∙In June, Downtown Ventura closed its streets to expand outdoor dining and shopping as part of its Main Street Moves launch. This has saved many restaurants from having to close.

The closure will continue at least until September 14.

∙A new free COVID-19 walk-in test site, open to all county residents, is now open at the County Fairgrounds. No appointment is required. The test center is located in San Miguel Hall, and entry is through Gate 2 off Shoreline Drive. The, center is operated by Ventura County’s Health Care Agency and is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

∙The Ventura Unified School District is reviewing its school resource officer program. Ventura Superintendent Roger Rice said the district planned to put together a committee to address community members’ concerns over the program that puts officers on school campuses. The district has a contract with the Ventura Police Department to provide three officers, who split their time among the district’s elementary, middle and high schools. I think that an impartial committee to review this situation is called for before any decisions are made.

∙ In November, some of us will be voting for a city council member depending upon where you live. On September 6, 2017 the City received a letter from Robert Rubin, Esq., of San Francisco demanding that the City Council elections transition from the current “at-large” method to by-district” in order to conform to the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA). Mr. Rubin asserted that the City of Ventura is in violation of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 because “racially polarized voting” occurs in the city. Based upon this, and possible lawsuits, the city adopted city council districts.

These are the candidates for the districts. We will have more information closer to the elections.

District 2

• Doug Halter, business owner
• Dougie Michie, financial advisor/ lawyer
• Christy Weir, city councilmember

District 3

• Barbara Brown, professor/business owner
• William Cornell, small business owner
• Aaron Gaston, business owner/ realtor
• Mike Johnson, teacher

District 7

• Heather May Ellinger, real estate agent
• Michael James Nolan, realtor/telecommunications manager
• Nancy Pedersen, business owner/ executive
• Joel Schroeder, retired financial CEO

∙ The City of Ventura and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, a local environmental group, have announced an amendment to their settlement agreement in the lawsuit regarding the pumping and diversion of water from the Ventura River Watershed. Both Channelkeeper and the City remain committed to ensuring the protection of this local water source and the species that rely on it. The ongoing collaboration enables dialogue toward a locally developed solution to continue moving forward.

Under the modified terms, the City will continue the Pilot Program it implemented in 2019 to reduce its pumping and diversion of water from the Ventura River when flows drop during dry times, in order to help protect wildlife that depend on the river.

Additionally, the City and Channelkeeper have agreed to keep a dialogue open to identify additional ways to work collaboratively on other Watershed and habitat-related public relations efforts.

∙ I’m still bothered by Supreme Court decisions that are made with a simple majority vote of 5-4. These are major, major decisions that greatly affect how this country is run and should not be based on just one vote. I also think that Supreme Court justices should have fixed terms and not be appointed for life. Most Supreme Court nominations by presidents are made simply for political reasons with Republican appointees voting one way and Democratic opponents the other way (except on rare occasions). I don’t know what term limits should be, but I certainly think there should be one.

∙Scientists from Leeds and Edinburgh Universities and University College London analyzed satellite surveys of glaciers, mountains, and ice sheets between 1994 and 2017 to identify the impact of global warming. Describing the ice loss as “staggering,” the group found that melting glaciers and ice sheets could cause sea levels to rise dramatically, possibly reaching 3-feet by the end of the century. The dramatic loss of ice could have other severe consequences, including major disruption to the biological health of Arctic and Antarctic waters and reducing the planet’s ability to reflect solar radiation back into space.

∙NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he should have “listened earlier” to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick about the reasons behind his kneeling protests against police brutality and racial injustice.

Goodell admitted the league was “wrong” for not listening to players who were protesting during the national anthem.” I wished we had listened earlier to Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” Goodell stated in a video released last week.

Kaepernick, a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, started kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 to draw attention to police brutality and racial inequality. Other players embraced his form of protest, but it also gained critics such as President Trump, who decried it a sign of disrespect to the American flag.

Goodell now says he understands the protests were not about the flag and defended players who participated. “These are not people who are unpatriotic,” Goodell said. “They’re not disloyal. They’re not against our military. In fact, many of those guys were in the military, and they’re a military family. And what they were trying to do is exercise their right to bring attention to something that needs to get fixed. And that misrepresentation of who they were and what they were doing was the thing that really gnawed at me.”

∙Current, and some former, Ventura residents have sued the City over the removal of the statue of Junipero Serra from in front of City Hall. The Coalition for Historical Integrity filed its suit in Ventura County Superior Court two days prior to the statue being removed and put in storage with the hope of moving it to the Mission San Buenaventura. Ventura council members had predicted that the city would be sued either way whether they decided to remove the statue or keep it at the location in front of City Hall.

∙Oxnard Development Director Jeff Lambert has surprisingly left his position with Oxnard. A reason was not given. Lambert took the position in 2019 when leaving Ventura, where he held a similar position. He told the Breeze that he is going to start a consulting business to help builders get through permitting in Ventura County. I wish him luck.

∙In an effort to improve testing capacity for the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ventura County fairgrounds will become the county’s newest drive-through testing site. The fairgrounds site will be able to collect up to 1,500 samples per day. Hopefully, it won’t take 7-10 days to get results –as it takes now, which makes the process somewhat useless.

∙As an Indiana school district welcomed students to the 2020-21 academic year, one of their students tested positive for Covid-19 on the first day of class. This also happened on the first day in Georgia. This is why many parents are reluctant to send their kids back to school.

∙Millions of dollars of American taxpayer money went to China from the Paycheck Protection Program because the economic relief legislation allowed American subsidiaries of foreign firms to receive the loans. According to a review by the strategy consulting firm Horizon Advisory, $192 million to $419 million has gone to more than 125 companies that Chinese entities own or invest in. Many of the loans were quite sizable; at least 32 Chinese companies received loans worth more than $1 million.

∙Five individuals were charged in an indictment with fraudulently obtaining more than $4 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and using those funds, in part, to purchase luxury vehicles.  Authorities have seized a Range Rover worth approximately $125,000, jewelry, over $120,000 in cash, and over $3 million from 10 bank accounts at the time of arrest.

∙A Houston doctor who praises hydroxychloroquine and says that face masks aren’t necessary to stop transmission of the highly contagious coronavirus has become a star of the right-wing internet. Donald Trump Jr. declared the video of Stella Immanuel a “must watch,” while Donald Trump himself retweeted the video.

Other claims that she has made should also be considered. Immanuel, a pediatrician, and a religious minister, has a history of making bizarre claims about medical topics and other issues. She has often claimed that gynecological problems like cysts and endometriosis are in fact caused by people having sex in their dreams with demons and witches.

She alleges alien DNA is currently used in medical treatments, and that scientists are cooking up a vaccine to prevent people from being religious. And, despite appearing in Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress on Monday, she has said that the government is run in part not by humans but by “reptilians” and other aliens (this I can agree with).

∙It was not unusual for Garrett Foster to be at a protest against police brutality. And it was not out of character for him to be armed. Foster was carrying an AK-47 rifle as he joined a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Austin, Texas. Gun-rights supporters on both the left and the right often carry rifles at protests in Texas, a state whose liberal gun laws allow it. Later that night, Mr. Foster was fatally shot, but not by the police. The authorities said he was killed by a motorist who had threatened protesters with his car. In Texas, it is lawful to carry rifles, shotguns and other so-called long guns on the street without a permit, as long as the weapons are not brandished in a threatening manner. To me carrying these types of guns always projects a threatening manner.

∙Boris Johnson has admitted the government did not understand coronavirus during the “first few weeks and months” of the UK outbreak. The British PM told BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg there were “very open questions” about whether the lockdown had started too late. Mr. Johnson also spoke of “lessons to be learned” and said ministers could have done some things “differently”. How nice to have a leader willing to admit when he makes mistakes.

∙More than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multiday revival event at an Alabama Baptist church, according to the pastor. “The whole church has got it, just about,” pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist Church stated. The pastor said the churchgoers, including himself, tested positive after the congregation held a series of religious services featuring a guest pastor over several days.

∙A new poll released by NBC News shows who is more likely to say they wear a mask when leaving home. The NBC News/SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll found 97% of Democrats or people that lean Democratic say they wear a mask at least most of the time when they leave their homes and might be in contact with others. Republicans and those who lean Republican were at 70%. Who could have ever imagined that wearing masks and saving lives would be political?

∙In an abrupt reversal, President Donald Trump now is encouraging voters in the critical swing state of Florida to vote by mail after months of criticizing the practice, and only days after threatening to sue Nevada over a new vote-by-mail law. I’m sure this decision isn’t meant to favor his voting base.

∙A Senate GOP leader raised concerns on Wednesday over President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that mail-in-voting leads to mass fraud, arguing that Republicans should instead be encouraging voters to use the method in order to compete in a consequential election that will determine control of Congress and the White House. “Mail-in voting has been used in a lot of places for a long time (5-states only use mail-in voting),” Senate Majority Whip John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, said in the Capitol.

∙I didn’t think that the downtown closing of Main St. would be successful, but it is working very well. Outdoor dining is a great idea because it allows many restaurants to remain open that would be otherwise closed, many permanently. This is especially true because the Coronavirus will be with us for a long time.

Many restaurants have always had space to expand outside so are doing this now. With our wonderful weather all restaurants that can serve outside should.

It is sad, however, to see so many businesses now closed forever.

∙Once again, I want to thank the Breeze donors that are helping to keep the paper running.

∙Hedge-fund manager Chatham Asset Management LLC emerged as the winner in a bankruptcy auction for McClatchy Co., ending 163 years of family ownership for the newspaper chain and increasing financial investors’ control of the American publishing industry.

The sale, announced by McClatchy on Sunday, must be approved by the judge overseeing its bankruptcy. McClatchy publishes 30 daily papers, including the Miami Herald, the Sacramento Bee and the Kansas City Star.

This is good news so that the newspaper industry can, hopefully, survive.

∙Now that Father Serra has been removed from the pedestal at City Hall the question is what should replace him? A simple solution would be to just remove the pedestal. If a new statue is placed there perhaps it should be a Chumash elder. Do any Breeze readers have suggestions of what should be put in that location?

∙ Ventura County District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced that state and local officials have reached a settlement with Crimson Pipeline and its contractor CD Lyon Construction, Inc. and CD Lyon, Inc. These are the companies responsible for the June, 2016 crude oil spill in Hall Canyon, Ventura. The spill occurred from a crude oil pipeline owned by Crimson following a valve replacement operation and restart of the pipeline. New valve flanges were not properly tightened which caused the release of more than 44,000 gallons of crude oil.

In total, Crimson has agreed to pay $1,307,700 in civil penalties, costs, and natural resources damages. Additionally, CD Lyon has agreed to pay civil penalties and a portion of the outstanding costs totaling $300,000.

∙From the LA Times. This is what police defunding means to many including me.

“Several Los Angeles City Council members are calling for a new emergency-response model that uses trained specialists, rather than LAPD officers to render aid to homeless people and those suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues. The city of Berkeley, California, moved forward Wednesday with a proposal to eliminate police from conducting traffic stops and instead use unarmed civilian city workers as part of a broad overhaul of law enforcement. The City Council also set a goal of cutting the police budget by 50%.”

“The vote calls on the city manager to convene a “community engagement process” to pursue the creation of a separate department to handle transportation projects as well as enforcement of parking and traffic.”

Someone asked me if you are being robbed, are you supposed to call a social worker? Of course not, this is why we have a police department to deal with crimes and criminals.

∙Speaking of police, Ventura Police Commander Tom Higgins has retired after 28 years of outstanding service to our community. He will be missed, especially by the press who he provided police information to. I have also met him personally so hope to still see him someday when life goes back to normal.

∙The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster started in 2005 when Bobby Henderson, a physics graduate from Oregon State wrote “The Open Letter to the Kansas School Board.” This letter was published online as a response to a newly elected conservative-majority school board’s decision to teach creationism alongside evolution as equivalent scientific theories in science classes statewide.

In the letter, Mr. Henderson argued that if this were to be the case, then it would then only be fair to teach other creation beliefs in science classes as well. Specifically, his belief, that a Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe a few thousand years ago. What started out as a clever attempt to expose false equivalency quickly went viral online, and over the next 15 years would evolve into a vast religious community with millions of followers worldwide. Fittingly, these followers call themselves “Pastafarians.”

∙The official portraits of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have been removed from the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced by those of two Republican presidents who served more than a century ago.

White House tradition calls for portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent placement in the entrance of the executive mansion, visible to guests during official events.

∙The Republican speaker of Ohio’s House of Representatives was arrested by federal officials recently on charges connected to a $60 million bribery scheme. Larry Householder and four other political operatives were charged with racketeering in what US Attorney David DeVillers described as “likely the largest bribery money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio.”

∙Polar bears have long been the poster child of the consequences of climate change (yes it does exist, even if people aren’t causing it). A new study suggests the Arctic bears are at risk of being starved into extinction by the end of the century. It really doesn’t matter what is causing their decline, the important thing is to find a way to stop it.

∙A U.S. Navy veteran, Chris David, said he thought he would be able to talk plainly with federal agents in Portland and ask them why they were using unmarked cars to snatch people off the street during recent protests in the Oregon city.

When he tried to speak with them outside the federal courthouse, he said a federal officer beat him with a baton, breaking his hand in two places. A second officer sprayed him with chemical irritant, David said.

“I wanted to ask them, ‘Why are you guys not following the Constitution?’ But we never got there, and they whaled on me like a punching bag.”

∙Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he believes the pandemic could be brought under control over the next four to eight weeks if “we could get everybody to wear a mask right now.”

∙Trump on “Fox News Sunday” repeated his assertion that the virus will eventually disappear. “I’ll be right eventually,” he said. “It’s going to disappear, and I’ll be right.” Of course, it will go away eventually, and he can say that he was right. That is like saying that a forest fire will eventually stop burning and claiming you knew it was going to happen.

∙U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said calls for a boycott of Goya Foods because its CEO praised President Donald Trump were an attempt to “silence free speech.” But one year ago, the Texas Republican encouraged people to boycott Nike after the company halted plans to sell shoes featuring the Betsy Ross flag that some say glorifies slavery and racism.

∙ In this issue we launch a new Social Justice column. Please let me know what you think of the column? We hope readers will send in their thoughts to [email protected].

∙The statue of Father Junipero Serra in Sacramento’s Capitol Park was brought down amid a protest focusing on the rights and historical struggle of indigenous people.  As you know, Ventura is deciding what to do with our statue. See coverage in this issue.

Truthfully, as a non-native American, I don’t have a really strong feeling about this. However, since it offends people whose family members were negatively affected, we should listen to them and make it their decision. If the city decides to move it, I think putting it in the garden at the Mission would be a perfect place.

∙Florida reported 15,300 new COVID-19 cases – the most any state has reported in a single day This number blew past the previous high, 12,274, by New York on April 4.

∙If you have heard the transcripts released of body camera footage leading up to George Floyd’s death, you realize that the police officer just out and out killed him. “I’ll do anything, I’ll do anything y’all tell me to, man,” he tells officers early into the transcript. “I’m not resisting, man. I’m not!” He told officers he couldn’t breathe nearly 30 times. He was still being held down even after he died.

∙History 101: The British surrendered at Yorktown October 19, 1781. America declared its independence in 1776, but it took another five years to win freedom from the British. That day came on October 19, 1781, when the British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his troops in Yorktown, Virginia.

∙A group of scientists at the University of Nottingham think they’ve come up with a new “cosmic evolution” based calculation that says that there are likely to be at least 36 ongoing intelligent civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy.

The Milky Way (home to our Solar System) is estimated to have 100 billion to 400 billion stars, and roughly one exoplanet per star in our galaxy.

A key assumption is that it takes around five billion years for intelligent life to form on other planets, as it does on Earth (we aren’t quite there yet).

∙Billionaire property developer Joe Farrell, a prominent Republican fundraiser, received up to $1 million in taxpayer coronavirus relief funds, according to federal data released Monday. I only requested $500,000 but haven’t received it yet.

∙The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the number of hand sanitizers it recommends U.S. residents avoid due to the potential presence of a toxic substance.

The FDA has issued warnings about 59 different hand sanitizers, many of which contain methanol, which can be dangerous when absorbed through the skin or ingested. All of the sanitizers appear to have been produced in Mexico.

The FDA recommended recalls for the products and warned that it has “seen a sharp increase in hand sanitizer products that are labeled to contain ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination.”

The following is about President Trump in case you don’t want to read it.

“On Sunday, July 5, a segment on Ghislaine Maxwell during Fox News Channel’s ‘America’s News HQ’ mistakenly eliminated President Donald Trump from a photo alongside then Melania Knauss, Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell,” a spokesperson for the network said. The Fox News spokesperson added, “We regret the error.” What they really regret is getting caught.

Dr. Anthony Fauci disagreed with President Trump’s claim that 99% of coronavirus cases are “totally harmless.” Trump said this after being told that only 1% of people infected die. Apparently he doesn’t think (or understand) that post-viral syndrome associated with Covid-19 has incapacitated some patients for prolonged periods and could affect their health for the rest of their lives. Does he consider that to be “totally harmless.”

In an interview published in The Financial Times, Dr. Fauci stated he last saw Trump in person at the White House on June 2 and has not briefed the president for at least two months.

Trump said of the virus, “I think that at some point that it’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.” We all hope, and of course at some point it will go away but that would have been much quicker if it wasn’t for his lack of acknowledgement and guidance. “Everything is being handled,” he stated.

President Donald Trump visited the US-Mexico border Tuesday and tried to credit his new wall with stopping both undocumented immigration and the coronavirus

President Trump is once more pushing to have his border wall painted black, a design change that is projected to add at least $500 million in costs. He is insisting that the dark color will enhance its forbidding appearance and leave the steel too hot to touch during summer months.

A day after Fox News’ latest national poll showed that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden had opened up a 12-point edge over Trump, one of many such surveys in recent weeks that has Biden widening his lead, the president called the Fox poll fraudulent and claimed it was created by “haters.”

President Donald Trump said some Americans might wear face masks not as a way to prevent the spread of coronavirus but as a way to “signal disapproval of him.” Tell that to the over 130,000 Americans who are dead. How sad.

It’s more work to put on a pair of pants or shoes than it is to put on a mask.

∙Regarding the Bill Green cartoon in the last issue, I have received negative feedback and criticism from some of our readers and sincerely apologize for running it. It wasn’t intended to be racist in any manner, but rather just a satirical social comment on the changes underway in this country and the challenges faced by people of color.

It completely missed the mark, and, in retrospect, understand that the cartoon should never have been published. I now realize that this attempt at humor trivialized the very serious issue of racism that continues to plague our society. I have learned from this experience, and, of course, have spent considerable time reflecting upon the lack of awareness that enabled me to publish the cartoon in the first place. I don’t consider myself to be racist in any way, but, those are easy words to say. What I have come to realize is that I do not know or even begin to understand the plight of marginalized people in this country. I don’t have any concept of their experience, know how they feel, the challenges they face being a person of color, or the prejudices they have to deal with in their daily lives.

So, to that end, I’ve been thinking more about what I can do to learn, and to support. I can clearly use the platform of the Ventura Breeze to support this cause. So, I have decided that it could be meaningful to add a new column, starting with the next issue, titled, Social Justice. The goal of this column will be to create an area of coverage/dialogue to help educate and to increase community understanding and transparency around this difficult societal topic.

Please feel free to send any content ideas to [email protected]. If there are local challenges and opportunities, I would very much like to hear about them.

∙Father Junipero Serra’s statue outside Ventura City Hall -and his statues elsewhere- has become very controversial and many are being torn down. Ours was made from the wood carving by the late Wilbur Rubottom that is still on display in the City Hall atrium. Rubottom Cabinets is still active in Ventura run by his family. Even if it is removed, I hope the wood carving remains in City Hall because it is a wonderful piece of art. Many works of art are controversial.

As an alternative, a plaque could be added that explains why he is controversial so that his history is known, and people can understand why he’s controversial.

∙ There are calls to defund police departments. I think a better word would be to re-fund police departments and to reduce their loads and redistribute responsibilities to other agencies. and have other agencies deal with some of what they are asked to deal with. For instance, the homeless and mentally ill should not have a police response but a response by social workers and those trained to deal with this population. A uniformed officer showing up with guns can just escalate a situation that could be better handled by others. This is not what the police even want to deal with.

Look how well our park Ambassador program is doing with the homeless populations. They are not threatening but become friends and aids to those needing help and guidance with mental illness and drugs. When a situation becomes dangerous, they then call in the police.

∙ After the City Council approved it by a 4-3 vote, Ventura will require masks inside businesses and government offices, on public transit and in most other indoor locations open to the public. The city manager will now draft an emergency order calling out the details of the new policy. It will go into effect as soon as the City Council approves the new order.

∙The Food and Drug Administration has ended its emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs the president touted in the fight against coronavirus. Mr. Trump took a 14-day regimen of hydroxychloroquine himself. Based on the FDA’s continued review of the available scientific evidence, it determined the drug is “unlikely to be effective in treating COVID-19 for the authorized uses,” the FDA said. The agency added that “in light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other serious side effects, the known benefits “no longer outweigh the known and potential risks.” The US now has more hydroxychloroquine than it knows what to do with. It started stockpiling the drug in March, and now has 63 million surplus doses of the drug.

∙A divided Supreme Court further advanced the cause of LGBTQ rights, ruling that a landmark civil rights law barring sex discrimination in the workplace applies to gay, lesbian and transgender workers. The court’s ruling is likely to have a sweeping impact on federal civil rights laws barring sex discrimination in education, health care, housing and financial credit. About time.

∙Trump blamed the lack of at least 13,000 people not attending his Tulsa rally on the protesting thugs. First of all, they weren’t thugs, but rather about 175 peaceful demonstrators. and is he saying 175 protesters kept 13,000 people from entering the arena. Why didn’t the 13,000 hang around outside to listen to him on the big screen? Plus, the other 40,000 people that were supposed to be outside. Because they weren’t there. When only a handful of people showed up outside to participate, the organizers took down the stage and big screen.

When he blamed the thugs, his fans booed as if this was a TV reality show. Oh wait, maybe it is, and we are in a parallel universe and Trump isn’t really our president.

Why can’t he just be honest and say, “I was disappointed in the turn out, but 6,000 supporters is a start and we will win the election.” instead of (like always) finding excuses and people to blame when things don’t go his way.

Republican Lindsey Graham praises Joe Biden and calls Donald Trump a ‘race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot’ in new ad ‘You know how you make America great again? Lindsey said, “Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”

∙In a list of things Americans should do to protect themselves and others against coronavirus, Vice President Mike Pence mentioned everything health officials say Americans should do — hand washing, avoiding touching the face, disinfecting frequently.

He pointedly did not mention two of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s main pieces of advice— wearing face masks and social distancing.

∙The Trump administration doesn’t have the authority to divert Pentagon funds to construct additional barriers on the US-Mexico border, a federal appeals court ruled, days after President Donald Trump’s visit to a section of the wall in Arizona.

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.
Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
~ Marie Curie

∙The City of Ventura plans to cut 35 jobs to balance the budget. It is hoped they can do this without layoffs by using early retirements and a hiring freeze.

City Manager Alex McIntyre stated the budget plans are a “shared sacrifice making sure we don’t balance the budget on the back of any particular service or partner or group of employees, that we do it in a way that’s equitable and fair.”

The city was expecting budget deficits in the coming years even prior to the pandemic. Every type of city revenue (except for property taxes) is falling. The biggest drops are sales and hotel taxes, and license and permit fees, which are especially hard hit at this time.

The Ventura City Council received a report from Michael Coon, the City’s finance and technology director, that outlined a plan to eliminate the projected $11.1 million shortfall between projected spending and revenue while avoiding layoffs.

The city also plans to save $1 million by reducing by 40% the funding it provides to eight different outside agencies. These include the Ventura Housing Authority, CAPS media, the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau and the Museum of Ventura County. I have a real problem with these cuts. These particular agencies provide important services to Ventura, both culturally and financially (see my letter in the Mailbox).

Other savings could come from using federal grants instead of city funds to pay for part of the city’s homeless shelter. If these are available why weren’t they used to begin with?

Because no one knows how long the pandemic and the recession will last, all of this is uncertain.

I have (I might lose some of my city employee friends) always felt that there is a huge amount of waste at all levels of government. If 40% of employees are let go, it not only would save money, but efficiencies would also increase. How often do I see city employees with certain roles sitting with nothing to do until their particular services are required? Many city jobs could be combined to eliminate staff.

I remember an architect friend that went to work for the LA Housing Authority and finished his daily assigned work in 2-hours and was told, by his boss to take 8-hours to do it. He quit before it ruined his work ethics.

∙A brush fire, named the Elizabeth Fire, burned 250 acres in the hills between Ventura and Santa Paula in Ventura County’s first major wildfire this year. The wildfire occurred in an area that burned during the Thomas Fire. As a result, fuel for the fire was exceptionally light and because there was very little wind the fire was quickly controlled. Seeing smoke billowing up certainly made Venturan’s very concerned.

∙Three weeks after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted his stay-at-home order, the state has seen a big spike in the number of coronavirus cases. More than 1,500 new cases were reported along with 25 new deaths in 24 hours, officials said.

Florida’s Department of Health on Saturday morning reported a new daily record high of 2,581 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 — surpassing the previous high by 679. Wisconsin’s Department of Health Services said 72 people who tested positive for COVID-19 on or after April 26 attended a large gathering not long before. As many as 25 states report in increase in COVID cases as residents begin to completely ignore wearing masks and social distancing as restaurants and other businesses open.

The virus ain’t over until it is over. Cases (and deaths) will just keep increasing if all recommendations are ignored. This could last for years.

∙North Korea stated it was abandoning attempts to pursue a diplomatic relationship with the White House because two years after a historic handshake between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un “even a slim ray of optimism” for peace and prosperity on the Korean peninsula had “faded away into a dark nightmare.” Does this mean that Trump won’t be presented the Nobel Peace Prize that he said, “some were suggesting that I should receive?” As he clapped, as he often does, while telling us how wonderful he is.

∙ The Polish military has admitted it accidentally invaded the Czech Republic last month, but it insists its brief occupation of a small part of the country was simply a “misunderstanding.” They realized they made a mistake when those they invaded were not speaking Polish.

∙President Trump struggled to lift a glass of water recently during his speech to U.S. Military Academy graduates at West Point. Trump started to lift the glass with his right hand but seemed unable to guide it all the way up to his lips. The President used his left hand to steady the glass and tilt it into his mouth. After a lethargic speech to the graduates of the Army college, Trump looked unsteady as he walked down a set of stairs.

“The ramp…was very long & steep, had no handrail and, most importantly, was very slippery,” he wrote on Twitter. “The last thing I was going to do is “fall” for the Fake News to have fun with.” If he fell, would that be fake news or important reporting?

Trump critics and even some medical professionals believe these are signs of potentially serious medical problems. “This is a persistent neurological sign that, combined with others, would be concerning enough to require a brain scan,” said Dr. Bandy Lee, a Yale psychiatrist.

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis slammed President Donald Trump’s response to the protests over the death of George Floyd, saying the President “tries to divide us” while calling his “bizarre photo op” in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church “an abuse of executive authority.”

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis wrote in a statement published by The Atlantic.

In the stunning rebuke of his former boss, Mattis, a retired general, said he’d promised to defend the Constitution when he was sworn into the Marine Corps “some 50 years ago.”

“Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens — much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside,” Mattis wrote.

Trump, he said, is a divider, and the country is “witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort.”

In explaining this, Trump said Mattis was mad because he fired him. Problem with that statement, however, was that he didn’t fire him, Mattis quit. Is this Trump forgetting again or just another lie?

∙Ventura has made announcements about closing four to five blocks on Main St. downtown to make them pedestrian friendly, but no one seems to know what that means exactly. Does that mean closing all of Main so that people can walk in the street? Or does it mean removing some parking spaces so restaurants can expand into them?

Where would people park in order to walk downtown? What about the thrift shops and furniture stores, do they all have rear entrances so customers can pick up their purchases? What happens to traffic? Does it just turn and take Poli or Thompson around downtown? Will be interesting to see what this really means.

Not sure if the city council really knows, except that it sounds like a nice idea. And, maybe with the county approving additional phases and opening-up businesses, this might not even be necessary.

∙Readers are asking me what happened to the multi-paper rack that was located in front of the downtown post office. What a good question. Without the courtesy of telling the “vendors”, one day they just removed them without any notice or warning. Very rude and unprofessional. On top of that they took the inserts in the racks belonging to us (which cost about $400), so they actually stole our property.

∙Regarding the virus, it seems that many people only followed the guidelines because it was the law, and not because it was the safe and prudent thing to do. Now that restrictions have been relaxed a little, many people aren’t following any of the guidelines, which will probably mean that the whole situation will just continue and start over.

The first California county to change its reopening plan wasn’t an urban area or a coastal area where beaches draw crowds, but rather a remote city that didn’t have a single known coronavirus case until last week.

All it took was a single infection that spread to four other people before Lassen County, home to 30,000 people living in the high desert of Northern California, temporarily rescinded reopening orders. Dining at restaurants, in-store shopping, hair cuts and religious services are now barred.

This virus isn’t the flu where you take two aspirin and call your doctor in the morning. If you get it, you could spend several weeks in the hospital and then still die. The way some people are acting now it will never go away. No face masks (“If my president doesn’t wear one why should I”), or distancing.

The people who are claiming their constitutional rights to not wear face masks in restaurants are absurd. First of all, this has absolutely nothing to do with constitutional rights and restaurants can set any dress code that they wish. Some restaurants even require that ties be worn (not in Ventura of course), so requiring face masks is just a new dress code.

These people are jeopardizing the health and lives of others. Does the constitution give them that right?

∙If your dead relative got a coronavirus stimulus check, the government wants the money back.

“A payment made to someone who died before receipt of the payment should be returned to the IRS,” the Treasury said in a statement.

In this case the saying, “I’m probably better off dead,” might be true. So, if you are dead, you should immediately return the money or you could go to jail.

∙ Many kinds of scams are on the rise especially those that target more vulnerable seniors. Please, seniors, do not give your vital information to people on the phone or on your computer even if they seem very legitimate. And that call from your grandson held captive in Iran is also phony even if the caller does know all your personal information.

∙ Don’t get mad and critical when our police don’t remove the homeless (and their belongings) from where you feel they should not be allowed. The police are powerless to do such. A federal judge has ruled that Los Angeles must stop seizing and tossing out bulky things such as mattresses that homeless people have on sidewalks or other property based solely on their size. I know that we are not LA, but these types of rulings have applied in many cases that have gone to the courts and would apply here also.

∙The University of California Board of Regents unanimously voted to suspend the SAT and ACT testing requirements for freshman applicants through 2024 and eliminate them for California students after that.

Instead, the UC system , which includes about 280,000 students across the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley, and seven other undergraduate schools, will focus on creating its own test “that better aligns with the content the University expects students to have mastered for college readiness” and its values.

∙New words that we need to learn because of the virus that news media are using.

Attestation:

A proving of the existence of something through evidence.

An official verification of something as true or authentic.

the notary’s attestation of the will.

The proof or evidence by which something (such as the usage of a word) is attested.

∙A Florida man who thought the coronavirus was “a fake crisis” has changed his mind after he and his wife contracted COVID-19.

Brian Hitchens downplayed the seriousness of the coronavirus in Facebook posts in March and April.

“I’m honoring what our government says to do during this epidemic but I do not fear this virus because I know that my God is bigger than this Virus will ever be,” he wrote in a post on April 2. “Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

∙35 of the 92 people (38%) who attended services at a rural Arkansas church March 6–11 tested positive for the coronavirus, ultimately killing three, according to a case study released by the CDC.

Places of worship continue to be a problem for controlling the widespread transmission of the coronavirus, especially as some churches and local government officials push to loosen restrictions on religious gatherings siting religious freedom.

∙The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it is pausing trials of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug that President Donald Trump said he took as a possible preventative COVID-19 treatment, despite his own government’s warnings about the drug’s potentially life-threatening side effects.

The WHO’s decision came after scientists from six continents linked the drug to higher death rates in a massive study published Friday by the Lancet journal.

∙President Trump signed an executive order targeting social media companies, days after Twitter called two of his tweets “potentially misleading.”

Speaking from the Oval Office ahead of signing the order, Trump said the move was to “defend free speech from one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history.”

“A small handful of social media monopolies controls a vast portion of all public and private communications in the United States,” he claimed. “They’ve had unchecked power to censor, restrict, edit, shape, hide, alter, virtually any form of communication between private citizens and large public audiences.”

And this is the man who has 80 million twitter followers. Maybe this is “one of the gravest dangers it has faced in American history.”

When defending his decisions of why he fired four inspector generals, Trump kept referring to them as “attorney generals.” Since he doesn’t appear to know what the people do who he is firing, how can he decide they aren’t doing a good job?

∙One after another, Ventura’s wonderful events are being cancelled. The latest is Music Under the Stars, held at the Olivas Adobe. This is one of my favorites. Too bad they couldn’t have an abbreviated season (3-4 concerts) later in the year.

∙ It’s odd looking at my weekly calendar, which is currently blank. I now look forward to going to the bank (yes, I still do that in person).

∙If you have a passion for radio, or a show or podcast you want to create and share, you can join the CAPS Media creative community by becoming a member of the CAPS Media family. See the CAPS article for all the details. I had a show for a while, and it was great fun.

∙In an effort to keep up with rising costs (tax base is dwindling), Ventura is raising hundreds of fees it charges for developers and others that use city services.

The City Council voted unanimously to adopt a new fee schedule that will take effect starting July 3. This will increase the city’s fees for building permits, water connections and other city services. There are also new fees of 3% for credit card payments, the same amount the city is charged by its credit card company.

The fee increases should add approximately $500,000 per year.

Stephanie Caldwell, the president and CEO of the Ventura Chamber of Commerce, appeared to speak against the increases. “We strongly oppose any increase to the city fees during this time, in the midst of the biggest economic disaster that any of us will see in our lifetime,” she stated.

Not sure how I feel about this when businesses are struggling but Ventura does need the funds.

∙Once again, I want to thank our dedicated readers and supporters who have contributed to the Breeze to help keep us going.

∙I think that Gov. Newsom is doing the correct thing in his approach to handling the virus by being cautious. Let other states (like Georgia) that are opening-up be the litmus test. Let’s see what their positive results and/or deaths are over the next few weeks. This ain’t a joke or conspiracy.

∙Two weeks after Texas Governor Greg Abbott began reopening the economy, the state reported 1,801 new confirmed coronavirus infections marking its single-highest rise in cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

Of the new cases, 734 are from Potter and Randall counties. “These counties’ new cases are largely from targeted testing of employees at meat plants in the area. More test results from plants are expected,” stated the Texas Department of Health.

As of May 17, Texas has a total of 45,198 COVID-19 cases, with 1,272 deaths and 25,454 recoveries. Before the weekend, Texas had never reported over 1,500 cases in one day. The state has been averaging roughly 1,220 cases per day over the past week, as non-essential businesses continue to open as part of Governor Greg Abbott’s phased reopening plan.

∙If you need nice moving boxes, Steve’s Hardware (on Thompson) always has all kinds of sizes available for free. And you could even buy a new toilet while you are there.

∙Such difficult times. Jails are letting out those who have committed more minor crimes to reduce the spread of virus in their population, but at the same time there are no jobs or facilities where they can go. This will increase the homeless population and perhaps crimes. There is just not an easy solution to these complex problems.

∙The US Postal Service is actually doing something good. Photos of the items that will be placed in your PO boxes are emailed to holders who register for the service. This way trips can be eliminated and reduced.

∙ One of the ways that America is informed of important government happenings are through the press conferences that the president has. At these meetings, reporters are asking important questions so they can provide relevant answers for their readers and listeners.

When Trump doesn’t like a question, or can’t answer it intelligently, he calls the person a fake reporter that no one reads. If the reporter insists on an answer, Trump insults the person further, says the meeting is over and leaves the room.

The next time he insults a reporter doing their job I would love to see all of them just get up and leave. This is not a reality show, this is life. Why is Trump incapable of treating it as such? We expect this kind of behavior from China, perhaps, but not in our democracy.

And what is this nonsense that the Coronavirus is a liberal Democrat made-up conspiracy to defeat Trump? Over 300,000 people have died throughout the world. Does this mean the entire world is part of this to defeat Trump? Good grief, be serious.

∙I received two envelopes from US Treasury so assumed that each contained a $1,200 stimulus check. Opened the first one, and it had a check for $26. After a few swear words, I opened the second one and it had a check for $2,400. Looking more closely at the $26 check, it was an income tax rebate. I never get income tax rebates, so this was a little peculiar, but I kept it anyway.

∙Folks that owe school loans and other money to the government are having their $1200 rebate checks applied directly to those balances. I don’t think this is appropriate during these times when people need money to survive. The government can get their money when things are back to normal (whatever our normal is going to be).

Regarding stimulus payments from the government, I’m glad to hear that the LA Lakers have returned the $4.6-million that they received. Hopefully, athletes making only $20-mill a year have saved some money and can manage to not receive salaries for a while. If I receive $4.6M, I will immediately return it as well.

∙The former co-owner of Discovery Ventura is facing criminal charges over a similar business venture in San Luis Obispo County. Jeremy Pemberton opened the entertainment venue in midtown Ventura in 2014 with his brother. In 2017, Pemberton was working to open another location in San Luis Obispo. Many Venturans, who invested in this venture have never received anything in return. They lost all of their investments.

While seeking investors for the San Luis Obispo project, authorities allege Pemberton misrepresented the amount of financial backing he already had. He is also accused of failing to disclose to these investors that there was a default on the lease he had for the future site.

The situation was made even more complicated in December last year when Pemberton filed for bankruptcy.

In the meantime, the property of the Discovery Ventura building, located at 1888 E. Thompson Blvd., is on the market for $4.2 million. So, if you want to buy a restaurant, music venue, bowling alley and bar, this is your chance.

Luckily (or wisely), the Ventura Breeze stopped accepting their advertisements some time ago because their credit cards were always being declined.

∙I’m sure you all remember our previous city manager Rick Cole. After being dismissed from Ventura, he went on to hold several important positions. His last one being the city manager of Santa Monica. He recently resigned, citing divisions over drastic budget cuts that he has recommended as result of the coronavirus. He has been under fire by some who accused him of rushing to cut programs and city staff, deeming it unnecessary. But, no need to worry about him financially since he has several pensions and will not have to worry about an income.

∙Soon good, and bad, news regarding local newspapers. Three smaller newspapers recently closed by the LA Times have just been purchased by the owner of a La Canada Flintridge paper. But, at the same time, the publisher of all four of Northern California county’s newspapers has stopped publication. This is all based on the great huge reduction of advertising in all newspapers, big and small.

∙Once again, I want to sincerely thank our dedicated readers for donating money to keep the Breeze in publication. Hopefully, this will keep us publishing until the economy does turn around when we can, once again, have our more usual number of advertisers.

∙Many local restaurants (and all take-out restaurants) are open for delivery or take-out, So, please support our local businesses and shop as best you can. Many also have sales on-line to consider. Hopefully, they can open-up soon.

∙President Trump recently took aim at George W. Bush after the former Republican president issued a call to push partisanship aside amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In a three-minute video shared on Twitter, Bush urged Americans to remember “how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat. In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We are human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God,” Bush said. “We rise or fall together, and we are determined to rise.”

Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said Sunday that he “can’t really explain” President Donald Trump’s public speculation last week about using disinfectant as a treatment for COVID-19, but he advised the president make sure his news conferences on the coronavirus are “fact-based.”

Hogan, chairman of the National Governors Association, said on ABC News’ “This Week” that from the beginning of the outbreak, it had been important to him that officials communicate “very clearly on the facts because people listen to these press conferences.”

“They listen when the governor holds a press conference and they certainly pay attention when the president of the United States is standing there giving a press conference about something as serious as this worldwide pandemic,” Hogan said. “And I think when misinformation comes out or you just say something that pops in your head, it does send a wrong message.”

“We had hundreds of calls in our hotline here in Maryland from people asking about injecting or ingesting these disinfectants, which is, you know, hard to imagine that people thought that that was serious.”

Donald Trump said he will take no responsibility if Americans inject or otherwise consume disinfectant to kill Covid-19, even though he suggested it during a press conference. Finally, some Republicans are speaking out against some of the rash statements made by Trump.

Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to wear a mask during his visit to the prestigious Mayo Clinic sent the wrong message. He was the only one in the hospital not wearing a mask. He certainly didn’t support the federal guidelines he regularly touts.

Regarding Trump, there is an opinion in our Mailbox section from Kevin Daly that I suggest you read. Again, I am always looking for counter-opinions.

∙WOW, WOW, WOW! I am humbled by the overwhelming support for the Ventura Breeze from our wonderful readers. I cannot thank all of you enough for your financial contributions.

Community papers rely on local advertisers for survival. And, as we all know, our local businesses are fighting for their lives. Please continue to support them as best you can along with our current advertisers.

Unfortunately, community papers are closing in droves. The Burbank Leader, the Glendale News Press (published since 1905) and the La Canada Valley Sun and OC Weekly are just a few of them. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which was a daily paper, is now printing 3-days a week.

I’ll continue to do everything in my power to support our community by keeping the paper alive through this difficult period. Again, thank you for your support. With your help, we have a fighting chance.

Ventura County has opened up its golf courses, but golfers can’t use motorized carts. So, now they might actually get some exercise. Sorry golfers don’t mean to pick on you.

∙Trump fans were going to be proud of me because I was not going say one thing about him in this issue, but something is happening that I must comment on.

First let me say that I do not dislike all Republican presidents.

I didn’t dislike:

Warren G. Harding, Eisenhower, Ford, one of the Bushes and Reagan.

I didn’t like Nixon at all.

A reader said that I am a typical Democrat. I don’t think that there is a typical Democrat or a typical Republican or a typical Christian or a typical Jew. We are all individuals, and the last thing I’ve ever been called in my life is typical.

What is going on really scares me. And, if it doesn’t scare all Americans, that is even more frightening. A president encouraging riots and anarchy should be cause for concern for all Americans.

I did not write any of the following (it was simply a cut and paste).

Late last week, Trump cheered the effort to “LIBERATE” Michigan, Minnesota and Virginia – three states with Democratic governors. He defended those tweets Friday, saying that he thinks some states stay-at-home orders “are too tough,” adding he feels “very comfortable” with his tweets.

“These are people expressing their views,” he said. “I see where they are, and I see the way they’re working. They seem to be very responsible people to me, but it’s — you know, they’ve been treated a little bit rough.”

Governors across the country on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump’s expression of solidarity with those protesting various state issued stay-at-home orders, saying his comments are “dangerous” and “don’t make any sense.”

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said, “I don’t know any other way to characterize it, when we have an order from governors, both Republicans and Democrats, that basically are designed to protect people’s health, literally their lives, to have a president of the United States basically encourage insubordination, to encourage illegal activity. To have an American president to encourage people to violate the law, I can’t remember any time during my time in America where we have seen such a thing.”

Inslee said Trump’s comments were “dangerous” because they “can inspire people to ignore things that actually can save their lives.” Trump’s promotion of the protesters was “hobbling our national efforts to protect people from this terrible virus.”

The protests have seen a large pro-Trump contingency, with demonstrators wearing and waving Make America Great Again gear, as well as “Don’t Tread on Me” flags. Some have even been seen waving Confederate flags at the rallies (and carrying rifles).

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, told CNN’s “State of the Union” his state is “doing everything we possibly can to reopen in a safe manner,” but “I don’t think it’s helpful to encourage demonstrations and encourage people to go against the president’s own policy. Trump is playing with fire.”

Just 24 hours after he told the nation’s governors, “You are going to call your own shots,” when it comes to reopening the economy, the President posted a series of incendiary messages on Twitter that seemed to incite his followers to revolt against the current orders to stay at home.

He issued similar tweets calling for the liberation of Minnesota and Virginia, including a disturbing addendum for loyalists to “save your great 2nd Amendment,” adding, “It is under siege!”

What exactly is Trump trying to do? This is not an out-of-range dog whistle. We can all hear it. Trump is calling for open revolt in three states – all of which are potentially competitive in 2020 and run by Democratic governors.

Even judged against Trump’s own record, these incendiary messages are beyond the pale for many reasons.

Anger and frustration lie just below the surface. It wouldn’t take much for peaceful protests to turn violent. Trump’s referral to gun rights makes the prospect of violence even more ominous.

Trump may discover that once he incites his supporters, he may not be able to rein them in should they decide to act. These are times unlike any we have experienced. Emotions are running high. That is a tempting canvas for a demagogue seeking to design his own version of reality, but there’s no guarantee Trump can control what he sets loose.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee accused the President of “fomenting domestic rebellion.” He wasn’t the only one who saw that as the message. After Trump’s string of tweets, right-wing extremists questioned whether the President was calling for a “boogaloo” – a term derived from 4chan that extremists use to describe an armed insurrection, which many far-right activists have been gearing up and advocating since last year.

Hogan, Maryland’s Republican governor, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” described the lack of testing as the biggest problem in the nation since the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States.

Hogan is and chair of the National Governors Association. He once considered running against Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination.

As always, we welcome (and encourage) Trump supporters/fans to provide us with some intelligent counter input as to why this is acceptable behavior for a President of The United States.