BONING UP: The American Red Cross, long...
BONING UP: The American Red Cross, long known for its blood drives, now collects bones. . . . Today is the last day of National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week. But even if you’ve been a faithful blood donor, there’s no need to rush right over with your contribution. Bone tissue is collected only after you die, and these donations can help others walk again, said county Red Cross Director Brian Bolton. He urges families to consider tissue donations well before a death occurs: “The gift of life comes in many forms.”
DREAMS OF FIELD: If we build it, they will come. A minor league baseball official says several teams are looking for new homes, and one likely will come to Ventura County if community leaders can build a stadium (B1). At least three cities are considering it. . . . This is the first serious effort to attract a ballclub since the Ventura Gulls flopped in 1986. But the Gulls never had a chance: The team had no stadium, no lights and no beer sales.
NIXON WAS HERE: Richard Nixon is triggering memories across Ventura County this week. . . . Kay Haley of Ventura remembers an Oxnard dinner party for Nixon in 1962, when he was running for governor. And longtime supporter R.D. Nesen, the Thousand Oaks car dealer, recalls helping Pete Wilson, then a Nixon presidential campaign aide, set up a rally here in 1960. “I received a nice note from him a little while ago,” Nesen said, “thanking me for all I had done for him during his great career.”
COWABUNGA! Rain or shine, Ventura will hold its annual California Beach Party this weekend to celebrate the early days of surfing and ‘50s beach culture. You can look forward to a long-boarding contest at Surfers Point, but don’t expect to visit the nearby C Street Surfing Museum. The museum has moved from the city-owned building to make room for a new restaurant and stores. It’s not a total bummer, though. Said Ventura Surf Shop’s Stan Fujii: The museum may reopen as part of the restaurant.
Donating Bones
Bone donations are up in Ventura County, but not enough to meet local demand:
1991
Donors: 13
Users: 191
1992
Donors: 24
Users: 172
1993
Donors: 32
Users: 123
1994*
Donors: 28
Users: 171
* So far this year.
Source: Red Cross