On Friday, June 10, thousands of bicycles arrived in Ventura and stayed at the San Buenaventura State Beach. More than 2,400 cyclists and 600 volunteer “roadies” continued their 7-day, 545-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles on Friday, June 10, beginning in Lompoc to Ventura. AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully-supported, seven-day bike ride. It’s a life-changing ride, not a race.
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County of Ventura in honor of Pride Month raises Progress Pride Flag
Progress Pride Flag raised. Photos by Richard Lieberman
The second annual Progress Pride Flag raising was held on June 9t at the Government Center in Ventura located at 800 S Victoria Ave. The flag raising was in support of the LGBQT+ community. The pride flag will be displayed throughout the month at several county facilities. Pride month is to acknowledge the courage and history of the LGBTQ community.
Speakers included Steven Auclair with the County’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office, Interim County Executive Officer Dr. Sevet Johnson, Supervisor Matt LaVere and Genevieve Flores-Haro with the Diversity Collective.
Corporal Eric Vazquez recognized as Officer of the Year
Corporal Vazquez started with VPD as a police officer trainee in 2006.
During National Police Week, happening May 15-21, 2022, the Ventura Police Department (VPD) recognizes the courageous police officers who’ve selflessly sworn to protect and serve Ventura and honors Corporal Eric Vazquez as the Officer of the Year.
“Corporal Eric Vazquez brings an incredibly positive attitude and work ethic to our team,” said Sergeant Mike Acquarelli. “Vazquez makes an effort to connect with and mentor younger officers and holds a variety of collateral assignments further developing his professional and leadership skills. He is truly an outstanding representative of our agency and the City of Ventura as a whole.”
Corporal Vazquez started with VPD as a police officer trainee in 2006 and has held assignments in patrol, gang prevention, major crimes, the Communications Center, and the Patrol Task Force. He is also a Field Training Officer and a member of the SWAT team. He was promoted to Corporal in 2017 and will be promoted to Sergeant in May 2022.
“I am extremely proud of our team of officers who’ve dedicated their lives to Ventura’s safety,” said Police Chief Darin Schindler. “Our officers provide exceptional service with integrity, respect, and professionalism, and I am proud to lead an agency that is compassionate and dedicated to public safety. Their great work does not go unnoticed!”
National Police Week is also a time to honor those fallen officers who have given their lives in the line of duty, including the loss of Ventura Police Sergeant Darlon “Dee” Dowell who was tragically killed on August 7, 1978. The street in which the Ventura Police headquarters is located was named Dowell Drive in his honor.
Currently, VPD has 137 sworn officers who have completed an intensive 6-month training academy, a 6-month field training program, and a one-year probationary period.
The Ventura Police Department is currently hiring lateral, academy-trained officers, as well as police officer trainees. For more information about the Ventura Police Department recruitment and hiring process, visit www.VenturaPoliceJobs.org.
What is Plein Art Painting?
The before and after photos are Andrea Vargas from New Mexico and Maddi Simpson from Ventura. Photos by Patricia Schallert
by Patricia Schallert
“En Plein air” is a French expression that means “in the open air”. It is used by artists to describe the art of outdoor painting, capturing landscapes, sunsets, bodies of water and majestic views. Santa Cruz Island fit the description perfectly.
Saturday morning, May 21st brought a group of artists to the Island Packers boat launch for a one-of-a-kind adventure to Santa Cruz Island to paint with esteemed artist Margaret Garcia. Unfortunately, Margaret Garcia was unable to go but her replacement, Renee Tallent , Ventura coordinator for the Arts from the County of Ventura Museum was able to take the lead in making sure the experience would go on.
Roberto Vargas, Latino Advisory committee joined the group and was instrumental in helping the artists get to know each other once they arrived on the Island. From there, the artists went their separate ways and found a variety of locations to create their open-air art and as Claudia Soto enthusiastically said, “We will let the art unfold”.
Upon returning to Ventura Harbor, several of the artists said, “It was like being in a different world.” There were no cellphone or Wi-Fi distractions and Andrea Vargas, from New Mexico said “We could just stay focused on our art.” Others commented that they could go slow as they were inspired by the beauty of Santa Cruz Island with its incredible weather and beautiful scenery.” When asked if they would do this again, a resounding “absolutely” was the answer.
Ventura Police Department hosts “Coffee with a Cop”
by Richard Lieberman
A Coffee with a Cop event on May 19th was held at Starbucks located at 4710 Telephone Road in Ventura. The event offered an informal milieu for the community and the cops to discuss concerns within the community. The Coffee with a Cop event focused on the departments wellness initiative and included time to meet with Asher, the VPD’s new comfort dog.
“With the extreme emotional demands and regular exposure to trauma many first responders endure, we hope we can play a role in changing the culture and fighting the stigma associated with mental health,” said Police Chief Darin Schindler.
The theme for this public meeting was “Together for Mental Help,” a theme that the Ventura Police Department will continue to develop in the months and years to come.
Coffee with a Cop meetings hope to break down the barriers between citizens and police in an informal relaxed environment.
This year, Ventura Police Department has partnered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and is looking to raise awareness and raise funds for their various initiatives.
Maya Bumaya, co-founder of First Responders for mental Health Initiatives and NAMI board member said “We are partnering with the Ventura Police Department to raise mental health awareness and funds for NAMI. Interaction with law enforcement occurs during emergency and highly emotionally charged situations. These meetings and subsequent on-going meetings will focus on breaking down communication barriers between the police and the public. These informal meetings allow for a more comfortable and relaxed one-on-one forum to solidify relations between citizens and the police.”
“This is about the twelfth pop-up we have had in the county to raise awareness,” she said. “Ventura Police Department did a wonderful job in promoting the event, they have a lot of supporters out here,” she added. “We have had several events of this type all over the county.” She also added “It has been great working with our first responders to raise mental health awareness. It is an important topic right now,”
“I want to say thank you to all the first responders’ teams countywide they really made it possible for NAMI to keep programs going throughout the year. Last year the fund-raising goal was $100,000 and first responder teams raised about $67,000 of that. Really important to raise awareness the suicide rate among our community and the first responders are extremely high and we really need to do something about that,” added Bumaya.
Ventura City Council Member Jeanette Sanchez-Palacios was in attendance and said “Especially during the tough last couple of years through the pandemic, isolation and having to quarantine that affects people and I think it is great to make mental health something that is normal,” She added “people should not feel a stigma when addressing mental health this to me is very important and we should normalize it.”
Free Adaawe Concert in Mission Park on July 27th
“It’s a thrill for us downtown to have the Ventura Music Festival present a great band in a great event,” Downtown Ventura Partners Executive Kevin Clerici said
The music of Adaawe, an all-female, LA-based vocal and drumming band, springs from West African roots and is nourished by gospel harmonies and American funk for a contemporary world-fusion sound. The concert is made possible by a grant to the Ventura Music Festival from the Barbara Bernard Smith World Music Fund.
Originally set for July 2020 and among the scores of Covid-cancelled performances worldwide, VMF Executive Susan Scott reports excitement growing anew among both artists and festival-goers since confirming Mission Park as the venue. “We’re committed to building community through music,” Scott said, “and opening with a free Concert in the Park mid-week seems a perfect way to launch the 27th season festival and the six concerts that follow.”
The mission of the Ventura Music Festival is to build community through world-class music and create an inclusive, welcoming environment in which people both see and hear themselves reflected in the music.
Students from VUSD presented proposals to reduce their schools’ environmental footprint
The event began with the 16 finalist teams presenting to a panel of judges.
On Thursday May 5th, forty-five 7th-12th-grade students from Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) presented their environmental business proposals to a panel of judges. Students chose their project from 4 categories: Water Conservation, Energy Efficiency, Waste Reduction at their school campuses, or to inform their communities about the benefits of removing the relic Matilija Dam from the Ventura River. The event took place at the Museum of Ventura County, in downtown Ventura, from 4 -7 pm. The keynote speaker for the event was Chipper Bro, Environmental Advocate, Professional Surfer, and 13-time Frisbee World Champion.
The event began with the 16 finalist teams presenting to a panel of judges who ranked the proposals based on merit and cost effectiveness. First place in the Energy Efficiency category was awarded to the “Electric Warriors” Team from Ventura High School, Ms. Miyata’s class. In the Water Conservation category, top prize went to “Project Motion Sensor” team from Ms. Mendez’s class at Anacapa Middle School. In the Waste Reduction category, the first-place prize went to “Recycling at Buena” team from Mr. Yorke’s class at Buena High School. In the last category, Matilija Dam removal, the top team was “Give a Dam” from Mr. Yorke’s class at Buena High School.
The EECCOA Challenge Awards Ceremony is the culmination of the 9 month-long Ventura Action Network (V-RAN) Program administered by VUSD in partnership with the MERITO Foundation. The following schools participated in the 2021-2022 V-RAN program: Buena High School, Anacapa Middle School, Ventura High School, Foothill High School; Balboa Middle School, Cabrillo Middle School; and Sunset K-8.
In addition to the EECCOA Challenge, the Ventura Action Network (V-RAN) Program provides professional development field training, webinars, science curriculum and stipends to science teachers, as well as, environmental monitoring experiences for their 600-750 middle and high school students each year at Ventura River watershed and the coast.
The MERITO Foundation is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization based in Ventura, CA, dedicated to protecting the ocean by facilitating education, conservation and scientific research opportunities to multicultural youth and their communities. The EECCOA Challenge empowers students to be environmental entrepreneurs by providing them with the tools to understand climate change, ocean acidification, drought and wildfires and address these issues with money saving project proposals for their school campuses. Students are also given the option to develop awareness campaigns that inform and involve their communities.
Housing Trust Fund Ventura County announces $2 million in lines of credit
The Westview II units are located in Ventura.
Housing Trust Fund Ventura County (Housing Trust Fund VC) announces two, $1 million lines of credit (LOC), one each from Community West Bank and Mission Bank. The funds will be used as part of Housing Trust Fund VC’s Everyone Deserves a Home revolving loan fund, a community impact note that provides flexible, below market interest rate loans for the development of affordable housing in Ventura County. Three upcoming developments that will receive funding are a new pre-development loan for Fillmore Terrace being developed by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation (PSHHC), a GAP loan for Mesa Ojai being purchased by Mesa, and a construction loan to the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) for Westview II.
The LOCs provided by Community West Bank and Mission Bank join a pool of funds from other public and private investors, sponsors, and donors to provide lending capital in support of Housing Trust Fund VC’s Community Promise of building safe and equitable homes in Ventura County. Brian Schwabecher, Chief Banking Officer of Community West Bank stated, “Community West Bank is proud to support Housing Trust Fund Ventura County with financing for their housing initiatives, and we’re also honored to help sponsor the Everyone Deserves a Home Compassion Campaign event on May 12.” The nonprofit’s annual fundraiser takes on a unique twist this year as a guest immersive experience shining light on housing equity as told through the lives of connected individuals.
Please visit: www.housingtrustfundvc.org/compassioncampaign2022 to learn more.
The construction loan for Westview II (which will provide 50 homes to low-income and homeless seniors), were pulled from a pool of investments from Bank of the Sierra, Mission Bank and Community West Bank, and were provided to the developers at below market interest rates and reduced fees to help the developments move to the next phase of development.
“We are excited to build on our Community Promise of funding affordable homes with the support of both Community West Bank’s and Mission Bank’s generous lines of credit, which allow us to continue funding impactful developments,” states Housing Trust Fund VC CEO Linda Braunschweiger.
As of April 1, 2022, Housing Trust Fund VC has invested over $22.3 million through its revolving loan fund, creating 870 affordable apartments and homes for very-low, low- and middle-income employees, transitional age foster youth, veterans, farm workers, and the homeless.
Happy 13th Anniversary to The Ladies Luncheon
by Laurie Ann Meyer
The Ladies Luncheon began as a women’s networking group in 2009. Over the past 13 years, it has transformed into an opportunity for women to experience connection, community, and support.
Together we have/continue to foster a safe space for achieving common goals and developing lifelong friendships.
Whether you own a business and want to network or you attend to be a part of a warm group, we always have fun, laugh a lot, and raffle great prizes!
I will share how/why I started The Ladies Luncheon in order to help ladies, and to meet at a convenient lunchtime hour. Please join us to celebrate 13 years of creating connections, community and empowering women in business. Thank you!
Come join us at on June 2nd, 2022, at The Greek Mediterranean Steak & Seafood Restaurant at the Ventura Harbor from 11:30am-1:00pm. Please go to: www.theladiesluncheon.com to register! See you all very soon!
Hey, You’ve Got MAIL! MAIL ART we mean.
Imagine sending in a piece of art through the mail, and then having it displayed in a museum, online, and in local venues. That’s happening in Ventura right now.
The ARTLIFE INC. Foundation is holding its annual MAIL ART Exhibit.
Hundreds of artists throughout the world have submitted over 200 pieces of art in a small 6” x 9“ format with all kinds of imagery and it must come through the mail!
We will show these works at the Museum of Ventura County on Saturday June 4 at 100 E. Main Street, Ventura, 2 to 5 pm. The Public is invited. Admission is free.
After that, various venues throughout Ventura County will display our frames of MAIL ART in their stores and businesses for about a month. ((NAMBA, Stephen’s Grill, House of Rio, and other places)
Check out our website to see the entries online : https://artlifefoundation.org/