• The presidential debate was very depressing. Biden was very weak and not at all presidential and Trump just lied, lied and lied and never answered a question. The moderators would ask him a certain specific question and his answer would be “Biden is a terrible president.”
The moderators did a horrible job by not insisting that their questions be answered (by both candidates). It’s a shame that these two will be our choices for president. Certainly, we could do better.
Writing in the LA Times, Steve Lopez wrote:
- “Not a good night for Biden.”
- “Not a proud night for Trump.”
- “A sad night for the United States.”
The best thing for the country would be for Biden to withdraw from running and a younger more centrist Democrat be selected to run.
• A survey rating our presidents, was conducted online in late 2023, combined the responses of 154 experts (current or recent members of the American Political Science Association’s presidential politics division as well as scholars who recently published peer-reviewed research in related journals or academic presses.)
The results were:
- Biden 14th (this could go up or down by the end of his term)
- Trump 45th last
• Trump stopped by Tony and Nick’s Steaks to eat one of Philly’s famous sandwiches. An interviewer asked him about it and this was his answer.
“Ohhh, that was good,” Trump said. “I haven’t sampled it yet, but I will.”
He supports putting the 10 commandments in our schools. Too bad he has never read them.
• On July 29, there was a drone show in the Harbor. It was absolutely amazing. One of the best things I’ve ever seen. If there is another in Ventura be sure to watch it even if 9 p.m. is past your bedtime.
• Ventura County Fairgrounds CEO Jen McGuire has resigned in a very surprising announcement.
The sudden announcement that she was leaving was made at a closed-door fair board meeting.
She was hired as CEO about a year ago and also served as CEO of the Eastern Sierra Tri-County Fairgrounds in Bishop. Her leaving comes at a tough time just a little more than a month prior to the start of the 12-day Ventura County Fair. She was a well-regarded and respected CEO.
McGuire was the third CEO to leave the position in two years. She was hired a year ago to replace Stacy Rianda who suddenly retired from the position less than a year after she was hired.
In the closed session, the board unanimously voted to name Dan Long and Heidi Ortiz as co-interim CEOs. Ortiz is the fairgrounds deputy manager. The state Department of Food and Agriculture owns the fairgrounds.
• Some areas of Ventura have been negatively affected as streets are dug up to install the new water lines (now at Harbor Bl. near Spinnaker) for the Ventura Water project. The project will treat wastewater to achieve drinking water standards, and (we hope) provide about 20% of our potable water.
The cost has risen by about $200 million from the initial estimated costs. That is always the case with government projects. Start it and halfway through say we need more money at which point there is no other choice but to just keep increasing the budget.
As the cost of Ventura Water project keeps rising, higher water rates will be in our future much earlier than expected.
Construction of the water purification project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2027. Wonder how much more it will cost by then?
It seems for that kind of money we could build a desalination plant. About 1/3 of Santa Barbara’s water is treated this way and cruise ships get all their potable water in this manner.
“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
~ Confucius
