Benefactors’ Ball announces 2017 Cephas Bard Award Honorees

Don and Bonnie Carlton are Community Leaders of the Year.

The Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation is holding its 44th Benefactors’ Ball on Saturday, April 22, with proceeds benefiting the new Community Memorial Hospital.

At this event, four notable individuals will be recognized with the prestigious Cephas Bard Award, named after the founder of the first Community Memorial Hospital. The Cephas Bard award honors those who enhance the reputation and quality of Community Memorial Hospital.

Awardees to be recognized at this event are  Community Leaders of the Year – Don and Bonnie Carlton, CMH Physician of the Year – Dr. Dominic J. Tedesco and  CMH Retired Physician of the Year – Dr. Siegfried O. Storz.

To begin the festivities to celebrate the opening of the new hospital, this year’s Benefactors’ Ball will be held “Under the Stars” at the new Community Memorial Hospital.

Tickets can be bought individually or by table of eight. Sponsorship package opportunities are also available. For ticket or sponsorship information, visit www.benefactorsball.org, or call the Community Memorial Healthcare Foundation at 667-2881.

Vol. 10, No. 12 – March 15 – March 28, 2017 – Ventura Music Scene

Local music and more!
by Pam Baumgardner
VenturaRocks.com

The Wine Rack on California Street has been sold. Darcy is moving on creating a family and taking over is Kristen Shubert who will be rebranding the venue soon as Vintura. She’s cutting back the music to weekends but I don’t think it will be for long as she gets grooved in on Ventura’s music scene.

The Sandbox Coffeehouse is celebrating their five-year anniversary with live music every weekend, which come to think of it, they already do. Congratulations to Todd and the crew and thanks for giving a platform to artists to share their craft.

ARC of Ventura County is working on raising awareness about people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  They’ve put together a great event for Saturday, March 18th at Bombay’s which will run 5-8 pm called, “Let’s Go Out!” It coincides with March being the National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.  Come out and enjoy the music from Fishfry, Seth Pettersen, The Vonettes and Deejay Steph. There is no cover, so bring the entire family!

Grapes and Hops is hosting a special event on Sunday, March 19 to help raise funds for FOOD Share featuring music from Crooked Eye Tommy, Jade Hendrix and Mr. O. Tickets are $25; the affair runs 5-9 pm.

To what was once home to the legendary Beatles that influenced the world with their music, comes a new wave of musicians from the city of Liverpool​. The Falling Doves, Barry Sutton, Cal Ruddy and Sam Rabette (all Liverpool natives) will perform music that inspired American rock n roll. There’ll be music from The Beatles, The La’s,  as well as their own compositions. ​Catch them on their Liverpool Legends Tour at Oxnard’s Copper Blues​​ March 24th.

The Cask Alehouse is offering up music for the East Enders here in Ventura.  They’re located at 5952 Telegraph Road.  You’ll find live music on Thursday nights at 8 pm.  They’ll have Soul 4 II on March 16th, Frank Barajas on the 23rd and Lee Koch on the 30th.

There will be a Nat King Cole birthday celebration at Squashed Grapes on Friday, March 17 with Tilford Jackson and Friends; the Doug Webb group featuring Danny Carey of TOOL returns Saturday March 18; and the Denny Seiwell Trio featuring founding member of Paul McCartney and Wings will be there on Saturday, March 25.

And finally, my radio show, “The Pam Baumgardner Mostly Local Music Hour” on KPPQ-LP 104.1 FM is starting to generate interest.  I’m spinning tunes Tuesdays 5-6 pm with songs from Lee Koch and the Grinders, Bruce Forman, Joaquin Peck, Shelby Figueroa, Jade Hendrix, New Liberty, the Galactic Polecats, Brent Franklin, Dona Oxford and more. The station has been rebroadcasting the show during the week, so be sure to check in often for our local talent.

Do you have any music-related news or upcoming shows you want help publicizing? Or would you like to submit your music for possible inclusion on my radio show? Please send all information short or long to [email protected], and for updated music listings daily, go to www.VenturaRocks.com.

Seniors swing into action to prevent scams

Peggy Younes was asked “Are you the lady of the house?”

by Lori Harasta

Scammed!  “How could I have fallen for it?” Peggy Younes asked herself as she hung up the phone.  The next day she found herself testifying about her experience at the Stop Senior Scams presentation at Cypress Place Senior Living in Ventura.

The Stop Senior Scams Acting Program is a series of skits, cleverly and humorously presented by professional actors that tell tales of one scam after another.  There’s the “Grandparent” scam, the “IRS” scam, and the “Sweetheart” scam.  The latter is when someone reads an obituary, shows up at the door of the surviving spouse and claims he/she knows the deceased, wooing and deceiving the grieving mate.

Then there’s the “Yes” scam.  A cold-caller asks, “Are you the lady of the house?” or “Are you the homeowner?” or “Can you hear me?”  The idea is to get you to say “Yes”. A recording of your “yes” could be used as “proof” that you signed up for a product or service or authorized the use of your credit card.

At the end of the Stop Senior Scams Acting Program, Director Adrienne Omansky encouraged Peggy to stand up and tell her story to the audience.

“It was a cruise scam.  They called and told me I had won a $5,000.00 travel package!  All I needed to do was present a voided check for confirmation. After talking for a while to two very charming ladies, they passed me off to the “certified confirmation officer” who asked what the routing number was on my check, and then kindly requested the nine numbers that followed.  Those guys were good! I’ve never fallen for a scam before!”

Fortunately, with Peggy’s fast thinking, there was a happy ending.  She googled the name of the company and nearly fainted when the word “scam” showed up in the search box.  She quickly called her bank, which immediately closed her account and opened a new one for her.

According to Director Omansky, “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.  We’re all vulnerable. We all need to help each other.”  The actors have all been scammed themselves, a key motivator in their desire to spread the word about how to avoid falling victim.

To report senior scams, call Adult Protective Services (APS) at 654-3200.

 

Market Match and Cal-Fresh (SNAP) programs prove successful

Both shoppers and California farmers are benefitting from the Market Match and the Cal-Fresh (SNAP) food programs offered by the Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association (VCCFM).  Market Match is California’s healthy food incentive program, which uses grant dollars to match or double a portion of the customers’ federal nutrition assistance benefits, like Cal-Fresh (SNAP), for the exclusive purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables at their certified farmers’ market.

The Market Match program is available at three Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Markets:  the Midtown Ventura Certified Farmers’ Market held on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pacific View Mall, the Downtown Ventura Certified Farmers’ Market held on Saturday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon held in the City Parking Lot, at Santa Clara & Palm Streets and the Thousand Oaks Certified Farmers’ Market held at The Oaks Shopping Center, east end parking lot at Wilbur Road and Thousand Oaks Blvd. from 1:30pm to 6:00pm.

The VCCFM received their first grant last year which will end in Spring 2017 and is applying for another grant which will begin in July to extend their Market Match program for two more years.  “This is a win-win for both our farmers and shoppers who benefit from this program,” stated Karen Schott, Operations Manager for the Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association.  “We have seen over a 100% increase in program utilization since we started offering Market Match and we are delighted to join together in this public health partnership,” she continued.

According to VCCFM officials, Market Match has helped the VCCFM markets by alerting Cal-Fresh/SNAP recipients that they can utilize their benefits at a farmers’ market while providing greater affordability for their families with the added grant benefits.  VCCFM notes that California farmers are benefitting by the increasing market sales and the opportunity to introduce new customers to the benefits of purchasing fresh, local produce.  All Cal-Fresh/SNAP and Market Match benefits are administered through a token system available at the VCCFM Market Information Booths. The markets also accept the WIC (Women, Infants and Child) food programs at each of their locations, although there is not an established matching grant program for the WIC recipients at this time. “Expanding the WIC program will be our next goal in the process,” added Schott.

For more information on the Market Match Program or on the Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association call 529-6266 or visit www.vccfarmersmarkets.com.

Dabster Arts offers affordable weekly classes, workshops and artist retreats

Dabster Arts offers a variety of affordable weekly classes, workshops and artist retreats. Their programs are designed for individuals to learn diverse artistic processes and subjects from credentialed instructors and master artists. Their master artist instructors and unique venue provide a one of kind learning atmosphere.

Two of the most popular classes are Figure Drawing on the first Saturday of every month and Visual Journaling offered once every other month.

Figure drawing  is a guided instruction figure drawing class. In this life drawing class, students can learn simple and effective drawing figure drawing techniques. Each student will be given ample time to study the shapes, values and edges of the figure and explore different techniques.

Visual journaling is about connecting with your inner you. The beauty of visual journaling is that anything goes. It’s a place where you can express and explore your feelings through images, writing, and just playing with the materials. It’s about rediscovering creativity as play. It’s about expressing your authentic self.

1793 E Main St.  626-8876.

Buena High student was the Irish Belle

Amber Nozzi is a scholar-athlete.

Amber Nozzi  served as this year’s Irish Belle for the 2017 County Ventura St. Patrick’s Day Parade..

Amber is a senior at Buena High School. She is a scholar-athlete who played volleyball at Buena all four years and will be graduating in June with summa cum laude honors. Nozzi is involved in her school’s Renaissance Leadership program that recognizes and rewards students for their academic achievements and improving school culture and climate. She also is active in the California Scholarship Federation and Habitat for Humanity.

Nozzi is a teacher in the children’s ministry at New Life Community Church in Oxnard and in the fall will attend Westmont College and major in business and economics.

Her duties as the parade’s 6th Irish Belle were to attend promotional activities supporting the parade and to ride in the convertible that leads the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Committee entry.

County Grand Jury has commended VCMC

The Ventura County 2016-2017 Grand Jury has issued a report on the accreditation status of the Ventura County Medical Center.  At the Joint Commission’s last full survey in June, 2014 the hospital was approved for 3 years, the maximum allowed. Subsequent follow-up reports have demonstrated satisfactory performance.

The Grand Jury report commended the Ventura County Medical Center for its performance and dedication to improving the quality of patient care.

Ventura County Jewish Film Festival

Ventura County Jewish Film Festival wound up its 14th annual  season this month with a screening of the award winning short  film “A Children’s Song” a  heartwarming story that delved into the history of Jews fleeing from Nazis at the outbreak of World War II, and settling in Shanghai.

Stars of the film showed up for a Q and A, included  actor comedian Lee Lawrence, ten year old ViviAnn Yee, and 11-year-old Adam Chernick, with Ventura Temple Beth Torah compere Ivor Davis.

Whimsical art of Jane Peterson at H Gallery+Studios

The whimsical art of Jane Peterson can be seen at her studio-gallery located at  H Gallery+Studios located at 1793 E. Main. Peterson holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa, and her work can be seen in collections from coast to coast. She works in an assortment of mediums, ranging from paint, oil, watercolor, wood, ceramic (mixed-media), sculpture, and photography.

Celebrating my hubbies birthday in the Ventura Harbor

That’s Jennifer with her arm around the birthday boy.

by Jennifer Tipton

The Ventura Harbor has several top picks for dining out for my husband’s birthday we chose Brophy Bros. one of his favorites. Sunday, March 5th was my husband’s 60th birthday.

Part of the charm of Brophy’s is certainly the ambiance. You can choose to sit inside in a cozy booth or the  bar and enclosed outdoor patio both which have beautiful views of the harbor.

I reached out to Brophy’s several weeks ago to arrange a surprise birthday dinner. Kerry was amazing at communicating with me via email. She put a special menu together and offered suggestions for my vegan friends. Kerry wanted to be sure all food would come out at the same time for such a large group. A special table was set up for us out on the patio and there were heat lamps as the evening was a bit chilly.

Two servers split the table down the middle. The service was outstanding! The drinks kept coming, waters were refilled and bread baskets replaced (which wasn’t easy because the sourdough is super yummy and at least one friend is a “breadie” ).

Brophy Bros. is primarily a seafood restaurant however there are a variety of choices on the menu. My husband’s favorite is the shrimp and crab salad. Kerry added that to our custom menu.

Back to our party … yes, all the food came out at the same time. They did a plate of grilled veggies for our vegan friends. The servers knew who ordered what even though some of us were trading places at the table not in an effort to confuse them but to visit with those at the opposite end of the table. The servers kept up! A special shout out to one of our servers, Tyler. He presented the cake with candles lit and sang with us. Although it was more work for them, checks were separate as we requested.

Hard work must pay off because Kerry tells me Tyler is now the weekend manager Saturday and Sunday afternoons.