VENTURA, CA – Straight Up Ventura County’s newest podcast exploring the Social Host Ordinance now being enforced throughout Ventura County is now online. Narrated by a Ventura County youth, the podcast features appearances by Dan Hicks, Program Administrator of Prevention Services at the Ventura County Behavioral Health Department and Thousand Oaks Police Captain Randy Pentis. Both gentlemen talk at length about the civil fine that is issued to responsible individuals hosting a loud and disruptive party where underage drinking is taking place, and the effectiveness of the ordinance since it has been placed into effect. Information in the podcast includes:

· The range of fines that vary from city to city

· The conditions that need to occur in order for a fine to be issued

· Statistics on how effective the ordinance has been throughout the county

“We thought this was a very important issue that parents, as well as teens, should know about,” states Katherine Kasmir, Director of Straight Up. “The ordinance is in place in every city in the county and most people aren’t aware of it.”

· Listen now to Straight Up’s podcast at http://straightupvc.org/0920_podcast_01_sho.mp3

· Subscribe to all of Straight Up’s podcasts at http://www.straightupvc.org/podcast/feed.xml

· Subscribe through iTunes: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=2922327...

Straight Up’s regular podcast, its blog at http://www.straightupvc.org/blog, and other online resources are aimed at encouraging community discussion about the serious issue of underage drinking. Straight Up also engages youth and adults by offering workshops, youth leadership training, video resources, and Reality Parties for Parents.

Straight Up is a youth development project that promotes social change regarding underage and binge drinking using improvisation and interactive performance and workshops with engaging discussion, exploration of issues, and the development of personal and community solutions to these problems.

Straight Up is made possible through funding from Ventura County Behavioral Health Department Prevention Services. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.straightupvc.org