∙Wonderful that new county regulations are allowing most businesses to open and allow inside dining and other activities. There are still some restrictions, but things are getting somewhat back to normal. Schools will be opening also.

Ventura County is on its way to recording one of the driest rainy seasons on record.

Rainfall totals have reached less than one-third of normal for this time of year.

A few was supposed to be storms but never happened.

Average rainfall in April totals around an inch to an inch and a half for most areas. Much of Ventura County would need 8 or more inches just to get close to normal for this time of year.

In Ventura, normal would be about 12”, and we have had 3.3”.

∙Ventura County reported Wednesday that it had administered 281,751 COVID-19 vaccine doses: 195,297 first doses and 86,454 second doses. More information about who’s eligible and how to make an appointment can be found on the county’s website.

Vaccines have eradicated most common diseases. Hopefully, they will eliminate COVID but only if enough people get vaccinated. 49% of Republican males say they will not be vaccinated, even though Trump was vaccinated in the White House but didn’t let people know. Leadership at its finest.

Some say it is their right not to get vaccinated, that is true and okay if they live on an island by themselves, but they are jeopardizing the lives of others.

These are the percentages of diseases eliminated by vaccines.

Measles 99%

Pertussis (whooping cough) 92%

Mumps 98%

Rubella 99%

Smallpox 100%

Diphtheria 99%

Polio 100%

∙ The US Food and Drug Administration warns of investigation of acute non-viral hepatitis illness linked to “Real Water” brand alkaline water. Do not drink, cook, sell or serve “Real Water.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Southern Nevada Health District is investigating a number of reports of acute non-viral hepatitis in the state of Nevada.

The consumption of “Real Water” brand alkaline water is the only common link identified among all of these cases to date. This brand of alkaline water is owned by Real Water Inc., headquartered in Mesa, Arizona.

Although the investigation is ongoing, epidemiologic information currently indicates that this alkaline water product may be the cause of the illnesses.

“Ventura County is one of those few places in the nation where this product is sold. Please do not use any more of this product if you have any,” said Doctor Robert Levin, Public Health Officer. “See a physician if you begin to develop any of the symptoms of hepatitis, the most typical of which are dark urine, light colored stool and yellow eyes.”

Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not drink, cook with, sell, or serve “Real Water” alkaline water, until more information is known about the cause of the illnesses. These products include but are not limited to 5-gallon containers (sold through home delivery/subscription), bottles (sold on-line and in stores), and the “Real Water” concentrate (sold on-line).

∙Guns in the news

A 21-year-old white man went on a shooting spree at several Georgia spas, killing eight people, including six Asian women.

Capt. Jay Baker, a spokesperson for the Cherokee County sheriff’s office, said, during a press conference about the murders about murderer, Robert Aaron Long: “Yesterday was a really bad day for him, and this is what he did.” When I have a really bad day, I have a glass of wine. Amazing thing to say.

Since March 19, 2020, there has been 3,800 reported hate incidents against Asian Americans. This is just a small percentage as most hate crimes go unreported. Recently this is becoming a daily event.

A worker shot and killed two colleagues at a supermarket distribution center near Milwaukee before crashing his vehicle during a police pursuit and then killing himself.

A 21-year-old woman was killed, and eight people were wounded following a shooting early Saturday at a Dallas nightclub, police said.

Officers responded to an active shooter call around 1:30 a.m. at the Pryme nightclub after a “disturbance” between two groups of people according to the Dallas Police Department.

∙The House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, a measure that would require universal background checks on all commercial gun sales, part of a new push for gun control after Democrats won control of the Senate.

Some Republicans strongly objected to the expanded checks, one saying they’re “meant to turn law-abiding citizens into criminals.” Despite their criticism, eight Republicans backed the bill, which passed 227-203. Citizens are law abiding until they commit a crime or kill someone.

∙For the fourth year in a row, Finland has come out on top in the annual list for the most happy country. Iceland, Denmark, Switzerland, and the Netherlands followed in second, third, fourth and fifth position. The United States moved up from 18th to 14th place. But never near the top.

∙Some Democrats, and Republicans, want New York Governor Cuomo to resign or to be impeached for inappropriate actions toward women. How ironic that Republicans are calling for his impeachment while they have never felt the same toward Trump who bribed several prostitutes (oops, I mean porn stars who get paid for having sex with men) and has bragged that he could have sex (while married) with any woman that he wants. He makes Cuomo look like a saint. Scum1 and scum2 (sounds like a Dr. Suess title).

∙Former President George W. Bush said the January 6 Capitol riot made him “sick to my stomach” and that he continues to be “disturbed” by it. “I can’t remember what I was doing, but

I was sick to my stomach … to see our nation’s Capitol being stormed by hostile forces,” Bush said in an interview with The Texas Tribune. Bush said the siege “undermines rule of law and the ability to express yourself in peaceful ways in the public square.” “This was an expression that was not peaceful,” he added. “I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and by the lack of respect shown today for our institutions, our traditions, and our law enforcement,” he said. “The violent assault on the Capitol and disruption of a constitutionally mandated meeting of Congress was undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes.”

∙A Hamas Islamic court in the Gaza Strip has ruled that women are required to have permission from a male in order to travel outside of the territory. Further restricting the rights of women and their movement and lives.

∙East Ventura will be getting a kindergarten through eighth grade school at Academy of Technology and Leadership at Saticoy known as ATLAS Elementary. The Ventura Unified School District board voted 4-1, dissenting was Trustee Matt Almaraz, who didn’t want to add middle school grades to the elementary school.

This vote comes after the district’s decision last year to add middle school grades to Lemon Grove School, formerly known as Blanche Reynolds Elementary, for the start of the 2021-22 school year. The decision was partly made due to parents’ desire for a school from transitional kindergarten to eighth grade in midtown Ventura.

Prior to the change to Lemon Grove and ATLAS, Ventura had two public K-8 schools – Sunset School in Oak View and Homestead, the district’s homeschool program.

∙On February 22, the City Council adopted ordinances to establish a commercial cannabis program. To effectively proceed with the cannabis program, a professional consultant with industry experience was needed to assist in evaluating cannabis business applications, conducting background checks, compliance checks, and auditing of cannabis businesses.

They approved and authorized the Mayor to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Hinderliter de Llamas & Associates to provide cannabis consulting services. The term of the contract is from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2026, for a total contract amount of $842,000. They are counting on the fees being fully offset by the cannabis application fees.

The proposed fees target full cost recovery for permit processing, for processing appeals for the denial of a permit, and background checks. Commercial Cannabis Permit Application Fee:

New Permit Application Fee (Phases 1-3) $8,844

New Permit Application Fee (Phase 4) $1,482

LiveScan/Background Checks $377

Appeal Fee $3,178

This is a new program, so it is difficult to accurately anticipate the number of permits that will be requested each year. For purposes of estimation, the city has assumed 45 permit applications the first year. Based on this assumption, it is anticipated that between staff and the consultant, costs will be approximately $465,000. This will be offset by the proposed application fee designed to target full cost recovery.

Hopefully by the end of this year we will have some dispensaries in Ventura so that our money doesn’t go to other cities.

∙Have you seen photos of Mars? Who would want to live there? It makes Death Valley look hospitable.

∙Some people think that athletes (like LeBron James) should just “Shut up and play ball” and not comment on political affairs. Athletes have the same right to speak up that we all have. I’ve never heard anyone say, “Bill Gates should shut up and just make money.”

∙As Dr. Seuss goes, goes the world. Six Dr. Seuss books will stop being published due to racist and insensitive imagery as instructed by the Dr. Seuss Enterprises that controls publication of his books. While books by Dr. Seuss (whose real name was Theodor Geisel) still remain very popular, they have received criticism over the years for the way in which people of color are portrayed.

FOX news, and some Republicans, have been saying “they are responsible for this” suggesting that this is just the Democrats ruinng America. Some Republicans have been reading Dr. Seuss on TV (I think to prove that they can read). COVID deaths continue, a bad economy and other concerns and they are making an issue out of children’s books hoping to blame liberals.

∙Some people are saying that there haven’t been over 500,000 COVID-19 deaths because some deaths attributed to COVID have not been because of COVID (another conspiracy?). I agree, but there have been many deaths due to COVID because many people are not getting the medical care that they should be getting. Hospitals and doctors have been too busy to deal with them. Or, because they are afraid to get medical care, they are dying. Therefore, the 500,000 amount makes sense to me.

∙QAnon (/ ˌkjuːəˈnɒn /), or simply Q, is a disproven and discredited American far-right conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles, is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotted against former U.S. president Donald Trump while he was in office. Scary to think that millions of Americans appear to believe this is possible.

∙States to avoid: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, both republicans, announced Tuesday they would allow businesses to reopen at 100% capacity and lift mask mandates.

The governor of South Carolina took a victory lap after his gubernatorial colleagues in Texas and Mississippi lifted their mask mandates, touting the fact that his state never had such a mandate.

President Joe Biden called the decisions a “big mistake.” “The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking, that, ‘In the meantime, everything’s fine. Take off your mask. Forget it.’ It still matters,” Biden said.

I think that Biden is insulting Neanderthals (I’m 1.5% Neanderthal. Don’t laugh, we are all part Neanderthal) and owes us an apology.

If it’s important enough for the Vatican it is important enough for the US. The Vatican has told employees that they may risk losing their jobs if they refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccination without legitimate health reasons. A decree by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello, effectively the governor of Vatican City, said getting a vaccine was “the responsible choice” because of the risk of harming other people.

Vatican City has several thousand employees, most of whom live in Italy. Its vaccination program began last month and Pope Francis, 84, was among the first to get the shot.

Pope Francis stated, “It is an ethical choice because you are gambling with your health, with your life, but you are also gambling with the lives of others.”

∙Need to give this guy credit for being so creative. A California driver who said he had used a mannequin as his passenger for at least a year and a half so he could access carpool lanes has been cited and faces a fine of at least $400.

The mannequin, adorned with gray hair, wrinkles, glasses, a Cleveland Indians baseball cap and a face mask, sat in the passenger seat when he was pulled over. The officer knew it was fake because no one ever wears a Cleveland Indians baseball cap.

∙We need to love politicians. Trump’s big complaint about Biden, at 78, was he was much to old to be president – now Trump says he will run in 2024 when he will be 78.

∙The DC National Guard commander said he was not allowed to send troops to the Capitol riots, in sharp contrast to the city’s George Floyd protests last year, when troops were given immediate permission to deploy.

∙The California law banning the sale of flavored tobacco products has been placed on hold after state officials said that a referendum backed by the tobacco industry qualified for the November 2022 ballot. I didn’t realize that a ballot measure can stop a law from taking place. This is unfortunate, as many more kids will become addicted because of this delay.

∙The Ventura City Council has voted 4-2 (only 6 members on the council right now) to introduce two ordinances to permit a limited number of cannabis dispensary’s in Ventura. Voting to adopt the resolution were Doug Halter, Lorrie Brown, Jim Friedman and Joe Schroeder. Voting against were Mayor Sofia Rubalcava and Mike Johnson.

The council’s vote also included a resolution establishing the maximum number of commercial cannabis businesses in the city to 5 retail locations and 10 industrial locations. They must have 600’ buffers around elementary, middle and high schools. Not sure why this is required.

On a 5-1 vote, the resolution contained a strange amendment that was added to it. The amendment states that a cannabis business that applies for a city permit be penalized one point in an evaluation scoring system if it is on a walking route to a school that tends to have a lot of student foot traffic. What the heck is a lot of students? Ten for elementary and 25 for high schools? Resolutions that are completely subjective don’t mean a thing.

A city staff report estimates that each retail business would generate about $200,000 in annual tax revenue, with industrial businesses such as testing labs and distributors producing substantially less. Retail cultivation would continue to be prohibited.

It’s about time we allow cannabis businesses in Ventura. Venturan’s have spoken and want them. Businesses to open in Ventura were contingent upon the passage in the Nov. 3 election of a city measure to tax them. Measure I passed overwhelmingly 42,321 votes, 71.85% in favor, 16,583 votes, 28.15% against.

We have a cannabis dispensary Shangri La (located in Ojai) that advertises with us and I have been there several times. It is like a fine jewelry store inside. Nice display counters, a professional staff and a security guard. No one is hanging around outside smoking weed. It’s just like any other retail business and nicer than some.

Hopefully, city council members that opposed them have visited several cannabis stores to see how they are run and present themselves to the community.

∙These were the applicants to fill the city council seat for District 4 available when Erik Nasarenko left to be the county district attorney. Ken Cozzens, Thomas Edelson, Brad Golden, Jenny Lagerquist, John Lory, Dan Lyon, Mike Marostica, Michael Mislinay, Spencer Noren, Clarey Rudd, Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios, John Silva, Tyler Threadgill and Bonaventure Wakam.

On February 20, city council members interviewed 13 of the candidates via zoom and selected Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios as the new council member by a 4-2 vote (Note: The 2 no votes were not really against her but against the procedure in selecting the new council member). Her term will be until Nov.2022. The final 2 selections came down to Jeannette and Jenny Lagerquist. Even though I think that she is very qualified, I believe this was a terrible way of selecting a council member. A special election should have been called for (yes it would cost around $100,000) but the residents of the district should have had the opportunity of making their own selection. The council could have still functioned with 6 members waiting for the election to occur.

∙Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has won a $1 million Israeli prize for “defending science” throughout his career. The Dan David Foundation which is based at Tel Aviv University said on Monday that Fauci has won the prize for “courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging COVID crisis.”

“As the COVID-19 pandemic unraveled he leveraged his considerable communication skills to address people gripped by fear and anxiety and worked relentlessly to inform individuals in the United States and elsewhere about the public health measures essential for containing the pandemic’s spread,” the foundation’s awards committee said.

∙This is about basketball in case you don’t want to read it. There is a great debate going on about who is the greatest NBA player ever Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Perhaps the greatest athlete in any sport should be the one who won the most championships. If so, the runaway winner is Bill Russell.

LeBron 4 in 18 years=22%; Jordan 6 in 15 years=40%; Russell 11 in 13 years=84%. And Russell lead the San Francisco Dons to 2 NCAA championships. I’d better hear from some sports fans.

∙I think our presidents have much to much singular power. It borders on being a dictator (no, I am not speaking of Trump specifically). Trump becomes president and can just reverse what Obama did just with a stroke of the pen. Then, Biden can just reverse what Trump decided with a stroke of a pen. Not much check and balances for so many very important decisions.

∙When several thousand Californian’s lost electric power last summer for several hours Texas Senator Ted Cruz, always ready to criticize California, said “California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization like having reliable electricity.” Wonder what he has to say about 4,000,000 homes and businesses that have lost power in Texas for many days?

Even funnier (sadder still), Texas Republicans (and others) are blaming California for making Texas follow our lead (the devil made us do it). Millions of Texas residents still falsely claiming that wind turbines and solar energy were primarily to blame. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas projected that 80% of the grid’s winter capacity, or 67 gigawatts, could be generated by natural gas, coal and some nuclear power.

There is a spreading photo of a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine with claims it showed a “chemical” solution being applied to one of the massive wind generators in Texas. Actually the photo was taken in Sweden years ago, not in the U.S. in 2021. And, the helicopter sprayed hot water onto the wind turbine, not chemicals.

∙ “President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day,” stated Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell.

∙President Joe Biden took questions from Wisconsin residents and from Anderson Cooper at a CNN town hall event in Milwaukee. He made at least four statistical false claims about the minimum wage, undocumented immigrants, China’s economy and Covid-19 vaccinations. Maybe presidents should never make comments based upon statistics or facts. Just generalizations, so they can’t be caught making false statements and lies that are verifiable.

∙Police in Oregon can no longer arrest those in possession of small amounts of heroin and other such drugs after a ballot measure that decriminalized them has taken effect. Those found in possession would face a $100 fine for health assessment that could lead to addiction counseling. This type of normalization could stop what has been a cruel and inhumane war on drugs which has completely failed.

∙ Congratulations to our senior account executive Breezy Gledhill for her 10 years with the Ventura Breeze. Without her bringing in advertisers, there would not be a Ventura Breeze.

∙ Being on the Ventura City Council has been a great stepping-stone for higher political office. Ventura councilman Erik Nasarenko has been appointed as Ventura County’s district attorney. Erik is a senior prosecutor for the county.

Voting 5-0, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors chose Nasarenko over six other candidates.

Other city council members who have moved up are Steve Bennett, (AD 37) who went from the city council to being a Ventura County Supervisor to an Assembly member, and Matt LaVere who was recently voted in to become a Ventura County Supervisor following in the steps of Bennett.

Nasarenko would have to win election in June 2022 or in a subsequent runoff to keep the job after the appointment expires.

Replacing him on the city council has become very controversial – see the article in this issue regarding this.

∙ Very glad to see County (and therefore Ventura) restaurants are now allowed to serve customers outside again. Hopefully, schools will be able to open soon. So many students are falling behind in their studies.

∙The Ventura City Council has approved the last funding to get the planned $60.5 million Ventura Veterans Home development off the ground. The council voted to allocate up to $660,000 in federal HOME funding for the 122-unit affordable housing project located on a 9.6-acre city-owned site at 10900 Telephone Rd.

The complex will be adjacent to the existing 60-bed Veterans Home of California. Of the project’s 122 units, 120 will be low-income rental apartments exclusively for veterans. The two remaining units will be for the property managers.

The HOME Investment Partnerships Program provides funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for low and moderate-income housing projects which could be used for this purpose.

Councilmember Lorrie Brown stated, “My father is a veteran and he’s very fortunate to have a home. But I know that’s not always the case with all the veterans here in the county.”

∙ My wife and I recently received vaccine shots at the fairgrounds. Very well smoothly run, (and it didn’t even hurt).

∙I think schools should open as soon as possible. Students being stuck at home and trying to learn has been detrimental to their development. More so than the virus itself. Because of social media, kid’s today have little enough human contact to begin with. “I spoke with grandma today.” “How did she sound?” “I don’t know, we texted.”

∙ Often times it feels as if our two major political parties are more concerned about being right then they are about the welfare of the country. If Democrats make a COVID-19 proposal Republicans are automatically opposed to it. If Republicans make a proposal (even if it was the same one) the Democrats oppose it. No wonder they frequently don’t achieve enough.

For instance, the Senate approved a measure that would let Democrats pass the relief plan through the chamber without Republican support. Vice President Kamala Harris was in the chair to cast the tie-breaking vote 51-50. It just can’t be that every Democrat liked it and every Republican doesn’t – they just vote along party line. Frustrating.

∙February is Black History Month. Black History Month was first proposed by black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in February 1969. The first celebration of Black History Month took place at Kent State one year later, from January 2 to February 28, 1970.

During the celebration of the United States Bicentennial, President Gerald Ford officially made February Black History Month. He urged Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of Black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”

∙Perhaps we haven’t come as far as we think. A small Louisiana cemetery that denied burial to a Black sheriff’s deputy held an emergency meeting and removed a whites-only provision from its sales contracts. H. Creig Vizena, board president for Oaklin Springs Cemetery in southwest Louisiana, said he was stunned and ashamed to learn two days earlier that the family of Allen Parish Sheriff’s Deputy Darrell Semien had been told he could not be buried at the cemetery near Oberlin because he was African American.

But this certainly helps. North Carolina will no longer issue or renew specialty license plates depicting the Confederate battle flag. The state’s Division of Motor Vehicles said the agency had received complaints about plates featuring the Confederate flag.

∙Guns in the news:

Gunfire left two people dead and three wounded outside a strip club in western Pennsylvania.

A man in Pennsylvania shot and killed a couple in a murder-suicide over a snow removal dispute.

Six people, including five small children, died and a second adult was injured after a gunman opened fire at an Oklahoma home, police said. The five children fatally shot were ages two, three, five, six, and nine.

∙Over the past few weeks Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have been making outlandish, stupid conspiracy theories. One of those is that the 2018 wildfires in California were caused by Jewish space lasers.

Everyone knows that the fires were started by lizards that live in our sewers and were smoking pot when their matches started sewer gas burning and it spread throughout California in the sewer system. Shocking that an intelligent woman like her did not know this. I hope this clarifies it for you.

∙Donald Trump has funneled thousands of dollars from his donors into his private business after his loss in the 2020 presidential election. The former president’s reelection campaign moved roughly $2.8 million from donors into the Trump organization over his term, including at least $81,000 since he lost the election, according to Forbes. This is based on campaign finance reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

∙California climate advocates are celebrating the announcement from the Biden administration to halt oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. Advocates with the Protect the Pacific Coalition mention the need to protect the U.S. coastal economy from the risks of oil spills, addressing the climate crisis and the need for healthy oceans.

President Biden also issued a series of executive orders to take swift climate action. This included an Executive Order on 30×30, a commitment to protecting 30% of our nation’s lands and waters by 2030. The 30×30 Executive Order follows on the heels of California Governor Newsom’s statewide commitment to 30×30 last year.

∙All kinds of good stuff at www.venturabreeze.com. Surf reports, weather, past issues, Scampclub pets, horoscopes and the current issue. Plus, other goodies.

∙ The Ventura Port District Board of Port Commissioners approved a program to defer rental payments for Ventura Harbor Village tenants who have been directly impacted by the pandemic. Which is probably all of them. Businesses which have been closed by government order or lost 20% or more of their typical monthly pre-COVID-19 revenue are able to take advantage of the program. This will last, at least for now, through March 31, 2021. And I’m sure will be extended again.

∙ A man found dead last week on the sidewalk in front of a vacant lot in Ventura has been identified. Anthony Miller, 42, of Ventura, died of a stab wound in the chest, according to the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office. Miller was listed as homeless, according to the medical examiner’s office. Ventura police were called just before 7 a.m., on Dec. 28, about a body found in the 100 block of Leighton Drive off N. Ventura Avenue.

Miller was the fourth homicide victim reported in Ventura in 2020.

∙ The Ventura City Council rejected an appeal of the city Planning Commission’s approval of a planned 50,000-square-foot Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Ventura. The council voted unanimously, 7-0, to deny the appeal of the Planning Commission’s approval in November of the planned U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic. The project can now move forward and replace a smaller VA clinic located in Oxnard.

The appeal was filed by Pasadena attorney Mitchell Tsai on behalf of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, a labor union representing more than 50,000 carpenters in six states.

Even though the stated purpose of the appeal cited environmental review asserting that the project’s noise, air quality and other impacts were not adequately analyzed or disclosed, it was more about using local tradesmen on the project.

The council adopted a resolution upholding the Planning Commission’s finding that the project’s initial environmental study appropriately discussed and mitigated the negative environmental impacts and upholding the Planning Commission’s approval of the project.

A third resolution was also adopted by the council, urging the project’s contractor to use local union workers when possible (what about non-union workers?) The question is what is local? City of Ventura, County of Ventura? Always good to keep the money in Ventura but the contractor still has no legal obligation to do this.

The new one-story clinic, which will be run by the VA, is planned for the eight-acre site at 5250 Ralston St., which is the former home of the Ventura County Star that can be seen from the freeway.

City spokesperson Heather Sumagaysay stated, “With the council’s denial of the appeal, the project can now move forward in obtaining the necessary permits to demolish the existing building, begin grading and then constructing the new clinic.” It is expected to be completed in April of 2022.

The VA will pay an annual fee of $3.1 million and $9.7 million to develop the new space.

∙ The House of Representatives has approved legislation that would decriminalize marijuana and seek to “address the devastating injustices caused by the War on Drugs.” The vote in the Democratic led House is the first time a chamber of Congress has voted on federal marijuana decriminalization.

The bill passed largely along party lines: 222 Democrats, five Republicans and a libertarian, voted in support while 158 Republicans and six Democrats voted against it. Those voting against it will need to still smoke pot only in their homes.

Hopefully, this will eventually be law. How stupid that decriminalized marijuana is legal in most states but not by the government.

∙I want to thank Trump for giving us our first female vice president, and Biden.

I’m glad that the inauguration went smoothly, but it is a shame that it took 25,000 military to help make that happen. Even though, at times, I thought that the inauguration was a revival meeting.

How bad for America that leaders and residents of other countries had to see what occurred here and stir their belief in what democracy stands for. Hopefully, Biden, and other future presidents, can change this.

I wish Biden the best, but he has inherited a broken country with 400,000 COVID-19 deaths and rising (much more if you count those who died because they couldn’t get care they needed due to full hospitals and ICU’s and also avoiding the hospital) a broken economy, a minor civil war plus the impact of climate change.

So nice to watch CNN without getting aggravated and depressed.

The Biden administration has rejoined the Paris Agreement. Clean Power Alliance Executive Director Ted Bardacke stated, “On behalf of Clean Power Alliance (CPA), I want to express my profound appreciation and congratulations to President Biden for his Executive Order to rejoin the Paris Agreement. With climate change being one of the most crucial issues facing humanity, it is paramount that our nation be among the leaders in this fight at the global level.”

I oppose presidents (not just Trump because other presidents have pardoned more people), and governors having pardon rights. Presidential pardons were from the 1787 Constitutional Convention when Alexander Hamilton suggested giving the president the power to pardon people who have committed crimes.

George Washington granted pardons to two men behind the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion. That rebellion was a response to a federal tax placed on alcohol. Washington pardoned the insurgents in the final days of his second term, sighting the need to temper justice with mercy.

One of the most controversial pardons was in 1974, after President Richard Nixon was forced to resign in the wake of the Watergate scandal. His successor Gerald Ford issued Nixon an unconditional pardon for any crimes Nixon “may” have committed.

Lord Acton 1887 “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Like all Americans (I wish) I was ashamed, embarrassed, shocked, angry and tearful watching what Trump (and some of his relatives) has brought upon this country by Inciting an insurrection that left 5 Americans dead. I certainly hope that he is prosecuted for his actions.

This was simply terror and anarchy from those who belong to the party of “law and order.” Responding to their mentally unbalanced leader.

Some have accused me of not loving America because of my criticism of him but my criticism is because I love America. He doesn’t love America, his allies, the constitution, his country he only loves himself. Look how he quickly abandons anyone who doesn’t do what he demands of them or opposes him in any way and throws them under the bus.

Trump said in a statement after Congress certified his loss. “I have always said we would continue our fight while this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history. The sad part is that he really believes this.

Take VP Pence who has kissed his ass for 4-years and Trump asked him to take an action that he couldn’t even legally do so Trump just dumped him. Trump said to have told Pence ‘I don’t want to be your friend’ after the vice president refused to block Biden’s election certification.

Even as his fans were running wild through the Capitol he tweeted “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots.” He told rioters to “go home now,” but added “we love you” and “you are special.”

The only relief of the day was the speech that Biden made. In it he encouraged Trump to condemn the Trump army but when Trump did speak he basically praised them and called them heroes. He even said he loved these traitors and anarchists who attempted to destroy our democratic processes.

As a defense lawyer and a so-called right-leaning legal commentator on Fox News Catherine Cherkasky stated,” I am very sensitive to claims of unfairness or illegality in our nation’s institutions and processes, particularly in our elections. In this case, however, these violent protests are not about a breakdown in the election process rendering the outcome invalid. They are about nothing more than the bruised ego of President Donald Trump, who lost an election then failed to present any tangible legal grounds upon which it should be reversed.”

Trump’s eldest sons threatened Republican lawmakers at a large rally outside the White House on Wednesday, pledging that their family would continue to dispute the results of the 2020 election just hours before Congress was set to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.

“To those Republicans, many of which may be voting on things in the coming hours: You have an opportunity today,” Donald Trump Jr. told the crowd gathered for the “Save America March” on the White House Ellipse. “You can be a hero, or you can be a zero. And the choice is yours. But we are all watching. These guys better fight for Trump. Because if they’re not, guess what? I’m going to be in your backyard in a couple of months!” Donald Trump Jr. said, suggesting he would support primary campaigns against Republicans who did not side with his father.

The whole world is watching, folks. Choose wisely.”

Indeed, the whole world was watching, how I wish they weren’t. Here are a few of hundreds of comments made by the leaders of other countries condemning these actions. And saying America no longer has the right to condemn other countries.

“American democracy is obviously limping on both feet. This, alas, is actually the bottom. I say this without a shadow of gloating. America no longer charts a course and therefore has lost all rights to set it — and even more so to impose it on others.” — Konstantin Kosachev, head of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s upper house of parliament.

“The scenes from the U.S. Capitol show how dangerous the rhetoric of hatred is. Contempt for democratic institutions erodes citizens’ rights and can undermine political order.” — Slovakian President Zuzana Caputova.

The good news is that many many of these traitors are being arrested and more will be. The man who appeared in a viral photo carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern has been arrested.

Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday that Donald Trump should resign the presidency immediately and that if the Republican Party cannot separate itself from Trump, she isn’t certain she has a future in the Republican Party.

Twitter has suspended President Donald Trump from its platform. “After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” I only hope that other social media follow suit and TV stations never mention him after he is out of office and maybe he will just fade way,

Critics inside and outside of the platforms have been pleading with the social media firms for years to restrict or take down Trump’s accounts, arguing that Trump’s peddling of dangerous disinformation and incitements to violence outweighed any free-speech concerns.

Former White House communications director Alyssa Farah said Friday that President Donald Trump lied to the American people about the 2020 presidential election results and said that he should “seriously consider” resigning from office after Wednesday’s deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.

Farah said on CNN’s “New Day” that she holds Trump responsible for inciting the mob that stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress’ certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win and allowing this “lie to take a life of its own that the election might be overturned.”

Farah’s statement joins former White House chief of staff John Kelly in calling for Trump to either step down or be removed from office in his final days, an extraordinary rebuke of a sitting President from once high-ranking administration officials.

In an exclusive interview, Rep. Paul Mitchell, Republican of Michigan, told CNN that his disgust and disappointment with President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the election have led him to request that the Clerk of the House change his party affiliation to “independent,” and to notify GOP leaders in a letter that he is withdrawing his “engagement and association with the Republican Party at both the national and state level.”

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse said he was not opposed to removing President Donald Trump from office through impeachment for the president’s encouragement of an “insurrectionist mob” that stormed the Capitol Wednesday. “Donald Trump has acted shamefully. He has been in flagrant dereliction of his duty and he will be remembered for having incited this and for having drawing more division into an already divided people. That is who Donald Trump is. That is what his legacy is going to be.”

President-elect Joe Biden said President Donald Trump’s decision to skip his inauguration is “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on. It’s a good thing, him not showing up,” Biden told reporters.

“He exceeded even my worst notions about him. He’s been an embarrassment to the country, embarrassed us around the world. He’s not worthy to hold that office,” Biden said.

However, Biden said he is glad Vice President Mike Pence will attend his inauguration.

___

∙Wow, this year is almost over, and not a minute too soon. A relief, but certainly not the end of the world’s problems. COVID-19 will still be with us for a long time, especially if many people do not take the vaccine and continue to spread it.

A devastating year for most businesses, especially restaurants that were at least allowed to serve outside, but can no longer do that at this time. Hopefully, that will change soon.

An especially tough year for the Breeze family because we lost Izzy Baker and Bernie Goldstein.

∙In this issue we feature our 3 new city council members. I look forward to seeing how they perform and contribute to the success of Ventura. So much to do. Doug Halter persevered and finally made it on his third try. His contributions to Ventura have been huge. So glad that he finally made it. Wish Christy Weir the best now that she is a “civilian” again.

∙The county is allowing people to park their mobile homes, etc. next to the freeway just outside of Ventura off Ventura Ave. in an unincorporated area of Ventura County. Some are upset with this because they say it is ruining the “neighborhood.” There is no “neighborhood” where they are parking. It is open land on both sides of the freeway or very industrial. I feel that this is an excellent response to the fact that there are so many more people right now that are homeless because of the pandemic. Better than standing on corners asking for money.

Let’s appreciate it that these people are trying to keep their lives going and doing the best they can. The county monitors the area and tries to keep it clean and livable and safe for those living there. I think even the large parking area at the San Buenaventura State Beach could be used for this purpose.

∙The Vagabond Inn in Oxnard has officially been purchased under the state’s Project Homekey program and will be converted from a hotel into permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals. The Vagabond Inn in Ventura was also used for this purpose but wasn’t purchased for permanent housing.

The state’s Project Homekey has provided $600 million in grant funding to local cities and counties to purchase hotels, motels and vacant apartment buildings and turn them into housing for the state’s homeless population.

Along these lines, the state acquired many homes and apartments as part of the now abandoned plans to extend the 710 freeway that are now sitting empty in disrepair. Families who are homeless (many for the first time) are willing to break the law and move into these abandoned residences that are owned by the California Department of Transportation.

Of course, they’re breaking the law, but perhaps this is better than being homeless and living outside with kids, especially with winter coming. The state has let most of these homes just deteriorate making some unsafe and uninhabitable. As people lose their jobs there is a large amount of newly homeless families that say living in them is still better than being homeless.

∙Ventura officials say sports leagues from outside Ventura County are coming to illegally use our sports fields without city permits. As a deterrent, the Ventura City Council has adopted an emergency ordinance under which the adult and youth leagues can be fined from $500 to $2,000.

The council also adopted a second emergency ordinance under which fees will be waived for the city’s nonprofit youth sports leagues to legally use the city’s sports fields and facilities.

The fees are being waived because the COVID-19 pandemic has the leagues’ budgets and many families unable to pay the costs associated with youth sports. I love to see the city respond to the new needs of families. With schools closed it is very important that kids can play outside.

Chemists at Scripps Research have made a discovery that supports a surprising new view of how life started on our planet. They demonstrated that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP), which was possibly present on Earth before life arose, could have chemically aligned with tiny DNA building blocks called deoxynucleosides to form strands of primordial DNA.

The finding is the latest in a series of discoveries over the past several years pointing to the possibility that DNA and its close chemical cousin RNA arose together as products of similar chemical reactions, and that the first self-replicating molecules were mixes of the two. Now you know where we came from.

∙ Preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year from all causes, at least 400,000 more than in 2019.

U.S. deaths increase most years, but the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15% and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted.

That would mark the largest single year percentage leap since 1918, when tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers died in World War I and hundreds of thousands died in a flu pandemic. Deaths rose 46% that year, compared with 1917.

∙Thousands of companies and US government agencies were at risk of being spied on for months following a sweeping cyberattack perhaps carried out by Russian hackers. The full extent of the attack is not yet known, but the list of victims is said to include the Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon, among others. This is a huge concern – not just some kids having fun. They could probably shut down our entire electric grid.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney said that President Donald Trump has a “blind spot” when it comes to dealing with Russia after the President downplayed the massive cyberattack (suggesting it could be China) on US federal agencies linked to the country, warning that the aggression “is a big wake-up call for us.”

∙Antarctica has recorded its first Covid-19 case after 36 people tested positive on a Chilean research base. The news marks an unfortunate milestone in the fight against coronavirus, as until this week, Antarctica was the last continent free from the virus’ grip.

∙The House of Representatives has approved legislation that would decriminalize marijuana and seek to “address the devastating injustices caused by the War on Drugs.” The first time a chamber of Congress has voted on federal marijuana decriminalization. However, it has little chance of passing the Republican led Senate so Republicans will need to smoke pot in private. So stupid – it is legal now in most states but not by the Fed. government. It will even be allowed in Ventura this year.

∙In a Saturday morning tweet directed at the Supreme Court, Trump called it “incompetent and weak” for its handlings of his claims that there was fraud in the November election. And he thought that it was “his” supreme court.

The president still claims to have “absolute proof” that widespread voter fraud occurred during the November election, but he said that the Supreme Court doesn’t “want to see it.” It seems that no one else wants to see it either, as he just continues to lose lawsuits.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger called out President Trump and House Republicans who back his “crazy conspiracies” and denials that he lost the election to President-elect Joe Biden.

“My God. Trying to burn the place down on the way out because you can’t handle losing,” Kinzinger tweeted. “No evidence, nothing but your temper tantrum and crazy conspiracies.”

Televangelist Pat Robertson, a prominent conservative backer of Donald Trump, said that the President is living in an “alternate reality” and should “move on” from his 2020 election loss.

Let’s move forward. I wish you all a Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year!

∙Difficult times for all businesses, especially for restaurants. They were finally were able to open up, and then just serve outside, but now can only do takeout again. How long can small businesses exist under these conditions?

Some restaurants in Ventura (and other communities) are defying the orders and staying open hoping other restaurants will take the same action. They can be severely fined but are willing to take the chance so they can serve their customers. On one hand, I admire them, but I’m very concerned that with the rapidly increase in COVID cases and deaths is this a safe thing to do?

∙The US 101/California Street off-ramp relocation to Oak Street will move the existing northbound off-ramp under California Street to Oak Street and replace the California Street bridge over Highway 101. California Street would become the primary pedestrian access corridor from Downtown to the beach. The City has been working on the Project Approval and Environmental Document phase of the California Street Northbound Ramp Relocation Project for many years.

It is estimated that the cost of construction will be approximately $21.5 million. The construction includes a new California Street bridge over U.S. 101 and other improvements along Thompson Blvd. Funding could come from several different Federal or State infrastructure grant programs. Don’t plan on using the new ramp for many, many years.

∙As previously reported (but not certified yet), Councilmember Halter (District 2), Councilmember Johnson (District 3), and Councilmember Schroeder (District 7) were elected to represent their district’s.

Two City measures – Measure I (Cannabis and Hemp Tax) and Measure J (Public

Works Contracts – Charter Amendment) were also approved.

Per Ventura City Charter, Section 507, all City Councilmember elected on November 3, 2020 are limited to no more than three consecutive, four-year terms in office.

∙The Public Health Officers for the three Central Coast Counties have submitted a letter to the State Public Health officials requesting that the State treat the area as a “sub-region” when determining when our local ICU capacity justifies exiting the Regional Stay-at-Home Order.

Following that action, the County Board of Supervisors endorsed the request and reinforced our commitment to ensuring public health and safety is the priority, but also made the case that the situations in our counties do not compare to those in the other Southern California counties with which we have been grouped. They urged the Governor to allow the Central Coast to exit the Regional Stay at Home Order when our three counties combined ICU capacity exceeds the 15% standard.

∙Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved a bill making abortion legal in a much-debated vote that many in the predominantly Roman Catholic country are describing as historic. The bill now heads to the Senate. “Today we write a new chapter in history,” Argentina’s Women, Genders and Diversity Minister Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta tweeted after the approval of the Voluntary Interruption of Pregnancy Bill.

∙India’s ruling Hindu nationalist party approved legislation that requires a prison term up to 10 years for anyone found guilty of using marriage to force someone to change religion

∙More than 5,000 children have been detained and separated from their parents at the US- Mexican border since 2017. The parents of over 600 children still have not been found. Some people say that this is the parent’s fault, but you can’t punish little children because of their parent’s actions. Even when single parents go to prison their kids are placed in a location where they can be re-united when jail time is over.

∙ A former longtime Republican, Alabama Senator Larry Dixon, 78, had a scary final message before he died of COVID-19. He contracted the bug during an outdoors hangout “with a couple of guys” and his worsening condition left him on a ventilator. Dixon’s wife, Gaynell Dixon, said that her husband issued one final plea before his death. “We messed up. We let our guard down. Please tell everybody to be careful. This is real, and if you get diagnosed, get help immediately.”

∙According to Penelope Abernathy from the University of South Carolina, in the past 15 years more than a quarter of the country’s newspapers have closed and 1,800 cities that had a local newspaper in 2004 no longer have one in 2020. Without local newspapers folks cannot be informed to what is happening in their communities. I am grateful that we have been able to continue to keep the Ventura Breeze going thanks to our advertisers and wonderful donors (and our hard-working staff).

∙CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl said that Trump in 2016 (off camera) explained why he attacked the press so regularly; “I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so that when you write negative stories about me no one will believe you

The reason that Trump doesn’t like the Electoral College is that he applied to go there after high school and got rejected.

Very scary times for this country. Dozens of armed people gathered outside Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s home recently “shouting obscenities” and threatening violence in an effort to overturn the presidential election results in the state. Benson and her 4-year-old son had just finished decorating their home for Christmas and were about to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” when the group arrived, she said in a statement. “The demands made outside my home were unambiguous, loud and threatening,” she said. “They targeted me in my role as Michigan’s Chief Election Officer.

The Arizona Republican Party has asked supporters if they’re ready to fight to the death in support of President Donald Trump’s doomed attempts to cling on to the presidency despite last month’s election loss. The state Republican Party made the apparent call to arms on its official Twitter account late Monday while quote-tweeting an account with #StopTheSteal in its name—the latest rallying cry of Trump’s supporters. That account wrote: “I am willing to give my life for this fight.” In its quote-tweet, the Arizona Republican Party wrote: “He is. Are you?” The party then tweeted a clip from Rambo with the quote: “This is what we do, who we are. Live for nothing, or die for something.”

Writing in the LA Times, Colin Clarke wrote ”President Trump’s post election antics are dangerous. Few expected him to be a graceful loser, but his refusal to officially concede is his flood of tweets insisting the election was rigged may have serious and long-term violent consequences.

∙Congratulations to Mike Johnson, Joe Schroeder and Doug Halter on being elected to our city council. as our new city council members. With their election, all 7 members now represent a specific area (district) in Ventura. And, also, to Amy Yamamoto Callahan for being elected to the Board of Education.

Two of the city council races are very close (less than 200 votes), so I hope that my congratulations isn’t premature. We still do not elect a mayor in Ventura, so the City Council will select one of their own.

A big thanks goes out to Christy Weir for her many years of great service to Ventura. I’m sure that she will continue to serve and support Ventura in some other manner.

And congratulations to local boy – Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett – for a decisive victory in his run for the State Assembly. Steve started his political career as a Ventura City council member. Matt LaVere is now following in his footsteps and was elected as a Ventura County Supervisor.

∙In this issue is a mention of the passing of Robert Jenkins. I have known Robert and Patty for a few years because of their involvement in support of Parkinson’s Disease in Ventura. He fought valiantly as his condition worsened but always with a smile on his face. Patty was amazing still taking him for walks at the Harbor even needing to pick him up on occasion when he fell. Will miss him and know that Patty will continue to help those with the disease to help give them the support they need.

∙Good for Ventura for passing an Ordinance to the San Buenaventura Municipal Code which would tax gross receipts and square footage of businesses involved in cannabis (marijuana) and hemp in Ventura.

The Ordinance by itself does not authorize any cannabis or hemp business to operate in the City. This will need to be the next step to consider by the city council. The Ordinance reads; “Every person who engages in cannabis or hemp operations, including the cultivating, transporting, distributing, manufacturing, packaging, delivering, testing and all other business activities within the City would pay a maximum tax on the gross receipts of their operation’s activities.”

The tax would be a general tax as authorized by the California Constitution Article XIII

C, Section 2. As a general tax, the revenue generated may be used for any general governmental purpose.

∙The homeless man, Jamal Jackson, 51, accused in a fatal 2018 stabbing at Ventura’s Aloha Steakhouse, has been found incompetent to stand trial. This was determined in the Ventura County Superior Court. Statements from two doctors who evaluated Jackson’s mental state which led to Judge Nancy Ayers’ ruling. Ayers ordered Jackson to be sent to a state mental health hospital for two years for further evaluation at that time. He could still spend the rest of his life in confinement.

I think that it was the proper action for a civilized society to take.

∙During California’s worse fire season, the state recorded temperature records as August, September and October were the state’s warmest on record. This “almost sounds” like global warming.

∙I’m very proud of Americans (at least little more than ½ of them) for voting for our country’s first woman vice president-elect, Sen. Kamala Harris. Harris, who also happens to be the first Black women and first South Asian American women elected vice president-elect in U.S. history. Not minimizing her roots, but it’s wonderful enough that she is a female and even more amazing because of who she is. Now the second and third people in line to be president, if necessary, are females – Harris and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (both from California). And for electing Biden of course.

Democrats shouldn’t get too excited though because this wasn’t a victory for the Democrats as much as a defeat for Trump. In voting throughout much of the country, Republicans fared much better than Democrats. And remember, Trump received over 70 million votes – the most ever for an incumbent president.

How a person accepts defeat says more about their character than winning, whether it is the president of the United States, or the local PTA.

The President said, “Tens of thousands of votes were illegally received after 8 P.M. on Tuesday, Election Day, totally and easily changing the results in Pennsylvania and certain other razor thin states,” the president tweeted. He also claimed that “hundreds of thousands of votes” were not allowed to be legally observed by impartial bystanders, changing the outcome of the race.

“This would also change the Election result in numerous States, including Pennsylvania, which everyone thought was easily won on Election Night, only to see a massive lead disappear, without anyone being allowed to observe, for long intervals of time, what the happened…,” he added in his Twitter thread.

The president later tweeted that he won the election “by a lot.”

A large group of government and industry officials have rejected Trump’s allegations about voter fraud stating that the Nov. 3 election voting and counting went smoothly with very little minor problems. They stated, “There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes or was in any way compromised.”

Republican strategist Karl Rove wrote in the Wall Street Journal that, “The president should do his part to unite the country leading a peaceful transition and letting grievances go.”

From the New York Times; “By all accounts, President Trump is behaving as expected in the wake of his loss to Joe Biden. Rather than accept the election results like a grown man, he’s throwing a hissy fit, and it’s becoming clear that Trump may have to be dragged out of the White House like a toddler at a birthday party.”

Former White House chief of staff John Kelly issued an on-the-record statement lambasting President Donald Trump for not helping with the transition to a Biden administration.

Truthfully, Biden would not have been my first choice to be our next president, but I believe his more subdued calming manner might help reunite this country which has not been this divided since the Civil War. I think he can work with both sides of the aisle in Washington and, hopefully, get American’s speaking to each other again in a civilized manner.