∙After more than 30–years at 2401 Harbor, the last Carrows Restaurant in Ventura County has closed its doors. Carrows Restaurants, Inc. is a subsidiary of Catalina Restaurant Group, Inc. I’m sorry to see it close. Even though part of a chain, it was still a local casual restaurant.

∙The board that oversees use of the Ventura County Fairgrounds has voted to tighten rules on gun shows in 2019.

The changes will impact Crossroads of the West, which has three more shows scheduled this year.

The policy changes are likely to include requiring firearms, whether in a locked showcase or on display, be attached to security cords. Vendors and their employees will also be banned from drinking alcohol.

∙And speaking about guns:

A gunman who killed two workers and then himself at a Ford dealership in the San Francisco Bay area Tuesday had apparently just been fired, witnesses said. Police confirmed that he appears to have been either a disgruntled or former employee.

A San Bernardino woman was arrested after one of her sons accidently shot and killed his 12-year old twin-brother in their home. The boy’s mother was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty for leaving the unprotected gun where it could be used by her kids.

A 10-month old girl is in critical condition after a man shot her in the head after the baby’s mother rejected him at a party.

A longstanding dispute ended with the deaths of five people after a shooting in a quiet mobile home park in Central California. The shooter is 64.

∙San Francisco will become the first US city to effectively ban e-cigarette sales, after the city’s board of supervisors unanimously voted in favor of an ordinance providing this law.

The ordinance states; “No person shall sell or distribute an electronic cigarette to a person in San Francisco” unless that product has undergone premarket review by the US Food and Drug Administration. To date, none have.

Health advocates have been saying that the FDA has failed to assume their responsibility on this matter. The city criticized the FDA for allowing these products to temporarily remain on shelves without undergoing premarket review for their impact on public health, as required.

E-cigarettes are a product that, by law, is not allowed on the market without FDA review.

FDA spokesman Michael Felberbaum said that, “The FDA has and will continue to tackle the troubling epidemic of e-cigarette use among kids. This includes preventing youth access to, and appeal of, flavored tobacco products like e-cigarettes and cigars, taking action against manufacturers and retailers who illegally market or sell these products to minors, and educating youth about the dangers of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.”

This includes sales in brick-and-mortar stores, as well as online sales shipped to a San Francisco address. The ordinance also applies to flavored tobacco products in addition to e-cigarettes. The measure does not ban the use of vapes among people 21 and older.

Vaping may or may not be healthier than smoking conventional cigarettes, but it is getting dangerous. Recently, a teenage boys’ vape exploded blowing out several of his teeth and cracked open his jaw. This was not the first incident of vapers blowing up.

Obviously, people who want to buy e-cigarettes won’t have any trouble doing so, but I’m glad that San Francisco is making a statement by enacting this ordinance.

∙A Texas woman was banned from a Walmart for eating half of a cake and refusing to pay for it. Can’t blame her – why pay for half a cake? She can’t have her cake and eat it too.

∙For the first time since humans have existed on Earth, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has topped 415 parts per million. It reached 415.26 parts per million, according to sensors at the Mauna Loa Observatory, a research outpost of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.

A report has revealed that at least 1 million species were at risk of extinction thanks to human activity and the carbon emissions that are a byproduct of economic development.

∙The Kansas Supreme Court ruled that women have the right to an abortion under the state’s Constitution. In a 6-1 decision, the state’s highest court also kept in place a temporary injunction on a law that bans a common second trimester abortion procedure.

∙Apple, Inc. will manufacture its new Mac Pro computer in China. It has been its only major device assembled in the United States. They will use Quanta Computer to manufacture the $6,000 desktop computer.

∙ A well-known pizza company has a policy that if you drop and ruin your pizza, they will replace it. Do you know anyone who has ever dropped a pizza? What happens if you are driving home after picking up a pizza and have a car accident, will they give you a new pizza, and repair your car for free? Better read the pizza contract.

∙Entanglement, what Einstein called “spooky action at a distance,” describes things that are separated far in distance yet seem to be inseparable mathematically—measuring one seems to immediately impact the other. Scientists have been aware of these spooky correlations since the early study of quantum physics, as early as 1935. Way past my understanding.

∙I want to thank the Ventura Port District for inserting the Harbor Views Newsletter in this issue. Nice to know that they feel the Breeze is the best way to contact Venturans.

Commenting on gun violence, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated, “From San Bernardino to Ventura to Poway, too many Californians have already died from gun violence.” Strange that we got mentioned. Normally that would be good but maybe not in this case. Makes it sound as if we have lots of gun shootings here.

∙The Ventura City Council accepted a recommendation from Ventura’s water sources General Manager Susan Rungren to remain in a Stage 3 Water Shortage Event.

This means rate payers will continue to be divided into four cost tiers.

Apparently, rates won’t increase, but rates will remain the same through fiscal year 2019-20.

The fact that the City remains in Stage 3 seems strange to me, even the State has declared that we no longer have a water shortage.

∙In 2011, Ventura, and some homeowners in the Pierpont area, came to an agreement on who would clean sand from the beach in front of their properties that was blocking their ocean views.

Per this agreement, the City would remove tons of dirt and haul it away. Of course, the sand just comes back and now the City is being sued once again by a few owners.

The City claims that this is a natural occurring condition, and even if the City is held responsible it should not be the only one to pay for the removal costs.

What really confuses the issue (and others) is that the City owns 40 feet of the beach in front of the homes and the State owns the beach to the ocean, so the question becomes just whose sand is this and who should pay?

Never have understood why the State still owns part of our beaches. Can’t they just give it to us?

∙Cannabis in the news:

Businesses that focus on manufacturing, testing and distributing cannabis can apply to operate in Oxnard starting next month because the Oxnard City Council has voted to relax the current ban.

With a unanimous vote, Council gave preliminary approval for cannabis distributors and manufacturers and a testing lab to open in the city. Oxnard is considering allowing up to eight manufacturers, three distributors and one testing lab.

Port Hueneme cannabis dispensaries are contributing $30,000 in order to continue presenting the City’s Fourth of July fireworks show.

When, oh when, will our City Council get it?

∙I went online to make a DMV reservation. The next available appointment is in August which isn’t too bad considering that is about how long you would sit there without a reservation.

∙How to make foreign friends – An American airstrike accidentally killed at least eight Afghan police officers in southern Afghanistan.

∙The FBI released documents on the bureau’s short-lived investigation into Bigfoot which was done in 1977.

The 22 documents show that the bureau’s Scientific and Technical Services Division examined 15 hairs sent by Peter Byrne, who was head of the now-defunct Bigfoot Information Center and Exhibition in Oregon, and determined they were from a newspaper publisher and not bigfoot.

∙I like to keep our readers informed. Researchers say they have observed parity-time symmetry breaking for the first time in an experiment. The result was obtained using a “dilation” technique on a single-spin system – a nitrogen-vacancy centre in diamond. The system could be used as a platform for studying new and exotic physics, such as new topological variants, quantum thermodynamics and quantum criticality, in non-Hermitian quantum systems.

According to current physics theories, the universe is governed by certain fundamental symmetries. One of these looks at the relation between parity (P) or “handedness” and time (T) and describes the oddness or evenness of a quantum particle and whether it is moving forwards or backwards in time. When a PT transformation is applied to a quantum system it appears the same as the original.

I hope that clarifies it for you. I’m sure no other explanation is necessary.

∙ Perhaps athlete’s salaries are getting out of hand. The LA Lakers (they play basketball) feel that they need one more star on the team, but they only have about $25M a year to offer. Unfortunately, that isn’t enough money to obtain a marquee player.

∙ Ocean levels are rising due to climate change. Some scientists say that sea levels could rise nearly three feet by the year 2100. However, others claim that is incorrect and feel sea levels could rise more than double that amount if global temperatures increase more than expected.

If sea levels were to rise by more than 6 feet, which the study’s authors believe is possible – an event they said, “lies within the 90% uncertainty bounds,” – the devastation could be catastrophic. A rise in temperatures by 5 degrees Celsius would cause significant declines in ice levels in Greenland, as well as Antarctica.

I know that the cause of climate change is debatable, but the fact that it exists is certainly not.

∙ Recently, Richard Lieberman, and I had lunch with Jeff Lambert, the City’s former Community Development Director (see cover story). He is now working for the City of Oxnard and very happy there. A real loss for Ventura.

∙ Circus Vargas will not be coming to Ventura this year, but will perform in Camarillo and Santa Barbara. Tried to find out why they are not coming to Ventura, but I wasn’t able to get an answer.

∙ I do not like guns. I think only law enforcement (and not sure about some of them) should possess them. But I have no problem with the Fair board who earlier voted 5-2 to allow Crossroads of the West to put on two shows as the board works on developing a policy governing them. The company is seeking authorization to host three more this year.

Owning most guns is legal, so in my opinion gun shows should be allowed to take place here just as marijuana stores should be allowed in Ventura.

∙Baseball now has instant replay – it takes 20 minutes.

∙The U.S. Navy has acknowledged that a request was made to hide the USS John S. McCain during President Donald Trump’s recent state visit to Japan. Couldn’t they just add a beard to it, so it is not recognizable?

∙ The California Senate has voted 33-0 to let pet owners, 18 and older, purchase medical marijuana for their animals if they have a recommendation from a veterinarian who has completed a specific course. The bill would give veterinarians the same protections as doctors who recommend marijuana for human patients. So, pretend you have a dog and share their pot.

∙Why do hospitals wake people up to give them their sleeping pills?

∙Ventura’s development process is cumbersome and slow, with many, many planning and review processes to apply for. And, then doesn’t provide nearly enough certainty that the development will ever be approved, even if all procedures are followed.

During a recent City Council meeting, member Jim Friedman stated, “The time to change it is now. We need a plan that tells the world Ventura is open for business. We need to change the way we do business drastically in the city of Ventura.” I could not agree more.

Too often projects are appealed to the council, and instead of looking at the big picture, (should the project have 40 units, or 38, for example), the council becomes the defacto design review committee and ends up commenting on innocuous things, such as the color of the front doors.

Whether you agree or disagree that we need new development (we do), developers should have a clear understanding of what they need to do to receive approval. Often, they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and then decide to just walk away from Ventura.

In order to make that happen, the Council voted to have staff return with information on streamlining, improving and simplifying the current design review process and to consider the following (among other things);

Disbanding the Historical Preservation Committee and replacing it with staff review and, where needed, outside consultants. This I strongly agree with.

Allowing each Council member to appoint her or his own Planning Commission member whose term would run concurrent with that of the elected official.

∙After all this time, the family of slain Anthony Mele Jr. is suing the city and the Aloha Steakhouse where he was stabbed to death by Jamal Jackson, a 50-year-old homeless man.

The widow and daughter of Anthony have sued the restaurant and the City over his death. They claim that the City of Ventura and the restaurant may have some responsibility.

I can’t comment on the City’s liability but to sue Aloha seems absurd. Should they be required to have a security guard sit at every table? In fact, diners at the restaurant and Aloha employees acted in a heroic manner chasing Jackson and attending to Anthony’s wounds. In my opinion, they should be commended not sued.

All newspaper reports (except the Breeze) stated that Mele’s daughter, then 5 years old, was sitting on his lap during the murder. She was present but not sitting on his lap. But this would certainly get to the emotions of jury members.

∙ An REO, or “real estate owned,” refers to a kind of property owned by a lender, like a bank, after a foreclosure. An Oreo is a sandwich cookie.

In a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson mixed-up the two terms. Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., was attempting to ask Secretary Carson about disparities in REO rates. Federal Housing Administration loans have far more properties that become real estate owned, than other loans from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

“I would also like to ask you to get back to me, if you don’t mind, to explain the disparity in REO rates. Do you know what an REO is?” asked the congresswoman.

“An Oreo…” replied Carson. “No not an Oreo. An R-E-O,” she replied.

∙E-cigarette flavors can damage the cells that line your blood vessels and perhaps your heart health down the line, according to a new study of human cells in the lab. The study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, adds to growing evidence that the flavored “e-liquids” used in vapes can hinder human cells’ ability to survive and function. The authors say these changes, some observed in the absence of nicotine, are known to play a role in heart disease.

∙ After 42 years in business, co-founders Larry Fitzgerald and Mark Hartley have announced they are closing their Management company in Ventura and Nashville, The Fitzgerald Hartley Company. Hartley is very well known in Ventura for the wonderful businesses that he started here including the building where Limon y Sol is now located on Main. He will continue to manage artists and develop film and television properties. He has been missed since he left Ventura.

∙ Although the City saw increases in arson and thefts from vehicles, major crime decreased by 3.74% in 2018 in Ventura compared to 2017.

Last year, Ventura police responded to 98,652 calls for service and arrested 6,554 people. The most common arrests were non-aggressive crimes such as narcotics-related offenses, being drunk in public, misdemeanor bench warrants and drunken driving.

Among property crimes, the largest increase in Ventura was in arson, which doubled in number from 2017 to 2018. Must of this is attributed to fires started by the homeless in the river encampments.

Ventura police reported a sharp increase in thefts from vehicles, which were reported 230 times more in 2018. Much of this is attributed to doors being left unlocked or valuable property left in plain view. Amazes me when reading police reports that people leave very valuable things in their cars – laptops, credit cards and even money.

∙The state Bureau of Cannabis Control in January approved the legal deliveries of marijuana – medicinal and recreational – anywhere in the state.

Accepting that it could no longer prohibit such deliveries, the Thousand Oaks City Council introduced an amendment to modify the city’s cannabis ordinance to start regulating them.

Under the amendment, marijuana dispensaries that want to deliver to Thousand Oaks will need to first get a business license permit from the City. The retailers will have to pay a business tax and provide the City access to their point of sale systems for audits. The City will conduct background checks of delivery drivers.

Under their amendment, TO will now have “a regulatory framework” in place to require a business license and to require remittance of tax payment based on the voter-approved marijuana tax from last Fall.

Isn’t it about time for our City Council to allow this here as well and gain large amounts of money we are losing from prohibiting what is now legal, including retail outlets? Why should Venturan’s take their money to other cities, which they are constantly doing?

∙Concerned that some new surveillance technologies may be too intrusive, San Francisco has banned the use a facial recognition tools by its police and other municipal departments. Some retail stores are now using this technology to basically monitor customers buying habits in order to present them with specific ads. Hopefully states will ban this practice also.

∙Once again, the Supreme Court has voted 5-4 in making one of their decisions. This one is a broad ruling that shields states from private lawsuits filed in other states. The ruling doesn’t bother me, but I’m still bothered by 5-4 decisions governing our country.

∙Taiwan has become the first country in Asia to let same sex couples marry with most of the same civil benefits that heterosexual couples receive. They joined 27 other countries worldwide that have legalized same sex marriage. I say it’s about time for all countries to recognize and respect peoples wishes if they don’t do harm to others.

∙Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (a lady no less), has signed the state’s controversial near-total abortion ban. The new law is the most restrictive anti-abortion measure passed in the United States since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. The legislation “Human Life Protection Act” bans all abortions in the state except when “abortion is necessary in order to prevent a serious health risk”. It criminalizes the procedure, reclassifying abortion as a Class A felony, punishable by up to 99 years in prison for doctors. The legislation makes no exceptions for victims or rape or incest.

These are the same people who complain when a young poor mother has a child and goes on welfare. It’s about control of women’s sexuality and lives.

Venturan Esther Cole stated, “What gives old, white men the right to mess with women’s bodies?

How about old white women telling men they had to have a vasectomy? If old, white men can mess with the rights of women, ’tis only fair, that old white women should have equal rights over the reproductive organs of old, white men.”

If a 12-year daughter of an Alabaman who voted for this is raped and gets pregnant, would the parents secretly look to abort her? If so they would need to take the child to Mexico or to an underground facility (bringing back-alley abortions to America again)?

Why are Christian conservatives against abortion? Think about it.

∙I never understood why people make their bed every day to only mess it up at night. Now, there is a reason to not make it up. Your bed is probably home to more than 5,000,000 hungry dust mites feeding off your dead skin cells left on your sweat soaked sheets. It’s easy to stop them, don’t make your bed, exposure to sunlight kills them.

∙There are certainly mitigating conditions for our very high gas prices, but it is finally time for Sacramento to find out why. The California energy commission has concluded that “market manipulation “may be one factor as to why the states gas prices are so high compared to other states (sometimes up to $1.50 per gallon more) and have ordered a study of why this is true. The study will take 5 to 6 months so won’t help with our summer gas prices but might help in the future.

∙If a person dies naked will their ghost be naked also?

∙Okay, no kidding no more Trump comments from me. Reader’s comments are always welcome.

∙I received the following email from a reader.

Hi Sheldon –

Your last issue suggests that “Easter”. “Christian”. “church” are not part of your vocabulary.

My response to the reader was, “How? What did I say? Please explain further.”

His response: “Nothing about Easter / Passover services, Easter activities, church / temple schedules for Easter / Passover. There was an Easter sunrise service at the beach – annual event.”

First it went from Christian to include Passover, that’s okay. My response to him, and all readers is, we can only publish information that we receive regarding events. If you have an event, send to [email protected].

∙I lost a lifelong friend, Chuck Cecil, who has been part of my life for 60 years, although I just met him about 5 years ago. Any jazz fan will know Chuck whose radio show “The Swinging Years” had run for more than 50 years (see the cover story.)

A few years ago, I heard that Chuck was living in Ventura, and I managed to contact him and visit him at his house in midtown. It was a museum of jazz and the big band sound. Thousands of vinyl records and signed photos of every singer, band leader, and musician in the jazz world.

He and wife Edna were an amazing couple, always holding hands and calling each other honey and sweet heart after many-many years of marriage. A couple of love doves.

∙A teenager died when he was struck by a train in Ventura. The incident happened on the tracks near Hurst Avenue and Ocean Avenue, according to a Union Pacific official. The 17-year-old male from West Hills was struck by a southbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train. Authorities say that his death appears to be a suicide.

Immediately, some accused the City Council because Union Pacific had removed their fences that kept people from crossing over the tracks. These fences were owned by Union Pacific and were on their property. They removed them because of the opposition to the fences by some folks living in midtown who crossed over the tracks to get to the beach.

The City Council certainly gets some things wrong, but this wasn’t one of them. Can’t blame them for everything

∙Rodeo Road, in the Baldwin Hills-Crenshaw neighborhood in Los Angeles has been renamed for President Obama. Will republicans take longer routes in order to not drive on Obama Road?

∙After over 50 years as a landmark, the Arby’s sign that was at the old location on Main Street at Mills Road was cut down after Arby’s moved to a new location.

This was really sad because there were sign museums that wanted to save it.

The work was done without a required demolition permit. Hopefully someone at least gets fined.

∙Congratulations to Adam and Josh for finally getting the Planning Commissions unanimous approval for their proposed jazz club, The Grape Jazz Club, located by Community Hospital. As soon as they obtain their building permit, construction can start.

Rumor has it that the old Hong Kong Inn (where they have been set-up while obtaining approval for new location) might become the Baked Potato Jazz Club.

The Baked Potato Jazz Club has been the home venue for some of the greatest musicians since 1970. If we end up with two jazz clubs that would be wonderful and could draw even more well-known performers (and jazz fans) to Ventura.

∙ When “A Country Fair With Ocean Air” opens on July 31, the cost to park at the fairgrounds will increase from $10 to $15. Parking during other events will go from $5 to $8.

The increase comes as the board that oversees the Ventura County Fairgrounds voted at its last meeting to raise the parking as part of approving the 2019 budget. Fairgrounds Executive Director Barbara Quaid said the fair is “spending over $140,000 on buses to bring you here for free. There’s so many places you can park and take the shuttle.”

Most don’t understand that the fairgrounds is actually the 31st District Agricultural Association, otherwise known as the Ventura County Fairgrounds, a state agency overseen by an appointed board of directors and not a part of, or run by, Ventura. The board is exploring ways to increase revenue and reduce expenses.

Free admission days allow about 22,000 to attend the fair for free. Eliminating the fair parade has been one way of reducing costs.

∙A count of Orange County’s homeless population found nearly 7,000 people that are in shelters or on streets. Significantly more than the last count in 2017 is the County struggles to deal with the issue.

From the LA Times; “Jails across the nation are crowded with mentally ill inmates who are there because of a broken promise. Over the course of several decades, states closed mental hospitals and vowed to replace them with community based psychiatric treatment and housing, but the treatment and housing failed to materialize.” Many of the mentally homeless that you see are a result of these actions.

∙New cameras in some retail stores are gauging your facial expressions to determine your age, gender and even buying habits to personalize your buying needs and show the product’s you want on screens. This, of course, raises some privacy issues. So, to confuse them, look grim when you’re buying something you want and look happy when it is a product you’re not interested in, then you can have the last laugh.

∙ Now that we have city council districts (four have been elected by district for now – but all council members will eventually be based upon districts when currents terms are up) – I think that these four should have quarterly townhall meetings to hear what the concerns (and likes) are from their constituents.

They are: Sofia Rubalcava, Deputy Mayor – District 1; Lorrie Brown, Councilmember – District 6; Jim Friedman, Councilmember – District 5; Erik Nasarenko, Councilmember – District 4.

These are their emails if you want to contact them:
[email protected];[email protected];[email protected]; [email protected].

Email addresses for all city employees contains the first initial of their first name and their last name @cityofventura.ca.gov.

If you don’t know what district you are in, go to https://map.cityofventura.net/java/ccvd/ for a district map and enter your address to find out what district you are in.

∙ At a recent city council meeting, Peter Lyons was selected to be our Interim Community Development Director. The reason that this is important is because Ventura (and the school district) keeps losing department heads and key employees. I don’t know if they obtain better jobs/better pay, or something is problematic at City Hall, but this is detrimental to running our local government.

∙ Congratulations to our Building Official, Yolanda Bundy, for being selected Safer City Building Official of the Year (see article on cover). She has done an outstanding job running her department during these difficult times after the Thomas Fire.

∙ There is an ad in this issue for Music Under the Stars. Three of the concerts have already been sold out. If you haven’t attended you should. A great way to spend an evening under the stars listening to great music. And you can bring your own food and beverages.

∙ World’s smallest sports story (if you care). If the Lakers want to be great again, they should trade Jeanie Buss for Steve Ballmer.

∙Wow, amazing how this country is changing (all for the better in my opinion). Chicago has their first mayor who is:

A black female (she will be one of eight black women serving as mayor in a major city) and she is openly gay.

​∙ H. Parker Hospitality has decided not to continue negotiations with the Ventura Port District for the purchase of two parcels in the Harbor at the end of Spinnaker Dr. Their plans were to build a high-end hotel/spa and hybrid hostel.

The stated reason is that the District was not able to provide ‘clean’ title for land. There are probably other reasons, but this was their stated one.

These are great parcels and will certainly be considered by other developers (oh no, the dreaded word) as soon as the title situation is resolved. About 30-years ago, the District filed for bankruptcy which, apparently has caused some concerns about the ownership of the parcels and clear title.

The Ventura Harbor is operated by the Ventura Port District and a board of commissioners.

∙Things that I find humorous:

Two gas stations that I go to have notes on pumps saying, “We are lowering our gas prices for you.”  Gas prices went up over .50c in a week, maybe they don’t look at the pumps!

People paying for a large drink cup at fast food restaurants when refills are free. Maybe getting up from the table and walking to the drink dispenser is just too much work.

∙A new study by the EPA says “that by the end of the century the manifold consequences of unchecked climate change will cause the US hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Those costs will come in multiple forms, including water shortages, crippled infrastructure and polluted air.”

∙In a previous issue, I commented about the dysfunction of the Supreme Court. One of my concerns is the fact that there are so many 5-4 decisions made. The latest one is regarding an execution to take place in Alabama. I just don’t think major-major decisions should be made on 5-4 decisions.

∙ Only a skull and a pair of trousers remained after a suspected rhino poacher was killed by an elephant and then eaten by lions in Kruger National Park in South Africa. The incident happened after the man entered the park Monday with four others to target rhinos, according to a parks service statement.

An elephant “suddenly” attacked the alleged poacher, killing him. Moral of the story – don’t piss off an elephant.

∙ A large study finds no evidence that the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella increases the risk of autism. The study of children born in Denmark is one of the largest ever of the MMR vaccine.

“The study strongly supports that MMR vaccination does not increase the risk for autism,” stated the authors. “We believe our results offer reassurance and provide reliable data.”

∙ Another bit of America will be biting the dust soon. Ford Motor Co. has announced that it will phase out Ford Taurus, Fiesta and Fusion sedans within a few years. What could be next? The closing of Sears stores and letting Lowes sell Craftsman tools? Oh, wait that is already happening.

∙There have been signs for years about plummeting insect populations worldwide. The extent of this crisis had not been well documented until now.

The first global scientific review of insect population decline was published recently in the journal Biological Conservation and the findings are disturbing.

More than 40 percent of insect species are dwindling globally and a third of species are endangered. The study analyzed 73 historical reports on insect population declines.

The total mass of insects is falling by 2.5 percent annually, the review’s authors said. If the decline continues at this rate, insects could be wiped off the face of the Earth within a century.

Of course, we all could be.

∙ Nearly a year ago, on April 18, Jamal Jackson was arrested on suspicion of fatally stabbing Anthony Mele Jr., 35, of Ventura, at Aloha Steakhouse. Mele died the next day.

Attorney Monica Cummins, of the Ventura County Public Defender’s Office, who is defending Jamal Jackson, be seeking to take the case out of Ventura County.

I think that a change of venue is appropriate in this case. I think a fair trial here might be difficult and probably best for Venturans if it is not held here.

∙A state judge has ruled against a New York county’s effort to stem a massive measles outbreak, arguing that the county cannot ban unvaccinated minors from public places.

Judge Rolf Thorsen issued an injunction on Rockland County’s attempted month-long ban after only ten days, ruling that the unvaccinated children were “permitted to return to their respective schools forthwith and otherwise to assemble in public places” immediately.

I think that this is an appalling decision. This is a medical decision not a judicial one.

∙Global energy experts have released disturbing findings saying that not only are planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions still increasing but, also, the world’s growing demand for energy has led to higher emissions from coal-fired power plants more than ever before.

As a result, greenhouse gas emissions from the increase in energy use surged in 2018 reaching a record high. What do experts know anyway?

∙If you made $60 million (or more) playing basketball you could make comments like this one and still be a great role model for kids: “Once I saw that story, I just seen a kid turning into a man. This is my career and I’m taking this. I done had enough.” Currently, (might change), before being able to play in the NBA, basketball players at least need to show up in a college for a year where they must learn something.

∙The U.S. government is reportedly compiling dossiers on journalists and others covering the caravan of migrants moving toward the U.S. border. Regardless of how one feels about the migrant situation, this is very disturbing.

Even worse, some have been detained for questioning with one photojournalist being held for 13 hours. These people are simply doing their jobs. When a free democracy loses its coverage of events affecting this country, it is very bad.

∙In two recent studies, tennis players were shown to live longer lives than people who played any other sport. After factoring in for education, wealth and age, tennis players still lived an average of 9.7 years longer than those competing in other sports, including joggers. There are tournaments for tennis players who are in their 80s and 90s (look at me still playing at 99). Besides the physical aspect, the social component is thought to be another reason for these findings.

∙Could goats play a role in preventing the next round of California’s deadly wildfires?

Goats are being used to eat their way through “garden salads” of fresh new green hillsides because of the recent rains.

Brush-clearing goat services in California are available for brush control.

Before you buy some goats to put in your back yard, you’d better check with Ventura to see what the laws are.

∙There were 1,669 adults and children who were homeless during the point-in-time count according to the Ventura County 2019 Homeless Count and Survey (and certainly many more are missed). This number represents an increase of 370 persons or 28.5% when compared to the number of homeless persons who were counted in 2018.

The cities of Oxnard and Ventura account for nearly two thirds (66%) of the homeless population. Oxnard representing 32.8% and Ventura representing 33.2%.

∙The fact that the Supreme Court makes major decisions based upon which president appoints them really bothers me. It means that major laws change based on the make-up of the court and the president. The fact that so many decisions are decided on a 5-4 vote is just not fair. Even local courts won’t accept decisions based upon that kind of vote, so why should the Supreme Court?

For instance, “A closely divided Supreme Court ruled Monday that a death-row inmate with a rare medical condition, is not entitled to an alternative method of execution just because the one the state uses could cause him several minutes of great pain and suffering. In a 5-to-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled against the Missouri death-row inmate, Russell Bucklew.”

If the Constitution makes sense why do decisions based on it depend on who is on the court? I think all presidents abuse this power.

I also do not think that justices should be appointed for life. I understand the thinking behind this but perhaps even a brilliant 90-year old shouldn’t be making major decisions. I think that the court’s legitimacy is being greatly questioned.

Perhaps there should be more justices. I don’t know the answer, but I hope to hear from our brilliant readers about this.

∙A new study found that all those vitamins we take might not be doing much for our bodies.

The study was led by researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital in Canada and the University of Toronto. They reviewed data on four different vitamins: multivitamins, Vitamin D, Calcium and Vitamin C.

Researchers found those four vitamins showed no benefit in preventing cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke or premature death.

“We were surprised to find so few positive effects of the most common supplements that people consume,” said Dr. David Jenkins, the study’s lead author. “Our review found that if you want to use multivitamins, vitamin D, Calcium or Vitamin C, it does no harm – but there is no apparent advantage either.”

∙According to a report released by the Ventura County Fire Department, it has been determined that Southern California Edison power lines did cause the Thomas fire. Investigators concluded that the fire was started by two power lines that hit each other during high winds on Dec.4, 2017. What happens next might need to be determined in the courts.

∙Okay, I promise, no more comments from me (from readers still okay) about Trump, this is it. I thought that my comments would create an open, interesting, intellectual dialog, but apparently did not with certain readers.

One reader said that the Breeze used to be a nice local paper but is now too political. This is nonsense, the Breeze is exactly what it has always been (even better) except for some comments that I might make, or letters from readers. And, perhaps 2-3 political cartoons each year. Maybe 500 words out of 30,000.

I certainly hope to hear from Trump supporters about why you like him. But don’t get mad if you only see letters criticizing him, because that might be all that we receive.

∙The City Council has authorized the City Manager to execute a Funding and Services Agreement not to exceed $250,000 to the Museum of Ventura County. I agree with this decision. In addition to local visitors, the museum brings outsiders to Ventura.

It passed the council with one opposing vote, which came from Councilman Jim Friedman. When running for council Jim said he would only approve funding for “core” projects. I don’t agree with him but can respect that he is “sticking to his guns.” Is it still okay to use that phrase?

∙You will be happy to know that the value of the number pi has been calculated to a new world record length of 31 trillion digits, far past the previous record of 22 trillion.

Emma Haruka Iwao, a Google employee from Japan, found the new digits with the help of the company’s cloud computing service.Pi is the number you get when you divide a circle’s circumference by its diameter. Very important in math.

∙It just slays me to hear people getting upset because what they post on media sites can be seen by the general public. Like, “I’m very upset that the naked pictures of me that I put on Facebook are being looked at.” Gosh, maybe they shouldn’t post them?”

Some folks are really stupid (not Breeze readers of course). In order to drive in the carpool lane, a driver placed two jackets filled with clothing in his car. The minimum fine for a carpool violation is $490. For that amount, he could hire people to ride with him.

∙If you haven’t heard, some employees and coaches of major universities have been taking very large bribes from parents so their kids could get into the schools. Even going so far as to photoshop their kid’s heads onto the bodies of athletes so coaches could be paid to put them on their teams.

I would be very disappointed to find out that my parents paid USC $500,000 to accept me, and that it wasn’t my superior inteliggunts that got me in.

∙The Journal of Abnormal Psychology has reported that more young adults are experiencing mental health issues. The study found an increase of 65% between 2009 and 2017 of young adults reporting symptoms of depression and a significant increase in reporting serious psychological distress and, much more alarming suicidal thoughts.

The authors of the report said that digital media might play a role in this increase.

In my very unprofessional opinion, the loss of human contact as a result of digital media could be one of the problems – especially texting as a way of communicating has been very harmful.

“How did grandma sound when you spoke to her?” “I don’t know we texted!”

“What did you do when mom sent you outside to play?” “I played war games on my tablet on the front porch.”

∙Measles cases have cropped up across the country nearly two decades since the highly contagious disease was said to be eradicated in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is also on the rise throughout the world.

Some 228 measles cases were reported to the CDC in the U.S. between Jan. 1 and March 7, more than half of the 372 cases that were reported during all of 2018.

A federal judge in New York has denied a request to let 44 unvaccinated children return to school after their parents sued the Rockland County Health Department over a policy enacted in December. The parents argue that Commissioner Patricia Schnabel Ruppert’s order to keep unvaccinated children out of school violates religious objections to vaccinations.

Would love to hear from readers exactly what the religious objections are? Is this contained in the bible or the ten commandments?

• In the largest study of its kind, a team from New York University Langone School of Medicine investigated people who had suffered cardiac arrest and ‘come back’ to life.

Study author Dr Sam Parnia told Live Science, “They’ll describe watching doctors and nurses working and they’ll describe having awareness of full conversations, of visual things that were going on, that would otherwise not be known to them. He said these recollections were then verified by medical and nursing staff who reported their patients, who were technically dead, could remember details of what they were saying.

People often claim that this is evidence of an afterlife or the separation of the body and the s

But scientists have increasingly attributed these out of body experiences to physiological processes, and it is believed they are a result of unusual brain activity caused by reduced blood flow to the brain. Death of brain cells can take hours.

Parents, Spring break is April 1 – April 5. To see the City’s Spring Break camps, visit https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/642/Camps

∙Congratulations to my favorite music columnist, Pam Baumgardner, on the 10th-anniversary of providing VenturaRocks.com for our community. People live by her daily listings for showing where to go for music in Ventura, and she’s never once charged the artists or Ventura venues to be listed. Plus, you can read her column in the Breeze.

∙Here we go again, hopefully this appointment works out. The Board of Education has selected Dr. Roger Rice as the new Superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District (see cover story). And they did it without spending a lot of money to hire a search company by looking at local candidates.

∙It just got a little harder to open a store that sells firearms and ammunition in Ventura.

The City Council voted 7-0 to approve an ordinance that limits where in the city these businesses can be located.

Once the new rules become law, a firearms business won’t be allowed to open if it’s within 500’ of a “sensitive use,” a designation that includes schools, parks, religious institutions, day care facilities and residential zones. Such stores will need to be at least 200’ away from a similar business.

The new rules limits stores to three areas based upon the zone. Limited Industrial (M-1), General Industrial (M-2) and Manufacturing Planned Development (MPD).

Even though I don’t like guns much I’m not sure limiting where stores can be located serves any purpose at all.

∙A “glad they’re here” to a few Ventura businesses. Steve’s Plumbing & Hardware, 1199 E. Thompson Blvd (but don’t expect to find Steve there) is a great local hardware and plumbing fixture store. Recently I went in to buy a very specific little bitty screw and a part for a ceiling light. They helped me find both and made sure they were the correct parts. And the cost was .95c – you can’t beat that.

The other is Grossman Imaging Centers, located at 2705 Loma Vista and specifically Alma B. who works there. She was great helping me with an MRI that my wife needed. Very understanding and made several calls to see if the procedure could be done at that location. Turns out it was very specific and could only be done at Kaiser in LA, but she was terrific.

∙ New York is having a problem it hasn’t seen recently, which is rabid raccoons in Manhattan.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene have identified four raccoons with rabies since the start of the year. The health department is now advising residents in the area to make sure that pets are up to date with vaccinations. I hope pet owners won’t object to this based on religious grounds.

∙I feel that some opinions are important enough for me to comment in my editorial. This one is from Mike Mislinay (it has been edited for size, but not stripped of its meaning). My comments are in caps.

Sheldon:

You are constantly whining about Trump I DON’T THINK I WHINE BUT IF I DO, I APOLOGIZE and in the February 27th issue you continued your tantrum I ALSO DON’T HAVE TANTRUMS, UNLESS MY OPINIONS ARE NOW TANTRUMS two years into his term. AM I SUPPOSED TO STOP BECA– USE HE HAS BEEN PRESIDNET FOR TWO YEARS? You quoted Trump saying in 2012 “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.” And then you added….”If the President says so it must be true.” With all due respect my friend you must be getting forgetful. Most people of our generation still remember George H.W.Bush “No New Taxes” and the ridiculous lie from Obama “If you like the Doctor you have, you can keep your Doctor.” Both comments were not true and made by Presidents. POINT BEING WHAT? WE SHOULD ACCEPT ALL PRESIDENTAIL STATEMENTS WITHOUT COMMENT OR CONCERN? These men are no different than you and me. Being President does not make you more honest or smarter. OBVIOUSLY, BUT ISN’T THAT SETTING THE STANDARD RATHER LOW? YOU WOULDN’T WANT ME TO BE PRESIDENT? You have stated that just because Hillary won the popular vote she should be President. Even though Hillary won the national popular vote by 2.8 million votes, in California she won by 4 million votes. So I guess you could say that she won the national popular vote with California votes. Now if we changed to most votes win, then California would dictate national elections. Anyone from California running for President would probably be odds on favorite to win. WE HAVE HAD A LOT OF PRESIDENTS FROM CALIFORNIA, CORRECT? Some might all think that California, Florida, Texas and New York should determine who becomes President because they have the greatest populations but I think it is a mistake to ignore middle America and the Electorial College reminds us of the fact we all live in 1 country together and as a republic all of our votes count not just California and other big states. STILL MAKES NO SENSE TO ME THAT THE VOTE OF A PERSON IN ALABAMA MEANS MORE THAN MINE. MAYBE I’LL MOVE TO ALABAMA, SO MY VOTE HAS MORE IMPORTANCE.

EDITOR: Consider the following when explaining what the writers of the electoral college were thinking.

The first census I could find with California in it was the 1860 census (obviously a lot lot less residents in California in 1787). In fact, California didn’t become a state until 1850.

• California 379,994
• Georgia 1,057,286
• Kentucky 1,155,684
• Virginia 1,219,630
• Known slaves in 1860
• California zero
• Georgia 462,198
• Virginia 422,494
• Mississippi 436,631
• Alabama 435,080

Obviously, the writers of the electoral college were not thinking about California unless, in 1787, they knew that California would be a huge state one day. They probably didn’t even know where California was. If so, they were better prognosticators than Nostradamus.

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∙The city has released its long-awaited report on the Thomas Fire (article on the cover). I found the small amount of information covering the lack of water to fight the fire a little disappointing in the 25-page report.

The report says: “During the Thomas Fire, the City’s water system operated as designed. No urban water system is designed to operate under or protect against a massive, unstoppable wildfire.” Hmm, perhaps it should be.

Previous Ventura councilmember, and current Ventura County Supervisor, Steve Bennett has expressed the same concerns.

∙The Breeze has always had a little problem receiving an abundant amount of comments and opinions from readers, but once I criticized Trump (and published a political cartoon that did the same) we are finally receiving lots of opinions. This is good and makes me very happy. Please keep them coming in support of, or critical of, Trump. And other opinions are appreciated as well, of course.

∙On Nov. 6, 2012, Donald Trump tweeted, “The electoral college is a disaster for a democracy.” If the President says so it must be true. Maybe it is the time to take action to make sure that the loser of the election is never made President of the United States.

∙A Pennsylvania church administrator stole $1.2 million that he and his wife used to pay for vacations, sports tickets and other personal expenses. David and Connie Reiter are charged with theft, forgery and receiving stolen property. The money was stolen from the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Upper St. Clair over the course of about 17 years. David Reiter had been the church’s administrator since 2001. Will they still go to heaven?

∙Isn’t it about time for Congress to pass an update to the National Emergency Act? The Act needs a much clearer definition of the conditions under which a President (several have done this) can declare a national emergency. Isn’t the measle epidemic becoming a national emergency? If I were President, it would be. And we would also have a national holiday for left-handed people to show their amazing contribution to society.

∙Health officials identified another measles case in Clark County. There are now 65 confirmed cases in the outbreak.

Officials say 57 of the patients were not immunized, and six are not verified to have had the vaccine, and two patients had only one dose of the MMR vaccines.

The CDC says one dose of the MMR vaccine is 93 percent effective, while having two doses of the vaccine is 97 percent effective.

I know that there are people who, based on religious beliefs, don’t believe in immunizing their kids. Perhaps when we colonize Mars they can all move there and can deal with the problem that they have created. Chickenpox has also greatly increased as well in a North Carolina school where many families claim religious exemptions from vaccines. Does the Bible say immunization is immoral?

∙A Catholic priest in Michigan is facing criticism after he presided over the funeral of 18-year-old Maison Hullibarger, a straight-A student who killed himself. The priest told mourners at the service that the teen may be (but not for sure?) kept out of heaven due to the way he died.

The parents want the priest who presided over his funeral removed after they say he disparaged and condemned their son during the service. Removal may not be enough.

 ∙The “dark” side of the moon isn’t really darker than the “light” side of the moon. But that far side gets colder at night. Data from the Apollo missions had already revealed that the moon’s sunlit surface can climb to 260 degrees Fahrenheit (127 degrees Celsius) during the day and drop to minus 280 F (minus 173 C) at night. Maybe plan your space trip to another place in the sky.

∙The children of lesbian women who conceived through sperm donations had no more

behavioral or emotional problems than did a representative sample of others their age.

Conclusion is that it is the quality of the parenting and not their sex creates stable children.

∙ Even though no one has been conscripted into the United States military in more than 40 years, the Military Selective Service Act requires all American men to register when they turn 18. Men who do not register can be fined, imprisoned and denied services like federal student loans.

Judge Gray H. Miller of Federal District Court in the Southern District of Texas has ruled that because women can now serve in combat roles, it is unconstitutional for the United States to draft only men for the military.

He quoted the Supreme Court’s 1981 ruling that the exclusion of women from the draft was fully justified because women then were not allowed to serve in combat. But the Pentagon abolished those restrictions in 2015, opening the way for women to serve in any military role for which they could qualify.

“While historical restrictions on women in the military may have justified past discrimination, men and women are now ‘similarly situated for purposes of a draft or registration for a draft,” Judge Miller wrote in his ruling. “If there ever was a time to discuss ‘the place of women in the Armed Services,’ that time has passed.”

∙People who puff electronic cigarettes every day have twice the risk of heart attack, and the odds increase almost fivefold for those who use them along with traditional cigarettes, a new study suggests. “Using both products at the same time is worse than using either one separately,” said senior study author Stanton Glantz director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco.

Most adults who vape continue to smoke tobacco cigarettes, he added. About 66 percent of the nearly 2,300 current e-cigarette users in the study also smoked tobacco cigarettes.