Cultural, Education, Events, Government, Local, News

Bilingual commentary — County of Ventura to hold virtual community forum on the intersection of race and law enforcement on Aug. 5

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On Wednesday, August 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the County of Ventura will host a virtual Community Forum open to all members of the public online via Zoom to discuss the intersection of race and law enforcement in our community. The Community Forum will consist of a panel of County leaders and community representatives who will participate in a roundtable discussion, followed by questions from the public.

The August 5th Community Forum will be moderated by Monique Nowlin, County of Ventura Diversity and Inclusion Task Force representative and Deputy Director of the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging. Panelists will include:

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Commentary, Local, Opinion

Bilingual commentary — Lessons from the Least Terns

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This past weekend I had the opportunity to wander around the “settling ponds” by the water treatment plant in Ventura.  To the casual outsider, this might sound like the last place on earth to go for a stroll, but it’s really a bit of a hidden treasure in our community.

One of the highlights of this location is the quantity and quality of the bird-watching that is available.  I’m learning that birds have much to teach us, and the more I learn about them, the more in awe I am of them.

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Commentary, Local, Opinion

Guest commentary — The Oxnard Civil Gang Injunction is DEAD! Reconciliation, Healing and Reparation Begins NOW!

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After 16 years of illegal profiling, harassment and enjoining Mexican youth and adults, the racist and unconstitutional Oxnard Civil “Gang” Injunction is DEAD! Irrational fear, ignorance, and racism created this unconstitutional monster. There is the universal antidote to irrational fear, and racist hate and it is love; and love is at our miraculous and transformative disposal any time we wish to act boldly and put love into action. Oxnard here is where we must act boldly and immediately with love on a local level.

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Education, Local, News, Youth

Registration Open For New YMCA KEY Academy and Childcare During Upcoming School Year

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Southeast Ventura County YMCA is taking registrations for the Y’s KEY Academy to coincide with school openings in August. The KEY Academy is designed to enable parents to meet work demands while provide their children with a safe, structured environment for learning.

Parents can drop off their children at one of the three Y branches’ designated education centers. You can contact your local Y: the Conejo Valley YMCA in Thousand Oaks, the Simi Valley YMCA in Simi Valley, and the Yarrow Family YMCA in Westlake Village for more details.

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Business, Cultural, Education, Entertainment, Local, News

Carnegie Art Cornerstones — Meet Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales

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Vanessa’s story really embodies the spirit of the Carnegie Art Cornerstones mission. We aim to empower emerging artists to grow, create, and share their art. Our ability to do this in a traditional sense has been challenged, but artists like Vanessa, and the art she creates, are still incredibly important to our communities.

Cornerstones lifts emerging artists by providing them with resources, mentorship, and exposure that helps artists pursue dedicated careers – we believe this kind of work is vital to keeping art as the cornerstone of our local communities.

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Local

“Ekhobot” expands its reach to all CSUCI students thanks to a $36,625 grant

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Beginning Aug. 1, all California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) students will have access to a popular campus chatbot named Ekhobot, after the University’s mascot, Ekho the Dolphin.

Ekhobot is a text platform that was designed for new freshmen and transfer students, but the chatbot is now coming to every student’s mobile digital device thanks to a $36,625 grant from CSU Northridge and the Irvine Foundation in support of the “CSU AI Consortium.”

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Business, Cultural, Education, Government, Health, Local, News

County of Ventura COVID-19 update for July 29

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Good Evening, Here’s your COVID-19 update form the County of Ventura. There are 104 new cases today (53 (51.0%) of which have a lab collection from July 22nd or earlier), 636 additional people tested, and 2 additional deaths (86 year old female and 90 year old male, both with comorbidities).  Current doubling time is 41.2 days. Currently, the County of Ventura is on the state monitoring list for case rate per 100,000 population over 14 days and % of ICU beds available; in order for us to get off the monitoring list, we need to have less than 850 reported cases in a 14 day period which is an average of 60 cases a day. Total, there have been 73 deaths (age range 29-107 years; 45 males and 28 females; 35 Non-Hispanic White, 31 Hispanic, 4 Non-Hispanic Asian, 1 Non-Hispanic Black, 1 Non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native and 1 Non-Hispanic Other). Current hospitalizations are 75 and current ICU is 25. 

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Business, Cultural, Local, News, Youth

CSUCI spring semester 2021 enrollment begins Aug. 1

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For the first time, CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is accepting first-time freshmen and both lower division and upper division transfer student applications for its Spring 2021 semester.

Applications for spring 2021 will be accepted beginning August 1 and continuing through August 31.

CSUCI typically opens spring enrollment only for upper division transfer students, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed circumstances for many students and CSUCI is seeking how to best meet those needs.

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Education, Health, Local, News

New Book Offers Guidelines For Happiness, Health, Success in A COVID-19 World

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A new book from Camarillo-based psychologist and author Dr. Noelle Nelson, “I Survived COVID-19, What Now?! Finding Happiness and Success in a Post COVID World” (available on Amazon), looks at how we can take what we’re learning from the pandemic during our forced introspection and turn it into a positive future.

“Whether it was our intention or not, we’re all learning things about ourselves during these long months of quarantine—how we think, work and dream, about how we interact with family, friends and the world,” says Nelson. “We are in a unique moment in time because of COVID-19. Everything is different now. It can feel positively overwhelming—one minute our lives are ‘reopening,’ the next minute they’re forced to closed again. It can drive us crazy if we’re not careful.”

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Education, Family, Health, Local, News, Youth

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) Take Proactive Steps to Continue to Serve Community through the Pandemic

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As soon as COVID-19 made its way onto the scene, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater of Greater Conejo Valley (BGCGCV) was proactive in their response starting in the spring and continuing throughout the summer. 

When the pandemic hit, the BGCGCV closed for two weeks to assess the COVID situation and then reopened under the guidance of health professionals and with the implementation of safety standards.

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Government, Local, News

Bilingual report — County of Ventura agencies recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officers for excellence in communications

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Agencies from across the County of Ventura have been recognized by the California Association of Public Information Officers (CAPIO) with Excellence in Public Information and Communications (EPIC) Awards. The County Executive Office, Ventura County Area Agency on Aging, and the Ventura County Fire Department received awards recognizing outstanding communications publications and campaigns.  The County of Ventura publications and communications initiatives were chosen from among 275 award entries from across the state of California. 

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Local

SBCC to begin Fall 2020 fully online

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Superintendent/President of Santa Barbara City College Dr. Utpal K. Goswami announced an update regarding plans for the Fall 2020 semester. Given current community conditions, classes will start fully online.

Initial plans for the Fall semester considered offering the majority of courses online, with a small percentage of classes conducted face-to-face. The College has been working diligently on those plans for several months. However, since Santa Barbara County has been on the State of California’s Monitoring List since June 6, 2020, SBCC has had to reassess its plans.

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Government, Health, Local, News

County of Ventura COVID-19 update for July 28 — Vitalant is collecting plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19

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Vitalant is collecting plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19.

To be eligible, you must have:

A prior laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, either by a positive swab test OR a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies requested by your health care provider
Complete resolution of symptoms for at least 28 days
All other donor eligibility for an automated plasma donation
Learn more at: https://www.vitalant.org/covidfree

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Local

Bilingual report — County of Ventura to Expand Crisis Treatment Unit and Inpatient Psychiatric Unit Beds

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The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has approved the addition of ten mental health nurses in this year’s Health Care Agency budget.  These nurses are a critical component of Ventura County Medical Center’s plan to expand the Hillmont Inpatient Psychiatric Unit from 30 to 36 beds. 

“Expansion of inpatient and crisis stabilization services is a demonstration of the County’s belief that mental health care is an essential component of complete health.  These expanded services will enable the County to increase capacity to provide care to individuals who are often in their most critical time of need.  We recognize that this is one of many steps ahead and the County will continue to work with our local health providers, state and federal sources to continue to expand services in this vital area of healthcare,” said County Executive Officer Mike Powers.

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Business, Education, Home, Local, News

CEC Launches Solarize Santa Barbara with Webinar on Solar and Battery Storage

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The Community Environmental Council (CEC) announced the launch of this year’s Solarize Santa Barbara – a community-led, group purchasing program for solar and battery storage systems open to residents of Southern Santa Barbara County from July 28 – October 31. CEC’s 2020 program is offered in partnership with the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria, and the County of Santa Barbara.

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Education, Food, Government, Local, News, Youth

Bilingual report — Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Online Meal Program Application & Cafeteria Pre-Pay

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The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District announces its policy to serve nutritious meals every school day under The National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. Effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, children are eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the household income is less than or equal to the federal guidelines.

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Local

Hospice of Santa Barbara Brings McDonalds, iPads and Games to Elderly at Casa Naomi

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Since the start of COVID-19, with prolonged closures of businesses and isolation of senior care facilities, Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) has done outreach within the Santa Barbara community and discovered a shortage of support at Casa Naomi – a residential care facility with four homes in Santa Barbara serving developmentally delayed seniors.

Since the residents have been quarantined with the rest of the world since March, they have been in need of mental stimulation and emotional support. Jeanne M. West, HSB Community Engagement Manager saw an opportunity to help.  

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Business, Government, Local, News

VCPWA Encourages El Rio Residents to Fill Out Survey for Essential Community Projects 

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The Ventura County Public Works Agency, Roads & Transportation (VCPWA-RT), which is responsible for maintaining roadways and safety within the county road right-of-way, needs feedback from the El Rio community to secure Active Transportation Program?funding from the State of California.  

These funds support projects that encourage active transportation which includes biking, walking, and safe access to public transportation (buses and trains), sidewalks for safer walking and biking as well as to build facilities that reduce greenhouse gases. 

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Cultural, Education, Government, Local, News, Youth

United Way of Santa Barbara County Delivers Impactful Virtual Fun in the Sun Program in Light of COVID-19

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Thanks to the generosity of over 50 funding partners and service delivery partners, United Way of Santa Barbara County’s (UWSBC) Fun in the Sun program has the capacity to support up to 350 children and families this year through a virtual format in light of COVID-19. Seven virtual sites are serving students from Carpinteria Unified School District, Santa Barbara Unified School District (4 school sites instead of its usual 2 school sites), Goleta Union School District, and school districts throughout the Santa Ynez Valley. 

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Cultural, Health, Local, News

Doctors Without Walls – Santa Barbara Street Medicine Nationally Recognized for Supporting the Safety Net

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Doctors Without Walls – Santa Barbara Street Medicine (DWW–SBSM) has been nationally recognized for its healthcare efforts to benefit the homeless in the Santa Barbara community. Nominated by local Medi-Cal managed care plan CenCal Health, DWW–SBSM received an honorable mention from The Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) at its fifteenth annual Supporting the Safety Net Award program held last month. The earned recognition honors community organizations and individuals nationwide that exceed expectations for care by implementing health programs to benefit underserved populations.

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

SMILE! Free Professional Headshots by Christian Ramirez at OPAC on Aug. 6

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The Oxnard Performing Arts Center Corporation (OPAC) is teaming up with Oxnard photographer and filmmaker Christian Ramirez of Mezz Studio to offer a day of free professional headshots for those on the jobseeking trail. The event is scheduled for Thursday, August 6 from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm. 

A professional headshot plays an important role in creating a positive first impression and can be used in many ways: email accounts, email signatures, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, personal websites, portfolios, guest blogs, resumes, and more. Sixty percent of employers research job candidates via social media and OPAC wants to ensure that community members who have lost work due to COVID-19 are supported and equipped in their career search.

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Business, Commentary, Cultural, Education, Local, News

Bilingual commentary — Racism in Oxnard’s Past, Part III

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Last week we rummaged through Oxnard’s past and found some interesting and unsettling history regarding the former Colonial House restaurant and motel complex in the city’s downtown.  The ambiance had been designed to invoke the feeling of the “Old South,” as if people were visiting a Southern plantation, with all that that implied. 

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