Month: April 2025

Jarrod Zinn

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A railway corporation has entered into its first partnership with a company that owns the Santa Maria Valley Railroad.

They want to revitalize and expand rail deliveries.

The Santa Maria Valley Railroad (S.M.V.R.R.) has been in operation for well over a century, and is a key component to the functioning of our local economy.

From fertilizers for our farmers to produce, rail transport can be significantly more cost effective than highway transport in diesel-powered trucks.

“We’re able to buy contracts as a savings to us and then as a savings to our, to our customers also,” says David Iliff, with Santa Maria Valley Crop Service.

Two companies, Omni-Trax and Coast Belle Rail Corporation, are now looking to get Santa Maria rail services back on track, with a new partnership.

“This is Omni-Trax’s 29th Railroad, and they own railroads across the country. Of the 29 railroads, we are the first to go in partnership. That’s usually an acquisition. And so this is their very first partnership,” says S.M.V.R.R. president Rob Himoto. 

Coast Belle is the local company, owned by the Himoto family.

Rob Himoto is the president of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad.

They hope to revitalize existing railways, and even reactivate a currently-inactive line.

“Locally owned, you still have the same staff, they won’t bring their staff in. They really like how we run the railroad. So we will continue to run the railroad as is, with just more resources,” says Himoto.

This abides by the wishes of the rail system’s founder, Captain George Allan Hancock, who purchased the railroad out of receivership one hundred years ago, and built industries based upon it.

“Been working with the railroad since the eighties. They’re really good to work with. Tanker cars are pretty expensive just to sit and not be moving. So the supplier, they want them emptied as quickly as possible and then shipped back to them. And Santa Maria Valley Railroad’s been very helpful in that regard,” says Iliff.

As gas prices remain high at this time, Himoto says rail delivery is a viable alternative, as one rail car can handle the equivalent of 3-5 truck loads, removing those trucks from the highways, in effect.

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The annual Environmental Stewardship Awards lunch is honoring citizens, as young as eight years old, for their efforts to improve the environment.

This is part of the Earth Month events taking place in many communities.

Explore Ecology says the honorees will be local students, teachers, and community leaders who care for nature and lead impactful changes.

Their actions are both at their schools and in their communities.

Environmental Stewardship honors are being handed out in Santa Barbara

One honoree is a Coastal Cleanup Day Site Captain Bodhi Crawford who is just eight years old, another is a K/1st grade class who turned an empty patch of ground into a native plant sanctuary, and a high schooler who wanted to supply his cafeteria with fresh produce, so he grew some on campus.

Among the speakers will be Dr. Mary Khan, Superintendent of the Goleta Union School District, who will share insights about the importance of environmental education.

Danielle Wiehll from Montecito Union School said, “each year students choose a different topic and they learn about it and then they learn how they can actually make a difference.”

The Sustainable Future Club at San Marcos High school is turning a worn out section of a creek nearby into a much cleaner waterway. A sophomore student, Ava Jane Damery said, “it was kind of lots of concrete slabs of concrete, very dried out, a lot of invasive ice plant, and just really sad. We aim to revegetation the creek that runs through campus and it connects to the freeway. So a lot of pollutants go to the creek. And we want it to be that shaded with native plants to help filter it before it goes off into the ocean and create a flourishing habitat for future species to thrive.”

Many of these programs.  were not known by Explore ecology they found out about them when they made a call out through nominations.

Explore Ecology Executive Director Lindsay Johnson said, “it gives me so much hope and inspiration. I’m just so proud to see that these projects are happening in our community.

She said the role is to inspire the teachers, and “get the kids engaged and out there and then see what they come up on their own. That  is what the environmental stewardship awards do for our community and it is really fun to see it come together.”

Jackson Simmons-Furlati is a student at Dos Pueblos High who is working with tower gardens. “It shows people how to care for the environment  how it’s sustainable. You don’t use any plastic or any stuff that isn’t good for the environment .”

Meet the 2025 Explore Ecology Award Winners:

Bodhi Crawford: An ocean steward who became a Coastal Cleanup Day Site Captain at just 8 years old, helping to organize volunteers and keep Jalama Beach clean.

Liz Loeza: Founder of Plant the Next Tree, Liz has organized tree plantings and led a community cleanup at Santa Barbara Community Academy.

Jackson Simmons-Furlati: Jackson and the Dos Pueblos Environmental Club installed hydroponic towers for fresh cafeteria produce and will present at the UN Ocean Conference 2025.

Rowan Smith: A dedicated advocate for the environment and a key member of the Santa Barbara Middle School Enviro Action Club, inspiring action among her peers.

Nancy Morris: A Monroe Elementary teacher for over 25 years, Nancy is passionate about protecting the environment and educating children about their responsibility and stewardship of our planet.

Kim Berman and Danielle Weill: Montecito Union School teachers whose Climate Change and Student Activism Unit empowers students to take meaningful environmental action.

Marie Chavis: Founder of the El Camino Jr. High Ocean Club, leading students in ocean conservation efforts.

Chris Hamman: A La Colina Junior High science teacher who created an outdoor living laboratory where students conduct hands-on experiments.

Sustainable Future Club: Transformed an abandoned culvert into a lush, restored habitat with over 100 trees, shrubs, and perennials.

Ashley Griffin’s Class: Designed an outdoor learning area with native plants, rain barrels, and natural seating spaces.

Martha Rugg:  A garden educator who started an after-school gardening group, a composting program, and science lessons for young students.

Wendy Kanter: A beloved environmental steward for 32 years, teaching children about birds, plants, and sustainability through nature journaling and gardening.

Andrew Gillies

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – On Thursday, a severe public censure and an irrevocable resignation was issued to Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Michael Carrozzo regarding ten acts of willful misconduct and nine acts of prejudicial misconduct.

Judge Carrozo will take approved leave from the bench beginning June 2, 2025, and formally resign from his position on the Santa Barbara County Superior Court effective Sep. 9, 2025, stated a press release Thursday from the California Commission on Judicial Performance.

According to the six-member Commission, the decision resolves the pending formal proceedings against Judge Carrozzo and includes an agreement that Carrozzo will not serve as a judicial officer anywhere in California after Sep. 9, 2025.

From 2017 to 2018, Judge Carrozzo served as the Assistant Presiding Judge and from 2019 to 2020, he served as the Presiding Judge for the Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Over a two year period, Judge Carrozzo drafted correspondences with letterhead indicating that he was an attorney at law and stating he represented his judicial secretary in a variety of legal contestations including an insurance claim, a housing dispute, and a mattress purchase detailed the Commission.

For example, the Commission on Judicial Performance’s Notice of Formal Proceedings noted that on Aug. 15, 2019, then-Presiding Judge Carrozzo sent an email that had an attached document that was a letter from “attorney” Michael Carrozzo to an insurance company about subrogation of insurance claims and used the letterhead below:

The Commission on Judicial Performance explained that judges are technically not an active licensee of the California State Bar and are not permitted to practice law while serving as a judge.

Judge Carrozzo “misrepresented material and intentionally conveyed the false representation that he was entitled to practice law” stated the Commission’s press release.

Additionally, Judge Carrozzo was found to have made representations to the Commission about the correspondences that, “he knew or should have known were false” added the Commission.

In October of 2018, Judge Carrozzo personally requested and received an unredacted copy of a California Highway Patrol (CHP) collision report for a 2018 traffic accident involving his judicial secretary for her “use and benefit” explained the Commission in its initial report.

The Commission noted that the CHP Officer’s first emailed response to Judge Carrozzo’s request referred to Judge Carrozzo as “your honor”.

“You had no legal authority to obtain or possess the confidential law enforcement report relating to Ms. Eklund’s October 2018 traffic accident,” stated the Commission. “You obtained a copy of the report without completing the required CHP form, signing the required declaration under penalty of perjury, or paying the statutorily mandated fee, as is required of members of the public. Your conduct constituted an abuse of authority and violated canons 2, 2A, 2B(1), and 2B(2) of the Code of Judicial Ethics.”

The Commission shared that in 2020, Judge Carrozzo attempted to secure future admission for the child he had fathered with his judicial secretary at a school thats name was redacted in the Commission’s Notice by sending the following email directly to the school’s Director:

As shown above, Judge Carrozzo sent the email from his official judicial email address and emailed the response from the school’s Director confirming that his unborn child was on the waitlist to Eklund’s court email address added the Commission.

The Commission concluded in its initial report that:

You took such actions when you and Ms. Eklund were “good friends,” when you were in a romantic dating relationship with Ms. Eklund, and when Ms. Eklund was pregnant with your child. As a superior court judge, and particularly while serving as Assistant Presiding Judge and Presiding Judge, you had a supervisory role over Ms. Eklund, and you exercised direction and control over her, while maintaining a close friendship with her and while engaging in an intimate personal relationship with her.

With respect to Ms. Eklund, your conduct in 2018, 2019, and 2020, reflected favoritism or created an appearance thereof. You did not avoid favoritism, or the appearance of favoritism, by initiating a reassignment, relocation, or transfer of yourself or Ms. Eklund. You also failed to take sufficient steps to minimize potential issues with supervision, court morale, and conflict(s) of interest.

Your conduct violated canons 2, 2A, 2B(1), 3C(1), 3C(5), and 4A of the Code of Judicial Ethics.