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Here is a big shout out to Marie Gregorio-Oviedo for that wonderful anniversary photo of the Tres Amigos. We weren't sure what to expect when Marie called us together for the photo shoot in front of the Ventura City Hall. But of course, the results were fantastic. Thank you Marie from your friends at Amigos805. |
Community Voices |
· You support eliminating the residential development land use designations north of Hueneme Road. Residential development presents significant threats to wetland species. The land should remain designated "open space" to continue to buffer the Ormond Beach wetland area from urban impacts. If you cannot attend the hearing, please email the City Council members: Mayor Tom Holden: drtomholden@aol.com Mayor Pro Tem Andres Herrera: andres.herrera@ci.oxnard.ca.us Council Member Dr. Irene Pinkard: irene.pinkard@ci.oxnard.ca.us Council Member Bryan MacDonald: bryan.macdonald@ci.oxnard.ca.us Let them know that you care about the future of our city! For more information contact: |
Guest column: The future of California redistricting is now California voters passed Proposition 11, the California Voters First Act, in 2008, to establish a redistricting process that is not led by politicians or consultants. Proposition 11 gives community members a major role in the California redistricting process by transferring authority for establishing Assembly, Senate, and Board of Equalization district boundaries to an independent 14-member Citizens Redistricting Commission. The first task of the commission will be to adjust district lines following the 2010 census. Through work on a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), along with the Center for Equality and Justice (CEJ), is involved in ensuring that the Citizens Redistricting Commission reflects the diversity found throughout the Central Coast region. Forty-seven percent of the residents of Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Monterey, and Santa Cruz counties are people of color. CAUSE was the impetus and major player in creating the Ventura County Redistricting Task Force, a diverse group of community members that drew the county Board of Supervisor districts following the 2000 census, and CEJ is completing a project that examines the task force’s efforts and results. The Citizens Redistricting Commission is an opportunity for Central Coast community members to become engaged in redistricting in an effort to make districts more like communities of interest than political party safety valves that are not reflective of and responsible to their community. The commission will be comprised of five Democrats, five Republicans, and four members who belong to other parties or are Independents, that is, registered as “decline to state.” Commissioners must be qualified citizens who have not changed political party affiliation for a minimum of five years and have voted in at least two of the last three statewide general elections. In addition, there are a number of eligibility limitations in order to prevent conflicts of interest, such as not having served as an elected or appointed member of a political party central committee, nor been appointed or elected to federal or state office. Commissioners are appointed for a term of 10 years; nevertheless, the vast majority of their work will be from January to September 2011. Key qualifications that commission applicants will be judged on include the ability to be impartial, relevant analytical skills, and an appreciation for the state’s diverse demographics and geography. Now is the time for Central Coast community members to consider applying for the commission and/or identify someone who will. Get involved in one of the most important processes in a democratic political system! This is a particularly opportune time for people of color and working class community members to become involved in the redistricting process, both during the application period and afterwards. How do you get involved or encourage others to? Applications will be accepted between December 15, 2009 and February 12, 2010. It’s easy to apply. Go to www.WeDrawTheLines.ca.gov for details. Applications will be accepted online. You will also find much more information at www.commoncause.org/redistrictingCA. For assistance, please contact regional outreach partners Maricela Morales, Associate Executive Director, CAUSE at Maricela@coastalalliance.com, 805-658-0810 and Gregory Freeland, Director, CEJ at gkfreeland@yahoo.com, 805-493-3477. |
Our Voice |
Updated web site, more video and interactive links coming up Launched on May 1, the traditional day in America to honor workers, Amigos805 has now reached another important date — its six-month anniversary on Nov. 1, which also happens to be El Día de los Muertos. Aligning our anniversary dates with holidays wasn’t exactly part of the plan, but we will take it as Amigos805 prepares for its second-half season. We want to thank the community for being so supportive of our efforts to be a local information source that also bridges cultures in the 805 region. As former newspaper journalists, getting into this new media business has been both a challenge and a reward. Creating and refining a web site, shooting videos and coordinating a virtual online office are skills that are being mastered by other former journalists nationwide who are stepping away from traditional print media to launch new community information ventures. With Amigos partners spread throughout the Western Hemisphere — Mariana Llamas-Cendon in Cuernavaca, Frank Moraga traveling between Arizona and California and Carlos J. Licea holding down the fort in the 805 region — covering the Latino community in the 805 region has provided its share of challenges. But it has also provided numerous rewards as an increasing number of community organizations, businesses and individuals turn to our web site as a key source of information on events and issues impacting the local Latino community. If you have been to any recent cultural events in the 805 region, chances are you have seen Carlos capturing images as diverse as the Salsa Festival, the Heritage Square Summer Concert Series, the Olivas Adobe “Under the Stars” concert series, exhibitions at the Museum of Ventura County in Ventura and of course this weekend, Dia de los Muertos events in Camarillo and Ventura. Mariana has interviewed artists (Veronica Valadez, Xavier Montes), community leaders (members of Las Contemporáneas, Anna Bermúdez and Tim Schiffer, all from the Museum of Ventura County) and others who are working hard to promote cultural activities to the 805 region. Frank has provided stories ranging from interviews with college administrators (Jaime Casillas at the Ventura County Community College District) to business leaders (Ashley Bautista at the Hispanic Business Council), musicians (classical guitarist Carlos Gonzales) and economic revitalization leaders (Abel Magaña at the Oxnard Downtown Management District). Community members have also been sending us a growing number of photos and media releases on upcoming events and issues. We look forward to expanding our video links to promote the creative visual side of residents of the 805 region, along with refining our efforts to provide a more interactive web site to complement our current use of Twitter, Facebook and our YouTube video reports. We are grateful to those businesses that have agreed to advertise on Amigos805, providing us with the opportunity to create a sustained media outlet to serve the community in the region. We look forward to offering potential advertisers a variety of media platforms to reach their target audience. Finally, we are most honored to be named sponsors of events presented by such organizations as Teatro de las Américas, the United Way of Ventura County’s Latino Action Team and El Concilio del Condado de Ventura. Thank you very much for supporting Amigos805 and we look forward to the second half of this initial season. Your friends Frank… Mariana... Carlos… |
Updating our look & links Change is good ...Even for the Web designer. Amigos805.com continues to evolve. In just a few short months, we have grown from zero hits to a projected 140,000 hits in November. Amigos805.com partner Carlos J. Licea has covered a multitude of events in the region, initially with just his digital camera, but now with a video camera as well. Amigos805.com partners Mariana Llamas-Cendon and Frank X. Moraga have also been busy previewing a variety of community entertainment and cultural events in the region. Since we launched on May 1, 2009, we've added Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and now Flickr to our content platform. The community has responded with more photos, media releases, event flyers and other information. As a result, we quietly launched a redesign of the Web site this past weekend. We have been testing some ideas out, adding more photos and links to sections you care about — News, Business, Arts & Culture, Education & Health, Community News/Events and Opinion. We hope this updated design will help speed you on your way to getting the kind of content you want, quickly and easily. Please tell us what you think — mail@amigos805.com — and what else we can do to make Amigos805.com your source of information on the vibrant Latino community in the 805 region. Thank you all very much for your support. |
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Frank X. Moraga:
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Frank writes about local events and people in the 805 region with an occasional look at how national trends affect the local community. |
| Visit Frank's Blog Spot |
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Carlos J. Licea:
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Carlos opines about that curious |
| Visit Carlos' Blog Spot |
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Mariana Llamas-Cendon:
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Mariana discusses social and cultural issues and their impact on the Latino community. |
| Visit Mariana's Blog Spot |
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Providing individual counseling, group workshops, media distribution and other communications training services. |