Channel Islands National Park has received $1.43 million to remove and remediate a derelict well site near Scorpion Ranch on Santa Cruz Island. The funding includes removing the dilapidated infrastructure and associated debris, as well as sealing and restoring the site.

This funding is a portion of the approximately $9.8 million The National Park Service received from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to plug, remediate, and reclaim abandoned oil and gas well sites in seven national parks. Overall, bureaus within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture will address 277 high-priority wells that pose threats to human health and safety, the climate, wildlife, and natural resources.

“Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enables us to tackle legacy pollution issues caused by past extraction activities in national parks,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Closing and reclaiming abandoned oil and gas wells will alleviate these environmental hazards that jeopardize health and safety by contaminating groundwater, emitting noxious gases, and littering the landscape.”

Additional information on other NPS projects funded through this legislation can be found at https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/bil-wells-2022.htm

Recently, Supervisor Matt LaVere (ex Ventura city council member) led a group of County staff to clean up graffiti in Moon Ditch near the Ventura Auto Center. LaVere and his crew spent the day cleaning up the graffiti that has covered Moon Ditch It was a hands-on effort to remove the graffiti which was an eyesore and visible along the 101 heading south, and directly impacted the Ventura Auto Center.

The City of Ventura is committed to promptly removing graffiti from public areas. Please report graffiti to the graffiti hotline at 805-654-7805. The line is open 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

Two of Dignity Health St John’s Regional Medical Center employees will be recognized

by the West Ventura County Business Alliance as part of their annual Oxnard Community & Business Awards. The awards will be presented at a luncheon next week.

Distinguished Citizen of the Year – Patty Paumier

For decades, Patty Paumier has played a significant role in Oxnard, particularly at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. She is the manager of the gift shop at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and a longtime hospital and community volunteer. Her passion for helping others and her dedication and service to St. John’s hospitals are evident in the more than 40 years of service she has contributed to St. John’s. Thanks to her leadership, the SJRMC gift shop donates a portion of its funds to support the purchase of lifesaving equipment at SJRMC.

Patty’s contributions to St. John’s hospitals are immeasurable. She is loved and appreciated by all hospital staff and the community alike. If Patty sees a hungry person, she will buy them a meal. If she sees someone feeling blue, she hears them out. If someone is celebrating a win, she cheers them on. Patty has truly dedicated herself to serving others, which has helped promote a healing environment at St. John’s and has had a remarkable impact in our community.

Young Professional of the Year – Emma Grossman

Emma Grossman’s work at St. John’s Regional Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital Camarillo goes far beyond her role as Chief Financial Officer. As a Ventura County native, Emma approaches every project and initiative with one common goal–caring for the community.

Emma is thoughtful, diligent, and a natural-born leader. She joined St. John’s at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the pandemic has presented some of the most significant challenges for health care and society, Emma has handled it gracefully. From day one, she rolled up her sleeves to lead the hospital’s financial efforts while also being essential to resource management. At a time when resources were not abundant, she and her team consistently went above and beyond to ensure the hospital and community were more than equipped to navigate a surge in patients. Whether lending a hand in other departments or offering advice, Emma leads with kindness.

Emma began her public accounting career working in audit and taxation for national Certified Public Accounting (CPA) firms. She has held positions of increasing responsibility ranging from financial analyst to Controller. Emma holds a Masters in Accounting from the University of Southern California Leventhal School Of Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies from Drew University. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California.

The County of Ventura’s Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures presented the 2021 Crop and Livestock Report to the Board of Supervisors at recent meeting. Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer Ed Williams reported the value of crops for the county for 2021 was $2,085,999,000, an increase of 5% from 2020. Strawberries, lemons, and nursery stock remained the highest valued crops, followed by raspberries, avocados, and celery. For the second consecutive year, the report has been published in Spanish.

“It is good to see the gross values for Ventura County’s crops rising again compared to the bit of a slump in 2020 due to the pandemic,” said Williams. “Production costs have increased, and growers must receive a good return on their investments for farming to continue. The impact of farming and ranching goes far beyond the farm gate by providing jobs for processors, marketers, transporters, farm supply companies, and restaurants, to name a few, and especially the tens of thousands of farmworkers who provide the skill and foundation to make it all possible. I deeply appreciate the many people who play a key role in keeping Ventura County’s agriculture thriving.”
Seafood, including fish and squid, was included in the report for the first time, with a value of over $31 million. The Organic Farming Program saw an increase of 27% from prior years, with 217 registered growers in 2021. Almost 12% of the total crop in 2021 was produced organically. Vegetable crops struggled in 2021. Of note, the tomato crop dropped out of the top ten for the first time in 22 years.

“Agriculture is the backbone of our community and drives not only our local economy but also contributes to feeding the world,” said Chair of the Board of Supervisors Carmen Ramirez. “We are proud of the irreplaceable contributions of the entire agricultural community in helping provide food and products for us all, especially our growers, providers, farmworkers, suppliers, the Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures, among many other partners.”

Since 1895, under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the Department has worked in cooperation with the California Departments of Food and Agriculture and Pesticide Regulation, agricultural community partners, residents, and others to protect and promote Ventura County’s agriculture in the areas of pesticide use enforcement, permitting, quality control, certification of exports, among others.

View the 2021 Crop and Livestock Report in English and Spanish at https://www.ventura.org/agricultural-commissioner/crop-reports/. For more information about the Department of Agriculture/Weights and Measures, visit https://www.ventura.org/agricultural-commissioner/.

Ventura County Children and Family Services’ Homes with Heart VC program needs additional families to step up and support older youth during their transition into independence.

Homes with Heart VC, a program of Ventura County Children and Family Services, is very actively seeking families in Ventura County that can open their hearts and homes to older youth in care. With over 250 older youth in care in Ventura County, Resource Families for older youth between the ages of 16-25 are in higher demand than ever before.

“We need our older youth to go out into the world with that key to success — knowing that they are loved and supported to lead healthy and productive lives,” said Jaci Johnson, Program Coordinator III at Ventura County Children and Family Services.

Ventura County Children & Family Services’ Homes with Heart VC was developed to increase the amount of loving resource families who are ready to take in children in need in Ventura County.

To learn more about how you can get involved and help older youth in Ventura County, visit www.homeswithheartvc.org/tay. Learn how Ventura County Children and Family Services’ Homes with Heart VC is making a difference throughout Ventura County, www.homeswithheartvc.org.