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New census deadline

The City of Ventura is encouraging community members to take the 2020 Census by the new self-reporting deadline of September 30, 2020. To date, more than 72% of Ventura residents have participated in the 2020 Census.

In August and September, Census workers will knock on doors to follow up with houses in lower-response areas and may return multiple times to uncounted homes. Census workers will wear official Census Bureau badges, face coverings, and follow all public health guidelines when visiting homes.

“Now more than ever, we need to ensure that our community is accurately counted in the Census,” said Ventura City Manager, Alex D. McIntyre. “The results of this once-a-decade count determine the amount of funding and resources Ventura will receive for the next 10 years. It’s important that every household and business is counted so we can secure critical resources for public and social services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure projects.”

The Census is a 9-question survey that takes less than 10 minutes to complete. All responses are confidential. Households and businesses are encouraged to respond by mail, or take the 2020 Census online or by phone. The Census is available in 13 languages.

To learn more, visit www.census.ventura.orgor call (844) 330-2020.

Countywide suicide prevention initiative to spread awareness and to save lives

by Carol Leish

During September’s National Suicide Prevention Month, Vista del Mar Hospital is presenting a countywide initiative to provide awareness and to ultimately save lives.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide rates have been rising in nearly every state. In California 4,491 died by suicide in 2018, including 94 people in Ventura County alone. This reflects a total of 84,137 years of potential life lost before age 65. On a national level, suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-24.

“The effects of the Coronavirus pandemic have been far-reaching and fatal. In addition to the physical health concerns, there are emotional, mental, and behavioral health stains,” according to, Jenifer Nyhuis, Vista del Mar’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are constantly reminded of these challenges, such as: job loss; increased depression related to isolation; increased anxiety due to uncertainty and fear; economic challenges; food insecurity; child care needs; and, social challenges. We are also aware of the decrease in common coping outlets for social gatherings (gyms; churches; temples; spas; and, parks).” She continued by saying, “I am confident that nearly every person’s mental health has been brought into question, if only momentarily. The pandemic has only further exacerbated the suicide crisis. Thus, this is a time to come together to collaborate as a community in order to create lasting change.”

Therefore, Vista del Mar Hospital is collaborating with the Jason Foundation and community partners to provide free suicide prevention training online via Zoom. The one-hour training includes facts and figures about this silent epidemic, compelling survey results, warning signs such as out-of-character behavior, risk factors for suicidal ideation, resources, and the social media campaign: #1WONTBESILENT. Community partners include: The City of Ventura; Coalition for Family Harmony; NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness), Ventura County; Mission FISH; Genesis Programs, Inc.; News Talk 1590 KVTA; QPR For Suicide Prevention; Ventura Downtown Lion’s Club; Ventura County Behavioral Health; Ventura County CIT; and, Women of the Moose. Vista del Mar has three scheduled trainings open to the public, as well as trainings by appointment.

“During this unprecedented time of uncertainty, suicide prevention is more important than ever,” according to, Kiran Sahot, Sr. Behavioral Health Manager with Ventura County Behavior Health. “We encourage the community to become trained in asking the difficult questions surrounding thoughts of suicide, and being able to recognize the signs of anxiety and depression.”

Resources on a list that is provided by Vista del Mar include resources in the areas of: crisis stabilization; outpatient services; chemical dependence; veteran services; LGBTQ+ services and support; and, other education and support. With help/support, situations can and will improve.

If in a dire situation, please call either: the Ventura County Crisis Intervention Unit at: 856-998-223; or, the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 800-273-8255.

To find more available resources and/or information from Vista del Mar, go to their website at: www.vistadelmarhospital.com. “Realize that you’re not alone,” according to, Maya Lazos, community liaison at Vista del Mar. “There is help and there are free resources out there.” For questions or to schedule a training by appointment, contact Lazos at: (805) 794-1009; or, [email protected]

Concerts in cars at the Ventura Fairgrounds

On August 17,18 and 19 the Rubicon Theatre Company presented Ventura’s own Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at the Ventura Fairgrounds at a live drive-in concert. The 9-member band had the audience blowing their horn in appreciation of the great music that they heard from their cars. Some attendees put chairs in front of their vehicles to listen and trucks backed into their spots and people sat in the trunk beds.

The high energy music ranged from jazz to blues and included a song about the fact that this was their first concert in over 5-months. By the great sounds they have spent the 5-months still rehearsing. At the end of the concert they played an encore because the beeping wouldn’t stop.

Food Share partners with Gas Co.

Brian Miller, Office of Ventura County Supervisor Kelly Long, Chief of Staff ; John Marquez, Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, Executive Director; Maria Ventura, Public Affairs Manager; Monica White President & CEO of Food Share of Ventura County and Manuel Minjares, Office of Ventura County Supervisor, District Representative attend the drive-thru distribution .

Food Share, Ventura County’s largest hunger-relief organization, has partnered with Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) to bring the “Fueling Our Communities” program to Ventura County with drive-thru meal distribution events in Santa Paula and El Rio community in Oxnard. The events, which were funded in part by the utility, provided more than 26,000 free meals to individuals and families struggling with food insecurity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to contributing to food purchasing for the drive-thru distributions, SoCalGas’ program is helping to stimulate Ventura County’s economy by enabling Food Share to partner with local restaurants whose sales have been impacted due to COVID-19 restaurant guidelines.

“In partnership with SoCalGas, Food Share has been able to distribute 800 gift cards to local restaurants during our drive-through food distributions. Those in need receive a free, delicious meal and in turn we’re happy to support our local food economy,” explained Monica White, Food Share’s President & CEO. “It’s really been a win-win for everyone.”

Food Share is one of five non-profit organizations that SoCalGas is collaborating with on the “Fueling Our Communities” program, to provide close to 140,000 meals to 40,000 individuals from underserved communities in Ventura, Tulare, Kern, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Imperial counties. Funded by a $500,000 donation from SoCalGas, the program will span over the summer season in 44 cities and will feed seniors, students, families, and migrant farm workers while supporting local small businesses.

“We are proud to continue to support families facing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic through the Fueling Our Communities program,” said Maria Ventura, public affairs manager at SoCalGas. “So many people in Ventura County are struggling to put food on their table right now and SoCalGas wants to help however we can.”

In addition to these two events in partnership with SoCalGas’ “Fueling Our Communities” program, Food Share has provided food for just over half a million people since April through 123 drive-thru distribution events across the county.

BLM protest held in Ventura

Many vehicles driving by were honking in agreement. Photo by Julio Hernandez

by Shakti Dutt

On the 14th of August at 3:00 pm, about 30 locals gathered in front of the Ventura City Hall.

Under the hot sun, they were holding signs that read “Black genocide 1619 – 2020”, “Are we dark enough to be shot”, “No freedom till we’re free”, etc.

A young woman of color named Gabrielle Rogers was holding up a sign that read “Honk for Black Lives”. Some vehicles passing by were slowing down and honking. However, there were also some people who displayed their disagreement by showing a thumbs down or middle finger. Rogers joined the movement to stand up with her black community and about “three weeks ago her cousin got shot by the police and they didn’t put it up on the news”. This led her to wonder how many other people who experience that are not put up on the news.

At 4:00 pm, all protesters, led by Rogers started marching on Main Street while chanting “These streets are our streets.”

The bystanders seemed to be recording videos of the march on their phones and some even exclaimed in agreement and some in disagreement.

A left turn was taken on Figueroa Street and then another left turn on Thompson Blvd. All eyes were on the protesters.

At this time, the protesters were chanting “Black lives matter.” Many vehicles driving by were honking in agreement.

Another left turn was taken on California Street.

On the California/Main street intersection, all protesters kneeled down, followed by five minutes of silence.The silence symbolized half the amount of time that George Floyd was on the ground, unable to breathe.

“This is what democracy looks like” Rogers exclaimed, and the protesters followed. And the march back to City Hall began.

Because it was still very hot, the protesters took a three-minute break in order to get a drink of water before continuing their march. At this time, some participants had left.

The march continued down to California Street, toward Ventura State Beach. “Change is coming” the protesters started chanting. A left turn was taken on E. Thompson Blvd. and then a right turn on California Street. Many bystanders were chanting along with the protesters.

One of the protesters responded when asked what inspired them to help the movement. “What’s the point of not helping. We’re here..there’s huge issues and if you’re not helping then you’re doing nothing. I knew things like this were happening..I knew killings were happening..just did not know the scale..and the more people that realize the scale…would change the culture and climate..and racists will know that they are not accepted”.

The protest ended shortly after arriving back at the City Hall.

Olivas Adobe workers and volunteers take advantage of Corona Virus shutdown

Gina Reyes (City of Ventura), Mary Thompson (Vice President Olivas Adobe Historical Interpreters-AKA docents) with Glenda the doggie, Frank Shugart (Olivas Adobe Historical Interpreter) and Kathryn Dippong Lawson (City of Ventura) sprucing up Olivas. Photo by Richard Lieberman

by Richard Lieberman

The Olivas Adobe, an adobe structure, was built in 1841 by Raymundo Olivas on the north bank of the Santa Clara River. While the home was built in 1841 it was expanded in 1849 to include a second story which made it unique at the time. The land had originally been part of a grazing area for the cattle herds of Mission San Buenaventura. Olivas and his wife and twenty-one children lived at the site until 1889. It later became Max Fleischmann’s hunting lodge and after his death, his foundation donated the land and the house to the City of Ventura.

Two city workers and two volunteers took advantage of the city ordered temporary closure of the site to make needed repairs and perform routine maintenance.

Kathryn Dippong Lawson, Public Arts and Historic Sites Manager for the city of Ventura said, “Parks and recreation oversees Olivas Adobe and normally at this time of year Olivas Adobe is full of concerts and rentals and we don’t have the time to do a lot of maintenance.” She also added, “We decided in this time we would take care of some things that we wanted to take care of. Our Ramadas (small wooden carts) that are in the courtyard get moved around during an event and we decided to replace the top of them.”

“The tops are replaced with branches found in the river bottom which are difficult to find.” Said Frank Shugart a volunteer on the project.

“We decided to do this while the site was shut down this was just a good time to do it.” Said Gina Reyes Historic Site Coordinator for the city. “We have been working on this for three weeks and hope to finish by the end of the week,” said Gina Reyes. Gina oversees all the historic sites which includes the museum and runs all cultural tours and excursion programs.

“This time of year, we have a stage up every weekend making it difficult to accomplish any of the normal maintenance needed,” said Frank Shugart a volunteer for the project.

Mary Thompson, Vice President of Olivas Adobe Docents and historical interpreter is also a member of the Board of Directors. Mary in addition to her many duties at Olivas Adobe is also on staff at the Ventura Breeze and has been for many years. Mary is also responsible for decorating the outside of the venue for the Christmas Holidays. “I also plan events and field trips,” Thompson said. “I have been volunteering here for the past eleven years,” she added. Mary goes back a long way on her journey to becoming a docent and general volunteer “I first came here on a school field trip when I was in the fourth grade,” “My sister was also married here in 1977,” she said.

Hopefully we can all look forward to a time when the Corona Virus is better controlled and Olivas Adobe will once again be open to the public.

Etiquette on the Waves–Preserving the Vibe

Leaving plenty of room on a wave at C Street in Ventura.

by Amy Brown

Years ago in the Bay Area I remember just learning to surf, paddling back out to the lineup with an ice cream headache and what little strength I had left after yet another humiliating wipeout, when a surfer rode a wave straight towards me. I didn’t know what to do to get out of the way, so I froze. I had a vague plan that combined hoping that the oncoming surfer would steer around me, with some ambiguous idea that if I remained motionless, maybe they wouldn’t be able to see me being so stupid, like in Jurassic Park. I was wrong. It is the responsibility of the paddler to get out of the way, and in doing so, avoid going right in front of someone riding towards you—you go behind them, or speed up and get out of the way to avoid being run over.

Surfing is an incredible way to experience the ocean—gliding down the face of a wave, feeling the combined peace and power of the ocean propelling you—it’s no wonder that surfers have a reputation for being laid back. However, the fastest way to see just the opposite from the lineup is to paddle out without knowing and following surfing etiquette. This code of conduct is for everyone’s safety and enjoyment, and if you are out there without adhering to it, you are in danger of hurting someone, or at the very least drawing the ire of the entire group.

All surfers started out as beginners, so there is some tolerance for the learning curve, but it is the beginner’s responsibility to learn the basic tenets and avoid being a kook—a pejorative term for someone who is either disrespectful or seriously (and often dangerously) ignorant. So whether that’s waxing the underside of your board or having fins the wrong direction, or—infinitely worse—taking off on waves that aren’t yours, learn how to avoid this label and you’ll have a better time, and so will everyone else. Check out Kook of The Day on Instagram for some cautionary tales. Thankfully Instagram didn’t yet exist while I was trying to teach myself to surf, otherwise I could have been featured on that site with shocking regularity.

Right of way and wave priority are the touchstones of surfing etiquette rules. The surfer with the closest proximity to the wave peak has the right of way. If they pass on the wave, or miss it, the right of way goes to the next in line. And speaking of priority—don’t snake, or cut the lineup by paddling around someone waiting to position yourself in a priority position. And for the love of all things holy, don’t drop in—if someone has the right of way or is already riding a wave, do not take off in front of them. This is incredibly dangerous and incredibly rude.

Another safety mandate: don’t ditch your board. You risk cutting off a surfer riding towards you, or hitting others paddling out and causing injuries. You are responsible for having your board under your control. Now, this doesn’t mean if you catch a wave and wipeout that you have to grab your board midair—ditching refers primarily to abandoning it when paddling. So, if you see a giant wave breaking as you’re sitting on your board or paddling—resist the urge to ditch your board and dive down to escape the impact zone—grab the rails as tight as you can and roll over (turtle) or duck dive if you are using a shortboard.

Acknowledging a mistake will go a long way towards restoring the vibe after you make the wrong call, and if you’re new, that’s bound to happen. Take a lesson, there’s plenty of local pros to help you learn. And don’t forget to respect others, and respect the ocean and beach that provides all this amazing surfing—and leave it cleaner than when you arrived.

New ways to visit Channel Islands National Park

Take a virtual visit.

Channel Islands National Park has developed a new digital app to enhance the visitor experience in the park that can also be used to take a virtual visit. The new mobile app is free and available at the App Store or on Google Play.

Features in the app include exploring the islands through stories, sites, self-guided tours, and interactive maps, or finding favorite places, trails, and topics of interest. Visitors can use the app to create a collage of the images from your visit or to track a calendar of current conditions, events, or ranger programs. The app is fully accessible with audio description and alternative text for images. To learn more go to NPS Channel Islands App.

Visitors to Santa Rosa Island will discover a new coastal trail on the marine terrace that boasts stunning views of Carrington and Skunk Points, Water Canyon Beach, and the Torrey pine forest. This short route from the pier to the campground provides a welcome glimpse of the magnificent marine and terrestrial resources visitors will encounter during their stay.

Island Packers, the park’s boat transportation concessioner, has expanded options for day and overnight trips to each of the islands. Popular trips this summer include non-landing whale watch excursions in search of blue and humpback whales and multi-island same day landings at both Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island and Anacapa Island. Marine wildlife sightings this past week included 14 blue whales, several humpback whales, and thousands of common dolphins.

Kayak concessioner Santa Barbara Adventure Company is providing kayak tours out of Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. They will resume snorkel and kayak tours at Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island when the new pier construction is completed in the fall.

The National Park Service has more than 20,000 National Park Service employees who care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.

Learn more at www.nps.gov.

24 new badges prepare girl scouts to be ambitious and decisive leaders

Badges are designed to help girls practice ambitious leadership in new fields.

Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) have announced 24 new badges designed to help girls practice ambitious leadership in the crucial areas of automotive engineering, STEM career exploration, entrepreneurship, and civics, many of which remain male-dominated. In a year of unprecedented global change, our country’s need for strong, broad-minded, and decisive leadership has never been greater. Through new and existing programming, Girl Scouts equips the next generation of female change-makers with the breadth of knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to take charge and do good for the world, both now and in the future.

Steady leadership is essential during a crisis such as COVID-19, from fostering trust and

showing compassion, to managing challenges with agility, to evaluating outcomes of decisions. The Girl Scout program is proven to develop strong and effective leaders—among many positive outcomes, Girl Scouts are much likelier than non-Girl Scouts to take an active role in decision making (80% vs. 51%), which is a critical aspect of leadership.

“Now more than ever, it’s critical that we have strong leaders who can make informed decisions that make the world a better, safer place,” said GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “During our current health crisis, the world leaders who have been among the most decisive and effective in addressing the pandemic have been women. With these new badge experiences in STEM, entrepreneurship, and the critically important subject of civics, Girl Scouts is continuing to build the transformational female leaders of today and the future and showing girls the power they have to truly change the world.”

Girl Scouts has made free self-guided activities from select new and existing programming

available digitally to the public through Girl Scouts at Home™, keeping families engaged and connected to their communities. Girls can further engage with the badges and topics through online videos, activities, or special live virtual events. Members can access a suite of Girl

Scouts’ programming digitally through the Volunteer Toolkit, including troop meeting plans and other resources to help girls earn badges and awards. Girls currently waiting to be placed in a troop can join a Virtual Friendship Troop, where they will make new friends and participate in Girl Scout activities from the comfort of their home. Find a variety of additional activities hosted by Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast, including at-home programs and live virtual events, by visiting our At-Home Programs page.

In addition, beginning this summer, all councils will also have the opportunity to host their own Girl Scout Cyber Challenge sponsored by Raytheon Technologies, enabling middle and high school girls to learn crucial cybersecurity skills as they compete in challenges such as running traceroutes and identifying phishing schemes. The Cyber Challenge prepares girls to pursue careers in computer science and cybersecurity.

To join or volunteer, visit www.girlscouts.org/join.

Vol. 13, No. 23 – Aug 12 – Aug 25, 2020 – Social Justice Column

by M. Scott

23andMe Paper on Transatlantic Slave Trade Published

Published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, a paper by 23andMe researchers leveraged genetic data from close to 50,000 people to detail one of the most comprehensive investigations of the transatlantic slave trade ever done.

The study confirms genetic links between regions in the Americas with areas along the Atlantic coast of Africa that align with routes of known slave voyages documented in shipping records.

The researchers were able to date the arrival of specific African populations to different parts of the Americas and the representation of specific African communities in those regions of America.

“Last year marked 400 years since the arrival of the first enslaved Africans in what was to become the United States of America,” said lead author Steven Micheletti, Ph.D., and a 23andMe population geneticist.

“It’s important that we understand the rich history and contributions of African people and their descendants, to the culture and history not only of the United States but also to all the Americas. In looking at the genetic landscape that resulted from this forced migration, one gets a deep and profound sense of the continuous hardships people of African descent have endured.”

https://blog.23andme.com/23andme-research/transatlantic-slave-trade-paper/

Virginia Mayor Urged to Resign

Virginia mayor has been urged to resign after he allegedly wrote that “Joe Biden has just announced Aunt Jemima as his VP pick,” on his Facebook page. Barry Presgraves, the mayor of Luray, Virginia. The post came as presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden, is reportedly finalizing his choice for his running mate, with several black women identified as contenders. In the post, Presgraves said “I posted a picture on 8-1-20, I am sorry if I hurt anyone’s feelings lesson learned. It was not my intent to hurt anyone. I took it to be humorous. Sorry!”

Black Cartoonist Loses Syndication

Bianca Xunise, the second Black woman in comics history to be nationally syndicated and the first Black woman in the collective used her July 28 contribution to broach the biggest issues of the day. She depicted two women at the grocery store: one is Black, wearing a mask and a shirt that says, “I can’t breathe,” while the one standing beside her is white with blue eyes and without a mask. She says to the Black woman, “If you can’t breathe, then take that silly mask off!”

Some newspaper readers who saw artist Bianca Xunise’s comic commenting on both the Black Lives Matter movement and the coronavirus pandemic found it so offensive that they complained. As a result, some of the more than 120 publications around the U.S. that carry Six Chix, the strip that Xunise co-authors, decided to drop it altogether.

“…Ok now to explain this comic because everyone has been getting it wrong. It’s easy to assume that the white woman talking to me is a racist, that may or may not be true but that is not the point. The point is how white people see issues that affect black peoples as trivial.”

Xunise said she doesn’t regret her art. “I am not apologizing for this comic and this censorship,” she told NBC. “I am being silenced over white feelings from a gag comic. This is a complete step back in the wrong direction.”

Cori Bush Is Set to Be the First Black Lives Matter Leader in Congress

Bush shocked the country with an upset primary election win, unseating Rep. William Lacy Clay, the Democrat who has represented Missouri’s 1st Congressional District since 2001.

Bush won her race for an overwhelmingly Democratic St. Louis-area seat and is all but assured of victory in the general election. Bush’s ascent comes as the country, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, undergoes a long-overdue reckoning on policing and racial justice. The work of Ferguson movement veterans such as Bush laid the foundation of the broader racial justice movement.

Missouri state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge (D), a young Ferguson activist who became one of the first protesters to carve a path from activism to government service, said Bush’s experience on the front lines will help the Black Lives Matter movement gain a voice in federal politics. He was there last month when Bush jumped into nurse mode to aid demonstrators after police used tear gas and batons on a protest group in Florissant, and he remembers being pepper-sprayed with Bush during a 2017 protest in downtown St. Louis.

Voices in History

(Pull out quote: “Here, before God, in the presence of these witnesses, from this time, I consecrate my life to the destruction of slavery!”

John Brown was a leading figure in the abolitionist movement in the pre-Civil War United States. Unlike many anti-slavery activists, he was not a pacifist and believed in aggressive action against slaveholders and any government officials who enabled them. Brown became involved in the abolitionist movement following the brutal murder of Presbyterian minister and anti-slavery activist Elijah P. Lovejoy in 1837. He

By early 1859, Brown was leading raids to free slaves in areas where forced labor was still in practice, primarily in the present-day Midwest. At this time, he also met Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, activists and abolitionists both, and they became important people in Brown’s life, reinforcing much of his ideology.

John Brown’s Raid: The operation began on October 16, 1859, with the planned capture of Colonel Lewis Washington, a descendent of George Washington, at the former’s estate. The Washington family continued to own slaves. A group of men, led by Owen Brown, was able to kidnap Washington, while the rest of the men, with John Brown at the lead, began a raid on Harpers Ferry to seize both weapons and pro-slavery leaders in the town. Key to the raid’s success was accomplishing the objective — namely the seizure of the armory — before officials in Washington, D.C., could be informed and send in reinforcements.

Brown’s men were able to capture several local slave owners but, by the end of the day on the 16, local townspeople began to fight back. Early the next morning, they raised a local militia, which captured a bridge crossing the Potomac River, effectively cutting off an important escape route for Brown and his compatriots.

Although Brown and his men were able to take the Harpers Ferry armory during the morning of the 17, the local militia soon had the facility surrounded, and the two sides traded gunfire.

On October 17, 1859, President James Buchanan ordered a company of Marines under the command of Brevet Colonel (and future Confederate General) Robert E. Lee to march into Harpers Ferry.

The next morning, Lee attempted to get Brown to surrender, but the latter refused. Ordering the Marines under his command to attack, the military men stormed John Brown’s Fort, taking all of the abolitionist fighters and their captives alive.

Before his execution, he handed his guard a slip of paper that read, “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.” It was a prophetic statement. Although the raid failed, it inflamed sectional tensions and raised the stakes for the 1860 presidential election. Brown’s raid helped make any further accommodation between North and South nearly impossible and thus became an important impetus of the Civil War.