The Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation is proud to invite you to a free online seminar for those looking to navigate the challenges of family interests when organizing an estate plan.

CMHF Board member Roy Schneider, of Schneider & Associates, LLP, will present this virtual seminar entitled Family Dynamics and Your Estate: When Planned Giving Doesn’t Go as Planned. He will share his expertise in estate planning, and offer illustrations on how to limit or eliminate potential family friction.

This online event will take place on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 11:00 a.m.

All are welcome to join.

Please go to cmhfventura.org/estateplanning to RSVP for this free, informative online seminar, hosted by Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation.

Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation is a charitable, nonprofit organization that helps elevate the quality of healthcare in our community by fundraising for Community Memorial Hospital and its greatest needs. (This is not a fundraising event).

To support Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation and its efforts to aid Community Memorial Hospital during this health crisis, please visit www.cmhfventura.org/donate/.

Ventura County Library invites everyone to join the Summer Reading Challenge. Residents of all ages and from all across the county have the opportunity to read, participate in live streaming programs, win prizes, collect badges, and have fun! Sign up at: http://vclreads.readsquared.com. Remaining programs:

July 31 – “Wizard Academy” by Christopher T. Magician – 4pm on Facebook Live
August 4 – Ojai Raptor Center – 4pm on Facebook Live

A variety of virtual programs have been added to our website. See our web calendar for more including bilingual story times, poetry, and ukulele online at https://www.vencolibrary.org/calendar:

Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields, an award-winning film available free to stream via Vimeo from 8am through August 2, 2020

One County, One Book events in late August and September around Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women

All Ventura County Library branches now offer walkup pickup of holds and accept returned items. Customers may place items on hold in the online catalog and pick them up at the library.
No fines or late fees will be assessed on checked out items during the closure of our physical library branches due to COVID-19. These items may be returned to exterior bookdrops 24/7.

Library materials returned to the library will be “quarantined” for a minimum of 4 days before they are taken off your account.

Loan Periods have been extended from 3 weeks to 6 weeks.

Ventura County Library branches are providing limited Internet access to assist people who need to complete the 2020 Census.  In each of the 12 branches of the County library system, a computer with access limited to just the official 2020 Census webpage will be available for the public to use. Computer access is available by appointment only for the purpose of completing the nine-question survey.

“With the Census being conducted primarily online now, a priority for our libraries has been to find a way to safely provide access to the Internet for community members who have no other way to connect online and complete the survey”, said Nancy Schram, Library Director.

Individuals who would like access to a computer to complete the Census can call one of 12 library locations to make one-hour appointments, once per day, to complete the survey. Access to other Internet webpages is not available.  Walk-ups may be accommodated only if the designated computer is available.

Residents who want to use the service will need to follow these guidelines:
Wearing a mask is required inside all library locations
Social distancing of up to six feet is required at all times
Restrooms are not available for public use
Other areas of the library and browsing of library collections are not available at this time
Computer equipment and hard surfaces touched must be cleaned after use with provided disinfectant wipes
Staff may only provide limited assistance and must use social distancing at all times
Each computer may only be used for Census purposes at this time
Visitors must present their Ventura County Library card at their scheduled appointment, or inform staff at the time the appointment is made if they do not have a library card

Most of the twelve branches will provide access Monday through Friday from 1pm – 6pm. Select locations, such as the Foster Library, Hill Road Library, Ojai Library, and Prueter Library will offer hours on Saturdays from 10am – 3pm.

For a full list of library branches and hours when the service is available, please visit: www.vencolibrary.org/census-computer-access

The Avenue Library in Ventura is providing free Grab and Go healthy snack lunches for children under 18 through August 7th, made possible by donations from the Ventura County Library Foundation, the California State Library, and Premier America Credit Union.

Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice has been recognized by Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) as a “Superior Performer” for achieving an overall caregiver and family satisfaction score that ranked in the top 20% of all eligible SHP clients for the 2019 calendar year. Livingston was the only hospice in Ventura County to receive this prestigious recognition.

The annual SHPBest™ award program was created to acknowledge hospice providers that consistently provide high quality service to families and caregivers of patients receiving hospice care. The 2019 award recipients were determined by reviewing and ranking the overall CAHPS Hospice survey satisfaction score for more than 1,400 hospice providers. With one of the largest CAHPS Hospice benchmarks in the nation, SHP is in a unique position to identify and recognize organizations that have made family and caregiver satisfaction a priority and have been rewarded for their efforts with high marks on the CAHPS Hospice survey. “SHP is proud to present the SHPBest awards to our top-performing customers. We commend these organizations for their continuous focus on delivering the highest quality of care to their patients”, said Rob Paulsson, President of SHP.

For more than 73 years, Livingston has cared for those in the community who are experiencing a serious or end-of-life illness. On any given day — hundreds of patients and family members are cared for by our team that includes physicians, nurses, physical therapists, caregivers and more. Livingston is honored to receive the SHPBest award. It is a rewarding reminder of our commitment to Ventura County. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to provide the warmth, skill, and experience of our teams to ensure that your needs are at the forefront of our care.

Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP) is a leader in data analytics and benchmarking that drive daily clinical and operational decisions. Their solutions bring real-time data to post-acute providers, hospitals, physician groups and ACOs to better coordinate quality care and improve patient outcomes. In business since 1996, SHP has built deep expertise and a strong reputation to help organizations nationwide raise the bar for patient care.

Learn more about Livingston Memorial services and programs at lmvna.org.

by Richard Senate

Philip de la Riva was born in 1892 at the Olivas Adobe. His mother was Rebecca Olivas de la Riva, the youngest of the twenty-one children of Raymundo and Teodora Olivas.The builders of the Olivas Adobe, now a museum.

When the United States declared war on Imperial Germany in 1917, Philip answered his nations call and enlisted. He was part of the American Expeditionary Forces that sailed to France to fight in what was called “The War to end all wars.” Many of those from Ventura County were Latinos and they were known for their bravery and the fact that many came home with the Purple Heart, given to those who were wounded in action, proves their bravery in action. Sadly, Philip de la Riva was one of them. He survived the horrors of trench warfare and the perils of shell barrages, machine gun fire and poison gas only to be wounded as his unit was pulled from the front. As his unit was pulled back  for some well earned rest and relaxation, they were marching along a French highway when the column was sighted by a lone German Fokker fighter plane.

The biplane dove down on them to strafe the American dough-boys. They scattered, and went flat on the dirt road. But Philip was hit by a 30-millimeter bullet in the hind quarters. He was taken to a field hospital and his family given the dreaded telegram that he had been wounded in action. They didn’t tell the family the extent of his injuries and they suspected the worst. It was only later they learned of his wound and recovery. He came home, missing a piece of his buttocks, but none the worst for his trauma in the great war.

He went home to Ventura when his father had a Lima bean farm in Montalvo. Philip had a family member take a snapshot of himself in his uniform, holding his hat. Then, he dug a hole in his back yard, took off his uniform and tossed the clothing into the hole, tossed in the hat and poured gasoline over the garments and set them on fire! When it was burned, he buried the ashes. From that day on he never spoke of the things he saw and did in France. It is an action soldiers have done though out history. As General Sherman said at the burning of Atlanta, “War is Hell.”

The following is a letter from Patrick Davidson, Executive Director of CAPS Media.

Friends of CAPS Media,

On Monday evening, June 29th the Ventura City Council voted unanimously to continue funding CAPS Media for the near term and foreseeable future. In light of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and resulting reduced city revenue, by mutual agreement the city and CAPS agreed to reduce the level of CAPS Media funding for the 2020-2021 fiscal year starting July 1. The reduction will require adjustments but given the realities we are all facing, it is reasonable and manageable.

Everyone at CAPS Media, especially our board members and staff, want to thank the Ventura City Councilmembers for recognizing the valuable and unique resources that CAPS provides our community: Mayor Matt LaVere, Deputy Mayor Sofia Rubalcava, and councilmembers Lorrie Brown, Jim Friedman, Cheryl Heitmann, Erik Nasarenko and Christy Weir, thank you for your continued support and partnership in serving Ventura. In addition I want to extend our appreciation to the Ventura City staff members who worked with us to find a viable solution that allows CAPS Media to continue to serve our community during these very challenging times and in the future.

To our friends and supporters in the community, I look forward to a time when I can express my thanks in person. But for now, please accept our deep appreciation to everyone who rallied behind CAPS during the funding debate by sending letters, emails, and making calls to city council members and city staff to express your appreciation and support for our work.

Most importantly I want to thank the CAPS Media staff – full time and part-time – for your dedicated, talented and tireless work supporting our members and the community during these very uncertain times.  In the midst of the intensifying crisis that we are all experiencing, the CAPS Staff has continued to work, day in and day out, in the CAPS studio, at City Hall, out in the community and in their homes, providing the public with vital and accurate information and other media services throughout the COVID crisis.

You may not know that on a weekly basis, CAPS crews are producing updates by City and County officials, directing the broadcasts and live-streaming of City Council and other committee meetings with remote participation by board members, committee members, city staff and the public. CAPS Crews record the live County COVID-19 updates at the County government center and then edit/format the updates with titles and subtitles in Spanish for wide distribution. In addition, CAPS crews continue to produce videos for Ventura County Fire, Public Health and other agencies.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 crisis the CAPS Media Center is closed to Member/Producers and the public. However, Member/Producers can still submit programming via our online portal at capsmedia.org. for broadcast and streaming on CAPS public access television Channel 6 and on CAPS Radio KPPQ 104.1FM. KPPQ is offering online training to help set up your home studio and begin producing shows. Camera, Editing and Studio classes are postponed. Please check the website for details.

Thank you all. “It takes a village,” and we are all very thankful to be part of your personal village.

Patrick Davidson
Executive Director
CAPS Media

by Carol Leish

“First, when all of this (closures due to the pandemic), started in mid-March, we reached out to all our members,” according to Ventura Chamber President and CEO, Stephanie Caldwell. “We wanted to find out:

• How members were doing
• What members needed
• If members businesses were open or closed.

She said that, “As things continued to progress, we realized that business needs changed over time. And, we have and continue to respond to the various needs of our members.”

“Through the communication of the Ventura Chamber,” according to Caldwell, “We are able to reach out to both our members and to the business community, as a whole. Since things have been happening so fast, at first, we started sending out our chamber e-news communication daily, or even twice a day, with various updates. The information recently has been slowing down a little bit. We are now sending out our e-news usually about two or three times a week now.”

“Everyone can get our e-news,” according to Caldwell. “You can sign up for free by going to:www.venturachamber.com.”

“In late April, about a month into all of this we realized that, since all of our events were canceled due to not being able to have group gatherings, that our members were struggling and missing being able to connect with each other.”

“We saw, over time, that, some businesses were open, and some businesses had information that they wanted to share,” said Caldwell. “So, instead of doing a monthly ‘Connection Breakfast,’ we started (at the end of April), ‘The Connection,’ which is a weekly Zoom call on Tuesday mornings. It’s free to both members and nonmembers to participate in. Besides networking, it’s also a way for us all to get information in ‘real time’ out to the community, and for those within the community to ask questions. Also, for everyone to be able to share information. We also have someone each week from the City of Ventura who provides us with an update on information. This has included having had the Public Information Officer; and the Economic Development Manager. We will be having the Parks & Community Partnership Division discuss, ‘parks having safe openings soon.”

By mentioning different financial resources that have been and are available, Caldwell, said that, “These financial resources have been/are available to help. The deadline for the Business Assistance Program was July 8th. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan and the Payroll Protection Program both are currently continued to accept applications.”

Caldwell mentions the importance of the advocacy work of the Ventura Chamber by saying, “Through advocacy, we have continued to work closely with the City of Ventura and the County of Ventura to discuss the safe reopening of businesses soon. Businesses within different types of sectors have given feedback to give feedback in order to assist other business during this transition period.”

The Ventura County Community College District Board of Trustees is committed to diversity and inclusion as key priorities in the organization’s values. At its June 23 meeting, the Board adopted a Resolution Affirming a Commitment to Student Success for Black and African American Students. Action items to remove systemic barriers for Black and African American students were addressed at the Board’s Planning Session on June 27.

The Board is dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusion for Black and African American students in which they feel safe, respected and valued. Students will continue to be invited to share their unique perspective, talents and backgrounds.

“Through this resolution, we state our commitment to support our Black and African American students,” said Chair Bernardo M. Perez during the board meeting. “We know that we need more than words, our students deserve more than words, which is why we commit to action.”

“Passion, that’s what it takes in this movement, to be able to carry things through and to maintain courage and strength despite being the only one standing up,” added Trustee Gabriela Torres. “That’s what it takes to do this important work.”

In drafting the resolution, the Board incorporated information from the African American Student Success Virtual Townhall, which convened over 1,000 California community college practitioners, policymakers and national scholars. Townhall attendees discussed financial aid reform, housing, food, technology and transportation insecurities, impacts of COVID-19 on African American students, and policy recommendations to support this population.

“We believe that higher education should be available to everyone, in a culturally competent environment, and we call upon each other–students, faculty, classified professionals and administrators  to be catalysts for change,” said Chancellor Greg Gillespie.

At the board meeting, students from VCCCD colleges voiced their support for the resolution and encouraged the District to take action.

“I want to focus on not just bringing strategies and courses to the table, but actually doing it,” said Lorena Ortiz, president of Oxnard College’s Associated Student Government. “We bring ideas. I want to be mobilized. I want us to do the work.”

“This is beyond important,” added Moorpark College student Gerald Richardson III, who is the founder and president of Youthfully Evolved Society, where members volunteer and focus on ways to aid and assist vulnerable populations. “This is absolutely needed for African American students, especially in a critical time like this.”

As Student Trustee, Ashley Gonzales represents the approximately 32,000 students in the District. She stated: “We have to educate and be a part of change. It takes all of us to be able to do this.”

The Board will collaborate with Moorpark, Oxnard and Ventura colleges, and local, state and federal governments, businesses and community-based organizations. Together, stakeholders will provide race-conscious decision-making in support of Black and African American community college students as they complete their academic programs, transition to four-year universities and enter the workforce.