCP) Incentive Top Performer Awards. The awards acknowledge PCPs across both counties who provide high-quality healthcare and control utilization costs for assigned patients from the health plan’s membership. There are four award categories: pediatrics, family practice, internal medicine, and federally-qualified health centers. The awards are based on 2019 performance scores with the results announced to providers in 2020.

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Casa De Vida’s Year-End Update

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As you all know, this year has been a year like no other, and it has been no exception for Casa De Vida. Yet, the Casa De Vida Board, Staff and myself have been left in awe as we have seen how God has continued to keep His hand upon this ministry.

This year marks our 15th anniversary, and we are truly grateful for God’s keeping power and the support and love from all our friends, families and business associates who have supported Casa De Vida in one way or another.

With Covid-19 we have had to make adjustments to the home’s daily schedule for precautionary measures. Family visits have been altered to shorter time periods and confined to one area of the house for the safety of everyone’s health. Church attendance, inside and outside AA/NA meetings turned into Zoom meetings. The zoom meetings have been great for the men because it has allowed them to interact with others throughout the United States who also struggle with addiction.

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Bilingual report — November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election Final Results and Certification Announced

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Ventura County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters Mark Lunn announced today the final election results for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election with 100% of precincts reporting.

A total of 429,922 ballots were cast in this election. Final results for this election yielded the highest voter turnout to date of 85.9%. The county had a record-breaking total of 500,442 registered voters.                                                             

“Despite an ongoing pandemic, this was the largest election in county history. This is a record on all accounts,” Lunn stated.

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Port of Hueneme & City Partnership Reinvigorates Community Park Project

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The Port and City joined forces to replace crumbling bridge infrastructure at Bubbling Springs Park for the local community. The Port invested $22,000 to rebuild the Farmer’s Bridge with in-kind services from the City and volunteers from the NBVC Seabees.

“Since 2015, the Port has invested over $630,000 into the Community Benefit Fund that brings to fruition projects to benefit the local community, like the Farmer’s Bridge improvement project”, said Oxnard Harbor District Board President Jess J. Ramirez. “The spirit of these investments is to tackle some of the local issues that we can fix and improve outside of the Port’s everyday goods movement operations.”

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Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green teams up with CSUCI to help students graduate on time 

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The Trade Desk (TTD) Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jeff Green believes the same data science used at TTD can also be used to address disparities in education. So, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) and TTD have teamed up to support students to stay in school and on track.

Based in Ventura, TTD is a billion-dollar global digital advertising company that uses data to help ad digital buyers best target their marketing efforts—to get the best value for their money, so to speak.  

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Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara — We’ve almost reached our fundraising goal!

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There is still time to join The Roddick Foundation, Hutton Parker Foundation, California Arts Council, and MCASB Board of Trustees in support of MCASB’s Perfect Match Campaign. Your contributions directly support MCASB in our continued goal of maintaining and advancing meaningful, artistic engagement within our Santa Barbara community. We are only $20,000 away from our final goal, and we could not have done it without you! Thank you for your support and generosity! 

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OC LIVE Conversations — 2020 Election Analysis

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The 2020 election results are in! As the new administration prepares to take power we can feel our future changing. Yet many challenges remain, from the pandemic to systemic inequities and racism. What does it all mean for Oxnard College, our students, and the larger community?

Join OC Professor Tim Fontenette as he leads a powerful discussion of the 2020 election and its impact on our community. Joining Prof. Fontenette are OC President Luis Sanchez, Professor and Coach Erin Lawley, Professor Jose Maldonado, and Professor Dolores Ortis.

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Girls Inc. of Carpinteria Launches Operation Holiday Cheer to Provide Gifts for Local Girls

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Girls Inc. of Carpinteria on Nov. 23 announced the launch of Operation Holiday Cheer, a holiday giving program created to provide local girls and families with a brighter holiday season following the challenges of this year. Girls Inc. will collaborate with Presenting Sponsor Cox Communications to purchase holiday gifts for local girls and their families.

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Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice to present virtual 36th annual ‘Light Up A Life’ celebration on Dec. 3

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Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice will present a virtual 36th annual “Light Up A Life — Remember & Celebrate the Life of Someone Special,” from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3

An important part of our Light Up a Life season has always been the four memorial programs we hold throughout Ventura County.

Out of an abundance of caution and respect for the safety of the families who attend, Livingston will hold a virtual program this year. Although we cannot gather in person, we can still honor those we hold close to our hearts and feel gratitude for the beautiful ways they enriched our lives.

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Guest commentary — On Immigration (Migration), Genocide, Remembrance, Atonement and Reparation to the African-American and Indigenous Nations of America

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Approximately 30,000 years ago our early ancestors began migrating crossed the Bering Straits.  Between 15,000 to 20,000 years ago these first migrants continued their long journey into what is now known as the Americas. We the Indigenous of the “Americas” are the progeny of these first migrant. In the ensuing 15,000 years our Indigenous ancestors would continue their migration from what is now known as the North Pole all the ways south to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

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Santa Paula Art Museum — Giving Thanks and Finding Inspiration

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Happy Thanksgiving from the Santa Paula Art Museum! We are feeling extra grateful following the success of our recent online Fine Art Auction Fundraiser. Thank you to everyone who participated. With your support of our auction and raffle, the Museum was able to raise over $40,000! Proceeds from the auction are more important than ever this year and will enable us to continue serving our community during this challenging time.

We especially want to thank the local artists who donated art to this year’s auction: Shannon Celia, Kevin Gleason, Annie Hoffman, Virginia Kamhi, Beverly Lazor, Susan Petty, Anette Power, Pamela Strautman, Patricia Prescott Sueme, Laura Wambsgans, Sharon Weaver, and Chris Zambon (click on any artist name to view their website).

We wish you a safe and joyful holiday. If you find yourself in need of inspiration this weekend, we invite you to a Virtual Artists Talk on how to find it (see below)! And don’t forget that Sunday, November 29 is #MuseumStoreSunday and #ArtistsSunday.

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Moorpark College Recognized as a 2020 Champion of Higher Education

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Moorpark College is pleased to announce that it has been chosen by the Campaign for College Opportunity as a 2020 Champion of Higher Education for the fifth consecutive year. Of the state’s 116 community colleges, only 12 received this prestigious award. A virtual ceremony was held Nov. 19 with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Assemblymember Marc Berman, who recognized the honorees from California community colleges and California State University campuses.

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Port of Hueneme – Thanksgiving Greetings

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During this Thanksgiving holiday we reflect on the adversities many of us have faced during this unprecedented year. Through it all, we have seen first-hand the strength in unity with all our Port partners and with you, our amazing community! We are thankful for our customers, our community partners and our amazing Port team! Together, our #CommittedToCommunity Drive has helped provide food and resources to 26,000 families and over 760,000 pounds of produce. We intend to continue and stand alongside our community during these challenging times. Together, we will overcome and conquer this challenge together.
 
The Port crew wishes all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving from MVC + Meme Contest + More!

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A very Happy Thanksgiving to all from the Museum of Ventura County! While most of us are settling in at home to celebrate a much quieter holiday than in past years, most will still put a roasted turkey on the table. To residents of the Santa Clara River Valley, a Deeter turkey was always part of the celebration in times past.

The Deeters left Oklahoma and settled in Fillmore in 1938 and opened the Deeter Turkey Ranch that same year. Son, Calvin Deeter, took over the ranch in the 1950’s.

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Ventura County Arts Council — The latest art shows and opportunities from VCAC

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As our world remains turned upside down by a global pandemic, so too do we remain unable to gather to experience art together in the usual ways. But of course, artists are a creative bunch, and many in our community are finding new ways to provide and enjoy inspiration through art.

In this edition of our newsletter, we have a few new things to inspire you, including a new show in our online gallery, a public art exibitionthat you can enjoy while observing social distancing, a new episode of our radio show, TEEN CENTRIC, and video poetry from Ventura County Poet Laureate Luzmaria Espinosa. We also have an important COVID-19 impact survey that we hope you will take a few minutes to fill out.

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EDC Business Alert- CA Manufacturers’ Recovery Support Program

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With the pandemic dramatically redefining the landscape for California manufacturers, the Economic Development Collaborative is committed to helping businesses survive, recover, and thrive as they navigate through the challenges. In partnership with CMTC’s California Manufacturing Network, the EDC’s Small Business Development Center provides direct support to manufacturers across Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

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