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Kids ages 4 -10 years old to immerse themselves in new sea themed activities

Members of the Seaside Kid’s Club will enjoy their summer at the Harbor.

Leading the pack in what’s hot for kids summertime fun in Ventura, Ventura Harbor Village is a sure bet for children with the announcement of the return of its 3rd Annual seasonal Seaside Kids Club to be held Thursdays from July 5 – August 9, from 11 a.m. – noon on the waterfront. Keep children busy all summer long with a seaside sojourn where they can explore beyond the classroom.

Ventura Harbor Village allows kids ages 4 -10 years old to immerse themselves in new sea themed activities, entertainment and crafts. Cost is $3 per child. Sign-in begins at 10:30 AM at the Kelp Corridor directly across from Coffee Dock & Post and outside the Village Carousel & Arcade.

For those kids who want to keep busy all summer long, they can become a Seaside Kids Club member, where for just $12, they receive a Club stamp card good for a complimentary stuffed animal after three visits, a wooden nickel discount for the entire family at Coastal Cone, special goodies each week, and a guaranteed spot on the Seaside Kids Club list (space is limited weekly).

All participants receive a Seaside Kids Club sticker and experience a different theme each week including “Red, White Sand & Blue Ocean,” “Piratey Fun & Puppets Too,” “Fit & Fun in the Sun,” “Jellyfish Jam – All Things Squishy” and more. This is a great learning opportunity alongside other mediums, such as these fun videos here. Get your kids involved, and they’ll learn, have fun, and make some new friends!

Here’s a glimpse of the Seaside Kids Club schedule, complete with free parking, bubbles and endless summer fun. www.VenturaHarborVillage.com

July 5, 2018: Red, White Sand & Blue Ocean

Take to the ocean and get kids to make their own ocean in a bottle, learn to put on a life vest with Captain Cooper from Ventura Boat Rentals, visit with Ventura Harbor Patrol, and receive a booklet on Water Safety.

July 12, 2018: Seals & Sea Lions Are Pinnipeds– Oh Wow!

Get up close and learn all about our pinnipeds in the Harbor and at the Islands from a Channel Islands National Park Ranger. As part of this summertime afternoon of fun, decorate a sea horse to take home (craft sponsored by Lakeshore Learning).

July 19, 2018: Jellyfish Jam – All Things Squishy!

Search for sea creatures in squishy sensory ocean water beads, attend a show and tell with Ventura Harbor’s Squid experts, and create your own jelly fish craft!

July 26, 2018 – Yo Ho! Piratey Fun & Puppets Too!

Witness a professional marionette pirate puppet show, visit with a mermaid and pirate, play in a pirate ship, walk the plank, and create a Mermaid or Pirate Puppet!

August 2, 2018 – Fit & Fun in the Sun!

Strike a pose at sea with themed yoga led by yoga guru Pam Griffin. As part of this fun filled afternoon, partake in an obstacle course & relay races, and make a shell mobile to hang in the sun.

For visitor information, contact Ventura Harbor Village at 805-477-0470, online at www.VenturaHarborVillage.com. Ventura Harbor Village is located at 1583 Spinnaker Dr. Post, share, and like #VenturaHarbor

Cabrillo helping the community

The Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation is accepting applications for its Board of Directors.

Cabrillo is seeking candidates who believe in and will actively support the core values, vision and mission of Cabrillo to provide comprehensive housing services that facilitate self-sufficiency for individuals and families who are most lacking in opportunity in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“In 2017, Cabrillo completed its Strategic Plan and identified its key priorities for 2017-2019. One of the five priorities is to build strong, engaged board leadership,” said Cabrillo Board President, Dave Sabedra.

Cabrillo is seeking to ensure the board is diverse and representative of the communities it serves and that candidates have a wide range of experience and knowledge.

The Board will review applications on a rolling basis. Self-nominations and third-party nominations will be accepted for both officers and board members, including low-income representatives. Cabrillo requests a three-year commitment of service from successful board candidates.

Applications are available online at cabrilloedc.org/board-directors/. For additional information or to submit an application, call Cabrillo at 805-659-3791 or email [email protected].

Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation has received a $330,000 Affordable Housing Program grant for its Snapdragon Place Apartments Phase II project, which broke ground in March.

“The award will allow CEDC to build 22 units of much needed affordable housing, and to provide essential services for the residents. The project is currently under construction so the award will help with the construction costs of the development,” said Eduardo Espinosa, Cabrillo’s Director of Real Estate Development.

Affordable Housing Program grants are awarded through a competitive application process to Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco members working with housing developers or community organizations to create rental or homeownership opportunities for lower-income households.

Cabrillo collaborated with FHLBSF Bank member City National Bank on the grant application.

Cabrillo is developing Snapdragon Place Apartments Phase II in partnership with the Housing Authority of San Buenaventura, which will serve as the property management company.

Snapdragon Place Apartments is a new construction development located at Snapdragon Street and Los Angeles Avenue in East Ventura. Cabrillo completed Phase I of the project, which included 28 units for farmworkers, in 2015. Phase II will provide another 22 homes.

Phase II will consist of five two-story buildings enclosing a landscaped interior courtyard. The unit mix includes four one-bedroom homes (640 square feet), 10 two-bedroom homes (958 square feet), and eight three-bedroom homes (1,177 square feet).

The development will include 11 special needs units, with four one-bedroom units reserved for homeless veterans through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program and seven non-VASH units. All units, except for the manager’s unit, will have Section 8 vouchers for families and individuals with incomes between 30 to 60 percent of the area median income.

Vol. 11, No. 20 – July 4 – July 17, 2018 – Ojai News & Events

The newest original exhibition at the Ojai Valley Museum highlights the local work of some of those architects. “StARCHITECTURE: Ojai by Design” included are outstanding buildings. Museum director Wendy Barker encourages the community to visit the museum to “explore the valley’s rich, rarely seen, architectural history.”

Free Opening Reception on Saturday, July 7 from 5-7pm. The exhibition will be open through October 28.The Ojai Valley Museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Ave.

Agora Foundation Four-Day Great Books Summer Intensive

These four days, July 31st to August 3rd, will include readings from Lucretius, Bacon, Emerson, Thoreau, Jonas, and Oliver. Plus lectures, nature walks, astronomy, panels, and more. Tuition is $800 and includes all meals, texts, seminars, lectures, and nature walks. Lodging is not included. Book discounted rooms directly with The Ojai Retreat by calling (805) 646–2536.More information, visit www.greatbooksojai.com/humanity’s-place.html or (805) 231-5974.

On Friday, July 6th, Topa Mountain Winery will host Safety Harbor Kids 11th Annual Concert Fundraiser featuring the world renowned Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett, of Little Feat, bassist Kenny Gradney, Grammy winning drummer, Tony Braunagel and the Texicali Horns with Darrell Leonard and Joe Sublet. The event, held to raise funds for parentless youth, will also include music by Shakey Feelin’ and Miles Tackett & The Three Times.

There will be door prizes, special entertainment and silent auction including a Gibson SG signed by songwriter/artist Robby Krieger of the Doors, an SHK supporter. Doors open at 6:00

Safety Harbor Kids is a nonprofit with the mission to enrich the lives of orphans, foster and homeless children through education in the areas of College, Career, Music, the Arts and Personal Growth. Visit www.safetyharborkids.org.

The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts will present Ken Emerson & Jim Kimo West in concert on Saturday, July 7th at 7 pm. They are living legends in the world of Hawaiian slack key and acoustic steel guitar, and this is a rare opportunity to see both master players perform together up-close and personal. As recognized masters of Hawaiian slack and steel guitar, Emerson & West will delight the audience with their masterful performances, blazing improvisation and spontaneity.

Played from the heart and soul through the fingers, and flowing with vivid tropical images, Hawaiian slack key is truly one of the great acoustic guitar traditions in the world. In slack key, some of the strings are slacked from the standard tuning, with the thumb playing the bass while the other fingers play the melody and improvise in a finger-picked style.

Kumu Rona Koe will be dancing solo Hawaiian hula to accompany their performance.

Tickets are $25.

Emerson and West will present a slack key guitar workshop at the Center at 2 pm, the day of the concert. The cost of the workshop is $40.

For more information, or to purchase tickets online, visit beatricewood.com, or call 805-646-3381.

Ventura City Fire Department dispatched to reports of fire near water treatment plant

On June 29, at 12:52pm the Ventura City Fire Department was dispatched to multiple reports of a fire burning in the Santa Clara river bed near the Ventura water treatment plant. First arriving firefighters reported a well-established fire burning in vegetation around several homeless encampments. Firefighters used three – 20 person hand crews, a water dropping helicopter and 6 engine companies to eventually contain the blaze at 7 acres after 6 hours.

Harbor Blvd. was closed and River Haven was evacuated as a precaution during the course of firefighting operations. Ventura PD and CHP controlled traffic in support of the fire suppression efforts. The cause of the fire is suspected to be from an escaped cooking fire in one of many homeless encampments in the area.

Michael O’Kelly the man behind the mural / part 2

by Jennifer Tipton

Michael O’Kelly’s artistic vision turned to ceramics sometime around the year 2000 when he became interested in architectural design. “That’s the oldest archeological art you can dig up, you’re gonna find bones and you’re gonna find clay!”, he laughed. Starting with “a little mural here and a little fountain there”, it went well until the year 2008 when he lost everything due to the recession.

Michael’s work can be seen at the Camarillo library, the Santa Barbara Zoo and 65% of the ceramic tile on the front of Watermark (now Limon y Sal), along with “stuff all over town and throughout California”. He did the facade of the Star Lounge for Mark Hartley and the work at Café du Suro on Main Street, “people think it’s been there since 1903, but we did it in 2006”.

In 2016 when Ventura celebrated its 150th anniversary, it was Christy Weir that encouraged Michael O’Kelly to design a mural that would represent the history of Ventura. “It began with an idea that produced a work of art that would bring the community together, a consensus was then formed to trust an artist to perform those goals”, he told me. Once they decided to go through with the project, they had to go after funding and Michael proudly stated, “the beauty of it is, 99.9% of the mural was paid for by people in the community and those that donated materials and time, I think it’s quite extraordinary to have this all put together by the public”.

It was Cynthia Thompson, “a very sophisticated historian in town” that put together the spread sheet and created the chronology, “I couldn’t have done it without her”, he said.

“Since I started the mural 3 years ago, five sponsors and people depicted in the mural have passed away, including my son, Devin.” It was Devin’s shared passion for the arts that inspired Michael to keep going. “There were a lot of delays, holding me up as an artist, and now I’m grateful”, he said.

I asked, “because now you are able to dedicate it to your son?” With tears he whispered, “yes”.

“If the mural had been done on time, I would have walked past it every day and wished my son was in there, now he’s in there 5 times”, he smiled. This includes Devin with his mother, Gisele looking back across the entire mural.

“It’s almost like the mural itself is a publication, as it was being done, things were happening in the city and as they were happening, they found their way into the mural, including the Thomas Fire.”

In the mural, a Norman Rockwell paperboy can be seen holding the Star, “why not the Breeze?”, I asked.

“I don’t think the Breeze was around in 1930-1940”, he grinned.

After the completion of the mural, Michael O’Kelly has plans to do film, he’s already done a documentary on Ray Bradbury and plans another on the history of Ventura. He’s started a company called “Dirt and Fire” (website up soon) and confided, “I’ve got another community project, a monumental bronze sculpture to be done here in Ventura but can’t give details”.

“You are not forgotten”

The Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County is proud to announce the hosting of the Moving Wall.

Two memorials honoring fallen members of the U.S. military branches will be on display at the Ventura County Government Center. The Remembering Our Fallen photo display will be located on the Main Plaza inside the Hall of Administration, and The Moving Wall, a Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica, will be on display on the large lawn along Victoria Avenue.

The Remembering Our Fallen California Memorial is a traveling display honoring military personnel from California who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. The display is one of 20 state and one national displays that tour the country as a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice made by service personnel who were killed in the war against terrorism. The California memorial recognizes almost 750 service men and women.

An opening ceremony was held on Tuesday, June 19, in the Lower Plaza Assembly Room in the Hall of Administration.

The Vietnam Veterans of Ventura County Inc. (VVVC) is proud to announce the hosting of the “original Moving Wall” from June 21 through June 25, at the Ventura County Government Center, 800 S. Victoria Ave.

The Wall will be available for viewing 24 hours a day for the duration of its stay here in Ventura.

“The Moving Wall” is a half-scale mobile replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall located in Washington DC.

“The Moving Wall” was founded by Vietnam Veterans John Devitt, Gerry Haver and Norris Shears, and first placed on public display at Tyler, Texas in 1984.

There will be a Memorial Ceremony commencing on Saturday, June 23, at
11:00a at the Veterans Memorial at the corner of Victoria Ave and Telephone Rd. honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The focus is to pay homage to the 111 casualties from Ventura County.
There will be a separate display honoring those 111 Vietnam Veterans from Ventura County whose names are etched on the Wall.
Volunteers will be present to assist those who need help finding names and provide rubbings for those who have friends or loved ones listed.

For those people who wish donate or volunteer please visit lzventura.org or lzventura.com or vvvc.com.

Michael O’Kelly-the man behind the mural / part 1

Michael O’ Kelly in his studio with tile of son Devin.

by Jennifer Tipton

Michael O’Kelly has been making art for nearly 5 decades. Growing up in South Ireland and Wales, he is half Irish and half Welsh – “pure Celtic”, he says. He comes from a family of artists, his father, great uncle and great aunt were all artists, his mother was a classical violinist and aunt a classical pianist. “My sister, Jane was a great painter and I, a musician, they called us child prodigies.”

He sold his first piece of art at age nine while vacationing with his family in a little village called St. Ives. He was up earlier than the rest of his family, drawing a king fisher diving into the river to catch a fish. A lady was sitting next to him watching, and said, “that’s beautiful, how much do you want for it?” That piece brought in ½ crown (2 shillings and 6 pence) and he bought himself breakfast.

Still drawing, he also studied winds and clarinet until age 13, when he sold his coin collection and bought a guitar. His family moved to London and, “terrible at school” he started studying classical guitar and found his way to a music school at Chiswick Polytechnics in London from age 15 – 17. He went on to The Royal College of Music and started performing classical guitar with the Omega Guitar Quartet. “We toured all over Europe, New Zealand, Australia and Canada and I loved playing, but I didn’t like the lifestyle”.

Moving to Mexico City, he joined a friend that had a dream to build a ferro-cement boat and sail the world. The project was started, but his friend became involved with politics and lost interest. Michael didn’t want to go back to England, so he got a scholarship to the National University of Mexico to study pre-Colombian music and dance.

The Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City needed someone that could draw artifacts and record them as they came out of the ground. “I did that for a couple years and in 1977 decided to start dealing Central and South American art and exporting it to Europe, that’s how I started collecting”, he said. His collections were exhibited all over Europe and in 1982 went to the Santa Barbara museum where it was “the longest running show they’ve ever had”.

After being in Latin America for 10 years, “I met the woman who would become my wife, Gisele. We stayed here in Ventura to open a gallery in Santa Barbara on State Street, but unfortunately when they started to build the Paseo Nuevo mall, it shut down State Street, and that was the end of that”.

“In the late 80’s, we moved back to Mexico City because I had the opportunity to work with Rufino Tamayo”. This was a huge pivotal point for his career. Tamayo was 88 years old when Michael joined him. “He was a legend, teaching me about honesty and integrity, it was about the intellectual aspects of being a painter, not the technical aspects”. Tamayo died in 1991.

“We came back to Ventura and it was during that time we lost our baby girl, Juliette, and then my sister… it drove me to delve into my painting”.

In 1995 Michael and Gisele welcomed their son, Devin, “which was a huge, wonderful thing!”

Devin passed during the making of the mural, see part 2 in next issue

What do city council district elections mean?

This Voting District Map and elections information can be found online at www.cityofventura.net.

by Councilmember Christy Weir

District elections mean that registered voters of a district will elect a City Councilmember from their district. The November, 2018 election will be Ventura’s first District Election process, with Districts 1 (Westside) 4, 5 and 6 (East Ventura) electing a City Councilmember for a term of four years. Residents in those districts will receive ballots and can only vote on eligible candidates running in their district.

Current council members with terms expiring in December 2018 are Erik Nasarenko (district 4) and Jim Monahan (district 5). With switching from at-large to district elections, the districts that Mike Tracy and Neal Andrews reside in are not scheduled for a 2018 election, therefore they are not eligible to run at their current address. Residents of districts 2 (midtown), 3 (college) and 7 (Pierpont, coastal) will vote in 2020.

Individuals wanting to run for office must pull and then return nomination papers to the City Clerk between July 16-August 10. A candidate manual will be provided to all candidates, with required forms and deadlines.

Coffee with a Cop (donuts allowed)

This year join the cops at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

The Ventura Police Department will be hosting Coffee with a Cop at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf located at 4360 E. Main St. from 8:00 am to 10:30 am on June 26. The community is invited to come together in a friendly, informal environment to discuss community issues and build relationships.

Most contacts police officers have with the public happen during emergencies or emotional situations. Those situations are not always the most effective times for relationship building and some community members may feel that officers are unapproachable on the street or during the course of their duties. Coffee with a Cop breaks down barriers and allows time for relaxed one-on-one interaction.

Engaging the community in public safety efforts is a top priority of the Ventura Police Department. We share the community’s concerns and make every effort to address them. We offer monthly opportunities at Community Council meetings to learn about crime trends and crime prevention. We also provide community presentations and neighborhood meetings upon request. Coffee with a Cop is an additional opportunity for residents to get to know the officers who serve Ventura.

The Coffee with a Cop effort is a national initiative supported by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Similar events are being held across the country as police departments strive to make lasting connections with the communities they serve. The program aims to advance the practice of community policing through improving relationships between police officers and community members one cup of coffee at a time. Coffee with a Cop provides an opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about the department’s service. There is no formal agenda, just a casual opportunity to voice concerns and share ideas.