•WOW, WOW and WOW! Pinch me again – it can’t be true that we just completed our eleventh year of publication. Our first issue was on Oct.24, 2007.
There are so many people to thank, that I can’t thank them all. Our wonderful readers, our fabulous advertisers who keep us in business, and our unbelievably dedicated staff including writers, photographers and distributors. A special shout-out to Alfred J. Lewis – who makes the paper great every issue and continues to be my free therapist – Breezy Gledhill, who brings in the money and Cindy Summers who contributes in various ways while also making our website wonderful.
It goes without saying that it is very important that our dedicated readers support our advertisers so that we can continue to be Ventura’s “beloved newspaper.” It is their dollars that keep us in business.
•In our last issue’s Person to Person article it asked readers, “Do you think the Top Hat Restaurant should be declared a historical building and should it remain there as part of the planned new development?”
There wasn’t enough space available for my two cents, so here it is:
“No, it’s not historical. If it’s historical – I’m ancient! It’s just an old nondescript plywood building with no historical significance or looks. I do agree with one of our readers who said it should be moved to the outside area of the Ventura County Museum.”
And speaking of Person to Person, a panel of Republican women have defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh following allegations of attempted sexual assault. One posed the question, “What 17-year-old boy hasn’t done this in high school?”
I didn’t do that (I did pull a girl’s pigtail in the second grade), but maybe I was the exception so perhaps in our next “Person to Person” we should ask men if they sexually assaulted any girls while in high school?
•There are many legal marijuana dispensaries in nearby communities. Perhaps our new city council members (3 or 4) will see the folly of Ventura not having any and the large amount of tax money that we are losing. It is legal now ya know!
•Per a cover story, the City Council has hired Alex McIntyre to be our new City Manager. His base annual salary will be $255,000 plus other allowances and benefits consistent with similar executive management positions.
Before you get overly excited regarding his salary, the City Manager is typically the highest paid city employee, since he’s the City’s Chief Executive Officer like that of a very large corporation and is the boss of all city employees. He only answers to the City Council. Mr. McIntyre’s tentative start date will be November 13, 2018.
His salary is similar to other local city manager’s. Thousand Oaks: $244,000, Camarillo: $245,000 and Oxnard: $252,000.
• In a previous issue I stated that I would not comment further on the national political scene. I have had more readers condemn me than praise me for this stance, so I am changing my mind. I have also commented on the importance of a free press in a well-functioning democracy. It is even more vital that readers express their opinions.
None of the following phrases were written by me (except a few comments in parenthesis). You can draw your own conclusions.
“President Donald Trump’s opening remarks at the United Nations Tuesday created an awkward and unexpected moment, with other world leaders laughing or grumbling at the American president’s boast about his administration’s accomplishments.” (He later stated that he was kidding. Maybe he could be a regular on Saturday Night Live).
“President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that China supposedly respects him for his ‘very very large brain’ during a news conference where he addressed wide-ranging issues.” (I don’t dare touch this one).
“The President said he is not in favor of statehood for Puerto Rico based on a personal feud with a local mayor.”
“President Trump told a crowd of supporters in West Virginia on Saturday night that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “fell in love” after overcoming early hostilities.”
“When asked about the allegations of sexual assault against his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump said that it is a ‘scary time’ for men in the United States and that men are now “guilty until proven innocent.” (Especially for men who don’t have $130,000 to pay off a “porn star”).
“A survey of 25 nations by the Pew Research Center showed that respondents from across the globe have less confidence in Trump’s ability to lead than they do in Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping” (how sad is that)
• If you disagree with me, just writing to call me an idiot and saying that I’m stupid (even if true) doesn’t take the least bit of intelligence.
Write to me at [email protected] and express yourself (in a way that can appear in a family newspaper, please). You might even get me to change my mind/perspective.
Speaking of opinions, there is a huge amount of misinformation on the site Nextdoor.com, so be mindful of what you read. Just try to verify statements before making definitive comments. The downside of social media is that too many comments are seen as being factually correct. I’ve noticed that there has been a lot of misinformation lately regarding our police department, city council and our homeless situation.
Don’t leave messages (based on fake news) for council members like “I demand to know why the city council approved a strip club downtown”. Instead, “I heard that the city council approved a strip club downtown, is that true?”
The city council is not your enemy. They are trying to serve the city the best they can.
Would you take that job for what amounts to maybe $3 per hour?
Don’t get me wrong I certainly do not agree with all of their decisions. Just make sure you are well informed.
