“Prepare to be stunned by The Honey Whiskey Trio. They create moving vocal music but you will also see and hear elements of dance and theatre in their performance. They draw deeply from the well of American musical tradition. We are thrilled to have them as part of our series of Americana-themed shows this Fall” said Namba Arts Musical Director Doc Ventura.

Courtney Gasque Politano, Ann Louise Jefferies Thaiss and Christina Wilson began singing together in each other’s living rooms as an emotional and musical release. In 2013, after seeing the impact of their music on the contemporary A cappella community, these sisters in song solidified their style as American Folk and picked up instruments to further enhance their vocally driven sound.

Today their passion for music education, community outreach, and singing unapologetically continues to drive them. They create, arrange, and explore music from the front porches, music halls, and hymn books of early America, sharing it with students, adults, and life-long music lovers across the United States.

Tickets for this show are $20 and may be purchased at the Namba Arts website https://nambaarts.com. Please note that proof of vaccination or Covid test must be presented to enter.

Other upcoming Americana music shows at Namba Arts this Fall are: The Carolyn Sills Combo Nov 13, The Healers ft. Henry Carjaval Nov 19, Phil Salazar and the Kinfolk Nov 20, Anna May December 4.

Through the month of October, Ventura Land Trust will celebrate its first annual OAKtober with a series of events that acknowledge and celebrate Ventura County’s oak trees and ecosystems.

Oaks are the foundation of several major ecosystems in Ventura County. Each oak is central to home to a hundred interdependent plant and animal species. Trees work for us by cleaning air and water, sequestering atmospheric carbon, buffering climate extremes, and reducing energy usage. Oaks reduce flooding and support our native wildlife. Oaks, and trees in general, provide important benefits that provide the foundation for our individual and planetary health.

VLT and event partners will drive awareness of the value of oaks across California, while developing a community network to support these important oak ecosystems. Scheduled events include:

On October 2, OAKtober featured Once Upon a Watershed Program Director Dr. David White and Melina Watts, Author of Tree.

Guests met at the Harmon Canyon Preserve trailhead and walked a short distance to an oak grove with trees that are over 300 years old. Dr. David White spoke about the central role of oaks in the ecosystem in Harmon Canyon Preserve and gave tips on how to grow an acorn into a sprout help the young tree to mature. Writer Melina Watts read from her 2017 novel Tree, the story of a California live oak from the point of view of the tree.

On October 30, from 9-10:30am, in partnership with Los Padres ForestWatch, LPFW Conservation Director Bryant Baker, known on Instagram as @bryanttheshrublander, will lead a presentation on Harmon Canyon Preserve’s signature oak woodlands. This presentation will delve into the habitat, biology, and natural history of oak woodlands in Ventura County’s hills and the Los Padres National Forest. Guests will meet at the Harmon Canyon Preserve trailhead and walk a short distance to a Harmon Canyon oak grove to see and learn about the trees up close. Location: 7511 Foothill Road, Ventura.

Other events will be announced as they are scheduled. Guests are encouraged to RSVP for OAKtober events at www.venturalandtrust.org/events. Space is limited. Find more OAKtober resources at www.venturalandtrust.org/oaktober.

The mission of Ventura Land Trust is to permanently protect the land, water, wildlife and scenic beauty of the Ventura region for current and future generations. Founded in 2003, Ventura Land Trust believes that preserving open space and providing public access enhances the economy, quality of life, and public well-being of Ventura and surrounding communities.

The organization currently owns and manages land along the Ventura River and in the Ventura hillsides, including the 2,100-acre Harmon Canyon Preserve, opened in June 2020. Harmon Canyon Preserve is Ventura’s first large-scale nature preserve. All preserves are open to the public daily from dawn to dusk for free. Ventura Land Trust received accreditation by the Land Trust Alliance in 2019. Learn more and become a member at www.venturalandtrust.org.

We asked City Council Member Jim Friedman (District 5)to comment on the proposed opening of the area behind the Ventura Auto Center:

After years of discussion, planning and deliberation going back to 2004, the Ventura City Council unanimously approved terms for a development agreement that would open up the area behind the Ventura Auto Center for future commercial development. This area, known as Focus Area One, has been confirmed and reconfirmed as an economic development priority by the city councils since 2005.

Slated for big-box retail and other compatible uses, Focus Area One is seen as an area for increased sales and property tax revenues. As city expenses increase, finding additional sources of revenue is critical if the city is to continue to provide the level of services that resident have come to expect.

The challenge with Focus Area One is that it is in a flood plain and in order to develop it, a levee along the Santa Clara River between Ventura and Oxnard must be built. Additionally, the long planned for extension of Olivas Park Drive needs to be constructed. On the city’s traffic circulation since the late ‘70s, the extension of Olivas Park Drive would improve traffic flow in the area and make retail investment in the area more attractive for retail developers.

This development agreement is a great example of a public private partnership. Essentially, the city will be responsible for the road construction and the land owners will be responsible for the construction of the levee. The estimated cost of the project is approximately $35 million dollars with the city being responsible for approximately two-thirds of the cost. City traffic mitigation fees which have been collected on development projects since the 1980’s will be used to fund the construction of the road extension. The landowners are dedicating land for the road extension at no cost to the city.

This agreement couldn’t have come at a better time as the city continues to be challenged with rising costs and employee retention. The city currently has 81 vacancies which makes providing services difficult at times. The city of Ventura competes with other cities for employees, so when revenues are insufficient to provide competitive salaries and benefits, service levels decline and residents are negatively affected.

This project can be a huge shot in the arm for city revenues, but it is clearly not enough. I believe city leaders must work to make doing business with the city of Ventura easier, not harder as some prior councils have done. The city of Ventura is fast becoming a retirement community that will ultimately not be able to provide adequate services to its residents.

The city must be more progressive when it comes to economic development. Short of raising taxes and fees, economic development is essential to helping the city deal with the challenges of losing its competitive edge with other cities and providing essential city services. Providing strong public safety services, smooth streets and sidewalks, parks and recreational amenities all cost money. Failure to step up economic development efforts will surely have a negative effect on the quality of life in Ventura.

Jim Friedman

The new foundation board chair is Ellyn Dembowski, a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway in Ventura. She has been on the foundation board for 12 years. “As we get closer to Ventura College’s 100th anniversary in 2025, I’d like to see us take the opportunity to educate the community about what the foundation does,” says Dembowski. “We want to get the word out that students can attend Ventura College tuition-free. The foundation helps with a critical book lending program and provides scholarships to pay for other school and living expenses. We help students and their families build for the future.”

Vice-chair is Nicole Kreutz, vice-president/credit officer at Citizens Business Bank. Born and raised in Ventura, she is a Ventura College alumni. Kreutz has served on the foundation’s board for about five years, most recently as treasurer. “The foundation impacts students every day. We offer scholarships and other financial assistance that takes the financial burden off students’ shoulders. It’s one less thing they have to worry about. They can stay focused on their studies.”

Joining the board are Dr. Robert “Bob” Beilin and Ed Summers. Beilin, a licensed marital family therapist in Ventura County, previously served on the board for five years. “I wanted to come back to continue my commitment to making higher education accessible to students who otherwise could not attend college, especially members of underserved populations,” says Beilin. He hopes to create a diversity committee made up of students and community members of underrepresented groups to assist the board with becoming more diverse and developing inclusive programs.

Summers comes to the board with 30 years of experience in banking and community involvement. He served as a board member for such business organizations as the Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA) and the Economic Development Collaborative- Ventura County (EDC-VC) and was a city council member for the City of Ventura. “I would like to help spearhead stronger relationships between industry and the college,” says Summers. “A study showed that 50 percent of the workforce is going to need an advanced technical education experience. Community colleges will play a vital role in offering the technical training that will prepare our future workforce.”

Rob van Nieuwburg, the outgoing board chair, expects a bright future for the foundation and Ventura College. “I’ve seen firsthand how the foundation and its donors have been able to change lives of students as they pursue their education,” says van Nieuwburg, who was board chair for five years. “It’s what keeps us motivated.”

Established in 1983, the Ventura College Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and operates financially independent from Ventura College. It transforms students’ lives through education by providing innovative and vital resources and financial support. The Foundation collaborates with Ventura College to enhance human potential, civic engagement, careers and academic success of students enabling their effective impact and legacy on the college, local workforce, and our community. The Foundation also hosts the Ventura College Foundation Marketplace; an outdoor shopping experience held every weekend on the Ventura College campus in the East Lot. For more information, contact Julie Harvey at (805) 289-6502 or [email protected] or visit www.VenturaCollegeFoundation.org.