In May of 1999, the City Council established the Municipal Art Acquisition Program to document the history of visual art in Ventura through the annual purchase of important works of art created by area artists. The collection provides increased access to art of the highest quality and of distinctive merit through its display in the public areas of City Hall and other municipal buildings. “Incoming Ocean” by Sally Miller can be seen at City Hall.
On December 26, the Ventura County Fire Communication Center received a 911 call reporting that smoke was coming from an apartment in the 3000 block of E. Main. Fire personnel arrived on scene within minutes of the initial call and found a single apartment in a large 3 story apartment building with smoke coming from the front door. Fire personnel ensured that no occupants were inside the apartment and began an aggressive fire attack to contain the fire to the area of origin. During a primary search of the apartment, firefighters found unattended combustible materials on top of a stove.
On December 26, the Ventura County Fire Communication Center received multiple calls of a residential structure fire in the 2200 block of Foster Ave. Fire personnel arrived on scene within minutes of the initial call and found a single-story single-family structure with smoke coming from the roof and an exterior wall. Fire personnel ensured that no occupants were inside the dwelling and began an aggressive fire attack to contain the fire to the area of origin. Firefighters were met with light smokey conditions during the initial fire attack and found the seat of the fire in a ceiling fan unit. Firefighters knocked down and extinguished the fire within 19 minutes of the initial 911 call.
More than 30 high school students from around Ventura County graduated from Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD)’s fall 2022 Pre-Engineering Program — the biggest cohort to date for the rigorous after-school program.
The Dec. 13 graduation ceremony at the Oxnard Harbor District office in Port Hueneme culminated a 12-week career exploration course in which 32 students from Oxnard Union High School District, Ventura Unified School District (USD) and Santa Paula USD learned from real-life naval engineers and gained hands-on experience.
“One of the beauties of this program is what we call positive professional touch points,” said Ramon Flores, NSWC PHD’s science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) coordinator, speaking to families at the graduation. “Your students had the opportunity to engage with more than 30 engineers and scientists over the course of 12 weeks to learn all things engineering.”
NSWC PHD facilitates the Pre-Engineering Program twice per year in partnership with the school districts and other naval organizations. The fall 2022 session was the first to include students from Santa Paula USD, which signed an Educational Partnership Agreement with NSWC PHD in July, enabling the naval command to share educational resources with the school district.
During the Pre-Engineering Program, students rotated through engineering instructors to hear their career stories and to design, build and test projects that represent several disciplines, from systems and electrical engineering to environmental and aeronautical engineering. The instructors were professional engineers with NSWC PHD, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center (NAVFAC EXWC) at Naval Base Ventura County, the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and the Engineering Duty Officer School on the NSWC PHD campus.
After applying for the competitive Pre-Engineering Program through their school counselors, the selected participants took the weekly classes at Fathomwerx Lab on top of their regular academic schedules. After completing the program, the students earned credit toward graduation, a certificate of achievement and a letter of recommendation signed by NSWC PHD Deputy Technical Director Michael Ladner.
During the graduation ceremony, naval officials and school district administrators praised the students for dedicating their time and efforts to expand their STEM knowledge and their career prospects.
Joe Bova, career technical education administrator at Ventura USD, said that his district and others across the county are working to bring more skill-based opportunities like the Pre-Engineering Program to more students.
“This program is a shining star of the community that everyone should be looking to in terms of work-based learning,” Bova said.
Students from Ventura were:
Buena High School Peter Nguyen Jordan Tran
El Camino High School Christian McGrath Maximus True Bashar Zaher
Foothill Technology High School Alexander Edwards Antonio Franco Andrew Hotzler
Ventura High School Léo Crampé Jeannie Ortega Fuentes Liam Genkel Arkiran Khaira
Pacifica High School Kalia Lomeli
For more information, contact Theresa McKenrick, NSWC PHD public affairs officer, at
United Way of Ventura County’s Landlord Engagement Program has officially provided permanent housing for 110 local households with a 96% retention rate. This means 188 individuals, including 45 veterans, now have a place to call home in the Ventura County community.
Homelessness and housing challenges have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and limited affordable housing supply, extremely low vacancy rates, and rising rents make the situation increasingly challenging. UWVC’s Landlord Engagement Program advocates for and supports those prioritized for housing vouchers and housing subsidies provided by local jurisdictions and community partners.
The LEP focuses on increasing the rental housing stock available for utilization of housing vouchers through collaboration with landlords willing to help prevent and end homelessness. The program encourages landlord participation by addressing their key needs and concerns, such as responsive customer service, timely rental payments, assistance with inspection processes attached to housing voucher programs, loss of income during move-in lag time and more.
“In today’s competitive housing market, many people are struggling to find affordable places to live,” said Mitchel Sloan, president and CEO of UWVC. “Our Landlord Engagement Program is helping provide a safe place to call home for our community’s most vulnerable individuals, families, seniors and veterans.”
So far, the program has provided 38 housing placements in Oxnard, 35 in Ventura, nine in Port Hueneme, eight in Camarillo, seven in Simi Valley, four in unincorporated areas, three in Thousand Oaks, four in Fillmore and two in Santa Paula. Of those housed, 50 are between the ages of 0-18, 11 are young adults between the ages of 19-24, 89 are adults between the ages of 25-64, and 38 are ages 65 plus.
If you are a landlord interested in becoming a member of the Landlord Engagement Program, please email [email protected]. To learn more about UWVC and its programs, visit www.vcunitedway.org.
New Illegal Dumping Campaign, perpetrators face $3,000 fines plus clean-up costs and community service
Ventura County Public Works Agency is constantly battling the ever-growing problem of illegal dumping in Ventura County. VCPWA has joined forces through a grant with the Mattress Recycling Council, to launch a new public campaign “Don’t Dump on VC”.
The public outreach for the campaign shows the blight of illegal dumping on beautiful Ventura County and warns those who dump of the consequences, which include fines of up to $3,000 plus clean-up costs and community service. The Ventura County community can report perpetrators and get details on the responsible disposal of bulky items, e-waste, and household hazardous waste at DontDumpVC.org.
Illegal dumping is a large unauthorized deposit of any waste, usually over 15 pounds, such as mattresses, yard waste, construction debris, and furniture. Aside from the impact of the appearance on our Ventura County landscape, waste pollutes the local environment, is a hazard to humans and wildlife, and places a financial burden on the taxpayer when the government agencies have to clean up.
In 2021, VCPWA collected over 730 tons of mattresses and other junk that had been illegally dumped along county roads. The cost of collecting these mattresses and the other abandoned items over the past year was more than $340,000.
“Illegal dumping also pollutes our precious water supply, damages soil quality, and affects our air quality,” said Chris Kurgan, Director Roads and Transportation. “Our Ventura County Public Works Illegal dumping campaign will seek to educate the public on how to dispose of items responsibly and how to report the crimes. The consequences for perpetrators are significant. The court holds the defendants responsible for restitution to Ventura County. In addition to paying for the cleanup costs, they are subject to court costs, new larger fines of up to $3,000, and community service”.
There are 7 members of the Ventura City Council. Starting with the 2018 Election, four (4) Councilmembers were elected by Districts with the remaining three (3) Councilmembers elected by Districts in 2020. While elected by Districts, each member represents the interests of the City as a whole.
Elections to select Councilmembers are held on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday in November of the even numbered years. The newly elected Councilmembers assume their seat on the City Council in December, after the election is certified and serve for a term of four years.
At the same time, the Council is reorganized and one of its members is selected to be Mayor. The Mayor serves a term of 2 years. He/She is the presiding officer of the Council. The Mayor has been delegated the responsibility to act as the City Council’s ceremonial representative at public events and functions. The Deputy Mayor is also selected in the same manner and serves a 2-year term.
City Councilmembers serve a term of 4 years with the terms being staggered on a 2-year basis with three (3) members being elected at one election and four (4) at the next. The terms commence from/after 8 p.m. of the day of the first regular meeting in December following the election. To be placed on the ballot a candidate, during the Nomination Period, must circulate a nomination form provided by the City Clerk, gathering not more than 30, but not less than 20 signatures of registered voters in that District to qualify for placement on the ballot. Please see Elections for more information on the District-Based Election process and Nomination Period Dates.
The election of members of the Council prior to 2018 had been from the City at-large with candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected until the number declared elected equals the number of Council offices to be filled at the election. Starting with the 2018 Election, City Council members are elected by Districts. Candidates must live in their District and reside in that District once Elected. All ties shall be decided by lot in the presence of the candidates concerned and under the direction of the election authorities.
These are the emails of your City Council members. If you think that something in the City is wrong or right or needs improving, please email them and let them know. They are there to serve you.
These cranes are used for building boat docks and or putting pilings into the water. Piled foundations are typically known as deep-set foundations. They are formed from long, column-like structures made from steel, concrete or timber, and are driven or ‘piled’ into the ground.
Two plants that live on California’s Channel Islands and nowhere else on earth – the Santa Cruz Island dudleya and island bedstraw – have reached recovery thanks to Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is proposing to remove the two island plants from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.
“The recovery of these island plants is the result of long-term cooperation and conservation efforts by scientists and land managers,” said Paul Souza, director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Southwest Region. “That’s what the ESA can bring to the table – attention, resources, and incentive for sustained conservation work that produces meaningful results.”
Scientists say their understanding of the plants’ ecology, habitat needs, and status has improved due to the diligent efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey, The Nature Conservancy, National Park Service, and Santa Barbara Botanic Garden to survey, study, and conserve habitat on Santa Cruz Island and San Miguel Island.
“Plants are key contributors to the overall food web and island ecosystem,” said Kenneth Niessen, Service botanist. “As the cause of their decline, and now as their caretakers, we have a responsibility to ensure they, and the benefits they provide to their ecosystem, are not lost to extinction.”
Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary is working closely with the United States Coast Guard, state, and local agencies responding to a fishing vessel that ran aground on Santa Cruz Island. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach watchstanders received a report from Vessel Assist Ventura that the fishing vessel Speranza Marie, a 60-foot fishing vessel with six people aboard and carrying roughly 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, ran aground in Chinese Harbor on Santa Cruz Island at approximately 2 a.m. on December 15.
A private fishing vessel responded to the incident and safely transferred the six crewmembers to their boat without injury and transported them to Ventura.
Cleanup crews are on-scene containing and recovering the diesel fuel. Diesel fuel is considered a non-persistent oil, compared to a heavier bunker or crude oil product, in even the calmest sea conditions, as it known to lose 40% of its volume due to evaporation within 48 hours in cold weather.
No impacts have been reported but crews are actively monitoring for them. Protection to natural and cultural resources remain a priority for Channel Islands National Park. Trained responders from the Office of Spill and Prevention Response have been put on standby and will be activated should they be needed.
Optimism can be changed with interventions like writing exercises.
Optimism is linked to a longer lifespan in women from diverse racial and ethnic groups, and to better emotional health in older men, according to two NIA-funded studies. One study showed that the previously established link between optimism and longevity applies to racially and ethnically diverse populations of women and that the link is only partially due to changes in health behaviors. The other study showed that more optimistic men have fewer negative emotions, due in part to reduced exposure to stressful situations. These findings suggest that increasing optimism may be a way to extend lifespan and improve well-being in older adults.
However, most of these studies were in non-Hispanic White populations. In a collaborative study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, researchers from Harvard University; Boston University School of Medicine; Kaiser Permanente; University of California, Davis; University of California, San Diego; and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University explored the link between optimism and longevity in a racially diverse population of women.
Researchers analyzed data from over 150,000 women ages 50–79, collected as a part of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The WHI included non-Hispanic White, Black, Hispanic/Latina, and Asian women. Each participant in the study completed a validated optimism test and provided demographic and health information. When scientists analyzed the data, they found that the most optimistic women lived, on average, 5.4% longer (approximately 4.4 years) than the least optimistic women. The most optimistic women were also more likely to achieve exceptional longevity, defined as living over 90 years. These trends were consistent across all racial and ethnic groups.
Scientists also tested the hypothesis that optimistic women live longer because they have healthier lifestyles. Previous studies showed that optimistic people are likelier to engage in behaviors that promote health and longer lifespan. Given this, the authors used statistical methods to determine whether lifestyle factors could explain the link between optimism and lifespan. Specifically, the study collected information on exercise, diet, body mass index, smoking history, and alcohol consumption. The researchers found that these factors only accounted for 25% of the link between optimism and longevity. These results suggest that the link between optimism and lifespan may be partly due to healthier behaviors, but that other pathways and factors are also likely to be involved.
Another NIA-funded study, published in The Journals of Gerontology, explored the idea that reductions in stressful experiences could be one of the factors that explain the link between optimism and better health. Prior studies from other research groups established that stress exposure is linked to worse health and a shorter lifespan. In this study, a group of scientists from the VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Rush Medical College, and Northwestern University analyzed the relationship between optimism, stress, and emotional well-being in older men.
Researchers found that more optimistic men experienced fewer negative emotions. More than 50% of this link could be explained by reduced exposure to daily stressors. These results suggest that optimism may cause older adults to avoid, direct their attention away from, or change how they think about stressful situations. The authors note that their study is limited in that participants were all male, primarily White, and had a higher socioeconomic status than the general population. To determine whether the results apply to everyone, the study should be repeated in more diverse populations.
Results from these two studies provide important insights into how optimism may improve health and longevity. Findings from the first study show that optimism is linked to a longer lifespan across racial and ethnic groups. Although differences in healthy behaviors can explain a modest portion of this link, that is only part of the story. The second study suggests that optimism may benefit health and well-being because it is linked to reduced exposure to stress.
Because optimism is a modifiable characteristic that can be changed with interventions like writing exercises and therapy, improving optimism may be an effective strategy to improve health and extend lifespan across racial and ethnic groups.
This research was supported in part by NIA grants R01AG053273, K08AG048221, and R01-AG018436.
