On the Farm: Vanpool program helpful to all

By Kevin Merrill/Contributor

The warm summertime weather I was looking for in my last column arrived last week. Just what our vines need to play catch-up after a cooler-than-normal spring.

I was up around 5:15 in the morning to make coffee. After I got it started, I looked out at the faint glow of morning to see the light haze of fog hovering over the vines.

I looked down the canyon toward Highway 101, and there was our usual summertime fog bank lurking in the lower reaches of the hills and valleys north of Los Alamos.

In another 45 minutes, the canyon and vines in front of our home were completely engulfed in fog. By 7:30, it was all gone, and if you did not know any better, you would swear the fog was never there.

It is a tricky time for the folks who drive to work on the vineyard from Santa Maria. They never know what the road conditions will be, and I am always glad to see they all made it to work safe and sound.

There is a new program just getting off the ground to help the folks who drive out to our fields and farms to work every day in North County.

Maneuver by Goleta Could Endanger Measure A

A Taxing November

By Chris Meagher

Thursday, June 26, 2008

As the deadline approaches to get items placed on this November’s ballot, talk of filling the ballot with local tax measures has intensified. Too many taxes usually turn voters off, and with taxpayers already fatigued from two elections in 2008 — themselves containing tax measures — public officials might have a tough time getting this fall’s measures passed. “People obviously are not going to vote for a laundry list of taxes,” pointed out Joe Armendariz, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayer’s Association.

Santa Barbara Council Backs Veronica Meadows — Again

By Rob Kuznia, Noozhawk Staff Writter

Despite judge's ruling, proposed 25-home Las Positas development wins 5-2 vote. Opponents are expected to sue.

A key issue holding up the Veronica Meadows project is a proposed access bridge to the development in Las Positas Canyon. The creek crossing would be located off Las Positas Road, across from the entrance to Elings Park.

In what’s beginning to resemble a game of ping-pong, the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday approved — for the second time in a year and a half — the development of 25 single-family homes in Las Positas Valley, despite a judge’s ruling in December revoking the earlier approval.

How Bicycle Riders Donate to Car Drivers in Goleta

Two-Wheel Commuters Give Us Less Traffic and Pollution, Lower Gas Prices, and More Parking Spaces

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

By George Relles

Margaret Connell’s recent column “Getting to Work In Goleta” was excellent, as usual. However, I would like to supplement her focus on buses and trains by highlighting the benefits of another type of alternative transportation that benefits all of us, even when we don’t use it.

Public Speaks on UCSB's Expansion Plans

Additional Students, Faculty Could Overwhelm Goleta Water Supply

By Ben Preston

Friday, June 6, 2008

UCSB gave members of the public a chance to comment on its Long Range Development Plan (LRDP) Wednesday night, June 4, at the Isla Vista Theater, having presented it the day before to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Following a brief presentation on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) by Crawford, Multari & Clark's Chris Clark—hired by UCSB to complete the study—the 40 or so community members who showed up had a chance to air their grievances with the University's planned expansion.

The Future of the Sta. Rita Hills Development Below the Radar in Santa Ynez Valley Wine Country

The Independent, Thursday, November 29, 2007

By José Baer, manager of Rancho Viña.

While the battle rages along the Gaviota Coast over development of agriculturally zoned land, Lakeview Estates in the Sta. Rita Hills quietly attempts to slip in below the radar. Most of you will have heard of the Sta. Rita Hills, which has gained fame with its world-class pinot noir, but chances are few of you have heard of Lakeview Estates.

Lakeview Estates is a 1,568-acre subdivision consisting of 35 parcels and located above a proposed, but never completed, reservoir (hence “Lakeview”) on the Santa Ynez River, about 10 miles west of Buellton and five miles east of Lompoc. This subdivision spills down from the ridge of the Sta. Rita Hills to the Santa Ynez River and contains some of the most coveted wine grape land in Santa Barbara County. The subdivision is surrounded entirely by agricultural lands in a region that produces some of the best wine grapes in the world, as well as a mix of other crops, from broccoli to tomatoes. Registered in 1968 with little forethought to development, the hope was these “lakefront” parcels would become valuable in the future.

New Details Emerge On Possible Mental Health Cuts

By Rob Kuznia, Noozhawk Staff Writer   

Saturday, 12 April 2008

New details are emerging on how Santa Barbara County plans to make long-dreaded cuts to its financially failing Department of Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services.

The cuts, announced last week during internal meetings, would slash by about 60 percent the county’s contractual agreements with six local nonprofit agencies that provide the bulk of nonclinical services to area adults with mentally illness.

All told, the cuts would lead to about 70 layoffs, and leave about 700 mentally ill adults without care, said Cindy Burton, CEO of Work Training Programs Inc., one of the five nonprofit organizations.

On April 22, the county Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the proposal, which was made by ADMHS staff members. If approved, the cuts would take effect July 1.

Buellton Residents Pound Council on Boundary Expansion
By Melinda Burns
Friday, June 29 2007

The expansion of a city’s sphere of influence is generally the first step toward the annexation and urbanization of rural land. Photo by Suzan HamiltonIt was standing room only on Thursday night as Buellton residents begged the City Council not to let their small, tranquil, neighborly town triple in size — not now, not later, not ever.

Naples on the Gaviota Coast
The Next Ellwood?

The Independent, Thursday, December 20, 2007

By Brian Trautwein, Environmental Analyst, Environmental Defense Center

What’s at Stake?