Bob Crum

She really said that about my photo of the week.

It's OK. Actually, it's a gift of sorts. It provides a grand opportunity to discuss the “subjective” nature of photography. The freedictionary.com defines “subjective” as: “belonging to, proceeding from, or relating to the mind of the thinking subject and not the nature of the object being considered.”

The subject of the subjectivity is my Photo of the Week last week. A photographer friend said: “No offense but that picture is hideous. (gasp!) There's way too much stuff going on that picture and you lose the drama of what you were trying to say. You've lost the plan light and you had so many colors I don't know where to put my eyes in the sky oh it's terrible.”

Last week's Gazette provided a great example of the subjective nature of photography. On the front page was the staff photo of the U.S. Flag flying from the Fillmore Fire Department ladder truck. I too shot a similar photo about 1 p.m.. Not satisfied, the rogue in me opted for a something different. Try to tell a story, not just shoot a photo.

My friend claimed too much stuff going on. My plan involved vehicles traveling underneath the flag to provide a perspective of the flag size relative to the vehicles. Obviously she didn't get my intent. What about you?

She also said that “you've lost the plain light and you had so many colors I don't know where to put my eyes in the sky oh it's terrible.”

All afternoon I hoped for sunset colors in the clouds. I preferred a 9/11 sundown. Near sundown, I took position and waited 30 minutes. As hoped the clouds lit up. Shoot. Not yet. I had to wait for some traffic. Finally, three vehicles came into view. Shoot! Mission accomplished.

Or was it. Did my story get lost in all the hubbub? Is simple better... just a static flag photo? What do you think? I can handle it! Remember, hideous has already been used. Her ghastly comment about my photo is simply her subjective opinion. Realizing this, I didn't take offense. But now neither will she get a gift this Christmas!

Technical issues involved maintaining proper exposure on the beautifully back-lit flag while maintaining the cloud colors. I only got one shot. No time for exposure adjustments or retakes. If I didn't properly program the camera... the plan would fail.

Art in any form is totally subjective. As people look at art–a painting or sculpture or a photo–it's natural to critique. As do I. More about this in a future column.

The Photo of the Week is Mr. Fishbreath of San Luis Bay at Avila Beach. I made my annual journey to Gopher Glen Apple Farm last Sunday. Think heritage apples! Anyway, I also always visit the nearby Harford Pier. Think nature photography. Other than a few seagulls landing nearby and a lone pelican flying around not much was happening and it was getting late. About to leave I noticed a large dark object twenty-five feet below swimming towards me. A mermaid??? Just as I pointed my camera in the general direction, a large sea lion surfaced for a brief moment, smiled and quickly disappeared under the pier. It all happened in a blink! Thank you Mr. Fishbreath!

Shooting at water is challenging. I had the camera in manual mode and ISO on 'auto'. For exposure's sake, I almost always let ISO float on auto for waterscapes because reflections change and the light changes with every camera position relative to the sunlight.

This was the first time a sea lion suddenly appeared from the depths and smiled! Made my day!!! I giggled all the way home!!!

Happy photoing.

Send your comments, suggestions and/or questions to bob@fillmoregazette.com

VENTURA, CA – District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that Percy Stanley (DOB 07/24/1989), of San Bernardino, pled guilty to pimping a minor. Sentencing is set for October 17, 2017, at 9:00 a.m., in the Ventura Superior Court, County of Ventura, courtroom 12. He is expected to receive a three-year prison sentence.

Co-defendant, Asia Jones (DOB 10/31/1998), of Moreno Valley, pled guilty in March to causing a minor to engage in commercial sex acts. In April 2017, Jones was sentenced to local jail and placed on three years of formal probation. Jones now must register as a sex offender.

On January 11, 2017, police received a call from a resident reporting a possible act of prostitution. The caller reported that a silver Mercedes-Benz had dropped off a woman in the area, and moments later a male met up with the young woman. The two walked into a neighbor’s side yard, dropped their pants, and began having sex in plain view.

Members from the Ventura Police Department’s Sex Crimes Unit, Patrol Task Force, and Ventura County Human Trafficking Enforcement Team responded to assist in the investigation.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is the public prosecutor for the county’s 850,000 residents. The office employs approximately 280 employees including attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, and other professional support staff who strive to seek justice, ensure public safety, and protect the rights of crime victims.
Follow the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office on Twitter @VenturaDAOffice

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) lifted health advisories today related to certain sport-harvested bivalve shellfish in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. For these counties, the advisories are being lifted for whole scallops and all clams. The advisories were issued due to dangerous levels of domoic acid, a naturally occurring toxin that can cause illness or death. Recent testing shows concentrations of domoic acid have declined to safe or undetectable levels. There have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.

The CDPH warnings against eating sport-harvested razor clams from Del Norte and Humboldt counties and clams and whole scallops from Los Angeles County due to dangerous levels of domoic acid, remain in effect, as well as the statewide annual quarantine on sport-harvested mussels. The annual quarantine applies to all species of mussels harvested along the California coast, as well as all bays and estuaries, and will continue through at least October 31.

Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the victim may experience trouble breathing, confusion, disorientation, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short term memory, coma or death. No cases of human poisoning from domoic acid are known to have occurred in California.

You can get the most current information on shellfish advisories and quarantines by calling CDPH’s toll-free Shellfish Information Line at (800) 553-4133. For additional information, please visit the CDPH Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Web page or the CDPH Annual Mussel Quarantine - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Web page.

CDPH Senior Environmental Scientist Vanessa Zubkousky-White discusses the lifting of these warnings.

www.cdph.ca.gov

Ari Larson

The Santa Clara Valley Hospice is pleased to announce their new board director Ari Larson. One of Ari's goals, as a Fillmore resident is to better promote the resources available to the Fillmore and Piru community. In addition to Fillmore and Piru the Santa Clara Valley Hospice serves, Santa Paula, Somis and Saugus. "I look forward
to working with the dedicated board directors and Martha Navarette the Director of the SCV Hospice," said Ari Larson.

"For example, some of the lesser known resources available at SCV Hospice include medical equipment and supplies, available for loan and medical transport to doctor visits and medical therapists," said Ari. To find out more and to tour their facility, the public is invited to the Grand Re-Opening of their new location on Friday, Sept. 15th at 5pm at 217 N. 10th St. Santa Paula, CA 93060. If you have any questions please call their office 805.525.1333 or scvhospicehs@yahoo.com

At Tuesday's regular City Council meeting, City Engineer Roxanne Hughes, presented a City Pavement Report to the Council, and Approval of Project List for RMRA Fund Eligibility. The City Council also approved a recommended project list and associated budget amendments to meet the funding eligibility guidelines for receipt of Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA). Council approved unanimously.

For complete details please refer to Council Agenda for 9-13, 2017.

The Council appointed Council members Diane McCall and Mark Austin to the Fillmore Development Council (FDC) Ad Hoc Committee.

During Public Comment, resident Bill Faith asked the Council to seek some solution to the problem of long-bed pickup trucks parking on Central Avenue. Trucks that extend beyond the designated parking length of spaces, and extend several feet into the traffic lanes pose a safety problem as well as a nuisance. The Council will look into the problem.

A second reading of an ordinance prohibiting trucks on River Street between "A" Street and Central Avenue to limit truck traffic and request to post traffic signs noting this prohibition was observed.

A discussion of Draft August 2017 Valley Express Fare Increases was made. Martin Erickson of VCTC gave a presentation on the new rate proposals.

A history of Valley Express, launched March 2, 2015 was noted, as was a new local fixed route service, and a new fleet of 15 busses. During the past year Valley Express held public meetings approving the expansion of general public Dial-A-Ride to the entire Heritage Valley area. Also discussed was potential fare increases. The Committees approved expanding the General Public Dial-A-Ride to be available to all riders in the Heritage Valley service area, not just to seniors or just those with disabilities. All riders in the Valley Express service area are now able to request door-to-door bus service. The price is $2.00 per trip.

For complete information on Valley Express schedules and prices please consult www.valleyexpressbus.org.

City Manager David Rowlands reported that a resolution of the contractual problems between the FCTC and Fillmore & Western Railroad has been reached. The Railroad will continue to operate as usual under the new settlement.

District Attorney Gregory D. Totten announced today that many county residents have likely been affected by the Equifax data breach and advises that they consider appropriate steps to protect their personal data. Equifax is one of three major credit reporting agencies. According to Equifax, from mid-May through July 2017, they suffered a data breach that affected the personal identifying information of 143 million Americans and 15 million Californians. Be aware that Equifax representatives will not call residents unless the residents first call Equifax. Unsolicited calls could be a scam.

Consumers may contact Equifax to learn whether their data was potentially exposed. Contact may be made in one of two ways:
- Visit the Equifax website at www.eguifaxsecurity2017.com. Be sure to use a secure computer and, if using wi-fi, be sure that it is a secure network, or,
- Call (866) 447-7559.

According to the Equifax website, even if one’s data was not exposed, Equifax will enroll consumers in the TrustedID Premier service if requested by November 21, 2017. This provides, free of charge:
- A copy of the consumer’s Equifax credit report.
- Credit file monitoring for all three credit monitoring companies; Equifax, Experian, and
Transunion.

- Social security number monitoring. Equifax will search for suspicious websites for the consumer’s social security number.

- Identity theft insurance of up to $1,000,000.

- Equifax Credit Report lock. This prevents access to the consumer’s Equifax credit report by third parties, with certain exceptions. This acts as a “red flag” to credit issuers and is designed to lead to the consumer being notified before the lock is lifted. However, this only applies to Equifax reports. Consumers are encouraged to contact the other two major credit reporting agencies to place a red flag (free) or a lock (up to $35). The contact information is:

- TransUnion 1-800-680-7289 / www.transunion.com/fraud
- Experian 1-888-397-3742 / www.experian.com/fraud/centerhtml

All consumers that sign up for TrustedID Premier will be asked for the last six numbers of their social security number and will be issued a randomly generated PIN number. They will not be asked to provide credit card information nor will they be charged after the year of Trusted ID Premier has expired. Equifax has also changed its policy and those that take advantage of Equifax’s offer will not waive any rights to take legal action against Equifax.

For more information on the Equifax breach go to:
- www.eguifaxsecurity2017.com

To check your credit reports for free visit:
- www.annualcreditreport.gov. Accounts you do not recognize may indicate identity theft.

For more information on what to do as a result of a breach and to avoid identity theft go to:
- www.identitflheft.gov
- www.oag.ca.gov/idtheft
The Ventura County District Attomey’s Office is the public prosecutor for the county’s 850,000 residents. The office employs approximately 280 employees including attorneys, investigators, victim advocates, and other professional support staff who strive to seek justice, ensure public safety, and protect the rights of crime victims. Follow the Ventura County District Attomey’s Office on Twitter @VenturaDAOffice.