
April 22, 2020 Top News ‘Rising’ Elizabeth Rush, author of the UCSB Reads 2020 selection, will discuss her acclaimed book about sea level rise in an online community forum. Read More ? A Bleak Picture Lost jobs and lost revenue…

At today’s Board of Supervisors hearing, the Board received updated information on the outbreak at the Federal Prison in Lompoc, graphical presentation of Santa Barbara County COVID-19 By the Numbers, and a look ahead regarding Economic Reopening Plan development. As you can see from the graph above, although there is variability day-to-day, we are seeing a downward trend in the increase in total cases per day. The goal is to see some consistency in the downward trend and it seems we are headed down that path.

Non-profit Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) announced its Quick Response Loan program on March 18 to provide emergency financial support and assistance to Santa Barbara and Ventura County businesses experiencing economic hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. By April 17, WEV received 118 loan applications for $1,134,850 in funding requests. To date, 45 loans for $362,500 have been approved and 36 local small businesses have received $297,500 from WEV. WEV is working diligently with applicants to review and process the loan applications received in the last few weeks. New applications continue to flow in daily. WEV’s COVID-19 Quick Response Loans and business resources are available at www.wevonline.org.

The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Education would like to thank you for your cooperation, patience, and flexibility during this time of the COVID-19 crisis.
As you are aware, Governor Gavin Newsom issued a stay at home order for California that extended our school closures through the end of the school year. Everyone is required to stay home except to get food, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care, or go to an essential job. We encourage everyone to follow health guidelines to stay safe.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 the County of Ventura has been actively working with community partners to obtain antibody tests. There is a race throughout the nation to acquire point-of-care COVID-19 antibody tests. Antibody testing, which is also often called serologic testing or immunity testing, can reveal whether a person’s immune system has mounted a response to the virus.

The County of Ventura has announced it is reopening County Parks at 5 p.m. April 17. The parks have been closed to support the health of community members during the COVID-19 response efforts. Playgrounds, tennis courts, community centers, campgrounds and golf courses will remain closed at this time.

We hope all of you are doing well and wearing facemasks during this pandemic. Not masks like the ones James Donlon and Alina Ceñal are wearing!
A good friend of our Teatro has been making face masks and donated many to us. If you do not have a face mask, contact Margaret Cortese by text (805-231-0127) or email (info@teatrodelasamericas.org). We will find a way to get it to you.

Hi there! We thought maybe you’d like to hear from some other members of the MVC team, so this week we bring you Denise Sindelar, the Museum’s Deputy Director. Denise has been at the Museum since December of 2017 but has been a fixture in the regional cultural scene for decades. She ran her own independent gallery in Downtown Ventura in the 1990s and 2000s, served on the city’s Public Art Commission, and last year was elected Arts Leader of the Year by Ventura’s Mayor Matt LaVere. Without further ado, here is Denise…

CenCal Health, the publicly-sponsored health plan for Medi-Cal in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, is offering alternatives for healthcare access in order to support its members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The community-based health care organization is one of 55 Safety Net Health Plans across the country that have pledged to provide necessary treatment at no cost to its members and to reduce other impediments to care.

The Southeast Ventura County YMCA through its disaster-relief program, California Strong, has completed distributing the first round of the $120,000 allocated for direct financial assistance grants to Ventura County residents whose financial situation has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis. The grants are from the Rapid Response Fund set up by the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF). The VCCF partnered with the YMCA to provide immediate financial assistance, reviewing grant applications, vetting applicants and distributing checks.

The Ventura County Public Health Officer announced that the Stay Well At Home Order will be extended until May 15, 2020. The current Order is set to expire April 19, 2020 at midnight. The Public Health Officer will be modifying the current Order and making an announcement about the details before the current Order expires.

The County of Ventura, in a collaboration with the County Executive Office, the Farmworker Resource Program, Farm Bureau of Ventura County, Ventura County Agricultural Association, Reiter Affiliated Companies, Lideres Campesinas en California, Good Farms, Brokaw Ranch and the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office, has issued an Advisory for Agricultural Worker Protection to be used during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
The Emergency Child Care Initiative for Santa Barbara County (ECCI) will offer emergency no-cost child care services for critical health care providers, first-responders and essential food distribution employees during the COVID-19 outbreak. Employers of these workers including hospitals and essential service providers whose staff need child care are encouraged to contact Eileen Monahan, Project Manager for the initiative, at (805) 451-8720 or essentialchildcaresb@gmail.com

The good news is that physical distancing is working. Our County Public Health Department and the hospitals have worked to increase hospital bed capacity to about 590 countywide, yet our hospitalizations are at 40 (confirmed patients). Lives have been saved by our combined efforts, so please keep it up as the State wrestles with how long the “Shelter in Place” order will last and we wrestle with what we will do if the order is lifted or modified.