11 minute read
NEWS
Eye on the Environment
Cut tree vs. artificial tree debate changes this year
by David Goldstein
Supply chain disruptions, trucking costs, drought, heat waves and fire in the Pacific Northwest have affected the costs and supplies for both cut trees and artificial trees. On its website, the American Christmas Tree Association warns, “These challenges mean that there will be fewer live and artificial Christmas trees available this year, and those that are available will cost more than before.”
Dave Lindren, owner of Big Wave Dave’s Christmas tree lots in Ventura, Camarillo and Moorpark, said, “Days of 115-degree heat at our tree farm in Oregon burned new buds, and lack of freezing weather made trees skip needed dormancy, so we have fewer of the best quality trees this year.”
Local “cut your own” tree farms provide an alternative to buying either a cut tree trucked from the Pacific Northwest or an artificial tree shipped from China. Local tree farms have also been affected by drought, however.
“We’re already sold out of our trees over eight feet,” Keely Hagle, an owner of the Hagle Christmas Tree Farm in Somis, reported last Monday, just three days after the Black Friday opening of retail operations. “We had far fewer big ones this year because we had to cut back on watering to meet pumping restrictions, and the rain didn’t come to make up for the difference.”
Efficiency improvements made to irrigation systems will revive small trees and ensure good harvests for next year, but for now, the Hagle Farm is supplementing its chooseand-cut inventory with cut trees from Oregon and Washington.
The local “fir trade” also offers another option. Rather than buying distantly sourced trees each year, some people buy live trees in pots, keeping the trees for a few years before either recycling or planting the trees, according to Richard Flowers, a Certified Nursery Professional with Green Thumb Nursery in Ventura.
A four-foot high Nordmann fir, in a pot over 16 gallons, costs about $230 at Green Thumb. Of the fir trees, it is the most adaptable to growing in a pot in our climate and may last eight years before becoming root bound, according to Flowers. Italian Stone pines and Aleppo pines are similar options. Flowers always warns customers thinking about planting their Christmas trees to consider growth patterns before planting. Nordmann firs can grow to be 60 feet high.
Shoppers might instead consider a dwarf Alberta spruce. It has a tight branch pattern, making it attractive as a Christmas tree. Some can live up to eight years in a container, and the dwarf variety grows only to about 11 feet high when planted, according to Flowers. This variety is sensitive to heat, however, and is not likely to thrive in the local climate.
According to the American Christmas Tree Association website, last year, 94 million households in the United States displayed a Christmas tree in their home, and 85% of those trees were artificial.
Clearly, consumers appreciate the convenience of an artificial tree, but is an artificial tree best for the environment? Although artificial trees are reused year after year, artificial trees do not “save” trees from being cut in a natural forest. Also according to the National Christmas Tree Association, nearly all Christmas trees are grown like crops on “tree farms,” frequently on marginal soil not normally suitable for other types of trees. Market demand for Christmas trees caused these trees to be planted in the first place, so when trees are harvested for use, new trees are planted by tree farmers eager to sustain the profits of their businesses.
Some trees are also grown in an environmentally sustainable manner. Michael and Karen Karayan, who in 1996 began operating the long-established Mupu Tree Farm retail site on Ojai Road near Santa Paula, display a certification noting their trees come from a Socially and Environmentally Responsible Farm (SERF) in Oregon.
To obtain SERF certification, tree farms develop a sustainability plan, promising achievements in five areas: biodiversity; soil and water resources; integrated pest management; health and safety; and community and consumer relations. Inspections, conducted by the Oregon Agricultural Department, monitor plan compliance and require updates.
For consumers prioritizing environmental sustainability, there is one other local option often overlooked. Craigslist for Ventura County currently features over 40 used artificial trees for sale, and one listing in Camarillo for a live tree in a pot.
Ventura County Public Works Environmental Analyst David Goldstein can be reached at david.goldtein@ ventura.org or 805-658-4312.
Planet Ventura
Garden of Eatin’
The Garden of Eatin’ outdoor classroom at Easterseals Southern California’s newly renovated and expanded Child Development Center in Ventura. Photo by Reggie Ige Chief Mark Lorenzen
On Wednesday, Nov. 3, Easterseals Southern California held an Open House in celebration of the official opening of its newly renovated and expanded Child Development Center in Ventura.
The newly renovated space includes classrooms, a computer lab for parents who may not have access to technology or the Internet, a reading gazebo, a stage for music and plays, and several interactive playgrounds. One major highlight is the Garden of Eatin’, a garden, greenhouse and outdoor kitchen where kids can grow plants and produce, learn healthy eating habits and explore hands-on food preparation. The project was done with federal funding from the Head Start program, monies from the California Department of Education and community support from individuals and corporations.
“Children receive rich learning experiences that are meaningful and culturally relevant,” said Regional Director Anna Izaguirre. “Our outdoor learning environment exposes children to Science, Technology, Reading/Relationships, Engineering, Arts and Math (STREAM). We work with our local community and are able to provide enrichment classes including music, dance, cooking, gardening, pottery and healthy eating. The learning that happens indoors is also enhanced outdoors in a fun and engaging manner.”
The center serves 168 kids ages 0 to 5 with Early Head Start and other pre-school services that are free to income-eligible families. Children who participate in Easterseals Child Development Services come from the local communities of Fillmore, Oxnard, Saticoy, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula and Ventura. www.easterseals.com/southerncal
— Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer
In Brief
Fire Chief Lorenzen to retire
Mark Lorenzen, chief of the Ventura County Fire Department, has announced that he will be retiring in early 2022 after 31 years of service with the department. He has served in his current position since 2012.
Lorenzen oversaw the response to the then-largest fire in California history, the 2017 Thomas Fire, and the 2018 Hill and Woolsey fires. He advocated for the state budget allocation of $25 million for local governments to have the necessary resources on hand to quickly respond to major fires.
Recruitment for his replacement will open in early 2022.
Port Hueneme frontline grocery and drug store workers to receive $1,000
As part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocation to the city of Port Hueneme, union and non-union workers at grocery and drug stores in the city will receive a one-time grant check of $1,000 after the Port Hueneme City Council voted unanimously for the project on Dec. 1.
The payment was sought by local union UFCW 770 as a way of compensating workers for being in the workplace under greater risk during the pandemic, without a compensatory increase in pay.
Employees of five businesses within city limits qualify.
The payments will total approximately $175,000 of the total $5.2 million on ARPA funds granted to the city over two years.
A spokesperson with UFCW 770 told the Ventura County Reporter that the group was advocating in Oxnard for similar grant payments to be made for these frontline workers who continued to go to work throughout the first year of pandemic-related business closures and restrictions.
The payment will be allocated to all part-time and full-time workers at qualifying employers.
Ventura College offers financial aid, Dream Act assistance
To assist current and future Ventura College students in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Ventura College has Zoom drop-in help hours on Mondays, 4-6 p.m., and Wednesdays, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
To get the Zoom link for online help visit: www.venturacollege. edu/departments/student-services/ financial-aid.
In-person FAFSA help is available Mondays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Tuesdays, 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Health screenings will be conducted for those coming in person.
The Financial Aid Office and Computer Lab will be closed Dec. 23, 2021 through Jan. 2, 2022 for the holidays. It will reopen on Monday, Jan. 3, 2022.
Financial Aid Services are available every second and fourth Monday of the month, 4-6 p.m., at Ventura College East Campus in Santa Paula. For more information, contact financial aid specialist Yesika Hernandez at yhernandez@vcccd.edu or call the campus at 805-525-7136.
For general financial aid questions, call 805-289-6369 or email vcfinancialaid@vccd.edu.
County testing COVID patients for Omicron
As of Dec. 6, Dr. Robert Levin, health officer with Ventura County Public Health, said there have been no confirmed cases of the new COVID Omicron variant in the county.
As of this week, beginning Dec. 6, all patients hospitalized for COVID19 are having specimens sent for Omicron detection testing. Last week the county began testing some select COVID patients.
As for whether he is concerned about the Omicron variant, Levin told the Ventura County Reporter via email, “Messages are currently mixed coming out of South Africa,” where the variant was first detected and reported. “Some are that the disease is milder. An explanation that is proffered is that of the many changes in the Omicron variant, some of them are from an exchange of nucleic acid material with a common cold coronavirus. The clarity of the data is clouded by the fact that most of the infections there are in young people who often don’t get very sick.” He pointed out, however, that in the area of South Africa where the Omicron variant was first detected, “word came out [on Dec. 6] that an undue number of infants under 2 years of age are being hospitalized . . . but the information is not clear as to whether all these hospitalizations are due to COVID.”
He said “another week or so” is needed “for public health officials to formulate a better idea of severity of disease due to this organism. Even then, conclusions could change as the weeks and months go by.”
24-year-old arrested for 2019 Port Hueneme shooting
On Dec. 1, 2021, Jaylin Edwards, 24 of San Bernardino, was arrested by San Bernardino Sheriff’s Detectives on a warrant for Edwards’ alleged involvement in a shooting that took place on July 2, 2019 in Port Hueneme.
A pregnant woman and her 7-year-old daughter were struck by bullets. The child was struck in the head and continues to recover from her injuries.
Charges were filed and a warrant issued for Edwards’ arrest by the Ventura County District Attorney’s office on Nov. 1, 2021.
Edwards is in custody and will be transferred to Ventura County. Bail is set at $1 million.
$10k matching campaign for Ventura Land Trust
Through the month of December, Topa Topa Brewing Company will match donations made to the Ventura Land Trust up to a total of $10,000 to support the conservation of the Harmon Canyon Preserve, located off of Foothill Road just north of Kimball Road.
VLT opened the property’s 2,123 acres with miles of trails to the public in 2020 after 10 years of preparations. Funds raised will ensure that project completion and ongoing maintenance is funded. The preserve is open daily, dawn to dusk, and is free to the public.
Topa Topa is also offering a free six pack of Spectro Hazy IPA beer to donors (21 years and older) of $10 or more. Just show a donation receipt to claim your six pack at the Colt Street or Thompson Boulevard taproom locations. www. venturalandtrust.org/doublethestoke.
Ventura City Attorney to retire
After just over seven years with the city of Ventura, City Attorney Gregory Diaz has announced his retirement. His last day will be Dec. 23, 2021.
Diaz oversaw the city’s efforts in recovering $8 million from Southern California Edison for 2017 Thomas Fire-related damages.
He was admitted to the California State Bar in 1991 and is admitted to practice before the Central, Eastern and Northern Districts of the Federal District Courts in California; the Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals; and before the U.S. Supreme Court. Diaz served as city attorney for tMerced from 2001 to 2014 and as the contract city attorney for Lake Forest, Stanton and Lomita. In addition, he was involved with the incorporation of nine new cities from Temecula in the south to Buellton in the north, with major efforts involving the new cities of Dana Point, Chino Hills and Lake Forest.
While with Ventura, Diaz prepared the “Disaster Playbook,” a manual for managing legal issues during an emergency, which is available for use by county counsel and city attorney offices in California. For the last two years, he has served as the Chair of the City Attorneys Department of the League of California Cities Ad Hoc Emergency Response Committee.
Diaz stated that he and his wife have relocated to Tampa, Florida.
The city will conduct a recruitment effort to fill the post. The position is appointed by a vote of the City Council.
Starting on Dec. 23, until the post is filled, current Senior Assistant City Attorney Andy Hegland will be acting city attorney. He has been with the Ventura City Attorney’s office since July 2019.
