Category Archives: Home Page Links

City Center held an open house event for current and past residents

Jim Duran welcomed all and was ready to serve food with the residents.

by Richard Lieberman

August 18, 2022, an open house event was held at the City Center in Ventura. Jim Duran the lead pastor of the River Community Church founded by Duran and his team in 2004 is the Executive Director of the City Center.

The City Center is a transitional living facility for homeless individuals and families giving them the needed skills and tools to rebuild their lives and gets them on the road to self-sufficiency and healing. The event held at the City Center, 837 East Thompson Blvd. iwas attended by several Ventura dignitaries including Sabrena Rodriguez, Ventura Unified School District, School Board, Doug Halter Ventura City Council Member, Alex McIntyre, Ventura City Manager and Sergeant Michael Anselmo, Ventura Police Department.

To be considered for the City Center program individuals or families must complete an application process. “We ask pretty simple questions there are only about nine questions we require,” Duran said. “We ask them how long they have been free from drugs and alcohol and if they say less than six months then we do another program with them.” Added Duran. “They have to be willing to work that is really the bottom line, they have to be willing to get out of the situation they are in, get their kids out of the situation, “he added. Some of the requirements include the potential resident’s willingness to get out of debt and be alcohol and drug free in order to be considered for the program. The center helps by working out programs that will help the potential resident get off government funding, and programs that help with drug or alcohol addiction.

“We have a curfew we do random drug testing unlike our shelter here in Ventura which is called a low barrier shelter so if I get in the shelter, I can eat a few meals then I can go out and get wasted and as long as I am back by curfew, I am good.” Duran added. “How is that helping anyone.” He spoke. The Center in the last eight years has helped 108 families and 304 individuals to get permanent housing and of all the graduates of the program 95% have never gone back into homelessness.

The Center also offers help by having several classes for resident’s that range from how to build a resume to financial coaching. Several businesses in our area have been willing to give the Center’s residents an opportunity at gainful employment.

City Council Member Doug Halter was in attendance. “The City Center is probably the most successful model of how to get people off the streets.” Halter said. “City Center is essential for this city.” He added.

Sponsorship for housing a family costs $7,500 and covers the cost of housing for up to a year.

Aloha Beach Festival gives back to the community

On Sept. 3 & 4, the 14th annual Aloha Beach Festival was held at Promenade Park Surfers Point in Ventura. The event featured live entertainment, surfing, arts & crafts, food and beer, Hawaiian dancers and the C-Street Classic surf competition.

John Brooks and Chipper Bell are all smiles at the Festival. Photos by Patricia Schallert

It is the brainchild of Chipper “Bro” Bell, a 12-time world Frisbee champion. The Aloha Beach Festival was designed to give back to our local social and environmental organizations. Chipper and his family each year choose a charity organization and they volunteer for them for one year. Each
year the Festival has grown in size and scope and brings the community together to share the aloha spirit. This year’s proceeds went to benefit the Merito Foundation.

 

The Ventura Police Department unveils cold cases homicide details online

With over 25 cold cases including homicide, missing persons, and unidentified deceased individuals stemming from 1970 to 2018, the Ventura Police Department has released a webpage with the basics of each case hoping the public can assist in filling information gaps. The webpage can be found at www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/ColdCases.

“We have a commitment to the victims of these crimes; their families have waited a long time for answers and by sharing information, this brings a little hope,” said Major Crimes Detective Sergeant Bill Dolan. “Every tip that is shared, no matter how small, has the potential of being the missing piece of information.”

The webpage provides short summaries of unsolved cases that occurred within the Ventura Police Department’s jurisdiction. The webpage will be updated routinely with other cold case information as more details become available.

The Ventura Police Department has created this webpage with the hope new information will be received to further the investigations into these cases and bring closure to families and loved ones. The webpage also serves as a tribute to those who have lost their lives but have not been forgotten.

The Ventura Police Department remains steadfast in bringing justice to the victims and their families, no matter how much time has passed.

Any new information can be provided via email at [email protected]. You can also make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. If your information leads to an arrest you could receive up to $1000.

What better way to learn about local food than to experience it first hand?

The Taste of Local is Back!

Totally Local VC the Farm to Fork experts invites you to join them at this years

4th Annual Taste of Local event on Sunday, Sept 11, at the beautiful lawns of Ventura County Credit Unions Corporate office in Ventura. All food and samples are included in the admission price.

The Taste of Local is about bringing together farmers, chefs and community to celebrate our local harvest and the diversity of great food we have right here in Ventura County. It’s sure to be the epicurean event of the year! Over 60 area chefs, wineries, brewers, farmers and purveyors are expected to showcase their expertise during the 4th annual Taste of Local event.

Ventura County agriculture helps to feed our community and the world.

Ventura County is one of the top agricultural producers in the world and that translates into one of the best cuisine scenes that Californian has to offer. Locally grown, locally produced and locally owned are some of the key ingredients at the Taste of Local Festival. Guests have an opportunity to meet and chat with chefs, farmers and purveyors as they taste and learn about the bounty that is Ventura County.

Stop in to booths like the locally grown build your own strawberry short cake bar. Sponsored by the California Strawberry commission, Limoneira lemonade stand and our locally sourced grazing stations.

Taste, sample and sit back and enjoy the sounds of the Rose Valley Thorns and Spencer the Gardener

The Taste of Local showcases local brewers at its “Home Brew Challenge”. Guests sample and vote for there favorites as local brewers compete for top awards for the best home brews in the county.

Competing Ventura County bartenders will craft drinks from local grown ingredients. Attendees will sip (sample size) cocktails made from local farm-fresh ingredients and vote for their favorite. The winning cocktail will be crowned Ventura Counties signature cocktail and be featured at local restaurants throughout Ventura County.Edible Ojai, Ventura County magazine hosts the Farm to Fork Education Tent!

Don’t miss the workshops hosted by some of very own local experts!

We always offer a diverse selection of workshops at the event such as Brewing 101, Coffee Bean to Cup and cooking demos by Sweet Arleen’s.

Ventura County is known as one of the top agricultural producers in the world and that translates into one of the best cuisine scenes that California has to offer. Locally grown, locally produced and locally owned are some of the key ingredients in this year’s Taste of Local event.

More information on the Taste of Local:

https://totallylocalvc.com/taste-of-local-festival About Totally Local VC’s Agricultural Education Foundation.

 

What it means to be a FireWise Community

The fire consumed over 1,000 structures.

by Jill Sarick Santos

This December marks five years since the Thomas Fire stormed through Ventura County at record speed and, at the time, resulted in record devastation. The fire consumed over 1,000 structures and burned nearly 300,000 acres. While our community has worked hard these last five years to be better prepared, there still is much more work to do. Fire Safe Councils (FSCs) are grassroots, community-led organizations that mobilize residents to protect their homes, communities, and environments from catastrophic wildfire. In Ventura County, there are several established and some emerging FSCs, all with a common goal: to help ensure our communities are fire safe.

The Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council (VRFSC) was established by concerned property and business owners in 2009, incorporating as a 501c3 in 2010. The Council remained relatively small until 2020 when they received funding from California Fire Safe Council and CalFire. Since then, the VRFSC has grown to a staff of eight who report to nine board of directors. The mission of the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council is to reduce the threat of wildfire to our community, through action, education and collaboration. We achieve this through our three main programs which include, home hardening, coordinating Community Wildfire Protection Planning (CWPP) efforts, and organizing fuel reduction and mitigation activities.

Our Home Hardening Program offers free home hardening assessments that guide homeowners in a range of actions they can take to mitigate their risk. These actions range from zero to low cost with minimal effort, all the way to more expensive and elaborate retrofits. According to the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS), home hardening actions can reduce a property’s risk for ignition by almost 90%1. The assessments are currently being studied by the insurance industry in hopes that actions taken could translate into more equitable homeowner insurance premium affordability.

Building upon the education and awareness that the Home Hardening program inspires, the Council also coordinates fuels mitigation work, including curbside chipper events for residents. Additionally, the Council is actively identifying strategies that would offer incentives to a homeowner when retrofitting their property to “harden it” from wildfire.

Finally, FSCs work collaboratively across a variety of stakeholder and decision-making forums to update and/or create Community Wildfire Protection Plans (CWPP), which help identify risks and priority mitigation projects.

Once the evacuation orders are issued, it is the goal of the VRFSC that we’ve done our due diligence to ensure that residents are confidently prepared to leave their homes calmly and trust that their structure will survive. This will free up emergency response personnel to focus on their critical work of saving lives and infrastructure. Together, we all can learn to adapt to and live as a FireWise Community.

To learn more, visit the Ventura County Fire Department’s Ready-Set-Go page. Homeowners located in the cities of Ventura, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark and Oxnard/Port Hueneme can register online for a free home hardening assessment.

Jill Sarick Santos has led community-based environmental outreach efforts for nearly 30 years and is the Executive Director of the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council.

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A “Notable Women in Aviation” exhibit will remain permanently on display

Wings Over Camarillo was much more than airplanes. Photos by Yana Khiyod and Patricia Schallert

The premier air show on the central coast of California, Wings Over Camarillo, returned for its 41st year on Saturday, August 20, and Sunday, August 21. This aviation-themed, highly entertaining, and educational event featured aerobatic performances, parachute teams, military aircraft, helicopter rides, classic car show, STEM pavilion and food and drink. Held at the Camarillo Airport it celebrated Women in Aviation. It was presented by the Oxnard Auto Center.

 

A “Notable Women in Aviation” exhibit, that will remain permanently on display in the Commemorative Air Force Hangar, was introduced this year. The display includes a timeline of women’s firsts in aviation history, beginning with Jeanne Labrosse of France, the first woman to pilot any aircraft solo—a balloon—in 1798, and ending with Jessica Watkins, the first African American female astronaut at the International Space Station 2022.

Wings Over Camarillo is presented by Camarillo Wings Association(CWA) that promotes aviation and its heritage, while inspiring youth with aviation related programs, education and leadership opportunities.

CWA has donated over $521,000 in the past 11 years to local non-profits, promoting youth in science and aviation. “I want everybody to have fun,” said Bill Thomas, Wings Over Camarillo air boss. Two distinguished local aviators lead the event as grand marshals: CDR Colette Lazenka and Martha Phillips.

 

It’s a Tiki Party at Cypress Place Senior Living

A Polynesian dancer performs at a past event at Cypress Place Senior Living. Courtesy photo 

Cypress Place Senior Living will host a festive Tiki Party complete with Hawaiian music and dancers, Tiki bar, and appetizers. Residents, families, and friends of the community are welcome to attend. The event is free to the public.

Festivities take place from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday August 17, 2022. Space is limited and an RSVP is required to attend.

Come in your favorite tropical shirts and dresses and meet the residents and other local community members while enjoying the tropical paradise of Cypress Place Senior Living.

Cypress Place Senior Living is a premiere senior community in Ventura County. The beautiful senior living campus features an Active Senior Living community and adjacent Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s/Dementia Care community connected by a lushly landscaped courtyard.

This safe, loving environment offers residents a continuum of care through life’s transitions. Amenities include three meals daily, weekly housekeeping, transportation, activities, utilities, as well as personal caregivers and laundry service in the Assisted Living and Memory Care communities.

Cypress Place Senior Living is located at 1200/1220 Cypress Point Lane in Ventura. For more information or to RSVP, please call 805-650-8000.

To learn more about Cypress Place Senior Living of Ventura, visit their web site at www.cypressplaceseniorliving.com.

Person To Person

Community Memorial Hospital’s CCU/ICU Nurse’s Reunion
by Jennifer Tipton

On Saturday, July 30th a group of old CMH nurses (not that any of us are old) gathered at the very lovely home of one of our own, Andrea Ricketts. Many hadn’t seen each other for years, so it was indeed a celebration! I am honored to have worked with these outstanding nurses, and when asked to share the event with the Ventura Breeze readers, I thought—let’s do it Person to Person style!

I asked six of the best CCU/ICU nurses:
“What’s your fondest memory of working in the unit at CMH?”

Andrea Ricketts
1986-2002 / returning 2008-present
“Caring for a young woman with Guillain-Barre syndrome; the young woman was the mother of two and ended up needing a ventilator to breathe. Because she couldn’t move her extremities, I laid the babies on their mother’s chest and picked up her arms to wrap around them. There were tears coming down her face and I knew how much it meant to her to hold them.”
(Author’s note: Guillain-Barre is a rare but serious autoimmune disorder with a rapid-onset of muscle weakness. It damages the peripheral nervous system, beginning in the extremities and progresses until it eventually affects the patient’s ability to breathe.)

Sonia Rieder
1996-present
“My favorite memory is when I met and married Randy, a physical therapist. He was working with my patient in ICU bed 8 and the patient had multiple IV lines. He asked me to help because he didn’t want to mess up my lines. Most PTs just go in and mess up everybody’s lines, but he was so thoughtful!”

Shirley Barela
1980-present (Forty-two years in the unit and still going!)
“Taking care of a young guy with a heart valve repair. The surgery started at 7:30 a.m. and didn’t end until midnight. He was on a ventricular assist device when I got him at midnight, it was 1982. I found out later that he died in that same room after his last surgery. He was waiting for a heart transplant.”

Merci Buhain
1982-2018
“Taking care of a patient that was over 400 pounds in ICU bed 7 (you know-the one that’s haunted). I had to use a footstool to stand on and needed help turning him. He was also on isolation, so we had to gown up every time we went in the room. I had him two nights in a row for continuity of care, and I remember crying at the end of my shift both times. He recovered and got discharged.”
(Author’s note: Didn’t I say fondest memory? But hey, at least this one retired and now happily takes care of her grandkids!)

Carolyn Estrada
1977-2008
“My favorite memory is when the nightshift nurses advocated for a twenty-five-year-old woman with cardiomyopathy. Her heart was so weak that the physicians said there was nothing they could do—she was done. But the nurses said no! We’ve got to save her! Because the nurses insisted, they put her on a ventricular assist device and sent her to UCLA. She came back several months later and said that she didn’t remember any of us, but thanked us for saving her life. She had fully recovered without needing a heart transplant. Even the physician had tears in his eyes. I am so thankful to have worked with so many nurses that truly cared about their patients, it can be a life changing event.”

Sue Kulpaca
1986-2005 / returning 2017-present
“I cared for the first HIV patient we had. He was in ICU bed 6 and because the rooms for bed 6 and bed 7 were connected, we used the room for bed 7 to change. We had to gown up for the HIV isolation room, with shoe covers and the whole bit. I took care of him every time I was on because no one wanted to. The curtain to the room was always wide open and it was like a fishbowl. When the patient’s partner came to visit, they had no privacy, so I finally closed the curtain to let them have some time together. Tearful. Close to my heart with a gay brother. So sad the way we treat some…”

I had a similar experience. In those days we knew so little about HIV/AIDS that many of us were frightened by it. You can read about it in my upcoming book:

“Off The Chart – A Nurse’s Journey of Heart and Humor.”

NAWBO celebrating members

Seana-Marie Sesma

The Ventura County Chapter of The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO-VC) is celebrating Seana-Marie Sesma, founder of Your PR Girls and Mary Jane Services Network, who was recently named the 2022 California Woman Business Owner of the Year by NAWBO California (NAWBO-CA) at its annual Propel conference in Sacramento.

“NAWBO California’s annual women business owner of the year award recognizes a woman business owner who has demonstrated excellent leadership skills and business acumen,” says Amber Wallace, NAWBO-CA Immediate Past President. “It is an honor to recognize Seana-Marie Sesma for this award. Through multiple businesses and extensive community involvement, Seana-Marie is an accomplished entrepreneur and community leader. She is an inspiration to our NAWBO community.”

This year’s Woman Business Owner of the Year, Seana-Marie Sesma recognized a need in 2017 within the newly legalized cannabis industry and founded Mary Jane Services Network to support cannabis businesses in achieving and maintaining local and state licensure. Processes for applying for commercial licenses are arduous and complex. Mary Jane Services Network offers critical business resources and support to manage local and state application processes for all license types, and for maintaining compliance to ensure annual renewals. To date, every single Mary Jane Services Network client has achieved their local and state licenses and renewals.

As for her other business, Sesma founded Your PR Girls with her mother, Juanita over 24 years ago. Your PR Girls specializes in eco-friendly promotional products and marketing services for corporations and nonprofits throughout the United States. A consummate volunteer, Sesma is known for creating unique events, including a playful art installation immersive experience at Santa Paula Art Museum.

The Ventura County chapter has had two other members recognized with this award in the past six years – land use expert Dawn Dyer of Dyer Sheehan Group won in 2018 and Karen Bain and Lisa Kudirka founders of Shave It, a shave ice retailer were recognized in 2015.

“Together as leaders in business, it is imperative that we take a stand for what is right and supportive for all women,” commented Sesma. She has also won Green Business Awards from Ventura Chamber and City of Ventura.

NAWBO also installed new member to National Board of Directors

Dr. Janis Shinkawa

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) installed Dr. Janis Shinkawa Co- founder and Medical Director of Ohana Pet Hospital and member of the NAWBO Ventura County chapter to the 2022- 2023 National Board of Directors. The NAWBO National Board is a group of women from across America who support NAWBO’s mission to empower women entrepreneurs, regardless of race, religion, age, sexual orientation, national origin, or disability. To help women reach spheres of power and grow their businesses.

Ventura Police and Fire Departments hosting community block party

Ventura residents are invited to join the Ventura Police and Fire Departments for a free, community block party from 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 20, 2022. This family-friendly event will be hosted at the Police and Fire Headquarters, located at 1425 Dowell Drive in Ventura.

Activities at the public safety event will feature multiple K9 demonstrations, a Jaws of Life vehicle extrication demo, fire extinguisher game, a hands-on CSI experience, a kid’s firefighter challenge course, child fingerprinting, station tours, coloring contests, trivia, and more.

“We are opening our doors and exteriors gates and welcoming our community into our headquarters,” said Police Chief Darin Schindler. “This is an opportunity to engage in relationship building with local police officers, firefighters, dispatchers, and elected officials and have fun learning about crime prevention and fire safety.”

Residents and children will have the opportunity to see patrol cars, motorcycles, fire engines, the SWAT rescue vehicle, a police helicopter, K9s, and various emergency response vehicles. Participants will also learn about a wide variety of safety topics and experience interactive games and demonstrations.

Snacks will be provided. Food trucks will also be on site with meals for purchase.

“Community engagement is more critical than ever,” said Fire Chief David Endaya. “We want to connect with our residents and businesses to continue strengthening local relationships so residents know our team and so we can better communicate fire prevention and safety information.”

To learn more about the public safety block party, visit www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/BlockParty.

This event is funded by the Ventura Police Community Foundation. Learn more about the local nonprofit at www.VenturaPoliceFoundation.org.