Federal lands in Santa Barbara County are soon up for lease to oil companies for dangerous drilling and extraction processes. As our county strives to reduce the water, land, and air impacts of extreme oil drilling in county controlled areas, the Feds rush to push drilling on our federal lands.

Federal agencies are greasing the regulatory skids to cram big new oil development down our throats. Soon the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will approve hastily prepared EIS (Environmental Impact Statements), allowing oil drilling and fracking above Nojoqui Falls, Drum Canyon, Los Padres National Forest, and the Lake Cachuma headwaters leading to our drinking water aquifers!

A U.S. Geological Survey report, published in September’s “Environmental Geosciences,” confirms the polluting impacts on Central Coast groundwater aquifers from cyclic steam injection, waste water injection, and other high intensity oil extraction processes.

Elections are coming. Ask your local and federal elected leaders how they’ll stop this impending rape of our water, land, air, and climate.

Our kids strive to protect our climate by urging us to slash fossil fuel use. What do we tell them in 20 years as they struggle to cope with a burning planet?

Larry Bishop

Buellton

The post Know candidates’ stances on oil development appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Now, after recently being rebuked by the Board of Trustees, he may only express his personal opinion on this important matter that affects our health, safety, jobs and economy. 

Kudos to the trustees for acting responsibly. And thanks again to our Founding Fathers for enshrining freedom of speech in our Constitution’s First Amendment. 

Seth Steiner

Los Alamos

The post Letter to the Editor appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Photo by Raiza Giorgi

I have been meaning to send a message regarding the Solvang Fourth of July parade. I had a heart-warming moment as the parade was just starting.

While I was waiting in my Humvee at the driveway to fall in behind the Jeeps, a little girl, probably 8 or 9 years old, came up to me and said she wanted to thank me for our service, and shake my hand.

I shook her hand and thanked her. I saw that her mom was standing by a few feet away and appeared to appreciate us as well, along with being proud of her daughter. I thought later that I should have tried to get the little girl’s name so that our military vehicle club, the “Flat Fender Friends,” could show her and her mom some appreciation as well. But as parades go, they just melted back into the crowd of spectators.

Later that day I was thinking about that little girl and her mom, and how that simple gesture of appreciation for our service made me feel. As a service member during the Vietnam War era, we saw none of this upon our return. In fact it was quite the opposite, as you well know.

Every year that we participate in the Solvang Fourth of July parade, I always come away with a renewed sense of pride and patriotism, but this year was made extra special by that little girl and her mom. I will never forget this one.

John Kinney

Santa Maria

The post Letter to the Editor appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

By WE Watch

Within WE Watch, a Water Issues Group is tracking water issues in the Santa Ynez Valley. Our focus has mainly been on water supply rather than other aspects of water management. We want to share what we see as current water supply issues relevant to the SYV.

Cachuma Project Water:

The U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), which owns and operates Cachuma Reservoir and Bradbury Dam, has a contract with the Santa Barbara County Water Agency which in turn has subcontracts with Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, Improvement District No. 1 (ID1) and four water providers on the South Coast. ID1 is the only SYV water provider that has an allocation (10.31 percent) of Cachuma water.

USBR’s contract expires in 2021, so it is drafting a new contract. USBR has not yet shared a draft, nor set forth a process for public involvement or determined whether an Environmental Impact Report will be prepared.

WE Watch hopes a new contract will address several key issues, including: ensuring ID1’s allocation; addressing steelhead management; clarifying the County Water Agency’s role; and ensuring adequate downstream releases for water rights holders.

Santa Ynez River Flow and Underflow:

The Santa Ynez River flows when there’s enough rainfall to generate surface runoff and when there are releases from Lake Cachuma. Even when there is no visible surface flow, there is water underflow within the river bed. ID1, Solvang and Buellton have water rights allowing them to tap into this underflow with wells that provide a portion of their water needs.

A key issue for the city of Solvang is whether it will drill new wells into the underflow. The city has run into concerns raised by various parties, including ID1, a private land owner, the state, and a federal agency. Another key issue for all water providers is what relationship, if any, exists between the underflow and nearby groundwater basins.

Both the river’s surface flow and its underflow are enhanced when USBR releases Cachuma water downstream. These releases can occur for various reasons, such as when the reservoir level is nearing capacity and a storm is predicted; to provide water for steelhead habitat; and when downstream water rights holders acting through the Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District (SYRWD) request releases consistent with their entitlement to Cachuma water.

The SYRWCD, which is a separate entity from ID1 and is not a water provider, represents water rights holders along the SY River from Cachuma to the Lompoc Plain. SYRWCD’s role in requesting releases, and the basis for those requests, might be specifically addressed in USBR’s new Cachuma contract.

Groundwater (aquifer) basins:

All water providers in the SYV rely on groundwater for part or all of their water supply. Buellton, Solvang and ID1 have groundwater wells in upland basins separate from their riverbed underflow wells.

Unlike other water sources in California, groundwater was not regulated until 2014 when the legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Under SGMA, the entire SY Valley has been divided into three sub-areas for purpose of planning and analysis. The Western Management Area is centered on Lompoc, the Central Management Area on Buellton, and the Eastern Management Area encompasses Solvang, Santa Ynez and surrounding areas.

Each area is required to develop and submit a groundwater management plan by January 2022. The planning effort is being led by SYRWCD in coordination with water providers, local cities, the SB County Water Agency, private well owners, the Chumash tribe, and others.

WE Watch is monitoring this SGMA planning effort, which is getting underway in the SY Valley. At this early stage we are alert for issues such as transparency of the planning effort, whether a thorough and data-driven analysis will be conducted, how data will be shared with the public, ensuring citizen involvement, and the way decisions will be made for managing groundwater.

Imported Water from the State Water Project:

The State Water Project (SWP) has transported water via aqueduct and pipeline from northern California to Central Valley farmers and to Southern California for many years. 

In Santa Barbara County most major water providers also began to import this water in 1997 after forming the Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA) to manage pipeline construction and water delivery.

Lompoc residents voted not to buy into the SWP. The residents of Buellton, Solvang and areas served by ID1 voted to participate in the SWP, thereby giving them an additional water source. In the SYV, only Buellton and ID1 are members of CCWA, while Solvang purchases its SWP water through ID1.

Key issues facing CCWA members include whether to help pay for the proposed tunnel to transport SWP water through the Bay Delta by agreeing to a new 50-year contract between CCWA and the state Department of Water Resources; whether the county should continue to have a contractual role to play in SWP issues; and whether to purchase an increased allocation of SWP water.

The purpose of WE Watch is to educate the people of the Santa Ynez Valley about environmental issues, and to engage in activities including collaboration with other organizations that sustain and improve the environment of the Santa Ynez Valley. Visit www.we-watch.org to learn more. The views and opinions expressed by WE Watch are their own.

The post WE Watch Water appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Santa Ynez Valley Association of Realtors

Finding appropriate housing has never been so difficult in California, given skyrocketing prices and limited inventory. And this November, voters will determine consequential outcomes for the state’s housing future.

As a licensed Realtor, I see these challenges firsthand every day. But empty-nesters face a particular challenge. Many seniors whose children have grown and gone have a desire to downsize, to sell their three- or four-bedroom home and relocate closer to family members. But they know that if they do, they’ll pay a moving penalty in the form of drastically higher property taxes. It’s the kind of tax sticker shock that keeps these homeowners right where they are. And in turn, that keeps a vise on California’s housing supply, with fewer single-family homes going on the market. That is neither fair nor wise.

This November, California voters can move decisively to help solve both of these problems by voting yes on Proposition 5, the Property Tax Fairness Initiative.

Proposition 5 would protect those 55 years of age and older by providing them the opportunity to take their property tax protections with them when they move. That means providing the flexibility to move to a more suitable, practical home, or to a home that’s closer to children and grandchildren.

Seniors aren’t the only ones who would be helped. That same protection would be extended to the severely disabled and to victims of natural disasters. In a year when wildfires have devastated large portions of California’s rural and urban landscape and caused widespread housing losses, this kind of change makes even more sense. Proposition 5 would also replace an inconsistent patchwork of confusing rules about property tax protections that vary from county to county throughout the state.

There are also other competing measures on the ballot this November, like Proposition 10, the so-called “Affordable Housing Act,” that would actually make the housing crisis worse. It would repeal important protections for homeowners that have worked for more than 20 years and would let local government bureaucracies pass new rent control laws, which worsen shortage and affordability issues.

New government fees and regulations under this measure would provide a powerful motive for homeowners to sell or convert rental properties into other more profitable uses such as vacation rentals. That would serve to increase the cost of existing housing and make it even harder for renters to find affordable housing in the future. It’s already a significant problem, with California hosting six of the nation’s 11 most expensive rental markets.

We are all aware of the need to address California’s housing shortage. With severely limited supply and prices going up, too many homebuyers are priced out of the market.  In the Santa Ynez Valley, the median price of housing is now $818,000 — up 6.2 percent from a year ago.

As a Realtor, Santa Ynez Valley resident and Californian, I urge voters to look closely at this year’s ballot, as our state’s housing future depends on it.

Bob Jennings is president of the Santa Ynez Valley Association of Realtors.

The post Opinion: Vote yes on Prop. 5 for property tax fairness appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Allan Hancock College now proposes to continue this progress with the passage of Measure Y aimed at strengthening training programs for 21^st century careers. Passage of Measure Y will fund improvements and replacement of facilities (some built in the 1960s), equipment, and technology for a wide scope of programs on the Santa Maria and Lompoc campuses.

I am addressing this letter specifically to my Santa Ynez Valley neighbors and friends because I want to call your attention to aspects of this bond measure that will very directly affect us here in the valley.

For 45 years the Solvang Festival Theater with the support of this community has provided the performance space for exciting professional theater produced by the college’s Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts (PCPA.) We have all enjoyed performances that enliven our summers and enhance the quality of life in our valley.

Passage of Measure Y will specifically provide funding for equipment and technology for PCPA to greatly improve lighting and sound in our Solvang theater. (The law prohibits the college from investing in the Solvang Festival Theater facility.) Along with the direct impact on the theater here, the measure will also allow the college to take advantage of $24 million in state funding to build a new arts complex on the Santa Maria campus allowing the PCPA training program to move out of the rental facilities they now occupy and enhancing student learning in a modern facility. With upgraded equipment in the Solvang Festival Theater and new campus facilities for student training, valley residents can look forward to even better theater right here.

I urge you to join me in voting YES on Measure Y.

Ann Foxworthy Lewellen

Board Vice Chair, Solvang Theaterfest

The post Letter to the Editor: Support Measure Y appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Yes, our students should have a music program.

Yes, small classes are important.

Yes, science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) instruction need extra supports.

Yes, it is vital we provide interventions to students who need it.

Yes, the proposed measure would assess each parcel in the Buellton Union School District at $99 per year for eight years.

Yes, Measure A provides for an exemption for a parcel owned and occupied by a person 65 or more years of age or with a disability.

Yes, all parcel tax funds must be spent locally and cannot be taken by the state.

Yes, the spending will be annually audited by an independent citizen’s oversight committee.

Yes, our schools are central to the family-friendly community of Buellton.

And yes, Measure A is crucial to maintaining this level of excellence.

Please vote yes on Measure A!

Debbie Parisotto Goldsmith

Union president, Buellton Education Association

The post Letter to the Editor: Vote yes on Measure A for Buellton schools appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

I am asking each of you to join me in supporting the passage of a much-needed parcel tax; $99 a year for eight years will generate enough income to restore the music program, keep class sizes small, provide resources for our STEAM curriculum, and make additional support available for students.

Also, for those of you 65 and older, or disabled, you may still vote for this measure and choose to be exempt from paying it. These funds cannot be touched by the state, and spending will be audited by an independent oversight committee. This is a win-win for the students, teachers, parents, and community of Buellton. Please join me and vote yes on Measure A!

Michael Baker

Santa Ynez Valley

The post Letter to the Editor: Vote yes to keep quality of Buellton schools appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Plus, Solvang visitors generate 53 percent of the city’s general fund revenue, derived from the 12 percent hotel transient occupancy tax (known as TOT) that visitors pay on top of their hotel room rate. For example, a visitor staying in a $100 hotel room pays an additional $12 in TOT to the city. When a visitor stays in a hotel, buys products and services and pays local wages, that tourism “multiplier effect” trickles down into all segments of our local economy.

Our year-round great weather, shops, restaurants, bakeries, attractions and cultural events we enjoy are highly sought-after by us locals and visitors alike. Solvang tourism is a major economic driver and contributes to our enhanced quality of life by providing more outstanding dining, shopping and recreational opportunities than our 5,909 city residents could possibly support on our own.

So, why is tourism in Solvang important to you? Bottom line, Solvang resident households could each pay an estimated $1,450 more annually in taxes if the tourism industry did not contribute revenues to the city. Loss of this large revenue source could cause the city to cut back on services such as maintenance of streets, roads and parks; public safety protection; and other community services.

Frankly, tourism is the only industry where consumers arrive, spend their money, then leave — making limited environmental impacts yet providing positive economic benefits.

The Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau is the agency contracted by the city of Solvang to promote year-round tourism here. Let’s join together in recognizing that tourism is essential for Solvang’s continued economic vitality.

Tracy Farhad

Solvang Conference & Visitors Bureau

The post Letter to the Editor: Tourism in Solvang is important to its residents appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

On June 19, Santa Ynez High Principal Mark Swanitz’s 2018-19 employment contract was on the school board meeting agenda. The contract included another 4 percent salary increase, and total compensation of $191,305.22.

Principal Swanitz was a no-show at the board meeting. Three out of five board members attended. Board member Jerry Swanitz, Principal Swanitz’s father, had to recuse himself from voting because of his conflict of interest. Without a quorum, the item was postponed until the Aug. 21 board meeting.

Should the board be rewarding Principal Swanitz with a raise given his recent DUI arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol? The complaint listed his blood-alcohol content at 0.12 percent. A 0.08 percent BAC is legally impaired and it’s illegal to drive at this level. Research concludes, “a 0.10 – 0.12% BAC causes significant impairment to motor coordination and good judgment. Speech may be slurred. Balance, vision, reaction time and hearing will be impaired, and probably not thinking straight.”

School officials maintained radio silence immediately after Swanitz’s DUI arrest. Questions swirled; did the board really hire a public relations consultant rather than demanding Swanitz be put on administrative leave immediately?Numerous drunken-driving deaths in the Santa Ynez Valley involve teenagers. The district should expect far greater standards from its veteran administrator who makes disciplinary decisions involving teens, drugs and alcohol, some resulting in suspension or expulsion from school.

This year, the board slashed teaching positions and supplies to address the structural budget deficit, which currently is $397,602. Administrator salaries are increasing more than teacher salaries. It’s baffling that a school board member, even someone with the name Swanitz, has not suggested to the principal that he should just walk away for the sake of the kids.

I urge you to contact Superintendent Scott Cory at scory@syvuhsd.org and request that he forward your concerns to board members Jan Clevenger, Kyle Abello, Jerry Swanitz, Christine Burtness and Steve Foley. Urge them to vote responsibly on Aug. 21 and not renew Principal Swanitz’s contract or deny his raise for total compensation of almost $200,000. Otherwise, the message is simply arrogance, and the students are taught exactly the wrong lesson. Such a shame.

Michelle de Werd

Los Olivos

The post Letter to the Editor appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.