Category Archives: Featured News

Essay awards presented at Sunset Elementary

Dad Ryan Bernardi reading Brandon’s essay to the assembly at Sunset school. Photos by Bernie Goldstein

On Tuesday, June 4, Ventura City Fire Chief David Endaya visited Sunset School to present a fire safety essay award to the winning students at an assembly at the school. He brought with him fire-fighting gear and a fire truck was brought there.

More than 800 students submitted their essays and one winner, and two runner ups were chosen.

Fire Chief Endaya with essay winner Cyrik Bodel and his parents.

This is a portion of Brandon Bernardi’s runner up essay:

In this informative essay I will write about what I learned at the Ventura County Fire Academy. Three things that I learned and will tell you about are how to keep you and your family safer, the gear that the firemen need, and cool things I was told about being a firefighter.

First I will tell you about how to keep you and your family safer. One way is to sleep with your door closed. The reason why you do this is because if there was a fire in your house it will reduce smoke from going into your room. The next thing is to check and have a smoke alarm. The last thing is to have a spot where your family would meet if there was a fire.

I will tell you about the gear that the firemen need. One piece is their helmet. The helmets are cool because if they are red that means the person that wears that helmet is a boss or a chief. If the helmet is yellow they are not the boss. Another thing are the suits that they wear are fireproof even the ones that they wear when they are not fighting fires. The last thing that I will tell you about is the piece of equipment that they have on their shoulder. What the device does is if you’re in trouble is there is a button you can push and it will give an alert to the other firefighters and they can help them as soon as possible.

This was the part that I was looking forward to. I get to tell you about cool things when you’re a firefighter. I know I’m not a firefighter, but these are all thing that I was told. One you get to help people. Another thing is you get to drive a firetruck with a bunch of cool stuff. You also are able to spray a firehose that has quite a bit of power. And the last thing that I will tell you about in this paragraph is a ladder that will go 100 feet in the air, which I think is pretty cool.

In conclusion, you have learned about how to keep you an your family safer, the gear the firemen need to do what they do, and cool things about being a firefighter. I hope you liked my essay, and I hope I have a chance at winning this contest.

Derek Pekar: A Born Competitor

There’s a great deal of respect and tough love between head coach Kory Anderson and his protege Derek Pekar.

by Mira Reverente

High school senior Derek Pekar had some memorable parting gifts for his alma mater, Ventura High School – two impressive finishes at the recent CIF State Championship Finals.

The 18-year-old finished 8th in long jump and 9th in the 110m hurdles at the finals held over Memorial Day weekend in Clovis. It was Pekar’s second appearance at the state finals, with his junior year being the first.

“I’m comfortable competing,” he says, when asked if he ever gets the jitters. “I visualize a lot and watch videos of my races.”

The Ventura Tigres is a youth track and field club for boys and girls between the ages of 7-16.The season runs from Mid-February through late May/early June.-

He attributes a lot of his mental tenacity to track and field head coach Kory Anderson. “He pushes me. I wouldn’t have gotten into decathlon if not for him,” says Pekar who started running with the Ventura Tigres at age 6.

“There’s a lot of tough love definitely,” says Anderson. “But over the years, our relationship has evolved from coach-athlete to friends where there’s a great deal of respect and trust.”

Anderson was one proud coach after hearing that his star athlete earned admission to the University of Virginia this fall. “I have no doubt he’ll do really well there,” he says of his protege.

The coach describes Pekar’s work ethic and success. “He’s successful because of concentrated effort. He has done everything I’ve ever asked him to do,” says Anderson who is on his 14th year of coaching.

“He’s never anxious or stressed,” he adds. “He’s just a born competitor.”

Anderson also talked about the incredible support system the coaching staff has. “We are blessed with good athletes, parents and coaches. We are really fortunate.”

Pekar’s parents have showed nothing but all-out support for their second-born. His older brother, a Marine, also ran for Ventura High School. “Between the two of them, they’ve probably missed two meets in four years of competing in high school,” says Pekar.

Other notable showings from Ventura High School: Carlos Aviles placed 9th in shot put. Aviles is headed to Ohio State this fall. Junior Madeleine Locher came in 10th in the 3200m.

Operation Splash celebrated completion of 11th year with Family Float Night

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe.

The Ventura Aquatic Center hosted a fun event on Friday, May 31, to celebrate the completion of another successful year of Kaiser Permanente’s Operation Splash program which provides free swimming lessons for underserved youth in our community. For the past 11 years, through the Operation Splash grant, more than 400 elementary school children each year receive free swim lessons at the Kimball Aquatic Center in Ventura through the City’s PEAK afterschool program.

As the school year comes to an end, to celebrate the culmination of this year’s program, the Ventura Aquatic Center held a special private Float Night for all of the Operation Splash kids and their families. This free event provided open swim time in the main pool and activity pool for the children and their families from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and despite the chilly evening the pools were filled with laughing children – fulfilling the Operation Splash goal of making sure children are safe in the water.

The aim of the program is to teach children how to become water-safe in a fun and healthy environment and teach them that healthy activities like swimming can positively impact their health. The Operation Splash program has been a huge success here in Ventura and to help celebrate, Kaiser Permanente was on hand at the event, passing out healthy eating information and KP-branded beach balls which quickly filled the pool with a rainbow of color. Balls were bouncing back and forth as children who might not have even ventured into the pool at the beginning of the school year confidently swam back and forth tossing them to each other.

Since its inception in Ventura, Operation Splash has helped thousands of local children learn to swim. Many of the children who started in the program during the early years have gone on to become excellent swimmers, participate in competitive swimming and water polo and become junior lifeguards.

Operation Splash is part of Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Eating, Active Living, (HEAL) efforts to reduce obesity in the community by increasing opportunities for safe physical activity and access to healthy and affordable foods. Kaiser Permanente has granted nearly $7 million for Operation Splash since the program’s inception more than 12 years ago.

For more information about Kaiser Permanente’s participation in Operation Splash, please visit the web site at https://community.kp.org/about/program/operation-splash.

Ventura Police Officer of the Year

Detective Acquarelli is a crime fighter in every sense of the word.

Congratulations to Detective Michael Acquarelli for being selected as the Office of the Year for the Ventura Police Department. He has served Ventura for 13 years. During that time, he has received the Medal of Valor for his heroic life saving actions during a critical incident and he was selected as the SWAT Team Operator of the Year in 2015 and 2018. As an officer, he has worked patrol, served as a field training officer and served as a detective in the street crimes unit.

He was promoted to Corporal in 2017. During his service as a Patrol Team Corporal and Field Training Officer (FTO), he set the tone for the team. He serves as a role model in the FTO program. He motivates and works with his fellow team members to help everyone achieve their full potential.He was selected and currently serves as the Corporal in the Special Enforcement Team assigned to Gang Investigations. He is an instructor at the Police Academy. The learning domains he instructs are Criminal Law and Search and Seizure.

He leads the Ventura Police Department’s active shooter and gun violence response training for the department and the community. He often gives active shooter presentations to businesses and church groups.

Corporal Michael Acquarelli is a crime fighter in every sense of the word. He is a problem solver, mentor, teacher, team player and trainer. He works hard and gives his very best to everything he does. He has devoted his life to serving and protecting our community.

We congratulate him for a job well done!

Jeffery Lambert Director of Community Development leaves Ventura

Lamber is very happy with his new position in Oxnard.

by Richard Lieberman

Director of Community Development Jeffrey Lambert has left Ventura for a post with the city of Oxnard. Lambert was offered and accepted the position of Community Development Director for the City of Oxnard. He runs a department of approximately 65 people.

“One of the proudest moments of my whole career at Ventura City was the way we handled the rebuilding part of the Thomas fire. We made this rebuild process as easy as we could. Sixty-one percent of the homes are either in reconstruction or plan check,” said Lambert. “It’s not higher because some of the people have not begun the process,” added Lambert.

He also added it was important to find that balance of respecting neighbors and at the same time giving people flexibility in building their dream home. “ I am incredibly proud of our efforts to make this happen.” He said.

There was, and still is a tremendous amount of work to be done. Lambert and his staff worked tirelessly to make victims of this catastrophe whole again. This included meeting with homeowners at their homes and working weekends for months at a time.

Rebuilding after the Thomas fire is a process that those who have not gone through it just don’t understand. Most of the homeowners who have begun or even completed rebuilding are people who never wanted to go through the process of rebuilding. The first homeowners to complete their rebuild, Sandy and Ed Fuller were more prepared. They had recently gone through a complete remodel and therefore had plans that were up-to-date. “

“Last Friday on my day off I drove around the fire zone just because it made me feel good to see all the construction happening” he added.

When asked about the difference in compensation between Ventura and Oxnard Lambert said: “ I took a good bump to come here.” Another reason he mentioned was being stripped of the economic development department in Ventura. “I thought that was a mistake,” he added.

Adding to his accomplishments in Ventura Lambert cited the continuing revitalization of downtown as one of his proudest accomplishments for the City. “I am proud that over my term there my staff were much more focused on being facilitators than regulators to help people through the process,” he said.

“After nearly 10 years with the City of Ventura with many proud moments and accomplishments, I left Ventura for Oxnard to be part of a highly professional and visionary leadership team.  Oxnard is clearly open for business and supportive of progress and meeting the demands of its citizens and economic prosperity through public and private economic investments.  I believe the future of Oxnard is bright and I am thrilled to be part of that future. I am very happy with my decision. I still live in the Ventura and call it my home, and I wish the City well, particularly the Community Development staff I left behind who are dedicated and talented professionals doing the best they can.”

Riding the waves with Ventura’s Surfing Ambassadog, Haole Boy

Haole Boy shares a wave with athlete Jacob, during a recent AWOW event in Huntington Beach. Photo by Lynn Beeler

by Amy Brown

They say every dog has its day, and there was one day in particular that was pivotal for local pup Haole Boy, and his owners Kim and John Murphy. Haole was almost five years old and was at Mondos Beach watching John surfing, when suddenly Haole tried to get up on the board with him. The next day they brought a stand-up paddle board and Haole got right up on it and surfed like he’d been standing on a board his whole life, according to his owners.  “We didn’t even have to teach Haole Boy to surf,” says Kim. “It was amazing, we didn’t have to coach or coerce him, he was not timid or nervous, but totally comfortable. We laugh because we say he must have been a surfer in a past life.”

Haole has been wowing surfers and beach goers at local breaks like C Street and the Cove with his soul surfer stylings on 3-4 foot waves ever since, and has since been named Ventura’s official Ambassadog. He even started competing against hundreds of dogs in major Southern California dog surfing competitions over the next four years.  “Haole was always on the podium–he didn’t always win first place, although he has several times,” shares Kim. “There are a few surf dogs in the last year or two that say that Haole inspired them to learn to surf.”

Sometimes an older dog can teach others new tricks, and in that spirit Haole and his family have also been deeply committed to providing surf therapy to kids with special needs or disabilities with the A Walk On Water (AWOW) program. In 2014 Haole was six years old, and was doing a surfing exhibition at the popular Ventura Surf Rodeo event, where AWOW was doing mini expression sessions (surfing showcases with no judges or official competition).  The AWOW folks were so taken with him that they asked Haole to participate in their events moving forward. “The kids fell in love with him,” says Kim.

According to Sean Swentek, AWOW’s Executive Director, surfing is one of the most difficult sports there is, even for those with no disability or unique need. “The learning curve is very steep, and that’s partly why the reward is so great when a child catches a wave for the first time. While getting ready on the beach, Haole’s calm and safe demeanor helps our athletes feel relaxed as they anticipate what will happen at the day’s event,” says Swentek. “You’ll often hear a child who was previously nervous about surfing say something like: ‘If Haole can do it, then so can I!’”

The gentle and stalwart surfing dog has had some challenges along the way. “Haole has been battling cancer, but has had exceptional care,” says Kim. His primary care vet is Ohana in Ventura, his surgeon is Dr. Ian Holsworth at VetSurg, his internal medicine doctors are Horizon Veterinary Specialists, and he has received outstanding oncology care from Dr. Daina Budreckis with VMSG.  He is doing great, and is expected to continue to be happy and comfortable. “He’s happy, he’s surfing, he’s eating, doing everything a dog should be doing,” according to Kim.  “We try to bring Haole surfing every weekend, if not, a couple times a month.”

So keep your eyes peeled for Haole out in the waves (or on his excellent Instagram account with more than 30,000 followers), making the sport of kings look easy, and bringing smiles and spreading stoke with every wave he catches.

Six new appointments slated for Ventura

City Manager Alex Mcintyre announces six new appointments.

by Richard Lieberman

Alex Mcintyre Ventura City Manager announced six new appointments to the executive staff. The appointments include assistant city manager, deputy city manager, community development director, finance and technology director, public works director, and Ventura water general manager.

This past January Alex McIntyre committed to complete the hiring of an executive team by June, the new hires will begin their roles next month. Filling these positions was part of the city council’s goal to strengthen and stabilize the executive team.

“These experienced managers stood out in their fields as leaders and professionals,” said McIntyre. “Their talent and, management skills will help the City achieve our current goals, focus on the future and emphasize excellent services to our residents,” he added.

These newly appointed managers will complete the City’s 12-member executive team.

The new executive team members include:

Community Development Director Peter Gilli. He has more than 20 years of experience serving as Deputy Director of Community Development, Acting Planning Manager, Zoning Administrator, and Senior Planner during his tenure with the cities of Thousand Oaks, Santa Maria, Mountain View, Cupertino, and San Jose. The Community Development Director oversees more than 42 employees who are responsible for planning and zoning, building and safety, code enforcement and housing and redevelopment.

Assistant City Manager Akbar Alikhan appointed to the position after a national search. He is a Ventura County native and recently worked as General Manager for Channel Island Beach Community Services District for two years, prior to that he worked with Raftelis Financial Consultants, where he provided financial planning and utility rate consulting services to agencies throughout the state.

Alikhan will oversee three City department operations including Community Development, Public Works and Ventura Water.

Deputy City Manager Barry Fisher will fill a newly created position of permanent Deputy City Manager. Mr. Fisher has served as the acting Assistant City Manager.

Fisher will oversee the offices of Economic Development, Safe & Clean, Communications, and Disaster Preparedness. He will also manage the City’s state and federal legislative programs.

Finance and Technology Director Michael Coon has served as City Manager of Richwood Texas for two years and Assistant to the City Manager in the city of Lake Jackson before that he started his career with the City of San Antonio, Texas Office of Management and budget.

Coon will be responsible for for the development and oversight of the City’s $301 million budget

Phillip Nelson has been appointed Public Works Director. He has more than 30 years of engineering services experience in the private and public sectors. During his tenure with the County of Ventura, he served as manager of facilities projects, director of facilities and engineering, director of engineering services and director of planning and facilities, among other assignments.

The Public Works Director oversees more than 90 employees who design, construct, inspect, improve and maintain the City’s infrastructure, including traffic lights, sidewalks, street lights, roadways, land development, solid waste, stormwater, and parking operations.

Susan Rungren has been promoted to Ventura Water general manager. She has been serving as interim general manager since January. Prior to that, she has served as Ventura Water Assistant General Manager.

Rungren will manage a staff of 108 full-time employees. She will oversee the water and wastewater operations, and work to meet long term water supplies.

Alex McIntyre “The past 18 months have been a turbulent time for the City,” said McIntyre. “These important changes in leadership will provide the necessary settling affect the city needs right now,” he added.

Local charter school offers different place of learning

Evin Brown has been at the school since second grade.

by Rebecca Wicks

Ventura Charter School for Arts and Global Education is a progressive school. It’s the kind of school where students call teachers by their first name. It’s the kind of school that doesn’t just worry about how students learn, but about their emotional, physical and social well-being. It’s the kind of school that allows teachers a lot of control over what they teach. And, it’s exactly the kind of school founders Mary Galvin, Lisa Hildebrand and other teachers envisioned when they left the Open Classroom program at Blanche Reynolds to start the charter school.

“We wanted more autonomy in terms of what we were teaching and how we were being administered,” said Galvin who serves as the school’s director of operations. “We wanted to build a school that was relationship-based, a place with hands-on learning, where students really engage and grapple with issues and problems.”

Galvin, Hilderbrand and others were originally denied authorization to form a school by the Ventura Unified School District, which allowed them to go to the Ventura County of Education. The County approved the charter school in 2006. Today the charter school is a K-8 public school of choice which means it does not charge tuition. While the school rents the space from the local school district – it shares a campus with DATA Middle School on Ventura Avenue – it is independent from the district.

Galvin admits the school is at capacity at this point with 415 students and 25 homeschool students, but has no current plans to move. The school after all, promotes itself as a “small school” with a “big experience.” Part of that experience is one that works to foster a different way for students to look at themselves.

“We don’t like to hear anyone say they are ‘horrible’ at math,” explained Galvin. “We try to help students understand they may struggle, but an overwhelming task can be broken down into bits and pieces. We work hard to build a growth mindset and perseverance.”

This idea of support and critical friend groups abound in everything from writing projects to artistic endeavors where students are encouraged to create multiple drafts and edits of their work. Similarly, the school works to teach students conflict resolution skills and how to express their feelings beyond being mad or sad.

“You’ll find our students use complex language if they are in a conflict,” said Galvin. “It’s part of how we want them to embrace our inquiry-based learning and learn about and to be leaders in their community.”

The school has become a popular choice for many families in Ventura who have to submit an application in late February for the following fall school year. Once applications are collected, places for admission are granted through a lottery.

Eighth grader Evin Brown has been at the school since second grade. The 14-year-old’s favorite subjects are history and science. He enjoys that that school is smaller.

“Everyone is friendly,” said Brown. “We work in groups a lot of the time and have a lot of projects, which can make learning a little easier.”

Brown participated in the school’s PHD, or Project of Your Heart’s Desire. In the program, every 8th grader spends months working on a project they are passionate about. Brown decided to do his project on how a newspaper is created and published, using his grandfather Sheldon Brown, the publisher of the Ventura Breeze as his mentor and main resource.

“ I learned how to create and publish a newsletter. It was fun and I learned a lot.”

Award-winning innovative program provides showers for the homeless

by Jill Forman

“Hygiene restores dignity and restores hope” says Deanna Handel, describing the shower component of the Ventura Health Care Agency’s program for the homeless, which is an “opportunity to extend the front door of the health care system out into the community. This is cutting edge work, a pilot program; not many communities deliver health care this way.”

Handel, manager of the program called Whole Person Care, speaks with passion about the its mission. And she is quick to point out that her outlook is shared by the entire staff. “They need to be welcoming and engaging; invite the clients in.”

Whole Person Care has been delivered by One Stop, weekly outreach events with multiple agencies offering assistance in areas such as housing, mental health services, medical referrals, drug and alcohol counseling, lunches, and so on. Many persons in the community have numerous service needs and barriers to getting those needs met, for example disability, mental health issues, or lack of transportation. By having services in one place, the hope is that they can connect with agencies and individuals to assist them. One Stop has many locations throughout the county. Showers are the latest component in offering more complete assistance.

Care Pods, the shower element, has been in place since December of 2017. They are made from container units which can be put on a truck and taken to locations. Made of steel, they are resistant to damage or vandalism. Fully self-contained units, they hook to city water with a hose. At this time, they stay in one location and are opened on a regular schedule. They each contain four showers, including an ADA-approved unit for the disabled. The company is local, founded by Vernon Alstot, a retired Ventura Fire Department executive who not only had experience with showers for fire personnel, but also brought relationships with local cities and organizations that were helpful to the Health Care Agency.

Relationships with communities and law enforcement have been key to the implementation of the Whole Person concept, engaging cities and law enforcement, getting everyone one board to find an appropriate location. There needs to be “careful conversations” to include everyone’s perspective. The Health Care Agency relies on city staff and law enforcement to be ambassadors to their communities. Law enforcement works with these individuals every day and knows the barriers they face to getting appropriate services.

The two locations currently with Care Pods are River Haven in Ventura and at the El Buen Pastor Church in Santa Paula. The Ventura site currently serves an average of 25 persons on a weekly schedule, though it has been as many as 41 in a day, and has provided 1700 showers total. The Santa Paula site serves 20-30 persons a week and has provided 1400 showers. HCA is in talks to expand to two more locations; there is funding for six units.

The program recently won a statewide award from the California Association of Public Hospitals – Safety Net Institute, a statewide advocacy body. The Quality Leaders Award recognized their outstanding effort to administer team-based, right place-right time care. A highly competitive award, it was “a real honor.”

Handel is proud of the program and has high praise for the staff and volunteers. The philosophy is centered on friendly workers: community health, professionals, medical staff and volunteers who give care that is compassionate and non-stigmatizing. “All staff really care about the clients. They are amazing.”

For more information visit www.carepodz.com.

Ventura Harbor Village celebrates Pirates Day

Be sure to protect your jewels from these pirates.

Yo ho, yo ho all ye landlubbers and buccaneers! Ventura Harbor Village is ready to hoist the flag for the 14th annual Pirates Day on Saturday, June 1, from 11:00am – 4:00pm around the theme Ahoy Me Hearties! Yo Ho! Pirates Day 2019 offers guests an unforgettable voyage around the Village featuring pirate characters, entertainment, activities, and photo opportunities around every corner.

Admission for Pirates Day is free. It’s best to arrive early to find free parking in the Village or jump on the complimentary shuttle service from the overflow lot on Harbor Blvd and Schooner Drive, running from 11am to 6pm!

For one day only, venture along the waterfront to find pirates in sword fights by professional Pirates for Hire, mermaids, treasure, exotic birds, live music, rum drinks, and pirate eats. Keep an eye out for Reece Ryan’s on-land Kids Pirate Ship, Captain Jack, Hook, Shmee, & Tink (look-a-likes), and strolling pirate musicians. Games are back and better than ever – take a ride on the bucking shark, jump on the inflatable kracken, kids can enjoy the new Rockin’ Pirate Ship, and more. Visit Port Royal Privateers’ historical encampment and shop at the vendor booths for pirate ware and nautical-themed loot. Hold tropical birds, snap a photo at themed selfie-stations, and stop for face painting or henna body art.

Everyone is encouraged to come dressed in their best pirate garb! Strut in the Pirates Day costume contests held throughout the day for different age brackets. Pirates up to 12 years old partake in the Kids Treasure Hunt ($5) leading to a magical treasure trove and free pirate craft activities.

For grog and grub, Village restaurants offer a variety of cuisine for hungry crews; including roasted turkey legs and rum specials. Live entertainment will range from Steel Drummers to the Sword Coast Medieval Fighters Club. Ventura Harbor Pirates Day gives you a chance to get in your best piratical gear and wander by the sea to interact with pirates and gypsies of all ages.

Admission and parking for Pirates Day 2019 are free. Ventura Harbor Village is located 1583 Spinnaker Drive off of Harbor Blvd. Do not miss this treasure-trove of excitement by the sea.