Jared Perez (Heritage Valley Blazers Track Club Rep) addressed the Fillmore Unified School District Board on Tuesday night regarding their decision to ban Easy-ups from sporting events. Easy-ups are standard equipment at outdoor events, providing shade relief from the sun, and weather relief from the rain. A first-aid station is also designated under an Easy-up canopy with ice, water, and medical supplies for treating heat exhaustion and other sport-induced injuries. FHS’s first swim meet of the season was cancelled on February 27th; timing sheets must remain dry, and Easy-ups were not allowed. Swimmers can compete in the rain providing lighting is not present.

Approve Amendment No. 2 to Employee Agreement with Dr. Adrian Palazuelos
The Governing Board approved Amendment No. 2 to Employee Agreement with Dr. Adrian Palazuelos.

Approve Second Interim Report through January 31, 2019, Including Amendments to the 2018-2019 Budget
The Governing Board received a presentation and approved the Second Interim Report through January 31, 2019. Presentation made by Assistant Superintendent, Andrea McNeill.

Award Bid for Site-Wide Roofing Restoration at Mountain Vista Elementary School
The Governing Board awarded the bid as follows:
Project#: 2019-022
Project Description: Site-Wide Roof Restoration
Contractor: Midstate Sheetmetal, Inc.
Amount: $799,450

Adopt Resolution No. 18-19-11 to Approve Elimination of Classified Positions
The Governing Board adopted Resolution No. 18-19-11

Personnel Recommendations
The Board approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, and leaves.

Ventura County Sheriff's Department

In 2018, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office saw a 16-percent decrease in Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) crime statistics for Part 1 crimes (Homicide, Rape, Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Burglary, Theft and Arson) as compared to 2017. The data represents the information collected from the five contract cities and the unincorporated areas of the county. The Sheriff’s Office provides police services for the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, and Thousand Oaks.

Only homicides had an increase from 2017 to 2018. This was due to the Borderline shooting where 12 people lost their lives at the hand of a lone gunman. The Sheriff’s Office had five reported homicides in 2017. However, that number rose to 18 in 2018.

Aggravated assaults had a 26-percent decrease, and there was a 24-percent decline in robberies. There were 236 aggravated assaults in 2018, which was down from 317 reported in 2017. Reported robberies fell from 117 in 2017 to 89 in 2018. Overall, violent crime across the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office jurisdictions saw a 21-percent decrease with a total number of 423 incidents, compared to 536 reported incidents in 2017.

Property crimes (Burglary, Theft, and Arson) continue to be our most common type of crime reported, and accounted for 89-percent of the reported crimes. In particular, there were 1578 reported petty thefts and 1017 reported grand thefts. Although both the reported grand and petty thefts number dropped from 2017, these reported crimes account for the greatest percentage of crime within our jurisdiction.

Grand theft was down 17 percent, and petty theft saw a 13-percent decrease in 2018. Arson had the greatest percentage decrease at 51 percent, with only 17 reported crimes compared to 35 in 2017.

The Sheriff’s Office would like to remind residents they can partner with us to reduce crime by reporting suspicious behavior or criminal activity by calling 9-1-1 or our non-emergency line at (805) 654-9511. We would also like to remind residents to lock their vehicles and not leave valuables visible inside.

For a copy of the full report go to https://www.venturasheriff.org/public-resources/crime-stats-public-info/

For questions on specific patrol area crime statistics, please contact:
Camarillo Police Department:
Commander Dave Murray: 805 388-5102
Fillmore Police Department:
Captain Eric Tennessen: 805 524-2233
Moorpark Police Department:
Captain John Reilly: 805 532-2705
Ojai Police Department:
Captain James Fryhoff: 805 646-1414
Thousand Oaks Police Department:
Commander Tim Hagel: 805 494-8265

Prepared by:
Captain Eric Hatlee
Approved by:
Assistant Sheriff Chris Dunn

By Jan Lee

In his February 26, 1981 column “As I See It”, Charles A. Mozley wrote: “Every American community has certain things about it that are very distinctive and so it is with our little town. And of all of our distinctive features, surely none is more special than the annual Fillmore Flower Show.”

Division X in the Flower Show is Youth Composition. Youth who live within the boundaries of the Fillmore Unified School District are invited to enter an original poem or short essay on a single page, with or without illustration, on the theme of the Flower Show, “100 Years Celebrating Flowers.”

Last year, writing on the 2018 theme, “Fillmore Blooms”, Mary Nunez won the Youth Composition division. Her poem appears to concur with Mr. Mozley’s opinion of Fillmore.

“If you walk down the road in Fillmore
you will see many kinds of beauty
you will see people helping people
that’s beauty
you will see flowers
planted because someone cares
that’s beauty
you will see love for everyone around them
that’s beauty
Fillmore is truly in bloom!”

The Fillmore Flower Show, April 13 and 14, 2019 will again offer opportunities for Fillmore Youth to demonstrate their skills. Division IX is Youth Arrangements. Youth bring their flowers and other supplies to the Active Adult Center the morning of the show. They create an arrangement without adult help other than the youth show supervisor. Flower displays are limited to 20” X 20”.

Division X is Youth Composition. Division XI is Youth Art which is non-competitive. There are photos of the divisions on our web site: fillmoreflowershow.org.

Please plan to participate in the Flower Show this April. There will be many beautiful flowers and other plants and it is a lot of fun!

Starting Monday, March 11, multiple aircraft will be arriving at Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Point Mugu, in support of a Large Force Exercise (LFE). NBVC Point Mugu will host aircraft to include FA-18 aircraft home based at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake, Calif.

LFE aircraft are expected to operate during daylight hours out of NBVC Point Mugu from March 11 to March 23. The purpose of this exercise is to provide unit-level training for pilots and aircrews on the Point Mugu Sea Range.

Communities in the Camarillo and Oxnard area may experience increased jet activity and noise during this time.

For more information, please call the NBVC Affairs Office at 805-989-9234.

Bob Crum

Hark phonetographers! I have interesting cellphone news. In my last column, I discussed three cellphone photographic limitations, i.e., specifically: optical zoom limits, DOF (depth-of-field) limitations and low-light issues. Well, I should have waited a week. I have since received a 'White Paper' from Corephotonics. Oh my!

Corephotonics is the pioneer of multi-aperture cameras for mobile devices. Their primary mission is to perfect the mobile camera photography experience and to provide superior image quality. Corephotonics states that “we develop and deliver end-to-end multi-aperture solutions supporting the most professional photography capabilities, such as optical zoom, superb low-light performance, bokeh, depth features, and optical image stabilization, all in an incredibly slim form factor.”

Although dual-camera smartphones have become a commodity in the high-end market segment, there are yet new dual camera topologies to be, announced Corephotonics. For example, the folded camera architecture provides dramatically improved zoom factor and low light performance. Next is a three-camera cellphone. Triphone? Seriously?

However, not yet a done deal. The White Paper highlights three challenges which I'll paraphrase. Challenge 1: The expanded camera configuration occupies more room at the expense of other technologies that could be integrated into the mobile device. Challenge 2: Calibration; To achieve a seamless user experience and avoid artifacts during fusion or bokeh, the cameras have to be carefully calibrated. Challenge 3: Firmware, algorithms and power is the biggest challenge. Three cameras will require more processing which will substantially ding battery power. Furthermore, algorithms must assure reasonable processing run time while eliminating artifacts from multiple cameras.

Three-camera cellphones are of course going to cost more! Present high-end duel-camera cellphones cost $800 to $1,100. Are you willing to pay $1,300, or more, for a high-end cellphone featuring three cameras?

Cellphones are great for quick snapshots for email and social media. But I dare say that P&S (Point-and-shoot) dedicated cameras produce better overall image quality in most levels of light and provide more 'creative' control over your photos while remaining just as easy to use. Yes, just as EASY-TO-USE!

A few outstanding P&S small cameras: Canon IXUS 185, Sony Cyber-shot WX220, Canon PowerShot SX730 HS, Canon PowerShot SX430 IS, Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II, Panasonic Lumix LX15/LX10, Sony RX100 II, and for the adventurous, the Olympus TG-5, an everything-proof compact camera. Choose and enjoy!

They all retail for less than $600! A Google Pixel 3 cellphone: $400. The unlocked 12-megapixel dual-camera Moto G7 cellphone with a zoom lens retails for $200! Let's do some math.

Even today, if you bought a TG-5 for $350 and a Lenovo Moto G7 for $200, you'd have an excellent cellphone for snapshots, phone & text, and a much better all-around travel camera for $550. High-end cellphone costing $1000 minus $550 = $450 saved which is substantial! Think about it!

Changing topics, note that I have not given up on establishing a Fillmore Photography Club. Think fun and educational! However, I don't own a projector that's essential for projecting photos on a screen for discussion and critique. I need approx $750 to buy a refurbished Epson projector and a portable screen. Ideas for a fundraiser will be appreciated. Put your thinking caps ON! Email me with your ideas. Or send a check!

The photo of the week proves a camera's advantage. Bright areas of the sky and creek shadows below presented an extensive dynamic range of light. Such extremes are a challenge to photograph with any camera. Blown highlights and dark shadows illustrated the dynamic range of light exceeded my cellphone camera's capabilities. Cameras rule! The proof is in the photos!

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

David W. Rowlands, City Manager.

General Plans are a physical statement of a community’s vision (principally in physical terms) and consist of policies governing land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, noise and safety. Each city is required to have an adopted General Plan and new developments must be consistent with the General Plan or they may not be approved.

A city’s Housing Element is a highly detailed component of a city’s General Plan, designed to ensure that each city recognizes its responsibility in contributing to the attainment of state housing goals. A Housing Element must consider economic, environmental, and fiscal factors as well as community goals in establishing a housing program and must contain all of the features required by the statute to be found by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to conform with state law. This is required because the legislature has declared that designating and maintaining a supply of land and adequate sites suitable, feasible, and available for the development of housing sufficient to meet the locality's housing need for all income levels is essential to achieving the state's housing goals.

Each city is required to update its Housing Element every 8 years. In adopting that Housing Element, the City Council determined that it substantially complied with all applicable regulatory requirements. HCD did not certify the City’s Housing Element because HCD did not think it did enough to identify adequate sites with appropriate zoning to accommodate the City’s assigned share of regional growth for lower-income households.

Housing Elements have been in the news recently as the new governor has made it a priority for all cities to receive HCD approval of their Housing Elements. Diane McCall, the Mayor of the City of Fillmore, will be attending a meeting with Governor Newsom and the HCD on Thursday February 28th to discuss the status of the City’s non-compliant housing element. The City recognizes the importance of affordable housing and has been working with the HCD for several months to obtain HCD certification of our Housing Element.

To achieve HCD certification for our Housing Element the City has proposed the following:

Proposed Affordable Housing Project

The Housing Element will include a discussion of a proposed affordable housing project currently under review. An application has been submitted by the developer and we anticipate that this project will be presented to the City Council by mid-2019.

Accessory Dwelling Units

The Housing Element will be revised to add discussion to the effect the City complies with the State ADU law and that the City Council will be considering an ADU ordinance in March 2019.

15 % Affordability Requirement in Former RDA Areas

The Housing Element will be revised to include a description of previously-approved housing projects in the City that have been required to provide 15% affordable housing units. This includes all projects in former RDA areas, which encompasses approximately 90% of the City.

Current Projects and Ongoing Efforts to Approve Housing

The Housing Element will be revised to add a list of housing projects that are currently being reviewed that are near the approval stage. The intent of this discussion is to demonstrate the significant efforts the City has made in the last 4-5 years to increase the City’s housing stock for all income levels.

Density Bonus Ordinance

The Housing Element will be revised to add discussion referencing the City’s adoption of a Density Bonus Ordinance as required by State law.

Emergency Shelters/Transitional Housing/Supporting Housing Ordinance

The Housing Element will be revised to add discussion referencing the City’s adoption of an ordinance that authorizes these housing choices within certain zones of the City as required by State law.

Staff will submit this updated Housing Element to the HCD by the end of February.

Let’s work together to keep Fillmore the “Best Last Small Town.”

Chris Balden speaking to the council about the importance of affordable housing.

At Tuesday's regular City Council meeting the following actions were taken:
Staff recommendations involving KB Home were approved unanimously: the Amended and Restated Offsite Improvement Agreement with KB Home for assurance of completion of public improvements for Citrus Grove, Development Permit No. 15-03 Mod4 Tract 5353/Lot Merger No. 17-01 Parcel A and authorize the mayor to sign the agreement in a form approved by the City Attorney and City Manager and upon receipt of required improvement bonds.2)Approve the exoneration of Bond Nos. SU5018830 and SU5018831 for TTR5353 street improvements and grading, respectively.3)Approve the reduction of Bond Nos. SU5018832, SU5018834 and SU5018835 to Warranty Amount of 25% of original cost for the as-built TTR5353 public water, storm drain and sewer improvements, respectively.

Staff submitted for review the 1) Mid-Year Financial Report, which is the fiscal year to date through mid-year financial results, and the Financial Forecast through the remainder of the fiscal year for the General, Water, Sewer, Recreation, Community Pool and Street Funds; 2) a summary of the Fund Balance by Fund (Attachment A) starting with FY 2014-15 plus the forecast for the current fiscal year impact on fund balance and the ending fund balance; 3) request to approve a Supplemental Budget Request (Attachment B), and 4) list of the Accomplishments (Attachment C) achieved for each department in Year 2018. For complete details please consult: City of Fillmore Agenda for 2-27-2019 online.

The City Council approved the first reading of Ordinance No. 19-900, limiting oversized vehicle parking on River Street between D Street and the treatment plant and on E Street south of State Route 126 to 2 hours or less.

A request has been made that Council members serve as official representatives of the City to various intergovernmental agencies. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) allows each member City to appoint a delegate to vote at the General Assembly business meeting. At this meeting, the SCAG membership considers and takes action on resolutions that establish SCAG policy. In order to vote at the General Assembly business meeting the City Council must designate a voting delegate and alternate, who may vote in the event that the designated voting delegate is unable to serve in that capacity. The Regional Conference and General Assembly is scheduled: Date: Thursday and Friday, May 2-3, 2019Time9:00 a.m. Location: JW Marriott Resort & Spa, 74-855 Country Club Drive, Palm Desert, CA 92260 Each Delegate or Alternate will receive a complimentary one-night hotel accommodation at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa for the night of May 2nd; validated overnight parking and meals during the conference. Councilman Tim Holmgren was designated primary voting delegate.

A discussion concerning affordable housing, led by City Manager David Rowlands, took place.

Earth moving machines preparing the lower RV lot for paving.
Enlarge Photo

Why is there fencing protruding into A and 1st streets? It's due to an extensive expansion and improvement project at Nova Storage. Inside, 120 new self-storage units are being built. Also, to improve customer service, a new rental office is being built on the A Street side of the building.

Like the existing storage units, the newly built storage units will be individually alarmed. Cameras inside and outside will provide additional security. New interior lighting includes state-of-the-art sensors that regulate the intensity of the new LED lights according to the ambient light in the building. Outside, the new sidewalk and soon to be paved parking lot will complete the building front.

At the rear of the property, accessed off Landeros Lane, big earth moving machines are tearing up the lower RV parking lot. With the grading done, the area gets beautifully paved for the first time in its history. New perimeter lighting and security cameras will complete the RV parking lot improvements.

If all goes according to plan, Fillmore residents can expect the exciting grand opening of a first-class storage facility sometime in April.

Bob Crum

I didn't foresee last weeks mild-mannered column disturbing so many readers. Mention of recently announced cameras seemed innocuous. HA! I was besieged with a barrage of emails haranguing me on the folly of my topics. Some writers were obstinately defiant. Given forethought, I would have discussed how to boost your euphoric level of dopamine by re-reading a camera's operating manual while snacking on baked brussels sprouts. But I digress.

A typical email came from reader Jon (not his real name) who wrote: “I had a peaceful life until I read your column discussing the new Canon RP camera. “Excitedly, I told my wife that I'm going to buy one. A skirmish ensued. The doctor said I could remove the head bandage next week and I'm still sleeping in the garage, with the cat.”

Men: Never talk about buying a new camera without renewing your lady's spa membership - for a year! Ladies: the quickest way to delight your significant other is to buy him a spanking new camera - and two lenses. Oh, and don't forget a camera bag that matches your purse. Just a thought.

And there's this admonishment from Larry K. (again not his real name): “Why do you continue promoting a dead methodology? I take great photos with my (brand name deleted to protect the manufacturer) smartphone. You need to get up to date, sir!” The 'sir' part endeared me to Larry K. Sir, I replied, thanks for writing. However, have you ever photographed the Blue Angels with your cellphone? How'd that work out? How about a rodeo?

Given that selfie-afflicted phonetographers seem to outnumber photographers 7,392,802 to 1, I receive a continuous stream of emails touting phenomenal cellphone photos. Yes, the cameras in cellphones are getting better, BUT, (listen carefully) who would dare say that a cellphone can always match the capabilities of a dedicated camera?

I don't suggest that everyone tote a camera along with their cellphone. Phonetography has merit! I shoot cellphone snapshots when circumstances allow, and I need to email or text a snapshot quickly. But in many situations, a dedicated camera undeniably smokes a cellphone! Before emailing me objecting vehemently, let's briefly explore a few cellphone limitations.

The cellphone's thin form factor prohibits an optical zoom lens. Digital zoom (cropping) degrades photo quality. Has anyone seen a 'professional phonetographer' at a pro sports event? How about photographing a fast-flying osprey skimming a lake on a bright sunny day with a cellphone? Or grandson Lenny kicking a soccer goal! Good luck!

Also, while cameras in current top-end cellphones are continually improving, they still struggle in low-light situations because of their ultra-small sensors. The larger sensors of dedicated camera's increase light gathering abilities.

Another cellphone disadvantage is the fixed aperture that prevents controlling depth-of-field (DOF) when desired. Some cellphones are trying to emulate DOF with firmware, but it's still woefully deficient.

Essentially, shutter speed, aperture and ISO control exposure. A dedicated camera offers extensive exposure control, and creative DOF options, whereas cellphones have minimal options.

Last, there's therapeutic value in 'creating' a photo with a dedicated camera. Tapping an icon on a cellphone to take a snapshot is hardly creative. Just a thought. Bottom line: The best camera is the one you have with you, as the cliché goes, even if it's a cellphone. Peace!

The photo of the week is the last of the hawk series. Anticipating a fast flight, I quickly increased the shutter speed to 1/800th of a second for stability during panning and still illustrate some wingtip blur to indicate motion. Creativity in action.

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

More than two dozen local high schools will field 30 teams in the Ventura County Mock Trial competition, which begins Monday in Ventura. Courtroom drama comes to life as students take on the major roles of a criminal case, including attorneys, witnesses and even bailiffs. The students will present their cases before actual local judges who volunteer for the competition. Local attorneys serve as coaches.

WHAT: 2019 Ventura County Mock Trial

WHEN: The competition runs Monday, February 25 to Thursday, February 28. The Wednesday semi-finals and Thursday finals are open to the public and the media. Competition begins each evening at 5:00 pm and is expected to conclude by 11:00 pm.

• Monday, February 25 – Rounds 1 and 2
• Tuesday, February 26 – Rounds 3 and 4
• Wednesday, February 27 – Semi-finals – OPEN TO PUBLIC AND MEDIA
• Thursday, February 28 – Finals – OPEN TO PUBLIC AND MEDIA

WHERE: Ventura County Superior Court - 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California 93009

CHECK IN: Members of the media are asked to check in at the registration desk upon arrival

Awards Ceremony
The Mock Trial awards ceremony will be held on Monday, March 4 at 6:00 pm at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center at 800 Hobson Way. The public is invited to attend and media coverage is welcomed.

About the 2019 Ventura County Mock Trial
The competition is coordinated annually by the Ventura County Office of Education. This year’s fictitious case is People v. Klein, which involves a defendant accused of making threats on social media and making a false report of an emergency to police.

High schools participating this year are: Adolfo Camarillo High School, Agoura High School, Buena High School, Calabasas High School, Channel Islands High School, Fillmore High School, Grace Brethren Jr/Sr High School, La Reina High School, Newbury Park High School, Nordhoff High School, Oak Park High School, Oaks Christian School, Oxnard High School, Rio Mesa, Royal High School, Saint Bonaventure High School, Santa Paula High School, Santa Susana High School, Simi Valley High School, St. Augustine Academy, Thousand Oaks High School, Trinity Pacific Christian School, Ventura High School, Villanova Preparatory School and Westlake High School.

The winner of the county competition will go on to the state mock trial contest March 22-24 in Sacramento. Ventura County has taken first place at the state level in 2008, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

This year’s Ventura County Mock Trial logo artwork was created by Alexandra Clark from La Reina High School in Thousand Oaks.

Additional information about the 2019 Ventura County Mock Trial is available at vcoe.org/mocktrial.

By John Wilber, Fillmore High School Principal.

A historic first, Fillmore High School wrestler Adrian Bonilla, has advanced to the State Wrestling Tournament in Bakersfield this Thursday.

Adrian is a Fillmore High School senior, 195 pound wrestler, who was also the Citrus Coastal League Champion in his weight class. He placed 5th in the Southern Section California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Finals two weeks ago which earned him a trip to the CIF Masters Wrestling Tournament last weekend. At the Masters Tournament Adrian was 3-2 after two days of wrestling which was good for an 8th place, qualifying him for the State Tournament. Adrian is the first Fillmore High wrestler to advance to the State Tournament since the wrestling program started at Fillmore High School in 1987.

Fillmore High School Coach, Manual Ponce shared that Adrian exemplifies the ideal wrestler because he is very coachable, a very smart wrestler and he is all about work ethic. Adrian has had to overcome a knee injury his junior year on his path to success this year.

Adrian is the third wrestling son of Jorge and Lurdes Bonilla. Mr. Bonilla mentioned that Adrian has been around wrestling since he was seven years old, when he would hang around the wrestling practices of his older brothers Robert and Andres.

His years of hard work and commitment have definitely paid off. Adrian is very excited about his opportunity to wrestle at the State level and to represent Fillmore High School and the Fillmore Community. He stated, “I have been motivated to do well since I last went to Masters my sophomore year.” “I am in great shape and I have the desire to compete.”

We wish Adrian the best of luck in Bakersfield.

Pictured is Micheline G. Milglis who spoke to the board about the Low-Performing Students Block Grant and the progress that has been made thus far.

Board meeting highlights for the Fillmore Unified School District

Approve Restricted Lottery Budget Allocation for TK-5 English Language Arts Instructional Materials, $325,000
The Governing Board approved a $200,000 allocation of Restricted Lottery funds in 2018-19, and an additional allocation of $125,000 in 2019-20 for the purchase of English Language Arts instructional materials adoption for Transition Kindergarten through 5th grade. These materials will be vetted through a curriculum adoption process, inclusive of teachers, site administrators and district office representatives, with the intention of having materials available no later than the 2020-2021 school year.

School Accountability Report Cards
The Governing Board were presented with information regarding the School Accountability Report Cards. Information presented by Assistant Superintendent, Micheline G. Miglis

Low Performing Students Block Grant Plan
The Governing Board were presented with information and approved the Low Performing Students Block Grant Plan. Information presented by Assistant Superintendent, Micheline G. Miglis

Adopt Resolution No. 18-19-10 Authorizing the Issuance of Fillmore Unified School District (Ventura County, California) 2016 Election, General Obligation Bonds, Series B, and Actions Related Thereto
The Governing Board adopted Resolution No. 18-19-10

Personnel Recommendations
The Board approved all personnel recommendations including new hires, promotions, resignations, and leaves.