With a vision and a plan, Gerardo Aldana steps into his new role as dean of the College of Creative Studies.
UCSB — The Current — Your Thursday News Briefing
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Extends Gold Ribbon Campaign to Oct. 15th Raising Funds for Families Who Have a Child with Cancer during a Pandemic
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) has campaigned all September for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to raise money for children facing cancer during COVID-19. They are only $15,000 away from meeting their Gold Ribbon Campaign (GRC) goal and they have extended their campaign to Oct. 15th to help meet it.
“We are truly ecstatic that we have come so close to our goal this year,” said Eryn Shugart, Interim Executive Director, TBCF. “We knew, because of the constraints of the pandemic, that we were up against a challenge this year and we are so grateful to our supporters to ensure we close the gap. We feel confident that extending this campaign will put us over the top.”
State Sen. Jackson’s Bill to Close Race and Gender Pay Gap Signed Into Law
As women and people of color are being disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and its economic challenges, legislation by State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D-Santa Barbara) to address the race and gender-based pay gap was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (on Sept. 30).
Bilingual report — COVID-19 Update for Sept. 30
Good evening, there are 80 new cases today (3 (3.8%) of which have a lab collection from September 23rd or earlier), 1,174 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (60 year old male, 87 year old female, all with comorbidities). The current doubling time was 157.7 days. There are 48 cases that are currently hospitalized, and 11 cases are being treated in the ICU.
EDC Legal Alert — Eviction Protections Extended to March 31
On September 23, 2020, Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-80-20. The Order extends to March 31, 2021 the time frame for local governments to provide commercial eviction protections due to COVID-19. The additional protection is not automatic, however. Commercial landlords and tenants will have to wait and see if local governments in Ventura County, Santa Barbara County or surrounding areas enact or extend the protections authorized by the Order.
Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — Santa Barbara County Moves into Red Tier
At the (Sept, 22) special Board of Supervisors hearing, we received an update on COVID-19. According to the California Blueprint for a Safer Economy metrics, Santa Barbara County has met the State’s red tier case rate and positivity rate criteria for two consecutive weeks. As a result, the risk of COVID-19 spread in Santa Barbara County has been downgraded, effective immediately, from widespread to substantial, allowing movement from the purple tier to the red tier. Currently we have 3 active cases in the South County Unincorporated Areas (which include Montecito, Summerland and the City of Carpinteria), 13 active cases in the City of Santa Barbara, and 170 active cases County-wide.
OC Live — The Show Must Go On (Line)!
This week we go virtual and get real with WeSpeak, the program where students speak their own truth through the stories of their lives. Click below to hear from OC alumnus Vance Garcia, who brought us his incredibly inspiring story about rising above life’s most challenging circumstances.
Governor Newsom Signs State Sen. Jackson’s Bill Ensuring Civil Rights of College Student Survivors of Sexual Assault
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 29 signed Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara)’s Senate Bill 493 to ensure California colleges and universities provide a transparent and fair process for all students involved in a sexual assault allegation. The bill goes into effect on January 1, 2022.
In direct response to the Trump Administrations’ attempts undermine Title IX — the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in federally-funded schools — SB 493 will require state-funded colleges and universities to adopt common-sense procedures that ensure a fair, transparent, and consistent response to reports of sexual violence.
Bilingual update — COVID-19 Update for Sept. 29 — COVID-19 Testing
September 29, 2020 COVID-19 Update Good afternoon, There are 54 new cases today (4 (7.4%) of which have a lab collection from September 22nd or earlier), 799 additional people tested, and 0 additional deaths. The current doubling time was 143.2…
Santa Paula Art Museum — You Make All of Our Work Possible
A lot has changed this year. What hasn’t changed at the Santa Paula Art Museum is our commitment to our mission and our desire to serve, uplift, and inspire everyone in our community.
While the Museum’s indoor galleries have been closed since March, our staff has been working to provide our community with a wide variety of virtual programming, as well as outdoor art classes, free classroom art kits, and over 1,800 free Art To-Go Bags. Click here to see what your continued support has helped the Museum to accomplish over the past 6 months.
CSUCI health, diversity and island exploration get support from three different grants
Biomedical research should reflect the nation’s diversity both for equity and for more effective medical practices. The COVID pandemic is an example of how different populations are affected differently according to genetics, culture, socioeconomic pressures and availability of healthcare, to name a few factors.
“We need to make sure biomedical research meets the well-being of all citizens,” said CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Program Chair and Professor of Health Sciences Sonsoles de Lacalle, M.D., Ph.D. “We have different genetics, different mindsets, different cultures and we need to incorporate all of these variables. We know the same old, same old doesn’t work.”
UCSB — The Current — Your Tuesday News Briefing
Reimagining Instruction for the Student Experience, a recent seminar for faculty, set the stage for a robust and rigorous fall quarter of distance learning.
The Road to Reopening Ventura County Schools
The prospect of students returning to their classrooms is getting closer to reality as the coronavirus situation in Ventura County starts to improve. Before schools are allowed to reopen to all students, Ventura County must move off the most restrictive level – the purple tier – on the state’s coronavirus watch list and stay off of it for two weeks.
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.”
Letter to the editor — Vote from home
The circumstances of this election are like no other in a hundred years. We need to execute our Constitutional right to vote and stay safe from the Covid-19 virus. The best way to do that is to vote from home.
SBCC presents its Annual Report to the Community 2019-2020
Santa Barbara City College is pleased to present the 2019-2020 Report to the Community, an informative and beautifully illustrated account of the college’s events, activities and accomplishments during this past academic year.
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.
Peoples Self Help Housing — Now Open – Guadalupe Court Apartments!
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.”
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara — September 2020 Newsletter
Thank you to the amazing donors who have helped us raise over $10,000 in the first week of our Perfect Match campaign!
We are off to a great start and we need YOUR help to reach our fundraising goal.
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.