Santa Barbara County Action Network
March 7, 2017 

Hazel Davalos, Community Organizing Director for CAUSE and a board member of SBCAN, sends this message:

Santa Barbara County Action Network
March 6, 2017 

SBCAN Action Alert
February 21, 2017

1. North County Coalition
2. GREAT Community Brunch
3. SBCAN Editorial: Looking back for perspective on future

1. North County Coalition

SBCAN partners with several groups in the Santa Maria area under the name of North County Coalition. Abraham Melendrez with CAUSE has put out information on upcoming meetings and efforts of the North County Coalition. We hope you will read his message below and join in as you can:

Hello Everyone,

I want to thank everyone that was able to make it to our meeting last week; it is great to see that we are still getting a lot of new people looking to get involved in the resistance against hate and in taking back our community. Before we get to announcements and meeting notes I want to remind everyone that we are having these meeting every other Monday and that our next meeting is Monday 2/27 at 5:30pm here in the CAUSE Office/UDW Hall (402 S Miller).

Announcements 

Tuesday night (2/21), the Santa Maria City Council will take the first steps to settle a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act and consider moving to district elections.

Like all great grassroots movements, this baton has been carried a long way.  In the 1990’s, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) made the first effort for district elections in Santa Maria, taking the city to court under the U.S. Voting Rights Act.  In 2014, CAUSE and other local community groups organized countless volunteers, collecting over 5,300 signatures door-to-door and at churches, grocery stores and little league games, rain or shine.  Our petition was blocked by the city on a technicality.  Now, thanks to a lawsuit lead by Hector Sanchez and California’s stronger voting rights protections, the city has finally heard the community’s voice.

It’s not done yet.  We’ll need all of you to make sure district lines are drawn fairly and prevent gerrymandering that diminishes the voting rights of working-class immigrant neighborhoods.  But this long-sought victory for representation and accountability is finally within sight.

The first thing we can do is attend tomorrow's Santa Maria City Council meeting and voice support. The meeting will be at City Hall (110 E. Cook St.) at 6:30pm

If you'd like to give a comment we'll help you fill out a speaker's slip, we're item #5. We'd like to keep a relatively positive and collaborative tone. It's important to note how grateful we are that now 5,300 voters' voices will finally be heard. We also must keep in mind that the city council members still get to vote on the district lines, and while we have advocacy and anti-gerrymandering laws on our side, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try to maintain some good will.

Thank you to so many people who have been part of this journey with us.

Let’s keep pushing.

We hope you'll join us for SBCAN's GREAT Community Brunch 

SBCAN
Celebrating 15 years of environmental, social, and economic justice activism

SBCAN Action Alert
February 8, 2017
FIRST THE LIST -- THEN THE DETAILS

1.
FEBRUARY 9:
Join us for the NO DAPL (Dakota Access Pipeline) Rally and March at 5 p.m. at the corner of Broadway and Main in Santa Maria. At 5:45 p.m., join us as we march south on Broadway to Jones Street for a meeting of the SBCAN North County Roundtable/North County Coalition Environmental Committee Meeting at the Cornerstone Community Meeting Room

2.
FEBRUARY 9 & 14:
Santa Barbara County Seeks Community Input on Pilot Program and Participants for Local Advisory Committee that aims to reduce criminal justice system involvement, 4-5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, Board of Supervisors Conference Room; 105 E. Anapamu Street, 4th Floor, Santa Barbara and  4-5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 14, Board of Supervisors Gallery; 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria

3.
FEBRUARY 10:
SBCAN South County Roundtable meets noon Friday, February 10 at NEW LOCATION: Union Bank’s Community Room, 15 East Carrillo St., Santa Barbara

4.
FEBRUARY 15:
Open house to announce the new Strauss wind energy project in Lompoc, Wednesday, February 15, at 6 pm at the Elks Lodge in Lompoc.

5.
FEBRUARY 15:
SBCAN presents "A Century of Song - Still Going Strong with Charlie King and Bev Grant," Wednesday, February 15 at 7 p.m. at Unity Santa Barbara, 227 W. Arrellaga, Santa Barbara

6.
FEBRUARY 18:
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION Saturday, February 18, from 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. at Pioneer Park, 1150 W. Foster Road, Santa Maria

7.
FEBRUARY 24:
CAUSE Action Fund Reception, Friday, February 24, 5:30 - 7:00pm, UDW Hall/CAUSE Action Fund Office, 402 S. Miller Street, Santa Maria

8.
MARCH 12:
A GREAT SBCAN event featuring Congressman Salud Carbajal and Dave Davis on working together in this new era, Sunday, March 12 from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at El Paseo Restaurant, 10 El Paseo, Santa Barbara

9.
JUNE 11:
SBCAN's 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards Dinner: Sunday, June 11 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria

10.
Renew your SBCAN membership or become a member

SBCAN Action Alert

SBCAN Action Alert

1. Volunteers (and Socks) Needed for the Point In Time Count tonight, Thursday, January 26
2. The League of Women Voters Santa Maria Valley is inviting members of the public to a meeting on Saturday, January 28 from 10 a.m. to noon.
   
3. Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR for a special SBCAN event on working together in this new era, Sunday, March 12 in Santa Barbara from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. We'll give you more details later.
4. Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR with the new date for the 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards Dinner: Sunday, June 11 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Santa Maria

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1. Rancho La Laguna Development at County Planning Commission, Wednesday, January 25
2. Volunteers (and Socks) Needed for the Point In Time Count, Thursday, January 26
3. Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR for a special SBCAN event on working together in this new era, Sunday, March 12 in Santa Barbara
4. Please MARK YOUR CALENDAR with the new date for the 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards Dinner: Sunday, June 11 in Santa Maria

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1. SBCAN South County Roundtable meets noon Friday, January 13 in Santa Barbara
2. Meet your new county supervisors Saturday, January 14 in Los Olivos -- Bring socks
3. Submit your nominations for the 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards