Santa Barbara First District Supervisor Das Williams — More Testing and a Guide for Reopening

Despite a large increase in the amount of testing, COVID-19 infections continue to be modest. During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors hearing, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Director presented the above graph, which indicates that new cases have continued to decline if you exclude the cases from the Lompoc Federal Correctional Institution. At the Board of Supervisors meeting this coming Tuesday, the Board will receive a presentation on the Reopening In Safe Environment (RISE) Guide, which builds off of the guidance from the Governor’s Resilience Roadmap but also provides local guidance and best practices for industry sectors as developed by an expert panel.

Southeast Ventura County YMCA Taking Summer Child Care Sign-Ups At Its 3 Branches

The Southeast Ventura County YMCA’s three branches are now taking sign-ups for summer child care. Child care will take place at each branch from June 1 through August 14 with strict health and safety guidelines in place.

The three Southeast Ventura County YMCA branches are Yarrow Family YMCA (serving Agoura Hills, Westlake Village and Oak Park) Conejo Valley YMCA (serving Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Moorpark and the Santa Rosa Valley) and Simi Valley Family YMCA (serving Simi Valley). The Simi Valley YMCA camp runs through August 7.

Ventura County Public Health Dental Guidance

Dental health care personnel (DHCP) are in the “very high-risk category” for exposure to SARS- CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The CDC recommends postponing elective procedures, surgeries, and non-urgent dental visits during the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) put out guidance on May 7, 2020 for resuming selected dental services. This guidance relies on low community transmission rates and ample supplies of PPE at the county level.

Bilingual report — NO Cost breakfast and lunch meals provided for Santa Maria Valley Children 18 & Under — May 18-26

NO Cost breakfast and lunch meals provided for Santa Maria Valley Children 18 & Under

MAY 18 – MAY 26, 2020

SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOLS

11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Monday / Wednesday / Friday **

Meals for Tuesday will be given on Monday & Meals for Thursday will be given on Wednesday

Ernest Righetti High – 941 E. Foster Rd

Pioneer Valley High – 675 Panther Dr.

Santa Maria High – Parking lot on Thornburg

VCCCD Celebrates Class of 2020 Graduates

With the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, this year’s graduates of Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges have had to adjust to the fact that in-person graduation ceremonies have been canceled. Recognizing the impact of this change for students who have worked hard to achieve their goals, the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) leadership collaborated with its three colleges to celebrate the 5,146 students in the class of 2020 who have earned their degrees or certificates.

Hospice of Santa Barbara Takes Part in Delivering 120 Lunches to Local Seniors

As a way to give back to our community in this time of need, Shalhoob’s and Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) delivered 120 meals from Shalhoob’s to the senior living complex Village Santa Fe Apartments, a Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara property. Hospice of Santa Barbara provided 12 volunteers who helped pack and deliver the meals donated by Shalhoob’s. 

Stores begin reopening at The Collection at RiverPark

In accordance with recent updates to the stay-at-home orders for Ventura County and the state of California, several businesses at The Collection at RiverPark are reopening to offer curbside service and/or online order pickup.

In addition to the essential businesses that have continued to serve customers throughout the pandemic, the following stores have now reopened:

Afters Ice Cream
Starbucks
REI
The Container Store
White House Black Market

Bilingual report — SMJUHSD Distance Learning Survey (English, Spanish and Mixteco)

Parents and students will receive a survey tomorrow from Panorama via email.

We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to educate the children in our district. SMJUHSD values input from our community – and we need to hear from your student.  Students are important partners as we work to improve our communication, academic program, and overall experience for everyone.

Ventura County Library launches new free online tutoring program

Ventura County Library has launched Brainfuse – on demand, anytime, anywhere eLearning for all ages and levels. Brainfuse HelpNow offers a personalized homework help in core subjects (math, reading, writing, science and social studies). Brainfuse will be made available to all library patrons from the public computers at their local library or from any computer with internet connection starting immediately seven days a week from 1pm to 10pm.

Ventura County Civic Alliance — Livable Communities Newsletter – May 15, 2020

What we define as “livable” has now changed, of necessity, but what does this hold for the future?  In our first article, Kerry Roscoe takes a moment to think about the positives and negatives ahead of us.

Our next article takes a new look at the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) movement.  Each of us may have our own definition of what we think a NIMBY is or is not, but I would bet that few, if any, would define a NYMBY as Alan Durning has in his February 2020 article entitled KNOW THINE NIMBY.  Because the negative impact of NIMBY entrenchment is so strong, housing advocates need to better understand who we are addressing during debates regarding new housing. 

Bilingual commentary — Inviting the Enemy

As we go about our communities stifled by the coronavirus, we see people who are behaving as if nothing different is happening in the world.  No masks, no social distancing, and anyone who doesn’t like it—too bad.  They demand a certain degree of “normalcy” in their lives, which under ordinary circumstances would have some psychological benefit. 

Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation To Honor Our Fallen Soldiers With Memorial Day Special Broadcast on KEYT Monday, May 25, 2020 at 4 PM

As we wage war against COVID-19, which is causing us to make major changes to our way of life, it is important to continue time honored traditions that give us purpose along with a sense of normalcy during these challenging times. While we’ve temporarily given up certain freedoms in order to protect our health and that of others, we mustn’t forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice with their lives during times our country was engaged in war on foreign soil.

Coronavirus Pandemic Hits Hard at Oxnard’s Tourism Industry Following Strong 2019

The coronavirus pandemic has hit hard at Oxnard’s tourism industry, which, according to Visit California’s latest economic impact report, was thriving in 2019.

The “California Travel Impacts” report, prepared for Visit California by Dean Runyan Associates, shows visitor spending reached $1.8 billion, a $33.8 million boost from 2018, and supported 17,050 jobs in Ventura County. Continued growth highlights how important tourism is to the region and California’s economy.

Back to the Future Part III to celebrate 30th anniversary – Here’s what scenes shot in Oxnard look like today.

Back to the Future Part III hit theaters May 25, 1990, which means it’s been 30 years since Oxnard’s Doris Avenue and Oxford Drive hit the silver screen as planned neighborhood Hilldale in the iconic film. Railroad tracks at South Ventura Road and Shoreview Drive in neighboring city Port Hueneme also appeared in the film as the scene of the DeLorean’s destruction. Fans of the franchise continue to visit the modern-day film locations to pay homage to these movie history landmarks.

Museum of Ventura County — Courage and Contribution, Patterns on the Land, and more!

There are over 5,500 maps in the Library collection that include historical plat maps, boundary maps, topographic and hydrological maps (USGS), irrigation/ditch maps, right-of way maps (railroad and highway), and land case maps (court case exhibits). Discover a few of these jewels in this week’s virtual exhibit.

County of Ventura COVID-19 update for May 13 — No cost covid-19 testing is offered for all community members at two state locations

Good Evening, Here is your COVID-19 update from the County of Ventura.

25 new cases

725 total cases

477 recovered cases

23 hospitalized

12 in the ICU

24 deaths (2 ages 25-44, 5 ages 45-64, 17 ages 65+) all patients had comorbidities

14,384 people tested

More Business Permitted to Reopen in County of Ventura

The County of Ventura announces that more businesses are permitted to reopen on the State’s Roadmap to reopening. Governor Newsom announced modifications to the State-wide stay-at-home order today. The State has added more businesses to Early Stage 2. The Governor announced that Counties, under the guidance of the Public Health Officer, can move forward in reopening office-based businesses, car washes, pet groomers, outdoor museums and other public spaces.

Jackson Bill to Require Backup Power for Nursing Homes Passes Health Committee

As California faces another wildfire season and potential public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D-Santa Barbara)’s Senate Bill 1207 to require California nursing homes to have backup power for at least 96 hours during an emergency passed unanimously out of Senate Health Committee today on a 7 to 0 vote.

Bilingual report — Ventura County Public Works Agency’s Biggest Educational Event of the Year Goes Virtual

 While Ventura County Public Works Agency’s (VCPWA) most exciting and educational event of the year, Public Works Day, is no longer able to conduct in-person tours, students and the community can look forward to an interactive virtual tour and activities right at their fingertips.