Wednesday night I took part in one of the most interesting public meetings in a long time.  Sponsored by the City of Ventura, nearly 150 people showed up to consider, and plan, what the future of downtown Ventura will look like.  Starting with a grant from somewhere (my mind was on the doing not the doers) enabled city staff, along with a gaggle of consultants to present participants with a real life Monopoly board from which to create a new reality - the city of the future.  The main topic was - which part of the 101 freeway should be covered, to help make downtown Ventura connect to the beach, which were disconnected in the early 1960’s when the Ventura Highway was built.

I’m looking forward to what becomes of the 15-18 large scale drawings that were submitted by participants who, at the end of the evening, each presented their visions of the future.  Don’t hold your breath - this process will take 10-25 years…ugh.

 

Ever wonder how far south white sharks, great white sharks travel?  It’s a question all west coast surfers ask regularly, as they tell themselves it’s the Central Coast, or maybe down to Orange County, but no further.  Well now we have some evidence that shows whites go way down to mainland Mexico.  The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a link to a site that has been tracking the Aquarium’s recently released juvenile shark as it heads south for warmer weather, or maybe it’s for swimmers without wetsuits.  Use the animation to see how fast this pup can swim.  YIKES!  http://las.pfeg.noaa.gov/TOPP/sp41_anm.html

Sunday is when I get my fingers into the dirt around the garden.  I’ve been thinking about making an impromptu greenhouse so I can grow indoor plants behind the garage and came across this video while doing my research.  Too cool.  http://thegreenhouse.gardenfork.tv/forum/topic/show?id=1359573%3ATopic%3A4393&page=1&commentId=1359573%3AComment%3A9053&x=1#1359573Comment9053

  Tracy Ullman is coming back to television with a new sketch commedy Tracy Ullman’s State of the Union.  Ullman, the best female voice impersonator on the planet and a recent convert to U.S. citicenship, will be on Showtime Sundays at 10pm. (you might remember that the Simpsons premiered on her show back in 1987).  Here’s an early clip of that http://youtube.com/watch?v=pge8YXIaTU0

Seventy One percent of the 4,845 people arrested in Ventura County last year for being under the influence of a narcotic had methamphetamine in their system, reports Tom Kisken in Sunday’s Ventura County Star.  Yet, funding has been flat and the Governor has proposed a 10% cut in Prop 36 funding, which treats such patients.  All the talk about public safety must include the sidebar that preventative measures and treatment for addicts will help all the money spend on law enforcement because when done well, they lessen the number of criminals who tend to cause crime (theft, violence, etc…).  Read the story here  http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/mar/30/an-unmet-need/, then email Gov. Arnold here http://gov.ca.gov/interact.  Be prepared for a form letter reply that doesn’t exactly address your concern. 

While we’re on the topic, it looks like Ventura County Sheriff/Police services overtime pay for 2006-2007 was ten times what was approved in the budget (see line three of page two at http://auditor.countyofventura.org/budget08/AB08PDF/police_08.pdf) and 25% higher than the previous year’s actual amount of $7.9 million.   Why would officials budget less than a $1 million for this?

  Mia Farrow, actor in more than 40 films and mother to fifteen children , has a new idea - boycott the Olympics.  Specifically, she is suggesting a boycott of the Opening Ceremonies of the Games and all commercials to protest China’s: Treament of it’s own people, the people of Tibet, and for funding the Sudanese government’s genocide in the Darfur region.  Sounds like a plan.  Let the games not begin begin Aug 8!  Read more at http://miafarrow.org/

Monday, our friend Robin Prentice unexpectedly died.  A wonderful person, mother to three and devoted wife of my buddy Jeff, left us just one day after her own father died.  It’s too much grief for such a wonderful family to bear.  Tomorrow is the funeral and many people we know are still numb.  Including Tina and me.

Robin and Jeff are the quintessential family - good friends who will do anything for you, great kids who adore their parents, great fun to be around.  It’s a crying shame.

She will be missed.

While Catching up on some reading, I found some items worth a mention: L.A. CityBeat’s 3rd Degree interview with Jacob Weisberg, editor of Slate, who says that  the president was” too incurious, too agreessively ignorant about things” when Weisberg covered the candidate back in  2000.   www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/jacob_weisberg/6807/

Pasadena Weekly’s Cover package on Water issues - Pharmaceuticals infiltrating drinking water,  deserts creeping towards us and how grey water might be a clear alternative.  http://pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/drip_dry/5801/

San Diego CityBeat’s Political Lunacy column by Carl Luna, who counts the various costs of the war at year five:  Four short of 4,000 U.S. dead; $700 billion - with estimates upwards of total nearing $3 trillion when all is accounted for (the U.S reportedly spent $3.2 trillion to stop Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito in WWII) etc… Yuck!  http://sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/light_the_candles/6748/

Wednesday afternoon, a few dozen people gathered at a corner of Ventura High to protest the Iraq occupation and to mark the fifth anniverary of this event.  Some numbers include nearly 4,000 Americans dead - well over 30,000 injured - tens of thousands of Iraqis dead, estimates of between 1.5 and 3 trillion dollars spent on this effort extending into the next decade… and oil at $105 a barrel.  Wow, it’s truly staggering.  So is this:   Historic Oil Prices:  nominal/adjusted for inflation (2007) - March 19,2008 = $104.48 per barrel

1991	$20.20	$31.15
1992	$19.25	$28.81
1993	$16.75	$24.36
1994	$15.66	$22.19
1995	$16.75	$23.09
1996	$20.46	$27.38
1997	$18.64	$24.40
1998	$11.91	$15.35
1999	$16.56	$20.83
2000	$27.39	$33.39
2001	$23.00	$27.29
2002	$22.81	$26.61
2003	$27.69	$31.62
2004	$37.66	$41.84
2005	$50.04	$53.77
2006	$58.30	$60.73
2007	$64.20	$64.92

    
   

From a City of Ventura Press Release dated March 19, 2008

City of Ventura Executes Immediate Steps to Preserve Fiscal Sustainability

Leaders in the City of Ventura today announced a number of immediate steps they will take to preserve fiscal sustainability in response to the local impact of events and trends in the national and world economies. These immediate recommendations are the acceleration of a budget refinement process that previously sought to reduce City spending midyear by 2 percent - or $1.9 million - along with $1.1 million in savings from postponing or canceling lower priority projects, for a total $3 million spending reduction in the current fiscal year. The budget refinement process included additional cost-saving measures scheduled for implementation in the 2008-2009 fiscal year, starting July 1, 2008. “With housing prices going down and gas prices going up, cities are facing the same challenges as our residents in making ends meet,” said City Manager Rick Cole. “We are acting now to ensure we can sustain vital services for the long run.”

Locally, the economic downturn has affected City revenue through a loss of expected sales tax dollars - currently 10% below projections; decreased property tax from falling home prices - down 24 percent over the prior year; and a decrease in revenue from building permits - down more than 15 percent from expected totals. Liquidity has also been affected; the City of Ventura holds $10 million in what were AAA-rated Bear Stearns investment notes.

City Manager Cole, after consulting Mayor Christy Weir and the city’s executive leadership team, will execute an immediate hiring freeze, with exceptions requiring City Council approval, and will promptly meet with all City bargaining units to seek full support, involvement and ideas for addressing this fiscal challenge.