D.C. Lobbying

[ from: "Councilman lobbies for federal funds," By Eric Lindberg, DAILY SOUND, Feb. 27, 2009 ]


Following in the footsteps of several other local officials, Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams is in the nation’s capital on a three-day stint to advocate for federal funds to support local infrastructure projects.

“Tis the lobby season,” the councilman said, speaking by cell phone from Washington, DC. “The place is totally abuzz on Capitol Hill between the alternative energy push, healthcare reform and, of course, the stimulus package and the budget. We’re trying to make sure that there are some local projects included.”



(image courtesy of www.smwia.org )


Williams said he is following up on federal funding for improvements along Mission Creek, as well as stream restoration money for the Santa Ynez tributaries.

In addition to his position on the City Council dais, he also serves as the president of the Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board, which oversees water agencies from Santa Ynez to Carpinteria.

Another project he is lobbying for involves building a second pipeline from Lake Cachuma to the South Coast to essentially serve as a backup to the 6.4-mile Tecolote Tunnel.

Williams said he has met with Congresswoman Lois Capps and another congresswoman from Northern California, in addition to two Senate staff members and committee staff.

“It’s cold here, but it’s so important that when there are project monies coming to different areas to help upstart the economy that Santa Barbara gets its fair share,” he said.

He also noted that he’s crashing on a friend’s couch to avoid spending travel funds. The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board picked up the airline bill.

Self-Esteem

[ From: "Das Williams: Presentation to the SB Council for Self-Esteem - 01/23/09 ]


BOB HODGES:

Our speaker, City Councilman Das Williams, is a native son of Santa Barbara. He graduated from UCSB majoring in Environmental Studies. He has worked with famous names and organizations including: Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, County Supervisor Gail Marshall, Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress, the Community Environmental Council, the Environmental Defense Center, Vote the Coast P.A.C, Santa Barbara County Action Network and Living Wage Coalition.

In my view, the mission of Das Williams is to improve the quality of life in Santa Barbara and neighboring counties, specifically by securing clean water, good transportation and planning, and through the empowerment of neighborhoods.

This is not a minor set of objectives. Das is a leader and his track record indicates that he has what it will take to succeed.

Today he speaks on the subject of self-esteem and how it has been a part of his personal and professional growth. Please, give a warm welcome to Councilman Das Williams...



( Willie Shaw, Bob Hodges and Das Williams - courtesy of www.selfesteem.org )



BETTY HATCH:

It was gray, drizzly, and even colder in the room, than outside. The Schott Center was empty when Stan, my husband, and I arrived. This was the beginning of the Santa Barbara Council for Self-Esteem’s 20th year featuring outstanding, successful speakers, who were willing to share how they reached their success — where their self-esteem came from, and if they had ever lost it, how they regained it. Our president and moderator, Willa Young, was in Florida attending her father’s funeral, our PR man always on time had not arrived. Due to the struggling economy of January 2009, our co-sponsor had been unable to put an ad in our local paper regarding our first event of the year.

When Bob Hodges, our PR man walked in, relief flowed through me. Dennis Forester, another core member had arrived also, in time to add some heat to the large room filled with folding chairs that sat stiffly alone. Then the City College women entered to set up to sign-in the attendees, who at this point were all part of the self-esteem volunteers. Then a young attractive man, impeccably dressed, confidently strode into the room, smiling broadly. It was our presenter for the day, Das Williams, a member of the Santa Barbara City Council since 2003. I immediately apologized for the weather and for what it had done to our crowd.

Das said, “Not to worry, the committed are here.” He was right; we were and then many more arrived. The audience entering was a diverse group of students representing various countries and men and women of all ages and professions. Joyce Dudley, the SB Senior Deputy District Attorney, Willie Shaw, head of the SB Community Events and Festivals Committee, Lee Moldaver, a local activist who attends most of Santa Barbara’s community meetings, Ingrid Serrat of the Collaborative Communities Foundation, and Jill Dexter, a volunteer from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation were among the group. It was an enthusiastic and interested audience who sat at attention while Councilman Das Williams told his personal journey to self-esteem.



( Betty Hatch, Founder SB Council for Self-Esteem )


At the start, Das told us who he is by describing what he does [as] a teacher, an internet technology technician, a public servant. He chose the latter as a profession, “even though it pays the worst.” He was reared by his mother, who struggled to take care of him and his little brother when he was a child. Das described them as very poor. Their clothing and toys were handed down from other members of the family and Das used public transportation to get to and from school beginning in the first grade.

Das was a small child but showed his inner strength as early as nine years old. When his step-father threw him against the wall for not rinsing the dishes properly, Das stood up to him and announced bravely he would be leaving the house and moving in with some relatives!

Though his home life was turbulent, he had a wonderful and close relationship with his grand parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. He praised his relationships with his grandparents describing them as “environmentalists before there was such a thing.” They had lived very hard lives during World War II and taught Das the lessons they had received through the hardships they had endured. His mother taught him the benefits of self-sacrifice. And his father who came back into his life inspired him to political activism.

Describing himself again, Das said as a child he was uncoordinated and book smart but not street smart. He was grateful his dad had guided him toward his sport of choice, surfing — a very difficult sport that took time, effort and determination to master. It was a learning opportunity he continues to use today.



( Das Williams - courtesy of www.selfesteem.org )


His political bent began when, at 17, he helped Bill Wallace with his campaign for Supervisor. He learned to be a community organizer and was good at it. Das even found it easy and fun encouraging the Isla Vista community to vote. He once offered to stay and “stir the spaghetti” while one woman went to the polls! He told another story about leaving the campaign in the final hour of voting to be with his girl friend. He felt Bill was ahead and the final hour not really important. To this day he blames himself for Bill’s loss by eight votes and the subsequent two year “wave” of growth that began in Goleta with the change of administration.

A theme of the talk woven through the stories and beliefs shared by Das was the importance of knowing that we happen to life, that we create our own destiny — it is not life that happens to us. We choose the paths we take and chart our path by being aware of what works and working hard to “paddle in the right direction.” Das said, “We have the capability to be better, if we are willing to define our inner demons and take action to change them.

Das said a political organizer’s job is to make people realize they are powerful. It is the people who create the changes they desire from too much traffic, too much waste, global warming, even the energy loss caused by poor construction. Das feels his training in community organization enabled him to win the position of City Councilman at the age of 29. He got his political training doing what Barak Obama did that prepared him for his presidential campaign.

Das answered the groups questions openly and truthfully noting his self-esteem had come from an inner belief in himself, and was nourished through close ties with his family members, inspiration from his dad, being 'book smart' and having a relationship with the divine. He admitted temporarily loosing his self-esteem after running for County Supervisor [in 2006] and is regaining it through his faith and understanding that God creates us “for a purpose.”

The young Councilman charmed the audience and demonstrated his professionalism by showing up on time, dressing professionally, using his lap-top computer for his notes and sharing his personal journey in self-esteem openly and honestly with poise and humor. By the end of his presentation, the dreary day seemed somehow sunny and people lingered to speak and share because being in the presence with Das Williams is a warm and up-lifting event.

Building Heights

[ From: "Santa Barbara Raises, Then Lowers Height Limitation Visibility," By Lara Cooper, NOOZHAWK, 02/12/2009 ]

... The Santa Barbara City Council and Planning Commission... discussed putting an amendment on November’s ballot that would compete with a citizen-led initiative that began last year.

More than 11,000 signatures were gathered in support of the Save El Pueblo Viejo initiative, which would restrict height limits to 40 feet in downtown areas and 45 feet elsewhere in the city. Currently, buildings are allowed to reach 60 feet in commercial zones. City officials Thursday weighed whether to put an alternative charter amendment on the ballot, which would allow projects to be considered case-by-case, allowing building heights to range from 45 to 60 feet, for community priority, affordable housing and rental projects.

The SEPV initiative, and the proposed charter amendment, both have mixed reviews at the city. The Architectural Review Board did not support the SEPV initiative, saying that having a uniform roof height would lead to a more “homogenized city.” The Historic Landmarks Commission, however, did approve...

The issue becomes even murkier because Santa Barbara is in the middle of updating and consolidating its General Plan, which has been ongoing since 2005. In spite of budget uncertainties, John Ledbetter, the city’s principal planner, said he felt optimistic that the adoption goal of spring of 2010 could be met. But a November ballot will force the issue of height limits earlier.

“The process has taken too damn long,” said Commissioner John Jostes, a sentiment that drew the agreement of other officials.

Nearly all of the session’s public speakers encouraged the officials to put the charter amendment on the ballot.

“The era of two-story Santa Barbara is over,” said housing advocate Mickey Flacks, who said the initiative proposed by SEPV opposed sustainability.

Others agreed.

“We have an obligation for stewardship,” said Detlev Peikert, principal of Peikert Group Architects. Peikert said the SEPV initiative would encourage sprawl.

The issue was more divided between council members and commissioners, several of whom signed off on the SEPV initiative.

“The big buildings are changing the character of the city,” Commissioner Harwood White said.

A founding member of Save El Pueblo Viejo, White said he stands by the voters’ initiative. He said multifamily zoning has been “trashed” and that it should remain modest in size, emphasizing rentals, “not mansionized condos.”

Commissioner Bruce Bartlett emphasized a need to see the bigger picture.

“We’re raising our salaries and lowering building heights,” he said. “I think our focus should be on different things.”

Councilman Das Williams said he was “dismayed with how political this process has become. I work in other communities, and the bad rap for Santa Barbara is that we allow aesthetics to trump other ethical considerations.”

Mayor Marty Blum said that she didn’t want to put an alternative to the SEPV initiative on the ballot. “I think growth in Santa Barbara should be small,” she said. “It always has been.”

The alternative charter amendment item will go before the ordinance committee on March 3 andthe City Council will take it up later next month.

-------------------------------------------

For full text, please go to:

NOOZHAWK: Raising then Lowering

Carbon Neutral by 2020

The following is excerpted from a letter by Tam Hunt of the Community Environmental Council, 2/11/2009, to the City Finance and Sustainability Committees concerning the goal to achieve Carbon Neutrality by 2020:


... Carbon neutral planning by businesses and local governments in our region is one of the top means by which our region can wean itself from fossil fuels. And we see the City as the "crown jewel" in regional efforts to quickly move away from fossil fuels. The City has consistently stepped up and met the challenges community groups
have suggested over the decades. Not because the City does the bidding, willy nilly, of community groups - rather, it is because many of the goals suggested make sense from many different points of view: environmentally, economically, and morally. It is all of our moral imperative to do what we can to mitigate climate change and to increase our regional energy independence. We take climate change and oil depletion with the utmost seriousness and see these as the major issues of our era - without hyperbole.

Before responding substantively to your comments, I want to quote from Al Gore's speech last year, announcing his challenge to the U.S. to achieve, as a nation of 300 million people, 100% clean energy for power production in just ten years, sooner than we are suggesting the City achieve carbon neutrality for only its own operations:


"Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our
electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources
within 10 years.

"This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative. It represents a
challenge to all Americans - in every walk of life: to our political
leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers, and to every citizen.

"A few years ago, it would not have been possible to issue such a
challenge. But here's what's changed: the sharp cost reductions now
beginning to take place in solar, wind, and geothermal power - coupled
with the recent dramatic price increases for oil and coal - have
radically changed the economics of energy.

"When I first went to Congress 32 years ago, I listened to experts
testify that if oil ever got to $35 a barrel, then renewable sources of
energy would become competitive. Well, today, the price of oil is over
$135 per barrel. And sure enough, billions of dollars of new investment
are flowing into the development of concentrated solar thermal,
photovoltaics, windmills, geothermal plants, and a variety of ingenious
new ways to improve our efficiency and conserve presently wasted energy.

"And as the demand for renewable energy grows, the costs will continue to
fall. Let me give you one revealing example: the price of the
specialized silicon used to make solar cells was recently as high as
$300 per kilogram. But the newest contracts have prices as low as $50 a
kilogram."


As Gore suggests, transformative change is required when it comes to our patently unsustainable energy practices. The good news is that this transformative change will very likely lead to substantial cost savings because we know that fossil fuel prices are heading nowhere but up in the long-term (we will surely have dips in prices, like now, but there is a consensus that we are in a temporary dip that will last only aslong as the current economic recession).

For some supportive words from a less controversial source than Gore, the International Energy Agency released its latest World Energy Outlook a couple of months ago. Its scary conclusion (see attached for the Executive Summary):


"Securing energy supplies and speeding up the transition to a low-carbon
energy system both call for radical action by governments - at national
and local levels."


To respond substantively to your comments:

1) Is the carbon neutral goal achievable? Yes. It is highly achievable and is a matter of City staff receiving the necessary direction from the Council. Currently, the City has at best 1 FTE devoted to energy issues (Jim Dewey's time is only 20% allocated to energy). If we agree, as most policymakers do now, that climate change and oil depletion are the imperative issues of our day, the City, an organization with over 1,000 FTE, must devote far more time to energy efficiency and renewable energy implementation. Even if the City does not substantially increase its
energy-oriented FTE, the carbon neutral goal is still highly achievable because the City is not a major power user. The Lompoc wind farm, approved unanimously yesterday, is for 98 megawatts of power. Conversely, the City will need about 6 MW, in total, to become carbon neutral. However, with the City already planning to install additional solar projects (1.5 MW), small hydro (750 kW), and CT and fuel cell expansion (about 1 MW), any wind power additions will amount to no more
than 3 MW.

Our goal for carbon neutrality county-wide is a much more imposing goal - we will need over 2,000 MW of new renewables to achieve this goal. 3 MW is obviously far more achievable.

Also, the technologies for achieving carbon neutrality are by and large already here. Solar, wind, small hydro, and waste to energy already exist. On the vehicle side, commercially available electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids are not yet here, but will be soon. B50 is not yet allowed, but very likely will be in the next few years. But even if the vehicle technologies don't come through, vehicle emissions by the City are very small compared to electricity emissions. It's not difficult to
offset all the City's vehicle emissions without any new vehicle technologies.

2) Does the City need to set a goal of carbon neutrality by 2020, instead of a later date, or no date at all?

Clearly there is much room for judgment on this issue, but it is our view that by setting a clear date for achieving this goal, City staff (and community groups) will proceed vigorously to make it happen. As Gore said in his speech last year, announcing his 10 year plan to repower America, a 20 year plan is too long because it allows for the slow pace of change of "business as usual" to continue. 10 years is long enough to allow for significant work to be done, and to achieve this goal. But it's soon enough that it requires vigorous action from day one. We need vigorous action, transformative change and a major shift from business as usual. In short, we need a paradigm shift away from business as usual. We don't have time for the glacial action of normally-functioning bureaucracy. By setting this goal now, the Council will be signaling its intent to move quickly toward this goal.

3) Does achieving carbon neutrality depend on CT at Tajiguas?

No. As our plan shows, we counted only 1 MW coming from CT at Tajiguas, which is about half what Jim Dewey assumed (we don't disagree with Jim, we simply projected a different capacity for the project that will be built). There are many other ways to achieve carbon neutrality without any CT power. Solar power is particularly promising because it can be built fairly quickly, with no upfront costs (using PPAs) that may come with guaranteed savings if certain PPA providers are used, and there are a number of new legal tools that allow expanded use of solar power by cities and counties. We are working, as mentioned, with Nava, to pass a bill that would expand net metering options, opening up many new renewable energy sites for the City to develop. We are also working with the County of Santa Barbara, UCSB and Allen Hancock college to develop a publicly-financed wind farm in North County, at 10-20 MW. This could be built within a few years, and the City could join in this project as a revenue source and also as a source of offsets (through sales of offsets and then buyback, or other possible arrangements) to help it achieve carbon neutrality.

4) Is CEC suggesting the City should suspend its judgment re the wisdom of any particular projects on its way to achieving carbon neutrality?

No. We expect the City to evaluate every project it considers to achieve carbon neutrality, on its own merits. We are not suggesting the City should try to achieve carbon neutrality at any cost. Rather, we view this goal as both morally required but also economically wise. It should allow for significant cost savings over time, helping the City to weather its current economic crisis and helping to hedge against
volatile fossil fuel costs in the future. Zero interest federal bonds (CREBs) are available, as well as PPA financing, so there are many ways to achieve cost savings on the way toward carbon neutrality. This is a local stimulus package for the City - and should be viewed as such...

IEA Executive Summary.pdf

35th District Politics

[ From: "Carbajal Takes on Nava by Proxy for 35th District - When Politics Gets Personal," by Nick Welsh, SB INDEPENDENT, February 12, 2009 ]

"In the latest installment of the political soap opera now engulfing South Coast Democrats, 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal put to rest months of intense speculation last week that he’d be running for the state’s 35th Assembly District against environmental activist Susan Jordan for the Democratic Party nomination. Instead, Carbajal announced he intends to remain in Santa Barbara, be an attentive father, and focus on the challenges now confronting the County Board of Supervisors. But the real punch line was that Carbajal  —  who in recent weeks has been uncommonly vocal about his displeasure with Assemblymember Pedro Nava, who happens to be Jordan’s husband  —  would be “enthusiastically” endorsing Santa Barbara City Councilmember Das Williams in his bid for the post. That, of course, assumes that Williams will run. For the moment, he is strenuously studying his options..."





( Salud Carbajal photo courtesy of www.selfesteem.org )

State & De La Vina

[ From: "Barkin’ Loud, Biting Nothin’," Angry Poodle Barbecue column, February 12, 2009, by Nick Welsh ]


"CONGESTION INDIGESTION: Next time the Santa Barbara Council sets out to do absolutely nothing, maybe they could not spend four hours and 15 minutes not doing it. I’m sure there were other things I myself could have not done in that time, like not alphabetizing my CD collection.

But for more than four hours, our mayor and councilmembers dithered over the fate of the intersection of State Street and De la Vina  —  which clearly needs serious help  —  before executing the ultimate political dodge...

For a brief instant, it appeared Councilmember Das Williams  —  a seriously practical guy underneath all that flamboyant idealism  —  might snatch action from the jaws of delay. He figured out that adding a green right-hand turn arrow to the stop light at the proposed new intersection would let most cars continue down De la Vina Street virtually unimpeded, though they would have to slow somewhat to execute the new right turn. If, however, cyclists or pedestrians were nearby, automated street sensors would turn the green arrow to red to allow safe passage. The technology exists. Wiring for the green arrow, it turns out, was included in the city’s current plans, but the green arrow, somehow, was not.

Mayor Marty Blum and Councilmember Grant House were with him. Yet Councilmember Roger Horton fretted about the finances, exaggerating by 100 percent how much City Hall would have to put up in order to match the state grant, and Councilmember Dale Francisco, the automobile’s best friend in City Hall, has been reviling this project since his council campaign. Had Schneider not been deploying her defensive campaign moves, I’d bet a thousand donuts she’d have provided the fourth vote. But her strategic objective was to allow no sunlight to shine between her position and that of Falcone. Given how late into the night the meeting went, I’d say there was little risk of sunlight intruding anywhere...

Tranquillon Ridge Project

Lotsa talk about the Tranquillon Ridge Project, how it relates to the upcoming election for the 35th Assembly District, and the push for Das to run. Here are some websites with relevant info:

SBI: When Friends Become Rivals

KEYT-TV: 35th District Election

The most comprehensive article was printed in the DAILY SOUND:

"Assembly seat could hinge on failed oil deal - Carbajal endorses Williams, if he runs," By Colby Frazier, DAILY SOUND, Feb. 6, 2009

The fallout from a State Lands Commission vote last week that killed an agreement between local environmental groups and an oil company to expand offshore oil drilling in exchange for the early decommission of several offshore platforms, continued yesterday when First District County Supervisor Salud Carbajal announced he wouldn’t run for the 35th Assembly District seat in 2010.

Carbajal’s public announcement that he wouldn’t run came before he publicly stated he would.

His interest, however brief, in replacing current Assemblymemeber Pedro Nava, appeared to gain traction after the oil deal failed. Nava did not support the project while Carbajal was an outspoken proponent.

Carbajal said many people have encouraged him to seek the office, “especially the environmental community.”

While Carbajal, who was just elected to his second term on the board of supervisors after running uncontested, has opted not to seek the seat, he threw his support behind Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams. He said he would “enthusiastically support” Williams if he decides to run.

Williams said he has not yet decided if he’ll run. But like Carbajal, he feels the pressure to succeed Nava bearing down from the environmental community.

Williams, who will be termed out of his council seat in 2010, said the failure of the oil deal isn’t his “primary” motivation to run, but it is at the forefront of the minds of those encouraging him to do so.

“There’s people who are my strong supporters who have said ‘No, you don’t have a choice. You have to run. We need you.’”

Many in the environmental community were less than thrilled that Nava didn’t give the oil deal his blessing.

Nava, who is serving his final two-year term in office and has expressed interest in running for California attorney general, was already thought to have a successor in Susan Jordan, his wife.

Jordan opened a campaign committee last month, announcing she planned to run for the office.

But Jordan, the director of the nonprofit environmental advisory group the California Coastal Protection Network, also criticized the oil deal, known as the Tranquillon Ridge Project.

If Williams decides to run against Jordan, he’ll be doing so against a person he worked closely with to help get Nava elected, and whom he considers “a capable and talented activist.”

While it’s difficult to know how much sway Nava and Jordan’s concerns about the oil deal played in the commission’s 2-1 vote against it, some feel slighted by the duo’s take on the matter.

David Landecker, executive director of the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), which was one of a trio of environmental groups that brokered the deal with Plains Exploration and Production (PXP) to drill, acknowledged that there is a lot of “anger and resentment” about the project’s failure.

“People are upset and I think when people are upset about a political decision, they tend to be angry with the people behind it, that’s just the way it is,” he said, speaking for himself and not on behalf of EDC.

“[Nava] used his considerable influence to undermine it, but didn’t work to get us to understand what his issues were,” Landecker said. “People felt betrayed. There are ways that one disagrees and there are ways that one works through issues that keep your friends and keep good feelings.”

Nava said his concerns were two fold. The first centered on the confidential agreement between the environmental groups and PXP. He said the fine print was never made public to anyone other than the commission’s staff.

His second concern was that the commission’s staff, presumably based to in part on the contents of the confidential agreement, recommended the project be denied.

One of the main thrusts of this recommendation was the staff’s belief that the early decommission dates of four offshore platforms operated by PXP could not be enforced. In other words, because the federal office of Minerals Management Service oversees the leases, it could insist the leases remain open and pumping as long as oil remained in the ground, deal or not.

Nava said kinks like these could have been worked out had the deal been made public, and the project would have had a better chance of being approved.

“Other people could have seen it and figured out its flaws and there would have been a much greater chance of an enforceable agreement,” he said. “I think the fundamental mistake that was made was insisting on the confidentiality. That caused a great deal of suspicion.”

While Williams described Nava and Jordan’s non-endorsement of the PXP deal a “strategic difference of opinion,” it appears to have dug deeper with Carbajal.

He declined to comment at length on Nava and Jordan, saying: “I’ve said enough about my concerns and disappointments. Quite frankly, I don’t want to continue the soap opera.”

Carbajal was more animated in his comments to the Santa Barbara Independent. He’s quoted there as saying: “Like many residents of Santa Barbara County, I, too, have experienced the non-responsiveness and lack of customer service our Assemblymember Pedro Nava has inflicted on us, and I regret that his wife, who wants to succeed him in office, will continue the same way.” He goes on to say: “It’s about time someone said it. My phone has been ringing off the hook [with] environmentalists, labor, and social justice people,” urging him to run.

Nava didn’t take Carbajal’s comment lightly.

“His remarks about Susan are recognized by many as sexist, paternalistic, condescending and demonstrate an ignorance of how difficult it has been for women to distinguish themselves based on their own accomplishments,” he said. “That’s exactly how I feel.”

Nava, like Williams, characterized his feelings on the PXP deal as a “difference of opinion,” and one he hopes everyone can get past.

“I firmly believe that this disagreement will resolve itself and that all of us who are fighting to protect the environment in a very short time will once again be standing together,” he said.

Nava added that he feels it’s important to not forget the commission staff, and ultimately the lands commission denied the project, not him or Jordan.

“I don’t think it’s reasonable to blame Susan Jordan for that result,” he said. “I don’t think it’s reasonable to blame me for that result.

“Everyone shouldn’t be expected to have the same opinion all the time.”

Snowy Plover Preserve

[ Excerpt from: "Snowy Plover debate reignites," By Joshu Molina, DAILY SOUND, Feb. 05, 2009 ]

Reigniting the debate over the protection of the Western Snowy Plover, environmentalists are pressuring the city of Goleta to take swift action to protect the threatened shorebird along the Ellwood Mesa Beach.

Only about 1,800 of the diminutive white and tan birds remain on the Pacific Coast and with nesting season near activists are becoming increasingly concerned that Goleta officials have not done enough to protect their habitat.

Ellwood Mesa Beach is a popular destination for people to let their dogs roam free off their leashes, but dogs are also known to eat plover eggs and disrupt their habitat. Joggers and others are also guilty of unknowingly trampling over nests and eggs.

“It is important to protect the Pacific Coast population of the Western Snowy Plover,” said Nicole Cerra, president of Shorelines and Watersheds, an environmental nonprofit group. ” Like myself, I don't believe that most people would like to knowingly contribute to the extinction of a species.”

Serra spoke out about the issue at a recent Goleta City Council meeting and authored a letter to City Manager Dan Singer outlining her group’s strong concerns about Goleta’s inability to protect plover habitat.

“This lack of action by the City of Goleta to protect our local, natural resources is of grave concern to Shorelines & Watersheds,” Cerra wrote. “Western Snowy Plovers are a sensitive species. They require undisturbed nesting and wintering areas in order to survive.”

The city of Goleta is in the process of responding to the environmental group’s questions.

The drama over the plover stretches back more than three years. As part of a complex land swap agreement to preserve Ellwood Mesa from development, the California Coastal Commission granted a coastal development permit in 2005, that required Goleta to take steps to protect the plover habitat. The plover is listed as threatened with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Among the requirements were for city to prohibit dogs and horses in some key areas and install permanent signage.

Singer said that Goleta has taken some steps to protect the plovers, but high costs, opposition from dog owners, and questions about whether plover nesting actually exists along the roughly two-mile stretch of beach within Goleta’s jurisdiction, have slowed the city down.

“We don’t have snowy plovers nesting on our beaches,” he said. “Nesting doesn’t currently exist. Maybe that’s because we have dogs running around. I don’t know. We don’t exactly have perfect conditions.”

But the lack of an official habitat management plan is why activists suspect that plovers aren’t obviously nesting in the area. They point to the success of UCSB’s Coal Oil Point Reserve nearby as testimony that a program can work.

At Coal Oil Point, docents monitor the plover habitat area year-round and the program has become a statewide model for plover preservation and habitat restoration.

Goleta, however, is still struggling.

“I don’t think we are doing much in the way of enforcement,” said Margaret Connell, a Goleta City Councilwoman, who suggested partnering with Coal Oil Point to increase a presence on the beach.

An attempt to adopt a Western Snowy Plover Habitat Management Plan failed in 2006 because of vocal community opposition from dog owners. The Goleta City Council also cited preliminary estimates that a management plan would cost upwards of $200,000.

“It would require money that we don’t have,” Singer said.

Goleta, Singer said, has taken small steps to protect the plover habitat. But it hasn’t been easy.

Signs were vandalized. People shot through the signs with guns, leaving bullet holes. Others wrote four-letter obscenities on the signs.

“There’s been a real tension that exists in the community,” Singer said.

Still Goleta has increased trash cleanup on the beach. Garbage attracts skunks and raccoons, which are natural predators of the plover. Park maintenance managers are regularly monitoring the area.

Goleta recently purchased bicycles to allow officers to navigate the area and it plans to increase ticketing if necessary.

“We are really going to increase our presence there and that will spur people from misbehaving,” Singer said.

When it comes to increasing protections, Shorelines and Watersheds may have some backup on the Goleta City Council.

Goleta Councilman Ed Easton regularly volunteers as a docent at Coal Oil Point and believes that protecting the shorebird is paramount.

“It’s like giving blood,” Easton said. “When you see these little critters start hatching and running around you know personally you are making a difference, and that feels good.”

With nesting season going into full-swing in March, Easton and the Goleta City Council may be forced to take some action. Environmentalists and elected officials in the region are taking notice.

Many, including Cerra of the Shorelines and Watersheds, openly suggest that Goleta’s $200,000 estimate of a management plan is an inflated number. Fencing, docents and some increased oversight would cost much less and still protect plovers

“Two-hundred-thousand dollars would be a limousine management plan, but we don’t need a limousine plan; we need a Prius plan,” said Das Williams, an environmental activist and Santa Barbara City Councilman, who frequently serves as a plover docent at Coal Oil Point.

He said there’s a way for everyone to be happy.

“People can continue to use the beach, and plovers can nest if there’s an effective management plan,” Williams said.

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For Full text and comments, please go to:

DAILY SOUND: Plovers

Service Workers Agreement

The recent Service Workers Agreement has been much talked about. Media sources include:

KEYT-TV: Service Workers Agreement

NOOZHAWK: City Employees Agreement

The most detailed media coverage was by the DAILY SOUND:

[ Excerpt from: "City, service workers OK two-year deal," By Eric Lindberg, DAILY SOUND, Feb. 4, 2009 ]


After nearly half a year of negotiations, the city of Santa Barbara finalized a deal with service workers yesterday that will provide salary and benefits increases between 5 and 8 percent during the next two years.

Union and city officials both acknowledged that the economic climate mandated concessions on both sides of the bargaining table.

“It’s probably not as rich an agreement that we thought we’d be reaching when we sat down in June, but clearly things had changed with the city’s budget by December,” said George Green, a senior field representative and spokesman for the union.

Kristine Schmidt, the city’s employee relations manager, called the two-year deal the “best agreement that we could have come up with between us.”

Under the terms of the contract, members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 620 will receive pay and benefits increases of 3 percent during the first year and 2 percent during the second year.

Additional salary increases up to 3 percent during the second year are possible through a formula based on the Consumer Price Index. Service workers will also receive a paid holiday in recognition of Cesar Chavez.

“That’s huge for us,” Green said. “It’s the only real labor leader holiday around. That is something that we can point to in these difficult economic times, that at least we were able to prevail on that.”

Those covered by the contract include librarians, streets maintenance workers, groundskeepers and planning department employees — essentially all city workers excluding Airport Patrol, Harbor Patrol, water, wastewater, safety and management employees...

“We were able to get people cost-of-living increases and some increases to retiree medical,” Green said. “Hopefully the economy will be better the next time we’re at the table.”

The increase in salaries and benefits will cost the city at least $1.8 million, which would not be fully realized until 2011. Up to an additional $1.2 million could be added through the Consumer Price Index formula during the second year of the contract.

The City Council accepted the deal by a 6-1 margin, with Councilmember Dale Francisco casting the lone vote against the proposition...

“This is not the time to be establishing new holidays for city employees,” Francisco said.

Councilmember Das Williams, however, countered that the agreement represents the results of a long, contracted negotiation involving significant concessions by the union.

“That’s shown in the fact that they were obviously asking for a lot more and they accepted a lot less,” he said, calling Francisco’s statements a “late hit.”

“I feel like it’s a little bit grandstanding and opportunistic,” Williams said.

Francisco responded by announcing he had brought up issues with the deal during closed sessions as negotiations were ongoing.

“At many occasions, I have raised objections to some of the things we have agreed with,” he said. “…I think we will regret them. I said exactly those words.”

City negotiators said despite just finalizing a contract after months of negotiations, they are already returning to the table for further discussions due to the budget crisis.

“We’ve approached SEIU and our other bargaining units about a furlough up to 5 percent next year along with other labor concessions to avoid service cuts and to minimize the need for layoffs,” Schmidt said.

Although those negotiations are ongoing and by no means finalized, a 5 percent furlough would represent 104 unpaid hours, she said, adding that following the example set by the County of Santa Barbara of holding the furlough during the winter holidays is a possibility.

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For full text, please go to:

Daily Sound: Service Workers

Transporation Summit

[ Excerpts from the Ventura County Democratic Party website]

Moving the Central Coast Forward was a meeting about regional transportation needs held on Saturday, January 31, 2009 in the cafeteria at Ventura College.

Hosted by ASERT, the Alliance for a Sustainable and Equitable Regional Transportation, and by CAUSE, the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, the meeting featured keynote speaker Senator Alan Lowenthal who chairs the California Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing. There was also a panel of speakers: Rick Cole, Ventura City Manager; Esperanza Martinez of the Los Angeles 
Bus Riders’ Union; and Das Williams from the Santa Barbara City Council...





... In both Los Angeles County and Santa Barbara County, voters approved a .5% sales tax to be used exclusively to fund transportation. Ventura County has no such tax base for transportation. This is a classic case of them that has gets. City Council Member Das Williams from Santa Barbara pointed out that when Los Angeles or Santa Barbara Counties petition the state or federal governments for assistance, they are able to demonstrate that they have money of their own for the projects. Santa Barbara can go to Lois Capps and say, “We need three dollars; we’ve got two dollars. Can you give us a dollar?” Ventura County has to go to Lois Capps and say, “We need three dollars. Can you give us three dollars?” It’s not hard to figure out who’s likely to end up with three dollars...

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Moving the Central Coast Forward Transporation Summit, 2008