Making Waves

GREAT NEWS for my group the Serra Cross Conservancy, which owns the Father Serra Cross and one acre of land surrounding it in Ventura's Grant Park. We've scored a bit of a coup.

In a time when fundraising for all non-profits is rather slow, we've found an incredible opportunity to improve the area from an international society of stonemasons who will hold their annual workshop and symposium in Ventura.

Blessed with the best view in Ventura, our little piece of the park is home to a replica of the cross Father Junipero Serra himself erected in 1782 as a guidepost for travelers looking for the San Buenaventura Mission. Generations of Venturans have maintained this site, which was first privately owned and then donated to the City of Ventura for use as a park. We bought the property in 2003 to save the city from a costly lawsuit over separation-of-church-and-state issues.

Now we're destined to create our own little piece of history with a wonderful project the Stone Foundation, aka the Rocknockers, is leaving behind. From Jan. 8-18, 2010 a Dry Stone Walling Workshop will be held at the site. Led by Jyunji and Suminori Awata, 14th- and 15th-generation stonemasons who specialize in the restoration of medieval Japanese castle walls throughout Japan, the group will build a pair of stone ramparts flanking the stairway descending to the Cross. Joining them will be other stonemasons and students from all over the globe -- Canada, Scotland, France and Spain.

While this portion of Grant Park will be closed to cars during the 10 days the stonemasons are working, the public will be invited to park a bit further away and walk in to observe the proceedings.

Dry stone walling is a technique practiced over thousands of years but which has become somewhat of a dying art, said Tomas Lipps, of Santa Fe, N.M., who is organizing the event. "It is costly because it requires skilled craftsmen," Lipps said. He estimated that the project he and his group propose for the site would cost our group more than $250,000 were we to pay for the stone and labor ourselves.

The 200 tons of sandstone for the project is being donated by Larry Mosler, who owns a quarry in Ojai. "It's a very generous gift," Lipps said.

WHY VENTURA and why Grant Park? Every year the group picks a different locale for their annual gathering. Lipps explained that while working on a public art project in Pasadena in 2003, he lived in Ventura for several months while fabricating the stone elements for the project at Art City Studios with local sculptor Paul Lindhard, who is also involved in organizing the workshop. Lipps was looking for a temperate place to hold a winter workshop and Ventura immediately came to mind.

Lindhard helped pick the Serra Cross site. "You have one of the most magnificent properties in Ventura and any and all work that is put there should be for generations to come," he told our group at a recent meeting.

The walling workshop will precede the main event, International Stonework Symposium 2010, which will be held Jan. 19-23. Another event, this one an Architectural Stone Carving Workshop will take place Jan. 12-18 at Art City Studios. It will be conducted by Colleen Wilson, a master stone carver/sculptor from Canada.

The Stone Foundation will also stage what they call the "Lithic Olympic Games," contests of skill, strength and judgment involving stone-related activities. These will be held at various places around town and the community will be able to watch the stone artisans compete.

Most of the walling workshop students will be young stonemasons, both male and female. Traveling to Ventura and staying here for the duration of the workshop will be financially challenging for them. Several plan to camp near the workshop site, others would benefit from guest housing. Offers of housing from the community will be appreciated as well as donations for food and drink for the workers and incidental materials.

For more information on the group's activities go to http://www.stonefoundation.org/.

For more on the Serra Cross Conservancy, go to http://www.serracrosspark.org/.

A FINAL NOTE: I am putting the blog on hiatus after this entry. Recent outside work commitments have made it too difficult for me to monitor and update it on a regular basis. Thanks for reading. It's been fun.

OUR NEW DEPUTY MAYOR Mike Tracy is a good guy. Highly likable and blessed with humility, this former Ventura Chief of Police was the top vote getter in the November election. He ran a good, positive campaign and he and his wife, Linda, a popular former teacher, are a great asset to our community.

"During the campaign I made it real clear one thing I pledged to do was try to do the right thing for Ventura and make the decisions that will serve the majority of the people of this town on a consistent basis," Tracy said.

It's a daunting time to be a freshman councilmember and mayor in training. After $11 million in recent budget cuts, the city is poised to cut as much as $4 million more, which will likely mean layoffs, one city employee recently told me.

And so I hope Mike brings with him the courage he had as the city's top cop. He will need it. Difficult decisions will need to be made. Being a councilmember, especially in recessionary times, means making the hard calls even if a vocal minority is challenging you to do otherwise. It means evaluating staff recommendations by asking tough questions. It means staying on top of the impacts of current state laws and regulations and wading through mountains of information. And it means spending a lot of time out in the community and listening.

BEST WISHES ALSO go to our new Mayor Bill Fulton, a very bright and studied individual who makes well-reasoned decisions. He knows he's got a tough job to do.

"Before the hard times are done we're going to have to absorb some more blows," Fulton said. "We're going to have to work together more as a community than we ever have before. ... We sort of assume that since this is such a wonderful place and everything's been so good for so long, it will somehow work out in the end. ..." he added.

The collective energy in this town is an amazing thing, if only it could always be channeled in a positive direction, as our new mayor asks.

Good luck to our council in this effort.

FACING A SHORTAGE of veterans' facilities, our state just took another step at helping to meet the needs of our servicemen and women with the opening of the Veteran's Home of California - Ventura today.

The facility is just a mile from my East Ventura home and I attended the event today along with many other folks eager to get a look at the new facility as well as Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggger, who announced just yesterday he would attend. I am not sure when I've seen that many camera crews in one place before in Ventura.

But I was glad to see the attention drawn here because our state really does need more of these facilities, especially those with skilled nursing services. While the Ventura facility doesn't offer these particular services, there is room to expand the $26-million home and add them if money becomes available. The Telephone Road home has room for 60 residents who are 62 years or older.

Other facilities are expected to open in W. Los Angeles, Fresno and Redding.

"It's an especially great day to be a veteran living in Ventura County," said Roger Brautigan, the secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs. "It's all about promises made and promises kept."

For video of the event including a ribbon cutting with our Mayor Christy Weir, go here.

P.S. Just for fun, see if you can name the Who's Who of local Republican politicians up on stage in the photo at top.

At right is the largest flag I have ever seen.

WITH THE PASSAGE of the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) and the subsequent SB 375, the nation's first law to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by curbing sprawl, California communities are now grappling with how to reduce 5 million metric tons of emissions by the year 2020.

California is now the 12th largest emitter of carbon in the world.

"SB 375 recognizes that we can't achieve our 2020 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets (1990 levels by 2020) on fuel and efficiency alone," Ventura City Manager Rick Cole explained. "With a rising population driving more, the improvements with alternative fuels and better gas mileage are eroded too much to get down to 1990 levels."

So regional efforts are afoot to draw local governments together to work out targeted goals which will affect urban planning efforts throughout the state. Infill strategies centered around putting businesses and homes near public transit will reduce the number of cars on roads and freeways. SB 375 will have profound effects on where we live and work in the future. But the implementation won't be easy.

"This is largely an issue of political will," Cole said. In addition to local governments, the public must also embrace this effort

The Compact for a Sustainable Ventura County is one such attempt at drawing the public into the debate. The Compact is a partnership of 10 cities, the county and various agencies, along with the Southern California Association of Governments. The group has been conducting workshops and facilitating the dialogue on how we plan for a greener future.

Ventura is actually ahead of the game. Save Our Agricultural Resources (SOAR) and the hillside protection ordinance have already curbed sprawl in our city. Our Midtown and Victoria Corridor codes have encouraged pedestrian-friendly infill planning near office and living areas.

OUR TOWN IS ALSO THE SUBJECT of a group project conducted by master's students at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at UCSB. The Community Greenhouse Gas Solutions Group Project is looking at efficient, cost-effective ways to reduce GHG emissions at the community scale, an effort which is very timely given the goals of the recent legislation.

I watched the group's presentation at a recent well-attended Green Coalition meeting in Ventura. The crowd was a Who's Who of local environmental activists and policymakers.

Ventura was picked for the study because of its proximity to UCSB and characteristics that make it a typical California community, the students explained. We are also one of the few communities which has already conducted a GHG inventory for municipal operations and our city staff is motivated to work on reducing emissions.

According to the Bren inventory, transportation is the largest source of GHGs in Ventura, followed by electricity, natural gas and waste. Our city emitted just under 800,000 metric tons of GHGs in 2007.

The Bren students are developing an original software program for California communities to use to reduce their carbon footprints and will present solutions specifically tailored to Ventura. The work is due to be completed by April.

UPDATE: I've posted an excellent document for all you global warming skeptics:

CopenhagenDiagnosisLClimChLOWRes.pdf

OK WRIGHT LIBRARY FANS, I'm as sad as you are that the facility closed today. Maybe sadder.

BUT -- for the same reason I decided not to allow a laundry list of unsubstantiated and false charges of fiscal mismanagement in the county library system to be posted on this blog, I am also not allowing anyone to post a list of businesses we should boycott because they opposed Measure A.

It's time to move on. No more finger pointing and I include myself in this. Constructive comments only please.

Who knew libraries would fuel such passions?

May the joys of the upcoming holiday season fill your thoughts instead.

Marie

PASTOR SAM GALLUCCI called me early this morning. Worry colored his voice. After months of dotting every I and crossing every T, endless fundraising, outreach and lots of prayer, his beloved Kingdom Center project for the homeless was on the verge of getting final approval from the Ventura Planning Commission. Yet, he had hit a snag.

It seems a certain neighboring and rather powerful law firm was kicking up a fuss over the project. And despite having the considerable legal muscle of the Ventura County District Attorney and incoming Ventura Police Chief on his side, a recent meeting with the lawyers left this tireless advocate for the homeless even more disconcerted.

"Come out and support the project tonight," Sam asked. The most persuasive guy in Ventura, Pastor Sam of the Harbor Church could sell me swampland. He can even get me to sit through a long, long Planning Commission meeting.

As it turned out, Sam's worries were for nothing. To a standing-room only crowd, the commission unanimously approved a conditional use permit, variance and coastal development permit for the project located in the old City Center Motel at 837 Thompson Blvd.

"This is God's work you're doing," Commission Chair Martin Johnson told him. "This is really, really something."

I'VE BEEN A BIG cheerleader for this project since I discovered it last summer. And it is heartening to see the groundswell of support come for it from every corner of the community. Thirty local churches representing 20,000 people have signed on to help renovate the formerly run-down motel which sits right in the middle of an area frequented by much of the city's homeless population. 

The 30 transitional units will house individuals who are looking for a way out of their situation. The program will be run by Lutheran Social Services and will have 24-hour on-site professional security.  A separate daytime outreach program will operate between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. "What we provide is an alternative during the day to where they already are -- sleeping in yards, hanging around in neighborhoods," Gallucci said.

"It's well thought out," the pastor said of the project while pointing to his already existing program for the homeless at the Harbor Church on Preble Ave. "The current program is operating very successfully next to an elementary school and a day care," he added.

Yet the Kingdom Center had a few detractors tonight -- nearby property and business owners and the aforementioned law firm who voiced fears about some negative behaviors among the local homeless population and wanted assurances their concerns would be addressed.

However, as many others pointed out, these issues existed long before the project took shape. "The area around this project will never be safer than when we are there," Gallucci said.

"I think this is a wonderful thing," Commissioner Dan Long said. "They've got all their ducks in a row now."

The project's approval brought cheers and many smiling faces from the large crowd of local pastors and others who had gathered. The Harbor Church's work in uniting the faith community around this project has been precedent setting.

The first residents will move in soon. "We want to help 12 families get in by Christmas," Gallucci said.

To donate to the project, go here.

WITH LITTLE DISCUSSION, the Ventura City Council tonight pulled the plug on the very successful Medic Engine 10 and the Downtown foot patrol.

The two programs were cut in the city's Budgeting for Outcomes process earlier this year, but were subject to temporary bridge funding from reserves pending the outcome of Measure A and the receipt of possible federal stimulus money from a COPS grant. More than $11 million was trimmed from the city's budget and all employees took pay or benefit cuts.

As we all know, Measure A, the 1/2-percent sales tax increase, did not pass and the city did not receive the anticipated federal funds, either.

Full-time annual funding was estimated to be $180,000 for Medic Engine 10 and $600,000 for the foot patrol.

Despite all the public speakers and heated campaign rhetoric before the election, firefighter Ben Davis was the lone person to fill out a speaker card on the demise of these two successful programs. Even Council candidate Brian Lee Rencher, who spoke out so loudly and forcefully against the sales tax measure and put up a great majority of the No on A signs, was noticeably absent tonight after nearly perfect attendance in recent weeks.

The innovative roving Medic Engine 10 program ran at about a third of the cost of a fully staffed, built and equipped facility, Davis said, and reduced the city's response times by about 10 percent. "It proved to be very effective and will be missed," he said.

"When we lose four police officers and three firefighters that means people [won't be] on the street helping your citizens out," Davis said.

"It literally means that lives will be lost in the city."

I RECEIVED WORD TODAY that with the failure of Measure A on Tuesday, the San Buenaventura Friends of the Library have given up their valiant but unsustainable private fundraising efforts to keep Wright Library afloat.

"We can no longer keep the staff at Wright on tenterhooks wondering if this month will be the last," said Berta Steele of San Buenaventura Friends of the Library. "The Save Wright Library Campaign raised over $100,000 and was able to forestall the closing of Wright until the end of this month. However, the electorate has spoken and the library will close."

The Wright, which is operated by the Ventura County Library System, was targeted for closure by the county in an effort to consolidate and save money it doesn't have any more. A smaller facility than the E.P. Foster Library Downtown, it's unable to house the collections of both libraries and does not have a meeting room or computer center. The much smaller Avenue Library receives money from federal sources.

In flusher times, the City of Ventura has been able to step in to rescue library services. But after trimming $11 million out of the current two-year budget and asking employees to take salary and benefit cuts, the money is not there.

There was some question as to whether the hours at both libraries could be cut back even more to save both, but that is apparently not an option any more. The Wright is the most popular library in the city, with a circulation of 210,556.

Part of the revenues from Measure A were earmarked for the library and the Friends were pinning their hopes on the ballot measure's passage to save it.

The group put up a commendable fight to save their beloved library and I really feel for the patrons, both young and old, who consider it a home away from home. It will be missed.

I CAN'T HELP BUT WONDER exactly what we gained after that municipal election we just had. For my part it was just a sore throat from too much time on the phone reminding folks to vote. With county turnout at just 27 percent, I am underwhelmed by the sense of civic responsibility.

Yes, after all that money spent by 15 candidates and three measures and their matching opposition groups, we got squat.

For those calling for change on the City Council, you gained a likable former police chief and lost a business and financial expert. I don't expect the votes while on the Council to be very different between the two men.

For Wright Library supporters, you lost a chance to keep your facility open through the revenue Measure A would've brought. And our city's innovative Medic Engine 10 and Downtown foot patrols could go away as well. But the no voters will get to keep their roughly 18 cents a day.

For Measure B supporters, your activism forced the city's hand to form its own View Protection Task Force, which likely helped kill your measure but saved the city from probable legal action if B had passed.

To our Measure C folks: the city's own General Plan guidelines for that area as implemented through our new Victoria Corridor code will prevent Wal-Mart from super-sizing its planned smaller store in the former K-Mart site. But I still won't shop there.

And to my friends on the school board: you worked hard and deserved to retain your seats.

IT'S BEEN MY OBSERVATION that most citizens aren't too dialed into municipal matters and generally dislike ballot initiatives. This election reflected that. The sheer number of candidates and measures required more study than most folks had patience for. When this happens, newspaper endorsements do matter.

Ventura's campaign finance laws keep special interests from controlling elections, unlike our neighbors to the north in Santa Barbara where one well-heeled Texas millionaire threw more than half a million dollars into the pot.

So in this environment it becomes more about established networks and word-of-mouth rather than glossy mailers. Look for a push to change the city's charter regarding Council elections very soon.

And take down those signs.

THERE ARE CERTAIN PEOPLE who come into your life that you realize just fit. I met Mary Haffner back in 2000 when our children's school had been covered in a toxic cloud from a pesticide drift from a neighboring orchard, an incident which I've written about a few times here. My daughter and other children became ill.

Enraged, I alerted every media outlet I could find. The story ended up on the front page of the Los Angeles Times.

Enraged, Mary organized parents, held meetings and helped spearhead legislation later carried by then-Assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson to stop this from happening again.

Used to operating independently on various activist endeavors, we discovered each other one day with a mutual exclamation of "OK, you were the one who did that. I was wondering."

Three years later Mary called me to co-chair a group she wanted to start to raise money for the Ventura Unified School District. Save Our Schools raised thousands of dollars, sponsored many education rallies and helped bring our highly successful School Resource Officer program back to our campuses.

In 2005 my friend told me she wanted to run for school board here in Ventura and I enthusiastically agreed she would do a fine job. In the past four years she has already been elevated to the position of president. I am proud of her accomplishments and I heartily support her re-election.

The only school board member with children in the district, Mary is a devoted mother of three who manages to do it all and do it all well. An attorney, Mary has also been a strong voice for sustainability and environmental stewardship. As a board member, Mary helped to draft Ventura Unified's Green Schools Resolution -- a statement of Ventura Unified's commitment to sustainability and the promotion of policies and actions that help our district tread more lightly on the earth.

In alignment with this philosophy, Mary serves as the board representative on the Ventura Unified Green Schools Committee and is the Chair of the Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance.

In these tough budget times for our schools, she has shown exemplary leadership. And Ventura schools have weathered this storm better fiscally than most surrounding districts. Our API scores have increased every year since 2002.

But on a more personal note, she has been a wonderful friend. Like any two strong, independent women, we've had our little spats, but we always find our way back to each other because in this life you always need somebody who really understands you.

On Nov. 3, cast your vote for Mary Haffner and by doing so you will also be helping the children of Ventura.

For an interview with Mary on CAPS-TV, go here.