Meet the Fiesta winners
Designs with a twist
Old Spanish Days announces this year’s Spirit and Junior Spirit - A4
Steve Handelman enjoys unusual themes - B1
Our 165th Year
75¢
mon day, a pr i l 19, 2 021
Seller’s market Real estate prices increase as buyers move to Santa Barbara County
Goleta Council to consider adopting homelessness plan By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Goleta’s first homelessness strategic plan could be adopted Tuesday. In the regular meeting, the City Council will review and be recommended to adopt the plan, which has been in the works for a year and a half. The nearly 100-page plan aims to guide and coordinate efforts to prevent and address homelessness, targeting funding decisions related to initiatives and grants for nonprofit service providers that focus on homelessness. If adopted, the city would allocate $115,000 for homelessness initiatives. The plan’s four overarching goals include: increasing access to critical services for the homeless; reducing the impacts of homelessness on the community; preventing atrisk individuals from becoming homeless; and increasing the supply of transitional housing,
permanent supportive housing and emergency housing. “Given the complex nature of the challenges of homelessness, a coordinated, integrated effort is needed,” the summary of the plan reads. “The challenge is bigger than any single public or private entity acting on its own can surmount.” In similar business, the council will also review and be recommended to adopt Santa Barbara County’s phase II community plan to address homelessness. The phase I plan, which included key strategies such as increasing access to affordable housing and building provider capacity, was adopted in 2019. Phase II involves prioritizing ending/dramatically reducing homelessness for specific populations; increasing housing inventory dedicated to homelessness and affordability; creating a culture of diversion and prevention across the homeless response system; improving Please see GOLETA on A4
SB Council to award contract for Arroyo Burro project By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
A real estate sign on the 3000 block of Foothill Road in Santa Barbara points out one of nearly 100 homes for sale in Santa Barbara.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Home values have appreciated nationwide during the pandemic — but especially in Santa Barbara County, where people are
retreating after living and working in cities. “I think the pandemic led people to focus on getting out of town,” Brian King, real estate agent at Village Properties, told the NewsPress. “People who could afford it focused on Montecito, and it’s almost as though Montecito
has been discovered for the umpteenth time.” The pandemic has brought the 12-month sales volume over a billion dollars in Montecito for the past six or seven months, he Please see REAL ESTATE on A3
Houses are selling after a median of 82 days on the market in Santa Barbara County, according to Realtor.com’s residential listings database.
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LOTTERY
i n s ide Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
Tuesday, the Santa Barbara City Council will be asked to award a contract with Lash Construction, Inc., for the Arroyo Burro Open Space Restoration and Trail Improvement Project. The project will restore a portion of the Campanil Drainage, create formal trail routes to improve drainage and install an 85-foot-long pedestrian bridge over the creek. Lash Construction had the lowest bid amount at $1,121,290 out of four other companies, and staff wrote that the amount is an acceptable bid that is responsive to and meets requirements of the bid specifications. “The project will improve water quality within the Arroyo Burro Watershed, restore native wildlife habitat and improve public access and recreation opportunities,” the staff report says. It will take five months to complete, and construction will take place during the dry season. In other business, the council will receive the recommended two-year financial plan for fiscal years 2022 and 2023, including the recommended operating and capital budget for fiscal year 2023. City staff have scheduled special budget work sessions over the next two months where the details of the recommended plan will be presented and discussed as part of the budget public hearing process, according to the staff report. A copy of the plan will be available for public review on Tuesday. Another presentation headed the council’s way is one on the importance of youth safety and community efforts, especially amid gun-related homicides across the nation. “This violence not only destroys the lives of the victims, but the fabric of the community,” the staff report says. “We are not immune from these losses. Violence among
young adults is often driven by neighborhood conflicts and subsequent retaliation. “In order to reduce gun violence, communities must forge strong relationships between law enforcement, schools, off campus social services, clergy, advocates and community members, who together can provide a clear community message that is supportive of our youth, and intolerant to violence.” The plan provides a collective voice from connected and committed community leaders actively involved in providing services, advocacy and support to local youth. Finally, the council will consider a request from Mayor Pro Tem Oscar Gutierrez and Council member Meagan Harmon to discuss an urgency ordinance for hazard pay for onsite grocery and drug retail workers. The council members point out that while many other businesses were able to shift to working from home, grocery and drug retail workers continued to serve the community every day. “Grocery and drug store employees work in environments where they come into close contact with large numbers of customers over the course of the work day, and these working conditions have resulted in localized outbreaks of COVID-19 in grocery and drug stores,” the request reads. “The enactment of this emergency ordinance by the city is a recognition of the sacrifices of our front line retail workers have made during the COVID-19 pandemic, and an effort to justly compensate them for their service to the Santa Barbara community during this most challenging time.” The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. Tuesday, and can be viewed on City TV Channel 18 or streamed live at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/ CAP.
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 2-7-12-29-44 Mega: 3
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 8-3-6-5
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 17-27-28-50-55 Mega: 25
Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 11-14-19-38-39
Sunday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-02-12 Time: 1:45.77
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 10-21-26-41-49 Meganumber: 25
Sunday’s DAILY 3: 3-3-8 / Midday 1-9-9