Chamber CEO Jamie Fleming joins us to talk about the chamber's role in managing SBA loans and disaster relief during the pandemic. From his extensive surveys of local businesses, he's optimistic that Ojai will gradually reopen this summer, and that the majority of member businesses will weather this storm in one form or another. He's part of a group dealing with responses through the city council and the Ojai Valley Inn, as well.

Fleming also talks about the influx of Los Angeles people coming to Ojai for our hiking trails and beautiful backcountry, and how that might play out as stay-at-home orders are lifted for the 20+million people within a two-hour drive. Those interactions will be carefully managed, with social distancing and face masks, as Ojai, with only 7 cases reported, has been a model for the rest of the state.  "It's a Catch 22," Fleming said, about managing the city's reopening in a safe way that allows commerce and allows the city's tax base to recover. 

With decades of marketing and technology experience in the entertainment industry, Fleming spent most of his career at Disney Corporation and Universal Studios. One of his jobs was managing Mickey Mouse appearances, including one aboard a Navy Destroyer. He was also behind-the-scenes of Universal Studios Florida theme park, when inclement weather close ride after ride in what he called "a rolling disaster."  He worked with a lot of film stars, such as Orson Welles and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (former Ojai resident). He also talks about how he ended up responsible for all 5,000 computers at Universal, during the Y2K debacle, "holding our breaths" as the clock ticked over into the new millennium. Another disaster he witnessed was the 2008 fire that destroyed the backlots at Universal. 

He and his wife Asunta came to Ojai for their daughter's education. A dance prodigy, she was badly injured and shifted her career to fashion modeling, becoming a famous influencer on social media, as well as establishing a career as a singer-songwriter, now living in Nashville. Asunta has graced local stages, most recently at the Art Center's production of "Mamma Mia!" Before becoming the Chamber CEO, Fleming was the executive director of the Ojai Film Festival. He's also involved with a firm called "3rd Brain Technologies," a multi-directional streaming tool for artists.

We don't talk about the fiasco that were the Peninsular Wars, the sci-fi works of Philip K. Dick or the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."