Beautiful, new, affordable housing is coming soon to Guadalupe, it’s an opportunity not to be missed. 

With 38 rental units reserved for farmworkers and their families, the property, Guadalupe Court, is owned and managed by local nonprofit Peoples’ Self-Help Housing (PSHH). This housing is brand new, comes with many services, has an affordable rent based on income – and applications are still available.

“I want to really encourage anyone who works in agriculture, or who is retired from agriculture, or who has a member of their family who works in agriculture to take a look at this amazing opportunity,” said John Fowler, president & CEO of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing. “We want to support those who provide our most valuable resource, food, many of who have been desperately waiting for years for affordable housing.  Our bilingual staff are standing by for your questions and ready to help you with the application process.”

Applicants must earn at least $5,753 per year from agricultural labor and be a citizen or legal permanent resident of the United States. Applications are available in-person from Riverview Townhomes, 230 Calle Cesar E. Chavez, Guadalupe, CA; by email at gc@pshhc.org or online at pshhc.org. Any questions can be emailed to gc@pshhc.org or answered by phone at 805-249-2040. 

Founded in 1970, PSHH is the longest-serving nonprofit affordable housing organization on the Central Coast. For more information, visit pshhc.org, email info@pshhc.org or phone 805-781-3088.

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The Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center (SMVYFC) and Family Service Agency (FSA) of Santa Barbara County have merged to form one countywide organization that will provide mental-health counseling, basic-needs assistance and case-management services to more than 28,000 people annually.

This merger came about in response to the upcoming retirement of SMVYFC Executive Director Judi Nishimori. After extensive consideration, the group’s board members determined that a merger with FSA would strengthen and expand critical services for families and children in the Santa Maria Valley.

“Our organizations have always worked to achieve the same mission,” said Lisa Brabo, FSA Executive Director. “We are thrilled to be joining forces to better serve the entire county.”

“It has been an honor to serve the community, and I’m excited for the future of our agencies’ combined strength,” said Nishimori, who along with former Executive Director William Rogers has led SMVYFC since 1984.  In July, she reached her 39^th anniversary with the organization.

The name “Santa Maria Valley Youth and Family Center” will continue to be used in the Santa Maria Valley to maintain the existing identity. Officials said the work of both agencies will continue as normal and no jobs or programs were cut as a result of the merger.

The combined agency has program sites in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, Carpinteria, Santa Maria and Guadalupe. Eighty percent of services are delivered on school campuses, at community centers or in clients’ homes. FSA service sites include seven offices and more than 30 school campuses and community centers throughout the county.

The two boards have combined with co-presidents, one from each agency. Cole Kinney was president of SMVYFC board and Katya Armistead was co-president of the FSA board.

Lisa Brabo will continue as executive director of the merged organization. New Deputy Executive Director Steven DeLira is based in Santa Maria. He is well-known in the community from a 30-year career at the Santa Barbara County Probation Department.

For more information, visit http://fsacares.org/merger/

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Third District Supervisor candidate Bruce Porter holds an early lead against challenger Joan Hartmann, with 6,293 votes tallied for Porter and 5,242 voting for Hartmann.

This seat will be vacated by outgoing Supervisor Doreen Farr, who held two terms in this position.

Both Porter and Hartmann have extensive resumes both in their professional lives and involvement in the community. Porter graduated from West Point and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He also graduated from Stanford University with a master’s of science degree in civil engineering and computer science.

When he retired to the valley Porter became involved with the American Red Cross to help plan and respond to fires and disaster situations in Santa Barbara County, as well as build a facility in Santa Maria and find a backup headquarters.

Porter’s resume also includes being past president of the Solvang Rotary Club, which helped improve the Solvang Senior Center and worked to construct Sunny Fields Park and create scholarships for students.

In 2008 Porter was elected to the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School board of education and currently serves as its president. He was a part of the effort to maintain the district’s budget during the economic recession. He has also worked on projects at the high school to incorporate energy efficient lighting, revamped the recycling system and install water bottle stations.

“People have this misconception of being conservative in Santa Barbara County because of the entrenched political establishment. They portray me as someone who wants to ruin the environment, allow unbridled development and pave over the Gaviota coast. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have spent my lifetime protecting the environment and still finding ways to work with all parties to come up with solutions to benefit all,” Porter said.

In the Santa Ynez Valley the issue of wastewater, especially in Los Olivos, is of interest to Porter. In Isla Vista where Porter has been campaigning, people are also trying to create a community service district with a utility tax bond of 8 percent.

Porter added the job of the government isn’t telling people what they can do or what businesses should do, but creating opportunity.

“There should be incentives for people to bring more high-paying jobs to our county instead of leaving to Arizona or Texas. There are great spaces in Lompoc and Santa Maria and Buellton that would be perfect to create jobs of living wage so families can afford to live here,” Porter said.

The most important issue for Porter to address if he is elected is water, he said, as he believes the county needs to modernize and update the water system starting with creating a master plan.

“We need to expand our uses of recycled water and desalination facility while expanding Cachuma and conservation efforts,” Porter said.

He also is concerned about public safety as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department is down about 30 deputies and the areas not contracted with cities such as unincorporated areas like Santa Ynez and Vandenberg Village.

Hartmann has an equally measurable career as a former teacher she loves education and believes there should be more options for early childhood care and vocational and trade schools. Hartmann worked as a high school and college teacher while pursuing her graduate degrees. She earned a Ph.D., was the first woman faculty member of the Claremont Graduate School, and served as director of its Public Policy Program. Hartmann was then appointed assistant professor of Environmental Studies and Government at Oberlin College, and later served as adjunct professor at USC.

She has also worked in the policy and budget offices and as legal counsel for several federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Interior.

“One of my significant achievements is helping to found the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, which was a cooperation of public and private partnerships among government agencies, business, and environmental interests, and we secured $628 million to restore rivers and wetlands, from Gaviota to San Diego. Our efforts increased water supplies, restored habitats, and created jobs,” Hartmann said.

Hartmann also spearheaded the Buellton Urban Growth Boundary initiative in 2008, which now requires a vote of the people before the city can expand its boundaries.

She was also appointed to the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission and spent three years before resigning in January when announcing her candidacy.

“Before I left I also voted in favor of the zip line project by Stu Gildred, which I believe will be an asset to the community. I did get a lot of backlash from the environmental community, but after carefully researching the project and the property, it was a good fit, and Buellton also outlined more recreation for families in our visioning plan,” Hartmann said.

Hartmann said she believes there is always a way to solve differences, especially with hot button topics such as the winery ordinance, which imposes tight restrictions for vineyards and boutique wine label owners.

The post Bruce Porter leads in early election results appeared first on Santa Ynez Valley Star.

Porter is now in second with 5,446 votes or 35.4 percent of the vote. 

Star Report

Starting the campaign from scratch and learning about all the towns that make up the third district in Santa Barbara County has been the greatest opportunity for candidate Bruce Porter during his candidacy.

“It’s amazing how diverse our district is and what all the issues for each town and area. I believe I have the background and the experience to help everyone in our district,” Porter said at his campaign headquarters in Santa Ynez.

Porter held a party at his headquarters as the election results were coming in with a large screen displaying the early results of mail in ballots.

Porter so far has 3,422 votes, or 42.17 percent, followed by Joan Hartmann with 3,118, or 38.42 percent of the vote, according to SBCVote.com of the County Elections Office.

This is the largest field of candidates in the county election with Bob Field, Jay Freeman, Joan Hartmann, Karen Jones and Bruce Porter all vying for the seat vacated by outgoing Supervisor Doreen Farr. If Porter earns 50 percent plus one he will be the winner. If not then the top two candidates will move to the November election.

The First and Fourth District elections are two-candidate races and should be decided in this primary election. Results thus far are Das Williams in the lead for First District with 57 percent and Jennifer Christensen with 42 percent and in the Fourth District Peter Adam ran away with more than 70 percent and Eduardo Ozeta only with 29 percent of the vote.

To learn more about Porter log onto bruceporter.org and Hartmann log onto joanhartmannforsupervisor.org

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“It’s time to upgrade the services provided in Santa Barbara County to care for our veterans.

One of the most significant duties of government is to care for veterans who honorably served our country. Responsibilities are shared across the federal, state, and county governments,” Porter said.

Here in Santa Barbara County, there are about 24,000 veterans and three Veterans Services Offices—in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria—dedicated to providing services for those veterans.

A significant service in the county are Veterans Courts. The courts give honorably discharged veterans an opportunity to have nonviolent criminal charges reduced or dismissed after completing a year of treatment. The graduates are paired with mentors, also veterans, and work with the Probation Department and Behavioral Wellness staff.

“I call on the county to take the next step for our veterans, above and beyond this solid base that’s already been established. There are three measures that we should take,” he said.

First, Porter outlined there should be upgrades for the staff handling the current caseload. Two of the county offices have only a single staff officer, according to Porter.

“When that officer is out of the office to accompany a veteran at Veterans Court, for example, the office is closed and no services are available. We should staff each office with two officers, which will give the offices greatly expanded opportunities for proactive outreach,” he said.
Second,  there needs to be an upgrade of the facilities which house Veterans Services Officers.

“Some offices are tiny, others have virtually no privacy in which to provide counseling,” Porter added.
Third, there is a need to upgrade the priority and visibility of Veterans Services Offices in the county structure.

 “VSOs are currently buried deep inside the county’s Office of the Treasurer – Tax Collector – Public Administrator. Given the importance of this function of government, Veterans Services Offices should work directly under the County Public Administrator,” Porter said.

These proposals will cost more money, according to Porter, of an increase from an annual budget of about $400,000 to $500,000, still less than 1 percent of the county budget.

“There will be a growth of county employees from 4 to 6, out of over 4,000 county employees, so about 0.15 percent of total employees. That seems like a small price to pay to improve the way we serve those who have given so much for our country,” Porter said.

Bruce Porter is running to represent the residents of the 3rd District. which is the largest supervisorial district in Santa Barbara County and includes the communities of the Santa Ynez Valley, western Goleta, UCSB and Isla Vista, Vandenberg AFB, Vandenberg Village, Mesa Oaks, Mission Hills, Los Alamos, and Guadalupe.

To learn more about Bruce, visit: www.BrucePorter.org

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