Toys for Tots will be collected until December 12.
The NALA, a boutique marketing agency headquartered in Ventura has teamed up with a plethora of clients this holiday season to help Toys for Tots fulfill its mission, which is to collect new, unwrapped toys each holiday season and distribute them as Christmas gifts to children in need. The NALA’s collective cause marketing program encourages businesses across the country to collect during this time of year.
The NALA and its sister company, STARKART, will be collecting toys for Toys for Tots from now until December 12. New, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the office located at 1891 Goodyear Ave., Suite 620. Additional STARKART/NALA offices collecting include their Encino office located at 5535 Balboa Blvd., Suite 210 and their San Diego office located at 8305 Vickers Street, Suite 209.
“We have been helping small and medium-sized businesses stand out in their communities for over 30 years. Through our new collective cause marketing initiative, the hope is to not only help the business stand out, but make a bigger impact for the cause,” said Tiffani Tendell, Vice President – Communications and Business Development at the NALA, which has introduced a multitude of diverse small businesses to one of its many top-rated charity partners.
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve, which distributes toys to children who may not otherwise receive a gift for Christmas. It was founded in 1947, and since its inception the Marines have distributed over 530,000,000 toys to more than 244,000,000 children across the United States.
Join in as Ventura County Library presents “Mixteco: Tu’un Savi, The Language of the Rain,” presented by Silvia Ventura Luna, M.A., at E.P. Foster Library on Saturday, December 1, at 3pm..
The Mixteco language, Tu’un Savi, is an oral language with numerous variants. Mixteco is an indigenous language predominantly from Oaxaca, Mexico; yet, the language has a strong presence in Ventura County and throughout California. This presentation will briefly discuss the Mixtec history, culture and language.
Also enjoy a special dance performance of Baile de China and Baile de Piña, Oaxacan regional dances, presented by children from the El Rio area Mixteco community, who have been practicing their dances weekly through this special Library program.
Ventura County Library is honored to host this event, made possible by funding received from the California Council for the Humanities Library Innovation Lab Grant for the project entitled “Celebrate Mixteco Culture,” and partnerships with MICOP, CSUCI, El Rio NFL, and UCSB.
“Library Innovation Lab: Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” is a new statewide competitive grant program offered by California Humanities. The program encourages California libraries to develop creative and innovative programs to respond to the needs and circumstances of today’s immigrants and immigrant communities and foster more inclusive communities within our state.
This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Irma Morales, City Librarian, E.P. Foster Library at (805) 256-4414 or Yvonne Becerra, Library Technician and Grant Coordinator at (805) 701-4315.
The Foster Library is located at 651 East Main St. Hours of service are 10am to 7pm Monday through Thursday, 10am to 5pm Friday and Saturday, and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
As curator and repository for Ventura County’s history, the Museum of Ventura County is reaching out to Ventura County fire and sheriff departments, other agencies and, most importantly, the Ventura County public to create a historical archive and personal documentation of the shooting at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7, 2018, as well as the devasting Hill and Woolsey fires. The museum has launched “rapid response collecting” to secure donations of photographs, links to video, artifacts, stories and other elements related to these tragic events.
“Rapid response collecting” is a term used by museums across the country, including those in Orlando and Las Vegas, in response to events such as mass shootings. The Museum of Ventura County is working with Pamela Schwartz, chief curator of the Orange County, Florida, Regional History Center, who led the documentation efforts for the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016. She will actively guide gathering photos, artifacts, documents and more that tell the stories of the Borderline shooting and that honors its victims and survivors.
Also throughout the next few months, the Museum will be gathering stories and digital images as well as physical artifacts to assemble the historical record of the extraordinary rescues, bravery, sacrifice and service of fire fighters, law enforcement personnel and other first responders who battled—and continue to battle—the raging fires in Ventura County, as well as community members who reacted to the crisis with steadfast calm and opened their hearts and hands to help those in need. The Museum invites the public’s participation and encourages those with a story to tell, or a tribute or thank you to share, to submit their stories and digital images to help document this community experience.
The public can send submissions of photographs, links to video, and stories related to either event to the Museum via email at [email protected] or can arrange to submit other formats by contacting Curator of Collections Anna Bermudez at [email protected].
The Museum of Ventura County celebrates, preserves and interprets the art, history and culture of Ventura County, the California Channel Islands and the surrounding region through its collections, exhibitions, events, educational programs, publications and its research library, and serves as a gathering place for the community. Located at 100 East Main Street, the Museum of Ventura County is open Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information, visit venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.
“I am grateful to the voters for re-electing me and eager to get to work in addressing their issues.”
Ventura City Councilmember Erik Nasarenko was re-elected to the seven-member city council, finishing first among six candidates with 44 percent of the vote. His closest challenger received 24 percent of the vote in a contest that, for the first time in Ventura history, was decided by voters casting ballots in districts rather than at-large. The 48-year-old prosecutor was elected in District 4, which includes the communities of Hidden Valley, Ondulando, Clearpoint, Juanamaria, Hobart Park, Amador, The Farm, and neighborhoods stretching east beyond Wells Road to the county line.
“I am grateful to the voters for re-electing me and eager to get to work in addressing their issues,” said Nasarenko. “Traffic, buckled sidewalks, high water rates and limited shopping opportunities for East End residents were among the issues I heard about the most.”
While more than 100 rebuilding permits have been issued to date, Nasarenko also heard from Thomas Fire victims concerned with the slow pace of obtaining approvals, an area he pledged to work on and address. In October, the City Council allocated more money to hire outside consultants to assist with grading permits, an added resource that will assist the City’s land development section and help to expedite certain rebuilding projects.
Nasarenko’s campaign emphasized the public safety resources he funded during his first term, such as adding more police officers to patrol Ventura streets and the re-establishment of a roving fire engine staffed with licensed paramedics.
“Medic Engine 7 and the nine new police officers that recently graduated from the Academy are already making a positive difference in Ventura, including on the East End,” commented Nasarenko.
He also discussed and campaigned on importing water to Ventura through the State Water Project, a 700-mile system of reservoirs, aqueducts and pumping stations that bring Sierra snowmelt to southern California. The City is currently conducting environmental studies on a 7-mile pipeline between Camarillo and the East End which, once complete, will enable Ventura to receive the new water.
“When we blend imported water with East End groundwater, District 4 residents will receive a higher quality, better tasting product,” said Nasarenko, who added the connection should be completed in 2022.
“I really look forward to working with the new councilmembers, as well as our new city manager,” said Nasarenko. “As they prepare to take the dais, I want to thank Mayor Andrews and Councilmembers Tracy and Monahan, who have given so much to make Ventura a special place. Their positive impacts to Ventura will continue well beyond their years of service to the city.”
Rubicon Theatre’s 20th Anniversary Season culminates with a two-piano version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s soaring epic South Pacific, helmed by award-winning director Katharine Farmer and featuring a cast of 28 led by Tony honoree Ben Davis (Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème) and Madison Claire Parks (Luisa in The Fantasticks Off-Broadway).
Based on James Michener’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece “Tales of the South Pacific,” the musical is set on an exotic island during World War II. The plot follows two love stories about seeming-opposites brought together by the circumstances of war and torn apart by prejudice and fear.
The timeless score includes beautiful ballads such as “Younger the Springtime” and “Some Enchanted Evening,” exuberant up-tempo songs like “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy. Ovation Award-winner Brent Crayon serves as Musical Director and First Keyboard Player, and Lee Martino (multiple Ovation and L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards) is choreographer.
According to Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns, Rubicon’s production of South Pacific will be approached as a play with music, much like Rubicon’s prior productions of Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady and Man of La Mancha. “As a regional theatre company in a small venue, we hope to offer audiences an especially intimate, in-depth connection to the storytelling and the relationships.”
Director Farmer and Mike Billings (Sets, Lights and Multimedia) conceived a set made up of military issue pieces that the ensemble will move to create various locales. “The idea is that we as American military in wartime are trying to maneuver and manage what happens on this little island in a culture that has different values than our own,” says Farmer. “
“The cast members of this South Pacific are also a part of what we believe will make this show different,” says Burns. “Katharine and the team have found artists with gorgeous voices who are also extraordinary actors intent on mining the rich human truths of their characters,” continues Burns.
Ben Davis was a Tony honoree for Baz Luhrmann’s La Bohème, in which he played Marcello. He has also starred on Broadway as Trevor Graydon in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Javert and Enjolras in Les Misérables, the Preacher in Violet, and others.
Madison Claire Parks received critical acclaim this year for her portrayal of Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls with both Musical Theatre West and Theatre Under the Stars. She is perhaps best known for her more than 400 performances as Luisa in the historic Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks in
New York.
Rubicon Theatre’s production of South Pacific runs Dec. 5 through 23 at 1006 E. Main Street (the corner of Main and Laurel). The show begins with low-priced previews Wed., Dec. 5 at 7:00 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 6 at 7:00 p.m. and Fri. Dec. 7 at 8:00 p.m. The gala opening is Sat., Dec. 8 at 7:00 p.m., and is followed by a party with the cast and local dignitaries at Aloha Steakhouse For other dates and tickets, go to www.rubicontheatre.org or call 805.667.2900.
Waste in American increases between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.
Sustainability Now News
by Maryann Ridini Spencer (@MaryannRidiniSpencer)
“I generally go to a friend’s for Thanksgiving, and one of my favorite tricks for keeping it sustainable is to bring my contribution dish in a container that doubles as a leftover box. This saves a dish from being washed and the host from loaning one of theirs,” said Michelle Stevens, Founder, The Refill Shoppe, a bath body home & clean store located in Downtown Ventura that promotes container reuse.
“Whenever I have friends and family over for Thanksgiving, I always use real plates, silverware, and napkins that I can wash and reuse,” said Kim Pagano, radio host of 1590 KVTA AM’s The Kim Pagano Show. “This helps us do our part to save water.”
“One way I keep sustainable at the holidays is to send electronic invites when I’m hosting an event,” said Diane de Mailly, local business owner, President of DDM Metering Systems and NAWBO Ventura. “This saves on paper and other natural resources.”
Waste in American households increases more than 25% between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Below are additional ideas on how you can join local business owners and residents in helping to contribute to the sustainability of our community.
Make a list and check it twice
Take a tip from good ole Santa and always shop your cabinets and make a list before you leave the house for the market. Bring your reusable bags for grocery transport (and keep some extra in your car’s trunk in case you require additional bags).
Enjoy leftovers in soups, casseroles, smoothies, and other dishes
Thanksgiving wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without the leftovers. “To stay sustainable, I think of creative ways to use leftovers. There is nothing worse than throwing out food,” said Ashley Pope, owner of Downtown Ventura’s Spice-Topia, a specialty spice and tea store. “Flavored olive oil and a nice spice blend can turn leftover meat and veggies into something completely new. There is a lot of great ideas on pinterest.com, too.”
To help avoid contributing to our crowded landfills, enjoy leftovers in sandwiches, omelets, smoothies, soups, and other recipes. You can also freeze items to use for a later date. Put single portions or amounts you know you will use in containers for easy use.
Compost your scraps
Since up to 50% of food in the U.S. goes to waste each year, when it becomes trash it releases methane gas and contributes to global warming. That’s why a viable solution for you and the environment is to compost your leftovers and scraps. Composting also increases the nutrient density of your soil. Compost bins are available in all sizes (to use in your kitchen or yard).
Fill your dishwasher and laundry machine
Run your dishwasher and laundry machines only when they are full. Be sure to scrape food residue (vs. rinse) off your plates before loading them in your machine. The EPA states that running the dishwasher when it’s full can eliminate one load of dishes per week and save the average family nearly 320 gallons of water annually.
Purchase organic goods from a local certified farmer’s market
By choosing locally grown organic foods, you are helping to prevent the usage of millions of pounds of poisonous pesticides and fertilizers and emission of greenhouse gas emissions. Eating fresh and local also tastes better.
The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) has recognized Ventura County Medical Center as one of 83 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals that have achieved meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2017. As a participant in ACS NSQIP, Ventura County Medical Center is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that assesses patient safety and can be used to direct improvement in the quality of surgical care.
The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes only “High Risk” cases. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2018 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2017 calendar year, were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes. Ventura County Medical Center has been recognized on the “All Cases” Meritorious list.
Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. The outcome performances related to patient management were in the following eight clinical areas: mortality, unplanned intubation, ventilator, renal failure, cardiac incidents (cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction); respiratory (pneumonia); SSI (surgical site infections-superficial and deep incisional and organ-space SSIs); or urinary tract infection.
The 83 commended hospitals achieved the distinction based on their outstanding composite quality score across the eight areas listed above. Seventy-one hospitals were recognized on the “All Cases” list and 71 hospitals were recognized on the “High Risk” list; the 71 hospitals represent ten percent of the 708 ACS NSQIP participating hospitals for calendar-year 2017.
Fifty-eight hospitals were recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists; 12 other hospitals were on just the “All Cases” list, and 13 other hospitals were on the “High Risk” list only – yielding 83 hospitals in total.
Our hearts go out to those impacted by the tragic shooting in the late hours of November 7th in Thousand Oaks. Vitalant was able to support the blood needs of patients early Thursday morning. There was a tremendous outpouring of support from the local community with potential donors lining up to give blood through the weekend and into the following week. Vitalant was able to extend donation center hours as well as add blood drives in the area to accommodate the community who wanted to donate in honor of those who lost their lives.
The staff at Vitalant remain in awe and thankful for the amazing support by each and every citizen who came out to ensure blood would be on hospitals shelves when needed. In normal circumstances our blood donors are inspiring. In this instance, with grief in their hearts and a major fire breaking out, the folks who donated remained undeterred from their mission of transforming the lives of others with their donation.
It is the blood already donated and tested waiting on hospital shelves that transforms lives. That’s why it’s crucial that donors help to constantly replenish the supply, so we remain ready for tragic situations. Vitalant saw 269 new Ventura County donors in 5 days, with a total of 684 red cell units donated from new and existing donors right here at home. There is a great need for those first-time donors to continue donating. Blood donations are declining nation-wide, with an even greater seasonal decline during the summer months and around holidays and flu season.
If you are interested in donating blood, please take time to search for a convenient blood drive at www.vitalant.org or stop by Vitalant’s donor center in Ventura at 2223 Eastman, Suite A. Walk-ins are welcome, however hours do vary, so appointments are strongly suggested. There are several area blood drives that might interest possible donors. On Tuesday, November 27th Ventura Orthopedics is hosting a blood drive from 11am until 3pm at 2221 Wankle Way in Oxnard. On Sunday, December 2nd Our Lady of the Assumption Church will serve as a donation location from 8:45am until 2:15pm at 3175 Telegraph Road in Ventura.
The power of prayer fills the Ventura Family YMCA community room. IBF International Welterweight Champion, Chris Van Heerden, shared his stories of overcoming obstacles with the help of divine intervention and prayers answered.
The Ventura family YMCA began their annual Community Prayer Breakfast with songs of praise from Swoop Brown with Armed and Faithful, energizing the early morning crowd. With eyes closed, and hearts opened some shed tears as a sense of hope filled the room.
