In 2012, the Green Coalition helped sponsor a weekend-long community conversation at Meditation Mount on “ecotourism,” featuring Supervisor Steve Bennett and Assemblyman Das Williams. Among the dozens of Ojai leaders who spoke was Caryn Bosson, former Coalition board member, Scott Eicher, of the Chamber of Commerce, Mike Weaver, past president of Rotary, and Greg Gamble, of the Land Conservancy.
Continue reading “Could Tourism be a Boon for Sustainability in Ojai?”
Did you know our local trash and recycling hauler, E.J. Harrison & Sons, is celebrating its 50th year of servicing the Ojai Valley this month? The locally based company was founded in 1932 and is one of the oldest and largest privately owned collection businesses in the U.S. – serving over 90,000 customers. Maybe it’s their company motto, “Service is Everything” that has ensured their success and longevity. Or maybe the fact that it’s still a family run business with Ralph Harrison as President, and his brothers Jim and Myron serving as Vice Presidents.
Continue reading “50 Years and Counting: E.J. Harrison & Sons and the Ojai Valley”
Business Member Spotlight: Kerry Miller Designer/Builder, Inc.
Ojai Valley Green Coalition business member Kerry Miller and his family moved to Ojai in1999. Since then he has used his considerable talents to establish his successful business, Kerry Miller Designer/Builder, Inc. Talents local theatre owner Khaled Alawar sought out when the historic Ojai Playhouse was damaged by a broken water main.
Raised in Texas, Kerry came to us from New Mexico where he attended University of New Mexico, receiving his BUS in sculpture. “Some of the other classes that I took there were solar energy, architecture, light and air pollution,” said Kerry, who enjoyed the woodworking skills that he used in the sculpture. “So after graduating I went into cabinetmaking.”
It was his artistic woodworking skills creating one-of-a-kind doors that drew the attention of a Corrales, New Mexico adobe home builder who hired him in 1980. Kerry earned his own contractor’s license a year later. Next he founded his own construction company specializing in custom doors, gates, fireplace mantles, cabinets, furniture, windows, stained, beveled and etched glass for homes and businesses in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe area.
Continue reading “Business Member Spotlight: Kerry Miller Designer/Builder, Inc.”
OVGC member Michelle Dohrn helped found the Ojai Food Co-op in 2012. Michelle says the idea “sprouted” while she was picking potatoes on a local organic farm with her young daughter. Engaged in the physical act of harvesting those potatoes, she realized she had something incredibly valuable in her hands, a direct relationship with a farmer. She and her daughter were lucky enough to see where their food comes from and experience the work it takes to grow their food. “It so deeply touched me that I thought ‘why don’t more people have access to this type of local organic fresh food?’” According to Andy Warhol, ‘the grocery cart is the most powerful tool for social change.’
Continue reading “Update on the Ojai Food Co-op with Co-founder Michelle Dohrn”
Severo Lara, current City of Ojai Mayor and co-owner of JL & Sons Landscaping, is a lifelong resident and father of two. He shares the goals of most small business owners in Ojai – making a living in the small town he loves.
Continue reading “Business Supporter Welcome and Profile: JL & Sons Landscaping”
During our hot Ojai summers most people either try to cut down on outside obligations or take a vacation. Not Heather Mohan-Gibbons. She’s already busy gathering information and making plans as the new garden manager of the Valley of the Moon Community Garden. The Garden, located at 370 Baldwin Road, uses sustainable gardening practices to provide two types of activities for Valley residents. The Garden offers a traditional community garden portion for individual gardeners, and a space where community members grow food to donate to the Help of Ojai Senior Food Program. At one time the garden was also a hands-on learning site for Ventura County Master Gardener Trainees.
It’s time for another Business Member shout out, this time to Kathy Nolan, owner of Studio Landscape. Kathy Nolan was an early supporter and director/president of the OVGC. Now it is our turn to thank her for being an OVGC business member.
Continue reading “Business Member Profile: Studio Landscape”
As the Sierra Club so eloquently put it: ‘… rooftop solar is safe and long lasting, with zero emissions and a low water footprint. No one ever had an asthma attack because of a solar panel, nor have we ever heard of a catastrophic solar-power spill threatening fish and wildlife.’
Announcing the launch of “Solarize Ojai,” a three-month long group purchasing program designed to make going solar easier and more affordable for Ojai Valley homeowners. Our partner, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) helps guide homeowners through the entire process as an unbiased expert resource – making it as easy as possible for everyone to go solar.
Continue reading “Solarize Ojai: A Group-purchasing Program Running April 22 – July 22”
