Employment Development Department (EDD)invites you to attend aNo Charge an Employee or Independent Contractor Seminar on December 6, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
EDD Tax Office Training Room
4820 McGrath Street, Suite 200
The EDD is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Requests for services, aids, and/or alternate formats need to be made prior to the event by calling 866-873-6083 (voice) or TTY 888-547-9565.
Local author, Patrice Karst, is planning the sequels to her bestselling (2000) children’s book, The Invisible String. Karst describes the book, that has sold more than 250,000 copies, as a heart-warming and reassuring story that addresses the issue of separation anxiety for children of all ages.
Karst’s “string” is the love that binds us to each other, reminding us that we are never alone, and that when we are loved beyond our wildest imagination. “I simply wrote it because it was something that had comforted my son Elijah from me being gone all day as a single working mother and I wanted him and all others to know that this string transcends time and space and that love connects us all and always will and nothing is stronger than love—not time or space or anger or even death.”
Karst says the book is also being used by school districts, therapists, hospitals and hospices, the military, the prison system, divorce attorneys, foster and adoption programs, bereavement groups, etc. and helps children understand what love really is.
Karst, who has been writing since she was a teenager, is also the author of The Smile That Went Around the World, and the adult books: God Made Easy and The Single Mother’s Survival Guide. She wrote her first book as the result of a difficult break-up. Karst says she, “. . . has been on a fascinating spiritual journey since she was a young girl looking out in awe at the glistening stars.”
Born in London, England, Karst moved to Ventura from Ojai a couple of years ago and lives at the beach with a zany wiener dog named Coco. She loves living in Ventura. She says the food, the people, the hills and the beach make for a unique Bohemian vibe.
It all started with a Bible study group in 1867, before that Ventura had only one church, the historic Mission of San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 by Padre Junipero Serra.
The location for First United Methodist church has changed several times with the first built in 1874 on Oak Street and then a new structure on Oak and Meta in 1891 that served as a beacon to all travelers passing through Ventura on Highway 101. Due to an expanding congregation, the church moved again in 1928 to its current location at 1338 East Santa Clara.
Being part of Ventura for 150 years, the church has some interesting history …
In 1917, one of the ministers was overseeing the Easter sunrise service at Serra cross, he began the walk up the steep road before dawn and when he arrived at the top, he suddenly fell dead at the foot of the cross shocking everyone!
On December 21, 1921 Troop 102 of the Boy Scouts of America was organized at The First United Methodist Church and is there today as the oldest troop in Ventura.
When the church moved to its current location, the building on Oak and Meta was sold to the Salvation Army, it burned to the ground shortly thereafter.
The memorial windows in the sanctuary were dedicated in 1929 with the beautiful rose window donated by the American Legion in memory of the men who died in WW1.
In 1950, Ventura College Miss Mildred Keys instructor and chairman on their Commission on Education passed away and the family established the church library in her memory, the Mildred Keys Memorial Library
I met with Barbara Tomblin, a minister at the church since 2002 and Dave Stork, a church member since 1948. When asked about the changes in the church, I’m told they have added a contemporary (more casual) service to accompany the traditional service on Sunday mornings and the sanctuary now offers an audio induction loop for the hearing impaired, Dave said, “you can sit in the parking lot and listen to the sermon!”
Dave belonged to Troop 102, he was one of 5000 attending the boy scout jamboree in 1950, and it was Dave’s dad that did the woodwork seen in the sanctuary today.
The First United Methodist Church is an onsite tutoring center for Project Understanding and some members are very active in the community; Dave’s wife, Midge is on the Board of Directors with Ventura Botanical Gardens and Shelly Foote is a volunteer at the museum after being a costume historian at the Smithsonian (Shelly’s parents were married in the church).
Barbara shares, “there have been a lot of changes, except for the music program which has always been exceptional”, she reports the Director of Music, Sally Rose Bates has commissioned a song writer to compose a song just for the church’s 150th anniversary.
On Sunday, November 19th, First United Methodist Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary beginning at 8am and including a special all community Thanksgiving lunch.
All of the squid seiner slips are occupied with some vessels
Cooler water temperatures and other favorable sea conditions have returned the Ventura Squid Fleet to the Ventura Harbor Village. In late October and early November squid landings are increasing. They are currently averaging over 500 tons per day.
All of the squid seiner* slips are occupied with some vessels even rotating in a shared slip arrangement.
All three squid offloading companies are currently in full operation with individual seiner vessels making squid landings at the Ventura Harbor Fish Pier daily, Monday through Friday.
One vessel, Ocean Angel II, made a landing the second week of November of 100 tons of squid. At $1,000 a ton this vessel received a $100,000 payday. The Port District receives $7.99 for each ton off-loaded by the squid companies.
News of the Ocean Angel II landing has resulted in an enormous number of requests for seiner moorage in the harbor which unfortunately they cannot accommodate.
The previous three squid seasons proved largely disappointing for California with small individual vessel loads and missed quotas.
The current squid landings are re-igniting enthusiasm among the fishermen and delighting visitors to Ventura Harbor who can observe the vessels arriving into the harbor and the activity of the squid being off-loaded from the Ventura Harbor Village Promenade.
Frank Locklear
Manager, Ventura Harbor Village Marina, Commercial Fisheries and Technology
“The Ventura Harbor Village welcomes the return of squid to the area. The presence of the squid fishermen and their vessels paint a colorful maritime picture of the harbor. Please come visit the Ventura Harbor Village and enjoy all the wonderful food, activities, sights and sounds that the Ventura Harbor provides.”
*Seine (/seɪn/ SAYN) fishing (or seine-haul fishing) is a method of fishing that employs a seine or dragnet. A seine is a fishing net that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be deployed from the shore as a beach seine, or from a boat.Boats deploying seine nets are known as seiners.
A gala event celebrating the opening of the newly restored Meister Hall will take place at Temple Beth Torah, 7620 Foothill Road at 6 p.m. on Saturday December 2.
“I am delighted that Meister Hall has been given such a magnificent makeover,” said long time Temple member Barbara Meister, “and I am happy that we continue to be an integral part of the Temple’s remarkable history in Ventura County.”
Almost 40 years ago Meister Hall was named to honor the generous support of longtime residents Barbara and Larry Meister, and it has since served as the venue for countless Temple events—from weddings to bar mitzvah’s to the annual Jewish Film Festival.
The Dec 2nd fundraiser features a landmark four course wine-maker’s dinner, live music and a live auction.
Arrivals at Temple Beth Torah will be ushered into the newly restored community center which has just undergone a major six month refurbishment.
This opening event, sponsored by the Temple’s Brotherhood, includes an exciting evening of gourmet food with matching wine introduced by oenophile (a lover or connoisseur of wine) Ron Halpern, a long time Temple Beth Torah member. Jay Kosoff will be MC for the evening.
Tickets for this special event, are $75.00 and reservations can be made by calling Temple Beth Torah at 647-4181.
Elena Brokaw and Board Chair Kate McLean accepting a donation Amy Fonzo.
The Museum of Ventura County and California Resources Corporation (CRC) hosted a “Moment of Gratitude,” on Thursday, Nov. 9, to thank city and county officials and community members for their support throughout the Museum’s fiscal challenge. In a special presentation, CRC’s Amy Fonzo, manager, external relations, gave the museum a check for $5,000 to seed the museum’s new corporate giving program, and encouraged other corporations to ‘meet us or beat us’ in their support of the museum.
Ventura County Community Foundations Director Vanessa Bechtel, in attendance at the event, responded by committing VCCF to a Corporate Platinum Membership of $2,500.
In addition, Elena Brokaw, who recently accepted the permanent position as executive director, introduced the Museum’s new board of directors and shared an update on the museum’s progress over the past four months, including the securing of $1.675 million in corporate and individual gifts, and the procurement of one main location in Camarillo to be used to catalog and store the museum’s extensive collection . Brokaw credited TOLD Corporation’s Rod Gilbert, who is a special advisor to the Museum with being instrumental in securing the new storage location.
“The museum has so many treasures that for years have been packed away in storage,” said Brokaw. “We are eager to begin a formal process of identifying and cataloging the entire collection, and expanding our programming to incorporate all of the pieces of history currently in our care.”
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. Located at 100 East Main St., the Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Visit venturamuseum.org or call 653.0323 for more information.
On Nov.14 Sheila Lowe and James Francis Gray shared a book signing at Mimi’s Café in Ventura.
“In the dead of winter, handwriting expert Claudia Rose journeys to Maine to retrieve a manuscript about convicted female serial killer, Roxanne Becker, written by Professor Madeleine Maynard, who was, herself, brutally murdered. While searching for the manuscript Claudia uncovers Madeleine’s explosive research, which exposes the shocking truth about a group of mentally unstable grad students dubbed “Maynard’s Maniacs.”
“The professor’s academic success and personal fortune made her the envy of fellow faculty members, and the University anticipates being the beneficiary of Madeline’s estate. But when a charming stranger shows up claiming to Madeleine’s nephew, brandishing a new will, all bets are off.”
The mother of a tattoo artist and a former rock star, Sheila Lowe lives in Ventura with Lexie the cat, where she writes her award-winning Forensic Handwriting mystery series. Like her fictional character Claudia Rose, Sheila is a real-life forensic handwriting expert who testifies in court cases. Despite sharing living space with a cat—a very bad one at that—Sheila’s books are decidedly non-cozy. Visit Sheila Lowe online at www.sheilalowe.com.
Written Off is available where fine books are sold. Published by Suspense Publishing, Written Off is available in trade paper (ISBN: 9781976507915, 266 pages, $12.99) and eBook ($3.99) editions.
Pacific High School students are getting involved at the CAPS Media Center by producing a series for their AIM program exploring Ancestry, Immigration and Memories. CAPS Media staff will provide the training and support for the Pacific teams of six conducting interviews with family members. The CAPS Media component provides the students with a hands-on introduction into the world of multimedia, a vital skill in today’s world. The Pacific project, along with the award winning CAPS Media/ECTV program with El Camino High School students, demonstrates CAPS Media’s commitment to engage and support Ventura’s students.
Representative districting is moving quickly in Ventura and every resident is encouraged to get involved in the determination of the district mapping for the city council representatives. Go to www.CityofVentura.CA.Gov/districtelections to get meeting information for December as the process moves forward culminating in early January.
Season three of the city’s Mayor for a Moment program features exceptional fifth graders who are selected by the faculty of elementary schools throughout the city. Each month a young mayor is introduced at a city council meeting by a CAPS Media produced video followed by the student banging the gavel and presenting an original essay.
Ventura’s Spotlight on Local Business recognition program is in full swing with CAPS Media producing informative videos on unique and interesting businesses in the area. The series exposes new businesses and their importance in the community to Ventura. In addition, CAPS Media continues to create videos and supporting media materials for vital services and agencies including Ventura police and fire. All these programs can be found on channel 15 or on the CAPS website.
The Ventura Police Department shares the city crime statistics and offers helpful hints to stay safe every day on KPPQ-LP at 104.1fm. KPPQ is a great place to share your non-profit’s story and events. Support your local community by volunteering. Learn engineering and radio production. The final radio training class of 2017 will be held Wednesday November 29th. Call or email us at [email protected] for all the information.
CAPS Radio, KPPQ 104.1 FM and CAPS Television (Channel 6 & 15) are streaming worldwide. Now everyone in and outside of Ventura can enjoy the diversified programming on CAPS Media on cable, on the radio airwaves and streaming on the web. Go to capsmedia.org.
CAPS Media’s mission is to create an engaged and informed community through participation in electronic media. Our goals are to Engage, Educate and Inform. Informational and instructional classes are conducted every month with orientation on the first Thursday, HD videography/camera instruction on the 2nd Thursday, Final Cut postproduction editing classes on the 3rd Thursday, and CAPS Radio (KPPQ, FM 104.1) on the 4th week, all at 6pm at the CAPS Media Center. CAPS Media Member/Producers receive hands-on instruction in videography, video editing, radio production and more. Once trained member/producers may check out CAPS Media’s video cameras and other production equipment and book postproduction editing suites to craft the program they want to share. Details of training and signups are at capsmedia.org/events.
Anyone who lives, works or attends school in the city of Ventura may become a Member/Producer. Annual membership fees are only $25 for an individual and $75 for a non-profit organization. CAPS Radio DJs require an additional annual fee of $50. For complete information go to capsmedia.org.
The Ventura Family YMCA hosted its Annual Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday, November 15 at the Ventura Family YMCA. The popular annual gathering of local religious and community leaders featured keynote speaker, Chelsea Shaw, a two time national champion with the University of Oregon’s Acrobatic and Tumbling team and motivational speaker.
Along with Shaw’s appearance(shown addressing the gathering) attendees enjoyed breakfast generously donated by The Palms at Bonaventure as well as musical performances by Rubicon Harmonix and Laura Callen.
For 12 years, the Annual Prayer Breakfast has inspired and united the community to come together for the common good. Eight churches, Anthem Church, Harvest Bible Chapel, New Harvest Ventura, River Community Church, Mission Church, South Coast Fellowship, Mission San Buenaventura and Temple Beth Torah dedicated their time and efforts to making this event possible.
Charleen Morla and Jann making friends with the homeless.
by Jann Hurling
Can you make a difference in someone’s life today? It’s not money that is required, it’s a simple smile and actually listening to a story . Say hello, ask them their name, where are they from……..everyone has a story, embrace them and listen. Most of all don’t judge.
I saw a man pushing a shopping cart with a dog in the cart. I got excited and started to walk over to him. I watched his mannerisms and he put his head down and did not want to make eye contact. As I got closer I said” hi, my name is Jann and he would not look up. I said these are my dogs, Minnie Mojito and Sir Buddy Winston III and he looked up and smiled and asked me what their names were again. He said his dogs name was Sunny and he was Pete. We talked about his life journey and that he missed his family. He made some bad choices and I said that doesn’t make you a bad person.
We talked , walked and laughed. As we walked we got close to a little corner store so I asked him to hold my dogs leashes. I went in picked up some water, munchies and dog food. I bought him cigarettes and a big candy bar. I gave him the bag and a big long hug! And told him I will never forget him.
Driving down Pierpont I looked over at Surf Liquor and saw my homeless neighbor that calls himself Charcoal. Charcoal is a picky homeless friend! He doesn’t want left over food. I yelled Charcoal and he turned around and said hi Miss Jann. I pulled over and got the best hug ever! We sat and talked about life and I said do you want a smart water and he said…..honestly I want a Budweiser!!! I laughed and got him a smart water! He is a great guy with demons. My life is better because I have Charcoal as my friend.
I met Joey on my walk tonight! He joined me and we shared stories. He missed his mom a lot so I said let’s call her and 45 minutes of talking and crying they reunited and he is going home to Orem, Utah.
I stopped at Vons and as I walked I hear “Jann” real loud. I turn around and see Leroy and Francis my homeless neighbors, they had their heads lifted high and proud. (Which our homeless rarely do in public) I was so honored they remembered me that I ran to them and hugged them! I honestly felt that they had a purpose and a reason today and to see smiles was priceless. We can make a difference, learn a name, give a smile and give a little hope to our friends, even if homeless.
