“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” —Lewis Carroll Ask anyone what the pressing issues are facing Ventura; you’ll get a variety of answers. With the unprecedented departure of three serving City Councilmembers, this is an excellent time to get the perspectives of those who have served. […]
“Courage Cannot Be Counterfeited. It Is One Virtue That Escapes Hypocrisy” —Napoleon Bonaparte The City of Ventura has a spending problem, and it’s time for an intervention. The fiscal crisis is not widely understood. At its core are the promised unfunded pensions for public employees. Ventura’s pension contributions for 2018 are $17,410,000. The annual contributions […]
“You’ll Never Reach Your Destination If You Stop And Throw Stones At Every Dog That Barks” —Winston Churchill When it comes to real estate, Ventura’s City Council is, at best, inconsistent. At worst, they are reckless with our money. Their latest decision costs taxpayers over $1,000,000. On June 16th, the Council accepted the city staff’s […]
“Water is life, and clean water means health.” —Audrey Hepburn Ventura needs to get its priorities straight about water—and fast. On July 9th, Ventura Water will ask the City Council to approve direct potable reuse (DPR). Ventura Water views DRP as a primary alternative source for increased drinking water. The project will cost $538 million […]
“We need leadership. We don’t need a doubling down on the failed politics of the past.” —Paul Ryan City Council Makes The First Step Toward Dealing with Surplus Building To get realistic information for the City Council to decide about 505 Poli, Councilmember Mike Tracy presented a motion to seek advice from a licensed commercial […]
“We’re no longer a quaint little beach town.” —Ventura Mayor Neal Andrews Mayor Neal Andrews’s State-of-the-City address was noteworthy more for what he didn’t say. The speech was a summary of last year’s events delivered by each of the major department managers with summary comments by Mr. Andrews. What this year’s address lacked was a […]
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. —Buddha The City Cuts And Runs On Brooks Institute Debacle Citizens Short Changed The folks at City Hall are trying hard to put on a brave and jubilant face in trying to explain why their decision to accept $71,000 to settle […]
“Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” —George Santayana Here we go again. Ventura is hiring its fourth City Manager since 2000. You’ve undoubtedly told our children or grandchildren, “Haste makes waste.” It’s sound advice; especially when you want to prevent them from making a mistake. The same advice holds […]
Our federalist system gives us many opportunities to participate in our democracy. Some forms of participation are more common than others. And some citizens participate more than others, but almost everyone has a voice in government. Meet Your 2018 City Councilmembers We have a new Ventura City Council for 2018. We have one new Councilmember […]
At the December 11th Ventura City Council meeting, there was total cooperation and support of all City departments, County of Ventura, State of California, Cal Fire and every other state and local agency present and committed to protecting our health and welfare. The heroic efforts are endless and stories of individuals, going above and beyond, […]