ojai blog - news and events in the Ojai community

Ojai Foundation: An Ojai Valley Treasure

The VC Star has a great article (free reg. req.) on the 25th anniversary of the Ojai Foundation in Upper Ojai. 

A pillar of the community since 1979, when it was founded by anthropologist Joan Halifax, the Foundation holds a diverse span retreats, from at-risk youth to a couples' weekend. 

An afternoon visit is highly recommended - its a place far removed from city life, with ropes courses, yurts, communal living and cooking and a general sense of peace and well being.

Ojai Library to travel back 112 years

With a $1,000 grant from the California Stories project, sponsored by the California Council for the Humanities, the Ojai Library will present a re-enactment this spring or summer of the fund-raising event in 1892 that allowed the library to be established. Staff members will work with students to research and recreate the event, while students will work with local actors to create costumes and props.

The Humanities Council is a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The agency established the California Stories program to strengthen communities and connect Californians. By weaving these stories together, the council hopes to tell the story of present-day California.

Red State, Blue State: Ojai textbooks

You may have read that in Texas, the Board of Education has censored health textbooks, such that they only teach abstinence.  Of course, the "reality based community" will show you that ignoring birth control as an option has resulted in a dramatic increase of abortions under the Bush administration, where it steadily declined under the Clinton administration.

Following is a letter to the LA Times editor from a board member of Ojai Valley Unified demonstrating how this affects Ojai students, and is not isolated to Texas.

Re "Revision Marches to Social Agenda," Nov. 22: You recently reported on the Texas Board of Education's success in censoring health textbooks to emphasize faith-based sexual abstinence-only tenets, eliminating reference to such scientific realities as sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and teen sex experimentation.

The textbook publishers, trying to maximize profits by printing a single Texas-approved text, limit book choices for other states. The sad result is that "books purchased [in Texas] wind up in classrooms across the nation, because publishers are loath to create new editions for smaller states."

Your readers need to know that those texts are in California classrooms as well. On the Ojai Board of Education, I recently learned that unless we purchased a health text supplement, our high schoolers would not learn the sexual science loathed in Texas. Health texts approved in California are already "abstinence-only" and contain no information about condoms or contraception.

I think the publishers could sell all the science-based texts they print (particularly in blue states) if they would simply affix a label to the book covers reading "Banned in Texas."

Kathi Smith
Board member, Ojai Unified School District

Ojai Parcel Tax for Education

A special election will be held on March 8 for a parcel tax in the Ojai Unified School District.  Voters in the district, which has had shrinking enrollments, will be asked to approve a $150 annual parcel tax for five years to support education programs.  The tax, which needs a two-thirds voter approval to pass, would raise $1.4 million annually.  Ojai Unified will pay the cost of the special election, estimated at $25,000.  I'll provide more specifics as available on who is impacted by the parcel tax, and what the money will go towards.

Ojai Holiday Festivities, pt. 1

The Rotary Club of Ojai will sponsor Michael McLean's The Forgotten Carols narrated and sung by Glenn Yarbrough.  The festivities are on December 4th at the Ojai Valley Inn.  A Cocktail Reception will be at 6:30p.m., followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m.  Tickets are $40.00 and can be purchased at the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce. For more information call 805-646-8126.

Transportation Revolution

I read a fascinating diary on one author's vision to kick our addiction to oil that he calls the Transportation Revolution or "or how we stop burning oil and start making jobs at home in ten quick years". 

Particularly interesting is the notion that in converting to an electric car society over the next decade, we must subsidize the deployment of small, inexpensive cars first, because that allows low income people to have a chance to get in the game before the big pivot: a gas tax.

Further of note is his depiction of Class 8 Trucks (the really big semis that use a lot of fuel) and how we must subsidize the conversion of those as well. 

Ojai Holiday Sale starts tomorrow at Off Main merchants

Starting tomorrow -  November 26 and 27 (10am-7pm) and November 28 (11am-5pm) - the "Around The Town, Off The Main Street" Ojai Merchants throw open their doors for the holidays.

GemQuest Jewelers, Ojai House, Around The Corner Gallery / Plush Surroundings, Heartwarmers Mercantile, Nancy Rupp Studio and Rainbow Bridge are all opening their doors with drawings, discounts, sales and holiday cheer. If you have holiday shopping to do, please support our local merchants and provide your loved ones with unique Ojai gifts.

Satellites Over Ojai

Satellites Over Ojai was an Ojai Valley mapping project by Matilija Jr. High student Chris Walker.  Long since moth-balled (it was last updated in 1998), the little site has some great photos of the Ojai Valley.

Ojai Retreat: Meditate with Monks

Pine Mountain Buddhist monks will hold a serene reflection meditation and dharma discussion, and will chant during a special event at the Ojai Retreat. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, November 28. Donations will be accepted. To make reservations, call 805-484-8415.

"Key Ingredients: America by Food" visits Ojai

A traveling exhibition, organized by the Smithsonian Institution, "Key Ingredients: America by Food," is open now at the Ojai Valley Museum.

Table settings from the O-Hi Frostie, The Ranch House and nearly a dozen other Ojai-area restaurants add local flavor to the exhibition, which was organized by the Smithsonian as a way to look at, and raise questions about, the regional, historical and agricultural forces that shape how Americans eat.

The exhibit runs through Dec. 11. Museum hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays. Call 805-640-1390 for info.  The VC Star has a good article on Key Ingredients (free reg. req.).