Advisory Board

A meeting to update the public on environmental cleanup efforts at two Naval Base Ventura County sites will be held Thursday in Port Hueneme. The meeting of the Restoration Advisory Board is scheduled from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Orvene Carpenter Community Center, 550 Park Ave.

Does California really need the advisory board to the Bureau of Home Furnishing, if it still exists? Is there a legitimate role for the Strawberry Processing Council when there's also a California Strawberry Council? The Celery Research Advisory Board? The state has more than 400 boards, commissions, authorities and councils in addition to some 150 regular state agencies and departments.

A decade ago, Greg Carson was at the top of his game. At 33, after a decade as a lobbyist for the farm industry, he burst onto the Ventura political scene by winning a seat on the City Council and immediately becoming mayor. But after helping to usher in the renaissance of Ventura's downtown--and crashing his car while driving under the influence--Carson opted not to run for reelection, focusing his energies instead on his cafe / nursery.

A Cal State Northridge advisory board that deals with athletics voted Tuesday night to accept an Oct. 1 report made by Athletic Director Dick Dull recommending the elimination of football. The President's Advisory Board of Intercollegiate Athletics, which consists of 14 faculty, alumni and student representatives, voted in favor of Dull's recommendation in dealing with an expected $725,000 athletic department deficit by the end of the school year.

Prompted by one alcohol-related death and two near-deaths last fall, California State University trustees Wednesday adopted among the nation's most comprehensive guidelines on student drinking. The strategies adopted for the system's 23 campuses include alcohol treatment programs, alcohol advisory boards and advertisements. To cover the cost of new programs, the chancellor's office will allocate $25,000 to each campus, provided the campuses each match that amount.

A majority of Ventura County supervisors back a proposal to give county health programs most of $8 million in tobacco settlement funding when it's distributed this year. The county's public hospital and other health programs are the only sources of care for thousands of uninsured county residents and therefore should be the biggest beneficiary of the settlement windfall, supervisors said.

Adding its voice to growing protests, a citizens advisory council recommended Monday that the city delay award of a major lease for new aviation uses at Van Nuys Airport, which is scheduled for June 26, just four days before Mayor Richard Riordan leaves office. One of the potential bidders is a businessman with ties to the mayor, and some critics have questioned the bidding process.

KnowledgeLink of Westlake Village announced that it has established an advisory board composed of leading academics and consultants in the field of distribution channel management, structure and conflict resolution. The board's role will be to guide KnowledgeLink's product development.

Residents of four Orange County neighborhoods--angered they were not aware of proposals to build huge gymnasiums in their communities--were temporarily relieved Tuesday after the Ocean View School District voted to create an advisory board and rethink the district's ambitious plan. "Nobody is against building a gym," resident Bob Devough told school trustees. "We are against this monstrosity that you want to build. Please don't destroy our neighborhoods."