City of Ventura Announces that the Statue of Father Junipero Serra to be Moved to Non-Public Location

News release from City of Ventura on June 18, 2020 regarding statue of Father Junipero Serra in front of City Hall:

Dear City of Ventura Residents and Community Stakeholders,

In the last few days, we have seen a groundswell of support from some members of the community requesting that the City of Ventura remove the statue of Father Junipero Serra from its location near City Hall. To that end, Ventura Mayor Matt LaVere organized a meeting with representatives from the Barbareño/ Ventureño Band of Mission Indians (Chumash) and Father Tom Elewaut of Mission San Buenaventura. This meeting resulted in a friendly, collaborative, and honest dialogue where everyone recognized that the time for action is now.

The three of us are confident that a peaceful resolution regarding the Father Junipero Serra statue can be reached, without uncivil discourse and character assassination, much less vandalism of a designated landmark. As stated by Julie Tumamait Stenslie, the Tribal Chair of the Barbareño/ Ventureño Band of Mission Indians: “True conversation starts with an open heart and mind. Change comes when there is no judgement or assumptions. To listen to and to be heard is crucial.”

We have listened and we have heard the calls from those in the community and believe the time has come for the statue to be taken down and moved to a more appropriate non-public location. But a historic decision such as this must involve the Ventura City Council, the voices of the Chumash tribe and residents of Ventura. It is our priority to be receptive to community concerns and provide an environment where all voices are heard and respected. To honor the cultural heritage of Ventura and its earliest residents is our ultimate goal.

We all believe that the removal of the statue should be accomplished without force, without anger, and through a collaborative, peaceful process. This process has already commenced through our initial meeting and we look forward to continuing the discussion with the community to help guide further action on this.

The public will be invited to engage in this process and share their input. When a community discussion has been scheduled to discuss the Father Junipero Serra statue, this information will be shared openly and transparently by the City of Ventura.

The letter was signed by Matt LaVere, Mayor of Ventura, Father Tom Elewaut and Tribal Chair Julie Tumamait Stenslie.

www.cityofventura.ca.gov

Bank of America Performing Arts Center Will Remain Closed for Live Events Until Jan. 2021

The City of Thousand Oaks announced today that The Bank of America Performing Arts Center, Thousand Oaks (BAPAC) will remain closed for live events until January 2021.

All programs that are on the calendar through December will be rescheduled. All patrons will be notified as soon as the new dates are confirmed. If a show must cancel, patrons will be notified of refund options.

When performances resume in January, the building will have been without live performances for 41 weeks. This unprecedented dark period is a direct result of the prolonged safety and health concerns arising from COVID-19. Although the venue will not hold live events with audiences, the theatres may be used for potential filming and streaming opportunities without live audiences.

BAPAC is one of the largest performing arts centers between Los Angeles and San Francisco and is funded through a unique public/private partnership between the City of Thousand Oaks and Thousand Oaks Alliance for the Arts (TOARTS). It consists of the 1,800-seat Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts and the 394-seat Janet and Ray Scherr Forum Theatre, which combine outstanding arts and entertainment with state-of-the-art technology and acoustics. Historically, over 200,000 patrons and 50,000 school children attend more than 300 performances annually.

For more information and updates as they occur, please visit our website at www.BAPACthousandoaks.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. For ticketing questions, please call the box office at 805 449 2787.

California Department of Public Health Mandates the Use of Face Coverings

Today the California Department of Health provided updated guidance for the use of face coverings to fight the spread of COVID-19:

The guidance mandates that face coverings be worn statewide in the following circumstances, with certain exceptions:. It does not substitute for existing guidance about social distancing and hand washing.

People in California must wear face coverings when they are in the high-risk situations listed below:

• Inside of, or in line to enter, any indoor public space (unless exempted by state guidelines for specific public settings like school or childcare centers)

• Obtaining services from the healthcare sector in settings including, but not limited to, a hospital, pharmacy, medical clinic, laboratory, physician or dental office, veterinary clinic, or blood bank;

• Waiting for or riding on public transportation or paratransit or while in a taxi, private car service, or ride-sharing vehicle;

• Engaged in work, whether at the workplace or performing work off-site, when:

• Interacting in-person with any member of the public;

• Working in any space visited by members of the public, regardless of whether anyone from the public is present at the time;

• Working in any space where food is prepared or packaged for sale or distribution to others;

• Working in or walking through common areas, such as hallways, stairways, elevators, and parking facilities;

• In any room or enclosed area where other people (except for members of the person’s own household or residence) are present when unable to physically distance.

• Driving or operating any public transportation or paratransit vehicle, taxi, or private car service or ride-sharing vehicle when passengers are present. When no passengers are present, face coverings are strongly recommended.

• While outdoors in public spaces when maintaining a physical distance of 6 feet from persons who are not members of the same household or residence is not feasible.

The following individuals are exempt from wearing a face covering:

• Persons age two years or under. These very young children must not wear a face covering because of the risk of suffocation.

• Persons with a medical condition, mental health condition, or disability that prevents wearing a face covering. This includes persons with a medical condition for whom wearing a face covering could obstruct breathing or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove a face covering without assistance.

• Persons who are hearing impaired, or communicating with a person who is hearing impaired, where the ability to see the mouth is essential for communication.

• Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by local, state, or federal regulators or workplace safety guidelines.

• Persons who are obtaining a service involving the nose or face for which temporary removal of the face covering is necessary to perform the service.

• Persons who are seated at a restaurant or other establishment that offers food or beverage service, while they are eating or drinking, provided that they are able to maintain a distance of at least six feet away from persons who are not members of the same household or residence.

• Persons who are engaged in outdoor work or recreation such as swimming, walking, hiking, bicycling, or running, when alone or with household members, and when they are able to maintain a distance of at least six feet from others.

• Persons who are incarcerated. Prisons and jails, as part of their mitigation plans, will have specific guidance on the wearing of face coverings or masks for both inmates and staff.

Note: Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition who are employed in a job involving regular contact with others should wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.

More information at covid19.ca.gov.

Los Angeles County Curfew Times During Demonstrations

For our Conejo Valley friends in the City of Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Malibu and other Los Angeles County residents, here is a compilation of nightly curfews issued by the County of Los Angeles in recent days.

• June 4th to June 5th: No curfew

• 9PM June 3rd to 5AM June 4th

• 6PM June 2nd to 6AM June 3rd

• 6PM June 1st to 6AM June 2nd

• 6PM May 31st to 6AM June 1st

The curfew includes all cities in Los Angeles County. Traveling to/from work, seeking or giving emergency care and emergency responders are exempt. More information available at lacounty.gov/emergency.

Individual cities may have more restrictive curfews in place.

Other updates at www.facebook.com/countyofla.

Hair Salons and Barbershops May Apply to Reopen Tomorrow in Ventura County

Via Pexels (Photo credit: Gratisography)

Governor Newsom announced today that hair salons and barbershops in most California counties can reopen as the state moves forward on the path to reopening. The County of Ventura was approved for a state variance last week allowing the County to move faster through California’s reopening phases

Hair salons and barbershops that reopen may only provide services that allow for both the stylist and customer to wear face coverings for the entirety of the service. This means that haircuts, weaves and extensions, braiding, lock and wig maintenance, hair relaxing treatments and color services can be provided.

Services like eyebrow waxing and threading, facials and eyelash services are still not allowed since they involve touching the customer’s face, according to the state’s guidance

vcemergency.com

County of Ventura Approved for Accelerated Reopening: Dine In and In Store Shopping Will Be Permitted Starting May 21st

The County of Ventura is the first and largest Southern California County to receive approval from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to move forward on an accelerated Stage 2 path to reopening. With this approval, Ventura County restaurants can now offer dine-in options and all retail businesses with exterior facing entrances are permitted to have customers inside of their stores.

Given increased statewide and local capacity to respond to COVID-19, including stronger preparedness, continued stability in the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, as well as increased ability to provide personal protective equipment to workers in essential sectors, the State announced the new attestation opportunity for counties to move through Stage 2, opening additional sectors of their economy at their own pace. The modified State guidance was issued by the Governor on Monday, May 18.

Regular Stage 2 has included curbside retail, manufacturing and supply chain businesses. The Governor has allowed counties that apply and qualify for a variance to move further along into Stage 2 with seated dining. The County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ratify the attestation on Tuesday, May 19 at the regularly scheduled Board meeting. It was submitted to the State on that same day. The State provided approval in less than 24 hours.

To qualify for the variance, counties must attest that hospitalization and test positivity rates are stable or declining; that they have a significant level of preparedness with testing, contact tracing, PPE and hospital surge; and that they have adequate plans related to county-wide containment.

Criteria also includes 1) the rate of positive Covid-19 patients hospitalized cannot be greater than 5% in the last 7 days. The County of Ventura is at -3.4% in the past 7 days. 2) Positive test results for the last 14 days can be no greater than 8% and our local number is 3.5%.

Restaurants and retail must register at www.vcreopens.com and follow the guidance. Learn more about the California Resilience roadmap for state reopening at covid19.ca.gov/roadmap.

The Public Health Officer will modify the Stay Well VC Order this evening. Dine in and in store shopping will be permitted effective Thursday, May 21, 2020.

COVID-19 Industry Guidance:

Shopping Malls, Destination Shopping Centers, Strip and Outlet Malls all with exterior facing entrances are permitted to open. covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-shopping-centers.pdf

Dine-In Restaurants: covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-dine-in-restaurants.pdf

Here’s a small sampling of some of the dine-in restaurant guidelines from the state public health officer:

• Provide disposable menus to guests and make menus available digitally to be viewed on a smartphone, if possible. If not possible, properly disinfect menus before and after customer use.

• Do not leave out after-meal mints, candies, snacks or toothpicks for customers. Offer them with the check or provide only on request.

• Reconfigure dining areas to allow for at least six feet of physical distancing for customers and employees.

• Bar areas shall remain closed.

• Face coverings strongly encouraged for all employees, but required for any employee who must be within six feet of customers (e.g. server, manager, busser).

• Guests should enter through doors that are propped open or automated, if possible. Hand sanitizer should be available for guests who must touch door handles.

• Visitors should bring and wear a face covering when not eating and drinking.

This guidance is for dine-in restaurants and brewpubs, breweries, bars, pubs and wineries that that provide sit-down meals.

City of Thousand Oaks City Council Conducts Prescreen of Kmart Site Redevelopment Project

UPDATE: City Council voted 3-1 to allow the developers to prepare an application to propose moving forward with the project. This was just a “prescreen.” The actual project has not been approved as of yet.

Tonight the Thousand Oaks City Council conducted a prescreen of an application to redevelop the former Kmart location at 325 Hampshire Road. Information on the project can be viewed at www.toaks.org/kmart.

The proposed project includes two mixed used buildings with 388 units and two townhome buildings with 71 units, as well as a 2,400 square foot community building. Total site area is 513,525 square feet, with 25% open space.

Modified Ventura County Stay Well at Home Order Allows Reopening of Lower Risk Businesses on May 8th

The County of Ventura Public Health Officer announced today a new modified Stay Well VC Health Order to align with the State of California’s four-stage framework for reopening.

The County will move forward with the State’s Stage 2 of reopening lower-risk businesses on Friday, May 8th. This will allow retail businesses, such as clothing stores, bookstores, sporting goods stores and florists, for example, to reopen with curb side delivery, as well as the related manufacturing and supply chain businesses.

The Order is also extended from May 15 to May 31.

“We are at a turning point because of the community’s incredible compliance with social distancing and the sacrifices of individuals and businesses. These efforts have saved lives, helped prevent the spread of the virus in our community and put us in a position to move forward gradually and safely in reopening our economy. Our ability to move forward is directly tied to our continuing commitment to physical distancing. With the issuance of Dr. Levin’s new Stay Well VC Order, we will align even more closely with the Governor’s revised order because we support the approach of evaluating businesses for reopening based on level of risk and we believe it will provide greater clarity. The new local order will retain some aspects of our previous order in areas such as guidelines for seniors and long-term care facilities,” said Mike Powers, County of Ventura CEO.

“Our community members have answered the call to stay well at home and thanks to them, we are in a position to move forward. These actions have saved lives. It is critical that our community continues to use caution. The virus is not gone. It is dangerous and poses a significant health risk. As we move into the next stage, we must do so with great care. We must continue to practice social distancing and businesses must make modifications needed to lower the risk of COVID-19 exposure,” said Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin.

The County has made progress in meeting the Governor’s requirements for moving forward. These steps have included: hospital surge and personal protective equipment capacity; protection of high-risk patient populations: seniors, long term care facility residents, homeless; contact tracing capacity and thoughtful data driven public health guidance.

“The efforts to protect our community health and our local economy are aligned. Investing in these public health steps will benefit the health of our community as well as our local economy. Until there is a vaccine, these are the only tools we have to identify and prevent the spread of the virus in our community,” said Powers. “We have a plan for verification and education under our Public Health Officer Doctor Robert Levin’s guidance to further ensure our local businesses can reopen and do so safely. We have found almost universally that our local businesses truly want to comply. Businesses and local business leaders with the Economic Development Collaborative, Cities, Chambers, Women’s Economic Ventures and the Ventura County Economic Development Association have come to the table in the spirit of compliance. They get it and want to make sure they protect their employees and customers.”

State of California Covid-19 reopening website at covid19.ca.gov/roadmap.

Los Angeles County to Begin Lifting Restrictions on Certain Businesses and Recreational Activities Beginning May 8th

Los Angeles County residents are doing their part to follow the County’s “Safer at Home” Health Officer Order which has slowed the spread of COVID-19. Los Angeles County is now taking its first steps towards reopening businesses and getting people back to work!

The following is a list of businesses that are re-opening effective Friday, May 8th:

Non-essential business: reopening for curbside pick-up with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols

• Bookstores

• Clothing stores

• Florists

• Music stores

• Sporting goods stores

• Toy stores

• Car dealership showrooms (open for sales with adherence to distancing and infection control protocols)

Outdoor parks and recreational facilities are open on SATURDAY, MAY 9TH provided all activities adhere to distancing and infection control protocols.

• Golf courses (not including pro-shops or dine-in restaurants)

• Trails

• Trailheads, parks

The re-opening of businesses will occur in stages and require physical distancing and infection control practices.

The curve has flattened, however the COVID-19 pandemic is still in LA County. The coronavirus is still deadly and capable of quickly taking many lives. As L.A. County moves into its first stage of recovery, all residents, business owners and employees must continue to observe and practice all COVID-19 physical distancing requirements.

LA County residents - continue to do your part to slow the spread of COVID-19:

• Wear a face covering whenever you leave home

• Wash hands throughout the day

• Stay six feet away from people who don’t live with you

And don’t forget - you can get a free COVID-19 test if you have symptoms. All tests are confidential, and will tell you if you’re COVID-19 positive or negative. Click here for more information about COVID-19 testing in LA County.

covid19.lacounty.gov/recovery