Category Archives: Featured News

Girl Scouts Presents: Winter Wonderland

Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast serves over 8,800 girls across six counties.

The Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast (GSCCC) welcomes all to experience an enchanting Winter Wonderland this Holiday Season at Camp Arnaz. Immerse yourself in the sights of thousands of twinkling lights and holiday music as Camp Arnaz is transformed into a fantastic festival featuring dazzling lights, holiday horses, Santa’s elves, and delightful treats. Guests are welcome for an evening of holiday festivities each Friday and Saturday night of December from 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm.

Get lost in the magic as you walk through an icicle bridge, walls of wreaths, and twinkling snowflakes dancing to the tune of your holiday favorites. Families will also have plenty of activities to enjoy. Indulge in a feast of festive foods, create crafts to be cherished for a lifetime, meet our holiday horses, and of course, grab a photo with Santa & Ms. Claus!!! Walk the new light path feature built by local Girl Scouts under the direction of Cal Poly University engineering students. This new feature is a fun interactive path that lights up as guests walk on it! All these wonders and more await guests at the signature event of the season Winter Wonderland!

The proceeds of this event will benefit the Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast in advancing our nonprofit mission to help build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

There are sponsorship opportunities if you would like to help Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast spread holiday joy to the local community and make this an even more magical event.

Tickets are now on sale for the event which will be held at the Monarch Breeding & Research Institute at Camp Arnaz, 155 Sulphur Mountain Rd, Ventura, CA 93001. To learn more about this upcoming event, purchase tickets, and view sponsorship opportunities, please visit gswinterwonderland.com or contact [email protected] for more information.

Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast serves over 8,800 girls across six counties and is committed to making the Girl Scout Leadership Experience available to girls in ways that impact their lives both in the moment and into the future. Girls participate in troops, individual projects, council events, day camps, resident camps and more. A variety of leadership, outdoor skills, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) based programs and events provide girls with opportunities to learn and explore in fun and informative ways. To join or volunteer in Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara or Ventura County, visit: http://www.girlscoutsccc.org.

Saying farewell to Cris Loy

Cris Loy, Cindy Teer, DoriAnne Matsumoto and Kim Murphy together at Knott’s Scary Farm the day Loy passed.

by Amy Brown

Some people just make life a little sweeter for others, and Cris Loy was one of them. Whether it was designing custom cakes for people in her business, a Gift of Taste, or helping create the Memorial Rock Garden at the Ventura promenade for late surfing dog Haole Boy—her focus was to bring happiness and comfort to others.

Loy passed away suddenly while with some of the same close group of girlfriends who started and maintained the iconic rock garden at C Street. Her friends are now placing painted memorial rocks for Loy in the very garden she and her friends created. Her loved ones share that Loy was committed to supporting others, and they plan to honor her legacy with an ongoing effort of acts of kindness.

Cris created Haole Boy’s Memorial Rock Garden to honor lost loved ones on the Ventura promenade.

Kim Murphy: “It’s so hard to summarize how this incredible loss of Cris has affected me. I will be forever grateful for her friendship, not only to me, but her love of my dogs, and my husband as well. We all became so intertwined in each other‘s lives, that it doesn’t even seem possible that we’ve lost her. John and I will be forever grateful for all she did for us with memorializing Haole, and being the inspiration behind the Memorial Rock Garden. She loved this garden so very much, and put her heart and soul into it. She vowed for one year to make sure there were enough kindness rocks available that people could come and take a rock, any rock that spoke to them other than the memorial rocks. If there was something she wanted to do for somebody, she just did it. She was the most selfless person. Having to place memorial rocks in her honor in the garden was by far one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to personally do. Cris will live in my heart forever, and I will keep her proud of our beautiful garden. Miss you my friend, watch over us.”

Cindy Teer: “Cris introduced me to Ventura and showed me all the beautiful things this town has to offer. I have grown to love the place where she grew up and will always cherish the joy and happiness she brought into my life, no matter where I go. She always brought pure joy to everything she did, and the rock garden is no exception. The rock garden holds a special place in my heart because it was built with love by Cris, Kim and DoriAnne.”

Belinda Greenstein:” I could say a million great things about Cris and all would be true.  A few things I will say without hesitation, Cris will FURever be our ROCK, ready to ROCK-N-Roll no matter what was needed or asked of her. But in life, Cris was the ROCKstar for anyone and everyone blessed enough to know her.  May she always ROCK on in heaven! “

DoriAnne Matsumoto:” Cris was a one in a million friend. We met on Instagram through our dogs and I knew from her posts and comments that she was funny and clever. When we met in person, I immediately loved her. She was just as entertaining as she was on social media. But she was also extremely kind and giving–always inviting others to join in activities, creating the most over the top puppy showers for our dog group and always bringing a cake to a celebration. I still talk about the Amazon cake she made for one of my birthdays. Not only did it look just like an Amazon box but it was delicious as well. She had the biggest, brightest smile and her heart was just as big. Her artistic talent and creativity were amazing, from her cakes to her painted rocks to her vision for Haole’s Memorial Rock Garden. It’s bittersweet to be placing rocks for her there now. We may have only known each other for a few years, but she was family to me and I will miss her forever. “

 

“Julie” and four women on an adventure

Hannah, Gabe, Megan , Kaitlyn and “Julie” will be completely unassisted until the finish line.

by Patricia Schallert

The World’s Toughest Row starts in June each year with up to 20 teams participating from around the world. The annual edition of this race sees teams from all over the world starting from the historic harbor of Monterey, California, following the path of many adventurers and explorers who find the exhilarating challenge of rowing. An incredible atmosphere of apprehension and excitement is guaranteed during the pre-race period as teams complete their final preparations to set off to row across the mid-Pacific Ocean. A finish line as unique as Hanalei Bay on the island of Kaua’i is hard to beat as the backdrop to what will be the most incredible, once in a lifetime adventure.

Four women are training in the Ventura, Harbor now for this epic adventure across the Pacific Ocean in support of The Women’s Sports Foundation and Hawaii Domestic Violence Action Center. With a distance of 2800 miles, “The Worlds Toughest Row” is considered to be one of the most difficult races on the water.

The four women will be competing in the race class.  Their boat is 28 feet long and weighs 2,000 pounds. The boat is named “Julie” after Gabe and Megan’s mother. who was the girl’s biggest cheerleader and a huge supporter of equity in sports for women. The boat is a Rannoch R45 Elite ocean rowing boat, powered by solar energy and this will be the boat’s second crossing.

Hannah, Gabe, Megan , Kaitlyn and “Julie” will be completely unassisted until the finish line in Hawaii. These four women are also competing in the challenge of beating the worlds’ record, by launching on June 12th and expecting to land in Hawaii in mid July, 30 days later.

The current world’s record is 34 days for women. The women will face a long journey with challenges of 40-foot waves, extreme temperature, marine life encounter, sea sickness, and weight loss. Collectively, the team will row over 1.5 million strokes.

They will have a weather navigator on land alerting them of storms and weather-related changes.

With a rowing background, Hannah Byrd is looking forward to the “daring odyssey that demands unwavering determination and physical strength”.

Kaitlyn Piltz , navigator and steering, added that this challenge will be “an unshakable spirit of adventure, proving that gender is no barrier to conquering the mighty Pacific.”

Female ocean rowers who take on the monumental challenge, inspire others with their bravery and tenacity, reminding us that the human spirit knows no gender boundaries in the pursuit of adventure and exploration.

A fund raiser for Rowing Oceans for Women will be on December 2nd hosted by The Seaward Brewery located on Goodyear Ave. in Ventura. Call 805-302-6404 for more information. Music at the Rowing for women  fundraiser will be performed by the band Moxie Raven. The event will start at 4 o’clock until  9 o’clock.

National Register of Historic Places Nomination

Historic Washington School. Photo courtesy of San Buenaventura Conservancy Archives

by San Buenaventura Conservancy for Preservation

The San Buenaventura Conservancy for Preservation will hold a public update meeting about progress on the nomination of the Ventura Unified School District Historic Washington School Buildings to the National Register of Historic Places. The meeting will be on Thursday, November 16th at 6 p.m. at Grace Church Cooper Hall, 65 McMillan Avenue, Ventura. The Conservancy is in support of the preservation and adaptive reuse of the historic Washington School Buildings in midtown Ventura, and is in the process of nominating the school buildings to the National Register of Historic Places.

Washington School was built in 1925 and served as a Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) school until it was closed in 1983. The private Ventura County Christian school, which occupied the site in recent years, has relocated to a new campus near Ventura College. The property is currently vacant. It is included on the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) surplus properties list, which makes the property potentially available to be sold or redeveloped.

The National Register listing will make it clear to potential developers or speculators that the school buildings should be preserved and reused as a part of any development on the property. Additionally, after designation, the school buildings will be eligible for lucrative state and federal preservation tax credits and listing allows the use of the California Historic Building Code to facilitate rehabilitation.

Washington Elementary School is eligible under Criterion A because of its association with Education in Ventura.

The Washington Elementary School building is also eligible under Criterion C and is a good and rare example of an educational building redesigned in response to earthquake safety concerns in the city of Ventura.

The buildings at Washington School are eligible under Criterion C with a period of significance of 1935 and 1941.The Main Building and Auditorium at Washington Elementary School are examples of the Mediterranean-style as applied to education buildings and streamlined for the needs of earthquake safety and as works of master architect Harold E. Burket.

The nomination process by the Conservancy must be completed by March 1, 2024. Preliminary work done before the involvement of the Conservancy was useful and provided a foundation for future work on the project. The Conservancy expects up to $7,000 more in expenses to complete the Nomination. The Washington School Nomination Fund has been established by the Conservancy to accept gifts restricted to this project. Over $3,000 has been donated to the Fund to date. Expenses include the completion of the research and the analysis of the Washington School historic records at the Museum of Ventura County, Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) archives and the State Architect’s Office. Additionally, there will be Conservancy expenses to present the Nomination at the State Historic Resources Commission meeting in Sacramento in early 2024.

To learn more about the nomination process and about the special Buenaventura Conservancy Washington School Nomination Fund go to https://sbconservancy.org/washington-school.

Harold Escher Burket was a prolific Ventura-based architect who spent over 40 years designing primarily commercial and institutional projects throughout Ventura County, including the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Community Presbyterian Church and the Zig Zag Moderne-style Firestone Tire Store. Burket had a particular interest in school design—specifically the importance of light and air to a healthy learning environment—as evidenced in his many schools in Ventura County.

Successful completion of the Montalvo Safe Routes

City Councilmember Jim Duran, Mayor Joe Schroeder, City Manager Bill Ayub, VUSD Superintendent Dr. Castro, Montalvo Community Council, Montalvo Elementary School, City staff, and community members cutting the ribbon. Photo by Michael Gordon

The City of Ventura is thrilled to announce the successful completion of the Montalvo Safe Routes to School Project. To commemorate this achievement, the City hosted a ribbon-cutting event on Tuesday, November 7, at the corner of Bristol Road and Grand Avenue.

The event featured key stakeholders and dignitaries, including the Ventura Unified School District, Montalvo Community Council, Montalvo Elementary School, City Council, staff, and community members.

The Montalvo Safe Routes to School Project was a collaborative effort representing a substantial investment in our community’s infrastructure. It was specifically designed not only to enhance the safety and convenience of travel to and from Montalvo Elementary School for students and their families but also to provide a more accessible neighborhood for the Montalvo community. The new sidewalks and bike lanes not only facilitate travel to school but also allow the residents of Montalvo to interact more freely with their neighbors, promoting a healthy lifestyle and fostering community connections.

“This remarkable project is a shining example of what can be achieved when a community comes together. It has been a labor of love, driven by partnerships and dedicated community members,” said Mayor Joe Schroeder. “These collaborative efforts have resulted in crucial improvements to the Montalvo neighborhood, benefiting our students, families, and the entire community, fostering a stronger sense of community identity. The project was about more than just the school; it also improves safety since people don’t need to walk in the street.

The Montalvo Safe Routes to School Project included over two miles of continuous sidewalks, one mile of new bike lanes, 12 new curb ramps, reconstruction of 26 existing curb ramps, 27 new pedestrian and bicycle crossings, and the installation of new landmark signage that enhanced the Montalvo neighborhood’s identity while improving safety and accessibility for its residents.

A significant portion of the project was funded by a Caltrans grant totaling $1.38 million, contributing to the broader Safe Routes to School program to improve student safety across the state. The City of Ventura also demonstrated its commitment to the project, contributing an additional $1 million through Measure O and gas tax funds to ensure its successful completion.

The Montalvo Safe Routes to School Project was another milestone in Ventura’s ongoing efforts to enhance pedestrian infrastructure, following similar projects in West Ventura and near Anacapa Middle School on Telegraph Road.

“I would like to share my appreciation with the city of Ventura for securing and dedicating this funding to realize the Montalvo phase of the safe routes to school implementation,” expressed Dr. Antonio Castro, Superintendent of the Ventura Unified District. “These improvements have the potential to generate an even more active walking and bicycling community to and from school. Any reduction to the number of vehicles present during school drop-off and pick-up times is welcomed, as is the possibility of helping promote the physical growth and development of our Ventura Unified students.”

For more information about this project, please contact Jeff Hereford, Transportation Manager with our Public Works Department by email at [email protected].

To learn more about this and other Public Works projects, visits the City’s website at www.cityofventura.ca.gov.

Ventura College Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications

Online workshops to help with the application process are offered at VC.

The Ventura College Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2024-25 school year. The deadline for application submissions is January 21, 2024.

Students currently enrolled at Ventura College in the 2023-2024 academic year and who have completed at least six units by the end of the Fall 2023 semester, are eligible to apply. Units earned in previous semesters at Ventura College count towards the unit requirement.

“Beginning last year, we reduced the scholarship eligibility requirement from twelve to six units to make the application process more inclusive for part-time students,” says Anne Paul King, Ventura College Foundation executive director. “With work and family commitments, it’s often difficult to attend full-time.”

Over 400 scholarships totaling more than $600,000 will be awarded, many for specific majors including environmental science, computer sciences, health care, nursing, business and education. Phoenix scholarships are exclusively for re-entering students, including active military and veterans, who have taken time off and are now returning to college to continue their education. By completing one application, students are eligible for multiple scholarships. Scholarship amounts range from an average of $2,400 for continuing students to an average of $3,500 for students transferring to four-year universities next Fall. At a minimum, scholarship recipients are awarded a $1,000 scholarship.

Online workshops to help with the application process are offered from October through January before the application deadline. Scholarship recipients will be announced in April 2024.

The foundation’s scholarships are the result of annual contributions and established scholarship endowments from Ventura College Foundation board of directors, donors, and corporate partners. “Their generous contributions and transformative investments in support of Ventura College student success have enabled the foundation to award scholarship funds to tens of thousands of students over the foundation’s 40-year history,” says King.

For more about Ventura College Foundation scholarships, workshop dates and other financial assistance, go to https://venturacollegefoundation.org/scholarships or contact Micsin Martinez, foundation programs and development specialist, at [email protected], 805-289-6161.

Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers, and academic success of students enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace; an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus. For more information, contact Julie Harvey at (805) 289-6502 or [email protected] or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.

12th annual can-tree food drive event

Food Share, Ventura County’s largest hunger-relief organization, is bringing its most popular community event back for the holidays! The 12th Annual CAN-tree food drive will take place in Figueroa Plaza from Thursday, November 30 when the trees will be built, through Sunday, December 3, 2022, when they will be dismantled.

The event, which brings thousands of individuals, families, and local businesses together to collect and build hundreds of canned food “trees” is Food Share’s biggest food and fund drive of the year and is a critical source of food for the thousands of people still struggling with food insecurity in Ventura County.

There are lots of ways to get involved. Participants can Collect & Build, Buy & Build, Raise & Build or Sponsor a Tree. There’s also a chance to win one of 10 coveted awards including the CAN Crusher, the Top CAN Crusher, and the People’s Choice, which will be featured on Food Share’s website, social media pages and in its newsletter.

For more information visit: https://foodshare.com/can-tree-2023/ or reach out to Jess Hug, at [email protected].

Ventura Firefighters join the fight during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Ventura firefighters wore pink themed t-shirts.

The Ventura Fire Department is proud to partner with the Ventura City Firefighters Association and various local Ventura businesses for the 13th consecutive year to champion Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This October, Ventura firefighters are uniting in support of this cause by selling limited-edition pink, embossed department t-shirts.

Ventura firefighters wore pink themed t-shirts from October 1-15, to raise awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment in the battle against breast cancer.

“We stand as champions for breast cancer awareness and prevention, and we raise funds to ensure that breast cancer patients and their loved ones receive the lifesaving care and support they deserve,” said Fire Chief David Endaya. “With over $16,000 already contributed, our resolve to sustain this mission burns brighter than ever.”

All funds raised from t-shirt sales will be directed towards the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation, a remarkable local non-profit and grassroots organization dedicated to empowering women and families affected by breast cancer. They achieve this through education, advocacy, and providing essential emotional and social support.

Residents can purchase (if still available) the pink-lettered shirts or donate to the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation at the following participating local businesses:

  • MadeWest Brewing Company, 1744 Donlon Street
  • Snapper Jack’s Taco Shack, 533 E, Main Street
  • Ventura Visitors Center, 100 S. California Street
  • Very Ventura Gift Shop and Gallery, 540 E. Main Street

T-shirts will not be available for sale at any Ventura Fire stations.

To learn more about the Ribbons of Life Breast Cancer Foundation and their impactful work, please visit RibbonsVentura.org.

Love Ventura

Several members of the city council were there. Photos by Patricia Schallert

Cleaning the river bottom was one of the projects.

The volunteers chose between 17 different projects. At the bike hub were volunteers learning how to fix bikes for kids, at the river cleanup (owned by the Ventura Land Trust) volunteers were cleaning up the river bottom.

Love Ventura stated “By partnering and collaborating with existing groups, organizations and individuals, we believe that our community can have a broader reach and impact in our neighborhoods, schools, and businesses.”

“We believe that every person should have a chance to serve the community. Our serve day on October 7th had projects that all can participate in – from your little ones to our senior community,  those able-bodied and those needing something lighter and not physically demanding. To inspire our community to love each other through connecting, participating, giving, and serving.”

Learning how to fix bikes for the kids by volunteers.

Our city comes together every October for a day of service. Love VC, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit with the sole focus of inspiring our community to love each other through connecting, giving and serving.

TheTeam is made up of 100% volunteers working to make our community a more vibrant and unified place to live, work and play.

Learning how to fix bikes for the kids by volunteers.