• June 2017
  • CLU lands pair of grants totaling $3M

    By Staff Originally Appeared in Ventura County Star The U.S. Department of Education has awarded two grants to California Lutheran University totaling an estimated $3 million over five years through the Upward Bound Program, a federal TRIO program. Upward Bound is a federal grant program that supports projects designed to provide students with the skills […]

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  • May 2017
  • Strong support for animals

    By Kayla Capper Originally Appeared in the Ventura County Star Concern for animals is driving Congress to act on a number of fronts to protect them. Fortunately, the 26th Congressional District has Rep. Julia Brownley as a consistently supportive vote for animals. She recently signed on as a co-sponsor of the Prevent Animal Cruelty and Torture […]

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  • Housing conference calls for new supply, development

    By Joshua Molina Originally Appeared in The Pacific Coast Business Times Some of the region’s most prominent housing experts converged in downtown Santa Barbara on May 19 for an all-day conference hosted by the Coastal Housing Coalition. In the morning’s keynote speech, Matthew Fienup, executive director of the Center for Economic Research and Forecasting at California […]

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  • New Oxnard transit facility breaks ground

    By Chris O’Neil Originally Appeared in Ventura County Reporter On Wednesday, May 10, Congresswoman Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, joined the Gold Coast Transit Department staff in a groundbreaking ceremony for what will become the district’s new eco-friendly operations and maintenance facility. The 15-acre site will play host to the new facility that will be capable […]

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  • A vote for civil political discourse

    By Editorial Board Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star You could call this year’s mail and phone bombardment of elected officials the “American Idolization” of politics. Or just the opposite, considering the vitriol of much of the correspondence. The average “American Idol” voter in 2008 cast 38 text-message votes, according to Nielsen Mobile. The […]

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  • Editorial: A vote for civil political discourse

    The Ventura County Star story here.  You could call this year’s mail and phone bombardment of elected officials the “American Idolization” of politics. Or just the opposite, considering the vitriol of much of the correspondence. The average “American Idol” voter in 2008 cast 38 text-message votes, according to Nielsen Mobile. The final performance show in […]

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  • Hank Lacayo’s legacy of public service

    By Editorial Board Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star When Henry L. “Hank” Lacayo received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Way of Ventura County in August, U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, said, “When I think of Ventura County, I think of Hank Lacayo, and when I think of our country, I think […]

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  • Editorial: Hank Lacayo’s legacy of public service

    The Ventura County story here.  When Henry L. “Hank” Lacayo received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Way of Ventura County in August, U.S. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Westlake Village, said, “When I think of Ventura County, I think of Hank Lacayo, and when I think of our country, I think of Hank Lacayo.” There is […]

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  • Lawmakers Battle Over Whether New Health Care Bill Hurts Vets

    By Richard Sisk Originally Appeared on Millitary.com A partisan fight broke out in the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Friday over whether the new health care bill proposal to replace Obamacare would help or hurt vets. The Republican chairman of the committee, Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee, vehemently said the proposed bill, called the American […]

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  • Why did Trump sour on lemon ban?

    By Editorial Board Originally Appeared on The Ventura County Star As proponents of free trade, we find it difficult to make protectionist arguments against the Trump administration’s decision last week to lift a ban on lemon imports from Argentina, even though Ventura County is one of the top lemon-producing areas in the United States and stands […]

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  • Amped up: County constituents flood Congress with messages

    By Tom Kiskin Originally Appeared on The Ventura County Star Minutes after a political activist posted U.S. Rep. Steve Knight’s cellphone number on Facebook, Sam Kaeser’s fingers danced. “No AHVA,” the 60-year-old Democrat from Simi Valley texted the Republican congressman, then firing off a second message. “Oops — no AHCA! Stupid autocorrect.” She sat with […]

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  • U.S. ends ban on importing Argentine lemons, angering California citrus growers

    By Associated Press Originally Appeared In The Los Angeles Times The California citrus industry was livid Tuesday over the Trump administration’s decision to allow lemon imports from Argentina’s top producing region for the first time in 16 years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Monday that it will lift the ban on lemons from northwestern […]

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  • Oxnard VA clinic moving in right direction

    By Editorial Board Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star Ventura County veterans who rely on the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical care have received a triple dose of good news in the past two weeks, giving us renewed optimism that the VA might finally and permanently fix its longtime health care woes. If […]

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  • April 2017
  • A year later, veterans wait less at Oxnard clinic

    By Tom Kiskin Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star Patients wait far less for appointments at an Oxnard Veterans Affairs clinic that a year ago struggled with staffing shortages and was considered among the worst in the nation for wait times, according to new VA records. In February, veterans who were returning patients at […]

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  • A year later, veterans wait less at Oxnard clinic

    By Tom Kisken The Ventura County Star story here.  Patients wait far less for appointments at an Oxnard Veterans Affairs clinic that a year ago struggled with staffing shortages and was considered among the worst in the nation for wait times, according to new VA records. In February, veterans who were returning patients at the clinic […]

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  • Members of Congress urge Tillerson to condemn gay Chechnya arrests

    By Micheal Lavers Originally Appeared in The Washington Blade Fifty members of Congress have asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to publicly criticize the arrest of gay men in Chechnya. They note in an April 7 letter to Tillerson that they are “greatly disturbed by reports of arrests, disappearances and extrajudicial murders of gay men […]

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  • California members of Congress react to Syria strikes

    By Bartholomew Sullivan Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star WASHINGTON – While some members of Congress representing Ventura County deemed Thursday night’s U.S. missile attack on a Syrian airbase a “necessary” response to the regime’s sarin gas attack on civilians, all said Friday that further military action there must come in consultation with Congress. […]

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  • March 2017
  • Local women band together in political activism

    By Amanda Covarrubias Originally Appeared in The Ventura County Star At first, Darlynn Childress stood alone outside the Target in Westlake Village. Soon, other women began walking up, greeting her with laughter and hugs. But this was no chance meeting of suburban moms at a store they visit often to pick up cereal, aspirin and […]

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