CSUCI Fall 2021 application period opens October 1 with changed requirements

Freshmen and upper division transfer students are invited to apply for CSU Channel Islands’ (CSUCI) fall 2021 semester beginning Oct. 1 through Dec. 4.

The California State University (CSU) system has temporarily lifted requirements that first-time freshmen submit their SAT and ACT scores for admission for fall 2021. The temporary change will also apply to winter 2022 and spring 2022 admission cycles.

CFROG Announces New Executive Director

The Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas (CFROG) Board of Directors announced today that Liz Beall has been selected to serve as CFROG’s new Executive Director, effective this Thursday, October 1st, 2020. “CFROG’s Board is excited to welcome Liz Beall as our new Executive Director.” said John Brooks, President of CFROG’s Board. “Liz is an outspoken advocate for environmental justice and has the vision, perseverance, and knowledge needed to achieve CFROG’s goals.”

EDC Business Alert- What do I do with the government aid I’ve received?

We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has been impacting business owners in many different ways. With each new regulation it can be difficult to apply general advice to your specific business.

Our no-cost, individualized consulting can help discuss what to do with the PPP, EIDL, and additional government aid you have received.

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Sept. 25

Good afternoon, There are 51 new cases today (4 (7.8%) of which have a lab collection from September 18th or earlier), 833 additional people tested, and 3 additional deaths (68 year old female, 37 year old female, and 99 year old male, all with comorbidities). The current doubling time was 121.4 days.

Ventura County is currently in the purple tier which they have designated as widespread transmission as of September 22. Our current data published as of September 22 is 7.4 (purple tier) for the case rate and 3.8% (orange tier) for the positivity rate for the measurement period ending September 12; this will keep us in the purple tier until the next measurement which will be on September 29.

Food Distribution Event to be held Sept. 26 for Hispanic Heritage Month to Support Essential Frontline Farmworkers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Latino community leaders and critical donors are taking action to support farm working families in Ventura County. These essential workers have not stopped working to feed Californians and the nation before, during, and after COVID 19 pandemic hit the US.  The campaign, known as “Feeding the Frontline: Feeding our Farmworkers,” will be hosting a food distribution event to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month with a “Day of Service” on September 26, 2020. There would have been additional sites but for surges that have occurred in many of these communities.

Commentary — No time to stop filling out U.S. Census form, registering to vote

The year 2020 will go down as one of the most challenging years this nation has faced. A continuing pandemic, large nationwide demonstrations for civil rights, a contentious election campaign season — all during a time when the nation was attempting to complete the 2020 Census.

Now, there is word that the Sept. 30 deadline to complete the Census may be pushed back to its original Oct. 31, 2020 pandemic-altered deadline: Please see — CNN —  Federal judge orders nationwide 2020 census counting to continue through October 31.

But since the ruling is subject to appeal, and nothing else appears predictable during 2020, it would be best to continue to fill out those Census forms as quickly as possible.

Oxnard City Hall getting a fresh new look with mural by Mauricio Ramirez

Oxnard’s drab City Hall will soon be sporting a fresh new look  thanks to muralist Mauricio Ramirez.

The mural, which takes up the entire side of the three-story building, was highlighted in the Ventura County Star story of Dec. 8, 2019: Oxnard’s past, future to be represented in new City Hall murals

It is one of two murals being placed on the city hall building by Ramirez and Celeste Byers.

Ramirez’s mural, which focuses on Oxnard’s future, features a Latina graduate, rapper Anderson .Pakk., an African American girl and a child wearing traditional Mexican dress.

CSUCI Chicana/o Studies faculty member wins award for virtual lesson plans that include spinning vinyl and Penny Dreadfuls

The year is 1938. The Third Reich is rising along with radio evangelism and The City of Angels is constructing the freeways that will transform it into a metropolis. When a grisly murder shocks the city, the first Chicana/o in the Los Angeles Police Department, Tiago Vega, and his partner, Lewis Michener, investigate while being pulled into the deep traditions of Mexican American folklore.

CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies Nicholas Centino, Ph.D. was recently honored for his use of the compelling, atmospheric “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” series on Showtime and several other creative teaching twists—innovation that continued when CSUCI’s classes went virtual with the COVID pandemic.

Bilingual report — Ventura County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters Mark Lunn Announces Important Details Regarding November 3, 2020 General Election

Under Executive Order, the Governor declared the November 3, 2020 General Election an all Vote By Mail election in the state of California. County Clerk-Recorder, Registrar of Voters Lunn stated, “With the current Coronavirus pandemic and the confluence of the flu season upon us, I encourage all voters to utilize the Vote By Mail ballot they receive at home to take advantage of the health and safety measures that voting by mail provides.”

Bilingual commentary — Our Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage

Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the greatest classical musicians of all time, composed a musical piece entitled (in translation) “Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Opus 112.”  Beethoven was inspired by the eternally stirring poetry of the renowned philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, whom he had met and to whom he dedicated this work.

Two Ventura County Schools Win National Blue Ribbon Honors

Two Ventura County Schools have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2020 by the U.S. Department of Education. The schools were selected based on or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. The Ventura County winners are among 367 public and private schools to be selected nationwide. The local honorees are:

Meadows Arts and Technology Elementary School in Thousand Oaks
Charter school authorized by the Ventura County Office of Education

Weathersfield Elementary School in Thousand Oaks
Conejo Valley Unified School District

U.S. Latinos Create 8th Largest Economy in the World

The 2020 edition of the U.S. Latino GDP Report was released today by the Latino Donor Collaborative, a non-profit organization dedicated to reshaping the perception of Latinos as part of the American social mainstream.

“The report shows that, during 2018, the nearly 60 million Latinos living in the U.S. generated the world’s eighth largest gross domestic product (GDP),” said Matthew Fienup, Executive Director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California Lutheran University, one of the report’s co-authors. “The GDP is the total value of all goods and services produced by a region in a given year.”

Guest commentary — The Fall of American Democracy and the Rise of White Nationalism and Tyranny: We all saw it Coming!

Get Rid of the Ballots…That is what he said, that is what he will do, and who is going to stop him? We are less that 42 days away from the most cataclysmic, potentially apocalyptic, American election in our lifetime. However the election results turn out, approximately half of the American electorate will be enraged, convinced that the election was rigged. The evil tyrannical genius of Trump, is that in less than four years he has been able to consolidate all federal power under his control and in the process is annihilating all semblance of American democracy. Trump with his tyrannical power grab, along with the considerable help of all his well-placed and well-paid henchmen/women, has turned us all into a pathetic nation of cowards, haters, doubters and conspiracy theorists. Make no mistake all of us, by omission or commission, are responsible for the creation of this monster that now occupies the White House.

VCCCD Announces Spring Semester Will Be Remote

Ventura County Community College District announces that?due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19, a?majority of its classes at Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges will continue to be remote for the spring 2021 semester, which begins Jan. 11. Strict protocols will still be in place for students and faculty who must be on campus for courses that cannot be remote.

Southeast Ventura County YMCA and Columbia Memorial Space Center Join Forces On New STEM Club For Middle Schoolers

The Southeast Ventura County YMCA and the Columbia Memorial Space Center have collaborated on a new advanced STEM program for local middle schoolers. The YMCA’s STEM Club begins October 19 with virtual meetings.

The program is divided into three units–Aerospace (October 19 through December 18), Solar Chemistry (January 18 through March 26) and 3D Printing and Robotics (April 12 through June 18). Club members meet Monday through Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (virtually and when approved, in person).

COVID-19 Update for Sept. 24 — Estación Móvil de vacunación contra la gripe

ESTACIÓN MÓVIL DE VACUNACIÓN CONTRA LA GRIPE

El Programa de Inmunización de Salud Pública del Condado de Ventura y la Agencia de Servicios Médicos de Emergencia ofrecerán la vacuna contra la Gripe GRATIS.

DÓNDE: Oxnard College – Estacionamiento Norte
4000 S. Rose Ave, Oxnard CA 93033
CUANDO: Miércoles, 30 de septiembre, 2020
de 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

University Bound SMHS Seniors receive drive-through recognition

Santa Maria High School seniors already academically prepared for universities received recognition during a drive-through event in the Thornburg parking lot on Sept. 24.

About 250 Saints, who have met A-G requirements (university entry mandates), plan to pick up a certificate, lawn sign, senior toolkit and enter a raffle for prizes. The UC/CSU application process is approaching.

State of County 2020 Provides a Behind the Scenes View of COVID-19 Response

The State of the County presentation took place on September 17, 2020. The annual event, hosted by local Chambers of Commerce and the Ventura County Tax Payers Association and community groups, provided an inside view of the dynamic coordination of COVID-19 response. “2020, what can you say? Recovering from disasters, responding to a new disaster and preparing for future disasters has become our new normal. The pandemic impacts all communities but not many communities have had the emergencies we have faced. Our community had to answer the call yet again, and you did. We have done better than most and I think we will emerge stronger than most because of the selfless generosity and compassion of our community,” said County Executive Officer Mike Powers as he kicked off the event.

Friendship Center — Shine a light of hope…

2020 will forever be known as the year of one of the most impactful and furthest reaching public health events in history. We have had to pull together, and stand apart. With no stone unturned, we have had to re-think many of our routine habits through a new pandemic lens. In doing so, we have become even more aware of the importance of our health, our families, and the need for companionship. And conversely, recognize that isolation and depression are very real factors during this time.

Professor of Art History and her artist husband chronicle the homeless in Los Angeles with “Sidewalk Inn”

They lay by wheelchairs on the sidewalk, on benches, along storefronts and in the park where CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Professor of Art History Irina D. Costache, Ph.D., likes to play tennis with her husband, Cristian Costache.

The Costaches would leave their Los Angeles home to head for the tennis courts and pass one homeless person after another on their way.

Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Sept. 23 — COVID-19 Testing

COVID-19 Testing Available – No cost. No appointment needed.

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

EDC Business Alert — Census Last Day September 30!

This decennial Census has significant impact on our business community. The Census not only determines local funding for schools, hospitals, and infrastructure, but it also allocates money for direct business resources. As a business owner, you can consult the Census data to understand where cities are expanding and strategize investing in your current business or opening a new location. We encourage you to check in with your employees, friends, and community to ensure everyone is counted.

Bilingual report — Considering Going Electric? Check Out Ventura Drive Electric Week Events

The County of Ventura is partnering with Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance (VCREA) and EV Advocates of Ventura County to host daily virtual events during this year’s National Drive Electric Week, starting on September 28th through October 4th. The local Ventura Drive Electric Week events are part of the tenth annual nationwide celebration to heighten awareness of the availability and benefits of all-electric and plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles.