2007 API score	Statewide ranking	Similar school ranking	2008 target score
Briggs Elementary School District	691	-	-	-
Briggs Elementary School	680	3	1	686
Olivelands Elementary School	711	3	1	716

Visit VenturaCountyRelocation.com/schools for API Rankings for all Ventura County, CA schools.

Purpose
The Academic Performance Index rates California's public schools and sets targets for the schools to achieve.
What the categories mean:
API scores: The state uses the Academic Performance Index to rank schools based on test scores. The rankings are based on student's scores on state standard tests, the California Achievement Test and the California High School Exit Exam. The API is graded on a scale of 200 to 1,000, with 800 being the statewide target.
Statewide ranking: This ranking rates schools across the state on a scale of 1 to 10. A school with a 10 falls in the top 10 percent of every school in the state. A school with a 1 is in the bottom 10 percent. Alternative high schools are not ranked.
Similar-school ranking: In this ranking, schools are rated on how well they do compared with 100 similar schools, based on such criteria as ethnicity, socioeconomic status and percentage of students who don't speak English as their first language. Like the statewide ranking, the scale is 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest.
2008 API Target: This is the minimum score schools need to reach in this year's testing. Schools that are already at 800 or above, the state's goal, don't receive a target, but must stay in the 800 range. Schools will learn in August whether they reached their targets, based ontests students recently took.

Courtesy of:

Heal the Bay, an environmental group, issued it’s "Beach Report Card" that assigns grades of A to F to 517 beaches on the California coast based on measured bacteria levels from April 2007 to March 2008. 55 of Ventura County’s 56 beaches rated an A during the spring and summer months. Rincon Beach received the lone B. In the wet winter months, water quality is not as good due to run off from and test beaches measure much higher bacteria levels. The Ventura County Star quotes Mike Grimmer, Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card manager in today's newpaper:

It's amazing how good the water quality is there (in Ventura County)," said Mike Grimmer, Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card manager. "If you're at an open-ocean beach and it's dry weather, you have almost a 100 percent chance of swimming in clean water," Grimmer said. "We're making some strides on wet weather. Unless we live in a society where there's no trash anywhere, a lower standard is always going to be expected during wet weather conditions."

For more information on Ventura County "Beach Report Card", visit:

Heal The Bay Ventura County Report Card Map

Heal The Bay Ventura County Report Card Text

County of Ventura Water Quality Tests

As of June 1st, Fannie Mae is changing it controversial policy of requiring an additional 5% down payment for home in designated as being in a "declining market".  Back in January, Fannie Mae changed its lending guidelines which had a major impact on Ventura County home sellers and buyers.  Ventura County was on Fannie Mae's list of declining market areas.  Buyers qualifying for a loan program requiring a 5% down payment now had to come up with 10%.  If the loan required 10% down, an additional 5% was added bringing it to 15%.  Buyers and lenders switched en masse to FHA financing which allows up to 97% financing and does not require an increased down payment for homes in designated "declining market" areas.

What was particularly obnoxious about this policy was it did not take into account the extremely diverse nature of the cities making up Ventura County.  Even worse, the danger of the potentially self-fulfilling prophecy of being declared a declining market. 

Effective June 1, 2008, any conventional conforming loans will require a 3% down payment if the Desktop Underwriter (Fannie Mae's proprietary loan underwriting software) is used, and a 5% down payment if the loan is processed manually.  This will be uniform across the country. 

Will this have a significant effect on the Ventura County Real Estate market?  For the near term-probably not.  For loans of more that 80% of the purchase price private mortgage insurance will still be required and they have their own separate underwriting criteria.  Current FHA loan limits are $729,750, same as Fannie Mae's conforming limits under the Stimulus Package until December 31st, 2008.  At the moment FHA is a more attractive option for many borrowers with less than 20% for a down payment.

You can read more by clicking here:  Fannie Mae's Single National Down Payment Policy Press Release.

For more information call:

 

Art Organizations

Bell Arts Factory
432 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura
(805) 643-1960

Buenaventura Art Association
700 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura
(805) 648-1235

Camarillo Art Center
3150 E. Ponderosa Rd., Camarillo
(805) 445-7061

Camarillo Arts Council
Constitution Park, Camarillo
(805) 987-7847

Focus on the Masters
1147 E. Main St., Ventura
(805) 653-2501

Kids’ Arts
856 E. Thompson Blvd., Ventura
(805) 653-0817

Oxnard Downtown Center for the Arts
519 S. C St., Oxnard
(805) 798-0830

Ojai Center for the Arts
113 S. Montgomery St., Ojai
(805) 646-0117

The San Buenaventura Artists Union
330 S. California St. Plaza, Ventura
(805) 643-3012

San Buenaventura Foundation for the Arts
1141 E. Main St., Ventura
(805) 653-6100

Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center
3050 Los Angeles Ave., Simi Valley
(805) 583-7900

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza
100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.,Thousand Oaks
(805) 449-2700

Ventura County Arts Council
646 County Square Dr., Suite 154, Ventura
(805) 658-2213

 

Art Galleries

Accolades
451 E. Main St., Ventura
(805) 648-4080

Art City Studios
197 Dubbers St. Ventura
(805) 648-1690

Art City II
31 Peking, Ventura
(805) 648-1690

Art First!/Allegory
1076 E. Front St., Ventura
(805) 643-7511

Artist’s Union
330 S. California St., Ventura
(805) 643-3012

Bell Art Factory
432 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura
(805) 643-1960

Broken Oak Gallery
1414 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Ste. 213, Thousand Oaks
(805) 497-4022

The Buenaventura Art Gallery
700 E. Santa Clara St. Ventura
(805) 648-1235

California Oil Museum
1001 E. Main St.,Santa Paula
(805) 933-0076

California St. Gallery
40 S. California St., Ventura
(805) 653-0321

Camarillo Art Center
3150 Ponderosa Dr., Camarillo
(805)445-7061

Carnegie Art Museum
424 S. C St. Oxnard
(805)385-8157

Fillmore Historical Museum and Park, PO Box 314
Filmore
(805)524-0948

Focus on the Masters
1147 E. Main St., Ventura
(805)653-2501

Firehouse Pottery & Gallery
109 S. Montgomery St., Ojai
(805)646 9453

G. Childress Gallery
3298 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)640-1387

Gem Quest Jewelers & Gallery
108 N. Signal St., Ojai
(805)646-3830

Harbor Village Gallery
Ventura Harbor Village, Suite 117C
Ventura
(805)644-2750

Human Arts Gallery
310 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-1525

Janis’ Art Workshop
410 W. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-2555

JLR Studio
20 N. Fir St., Ventura
(805)648-1033

John Nichols Gallery
916 E. Main St. Santa Paula
(805)525-7804

Kathleen Dinan Gallery
938 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-6205

Lee Hodges Art Gallery
1560 E. Main St., Ventura
(805)302-3167

Nancy Rupp Studio
305 E. Matilija St, Ste. G, Ojai
(805)646-8532

Nathan Larramendy Gallery
107 S. Signal St., Ojai
(805)646-2750

Nomad Gallery
307 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-1706

North Wind Studios
171 California St., Ventura
(805)653-0001

Ojai Valley Gallery of Fine Art
451 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-9568

Otto Heino/The Pottery
971 McAndrew Rd., Ojai
(805)646-3393

Palette-Gallery
453 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)640-8822

Potter and the Painter
105 S. Signal St., Ojai
(805)646-0094

Primavera Gallery
214 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-7133

Red Brick Gallery
328 E. Main Street, Ventura
(805)643-6400

Sea Breeze Art Gallery
255 S. Laurel St., Ventura
(805)643-3973

Stoneworks Studio
300 N. Ventura Ave., Ventura
(805)643-5431

Studio Channel Islands Art Center
Cal State University Channel Islands
Building #18, Ventura St., Camarillo
(805)383-1368

Studio 84 West
602 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai
(805)646-3812

Thousand Oaks Community Gallery
233 1-A Borchard Rd., Thousand Oaks
(805)498-4390

Trowbridge Gallery
307 E. Ojai Ave # 102, Ojai
(805)646-0967

Upfront Gallery
267 S. Laurel St., Ventura
(805)340-1448

The Ventura Artists Union Gallery
330 California St. Ventura
(805)643-3012

Ventura County Maritime Museum
2731 S. Victoria Ave., Oxnard
(805)984-6260

Westside Studios
1317 N. Ventura Ave.,Ventura
(805)643-1857

Young At Art Studios
333 N. Zachary, Ste. 106, Moorpark
(805)529-6274

 

This directory courtesy of:

Last Satterdee I sailed' t' check ou' th' Ojai Pirate Faire. I canna b'lieve I`ve nerebeen before. What great fun! I felt a bit ou' o' place in me 21st century clothes. As ye can be seein', ‘t had an affect on me! I thougt I`d share wi' ye some o' th' photographs I took that day. Click on any of the thumbnails to see the full size photo.

If you missed it, don't worry, you'll have another chance this September when they return for two weekends this September 20th & 21st and the 27th & 28th for the 18th Annual Pirate Faire. I`ll be returnin' t' take more photos. Do nay miss it!

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