The council voted 6-1 to send a draft to the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Ocean and Nourishment(BEACON) organization as a model ordinance for other cities to consider.
The ordinance committee drafted a ban similar to one passed by Los Angeles County which bans plastic bags and imposes a 10-cent fee on paper bags. Exceptions are made for produce, take-out restaurants, and certain low-income individuals would be exempt from the fee.
Once implemented, stores with 10,000 square feet or more would have six months to clear out their plastic bag inventory. Smaller stores would be given a year.
Council member Frank Hotchkiss cast the lone dissenting vote. Hotchkiss said he wished he could say the ban would save the world, but felt it would just conserve a few plastic bags. He recognized it would probably move forward but felt opponents of the ban should feel that the council wasn’t oblivious of their concerns.
“I’ll probably be voting against this just philosophically so that people out there who I know are against this know somebody at least is listening on the city council,” Hotchkiss said.
The city used the Los Angeles ban as it survived a court challenge, a judge ruling that the 10-cent fee, which goes to the businesses for education purposes did not constitute a tax. Some bans have failed in court due to a lack of exemptions for restaurants, failure to pursue an Environmental Impact Report, or implementing a tax without taking it to the voters.
The neighboring City of Carpinteria is facing a lawsuit from a ban it enacted earlier in the year.
To save costs on an Environmental Impact Report, the city is sending the draft to BEACON organization to coordinate with other jurisdictions. Brian Brennan, director of BEACON, said the organization would start its hearings in September and hopefully get the cities together in the summer.
Brennan estimated that an EIR would cost between $55,000-$75,000 if the city paid for it on its own. By going through BEACON, Santa Barbara could potentially split the cost amongst 10 different cities. Brennan added that the organization is also looking into getting third party funding as well.
The ban has been an ongoing issue within the city with interest waxing and waning. Various environmental groups had been pushing the “Where’s Your Bag?” campaign as part of an educational outreach effort. Momentum for an actual ordinance started in 2010 but dropped after word that the state may consider such a ban.
When that bill died in the legislature, environmental groups began another push for a ban, saying that education alone hadn’t been enough. But that failed to pass a conservative leaning city council.
But after last November’s election shifted the council makeup, it voted to pursue an ordinance.
While well-received by, some groups encouraged further modifications, such as eliminating requirements on what the 10-cent fees can be spent on and restrictions on reusable bag giveaways to prevent larger chains from pushing out smaller shops by giving away more bags.
City Attorney Steve Wiley advised against further modifications. Wiley said that drifting too far from language that’s already been upheld in court could invite another lawsuit.
“When a court decision has validated a draft ordinance we try to stick very closely to that draft,” Wiley said.
Mayor Helene Schneider acknowledged the work of staff and the ordinance committee for making a draft that could work on an entire regional scale and at minimal cost to the city.
“The cost savings just make so much sense,” Schneider said.
Council member Grant House said the ordinance is a big step forward for protecting the environment. He felt that it allowed whole communities along to coast the ability to help clean up the planet.
“This is not just solving one problem, this is a bigger opportunity,” House said.
Council member Dale Francisco had opposed a ban in the past and still felt the council had other priorities, but believed this is the best way for the city to proceed. He had said a ban should be undertaken on a state level, but given the unlikelihood of the legislature taking action, making this a regional effort would make things easier on the city.
“I’m not 100 percent on board with the importance of passing this particular ordinance,” Francisco said. “But I am very much in agreement that it’s worthwhile working with other jurisdictions.”
Council member Randy Rowse felt outreach would have been the better option, but recognized the ban would go through and like Francisco, thought this would be the best way to go about it.
“I am a bigger fan of moving people through education rather than legislation,” Rowse said.
CAPTION:
Students from the 6th-grade at Washington Elementary School attended Tuesday City Council meeting on plastic bags. Photo Victor Maccharoli/Daily Sound
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Jayne Brechwald, co-chair of the Anti-Tobacco coalition, told the council the proposition would raise $600 million a year for cancer research, law enforcement, and smoking prevention and education. She said it would be critical in reducing the amount of young children that take up smoking.
“Over the last decade big tobacco spent 10 times more on marketing their products in California than the state spent on tobacco education and prevention,” Brechwald said.
Brechwald also assured council members that allegations that the funds would be spent out of state were false.
The council voted 4-3, split between the conservative and liberal blocs.
Council members Dale Francisco, along with Randy Rowse and Frank Hotchkiss, voted against taking a stand. Rowse and Francisco both said the proposition sounded good, but believed it isn’t the city’s place to take a stand on this particular issue given that it has no direct impacts on Santa Barbara itself.
“I worry about the city council taking positions on ballot initiatives that are not directly related to city operations,” Francisco said.
Council member Cathy Murillo, after confirming that there’d been precedent for the council taking stands on propositions, disagreed. She argued that the council should raise awareness of political issues and if the majority of the council felt Prop 29 had merit, then the council should endorse it.
“We can’t pretend that we are not political animals,” Murillo said.
Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider framed it as a budget issue for the city, saying that smoking took up already strained public health resources that could be better spent.
“When the county has to spend more money on public health issues that can be prevented, that’s less money that can go towards other things that relate to city and county health issues,” Schneider said.
]]>The gift will be distributed over a 10-year-period, helping to ensure that funding will continue for an extended amount of time.
“We are so pleased to be able to make such a gift to the Museum’s Education Department,” said Nancy Schlosser. “We feel the programs that SBMA provides to the community are an invaluable resource. We were inspired by others who have been generous, and we hope this act will continue to encourage others to ensure the Museum’s work of educational outreach and programming continues for generations to come.”
Patsy Hicks the museum’s director of education added, “Nancy has been an exemplary, dynamic, and passionate supporter of the Museum’s education programs, most recently as Chair of the Education Committee. Her long time enthusiasm for art and her own experience as a docent have contributed to her active involvement in SBMA’s education programs and events on a hands-on level.
“Nancy continues to be one of our greatest ambassadors― in the galleries with students, following a docent tour, attending Atelier, films, and lectures. This extremely generous gift from the Schlosser Family Trust is the capstone to her long-term support and will ensure that the programs she has championed for families remain secure.”
Schlosser, a member of SBMA’s Legacy Society, established a Charitable Lead Trust with distributions to be made on an annual basis for 10 years for $1.1 million. The emphasis of the support from the Schlosser Family Trust will be to help fund the Museum’s family programming, most of which are free to the community, including Studio Sundays on the Front Steps, family materials, and activities in the Family Resource Center.
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Steve Cushman, the man who popularized the slogan “business is great in Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara is great for business,” and longtime president of the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce, announced on Tuesday that he will retire at the end of June.
Cushman plans to start a business development and fundraising company and pursue his interests, including art, poetry and travel.
Cushman has served as the face of the business community for the last three decades. His jolly personality, advocacy for small businesses and passion for Santa Barbara helped keep him at the center of Santa Barbara social and business circles.
He was heavily involved in local politics, frequently speaking out at City Council meetings on behalf of business interests. He ran for mayor of Santa Barbara in 2009.
In his 29 years as chamber president, Cushman served on more than 100 non-profit boards and commissions. He has raised in excess of $60 million for local projects and has produced more than 1,000 events, according to a news release.
Cushman said in a news release that his most memorable Chamber experience was the planning and construction of Kids World Playground in Alameda Park in 1994. Kids World is an artistic, unique, 10,000 square foot, community built playground. Cushman convinced the Chamber to take on the project.
In 2011, Cushman received the Pacific Coast Business Times award for Small Business Advocate of the Year. This month Cushman will receive the award for Community Service from the United Way. His biography, 54 Hard Ones, was published by Boehm Biographies and is available in local bookstores. His sculpture can be seen at the Sullivan Goss Gallery and in local businesses throughout town.
“We thank Steve for his many years of commitment and service to the Santa Barbara business community and wish him happiness on this next chapter in his adventure,” said Chamber Chairman Janet Garufis. “ We will miss his creativity, leadership, and dedication.”
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But, how do you trust in god? You can’t have a two way conversation with god. God never tells you what it wants from you. Talking to god is like talking to a wall. If any of us went around telling folks that the wall talked back, we’d probably end up on a psychiatric couch. But, we have had presidents and would-be presidents who have assured us that god has answered them and that they are obeying god’s will. Didn’t President George W. Bush tell us he prayed for god’s guidance before deciding to invade Iraq? Wonder if he really heard god say “go for it.”
Furthermore, Judeo-Christian values are not peculiar to or dependent upon those religions. The essential principles of loving your fellow humans and treating them as you would like to be treated precede and are not exclusive to any one religion. These principles have existed from the dawn of mankind. Morality is not dependent on fear of divine retribution or promise of divine favor. Romney and his fellow fearful faithful can relax, civilization won’t collapse without religion, and no one is going to get an extra harp in heaven for discriminating against homosexuals, opposing birth control, refuting evolution, or prohibiting stem cell research.
One of the dangerous problems of having a persistently mute god is that the faithful have to rely on ancient written instructions—scripture. We have to trust that god dictated its will to devoted, unerring stenographers and that every translation of the resulting work was perfectly faithful to the original. Judging from the many, often adversely contrary, interpretations of the same scriptures by myriad opposing sects, the faithful are having a hard time agreeing on what god said, wants, or means. If only god would come to us, grab us by the shoulders, look us in the eye, and say, “I’m god, listen to me” we could clear up all this confusion quicker than boiled asparagus.
From the dawn of human civilization, kings and politicians have adroitly employed religion to rule the masses. The King James Bible to which so many of today’s Christians adhere was a translation into English commissioned by that king to be purposely interpreted to support divine rule by monarchs and to insist that it was god’s will that people be obedient subjects to both divine and earthly authority. A choice of a word here, a twist of a phrase there, and, voila, you have a conveniently powerful document with which to lord over the benighted multitudes.
What Romney and the other smugly self-certain believers in theological invention ignore is that while this nation was founded by many people of various Christian faiths it was wisely and clearly structured to be governed without deference or reference to any religion. Among its essential founding principles were freedom of religion and freedom from religion which means absolute separation of church and state—Rick Santorum’s nausea not with standing.
When the human mind unquestioningly accepts religious dogma it must surrender some degree of logic, objectivity, and impartial justice. This is not conducive to good public policy, which is clearly the case with the issue of same-sex marriage where an entire class of Americans is being discriminated against.
The argument against same-sex marriage made by Romney and many other people of faith is that same-sex marriage, and, indeed, homosexuality are contrary to god’s will and, therefore, those who support it are being disobedient to god. Yet, the Bible indicates that god condoned polygamy. Many of god’s favorite patriarchs had multiple wives. So, if Christians oppose polygamy are they being insubordinate to divine will?
Ostensible non-religious arguments that homosexuality will destroy civilization are not supported by any objective analysis, credible evidence, or logic. With a mushrooming population of over 6 billion people choking the planet in effluvia, the fear that homosexuality threatens human procreation and the survival of the species is absurd. Justifying discrimination against homosexuality all comes down to it being an affront to god’s will, which is often a convenient sublimation for personal revulsion.
God is an idea, not a fact, and ultimately a creation of man’s fear of mortality. God’s will is whatever men say it is. How can you, therefore, trust in god without trusting in man? Voting someone into office simply because they claim to share your religious beliefs doesn’t necessarily give you the best leaders—that should be pretty apparent by now.
Reach Randy Alcorn at randyalcorn@cox.net
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City officials have long wanted to make major changes to the road to improve safety, but have been handcuffed because the highway belongs to the state. Known as Highway 225, the road consists of about 4.6 miles of roadway from the intersection of Castillo and Montecito Streets, west along Cliff Drive, then north along Las Positas Road to where it intersects with Highway 101.
Cliff Drive is the main street for Mesa residents, who have pressured the city for years to improve pedestrian pathways and make it safer for people and cars.
“This area needs and deserves our attention right now,” said councilman Grant House.
Francisco and Hotchkiss agree that the city should one day pursue ownership of the street, but they disagree with moving in that direction right now. They would like to know specifically now how much money it would cost to make the pedestrian and traffic improvements before pursuing control of the street.
With the city facing budget challenges, and the recent loss of millions of dollars in redevelopment agency funds, Francisco said pursuing control of the road without the money to make repairs is a foolish financial move.
“We want local control, but local control and a deed aren’t the same thing,” Francisco said. “This should not be a state highway. It should be a residential arterial. My only concern is how much will it cost?”
The vote was 5-2, with Hotchkiss and Francisco in opposition. The decision means the city will move forward with relinquishment of the road from the state in parallel with preparation of a work plan.
City planners said the work plan is expected to take six to nine months and will cost between $15,000 and $30,000. Planners do not intend to conduct public outreach during this period in order to speed up the process. Later, when the relinquishment process moves deeper in the process, the city will seek public input.
Caltrans has agreed to give the city $819,000 for street and drainage repairs if the relinquishment of the road goes forward.
The city has not identified the amount of money it would cost to make all the changes once the road falls under its control. What officials do know is that it would cost the city about $367,000 per year just for maintenance to keep the highway as it is now. As a state highway, Caltrans currently pays those costs.
The city would also pay a one-time expense for a Traffic Signal Controller Conversion of $112,300.
The city already has a backlog of unfunded improvement projects totaling $11.5 million in the city’s six year capital improvement projects category of unfunded projects.
Francisco said it just doesn’t make sense to take over this road now – without the money to make immediate corrections.
“If we’re not going to be able to make any changes to Cliff Drive for five years, why take it over now,” Francisco said. “That makes no sense to me.”
Mayor Helene Schneider said it made sense to her.
“We need to make a decision,” she said. “Punting this down the road doesn’t help anybody. By moving forward here we are opening up opportunities we never thought of before.”
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More than 10,000 people, according to its web site, looked at photos of the eclipse uploaded by community members.
This image as of Monday afternoon had the most views – 1,071. More than a dozen people or groups posted their photos of the annular eclipse, which blocks out most of the sun, but leaves a so-called “ring of fire.”
The haunting image shot from Old San Marcos Road found here received nearly 600 views within just two hours after it was posted on Monday afternoon about 12:16, and sparked controversy in the comments section about how real of a photo it was.
The Los Angeles Times has some awesome professional news photos from around the world of the eclipse, especially this one from the Griffith Observatory. The crowd donned special glasses to view the eclipse safely and one man used a welder’s mask to glimpse the eclipse.
Santa Barbara View on Monday was gearing up for Tuesday’s Santa Barbara City Council meeting on the possible ban of single-use plastic bags handed out at some stores in Santa Barbara. The issue has roused up environmentalists, who have been pressuring the council for more than a year to ban or restrict the use of plastic bags in Santa Barbara.
The ordinance, according to a city staff report, would also require that a 10 cent per bag charge be collected for paper bags of any size by stores that are 10,000 square feet or larger and which sell a line of dry grocery or canned goods or non-food items and some perishable food, or that has a pharmacy.
The proposed ordinance would not regulate bags used by restaurants, fast food establishments, or other retailers that sell no food items, such as department and clothing stores, according to the report. It also would not prevent stores from providing free bags, whether reusable or paper, to those persons receiving assistance under the State “Women, Infants, and Children” (“WIC”) Program or similar food assistance programs.
The issue of plastic bags typically causes a stir at City Hall. Councilman Frank Hotchkiss has been the most skeptical of a need for a plastic ban, and has debated whether there’s even a problem with the bags and litter. As quoted in The Daily Sound about a year ago, Hotchkiss said this during a public meeting:
“Just look around,” said Hotchkiss, “Where is all this? It’s not there. I went swimming in the ocean the other day and all I saw was kelp.”
Santa Barbara View also continued its focus on Santa Barbara’s homeless problem. The editor of the site posted a solicitation by Casa Esperanza seeking $300,000 by June 31 (sic), 2012, “in order to keep these life-saving services available to those in need within our community.
“We are faced with budget shortfalls that could require us to reduce critical services,” the glossy says.
Santa Barbara View calls Casa Esperanza a “homeless support group,” and notes that Rev. Mark Asman and Lady Leslie Ridley Tree signed the letter. Asman is a reverend at Trinity Episcopal Church, which recently ended its program that allowed homeless to sleep outside the church at night.
One of the 26 commenters on the site had these words:
“When Leslie Ridley-Tree opens her own Montecito estate lawns like Trinity Episcopal Church recently opened its lawns to house vagrants, then she might have a moral voice to ask others to solve this very problem her enabling has created for the rest of us.”
Ridley Tree has donated millions of dollars over the years to the homeless and the poor.
Finally, Noozhawk debuted an interesting business column called “BizHawk” on Monday, written by Alex Kacik, where he promises to “give you a weekly breakdown of the local buzz.”
Packaged with a ton of web links, the breezy, well-written column was nicely launched, including stories about The French Press, Thrasher Books and Santa Barbara Rock Gym.
And don’t forget The Restaurant Guy John Dickson, mastermind behind a popular website, who regularly breaks restaurant and business news in his weekly column, which also appears in the print edition of Tuesday’s The Daily Sound.
We’ve received great response from our Blog Watch column. Keep it coming! What do you think of these blogs and information web sites? Let us know, and let us know what other local blogs you read and why you like them. Email letters@thedailysound.com.
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“The party is very special to me,” Castellanos said. “It is not only the kick off to the Fiesta season, but it is one of the most traditional events that we have. This is truer than ever this year.”
Castellanos made special mention of recently deceased Santa Barbara Historical Museum Executive Director David Bisol, who had been pleased to know the event would take place in the romantic museum courtyard where splashing fountains,geranium pots and cobblestone veranda evoke early Spanish California.
“He was not only a friend, he was very excited that Fiesta was once again going to have a function on the museum grounds,” said Castellanos, who worked closely with the Museum staff to develop his choices for 2012’s commemorative Fiesta pin and poster. Many locals will recognize his choices from past Fiesta celebrations, but perhaps only if they’ve been in town as long the Castellanos. Their family compound in downtown Santa Barbara dates back to the 1800s, he said.
This year’s poster - first used in 1953 by then El Presidente Charles Storke - was used off and on into the 1970s.Considered the most enduring image of Fiesta, the “dancing couple” poster features local performing legends José Manero and Kay Chapman.
“The pin and poster are not new this year, per se, but are more about bringing things back,” said Castellanos. “The poster that I am using is the one that I remember growing up as the official poster of Old Spanish Days. I thought it would be nice to bring back that tradition.”
For the 2012 pin, Castellanos chose to use the crest of the Old Spanish Days organization, which he and other directors consider a veritable family, he said.
“Given my theme of ‘Viva la Familia’ (Long live the family)I wanted to recognize that all families have a family crest,” he said. “I feel it ties us all together as one family in celebration.”
The pin features images of the Santa Barbara Mission, horse-riding, the ocean and figures representing both the Native American and Spanish cultures in Santa Barbara.
“It really brings together all that we are about in Santa Barbara,” Castellanos said.
The first La Primavera event dates back to the Spring of 1919, when Santa Barbarans came together to arrange a spring carnival as a tribute to the early Spanish and pioneer days of California and Santa Barbara.
]]>The Santa Barbara Police Department on Friday arrested Adan Perez, 46, on suspicion of committing a home invasion robbery on the 1100 block of East Gutierrez Street.
Police said that Perez on Thursday barged into the room of a 54-year-old man who was lying on his bed and grabbed a cell phone. He demanded $70 for the return of the phone. The victim refused to give Perez the money, but he was unable to get his phone back because he was much smaller than the suspect, authorities said.
When the victim’s wife arrived, Perez then left, stealing the victim’s phone, police said.
The victim told police that he believed that the man who stole his phone was named Adan and was a boyfriend of one of his acquaintances.
Police ran a search of its database system and pulled photos of a man named Adan Perez, who matched descriptions of the man who stole the phone. The victim and a witness eventually identified the suspect by spotting him in the photos.
Police then arrested Perez sitting on the steps of a business on the 700 block of East Yanonali street.
He was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of robbery and burglary, with $100,000 bail.
He was booked on a no-bail probation detainer. He is currently on parole.
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