Business, Cultural, Family, Government, Local, News

Bennett, Rivas and Limon introduce Farmworker Resource Center legislation

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Assemblymembers Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), Robert Rivas (D-Holister) and Senator Monique Limon (D-Santa Barbara), introduced legislation today to establish a state-wide grant program for counties to create farmworker resource centers.

“The Covid pandemic demonstrated how valuable it was to have county employees who have developed trusted relationships with this important community,” said Assemblymember Bennett, “and the agriculture industry and the State of California need farmworkers who feel valued respected and supported.  There are so many things for low-income non-native speakers to navigate.  The Farmworker Resource program can help them tremendously.”

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Government, Local, News

Bilingual report — Alexander Hamilton appointed Oxnard’s Fire Chief

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City Manager Alexander Nguyen has appointed Alexander Hamilton as Fire Chief, effective February 20, 2021. Hamilton has served as the Interim Fire Chief for the City following the retirement of Chief Darwin Base on August 31.

“Alex has thrived in the Interim Chief role, and I have faith in his ability to modernize fire services and enhance the fire department’s role protecting the safety of our community,” said City Manager Alexander Nguyen.

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Cultural, Finance, Government, Health, Local, Locales, News, Noticias

Bilingual report — More Than $13 Million in Rental and Utility Assistance Funds Made Available by the County of Santa Barbara through United Way of Santa Barbara County

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United Way of Santa Barbara County (UWSBC) has more than $13 million in rental and utility assistance funds generously allocated by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for eligible County of Santa Barbara residents, that have experienced a loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Emergency Rent Assistance Program is intended to prevent homelessness by providing rent assistance to residents who can demonstrate the need for rental support. 

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Cultural, Education, Local, News, Youth

Four Pioneer Valley High School Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) taking part in annual annual FCCLA competitions

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Four PVHS Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members are competing in this year’s annual FCCLA competitions, with hopes they will place at region and move on to the state level where scholarships, prizes and awards can be earned.

Once students created their projects and the supplemental materials, they had to record a video of themselves as if they were presenting to a panel of judges. Results will be shared during this year’s virtual State Leadership Meeting in March.

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Commentary, Cultural, Education, Family, Health, Local, News

United Way of Ventura County — ‘Giving our children the smiles they deserve’ and more news

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February is National Children’s Dental Health month. Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease and unmet need of children in California. More than 50% of California’s kindergartners have a history of dental decay. Nearly 25% of California’s children, ages 0-11, have never been to a dentist. When children don’t get the care they need, there are costs to taxpayers and families – the cost of emergency room visits for preventable dental problems and missed school days resulting in a loss of attendance-based school district funding.

Through the Building Healthy Smiles Initiative, United Way and its partners work to reduce dental disease in Ventura County through education, care coordination, and advocacy. Our goal is to eliminate untreated tooth decay for children in Ventura County. Pre-pandemic, over 2,500 children received oral health assessments in 2019 alone.

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Cultural, Government, Health, Local, Locales, News, Noticias, Salud, Seniors

Bilingual report — County of Ventura COVID-19 Update for Feb. 17 — Vaccine Update

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Frequently Asked Question: How do I get my 2nd dose appointment?

After receiving your first dose, you will become eligible for your second dose after a waiting period of 21 days if you received Pfizer and 28 days if you received Moderna.

You do not need to receive your second dose on the exact date you become eligible. You have a window of 6 weeks from getting your first dose to receive your second dose. Please do not schedule your second dose earlier than recommended. Refer to your vaccination card, which will list the date you received your first dose.

There are three ways to secure a 2nd dose appointment:

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Government, Local, News

Bennett introduces legislation to provide remote access to courts

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Newly elected Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) introduced legislation today to modernize open court proceedings by requiring courts to provide remote access for the public and media.

AB 716 strikes a balance between meaningful access and court flexibility, without limiting a judge’s ability to hold closed proceedings. The bill would require courts to provide the public and the media with remote access to hearings, via internet or telephonic services, during open court proceedings.

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Education, Government, Health, Local, News, Youth

Improving COVID-19 Case Rates Could Soon Allow More Elementary Schools to Reopen

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Declining COVID-19 case rates could soon remove a roadblock that has been preventing some Ventura County elementary schools from reopening for in-person instruction. Several local school districts already reopened their elementary schools when Ventura County was in the red tier on the state’s coronavirus watch list or by receiving waivers while the County is in the more restrictive purple tier.

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Education, Local, News, Youth

Channel Islands Maritime Museum Sponsors Whale Coloring Page Contest as Part of its Ongoing 30th Anniversary Celebrations

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The Channel Islands Maritime Museum (CIMM) is happy to announce its March activity in celebration of its 30th anniversary year. Local artist Brett Bednorz has created a wonderful whale “totem” coloring page for the Museum in honor of the magnificent animals that are so often seen off the local coast. Coloring contest participants are invited to let their creativity and imagination run wild. There will be four age categories, Adults? 18 years and up, Teens ? 13?17 years, Kids – 7?12 years, and Kids ? 6 years and under. One coloring winner will be selected in each age group.

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Business, Education, Government, Local, News, Youth

Santa Maria High School breaks ground on new classroom/administration building

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The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Education and district officials on Feb. 16 held a groundbreaking for the Santa Maria High School 50 classroom/administration building that is projected to be completed in April 2023.

The new building will help ease the congestion on Camino Colegio, that small dead-end street, now the front entrance. It will also create permanent classrooms and eliminate nearly all portable classrooms.

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Cultural, Education, Local, News, Youth

Santa Maria High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members shine at the Virtual Gold Coast Section Competitive Event Conference

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Fourteen Santa Maria High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) members recently shined at the Virtual Gold Coast Section Competitive Event Conference.

The students participated in various business & financial, entrepreneurship and software systems development career paths to qualify for the FBLA State Leadership Conference in April. The Saints Zoomed through the exams in professional business attire and captured several top awards.

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Cultural, Government, Health, Local, News, Seniors, Women, Youth

Bilingual report — County of Ventura COVID-19 Update

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Vaccine Update – now open to 65 and older. Appointments open weekly.

Vaccines are in limited supply throughout the State of California. Appointments are full at this time. The current phase in Ventura County is Phase 1A: Healthcare workers, long-term care residents and now 65 and older.

Appointments are limited because of the limited supply of vaccines. It will take time to secure an appointment if you are in the current phase. The County of Ventura wants you to have a vaccine and is advocating for more vaccines.

Once more appointments open a message will be sent. At that time, community members who are eligible to be vaccinated may:

1) Register online www.venturacountyrecovers.org/vaccine-information/portal/.
2) Those with limited computer/internet access may call the phone registration line at 805-477-7161. The phone line is open Monday through Friday 8:00-5:00.

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Business, Education, Local, News, Technology

VCCCD Receives Statewide CISOA Technology Excellence Team Award

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When the COVID-19 pandemic required Ventura County Community College District’s employees to transition to remote work in March, the District’s information technology team faced a challenge. They needed to provide over 500 employees with an immediate, reliable secure process for accessing their core applications and files. A transition process that historically would take six to 10 weeks, the IT team did in 10 days. They accomplished this feat by evaluating, selecting and implementing Amazon AppStream 2.0, a fully managed application and desktop streaming service built on Amazon Web Services.

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Business, Education, Local, News

Studies show CSUCI’s early shift to virtual instruction helped prevent further COVID infections in the county 

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Two national studies about college campuses and COVID-19 suggest that the California State University’s (CSU) early decision to pivot all 23 of the CSU campuses to virtual instruction went a long way toward keeping communities safer throughout the state. 

“Both reports carried a similar message that campuses can be super-spreaders of the virus,” said Vice Chair of the CSUCI Academic Senate and Professor of Mathematics Jason Miller, Ph.D., who reviewed the two studies and extrapolated the results for CSUCI. 

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Business, Commentary, Cultural, Government, Health, Local, News, Seniors

Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — Limited Vaccines Available for 65+ Starting Tuesday & More Mask Guidance

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Residents of Santa Barbara County who are age 65 and older will be eligible to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Tuesday, February 16, 2021. This expanded eligibility means that local health care providers, pharmacies, hospitals, and Public Health vaccination sites can open appointments to those 65+ once vaccines become available to them. Vaccine supplies are still very limited and health care providers are simultaneously ensuring those that received a first dose will also be able to receive a second dose.

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Cultural, Education, Health, Local, News, Seniors

LEON surprises seniors with gifts, Valentine’s Day message

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Yesterday, the Latino Elder Outreach Network (LEON) surprised 400 isolated seniors in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria, Isla Visa, Santa Maria, and Lompoc with goodie bags and Valentine’s Day cards to share a message of support during the pandemic.  LEON is exploring the expansion of its network to North County and used the opportunity to introduce itself to seniors and organizations in Lompoc and Santa Maria.

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Business, Education, Local, News

Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) — Free Weekly Webinar Schedule

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The Economic Development Collaborative encourages you to sign up for our no-cost webinars. Space is limited. Register today!

COVID-19 Business Resources – EIDL, PPP, UI and Grants

Alternating Wednesdays & Fridays @ 12:00 pm
Next Webinar: February 19, 2021

The EDC invites you to join our webinar series on alternative Wednesdays and Fridays at 12:00 pm to answer questions about EIDL, PPP, UI, Grants and all currently available COVID-19 related business resources. Please register in advance. Space is limited.

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Business, Education, Family, Government, Local, News

Ventura County Civic Alliance — Livable Communities Newsletter

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Welcome to Our Winter 2021 Livable Communities Newsletter

As we recognized last quarter, COVID-19 is not only still with us, but it also casts a shadow over everything we think we know, including our understanding of the 3 Es that are the foundation of the Ventura County Civic Alliance: Economy, Environment, and Equity.  
 
Therefore, it is still fitting that this quarter’s Livable Communities Newsletter explores different aspects of the 3 Es and Livable Communities in a COVID-19 world

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Business, Cultural, Events, Family, Local, News, Youth

Santa Paula Art Museum — A Small Surprise

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Happy Valentine’s Day to You and Happy Anniversary to Us

We’ve said it before, but we find it so fitting that the Museum’s anniversary falls on Valentine’s Day–because we are so in love with this place! It has been eleven years since the doors of the Santa Paula Art Museum first opened, and we have only our supporters to thank for each and every year. Thank you for helping us to build and sustain a place where we can share our love–for the arts, for learning, and for our community.

This year, artist Anette Power is helping us to celebrate the Museum’s anniversary with a special addition to her recently unveiled virtual exhibit Silver Linings: Journey of Light. Scroll down for a small surprise!

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Cultural, Education, Entertainment, Events, Local, News

Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara — Introducing Collectors Series

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Have you ever questioned what it means to be a collector? 

In our new series we will be sitting down with artists and collectors for an in-depth conversation on the subject! This Thursday, February 18, 2021 kicks off the first installment of Collectors Series, a behind-the-scenes dive into what it means to collect contemporary art. 

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Business, Cultural, Government, Health, Local, News, Seniors, Women, Youth

Bilingual report — County of Ventura COVID-19 Update — Vaccine Update – now open to 65 and older

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There are 453 new COVID-19 cases. There have been 6,537 new tests performed for a total of 1,051,626 total tests performed. There are 226 people who are currently hospitalized and 52 in the ICU.

There have been 18 additional deaths: 75 year old male, 72 year old male, 87 year old male, 56 year old male, 81 year old male, 74 year old male, 56 year old female, 82 year old male, 79 year old male, 51 year old male, 64 year old male, 89 year old male, 48 year old male, 53 year old male, 80 year old male, 89 year old female, 62 year old male, and a 85 year old male

We extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those who have passed away.

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Business, Government, Health, Local, News

Bilingual report — County of Ventura launches COVID-19 Vaccine pilot program

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A COVID-19 vaccine pilot program was launched on Feb. 11 for farmworkers at Kimball Ranches-El Hogar and Rancho Simpatica.

The County’s Farmworker Resource Program team was on site to provide language support in Mixteco, Purepecha, Zapotec and Spanish. Educational materials, masks and hand sanitizer were also provided.

We appreciate the hard work of our Farmworker Resource Program and Public Health Teams in supporting our agricultural community during this time and throughout the year!

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Commentary, Cultural, Local

Bilingual commentary — The Lesson of the Hawk and the Crow

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The other day, as I sat through yet another Zoom meeting, I heard an unusual series of squawks outside. I thought that maybe I was hearing an angry animal, or, God forbid, an angry neighbor just outside my home.

As I stuck my head out the patio door, I looked up to see a crow persecuting a hawk, trying to make the hawk’s life miserable. The crow would fly straight toward the ascending hawk, miss it entirely on purpose, fly out circularly, only to rampage back in the direction of the hawk, screeching loudly and flying tight circles around it as if to maximize its level of irritability and arrogance. The crow was acting as if it were the ultimate gadfly, trying to provoke the hawk to do something stupid.

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Education, Local, News, Youth

Santa Maria Joint Union High School District celebrates National School Counseling and Guidance Week

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National School Counseling and Guidance Week, sponsored by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), was celebrated from Feb. 1-5 at the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District.

This week focused public attention on the unique contributions of school counselors and guidance & support professionals within U.S. school systems and highlights the tremendous impact they can have in helping students achieve success and plan for a career.

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