Category Archives: Facebook

Homeland Security Expert David Fukutomi of Camarillo appointed to CMHS Board of Trustees

David Fukutomi, a prominent government and private sector consultant specializing in security and emergency management, has been appointed as a member of Community Memorial Health System’s Board of Trustees.

Fukutomi has held a number of consulting positions in a career spanning over 20 years. His government service has included stints with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. He has served as a consultant to various government agencies including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S Department of Veterans Affairs and State of California.

A Camarillo resident, Fukutomi also has served in management positions with national firms and is adjunct staff at the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security, where he leads the Center’s Pacific Executive Leaders Program.

Fukutomi also serves as board president of Pier into the Future, the Ventura Pier’s nonprofit organization.

Community members invited to attend Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation Forums

Community members invited to attend Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation Forums, June 14 and June 16, 2016

What: STAKEHOLDER FORUM – Upper Ventura River (UVRB) Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA)
Formation Forum
When: Tuesday, June 14, 2016 6pm to 8:30pm
Where: Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View CA 93022
To learn more visit: www.uvrgroundwater.org

What: STAKEHOLDER FORUM – Mound Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation Forum
When: Thursday, June 16, 2016 6pm to 8:30pm
Where: Community Meeting Room, City Hall, 501 Poli Street, Ventura CA
To learn more visit: www.venturawater.net

Over the past year water agencies and the County of Ventura have joined forces to address new state legislation – the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. This legislation offers local agencies the opportunity to oversee and steward the future sustainability of groundwater basins. The public is encouraged to attend these forums to learn how the organizational structure for the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) in each basin is being proposed. Community members who receive their water from the Mound and Upper Ventura River Basins can participate in the process of evaluating the recommended organizational proposals.

The next steps will involve local government agency/special district review, and as appropriate, incorporate stakeholder input into the organizational formation. Each agency will go to their respective board to request approval of the organization formation and resultant agreements, and will appoint their respective representative(s). Once the Directors are appointed to the newly formed GSAs, public hearings will be conducted to formally designate GSAs for each respective basin(s). The State of California will finalize and approve all newly designated GSAs.

For more information about the Mound Basin visit www.venturawater.net, and for the Upper Ventura River Basin visit www.uvrgroundwater.org.

Boketto by Susan Rich

Outside my window it’s never the same-
some mornings jasmine slaps the house, some mornings sorrow.

There is a word I overheard today, meaning lost
not on a career path or across a floating bridge:

Boketto-to stare out windows without purpose.
Don’t laugh; it’s been too long since we leaned

into the morning: bird friendly coffee and blueberry toast. Awhile
since I declared myself a prophet of lost cats-blind lover

of animal fur and feral appetites. Someone should tag
a word for the calm of a long marriage. Knowledge

the heat will hold, and our lights remain on- a second
sight that drives the particulars of a life: sea glass and salt,

cherry blossoms and persistent weeds. What assembles in the middle
distance beyond the mail truck; have I overlooked oceans,

ignored crows? I try to exist in the somehow, the might still be-
gaze upward to constellations of in-between.

About this poem
“The Japanese word ‘boketto’ describes something so familiar to me, it’s as if a piece of myself has been returned. I’ve altered the definition by including that the ‘gazing without purpose’ needs to happen by a window.”
~ Susan Rich

About Susan Rich
Susan Rich is the author of “Cloud Pharmacy” (White Pine Press, 2014). She teaches at Highline College and lives in Seattle.

Ventura Emergency personnel respond to Porche losing control and slamming into residence

On May 31, at approximately 4:45 am, a four door Porche Panamera was traveling East bound on Loma Vista Road at a high rate of speed when it lost control and slammed into a residence. The house was occupied by three people who fortunately were not near the garage where the vehicle came to rest at the time of the accident.

Ventura City Fire Paramedics assessed the occupants of the vehicle and no one was injured in the crash. Ventura Police launched an investigation into the cause of the accident and managed the accident scene while interviewing subjects and witnesses. Arriving with Emergency Sirens blaring helped keep the roads clear from further incident as they stabalized the dangers involved with this situation.

Veh into structure 4The attached double car garage suffered heavy damage from the collision. Members of the VFD’s Urban Search and Rescue team performed a structural assessment of the garage and determined emergency shoring would be necessary. Part of the garage structural assembly had to be removed in addition to the roll-up garage door in order for temporary repairs to be made. The homeowner will need to Contact a garage door professional to get this repaired as it’s no easy fix. The garage was temporarily lifted and shored in place. Initial damage estimates for the garage, planters and, items in the garage are approximately $50,000.

The Building and Safety Department was notified of the accident and will be helping building owners later today with getting their garage and house repaired.

Ventura City Fire Department rescues trapped victim in vehicle that hit a tree

On May 28, at approximately 4:20am, Ventura City Fire Department responded to a report of a vehicle off the roadway with a report of a trapped victim. When fire crews arrive they discovered a small Honda SUV that had hit a eucalyptus tree at a high rate of speed, crushing the vehicle and trapping the driver. IMG_6538Firefighters using hydraulic rescue tools to cut and pry the vehicle from the victim were able to free the trapped driver 32 minutes after their arrival. While the extrication was taking place, additional firefighters worked to clear debris and suppress any fire potential from the vehicles leaking fluids.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the IMG_6541California Highway Patrol. No rescuers were injured as a result of this incident.

Ventura Film Society Season 8 – “Hearing is Believing” the Rachel Flowers story June 9

Please join the Ventura Film Society on Thursday June 9th at 6:30pm at the Century 10 Downtown Ventura for the Ventura County Premiere of “HEARING IS BELIEVING”, the new feature documentary from VFS Founder & award-winning producer/director Lorenzo DeStefano. This film introduces the world to the multi-talented young musician and composer, Rachel Flowers. Born 15 weeks premature, weighing only one pound five ounces, Rachel lost her eyesight due to Retinopathy of Prematurity. When she was two years old she began picking up melodies from her musical parents and was soon playing every song she heard by ear, including Bach fugues. The child had perfect pitch. Starting her formal musical education at the age of 4, Rachel spent the next 10 years studying at the Southern California Conservatory of Music.

DeStefano and his team have created a dynamic and engaging portrait of nearly two years in the life of the tight knit Flowers family, a single mom and her two kids living paycheck to paycheck in Oxnard, California, with Rachel’s stunning music as the soundtrack. “Hearing is Believing” revels in Rachel’s joyous and free-flowing love of song, illuminating in the process the bonds of family and the divine mysteries of creativity. Among the incredible musicians appearing with Rachel in the film are the legendary Stevie Wonder, Grammy-winning rocker Dweezil Zappa, , the late Progressive Rock icon Keith Emerson, Grammy winning jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, the young Bay Area jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, and fifty members of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony.

Advance tickets available at www.venturafilmsociety.com/tickets.html. For more information – 805 628-2299 / [email protected]. The VFS thanks the City of Ventura Community Partnerships, Cinemark, Downtown Ventura Partners, Bell Arts Factory, and the Ventura Breeze for their support. The Ventura Film Society, we bring people together in the dark.

Ventura City Fire Department responds to kitchen fire in two story home.

On May 13, at approximately 4pm, Ventura City Fire Department responded to a report of smoke coming from a two story residential home. Upon arrival fire crews found a fire burning in the kitchen on the second floor. The fire was extinguished 10 minutes after arrival of firefighters. A sprinkler system was activated as a result of the fire and contained the fire to the area of origin. The home sustained water damage from the sprinkler activation on both floors of the residence. Three adults were displaced from the home as a result of the fire.

No firefighters were injured as a result of this incident. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.