Oxnard police investigate minor stabbing
Oxnard police were investigating a stabbing this afternoon. Police said they were called to the 1300 block of Fremont Way about 3:35 p.m. They arrived to find a male with a minor stab wound. The victim was not hospitalized. Investigators remained at the scene as of 5 p.m. No one had been arrested yet.
— Ventura County Star – 201205171735
Limited drinking water forcing
California to make changes
The problem in Southern California is not limited water —— there is an entire ocean of water just off the coast. The problem is that water suitable for drinking is limited and becoming more so. One of the solutions is in the toilet. That's according to Rich Nagel, general manager of the West Basin Municipal Water District. "We will never run out of water. That's impossible. But we will run out of drinkable water," Nagel said. "Each and every one of you has drunk sewer water in one way or another."
— Ventura County Star – 201205171520
— State Senate wades into Southern California's water wars — AP – 201205171132
Fate of 'uninsurables' hinges on Supreme Court
Cancer patient Kathy Watson voted Republican in 2008 and believes the government has no right telling Americans to get health insurance. Nonetheless, she says she'd be dead if it weren't for President Barack Obama's health care law. Now the Florida small businesswoman is worried the Supreme Court will strike down her lifeline. Under the law, Watson and nearly 62,000 other "uninsurable" patients are getting coverage through a little-known program for people who have been turned away by insurance companies because of pre-existing medical conditions. "Without it, I would have been dead on March 2," Watson said of the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, known as PCIP. That's when she was hospitalized for a life-threatening respiratory infection.
— Associated Press – 201205171109
A little Brown wizardry needed to fix budget
The governor's policies have been mostly solid, but he hasn't
exercised his full political muscle to get state finances in order.
Commentary by George Skelton
Gov. Jerry Brown is testy. He's defensive. He's very frustrated. He's only human, after all — not a demigod, not the all-wise, powerful supergov he portrayed himself to be when running for the office. It's hard to know who believed that portrayal the most: the voters, the Sacramento insiders or the candidate himself. Regardless, it hasn't panned out the way most people had hoped, and certainly not the way Brown had envisioned. So on Monday, he was in the governor's press conference room — built by his father, incidentally — trying to explain why the state budget hole had grown 71% deeper since January, expanding from $9.2 billion to $15.7 billion. And exactly what he proposed to do about it.
— Los Angeles Times – 20120517
— S&P issues warning on California finances — LAT – 201205151631
— Calif. gov. urges budget cuts amid $16B shortfall — AP – 201205150712
— Jerry Brown's proposed budget cuts will be felt across California — LAT – 201205141712
— Jerry Brown to unveil plan to close California's $16-billion deficit — LAT – 201205140600
— State's swelling deficit will bring painful cuts. Where to start? — LAT – 201205131401
UC regents discuss 6% tuition hike for next fall
They pledge to lobby hard to avoid the increase. The regents also approve the
hiring of a new chancellor for UC San Diego at an annual salary of $411,084.
University of California regents Wednesday discussed the possibility of a 6% tuition increase for next fall but pledged that they would lobby hard to avoid such a $732-per-student hike. With such money worries rippling through the 10-campus system, the regents approved the hiring of a new chancellor for UC San Diego at a $411,084 salary, which is 4.8% higher than his predecessor, Marye Anne Fox. In addition, Pradeep Khosla, now the engineering dean at Carnegie Mellon University, will receive a relocation bonus of nearly $24,700 annually for his first four years. The raise will come from non-state funds and Khosla's overall package is reportedly less than what he now earns, but some critics said any UC raise is unwarranted in today's brutal fiscal situation.
— Los Angeles Times – 20120517
Local housing market continues
to show signs of recovery
Manifest improvements appeared in the local housing market in April, bearing out the mindset of Realtors who believe they've seen an upturn in recent months. Foreclosure activity was down nearly 23 percent from the prior year in Ventura County, according to a RealtyTrac report released Thursday. There were 834 total foreclosure filings last month, including 284 auction sale notices and 98 bank repossessions. Those are the lowest tallies in more than two years for the county. Default notices still remain high, however, at 452. California foreclosure activity decreased 30 percent from April 2011. Meanwhile, county and Southern California home sales and prices rose in April over the prior year, DataQuick Information Systems reported Wednesday. Ventura County sales were up 17.5 percent and Southland sales rose 5.1 percent.
— Ventura County Star – 201205162102
— Southern California housing data signal turnaround — LAT – 20120517
— Report: Fewer US homes foreclosed upon in April — AP – 2012051762353
— Ventura County median home price climbs to $360,000 — VCS – 201205161018
Oxnard strawberry festival leader
pledges new venue to have less dust
With a new venue and configuration, the California Strawberry Festival on Saturday and Sunday promises to be the most dust-free yet, according to festival chairwoman Daisy Tatum. "All the dust is gone. The dust is gone," she said. The festival experienced a drop in attendance last year, when it was at an awkward sliver of Oxnard's College Park on Rose Avenue because the Strawberry Meadows portion was being renovated. A total of 58,250 tickets were sold in 2011, compared with 65,182 in 2010. "The economic times were much different last year. Things tend to be a bit better this year, and families are looking for place that is family-oriented. This festival is easily affordable," Tatum said.
— Ventura County Star – 201205161902
Highway 101 shuts down tonight
in Oxnard for road work
A portion of Highway 101 in Oxnard will be closed for four consecutive nights starting Monday as part of an ongoing construction improvement project in the area. All four lanes on the northbound side of the highway between Del Norte Boulevard and Rose Avenue were completely closed from about 11:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. both Monday and Tuesday nights. The work moves tonight and Thursday to the southbound side of the highway, where all lanes are being closed between Del Norte and Rose from approximately 11:45 p.m. to 5 a.m. The on-and-off ramps will not be affected during the four nights of work. Detour signs will also be in place to help motorists bypass the closed portion of the freeway through city streets.
— Ventura County Star – 20120516
Posted with permission from Joe Heller/Green Bay Press-Gazette
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