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NEWS

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2023

Jose Chang starts work as Santa Barbara County agriculture commissioner NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Jose Chang this week is beginning his position as agriculture commissioner/director of weights and measures for Santa Barbara County. Mr. Chang was approved by the Board of Supervisors for the position on Dec. 13, succeeding Cathy Fisher, who retired after 12 years as commissioner. Mr. Chang’s first day on the job was Monday. “I feel it is an honor to have been appointed to this position, and I’m excited for the opportunity to serve Santa Barbara County,” he told the News-Press. “My career has prepared me for this position by learning over the years about the many responsibilities of the agricultural commissioner system such as interpreting laws, regulations and policies and protecting the agricultural industry from injurious pests/ disease as well as consumer protection in the marketplace.

COURTESY PHOTO

Jose Chang

“It has also prepared me to work with other government entities, agricultural industry groups as well as community-based organizations,” Mr. Chang said. “I’ve been studying agriculture since high school, really all my life,” he noted. “I graduated

from UC Davis, where I studied agriculture, and over my career in the ag commissioner system, I have attended leadership/management classes.” Mr. Chang described his duties as agricultural commissioner. “I wear different hats under this position. First and foremost, I protect and promote Santa Barbara agriculture,” he explained. “I protect consumers from unfair business practices in the marketplace through our weights and measures program,” Mr. Chang said. “I inform our elected officials/county administrators on issues affecting agriculture/ weights and measures. I protect our communities, agricultural workforce and environment from unsafe pesticide applications, among other responsibilities.” “My goals are to continue to support a thriving, healthy and sustainable agricultural industry in Santa Barbara County,” Mr. Chang continued. “I believe in this noble cause as the recent

pandemic taught us all of how valuable and essential agriculture and the ag workforce are for our communities/society.” Mr. Chang spoke of how he plans to honor the legacy of his predecessor, Ms. Fisher. “Yes, Cathy left some big shoes to fill, and I think the continuity of her work is one way in which I plan to honor her many years of service to Santa Barbara County as well as California agriculture. Her collaborative/communicator approach as well as continuing to develop and mentor our staff.” “I have loved and appreciated agriculture since I was a kid,” Mr. Chang said. “Whenever I have the opportunity, I like to share that with younger generations with the hope that someone will see the value in a career in agriculture, as in agriculture you can be a researcher, a mechanic or even someone working with unmanned vehicles/drones among other careers.”

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

This week U.S. Reps. Salud Carbajal and Rep. Jimmy Panetta highlighted the $10 million investment in monarch butterfly and pollinator conservation they secured in the federal funding package passed at the end of 2022. The $10 million in federal funds — a $6 million increase over what was approved for the prior fiscal year — includes $3 million made available through the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Program, which was created as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021 with the support of Reps. Panetta and Carbajal. “I proudly represent two major monarch groves on the Central Coast of California: Pismo Beach and Goleta — both of which have been devastated by the dramatic drop off of monarch populations that we have seen over the past two decades. This decline has been a wake-up call for scientists, conservationists, and lovers of the monarch who come from far and wide to see their splendor each year,” said Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, in a news release. The grove in Goleta is the Ellwood Main Monarch Butterfly Grove at Ellwood Mesa.

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

A cluster of Monarch butterflies tuck in for the evening at the Ellwood Main Monarch Butterfly Grove at Ellwood Mesa in Goleta.

Rep. Carbajal said he is pleased with the increase in federal resources and plans to continue to work with Rep. Panetta, a Democrat whose Central Coast district includes San Luis Obispo County, to see resources

implemented to help the region. The Monarch and Pollinator Highway Program promotes pollinator-friendly practices on roadsides and highway rightsof-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally

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appropriate grasses, wildflowers and milkweed. Funding is available for state departments of transportation and Native American tribes to better conserve pollinator habitats and populations. Additional funds signed by President Joe Biden for Fiscal Year 2023 are provided to the Department of the Interior to support western monarchs and other pollinators through the National Wildlife Refuge System, as well as $3 million to support scientific research. During the last Congress, Rep. Panetta, alongside U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Monarch Action, Recovery, and Conservation of Habitat (MONARCH) Act as well as the Monarch and Pollinator Highway Act. Rep. Carbajal was a co-lead for both efforts. The leaders plan to reintroduce the MONARCH Act in the 118th Congress. It is estimated that monarch butterfly populations have decreased by 95% since the 1980s. After nearing historic lows, western monarch populations rebounded from 2,000 butterflies in 2020 to more than 247,000 in 2021.

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WENDY McCAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-Publisher ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER . . . . . Co-Publisher

Rock scaling to result in detour LOMPOC — A rock scaling operation on State Route 1 near Lompoc will result in a detour for travelers on Thursday. There will be a hard closure of southbound State 1/North 12th Street at the junction of State Route 246 and State Route 1 in Lompoc

— Katherine Zehnder

Santa Barbara collects $1.7 million SANTA BARBARA — The city of Santa Barbara collected $1.7 million in transient occupancy taxes for December. TOT revenues for that month were about 2.9% above the monthly budget, showing sustained growth, although at a slower pace than the previous five months. The city has collected $17.6 million through December, the sixth month in the city’s fiscal year. The city’s adopted TOT budget for all

funds is $28.3 million, of which $23.6 million is budgeted in the General Fund. The city’s TOT tax rate is 12%, of which 10% goes to the city’s General Fund. The remaining 2% goes to the Creeks/Clean Water Fund. — Neil Hartstein

SBCC hires men’s tennis coach Danny Echt also serves as a head tennis coach at Santa Barbara High School

By MICHAEL JORGENSON SBCC SPORTS WRITER

and plans to bring a dynamic leadership style, tactical insight, and positivity to SBCC. The Vaqueros’ season is set to begin next month with a Feb. 7 exhibition against Westmont and Feb. 9 season-opener at Ventura. Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College. email: sports@newspress.com

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Coach Danny Echt

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Santa Barbara City College has hired Danny Echt as its new head men’s tennis coach. As a teaching professional and an accomplished coach with over twenty years of coaching experience, Coach Echt has expertise in helping competitive junior and adult players advance to the next level. He joins the Vaqueros

while serving as a head tennis coach at Santa Barbara High School since 2017. For more than two decades, Coach Echt has taught privately at Knowlwood Tennis Club. Additionally he is involved in running tournaments for adults and juniors in conjunction with the Tennis Patrons of Santa Barbara. Echt, who graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1990, is eager to help build the SBCC program

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— Katherine Zehnder

from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Travelers will not be able to go south on State Route 1, but can continue east on State Route 246 to reach southbound Highway 101 in Buellton. Caltrans crews will rappel down the hillside above the roadway to dislodge debris and rock. Clean up will follow before reopening the roadway to travel. Rock scaling is performed as a preventative maintenance measure to help ensure the safety of all travelers. Message and directional signs will be in place to alert travelers in the area. Caltrans advises motorists to allow extra time during their commute. Road information can be found on Twitter at: @CaltransD5, Facebook at: Caltrans Central Coast (District 5) and Instagram at: Caltrans_D5. “Our crews deserve to get home safely too,” Caltrans said in a news release. “Drive slowly and carefully in work zones.”

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VENTURA — Caltrans plans nightly closures today through Sunday of southbound Seacliff ramps and the right southbound lane on Highway 101 from Mussel Shoals to Faria Beach in Ventura. Signs will be posted. Motorists can expect delays. Seacliff’s off and on-ramps on the southbound 101 will be closed from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. tonight and Thursday. The off-ramp only will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. The on-ramp only will be closed from 10 p.m. Friday to 11 a.m.. Sunday. Ramps will reopen each morning — except for the on-ramp on Saturday The coastal side lane of the southbound 101 will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. today and Thursday, 10 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday, 9 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday. The lane will reopen each morning. One southbound lane and two northbound

lanes will remain open overnight from Mussel Shoals to Faria Beach. Motorists traveling south can reach state beaches on Pacific Coast Highway/State Route 1 by taking Highway 101’s Main Street off-ramp in Ventura, doing a U-turn to northbound Highway 101 and exiting at the State Beaches off-ramp. La Conchita residents traveling south can use the same route by continuing further north on Highway 101.

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TRAFFIC, CRIME & FIRE BLOTTER Closures scheduled for Seacliff ramps, lane

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$10 million to help monarch butterflies By KATHERIN ZEHNDER

CALIFORNIA

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER

GENERAL EXCELLENCE 2002

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