y Carol Leish

‘Sometimes all it takes is a look.’

“The Ventura County Animal Shbelter in Camarillo currently has dogs, cats, rabbits, mice, birds, snakes, turtles, chickens and roosters available for adoption,” according to, Randy Friedman, the Marketing Manager. “We also occasionally have horses, chameleons, bearded dragons, and other exotic-type animals.”

The adoption process has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have continued to provide services while conducting all business in a safe and healthy manner,” Friedman said. “Those who are interested in adopting a dog are asked to schedule a virtual adoption counseling appointment at www.vcas.us/Scheduling. After the initial phone consultation, if all feel a good match is likely to be made, we will schedule a time for them to come in, meeting the animal in person, and adopting them if they choose to.”

Cat adoptions have also changed due to the pandemic. “Even though cat adoptions occur on-site at the Camarillo Animal Shelter from 2:00pm-4:00pm daily, those who are interested in adopting a cat need to come to the Camarillo Animal Shelter (600 Aviation Dr. Camarillo, CA 93010) at 9:00am to put their name and phone number on a clipboard, which is made available in the parking lot area.”

“For adopting rabbits,” according to Friedman, “we are asking the public to contact our Ventura County Animal Services Bunny Brigade, which is an all-volunteer run group who takes care of our rabbit population. Their email is: [email protected]. Those who are interested in adopting other pets can follow the same procedure that is outlined for dog adoptions. The full adoption process is at: www.vcas.us/adoptionprocess.

“A safe environment for all shelter guests has been made due to the pandemic,” according to Friedman. “Our appointment-based pet adoption system has resulted in thousands of pet adoptions since the pandemic began. Now we have an adoption counseling process that is virtual, which starts out with a phone consultation. A telemedicine process has been implemented in order to allow our foster care-givers access to our veterinarian for medical consultations. We’ve also promoted the use of an online licensing system, and established a drop-box at the Camarillo Shelter.”

The Ventura County Animal Shelter provides a wide variety of services. These include: medical care; animal behavioral evaluations/modifications; and, animal enrichment. Friedman also emphasized that, “Our teams respond to calls for assistance in the community, from the capture of aggressive animals, to the rescue of injured wildlife.” Our published annual report highlights many of our services (www.vcas.us/2020AnnualReport.)”

“As a municipal/government run agency with a 501c3 non-profit fundraising arm (Animal Services Foundation of Ventura County),” Friedman said, “there are many ways the public can help us, which includes: becoming a foster parent; making a monetary donation; donating items listed on our Amazon Wish List (www.vcas.us/Donate); and/or pledging to adopt pets. In Memory of, or in Honor of donations can be made at: www.vcasFoundation.org/donate). Those who want to volunteer, please go to: www.vcas.us/volunteer; those who want to foster, go to: www.vcas.us/foster. Our Amazon Wish list is at: www.vcas.us/AmazonWishList. Amazon Smile is at: www.vcas.us/AmazonSmile. For a complete list of ways to help, please go to: www.vcas.us/ways-to-help. Also, we would like to highlight our Lost and Found page (www.vcas.us/LostandFound). The animals we have in our care are listed at: (www.vcas.us/pets.)

VMF leading off with Anderson & Roe Piano Duo.

Ventura Music Festival announces four new virtually yours concerts, leading off with Anderson & Roe Piano Duo on March 21st. Each is hosted by Artistic Director Nuvi Mehta and presented free-of-charge. Reservations are required.

The line-up is as follows:

Sunday, March 21st 3 pm, Anderson & Roe Piano Duo. Festival favorites Greg Anderson and Elizabeth Joy Roe begin the concert with Stravinsky, pause in the middle to remind us “It’s a wonderful world,” and conclude with tangos and an exuberant tribute to West Side Story. The setting: Live from the Tippet Rise Arts Center in Montana.

Sunday, April 18th 3 pm, Michael Feinstein’s Irving Berlin. Stories, fabulous guest artists and more from pianist-singer Feinstein, the charming and hugely talented “keeper” of the Great American Songbook. The setting: Live from Carnegie Hall.

Sunday, May 16th 3 pm, “Go for Baroque” with Nuvi Mehta and Johann Sebastian Bach. The period 1600-1750 was extraordinary for its soaring cathedrals, art and music, with Baroque composers accounting for 80% of the traditional Western classical music performed today. As the father of Western classical music, Johann Sebastian Bach is the star of this program.

Sunday, June 13th 3 pm, “All that Jazz”. Leaving the deep dive to Ken Burns and his amazing 10-episode “Jazz” series on PBS, VMF plans a sweet, short dive into “America’s music.”. Details soon.

Each program debuts on a Sunday at 3 pm and is available for ‘anytime viewing’ thereafter. No charge thanks to sponsors; reservations are required VenturaMusicFestival.org.

Sandy Smith sat on the City Council for eight years.

by Sandy Smith former mayor, City of Ventura

Residents and rate payers in the City of Ventura should support Ventura Water’s proposed water and wastewater rate changes, scheduled for City Council review and approval in March 2021. These rate adjustments fund critical investments needed to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater services for the City of Ventura’s customers now and into the future.

During the eight years I sat on the City Council, I served as the City and Council’s representative on the Association of Water Agencies of Ventura County, and for many years, as that Agency’s Vice President. Over those years, I recall how smug I often felt in the knowledge that water from Lake Casitas, the Ventura River, and our ground water wells allowed our City to avoid many of the challenges other communities faced accessing and distributing water to their residents. That independence also allowed residents to benefit from lower water and sewer rates than faced by other communities.

Those days are behind us. Due to a variety of factors, water from Lake Casitas, the Ventura River, and our ground water wells can no longer be looked at as a long-term solution to our water needs. More frequent and prolonged droughts have put Ventura’s 100% local water sources at risk. Add to that the results of ongoing litigation that will likely limit or reduce the amount of water the City can withdraw from the Ventura River, which currently accounts for roughly 20 percent of Ventura’s water supply.

Further limits on Ventura’s water supply will materialize as the City is required to comply with a series of environmental regulations and legal mandates, including reducing wastewater discharge into the Santa Clara River Estuary. Ultimately, ratepayers will inherit costly fines if these requirements are not met. Additionally, water supplied by regional groundwater basins is high in total dissolved solids and sulfates, making Ventura’s drinking water hard and minerally.

Innovative solutions are needed to secure a future sustainable water supply. VenturaWaterPure, the long-anticipated potable reuse project, will divert water that is currently discharged to the Santa Clara River Estuary to a new advanced purification facility where it will be purified to drinking water standards and injected into local groundwater basins, creating a locally owned drought-resistant water supply for the City of Ventura.

The City has long paid for a 10,000 acre-foot of water per year allocation from the California State Water Project without the benefit of receiving water, and to date, the City has not constructed the improvements necessary to receive direct delivery of its allocation. Ventura’s State Water Interconnection Project will enable delivery of state water by wheeling through Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Calleguas Municipal Water District to the City. The connection will also provide the added benefit of direct or in-lieu delivery of state water to the Casitas Municipal Water District.

At the same time, much of Ventura’s water and wastewater infrastructure is over 60 years old. Deteriorating pipelines, pump stations, and facilities need replacement, and deferring the costs of those needed improvements and upgrades to a later date comes at a higher price.

While I am aware that an annual increase of 7% for water service and 6% for wastewater service is significant, deferring project costs and upgrades only delays necessary improvements. Ultimately, I believe the recommended rate adjustments to be responsible, fair and equitable. Even with the proposed rates, the City of Ventura compares favorably with the rate structures of other cities.

Simply stated there is no alternative. Water is life – not only for us as human beings, but for our economy. For me, it’s a simple decision: Ventura’s residents should support, and Ventura’s Council should approve, a fair level of water rates that can finance the projects needed to ensure our water supply and infrastructure allow our community to evolve without impediment, and as we choose.