After 15 months of closure, and as California’s Covid-19 restrictions are being lifted, The Museum of Ventura County is re-opening both its Ventura location at 100 East Main Street and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula at 926 Railroad Avenue on July 1, 2021. Admission to the museums and parking are free for visitors for the remainder of 2021.

Beginning Thursday, July 1st, visiting hours for The Museum of Ventura County and the Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula will be Thursday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Research Library located on the Ventura campus will operate by appointment only, Wednesday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Following the lead of other educational institutions, masks are currently required for all indoor visitors and museum staff at this time. Vaccinated guests have the option to remove their face coverings when enjoying the museum’s outdoor spaces.

Debuting on opening weekend at The Museum of Ventura County is, “Huelga! Photographs from the Frontlines” by Jorge Corralejo. While the exhibit was originally scheduled to open in mid-March of 2020, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it was postponed. Guests were able to view an online 3D version of the exhibit throughout 2020, but now are welcomed to experience the exhibit in person and are invited to attend a special opening reception on Saturday, July 3rd, 2021, from 2-4pm. For more information about the reception, and future museum events, please visit: www.venturamuseum.org/events. In Santa Paula, the Agriculture Museum continues to showcase the region’s rich farming and ranching history.

“We are delighted to be welcoming visitors back into our community’s museums in both Ventura and Santa Paula,” commented Elena Brokaw, Executive Director, Museum of Ventura County. “We’ve missed the energy that is seen and felt as all patrons, young and old alike, take in both museum’s on-site exhibits and collections in person.” Brokaw reinforced that guest safety is of primary importance and the decision to require masks while inside museum buildings is to ensure that the most vulnerable guests, including children and seniors, can freely access all indoor services feeling safe and comfortable. Both the Museum of Ventura County and Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula have implemented best practices to maintain a clean and safe environment.

For guests that are unable or not ready to visit The Museum of Ventura County or Agriculture Museum in Santa Paula in person, virtual exhibits remain available online. For more information visit: www.venturamuseum.org.

The Museum of Ventura County celebrates, preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of Ventura County, the California Channel Islands and the surrounding region through its collections, exhibitions, events, educational programs, publications and its research library, and serves as a gathering place for the community. The Museum has two locations – The main museum is located at 100 East Main Street, Ventura, California (805-653-0323). The Agriculture Museum is located at 926 Railroad Avenue, Santa Paula, California (805-525-3100). Both museums are open Thursdays through Sundays, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – www.venturamuseum.org. Admission to both museum locations remains free for the remainder of 2021

There’s a lot more to the Fourth of July than just fireworks.

This year when celebrating America’s 245th birthday, Ventura police and fire are encouraging residents to explore safer ways to celebrate, such as finding an outdoor activity, taking a trip to the beach, or hosting a BBQ.

“Fireworks are simply too dangerous and unpredictable to be used safely,” said Fire Marshal Joe Morelli. “While we will never be able to eliminate accidents, the public needs to understand how easily fireworks can start a fire or cause serious injury.”

With dry brush surrounding Ventura’s hillsides, fireworks can pose great danger to community members and neighborhoods. It is illegal to possess, store, sell, use, or handle fireworks in the City of Ventura. If you’ve purchased fireworks not knowing they are illegal, safely surrender them by calling the Ventura Fire Department, Fire Prevention Division at 805-658-4717.

In 2018, the Ventura City Council adopted a Fireworks Social Host Ordinance stating that any homeowner, renter, or person in charge of a private property who knows, or should know, of the sale, use, or possession of any fireworks are subject to a civil penalty.

Commander Sarah Starr added, “The fun associated with the Fourth of July celebration can instantly turn tragic for those who fail to make safety a priority.”

Additionally, the holiday is also one of the most dangerous of the year for DUI-related incidents and fatalities. The Ventura Police Department encourages community members to stay off the road after consuming alcohol, marijuana, or prescription medications. With so many options for a safe and sober ride home, including rideshare services, there is no excuse for driving under the influence.

Take the following steps to help partner in making it a safe Fourth of July for all:

• Enjoy one of the many professional firework displays in Ventura County. While there are no public displays in the City of Ventura this year, community members can find safe alternatives in Camarillo, Moorpark, Ojai, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, and Thousand Oaks.
• If you see an impaired driver, call 9-1-1 immediately.
• If you see a neighbor lighting fireworks, call 9-1-1 if the activity is in-progress or poses and immediate threat to yourself or others.
• If there is no immediate threat, please keep 9-1-1 lines open by calling the 24/7 non-emergency line at 805-650-8010. Be prepared to provide a location of the activity and/or a description of those involved.

Anyone found in possession of fireworks, or caught using them, could be fined up to $1,000 and/or receive a jail term of up to a year

For more information on staying safe this Fourth of July, please visit www.cityofventura.ca.gov/Fireworks

E.P. Foster Library is slowly opening.

Since April 7, 2021, the Ventura County Library System libraries, including libraries in the cities of Ojai, Ventura, Port Hueneme, and Fillmore, have welcomed the public back for limited indoor services including browsing and checkout of collections and computer use. Customers have up to 50 minutes per day to conduct activities in the library. Since summer of 2020, customers have also been able to place holds for library materials online and pick them up when ready just outside the front doors of the libraries. Throughout the pandemic, the library system has worked closely with public health officials and within state guidelines for libraries to provide safe library services and programs.

The safety of customers and staff remain the first priority and customers may notice enhanced safety measures when they come back to the library, such as plexiglass barriers at service desks, availability of hand sanitizer, and socially distanced computer workstations. The library has covered additional costs throughout the pandemic associated with paying janitorial crews for more often and extra deep cleaning measures and upgraded filters on HVAC systems. The library continues to provide numerous online programs and resources, but also has plans to implement some in-person programs again as early as this summer. When the state reopens, public seating and tables will be made available again for study and reading, and time limits for library use per day eliminated.

At the Ventura County Library System, 42% of library employees were redeployed over the course of the pandemic to serve as Disaster Services Workers for other county agencies, performing tasks such as delivering meals to seniors, contact tracing and working at vaccination clinics. During the pandemic, several customer service modifications were made, some of which the library is planning to continue after the pandemic because they were so successful, such as offering live online tutoring for students in both English and Spanish, chat reference services, virtual STEAM and Storytime programs, and enhanced ebook collections.

For a seven-month period in the past year, over 2,000 students received live tutoring online through the library. Over 25,000 people received virtual library cards online to access ebooks and databases, including many students accessing these resources for schoolwork. And from July 2020 to April 2021 an average of 15,600 items were checked out from the libraries per month. Ebook usage increased 75% over the past year, and eaudiobook usage increased 25%. From March 2020 to April 2021, staff produced 621 live Storytime programs on Facebook which had 70,044 unique views.

You can come inside and browse materials, checkout books, and use a computer.  If you place a hold on an item online, you can pick it up at the library when it is ready. The only things you can’t do at this time is be in the library more than 50 minutes per day, attend in-person library programs, or sit inside the library to study or read.  Those things will start again after June 15.

Ventura region branches:

Avenue Library, 606 North Ventura Ave.

E.P. Foster Library, 651 East Main St.

Hill Road Library, 1070 S. Hill Road

Saticoy Library, 1292 Los Angeles Ave.

SEEAG hopes to reach over 3,000 school-age children with their healthy eating message.

The County of Ventura Human Services Agency is partnering with Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) to increase CalFresh enrollment and food access among students and families served by SEEAG’s Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative (VCCWI). CalFresh provides monthly food benefits to individuals and families with low-incomes.

SEEAG’s VCCWI began in 2017. SEEAG staff members travel in an agricultural and nutritional-themed Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom van to Ventura County elementary schools to educate, inspire and empower children and their families to increase their consumption of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables.

A main VCCWI goal is to reduce rates of childhood obesity and preventable illnesses. Next school year, SEEAG hopes to reach over 3,000 school-age children with their healthy eating message.

Over the summer, SEEAG will work with the Human Services Agency’s CalFresh program to develop a curriculum designed to encourage families to enroll in CalFresh. The CalFresh curriculum will be incorporated into the VCCWI program as students learn about healthy eating habits and how fresh produce is grown.

Bilingual representatives from the county’s CalFresh outreach team will be at SEEAG’s VCCWI school presentations as well as at Food and Health Resource market pop-ups and on virtual webinars. 

Major VCCWI health-related partners include Dignity Health St. John’s Regional Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Clinicas del Camino Real, Gold Coast Health Plan and Adventist Health Simi Valley.

For more about SEEAG and the Ventura County Child Wellness Initiative, go to www.seeag.org. To reserve a program time and date, click on www.seeag.org/programscheduler.

Founded in 2008, Students for Eco-Education and Agriculture (SEEAG) is a nonprofit organization that aims to help young students understand the origins of their food by bridging the gap between agriculture and consumption through its agricultural education programming. SEEAG’s “The Farm Lab” program based in Ventura County teaches schoolchildren about the origins of their food and the importance of local farmland by providing schools with classroom agricultural education and free field trips to farms. Through this and other SEEAG programs, over 60,000 elementary school students in Central and Southern California have increased their understanding of the food journey. For more information, visit www.seeag.org or email Mary Maranville at [email protected].

by Jill Forman and Sue Brinkmeyer

Many households are one paycheck away from homelessness.  One car repair, family illness, temporary layoff or other one-time event can eat up the funds needed to pay rent for a month, and a family can lose its housing. For residents of the City of Ventura in this situation, the Homeless Prevention Fund is one option.  If a household will be able to meet its expenses once the temporary situation is resolved, the Ventura Homeless Prevention may be able to help them stay housed.

As an example, this month a family had an illness and their income was drastically reduced for a sufficient period that they were unable to pay rent for the month. They faced eviction.  Since the situation was resolved, and they could pay the rent going forward, they qualified for a one-time payment of their rent by the Ventura Homeless Prevention. They are able to stay in their home.

For households who need help paying months of rent that was missed due to COVID-19, government programs exist, and people can call 211 to learn more about the assistance available. For residents of the City of Ventura who don’t qualify for the much-more-extensive government COVID-19 Rent Relief and who need help with just one month’s rent due to a temporary financial setback, Ventura Homeless Prevention may be the answer. More information is available at venturahomelessprevention.org or (805) 626-0363.