∙ Now that we have city council districts (four have been elected by district for now – but all council members will eventually be based upon districts when currents terms are up) – I think that these four should have quarterly townhall meetings to hear what the concerns (and likes) are from their constituents.
They are: Sofia Rubalcava, Deputy Mayor – District 1; Lorrie Brown, Councilmember – District 6; Jim Friedman, Councilmember – District 5; Erik Nasarenko, Councilmember – District 4.
These are their emails if you want to contact them:
[email protected];[email protected];[email protected]; [email protected].
Email addresses for all city employees contains the first initial of their first name and their last name @cityofventura.ca.gov.
If you don’t know what district you are in, go to https://map.cityofventura.net/java/ccvd/ for a district map and enter your address to find out what district you are in.
∙ At a recent city council meeting, Peter Lyons was selected to be our Interim Community Development Director. The reason that this is important is because Ventura (and the school district) keeps losing department heads and key employees. I don’t know if they obtain better jobs/better pay, or something is problematic at City Hall, but this is detrimental to running our local government.
∙ Congratulations to our Building Official, Yolanda Bundy, for being selected Safer City Building Official of the Year (see article on cover). She has done an outstanding job running her department during these difficult times after the Thomas Fire.
∙ There is an ad in this issue for Music Under the Stars. Three of the concerts have already been sold out. If you haven’t attended you should. A great way to spend an evening under the stars listening to great music. And you can bring your own food and beverages.
∙ World’s smallest sports story (if you care). If the Lakers want to be great again, they should trade Jeanie Buss for Steve Ballmer.
∙Wow, amazing how this country is changing (all for the better in my opinion). Chicago has their first mayor who is:
A black female (she will be one of eight black women serving as mayor in a major city) and she is openly gay.
∙ H. Parker Hospitality has decided not to continue negotiations with the Ventura Port District for the purchase of two parcels in the Harbor at the end of Spinnaker Dr. Their plans were to build a high-end hotel/spa and hybrid hostel.
The stated reason is that the District was not able to provide ‘clean’ title for land. There are probably other reasons, but this was their stated one.
These are great parcels and will certainly be considered by other developers (oh no, the dreaded word) as soon as the title situation is resolved. About 30-years ago, the District filed for bankruptcy which, apparently has caused some concerns about the ownership of the parcels and clear title.
The Ventura Harbor is operated by the Ventura Port District and a board of commissioners.
∙Things that I find humorous:
Two gas stations that I go to have notes on pumps saying, “We are lowering our gas prices for you.” Gas prices went up over .50c in a week, maybe they don’t look at the pumps!
People paying for a large drink cup at fast food restaurants when refills are free. Maybe getting up from the table and walking to the drink dispenser is just too much work.
∙A new study by the EPA says “that by the end of the century the manifold consequences of unchecked climate change will cause the US hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Those costs will come in multiple forms, including water shortages, crippled infrastructure and polluted air.”
∙In a previous issue, I commented about the dysfunction of the Supreme Court. One of my concerns is the fact that there are so many 5-4 decisions made. The latest one is regarding an execution to take place in Alabama. I just don’t think major-major decisions should be made on 5-4 decisions.
∙ Only a skull and a pair of trousers remained after a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions in Kruger National Park in South Africa. The incident happened after the man entered the park Monday with four others to target rhinos, according to a parks service statement.
An elephant “suddenly” attacked the alleged poacher, killing him. Moral of the story – don’t piss off an elephant.
∙ A large study finds no evidence that the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella increases the risk of autism. The study of children born in Denmark is one of the largest ever of the MMR vaccine.
“The study strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism,” stated the authors. “We believe our results offer reassurance and provide reliable data.”
∙ Another bit of America will be biting the dust soon. Ford Motor Co. has announced that it will phase out Ford Taurus, Fiesta and Fusion sedans within a few years. What could be next? The closing of Sears stores and letting Lowes sell Craftsman tools? Oh, wait that is already happening.
∙There have been signs for years about plummeting insect populations worldwide. The extent of this crisis had not been well documented until now.
The first global scientific review of insect population decline was published recently in the journal Biological Conservation and the findings are disturbing.
More than 40 percent of insect species are dwindling globally and a third of species are endangered. The study analyzed 73 historical reports on insect population declines.
The total mass of insects is falling by 2.5 percent annually, the review’s authors said. If the decline continues at this rate, insects could be wiped off the face of the Earth within a century.
Of course, we all could be.
