Courtesy https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prepare/checklist-household-re...

As a family, you can plan and make decisions now that will protect you and your family during a COVID-19 outbreak. Creating a household plan can help protect your health and the health of those you care about in the event of an outbreak of COVID-19 in your community. Use this checklist to help you take steps to plan and protect the health of you and your family.

PLAN AND PREPARE
Get up-to-date information about local COVID-19 activity from public health officials
Create a household plan of action.
- Consider members of the household that may be at greater risk such as older adults and people with severe chronic illnesses.
- Ask your neighbors what their plan includes.
- Create a list of local organizations you and your household can contact in case you need access to information, healthcare services, support, and resources.
- Create an emergency contact list including family, friends, neighbors, carpool drivers, healthcare providers, teachers, employers, the local public health department, and other community resources.
- Choose a room in your house that can be used to separate sick household members from others.
Take everyday preventive actions:
- Wash your hands frequently
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces Be prepared if your child’s school or childcare facility is temporarily dismissed or for potential changes at your workplace.
- Administrative Controls refer to employer-dictated work practices

TAKE ACTION
In case of an outbreak in your community, protect yourself and others:
- Stay home and speak to your healthcare provider if you develop fever, cough, or shortness of breath
- If you develop emergency warning signs for COVID-19 get medical attention immediately. In adults, emergency warning signs*:
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion or inability to arouse Bluish lips or face
- *This list is not all inclusive. Please consult your medical provider for any other symptom that is severe or concerning.
- Keep away from others who are sick
- Limit close contact with others as much as possible (about 6 feet)
Put your household plan into action
- Continue to practice everyday preventive actions
- If someone in the household is sick, separate them into the prepared room
- If caring for a household member, follow recommended precautions and monitor your own health
- Keep surfaces disinfected
- Avoid sharing personal items
- If you become sick, stay in contact with others by phone or email
- Stay informed about the local outbreak situation
- Notify your work if your schedule needs to change
- Take care of the emotional health of your household members, including yourself
Take additional precautions for those at highest risk, particularly older adults and those who have severe underlying health conditions.
- Consider staying at home and away from crowds if you or a family member are an older adult or have underlying health issues
- Make sure you have access to several weeks of medications and supplies in case you need to stay home
- When you go out in public, keep away from others who are sick and limit close contact with others
- Practice good hand hygiene
Take the following steps to help protect your children during an outbreak:
- Notify your child’s school if your child becomes sick with COVID-19
- Keep track of school dismissals in your community
- Discourage children and teens from gathering in other public places

On Monday, March 16, Fillmore Unified School District’s Child Nutrition Services handed out free school lunches (each lunch also include breakfast the for the next day) at three locations. Fillmore Middle School, Mountain Vista Elementary, and Piru Center Square in the middle of town in Piru. On Monday by 12:15pm, Piru had given out 90 meal bags, FMS 120, and Mt. Vista 150. For more info about the program see https://www.blog.fillmoreusd.org/fillmore-high-school-flashes-blog/2020/...

Ventura County, CA – The Ventura County Certified Farmers’ Market Association (VCCFMA) is committed to maintaining its four farmers markets as a vital food facility and local food source during this time of uncertainty with the spread of COVID-19. As a result, the VCCFMA announces that all four markets will remain open for the foreseeable future in Midtown Ventura, Downtown Ventura, Thousand Oaks and Santa Clarita.

In order to provide the safest operations possible, the VCCFMA is modifying its systems by implementing more stringent cleaning and disinfecting protocols at the markets, which include increased sanitization of the equipment and frequently touched areas. Additional hand wash stations and sanitizing products are also available at the markets’ Information Booths. All sampling practices are being discontinued as well as the elimination of cooked foods.

The move of the Thousand Oaks Market scheduled for March 26 to the Front Northwest Outdoor Lot at the Oaks Shopping Center has been postponed during this chaotic time. The market will remain at the East End Parking Lot on Wilbur Road and Thousand Oaks Boulevard until the market operations become stabilized. A new move date, projected for May, will be announced once the site has been approved.

Shoppers can assist with safety by utilizing the hand washing stations, washing hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before eating or drinking and washing again thoroughly after using the restroom. Products will be limited, and shoppers are asked to observe social distancing as well. All food products need to be thoroughly washed when taken home. It is also advisable not to touch ones’ face, hair, body or clothes. Keeping these tips in mind will help ensure everyone’s safety at the markets.

Current updates will be available on VCCFMA social media channels – Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. For more information, call 805-529-6266, or visit the website at www.vccfm.org

Bob Crum

Check out the Youtube sandpiper video here https://youtu.be/oMFgwlQfdBY.

I'm delighted and surprised to see hundreds of emails from readers in my inbox.

However, so many emails that I had to hire three personal assistants. Therefore, I'm sending an invoice for $3.81 to everyone who emailed me last week to cover payroll! The hullabaloo is the result of my recent proselytizing unmercifully about photo 'prints'.

Noah, William, Isabella, James, Emma, Logan, Elijah, Ava, Lucas, Charlotte, Ethan, Jacob, Olivia, Michael, Sophia, Daniel, Amelia and others wrote essentially asking: Do you make prints yourself? Yes! Or do you send the digital file to a photo lab? Sometimes.

Except for canvas or aluminum prints, I produce prints up to size 13" X 19" (the maximum size photo paper my printers can handle) in my photo lab. I have two printers: A Canon Pro 10 and a Canon Pro 9000 MKII. Two printers because they each use a different type of ink. The Pro 10 uses pigment-based ink; the 9000 MKII uses dye-based ink.

Colorants in dye-based ink are fully dissolved in water, while pigment-based inks are insoluble particles suspended in water. The pros of Dye-based Inks: Cost less, has a broader color range and accuracy of color and produces prints more vibrantly.

The main advantage of pigment-based ink is that the ink will generally last longer because the colors locked in the pigments will protect them from evaporation or oxidation. Typically pigment-based ink costs more.

For most small prints, 4"X6" or 5"X7", I use the dye-based 9000 MKII printer. Longevity is not critical. For "Fine Art" prints selling for $$$$$, I use the pigment-based Pro 10 printer because longevity is important.

Making prints is the culmination of the creative process. From composing the photo in the camera, to post-processing, to the print slowly emerging from the printer is a pleasurable creative process. As photographer Jodi Durr said: I remember the moment (I made the photo) so vividly because it was photographed. I cherish the moment so fondly because it was printed."

Selecting the photo paper best suited for the print is essential. So many options! Brands include Red River, Canon, Epson, Hahnemuhle, Innova, Moab and Canson, to name a few. Choices include the thickness/basis weight. Photo papers are designed not only to look a certain way but also to feel a certain way. Texture refers to the fibrous look and feel of the paper. Surface sheen refers to the reflectivity of the paper coating. A print of a boudoir mermaid photo on Hahnemühle Photo Pearl 310 is so sensual! Imagine that hanging on your wall!

Print just 'special' photos. For every 50 digital photos I shoot, most likely only 1-2 worthy of printing. Also, it doesn’t make sense for everyone to invest in a photo printer, I understand that. But whether you print at home or send a file to a photo lab, print a special photo!

Think about collecting 30 (or more) photos from a family get together or a birthday or any special event for a photo book. Blurb, Shutterfly, Costco and others make great, economical photo books. Photo books make treasured family heirlooms.

I recently read: Take a trillion photos. Forget billions of them. But print one, and do it right. Mount it, frame it, display it! I'll add that five years hence you'll be delighted you did.

Wildlife is the photo of the week if birds may be considered wildlife. These little birds, sandpipers if I'm correct, frequent Faria County Beach around sundown, dashing around and poking their beaks into the sand. Interesting birds and so much fun to watch.

Send comments, suggestions or questions to: focusonphotography@earthlink.net

Chancellor Greg Gillespie has announced that after monitoring the status of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic daily and consulting with and reviewing information from local, regional, state, and federal health agencies, Moorpark, Oxnard, Ventura colleges and Ventura College – East Campus will begin transitioning to virtual and alternative instruction for lecture classes beginning the week of March 16 through March 20. Following the week-long transition, lecture classes will move to virtual and alternative instruction beginning March 23. Student services on campuses and other support resources—such as libraries, computer labs, food pantries and admissions and records—will continue to be open and available to students.

“We are initiating the changes to our classes out of an abundance of caution,” said Gillespie, who noted that there are currently no cases of COVID-19 at any VCCCD campus. “We value our students, classified staff and faculty and want to support everyone in their educational and work efforts by maintaining a healthy and safe environment.”

“We made the decision after thorough consultation with Ventura County Public Health, our educational partners in the community, the State Chancellor’s Office, and our academic, classified, and student leadership,” added Board Chair Bernardo M. Perez. “Moving to virtual instruction enables our colleges to continue meeting the educational needs of our students and our community, while implementing a proactive approach that addresses concerns about everyone’s health and well-being.”

Courses that do not readily fit into a virtual format—especially in career education areas and other specialized disciplines—will be excluded from the requirement. At this time, laboratory classes, performing arts courses and activity courses (physical education/kinesiology) will continue as scheduled while implementing social distancing practices. Online courses and dual enrollment classes in the high schools will both continue as usual.

Virtual instruction will continue until April 6, which is VCCCD’s Spring Break. Classes are expected to resume April 13 and continue through the end of the semester. Due to the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the district will continue ongoing assessment regarding student instruction.

Effective March 16 through April 13, all public events and other activities expected to draw 250 or more people to any VCCCD campus will be postponed, modified, or canceled. This is in accordance with the latest guidelines from California Department of Public Health on events and gatherings, which recommends increasing social distancing and limiting large events. The decision regarding canceling, modifying or postponing graduation ceremonies for the colleges will be made at a later date.

All interested community members are encouraged to visit VCCCD Alerts for comprehensive campus information and latest updates.

About Ventura County Community College District
The Ventura County Community College District is a member of the 115-campus California Community College system, and serves more than 32,000 students annually. The District’s three colleges—Moorpark, Oxnard, and Ventura—offer programs in general education for degrees and certificates, transfer to four-year colleges and universities, career technical education, and provide opportunities to engage in co-curricular campus activities. For more information, please visit vcccd.edu and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

To view this press release on our website or to access it in a different file format
(i.e. doc, pdf, html) please visit: https://newsroom.vcccd.edu/category/press-releases/

As Ventura County’s regional transportation planner and bus operator, the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is monitoring COVID-19 closely and staying in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services and other local transit providers. Currently, VCTC Intercity buses are running as usual while VCTC takes steps to reduce health risks for the community.

“Currently, our service is not affected by the coronavirus; however, should changing circumstances require us to adjust or cancel service, we will provide timely and detailed information via email, our website, and social media. We are monitoring the situation closely, along with the community of transit operators across Ventura County,” said Darren Kettle, VCTC executive director.

The following are highlights of the hygiene protocols we have implemented across VCTC Intercity Transit services:

Enhancing cleaning: VCTC has increased frequency of cleaning on fleets and at ticket sales office to multiple times a day, including with every shift change. VCTC utilizes recommended disinfectants to wipe down surfaces and equipment, with specific emphasis on high touch points.

Increasing supplies of antibacterial products: VCTC has increased available supplies to staff and drivers, such as antibacterial hand-sanitizer wipes, and made them available throughout employee workspaces.

Reinforcing good hygiene practices: We are sharing with employees and passengers the best ways to prevent communicable diseases, as well as implementing social distancing techniques, when possible. Training and other materials are distributed throughout our operations and will be revisited regularly by staff.

VCTC also shares the following CDC-recommended tips for riders to keep themselves and the community healthy:

Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
When sneezing and coughing, use tissues, promptly dispose of them and immediately wash your hands.
If you are feeling ill, please stay home until feeling better.
Practice social distancing by staying six feet from anyone who appears sick and selecting a bus seat far from other riders when possible.

For more information on COVID-19, please visit cdc.gov, and for local emergency planning information go to vcemergency.com.

About the Ventura County Transportation Commission

The Ventura County Transportation Commission is the regional transportation planning agency committed to keeping Ventura County moving. Program information is available at goventura.org.