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A sudden wealth loss may lead to cognitive decline

Experiencing a negative wealth shock, defined as a sudden loss of 75% or more in total wealth, was linked to cognitive decline among older adults in the United States and China, but not in England or Mexico, according to an NIA-funded study. The results, published in Lancet Healthy Longevity, suggest that factors such as government policies and social safety nets may account for cross-national differences in the adverse health effects of negative wealth shocks.

There is a positive association between household wealth and cognitive health outcomes in later life, with poorer outcomes among people with lower socioeconomic status. However, the link between negative wealth shock and cognitive function in later life had not been examined. To look more closely at a potential relationship, and whether the association varied in countries with different income levels, University of Michigan scientists in this study examined data from four NIA-funded longitudinal studies of aging: the Health and Retirement Study in the United States and international partner studies in China, England, and Mexico.

These study findings suggest negative wealth shocks may be a potential risk factor for cognitive decline. The researchers note some limitations of the study, including possible errors in wealth measurement, and respondents experiencing declines in cognitive function may face problems with money management that could then lead to loss of wealth. The authors also underscore several strengths of the study, including its large, representative sample. Future studies may explore differences in government policies and social safety nets that contribute to variations across countries.

This research was supported in part by NIA grants U01AG009740-35, P30AG012846-26, R01AG069128-04, R01AG070953-04, and K99AG070274-02.

Volunteers needed to enrich the lives of seniors in Ventura County

Is there much training involved in becoming an instructor?

by Carol Leish, MA

How do you get involved in volunteering for the Fall Prevention Classes at the Ventura County Area Agency on Agency? Is there much training involved in becoming an instructor?

“Our volunteer instructors are passionate about helping seniors in the community,” according to, Julianna Eusanio, MSW, Program Coordinator for the Fall Prevention Classes. “No previous experience is needed to become an instructor. We are flexible with our instructors’ hours to fit into their schedules.

“Volunteer trainings to instruct classes varies depending upon the class. For a Walk with Ease class, the training is 2 hours online. For the Matter of Balance class, the training is 2 days. Class members and instructors are very supportive of each other. Volunteers gain a sense of community while helping seniors. Training for volunteers, along with the classes for the community, are free to those who are age 60 and older, along with those with disabilities, who qualify for the classes.

“Carol Vaughn has been teaching Tai Chi with the Area Agency for 7 years, and is a senior advisor and master trainer. Pam Hantgin has been teaching Tai Chi for almost 2 years. Pam first started taking the classes, and enjoyed the classes so much that she decided to become an instructor of the classes.”

Through the classes: 1) Bingocize; 2) A Matter of Balance; 3) Stepping On; 4) Walk with Ease; and, 5) Tai Chi Moving for Better Balance, adults 60 and older are helped in maintaining their independence at home. A good method of preventing falls is by participating in one of these five FREE evidence-based classes. The classes help those who are mildly active and have fallen or who have a fear of falling to help them to improve their balance, mobility, and their confidence.

Bingocize is a 10-week series that meets twice weekly for 1 hour per session Participants play bingo, answer trivia questions, and participate in seated and standing exercises that they can also do at home. In a Matter of Balance, which is an 8-week series that meets once a week for 2 hours per session, that focuses on improving balance, strength, flexibility, and self-confidence.

Stepping On is a 7-week class that meets once weekly for 2 hours per session. Participants complete standing and seated exercises with gradual use of leg weights, both in class and at home. This class also offers access to a physical therapist, and a vision expert, who provides information linking vision issues to falls. A public safety expert discusses how to avoid falls in public. A pharmacist explains how various medicines affect a person’s risk of falling.

Walk with Ease is a 6-week class that meets three times weekly for 1hour per session. This class gives motivational tips on how to exercise with arthritis while still maintaining a walking goal. Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance is a 12-week class that meets twice weekly for 1.5 hours per class. Participants participate in slow and controlled seated and standing movements. Participants also focus on improving their strength, stamina, balance, and body awareness.

Those who are interested in trainings to become a volunteer to support seniors within the community, along with getting exercise for themselves, please call the Ventura County Area Agency on Aging at: 805-477-7354; or, email: [email protected].

Inspiring Women Speak at Women’s Economic Ventures

Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) hosted its first International Women’s Day Celebration at The Hub – Community Environmental Council in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, March 6. The event celebrated the achievements of women and brought attention to the gap in philanthropic dollars that go to women’s and girls’ serving organizations like WEV. WEV is a non-profit dedicated to the economic empowerment of women, providing a full range of financial and entrepreneurial support – including classes, consulting, and funding – as well as financial literacy programs in both English and Spanish. Information at www.wevonline.org .

The event speakers included, WEV Client Jonnie Williams, PsyD., Founder and CEO of Evolve Equity, University of California, Santa Barbara Professor, Sarah Thébaud, Ph.D., from the Department of Sociology, and WEV Board Member, Junemarie Justus, Founder of The Acorn Project.

Sarah Thébaud, Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara opened the program by sharing her research in gender studies. She said, “It’s no secret we live in a society with gender inequality which is a problem not just for women but for everyone.”

WEV Client, Jonnie Williams, PsyD. opened her remarks by saying hello to the crowd of 50 attendees in her maternal grandmother’s native language from the Bitterwater clan of the Navajo Nation. Williams founded Evolve Equity to advance equity, racial justice, and healing for groups that have been historically marginalized.

WEV board member and founder of The Acorn Project, Junemarie Justus shared, “We all know that given the opportunity to thrive, women lift not only themselves, but their families and communities.”

Since 1991, WEV has provided business training and small business advisory services to more than 28,000 people throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

To support WEV’s work, please visit www.wevonline.org/support.

Pier Closure Update

Pier remains closed. Photos by Patricia Schallert

The iconic Ventura Pier, a cherished local landmark, has faced unprecedented challenges in the last year, leading to its closure to the public in January 2023. The closure was necessitated by significant storm damage that raised serious safety concerns. Despite setbacks, the City of Ventura has been unwavering in its commitment to address the damage and secure the pier’s long-term integrity.

In response to the severity of damage caused by winter storms and high surf, the City declared a local state of emergency to expedite disaster response and seek emergency funding from the state to aid in the recovery process. The City Council officially ratified the local state of emergency on January 9, 2024.

The reopening of the Ventura Pier, initially scheduled for March, has been postponed to the summer of 2024 due to additional damage caused by heavy surf in December 2023. The high surf, plus winter storm events from January 2023, dislodged support pilings, braces, and brackets, necessitating extensive repairs and causing a delay in the reopening date.

Last year’s damage involved a total of 34 damaged and 20 dislodged piles, with the recent inspection revealing 19 missing or damaged timber piles, 20 dislodged piles, and 62 damaged or missing braces. The Ventura City Council members recently approved a $1.75 million agreement with Jilk Heavy Construction Inc. to address the December damages, adding to the $1.45 million allocated for last year’s repairs. The comprehensive repair cost amounts to $3.2 million, with the city expecting approximately $1.58 million in reimbursements, including support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the California Disaster Assistance Act, and the Ventura County Community Foundation.

Recently, the City of Ventura received a $40,000 donation from Pier Into the Future to help support restoration efforts. Read the press release.

The Ventura Pier, formerly known as the Ventura Wharf and the San Buenaventura Wharf, is a wooden pier. The pier is the oldest pier in the state and is designated as Ventura Historic Landmark No. 20.

Since 1872, the Ventura Pier has stood as a symbol of the region’s rich history and natural resources. Once the cornerstone of Ventura County’s agricultural, construction and oil trade, today the Ventura Pier is a favorite attraction for fishing, picnics, sunset strolls and beautiful views.

The celebration of Purim

Purim is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (usually dated to the 5th century BCE). It will be held on March 23 this year.

Haman was the royal vizier to the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I; Khshayarsha and Artakhsher in Old Persian, respectively). His plans were foiled by Mordecai of the tribe of Benjamin, and Esther, Mordecai’s cousin and adopted daughter who had become queen of Persia after her marriage to Ahasuerus. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing among Jews.

According to the Scroll of Esther, “they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor”.

Purim is celebrated with food, charity and gatherings. The four observances of the holiday are to read the book of Esther, give charity to at least two needy individuals, share the gift of food with at least one friend and partake in a festive meal.

SCORE To Launch In-Person Workshop Series for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs

In partnership with the City of Ventura and the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, SCORE will launch a series of in-person no cost workshops that will help local entrepreneurs and business owners gain valuable and practical knowledge from subject matter experts on a wide range of business-related topics.

The workshop series will kick off on March 27 with the topic “Four Key Marketing Strategies to Attract More Customers”. The event will be held at the Ventura City Hall Community Meeting Room at 8:30AM. The workshop will be led by Steve James who is a Digital Marketing Consultant with the firm RevLocal. Topics covered will include how to enhance your Google ranking, how to harness the power of reviews and how to master paid advertising.

“How to attract more customers is one of the most challenging tasks that new and growing small business owners face,” says SCORE Ventura Chapter Co-Chair Danielle Malconian. “We put together the “Four Key Marketing Strategies to Attract More Customers” workshop to help answer their questions, so they can focus on other challenges and opportunities,” Malconian adds.

Other SCORE workshops that will be held in 2024 at the Ventura City Hall will cover topics ranging from starting a new business to how to incorporate Artificial Intelligence into your business. For workshop information, including how to register, go to https://www.score.org/ventura/local-workshops.

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 11 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or successfully exit a business. SCORE’s 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources, and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. Visit SCORE at www.score.org.

Funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, conclusions and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

For more information about starting or operating a small business, visit SCORE Ventura at www.score.org/ventura.

Community Memorial Hospital receives Outstanding Patient Experience Award

Community Memorial Healthcare is proud to announce that, for the second consecutive year, its Ventura hospital has received the Healthgrades Outstanding Patient Experience Award. Healthgrades, a leader in hospital research and transparency, also awarded the hospital 5 Stars in several specialty care areas.

The Outstanding Patient Experience Award places Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura among the top 15% of hospitals nationwide for patient experience, according to Healthgrades. The patient experience measures reveal how patients felt about the care they received overall at the hospital and are based on patient survey data that Healthgrades obtains from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“Earning the Outstanding Patient Experience Award for the second year in a row underscores the dedication of our physicians, staff, and leadership to providing outstanding patient care on an ongoing basis,” said Mick Zdeblick, President & CEO, Community Memorial Healthcare. “As an independent community hospital, it’s an honor to be among the top 15% in the nation, and I am proud of our team for their commitment to maintaining this high level of care.”

To identify the top hospitals for patient experience, Healthgrades applies a scoring methodology to ten patient experience measures using Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey data submitted by the hospital’s own patients. Survey questions focus on how patients viewed their hospital care, including cleanliness, noise levels, medication explanations, interactions with doctors and nurses, and hospital staff responsiveness. The measures also include whether a patient would recommend the hospital to friends or family and their overall rating of the hospital. For this annual analysis, Healthgrades evaluated more than 2,500 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), covering admissions from January 2022 to December 2022.

Healthgrades also awarded Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura the highest 5-star ratings in the treatment areas of heart failure (cardiac care), cranial neurosurgery, stroke treatment (neurosciences), treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, pulmonary), gastrointestinal bleeding (gastrointestinal care), and respiratory failure (critical care). These 5-star ratings distinguish Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura as a leading provider of care in these specialties, providing better-than-expected outcomes. For the specialty care ratings, Healthgrades evaluated patient mortality and complication rates for common conditions and procedures at thousands of hospitals nationwide to identify the top-performing hospitals for cardiac care, neurosciences, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and critical care.

Healthgrades is a top platform for finding a doctor and is a leader in healthcare transparency, helping millions of consumers find and schedule appointments with healthcare professionals. Consumers can visit healthgrades.com for more information on how Healthgrades measures hospital quality. Complete Healthgrades reports are available at https://www.healthgrades.com/quality/hospital-ratings-awards.

CAPS premieres ReCaps – a special series of Ventura storytelling

On Monday, April 1 CAPS is launching ReCAPS

On Monday, April 1 CAPS is launching ReCAPS, a very special weekly series of original programs featuring storytellers throughout Ventura County. Every Monday night at 7pm a new edition of ReCAPS will premiere on CAPS Channel 6 and stream online, with stories and histories by a variety of local storytellers sharing their personal journeys.

CAPS crews have recorded hundreds of interviews with fascinating people on a wide range of productions including Ventura County’s 150th Celebration, The Thomas Fire, Ventura City’s 150th Celebration, Ventura Legacies and many more. CAPS has also recorded personal histories for special presentations for the Museum of Ventura County, the Ventura College Foundation, and many other organizations. Brief segments from all the interviews were included in CAPS programs and presentations, but that leaves a lot of wonderful history and storytelling to be shared. ReCAPS is the place where all the complete interviews can be found.

The initial set of ReCAPS features numerous storytellers included in the Museum of Ventura County’s landmark exhibit “Ventura County: The Place We Call Home”, created for the county’s 150th Celebration, personal interviews recorded for “The Perfect Firestorm,” CAPS Media’s documentary on the Thomas fire, and for CAPS’ storytelling series, “Ventura Legacies.” A complete list of ReCAPS programs and schedule are on the CAPS website at capsmedia.org.

Starting on Monday, April 1, ReCAPS storytellers include Carlos Ortega, chief curator of the Museum of Ventura County, Moses Mora, longtime resident of Ventura’s westside community and Tortilla Flats historian, and Jake and Jennie Dilbeck, firefighter, and survivor of the Thomas Fire.

In coming weeks ReCAPS programs will feature “Home” stories and memories from Jim and John Proctor, Barbara Macri-Ortiz, Pedro Chavez, Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, and others, plus complete heart-wrenching, first-person stories from Thomas Fire survivors and fire fighters Kat Merrick, Clark Tulberg, Trevor Quirk, Chad Cook, David Endaya, and others. The series will include “Ventura Legacies,” personal histories by Ventura County’s most influential families including the Fosters, Harrisons, Smith, Hobson, and Petit families, plus county histories of tortilla flats, surfing, and oil exploration.

The ReCAPS includes engaging interviews by museum director Elena Brokaw with innovators from a wide range or organizations throughout the county, plus tasty and entertaining “Feast or Flop” food programs that recreate Ventura County historic recipes, flavored with county origin stories hosted by Renee Tallent, collections manager at the Museum of Ventura County and recreated by local chefs.

Every Monday night at 7pm ReCAPS features a new storyteller that has a special and personal story to share. The programs will repeat throughout the week on Channel 6 and streaming online. The schedule is posted on the CAPS Media website.

You may think you’ve heard all the great Ventura County stories, but the ReCAPS storytellers are certain to entertain and surprise you.

CAPS manages and programs cable channels 6 (Public) and 15 (Education and Government), and CAPS Radio KPPQ in Ventura, and manages the CAPS Media Center, at 65 Day Road, which is open Tuesday – Thursday, 12p– 8pm. CAPS provides unlimited creative resources and expertise in Ventura. Everyone in the community is invited to join us for an orientation session held on the first Monday of each month at 6pm. Drop by and discover what the CAPS Crew and our creative community have to offer.

The Lore of the Olivas Owls

Olivas Adobe have been for decades the home of a family of Great Horned Owls.

by Richard Senate

The large eucalyptus trees that grow near the Olivas Adobe have been, for decades the home of a family of Great Horned Owls. They are the largest of the owl family and they are called “great horned” because of two tufts of feathers on  their head that resembles horns.

Sometimes they are called Tiger Owls or Hoot Owls and they can have a wingspan of up to 4.5 feet (1.4 meters). They can  weigh in as much as three pounds (1.4 Kilograms). Their Latin name is Bibo Virginianus Pacifica. They use their excellent eyesight to prey upon the gophers from the near-by golf course. They are known for their distinctive call, hence the name “hoot owls.”  Their cry is believed to be an omen of ill fortune and coming death. They say if you see an owl perched atop a house it means that one of the  residents will die soon.  Folklore says that owls only make their nest near haunted houses.

In the Middle Ages owls were linked to witches and witchcraft. Because of this they were, like cats, hunted and killed by superstitious people. Owls have been part of the Olivas Adobe for decades and each spring new owlets are hatched in the large tree where the baby owls in the nest can be viewed in the Spring.  It is only fitting because the Olivas Family descended from warrior knights who served the Spanish King. The family crest is a shield with a large owl!

Car drivers can learn green driving from ship captains

Ships greatly decrease the likelihood of striking whales with their ships.

by David Goldstein

Ship captains are reducing the speed of large vessels passing through the channel off our coast, providing three environmental benefits. They cut fuel consumption, reduce air pollution, and. This program expanded last year, despite the end of financial incentives for participation.

From 2014 to 2022, participating captains earned financial incentives for their shipping companies by slowing to 10 knots or less, but in 2023, despite the end of incentives, the program grew from 23 to 33 participating companies. Also, captains of these participating companies’ ships met slowing standards 81 percent of the time, compared to 78 percent in the previous year, according to data from automatic transponders installed on ships.

Rather than money, these companies now receive only public recognition for authorizing their ship captains to cooperate with the ongoing, voluntary program. Recognition is promoted by the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District and its partners through press releases, social media posts, and advertisements. Additionally, the consumer products shipped through this program can advertise participation in “sustainable shipping” initiatives.

Pilots of the French shipping line CMA CGM achieved 96 percent cooperation, the highest rate of any line in the 2023 season, and 12 additional companies reached “Sapphire” level, the top recognition category. These are CSL Group, D’Amico Tankers DAC, Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), NingBo Ocean Shipping Co., NYK Ro-Ro, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), OSG Ship Management, Swire Shipping, Yang Ming, and Wallenius Wilhelmsen.

David Goldstein, Ventura County Public Works Agency Environmental Resource Analyst, may be reached at (805) 658-4312 or [email protected]