Integrated Pest Management

[ Excerpt of: "Poison Free Project," by Estelle Foster, SB INDEPENDENT, February 21, 2008 ]

"... A new Integrated Pest [Pesticide] Management (IPM) Focus Group has been formed... [consisting of] County Supervisors Carbajal and Wolf, Santa Barbara's Mayor Blum, Goleta's Mayor Blois, Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams, Santa Barbara School Superintendents Brian Sarvis, Carpinteria School Superintendent Paul Cordero, Jan Faucett from Santa Barbara County, and Goleta School Board Member Susan Epstein... Eric Cardenas of the Environmental Defense Center, Santos Escobar of Santa Barbara City Parks, Corey Welles of Lotusland, and" Estelle Foster, "the executive director of Pesticide Awareness and Alternatives Coalition (PAAC)..."

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For full text of this notice, please go to:
SBI: Poison Free Project





(PAAC BOD image courtesy of PAAC)


To read more about what PAAC is and the work they are doing, please go to:
About PAAC

You can also volunteer to help. Please visit the PAAC website at:
Pesticide Awareness and Alternatives Coalition

Visit PAAC in person at: PAAC Location Map

UC Wages (con't)

[ Excerpt from: "Failing California Communities and the UC System - UC Workers Continue To Push for Living Wage," By Bianca Licata, SB INDEPENDENT, February 19, 2008 ]

... a new report by the Center for Labor & Community Research addressing the unlivable wages of University of California service employees... entitled "Failing California Communities," contains a cohesive collection of data addressing how such low wages not only devastate families, but strain the local economy as well. Through economic impact analysis, the report found that increasing municipal worker wages would result in a "multiplier effect," benefiting the economy tremendously. It would give the state of California $147 million more spending on local goods and services, $23 million additional local business earnings, and $9 million in increased state and local tax revenue, in addition to nearly 900 new jobs throughout California...

[Santa Barbara City] Councilmember Das Williams [said]... "Santa Barbara has some of the most expensive housing in the state and the lowest working categories. The less you pay workers, the more traffic you will see on Santa Barbara roads." Williams also discussed the atrocious side effects of the low wages. "I have heard the struggles workers have at UCSB… Youth violence has a lot to do with the economic plight of their parents. Every regent and president of the UC has a responsibility to do due diligences. The good the UCs are doing is poisoned if it's done on the backs of its workers."

... Associate Vice Chancellor Paul Desruisseaux said that UCSB recognizes this issue, but unfortunately can’t do anything about it until the entire University of California proposes a plan to increase wages...

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To read the full article, please go to:
SB INDEPENDENT: Failing Communities & The UC

UC Service Workers Wages

[ Excerpt from: "UC Employees Rally for Better Wages - Union Claims UC Pays Less Than Other Institutions; Report Encourages Pay Increase," By Elliott Rosenfeld, DAILY NEXUS, February 15, 2008 ]


... University service workers are paid significantly less than employees at other institutions.

Santa Barbara City Council Member Das Williams said that that the UC should increase wages in order to boost living standards.

“We live in a community that’s one of the most expensive housing markets in the state, but one of the lowest paid working categories in the state also,” Williams said. “I know there is a lot of good that the UCs can do, but ultimately the good that the UCs are doing is poisoned if it is done on the backs of the lowest paid workers.”

The Center for Labor and Community Research and the Partnership for Working Families released a report in January... entitled, “Failing California’s Communities,” claims that the “UC fails low-income communities in California by paying wages that are significantly below what other colleges and hospitals in California pay for the same work.”

The study states that if the UC paid its service and health care workers market-rate wages, the state would benefit with $147 million more spending on local goods and services, nearly 900 new jobs, $9 million in increased state and local tax revenue and $23 million in additional local business earnings.

Sociology professor William Robinson said the University should follow the recommendations made in the report.

“Thousands of UC workers receive wages that are… insufficient to pay for food, rent, and other basic necessities,” Robinson said. “It is our responsibility as UC faculty and as members of the community and public at large to demand a shift in UC resources and priorities towards its low paid workers and communities who service the UC system, yet see none of the fruits of this world class university system.”

... UCSB Service Worker Robert Pinto, who works with AFSCME to bargain with the UC Regents, said he was frustrated with the wages UC workers are paid.

“They’ve told us at the bargaining table that the issue is not [the UC’s] ability to pay … They’ve got unrestricted funds that could cover everything we need to bring us up to market wages and hopefully even more,” Pinto said. “But they’ve told us that even though the funds are there it would be fiscally irresponsible for them to pay their workers that amount of money. It’s an insult. We are their lowest priority.”

...

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For read the full text of this article, please go to:

DAILY NEXUS: UC Employees Rally...

Wither Veronica Meadows?

[ Excerpt of Tuesday, February 5, 2008's "Attorneys argue over Veronica Meadows," BY ERIC LINDBERG, DAILY SOUND ]

As the Santa Barbara City Council voted Tuesday to rescind its earlier approval of the Veronica Meadows project, a 23-unit development off Las Positas Road, in order to comply with a court order, attorneys representing the developer and project opponents argued over the best path forward.

A Superior Court judge ruled in December that the city violated environmental guidelines by approving the project — specifically by not addressing alternatives to building a bridge over Arroyo Burro Creek — and said the city needs to revisit the issue before the project can move forward...

The issue of how to move forward — with an addendum, supplemental EIR, or other process — will be discussed by the council at a later date, likely in early March. Nonetheless, Councilmember Das Williams took the opportunity to weigh in on a project he voiced strong opposition to in the past.

“How many walls do we have to walk into and bang our head against before we realize that this is not a developable project?” he said. “…We do not have to approve anything at Veronica Meadows.”





Veronica Americana image courtesy of www.swcoloradowildflowers.com

To read the full text article, please go to:

THE DAILY SOUND: Veronica Meadows

Local Websites Ranked

SantaBarbarasBlog posted some local Santa Barbara website traffic rankings according to Alexa® (taken 02/12/08). Please note: numbers in parenthesis are Yahoo and Google rankings, of which Alexa apparently takes the aggregate. The lower the number, the higher the rankings. Edhat number appears to be a typo, but probably has correct rank position relative to the others:

1. Independent.com (178,174)
2. Santabarbara.com (187,860)
3. Newspress.com (267,892)
4. Edhat (2833,763)
5. KEYT.com (315,623)
6. Santa Barbara’s Blog (378,898)
7. City of Santa Barbara (513,261)
8. Das Williams Blog (1,614,851)
9. KCSB.org (1,963,940)
10. Blogabarbara (2,107,047)
11. SBparent.com (2,197,948)
12. Noozhawk.com (2,684,812)
13. CraigSmithsblog.com (3,426,659)
14. Santa Barbara Daily Sound (3,576,360)

To view the original posting and also comments, please go to:

SantaBarbarasBlog: Most Visited Local Sites

Ventura Unmet Transpo Needs

[ Excerpt from "Transit panel hears concerns by public - Commission evaluates funding for such needs as extra buses," By Scott Hadly, VENTURA COUNTY STAR, February 5, 2008 ]

Listening to bus riders and combing over gaps in service, the Ventura County Transportation Commission examined "unmet transit needs" during a public meeting...

... headed by Supervisors Kathy Long and John Flynn...

Das Williams, a member of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, said that a new express bus from Oxnard to Ojai also should be expanded.

"There's only one a day, and it's more than full," said Williams, who is also a city councilman in Santa Barbara.

The express bus was added last year to help many workers who cannot afford to live in Ojai as a way to get from their Oxnard homes to their jobs. Many work at the Ojai Valley Inn...

The public can comment on the unmet transit needs by mail, e-mail or phone.

People can write to Ventura County Transportation Commission, Unmet Transit Needs Process, 950 County Square Drive, Suite 207, Ventura CA 93003. E-mails should be sent to vkamhi@goventura.org or through the commission's Web site at

http://www.goventura.org. Phone calls can be made toll free to 800-438-1112.

After the close of the comment period, the commission will draft a document on the unmet transit needs that will be available for review on April 21.

Fighting Wal-Mart in Ventura

Santa Barbara's KEYT-TV recently covered the petition drive aimed at keeping Wal-Mart out of Ventura. Das is an organizer for CAUSE and he was there:

No Wal-Mart in Ventura