Ventura environmental attorney Jean Getchell has been appointed to complete the last year of Commissioner Nikos Valance’s term on the Ventura Board of Port Commissioners. The five-member board governs the Ventura Port District.

A native of Ventura and an attorney since 1995, Getchell previously served on the Port District board from 1996 to 1999. She returns after being interviewed and selected by the Ventura City Council Appointments Committee. In her interview, she said, “I emphasized the importance of the commission, city, business community and citizens working together.”

In her practice, Getchell specializes in environmental, land use, real property, employment, business and contracts, probate and public law. Prior to her legal career, Getchell held civic posts including supervising planner for the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District and management analyst with the Monterey County Planning and Building Inspection Department.

Getchell earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Southern California, her MBA from California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks and her Juris Doctor from the Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles.

When she’s not working or serving her community, Getchell said, “outdoors is where I like to be – gardening, sailing, hiking …” and hanging out with Bennie, her 12-year-old English Springer spaniel rescue.

Getchell will serve on the Port District board until Valance’s term expires on June 30, 2019. Valance, an attorney, economist and environmentalist originally from New York, had served on the voluntary board since his appointment on July 27, 2015, and he recently resigned.

In Other Board News …
Port District Commissioner and Chairman Everard Ashworth has been reappointed to serve another term. His new term runs through June 30, 2022.

Ashworth is a principal with Ashworth Leininger Group, a Camarillo-based consulting and engineering firm that provides expertise to business and government on air quality, environmental and coastal zone permitting issues. Ashworth and his wife, Brooke, have lived for over 25 years in Ventura, where they raised their two college-age children, Henry and Emma. In his spare time, Ashworth is an avid boater who’s served in a number of capacities for the Ventura Sail and Power Squadron.

Port District board members are appointed by Ventura’s mayor and confirmed by the City Council; they serve four-year terms without compensation.

Ventura Port District, home to the Channel Islands National Park, has a mission to provide a safe and navigable harbor and a seaside destination that benefits residents, visitors, fishermen and boaters seeking to enjoy Ventura Harbor’s exceptional facilities, events and services.

For more information regarding Ventura Port District, visit VenturaHarbor.com.

The National Park Service (NPS) announces the signing of the Record of Decision for the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the replacement of the pier at Scorpion Anchorage on East Santa Cruz Island.

The park plans to replace the existing pier in order to provide safe, accessible, efficient, and sustainable access for visitors at Scorpion Anchorage. The new pier will provide more reliable access during low tide conditions for concessionaire and NPS vessels.

The alternatives considered included taking no action, replacing the pier in its existing location, and replacing the pier at a location approximately 300 feet to the south of the existing location.

The selected alternative is to construct a longer, wider pier to the south of the existing pier that will include a gangway for improved and safer visitor access. Construction is expected to begin in late 2019.

“This is a great day for visitors to Channel Islands National Park, as this significant step in the planning process makes way for a major improvement to critical park infrastructure,” said Channel Islands National Park Acting Superintendent Ethan McKinley. “The new pier at Scorpion Anchorage will be the access point for most visitors to the park for years to come.”

Scorpion Anchorage is the most visited destination in the park, with about 65,000 people coming ashore each year to enjoy recreational activities such as hiking, picnicking, camping, kayaking, and swimming.

In 1993 a retired school teacher, Agnes Stevens, was so deeply moved by the number and plight of homeless students she saw that she dedicated her life to setting up a nonprofit to help. School on Wheels has been providing one-on-one stable tutoring relationships ever since.

August marks the 25th anniversary of local nonprofit School on Wheels. School on Wheels began in Santa Monica with one tutor and now operates in six counties throughout Southern California. In 2010, it opened its flagship Skid Row Learning Center and since then has opened five Digital Learning Centers a in Compton, San Fernando Valley, Boyle Heights, Venice and Chino Hills. In 2017, 2,029 volunteers spent more than 100,000 hours tutoring 3,370 homeless kids. More than 5,000 backpacks, school supplies, uniforms and bus tokens have been distributed to children in need in the past year.  Their Resource Center is located in Ventura.

“When I was 16 we were homeless in Los Angeles and we spent nights sleeping on buses and trains and finally moved into a shelter in Skid Row,” said Josephine Bailey McLein. “That’s when I found School on Wheels. Their center had internet and I could do my homework somewhere I felt safe. I worked hard to get all the requirements for college, but I never told anyone at my high school I was homeless. I am now a junior at USC majoring in human biology and my mom and sister finally have an apartment. School on Wheels encouraged me to keep up with my school work and to follow my dream of going to college.”

As California’s housing shortage intensifies, the number of homeless children continues to climb. Since 2014, the number of homeless youth in California has jumped 20 percent, to more than 202,329, and accounts for nearly four percent of the overall public school population, according to the California Homeless Youth Project.

“While childhood homelessness and poverty are daunting, I truly believe that when people come together around a shared belief, change is possible,” says Catherine Meek, executive director of School on Wheels.

Today, hundreds of volunteers work one-on-one with children whose homelessness prevents them from receiving the academic stability and help they desperately need. The heart of the School on Wheels’ program is the volunteer tutors who come from all backgrounds and professions, with a shared goal – to reach out to a child, to teach, to mentor and assist in his or her educational life. The mission of School on Wheels is to enhance educational opportunities for homeless children from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Tutoring in six counties in Southern California, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Sinead Chilton, Director, Development & Marketing School on Wheels, Inc. told the Breeze. “I met Agnes Stevens, the founder of School on Wheels at a volunteer training in Ventura in 2003.  I knew straight away that I would know her for a long time and that her mission was an important one.  Up until then, I didn’t realize that children were homeless in Ventura never mind the rest of America.  School on Wheels has always had a presence in Ventura County and over the years has helped thousands of children in the county with backpacks, school supplies, one-on-one tutoring and mentoring.  I still volunteer today and I think the mission is as important as ever.”

To learn more about School on Wheels, visit www.SchoolonWheels.org.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month – and Ventura County Library is participating in this, the 30th anniversary of Library Card Sign-up Month.

In September, the Incredibles join libraries nationwide as Honorary Chairs to encourage the public to obtain a free library card for Library Card Sign-up Month. The Incredibles will use their superpowers to remind families, students, and people of all ages that signing up for a library card is a great step toward a truly super lifestyle.

Throughout the school year, Ventura County Librarians and staff assist parents and caregivers, saving hundreds of dollars on educational resources and services for students. From free access to STEAM events, homework help, and technology workshops, to the expertise of librarians, a library card is one of the most cost effective back to school supplies available.

Ventura County Library offers a variety of events to stimulate an interest in reading and learning. Early Literacy Classes expose young children to the joy of reading, while homework centers provide computers and assistance to older children after school.

Summer Reading keeps children reading during school vacation and have been shown to be the most important factor in avoiding the decrease in reading skills educators refer to as “summer learning loss.”

Today’s public libraries are thriving technology hubs that millions rely on as their first or only choice for Internet access and digital content. Libraries have secure and reliable broadband connections, making the internet easily accessible and free for all. Ventura County Library provides a diverse set of services: in addition to books, magazines, DVDs, computers, games, software, and other multimedia materials, the library provides access to downloadable ebooks and eaudiobooks through their eLibrary and CloudLibrary.

Libraries are America’s great information equalizers – the only place people of all ages and backgrounds can find and freely use such a diversity of resources, along with the expert guidance of librarians.

The Ventura County chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO VC) installed its new Board of Directors on July 17, 2018. Installed by Ken Ashford of longtime NAWBO VC corporate partner, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

2018-19 NAWBO Ventura County Board of Directors

President – Diane de Mailly, DDM Metering Systems, Inc.

President-Elect – Lynnette Coverly, Coverly Professional Services

Immediate Past President – Elaine Hollifield, Hollifield Creative

Treasurer – Marta Alvarez, YCE, Inc.

Education Director – Bozena Chorazewicz, Nereveno

Public Policy/Advocacy Director – Dawn Dyer, Dyer Sheehan Group, Inc.

Membership Director – Kamie Abraham, Sagemark Consulting

Marketing/PR Director – Natalie Ruffing, Sirens Media

Programs Director – Rose Hayden-Smith, Rose Hayden-Smith Consulting

“I am excited about this Board,” stated Diane de Mailly, NAWBO-VC President. “They bring a breadth and depth of experience, leadership and energy that is going to take our already successful chapter to the next level.” De Mailly was NAWBO VC’s President in 2014-2015, is a current member of the NAWBO California Board of Directors serving as their Public Policy Director since 1996, and was the Ventura County Woman Business Owner of the Year in 2011.

Established in 1996, the local Ventura County chapter of NAWBO is committed to strengthening the wealth creating capacity of its members while promoting economic development within the entrepreneurial Ventura County community. NAWBO VC invites women sole proprietors, partners, entrepreneurs, and corporate owners, who are looking to make meaningful connections with successful local business women with a common goal of business growth, building strategic alliances, creating innovative and effective change in the business culture, and transforming public policy related to women in leadership and business, to learn more at www.nawbovc.org.

As we enter the final stretch of summer spending time with friends and family, the Ventura Police Department is driving home the importance of celebrating responsibly by not driving, or riding a motorcycle, impaired.

From now until September 3, The Ventura Police Department is participating in a high-visibility national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. During this period, Police and Sheriff’s Departments statewide, along with the California Highway Patrol, will increase the number of officers on the road to stop suspected drunk or drug-impaired drivers and motorcyclists. If you are caught driving or riding impaired, you will be pulled over and arrested. To prevent this from happening, if you know of someone that is dependant on alcohol or misuses substances regularly, you could take this time to talk to them about rehab centers such as Ascension House Sober Living and others, to try to help someone close to you, before it may be too late.

The Ventura Police Department will have a special emphasis during this mobilization to enforce all traffic violations.

The deterrent effect of high visibility enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.

DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.

Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, with officers checking drivers for proper licensing, delaying motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes.

This enforcement campaign runs through the Labor Day holiday weekend, which is one of the deadliest times of year in terms of alcohol-involved traffic deaths. Sadly, one-third of all traffic deaths involve drunk drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10,497 people were killed in alcohol-involved crashes or one person every 50 minutes.

“It’s up to drivers to make the smart decision and drive sober not just for this enforcement period, but every day”, said Traffic Unit Sergeant Michael Brown. “This isn’t about ticketing. This is a campaign to get the message out that driving impaired is illegal and takes lives.”

The Ventura Police Department will show zero tolerance for impaired driving or riding and joins efforts by the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) to educate drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning label, you may be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing and result in a DUI, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.

In the ten years from 2005-2015, the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with an impairing drug other than alcohol in their system has risen from 26.2 percent to 42.6 percent. As far back as 2012, a roadside survey in California showed more drivers tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent).

During this national enforcement campaign, there will also be increased state and national messages about the dangers of riding impaired, which combined with enforcement, aims to drastically reduce drunk or drug impaired riding on our nation’s roadways.

Motorcycles require specific training and skill. When a rider adds alcohol, marijuana or impairing prescription medication to the mix, it is not only illegal, but increases the risky nature of riding a motorcycle.

There are so many options out there to get home safely. There is no excuse for getting behind the wheel when you are impaired.

To avoid a DUI and putting others, and yourself, at risk, the Ventura Police Department has a few tips to stay safe on the roads:

• · Always designate a sober driver.
• · Use public transportation or a ride sharing service to get home.
• · Have a friend or family member who is about to drive buzzed or impaired? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get them home safely.
• · Report drunk drivers – call 911.

Funding for this DUI operation is provided to the Ventura Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.