On Saturday, March 21 Ventura celebrated Earth Day at the 11th annual Eco Fest held in Plaza Park. The event is presented by the Ventura Charter School of Arts and Global Education (located off of Ventura Ave.) in cooperation with the city of Ventura. The celebration included entertainment, food trucks, over one-hundred exhibitors, the Ventura Breeze booth attended by Jaime Baker, James Francis Gray and Ana Baker and much more.

by the National Institute on Aging

Dietary supplements are substances you might use to add nutrients to your diet. There are a large number of different dietary supplements out there such as cat’s claw, and typically they might contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, amino acids, herbs or other plants, or enzymes. Most of the time eating a variety of healthy foods is the best way to get the nutrients you need. However, some people don’t get enough vitamins and minerals from their daily diet. Your doctor or health team can tell you if you need to take something extra that might be missing from your daily diet. There are loads of different diet supplements that you can get such as this Lectin Shield, but you have to find the right one for you first.

If you are thinking about using dietary supplements:

Find out as much as you can about any dietary supplement you might take. Talk with your doctor, your pharmacist, or a registered dietitian. If your doctor said that you struggled with maintaining an erection consider VigRX Plus on LeadingEdgeHealth.com. A supplement that seemed to help your neighbor might not work for you. If you are reading fact sheets or checking websites, be aware of the source of the information. Read more about choosing reliable health information websites.

Just because something is said to be “natural” doesn’t mean it is safe or good for you. It could have side effects. It might make a medicine your doctor prescribed for you either weaker or stronger. It could also be harmful to you if you have certain medical conditions. You may also find it easier to take in certain forms based on your conditions, such as those you can see if you click here. Speak with your doctor before you make any choices.

Your doctor needs to know if you decide to use a dietary supplement. Do not diagnose or treat any health condition without first checking with your doctor. Learn how medications can interact with dietary supplements. For more information, visit the National Center for Complementary and

Integrative Health.

Choose brands that your doctor, dietitian, or pharmacist recommend. Don’t buy dietary supplements with ingredients you don’t need. Don’t assume that more is better. It is possible to waste money on unneeded supplements.

Make sure any claim about a dietary supplement is based on scientific proof. The company making the dietary supplement should be able to send you information on the safety and/or effectiveness of the ingredients in a product, which you can then discuss with your doctor. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

For the first time, the City of Ventura will host a Stage Start for the Amgen Tour of California on Monday, May 14. This is the 13th edition of the “Tour”. This bicycle race is the largest annual cycling race in the United States and the only U.S. race that is sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The Tour attracts professional teams that race most of the year in the large, well-known European bike races such as the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

The Tour begins on May 13 in Long Beach and ends on May 19 in Sacramento. Ventura is the second of seven stages in the Men’s race. The Women’s race is run on the last three days of the Tour.

The May 14 stage, Ventura to Santa Barbara, will start at the Ventura Pier at 11:15am. Spectators should arrive early in order to avoid road closures and traffic. Free bike valet parking will be on the Promenade at the base of California Street. Pre-race activities include lifestyle and sponsor booths along the Promenade. Pre-race is also an opportunity to see world-class cyclists close-up and maybe get some autographs.

The teams will ride a circuitous, 3-mile route through downtown Ventura at a much slower pace than race speed; creating excellent opportunities for seeing the racers. Harbor Boulevard, Main Street and San Jon will be particularly good viewing locations. Once the cyclists pass the official starting point for the race on Harbor Boulevard past San Jon, they will begin hammering the pedals and get up to their average race speed of close to 30 miles per hour.

The racers will travel through several Ventura County cities, including Oxnard, Camarillo, Santa Paula, and Ojai, on a very challenging route as they head to Santa Barbara County. The approximately 100-mile route has been modified slightly in Montecito due to the disastrous January mudslides. However, the stage finish is unchanged; the top of Gibraltar Road, the culmination of a relentless 8-mile climb. It is expected that the lead cyclists will reach the top shortly before 4pm.

A local recreational bicycle club, the Channel Islands Bicycle Club (CIBike), is part of the Local Organizing Committee which is led by the City of Ventura. CIBike has been recruiting the nearly 200 volunteers who will assist the Ventura Police Department in keeping closed city streets free of pedestrians and cars when the race comes through. CIBike holds monthly public meetings on the second Wednesday of every month at the Museum of Ventura County in downtown Ventura.

The April meeting featured the Tour of California and brought out many of the race volunteers. The next meeting, May 9 at 6:30pm, will feature Derek Towers, the Bicycle Coordinator for the City of Ventura and a member of the Local Organizing Committee for the Tour.

The May 14 race stage will be an excellent opportunity to cheer for, up-close, some of the best cyclists in the world. CIBike provides ongoing opportunities for locals to bike in a social group, see Ventura County’s towns and landscapes up close, and enjoy the many benefits of cycling. For more information, visit: amgentourofcalifornia.com and CIBike.org.

Bank of Books and Abednego Book Shoppe made a commitment after the damaging fires that destroyed so many homes in Ventura and neighboring communities during California largest fire to give over 10,000 books away free to those who lost their homes.

The Community Book Support was developed at both bookstores to help with the distribution of the free books. News of our plan hit the bookstore industry and box loads of books came from Canada and Florida. Individuals also dropped off donated books.

” It has been rewarding seeing the joy in ones picking out free books, from the little kids, teenagers to adults, so many lost so much” says Clarey Rudd the bookstore owner.

The Community Book Support has been expanded to benefit others now. A major commitment has been made to benefit all teachers in Southern California.

The hope at Bank of Books and at Abednego Book Shoppe is to give away over 100,000 books the next 12 months, to show support to the community.

Free books have also been offered to all the staff at Ventura Community Hospital to say thanks for the job they are doing .

Bank of Books ,748 E. Main.

We have captured some fascinating Thomas Fire interviews from our sessions in Ojai and in Ventura as well as in some powerful in-studio sessions. We are planning several more events as the stories are plentiful, important and fascinating. The next audio recordings will take place on May 8 from 11am-3pm at the CAPS Media Center, and on May 20th from 11am-3pm at the Museum of Ventura County. Let us know if you would like to share and we can make accommodations because your story is important to us and community.

The Face of Ventura, one of KPPQ’s outstanding local radio shows featured interviews with several of the victims as did the hosts of Ojai Dream who were affected by the Thomas fire as it began in Santa Paula and Upper Ojai. We have received many photos and videos from county residents and we thank you. Keep checking our website and social media for updates.

Our video and radio producers are bringing great programming to our airwaves. Currently we are broadcasting and streaming art, travel, comedy, public affairs, talk and youth programs. These programs are all produced by our members, individuals and groups who are active and engaged in our community. We are so proud of our ECTV students and their award-winning programs. Tune in and log in and catch some great shows.

Summer is fast approaching. Graduation season begins in less than a month which means the CAPS production truck and volunteers will be out in the community. Our Summer youth programs begin in June, this year with a new twist. Members are stopping by to begin new projects and fine tune their skills. Let your family, friends and co-workers know about the great opportunities to create and share stories. Our radio station, KPPQ-LP is another venue where you can create and share your passion.

Don’t forget CAPS Media is hosting an Open House on Thursday, May 3 from 5-7pm. You will get a preview Thomas Fire Story and meet and greet the staff and members.

CAPS Media’s mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. CAPS Media manages two television channels (6 & 15) and an FM Radio channel (KPPQ 104.1FM). Membership fees are $25 per year for television and $50 per year for radio. Membership includes training and access to video and audio production and postproduction equipment. General orientation sessions are on the first Thursday of every month, cameraclas is the 2nd Thursday, editing classes are on the 3rd Thursday and radio classes are held Wednesday and Thursday of the 4th week of the month.

Evaluating and managing recurrent urinary tract infections in women will be the focus of a free seminar being held on Wednesday, May 9, in Ventura.

Anyone at any age can have a urinary tract infection, but they are most commonly diagnosed in women. It’s estimated that half of all women will have a UTI in their lifetime and one in five women will experience recurrent UTIs. The causes for a UTI vary, but if left untreated, recurrent UTIs can lead to kidney damage and sepsis, a life-threatening illness caused by the body’s response to an infection.

At this free seminar, Dr. Michelle Takase-Sanchez will discuss medication, natural remedies and lifestyle changes as ways to treat recurrent UTIs. Dr. Takase-Sanchez specializes in urogynecology. She completed an OB/GYN residency at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and fellowship training in female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery at Indiana University.

The seminar begins at 6 p.m. in the eighth-floor Nichols Auditorium at Community Memorial Hospital. Registration is free but reservations are required. For reservations, visit Community Memorial Health System or call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006.

For nearly a decade, a diverse group of women from around Ventura County have been gathering at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura to comfort and support patients in a unique and memorable way.

Once a month, the hospital’s eighth floor auditorium is transformed from a meeting space into a whir of activity as the “Quilting Angels” arrive and unpack their sewing machines, fabric, rulers, scissors and pin cushions. Brightly colored quilts at various stages of completion fill the room, as does a contagious and uplifting laughter.

The Quilting Angels have taken on the task of creating a special “Moving Day” quilt for every patient who makes the move from the existing hospital into the new building. A distinct patch commemorating the occasion will be sewn into the corner of each of these special quilts.

Each patient faces unique challenges during a hospital stay, and it’s often the little things such as visits from friends and family, cards and flowers, or familiar items from home that make the biggest difference in the recovery process.

“When a patient receives a quilt, it’s indescribable,” said Reverend Curtis Hotchkiss, Director of Spiritual Services at Community Memorial Health System. Reverend Curtis and the Spiritual Care Services team are the stewards of the completed quilts, handing them out to patients whenever a little extra reassurance or support is needed.

Since forming, the Quilting Angels have completed nearly 1,400 unique quilts – all with donated fabric and supplies the members share. They also share tips, tricks, and new techniques and the more seasoned quilters enjoy teaching newer members along the way.

by Kevin O’Connor

Remember Anacapa! To rid Anacapa of Rattus rattus(rats), officials had a helicopter shower one-square-mile of the island with poisonous green pellets.  A 25-ppm brodifacoum bait was aerially applied to East Anacapa in December 2001, and to Middle and West Anacapa Island in November 2002.  No rats have been detected anywhere on Anacapa since the application.

Remember, rats almost destroyed all the native species, but rodenticides saved the indigenous species and the endangered island’s red fox.  Lest we forget our history, if not kept in check by pest control professionals, rats would eventually cause another Black Plague.

Nutria rodent (Myocastor coypus) is a large, fur-bearing, aquatic rodent, light to dark brown.  Though common in freshwater, nutria also inhabit brackish coastal water areas.

Nutria are distinguished from beavers and muskrats by their long, white whiskers and rounded tails; beavers and muskrats have black whiskers and flattened tails.  Nutria breed year-round, producing up to 3 litters per year, with 2-13 young per litter.  This destructive aquatic rodent has invaded California.

They can consume up to 25% of their body weight in above- and below-ground vegetation each day, but they waste and destroy up to 10 times as much, causing extensive damage to the native plant community and soil structure, as well as significant losses to nearby agricultural crops.

Nutria also serve as hosts for tuberculosis and septicemia, which are threats to humans, livestock, and pets.  Additionally, nutria carry tapeworms, a nematode that causes a rash known as “nutria itch”, and blood and liver flukes, which can contaminate swimming areas and drinking water supplies.

Double trouble lurks everywhere when rodents are on the roam.  If you suspect nutria invasion or are having trouble with rats and other rodents, call the professionals.  Do not attempt to handle disease-bearing rodents on your own.  O’Connor Pest Control   1-800-284-7985, www.oconnorpest.com.