The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) announces a limited waitlist opening for its Section 8 Voucher Program. The waitlist will be open from Monday, May 2, 2022 to June 1, 2022.
Section 8 Vouchers are issued to qualifying applicants allowing them to choose a unit to rent from private landlords. Participants pay a portion of their income toward rent, directly to the landlord, and the remainder of the contract rent is paid to the landlord by the Housing Authority.
For more than 60 years, the president of the United States has recognized the National Small Business Week (NSBW) as May 1 – 7, 2022. NSBW recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Join us in celebrating National Small Business Week and participate in the following events throughout the week! These events are free (provided by the Fresno SBDC Network) and will cover different information that will help you START, GROW and EXPAND your small business.
Para leer este boletín en español, haga clic aquí
April is Fair Housing Month and this year is the 54th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act, the landmark civil rights law signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11,1968, that made discrimination in housing transactions unlawful.?The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, and familial status. Click the link below to learn more about the Fair Housing Act, and read our newsletter for more information on our workshops being held this month in English and Spanish.
With swift, concerted and careful action, the ocean can be sustainably cultivated to provide food for future populations.
DT Law Partners is pleased to welcome Leticia Martinez to the firm’s team of experienced estate planning and business litigation attorneys.
Martinez has worked as an estate planning attorney for almost two decades. Her practice focuses on providing clients with a holistic approach to family and business planning, while simultaneously protecting client assets and creating lasting legacies. Her areas of expertise include estate planning, trust administration, conservatorships, probate litigation and civil litigation matters. She joins DT Law Partners as a senior associate attorney.
The County of Ventura invites the community to provide input on the County Seal redesign. A survey has been launched today for residents to select their preferred design and/or upload their own design at www.ventura.org/seal. The survey will be available until May 17, 2022. The Board will review final considerations at the May 24, 2022, Board of Supervisors meeting.
CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) will begin working to develop a new Native American and Indigenous Studies academic program thanks to a $250,000 check presented to the University by Congresswoman Julia Brownley recently.
The presentation ceremony took place Thursday, April 21 in the President’s Courtyard where about 20 campus and community members gathered to hear remarks from Brownley, President Richard Yao, Ph.D., Provost Mitch Avila, Ph.D., and Chumash elder Raudel Bañuelos, who holds an honorary Doctor of Letters from CSUCI.
Bañuelos began the ceremony with a traditional Chumash blessing, filling the courtyard with the smell of sage as he fanned the fragrant herb with an eagle feather and honored the east, west, north and south, all living beings, and the Chumash ancestors.
This morning, Congresswoman Julia Brownley presented the County of Ventura’s Harbor Director Michael Tripp with a check for $15 million for the bi-annual maintenance dredging of the Channel Islands Harbor. This critical funding will meet the dredging needs at the harbor, which is essential to keeping the harbor open for industries that drive our local economy, including fisheries and tourism. These funds will also help to replenish local beaches and address coastal erosion at the Naval Base.
U.S. COMMERCIAL SERVICE: FROM LOCAL TO GLOBAL: CELEBRATING DIVERSITY: SHOWCASING THE INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS OF ARAB AND MIDDLE EASTERN-OWNED AND LED BUSINESSES
April 27 @ 11:00 am
In celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month, join the U.S. Commercial Service for the third session of their “From Local to Global: Celebrating Diversity” event series, as we feature a dynamic panel of Arab and Middle Eastern American founders and leaders from Southern California based companies, who will share how they have successfully grown their businesses internationally. Learn about the opportunities to seek out, as well as the challenges to avoid as you launch or expand your international business. Receive information and resources that will help you chart your path to global sales and expansion success.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
After a dry winter, Ventura County is approaching an early fire season. That means it’s even more important for residents to clear brush from around their homes and businesses by June 1.
“Six of California’s largest and most devastating fires have burned since 2020. The threat of wildfires will not diminish, so it’s crucial we find ways to reduce risk and increase safety.” Says Ventura County Fire Chief Dustin Gardner.
The community will gather in person for the first time since 2019 to celebrate Earth Day. Community Environmental Council (CEC) is hosting the free one-day event, in and around the Arlington Theatre from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. An evening concert, a separate ticketed event, will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Earth Day 2022 will highlight the critical role CEC has played across the region for more than 50 years, shining a light on the system changes, policy implementation and individual action needed to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. Key to this is the Annual Climate Leadership Summit, which starts at 3 p.m. The Summit will feature climate actions that organizations and individuals are undertaking throughout the region, with an emphasis on nurturing strategies that leverage intergenerational connections. Eric Cardenas, CEO of LOACOM, will act as the program’s emcee and co-facilitate the Climate Leadership Summit with CEC CEO Sigrid Wright.
The community is encouraged to ride and bike to the event, as well as bring reusable water bottles as water stations will be provided.
Girl Scouts of California’s Central Coast’s board member and Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) senior public affairs manager Maria Ventura was honored today as “2022 Business Leader of the Year” by the Ventura County Leadership Academy (VCLA) for her years of championing the local Ventura County community through exceptional leadership and charitable service. She has the added distinction of being the first woman of color to receive this recognition and was honored at the organization’s Journey to Leadership Awards Luncheon today in Camarillo.
Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) will resume its very popular free Junior Firefighter Academy this summer for girls and boys ages 13 -16. VCFD will offer three, 5-day sessions taught by VCFD firefighters and feature rigorous hands-on activities, interactive learning and field trips.
The week-long sessions are a great first step toward the VCFD Explorer Program because participants will learn what it takes to be a fire firefighter and be introduced to other fire safety careers such as Paramedic, Fire Inspector, Fire Prevention Officer and Dispatch, just to name a few.
April may have been a “taxing” month for all of us, but the bright side of that is realizing the investment of those resources can produce good things, that are most important and critical to meeting our communities’ common concerns and needs. Such is the case for the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. It’s a tried and true system that, although not perfect nor simple, has continuously produced high quality permanently affordable housing to lower-income earning households all across the nation, including here on the Central Coast. Originating from the 1986 Reagan Tax Reform Act, it has had substantive bipartisan support since then, through numerous pendulum power swinging election cycles and shifts. Success has in part been attributed to the public-private partnership nature of the program, that provides affordable housing financing. It starts with a tax credit allocation made available to each state each year, based on their population at a per capita rate. For 2022 that rate is set at an allocation of $2.35 per person.
The Ventura County Fire Department announced the promotion of Chuck Scherrei to assistant chief in charge of operations today.
Scherrei, who was selected after a nationwide search, is an 18-year veteran of the department and worked his way through the ranks of firefighter, engineer, captain and battalion chief before receiving this promotion. Most recently, he served as the battalion chief in charge of the Training Division. Previously, he oversaw the Wildland Division after assignments in Battalion 4 serving eastern Ventura County, and in Simi Valley and Moorpark.
Regina Korossy, a licensed financial advisor with the financial services firm Edward Jones, hosted an open house this month for her new offices in Westlake Village.
The event offered a chance for the public to meet Korossy and her staff and to learn more about the services she offers including retirement savings planning, wealth management, estate and legacy planning, business retirement plans, portfolio reviews and help with financial management during and after divorce.
Korossy’s offices are located at 2625 Townsgate Road, Suite 110 (at the entrance closest to Hampshire Road), in Westlake Village.
A new NASA research campaign at three UCSB Natural Reserves links plant biodiversity and health with remote sensing technology.
Mary Maranville, Students for Eco Education in Agriculture (SEEAG) founder and CEO, was named as one of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women (CFW) 2022 service award honorees. Fourth District Santa Barbara Supervisor Bob Nelson nominated Maranville. The service awards were announced at the April 19 Board of Supervisors meeting.
Community Environmental Council’s
2022 Santa Barbara Earth Day Celebration
Saturday, April 23 at the historic Arlington Theatre
Green Car and E- Bike Show
Climate and Culture
Climate Leadership Summit
Earth Day Concert
and more
I will be speaking briefly at the Climate Leadership Summit be sure to stop by!
To check out the full event schedule visit:
https://sbearthday.org/schedule
On April 12, 2022, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control Board approved $2.3 million in emission reduction grants for Ventura County businesses. This year’s grants will help pay for new, lower-emission agricultural equipment to replace 50 older, higher-pollution diesel engines. The total investment in 2022 air quality projects, including the cost-share contributed by grant recipients, will be over $4.5 million. Since 1999, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District has awarded over $54 million to help businesses operating in Ventura County replace older equipment with cleaner, low-emission equipment.
The California Labor Market Information Division (LMID) released its March 2022 report on Friday, back on its regular schedule of the 3rd Friday of the month, this month again showing some strong gains for Ventura County, adding a net 3,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropping from 4.1% in February to 3.5% in March. While the unemployment rate continues to move in the right direction, it’s not so much on the creation of new jobs, rather it’s on a depressed labor force, still down 11,900 workers since just before the pandemic.
Housing Trust Fund Ventura County (Housing Trust Fund VC) announces two, $1 million lines of credit (LOC), one each from Community West Bank and Mission Bank. The funds will be used as part of Housing Trust Fund VC’s Everyone Deserves a Home revolving loan fund, a community impact note that provides flexible, below- market interest rate loans for the development of affordable housing in Ventura County. Three upcoming developments that will receive funding are a new pre-development loan for Fillmore Terrace being developed by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation (PSHHC), a GAP loan for Mesa Ojai being purchased by Mesa, and a construction loan to the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) for Westview II.
Musician and music researcher Alexandra Birch brings the Beethoven cycle to Santa Barbara.
SANTA BARBARA SCORE: WHY YOUR WEBSITE SHOULD BE A TOP MARKETING PRIORITY
April 20 @ 10:00 am
It’s important that businesses make their website a priority and the foundation of their digital marketing in order to achieve optimal success. With only having a few seconds to engage website visitors, your visuals and content need to be spot on. Join SCORE to learn the latest website best practices and techniques for making your website a more effective sales tool.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
The County of Ventura Board of Supervisors seeks community feedback to ensure the recruitment for the next County Executive Officer is a success. The County Executive Officer (CEO) executes, leads, and coordinates the management and administrative policies and directives of the Board of Supervisors.
PRiME Competition
Vote for the People’s Choice Award
On-demand between April 20 – April 26
Our PRiME Competition showcases student projects that support the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Each project required a written paper, SDGs-executive summary, video presentation, and Powerpoint/poster presentation for judges’ review.
Access Patrol Services (APS), a security guard company serving California and Arizona, provides bilingual Spanish-speaking security guards to businesses, events, shopping centers, medical facilities, schools and government entities.
“Security guards need to be able to communicate effectively. In many cases, that means talking with individuals in English or Spanish,” says Fahim Abid, APS security director. “We’ve found that our bilingual guards convey a high level of trust and those speaking primarily Spanish who need assistance are more comfortable discussing their issues to guards in their native tongue.”
Santa Barbara City College is pleased to announce that registration for summer 2022 is now open to everyone in the community. Whether looking to earn a certificate, an associate degree or transfer to a four-year university — or enroll in the School of Extended Learning for life-enhancement classes, career-skills training, a high school diploma or GED — SBCC is ready to help you achieve your goals.
Two six-week sessions are offered, starting May 16 and June 27.
For more than a decade, Cristy Candler wowed audiences as a professional dancer, Broadway star and fitness model, seamlessly moving from lead roles in popular musicals to television appearances to photo shoots in major magazines.
Through it all, Candler stayed grounded physically, mentally, and spiritually by embracing another set of passions: yoga, sound healing and energy work. She practiced these modalities herself, studied with some of the best yoga masters in New York City, and taught yoga to the Broadway community, at yoga studios and at major companies.
Interim Director of Admissions & Records and Dual Enrollment Angelica Contreras received this year’s Outstanding Administrator of the Year Award for her commitment to students and her ability to lead with compassion, professionalism and courage. Known for fostering cooperation and collaborations, she ensures that everyone involved is included and heard. “Leadership is who she is, in all she does,” said one of her colleagues.
United Way of Ventura County has officially launched its new Forward Home Program in partnership with the City of Oxnard, which assists City of Oxnard clients experiencing homelessness in successfully transitioning to stable housing.
UWVC provides a variety of services via the Forward Home Program, including collaborating with case managers as well as assisting clients in gathering and obtaining necessary documents, receiving credit counseling, applying for housing voucher programs, accessing additional community resources, and more.
The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) recently announced grant award recipients?of the Inclusive Innovation Hub (iHub2) program. This one-time, $250,000 grant will run for a 15 month period and will help accelerate regionally focused strategies to spur innovation and diversification across industry sectors and geographies while attracting entrepreneurs from underserved business communities.
The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) announced grant award recipients?of the Inclusive Innovation Hub (iHub2) program. This one-time, $250,000 grant will run for 15 months period and will help accelerate regionally focused strategies to spur innovation and diversification across industry sectors and geographies while attracting entrepreneurs from underserved business communities.
WEV is seeking to hire a full-time Bilingual Program Officer to support our Emprendedores Spanish language business training, coaching and micro-grant program. ?This role can be based in the Ventura or Santa Barbara office, with hybrid work opportunities. WEV (pronounced “weave”) is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating an equitable and just society through the economic empowerment of women. We are a purposeful, mission-driven organization with a passionate and engaged staff based in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, whose primary focus is on supporting women-owned businesses and entrepreneurship. For more information and to apply visit: www.wevonline.org/jobs/bilingual-program-officer/
It’s National Public Safety Telecommunications Week and we’re showing gratitude for dispatchers at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and Ventura County Fire Department! They are the calm voice on the other end of the line that provides critical support to the community, deputies, and first responders. Thank you for your commitment and dedication to our community!
LaunchPoint Electric Propulsion Solutions, Inc., an aerospace power generation and electric propulsion design company in Goleta, announced (on April 12) the commercialization of its patent-pending, hybrid electric power system for aircraft.
Drop by to check out our
student-led startups at the New Venture Fair,
and vote for your favorite teams!
Researchers find that state-level decarbonization policies have received a significant amount of bipartisan support.
A farmworker strike for the agriculture company Aquistapace Harvesting Inc. took place April 11 in Santa Maria, California with the support of non-profit organizations, Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project and CAUSE.
Workers at Aquistapace Harvesting Inc. are on strike to demand an increase in the payment of strawberry boxes as no increases have been seen in past years. With the increase in gasoline, housing and food. Collective workers are demanding the following in order to sustain themselves:
1. Increase in strawberry boxes to $3.50
2. Paid holidays / double when working
3. Working condition – Do not work during rains / pay double box price on rainy days
The Central Coast Climate Collaborative (4C) and the Santa Barbara County Regional Climate Collaborative are co-hosting a five-part webinar series to educate participants about carbon sequestration and carbon offsets. The series kicks off April 19, and will conclude on May 18.
In order to achieve carbon neutrality, governments, businesses, and communities will need to consider carbon sequestration and offsets as part of the solutions toolkit. Because there are a lot of unknowns and misunderstandings surrounding carbon removal, largely due to the complex and developing nature of the industry. This series aims to introduce potential stakeholders to carbon sequestration and offset markets and to facilitate dialogue, foster connections and projects, and address barriers.
VENTURA SCORE: GETTING STARTED WITH QUICKBOOKS ONLINE-HOW TO SET UP QUICKBOOKS FROM SCRATCH
April 12 @ 10:30 am
This live, interactive webinar session is designed to help you understand the features, functions and benefits of QuickBooks Online for small business owners as well as assist you in implementing accounting best practices to manage your business finance. This webinar will concentrate on steps to properly record payroll transactions that are administered by third party companies like ADP and Paychex. Juliana Ramirez from JR Bookkeeping will live answer your questions related to the subject matter including live demonstrations.
The Economic Development Collaborative is partnering with the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, the California Academy for Economic Development, and Edison International to promote the statewide Outsmart Disaster campaign which equips businesses with the tools and resources they need to be prepared for disaster.
Complimentary business resiliency resources and trainings provided by the State of California by California’s Business Consumer Services and Housing Agency with The California Academy for Economic Development and supported by Edison International.
Approximately 150 people attended the 8thannual Bravo Awards hosted by the National Association of Women Business Owners, Santa Barbara Chapter (NAWBO-SB). NAWBO Santa Barbara recognized women business owners and community leaders in the Santa Barbara area who have demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurship, leadership and innovation.
Accomplished leaders in their industries, dozens of women were nominated by NAWBO-SB members and the Santa Barbara community. The eight winners were celebrated this month at the Hilton Garden Inn Santa Barbara/Goleta.
Kaiser Permanente’s commitment to equity supports Latino-owned businesses in recovering from the pandemic.
Ventura County is challenging residents living in Ventura County unincorporated areas to work together to clean up their communities by disposing/recycling household materials. These events are provided on behalf of the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, Ventura County Public Works Agency, Harrison Industries, and Waste Management.
Residents currently subscribed to trash, recycling, and green waste service through a County contract collector will receive a notice in the mail one (1) month prior to each event. All events will have minimum contact and will be drive-through. There will be assistance with vehicle unloading and all County Covid-19 guidelines will be followed.
Arts & Lectures premieres its commission from Jennifer Koh and Davóne Tines, an original multimedia performance.
A grateful THANK YOU for supporting the School of Management yesterday on Cares Day!
Our entire community of alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends came together to help us Reach for the Stars and meet both of our giving challenges to unlock an extra $20,000, thanks to Jeffrey ’91 and Lia Brouelette and Herbalife! We received a total of 166 gifts for a total of $62,931 to support our future business leaders of tomorrow.
If you were tied up yesterday and weren’t able to give, there is still time. Choose your passion and consider a contribution to one of our four funds:
Covered California Executive Director Jessica Altman hailed (April 5) executive actions from President Biden’s administration, which would expand access to coverage for American families by fixing the “family glitch” and directing federal agencies to continue working to expand affordable, quality health care coverage:
“In California, we are thrilled to see the Biden administration continue to strengthen and expand upon the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, bringing high-quality and more affordable health care coverage to millions of Americans.
Help us Reach for the Stars, today, on Cal Lutheran Cares Day! As an important member of our School of Management (SOM) Community, we’d love your support today so we can continue to provide educational opportunities for the next generation of business leaders.
We are raising funds for four different causes, and you can choose what you are most passionate about. This year, the School of Management’s goal is to double our donors.
