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Vol. 15, No. 04 – Nov 17 – Nov 30, 2021 – Opinion/Editorial

∙ Congratulations to two Breeze staff (we call ourselves Breezers) Sheli Ellsworth is the new President of the Ventura County Writers Club. She is an award-winning short story writer and contributing writer to the Breeze. Mary Thompson is the new President of the Olivas Adobe Docents. She is one of our distributors and sets up our booth at some events.

∙The City Council is still deciding on what the future is for the permanent closing of some downtown streets, which is called “Main Street Moves.” They are still examining how much the city and downtown businesses should pay to keep Main Street closed to vehicular traffic. The closing has kept many businesses (especially restaurants in business) by allowing outdoor dining, but if kept permanent it will very expensive if done right.

The Council has requested staff provide additional information on the proposal.

Even though a majority of residents asked preferred the street closures remain, I wonder if people living on Poli and Santa Clara were asked how they felt about all the additional cars on their streets? And how has this affected business for non-restaurants downtown? Will people walk several blocks to get a cup of coffee?

I assume that eventually this will become permanent, and the streets will be closed. Pavers, planters, fountains should be installed at a great expense. Where will the money come from?

I think it is a great idea, but perhaps should only include three streets, and not all of downtown. Main St. down by the mission has great potential and should be considered when thinking about what to do downtown.

∙ Since I changed our clocks back before I went to sleep on the 7th and not at 2AM as instructed, I hope I don’t get in trouble. I got confused though. Did that mean that I lost an hour of having fun or picked up an hour to have fun? Will I need to wait a year to resolve this?

∙Recently a high school (Inglewood High) football team beat another school 106-0. Inglewood went for a two-point conversion leading 104-0. I think this is awful for both the losers and maybe more so for the players on the winning team. What did this teach them about sportsmanship? The coach should be fired, or suspended, and their football team should forfeit a game. The principal did issue an apology, though that probably wasn’t enough.

∙From George Skelton writing in the LA Times.

“Guns, violence and political extremism are on the rise. And Americans risk disaster, sooner or later. That’s the view of a longtime University of California firearms researcher whose hard-hitting report was published last week in the journal Injury Epidemiology.”

Whom am I to disagree with this?

∙A New Jersey gym owner has been sentenced to more than three years (41 months) in prison for punching a police officer during the insurrection on Jan.6 at the Capitol. Hopefully this will be the guideline for others who face prison terms. Perhaps whomever sparked the insurrections should also go to prison.

∙An Anacapa Middle School history teacher, who was not named, is no longer working at the school. A video of in-class comments made by her stating that Hunter Biden had child pornography on his laptop and was having sex with his niece was made public. I certainly hope that she is also no longer employed by the school district. She also told her students that Donald Trump was currently president.

The teacher is no longer at the Anacapa but is still an employee of the VUSD while the review of the situation continues. If this is all true, I certainly hope that she is eventually fired from the district.

I know that we all hate it when some students use their cell phones during class, but, when they record this behavior, they are serving an important purpose of exposing teachers who shouldn’t be teaching our young people.

∙A new 600-seat music venue, and restaurant is set to open next year on the site of the former Discovery Ventura bowling alley in midtown.

It was an odd mix; a bowling alley, fine restaurant and a music venue, and it just didn’t work. I know several Venturan’s who lost money by investing in Discovery Ventura. I know the owner opened in another city and was accepting investors even as he declared bankruptcy.

I certainly hope this new venue is successful as it would bring new life to mid-town and some well-known musical acts to Ventura.

∙I certainly don’t know much about what is in the new $1.85-trillion social safety net bill (I doubt if those voting for and against also know much about what is in it). I do know there is $390 million provided for early childcare and education. It would provide universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-old children. It would also subsidize the cost of childcare for a large number of parents with children under 6.

I think this is extremely important, as it would help millions of working parents (especially low-income families) to keep pace with the more affluent who can afford to have their children attend private early classes and allow both parents to work.

Many minority children fall behind in school very early and have a hard time catching up.

∙Big Bird has ruffled some feathers by announcing he had been vaccinated against COVID-19. The Muppet tweeted that he had gotten the shot. Even though he has been on TV since 1969, he is officially only 6-years old so only just became eligible to get the shot. He stated, “My wing is feeling a little sore, but it’ll give my body an extra protective boost that keeps me and others healthy.”

This is, of course, a decision which is not shared by all parents as sensible/necessary. It is not known if Ernie and Bert have been vaccinated.

∙According to a new poll from the Public Policy Institute of California, nearly 80% of California voters are in favor of changing the state’s process for recalling elected officials. The survey comes nearly two months after an unsuccessful attempt to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom. The first-term Democrat defeated the recall with 62% of the vote (the same margin he won when he was elected in 2018).

I’m glad both Republicans and Democrats realize how absolutely absurd this process is, plus it cost “us” almost $300 million.

∙The United States had its hottest summer on record this year, narrowly edging out the previous one that was set 85-years ago during the Dust Bowl.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the average temperature this summer for the contiguous U.S. was 74 degrees. The heat record saw a season full of extremes, with persistent drought, wildfires, record-breaking heat, hurricanes and other extreme weather. If I didn’t know better, I would think this is climate change. As I write this, it is 85 degrees outside.

Robotics Team 4414: HighTide’s Tidal Tumble Success

FIRST Team 4414, High Tide brought robotics back to Ventura County.

Team 4414: HighTide, a community based FIRST robotics team, hosted the 3-day robotics competition Tidal Tumble at Ventura County Fairgrounds, October 15-17. Fifteen teams from around California and one from Hawaii traveled to Ventura to put their robots to the test.

Velma Lomax, FIRST Regional Director, Southern California said, “It’s been two years since most of these teams have competed in-person with a robot. When I walked into TIDAL TUMBLE the mood was high, the kids were excited, and the teams were so happy. I would like to personally thank the sponsors, Sessa Mfg. and especially FIRST Team 4414, High Tide, for putting on this event and bringing Robotics back to Ventura County.”

Team 4414: HighTide’s training lab is housed at Sessa Mfg. where industry professionals’ mentor high school students on CAD, manufacturing, programming and more. Michael Sessa expressed his enthusiasm for TIDAL TUMBLE, “Having the event seaside at the Ventura Fairgrounds was remarkable. Team Member and Event Director Anshul Bajaj’s hard work and perseverance gave us the confidence to pull off a successful event.  We are also extremely grateful to the generous donors in our community that made it possible.”

Bajaj, a 12th grader at El Camino High School, served as Event Director and built support for the off-season competition, from concept to execution, fundraising to securing technical volunteers, managing logistics/equipment and more. Bajaj said, “We are so thankful for the incredible volunteer group who helped make the event a success, and to the teams that came to compete! Our inaugural TIDAL TUMBLE provided a competitive and intimate atmosphere that allowed students to truly get involved.”

New Team Member, Aadhya Bavkar, 9th Grader at Foothill High felt “Everybody working together in a frenzy to fix the robot within back-to-back matches was truly exhilarating. The overall positive energy and intense adrenaline of the competition was a whole new experience for me and I will always remember it!”

Dan Holmes Internationally acclaimed photographer  said, “It was inspiring to see all the high school students so deeply engaged in operating their robots, and running the show! Everyone involved was enthusiastic, full of fun, and pride – kudos to all the competitors, organizers, volunteers, and audience!”

Hector Guerrero, Principal El Camino High School found the weekend to be an “amazing opportunity for our youth to shine. Watching students challenge conventional standards through collaboration, critical thinking and application of STEM education, all while having fun, proves why we need more opportunities of this kind in our community. It was a showcase of student creativity and innovation that make me feel optimistic for our student’s futures.”

Tidal Tumble was made possible by sponsors SessaMfg, FASTSIGNS of Ventura, Kearney Family, Narayan Family, Shew Family, My Best Friend Obedience, 359 Hawaiian Kids, Lea Sessa Memorial Fund and Wulff Family.

For more information: tidaltumble.com

Ventura’s Sister City of Loreto Baja Sur, Mexico

Venturan’s spend 4 days in sister city.

A delegation from Ventura that consisted of Carl Morehouse, Chair of the Ventura Sister City Association, his wife, Janna Minsk, Father Tom Elewaut from the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura and his sister, Rosemary, Ventura Councilmember Mike Johnson and his wife, Aimee Brecht-Doscher, and Mission parishioners Barbara and Chris Post recently returned from 4 days in Ventura’s Sister City of Loreto Baja Sur, Mexico, where they met up with peers from Loreto’s other sister city, Hermosa Beach. The Breeze managed to travel along!
The rumor that there might be a Loreto Breeze is unfounded.
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Bicycling for Breast Cancer with the Tour de Pink Lisa J. Frank Memorial Ride

The Lisa J. Frank Memorial fundraising event was off to a great start at San Buenaventura State Park. Photos courtesy of Ryan Stephens.

by Amy Brown

Lisa J. Frank was a trailblazer, on and off the road. An avid cyclist, the young lawyer was diagnosed in 1998 with breast cancer at age 36, and quickly recognized that many young adults were not well represented in research, community and overall discussions about the disease. In 2004, she became a cofounder of the cycling fundraising event for breast cancer, YSC Tour de Pink, and a founding member of the Young Survival Coalition (YSC). That first event had just six riders, but it has since grown to be an annual event, with rides of up to three days and 200+ miles on both east and west coasts, with thousands of participants raising awareness, millions of dollars and support and advocacy for young women with breast cancer.

Frank passed away in December of 2020 after a courageous 22-year battle with the disease, and the YSC Tour De Pink was renamed the Lisa J. Frank Memorial Ride in her honor. This popular event’s west coast one day ride was again held in Ventura during Breast Cancer Awareness month, and featured hundreds of young patients, survivors and their supporters.

Susan Walker Hull has been both a survivor and a supporter, riding for the very first time this year, and honoring her daughter Brittany, who passed away from breast cancer at age 31 in 2017. “It’s been a very hard time in our family, and for me as a mother, losing a daughter and being a survivor, a triple guilt trip, so to speak, so this ride brought me a lot of healing,” said Hull. “It was absolutely life changing for me–I haven’t had such a bright smile on my face in a really long time. I’ll be there every year.”

Eva Wirth is a survivor since 2007, and a year after her diagnosis, started riding with the YSC Tour de Pink, and has since participated in 25 rides on both coasts. “Lisa was an extremely dear friend of mine, and she was always very involved with the ride until she got very sick at the end. She had battled metastatic cancer for 10 years, at the end it was like, ‘wow, I don’t know where this woman gets the energy.’ She was extremely mentally tough—she just wanted to beat it,” said Wirth.

Many riders are there to support others, like Eric Christianson, who has ridden in the event for the last ten years, at first as a ‘ghost rider’ in memory of a former coworker, Michelle. “After that, I became more involved every year, kind of carrying the torch, keeping her memory alive, and also just being able to ride alongside these survivors, and feeling like I was part of something special,” shared Christianson, who lost his sister to cancer, as well as both parents.

Frank’s legacy has fostered advocacy for new legislation, helped connect women with others with the disease, and provided support for their loved ones, according to YSC Director of Marketing and Communications, Jamie Larson. “I truly feel that the spirit of Lisa, her tenacity, her passion for advocacy for younger adults, and in co-founding the Tour De Pink, that her passion is what sets this ride apart,” said Larson. “One of the things that’s always really profound to me are the young adults affected who ride, and then talk about the experience of this ride being about taking their body back after cancer. They can prove that they can do something challenging and athletic again, it’s not just crossing the finish line, there are so many beautiful moments of accomplishment.”

I am not just a rock, I am a memory

A simple tribute to our memories. Photos by Patricia Schallert 

If one walks down the promenade between C street and the Fairgrounds, you will see a memorial that has been created using some simple beach rocks and river stones. These rocks are in a planter box in front of the Beach Fronter townhouse complex. This simple memorial garden has grown into an amazing way to honor those in our lives that we have loved and lost. Everyone is welcome to bring a personalized rock or small river stone that pays tribute to a loved one, be it your favorite pet, family member or friend. 

You are invited to find and paint a stone or rock, then bring it to the garden. You can also take a rock if you want but replace it with a personalized design or color and or message and dedication to your loved one. 

This rock garden is a simple tribute to the memories of those we have cared about and loved in addition to creating simple artwork for our environment.

Aegis Living Ventura hosts Aegis Games

Aegis Living had more than 30 residents participating in the Games.

The entire world watched as the Summer Olympics finally commenced following coronavirus pandemic delays. The crowds were smaller than usual, but the energy and enthusiasm were hard to beat.

A similar energy was felt just this last week at Aegis Living Ventura, an assisted living and memory care community, as it hosted the first ever Aegis Games for residents and staff. The Olympic-style Games kicked off with opening ceremonies October 11 and concluded on October 25. The Games were designed to have something for every resident, including more than 25 events – from twice-weekly trivia with former Olympians (Janet Evans, Shannon Miller, John Naber to name a few) to a daily walkathon, Giant Jenga, Discus Throw, Relays, Word Unscramble, and much more.

“We are always looking for new ways to stimulate the mind, body, and spirit of our residents and staff,” said Chris Corrigall, Vice President of Life Enrichment at Aegis Living. “Aegis Games started as a fun idea with the Summer Olympics taking place and transformed into a full two weeks of lively programming for our 5,000 residents and staff. We couldn’t be happier to see everyone together and celebrating just like old times.”

Aegis Living Ventura had more than 30 residents participating in the Games. While each day was fun filled, the residents especially enjoyed coming together across assisted living and memory care and celebrating their accomplishments during the closing ceremonies, where every resident received a medal. Residents also received a special visit from Dwayne Clark, the company’s Founder and CEO, who came to celebrate as the Games carried on.

“Here at Aegis, we are part of creating memories,” said Mary Sawyer, an Aegis Ventura team member. “Our lives are enriched every day by our residents and giving back to them is truly amazing. Here, we believe growing old is inevitable, but growing up is optional.”

The Games were such a hit there is talk of it being an annual tradition.

Girl Scouts holds free open house event at EPIC Community

Neighborhood girls learn to “code” by making code bracelets they got to take home.

Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast welcomed girls ages 5 – 18 to an afternoon at a SoCal Gas sponsored open house event. On October 27, fun-filled games and activities were held at an EPIC Community Center in Cabrillo Village, 1515 S Saticoy Ave.

Girls in kindergarten through high school engaged in exciting STEM learning activities, made crafts to take home, met new friends in their neighborhood, and won special giveaways. While girls played, learned, and made new friends, families enjoyed free tacos and ice cream at food trucks. Parents interested in learning more about the Girl Scout program also had the opportunity to speak to council staff and volunteers.

With family support, EPIC exists to build character in vulnerable youth and create everyday leaders throughout marginalized communities, using experimental learning and arts as the mediums to produce responsible citizens. EPIC offers a mentorship program as well as workshops for parents and kids to develop and unleash a child’s inner leader. Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast partnered with EPIC to support this effort and provide girls based in Ventura with fun activities that inspire the leader in them.

Girl Scouts is for every girl, and we’re ready to help her see what she’s capable of no matter her dreams, passions, or goals. Let’s explore the outdoors, get involved with the community, learn a new skill, and serve those in need. Together, there is no limit to what girls can accomplish.

A second Girl Scout Open House event is being held Saturday, November 6, 11:00 AM – 2 PM at WestView 1153 Village Way, Ventura. Learn more about this event at http://www.girlscoutsccc.org or contact [email protected] for more information.

Ventura County Farm Day offers free, open farm tours Nov. 6

Meet Alpacas at Windy Hill farm.

Meet The Hands That Feed You 

Now in its ninth year, Ventura County Farm Day is back with free, in-person, open farm tours on Saturday, November 6. This year’s theme is “Meet The Hands That Feed You.” Tour hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Visitors can use a new online Farm Day Trail Map to build a custom itinerary to travel between growers throughout Ventura County at their own pace. The public will experience a day of agricultural activities, farm tours and produce and other giveaways, plus meet the local farmers who grow the food we eat. 

“We sometimes take for granted how many workers are involved in the process of producing the foods we see in the store. The public will follow the growing journey–from prepping the soil, planting, caring for, harvesting and packaging–to finally shipping the food to market,” 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. 

Over 15 agricultural entities will participate including Reiter Affiliated Companies (berries), Alpacas At Windy Hills (Alpaca fleece), Blue Ridge Honey (raw honey), Earthtrine Farms (oranges, greens, figs and basil), Good Farms Making a Difference (strawberries), McGrath Family Farm (certified organic vegetables) and Oxnard Historic Farm Park (featuring antique farm equipment, vegetable crops and talks about the agricultural heritage of the Oxnard Plains). Every stop is unique. The full list is at https://venturacountyfarmday.com/farm-tours/map. It’s updated daily.

At Blue Ridge Honey in Ventura, visitors will be able to view an observation hive with live bees, learn about product bottling and sample fresh honey. 

Always a Farm Day favorite is McGrath Family Farm off the 101 Freeway in Camarillo. It hosts a collective of five small farms.

“Ventura County Farm Day is a way to connect farmers with the public,” says Mike Harris, a farmer at Baby Root Farm. “It fosters a close connection between farmers, food and the community.” 

Ventura County Farm Day sponsors include Bobalu Berry Farms, Farm Credit West, Reiter Affiliated Companies and Ventura County Agricultural Association.

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. “While our primary focus with SEEAG is to educate children,” says Maranville, “Ventura County Farm Day gives all ages the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the farms throughout the area.” 

For more information about Ventura County Farm Day and a list of participating farms, visit www.VenturaCountyFarmDay.com or call 805-901-0213.

VEP gives 49 innovation grants

After being on hold due to COVID, Ventura Education Partnership and the Ventura Unified School District Community enthusiastically embraced the return of $1,000 Innovation Grants for VUSD educators. Through a competitive application process, VEP selected 49 projects totaling $46,000 to fund. These innovative projects provide hands on opportunities that deepen student engagement and learning. 

Beth Harris, Principal, Poinsettia Elementary said of the grants program, “Grants allow staff to dream… In this dreaming there is new energy breathed into the classroom. That energy is palpable and can be felt by students. There is a captivating magic in a passionate educator, excited about an idea they dreamed up… It’s great for the student and, equally important, so good for the staff. In these most trying times in education, this kind of joyful energy is invaluable!” 

The program is funded by generous support from local businesses and caring community members who value investments in educators and students as essential for our future. Aera Energy’s gift of $10,000 was specifically meaningful in a year when many teachers turned to the joy of reading as a way to create connections with and between students that was reduced during distance learning.

Madhu Bajaj, Vice President of VEPGrants said, “Aera has supported reading grants over the last few years. Ongoing funding like this creates meaningful change and significant impact, in this case stimulating a renewed passion for teaching through relevant, forward thinking reading based activities.” 

Recognizing the unusual times we are living in, Rotary Club of Ventura’s Julius Guis Memorial Rotary Foundation supported community building projects with $5,000. These 5 grants use the arts and garden-based education to bring students together where they can collaborate, share ideas, strengthening communication and team building while immersing themselves in scientific study, math, and environmental education. 

Community Memorial Health System’s gift of $5,000 supported 5 grants in the areas of math, science and health careers. These projects build essential skills that give students a strong foundation for future careers in the health industry. Students will engage in scientific inquiry, and research while working together in problem solving and more. 

Petra McCullough, Assistant Principal of Anacapa Middle School shared why she is passionate about VEPGrants, “When a teacher is struggling to reach their students, VEP is there to help. When a new teacher is looking to set themselves apart, VEP is there to help. When you are looking to invest in an equitable program, VEP is there to help.”   

This help is only possible with the community’s involvement. “We are very grateful for our community supporters whose generous donations make these innovative projects possible for Ventura Unified School District students” said Co-Presidents Debbie Golden and Kathy Asher.

To learn more and For a complete list of grant recipients and more information on VEPGrants, visit venturaeducationpartnership.org/VEPGrants or contact [email protected] (805) 754-9861.

Vol. 15, No. 03 – Nov 3 – Nov 16, 2021 – Movie Review

Streaming Spotlight by Cindy Summers
Squid Game – Netflix Original

4 out of 4 palm trees. Breeze rating from 1 to 4 palm trees, 4 being best.

Set in Seoul, South Korea, Squid Game follows 456 players who, because they were living on the brink of financial ruin, decide to enter a game offering billions to the winner, initially not knowing that the game had deadly consequences. After accepting, players were picked up, gassed and transported to an unknown location. They woke up in a dorm in green track suits with assigned numbers up to 456, while all the staff wore red hooded jackets and pants with a fencing mask having the shape of either a circle, triangle or square painted on the front to indicate their jobs.

The players were told they would play six games over six days and the winners would win a large cash prize. Given a last chance to quit before things began, players then had to sign a “Player Consent Form” which consisted of three clauses: Clause 1 – A player is not allowed to stop playing; Clause 2 – A player who refuses to play will be eliminated; and Clause 3 – Games may be terminated if the majority agrees. Players were then led through a brightly-colored MC Escher stairs labyrinth to the playing field, which looked like an outdoor park with grass and trees painted on the walls and a 10 foot tall girl doll at the far end. The players were told the game was “Red Light-Green Light” and were reminded of the basic rules of the game. Players who didn’t follow the rules would be eliminated, which unknown to the players at the time actually meant shot and killed. When the first few players were shot, many others panicked and kept moving trying to escape and were shot as well, with over two hundred players being eliminated in the first game.

The eliminated players bodies were put in black coffins with pink ribbons and incinerated, and the remaining 201 players returned to the dorm where they were informed that each lost player represented 100,000,000 won toward the cash prize that counting the total players could add up to 45.6 billion won ($38 million). To emphasize the cash prize, money flowed into a giant, clear plexiglass piggy bank on the ceiling for each player that was eliminated. Though the money was very tempting, it seemed that close to half of the players were terrified by the reality of their situation and wanted to end the game, so a vote was called due to Clause 3 of the Player Contract. The players voted 100 to continue and 101 to end the games, so the games were halted, though were told that if a majority decides to resume, the games could begin again.

Most of the players were in serious financial trouble, so 187 decided to restart the games and repeated the secretive process of returning and resuming where they had left off on Game 2, which was to cut out an assigned shape on a thin piece of honeycomb with a small needle without breaking it or be eliminated. All games were timed, and this was set in a playground area where players struggled to gently cut their shapes as other players were being shot all around them.

Not knowing the next game, players were told to divide into teams of ten, and found out the game was Tug-of-War over a giant pit that would eliminate the losing team. Thinking that teaming up was a good thing, players paired off for the 4th game thinking they were allies only to discover to be pitted against each other in a game of marbles. The trend of offering little information continued to fool players into false alliances and poor choices, eventually pitting two childhood friends against each other in the final Squid Game, which they had played together as children.

Squid Game is the most-watched Netflix series of all time, debuting on the charts at No.1 and in its second week reached a rare 3 billion minutes viewed, being only the sixth title to ever do so.

Rated: TV-MA and contains graphic violence, sexual content and mature themes.
Runtime: 9 – 1hr Episodes