By Chair of the Board Stacy Miller

Imagine a daily regimen of several pills, liquids or injections being reduced to a simple small film that dissolves in your mouth.

You don’t have to just imagine this great innovation because it is already developed by the brilliant team at CURE Pharmaceutical based right here in Oxnard.
 
CURE Pharmaceutical is a vertically integrated life science company with a propriety platform for oral drug delivery. The CURE mission is to improve lives by redefining how medicines are delivered and experienced, enabling more precise dosing and better efficiencies for patients. 

By partnering with innovative firms looking for new methods to deliver drugs from early feasibility to commercialization, CURE Pharmaceutical is utilizing cutting-edge technology to solve a myriad of drug delivery issues.

“CURE’s oral soluble film technology is a versatile formulation platform that allows CURE to create proprietary drug products with optimal release profiles for better patient outcomes and experiences,” explains Jessica Rousset, CURE Pharmaceutical’s Chief Operating Officer.

From young children to the elderly and some in-between, the experience of taking pills, liquids and injections can be difficult. This can lead to poor medication adherence. 

When swallowed, pills need to be dissolved by the body into particles small enough to be absorbed. During this process, as much as 80% of the drug may get metabolized by the liver and excreted.

While liquids can be offered as an alternative delivery method, they often taste terrible and can be challenging to administer to children and pets. Also, many patients strongly dislike injections, particularly when self-administered.

​CUREfilm®, CURE Pharmaceutical’s marquis drug delivery system, is revolutionizing how medicines are consumed, solving the issues some have with pills, liquids and injections. CURE’s oral dissolving film technology unleashes the full potential of drug treatments and can improve the efficacy and safety of new and existing drugs, match or improve pharmacokinetic drug profiles, and stabilize plasma levels over extended time periods, possibly reducing dose frequency and side effects.
 
With CURE’s patented technology, life-saving drugs can be delivered to patients that bypass the G.I. tract, avoiding G.I. side effects and in activation in the gut and liver. This method protects the active ingredient from degradation in the biological environment; it prolongs the drug’s presence in the blood, and it increases cellular uptake. CURE’s technology is different from other oral thin films in that larger amounts of the drug active can be loaded onto the CUREfilm®.
 
Patient benefits of the CUREfilm® include rapid delivery for faster clinical affect and symptom relief; reduced side effects with a possible lower dose; an alternative to swallowing pills and injections; and easier adherence by combining multiple actives in one dose.
 
What else is on the horizon for this innovative company? How about raising the bar for cannabis by maximizing how cannabis can be used as an effective therapy for patients?
 
“We are very excited about the momentum at CURE Pharmaceutical. We are always looking at being collaborative not competitive, and we live by our company’s mission to improve people’s lives by redefining how medicines are delivered and experienced,” says Rousset.
 
What a great innovator right here in Oxnard!  Check out CURE Pharmaceutical at: www.curepharma.com.

By Chair of the Board Stacy Miller

​ “Our work tells you the facts. We don’t tell you to eat or not to eat this or that, we just tell the truth.”

That’s how CEO of AGQ Labs Tenesor Peña describes the company's goals and mission.

Keeping to the facts is a good thing when you’re a science lab responsible for chemical analysis of food and soil. It’s exactly the type of science gaining public notice in the wake of a rising consumer base that wants to know what’s in their food and how it’s grown.

AGQ’s Oxnard lab focuses their work solely on food safety and agronomy, the science of soil management and crop production. Their work is highly sought after by agriculture business looking to take their farms and produce into the future. 
 
How does analysis from a lab like AGQ make a difference?

“We give growers a lot of helpful information,” says Peña. “We can show growers how much water and fertilizer they need so they don’t waste resources. Take nitrogen, for example. Too much means the extra will leech into the soil. Our analysis will prevent overdoing it and in turn, be better for your soil because you’re only giving your crops exactly what they need.”

Saving resources, saving money and creating better soil means long-term benefits for growers from season to season. 
 
AGQ Labs is more than just a standout business partner for growers. Over the last eight years since opening in Oxnard, it’s become an engaged community partner.

Why is Oxnard the place for its only lab in the United States? Why is Oxnard ideal for a cutting-edge laboratory with global ties and nine labs all over the world? 
 
“Oxnard really was a perfect fit for our agronomy work. It’s close to growers and the Ag industry, and close to an international airport, which helps us maintain our global ties and send and receive samples internationally. It's an affordable and beautiful city to build a lab,” explains Peña.

He also says the city openly welcomed AGQ and, because of that goodwill, he believes strongly in giving back to the community.

AGQ is a partner in Ventura Farm Day, offering an open house and free public tours alongside local farms. Peña himself is a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce and lives locally in Oxnard, like his employees (a team of 40), who all live local in the Oxnard and Ventura County area.  

AGQ Labs is growing their local engagement through business connections, educational partnerships with Cal State Channel Islands, Cal Poly and Ventura College, and even supporting local youth soccer teams. 
 
In addition to hosting a recent tour of the lab for Oxnard Chamber leadership and city management, AGQ loves to host tours for local children.  “We like to show kids where their food comes from," states Peña. “It’s our way to teach the next generation.”

​Proof AGQ is growing more than just good science right here in Oxnard.

By Chair of the Board Stacy Miller

Sgt. Ron Helus, 54, of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department was one year away from retirement after 29 years on the job, but he was the first to enter the Borderline Bar and Grill on that fateful night when 12 people lost their lives in a mass shooting last November.  

That was the kind of dedication Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Ron Helus had, protecting others before himself.  On Saturday, June 29, our community has an opportunity to show respect and appreciation for Sgt. Helus and other members of law enforcement as part of the Ride for the Blue event.

If you are a motorcyclist, the Ride for the Blue event will start at the parking lot of Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, 99 Rolling Oaks Dr. Thousand Oaks, with registration beginning at 6:45 a.m. The actual motorcycle ride will begin at 7:50 a.m., with a lunch break at 12:30 p.m. and the event ending at 4:00 p.m. Participants will ride their motorcycles and briefly visit each law enforcement station in Ventura County to say thank you to the officers who are protecting and serving our communities.
 
If you would like to show your support for the Oxnard Police Department, we invite you and your family to meet in front of the Oxnard Police Department, 251 S. C Street, Oxnard. You should plan on being at the station at approximately 10:45 a.m. on June 29 to support and cheer on our dedicated law enforcement personnel and the hundreds of riders visiting our great city.

The event is free and open to the community to participate.  More information and registration is available at ridefortheblue.com, or you may call the event coordinator John Short III at (800) 606-1390 or email him at john.short@ubs.com.

​I hope you can join our local enforcement for this important event to show appreciation and support for those who work so hard every day to keep our community safe.

By Chair of the Board Stacy Miller

Considered one of the healthiest foods on the planet and great when mixed with chopped onions and cilantro, California-grown avocados are beloved around the world. In Oxnard, Mission Produce has been answering the international call for this superfood for the last 35 years by producing the world’s finest avocados.

Mission Produce of Oxnard is the largest avocado provider in the world with long-term, year-round retail and food service relationships throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Mission Produce houses North America’s largest and the world’s most technologically-advanced packing facility, packing 1,000 pallets of fruit daily.

During the growing season, the Oxnard facility employs 202 employees. Internationally, Mission employs nearly 3,000 employees.

Mission Produce got its start by packing and marketing avocados from Oxnard, California. Today, Mission continues to pack and market throughout the sunny coastal areas of California and has developed partnerships with the state’s top growers to provide high-quality avocados to markets all over the globe.

Mission Produce celebrates its strong ties to our community by supporting several organizations and events including the Big Brother/Big Sister organization, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Food Share, American Heart Association of Ventura County, Casa Pacifica and the Ventura County Fair’s Kids in Agriculture program.
 
Thank you, Mission Produce, for your investment and commitment to Oxnard!

Is This Avocado Ripe?

If you are one of those people who needs to feel your avocados prior to purchasing them, then according to Mission Produce avocado experts, you are selecting your avocados correctly.

“It’s all in the feel—color is not an indicator of ripeness. The best way to judge ripeness is to feel for uniform softness,” explains Denise Junqueiro, Director of Marketing for Mission Produce.

Your avocado’s not ripe enough to eat? Here’s a tip from Mission Produce: Place avocados in a brown paper bag with an apple or banana. Close the bag and leave on the counter or windowsill for 24-48 hours. Check periodically. The avocado ripening process is stimulated by the release of ethylene gas from its companion fruits. Once the avocados have reached desired ripeness, they can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
 
Need More Reasons to Enjoy Oxnard-Grown Avocados?

According to WebMD, avocados offer nearly 20 vitamins and minerals in every serving, including potassium (which helps control blood pressure), lutein (which is good for your eyes), and folate (which is crucial for cell repair and during pregnancy). Avocados are a good source of B vitamins, which help you fight off disease and infection. They also give you vitamins C and E, plus natural plant chemicals that may help prevent cancer.
 
Avocados are low in sugar and contain fiber, which helps you feel full longer. In one study, people who added a fresh avocado half to their lunch were less interested in eating during the next three hours.

By Chair of the Board Stacy Miller

​Would you be surprised to learn that 99% of all security alarm calls in Oxnard during 2018 were actually false alarms? Business and commercial false alarms totaled 3,103 and residential false alarms totaled 1,720. 
 
As the use of commercial and residential security alarm systems increases, so has the incidence of false alarms. False alarms cost police departments across the country more than the time and resources spent on response; they divert attention and resources away from genuine law enforcement needs. 

When our police officers respond to a false alarm, it competes with real emergency calls for service. It is also expensive and an inefficient use of the Oxnard Police Department’s time and resources.
 
To help reduce the number of false alarms and promote alarm user responsibility, the City of Oxnard adopted a new ordinance which calls for fines to alarm users who generate excessive alarm call responses.  Excessive is defined as the occurrence of two or more false alarms, generated by an alarm user’s alarm system within a 12-month period. 
 
The fine is $145 for the second false alarm and each one thereafter within a year’s time period. Locations with over five false alarm responses in a 12-month period may be subject to an alarm permit suspension or revocation.  A suspension or revocation will result in fines up to $290 per response.
 
If your Oxnard-based business or home has a security alarm, you’d better also have a security alarm permit; a requirement of a city ordinance that costs $25 a year. Alarm users without a valid permit and have an alarm-generated police response to their site will be subject to a fine.  You can download the alarm permit application at: www.oxnardpd.org/alarm-permits.
 
If you accidentally activate your security alarm at your home or business, you should contact your alarm company immediately if they do not call you. If you cannot recite the property’s password or code word over the phone to the alarm operator, the police will be dispatched. 
 
Let’s all do our part to help reduce the number of false alarms in our community so that our fine Oxnard Police Department can be available to quickly respond to real emergencies.
 
For more information regarding the alarm program, contact the Oxnard Police Alarm Administrator at (805) 385-7672 or at alarms@oxnardpd.org.