By Mike Nelson | Photos courtesy of Gold Coast Veterans Foundation
It’s enough of a tragedy to be hungry, homeless and hopeless. But when you’ve served in the U.S. military and have placed your life on the line to defend...
By Alex Wilson
Kevin Brannon traces his family’s history in Port Hueneme and South Oxnard back four generations. His upbringing was more hardscrabble than most: Brannon’s dad passed away when he was young and his mom was in and out...
By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Viktor Budnik
This is a landmark year for the Ojai Art Center. The community organization, founded in 1939 by Dr. Charles Butler as a home for artistic endeavors of all kinds, celebrates...
By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Viktor Budnik
The tall and stately building on the corner of Main and Laurel streets in Downtown Ventura has been a distinctive landmark since it was built in the 1920s. Originally designed...
By Kit Stolz
Poetry in the 805 survived the pandemic and is alive and well in cafes and schools and libraries all around Ventura County, say local poets young and old, who speak with enthusiasm about what poetry has given...
By Mike Nelson
Ever meet someone for the first time and feel like you already know that person?
The same can be true of musical instruments. Just ask Alyssa Park, who at age 5 saw Itzhak Perlman playing violin on TV,...
By Nancy D. Lackey Shaffer | Photos by Chris Mortenson
Tiki culture is not Pacific Islander culture. The societies of Oceania — a geographical area covering over three million square miles between mainland Asia and the Americas and which includes...
By Mike Nelson | Photos by Nathan Cool
Sheriane and Brad Mattocks are busy bank executives who also love good food, good wine, good friends and entertaining in their Newbury Park home.
Three years ago, they invited one such friend, senior...
By Omar Reyes Benítez | Photos by Viktor Budnik
At one point, not too long ago, home to Dr. Albert Marrero was a three-acre piece of land in Ojai, with a beautiful garden that captured the attention of multiple media...
By Mike Nelson | Photos by Viktor Budnik
Barrie Cohen spent most of her 20s working on farms and exploring America. During her West Coast travels she felt drawn to the Ojai Valley, where she chose to plant roots about...
