Ventura County residents have an opportunity to meet the 2019-2020 Ventura County Grand Jurors and tour the Grand Jury Chambers on March 12, 2020. The public may meet the Grand Jurors between 1 PM and 3 PM, review Grand Jury reports and ask questions about Grand Jury service. The Grand Jury offices are located at 646 County Square Drive, 3rd Floor, Ventura.
The Grand Jury is a civil investigative panel of 19 volunteers. This oversight group investigates issues and citizen complaints and makes recommendations in a published final report to improve the operations of local government.
The Grand Jury may examine all aspects of Ventura County government and the 10 city governments in the county, as well as special districts.
Applications to serve on the Grand Jury will be available. Officials from Ventura County government and Ventura County Superior Court will also be in attendance. Light refreshments will be served.
To become a Grand Juror, you must be 18 years or older, a U.S. citizen and a Ventura County resident for at least a year. A complete list of requirements and the application form can be found at: https://www.ventura.org/grand-jury/become-a-grand-juror.
Applications may also be requested by calling Jury Services at (805) 289-8661. Applications will be accepted until April 17, 2020.
After a highly anticipated and successful inaugural LAUNCH last year, Ventura Education Partnership (VEP) is excited to announce details for the second annual LAUNCH and Aera Energy as the returning Trail Blazing Sponsor. Taking place on March 12, 2020 at 5:30 pm, Rubicon Theatre in Ventura, community members can attend this inspiring evening by sponsoring the event at VenturaEducationPartnership.org.
Curated by Ventura Education Partnership, LAUNCH celebrates VUSD educators who share their passions in novel ways and create new learning opportunities for students. During this unique gathering of business, community and school leaders, Three featured Educators will present their ground breaking ideas that inspire classroom innovation. Driven to help students express themselves and their ideas, Cameron Crouch, Foothill High School, teaches art creation through a wide variety of mediums and media. Petra McCullough of ATLAS Elementary teaches with the hope that her love of learning is contagious. She has created an environment for students to enter where they can leave the stresses and worries of life at the door. Committed to providing opportunities that focus on equity, Kristie Steinlicht, teacher, Anacapa Middle School helped create the award-winning Anacapa STE(A)M program to serve Anacapa’s socio-economically, culturally, and linguistically diverse populations.
In addition to being an inspiring evening and connecting with leaders who care about public education, LAUNCH raises funds for VEPGrants. VEPGrants give VUSD teachers the opportunity to apply for $1,000 grants for a project that will engage students more deeply in their learning, something hands on and innovative.
Aera Energy’s presenting sponsorship will support 10 classroom grants in the Fall. “Aera is committed to building stronger communities by focusing on education and creating opportunities for innovative learning,” says Michele Newell, Aera public affairs. “Our work producing the fuel that California needs everyday requires that same innovation and creative thinking to do it safely and responsibly. We believe teachers and schools can do so much more if we come together as a community to support them in ways that helps get students excited about learning at an early age.”
2019 Featured Educator, Alex Wulff says, “We all need a time to revel in the power of grassroots community support and its impact on our youth. Attending LAUNCH is like a tune-up for the soul. Seeing what community efforts can do to impact innovation in the classroom is positively therapeutic.”
Additional LAUNCH sponsors include Mountains2Beach Marathon, Fastsigns of Ventura, Adela Trainor of Berkshire Hathaway and Mathnasium Ventura. For tickets visit the website www.venturaeducationpartnership.org or contact Madhu Bajaj (805) 754-9861.
Remember “Any Bonds Today?”, the 1941 song presented in a Bugs Bunny cartoon?
Senior News Line
by Matilda Charles
I’ll be worse off financially this year, despite the Social Security increase we just received. I won’t be the only one.
For the average recipient who receives $1,460 per month, that 1.6% equates to a gain of $23.36 per month. Medicare went up $9.10 to $144.60, so that drops the extra cash to $14.26.
Except my Medicare supplement went up $42 and the drug plan went up as well. Rent went up $20 per month, justified by management with the “big increase” in Social Security we all got.
With so many of us in the same situation, we need to think of ways to save money:
If you take a daily newspaper and pay for it by the month, calculate whether you’ll save money if you pay for it by the year. If you have a tablet, ask if they offer a digital subscription at a lower rate. Making yearly payments might also work for your car or homeowner insurance.
Call the local food bank about getting free food. Don’t worry about running into someone you know. Just make the call. Whatever you get from them you won’t have to buy at the store.
Check into “senior helper” groups in your area. These are people who volunteer to take care of home repairs for free, instead of paying a plumber $150 per hour.
If you have a credit card, make payments on time. Check AARP’s member discounts. Buy at Goodwill.
Ask for lower prices. Buy generic groceries. Get serious about clipping coupons. Ask about senior discount day.
Have you ever tried to remember all the words to a song from your childhood or teenage years, or something you heard your parents sing? If you can remember one or two lines of a verse or the title, you can find the whole song on the Internet.
Here’s an example. I put one line of a song in Google, and there it was! Not only did all the lyrics pop up but there were links to videos of groups singing the song. There were links, too, to more information. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the song was written in 1911.
World War II was full of good music, and chances are you remember at least parts of some of the songs. Search online for World War II songs or any other era you’re interested in. Wikipedia even has categories such as “Songs of 1950s.” Or search Wikipedia by singer and click on their discography for all the songs they released.
Remember “Any Bonds Today?”, the 1941 song written for a war bond drive and presented in a Bugs Bunny cartoon? Or for younger seniors, how about “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Bob Dylan’s 1962 song. How many verses do you remember?
When the weather warms up, you might consider haunting garage sales and antique marts for old sheet music. If you no longer have a keyboard, look on Amazon for compact 54-key electronic keyboards for less than $100.
And what do you do once you’ve collected all the music from your youth? Consider sharing it. If you play well enough, ask about visiting a retirement facility and playing for the residents. Make copies of the lyrics and hand them out for a sing-along. For Alzheimer’s patients, hearing or singing music can animate silent patients, reduce stress and strengthen memory.
3:30 – 5:30 pmVirtual Reality – Tuesdays @ 3:30-5:30 pm on the 2nd Floor. Explore the virtual world with these different gaming VR platforms: Gear VR, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. All VR Platforms are for ages 13 and up.
Thursday Mar 5
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Open Mic Night – Free and open to the public! Open Mic night hosted by Phil Taggart. Enjoy a featured poet, then share your own work with the group. All are welcome to just sit and listen as well.
Monday Mar 9
7:00 – 10 pm
Ukulele Jam – Join folks of all ages and experience levels to jam out on your ukulele! Beginners welcome, every 2nd and 4th Monday.
Tuesday Mar 10
3:30 – 5:30 pm
Virtual Reality – Tuesdays @ 3:30-5:30 pm on the 2nd Floor. Explore the virtual world with these different gaming VR platforms: Gear VR, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. All VR Platforms are for ages 13 and up.
Thursday Mar 12
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Open Mic Night – Free and open to the public! Open Mic night hosted by Phil Taggart. Enjoy a featured poet, then share your own work with the group. All are welcome to just sit and listen as well.
Tuesday Mar 17
3:30 – 5:30 pm
Virtual Reality – Tuesdays @ 3:30-5:30 pm on the 2nd Floor. Explore the virtual world with these different gaming VR platforms: Gear VR, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. All VR Platforms are for ages 13 and up.
Thursday Mar 19
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Open Mic Night – Free and open to the public! Open Mic night hosted by Phil Taggart. Enjoy a featured poet, then share your own work with the group. All are welcome to just sit and listen as well.
Monday Mar 23
7:00 – 10 pm
Ukulele Jam – Join folks of all ages and experience levels to jam out on your ukulele! Beginners welcome, every 2nd and 4th Monday.
Tuesday Mar24
3:30 – 5:30 pm
Virtual Reality – Tuesdays @ 3:30-5:30 pm on the 2nd Floor. Explore the virtual world with these different gaming VR platforms: Gear VR, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. All VR Platforms are for ages 13 and up.
Thursday Mar 26
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Open Mic Night – Free and open to the public! Open Mic night hosted by Phil Taggart. Enjoy a featured poet, then share your own work with the group. All are welcome to just sit and listen as well.
Thursday Mar 27
12:00 – 1:00 pm
Opera Santa Barbara – Come enjoy a free noontime concert presented by members of Opera Santa Barbara’s Chrisman Studio Artist Program. One of our most popular events. See you in the Topping Room!
Tuesday Mar 31
3:30 – 5:30 pm
Virtual Reality – Tuesdays @ 3:30-5:30 pm on the 2nd Floor. Explore the virtual world with these different gaming VR platforms: Gear VR, Oculus Go, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. All VR Platforms are for ages 13 and up.
Dab Art is pleased to present ABSTRAKT, a group exhibition by new curator Uta Culemann-Ritke at H Gallery in Midtown Ventura. 1793 E Main St. Opening Reception | Friday, March 6, 6-10pm.
Germanically titled in honor of Uta’s home country, ABSTRAKT is simply indicative of the show’s genre. The selection of work featured in the exhibit is dramatically more contemplative than literal. Uta’s principal exhibition is indicative of her passion for abstract art and affinity for high design. Utilizing H Gallery’s vintage charm as a backdrop, the works selected for ABSTRAKT creates a winsome experience for the viewer. The opening of ABSTRAKT also marks H Gallery’s return to First Friday’s Ventura.
Fox Fine Jewelry presents Boundless, an art show with Duane Eells and James Perucci from March 12 to May 10, with an Art Reception on March 14 from 6 – 8 pm.
Duane Eells started growing his passion for art at a young age when his mother enrolled him in an oil painting class at age 10. Now living in Ojai, Eells, an Ojai Studio Artist, enjoys painting the human form. His current work of dancers captures the motion of their movement in stillness.
James Petrucci works predominantly in oil, creating abstract landscapes that are incredibly evocative through his brushstrokes and use of color. Petrucci grew up in Santa Barbara and now lives in Ojai, where he is an Ojai Studio Artist.
Show information: http://bit.ly/Eells-Petrucci
Fox Fine Jewelry
560 East Main Street
(805) 652-1800
Adoptable Elton is spreading the word that Ventura County Animals Services is offering an adoption special for the month of February. Any shelter bunny that is available for adoption and already spayed or neutered can be adopted for $14. Elton is a sweet and handsome boy who is eager for a family of his own. To meet Elton and learn more about this month’s adoption special, please visit VCAS at 600 Aviation Drive in Camarillo and ask for ID #A710924.
Sweet soul Rocco is a 7 1/2-year-old Chow X awaiting his a new adventure. For a mellow guy he still enjoys playing outside and going for walks. Rocco likes to have all the love and attention at home so being an only child is what works for him. Canine Adoption and Rescue League C.A.R.L. CARL Adoption Center-call 644-7387 for more information.
Ventura Master Artist Tony Jankowski painted his cat Mitzi to be exhibited at the Santa Paula Art Show from March 10 until April 18. Tony explains “Mitzi was my best friend and companion for the last 17-years and will be remembered for the rest of my life.
