Category Archives: Facebook

New West Symphony music director Marcelo Lehninger leads orchestra in Masterpiece Series concert

New West Symphony music director Marcelo Lehninger will lead the orchestra in a Masterpiece Series concert featuring the music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven.   Cellist Andrew Janss returns to the orchestra to  perform Franz Joseph Haydn’s Concerto No. 1 in C Major for Cello & Orchestra. The program also includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Overture to Il re pastore, K. 208 and the Symphony No. 4 in B-flat Major, Opus 60 of Ludwig van Beethoven. Mr. Janss last appeared with the Orchestra during the 2011/2012 season.

The first performance will take place on Friday, February 26, 2016 at 8:00 pm at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center located at 800 Hobson Way in Oxnard. The program will be repeated on *Saturday, February 27 at 4:00 and 8:00 pm at the Performing Arts Education Center on the campus of Agoura High School, located at 28545 W Driver Avenue in Agoura Hills and on  Sunday, February 28, 2016 at Barnum Hall in Santa Monica located at 600 Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica.

Tickets priced from $29 to $102 are available by phone, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday at 1-866-776-8400.  Tickets are also available in person at the New West Symphony office, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday and through the Symphony web site at newwestsymphony.org, 24/7.   Tickets are also available at the respective concert hall box offices.

Ask Event benefitting Step Up Ventura Feb. 19th

Come enjoy a little wine, a little cheese, a little chocolate,
And do a whole lot of good….
It’s an Ask Event benefiting Step Up Ventura

Take this opportunity to learn about an exciting new organization that provides homeless children and their families with much needed preschool and child care.

This is a fundraising event and your support is appreciated at any level you choose It’s being held on Friday, February 19th from 5:30 to 6:30 pm at 499 Arnett Ave in Ventura.

Ventura City emergency personnel respond to mini-van with 5 victims into a building

On Feb. 9 Ventura City Fire Personnel responded to a reported vehicle into a building in the 300 block of Ferro Dr. The first arriving engine company found a mini-van that had left a hillside roadway, collided with exterior portions of a residence and a concrete pillar, coming to rest with the front left portion of the vehicle hanging over a steep embankment with other residences below, damaged electrical wires tangled in the undercarriage. A total of 5 victims were located and quickly triaged, three of which were children, one with facial trauma and one still inside the vehicle with a femur fracture. Utilities were controlled, the vehicle was stabilized and secured by the arriving truck company using heavy rescue rigging equipment. The severely injured child was stabilized and successfully extricated from the vehicle, all 5 patients were then transported to local area hospitals, requiring the use of 3 total ambulances.

Ventura firefighters respond to vagrant encampment fire below Union Pacific Train Trestle

A vagrant encampment fire that started in a confined space below the Union Pacific Train Trestle Sunday afternoon extended approximately 40 feet and significantly damaged a portion of the rail line on the bridge. Firefighters requested Union Pacific to stop all rail activities in order to make access to bridge. Ventura Police assisted by placing spotters up and down the rail line to warn firefighters if any trains were to about to cross the bridge.

Ventura Police located a subject, Joseph Duran (37 years-old), nearby who had been seen fleeing from the scene of the fire. Upon further investigation, it was learned that Duran is a vagrant who had set up camp in the river bottom.  He lit an illegal warming fire that quickly got out of control when the winds picked up.

The fire severely damaged nearly 20 wooden supports and engulfed an area under the trestle. The fire was deeply seated in the creosote lumber and was extinguished within 80 minutes. Union Pacific representatives estimate that structural damage would exceed $10,000– and fiber optic communications lines, housed in the under portion of the bridge, were being evaluated for damage. At the time of this press release it is unknown the extent of damages of the communication network and if train activity could safely resume, engineers are currently assessing the damage.

A makeshift living area in the catwalk under the bridge was consumed by fire. Union Pacific Rail officials had contacted the occupant numerous times over the past few months but had failed attempts to permanently remove the individual who eventually started this fire.  Joseph Duran was arrested and booked at the Ventura County Jail for 452(c) PC – recklessly starting a fire.

 

 

Applications now being accepted for City of Ventura Planning Commission position

City of Ventura residents are encouraged to apply for a vacancy on the Planning Commission that advises the City Council on issues related to planning, development, and beautification of the City.  The special recruitment process is now open and applications are available online at www.cityofventura.net/involved/advisory or from the City Clerk’s Office, Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli Street, Room 204. The application deadline is 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 8.

Qualified applicants will undergo interviews with the City Council Appointments Recommendation Committee in February. The recommended appointee will be considered by the City Council and confirmed in late February. Volunteers must be willing to serve a four-year term.

Applications may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected], by fax to the City Clerk’s Office at 641-1046, by mail to the City Clerk’s Office P.O. Box 99, Ventura, CA 93002, or hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall.

For more information call the City Clerk’s Office at  658-4787.

Harbor entrance may open soon

According to Harbormaster John Higgins the Ventura Harbor entrance (closed because of high sand build –up) could reopen shortly if dredging can be performed to remove the sand build-up. The Harbor entrance was closed Jan.22 which meant that the tall ships had to be moved to the Channel Islands Harbor. Dredging equipment will hopefully be arriving in the next few days and if weather permits will start dredging work.

Both the fishing industry and merchants were hurt financially by the closure. Fishing boats couldn’t go out to fish and the Harbor merchants were hurt when the tall ships had to leave. The ships  bring a large amount of people to the Harbor visit the ships.

Financial assistance might become available for the losses suffered.

Suicide averted on Seaward Bridge

On Feb.3, at 10:50pm, the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911 call from a citizen reporting a subject standing on Seaward Bridge over the 101 freeway.  Officers arrived on scene and confirmed a male subject was standing on the ledge of the bridge, and he was threatening to jump.

The Ventura City Fire Department, AMR, and a response team from the Ventura County Crisis Unit all arrived on scene to assist with this incident.  The CHP assisted with the freeway closure and diverting traffic onto surface streets.

Police and Fire personnel worked in conjunction with the Crisis Team to calmly resolve the situation peacefully.  Eventually, they were able to convince the subject to come off the ledge and return to safety after four hours of negotiating.  The subject was unharmed as a result of this incident, and was taken into custody for his own safety.  He was transported by AMR to VCMC for an assessment.

Surfrider Foundation Ventura County Chapter Meeting Tues. Feb. 2nd

Guest Speakers on Pervasive Plastics in our Sandy Beach Ecosystem

Surfrider welcomes the public to join us at our first general chapter meeting for 2016 on Tuesday February 2nd from 6:30 to 8:30 at Patagonia / Great Pacific Iron Works.

The chapter meeting will cover local program and campaign updates and feature a guest presentation by a research team from the California State University at Channel Islands. Dr. Clare Steele,  and seniors Michaela Miller, and Dorothy Horn will be on hand to present their capstone project research on pervasive plastics in our sandy beach ecosystem.  These are plastics you can’t see or pick up, but are being found throughout our environment.

Michaela is studying the composition and seasonal fluctuation of plastic particle contamination off of our coasts to give us a better understanding of where it comes from and how to manage it. Recent recipient of a WRPI-USDA research grant, Dorothy Horn has found both micro fibers and plastic particles in sand crabs off our coast and is studying the effects of this human caused pollution on these organisms and the effects on the adjacent sandy beach ecosystems.

As California votes in November 2016 for a statewide plastic checkout bag ban (vote YES!), news about plastic pollution popping up in odd places such as sand crabs is alraming. Join Surfrider’s Rise Above Plastics program to help fight the waves of plastic pollution.

Another focus for Surfrider in Ventura this year is raising awareness of the need to bring down Matilija Dam as a major step toward the natural rehabilitation of Surfrer’s Point. Come out to the chapter meeting to learn more about all of our local programs and campaigns.

WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE TO HELP?

The list is endless, but you can pitch in at the Surfrider beach cleanup at Ormond Beach from 9am-11am on Saturday February 27th. Visit www.facebook.com/venturasurfrider for updates on all of these events and more.

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. ventura.surfrider.org                              

Join us for Day 2 of the STEAM + ASPIRE3 event at Foothill Technology High School Sat. Jan. 30th

Join us for Day 2 of the STEAM + ASPIRE3 event this Saturday, January 30th from 1:30-3:00 at Foothill Technology High School in Spirito Hall.
Ventura Unified Middle School students from Ancapa, Balboa, Cabrillo, DeAnza (DATA) and Sunset have teamed up with mentors from Foothill Technology High School to design a website and video where students use STEAM to solve some of the biggest social and community challenges we face today. We look forward to being inspired by our students’ vision of a brighter future and encourage you to attend during their public presentations.
For directions to Foothill Technology High School: http://foothilltechnology.org/about-us/contact-us-location-map/
For more information about each of the participating schools: http://www.venturausd.org/Schools.aspx
To learn more about Aspire3:

Community members invited to attend a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation Committee Stakeholder Meeting, Jan. 28 at 6pm

What:   Stakeholder forum – Upper Ventura River (UVRB) Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Formation Committee
When:  Thursday, January 28, 2016 6pm to 8:30pm
Where:  Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road, Oak View CA 93022
Who:  Open to the public and interested community members

A public stakeholder forum is scheduled to provide an opportunity for interested stakeholders to learn more about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA), the Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSPs) process, and provide targeted feedback to the Upper Ventura River Basin (UVRB) GSA Formation Committee on its plans and proposed actions to become a GSA.  The meeting will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 6:00 P.M. at the Oak View Community Center, 18 Valley Road in Oak View.

The five local agencies currently working together to form a Groundwater Sustainability Agency include the Meiners Oaks Water District, Ventura River Water District, Casitas Municipal Water District, City of Ventura, and the Ventura County Watershed Protection District.

The initial outreach meeting held back in April 2015 provided background on the groundwater basin and allowed the public an opportunity to discuss ideas and voice concerns about the formation of a GSA.   The January 28 meeting will dig deeper into the process and purpose of the SGMA and how stakeholders can participate in the future GSA.  Time will be provided for participants to give feedback and input as well as ask questions and discuss any aspect of the GSA Formation Committee’s activities.

For information regarding this new agency, or to receive emails about future updates on the Agency formation, please call or e-mail Bert Rapp, General Manager, Ventura River Water District at (805) 646-3403, [email protected].