Water flowed down the spillway and into the Feather River; storms this week and melting snowpack are expected to swell the lake behind Oroville Dam in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Molly White, principal engineer with the California Department of Water Resources.
The spring storms follow a very wet winter that coated the mountains with thick snowpack; experts say this has left Califonia drought-free for the first time since December 2011. State experts determined Tuesday that the snowpack is at 162 percent of normal levels, a threefold increase over the same measurement last year.
The dam’s main spillway “was designed and constructed using 21st-century engineering practices and under the oversight and guidance from state and federal regulators and independent experts,” Joel Ledesma, deputy director of the department’s State Water Project, said in a statement.
A new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows the number of state residents worried about the cost of government pensions is at a 14-year low. In recent remarks to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, new state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond rejected the idea that pension costs were generally a major problem for school districts around the state.
But a recent comprehensive review by the Bond Buyer painted a starkly different picture. Based on interviews with officials in credit-rating agencies and the state’s Fiscal Crisis Management Action Team (FCMAT), as well as reviews of financial records from large school districts across the state, it forecast a wave of state takeovers of districts under the provisions of a 1991 state law that provides emergency loans to districts that can’t pay bills. But the loans come with the condition that district superintendents and school boards lose considerable autonomy over their budgets, which must have as a first priority repaying the loan to the state.
Nine districts have taken out such loans since 1991, and the Sacramento City Unified School District could become the 10th this fall when it is expected to run out of dwindling cash reserves.
A Fitch Ratings analysts told the Bond Buyer that about 50 of the 124 school districts it tracks have such low reserves that if an economic slowdown froze or reduced state revenue, those districts could quickly lose their capacity to pay bills. The same problems seen by Fitch in the larger districts that it monitors are likely to be seen in the 1,000-plus smaller districts it doesn’t track.
Low birth rate hurts enrollment
Since California’s overall population keeps going up, that’s obscured a key complication in school finances: The fact that school enrollment in much of the state is in the middle of a broad, long-term decline driven by changing demographics and birthrates that in 2017 hit an all-time low for the Golden State. FCMAT CEO Michael Fine estimates that 65 percent of the state’s 1,200 districts have fewer students than they used to. Perhaps the most dramatic decline is in Inglewood Unified, where present enrollment is 8,000 – about 40 percent of what it was in 2004.
Because state funding is based on the Average Daily Attendance formula, the enrollment declines can hammer districts even in a decade in which state funding for education has increased by more than 70 percent. That’s because many school districts don’t reduce their staffs by an amount equal to the lost enrollment. A FCMAT report on Oakland Unified issued last May called this a key factor in the financial strain faced by the district.
Another issue is that retirement benefits in some districts don’t just include pensions from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System. Some districts, including Los Angeles Unified and Sacramento City, offer generous health insurance to retirees for as long as they live.
S&P rating service downgraded LAUSD’s bonds last month. Fitch downgraded some of Sacramento City’s bonds in February, and further downgrades seem certain.
CalSTRS needs booming market
Officials with CalSTRS remain optimistic that healthy investment returns can reduce CalSTRS’ present unfunded liabilities of about $100 billion. Boom markets on Wall Street have at times allowed CalSTRS to keep mandatory pension contributions relatively flat for years at a time.
But the 2007 recession hammered CalSTRS, forcing the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown to pass a bailout measure in 2014 that will roughly double annual contributions from districts, the state and teachers by July 2020, when its final increase is phased in.
But hopes that profitable investments will be a big help in reducing liabilities aren’t coming to pass. The Sacramento Bee reported recently that CalSTRS only had a 1.62 percent return on its portfolio for the first eight months of fiscal 2018-19 and was not expected to meet its target of a 7 percent annual return.
Chris Reed is a regular contributor to Cal Watchdog. Reed is an editorial writer for U-T San Diego. Before joining the U-T in July 2005, he was the opinion-page columns editor and wrote the featured weekly Unspin column for The Orange County Register. Reed was on the national board of the Association of Opinion Page Editors from 2003-2005. From 2000 to 2005, Reed made more than 100 appearances as a featured news analyst on Los Angeles-area National Public Radio affiliate KPCC-FM. From 1990 to 1998, Reed was an editor, metro columnist and film critic at the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in Ontario. Reed has a political science degree from the University of Hawaii (Hilo campus), where he edited the student newspaper, the Vulcan News, his senior year. He is on Twitter: @chrisreed99
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Border Patrol agents rescued a Guatemalan family of four before they drowned to death attempting to cross the U.S. southern border.
A forceful current swept a woman and her three children, ages 2, 4 and 15, downriver when they attempted to cross the Rio Grande on March 28.
Fortunately for the family, Border Patrol agents were patrolling the river nearby and noticed them before it was too late. The agents, driving against the current on their airboat, were able to swiftly reach them and pull them from under the water.
A Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman warned in a statement about the growing danger migrants put themselves in when they try to cross the border illegally.
“Migrants continue to ignore the hazards and risk their lives attempting to cross the Rio Grande River,” Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Louie W. Collins stated Monday. “Had our Border Patrol agents not been in the area to respond quickly, the woman and her children would have more than likely drowned.”
Del Rio Sector agents working near Eagle Pass, a town located on the Texas-Mexico border, rescued them.
“Rescues by BP agents along the Rio Grande have increased dramatically in recent months,” Dennis Smith, a spokesman for CBP, said Tuesday to The Daily Caller News Foundation. The rise in Rio Grande rescues coincides with a dramatic increase in migrant apprehensions at the southern border. (RELATED: Illegal Migrants In Infamous Bridge Photo Relocated To Holding Facility)
Immigration officials expect the total number of migrant apprehensions in March to exceed 100,000, which would mark the highest number in over a decade. The influx of immigrants — which Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has described as a “catastrophe” — has overwhelmed detainment centers, forcing them to release over a thousand illegal aliens a day.
Like the Guatemalan family of four that was saved, most of the migrants currently attempting to cross the border are from Central America, and many of them are unaccompanied minors. The demographics make it much more difficult for law enforcement officials, as non-Mexican foreign nationals and unaccompanied minors cannot be quickly deported.
In response, Nielsen has requested Congress pass several legislative measures that would help the Department of Homeland Security handle the burgeoning crisis. The homeland security secretary also announced plans Monday to expand the “Remain in Mexico” program, a policy that requires Central American migrants requesting asylum to stay in Mexico while they wait for their asylum claims to be processed in court.
You would have thought, from the press coverage, that gun confiscation/red flag legislation took a big step forward in last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearings.
Instead, the opposite is probably the case.
These bills would mostly support anti-gun states that allow police or angry relatives to strip a gun owner of his Second, Fourth, Fifth, and 14th Amendment rights by alleging he is a “danger.”
But all this would be done without the gun owner even being given the opportunity to appear in court. According to David Kopel, who is an expert in constitutional issues and firearms research, 32 percent of Gun Confiscation Orders are served erroneously.
After the “secret court” issues a gun confiscation order, the next thing that happens is a SWAT Team arrives at the gun owner’s home in the middle of the night, ready to ransack his house and, if he resists, to arrest or kill him.
Think this is fantasy? In Ferndale, Maryland, a 60-year-old gentleman was shot to death by police serving a red flag order at 5:17 in the morning.
The poor track record for these red flag laws is not dissuading politicians like Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who, curiously, thinks his support for gun confiscation will get him the sort of attention which will fuel his Senate reelection and his 2024 presidential bid.
Given that every Democrat on the committee is anti-gun and supports red flag gun confiscation, that gives Graham 11 out of 22 votes — one vote short of the number needed to act.
Graham packed the witness panel with five people who supported Gun Confiscation Orders — and all but one supported them without much reservation.
He excluded committee Republicans from any role in selecting witnesses
He particularly excluded criminologist John Lott, who had done the definitive study on the total ineffectiveness of the idea. And kept the list a secret from his own members until 24 hours before the hearings.
In short, the Republican from South Carolina used every underhanded trick in the book to manipulate the process in order to push his legislation forward.
What happened?
Well, gun groups held rallies in South Carolina pushing primary opponents for Graham. While Graham’s staff claimed support from NRA, it turned out NRA opposed the only Gun Confiscation bill with any Republican cosponsors.
Moreover, one of the witnesses, David Kopel, while supporting the concept of gun confiscation/red flag legislation, opined that the 15 state bills that have been enacted were all unconstitutional in a variety of due process respects.
In addition, Graham’s most likely GOP supporter, former Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ripped the idea to pieces.
As a result, although the press reported that the laws “get the support of key senators,” the “key senators” it was referring to were Graham and anti-gun crusader Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) — which represented no progress at all.
In his testimony, Kopel raised five constitutional problems with virtually every state statute which would be funded by the Senate bills.
They allow ex parte orders stripping gun owners of their constitutional rights with insufficient showings of danger;
They fail to provide defendants with a guarantee of counsel prior to stripping them of their constitutional rights;
They fail to allow cross-examination of accusers;
They allow the extinction of constitutional rights by less than a “clear and convincing evidence” standard;
They fail to allow a gun owner to turn over his guns to an FFL.
As a matter of fact, Kopel was commissioned by uniform law commissioners to help draft a model red flag/gun confiscation bill.
But the effort was opposed by the Giffords organization, which felt that their product would compete with the unconstitutional version it was pawning off on states.
And, just to make clear, none of these states is going to change its laws. So a red flag gun confiscation proposal that only funds constitutional laws will end up funding nothing.
In other words, the problems with the Senate drafts are irremediable.
Legend has it that the patriarch of the Sanson family of French executioners was so skilled in decapitation that he beheaded a man without the man even realizing it. “Shake yourself,” Sanson advised. And when the man did, his head fell to the ground.
The same is true of federal red flag/gun confiscation legislation. It died last week. It’s only waiting for its head to fall.
Michael Hammond is the legislative counsel for Gun Owners of America, a gun rights organization representing more than two million gun owners.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.
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The Trump administration will be increasing the number of Central American asylum seekers who are sent back to Mexico to await their court case.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Monday she will be expanding the “Migrant Protection Protocols” program, more popularly known as “Remain in Mexico.” Nielsen, in a memo sent to the federal borer chief, ordered Customs and Border Protection agents deployed on the U.S.-Mexico border to begin reviewing hundreds of migrant cases a day to determine if they should be booted back to Mexico.
“[The Department of Homeland Security] will require more migrants to wait in Mexico, with appropriate humanitarian protections, during their immigration proceedings to prevent fraud & ensure they don’t escape the law and disappear into the country,” Nielsen tweetedMonday.
The “Remain in Mexico” program, which started in late 2018, bars non-Mexican immigrants from immediately entering the U.S. interior after claiming asylum at the U.S. southern border. Instead, the policy mandates they wait in Mexico as their cases make their way through the immigration court system.
The directive is aimed at the vast number of Central American migrants who have reached the U.S.-Mexico border and lodged asylum claims. President Donald Trump has maintained many of the asylum claims are bogus and used simply as a means to enter the U.S.
File: Arizona, Border Patrol
“Remain in Mexico” has currently been confined to only several ports of entry in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego. However, the homeland security secretary is now directing officers across the southern border to implement the more stringent program.
“We are grappling with a humanitarian and security catastrophe that is worsening by the day, and the Department has run out of capacity, despite extraordinary intra-Departmental and interagency efforts,” her letter to Congress read. “Accordingly, DHS requests immediate Congressional assistance to stabilize the situation.”
Am I the only one who sees the constant marginalization of Blacks by Democrats?
White elitist Democrats have done more damage to the Black community than any person with a white hood over his head; or any confederate statute resting on the grounds of any state capitol.
One need look no further than the 2020 Democrat presidential field.
Democrats have always considered Blacks to be ignorant and lacking the political sophistication to see when they are being played.
The media appointed Black leaders like Al Sharpton, William Barber, Maxine Waters, are guilty of willingly being used to sell out their own community.
You also have radical leftist groups like the NAACP, the National Urban League, and the Congressional Black Caucus willingly being used as pawns to destroy their own communities.
As I have stated many times, these groups represent their membership; not the Black community. There is a big difference.
Have you ever noticed when these presidential candidates go into the Hispanic community, they discuss “specific” policy prescriptions that effect this community? Amnesty for illegals, in-state tuition for illegals, free health care for illegals, and more Hispanic representation in every aspect of our society, i.e. their staffs.
The same thing for the homosexual community. These candidates are constantly willing to dilute the standing of Blacks to give more to other groups. When did homosexuality become a civil right? I don’t recall anyone asking the Black community about this.
These candidates want to bring homosexuals under the Civil Rights Act of 1964; again, specific proposed legislation.
Now, juxtapose the above to when they speak to the Black community. They talk about reparations, “white privilege,” social justice, or naming a Black as their running mate, with the full knowledge that this will never happen.
WTF??????? What kind of policy proposal is that? What the hell does white privilege mean? What is social justice?
How many jobs will these idiotic pronouncements create for Blacks? How will they prevent one more Black kid from being murdered? What the hell does any of this have to do with the here and now?
Why is it that liberals can offer specific policy prescriptions to every community other than Blacks?
Deep down in their tony, private, ritzy Georgetown parties, radical liberals really do think Black folks are stupid; and they know IF and when a few media appointed Blacks like Sharpton or the NAACP raises their head to complain about something, all they need to do is simply throw them a few dollars or take a picture with them and they will come down with a sudden case of laryngitis.
Don’t believe me? I thought Sharpton, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the Congressional Black Caucus all called for the governor and attorney general of Virginia to resign after admitting their use of blackface.
Last time I checked, they are still in office and these Blacks have moved on to talking about how Trump is supposed to be a racist; but obviously, it’s ok for Democrats to be racist.
Democrats don’t take Black folks seriously, never have and never will. They know all they have to do is show up at these groups’ annual conferences, invoke the name of King and Kaepernick and keep it moving.
And yes, even the Black presidential candidates are guilty of the same thing. They are quick to do an Obama. “I am not running to be the Black president; I am running to be president.”
Can someone explain to me why Booker and Harris wouldn’t hire a Black campaign manager? Blacks of today are more concerned about multiculturalism more than creating opportunities for their own.
Liberals “claim” they care so much about Blacks, but there has never been a Black to head a major Hollywood studio; homosexuals claim to be so into equality, but why has a Black never led any of their homosexual organizations, like the Human Rights Campaign? Why has the Humane Society of America never had a Black leader? Just a thought.
These Black presidential candidates seem to have more high-ranking Hispanic staffers than they do Blacks. How they hell is that even possible?
Say what you will about Jesse Jackson, but without his two failed presidential campaigns from 1984 and 1988, there would be no Donna Brazile, Ron Brown, Alexis Herman, Leah Daughtry, Minyon Moore, etc. They all are rooted in the Jackson branch of Democratic politics.
Al Sharpton and Obama have no branches extending from their presidential campaigns when it comes to the Black community.
If Blacks don’t open the doors of opportunity for their own people, why should we expect whites to do for us what we are not willing to do for ourselves?
This is why Black voters are not taken seriously by liberals!
Raynard Jackson is president and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He is also the founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. “We focus on the Black entrepreneur.”
Upcoming Events & Workshops for April & May! Achievement Center for Therapy: Question & Answer Night Wednesday, April 3 | 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm Present
Upcoming Events & Workshops for April & May!
Achievement Center for Therapy: Question & Answer Night
Wednesday, April 3 | 6:30pm to 8:00 pm Presented by: Shawn Manvell, CCC-SLP Samantha Tan, CCC-SLP Toni Szydlowski, COTA Lindsay Detring, Billing Manager
▪ Learn about speech-language, feeding, & occupational therapies directly from a licensed therapist. Learn the complexities of the therapy, and how to best carryover your child’s therapy in the home. ▪ Run through response scenarios with certified specialists and learn how to appropriately deescalate any stressful or challenging scenarios, as relating to your child’s delays or disorders. ▪ Get advice on how to best handle the insurance side of your child’s therapy.
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Learn about speech-language, feeding, & occupational therapies directly from a licensed therapist. Learn the complexities of the therapy, and how to best carryover your child’s therapy in the home.
▪
Run through response scenarios with certified specialists and learn how to appropriately deescalate any stressful or challenging scenarios, as relating to your child’s delays or disorders.
▪
Get advice on how to best handle the insurance side of your child’s therapy.
My Special Needs Child is Now an Adult (Or Will Be Soon): Do I Need A Conservatorship?
Wednesday, April 10 | 6:30pm to 8:00pm Presented by: Stephen Wood, Esq. Certified Specialist – Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law
▪ Less restrictive and less costly alternatives to conservatorship. ▪ What a conservatorship is and when it is needed. ▪ Steps for obtaining a conservatorship.
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Less restrictive and less costly alternatives to conservatorship.
Center4SpecialNeeds is proud to announce a brand new upcoming program perfect for kids that they will surely love! It will be led by a registered behavior technician and 2-3 volunteer support staff!
Yummy snacks will be provided, and each meeting will feature a different exciting theme & fun activity!
Next Meeting Dates:
April 13th & May 11th
Ages 4-7: 10am – 12pm Ages 8-11: 12:30pm – 2:30pm
This play group will focus on:
▪ A Fun Environment to Make and Maintain New Friendships ▪ Navigating Social Situations ▪ Cultivating Communication Skills ▪ Reducing Social Anxiety ▪ The Ability to Practice Skills in a Safe Environment ▪ Modeling and Implementing Correct Play Behavior
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A Fun Environment to Make and Maintain New Friendships
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Navigating Social Situations
▪
Cultivating Communication Skills
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Reducing Social Anxiety
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The Ability to Practice Skills in a Safe Environment
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Modeling and Implementing Correct Play Behavior
Registration in advance is required for all participants. The Intake Form, Photo Release Form, and Release of Liability Form must be filled out 24 hours prior to payment. Spots are limited, as each play group will only have a max of 6 kids!
Presented by: Mary Rata Simi Valley Institute for Careers & Education Instructional Assistant / Substitute Teacher
and Donna Crawford TCRC Service Coordinator
Parents are welcome to attend with their young adult!
▪ Resources ▪ TCRC Available Supports ▪ Education
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Resources
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TCRC Available Supports
▪
Education
Do you have any specific resources or topics you want to learn more about? After signing up, please please email us and let us know so our presenters can cover your questions in the workshop!
The Benefits of Adding Aquatic Physical Therapy (or Hippotherapy) to Your Child’s Therapy Routine
Thursday, May 9th | 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Presented by: Jessica Rodriguez, PT, MPT from Stepping Stones Aquatics
▪ How are Aquatic PT and Hippotherapy different than traditional therapies? ▪ What are the Benefits of Aquatic PT and Hippotherapy? ▪ Is Aquatic PT and/or Hippotherapy a good fit for my child/client?
▪
How are Aquatic PT and Hippotherapy different than traditional therapies?
▪
What are the Benefits of Aquatic PT and Hippotherapy?
▪
Is Aquatic PT and/or Hippotherapy a good fit for my child/client?
Watch this video to see how we’re Bridging the Gaps for Children, Teens & Young Adults with developmental disabilities, and bringing hope to their families!
Conejo Deals offers new deals everyday for local leisure. Your purchase will send a dollar to Center4SpecialNeeds when you select an organization at checkout.
Ralphs Rewards and Center4SpecialNeeds are working together to ensure all purchases are contributed to a greater cause.
Simply sign in on Ralphs’ website, check “My Account” & go to“Welcome Valued Customer”. Afterwards, search for our organization’s name or NPO# (QG527), select it, & click enroll!
Boys & Girls Club Seeks Sponsors for its 17th Annual Great Futures for Kids Breakfast
Award-winning actor and comedian Steven Michael Quezada to be keynote speaker
Oxnard, Calif.—The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme is seeking sponsors for its 17th Annual Great Futures for Kids Breakfast on May 8, featuring award-winning actor and comedian Steven Michael Quezada as keynote speaker. With a career in the entertainment industry spanning more than 30 years, Quezada has worked alongside some of the biggest names in show business including Joe Pesci, Helen Mirren, Danny Trejo and George Lopez. He had a recurring role in the Emmy Award winning television series Breaking Bad, which was filmed in his hometown of Albuquerque, NM, and for which he earned a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a drama series.
“This annual breakfast event serves as a community rally to mobilize local businesses and individuals to help raise awareness about the Club’s wide range of educational and enriching programs that help our youth successfully navigate their path to a great future,” said Erin Antrim, BGCOP chief executive officer. “It’s through the generous support of our donors that BGCOP can ensure our 10,400+ members will continue to receive access to the Club, and the mentoring and activities that help these young people become caring, responsible, self-sufficient citizens in our community.”
Families pay $20 per year to become members of the Club; however, no one is turned away regardless of ability to pay. The Club pays more than $500 per year in program fees for each child. Proven to be a worthwhile investment, members of BGCOP have higher graduation rates, lower teen pregnancy and lower crime rates than area youth.
For a fifth consecutive year, California Resources Corporation will be the Breakfast’s presenting sponsor. Other sponsorship opportunities are available. Sponsorship benefits include corporate recognition at the breakfast, publicity on promotional materials and tickets to the event. For sponsorship opportunities, more information, or to attend the breakfast contact Mayra Rincon at (805) 815-4959 ext. 200 or [email protected].
The Boys & Girls Club has served the youth of Oxnard and Port Hueneme for over 60 years. With three full-service clubs and 17 school program sites, the organization is one of the largest of its kind in California. The Club provides programs for more than 10,400 youth and teens in three priority outcome areas: Academic Success, Good Character and Citizenship, and Healthy Lifestyles. For more information please visit www.BGCOP.org.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme
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When creative advertising executive Wendi Knox was dealt a blow to her career and her confidence, the magical intervention of a swarm of red dragonflies lifted her up and offered a new perspective on life. In “From Muck to Magic: an uplifting journey” Knox shares her personal journey of rising up from the muck of self-doubt into the magic of self-love through colorful verse and whimsical yet profound paintings. Knox will be imparting her uplifting, inspiring story while signing books at The Porch Gallery in Ojai on Sunday, April 28 from 3 to 5 pm. The gallery will feature her original paintings that illustrate the book. In her past life, Wendi Knox was the only female SVP/Creative Director at one of the largest advertising agencies in Los Angeles (Think “Don Draper” without the cigarettes or martinis.) But her soul longed for something more. Unexpectedly, she was forced to find it when she lost her job at 50. Sobbing in her backyard, Wendi asked the universe, “Am I too old to reinvent myself? Please give me a sign.”Her answer came when hundreds of red dragonflies descended upon her garden. Wendi was amazed to learn that dragonflies spend most of their lives crawling at the bottom of a pond (up to four years) And that it’s down in the muck, that they grow their magical wings.
“That’s when I got it. I’M A DRAGONFLY,” said Wendi. “And my wings were growing the whole time I was stuck in my muck.”
From there, her mission took flight: to uplift and inspire others to transform their muck into magic. And remind them that it’s never too late to soar.
Her one-of-a-kind inspirational book, From Muck To Magic is filled with heart, art, and humor. It takes the reader on a poetic journey from the muck of self-doubt to the magic of self-love.
An award-winning storyteller for brands like Honda and Acura, Wendi has written and illustrated a book that changes the stories we tell ourselves. It’s a balm for the soul of any woman, at any age, who finds herself stuck in the muck of change, growth, worry, loss, fear, grief, overwhelm, inertia, exhaustion or just the mere messiness of life.
Within its joyful pages is a powerful blueprint for transformation—an invitation for us all to rise up from our personal muck to bring our own unique magic into a world that has never needed it more.
Wendi also teaches The Way of The Dragonfly through her book, blog, workshops, inspirational speeches, and private sessions. She’s also been a regular contributor to Maria Shriver’s Architects of Change blog and was featured on Rita Wilson’s Voice of Strength series on The Huffington Post.
From Muck to Magicis available in Ojai at Fig Curated Living, 327 E Ojai Avenue andBungalow by Fig, 109 N Montgomery Street, and on Amazon.
In Praise of From Muck to Magic
“I am inspired by the joy that radiates from these lovely paintings, and I believe in the message —— never forgetting that it is we women now, who can and must ‘re-wire’ our whole world.” —ALI MACGRAW/Actress/activist/designer
“The best, most beautiful dose of therapy you could ever get your hands on. A feast for the eye, the heart and the soul. Read it and be uplifted. Drink in its gorgeous paintings and soar. —DAPHNE ROSE KINGMA/ Best-selling author of The Ten Things To Do When Your Life Falls Apart
“Captivating and exhilarating! You can feel the truth in Wendi’s beautifully illustrated work that seems to rise up from the depths of her soul, revealing the transformative call of the inner world.” —DARA MARKS/ Author of Inside Story, The Power of the Transformational Arc
About the author…
Wendi Knox is a writer, artist, and uplifter . After an award-winning creative career in advertising, she longed for something more and unexpectedly found it in her own backyard during a mystical experience with hundreds of red dragonflies. With art, heart, and wisdom, Wendi teaches The Way of The Dragonfly through her book, blog, workshops, inspirational speeches, and one-on-one sessions. She’s had the honor of being a regular contributor to Maria Shriver’s Architects of Change blog and was featured on Rita Wilson’s Voice of Strength series on The Huffington Post. Wendi is grateful for her husband Will, son Landon, fur-baby Blossom, and the magic that happens in her Ojai, California studio. Learn more at:http://www.frommucktomagic.com
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Ventura Police Department – Incident Press Release
On April 2nd at 12:20 PM the Ventura Police Department Command Center received a 911call of a stabbing victim at Montalvo Hill Park in the 1700 block of Tanager St. Officers, along with Ventura City Fire and AMR personnel responded to the call and found the victim, later identified as a 33-year-old adult male, suffering from a non-life threating stab wound to his hand. He was treated at the scene and later transported to VCMC for treatment of his injuries.
There was a subject detained at the scene, but he was not identified as the suspect. The victim has been uncooperative. This is an active investigation and officers are trying to determine the sequence of events that lead to this crime. No additional information is available at this time.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to contact the Ventura Police Department at 339-4488.
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Raynard Jackson is president and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, LLC., a Washington, D.C.-based public relations/government affairs firm. He is also the founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF), a federally registered 527 Super PAC established to get more Blacks involved in the Republican Party. “We focus on the Black entrepreneur.”
