When Liz Campos, who uses a wheelchair, was elected to the Ventura City Council my first thought was the council chamber raised dais wheelchair accessible? After 6 months on the council she is unable to sit with the other council members even after a temporary ramp was built. A solution still seems to be months away to meet ADA requirements.

It’s absurd that the city didn’t immediately take steps to see that she could participate on the Dais with other council members.

The Baldwin Park man accused of being the insider in the theft of $572,020 from last year’s Ventura County Fair was sentenced to three years in prison. Assuming the money has been spent so he can’t return it, that’s not a bad income of $190,673 per year even if he serves the entire 3 years.

The Ventura City Council voted 6-0 to hire Don Penman, 72, as interim city manager. Councilman Mike Johnson was absent from the meeting. We continue with city manager roulette. Hopefully the next one will hang around longer (if he-she isn’t fired first).

An animal virus outbreak has caused cancellation of two horse shows at the August County Fair and could bring precautions for other events involving animals.

Basketball player Russell Westbrook has enjoyed his time playing with the LA Clippers so much that he decided to re-sign with them – he took the biggest pay cut in league history. Westbrook agreed to a two-year, $7.9 million deal. How embarrassing – playing a game for only $3.95 million per year. I feel sorry for him.

The Ventura City Council has banned bicycles, electric bicycles, skateboards and other wheeled devices on five blocks of Main St in downtown because of community concerns over safety.

The ban is in the car-free zone from San Buenaventura Mission to Fir St., and the one block of S. California St. – between Main and Santa Clara – that is also closed to cars. There are exceptions for people with disabilities and people with baby strollers.

Downtown Ventura Partners has a Park Ambassador team that monitors the area and will issue warnings to those who will be breaking the law when it becomes effective on July 26. Once the ban is in effect, violators could receive a warning from police on the first offense. Subsequent offenses will be considered an infraction, which could result in a ticket costing between $100 and $500 for repeated offenses.

Sounds good, but enforcement might be a lot more complicated. I doubt if the police will be involved, but there have been injuries caused by bikes (especially ebikes) driving downtown.

Council member Mike Johnson had this to say; “On a vote of 4-2 (Councilmember McReynolds and I dissenting; Councilmember Campos was absent), we banned riding bikes, skateboards, and the like downtown, on the blocks that have been closed to cars as part of Main Street Moves. While I myself once called the police when a swarm of bicyclists was riding recklessly down Main Street, Council should have tried addressing the specific problems rather than impose a blanket ban.”

“I ride my bike downtown, and I don’t pose any sort of threat. I don’t like riding on Santa Clara, I won’t ride on Poli, and walking my bike the length of Main Street Moves is going to be flat-out annoying. There are people — including families — who go downtown mainly because it’s a nice place to ride a bike, skateboard, scooter, or a one-wheel dealio, and they don’t cause any problems. They help make downtown more fun.”

“I’m concerned about whether and how it’s going to be enforced; we’re not directing the PD to spend more time along Main Street Moves, and if they’re not going to warn or ticket every person they see it’s going to look like selective enforcement. It’s a bitter pill, banning bikes and skateboards while rolling out the red carpet for the X Games.”

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
~ Mark Twain

We have an article in this issue regarding a sea lion that is doing just fine. As explained in the article, many sea animals are suffering from a neurotoxin and are dying. The brain damage is irreversible. So sad to see so many dying right here in Ventura. To report animals in need, call Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute (CIMWI) 805-567-1506.

We also have an article about the removal of the Father Serra statue and the wooden sculpture that was the basis for it. This wooden sculpture was previously located at City Hall. It was the art piece of a Venturan, and I think should have remained at city hall.

Also, we have the third article featuring a homeless Venturan. We hope that these articles will help give a face to the homeless and an understanding of why they are in this predicament.

Research at UC San Francisco found that 82% of homeless report that they have experienced a serious mental health situation, 27% have been hospitalized for that condition and more than 60% report regularly using illicit drugs or heavy alcohol drinking.

Whatever happened to USA men’s tennis domination? We finally have 2 men ranked in the top 10 after many years. The 2 finalists at the recently completed French Open came from countries with a combined population of 12 million. There are 10 million people in just LA County.

Business leaders and public figures are concerned about the threat of mass extinction posed by artificial intelligence (Ai) including Sam Altman of OpenAI, the company behind the popular conversation bot ChatGPT. AI goes way beyond just creating articles. It could include phony photos with voices of leaders making statements such as, “The USA has dropped nuclear bombs on China.”

It’s started. A federal judge has imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm in an unprecedented instance in which ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.

For the last six years, Finland has ranked No. 1 as the happiest country in the world. A Finnish philosopher Frank Martela, PhD explained how to be happy:

1. Live for yourself, not someone else’s expectations.

2. Become an expert and share your knowledge.

3. Practice random acts of kindness.

4. Be a good neighbor.

5. Embrace quiet time together.

An Idaho father killed a neighboring family because he was upset that the neighbor’s 18-year-old son had reportedly exposed himself to the man’s children. Majorjon Kaylor, 31, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Father’s Day shooting. It now takes 4 people killed to be considered a mass killing – how sad is that?

A man in South Florida shot at the car of two people who drove onto his property after they got lost trying to drop off an Instacart order.

An Illinois man using a leaf blower in his own yard was fatally shot by his 79-year-old neighbor during an argument, marking the latest incident in which people are gunned down while going about their everyday lives.

“There’s no question there’s been a spike in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases seem to be just disputes, often among adolescents, and those disputes are played out with firearms, not with fists.”

Most gun killings are not by the “bad” guys, but just regular decent folks that bought guns to protect themselves. Will this madness ever stop?

The Ventura City Council has voted to hire a construction company to build a pipeline for an advanced water treatment plant for approximately $50 million. This is about $5 million more than another company with the lowest bid.

According to the city, the decision to hire Santa Barbara-based Aqueos Corp. over San Diego-based Pacific Marine Group Inc. was based on a technicality because Pacific Marine Group did not complete the necessary paperwork.

For $5 million, it seems to me that Pacific Marine should have been given the opportunity to correct the paperwork and given an opportunity to be selected for the work.

The program will convert treated wastewater into safe drinking water and reduce discharges of effluent into the Santa Clara River estuary. Construction is expected to begin in September in the area of Marina Park.

How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?
~ Satchel Paige

In this issue there is information regarding events at Portside Ventura Harbor. This is where we live. A wonderful place to live and the tennis court is right next to the building we live in so a 2-minute walk for me to go play.

In 2022, two city staff members formally complained to Human Resources that

Councilmember Mike Johnson had acted unprofessionally and in a hostile and bullying manner during city council meetings.

The city attorney retained an independent, third-party law firm to investigate the two complaints. After conducting a thorough investigation (which cost the City approximately $75,000), the law firm determined that Councilmember Johnson did act unprofessionally toward one of the employees in a hostile and bullying manner.

The Ventura City Council has voted (5-1) to admonish rather than censure Mike Johnson. This is less harsh than previously recommended at a closed door meeting where the council approved a recommendation to censure Johnson and remove him from his committee assignments.

The Strawberry Festival, held at the Fairgrounds, surpassed expectations by drawing an estimated 55,000 visitors to the event. While being successful, it also drew much criticism from locals for what seemed to be the lack of a comprehensive traffic management plan. I’m sure there were lessons learned, which will be enacted next year. Great to keep the Festival in Ventura.

The next large event at the Fairgrounds will be the X Games in July. To avoid some of the traffic issues encountered by the Strawberry Festival, the city will be much more involved in the X Games. Coordination between the City and the Fairgrounds is ongoing, and associated costs are included within not-to-exceed amounts. The total cost will not exceed $250,000, as presented to City Council in previous budget workshops. This includes all personnel costs for the Ventura Police Department, Ventura City Fire, and other city staff required to support the event.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture, provides oversight for the Fairgrounds that sits on state owned property.

Ventura’s clothing company, Patagonia, has been rated the number one most loved company in the United States one more time.

Seven people were shot, two fatally, when gunfire rang out outside a downtown theater in Richmond where a high school graduation ceremony had recently concluded, causing attendees to flee in panic, weep and clutch their children.

A South Carolina gas station owner was charged with murder on Monday after allegedly shooting and killing a 14-year-old boy he falsely believed was shoplifting bottles of water.

The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others while roaming through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood, was apparently firing at random targets. He was a local 18-year-old high school student.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave final approval to a red flag law that aims to keep firearms away from those at risk of harming themselves or others as the state grapples with ways to slow gun violence in the wake of its second mass school shooting.

Michigan joined Minnesota to implement a red flag law after Democrats in both states won control of both chambers and the governor’s office in November. New Mexico previously was the last state to pass a red flag law in 2020. Something needs to be tried to stop the gun violence in this country. Everyone owning guns is certainly not doing it.

Nevada’s Joe Lombardo became one of the first Republican governors to enshrine protections for out-of-state abortion patients and in-state providers, adding the western swing state to the list of those passing new laws to solidify their status as safe havens for abortion patients. A Republican hero.

I find this to be absolutely disgusting. Former president Donald Trump commemorated Memorial Day by comparing his battles against “fascist ‘pigs’” and “lunatic thugs” to the more than one million US soldiers that died on the battlefield. Trump took to his Truth Social platform to deliver a maniacal all-caps rant. Families of veterans killed in battle should feel the same way.

Congratulations to Ana Baker for going back to school and obtaining her AA degree from Ventura College while holding a full-time job. Now it’s on to California State University Channel Islands. Staci and Sheldon helped her celebrate.

The Ventura Fire Department is currently hiring Lateral Firefighter-Paramedics. Learn more and apply online at www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/Jobs.

I apologize for not responding to birthday wishes sent to me on Facebook. I seldom look at Facebook. Thanks for your good wishes.

The Museum of Ventura County has announced the installation of three new exhibits, which will require temporarily closing the doors of the main campus at 100 East Main Street from May 29th through June 21st. Reopening on Thursday, June 22nd.

The Ventura City Council has approved (with recommendations and conditions) moving forward with the next steps for a major housing project proposed at 2325 Vista Del Mar by KB Development. The council voted 5-2 in favor of future action for 394 residential. Councilmembers Mike Johnson and Liz Campos voted no.

I agree with the two no votes, but perhaps for different reasons. With the hotel down the street near completion, plus whatever will be built in place of the Golden China when it is torn down , the traffic from Vista Del Mar to Seaward will be huge and not very manageable.

The vote means city staff will prepare a development agreement with the developer KB Home. The project will also require approval by the California Coastal Commission.

KB has agreed to a railroad crossing and funding traffic studies and also to pay for required upgrades. The city’s 2005 general plan identifies the acreage for high-density residential use.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder and leader of the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading the insurrection to keep then-President Donald Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election. The sentence is the first handed down in over a decade for seditious conspiracy. “What we absolutely cannot have is a group of citizens who – because they did not like the outcome of an election, who did not believe the law was followed as it should be – foment revolution,” District Judge Amit Mehta said before handing down the sentence.

“I’d like to start by just saying that I’m a political prisoner, and like President Trump, my only crime is opposing those who are destroying our country,” Rhodes told Mehta in court. He is confused about who is trying to destroy our country and our democracy.

Jean Carroll, who this month won $5 million in damages from former President Donald J. Trump, is now seeking a “very substantial” additional amount in response to his insults on a CNN program just a day after she won her sexual abuse and defamation case. Ms. Carroll’s filing in federal court seeks to intensify the financial pain for Mr. Trump.

The Ventura Planning Commission approved a proposal for a six-story mixed-use building in downtown. The project, which has 94 multi-family residential units, including 13 very low-income units, is located at 211 Thompson Blvd. and Figueroa Street. In a 4-2 vote, commissioners approved the major design review, a coastal development permit and a lot line adjustment.

With the commission’s approval, the project can move forward unless it’s appealed. A City Council approval is needed if the commission’s decision is appealed. The project exceeds the maximum allowed height of four stories because it provides a certain number of affordable units. The state allows applicants to request a size increase under the Bonus Density Law as a way to encourage new housing developments to incorporate subsidized affordable units in exchange for more density.

The State has basically removed cities rights to conform to its own planning and zoning standards. If State guidelines are not followed the city could face potential lawsuits.

Unless we find another one to use the Breeze will no longer publish a horoscope. So, you will need to get your fortune from fortune cookies. Also, we will have different cartoons. Enjoy!

Good and odd times for the Fairgrounds. Good news is that the Strawberry Festival and X Games are coming to the Fairgrounds.

When Minneapolis hosted the X Games in 2019, the event generated an estimated $53 million in economic impact. Being a much smaller city, we probably won’t generate near that amount but still a great economic boon for our hotels, restaurants and other businesses (plus TV exposure).

At the press event I asked, “Will there be money spent refurbishing the Fairgrounds.” I was told yes there would be. It certainly needs it. The Fairgrounds are like an old run-down car that needs a new engine, upholstery and paint.

The return of the California Strawberry Festival to the Fairgrounds is wonderful. The event hasn’t been held (COVID) for several years so glad they decided to do it here.

Now the odd part. Less than a year after she was hired, Stacy Rianda is no longer CEO of the Fairgrounds. The Fairgrounds board of directors announced they had accepted Rianda’s retirement. No explanation was given.

She was hired to replace longtime CEO Barbara Quaid who retired. A new CEO will need to be hired, and probably not prior to the X Games.

All questions regarding this matter were referred to the California Department of Food and Agriculture who owns the grounds.

The volunteers who serve on the Ventura County Fairgrounds board of directors hold their seats until they resign, are replaced or die. Directors are not paid.

It has been tough times for the board and Fairgrounds. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the Ventura County Fair to be canceled for two years. The Fair is a major source of income.

The latest controversy involved a $319 million facelift of the fairgrounds that would include building a 7,500-seat stadium to be used for minor league baseball, conventions and concerts. Directors rejected the proposal.

After eight months of legal wrangling, the Ventura County Christian School and Ventura Unified School District board approved a settlement releasing the school from back rent and future rent in exchange for it leaving the MacMillan Avenue campus at the end of the school year by July 15.

The VUSD waived more than 10 months of rent. As part of the agreement, the VCCS also agreed to waive religious discrimination claims against the district. Which this case was certainly not about. It was all about the safety of the building, and, perhaps, whatever else the city has planned for the property.

As goes Disney goes Florida. Florida would miss Disney more than Disney would miss Florida.

As reported, “A mass shooting at a teenager’s birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama left at least four dead and reportedly more than 20 injured. A high school senior who planned to play college football was among those killed.”

I find the football part of the announcement about the shooting to be disgusting. Is his life somehow more important than all of the other kids that were killed because he played football? Would the report have stated, “A high school senior who played violin in the school band was among those killed?” I think not.

A company was fined $1.5 million for illegally employing more than 100 minors to carry out hazardous jobs, the Department of Labor announced. Children as young as 13 were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment at 13 Packers Sanitation Services Inc. facilities in eight states.In addition to the company, shouldn’t their parents also be held accountable? Maybe even more so.

This was an odd decision. A jury found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed E. Jean Carroll but also found that Carroll did not prove that Trump had raped her. The mixed decision, which was unanimous, took the jury, which was made up of six men and three women, less than three hours to reach a unanimous verdict, awarding Carroll a total of $5 million in damages.

He is still de-grading her so she might sue him again.

Eleven-year-old Yusuf Shah is being hailed as a genius after he made the highest possible score, 162, on a Mensa intelligence test. His performance beats those of physicists Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein, who were both estimated to have IQs around 160. Since theirs’ were only estimates, maybe they exceeded 160 and Yusuf is only the third smartest. So big deal I’m the third smartest in my household right behind Diane and Savana the cat.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.
~ Buddha

Thousand Oaks has selected Akbar Alikhan, who is currently Ventura’s interim city manager, as their city’s new deputy city manager. Ventura’s department heads roulette continues.

Akbar has worked for the city of Ventura since 2019. In his new post, he’ll report to Thousand Oaks City Manager Drew Powers.

Alikhan, who previously was an assistant city manager in Ventura, was named acting city manager on Nov.14 after city manager, Alex McIntyre, was placed on administrative leave and has taken another job.

Ventura is in the process of hiring a permanent city manager. Alikhan had expressed interest in that position previously. I think he would have been an excellent Ventura city manager.

He will be taking a pay cut (but it still ain’t bad). His annual salary with Ventura is about $248,800. He will be starting at $224,000 in his new position.

Alikhan’s exit comes following an extensive shakeup in Ventura’s upper management.

On Nov. 28, Ventura Community Development Director Peter Gilli resigned. On Dec. 12, McIntyre was forced out. On Jan. 26, Chief Financial Officer Michael Coon was placed on paid administrative leave.

Lots of Venturans think that our homeless population is very high, but it really isn’t. All cities are experiencing a high count. The homeless population in San Diego reached another record high for the 6th month in a row.

Donor Don sent this note with his latest contribution. Thought worth sharing.

“This contribution is on behalf of Sheldon, for his long years of excellent reporting and great sense of humor. Since founding the Breeze and somewhat retired (not quite yet) he continues to bring much needed insight of the community and worthy national news, much appreciated over many years.
Don Rodrigues

Thank you Don!
I think the reason that no aliens have landed here is that they haven’t been formally invited. I sent the following to NASA who, I’m sure, will be broadcasting this into space.

ALIENS YOU ARE HEREBY INVITED TO A PARTY ON EARTH
TO BE HELD ON THE USA WHITE HOUSE MAIN LAWN.
MEET EARTHLINGS FROM THROUGHOUT THE PLANET.
CASUAL ATTIRE (NOT NECESSARY IF YOU DON’T WEAR CLOTHES).
DRINKS, HORS D’OEUVRES AND DINNER WILL BE SERVED.
PLEASE NO ANIMALS OR CHILDREN UNDER 250 YEARS OLD.
PLEASE RSVP TO [email protected]

The Tennessee House GOP expelling of two (or 3) Democrats in retaliation over gun control protest was a very sad day for our democracy, which is being destroyed daily.
Last week National Hairball Awareness Day was celebrated, so I took my cat Savana to lunch to celebrate. After she spit up a hairball of course.

Disney has sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over the Republican’s takeover of its theme park district, alleging the governor waged a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” after the company opposed a law critics call “Don’t Say Gay.” How incredibly stupid of DeSantis regardless of his reasoning (which is bad enough). The theme park is a great thing to have in your state. The money, tourists and taxes it brings in are tremendous for Florida. Maybe Disney should pick up the park and move it to Ventura. Oh wait, we wouldn’t want that would we?

Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote (in Vatican affairs) at a meeting of bishops. This is an historic reform that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making ability and laypeople more say in the life of the Catholic Church.
Francis approved changes to the rules governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world’s bishops together for periodic meetings, following years of demands by women to have the right to vote.

This could be the start of something big. Perhaps shortly women will be able to vote in our national and local elections.

If you are not familiar with Chat GPT, it is one of a few AI (artificial intelligence) programs that can write articles. They are not written by humans but “robots” – so to speak. I asked it to write 200 words about the Ventura Breeze newspaper.

It wrote 209 words, but close enough. And with a few minor errors. Still amazing, but also scary. Students are using AI to write their reports. For instance, a person can say “write me 500 words about who wrote the constitution, “and the answer displayed in an instant.
Ai has passed bar and CPA exams.

This is what Chat GPT wrote:
“The Ventura Breeze newspaper is a weekly (we are bi-weekly) publication that has been serving the Ventura community in California since 2007. It was founded by Sheldon Brown, who remains the publisher and editor-in-chief to this day. The newspaper is free and distributed throughout the city, and its mission is to provide residents with an independent and reliable source of local news and information.

The Ventura Breeze covers a wide range of topics, including local news, politics, sports, arts and entertainment, and community events. The newspaper also features a variety of columns and opinion pieces written by local writers and experts on various topics. In addition to its print edition, the Ventura Breeze also has a website where readers can access its content online.

One of the distinctive features of the Ventura Breeze is its commitment to community engagement. The newspaper actively solicits feedback and contributions from its readers, and it regularly features stories and profiles about local residents and organizations. The Ventura Breeze also sponsors and promotes a variety of community events and initiatives, including fundraisers, festivals, and volunteer opportunities (not entirely true).
Overall, the Ventura Breeze is a valuable resource for the Ventura community, providing timely and informative news and information, fostering community engagement, and promoting a sense of civic pride and involvement.”

Ventura’s Fiscal Year Financial Report can be viewed at https://www.cityofventura.ca.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_04242023-2921 if you want to type all this in your browser.

Outside of a few recent issues, Ventura remains a fairly safe place to live. In a few of our recent issues, there were no significant police reports. More in this issue

The recent sinkhole on Victoria was caused by the collapse of a 60-year-old storm drain. Ventura has much infrastructure older than 60-years, so this is not surprising especially with the large rains that we have had. It wasn’t very big so did not cause much damage.

A reader took exception to my criticism of FOX News for false and misleading news reports. Some of their reporters who praised Trump publicly made up good news so that their viewers would be happy and continue watching. But privately they very much disliked him and thought him to be harmful.

All Americans, be they Republicans or Democrats, should find this to be very disturbing. This is what we criticize communist countries for doing not a democracy

On January, 25-year-old teacher Abigail Zwerner was badly wounded by a first-grade student in her classroom at Richneck elementary school.

A Virginia grand jury has indicted the mother of the six-year-old who shot an elementary school teacher charging her with crimes related to felony child neglect and firearms possession.

The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child.

The murders would not have happened if the parents hadn’t purchased a gun for Ethan Crumbley, or if they had taken him home from school on the day of the shooting, when staff became alarmed about his extreme drawings, the appeals court said.

I certainly agree with these actions. Adults who have guns in their homes (or buy their kids guns) with small children must be held accountable when their child has easy access to the guns and uses them. In several instances, children have accidently killed a sibling.

Why is it when women wear torn jeans it’s fashionable, but when men wear them they’re homeless?

For the second time, the Ventura County Fairgrounds Board of Directors has turned down a proposed development including a baseball stadium at the fairgrounds. The developers said the project would also expand and renovate the state-owned facility. Directors rejected the proposal unanimously in October.

At the hearing, held on Feb. 22, most of more than 500 people attending expressed opposition to the project.

Either way the fairgrounds is in desperate need of a major refurbishing so hopefully money might be available in the future to do this.

Rainfall:
This year 25”
Normal 13”
Last year 8.5”

The Ventura City Council has ended its investigation into employee spending and reimbursement practices.

In September, the council ordered a review of city expenses after it was revealed city manager Alex McIntyre had left an excessive tip (nice guy) and purchased wine with a state-issued credit card on a 2021 trip when he paid for a meal for eight in Sacramento. He spent $323 for the meal, $115 for a bottle of wine (I drink $2.50 wine) and left a $234.60 tip.

McIntyre apologized and explained he overtipped because he didn’t realize the tip was already included. He later told the council he reimbursed the city for the wine and tip. McIntyre ultimately resigned on Dec. 12.

Even though the infractions haven’t amounted to much, it’s important that the council thoroughly understand what they can spend on city credit cards. The city needs to provide better training to employees on allowable expenses.

In the meantime, the San Bruno City Council hired Alex McIntyre as its interim city manager. The San Bruno (population 42,000) council unanimously approved McIntyre’s contract.

McIntyre joins Peter Gilli, Ventura’s former community development director, who is employed by San Bruno.

Forty-one-year-old Sandra June Dillard, the Ventura woman who had pleaded guilty to the first degree murder of a homeless woman in a homeless camp in Ventura, has been sentenced to thirty two-years-to-life in prison.

She also had a prior serious conviction and had also pleaded guilty to grand theft of a Firearm and Felony Battery on a Peace Officer in separate cases. She was already in the Ventura County Jail in connection with several other open cases. Why are people with these backgrounds not in prison to begin with? What happened to 3-strikes and you’re out?
Finland was chosen the world’s happiest nation for the sixth consecutive year in the annual World Happiness Report. The list is largely based on Gallup World Poll evaluations on matters such as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption. Finland’s strong feelings of communal support and mutual trust were factors in helping the country again grab the top spot.

The USA came in at number 15. And, with the way this country is being divided (“feelings of communal support”) more and more every day, it wouldn’t surprise me if we continue to fall on the list.

Is nothing sacred? Two men accused of stuffing fish with lead weights and fish fillets in an attempt to win thousands of dollars in a fishing tournament pleaded guilty to charges including cheating. Next, people will lie about the size of the one that got away.
As you know, 3 three adults and three children (9-year-olds) were shot and killed at a private Christian school in Nashville. The 28-year-old female shooter was killed by police.

I know some people think the solution to gun violence is for everyone to carry a gun. Even if true (I certainly don’t think so), why was it necessary for this lady to own 7 guns, several which hold 30 rounds.

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order aiming at increasing background checks to buy guns, promoting more secure firearms storage and ensuring U.S. law enforcement agencies get more out of a bipartisan gun control law enacted last summer.

I’m so sorry to hear of the recent passing of the wonderful Patti Channer. She was a great contributor to the arts and culture of Ventura and a friend.

The Women of Jewelia stated, “With broken hearts we share the sad news that Patti Channer has passed away. She was the driving force behind the movement Women of Jewelia. She was a connector and communicator beyond description. Her love and incredible spirit touched everyone she knew.”

Women of Jewelia: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Necklace

The Ventura County Christian School will plead its case before a jury as it tries to avoid eviction from the century-old Ventura building it has occupied for the last two decades located at 96 Mac Millan Ave. The trial comes months after the building’s owner, Ventura Unified School District told the school its lease had been terminated after the former Washington School site had been deemed an earthquake hazard. The school has remained open. When it does go to trial I hope the school does not make this by claiming their religious rights are being denied them. It’s just a matter if it is or isn’t safe in case of an earthquake. The group is also working/collecting funds to attempt to have the property deemed a historical landmark.

The break-in and theft of $572,020 at the Ventura County Fair in August was done by an insider who worked at the fairgrounds for the company that processed cash receipts. Alexander Piceno, 28, of Baldwin Park, was employed by the processing company. It seems stealing this money was just too easy. Hopefully, processes have been corrected to avoid this in the future.

A 3-year-old girl fatally wounded her 4-year-old sister in an unintentional shooting in Texas, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. I would certainly hope it was unintentional. The sheriff said a group of family and friends were inside a Houston apartment. At one point, the children were unsupervised in a bedroom because each parent thought the other was watching them, he said.

Gee, maybe a better solution would have been to lock up their gun(s). Normally I would think the parents should be prosecuted but perhaps losing their daughter is punishment enough.

Employees at Fox News knew blaming election fraud for Donald Trump’s 2020 loss were outlandish and false, even as the network continued to promote them as credible.

A document reveals that producers, executives and stars of the network knew that the election wasn’t stolen. The communications suggest that Fox News focused on fraud claims to boost ratings and appease their conservative viewership.

Bill Sammon, Fox News senior vice president and managing editor of the Washington bureau, told a colleague in December that “it’s remarkable how weak ratings make good journalists do bad things.”

Tucker Carlson, a huge supporter of the fraud charge wrote, “We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can’t wait. What he’s good at is destroying things. He’s the undisputed world champion of that. He could easily destroy us if we play it wrong.” In another message sent just before Jan. 6, 2021, Carlson wrote, “I truly can’t wait. I hate him passionately.”

Readers and viewers (when what they hear or read is what they want to hear) emphatically believe the stolen election to be the truth. Fox news certainly helped enrage the protestors who stormed the capital – they might even be as much to blame as Trump. At the very least, Fox should be heavily fined by the FCC.

Even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Senate Republicans lashed out at Tucker Carlson after he characterized the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as “mostly peaceful chaos.”

From Lorraine Ali writing in the LA Times; “Fox News isn’t news and it shouldn’t be treated as such. Let’s call it what it is: a right -wing variety show where ratings trump truth.”

Approximately 500 people attended the Ventura County Fairgrounds re-development meeting held Thursday, Feb. 23 in the Santa Rosa building. The $319 million project proposed by the Pacific Sports Group of Oxnard would bring a 7,500-seat baseball stadium and other improvements to the fairgrounds. Most people in attendance were opposed to the proposal.

Certainly, the fairgrounds needs to improve the very old deteriorating Quonset type buildings that are now used for their events. The fairgrounds is in desperate need of renovation.

The plan calls for two new parking garages, a transit center, a police substation, and retail space that could be used by restaurants, stores and other business. The Ventura County Fair would still be held there.

Some protesters claimed Pacific Sports Group was just looking to make money. Of course, they want to make a profit if they are willing to spend $319 million on the project. Some of what they are proposing couldn’t even legally be built there, but I think a minor league baseball team would great. It could be called the Ventura Breezers and might get kids out of the house and into the sunshine for matinee games. And people from outside of Ventura could take the Amtrak to the games and spend money in Ventura.

A lot of Venturan’s want to keep our town of 110,000 a “little sleepy town” exactly as it is. Except, unfortunately, “sleepy little towns” don’t provide the tax base to maintain even basic infrastructure.

Regarding the fairgrounds 4 Los Angeles County men have been arrested in connection with the theft of more than $500,000 at the Ventura County Fair in August.The money came from gate receipts and parking.

The suspects are:

Alexander Piceno, 28, of Baldwin Park, Rafael Morales, 56, of La Puente, Carlos Alberto Aranda, 44, of Los Angeles and Jesus Rios, 55, of El Monte.

The Ventura City Council has approved an ordinance to help build more affordable housing. The new rules will impact residential projects with seven or more units and will take effect on July 1.

Approved unanimously, the inclusionary housing ordinance, will require projects of seven units or more to have a certain percentage set aside for low and moderate income residents.

The ordinance contains the following:

10% of affected housing projects must be reserved for moderate-income residents.

For rental properties, 15% of units will be restricted, with 5% for very low-income and 10% for low-income tenants.

In Ventura County, moderate income for a family of four is $118,550 annually for the household. The low-income equivalent is $90,350 and very-low is $56,450.

Research conducted in The Netherlands has found that the maximum ceiling life span for a female is 115.7 years. For men, it is slightly lower at 114.1 years, but, even so, that’s a long time. Therefore, women will need to live alone for 1.6 years.

Six people are dead and another was wounded in a series of shootings in Tate County, Mississippi after a man opened fire on his ex-wife and potentially other family members. The suspect, Richard Dale Crum, 52, was arrested and is facing charges of first-degree murder in connection with the case. I doubt if he bought a gun to kill his ex-wife and 5 other family members.

A record 6,542 guns were intercepted at U.S. airports last year. Not at all surprising as more and more people are carrying guns.

Recently a friend asked me to buy cigarettes for them, I was out and about and heading to a liquor store. I bought 2 packs for over $22. Many people who smoke are spending at least $350.00 a month to support their habit. For that amount, you can buy a car.

Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present.
~ From George Washington’s Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour