All posts by admin

Ventura County Community College District announces Ventura College President finalists

Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) Chancellor Greg Gillespie is pleased to announce that after a nationwide search, five finalists will move forward in the Ventura College President search process.

Listed below are candidates and campus forums information. College faculty, staff, administration, and community members are invited to attend.

Ventura College President Finalist Forum
Monday, April 15, 2019
2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Ventura College Performing Arts Center
4700 Loma Vista Road

2 p.m.	Damon Bell, Ed.D.
2:40 p.m.	Krista Johns, J.D.
3:20 p.m.	Scott Thayer, Ed.D.
4 p.m.	Kimberly Hoffmans, Ed.D.
4:40 p.m.	Wei Zhou, Ph.D.

“The forums are an important part of the search process. They provide an opportunity for students, campus constituents, and the community to meet and hear from the candidates,” stated Gillespie. Final interviews will take place the following day.

The next Ventura College president will fill the position vacated by Chancellor Gillespie when he was appointed VCCCD Chancellor in 2017. Two interims have filled the position since that time. “We are excited to meet the finalists and look forward to working and collaborating with the new Ventura College president to ensure student success. The Ventura College Classified Senate appreciates being part of this process,” offered Sebastian Szczebiot, Ventura College Classified Senate President.

The forums are organized through the Ventura College Academic Senate. ” Finalists will address the campus community and answer questions on important campus concerns,” stated Lydia Morales, Ventura College Academic Senate President. “We are hoping for a great turn out and we are looking forward to hearing from our prospective new college president” added Morales.

The candidates:

Damon Bell -Dr. Bell currently serves as Ventura College Interim President
Kim Hoffmans-Dr. Hoffmans is the Ventura College Vice President of Academic Affairs
Krista Johns-Ms. Johns currently serves as Guided Pathways Regional Coordinator, Bay Area with the State Chancellor’s Office.
Scott Thayer-Dr. Thayer has more than 20 years of experience in higher education in the California Community College system.
Wei Zhou- Dr. Zhou is a graduate of the California Community College CEO Leadership Academy and is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin specializing in community college education and leadership.

Celebrity Extra

by Dana Jackson

The juicy new tell-all book “Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of ‘The View'” has brought a lot of attention past and present co-hosts of the hit talk show. It’s hard to believe the all-female talk show debuted way back in 1997. It seems like just yesterday when the original panel of Barbara Walters, Meredith Viera, Joy Behar, Star Jones and a 22-year-old Debbie Matenopoulos sat down at their shared table.

Q: Is there going to be another season of “The Umbrella Academy” on Netflix?

A: Yes, Netflix has given the greenlight to start filming a second season of 10 episodes. “The Umbrella Academy” stars Ellen Page (“Inception”) and is based on the comic book series by singer Gerard Way. It’s about a group of children who were born with special powers and adopted by a billionaire. They reunite years later to solve the mystery surrounding the death of their father. The show will begin filming again this summer in Toronto. If you haven’t been able to watch the first season, you might be able to download it using a Pirate Bay proxy online.

Q: I read about actress Marcia Cross having cancer. Is she OK now? Will she be doing anymore television soon? I loved her on both “Melrose Place” and “Desperate Housewives.”

A: Marcia Cross received some good news about her health. After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for anal cancer, she has been declared cancer-free. She started giving interviews lately, telling People magazine: “I want to help put a dent in the stigma around anal cancer. I’ve read a lot of cancer-survivor stories, and many people, women especially, were too embarrassed to say what kind of cancer they had. There is a lot of shame about it. I want that to stop.” Cross credits her gynecologist for doing a rectal exam that saved her life. You can read more about the disease on the website analcancerfoundation.org.

As for her acting career, she’s right back at work on a new project, filming the pilot episode of “Jane the Novela,” a spinoff of “Jane the Virgin,” for the CW network.

Couch Theater — Video/DVD Previews

By Amy Anderson

“A Dog’s Way Home” (PG) — A young man (Jonah Hauer-King) and his girlfriend (Alexandra Shipp) find an adorable puppy and bring her home. Bela (voiced by Bryce Dallas Howard) endears herself to all but a mean businessman, who threatens to have her classified as a banned breed. She’s sent 400 miles from her Oregon home for her own safety, but you can’t keep a good pupper down, nor away from her family. She sets out for home, and although the journey is long and hard, she makes friends (human and otherwise), saves a life and never, ever gives up. No true new ground is being broken here, but it features a pooch with a perilously positive attitude determined to get home against all odds. Who doesn’t love an underdog?

“On the Basis of Sex” (PG-13) — Director Mimi Leder’s return to the big screen after an 18-year absence presents a familiar and revered subject: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg (Felicity Jones), the Notorious RBG. Her backstory is a real treat: A brilliant mind coupled with an incredibly dedicated work ethic, she finished law school with honors under adverse circumstances, but couldn’t find a job working as a lawyer due only to her being a woman. When her lawyer husband Alan Ginsberg (Armie Hammer) comes across an obscure but revolutionary tax-law case, Ruth sees it for the opportunity it is. You can’t please all of the people when you dramatize the life of a living legend, but I liked this story’s inspirational focus.

“Welcome to Marwen” (PG-13) — Director Robert Zemekis’ film offers a story of redemption and the power of art told through action figures. Kinda. Mark Hogencamp (Steve Carrell) reveals a personal detail to some terrible thugs and is brutally beaten. To foster a sense of healing, he builds a replica city, which he names Marwen, in which he stages and photographs scenarios played out by dolls that represent him and the strong women — notably Janelle Monae as GI Julie and Eiza Gonzalez as Carlala — who lift him and help him through his healing process both as figures and in his real life. The costuming as action figures is neat, but the story and the inclusion of so much subtext makes it a little scattered and off-putting.

A sustainable solution to preserve our water supply

by Mayor Matt LaVere

Before we can begin to address our water supply issues in the Ventura River watershed, we must first recognize the problem, and realize we need to work together to solve it. Accordingly, I am pleased to report that the watershed’s water leaders have agreed to come together to collaborate on developing a new sustainable approach to managing the watershed for the future.

The key to creating a lasting and viable solution to protect the Ventura River watershed is collaboration between all its diverse water users. We all understand the obstacles facing the watershed, and we’re all at the table and ready to roll up our sleeves to establish a plan that secures our water supply. To that end, the parties to the litigation initiated by Santa Barbara Channelkeeper against the City of Ventura and the State Water Resources Control Board have started the settlement process by agreeing to a mediation meeting beginning in April where we will exchange ideas, raise tough questions and work together to find common ground.

Many of the region’s diverse water users are in agreement that a locally-driven, physical solution achieved through a collective process is the ideal path forward. The City’s objective, during this mediation and beyond, is to establish an adaptive and lasting framework that clearly recognizes the needs and rights of each water user, makes the most of the watershed’s resources and shares the responsibility of preserving finite water supplies amongst all users. The City’s desired outcome will not have any “winners” or “losers,” but rather a shared commitment by all to protect the watershed. Collaboration is vital to this effort because, as you may know, the City of Ventura is just one of more than 100 users that pump and divert water from the watershed.

Mediation provides the opportunity to create a proactive resolution that provides procedures and protections to ensure all of the parties are part of the decision-making. The court process also provides a standardized process for all parties to provide the information necessary to assess everyone’s future water use and needs. That’s why it’s the most efficient and effective approach to preserving our water supply.

The varied interests in the watershed and the current lack of collaboration and accountability have made it difficult to assess availability in our water system and effectively manage our limited water resources for the future. We are eager to leave these challenges in the past and charge forward with a strategy that considers all of the watershed’s users and looks at the entire interconnected water system holistically.

The dialogue that will establish this framework for the future has already begun. Solving the obstacles facing our region’s water resources – including the impacts of climate change, prolonged periods of drought and increased users – will take an investment of time and work, but I’m confident we can address them through a collective effort. The next steps of this effort includes the first mediation next month, further, regular mediation sessions between all of the watershed’s parties, careful analysis, technical and legal research to inform all of our proposed solutions and, ultimately, a fair and lasting settlement approved by the court to protect the Ventura River watershed.

The City remains committed to positive momentum and ensuring that these critical challenges are resolved in a fair and proactive method that safeguards our water supplies now and moving forward.

The beaches have shown to have a significant improvement in water quality

Seven of Ventura County’s beaches were voted to be removed from the impaired water body list, also known as the 303(d) list by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (LA-RWQCB). The beaches, which consistently met water-quality objectives for indicator bacteria, have shown to have a significant improvement in water quality through results below the levels of concern for beach users’ health.

The beaches that were previously identified as being impaired for bacteria included Point Mugu, Ormond, Port Hueneme Beach Park, Peninsula, San Buenaventura, Surfer’s Point at Seaside, and Rincon Parkway.

Data from the weekly beach water quality testing performed by the Ventura County Environmental Health Department was used to show the improvement. Monitoring of these beaches will continue to keep the public informed of beach water quality.

On the forefront of taking action to improve water quality is the Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program, a coalition of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District, the County of Ventura, and the ten cities within Ventura County. Together, they have worked to build infrastructure and raise awareness of pollution.

Examples of their efforts to help reduce pollutants from entering the storm drain system range from physical solutions to prevent runoff from reaching the beach including diverting storm drain runoff to sanitary sewers or capturing and infiltrating runoff through green streets projects designed to slow, filter, and cleanse stormwater; and working with the public to prevent pollution at the source.

“Efforts by the public are a huge part of this success. Little things like picking up after pets, not littering, and watering only plants and not the gutter helped,” said Arne Anselm, Deputy Director of the Ventura County Watershed Protection District. “We are proud the State acknowledge these improvements and of our efforts and those by the people of Ventura County. The cities and County of Ventura are committed to improving water quality and protecting everyone who enjoy our beautiful Ventura County beaches.”

For more information about the Ventura Countywide Stormwater Quality Management Program please visit www.vcstormwater.org and Ventura County’s Community for A Clean Watershed www.cleanwatershed.org.

The City of Ventura has plenty of water

An opinion by Venturans for Responsible and Efficient Government (VREG)

Let’s dispel a myth. The City of Ventura has plenty of water. We have almost ten times the water we need annually in reserves. So, the City of Ventura’s insistence to conserve drinking water because we don’t have enough is untrue. There are many good reasons to save, but not having enough drinking water is not one of them.

Between Foster and Mound Basins alone, there are 141,600 to 184,600 AF of water. Assuming zero replenishing and not counting on Casitas, Santa Paula, Oxnard Basin or State Water (a combined amount of 12,072 AF more per year)—Ventura has almost ten times the water it needs annually in reserves.

For over 30 years, Ventura has averaged 21,000 acre-feet of drinkable water annually. With conservation, Venturan’s have reduced water usage to 15,000 acre-feet per year. So, regardless of doom and gloom declarations by the State of California, or whatever Ventura Water tells us, Ventura has enough water.

Ventura’s real problem is a legal Consent Decree, agreed to by the Ventura City Council in 2012. That Consent Decree mandates Ventura stop dumping treated sewage into the Santa Clara River. One panel of experts says Ventura must divert as much as 90% (about 4,685 AF per year) from the estuary.

To comply with the Consent Decree, Ventura Water conceived that Ventura would inject treated sewage directly into our water system and call it VenturaWaterPure. For six years, City leaders allowed Ventura Water to move ahead making sewage water drinkable. Using “because we need the water” as a primary reason for Direct Potable Reuse (DPR), citizens never knew about the 2012 Consent Decree. With that false justification of needing more drinkable water, the City committed to spending over $500,000,000 for DPR to abide by the Consent Decree.

Costing over $500,000,000 is not the only issue. The more significant issue is that the City Council assumed DPR water was safe to drink. It is not safe. The State Water Resources Control Board determined that DPR is feasible. They reported that except for two remote areas on the earth (Namibia and in Big Springs, Texas), DPR water is not suitable for human consumption.

There are no regulations in place anywhere in the United States, or the State of California, permitting or governing that use. It is highly improbable that this will occur by the December 31, 2025 Consent Decree deadline.

In June 2018, the City Council directed Ventura Water to make State Water the top priority. While that pipeline project is in motion, Ventura Water plans to work on DPR as they work on the State Water pipeline.

While Ventura must abide by the Consent Decree, the compliance deadline of December 31, 2025 may be unattainable.

However, the Consent Decree says the court can extend the time limit in the event of construction constraints, financing problems, or an emergency. It requires Ventura to petition the court requesting an extension, or an agreement with the plaintiff and their lawyers. That has not happened.

It seems clear that Ventura should petition to the US District Court for a 5-year extension. There’s only one thing standing in the way of requesting that extension — our lawyers.

Our City Attorney is taking a huge risk with our $500 million. It is clear that he doesn’t intend to pursue an extension with his “keeping it in his back pocket” explanation.

In the meantime, we spend millions in the next six years.

Alzheimer’s Association releases facts and figures

On Tuesday, March 5, the Alzheimer’s Association released its 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, which provides an in-depth look at the latest statistics and information on Alzheimer’s prevalence, incidence, mortality, costs of care and impact on caregivers across the country and in California. It also reveals an important health assessment seniors are not getting – one that is critical for early detection of Alzheimer’s and other dementias – routine cognitive assessments. You can see the full report at alz.org/facts.

One of the biggest takeaways from this year’s report is that the Alzheimer’s burden in this country and state continues to grow.

More people are living with disease – An estimated 5.8 million Americans have Alzheimer’s dementia in 2019, including 670,000 in California.

More family and friends are serving as Alzheimer’s caregivers – In California, 1.6 million caregivers provided a total of 1.8 billion hours of unpaid care, valued at a total of $23 billion.

Death rates from Alzheimer’s continue to climb – Deaths due to Alzheimer’s have increased an alarming 145 percent since 2000, while deaths for most other major diseases have decreased. Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S.

The costs are unsustainable – For the third consecutive year the cost of caring for individuals with Alzheimer’s is surpassing a quarter of a trillion dollars. The costs to care for people with Alzheimer’s are expected to amount to $4 billion in California in 2019 – and are only expected to grow by 32% percent over the next six years (by 2025).

Additionally, this year’s special report highlights an important disconnect: despite a strong belief among seniors that cognitive assessments are important and that early detection is beneficial, only half are being assessed for cognitive decline, and just one in seven seniors (16 percent) receive regular assessments for memory or thinking issues during routine health checkups, compared to other common evaluations like cholesterol (83 percent), hearing or vision (73 percent), and diabetes (66 percent).

The Alzheimer’s Association is the world’s leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer’s care, support and research. It is the largest nonprofit funder of Alzheimer’s research. The Association’s mission is to eliminate Alzheimer’s disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected, and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Its vision is a world without Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Association California Central Chapter is headquartered in Santa Barbara with regional offices located in San Luis Obispo and Ventura Counties. Visit www.alz.org/CACentralCoast or call 805.892.4259 for more information.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony held at Genesis Programs

On April 4th, a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was held at Genesis Programs Inc. welcoming Athena Naranjo as Genesis’s new owner and to hear more about what Genesis Programs has planned for the future of Ventura County! Cutting the ribbon at the Ventura Chamber ribbon cutting is Athena Naranjo aided by Genesis staff, Chamber members and Chamber president and CEO, Stephanie Caldwell.

Local music therapist receives national award

Lori is a passionate advocate for the benefits of Music Therapy in health care.

Lori Sunshine has been working as a Professional Music Therapist since the first year that Board Certification was established, in 1983. She is currently working full time here in Ventura County: part time in private practice and part time with Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association.

On March 29, 2019, she received the Professional Practice Award from the American Music Therapy Association’s Western Region Chapter at their annual conference in Portland, OR. The award recognizes individual AMTA members who have made a significant contribution to the professional development of other members of the Association. Lori has offered dozens of Workshops and Seminars on the topic of Music Therapy and presented at many AMTA conferences during her 35 years of service. She has been a trusted educator and role model for those entering the field and is a passionate advocate for the benefits of Music Therapy in health care.

Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association has offered Music Therapy as part of their Hospice program since 2015. There is a wealth of research indicating that music is the last external sensation that registers with a dying patient. Music not only provides comfort to patients and their caregivers but can also evoke strong feelings in many patients, helping to alleviate pain, lower stress and even break through the isolation of dementia or memory loss. Livingston’s Music Therapists design sessions to meet their patient’s needs, which may include such activities as live performance (Lori plays harp, piano and guitar), singing, music listening, and compiling a mix of a patient’s favorite songs.

Livingston’s Music Therapy program employs two professional Music Therapists who provided 322 hours of music therapy to 78 patients on hospice care in 2018. Livingston is proud of Lori and her accomplishments and for making our program such a success. The program is partially funded through a grant from the Henry W. Bull Foundation. If you would like to learn more about Livingston and the Music Therapy program, please visit www.lmvna.org.

An afternoon to honor and remember mom

Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association is having Mother’s Day Luncheon as an opportunity to honor mothers — both living and deceased — for the love, understanding, and hope they bring to our families and to the community. This year they are delighted to honor Nan Drake and remember Helen A. Olson, for their commitment to helping others in Ventura County. Join us as we recognize the achievements of these two amazing women.

All proceeds from this event support quality health care, compassionate hospice and bereavement programs, and vital in-home care services. The luncheon is on April 26, from 11:30am – 2:00pm, $125 per person and will be held at the Las Posas Country Club, 955 Fairway Dr., Camarillo. For more information http://www.lmvna.org/mothersday/

Keep Medicare Part D’s Six Protected Classes protected

by Linda Stalters and Raymond Y. Cho

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a troubling regulation that would weaken Medicare Part D, the federal program that helps 45 million American seniors and people with disabilities afford prescription drugs.

Part D is unique among government programs. The federal government allows people to purchase coverage from private insurers. The government subsidizes these plans but otherwise lets Medicare beneficiaries choose the coverage that’s best for them.

Congress did put some guardrails on insurers when it created Part D. It required Part D plans to cover all medications in six “protected classes” of drugs, including antipsychotics, antidepressants, and anticonvulsants. These medicines help treat people with schizophrenia and other psychiatric illnesses.

The proposed regulation would amend the six protected classes rule and allow insurers to exclude many drugs from Part D plans. Millions of Americans who rely on these crucial medications would be left to fend for themselves. Congress must halt this regulation now.

Our nation is struggling to provide care for people with schizophrenia and other psychosis-based illnesses. These patients die 10 to 28 years sooner than other Americans, and hundreds of thousands of people with serious psychiatric illnesses have been “re-institutionalized” in state prisons and county jails.

CMS is advancing this rule as a cost-saving measure. But any short-term savings would be canceled out by increased spending on emergency rooms and the penal system, since more people with serious brain disorders will end up in jail.

In addition to antipsychotics and anticonvulsants, the six protected classes include immune-suppressants for treatment of transplant rejection, HIV/AIDs drugs, and cancer medications.

The regulation also authorizes insurers to use “fail first” policies on drugs in the six classes. These policies require patients to take cheaper, less effective medications first. Only when these drugs fail will the insurer allow doctors to prescribe newer, more effective drugs.

If patients must endure successive failures on the least costly medications first and bear the associated increases in cost, what message does that send? In particular, for patients with serious psychiatric illnesses, “failure” means a harrowing descent into a psychotic crisis often ending in an emergency room admission or worse.

Individuals who suffer from schizophrenia-related brain illnesses are clinically complex patients, in part, because their treatment regimen includes multiple medications. Due to genetic differences across individuals, each antipsychotic and antidepressant medicine produces varied outcomes and side effects.

It takes time to find the correct medication regimen. If insurers limit which medicines are available, patients will suffer.

The CMS proposed rule affecting the six protected classes in Part D would not save money — rather, it would cost lives. We implore Congress to ensure the six protected classes remain protected.

Linda Stalters, M.S.N. is the founder and CEO of the Schizophrenia and Related Disorders Alliance of America. Raymond Y. Cho, M.D., SARDAA’s board chairman, is a professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine.

Sidebar