Tag archives: City Council

Coast Village Association Secures CBID
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   June 14, 2022

In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to establish and form the Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea that has been in the works since November 2020, brought forth by the Coast Village Association (CVA). The resolution came after a tallying of votes cast by Coast Village […]

Joyce Enright Service Announcement
By Montecito Journal   |   May 31, 2022

Joyce Enright’s Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 25 at El Montecito Presbyterian Church from 2 to 4 pm. Donations in Joyce’s honor can be sent to the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission and El Montecito Presbyterian Church. Please contact Lauren Enright at (805) 252-9031 with any questions. Citizens for the Restoration of […]

Help is On the Way
By Nick Masuda   |   December 21, 2021

More affordable housing is en route to Santa Barbara, as the Housing Authority City of Santa Barbara broke ground on Vera Cruz Village at 116 East Cota Street with a ceremony on December 15 attended by multiple city council members and Congressman Salud Carbajal. The new project aims to aid in Santa Barbara’s fight against […]

The Race for District 4: Why Kristen Sneddon is Our Choice
By Nick Masuda   |   October 19, 2021

The showdown for Santa Barbara City Council’s District 4 seat has been an unexpected, no-holds-barred battle between challenger Barrett Reed and incumbent Kristen Sneddon, who, in the face of Reed’s intense criticism, has chosen to focus on her own strong record as a councilmember, and turning up the heat on her current councilmates. Sneddon, a […]

Jason Carlton: Challenger, District 6, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

The makeup of the race for Santa Barbara City Council’s District 6 seat took on a dramatically different feel late in the filing period, with three candidates jumping into the fray to take on incumbent Meagan Harmon. Jason Carlton, a well-known local business owner, is one of those that chose to challenge the seat; he […]

Nina Johnson: Challenger, District 6, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

The race for the District 6 seat on Santa Barbara City Council has turned into a four-person race, with City Hall insider Nina Johnson creating plenty of buzz in choosing to “pull her papers” at the very end of the filing period to take on incumbent Meagan Harmon.  Johnson isn’t just taking on Harmon, but […]

Kristen Sneddon: Incumbent, District 4, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

While the other city of Santa Barbara races feature a plethora of candidates, the battle for District 4 is a two-person showdown, with incumbent Kristen Sneddon taking on Barrett Reed. Sneddon, a professor at Santa Barbara City College, has been on council as the pandemic forced both State Street and Coast Village Road into plenty […]

Meagan Harmon: Incumbent, District 6, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

The race for the District 6 seat on Santa Barbara City Council is a four-person race, with incumbent Meagan Harmon being challenged by Jason Carlton, Nina Johnson, and Zachary Pike. Harmon, also a representative on the California Coastal Commission, is facing her first election, as she was appointed to council in 2019. Each of the […]

Barrett Reed: Challenger, District 4, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

With Coast Village Road’s well-being at the heart of the race for the District 4 seat on the Santa Barbara City Council, the two candidates have shown polar opposite tactics in portraying their vision for the corridor. Challenger Barrett Reed has been outspoken about the leadership style stemming from City Council, including that of his […]

Zachary Pike: Challenger, District 6, Santa Barbara City Council
By Nick Masuda   |   October 5, 2021

Zachary Pike is the “everyman” in the race for the District 6 seat on Santa Barbara City Council, as he will take on incumbent Meagan Harmon, City Hall insider Nina Johnson, and local business owner Jason Carlton in the 2021 Election. Pike has made a conscious decision to not chase endorsements of organizations or other […]

Carlos, An American Bear
By Montecito Journal   |   July 8, 2021

Carlos, The Bear, reclined in his reading chair listening to Tom Petty. He was flipping through last year’s 4th of July Car Roadshow photos he took with his old iPhone. This year everything will be better, he thought. No lockdown, masks not mandatory and people out everywhere trying to get back into the swing of […]

Parklets to Stay on Coast Village Road
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   July 1, 2021

At a hearing on Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council considered modifying aesthetic guidelines related to the outdoor dining in the public right-of-way on State Street, and on parklets in other areas of the city, including Coast Village Road. Many in the community were under the impression that the meeting was to consider removal of […]

Freedoms Taken Away at Hot Springs Trailhead
By Montecito Journal   |   April 8, 2021

On Saturday, March 28, 2021 at about 5:30 pm, I took my bicycle to the Hot Springs Trailhead, which is about a 10-minute ride from where I live. A vehicle which had printed on it “Hillcrest Security” had stopped on Mountain Drive next to the trailhead parking lot. I asked the driver, Mark, what he […]

Coast Village Association Seeks to Form Improvement District
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   March 11, 2021

At a City Council hearing on Tuesday, March 2, the Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance related to forming a Community Benefit District on Coast Village Road, an initiative set forth by the Coast Village Association Board of Directors. “This is just the beginning, the first starting block,” said CVA Board President Bob Ludwick, […]

Natalia Alarcon and Wade Nomura Backed By Carpinteria’s Anti-Cannabis Contingent
By Nick Schou   |   October 13, 2020

This November, three candidates are running for Carpinteria’s five-member city council: Mayor Wade Nomura, a former professional skateboarder; Mark McIntire, a former Santa Barbara City College philosophy professor; and Natalia Alarcon, a nonprofit program manager and clinical psychologist. Of the trio, Nomura, an incumbent, is the only candidate with any experience in city politics. McIntire, […]

State Street Serenade
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   May 21, 2020

For decades State Street has been the hope or bane of Santa Barbara’s existence. Today, the moment of truth has arrived as a groundswell of public opinion favors the Mediterranean town square model: closing State Street to traffic and opening up the street to pedestrians, retail and outdoor dining, in hopes of making the city […]

State Street Serenade
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   May 17, 2020

For decades State Street has been the hope or bane of Santa Barbara’s existence. Today, the moment of truth has arrived as a groundswell of public opinion favors the Mediterranean town square model: closing State Street to traffic and opening up the street to pedestrians, retail and outdoor dining, in hopes of making the city vibrant again […]

A Grand Reopening?
By Mitchell Kriegman   |   April 30, 2020

Years from now we may look back on the Santa Barbara City Council meeting of April 21 as a time capsule of how prepared or not we were during the economic collapse of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic. In that meeting, City Administrator Paul Casey introduced his new hire Economic Development Manager Jason Harris to the […]

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   February 7, 2019

The Last Straw I love your newspaper and read it whenever I’m in Santa Barbara. I am fortunate to be able to split my time between homes in Seattle and Santa Barbara – two great but quite different cities. While reading the “Great Straw War” editorial, I was shocked to read SB City Councilmember Jason […]