Category Archives: Ventura County

Why Santa Barbara Homes Burn and Ventura County Homes Don’t

The excellent story in the Ventura County Star doesn't come right out and say it, but essentially it's simple — homes built after modern fire codes are far less likely to burn. 'Specially on large lots: There are thousands of homes in Ventura County that, like Eichele’s, are on what fire officials call the “urban-wildlandContinue reading “Why Santa Barbara Homes Burn and Ventura County Homes Don’t”

VC to Set the Bar for Nation in Recycling Stormwater

According to hard-working Heal the Bay activist Mark Gold, the Southern California Regional Water Quality Board this month committed Ventura County development projects to capturing stormwater and using it to replenish local aquifers. This means avoiding pollution and saving water — the best of possible solutions to two problems simultaneously. Most remarkably, the ruling commitsContinue reading “VC to Set the Bar for Nation in Recycling Stormwater”

Tar on Your Foot: Oil in Ventura County

The down and dirty about Ventura County’s oil legacy (cover of the VCReporter) By Kit Stolz 04/16/2009 Anyone who has ever lived in the Ventura County area and walked barefoot on the beach has probably at some point felt something sticky on his or her foot and found a black substance commonly kno wn asContinue reading “Tar on Your Foot: Oil in Ventura County”

Experts Agree on Rain Forecast: It’ll Be Dry. Or Not.

If you talk to the National Weather Service, they will tell you (link) that we're in an "ENSO-neutral" condition, and for that reason they're unwilling to predict the upcoming rain season in our region. But according to this typically excellent story from Rob Krier at the San Diego Union-Tribune, many forecasters who spoke at aContinue reading “Experts Agree on Rain Forecast: It’ll Be Dry. Or Not.”

Homeless Man Convicted for Day Fire

In an attempt to control huge fires such as the Day Fire, which in 2006 burned through Ventura County for over a month, consuming over 160,000 acres of chaparral, Federal prosecutors took forest dweller Steven Emory Butcher to court. On Friday he was convicted of starting the Day Fire. This gives prosecutors the option ofContinue reading “Homeless Man Convicted for Day Fire”

Save the Rain! Take Action Tomorrow

From about 12:00 to 2:00 tomorrow in Ventura on 1900 Spinnaker Drive near the harbor, Bill McKibben’s national Step It Up! campaign will demonstrate in support of action to preserve the loveliness of our climate. Lois Capps has been invited, and Supervisors Steve Bennett and John Flynn are expected, as well as Carol Miller, theContinue reading “Save the Rain! Take Action Tomorrow”

Risk of Wildfires Recedes in VC

Good news for residents of Ventura County: although the Ranch Fire is listed as being only 10% under control, it’s not nearly the threat it was two days ago. From Inciweb: Last night fire crews and structural protection engine crews reported that the night operations went extremely well with no surprises. In the early evening,Continue reading “Risk of Wildfires Recedes in VC”

A Little News about Upper Ojai

We live out in the country, where folks still ride horses and manage oil wells, and my kids attended the cutest little grammar school, called Summit, which was founded in l911. All these years later it’s still cute and still short on funds. Here’s a post I wrote for an Ojai site about a communityContinue reading “A Little News about Upper Ojai”

The Return of the Wild

The Channel Islands, off the coast of Southern California, turn out to be shockingly big and wild and, with the exception of Catalina, undeveloped. Nonetheless some of the best lands, such as Santa Cruz Island, have been ravaged by decades of ranching — 100,000 sheep at one point. But in the last twenty years, underContinue reading “The Return of the Wild”