City of Goleta Presents What They Have in Store at the State of the City

Alissa Orozco

GOLETA, Calif. – Local residents filled the Goleta Community Center on Tuesday to hear from local officials at the annual State of the City.

The event brought city leaders, superintendents, representatives, and organizations together to recap the year, future projects, and even answer questions from the crowd. This is the first State of the City that brought together the four council members since the city was divided into districts, Luz Reyes-Martín (District 1), James Kyriaco (District 2), Jennifer Smith (District 3), and Mayor Pro Tempore Stuart Kasdin (District 4).

Various booths showcased different departments and plans from the city, giving residents the opportunity to interact with city leaders.

Community Relations Manager, Kelly Hoover, acted as host of the event

Residents piled into the community center’s main room to hear Mayor Paula Perotte’s opening speech, where she focused on major five categories: Public Safety, Affordable Housing, Quality of Life, Environmental Protections, and Community Engagement.

She began with the $11.5 million budget dedicated to Goleta’s police force, a $4 million growth in the agreement with the county, leading a to 15 percent decrease in overall crime in the city. The city utilized this increased law enforcement has help address homelessness encampments.

This clean-up has helped with overall fire prevention, including the removal of dead trees and brush at the Ellwood Mesa. The new Fire Station 10 is ready for construction, but funding is still needed, totaling a cost of $27 million dollars.

The city has also put millions into infrastructure and pavement improvements, adding 2,000 feet of sidewalks in Old Town, 17 miles of bike lanes, and 7 new pedestrian crosswalks around the city.

In regards to housing, five major housing projects were approved to add 1,143 units to the city, 245 of which will be affordable. This is part of the city’s overall plan to free more space to Goleta residents, current taken up by UC Santa Barbara students.

Perotte highlighted the legal settlement the city reached with UCSB mandating the university to provide 3,500 student beds by 2027.

The city has also made major improvements to four neighborhood parks with new playgrounds, and the Goleta Community Center received a multipurpose field and additional pickleball courts. Perotte included the Stow Grove master plan for the city’s first universally accessible playground, Perotte says “funds are being sought to make this plan a reality.”

Additional praises were made towards the city efforts for more community engagement including expanded Spanish translation at Tuesday’s meeting and every City Council meeting.

Following the mayor, City Manager Robert Nisbet broke down the city’s main sources of revenue: property tax, sales tax, and TOT (Transient Occupancy Tax or Hotel Tax). He explained how sales tax is becoming the biggest source of revenue since Measure B was voted in, authorizing sales tax to be increased by 1 percent. Totaling a predicted income of $51.4 million, 66% increase over the past five years.

He presented the five biggest projects coming to the city totaling roughly $210.3 million.

These projects include Project Connect, Goleta Train Depot, Goleta Valley Library Improvement Project, San Jose Creek Multipurpose Path, and Cathedral Oaks Crib Wall Repair.

Nisbet said these projects are fully-funded through grants, donations, and outside funding. Money had been put aside for these projects, but the city did take $35.7 million in loans to pay for the San Jose Path Project and the Cathedral Oaks Crib Wall Repair.

These two projects are set to go into construction within the next 18 months.

City Officials sat down for a Q&A at the end of the night

The night wrapped up with a short Q&A style panel with questions from residents. The questions ranged from inquiries about infrastructure, concerns about parking, to traffic enforcements.

The City of Goleta is hosting two upcoming events, which the community is invitied to join in on – Beautify Goleta Earth Day Event on April 19th and the Ellwood Mesa Sperling Preserve 20th Anniversary Celebration on May 17th.

Santa Maria High School Teacher named 2025 AG Educator of the Year by California FFA Foundation

Alissa Orozco

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – Agricultural teacher, Marc DeBernardi, has been recognized by the California FFA Foundation as the 2024-2025 “Ag Educator of the Year.”

DeBernardi is an agricultural teacher at Santa Maria High School whose passion for agriculture and his commitment to his students has earned him the Golden Owl Award, on top of the Ag Educator of the Year award.

DeBernardi was formally recognized as the Golden Owl Award grand prize winner during the California FFA State Leadership Conference in Sacramento on April 4th where he received the coveted Golden Owl Award trophy and a $3,000 check to further invest in Santa Maria High School’s agricultural education efforts.

”It’s an honor to be recognized by the California FFA Foundation, California Farm Bureau, and Nationwide for the work we do in agricultural education. It’s truly been a privilege. I’ve taught for 29 years, and during that time, I’ve had the opportunity to serve not only my students but also California FFA. It’s been a joy — I love what I do, and it’s a rewarding profession,” DeBernardi said.

DeBernardi was one of six finalists who also attended the conference in Sacramento, each finalists were presented with personalized plaques and a $500 donation towards their school’s educational efforts.

The fellow finalists included: Carrie Phillips, Altaville-Bret Harte FFA, Lori Porter, Livermore FFA, Vernon Clark, Bakersfield-Foothill FFA, Krystal Thomas, San Marcos FFA, Jim Shanks, Dorris-Butte Valley FFA.

Pismo Beach named “Best Coastal Small Town in the USA” by USA TODAY

News Channel 3-12

Below is a press release from USA Today regarding their 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards naming Pismo Beach, CA, “Best Coastal Small Town in the USA.”

PISMO BEACH, Calif. – After a month-long national competition to see who is the best in travel, the votes have been tallied and USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards has officially named Pismo Beach (https://experiencepismobeach.com) the #1 Best Coastal Small Town in America.

The results were publicly announced on April 9. This national recognition celebrates the beauty and spirit of coastal communities. The final results are published at 10best.usatoday.com, with the top ten winners announced as:

1. Pismo Beach, California

2. Cedar Key, Florida

3. Castine, Maine

4. Bar Harbor, Maine

5. Morro Bay, California

6. Gulf Shores, Alabama

7. Stuart, Florida

8. Duck, North Carolina

9. Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

10. Beaufort, South Carolina

Pismo Beach is no stranger to the USA Today competition, coming in fifth place in 2023 and second place in 2018 for “Best Small Coastal Town”. Neighboring town Morro Bay ranked #5 on this year’s list, with fantastic representation from San Luis Obispo County.

“This honor belongs to our entire community,” said Gordon Jackson, the Director of Tourism and Events for the Pismo Beach Conference and Visitors Bureau. “Our friendly locals and vibrant downtown make Pismo Beach the Classic California coastal experience, and we’re thrilled to share it with the world.”

About USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards

USA TODAY’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards celebrate outstanding travel, food, and lifestyle destinations across the U.S., with nominees selected by a panel of travel experts and winners determined by public vote. Each category showcases beloved places and experiences that resonate with travelers, offering trusted recommendations for exploring the best the country has to offer.

About the City of Pismo Beach:

Located on California’s iconic Highway 1, right on the Central Coast, Pismo Beach is the epitome of a California beach town. With cliffside ocean views, a lively and walkable downtown, extensive outdoor adventures, and a laid-back vibe from the locals, visitors get the perfect balance of excitement and tranquility. Whether surfing, kayaking, watching wildlife, wine tasting, clamming, or catching a sunset over the pier, Pismo Beach provides a serene getaway for all travelers. Follow the adventures on Instagram and Facebook: @PismoBeachCA and facebook.com/PismoBeachCa/.

Oxnard workers and business owners in limbo due to uncertainty surrounding tariffs

Mina Wahab

OXNARD, Calif. — Between undocumented farm workers not showing up for work, to the slew of fires a few months ago, it’s been a difficult year for farm owner Uriel Hernandez.

“We kind of leave the politics outside of farming, but unfortunately, you kind of get dragged into it,” said the Oxnard-based Seacliff Farms Owner.

Now, the biggest concern for Hernandez is the tariffs. “As it is, the margins for a small operation like myself are small. You put a 10%, 15% tariffs on top of some of the items we need to produce. I mean, it’s going to squeeze us quite a bit more,” said Hernandez. On Wednesday, President Trump issued a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs with most countries, in order to allow trade negotiations with those countries. But China’s sky-high tariffs remain in effect.

“A lot of people don’t understand that China doesn’t pay the tariffs. They just charge more. Okay. So, the consumers end up getting that cost for the most part,” said Oxnard resident, Bruce Kelly. Many are worried these tariffs will hurt working class Americans the most. “It is a little more difficult for those that are working here, though, who are making minimum wage to like afford and save for that because we can be here like countless hours, but like there’s only so much that we can like make,” said Honeycup Coffee Manager, Alyssa Vega.

Something as simple as buying your favorite fruit like a strawberry could go up depending on what happens with these tariffs. “I am kind of scared to see a rise in the prices of everyday goods, even groceries. Living is just going to be so expensive now,” said Bianca Santos, who lives in Oxnard. Still, some are hopeful that the tariffs will help American businesses. Others like Haas, an Oxnard based machine tool manufacturer, say they feel they’re being penalized for buying parts from China they can’t buy from anywhere else.

They say they will ultimately have to decide between raising their prices, which will make them lose market shares, or maintaining current pricing, which means losing money.

Ventura County Fire ambulances now carry blood for transfusions

Patricia Martellotti

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – Ventura County Fire is making a new addition to its life saving effort involving blood.

For the first time, the agency’s rescue ambulances are now carrying whole blood to save lives.

“We’re only one of three agencies in the state of California to offer whole blood in a pre-hospital setting for traumatic injuries and will definitely help save lives, especially trauma, but also in medical cases too,” said medical director Dr. Neil Canby of the Ventura County Fire Department.

Fire officials believe this new blood transfusion program marks a significant advancement in prehospital emergency care.

“Blood is always critical it’s critical for this program but it’s critical all the time … every day there are emergencies and traumas … for cancer … for all kinds of in hospital treatments and we need to have it available for patients,” said regional director Susan Noone of Vitalant.

Fire officials say paramedics had to undergo special training for the new program.

“Just takes a lot of collaboration to get approval from the state to procure the blood that we need here also,” said Canby.

By carrying whole blood, firefighter paramedics can deliver life-saving transfusions at the scene, and significantly improving patient outcomes when every second counts.

“My hope is that the patients who are in desperate need of a transfusion pre-hospital will get that transfusion and we will save lives,” said Noone.

Right now, less than two percent of EMS agencies in the nation have blood transfusion programs.

UC Santa Barbara wins Voter Registration honor from the Secretary of State

John Palminteri

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara has won the state’s top honor for voter registration after a massive drive to get students to sign up last fall.

The college ballot bowl is a multi-layered competition for schools to take part in as a way to encourage their entire student body to be active in an election.

The campuses had representatives attend the orientation sessions with voter registration forms. They encouraged all students to register or re-register if they had moved to a new address and then on election day polling places were crowded as a result.

The Secretary of State Shirley Weber said “the winner of 2024 California University and College Ballot bowl competition is the University of California Santa Barbara.”

Also honored was Cal Poly with the highest percentage of student body population that registered to vote.

Overall, 234 colleges took part in the competition.

The Secretary of State presented the award on campus today. She said, “the fact that we over the years have changed it to 18 (years old). It makes it a college thing. I was 21, and folks thought they could wait until they became adults. Now we’re doing this and you can vote at 18. You can pre register at 16 and 17.”

After her visit at UC Santa Barbara, Weber went to Los Angeles to talk about voter registration with high school students. This is a focused week for voter registration outreach for high school students to pre register so materials will arrive after they are eligible.

The engagement was impressive both on the campus and in Isla Vista nearby. Weber said, “this is what we are about in terms of participating in the process making sure that this nation survives.”

Kaitlin Andrade  works as a UCSB Restorative Justice Coordinator and in Civid and Community engagement. She says the honor involves the commitment by the students who realize how many issues directly impact them and they need to begin voting as soon as possible. “Being able to have such a large pool of students who aren’t registered to vote because  they just turned 18 or just moving to  a new community, most people don’t live in Santa  Barbara  that are coming on to the campus. That is such a big deal in order for us to have all these people to register to vote,” she said.

UCSB Dean of Student Life Katya Armistead helps the students find an area where they can make a difference and getting involved in voting is one of many steps. She said, “I can help  model and help them engage in  lifelong civic engagement and really understand where they can make a difference and something they really care about.”  

Historic El Cuartel gets some Maintenance Help from a Sheep and a Goat

John Palminteri

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – A sheep and a goat are on duty at one of the most historic buildings in California to do some landscaping work.

With the recent rains, a new crop of grass and weeds popped up at El Cuartel in Santa Barbara’s Presidio District.

The building is the second oldest in California.

The goats are feasting to bring the weed levels down and tidy up the property bite-by-bite.

They have also been popular with passersby going for food or retail shopping in the area.

El Cuartel is part of El Presido de Santa Barbara in the State Park System dating back to 1780s.

Pismo Beach businesses look to benefit after city is named ‘Best Small Coastal Town’ in the nation

Dave Alley

PISMO BEACH, Calif. – Pismo Beach businesses are banking the city’s recent place atop a national poll of best small coastal cities in the nation will attract more visitors to the popular tourist destination.

This week, Pismo Beach was named the number one Best Coastal Small Town in America in USA TODAY’s 2025 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

“We’re excited that USA Today has recognized what all of us have always known, which is Pismo Beach is an amazing place to be,” said Jorge Garcia, Pismo Beach City Manager. “We are now officially the country’s best small coastal town.  It’s a great thing to be on that list and it’s a validation and confirmation of all of the amazing investments that we’ve been doing.”

With the national attention the article brings to Pismo Beach, local businesses are hoping it will boost the number of travelers who will visit the popular tourist destination.

“With this number one ranking of Pismo Beach, we are hoping and we’re praying that this brings lots more tourism to our businesses,” said Denise Holt Wasson, Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce Vice Chair/Vice President. “Our entire little town relies on tourism. Our hotels, our businesses rely on tourism. If we didn’t have the tourists, we wouldn’t be able to thrive like we do and our chamber loves all of our businesses. We promote all of our businesses for that very reason, and now with this ranking, we’re so excited to see what the future brings in for Pismo Beach.”

The honor comes two years after Pismo Beach earned a third place ranking in the same readers poll and a second place showing seven years earlier in 2018.

Pismo Beach wasn’t the only San Luis Obispo County city to earn a place on this year’s top 10 list.

Morro Bay finished in fifth place in the poll, trailing only Pismo Beach, as well as Cedar Key, Florida, Castine, Maine and Bar Harbor, Maine.

“It’s great for the county,” said Jed Bickel, Sea Crest Ocean Front Hotel General Manager. “The county and Visit SLOCAL, they work really hard to collaborate and make sure that all the cities are represented. It’s a great thing about the cities in this county, you can you can hop to each one. You can stay in Pismo, but then you can go visit Morro Bay, so that’s something that the county works on collaboratively, and we’re really excited to see Morro Bay be right there with us. It’s just going to help the area as a whole.” 

According to USA Today, the national recognition celebrates the beauty and spirit of coastal communities. 

The coastal cities in the national rankings were selected by a panel of travel experts and winners were determined by public vote.

Six Santa Barbara County Fire Departments release Updated Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps

News Channel 3-12

Below is a press release from multiple fire departments regarding Fire Hazard Severity Zone Maps.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, CA – On March 10, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) released updated Fire Hazard Severity Zones (FHSZ) Maps for Local Responsibility Areas (LRA) within Santa Barbara County. It was CAL FIRE’s first update to the LRA maps since 2009. In accordance with State law, local agencies must adopt and designate updated zones within 120 days.

The State Fire Marshal classifies lands as one of the FHSZ types:

Moderate

High

Very High

Per Government Code, CAL FIRE provides FHSZ Maps for Local Responsibility Areas. The six fire departments of Santa Barbara County with areas updated by the 2025 release of CAL FIRE’s FHSZ Maps for Local Responsibility Areas are:

Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District 

Lompoc City Fire Department

Montecito Fire Protection District

Santa Barbara City Fire Department

Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Santa Maria Fire Department

The six fire departments with Local Responsibility Areas in their jurisdictions have posted CAL FIRE’s LRA Fire Hazard Severity Zone (FHSZ) maps on their respective websites. Where applicable, local fire departments have also published proposed maps specific to their jurisdictions. These proposed maps incorporate State-designated zones and reflect local knowledge, such as terrain-specific hazards, sundowner wind patterns, and evacuation complexities.

Under State law, local agencies may not reduce the severity level of hazard zones designated by the State. However, they may raise the hazard classification or include additional areas based on local conditions.

Community members are encouraged to visit their local fire department’s website to review the map where they live and share comments.

HASBARCO cuts ribbon on Cypress & 7th Apartments in Lompoc

Jarrod Zinn

LOMPOC, Calif. – A new option for affordable housing in Lompoc cut the ribbon this morning.

The Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County, or HASBARCO, has been helping those in need for 84 years. 

“In the early years, very few people had heard about us affordable housing was not really on people’s radar. And over the past number of recent years, we’ve become better known and we’ve also had more opportunities to develop affordable housing,” says John Polanskey, HASBARCO director of housing development.

Thursday morning, they cut the ribbon on their newest complex, at Cypress & 7th in Lompoc.

“Right now we own and manage nearly 1700 units countywide,” says Polanskey. 

The mission behind this equal housing opportunity provider is to hand someone a key to their apartment as the priority, in addition to helping them stabilize and succeed further.

“We really appreciate the support that we receive from the county Board of Supervisors, city of Lompoc, for this particular project. But then also, you know, the various cities, the elected officials, that’s how we get approved for what we do,” says Polanskey.

This latest addition to HASBARCO’s family of buildings includes 16 living spaces, a community center and onsite services such as counseling and career support. 

“My God, this is incredible,” says resident Maria Garcia. 

The site is already filled with grateful residents who are taking bold steps in life.

“Being able to be stable. Being able to get my mail somewhere, being able to stay out of danger. And a special thing is about being able to have my kids come over. Because before it was embarrassing. Know having them, I couldn’t tell them the truth. You know, that I was staying out there. I was homeless. We want to have reunions. Especially with my grandkids,” says Garcia. 

HASBARCO is planning another ribbon cutting in a few weeks in Guadalupe.