1. SBCAN North County Roundtable meets 6 p.m. Thursday, January 12 in Santa Maria
   
2. SBCAN South County Roundtable meets noon Friday, January 13 in Santa Barbara
   
3. SBCAN Membership Appreciation Meeting Saturday, January 14 in Los Olivos
4. A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and a movie on the 14th Amendment
5. Submit your nominations for the 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards

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1.  SBCAN North County Roundtable meets 6 p.m. Thursday, January 12 in Santa Maria
     Cornerstone Community Meeting Room, corner of Jones Street at 705 S. McClelland, Santa Maria 

DRAFT AGENDA

2.  SBCAN South County Roundtable meets noon Friday, January 13 in Santa Barbara
     Rabobank, 2nd Floor Conference Room, 33 Carrillo St. (corner of Anacapa Street), Santa Barbara

DRAFT AGENDA

1.     Call to Order by Dick Flacks. Introductions; Agenda Review (5 min.)
2.     Renters Rights in Santa Barbara.  This month’s roundtable focus is a renters’ rights agenda for Santa Barbara. In addition to rising rents, Santa Barbara is experiencing a rise in no-cause evictions aimed at older and working-class tenants. CAUSE has undertaken organizing and lobbying efforts aimed at City Council adoption of legislation that would support the rights of renters. We’ve invited CAUSE staff and City Councilmember Cathy Murillo to participate in the discussion. Click here for a CAUSE publication detailing aspects of the current situation. (40 min.)
3.     U.S. 101 HOV Lane. Marc Chytilo will speak on the EIR for this project. (10 min.)
4.     Unmet Transit Needs Hearing. SBCAG will hold a public hearing in Santa Maria on January 19. This is most important outside of the MTD service area; inside that service area, all Transportation Development Act Funds are used for transit. In other areas substantial amounts of those funds are used for streets and roads, unless there are unmet transit needs that are “reasonable to meet.” (5 min.)
5.     Phillips 66 Rail Terminal. The SLO Planning Commission finally denied the project and Phillips 66 has appealed to the Board of Supervisors. Election results in the supervisorial race may give a clue as to how this might turn out. (5 min.)
6.     Brief updates from participants. (2 to 5 min. each)
7.     On-shore Oil Projects in North County. (5 min.)
8.     Open discussion about other items of interest. (10 min.)
9.     Next meeting. Our next meeting is scheduled for February 10.

3.  SBCAN Membership Appreciation Meeting Saturday, January 14 in Los Olivos

We hope you will join us for our Membership Appreciation Meeting on Saturday, January 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Marks-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Avenue, Los Olivos. Our guest speakers will be newly-elected supervisors Das Williams and Joan Hartmann. Refreshments will be provided. You don't have to be a member to attend.

Please click here to let us know you will be coming, or send us an email at [email protected].

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4.  A celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and a movie on the 14th Amendment along with singing and rejoicing will be held Saturday, January 14 at the UDW Conference Center, 402 S. Miller in Santa Maria beginning at 1 p.m. 

This event is FREE, but reservations for lunch are required. Call (805) 448-7869, (805) 878-0612, or (951) 522-7886 if you would like to order a free lunch.

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5.  Submit your nominations for the 2017 North County "Looking Forward" Awards by January 22 and Mark Your Calendar for our award dinner Sunday, May 21 from 5 p.m.-8 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel, 3455 Skyway Drive, Santa Maria.

We will recognize five outstanding individuals or organizations from the North County during our annual dinner in Santa Maria. Send us your nominations.

Criteria for Awards

•  Open to individuals, local businesses and community organizations located or working in northern and central Santa Barbara County (Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Ynez, and Guadalupe areas.)
•  Must have demonstrated commitment to social equity, diversity, social and economic justice, or environmental protection.

Award Categories

1.  Social Justice Award – For promoting fairness, tolerance, equality, respect and compassion for all people in our community.
2.  Environmental Protection and Sustainability Award – For valuing, protecting, and preserving our natural resources and environment.
3.  Giving Back to the Community Award – For giving back selflessly to the community through volunteer activities and community projects.
4.  Working Families Award - For helping working families to obtain affordable health care, housing, educational and job opportunities; or to improve wages, benefits, working conditions, and worker rights.
5.  “Looking Forward” Award – For strong leadership and vision in community building, civic engagement, and improving the quality of life in our community.

Download the Awards Criteria and Nomination Form here. 

Now, more than ever before, given this new and challenging national political climate, is the time to nurture our strong local network of progressive folks to create bridges between environmental and social justice activism.

For fifteen years Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) has been the preeminent non-profit organization working on both sustainability and social justice issues throughout the county. We have many partner organizations, to be sure, but we always strive to be countywide and working on a wide range of progressive issues—especially looking for issues that might fall through the cracks otherwise.

On January 14, 2017 we will convene a Membership Meeting and I urge you to participate. Our newly elected county supervisors, Joan Hartmann and Das Williams, will be our guest speakers. We will discuss recent successes and challenges for 2017 (preview below). The meeting and social time will be a great chance to renew friendships and continue building the networks that support all of our issues. Mark your calendar for January 14 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Marks-in-the-Valley, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos.

With increasing competition for foundation support, we are all the more reliant on our members, major donors, and fundraisers. Therefore, we hope that you will make a membership donation that suits your budget and helps SBCAN continue its educational and advocacy role.

If you can, please consider becoming a major donor with a contribution of $500 or more and get special recognition at our annual membership meeting.

It is easy to contribute here.