THOSE UNEXPECTED bills for $99 probably came as a shock to the 1,252 Ventura homeowners who were recently charged by the city for weed-abatement inspections on their hillside properties.

They've been given a reprieve for now. After listening to feedback from residents, Mayor Christy Weir has asked the council to waive the fee for this year until it can be given a proper hearing.

"The proposal for a weed abatement fee wasn't given the opportunity for public input. We need to bring it back to the council and the public, explain it, debate the issue and take a look at the trade-offs," she said. "The choice is, should every taxpayer in Ventura pay the city's costs for a state-mandated weed abatement program through their sales and property taxes or should this cost fall on just the immediately affected property owners?"

The weed-abatement inspection program, which costs more than $120,000 a year to administer, has been a success, Ventura Fire Chief Mike Lavery said. "We credit vegetation management on these properties with aiding our efforts to successfully fight the School Canyon fire in 2005. The 100-foot clearance created a safe, defensible space for firefighters and no homes were lost."

RECOVERING COSTS FOR FIGHTING wildfires statewide has been a goal for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, too. He wants to levy an annual fee of 1.25 percent on all property insurance premiums in the state to generate $125 million a year for fire protection equipment and services. State Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill proposed another plan. She believes the costs should be levied only on the residences located in the 31 million acres where the state has the main firefighting responsibility.

Living near the ocean has its own set of problems. Pierpont beachfront residents are currently fighting the city in court over who bears the responsibility for clearing the large accumulation of sand from in front of their homes and implementing a state-authored sand management plan. They believe the city -- and thus other taxpayers -- should pay. The cash-strapped city has asked the homeowners to help bear the burden.

And so it goes.

In a state where homes are often built on the fringes of wilderness areas and near the unpredictable forces of ocean waves and sand, who should bear the expense of preventative measures designed to help protect these residents from the elements?

What do you think?

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Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold. / Her early leaf's a flower;/ But only so an hour. / Then leaf subsides to leaf. / So Eden sank to grief, / So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay. -- Robert Frost

There is a show going on just north of Ventura that you don't want to miss. It is, quite simply, breathtaking.

Naturalists say this is one of the best years ever for wildflowers. But you don't have to drive to Gorman or Anza-Borrego to find them. Just take a leisurely drive up Canada Larga Road off Highway 33. Along this meandering, pastoral road is a dazzling display of wild mustard that covers the hills like a carpet of molten gold.

A good friend and I took a drive back there the other day and pulled over to a turnout just to drink in the scenery and listen to the quiet. Sometimes it's good to take some time out of our busy lives to stop and look at the mustard.

Local lore says that Father Junipero Serra himself brought the mustard seed from Spain and planted it to mark the trails leading to his missions. The sunny yellow blooms cover the coastline this time of year from San Diego to Sonoma, where a Napa Valley Mustard Festival is held annually.

But wild mustard's bloom time is short. So go up and take a look. Nothing gold can stay.

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SOMETIMES IT TAKES those affected the most by the decisions our legislators make to really drive a point home. In a spirited rally held in Ventura today to protest cuts to education, the stage was filled with politicians, educators and activists, yet the impassioned words of Foothill High School senior Lucas Zucker were what filled my mind as I drove home:

"Sacramento should be ashamed of themselves if this budget passes. They're betraying me, they're betraying my little brother, they're betraying all of us."

The governor's proposed cuts to public education of $4.8 billion obviously weren't sitting very well with the more than 500 students, parents, teachers and others who gathered at Buena High School and hooted and clapped at nearly every point. Waving homemade signs, the crowd marched down Victoria Avenue to the Government Center after the rally.

Zucker was just one of three student leaders who spoke at the rally along with Assemblyman Pedro Nava, State Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson, Congressional candidate Jill Martinez, Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Chuck Weis, Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett, 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, Ventura County Community College District Trustee Stephen Blum, and California Teachers Association Secretary Dan Vaughn.

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who is always a powerful speaker, led off the invited guests by reminding the crowd of his roots: "I am a proud product of public education."

State Senate candidate Hannah-Beth Jackson also fired up the crowd when she asked, "Why is it you get it and they don't? Education is the foundation of this country. Education gives us the opportunity to live the American dream."

She pointed to a fact which should give us all reason to pause: This state spends $7,000 a year to educate a child and $45,000 to house a prisoner, which prompted College District Trustee Stephen Blum to later add, "We want to be first in education, not in incarceration."

CTA Secretary Dan Vaughn, who drove all the way from Burlingame for the event, shared some of the stories the CTA has heard on its "Cuts Hurt" Bus Tour across the state. "We were in a district the other day and 24 of the 26 teachers received (layoff) notices."

Congressional candidate Jill Martinez praised the crowd for taking action: "I grew up in the '60s. I'm used to demonstrating. We ended the war in Vietnam."

It was an afternoon of powerful speeches - punctuated by the Buena drumline - and aching feet from marching all the way down Victoria as motorists honked and waved.

My compliments to students Jana Plat of Buena High School and Julianne Spurlin of Ventura High School who also gave articulate and fiery speeches. It takes a lot of courage to speak in front of a large crowd, especially when you're surrounded on stage by high-profile adults. These young people are our future leaders.

For the sake of Lucas Zucker's little brother and the thousands of other children out there, I hope somebody was listening.

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WAL-MART REPRESENTATIVES have recently asked the city's planning department what it would take to simply move into the old K-Mart building on Victoria Avenue without making any modifications in size.

"In recent weeks Wal-Mart representatives have again inquired about the rules for occupying the vacant K-Mart building," said City Manager Rick Cole. "We've reiterated the city's ordinances and procedures for processing that option. We've heard nothing definitive back from Wal-Mart about their plans and they have not submitted any application for any kind of permit."

According to Cole, the Arkansas-based retailer can't knock down any walls inside, but if all they do is repaint and redesign, they just need Design Review Committee approval and routine inspections.

The vacant K-mart building is approximately 100,000 square feet, much smaller than the typical Wal-Mart supercenter, which is usually 200,000 square feet or more. The company has already taken a 20-year lease on the property. Nearly a year ago, the retailer's representatives showed city staff a design for a 150,000-square-foot supercenter with groceries.

It would appear they are now considering the much smaller size which would conform to the city's General Plan which discourages large, big-box type retail in the Victoria Corridor and would also fit into the developing Victoria Corridor Plan.

Meanwhile, the Citizens to Preserve Ventura, a coalition of grassroots and labor groups, is in the process of circulating petitions to keep Wal-Mart away. They are calling for signatures to be turned in by Aug. 12 for an upcoming election, according to representatives who spoke at a meeting held last Wednesday for petition gathers. The election date has not yet been determined.

THE PROPOSED ORDINANCE IS AIMED at stopping a project of 90,000 square feet or more which devotes more than three percent of the sales floor area to the sale of non-taxable merchandise such as food. It would also prevent Wal-Mart from adding on to the existing building in the future, something that the upcoming Victoria Corridor Plan will likely do anyway.

"It prohibits a big-box retailer from sidestepping city process by 'piecemealing' a project, that is, opening up a smaller store now and expanding it later," said Das Williams, a Santa Barbara city councilman and legislative analyst for the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy.

The proposed ballot measure would also have stopped the new Target at the Pacific View Mall.

At the recent meeting, Williams reiterated his strong opposition to a Wal-Mart coming to town, citing the chain's reputation for driving small retailers out of business and paying low wages. "This would be like a stake in the heart to have a Wal-Mart in such a bastion of working families."

Others in town, however, welcome the added sales tax revenue in a time when the city's coffers are in need of a boost.

What do you think? Please add a comment below.

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Governor Schwarzenegger has finally met his match: the moms of Ventura.

Over the last few weeks I have watched in wonder as the most dedicated women I have ever known prepare for the upcoming rally on Friday, April 18 at the Buena High School Quad at 4 p.m. to protest the governor's $4.8 billion in cuts to public education. Our own school district is looking at a $4 million hit.

They've made and distributed thousands of flyers, printed hundreds of pre-addressed postcards, talked to parent, teacher and student groups, alerted the media, organized, planned and planned again. And they've done this while holding down jobs, driving kids to soccer practices and helping with math homework.

Wow.

If they can do this, surely our legislators can figure out a way to quit the partisan bickering and give our kids the education system they deserve.

We're going to have a spirited event on Friday 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, California Teachers Association Secretary Dan Vaughn and student leaders.

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.

We've also joined forces with the online organization Right to Learn, part of YouthNoise, which is sponsoring rallies across the state on the same day.

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THE SPIRIT OF COOPERATION has taken over in the ongoing sand war between Pierpont homeowners and the city. Monday night's City Council meeting held little of the rancor of earlier sessions.

The Council voted 5-1 to proceed with several key steps that should help to partially satisfy Pierpont homeowners who have been unable, because of complicated state regulations, to clear large dunes which are causing damage to houses and impeding beach access through the stairs on the lanes. See previous entry.

The council's actions direct staff to seek a short-term solution to the sand issues and a shared-funding arrangement with residents to pay for a long-term solution. There remains the possibility that Transient Occupancy Taxes collected on beach rentals could be used to help defray costs. The city also voiced a commitment to keeping the access stairs free of sand, but the level of service remains to be determined.

The long arm of the California Coastal Commission was ever-present through the discussion. The commission, established as part of the 1976 Coastal Act, is the ultimate arbiter of what goes on at the state-owned beach. Any plan to clear dunes could affect sensitive beach habitat and comes under its purview.

CITY ENGINEER Rick Raives offered a faint glimmer of hope to residents that the state-authored Sand Management Plan which they find so distasteful could substantially change. "It's really in no person's best interests to fight a losing battle with the Coastal Commission, but we're willing to see if they'll consider any revisions."

He added that the injunction filed by Pierpont residents against the city and state has put a bit of a pall on negotiations. The outcome of this suit should determine ownership of the narrow strip of land that runs in front of the beachfront houses and as well as who ultimately pays to maintain the area. News on that front should come by April 30.

Looming budget cuts and other pressing needs in the city will also have an effect on what is done for Pierpont. "There isn't enough money and time to fix all these problems," City Manager Rick Cole said.

Councilmember Carl Morehouse, always refreshingly candid, expressed the wish of many that equipment could be brought out to plow the sand away once and for all. But we need to work with the Coastal Commission, he said. "Rather than doing shock and awe, we should have a diplomatic approach."

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WITH GANG INCIDENTS on the rise and the city's budget for tackling civic cleanup projects on the decline, Ventura's new City Corps could not have picked a better time to come along.

Based on a highly successful program in Oxnard, the program brings together youth and young adults who could be drawn to gang behavior and pairs them with peer leaders looking to make a difference through community service. The young people, aged 12-24, are given projects to plan, budget and then implement.

"By engaging them gradually in the projects, pumping up their self esteem and sense of worth, and by associating them with others in the same activities, they are given an alternative to the gangs," explained Bart Bleuel, who sits on the board of the new City Corps of the Central Coast.

By the way, Bleuel is a recent recipient of a national Jefferson Award for his volunteerism and is a strong contender in my estimation for the official title of Nicest Guy in Ventura. He doesn't just talk about changing the world. He actually does it. Kid causes are his specialty.

City Corps works by giving these young people a positive social outlet, Bleuel said. "It gives them a place with constancy where they can belong and succeed at their own pace, in their own way."

Team leaders are paid and opportunities are also sought for paid work for participants when possible. This real-world experience helps develops job skills. City Corps also hopes to provide structured after-school study and tutoring programs some day.

CITY CORPS WORKERS recently labored away on a hot, sunny Saturday planting flowers in the planters on Main Street Downtown as part of a beautification effort there. Also scheduled are litter cleanup, painting, carpentry, and street cleaning on the Avenue, various projects for Public Works, and setting up for city events like ArtWalk, the Fourth of July Street Fair and Music Under the Stars.

Ventura City Corps' prodigious counterpart across the Santa Clara River is funded through the City of Oxnard and works on 2,000 to 3,000 projects a year ranging from wetlands restoration at Ormond Beach to graffiti removal.

The new regional group includes Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. It's set up as a non-profit and as such receives no city funding and is actively seeking donations and grant opportunities. The project is being nurtured by the Ventura Chamber of Commerce and recently received a boost when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to let the group temporarily use a vacant county building at 77 California St. as its headquarters.

Bleuel's eyes light up whenever he discusses the program.

"If only 10 percent of the youth in each corps of 100 a year is at-risk and succeeds, and we have 10 cities participate over 10 years," he said, "that is 1,000 kids we will have saved from the gangs, and 1,000 kids who can go back into their neighborhoods to let others know there is an alternative."

Anyone who would like to volunteer for or donate to City Corps can call (805) 207-4234 or (805) 647-0567.

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THE HEADLINE STARTLED me when I first saw it, too: "Late-breaking news: Wal-Mart approved!" Knowing it to be untrue, I thought for a moment that Sheldon Brown, the owner of the new biweekly newspaper the Ventura Breeze, had lost his mind. But I read a bit further and realized it was part of a phony story he'd concocted as part of a April Fool's Day prank.

The joke was on Sheldon instead. I've always said that you can never underestimate the ability of the public to be only half-engaged. The Stop Wal-Mart Coalition, which is fighting to keep this retailer out of town, was "flooded with calls and emails" from folks worried that Wal-Mart had pulled a fast one, according to an email bulletin I received recently. I'll add a new saying to my repertoire: never underestimate the ability of Wal-Mart detractors to get all fired up.

It got worse. Monday night's City Council meeting brought out someone else who was appalled at the thought of this particular retailer slipping in the back door. Launching into a protest speech, he was quickly set straight by the council who assured him it was just a joke.

"Sheldon, we love ya, but don't do that again," warned Councilmember Carl Morehouse afterward.

Oops.

As an editor at my college newspaper the most fun I had every year was working on our April Fool's Day issue. One year we doctored a photo to make it look like a King Kong-sized squirrel was ready to demolish our school's landmark bell tower. This sort of tipped off our readers that we weren't exactly serious.

Sheldon's still learning the ropes of the newspaper business, too. He moved to Ventura not long ago to enjoy his retirement, only to get bored rather quickly. He and his daughter, Staci, launched the Breeze in October. Why? "I'm a lunatic," he explained. Sheldon's a nice guy. He never takes himself too seriously.

THE BREEZE IS FILLING a niche for local, homespun news that regional newspapers just can't fill any more. There's a section for police and fire reports, extensive local arts coverage and even an advice column "written" by a dog named Professor Scamp. I always pick it up and read it when I see it. Sheldon says he's employing about 10-12 people these days, all on a part-time basis.

He feels a little sheepish about the misunderstanding. The Breeze received angry phone calls about the April Fool's prank, mostly from anti-Wal-Mart folks. But nobody took it far enough to call City Hall to complain, according to Lysa Urban of the city's Civic Engagement Division.

Do we have another April Fool's page to look forward to next year? Sheldon wouldn't say, but in retrospect he thinks he should have perhaps led off with another topic this year.

My advice: No Wal-Mart jokes next time. And consider adding a giant squirrel.

AS CITY MANAGER Rick Cole explains it, "This city has always been about audacious projects." From the Mission to the pier to the harbor, Venturans have always been up for creating great public spaces.

So what's one more audacious plan?

Even in these dreary budget days, it doesn't hurt to dream. So I found myself drawn to the recent "Cover Over 101" public design workshop held at the Crowne Plaza in Ventura. Funded by a grant from the Southern California Association of Governments, the workshop and accompanying consultant work was designed to explore the logistics involved in capping the freeway Downtown.

I've included a picture at the top here to show a concept of the plan which would provide a better link between the Downtown and the beach as well as a new public area for recreational, living and retail projects. It's been a dream of locals for years and the public workshop to explore the possibilities was packed. More than 120 folks -- some from as far away as San Luis Obispo -- came to participate.

After listening to a presentation, we were divided into groups to brainstorm. Armed with a giant map and paper tokens representing buildings, amenities, green spaces and funding sources, we set about the task of designing this intriguing public space and also figuring out a way to pay for it. Our decking options ranged in cost from $25 million all the way up to $400 million.

I found myself in a genial, though highly opinionated group, which was obviously a challenge to our long-suffering facilitator, a cheery young city planner who explained that we didn't have to be rooted in today's grim financial realities as this project might not be built for another 50 years.

SO WE WENT FOR IT. I wanted a small outdoor performing space and, farther down, a commuter station where the ugly railroad bridge is now. Someone else wanted a light rail line, another wanted mixed-use condos and retail. To pay for it we added state and federal funding to the mix and a sprinkling of hotel and residential projects around the perimeter to help generate tax revenue.

My tablemates watched in horror as I placed an eight-story office building near Plaza Park. Lots of employment opportunities, I thought. "No!" they howled in unison and quickly changed it to four story.

About midway, we realized that we didn't exactly know what we were doing. It was about this time that Councilmember Bill Fulton stopped by to check on our progress. "A moose is an animal designed by committee," I told him. "We have a moose here."

I relay all this because it demonstrates the difficulties our city faces every day. Everyone has a different opinion on what Ventura should be. Some want open space, some want arts and recreational amenities and some want retail and jobs. And everything has to be paid for somehow. As we learned, it's not an easy task.

We just need to avoid ending up with a moose.

Every month I pick the most well-written, thoughtful comment on my blog entries and give it an entry of its own. March's winner comes from Rob Edwards, the energetic and savvy director of the Downtown Ventura Organization and was written in response to "The real facts about Public Art" entry. Thanks for posting Rob!

THE PROSPECT FOR CAPTURING more revenue for Ventura's city coffers is looking bleaker these days with a skidding economy sending collection of sales taxes down 10 percent and a faltering housing market setting off alarm bells that property tax revenues will soon be on the decline. City Hall has announced belt-tightening measures that will cut back some city services.

Yet in the middle of this gloom and doom is a bright ray of Ventura sunshine: our Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) collections are up. What does that mean to those of us who don't converse in "Cityspeak"? More and more tourists are coming here and staying in our hotels. They are also eating in our restaurants and shopping in our boutiques. They are going out to visit the Channel Islands, hiking in the nearby mountains and relaxing on our beaches. All this activity brings TOT revenues to the general fund, keeps locals employed and brings in sales tax revenues, too.

According to Jim Luttjohann, director of the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau (VVCB), annual TOT revenues have grown from $3 million in 2003 to $4 million as of December 2007. We've also enjoyed an increase in revenue per available room of 7.9 percent while nearby Oxnard has remained nearly flat, he said. According to a recent study, visitor spending in Ventura was $458,315,800 in 2006.

Unfortunately, the engine helping to drive this mini-economic boom is falling under the budget axe itself. The VVCB's contract is housed within the City of Ventura's Cultural Affairs Division, which is being recommended for an across-the-board 11 percent reduction in funding. Cultural Affairs also supervises other revenue-generating activities like ArtWalk and the Street Fairs.

The VVCB budget will likely see a reduction of $83,000 from current year funding (about $132,000 from anticipated funding based on a contract funded at 2% of collected TOT). The cut will greatly affect the VVCB's ability to reach the tourist market, Luttjohann noted. "For us to shrink right now is potentially devastating."

IS SHRINKING A REVENUE-GENERATING portion of
city government a good idea in bad economic times? Not according to Monterey's City Manager, Fred Meurer. In 2002-04, when Monterey experienced a loss of $8 million in revenue over three years, it actually grew its tourism budget while cutting other services, Meurer said. "One area the City Council wanted to increase was tourism and marketing promotion to help build its coffers," he said.

"When business is down, you should be working on increasing your bottom line."

Bill Watkins of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project also noted an uptick in county tourism in his latest report: "Sectors that we expect to add a significant number of jobs from 2008-2010 include trade and leisure hospitality."

Ventura's VCB has been successful in drawing visitors interested in three major areas, Luttjohann explained: heritage and cultural tourists, gourmet diners or "foodies," and outdoor adventurers. "The foodie tourism market has been great to us," he said.

Two new hotels are also scheduled to be built here within the next few years: an Embassy Suites near the Fairgrounds and a Hyatt Place near Seaward and the 101 Freeway. "It will be very difficult to sell more rooms with fewer dollars," Luttjohann said.

But marketing all these great amenities involves employing a sales force to attend trade shows in addition to placing stories and making expensive ad buys in magazines like Sunset, Westways, Southwest Art, Gourmet and National Geographic Traveler. "We have to be in the really high-profile publications," Luttjohann said. "That's where you're getting your leisure travelers." And a state-of-the-art online presence is essential. "Sixty percent of travel planning is now done online," he said.

AN 11 PERCENT REDUCTION in marketing will certainly mean fewer visitors, Luttjohann said, which could also mean millions in reduced spending. A cut in Colorado's tourism and marketing budget a few years back, he said, caused a decline of 37 percent in overnight stays. And Monterey's Meurer pointed to nearby Pacific Grove, which recently withdrew from a regional cooperative advertising contract only to quickly opt back in the following year.

The bureau is considering taking on additional services for the city in exchange for maintaining its current budget structure, Luttjohann said. "Alternatively, we will have to reduce staffing and media placements and programs like the non-profit marketing grants that help our local organizations reach tourists in marketing they would not otherwise be able to afford."

Is cutting $130,000 from the Visitor's Bureau and then potentially losing millions from tourists a wise budget move?

It's time to visit this again.