Vol. 11, No. 26 – Sept 26 – Oct 9, 2018 – Opinion/Editorial

•Based upon recent research that he was responsible for decimating Native American communities and other atrocities against the Native Americans. Stanford University plans to strip out some prominent campus references to Junipero Serra. Many people now see him as more of an oppressor than a saint.

• Recently, a paddle-out to honor Kirra Drury drew hundreds to Silver Strand Beach. Drury was one of the boaters killed when two vessels collided Sept. 1 on the Colorado River. Ventura resident Raegan Heitzig, is presumed to have also been killed. Her body has not been recovered. Sad days for Ventura.

• I suggest that you sign-up for VC Alert (www.vcalert.org), Ventura County’s Emergency Notification System. In the event an emergency incident requires residents to be notified about public safety, officials will use this system to notify residents. It is a little cumbersome to sign-up but worth the effort.

•To put hurricane Florence in proper perspective, there have been areas there receiving over 30” of rain, some up to 40”. In Ventura, our total combined rain seasons from 2012-,2013,2014,2015 and 2017 (2016 was a big rain) totaled about 35”.

•Beginning October 1, Ventura Water will start upgrading the manually read water billing system. The project will replace water meters for approximately 32,000 Ventura Water customers over a 3-year period.

The upgraded meters will allow customers to view and track daily water usage, detect leaks faster, and provide consistent billing dates. HomeConnect will identify water saving opportunities with customizable options for tracking and receiving notifications and alerts. This capability eliminates the need for vehicular travel needed to read water meters (will put some people out of work I assume).

Perhaps an even more important water upgrade would be to ensure that there is water available during our next large fire.

Might the statue of Junipero Serra be replaced with this sea monster?

•How do TV ads that say you must call in the next 10 minutes know if you actually met that requirement? What if you call within 15 minutes will they not sell you the product?

• In out last issue, I made a joke about women’s brains but didn’t receive any nasty letters from you ladies (how disappointing). I do apologize and to show you that I understand how intelligent women are, these are just a very few of the women CEO’s running major corporations; Mary Barra – General Motors, Gail Koziara Boudreaux – Anthem Inc., Ginni Rometty – IBM, Indra Nooyi – PepsiCo, Marillyn Hewson – Lockheed Martin, Safra A. Catz – Oracle Corporation, Phebe Novakovic – General Dynamics, Michelle Gass – Kohl’s, Geisha Williams – Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Barbara Rentler – Ross Stores and Vicki Hollub – Occidental Petroleum.

•The weekly newspaper Missoula Independent in Montana has shut down – another newspaper closing. These are tough times for the newspaper industry to survive. So, it is very important that you support the Ventura Breeze by frequenting our advertisers, or becoming one of our advertisers if you have a business, so that the Breeze can continue to bring you the best local news.

On a positive note, the U.S. International Trade Commission has ruled that imports of Canadian newsprint does not threaten or materially harm US industry. This decision reverses tariffs put in place by the Trump administration.

•People who repeatedly disrupt public meetings (gadflies they are called) in Los Angeles City meetings could be barred from attending under a proposed regulation in Los Angeles.

Extreme disruptions have prompted this action. The Ventura City Council really hasn’t had any extremely disruptive gadflies at City Council meetings recently but has had a few in the past.

I agree that at times this is appropriate, but such an action of barring some speakers at city meetings must be done very cautiously to protect our civil liberties.

•In what has become their usual 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled – citing the 4th amendment – that the Constitution protects tracking data from a cell phone. The ruling requires police to have a search warrant to obtain cell tower records. I’m sure that the writers of the Constitution anticipated cell phone use when creating this amendment.

•Reservations will be required for popular Ventura County campsites along the Rincon. This is to keep people in Facebook groups from trading the sites among themselves and monopolizing the beachfront property. Campers in 200 spots on the Rincon Parkway, including Faria and Hobson beach parks must make reservations starting Nov. 1.

• In our last issue was the final movie review by writer Manuel Reynoso. Manuel has too many projects on his plate to continue his wonderful reviews for the Breeze. I thank him for the great writing he has done for us but have no fear exclusive movie reviews will continue soon from a new reviewer.

•The new parking meters designed to provide a better experience seem to be working well. They’re meant to be easier and faster and soon will have the option to be refilled remotely.

The city claims that the downtown meters have been successful in helping manage parking issues, such as dissuading employees from leaving their vehicles in prime spots all day long. Plus, the income from them has helped pay for police, security cameras and keeping downtown clean.

The old meters had to be replaced with machines that were compliant with new credit card security standards.

Personally speaking, when I go downtown I tend to park on Poli. Then, I get to walk back up the hill to get some exercise.

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