Regarding the Sept. 25 article, “Planning Commission Tables Decision on Enrollment Increase at Laguna Blanca School,” the school has applied to amend its conditional-use permit to increase student enrollment on the Hope Ranch campus to 385 students from 330.
Does this increase add to an existing traffic problem area with only three ways to get into and out of Hope Ranch? Remember Lahaina on Maui?
Does the increase fit with the character of this ranch neighborhood? LBS was given land to provide for a community school. Now, fewer than 15% of students live in Hope Ranch.
Both of my children attended LBS. To survive the Painted Cave Fire, my children and I had to drive through flames on both sides of our driveway and smash our car through the closed electronic security gate.
I DO NOT AGREE with the student expansion to 385 students.
There will be increased safety hazards. Existing LBS drop-off and pick-up times create a bottleneck of more than 80 cars on Las Palmas Drive. 72% of calls that go to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department are medically related and a three-minute delay can mean life or death.
LBS Headmaster Ron Cino says the school doesn’t currently have the facilities to handle over 350 students. So where does the 385 number come from?
Cathy Cash
Hope Ranch
• • •
Regarding all the reporting on new housing proposal, no one is talking about the water/police/school resources and costs of all the RIDICULOUS INCREASED HOUSING NEEDS!
Candace Hull
Orcutt
• • •
The recent suggestion to place speed bumps on State Street to reduce bike speeds is a great idea and far better than the placement of “slow your roll” signs in downtown Santa Barbara.
However, speed bumps would likely be disregarded in the same way car drivers ignore their intended purpose. For all we know, placing speed bumps may end up as another thrill for e-bikers wanting to leap over them at high speeds.
An alternate idea would be the placement of K-rails at every midblock where the current inoperative traffic signal-controlled crosswalk is located. K-rails, set in a staggered manner and horizontal to bike traffic, would force any and all bicycles to slow down in order to walk and/or wiggle their way through them.
First responders would not be prevented from making emergency efforts since the K-rails would be located only at the midblock crosswalk locations.
By example there is the Highway 101 crosswalk/bikeway at Calle Real and West Junipero Street near Oak Park. At that location, any bicyclist must slow down when approaching from Calle Real to gain access to that overcrossing because the opening is intentionally staggered and narrow for access and passage.
As an experiment, these K-rails could initially be placed at only two or three crosswalks to see if there is any potential impact for slowing bike speeds.
This proposed idea would, of course, first need to be evaluated by the city’s risk management department for any potential downside. If risk management gives its approval, proper signage would obviously be required.
The K-rails could then be colorized by local artists in the same way as the K-rails have been colorized at State and Haley streets.
This idea could allow more pedestrians to actually walk on State Street, giving the area the promenade often discussed. Pedestrians would not have to contend with speeding bikes within the midblock areas.
There is also the possibility that high-speed e-bikers would abandon State Street, being frustrated that these K-rails have slowed their speeds and forcing them to find alternate routes. Cruising State Street on an e-bike will become more of a disrupted hassle than a free-flowing pleasure ride.
When State Street was closed to vehicle traffic, bicyclists were given the privilege to ride uninterruptedly down the middle of the street.
As a daily bike commuter, it has been enjoyable to ride down the middle of State Street without vehicles present. However, that privilege is now being abused by many careless and reckless bicyclists.
Ergo, if you abuse a privilege, that privilege should either be taken away or interrupted by placing K-rails within the midblock on the route of travel.
Paul Bielaczyc
Santa Barbara
• • •
As a historian, educator and former Historic Preservation board member in Anacortes, Washington, it seems that the present members of the Santa Barbara Historic Landmarks Commission should be urban planners and allow persons with aesthetic guidelines to determine the sites to do battle in the community’s overpopulation.
Thomas Malthus would just shake his head and wonder why they pave paradise and put up a parking lot, and so much more.
Brian Massey
Sonoita, Arizona, and formerly from Santa Barbara
• • •
I have been utilizing Noozhawk for a while but was drawn closer to who you are by coming across an article by Jim Langley. In shor, Praise the Lord! I will be a long-term supporter.
Rubel Trevino
Santa Barbara
• • •
In this time of so many challenges and opportunities in Goleta, it’s important to have proven and experienced leadership. That’s why I’m supporting Paula Perotte for mayor.
Perotte has been on our city council for 14 years, including the last six as mayor. She has led our council in tackling extraordinary threats like oil spills, wildfires and COVID-19.
She also continually voted “no” on too-big projects like Hollister Village, and has worked hard to increase the number of affordable units in any new projects.
And with the State of California’s demands for massive amounts of new housing, Perotte has led the city response.
First Goleta pushed back on the state’s unreasonable demands. Then, to avoid state penalties and other state sanctions, Perotte worked with the council to create a housing element the state finally certified.
Perotte continued to fight for our city. She stood strong to oppose Santa Barbara County’s rezoning the Glen Annie Golf Club. Then the county downsized the rezoning from the originally planned 1,500 units.
As the development details emerged, Perotte insisted that the county and the developer do the job right, commit to minimizing impacts, and not skip essential steps such as studying traffic and circulation impacts.
We need leaders who stand up to higher authorities, insist that they do the job right and not just roll over our little city.
Thank goodness Paula Perotte has done that, again and again!
Marian Shapiro
Goleta
• • •
I am supporting the re-election of Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne. Her competitors may claim that “change is needed,” but newcomer Lydia Perez’s plans are grandiose and unachievable, and Jim Mosby’s mode of operation has proved destructive in the past.
Osborne is the only nonpartisan candidate and has demonstrated since first elected to the City Council in 2016 that she is the most qualified person to be mayor.
Ron Fink
Lompoc
• • •
Wendy Santamaria is the leader Santa Barbara needs on the City Council, particularly when it comes to protecting our beloved downtown.
Her support for a pedestrian-friendly State Street and addressing safety concerns like e-bikes reflect an understanding of the issues facing our city and the values we hold as a community.
State Street isn’t just a street, it’s the heart of Santa Barbara, where we gather, stroll and experience our vibrant culture.
Proponents of reintroducing cars, like City Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez, offer an overly simplistic solution to complex challenges.
But restoring cars won’t magically revive downtown. We’ve already seen that the pedestrian promenade has sparked a resurgence of placemaking, fostering a space where locals and visitors alike can connect.
Vacancy rates are now lower than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, and experts agree that pedestrian-friendly streets are key to economic success.
The real issues downtown faces — homelessness, an unbalanced retail mix and a lack of affordable housing — won’t be solved by allowing cars back in. These problems require smart, forward-thinking policies, not a nostalgic retreat to the past.
Wendy Santamaria understands this. She recognizes that expanding a car-free State Street and promoting active transportation, coupled with much-needed housing development, will usher our city into a new era.
Let’s choose a future that prioritizes people over cars, one that builds on the success we’ve seen. Wendy Santamaria is the candidate to keep State Street vibrant and thriving.
Luca D’Agruma
Santa Barbara
• • •
Can the residents of Goleta City Council District 3 (El Encanto/Winchester Canyon) afford to have a council member who can not fight for/vote for the people of District 3?
Jennifer Smith, a Planning Commission member who just moved to the district in January 2024, is running for the council against lifelong district resident and frequent council attendee, Ethan Woodill.
Smith previously lived in District 4, where she voted for high-density housing at project sites such as Kenwood Village.
Now that she moved to District 3 in January, she states she cannot vote on certain issues in the district, like Kenwood Village.
A recent e-mail she sent me states, “Hi April, I am sorry to say that I have developed a conflict of interest on the matters to be considered at the continued meeting which I will announce at the meeting, so I will have to recuse myself from deliberation and vote on the Housing Element items. Jennifer Smith Chair, Planning Commission”
In the past two years, District 3 is the only district that has not had either an official or unofficial district council member. As a result, the city’s other council members, who advocate/vote for the best interests of their own districts, voted to take millions of dollars from District 3 and give it to District 2 and Old Town.
If we elect Smith, she will have to leave the room when certain issues are discussed/voted on for District 3, and the council members from the other districts will continue to have the opportunity to take more money away from the district.
I do acknowledge that people will have to recuse themselves from certain issues and projects. But, District 3 should not have to pay the price for having a city council member who can not advocate for us.
April Reid
Goleta
• • •
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the need to advocate for abortion rights has never been more urgent. California is a beacon of reproductive freedom, but reproductive rights are in peril in every state in America.
Unfortunately, not all of our elected leaders have demonstrated the commitment necessary in this fight.
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez did not vote in the 2022 general election, a crucial moment for safeguarding reproductive rights in our state.
While the majority of us joined together to pass Proposition 1 and enshrined abortion in our state Constitution, Gutierrez was missing in action.
This absence raises concerns, especially given that the only Planned Parenthood health center in Santa Barbara is located in her district.
That’s why Santa Barbara Young Democrats is proud to have joined Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund (PPCCAF) in endorsing Wendy Santamaria for the City Council.
Santamaria understands that reproductive freedom is a fundamental right, essential to the health and dignity of all individuals.
As we move forward in this post-Dobbs era, we need leaders who will show up for our values and fight for our rights. Let’s choose a representative who will show up for us, ensuring that Santa Barbara remains a safe haven for all who seek reproductive care.
Vote for Wendy Santamaria.
Leilanie Rubinstein
Santa Barbara
• • •
Today’s aggravation will be tomorrow’s celebration. That’s how we need to think about the road construction and changes in Goleta that seem inconvenient now, but will make such a difference when they are done.
Remember, when Goleta became a city, Santa Barbara County left a huge backlog of broken infrastructure, while not giving the new city the money needed to fix it.
Under Mayor Paula Perotte, Goleta has allocated more funding to make faster progress on fixing years of infrastructure backlog. That’s why so many roads are under construction now.
It’s too bad that Caltrans picked the same moment to do the San José Creek bridge repair — bad timing. But in the end we’ll finally get a solution to Old Town flooding and lowering flood insurance costs for nearby businesses.
Does Hollister Avenue seem annoying? Stop and ask yourself how much worse is it during rush hour now compared to before?
In my experience, traffic congestion has always been bad at certain times. And while some construction remains, already there’s much more free parking in Old Town, and safer ways for bikes and pedestrians to get where they need to go.
It’s easy to get mad at elected officials when we are inconvenienced. But it’s important to remember that leaders like Perotte are working to fix old problems and make our city safer for all of us.
I want to elect people who make the hard choices, see us through difficult times and make our community better. Thank you, Paula Perotte, for being that person!
Don McDermott
Goleta
• • •
As an accounting professor and a mother of two former students of Santa Barbara City College, I have seen firsthand the impact that SBCC has on our local students.
Nearly 50% of high school graduates between Carpinteria and Gaviota rely on SBCC for excellent, affordable education and job training.
However, many of the college’s buildings are more than 60 years old and in urgent need of repairs and upgrades to meet today’s academic and safety standards.
Measure P will allow SBCC to modernize its classrooms, labs and job training facilities, ensuring that our students continue to have access to the education they need for successful careers.
Measure P does not increase taxes beyond the rates already approved by voters and includes strict fiscal accountability, with independent oversight and audits to ensure that funds are used as promised.
The SBCC Faculty Association has endorsed Measure P. Please join us teachers in supporting our students and our economy by voting YES on Measure P.
Cornelia Alsheimer
Santa Barbara
• • •
SBCC is a great resource in our community. Consistently ranked as one of the best community colleges in California, it serves parents with young children through the parent child workshops and the Orfalea Early Learning Center.
It provides opportunities for local high school students to take college credit classes through Dual Enrollment, thereby saving parents thousands of dollars if their student attends a four year university.
It provides transfer-level education and job skill training to thousands of local high school graduates. It is a leader in preparing students to transfer to UC Santa Barbara and other four-year universities.
Finally, it provides life-long learning opportunities and job upgrade skills to older adults through the School of Extended Learning.
Many of SBCC’s buildings are old and need repair. As homeowners know, maintaining their homes is an essential and ongoing process. Imagine the ongoing repair needs of old buildings serving more than 14,000 students a year.
Having worked as a teacher and administrator for 38 years at SBCC, I know firsthand the many challenges the college faces in maintaining its facilities.
Measure P does not raise taxes. Please join community leaders and the Santa Barbara Taxpayers Association is supporting Measure P on the Nov. 5 ballot.
SBCC does so much for our community that it deserves our support.
Pablo Buckelew
SBCC vice president emeritus
• • •
As a longtime resident, I believe that Measure P must pass.
For background, district voters in 2008 approved Measure V, which authorized $77,242,012 in bonds, while the 2014 bond measure, which attempted to address the same facilities issues, was a very close vote but nevertheless was defeated.
Now, here we are 10 years later with an array of additional needs to replace outdated facilities.
My professional practice as an educational consultant has taken me to college campuses throughout California and I’ve seen how SBCC facilities compare with other campuses where bond measures, complemented by access to state matching funds, have enhanced the campus resources.
As one example, in all my travels to other community colleges, I never saw portables used as classrooms.
Some classrooms are more than 60 years old, especially troubling for the science, engineering and technology disciplines.
Labs and classrooms for students studying health care fields and taking vocational coursework are outdated. Leaky roofs and decaying infrastructure must be repaired, and aging buildings replaced to meet current safety codes.
Everyone wants to help motivated students prepare for a competitive high-tech global workplace, assume their role as educated citizens, and become taxpayers themselves.
Measure P will support the SBCC Board of Trustees’ Strategic Facilities Goal, which seeks to “Evaluate facility use and needs, and plan for campus facilities that are appropriately sized, modern, well maintained, safe, sustainable, and flexible for current and future needs.” Anyone with common sense will see that Measure P is taking critical steps to solve decades old problems.
We need not worry about the impact on property taxes because the measure would simply extend the current bond tax rate previously approved by voters of $8.50 per $100,000 of assessed (not market) value. Measure P does not increase our tax rates.
Make no mistake, this investment of funds will benefit the diverse populations in our community who take advantage of SBCC’s programs, regardless of age, wealth or status.
SBCC is the jewel in the crown of our community, which is why we must vote YES to pass Measure P.
Lois Phillips
Santa Barbara
• • •
I’d like to take this opportunity to share why I’m supporting Guy Walker for Santa Barbara County Board of Education Trustee Area 4.
Walker has a deep passion for quality education and instruction for our youth, and has a firsthand understanding of the lifelong value it provides.
Our students and families deserve someone who is firmly committed to helping provide the necessary resources and opportunities for emerging generations to achieve excellence.
Guy Walker is an exemplar in that regard and that is why he has my enthusiastic support!
Grant Carmichael
Buellton
• • •
Once again, the Lompoc Unified School District has placed a bond neasure on the ballot, this time for $160 million with levies projected to be five cents per $100 of assessed valuation of your property, ie. $200 per $400,000 property value.
The past election seasons have seen four bigger and bigger bond proposals, all of which were defeated by the voters, after LUSD spent thousands of our dollars to sell them to us.
Measure M2024 would be another tax, in addition to the present Measure N bonds being paid for now by we taxpayers until 2032.
In 2002 the voters were generous and passed:
- Measure E, Hospital bond, $83 million
- Measure I, Allan Hancock College school bond, $138 million
- Measure N, LUSD school bond, $38 million
- Lompoc Pool Bond, $20 million
- Lompoc Flood Zone Assessment, ongoing
So Lompoc property taxpayers are presently paying on five bonds. All of the bonds have been spent and the new facilities constructed.
Measure N2002 rebuilt dilapidated restrooms and put in wiring for computer labs and fire alarms.
These new bond proposals are clearly a way around Proposition13. The yearly increase in our taxes could be way more than the 2% limited by Prop. 13.
The LUSD is mismanaged. District officials know they need maintenance but instead they put all of their funds into benefits and liberal programs while the students get no new facilities. Any new bond funds must be used to replace the present outdated buildings with modern facilities.
As a two-year member of the past Measure N bond oversight board I saw firsthand the deterioration that is the result of mismanagement. “Oversight boards” have no power to change or control anything. They observe and comment only.
As a voter, you need to weigh the benefits of this M2024 bond with the lifelong increased costs to your property tax bill.
Justin Ruhge
Lompoc
• • •
Suppose an entity comes to you and says, “We’re going to bring $5 million a year for city services” without offering any documentation.
Then they add that, even though they will be taking over half of an 82-acre park, it will nonetheless “remain the same.” The other half, by the way, is considered undevelopable due to radical sloping.
On top of this, if Lompoc’s Measure R should pass and the project go south, it will be incumbent on the city to cover all legal costs in recovering the land. Is this really something you can comfortably vote for? Not me.
Join me in voting No on Lompoc Measure R. Save our park and Lompoc’s dignity.
Barry Marks
Lompoc
• • •
I would like to introduce Sarah Anne Read and discuss why I believe she should be a Santa Barbara County Board Education trustee.
She has been a member of the Lompoc Unified School District board since 2022 when a seat became vacant. Since joining the board, she was chosen to be vice president for the 2024-2025 school year and a member of several superintendent special committees.
It is clear that this has been an enriching experience for her, and we have been so fortunate to be a part of the positive changes that are taking place in our schools.
Since Read joined the board, we’ve seen schools begin to implement changes to better their math, English and science scores, with more work ahead but a clearer path due in part to her hard work and diligence.
Read will continue to support our students and staff with their mental health, along with their physical health so our kids can put down roots here in Lompoc and, hopefully, change the landscape.
Tom Blanco
Lompoc Unified School District board member
• • •
Vote for Tracy Phillips for the District One seat on the Lompoc Unified School District Board of Trustees.
Phillips supports ALL LUSD students as well as all district goals and objectives. Her opponent, Jerri Thiel, says she supports all students but voted against the Pride Month resolution in June.
Thiel also blindsided the rest of the board when she voted against putting Measure M on the ballot. Thiel is an outlier on our board and needs to be defeated in November.
Phillips taught STEM classes at Vandenberg Middle School and Cabrillo High School for 36 years. She wants to bring the insights and knowledge gained from her vast experience in the classroom to the LUSD board.
Phillips understands that the key to student achievement lies in the cooperative efforts of teachers, support staff, parents and the community.
Phillips has firsthand knowledge of the urgent need for our science labs and other classrooms to be updated so is an enthusiastic supporter of Measure M.
She understands that upgrading our schools and classrooms will serve to improve achievement as the students will see that the community cares about them and the learning environment in their classrooms.
Please vote for Tracy Phillips and defeat Jerri Thiel.
Janet Blevins
Lompoc Unified School District trustee
• • •
I give my strongest possible endorsement to Guy Walker for Santa Barbara County Board of Education Trustee Area 4, which includes most of the Santa Ynez Valley, Vandenberg Village, Los Alamos and Guadalupe.
Walker has worked hard for many years as a volunteer in the field of education, and understands the challenges and opportunities our students face.
He has a demonstrated history of common sense and strong moral compass, without being beholden to any political machine or special interest group.
I know Walker will do what’s best for our kids and our communities. I strongly encourage you to give Guy Walker your vote.
Bruce Porter
Santa Ynez
• • •
Clergy for Choice Central Coast is a coalition of more than 80 faith leaders from Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, Unitarian, Universalist and other religious traditions in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties.
We believe that the intimate and personal decisions around reproductive health belong, not in the hands of politicians, but in the hearts of individuals making choices about their own lives.
Too often, people assume that religious leaders are united in their opposition to abortion and reproductive rights. But, just like an overwhelming majority of Americans, many of us affirm that these complex decisions are best handled in the privacy of a doctor’s office or, if they so choose, in counsel with their own minister, rabbi, priest or other religious adviser.
For example, Catholics for Choice remind us that 68% of Catholics did not want Roe v. Wade overturned.
With Californians having received their ballots, we want to provide resources for voters who see reproductive rights as a top priority. From your local school boards and other local races, we recommend you go to the Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund website for their Voter Guide. Reproductive freedom and abortion rights cross all parties and independents as elections have shown.
Finally, Clergy for Choice Central Coast agrees with this statement from the nationwide Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice:
“Make no mistake: denying someone the inherent right to exercise their divinely given moral agency and bodily autonomy, and to make decisions about their family and future, is a violation of both human rights and religious freedom.”
Steering Committee for Clergy for Choice Central Coast
Rev. Mark Asman
Santa Barbara
Rev. Caroline Hall
Los Osos
Rev. Julia Hamilton
Santa Barbara
Rabbi Micah Hyman
San Luis Obispo
Rabbi Michael Lotker
Camarillo
Rev. David Moore
Santa Barbara
Rev. Betty Stapleford
Thousand Oaks
• • •
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