MVCC NEWSLETTER

July 2011, Volume 14, Issue 6

Published Monthly Free by the Midtown Ventura Community Council
PO Box 1041, Ventura, CA 93002

Midtowns Ocean Friendly Gardens

Photos Kurt Preissler

Letter from the Chair

By David Ferrin Surfrider Foundations Ocean Friendly GardensTM (OFG) methods help prevent excessive runoff, retain and replenish natural water resources, and are wildlife-friendly while creating beautiful yards. At our June 12th general meeting Surfrider member Jill Sarick gave an enthusiastic presentation on how OFG educates community members to achieve these goals. They apply C P R Conservation, Permeability and Retention - to revive our watersheds and oceans. Some ways to conserve water are to find and fix pipe leaks, be conscious of water use and waste, and replace gardens requiring high water demand. Permeability refers to having healthy living soil that absorbs water, is not excessively compacted and is alive with organisms. Since impervious surfaces such as streets, driveways and roofs make up a large portion of our build environment, runoff is well beyond what would normally occur in nature. If each yard retains as much runoff as possible, more water is allowed to filter into the ground, replenishing the aquifer and preventing polluted water from reaching oceans and streams. The intent of OFG is to educate, train and

assist people in creating ocean friendly yards by applying the C P R methods. Neighbors are encouraged to combine their efforts by helping each other create ocean friendly yards. OFG implements their goals through programs such as Basics Class, Hands-On Workshops, a Garden Assistance Program and Lawn Patrol (neighborhood walk). For more info go to www.oceanfriendlygardens. org and the Ventura Chapters OFG page at www.surfrider.org/ventura. At our May meeting, City of Ventura Principal Planner Brian Randall explained a list of 12 possible zoning regulation changes that the city is considering. Included is a revision to the sign ordinance that would allow retailers to use video monitors in display cases to show and advertize merchandise. To find out more about this idea, we invited Scott Boydstun, a local architect with Rasmussen and Associates, who has been studying how retail window display advertizing has changed with time and technology, to present at our June meeting. What he demonstrated in his presentation is how, with the advent of strip malls, signs displaced the display of goods and that has resulted in excessive signage, painted windows and less than desirable retail centers. Properly regulated window displays allow retailers to more effectively advertise

by showing actual items. The items would be in a glass case, allowing pictorial, graphic or printed displays that are much more informative and creative than signs. There is an added benefit of reducing enforcement needs because the display is limited to the case size. Electronic video displays would also be allowed in a window case and controlled as to their brightness, duration of imagery and content. Video window displays could be regulated by the Design Review Committee to govern appropriateness, size and to maintain transparency at front doors. The examples that Scott showed were very compelling and offer benefits to retailers while improving the visual quality of our environment.

McConnells Ice Cream Biodegradable Cup

Press Release No trees. No plastic. No kidding, says Jimmy Young enthusiastically to his favorite customer Avery and her dad at the newest McConnells ice cream and yogurt store in Ventura, California. I think its just as exciting to tell people about whats NOT in our new cups, adds

Our Mission: Preservation, enhancement and revitalization of Midtown Ventura

MVCC Newsletter, July 2001

Young, Vice President of McConnells Fine Ice Creams of Santa Barbara, CA. Young is responsible for retail store development of the corporation and is a contributing developer of the newly released biodegradable and compostable McConnells Earth Cup. Ive learned its not easy to be first at anything but I can honestly say that the earths very first biodegradable bamboo and tapioca cup was just served right here on Main Street, USA in Ventura, California. How cool is that? says Young. James McCoy, McConnells President, contributes For 62 years, weve worked hard to craft the purest and most natural ice creams and yogurts imaginable. It only seemed logical to us that we would extend our principles to finding a perfect serving cup. Regarding McConnells quest to find the earths perfect eco-friendly cup, Young says, We still think the perfect cup is actually a cone but in seeking the second most ecofriendly cup, I visited every booth of every trade show I could find and also scoured hundreds of websites around the globe and it turns out, quite incredibly, that the perfect cup was invented right up the road by some really smart folks at a company called Biosphere. These cups are not oil based, they dont use any trees and they are specifically designed to disappear back into the earth when you are done with them. Thats perfect in my opinion. Elie Helou, Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Biosphere Industries in Carpinteria, CA, comments, Our products are highly engineered to not hurt the environment. A tremendous amount of development resources have been invested in the McConnells cups - and all of our products - so that they dont last. Thats the point right? says Helou. What we are doing excites us and it seems our technical processes are of great interest to others too now. Lets just say that not just one country has sent, well, uninvited envoys to try to figure out how we do what we do. Helou adds that they are now capable of making hundreds of biodegradable single-use products for the food service, healthcare, industrial, and even aerospace industries. Just about any human activity that repeatedly casts quantities of petro-plastics and tree-based materials into our landfills can be served with our products, Helou explains. Biosphere claims the McConnells Earth Cups, part of their expanding Biosphere line of plant-based single-use cups, trays and other containers, posses the worlds leading composting certificates and even the US Navy has given them a seal of approval for ocean biodegradability. Biosphere says their new products are earth and ocean friendly.

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These first-of-a-kind cups are created by baking, under pressure, a proprietary mixture of food-grade bamboo fibers with the starches of the Cassava root (where tapioca comes from). The manufacturer states that these natural and non-genetically-modified plants are grown on practically every continent and that much of the bamboo fiber used is yearly renewably harvested meaning the plant is not summarily destroyed in the process of harvesting. Helou explains, Our goal at Biosphere is to provide the worlds most environmentally sustainable and economically viable packaging material to help mankind kick its tree and oil habit and we are incredibly excited to introduce new applications for our Biosphere line of products.

MVCC Contacts:
David Ferrin, Chair: 653-5088 Pamela Hazard, Vice Chair: 570-7423 Karen Flock, Treasurer: 407-2716 John Jones, Corresponding Secretary: 628-2520 Nora Paulson, Secretary: 677-7300 Dan Long, Historic Chair: 653-6573 Jerome Holt, Community Pride: 453-8513

Photo McConnell Ice Cream

There will be no General M

MVCC Goals for Venturas 150th Anniversary

By David Ferrin Create a new Midtown community park In June we submitted an Urban Greening Concept proposal to the state of California for a grant that would fund a portion of the design and construction of the park. Submitting our proposal was a group effort by our Community Pride Chair Jerome Holt, Ray Olson from the citys Environmental Services Division, Heather Miller from the city Public Works Department, Dan Long and me. We are very confident that our application meets the goals established by the grant committee. If youd like to see a

Summer Brea

concept drawing of the park proposed at the city parking lot on S. Katherine Drive and Hartman Drive the current version can be viewed on our website or Facebook page. Make improvements to at least one Midtown school per year Individual efforts continued in June to complete the painting of the rainbow bridge playground at Blanche Reynolds School and it looks great! We expect that the solar playground lights will arrive in July and can be installed before the kids return to school. We have received numerous donations for this effort and are very appreciative to everyone that helped-out. We are still accepting donations to help pay for the

Publication Credits:
Preissler Media Services
Print states a few words, A picture a thousand; While a video provides millions... Lets expose your organization

643-5902

www.midtownventura.org

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Greentip For July 2011

Summertime and produce is abundant! Whether you buy your five servings a day of fruits and vegetables at the Farmers Market, local produce stand or supermarket, you may want to check out the Environmental Working Groups 2011 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides in Produce (www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary) before you shop. The Guide ranks pesticide contamination for 53 popular produce items based on an analysis of 51,000 tests for pesticides on foods conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Food and Drug Administration. It reflects the overall pesticide loads of common fruits and vegetables. Most of the tests were run on the produce after it had been rinsed or peeled. Although it is always important to rinse produce before consuming, it is not a guarantee that all pesticide residue is eliminated. Pesticides are toxins that have the possibility of causing birth defects, nerve damage, can play a role in endocrine function and may cause cancer. After all, they do kill the pests. The caution is to minimize your exposure and especially that of young children. The Guide lists The Dirty Dozen of the most contaminated produce as well as The Clean Fifteen which are the least likely to test positive for pesticides. Although certified organically grown produce that do not use chemical pesticides may cost a little more, if some of the produce on The Dirty Dozen list are among your favorites, these may be worth the extra price. Perhaps you may choose to only consume the ones on The Clean Fifteen list. Another option is to grow your own where you control what goes on your plants. Great produce can even be grown in pots if you have limited space. Remember this Guide is just that and should be used along with your own common sense.
Christine Wied, Environmental Specialist City of Ventura, Environmental Sustainability Division (805) 652-4584

A Small token of appreciation to the Midtown Council from the pupils of the Blanche Reynolds ElementeySchool.

Meeting in July

ak

paint, lights and other supplies if you are able to contribute. Expand our volunteer power by adding 200 MVCC members If you can provide your time, expertise,

leadership or donations in support of any of the above goals please contact any MVCC board member, and tell a friend or neighbor about what we are doing to improve the community. The 150th anniversary of the City of Venturas incorporation is on April 2, 2016.

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