Talk:Oxnard, California

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It looks like the Chamber of Commerce has been busy adding to this page, plus I suspect there may be some more copyright violations that need checking. I don't have time to NPOV the page today, but I will try to get back to it some time soon. BlankVerse ∅ 08:12, 3 October 2005 (UTC)

maybe they can take down the parts that give away all the surf spots, especially Mugu.

    • No Chamber of Commerce adds. Just me adding to the page about the city I love. Feel free to check on copyright violations, but there shouldn't be any. The only thing I copied was the info on the SOAR initiative, but I only used the info to write my own peice on it. Anyway, feel free to check on everything, but it should be OK. And I wouldn't worry about Mugu, only those with NBVC clearance can access the beach.(Dcmcgov 00:03, 28 October 2005 (UTC))
"People are attracted to the city for its near-perfect weather, its miles of unspoiled beaches, its vibrant economy (home to several major companies), its unique ambience, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream." Everything in that sentence is true. It looks like Blank Verse is becoming the "Edit Warrior" so despised on his/her talk page. (69.239.125.174 15:53, 5 November 2005 (UTC))
The hackneyed adage of English teachers everywhere, "Show, don't tell" is applicable to this situation. Instead of that rather meaningless bit of chamber-of-commerce fluff that I deleted, you should add some real information to the article that will provide the details that will allow the reader to draw their own conclusions about what a wonderful place Oxnard is. The article already has some info on the average weather stats but it probably needs some comparisons to elsewhere. The article already has info on the state, county and city beaches in the area. The article does need the addition of a list the major corporations headquartered in Oxnard, as well as mention the unemployment stats and compare them against the SoCal, Calif. state, and national stats, etc. The last bit of the paragraph that I removed ("...its unique ambience, and the opportunity to realize the "American Dream.") is pure opinion and doesn't belong in the article, and especially not in the introduction. Remember, this is an encyclopedia, not a real estate brochure.
If you look at the edit history for the article, I am not the only person who has removed that paragraph. I won't delete it again, but I am sure that someone else will come along and make the same judgment that I and User:Szyslak have made.
There is also more fluff in the article that needs to be edited. For example, "The weather conditions are considered by many to be the some of the best in the world." Instead of that grandiose statement, it would be much better to have a quote from some respected travel or lifestyle magazine. Another example, "The Oxnard Plain is full of the richest, most fertile soil in all of the world." That statement needs some reference or it should be deleted (you might try the U. of Calif. Ventura County Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension [1]). BlankVerse 10:52, 6 November 2005 (UTC)
You state that I should add some "real information". Funny, before I started editing the Oxnard page, it contained only a very vague summary of the city ("FLUFF", I think you call it), and the demographic statistics. I've added info about the beaches, the agriculture, the neighborhoods, the Navy bases, etc. Everything that is quintessentially Oxnard. And everything that I have written about Oxnard is true. Yet, you consider it to be "fluff".
For instance, a common knowledge and undeniable fact about Oxnard's fertile plain soil is that it can cultivate virtually any crop all year long. Most agricultural fields in the world can only grow 1 or 2 crops a year. Oxnard's can grow 3,4, sometimes 5 or 6.
Hence the true statement referring to Oxnard's soil as the most fertile in the world. Everyone who knows anything about Oxnard's agriculture knows that to be a true statement, even ag experts on the other side of the planet. I can post the research facts as I continue to update the article.
The Oxnard Plain also benefits from a sub-mediterranean climate and cool ocean breezes from wind patterns unique to this area due to the south facing beaches and the Santa Monica Mountain ranges. The climate in Oxnard is more moderate than in any other region of California. It never gets too hot, and it never gets too cold. That's not exactly what I would call "fluff". (Dcmcgov 00:48, 7 November 2005 (UTC))

Read Wikipedia:Verifiability: "common knowledge" doesn't cut it as a source of information for an encyclopedia article. Since you seem to be unwilling to do the proper research, here's a couple of quotes for you:

  • "The areas studied showed a high percentage of Group I soils, primarily located on the relatively. flat Oxnard Plain. The Oxnard Plain because of these high-quality agricultural soils, coupled with a favorable climate, is considered one of the most fertile areas in the. world." Camarillo General Plan PDF
  • "The barley grass in Green Magma is grown in some of the world's most fertile soil on rolling hillsides in Japan and on the Oxnard Plain near the Pacific Ocean in California." [2]

So now, instead of your extraordinary hyperbole of the "richest, most fertile soil in all of the world", the article can be changed to say something like "one of the richest agricultural soils in the world". with an appropriate reference to back up the statement. BlankVerse 10:46, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

As for the "Strawberry Capital": Watsonville also claims the title and has slightly more acreage. See [3]. BlankVerse 11:28, 8 November 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Copyright violations

Could we please restrict our contributions to our own words? This article has had a number of copyright violations pasted in. WP:Copyrights. Rather, we need to summarize verifiable sources in an NPOV manner. Thanks, -Willmcw 11:35, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Anti-gang Court Injunctions

Last year a court issued an injunction against the "Colonia Chiques" Gang, disallowing free assembly in the neighborhood. This was seen as an act of racism and instigated a legal and public relations battle. I'd like to do more research and add this in.

Also, Chicana writer Michelle Serros is from Oxnard, but there doesn't seem to be a "Famous people" section (yet).--Rockero 20:39, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

Oh yeah, and don't the Dallas Cowboys do their off-season training there?--Rockero 20:41, 9 November 2005 (UTC)

I've added Michelle Serros, using the info that I was able to glean from amazon.com. As for the Cowboys, I know that there was one football team that used to do training in Oxnard (I thought that it was the Raiders), but I don't think that any one trains there any more. I'd have to ask my sister, who lives in the area and would probably know that sort of info. BlankVerse 07:28, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Neighborhoods

Anyone know if the "Refsing" neighborhood is real? It was added by an IP...--Rockero 16:01, 23 December 2005 (UTC)

There is a Refsing Place in the southwest corner of Oxnard, but I doubt it qualifies as a neighborhood. BlankVerse 08:08, 25 December 2005 (UTC)

Does El Rio qualify as a neighborhood? And if it does, why is there no information on it?

El Rio is definitely a neighborhood and it should be included. Maluka 02:51, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This is in major need of a rewrite

Being that I lived forever in Oxnard, there are many things that aren't correct. For one, the Seabees were left out who have a separate base from the SWEF section, run by both the Navy and DoD. So much needs to be cleaned up. Many bands weren't mentioned, some of the "famous people" parts were incorrect.

I'll work on this later. Maluka 03:00, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] image

wow that is one unflattering skyline!--Alhutch 22:49, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure if one tall building really counts as a "skyline". If you can find a more flattering, or characteristic picture of Oxnard's commercial district, then feel free to contribute it. Thanks, -Will Beback 00:01, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
Having lived in Oxnard for umpteen years, the "skyline" has been a constant joke. You won't find a more flattering picture. Maluka 04:29, 1 February 2006 (UTC)
I have a more flattering picture of the skyline which I've posted, it's a view from Spanish Hills in Camarillo. You can see some of the agricultural fields in the foreground, with the skyline and city and the Pacific Ocean in the background. Dcmcgov 17:44, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

User:70.38.98.161 has rewritten the portion of the article dealing with historic segregation, the rise of gangs, and the use of the gang injunction. I think some of the new text has valid points, but is the removal of the information justified? Since I wrote the portion in question, I'll refrain from reverting, but the current version sounds a bit too uncritical IMO...--Rockero 02:06, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

It shouldn't be "uncritical", but it should be fair and balanced. For every one person that does not like the injunction, there is one person that does like it. The re-write lists everything that the the activists are arguing, but does not list the benefits of the gang injunction; it leaves out the other side of the debate. I agree that there may be constitutional issues with portions of the injunction, but I'm also not so dogmatic that I cannot see the benefits of it. Both sides need to be present. Also, to whoever wrote that last paragraph in the "History" section: I removed it and moved it to "Demographics". The History section is reserved for significant events in the city's history, not it's racial makeup. That's what the Demographics section is for. Dcmcgov 18:26, 10 May 2006 (UTC)


In the history portion, the tone of the section surrounding "white flight" caused me some concern. While it is factually correct, what are we saying about our city? There are several individuals that live within the "affordable" areas of the city, that are well educated and contribute on a daily basis to the betterment of their hometown. I am aware that the article does not say that there are no educated people in those areas, and that it merely indicates the disparity in education levels between the different communities, but is there any way we could word it differently? To site such a clear fact and not offer any insight into where these problems come from, seems to be a bit of an injustice. Perhaps I am being overly emotional about a purely factual statement, but I have to admit that it made me very angry to read it. I live in the "La Colonia Barrio" and I work for the City of Oxnard. The people that live around me are by and large young adults who cannot afford to live anywhere else. My brother is a college graduate and finds it much more feasable and acceptable to live in the "barrio" than anywhere else in the city. My father works in the same defense industry that is said to have played a part in our city's "white flight" and he is very pleased to live right in the middle of the "affordable" part of town with all the other Hispanics and African-Americans. Those same Hispanics and African-Americans that are the backbone of our labor force. The same ones that allow our economy to thrive. I hate to see them relegated to a one line blurb that refers to their socioeconomic status or where they choose to call home as some indication of their value to our city. Whether that is the intention of that portion or not, it is very clearly the immediate reaction of this reader, and I would imagine others as well. If I have taken it the wrong way or misinterpreted it somehow, I do not apologize. socalx11 --Socalx11 20:08, 13 September 2006 (UTC) 13:08 13 Sep 2006

[edit] Image Box

The image box looks great, however I am moving the very unflattering current skyline photo to the bottom, and replacing it with a much more flattering shot. Please dont be offended, but my photo represents Oxnard much better - it shows the agricultural fields, the city skyline and the Pacific Ocean - not just railroad tracks.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Dcmcgov (talk • contribs).

No worries. 8)--Rockero 17:53, 30 May 2006 (UTC)
Is there any reason to keep the unflattering one? I'll delete it if nobody objects. Doctormatt 23:48, 17 October 2006 (UTC)
I removed the old image. Doctormatt 20:01, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
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