Ojai Valley News Blog

Sally Field joins Ojai’s Ted Danson and
Mary Steenburgen for this year’s event

By Sondra Murphy

Continuing a tradition of star-studded performances, the 13th annual Ojai Playwrights Conference winter benefit is set for this month at Matilija Auditor-ium.

The original evening of theater will be created and directed by Michael Morris and OPC artistic director and producer Robert Egan.

Demonstrating the clout the conference has cultivated over the years, prestigious actors will again participate in the “Hearts on Fire” winter benefit that will honor four-time Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally with the 2010 OPC Award.

Born in 1939, McNally produced his first play in 1964 at the age of 25. Although several early comedies such as “Next” (1969) and “The Ritz” (1975) won McNally significant praise, it was not until later in his career that he would become internationally renowned with works such as “Frankie and Johnny at the Claire de Lune” (1987) for which he wrote the screen adaptation which starred Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer.

McNally has won four Tony awards and been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for “A Perfect Ganesh.” Besides “Frankie and Johnny,” he is known for writing “Love! Valour! Compassion!,” television scripts and the book for the musicals, “The Full Monty,” “Ragtime” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

“Terrence is one of America’s greatest living playwrights. So many awards, so much output, and so many extraordinary characters brought to life in his poignant plays,” said Egan. “McNally participated in the Ojai Playwrights Conference several years ago, and developed one of his plays here,” he added. “He said it was one of the best developmental experiences of his life.”

Featured actors this year are two-time Oscar and three-time Emmy winner Sally Field (“Places in the Heart,” “Norma Rae,” “Brothers & Sisters”); Golden Globe winner Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Sideways”); Emmy and Golden Globe winner Ted Danson (“Cheers,” “Becker”); and Oscar and Golden Globe winner Mary Steenburgen (“Melvin and Howard,” “Parenthood”). They will be in the cast for a one-night-only performance titled “Hearts on Fire.”

Also performing at the benefit are Emmy-winning actress Dana Delany (“China Beach,” “Desperate Housewives”); Emmy nominated and Tony winner John Glover (“Smallville,” “Love! Valour! Compassion!”); Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Jane Kaczmarek (“Malcolm in the Middle,” “Raising the Bar”); Golden Globe winning songwriter Amanda McBroom (“The Rose”); Zachary Quinto (“Heroes,” “Star Trek 2009”); Steven Weber (“Brothers & Sisters,” “Dracula: Dead and Loving It”) and Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Noah Wyle (“E.R.,” “The Librarian” series), and other talent still to be announced.

Egan promises an evening of heart-breaking, heart-lifting and heart-throbbing performances of an eclectic mix of works by some of America’s greatest playwrights, including McNally.

Egan has a history of bringing together major talent in Ojai for once-in-a-lifetime performances. “The OPC has become one of the most acclaimed new play and development programs in the country and these stars want to support our efforts,” said Egan. “We are the only one whose primary mission is to develop plays and writers whose focus is on the major social, political and ethical issues of our day.”

“Hearts on Fire” is set for Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. The actors rehearse the morning before the benefit readings and infuse adult humor into the performance, garnering a self-imposed PG rating in past years.

Ticket options are $85 for “Hearts on Fire” only, or $225 for the reading, plus the post-show dinner and live auction at St. Thomas Aquinas Hall. The auction will feature trips abroad, a set visit to “Desperate Housewives” courtesy of Delany, theater packages, and romantic getaways for Valentine’s Day. Many of this year’s performers will serve as auctioneers.

Award-winning chef Michael Hollingsworth, a favorite among political and artistic celebrities, is organizing the dinner.

VIP packages for eight cost $2,000 for preferred seating, dinner and a group photo with the cast. A limited number of back row tickets will be available for $70. Tickets may be purchased at ojaiplays.org or by calling 640-0400.

Proceeds benefit the Ojai Playwrights Conference, which takes place each summer as a means to foster creative technique in established and emerging playwrights, as well as develop and advance unproduced plays. More than 500 submissions were received this year and selections will be announced in spring.

The 13th annual OPC New Works Festival, scheduled for Aug. 10 through 15, is a two-week, intensive, in-residence workshop which culminates in special events and performances open to the public.

We take a quick look back at the stories that
made news during the last half of 2009

July
• K’Lynn Jackson, 17, an Ojai native, just won the title of Miss California High School Rodeo Queen 2009-2010.

• A design permit review for an interior remodel of Vons, exterior upgrade of the entire center and parking lot improvements was denied by the Ojai Planning Commission.

• The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office will charge Alex Medina, the 14-year-old suspect in the April 26 murder of Seth Scarminach as an adult. If convicted, the Mira Monte teen could face life in prison.

• According to authorities, longtime Ojai resident Walter Henry Dohrn Jr., 70, disappeared from a friend’s residence in Cherry Valley Sunday, about 150 miles east of Ojai in Riverside County.

• Sergio Aragones, who brings smiles to millions, will have his first solo exhibit at the Ojai Valley Museum.

• According to OUSD Board President Linda Taylor, the board has selected Dr. Henry Stephen Bangser as its new superintendent.

• Between May 1 and June 30, unknown suspect(s) placed “skimmers” on credit card readers on the gas pumps at Valero Gas stations in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

• Otto Heino, the soft-spoken potter who was one of Ojai’s and the world’s most revered artists, died after a short illness. He was 94 and still actively working.

• The federal government failed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court on an appellate court decision which found that the government seized Casitas Municipal Water District property by forcing it to provide water for endangered steelhead trout.

• Ojai has earned a shot at becoming America’s “Best Tennis Town.”

• A 14-year-old Mira Monte resident, Alex Medina, pleaded not guilty to murdering a 16-year-old Chaparral High School student at an unsupervised teen party in April. Medina faces a charge of homicide with the use of a knife, and committing a crime for the benefit of a criminal street gang.

August
• The city expects to receive at least $850,000 in federal stimulus money for road paving and two new trolleys in the next few months, and may pick up $110,000 a year for three years from Washington for a school resource officer at Nordhoff High School.

• Ojai Valley Youth Foundation’s executive director Joanna Iwata was presented with an Inspiration Award from the National Teen Leadership Program on Aug. 2.

• Evan Graham, who lives in Ojai and will be a junior at Ojai Valley School in the fall, turned 16, accomplished his first five solo flights and set a world record.

• The Ojai City Council denied this week an appeal by the Ojai Unified School District that sought to delay approval of the design of a new, permanent skate park until district concerns had been addressed.

• After a federal agency failed to launch a rescue effort last month, at least 54 juvenile steelhead trout died in dry pools in the upper Ventura River near the $9-million Robles fish ladder, built to save endangered fish from extinction.

• The parking lot and the room were packed for the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council meeting. The recurring questions of the evening were “Where are the people who initiated this review and these changes to the Scenic Resources Protection Overlay Zone, and isn’t enough bureaucratic intervention enough?” as far as architects, builders, graders and agriculture in the valley having to comply with already very strict codes and standards?

• Members of the Ojai Valley community who came together for the final Heal the Community meeting, or town hall on gang violence, were treated to a positive and constructive evening. “There was a lot of emotion at the last meeting,” said Police Chief Dunn. “People yelling out from the audience about ‘running them out of town,’ saying, ‘Why can’t you do more?’ ‘They’re illegals’ — I’d like to remind people that we have to operate within the guidelines set forth in the U.S. and California constitutions. We cannot operate like the Gestapo and run people out of town, nor would we.”

• After quizzing operators of Sea Fresh Seafood extensively, Ojai city planners moved toward approval of an expansion.

• The effects of the state’s budget crisis keep washing over California communities, prompting the OUSD to chop five days off the coming school year, reduce teacher salaries and begin to plan a cut in bus transportation.

• Ojai resident and Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary, who earlier pleaded not guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resulting in a late-night car crash in Ojai on January 12, 2008, entered guilty pleas this week in Ventura County Superior Court.

• The Ojai Valley News won first place, third place and honorable mention awards from the National Newspaper Association.

• St. Joseph’s Health and Retirement Center and the Ojai community lost one of its treasures Thursday morning when cancer took the life of Brother Hugo Stippler, age 86.

September
• Ojai Valley citrus farmers, threatened by the discovery of a potentially disastrous infestation of a plant-eating, tree-jumping lice in Southern California, are asking local residents to not bring any fruit or trees purchased elsewhere into the valley.

• Ventura County fire crews worked to contain a brushfire that broke out near Lake Casitas, when a motorcycle crashed into the hillside.

• The U.S. Tennis Association’s Best Tennis Town contest yielded a second-place award for Ojai, a $50,000 prize, during the U.S. Open.

• Members of the local peace group, Living Peace in Ojai, plan on combining a celebration of International Peace Day with events that focus on “diversity, conflict and community.”

• “Micah’s March” was held for 14-month-old Micah Marshall, who has spinal muscular atrophy.

• Jenny Newell, Niles Dohrn and wife Tara, Jennel Dohrn and Walt Dohrn Jr. hope that a fund-raising event held at the restaurant named in honor of their mother, Bonnie Dohrn, can help them continue efforts to find their father, Walter Dohrn, who has been missing since July 5.

• A Pennsylvania-based private school operator, Nobel Learning Communities Inc. of West Chester, Pa., announced the purchase of Laurel Springs School for $12 million.

• Approximately 200 people attended Monday’s Municipal Advisory Council meeting and the MAC arrived at a unanimous decision against expanding the Ojai Valley Scenic Resource Protection Overlay Zone.

• Ventura County Environmental Health Division received confirmation from the State Department of Public Health that one wild bird collected by EHD vector control technicians the third week of September 2009 tested positive for the West Nile virus.

• Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of an early-morning fire that destroyed a home at 411 Grand Ave. and caused extensive damage to the attic of a neighboring residence.

• Oscar-winning screenwriter and Ojai Valley resident Roger Avary was sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

• A traffic collision occurred involving a pickup truck and an Ojai Unified School District bus on Baldwin Road at Los Encinos Road. Kim Fullenwider, age 53 of Ojai, was driving the bus.

October
• The Erickson-Brosius family is still sorting out their lives after a quick-moving fire engulfed and destroyed their Grand Avenue residence.

•  Ojai Valley Community Hospital unveiled its new Emergency Room during a ribbon-cutting ceremony before about 200 supporters.

• Former tennis great Jack Kramer honored Ojai with a $25,000 posthumous donation to the Tennis Club.

• The American Red Cross of Ventura County recognizes Kathy Hartley’s gracious outreach and public concern, naming her Philanthropist of the Year.

• A large black bear made its way into town, climbing a tree near the corner of Signal and Aliso streets. After spending 20 hours up the pine tree it was a hard, final fall for the bear, when DFG wardens tranquilized and then euthanized it, to the dismay and outrage of many Ojai residents.

• Longtime Ojai City Council member and current Mayor Joe DeVito submitted his resignation.

• Just beginning a new rainfall year, the Ojai Valley experienced its second wettest October in the last half century, relieving farmers of irrigation costs.

• A 49-year-old Oak View woman, Laura Hanson, was killed in a single-vehicle crash off Highway 33 near Casitas Springs.

• Peter Graves, the silver-haired 6-foot-2 pilot from the classic comedy, “Airplane,” will be among the luminaries the Ojai-Ventura Film Festival will bring to town the first week of November.

• A dramatic fire broke out Monday afternoon at one of Ojai’s historic landmarks, the Theodore Woolsey House on East Ojai Avenue, injuring one Ventura County firefighter.

• Oscar-winning screenwriter and Ojai Valley resident Roger Avary was booked into Ventura County Jail on Monday to begin serving a one-year sentence for felony manslaughter, and was immediately placed in a work-furlough program.

• According to the Ojai Valley Community Hospital, visits by swine flu patients to the Emergency Room are steadily increasing.

November
• Hundreds of Ojai teenagers volunteered their innermost thoughts and a talented troupe of students and the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation brought those feelings to the stage in “Teens Talk … Will You Listen?” at Matilija High School Auditorium

• The next chapter in the Ojai Skate Park chronicles is complete. On Tuesday, the Ojai Unified School District board approved the city’s plans for downtown skate park construction, but not without some adjustments.

• At the Ojai Ventura Film Festival, the Best Documentary Short honored Ojai and Rich Reid for the film “Watershed Revolution.”

• Help of Ojai’s 2009 annual meeting combined efficiency with a warm sense of community, and under Terri Wolfe’s leadership, Help is in the black. County Supervisor Steve Bennett attended and spoke about Ojai’s high unemployment rate, and growing need for services.

• Organizers of last weekend’s Mentor Madness Poker Run and Car and Motorcycle Show are happy that the event was a success. “Approximately $7,000 was raised and there were a little over 100 poker run participants,” said Heal the Community co-founder Dusty Fernandez.

• In the ongoing efforts to raise $3 million for the Libbey Bowl restoration project, a new idea has emerged. The Ojai City Council staff brought a request to consider renaming the bowl in exchange for a $1 million donation.

• The Sheriff’s Gang Unit arrested Rutilio Huerta for the gang-related attempted murder of Joshua Powers that occurred in the city of Ojai on New Year’s Eve.

• The Ojai Film Society honored its 2009 Steenburgen Film Studies Scholarship winner on Sunday, and honoree and Brooks Institute student Sean Broadbent’s short film “Une Vie Merveilleuse” was screened.

• The Ojai Valley Youth Foundation has restructured, eliminating three positions, including that of executive director Joanna Iwata, and bringing in board member Dan Burrell to oversee operations.

• The Casitas Municipal Water District has requested that a federal agency seeking to restore endangered southern steelhead trout in the Ventura River to sustainable levels provide more solid information and be more precise and realistic in its goals.

• Peter Strauss recently made a decision not to run for Congress representing our 24th District. He was approached in June and met in Washington with Democratic Party officials and White House political directors.

• Darlene Mansfield, whose husband was “the whistling telephone man in this valley” put out a reprint of the 1954 Ojai Valley Directory.

• Almost 11 months after a near-fatal stabbing incident on Waite Street, 19-year-old Fidel Duran has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies.

• Ojai Police detectives warn Ojai Valley residents of an increase in reported vehicle burglaries and thefts from vehicles.

• Following a summer in which at least 54 steelhead trout died in dry pools in the upper Ventura River, federal officials who failed to launch a rescue effort are now devising a strategy that could save the endangered fish when they face death.

December
• A Superior Court judge this week ordered the mental evaluation of Alex Medina after defense lawyers said they had doubts about the youth’s ability to assist in his own defense. A competency hearing to discuss the evaluation was set for Jan. 8.

• Effective Dec. 1, Walter A. Einhart Jr. has been named editor and publisher of the Ojai Valley News.

• Sergio Ramos was sentenced this morning to 27 years in state prison for a shooting he committed in Oak View in 2008. Ramos, an Ojai gang member, has been in custody since his arrest in June of 2008.

• Two men died when their single-engine Piper Tomahawk crashed at 24 Krotona Road.

• Chairman and President David Shor announced his departure from the Ojai-Ventura Film Festival, and that of six other board members.

• Ojai City Councilwoman and former Mayor Sue Horgan announced Tuesday that she has entered the race for Ventura County Treasurer and Tax Collector.

• Lanie Springer, longtime champion of philanthropy and community service, died of pancreatic cancer.

• Actor and Ojai Arts Commissioner Demitri Corbin has thrown his hat into the ring for a City Council opening.

• Detectives from the Ojai sub-station and the Sheriff’s Gang Unit concluded a two-month investigation into a vehicle burglary ring with the arrest of five suspects.

• Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mike Lenehan submitted his application for a City Council seat.

We take a quick look back at the stories that
made news during the first six months of 2009

January
• The rumors are true: as of yesterday, texting while driving will be an illegal infraction in the state of California. The state Legislature and Gov. Schwar-zenegger signed the no-texting ban into law for the new year.

• Fresno resident Jerry Powers said his 27-year-old son, Oak View resident Joshua Ray Powers, was left for dead in the 200 block of Waite Street at 1:30 a.m. News Year’s Day after being stabbed 17 times.

• With a Meiners Oaks church refusing to lease Ventura river-bottom land, government agencies have been forced to back away from their top choice for disposal of a 20-foot-high mound of silt as part of the Matilija Dam removal project. Members of the Church of the Living Christ rejected a lease with Ventura County and the U.S. government that would have allowed 2.1 million cubic yards of slurried silt to be piped from behind the aging dam to a 74-acre site at the base of a bluff next to Rice Road.

• Ojai Planning Commission approved proposed general standards for outdoor merchandise displays drawn up by a committee of merchants and city representatives. Such displays have historically been prohibited in the city.

• After an extensive two-month search, Dave Neville, Help’s board chairperson, and director Kelly Randall, head of the executive director search committee, announced the hiring of Terri Wolfe as Help’s new executive director.

“I plan to provide ongoing and consistent leadership for the staff and volunteers so they can focus on the things they’re really good at,” said Wolfe. “After working with other not-for-profits around the country, I wanted to come back and do it in this community.”

• Seven drums, each carrying 300 to 400 gallons of diesel fuel, spilled from a large truck on Highway 33 at mile marker 40.84 before dawn after the truck ran off the highway. According to reports, 1,000 gallons spilled into Adobe Creek and 700 gallons spilled into the soil near the creek.

February
• Local cable TV subscribers may have noticed the programming on Channel 10 has dwindled to city meetings and a sparse bulletin. Starting in January, the city of Ojai took over the running of public access television.

• Gus Hoffman, a 17-year-old Nordhoff High School junior, has done something most students and many actors can only dream of, he’s co-starred in an original movie that will be broadcast into hundreds of thousands of living rooms across the nation on TNT.

• Once again a litany of economic woes topped the Ojai Unified School Board meeting. Superintendent Tim Baird outlined the grim economic picture he was given over three days of statewide meetings.

• Help of Ojai received an early Valentine’s Day gift from a former volunteer who remembered the organization in her will.

June Greiving left a bequest of $125,000 to Help.

March
• City Council members are bracing themselves for an emotion-fueled evening. At issue is the long-standing debate over the city’s enforcement — or lack thereof — of the merchandise display laws that have been on the books for years.

The topic, which has been on the City Council’s agenda for the past several sessions, threatens to turn into a bit of a brouhaha at Tuesday’s gathering as a result of the sudden issuing of several unexpected official “notices of violation” to local retailers last week, mainly along the Arcade, for such infractions as having a sign outside a shop or a small table or rack of goods on display.

• The Ojai Unified School District board voted to notify 74 teachers of impending layoffs, the teachers’ dreaded “pink slips.”

Positions scheduled to be noticed for layoffs include 32 elementary teachers, 31 secondary teachers, and 13 district positions such as English language support, elementary music and physical education.

• After several months spent examining neighborhood safety concerns at El Roblar Drive and Poli Avenue, the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council decided against recommending stop signs or no parking zones along the little business district.

• Food For Thought, which last year received a grant for a pilot project called Up and Down the Waste Stream, has received a two-year $80,000 anonymous grant to continue greening our schools with its Green and Healthy Schools Program.

• A Mira Monte woman who refused to allow gypsy moth spraying on her property has complained to authorities about what she considers “strong-arm tactics” by a Ventura County biologist who urged her to reconsider that decision.

• The Ventura County Sheriff Gang Unit, assisted by several local and federal agencies, served 12 search warrants in two counties, as part of an ongoing investigation into a criminal street gang. The search warrants resulted in the seizure of nine handguns, methamphetamine, stolen motorcycles, prescription pills, and dangerous weapons.

• Appraising Libbey Bowl as a significant treasure to the community, the Ojai City Council voted unanimously to commit $500,000 in development funds to the next phase in its reconstruction.

• Serving court warrants, police-escorted state crews entered 27 Ojai area properties without permission to spray trees and shrubs with an organic pesticide to halt the spread of a tree-killing moth, a move some homeowners declared an outrage.

Officials said they’ve now treated all 577 properties within a designated spray zone in Mira Monte and Meiners Oaks just as caterpillars have hatched from larvae on their way to becoming gypsy moths.

• Landscaper Scot Olson was working in a yard in the 800 Block of Thomas Street in Oak View where he looked over at the pool and saw a toddler floating on the surface. He then pulled the floating child from the pool and began rescue breathing. A woman came running to the pool and dove in to retrieve another child from the bottom. Both girls had regained consciousness prior to the arrival of emergency medical services.  The children were transported to local area hospitals where they were treated and later released to their parents.

April
• The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has completed its four-month search for a new executive director by signing a contract with Greg Gamble.

Gamble said he is excited about his new job and about becoming integrated with the Ojai community.

• A long-anticipated meeting between residents of the Ojai Valley and the Federal Emergency Management Agency took place at Matilija Auditorium, drawing about 200 people out in the rain to hear the latest developments on floodplain remapping efforts and levee certification processes.

• A long-anticipated meeting between residents of the Ojai Valley and the Federal Emergency Management Agency took place at Matilija Auditorium, drawing about 200 people out in the rain to hear the latest developments on floodplain remapping efforts and levee certification processes.

Ventura County 1st District Supervisor Steve Bennett served as moderator of the meeting in reviewing FEMA’s methods and answering questions from the community. Bennett said that FEMA has been working for the past 18 months on remapping the floodplains of this county, prompted by a 2005 federal mandate, and has just begun efforts in the Ojai Valley.

In addition, a recent letter was circulated by the county Board of Supervisors to those living near the Live Oak Acres Levee stating it would not meet new FEMA standards being enforced. The change is expected to rezone the neighborhoods into a floodplain, increasing meeting attendance from those in that neighborhood. Residents from other floodplain designations, such as those in Casitas Springs and the East End, were also present.

• A polite yet unhappy crowd faced the budget-weary OUSD board during the three-and-a-half hour public portion of the board meeting. The evening covered more budget cuts and city plans for the proposed skate park renovation.

• The Ojai City Council was faced with a debate as it considered a request from the Ojai Unified School District to help pay the cost for the school resource officer at Nordhoff High School.

Due to state-level cutbacks, funding for the police position will be short about $31,000 for the remainder of the school year. City staff recommended that the city cover the remainder of the officer’s salary for this year, as well as authorize application for a federal grant to cover the expense for three more years.

• Not all Ojai Valley banks are lining up for their share of nearly $1 billion in total national Troubled Asset Relief Program, or T.A.R.P. money.

“We haven’t taken any bailout money,” said Martha Dowden of Los Padres Bank, “at least not any I know about.”

“Too many strings when you take that money,” joined in Dowden’s colleague, Tom Farmer. “You take that money and when you have your stockholders meeting you’ve got someone from the government there.”

• As the rainfall season winds down, authorities report that the Ojai Valley has experienced another year of sub-par precipitation, lowering the Lake Casitas reservoir, dropping groundwater levels and forcing farmers to water crops even during the wettest months.

The county Watershed Protection District reported local rainfall totals since Oct. 1 at between 54 percent and 62 percent of normal as the Ojai Valley had its fourth extremely dry year in the last decade.

• A 16-year-old Chaparral High School student was stabbed to death at an unsupervised teen party early Sunday, and a 14-year-old Mira Monte resident was arrested that evening on suspicion of murder in what authorities described as a gang-related homicide.

In the Ojai Valley’s first slaying in 11 years, Seth Scarminach died in the driveway of a Meiners Oaks home from stab wounds to his neck and chest shortly before 2 a.m., authorities said.

Scarminach, a Meiners Oaks resident, had also been the victim of an armed robbery in Oak View earlier this year, police confirmed.

Sheriff’s investigators would not elaborate on why they described the killing as gang related except to say that the suspect was an associate of an Ojai-based Latino gang.

• Dan Salas of Ventura County Fire Department station 20 in Upper Ojai helped fight a structure fire on the corner of El Roblar and Encinal in Meiners Oaks around 10:30 a.m. Thursday. County firefighting crews from Ventura County, Ventura City, Fillmore and Santa Paula responded to the blaze and helped to knock down the flames. There were no injuries and while a neighboring house sustained only smoke damage and a few broken windows, the building appeared to be a total loss and multiple vehicles on the property were damaged by smoke and fire.

• The next round of battles against increased diesel truck traffic through Ojai is coming.

If approved, Ozena Valley Ranch Mine could bring 200 gravel trucks a day through the Ojai Valley on Highway 33, doubling their current allowance.

The Ventura County Planning Division has scheduled an environmental impact report-scoping meeting for May 6 at 6 p.m. in Chaparral Auditorium, 414 E. Ojai Ave.

• As the rainfall season winds down, authorities report that the Ojai Valley has experienced another year of sub-par precipitation, lowering the Lake Casitas reservoir, dropping groundwater levels and forcing farmers to water crops even during the wettest months.

Three businesses drop affiliations with national chains

By Nancy Gross

As many in Ojai try to promote shopping local, three businesses have made it easier to keep the cash flowing in town, rather than through corporate pockets. Without any coercion Radio Shack has become Ojai Electronics and Hobby, Union 76 has become Ojai Gas, and Best Western Casa Ojai is now simply, Casa Ojai.

In fairness to Dottie Berry of Ojai Electronics and Hobby, her independently owned Radio Shack franchise was always called Ojai Electronics, for 23 years, though it had a Radio Shack sign, and it was listed in the Ojai Valley Directory’s yellow pages as Radio Shack-Ojai Elec-tronics.

“Radio Shack wants to make all the little independents run like a corporate Radio Shack store, and the fixtures they want in the store are expensive. They don’t want to pay for them. The profit margin was not there to continue to operate,” Berry said.

She added that Radio Shack wants the small franchises to follow certain protocol with customers as part of using their name and carrying their products. She said, “They want you to ask for every customer’s name and address, even if it’s offensive. They want you to keep certain checklists. I guess sometimes these franchises get too demanding about the numbers, the corporate image.”

She thinks Radio Shack may be phasing out small franchises but said, “You can’t put a corporate store in a small community. There’s not enough volume.”

Berry had the opportunity in September to move down one store in the building she was in; she dropped the franchise at the same time. The new store is a little smaller, “but we have better visibility. There is more signage on the way. I’m going into carrying some hobby items.” She moved to the location vacated by The Trunk, and now has one window facing onto Matilija Street.

Berry said clients have reacted positively to the change. “People let me know what they want. We do a lot of special orders for people. If we can get it, we will, and they appreciate that.” On a day-to-day basis, the hot sellers at the store are accessories like headphones and phone chargers.

One shopper this week at Ojai Electronics and Hobby was Dr. Dee Weisman’s husband, George — who asked good humouredly to be identified that way. He is visiting town, and had found the old Radio Shack store vacated, but noticed the sign for the new shop. “I didn’t know it was the same people, but I certainly didn’t want to run all the way to Ventura to get a universal remote.”

He offered Berry good wishes, and said he thought she had made a good decision. “I think it allows her to diversify, so that she’s able to shop and get better deals. She can get different items for her customers, and is not limited to the merchandise of the franchise.” He took interest in one of the hobby items she has on display; a remote operated helicopter.

“I think this is the best thing I ever did for the Ojai Valley people. I talked to a lot of people, people were waiting for me to do this,” said Neil Abasi, owner of Ojai Gas at the “Y” intersection, The station appears to be a busier place these days.

“I’m branded. We have the lowest price in town, lower than Shell in Oak View. We’re cheaper than Circle K, Valero, Chevron. I try to keep it that way. The more volume the store gets, the better the price we can offer.

“76 was squeezing me out,” Abasi said. He said he offers the same Conoco Phillips gasoline, “the same gas, the same invoice. If I had stayed with 76 I would have lost everything.”

Ojai Gas has a new mechanic, Jim Murphy, who specializes in engine repair, engine performance, electrical, brakes and smog. “I was 20 years with McConca Motors, which was bought out by Pontiac, Buick, GMC. Let us try to beat other prices. We will work with you.”

“The more people come, it’ll be cheaper. We work on volume,” Abasi said. “We’re more than happy to help people who are out of jobs. We’ll do our best.”

Abasi has a colleague who runs a Union 76 in San Luis Obispo who did not want his name mentioned, but who said he might do the same thing. He said, regarding Abasi, “He did the right thing. We’re making no money. The oil companies make all the money. They squeeze our margin to the limit. We can’t operate our businesses. We can’t even pay our bills.”

Geoff Wells of Casa Ojai said it was not bottom line finances that led to the decision to leave Best Western. “I don’t think financially there is going to be a positive for us as an ownership, it’s more or less that we might be a little bit negatively impacted because die hard Best Westerners will want to get their points and will stay in Ventura,” said Wells.

“However, as a counter for that we are offering rewards incentives to Best Western cardholders and to all other kinds of rewards cards holders. We were trying to fit into the small town, rather than make a buck,” Wells said.

“Best Western is the largest hotel franchise in the world. That mixed with Ojai, especially in today’s climate, doesn’t make sense. We’re building on our small town charm. We really didn’t have to do this.

“Casa Ojai was built by my father-in-law, Ben Larner, in the 80s, and it is still held in a family partnership. We plan to only improve upon it, as well as our other hotel, Su Nido.

“It’s truly a family business rather than an investment. We have no plans to sell it. This encourages us to continue to offer the best room for the best price that we can. We’re revamping our own brand, making our own brand.”

Casa Ojai is AAA three-diamond certified, as well as green certified by three different agencies, Green Leaf, Green Suites and California Green Lodging. The rating accounts for detergents used and energy savings. “We are trying to go paperless for office conservation. Best Western didn’t have a green program. We fought them on this. They are dragging their feet on certain things.”

Wells also said, “With the renovations going on next door, hopefully the East End will shape up as not just a place to sleep and leave. People have noticed our new wall and new sign out front and said, ‘Good for you, good luck.’ Hopefully they’ll see more and better changes to come.”

Former candidate joins Klaif, Blatz
and Corbin for appointment consideration

By Sondra Murphy

The City of Ojai has received another application for the open council seat. Parks & Recreation Commissioner Mike Lenehan submitted his application last week, the fourth application submitted to the city. Paul Blatz, Demitri Corbin and Leonard Klaif have also applied since Dec. 8, when the Ojai City Council voted 3-2 in favor of appointing a replacement for the position vacated by Joe DeVito, whose term would have naturally expired in 2010.

Lenehan has lived in Ojai since 2001 and many people know him as a coach for both Villanova Preparatory and Nordhoff High schools’ football programs. He is married to Marilyn and has five children. They are Tara, 21, Cian, 19, Rory, 17, Ciara, 10 and Kyla, 8.

“I am pretty pleased with the city council,” said Lenehan. “They all know me though the parks commission or from running for city council.”

Lenehan ran for council in 2008. “I came in a very strong fifth,” he laughed. But he also is proud that most of his votes came from word of mouth. “I spent $162 dollars on the campaign for 50 stickers and 15 signs,” he said.

Lenehan grew up in the Carpinteria and Summerland areas and volunteered in youth athletics relocating to Ojai, was a founding member of the Santa Barbara Irish Festival committee and worked with the parks and recreation commission there, as well. “I was amazed at what Ojai did in terms of recreation with such a small community, small staff and small budget,” Lenehan said. “You get so much more bang for your buck in Ojai.” His appreciation for the recreation offerings led to his interest in serving on Ojai’s Parks & Recreation Commission.

He has been involved with the skate park committee and is the PRC representative for the Libbey Bowl reconstruction committee. He also is a member of or is affiliated with the Ojai American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ojai, Knights of Columbus, Ventura, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association and is a founding member of the Emerald Society of Federal law Enforcement Agencies.

A 27-year veteran with the Army, Lenehan is retiring this month as a lieutenant colonel. His military service has encompassed both active and reserve status and has taken him many places, including Korea, Indonesia, Australia and Iraq. He was a primary plans officer in Iraq, assessing the impact of kinetic and non-kinetic operations. “I would get the ‘ground truth’ information on how each operation was going to affect the civilian population on the ground,” he explained. “I would deal with all the guys I knew who held the real estate around the area: the ground truth.”

He was last in Iraq in September of 2006. “After 27 years, I have nothing left to prove and I wanted to be here for my son’s senior year,” he said of his retirement. “My family made a lot of sacrifices and bore the brunt of my career.”

Lenehan is a federal investigator and has worked for three different agencies in that capacity. He estimates that he volunteers about 30 hours a week coaching football each season. Not surprisingly, all his children are athletes and have been outstanding contributors on teams from basketball, volleyball, football, track and hockey to softball.

“I can provide the working class perspective of a community-minded person who takes his kids to school, works 40 hours a week, volunteers, then brings that ground truth to the job,” he said. “I live in a 900-square-foot home with one bathroom and raised five kids in it. I have a common person perspective that I think appeals to people who are in a like situation.”

Besides his occupational and life experiences, Lenehan has degrees from Santa Barbara City College and University of California Santa Barbara, with an AA and BA in Law and Society. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

Finding a councilmember replacement has been a focus of the city since longtime council member DeVito’s October announcement of his resignation effective Dec. 31. His successor will therefore only fill the position until next December, so will need to run as a candidate on the November ballot to have a chance of continuing on the council.

If appointed, Lenehan said he is unlikely to run again in November. “I don’t think it would be fair to run in 2010, but I might run in 2012,” he said. “I am more conservative, but at the same time, I’ll volunteer to go pick up your kid and teach him something.”

The Ojai City Council hopes to appoint DeVito’s successor at the Jan. 12 meeting. The OVN will report any subsequent applicants for the council seat as they apply.

Press release from Sgt. Bill Schierman
VENTURA COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

Narrative: Detectives from the Ojai sub-station and the Sheriff’s Gang Unit concluded a two-month investigation into a vehicle burglary ring with the arrest of five suspects.  Investigators believe the group is responsible for at least 30 vehicle burglaries stretching from West Ventura to the City of Ojai.

In October and November, the City of Ojai began experiencing a rash of vehicle burglaries within the city limits.  Detectives found that a credit card taken in one of the burglaries was used at an ATM in West Ventura.  Detectives obtained a photograph of the individual who used the stolen credit card and on November 30^th they identified him as Lee Peyton.  Peyton was currently on parole for robbery.

Gang investigators set up a surveillance of Peyton and were able to identify several residences and individuals that he associated with.  Investigators also developed other leads that identified Ricardo Gutierrez, Kristen Baker, and Reyes Estrada as being involved in the burglaries.

In December, investigators set up a surveillance of Reyes Estrada and Kristen Baker.  On 12-12-2009, investigators watched Estrada and Baker purchase gasoline at a station in Ventura.  Investigators later obtained records of that transaction and found they used a stolen credit card from an unreported vehicle burglary in the City of Ventura.  Investigators were able to contact the victim in that case who told investigators her purse was stolen from a friend’s car in a downtown Ventura parking lot.

On 12-15-2009, investigators served search warrants at five locations in the Ojai Valley and the City of Oxnard. During a search of Benjamin Kennedy’s residence located in the 400 block of El Roblar, investigators recovered 4 purses that were later identified as being stolen from vehicle burglaries. Investigators also arrested Lee Peyton for violating his parole terms.

On 12-23-2009, investigators arrested Benjamin Kennedy for possession of stolen property.  Later that night, investigators located Kristen Baker and Reyes Estrada in a home in the 200 block of West Flint, Ventura.  During a subsequent search, investigators recovered stolen credit cards and a driver’s license that were taken from a burglary that occurred in Ventura. Both Estrada and Baker were arrested for burglary and booked into the Ventura County Jail.

On 12-24-2009, investigators had obtained enough evidence to arrest Ricardo Gutierrez for his participation in the burglaries.

Although investigators were only able to recover a small amount of the property taken in the various burglaries, they did collect enough evidence to link the suspects to at least 30 vehicle burglaries.  Investigators believe that a majority of the stolen property was sold to various individuals.  Investigators are continuing their effort to recover more stolen property.

Investigators are planning to arrest Peyton for numerous counts of vehicle burglary as soon as he is finished serving his time in state prison for violation of his parole terms.

Most of the reported vehicle burglaries involve purses or other valuables that were left in plain sight.  Investigators believe that the suspects targeted areas that had a high likelihood of purses being left in cars.  These included popular hiking spots, parking areas around nightclubs, and other areas where women were likely to leave purses in a car.

Demitri Corbin

Arts commissioner latest to apply for vacated position

By Sondra Murphy

Actor and Ojai Arts Commissioner Demitri Corbin has thrown his hat into the ring for a City Council opening. Corbin joins attorneys Paul Blatz and Leonard Klaif on the list of official applicants.

Finding a council member replacement has been a focus of the city since Joe DeVito announced his retirement in October. On Dec. 8, the Ojai City Council voted 3-2 in favor of appointing a replacement for the position vacated by DeVito, who submitted his resignation effective Dec. 31. DeVito’s term would have naturally expired in 2010. His successor will therefore only fill the position until next December, and so will need to run as a candidate on the November ballot to have a chance of continuing on the council.

Corbin is an eight-year resident of Ojai and a professional actor. His work teaching theater brought him to the city, but its rich artistic community compelled him to move here. “I was volunteering with a youth theater program,” said Corbin. “The Virginia Avenue Project comes up here every year, so I came here with that and then decided to stay.”

A Chicago native, Corbin founded Peachtree Theater Company, a nonprofit organization that brings theater education to schools throughout Ventura County, which led to the creation of Cardboard Fairytale Theater workshops for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade students. Before moving to Ventura County, Corbin volunteered to work with at-risk youth in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

As a resident, he continued teaching performing arts and estimates he has taught about 6,000 youngsters since at many schools and organizations in the Ojai Valley, including Oak Grove, Montessori, San Antonio Elementary, Summit Elementary and Valley Oaks Charter schools. “In the two years since the arts grant program has been re-instated, 100 percent of the applications have been for educational outreach programs,” said Corbin. “As an arts educator I am aware of the vital role the education sector plays in the local economy and how Ojai’s innovative arts programs impact education throughout the county. As council member I will bring insight to the education sector and how the city can be of better service.”

Corbin has also served as a volunteer, board member, instructor and advisor to the Ojai Playwrights Conference, Ojai Film Festival, Theater 150, Ojai Shakespeare Festival and Ojai Performing Arts Theater Foundation. “Their representation is crucial to any plans to build tourism,” he said. “Serving as a council member I will lobby to increase the Arts Commission’s capacity to apply for public and private funding by utilizing the city’s nonprofit status.”

He said his decision to apply for the council seat followed careful consideration after the city’s agreeing to help promote tourism to Ojai. “I want to be on City Council because I think I would bring insight into the arts community when decisions are made,” Corbin said. “All of these things lend to the profile that Ojai has as an artists’ community.”

He addressed the subject further in his letter. “Along with my fellow commissioners I have successfully lobbied to reinstate the city’s arts grant funding and improved the city’s relationship with the performing arts community with a monthly meeting program. I feel strongly that as the chamber of commerce works to build tourism that Ojai’s vibrant arts community is essential to plans for branding Ojai as a tourist destination.”

Corbin believes filling the position from within will most benefit the city, especially because of ongoing projects like the Ojai Skate Park and Libbey Bowl reconstruction efforts. “I feel that appointing someone within the city government will give continuity to immediate agenda items and make way for a smooth transition to a newly elected official.”

He brings other ideas, as well. “My Arts Commission appointment came about because of my publication of the ‘2007 Men of Ojai Calendar.’ The ‘2010 Men of Ojai Calendar’ is the most complete arts event calendar with the dates of every important Ojai arts event available at the time of publication,” said Corbin. “Along with my fellow commissioners, I have been working to get an events calendar on the city web site for the past year. An events calendar on the city web site is a must for boosting tourism.”

The OVN will report on any additional applicants for the council seat as they submit papers to the city.

Project funded by $30K grant

By Linda Harmon

Starting in January non-native trees that have invaded the Libbey Park creek ecosystem and riparian corridor will be removed and replaced with clusters of new native trees. The tree plans are part of a Community Wetland Restoration Project funded by a $30,000 grant written by local biologist Brian Holly. Holly, who works for Ojai’s environmental consulting firm Bio Research Consultants, is a chair of the Ojai Valley Green Coalition Watershed Committee. He is in charge of the watershed project restoring 1.4 acres, at an estimated cost of $50,500.

“I’m ordering plants now,” said Holly, who has already worked with area volunteers and members of C.R.E.W. to clear the area of non-native underbrush since acquiring the grant in June. “Tom Bostrom is writing a tree protection plan that will lay out the protective measures for native trees and will identify the trees that need to be removed because they are invasive and spreading seeds downstream.”

Although the tree protection and removal plan is not finished, Holly wanted to get the word out that he expects it to include the removal of Canary Island date palms, Mexican fan palms, and a few ash trees. Holly also wants the public to know that there are plans for the larger non-natives that can be boxed for transplanting.

“They can be used in other areas,” said Holly, “whether at someone’s house or at another area offsite, that won’t affect the watershed. And we will be able to pay for a lot of the removal expense because some can be sold. It’s a win-win because we are not destroying trees that may be seen as favorable to someone else but are still protecting the watershed.”

Holly has already received permission from nearby landowners for access to the site. Holly needed it to bring in heavy equipment to box the larger trees for removal.

“Also, I hope people will be happy to hear that any other trees that need to be removed or trimmed,” said Holly, “will have their wood recycled and used for building materials or utilized for bio-mulch.”

According to Holly, the project will have a biologist on site at all times during the removal process. The Ventura County Watershed Protection District and the Department of Fish and Game have already given their approval, and Holly is in ongoing meetings with city representatives as the plan and the project proceeds.

“We want to protect the overall tree canopy,” said Holly. “For every non-native tree we remove, we plan on replanting two or three native trees clustered around where the non-native was removed. We will plant sycamores, black walnuts, and oak trees and if we can get a hold of them, some big leaf maples.”

Besides replanting trees in the area the project also includes propagating willows and planting them on the creek banks to protect the area from future erosion.

Holly plans on going ahead with planting weekends planned for mid-January. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Holly at Brian@biorc

.com or call the OVGC at 653-8445. If you’d like to donate a tree contact Bostrom at ojaitrees.com. The Wetland Restoration Project is explained in greater depth on the OVGC web site, OVGC.org and is featured at the Ojai Valley Museum exhibit “Go Green, Ojai!” That exhibit will continue until Feb. 17 and is open Thursday and Friday, 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. The museum is located at 130 W. Ojai Ave.

Husband Jackie with Lanie Jo Springer as she is honored for her years of service to the Ojai Valley by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors in October, 2008. Photo by David LaBelle

Lanie Jo Springer succumbs to cancer

By Sondra Murphy
If there is a name that exemplifies the spirit of the Ojai Valley, it is Lanie Springer. A longtime champion of philanthropy and community service, Springer died on Saturday of pancreatic cancer.

She was a proactive member of the community with a welcoming smile and seemed tireless in her efforts. “Lanie was a one-of-a-kind person whose no-nonsense approach to any problem was refreshing,” said Al Buczkowski, Oak View Civic Council member and former Oak View honorary mayor. “She will be missed.”

In October of 2008, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors presented a resolution to Springer honoring her five decades of service to the community of Oak View and the Ojai Valley. Springer’s husband, Jackie, and many friends from the area were there in celebration of her achievement. “Few others can match Lanie’s extraordinary career of service to her community and her sterling example of dedicated citizenship,” the resolution read.

“This is very overwhelming,” Springer said before the event. “You don’t do this because you want to be rewarded. Community service means a lot to me.”

Springer served for many years as chair of the Highway 33 Improvement Committee, chair of the Ojai Valley Municipal Advisory Council, and was named Oak View honorary mayor, Citizen of the Year and to the Oak View Hall of Fame. Her impact on the valley was far-reaching.

Besides OVCC, Highway 33 Committee and OVMAC, during which she contributed to the Ojai Valley Area Plan, Springer also served on the Oak View American Legion Auxiliary, the Eight and Forty American Legion Society, as grand marshal of the 2007 Oak View Memorial Day parade and was on the board of Oak View Women’s Club for more than 40 years.

Springer served as president of the OVWC in 1969 and 1970, sold raffle tickets at conventions and was the president’s aide of the Tierra Adorada District, the region under which the club functioned. “She was just a very valiant lady,” said Barbara Smith, OVWC member and past president. “She was in on the ground floor of getting the first stop light in Oak View at the post office. We did an old-fashioned sit-in and blocked traffic in the ‘70s.” Springer was later on the Casitas Springs Bypass Committee.

The number of groups Springer contributed to is staggering. She served as extraordinary minister of the Old Mission, executive secretary for Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Fraternal Society, secretary of the Cal-Nevada-Hawaii Jurisdictional Omaha Woodmen Life Insurance Society, on St. Thomas School PTA and Boy Scouts of America Troop 2503 Mothers Association. For 32 years, Springer worked for Ventura Unified School District.

“It was always an honor to work with Lanie on the MAC and Highway 33 Committee,” said Steve Offerman, who is executive director for a number of county committees that regularly meet in Oak View through his association with Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett’s office. “She was dedicated, hardworking, represented her community very well and had a traditional sense of kindness and dignity that will be missed.”

Springer was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1934. Married for 55 years, she and her husband moved to Oak View in 1956, where they raised three sons, Jim, John and Joe. There are now five Springer grandchildren, and a hint of the next generation to come.

Springer established a family in the society she served, as well. “The words I most want to say are difficult to find. Their journey begins far, far away in the heart,” said OVCC’s Lynn Smith. “My relationship with Lanie began while we served together on the OVCC board in the 1980s and ‘90s. Lanie embodies the best in all of us: intelligence, beauty, vivaciousness, vision, selfless service, strength in beliefs with courage to express an opinion, thoughtfully compassionate, grounded, earthy, capable and solidly committed to ensuring that Oak View is a safe, secure and wonderful town to live in. Her example has and will continue to inspire me.”

OVWC member Connie Biggers perfectly summed up Springer’s impact on her world. “She is a valley legend.”

Council eyes $43K for energy-saving projects

By Sondra Murphy
Taking advantage of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, the Ojai City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the County of Ventura to submit a joint application that includes Ojai for an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.

The city’s Public Works director, Mike Culver, presented the report to the council and said the ARRA includes $3.2 billion allocated nationwide for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants Program, of which California’s portion is $351.5 million. EECBG funds may be used for development of local energy plans, energy assessments, programs and other activities that result in long-term energy savings, transform markets or provide jobs.

According to the allocation formula, the city of Ojai is eligible to apply for $42,929 under the program, which is figured per capita. Culver said the Ventura County Regional Energy Alliance believes that a collaborative application from combined county jurisdictions would result in a higher probability of a successful grant application. The alliance also views collaboration as a way to provide optimal cost efficiency for any projects under the program.

VCREA will coordinate the proposed application representing the cities of Ojai, Fillmore, Port Hueneme and Santa Paula, with the county acting as the lead agency in preparing and filing the application.

Culver said VCREA met with each agency and established a list of potential projects for each which meet the requirements of the EECBG program. The selected projects for Ojai are retrofits and replacement upgrades in existing buildings that are critical to the safety and security of the city to assist in bringing old facilities up to new codes and standards.

“Why does it have to be all retrofits,” Council-woman Carol Smith asked during the meeting.

“That was based on guidelines put out by the Energy Commission,” said Culver. “These were the projects that met those guidelines put down by the feds.

Identified projects include City Hall, the Boyd Center at the Recreation Department, Libbey Park and the city’s maintenance shop. Culver estimated the combined cost of the proposed projects is $54,472, while the expected energy savings would be 66,499 kilowatt hours per year.

Needed are interior and exterior lighting systems, lighting controls and heating and air conditioning units. Culver said City Hall is in need of the air upgrades, and the other facilities require lighting retrofits.

“This particular grant is just for public facility needs,” Culver said. “It benefits us in the long run, because it’s better energy efficiency, so will lower our energy bills, as well. You want to demonstrate that you’ll have long-term energy savings as a result.”

VCREA is developing tests for project costs and energy savings calculations as part of its feasibility study, to be finalized upon receipt of grant fund approval.

Window breakage at East Ojai Avenue store leads to theft

By Linda Harmon
The Grinch was busy at Ojai Creates on East Ojai Avenue before Iris Williams and Kirk Lowry were awakened by a call from Senior Deputy Jim Popp shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday.

“They broke the glass in the front door,” said Williams, co-owner of the art store her husband Lowry. “The only thing they took was spray paint.”

According to Popp and Williams, 12 cans of art quality Montana spray paint valued at approximately $100 were taken, and damage to the store was confined to broken glass in the front door.

“I was going by on my morning walk and the door was wide open so I called the police,” said Pam Phillips, who saw no one and added she had to dial information to get the phone number. “You’d think I would remember after living here my whole life.”

“There must have been people that walked by and saw the door open,” said Lowry. “There are all kinds of people around in the morning that could have walked in and taken something. No one did and that’s the good part of Ojai.”

Williams and Lowry still hadn’t decided about whether they would replace the paints.

“I am just thinking the thing all over,” said Williams, whose first reaction was to take all the spray paints out of the store and off the shelves in their new Ventura store. “The whole reason we stocked them to begin with was we recognize that graffiti is an art. It’s different than just these kids tagging and peeing on your walls. The part that really gets me is the people that did this don’t know anything about graffiti.”

“They left the airbrushes,” added Lowry, “and many other expensive items were left untouched.”

“It’s a delicate issue, some consider it vandalism,” said Williams of stocking graffiti art supplies. “Our whole push was to show there was another level to it. We were just talking last night about staging a ‘graffiti paint-off.’ We’d provide the canvases and a place to paint and the artists would get a chance to display their work. To me that’s the next level.”

Instead, in the morning light Williams said, “My first reaction is no more of it in the store and to take down my graffiti window out front that says ‘imagine.’  But that’s reacting to what one person did, and to punish the rest of the people that are serious artists isn’t right. It takes a lot of talent to do what they do. To get a line that’s crisp and clean and combine all the design elements that go into it. It’s more about writing words on walls. It is real creative expression.”

“No,” concluded Williams, who considers graffiti some the new wave of original art. “We won’t punish everybody else.”

If you have any knowledge concerning the break-in please call the Ojai Police Department at 646-1414.

Paul Blatz

Twenty-six-year resident wants City Council job

By Sondra Murphy

On Tuesday afternoon, Paul Blatz submitted his application for consideration for the open council seat. He joins Leonard Klaif, who was covered in Wednesday’s OVN.

“The reason I decided I would like to put my name in is because I have a great deal of respect for all the remaining members on the council,” said Blatz, a 26-year resident of Ojai. “I felt the council, in terms of who they appoint, should have as many applicants as possible. And I truly believe that my presence on the council would help assure the sustainability of the community.”

In his application submitted to the city, Blatz lists his participation in civic and professional groups in addition to his legal experience. Included are his memberships with Rotary Club of Ojai-West, Ojai Pergola Committee, Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, Ojai Valley Living Treasures board, and he is the Ojai Performing Arts Theater Foundation board counsel. He is also a member of the California and Ventura County bar associations, other county legal groups and has been a Ventura County Superior Court judge pro-tem since 2002.

Blatz has operated his law office in Ojai for more than 17 years, is a past Redevelopment commissioner and served on the Ojai Planning Commission for nine years. He also ran for City Council in 1996 and 2002.

“I am acutely aware that what we cherish most about living in our beautiful valley could be easily lost if we are not careful,” he said in his statement. “In order to protect our village character and quality of life, it is essential we maintain the proper balance between our environmental and economic interests and appreciate and preserve our history in order to safeguard our future and achieve sustainability.”

He also would like to see a plan that addresses traffic impacts on the valley streets and air quality and lists affordable housing and youth programs as priorities for the city.

“Growth within Ojai must be controlled, well planned and concentrated within our city core to minimize impact on residential neighborhoods and our open space,” said Blatz.

“I have a sincere dedication to protect what makes Ojai special — its small-town character — while also assuring a fiscal responsibility to its citizens.”

Finding a council member replacement has been a focus of the city since Joe DeVito announced his retirement in October. On Dec. 8, the Ojai City Council voted 3-2 in favor of appointing a replacement for the position vacated by DeVito, who submitted his resignation effective Dec. 31. DeVito’s term would have naturally expired in 2010. His successor will therefore only fill the position until next December, and so will need to run as a candidate on the November ballot to have a chance of continuing on the council.

The OVN will report on any additional applicants for the council seat as soon as they submit papers to the city.

Councilwoman Sue Horgan presents a proclamation to retiring Mayor Joe DeVito at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

By Sondra Murphy

The spirit of good will and hope for the future was overflowing in the City Council chambers this week as Councilman Steve Olsen replaced the retiring Joe DeVito as mayor. In addition to expressions of gratitude abounding for Mayor Joe DeVito’s retirement from politics on Tuesday, the Ojai City Council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the execution of an agreement between the city and Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce with the aim of marketing Ojai as a tourist destination.

The agreement is that the city will provide $160,000 to the chamber for that purpose.

Staff and council liaisons had been meeting with the business community for more than a year to discuss options related to marketing Ojai as a tourist destination. Meetings included hoteliers, retailers, commercial property owners and the Chamber of Commerce and this group eventually came to be known as the Ojai Village Association.

Several of the association members, as well as Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Eicher addressed the council in November to request that the city take a more proactive role in bringing tourists to Ojai. The council agreed to hold a special meeting Dec. 1, where an organized proposal was submitted and informal discussions occurred.

City staff and OVA met again to refine the proposal, which was brought to a special joint meeting of the City Council and Redevelopment Agency, the council’s alter ego, this week. City manager Jere Kersnar submitted a recommendation to approve a marketing element, including funding for half the fiscal year for a total of $87,500. Kersnar asked for direction on whether the funds were to come from city or Redevelopment Agency funds, if approved.

“If you were to provide for it annually, it would be $160,000,” said Kersnar. “The other question is, where’s the money come from? And that is why this is a joint City Council and Redevelopment Agency meeting, so you have the options. We do have RDA money this fiscal year, but beyond that, it’s problematic. I don’t think RDA is sustainable at this point.”

Technicalities, such as contracting with the chamber, instead of the unofficial entity OVA, were worked out in the new proposal. Tentatively titled the Ojai Visitor’s Bureau, funds would be under the control of that subcommittee, according to Kersnar. Reports will be submitted twice a year to the council account for activities, accomplishments and finances.

Requested funds are to establish administrative staff, miscellaneous marketing, other start-up expenses, such as contact numbers, and a public relations firm contract. All such expenses would be included in reports.

Leonard Klaif submits the necessary paperwork to Ojai City Clerk Carlon Strobel Tuesday, making official his candidacy for Ojai City Council.

Members hoping to appoint replacement by Jan. 12

By Sondra Murphy
It’s hard to know which occupational skills could best serve a government agency: those of a massage therapist-criminal defense attorney, or one who is simply a full-time lawyer.

Yesterday, Ojai resident  Paul Blatz and previous City Council candidate Leonard Klaif submitted applicationz to the city, just one week after the council voted to appoint someone to fill a council vacancy instead of waiting until June to hold a special election. Blatz was in court Tuesday afternoon and unavailable for comment.

In a cover letter submitted with his application, Klaif wrote, “It will come as no surprise that I submit my name for consideration for appointment to fill Joe DeVito’s term on the Ojai City Council.  “I have attached my résumé to my application but believe that this letter outlining my more pertinent experience is appropriate.”

While Klaif’s résumé includes his educational background and history as an attorney since 1973, his letter refers to local community involvement since moving to Ojai 17 years ago. It also lists a very Ojai kind of excursion: the six-year sabbatical he took from 1981 to 1987 to work at a bookstore while attending massage school and serving as a teaching assistant at a Santa Monica massage institute before returning to the practice of law.

Instructor, student killed on impact in Piper Tomahawk

By Nancy Gross
The victims of the plane crash Thursday afternoon outside 24 Krotona Road have been identified as student pilot Amit Ahire, 19, and flight instructor Richard Anthony Prado, 51.

James Popp, a senior deputy with the Ventura County Sherrif’s Department, said that both were pronounced dead at the scene. They seemingly lost control of the aircraft and descended onto the pavement cockpit first.

The pair had left Camarillo Airport at about 1:30 p.m.; the flight was Ahire’s fifth flight with Aviation Pacific Flight School. Andy Bortolon, owner of Aviation Pacific, said that the day’s lesson was practicing emergency maneuvers.

“We are all recovering from a big shock,” said Bortolon, “I lost a friend. We lost two people that we knew. We closed for three days, but today (Monday) we open up. We’re still really sad. We had to think about the other students. Tomorrow we have the exams. We will do a memorial for them.”

Bortolon, who spends his time between Italy and Camarillo, offers lessons to many people from abroad, particularly from Europe, India and the Middle East. He spoke about the lesson Ahire was receiving at the time of the incident. “That is the type of training you do before you can solo.”

Ahire was from India, where Aviation Pacific plans to open another school. Both Prado and Ahire were new to Oxnard, Prado having relocated from San Antonio, Texas to teach flying, and Ahire was visiting from a small Indian village to learn to fly.

Martin Calderon, and his brother, Francisco Calderon, were two eyewitnesses to the crash. Francisco Calderon saw it only partially, from a little ways away. Martin Calderon viewed the entire thing close up.

Martin Calderon left the scene after others arrived. “I was there. I was in a little truck and I heard this noise and it just came down right in front of me,” Martin Calderon said.

“It was very low, so close to the ground. I called 911. It happened so fast and I was so close. The last three days I’ve been waking up, dreaming about it. It was a very unfortunate accident.”

Martin Calderon said that after the plane crashed, the entire location was very silent. But the explosive sound some people heard as the plane fell was because, prior to crashing, “The engine was very loud. There was a lot of fuel. It hit the asphalt. You can see the little hole in the asphalt.

“I called 911 right away, at 2:28. It was really something. I think they died right away. They were just leaning on the windshield.” Martin Calderon also called the person in charge of some of the Krotona grounds. This man, his supervisor, prefers not to be named, but was one of the people who answered questions after authorities arrived.

In short, Martin Calderon was driving up the one-way road, and the sound of the low plane faltering made him stop his truck, get out and look up. Then the plane crashed a very short distance in front of where he had parked, perhaps only 30 or 40 feet. Had he not stopped to look out, he might have been hit.

Board closes day-care center

By Linda Harmon
It may be time to deck the halls but the Ojai Unified School District’s board meeting last week was about clearing the decks and balancing the books. The four-hour meeting saw the election of board officers and set the course for two major decisions. The most far-reaching decision was the adoption of the district’s First Interim Report for the 2009-2010 school year, anticipating draconian budget cuts if help doesn’t arrive quickly from the state or federal government. The second decision, of more limited scope, was the recommendation by superintendent Henry Bangser for a June 30 closing of the infant center portion of OUSD’s A Place To Grow day-care center.

During budget discussions three alternatives were set forth by Bangser and staff, including two using part of the state-mandated 3 percent reserves. In a normal economy reserves are left untouched. However, this is not a normal economy and declining enrollment over the last 10 years has added to budget headaches.

According to assistant superintendent Danielle Pusatere, the budget has previously been balanced largely through the use of one-time funds, including grants and funds from President Obama’s stimulus package. Those one-time funds are no longer available and put pressure for future cuts to come from staffing cuts. According to Pusatere, the district’s approximately $25 million budget contains $21 million in “people expenditures,” funds needed for staff salaries and benefits.

By Lenny Roberts
Ojai City Councilwoman and former mayor Sue Horgan announced Tuesday that she has entered the race for Ventura County Treasurer and Tax Collector. The position, currently held by Lawrence L. Matheney, will become available in November 2010.

“My real love is finance, Horgan said Tuesday.” This job is a perfect blend between my private and business experience, and I think it’s the perfect job for me.”

Applicants may begin  filing for the position in February, and the primary election will be held in June. If a candidate does not get the majority of votes in the primary, a run-off will be held in the November general election.

Audra Strickland, California State Assemblywoman from the 37th District, has also indicated her intent to run for the tax collector-treasurer position.

Ojai Valley Service Foundation reverses fund-raising lure

By Sondra Murphy

Many in the community are breathing easier this week, and not just because of the rains. Ojai Valley Service Foundation announced to the Ojai City Council on Tuesday that they were no longer entertaining the notion of renaming Libbey Bowl to boost efforts to raise funds for its make-over.

“We understand the importance of maintaining Ojai’s history and legacy,” said Bill Burr Jr., Ojai Valley Service Foundation vice president. “After much thought, we have decided to take the opportunity to rename the bowl with a $1 million gift off the table out of respect to the community.”

The concept was raised last month when staff brought a request to the council to consider renaming the bowl in exchange for a $1 million donation toward the bowl’s reconstruction slated to begin this summer after the Ojai Music Festival wraps its season. No obligation would have been generated by the acceptance of such an amount, with the council retaining all rights to approval, but the idea created a flurry of debate throughout the community.

“Raising $1 million is a daunting task and we have been working hard to reach that goal,” said Burr. “We are seeking the council’s full support as we engage the entire community in creatively and completely funding the rebuilding of one of Ojai’s beloved iconic historical landmarks.”

Repairs have proved inadequate against the steady deterioration of the structure, built in 1957, and it was determined  last year a complete rebuilding was needed.

Councilwoman Sue Horgan reminded all that the project is on a tight time line. “If community members want to support this effort, now is the time,” she said.

Councilwoman Carol Smith asked about the foundation’s tax status. “It’s a 501(c)(4),” Burr said.

“So if people give a donation by the end of the year, they may write it off on their taxes?” Burr responded in the affirmative.

The city of Ojai and the Ojai Music Festival have already pledged two-thirds of the $3.3 million project. The campaign to raise the remaining $1 million, dubbed “Save Libbey Bowl,” kicked off in October.

For more information or to donate to the project, go to libbeybowl.org or call OVSF at 646-3117.

Citing ‘different agendas,’ president  says expansion’s a must for survival

By Nancy Gross
If the Ojai Film Festival were a house, there would be concern that the roof might fall now that several of the pillars have left the building.

Chairman and President David Shor announced his departure, and that of six other board members on Monday. Bill Monot, vice president of development, James Holland, VP of special projects and Lori Wyatt, VP of finance and treasurer, have resigned, ostensibly for the same reasons as Shor. Directors Sheila Cluff, John Bennett Perry and Rinaldo Brutoco have pulled out of the festival for other individual reasons, according to statements made by several people involved.

“I wanted to take the high road on this. As you can imagine, there are significant issues,” Shor said. “I’m very disappointed that what happened happened. I spent an enormous amount of my time taking a festival that was near dead and bringing it to the level and acclaim in the film world that it achieved this year. There are different agendas. Some people would like to run it out of the back room of the Art Center. In my view, for it to survive, it has to expand.

“There’s a fight for films. You have to go out and work hard to solicit films in order to compete. Otherwise you are just getting film festival circuit films. You have to attract the names, the sex appeal, the sizzle, the things that sustain a film festival. Financially it is a flop.”

Shor mentioned more than once the tremendous year-round output of time required to raise funds and to organize, and the fact that the board members who left all have other work and projects to attend to.

Shor and others have worked to build relationships in the past few years with the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa, the city of Ventura, Brooks Institute and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in order to grow the festival. The hope has been that the festival would become more of a destination festival capable of receiving grants and of becoming self-sustaining.

“I want to work with winners,” Shor said. He adds in his written statement, “I, for one, hope that the positive impact our board had on the festival and the communities of Ojai and Ventura will continue and that the festival will be led by a capable and committed board.”

Monot said, “It’s just a tough year, that is all. We’re all hoping it survives. It’s just a sign of the times.”

Herbert Hemming, vice president of operations and secretary, said that not everyone left for the same reasons, or at exactly the same time. Hemming is one of three remaining board members, along with artistic director Steve Grumette and director Victoria Baldwin.

Grumette said, “There were different opinions about the festival and how it was run and this led to Chair David Shor, Bill Monot and Lori Wyatt leaving. John Bennett Perry is recovering nicely from an illness and hadn’t been active for some months. Sheila and Rinaldo may or may not leave. They have other things taking their attention. Rinaldo had announced an intention to resign after the festival this year.

“The festival is going to continue. New board members will replace the others,” Grumette said. “This cultural institution that has been evolving for 10 years will continue.”

Ventura County Firefighter Robert Ashby and Ojai Police Chief Chris Dunn await the arrival of the medical examiner following Thursday’s incident near 24 Krotona Road. Photo by Scott Wintermute

By Nancy Gross
Two men died Thursday when their single-engine Piper Tomahawk crashed at 24 Krotona Road Thursday afternoon. The Fire Department got the call at about 2:30 p.m.

Several people called 911 to report the incident, but no witnesses to the crash were on the scene when authorities arrived. One Krotona resident who declined giving his name, said he arrived at the scene and saw two men curled up against the windshield. He checked for pulses and did not feel anything.

“You can tell it was totally instantaneous,” he said. “I don’t know how they are going to get them out of there,” indicating that the plane wreck had trapped them. “It was a tiny, two-person, single-engine plane.” The wreckage was nearly unrecognizable as an airplane.

By that time authorities had set up caution tape and were not allowing anyone close to the downed plane. Multiple fire engines and ambulances were present. At about 3:15 the closest ambulance was backed down the road, and a rescue vehicle was moved into its place.

The impact shook up the usually peaceful neighborhood. “We only heard it,” said one resident. “We just heard a strange, deadening crash.”

Workers in Linda Lambert’s nearby home called her to report that they had heard what sounded like an explosion. “The ground just shook,” she said.

Despite these perceptions, authorities reported there was no explosion or fire related to the crash.

The Rev. James Voirol of Our Lady and All Angels Liberal Catholic Church lives quite close to the scene of the crash and quietly and inconspicuously approached the crash site to offer last rites. He did not want to comment.

A county medical examiner arrived on the scene around 4 p.m. to remove the bodies with the help of the Fire Department. FAA investigators were en route to gather evidence to determine the cause of the crash. As of this publication, it was not known from where the flight originated or its destination. Published reports later said the occupants, both Oxnard residents, were a 51-year-old flight instructor and a 19-year-old student pilot flying out of the Camarillo Airport.

Senior Deputy Jim Popp issued this statement late in the evening:
Witnesses reported the plane appeared to have some mechanical problems and difficulty maintaining altitude.  No structures were damaged and no additional victims were located as a result of the crash. The plane wreckage will remain at the crash site until tomorrow morning, when investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (N.T.S.B.) and Federal Aviation Administration (F.A.A.) will return to continue their investigations.

Special election could cost more than $30,000

By Sondra Murphy
Now is the time for Ojai residents with opinions on local government to make their voices heard.

Now is the time for Ojai residents with opinions on local government to make their voices heard.

On Tuesday, the Ojai City Council voted 3-2 in favor of appointing a replacement for the position vacated by Joe DeVito, longtime councilman and current mayor, who submitted his resignation last month, effective Dec. 31. DeVito’s term would have naturally expired in 2010. His replacement will therefore only fill the position until  next December.

To qualify for consideration, one must be registered to vote in the Ojai city limits. Applications are available at Ojai City Hall, 401 S. Ventura St., or from the web site, ci.ojai.ca.us. Interested persons are encouraged to apply as soon as possible, as well as make appointments to speak individually with the current council members, except DeVito, who will not be participating in the selection process. The city hopes to receive official nominations from council members at their next meeting on Jan. 12. Their contact information is also available on the city web site under City Government, City Council.

City manager Jere Kersnar and staff recommended appointment due primarily to the short time a newly elected council member would serve.

Several public speakers addressed the council on the issue. Of the speakers, three were in favor of appointment, while four wanted to see a special election, including Len Klaif, who had made it known for weeks that he would apply for the seat or run for election, depending on the council’s decision. Lee Fitzgerald, Jerry Kaplan and Meg Goodwin spoke in favor of appointment. “If you don’t appoint a temporary replacement for Joe, the potential for split votes will stymie the process,” said Kaplan. “I therefore request an appointment.”

“There’s no question that the selection of a replacement is cheaper and timelier than election, but democracy is not cheap,” said Klaif. “Another reason I urge you to go for special election is that you are doing more than selecting you’re giving that person a leg up. If they were to run for the position in November, they are running as an incumbent and that’s a huge advantage.” Pat McPherson, Suza Francina and Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Eicher echoed those sentiments.

“I know it would bring the council down for a short time,” said Eicher. “But listing someone as an incumbent, it implies that they were elected.” He added that 3-2 votes were rare in the history of the council, so the potential for split votes seemed unlikely.

Carlon Strobel, city clerk, said that any such person would be listed as “appointed incumbent” were they to run for the position next autumn.

“If you go with the appointment process, it should be as transparent as possible,” Francina said. “People are thinking there may be more to this than meets the eye. As Lenny pointed out, you anoint the appointee. There should not be the feeling that this was your thought all along.”

“Any idea that I may have resigned so this council may appoint is as wrong as wrong can be,” said DeVito. “I didn’t realize that part of the decision to turn in a resignation at the end of this year would mean the council would go through all this. I didn’t think so far ahead as to how they would replace me.”

The council members acknowledged that the approximate cost of including a special election on the June primary ballot, estimated at $6,000, was not a lot compared with an individual special election. Strobel said in the latter case, the cost would likely be between $30,000 and $36,000.

Councilwoman Carol Smith said that by functioning for several months without a fifth council member, the cost of the election would be offset by other savings. “So it’s pretty much a wash,” she concluded. She added that she had initially been in favor of appointment until so many people had contacted her requesting election.

“Clearly this is a very important decision that we make tonight because every position on the City Council is important,” said Councilwoman Sue Horgan. “I hear the notion of democracy in action and I believe it in my very soul, but I feel strongly that we need to fill the position.”

She said that a June election meant that a new council member would not be sworn in until July or August. “We’re in the midst of several important projects: the Skate Park, Libbey Bowl, the housing element and last, but not least, we’re in the midst of an unprecedented economic time.” With the budget evaluation scheduled for the next several weeks, Horgan said that a full compliment of council members would be important to have.

Councilwoman Betsy Clapp called the election process “sacrosanct,” adding, “I think we can get along with four people.”

“You’ve got six months, if the election is held in June, then it’s not certified until the second council meeting in July. Then, the following week, they will have to take out papers to run again in November,” DeVito pointed out. “We have a number of important decisions that need to be made and everything will be done in the open. Applicants will be discussed at a public meeting.”

“I don’t really feel that we have a choice. We need to grapple with some of these issues coming up, especially budget,” said Mayor Pro-tem Steve Olsen. “If we wait until June, that person would not be able to participate in any of the discussions and we need input. I think we need to appoint the most qualified person we can.”

The council has until Jan. 31 to fill the position. In the event that no qualified applicant is found — or as Klaif said, all applicants seem equally acceptable — by January, the council will be required to order a special election for the seat. Meanwhile, time is of the essence for anyone who wishes to apply.

For more information, call 646-5581 and ask for Strobel.

Sheriff’s Department Press Release
Sgt. Bill Schierman

Sergio Ramos was sentenced this morning to 27 years in state prison for a shooting he committed in Oak View in 2008.  Ramos, an Ojai gang member, has been in custody since his arrest in June of 2008.

On 5-18-08, at about 0800 hours, deputies and investigators from the Sheriff’s Gang Unit were called to an address on Short Street where they discovered a car that had two bullet holes in it.  The area was searched and 7 shell casings were found more than 350 feet away.  It was later determined the shell casings had been fired from a semi automatic handgun.  Deputies also located a victim, Kyle Hoffman, who stated he was shot at during the early morning hours.  He did not report the incident at the time of the shooting.

Sheriff’s gang investigators developed information that Ojai gang member Sergio Ramos was involved in the shooting and obtained a search warrant for his residence.

On 6-20-2008, the Sheriff’s Gang Unit, along with deputies from the Ojai station, served a search warrant at Ramos’s residence, located in the 100 block of La Luna Street, Oak View.  Ramos was present during the search and was arrested for assault with a firearm and street terrorism.   During the search of the residence, ammunition was located that was similar to the shell casings found at the scene.  Ramos was booked into the Ventura County Jail.

Sheriff’s Gang investigators believe Ramos shot at Hoffman because Ramos thought Hoffman vandalized his residence.

In June of 2008, the District Attorney’s Office filed charges against Ramos; he remained in custody until his trial.   In October of this year, a jury found Ramos guilty of attempted murder and intentionally discharging a firearm during the commission of that crime.

California state law mandates that anyone convicted of a violent crime serve at least 85 percent of his or her sentence.  Ramos will be eligible for parole in 2032, at the age of 51.

Downards retain Christmas spirit despite cowardly act

By Sondra Murphy
A sure way to get on Santa Claus’ naughty list is to trash a neighbor’s Christmas decorations. That is what one Ojai Valley family woke up to Monday morning.

To make matters worse for the vandals, the house on Willey Street, home to Rick and Judy Downard, is a six-year venue for kids to visit with Santa

The Downards have lived in the valley since 1932, at the Willey Street residence since 1984 and their festive yard decorations make Santa feel right at home as he waits for people to come by for a chat and a candy cane — or dog biscuits for the four-legged friends. After Santa appeared at the Oak View Christmas tree lighting party on Friday, the Downards hosted him at their place Saturday to kick off the season.

“We really do this for the community,” said Rick Downard of the effort that attracts children of all ages each year. “A lot of it is word of mouth.”

It took four months of decoration building and seven days to set up the decorations. “Judy took a week’s vacation to get this decorating done. Monday was her first day back to work and to see that out the door was just heartbreaking,” said Downard. “It’s just devastating to have someone so low as to do this. It’s kind of like the Grinch stealing Christmas.”

Besides the many local families and groups that come for some one-on-one time with Santa Claus, Downard said many now-grown former visitors bring their children to the Willey Street Kringle stop — some from as far as Los Angeles.

“Here the Downards go out of their way to decorate so I have a nice place to visit everybody and then this happens,” said Claus when he learned of the incident.

Greetings City Watchers
I would liked to extend a special thanks to Joe Evans for all that he has brought to City Watch.  Joe, along with all of your help, has nurtured the City Watch program from it’s humble beginning of a handful of concerned friends to the thousands it now reaches throughout the Ojai Valley communities and beyond.  Joe believes, like all of you, that coming together as a team is the only way to fight crime and keep our loved ones safe.  Of course, someone who cares so much for his community with the depth of experience that Joe possesses is always in high demand.  For now, Joe has been called back to detectives to investigate major cases out of the Special Services Division.  He sends his very best and looks forward to catching crooks with you again.

Randy

Reverse 911: Register your cell phone
One of the best ways to stay safe is to be well informed, especially during natural disasters or other emergencies that can reach across entire communities.  I would highly recommend that you take the time to register your cell phone.  This will add another way to warn you should an emergency strike your neighborhood.

The City of Ojai and the surrounding Ojai Valley communities are connected to the Reverse 911 system, a telephone-based community notification system operated by the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES).  The system automatically broadcasts emergency messages to home and business landlines. Residents who wish to be notified by cell phone, TTY, VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) or e-mail must register for this service – and it’s free.

Visit www.countyofventura.org and double click on the “Reverse911” icon to register online.  Or send an e-mail message with your contact information to Reverse911@ventura.org .  For more information, or to register by phone, call OES at (805) 648-9283.

FROM ACCUWEATHER:
Two Storms to Descend on California
Landslides and Mudflow could be Disastrous in Burn Areas

Latest Forecast From National Weather Service

State College, Pa. – 4 December 2009 – AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Ken Clark reported in his blog that a stormy pattern is descending on California, bringing two storms, one of Sunday through Monday, the other on Wednesday and Thursday.

Walter Einhart

Veteran newsman brings small-town
experience to bi-weekly publication

Effective Dec. 1, Walter A. Einhart Jr. has been named editor and publisher of the Ojai Valley News. Einhart has taken the helm as publisher of the newspaper, Ojai Valley Visitors Guide and all local operations. He is replacing Bret Bradigan, who has moved on to other ventures.

“I am pleased to have Walter with us because he shares my philosophy of what a small-town newspaper should be to its community,” said OVN owner Bill Buchanan. “We both see the newspaper as a semi-public utility. It is our goal to produce the best quality newspaper the community can support. With the operation of the newspaper, we assume tremendous responsibilities; first to the public that we serve, second to the employees, and lastly to the stockholders.”

Einhart is an 11-year publishing veteran who has spent most of his career working successfully with community newspapers. He moved to California in 2008 with his 5-year-old son, Walter Allan Einhart III. They will soon be relocating from Ventura to Ojai.

A New York native, Navy veteran and avid sports fan, Einhart said he traded previous hobbies for spending free time with his son. The move to Ojai gives him opportunities to focus on both his career and family.

“My family and I would often spend weekends in Ojai since moving to California last year and it became clear very quickly this was a unique place, with a rich history, filled with amazing people,” he said. “When the opportunity came up for me to become a part of that professionally, I had to jump at the chance.”

Following four years of active duty as a U.S. Navy avionics technician, Einhart began his publishing career in 1998. He has since been publisher for newspapers or military publications in the Tennessee and Mississippi areas. He was later promoted to vice president of BNI for four years, overseeing nine community newspapers and various specialty products. He has earned several news writing awards and was recognized for his work on news lead stories, columns and photos. Einhart was named Publisher of the Year for three consecutive years with BNI.

Einhart later served as vice president of the Suburban Community Newspaper Group, where he successfully created a unified classified publication, before accepting a position with Target Media Partners out of Los Angeles.

Lawyer questions Alex Medina’s ability to assist in his own defense

By Daryl Kelley
A Superior Court judge this week ordered the mental evaluation of Alex Medina after defense lawyers said they had doubts about the youth’s ability to assist in his own defense.

A competency hearing to discuss the evaluation was set for Jan. 8. If both sides accept the evaluation’s findings and conclusion, a full hearing would not be needed, attorneys said.

“If an attorney has a doubt of a client’s competency to stand trial, he has to bring it to the attention of the court,” defense lawyer Scott Wippert said in an interview Wednesday.

Wippert would not discuss what led him and his colleague, Robyn Bramson, to petition the court for an evaluation. But he said there are unusual factors when a 14-year-old is charged as an adult and tried in adult court, as is the case with Medina.

“In the case of a 14-year-old, there could be many different issues,” Wippert said. “It could range from a developmental disorder to mental issues. I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to get into any details. But there are some differences when it’s a juvenile charged in adult court. That’s why we asked the judge to appoint experts.”

The Medina case is the second in the last year in which the same Studio City defense team has declared a doubt about the competency of a young defendant charged with murder as an adult. A judge declared Brandon McInerney, an Oxnard junior high school student accused of killing a gay classmate, competent to stand trial after an evaluation requested by Wippert’s law firm.

Two doctors evaluated McInerney, but Judge Edward Brodie ordered Medina evaluated by just one, as is required by law.

Prosecutors said the requests are unusual. But so is charging 14-year-olds as adults.

Ventura County Sheriff’s Department
press release from Deputy Ryan Clark

On 11/30/09, the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Sub-Station received a call from a local resident, who reported seeing a man in the process of abandoning approximately 12 puppies on the side of the road, in the area of Lockwood Valley Road, west of Mill Canyon. This location is within the boundaries of the Los Padres National Forest.  The resident stopped and confronted the man, telling him he could not abandon the puppies there. The suspect quicky retrieved the puppies and put them into the bed of his truck before driving away. The resident recorded the man’s license plate number and description, and searched the area. He located one of the puppies, which had been left behind, and took custody of it.

A Lockwood Valley Resident Deputy relayed the suspect information to surrounding law enforcement agencies. A suspect broadcast was made in the area of Frazier Park, where a Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy located the suspect vehicle soon after, traveling eastbound on Frazier Mountain Park Road, in the area of Monterey Trail. The suspect (later identified as Mario Cedillo) was stopped and detained by deputies pending further investigation. At the time of his detention, the suspect had no puppies in his vehicle.

The resident witness was transported to the suspect, where he positively identified Cedillo. Cedillo was questioned and was generally uncooperative with the investigation. Based on the investigation, it was suspected that Cedillo was in the process of abandoning his puppies in the forest, where they were certain to die without care, when he was confronted by the resident. It was further suspected that Cedillo simply drove to another location, where he abandoned the puppies in a similar fashion. Cedillo refused to reveal the location where the puppies had been taken.

Cedillo was placed under arrest for felony animal cruelty and was transported to the Ventura County Jail, where he was further questioned. Based on his interview, the suspicions of abandonment were confirmed. Cedillo was booked into the Ventura County Jail for violation of 597(a) PC (Animal Cruelty), and 12500(a) VC (Unlicensed Driver). His bail was set at $15,000

Deputies and residents of Cuddy Valley mounted a search effort for several hours, which failed to reveal the location of the puppies.

On 12/1/09, deputies were notified that another Cuddy Valley resident, unaware of the initial search, had located 7 abandoned puppies at the end of  Cherry Creek 4×4 Camp road, situated on the Tecuya Ridge of the Los Padres National Forest, on the previous evening. The resident reported going to this rarely visited area for snow play when he encountered abandoned puppies in the roadway. The resident took custody of the puppies for the evening and turned them over on 12/1/09. Lockwood Valley Resident Deputies were notified of the find and took custody of the puppies as evidence. Based on the investigation, it was suspected these were the same puppies seen with Cedillo the previous day.

The puppies’ care was transferred to Ventura County Animal Regulation officers for immediate medical treatment. Their medical condition was found to be poor / serious.

Anybody with information relating to these puppies, or Mario Cedillo, is encouraged to call the Lockwood Valley Sheriff’s Station at (661) 245-3829. This investigation is continuing.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department encourages anybody who is experiencing difficulty in handling or caring for animals to contact your local Animal Regulation or Humane Society for assistance or advice.

Ojai Valley Defense Fund well on its way to raising $1 million

By Linda Harmon
According to John Broesamle, the Ojai Valley Defense Fund has raised over a quarter of a million dollars in funds and pledges from donors, hoping they’ll never have to use it.

“The Ojai Valley is pretty well guaranteed to face major threats in the coming years,” said Broesamle during a recent conversation. “Anyone living in or near the Ojai Valley knows that residents have repeatedly faced such threats to their quality of life in the past, including the proposed Weldon Canyon dump, the averted state plan to cut the valley in half with a freeway, a proposal to build 10,000 single-family homes in the Lake Casitas watershed, and even proposed open-pit uranium and phosphate mining operations. All of these situations would have fundamentally harmed our environment and the well-being of our citizens.”

After moving to Ojai in 1990, Broesamle grew increasingly aware of these past threats to the valley, an area he had grown to love and treasure. It was this awareness, as well as growing concerns over several new issues that caused him to found the Defense Fund in early spring of this year.

“I gathered a group of concerned citizens to create the Ojai Valley Defense Fund,” said Broesamle, of the nonprofit corporation.

“The idea is to build a ‘chest’ to help support various legal actions by other citizen action groups. We are not a political group. The Defense Fund’s purpose is to sit out there and hopefully discourage some of these big, outside players from even coming to the valley.”

Broesamle wants to get the word out that the OVDF is a very conservative, long-term organization. Its funds will be invested and will be conservatively managed.

Broesamle stressed that it is not an action organization and they will not support divisive issues.

“Any organization can apply for funds for legal assistance,” said Broesamle, “but to be successful they will have to have an issue that affects a majority of the valley’s citizens and their quality of life. It would have to be something that would discourage people from living here or cause them to leave.”

Broesamle and his wife, Kathy, have their entire family here, children and grandchildren.

“We intend to die here,” said Broesamle, who first intends to help circle the wagons to protect it.

Broesamle first came to the Ojai Valley with his grandparents who would picnic in the hills or along the creeks.

“We bought a house here while I was still teaching at California State University, in Northridge,” said the retired professor and author. “My parents and Kathy’s parents retired here. We’d come up on weekends and stay and then when my wife Kathy got a job with Ojai Unified I commuted until I was able to retire.”

After both retired, the two became very active in local environmental groups. Broesamle became a board member of the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, where he was president from 1998 to 2000. He was an Ojai Citizen of the Year in 1999, named Ojai Living Treasure in 2001, and given the Environmental Defense Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. Besides founding and heading the OVDF he currently volunteers for the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy, Ojai Trees, and Topa Topa Elementary School, which his grandchildren attend.

“The founding members of the OVDF have raised a good financial foundation,” said Broesamle. “We’ve done that and we will open it up to donations of any amount in a future fund-raising campaign this spring. We hope to protect the future of this wonderful valley community and in the process maybe serve as a model for other concerned communities.”

To find out more go to ovdf.org.

Screenwriter back in jail to serve one-year
term after alleged breaches in inmate security

By Daryl Kelley
The work-furlough assignment of Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary was suspended late Thanksgiving Day for alleged breaches in inmate security, and the Ojai Valley resident was returned to Ventura County Jail to serve a one-year sentence for felony vehicular manslaughter.

Avary, 44, who won an Academy Award for co-writing “Pulp Fiction” in 1994, was placed in segregated housing at the main jail in Ventura last Thursday evening after the county Probation Department concluded that he had violated security at the work-furlough nightly lock-up in Camarillo.

He is likely to stay in jail, not work furlough, until he finishes his sentence in July, officials said.

“They felt he had compromised security,” said Sheriff’s Capt. Ross Bonfiglio of probation officials. “I know it’s security related. It’s more than using Twitter.”

A Twitter site that was apparently Avary’s carried a commentary on his life while incarcerated from shortly after Oct. 26, when Avary began serving his time in the work-furlough program, which allowed him to leave custody during the day but return at night and on weekends.

“By drawing attention to his situation (through Twitter), that coupled with the security issues, led him to be transferred back to full custody,” Bonfiglio said. “It’s because of his behavior, absolutely. … His actions caused him to be transferred to 24-hour lockup. He had a lot more freedom.”

Avary is still being held separate from the general jail population “because of his celebrity status,” Bonfiglio said. The location of Avary’s housing could change over the months to the Todd Road Jail, he said, but Avary will remain in segregated housing.

Karen Staples, director of the Probation Department, said she could not speak about Avary’s situation specifically. But she said that once inmates violate the rules of work furlough, they almost never are allowed to return.

“I can think of one or two” during her many years in the department, she said. “(But usually) that’s it.”

Inmates who violate rules also sometimes lose the “good time” they have accrued before they are “rolled up” and returned to the County Jail, she said.

“Work furlough is a privilege,” she said. “It is a low-security custody setting. There is a small library and a TV room. People are not allowed to have cell phones or laptops. They are given a set or rules and regulations … and they talk about safety and security issues.”

Bonfiglio said he didn’t think Avary would be reconsidered for work furlough.

“I’m not of the opinion that he will be going back to work furlough,” he said.

Avary is scheduled to be released in early July, “… unless he screws up again and work time is taken away,” Bonfiglio said.

Mark Werksman, who represented Avary in the manslaughter case, said he could not comment on the decision to transfer Avary back to the County Jail except to save that he was booked in on Thanksgiving night.

“There’s nothing I can say,” Werksman said.

The work-furlough program allows low-risk inmates to go to their jobs and return to custody in a barracks-like situation in Camarillo after their workdays. Inmates in the program pay the county a fee for their custody.

At sentencing in late September, Avary, and his wife, Gretchen, asked that the producer-director-screenwriter be placed in the program so he could continue to provide for his family while in custody. The jobs of hundreds of people working on two Avary-produced movies were also at stake, Werksman said.

Over the objection of prosecutors, Judge Edward Brodie directed that the work-furlough screening be completed to see if Avary qualified.

Avary was sentenced to one year in jail and five years’ probation for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resulting from a late-night car crash in which Italian newlywed Andrea Zini was killed and Avary’s wife was injured.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Lief asked for a prison sentence for Avary.

“It had always been our position that Mr. Avary deserved to go to prison,” Lief said Tuesday. “And while 365 days in County Jail isn’t six years and eight months in prison, it’s a good start. It’s good to see him behind bars.”

Lief said that he was surprised that Avary apparently was not a model inmate in the work-furlough situation.

“I would have thought that he would have been smart enough to realize he had received a significant break from the judge, and would do everything he could to stay out of trouble and out of jail,” Lief said.

Zini, a 34-year-old mechanical engineer, was killed when an impaired Avary lost control of his speeding Mercedes sedan on a curve and smashed into a telephone pole on Highway 150 near Ojai Lumber.

Avary had just met Zini and his new wife that evening in January 2008, and he invited them to his home after sharing dinner and drinks with common friends. Zini’s wife was not in the car.

Avary admitted guilt to five felonies in August, and faced a maximum of 12 years and eight months in prison, or a minimum sentence of six years and eight months, if Brodie decided to send him to state prison.

During sentencing, attorneys announced that Avary had settled for $4.1 million a civil lawsuit filed by the Zini family, after hiring his own independent lawyer to press his auto insurance company for a swift settlement.

That factor, along with Avary’s clean criminal and driving record before the crash, were key considerations in his sentence, Judge Brodie said. Avary’s stellar life story, obvious remorse and the need for him to support his wife and two children, were also factors in his decision, the judge said.

Avary apologized for his admitted crime, and he and his wife tearfully requested forgiveness from the Zini family, who traveled from Italy to appear at the sentencing hearing to request a stiff sentence.

Avary pleaded guilty to felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and causing injury while driving under the influence of alcohol. He also admitted to three felony violations of the state vehicle code.

Prosecutors said Avary had a blood-alcohol level of .11, while a level of .08 or greater constitutes drunken driving in California. Prosecutors also maintained that skid marks showed Avary was driving at 100 mph and that his sedan crashed into the pole at a speed of 25 to 35 mph.

Defense lawyers acknowledge that Avary was driving faster than the 45 mph speed limit, but far slower than 100 mph. They also said that a blown tire caused the accident, and a dangerous road contributed to it.