•   Have you ever wanted to know the who, what, when, where, why and how of police operations? The Ventura Police Department’s Community Academy answers all your questions.

The Community Academy will take you on a ride-along with a patrol officer, show you what a SWAT team does, let you experience a simulated firearms training course, give you a look at issues officers face in our community and much, much more.

The current session of The Community Academy began on March 22 and will be held on 9 consecutive Tuesday nights. Each night features a new topic, with speakers, demonstrations, and discussions.

The success of any police department depends largely upon the cooperation and support it receives from the citizens it serves. The Community Academy aims to educate residents on the capacity and operations of the department.

Classes are held at the Ventura Police Department located at 1425 Dowell Dr.

Go to  www.cityofventura.net/pd/community-academy for more information and to apply for the next session.

•   Good grief, now there might be more items to vote on in November. The Ventura Unified School District might have tax initiatives on the ballot.

The district has two options for putting a tax request on the November ballot.

The district could ask voters to extend the $59 parcel tax that Venturan’s passed in 2012, which brings in approximately $2.6 million of revenue each year.

Or, they could join with the city to include a new sales tax on the ballot. That tax would bring in considerably more, about $20 million a year. The sales tax would require a simple majority to pass, but two-thirds of voters must approve the parcel tax to be extended.

I have said this before and still don’t get it. The state lottery and fees added to building permits bring in zillions of dollars. Where does all the go? That is why people are reluctant to vote for tax increases for a specific use – too much concern that the money will not end up being used for what was proposed.

The city found in a poll (ordered and paid by the city) that voters generally favor the proposed sales tax.

•   If you think that running for office in this country has some odd requirements, look at this from India? Several states there are imposing a new requirement that candidates for local office must present proof that they have access to a working toilet. How do they prove that? Do they need to bring in dirty toilet paper?

•   It could become addictive but check out “santacruzbaldeaglecam” and watch two wonderful Bald Eagle parents raise their two chicks on Santa Cruz Island. The “eaglets” could attempt to fly away in a few weeks and you don’t want to miss that. And, if you have a cat, be sure to let it watch as well.

•   People who use the Constitution to make their points need to look at what the thinking and realities were back in the late 1700’s when the Constitution. Most of the thinking then just doesn’t apply to society today.

A good example is that our President must be a “natural born citizen”.

Article II says, “No person except a natural born Citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at time of the  adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President.” This would exclude a person born after the adoption of the Constitution.

So why was this included in the Constitution to begin with in 1787?

“Framers of the Constitution feared that that a foreign monarch might try to take power in the new nation,” said Yale law professor Akhil Amar. He went on to say, “They were worried that a foreign duke arriving with a boat load of gold could bribe his way to take power.”

Donald Trump isn’t a foreign duke is he?

•   I congratulate U.S. District Judge Christiana Snyder for ruling that the cross does not belong on the official seal of Los Angeles County. Previously, a divided Board of Supervisors voted to replace the cross on the seal atop a depiction of the San Gabriel Mission (it had been removed several years ago).

The Board was sued by several groups (some religious) who felt that the cross did not belong on a government seal, and the judge agreed with them.

Some people say that the cross is an historical symbol and not a religious one. I hardly think when a person sees a picture or drawing of a cross that they think of history and not of Jesus/Christianity. Kind of ironic, though, that the judge’s name has Christ in it.

•   Happy to report that the Board of Directors of Cabrillo Music Theatre announced that the company has secured donations from members of the community, which will allow it to continue production of the 2016-2017 season!

After recently announcing the suspension of production due to a lack of resources, these contributions will provide Cabrillo with the ability to retool the organization, engage in a new focus and strategy, and to move into the future in a fiscally responsible way. See the article in this issue.

•   I hope that you enjoy our special coverage of Ventura’s 150th Anniversary in this issue. There will be several events coming up to celebrate the anniversary (mentioned in this issue) so be sure to attend them.

•   A little information about Ventura that you will probably find very interesting (or not):

Coordinates: 34°16′30″N 119°13′40″W
Incorporated: April 2, 1866
Government:
Mayor: Erik Nasarenko
City Manager:  Mark Watkins
CA Senate: Hannah-Beth Jackson (D)
CA Assembly: Das Williams (D)
U.S. Congress: CA-24: Lois Capps (D)
CA-26: Julia Brownley (D)

Area:
Total: 32.095 sq mi
Land: 21.655 sq mi
Water: 10.440 sq mi   32.53%
Elevation: 36 ft

Population:
Total: 108,961 (more or less)
Rank: 4th in Ventura County
58th in California

•   The Cabrillo Music Theatre in Thousand Oaks will suspend productions at the end of the 2015-16 season in July which meant cancelling their next season. Cabrillo has been the professional musical theater company and only resident company at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza for 22 years. Officials cited escalating theater costs, declining ticket sales and reduction in grant income as reasons for the decision. I hate to see this happen, as they present wonderful productions.

•   At a recent City Council meeting, the council was asked to approve and authorize the Mayor to execute a contract agreement with the bidder, NR Development, Inc., of Duarte, California, for the construction of the Ventura Bus Transfer Center Shelters Project for the amount of $295,500.

The design is meant to finally provide shelter from the rain that the existing “shelter” never provided. In their discussions, council members expressed such displeasure with the cost and design that a vote wasn’t even taken to reject the project.

I certainly agree, as the proposed design is mostly glass and would take constant cleaning and upkeep, plus it would be highly subject to breakage and graffiti (carving). Plus, a good view of bird droppings would be provided.

It was approved by our Design Review Committee and Public Art Commission because they felt that it wouldn’t distract from the original design of the shelter. I think it would be wonderful if it did distract from the original structure and design.

•   The on-again, off-again homeless service program at Harbor Community Church might be on-again.

Recently, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has revived the church’s request for a preliminary injunction against Ventura which had previously shut down the program.

The Church sought the injunction in hopes that it can reopen Operation Embrace until its religious freedom lawsuit against the City is concluded.

The church has been represented by Stanford Law Professor James Sonne of the university’s Religious Liberty Clinic.

Neighbors of the church have been very opposed to this use located in a residential neighborhood siting drug use and the fact that the church is located right next to a school and park. The City Council agreed.

I don’t see this as a religious freedom situation at all, but rather a zoning consideration. Does a homeless shelter belong in a residential neighborhood?

•   A survey conducted by an independent research firm – commissioned by the city – to poll Venturan’s on whether they would vote for a sales tax increase in November showed that a majority of citizens would vote yes.

Many opposed to the increase just don’t think the money would be used for what was promised and would end up in the general fund.

That would certainly be my concern as well, as this often happens to revenue earmarked for specific causes.

The best example is what has happened to the millions of dollars spent on the State’s lottery that was meant for our schools. Plus, every building permit issued has school funds added to it and yet all we hear is that our schools are underfunded – where does all of this money go?

•   I’ve always wondered if the people who think that Israel should give back land that they have won in wars also think that the United States should give most of California, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico back to Mexico (that we won or kind of bought).

•  On March 12 an official ground breaking was held at the proposed Kellogg Park located on the Westside of Ventura on Ventura Ave. (more about this in the next issue of the Breeze). Even though I commend the many people who have worked extremely hard to get this park on the Westside I really don’t get it.

The reason stated for the need for this park is “Lack of park space and other recreational activities on the Westside. Westpark Community Center, the area’s main park, is on the far end of town, too far to be of regular use to many.”

Twelve blocks north of Kellogg Park is the Harry A. Lyon Park with baseball fields and tennis courts and it is right next to two schools so kids can walk there after school.

Six blocks to the south is possibly the nicest and most inter-active park in Ventura the Westpark Community Center. Westpark has (I believe) the only indoor basketball facility of any park in Ventura, art rooms computers rooms, community gardens, kid’s play area, baseball and soccer fields, a skateboard park and a wonderful boxing program for youths. And a bike path is located right next to it so people can bike to it. Also Sheridan Way school is located right next to it so kids can walk there after school also.

There is not any other area in Ventura that has three parks (or even two) that are located within 1.5 miles of each other. Again, I applaud all of the hard work that has made Kellogg Park possible.

Okay, I await the nasty letters that I will receive about this.

•  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is now playing at the Rubicon Theatre. It is another outstanding play at the Rubicon and a must see. Playing until March 20 so only a few more days left to see it. http://www.rubicontheatre.org/shows-events.

•  I recently attended an engineering challenge event for local middle schools that was covered in a previous issue of the Breeze. As part of this event the kids had to make verbal presentations regarding their projects. To prepare for this I saw kids printing as fast as they could preparing their presentations. All were using printing because schools no longer teach cursive writing because they say kids don’t need to know it anymore. For several reasons this is really stupid and this was one of them.

Interesting names for schools these days. Some of the schools that were competing were Frank Academy of Marine Science & Engineering, Los Prineros School of Science & Arts and  Fremont Academy of Environmental Science and Innovative Design.

•  Even though most commercial airlines have banned the use of e-cigarettes on their airplanes for some time it has never been an official government policy. This has changed because the U.S. Department of Transportation has now explicitly set rules that state that e-cigarettes fall under the same ban as that of other tobacco products. Good for them.

•  The Breeze certainly has writing errors but a recent one in a headline in the LA Times sports section was funny. A headline that should have said “OWNER GOAL STEALS SHOW”(the owner made basket) said “OWNED GOAL STEALS SHOW”. I thought that perhaps the owner of the goal stole it in the middle of the game.

•  I want to congratulate Venturan Jack Ainsworth. The California Coastal Commission has appointed him to be the interim replacement for executive director Charles Lester who has left. He will head the agency’s staff until a permanent replacement is found. Ainsworth has been on the commission staff for 27 years.

Ainsworth has degrees from California State University, San Bernardino, and a master’s in geography from University of California, Riverside. He has served as the commission’s senior deputy director since 2011.

•  A legal battle over the CMH parking structure now being constructed seems to be continuing. The structure is scheduled to be completed in July and must be completed before the completion of the new hospital but another lawsuit to stop construction has been filed. It will be a wonderful addition to mid-town because 1/3 of the spaces will be available for the use of the neighborhood.

A local business has continually attempted to stop the construction for some unknown reason. I’m sure that their attempt with once again fail in court.

•  If you ever feel depressed maybe you can’t blame your parents anymore but can blame Neanderthals. Even though it has been about 40,000 years since they disappeared their genetics may account for our ability to fight infections, risk of addiction and even depression. How do we know that? I have no idea but some really smart people do by studying their DNA. If you are of Asian or European descent 2-4% of your genome came from our Neanderthal ancestors. So don’t kid anymore by calling someone a Neanderthal because most of us are.

•  Good news is that the island fox have made a strong recovery on Channel Islands. Golden eagles were decimating the fox population (they need to eat) but they have been removed. The fox were listed as an endangered species several years ago but because of the work by the National Park Service and others who were concerned programs were set up that have resulted in the return of the foxes.

•  At a recent City Council meeting the Council unanimously voted to ask the state to allow the Players Casino to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The extra 20 hours the casino would stay open could generate an additional $125,000 per year in taxes and certainly would have no negative effect on the area.

Apparently casinos are regulated by the state. The casino has been very successful so I support this. Also a great place to eat, especially after other restaurants have closed for the evening.

•   We have an article in this issue about the passing of Jim Mangis. Even though I didn’t see him often, I considered him a friend. That was just his personality, all who met him felt this way because he cared and was so genuine. I last saw him a few weeks ago at a get together of volunteers at City Corps. We talked about many things including making compost and using red wigglers worms because was an organic farmer. Sadly enough, he was going to write an article in this issue about organic farming. He will be missed by all who knew him. And only 62, life is a strange creature sometimes.

•   The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) has completed the construction of their 39-unit $11.6 million apartment project (see articled in this issue). Spending this kind of money on 39 very small studio units just doesn’t make sense to me.

Why not take $9.6 million and purchase (25) $400,000 homes and put aside $2 million for maintenance.

25 homes would provide about 75 bedrooms with yard areas and the pride of living in a home – not small studio units. And this would be a much better investment.

•   A program to cap home construction, criticized by members of the business and housing communities, and strongly rejected by the Ventura Planning Commission, was recently rejected by the City Council.

If approved, the Residential Allocation Program (RAP) would have allowed no more than 1,050 new units in a three-year period, with a ceiling of 450 units in a single year (with some exemptions).

I think that this was a smart decision by the Council. Ventura now has several ordinances and procedures that can be followed to control growth and just adding another layer would further discourage developers ( the dreaded D word) from building in Ventura.

The Council plans to revisit how the planning process works overall. Including design guidelines (which we desperately need), zoning and the general plan definitions, which sets out what type of development goes where and how.

The council also will have joint meetings with the Planning Commission and the Design Review Committee to discuss strengthening building standards.

I hope that they will also make it easier for developers to really understand the process. Developers need to have a way of obtaining preliminary approval from the Council so that they don’t spend thousands of dollars and many years obtaining other department approvals just to be ultimately shot down by the Council.

•   Well, Einstein has been proven to be correct one more time. New findings have proved him to be correct about gravity having waves – I don’t even understand gravity and can one surf in these waves? This was done by observing light emanating from the merger of two black holes “about” 1.3 billion light-years away. I’m glad that they said “about” because they could be off by about 10 zillion, trillion years give or take a few. How can one even fathom this kind of distance?

•   I find it interesting that the most violent terrorist organization on earth gets so little interest. Boko Haram’s atrocities make ISIS look like Boy Scouts (if anything could). The northeastern Nigerian Islamist group has been much more deadly than other Islamic State terrorist groups and even more violent in killing school children. Could it be that their atrocities involve poor Nigerian’s and their lives just don’t matter as much as those of Westerners?

•   In our last issue, I spoke about the large amount of important decisions to be made in the November elections. The list just keeps growing. There might be 2 different SOAR initiatives and up to 20 State initiatives (6 have qualified so far). So probably best to vote by mail or spend an hour in the voting booth.

•   Very happy to see that the entrance to Ventura Harbor has reopened to all boating traffic. The closure (including moving the tall ships to Channel Islands) cost merchants and fishing vessels a large amount of money. SBA loans might be available for merchants who lost money.

•   The City has executed a Lease Agreement between Brooks Institute and the City of Ventura to use some of the office space behind City Hall (see article). Getting Brooks to become part of our downtown is wonderful for merchants.

Two council members voted no. Tracy, because he feels that Brooks should pay market value for the space and Monahan because of parking concerns. I certainly agree with Monahan and hope that Brook faculty and students are made to park in the upper parking lot.

Existing tenants of the space that Brooks will be occupying, will be able to move to another floor (if it provides them with enough useable space). FOTM (Focus on the Masters) will need to move a huge amount of material and files so the space available may not be adequate for them. If any of our readers have room for this non-profit supporter of the arts at a really low rent, please reach out (they need about 2,000 square feet). Does not need to be a retail location.

•   Sorry that the Ventura BMX track located at the Ventura Community Park was closed down. Was a great idea and nice addition to Ventura, but after they lost their sanctioning body approval, the track was closed.

The Ventura Parks & Recreation Commission has voted to demolish the track which has become an eyesore and a gathering place for the homeless. I wonder who will be paying for this?

•  Congratulations to Ventura Breeze Senior Account Executive Breezy Gledhill who is celebrating her 6-year anniversary with us. I knew she’d be a wonderful addition when she told me that her nickname has been “Breezy” her entire life. I didn’t make her change it as some have thought.

•  This November’s elections is shaping up to be a very busy one for Ventura voters; if all of things in the works end up on the ballot. National elections of course, revisions to our city charter, a possible sales tax increase and voting for three city council members.

There are many charter revisions that have been suggested to our city council for consideration by a Charter Review Committee. Selected by the council, a group of concerned Ventura residents spent more than a year studying various options for changing the way our government operates. The council has voted to have city staff draft language for a charter initiative that could appear on the November ballot.

The council can’t directly alter the charter, but can bring proposed changes to the electorate for a vote.

There are too many revisions to consider at one time, so only some of them will be included on the ballot.

They may consist of:

1. City Council members have received the same monthly pay for the last 30 years. $600 plus an additional $100 for the mayor.

The Committee recommends raising the pay of council members from $600 to $1,200 and the mayor from $700 to $1,500 with automatic increases tied to an as-of-yet undetermined index.

The council has concerns about including a pay increase on the ballot at the same time a sales tax increase may be proposed. I think that an increase in their compensation is long overdue. Altruism is nice, but a dedicated council member puts in at least 30-hours of work per week.

2. Eliminating the current at large voting system to be replaced by designated council districts. I am in favor of this but think that there should be four members from specific districts and three at large members that represent the entire city. Our city attorney would need to be very involved in this because lawsuits under the California Voting Rights Act have occurred in other cities. Cities with significant minority populations that lack proper council representation have proved especially vulnerable.

Ventura has a large Latino population and the council members are all non-Hispanic whites.

3. A law limiting council members to three consecutive terms, followed by a four-year break before being able to run again. I am very much in favor of this. New blood brings new ideas.

Other amendments discussed would be to hold a direct election for our Mayor. Currently, our Mayor is selected by other council members from a sitting council member.  I’m sure that this proposed revision will not be considered by the council as they feel that the current system has served Ventura well. I agree with them.

The City staff will return with a final proposed list to be considered by the council to be voted on by Venturans.

•  Speaking of the presidential election, if a Democrat wins, the new president would be either our first female President or first Jewish President.

•  Cities in California have been hastily passing new marijuana ordinances. The State had mistakenly passed legislation that set a March 1 deadline for cities to either adopt their own regulations or comply with new state regulations that may have been more lenient than cities would have wanted. To rectify this, Governor Brown has given cities more time to develop their local regulations on the commercial selling and distribution of medical marijuana.

Included in the regulations, and approved by the City Council, was to disallow the delivery of medical marijuana in Ventura.  I am opposed to this (as were some City Council members), and I hope that they will revisit this restriction. In addition to being unfair, it is just not enforceable by our police department and would be a waste of their time.

•  I’m disappointed that on First Fridays (when our many art galleries hold open houses) the only WAV (Working Artists Ventura) studio open is that of St. Pierre. During the last First Friday, a young lady, Marianne Turner, walked in with a guitar and was asked to play. She gave a wonderful short concert, and St. Pierre also played.

•  This was one of the funniest real estate ad I’ve seen (was in a local paper). Below a photo of a kitchen it stated, “Kitchen includes a basic set of appliances including refrigerator and stove.” Wow, I’m sure people are lining up to buy a house that includes a refrigerator and a stove in the kitchen. It didn’t say anything about a sink, so I hope that’s included as well.

•  Recently, the Ventura Police Department made a presentation to the City Council regarding gang membership in Ventura. This raised concerns from many people who didn’t realize that we had so much gang activity here. The presentation might have made gang activity seem worse than it actually is, so in a future issue we will include an article from the VPD discussing this situation.

•  I have always been against vaping and assumed that it would be a gateway drug to cigarette smoking. New studies show that I was correct. Teens who said that they have “Vaped” are far more likely to try regular cigarettes than those that didn’t.

•  I have always wondered why fast food restaurants (other than Wienerschnitzel) don’t sell hotdogs. That will soon change, as Burger King will begin selling them. I’m sure if they are successful other fast food outlets will also give it a try.

• The Ventura City Council has voted against (7-0) medical marijuana businesses and the delivery of medical marijuana in Ventura. This is in keeping with other county cities. Cities have until March 1 to set their own laws before State regulations take effect.

Neal Andrews and Carl Morehouse were part of the 7-0 vote but still expressed their concerns about not allowing medical marijuana delivery (such as for products like blackberry cheesequake, to name an example) that was included in the action. I certainly agree with their concerns.

The City of Moorpark City Council has wisely removed the mobile delivery portion of their ordinance banning the selling of marijuana there. They will allow the delivery of medical marijuana and other beneficial medicine such as various private label cbd oil products and likewise, to qualified patients by a primary caregiver (now they need to figure who is a primary caregiver).

To deny delivery is “cruel and unusual punishment.” Isn’t that against the constitution? Hopefully the Ventura City Council will revisit this in the future and will allow delivery, just as those who get evaluated online for an Arkansas MMJ card are able to get such deliveries.

In fact, the entire opposition to marijuana bothers me. The harmful effects that marijuana has on society do not begin to compare to those of alcohol.

• Have I mentioned that I hate the California Coastal Commission? I voted in favor of their creation years ago thinking that their job would be to provide assurances of beach and to protect our beaches and oceans. Their “concerns” have gone so much further than that charter. I think they interfere with the rights of citizens and cities to make decisions regarding projects that have absolutely nothing at all to do with the coast.

• Since its original construction in 1872, the Ventura Pier has been a popular attraction in the County. In December, the Ventura Pier sustained extensive damage caused by 20-foot high surf.

The John S. Meek, Inc. cost proposal to repair the Pier is $1,173,990 and is based on the existing contract’s schedule of compensation. The Option to Extend the contract for good performance has been executed by the City Council and the current term of the agreement will expire June 30, 2016. The Council felt that it is in the best interest of the City to negotiate an extension without competitive bidding based upon satisfactory performance by Meek and their emergency response during this year’s El Nino. The council felt that the negotiated prices are fair and reasonable.

It is anticipated all repair and maintenance work will be completed by the end of February at which time the Pier can be reopened to the public. We shall see.

The Ventura Pier has Wave Wash Property Insurance with a $100,000 deductible per event. Staff met with the insurance adjuster to inspect the damage to the Pier, and the City was authorized to proceed with the stabilization and repairs. It is anticipated that the Wave Wash insurance will cover the entire costs of the emergency repairs, less the deductible.

• The newly remodeled NOW Ventura Italian and Seafood Restaurant is open at 185 Santa Clara St. This site has been the location of several restaurants over the years. Breezy Gledhill, our senior account exec, and I recently had dinner there. The food, service and ambiance were excellent. The owners did a wonderful job of remodeling the interior which includes a lovely outdoor patio and a large room that can be used for special events.

• Under the Charter adopted by the citizens of Ventura in 1934, the City Manager is “the administrative head of the City government . . . responsible to the City Council for the administration of all City affairs” including hiring and firing department heads, preparing the annual budget and ensuring the effective implementation of the City Council’s policies and priorities. The City Manager advises Council on strategic direction for the City and responding to changing community needs. The City Manager is hired (and fired) by the City Council. Most of all, the City Manager provides overall organizational leadership to ensure the effective daily delivery of services, projects and programs, guided by the City’s 2005 General Plan.” In other words Mark Watkins is the boss. His compensation is in keeping with other city managers in Ventura County. I think that he is an excellent city manager.

Moorpark $261,000
Thousand Oaks $261,000
Camarillo $255,000
Ventura $228,000
Simi Valley $227,000
Ojai $193,000
Fillmore $187,000
Santa Paula $183,000

• You will be happy to know you can now sing “Happy Birthday to You” without feeling guilty because, now, you don’t have to pay royalties. Judge George King recently ruled that none of the companies that have been collecting royalties for the last 80 years were entitled to do so.

• There is not an updated status regarding the proposed opening of the full nude “gentleman’s club” planned by Hala Enterprises LLC. Since the City Council set rigid conditions for this proposed use, the applicant has not contacted the city departments required to proceed with the project.

I don’t know if Hala felt that the conditions were too difficult to make the business profitable, just changed their mind or have just not submitted the required documentations yet to the City.

• We are not the only city with financial problems. In order to have sufficient funds to repair infrastructure, Thousand Oaks is considering selling city property, increasing city fees, and sales tax by a half cent along with other measures (these actions would generate $14 million but need voter’s approval). Venturans may be asked to approve a sales tax increase in November.

• For whatever reason, 2015 was Earth’s hottest year on record and it appears that this trend will continue in 2016. If it does, this will be the first time that this trend has continued for 3 straight years.

•   I want to wish Ventura Breeze writer Pam Baumgardner a speedy recovery from her full right knee replacement surgery. I’m sure she will be shooting hoops again above city hall very soon.

I also wish my lovely wife Diane (who needs to put up with me) a happy birthday on Jan.20.

•   I certainly agree that the homeless is a serious problem here (and everywhere) but being homeless (or dirty) is not against the law. And being mentally ill certainly isn’t. I understand that some homeless do commit criminal acts and should punished for it or obtain treatment if they are mentally ill.

Those who say “why don’t the police and city get rid of them” need to realize that unless they are breaking the law they cannot just be picked up and removed from Ventura or jailed.

I would love to hear your solutions to this problem.

•   Every year California enacts new laws. I understand that as technology and everyday life changes we need some new laws to address the changes. But 807 are new this year which seems to be a ridiculous number. These aren’t guidelines or suggestions but laws that the legislator had to write, study, discuss and pass.

These are some of my favorites. I’m not saying that they aren’t swell ideas, but laws?

“Beer tasting events can be held at certified farmer’s markets.”

“California community colleges can suspend or expel students accused of sexual assaults that occur off campus.”

“Non-citizens in high school may serve as election poll workers.”

“The word ‘alien’ will be removed from California’s labor code as a description of those not born in the United States” (it may still be used to describe those born on Mars and living in the United States).

“Electrically motorized boards may be ridden wherever bicycles are ridden—within bicycle lanes, pathways and roadways.”

“The State Department of Fish and Wildlife has new power to take action to conserve monarch butterflies and their habitats” (my wife Diane raises monarchs so this will make her very happy).

“Lace lichen commonly known as Spanish Moss is designated as California’s official lichen” (this is probably my favorite). A lichen is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria or both living among filaments of a fungus in a symbiotic relationship. The combined life form has properties that are very different from the properties of its component organisms. Lichens come in many colors, sizes, and forms. (I am trying to get the Ventura Breeze designated as California’s official newspaper.)

•   I know that I said I wasn’t going to comment on the proposed 55-unit hillside project until further action is taken. This isn’t specifically about the project but about “some” of the vindictive and insulting emails/letters I’ve received.

As you know, I currently support the project.

I have been accused of many things because of my support, so I want to speak to some of these comments.

“I have been bribed to support it.” Okay I fess up, I asked Regent to give me 3 of the new homes to support the project but they only offered me 2, but I decided to support it anyway. Actually they didn’t even offer me a cup of coffee.

“I have some hidden motivation.” Yes, I was hoping that I can get a free upgrade in the bathroom tile when I buy one of the homes. I have no hidden agenda. I will not personally gain in any way if they should get built. And, I couldn’t afford to buy one anyway.

“I think that you support it because the new home owners will take out ads in the Breeze.” In 5-6 years if/when these homes are available I don’t imagine that I will still be the publisher of the Breeze. It would be nice though if the new owners brought businesses, and money to Ventura. Then the project would be ultra-successful.

•   In a previous issue describing the portrait of Howard Boroughs by Johanna Spinks, we stated, in part, “Thanks to their generosity, we have The Evelyn and Howard Boroughs Library at Ventura College.”

We received this comment from a reader; “While we appreciate the Burroughs and their civic engagement, they did not pay for the Ventura College Library, or even a significant part of it, as your recent article implies. Clearly the taxpayers paid for the $25 million library.”

To clarify, the Burroughs did not donate the $25 million to construct the library, it was just named after them for the contributions they have made to the library and to Ventura.

•   In keeping with several other Ventura County cities, the Ventura City Council, by a 7-0 vote, has banned the commercial cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana in Ventura.

The City Council felt it was important to take action before state laws become effective in the future. Cities have until March 1 to adopt their own ordinances. The uncertainty of what the eventual state laws will be is why cities are taking action now.

Patients will still be allowed to grow medicinal marijuana for their own use. Speaking at the meeting, Ventura resident Carlos Landeros-Angel, who is a medicinal marijuana user, urged the council to allow local delivery.

Even though I do not have a strong opinion (not like me) regarding this action, I do agree with council members Carl Morehouse and Neal Andrews who expressed concern for those who aren’t able to grow their own medicinal marijuana, and who will not be able to obtain it if both dispensaries and delivery are both banned.  I don’t think that having to drive up to an hour to purchase needed medicine is appropriate.

And enforcing a “no delivery” policy would be nearly impossible and certainly not worth the time required by our police department .

•   Some reflections from previous articles we ran in 2015.

Our April Fools issue was a great success because some people are still mad at me about the fake articles.

CMH new hospital construction moving right along and construction started on the new hospital parking structure.

Proving that concerned citizens can make a difference, their input resulted in the recycle center located in the Von’s Marina Village Shopping Center being shut down.

Dr.  Trudy Tuttle retires as head of VUSD, and the school administration facility is named the Trudy Tuttle Education Center.

The Ventura County Fair was wonderful as always.

The Ventura Botanical Gardens signs lease with the City of Ventura and made further improvements and additions to the trail. Dr. Joe Cahill appointed as the first VBG Executive Director.

Former Ventura City Council member Steve Bennett announces he will run for a fifth term as Ventura County Supervisor.

Dignitaries from our sister city Loreto, MX. (in Baja) visited Ventura.

Council-member Erik Nasarenko selected as new mayor by the City Council replacing Cheryl Heitmann. Neal Andrews selected as Deputy Mayor.

The City Council approves the Regent Properties proposed 55-unit hillside development prescreen which will allow Regent to continue with submitting further plans and documentation for city approvals.

The second murder of 2015 occurred in December. The first one was in January. Not great book ends to the year, but thankfully a small number.

The Ventura Breeze launched a new website with all kinds of goodies.

Ribbon cutting held at the Museum of Ventura County for the new Evelyn and Howard Borough Children’s Garden.

Ventura Pier sustains major damage from high waves. Costs could exceed $700,000 to repair.

The City Council rejects the proposal to include paid parking in the downtown parking structure.

Breeze staff member Cindy Summers received the first One Million Acts of Kindness award at City Council meeting presented by Mayor Heitmann.

The Ventura Music Festival announced their 2016 program and informed us that this year the Festival will begin in July.

Former Ventura Mayor Gregory Carson was shot in his home by a burglar. Thankfully, he is doing fine.

Ventura City Council approved developer John Ashkar’s 255 apartment project to be located in Downtown Ventura. Sixteen of the units will be affordable units.

I turned 80 (there, I said it).

The proposed summer Music Concert Series above City Hall didn’t happen again, and I think that is very unfortunate.

It didn’t snow for the 70th year in a row.

Foster Library has a new librarian, Deya Terrafranca.

Both the Rubicon and Summer Concert Series at Olivas Adobe again presented wonderful plays and concerts.

Stephanie Caldwell hired as new CEO of Ventura Chamber of Commerce.

Fire Captain Myles Smith is seriously hurt in fall. He is doing very well.

Scott Miller retires as Ventura Harbor Master, John C. Higgens hired as his replacement.

•   The renewing of the SOAR (Save Open-space and Agricultural Resources) initiative will likely be on the ballot in the November 2016 elections. It will ask voters to extend SOAR until 2050. There will be some minor modifications to the initiative.

I do support SOAR but feel some modifications are necessary. For example, housing for farm workers is greatly needed and SOAR makes it much too difficult to develop “any kind” of housing on agriculture property, so I hope that issue, and other necessary modifications, will be addressed in the new initiative.

•   Only 3 countries in the world don’t use the metric system. The US, Liberia and Myanmar (Burma)The metric system is much easier to use, so probably a good time for us to start converting to metric.

•   I want to thank the City for trimming back the tree and bush growth that was extending onto Vista Del Mar. It is a very narrow street so residents really needed this to be done. This service was accomplished by simply visiting the City website. The site allows residents to communicate concerns, requests and thoughts to all City departments.

Unhappy with something at our parks? Our police department? Want to know current City job opportunities?

Then go to:
www.cityofventura.net
“STAY CONNECTED”
“MY VENTURA ACCESS”

If your comments route to the wrong department, they will be sent to the correct people. A wonderful way to communicate with the City and to be able to get services that you may need.

•   I speak with many Venturans on a regular basis who think that Ventura is the only city with a homeless population and that nothing is being done to address the issue.

This is hardly a problem unique to Ventura. LA City (with about 26,000 homeless) has just allocated $12.4 million for emergency relief to help the homeless find shelter before the anticipated winter storms arrive.

The homeless population in San Diego County is the fourth largest in the country.

•   Some good news – smoking among adults has hit a new low of 17% (in 1965 it was almost 43%). And those that do smoke are smoking fewer cigarettes daily. The bad news is that among some populations (the poor, those on Medicaid, low income), the percentage still smoking remains very high.

•   Chinese home builder Landsea is planning a 550-home community in Orange County. I wonder if the opposition in Orange County have stated, “We don’t want a Chinese developer building here?”

•   This is just too funny – had to share it. A New York Company will soon offer the first certified Kosher medical non-smokable marijuana. This could be the return of the Jewish Mafia.