On March 22 a ground breaking was held for Solana Heights, the master-planned community developed by CalAtlantic Homes that will bring 147 new homes to Ventura’s housing market including 116 single-family homes as well as 31 townhomes. Several of the homes will have coastal views.

Solana Heights’ family-friendly amenities will also feature three new neighborhood parks totaling 1.5 acres of outdoor gathering spaces with play equipment, picnic tables and barbeques, and a gated dog park.

For more information visit  www.calatlantichomes.com.

On March 17, at 1pm  Ventura City Fire was dispatched to a reported vehicle into a structure at Walker and Moon Dr. Upon arrival firefighters discovered a full size pickup truck in inside a two story commercial building well involved in fire.  Firefighters treated one adult male who was in the vehicle at the time of the collision; he was transported to a local trauma center for treatment of his injuries.  Additional firefighters extinguished the fire which had traveled from the first floor all the way to the roof.  The driver was apparently late for an appointment.

Perhaps the time has come for the Brooks Institute banner on our trolley car to be removed!

by Jennifer Tipton

Do you think Ventura needs more or less development?

All of those interviewed opposed most development.
If you have a different opinion we would love to hear from you at [email protected].

Jessica Levenson age 44
Employee at Ventura County Schools Credit Union
“No, I don’t think that Ventura needs to be
developed. I think Ventura is beautiful the way it is.
Bringing more development, residential or commercial
will take away the beauty of the hillsides and the
beaches.”

Avery Burns age 31
Nursing Student
“I think Ventura’s at a pretty good place where
it’s at right now. I think there are improvements to be
made but they should be conscience ones. We have a
lot of infrastructure here. We should improve what we
have and not turn it into something else like LA.”

Bob Lynn, age 65
Business Owner
“I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve literally watched them
pave my childhood. We’ve not brought in any high value,
high paying jobs and as a result our sales tax is eroding.
City expenditures exceed sales tax. The city council should
be stewards of the public trust. In my opinion they’ve failed
miserably. We continue to put in low income housing and
provide low income jobs. All we’ve got is welfare.”

Josh Hill, age 44
Employee of All Pest & Repair
“I’m biased because I live here, but I’d actually like
to see less development until our city can get control
of our infrastructure and the budget.”

Kim Strange age 45
Employee of the City of Santa Barbara
“That’s a very tough question. We need more low
to mid income housing. I think there’s a need for
that.”

Leilani Formica age 76
Retired horticulturist
“I know we are going to need more development
for the people who pick our crops and the homeless
vets, no more huge homes.”

The Ventura College Diesel Mechanic program has added Keith Barnard to its Advisory Committee. Barnard is director of global grower relations for Mission Produce which rely heavily on medium- to heavy-duty diesel equipment.

The Ventura College Diesel Mechanic program was created in response to the growing need for qualified diesel technicians. The program was brought to Ventura College in 2016 through Gibbs Truck Centers, which provided funding and an on-site lab facility at the Gibbs center in Oxnard.

A third-generation Ventura County resident, Barnard is a graduate of Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo.

“We currently have quite a shortage of local qualified diesel truck technicians. The increasing demands of diesel technology in terms of greater pollution reduction and fuel economy add a new element to the training needed,” said Barnard.

“The diesel engine service market is predicted to grow nearly 10 percent over the next decade in Southern California,” noted Norbert Tan, executive director of the Ventura College Foundation.

“The Ventura College Foundation plays a critical role by helping to make it financially feasible for students who want to participate in this highly-desirable training program, but can’t swing it financially on their own,” Tan said. “Only Ventura College provides this kind of training at $46 a unit, along with the opportunity to earn an associate’s degree. It’s truly a win-win for everyone.”

Dr. Richard R. Rush, former president of California State University Channel Islands, has been named the new chair of the Board for Community Memorial Health System. He succeeds Jeffrey Paul, who has served as board chairman since 2015.

Dr. Rush became the first president of CSU Channel Islands in June 2001. As head of the 23rd and newest campus in the California State University system, he hired the faculty and senior administrative staff and oversaw the creation and development of the university’s strategic, academic and physical master plans as well as its budget and financial structure. He retired in 2016.

Before arriving at CSUCI, Dr. Rush spent nine years as president of Minnesota State University, Mankato where he established public-private partnerships that led to the first buildings in the State University system to be constructed using private financing.

Dr. Rush also played a key role in the founding of CSU San Marcos while serving as Vice President in Charge during site selection and program establishment. Subsequently, he served as Executive Vice President with responsibilities for accreditation, academic programs, student affairs, finance and administration, and fundraising.

Community Memorial Health System welcomes Dr. Lamar Bushnell as Chief of Staff at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and Dr. Helen Petroff as Chief of Staff at Ojai Valley Community Hospital. Their terms run for two years.

Both physicians will serve on the Board of Trustees as their respective hospital’s medical staff representative.

Dr. Bushnell is a cardiovascular surgeon certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is a member of the California Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons group. He received his medical degree from the University Of Utah School Of Medicine in 1987, completed his general surgery residency from the University of Utah Affiliated Hospitals in 1992, and his cardiothoracic surgery fellowship in 1995 from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Dr. Petroff has been a family medicine physician at Valley Oak Family Practice in Ojai since 2006.

Community Memorial Health System is a not-for-profit health system, which is comprised of Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital, along with the Centers for Family Health serving various communities within and located in Ventura County, California.

Passover or Pesach is an important, biblically derived Jewish holiday. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt.

Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan (Passover 2017 will start the evening of

Monday, April 10 and will end the evening of Tuesday, April 18) and lasts for either seven

days (in Israel and for Reform Jews and other progressive Jews around the world who adhere to the Biblical commandment) or eight days for Orthodox, Hasidic, and most Conservative Jews.

A day commences at dusk and lasts until the following dusk, thus the first day of Passover begins after dusk. It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.

The rituals unique to the Passover celebrations commence with the Passover Seder.

In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born.

The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the English name of the holiday.

When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten.