My heart was broken to hear of the death of one of our local youth as the result of a train strike last week. This is a horrifying accident, and as a parent, it deeply pains me to imagine the grief that this young man’s loved ones are going through right now.
The County Behavioral Wellness team is offering resources and supportfor anyone who is affected by this tragedy. The Community Wellness Team can be reached at 805-364-2750.
This week the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to adopt the 2024-2025 County Budget. Due to rising costs and lingering State budget challenges, we took a tough approach this year to limit new expenditures. Despite that, this budget contains a remarkable trend against borrowing from our future. That means continuing to fund our roads to maintain the quality index, continuing homelessness reduction programs, and investing in technology and environmental preservation initiatives to move us closer to meeting climate change goals. Making progress on all of these things will take more than just a couple years of work; they require sustained efforts. Check out the video above to see some of the highlights of the Budget.
This week, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and local fire jurisdictions announced the beginning of the 2024 High Fire Season for all areas of Santa Barbara County.
This is a great reminder of steps you can take to prepare for wildfires:
Maintain Vegetation Clearance: Individuals are advised to maintain proper vegetation clearance around structures to minimize fire risks.
Review and become acquainted with the “Ready! Set! Go!” wildfire action plan, which outlines crucial steps for preparedness and response in the event of a wildfire. For more details, please visit www.sbcfire.com.
Wildfire smoke and ash contain very small particles called particulate matter, which harm the lungs and heart. The best protection against wildfire smoke is to stay indoors as much as possible, ideally in a well-sealed “clean air room” with an air purifier. The Air Pollution Control District (APCD) provides instructions to create a “clean air room” on their website. APCD’s website also provides countywide hourly air quality conditions. People are also encouraged to sign up for Air Quality Alerts issued during wildfires.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since our community was struck by a tragic mass killing in Isla Vista. This is a time to remember those we lost: George Chen, Chengyuan “James” Hong, Weihan “David” Wang, Katherine Breann Cooper, Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, and Veronika Elizabeth Weiss. Yesterday, the community gathered together once more as we did after that fateful night in their memory. For the families of the six who were killed, the residents of IV, and the emergency personnel first on the scene, this was a traumatic and unimaginable experience.
Last week, the Board of Supervisors took a unanimous 5-0 vote to adopt re-zones as the last step to having our Housing Element Update certified by the State. I believe this plan strikes a balance between the State mandates, the County’s legal responsibilities, and the need to have more housing, to reduce traffic commute trips, and to protect our environment.
The final re-zone site list includes District 1 sites in Cuyama, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, and the Eastern Goleta Valley (in addition to pending projects in Montecito and Toro Canyon).
By re-zoning certain “Builder’s Remedy” sites in the Carpinteria Valley and Eastern Goleta Valley (projects that would have moved forward regardless without our ability to the deny them), we secured traffic mitigations, and a higher percentage of affordable housing.
Recently my family and I had the chance to furnish one of the 80 new units at La Posada, the newest temporary shelter project at the former County Juvenile Hall. This project is just the latest in our efforts to help those experiencing homelessness get off the streets and into housing.
At the Board of Supervisors meeting last week, we got good news and bad news. The good news is, through our outreach and housing efforts, we ended homelessness for 1,400 people in our County last year. The bad news is, the overall rate of homelessness increased last year, with the number of people reporting it was their first time experiencing homelessness reaching an all-time high. While we are making good progress at bringing more shelter units online, the heartbreaking fact is that more and more people are newly falling into homelessness each year.
This is why our efforts to create more housing opportunities are so important. In communities with lower housing costs, things like a job loss, a divorce, or a medical episode are terrible things – but only in communities like ours, where housing is so scarce and costs are so high, do these things so often lead to homelessness.
The Montecito Fire Department and Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management will conduct a test of the County of Santa Barbara’s #ReadySBCAlerts emergency notification system across
the Montecito Fire District on July 21, 2022 at 11 a.m.
Click here to check if you live in the Montecito Fire District
The purpose of the test is to update contact information for all Montecito residents and verify that opted-in community members receive ReadySBC Alerts without issue.
In order to receive the test alert, YOU MUST REGISTER at ReadySBC.org.
Details about the July 21 test of ReadySBC Alerts are here https://bit.ly/3OTgyXB
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the events of last Jan 6th shows us how precious our system of government is, and how we could lose it. My best wishes for you this 4th of July is to celebrate our nation’s birth, but also to renew our determination to ensure that our republic is not a momentary blip in history.
Happy 4th!!!
There are many important races in today’s California Primary Election that need your vote to ensure a good candidate moves on to November but also critical local County races that will be decided TODAY!
We have statewide offices at the top of the ballot, including Governor Gavin Newsom, who successfully defeated a recall attempt last year but needs your vote again today to stay in office. Additionally, my former colleague and friend, appointed Attorney General Rob Bonta is facing tough opponents from the right-wing and critically needs your support to stay in office. Lastly, you will need to vote for Senator Alex Padilla twice – once to move on to November for the new Senate term starting next year and a second time to keep him in the seat through the end of this year. That second vote is a nuanced one and critical to ensure we don’t have a Republican take over that seat for the rest of the year, altering the makeup of the Senate.
In the wake of such recent tragedies, Supervisor Gregg Hart and I have co-sponsored a resolution for Wear Orange 2022. We will be presenting the resolution to Moms Demand Action at a press conference in honor of recent tragedies and we will be honoring survivors. Details below.
Tuesday, May 31 · 10 am
On the Front Steps of the Santa Barbara
County Administration Building
105 E. Anapamu Street
This week in Uvalde, Texas, a gunman shot and killed 19 children and one educator at an elementary school. In the United States, going to school has become more deadly than serving in the active military. Here, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens.
Not drownings. Not car accidents. Guns.
On Tuesday, May 31 at 10 am, volunteers with the Santa Barbara Chapter of Moms Demand Action will gather at the front steps of the County Administration Building to accept the resolution. Joining us will be a spokesperson from Congressman Salud Carbajal’s office and Senator Monique Limon’s office. Press and the public are welcome to join us as we honor the lives of those senselessly taken from us, and offer data-driven solutions for preventing further tragedies from occurring.
ABOUT WEAR ORANGE Wear Orange began on June 2, 2015 – what would have been Hadiya Pendleton’s 18th birthday. Her friends honored her by wearing orange after she was shot and killed. Today, Wear Orange honors Hadiya and the more than 100 Americans shot and killed every day.
Learn more at https://wearorange.org/
Bring friends and family to for a morning of community improvement and beautification. Activities to include litter clean-up, graffiti removal, and reporting illegal dumping and abandoned shopping carts for pick-up.
All equipment provided (including gloves).
Santa Barbara County has our first confirmed case of COVID-19 (“Coronavirus”) in North County. The individual is being quarantined in their home. The case is believed to be from community transmission. We have been made aware of the case due…
Greetings! , Our County Office of Emergency Management has issued a weather advisory for FRIDAY night through SATURDAY morning. A storm is coming in that is expected to be exceed thresholds to require evacuation. This means that we are in the…
