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805 Writers Conference returns with Book Expo

Speakers NY Times bestselling mystery author William Bernhardt, Edgar Allen Poe winner Wendelin Van Draanen, Penny Sansevieri and Desiree Duffy.

Declaring the Covid hiatus over, the 805 Writers Conference returns from hibernation on November 5 & 6 to the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ventura, with in-person and virtual sessions, a Book Expo, and half-day workshops. This will be the tenth annual conference, which started in 2011.

“No more hiding behind our keyboards,” said Kathleen Kaiser, president of the Writers & Publishers Network (WPN), a national literary nonprofit based in Ojai, California, and sponsor of the conference. “By November, everyone can be boosted against Covid, a virus that is becoming the new flu. We must learn to live and thrive with Covid, and coming to a writing conference is a great way to get out and back on track.”

For book lovers, there will be a free Book Expo on both days from 10 am to 5 pm, with regional authors selling their books and various speakers available to sign their books. A author speakers will be in and out of the expo through the weekend, chatting with everyone and signing their books.

The Book Expo is free for the public to attend, making sure you can go pick up your winter TBR stack. So even if you haven’t bought a ticket to the conference—there is still a way to meet all these amazingly talented humans at the Book Expo. Register in advance for the expo and have a chance to win one of four Bags of Books worth over $100 each.

Every writer needs community, and attending writing conferences is the best place to build one by meeting other writers and learning from successful authors, agents, editors, and book marketers. Face-to-face meetings, talking during breaks, and finding like-minded people—it’s the best way to keep on track, learn new ways to market your book, finish your book, and get published.

The 805 brings together top authors from all genres to discuss their process or specific craft elements all writers need to know. In addition, book marketing experts discuss how to launch a book and understand how to sell books on Amazon. Small publishers looking for direct submissions will discuss their search for new writers and be ready to meet them at the conference. Plus, there will be literary agents, book editors, and more. And one session showcases successful indie authors from the 805 area code.

“As the conference director,” said Kaiser, “I’ve found the best experts to talk with writers of all ages. Hear how they started, the obstacles they overcame, their process, and the joy of writing, which should inspire everyone to go home and get back to work on that manuscript.”

Learn more about the conference and how to register for the Book Expo at https://805writersconference.com.

Build a home fire escape plan

The Ventura Fire Department urges residents to build a home fire escape plan and start conversations about fire prevention with loved ones.

“Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape!” was the theme for the 100th anniversary of National Fire Prevention Week. This theme serves to help residents understand the simple, but important actions they can take to keep themselves safe from home fires.

“You may have as little as two minutes to safely escape a home fire. Your ability to get out fast depends on early warning from smoke alarms and advance planning,” said Fire Marshal Brett Reed. “During Fire Prevention Week, please check that smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are working properly, practice your home escape plan, and make sure your loved ones know how to quickly respond if an alarm sounds.”

In celebration of Fire Prevention Week the public is invited to download a home fire escape plan activity at www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/FirePreventionWeek, complete the activity with their household, and submit it for a chance to win an emergency go-kit and a visit with Ventura firefighters. Submit your completed home fire escape plan via email at [email protected].

The Ventura Fire Department shares the following home fire escape plan tips:

Make sure your plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities. Visit www.VenturaCityFire.com to download the Ready Ventura County Emergency Preparedness Guide.

Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home.

Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.

Establish an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home.

Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and once at night.

To learn more about the fire prevention and Ventura Fire’s educational resources, visit www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/FirePrevention. For more general information about the National Fire Prevention Week, visit www.FPW.org.

Field truck purchase advances Ventura Land Trust’s Land conservation efforts

“This truck replaces a field truck that was 20 years old.”

Ventura Land Trust purchased a 2019 Toyota Tacoma to replace a field truck lost last year in a traffic collision, bringing the number in the organization’s fleet of field trucks to two. The truck was purchased with support from community donations, corporate support, and a lead gift from Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas).

The four-wheel drive field truck is used daily to transport Ventura Land Trust staff, tools, water tanks, and other gear necessary for conservation work and preserve management. The truck is also used to haul thousands of pounds of trash from the Ventura River.

“This truck replaces a field truck that was 20 years old,” says Ventura Land Trust Executive Director Melissa Baffa. “It feels good to have a vehicle that can safely carry our staff and partners, and that is capable of meeting the demands of land stewardship.”

“We know that people will see this truck driving around town with the water tank we use to care for young plants, or piled high with trash bags from a clean-up. It’s really a moving symbol of the work we do every day to protect and preserve local open spaces. We’re pleased to have the support of the community and partners like SoCalGas, who understood the urgent need to add to our field truck fleet and came through with the support we needed to do so.”

The field truck is used in land management in Harmon Canyon Preserve, Big Rock Preserve, and Willoughby Preserve, which are open daily to public for free, as well as other properties that Ventura Land Trust owns and manages. It will be instrumental in preparing Ventura Land Trust’s newest conserved property, Mariano Rancho Preserve, to open to the public in the next two to three years.

The exterior of the truck is outfitted with an acknowledgement to SoCalGas, as well as a QR code to information about Ventura Land Trust membership. Learn more about Ventura Land Trust at www.venturalandtrust.org.

10th Annual Ventura County Farm Day

Hear the stories about our local farms.

On Saturday, November 5, more than 15 Ventura County farms, ranches and agricultural organizations will invite the public to experience a day of free agricultural activities and tours during the 10th Annual Ventura County Farm Day. This year’s theme is “Meet All The Hands That Feed You.” 

Visitors can map out their day by selecting locations from the Farm Day Trail Map at https://venturacountyfarmday.com/map. Each site offers tours and produce and other giveaways. Tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Some locations require reservations. 

“Agriculture is Ventura County’s largest industry. Farm Day is the opportunity to see how fruits and vegetables are grown, harvested and then shipped to stores for sale,” says Mary Maranville, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG), which puts on Ventura County Farm Day each year. “You’ll come away with an appreciation of the hard work that goes into growing each piece of produce.” 

Participating in Farm Day include Reiter Affiliated Companies (berries), Driscoll’s (strawberries), Duda Farm Fresh Foods (row crops), Alpacas At Windy Hills (Alpaca fleece), Good Farms (strawberries), Oxnard Historic Farm Park (antique farm equipment, vegetable crops, talks about the agricultural heritage of the Oxnard Plains), Prancer’s Farm (strawberries, tomatoes, avocados), Agromin (organic compost, mulch), The Abundant Table (nonprofit farm), Sow A Heart Farm (regenerative agriculture), McGrath Family Farm (organic farming), SEEAG’s Farm Lab (hands-on farm-related kids activities) and Petty Ranch (also the Farm Day hub). The Ventura County Farm Day Trail Map list of participating locations is updated daily. 

 Ventura County Farm Day sponsors include The Wood-Claeyssens Foundation, Driscoll’s, Gene Haas Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Bobalu Berry Farms, Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner, The Port of Hueneme and Reiter Affiliated Companies. 

SEEAG’s mission is to help children understand the farm origins of their food through classroom agricultural and nutrition education and free farm field trips. Through this and other SEEAG programs, over 60,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey since SEEAG’s founding in 2008. 

For more information about Ventura County Farm Day, visit www.VenturaCountyFarmDay.com or call 805-901-0213.

Theatre season opens with Carmen Jones

Christopher James Hester, Desmond Newson, Fredericka Meek, Constance Jewell Lopez and Nataley Carter star in Carmen Jones.

by Sheli Ellsworth

The musical Carmen Jones, Oscar Hammerstein’s take on Bizet’s 1875 opera, opened on October 8 and will run through October 23 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street in Santa Barbara. A talented, all-African American cast detonates the operatic spirit into the launching of Ensemble Theatre Company’s 44th season.

Carmen Jones is set in an American, 1940s WWII parachute factory and chronicles a love triangle between: factory worker Carmen (Fredericka Meek) who plays the seductress; Corporal Joe (Chauncey Packer) a handsome young soldier who guards the plant; and his small-town girlfriend, the ever-true Cindy Lou (Zelda Carmen).

The ambitious Carmen is an adept social climber. She flaunts her sexuality with the shamelessness of a modern-day pop diva. After she finally convinces Joe that they belong together, he turns his back on Cindy Lou and his dying mother to be with Carmen. Joe, whose ambition is to become an airplane pilot, leaves the army and goes AWOL to be with Carmen in Chicago.

Once in Chicago, Carmen finds the champion boxer, Husky Miller (Troy D. Wallace), to be a higher rung on the social ladder and dumps Joe for the fighter. Joe’s life is destroyed against the backdrop of Miller’s success. The popular song “Stan’ Up and Fight” brings back visions of a great united country determined in its war effort to “fight like hell.”

The live musical accompaniment to this adaptation of Carmen Jones was flawless. Positioned above the stage, theatre goers were impressed not only with the talent of the musicians but their visibility during the performance. The baby grand piano appears to almost float in the air along with the music and the mellifluous arias.

Fortunately, we go to operas for the music. But Carmen Jones is more than an opera. It is part of America’s heritage and in many ways the performers made being an American feel noble again. However, every time one of the performers were positioned on the tiny stage tables, the audience teetered with them. And when the Sergeant called Corporal Joe, “boy,” I hoped that Oscar Hammerstein’s language hadn’t offended anyone. Then when the scenes of domestic violence became a theme, there were audible sighs in the audience. Should we keep these archetypal opera plots or find fresh ones? If you have ever been to the opera, you already know how it ends.

Performances are Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. There will be no performance on Saturday, October 22 at 8:00 p.m. or Sunday October 23 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets prices range from $40-$84. Visit www.etcsb.org or call 805.965.5400.

Vol. 16, No. 02 – Oct 19 – Nov 1, 2022 – Mailbox

Hi Sheldon,

Just a quick note to tell you how much I have enjoyed reading the Breeze during the year and a half since I moved to Ventura.

I never miss scanning the Opinion/Editorial section as I always find it informative, and appreciate your often pithy humor.

Keep up the good work, and don’t let any bad tempered readers get you down!

Sincerely,
Fereva May Lawrence
(Former Editor of the Outlook newspaper in La Canada Flintridge)

To Patricia at the Ventura Breeze

(From Sherry): I wanted to express our appreciation for your helpfulness on Saturday, September 3rd, at the 2022 Aloha Beach Festival. My husband Don, was having trouble getting up and so you and another lady as well as some volunteers helped him out. Also you provided him with bottled water, which was very much appreciated on such a hot morning. I’m not sure of the name of the lady who was with you, also from The Breeze, who was very helpful, too. 

(From both of us): We’ve lived in Ventura for decades and before that we were regular visitors here. We’ve always found it to be the friendliest town out of the various places that we’ve lived. We also wanted to express our condolences to you and your colleagues in regards to the recent passing of your Breeze staff member Breezy Gledhill. It seems that this has been a year  of losses of people who we have heard about like Breezy or others who we knew somewhat like Suz Montgomery. We also lost someone who we knew who was the leader of  the Santa Monica Astronomy Club who recently died of complications from cancer. Your cousin, William Schallert, and his grand nephew sometimes liked to attend the meetings there. We belonged to the Club a long time ago but still keep track of their activities through Zoom.

Again, thanks for your help,

Sincerely,
Donald A. and Sherry L. Berry

Patricia- Thank you for your kind words. The other Breeze staff member was Yana Khiyod.

Breeze:

I am much in favor of education, but in the face of falling enrollment and already high housing prices, it seems wrong to me to be asking the public to support this bond measure which is not an insignificant amount and will add to inflation and increased housing costs when we already have a housing affordability and supply issue. The school district holds so much land, much of which is not in use, and could be sold to finance needed building upgrades. (Do we really need air conditioning in our moderate climate, with school out during summer? I don’t have AC at our home and do ok with just fans)

I am open to other views, but with nearly ½ of our population being renters who unrealistically may expect owners to bear this cost without passing it on, I think renters and policy makers need to consider the ramifications

Now if it were a bond issue to support new housing on school land for teachers or staff , that would be another matter

Mike Merewether

Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.
~ John Lennon

Vol. 16, No. 02 – Oct 19 – Nov 1, 2022 – Opinion/Editorial

Our first issue October 24, 2007.

 

∙ Wow, this is the 15th anniversary of the Ventra Breeze. Very hard to believe that it’s our 15th year. A big thank you to our dedicated staff, wonderful readers, much needed advertisers and donors who keep us going.

∙ The Ventura Christian School is getting closer to final eviction. It has leased the MacMilllan Avenue building from Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) for the last 20 years. The district has filed court documents for its removal. The building is over 100 years old.

The VUSD stated that the school’s lease was never renewed after expiring in June. The building has been determined to be of a “potentially unsafe condition” by a building inspection, which is being disputed by the school along with religious discrimination.

∙ Controversy over how rent increases are determined for Ventura mobile home parks has always been very controversial. Residents of mobile home parks are upset they can’t challenge the costs of capital improvements that could increase their rent.

Under the current ordinance, when a capital improvement is made rent can be increased based on the cost of the improvements.

The city council is concerned that if it allows for challenges to proceed it could put the entire existing mobile home park ordinance at risk of a lawsuit if it was amended.

Councilmember Jim Friedman said, “I’m fearful that what we do may cause you to lose something that is extremely important, which is rent control.”

This is a tough one. If improvements are really necessary to maintain a park in a proper living condition the owners might not make necessary improvements if they can’t increase rent to cover their costs. In this case, residents might then complain about the conditions at the facilities.

∙ Mayor Sofia Rubalcava delivered the annual State of the City Address at the City Council Meeting on October 10, as well as at an event hosted by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce on September 22. A recording of the event, including presentation slides in English and Spanish are available at https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/2126/State-of-the-City.

Topics highlighted during the 2022 State of the City presentation included:

  • Overview of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget.
  • Community Survey 2022 Results.
  • Overview of the seven-member City Council.
  • Overview of the City’s team of department directors.
  • Highlights of recent City and partnership successes
  • Economic Development updates.
  • Encouragement to get involved in the City’s General Plan Update and background on the process.

∙ The U.S. House Jan. 6 committee has voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump to testify. It presented interviews with his aides and new documents detailing his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

The vote seeking Trump’s testimony comes as the panel produced many new details and evidence of Trump’s state of mind as he refused to concede his election loss to Joe Biden, resulting in the 2021 attack at the Capitol.

Trump did not say whether he would comply with the subpoena. Instead, he repeated various long-debunked election claims that he makes in public that he won while privately admitting that he lost the election.

If he has indeed broken the laws of this country, he must be held accountable, just as you and I would be (maybe I could plead freedom of the press).

∙ Most American’s are disturbed that some countries have morality police that arrest women for how they dress. Doesn’t this country also have morality police?

It wasn’t that long ago that police raided “gay” bars and arrested men who were present even though they did not create any crimes or harm anyone. They have the same rights to be happy that we all have.

And, today doctors who provide abortions and recipients of abortions are being (or will be) arrested for what some perceive as immoral acts.

∙ Scores on the ACT college admissions test by this year’s high school graduates hit their lowest point in more than 30 years, the latest evidence of the enormity of learning disruption during the COVID pandemic.

The class of 2022’s average ACT composite score was 19.8 out of 36, marking the first time since 1991 the average score was below 20. And an increasing number of high school students have failed to meet any of the subject-area benchmarks set by the ACT, showing a decline in preparedness for college-level work.

This could set back our education system for many years because it will be very difficult for students to catch up.

According to a 2017 UNESCO report, the number of students worldwide attending higher education institutions increased from 100 million in 2000 to 207 million in 2014. But which countries are the most educated? This is not as easy a question to answer.

Despite the vagueness of the concept, multiple surveys and studies have done their best to determine which countries have the most-educated population. One of the most highly regarded analyses comes from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD, which released its list of the world’s most educated countries in 2018.

The Top 10 Most-Educated Countries does not even include the U.S. so we are behind to begin with. The top 3 are Canada, Japan and Israel.

∙ Saw an ad on TV for pants that have “a hidden phone pocket.” What if you need your phone and you can’t find it?

∙ Saw an ad “Express Hand Wax” $120. Seems like a lot to have your hand waxed. Maybe 2 would only be $200?

This year, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer celebrated its 30th anniversary

Photos by Patricia Schallert

Keri Bernstein and Deb Jeffers, the executive Director of American Cancer Society were part of the walkers.

On October 8, hundreds joined the campaign to celebrate survivorship and eliminate breast cancer this century at the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk for Ventura County starting at Ventura Harbor and continuing the promenade at Portside Ventura Harbor. The Harbor Village Main Lawn featured informative booths and more!

Since 1993, the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® (MSABC) campaign has united communities, companies, and individuals with a collective goal to end breast cancer as we know it. Over the past two decades, the 3- to 5-mile noncompetitive walks have collectively grown into the nation’s largest and most impactful breast cancer movement providing a supportive community for courageous breast cancer survivors and metastatic breast cancer thrivers, including caregivers, and families alike.

This year, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer celebrates its 30th anniversary and will take place in more than 150 communities nationwide.

TASTE of Ventura held at Museum of Ventura County

During a beautiful October 13 Ventura evening, one of the Ventura Chamber’s most popular events, TASTE of Ventura was held at the Museum of Ventura County (outside and inside). Partnering with “very” local restaurants, wineries, breweries, and bakeries/confectioners, guests enjoyed the very best Ventura has to offer in a festive, casual atmosphere.  Live music under the stars was also enjoyed.

Buenaventura Art Association closing out 2022

Buenaventura Art Association is closing out 2022 with a flourish, presenting six exhibitions of members’ works at three locations and wrapping up its monthlong Under $50 fundraising sale.

Two of the shows will be at Harbor Village Gallery & Gifts. The current fundraiser will be up until Nov. 7 and a members’ holiday show will run Nov. 8 through Jan. 10. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m., seven days a week. The fundraiser features 8-by-8-in. original artworks created and donated by BAA members, selling for $49 each.

In Studio 99 at Bell Arts Factory, 432 N. Ventura Ave., a display through Oct. 29 of members’ original works will be followed by one for the holiday season, Nov. 4-Dec. 24.

Two evening receptions are planned for the Studio 99 holiday exhibition, 6-9 p.m. on Nov. 4, opening night, and Dec. 2, in conjunction with Ventura’s First Friday celebration of the arts. Regular hours are noon-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

BAA, a nonprofit arts cooperative founded in 1954, welcomes additional business partnerships to expand its exhibit space and artist exposure. For more about BAA and its programs, call the gallery at 805-648-1235 or visit buenaventuraartassociation.org.