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Softball All Stars represent Ventura

There were formidable local foes like Moorpark, Westlake-Agoura, and Goleta.

by Tom Marshall

Realistic expectations were impossible. The Ventura Girls Fastpitch 12u All Stars had previously played a handful of the 33 teams in the USA Softball Western National tournament. There were formidable local foes like Moorpark, Westlake-Agoura, and Goleta. There were also teams from San Diego, Hawaii, Oregon, and Nevada. Every one of the 33 teams invited was going there to win. Ventura’s only option was to leave everything on the field and play to win. Only one team would emerge a winner but every team had an opportunity to display their true character.

Anxiety played a part in the lead up to the tourney. A nasty wild fire was choking southern Oregon with smoke and the specter of cancelled games (possibly the entire tournament) established residence in parents and coaches’ minds on the long drive or flight north.

The 12u squad out of Ventura got their nervous disastrous inning out of the way in the first game. They looked like an early regular season rec ball team on defense at times in that first game. Their offense wouldn’t be denied and after a very rough defensive start they defeated their first opponent. They went on a 5-0 run to start the tourney and found themselves in a battle with the physically imposing Bonita Valley squad in game 6. Ventura ended up suffering a 1-0 loss in that first game against the team from San Diego county. The girls would enter the loser’s bracket for the first time in the tournament.

Facing near triple digit temps amplified by the 100% artificial turf playing surface didn’t faze the Ventura girls. They maintained their focus and regrouped. “The girls had a championship mindset all week. We were focused on winning every pitch, every game. Very proud to see this team represent Ventura,” said manager Ruben Segovia. His assistant coaches, Jeff Staniland and Angel Chavez, worked to keep the team positive and focused on winning the next pitch.

They went on to win their next two games in the loser’s bracket 6-3 and 3-0 to set up a rematch against Bonita Valley. The winner would face All Star team from Poway in the championship game. Poway was undefeated in the tournament up to that point. They put up a valiant fight but fell 3-1 in their rematch with BV.

The Ventura Girls Fastpitch 12u All Star squad finished 3rd out of 33 teams in the USA Softball Western National tournament. They left everything on the field and never gave up. Only one team wins a tournament but our Ventura girls showed up prepared to play winning softball and proved they belong with the best in the west.

Knock out Parkinson’s Disease with NeuroBoxing!

Attend the support group at their new location at City Hall.

by Patty Jenkins

Everyone knows exercise in some form is essential for good overall health. With Parkinson’s Disease it is even more vital. Research has proven that exercise can augment the benefits of Parkinson’s medications and slow the progression of this challenging disease. Non-contact boxing is one of the cutting-edge exercise programs proving to be one of the most effective ways for slowing Parkinson’s progression in addition to improving motor skills and other neurological symptoms.

The Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group is pleased to welcome Jennifer Parkinson, owner and Co-Founder of the non-profit organization NeuroBoxing and Dr. Vanessa White owner of Santa Paula Fitness/VC NeuroBoxing, as our guests on Wednesday, August 14, 2019 from 12:30PM to 2:30PM at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli Street, Room 202. Come find out what makes Neuroboxing unique as we witness several demonstrations and participate in various exercises.

The NeuroBoxing program is dedicated to improving the lives of people with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and their families. They use a complete wellness centered approach to help those living with Parkinson’s stand a fighting chance. Through non-contact boxing and health and fitness coaching, they help people with PD and other neurological challenges fight back and live the best life possible.

Jennifer Parkinson and Josh Ripley founded the non-profit NeuroBoxing in September 2016. Jennifer is a registered nurse of 16 years, a Michael J Fox Foundation panelist, advocate for the Parkinson Disease Foundation’s Women in Parkinson’s Initiative, boxing coach, and loving mother of two. Jennifer is actively training new coaches in several locations to help bring NeuroBoxing’s programs to other locations throughout Southern California. Her personal experience with Parkinson’s Disease began in 2005 when she was diagnosed with early on-set PD; she has been fighting back since then to “knock out PD”!

Dr. Vanessa White is an affiliate member who recently completed this special Neuroboxing training from Jennifer. Dr. White has a Ph.D. in kinesiology and is the owner and a fitness instructor at her gym, Santa Paula Fitness. Vanessa has taught and coached a number of class formats (and sports) for the past 34 years and recently added NeuroBoxing to her list of expertise. Vanessa’s classes are fun and full of energy and her team specializes in assisting individuals with special needs.

Find out how you might benefit from NeuroBoxing exercise programs on August 14, 2019 from 12:30-2:30PM at Ventura City Hall’s Community Meeting Room # 202; 501 Poli Street. The Ventura Parkinson’s Disease Support Group welcomes the public, our members and care-partners and new friends who find themselves navigating the challenges of PD and other neurological conditions. We are an independent and volunteer-organized group not affiliated with or a part of any other organization or group. For more information and detailed directions to our meetings, please call Patty at 805-766-6070.

Housing Authority awarded almost $19 million for Phase Three

Residents recently began moving into the newly completed units.

The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) has been awarded $18,983,730 from the California Strategic Growth Council for its Ventura Westside Housing and Active Transportation grant application. The award is granted through the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC), which funds projects that promote healthier communities and protect the environment by increasing the supply of affordable places to live near jobs, stores, transit and other daily needs. This is one of 25 awards across the state and is the first non-rural AHSC award in the Central Coast and the first for the City and County of Ventura.

The Ventura Westside AHSC award will fund the third phase of Westview Village, the transformation of an existing public housing site where 73 homes will be demolished, and 105 new affordable homes will be constructed. Additionally, the AHSC award will fund significant transit and neighborhood improvements that promote connectivity and enhance bicycling and pedestrian safety. With input from community stakeholders and City staff, the scope of improvements was defined for the grant application, and ultimately included 11,000 linear feet of new sidewalk and sidewalk repair, two miles of a new context-sensitive bikeway to close key east-west gaps in the local bike network, upgrades to Ventura Avenue bus shelters, and the purchase of 40 Calvans vans to expand vanpool service in Ventura County. Residents of Westview Village phase three will be encouraged to use public transportation, receiving bus passes subsidized by the AHSC project. Westview is a short walk from Ventura Avenue, which is bustling with pedestrian and bicycling activity and where Gold Coast Transit operates some of the highest use bus routes in Ventura County.

Projects that receive AHSC funds are committed to promoting alternative forms of transportation, sustainability, housing affordability and neighborhood connectivity. The Housing Project will incorporate a solar system that will produce at least 30 percent of its energy onsite as well as urban greening such as the expansion of the Westview Village community garden, private bike closets per unit, new trees planted at a rate of 3:1 and water conservation design elements throughout the site.

Dorcas H. Thille will receive Lifetime Achievement Award

The Spirit Awards celebrate the Spirit of Community Partnership.

United Way of Ventura County’s (UWVC) will honor Dorcas H. Thille with its Lifetime Achievement Award at the 15th Annual Spirit Awards Gala August 24, celebrating community champions that embody the spirit of the United Way in advancing the common good in Ventura County.

The gala will be held at 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Mandalay Beach Resort. All proceeds will benefit United Way Community Impact programs.

“Dorcas Thille will receive our fifth Lifetime Achievement Award. Ms. Dorcas is one of our most generous lifelong annual contributors and a supporter of many important organizations in our community. We are looking forward to celebrating all of her achievements as we honor extraordinary folks in our community who are advancing the common good,” said Eric Harrison, CEO of United Way of Ventura County. “We’re excited to come together for the 15th Annual Spirit Awards Gala and recognize the Spirit of Community Partnership in Ventura County.”

Additional community champions to be feted:

• Rigoberto Vargas, Milton M. Teague Award for Outstanding Community Volunteerism

• Lio Alvarado, Douglas Shively Award for Outstanding Community Impact

• Erin Simqu, Women United Award for Turning Compassion into Action

• Procter & Gamble, Roy Pinkerton Award for Top Corporate Citizenship

For more than seven decades, the United Way has fought for the health, education and financial stability of every resident in our community. Our Community Impact focus fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every resident in our community. We are dedicated to helping all achieve their full potential.

Dinner Tickets: $150 each. After August 9, 2019, price increases to $175.

Spirit Awards Gala Tickets are available online at vcunitedway.org/spirit-awards-gala/.

Since 1945, United Way of Ventura County has advanced the common good by creating opportunities for a better life for all. For more information about United Way of Ventura County, visit www.vcunitedway.org.

Ventura Housing Authority celebrates Take Your Dog to Work Day

Maria Paniagua and Kopdak, Will Sholy and Buba and Dash, Chris Beck and Charlie, Carmen Ramirez and Ginger, Susan Everett and Darby, Krystalin Bullicer and Evey, Cheryl Tabbi and Snickers enjoying being at work together.

Recently the Ventura Housing Authority celebrated a very special day for employees and their dogs Take Your Dog to Work Day. The annual celebration brings together furry friends and their owners for a very special work day.

A catered and sponsored lunch was made possible by Human Resources manager Cheryl Tabbi, and the sponsorship of Triunfo Sanitation District, VCA Westlake Village Animal Hospital, Pioneer Women, Purina Pet Care Co.,Lucy Pet Products, Bow Wow Doggie Dental Care, Petco, PetSmart, Sailor and Friends Pet Supply, Smiling Canines and Furry Faces Holistic.

Photo by Richard Lieberman

Back to school donation drive

Each child will receive a backpack and age appropriate school supplies.

It’s that time again for families to start shopping for back to school supplies and for some, it is a financial hardship! Kids & Families Together, in partnership with Heart 2 Heart, is hosting their 9th Annual Back to School Donation Drive for foster/resource, kinship, and adopted children in Ventura County. We know school supplies can be costly on a tight budget. They want to help these families by easing their financial burden, as well as providing a fun family event. The goal is to help children start their new school year off fresh with confidence and hope! With your generosity, along with help of local businesses and community partners, they will be able to provide these supplies to at least 250 children and youth in need. Your support will help promote their learning, self-esteem building, and help motivate our youth to stay in school.

In partnership with River Community Church, there is an amazing location where each child will receive a backpack and age appropriate school supplies. They will be providing the back to school donations at the annual event on August 10th in Ventura which will include fun activities, a reading tent, touch-a-truck, donations of clothing/household goods and snacks will be provided.

A few ways you can help is through volunteering, finding sponsors, direct donations, shop at Amazon wishlist: http://a.co/30t9ROg and hosting a donation bin at your location.

It takes a loving village to raise these children and they hope you will be a part of that village!

Donations can be dropped off at:

Kids & Families Together, Monday-Friday between 10am-4pm, 864 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura and at community locations throughout Ventura County. See website for a complete listing of drop off locations: https://www.kidsandfamilies.org/backpack-gift-away-event/

“Kids & Families Together is a local nonprofit who provides support, education and counseling services for individuals and families in foster care, kinship, adoption, and birth families in Ventura County. Our mission is to strengthen relationships by providing safe, supportive help that keeps family members emotionally connected to one another. For over a decade, Heart 2 Heart has been assisting foster and kinship families with durable goods to help with the children in their care such as bedding, clothes, diapers, small furniture and seasonal items such as back to school supplies. We also host families for special events throughout the year, such as our back to school event. We are here to let them know their community supports them as they raise children who cannot be at home.”

If you would like to volunteer, make a donation/schedule a pick-up or host a donation bin, please contact: Jeni Futvoye, (805) 643-1446 ext. 108 or email [email protected].

Ventura Harbor Beaches to be summer enjoyed

The dramatic effect of the Ventura Harbor’s dredging efforts is seen in this photo. Photo by John Higgins, Harbormaster

The annual Ventura Harbor dredge efforts have significantly replenished the scenic harbor public beaches of both Surfers Knoll and Harbor Cove with cleaner sands and more recreation space for harbor beachgoers this summer.

Utilizing the federal funds available to dredge in 2019 with the support of Congresswoman Julia Brownley’s office to ensure federal funding approval, the dredge removed 470,000 cubic yards of sand from the Harbor’s entrance and sand trap area to the landside. “On behalf of the Ventura Port District Board of Port Commissioners, I would like to thank and recognize Congresswoman Brownley for her continued commitment to the Ventura Harbor dredging program,” said Brian Pendleton, Deputy General Manager of Ventura Harbor.

Not only has this enhanced the harbor’s beaches off Spinnaker Drive but, for nature and bird lovers, the beach replenishment has led to the emergence of more nesting grounds, for endangered bird species such as the snowy plover.

“The contrast between the beach contour before and after the dredging is remarkable,” said Harbormaster John Higgins. “The wide, soft sandy beaches after the dredge are more naturally beautiful and inviting than ever.”

And upon these fresh sands Ventura Harbor offers a wealth of recreational options to kick off Memorial Day weekend.

Starting with safety, the Ventura Harbor will provide lifeguard services again this summer, from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, at Harbor Cove and Surfers Knoll beaches. The Ventura Port District Commission unanimously approved the just-over-$88,000 State Lifeguard contract, inclusive of a third lifeguard tower added this year. The Port District and Harbor Patrol place a high priority on public safety and always advise beachgoers to swim by guarded lifeguard towers.

In addition to swimming, surfing and sunbathing, beachgoers will have a variety of other summer recreational options available, as well. Among them: beach volleyball, on public sand courts at family-friendly Harbor Cove (commonly referred to by locals as “Mothers’ Beach”), provided by local coach Jack Richards of Rincon Volleyball Club; sea-glass searching; kite-flying; popular YOGAqua classes, on stand-up paddleboards in the calm waters of Harbor Cove Beach; and, new this summer, Paddle Into Fitness lessons, also at Harbor Cove.

For YOGAqua reservations, visit yogaqua.com. For Paddle Into Fitness reservations, visit paddleintofitness.com.

The Ventura Harbor and its beaches have become among the most popular summer destinations in the city. Beach restrooms and open-air showers are available, as well as free parking in the dedicated beach parking lots and along Spinnaker Drive. As an added service, a beach ADA wheelchair is available on a first-come, first-served basis; for availability, call ahead to Harbor Patrol at 805-642-8538.

The Ventura Harbor beaches are just steps from the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center offering free entry daily, and the popular Ventura Harbor Village, with its many food, entertainment, and retail amenities.

For more information on Ventura Harbor beaches or lifeguard services, visit venturaharbor.com.

New group invites the community to participate

Laura Covault and Layla Perez are dedicated to reworking traditional theater.

by Jill Forman

Laura Covault and Layla Perez are the founders and co-owners of this new theater company, Unity Theatre Collective and hope to inspire Ventura to support, attend and take part in their productions. “We are looking for people to join our merry band of players.”

Their first offering, a gender-bending take on Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” just completed its run at the NAMBA center in downtown Ventura. A unique interpretation: some of the characters changed gender in the second act, couples re-assorted, and it all came to a riotous happy ending. Tea was served to the audience at small tables, and the actors brought audience members into the production by chatting with them and running through the area. The troupe of young players brought energy and novelty to their portrayals, and the full house (on the night I went) enjoyed it as much as the performers.

Covault and Perez see this working of the play as a good way to look at gender role expectations, “…to get across messages without being preachy.” They admit laughingly to always having “big ideas” and being excited about them.

They are dedicated to “…reworking traditional theater to make people rethink assumptions about gender, race, age, and culture.” And they want the citizens of Ventura to join them. “Our mission is to embrace the community, for them to be a part of our company: act, write, be technicians, give us ideas, bring forth issues to be addressed.” Hence the “Collective” in their name.

When asked why they decided to take on the difficult and quixotic task of starting a new theater group, there is more laughter. They feel Ventura is appreciative of art and creativity and they wanted to do more to help foster that appreciation. “There is a pool of talent in the area, people who have the ability to do theater but no ‘home’ to do it. We want them to have the ability to put themselves out there and fulfill their passion.” The core values of Unity are social change, insight, empathy; the plan is “… to be there for the community, to have fun and find a way to be creative.” They are open to new ideas from community members.

They feel fortunate to be involved in the educational aspect of theater. Covault is a Professor of Performing Arts at CSUCI; Perez is a stage manager there. Perez works at Salzers, which she says helped inspire her.

They initially raised money with one-night presentations, and with the help of friends and family generated enough to put on their initial offering. They will need to fundraise again and are working on plans for that. Also, they are planning to become an official nonprofit and then can apply for grants. They want to create opportunity for those who would not normally attend theater, who see it as elitist or too expensive – free plays? a touring company? coordinate with local schools? Whatever will engage more people and make them want to join in the fun and work.

Upcoming productions will be announced in the next month. Website: www.unitytheatrecollective.com. Facebook: Unity Theatre Collective. Instagram: #theatreforallpeople.

USYVL fall registration open… register now!

The USYVL volleyball league operates in a coed format for boys and girls.

Registration for the USYVL’s Fall Season is currently in open. Don’t miss out on the exciting Fall 2019 season. Register before September 1 deadline!

Once again, the USYVL is bringing another fun-filled season of volleyball to your community. All kids and parents are invited to come out and enjoy recreational volleyball practices and games while building self-esteem and confidence. This is a great opportunity for parents to spend quality time with their kids while helping to teach them the value of teamwork mixed with fun!

The 8-week league in Ventura at Arroyo Verde Park will run beginning from September 11 – November 2. The USYVL is an instructional volleyball league that operates in a coed format for boys and girls ages 7-15. The organization’s mission is to provide every child with a chance to learn and play volleyball in a fun, safe, supervised, low-pressure environment. “Every Child Plays” and learns the game, while emphasizing on sportsmanship, cooperation, and teamwork.

So come out and have fun! They offer multiple child discounts. For information on registration, volunteer positions, and a location near you, please log on to www.USYVL.org or 1-888-988-7985.

SCAG honors 6 innovative projects with its 2019 Sustainability Awards

Ventura wins Outstanding Achievement in Sustainability award

Six exemplary and innovative planning projects were honored May 2 as winners of the 2019 Sustainability Awards by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

Recipients of the 12th annual awards include municipalities, agencies and non-profit organizations throughout the six-county SCAG region. The Sustainability Awards recognize excellence in coordinating land use and transportation to improve mobility, livability, prosperity and sustainability.

“We’re honored to present these awards, which recognize the best of the best when it comes to

improving the quality of life of our communities and the region,” said Bill Jahn, Big Bear Lake City Council member and President of SCAG. “Sustainability encompasses so much, but at its core is the integration of land use and transportation to improve our lives. As these projects illustrate, there is a tremendous amount of innovative and meaningful work being done across our region.”

The Sustainability Awards winners will be formally honored at SCAG’s 2019 Regional Conference and General Assembly, taking place at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert.

Outstanding Achievement in Sustainability: The City of Ventura for the Kellogg Park project.

Nestled into city of Ventura’s Westside neighborhood, Kellogg Park is the result of extensive collaboration between residents and the City. Built on a vacant lot that once cited a rebar factory, the park serves the varied recreation needs of a community short on open space. Residents advocated for a number of amenities to meet the diverse needs of the community, including multi-generational opportunities to exercise, a community garden, and design components that allow for increased safety. The park also features innovative sustainable design such as a sand- filter swale “river” that reflects the nearby Ventura River watershed and provides recreational and educational opportunities.

SCAG is the nation’s largest metropolitan planning organization, representing six counties, 191 cities and more than 18 million residents. SCAG undertakes a variety of planning and policy initiatives to plan for a livable and sustainable Southern California now and in the future. For more information about SCAG’s regional efforts, please visit www.scag.ca.gov.