April 22 is Earth Day! To help care for Ventura’s environment, you can grab a shovel and expand our urban forest. It’s the season to “Plant and Post,” sponsored by the Ventura Tree Alliance. Plant a tree at your home, business, church, school— and then post a photo on social media. We will celebrate together the greening of our community!
VenturaTreeAlliance.com
Category Archives: This ‘n’ That
$40,000 philanthropic donation to Women’s Economic Ventures
Koolaburra by UGG, in partnership with Ashley Tisdale and Frenshe, celebrated International Women’s Day with a $40,000 philanthropic donation to Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV).
“Koolaburra by UGG is proud to be a supporter of Women’s Economic Ventures this International Women’s Day,” said Lorie Pointer, GM of Koolaburra by UGG. We’re honored to be able to support their mission of providing a network for women to realize their dreams.”
WEV community connects women entrepreneurs from multiple business categories to share insights and tips with each other, including how they are handling business challenges, adapting to new hybrid working conditions, and achieving work-life balance. WEV believes that economic empowerment is the foundation that allows women to achieve their potential in all aspects of life – career, family, and community.
Throughout the pandemic, WEV met the rising demand for business education, mentoring and advisory services, community meetup events as well as entrepreneurial funding via online offerings and webinars. Looking ahead to recovery mode, WEV is increasing marketing and ecommerce education, expanding financial literacy/business finance resources, and increasing Spanish language offerings to support the rapidly growing number of Latina entrepreneurs.
WEV CEO Kathy Odell shared that “Women’s Economic Ventures is incredibly grateful to receive this generous donation. The timing could not be better. More than 2.5 million women entrepreneurs started businesses in 2021 – more than double the rate of previous years. These entrepreneurs are committed to a new way of doing business that celebrates today’s multi-dimensional woman business owner. WEV is thankful to be able to immediately deploy this gift to deliver services that support the wave of emerging women entrepreneurs.”
Ventura Audubon Society: Program with Rich Reid
Rich specializes in environmental and adventure photography.
Ventura Audubon will host award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and instructor, Rich Reid. Rich has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for more than three decades. Since 2008, he has been guiding guests worldwide as a National Geographic Photographer aboard Lindblad Expeditions fleet of ships.
He started his career as a photojournalist at the University of California, Santa Barbara and since then has shared his photography passion operating photo tours in Alaska, teaching Visual Journalism at Brooks Institute, creating environmental documentaries, and presenting his work on a nationwide travel film circuit. He was awarded the Fellows Award from North America Nature Photography Association for his exceptional service to the nature photography industry. Rich will be presenting a collection of his amazing photographs and stories from is many adventures, including Alaska, the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.
The meeting will be held in the Santa Paula room at the Poinsettia Pavilion 3451 Foothill Rd. and via Zoom on April 12, from 7-8:30. For more information and the Zoom link go to https://www.venturaaudubon.org/monthly-speakers
Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony at Ventura Skincare and Body Works
Photo by Michael Gordon
On March 30, the Ventura Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Ventura Skincare and Body Works in their new location at 3140 Telegraph Ave!
The Bookmark About Libraries and Friends
by Jill Forman
Foster Library re-opens. Friends Bookstore re-opens
Due to a water leak, Foster Library has been closed. Both the library and bookstore re-opened last week.
Friends of the Library Book Sale a big success
On Saturday March 19 the Friends had a book sale at the Vons parking lot on Telegraph and Victoria. We appreciate Vons for allowing us to have periodic sales at that location. We made over $1500, impressive considering the books are priced from 10 cents to $3. Thanks to all the folks in Ventura who came by.
Special gratitude to Boy Scout Troop 155; the many volunteers who helped load and transport, unload and arrange; and to the “truck dudes” without whom the sale would not happen: Clyde Hofflund, David Bayer, David Young, and Woody Bretz. And all the folks at the warehouse, who receive donated books, organize, price, shelve and pack them. That work goes on all year.
All earnings go to support Ventura’s libraries.
Friends have a car in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade
First-hand report from FOL board member Joanne Fields
Shamrocks, shamrock streamers & posters decorated the car. Three library student volunteers (Jack & Luke Armitage; twins, and Gisela Salazar) walked the route and handed out 300 lollipops & flyers to people along the route. They helped decorate and were a great help. Philip, Librarian at Foster came through with flying colors despite the water leak that closed the library. Mary Olson and I rode in the car.
Rescheduled Music Event
In the last column we learned about a music presentation “Lyrical Literature,” originally scheduled for Saturday March 26 at Foster Library. Unfortunately it had to be cancelled due to the water leak. It has been rescheduled for Saturday May 21 at 2 p.m.
Movie at Museum of Ventura County April 23 and Rising from the Ashes Home Tour
The Ventura County Library Foundation and the Museum of Ventura County are partnering with the Ventura County Library to present an upcoming special event.
At 2pm on Saturday, April 23, 2022, the Ventura County Library will host a screening of Radu Sava’s film Not If But When: Wildfire Solutions. This event will take place at the Museum (100 E Main St, Ventura, CA 93001). The film, which was awarded Best Environmental Visions Film at the Sacramento International Film Festival, discusses how wildfires are becoming a global issue, and California is one of the places that is hit the hardest. The film is based on interviews with leading experts from state, federal, and grassroots organizations, water agencies, community partnerships, and more. You can register to attend this event by visiting bit.ly/vclfire.
This film event will complement the Rising from the Ashes tour of homes rebuilt after the Thomas Fire, which will be presented by the Ventura County Library Foundation on Saturday, April 30, 2022. For more information about this home tour please visit www.vclibraryfoundation.org.
Book groups
Foster Library – continues on hiatus for another month
Hill Road: April 26 at 5 p.m. –
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elizabeth Tova Bailey
New group – Wise Owls (childrens’ books for grownups)
April 12 at 5 p.m. – When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin
Answer In a Breeze
Question: Any idea what is being planned for this property? There has been no public notice posted on the property. Seems like another demolition.
Thanks
TubaTim Hansen
Answer: From Jennifer Buckley City of Ventura.
Thank you for your question.
The Carl’s Jr. property on Thompson Boulevard is currently undergoing a remodel. We are currently updating our development map to include that project and you can always explore other development projects throughout the City at www.CityofVentura.ca.gov/Permits.
Local company recognized as a top performer
FASTSIGNS® of Ventura, a local sign and visual graphics provider, was recognized as a top performing center in the FASTSIGNS network out of more than 750 locations worldwide at the 2022 FASTSIGNS/SIGNWAVE International Convention held in Grapevine, Texas.
Owned by Saurabh and Madhu Bajaj, FASTSIGNS of Ventura was presented with the Award for Highest Efficiency, which recognizes the US Center for running a successful and productive FASTSIGNS franchise.
“We are thrilled to be recognized as a top performing center in the FASTSIGNS network of over 750 locations worldwide,” said Saurabh Bajaj, President, FASTSIGNS of Ventura. “This award reflects our entire team’s hard work and dedication to helping businesses and organizations solve their visual communications challenges in our community every day.”
“We are thankful for the support of our customers and look forward to helping companies of all sizes achieve their goals in 2022 using visual communication solutions,” Bajaj said.
To learn more, visit fastsigns.com/264 or call (805) 658-1001.
Ivor Davis up close and personal with Dianne Lake
Dianne Lake was a beautiful and innocent wide eyed seventh grade student – whose hippie parents abandoned their traditional suburban lifestyle to join a group called, The Wavy Gravy’s Hog Farm Commune in Tujunga, California. Along the way her parents met a man named Charles Manson. They were so impressed by him and, as unbelievable as it sounds, they turned their young daughter over to Manson.
Dianne was just 14. What happened next is a personal odyssey that is hard to believe. She travelled with Manson’s raggle-taggle band of runaways and social misfits until they settled at the notorious Spahn Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California. She became a chattel, a slave to Manson’s sexual whims and part of his depraved world of mind-blowing drugs which culminated in a series of horrendous, high profile Los Angeles murders in the Summer of l969.
While never involved with any murders, Dianne was arrested and her life was almost destroyed. Today, in her late sixties, she is a devout, church-going grandmother, who lives in Ventura County. She will tell her own unbelievable story of survival and redemption in the Museum of Ventura County’s newest episode of “Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal with Dianne Lake” on Thursday March 24. Her story sounds like pure fiction but it’s all true.
Museum members who register for this event (either in person or via Zoom) will be entered into a drawing to receive an autographed copy of Ivor Davis’ “Manson Exposed: A Reporter’s 50-Year Journey into Madness and Murder“. Become a member now and register for this event for your opportunity to receive the autographed book.
Proof of vaccination will be required on arrival for in-person attendees. Masks will not be required for this event. If you would like a mask, we’re happy to provide one for you.
Registration for Zoom closes at 4:30pm on March 24th.
What do my food scraps have to do with climate change?
Food scraps should be bagged and placed in your green waste cart.
by Jill Sarick Santos
Composting vegetable scraps instead of landfilling them is one tiny step in the right direction to help lessen the ramifications from climate change. It is easy to do. It does not cost anything extra. And you could be saving the world.
But there are still folks who think it is a waste of their time. They say it is just one more unnecessary governmental regulation that is killing California.
Regardless of whether you believe that climate change is really happening or hesitate to name who or what is the primary contributor, the obvious fact remains that weather patterns have changed dramatically over the last decade. Those of us in the field of environmental protection, conservation, forestry or agriculture, have been talking about this sort of stuff for years.
It does not matter what or who is responsible or why and how it got so bad so quickly, it matters that you stop whatever it is you are doing right now and take a good look around you. Listen, look, observe. What is different? Can you spot or identify 5 differences in the last decade? Last five years? Last year?
As our busy lives move in an ever-busier pace, we might fail to recognize obvious signs that the climate is indeed changing. For example, in the last ten years, droughts in Southern California have been longer, more extreme and occur in more frequent intervals than in the last twenty years. We have seen more record-breaking high temperatures in the last decade than many previous. And those groups of people mass migrating from their homeland to wealthier, more developed places; that’s climate change influenced without question. The real question is, what can one person really do to stop something so overwhelming? Starting with placing your food scraps in the organics cart so that it will be composted instead of becoming greenhouse-producing-methane-gas seems like a no brainer to me.
The obvious and now essentially required first step is to ensure that food scraps, including things like peels, pieces, stems, shells, bones, and sauces, dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables, and food soiled paper should be bagged (in any preferably plastic bag) and placed in your green waste cart, now called the organics cart. If you are a commercial business or live in a multi-family residential property without a curbside cart, be sure to check with your city’s environmental division to comply with the regulations.
So, the next time you see a neighbor ranting about the city’s new food waste program on social media, tell them to chill out and share this article. If each one of us does our little part, that is seven billion little parts all working together to save the one and only place we call home: Earth.
Back to Back Wins for Team 4414: HighTide
Team 4414: HighTide is an industry-based robotics team located in Ventura.
After 2 canceled seasons due to COVID, competitive robotics is back, and with that, so is Team 4414: HighTide. They are riding high on back to back wins at Hueneme Port and Ventura County Regionals. Additionally, they earned awards in Quality and Autonomous.
Team 4414: HighTide is an industry-based robotics team located in Ventura. Student participants range from grades 9 – 12 and attend school at Buena, El Camino, Foothill or Ventura High. Students learn career-oriented skills in engineering, design, mathematics, computer science, and are inspired by industry professional mentors. Michael Sessa of Sessa MFG (where the team trains) said, “Team 4414 HighTide is so dedicated and driven to excellence in everything they do. We are so lucky to have such great students along with amazing mentors.”
This year’s Game sees two alliances competing to process cargo and score it into the hub. The match ends with robots racing to engage with their hangar to prepare for transport. Alliances are made up of 3 robot teams that work together to earn the highest score. While the competition is intense, it is built on the values of professionalism, cooperation, kindness, and more.
Bryce Taylor said, “The team has put in countless hours of prototyping, design, manufacturing, coding and more. As a member of the drive team, the pressure to execute is even greater and I’m glad our practice paid off. We were able to perform at a high level and take full advantage of the robot’s potential.” Driver Zach Shew said of his experience, “Driving is exciting, fun and unpredictable,” while Aadhya Bavkar said, ““It was stressful at times, but it felt amazing to share a victory with the whole team and contribute to our overall success.”
Beside having a mechanically sound, well driven robot with excellent software, strong strategy and data collection is crucial to winning events. Anshul Bajaj said, “Understanding your opponent’s and most importantly, your teammate’s ability is essential to performing at the highest level. Using my semi-automated scouting app, Team 4414 students recorded and collected performance data for the teams we competed with. These metrics informed our strategy which elevated our overall competitiveness.”
Mentor JJ Sessa congratulated the team on their back to back wins and said, “Thank you to all our sponsors, friends and family for your support. We are looking forward to competing at Aerospace Valley and at the World competition in Houston next month.”
For more information: www.team4414.com