Pierpont Racquet Club old guy (except for the one under 70) tennis players Tony Jankowski, Dick Zizic, Dick Baldewin, Harold Kennedy, Harry Finney, Jim Minas and an unidentified person in a funny shirt celebrating Zizic’s birthday at Pete’s Breakfast House.
On Wednesday, Oct.26, at 6pm the Ventura PowerPoint Toastmasters will present an Open House and Halloween celebration at Cypress Place (1220 Cypress). Featured will be learning PowePoint skills to enhance your publications. Yummy snacks and prizes and ghoulishly fun.
Toastmasters International is a nonprofit 501 (c)3 organization that promotes public speaking and reaches out to assist local members of the community to learn the technique of speaking in front of a large crowd, small board meeting, or a sole supervisor on a number of topics that could impact the success of any member in the work environment.
For more information www.venturapowerpoint.org or 433-3027
Darren Gonser is a 16 year veteran of the Arthritis foundation California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour. This is the 16th year and he has participated in all of them.
The Arthritis Foundation’s California Coast Classic Bike Tour is a scenic bike ride that takes place over 8 days and covers 525 miles along the coast on Highway 1 that benefits the Arthritis Foundation by raising vital funds needed to find a cure for arthritis.. The Tour starts in San Francisco and ends up in Los Angeles with a stopover in Ventura.
This ride has already raised over $1 million to benefit the 50 million adults and 300,000 suffering from arthritis!
Photos by By John Ferritto
by Elizabeth Rodeno CAPS Media
Channel Six’s schedule is brimming with election programming. From several forums to a featured program on the ballot propositions to our Video Voter program, you can get informed and meet the candidates who will serve Ventura’s community. Video Voter is our unique program that features both the candidate’s platform, shared by the candidate themselves and a question and answer program segment where they get to answer hard hitting questions about the city and the school district. It is a great way to become informed. The crew works very hard to produce these programs, bringing out the truck with director, graphics and audio crew. The camera crew works very hard to be sure you don’t miss a thing. It is a great opportunity for our interns and volunteers to get out on location and show what they can do.
We are back in gear with the VUSD’s Mayor for a Moment where we meet an exceptional student, hear their story and learn about their school. Every month during the school year we meet a new student. Business of the Month and City Stories are moving ahead. CAPS has the opportunity to share a local business’s development in the city, who they are and what makes them special. In the past we have featured Mortgage Couch, Main Street Meats, Project Understanding and Fast Signs to name a few. Let us not forget the coverage of City Council, Design Review, Historic Preservation and Planning Commission meetings we broadcast live. We also broadcast the Ventura Unified School District meetings and rebroadcast the Board of Supervisors meetings so you get full coverage of Ventura’s inner workings. In the event you missed any of them, they are rebroadcast on channel 15. Check our schedule.
Evan is hard at work building the low power FM station KPPQ-LP right here in Ventura. We have a special opportunity to share local content, bring local voices and explore Ventura via the airwaves. It will be a great compliment to our television channels. Bring your interest, knowledge and ideas to us to share with our community.
CAPS Media is a membership organization, we support our members’ creativity and share their voice through training and mentorship. Their voice and yours are part of the story covered by CAPS and all media in Ventura. Check out our social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube. View it all on our frequently updated website. A yearly membership at CAPS is only $25, a best bargain for media fans, students and organizations to share your story. Go to www.capsmedia.org or call 658-0500 for more information.
Jim’s interest in magic began at age 14.
R.I.P. Jim Spencer
by Shirley Lorraine
The seat on the aisle is now empty. James (Jim) L. Spencer passed away at the age of 74 from a swiftly-moving inoperable brain tumor on Friday, September 30 with me, his wife of 26 years, Shirley Lorraine Spencer, at his side.
Jim was well known in many circles. His solo law practice focused on estates and corporations. He taught business law courses at Ventura College for nearly 40 years. His interest in magic began at age 14 and continued to the present. His primary magic persona was that of Professor Tinker, a medicine show recreation of old west vintage. Although we often performed on the same bill, rarely did we actually perform together. Our last stage performance as a duo outside of magic was a reading of “Love Letters” at the Camarillo Playhouse.
Together we co-authored Two On the Aisle, writing more than 400 theater reviews to date for the Ventura Breeze and the Ventura County Reporter over a span of more than 20 years. Jim liked to say that he wrote the vowels and I wrote the consonants because there were more of them. His own years of performance as an actor and singer on local stages endeared him to many. Jim and I met while performing with the Firelite Dinner Theater. The first Spencer/Lorraine Entertainment collaboration was a medieval dinner event fundraiser for Ventura County Master Chorale. Since 1988 we have been privileged to perform for and arrange entertainment for many charitable organizations and private parties from Ventura to Las Vegas.
An avid theater-goer, Jim was a major force behind creating and establishing the Ventura REP awards for recognizing local talent which has evolved into an unprecedented cooperation among Ventura County theaters. This achievement was a source of great satisfaction, appealing to his relentless desire to cultivate, encourage and recognize the outstanding quality and amount of theatrical talent within Ventura County. He truly treasured the connections, acquaintances and friendships made through the theater community.
Jim was a long-time member of Hollywood’s Magic Castle (Academy of Magical Arts), Downtown Rotary, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Toastmasters International, Business Network International Network of Champions, the California Bar Association, advisory board for Ventura Improv Company, to name just a few. In addition, he participated in and supported numerous arts and charitable organizations through the years.
A public memorial service will be held on Sunday, October 30 (the day before International Day of Magic) at 2 p.m. at Ted Mayr Funeral Home, 3150 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura. A reception may be held at a later date.
Jim would be pleased to have contributions made in his honor to a Ventura County theater of choice or to the Salvation Army, Ventura Corps. Both are deserving causes for which he worked tirelessly and with passion.
Go to venturacountywriters.com for more information.
On Sept. 17 a friend of mine Dianne Ippel and I stopped at Jack In The Box on Victoria Blvd. to have a late lunch. She had brought her musical instrument inside with her, a Hammered Dulcimer which was in a soft vinyl black colored carry case because she was worried about it getting too hot inside her van. When we finished lunch she forgot to bring it back outside with her. She got all the way back to her house before realizing that she had left it inside at the restaurant. By the time she got back to Jack In The Box it had already been stolen. She is very depressed because the instrument is very special to her. She has played the instrument for over 35 years and misses it very much. If you have any information regarding this loss please give me a call. A reward will be offered for the safe return of the instrument. Please ask for Weldon Flier II at 402-6836.
On Sept.23 a ground breaking ceremony was held for the new Kaiser Permanente medical building to be located at 4949 Market St. just off of the 101 freeway. The 57,000 square foot building will house obstetrics-gynecology, orthopedics, podiatry, plastics, gastroenterology; hematology/oncology, an infusion center; ophthalmology, optometry with optical dispensing, urgent care, as well as blood draw; general radiology and pharmacy. The ceremony was attended by Ventura Chamber members, City Council members, Kaiser employees and other dignitaries. The facility will take over a year to be completed. The Kaiser services provided on Main St. in mid-town will be closed at that time.
On Monday, September 19 Catholic Charities of Ventura County had an open house to unveil their new food pantry. The design and building of the pantry was a collaborative effort with many local businesses and volunteers helping out, including the Seabees of Port Hueneme. The Seabees volunteers dedicated 500 hours to demolishing the old pantry and building the new one.
Monday was a day to celebrate the community coming together to making the new food pantry a reality. The open house also showcased the rest of the organizations that share space with Catholic Charities, including Family to Family a nonprofit organization that has prepared and served healthy meals to its community members in need since 1983 and School on Wheels a nonprofit dedicated to the enhancement of educational opportunities for homeless children from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
Lou wants to be a voice for all of the community .
Lou Cunningham is well acquainted with the challenges of school districts after being in school business management for over 20 years.
For over eight years, Lou was Operations Manager for Ventura Unified School District, overseeing over 100 grounds and custodial employees.
After that, Mr. Cunningham was the Director of Facilities for the Oxnard Union High School District.
While collaborating with students, staff, administration and community members, Lou was in charge of construction of Pacifica High School, three swimming pools and the modernization of four of other high schools.
Lou was responsible for getting the land for Pacifica High School approved for annexation into the city of Oxnard.
Currently, Mr. Cunningham serves on LAfCo a county land use commission. He is chairman of the City of Ventura Mobile Home Rent Review Board. Lou is active on the boards of Ventura Education Partnership (VEP), Poinsettia Pavilion and Pier into the Future.
Lou’s has been a Kiwanis Kiwins advisor at Foothill High School and a TRC Robotics Judge.
Mr. Cunningham wants to bring his skills, knowledge and experience to the Ventura School Board to be a voice for all of the community.
On Friday, September 16 the Ventura Chamber business PAC endorsed Lou.
To learn more about Lou Cunningham for Ventura School Board please visit, www.bigloucunningham.com.
