Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

Cox Enhances Broadband Affordability Program

Cox low-cost product tiers Connect2Compete and ConnectAssist speeds double to 100 mbps  

Cox will double the download speed of its low-cost internet options ConnectAssist and Connect2Compete from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps, effective March 31, 2022.  The over 500,000 individuals participating in these programs will receive these faster speeds at no additional cost. 

In addition, Cox is participating in the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and has expanded eligibility for its low-cost internet program to match the ACP criteria.  With the application of the $30 ACP internet subsidy, more people will have the ability to receive free 100 Mbps internet service.  Customers can visit cox.com/digitalequity to find out if they’re eligible and sign up for these programs. 

Goleta Community Center

Goleta Community Center to Receive Federal Funding

The Goleta Community Center will receive $3,000,000 in Federal Funds as part of a newly approved government spending bill for Fiscal Year 2022.The approval comes after more than a year of advocacy by Representative Salud Carbajal for critical local projects. In all, $9,512,340 in direct funding for Santa Barbara County community projects was approved. The money will be used to help the City of Goleta reopen the GCC, a key community asset, that has been partially closed since January 2021 due to need for seismic repairs and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades.

The City of Goleta has identified a number of infrastructure improvements, totaling $108.5 million, that are currently unfunded or partially unfunded.

“The Goleta Community Center, located in the heart of the City in Old Town, is an important gathering place for our community,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte. “The City is ecstatic to be awarded $3,000,000 for the necessary seismic and ADA improvements at the Community Center as part of the Federal Government Omnibus Bill. This funding is critical for the reopening of the auditorium and returning the GCC to a vibrant community hub. This treasured building can now be restored thanks to the efforts of Congressman Carbajal and his staff. The City is beyond grateful for their dedication to the City of Goleta.”

In 2013, right before the City assumed ownership of the property, the City Council received the results of a Seismic and ADA Needs Assessment for the Goleta Community Center. The City Council subsequently elected to move forward with the Priority 1 seismic upgrades to the main building, those which pose the greatest risk to life-safety because they can generally contribute to local areas of collapse. The seismic upgrades also trigger certain required ADA improvements, including accessible entrances, accessible routes to the improved areas, accessible restrooms, telephones and drinking fountains. The City Council approved moving forward with these, and with other ADA improvements that are not triggered by the seismic improvements. In January 2021, the building was inspected again, and City’s building official recommended the auditorium and the dining hall be closed pending completion of the seismic upgrades.

The funding secured by Representative Carbajal, together with a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant for a portion of the seismic work, will allow the project to proceed. This will include accessibility improvements to the bus shelter on Hollister Avenue, the parking lot, exterior ramps and curb ramps, building entrances, plumbing, and the restrooms.

When fully operational, the Goleta Community Center has between 90,000-120,000 visitors, including those participating in programs at the Goleta Valley Senior Center. Over 90 non-profits and over 50 commercial establishments use the facility on a monthly basis. By providing a venue and rental equipment for meetings, classes and activities, the GCC serves all facets and age groups of the Goleta community, from child-care to senior services, with a special commitment toward other non-profits. It also serves as an American Red Cross shelter site that has been used during recent fires in the Santa Barbara South Coast area.

On January 1, 2023, the City is taking over management of the Goleta Community Center, which is currently being operated by the non-profit Goleta Valley Community Center (GVCC) organization. The City acquired the GCC from the Goleta Union School District in 2013. The City hopes to begin renovations of the GCC in January of 2023 or shortly thereafter depending on the timing of the construction bid process.

President Biden signing the government spending bill into law (photo credit Associated Press)

Beautify Goleta Volunteers Remove Over 800 Pounds of Trash

Join Us for Future Events on May 21 and July 30

The City of Goleta is pleased to announce that its first citywide Beautify Goleta Community Cleanup event on March 26th, was a huge success! Overall, six community cleanup locations were attended by 89 volunteers who collected 808 pounds of trash to prevent it from polluting our neighborhoods, creeks, and ocean. In addition to trash collected, the Bulky Item Drop-off for Old Town as the Neighborhood Spotlight was also productive and collected over 58 cubic yards of furniture, mattresses, and other items.

We are so thankful and proud of our volunteers for taking the time and energy to participate in this event. The graphic below shows how much trash each neighborhood cleanup collected, along with the number of volunteers at each location. The locations ranged from four volunteers cleaning up 30 pounds of trash to 58 volunteers removing 368 pounds of trash! The result was a fun and productive morning of removing litter and debris throughout the City.

The City would also like to give a special thank you to the Neighborhood Captains who led their community cleanup – we would not have been able to have this event without their hard work and dedication.

Beautify Goleta began in 2017 as a bulky items collection event and has grown into a City-wide community cleanup event. As our Neighborhood Spotlight, the Old Town area received a free bulky items collection drop-off. From 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on March 26, residents were able to clean out their homes and drop off items that are hard to throw away in regular trash cans, such as furniture and building material scraps. Thanks to the bulky items collection drop off, residents were able to get rid of 58 cubic yards of trash! Please see the graphic below for a breakdown of items dropped off.

If you were not able to be part of this event, we hope to see you at one of our future events! Beautify Goleta will be returning for more community cleanups on May 21st and July 30th. Sign up here if you are interested in participating. For more information on the program please visit https://cityofgoleta.org/beautifygoleta.

Councilmember Roger Aceves, the founder of Beautify Goleta, helped pick up trash in the Neighborhood Spotlight, Old Town. (photo credit Andriana Villalpando)

Big Green and City of Goleta staff Mary Graham, Dan Rowell, Kim Nilsson, and Melissa Nelson getting ready to help Old Town get rid of their bulky items. (photo credit Andriana Villalpando)

Goleta’s 20 Year Birthday Celebration Highlights

We are still holding on to the memories of the City’s well attended and memorable 20th Birthday Celebration on March 5 at Rancho La Patera & Stow House. Check out this short highlight video to see why this will always be a special day in the City’s history. You can also view event photos here.

Limited-edition 20 Year City merchandise is still available! You can purchase t-shirts, tote bags, hats or mugs at our upcoming Goleta Community State of the City on April 13 from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Elks Lodge (150 N. Kellogg Ave). These items will also be available for purchase throughout the year – stay tuned!

Thanks to our community for your enthusiasm and recognition of the City’s 20th birthday. Cheers to 20 Years! #HappyBirthdayGoleta

Goleta Businesses Awarded at Chamber Luncheon

Congratulations to those who were honored at the Chamber’s Annual Membership Meeting and Regional Business Awards on Friday, February 25th at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. 

This was the first in-person Membership Meeting and Regional Business Awards since the Goleta, Santa Barbara, and Carpinteria Chambers of Commerce merged to create the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce in July 2020. The chamber represents 1,100 businesses across the South Coast, which totals to about 75,000 jobs.

While several awards were handed out there were two Goleta specific ones.

The Entrepreneur of the Year award went to Chris Chiarappa. In 2021, Chris Chiarappa launched the Santa Barbara Restaurant Collective. Within five years, he launched three Mesa Burger restaurants including one in Goleta, three Lighthouse Coffee locations, M-Kitchen, Corner Tap, and is preparing to open several additional enterprises within the next few years. Chris is motivated to give back to the community and the people who make this place so special. Congratulations Chris, our Entrepreneur of the Year!

Other Business Award recipients included Mariposa at Ellwood Shores receiving the Community Business of the Year. Mariposa at Ellwood Shores Assisted Living in Goleta is a warm, inviting senior living community designed for the care and comfort of its residents. They go above and beyond when serving their residents, taking care of staff, and staying connected within the community. They are committed to protecting our most vulnerable community members with constant testing, vaccination clinics, and the distribution of information.

Here is the full list of Regional Business Awards Winners:

  • Large Business of the Year – Cox Communications
  • Small Business of the Year – Hilltop Flowers Inc.
  • Entrepreneur of the Year – Chris Chiarappa, Santa Barbara Restaurant Collective
  • Non-Profit of the Year – Better Together Fund
  • Milestone Business Award – E. J. Harrison & Sons
  • Hospitality Award – Visit Santa Barbara
  • Community Business of the Year – Mariposa at Ellwood Shores
  • Special Recognition – Local Community Banks (American Riviera Bank, Community West Bank, Montecito Bank & Trust, Pacific Premier Bank)
  • Ambassador of the Year – Angela Miller-Bevan
  • Chairman’s Award – Tom Patton

Congratulations to all!

          

Library Patrons – Black Gold Changes Coming

The Black Gold Cooperative Library System, of which the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Library System is a member, is currently undergoing a realignment that will ultimately allow Central Coast libraries to provide a more community-focused approach to library services. Over the next several months, the multi-step process will necessitate a few changes in service. 

  • Beginning March 1st, all renewals (including autorenewals) on borrowed materials will be suspended temporarily to allow time for materials to be returned to their owning libraries.
  • All Black Gold libraries, including Goleta, Buellton and Solvang will be closed on April 22 and 23 for the migration of all computer files to the new library circulation software. No holds can be placed during April 22-24.
  • Beginning April 25th, the shared Black Gold Cooperative Library System will offer titles from the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Library System, Paso Robles City Library, Santa Maria Public Library, Lompoc Public Library System, Blanchard Community Library, and the Carpinteria Community Library. These libraries will have their own customized catalog website designed specifically for their local patrons. 

San Luis Obispo County libraries and the Santa Barbara Library System recently announced their departure from the cooperative system. San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara cardholders are welcome to apply for a Goleta, Buellton or Solvang Library card to continue accessing materials from Black Gold member libraries. If Goleta, Buellton or Solvang patrons wish to access materials at SLO or SB libraries, they can get library cards from each of those jurisdictions but will have to go to those libraries to check out their materials and return them there as well.

While these changes may take some getting used to, member libraries are confident that moving forward the new Black Gold Cooperative Library System will be better positioned to engage with their communities and meet their information needs.

The Goleta Valley, Buellton and Solvang Libraries are open on Tuesdays – Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Learn more about the libraries at www.GoletaValleyLibrary.org.

Welcome New Planning Commissioner

The City is pleased to welcome Elrawd MacLearn as our newest Planning Commissioner. In his Commissioner role, he is looking forward to shaping the landscape of the City. He hopes to preserve the beauty of Goleta, while simultaneously accommodating the growing community’s needs. A graduate of UCLA, he currently works as a health inspector for Santa Barbara Public Health. During his free time, he enjoys exploring the country roadways of Santa Barbara County on his motorbike.  

The Planning Commission sits as a decision-making body on land use issues for the City and consists of five members who each serve a four-year term. Their role is to review and take appropriate action on discretionary development applications and to make recommendations to the City Council regarding any proposed legislative actions, including the General Plan and its implementation, as required by law.

Please join us in welcoming Elrawd to this important role. Learn more about the City’s Boards and Commissions here.

#VaccinateGoleta COVID-19 Update

We are pleased that we appear to be moving out of what has been a long two years of a COVID crisis. As of March 7, the number of eligible (ages 5+) Santa Barbara County residents who are vaccinated (first or single dose) is 80.1%. The number of fully vaccinated eligible residents is 72.1%. Visit the Santa Barbara County Community Data Dashboard for more information.

In other local COVID-19 news:

California Department of Public Health Updates as of February 28, 2022:

  • Effective March 1, 2022, the requirement that unvaccinated individuals mask in indoor public settings will move to a strong recommendation that all persons, regardless of vaccine status, continue indoor masking. 
  • Universal masking shall remain required in specified high-risk settings.
  • After March 11, 2022, the universal masking requirement for K-12 and Childcare settings will terminate. CDPH strongly recommends that individuals in these settings continue to mask in indoor settings when the universal masking requirement lifts.

For the most up-to-date information, visit https://publichealthsbc.org/.

Goleta’s Community State of the City on April 13

The City of Goleta’s 5th Annual Community State of the City is just around the corner! Join us in-person on Wednesday, April 13 at 6:00 p.m. at a very special location, the Elks Lodge (150 N. Kellogg Avenue), where Goleta’s State of the City was held 2008 – 2012. This is a free community event to learn more about what is happening at the City of Goleta. Spanish interpretation will be available.

The event includes presentations from Mayor Paula Perotte and City Manager Michelle Greene. They will be discussing the City’s finances as well as current and future projects and programs. The evening will conclude with Q&A from the audience with City staff. This is an important night for the City, and we really hope to see you there.

We will also have City information tables for you to speak directly with staff and learn about upcoming programs and projects.

This is also a great opportunity to get your 20 Year limited edition City swag! We have t-shirts, hats, totes and mugs that will be for sale

Watch 20 Years Reflections Video

Do you know the story of how the City of Goleta came to be? It is a compelling one that will deepen your appreciation for what it took to get this City started 20 years ago. We encourage you to watch this appropriately timed 20-minute City of Goleta 20 Year Reflections Video. Hear from former and current Mayors, Councilmembers, GoletaNow founders, and even the first City Manager as they reminisce about how a dream became a reality, what they love about the Good Land, and what their hopes and dreams are for the future of Goleta. Enjoy the video and share it with everyone you know who loves Goleta and/or a great story!

Thanks to Paul Westmacott with Paradigm Pictures for putting this video together and to KEYT for providing archive footage which really made this piece extra special.