Westmont athletes find success
Mermaid with a message
Track and field teams shine in final GSAC Championships - A3
SB author’s book features an aquatic character with an environmental lesson for kids - B1
Our 167th Year
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SB’s Earth Day Festival returns after four years
SB Council approves rental enforcement pilot program By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
If you are the owner of one of the estimated 1,000-1,500 illegal short term vacation rentals in Santa Barbara, be warned: It’s just a matter of time before the City’s Attorney’s Office shuts you down. That’s because the City Council has approved spending $1,175,000 to develop a one-year rental enforcement pilot program to be directed by the City Attorney’s Office and Finance Department. The council voted 6-0 last week to approve the pilot program following a strong presentation by City Attorney Sarah Knecht as to why it’s needed to determine precisely how many illegal short-term rentals are operating in Santa Barbara, and where, and to then enforce city zoning regulations through administrative citations and, if necessary, criminal prosecution. Mayor Randy Rowse was absent for the deliberations and vote. “We’re not proposing new regulations,” City Attorney Knecht said. “We just want to put some
teeth behind what’s already on the books. It’s very simple. But it takes some effort and some muscle and some money to be able to do that.” At this point, she said, there is no way of knowing exactly how many illegal STRs are out there. Part of the funding would be used to retain investigators “to gain hard data on the ground” that would be “critical to support a case filing for court.” Illegal short-term rentals are a problem beyond the fact that they violate the city’s zoning code, she said. “Because illegal short-term rentals are generally more lucrative than long-term rentals, their existence compounds the city’s housing crisis,” she said. “They also adversely impact a neighborhood because of increased traffic and noise.” Short-term rentals are any dwelling unit used for exclusive transient use for 30 consecutive days or less. They are not permitted in most areas of Santa Barbara. Currently, there are 16 Please see RENTALS on A4
City receives $1.26M for microplastic pollution research By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
A solar and battery powered tractor from Solectrac is shown during the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival at Alameda Park on Sunday.
By KIRA LOGAN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The sun on people’s backs, the smell of ethically-sourced food, the squeals of joy from children, the excited barking of dogs, and, most importantly, a tangible atmosphere of hope were all elements that created the eccentric atmosphere at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival this weekend. The festival, returning for the first time in four years, hosted an estimated 16,000-plus people in Santa Barbara this past weekend, creating a space for people to learn more about Earth, how to lead a cleaner lifestyle, listen to music and hear from speakers including Jane Fonda. Founded in Santa Barbara, Earth Day has been observed for 52 years and focuses on sustainability and actions intended to safeguard the planet. Earth Day is on April 22nd every year, and the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival was held this past weekend on Saturday. The Community Environment Council, an organization based in Santa Barbara, hosted the festival to observe Earth Day and push Santa Barbara community members to take action to support their environment. The CEC organized live music and entertainment, over 150 exhibitions, a green car show and an environmental hero award show, among other activities. The cloudy day didn’t appear to hinder people’s spirits or suppress the turnout - the festival was packed, with thousands of people learning more about our environment and shopping
Actress Jane Fonda, left, takes the stage with Cesar Aguirre, a winner of the Community Environmental Council’s Santa Barbara Earth Day 2023 Environmental Hero Award.
sustainably. Lobos Del Mar, an ethicallymade clothing store that reflects Central American culture in its clothing, was in attendance at the festival. “Each piece here has a story, and a family that made it. Each piece is handmade with natural fibers, and we are in direct contact with the families that make each piece,” Curt Ebner, one of the vendors, explained.
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The Society of Fearless Grandmothers, an organization for elders who want to dedicate themselves to climate solutions for a better future for their grandchildren, had a quilt of climate solutions on display. “We are trying to create dialogue and reach people who could be doing something to help our planet, but they just don’t know it because of the lack of resources and communication,”
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according to the society. The displayed quilt has 90 proposed climate solutions focused on “protecting, regenerating, and building” local communities and the planet. La Crysterla, a latina-owned crystal business, followed the theme of ethically sourced goods. Their crystals are provided by small families all over the world, who they are in direct contact Please see EARTH DAY on A4
The City of Santa Barbara has received a $1.26 million grant to research microplastic pollution prevention, with the goal of providing clean streets, clean air and clean seas. The city’s Sustainability & Resilience Department announced Friday that its Creeks Restoration and Water Quality Improvement Division, in partnership with the University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant Program, was awarded the grant. Microplastics are small plastic pieces or fibers smaller than 5mm in size (about the size of a pencil eraser). They are found on our streets, in our creeks and ocean, the water we drink, the food we eat and the air we breathe. Microplastics can absorb and carry pollutants, leach harmful chemicals into water and are often mistaken for food by wildlife. Microplastics often come from larger plastic products breaking down due to sun, wind and wave exposure, breaking down into smaller and smaller pieces. The project, “Clean Streets, Clean Seas: Innovating Public Works to Intercept Microplastics in Urban Runoff,” is intended to provide the first measured and reported results on the impacts of street sweeping and trash capture devices on microplastic marine debris in stormwater runoff, which transports the bulk of microplastic pollution to the sea. Project fieldwork will take place in Santa Barbara as well as the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas. The work will be carried out in collaboration with the City of Santa Barbara, the University of California Santa Barbara, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, the Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution Research, WSP USA, and Cascade
Water Resources. “We are incredibly excited to work with USC Sea Grant and our research partners, including Dr. Patricia Holden at UCSB” said Jill Murray, Creeks Division water quality research analyst. “This project will determine how to remove microplastics from impervious urban surfaces to the greatest extent possible, as soon as possible, from as many acres as possible, in order to protect our streams, estuaries and oceans from harmful pollution.” This funding is part of a $27 million funding effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to address the prevention and removal of debris in marine and Great Lakes environments throughout the country. This project is one of 29 competitively selected through two opportunities supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and leveraging funds from the Inflation Reduction Act: The Marine Debris Challenge Competition and The Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions. “The Creeks Division’s research on decreasing the amount of microplastics reaching our creeks and ocean complements the city’s ongoing efforts to reduce the impacts of singleuse plastics in Santa Barbara,” said Sustainability & Resilience Director Alelia Parenteau. “We look forward to this project contributing important data to help government agencies nationwide take meaningful action to prevent microplastic pollution.” The Sustainability & Resilience Department will bring the item to the City Council to accept the grant funding in August. For more information, contact Jill Murray at JMurray@ SantaBarbaraCA.gov.
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-16-27-46-47 Mega: 9
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 0-0-3-8
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 18-38-53-62-64 Mega: 20
Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 4-15-22-26-32
Sunday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-11-07 Time: 1:42.62
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 16-53-54-57-65 Meganumber: 8
Sunday’s DAILY 3: 4-7-8 / Midday 9-6-0