Action Alerts

SBCAN Roundtables: South is new location, North is cancelled

Posted by · September 11, 2019 1:57 PM

Here's an update on SBCAN September Roundtable Meetings:

North County Roundtable

We have decided to cancel this Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting due to conflicting events. We hope you will join us Oct. 10.

South County Roundtable

This Friday's meeting will focus on Community Choice Energy and we are lucky to have three expert presenters on the topic: Michael Chiacos of CEC who has been at the fore of advocacy for years now, and the chief staff members on the topic from the County and the City of Santa Barbara: Ashley Watkins Co-Division Chief for Sustainablity with the County of Santa Barbara's Department of Community Services, and Alelia Parenteau, Energy Program Supervisor with the City of Santa Barbara.

We are excited that the County and most of the cities are moving ahead with Community Choice Energy and look forward to a robust discussion about its implementation in our county.

We hope you will join us.

SBCAN South County Roundtable
Friday, Sept. 13, 2019
Noon to 1:30 p.m.

NOTE NEW LOCATION
Santa Barbara Public Library
40 E. Anapamu St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Note: The Santa Barbara Library does not advocate or endorse the viewpoints of the meetings or meeting room users.

AGENDA
(Times are approximate. Feel free to bring your lunch.)

Call to Order by Chair and SBCAN Co-President Dick Flacks. Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
Community Choice Energy. Alelia Parenteau, City of Santa Barbara; Ashley Watkins, County of Santa Barbara; and Michael Chiacos, CEC will all be joining us for this month’s featured topic. (60 min.)
Immigration Issues. Jacqueline Inda. (10 min.)
Brief updates from participants. (2 to 5 min. each)
Open discussion about other items of interest. All (5 min.)
Our next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2019.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

Support Grocery Workers Wed., Aug. 28 in Goleta!

Posted by · August 27, 2019 10:05 PM

Here is an important update from SBCAN's South County Co-President:

Dear Friends:

Right now 60,000 grocery workers at Ralphs and Vons/Albertsons from Mammoth to the Mexican Border are without a contract. The struggle is very real as workers fight for better wages, access to hours, protection of benefits, and community-supported stores.

Two months ago, workers voted to authorize negotiators to call a strike if necessary.

Our friends at United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770 say, “Thanks so much for your support on our grocery campaign! We're in the final stretch with final bargaining happening next week. We've been leafleting customers the past week letting them know of the impending strike, and how to stay informed. Over 1,000 members have participated so far.

“Since we're in the last few days, we really need the community's help to get us to the finish line. Tomorrow (August 28, 2019) we'll be in Goleta from 3-5pm with members.”

SBCAN encourages its members to join UFCW to keep the momentum going and let the members know that the broader community stands with them. Please come to Ralph's at 5170 Hollister Ave., Goleta, CA 93117 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. tomorrow to show your support.

Thanks for your support.

Sincerely,

Dick Flacks
SBCAN Co-President

Urge City of Santa Maria to implement community choice energy

Posted by · August 19, 2019 3:32 PM

We encourage you to attend the City of Santa Maria's Council meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, Aug. 20 when the council will decide whether to join Monterey Bay Community Power Authority. The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. at 110 E. Cook St. The item is number 4B.

Here's the link to the agenda.

Here's the link to the agenda item.

There is some opposition to community choice energy, although city staff supports it, citing many good reasons to join MBCPA including a carbon-free electrical energy portfolio, rebates that result in rates 3 to 5 percent lower than PG&E’s, electric-vehicle incentive programs and encouragement of local clean energy generation.

The staff report estimates Santa Maria residents will save $12.5 million in electric costs from 2021 through 2025.

Santa Barbara County Action Network supports the proposal. SBCANExecutive Director wrote an editorial that was published in the Santa Maria Times on Aug. 16, 2019 urging adoption of the proposal. See that editorial here.

The County of Santa Barbara and City of Guadalupe recently signed up with MBCPA. We hope you will join us in urging the City of Santa Maria to do the same.

SBCAN Roundtables cancelled this week. NC residents encouraged to attend Congressman's Town Hall

Posted by · August 07, 2019 2:28 PM

Here's an update on SBCAN August Roundtable Meetings:

North County Roundtable

We have decided to cancel this Thursday's regularly scheduled meeting and to instead encourage participation in Congressman Carbajal's Townhall in Santa Maria. Here is the information we received from his District Representative, Erica Reyes. We hope to see you there.

Good Afternoon,

On Thursday, August 8, 2019 from 5:30pm – 7:00pm Congressman Salud Carbajal will be hosting a Congressional Townhall at the Santa Maria Veterans Memorial Building, 313 W Tunnell St., Santa Maria, CA 93458.

This is an opportunity for all constituents to get an update on what is happening at the United States Capital and to have questions answered by the Congressman directly.

The townhall will include simultaneous Spanish translation, as well as ASL interpretation. The proceedings will be available on Facebook live and questions can be asked from both the in-person and virtual audience.

We would like to invite your organization and community to attend and participate in the Congressman’s first townhall event in Santa Maria this year. To attend in-person, please reserve your seat on the Eventbrite page: https://santamariatownhall.eventbrite.com.

The Facebook event page can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/2373965419493290/?active_tab=discussion.

The Facebook Live event will be available on the Congressman Salud Carbajal Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/repsaludcarbajal/?eid=ARAs9X6zv0OEb5xFTJ2knVJ_U9wNRkU0fAqZMDN11o4lNV_LJ0unq0HcdyKYVQszJIH3tNWLgMJIi0pF.

This is an ADA accessible event, and if any accommodations are needed, please contact District Representative Erica Reyes by emailing erica.reyes@mail.house.gov, calling (805) 546-8348, or replying directly to this email.

South County Roundtable

We have been trying to put together an agenda focused on Community Choice Energy, with information about the Monterey Bay Community Power authority, which the County, Carpinteria, Goleta, and Guadalupe have decided to join, and about the separate City of Santa Barbara Program. Key people to lead the discussion are not available for meetings either August 9 or 16, so we have decided to cancel this month's meeting.

Our next scheduled meeting is September 13.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Thank you,

Ken Hough
SBCAN Executive Director
ken@sbcan.org
805.563.0463
http://www.sbcan.org/

Das Williams at SC Roundtable on Friday

Posted by · July 16, 2019 10:55 PM

SBCAN South County Roundtable

Friday, July 19, 2019, Noon to 1:30

AT A NEW (TEMPORARY) LOCATION

The Fund for Santa Barbara, 26 W. Anapamu St., Suite 110

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

AGENDA

(times are approximate, and feel free to bring your lunch)

Call to Order by Chair and SBCAN Co-President Dick Flacks.Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
Conversation with Das Williams, District 1 Supervisor, Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors, Regarding Cannabis, Community Choice Energy and Other Issues. (45 min.)
Housing Issues: (a) Evictions in San Vicente Mobile Home Park; (b) Other Mobile Home Park Issues; (c) Creative Housing, and (d) Possible housing symposium. Sharon Rose, Emily Allen, Linda Honikman, Matt Lowe, and Patricia Solorio. (20 min.)
Transition-to-Employee-Ownership Project sponsored by the Sustainable Economy Group. Hal Hill will report on this. (10 min.)
Brief updates from participants. (2 to 5 min. each)
Open discussion about other items of interest. All (5 min.)
Our next meeting is scheduled for August 9, 2019. After that meeting, again at the Fund for Santa Barbara, we will be moving to a new location to be determined.

Support Community Choice Energy

Posted by · July 15, 2019 11:20 PM

For several years we and our local governments have been discussing how to implement Community Choice Energy in Santa Barbara County. Feasibility studies have suggested that going it alone as a county may not be the best option. Tuesday, July 16, the County Board of Supervisors will consider what to do next at its meeting at 105 E. Anapamu St. in Santa Barbara. The most promising possibility seems to be joining Monterey Bay Community Power.

Here is the link to the agenda item:

https://santabarbara.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=4060246&GUID=814440FB-87FB-462B-8253-F59A19B879B1&Options=&Search=

Please note the letter from the Community Environmental Council; it is succinct and makes a lot of sense. SBCAN staff plan to speak in support of the County joining with Monterey Bay Community Power. It is likely that there will be support for this course of action in South County. It would be good to have support in North County as well. Remote testimony can be made at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, in Santa Maria.

It is the last item, number six, and may come up late in the morning or early afternoon. The hearing starts at 9 a.m., but the best way to determine when this item will come up is to monitor the hearing on Comcast channel 20 or streaming live at: http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/csbtv/media.sbc

If the County signs on with Monterey, we hope Santa Maria, Guadalupe and others will as well.

Lights for Liberty rallies July 12 and 13

Posted by · July 12, 2019 11:47 AM

Several Lights for Liberty rallies are happening locally tonight and tomorrow.

The following information about Lights for Liberty is from their website at https://www.lightsforliberty.org. Links to local events are also on that page.

Update on SBCAN Roundtables in north and south

Posted by · July 10, 2019 9:29 PM

North County Roundtable

The North County Roundtable meeting, which was scheduled for July 11 at 6 p.m., has been cancelled. Instead, we are encouraging our members to attend the public hearing on a proposed residential development known as The Neighborhoods of Willow Creek & Hidden Canyon. The project is a mile and more outside the urban area and would place 146 homes in the areas between the fairways of the Rancho Maria Golf Course on Highway 1 west of Santa Maria and Orcutt.

The hearing is Thursday, July 11 at 5:30 p.m. at the Betteravia Government Center, 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria before County planning staffand is intended to receive comments about the adequacy of the Draft Environmental Impact Report. There are Class 1 Significant Impacts that cannot be avoided. We have not reviewed the DEIR extensively and do not yet know if we will argue that there are inadequacies. The comment period ends on August 5, 2019, so this hearing represents a chance to learn what others have to say so SBCAN might produce a letter commenting on the DEIR.

Hearings on the merits of the project and consideration of approval or denial will be held at a date to be determined, when the Final EIR is available. Information is available on the County’s website at: https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/projects/neighborhoodskeysite21.sbc

South County Roundtable

The South County Roundtable meeting, which was scheduled for July 12 at noon, has been postponed one week. It will meet at noon on July 19 at a new location: the Fund for Santa Barbara’s office, 26 W. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.

First District County Supervisor Das Williams will be our featured guest, speaking on cannabis and other topics. We will send an agenda for the meeting in a few days.

SBCAN staff host open house for Food & Water Watch/Food & Water Action

Posted by · July 07, 2019 5:38 PM

Join us for
A Night of Envisioning
the Central Coast’s Clean Energy Future
with Food & Water Watch/Food & Water Action

Saturday, July 20, 2019
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Hosted by Ken Hough and Jeanne Sparks in Orcutt

7 p.m. Meet and greet with light bites and drinks
7:30 p.m. Program led by Ana Rosa Rizo-Centino,
Food & Water Action Senior Organizer

Visionary movements begin at the grassroots.

Food & Water Watch/Food & Water Action believes in a future where families can have clean, affordable water; where workers enjoy safe, well-paying green jobs; and where our food and energy decisions benefit communities not corporate interests.

Join us to learn how you can protect California’s public lands from being leased to oil drilling. Learn about plans to stop oil infrastructure expansion in Santa Barbara County. There’s much to do to halt hundreds of proposed new oil wells and ExxonMobil’s proposal to truck oil. Find out about strategies you can implement to prevent those expansions.

To learn more and receive the event address, RSVP here: https://secure.foodandwateraction.org/act/night-envisioning-santa-barbaras-clean-energy-future.

Santa Barbara County Action Network partners with Food & Water Watch on many issues of concern to both organizations.

We hope to see you July 20.

Ken Hough & Jeanne Sparks

Support Grocery Workers!

Posted by · June 26, 2019 9:58 AM

Here is an important message from SBCAN's South County Co-President:

Dear Friends:

Right now 60,000 grocery workers at Ralphs and Vons/Albertsons from Mammoth to the Mexican Border are without a contract. The struggle is very real as workers fight for better wages, access to hours, protection of benefits, and community supported stores.

Workers have just voted to authorize negotiators to call a strike if necessary. To learn more, check out: https://foodfightus.com/.

Each of us can make significant contribution to helping them. Next Tuesday—July 2—there will be rally at Ralph’s in downtown Santa Barbara. I hope you’ll join us there—and spread the word! And of course let’s pledge not to cross the picket lines if a strike becomes necessary.

Check out the food fight website. See the attached flyers. Stand with grocery workers at Ralph’s at 100 W. Carrillo St. in Santa Barbara at 2 p.m. on July 2!

Onward!

Dick Flacks

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