Arroyo Burro Estuary

[ Excerpt from SBN-P, 7/28/2005 by Joshua Molina ]


Santa Barbara's plan to restore Arroyo Burro Estuary is on hold because bids for the project came in nearly two times higher than expected...

The city was to begin work on its ambitious restoration project in July, but doesn't have enough money to pay for it. The city set aside about $400,000, and the estimates ranged from $708,725 to just under $1 million.

The issue is significant because the question of how to pay for creek cleanups has been a subject of fierce debate among environmentalists and the hotel and lodging industry. The city in 2000 approved Measure B, a 2 percent hotel bed tax that helps pay for creek programs. Ever since, the money and how it is spent have been the focus of often intense controversy.

The Arroyo Burro situation is of special concern because of high bacterial levels...

... some people want to see the project move ahead in a timely manner.

City Councilman Das Williams said it is fiscally smart to wait, but not too long.

"I am disappointed," he said. "We really owe it to the public to get these restoration projects done as quickly as possible next year. We have been doing Measure B since 2001, and it is important to show tangible results to the public, both in terms of water-quality improvements, restoration goals and adequate testing and enforcement."

David Pritchett, a member of the city's creeks advisory committee, said there will be ways to save money on the project by tweaking the "overly precise" design specifications.

"Arroyo Burro lagoon has been the way it is for decades, and waiting another year or two isn't going to make a difference," he said. "It's been messed up for so long. We have to do it right."


High bids put estuary project on hold

Council Pay Raises

[ Excerpted from the SBN-P, 7/7/2005 ]

Pay raises for the seven members of the Santa Barbara City Council quietly went into effect on Friday, and in a few weeks when they get their first checks, they'll see a 300 percent raise.

With the boost, council members are now getting $36,300 annually. The mayor is taking home $45,300...

Most of the elected officials say that the extra money will allow them to better serve the public.

"I am not complaining, because it is a great job to serve the people of Santa Barbara, even with no money," said 31-year-old Das Williams, a political consultant and the youngest member of the council. "But the last year and a half has been extremely difficult [for me] from a financial standpoint."

Supported by 53 percent of voters and a wide coalition of community groups, the raise sailed to approval last November...

The increase was intended to pay the current council members more money while encouraging qualified working-class people to run, who might not otherwise be able to because of the low pay.

In interviews with the News-Press, most City Council members said they hope to be more responsive to the public, work less at private jobs and even attend more fundraising parties...

Five people have announced plans to run for City Council in the Nov. 8 election... at least one candidate says he wouldn't have run if the raises weren't approved.

"That was something that held me back in the past," said Grant House, a former city planning commissioner, a renter and owner of Grant House Sewing Machines.


[ SBN-P full text online edition:
Council members say raises will help them serve better ]

Plover Survives July 4th

[ Excerpted from SBN-P, 7/6/2005 ]

Santa Barbara's Independence Day fireworks fizzled, but that is OK with at least one chick at the beach... The Western snowy plover nesting at the Santa Barbara Harbor sand spit survived the booming fireworks launched from a barge off West Beach just a few hundred feet away.

"The snowy plover made it!" said a jubilant Das Williams, a city councilman who doubled as a docent guarding the plover. "The father didn't abandon the nest, or at least he came back."

A snowy plover that is just weeks old was trying to flap his wings on Tuesday morning, ending fears that the loud and raucous show would harm the bird, considered a threatened species by the federal government...


[ SBN-P full text online edition:
Snowy plover chick survives July Fourth fireworks show ]