The Environmental Defense Center is representing SBCAN in opposing the subdivision of the 4,000-acre ranch know as Rancho La Laguna. 

We need your help at the County Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday, April 26. Please review this material provided by EDC:

We're giving out vegetable seedlings at the 17th annual Earth Day Celebration at Santa Maria's Natural History Museum today, Saturday, April 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's located at 412 S. McClelland St. across from the Santa Maria Public Library. Free admission.

Come get seedlings to add to your garden! Stop at all the booths and celebrate Earth Day with us!

This message is from Katie Davis, V.P. Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club:

URGENT - We just got confirmation that Trump's Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke will be at the Reagan Center this coming Monday, April 17. He's speaking at 6:30 PM. 

We can't let Zinke come to Santa Barbara, with our history of oil spills, without making a statement of opposition. So let's resist! 

We hope you'll join us Thursday in Santa Maria or Friday in Santa Barbara to discuss several important issues:

SBCAN North County Roundtable/North County Coalition Environmental Committee

Thursday, April 13, 2017, 6 PM

NEW LOCATION FOR THIS MONTH: Bici Centro, 310 East Oak Street
(Just a half block from the Cornerstone Community Room), Santa Maria

DRAFT AGENDA

1. Call to Order by Janet Blevins; Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
2. North County Coalition’s Environmental Committee. The North County Coalition has formed several committees to address concerns raised by actions of the new president and his administration. One committee is the Environmental Committee and—at least for now—the meetings are being held as part of our regularly scheduled Roundtable meeting. Open discussion of issues that the committee members want the committee to address. (40 min.)
3. Enhancing habitat at wastewater treatment plants. Jeanne Sparks will report on current independent research. (10 min.)
4. Santa Maria Community Television. Jeanne Sparks, a member of the SMCTV Board of Directors, will report on efforts to ensure the long-term viability of this community resource. (10 min.)
5. Open discussion about other items of interest. All (10 min.)
6. Suggestions for next month’s agenda (May 11).  (5 min.)
7. Tour of Bici Centro—the Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition’s New Santa Maria Facility. Ken Dahmen is SB Bike’s Santa Maria Program Manager. He will report on the Coalition’s activities and give us a tour. (20 min.)

SBCAN South County Roundtable

Friday, April 14, 2017, Noon

Union Bank’s Community Room, 15 East Carrillo St., Santa Barbara

DRAFT AGENDA

(Times are rough estimates)

1. Call to Order. Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
2. Brief updates from participants. (2 to 5 min. each)
3. Supervisor Das Williams on the County’s Budget Process. One of SBCAN’s Founding Members, and now First District Supervisor, will join us to discuss the budget process—which will include public hearings beginning next week—and other important issues. (30 min.)
4. Rancho La Laguna Subdivision.  Linda Krop, EDC Chief Counsel, will discuss this proposed subdivision of a 4,000-acre ranch north of Los Olivos and—as time permits—other important environmental issues. (20 min.)
5. Open discussion about other items of interest. (10 min.)
6. Next meeting.  Our next meeting is scheduled for May 12.

This message is from Jeanne Sparks in her role as a member of the board of directors of Santa Maria Community Television:

There is a meeting on Thursday that I think is important for activists. 

It’s about the local public access television station – Santa Maria Community Television (SMCTV) - that sends out locally produced television shows on Comcast Channel 25 to residents in Santa Maria and Orcutt. It also provides use of a large studio free-of-charge to videotape local programs. You could produce quality programs using the three studio cameras, furniture, props and even a green screen. 

The station is facing funding shortfalls and needs more programming to show its value to the City of Santa Maria, which oversees it operations.

The SMCTV board of directors, staff and producers are having a public meeting on Thursday to discuss the future of the station and assess the value of it to local residents.

I think most of us are active in groups that could benefit from putting programming out on the station. Thousands of people could see our programs right on their big screen TVs, the same place where they watch their favorite television shows.

We are also looking at live streaming the channel so that people who do not subscribe to Comcast can also access the programs. (We would need to do some fundraising for this.)

Please come to the meeting. It is 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 6 at the Media Center, 910 S. Oakwood Drive, Santa Maria. It’s the building behind the Mussell Senior Center. The cross streets are Park and Camino Colegio. See map below.

If you can’t come, please let me know what you think about using the resources. We need to take action now before it’s too late!

Thank you.

Jeanne Sparks
SMCTV Board Member
SBCAN Associate Director
jeanne@sbcan.org
805.739.1836

Please join us at the City of Santa Maria's hearing Thursday, March 30 (tonight) to let your opinion be known on how the new voting districts in the city should be drawn. It will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Vet's Hall, 313 W. Tunnell, Santa Maria.

The City of Santa Maria has started the process of changing from electing city council members "at large" to electing them by voting districts. The number of districts has not yet been determined, but many people think it will be four with the mayor's position being at large. It could be drawn into five districts with a rotating mayoral position. Some cities have even more districts.

The Santa Barbara County Action Network board of directors is supporting CAUSE's suggested map with four districts intersecting at Main and Broadway and the mayoral position at large. See Santa Maria Times article for that map as well as more information.

The districts will each elect their own representative who will need to be responsive to neighborhood issues such as development, transportation, maintenance or safety. Running for election in a district requires fewer resources than running citywide and would open up the council to more candidates.

We need to make sure the lines are drawn fairly to not dilute the voting rights of our working-class immigrant neighborhoods.

Your input and involvement in this process is needed.

Please join us.

Join Santa Barbara County Action Network, Safe Energy Now North County and Food & Water Watch to learn about the history of oil development in Santa Barbara County and our plan to fight new extreme oil development and promote clean energy in the Trump Era.

Topics Include:

• 750 new oil wells in Santa Barbara County and our vision for no more extreme oil extraction in Santa Barbara County
• Local transition to 100% renewable energy and the proposed wind farm in Lompoc
• Statewide strategies and solutions
• Adam Scow, Food & Water Watch’s California Director, will talk about why Food & Water Watch opposes Cap and Trade as a solution to combat Climate Change

Please join us at our upcoming forums: Big Oil Targets Santa Barbara County!

SOLVANG:
Monday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m., Veterans Memorial Hall, 1745 Mission Dr.

SANTA BARBARA:
Tuesday, March 28 at 7 p.m., Faulkner Room, Santa Barbara Library, 40 E. Anapamu

It's up to us, as Santa Barbara County residents, to push for 100% renewable energy and an end to new extreme oil development. Learn how you can take action and get involved!

You're invited to Gale McNeeley and Chuck Osborne's performance of "One World, One Heart" in Santa Barbara on Sunday, March 26:

Hi Friend --

Support Renters Rights
TUESDAY, MARCH 21 
RALLY at 5:30 p.m. in front of City Hall at De La Guerra Plaza
CITY COUNCIL MEETING at 6 p.m.

Hi Friend --

You're invited to Gale McNeeley and Chuck Osborne's performance of "One World, One Heart" in Santa Ynez on Sunday, March 19:

or on March 26 in Santa Barbara (see below).

Singer Gale McNeeley and Accordionist Chuck Osborne Tour the Central California Coast this March with “One World, One Heart”  - A Celebration of the Music and Peoples of the World.