Happy Holidays
from Santa Barbara County Action Network
board of directors and staff!
With your help, we are making a difference in environmental, economic and social justice throughout the county.
THANK YOU!
Great egret at Goleta Slough April 28, 2022 by Jeanne Sparks
2022 HIGHLIGHTS
Denying ExxonMobil
After years of advocacy by SBCAN and many partners, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted to deny ExxonMobil’s dangerous oil trucking and offshore restart plan. Unfortunately, ExxonMobil has sued the Board of Supervisors over this decision, so the fight continues. Our partners at the Environmental Defense Center represent SBCAN on this issue and have intervened in the lawsuit on our behalf.
Reducing Dependence on Fossil Fuel
SBCAN supported the successful passage of electric reach codes in Santa Barbara County, Santa Barbara City, Goleta, and Carpinteria. New buildings built in these jurisdictions must be 100 percent electric, which is a crucial step to transition away from fossil fuels.
Helping with Housing
Thanks to our efforts and those of our partners, we have made headway on housing issues:
In Santa Barbara, for the first time ever, the City Council included affordable housing development as one of its top priorities in its Housing Element Update. This will guide housing policy decisions for the next eight years.
All jurisdictions across the county are working on their Housing Element Updates, and we at SBCAN are monitoring the process, keeping our members informed, and advocating for affordable housing and sustainable development.
In a historic decision, the Santa Barbara City Council on December 6 decided to allocate $3.6 million to the newly established affordable housing trust fund to be used to build 100 percent affordable housing units.
SBCAN and our partners have been advocating for rent stabilization for vulnerable communities across the city of Santa Barbara and in mobile homes in Santa Maria.
Celebrating Phenomenal Leadership
In June at Blosser Urban Garden in Santa Maria, we held our annual North County “Looking Forward” Awards Dinner in person for the first time since the pandemic began.
We are proud to have honored six amazing individuals and organizations: The Wildling Museum received our Environmental Award; Sara Macdonaldreceived our Giving Back Award; Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) received our Working Families Award; Pastor Chris Brown received our Social Justice Award; Elizabeth Beebe received our Youth Activist Award; and Mireya Piña received our “Looking Forward” Award. Thank you to everyone who attended and joined us in celebrating the exceptional work being done in North County.
In November we celebrated the prolific career of retired State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson at El Paseo Restaurant in Santa Barbara. Senator Jackson had a long career of fighting for equality and women’s rights. She wrote bills that expanded parental leave, established one of the strongest equal pay laws in the nation, and required gender diversity on corporate boards. Starshine Roshell, local award-winning author and journalist, interviewed Senator Jackson about her time in office, her thoughts on the recent election, and her hopes and visions for the future. If you were not able to make the event, you can watch a recording of the event on our YouTube channel.
New SBCAN Board Members
SBCAN also welcomed two new board members this year: Alhan Diaz-Correa, Climate Justice Associate for the Community Environmental Council and Guadalupe activist, and Stanley Tzankov, Donor Relations Manager of CAUSE and a leader of the Santa Barbara Tenants Union.
2023 AND BEYOND
- Looking forward to 2023 and beyond, SBCAN is excited to start working on the Santa Maria River Healthy Watershed Initiative. In partnership with Creek Lands Conservation and others, we will be gathering volunteers to go out in kayaks in the Santa Maria River Estuary once per month to test the water quality. There is still time to sign up for our first round of training in January. Sign up for the Clean Water Team: https://sbcan.nationbuilder.com/water_team. (Photo above is of Pelicans at Santa Maria River Estuary taken on Aug. 26, 2022 by Jeanne Sparks.)
- We will continue to push for tenant protections countywide, including a mandatory lease law in Santa Maria.
- We will continue to oppose dangerous oil projects and monitor the situation with Phillips 66 Santa Maria Refinery.
- We will continue to protect prime agricultural land by opposing the City of Lompoc’s attempts to annex and develop Bailey Avenue property.
- We will support efforts to lower the environmental impacts of cruise ships in the Santa Barbara Harbor.
- Through our role in the Sustainable University Now (SUN) Coalition, we will continue to pressure the university to build enough housingfor its students, staff and faculty, and to ensure housing is sustainable and appropriate.
You make it possible
To support this work, and much more, please renew your membership with monthly or yearly dues.
With gratitude,
Ken Hough
Executive Director
We need you!
As you may know, SBCAN was formed in January 2002 when more than 100 activists committed to paying annual dues of $250. Most of them continue to support SBCAN.
Many of you are also long-time supporters of SBCAN. We hope you will continue your support by renewing your membership, or if you are already paying monthly dues, THANK YOU!
Please join or renew your dues now at whatever level fits your budget. We hope you can increase your dues from previous years to reflect the higher costs of living that have accumulated over the past 20 years.
If you are not currently a member, please consider becoming one now.
We would especially appreciate automatic monthly payments to sustain our work over time, or if you prefer a one-time annual donation, that would also be greatly appreciated.
Your contribution helps us act on the issues you care about.
Suggested Membership Levels:
- $5/month or $60/year
- $10/month or $120/year
- $25/month or $300/year
- $50/month or $600/year
- $100/month or $1,200/year
- Other (any amount is appreciated)
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
You are invited to join in on a conversation about how SBCAN was formed, how it has progressed through the last two decades, and what your hopes are for the future of SBCAN as we “come of age” on our 21st anniversary.
We hope you will be able to join the discussion during SBCAN’s annual membership meeting on Sunday, February 5, 2023 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Marks-in-the-Valley, 2901 Nojoqui Ave. in Los Olivos. Please let us know if you can make it by emailing [email protected].