Photos by Patricia Schallert
On Dec. 11, Holiday Candlelight Tours were presented at the Olivas Adobe
from 5:30 – 7:30pm. Attendees experienced how old California celebrated the holiday season at Don Raymundo’s two-story rancho home. Toured the decorated rooms, set in holiday tradition, and listened to living history vignettes. And browsed the gift shop for last-minute gifts.
Every year Jewish people around the world celebrate the holiday of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. Chanukah begins on the 25th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, but the starting date on the western calendar varies from year to year. This year it will start on sundown on Dec. 18 and end on Dec.26
In the land of Judea there was a mean (boo) Syrian king, Antiochus. The king ordered the Jewish people to reject their God, their religion, their customs and their beliefs and to worship the Greek gods. There were some who did as they were told, but many refused. One who refused was Judah Maccabee(hooray).
Judah and his four brothers formed an army and after 3 years of fighting, the Maccabees were finally successful in driving the Syrians out of Israel and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem.
When Judah and his followers finished cleaning the temple, they wished to light the eternal light, known as the N’er Tamid, which is present in every Jewish house of worship. Only a tiny jug of oil was found with only enough for a single day. The oil lamp was filled and lit. Then a miracle occurred as the tiny amount of oil stayed lit not for one day, but for 8 days.
Jews celebrate Chanukah to mark the victory over the Syrians and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple. The Festival of the Lights, Chanukah, lasts for eight days to commemorate this miracle of the oil. The menorah candles are lit to celebrate the 8 days that the oil stayed lit.
The spellings of Chanukah has caused some confusion. Part of the reason for this confusion may be due to the fact there is no exact English translation of the Hebrew word for Chanukah. So, to help clear up some of the confusion here are just a few of the different spellings one might encounter. They all celebrate the holiday.
Chanukah, Chanukkah, Hanuka, Hanukah , Hannukah ,Hanukkah. In the United States it is most common to use the spelling Chanukah.
Julia Frances Campbell Namba, 86, passed away on the morning of Friday December 2, 2022 surrounded by her family in her Residence in the historic Hobson Heights section of Ventura. Julia was born in 1936 in Anderson, Indiana, where she grew up on a family farm with her younger brother Tom. She was the daughter of Kenneth R. Moore and Thelma Nola Cory.
After graduating high school, and college she moved to Chicago, and then to the West Coast where she found fulfilling employment as an educator at First Avenue Junior High School in Arcadia California. She began her career as a Teacher’s Assistant and eventually became the school’s librarian. Later she went onto work at Saticoy Elementary School in Ventura, where she played a principal role in developing the school’s Library system.
While living in Sierra Madre she opened a toy store name “Grandma Jelly’s Toys” where she specialized in handmade wooden toys and Folkmanis puppets.
In 1997 Julia met Ben Namba, and as their relationship flourished, she took up residence with him at his home in Solimar Beach. The couple moved to Hobson Heights in the year 2000, after which they enjoyed the next 20 years together until his passing in 2020. Julia was widely known throughout greater Ventura for her philanthropic nature as a benefactor and donor to local arts organizations. She was on the board of directors of the Ventura Music Festival and was a patron to both the Ventura Museum and the Rubicon Theatre. She was the principal founder, along with her late husband Ben, of the Namba Space in Downtown Ventura. Founded in 2014 this function space continues to serve Ventura as a dedicated venue to nurture performing Arts in our community.
This last year has been filled with the positive energy derived from architectural revival and restoring her home to its original beauty. In her endless dedication to further support our local arts community Julia has opened the doors to her home over the course of the last 12 months to host several fundraisers and festival gatherings.
You could always find Julia bounding around the City at local events, attending parties, lunches, dinners, and outings with cherished friends — she was widely recognized as an artful conversationalist who was able to engage in meaningful discourse over a wide array of topics. In the past year she began to host a Tai Chi group at her house where a small group of good friends would enjoy their weekly practice in the beautiful outdoor setting.
She enjoyed visiting friends, shopping at the local farmer’s market in Ventura, and her weekly dinner with Michael Boyko.
She leaves behind her eldest daughter Laura Jane Campbell and her husband Michael Friedmann, and her younger daughter Leslie Jean Atia. She also leaves behind three grandchildren: Geffen, Leah, and Gian; her ex-husband, John Campbell; as well as nieces and nephews. Lastly, her two beloved cats, Daisy and Billie.
Family and friends are invited to a Celebration of Julia’s Life to be held on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 1:30pm in the Chapel of the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 757 E. Main Street Ventura. A reception will follow at 2:30 PM. Donations in Julia’s name may be made to the Ventura Music Festival 472 E. Santa Clara Street Ventura, CA 93001.
In spite of opposition by many Venturan’s who spoke at the meeting City council members have approved an 88-unit apartment project located at 935 E. Front St. It will have four stories of rental units. Residents who addressed the council opposed the project because the building height and it negatively changes the character of the neighborhood.
The townhome-style apartments will include 12 units for low-income residents and two for moderate-income residents.
The Planning Commission denied the project on Sept. 28 citing inconsistencies with the city’s municipal code, the city’s plan for downtown and state density bonus law. The plan approved by the City Council has more low-income units than the design considered by planning commissioners.
The applicant, Aldersgate Investment, LLC, appealed the decision to the City Council.
As the state has taken over local controls Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued cities for violating state housing law.
Echoing the thoughts of council members Councilmember Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios stated “I recognize that there are state laws that we just can’t circumvent that we as a city have to abide by and if we don’t, there will be consequences.”
In approving the project, the council did ask the Design Review Committee to recommend design changes that could improve the plan.
If the project continues through final drawings, approval processes and construction it will be many years before it is completed.
by Mary Olson
Ventura County Library Offers Free Access to University-Quality Classes That Help People Get a Job, Or a Better One
Ventura County Library cardholders can now access CAreer Pathways, a collection of digital platforms for online learning tools to meet the needs of those entering the workforce or who want to get a better job, for free.
These tools include:
Coursera– offering university-quality classes without the need to enroll in a university and no prior experience is necessary to get started.
GetSetUp– offering educational courses to students 50 years of age and older on various topics, including technology for beginners, vocational and physical health, book clubs, cooking, and gardening.
Linkedln Learning– an online learning site that specializes in career-relevant courses in business and technology. The resource offers over 16,000 online courses taught by professionals in practical and career-relevant subjects like time management and creative topics such as mindfulness.
Skillshare– offering coursework in creative professional topics such as freelancing skills, graphic design, lifestyle and marketing.
Access to CAreer Pathways is available through Ventura County Library’s website, vencolibrary.org/elibrary with a Ventura County Library card. Library cards are free and can be obtained at any Ventura County Library location. Providing access to CAreer Pathways is another way that the library furthers its mission to serve as a community hub to connect individuals to tools and resources that assist in closing the opportunity gap. CAreer Pathways is funded by the State and administered by the California State Library.
To learn more about CAreer Pathways, visit https://library.ca.gov/grants/career-pathways.
Ventura Friends of the Library joined in the Fifth Birthday Party at Hill Road Library on December 3, meeting visitors in the Friends’ corner in the library. If you missed the party, you can still visit Hill Road Library every Tuesday in December at 3:00 pm, for a Winter Wonderland simple craft and seasonal movie! And you could join the celebration of “Noon Year’s Eve” at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 31. Enjoy storytime, crafts, and countdown fun to ringing in the New Year at noon. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Linda Cherry, Librarian, at 805-677-7180.
Whenever you visit Hill Road Library, be sure to take a look at the Ventura Friends of the Library sales shelves.
The Friends Bookstore in E.P. Foster Library will be open for some extra shifts in December. The store will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. AND, the store will be open Sundays, 1:30 to 4:00 pm.
We also invite you to visit our online bookstore for local sales https://venturafol-107753.square.site/s/shop. When you make a purchase there, you will receive an email letting you know when your order will be ready for pickup at the bookstore in E.P. Foster. You can also join or renew your membership to Ventura Friends of the Library for 2023 or make a donation through the online store. Donations, gifts and proceeds from our book sales support the City of Ventura’s libraries.
With Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on Sunday this holiday season, in the weeks before and after the holidays, trash, recyclables and yard/organic waste collection by E.J. Harrison & Sons will not be delayed.
For two weeks after Christmas, from Monday, Dec. 26, through Saturday, Jan. 7, residents may put out extra holiday waste curbside on collection day – up to two 50-gallon bags – free of charge.
As another special holiday feature, Harrison is making it easy for customers to recycle their Christmas trees. Just remove the ornaments, hooks, lights, tinsel, bows, nails and tree stands, then cut the trees into sections no more than 4 feet long and place them in your yard/organics waste cart on your scheduled pickup day. Or, place the whole Christmas tree at the curb on collection day. Flocked trees also are accepted for recycling.
Finally, a reminder that Harrison’s residential customers can place all three carts curbside every week, as Harrison collects all waste weekly – including food waste, which is now recyclable. All food waste should be placed in closed bags and the bags should be tossed in the yard waste cart.
Harrison Industries serves the cities and surrounding unincorporated areas of Ventura, Ojai and Camarillo as well as the unincorporated areas of El Rio, Somis, Ojai Valley, the Channel Islands beach communities and the city of Carpinteria as E.J. Harrison & Sons; Fillmore and surrounding unincorporated areas as Santa Clara Valley Disposal; and the unincorporated areas of Newbury Park as Newbury Disposal.
For more information, visit www.ejharrison.com.
Veronica Betancourt, Jill Forman and Ellen Klope. Photos by Patricia Schallert
Hill Road Library celebrated its fifth birthday on Saturday, December 3rd.
The celebrations began with a Decorate Your Own Party Hat craft activity.
Then, at 11:00 am, the fabulous magician Zany Zoe performed his magic and illusion arts.
The library is located at 1070 S. Hill.
Kwanzaa is an African American and Pan-African holiday which celebrates family, community and culture. Celebrated from December 26 thru January 1, its origins are in the first harvest celebrations of Africa from which it takes its name. The name Kwanzaa is derived from the phrase “matunda ya kwanza” which means “first fruits” in Swahili, a Pan-African language which is the most widely spoken African language.
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karina, professor, Department of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, author and scholar-activist who stresses the indispensable need to preserve, continually revitalize and promote African American culture.
It is important to note Kwanzaa is a cultural holiday, not a religious one, thus available to and practiced by Africans of all religious faiths who come together based on the rich, ancient and varied common ground of their Africanness.
Gifts are given mainly to children, but must always include a book and a heritage symbol. The book is to emphasize the African value and tradition of learning stressed since ancient Egypt, and the heritage symbol to reaffirm and reinforce the African commitment to tradition and history.
by Ross Williams
Walking along the beach as you stare across the Pacific towards the Channels islands you will find that amongst the masts of sailboats and white capped waves are a few carefully spaced oil platforms. Take a drive down the 33 towards Ojai and you’ll see oil rigs gently seesaw against a background of oak and chaparral covered hills. Oil helps our world run. From carpet to golf balls, plastic, life jackets and parachutes. And it has been a staple of our area’s economy for over one hundred years.
The Ventura Oil Field is 4,300 acres and it is the 10th largest oil field in California. At any given time there are approximately 50 million barrels of oil in reserve here in Ventura alone. We currently produce 12,000 barrels of oil a day and 7 mmcf (million cubic feet) of natural gas per day.
In order to gain a better understanding of the oil industry in our local area I reached out to Dennis Christian, Chief Operations Officer of Instrument Control Services.
How long have you been in the oil industry and what is your current role?
“I started working offshore back in 1975. On Platform Holly, which is currently in abandonment mode. I work primarily in the office; however, I do field assessment of our Valve Repair Crews on a weekly basis both here in Ventura and monthly in the SJV Area.”
Holly sits two miles offshore in Goleta, production on the oil platform stopped in 2015 when the company Venoco went bankrupt. The oil platforms are now owned by the state and are currently in the ongoing process of demolition.
How do we find oil?
“Discovery is primarily performed by geologists looking for shale, drilling a core that can be thousands of feet long, providing a snapshot of what lies beneath the surface, and currently utilizing seismic surveys.”
How do you know if a well or area has run dry of oil?
“Producing oil and gas wells are tested individually on a routine basis to gauge current production and the results of these well tests will dictate if additional trouble shooting is needed to address: * failed equipment or *potential zone depletions.”
The average depth of wells drilled in California is 4,100 feet, however in the offshore industry directional drilling provides the advantage of being able to reach multiple producing zones at combined length / depths of up to 26,000’±.
Do we frack in the area?
Also, what is the difference between traditional drilling and fracking? “The Federal Government has denied any fracking permits for any offshore platforms since 2019. Onshore, Ventura requires a permit that is evaluated on a case-by-case basis for potential environmental impact. Drilling is fairly self-explanatory while fracking is the process of injecting sand and chemicals into the production zone under high pressure in order to open the formation, allowing the crude oil to flow more freely for recovery by secondary means i.e. pumping.”Where do you see ongoing operations heading over the next few years?
The following is from “ExtractingFact, 11/21/2022,: According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, California averaged 440,000 barrels of crude production per day in 2018, the final year of Governor Brown’s tenure. Since Governor Newsom was inaugurated in January 2019, the state’s production has averaged just 385,000 barrels per day. Production in recent months has fallen to as low as 330,000 barrels per day.
Governor Newsom’s energy policies have cost the state more than 75 million barrels of oil production – equivalent to over 42% of the emergency stockpile releases under President Biden.”
“Although this is from a “Pro-oil” publication, it is factual. I believe the goals of the current California and Federal administrations is to cease all oil and gas production in California eventually. With the goal to phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035, and California’s electrical grid is currently incapable of handling current demands. It will take a tremendous amount of upgrade and costs to ensure this is a successful plan.”
If there was one thing that you thought was essential to know about the oil industry what would that be?
“Oil production in California is by far the strictest environmentally regulated oil and gas industry on the planet (and rightly so). California produces oil and gas that has the least amount of impact to the environment than any other place.”
‘In one way or another we have a deeply interwoven relationship with oil that will continue long into the foreseeable future. Local livelihoods are tied to the oil industry, not to mention our daily lives, our environment and our politics. It’s a complicated relationship and as relationships do, they mature, they adapt, and they change with the world around them. A great relationship is one with good communication and a deep understanding of the other and that will allow us to make better overall choices for our future.”
Youths will soon be able to ride any public transit bus in Ventura County for free as part of a new pilot program offered by the county’s transit operators.
Through the Youth Ride Free program, anyone age 18 or younger is eligible to use fixed-route and general purpose dial-a-ride services for free. Students older than 18 who are enrolled in high school are also eligible. Riders can travel to any destination at any time, not just to get to and from school.
The program began Sept. 1. To ride, youths simply need to board the bus. High school-age youths should be prepared to show an ID to the driver. Children 10 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.
Participating operators are Camarillo Area Transit, Gold Coast Transit District, Kanan Shuttle, Moorpark City Transit, Ojai Trolley, Simi Valley Transit, Thousand Oaks Transit, Valley Express, and VCTC Intercity Service.
“The Youth Ride Free program is a way to introduce public transit to the younger people in our community and encourage them to become lifelong public transit users,” said VCTC Executive Director Martin Erickson. “Increased transit ridership means less congestion on streets and highways and will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By offering free fares for youths, transit operators in Ventura County also can provide some economic relief to families who are struggling with high gas prices and other rising costs due to inflation.”
The pilot Youth Ride Free program is funded by a grant obtained and administered by VCTC from California’s Low Carbon Transit Operations Program (LCTOP), a part of the state’s capand-trade program. LCTOP provides funds to public transportation agencies for investments in capital projects and services that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve mobility. Other local programs supported by LCTOP funds are College Ride, which allows students enrolled at Ventura County colleges to ride the bus for free; and Metrolink Saturday Service.
The Youth Ride Free program will run through 2022-23 and 2023-24. For more information about the Youth Ride Free program, including a list of frequently asked questions, visit https://www.goventura.org/vctc-transit/youth-ride-free-promotion/.
