THERE ARE THINGS that happen to us every now and then which make us realize just how quirky and delightful this town really is.

My daughter and I are inveterate shoppers of Ventura's Downtown boutiques. Our favorite is Le Monde Emporium on Main Street, home to great fashion and equally great prices. It's located in an old building which has housed many businesses over the years.

Several months ago, while picking through the sales racks in the very upper reaches of the second story of the store, we heard an eerie noise coming from the wall. It was an odd kind of sound, sort of like somebody screaming at us from down a hall.

Returning to the bottom floor of the store, I mentioned the noise to the saleswoman. "I think you have a ghost up there," I joked.

"I know," she said, and proceeded to tell us about purses that fell off racks by themselves, merchandise which was found out of place overnight and a carpenter who "felt something pass right through him" when he was working on the upper floor.

In fun, I mentioned to the woman that I knew of a ghost hunter who lived in town and that maybe I could convince him to check the place out. Giggling, we walked out into the sunshine and ran smack into our local ghost hunter, Richard Senate, coming out of Tipps Thai Cuisine.

IT WAS FATE.

Now I know Richard a bit from the various local historical groups I am involved with. He's a delight and one of those folks who just makes life more interesting for the rest of us. If you haven't taken one of his ghost tours arranged through the City of Ventura, do it. He weaves interesting local historical tidbits in with the ghostliness and it's fascinating.

Richard, always amenable to a ghostly adventure, agreed to accompany us back to Le Monde. Once entering the door, he told us of the history of the building and of a certain spirit who has been making appearances in that very spot for years.

Now I'm not sure I really believe in all this stuff, but it's fun nonetheless. Where else but in Downtown Ventura would you get a ghost story thrown in with your shopping?

And it's just one more reason why I love this town.

On Saturday at 8 p.m., Richard Senate will be giving a special ghost tour of City Hall. Tickets can be purchased by calling Community Services at 658-4726. The tour will start promptly at 8 p.m.

SOMETIMES IT IS NECESSARY to go out of your comfort zone when it comes to advocating for what you believe in. Five years ago I, along with many other Ventura parents who had never been politically active before, formed a group called Save Our Schools to deal with impending education budget cuts. We raised money and later held a rally at the Ventura County Government Center that drew nearly 1,000 people.

Here we are five years later in the same leaky boat. I'm a true believer that every child deserves a chance to succeed and that it is our responsibility as a great and moral country to adequately fund public education. Our governor's current proposed cut of $4.8 billion to our schools fails to do that.

Our schools do miraculous things with the resources they have, and yet I am tired of hearing teachers tell me they spend thousands of their own dollars to buy supplies for their classrooms, that they can't adequately reach all children with these often huge class sizes and that there is not enough funding for P.E., libraries, counseling, technology, music and art. I am sick of watching our kids go door to door hawking cookie dough just to raise money for a field trip.

We are 46th in the nation in per pupil funding. This is all despite the fact that California has a relatively high capacity to fund its schools, as measured by per capita personal income. Our governor recently commissioned a group of experts to propose dramatic education reform. This committee concluded we need to spend another $10.5 billion in this state just to get the job done right. Yet our governor decided to take away $4 billion instead.

SO WE ARE GOING to rally again. Please join us on Friday, April 18 at the Buena High School Quad at 4 p.m. We're going to have a spirited event with many speakers including Assemblyman Pedro Nava, State Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson, Congressional candidate Jill Martinez, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Chuck Weis, Ventura Superintendent Trudy Arriaga, Ventura Board of Education President John Walker, Ventura Board of Education Vice President Mary Haffner, Ventura County Board of Education Trustee ML Peterson, VUEA President Stephen Blum, and California Teachers Association Secretary Dan Vaughn. We will announce more important speakers and entertainment as the event draws closer. Please check back here for updates.

I am calling on everyone who cares about the future of our children to attend this rally and show their support. We need to make our voices heard all the way up to Sacramento. It's that important.

MOST OF US DONATE a little to charity or we volunteer our time somewhere. We feel proud of ourselves knowing that we are helping to make the world a tiny bit better. But every now and then we come across someone who redefines our sense of humanity and makes our contributions seem small. I met someone like this last fall. Her name is Sherry Cash.

It is Sherry's volunteer mission to help the humans that many of us shun -- the homeless, drug- and alcohol-addicted souls who are an uneasy fixture in our Downtown. Since 2003 she's shuttled them to doctor's appointments and homeless shelters. She buys them clothes, helps them sign up for medical and social services, drives them to detox centers and, most of all, she's been a friend when there was nobody else.

Getting these folks off the streets and to a place where they can help themselves is her goal. "That's so exciting for me -- when people start taking care of themselves," she said.

I recently spent a sunny Tuesday morning with Sherry. Her mission that day was to get medicine for a homeless woman who spends most of her days in Plaza Park. The woman can often be found crouching on the sidewalk, a position, Sherry explained, which is comfortable for her because she had been beaten and her hips did not heal properly. "Everyone's given up on her and that's exactly why I don't," Sherry told me.

Ghosts from the past haunt Sherry a bit -- a childhood spent with alcoholic family members, nights spent sleeping in a car and, most poignantly, a brother who died a year and a half ago after a life of alcoholism and homelessness.

BUT SHERRY REMAINS unfailingly upbeat and has had great successes. She tells the story of one man who was in the last stages of alcoholism and living in the park. "His stomach was distended, he'd lost control of his bowels. ... Now he's home with his brother, six months sober."

She's proud of the recent strides Ventura has made to help end homelessness and has volunteered for every effort. There is the Ventura Social Services Task Force, of which she's on the steering committee; new is the Sober Network, an effort to get alcoholics and drug addicts the help they need. The city has also joined forces with the county in the 10-Year Strategy to End Homelessness.

"We've advanced so far that now people are talking about us," she said.

Sherry is especially proud of the new One Stop Center adjacent to the Ventura County Medical Center and gave me a tour. "I could just cry. Isn't this heaven?" she exclaimed while looking around the room at the various stations set up to help people find medical, alcohol and drug, housing, and social services.

Kate Mills, the program administrator for the county's Health Care for Homeless program, said most visitors to the center, open every Tuesday from 10 a.m.- 1 p.m., are looking for housing. "Medical is low on the list. They're trying to get to a safe environment."

Mills praised Sherry's efforts. "I think she knows everybody. People who have problems turn to her." But she and others worry a bit about their friend. "She stretches herself really thin. If she's not here (at the One Stop Center), she's in the park."

Sherry's volunteer workload has been lightened since the city recently hired Ken Belden to do outreach to the homeless population Downtown. She dreams of opening a detox center like Santa Barbara's for chronic alcoholics. But as long as there are people in need, Sherry will be there.

"Mother Theresa said 'Walk out your back door,' " she explained.

Somewhere Mother Theresa is smiling at Sherry Cash.

For further information about the Ventura Social Services Task Force, call (805) 212-4856. You can donate to the Ventura Homeless Prevention Fund via the United Way. Make a check payable to UWVC/VHPF and mail to: United Way of Ventura County, 1317 Del Norte, Suite 100, Camarillo, CA 93010.

BELT-TIGHTENING measures are coming a bit earlier than expected to the City of Ventura.

The City Council recently made a series of mid-year cuts totaling $3 million. But already-planned measures to trim city services for the 2008-09 fiscal year budget in July were moved up for consideration earlier amid unsettling financial news.

"Sales tax continues to sink as consumers pull back from their equity-fueled overextension," City Manager Rick Cole said. "But the big dip is building permits which have nosedived -- and we expect planning permits to follow.

"What's even more significant is the element of risk," Cole said. "Until recently, we had a reasonable degree of confidence that we were looking at worst case. Now the bottom has fallen out of the worst case scenario. With the sudden meltdown of Northern Rock in England and Bear Stearns here, the potential for a deep plunge, while still remote, is no longer implausible. So we are preparing not just for what we currently project, but what very well could happen -- even after the budget is adopted."

This city is also certain to feel the repercussions from the housing bust as default and foreclosure rates climb. Experts are predicting a surge in applications for assessment reductions to the County Tax Assessor's office, with an accompanying decline in property tax collections.

THE COUNCIL WILL CONVENE April 1 for a special budget session to look at the $4 million in across-the-board cost-cutting measures already proposed and further reductions.

New to the table are an immediate hiring freeze, possible layoffs or deferral of raises, the closing of City Hall every other Friday to save energy costs, the furlough of non-safety and maintenance operations staff and closure of city facilities Dec. 25-Jan. 5, and the further cancellation and postponement of capital projects.

Both Cole and Mayor Christy Weir have mentioned upcoming efforts to educate the public on the impending cuts and the city budgeting process in general. City staff recently invited members of the Chamber of Commerce to work with them on the upcoming fiscal year budget, a process that was well-received by the Chamber, Weir said.

I was happy to hear about the Chamber's inclusion in the budgeting process and I really wish more citizens would take the time to understand how their city government works. As Thomas Jefferson often wrote, democracy cannot function without an informed populace. In uncertain economic times, information is critical.

THE SPECTACLE of the Bus Home sculpture at the forlorn north end of our mall, with its fancifully twisted form now giving way to rust and deterioration, has been a lightning rod of sorts for public criticism of the way our city government operates.

It's taken on the proportions of an urban myth with people crying out incorrectly "The city wasted millions on that sculpture!" I've tackled this topic before in the comments section of this blog, but after reading yet another incorrect accounting of our city's Public Art Program recently, I decided it deserved a blog entry of its own.

Facts: Bus Home cost $164,000, of which the artist was paid a design fee of $42,000. The cost of the entire Bus Transfer Center at the north end of the mall was approximately $2.2 million. This includes bus shelters, the restrooms, bicycle racks and lockers, an information kiosk, lighting, drinking fountains, public art, and landscaping.

The inclusion of a public art piece at the site made the city eligible for a federal grant for the project, paying for the inclusion of public restrooms. Bus Home is inarguably in need of repair these days due to faulty preparation of the piece before painting. The city has recovered $80,000 from the original contractor and fabricator for repairs.

I HAVE A BIT OF A LOVE-HATE view of the city's Public Art Program. There are pieces in the collection which I adore. Of particular note are Larissa Strauss' wonderful mosaic at Marina Park, the top-notch municipal art collection at City Hall, the Streetscape Mural Project, the upcoming Tortilla Flats mural and the "Making Lemonade" sculpture at Thille Park.

My trouble with the program comes in here: The funding mechanism for the projects is so widely misunderstood that I sometimes wonder if the many benefits of having a Public Art Program are outweighed by the often negative public perception that comes with it.

Here's a lesson in Public Art Funding 101: Ventura's Public Art Program was enacted in 1991. It is an actual ordinance allocating 2 percent of eligible Capital Improvement Project (CIP) costs for the commissioning of artist services. Specifically excluded by the Public Art Ordinance are street resurfacing and water and sewer line replacement projects.

The money comes from specific CIP funds and cannot legally be used to pay for police and fire personnel, a suggestion I often hear in the community. (They are paid through the General Fund.) Money which comes from golf fees can only be used for golf areas, such as "The Big Swing" sculpture at the golf course. Sewer and water fees can only go for projects related to sewer and water projects, thus the "Harbor Wetlands" project near the treatment plant, etc.

So the Public Art Fund could never go for police and fire salaries. Now the council could choose to suspend the 1991 ordinance, but the money would only go to Capital Improvement Projects, never to police and fire.

There is a very small amount of money from the General Fund which sometimes goes to Public Art. Last year it was $7,231, according to City Manager Rick Cole.

OK, ARE YOUR EYES GLAZED OVER by that long-winded explanation? Exactly. I think there are only a handful of citizens who actually understand this funding mechanism. So when the city is strapped by a bad economy as it is now, and looks for ways to fund fire and police through new taxes and fees, the cry goes out: "The city wastes money on art. Use that money instead." But the vast majority is locked in by law for capital improvements only.

I asked City Public Art Supervisor Denise Sindelar about the program. She likened it to the Works Progress Administration projects of the 1930s -- "architectural design that is enhanced by an artist's touch."

Ventura's 1991 ordinance, Sindelar said, was actually passed in a period of massive city layoffs.

"They were saying, 'How can we get some art in the public realm without affecting police and fire funding?' This is the most effective way to incorporate it in the public environment."

An injunction and a complaint will be filed tomorrow (3-13-08) against the City of Ventura on behalf of the beachfront homeowners who have sustained damage from the mountains of sand piled up against their homes, according to Rosemary Icardo, one of the homeowners involved in the suit.

Icardo said the homeowners need immediate relief and can't wait for the controversial Sand Management Plan from the Coastal Commission to be implemented this fall. The plan stipulates work must be done between Sept. 15 and May 15 "to avoid impacting visitors, grunion and potential nesting birds." The Planning Commission isn't set to approve the Coastal Permit for the work to begin until May 6, leaving residents no choice but to wait to move sand.

"We need to move forward and September doesn't satisfy us," Icardo said. "I personally see this as a motivator for the city to come to the table with the Pierpont community and negotiate," she added.

Pierpont activist Murray Robertson told me he was hoping to see sand removal issues worked out so legal action wouldn't be necessary.

"That's your taxpayer dollars being wasted. Stupid, stupid, stupid."

I AM TIRED of watching our teachers and kids be used as political ping pong balls in the games they play up in Sacramento.

This is how it goes every time there are state budget troubles: The governor proposes a draconian budget in January which will slash spending across the board and suspend guaranteed Prop. 98 monies, and then nothing is decided by our battling legislators until late in the summer. It puts our schools in the untenable position of having to make budget decisions many months before they will actually know what their funding levels will be.

You see, the deadline for letting teachers know whether or not they will have jobs next year is this Saturday. So classrooms across the state are being dismantled now in anticipation of $4.4 billion in budget cuts. It will be up to school administrators to try to put them back together again next fall if the situation improves.

The Ventura Unified School District Board of Education Tuesday night approved a calculated move to minimize the potential damage of $4 million in budget cuts: the use of one-time funds combined with budget reductions to balance the 2008-09 budget.

The shifting of funds, or "robbing Peter to pay Paul," as Board Member Velma Lomax called it, will still result in the loss of 12 regular education teachers, a decrease in counselors, reduced funding for librarians and technology staff, no funding for any equipment purchases and reduced funding for staff development.

Superintendent Trudy Arriaga called the district's funding strategy "unusual."

"This has happened so fast and so furious we are doing what we can to get by until we have some certainty. You only do this when it's raining, and it's pouring," she said.

IF EDUCATION CUTS CONTINUE in the 2009-10 school year, district officials said, class sizes could increase in all grades, and trimming could be done in athletic programs, counseling, special education, health programs, child care, after-school programs, teacher support, adult education, administration and support staff, maintenance, equipment, supplies, technology and child nutrition services -- basically everything the school district does.

"The following year, we won't be just not fixing things," Arriaga said. "We won't be serving."

California is already 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending. We're $2,000 below the national average, despite being the eighth largest economy in the world. Yet, our governor has proposed spending $800 less per-pupil in his latest budget.

"This budget leaves all children behind," Arriaga said.

With our teachers and students the ping pong balls, I know just what I'd like to do with those paddles. Are you listening, Sacramento?

A short update for those who have asked:

Pierpont homeowners didn't get all the answers they were looking for at Monday night's City Council meeting, but residents and city staff did have the opportunity to provide input on the Coastal Commission's controversial Sand Management Plan and who is responsible for paying to implement it.

City Attorney Ariel Calonne weighed in on who owns the strip of land near the beachfront homes where large, problematic sand dunes are forming: "My job is to advise the city: do you have a duty to remove the sand from along the walls on Shore Drive? My advice is no."

Calonne explained that the city has easement rights only to the area for maintaining public utilities buried underneath. "We don't own the land."

City Engineer Rick Raives told residents that major changes to the plan requiring stabilization of the dune area were not likely to be forthcoming from the Coastal Commission, which is the ultimate arbiter of what's done there. The commission halted the use of heavy equipment on the state-owned beach in 1999. "Most people are looking for us to go back to the way we were so we could have the full recreational beach, and the Coastal Commission over and over has stated that they protect dunes that look worse than these do," Raives said.

Six residences in Newport beach, for instance, were recently fined $45,000 each for leveling a small naturalized dune area, which is protected under the Coastal Act.

A parade of Pierpont residents posed questions to the Council. In order to answer questions more fully, the Council tabled the discussion for a later meeting, possibly in April. It does appear hopeful, however, that the city will be maintaining the lanes and stairs more carefully in the future.

Council members were sympathetic to the many complaints over the Sand Plan, but stressed their hands were tied by the Coastal Commission, which was established in 1976 as part of the Coastal Act to balance the needs of private property owners and the environment.

"There are powerful agencies in this state that have a mandate and a passion that may not be shared by people in this room," City Manager Rick Cole told the crowd.

The Planning Commission is set to weigh in on the Coastal Permit Approval on May 6.

It's time for some contemplation by all. I had a blogger email an interesting suggestion to me tonight: Have the city turn Shore Dr. back into an unpaved road and let the trash trucks and emergency vehicles use it on the beach. Then the city could continue to maintain it and the Coastal Commission would most likely have to approve it. Also this would make a natural buffer between the Pierpont Community and the dunes.

What do you think?

THE VERDICT IS IN: The Ventura Citizens' Organization for Responsible Development (VCORD) has lost both its court and signature recount battle to force a June special election on its view-protection initiative. The measure will instead go on the ballot during the next regular municipal election in November of 2009.

I am glad there is now more than a year and a half to educate the voters on this legally flawed measure, but the postponement may also put property owners in a very long holding pattern. Ironically, it might propel others to get their projects quickly approved before November of 2009, likely not what VCORD had in mind.

Here in a nutshell is what you'll be voting on in 2009: The establishment of a View Resources Board made up of people appointed for the most part by a special interest group. This group would then draft restrictions on building heights which would affect approximately 93 percent of the properties in the city. VCORD was originally set up as a watchdog group to keep buildings from springing up which block views of the hills from the bungalow homes in Midtown.

I called City Attorney Ariel Calonne and asked him to clarify the legalities of the measure. Letting the board of VCORD, a 501 (c)(4) political organization, decide who appoints the View Resources Board violates the City Charter, he said.

"I'm not for or against it," Calonne said of the measure. "I've given an opinion that a lot of it is illegal."

It's like letting the ACLU appoint judges, or letting the AFL-CIO appoint the National Labor Relations Board or ... well, you get the picture.

AND THERE'S MORE. We could wait several years for this narrowly appointed body to make up its mind! If the initiative passes in 2009, a moratorium restricting building heights to just 26 feet will be put in place for up to 2 years until this board is appointed and drafts a view protection ordinance, with the contents still to be determined.

The ordinance is intended as a General Plan amendment, yet the process completely bypasses legally required review by the Planning Commission. Whatever the board comes up with will eventually be voted on by the City Council. If they vote it down, the measure will go to the voters in a far-off municipal election. If that fails, then what?

To their credit, VCORD has exempted a few business areas such as Downtown, Victoria Ave., and the hospital zone. But if you own property in the non-exempt areas of the city, you better get your project significantly through the pipeline well before November of 2009.

And if you're looking at your property as an investment, be aware that potential buyers may already be casting a wary eye your way. If the measure passes in the fall of '09, the city's already established guidelines will then be in limbo and it will be years before you will know what can be built there.

The City Council and a majority of the citizens support protecting public views and the quality of life in Ventura. But this is not the way to do it.

The city attorney's analysis of this measure can be viewed here: Download file

The Community Development Director's analysis of the measure can be found here: Download file

THE NEW 911 FEE will cost my family $89 a year and I'll gladly pay it. That's for one land line, one fax line and three cell phones. I could opt out of the fax line, but I'm not going to.

I'm such a rebel.

I thought about this yesterday as I plunked down $15.83 for three cups of fancy coffee at a local java boutique. City Manager Rick Cole is fond of these coffee analogies, so if it's good enough for Rick, it's good enough for me. But it serves a useful purpose in providing perspective.

Yesterday was the first day Ventura residents were able to opt out of the $1.49-per-line monthly fee, which adds up to $17.88 a year for one line. Businesses with multiple or "trunk lines" will pay $4.47 a month. Those who choose to opt out of the fees can pay $17.88 if they ever call 911. This will be waived the first time and also for all "good samaritan" calls. Low-income folks eligible for lifeline service would not pay anything at all.

I had some reservations with the original $50-per-call opt out proposal. I thought it was too much and that it would dissuade those who opted out from calling 911. But the $17.88 is hardly going to break the piggybank of anyone not eligible for lifeline service, and it will be waived the first time.

I'LL ADMIT IT. I have a soft spot for those men and women who don uniforms every day to protect our lives. If they say they need extra personnel to keep us safe, I believe them. The money raised through the fee is earmarked for the operational costs of running the 911 system. What is gathered there will free up other dollars to hire three new firefighters and six new police officers.

Three of those new officers will be School Resource Officers and the school district is picking up the other half of the tab. In these tight budget times they've committed to doing this. It's that important to keep our kids safe.

I've seen the city's proposed budget and it is grim -- $4 million in cuts will be made for the next fiscal year. I've talked to school district officials and the news is worse there. We have tough budget times ahead in the city and state. Experts I've spoken with have told me the situation is likely to get worse. What's on the horizon for all of us is not pretty.

So I'm happy to pay the $89 a year to the city for the extra public safety personnel. Now if I could just get my coffee habit under control...

A GIANT WAVE of negative public sentiment hit the Pierpont Sand Management Plan during a contentious public hearing tonight at City Hall.

The overflow beach crowd argued against the proposal in front of the plan's two biologist authors and representatives from the city, state, and the Coastal Commission, which all have jurisdiction over the plan.

"I think it's abhorrent," said Pierpont resident Dan Scully, bitterly complaining about the city's request that the beachfront owners pay to move the giant sand dunes which are encroaching on their houses. "How can you legally make any property owner clean up somebody else's property?"

One speaker called the plan "junk" and still others took issue with the science of the plan itself which calls for the creation and management of a natural dune environment with plantings which will abate the buildup of sand against the houses.

A geologist speaking at the forum claimed there was no guarantee the plan would work and many, such as Pierpont resident Rosemary Icardo, complained about the difficulties involved with maintaining the new dune plantings and roping them off from the public, thus eliminating an estimated 41 percent of the beach from public access.

"We didn't ask to be gardeners on state lands," Icardo said.

NEITHER THE STATE, the residents nor the city claim ownership of the 40-foot-wide section of the sand which runs the length of the beach and abuts the beachfront houses and nobody wants to foot the bill for the new proposal. However, several residents seemed amenable to working something out if a plan could be crafted to their liking.

Beleaguered Coastal Commission ecologist Jonna Engle, a co-author of the plan, defended the science involved. "We think this is the most biologically sound way to manage the sand on the beach," she said.

Coastal Commission District Manager Steve Hudson explained to Pierpont residents that the area does qualify as a environmentally sensitive habitat, although it has not been officially ruled as such. Because of these findings, anything done with the sand will need to conform to certain commission guidelines, which would not involve bulldozing it flat, as one spirited resident called for amid much cheering from the crowd.

Whatever work is done would require a permit and the Coastal Commission has the final say on how the work is performed. The Sand Management Plan was an attempt by the city to organize a "group" permit so each individual resident would not have to go it alone, city officials said.

But the plan is a work in progress, the plan's authors said, and still could change. Armed with research, lawyers and plenty of organizational skills, the Pierpont crowd is not likely to go away quietly until they are satisfied.

Look for another wave to hit when the City Council looks at the issues Monday night.

What do you think? Enter a comment below.

I LIVE IN THE UNFASHIONABLE East End of Ventura. It's an area of newer tract houses bordered by older tract houses and dotted by the occasional gas station and mini mart. In short, it's a cultural wasteland. It's a great place to raise a family but if you want a good meal, you have to drive a long way to find it.

In a town being revived by the idea of Smart Growth with walkable neighborhoods meshed with business areas and tree-lined boulevards, we are in the Stone Age. So I was intrigued when I read the report on the city's new Saticoy Wells Community Plan from Economics Research Associates:

Presently, the "Saticoy Village" on the southeast corner of Wells Road and Darling Road, already within the City's jurisdiction, could go forward. It has a letter of interest from TESCO (Fresh and Easy) and further intentions and has been exploring a wide variety of potential tenants. Some 30 possible tenancies are shown on the Concept Plan, dated September 5, 2007. The mix includes TESCO, a drug store, a hardware store, potential restaurant, and a coffee shop. Indeed, the concept demonstrates three restaurants, if the market is there.

I say BRING IT ON!

I believe I can speak for all of us out here in the East End when I say we are starved for attention. TESCO opened its first Ventura County Fresh & Easy store recently in Simi Valley. The stores, about the same size as Trader Joe's, offer prepared foods with a minimum of processing, plus regular grocery items. (I have added a video tour of the Simi Valley store above. Click on the arrow to play it.)

According to Maggie Ide, from the city's planning department, there is a "high probability" that TESCO will open a store in the Saticoy Village location. I am looking forward to this and the three new restaurants, if they are forthcoming.

With Oxnard's RiverPark (a short drive for us East Enders) opening a new retail center and a Whole Foods Market, I hope the City of Ventura can jumpstart this project as well as other retail projects planned for the Saticoy Wells area. We need to keep our tax dollars in Ventura.

The City Council will take up the Saticoy Wells Community Plan tonight in a joint session with the Planning Commission.

I OPENED MY NEW COPY of Sunset magazine the other day and was pleased to find a large, eye-catching ad promoting Ventura as a tourist destination and arts mecca. Since being appointed to the city's Cultural Affairs Commission in 2006, I have been keenly interested in the city's promotion of the arts as an economic generator.

But is the "New Arts City" strategy really paying off?

According to internationally known arts marketing expert Jerry Yoshitomi, it is. "There's a lot going on from a fairly modest investment by the city," he noted. Yoshitomi, who has an office in the Bell Arts Factory, a thriving arts center, also praised the accessibility of the creative scene. "My sense is that Ventura's become a place where you can experience the arts on a more regular basis."

Cultural Affairs Manager Kerry Adams-Hapner is happy to point to the city's growth in cultural tourism. "Over the past 10 years, our artists and arts organizations have raised the bar and elevated Ventura's reputation as a destination for cultural tourists," she said.

These visitors, such as those who attend ArtWalk Downtown, tend to stay longer, eat in local restaurants and stay in our hotels, providing needed sales tax revenue, Adams-Hapner explained. ArtWalk will become a two-day event in April and sponsors hope to attract many regional visitors.

VENTURA'S ARTISTS and non-profit arts businesses generate more than $18 million in economic activity annually, according to an Economic Impact of the Arts in Ventura Report conducted in 2004. Nationally, the arts have been a boon to many cities. Newsweek magazine recently reported that real estate prices often see an uptick in area where artists live.

The city is also a partner in the Working Artists Ventura (WĀV) project, which just began construction in Downtown Ventura.

You would be hard pressed to find an endeavor aimed at meeting more of Ventura's needs. It is a virtuoso undertaking which will pump dollars into the local economy through jobs and retail sales, provide affordable housing for artists, assisted housing for homeless families and market-rate ocean-view penthouse condos for upper-income residents. The project will create an environmentally friendly atmosphere and enliven our already thriving arts community through a theater, gallery space and cafes.

"It was a conspiracy for public good," said Chris Velasco of Projects Linking Art, Community & Environment (PLACE), the stewards of the project.

All this economic activity is wonderful, but there is another value of the arts scene in Ventura that doesn't come with a price tag. The city's many arts events get us off the couch and out of the house. "They have a community-building impact," Yoshitomi said. "The events actually encourage a camaraderie."