Ventura City Manager Alex McIntyre has taken responsibility for a Brown Act violation committed by five members of the City Council during a March conference in Washington, D.C.

McIntyre said he was unaware that the council was not allowed to have what he deemed ‘social meetings’. “It was my fault for failing to understand this.” Five elected officials, McIntyre, and Deputy City Manager Barry Fisher, traveled to the nation’s capital as part of the National League of Cities Conference.
The Brown Act is the state’s open meeting law, it dictates how public meetings are conducted and notified to the public. It prohibits a majority of members of a legislative body from communicating or taking action on an item outside of an open meeting that has been notified to the public.

The Ventura Police Department Traffic Unit conducted a DUI checkpoint on Main Street, east of Callens Road on Friday, May 13, 2022, from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.

DUI checkpoint locations are chosen based on a history of DUI collision statistics and arrests, with the primary purpose not to make arrests, but to promote public safety by deterring residents from driving impaired.

The following is a list of the enforcement activities that took place at, or as a result of the checkpoint:

876 cars passed through the checkpoint
489 drivers were contacted and screened through the checkpoint
7 SFST’s (sobriety test) were conducted
6 drivers cited for VC12500(a), Unlicensed Driver

Funding for this checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

On May 6 (I couldn’t attend because of a birthday party) Art City Studios hosted a reception for artist Ramon Bryne entitled “Composed in Stone”. At the event art lovers learned that the future of the art space is uncertain because after 37 years the property owner is trying to sell it so it could be developed. The selling price is $1.7 mill.

Founder Paul Lindhard is trying to stay optimistic hoping a way could be found to keep it the wonderful gallery that it is. The space, at 197 Dubbers St. has been home to dozens of sculptors and other artists for decades and is a great way to spend hours walking the space and appreciating the sculptures and other art objects there.

Supporters hope people will send letters to city leaders about saving this cultural resource. Or, perhaps a wealthy art lover could buy it. Depending on its zoning it might be impossible for the city to stop its sale and development. For more information visit www.artcitystudios.com.

What is the most important issue facing America?
A Inflation
B Ukraine war
C Baby formula shortage
D Lack of water
E Climate change
F COVID
G None of the above
If you selected G you are correct the most important issue seems to be abortion.

Even Columbia allows the procedure until the 24th week of pregnancy. It is also widely available in Cuba and Uruguay but not in our enlightened country. There is even some question if abortion is even mentioned in the bible which is the basis for preventing abortians

Margaret Kamitsuka, an emeritus professor of religion at Oberlin College, argues there’s significant ambiguity about abortion in the Christian tradition. She notes it’s never mentioned in the Bible. “Which is quite stunning,” she said, “because pretty much every other moral issue is talked about – from divorce to gluttony and robbery and so on.”

Read Representative’s Brownley’s article on page X regarding this that I certainly agree with.

The Supreme Court has become so political (forget the constitution) it is time to impose a term limit on justices. This idea (like abortion) is favored by a majority of Americans.

Guns In the News
A report from Johns Hopkins University found the number of people dying from gun violence in the United States reached a record high in 2020: an average of 124 people dead every day,

The analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions showed there were 45,222 gun deaths in 2020, a 15% increase from 2019. Gun homicides rose by 35%.

Suicides accounted for more than half of all U.S. gun deaths in 2020 – 24,292. How sad is that? I doubt if anny of those killing themselves purchased a gun for that purpose.

Authorities say the white 18-year-old male who fatally shot 10 people and injured three others Saturday at a Buffalo supermarket in the heart of the city’s Black community traveled from another New York county hours away.

Thirteen people — 11 of whom were African American — were shot, with three suffering non-life-threatening injuries.

The white male was actually live-streaming it online and had posted racists comments on social media. Good grief, what is happening in this country? So very sad and pathetic.

Seventeen people were shot Friday night in downtown Milwaukee just hours after three were shot a few blocks away, near the arena where the Milwaukee Bucks were playing in the NBA Playoffs.

Ten people were taken into custody in the shooting downtown, and nine firearms were recovered, according to Milwaukee Police Capt. Warren Allen.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot near “The Bean” sculpture in downtown Chicago’s Millennium Park, authorities said. Police said the teen was shot in the chest at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday near the popular tourist attraction.

A mother was charged with shooting and critically wounding her two sons while they lay in their beds early Monday morning, one day before the family was set to be evicted from their home.

A father and daughter were allegedly shot with a rifle by the daughter’s boyfriend at their Oxnard home late Saturday morning. The incident was reported as a family disturbance shortly before 11:40 a.m. in the 100 block of James Avenue, said Oxnard Police Department Cmdr. Luis McArthur.

Officers found the daughter, 27, and her 61-year-old father with gunshot wounds. The woman’s 23-year-old boyfriend was arrested and a gun recovered, McArthur said.

Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub said at a news conference Monday afternoon that 38-year-old Trinh Nguyen shot her two sons and tried to shoot a neighbor ― her ex-husband’s nephew ― as he left for work around 7 a.m.

Six people were shot, killing three, at a DeKalb County condominium complex Sunday night, according to police.

Liberal Ventura Breeze

∙ On May 6 there will be a celebration at the Art City Studios (see ad in this issue). If you haven’t been to Art City, it is an amazing experience where you can spend hours walking around looking at the wonderful art and sculptures. The property has been sold, so if you haven’t been there this would a great time to visit. Hope to see you there.

∙I want to thank Councilmember Mike Johnson who is personally helping to clean up Ventura by inviting the community to come to clean up events with him. See page 5 for how to participate.

∙I have heard some Venturans say that there is a new water-usage mandate, stating that they can only water their lawns one day a week. This mandate, from the MWD, applies to communities dependent on the state water project, and does not apply to Ventura. Our water comes from local resources. In a future issue we will have an article explaining our water sources and what condition they are in.

∙Recently Naomi Judd passed away. I normally wouldn’t mention passing celebrities except for her daughter’s statement saying, “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of mental illness.” People do not die from mental illness. They might die by suicide brought on by their mental illness. I hope there can be a clarification to the cause of her death so that people don’t think mental illness is a killer. The clarification has been made. Naomi Judd, iconic country star and one-half of the mother-daughter duo took her own life on Saturday following a longtime battle with mental illness at 76 years old, multiple sources confirm.

∙A fundraising concert, where 100% of donations benefit UNICEF’s coordinated response to the crisis in Ukraine, will feature a diverse selection of classical music, spanning works by the Great Masters to Ukrainian folk songs.

All donations support UNICEF’s humanitarian response efforts directed towards children and families in Ukraine and neighboring countries offering a safe haven to those displaced. Tickets are free to the public and donations are encouraged. The event is Sunday, May 15, 6:00pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 3290 Loma Vista Road, Ventura.

To donate or learn more about the organization, visit www.unicefusa.org.

∙The Ventura County Environmental Health Division (Division), in coordination with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), is issuing a warning about the annual quarantine of mussels taken by recreational shellfish harvesters. This quarantine is due to hazardous levels of toxin causing paralytic shellfish poisoning.

The quarantine applies to all species of mussels taken by the public anywhere on the California coast including all bays, harbors, and estuaries. Commercially harvested shellfish are not included in the quarantine. In addition, consumers are advised not to eat recreationally harvested bivalve shellfish (such as mussels, clams or whole scallops) from Ventura County. Dangerous levels of domoic acid have been detected in mussels sampled from Ventura County, making them unsafe to eat.

∙A report by the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service found that while spring 2021 was cooler than average, the summer months were marked by “severe and long-lasting heatwaves” that saw numerous new temperature records, including an unprecedented 119.8 degrees Fahrenheit measured in Sicily last August. Maybe if we call this climate change and not globing warming all people will start believing it.

∙A New York judge is holding Donald Trump in civil contempt after the state’s attorney general’s office said he did not comply with a subpoena for documents as part of its investigation into the former President’s companies.

Judge Arthur Engoron said Trump failed to abide by his order to comply with the subpoena, and that his attorneys failed to show how a search of materials held by Trump was conducted. Engoron said Trump would be fined $10,000 a day until he complies.

The judge stated, “Mr. Trump, I know you take your business seriously and I take mine seriously. I hereby hold you in civil contempt and fine you $10,000 per day until you purge that contempt.”

∙ Guns In the News

Gunfire erupted at the Mississippi Mudbug Festival in Jackson. One person died and five others were hurt. The person who died may have been shot by an officer after “there was an exchange of gunfire between at least 2 to 3 individuals in and around a vehicle.”

The possible suspect in the fatal shooting of the owner and two employees of a Mississippi Gulf Coast motel and subsequent death of a person shot during a carjacking was found dead after a standoff with police.

A man arrested following a South Carolina mall shooting in which nine people were wounded had opened fire in self-defense in a confrontation with other shooters, his lawyer said. Investigators believe a fight between people who knew one another led to the gunfire, and that “at least three suspects displayed firearms inside the mall.”

At least four major shootings broke out across the United States over the Easter weekend, including one at a party in Pittsburgh that left two teenagers dead and several others injured early Sunday.

Two teens were killed, and several other people were injured in a shooting that stemmed from a large party in Pittsburgh according to police. Investigators are searching for multiple suspects in the shooting, which occurred early Sunday in the city’s East Allegheny neighborhood at a property that was rented through short-term rental company Airbnb. The teens who were killed were both 17-year-old males.

Authorities received multiple calls reporting gunshots heard inside the Mall of Victor Valley with a reported juvenile gunshot victim. Police identified that the suspect was the co-owner of Sole Addicts store. Cockrell was reportedly chasing two shoplifters out of his store during the incident. According to police, Cockrell fired multiple shots at the shoplifters, but the shots missed the individuals and instead hit a 9-year-old female victim, luckily it did not kill her.

Gunfire took the life of a 16-year-old girl outside a Bronx high school when she and two other teens were hit by bullets fired in a dispute between “brazen criminals.”

Police in Sacramento say six people are dead and 10 injured after a shooting in the city’s downtown area.

Two people were killed and two injured in a shooting that occurred in broad daylight near a children’s playground in San Francisco’s Crocker Amazon neighborhood.

∙From a Ventura police report about those who continue to commit crimes; “Lindsay has an extensive criminal history and has prior arrests including Burglary, Possession of Burglary Tools, Possession of Stolen Property, Identity Theft, Possession for Sales of Narcotics, Drug and Paraphernalia Possession, Felony Evading, Conspiracy, Domestic Violence, Vandalism, Carrying a Concealed Firearm, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, Driving Under the Influence and Providing False Information to a Police Officer. Hartin has prior arrests including Burglary, Conspiracy, Robbery, Criminal Threats, Theft, Forgery, Identity Theft, Domestic Battery, Child Endangerment and Drug Possession. Both suspects were out on bail at the time of their arrest.”

What were these two horrible people doing out on bail so that they could commit more crimes? We hope to get an answer to this in a future issue.

∙ The Ventura City Council has extended the closure of downtown Main Street (and California St.) to vehicles until June, 2024. It is also considering ways to make the Main Street Moves closing program permanent.

Still to be considered the negatively affected businesses and the heavy costs to the city to upgrade the closed streets to make them more pedestrian friendly and attractive. The city will also consider establishing fees for businesses so that the street can be permanently closed after 2024.

The few merchants that we have interviewed are very happy with the closures and visitors to downtown seem to be very satisfied as well and like the outside patio dining.

The program started during the pandemic to make downtown more pedestrian-friendly on five blocks of Main St. (from San Buenaventura Mission to Fir St. and one block of S. California St. (between Main and Santa Clara).

The city will also consider establishing fees for businesses so that the street can be permanently closed.

To make upgrades to the streets, such as replacing the pavement with pavers, adding fountains and landscape areas would be extremely expensive but wonderful. Hopefully some grant money will be available to accomplish this.

∙ Every year, the city council considers a five-year capital improvement plan.

The 2023-27 plan outlines 127 projects totaling $929 million. $495 million worth of priority projects have funding allocations while $434 million are unfunded. Improvements to sidewalks, golf courses and the wastewater treatment plant are some of the top priorities approved by the council.

Seven projects, to divert treated wastewater to a new advanced water purification facility are in the plan. The water purification facility will treat the water to ensure it meets drinking water standards, inject it into a local groundwater basin for storage and later deliver the water to Venturans. To me this is a top priority issue. This is a huge amount of water that is now dumped into the ocean. I know that convincing people that drinking water that was once wastewater will take some doing but is well worth the effort.

∙ We have a new city attorney – Andy Heglund – who was unanimously approved by the city council. The council hires (and fires) the city attorney and city manager. He will be paid $237,000 (plus other benefits) in annual salary. He was selected out of 14 candidates considered by the council.

∙ The Village Carousel & Arcade, located in the Ventura Harbor Village, is now gone. Taking over the space will be Aarmark Beer Gardens who will serve food and have more current games for kids (and adults) to enjoy. Their opening will take quite a while to happen.

Tristan Thames, co-owner with his mother Sharon Thames of the Village Carousel & Arcade, said it was not his choice to close the business that has been here since the 1980’s. The space has been rented from the Ventura Port District.

I’m sorry that they couldn’t keep it open but truthfully it was in desperate need of major refurbishing. New paint, flooring, lighting, and more current games that today’s youths are interested in playing.

∙ The Ventura Chamber of Commerce has moved their offices from City Hall to 2478 E. Main St. I think this is a good move. Visiting their offices in city hall was a little intimidating for some people, so stop on by to meet them.

Speaking of the chamber, their Spring Business Expo is back after several years of not happening because of Covid. The event will be on May 12, from 4:00 – 6:30pm at the Four Points Sheraton, 1050 Schooner Dr. The Breeze will have a booth there (right by the food of course) so come say hello. Meet over 70 chamber member business exhibitors, enjoy great food and great company.

∙ The Ventura Police Department issued 21 citations for a variety of violations made by drivers during a bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operation on April 12, 2022.

“Safety is a shared responsibility, with drivers holding the greatest responsibility to keep other road users safe,” said Officer Chris Wilson. “We hope this education and enforcement operation serves as a reminder to our community to look out for one another on the road.”

Drivers were contacted and cited for violations. Failure to yield to a pedestrian in a marked crosswalk was the primary violation.

I know this is important, but I think just as important is ticketing pedestrians who walk across the street when the red “don’t walk” is displayed. In fact, this can be even more dangerous. How many times have you been downtown (especially prior to the closing to vehicles) when you legally make a right turn and there are pedestrians illegally crossing the street that you have almost run into?

∙ In our police reports column there is some information about an arrest on “three counts of attempted murder with a firearm as well as possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.” Glandros was currently out on bail for charges of possession of an unlawful weapon and also for assault with a deadly weapon with a firearm. Whatever happened to “3-strikes your out” and you stay in jail?

∙ Gary Wilde, 66, has announced his retirement as CEO of Community Memorial Hospital. He had been considering retirement but held off because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He felt it was too important for him to leave during COVID. It is a very important, stressful position. He hopes to stay until a new CEO can be hired.

∙ Amazon has opened a major fulfillment center in Oxnard. When fully operational, the 2.3 million-square-foot (good grief) facility will be able to process about 2 million packages a week.

It will employ about 2,500 workers. About 60% of the workforce is made up of Oxnard residents, 10% are Ventura residents and about 5% are from Camarillo so it will help the local economy.

∙ They have been exonerated but when Mayor Sofia Rubalcava, Councilmembers Joe Schroeder, Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios, Lorrie Brown and Doug Halter traveled to the nation’s capital as part of the National League of Cities Conference they broke the Brown Act. Together they made up a majority of council members, which violated the Brown Act by speaking about city issues to other elected officials and their staff without giving public notice. 

The Brown Act prohibits a majority of members of a legislative body from communicating or taking action on an item outside of an open, public meeting with some exceptions. The lack of public notice in Washington constitutes a violation of the state’s open meeting law.

“The City Council members that did attend those meetings were well-intentioned but inadvertently violated the Brown Act by attending in a majority,” City Attorney Heglund said. “However, no decisions were made during those meetings.”

Tony Wold, senior Deputy District Attorney with the public integrity unit in Ventura County, said, “Our office will not be taking any action because no decisions were made. The violation was inadvertent, and the council affirmed their intent to comply with the act going forward as required.”

∙It’s wonderful that most of our entertainment events and music venues will be opening this year. Things would have been almost running back to normal and now Putin sets the world back.

I hope this isn’t false hope and premature on the COVID front. In Europe, and many other countries, the cases and hospitalizations from COVID are slowly inching up and public health experts are worried about the consequences. In Britain, cases are rising just a few weeks after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson lifted most mitigation measures. Infections were 48% higher and hospitalizations were up 17%.

Pursuant to this, City Hall, and its facilities opened to the public on Thursday, March 11. “This week’s reopening marks an important milestone as we proudly welcome everyone back for in-person service,” said Ventura City Manager Alex D. McIntyre.

When I was at city hall, Interview sessions were being held for the Cannabis businesses that will be opening in Ventura. I was told three will be approved initially with and five eventually given licenses to operate. Glad this will happen, and that Ventura will keep the tax dollars here.

∙Ventura County’s Executive Officer Mike Powers retired two days after the Board of Supervisors placed him on paid administrative leave for undisclosed reasons. County Counsel Tiffany North confirmed Friday that the board had taken the action in a four-hour closed session devoted to litigation but would not say why.

Powers, 59, of Ventura notified the board Thursday he was immediately quitting the job he has held for 11 years. Powers said he was leaving to spend more time with his wife, Erin, and their two sons, age 10 and 13 but this may not have been the reason. A county employee filed a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint against Powers before he was placed on administrative leave on March 8.

∙The national average price for gas has topped $4 a gallon for the first time in more than a decade as gas costs continue to soar in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Wouldn’t we love to have our gas at only $4? The record high for the national average is $4.11, set on July 17, 2008. And, our summer formula is not here yet, that will add even more costs to gas prices. Of course, paying more for gas is better than being blown up by Russian bombs.

∙ In previous issues, we have published a few articles by Carol Leish regarding how downtown merchants (other than restaurants) felt about the closing of Main and California. They have all stated that they are happy with the closures. It was good to hear this because I just wasn’t sure what affect this has had on downtown businesses.

∙Guns In the News

Once again, a young child under 5 has killed a family member. A three-year-old boy accidentally shot his mother dead as the family sat in their car in a parking lot at a supermarket in a suburb of Chicago. The family were sitting in their car outside a Food for Less store when the boy somehow found the gun and fired it, striking his mother.

“This could have been prevented,” Dolton trustee Andrew Holmes said on Sunday as he visited the supermarket to hand out gun locks and speak to shoppers about the importance of gun safety. All it takes is a second: unlock it, thread it through the barrel, bring it back around, put it in and lock it back,” Holmes told WLS-TV. “If you leave it, secure it.”

Officials are searching for the person responsible for shooting and killing one man and injuring two other people at a party in Oxnard. The party, and shooting, took place at an abandoned business along Saviers Road. When officers arrived, they found 21-year-old Adrian Sandoval unconscious and unresponsive. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him, but he was unfortunately declared dead at the scene. Two others, 19-year-old Diego Mares and 24-year-old Arkangel Childs, were found wounded.

A 16-year-old was killed and three others were seriously injured in a shooting at a Quality Inn hotel in Colorado. Officers found the teen with an apparent gunshot wound, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

A shooting outside a pizza shop on Chicago’s South Side has left seven men wounded, authorities said.

One teen is dead and two remain hospitalized after a shooting outside a Des Moines, Iowa, high school. The incident is at least the 13th shooting at an American campus with K-12 students in 2022, according to a CNN tally.

A student shot and wounded an administrator and a school resource officer Friday at a suburban Kansas City high school, and the student also was wounded when the officer returned fire.

∙ Another journalist has been shot to death in Mexico. So far this year it is the eighth killing of a journalist in Mexico. Ten suspects have been detained in connection with last month’s shooting death of a photojournalist in Tijuana.

∙ In a recent poll, two thirds of Asian Americans in Los Angeles County are worried about being a victim of a racial attack. It is unacceptable that any American because of their race, color, sexual orientation or religion should be concerned for the safety of their lives.

∙ I’m not kidding; regarding the Ukraine, Trump called for the U.S. to attack Russia but make it look like it was actually China by flying American planes with a Chinese flag on the side.

“And then we say, ‘China did it. We didn’t do it China did it,’ and then they start fighting with each other and we sit back and watch.”

∙ Retiring Republican Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said that his “biggest regret” during his time in Congress was voting against the first impeachment of former President Trump.

Trump was impeached and later acquitted on two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress related to a phone call in which he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Biden family. Trump’s accusers alleged that he withheld much-needed military aid to force Zelensky’s hand, which Kinzinger said has affected Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russia.

“It’s important for political leaders to be transparent and admit regret when needed. The bottom line, Donald Trump withheld lethal aid to Ukraine so he could use it as leverage for his campaign,” Kinzinger tweeted. “This is a shameful and illegal act, directly hurting the Ukraine defense today,” he said.

Republican Rep. Tom Rice (S.C.) slammed former President Trump following the former president’s rally in South Carolina, calling him “a would-be tyrant.”

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Marc Racicot slammed Trump over his comments on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writing that the ex-commander in chief is “not fit to lead this nation.”

In an article written for the Independent Record, Racicot analyzed Trump’s commentary on the conflict in Ukraine, determining that the ex-president is not fit to lead the U.S., especially during a moment of crisis.

He said, the “essential qualities of leadership and human character” are decency, honesty, humility, honor and faithfulness. Donald Trump does not possess those essential qualities of character that leave him fit to lead this nation, most especially in a time of crisis.”

∙ Congratulations to Mary Thompson, a member of the Ventura Breeze family for being selected as the new president of the Olivas Adobe docents.

∙ Students at public and private K-12 schools in Ventura County and throughout California will no longer be required to wear masks after March 11, regardless of their vaccination status. The state’s decision to lift the mask mandate for students is in line with guidelines issued by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The mask wearing mandate hasn’t made sense for some time. Go into a restaurant wearing a mask, sit down shoulder to shoulder at a counter and then take it off. I understand some people who might feel vulnerable to COVID should still wear them.

∙ Talk about a conditioned reflex – while driving, my car’s phone rang and I pulled over to answer it so I wouldn’t get a ticket. Good laugh when I realized what I did, rather than just speaking.

∙ As you know, Russia has launched a wide-ranging attack on Ukraine.

“I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, “Putin declares a big portion of Ukraine, Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful,” Trump told a conservative podcaster in an interview. The man’s a genius. Oh, that’s wonderful.”

This genius has caused millions of Ukraine’s to flee their country, thousands on both sides to die, financial institutes in shambles and our gas prices look like they’ll hit $6 a gallon. Of course, Trump thinks the oligarch dictator Putin is a genius, exactly what Trump wants to be.

Andrew Bates, the White House deputy press secretary, responded with a scathing tweet.
“Two nauseating, fearful pigs who hate what America stands for and whose every action is driven by their own weakness and insecurity, rubbing their snouts together and celebrating as innocent people lose their lives.”

Several Trump advisers and associates have practically begged the former president to end his effusive-sounding praise of Putin. His former director of national intelligence has voiced his dismay at the ex-president’s remarks praising Putin. Dan Coats said he was “stunned” by Trump’s remarks. “I cannot think of any other US president that would in a situation like this say what he said.”

∙ And speaking of gas prices in California, federal and state taxes and fuel fees add about $1.20 per gallon to our gas prices. Perhaps these could be suspended until prices go lower.

∙ Judges on Colombia’s constitutional court voted to decriminalize abortion until 24 weeks of gestation. Abortion rights groups sued to have the procedure removed from the penal code. Perhaps we could trade Columbia for Texas.

The nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson is an attempt to “defile” the supreme court and “humiliate and degrade” the US, the Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson claimed.
If confirmed, Jackson, whose nomination was announced by Joe Biden earlier on Friday, will be the first Black woman on the court. Carlson said Jackson was nominated “because of how she looks”. He said, “Do you want to live in that country? Most people don’t, of all colors. They think you should be elevated in America based on what you do, on the choices not on how you were born, not on your DNA, because that’s Rwanda.”

This is perhaps the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard a commentator (even from Fox) ever say.

He should be banned from ever appearing on any TV, radio or social media platform again.

Jackson might be one the most qualified justices ever. Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Miami, Florida. Jackson attended Harvard University for college and law school, where she served as an editor on the Harvard Law Review. She began her legal career with three clerkships, including one with U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Prior to her elevation to an appellate court and from 2013 to 2021, she served as a district judge on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Jackson was also vice chair of the United States Sentencing Commission from 2010 to 2014. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers.

∙ Guns In the News:

A 4-year-old Georgia boy accidentally shot himself with a gun outside a Publix store as his mother was shopping inside. The boy, his mother, an infant and a 13-year-old relative arrived at a store and the mother went into the store alone with the children remaining in the car. The child accidentally shot himself inside the vehicle, police said. The 13-year-old then immediately ran inside the business for help.

Last month, another 4-year-old boy in Louisiana fatally shot himself after finding a gun in the back seat of a car he was in as his mother and a friend smoked marijuana in the front.

So far in 2022, there have been at least 30 unintentional shootings by children, resulting in 13 deaths and 18 injuries.

Perhaps as part of obtaining a license to carry a gun, a required part of the exam should be an IQ test so that 4-year-olds can’t have access to guns.

A father fatally shot his three daughters and a chaperone during a supervised visit at a California church before killing himself.

The 39-year-old man, who wasn’t immediately identified, started shooting inside the sanctuary of The Church in Sacramento during a visit.

The man, who was estranged from his daughters’ mother, gunned down the young girls – ages 9, 10, and 13 – and a male chaperone. The gunman used an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle in the attack.

Fourteen people were shot during a party at a Las Vegas hookah lounge including one man who was killed and two others who were critically wounded after two people got into an altercation and exchanged gunfire.

A Saturday night shooting in Portland, Oregon, that left one woman dead and five people injured started with a confrontation between an armed homeowner and armed protesters, according to a Portland Police Bureau.

∙ For the first time, chimpanzees were spotted capturing insects and applying them to their own wounds, as well as the wounds of others, possibly as a form of medication. This behavior of one animal applying medication to the wounds of another has never been observed before, and it may be a sign of helpful tendencies in chimpanzees similar to empathy in humans, according to a new study.

Researchers witnessed multiple instances of this behavior within a community of about 45 chimpanzees at the Loango National Park in Gabon. Perhaps this could be the solution to the shortage of nurses.

∙ The City Council has unanimously voted to consider a map that would slightly change how the city’s seven council districts are drawn. The first reading of an ordinance to adopt the map will be on Feb. 28. The changes between the current districts and proposed future districts are minor to rebalance population growth based upon the latest census.

Every 10 years, local governments use new data from the census to redraw their district lines to reflect how local populations have changed. Ventura residents can view and provide comments on the map before Feb. 28, as well as give comments during the virtual meeting.

For more information and to see the map, visit cityofventura.ca.gov/redistricting.

∙ We have had some very spectacular, beautiful sunsets as the earth rotates. It almost seems as if the sun is actually setting, even though it doesn’t move. The sun appears to rise and set because of the Earth’s rotation on its axis – the Earth makes one complete turn every 24 hours.

∙ February is Black History Month, which is an annual celebration of achievements by African Americans and a time for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Also known as African American History Month, the event grew out of “Negro History Week,” the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans. Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.

∙ I enjoyed watching the NFL’s championship game. Very exciting and another 3-point victory – the way a championship game should be. It was almost super.

∙ Watching curling at the Olympics is almost as exciting as watching cornhole, but without the beer.

∙ When William Herschel discovered the 7th planet in 1781 his colleagues thought that he was an idiot. They said to him, “William, ur an anus” and this is how the planet Uranus got its name.

∙ In his theory of general relativity, Einstein predicted something called time dilation: the notion that two clocks under two different gravitational pulls will always tick at different speeds. The effect has been observed in many experiments since, but now scientists have recorded it at the smallest scale seen so far.

Two atomic clock readings were taken from the same cloud of atoms, in a highly controlled energy state. In fact, the atoms ticked between two energy levels in perfect synchronization for 37 seconds, a record in terms of quantum coherence.

While the difference in redshift across this tiny distance was just 0.0000000000000000001 or so, that’s in line with predictions made by general relativity. Those differences can make a difference when you get out to the scale of the entire Universe, or even when you’re dealing with systems that need to be ultra-accurate, such as GPS navigation.

I knew that.

∙ A Manhattan judge called Donald Trump “just a bad guy” in a scathing rebuke to a lawyer arguing that the former president was being unfairly singled out for investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

At the end of the hearing, state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump, along with his daughter Ivanka Trump and son Donald Trump Jr., to comply with subpoenas and testify under oath in a civil investigation launched by James into suspicious Trump Organization business practices.

Chris Christie did not hold back in his criticism of how former President Donald Trump has sought to depict the deadly attack against the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. “Let’s face it. Let’s call it what it is. Jan. 6 was a riot that was incited by Donald Trump in an effort to intimidate Mike Pence and the Congress into doing exactly what he said in his own words last week: Overturn the election.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence finally said, “President Trump is wrong. I had no legal right to overturn the election.” In response Trump stated, “Just saw Mike Pence’s statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected President as quickly as possible.” Of course, Pence had no legal basis for changing the results of the election.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated, “We all were here. We saw what happened. It was a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election, from one administration to the next. That’s what it was.”

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said he does not agree with the Republican National Committee’s characterization of Jan. 6 being “legitimate political discourse” if it applies to those who committed violence that day. He said, “I do not agree with that statement if it’s applying to those who committed criminal offenses and violence to overtake our shrine of democracy.”

I might add, those who also went there to hang Pence.

∙ A man who identified himself as a believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison for assaulting police officers at the Capitol during last year’s riot. Nicholas Languerand called himself a patriot, but the judge who sentenced him said the rioters who invaded the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, don’t deserve that description.

∙ Guns In the News

One person was killed and at least one other wounded in a morning shooting inside a Richland Fred Meyer store.

A 15-year-old boy was seriously injured and a bus driver was wounded in north Minneapolis in two separate shootings.

A 911 call that a woman had been shot at a home in southwest Phoenix turned into a barricade standoff where nine officers were injured in a hail of gunfire. Two people inside the house died.

Three people were injured in a shooting outside a West Los Angeles restaurant frequented by celebrities following a Justin Bieber concert.

Police are ramping up the pressure to find the person who shot a 9-year-old girl in an apparent road rage incident in Houston.

One person was killed and five were wounded in a shooting at a park in Portland. Social media flyers showed there was a planned march for Amir Locke, a Black man who was fatally shot by police in Minneapolis.

∙ IAC/Interactive Corp. has announced it is ending print editions of Entertainment Weekly, In Style and four other titles turning them into digital only properties. I’m afraid that print media is really suffering. We certainly are as well, but because we are Ventura’s only local newspaper, it’s important to us that we continue to publish to inform our readers about local news and happenings.

∙ Bullet train officials have reported the cost for the high-speed system between Los Angeles and San Francisco is now estimated to be $105 billion, just a bit more than in 2008 when voters approved a bond to help build the railroad that estimated that the system would cost $33 billion. Oh well, $72 billion is not much these days. Perhaps this is why some people vote against bonds for most anything. Maybe they’re right.

∙ The City of Ventura has extended the temporary closure of its facilities through mid-to-late February due to rising COVID-19 cases and exposures.

“The extension of the City’s temporary closure is a precautionary measure that allows critical services and operations to continue while minimizing opportunities where transmission may be possible,” said Ventura City Manager Alex D. McIntyre

City staff remains available online or by phone during regular business hours. In addition, all public safety services will continue regular 24/7 operations.

Let’s hope the community can get the support it needs online or by phone support.

∙ The focus of two articles in this issue will bring pleasure to some Venturans. Aarmark Beer Gardens will be moving into the space in the Harbor Village that is now the arcade. The new entertainment and restaurant venue won’t be open until next year after extensive remodeling is done to the space. The arcade has struggled for some time and is in great need of updating which the current owner can’t afford to do. It is a prominent location in the Harbor, so I hope it’s a great addition.

Also, the Players Club has re-opened at the Derby Club at the Fairgrounds. If you are tired of playing cards you can go downstairs and bet on the horse racing.

∙ No president should take credit for a robust economy because it could tank in a week. They should say something like, “I’m very happy that the economy is so good. I certainly hope it can continue doing so well.”

∙ After several years of delays, Thousand Oaks’ first two cannabis dispensaries have opened. Leaf Dispensary and Legendary Organics are strictly medical cannabis dispensaries, but they would like to start selling recreational cannabis in the near future with the city’s permission.

What is the delay in Ventura’s cannabis dispensaries opening already? Just more of our tax dollars still going outside of Ventura.

∙ Even though there has been a resurgence of Monarch butterflies, the future for these wonderful insects is still in jeopardy. Ventura has a wonderful opportunity to help save them by creating habitats where milkweed could be grown. Milkweed is what Monarch’s eat and lay their eggs in.

Ventura has two (actually two-and-a-half) golf courses where butterfly habitats could be developed. Golf courses take up a huge amount of space that is only enjoyed by a very small part of our population so why not create habitats for butterflies? And, helping them it would create areas that could be enjoyed by many more people.

∙ The Ventura County Board of Supervisors has passed a resolution to request the California Public Utilities Commission and other state agencies take a closer look at Southern California Gas Company’s compressor site located off of the Avenue in Ventura. SoCalGas plans to replace three gas compressors on the site with four new ones with more horsepower.

The resolution requests the CPUC assess the impact on the neighborhood that the expansion at their facility at 1555 North Olive St. would create. It also requests the California Environmental Protection Agency consider the potential health of the nearby neighborhood.

This is not the first time that concern has been shown. In May, Ventura unanimously passed a resolution requesting state regulators to review the potential environmental, health and safety impacts of the expansion. The city and county resolutions come after months of community opposition to the project including the Ventura Unified School District because of its proximity to E. P. Foster Elementary School.

∙ Guns In The News

One person has died, and several others were hurt after a Butte County shooting inside a Greyhound bus.

One person was killed and four others injured in a shooting at a hookah lounge in downtown Blacksburg.

The suspect who shot and killed a woman and injured two others in a church in Aurora, Colorado, knew at least one of the victims, police said. “It wasn’t just a random shooting inside this church,” police said.

One student is dead and another is in critical condition after a shooting outside a school in Richfield. At a news conference Richfield Police Chief Jay Henthorne told reporters the two victims were shot on a sidewalk outside the District 287 South Education Center.

A four-year-old boy has died after he accidentally shot himself in the head with his father’s gun inside a car where his mother and another adult were smoking marijuana.

Two people were killed and two were injured in a shooting at the Park Plaza Apartments in Brown Deer. Brown Deer police said they got a call of shots fired at about 10:10 a.m. When officers arrived, they were shot at by a person in the building.

A Wisconsin man was arrested after a gun he was handling discharged and killed an 8-year-old girl in Milwaukee, an incident that prompted the city’s acting mayor to ask citizens to “put down the guns” on the heels of a record-breaking year for homicides.

A multiple-homicide investigation was underway in Milwaukee after police discovered six adults dead inside a home during a welfare check.

Police are looking for a tow truck driver who shot a 3-year-old in Port Richmond in a Jiffy Lube parking lot. Investigators say the incident at 12:15 a.m. started as a fight between two tow truck drivers. One of them pulled out a gun and began shooting; one of the bullets hit the toddler who was sitting inside the truck.

An argument in the checkout line of a South Florida grocery store escalated into a fatal shooting, as other shootings around the state took place in a sports bar and a banquet hall. The argument between two men started in the checkout line of a Publix. One of the men pulled a gun and shot the other man. The victim died in the store, and the shooter was in police custody.

Four people were shot at the Player’s Sports Bar and Grill in North Lauderdale. After a fight took place in the sports bar and a patron was told to leave, the patron shot at the bar, striking several people.

In Orlando, police were searching for a suspect in a fatal shooting at a banquet hall. Police were called to the event space where they found a victim in critical condition.The victim was pronounced dead at a hospital.

A community is in shock after eight people were shot in an apparent murder-suicide in Texas. A man killed four people, including a child, and critically wounded three at two different crime scenes. The suspect, Kevin Milazzo, is believed to have killed his mother, 61-year-old Connie Mimms, and stepfather, 68-year-old William Mimms, in Corsicana.

Police say Milazzo then drove to Frost, where he shot and killed his 21-year-old son, Joshua Milazzo, and a four-year-old boy, the son of his ex-girlfriend.

Police tracked the 41-year-old Milazzo through his vehicle GPS and were able to turn off the engine remotely. As members of the SWAT team approached his vehicle, they found him critically injured from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his head.

Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) and Senator Monique Limon announced legislation to restrict gun sales at the Ventura County Fairground.  They were joined at the press conference by Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) who announced legislation to end gun sales at all county fairgrounds across the state.  

According to a report published by UC Davis, gun shows have been identified as a source for illegally trafficked firearms.  

“Unfortunately, the United States experiences far more gun violence per person than virtually every other modern industrialized country in the world,” Said Bennett “ The United States has one of the most pervasive gun cultures in the world supported by a powerful gun lobby. Gun shows at the Fairgrounds enhance this and it is time for each of us to play a role in changing this culture.”

∙ Another journalist has been killed in Mexico. The fourth in less than a month. More than 50 journalists have been slain in Mexico since 2018. The writer wrote for a website that reported on government corruption which means this might not have been a cartel slaying.

∙ On this issue’s cover we have an article covering the fifth anniversary of KPPQ-LP FM 104.1. I briefly had a radio show on KPPQ where I interviewed local government officials and local personalities. CAPS made it easy to learn how to do the show with easily understood classes, instructions, training and an engineer helping to produce the show. It was a wonderful experience and opportunity. You should consider having your own show. You could start by interviewing me.

∙ According to the U.S. Geological Survey, a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was reported Jan. 16 four miles from Ventura. An average of 234 earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 4.0 occur each year in California and nearby Nevada. Coupled with the tsunami, I think mother nature (we always blame the ladies) is trying to tell us something.

∙ Recently there were two occurrences of theft in the trailhead parking area at Harmon Canyon Preserve. Both involved windows of parked vehicles being smashed. When enjoying the outdoors (or anywhere else), please remember do not leave valuables in your vehicle.

I’m always shocked when someone says, “My car was broken into and my wallet, 5 credit cards, my laptop and my cell phone were stolen.” In this case, maybe they deserve it.

∙ Saturday marks the 49th anniversary of the supreme court’s Roe v Wade decision, the landmark ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion. I certainly hope it is not the last anniversary before it is overturned.

During oral arguments for Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year, a majority of the court appeared ready to severely weaken or overturn Roe v Wade.

In my opinion (that’s what my column is-always glad to hear yours), such a reversal would be a disaster.

Many Democratic-led states will hopefully pass laws protecting abortion rights. I hope that states can enforce this. Republicans are all for state rights unless they don’t agree with what the states do.

Congresswoman Julia Brownley stated, “The threat to the right to choose is in danger as state legislatures throughout the country seek to diminish access to abortion, which exacerbate racial and economic injustices that harm women, families, and communities. Abortion coverage bans are discriminatory policies that target people of color and young people, who deserve agency over their own bodies. That is why I voted for the House Majority’s funding bill that provides increased funding for family planning and repeals the dangerous Hyde Amendment.”

∙ To help discourage wasteful water users, such as hosing off driveways, the state has imposed new water use laws. It prohibits uses such as washing cars without a shutoff nozzle, washing down driveways and watering grass within 48 hours after a rain fall (minimum .02” of rain). Water police will be out looking for those who break these laws. If necessary, they will arrest you using water pistols (individuals may also own water pistols as guaranteed by the constitution). I will be launching the NWGA.

∙ Stewart Rhodes, founder, and leader of the far-right Oath Keepers has been arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan.6 invasion of the US Capitol.

He is charged, with more than a dozen other members and associates of Oath Keepers who went to Washington intent on stopping the certification of our newly elected president. It is the first time the Justice Department has brought such charges against people who did not enter the building but are accused of encouraging the violence (does that sound familiar?).

∙ Who wouldn’t prefer living in a nice warm house or apartment in Ventura as compared to living on a cold hard sidewalk? This is what the homeless are expected to do. It’s heartbreaking to me that people are expected to exist under awful living conditions because they are offered no other places to pitch their tents or to live in with some safety and some comfort.

Ventura does offer one such area, though twenty-five dome structures at River Haven provide housing for the homeless, but much more is needed. California will spend a record $4.8 billion over the next two years to alleviate homelessness in our communities. The package will mark the state’s largest financial commitment to assisting people without adequate and safe housing. Also, construction has started on a 19-story homeless housing project in the Skid Row area in Los Angeles. The 278-unit Weingart Tower replaces a parking lot. This is the first stage of a project that will eventually have 382 units.

I know that some people say why should we help these bums? The majority of these “bums” are mentally ill or are on drugs that they can’t quit. And many people are now a paycheck away from becoming homeless or have become homeless because of COVID.

∙ From NPR:

The bad news keeps on coming for President Biden. He ended 2021 at a low point in his presidency, hoping to turn it around in the new year.

But things have only gotten worse. His spending and voting rights plans are at congressional dead ends. Inflation remains at multi-decade highs. The omicron variant of the coronavirus continues a rapid spread. The Supreme Court ruled against his administration’s vaccine-or-test mandate. And there are rising threats from Russia and North Korea.

Presidents need to be able to do multiple things at once, but that’s a lot weighing down Biden. And his approval rating is suffering because of it. Biden’s average approval rating sits at about 42%, and a Quinnipiac poll this week had it at 33%.

From me: Being president is a tough job. Because the US is equally divided between Republicans and Democrats a president can be great and still only have a 50% approval rating.

∙New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office says it needs the testimony of former President Donald Trump and two of his adult children to determine their knowledge of what investigators say they have identified as numerous “misleading statements and omissions” in tax submissions and financial statements used to obtain loans.

∙Copied from on-line NBC

The staggering spike in COVID-19 cases nationwide fueled mainly by the highly contagious omicron variant has many American’s questioning how long it will take for the pandemic to finally subside for good. While no crystal ball can provide an exact timeline, several medical experts help lay out what the future might hold.

The changeover for an infectious disease from a pandemic to an endemic occurs when the virus is found regularly in a particular area or among people. The key difference in an endemic condition is that the virus is more manageable with greater population immunity.

The common cold and flu are examples of endemic viral infections that are frequently encountered by the public. Medical Director for Infection Prevention at the Mount Sinai Health System, Dr. Bernard Camins, believes the Sars-Cov-2 virus will eventually become endemic over time.

“The definition of endemicity is that Sars-Cov-2] will come back yearly, especially when winter comes. When it becomes endemic, though, it should not affect a large portion of the population — only certain groups,” Dr. Camins said to NBC New York.

It may take a matter of years before Sars-Cov-2 stops hindering widespread travel plans, hospitalization rates, and healthcare systems, Dr. Camins added.

∙ Court proceedings for Jamal Omar Jackson, 52, the suspect (we need to call him that) in the 2018 fatal stabbing of Anthony Mele, 35 at the Aloha Steakhouse in Ventura are scheduled. That terrible tragedy occurred nearly four years ago.

In Nov. 2020, Jamal was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial. It has since been determined that he is well enough to appear in court. His mental competency hearing is scheduled on Thursday, Jan. 13.

I know that many people will say what’s the difference if he was mentally ill when he killed Anthony Mele? The difference is motivation. If his mental demons were telling him that he was being followed by the CIA and they are instructing him to kill someone this is very different then killing during a robbery or an argument.

Perhaps Jamal knew he needed help but the unwillingness to accept treatment or care by the mentally ill is over 60% in the U.S.

Stigma is the biggest barrier to obtaining mental care. That could be reduced if people understood, and accepted, the fact that mental illness is a neurological condition the same as other illnesses such as diabetes. We need to think of these as brain disorders that can not be controlled without proper treatment.

∙ In her newly drawn 26th District, Congresswoman Julia Brownley will represent a more conservative Simi Valley, but lost the cities of Ventura and Ojai. The changes came as part of redistricting, which happens once every 10 years, after every census, to ensure that each district has the same amount of people.

∙ NASA’s Jim Green has left the agency where he served for 12 years as the director of NASA’s planetary science division and the last three as its chief scientist.

He is forming a plan to geoengineer Mars into a planet habitable for humans. Green’s plan hinges on warming and thickening Mars’ atmosphere by using a giant magnetic shield between the Red Planet and the Sun, which would bring temperature and pressure levels above the point at which humans could walk on the surface without a space suit, without their blood boiling inside their bodies.

Wonderful – one day we could live on Mars and destroy it also.

∙ In a previous issue, I stated that I felt it was good the city has made the process easier to secure the required permits and approvals to obtain permits for developments. To clarify my position, I’m not happy with the huge amount of multi-unit projects being built, especially on Thompson Blvd. (the townhouses, fancy word for condos, that will cost $800,000 and up).

I just don’t think you control development by making it extremely time consuming and difficult to obtain permits. Proper control is done by thoughtful zoning and a general plan.

This is like controlling traffic by putting a speed hump (cities call then humps, not bumps) every 10 feet to slow down traffic.

∙ Mozart and I have something in common; we both have an un-finished symphony. The only difference is that I haven’t started mine yet.

∙ I love things being pitched on TV that are not for sale anywhere else so there is no comparative pricing. For instance, something like this; “Pots for sale. Six pots for 3 payments of $39.95, and if you buy in the next 10 minutes you get 3 more for free.” You’re not getting anything for free, you’re getting 9 pots for 3 payments of $39.95 because they have no intrinsic value except what they tell you that they’re worth. And “buy in the next 10 minutes” is also a joke because you could order in 10 hours or 10 days and they wouldn’t know the difference.

∙ Funny stuff – twins were born on both sides of midnight to end the year. So, one baby was born in 2021 and other in 2022. Do you think they will have separate birthday parties?

∙ A federal judge sided with the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot by refusing to block the release of scores of White House documents from the Trump administration. The federal judge was unimpressed with Trump’s legal arguments.

While most Republicans were absent on Capitol Hill Thursday, one of the party’s most prominent statesmen was there. Asked why he came to the Capitol for the Jan. 6 anniversary Dick Cheney said, “It’s an important historical event. You can’t overestimate how important it is.” He added, “I’m deeply disappointed we don’t have better leadership in the Republican Party to restore the Constitution.”

President Joe Biden marked the first anniversary of the January 6 insurrection by calling out former President Donald Trump for attempting to undo American democracy, saying such an insurrection must never happen again.

“For the first time in our history, a President had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol,” Biden said in a speech from the US Capitol that lasted just under 30 minutes. “But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again.”

∙ The largest and most powerful space telescope is on its way to a destination 1,000,000 miles away. It will take months to get there and an additional five months, give or take, to start eventually sending information back to earth. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the $10 billion observatory “is going to give us a better understanding of the universe and our place in it, who we are, our search that’s eternal.”

On Saturday, Jan. 8, the new observatory successfully unfolded its final primary mirror segment to cap what NASA has billed as one of its most complicated deployments in space ever. The team is now turning its attention to directing the telescope to its final destination.

Maybe we will finally find other worlds full of polluting people.

Sad in a way that humans have the incredible intelligence and abilities to create such a telescope and send it into space but can’t solve things like mental illness, homelessness, global warming and food scarcity here on earth.