Author Archives: Jaime Shaw

South Coast Chamber’s First State of the Cities

In addition to our Community State of the City, we were also pleased to have participated in a first of its kind event. On April 27th, the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce presented the State of the City from Goleta to Carpinteria on Wednesday, at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. It was an honor for Mayor Paula Perotte and our Finance Director Luke Rioux to present to the business community. Thank you Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber for putting on this informative event. We learned a lot and hopefully provided some insight into how the GoodLand is doing.

A recording of the event will be available soon. View event photos here.


Mayor Paula Perotte speaking at the State of the Cities


Finance Director Luke Rioux giving the Financial Update

Mayor Paula Perotte (center) with Carpinteria Mayor Wade Nomura (left) and Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse (right)


Goleta City Councilmembers and City of Goleta Staff

Mayor Perotte and Supervisor Hartmann at Goleta’s Farmers Market Event

Thank you to everyone who came by the Farmers Market at Camino Real Marketplace on Sunday, May 1, and stopped to talk to City of Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte and Santa Barbara County Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann. They had many engaging conversations with community members and were glad to have the opportunity to answer resident questions and concerns. Stay tuned for other opportunities to meet the Mayor and Supervisor Hartmann. 

Thanks to CommUnify for 55 years of Service

City Council proclaimed May as National Community Action Month at their May 3 City Council meeting in honor of CommUnify’s 55 years of service. CommUnify, formerly Community Action Commission, was incorporated in 1967 as a private nonprofit organization devoted to creating opportunities for Santa Barbara families to achieve economic stability as an essential aspect of enabling and enhancing a stronger and more resilient Santa Barbara County. CommUnify has improved countless lives and continues to work toward ending poverty in Santa Barbara County. Read the proclamation here: https://tinyurl.com/3xevy3nx and watch a recording of the City Council meeting here.

Mayor Perotte was honored to present the proclamation to CommUnify Chief Executive Officer Patricia Keelean. Patricia said, “Thank you so much for this recognition this evening. May is a significant month for CommUnify for two reasons. First, it is Community Action Month. Second, it marks CommUnify’s 55 years of service to Santa Barbara County. Since we started we have grown to provide 17 different programs. Every year CommUnify serves over 8,000 disadvantaged children, teens, families, and seniors providing services that educate and support them on their personal journey to becoming economically stable and self-sufficient. On behalf of our Board of Directors and staff, thank you for helping us celebrate 55 years of service, and we look forward to the next 55 years.”

Pictured: Patricia Keelean, Chief Executive Officer of CommUnify receiving the proclamation from Mayor Paula Perotte at the May 3, 2022, City Council meeting.

Poll Workers Wanted for June 7, 2022

The Santa Barbara County Elections Office is seeking volunteers to serve on Election Day, June 7, 2022. Volunteers are paid a stipend for their service.

Requirements:

  • Must be available to work on Election day, June 7, from 6:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
  • Registered to vote in the State of California or lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
  • Must be at least 16 years old.

Bilingual Spanish speakers are needed throughout the County. Chinese, Tagalog, and Korean speakers are needed in certain areas.

For more information go to www.countyofsb.org/1006/Election-Officer-Information.

New Extended Library Hours at All Branches

The Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries have extended their operating hours. “After two years of limited service hours due to the pandemic, we are excited to expand our hours to serve a greater number of residents in our community,” said Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries Director Allison Gray.

You can visit all five library locations during their new operating hours which started the week of May 2:

Goleta Valley Library
Tuesday through Thursday 10am-7pm
Friday and Saturday 10am-5:30pm
Sunday 1-5pm
Closed Monday

Buellton Library
Monday and Tuesday 10am-7pm
Wednesday 10am-5pm
Friday and Saturday 11am-4pm
Closed Sunday and Thursday

Solvang Library
Tuesday and Friday 10am-5pm
Wednesday and Thursday 10am-7pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Closed Sunday and Monday

Los Olivos Library
Saturday 10am-1pm

Santa Ynez Library
Saturday 1-4pm

For more information on the Goleta & Santa Ynez Valley Libraries, visit https://goletavalleylibrary.org/.

California Library Parks Pass Now Available

The Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries are pleased to be able to offer the new California State Library Parks Pass to patrons. The new pass will allow free vehicle day use entry at more than 200 participating state park units.

With the California State Library Parks Pass, anyone with a library card will be able to unlock the benefits and beauty of our majestic state parks.

Research shows that spending time in the outdoors is associated with better mental and physical health, and that many Californians face barriers to accessing their parks. California has a wealth of state parks, and many public libraries are likely within driving distance of one. By reducing barriers to park access and partnering with entities such as public libraries, the goal is to help more Californians explore the outdoors and generate positive impacts in the area of health, natural resource stewardship, and historical and cultural connections.

As part of a three-year pilot program, the Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley Libraries will receive 13 California State Library Parks Pass hangtags for checkout by library patrons, including mobile libraries. There are currently three Park Passes in circulation for checkout by library patrons and we expect to receive the remaining 10 during the month of May. Library users can contact their local library for more information. Library-card holders will be able to check out the pass for 21 days, then return the pass to the library for others to use. The pass is valid for entry of one passenger vehicle with capacity of nine people or less or one highway licensed motorcycle at participating state park units.

Libraries are already an important part of Californians’ lives. There are 1,184 public library buildings in California, and more than 23 million Californians have library cards. In 2019-2020, these libraries circulated over 97 million items free of charge, such as books, technology, Wi-Fi hotspots, videos, music, instruments, tools, telescopes and more. Additionally, the libraries hosted over 300,000 programs in 2019-2020, with almost 7.5 million people attending.

Detailed information on the new California State Library Parks Program, including full terms and conditions, is available online at CheckOutCAStateParks.com. To place a hold request on a Parks Pass, go to https://gvl.blackgold.org/ and type “California State Library Parks Pass” in the search bar.

Meet Our New Supervising Librarian

The City of Goleta is pleased to welcome Carla Mason as our newest Supervising Librarian for the Goleta Valley Library.

In her new role, Carla is responsible for overseeing staff, programming, operations and services at the Goleta Valley Public Library. Her role is key in establishing and instilling a positive organizational culture at the library, that will provide the best public library services for our Goleta community.

Carla joins the City of Goleta with ten years of experience, most recently as Librarian at the main branch of the Seattle Public Library. She graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s Degree in Humanities and obtained a Master’s Degree in Library Science from Drexel University. Carla specializes in developing programs and partnerships that help meet the needs of the community. “I am looking forward to getting to know the community and always finding new opportunities to connect people with their information needs,” says Carla. Her accomplishments include obtaining a $75,000 Grant to Fund Wired Furniture and Digital Literacy Workshops and a $48,000 grant to create a digital arts lab. 

Please join us in welcoming Carla Mason to this important role in our community.

The mission of the Goleta Valley Library System is to bring people, information, and ideas together to educate, inspire and enrich the quality of life in our diverse community.  To learn more about the Goleta Valley Library click here.

2022 Wildfire Preparedness Exposition May 6 – 8

Be Ready, Be Empowered, Be Fire Safe

The Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council presents the 2022 Wildfire Preparedness Exposition May 6 – 8 at Direct Relief (6100 Wallace Becknell Road, Goleta). The community is invited to come and learn how to live in wildfire threatened landscape. There will be several fun, family-friendly activities and exhibits planned. There will also be booths from over a dozen organizations so residents can get tailored information about how to prepare for the next wildfire. Click here to access the agenda for the event and learn more. View the flyer below.

 

Our Water Our World: Controlling Weeds Around Your Home

Learn how to control weeds with these tips from the City of Goleta Environmental Services Division.

Weeds are unwanted plants that are usually fast growing and spreading and found outdoors in your backyard. Non-native plants can be considered weeds and can cause serious damage to your garden or backyard. This is because non-native plants can be invasive and degrade the environment for native plants and wildlife.

Did You Know?
  • Weeds are mainly considered to be a disturbance but can provide some benefits because they provide nectar and pollen to insects and when decomposed can replenish the soil with nutrients
  • Noxious weeds are a type of invasive plant that the government spends millions of dollars on each year to remove
What Can You Do?

Different methods can be used to remove weeds in your garden or backyard such as using tools, oils, or soaps. Remember, it is difficult to completely keep out weeds in your backyard at all times as they can enter your backyard from wind dispersal of seeds. Therefore, the most effective method to control weeds is to keep them from flowering and producing seeds.

  • Pick out the weeds. Using a tool or your hands, pick out any weeds in your background. It is best to not compost them, but you can compost any weeds that have not flowered or do not reproduce easily.
  • Cut down the weeds. If you cannot dig up the roots of weeds, you can cut them down and cover the area with mulch.
  • Use drought tolerant ground cover plants. Certain ground cover plants can deter weeds from growing because they maintain unsuitable conditions for weeds, such as providing shade for the ground.
  • Cover bare soil with mulch. Weeds thrive in bare soil that get a lot of light, so use mulch to cover bare soil areas.
  • Use a drip irrigation system. Use a drip irrigation system to only deliver water to wanted plants.
  • Use less-toxic oil or soap. Apply less-toxic oil or soap to weeds. This will remove weeds above ground and may have to be repeated to reach weed roots. 
  • Mow your lawn to a high cut. If you have a lawn, mow the lawn to a high cut to help shade the ground and prevent weeds to grow.
  • Patch up your pavement. Weeds can grow in open spaces of paved ground, so use mulch or caulking designed for asphalt or concrete to fill in the open spaces.
  • Cultivate soil. Use a shovel, hoe, or rototiller to turn soil because it can bring weed seeds to the surface. This process can disrupt the food web of soil organisms, which makes the soil less suitable, so do not use this as your main method.

Find more information on controlling slugs and snails with eco-friendly products in our OWOW brochures in English and Spanish.