Category Archives: This ‘n’ That

Museum of Ventura County presents Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal with Malcolm McDowell

The Museum of Ventura County presents Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal with Malcolm McDowell. This exciting event takes place on Saturday, March 25th, 2023, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Guests are welcomed both in-person at the Museum’s Ventura campus at 100 E Main Street, and virtually via Zoom. For more information, and to register, please visit: venturamuseum.org.

Joining Davis is the legendary actor and raconteur extraordinaire Malcolm McDowell, winner of Ojai Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. McDowell’s impressive career puts him in the pantheon of the all-time great British-born actors from Laurence Olivier to Michael Caine to Anthony Hopkins.

McDowell’s dazzling career has spanned more than 50 years, where he has starred in scores of movies, including Stanley Kubrick’s iconic “Clockwork Orange,” Lindsay Anderson’s “O Lucky Man!,” “Caligula,” “Bombshell,” “Time After Time,” and “The Artist.” His vast television credits include “Entourage,” the animated series “South Park” and “Mozart in the Jungle.”

Now in its third year with the Museum of Ventura County, the popular series, Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal, is the creation of author, journalist, and investigative reporter Ivor Davis. Over the last two years, Mr. Davis has given the residents of Ventura County a front row seat in an intimate conversation with some of our region’s most talented individuals. He kicks off 2023 returning to one of his first guests in this series, Mr. Malcolm McDowell, who he last interviewed in February 2021.

“When he first visited us in 2021, we heard so many wonderfully interesting stories from Mr. McDowell about his 50-year film career,” said the Museum’s Barbara Barnard Smith Executive Director Elena Brokaw. “We are sure to be entertained once again as we catch up with him in 2023.”

Saturday, March 25th, 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at 100 E Main Street in Ventura and via Zoom.

Tickets are free for non-members, $10 for non-members in person (Zoom: Free for members, $5 for non-members)

Ventura County marketing firm announces Dawn Megli as new communications specialist

Mustang Marketing adds award-winning journalist to its public relations team.

Mustang Marketing, Ventura County’s premier full-service marketing agency, has hired award-winning journalist Dawn Megli to join its public relations team, the agency announced on Wednesday, Feb. 15.

In her new role as communications specialist, Megli will be responsible for working with the director of marketing to implement public relations strategies for clients, developing media and county relationships, and writing content to support clients’ communications goals.

“Dawn has an impressive, well-earned reputation in Ventura County for her investigative reporting skills, ability to develop relationships with people from all backgrounds, and unique storytelling expertise,” said Mustang Marketing President Dianne McKay. “We are thrilled to have her join the Mustang team and know that her well-rounded skillset will serve our clients well in reaching their marketing and PR goals.”

Megli, who — prior to joining Mustang Marketing — worked as an investigative and watchdog reporter for the Ventura County Star, and as a senior reporter before that for the Thousand Oaks Acorn, has earned numerous accolades for her journalism work including a Golden Quill Award from the California School Boards Association, the John Swett Award from the California Teachers Association, 1st and 2nd place in-depth reporting California Journalism Awards for her “Surviving Borderline” and “Borderline – One Year Later” features, and beyond. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Poynter, among others. She is also a member of Moorpark College’s Media Advisory Board.

Before entering the journalism field, Megli obtained her bachelor’s degree in English from California Lutheran University, followed by a master’s in journalism from the University of Southern California. Her work experience includes former roles as an art director designing multimedia content and as marketing consultant developing communications and publicity strategies for local city council campaigns.

Mustang Marketing’s client list is comprised of local businesses, city and county agencies, school districts and nonprofits throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, including the County of Ventura’s Human Services Agency, the City of Ventura, the City of Thousand Oaks, Conejo Valley Unified School District, Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, Conejo Recreation and Park District, American Medical Response (Ventura, Santa Barbara and Yolo counties), Ventura County Credit Union, Casa Pacifica, The Collection at Riverpark, the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Santa Barbara County, New Horizons, Pindler, PSSI Global Services, Warner Pacific, California Community Reinvestment Corporation and Klein Products Inc., among others.

Ventura County-based Mustang Marketing is a woman-owned full-service marketing, advertising and communications company that has served Southern California businesses since 1986. Mustang offers strategic planning, branding programs, print/electronic ad campaigns, social media campaigns, corporate identities, and public, community and government relations. Visit mustangmktg.com for more information.

Chamber ribbon cutting at ECP Studio

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny is an osteopathic medical doctor, board certified in osteopathic medicine. She is the founder of Tenpenny Integrative Medical Center, a medical clinic located near Cleveland, Ohio.
After the success of her first clinic, she is now launching Tenpenny Health Restoration Centers, a series of clinics to offer External Counter Pulsation (ECP). ECP is an FDA-approved therapy for refractory angina.

1071 S. Seaward 805-557-8877
Photo by Michael Gordon

Ventura gang invades Cuba

Ivor Davis with John Lennon

by Ivor Davis

Visiting Cuba has been on my bucket list for all my life and thanks to Ventura College retired Professor Bill Hendricks—I finally—accompanied by a group of Ventura’s notable local yokels—we recently made it to that beleaguered Caribbean country.

So let me keep it short and sweet: Twas a memorable, eye-opener visiting this country of absolute contradictions. And ineffable charm. Don’t forget Cuba is a mere hop skip and jump from America–90 miles from Key West!

Along for the journey were California Appeals court Justice Steven Perren, Long time locals Clark, Diane and Grey Hubbard, as well as Scott Williams, who packed a bagful of baseball balls to give-away to delighted kids on the street. Real estate broker Karen Hoffberg who merrily danced on the streets of Havana and assorted Ventura College students who somehow managed to spend eight days in Cuba without sleep! For them it was a “Hard Day’s Night!”

Apologies for not mentioning some of the other local dignitaries who cha-chaad their way through Cuba—but all that rum and the cigars and late night carousing has dimmed my memory.

But what remains vivid and memorable is this:

A visit to the John Lennon Park in Havana—where a bronze statue of the late Beatle sprawls for all to see. I have had a passing acquaintance with Mr. Lennon so I was happy to learn the story about John—told to me by Fidel’s personal photographer Roberto Chile–and why it was the Liverpool Lennon—and not the Leningrad Vladimir Lenin—who was such a tourist attraction in Cuba.

Ventura Appeals Court Justice Steven Perren

First John and the Beatles music was banned by Fidel as being part of the cliched “corrupt Western decadence.” Then when Lennon went to war with the Nixon regime during the peak of the anti-Vietnam War movement, Fidel suddenly recognized him as a fellow revolutionary.

And thus in December 2000, a park was born with Fidel unveiling the bronze as, “All You Need Is Love” blared over loudspeakers.

For me the highlights included the fabulous food, visiting Havana’s main synagogue which was generously unlocked for me, and where I noted that Steven Spielberg also got a personal tour a few years ago.

Biggest surprise: I went to the Cuban government cigar factory and shop—and much to my chagrin (would you believe) they refused to take their own Cuban currency! Dollars, Si. But sorry no credit cards!

For a nation under duress, the Cubans were warm and welcoming.

Particularly after we all unloaded suitcases laden with band-aids, clothes, toothpaste and children’s clothing at the local church. And baseballs–of course!

Ventura residents Clark and Diane Hubbard

The food was fabulous, the internet was non existent–and our tour guide Alex was top notch with a great sense of humor.

Bill Hendricks is planning another “cultural trip” to Cuba later this year.

Go if you can. It’s something you will never forget. And maybe the Breeze will publish your adventures!!

The Auxiliary volunteers work in most areas of the hospital

CMHS Auxiliary installed new officers and presented awards at luncheon.

Members of the Community Memorial Healthcare System Auxiliary recently attended a luncheon and installation of incoming Executive Board members. In addition awards were presented for those attaining milestones in number of hours and number of years of volunteer service.

Board President for the next year is Linda Petit, and she is also in charge of Data Base Management. 1st Vice President is Cynthia Broaddus, and 2nd Vice President is Mary Wdowicki. Recording Secretary will be Bobbie Mendez and Corresponding Secretary is Linda Wilson. Cheryl Volden is Treasurer, Marilyn Beal is the Junior Coordinator, Judy Miller is Parliamentarian, and Edie Marshall is Past President. John Crandall and Lynn Ridout will serve as Directors.

Awards for volunteering 100 hours were presented to Tomas Guillen, Debbie Kost, Cheryl Lewis, JoAnn O’Beirne, Brenda Ogden, Ani Toran, Roberta Vollmert, and Trisha Williamson. Those attaining 500 hours of service were Cynthia Broaddus, Argie Mandakas, Jan O’Donnell, Cheryl Volden, and Linda Wilson. John Crandall and Mike Patton both contributed 1000 hours, and Marilyn Beal, Ellen Bugaj, and Stephanie Coray volunteered 2000 hours, while Maria Kapp had 3000 hours of service. Trudy Cook and David Howard served 7000 hours and Mary Wdowicki, 8000. Both Sandra Frandsen and Linda Petit contributed 10,000 hours, and Frank Cavallero served 13,000. Judy Miller was honored for volunteering 24,000 hours! Both Connie Ferritto and Marjo Gardner were recognized for 25 years of service.

CMHS Auxiliary treasurer Cheryl Volden presenting a big check to CEO Mick Zdeblick.

Community Memorial Healthcare System Auxiliary treasurer Cheryl Volden presented a check for $50, 000 to CMHS CEO Mick Zdeblick at the luncheon. The funds are from donations, bequests, and fund raising by the Auxiliary. In addition to monetary contributions, the Auxiliary contributes many hours of volunteer service to the hospital each year. The assistance of these volunteers saves the healthcare system thousands of dollars and is a welcome contribution.

The Auxiliary volunteers work in most areas of the hospital, from the front desk to the gift shop to assisting the nurses and other staff in most departments. Information about joining this group may be found at the front desk of the hospital. In addition, you may call 805-948-4299 to leave a message and an auxiliary member will contact you.

Award winners were recognized at an in-person event in Los Angeles on February 23

Visit Ventura Director of Business Development Michele Gilmour, Visit Ventura President & CEO Marlyss Auster, and Wanderlust Content Studios Co-Founder Nicole Bordges accepting the Adrian Award.

Maintaining an ongoing streak, Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau (VVCB) was recently honored for travel marketing excellence by the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) at the 66th annual Adrian Awards Celebration, the world’s largest global travel marketing competition. The award ceremony took place at the JW Marriott LA Live on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Visit Ventura accepted the award in partnership with Wanderlust Content Studios, the inspiration guide’s publisher.

Visit Ventura received a Bronze Adrian Award for its winning entry in the Print Advertising category for the 2022 Inspiration Guide. This is the fifth Adrian Award VVCB has been awarded in the last five years.

The goal of Ventura’s 2022 Inspiration Guide was to set Ventura apart from its competitors at first glance while diving deeper to capture Ventura’s community. Ventura’s people, places, and partners tell their stories with page after page of engaging content that marries both advertising and editorial in cohesive themes. The result: There are no competing fonts, calls to action, or loud logos. Instead, native content blends organically with editorial. “Ads” are placed within corresponding editorial sections. This gives readers a fuller understanding of all that Ventura has to offer.

And at the forefront of Ventura’s Inspiration Guide? The people of Ventura. Readers will not find paid models posing in photos featured in the guide. People photographed are true local Venturans, who go to the same grocery store and eat at the same restaurants as any other community member in Ventura. The incorporation of local Venturans and local artists alike is at the heart of the inspiration guide, resulting in an authentic and genuine guide that readers recognize from the first page.

“Ventura is a true gem of a City that offers outdoor adventure, historic and cultural attractions, one-of-a-kind retail, and a blossoming culinary scene,” said Ventura Interim City Manager Akbar Alikhan. “Visit Ventura’s annual Inspiration Guide is a stunning magazine that thoughtfully captures the local feel and flavor that makes our community unlike any other!”

VVCB’s work was judged to be exceptional by expert hospitality, travel, tourism, and media professionals. Judges were asked to evaluate each entry based on its own merit and success in achieving its objectives. Past winners of this coveted award include such industry giants as Choice Hotels International, Visit California, Hilton Worldwide, Marriott International, and Royal Caribbean International. VVCB’s wins are a “little engine that could” fairytale come to life.

Vol. 16, No. 12 – Mar 8 – Mar 21, 2023 – Ojai News & Events

Wooden sculptures, charcoal portraits and fine ceramics are just a few of the treasures featured March 11 as part of the Ojai Studio Artists’ Second Saturday tour, which this month offers access to the private studios of artists across the East End of the Ojai Valley.

The second in a series of monthly events that runs through August, this East End tour offers neighbors, collectors and the merely curious a rare opportunity to experience world-class artwork in a casual and intimate setting unlike the busier, bigger October tour.

The East End Tour includes OSA founder Gayel Childress, an Ojai original whose colorful canvases depict otherworldly landscapes and exuberant emotions, a family art compound containing work by famed glass artist Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend and world-renowned abstract painter Richard Amend, and the backyard studio of botanical artist Elizabeth White, whose close-up pastels are a favorite of local collectors.

This tour will be followed in April by a Downtown group, the Arbolada in May, Mira Monte in June, the West End in July and Meiners Oaks in August. Check the OSA website for a full list of participating artists.

Ojai Studio Artists supports community education that promotes art awareness, preparing the next generation of artists, and celebrating the importance of the arts within the region. To date, OSA has given more than $200,000 in art scholarships. It also purchases art books for local libraries, partners with schools in teaching classes and mentoring students, and supports public art projects and other community programs.

For more information and a full list of artists, see the OSA website: https://www.ojaistudioartists.org/second-saturday-tour-march-11/

Book Publishing 1-2-3. Grab a pen and join us for this lively 90-minute workshop, sprinkled with ideas and stories to inspire and empower writers of all types. We’ll start by checking out today’s book business (both traditional and indie publishing), then share valuable resources to help aspiring authors connect with literary agents and editors.

We’ll offer ideas you can employ to add pizazz to your prose, including a gem courtesy of a gutsy comedy star. Thursday, March 23, 1 to 2:30 pm

Oak Park Community Center & Gardens, 1000 N. Kanan Road, Oak Park 91377

Cost $20 – cash or check only

Registration Requested. Call the presenter to reserve your seat at (858) 635-1233 or email her at [email protected].

Presenter Laurie Gibson is a professional editor with decades of experience serving hundreds of individual writers, as well as publishers.

Ten percent of every admission will be donated to a local conservation group for habitat restoration in Ventura County, kicking off the presenter’s “Let’s Endow a Forest!” campaign.

Ventura Chamber ribbon cutting at Strange Beast

The Ventura Chamber held a ribbon cutting at Strange Beast in Downtown. Strange Beast is a contemporary cocktail izakaya, and is situated in the historic Bank of Italy building.

Their cocktail menu celebrates Japanese flavors, and the cocktails, sake, beer, and wine are best paired with Japanese tapas prepared by the Michelin Bib Gourmand chefs of Sama Sama Restaurant Group.

394 E Main St,

photo by Michael Gordon

Amazon gives Oxnard a disproportionate sales tax advantage

Bill Frank, Ventura County Taxpayers Foundation

You’ve probably seen the Amazon warehouse off the 101 in Oxnard, but you’ve never stopped to consider the tax implications. They are substantial. The sales tax revenue generated by Amazon’s distribution warehouse in Oxnard causes a loss of revenue for other cities in Ventura County as those municipalities are not collecting the sales tax. Here’s why.

California passed a law, AB147, because of the ruling in the Wayfair case in the US Supreme Court. Called California’s new online sales tax collection law, AB 147 allows the state to collect sales tax revenue based on the city where the buyer lives. In other words, if you live in Ventura and buy something online, you pay Ventura’s sales tax rate of 7.75%.

The sales tax rate in Ventura County is 7.25%. In some cities, it’s higher because voters have approved extra sales taxes for specific purposes. For most cities, however, the basic 7.25% sales tax is divvied up this way. California’s General Fund receives 3.9375%. Ventura County Realignment receives 1.5625%. County Public Safety gets 0.5%, and the Countywide Transportation Fund receives 0.25%. That leaves 1% for each city’s General Fund, a part of the sales tax known as the Bradley-Burns portion.

Having an Amazon warehouse in Oxnard matters. Under AB 147, if Amazon ships goods from a warehouse outside the state, the 1% Bradley-Burns part of the sales tax goes to the city where the buyer lives. Yet, because Amazon has a warehouse in Oxnard, the 1% Bradley-Burns part of the sales tax goes to Oxnard rather than the city where the buyer lives. As a result, the other nine cities in Ventura County lose out.

Cities are only now realizing the exact effect of the change. For example, the Director of Finance of Ventura estimated what the city would lose. He calculated Ventura would lose between $750,000-$1,200,000 per year from online sales through Amazon. The amount in other cities will differ, but there is no doubt that each city’s General Fund will suffer.

Did city officials in Oxnard know of the sales tax windfall to the city of locating the warehouse there? It’s uncertain. One thing is sure, though. The other nine cities in the county were unaware of how the Amazon warehouse in Oxnard would hurt them.

It’s early, and each city is learning the total sales tax revenue loss it faces. One thing is sure, though. The General Funds of the other cities in Ventura County will lose revenue because of the Oxnard Amazon warehouse.

What that revenue loss will mean for the residents of those cities is this. Cities will cut services, or there will be a scramble to replace the lost revenue through increased user fees or taxes. Unfortunately, none of these prospects is good.

This situation highlights the complexities of sales tax collection in the digital age. Yet, it’s surprising that City Councils throughout Ventura County are not more concerned about the loss of revenue.

The city of Moorpark is the one city in Ventura County that acted. In September 2021, Moorpark joined the League of California Cities to call on California’s legislators to pass legislation to create a more fair and equitable distribution of the Bradley-Burns 1% local sales tax.

At first, you may not have thought about how the Amazon warehouse in Oxnard impacts you. What appeared to be a simple real estate transaction turned into an inequitable sales tax windfall for one city at the expense of nine others. When it comes to distributing sales tax, it takes time for the impact to reach residents. Yet, in this case, the pattern is evident early. Nine cities will suffer unless voters and elected officials take steps to diminish the effect of AB147.

Celebrate Arbor Day planting trees

Enjoy a beautiful morning outdoors making a difference in Ventura. Grab your family and friends and join the Ventura Tree Alliance (in partnership with the City of Ventura) enhance our urban canopy. Volunteers are needed to help plant fifteen trees, which will someday provide shade and habitat for plants and animals, as well as carbon sequestration for our environment. Meet at Barranca Vista Park, 7050 Ralston on Friday, March 10, from 10 to noon.

The funds for purchasing the trees are provided by the Ventura Tree Alliance (VTA) and the generosity of donors who understand the value of trees in our community, on our streets and in our parks. Last year, VTA planted over a hundred trees with a multitude of partners and over 200 volunteers.

Wear your hat, sunscreen, and gloves. Bring water and a shovel (with your name on it). Wheelbarrows are also helpful.

For those interested in volunteering, contact [email protected].

The Ventura Tree Alliance is a 501(c)3 nonprofit public-benefit corporation that brings community members, educators, and business professionals together to enhance the urban tree canopy in the city of Ventura.

The mission is to “plant trees to augment Ventura’s urban forest, beautifying Ventura and counteracting climate change. Our goals are to inspire, engage and support Venturans in planting and caring for trees through education, advocacy, volunteerism, and fundraising.”

To find out more, visit www.VenturaTreeAlliance.com and join us on Facebook.

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