EV Advocated Monthly Meeting
Kent Bullard
Electric Vehicle Advocates of Ventura County
Monthly Gathering and Meeting
6:30 PM, Tuesday February 18th, 2025
It’s time for our second monthly meeting of the year.
When – February 18th, start gathering at 6:30 to mingle, socialize and have a bite to eat. Then at 7:00 we will hold the meeting.
Where – Spencer Makenzie’s, http://spencermakenzies.com/index.html
311 Carmen Drive, Camarillo, CA 93010
Spencer Makenzie’s is famous for their fish tacos and the “Taco Tuesday” offerings. But of course, the other menu items are also tasty. There are even special prices for some of the on-tap beverages. 🍺🌮🌮 🍺
We have reservations at 6:30 for 20+ inside at the corner booths.
The weather forecast for Tuesday is for partly cloudy skies with a high of 69 and low of 44, it will be in the mid 50s during our meeting time, I have requested inside seating, but you should bring a jacket just in case.
📝 It is important to RSVP to me at kentb...@gmail.com if you are going to attend so we can make sure to have table space for you.
Bring – News of the EV world and our community. Of course, also bring your EV, interested (or interesting) friends and your desire to meet up as we discuss a variety of topics (including EVs) and to introduce others to the cause.
Get a Charge while parking for the meeting –
If you need a charge during the meeting, the City of Camarillo has 12 Level 2 Charge Point chargers on SE side of City Hall which is about a four-minute walk (1,056 feet) from Spencer Makenzie’s. ($0.29 per kW).https://www.plugshare.com/location/523336
Our Saturday Outing to the Nethercutt Auto Museum in Sylmar, made for a pleasant way to experience and view a great number of antique vehicles. The only EV we saw was a 1916 Rausch and Lange.
Our thanks to James Reach for organizing this outing.
We are planning for our upcoming outreach for Drive Electric Earth Month (the whole of April). As of now, we will be participating at three locations –
April 19th, Ventura Plaza Park Earth Day and EV Showcase.
Saturday from 11am to 4pm. Join us for the City of Ventura Earth Day, held once again at Plaza Park in downtown Ventura. Register and bring your Electric Vehicle and spend the day mingling with others in the EV community while we educate festival attendees about EV ownership. In 2024, we had 33 cars on display representing a variety of available vehicles. This year, we will have many more. We need volunteers to make the event happen in the setup and breakdown stages.
Register to showcase your vehicle at https://driveelectricearthmonth.org/4651
April 19th, Thousand Oaks Arbor Day and EV Showcase.
Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Bring your vehicle and come to this free, family-friendly event. It will include kids’ activities, live music, a plant giveaway, and free compost.
We will host an electric vehicle display area where EV owners will display their vehicles and be available to answer questions and provide first-hand experience and insight on EV ownership.
Register to showcase your vehicle at https://driveelectricearthmonth.org/4652
April 26th and 27th. Santa Barbara Earth Day 2025 and Green Car Show
Saturday 11am to 8pm, Sunday 11am to 7pm.
Earth Day in Santa Barbara is a two-day event drawing in over 30,000 participants to celebrate the earth, this is one of the longest running Earth Day celebrations.
One big draw at the event is the Green Car Show which has several elements including ride and drive opportunities in electric vehicles, static demonstration of various makes, model and types of electric cars, trucks and equipment.
Also included is the Owners Corner in which local EV owners showcase their personal electric vehicles and discuss how owning, operating and enjoying their EV has changed their life for the better.
Locally EV adoption is continuing to grow. In the tri-county's there are over 67,876 registered zero emission vehicles and the number continue to grow with each day.
Register to showcase your vehicle at https://driveelectricearthmonth.org/4664
Each day we have spaces for eight vehicles. Come for either or both days.
If you know of other great Earth Day events where we can participate, please let us know.
Also, what we have been celebrating as National Drive Electric Week in October is now being reprogramed as Drive Electric Month which will take place from September 12th to October 12th. This is good as we can now participate in other events as we as continue organizing our big event in the Ventura Harbor. So save the date as we have selected October 5th as the date for the Ventura EV Showcase.
We have also been invited once again to have a showcase and the educational booth at the Port of Hueneme Banana Festival on September 27th.
We can also participate in other events if we find them.
Other items which may be of interest to the group.
With the management changes in Washington D.C., we all should be concerned about support, or lack of, or even worse, opposition to continued EV adoption. We will discuss measures you can take to support our noble cause.
“Interesting” might not be the correct term for what has been happening in the capitol lately and into the near future. Even with X’s daddy pulling the strings, there is renewed activity to push back against the adoption of EV’s.
· Removal of Federal EV purchase tax credit. Senator Barrasso’s (R-S.D.) bill, “Eliminating Lavish Incentives to Electric (ELITE) Vehicles Act. https://www.barrasso.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/6ef41e21-4b35-46a4-b89d-5aff78805bd0/2.12.25-elite-vehicles-act.pdf
· Federal Road Use Fee. Senator Deb Fischer (R- Neb.) has introduced the Fair SHARE Act which adds a tax equal to $550 for each battery module greater than 1,000 lbs. (a Tesla Model 3 long range battery pack weighs 1,060 lbs.) Additionally this bill would add a $1,000 tax on each electric vehicle sold. These tax funds are to be transferred to the Highway Trust Fund.
· Link to EV Advocates FB Post on this subject - https://www.facebook.com/groups/457622451111506/permalink/2749040345303027/
· Suspension of the $5 billion EV Charger Program (NEVI). https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5132717-trump-administration-suspends-electric-vehicle-charging-network/
· Canceling or deferring a planned $400 million dollar contract to purchase EV’s for government use… https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/g-s1-48571/trump-administration-order-400-million-worth-of-armored-teslas
· If you feel the need to get your thoughts on this to your elected representative it is suggested to not send an email as they often get lost in the storm. It is much better to make an old-fashioned telephone call. You can usually talk to one of their aids who will actually record your call and your opinion. Ron Merkord has good advice in his FB post and he also suggests using 5calls.org as a starting point. Rons Post is at https://www.facebook.com/ron.merkord/posts/pfbid0356VmS32DzdcRvjVeiUbbbRDiTHh1YkJ62AsJaPNkXcbZN8xgKhH4C4DNuWSRwkTnl
Some things you can also do is to listen to the recent podcasts of The Energy Show by Barry Cinnamon, monitor and support the activities at The Solar Rights Alliance and follow the Boiling Point from Sammy Roth.
EV Charging Access updates -
Agoura Supercharger (I know it’s not in Ventura County) on the south side of the 101 & Kanan, just east of Wood Ranch. In the final stages of construction. 32 V4 325kW units.
There are a couple of charging stations in Ventura which have been under construction for several months with finalization relying on SCE time, which I just learned is akin to “Fiji time”.
The concern is now with human, equipment and supply resources being diverted for fire recovery additional delays might be in the works as everyone compete for scarce resources such as transformers, switch gear and labor.
Does anyone have tips on other new stations?
See you Tuesday Evening…