∙One after another, Ventura’s wonderful events are being cancelled. The latest is Music Under the Stars, held at the Olivas Adobe. This is one of my favorites. Too bad they couldn’t have an abbreviated season (3-4 concerts) later in the year.
∙ It’s odd looking at my weekly calendar, which is currently blank. I now look forward to going to the bank (yes, I still do that in person).
∙If you have a passion for radio, or a show or podcast you want to create and share, you can join the CAPS Media creative community by becoming a member of the CAPS Media family. See the CAPS article for all the details. I had a show for a while, and it was great fun.
∙In an effort to keep up with rising costs (tax base is dwindling), Ventura is raising hundreds of fees it charges for developers and others that use city services.
The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a new fee schedule that will take effect starting July 3. This will increase the city’s fees for building permits, water connections and other city services. There are also new fees of 3% for credit card payments, the same amount the city is charged by its credit card company.
The fee increases should add approximately $500,000 per year.
Stephanie Caldwell, the president and CEO of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, appeared to speak against the increases. “We strongly oppose any increase to the city fees during this time, in the midst of the biggest economic disaster that any of us will see in our lifetime,” she stated.
Not sure how I feel about this when businesses are struggling but Ventura does need the funds.
∙Once again, I want to thank our dedicated readers and supporters who have contributed to the Breeze to help keep us going.
∙I think that Gov. Newsom is doing the correct thing in his approach to handling the virus by being cautious. Let other states (like Georgia) that are opening-up be the litmus test. Let’s see what their positive results and/or deaths are over the next few weeks. This ain’t a joke or conspiracy.
∙Two weeks after Texas Governor Greg Abbott began reopening the economy, the state reported 1,801 new confirmed coronavirus infections marking its single-highest rise in cases since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the new cases, 734 are from Potter and Randall counties. “These counties’ new cases are largely from targeted testing of employees at meat plants in the area. More test results from plants are expected,” stated the Texas Department of Health.
As of May 17, Texas has a total of 45,198 COVID-19 cases, with 1,272 deaths and 25,454 recoveries. Before the weekend, Texas had never reported over 1,500 cases in one day. The state has been averaging roughly 1,220 cases per day over the past week, as non-essential businesses continue to open as part of Governor Greg Abbott’s phased reopening plan.
∙If you need nice moving boxes, Steve’s Hardware (on Thompson) always has all kinds of sizes available for free. And you could even buy a new toilet while you are there.
∙Such difficult times. Jails are letting out those who have committed more minor crimes to reduce the spread of virus in their population, but at the same time there are no jobs or facilities where they can go. This will increase the homeless population and perhaps crimes. There is just not an easy solution to these complex problems.
∙The US Postal Service is actually doing something good. Photos of the items that will be placed in your PO boxes are emailed to holders who register for the service. This way trips can be eliminated and reduced.
∙ One of the ways that America is informed of important government happenings are through the press conferences that the president has. At these meetings, reporters are asking important questions so they can provide relevant answers for their readers and listeners.
When Trump doesn’t like a question, or can’t answer it intelligently, he calls the person a fake reporter that no one reads. If the reporter insists on an answer, Trump insults the person further, says the meeting is over and leaves the room.
The next time he insults a reporter doing their job I would love to see all of them just get up and leave. This is not a reality show, this is life. Why is Trump incapable of treating it as such? We expect this kind of behavior from China, perhaps, but not in our democracy.
And what is this nonsense that the Coronavirus is a liberal Democrat made-up conspiracy to defeat Trump? Over 300,000 people have died throughout the world. Does this mean the entire world is part of this to defeat Trump? Good grief, be serious.
