Independence Day Special Edition

Today, we celebrate Independence Day

“Give all the power to the many, they will oppress the few. Give all the power to the few, they will oppress the many” – Alexander Hamilton

Ventura County! Thank you for joining us this July 4th. This week’s edition will be slightly different from our usual editions. We would like to wish you all a safe, but exciting holiday weekend. One of our editors will be welcoming his first child (new neighbor) into the world this Sunday! If your families are anything like ours, you probably haven’t solidified your plans for the weekend, so please scroll down to the events section. Then, you’ll be equipped to take control of the family group chat. 💪

Without further ado, let’s catch a wave! 🌊 

Neighbors, this week’s edition of the wave will highlight:

• Real estate snapshot brought to you by: V is for Ventura

• 4th of July fireworks schedule by city

• Holiday Weekend Activities

• Sports

• Local News

• Hamilton

• Instagram pages to follow

• Weather

Let’s get started…

Your local real estate report is brought to you by
V is for Ventura 

You’ve likely heard by now that the Real Estate industry is facing a major shake up in how it’s going to operate in the near future, thanks to the recent settlement between the National Association of Realtors and the Department of Justice. You know when the DOJ gets involved, a whole lot of people are shaking in their boots. So what’s the TL;DR? How does it affect YOU?

Well if you’re a seller, the truth is not much is changing... In California, anyway. Realtor’s commissions have always been negotiable. However, we will see brokerages' posture about how not offering a buyer’s agent commission will save you tons of money to capture more listings. The truth is it will likely limit your buyer pool and likely impact what your take home is. On the other side of the coin, agents will educate you on the benefits of offering a buyer’s broker compensation. It’s going to get weird and convoluted and confusing. Your Uncle is definitely going to be an expert about it at the next family BBQ. 

If you’re a buyer, this will likely not be the hail mary that will grant you your dream home in California. The media would like to portray this as good for the buyers and a major cost savings. The reality is that as of August 17th, you’re going to have to enter an “exclusive” or “non-exclusive” representation agreement. Basically - if you want to see a house you’re going to have to have a signed agreement with your agent stating that you’ll pay said agent if the seller won’t. Thus, some houses will be off limits unless you’re somehow able to muster thousands of even more dollars towards your closing costs. TIP: if you think you can skip out and just head to an open house untouched, be sure to read what you’re signing at open houses because you don’t want to inadvertently sign a representation agreement when you’re just trying to leave a fake email/telephone number (I see you). 

Was that too doom and gloom? There will be opportunities in the confusion of it all. If you’re thinking of buying and/or selling, find yourself a Realtor to help guide you through this maze because it’s about to get a lot more complicated. Want to stick to daydreaming about real estate online? Check out my blog,

The 8-0-FIVE, to take a peek at the current 805 housing scene, with categories to satisfy every budget.

Want to connect? Vent? Debate? You can reach me at [email protected].

Follow @VisForVentura for more real estate insights.

Vanessa Porter

LIV Sotheby’s International Realty

DRE 02131118

4th of July Fireworks Schedule by city

Thousand Oaks:

4th of July fireworks at Janss Marketplace. 

9-10pm. 

Parking is free. Early arrival is encouraged. 

Oxnard:

4th of July Happenings at Channel Islands Harbor:

Location: 3600 Harbor Blvd.

2-4pm: Electric Boat Parade

9-10 pm. Fireworks show

Camarillo:

4th of July Firework show at Camarillo Premium Outlets: 6-10 pm. 

Guests must make it into the parking lot before 8:45 pm

Santa Paula:

Picnic, food vendors, & music, at Harding Park + 1st ever Drone Show

Location: 1330 East Harvard Blvd. Santa Paula

4-10pm. Drone Show begins at 9:15

Ventura:

The Ventura Rotary presents fireworks at Ventura College. 8-10pm

( Tickets must be purchased in advance)

https://www.venturafireworks.com/

4th of July Weekend Events

Oxnard

July 6th 4-6pm. Concerts by the Sea w/ “Nautical Thrust 3850 Harbor Blvd. Oxnard Ca 93035

Ventura

The Surf Rodeo is this weekend. What is a surf rodeo you ask?

The Surf Rodeo is Ventura’s first surfing and musical festival. It takes place over two days. Friday July 5th, and Saturday July 6th. It will feature over 30 bands, and a zany surfing competition. Other highlights include; an infamous bikini cowboy & cowgirl competition. Food vendors, beer tents, skateboard demos, artists, and a cornhole competition. Tickets can be purchased here:

Camarillo

July 6, 3-7pm “The Biggest Little Summer Festival” @ Apricot Farms

Thousand Oaks

July 6 @ 7pm
  🎶 My Son The Hurricane concert @ Suburbia Park
FREE Event. No need for tickets (bring a lawn chair & blankets)

July 7 @6pm-9pm
Concert in the Park w/ Drone show
Summer Concert Series featuring a spectacular tribute to Neil Diamond by a renowned band
Chumash Park
5550 Medea Valley Dr,
Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Ojai

The Libbey Bowl is hosting musical performances on Friday, July 5th & 6th. The Beatles v. Stones on Friday, July 5th, and a Journey Tribute by DSB will be performed on July 6th. For more information, please visit the site below:

libbeybowl.org

Simi Valley

July 7, 3-5pm. Reggae Sundays at Rock n Roll Pizza. 5325 Cochran St. Simi Valley 93063

Moorpark

July 6, 4-7pm
The Biggest Little Summer Festival
Apricot Lane Farms
10700 Broadway Road Moorpark, CA 93021
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-biggest-little-summer-festival-tickets-885228882417?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Summer Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers have home games from July 4th-7th.

The Dodgers will host the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 4th at 6:10 pm, with a Fireworks Show following the game.

The Dodgers will host the visiting Milwaukee Brewers July 5th-7th. There is a drone show following July 5th’s game.

For more information, please visit the link below: https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/schedule/2024-07

The Copa America soccer tournament is moving into the quarter-finals with eight teams advancing:

Argentina takes on Ecuador today, July 4th, at 6 pm

Venezuela and Canada go head to head on July 5th at 6 pm

Panama and Colombia are set to play on July 6th at 3 pm

Uruguay and Brazil matchup against each other on July 6th at 6 pm

The EUFA European Soccer Championships are also moving into their quarter finals matches.

Spain & Germany kick the quarterfinals off with a 9am match on July 5th

Portugal & France are the second match of the day, kicking off at 12pm

England & Switzerland are scheduled to play July 6th at 9am

The Netherlands & Turkey also play on July 6th at 12pm

Local Ventura County News

• Most of Ventura County is under excessive heat warnings this holiday weekend. Please be sure to keep your family hydrated.

• Brush fires have swept through Simi Valley, causing evacuations of 360 homes.

  Ventura County Firework Crackdown

  Ventura County cities are working in conjunction with the local fire departments to limit the amount of illegal fireworks. The Ventura County DA’s Office warned the public about the sale, usage, and risks of illegal fireworks. Fireworks in Ventura County are strictly prohibited outside of Fillmore.

  
  Cities in the county are taking their own actions to combat firework activity. This year the city of Ventura will be deploying drones to help locate illegal fireworks. The city of Oxnard has put together a comprehensive plan to police illegal firework activity, including the usage of drones for the third straight year. This year they will be using enhanced drone resources. In addition, some Oxnard officers have started their shifts targeting specific addresses that have been reported with firework activity leading up to July 4th.
  
  In 2022, the county’s largest city received 3569 fireworks calls made the month leading up to the 4th. Another 1,078 calls were made on the weekend of the 4th of July that year. Yikes!

  
  Property owners using fireworks will receive $1000 citation. Spark up at your own risk!

🎶 Hamilton 🇺🇸

Sometimes, you are ahead of the trend, sometimes behind, and other times completely clueless about what is trending. I’ve fallen into all three categories.

I was late to Game of Thrones 👑, and when I say late, I mean YEARS late, sorry, “seasons” for you TV nerds. I started watching it during the pandemic, 9 years after it premiered. As much as I wanted to hate it, I just couldn’t. It did exactly what it was supposed to do. It entertained me and kept me wanting more. On paper, there was nothing about GOT that I would generally like. Fantasy, bleh, drama, meh,  impossible character names, ugh, incest, now you have my attention. Obviously kidding! There isn’t one singular thing I can point to that got me hooked, but I was hooked. I want to blame the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders, but that would be disingenuous. I had never binge-watched a 55-minute show like that before. 

Similar to Game of Thrones, I didn’t understand what the Hamilton hype was about. I’ve never been a fan of musicals, so there was some underlying prejudice there. The best musical I had ever seen was “The Book of Mormon,” I fell asleep during the first act. 😴 Besides being a musical, Hamilton should have checked all my boxes. Many things have interested me throughout my lifetime, but most could be classified as phases. Hip hop, political scandals, The United States founding fathers, and the American Revolution are topics I have bizarrely been fascinated by and researched extensively. 

So here I am again 9 years after its initial release, after most of the hype has faded. Without any intention or planning, I end up with tickets to see Hamilton, in Phoenix Arizona of all places.

Much like Game of Thrones, I wanted to hate it. I felt a need to be impressed by the unknown actors, thumbing through the playbill with my nose in the air as if this kid from Oxnard knew anything about culture. I’m still unsure whether it was to my dismay or delight, but I can tell you that the show was amazing. I was thoroughly impressed. It was everything I could have asked for, and more. I knew the characters well. Having read the biographies of George Washington, and James Madison, I knew a great deal about the conflicts of the time. I also read David McCullough’s 1776, which illustrates just how difficult a time it was in the colonies. The romanticized version we were taught in school was complete BS. There was nothing sexy about colonial life in the 1700’s. There is nothing romantic about marching untrained soldiers through terrible conditions to watch their fellow countrymen get shot by a far superior army. 

Despite the awful conditions of colonial life, especially when compared to the comforts of 21st-century living, Lin Manuel Miranda found a way to make it fun. The music was catchy, and the lyrics combined 18th-century English vernacular with modern hip-hop flows. I left the theater feeling awestruck about what had just transpired. Ron Chernov dedicated 6 years of his life to extensive research and combing through 22,000 pages of historical documents 📖 to write the biography that inspired the musical. After reading the biography, Lin Manuel Miranda spent 7 years creating the musical. “Greatness doesn’t happen overnight” - Founder of Home Goods (JK, that’s a fake quote, but it indeed does not) Years worth of research, writing, re-writing, and risk-taking were required to create a cultural phenomenon that captivated even the most cynical of viewers, myself.

I haven’t always been this way: overly critical, yes, but apologetic, no. A valuable lesson I have learned is admitting when I am wrong. I was wrong about Game of Thrones, wrong about Hamilton, and wrong to think I could watch last week’s presidential debate and not get upset. That’s called “growth,” people. Try it, practice it, embrace it, and surround yourself with people who understand it. Happy Fourth of July my fellow Americans.

-MV

Unlike the Boston Tea Party, this tea party is meant to be kept indoors. Create a new ritual for yourself, and enjoy Maana Tea this holiday weekend.

Instagram pages we love:

@venturacomomcollective

@streetsofvintagefleamarket

@lysseats805

@theneighborlywave

@museumofventuracounty

@venturacountycoast

@oxnardusa

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