Santa Barbara Independent

Solvang, California — The Solvang Senior Center is thrilled to announce the start of construction on its new state-of-the-art facility, marking a major milestone in its mission to serve the community. A groundbreaking ceremony will take place on January 15, 2025, at 1:00 PM at the American Legion Wing of the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building , and the public is warmly invited to join this momentous occasion. The new 5,500-square-foot, two-story building will double the Center's current size, allowing for expanded services, concurrent programs, and a broader range of activities to meet the needs of Solvang's growing senior population. The facility will also serve as a valuable community resource for multi-generational programming and events. Construction is expected to be completed within 18 months Project Milestones and Community Support The City of Solvang officially approved the construction project and issued the building permit in December 2024. Preparations are already underway, with construction fencing in place and demolition of the existing modular structure scheduled to begin on January 6, 2025 In July 2024, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a lease extension for the Solvang Senior Center through , ensuring its long-term presence in the community. Supervisor Joan Hartmann commended the generosity of donors who have contributed over $5 million to date and praised County staff for their efficient handling of technical approvals. Uninterrupted Services During Construction The Center will continue to offer its full range of programs and activities without interruption during the construction period. Thanks to the City of Solvang, operations have been temporarily relocated to the American Legion Wing of the Veterans Memorial Building , conveniently located near the original site. Updated class schedules and program details are available on the Center's website at solvangseniorcenter.org Looking Ahead Fundraising efforts remain ongoing to support the final stages of construction and prepare the new facility for expanded programming. The community's enthusiastic support underscores the importance of this project, which aims to promote active and independent lifestyles for older adults while fostering a vibrant, inclusive community. The Solvang Senior Center looks forward to welcoming members and the public to its enhanced facility, which will serve as a hub for connection, learning, and celebration for years to come. The Solvang Senior Center currently serves 650 individuals, offering twenty weekly classes and activities, nutrition programs, community outreach initiatives, and educational events. These services will continue seamlessly during the construction period. For more information on the Center's offerings, visit their website at solvangseniorcenter.org , contact them via email at [email protected], or call (805) 688-3793. About Solvang Senior Center: The Solvang Senior Center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1978, serves as the Santa Ynez Valley's community hub for active aging adults aged 55 and older. With a mission to enhance lives through various programs and activities, the Center provides opportunities for connection and vital resources for independent living. Located at 1745 Mission Dr., Solvang, California, behind the Solvang Veteran's Hall, the Center is supported by individual memberships, donations, and grants from foundations, businesses, and government entities. For a comprehensive list of services, events, and additional information, please visit www.solvangseniorcenter.org

Regarding “ Filthy Ralph's ,” I want to add that the Ralphs's store on Carrillo Street is not only dirty outside but also in the check-out registers, either with check-out assistance or the self-check-out. The places where we put the groceries are always dirty, and nobody ever wipes them before the next client. In the self-check-out there is a person to help with any issues that clients might have when checking out items, but they never clean the glass that clients use to scan the items. I have been there several times and have asked them to wipe them, but sometimes I am the one wipe them myself. Stores like Gelson's, Whole Foods, and Bristol Farms always care about these details.

Santa Barbara's current Poet Laureate, Melinda Palacio, is fast approaching the end of her two-year term in office. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom The Marines may still be looking for “a few good men,” but the City of Santa Barbara is looking for its next Poet Laureate, an official position currently occupied by Melinda Palacio, who is fast approaching the end of her two-year term in office. The position was created in 2005 as an ambassadorial vehicle by which access to and interest in the literary arts could be promoted. It's not enough merely to know the difference between free verse and iambic pentameter; applicants are being sought among the ranks of published authors who live in Santa Barbara, have “excellent public speaking skills,” and are committed to producing events that expand the public footprint of poetry among the populace. Although the Poet Laureate is technically a creature and creation of Santa Barbara City Hall, the county's Office of Arts and Culture is leading the search, recruitment, and screening effort, though in conjunction with City Hall and the Public Library. As public sinecures go, the pay is not enough to lift the title holder out of the ranks of so-called starving artists. The job pays $2,000 for a two-year commitment. The obligations are not especially rigorous either. The office holder is required to perform at least four occasions a year. Typically, the Poet Laureate is called upon to write a poem to commemorate the swearing-in of new city councilmembers. Otherwise, it's left up to the laureates to define the position as they see fit. Most put in considerably more time than what the job description calls for. (Palacio, for instance, writes a biweekly poetry column for the Santa Barbara Independent Poetry Connection , on her own time.) And no, there is no free parking.

My thought is that these gender-free pronouns could be used rather than using plural pronouns. Also, they could replace gendered pronouns for everyone to use because most of the time the gender of the person is totally irrelevant. I'm looking forward to the common usage of these gender free pronouns and their entry into dictionaries very soon!

This year's national election results present us with a mind-boggling disconnect when it comes to climate change. Global carbon emissions — predominantly from burning coal, oil and gas — are reaching record highs . The year newly past, 2024, is expected to be the hottest in recorded history . A warmer planet ensures more deadly and destructive heat waves, storms, floods and droughts unless we quickly transition away from fossil fuels. Yet voters just elected leaders who deny the reality of climate science and plan to ramp up fossil fuel production and use for years to come. Santa Barbara County stands out against the national results. Here voters elected leaders who are actively working to transition us from fossil fuels to clean energy. By significant margins we re-elected climate activists like Salud Carbajal to represent us in Congress, and Gregg Hart and Monique Limon to represent us in state legislatures. Our city and county governments have adopted Climate Action Plans that are effectively moving our communities towards a clean energy future. So, for us, the disappoint and frustration are even more deeply felt. It may seem that political forces have rendered the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy insurmountable. However, much stronger economic forces and, indeed, our own local experiences, are showing that a clean energy future is unstoppable. Worldwide, within five years, the International Energy Agency , estimates there will be10 times as many electric cars on the road; the share of global electricity generated by renewables will reach 50 percent; electric heat pumps will be outselling fossil fuel boilers globally; and three times as much investment will be going into new offshore wind projects than into new coal- and gas-fired power plants. Wind and solar are now the cheapest sources of energy in the world . Even in China and India they are cheaper than coal. President-elect Trump and Republican leaders in Congress and around the nation have made their intentions clear. They have allied themselves with the fossil fuel industry. “Drill, baby, drill” is now a Republican Party mantra. Trump has a long history of making false statements about climate science and renewable energy. He has announced a series of Cabinet choices who have misrepresented the reality of climate change . His pick for Energy secretary, oil and gas services executive Chris Wright, has falsely asserted that “there is no climate crisis” and “there is no such thing as clean energy or dirty energy.” Although its decline is on the horizon, the fossil fuel industry continues to be a powerful financial and political force. Its alliance with right-wing governments will temporarily delay the transition to clean energy. But economics is proving to be more powerful than politics. Our world is in the early stages of a generational shift toward a new and better energy system. John Podesta, U.S. climate envoy, says , “It's becoming clear that we're never going back to the dirty, fossil-fueled economy of the past.” UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres said in November , “The clean energy revolution is here. No group, no business and no government can stop it.” Many experts say it will be the economics of clean energy that defines the future of the planet — and how developing countries choose to meet their growing electricity demands. “What happens in emerging and developing economies in the next decade in some sense is the whole ballgame,” said Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center for Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Here are some signs of hope from around the world, as reported by The Progress Playbook · In South America renewables covered 82 percent of Chile's electricity needs in November; Uruguay's economy ran on 100 percent renewable electricity for 10 straight months; and renewables covered more than 90 percent of Brazil's power requirements in 2023. · In Africa, Kenya generates more than 90 percent of its electricity from clean sources, including geothermal power plants, and it plans to reach the 100 percent mark by 2030. South Africa's High Court has ruled that the country can't open new coal plants because they would violate citizens' rights to a healthy environment. · In Asia, the world's most populous country, India, has attained nearly 50 percent of electricity generation from renewables and plans to double that effort by 2030. China has reached its goal of installing 1,200 gigawatts of wind and solar power, more than six years ahead of schedule. Plus, they are rapidly electrifying their transport sector, with electric models now accounting for more than 50 percent of new vehicle sales. Climate activist Bill McKibben said, “The climate crisis has a time problem. If we don't solve it soon, we won't solve it.” Economic market forces are working to make clean energy cheaper than coal, oil, or gas. Those economics are propelling the transition to clean energy around the world and should give us hope that it can be achieved before climate impacts become catastrophic and irreversible. If we had decades to make the transition, these market forces alone would probably get us there. But unfortunately, every year that we keep burning fossil fuels the human suffering from adverse health and climate impacts become more and more intolerable. The political alliance between fossil fuel interests and right-wing governments will slow the transition, but take heart, a clean energy future is unstoppable. Robert Taylor is a journalist who focuses his writing on the climate crisis. He volunteers locally with the Santa Barbara Chapter of Citizens' Climate Lobby, and is a contributor to the new book, “The Global Climate Crisis: What to do about it,” Elsevier Publishers, 2024.

August 27, 2024, the County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2030 Climate Action Plan. The Action Plan was developed by stakeholders over many meetings and months with the goal to mobilize the community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent below 2018 levels. Climate scientists tell us that what is at stake is the collapse of our climate if greenhouse-gas production continues to escalate. Action steps delineated by the Climate Action Plan include powering our homes and businesses with solar panels; incentivizing electric bike, electric car, and mass transit usage; transitioning our county fleet to zero emission vehicles; expanding public and private charging stations; as well as reducing our use of non-recyclable and non-compostable single-use items. However, they neglected to address the massive increase in energy consumption by the installation of small cell 5G infrastructure. According to Dexter Johnson in the IEEE Spectrum magazine, “A lurking threat behind the promise of 5G delivering up to 1,000 times as much data as today's networks is that 5G could also consume up to 1,000 times as much energy.” According to a French High Climate Council report: “Behind each byte we have mining and metal processing, oil extraction and petrochemicals, manufacturing and intermediate transports, public works … and power generation with coal and gas.” February 4, 2025, six months after the County Board of Supervisors adopted the 2030 Climate Action Plan, they will be asked to give free reign to the telecoms to blanket your neighborhood with small cell antennas when they are called to vote on the amendments to our County Wireless Ordinance. These amendments remove all restrictions from the placement of wireless facilities, therefore the telecoms can install 89 cell antennas for every one that is actually needed, including a few feet of your bedroom. What should be a no brainer, the board has committed to a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse emissions. Therefore, they must vote no on February 4 to the telecom amendments or they will obliterate any possibility of meeting the county's emission reduction goals. What Safe Technology for Santa Barbara County members have gathered after listening to and meeting with the Planning Commissioners and staff who wrote the 11/26/2024 amended wireless ordinance is a flawed interpretation of the FCC rules. The explanation given is we have shot clocks to meet; therefore, “our hands are tied.” A euphemism we have heard many times before from our local officials. What they may not understand is that their hands are not tied when it comes to safety, notification, setbacks, inspections, monitoring, and much more. Applications can be denied based on safety and environmental impact. It is the local municipalities' job to regulate cell towers. When you consider the energy consumption of small cell wireless installation on greenhouse-gas emissions' potential impact on our climate, one could easily argue, to protect environment, we need the power to limit the number of antennas that are installed and support instead the green alternative, called fiber optics to the premises, which our tax dollars have already funded. How do we do that? There are many wireless ordinances within our state that have done just that that Santa Barbara County can draw on, such as Malibu, Encinitas, Mill Valley, Palo Alto, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, and Petaluma, which have protections in their wireless ordinances with clear restrictions, in compliance with federal law. For example, we could require the applicant to prove the need for another small cell tower by documenting six months of dropped calls. The question then remains: Does Santa Barbara County want to mitigate the forces at work that are propelling Climate Change or will we roll over to the telecoms? The answer to that question will become more clear on February 4, 2025, during the Board of Supervisors meeting. Residents, we ask you to please show up February 4 and make your voice heard. County Board of Supervisors, we ask you to vote no on the proposed amendments to the Wireless Ordinance and require your planners to review the upgrade that Safe Technology for Santa Barbara County and our legal experts will provide to show how to codify legal and FCC compliant protective measures. For more information contact: [email protected] http://emfsafetynetwork.org/safe-technology-for-santa-barbara-take-action/ https://www.facebook.com/SafeTechSBC/

Accepting new beginning students the first week of January, enrollment ends January 31, 2025. The next open enrollment period for

Start out your weekend the right way at Carr Winery! Join us in the Santa Barbara Barrel Room on Friday,

Is your New Year’s resolution to finally join a chorus? We are welcoming new members to join our Spring Session.

A Seasoned Traveler Remembers Her Adventures at the Bottom of the World