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This year SB CAN celebrates 11 years of community activism and advocacy on behalf of you, your friends and neighbors. We are asking for your financial support to continue this important work.
Our lives are affected by what happens at each level of government in our county, but most local government hearings and decisions occur while you are at work, and there’s no way that most of us can make our voices heard in the many arenas that matter.
Who can represent the progressive view that decision makers need to hear? SB CAN can!
In the last couple of years, we have:
- Achieved protection of precious agricultural land in Lompoc with our “Bailey Avenue” lawsuit;
- Led the SUN (Sustainable University Now) Coalition’s effort to achieve major community-serving changes in UCSB’s long-range development plan;
- Lobbied at every level to support workforce/low-income housing, renters’ rights, public transit, and safe routes to school;
- Helped raise awareness about fracking and other oil-related environmental threats;
- Helped shape the way the county is handling the hotel-incentive program;
- Made sure progressive perspectives are represented where they haven’t been before through regular columns in north county newspapers;
- Promoted ongoing community coalitions in north and south counties through our H.O.T. (Housing, Open space and Transportation) Committee meetings and other networking;
- Honored community leaders and nourished the spirit of activists in hard times through our annual banquets in the north and south.
We need your help to strengthen our efforts in the coming year. The larger your contribution, the less time we’ll have to spend on fundraising. With your help, we hope to build our staff work in the south coast area, improve our online capacity for outreach and information, and strengthen the watchdogging, education and advocacy that is our hallmark.
Click here to make an online contribution.
Click here to download a contribution form you can print and mail to us.
January 14, 2013
SB CAN's Tribute to Margaret Connell a big success!
Thank you to those who sponsored and attended.
Check out this video by Jon Williams:
On Jan. 13, SB CAN celebrated all that Margaret Connell has meant to our community over the years with a High Tea—a fun and fitting afternoon of hand-selected teas, finger sandwiches and live music. It was held at the Goleta Valley Community Center.
Margaret was a founding member of SB CAN, as were so many others who have since been elected to public office.
If you missed the tea, but would like to support SB CAN, click here to donate. Your support makes it possible for us to continue to promote social and economic justice, to preserve our environmental and agricultural resources, and to create sustainable communities.
Margaret and husband Joe moved from England to Santa Barbara in 1956 when Joe accepted a professorship at UCSB. An Oxford University graduate, Margaret dove into civic affairs, helping found the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee and serving on the Goleta Valley Historical Society Board, Goleta Valley Land Trust Board, the Citizen’s Planning Association Land Use Committee and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund Board.
Elected the first mayor of Goleta at the city’s founding in 2001 and re-elected in 2007, she’d previously served for two years on the Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District’s board, which she chaired in 2006, and was a member of the Santa Barbara Civil Service Commission in 2000–2001. Margaret represented the community on the Santa Barbara School Board from 1975 to 1992. She and Joe also raised their children here.
December 2012 marked Margaret’s retirement from the city council and SB CAN thanked her for her six decades of dedicated, progressive activism.
November 2012
Our 2012 Newsletter is out!
September 2012
Santa Barbara County Action Network invites you to a
Candidates Forum in Lompoc for City Council and Mayor
Friday, September 14
6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Lompoc Library, 501 East North Avenue
For Info: Joyce @ 588-0928
September 2012
SB CAN Endorses Measure G2012 –
The Goleta Agricultural Land Protection Initiative
The board of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) has endorsed Measure G2012, joining numerous local groups, key Goleta public officials and Goleta residents (see www.goletaheritagefarmland.org/endorsements).
Measure G2012, on the November 6, 2012 City of Goleta ballot, will require that re-zoning of Goleta’s major agricultural parcels must be approved by a majority of Goleta voters.
SB CAN is founded on the H.O.T. Principles-- that community needs for housing, open space and transportation should be addressed in a planned and integrated way. Goleta’s General Plan embodies these H.O.T. Principles by setting forth a vision and zoning for a balanced mix of urban and agricultural uses for the next 20 years. Goleta’s General Plan clustered development along the Hollister corridor to maximize public transit and alternative transportation opportunities. And it preserved agricultural zoning for several large parcels along Cathedral Oaks.
Currently the City of Goleta has 1,400 housing units and nearly 2 million square feet of commercial development in process. And there’s zoning for even more development, enough to meet California’s housing mandates.
However, the threat to upset that balance recurs. As recently as September 2011, a development was proposed to rezone a major agricultural parcel for housing that 95% of Goletans could not afford. While that threat was rejected by the city council, its majority can change every two years. Today, it takes the votes of only three council members to nullify Goleta’s agricultural future without providing community benefits.
Measure G2012 not only supports Goleta’s General Plan, including its setting aside certain agricultural parcels for agriculture, it also recognizes that during the next 20 years there may be attempts to rezone some agricultural parcels for development. By requiring such redevelopment proposals to be ratified by a vote of Goleta citizens, G2012 serves notice on proponents that some real community benefits would have to be offered for voters to consider upsetting the careful balance in the current General Plan.
Examples of some such community benefits a developer may want to put forth might include creating conservation or agricultural easements, dedicating part of the property for open space or active recreation, including more rental and affordable housing, and including greater integration with public transit and alternative transportation.
To learn more about the initiative and find out how you can help, go to www.goletaheritagefarmland.org.
August 2012
Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) announces new Executive Director
Joyce Howerton has retired as executive director of Santa Barbara County Action Network (SB CAN) after nearly three years serving on the staff first as advocacy director, then as executive director. The SB CAN Board of Directors has appointed Ken Hough to serve as executive director. Ken worked for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments in the mid-1980s, before serving as director of Community Planning and Operations and in other executive positions at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments for 22 years. He retired four years ago and has been back in Santa Barbara for a couple of years.
“SB CAN feels very fortunate that Ken Hough was one of our board members and able to step right in effective August 1st as executive director. He’s very qualified with his experience in transportation, housing and land-use planning, and we look forward to his leadership,” said Joann Marmolejo, board president.
Joyce Howerton has been a political leader and activist in North County for decades. She served as Lompoc mayor for three terms and was a candidate earlier this year for 4th District county supervisor. Joyce was a founding member of SB CAN and served as North County vice president for many years.
“SB CAN was sorry to lose Joyce as our executive director,” Marmolejo said. Joyce says she would like to take a break for a while, but will soon return to community life. We welcome her continued involvement with SB CAN.
SB CAN works to promote social and economic justice, to preserve environmental and agricultural resources and to create sustainable communities. SB CAN advocates a holistic approach to community planning that integrates housing, open space and transportation (H.O.T. Principles) to meet the needs of all members of the community now and for future generations.
Jacques Brel Cabaret a Big Success!
featuring
Gale McNeeley, voice ~~~ Betty Faas, piano ~~~ Chuck Osborne, accordion
Gale McNeeley, Betty Faas and Chuck Osborne brought the songs of Jacques Brel to life at Santa Barbara’s Restaurant Mimosa during a benefit for SB CAN.
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter of the 1950‘s, 60’s and 70‘s. “Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris,” a review of his songs, has played to audiences around the world.
Jacques Brel was a major influence on David Bowie, Leonard Cohen and Rod McKuen. His songs have been recorded by Ray Charles, Judy Collins, John Denver, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra and Any Williams.
Singer Gale McNeeley, has performed on Broadway, in regional theatre, in movies and on TV. He is known locally as the creator of the political satires, “Pope the Musical” and “The Wizard of What.” He tours America in his one-man show, “Archy & Mehitabel.”
Mr. McNeeley says, "In an age where the classic troubadour seems to have vanished, Jacques Brel reminds us of the need for songwriters who translate universal emotions into song."
Central Coast musicians Betty Faas on the piano and Chuck Osborne on the accordion provided beautiful textures to Jacques Brel songs, placing them solidly in the Cabaret setting.
Congratulations to our outstanding community leaders
2012 North County “Looking Forward”
Awards Winners
Recognized during a dinner
April 29 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Santa Maria Inn, 801 S. Broadway, Santa Maria
This year’s award recipients are:
Luis Escobar, Santa Maria Valley Open Space, “Looking Forward” Award, for
Leadership and Vision
Marian Medical Center, Santa Maria, Environmental Protection & Sustainability
Award
Chuck & Barbara Arnold, Lompoc, Social Justice Award
Good Samaritan Shelter, Santa Maria, Working Families Award
Carla Frisk, Santa Ynez, Giving Back to the Community Award
Thanks to everyone who turned out to recognize our community leaders!