Category Archives: Web Exclusive

Ventura Film Society Season 8 – “Hearing is Believing” the Rachel Flowers story June 9

Please join the Ventura Film Society on Thursday June 9th at 6:30pm at the Century 10 Downtown Ventura for the Ventura County Premiere of “HEARING IS BELIEVING”, the new feature documentary from VFS Founder & award-winning producer/director Lorenzo DeStefano. This film introduces the world to the multi-talented young musician and composer, Rachel Flowers. Born 15 weeks premature, weighing only one pound five ounces, Rachel lost her eyesight due to Retinopathy of Prematurity. When she was two years old she began picking up melodies from her musical parents and was soon playing every song she heard by ear, including Bach fugues. The child had perfect pitch. Starting her formal musical education at the age of 4, Rachel spent the next 10 years studying at the Southern California Conservatory of Music.

DeStefano and his team have created a dynamic and engaging portrait of nearly two years in the life of the tight knit Flowers family, a single mom and her two kids living paycheck to paycheck in Oxnard, California, with Rachel’s stunning music as the soundtrack. “Hearing is Believing” revels in Rachel’s joyous and free-flowing love of song, illuminating in the process the bonds of family and the divine mysteries of creativity. Among the incredible musicians appearing with Rachel in the film are the legendary Stevie Wonder, Grammy-winning rocker Dweezil Zappa, , the late Progressive Rock icon Keith Emerson, Grammy winning jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, the young Bay Area jazz pianist Taylor Eigsti, and fifty members of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony.

Advance tickets available at www.venturafilmsociety.com/tickets.html. For more information – 805 628-2299 / [email protected]. The VFS thanks the City of Ventura Community Partnerships, Cinemark, Downtown Ventura Partners, Bell Arts Factory, and the Ventura Breeze for their support. The Ventura Film Society, we bring people together in the dark.

Ventura City Fire Department responds to kitchen fire in two story home.

On May 13, at approximately 4pm, Ventura City Fire Department responded to a report of smoke coming from a two story residential home. Upon arrival fire crews found a fire burning in the kitchen on the second floor. The fire was extinguished 10 minutes after arrival of firefighters. A sprinkler system was activated as a result of the fire and contained the fire to the area of origin. The home sustained water damage from the sprinkler activation on both floors of the residence. Three adults were displaced from the home as a result of the fire.

No firefighters were injured as a result of this incident. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The Ventura Family YMCA hosts annual Senior Day May 25

The Ventura Family YMCA will host their annual Senior Day on Wednesday, May 25th from 10am to 1:30pm.  This free community event is made possible through sponsorships by Montecito Bank & Trust, The Palms at Bonaventure, and Driscoll Strawberry Associates, Inc.  The Longevity Expo will include local vendors who specialize in senior services from 10am-12pm.  There will be two speakers and a lunch from 12pm-1:30pm, with the first 100 lunch attendees receiving a free t-shirt!  During the lunch, guest speaker Russ Charvonia will discuss fiscal fitness and Jill Rode will talk about leaving your financial legacy.

Russ Charvonia, ChFC, CLU, CFP®, Esq. has been in the financial services industry for more than three decades, providing investment advice to individual and institutional clients across the country and has an estate planning practice with Channel Islands Law Group, a P.C. in Ventura.

The second presenter will be Jill Rode, CFRE, the Channel Islands YMCA’s Chief Development Officer.  She brings 27 years of experience in fundraising and nonprofits to the YMCA. She has raised funds for many nonprofits on the Central Coast and currently supervises and supports the fundraising of the seven branches of the Channel Islands YMCA.

In charge of the event is Nicole Eads, the Support Services & Development Director at the Ventura Family YMCA. “I feel very excited about this day because it’s about celebrating our older and active adults.  We’re showing our appreciation for these members and providing everyone around town resources and information that will help them stay healthy physically and financially.”

For details, a booth, and to sponsor, visit the Ventura Family YMCA, 3760 Telegraph Road, Ventura, CA 93003 or online atciymca.org/ventura.  For more information, please contact Nicole Eads by email at [email protected] or call 805.642.2131 ext. 11.

Established in 1887, the Channel Islands YMCA is a charitable organization of seven YMCA branches serving Santa Barbara and Ventura counties including: Camarillo Family YMCA, Lompoc Family YMCA, Montecito Family YMCA, Santa Barbara Family YMCA, Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA in Santa Ynez, Ventura Family YMCA, and Youth and Family Services YMCA which operates Noah’s Anchorage Youth Crisis Shelter, the St. George Family Youth Center and My Home.

The Y is the nation’s leading nonprofit committed to strengthening communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.  The Channel Islands YMCA serves over 46,000 individuals and provides over $1.3 million in financial assistance to families in need for child care, YMCA memberships, away and day camps, youth sports, and teen after-school programs. Ventura Family YMCA 3760 Telegraph Road. Ventura, CA 93003. 805.642.2131. ciymca.org/ventura

Stamp out Hunger food collection event in Ventura May 14th

On Saturday May 14th, our local letter carriers will be carrying over 100,000 pounds of food for stamp out hunger! They want to collect as much food as possible for those in need right here in Ventura County – and they need your help!

All you have to do is leave a bag of non-perishable food by your mail box tomorrow! Your letter carrier will pick it up and deliver it to food share so it can be given to a family, child, or senior in need.

It’s easy! Help Food Share, National Association of Letter Carriers, and Farmer’s Insurance stamp out hunger tomorrow!

What to donate: Non-perishable food items, such as canned soup, vegetables, meats, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, pasta, rice, beans and cereal.

Most needed items:
Canned Soups
Peanut Butter
Canned Meats
Cereal
Canned Vegetables
Pasta, Beans, & Rice
Canned Fruit

Food Safety:
No glass containers!
No items that will melt or perish in the heat
No chocolate, no fresh produce, no frozen items
No soda/beverages and non-food items.

National Police Week May 15-21

National Police Week begins this Sunday, May 15th and runs through Saturday, May 21. The Ventura Police Community Foundation invites all to come out with the Ventura Police Department and help raise money for Community/VPD events, Public Safety and City of Ventura Youth Programs including the Police Activities League by participating in Ventura Restaurant Week.

Please come and dine at the restaurants listed below during the week of Sunday, May 15 – Saturday, May 21. Each restaurant listed will donate 20% of the bill to The VPCF, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to strengthening the partnership between the citizens of our community including youth, schools and businesses and the Ventura Police Department.

See event flyer for participating restaurants as well as dates, times and additional information about the fundraiser. Flyer must be presented in hard copy form or on phone to the server for the 20% discount to be donated. For more information about The VPCF, please visit www.venturapolicefoundation.org

Sunday, May 15 Spencer Makenzie's 806 East Thompson Blvd. 11:00 am to 8:30 pm
Monday, May 16 Chick-fil- A 1321 Eastman Ave. 6:30 am – 10:00 pm
Tuesday, May 17 CPK 3401 East Main 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 pm
Wednesday, May 18 Jersey Mike's 1145 S. Victoria Ave. 10:00 am – 10:00 pm
Thursday, May 19 Casa de Soria 1961 East Thompson Blvd. 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Friday, May 20 Red Brick Pizza 4990 Telephone Road 11:00 am – 10:30 pm
Saturday, May 21 Two Trees Cade 7822 Telegraph Road 7:00 am – 9:00 pm

Ventura Hillsides Conservancy to host “Bike and Hike,” Saturday, May 21

On Sat., May 21, from 1-3 p.m., the Ventura Hillsides Conservancy (VHC) will host “Bike and Hike” – a free community bike ride along the Ojai-Ventura Bike path. VHC staff will lead riders on a 12-mile round-trip excursion to their Big Rock Preserve. Upon arrival, VHC will conduct a hike on their nature preserve before returning to Ventura.

VHC will be joined on the ride by representatives from VCCool, a Ventura-based grass roots climate change action organization, who will help with any bike repairs needed along the route. Those who need to tune up their bike before the ride are encouraged to visit, Ventura Bike HUB, VCCool’s do-it- yourself community bicycle shop located at 1150 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura. For store hours, visit: www.vccool.org.

This event is appropriate for bike riders of all ages who are comfortable riding on a slight incline for a stretch of 45 – 60 minutes each way. Children must be accompanied by a parent. Riders should meet VHC staff at the Ventura River kiosk near Ventura’s Main Street Bridge at 1 p.m. and bring their own bicycles, helmets and water bottles.

To RSVP, go to www.venturahillsides.org and click on the Events tab. For more information, call VHC at: (805) 643-8044.

“Take Your Bike to Work Week” May 16-20

“Take Your Bike to Work Week,” an annual event that encourages commuters to change up their daily commute and try riding their bikes to work, will kick-off Monday, May 16, 2016.

Co-sponsored by the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) and the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD),“Take Your Bike to Work Week” will run May 16-20 and feature prize drawings, free bus rides, cyclist pit stops and a social media contest.

  • Cyclists Ride Free on VCTC – From May 16-20, VCTC will offer free bus rides to customers who bring a bike on board any blue VCTC bus. Bicycle loading instructions and transit tips for cyclists can be found at www.goventura.org.
  • Pledge and Win Prizes –Ventura County commuters who pledge to ride their bike to work just once during the week will be entered into a drawing to win prizes including a Fitbit, a GPS device, one of three $100 VISA gift cards or a $500 gift certificate for a new bike. Pledge online at www.goventura.org.
  • Pit Stops –VCTC and VCAPCD will host morning pit stops to support riders on their way to work. Pit stops will include free refreshments, bike tune-ups and giveaways at the following locations:

 

County Government Center – May 17,7-9 a.m.

800 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura, next to bus roundabout

Partners: County of Ventura, Open Air Bicycles

 

 Oxnard – May 18, 7-9 a.m.

Plaza Park, corner of Fifth and “B” Streets

Partners: City of Oxnard, Performance Bicycles
Thousand Oaks – May 19, 7-9 a.m.

Elks Lodge Parking Lot, 158 N. Conejo School Rd., across from Conejo Elementary School

Partners: City of Thousand Oaks, Westlake Cyclery

 Ventura – May 19, 6-9 a.m.

Northeast corner of Santa Clara and California Streets

Partners: City of Ventura, Trek Bikes of Ventura

 

  • Social Media Photo Contest – Social media users who post a photo of themselves and their bikes to Facebookor Instagram and tag VCTC by Friday, May 20, will be entered into a drawing to win a commuter-friendly folding bike. VCTC can be found on Facebook (@GoVentura) and Instagram (@Go_VCTC.).

“Integrating biking into your workday commute reduces pollution and traffic in our community,” said VCTC Executive Director Darren Kettle. “This Bike Week, we especially want to encourage people to take advantage of our offer to bring a bike on board any VCTC bus and ride for free. In an expansive county like Ventura, combining biking and transit is a fun and practical way to experience a car-free commute.”

“Take Your Bike to Work Week” is part of VCTC’s ongoing efforts to encourage and improve biking in Ventura County. Working with cities, the County and cyclists, VCTC is currently drafting a Bicycle Wayfinding Plan that designates important regional bike routes and specifies design rules and signage templates to make these routes safer and easier to navigate for cyclists of all ages and ability levels.

By designating certain bike lanes as part of a regional network, the Bicycle Wayfinding Plan will allow jurisdictions to better compete for active transportation grants, bringing more funding to the County for bicycle improvements.

Those interested in exploring community bike paths can use VCTC’s Bikeways App on Apple and Android, which maps all existing bike routes in Ventura County.

About the Ventura County Transportation Commission

The Ventura County Transportation Commission is the regional transportation planning agency committed to keeping Ventura County moving. Program information is available at goventura.org.

Please help ID these robbery suspects

Can you help ID these suspects? They were involved in a Grand Theft at a business in the 800 Block of S. Victoria Ave. 2 unidentified suspects came into Two Trees Optometry during lunch time on Cinco de Mayo and stole estimated $5000 worth of retail eyeglasses.

Robbers2If you recognize them, the Ventura Police Department would like to hear from you, but if you’d rather remain anonymous you can submit a tip to Crime Stoppers at 1.800.222.TIPS, text “BUSTED” plus your message to CRIMES (274637), or go online to www.venturacountycrimestoppers.org.

If your information leads to an arrest you could receive a cash reward of up to $1,000.

Robbers3You can also contact Sgt. Medina with the Ventura PD with any information at 805.339.4325.