Hasan is sworn in by LAFCO clerk of the board, Richelle Beltran.

Mohammed A. Hasan, a prominent community and business leader in Ventura County has been elected to the Ventura County Local Agency Formation Commission. The special districts in Ventura County elected him to be an alternate Commissioner.

The Ventura County LAFCO decides primarily boundary issues of the county, cities, and most special districts. Every county in California has a LAFCO. They implement state law requirements, state and local policies relating to boundary changes, including spheres of influence, incorporations, annexations, and reorganizations. More Information is available at ventura.lafco.ca.gov.

Hasan is well known as a tireless volunteer/leader in the community in the areas of environment, health, art, and youth. He is the founder and instructor of free community classes in Longevity, conversational Spanish, financial independence, and calligraphy. He currently the vice president of the non-profit organization, El Concilio FS, which serves the underserved community of farm workers and those in need of assistance for immigration and citizenship services. All the local newspapers have published an article or two about Hasan’s passion for contribution to the community.

Hasan is the owner of a civil and environmental firm in Ventura. He was an engineer with the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, and the utilities superintendent of the City of Oxnard. He earned advanced degrees from the University of Iowa. He is Fellow two national professional societies, and Harris Fellow of the Rotary International. He authored a book on solving drought problems in California.

Hasan is a co-founder of OceanForesters. This Ventura start-up helps economically challenged coastal communities build and manage their own flexible floating fishing reefs. The complete ecosystem on the reefs restores ocean bounty and biodiversity. Hasan also served as the chief engineer and general manager of the bio-energy startup company, PODenergy, where he helped develop theories for the reduction of global carbon dioxide via ocean afforestation.

Hasan is a 48-year resident of Ventura. He and wife JoAnn have two adult daughters, Yasmin and Mishty.

Students asking questions regarding Ventura County agriculture.

Each year, elementary school students travel by bus to take part in Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture’s (SEEAG) Farm Lab at Petty Ranch in Saticoy and Allan Hancock College’s Demonstration Orchard in Santa Maria to learn about the farm origins of their food. The program is offered free to schools including most of the school bus transportation costs.  SEEAG is launching its “Bus Bucks” fundraiser to fully offset school bus expenses so that its field trips are 100% cost-free.

Now through June 30, funds raised will enable thousands of Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara county students to travel from their schools to one of SEEAG’s Farm Lab locations at no cost.

The goal is to raise $20,000. “Transportation is one of the main reasons schools don’t go on field trips,” says Mary Maranville, founder and CEO of SEEAG. “We give each school $250 per bus, which pays for most if not all of the school’s bus costs. If we raise enough funds we can make each bus ride 100% free. We couldn’t do this without the generous support from the community.”

In 2022, SEEAG educated 2,558 students about local agricultural sciences during 56 field trips to its two Farm Lab locations.  Many students who attend are low-income, Title 1 students.

To make a Bus Bucks donation, go to www.seeag.org/busbucks. For more about SEEAG’s ag education programs, go to www.seeag.org.

Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this and other SEEAG programs, over 100,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. For more information, visit www.seeag.org or email Mary Maranville at [email protected].

This season a little holiday cheer seemed in order.

Usually, CMH Auxiliary members can be seen providing information at the front desk, manning the gift shop, escorting patients, and assisting staff in various ways, but there was a change in routine recently.

Forgoing the usual navy blue and white uniform and donning holiday sweaters and accessories, a contingent of the Auxiliary could be found serenading staff and patients with Christmas carols and spreading some holiday cheer on several floors of the hospital.

The music was appreciated and applauded even though singing while wearing the mandated masks was a challenge. As always, the Auxiliary strives to provide services to the staff where needed, and this season a little holiday cheer seemed in order.

Some of the folks who helped at the Cornucopia gardens.

Last month volunteers came out to Cornucopia Community Gardens to help restore and beautify the educational garden spaces as part of Environmental Sustainability & Parks and Recreation’s Spruce Up Cornucopia Gardens Event! Volunteers mulched, cleared debris, and wiped down equipment while enjoying each other’s company, and snacks. The work accomplished by these groups and individuals will be instrumental in hosting Gardening Series classes and community enrichment to come at Cornucopia Community Gardens.

Cornucopia Community Garden is the City of Ventura’s largest community garden, with approximately 150 plots available for rent to community members. Managed by the Parks and Recreation Department, the garden attracts community members from all walks of life who come together to cultivate the land and enjoy the outdoors.

Photo by Richard Sweet

The Santa Clara River (SCR) flowing at the 101 freeway on 1/4/23 at 10:26 a.m. It is looking upstream towards the NE. Upstream of this location on the SCR, our groundwater aquifers are getting recharged, as they are exposed to percolation from surface waters. From what I gather, downstream, there is less permeable land and lower quality shallow aquifers.

Is there gold buried under the mission?

by Richard Senate

Ventura County has some exotic treasure yarns that implies that treasures still are to be found here. These include the lost padre’s gold mine (at the headwaters of Piru Creek) to the lost Olivas Gold (buried on Red Mountain) But few realize that some treasures exist within the city limits of Ventura! This is a partial list of the lost gold rumored hidden beneath our feet. Now are these just stories or could they really exist? You be the judge. Have they been found but not reported? Perhaps but still, they are worth examination.

The Lost Mission Vault. The story is that the padre’s of Mission San Buenaventura operated a gold mine and formed the gold into crude ingots. They were taken down the Santa Clara River Valley and stored in a hidden vault at the mission Church. Once a year a black painted galleon of the Jesuit Order would come and take away the gold for the use of his Holiness the Pope in Rome. The galleons stopped coming with the Mexican War for Independence and the gold is still there! Some say it was within the thick walls of the church, others say it was under the Mission Padre’s Quarters, still others believe it is located in an underground room in the hill behind the church.

The iron bound chest at the Cross. In 1818 a pirate threatened California so the mission treasures were hidden and the settlement abandoned for several weeks. They saw the pirates as godless men who would be repelled by the cross–so they buried the contents at the foot of the cross on the hill. Native people saw them and curious dug up the goods, only to re-bury them on the hill. When they padres returned the treasure chest had vanished. The present site of the cross was not the original location. Maybe the rusted chest could be found with a metal detector?

The gangster’s loot. In prohibition times gangsters smuggled Canadian Whiskey into LA though Ventura. The ships would carry in the booze and fast boats would take it ashore, all the while avoiding the Coast Guard Cutters. The ship captains demanded to be paid in cash. So, the gangsters brought cash in suitcases to pay them. This was hidden in a tunnel under the city. But, before the ship came, an earthquake caved in the tunnel and buried the bag of cash. Those gold certificates would be worth a fortune today!