SBCAN editorials

Preserving affordable housing

Submitted by ouribe on Fri, 07/31/2009 - 10:21
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by Deborah Brasket, SB CAN Executive Director

 

Affordable housing is an endangered species in Santa Barbara County, one that that needs protection.

 

More than 95 percent of households on the South Coast and 85 percent of North County residents who don’t already own a home cannot afford to buy housing, nor can they afford to buy the home they live in today, according to a 2006 Housing Element report.

 

Even worse, more than 57 percent of South Coast households and 48 percent of North County households cannot afford the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in their communities. In addition, more than 5,000 families are still waiting for help from the county Housing Authority.

 

Read printed editorial: 
Preserving affordable housing
Date: 
31 Jul 2009 - 5:21pm

Keeping the watchdog alive

Submitted by ouribe on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 11:15
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By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

 

Last month, SB CAN was privileged to co-host a highly topical panel discussion called the “Future of Journalism: Keeping the Watchdog Alive in Santa Barbara and the Nation.”

 

The discussion focused on two primary themes — the decline of the traditional newspaper business and the potential benefits and challenges of new online trends, including blogs, Web sites and online newspaper editions.

 

The high-powered panel, moderated by popular local blogger Craig Smith, featured Jim Rainey, a journalist with the Los Angeles Times; Susan Paterno, journalism professor and director of the journalism program at Chapman University; Jerry Roberts, co-founder of Calbuzz and former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle and Santa Barbara News-Press; Nick Welsh, Santa Barbara Independent columnist and news editor; and Dick Flacks, community activist and sociology professor emeritus.

 

The panelists agreed that journalism faces a perfect storm of problems — declining readership, declining advertising support and competition from new online news sources. Print newspapers have high costs and depend upon subscriptions, and even more heavily on advertising.

 

Read printed editorial: 
Keeping the watchdog alive
Date: 
17 Jul 2009 - 6:15pm

Graduates, the Earth Is Hiring

Submitted by ouribe on Wed, 07/22/2009 - 11:18
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Read printed editorial: 
Graduates, the Earth Is Hiring
Date: 
1 Jul 2009 - 6:18pm

Preserve land with sustainability

Submitted by ouribe on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 17:03

By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

It’s exciting to see new movements springing up on all sides to preserve agriculture and promote local farms. More and more people are becoming aware of the importance of supporting local farming in creating a sustainable future.

 

Too often, however, efforts to preserve agriculture have been co-opted by neighborhood preservationist groups more interested in preserving the views from their back yards than in preserving farmland. Their aim is to preserve the status quo and oppose efforts to build affordable housing anywhere near them.

 

Read printed editorial: 
Preserve land with sustainability
Date: 
12 Jun 2009 - 12:03pm

A responsibility to care for Earth

Submitted by ouribe on Wed, 06/17/2009 - 16:39

By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

 

On May 27 in Santa Barbara, Congresswoman Lois Capps and the Rev. Sally Bingham will be discussing “Our Moral Responsibility to Protect the Earth.”

 

Read printed editorial: 
A responsibility to care for Earth
Date: 
22 May 2009 - 11:39pm

Two bad measures - 1D and 1E

Submitted by ouribe on Thu, 05/14/2009 - 09:32
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By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

 

On May 19, the California Legislature is asking the voters of California to help them do what they failed to do themselves — balance the state budget.

 

Sounds good, right? But they are asking us to do this by defunding programs that help the most needy and vulnerable among us — at-risk children and people with mental health problems.

 

It’s worth remembering that we are the ones who created these funding sources to begin with. In 1998 and 2004, Californians realized the state had failed to provide adequate funding for at-risk children and people suffering from mental illness.

 

Ballot initiatives were passed to remedy the situation, and since then, these programs have been saving the state millions of dollars every year in preventive care.

 

By preventing child abuse and providing health care for young children, we keep them out of hospitals and family courts. By treating mental illness in the early stages, we keep people off the street, out of institutions, and out of jails.

 

Read printed editorial: 
Two bad measures - 1D and 1E
Date: 
8 May 2009 - 4:32pm

Honoring the heroes in our community

Submitted by ouribe on Tue, 03/31/2009 - 11:34
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By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

 

Each year, SB CAN and the Santa Barbara Council on Research and Education honor community heroes in the northern part of our county who have made significant contributions to the community.

 

This year’s winners, to be honored at an awards dinner on April 19 in Santa Maria, are particularly impressive:

 

Buellton Is Our Town (BIOT) will receive our Looking Forward Award for strong leadership and vision in community building and civic engagement.

 

This all-volunteer advocacy organization mounted a block-by-block grassroots campaign to put an urban-growth boundary initiative on the ballot in Buellton last November. They won an overwhelming victory, with 69-percent voter approval.

 

BIOT is presently engaged in producing a grassroots democracy handbook for use by other community organizations.

 

Minga and Raul Ceja from Santa Maria will receive our Social Justice Award for promoting equality, respect and compassion for all people in our community.

 

Read printed editorial: 
Honoring the heroes in our community
Date: 
27 Mar 2009 - 6:34pm

Working Families Deserve Affordable Homes — Near You

Submitted by ouribe on Fri, 03/20/2009 - 11:43
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Neighborhood resistance to affordable housing is based on outmoded misconceptions

By Deborah Brasket 

     

    Santa Barbara County is losing the affordable housing battle. More than 5,000 families are still waiting for help from the county Housing Authority. With an annual turnaround of about 1,600 openings, most will not find relief anytime soon. And with more homes in foreclosure, and growing unemployment, this situation is bound to get worse before it gets better.

    Read printed editorial: 
    Working Families Deserve Affordable Homes — Near You
    Date: 
    18 Mar 2009 - 6:43pm

    Opportunities in Financial Downturns

    Submitted by ouribe on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 11:06


    There are plenty of things we can do to improve our own situations, and make a vital difference for others.

    By Olivia Uribe

    Read printed editorial: 
    Opportunities in Financial Downturns
    Date: 
    8 Mar 2009 - 6:06pm

    Making the difficult housing choices

    Submitted by ouribe on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 11:49
    in

    By Deborah Brasket/Looking Forward

     

    Every five years, state law requires that each county update its Housing Element to ensure that enough land is zoned for housing for all income levels.

     

    This law, while imperfect, reflects the critical need for housing that is affordable for lower-income and critical-workforce residents, such as firefighters, police and nurses.

     

    Like every public policy document, the state’s Housing Element Update (HEU) contains some questionable items. But, as a whole, it reflects the overall goals of social justice and environmental and agricultural protections that SB CAN and the majority of local residents strongly believe in. The document contains many progressive, enlightened recommendations, which would:

     

    Encourage construction or conversion of existing facilities to emergency shelters, transitional housing and single room occupancy units to meet the needs of the homeless population.

     

    Facilitate development of farm employee housing on agricultural land.

     

    Work to expand opportunities for mobile home living, and establish incentives to encourage production of manufactured housing.

     

    Seek funding for special-needs housing.

     

    Date: 
    13 Feb 2009 - 6:49pm