Ryan P. Cruz

During last week's heat wave, when some families were trying to beat the heat at home or headed to the beach to cool off, Santa Barbara County farmworkers were under the sweltering sun, working for hours in the fields to ensure that food was still available for our fridges, pantries, and beach-day picnics. At Tuesday's Board of Supervisors hearing, farmworker advocates shared the struggles of underpaid ag-workers, and farmers warned of impacts of higher wages, as the county considered forming a committee to discuss a potential living wage ordinance for farmworkers. Daniel Segura, an organizer with Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), said that the move would be a “crucial step to formally begin discussing” the concerns raised by farmworkers. The ad hoc committee, which was suggested after dozens of workers and advocates came to highlight the issue during a previous board meeting , has already ignited a firestorm debate — with workers pushing for a $26 minimum wage while farmers and business groups warn the county that a higher minimum wage would come with dire unintended consequences. “Farmworkers and their families have been filled with hope at the message that our elected officials are hearing their voices,” Segura said. The struggles of farmworkers were laid out in Harvesting Dignity: The Case for a Living Wage for Farmworkers , a report that details the stagnant wages and extreme working conditions endured along the Central Coast, which is the nation's number one source of strawberries. “Extreme heat is just one example of hazardous working conditions for farmworkers,” Segura said. “Let's ensure that we're thinking of lives and livelihoods as these conversations begin, and not just profits.” But even the idea of the county discussing a higher minimum wage for workers was enough to rustle up a wave of criticisms from farmers and growers associations, including Growers-Shippers Association President Claire Winemen, who said during public comment that the formation of an ad hoc subcommittee would be equal to the county “providing implicit endorsement” of an unsustainable minimum wage. She suggested the idea be “rejected outright.” Supervisor Bob Nelson made similar comments, saying that the committee would “send a signal that there is policy movement toward a living wage,” and that, if a committee should be formed at all, the discussion should be broadened to take away focus from the polarizing “nuclear option” of a $26 minimum wage. Supervisors Das Williams and Joan Hartmann, who both asked that the item be placed on the agenda for board discussion, were open to widening the scope of the committee, though they were adamant that the county should continue looking into the concerns of farmworkers. “This is a request from the public, from people that are legitimately hurting,” Supervisor Williams said. “I am not going to close my ears to their pleas — they deserve to be heard.” Williams said that he understood that debate over a higher wage for workers could make people “amped up and angry,” and agreed to the suggestion to continue the formation of the committee but with a change in the name of the group from the “Living Wage Ad Hoc Committee” to the “Farmworker Conditions Ad Hoc Committee,” with discussions opened to wages, workplace conditions, and employee housing. The board unanimously approved the motion, with Supervisors Williams and Hartmann to sit on the committee, and Supervisor Nelson to replace Williams after his departure early next year. Fri, Sep 13 2:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 5:45 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 9:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 10:00 AM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 5:45 PM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 6:00 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Sep 11 5:30 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Sep 12 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 2:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 5:45 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 9:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 10:00 AM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 5:45 PM Santa Barbara Tue, Sep 10 6:00 PM Santa Barbara Wed, Sep 11 5:30 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Sep 12 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 2:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara

Rendering of the new $103.7 million police station. | Credit: Courtesy City of Santa Barbara This week marked the symbolic finish line for two long-range projects — the new downtown police station and Dwight Murphy Park renovation — which are now fully financed and can soon begin construction after the city approved a debt issuance of $135 million to cover the costs for both. Both the Finance Committee and City Council reviewed the deal, which was explained in detail by Finance Director Keith DeMartini during hearings for both boards on Tuesday. The $135 million financing will be paid off with $8 million annually, to come from the city's voter-approved Measure C tax revenues. This would still leave the city with an “acceptable level of debt” around three percent, DeMartini said. This debt issuance is structured like the 2009 financing of the city's new airport terminal, with the city essentially leasing the ground under the police station to a financing authority, which then issues bonds to pay for the construction of the new station. Police Chief Kelly Gordon described how the new, 65,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art station — with a community meeting room, shooting range, training facilities, fitness center, evidence laboratory, holding cells, and updated staff spaces —will finally bring the station up to par with the department's new-age policing. “We are spread throughout multiple buildings, which makes it very difficult for us to effectively deliver services to the community,” Gordon said. “Because that's what it's really all about.” Plans for the $103.7 million station will put everybody under one roof, and could help solve the department's problems with recruiting and retaining officers. Together, the police station and park will cost $111 million for construction, with the park scheduled to be finished in March 2026 and the station slated to be unveiled a year later in March 2027. The debt issuance will also include a “capitalized interest assumption” of $15.5 million; a required project reserve fund of $3.9 million; a “market contingency” of $3.4 million; and a debt issuance costs of about a million. All told, the city is taking on a debt not to exceed $135 million. With the money for both projects coming through Measure C — a one-percent sales tax voters approved in 2017 — city leaders are considering this as a follow through of election promises made to the community that the funds, while technically open to the general fund, would be used to update the police station and fund parks projects. “This action would be making good on the promises of Measure C,” said Councilmember Kristen Sneddon. “It's a really important message that we make good on the promises of our tax measures.” Councilmembers praised both projects, but dozens of members of the community poured out their support for the Dwight Murphy Park project, specifically the innovative Gwendolyn Strong Playground, during the public comment period. The universally accessible playground, which would be the first of its kind in Santa Barbara, came as a result of a collaboration between the city and the community, with the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation raising more than $6.7 million and the city receiving $1.5 million toward the park renovations. In total, the park is expected to cost $27 million. “This really is a model for positive and productive collaboration,” said Victoria Strong, mother of Gwendolyn Strong and executive director of the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation. Dwight Murphy Park, formerly the city's municipal soccer field, was established nearly a hundred years ago, but despite its popularity with sports leagues it has been left largely the same for decades. The Finance Committee and City Council unanimously approved the debt issuance ordinance, which will take effect on October 17, followed by a competitive sale on October 21, and bond closing on November 4. “We would then have the funds available to move forward with both projects,” DeMartini said. Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 11:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 12:00 PM Buellton Sat, Sep 14 9:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 10:00 AM Santa Barbara Wed, Sep 11 5:30 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Sep 12 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 2:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 11:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 12:00 PM Buellton Sat, Sep 14 9:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 10:00 AM Santa Barbara Wed, Sep 11 5:30 PM Santa Barbara Thu, Sep 12 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 2:30 PM Santa Barbara Fri, Sep 13 7:30 PM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 11:00 AM Santa Barbara Sat, Sep 14 12:00 PM Buellton

Brock Alexander Hoffman, the 56-year-old Santa Barbara man alleged to have been behind the wheel in a fatal hit-and-run on Cliff Drive on June 29 , appeared in court Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty to one felony count of “leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death.” Santa Barbara District Attorney John Savrnoch announced that his office had officially filed the felony charges following an investigation into the fatal incident on Cliff Drive which killed one man, 39-year-old Juan Lopez, a Vons store manager who had just gotten out of his parked car on the same street. Investigators say Hoffman fled the scene without reporting the crash to the authorities. His identity was unknown to the public for days following the incident, until detectives traced the Toyota Land Cruiser and identified Hoffman as the suspected driver. On July 4, he turned himself in and was arrested and booked on suspicion of hit-and-run and concealing evidence. Hoffman was released shortly afterward on a bail of $50,000 — something that was questioned by Lopez's family and friends following the incident. During a community vigil hosted near the scene of the crash on July 9, Christina Godinez, the mother of Lopez's three children, called the bail amount a “slap on the wrist” and an injustice. Since then, Lopez's family filed a civil suit against Hoffman, which claims that Hoffman and a passenger were both in the vehicle at the time of the incident, and that both got out of the vehicle and “went and looked at Juan Lopez lying in the street” before the pair “returned to Mr. Hoffman's vehicle and drove off.” “They did not remain at the scene of an accident and did not report the accident to law enforcement,” reads the complaint, which was filed by the family's attorney Brian Osborne. “Rather, Mr. Hoffman engaged in attempting to hide his involvement in this accident.” The family is seeking damages for negligence and wrongful death, which caused Lopez's family “severe emotional and physiological injuries,” according to the lawsuit. After entering a plea of not guilty to the felony charge, Hoffman is scheduled to appear again for the criminal case on October 21. The civil case is still open, and is scheduled for a case management conference with Judge Colleen Sterne on December 2.

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Carpinteria resident Natasha Lohmus shows off her award-winning sustainable garden. | Credit: Courtesy County of Santa Barbara Five years ago, Carpinteria resident Natasha Lohmus decided to transform her garden from a boring Bermuda grass lawn into a buzzing paradise for bees, butterflies, and birds. Today, that same garden is a lush and colorful haven, teeming with life and decorated with native plants that are fed using an innovative DIY aquaponics system. Her hard work in overhauling her yard was celebrated this week, as the 2024 WaterWise Garden Recognition Contest revealed the award-winning eco-friendly gardens across Santa Barbara County, with Lohmus's lush oasis in Carpinteria taking the Grand Prize for being an example of “a vibrant masterpiece of colors and textures, a haven for wildlife, and a budget-friendly water-wise wonderland,” according to the announcement from the County of Santa Barbara. The contest was launched this spring by the Santa Barbara County Water Agency and participating local water providers as a way to encourage greenthumbs to show off their work and prove that sustainable gardens can be some of the most diverse and beautiful in the county. “Despite receiving above-average rainfall this year, using water efficiently — rain or shine — is important to make conservation a way of life in California,” the county announcement states. “ This annual contest is vital in recognizing residents who are doing their part.” Submissions came from all participating districts — Montecito Water District, Carpinteria Valley Water District, Santa Ynez River Water Conservation Improvement District #1, Vandenberg Village Community Services District, and the cities of Santa Barbara and Buellton — and each regional winner received an engraved sandstone sign to display in their gardens. Lohmus, the selection from the Carpinteria Valley Water District, took All-County Grand Prize. Her garden was a labor of love, with Lohmus designing and planting everything herself, with only a little help for the heavy lifting. She handles all pruning, weeding, and watering, which is done mostly by hand with infrequent sprinklers. The most impressive parts of her garden may be the rainwater collection — which uses a dry creek bed (made with rocks Lohmus collected) to redirect water from gutters and pathways — and the DIY aquaponics system, which she designed as a way to provide sustainable plant food using goldfish and koi waste to create nutrient-rich water for the native plants. Other award-winning gardens included Dale Zurawski of Montecito, Barbara Bartolome of Santa Barbara, and Len Fleckenstein of Buellton. All were recognized for “stunning displays of water-wise and high-efficiency irrigation,” and for demonstrating that “sustainable landscapes can be lush, colorful, low maintenance, and provide habitats for wildlife.” Click here to view photos of the winning gardens, and visit www.WaterWiseSB.org to learn more about low-maintenance gardening, rainwater harvesting, and more.

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Incumbent Alejandra Gutierrez seeks reelection against political newcomer Wendy Santamaria.