33 minute read
COVER
Ventura County Supervisor Candidates Districts 1, 3 and 5 to appear on March 3 ballot
Intro by Kimberly Rivers
krivers@timespublications.com
National politics get a lot of attention, but many of the issues we deal with on a daily basis are primarily overseen by local elected officials on city councils and county supervisor boards. From county-managed roads and public transit to air quality to housing, public health, watershed protection, emergency response planning and more, county supervisors and staff make important decisions that impact our quality of life.
Ventura County is divided into five districts and each district elects one supervisor for a four-year term. Districts 1, 3 and 5 are up for grabs on the March ballot and are subject to the state primary rules: If one candidate gets a majority (51 percent) of the vote on March 3, they win; if no candidate earns a majority of votes, then the top two vote-getters will be on the November ballot.
Supervisor races are nonpartisan and therefore our story will not include party affiliation for the candidates, but may include endorsement information.
District 1: Water use, accountability and a write-in candidate
Includes the north coast of the county, Ventura, Ojai and the Upper Ojai Valley, Montalvo, Saticoy, Riverpark and the northwest edge of Oxnard. Candidates: Jeff Ketelson, Matt LaVere and Trevor Quirk
This race, on the ballot as current Supervisor Steve Bennett is termed out, has been shaken up in recent weeks by the announcement of a write-in candidate from the Ojai Valley in the wake of a massive legal action involving water usage in the Ventura River Watershed (“Watershed moment: Petrochem sold as water war looms in the Ventura River Watershed,” Kimberly Rivers, VCReporter, Jan. 15, 2020).
Matt LaVere and Trevor Quirk, two of the three candidates, responded in writing to the same questions from the VCReporter. A third candidate, Jeff Ketelsen, a hardware clerk from Ojai, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Matt LaVere lives in Ventura and was elected in 2016 to the Ventura City Council, where today he serves as mayor. He is an attorney at a firm specializing in employment, business and real estate law.
LaVere names the “ever-increasing affordability gap” as the most important issue in Ventura County. “It is getting harder and harder for the average person to afford to live here,” he said, pointing to a stagnant economy in the county and “a serious lessness.
When asked if there is anything he would have done differently while in office he said, “I would have handled the Ventura River litigation much differently . . . I learned that you can’t trust everything the city attorneys tell us, and I know the Ventura City Council will take a much closer look at our attorneys moving forward.” He said the attorneys told the city council “that if someone paid a water bill to a water company and did not have a well (like myself and 95 percent of the people who received notice from the city) then that person had nothing to do with this litigation. This advice was clearly wrong.” He said most of the thousands of people
I learned that you can’t trust everything the city attorneys tell us, and I know the Ventura City Council will take a much closer look at our attorneys moving forward.” – Matt LaVere, District 1 candidate
lack of affordable/workforce housing,” as pieces to the issue. He said renters and low-income families are hit the hardest. “That is not right.”
To address the affordability issue at the county he’ll “create an economic development department . . . to proactively engage with local businesses.” That department will target “resources that help start, retain or grow businesses” in the county and work to streamline development procedures.
Homelessness and public transportation are two other top issues LaVere wants to address. “We must continue to be a leader in providing care and wrap-around services to our county’s homeless individuals.” He points to the new homeless shelter in Ventura as the thing he is most proud of as a public official. “This is something I worked very hard on, both as mayor and chair of the council’s homeless subcommittee.” LaVere says more funding is needed for mental health services as a key to combatting homewho were sent notices “have nothing at all to worry about,” but, “As mayor of Ventura, I need to own up to this and the fact that the city let the people of both Ventura and Ojai down by not doing a better job of both outreach and oversight of our attorneys.” As for why he is running for county office now, LaVere responded, “I want to continue my work in ensuring that the Ventura County my children and your children inherit is even better than the Ventura County we know today.”
He said it’s “important to ask . . . ‘What qualifies you for this office?’” He lists his “strong relationships and . . . diverse knowledge base” as qualifications, noting that he developed those skills through his various roles with the Ventura City Council’s economic development, homeless and affordable housing, and finance/ budget subcommittees as well as the Ventura Chamber of Commerce’s economic development subcommittee. LaVere’s endorsements include the Ventura County Democratic Party, Greater Oxnard Organization of Democrats, Ventura and Oxnard Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committees, Ventura Citizens for Hillside Preservation, Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and CAUSE Action Fund. He has signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge.
Trevor Quirk, a resident of Upper Ojai, announced his candidacy on Jan. 27 and is a qualified write-in candidate, meaning his name will not be on the ballot. Those who wish to vote for him will have to write his name on the ballot in the correct section. He is a trial attorney at a Venturabased firm specializing in personal injury cases.
Quirk said that he felt compelled to run now because “I believe our government should be accountable, transparent and not waste our taxpayer money.” He pointed toward the votes LaVere made as mayor “to spend $4,438,000 of our taxpayer money on Walnut Creek lawyers.” He is referring to a firm the city hired to represent them in the watershed adjudication action. When first asked how he voted, LaVere claimed the closed session votes could not be reported — a statement contrary to state disclosure laws for elected bodies.
Quirk said that the accountability issue goes back two decades, as the city has been over-pumping the Ventura River.
“The city has known and failed to fix [it] for 21 years,” said Quirk. In 2014, when the city was sued to stop over-pumping, he says the city made the wrong choice to start adjudication of the entire watershed. “We elect politicians to deliver solutions, not lawsuits.”
Quirk said that the biggest issue facing the entire county is “protecting our environmental resources, quality of life, homelessness and jobs. These factors are interdependent . . . When we improve the environment and preserve our natural resources, such as the river, people follow. Businesses follow people. Jobs follow businesses.” For his first steps if elected, Quirk said, “We will pass a county resolution demanding the city dismiss the water lawsuit. We will form the Ventura River Watershed Group,” which would be made up of “people representing all stakeholders,” with a goal of the lawsuit being “immediately dismissed and the formation of a coalition to address and fix the Ventura River, a precious natural resource that has been ignored for far too long.”
Quirk also named the local economy and homelessness as important issues for the county. Having grown up in Sacramento, he sees parallels with Ventura. He says that Sacramento city officials worked with the county to “partner together and rejuvenate their rivers . . . they revitalized their economy. That happened because people are attracted to beautiful, natural areas.”
As for skills he’ll bring to the office, Quirk said he has “a unique ability to inspire others and bring people together from all walks of life . . . to solve problems. I’ve brought people together during the Thomas Fire, Montecito mudslides, Woolsey Fire and at my . . . Ventura business.”
Endorsements for Quirk include Mitch Vaugh, Fire Chief Santa Barbara City Fire Dept. (Ret.), Suza Francina, member Ojai City Council, William Weirick, member Ojai City Council and Michael Bradbury, former Ventura County District Attorney.
Quirk was voted Ventura County Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2017 by his colleagues, and formed the nonprofit organization Upper Ojai Relief in 2017 to assist community members recovering from the Thomas Fire.
■ Matt LaVere: www.votelavere.com.
■ Trevor Quirk: www.VoteTrevorQuirk.com
— Kimberly Rivers krivers@timespublications.com
District 3: “A clear contrast in candidacies”
Includes Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Southeast Oxnard, East Oxnard Plain, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru, East Lockwood Valley and Eastern Portion
of Naval Base Ventura County Port Hueneme.
Candidates: Kelly Long and Kim Marra Stephenson
The heated race for Ventura County Third District Supervisor may prove pivotal for future board decisions on a wide range of issues including the environment, health care and public safety.
Incumbent Kelly Long hopes voters appreciate her first-term achievements on issues including homelessness, emergency response and economic development. Challenger Kim Marra Stephenson says environmental issues would be a top priority if elected. She’s critical of Long’s votes allowing oil drilling, and her abstention on a 2017 board resolution supporting the Paris Climate Accord.
California State University, Channel Islands Adjunct Professor of Political Science Tim Allison says board of supervisors races are officially non-partisan, but voters have a stark choice in this contest.
Allison says both candidates have strengths. Long is helped by incumbency and name recognition. Stephenson could benefit from enthusiasm over the Democratic Party presidential primary. “Democrats will be turning out in bigger numbers because it’s a presidential primary, which gives Stephenson kind of an even shot at it,” said Allison.
Centered in Camarillo where both candidates reside, the Third District extends south to Port Hueneme and northeast to include Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru. It’s the largest of the five districts geographically, covering vast agricultural areas and stretching north across Los Padres National Forest.
Of Ventura County’s three supervisorial races this year, it’s the only one with just two candidates, which guarantees there will be no need for a November runoff.
Long says voters should return her to office March 3 because of her firstterm achievements. “I’ve been working very hard on many issues for our constituents. We’ve been working on the homelessness issues,” said Long. “I formed the first Fillmore and Piru [Basins] Groundwater Sustainability Agency which includes environmental, municipal and pumpers as board members, which is a first for the state.”
Long also touts her background before being elected county supervisor. “My experience as a mechanical engineer. I was on the Pleasant Valley School Board, elected in 2012, and then elected as Ventura County Supervisor in 2016. So I have the backing of the community. They trust my morals, my ethics in regards to really looking at the issues at hand and making the best decisions for all community members. I bring a good balance to the board,” said Long.
Stephenson served as principal at Adolfo Camarillo High School between 2015 and 2019, and says her background in education shaped her outlook, and that her personal history also made her an advocate for social justice.
“I have 40 years in this county, and from a pretty humble background,” said Stephenson. “My grandmother was a farmworker. Every generation of my family served at war since immigrating, both grandfathers in World War II and my brother in Afghanistan . . . . My father experienced mental illness in his 20s and committed suicide when he was 30, and left my mom with four kids under the age of 8. I was 8 years old, help ing out with the others. I got my first job at 14 alongside my mom, selling shoes. From that humble background I went on to get a PhD from Stanford in Educational Psychology. So I really worked my way up.”
Stephenson says she’ll be focused on helping people if elected. “I think we have a lot of things to worry about in our community. We have an affordability crisis. We have a lot to do there to create good-paying, forwardthinking jobs, with dignified, safe working conditions.”
One heated issue in the race involves money that oil industry interests have spent supporting Long, as well as Herrera in District 5 (see sidebar, “Oil money thick in supervisor race”). Spending by independent groups backed by oil companies will easily eclipse what the candidate’s campaigns will spend, which is capped at $225,000 under Ventura County’s campaign finance law.
Allison says the amount of money that the oil industry is pumping into the race is unprecedented. “What’s changed in this race in the last few weeks is that the oil and gas industry has put over $900,000 dollars into encouraging folks to support Kelly Long,” said Allison. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this kind of money being poured into a supervisorial race.”
Stephenson contends that oil interests back Long because she’s sided with the industry on controversial drilling proposals.
“She votes in favor of oil and gas consistently and they’re trying to sustain an unsustainable industry. And we need to prevent that for the health and safety of our community,” said Stephenson.
Long countered that she carefully weighs all the issues that come before the board, including oil. “I have voted for some oil and gas projects as warranted, and I’ve also voted against it multiple times. And a great example for that is the Fox Canyon groundwater. We basically have put a moratorium on that because there was a report that came out that there might be toxins in the water.”
Long also said that she never asked for financial support from the oil industry.
“I don’t have any control over what an outside group does,” said Long. “There’s been a lot of misleading letters and social media posts out there that basically say I’m taking oil money, which is completely untrue. I have not received any money from oil companies to my campaign.” In Allison’s perspective, the direction the board takes on a variety of issues could be determined by the outcome of the race.
“I’m seeing this race as the swing seat on the board of supervisors,” said Allison. “The determination as to which way the county board swings, at least on certain issues, is this district. Whether the county grows in an environmentally receptive direction or a business-friendly direction, either of those are logical directions for a county to take, depending on the priorities of those that are sitting in those seats.” ■ Kelly Long: kellylongforsupervisor.com ■ Kim Marra Stephenson: stephenson4supervisor.com
— Alex Wilson District 5: Homelessness, housing front and center Includes Oxnard Shores, Mandalay Bay, Silver Strand, Hollywood Beach, Hollywood by the Sea, Channel Islands Harbor, El Rio, Nyeland Acres, Del Norte, Oxnard College, Oxnard Plain, Strickland and a portion of the Ventura County Naval Base Port Hueneme. Candidates: Jeffrey Burum, Tim Flynn, Jess Herrera, Carmen Ramirez and Veronica Robles-Solis
With current District 5 Supervisor John Zaragoza hitting his term limit, five people have decided to try to convince voters that they have what it takes to deal with Oxnard’s most pressing issues. Those problems range from rebuilding Fisherman’s Wharf and Oxnard’s downtown to homelessness and affordable housing to boosting the county’s economy.
Zaragoza, whose district is made up largely of Oxnard, is running for mayor of that city. Meanwhile, Oxnard’s current mayor, Tim Flynn, is running to take Zaragoza’s spot — which his father, John Flynn, held for 24 years.
But Flynn must beat Oxnard businessman Jeffrey Burum, Oxnard City Mayor Pro-Tem Carmen Ramirez and Port of Hueneme Commissioner Jess Herrera as well as Oxnard School Board Trustee Veronica Robles-Solis. Flynn, who made an unsuccessful bid to get Amazon to open its planned new headquarters in Oxnard in 2018, said bringing better-paying jobs to Ventura County is a top priority for him.
“I’m running for one reason: economic and job growth,” Flynn said at a Feb. 5 candidates forum also attended by Burum, Herrera and Ramirez. (Robles-Solis had to attend a school board meeting that night.)
Despite an ongoing economic expansion, the middle class dream has eluded too many people, too many times in Ventura County, Flynn said. “In Oxnard in particular, perhaps as many as 40 percent not only can’t afford a home, but two or three families have to live in one home,” Flynn said. “We have college graduates that live with their parents.”
Something needs to be done “on a county level” as opposed to each city tackling the problem on their own, Flynn added.
When the subject turned to homelessness, Flynn, Burum, Herrera and Ramirez all said they support the Housing First model for addressing homeless.
Housing First is a relatively new approach that puts permanent housing ahead of other services — get a person housing first, take care of their other needs afterward.
Ramirez made the case that Oxnard’s homelessness crisis can be better dealt with from a county level than by the city council.
Ramirez said she would be going to Sacramento later this month with other local officials to ask Governor Gavin Newsom to earmark more funding for Ventura County to deal with homelessness.
“The governor’s plan, which is nice, gives all of the money to the bigger cities; our county will not be getting any of the money,” Ramirez said. Flynn took things a step further and said the federal government should get involved by making available little-used properties such as Camp Roberts in San Luis Obispo County.
“We need to find a place to house people until we get them back to work,” Flynn said. “We need a new WPA (Works Progress Administration) program to get people back to work.”
Burum said government partnerships with churches and nonprofits would be a better approach than government programs that he called unaffordable and ineffective, noting that the state has spent $2.7 billion in the last two years on such programs, “yet homelessness has surged 16 percent.”
A certified public accountant, Burum promised to use “total quality and financial management to streamline processes,” thus saving taxpayers money.
“Partnerships provide affordable and effective holistic programs with measurable results,” Burum said, outlining private sector access to mental health services, food, healthcare, job transitions and short-term shelter or housing with clear law enforcement and financial accountability.
Herrera didn’t offer a specific plan for dealing with the homeless crisis in Oxnard, but said that the 29,000 people in Oxnard living in poverty were not being listened to because of their social status. It seems like there’s a clear difference between these candidates. You have one candidate, the incumbent, who clearly is a Republican. The challenger is clearly a Democrat. So I think the voters in this race get a clear contrast in candidacies.”
— Tim Allison, adjunct professor, CSUCI
— Carmen Ramirez, Distrist 5 candidate
“I am a strong advocate for social equity,” Herrera said, adding that as a labor leader he made sure families had contracts with livable wages and healthcare.
“If one of us succeeds we all should succeed,” Herrera said. “I believe I have the leadership skills to provide that type of economy.”
■ Jeffrey Burum: www.facebook.com/burum4 supervisor2/
■ Tim Flynn: www.tim4supervisor.com
■ Carmen Ramirez: www.carmen4supervisor.com
■ Veronica Robles-Solis: www.facebook.com/ VeronicaRoblesSolisforSupervisor/
NOTE: As of press time, no informational website for Jess Herrera could be identified.
— David Michael Courtland
Oil money thick in supervisor race
by Kimberly Rivers krivers@timespublications.com
Apolitical action committee (PAC) funded solely by an oil company called California Resources Corporation (CRC) has reported an income of $825,000 (through Feb. 17, 2020) to support and oppose several candidates in Ventura County Supervisor races. It has been funding television commercials targeting Carmen Ramirez, making claims that she says are false.
The current registered name of the PAC is “For a Better Ventura County Supporting Long and Herrera, and opposing Stephenson and Ramirez for Supervisor 2020, with major funding and sponsored by California Resources Corporation.” CRC is a spinoff company of the global corporation Occidental Petroleum, with CRC operating hundreds of oil wells across Ventura County.
As of Feb. 18, the PAC has spent $239,958 — more than on any other candidate — to oppose Ramirez, who is a vocal advocate for environmental causes and action on climate change, and has opposed new oil drilling projects in the Oxnard area. The commercial makes several claims that say Ramirez benefits financially in various ways from her position as Mayor Pro Tem of Oxnard. One claim states Ramirez took a “free junket to China,” funded by the Chinese government.
“In August 2016, I was invited by California State Treasurer John Chiang to participate in a trade delegation with other elected officials and business leaders from Southern California and Nevada to promote the California economy, business and tourism,” said Ramirez. “There was no expense charged to Oxnard residents.”
The ad also mentions free lodging on a European trip, to which Ramirez explains that in her role as board member for the Center for Civic Education, a national non-profit organization that promotes democratic practice around the world, she was invited in 2013 to represent the center at a conference titled “Democracy and Minority Populations,” hosted by the German government. “I paid for the airfare and the German government provided accommodations and most meals for the weeklong conference. There was no expense to Oxnard residents.”
Amy Fonzo, a spokesperson with CRC, did not respond to a request for comment by press deadline. The CRC PAC has spent $87,899 in support of Herrera’s campaign, one of the candidates running against Ramirez for the District 5 seat.
For District 3, the PAC has spent $112,373 for the re-election of Supervisor Kelly Long and spent the same amount in opposition to Kim Marra Stephenson, who is vying to unseat Long.
In 2016 during Long’s initial campaign, a PAC called Keep Ventura Working received about $150,000 from the oil and gas industry to support her election.
PAC funds are spent on campaign literature, consultants, polling, radio and television advertising and other associated expenses.
Election laws governing PACs prohibit a candidate or their campaign from consulting or being in contact with a PAC. ♦
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DIXIE’S NEVER WEAR A TUBE TOP WHILE RIDING A MECHANICAL BULL (and 16 Other Things I Learned While I was Drinking Last Thursday)
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Put on your cowboy boots and stroll into Dixie’s favorite honky-tonks. Be prepared for a night of laughter as Dixie shares her hysterical life lessons learned after a night of hard drinking.
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BB&B Events presents a Ventura County Premiere
TINA SINGS SINATRA to
onthebookshelf THROUGH A LENS ODDLY
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Some projects are a labor of love. Photographer William Horstick’s latest book is definitely that, but it is also so much more. Creating An Odd Collection of Strange Reflections served as therapy for Hor
stick while he was batting Stage 4 melanoma. The book
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cer research,” Horstick says.“I didn’t know what else to do. P h o t o g r a p h y (and coaching basketball) have always been my two outlets. It just made sense.”
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of taking photos. “I annoy the hell out of people when I’m walking with them because I’ll stop and they’ll turn around and say ‘What are you doing?’ ‘Sorry, I’m getting the shot here.’ ” His camera of choice? His iPhone 7.
Back when he was a kid, he first used one of his dad’s old cameras and that’s when his love of photography blossomed. In high school, he took photos for the yearbook. Later, he graduated from Cecil College in Maryland with a visual communications degree in professional photography. After college, Horstick enlisted in the Navy with the hopes of becoming a photographer’s mate. When he was told it would be a long wait to get the advanced training, Horstick volunteered to fly. He was quoted in his alma mater’s press release as saying, “When one door closes, another opens. I was on my way to see the world as a submarine hunter. I brought my camera everywhere. I visited 20 different countries during my time in the Navy and was on a worldwide safari.” Today he lives in Oxnard with his wife and family, and still brings his camera everywhere, ready to snap
16 — — February 20, 2020 photos. He posts many of them to Instagram and Facebook. (His account is @67billh) After building a strong following, he was encouraged by friends and family to make a book, which he entitled Reflections. An Odd Collection of Strange Reflections includes many photos that didn’t make it into his first book because, he says, “they were too strange. My reflection series are unique. I see the world differently. While most p e o p l e are simply walking by a large window with reflections, I see a fourth dimension there. I like to fill up my images with information. There’s not a lot of dead space in my work and I rarely crop my images. You see what I see!”
Horstick’s work is rich in color, emotion and content. A first glance at one of his photos might reveal a ceramic tiger in a store window. Then, as your eye settles in, you may catch sight of guitars hanging in the window, then a lamp, an American flag, a palm tree and so much more. You may also identify a recurring theme in his photos. He admits to being drawn to guitars and motorcycles. “Things I can’t do,” he says with a laugh. Also, skulls, old cars and abandoned buildings. (Horstick says a future project may be devoted to “abandoned America.”)
“The fun thing is that I’m in a lot of them because you can’t not be,” he says, pointing to his reflection captured in one of the photographs. The release of AnOdd Collection of Strange Reflections was followed by really wonderful news. “I am happy to report that I had a ‘clean’ brain scan. I am now on ‘maintenance doses’ of one of the immune system therapy drugs. Hey, that’s easy,” he says. “I am still here! There’s more photos out there. I need to go take them!” Horstick stays in the picture. ♦
An Odd Collection of Strange Reflections is available through Blurb at www.blurb.com/b/9554674-oddcollection-of-strange-reflections-paper. For every sale $3 will go to the American Cancer Society. Follow William Horstick on Instagram @67billh.
Independent rising Music podcast Luminary Sounds discovers the undiscovered
FEELING THE LOVE
by Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer
Photo by J&S Photography
Odell “Junior LLedo” Davis, Kawaya “Kay Don’t Play” Haynes and Francis “Francois the Great” Ampiaw, hosts of Luminary Sounds
by Kateri Wozny
An independent music podcast based in Ventura County is helping undiscovered musical artists across all genres break into the mainstream music scene through reviews, interviews and recorded live performances.
Luminary Sounds was created by musical artist Odell “Junior LLedo” Davis of Oxnard and musical enthusiast Francis “Francois the Great” Ampiaw of Sherman Oaks last year. The two met 12 years ago working at a bank in Simi Valley and learned they both had a passion for music.
“Junior asked that if he started a podcast would I do it with him,” Ampiaw, 40, said. “I was already doing album reviews for mainstream and independent artists. Before [R&B artist] Ella Mae made it big, everyone would always ask me, ‘how did you know she was going to be so big? You need to take this seriously.’ ” Luminary Sounds was also the title of Davis’ third studio album. Instead of promoting it, he decided to help promote other independent artists. The logo mascot for the Luminary Sounds brand, a penguin, represents overcoming difficult life obstacles.
“A penguin works hard to survive and represents that for independent artists,” Davis, 38, said.
Davis said that independent music began rising when mainstream music artists began having issues with their record labels.
“They were in limbo,” Davis said. “Being stuck in label, they can’t put out the music that they wanted to and then music platforms began emerging.”
Ampiaw and Davis find upcoming artists by researching on the Internet using keywords, asking people with headphones on what they are listening to and listening to music subscriptions such as TIDAL. Artists from all over the world have asked to be reviewed on the podcast. “Out of every single podcast and genre that pertains to music, we are the only one that specifically looks for undiscovered artists to be shown,” Davis said. “We are not a trending name; we really are underground by promoting artists that do not have a trending name.”
Independent music artists that have been featured on the podcast and later broke into mainstream include R&B singers DaniLeigh (“Easy”), Pink Sweat$ (“Honesty”) and Summer Walker (“CPR”). Saxophonist Nate Myers (“Pillow Talk”) and rapper $enseii (“FAM”) have also been highlighted on Luminary Sounds. “Francois is such a music enthusiast and me being a musical artist, it’s a great combo to discover artists and genres that will really take off,” Davis said.
The podcast also recently gained a new host, Kawaya “Kay Don’t Play” Haynes of Oxnard. The 26-year-old was inspired to become involved after viewing a friend on an episode.
“I am an entrepreneur myself and I had reached out to do marketing and promotions,” Haynes said. “Our chemistry is great, we all have the same goal — inspire people to do what they love and showcase their talents.” Most episodes are recorded and filmed at Lion City Studios in Downtown Ventura while a separate office in Downtown Los Angeles hosts artists with scheduling conflicts.
“The artists will travel to Downtown Ventura from Orange County, Long Beach and Compton,” Davis said. “They enjoy the show and what we do. It’s very professional and a way of us saying we appreciate you.”
A new episode is launched every other week with an average of 200 to 250 listeners per episode. On YouTube, the watch time is more than 3,000 minutes.
“We want the audience to take away that they experienced something new and got an artist that they will follow up and look into,” Ampiaw said.
Ampiaw and Davis have also hosted local music events, including the Ventura County Music Awards and Oxnard Jazz Festival. For 2020, the duo is working on launching their brand ambassador program, working with merchandise brands and collaborating with radio stations.
“We want to establish relationships [with the stations] that filter new artists that they might not even know of,” Davis said. “Independent artists are equally important.” ♦
Ojai-based singer/songwriter Licity Collins brought her guitar, her notebook and some friends to Namba Performing Arts Space on Feb. 15. It was the day after Valentine’s Day, but the good vibes continued to flow, as the artist hosted her very own “Love Fest” featuring herself along with troubadour Rags Rosenberg, Ventura musician Henry Stewart and trombonist Stan “Skabone” Middleton.
Collins — as talented a storyteller as she is a singer and guitarist — shared true tales of love, loss and heartache, many punctuated with moving musical numbers. Rosenberg, a traveling folk bard who sometimes calls Joshua Tree home, gave insight into the people and events behind the songs he played. Collins and Stewart teamed up to perform a duet of Stewart’s hauntingly beautiful ballad “Sleeping in the Graveyard.” She was also joined by Middleton for a spell, with the Barrelhouse Wailers horn player bringing a jazzy touch of trombone to Collins’ folk rock numbers.
While the chocolates handed out to the audience were a treat indeed, the sweetest gift was joining the musicians for genuinely heartfelt moments where poetry and pathos informed the playing. A perfectly delicious Valentine for local music lovers. ♦
Licity Collins licitycollins.com
Rags Rosenberg www.ragsand bonesmusic.com Henry Stewart henrystewartsongs. com
