Month: May 2025

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-  The annual Safe Boating Week brings with it a high awareness for water safety in Central Coast harbors and near shore waters that often become a risky blend of many water crafts operators.

On a busy summer weekend, you could easily see the Santa Barbara Harbor entrance full of various sized boats and operators who at all levels of experience.

On board a Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol boat, officer Jan Martinez said, “I think the harbor has gained a lot of popularity over the years and with different companies renting water craft. We have definitely seen an increase in the population as far as people on the water.”

Martinez and the other officers are constantly looking at ways to keep the area safe.  They to spot operator errors or dangerous behavior before a negative incident occurs.

“It’s really just a presence for us out there and guiding people to where  they need to go,”  he said.

They also make sure the vessels have property certifications and licensing each year.  Even those that are docked need to be operational and have annual registrations.

Martinez said, “it is just like a vehicle have to have your stickers on the boat that are current with the year or the years that they give you and if that is not up to date that could be a citable offense.”

The requirement for life vests is strictly enforced.  Either on board and stored in an accessible area or, for example, on a paddle boarder to have one around their waist.  The same for kayakers.

A new addition to the harbor is a life vest station with vests available on an “honor system” loan program.  It is by the boat launch ramp.

Nationally water deaths in the ocean or around harbors there is ” a high percentage of those boating fatalities, people weren’t wearing life jackets,” said Martinez.

For the fist time the harbor has a free loaner site. It is near the boat launch ramp.

Instructions are in English and Spanish, and it has weather and water information with a QR code.

The life jackets are for kids and adults.

Martinez said, “you’re more than welcomed to borrow one. It is part of our  lending program,  just return it at the end of the day.”

National Safe Boating Week in Santa Barbara is observed from May 17-23, 2025.

It emphasizes responsible boating practices and water safety.

In recent years, the Santa Barbara harbor has become extremely popular with local residents and tourists on the water.

The harbor entrance has a “no wake” zone or a limit of five knots.   That keeps all the vessels slowed down and able to respond if there is another vessel crossing their path.

Coming and going, the green buoys are for the vessels going out, and the red are to guide those coming in. “The bigger boats have the right of way and they need to stay out of the main channel. We are constantly  always trying to move them (smaller vessels) off to the side and keep them safe from any type of collisions,” said Martinez.

 This week aims to promote boating safety and ensure a positive experience on the waterways, including the implementation of the California Boater Card for motorized vessel operators. 

The California Boater Card keeps boaters current with rules and regulations. It is now required for all motorized vessel operators, emphasizing the need for boating safety courses and certifications.  

Last weekend was a special Safe Boating Awareness Day.   It included a U.S. Coast Guard demonstration offshore in conjunction with the harbor patrol.  A host was used with a rescue diver to bring up a simulated victim from the water.   A basket was also used with the hoist.   At one point the helicopter was flying in the same pattern as the boat to lower the cable down accurately.

The Coast Guard has an air station at Pt. Mugu in Ventura County. The chopper was a MH-60T Jayhawk all-weather medium-range recovery helicopter. It was delivered to the base in 2024.

For more information go to: Santa Barbara Waterfront Department

The Jayhawk Helicopter data:

The MH-60T Jayhawk has an overall length of approximately 64 feet (19.5 meters) and a wingspan of approximately 53 feet (16 meters).

It is powered by twin gas turbines with about 1,890 horsepower each for a top speed of 180 knots (333 kilometers/207 miles per hour), a service ceiling of 5,000 feet (1,524 meters),  and a range of 700 nautical miles (1,296 kilometers/805.5 miles).

The Jayhawk can be armed with medium machine guns or semi-automatic rifles.

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Patricia Martellotti

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara made a big announcement to help almost a dozen nonprofits in the community.

The organization awarded a record $1.25 million in grants to 11 local nonprofits.

The funding was made possible through the contributions of 1,426 local women members who pooled their charitable donations.

Over 500 Women’s Fund members, guests, sponsors, and community supporters gathered at the iconic Lobero Theatre to celebrate and learn about the funded projects.

From the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara:

Board Chair Carolyn Jabs emphasized the mission: “Together, when we pool our resources, we can achieve far more than we ever could alone.”

Since its inception, the Women’s Fund has awarded over $12.8 million to 163 programs at 73 nonprofits, positively impacting more than 100,000 women, children, and families.

Critical Community Needs Addressed:

·      Support for homeless individuals·      Mental health care initiatives·      Nutritional assistance for seniors·      Educational opportunities for low-income children·      Vision care services·      Reliable transportation for youth·      Hygiene facilities for those in need

The 2024-2025 grant recipients listed below will tackle some of the most critical needs facing ourcommunity, including the following:

Support for homeless individuals

Mental health care initiatives

Nutritional assistance for seniors

Educational opportunities for low-income children

Vision care services

Reliable transportation for youth

Hygiene facilities for those in need

Carpinteria Children’s Project – $100,000 to provide scholarships for 20-40 low-income studentsin CCP’s Dual Language Immersion Program, enhancing kindergarten readiness and supportingfamilies with access to additional resources and services.

Court Appointed Special Advocates of Santa Barbara County – $75,000 for upgrading CASA’sdata management system and hiring a full-time data management specialist to improveadvocacy for children in foster care.

Channel Islands YMCA – $100,000 to establish the county’s first fully licensed transitional housingprogram for youth exiting foster care, providing intensive case management and support for nineyoung adults.

Children’s Resource & Referral of Santa Barbara County – $200,000 over two years to expandtheir child-care licensing program, guiding 60 women through the licensing process to create upto 480 new licensed child-care spaces in underserved communities.

Domestic Violence Solutions – $100,000 to upgrade security measures at their emergencyshelter and long-term housing facility, enhancing safety for 162 clients annually through newfencing, security systems, and training for staff.

Good Samaritan Shelter – $150,000 to purchase a fully equipped food truck, the Good Samwich,providing culinary training program graduates with paid employment while serving 14,000 mealsannually to the community.

Mothers’ Helpers – $80,000 over two years to hire a part-time bilingual support centercoordinator, enhancing operations to serve over 600 low-income families annually whileimproving volunteer management and reducing response times for parent requests.

New Beginnings Counseling Center – $150,000 over two years to increase mental health carestaffing by hiring a full-time front desk staff member and expanding intake coordinator hours,improving client intake, and reducing wait times for approximately 860 clients annually.

PATH Santa Barbara – People Assisting the Homeless – $110,000 to purchase and install privacypartitions in the women’s dormitory, improving the living conditions for an average of 114 womenannually and enhancing their well-being within the shelter.

SEE International – $110,000 to expand the SEE Vision Care Program by hiring additional staffand increasing service days at their Goleta clinic, enabling the organization to serve an additional1,126 patients and reduce appointment wait times.

Showers of Blessing – $75,000 to purchase a new gas-powered truck base, ensuring reliabletransportation for their mobile shower services and enabling continued access to hygienefacilities for 800 clients, providing a total of 7,000 showers each year.

More information about each of these grantees can be found here:https://womensfundsb.org/gifts.html

Membership in the Women’s Fund is open to all women passionate about making a collectiveimpact.

To join or learn more, visit www.womensfundsb.org

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