Ocean water quality results for samples collected this week indicate

ocean water quality at the following Ventura County beach sampling location failed to meet

State standards for bacteria:

• Rincon Beach

Warning signs are currently posted and contact with ocean water should be avoided for a

minimum of 50 yards on either side of each posted sign. Warning signs will remain posted until

ocean water quality meets State standards. Any items that may have come in contact with

ocean water should be avoided. If contact occurs, wash thoroughly with soap and water.

Any shellfish on or from Ventura County beaches may have also been exposed to this

contamination and should not be eaten.

Ocean Water Quality Monitoring Program staff will continue with weekly bacteriological sampling of Ventura County beaches. Results for specific beaches are also available on the

Environmental Health Division hotline (recorded information), 805/662-6555, and on the Ocean

Water Program Web page at: www.vcrma.org/ocean-water-quality-monitoring-program

Ventura Land Trust’s annual benefit, the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, returns on Saturday, August 26th to the expansive lawn of the Ventura County Credit Union headquarters. Now in its 14th year, the film festival features nearly two hours of environmental and activism films along with music, food trucks, and local beer, wine and spirits.

Beyond being the Trust’s signature event to raise funds for the environment, it shares an urgent call to action, encouraging participants to learn more about what they can do to save our threatened planet. A family-friendly event, participants are encouraged to spread out on the Ventura County Credit Union lawn (2575 Vista Del Mar Drive, Ventura) with chairs and blankets. Doors open at 5 pm, and films begin just before 8 pm as the sky darkens.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Ventura Land Trust has permanently conserved over 3,800 acres of land in the Ventura region, including the 2,100-acre Harmon Canyon Preserve and Mariano Rancho, 1,645 acres sprawling across the hills north of Ventura.

“We’re excited to celebrate this milestone at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival,” said Ventura Land Trust Executive Director Melissa Baffa. “The event raises funds that are crucial to our operations and stewardship of the lands in our care.”

“In honor of our 20th anniversary, we encourage people to donate an extra $20 this year or to become sustaining donors at $20 a month. Funds will help to carry Trust into its next 20 years.”

Live reggae music from Jacob Marquez and the Good Vibes will kick off the festivities. An online silent auction will complement the event’s traditional onsite raffle. In the Ventura Vibe VIP Lounge, small bites from Aloha Steakhouse, Ubatuba Açaí, and others will be paired with wine, beer, and a signature cocktail by Ventura Spirits.

A general admission ticket is $40, $5 children and $10 for teens (13-17). VIP tickets, which include special gift items and admission to the Ventura Vibe VIP Lounge, are $125. Tickets and vendor information can be found at www.venturalandtrust.org/wsff2023.

by Visit Ventura

The keyword “X Games Ventura 2023” saw over 500% Google search increase over the past 90 days. An estimated 52,000 fans attended X Games California 2023 in Ventura over the three-day weekend event. It was a weekend full of many firsts that aligned together from partnerships that spanned worldwide to local-wide.

“To say this past weekend was incredible would be an understatement. X Games finals weekend in Ventura will go down in history in more ways than one”, said Marlyss Auster, President and CEO of Visit Ventura. “We have been on the journey to getting the X Games to Ventura for years — it’s felt like a dream and now it has become a reality. So many of our partners had a hand in this and we are thankful to everyone. But most of all, we’re thankful for our local Ventura community. We hosted the world’s largest extreme sports competition and had an amazing time doing it. That’s what this community is all about.”

We celebrate the firsts achieved by both the X Games athletes this weekend and the firsts achieved by Visit Ventura, X Games, and the local Ventura community as a whole.

X Games Day 2, Saturday, July 22 was sold out. History was made — this was the very first time X Games had ever had a sold out crowd

Due to an unprecedented partnership between Visit Ventura, X Games, Amtrak Pacific Surfliner, and Ventura County Coast, two train cars were wrapped in X Games creative for the first time

X Games’ merchandise sold out for the very first time. Official merchandise was sold onsite and also at the Ventura Visitor Center

X Games California 2023 witnessed the competition’s first Chumash blessing in which three Chumash tribe members performed the welcoming in front of athletes and media

Visit Ventura in partnership with the City, Visit California, and X Games held Ventura’s first press conference that announced a destination event on May 3

The Visit Ventura Drone Show was the first drone show in the city’s history. A few thousand attendees raised their eyes to the skies on Thursday, July 20 for the drone show’s first night in Downtown Ventura

X Games brought local businesses together like nothing else. Visit Ventura led a city-wide collaboration effort to integrate local businesses’ creativity and innovation to create X Games-themed products. The three collaboration series (special release beer, specialty cocktails, and other X Games-related products) was an effort unseen in the city’s history

Two brews from the X Games special release beer collaboration were featured and sold on the Pacific Surfliner for the first time ever

Reese Nelson, 10, set a record for youngest X Games medalist of all-time at X Games California 2023 finals weekend with her silver medal in Women’s SKB Vert

Arisa Trew, 13, smashed a record previously held by Shaun White for 20 years: youngest-ever X Games double gold medalist. Trew won gold in Women’s SKB Vert and Park

A new youngest-ever average podium age record was set: The average age of the Women’s Skateboard Vert podium was 13 yrs., 6 mos.

Plus, based on preliminary statistics from the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency (who manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner), efforts to promote sustainable travel by taking the train to X Games resulted in high ridership. Compared to the same weekend last year, in looking at preliminary boarding reports, there was a 482% increase in Pacific Surfliner boardings at Ventura. As a note, there was more service this year compared to last year, but even after removing the trains that didn’t operate last year, there’s still a 338% increase. Considering the average vehicle occupancy in the U.S. is 1.67, taking the train to the X Games in Ventura the ridership to/from the X Games CA Finals in Ventura is equivalent to 2,000 cars that might have otherwise been on the local highways and roads.

Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura has earned a five-star rating, the highest ranking possible, from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This five-star designation places Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura among the top 15 percent of hospitals in the nation. It is also the only hospital in Ventura County to receive five stars.

This is the first time Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura has achieved a five-star rating on this report. The new figures are based on data collected in 2021 and 2022, during the height of the pandemic and an especially stressful time for healthcare providers and hospital staff.

“This five-star rating demonstrates the dedication and commitment of our physicians and staff to provide the highest quality healthcare — even under the most difficult circumstances. I am proud of our team for earning this prestigious recognition,” said Mick Zdeblick, President & CEO, Community Memorial Healthcare.

As part of its commitment to continuous improvement, Community Memorial physicians, staff, and leaders are constantly measuring and monitoring care and seeking feedback from patients.

“This score represents thousands of people going the extra mile every day for our patients,” said Maureen Archambault, Vice President, Quality and Risk Management, Community Memorial Healthcare. “Everybody is working together toward consistency of practice. We are looking for, and implementing, the most evidence-based practices in healthcare.”

The Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating summarizes 47 different measures in five quality- of-healthcare categories: mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timely and effective care. Hospitals are then assigned a single star rating based on their combined performance in each category. Hospitals report data to CMS through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program, Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program, Hospital Readmission Reduction Program, Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program, and Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program.

The overall hospital rating ranges from 1 to 5 stars; the more stars, the better a hospital performed on the five measures of mortality, safety of care, readmission, patient experience, and timeliness and effectiveness of care.

The CMS Stars program helps the public understand how healthcare is measured and also helps hospitals learn about areas where they can improve the quality of the care they provide. The ratings offer consumers an easy way to compare hospitals’ quality and performance. The complete CMS report can be found online here https://data.cms.gov/provider-data/dataset/xubh-q36u

Community Memorial Healthcare is a nonprofit, independent health system serving the needs of Ventura County, California. It is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura, Community Memorial Hospital – Ojai, and a network of primary and specialty care health centers across its service area. The organization is supported by the Community Memorial Foundation and the Ojai Valley Hospital Foundation. Visit mycmh.org for more information.

Community Memorial Healthcare is proud to announce that electrophysiologist Jonathan Dukes, MD recently became the first physician in the United States to implant the new Medtronics Micra AV2 implant — the latest, upgraded version of a dual-chamber sensing ventricular pacemaker.

The Micra AV2 is the newest and more efficient version of Medtronic’s minimally invasive treatment option for patients with heart block and/or slow heart rate. Once implanted, the device has an average lifespan of 16 years, meaning most patients only need one device for life. The procedure was performed in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Community Memorial Hospital – Ventura.

“This milestone achievement by Dr. Dukes and the Community Memorial Cath Lab team is another example of how we are bringing leading-edge technology to our community,” said Mick Zdeblick, Community Memorial President & Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud of our Heart & Vascular program for continuing to lead the region by offering a number of procedures typically only available at larger medical centers.”

The Community Memorial Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (also known as the Cath Lab) is equipped with highly specialized technology designed to diagnose and treat cardiac, neurological, and vascular diseases. Procedures performed in the Cath Lab range from diagnostic heart catheterizations and ablations to advanced structural heart procedures such as TAVR, Watchman™, and MitraClip™.

Dr. Dukes is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiac Electrophysiology, and Cardiovascular Medicine. Electrophysiology is the subspecialty of cardiology that diagnoses and manages electrical problems of the heart, including atrial fibrillation and cardiac rhythm abnormalities.

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has approved $74.8 million from the Solutions for Congested Corridors Program to support construction of four rail, active transportation and electric-vehicle charging projects in Ventura County.

The Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP) is a statewide, competitive program that provides funding to achieve a balanced set of transportation, environmental, and community access improvements to reduce congestion throughout the state. The program was created by the Road Repair Accountability Act of 2017 (SB 1).

The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) nominated the “US 101 Connected Communities Corridor Rail and Active Transportation Improvements” projects for SCCP funding. Applications were submitted in December 2022.

“This funding will bring many benefits to residents and commuters in Ventura County, whether they are traveling by rail, bicycle, on foot or in an electric vehicle. Once completed, these projects will reduce travel time for rail passengers, create a safe route for cyclists and pedestrians traveling for work or recreation, and provide support to EV drivers who wish to combine a vehicle and train trip,” said VCTC Chair and Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Bryan MacDonald, who represents VCTC and is vice chair of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency Board of Directors.

“VCTC is grateful to the California Transportation Commission for providing funding for these projects, as well as to Caltrans and our regional partners for their support of this application. The funding is a critical piece of the effort to create more multimodal transportation options for travelers in the Highway 101 corridor through Ventura County and beyond,” said VCTC Executive Director Martin Erickson.

Will fund the following in Ventura.

Six electric vehicle charging stations (two per station) at the Camarillo, Oxnard and East Ventura train stations, which will support California’s transition to zero-emission vehicles and provide more station amenities to rail passengers.

3.9 miles of a new Class I multi-use bicycle and pedestrian trail between the East Ventura train station and Wells Road along the Santa Paula Branch Line railroad in the City of Ventura and unincorporated Ventura County. Class I trails are physically separated from vehicle traffic. The trail will improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists traveling for recreation or commuting to jobs and destinations like schools and grocery stores.