THE NEW-ISH NORMAL

"I feel that quarantine has brought me closer to other people, to everyone. Like, we are all finally on the same page now. " —

C. JoyBell C.

It's festival season in Ojai; "The Ojai" Tennis Tournament ran at full tilt for the first time since the pandemic, and the Ojai Music Festival (June 8-11) if pre-sale tickets are an indication of excitement, promises to be among the best-attended yet. An enormous talent like Rhiannon Giddens will do that for you. It's been a long way through the murk since March of 2020, and now that the sky has cleared, I hope we take away a few useful, and sustainable, lessons.

One is that Ojai is resilient. We learned that as the ashes were still swirling after the Thomas Fire. The torrents of fellow feeling and support that emerged with our self-organized mutual aid and stories of fast friendships forged in fire, are a long ways behind us now. Witness the bitterness stirred up during the 2022 election season, by far the worst in my nearly quarter-century in this town. We know that our unity is still there beneath the surface, though. Wouldn't it be something if it didn't take a disaster to access it?

The lake level rose nearly half its capacity, from nearly 25 percent at the lowest point of the drought to nearly 75 percent this year; another such year as last and we will see the water spilling over the dam for the first time since 2005. Conservation measures have been lifted, but I hope the sense of restraint and living within our means continues. While the Ojai Valley averages 20 inches per year, that is because for every year like this where we get 40 inches, there are two years where we get 10 inches or less.

As you might imagine, tourism is the engine that drives our economy. Between sales tax from the 7.25 percent collected and the transient occupancy tax from hotels, that $4.5 million (or so) each year is 40 percent (or more) of the city's operating revenue. We recovered quickly after the Thomas Fire and the 2020 lockdowns, but it was not guaranteed at the time. Ask any merchant in the Arcade or nearby. It felt like a ghost town for weeks. And while we knew visitors wouldn't stay away, in fact they needed some Ojai in their lives more than ever, the return of the "new-ish normal" felt abstract and distant. It hasn't truly felt the same since the Oaks at Ojai hotel closed during the Thomas Fire. It is still in its years-long Phoenix phase, rising from those choking clouds of smoke. The El Roblar Hotel, we can comfortably assume, will bring even more allure and grace to downtown, elevating our presence throughout the region, especially with the Playhouse Theater across the street re-opening, a new nexus where locals and visitors will interact.

There's been a lot going on these past five-and-a-half years, not all of it good. But I think that by and large we recognize these malign energies and those who spread them for the disruptive force that it is. We predict Ojai will regress to a mean that is balanced, friendly, welcoming and with open minds and hearts. While past performance is no guarantee of future results, it is a clue.