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Vol. 9, No. 11 – March 2 – March 15, 2016 – Two on the Aisle

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance visits the Rubicon
by Jim Spencer and Shirley Lorraine

In 1890 a cowboy named Bert Barricune found an Easterner lying on the prairie. He had been brutally beaten and left for dead by a vicious outlaw named Liberty Valance.

Barricune took the injured traveler to the town of Two Trees where he was nursed back to health by a spirited saloon owner, Hallie Jackson.

The visitor, Ransom Foster, stayed in town. He taught Hallie, as well as her friend from childhood, Jim, how to read and write. Along the way Foster and Hallie fell in love. Barricune, who also had romantic designs on Hallie, remained involved in their lives.

Then word came that Liberty Valance was returning and gunning for Foster. Should the tenderfoot Foster stay or run? What actually happened next became unclear, but stories about that day propelled Foster into a life of prominence.

The play opens 20 years later when U.S. Senator Ransom Foster and his wife, Hallie, return to Two Trees to attend the funeral of the old cowboy. Through reminisces about those earlier days the truth is revealed about the man who shot Liberty Valance.

With intricately interwoven issues of honor, revenge, loyalty and love, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a new play enjoying its American debut at Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre Company. It is based on a 1953 short story that, 50-plus years ago, spawned a movie with the same title. The film featured James Stewart and John Wayne.

The Rubicon’s production boasts a cadre of professional actors with extensive film, stage and TV credits. Gregory Harrison plays the veteran cowboy Bert Barricune. Harrison is probably best recognized for his recurring roles on “Rizzoli & Isles,” as the title character on “Trapper John, M.D.,” and as a neighbor who resides in Ventura part of the year.

The villainous gun slinger, Liberty Valance, is portrayed by Jeff Kober. A veteran of multiple Rubicon productions as well as lots of bad guy characters for film and TV, Kober is also known for his appearance on shows like “Sons of Anarchy” and “China Beach.”

From New York, Jacques Roy has myriad years of stage experience in the East on which he draws as he creates the persona of Ransom Foster, the earnest Easterner around whom swirls the action of the piece.

Sylvia Davidson, last seen in the Rubicon’s Ventura and New York productions of Lonesome Traveler, is Hallie Jackson, the feisty saloon owner who is torn between the affections of two men.

Joseph Fuqua plays the sheriff who is reluctant to intervene in conflict – a part that’s a far cry from his heroic performances as Hamlet and Professor Henry Higgins in Rubicon productions.

The entire show is under the guiding hand of director Jenny Sullivan, the Rubicon’s Artistic Associate.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance plays March 2-20, 2016. Show times: Wednesdays – 2 & 7 p.m. (Talkbacks follow 7 p.m. performances); Thursdays & Fridays – 8 p.m.; Saturdays – 2 & 8 p.m.; Sundays – 2 p.m. Rubicon Theatre Company, 1006 E. Main Street, Ventura, CA, 93001. Tickets – $20 – $54. Information, group discounts, ticketing and seat selection: www.rubicon.theatre.org. 667-2900.

Vol. 9, No. 11 – March 2 – March 15, 2016 – Movie Review

The Witch/4 Palm Trees
By Eduardo Victoria/[email protected]

Robert Eggers directorial debut is a force to be reckoned with. If you are entering this film expecting jump scares, cheap characters, and a predictable plot – The Witch will not be for you. Instead, the viewer is tested for 90 minutes, an all too efficient runtime that leaves us wanting more and makes us happy it’s over.

Set in 1630s New England, the film focuses on a family who has been banished from community due to disagreements of religious beliefs. Thomasin (Ana Taylor-Joy) is the oldest, followed by her brother Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw), and three younger children. Their mother Katherine (Kate Dickie) and father William (Ralph Ineson) become distraught after the disappearance of their youngest son, Samuel, who is only an infant. Mysterious circumstances continue to plague the family as they face obstacles within themselves that become more and more disturbing the longer they go on.

Terror and evil in The Witch come in the form of mundane, natural things: a forest, a rabbit, a raven, etc. The supernatural is only ever suggested, further causing our characters to question each other. An interesting aspect of the film is religion itself. Early on, Thomasin is seen confessing her sins as part of her prayers. She is the only character to do so without any sort of negative influence on her life.

Each member of the family is guilty of sin. Thomasin tells a white lie to get her kid brother and sister to behave, William is full of pride, and Caleb is sneaking peaks at his sister’s body.

The true brilliance of the film lies within its story telling. The Witch is not a movie about good versus evil. It is not about redemption, it is a character study of a family who experiences an attack that uses their very religious beliefs against them. The benefit of a cast of unknown actors forces us to look at the characters and not the people who play them.

Inneson’s booming voice gives him power and Taylor-Joy’s innocence makes it difficult to see her family around her slowly turn on her as a result of her little white lie. A scene late in the film is downright terrifying and frightful. It finds Thomasin and her younger siblings stuck in a barn.

A film that you expect to take an Arthur Miller-like turn goes nowhere near that direction. The Witch is a dark, disturbing, and original form of terror. It takes its time to scare its audience and gives us deeply rich characters to get to know. At 90 minutes in length, the film has no fat or extra material on it. The final 10 minutes of the film will stay with you long after the film ends.

Rated R. 90 minutes. Now playing at Cinemark Downtown 10.

Ask the Chief-Ventura City Police Chief Ken Corney

Q. I’ve heard and read a lot in the news about crime increases throughout California and other public safety issues. What’s happening in Ventura?

A. 2015 was a challenging year for the Police profession nationwide. Changes in the criminal justice system and increased scrutiny across the country of police conduct and the use of force will continue to impact and challenge our profession in 2016. Despite these challenges and concerns, I am proud that our crime fighting team here in Ventura remains extremely capable and competent, with a mission-driven approach of serving and protecting our community.

Like all city departments, we are often asked to do more with less. Our hope is that in 2016 we will see an increase in the resources available to provide the public with the quality service they deserve.

While it is difficult to quantify all the service and results our department provides to our community, one area we can quantify is our crime data from the past year. Arrests were up nearly 17 percent. Reported Violent Crime was up more than 35 percent and the total number of violent crimes (375) increased to a five year high. The largest increases were in Robbery and Aggravated Assaults, up nearly 20 and 35 percent respectively. The number of reported property crimes provides more favorable results. While other jurisdictions experienced an overall increase in property crimes, the city of Ventura remained at about the same level overall as in 2014. One area of success that contributed to this result was with Residential Burglaries, down nearly 30 percent with about 133 less crimes compared to the 440 crimes that occurred in 2014.

We believe our strategy to direct resources to crime “hot spots” where recent residential and auto burglaries have occurred, rather than random patrol activities, contributed significantly to this reduction. Unfortunately with limited resources, a focus to one specific crime problem can lead to increased crime in other areas. In this instance, our Non-Residential (Commercial Business) Burglaries rose to a total of 291 crimes – 68 more than in 2014. In addition, our Violent Gang Crime increased from 13 crimes in 2014 to 32 Violent Gang Crimes in 2015.

Our Ventura police officers do more than fight crime. We responded to more than 93,000 calls for service from the public – almost 1,800 calls a week. The majority of these calls do not end up being criminal acts and result in no arrests. They involve issues with youth at risk, people with mental illness, and situations that impact quality of life such as vagrancy, homelessness and chronic drug abuse. Our approach is often to develop community partnerships and work within this network to provide long term sustainable solutions to these societal challenges.

In 2016, I am confident we are well positioned to achieve success in what will be an eventful and challenging year. This success will not come by chance; it will come from the hard work and dedication of the nearly 200 crime fighters of the Ventura Police Department – sworn, professional staff and volunteers and the support of the community.

We encourage community members to stay informed and get the latest public safety information, tips and alerts at: Facebook.com/venturapd, venturapd.org, VCAlert.org, and Nextdoor.com. Our Ventura Police Department general information phone is 805-339—4400 and our non-emergency phone is 805-650-8010.

Sesquicentennial – Celebrating 150 years at Gallery V Mar. 12

Sesquicentennial – Celebrating 150 years at Gallery V on March 12th 6pm-9pm- 540 E. Main Street, Downtown Ventura.

Very Ventura Gift Shop & Gallery celebrates Ventura’s 150th birthday at Gallery V (located inside Very Ventura) with the Ventura150: Then & Now Exhibit. Featured artists include Sarah Kalvin, Hilda Kilpatrick-Freyre, Elaine Thompson, Steve Cook, Christine Bierne, Gerald Zwers and historical photographer, Steve Dibble. Ventura150: Then & Now celebrates the city’s sesquicentennial through the eyes of our local talented artists who often find Ventura their muse.

Music will be provided by Walt Dunlop, who recently completed an album about Ventura people and Places.

The celebration will also include local author, Roger Thompson. Roger will offer a signing of his book, “My Best Friend’s Funeral.” The book is a tribute to a friendship forged in the streets of Ventura between Roger and and Tim Garrey, cofounder of Skate Street Ventura. Exhibit runs through April 17th. For more information 628-3540.

Castillo Del Sol creates 39 efficiency apartment units

This project is unique in the population that we will be serving.

Photo by John Ferritto

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) has announced the completion of a comprehensive $11.6 million construction project that will create 39 new efficiency apartment units for extremely low income individuals with special needs. Through its high performing Housing Choice Voucher program, the HACSB provided long-term project-based voucher rental assistance subsidy to finance the construction and ensure long-term affordability to those earning less than thirty percent of the area median income. The HACSB also received a competitive award of 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits in June 2014 from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee that was used to fund the construction.

The new apartment building is located at 3005 E. Main Street in Midtown Ventura. Construction began on the site, at the corner of Central and Main, in December 2014. The HACSB partnered with Montecito Bank & Trust, National Equity Fund, McCarthy Companies, and Main Street Architects to create a new, energy efficient, accessible, and affordable housing development to add to the city’s dwindling stock of deeply affordable housing.

“This project is unique in the population that we will be serving, only made possible by the number of quality partners involved. This project brings new life to the old “Bandar” site that has been vacant for a number of years,” said Denise Wise, Chief Executive Officer of the HACSB.

The HACSB is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura, with 574 public housing units, more than 1,500 Section 8 vouchers, and over 250 non-profit affordable rental units. The agency is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing and to improve the quality of life for hundreds more of the low-income residents.

Church hosting grand opening at new location

On Sunday, March 13, from 12:30-3 pm Community Bible Church of Ventura will be hosting a Grand Opening for all the community at the new home/property located at 5040 Telegraph Road, across from Ventura College, where Day Road meets Telegraph.

They will be providing delicious food provided by local business partnerships, hosting tours, giving away free raffle prizes… and Mayor Erik will be attending to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Thier vision is to add value to our community, and have partnered with Project Understanding, FOOD Share, Aegis Senior Living, Montalvo Elementary and several local businesses in an effort to meet the needs of Ventura County residents.

They are a non-denominational church of less than 200 and growing.

For more information contact Pastor Bob DuPar [email protected]– 906-7302.

Conscious Living in Ventura

By Laura Oergel

The Diversity Collective is a local, non-profit and volunteer run, organization that was established April 1, 2014 with the intention to advocate and promote diversity, education, mental and physical wellbeing via community outreach to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population, as well as the general public.

It’s the proud parent of AIDS Walk Ventura, coming up on the 5^th of March, Ventura County PRIDE, the Diversity Gala, 1st Thursday Gay Professionals Mixer and the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

I talked to the President, Steve Somann, who expressed a deep commitment to the vision of the organization. “I’ve been involved not only with the Diversity Collective Ventura County (DCVC), but with prior organizations who did similar work for the LGBT+ community here in Ventura County. Those organizations have since ceased operations, for many reasons, but mostly due to loss of funding. The original founding members of DCVC felt the urgent need to continue the work and carry on the traditions and services that once were a staple here in Ventura County.

When the seat for President of DCVC became available, the Board felt I was the natural choice to fill the vacancy and I gladly accepted. I’ve lead other teams, companies and organizations to bigger and better places and this is my time to help, along with our current board of directors, to get much needed programs and services back to the LGBT+ community. We are currently working diligently to set up and start comprehensive counselling programs that specialize in the needs of the LGBT+ members of our community. Everyone else will be welcome to take advantage of these services as well.”

The Diversity Collective currently has a treasurer position available that they are actively seeking to fill. Board members are voted on each year with a signed one year commitment, members at large start off as a six month commitment, then the board votes to either have them continue as at large members of become official board members with a one year signed commitment.

If you’re interested in volunteering, or have questions about their events, you can email them at [email protected]. Please include your name, best contact telephone number, email, what time your available, and best time/way to contact you back.

They are happy to provide more information about the opportunities available that day and also for their biggest event, Ventura County PRIDE in August and the Diversity Gala in September/October this year.

I want to congratulate the Board of Directors: Steve Somann – President, Joseph Summers – Vice President, Anne Blakely – Secretary, Luna Sandoval – Entertainment, and 2 members at large – Michael Francis Smith and Ashley Anderson, for their love and commitment to our community.

Phone: 619-5428(LGBT)
Website: diversitycollective.org
Email: [email protected]

facebook.com/diversitycollective
facebook.com/VenturaCountyPride
twitter.com/vcpride
www.vcpride.org

Create momentum. Educate yourself, then educate others.

GOCARE opens new learning centers with help from Rotary Grant

GOCARE provides English instruction and vocational training.

GOCARE, Inc. a nonprofit headquartered in Ventura County, has delivered needed education in Nicaragua for the last 15 years. In 2014, GOCARE received a $219,000 Rotary Foundation Grant to furnish and equip three new learning centers that were set to open in 2015 and this year.

GOCARE’s local and California based management team met with Nicaragua’s Ministry of Education and the Ministry of the Exterior – which approves new building and construction taking place on Nicaragua land – and reached a positive agreement to rehabilitate two of these new learning centers, one in Cuajachillo Dos and the other in La Union. A third facility will be built near Pantanal.

During December, interviews for staff members and applications for prospective students took place at an open house. As part of the arrangement with the Ministry of Education, curriculum includes an advanced computer program as well as English courses. In addition, GOCARE will also offer adult education programs at the center.

GOCARE will continue to provide quality educational opportunities to people living in extreme poverty. The education that the students receive will be invaluable to their futures. They will become the future leaders in their communities and will “Come Back to Give Back” which will make their communities stronger.

GOCARE Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity headquartered in Ventura. Throughout its tenure, GOCARE Inc. has worked closely with local residents and communities to create and implement educational, health and economic development programs into its curriculum, including adult education through reading and math, university prep, university scholarships, computer instruction, English instruction and vocational training.

For more information about GOCARE Inc. or to make a donation, please call 275-4366 or visit www.gocarekids.org.

Lions Club members provide service to the community

The East-West All Star Game has been hosted by the Ventura Downtown Lions for 25 years

The Ventura Downtown Lions Club recently hosted the East-West All Star Football Game at Cal Lutheran University’s new football stadium. The Ventura Downtown Lions Club, chartered in 1923, has donated to many worthy causes and charities and its members have been involved in a multitude of projects over the past 93 years.

While Lions may be best known for their efforts to eradicate preventable and reversible blindness, they are also an integral part of local community activities. Year-round, the Club supports many donations to local schools and organizations through their Community Services and Youth Outreach programs. Completion of this Lions club project is a benefit to the community because it again allows the Lions Club to award scholarships to outstanding athletes as well as allowing the community the opportunity to see an exciting football game between some of the top athletes representing most of the high schools in Ventura County.

The East-West All Star Game has been hosted by the Ventura Downtown Lions for 25 years. This game has allowed the Lions to continue their donations to schools and organizations in the community.

According to Diane Ellis, club president of the Ventura Downtown Lions Club, “Money raised on January 23rd will allow Lions to meet pressing needs in our community including providing scholarships to other deserving young men and women as well as funding many of our local organizations including the Boys and Girls Club of Ventura, Teen Challenge, Interface Children and Family Services, the Salvation Army, Student Speakers Foundation for high school students, the Saint Bonaventure Leo Club, the Fred W. Smith Education/Scholarship Foundation, and the Cottage Home Foundation ( home for Foster Children in Ventura)”

The Ventura Downtown Lions Club has a membership of over 130 men and women who identify needs within the community and work together to fulfill those needs. For more information, or to get involved in the Ventura Downtown Lions Club, please contact their website at www.venturalions.org or call 655-5595.

Kellogg Park Groundbreaking Ceremony and Concert

Kellogg Park Groundbreaking Ceremony and Concert to be held on March 12, from 2:00-5:00 PM, a free community block party featuring musical performances, dancers, fitness demonstrations, kids’ activities, crafts, and more! It will include a Chumash Blessing for the land, music from DATA middle school, Los Halcones, brightly colored Aztec Dancers and the band, Honey Owl.

Several different participating organizations will bring free family friendly activities including a fitness area with yoga, Capoeira, the “Little Circus that Could” and martial arts. Event attendees will also get to see a K-9 demonstration, “Touch-a-Fire-Truck” and obtain their Ventura library cards. There will also be an interactive kindness tree that will later be planted in the park.

Food trucks will be there and you can work up your appetite and ride your bike to the event, there will be a free bike valet and repair station.

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