To combat expected freezing temperatures forecast for the next several nights, a warming center for those without shelter will be open at Carpinteria Community Church, 1111 Vallecito Road, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night through Jan. 15. This center is new for this season in Carpinteria and joins several warming centers across Santa Barbara County. For more information, or to help, call Maria Long and Ed Wesson, of The Warming Center Team, at 452-5466.

CHS girls basketball evens slate in victory over Cate School

By Alissa Jesle

The girls basketball crosstown match between Carpinteria High School and Cate School produced true rivalry results on Dec. 15 at Cate School. The Warriors were looking for redemption after the Rams routed them in their meeting earlier in the season, while Cate looked to put a dominant stamp on their bragging rights with a season sweep. The teams got out to a sluggish first half before ramping up the pace in a run and gun second half and a nail-biting finish that tipped, 33-32, to the Warriors.

At the 2-minute mark, the game was tied 28-28. Cate’s Grace Dickman’s pull up jumpshot put the Rams ahead by two points with 1:48 remaining. Brittany Newsome added two points with less than 1:30 to go, expanding the Rams’ late cushion to 32-28. But Cate ran into momentum-killing foul trouble near the end of the game, which the Warriors were able to ride to victory. With 40 seconds left in the game, Warrior guard Bethany Lugo put the game away with free throws and the Warriors won by a nose, 33-32.

“Carp is a second half team and we talked about it,” Dickman said. “We knew we’d have to come as strong as they would. “

“We knew if we could make our free throws, we’d be good,” added Morgan Wallace of the Warriors.

It took some time for both teams to get going. Thanks to strong defense from the Rams, the Warriors were forced to take poor shots with the shot clock winding down during a low-scoring first half. Rebounding was key for Cate and kept the Warriors at nine points for the half while the Rams generated a six-point, 15-9 advantage at the half.

Both teams came out with gusto in the second half. Warrior Elena Schneider started the shooting match with a nice jump shot. Not to be outdone, the Rams’ Mikaela Li sank a floater that wowed the crowd.

“The first half was a bit rocky for us because we were trying to feel out our new offense,” Wallace said.

Cate led at the end of three quarters, but could not hold the lead for the one that counted. Rams’ foul trouble helped the Warriors make some crucial freebies from Lugo and Erin Saito. Lugo made each of her seven free throws, which changed the momentum of the game. Lugo also split the defense and made an acrobatic lay-up to bring the Warriors within one.

Scrappy play from both teams created an exciting and intense finish with each team fighting for possession of the ball. “We just kept working as a team, chipping away at the score,” Lugo said.

By Lea Boyd

A critical inspection of the South Coast’s water pipeline is now underway despite fears that a closed session meeting of the Cachuma Operations and Management Board on Dec. 14 would derail plans to identify safety, reliability and capacity issues within the aging infrastructure.

Multiple sources indicate that the COMB board was considering the dismissal of the organization’s general manager, Bruce Mowry. The board took no reportable action, according to COMB President Lauren Hanson. Nonetheless, the agenda item raised much concern about maintaining a schedule to inspect the pipeline should Mowry have been fired.

“It would have most likely delayed or postponed the whole inspection,” said Carpinteria Valley Water District General Manager Charles Hamilton, “and who knows for how long.”

The conduit inspection, performed by the Bureau of Reclamation, has been postponed several times already and is over a year overdue. Constructed in the 1950s, the water system is aging, and its safety and reliability are threatened by corrosion and a long lifetime of wear and tear. Additionally, reductions in its capacity have occurred over the last several decades, and this inspection is expected to provide answers to questions of how capacity was lost and how it can be restored.

Closed session proceedings are not made public, but documents recorded during public comment indicate that Mowry could have a truncated future with COMB, an agency charged with maintaining and operating the water system that feeds Cachuma Lake water to the districts between Goleta and Carpinteria. The COMB board is made up of a representative from each member water district, including CVWD.

In an unusual turn of events, the Bureau of Reclamation, which would typically not involve itself in personnel matters at COMB, submitted a scathing letter to be read aloud prior to the closed session meeting last Friday. Regarding the agenda item labeled “Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release,” the letter by Bureau representative Nick Zaninovich stated, “First the Bureau would like to go on record with its displeasure concerning the timing of the proposed action. It is a well-known fact that Dr. Mowry has been instrumental in the extensive planning that has occurred relative to the Tecolote Tunnel inspection that is scheduled for December 19, 2012 – only five days from now. This action has directly threatened to further delay the inspection.”

The letter went on to state, “Based upon the circumstances surrounding prior inspection postponements, one could easily perceive that the current closed session item is another attempt to delay the inspection one more time. This perception has basis due to the Board’s full knowledge of the inspection date but yet scheduling this item for consideration just days prior.”

Why COMB would consider dismissing its general manager and why it may intentionally delay the inspection is unknown. In response to CVN’s request for an interview, in a Dec. 18 email, COMB Board President Hanson stated only that, “The Bureau will be doing one of their regular inspections of the Tecolote Tunnel tomorrow, Dec. 19. COMB is happy to be assisting them.”

The Bureau’s letter went on to state that it supports a comprehensive administrative review of the COMB organization. “This action is of particular importance due to the lack of action relative to long-term outstanding Bureau recommendations, which Dr. Mowry seems committed to address,” stated Zaninovich.

Mowry was hired as the general manager of COMB when Kate Rees resigned in the midst of the controversy surrounding COMB’s attempt to secure support for its Second Barrel Project in 2011. The project, which would have cost $10 million, was to create 8,000 feet of redundant pipeline between Goleta and the south portal of the Tecolote Tunnel, which transports water from the lake. CVWD opted out of the project, citing a disproportionate advantage to Goleta Water District from the added capacity.

Ultimately, under Mowry’s leadership, COMB downsized its project to the construction of 2,000 feet of redundant pipeline—to accommodate a portion of the conduit evaluated at highest risk for failure. The Modified Upper Reach Reliability Project, cost $4.2 million and was paid for mainly through $3.2 million in Prop 50 funds.

Given the tragic school shooting in Connecticut last week, the Carpinteria Unified School District will review and improve current security procedures. Superintendent Paul Cordeiro will be meeting this week with local law enforcement officials to identify ways to make its campuses as secure as possible. Superintendent Cordeiro will convene a meeting of administrators and law enforcement officials on Jan. 7 and then report to the school board at its meeting on Jan. 8. “Our campuses are an important part of the Carpinteria community,” stated Cordeiro. “They are, first and foremost, for our students but are also accessible to and used by many Carpinterians. Beyond what we currently do we want to see what more we might do to keep students, staff and volunteers safe. There are no easy answers, but there are, I’m sure, changes—some immediate—we can make to heighten security.”

Experts weigh in on “The Year of the Shark”
By Peter Dugré

(DEC. 13, 2012) Two incidents from among the long list of Santa Barbara County white shark encounters of 2012 evoked the words, “That scared the heck out of me,” from Peter Howorth, director of Santa Barbara Marine Mammal Center, during his Year of the Shark presentation on Dec. 7. Howorth, who hypothesized that the recent spike in activity is due to a slow rebound of the population after the 1994 ban on white shark fishing, recounted that those “scary” shark tales occurred in Carpinteria.

One took place in mid-September when Carpinteria City Lifeguards were dragging the summer swim platforms in for the season. SBMMC had earlier received a report of a bitten seal carcass drifting down the coast near Sandyland Cove, west of city beach. Personnel headed to Carpinteria City Beach and arrived just in time to notice the carcass washing ashore. Carpinteria City Lifeguard Supervisor Chuck Graham had not received the same report. Unaware of the carcass, Graham dove into the water and ran head first into a white shark’s meal, near a blood trail, no less.

Howorth considers Graham extremely lucky. White sharks often dart up from beneath their prey and land a couple of fatal bites. They then retreat until the animal dies and come back to finish the meal when the prey can’t put up a fight. If this typical feeding scenario played out, city lifeguards, particularly Graham, could have been in grave danger from a shark monitoring its meal until it was ready to finish what it started.

Then on Nov. 1, Carpinteria’s seal rookery was the white shark capital of California. According to Howorth, a NOAA scientist from Seattle was observing the seal rookery from Casitas Pier and counted six seals hauled out on the beach with bite wounds that day. Concurrent to that observation from the scientist, SBMMC representatives were at Rincon Point collecting a seventh seal, which had washed up with white shark bite wounds. What “scared the heck out” of Howorth was the presence of a surfer near the rookery. The six confirmed bitten seals was an unprecedented event.

During the presentation, which was the headlining portion of an annual fundraising night hosted by SBMMC at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Howorth theorized that the most plausible reason evidence of white sharks in Santa Barbara County was more abundant than ever in 2012 is that there are more white sharks. He sought to debunk beliefs that white sharks’ increased presence was due simply to more seals or other rumored causes like water temperature rise.

“There has been a local population (of harbor seals) at the rookery in Carpinteria since the late 1800s, at least. The colony has been around for quite a while,” Howorth said. He noted that seal counts conducted by Carpinteria’s Seal Watch volunteers have remained around 300 individuals at peak times since the mid 1990s. “When you say there are more seals than ever, that’s not quite true,” Howorth said, addressing some popular myths fueled by internet chatter.

The notion that Carpinteria’s seal rookery attracts white sharks, however, cannot be refuted. Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) make up a big part of a mature white shark’s diet, making seal rookeries natural attractions to the predator. However, the increase in the white shark population is independent of the local seal rookery, Howorth said.

He believes that the white shark population boom—which cannot be backed up with a scientific count—is attributable to the 1994 enactment of a California regulation protecting white sharks. Although specifics about the reproduction of white sharks remain unknown, Howorth asserted that it takes nine to 10 years for sharks to mature to reproductive age. From there, gestation takes up to two years, scientists believe. After the parent generation reproduces, the next generation of sharks would not reach adequate size to prey on pinnipeds for another nine or 10 years. Rough math shows that it is plausible that we are just now seeing the shark population rebound due to the 1994 ban.

While pinnipeds are “the canary in the coal mine” by which the health of the population of white sharks can be judged, according to Howorth, the number of humans who have fallen victim to white shark attacks increased drastically over recent decades. Between San Simeon and the Mexican border 31 humans have been attacked by white sharks since 2000, according to the presentation. Only four were attacked between 1990 and 1999. The number of attacks on humans has spiked dramatically in the last four years, Howorth said. Of those attacked, 78 percent were paddling something, be it a surfboard, kayak or similar vessel.

The increase cannot simply be explained by more people in the water, he insisted. “I simply cannot believe we had a seven-fold increase in the last decade because more people are in the water. I just don’t buy that.”

In order to avoid shark encounters, ocean-goers should follow a couple simple safety guidelines, Howorth said. The experiences of 2012 have helped SBMMC communicate more effectively with governmental agencies and to coordinate in order to erect beach warning signs. Signs, like the ones that have been posted in Carpinteria several times this year, need to be heeded, Howorth said. Warning signs are put up only if credible white shark evidence can be verified. “We don’t want to cry wolf,” he said.

Recreational ocean users should avoid groups of pinnipeds. When a human is spotted with seals, Howorth commented, it’s “kind of like a new item in a food bowl,” and white sharks may take an investigative nibble.

Other pointers are to use the ocean with buddies, not wear flashy jewelry, avoid trailing bloody fish and to get out of the water at the first sign of sharks. “There’s no guarantee of one place being safer than another,” Howorth concluded. The best thing to do is “make good decisions based on accurate information.” This latest round of information reinforces what the evidence of more bitten pinnipeds washing up on beaches demonstrated throughout the year, the Carpinteria coast now has a heightened presence of white sharks.

Nomura and Shaw seated, Reddington says goodbye

By Sara Monge

(DEC. 13, 2012) There was palpable excitement in Carpinteria City Hall when the city council welcomed Wade Nomura and Fred Shaw to the dais and bid goodbye to Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington at its Dec. 10 meeting. The new council also elected Vice Mayor Brad Stein as mayor and Councilman Gregg Carty as vice mayor for the next two years.

Shaw and Nomura will fill seats vacated by Reddington, who ran for a second term but came up short of votes in the November election, and Joe Armendariz, who stepped down from his seat last summer to accept a job offer in North Santa Barbara County.

Stein said he was humbled to be nominated as the Carpinteria mayor. “This is the sixth or seventh council I’ve sat on,” he said, “… and I can honestly say it is one of the best already … because all four of you are well known in the community and have contributed so much of your time to make this community better and have done so selflessly.”

At their official seating on the council, both Nomura and Shaw expressed their love for Carpinteria. Nomura said, “I’ve been many places around the world … none more beautiful than Carpinteria, and I’m not just talking about the natural resources, but also the people.” Nomura said he expects that both on and off the dais Carpinterians will have differing opinions about the best direction for the city, but he believes the important thing is to hear from everyone and address everyone’s concerns while always considering what is best for the city.

Shaw seconded Nomura’s remarks saying, “Obviously we live in a beautiful place, (but) the people are what make this town the great place it is.” He thanked the community for putting their trust in him and vowed to do his “best to represent each and every one of you.”

Outgoing Councilwoman Reddington was thanked for her four years of service on the council. Reddington regularly clashed with other councilmembers during her term, but her colleagues expressed thanks to her, lauding what was accomplished during her tenure. Stein said, “You and I have had an interesting relationship up here, but you’ve opened my eyes to a few things and I thank you for that.” Reddington always fought for what she thought was best for the community, Stein added.

In her last speech from the dais, Reddington thanked city staff and described her time on the council as a “blessing.” She enumerated the list of things accomplished during her time, and specifically thanked her colleagues for banning single-use bags and establishing the Integrated Pest Management Board.

Reddington encouraged other strong, outspoken women to run for office and take other leadership roles, but cautioned, “just be ready to have others want you to keep quiet and get along, to be sweet and play nice, to hold your tongue and defer to the status quo. If you do that it will not serve the community’s nor the environment’s interest and your voice may never be heard. Instead, speak up. Be bold. Let them be uncomfortable. And get things done.” She added, “There is nothing more powerful than a community that is outspoken and engaged … tonight may be my last night on the council, but I’ll always be around.”

Stein and Carty also thanked Councilman Al Clark for his tenure as mayor, specifically for weathering some of the tough times. During Clark’s time as mayor he streamlined meetings, acted as a leader during tough budget cuts and the controversial passage of the single-use bag ban.

“Individual councilmembers, in and of themselves, have absolutely no more power than an ordinary citizen,” Clark said. “It’s only when we work together as five people, we have the power to make policy.” He also said of his tenure, “We’ve had interesting challenges during the past few years, but we have grown as we’ve met those challenges—and the city has grown—and we’ve accomplished a lot of good things.”

In other news, the new council got right to work hearing a report about design standards that will affect new development in the beach neighborhood south of the railroad tracks (the Spot and Silver Sands Mobile Home park excluded). Design guidelines will encourage residents to consider neighbors’ views, privacy and neighborhood aesthetic when planning development and remodels. The document touches on everything from height and architecture of residences, to fencing and landscaping. It even has suggestions about exteriors of mailboxes, especially for multiple unit developments.

Two public hearings and multiple meetings with the Architectural Review Board and Planning Commission resulted in the new document, which Clark said he wished could be “taken back 20 years before the McMansion era.” Nomura, who just left his post on the ARB to become a councilmember, said, “these policies have been sorely missed” and will “dramatically improve new development.”

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Santa Barbara County’s certification of the Nov. 6 election results confirmed the winners of local elections as last announced in Coastal View News. The provisional ballot count had yet to be completed when the county last updated its numbers on Nov. 16, which left a slim chance that the winner of Carpinteria Valley Water District’s second seat could change. However, Polly Holcombe officially claimed the seat with 29 votes over fellow slate member Shirley Johnson. Earlier results had Johnson in the lead by one vote. Carpinteria’s new board members and councilmen will take their seats in the upcoming month.

Didn’t get a chance to nominate a beloved local business? You’re in luck. The deadline to submit nominations for this year’s small and large businesses of the year awards for the 55th Annual Community Awards Banquet has been extended from Nov. 30 to Tuesday, Dec. 11. Forms can be printed from carpinteriachamber.org or at the office of the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce, 1056-B Eugenia Place. Nominations for 2012 Carpinterian of the Year and community Merit Awards are due to the chamber office by Friday, Dec. 7. The banquet is on the calendar for Saturday, Jan. 26. For more information, call 684-5479 x10.

Incoming councilmen Wade Nomura and Fred Shaw will be seated on the Carpinteria City Council at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday, Dec. 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chamber at City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Outgoing Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington will also be recognized for her four years of service to the city. The meeting’s agenda also includes a presentation on the Beach Neighborhood Design Guidelines and on the proposed approach to Beach Neighborhood Street Improvements for Dorrance Way and Third Street, including connecting streets. The Annual City Council Work Program/Strategic Planning Session will be scheduled, and a report will be made on the 2013-14 city commission and committee openings. The public is invited to attend the meeting and participate in the public comment period. The final agenda will be available on the city’s website, carpinteria.ca.us, on Friday, Dec. 7. For more information, call the city at 684-5405.

Though a municipal bond sale completed on Nov. 15, the Carpinteria Sanitary District took advantage of historically low interest rates and refinanced approximately $11.3 million in bond debt to achieve a savings of over $260,000 annually. Concurrently, the district issued $4.5 million in new bonds to fund the construction of two new aerobic digesters that were critically needed at the treatment plant. “The interest savings realized through this bond issuance will completely pay for the costs to construct this major facility upgrade, at least through 2025, with zero impact to the District’s existing rate structure” said Craig Murray, the district’s General Manager. “The timing was excellent and our finance team did a great job to get this bond deal done efficiently and successfully.”

The funds are in the bank and just a handful of permits stand in the way of Friends of Franklin Trail launching construction on the first phase of the long-awaited project in the Carpinteria foothills. The local group hopes to break ground in the spring and complete the first two-mile segment of trail, with 750 feet of elevation gain, by next summer. “Preliminary planning and required bureaucratic steps are taking longer than anticipated,” stated a release from the Friends. The trail’s lower reaches include the perimeter of Carpinteria High School, a segment that has led to “some tricky road easement issues,” according to the group. When those issues are resolved, the Friends will apply for a city permit. A county permit is currently under review, and access easements from Southern California Edison and a state permit will be necessary before construction gets going.

Four arrests were made and nearly 90 marijuana plants discovered in the search of a Carpinteria home on the morning of Nov. 30. Brian Lopez, Sr., 52; Amber Iverson, 27; Patrick Bollinger, 37; and Irene Hernandez, 49; were arrested for various drug related charges in the drug bust at 4870 Malibu Drive. Lopez alone was arrested for cultivation and possession for sales of marijuana. He, Iverson and Hernandez were arrested for possession of methamphetamines and for being under the influence of a controlled substance, and Bollinger was arrested only for being under the influence.

According to a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department press release, the bust resulted from an on-going marijuana growing investigation. In conjunction with narcotics and criminal investigations detectives, the deputies uncovered approximately 88 live marijuana plants in various stages of growth, from seedlings to mature plants, during the search. Lt. Kelly Moore called the scene “a sophisticated growing operation in three separate locations on the property.” The investigation is on-going and will be submitted to the District Attorney for filing of charges.

Upon Union Bank’s acquisition of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, which was finalized on Nov. 30, 468 positions within the Central Coast bank were eliminated. Despite rumors that the massive layoff would affect the Carpinteria branch, no pink slips were handed out at branches, and bank representative Debbie Whitely confirmed that it would be “business as usual” at the Casitas Plaza location. The layoffs were all back office positions, she said, and most were from the Goleta offices.

By merging the companies, staffing redundancies were created in the areas of operations, information technology and staff support. Employees were notified of their status last week, and 80 percent of those who were laid off will keep their positions through April. Whitely reported that Union Bank is doing everything it can to help locate work for employees who will lose their jobs. The California-wide bank currently has 175 vacant positions between Los Angeles and San Jose, which it will work to fill with Santa Barbara Bank & Trust employees.

In addition to retaining its staff, the Carpinteria branch will retain its Santa Barbara Bank & Trust signage for several months, Whitley said. The immediate benefit of the Union Bank purchase will be increased resources; for example, customers now have access to hundreds of additional ATMs.

Carpinteria – On 11-30-2012, at approximately 0700 hours, deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department served a search warrant at 4870 Malibu Drive, Carpinteria.

As a result of an on-going marijuana growing investigation a search warrant was obtained by patrol deputies. In conjunction with narcotics and criminal investigations detectives, the search warrant was served at the single family residence that was also located in close proximity to an elementary school. Located during the execution of the search warrant was; approximately 88 growing marijuana plants (in various stages of growth, from seedlings to mature plants), a sophisticated growing operation in three separate locations on the property, a small amount of suspected methamphetamines, packaged and processed marijuana, and evidence of sales of marijuana.

Four individuals were arrested at the residence and booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail for various drug related charges. Arrested at the residence were:

Brain Lopez Sr. DOB 1-22-1960
11359 H&S (Possession for Sales of Marijuana)
11358 H&S (Cultivation of Marijuana)
11550 H&S (Under the influence of a Controlled Substance)
11377 H&S (Possession of Methamphetamines)

Amber Iverson, DOB 4-1-1985
11377 H&S (Possession of Methamphetamines)
11550 H&S (Under the influence of a Controlled Substance)

Patrick Bollinger, DOB 4-27-1975
11550 H&S (Under the influence of a Controlled Substance)

Irene Hernandez, DOB 2-27-1963
11550 H&S (Under the influence of a Controlled Substance)
11377 H&S (Possession of Methamphetamines)

This investigation is on-going and will be submitted to the District Attorney for filing of charges.

By Erin Lennon

While Carpinteria Family School, Canalino School and Carpinteria Middle School garnered mixed California Standards Test results, each site administrator delivered strategies for improvement in presenting annual plans for student achievement at the Nov. 27 Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Education meeting.

CFS surpassed the desired 800 mark on California’s Academic Performance Index, raising its score to 924, and meeting all federal Adequate Yearly Progress goals to keep pace with No Child Left Behind mandates. Principal Leslie Gravitz noted that her 75-student population makes site data “highly volatile.” Eighty-eight percent of students tested at or above proficiency in English Language Arts, with 85 percent in math and 100 percent in science.

Despite success, Gravitz proposed improvements, including the use of state released questions to prepare for the CST, cooperative learning in ELA and project-based learning in science along with afterschool help and increased academic aide time.

Both Canalino Principal Jeff Madrigal and CMS Principal John Merritt saw dips in API scores, with Canalino registering 784 and CMS dropping to 771. Neither met all AYP mandates; however, both presented plans to improve.

Canalino saw ELA proficiency increase in every subgroup, with 49 percent of students testing proficient. CST math scores were relatively stagnant, with proficiency down by .5 percent. Canalino’s advanced math students added 18 classmates to their ranks. The number of students testing below basic also increased, keeping proficiency around 59 percent. Third-grade ELA scores were a trouble spot. Proficiency fell to 35 percent with subgroups like English learners dropping from 25 to 17 percent proficient and Caucasian student proficiency dropping from 62 to 35 percent.

CMS ELA proficiency stayed around 50 percent, with increases in proficiency in English learner and Hispanic students. Math proficiency, however, declined in all subgroups, according to Merritt. Merritt noted socioeconomically disadvantaged students, a subgroup that has trouble on state test scores, increased to 75 percent of CMS’s student body.

Madrigal and Merritt stressed the importance of language development to boost ELA performance. Madrigal focused on structured English language development, requiring Canalino students to break into skill-level groups for daily English concentration. Staff already underwent five days of Guided Language Acquisition Design and two separate ELD trainings.

CMS is committed to helping basic students and long term English learner students, those who have been in the district since kindergarten but have not achieved proficiency in English, acquire academic language through numerous intervention programs.

Administrators proposed professional development in math and ELA to support higher CST scores. Merritt stressed the importance of peer observation and reflection for his staff’s development, specifically in math.

Canalino’s third-grade teachers, whose students saw dips in ELA scores, have agreed to observe teaching at Aliso School, followed by an observation by Aliso teachers.

“There’s something about the strategies and the practices being used at Aliso that are working, and we’re struggling at Canalino,” said boardmember Terry Hickey-Banks, who noted that Canalino teachers do not lack in talent or dedication. “Nobody can feel good about that.”

Both CMS and Canalino placed a premium on tutoring in their action plans, offering small group tutoring after school, increased use of academic aides and a staffed homework center at CMS.

“Common sense tells you, you want kids positive, and you want them feeling successful, and we’ve made some pretty significant changes this year to affect our student failure rate,” said Merritt.

CFS’s high test scores were correlated with 94 percent parent involvement, suggesting involvement reinforces the importance of school and gives students resources for success. To boost involvement, Canalino is incorporating the Canalino Family Success Chart, guiding parents in six areas they can incorporate at home to benefit their child’s academic success. These areas include high aspirations for the student’s future, parent involvement with homework and school attendance.

“No matter the expertise of the parent, everybody that we have talked to has had an aha moment,” said Madrigal.

Board President Andy Sheaffer, an outspoken advocate for increased parent involvement, suggested visiting parents at home to express the need for their involvement and using other untested, creative ways to raise participation.

Mixed testing results were not the only bittersweet development. One-term boardmember Lou Panizzon, who did not seek reelection this November, closed out another chapter in his lifetime of service to CUSD after sharing his final board communications following an earlier standing ovation at the Nov. 27 meeting.

“I would like to thank Lou for his four years on the board and his 40 years of dedication to Carpinteria as a citizen and a mentor to countless young men and women,” said Sheaffer. “He has made a difference in their lives and in the community.”

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 11, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Rite Aid denied ABC letter of support

By Sara Monge

While Carpinteria may not be Mayberry, it certainly is close as evidenced by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Department’s Annual Report for 2011 to the city council on Nov. 26. The council was pleased to hear that despite controversial cuts made to the sheriff’s contract, the crime rate held steady with the number of crimes related to theft showing a steady downturn even as the economy continues to struggle. Councilman Brad Stein commended the department’s efforts saying, “In these days of shrinking budgets, you’ve done a great job.”

The number of violent crimes reported locally remained extremely low. Three cases of rape were documented, and the city did not see a homicide for the sixth year in a row. Although the incidence of larceny continues to decline, at 149 offenses it was by far the most frequently reported crime and the least frequently resolved—just 20 of the cases were closed. While detectives managed to clear most crimes at rates well above state and national averages—including all rape and robbery cases and most aggravated assault cases—they fell behind state averages for larceny.

However, the Sheriff’s office had warned that the elimination of a detective position in 2011 due to budget cuts would lead to such a problem. At 50 percent of its former detective staffing, the department said that the time dedicated to solving crimes would be necessarily cut in half. Spring of 2012 brought a somewhat rosier economic forecast, and the city reinstated a second part-time detective position.

Of the 72 juvenile arrests, most of which were for possessing small amounts of marijuana, 11 happened during school hours, while 36 happened outside of school days. Mayor Al Clark commented, “from the data it looks like the police are doing great even without the daytime curfew.”

While the report for 2011 looked very impressive, Lt. Kelly Moore cautioned, “We are going to have more challenges in the years to come.” He voiced concerns about the new law that shifts offenders from prison to local jails resulting in inmates being released early. The department, he said, is “already having problems with parolees.” He added that “Government (agencies) are typically a year or two behind in (economic) recovery.”

Finally, Councilman Gregg Carty asked Moore what could be done to “make patrol officers feel like our police department” and recommended a change of uniform, while Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington suggested a lapel pin. Moore explained the $15,000 price tag had deterred them from making a uniform change but added that a separate uniform could be problematic because “an officer may be in the city one day and patrolling the county the next.” However he said they are working to remedy the problem and open to exploring all options.

In other news, the council voted 4-0 against Rite-Aid’s efforts to secure a liquor license for its Linden Avenue store—the store’s third bid in five years to restore its alcohol sales. While councilmembers agreed that Rite-Aid could be trusted to sell alcohol responsibly, the store’s proximity to other alcohol vendors led the council to deny sending a letter of support to the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).

Rite-Aid lost its liquor license in 2007 from its Casitas Plaza location after the store was caught selling alcohol to underage minors three times in two years. The store moved to a its new location on Linden Avenue and applied for a new liquor license in June 2008 and September 2009, but was denied both times when the city supported the Sheriff’s Department’s efforts to block the license. Since then, Rite-Aid has added ID card readers which make it extremely difficult for minors to use fake ID cards to buy alcohol. In addition, the business has worked to augment its employee training programs and penalize cashiers involved in underage alcohol sales.

Rite-Aid had requested the city issue a “Letter of Public Convenience and Necessity,” which is a requirement for selling alcohol in a space that has never held a liquor license. The alcohol license would have been transferred from the Rite-Aid store on Hollister Avenue in Goleta to the Carpinteria store.

Within Carpinteria, 44 establishments sell alchohol, and the state considers it to be “oversaturated” with liquor licenses. Silvia Echeverria, the city’s code compliance supervisor, further explained that there are three stores within five minutes walking distance from Rite-Aid which have the same permit under consideration. “The public convenience is already served in that area,” she said.

Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington commented that the city should eventually reduce, not increase, the list of vendors selling alcohol. Citing the Sheriff Department’s Annual Report for 2011, she noted that first and third on the Top 3 Charges list were related to alcohol—the first being Drunk in Public and the third being Driving Under the Influence. She also noted that possession of alcohol ranked second in charges against minors. “All three of these crimes could be reduced if we sell less liquor,” she said.

ABC has the final say on licensing, but without city support it is unlikely Rite-Aid will be awarded a permit.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Dec.10 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Still fall short of No Child Left Behind

By Erin Lennon

Standardized test scores are generally on the rise at Carpinteria Unified School District high schools, but they haven’t improved dramatically enough to cut it according to No Child Left Behind. At the Nov. 14 board of education meeting, principals from Carpinteria, Rincon and Foothill high schools presented action plans to improve student test performance, particularly in stubborn trouble areas.

These action plans address district schools’ performance on the 2011-2012 Academic Performance Index, which measures growth using the California Standards Test and other standardized tests, and the federal No Child Left Behind’s Adequate Yearly Progress in English language arts (ELA) and math.

Neither CHS nor RHS met the desired 800 on the API’s numeric scale or met AYP mandates. However, both schools increased their API, with CHS reaching 758 and RHS rising from 492 to 620.

To meet AYP mandates, districts are required to have nearly 92 percent of students at or above proficiency during this school year and 100 percent of students proficient by spring 2014.

The 2012 California High School Exit Exam was also discussed, and both principals shared positive data. Math results were the highest CHS has seen in years, according to CHS Principal Gerardo Cornejo, with 90 percent of test takers passing. English language arts scores also rose, with 89 percent passing, and English Language Learner scores grew drastically. Eighty-one percent of RHS test takers passed the ELA section and 69 percent passed math.

On the CST, CHS students saw an upward trend in ELA, geometry, algebra II, U.S. history and science, with drops in algebra I and modern world history.

The action plan emphasized increased utilization of Professional Learning Communities, which would assist with other objectives like revising and reviewing common and general assessments and strengthening teaching strategies. The plan also advocated using Extended Learning, a 40-minute tutoring period at the end of the day, to further identify and aid struggling students.

“We need to learn from each other,” said Cornejo. “Teaching is a very isolated profession if you choose to do that. PLCs require you to participate with your colleagues and share your knowledge.”

Staff stability affected performance on sections of the CST, administrators noted, with staff turnover being tied to drops in algebra and modern world history.

Modern world history has the “most inconsistency in teachers teaching it,” said Cornejo. U.S. history has the same teacher almost every year, he added, and scores in this area rose.

Algebra is a lingering challenge that Superintendent Paul Cordeiro called a system-wide problem, with issues reaching back to fourth and fifth grades. However, the high school and the district are working toward solutions.

“If you do not pass algebra it’s going to be very difficult for you to meet the entry requirements to go to college,” said Cornejo.

ELA CST scores were on the rise with dips in ninth-grade word analysis and vocabulary and in 10th-grade writing strategies. Scores improved in 11th grade, where EL students were the only trouble spot, said Cornejo. However, the overall number of CHS EL students testing proficient grew by 41 percent.

Increased expository reading and writing addresses ELA needs identified by CST data. Do Now activities frontload classes with language and give students necessary vocabulary and definitions to access lessons and increase English language development.

“Twenty-three percent of our students are English learners, and if we help our English learners, we’re helping our other students,” said Cornejo.

RHS Principal Kristin Mayville noted success inside and outside the classroom in her action plan. Attendance jumped to 90 percent, and the suspension rate dropped to 25 percent in 2012.

In the classroom, RHS students saw overall growth on the CST including jumps from zero to 8 percent proficient in math and from 3.8 to 10 percent proficient in ELA. Drops were seen in earth sciences, which fell from 25 percent proficient to zero and social studies, which fell to 5 percent proficient.

Mayville’s strategy for progress is to pull students from the Far Below Basic designation to basic. Students testing at the basic level in earth sciences jumped from 19 to 60 percent and from 6 to 40 percent in social studies in 2012.

“Although they didn’t get to the proficient level, it shows a very strong upward movement,” said Mayville.

Mayville’s improvement plan includes continuous checks for understanding, increased formative assessments and use of a CAL SOAP tutor, which is a local college student who works alongside teachers. RHS will also take part in the Secondary Math Initiative, collaborating with CHS on existing and future math standards. To benefit the science program and modern world history, RHS will pilot a Cyber High Curriculum to provide lectures and activities to enrich these curricula.

CHS and RHS have unique actions plans, but both encourage students to look beyond high school. CHS incorporates career track programs such as the Culinary Arts Department and the new Sports Medicine program. RHS aims to equip every student with an internship and a post secondary education plan.

“My goal is to have my students feel that they’re scholars with a plan for their education past high school,” said Mayville. “High school is a stepping stone. Moving on and taking it to the next level is what we’re always driving toward.”

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 5:30 p.m. in the Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

CIF playoffs was new territory for every player on the Carpinteria High School boys water polo team. The last time the program survived into the postseason was 2007. This year’s senior-filled Warrior squad won a wildcard home match against Pacifica High School, 15-9, on Nov. 7 but lost in round one, 19-2, at La Quinta High School on Nov. 8.

In the wildcard round, the Warriors came out fast and posted a 3-0 first quarter and climbed to 7-3 by halftime. However, Pacifica did not fold. The Tritons drew to within one at 7-6 midway through the third quarter before the Warriors found their rhythm and finished strong to seal the victory.

Cole Gill scored four goals, Ben O’Hara and Dylan Hathaway had three each, Alan Chavez and Thomas Fly each had two and Zach Clayton had one. Jacob Pate saved seven shots in goal.

The Warriors then hit the end of the line in the first round with a 19-2 loss at La Quinta. The team could not muster the same production it had during the wildcard round and was defeated by a bigger, better squad. Chavez and Clayton scored the goals for the Warriors. Despite the outcome, coach Bryan Swarm congratulated players for completing a strong season and competing to the end of the final game.

Following a third-place finish in Tri-Valley League and a playoff win, Carpinteria High School water polo players earned high honors when league awards were handed down. Senior Ben O’Hara earned TVL First Team recognition. Getting the Second Team nod were Jacob Pate and Alan Chavez, and Honorable Mention went to Dylan Hathaway and Cole Gill. Each of the players was a senior and part of the core group that spent four years together in the pool. Coach Bryan Swarm was named TVL Coach of the Year.

A season that had towering highs ended on a lower but respectable note for Cate School 8-man football, which lost in round two of CIF 8-Man Division 1 playoffs at Mojave High School by a score of 63-21 on Nov. 9. The Rams (8-2) had knocked off otherwise undefeated Mojave (10-1) at home in September, but the improved Mojave squad beat Cate at its place.

This time around, the Rams went into battle without injured senior quarterback Kyle Mayfield, who had been the team’s primary offensive weapon when Cate scored 70 points in the first meeting. Although Cate played from behind throughout the game, senior running back Austin Gallegos punched in two touchdowns for the Rams and junior Max Vasquez got the other. Mojave has won nine straight games since losing to Cate in the first game of the second game of the season.

“We got them the first time and put 70 up on them, and they definitely remembered that,” said Ben Soto, Cate coach.

Uncharacteristically for the Rams, the team had turnover issues. “We were a step off. They were faster than us, and we picked a bad day not to tackle well or block well and we had two fumbles and an interception,” Soto said.

Although the 2012 campaign ended with a loss and an injured quarterback, Soto said there are plenty of accomplishments for the team to hang its hats on, most notably a Condor League championship. The Rams downed Thacher School to win Condor League in thrilling fashion. Both Thacher and Mojave are still in the hunt for a CIF title as the semifinals unfold. “I told the guys if they step back and look at the big picture, we had a great season,” Soto said.

School board election:
In with the old, in with the new
By Lea Boyd

In the Nov. 6 election of Terry Hickey Banks and Alison Livett to the Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Education, local voters cast overwhelming support for two candidates on opposite ends of the familiarity spectrum. Banks, who boasts a 17-year tenure on the board, brings experience, continuity and local cred, while Livett, a relative newcomer to Carpinteria, campaigned on her fresh perspective and educational worldliness.

“As a new member of the Carpinteria community, I was very surprised to be elected to the second school board seat,” said Livett, who received nearly 30 percent of the votes cast in the election.

Banks spoke of a similar reaction to finding her name at the top of the four candidates, with over 33 percent of the votes. “I was surprised,” she said, “and obviously very happy.”

Though final ballots are still being tallied, Banks and Livett have been frontrunners since the earliest results were posted. As they now stand, Livett trails Banks by a few hundred votes, but has outpaced runner-up Suzie Schneider by nearly 1,000 votes and Blanca Gorman by about 1,400. Schneider and Gorman both have children in the school district and have been involved parents during their kids’ enrollment in the district.

Banks, who has successfully sailed through several past elections, said that she had worried this one might be different. She was attacked in the campaign for her support of 2010’s local oil and gas drilling initiative, Measure J, which was soundly defeated at the polls. Of her stance on the initiative, Banks said, “I don’t think it affects my decisions on the school board in any way, shape or form.”

She said that with a long tenure on the board, “the more friends and the more enemies I have.” Nonetheless, she says her actions have been consistent, and “If people have paid attention, they know who I am and what I stand for.”

Improved educational opportunities and narrowing the achievement gap at CUSD are Banks’ proudest accomplishments on the board. “You can never rest on your laurels,” she said, but during her campaign, she gathered that people are generally happy with the district’s direction. “I didn’t get the message that people expect a lot of change, just continued improvement,” she said.

Banks, who is politically conservative, said that her decisions on the board are separate from her political affiliation. She said she was “thrilled” by the passage of Proposition 30, which will save CUSD from massive budget cuts this year. “I don’t generally support tax increases, but I think this was really necessary for the schools,” she said.

Livett echoed Banks’ support of Prop 30 and noted that during her campaigning she learned about issues confronting the district beyond the financial straits faced by schools throughout the state. In recent years, the teachers union has locked horns with the school board and administrators in a series of battles over benefits and teachers’ rights, some of which have led to costly legal arbitration. The district has more work to do to bring English learners up to speed, Livett said, and local schools are plagued by “white flight,” in which more affluent families are sending their children to private schools and higher performing public schools outside CUSD. Summerland School parents are highly concerned over the state of their school, which, Livett said, is “something that the district needs to address in the relatively short term.”

Livett secured several important endorsements in her campaign, including those of First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, former Carpinteria Mayor Dick Weinberg, Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee and the Democratic Women of Santa Barbara. She credits these as well as her qualifications—a master’s degree in teaching, a doctorate in physics and nine years experience teaching math and physics—and her promise of being a “fresh voice for parents, teachers and students” for her election win.

Banks said she looks forward to Livett joining the board and stepping into the seat now held by Lou Panizzon, who opted not to run for a second term. She added that a diverse set of perspectives on the board is critical. Livett’s years of teaching will provide an important angle, while having boardmembers like Andy Sheaffer and Grace Donnelly, who have children in the district, is also key. Of her own contribution, Banks said that among relatively new boardmembers and administrators, she can supply answers to longterm questions of how and why decisions were made. “I feel like I’m the one person who has a history of how we got to where we are,” she said.

By Peter Dugré

An attempt by a slate of challengers to toss out incumbents in the Carpinteria Valley Water District election was partially successful on Nov. 6, but CVWD Board President June Van Wingerden gained a reaffirming victory for another term directing the often-criticized water district. Of three candidates on the Carpinteria Water Matters slate of challengers, only Polly Holcombe appears poised to win a seat. As of Nov. 14 she led Shirley Johnson by 29 votes with a small number of provisional ballots left to be counted. In a separate election to fill a vacant seat for two years, Richard Forde beat Alexandra VanAntwerp.

A similar strategy to remake the water district board—motivated by high rates and perceived lack of transparency—was partially successful in the 2010 election. Three seats have changed hands since the push to shake up the board began.

Van Wingerden, co-owner of Ocean Breeze nursery, said the intensity of recent water district races has surprised her, and she almost walked away before the election but threw her hat in again to ensure continuity and experience on the board. “It would have been hard to have four new members running the district,” Van Wingerden said. In the 2010 election, only Director Matt Roberts regained his seat. This time around, incumbent Bob Lieberknecht, the longest serving director and former CVWD general manager for over 30 years, was ousted.

“I’m disappointed that Bob didn’t get in,” Van Wingerden said. “He just has so much knowledge. We’ll probably have to pay him as a consultant (when he’s gone). Now, we get him for free.”

Johnson said Van Wingerden’s reelection did not match the sentiment she witnessed on the streets. During the campaign, she’d found near consensus in constituents being displeased with the state of the district and high water bills.

“I think it’ll be good to have fresh views, fresh eyes,” Johnson said. At the time of the interview she led Holcombe by one vote, but now it appears her fellow slate member will be the new eyes overseeing water district operations. Johnson stressed that each of the Water Matters challengers had business experience and would focus on cutting costs and increasing efficiency.

Forde plans on bringing a new level of expertise to the water district. He is a water science professor at Ventura College and has 25 years of experience consulting agencies including NASA and the United Nations on water projects. On his victory, he said, “I think the people realize that there’ve been problems, and they can see that I’m somebody with knowledge.”

Forde was inspired to run for the water board after serving on a Santa Barbara Grand Jury in 2009 and becoming familiar with a scathing Grand Jury report about CVWD that was released in 2008. He said. “I read it and said, ‘The next time there’s an election I’m getting on this board.’” He said he plans on analyzing the district’s debt, which drives up customer’s costs, and finding ways to unburden the district. He can also apply his technical knowledge to the local water works to try and find savings, Forde said. His plan of action is twofold: increase transparency and oversee the technical side.

The new board members will join Van Wingerden, who has similar goals to the candidates trying to unseat her. She cited business aptitude as her primary strength, much like the Water Matters candidates, and she wants to find ways to cut district expenses. Her focus is on containing rising health insurance and pension costs.

Clipper Windpower, one of the largest employers in Carpinteria, announced to employees last week plans to close its local office at 6305 Carpinteria Ave. within the next six months. According to an employee who asked to remain unnamed, the wind energy company, which manufactures wind turbines, will retain less than 100 staff members, all of whom will be based at its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, plant.

Once a thriving company of 750 employees, Clipper has implemented multiple rounds of layoffs since it was purchased earlier this year by a private equity company. According to a Nov. 7 report in an Iowa newspaper, The Gazette, the company has stopped producing wind turbines in Cedar Rapids and is focusing on warranty service of its products.

Like several other renewable energy companies, Clipper is facing the December 2012 expiration of production tax credits for wind energy. This, and the drop in energy prices due to a boom in inexpensive natural gas production, has made business tough for Clipper and its ilk.

Many Carpinteria employees were laid off with 60-day notices and severance packages. Whether or not any local employees will be asked to relocate to Iowa is unknown. Multiple calls made by Coastal View News to Clipper spokespeople were unreturned.

This latest news comes on the heels of TE Connectivity (Tyco Electronics) announcing it will close its Carpinteria location at 550 Linden Avenue. Around 100 local jobs will be lost over the next 16 months from that closure.

By Peter Dugré

An attempt by a slate of challengers to toss out incumbents in the Carpinteria Valley Water District election was partially successful on Nov. 6, but CVWD Board President June Van Wingerden gained a reaffirming victory for another term directing the often-criticized water district. Of three candidates on the Carpinteria Water Matters slate of challengers, only one will win a seat—either Shirley Johnson or Polly Holcombe—but a single vote separated the two candidates, making the outcome unclear until remaining ballots are counted. In a separate election to fill a vacant seat for two years, Richard Forde beat slate-member Alexandra VanAntwerp.

A similar strategy to remake the water district board—motivated by high rates and perceived lack of transparency—was partially successful in the 2010 election. Three seats have changed hands since the push for change began.

Van Wingerden, co-owner of Ocean Breeze nursery, said the intensity of recent water district races has surprised her, and she almost walked away before the election but threw her hat in again to ensure continuity and experience on the board. “It would have been hard to have four new members running the district,” Van Wingerden said. In the 2010 election, only Director Matt Roberts regained his seat. This time around, incumbent Bob Lieberknecht, the longest serving director and former CVWD general manager for over 30 years, was ousted.

“I’m disappointed that Bob didn’t get in,” Van Wingerden said. “He just has so much knowledge. We’ll probably have to pay him as a consultant (when he’s gone). Now, we get him for free.”

Johnson said Van Wingerden’s reelection did not match the sentiment she witnessed on the streets. During the campaign, she’d found near consensus in constituents being displeased with the state of the district and high water bills.

“I think it’ll be good to have fresh views, fresh eyes,” Johnson said. And, if she remains ahead of Holcombe, she plans on directing her fresh eyes and fine-toothed comb to every check sent out from the district coffers. “I think the water district runs a tight ship in some areas, but we can do better.” Johnson stressed that each of the Water Matters challengers had business experience and would focus on cutting costs and increasing efficiency.

Forde plans on bringing a new level of expertise to the water district. He is a water science professor at Ventura College and has 25 years of experience consulting agencies including NASA and the United Nations on water projects. On his victory, he said, “I think the people realize that there’ve been problems, and they can see that I’m somebody with knowledge.”

Forde was inspired to run for the water board after serving on a Santa Barbara Grand Jury in 2009 and becoming familiar with a scathing Grand Jury report about CVWD that was released in 2008. He said. “I read it and said, ‘The next time there’s an election I’m getting on this board.’” He said he plans on analyzing the district’s debt, which drives up customer’s costs, and finding ways to unburden the district. He can also apply his technical knowledge to the local water works to try and find savings, Forde said. His plan of action is twofold: increase transparency and oversee the technical side.

The new board members will join Van Wingerden, who has similar goals to the candidates trying to unseat her. She cited business aptitude as her primary strength, much like the Water Matters candidates, and she wants to find ways to cut district expenses. Her focus is on containing rising health insurance and pension costs.

By Peter Dugré

A back-and-forth battle between Oak Park and Carpinteria high schools tipped to Oak Park in the fourth quarter of a 28-21 Warrior football road loss on Nov. 2. Third place in Tri-Valley League was at stake along with an at-large playoff spot, both of which went to Oak Park (5-5), while the Warriors (5-5) finished in fourth place in TVL and will not be participating in playoffs for the first time since 2009.

The Warriors entered the contest having won all four road games this season, but “missed opportunities,” according to coach Ben Hallock, gave Oak Park the advantage in a tight football game. In a seesaw affair, Oak Park scored the game’s first 13 points, followed by the Warriors scoring 14. Oak Park, however, won the fourth quarter 15-7.

Oak Park gained an early 13-0 lead, but the Warriors charged back to go up 14-13 before halftime. Running back Peter Ramos and quarterback Ian Craddock ran in the two first-half Warrior touchdowns. A Craddock-to-Ramos screen pass ate up a big chunk of field to jumpstart the offense on the team’s first scoring drive.

To open the second half, both offenses fell silent for the third quarter before Oak Park gained a 21-14 lead at the start of the fourth quarter. The Warriors answered with a scoring drive of their own. Craddock found Anthony Graham on a short scoring pass to even the score at 21-21 with five minutes remaining in the game. Oak Park quickly regained the lead to finish scoring at 28-21.

Hallock said attrition from battling Oak Park’s sizable line contributed to the Oak Park fourth-quarter scores. Warrior senior captain Derrick Shirley-Moore, who anchors the defensive front, left the game with an ankle injury, and his presence was missed, particularly on the game-winning 40-yard Oak Park touchdown run.

The Warriors, who often played from behind this season, had trouble putting together complete games. “There were times this season when we’d get on a role...” Hallock said. “But we never found the right formula to get through four quarters.” He called the 5-5 mark a respectable season and commented that he felt the team should still have gained entry into playoffs based on that record and a strong TVL that included the Northwest Division’s top two teams, Bishop Diego and Nordhoff high schools.

(NOV 8, 2012) Local election results from Santa Barbara County Elections office listed below do not include provisional ballots or vote by mail ballots that were dropped off at polling places or the elections office. For the county as a whole, there are about 10,000 uncounted provisional ballots and 43,000 uncounted vote by mail ballots. The vote by mail ballots should be counted in the next week to two weeks, and the elections office will next update results on the afternoon of Friday, Nov. 9.
State election results are from California Secretary of State and the presidential election results are from cnn.com.

Carpinteria City Council Two seats available, 7,149 votes
Wade Nomura 2,073 votes 29.00 %
Fred Shaw 1,813 25.36
Gregory Gandrud 1,570 21.96
Kathleen Reddington 1,124 15.72
Tom Perry 561 7.85

Carpinteria Unified School District Two seats available, 8,702 votes
Terry Hickey Banks 2,870 votes 32.98 %
Alison Jane Livett 2,640 30.34
Suzanne B. Schneider 1,747 20.08
Blanca Maldonado Gorman 1,431 16.44

Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District
Two seats available, 8,836 votes
Bill Taff 3,848 votes 43.55%
Chris Johnson 2,959 33.49
Lisa Guravitz 2,011 22.76

Carpinteria Valley Water District (Full term)
Two seats available, 8,143 votes • The second seat is too close to call
June Van Wingerden 2,368 votes 29.08 %
Shirley Johnson 2,110 25.91
Polly Holcombe 2,109 25.9
Robert R. Lieberknecht 1,540 18.91

Carpinteria Valley Water District (Partial term)
One seat for two-year term, 4,357 votes
Richard Forde 2,569 votes 58.96 %
Alexandra D. VanAntwerp 1,176 40.76

Measure E City Transient Occupancy Tax
4,157 votes • 77.6 % Yes • 22.4 No

President of the United States
Barack Obama, 303 Electoral Votes • Mitt Romney, 206 Electoral Votes

U.S. Congress 24th District
Lois Capps, 54.8% • Abel Maldonado, 45.2%

California State Senate 19th District
Hannah-Beth Jackson, 54.7% • Mike Stoker, 45.3%

State Assembly 37th District
Das Williams, 59.4 % • Rob Walter, 40.6%

State Proposition 30 Temporary Taxes to Fund Education
53.9 % Yes • 46.1% No

By Lea Boyd

(NOV 8, 2012) In the late 1980s, the Carpinteria community got behind a campaign to bring a brand new public pool to town—families cut checks, businesses agreed to sponsorships and a huge downtown thermometer showed the fundraising effort inching toward completion. From this successful campaign, the Carpinteria Community Pool was born. Now, the city’s proud pool is aging, its two-decades old technologies have become inefficient, un-green and inferior in comparison to today’s pool systems. To catch up, the city is undertaking a new campaign, one with a goal of $85,000 to replace “the old and tired pool technology with 21st century state-of-the art systems,” according to a press release.

“The pool is for everyone,” emphasized Parks and Recreation Director Matt Roberts, “We teach toddlers to swim, and we have senior aerobic classes.” All ages in between are served, as well, Roberts added, as an explanation for why the community should once again throw its support behind a campaign to improve the pool.

The sought-after upgrades will benefit pool users, city coffers and the planet. Pool blankets, which come with a $10,000 price tag, would cover the pool overnight as a means of reducing heating and maintenance costs as well as the pool’s carbon footprint. The wish list also includes solar panels at a cost of $25,000, which would reduce electrical costs and dependency on fossil fuels.

The biggest ticket item is a $50,000 ozone generator, which is touted as a highly efficient sanitizer of pool water. Harmful viruses and bacteria, such as e-coli, would be destroyed with the ozone generator more quickly and efficiently than chlorine. By installing the generator, the city could reduce its dependence on chemical inputs, which now cost between $10,000 and $12,000 annually. Chlorine would still be a necessary addition, “but we’d use a lot less,” said Roberts. The city’s news release states that the generator “eliminates the nasty chlorine by-product that irritates your eyes, dries your skin, makes your hair turn green, and prematurely wears down the fabric of your swim suit.”

The centerpiece of the 1980s campaign to construct the pool was the sale of personalized tiles, which have been featured prominently at the site ever since. Organizers had the foresight to leave room for 80 tiles in a 20th anniversary section, and this is the area that will recognize donors to the current campaign. Twenty tiles have been sold already, and Roberts hopes that selling the remaining 60 tiles for a range of dollar amounts––starting at $250––the $85,000 campaign goal will be met. Tile purchases or smaller donations come with a gift as well, stainless steel water bottles or hooded sweatshirts.

Earth Day, April 22, is the goal to complete fundraising. Roberts expects that the new equipment could be installed within six months of the campaign’s completion. For more information on the campaign or to make a donation, visit Carp-Pool.com.

(NOV 8, 2012) Carpinteria High School’s class of 1963 is planning a reunion for next summer, and the committee is trying to locate all fellow classmates. “It has been 50 years since we strolled the hallowed halls of Carpinteria High School, and we plan to gather once again and reminisce about those good old days,” stated Doug Treloar. Anyone who was a Warrior with the class of 1963, should contact Treloar with current contact information. He can be reached at 684-5489 or drtdoug@cox.net.

(NOV 8, 2012) The next Carpinteria City Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. The council will have a full agenda for the evening, considering among other things, the authorization of the first phase of the El Carro Lane Sidewalk Maintenance In-Fill Project and to award the construction bid to Berry General Engineering and approve a project budget of $170,236. The council will consider revising the Director of Public Works job description to include duties and responsibilities of city engineer, city traffic engineer and floodplain administrator. Additionally, the City of Carpinteria Tree Advisory Board and Traffic Safety Committee will give their annual recommendations, and the council will hear the Economic Vitality Program Annual Report. The final agenda and staff reports will be available on Friday, Nov. 9 and can be accessed at carpinteria.ca.us.

(NOV 8, 2012) The City of Carpinteria recently closed escrow on the $355,000, .69-acre Union Pacific property west of the train station. The vacant lot on 5th Street will be used for park purposes, though no decision has been made as to what type of park project should be constructed. A community garden and a skatepark will both be considered. According to Matt Roberts, Parks and Recreation Director, a pedestrian/bicycle railroad undercrossing at Holly Avenue will also be considered as a means of providing safe access to and from the beach neighborhood. The process for determining what should take place on the site has not been decided, but Roberts said that the council is likely to form an ad hoc committee to review and recommend options.

(NOV 8, 2012) With the 55th Annual Community Awards Banquet on the calendar for Saturday, Jan. 26, the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce has opened the application window for event honorees. The 2012 Carpinterian of the Year and community Merit Awards nomination forms are due to the chamber office by Dec. 7, and those for the Small and Large Businesses of the Year are due on Nov. 30. The nominations for Junior Carpinterian of the Year are due on Nov. 26. Forms for this award are available at all Carpinteria Unified School District High School counseling offices. “This year we are offering a super opportunity for local businesses to be more highly involved in the event by offering tiered sponsorships, featuring Titanium, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and VIP levels,” stated chamber President/CEO Lynda Lang. Sponsors, she added, will receive more banquet recognition than they have in the past. Nomination forms and sponsorship information are available at carpinteriachamber.org. For more information, call 684-5479 x10.

(NOV 8, 2012) The window to submit an application for the City of Carpinteria’s upcoming affordable housing lottery draws to a close on Monday, Nov. 19. Four townhomes in the new Lagunitas development off of Via Real will be sold below market value in the first lottery, the date for which has not been set. The homes are two and three-bedrooms and range in price from $274,000 to $464,800. Preference points for the lottery are awarded to applicants who reside in Carpinteria, work in Carpinteria or belong to the critical workforce. The 73-home development is being constructed in phases, and a total of 11 units will be sold at an affordable rate.

(NOV 8, 2012) Venoco, Inc. recently submitted an application with the State Lands Commission to drill for oil and gas in the Carpinteria area. According to State Lands Executive Director Curtis Fossum, the application was deemed incomplete and is therefore confidential. “(Venoco is) apparently trying to tie down a location to drill from,” said Fossum. Venoco spokesperson Steve Greig declined to comment on the company’s newest efforts to access the Paredon oil field “until we have agreements with any and all property owners.”

Venoco has not yet applied for a new drilling permit with the County of Santa Barbara, but a staff person at the county reported that he expects an application to be submitted soon. Fossum said that the paperwork for the State Lands Commission should be complete soon. The company’s application with the City of Carpinteria to drill from its Dump Road property is currently suspended. Venoco put the brakes on its original effort to access its offshore lease through extended reach drilling when the council’s favor seemed unlikely. The company then sought permission to drill through a voter initiative, Measure J, which was handily defeated in 2010. The city council has since granted Venoco extensions on its decision to reopen the application or close it entirely.

A fire that broke out in an unoccupied apartment at 4780 8th Street was quickly controlled and extinguished on Oct. 29. At 6:12 a.m. that morning, a passerby noticed smoke from an upstairs window, and the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District responded along with Montecito Fire Protection District and Ventura County Fire Department. Four engines and 15 firefighters were on scene to control the fire within minutes of arriving on scene. There were no injuries and the cause is currently under investigation.

By Lea Boyd

(NOV. 1, 2012) Candidates for everything from the school board to the city council have received loads of local attention in the form of newspaper advertising, letters to the editor, a chamber of commerce forum, yard signs and an “Ask the candidates” question and answer series in CVN. What the buzz about town has excluded, however, is Carpinteria’s Measure E, a ballot item that has voters electing whether to raise the local transient occupancy tax (bed tax) from 10 to 12 percent.

Based on the City of Carpinteria’s public poll conducted last spring, the measure is a hole in one. As a general tax—one that is not dedicated to specific spending within the city budget—a simple majority is required for Measure E to pass. Among those voters polled, 62 percent said they supported the measure as a means of protecting the city from future service cuts.

If passed, the new TOT would be charged to hotel guests. For an overnight stay that costs $100, the existing tax would amount to $10, while the new tax would add $2 to the total bill. The proposed TOT would match that charged by neighboring cities such as Santa Barbara.

Facing a fourth year in which budget expenditures exceeded revenues, the Carpinteria City Council voted last summer to include the measure in this November’s General Election. By raising the rate by 2 percent, city staff estimates that the measure will generate $250,000 in added annual revenue. If passed, the measure’s windfall will benefit the general fund, but the council has specified that funds will likely support increased tourism; community service organizations such as Boys & Girls Club, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria and the Carpinteria Library; youth recreation; and law enforcement.

Former Councilman Joe Armendariz, who was on the council at the time of the discussion, cast the one nay vote in the council decision to put the measure on the ballot. He said that he would only support the measure if it were earmarked exclusively for the promotion of tourism.

Though the measure has warranted little attention during election season, it did raise some opposition during council consideration. Jim Michener of Carpinteria stated in a letter to the editor published on March 1, “The tourist dollar is badly needed by the local merchants, and placing more taxes on visitors is a very bad idea.”

The council majority, nonetheless, remained enthused about the potential to drum up new revenue for a city that has been forced to cut law enforcement, furlough employees and reduce hours at the community and city hall in the last few years. Additionally, the council has leaned on its cushiony reserves for over $1 million in budgetary patching.

At the June 11 council meeting, Councilman Gregg Carty said, “The best thing I like about this tax is that it’ll stay local.”

Nov. 6 will determine whether voters agree with the city council that tourists should shoulder the costs of added city revenues or believe a new tax will be prohibitive to Carpinteria’s tourism.

Sets stage for league championship
By Peter Dugré

(OCT. 25, 2012) Cate School 8-man football traveled to Cambria to play against Condor League newcomer Coast Union High School under the Friday night lights on Oct. 19. The Rams, more accustomed to Saturday afternoon games, came out firing, quickly spoiling their host’s Homecoming game en route to a 62-15 win over the fifth-ranked and previously undefeated Broncos (7-1).

The Rams scored on their first four offensive possessions. On the first play of the game, quarterback Kyle Mayfield hit Max Wankner for a 63-yard pass that advanced the Rams inside the 5-yard line. Mayfield punched it in for the first of his three touchdowns. Giving new definition to starting strong, the Rams scored 27 points in the first quarter alone.

“The entire offensive line of Chris Wilkinson, Peter Kim, Zach Ell, Thys Northup, Brewer Ballard, Christian Ondaatje and Max Wankner did a great job giving Mayfield time to throw and opening up holes for Austin Gallegos, Michael Martinez, John Basar, Nik Pajouh and Max Vasquez to run through,” stated Cate coach Ben Soto.  

Vasquez and Gallegos each scored two touchdowns in the game. And Wankner was on the receiving end of a 43-yard touchdown strike from Mayfield. Martinez also scored on the ground. Erik Lowe was 7-for-8 on extra points on the night.

Soto commented that the defense played incredibly and kept an offense with a reputation of generating a lot of points—about 60 per game—to just one touchdown. “No doubt it was a shock to Coast Union,” he commented. Coast Union scored its other touchdown on a fumble recovery and return.

The Rams improved to 6-1 overall on the season and 3-0 in Condor League. The team has won five straight dating back to a Sept. 7 loss to Joshua Springs, the number-one ranked team in 8-man Division 2. Cate now has the number three ranking in Division 1, and a home victory over Dunn School on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 2 p.m., would deliver Cate a Condor League Championship.

(OCT. 25, 2012) Carpinteria City Council candidates Wade Nomura and Fred Shaw were leading the pack in fundraising, and Nomura was the biggest spender as of the filing deadline of Oct. 1. Nomura, with several greenhouse growers in his corner, reported taking in $7,792 toward his campaign and spending $5,719 before Oct. 1. In what appears to be a tight race for two council seats, the five candidates have their final deadline for reporting before the election on Oct. 25.

Shaw had raised $7,153 before the deadline and spent $3,546. The largest contributors to his campaign were Salud Carbajal’s campaign committee, which wrote Shaw a check for $1,000, and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which contributed $500. Most other donors contributed $200 and under.

Nomura contributed to his own campaign and received $500 each from local property manager Michael Pollard and growers Winfred Van Wingerden, Ed Van Wingerden, Rene Van Wingerden, Joe Overgaag and Myriad Flowers.

Greg Gandrud had raised the next most at $5,178, of which he reported spending $3,042. His donors were mainly small contributors of $200 and less. Pollard, who also supported Nomura, chipped in the most for Gandrud at $250.

Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington reported raising $1,270 and beginning the campaign with a cash balance of $195 in her campaign account. She spent $1,303 and was supported by $500 donations from Robert L. Lieff, a San Francisco attorney, and the Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians. Southern California Pipe Traders District Council #16, a trade union with a Los Angeles address, donated $250 to Reddington.

Candidate Tom Perry reported only that he plans on neither raising nor spending more than $1,000 for his campaign.

By Sara Monge

(OCT. 25, 2012) The rumble of E.J. Harrison and Sons garbage trucks will continue to be heard every Thursday throughout Carpinteria thanks to unanimous approval of a new solid waste handling contract by the Carpinteria City Council at its Oct. 22 meeting. While the new contract is similar to the current agreement, city staff negotiated for new benefits at the lowest prices in the Santa Barbara area.

Vice Mayor Brad Stein praised the family company E.J. Harrison for its “pride and innovation” adding, “20 years ago we took a chance with E.J. Harrison … and we’re still paying less than we did 20 years ago.”

The city is currently diverting 64 percent of its waste from landfills, a rate significantly higher than the state-required 50 percent. Under the new contract, 75 percent of the city’s waste will be diverted by 2020.

In November of 2011, a financial and performance audit of E.J. Harrison convinced the City Council to vote for sole-source negotiations with the waste haulers. Erin Maker, the city’s environmental coordinator, explained that new and expanded services for residents include allowing customers to upgrade from 64 to 96-gallon cans, request recycling and green waste cans for weekly pickup, a free sharps container mail-back program, free Christmas tree pick-up and two free bulky item pick-ups per year. In addition there will be two household battery recycling sites in the city.

Commercial customers will be given incentives to use recycling and green waste services, which will be less expensive than refuse rates.

While costs will not increase in the first year of the 10-year contract, the new agreement allows E.J. Harrison to later increase prices to remain profitable. A cap, however, will prevent prices from rising higher than the Consumer Price Index. Residents could see a maximum rate increase of just under $2 for a 64-gallon receptacle.

The contract also stipulates that Carpinterians continue to get a better deal than their neighboring cities, including Santa Barbara and Goleta. The city itself will benefit financially from the deal, receiving $140,000 in franchise fees and a $120,000 solid waste program fee.

The council also discussed an issue that plagues the beach areas during the summer: overflowing public garbage cans. Plans are in the works to hire a part-time seasonal worker to clean up downtown, park and beach areas to keep garbage from spilling out along the sidewalks. Trash capacity has increased as well in the problem areas. City Manager Dave Durflinger explained new roll off dumpsters have replaced cans at the end of the beach streets. Specific bins for recycling will not be added, Maker clarified, because E.J. Harrison removes recyclables from downtown garbage bins before trash is taken to the landfill.

In other news, city officials are tentatively optimistic about Carpinteria’s finances according to projections based on city revenue from July to September of this year. Sales tax revenue continues to grow steadily. Durflinger cautioned the council about getting too excited over the numbers since the recession had little impact on sales tax. The Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) or bed tax also showed modest improvements in comparison to last year. Voters will decide whether to raise the TOT in the November election.

The most recent property tax numbers will not be available until later this year. With the crash of the housing market, property tax took the biggest hit during the recession and is the main source of city income. The city is projecting little to no increase in property tax income based on real estate trends and slow construction within the city.

Finally, Durflinger lamented the city’s revenue-generating fees that are set at flat rates and not made adjustable for inflation. He explained these fees no longer cover the costs they were intended to because prices of labor and materials has increased since many were set in the 1980s and 1990s.

The council unanimously voted to file the mildly encouraging report and noted that second quarter results should give them a clearer picture of the city’s financial situation. The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

(OCT. 17, 2012) A man struck and killed by a northbound passenger train one-half mile north of La Conchita at 2:41 p.m. on Oct. 16 was killed, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. The report states that the unidentified man tried to retrieve his dog from the tracks as the train approached but was not able to get himself out of the way before being struck. The dog survived and reportedly returned to La Conchita on his own. The man’s identity was not being released and witnesses helped sheriff’s deputies determine that the incident was accidental.

(OCT. 18, 2012) Parking shall remain free at Santa Barbara County beaches. Taking heed of the Santa Barbara County Parks Commission recommendation and massive public opposition, the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 9 unanimously turned down any parking fee system at seven county beaches. Beaches under consideration included Rincon Point, Loon Point and Summerland Beach. Pay fees could have generated between $1.5 and $2.5 million annually for the county’s tight budget. Three public forums held late last summer before the Parks Commission, which all were marked with near unanimous public opposition to fee proposals, led to a recommendation that Supervisors kill beach parking fee proposals. Supervisors also were faced with overwhelming public opposition at the Oct. 9 meeting and unanimously rejected the over one-year-old proposal.

(OCT. 18, 2012) As of Monday, Oct. 22, Carpinteria’s largest retail stores will be barred from distributing disposable bags. The city’s ban on single-use bags, both paper and plastic, will take effect then, and in its first phase, six large businesses—based on both square footage and sales—will be impacted. Customers at Vons, Rite Aid, CVS, Albertsons, 7-11 and Kim’s Market will not be provided disposable bags—whether stores offer an alternative will depend on the business.

The city council passed the ordinance in March of this year, but implementation was delayed from July to October after Save the Plastic Bag coalition filed a lawsuit stating that city code could not ban bags in restaurants. The city settled that suit and rewrote its ordinance to allow plastic bags in restaurants. At the same time, it opted to hold off implementation of the ban for three months until Oct. 22.

All retailers besides restaurants of under 3,000 square feet will have to comply with the new regulation on April 11, 2013. The smaller retailers will be permitted to use paper. All stores will continue to be allowed to distribute bags in the store before the point of purchase. For instance, fruits and vegetables bags in grocery stores will still be permitted.

Carpinteria joins a host of other progressive cities banning plastic bags and has one of the more stringent regulations in banning all single-use bags at large retailers.

By Erin Lennon

The tightly budgeted Carpinteria Unified School District’s Board of Education began its Oct. 9 meeting with a $2.4 million bang when it accepted ERG Resources L.L.C.’s bid for the district’s property on Toro Canyon Road.

The board put the excess property up for sale on May 8, leading to a lengthy bidding process before unanimously accepting ERG’s offer (councilmember Lou Panizzon absent and councilmember Terry Hickey-Banks recusing herself from the process) on Oct. 9. Funds from the sale must benefit facility improvements, according to Assistant Superintendent Lucinda Abbott, including deferred maintenance projects, modernization and, possibly, new construction.

However, Abbott and CUSD Superintendent Paul Cordeiro will begin with a yearlong planning period during which Abbott proposed getting community and expert input on projects. CUSD had leased the agricultural property before putting it up for sale.

In a separate fund-generating event, Carpinteria community members, led by June Van Wingerden and Paul Foley, delivered the $30,000 promised to retain Holly Smith’s teaching position in Carpinteria High School’s Agriculture Sciences & Technology Academy. Smith’s position was eliminated as the district cut nearly $500,000 from its budget earlier this year. This organized effort raised the funds in two months between nearly 80 different donations, including a $5,000 donation from Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and a $3,000 donation from the local California Women for Agriculture chapter.

“(Carpinteria) is incredibly unique,” said Smith at the Oct. 9 meeting. “There’s so much opportunity to be had here because it’s such a unique agricultural place in not only the state but the world… with unlimited opportunities for the kids, if they choose to take them. That is a beautiful thing in education that we don’t’ have enough of.”

The board also heard about its youngest learners in the district’s Transitional Kindergarten program. The first year of state-mandated TK supports district students who cannot enter traditional kindergarten because their fifth birthday falls between Nov. 1 and Dec. 2. That birthday cutoff will continue to come earlier in the year, reaching Sept. 1 for the 2014-2015 school year. The state mandated that all districts provide a free TK program for students who would have entered traditional kindergarten under the previous deadline, including all students turning five between Nov. 2 and Dec. 2 for the current academic year. When fully implemented, California will have 120,000 students in TK programs, with birthdays falling between Sept. 2 and Dec. 2.

“In typical State of California fashion, they give us this unfunded mandate… without any kind of guidelines and just say, ‘make it up,’” said Carpinteria Children’s Project at Main Director Michelle Robertson.

TK, which was understood to be a three-year transitional program, is now a long-term district fixture and is believed to be cost neutral for the first 13 years. After the 13th year, it will cost the district.

“You basically have a preschool program (at the district’s) expense,” said Cordeiro.

The Carpinteria program’s 16 current students are receiving hands on, age and development-appropriate curriculum, which borrows from late preschool and early kindergarten programming, from a credentialed teacher.

An appeal process exists for excelling students who meet all requirements for kindergarten, aside from age. However, current TK teacher Gretchen Tofflemire noted the importance age plays in her classroom. Using the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile to judge kindergarten readiness, 69 percent of CUSD’s TK students were “far from ready for regular kindergarten” according to Robertson.

However, a small minority of students showed an advanced knowledge base but were severely lacking in English Language development according to Tofflemire. TK could play an early role in language acquisition for the district’s student body, which is 36 percent English learners.

“Research shows about seven years until students become proficient in a language,” said Robertson. “If they don’t get that exposure until kindergarten, it’s really sixth or seventh grade before they can possibly become proficient…and that’s too late,” she continued, echoing an earlier point made in a presentation by District English Learner Advisory Committee’s Bob Keatinge. He said that if EL students don’t reach proficiency by fifth grade, it’s not likely they will.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Lea Boyd

Applications are now being accepted in the first of two affordable housing lotteries for the Lagunitas development, meaning that by the end of the year four families should be moving in to brand new townhomes at a fraction of the market cost. The affordable housing program, adopted by the city in 2004, seeks to turn members of Carpinteria’s critical workforce, who are local renters or out-of-town commuters, into homeowners. By the time the development on Via Real is fully constructed, 11 units will be in the hands of families that may have never held a home title otherwise.

“Market prices have not been affordable for workforce earners,” said Planning Department Director Jackie Campbell. The gap between earning and owning is partially closed through the lottery, which is designed for households making 121 percent of Santa Barbara County’s median income.

Anyone who qualifies based on income can apply for the lottery, but preference points are awarded to those who live in Carpinteria, work in Carpinteria or hold critical workforce positions, such as nurses, teachers, firefighters, law enforcement or local government workers.

In the first round of the lottery, the draw for which Campbell expects will take place in mid-December, four homes are available—two 1,360-square-foot two-bedroom townhomes priced at $274,400, and two 1,868-square-foot three-bedroom townhomes, one at $332,800 and one at $464,800. The three-bedroom units are identical, but the second is one of two offered voluntarily by the developer for lower-than-market rate and higher than the designated affordable range.

According to Campbell, the market rate units in Lagunitas are selling at a fast clip, which keeps the phases of construction moving forward quickly and leads city staff to anticipate that the second round of the lottery will take place some time in 2013. That draw will include six additional affordable units—four two-bedrooms and two three-bedrooms.

Campbell described the drawings themselves as “electric.” Applicants who qualify for two or more preference point are drawn first, then drawings are held for one preference point and none, depending on the number of units available. In past drawings for affordable units in Sparrow’s Landing, Mission Terrace and Lavender Court most of the applicants are in attendance, and the audience waits on pins and needles to find out if luck is on their side. “People are excited about the opportunity,” Campbell said. “It’s emotional, too.”

The lottery has hit its target in most cases, matching qualified buyers with homes, but Lavender Court, which was finalized just as the housing market crashed, was a bust. None of the units sold, and the complex owner has since converted the five affordable units into market rate rentals, a change that involved a $571,000 payment toward the city’s affordable program. These funds will soon be used toward a down payment loan program, details of which the city is solidifying now.

Developers in Carpinteria that submit plans for residential developments of five units or more must offer affordable units under the city’s program. The code requires that 12 percent of total units be affordable.

The affordable housing program isn’t for everyone; its goal is to provide housing, not a fast return investment. As legally stipulated, homeowners in the program only continue to qualify if the affordable unit is used as a primary residence and if no other residential properties are owned. Under initial ownership, homes stay in the program for 30 years, after which time they can be sold at market value. A home that is sold prior to the 30-year term must be sold as an affordable unit, with the price set by the city using the median income-based equation.

The maximum qualifying income is adjusted to household size, and the city encourages appropriate sized households for the available units. Campbell said that unless there are special circumstances, the three-bedroom units will be sold to households of three or more.

Sept. 20 marked the opening of the Lagunitas application window, and all applications must be completed by the Nov. 19 deadline. Construction should be complete on the first round of affordable units by the end of October, and applicants will have an opportunity to tour the affordable units prior to purchase.

Though there are hundreds of names on the city’s affordable housing lottery interest list, applications for the Lagunitas units are just starting to trickle in to city hall. Campbell is confident that plenty of qualified applicants will submit their paperwork before the November deadline. “There are people I’ve talked to who are interested,” she said, “local residents who rent and who would love to own in Carp.”

Affordable housing information packets and applications are available at Carpinteria City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave., or online at carpinteria.ca.us.

Discusses state park tree removal
By Sara Monge

The Carpinteria City Council is hoping 600 locals living within the federally drawn floodplain map will see a decrease in insurance bills after voting to update the municipal code on Oct. 8. The code brings the city into compliance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Floodplain Insurance Program regulations and could qualify city residents for discounts under FEMA’s Community Rating System.

Charlie Ebeling, the city’s director of public works, reported that the system might knock up to 40 percent off of flood insurance bills. Ebeling recently attended a FEMA conference to get up to speed on the regulations, which began to take shape after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. He explained FEMA’s NFIP manages potential flooding issues in three ways: backing insurance carriers, mapping and managing. Floodplain maps identify areas that could be inundated during 100-year floods.

A new digital map will be ready in December 2012. In addition to drawing floodplain borders for insurance purposes, the map will lay out plans to manage and mitigate potential problems from flooding. NFIP backs private companies who sell insurance to people who live in the floodplain.

The unanimous vote (4-0) to make the city’s municipal code compliant with NFIP will allow the city to participate in the program. Compliance with the program will include implementing new codes concerning drainage and structures for development in the floodplain zone, as well as more reporting duties for city staff. Residents should see a drop in insurance bills, better protection of their property and better recovery of losses should a flood occur. Councilman Brad Stein said, “This is a long time in coming—it’s been a long process for lots of people.”

In other news, while hearing updates on the City’s Creek Preservation Program, the council unanimously decided to rename the preservation program for its founder, local Bob Hansen. Besides keeping the city’s creeks and beaches clean, the program allows Carpinteria to garner federal and state grants for the rehabilitation of these natural resources.

In September 2005, the city adopted a Creeks Preservation Program with the goal of restoring the city’s four creeks. While there are a number of objectives the city hopes to obtain with this program, including the reintroduction of steelhead trout to Carpinteria Creek, it also is a requirement for the city as part of the Storm Water Management Plan. This year, the city has worked to eradicate invasive giant reeds (Arundo Dorax), address post construction run off concerns and remove obstructions to the Steel-Head Trout migration path. Numerous people have also volunteered throughout the year and during the September “Creek Week” to achieve the preservation program’s goals.

Mayor Al Clark moved for the Creek Preservation Program to be renamed for its founder, Bob Hansen, after City Manager Dave Durflinger suggested it to him earlier in the day. All four members of the council supported the change and Councilman Gregg Carty added that while he thought it was a fitting name, he also wanted to recognize Mo Gomez for his “incredible contribution” to the program as well.

Finally, public comments by David Allen pushed the Council to discuss partial closure of the State Park while they remove 51 non-native Eucalyptus trees and replace them with native Sycamores. Because people must walk on the beach to get around the closed area, Allen worried that people with bikes, strollers and dogs would be cut off from other parts of the city. He hoped the city could speak with State Park officials to “open it up a little” while they are not working on it. City Manager Dave Durflinger explained that he had spoken to the state park’s Rich Rozelle, who said the plan is to make closures on an interim basis. The closures will extend while the trees are being taken out this week because of safety hazards, then will be open for some time, but will be reclosed briefly during the paving portion of the project.

Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington was upset the trees were being taken down with little notice to the city and was frustrated the state park closed campgrounds during the Avocado Festival. Reddington was also skeptical the sycamores could replace the eucalyptus. “We look at liability but not joy,” she commented on the decision-making process.

Councilman Gregg Carty commented, “The issue is about public safety” and said he had known about the tree removal “months ago,” but Mayor Al Clark joked that “he didn’t know the right people” when he revealed he, like Reddington, had found out only days before the closure occurred.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, October 22 at 5:30 P.M. in the Council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Peter Dugré

Right around Cinco de Mayo the price growers were paid for their avocado harvests plummeted. Despite the spike in consumer demand on the Mexican holiday, supply overfed consumer needs, and market pressures over the 2012 California harvest continue to keep the price paid to growers for their fruit at about half of last year’s record rate.

“Normally 5 to 8 cents is a big price drop,” said Frank Algeria, field manager for Carpinteria’s office of Calavo, the largest packer and distributor of domestic avocados. “This year the price plunged 20 cents in two weeks in early May.” Distributors couldn’t predict the new market volatility, and growers were left guessing when they should harvest in order to fetch the best price.

Compared to last year’s about $1.60 per pound, growers can only expect about 85 cents for fruit this season. Last year yielded a historically low volume of fruit—about 150 million pounds in California—and this year growers are expecting to have harvested around 400 million pounds for the year after picking ends within the next few weeks.

The drastic dip in price can be attributed both to a larger domestic harvest than last year and to the nearly 700 million pounds of fruit harvested in Mexico. Also, fruit is imported from Chile, and for the first time this year, Peruvian avocados are coming into United States markets. Foreign competitors have much lower overhead than domestic growers.

“In past years, Mexico was fairly regimented with its harvest. If there was an over-supply and prices dropped, they’d back off. This year they kept coming strong,” Algeria said. Calavo, which has a packinghouse in Mexico, handles Mexican fruit as well as Californian.

Growers might be feeling a pinch from the drop in prices, particularly because it was not a predictable swing, but overall, foreign avocados entering the U.S. market can be viewed as a positive. Californian avocados cannot satisfy the U.S. market on their own, and the foreign fruit expands the availability of avocados through the entire year. “It’s not a negative because when they’re on the opposite side of us—when we’re not picking—that’s when their season is. It makes a year-round crop for grocery stores,” said Carpinteria grower Chuck Thompson.

Foreign harvests overlap with California’s, which can start as early as late January and run through early October. Carpinteria usually is among the last places to harvest in California, which historically meant a premium price and exclusive market window. That advantage has disappeared with prices still hanging at 88 cents a pound as of Oct. 1.
The good news, Thompson said, is that prices have likely bottomed out, and next year’s crop is expected to be massive. “I think we’re gonna stay right about there. Prices are teetering right where other countries can import fruit and make money.” Estimates have the California crop expected at over 500 million pounds next year based on how the fruit has set already. If growers continue to get a similar price with a greater yield, then the math is simple—profits go up.

However, growers and handlers never like to count their avocados before they ripen. A bad windstorm or frost could ruin a crop. Or, as was the case for Thompson’s crop this year, a hail storm two winters ago—isolated to his orchard off Highway 150—knocked much of his blooms—which would have matured this year—off the tree. His neighbors were spared. It was the first time in his 45 years of growing that hail was a factor, but it’s always something, he said.

As for the new foreign competition, Thompson said, “I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it.” About the stability of the avocado business in the long term, he added, “It’s still viable.”

By Lea Boyd

By the time the chainsaw blades stop spinning at Carpinteria State Beach this month, 51 trees recognized as safety hazards will have met their maker. The project will forever change the face of the park, removing, among other specimens, the massive, nearly-century-old eucalyptus trees that line the main road through the campground east of Carpinteria Creek.

The alternative to the tree removal, State Parks Sector Supervisor Eric Hjelstrom said, would be closure of dozens of campsites, all of the sites within reach of falling branches or tree trunks. By taking out the trees, the Santa Rosa and San Miguel sections of the campground can remain fully open to visitors. “It’s something that’s been long overdue in Carpinteria,” Hjelstrom said.

Locals, however, have been blindsided by the project, which underwent an internal review and was exempt from a full CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review due to the trees’ designation as a safety hazard. Residents, including neighbors of the park, had no idea the trees were slated for removal until the chainsaw engines started revving on the morning of Oct. 1.

The trees are a disaster waiting to happen, Hjelstrom said. Their size, age and proximity to campsites make them a major liability to the park. The eucalyptuses, in particular, are prone to dropping branches during hot spells, Hjelstrom said. Lawsuits have already arisen from limb failures, and park officials are hoping to preclude any future legal costs with the large-scale removal. Uncertain of the total cost of the project, Hjelstrom said, “I know it’s expensive, but it’s cheaper than lawsuits.”

Though the loss of the trees will dramatically change the atmosphere of the park, Hjelstrom highlighted the positives of the project. Neighbors, he said, will enjoy improved views, and the non-native eucalyptus will be replaced with native trees, such as sycamores, in the next couple years. The sidewalks and roads that have severely buckled from rising tree roots will be replaced, increasing pedestrian safety and the park’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project will take place throughout the month of October, during which time all the campsites between Carpinteria Creek and Jelly Bowl will remain closed. In that one-month window, the trees will be removed and new sidewalks and paving installed.

By Peter Dugré

The budgetary woes of the United Boys & Girls Club of Santa Barbara County recently trickled down to the local club, leading to a cut to the athletics director position from full-time to part-time. According to the Carpinteria club’s new Unit Director, Jamie Collins, former athletics director Alan Pottkotter voluntarily stepped down due to the reduction in employment, and the club is now hiring for the part-time position.

“We are a non-profit and had budget cuts,” Collins said as explanation for the downsized position. Santa Barbara’s Westside Boys & Girls Club saw its AD position eliminated.

In a separate development, the tackle football program at the Carpinteria club has shrunk this season from its usual four teams to only one team. Only the senior division, ages 12 to 14, is fielding a team for youth tackle football, whereas there are usually enough players to field teams in divisions starting with 8-year-olds. This year not enough kids signed up to fill rosters for the younger three divisions.

Collins ventured that the lack of participation could be due to a change in the league rules. Prior to this year a formula for determining which division to place the kids in used their size as a factor, but the new rules determined placement solely by age. “There are a bunch of theories going around (to explain the lack of participation),” she said. She said emphasis in the media on the dangers of concussions in young children could play into holding young kids back from football, and feeding into that fear, the new rules to determine division placement would pair 200-pound 12-year-olds with 90-pound 12-year-olds, potentially causing mismatches. However, she pointed out, that other parts of the rules designed for safety might not have been communicated well enough. The separate flag football league has picked up some of the slack, she said.

Also, Collins hopes to grow the athletic programs to generate revenue and a need for a full-time athletic director in the future. “We need to build sports numbers up again, so we can have a reason to have a fulltime AD,” she said.

The 15th Annual Carpinteria Triathlon will run, roll and swim through Carpinteria throughout the morning of Sunday, Sept. 30, impacting downtown traffic in order to make way for runners and cyclists. Beginning at 7 a.m., Linden Avenue will be closed to southbound traffic at Carpinteria Avenue. The Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Department will be directing traffic, and bicyclists will be given priority when traveling south through the Linden and Carpinteria avenues intersection. The road will re-open around 11:30 a.m. Sunday drivers should use caution when driving and try to use Casitas Pass and alternate routes. Cars will have beach access from Linden at Sandyland, Dorrance and 5th Street. All beach traffic will be directed to use Elm Street from these intersections.

By Erin Lennon

The Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board took a reprieve from its budget-heavy discussions to address CUSD student proficiency in multiple subjects, especially that of the district’s English learners, at its Sept. 25 meeting.

English learners make up 36 percent of CUSD’s student body. By definition, the students are not proficient in English, speak a different language at home and have not achieved an advanced score on the California English Language Development Test. The district’s duty is to help these students reach proficiency so they can be reclassified as English speakers and function effectively without support in an English-only classroom.

If students don’t meet reclassification standards by fifth grade, according to Bob Keatinge of the District English Learners Advisory Committee, they are highly unlikely to ever meet proficiency standards. DELAC strives to reclassify 50 percent or more of district EL students by fifth grade. To do this, students must test well for two consecutive years on either the CELDT or the Language Arts section of the California Standards Test. Teachers and school personnel also have a say in reclassification to ensure student capability.

“The criteria we have is difficult enough to meet that the kids who are reclassified … do extremely well,” said Keatinge. “They stay at or above proficiency.” He noted that reading and writing are roadblocks to reclassification for many students.

DELAC’s plan is to increase the number of students reclassified in elementary school, thus decreasing the number of students still seeking proficiency in high school. EL students made up 23 percent of Carpinteria High School’s student body in 2011-2012, of which, 80 percent have been in the district since kindergarten and are not proficient. However, reclassification has been on the rise at Aliso and Canalino elementary schools.

Approximately 70 percent of the district’s EL students are progressing up one level on the CELDT per year, exceeding the federal expectation of at least 56 percent. Sixty percent of students spending five years or more in the district meet fluency standards, which also surpasses the federal requirement of 45 percent. However, state test scores from 2011 show that the district falls below expectations for EL student proficiency in the language arts and math sections.

“We’re still well below expectations (in the Language Arts section) because they want 68 percent of our kids who don’t speak English to be proficient,” said Keatinge.

To propel English language proficiency, Superintendent Paul Cordeiro and Keatinge recommended parent workshops, a systematic English Language Development Program for kindergartners through fifth-graders as well as reading intervention programs for students in elementary through high school, including non EL students. Cordeiro emphasized preschool’s importance in early literacy and language development, pointing out THRIVE Carpinteria’s efforts to improve kindergarten readiness rates and reading proficiency by third grade.

Math proficiency is problematic for students around the district, said Cordeiro, prompting a focus on developing pre-algebra skills in grades four and five. “We’ve got to make more kids successful in algebra,” he said.

The board turned to the budget when it adopted a resolution to cut a minimum of $300,000 from the 2013-2014 budget, a condition from the Santa Barbara County Education Office. That $300,000 was included in the multi-year projection submitted with the district’s adopted budget in June. Those cuts brought the 2014-2015 reserves to 3.94 percent, just surpassing the state-required 3 percent.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

The annual Carpinteria Triathlon, which showcases the area’s scenic treasures and generates funds for the Carpinteria Parks & Recreation Department, will cause traffic detours on the morning of Sept. 30 to accommodate the some 900 participants. All drivers are asked to use caution when near the race zone, and access to Linden Avenue will be closed at Carpinteria Avenue during the hours of the race between 7 and 11:30 a.m. Beach traffic will be rerouted down streets parallel to Linden. Registration for the triathlon, in both the full length Olympic course and shortened Sprint course, is still open and can be completed at carpinteriatriathlon.com. Volunteers can also sign up to help with the execution of one of Carpinteria’s biggest annual events.

Providing voters with an opportunity to learn more about the five candidates running for two Carpinteria City Council seats, the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce will host a non-partisan forum on Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m. at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. The public is invited to attend the free event, in which the candidates—Greg Gandrud, Wade Nomura, Tom Perry, Fred Shaw and Kathleen Reddington—will be asked questions by CVCC Board Chair Tom Ligare in a round robin format. Each candidate will be mailed the questions prior to the forum and will be invited to make an opening statement. Refreshments will be served and attendees can meet the candidates after the formal program. To find out more, call 684-5479 x10.

On the heels of a contentious Aug. 7 meeting to consider the purchase of the Carpinteria Unified School District’s property at the base of Toro Canyon Road, the Santa Barbara County Flood Control District has withdrawn from negotiations to purchase the 9-acre parcel. According to Deputy Public Works Director Thomas Fayram, the district sent a letter of withdrawal to the school district on Aug. 22 and is now looking elsewhere for a site to store debris after major flooding events. Though Fayram declined to elaborate on why the property would not be suitable for purchase, the decision was made after several residential neighbors of the Toro Canyon site vocally objected to what they classified as a “dump” on the property.

“We want to find the property that works best for us,” Fayram said, noting that the ideal site would be in the ballpark of 5 to 10 acres. He emphasized that the district is not actively engaged in any particular property at the moment, but has several sites that it is preliminarily looking into.

By Peter Dugré

Midway through the second quarter at Nipomo High School on Sept. 7, Carpinteria High School football appeared destined for a third straight loss. Nipomo held a 12-3 lead and possessed the ball after intercepting a Warrior pass. Then, on a third-down-and-three play in CHS territory, the Warrior defensive line made a play that changed the complexion of the game.

Defensive ends Duncan Gordon and Jaime De Robles squeezed Nipomo’s quarterback forward, where he was swallowed by the big bodies of senior captains Derrick Shirley Moore and Xavier De Alba. Nipomo punted the ball the next play after losing yardage on the sack. Riding newfound momentum, the Warriors erupted for 48 straight points to turn a 12-3 deficit into a runaway 51-12 victory.

Most remarkable about the big turnaround, Warrior coach Ben Hallock said, was that the team clicked in every aspect of the game. Players scored points on offense, on defense and on special teams. The defense generated six turnovers, and the offense finished the job. “Fundamentally, we were a lot better than in the previous outing,” Hallock said. “That’s what we were hoping for, that some of the things we were practicing would show up on the field.”

Running back Peter Ramos rushed for over 100 yards. Running back Paul Cortez nearly reached 100 yards rushing and added a 64-yard punt return for a touchdown along with a 25-yard catch. And running back Jonathan Esqueda broke off long runs of his own.

Still, Hallock said, the team’s successes flowed from the defensive line, where the aforementioned tough guys up front were able to stop the run and apply enough pressure on the quarterback to disrupt the passing game. Defensive backs Jorge Arroyo, Ruben Garcia and Connor Kelsey each intercepted passes.

The Warriors’ record improved to 1-2 after the victory, and the team will try to carry the momentum into its next contest at Santa Ynez High School on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m. Santa Ynez has a 0-3 record.

By Sara Monge

The Carpinteria City Council green-lighted the 26th annual California Avocado Festival with its Sept. 10 approval of a special event permit and an estimated $17,000 city contribution to ensure that the celebration of Carpinteria’s favorite fruit goes off safely and leaves no trace. “The economic and fiscal value (of the Avocado Festival) is tremendous,” said Councilman Joe Armendariz as explanation for his support.

The city will pay a maximum of $5,000 toward law enforcement services, and the festival will cover the remaining $4,000 in anticipated police costs. Additionally, the city will foot the $5,200 bill expected for street closures and traffic control by its public works crew, as well as $6,500 for sidewalk sweeping after the event. The festival costs were already worked into the city’s budget.

This year’s festival will take place Friday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Oct. 7. Following 2011’s successful change to an earlier opening, the Avofest will now annually kickoff at 11 a.m. on Friday.

Other changes include an expansion of the festival footprint to include the Torrey Pine property on Carpinteria Avenue. Restrooms, a shuttle drop off area and a free dog daycare for festival attendees unaware of the no pets policy will be offered at the Torrey Pine property.

Anthony Staal, Avocado Festival boardmember, told the council that the 2012 event will have more vendors and better shuttle service. He explained that the event is a major fundraiser for many local nonprofits and reported that the fee for nonprofits to participate had been reduced. Tips received by alcohol vendors will be donated toward a youth scholarship.

In other news, the council voted to endorse Proposition 37, which will appear on the November ballot and, if passed, would require that genetically modified foods be labeled as such. The council majority supported the proposition because, as City Manager Dave Durflinger explained, “It allows consumers to make informed choices about these products.”

Armendariz, who represented the lone vote against the endorsement, labeled the proposition as “trendy left” and predicted it would “cost taxpayers millions” by increasing the cost of food for its enforcement and potential lawsuits.

In March the council sent a letter to support the measure’s inclusion on the General Election ballot, and nearly 1 million voters statewide signed petitions to put the proposition up to a vote this November.

Also at its Sept. 10 meeting, the city council threw its support behind elevating Rincon Point’s status to a World Surfing Reserve (WSR). Though the title comes with no legal protections, Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington, who has spearheaded the effort to designate the local point, said it “would be an economic boon” for Carpinteria, as it would help to attract surfers from around the world to the city.

Should it become a WSR, Rincon would join only two other California beaches—Malibu and Santa Cruz—with the distinction. In order to qualify, sites must be globally significant, having both historical and environmental importance, and backed by a rich surf culture and strong community support. The honor is bestowed by the Save the Waves Coalition in partnership with the International Surfing Association. Coalition representative Will Henry explained, “Rincon point is one of the most iconic spots in California if not the world (to surf).”

Councilman Armendariz, who ultimately supported the designation, said he was concerned that it might interfere with future developments, including the resort proposed for the bluffs near Rincon. Durflinger explained that the designation could be used to lobby for new protection later but also could make the bluffs property more desirable to prospective hoteliers. “The queen of the coast deserves to be reserved,” summarized Councilman Gregg Carty, a longtime surfer.

The council voted to approve a parcel map that will split Union Pacific Railroad’s 6.58-acre lot between Holly and Olive avenues into two parcels. This step will allow the city to purchase 0.66 acres of the property. A skate park and community garden will be considered for the parcel, but the city has yet to designate its use.
The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 24, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Erin Lennon

Ongoing negotiations between the Carpinteria Unified School District and the Carpinteria Association of United School Employees over healthcare benefits took center stage at the Sept. 11 CUSD Governing Board meeting. While district revenues have declined over the past 10 years, health insurance premiums have nearly doubled, rising by 10.5 percent this year, according to Assistant Superintendent Lucinda Abbott.

Premiums are currently $14,935 per teacher, 30 percent of an average teacher’s $50,311 salary. “It’s definitely coming at a cost to everybody,” said Abbott.

Abbott’s Sept. 11 presentation focused on a health insurance plan in which the district pays 80 percent of costs, leaving 20 percent of costs to employees. CUSD employees currently receive a fully paid Blue Cross 90 percent PPO. This change would increase a family’s out-of-pocket maximum by $1,600, rising from $2,400 to $4,000, while saving the district $250,000.

“An 80/20 plan would be absolutely disastrous as it sits right now,” said Carpinteria High School teacher Casey Roberts. “We’re not talking about reserves. (Families) don’t have any cushion. One false step, and they are insolvent.” He also noted that the $1,600 increase in out-of-pocket maximums would be nearly 3 percent of an employee’s $50,000 salary. “That’s a lot of money for us,” said Roberts.

The 80/20 plan, which CAUSE received in an Aug. 14 proposal, upset teachers who have forgone higher pay to focus on maintaining fully funded healthcare benefits, according CAUSE member Kathleen Manos. CUSD teachers receive the second lowest salary among 20 similar districts in the region, according to CAUSE records.

“This district offers one of the lowest salary schedules in the region in a community with perhaps the highest cost of living in the region,” said CHS teacher Rob Lindsay. “That’s two strikes against you. The only way that you can attract high quality people to work for you in this district and with these children is with the healthcare benefits you always offered. If you take that away, that’s strike three.”

In early June, according to CAUSE President Jay Hotchner, the union and CUSD representatives discussed potential changes to healthcare benefits as the proposed Weighted Student Funding model threatened $2.6 million in lost funding. However, when that danger passed, Hotchner says insurance was no longer up for consideration.

The district became contingency-focused two years ago to combat tight budgets, according to Hotchner. “Healthcare was one of those contingencies,” he said. Funds were funneled from a fully funded HMO to a fully paid 90/10 PPO, increasing co-pays and deductibles.

According to Abbott, if Proposition 30 fails this November, the district cannot afford the same fully paid plan and reported that the 80 percent plan would have allowed the district to continue paying the full premium.

Regardless of whether Governor Jerry Brown’s proposition passes on Nov. 6 or if the district sees the resulting $966,000 in trigger cuts, negotiations over employee healthcare benefits will continue, said Superintendent Paul Cordeiro. That came as an unwelcome surprise to union members. Insurance plans will not change for the current school year, and employees will maintain their fully funded option.

Abbott and the board defended the district’s 15.38 percent reserve funds, which CAUSE has historically asked the board to spend to avoid other district cuts. If Proposition 30 fails, the budget will be tight regardless of reducing employee health benefits. Without any cuts, Abbott projected the district being insolvent by 2014-2015. Alternatively, if the district cuts $700,000 from the budget, reserves will be reduced to under 4 percent. If Proposition 30 passes and no cuts are made, the district will have 9.90 percent in reserves come 2014-2015, enough to cover one month of district expenditures.

The board approved a resolution in support of both Proposition 30, which would avoid the January trigger cuts, and Proposition 38, which would generate $15 billion in 2013-2014. Those funds would go directly to K-12 schools, early education and state bond debts.

“Parties have to pay attention to the data, no matter how much passion they have,” said Cordeiro as he reiterated Boardmember Lou Panizzon’s call for objectivity. Speakers urged the board to be creative and perhaps “spread the pain a little,” according to CUSD employee Felicity Moore. Roberts suggested figuring the four teacher furlough days into the budget every year, a savings of over $200,000.

Negotiations will continue on Sept. 24.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Craig Murray, Manager, Carpinteria Sanitary District

It is a well-known fact that clogged drains and sewer backups occur right before out-of-town guests arrive, during your Super Bowl party or at some other “worst possible moment.” How you handle these events can have a huge impact on your pocketbook and your peace of mind.

While there are many honest plumbing companies out there, there are a few who are looking for opportunities to take advantage during a stressful situation. These unscrupulous plumbing contractors, often large corporate franchises whose employees work on commission, tend to overstate the magnitude of a problem and inflate the cost of repairs.

Unfortunately, many Carpinteria homeowners have been pressured into signing contracts for sewer repairs priced three or four times higher than what is reasonable. Recently, the district assisted an elderly customer who agreed to pay $13,000 to replace a short section of her sewer lateral—this repair should have cost far less than half this amount and may not have been necessary.

Sewer laterals rarely collapse entirely or are sufficiently damaged to require immediate excavation. Generally, the blockage can be removed and flow restored temporarily, giving you time to assess the problem and get multiple estimates for repairs. A red flag should go up if a contractor is pressuring you to sign a contract “right now.”

Here are some tips to consider when hiring a plumber for major sewer lateral repairs:

Call the District. District staff members cannot recommend a specific plumbing contractor but can provide assistance. We are happy to review video inspection data, repair/replacement methods and cost estimates. Also, if the problem exists within the public right-of-way, the district is responsible for required repairs.

Get References. If you don’t already have a plumbing contractor you trust, ask your friends or neighbors for a reference. While there are good plumbers who advertise in the Yellow Pages, a full-page ad or an “on-time” guarantee doesn’t always equate professional integrity.

Get Multiple Estimates. When you need a major repair, always get at least three estimates for the work. Most plumbing contractors provide free estimates in a timely manner. Some repairs can be completed using a variety of methods—be sure to compare apples to apples when reviewing quotes.

Use a Licensed Contractor. Licensed contractors must complete work in compliance with state mandated procedures designed to protect customers from shoddy workmanship and potential serious health issues resulting from improper plumbing practices. You can check out the status of any licensed plumbing company at cslb.ca.gov. The site includes any registered complaints and ownership details.

Get a Permit. All sewer lateral repairs (outside of the building foundation) require a permit from the district. This low cost permit will help ensure that your contractor uses the proper materials and method and performs the work properly.

The Carpinteria Sanitary District provides public sewer service to the City of Carpinteria and surrounding areas. You can reach us by phone at 684-7214 or by email at info@carpsan.com. For inquiries about plumbing issues outside of regular business hours, call 451-7809.

By Lea Boyd

Approximately 100 local jobs will be lost in waves over the next 16 months as Tyco Electronics carries out plans to cease manufacturing in Carpinteria by the end of 2013. Employees at the local plant, formerly Kilovac, received word last week that all production now taking place in Carpinteria will be moved to Tyco centers in Mexico, North Carolina and China, and no jobs will be automatically transferred.

Tyco, a massive corporation with over 90,000 employees around the world, will vacate most, if not all, of the 44,000 square feet of leased warehouse space at 550 Linden Ave. The decision was made in an effort to increase efficiency and improve the company’s bottom line, said company spokesman Tom Peacock. Though all of the local manufacturing jobs will be lost, a satellite office for 14 engineers and managers will be preserved in the Santa Barbara area; whether that office will remain on Linden is still to be determined, said Peacock.

Peacock said that detailed plans for closure are still being fine tuned, but the first of the company’s product lines will be moved to a different location at the end of 2012. Permanent employees will be given notice 90 days before their positions end and will receive extended benefits and severance packages based on the amount of time they spent with the company.

Employees can apply for other Tyco jobs available outside of Carpinteria, said Peacock, but they must go through the full application process.

The Carpinteria Tyco plant produces electronic relays and contactors for clients such as airplane and boat manufacturers as well as defense contractors.

“It’s really sad,” said Doug Campbell, former president of Kilovac. “This is not the end any of us wanted to see.”

Doug’s father, Foster Campbell, founded Kilovac in the 1970s. According to Doug, Foster founded the company on core values that benefited the local community and gave every employee partial ownership. When Kilovac was sold in 1995 to a larger company that planned to go public, the profits were divided among staff: one-third went to employees, one-third to managers and the last third to the owner.

Plans to go public went south, however, and Tyco stepped in to purchase the company 10 years ago. Shortly after the sale to Tyco, a handful of former Kilovac employees splintered off and launched Gigavac, another Carpinteria manufacturer of high voltage relays.

Gigavac President Mike Molyneux told Coastal View News that his company has expanded since its formation. The company now has 40 employees and recently signed a lease on a 40,000-square-foot space on Rose Avenue. Molyneux hopes to hire as many cast off Tyco employees as possible, he said, and is attempting to negotiate with Tyco to buy of one of its product groups and keep production in Carpinteria. Making the appropriate contact within the goliath company, however, has been difficult, Molyneux said.

By Erin Lennon

At the Aug. 28 Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board meeting, the cradle-to-career student preparation perspective of THRIVE Carpinteria contrasted sharply with the immediacy of Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott’s presentation on the two highly influential tax initiatives set to appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.

THRIVE Carpinteria, with its collaborative of funders, is protected from CUSD’s budgetary uncertainty, and the local school and career readiness program has brought nearly $1 million into the district over the past three years from THRIVE, other funders, grants and partnerships, according to Director of College Bound Programs & Instruction Dr. Sally Kingston. THRIVE Carpinteria is one of five community collaborative projects in Santa Barbara County focused on preparing students for success in not only kindergarten but throughout school and into college and their careers.

Kingston, whose position is new to the district, plans to craft, by June 2013, a strategic plan detailing the cradle-to-career program through 2015-2016 as well as collaborate with key CUSD stakeholders, higher education, local business, community-based organizations and municipal government.

“The primary goal is for every student to leave Carpinteria Unified School District prepared to enter a college or career of his or her choice,” said Kingston.

The board permitted Kingston and Superintendent Paul Cordeiro to move forward with THRIVE Carpinteria’s messaging efforts. These efforts include a website and e-newsletter that inform residents about the program, engage the community in career readiness and provide accessible data on district success with benchmarks like kindergarten readiness and proficiency in math and reading. This plan, which also includes promotional signs, banners and flags, will be completely funded by 2011-2012 monies left over from Kingston’s position.

“I’ve told you many times what our challenges are. This is going to put it all out there,” said Cordeiro. “It’s basically an invitation to our community to raise the bar and expectations for these kids.”

As the board celebrated student readiness, Abbott dissected the formative potential of the two tax initiatives on the Nov. 6 ballot.

If enacted, Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 will prevent further cuts to public education by providing revenues to the state general fund—resulting in no additional school funding. Brown’s initiative would generate $8.5 billion in 2012-2013 and $6.5 billion annually thereafter by increasing sales tax by .25 percent through 2016 and raising personal income tax through 2018 by 3 percent for those making more than $250,000. If Proposition 30 doesn’t pass, CUSD will see a fair share trigger cut of approximately $441 per student in January.

“We’re not going to see any huge increases in funding under his proposal,” said Abbott. “Again, I emphasize that we hopefully won’t see any further cuts, though.”

Attorney Molly Munger’s Proposition 38 would generate $15 billion in 2013-2014 and $10 billion every following year by enacting an income tax increase for most taxpayers through 2024. Increases would range from .4 percent for the lowest earners up to 2.2 percent for those earning more than $2.5 million. These additional funds would go directly to school sites, amounting to about $1,000 per student, according to Abbott.

“I did the math on that, and that’s like $2.3 million a year, which is 10 percent of our operating budget, “ said Abbott. “It’s a significant amount of money.”

For the first four years under Proposition 38, 60 percent of annual revenues would go to K-12 schools, 10 percent to early childhood education and 30 percent to state bond debts. Beginning in the fifth year, K-12 schools would receive 85 percent of annual revenues while early childhood education would see 15 percent. However, Proposition 38 does not stop proposed trigger cuts, and sites wouldn’t see additional funds until the 2013-2014 fiscal year, leaving CUSD struggling with the trigger cuts.

To pass, each initiative needs over 50 percent voter approval. If both pass, the initiative with the most votes will be enacted while the other becomes void.

The school board and public employees can inform the public about the initiatives but cannot advocate for specific actions. The board can and will adopt a resolution in support of either, neither or both initiatives in September.

“I think it’s a matter of timeliness,” said Cordeiro. “It would be good to get something done by this board for the September meeting.”

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

The Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District invites readers to remember the victims of the 9-11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania with a 9-11 Memorial on Tuesday, Sept. 11, beginning at 9 a.m. on the Carpinteria Fire Station’s front lawn, 911 Walnut Ave. “No matter what your politics, this is a time to honor all who were lost and all who are still in harm’s way,” said CSFD Fire Chief Mike Mingee. CSFD will also honor local veterans at the memorial by making longtime Carpinterian and former Marine Joseph Lazaro an honorary CSFD firefighter. Patriotic songs, a keynote address and refreshments will comprise the brief ceremony.

By Lea Boyd

Despite the highly unpopular threat of pay-to-play, it appears as though for the time being beach access in Santa Barbara County will remain free. The Santa Barbara County Park Commission’s recent efforts to gauge public opinion for proposed parking fees at seven popular county beaches, including Rincon Beach, Loon Point and Lookout Park, resulted in a deluge of opposition, enough negative public feedback to prompt a unanimous Aug. 23 vote by the commission to recommend that the Board of Supervisors drop the idea altogether.

“The public spoke loudly and clearly and said our quality of life depends on free access to our beaches,” said First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. He said that he will vote against beach fees when the issue comes to the board in October. In light of the Parks Commission’s recommendation, other county supervisors are also expected to vote down the parking fees.

If passed, the fees were anticipated to raise anywhere from $1.58 to $2.48 million annually, a significant step toward bridging the $9 to $15 million shortfall the county predicts for its 2013-2014 budget. The concept, however, was immediately met with opposition from beach users, business owners, beach neighbors and nonprofit organizations.

At the first of three public workshops held in July and August to gather input on the fees, Everett Lipman of Surfrider Foundation said, “We are going to vigorously oppose any implementation of fees … Let’s not charge working-class families making $35,000 a year in order to pave roads in Montecito.”

At the workshops, parks commissioners heard from nearly 100 members of the public on why beach parking should remain free. No one, according to Community Services Department Director Herman Parker, spoke in favor of the proposal. Additionally, an online survey garnered about 1,300 responses, of which 76 to 78 percent were opposed to the fees, Parker said.

Parker reported that most of the opposition came from people who support affordability of beach recreation as well as residents and businesses in beach neighborhoods whose streets would likely become prime parking areas for beach goers avoiding the fees.

The commission was considering several options for fees, both hourly and flat daily rates. A $100 annual pass for locals and 60 minutes of free parking were also under consideration. In addition to Carpinteria area beaches, Arroyo Burro Beach, Goleta Beach, Ocean Beach and Guadalupe Dunes Park were also targeted for the fee program.

By Sara Monge

The Carpinteria City Council hit on a hot-button issue when it revisited and ultimately rejected the idea of a daytime curfew as a means of reducing truancy and lowering potential for crime by minors at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Unlike the curfew discussion that took place in 2009, this time around the council chambers were packed with residents who spoke against the curfew. And despite Carpinteria Unified School District Superintendent Paul Cordeiro’s request for the curfew as a critical tool in reducing the district’s 23 percent truancy rate, the majority of the council sided with the audience against what Mayor Al Clark described as a “blunt tool that leads to the unintentional criminalization of children.”

In late 2008, the city council, at the request of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and CUSD, first looked into enacting a daytime curfew that would allow officers to return loitering minors to school or home and issue citations for excessive truancy. The proposed ordinance allowed for a long list of exclusions such as minors who were running emergency errands and home schooled students working on outside projects. The council surprised many when it struck down the ordinance due to a lack of support from Councilmen Al Clark and Gregg Carty and then newly-elected Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington.

The idea was recently resurrected after the Santa Barbara Grand Jury produced two reports on truancy and school district administrators and local law enforcement requested to have the matter reconsidered by the council. The curfew, its supporters argued, could complement other programs in the struggle to keep kids in school.

Carpinteria Police Chief Lt. Kelly Moore assured the council that officers would only contact minors who looked idle and would presume their innocence. Officers would question why they weren’t in school and call schools or parents to determine where the minor should be only if necessary. He explained that only the most recalcitrant of truants would be cited. City Manager Dave Durflinger added that the council could decide whether a citation would require community service or a referral to a program to help the student.

During a lengthy public comment period, a chorus of home school parents protested the curfew, citing fears that their children would be unfairly detained even if they had legitimate reasons to be outside during traditional school hours.

Carpinterian Betty Songer added to the voices of dissent saying she doesn’t “want truants to be equated with criminals” and argued that it could become a racial issue if a teen with undocumented parents ran from the police while stopped for truancy.

Carpinteria resident Royce Stauffer added his two cents on the debate. “The U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population and 25 percent of its incarcerated population…” he said. “A new curfew establishes a new crime, and there are already too many of them.”

Clark explained that he had arrived at his position after finding research showing that chronically truant kindergartners tend to continue that trend through high school. While the curfew would target teens, “truancy needs to be stopped at younger ages,” he said.

Though outweighed by the rest of the council’s opposition to the curfew, Councilman Brad Stein said he would “stand with the local experts” in favor of the ordinance because “there should be consequences for kids, just like adults.”

In other news, the council opted for environment over economy, when voting 4-1 (Armendariz dissenting) to direct staff to spend up to $60,000 in the purchase of two hybrid vehicles to replace the existing 1997 city sedans. Parks and Recreation Director Matt Roberts explained that based on the estimated 6,000 miles per year the cars are driven, it would take 20 years of purchasing gas to recover the funds lost due to the disparity in purchase price, even when calculating for $5 per gallon. Roberts said, “The advantages of hybrids is that they leave a smaller carbon footprint, but you’ll never get your money back.”
Armendariz
commented that he “wants the most cost effective car due to the economy” and the current no-frills city budget, but was overruled by the other council members who were optimistic the city could come in under the $60,000 estimated by Roberts to purchase perhaps even previously owned hybrids. The current city cars will be sold at auction.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at city hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

When the Templeton High School football team visited Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium last fall, the Warriors were riding high on earning a home playoff game for the first time since 2003. Then a dud of a first half landed the home team on the wrong side of a 21-0 halftime score. Carpinteria High School took its shots in the second half; however, when the clock ticked down to 0:00 on the Warriors’ season, Templeton advanced to round two of the playoffs by a score of 41-28.

Circumstances dictated a quick return to Carpinteria for Templeton. The Eagles, who have an old football tradition and typically rely on big bodies and a power game, drew a repeat trip for the season opener. The game on Friday, Aug. 24, at 7:30 p.m. will allow the Warriors a shot at avenging last year’s loss in what could be a big statement to start the season.

Look for the Warriors to spread the ball around on offense with an increased share of plays through the air. On the defensive side, a majority of the Warriors’ experience comes from down linemen, who will dig in and battle against Templeton’s usually meaty boys. Game one could serve as an early test as to whether the Warriors’ tactic of fast and furious football will stand pat against an up-the-gut, ball-control team like Templeton.

The Carpinteria City Council will reexamine a potential daytime curfew for minors who should be in school at its upcoming meeting on Monday, Aug. 27, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chamber of City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Additionally, council members will discuss the city’s quarterly investment report, ratify a resolution for Rich Medel’s retirement from the Carpinteria Boys & Girls Club, decide whether to approve a purchase of two new city vehicles and consider a resolution to change the member paid contribution, among other items on the agenda. The final meeting agenda and staff reports will be available through the city’s website, Carpinteria.ca.us, on Friday, Aug. 24. To find out more, call the city at 684-5405.

As a means of reducing costs to residents involved in the septic to sewer conversion project, Carpinteria Sanitary District recently issued $5.5 million of assessment refunding bonds. According to a press release, the district successfully brought to market the non-rated tax-exempt assessment refunding bonds at interest rates comparable to investment grade municipal bonds. In a move similar to refinancing a home at lower interest rates, the district board secured over $1 million of savings for homeowners in neighborhoods participating in the sewer project, namely Sandyland Cove, Sand Point Road and Rincon Point. Residents of these neighborhoods will see a reduced assessment levy on next December’s tax bill. “This action reflects the district’s ongoing commitment to reducing costs when opportunities present themselves,” said Lin Graf, District Board President.

Septic to sewer conversion has been completed for Sandyland Cove and Sand Point Road, with construction of the Rincon Point infrastructure set to begin early next year.

At its Aug. 21 meeting, the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in opposition to the $150 fire fees to be assessed by the state for residents living in wildfire-prone areas. Over 600 residences in Carpinteria Valley, most of which lie north of Foothill Road and south of the U.S. Forest Service boundary, are located in State Responsibility Areas and will soon receive new bills designed to provide funding to the cash-strapped state for fire prevention services though California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE).
“
Local fire districts will not receive any of the estimated $125 million collected as the state struggles to fill its budget gaps,” stated a press release from the district. CSFD said the fee would be an “additional financial burden on its constituents without providing additional fire services.”

The Fire Districts Association of California has actively opposed the bill on behalf of its fire district members since the idea was presented a few years ago. “If it is the will of the state legislature to reduce the burden on the State’s General Fund for CAL FIRE costs, an alternative and more equitable mechanism is necessary,” said District Board President Craig Price.

Three Carpinteria businesswomen—Alexandra “Xy” VanAntwerp, Polly Holcombe and Shirley Johnson—have formed a slate and set their sights on the trio of seats up for election this fall on the Carpinteria Valley Water District’s Board of Directors. Giving voters an opportunity to meet the slate, a campaign kickoff party is planned for Sunday, Sept. 2, from 5 to 7 p.m. at 6621 Arozena Lane. In the election, Holcombe and Johnson will go up against longtime water board incumbents Bob Lieberknecht and June Van Wingerden, while VanAntwerp will compete with newcomer Richard Forde for a shortened, two-year term made vacant through last spring’s resignation of board member Clay Brown. According to a press release, the slate, which has called itself Carp Water Matters, advocates “affordable water rates, water conservation, reducing state water expenditures and diligent oversight of all projects, contracts and activities.” For more information call 689-9640

By Lea Boyd

An Aug. 14 encounter between a stand up paddler and what appeared to be a great white shark has extended the local chatter about the top predator’s continued presence in Carpinteria waters. The incident, which amounted to a very near sighting, closely followed the Aug. 13 discovery of a juvenile harbor seal near the Carpinteria rookery with wounds consistent with a great white attack. Combined with several recent sightings in Santa Barbara and another wounded seal found in Carpinteria last spring, the incidents have raised the question of whether the number of sharks patrolling local shores is on the rise.

“It’s hard to statistically determine whether it’s more sharks or just more reports,” said Carpinteria Parks and Recreation Department Director Matt Roberts. He acknowledged that the number of sightings and marine mammal attacks in 2012 have been unusually high but pointed out that the trend could be due to greater access to information, increased likelihood of sightings being reported, as well as a greater number of people taking advantage of ocean recreation opportunities like stand up paddling and kayaking. “More eyes on the water,” Roberts said, would logically lead to more reports of sharks that have always called the California coast home.

Though the cause of the increased shark sightings is uncertain, fingers have been pointed at the local seal rookery and its seasonal protected status as an invitation to sharks. The number of seals documented at the rookery has risen in recent years, leading to a buzz around town that more seals have led to more sharks.

The Aug. 14 sighting occurred at around 9 a.m. about 400 feet offshore of the beach at Elm Avenue. Karin, a local woman who asked that her last name be withheld, was on a stand up paddleboard when a shark surfaced alongside her 10-foot craft. She noted the animal’s dorsal fin as well as its tail fin protruding from the water, which city lifeguard Chuck Graham said is key in distinguishing a great white shark from a dolphin. As Karin paddled east the shark approached from the opposite direction, rising to the surface slowly. “I could have put my foot out and touched his back,” she said.

No harm was done by the animal, but Karin immediately turned her board and paddled to the shore. She never looked back to see whether the shark followed or continued along its original path.

Karin estimated that the animal she saw was between 8 and 10 feet long, the size of a juvenile great white shark. A juvenile is also believed to be responsible for the local seal attack of Aug. 13. In that case, the seal died from its injuries on Aug. 16.

According to Graham, in the 35 years that he has lifeguarded and surfed in Carpinteria, he has never had a great white shark sighting, nor has he heard of a sighting that close to the city beaches.

Roberts pointed out that the flurry of area sightings may have triggered additional reports. Karin did not realize that she should report her run-in until she saw news reports of a sighting in Santa Barbara from the same day. Roberts saw an adult great white shark off of Jelly Bowl Beach about 20 years ago but never reported the sighting. Perhaps, he said, people are more likely to report incidents given the recent media attention on sightings and on the shark itself—last week was “Shark Week” on the Discovery Channel.

Roberts said that the number of shark-related incidents has certainly drawn attention but has not warranted any action beyond the necessary 72-hour posting of warning signs in the area of the sighting. “We’re watching it, but we’re not concerned yet,” he said.

By Maureen Foley

Carpinterians are used to being protected from riptides, hurricanes and tsunamis by living alongside the World’s Safest Beach. Now, it looks like residents will also be safe from major changes to the look and feel of their World’s Safest Beach neighborhood. In its Draft Residential Design Guidelines for the Beach Neighborhood, reviewed at the Aug. 16 Architectural Review Board (ARB) meeting, the city used pre-established ideas from its General Plan and examined existing homes in the neighborhood to form the policy, instead of trying out new ideas, as the basis for the draft Design Guidelines.

Judging by the lack of strong public opinion on the draft guidelines at the ARB meeting, it appears that the city’s “old-is-new” approach may help the document sail through the approval process without much debate. Covering five design areas, the guidelines give recommendations on everything from the size of a house’s second story to preferred types of fencing. But the general points and suggestions tend to reflect existing standards or leave plenty of room for interpretation. Even the ARB took the new guidelines in stride, offering only minor tweaks to the language and rules.

As board member Scott Ellinwood said, after hearing the city staff presentation on the policies, “(The guidelines are) nicely done, nicely articulated.”

The guidelines were developed by city staff, the Cal Poly Design Studio and Sloan Campi, a city planning intern, after consulting the Downtown Carpinteria Vision Plan. Once the guidelines are in place, architects, designers, property owners, planning permit applicants, city staff and others can use them to make sure that new developments are consistent with the current neighborhood’s charm and style. But the guidelines will not be used to enforce a set of rules. Instead, they are “non-regulatory guiding principles,” said Campi.

The purpose of the guidelines, according to the first section of the document, is to “allow the creative process to continue while providing guidance as to the primary standards by which projects will be evaluated,” and will “augment existing standards contained in the Community Design Element of the General Plan/Coastal Land Use Plan and Carpinteria Municipal Code.”

“(They) provide guidelines in the design of new development and projects in the beach neighborhood,” said Jackie Campbell, City Community Development Director.

While the vast majority of the draft guidelines were presented without any issues, there were several areas that generated short discussions from the ARB, city staff and the public. Some areas of the guidelines that got folks talking: the lack of guidelines on view corridors, setback measurements, maximum building height size, chain-link versus non-chain-link fencing, and correct night-lighting to avoid light pollution.

Specifically, the measure of the setback between two properties, formally called the “encroachment plane” described in DG-1, was a point of contention. Some argued against the proposed 15-degree angle described in DG-1, and Ellinwood calling it “unduly restrictive.”

Also at issue was DG-7, a guideline stating that the “maximum building height for two-story structures should not exceed 26 feet.” Beach neighborhood resident Pat Henry found fault with this point.

“It’s not a landowners fault that they have to raise the floor ... for the flood plain. (DG-7 would) squish everybody down ... It’s just too much government,” Henry said.

For anyone who missed the last ARB meeting, there is still time to review the Draft Guidelines and add comments. More public testimony can be given at upcoming Planning Commission and ARB meetings. Also, people can contact Nick Bobroff, Associate Planner for the city, for copies of the Draft Guidelines or to give feedback. The Draft Guidelines are also available at the city or online, at Carpinteria.ca.us.

By Lea Boyd

With the filing window for the November election nearly closed, several would-be city and special district leaders have thrown their hats in the ring, giving voters a choice between time-tested incumbents or fresh blood.
Two new candidates, Blanca Gorman and Alison Livett, filed papers for the Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board’s two seats, joining long-time incumbent Terry Hickey Banks and newcomer Suzie Schneider on the ballot.
The race for two positions on the Carpinteria City Council has changed little over the last week, though the number of candidates who have officially filed paperwork grew. Of the five who pulled papers—Greg Gandrud, Wade Nomura, Tom Perry, Kathleen Reddington and Fred Shaw—only Gandrud had yet to file by press time.
Carpinteria Valley Water District seats are typically held for great lengths and go unchallenged come election season, but 2010 saw a heated race, and 2012 looks like it could be hot, too. Incumbents Robert Lieberknecht and June Van Wingerden will be up against challengers Polly Holcombe and Shirley Johnson. Meanwhile, the third available seat on the board, from which two board members resigned over the last year, is currently sought after by candidates Richard Forde and Alexandra VanAntwerp. The candidate who wins this seat will serve a shortened, two-year term.
The window to file election paperwork opened on July 16 and closed on Aug. 10, except in elections where at least one incumbent failed to file, which was the case for several local races. If a single incumbent bowed out, the deadline to submit paperwork was extended to Aug. 15. The close of the filing window took place after press time; candidates had one last day to file when Coastal View News went to print.
Updated information and further detail is available at sbcvote.com.

Carpinteria City Council
Terms ending:
Joe Armendariz
Kathleen Reddington

Candidates:
Wade Nomura
Tom Perry
Kathleen Reddington
Fred Shaw
Greg Gandrud (Pulled papers, not yet filed)

Carpinteria Unified School District
Terms ending:
Terry Hickey Banks
Lou Panizzon

Candidates:
Terry Hickey Banks
Blanca Gorman
Alison Livett
Suzie Schneider

Carpinteria Valley Water District
Terms ending:
Robert Lieberknecht
June Van Wingerden
Vacant seat (two-year term)

Candidates:
Polly Holcombe
Shirley Johnson
Robert Lieberknecht
June Van Wingerden
Richard Forde (candidate for two-year term)
Alexandra VanAntwerp (candidate for two-year term)

Carpinteria Sanitary District
Terms ending:
Michael Damron
Pat Horowitz
Jeff Moorhouse

Candidates:
Michael Damron
Jeff Moorhouse
Gerald Velasco

Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District
Terms ending:
Diane Brighton
Lisa Guravitz

Candidates:
Lisa Guravitz
Chris Johnson
Bill Taff

By Erin Lennon

Less than a week before school starts, the Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board discussed progressive curriculum, new hires and fundraising at its Aug. 14 meeting amid continued budget struggles.

CUSD may have approved its 2012-2013 district budget in June, but it’s anything but set after the state budget was adopted on June 15. If both Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 and Molly Munger’s Proposition 38 fail to pass on November ballots, CUSD will see an automatic trigger cut of $441 per student during the current school year. The cuts were originally expected to take effect during the 2013-2014 school year. CUSD learned of the change on June 29.

“This came as quite a surprise to everybody,” said Assistant Superintendent Lucinda Abbott. Abbott presented a revised budget illustrating the possible cuts at the Aug. 14 meeting along with an overview of the initiatives. The trigger cut is part of fair share cuts, which are normally assessed the following year. These cuts would take effect in January 2013 for basic aid districts—those, like CUSD, whose funding is based on local property taxes.

The additional cuts would be added to the continuing fair share cuts. CUSD would face $2,338,615 in fair share cuts in 2012-2013 and the two subsequent school years, creating district insolvency by 2014-2015 at current spending rates. To ease daunting future cuts, Abbott will begin negotiations with the Carpinteria Association of United School Employees’ bargaining unit if the tax initiatives fail. However, she reported a 54 percent approval rating for Brown’s Proposition 30.

“It’s really important for us as the leaders of this district to put forth a statement about what we need to make this a viable budget and educate the kids of this district,” said board member Lou Panizzon. “We need to inform our public (about these initiatives).”

Proposition 30 would generate between $5.4 and $8.5 billion per year by increasing sales tax by .25 percent until 2016 and raising personal income tax for high earners until 2018. Proposition 38 generates $5 billion the first year and $10 billion every following year by enacting an income tax increase for most tax payers until 2024, with increases ranging from .4 percent to 2.2 percent depending on income. Proposition 38 revenues would go directly to school sites. Abbott is less familiar with how Proposition 38 would specifically benefit CUSD, but the district’s adopted budget would stand if Proposition 30 passed. Abbott plans to do a more comprehensive overview of the initiatives.

Superintendent Paul Cordeiro announced a plethora of new hires and a push to develop a design and engineering program at Carpinteria High School despite budgetary uncertainty.

“This is a step toward a better educated workforce that’s more tuned into the economic needs that we have in this state,” he said.

Students residing in La Conchita won’t benefit from the new program under CUSD’s revised inter-district transfer policy, which bars them from transferring into the district. In 2010 the board allowed students to transfer into CUSD if they had to travel through its boundary to access their districts of residence, namely students living on Casitas Pass Road who were in the Ventura Unified School District. The US 101 widening project requires La Conchita residents to permanently travel northbound on 101 into CUSD to access their VUSD schools. The board adopted the first reading of the revision that eliminates the 2010 loophole, restricting interdistrict transfers to Casitas Pass residents only.

“It’s not in the board’s interest to become the school district for La Conchita,” said Cordeiro.

As a basic aid district, students residing in La Conchita wouldn’t generate additional revenue for CUSD but would require district resources.

The Carpinteria Education Foundation, which raises funds for CUSD schools, will host its Carp-A-Cabana fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 8. CEF is changing its grant making pursuant to that fundraiser, according to Cordeiro. The group plans to target more school-based, comprehensive grants instead of grants for individual materials as it attempts to strategically pinpoint types of desirable support.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 28, at 5:30 p.m. in the Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Maureen Foley

What many Toro Canyon residents see as a trash site, Santa Barbara County sees as treasure. That sums up the difference in how the two opposing sides see the Flood Control District’s plan to turn a 9-acre parcel at 225 Toro Canyon Road currently being offered for sale by Carpinteria Unified School District into a temporary storage location for emergency creek flood debris.

On Aug. 7, representatives from the county held a public workshop to explain why the farm property is the perfect location for a much-needed site to contain the trees, sand, vegetation and more that wash up after periodic major flooding events in Eastern Montecito and Carpinteria Valley creeks.

In the meeting, Thomas Fayram, Deputy Public Works Director for the County Flood Control District, gave an overview of the project. According to a fact sheet from the workshop, “The Toro Canyon property is suitable for ... temporary storage of debris for ultimate disposal.” He also displayed a map showing how the county would add landscape screening, a setback and an entrance off Toro Canyon Road to the property.

Fayram emphasized that the county would only use the Toro Canyon site for debris storage on a part-time, temporary basis after major floods, with material stored there for a year at the most. Debris would be disposed of or ground into mulch. He estimated that the space would only be used for storing debris infrequently, as needed for emergencies. As an example, he cited 1995, 1998 and 2005 as the years during his 26-year career with Flood Control as the only times when the space would have been used. For the most part, the land will continue to be farmed.

“Our goal is to keep (the site) the way it is and to utilize the property in key emergency times. But preserve it the rest of the time,” said Fayram.

In contrast, neighbors who spoke during the hearing bemoaned the potential for falling property values, increased noise and other nuisances. They also accused the county of having a lack of transparency in the buying process and for wasting public funds.

“I’m not a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) obstructionist, but it doesn’t make sense to pay this much for a property that will be used every five to seven years,” said Marilyn Mayer.

Approximately one dozen Toro Canyon neighborhood residents voiced their opposition to the plan. Citing concerns ranging from increased traffic in the residential neighborhood to out-of-control varmints, people expressed their outrage at the thought of turning the farmland into what they see as an industrial wasteland. No one spoke in support of proposed plan, and many referred to the project as a “dump.” But Fayram disputes the idea that the site is a waste disposal site. “A dump has a bad connotation. It means taking material and leaving it there. Stuff won’t be left there,” he said.

Fayram also countered the criticism about the parcel’s cost by emphasizing how expensive it is already to dispose of post-flood debris. He said that the cost of the property would pay for itself after one emergency storm event.

But Fayram refused to discuss specifics about the property’s cost because the county is still in a 60-day negotiation period with CUSD. However, Emily McBride, a real estate agent who represents Scott Wood, said that her client approached CUSD with an offer of $2.4 million for the property and that he is still waiting to find out if he will be the final buyer.

The property’s selling price and many of the residents’ other concerns are only theoretical at this point, because the project is far from a done deal. There are still many bureaucratic hoops that both the county and CUSD must jump through before the site can be sold and developed.

And according to CUSD Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott, selling the property to the county is hardly a sure thing. She said the school district must go through legal processes for selling the property, which it originally bought for a school site and is now selling to use the proceeds to improve existing schools.

“The county is interested ... But the (school) board will decide on the buyer,” Abbott said.

Additionally, the county has its own process and timeline for the project, even with the uncertainty of who the buyer will be, including a County Board of Supervisors public hearing, an environmental assessment and applying and receiving a Coastal Development Permit.

In the meantime, Fayram hopes that the facts will convince people that the project is more treasure than trash. He said, “It is our sincere goal to be a great neighbor to the community.”

Last chance to file for local elections
By Lea Boyd

The upcoming race for two seats on the Carpinteria City Council just got hot. As the filing window draws to a close, new candidates Greg Gandrud and Wade Nomura have come out of the woodwork, joining the trio of candidates—Tom Perry, Kathleen Reddington and Fred Shaw—who made their intentions clear weeks ago.

Nomura, who serves on the Architectural Review Board, just wrapped up a year-long term as the district governor for the Rotary Club and is the 2011 Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce Carpinterian of the Year.

Gandrud held a seat on the Carpinteria City Council from 2002 to 2006, when he ran for a second term but was edged out by long-time incumbent Brad Stein. Now Gandrud serves as chairman of the Santa Barbara County Republican Party and is a Member of the Executive Committee of the California Republican Party.

A handful of candidates have also recently filed paperwork for available special district seats. Carpinteria Unified School District incumbent Lou Panizzon has yet to file, but incumbent Terry Hickey Banks and newcomer Suzie Schneider are now poised to claim the two seats up for grabs. There will be a race this November for two seats available on the board for the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District. Three candidates have filed paperwork. Meanwhile, the Carpinteria Sanitary District’s board of directors is still short a candidate.

The window to file candidate paperwork opened on July 16 and closes on Aug. 10, except in elections where at least one incumbent fails to file. In that case, the deadline to submit paperwork is extended to Aug. 15. Forms to file for a city council seat are available at Carpinteria City Hall, and the forms for special district seats must be obtained through the Santa Barbara County Elections Office, at 4440 A Calle Real in Santa Barbara. For special districts, only candidates who have filed paperwork—not those who have only pulled papers—are noted below. Detailed information is available at sbcvote.com.

Carpinteria City Council
Terms ending
Joe Armendariz
Kathleen Reddington

Candidates
Fred Shaw
Tom Perry
Greg Gandrud (Pulled papers, not yet filed)
Wade Nomura (Pulled papers, not yet filed)
Kathleen Reddington (Pulled papers, not yet filed)

Carpinteria Unified School District
Terms ending
Terry Hickey Banks
Lou Panizzon

Candidates
Terry Hickey Banks
Suzie Schneider

Carpinteria Valley Water District
Terms ending
Robert Lieberknecht
June Van Wingerden
Vacant seat (two-year term)

Candidates
Richard Forde (candidate for two-year term)
Robert Lieberknecht
June Van Wingerden

Carpinteria Sanitary District
Terms ending
Michael Damron
Pat Horowitz
Jeff Moorhouse

Candidates
Michael Damron
Jeff Moorhouse

Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District
Terms ending
Diane Brighton
Lisa Guravitz

Candidates
Lisa Guravitz
Alfred Taff
Christopher Johnson

A geyser sprang from an uprooted fire hydrant on Del Mar Avenue across Carpinteria Salt Marsh from Ash Avenue between 11 a.m. and noon on July 30. By the time the free flowing water was contained, pressure was depleted in residences covering most of Carpinteria on the ocean side of the freeway. And water that was still flowing had been colored brown and murky from pressure changes stirring up sediment, mainly manganese, that typically settles on the bottom of pipelines during regular water flow.

Carpinteria Valley Water District General Manager Charles Hamilton, who was making rounds by foot to area businesses to make sure that water delivery was restored in the afternoon, said that the discoloration was unsightly but not harmful. Manganese, he said, is non-toxic, and the district had tested water to ensure that residual chlorine levels remained adequate to stave off any biohazard. The precautionary measures are protocol if water disruption occurs, he added.

Question marks remain about the incident. Hamilton said it’s unknown what caused the hydrant to get knocked out of place, nor does the district know how much water was lost. About 200 customers inundated the district with calls about delivery disruption and brown water. The most unfortunate problem related to the brownish water reported by Laundromats was staining of clothing that was in the wash. Hamilton said if clear water at regular pressure is not restored then customers should phone the district at 684-2816.

Vicente Castillo, the father of Carpinterians Isaac, 9, and Gabriel Castillo, 8, recently passed away, leaving insufficient funds for his burial and funeral. With the help of family friend Ralph Hernandez, the Castillo boys are attempting to raise the $10,000 necessary to lay to rest their father, who was a Santa Maria resident. Car washes and other fundraisers have garnered nearly half of the required amount, but the family is seeking contributions toward the remaining costs. Community donations can be deposited at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust into the Vicente Castillo Memorial Fund. Hernandez can be contacted with any questions at 452-0453.

By Lea Boyd

If all goes according to Jack Theimer’s plans, in four years the doors will open to a 162-room hotel resort on the Carpinteria bluffs at the intersection of highways 101 and 150. Theimer, a Santa Barbara-based developer, submitted an application with the City of Carpinteria on July 20 to convert what is now 21.65 acres of dirt bike scars and patchy vegetation into a facility he describes as a price point above Fess Parker’s Double Tree and below the Four Seasons Biltmore.

Zoned by the city for a resort, the seaside property has been the target of several proposed developments, most of which were battled back by locals and none of which materialized. Theimer doesn’t want a battle. “If the site were something we’d have to fight to rezone … we wouldn’t even think about it,” he said.

At this point, plans for the $60 million project are only conceptual. They include 162 hotel rooms divided among four, two-story buildings. The largest of the buildings, “The Lodge,” includes two restaurants, 10,000 square feet of meeting space and a gift shop. A pool and day spa facilities overlook the ocean. Plans depict 90 underground parking spaces and 218 spaces in open lots, a trail network and, per city requirements, eight to ten units of workforce housing are proposed for the property.

The spacious hotel rooms, which are expected to bring in about $300 to $325 per night, would average 450 square feet with a 100 square foot deck on each. Approximately 20 percent of the accommodations will be specially designed as high-end “health and wellness” rooms with vitamin and mineral infused tap water and treated air.

Though the city has long anticipated a resort for the property and the vacant ocean perch appears to be a developer’s dream, the site comes with its fair share of complications. Two earthquake fault lines run through it, forcing Theimer and his partner on the project, Andy Norris, to maintain two 50-foot swaths without buildings that run nearly from one end of the site to the other. Other restrictions include setbacks for a seasonal wetland on the west end of the land, a maximum of 30-foot building heights and a 200-foot view corridor from Highway 150. The constraints, Theimer explained, led to plans for 162 hotel rooms rather than the 222 allowed by the zoning code.

Ecologically, the property hosts not only the wetland, but also native coastal sage scrub, loss of which will likely require mitigation. The land, however, is far from pristine. Thunderbowl race track existed on the site in the mid-1900s, and since then it has been heaped with castoff road materials from the construction of Highway 101 and torn up by trespassing offroaders.

The resort’s design has been put in the hands of native Carpinterian architect Andy Neumann, the creative force behind many local homes. Theimer said that though Neumann has never designed a resort, his “elegant and clean” architectural style will mesh well with Theimer’s vision for a contemporary look.

Detailed plans will be drawn up in the next six weeks, but Theimer anticipates low-lying buildings fronted by lots of glass that allows the “natural space to come into the rooms.” He said he is eager to break free of the restrictions that hogtie Santa Barbara developers to Spanish style architecture—“I’ve done Spanish. I’m over Spanish.”

Theimer, who developed Ennisbrook in Montecito and Stork Ranch in Goleta, emphasizes the positives the proposed resort would provide the local community. The trail network planned for the property would connect with the coastal trail that already patchily links Rincon County Park to downtown Carpinteria. Theimer points out the public parking lots on the site that allow access to the trails and the views. He envisions the 10,000 square feet of meeting space, or “gathering” space as he prefers, will be used by locals for events and that the hotel restaurants will offer a convenient option for business people in the nearby industrial park to bring clients and co-workers for lunch.

Local beaches and beautiful views are expected to draw visitors to the resort, and Theimer plans to promote the proximity to Ojai as another reason for a stay. He doesn’t anticipate the resort will attract visitors whose main destination is Santa Barbara—the local draws should be sufficient, he said.

“There are still a lot of questions,” Mayor Al Clark said of the proposal. Though he iterated that more information would be necessary before he could make any judgments, he said among his biggest concerns were the traffic generated from the resort and the preservation of public access to the “killer views” from the blufftop. Clark described Theimer as likeable and friendly and said that the developer’s apparent honesty and transparency should ease the permitting process.

Conceptual plans for the resort are tentatively scheduled for review by the city’s Architectural Review Board on Sept. 13 and by the City Council and Planning Commission in mid-October.

By Peter Dugré

Nobody wants to pay to park at the beach. At a July 26 Santa Barbara County Park Commission hearing designed to gather public input on whether Santa Barbara County should impose parking fees at seven beaches, Park Commissioners listened to over a dozen members of the public, who all in varying degrees of outrage urged the five-member commission to ditch the pay-to-park proposal.

The meeting was the first of three ahead of an October meeting when the Board of Supervisors could ultimately decide if and how to implement beach parking fees at Rincon Beach, Loon Point, Lookout Park, Arroyo Burro Beach, Goleta Beach, Ocean Beach and Guadalupe Dunes Park. Commissioners will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors based on staff and public input.

Members of the public in attendance ran the gamut from representatives of Surfrider Foundation to beach lovers to Summerland downtown business owners. Access to beaches is why people choose to live in this area, argued residents, and the county should not be allowed to charge for it. Also, opposition focused on the costs disproportionately impacting impoverished families and spillover parking clogging neighborhoods surrounding beaches. Other comments took issue with revenues not being directed back toward beach maintenance; rather, the revenue stream could flow to the county’s general fund.

Representing Surfrider Foundation, Everett Lipman called the proposed fee a “beach tax” and said, “We are going to vigorously oppose any implementation of fees.” He added, “Let’s not charge working-class families making $35,000 a year in order to pave roads in Montecito.”

County staff briefed commissioners on rate structures, revenue estimates and the potential for charging for parking at all county parks versus only the beaches. Revenue estimates range between $1.58 and $2.48 million annually, and are based on the assumption that the number of vehicles at beaches will decrease by 25 percent if visitors must pay to park and also a loss of spaces due to reconfiguration. Also under consideration is a $100 annual pass for residents and 60 minutes of free parking.

Staff reported on options for both hourly charges and flat daily rates. In the hourly model, the price for parking at Rincon and Lookout Park was set at $1.50 per hour with a maximum charge of $6 per day. Loon Point would be $1 per hour and $3 maximum. Electronic meters would be installed similar to Downtown Ventura, and parking spaces would be numbered for visitors to input their space number and pay by cash or credit. A flat fee system would charge visitors between $2 and $4 per day for entry, and either program would likely be managed by a private company. The flat rate system would generate more revenue according to estimates.

Surfer and Rincon mainstay Tony DeGroot said, “Am I in favor or against this? It’s like asking am I in favor or against you chopping my left arm off.” Of the county’s need to raise revenues, he added, “I think you need to live within the budget. I know I do.”

Representing Summerland businesses, Jeff Melnik informed commissioners that parking is already cramped on Lillie Avenue and new fees at Lookout Park would only exacerbate the problem by pushing vehicles out of the park and into Summerland’s downtown.

The next public meeting of the Park Commission is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the Santa Barbara Planning Commission Hearing Room, 105 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara. Members of the public can complete a beach parking survey at countyofsb.org/parks and written input can be emailed to Herman Parker of the SB County Community Services Department at hparker@sbccsd.org.

In an effort to increase revenues, the Santa Barbara County Park Commission will consider implementing parking fees at seven area beaches, including Rincon, Loon Point and Lookout Park. These fees will be discussed at a series of three upcoming meetings of the Parks Commission, where staff will present information and members of the public will be invited to provide their opinion on the matter. The first meeting will be held on Thursday, July 26, at 9:30 a.m. in the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors Hearing Room 105 E. Anapamu Street, in Santa Barbara. The second meeting will be held on Thursday, Aug. 16, at 5:30 p.m. in the Santa Barbara Planning Commission Hearing Room, 123 E. Anapamu Street, in Santa Barbara, and the third meeting will take place on Aug. 23 in Santa Maria. A beach parking fees questionnaire is available at sbparks.org, and more information is available by calling 568-2467.

A man who robbed a home in the 2800 block of Via Real on July 19 at 11:35 p.m. remains at large, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. The lone suspect reportedly confronted the residents inside their home before stealing their property and fleeing the scene. Deputies responded to the home and searched surrounding streets. Two K9 units and a helicopter from the County Air Support Unit also assisted with the search. The suspect is described as a white male in dark clothes, around 5 foot 9 inches tall and 150 to 160 pounds. Anyone with information regarding the crime should call 681-4150.

City council grants E.J. Harrison negotiation extension
By Sara Monge

A long abandoned oil well on the Carpinteria Bluffs appears to be rearing its ugly head again, and the emergence of oozing oil has prompted an investigation, the Carpinteria City Council learned at its July 23 meeting. Initially thought to be a natural occurrence, the seep is now believed to be related to the Kittie Bailard well, drilled in 1929 and “properly abandoned” according to City Planner Steve Goggia.

The investigation, which is scheduled to take place in August, will begin with on-site biological and archeological surveys and continue with the excavation of a 5 by 10-foot, fenced off area. Bill Borg of Conoco Philips told the council that the plan to investigate the abandoned well was developed in conjunction with the city, Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District and the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermic and Geothermal Resources.

While Conoco Philips stressed that it is trying to “limit the amount of activity because of the sensitive habitat,” the work is expected to take two weeks, one to excavate the area and one to complete restoration on the site. Work should begin by mid-August, after the Coastal Commission approves the permit.

In other news, the council unanimously approved a three-month extension to the city’s current Franchise Waste Agreement with E.J. Harrison and Sons, Inc. Erin Maker, the city’s environmental coordinator, explained that the temporary extension would allow city staff a “buffer” to finish negotiations on the new contract with the waste haulers.

This is the third extension on the current E.J. Harrison contract. In May 2011, the contract was extended by six months to allow the city to complete a financial and performance review of the company. It was extended a second time in January 2012 when the council authorized staff to proceed with sole-source negotiations with the company, an extension that will sunset on July 31. Maker told the council the new agreement has been drafted, but negotiations are ongoing. She said it should be finalized in September as long as no “unexpected action is taken.”

Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington reiterated her hopes that both recycling and green waste would be picked up weekly instead of bi-weekly—a proposition for which Maker revealed the city is currently negotiating. Reddington also championed composting as a new and important service being offered in other cities. Maker explained that securing a permit and hauling waste to a North County composting site makes a composting program complicated. However, she said E.J. Harrison is permitted for a small composting program and that Reddington’s request would be included in ongoing negotiations.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

The topic of a daytime curfew for minors will be discussed by the Carpinteria City Council at its next meeting, scheduled for Monday, July 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at Carpinteria City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. Additional items on the agenda include the following: recognition of Community Partner Award winner Ahmed Jahadhmy, a second reading and adoption of the Single-Use Plastic Bag Ordinance Amendment and a presentation by a Conoco Phillips representative regarding remediation of the Kittie Bailard Well on the Carpinteria Bluffs. Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting and speak briefly on topics of interest. Subject matter provided by the city are subject to change, and the final agenda and staff reports will be available on Friday, July 20 at carpinteria.ca.us.

Though council meetings are typically held every second and fourth Monday of the month, the meeting of Aug. 13 has been canceled and the next regular meeting will be held on Aug. 27.

Continued Caltrans roadwork on Highway 101 between Mobile Pier Road and Casitas Pass Road will affect auto and pedestrian traffic in coming weeks. The La Conchita Pedestrian Undercrossing will be closed to beachgoers from Monday, July 16 through Friday, August 3, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. while work crews remove and place concrete boxes behind the k-rail on the east side of the highway. Additionally during that timeframe, workers will continue construction on the Bates Road Overcrossing, erecting falsework, placing temporary lighting and continuing the retaining wall construction.

A Carpinteria woman who received a phone call on July 17 from a man representing himself as a collection agenct working on behalf of the City of Santa Barbara proved wise to listen to her gut instinct. She refused to pay for the outstanding parking ticket that the man claimed to be calling about and ultimately confirmed the call to be an attempted scam. The alleged collection agent provided the woman’s license plate number, full name and home address while explaining that she had an outstanding debt to Santa Barbara for a parking ticket. She refused to pay the fee over the phone because she did not recall receiving the ticket nor did she trust the man’s voice. The following day, the woman called the City of Santa Barbara and found that it does not employ collection agencies to secure payments for parking tickets.

Multiple incidents of vacation rental scams have been reported in Carpinteria in recent weeks. Advertisements for local vacation rentals on the craigslist website have resulted in payments made for stays in homes that belong to permanent residents with no intention of renting to others. According to one homeowner, a deal to illegally lease her home was nearly complete before the victim discovered that the property was not a vacation rental. In this case, the perpetrators had communicated with the victim via email and arranged to collect funds by providing bank account information for a deposit. Anyone who has knowledge of similar incidents should contact the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department at 681-4100.

School board reinstates ag position

By Erin Lennon

With a tight 2012-2013 district budget adopted, the Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board got a look at changes occurring within district schools at its July 10 meeting.

Superintendent Paul Cordeiro presented a quarterly report that showed a “plateau in enrollment” and advocated revising ongoing district programs and efforts, from early childhood education through high school graduation. He also called for maximizing community engagement with the district and emphasized a focus on college readiness.

“Remember there’s a big intersect between awareness of what it means to go to college and actual academic performance, and they both have to happen in the right way to work,” said Cordeiro.

THRIVE Carpinteria, a grant-funded project focused on ensuring all area kids are kindergarten-ready and successful through third grade and beyond, will continue providing students and families with services but will incorporate a marketing component to connect the community to services and information. As part of THRIVE, new preschool classes at Canalino School and Carpinteria Children’s Project at Main will educate 48 additional students, with CCPM also hosting four AVANCE cohorts to educate both parents and children to achieve success in school.

Professional development has proven key to implementing proposed classroom changes, from math to developing language skills. With a high percentage of immigrant families and English Language Learners, developing English acquisition throughout the district was highlighted as a priority. Fourth and fifth-grade teachers will receive professional English language acquisition training that kindergarten through third-grade teachers received in years past and which will be updated. CHS will also undergo professional development in this area and will incorporate new materials.

“What does this mean in a nutshell?” asked Cordeiro. “How to multiply opportunities to apply language purposely in the classroom every day.”

On a broader front, elementary teachers will use a fully integrated instructional calendar that tells them everything they need to do and when they need to do it, according to Cordeiro. Lesson pacing, assessments and calendars will be revised at all levels based on a district analysis of the California State Standards. These revisions will influence Carpinteria High School’s Professional Learning Communities Process, a process by which teachers and administrators learn together and communicate findings and ideas.

As teachers receive ongoing development, a focus on career paths at the high school will place the Agricultural Sciences & Technology Academy, the Culinary Arts Institute and plans for a Design and Engineering Program in the limelight.

The ag program has been in the spotlight for months after ag teacher Holly Smith’s position was terminated as CUSD cut nearly $500,000 from the 2012-2013 budget. Smith was rehired at the July 10 meeting following an outpouring of public support. The district agreed to pay $35,000 of the $65,000 position, and the community has collected $19,000 toward its $30,000 share. Santa Barbara Bank & Trust has publicly agreed to donate $5,000 to the community effort, according to supporter June Van Wingerden.

The Breakfast in the Classroom program was not so fortunate. Piloted with nine Aliso School teachers from January through June, the program was meant to provide students with a nutritious breakfast to improve performance, behavior and diet and reduce the risk of obesity; however, it ate up class time. With a $14,625 grant from the California Department of Education, CUSD purchased a new refrigerator and food carts to bridge food insecurity experienced by an estimated 25 to 30 percent of local families, according to Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott. CUSD will return grant funds, breaking even with $7,000 in net income through the program and possibly selling the food carts to Santa Barbara Unified School District for $3,000 to $4,000, and return to serving breakfast before school.

The board approved, without public comment, a revised version of the Integrated Pest Management Program for school sites, a strategy aimed at long-term pest control using a combination of techniques. These programs have proven controversial in the past.

The revised plan bars pesticides from being sprayed on or around play areas or along adjacent fences and on trees in lawn areas. Spraying will occur in non-play areas during student-free spring, summer and winter breaks, with improved signage, and CHS and Carpinteria Middle School tracks will be closed for three days following application. Also, pesticides cannot be used within 100 feet of a school’s organic garden, meaning no spraying will be done at Summerland School as most of its grounds are within 100 feet of its organic garden. Summerland parents have volunteered to manually control weeds.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

The city council approved (Armendariz dissenting) the first reading of an ordinance to amend the bag ban in Carpinteria. The council had banned all bags in large stores, and all plastic bags in small stores and restaurants until the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition brought litigation against the city contending it could not regulate what bags restaurants used. Though City Attorney Brown said they had a good case, ultimately the city decided to settle with the coalition due to, as City Manager Dave Durflinger put it, “the cost and uncertainty of litigation.”

“We’re not setting out to conquer the world, but just doing the best we can for now,” summarized Mayor Al Clark.

The amended ordinance did not sail through, however, as Reddington advocated for stricter regulations while Armendariz accused the council of “terrorizing our residents” with the ordinance. Reddington asked for a stipulation that all paper bags be made of 100 percent recycled materials so that “no virgin forests end up in the waste stream.” Meanwhile, Armendariz argued for less government interference on the public. He said that if locals really want to protect the environment, they should put it on the ballot themselves, not rely on the city to pass the regulation.

Councilmen Clark, Stein and Carty reiterated their positions that it was the duty of the city council to protect the environment as best as it can within its financial resources. The ordinance stipulates that paper bags used in small stores must be made of at least 40 percent post-consumer waste and must be 100 percent recyclable.

The ordinance will have a second reading at the next council meeting and will go into effect for large stores on Oct. 22, 2012 and for small stores on April 11, 2013.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, July 23, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Sara Monge

Setting the stage for the November General Election, four Carpinteria City Council members voted at a July 9 meeting to sign their names to the argument in favor of Measure E2012, which will appear on the ballot as the City Services Support Measure and will ask voters to increase Carpinteria’s bed tax. Discussion of the ballot measure and the council majority’s argument in its favor became heated when lone dissenter Councilman Joe Armendariz described the argument as “a canard.”

City officials have long sought a way to increase revenues in order to get the annual budget back in the black. The budget problems are symptomatic of soaring costs not being met by increasing revenues, and raising the bed tax would help remedy the structural deficit.

The council looked at many ways to rectify its financial state, ultimately deciding (Armendariz dissenting) at its June 11 meeting to ask voters to raise the Transient Occupancy Tax, or bed tax, as a solution that would spare locals from additional taxes. The council argued that visitors use essential services such as pavement, lights, police and parks—all of which cost more money today—yet the tax they pay to sleep in the city has not gone up since it was instituted. Should the TOT increase pass in November, the rate will rise from 10 percent to match the City of Santa Barbara rate of 12 percent.

Armendariz, who voted against placing the measure on the ballot because it was not designated specifically to fund tourism promotion, suggested at the recent meeting that Carpinteria will “lose its competitive edge” should the tax be approved. Vehemently opposed to the tax hike, he said the argument in favor of the measure was misleading. While it states it will not affect locals, he pointed out that businesses and/or families in the area who put up out-of-towners in local hotels would be subjected to the higher fees.

The rest of the council argued that the extra 50 cents to $1.50 per night people will pay on their room will not deter visitors from the attractive ocean town. They explained that locals would not shoulder the burden of the tax, which would be the case with other revenue raising options such as a parcel tax or sales tax.

The council majority also touted the flexibility of funds generated by the bed tax as a perk. By benefiting the general fund, the tax revenues could be used as the council sees fit, from paying for police, to upkeep of parks, to encouraging tourism. The council did stipulate that the money would stay local, meaning the state cannot siphon it from the city.

Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington playfully suggested the measure be titled, “Measure E—the Easy Choice.” City residents will ultimately make their choice in November.

Fate of ag position to be decided July 10
By Erin Lennon

At the June 26 Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Education meeting members took strides to reinstate the second Agricultural Science Technology Academy teaching position while also adopting a highly pruned 2012-2013 budget, which may be subject to further tightening in coming months.

Though changes could still occur, the board signed off on a budget with nearly a half million dollars in cuts. The axe fell on student transportation as well as teaching positions in agriculture, physical education and social studies. Further savings were made at the lower elementary level by increasing class size from 20 to 24 for kindergarten to second grade.

CUSD Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott emphasized that the budget is fluid and likely to change—many current estimates will be refined throughout the summer and fall. Federal funds for school districts will not be finalized until December, and fall enrollment will impact final funding as will staffing, which is still in progress at school sites. By adopting the proposed 2012-2013 district budget, the board certified that the district could continue to meet its financial obligations for two subsequent years.

The California Sales and Income Tax Increase Initiative, a November ballot item that proposes using revenues from temporarily increased sales tax, use tax and temporarily increased income tax for high earners to secure education funding, would keep funds from being cut at the district level. California schools could face dramatic budget cuts if the initiative fails to pass. CUSD, as well as other districts in the state, would face trigger cuts—cuts that occur in the middle of the year and are necessitated by specific events. Abbott said that trigger cuts could gouge the district’s budget at a rate of between $441 and $471 per student.

Governor Jerry Brown created some budgetary flexibility in his 2012-2013 budget by allowing school districts to cut 15 days from the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years. A five-day reduction was previously approved, meaning CUSD could shorten its upcoming school year by 20 days if approved by the employee union, CAUSE. Abbott estimates that cutting teachers for one day saves the district $55,000; however, she is looking to avoid a shortened academic year.

“I really hope we don’t have to do that, but that’s something that looks like will be part of the budget,” said Abbott.

The need of districts to provide transitional kindergarten was written into the state budget a year ago, and that legislation has stuck, adding greater costs to individual districts. Age requirements for students entering kindergarten continues to move forward, and this fall only students born before Nov. 1 will be allowed to begin kindergarten. In 2011-2012, students turning 5 before Dec. 2 had been admitted. Districts must provide students who would have attended kindergarten under the old deadline with a TK program, a change that qualifies 16 CUSD students for such a program during the 2012-2013 school year, according to Superintendent Paul Cordeiro.

Budget projections going out two years previewed a growing annual deficit, projected at $71,852 in unrestricted funds in 2012-2013, despite $494,100 in approved cuts to the budget. The deficit is projected at $976,170 in 2013-2014 and about $1.6 million in 2014-2015 as costs are estimated to increase. Health insurance premiums grew by 9.6 percent in the proposed budget and continue at that pace. Fair share cuts, which attempt to balance cuts among schools funded by the state on a per student daily attendance basis and those funded mainly through property tax revenues, also resulted in over $1.3 million sliced from the 2012-2013 budget, with estimated fair share cuts growing to $2.3 million in the 2014-2015 budget if trigger cuts ensue.

California requires that all districts set aside 3 percent reserves in case of need, but the CUSD school board upholds a policy maintaining 10 percent reserves. In 2012-2013, the district projects $2.8 million in reserves, a 15.88 percent reserve. Some area districts have chosen to tackle current budget issues at the expense of reserves, leaning closer to the minimum percentage. Boardmember Lou Panizzon questioned how he could support such high reserves in the face of layoffs.

“(Districts with lower reserve percentages are) much closer to fiscal insolvency than this district, and they’re having to take more drastic measures as a result,” said Cordeiro who also pointed out that the district has spent from its reserves in the recent past.

To maintain its 10 percent reserve through the 2014-2015 budget, the district will have to cut $1 million in proposed expenditures. Alternatively, the 3 percent reserve required by the state would demand $300,000 in cuts for the same time period.

Despite future budget worries, the board informally agreed to supply $35,000 of the $65,000 needed to reinstate the second teaching position in the CHS ag department, leaving the community to raise $30,000.

“The minimum we can do is come up with half the salary,” said Board President Andy Sheaffer.

With $9,000 deposited and pledges that would bring their fund up to $18,000, June Van Wingerden reported that supporters had $12,000 to go. “If everybody in Carpinteria just hands me a dollar, we’ll be finished,” she said.

The ag position will be on the July 10 agenda, and the board is expected to officially agree to cover at least half the position’s cost.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Carpinteria City Councilman Joe Armendariz announced June 20 that he had stepped down from his position on the board of directors for Zona Seca, a Santa Barbara nonprofit working to create drug-free communities while educating residents about the perils of alcohol, drugs, violence, truancy and gang participation. “I believe my ability to provide value to the agency has reached its limit and in fact could potentially prove counterproductive to the future goals of the agency,” Armendariz wrote in a letter to the agency’s executive director and board of directors.

Armendariz was recently convicted of his second DUI offense in the last five years. The councilman crashed his vehicle along the side of Highway 101 while driving under the influence last December. Though censured by the city council and pressured by locals to resign from his council seat, Armendariz has remained on the council. He has said that he does not plan to run for election in November.

In a statement released last week regarding his resignation from Zona Seca, Armendariz said, “It has been an honor and a privilege as well as a rewarding experience for me on a very personal level participating as a member of the board of directors and as the agency’s chairman of the board these past few years.”

By Lea Boyd

The basic assumptions instructing the design of the Linden Avenue and Casitas Pass Road Interchange Project were called into question by city leaders on June 25 during a special meeting of the Carpinteria City Council. Mayor Al Clark and Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington argued that the economic landscape has changed dramatically since the pre-Great Recession design of arguably the most extensive project planned for Carpinteria since Highway 101 was constructed over 50 years ago.

“If we’re using 2007 numbers, we need to go back and see how the world’s changed since 2007,” said Reddington.

The $75 million project, which is now fully funded and planned for construction between 2015 and 2018, is intended to improve traffic flow through Carpinteria. Its main elements include the replacement of the Linden Avenue and Casitas Pass Road highway overcrossings, reconfiguration of the northbound on and off ramps at Casitas Pass Road and the extension of Via Real to Casitas Pass Road and Linden Avenue.

Though the project will have extensive impacts on the city, public ire has focused mainly on the width of the proposed Casitas Pass Road overcrossing. Currently two lanes, the new bridge is designed to include five traffic lanes as well as a bike lane and sidewalk on each side. The widening is meant to alleviate peak traffic congestion, but whether five lanes are necessary to accomplish that goal has been called into question.

“I think there’s a lot of sentiment out there that five lanes is incompatible with our small town,” said Mayor Al Clark. He noted that four lanes seem to be acceptable to most of the plan’s critics.

Clark asked that the basis for the bridge design, and the rest of the project’s scope, be reexamined. The assumptions for future traffic, he said, could be significantly different today than they were just a handful of years ago. Expectations for significant development in and around Carpinteria have not come to be. Job growth, Clark went on, is much lower today than anticipated.

The mayor went on to question the impact of the accepted assumption that a much greater proportion of Santa Barbara’s workforce will come from Ventura in the future. Retiring Santa Barbara workers are expected to be replaced with Ventura County residents, due to the lower cost of housing across the county line. Clark reasoned that if that assumption holds true, the freeway would be impacted but not local roads. With Carpinterians retiring from the Santa Barbara workforce, local traffic may actually ease up, Clark said.

Measure A funds toward mass transit also received the attention of Clark and Reddington. Both members of the council said they hope the commuter rail project that is currently planned will take many cars off the roads and decrease the need for local interchanges and roadways to be altered as dramatically as the plans now on the drawing table.

In support of Mary Pat O’Connor, the one speaker who chimed in during public comment, Reddington noted that the “cloverleaf” design proposed for the Casitas Pass Road on and off ramps was too “grandiose” for Carpinteria and would have too great an impact on the environment.

The interchange project had undergone several rounds of scrutiny prior to the June 25 meeting. Caltrans originally prepared 17 alternative plans then narrowed the possibilities down to four before selecting the current plan in 2009.

An Environmental Impact Report for the project has been approved, but the City of Carpinteria will have its voice heard before plans are finalized. Caltrans must receive a Conditional Use Permit and a Coastal Development Permit through the city. Additionally, Carpinteria’s Local Coastal Plan must be amended and approved by the California Coastal Commission before the project can proceed.

A Design Review Team appointed by the City Council is meeting to examine the project and will present its recommendations at an upcoming council meeting. The council’s formal review of the project will then begin.

By Sara Monge

The City of Carpinteria’s single-use bag ban was re-written to allow plastic bags in restaurants after the City Council voted 4-0 (Councilman Joe Armendariz absent) to settle a lawsuit that had been brought against it by Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, a group sponsored by the plastic bag industry. The lawsuit stemmed from the council’s decision to ban most disposable bags from being distributed at city businesses last March, an ordinance the bag coalition contended overreached the authority of a municipal government since restaurant food containers were already regulated by state Health and Safety Code.

While the city disagreed with the claims of the coalition, city staff stated that settling would avoid a costly court battle. City attorney Peter Brown had tried to have the court dismiss the lawsuit by arguing that retail food code did not regulate take-out bags, but in May Judge Thomas Anderle ruled that the lawsuit merited its day in court. Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington said, “It’s a shame Save the Plastic Bag Coalition has so much clout.”

Carpinteria City Manager Dave Durflinger explained that the city settled by permitting restaurants to use paper or plastic bags, and in return, the Plastic Bag Coalition will drop the suit. Another change to the ordinance is that food counters and delicatessens within large grocery stores will be treated as restaurants and allowed to use whichever type of bag they choose. The settlement also dictated that the city will cover $11,520 in legal expenses for the coalition.

The council also delayed implementation of the bag ban from July 2012 until October 2012 to allow the city to update the informational pamphlets it will send businesses explaining the ordinance. Reddington voiced hope that the ordinance would be implemented more quickly; however, Durflinger worried that the change might confuse vendors and said city staff would need more time for its outreach to allow for a smooth transition. Small businesses of fewer than 3,000 square feet will now have until April 2013 before they must adhere to the ordinance.

Mayor Al Clark asked Deputy City Attorney Beth Collins-Burgard if the city could return to its original ordinance “if the litigation climate were to change.” Collins-Burgard explained that Carpinteria is only one of two cities facing this type of litigation, and that it would take at least a year for the other lawsuit to reach an appeals court—if it even gets that far. She added that the council can always change the ordinance to reflect the original but that the settlement agreement is such that if the city changes the ordinance, the Save the Plastic Bag Coalition will file another suit. The City Council will vote on the final ordinance changes at its July 9 meeting.

In other news, the city will be looking to partner with a local church or other agency in an effort to set up a warming center for Carpinteria’s homeless during times of inclement weather. Maria Long, Coordinator for the Santa Barbara County Warming Centers, explained that the warming centers which currently operate in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Isla Vista are targeted to “help and save lives of the unsheltered homeless.” The non-profit estimates startup costs for a shelter in Carpinteria at around $22,000. Since the city is currently strapped for money itself, the council voted unanimously (Armendariz absent) to allow the mayor to sign letters pursuing a partnership which could lead to the establishment of a warming center at a church.

Long explained that warming centers have a host site, such as a church or community center, which allows their doors to be open from 6pm to 6am for nights with severe rain or when the temperatures dip below 35. A volunteer hospitality group is responsible to set up and clean up the site and groups like Doctors without Walls will often come in to administer check-ups. She explained that the numbers of homeless are growing: 2,858 people were served last year, marking a 65 percent increase over the previous year.

Reddington explained that while the $22,000 was too steep for the city, she hoped something could be done to help people in Carpinteria. While there was some dispute about whether there were 14 or 40 homeless in Carpinteria, Reddington stated, “everyone deserves a safe place to sleep that is warm.” Clark threw in cautious support saying he would like to “investigate further” to see what could be done.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, July 9, at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Traffic on Highway 101 came to a screeching halt on the afternoon of June 15 in response to a five-car pileup that occurred at the Santa Monica Road offramp. Despite the severe damage done to several vehicles—one car ended up underneath two others—only one person involved was seriously injured. A total of four victims were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. “Miraculously everyone was able to extract themselves from their vehicles before first responders arrived,” stated Carpinteria-Summerland Fire District Chief Mike Mingee. Local tow trucks, California Highway Patrol and Caltrans were on scene for nearly two hours after the collision, which caused traffic to back up into Ventura County and as far north as Goleta.

By Peter Dugré

At a June 14 joint meeting between the City of Carpinteria Planning Commission and Council, city leaders voted to leverage their permitting authority over the Caltrans freeway-widening project into acquiring funding for pedestrian and bike paths that would connect the city to Santa Claus Lane and Rincon County Park. In a 3-1 vote, councilmember Kathleen Reddington dissenting and Joe Armendariz absent, the council authorized city staff to send a letter to Caltrans asking that the paths be included in the South Coast 101 HOV Lanes project as a way to balance the project’s impacts on the city’s coastal resources with increased coastal access routes.

The approved city letter to Caltrans focuses on the proposed freeway widening project’s impacts on wetlands. As evaluated in the Draft Environmental Impact Report, the project adds a third lane to Highway 101 northbound and southbound to be used as a carpool lane during peak hours over an 11-mile stretch between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara. Widening the freeway from four to six lanes eliminates current shoulder areas that qualify as wetlands. Scott Eades, project manager for Caltrans, commented that the areas considered wetlands are a product of freeway drainage and became wetlands only after stormwater runoff from the freeway pooled there.

In order to attain permitting for the project, the city must modify its Local Coastal Plan, and the California Coastal Commission has purview over the city’s LCP. To that end, city staff recommend that Caltrans compensate for the wetland losses by creating more wetlands than it will pave over. Some wetlands can be created along the freeway corridor, and Carpinteria Development Director Jackie Campbell said there are also opportunities to create wetlands in Carpinteria Salt Marsh Nature Park.

In addition to amendments to the LCP, the city’s letter informs Caltrans that it must acquire a Conditional Use Permit from the city, and in order for the city to issue the permit, Caltrans must satisfy the city’s wish of connecting Santa Claus Lane and Rincon Beach to the city with pedestrian paths. Projects increasing coastal trails have long been on the city’s wish list.

In presentations at the meeting, Eades and Gregg Hart, public information coordinator with Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, briefed city representatives on the proposed project, which in preliminary timelines could break ground in 2016 and be under construction until at least 2027 depending on how much of the estimated $425 million in project costs can be funded.

Hart explained the need for the project as a solution to growing traffic gridlock in the area and said that if nothing is done the 101 will be jammed around the clock by 2040. “It’s kind of a daunting thing looking ahead if we don’t do anything,” Hart said. Freeway widening is one part of the 101 in Motion project undertaken by SBCAG, which also includes exploring commuter rail and alternative transportation options.

Eades presented a slideshow of before and after images of the freeway widening project depicting options of whether to achieve freeway widening through expanding to the outside of the current roadway or into the median. The options of how to widen the freeway vary in median width and how much wetlands will be impacted on the edges of the roadway. The proposed options for adding lanes are either to build strictly in the middle, strictly on the outside or a combination of both depending on the specific stretch of freeway.

Reddington opposed the city’s letter commenting on the Draft EIR because in her opinion it did not place enough emphasis on alternative transportation nor did it ask that agencies be held to a definitive plan for developing a commuter rail between Ventura and Goleta.

In his presentation, Hart commented that implicit in the need for freeway traffic relief is the growing number of employees at Santa Barbara South Coast companies who commute from Ventura to work. SBCAG studies commissioned through 101 in Motion show that commuters from Ventura have grown in number and will continue to grow due to home prices in Ventura County averaging about half of similar homes on the South Coast of Santa Barbara County.

Reddington took issue with this assessment, asking whether money spent on a carpool lane could not be better spent on affordable housing. Reddington could not build support for her perspective among local representatives and was asked by Mayor Al Clark to keep her comments brief and more pertinent to the planning document being addressed. Taking offense to being asked to wrap up her comments, Reddington stated that she was being disrespected. She asked Hart to reiterate portions of his presentation on the potential for a commuter rail system that she missed because she arrived 30 minutes late for the meeting, and Clark told her that everyone else in the room had already heard the presentation.

Carpinteria residents who will be impacted by the installation of sound walls will be asked to vote on whether to allow Caltrans to install walls specific to their areas. Ballots will be mailed to affected residences in the near future.

The DEIR can be viewed at Carpinteria Library or online through the City of Carpinteria website. Comments on the project’s environmental impacts and mitigations will be accepted through July 9 by email at South.Coast.101.HOV@dot.ca.gov or postal mail at: Matt Fowler/ Environmental Analysis/California Department of Transportation/ 50 Higuera Street/ San Luis Obisp, CA 93401.

By Lea Boyd

Though the ink is hardly dry on the primary election ballots, talk around town has already found its way to the November election and who will make a run for the two Carpinteria City Council seats up for grabs. Incumbent Kathleen Reddington told Coastal View News that she will throw her hat into the race, and two newcomers, Fred Shaw and Tom Perry, have already pulled papers to begin the official candidacy process through city hall.

Councilman Joe Armendariz, whose second term ends this year, declared months ago that he would not seek a third term. Armendariz did not return phone calls to confirm that he will keep his name off the upcoming ballot but has indicated at recent council meetings that the current term would be his last.

Past council hopeful Steve McWhirter remains undecided for this year’s race. McWhirter was edged out by Reddington and Armendariz in 2008 and by Gregg Carty, Al Clark and Brad Stein in 2010.

Reddington, who will seek a second term, declined to comment beyond the statement, “I’m looking forward to representing the community for another four years.”

Hoping to join like-minded councilmen Carty, Clark and Stein on the dais, Shaw pulled papers weeks ago and has already gathered a support team that includes veteran campaigners Harry and Patty Manuras, Jane Benefield and Shaw’s wife, Lisa Guravitz.

Shaw, a local resident of 14 years, has been on steering committees for Sealwatch and the Carpinteria HOST program and serves on the local Rent Control Stabilization Board. He considered running for a council seat in 2010 but felt that several candidates in the race represented a point of view similar to his own. He recently decided that, “Now is the time to step it up. I like where we live and I want to keep it that way.”

Shaw said that if elected he would keep an open mind on all issues before the council, but emphasized that he is committed to a “smart growth” approach that preserves open space and protects existing agricultural land from development.

The second candidate to pull papers, Perry, recently became active in local issues when he was appointed an alternate on the Design Review Team for the Caltrans project to improve traffic flow through Carpinteria. Perry vehemently opposes the current project design and believes that the proposed Casitas Pass bridge is far wider than necessary.

A resident of Carpinteria since 1972, Perry said that he decided to run for a seat on the council in order to start giving back to the community. He owned a local printing business for 14 years and believes that this experience would help him to act quickly and knowledgeably on the council.

The official nomination period for the city council opens on July 16. At that point, council hopefuls can begin collecting the 20 to 30 signatures of support that are required for candidacy. The Aug. 10 deadline to submit signatures will be extended to Aug. 15 if any of the incumbents do not file. Since Armendariz is unlikely to file, the extended deadline should apply.

Suicide is a tragic, desperate act, and one that a newly formed group, HopeNet of Carpinteria, is now working to prevent among local residents. Spurred into action by the recent suicide of a mutual friend, members of HopeNet have made it their mission to lessen the number of attempted or completed suicides in the community through information, support and advocacy.

The need for a group like HopeNet seems to be growing. Carpinteria Chief of Police Lt. Kelly Moore has noticed a possible trend in increased suicide attempts over the past few months. “It seems like I’m seeing more of them,” he said, “which is a big concern.”

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department does not record suicide attempts specifically; therefore, compiling the precise number of attempts is not possible with the department’s resources, Moore said. However, he noted that in the first week of June two successful suicides had taken place between Montecito and Carpinteria. He added that for every successful suicide there are often many failed attempts.

The Carpinterians behind HopeNet are committed to taking action to prevent suicide statistics from growing. In May, they met with experts in the field to determine how to proceed. With the input from a leading researcher on suicide, a psychologist and representatives from Santa Barbara County Mental Health, the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal’s office and the City of Carpinteria, the group decided to host an educational forum and have suicide prevention cards printed.

The forum is scheduled for Thursday, June 21 at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at Carpinteria City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave. The event will focus on the warning signs for those at risk, how to help and what resources are available. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.

Suicide warning signs:
• Talking about wanting to die or kill one’s self
• Expressing feelings of hopelessness and helplessness
• Discussing feelings of failure/shame/self-hatred
• Showing irritability/agitation/anxiousness
• Expressing concerns about being a burden to others
• Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain
• Withdrawing or isolating from friends and family
• Changes in behavior/risky behavior/alcohol and drug abuse/poor school or work performance
• Eating and/or sleeping too little or too much
• Extreme mood swings
• Giving away possessions
• Looking for a way to kill oneself

How to help:
• Listen without judgment or criticism
• Let them know you care
• Let them know that suicidal feelings are temporary
• Take all threats seriously
• Assist them in getting professional help
• Inform family members and friends
• Ask directly about their suicidal thoughts
• Never agree to keep their suicidal thoughts to yourself
• Remove access to means of suicide

Who to call:
• Emergency: 911
• ACCESS/CARES (for adults):
(888) 868-1649
• SAFTY (for youths): (888) 334-2777
• 24/7 National Suicide Hotline:
(800) 273-TALK (8255)

By Erin Lennon

The June 15 deadline for the California State Budget is coming up quickly, but questions still remain as to how decisions in Sacramento will play out in Carpinteria Unified School District. At the June 12 CUSD Board of Education meeting, board members tried to plan for flexibility in school district spending with what limited information they had.

“We might have a (state) budget by the end of the week,” said CUSD Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott. “State law requires that our legislators pass a budget by June 15 or they will not be paid … we don’t know quite what’s in (the budget)…”

However, Abbott received an email on June 11 from (SF)2, a coalition of California basic aid school districts—those districts whose local property taxes equal or exceed the district’s revenue limit—that showed what wouldn’t be in the budget. The Budget Assembly Committee’s report on the California State Budget didn’t contain the governor’s proposal for replacing the current funding model with the Weighted Student Funding formula. Schools will continue receiving funding the way they do under current law.

“So, it looks like everybody’s backing off from including (WSF) in the state budget,” reported Abbott. “So, that’s really good news for us.” Incorporating the WSF model at the state level, which would increase funding for disadvantaged and urban schools while decreasing funding to rural and smaller districts, would have cost CUSD $2.6 million in state funding. Though the model is unlikely to appear in the state budget, Abbott is unsure if WSF will be brought up as separate legislation or proposed in the future.

The Carpinteria High School Agricultural Sciences program was not an agenda topic at the June 12 meeting, but members of the public addressed the issue of the second ag department teaching position, a position that was slated to become a victim of budget cuts. June Van Wingerden and Sandy Weil, president of the Carpinteria chapter of California Women for Agriculture, both discussed raising community funds to share the position’s $65,000 price tag with CUSD. The position had been cut on the board’s journey to saving $500,000 for next school year.

“I have $12,000 in (private) pledges already, and I’ve only been at this like a week and a half,” said Van Wingerden. “But we need a commitment from the school board so I’m not just out there on my own,” she continued.

Without the topic on the agenda, no decisions about when funds should be raised and how much the community would need to contribute could be made. The issue will be added to a future meeting agenda.

To promote spending flexibility, the board approved moving three professional development days and one teacher workday from early in the year to June 2013. “The idea was not to spend the money (on these days) at the front of the year but to put it at the end of the year so that if we needed to we could come back to the bargaining table,” said Banks. The shift would give CUSD and the school employees’ union, CAUSE, flexibility in negotiating furlough days to save the district optimal funds.

The board voted to cancel a teacher workday scheduled for Oct. 8 and have the school year end on Friday, June 7. The furlough days would be pushed back to June 10 through 13.

“I just want to make sure it’s clear that these aren’t furlough days that affect students’ school days,” said boardmember Lou Panizzon. “Students are still going to school 180 days.”

“Our budget for next year and the coming years is really not resolved, and we are facing an uphill battle,” said board President Andy Sheaffer. “Next year’s going to be tough … and we’re going to have to make some really tough decisions.”

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 26, at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Bed tax measure headed for ballot
By Peter Dugré

A unanimous Carpinteria City Council voted on June 11 to adopt a budget for 2012-2013 that balances a $12.6 million total operating fund with $278,000 in reserve spending and the elimination of office hours at the Carpinteria station of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. In other business at the meeting, the council conducted procedural votes in preparation for the November election that will consolidate city matters, including a measure to raise the hotel bed tax from 10 to 12 percent, on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Although the budget received unanimous support, Councilmember Joe Armendariz commented that his support came begrudgingly and was partially attributed to him wanting to join the consensus on his final budget decision before the end of his term. Armendariz said he was reluctant to support the budget due to his concern over the downward trend in law enforcement service levels outlined in the budget.

The sheriff’s contract remains the largest single expenditure in the city’s $7.9 million general fund and is projected to consume 42 percent or $3.3 million of the city’s discretionary spending for next fiscal year. To maintain service levels, the sheriff’s contract was scheduled to increase by nearly $500,000, so the city worked to reduce the increase by $260,000 by shuttering the administrative side of the Carpinteria sheriff’s station. Patrol and public outreach officers will remain staffed at current levels, but no receptionists will be available at the local station to interface with the public starting July 1. Administrative services will continue to be provided through headquarters in Santa Barbara.

Reserve spending written into the budget marks the fourth consecutive year that the city will run in the red. Over that time, $1.2 million in reserves have been spent, leaving the city’s reserve balance at $6.7 million. City Manager Dave Durflinger commented that revenues have not kept up with costs over the years but “eventually, hopefully, we’ll right the ship and have revenues exceeding expenditures.”

Other than at the sheriff’s office, the city made no major cuts in services for next year.

The area that city council members hope to see tax receipts grow is in the Transient Occupancy Tax paid by hotel guests spending fewer than 30 days in Carpinteria. In a 4-1 vote (Armendariz dissenting), the council finalized its previous decision to ask voters to approve a TOT increase from 10 percent to 12 percent. The 2 percent bump could generate $250,000 annually for the general fund if approved by a majority of voters in November.

Armendariz said he would rather support a TOT increase that specified the added revenues be spent on promotion of Carpinteria’s tourism industry. He argued that spending the money on luring more tourists to Carpinteria would improve the local economy and eventually lead to greater tax revenues through more tourist dollars flowing through the city. “If we direct a sizable chunk (of tax dollars) into the dynamic sectors of our economy ... the pie gets bigger, and the revenue goes up,” Armendariz commented.

Since the council voted to place the TOT increase on the ballot as a general tax, only a simple voter majority is needed to pass the measure. If the tax increase question is posed to voters as a way to fund a specific project or program, then a supermajority of over two-thirds would be needed to pass the measure. Armendariz said he preferred earmarking the money and needing the supermajority in the election process.

Mayor Al Clark commented that increasing general fund revenues will help pay for city services that maintain the city, and in turn, make Carpinteria a more attractive place for tourism. Councilmember Gregg Carty said, “The best thing I like about this tax is that it’ll stay local.”

The city council will meet in a joint session with the planning commission on Thursday, June 14, at 4 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Discussion veers toward ag teacher reinstatement options

By Peter Dugré

A budget study session held on May 30 gathered Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board members and administrators so the decision makers could continue to remove the budgetary band aid in agonizing fashion. At this budget study session, another installment of several brainstorming meetings that have spanned the springtime in an attempt to find the least painful ways to slim down the school district’s expenditures to meet state funding cuts, board members heard Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott explain Governor Jerry Brown’s May Revision, an update of the governor’s budget proposal that adjusted the state’s anticipated deficit up from $9.2 to $15.7 billion for fiscal year 2012-2013.

Although budget news from the state got worse, interested parties are attempting to restore a teaching position in the Carpinteria High School Agricultural Science Department. The CHS Ag Department is slated to lose one of its two teachers next school year, and local farmers, students and teachers have rallied around the program, urging school board members to maintain the two-teacher staff and spare an award-winning department from budget cuts. A proposal to share funding for the $65,000 teaching position between the school and private fundraising was floated at the meeting, but no decision has been made. The teaching position was one of 5.3 full time equivalent positions to be laid off to achieve part of the targeted $500,000 savings for next school year. Funding for athletics and the CHS organic farm is also on the chopping block.

No budget decisions have been rendered final as of yet, but days are dwindling as the June 30 statutory deadline to submit a final budget looms. The school district operates on an estimated $17.5 million annual budget. If tax initiatives in the November General Election are not passed, an additional $968,000 in “trigger cuts” will be eliminated from the district’s budget.

Complicating matters, Governor Brown’s Revision contains a proposal for a new funding model that would completely alter how public schools receive state money known as Weighted Student Funding. According to Abbott, “There are winners and losers” in the WSF model, and Carpinteria could be a loser to the tune of $2.6 million. Urban schools with greater numbers of disadvantaged students would see funding increased if the WSF model is approved by the governor and state legislature as part of the budget, but rural and smaller districts would see a drop in state funding. Massive adjustments would have to be made if CUSD lost that funding, and CUSD board members and administrators suffering from sticker shock have sent letters to local legislators urging them to vote down the governor’s proposed funding model.

Abbott said that it is concerning that the legislature would take up the funding model decision as part of the budget process. Altering the way schools receive funding from the state should receive greater attention than would be afforded to the decision if rolled into the budget process. Impacts to schools, including Carpinteria, could be devastating, Abbott said.

Discussion on the reinstatement of an ag teacher led to consideration of splitting funding for the position. The school district, private fundraising and a union concession could account for the nearly $65,000 in salary and benefits for the teaching position. The union would have to agree to eliminate a contractual teacher work day—a day spent working on lesson plans, preparing classrooms and professional development. Abbott said the concession would save the district approximately $55,000 for one day in payroll costs.

Another area where the school district’s budget will feel a pinch is in rising healthcare premiums. According to Abbott’s report, healthcare premiums are rising by over 10 percent next school year, and the district had planned on an 8 percent rise in healthcare plans. The most popular plan in the district will cost nearly $15,000 per teacher after the increase, which in total is calculated to be nearly $250,000.

The next regular school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 12, at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Lea Boyd

The Carpinteria Valley Water District Board of Directors, often criticized for the district’s high water rates, gave preliminary support to a budget without any rate increase for the first time in at least seven years at its May 30 meeting. A complete lack of public fanfare made this meeting no less monumental.

The annual rate and budget hearing typically draws outraged customers who speak out against yet another rise in their water bills. But this year, thanks to some good luck and trimming of district fat, water charges will remain stable. Not one member of the public took the podium to chastise the district for not hearing customer pleas.

“There is no one from the public here. I think the word got out that there were not going to be any rate increases. I think the public’s really happy about that and rightfully so,” said board President June Van Wingerden.

Good luck struck the budget in the form of a billing error on the part of the Department of Water Resources for state water costs. Having been overcharged in the past, the water district will receive a one-time credit of $180,000 for 2012-2013.

The district will also save significant funds thanks to concessions made by employees. Staff members will pay into their pension plans and contribute to health care costs beginning in the next fiscal year. Van Wingerden pointed out that cutting costs was necessary to maintain a flat budget because district expenses, such as health care costs, continue to rise.

The $10.6 million budget includes significant increases to specific district costs, but these have been offset by reductions to other expenditures. Charges for the Cachuma Operations and Maintenance Board will increase by $59,300. The cost of district utilities is expected to rise by $62,900 due to increased power costs for groundwater pumping; however, more groundwater production should lead to an overall reduction in expenditures. Anticipated savings include $68,650 for water purchases and $50,009 for water treatment.

Water district customers received a notice in April indicating that rates could climb in 2012-2013 by as much as 1.8 percent. Even this worst-case scenario increase drew only seven written protests. Per Prop 218, if the district had received protests from more than half its customers, which amounts to 2,647, any proposed increase would have been halted. In years past, the district’s rate increases have drawn hundreds of protests.

In her presentation on the budget, district Assistant General Manager Norma Rosales compared local water rates to those of nearby agencies. CVWD residents in the lowest tier of water use pay $3 per unit of water, while those in Montecito pay $3.90 and those in Goleta pay $4.30. The local rate for irrigation is $1.70 per unit, while Montecito customers pay $1.76 and Goletans pay $1.16.

Board Member Matt Roberts suggested the board consider doing away with or increasing the threshold for the highest tier of water users. As a tool to encourage water conservation, customers who qualify for the highest tier by using excessive water pay the highest rate per unit. Roberts argued that the expensive rate may be discouraging customers from using water to the detriment of the district. Water sales have been low in the past few years, and the district has regularly enjoyed surplus water. By removing the high-priced tier or increasing the amount of water use that triggers top tier status, Roberts suggested that the district may benefit financially.

Final approval of the 2012-2013 budget will take place on Wednesday, June 13, at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria City Hall, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Erin Lennon

Carpinteria City Council members were in sync at their May 29 meeting as the four-person council (Vice Mayor Brad Stein absent) unanimously passed six resolutions, accepted the city’s 2011 Annual Report, authorized Mayor Al Clark to sign agreements with three engineering firms for four public projects and provided final acceptance of grading and drainage improvements at the Mission Terrace Development.

The council, with Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington absent for public hearings, passed, 3-0, four resolutions ensuring Carpinteria’s property owners and businesses see familiar street light maintenance, right-of-way improvements, the city beach berm and parking and business district enhancements extend into fiscal year 2012-2013. Assessments—charges levied for local public improvements or services—will also stay stable.

With the council’s support, most Carpinteria homeowners can expect their annual assessment for lighting, landscaping and right-of-way improvements to stay between $34 and $50. Businesses will see a $2 inflation-driven increase in their Parking and Business Improvement Area assessment, a fee that funds promotions, maintenance and revitalization efforts.

The board also extended the charge that funds the city-constructed winter sand berm meant to provide a “measure of protection to the housing front on Carpinteria City Beach,” as stated in the resolution. Councilman Gregg Carty interrupted the meeting’s quick flow with an inquiry concerning city liability for damage caused despite the berm. “Storms are storms,” responded City Manager David Durflinger. “This provides a measure of protection, but it’s not a guarantee of protection.”

City Council procedures will see change as the board unanimously voted to adopt Rosenberg’s Rules of Order, which are more informal than the currently used Robert’s Rules of Order. “For efficiency, accessibility and understandability, most cities follow an informal procedure,” said Durflinger.

An even more visible change was born as the council unanimously approved, 4-0, a resolution allowing Caltrans to proceed with its purchase of local property necessary for the Linden Avenue and Casitas Pass Road Interchange Project. This is one of four phases in improvements to the U.S. 101 corridor on the south Santa Barbara coast, according to Public Works Director Charles Ebeling. Caltrans, Carpinteria and the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments will partner to extend and connect the freeway frontage road, Via Real, to Casitas Pass Road and Linden Avenue, replacing aged bridges, improving freeway circulation by removing local trips as well as improving local bicycle and pedestrian safety.

“How can they buy property for a project that hasn’t been approved yet?” asked Mayor Al Clark. All property, a total of 28 parcels, must be purchased before the project can continue, according Ebeling.

Carpinteria’s 2011 Annual Report was also accepted at the May 29 meeting, allowing Community Development Director Jackie Campbell to submit the report to the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, which oversees implementation of the city’s General Plan and timely completion of city improvements. The document highlights the city’s progress and implementation of the general plan’s goals, policies and objectives. The 2011 report highlights the city’s construction projects, use of energy efficient lighting, environmental conservation efforts, funding and programming of affordable housing, various nature paths, freeway work with Caltrans and the single-use bag ordinance among others.

Mayor Clark was unanimously given the authority to sign agreements with professional engineering services regarding the Carpinteria Avenue/Santa Ynez Avenue Intersection Improvement Project, the Calle Ocho/ Concha Loma Drive Intersection Improvements Project, the 9th Street Pedestrian Bridge Rehabilitation Project and the Bicycle Master Plan.

An email received “at the 11th hour,” according to Clark, raised concern about the 9th Street pedestrian bridge. A resident requested that the council not replace the 9th Street bridge because of various safety concerns and possible property value loss and privacy infringement, as paraphrased by Clark. However, the bridge is being rehabilitated, not rebuilt. “We have received a $150,000 grant for this project through the Measure A program … because it was seen as an important neighborhood connector,” said Ebeling.

The next regular city council meeting will be held on Monday, June 11, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Erin Lennon

Following a subpar rainy season, the Santa Barbara South Coast Regional Reuse Study, which is looking at the feasibility of developing recycled water between Goleta and Carpinteria, is all the more current.

On May 24 the Carpinteria Sanitary District building was buzzing with possible reclaimed water reuse projects in Goleta, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria when members of the study’s planning workgroup converged to discuss the possibility of someday irrigating crops and watering fields with recycled water from the sanitary system.

The product of a $100,000 Proposition 84 planning grant from the California Department of Water Resources, the study works in conjunction with the larger Santa Barbara County Integrated Regional Water Management Program. This program mimics the state’s IRWM program by focusing on integrating water management as a collaborative effort to conserve water resources. The current study illustrates the potential for supplying recycled water to customers of southern Santa Barbara County water districts. The Carpinteria Valley Water District and Sanitary District aren’t planning any recycled water use in the near future but want to ensure the option is investigated.

“What we’ve seen in the past, economically, it’s not feasible,” said Bob McDonald, Carpinteria Valley Water District engineer. Sanitary District Manager Craig Murray later echoed that perspective. “We’re using the study to essentially wrap our arms around the potential for using recycled water in Carpineria,” said Murray.

RMC Water and Environment, a California-based environmental engineering company, which is consulting with participating cities, used land use and water use data to present recycled water reuse opportunities at the meeting, letting participating agencies decide on the feasibility of expanding or implementing the use of recycled water.

Participants agree that reclaimed water is a reliable and drought-proof supply for the Santa Barbara County South Coast, but cost, infrastructure and public perception present formidable barriers to expansion and implementation.

“You obviously can’t allocate more recycled water than you have on an average daily basis,” said RMC’s Scott Lynch. The Carpinteria Waste Water Treatment Plant sends on average 1.4 million gallons per day through secondary treatment. RMC mapped out a plan in which the Carpinteria wastewater plant could “easily max out its supplies,” according to Lynch, once a tertiary system is built. The projection pinpointed larger demands that were closer to the treatment plant, evading the many agricultural sites in west Carpinteria bordered by the foothills and the freeway.

Without tertiary treatment, Carpinteria and Montecito cannot use their treated waste water for any Title 22 authorized uses, making irrigation of crops, parks, playgrounds, school yards, varied landscaping, orchards, vineyards and many other sites beyond capability. To go forward, tertiary treatment would need to be implemented, costing between $5 and $10 million, according to Murray. Distribution piping would be another substantial cost.

Some attendees voiced concern over the short term-focus of the study and water quality, including contaminants of emerging concern such as antibiotic resistant bacteria. The proposed uses of recycled water are indirect irrigation rather than consumption. CECs do not need monitoring under this use, according to RMC. The amount of recycled water and, thus possible contaminates, getting into the basin would be negligible, according to Lynch.

As a heavily agricultural community, Carpinteria growers, with their varied crops, need varied levels of water quality. “If agencies feel they need a higher level of standard than the state (requires) we’ll (add that to the report),” said Lynch.

With Carpinteria’s mix of private well use, public service and steady water supply, the argument for recycled water gets weaker than in other areas. Carpinteria water representatives, as well as Lynch, agreed there would have to be some drastic drivers to push recycled water use beyond study.

“A farmer can produce an acre foot of water for about $80,” said McDonald. “We can’t possibly treat, build the infrastructure and deliver water at that cost.”

The workgroup will meet again on Thursday, June 21, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at a site yet to be determined. Participants will discuss project opportunities and assess conveyance and treatment needs for identified opportunities while refining costs, needs and alternatives.

Advancing further into playoffs than any Carpinteria High School
softball team before it, Warrior softball won 7-3 in the CIF Division
6 quarterfinals over Yucca Valley at CHS on May 24. The Warriors fell behind twice early in the contest by scores of 1-0 and 2-1 but came back for good in the third inning after a two-run home run by Catalina Maldonado gave the Warriors a 3-2 advantage. Maldonado also pitched the complete game against a potent Yucca Valley lineup that was limited by a solid Warrior defensive effort. Tatiana Verdugo recorded three hits for the Warriors, who opened up a four-run lead in a three-run sixth inning to forge ahead 7-3. The Warriors will play in the semifinals on the road on Tuesday. Visit coastalview.com for a game location and time.

As part of its “Memorial Day Weekend Holiday DUI Crackdown” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department has announced that it will hold a DUI/drivers license checkpoint in Carpinteria on Friday, May 25, from 7 p.m. until 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location. In past years, DUI checkpoints in Carpinteria have been staged near Carpinteria Middle School on Carpinteria Avenue. “The summer months traditionally see a rise in DUI deaths and injuries,” stated Chris Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety in a press release. The sheriff’s department is one of 12 law enforcement agencies in the county that will be on high alert over the weekend and throughout the summer as part of the federally and state funded Avoid the 12 Campaign. Drivers are urged to call 9-1-1 to report suspected drunk drivers, and anyone who consumes alcohol is encouraged to designate a sober driver.

By Peter Dugré

At a May 16 board of directors meeting, Carpinteria Valley Water District Assistant General Manager Norma Rosales ventured to say that rates will “likely” remain the same next year. The announcement followed initial reports indicating that budget constraints could necessitate an up to 2 percent rate increase for some water customers, and Rosales attributed the downward adjustment for projected rates in the 2012-2013 budget to a clearer determination of next year’s costs as new information becomes available. Statutory deadlines for announcing rate increases force budget projections to be created using “worst-case scenarios,” according to Rosales, and although she stopped short of guaranteeing rates will stay the same, she said “it’s very likely” but “not definitely” that a new rate presentation at the May 30 meeting will show a balanced budget without a rate hike.

“Since the last presentation, staff has worked very diligently to propose a budget that requires no rate increases,” Rosales said. A final budget will not be adopted until June 13.

In a separate development, revenue could be generated by the sale of excess Lake Cachuma water to neighboring water districts that also use supplies from Cachuma. Santa Barbara, Goleta and Montecito are all considering purchasing portions of the 1,200 acre-feet of excess Carpinteria water for $150 per acre-foot. The excess water is available because Carpinteria has groundwater supplies and an improved infrastructure to access its groundwater, thus reducing the need for Cachuma water, commented CVWD staff. The sale price of $150 is a $50 profit over the $100 that CVWD paid for the water, and according to General Manager Charles Hamilton, the selling of the available water is all but done, pending CVWD approval.

In other news, CVWD agreed to a new contract with the workers union representing its employees and was able to achieve concessions that will save money for the district. Starting next year, employees will pay 1 percent toward their pensions and the contribution will increase by 2 percent per year until employees pay the full contribution of 7 percent in 2015, the final year of the contract. Employee contribution to health care will also increase.

Of the collective bargaining agreement, CVWD Board President June Van Wingerden said, “I want to congratulate them and us. This went very smoothly this year. It was one of the easiest negotiations we’ve had.” The contract announcement was made after a mid-meeting closed session, and no information was given about overall savings that might be generated over time as a result of the new contract.

Additionally, the board voted to issue reimbursements to 48 customers who were overcharged due to a glitch that stemmed from CVWD changing its billing software in 2008. Some customers will be reimbursed as much as $685, and a total of about $16,000 will be given to the 48 customers who have been identified as having been over billed. When software was changed, the overcharged customers’ rates were increased by default to higher tier rates that improperly reflected actual water usage.

The next CVWD Board of Directors meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 30, at 5:30 p.m. in Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Erin Lennon

In middle school, freedom comes on a bike seat, and Pedal Power, a cycling education course, will graduate its first Carpinteria class on Friday, May 25 at Carpinteria Middle School with the know-how and skills to taste that freedom safely.

Pedal Power is a driver’s education-type course for bicycling, and is offered quarterly through the do-it-yourself bicycle repair shop and education center, BiCi Centro—a project of the countywide advocacy and resource organization Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition. This first Carpinteria cycling class for youth 10-years and older began on April 18 at the middle school, but Pedal Power has been teaching youth the ins and outs of bike maintenance, road rules and cycling safety in Santa Barbara and Goleta for three years, according to Pedal Power instructor Diana Blanchard.

Upon completion of the 12, 90-minute sessions, those participants without their own bikes can keep the cycles they were borrowing as well as their helmets, lock and lights. In the case of the Carpinteria class, all six participants will ride away on their refurbished BiCi Centro-donated rides.

The class’s arrival in Carpinteria is indicative of how “(Carpinteria is) becoming a more bicycle-friendly town,” Blanchard said.

Teaching kids the rules of the road and how to stay safe becomes ever more important as cycling becomes their major mode of travel. “They all know how to ride unsafely,” said fellow Carpinteria Pedal Power instructor Chris Sobell. “They’ve gotten much better.”

Each session starts with the ABCs, and Blanchard and Sobell help their students check the air in their tires, the efficacy of their brakes as well as the condition of their cranks and chains to ensure each bike is street safe. A new lesson on road signage, climbing a hill in a controlled fashion, hand signals or other tips is added to each session and then put into practice on a group ride.

The emphasis on safe, knowledgeable riding is not lost on the students, despite their eagerness to coast off of CMS grounds. When asked about his favorite part of the program, each student acknowledged increased understanding. Luis Mosqueda answered that he enjoyed “riding bikes and learning about parts of the bike,” while Neery Hernandez echoed that “learning all of the procedures for the rules of the road” was most helpful to him.

Pedal Power groups are kept to 12 students, and no experience is necessary. The $20 course is valued at $250 and is offered at Carpinteria Middle School, Goleta Valley Junior High, Fesler Junior High in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara Junior High. For more information visit bicicentro.org/youth or call 699-6301.

A friendship that has a foundation that goes as far back into history as The Summer of Love will be celebrated for its milestone 45th anniversary soon. Friends of the Carpinteria Library, an organization that exists solely to support the Carpinteria Branch Library, was founded in 1967, and at an anniversary open house and celebration on Wednesday, May 23, the group will celebrate its four-and-a-half decades of ensuring that literary resources are free for public perusal. The 45th anniversary event is scheduled from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., with an open house at the FOL Used Bookstore, 5103 Carpinteria Ave., and a celebration from 4 to 5:30 p.m.

FOL began on May 23, 1967, when the first executive board met. Original board members President J.B. Popnoe, Vice President Betty Benson, Secretary Dorothy Menagon, Treasurer Karen Risdon and ex-officio member and librarian Lillie Risdon lit the FOL torch that still burns today. Assistant librarian at the time Grace Moyer is still an active member. Annual membership dues were $1 per member.

In its early days, FOL projects included hosting panels of local authors, including Ken Millar, Robert Easton, Dick Smith, Walter Tompkins and Robert Hyde. Annual Sales of donated books helped fund FOL, and in turn, the Carpinteria Branch Library.

The original bylaws state: “The purpose of this organization shall be to establish closer relations between the library and the public, and to promote knowledge of and enlarge its services and resources.”

Anyone who is interested in carrying the torch that burns to continue to shed literary light onto Carpinteria can attend the May 23 celebration.

By Sara Monge

Carpinterians will decide whether or not to raise the Transient Occupancy Tax to 12 percent on the November ballot after the Carpinteria City Council voted 4-1 (Councilman Joe Armendariz dissenting) on May 14 to move forward with a ballot measure in the general election. Along with the council’s decision to seek ways to raise tax revenues, it decided to generate savings by reducing the amount to be spent next year on the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department law enforcement contract with the city. The sheriff’s contract reduction would maintain the number of patrol officers while completely eliminating administrative services, which are to be shifted to the main station in Santa Barbara.

Results from the city’s recently commissioned public opinion survey showed that the public is in favor of raising the TOT, or bed tax, by two percent to raise revenues. The survey included 300 registered voters and predicts that a ballot measure would pass with 62 percent of the vote. However, area hoteliers said they believe that tourists already pay enough for using the city’s amenities and raising the TOT will hurt the industry.

City Manager Dave Durflinger explained the need for more revenue saying that while “the city’s good (fiscal) practices have kept it afloat during the worst recession since the Great Depression,” its current situation is that of a “dripping bucket.” Raising he TOT will generate an estimated $250,000 annually.

Providing an overview of underlying budget problems, Durflinger presented council members with grim news about the city’s stagnating resources. He explained that many city fees are flat and do not keep up with inflation, and this structural deficit is the source of chronic budget issues. Other financial problems arise from the state’s habit of siphoning off city tax monies—over $4 million in the past 20 years. He said that while the city has reduced spending by almost half a million dollars through making budget changes—mainly through pay cuts, service cuts and cuts to law enforcement—these alterations are not enough to balance the budget.

Pat Kistler of the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce urged that if the tax does go through, the city should designate some, if not all of the revenue, to promoting more tourism, which in turn would help businesses and the city. Armendariz said he would only vote to put the measure on the ballot if the whole of the money could be earmarked for the promotion of tourism.

Mayor Al Clark, who attended the meeting via teleconference, said that he believed having a beautiful, clean and safe city is what truly promotes tourism. He reasoned that since tourists use the streets, parks and public bathrooms, they should also help pay for them. Vice Mayor Brad Stein also clarified that if the city were to earmark the funds, a two-thirds majority would be needed to pass the measure. The council will cast a final vote once it sees the official ballot preparations at its June 11 meeting.

The survey also showed that the voting public was very positive toward the city’s leadership—including law enforcement—was very happy to be living in the city, and 88 percent reported getting their news about city issues from reading Coastal View News. Surveyors noted that all of these numbers were “unusually high.”

The backdrop of Durflinger’s report on the city, which is bleeding red, framed the council’s 4-1 decision (Armendariz dissenting) to eliminate the entire administrative side of law enforcement services provided in Carpinteria. Defunding three office positions at the local sheriff’s department substation will save around $260,000 but will eliminate the public interface with law enforcement as it currently stands.

Urging the city to not make the cuts, local Bob Franco said, “It’s an invaluable service to be able to talk to someone face-to-face.” Residents will now have to go to Santa Barbara for that service. Armendariz did not support the cuts and said he hoped the council would “revisit the $100K we’re going to spend on litigation with the plastic bag ban.”

The council also formed an Ad Hoc committee, with councilwoman Kathleen Reddington and Councilman Gregg Carty at the helm, to advise the council on the sheriff’s contract in the future.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Carpinterian Manuel Valle will face trial on three rape charges in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Thursday, May 17 in Department 11 before Judge Jean Dandona. Valle, 68, has been accused of forcible rape, forcible sexual penetration by foreign objects, felony false imprisonment by violence or force and sexual battery.

According to Deputy District Attorney Mary Barron, who is prosecuting the case, two victims have accused Valle of the four felonies, one victim of sexual battery and one of the other three offenses. Valle was originally arrested in October 2010, and his case has been routinely delayed while making its way through court proceedings. In an unrelated case, he had previously been convicted of sexually disturbing the peace in 2006 and sentenced to community service and three years of probation. He was later convicted of violating his probation when he contacted a 16-year-old girl on two occasions.

Since Valle’s 2010 arrest, his ex-wife Karen Valle involved herself in the case and was arrested, prosecuted and convicted for two felony counts of attempting to dissuade witnesses. In April, she was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years of probation.

A seal that died from an apparent shark attack was discovered on the beach about 500 feet east of Casitas Pier on April 23 and led to “Swim at your own risk” warning signs being posted at area beaches. A citizen reported the dead seal sighting to the City of Carpinteria on April 25, and according to City of Carpinteria Parks and Recreation Department Director Matt Roberts, the citizen reported that the seal carcass was “fairly fresh” and was not emitting an odor, which led officials to believe the shark attack was recent and warranted warnings.

“Unwritten protocol is if we think it’s something very recent and very local, we will post a couple of notifications at the nearest beach entries,” commented Roberts. Signs were posted at Tar Pits Beach and backside Rincon. Other reports of pinnipeds—seals and sea lions—washing up with shark attack wounds have been reported in the news along the Santa Barbara and Ventura coastlines over the past few weeks. Roberts said the city errs on the side of caution in situations with shark sightings or other evidence of their presence, and also commented that sharks likely feed on pinnipeds regularly; the prey don’t always wash up on shore.

By Peter Dugré

Two interpretations of the Carpinteria Unified School District contract with its teachers were argued in front of an arbitrator late last year, and a ruling issued in March largely favored CUSD’s contention that administrators can evaluate teachers for numerous reasons at any time. Members of CAUSE (Carpinteria Association of Unified School Employees) had disputed this claim, saying that their employment contract limited formal teacher evaluations to every other year for permanent teachers and every five years for permanent teachers who have worked in the district for over 10 years. However, after reviewing California Education Code and the contract, the arbitrator, Walter F. Daugherty, ruled that as long as an administrator can identify a legitimate reason for formal evaluation, the evaluation process can commence.

The teachers union first filed a grievance with the school district in the fall of 2010 when made aware that five teachers who are considered permanent were being re-evaluated, ahead of the schedule recommended by the contract and education code for those teachers. (In the arbitration decision given to Coastal View News, teachers’ names and specifics of cases were redacted by CUSD to protect employee identities).

According to the arbitrator, the key words “at least” used in the article of the contract laying out evaluation cycles dictates a maximum amount of years between evaluations. Teachers shall be evaluated “at least” every two or five years, according to the contract.

CUSD Superintendent Paul Cordeiro considers frequent evaluations an issue of accountability. The opinion rendered by the arbitrator states that prior to Cordeiro’s hiring in 2005, teachers had expected the school district to adhere to evaluation cycles. In a recent interview with Coastal View News, Cordeiro said that before his arrival the teachers had been evaluated according to these cycles or even less frequently, and he decided to increase the frequency.

“When I got to the district in 2005, it was more than evident that we weren’t up to speed doing evaluations the way we needed to do them,” Cordeiro said. On limiting evaluations to a five-year cycle, he added, “There’s no high accountability when (teachers) are evaluated once a decade.”

While Cordeiro reads the decision as affirmation of the district’s interpretation of the contract, the teachers union and its president, Jay Hotchner, point out that part of its grievance was affirmed. The arbitrator conceded that the district needs a clear reason to conduct consecutive year evaluations of permanent employees that have surpassed two years of probationary employment. Now, two of five teachers listed in the grievance have been awarded the option to remove “off-cycle” evaluation comments from their employment histories.

Furthermore, the contract provides that the administration has the authority to act unilaterally in deciding to increase evaluation frequency. The contract item vaguely outlining an evaluation cycle stated that administrators and teachers may agree to a five-year cycle, but either side can remove consent without notifying the other side, which according to the decision, is essentially what happened when Cordeiro instructed school principals to abandon the five-year cycle.

Language in the contract protects teachers from being targeted for evaluation for “arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory” reasons or “in bad faith.” In its grievance, the teachers union contended that administrators are using the threat of frequent evaluations as a disciplinary tool rather than in the interest of improving classroom instruction. The ruling affirmed that the administration needs clear reasoning to conduct evaluations, particularly in cases where previous evaluations were satisfactory and provide a paper trail indicating prior positive performance.

The arbitrator’s ruling also stated that prior evaluation results are not the only permissible criteria when the administration decides whether to re-evaluate. Teachers can be evaluated if administrators identify and document a classroom issue that arises in the period between evaluations. Dips in state test scores are also reason enough to evaluate teaching methods.

What the contract does expressly prescribe is the evaluation process and protections for teachers along the way. Areas of evaluation are the same for every teacher to ensure consistent measures, and teachers can view and contest an evaluator’s remarks before the document enters their employment record.

“CAUSE believes a clear formal process that includes guideposts and objectives is the pathway to success,” reads a memorandum issued by teachers union attorney Jeffrey Boxer, which analyzes the arbitrator’s ruling. In the memo, which was addressed to union President Jay Hotchner, Boxer writes that the arbitrator got the decision wrong and that Cordeiro has consistently been overbearing as an administrator. “(Cordeiro) has always held that he does not respect any limitations on his ability to do what he wants, and when he wants to, when it comes to evaluation. Although this decision provides him slightly more discretion than CAUSE’s initial understanding of the contract language when it was bargained, it stops him from going that far. When essential fairness and contractual legality is implicated, CAUSE did and will continue to successfully pursue these matters.”

Both sides contend that their interests are not separate from the mission of delivering quality classroom instruction to CUSD students. Cordeiro said he wishes to achieve this by holding teachers accountable through evaluation. The teachers union wants to ensure a fair work environment for the professionals inside the classroom.

By Peter Dugré
With reporting by Lea Boyd

After having stuck to its guns in the aftermath of reappointing Director Fred Lemere, the Carpinteria Valley Water District admits to an error in procedure in Lemere’s March appointment. Citizen watchdogs had criticized the water board for re-seating Lemere with a 2-1 vote (Director Alonzo Orozco dissenting, Matt Roberts absent) after Lemere lost in the previous election, but the district had maintained that it was a legitimate majority vote, conducted with a seated quorum of three directors. Following weeks of public prodding, the district has now determined that a three-vote majority is legally necessary in any of its decisions, a revelation that renders Lemere’s re-instatement to the board and many votes since then illegitimate.

The group of citizens responsible for the revelation, which identifies itself as the Water Warriors, had argued that the 2-1 appointment was at least ill-advised and a slap in the face to the electorate. The Water Warriors orchestrated a campaign to unseat Lemere and other incumbents in the 2010 election and were successful in taking 2-of-3 seats. After two resignations vacated the seat he had lost at the ballot box, Lemere was reinstated by the board, and even though several members of the public found the reinstatement offensive, the water board and its attorney Roger Myers maintained that a majority of the quorum had the authority to make the appointment.

During public comment at the April 25 board meeting, however, Water Warrior Ann Bardach Lesser and former attorney Geoffrey Stearns disputed Lemere’s appointment on legal grounds. They argued that since CVWD is designated as a county district—not a city district—a three-person majority is required to pass any motion. The assertion was not addressed publicly on April 25, but CVWD has since conceded that Bardach and Stearns were accurate and the issue of Lemere’s illegitimate reinstatement will have to be sorted out at the May 2 meeting (after press time).

According to CVWD General Manager Charles Hamilton, firstly, the board will have to vote against ratifying Lemere’s appointment. Votes for which Lemere motioned or seconded a motion since his reinstatement on March 28 will likely be revisited at the board’s May 16 meeting. According to Hamilton, there were no split votes during Lemere’s three meetings that must be overturned due to having the support of fewer than three legitimate directors.

The legal window for filling the fifth seat on the water board has effectively closed. A 60-day period is outlined in the appointment process for a board to appoint its own member, and that period expired on April 9. The other option would have been for the SB County Board of Supervisors to fill the seat within 90 days of it being vacated, but that period expires on May 9, and Hamilton has indicated that it would be procedurally impossible for an appointment to be made by the board of supervisors with just over one week’s notice.

The likely result will be a four-person water board until results from the November election are certified near the end of the year.

Carpinteria Valley Water District Board of Directors met after Coastal View News went to press on Wednesday, May 2.

By Peter Dugré

At its April 24 meeting, Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board voted to reduce the number of pink slips issued from 13.6 to 5.3 equivalent teaching positions, a move that preserves music at the elementary and middle school levels but affirms staffing reductions in other areas like Carpinteria High School agriculture classes and elementary school teachers.

“Those teachers are obviously, hopefully, happy and will continue to be employed in this district,” commented Board Member Lou Panizzon. On the efforts put into finding ways to save positions, he added, “I think we’ve done a pretty good job. I wish we could have done better.” Although the longstanding goal of the school district has been to maintain 20-to-1 student-to-teacher ratios in kindergarten through third grade, staffing levels project a 24-to-1 ratio for the 2012-2013 school year.

In hearing results from the latest Safe Schools/Healthy Students Survey, the school board learned that students in 11th grade at Carpinteria High School are twice as likely to have smoked marijuana as they were to have smoked a cigarette in the 30-day period before answering the survey last fall. In addition to gauging marijuana, alcohol and tobacco use, the survey is used to monitor students’ vulnerability to bullying in local schools and their engagement at school. Results from the federal survey generally show that schools with more involved, connected students have fewer problems with bullying and better learning environments.

CUSD SS/HS Director Sharon Velarde and evaluator Mike Furlong from UCSB presented portions of the data from this year’s survey and reported no alarming changes from previous years.

Most notably, the substance use portion of the survey showed that incidences of seventh graders at Carpinteria Middle School using marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes have increased over prior years. Seventh-grade students responding in the survey indicated that 10 percent had smoked cigarettes, 15 percent smoked marijuana and 18 percent drank alcohol in the 30 days prior to taking the survey.

Furlong singled out the seventh graders’ across-the-board increases as worrisome. “Seventh graders, now there’s a cohort you’ll probably want to stay in touch with, otherwise there hasn’t been an increase,” Furlong said.

Survey results show that 23 percent of 11th graders report having smoked marijuana within 30 days of their responses, compared to just 9 percent smoking cigarettes. Furlong commented that the 23 percent is not abnormal among students statewide, and that California is the only state where more students report using marijuana than cigarettes. “We’re not any different than any other schools for marijuana use,” he commented.

Administrators and board members pondered the relevancy of medical marijuana dispensaries to the heightened marijuana-use statistic in California but stopped short of directly linking dispensaries with perceivably high marijuana smoking rates among high school students.

The survey also deals with bullying. While most students—61 percent—said they feel safe in Carpinteria schools, between 38 and 40 individuals answered that they’d been physically bullied at each of Canalino, Aliso and Carpinteria Middle schools. Of those, 20 percent said it happened every week.

In the portion of the survey that deals with “resilience and well-being” at school, which measures how connected students are to schools, students in fifth, seventh, ninth and 11th grades generally indicated that they feel teachers care for them and that their education likely matters to faculty. Over 56 percent of students at surveyed grade levels said that “teachers hold them to high expectations at school,” and over 51 percent indicated “a high level of school connectedness.”

On the school connectedness question, around 60 percent of ninth and 11th graders said they were strongly connected. The fifth grade students indicated a tighter bond with their schooling in all categories. The one question that came in low—at around 20 percent for all surveyed students—was whether students felt they have “meaningful participation at school.” Survey administrators wonder whether the question is too subjective.

The next Carpinteria Unified School District Governing Board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 8, at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria City Council Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

By Peter Dugré

Community leaders said signs of the Great Recession linger but the worst is likely over, at the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce 2012 State of the Community Breakfast. The annual event, held at Rincon Beach Club and Catering on April 24, gathered the Carpinteria business community and CVCC for a presentation delivered by Carpinteria Mayor Al Clark, City Manager Dave Durflinger and Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal. Each government representative was weary from years of budget cuts but delivered comments with measured optimism that the economic corner may have been turned and the recession could be put in the rear view mirror with continued focus on effective public/private partnerships in the areas of tourism promotion and careful development.

City Manger Dave Durflinger recounted major cuts made in the city’s 2011-2012 budget but highlighted that there have been slight up ticks in sales tax and transient occupancy taxes on recent receipts. Overall, he said, city revenues are still down from the high years of 2007 through 2009. Add to that rising costs, and a tight budget for next year is nearly inevitable.

Durflinger and Mayor Al Clark pointed out that the city has spent from its reserve funds for four consecutive years, totaling about $1 million, and next year it may still have to do so. Durflinger reminded the audience that cuts equalling $500,000 had already been generated through reduced employee work hours, Community Pool hours of operation, sheriff’s staffing and park and restroom maintenance in last year’s budget. “I don’t get a lot of calls from people saying we’ve noticed those cuts, so staff managed it well,” Durflinger said.

The sheriff’s department contract, which comprises 42 percent of the city’s budget, was partially restored midyear to allow for two officer positions to be reinstated of the three that had been cut.

The most important sector in the city’s economy remains tourism, Durflinger said, and as a consequence, the city incurs expenses for upkeep necessary to maintain the charm of Carpinteria. Additionally, in order to attract further tourism to Carpinteria, a $25,000 fund was granted to CVCC from the regional tourism board for a website to promote Carpinteria businesses outside of the city. The fund was generated through fees charged to hotel guest.

“We’re going to be creating a first-rate website, which is, of course, how everyone figures out where they’re going nowadays,” Durflinger said.

Also, to support and encourage greater tourism to Carpinteria, the city has been meeting with a development group that may ask city planners to approve plans for a resort on the property known as “bluffs three” or Thunderbowl at the eastern end of Carpinteria Avenue, Durflinger said. The property, which is zoned for a resort, has been targeted for development in the past, but plans have stalled before the construction phase.

In his comments, Clark pointed out that the city’s natural beauty, its small business community and the many people who volunteer are the three elements that are the “secret of Carpinteria.” The most important thing for the city to do is to remain a classic beach town, he commented. “It’s not luck,” he said, adding that it takes a lot of hard work to maintain a sleepy town.

Clark commented that city ordinances like the litter-reducing polystyrene ban at restaurants and most recently the plastic bag ban at all retailers including restaurants were moves made to ensure environmental quality into the future. “I understand and appreciate that these products offer convenience, but long-term environmental benefits outweigh short-term convenience,” Clark said.

Carbajal briefly discussed improvements to Santa Claus Lane that have been in Santa Barbara County’s planning pipeline. The improvements call for a proper railway crossing from the road to the beach, a bathroom and newly manicured sidewalks and landscaping in the business district. He also said that Carpinteria’s 4.4 percent unemployment rate is the lowest in the county and is far below the 8.9 percent countywide average. Carbajal foreshadowed another difficult year of county budget cuts, reporting the county’s $15.2 million budget shortfall, and said that 500 county employees had already been shed since 2008.

By Sara Monge

What’s now a weed-filled lot near Carpinteria’s train stop could soon be added to the city’s collection of parks. At its April 23 meeting, the Carpinteria City Council continued to show its dedication to giving locals and visitors places to play when it unanimously (Joe Armendariz and Brad Stein absent) authorized the purchase of the .66 acre lot located at the corner of 5th Street and Holly Avenue, which some are hoping will eventually be home to a skate park and community gardens. After negotiating with parcel-owner Union Pacific Corporation over several months, Parks and Recreation Director Matt Roberts announced the agreed-upon discounted price tag of $355,000 for the property that must be used as a park.

Locals hoping for a skate park in Carpinteria, who also originally approached the city with the idea of buying the property, voiced their enthusiastic support for the purchase. Commenting on the purchase, they said a skateboard park would help kids have an alternative to television and organized sports, which would foster creativity and free thinking. James Pike, Director of Skate Clinics in Santa Barbara, explained another potential benefit of a skateboard park to be “skate tourism” and was excited about the potential of building a “world class skateboard park” in Carpinteria.

Roberts explained the purchase is not dependent on future plans for the parcel, and therefore the sale is not contingent on outside agency (such as CEQA) approval.

The city will use $425,000 from its $791,000 Parks Acquisition Fund to purchase the land, conduct tests and pay for closing costs. Part of Union Pacific’s specification in allowing the city to purchase the property at a lower rate is that the city will agree that the property will be used for parks only, and the city will also assume any liability that is associated with the property. Roberts says that based on old photographs and records, there shouldn’t be any problems with the property. However, the city will do extensive testing to make sure the lot is free from environmental contamination before the 120-day escrow closes.

All three councilmembers supported the purchase, and Councilwoman Kathleen Reddington said she supports a skate park in the location.

In other news, the city council heard a quarterly budget report that indicated revenues have risen and the city may be closer to operating in the black. City Director of Administrative Services John Thornberry said, “We’re doing better than we planned, but still running a deficit.” He explained that both sales tax and the Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT or “bed tax”) had both exceeded 2011-2012 budget year projections by $100,000, cumulatively adding an unexpected $200,000 to city revenues.

Although these numbers are still projections and final numbers will not be out until June, city staff estimates an operating deficit of $59,099 this year as opposed to the estimated $202,135 that was approved by the City Council last summer. In 2011, the City took a $169,808 loss, pulling resources from the city’s reserve for the fourth straight year.

While the numbers are looking better than last year, City Manager Dave Durflinger reminded the council it was a painful and difficult road to get even this close to having a balanced budget, including major cuts to the sheriff’s contract, city services and making city employees take furlough days and pay more for health insurance. Durflinger added that much of the city’s financial woes come from many revenue sources in the form of fees paid to the city have been flat for decades and not meeting inflationary rises in costs to providing city services.

The city also garners money from interest on investments in government bonds and treasury notes which at their peak in 2008 earned $650,000 and have fallen to $140,000 this financial year. Durflinger foresees continuing hard times for the city unless some of these problems can be addressed, allowing the city to bring in more revenue and have lower expenses.

In a rare preview, Durflinger announced that the council will discuss the results of surveys which Carpinterians participated in to determine other ways to get the city into the black including whether the voters are expected to support a potential TOT hike in the coming November election.

The next regular Carpinteria City Council meeting will be held on Monday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Fighting to stop a lawsuit against the bag ban from making it to court, the City of Carpinteria fi led a motion in Santa Barbara Superior Court on April 17 stating that Save the Plastic Bag Coalition’s complaint against the bag ban is invalid. In filing the motion, known as a demurrer, the City of Carpinteria has asked that the lawsuit seeking to stop the city’s recently passed ordinance against most single-use bags be thrown out before arguments are presented to a judge.

In its lawsuit, SPBC contends that the city has stepped outside its purview by regulating carry-out bags at restaurants. State retail food codes already regulate what containers are legally required to carry food out from restaurants, and by putting forth regulations banning plastic bags in restaurants, the city has overstepped its regulatory abilities, the lawsuit argues. SPBC has stated that
carry-out food, like hot soups, poses a potential danger to the public if contained in paper bags, which can’t contain spilled liquids.

The city’s motion, however, states that the SPBC lawsuit is irrelevant because state retail food code does not address the topic of bags in restaurants. “They claim that the city can’t regulate in the area of plastic bags in restaurants because
the state has already occupied the fi eld in that area of regulation in retail food code,” City Attorney Peter Brown said in a phone interview. “We say (the bag ban) has nothing to do with retail food code.” Food code regulates in areas like kitchen standards, employee training and health and hygiene, according to Brown. In contrast, the city’s ordinance is meant to eliminate trash, protect resources and meet waste reduction standards. SPBC will have an opportunity to respond to the motion, and the city has
requested a hearing where the decision will be rendered in Santa Barbara County Superior Court Department 3 on May 15.

By Peter Dugré

Director Fred Lemere’s first meeting as a reappointed
member of the Carpinteria Valley Water District Board
of Directors was overshadowed by intense public
scrutiny on April 11. Members of the public that had
supported the campaign to unseat Lemere and fellow
incumbents in the 2010 election contended that Lemere’s
appointment both disregarded the electorate
and was questionable due to the absence of Director
Matt Roberts during the March 28 vote—a 2-1 decision
with Director Alonzo Orozco dissenting.

Offering his opinion during public comment, Carpinteria
resident Bob Franco said, “At the last election
we voted for change, new direction and new ideas and
thought that’s what we accomplished. But an incredibly
ill-advised and ill-planned decision by two of the board
members completely changed that decision.” Franco
and a handful of other speakers asked that the board
revote with Roberts present, but the board indicated
that it will not revote. Instead, for informational purposes
at the April 25 meeting, staff will recapitulate the
appointment process and how Lemere was legitimately
reinstated as a director.

Acknowledging the public outcry, Orozco urged the
board to officially revisit the issue, if for no other reason,
to clarify what happened.

Defending her vote to reappoint Lemere, Board President
June Van Wingerden said, “I do want to remind
you that a lot of voters did vote for Fred Lemere. They
didn’t vote him out. There were a number of voters who voted for him. I think there’s some holes in some of your arguments and
partial truths, and that comes across to me
as not very genuine.” Van Wingerden also
commented that if voters are displeased
with the direction of the water board,
then they can elect new board members
in November.

Both directors who voted to appoint
Lemere—Van Wingerden and Director
Bob Liebernecht—are up for re-election in
November. Lemere’s seat will also need
to be fi lled for a shortened two-year term
in November, and he has indicated that
he will not run. Lemere and Director Jim
Drain lost their re-election bid in 2010
to Directors Alonzo Orozco and Lynn
Ducharme. Ducharme resigned during
her fi rst year in offi ce and was replaced by
Director Clay Brown, who had run with
Orozco and Ducharme as part of a slate to
unseat the incumbents. Brown resigned,
too, leaving the vacancy that Lemere has
now been appointed to fi ll.

CVWD legal counsel Roger Myers
assured members of the public that the
process of reappointing Lemere—even
with Roberts absent—was legitimate
and done according to procedures and
timelines specifi ed by law. Van Wingerden
commented that the scheduling
of the vote coincided with Roberts being
away—touring a college with his child,
according to Roberts—because there was
no meeting in which the full board would
have been available. Myers said that a
quorum of three is all that is needed to
conduct board business, including the
decision of appointing a director.
Whether or not they have legal ground
to stand on in their scrutiny of the Lemere
appointment, members of the public were
indignant at what they described as blatant
defi ance of election results by two
board members. Lemere received only
11 percent of the vote in 2010, whereas
elected board members received between
17 and 22 percent.

In her scathing public comments, Ann
Bardach said, “Clay Brown’s views and
principals and approach to Carpinteria
water were diametrically opposed to
Mr. Lemere’s, who was resoundingly
out by citizens of Carpinteria.” Further
criticizing the board and its decision, she
commented, “It feels like sort of a coup
d’état that someone who was voted off
has been reinstated without the full board
present.”

For his part, Lemere said, “I come with
no agenda to this seat, and I only want to
help. To the point that they can fi nd fault
with that, I guess, let them fi re away. I
take a little exception to some of their
comments.”

Van Wingerden agreed to recapitulate
Lemere’s appointment with an informational
presentation on April 25, but said,
“We can put that on the agenda, and tell
(the public) again what the process is. As
far as I’m concerned, the issue is over.”
The CVWD Board of Directors will
convene for a closed session to conduct
labor negotiations on Wednesday, April
18, at the District Offi ce, 1301 Santa Ynez
Ave., at 5:30 p.m. The next regular meeting
is scheduled for Wednesday, April 25,
at 5:30 p.m. at Carpinteria City Council
Chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.