Category Archives: News

Environmental center named to UN commission

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Santa Barbara’s own Center for the Study of the Environment was recently appointed by the U.S. Department of State to serve on the United States National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The United States re-entered UNESCO just last October, and will hold its first annual conference in Washington, D.C. June 6 and 7, where CSE will join a prestigious group which includes the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, The American Geological Institute, The American Physical Society, National Geographic Society, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

Professor Emeritus from UCSB and the former Chair of the University’s Environmental Studies Program, Daniel B. Botkin founded CSE in Santa Barbara in 1991 as a non-profit organization to conduct objective, independent, scientific analyses of complex environmental issues.

Independent research was a key tenet in founding the organization. Otherwise, as noted by Botkin on the CSE website, “You start with a good idea and end up with a bureaucracy.”

“The idea was to set up an organization independent of the other institutions, really to be able to provide good scientific and educational data around the environment, to really give the best possible information free of any particular bias … trying to make it as scientifically independent as possible,” said CSE vice president Mark Marzolla.

The mission of CSE is to “serve all facets of society by providing science-based analysis that identify optimal solutions for environmental concerns.” The objective is to generate options that address the problems at hand without subordinating information or evaluation to the bias of various political viewpoints.

“In this time of increasing world tensions, communications among nations about education, science, and culture can help alleviate misunderstandings of many kinds,” said Botkin, adding “participation in the U. S. Commission fits well with the educational and scientific goals of the Center.”

In making this appointment, Secretary of State, Colin Powell, wrote “I am confident that the Center for the Study of the Environment will contribute significantly to the value of the Commission’s work.”

Additional information about the U S National Commission for UNESCO can be found at www.state.gov/p/io/unesco or at CSE’s website, www.naturestudy.org,

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on March 10, 2005.

Las Positas residents urge council to get a plan

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“We need a general plan update, and guess what, it’s happening,” said Santa Barbara City Councilman Brian Barnwell, hitting the heart of the city’s response to a group of Las Positas Valley residents who called for a comprehensive plan to address the development and traffic issues in their area.

An estimated 75 people packed the council chambers on March 1, representing groups such as the Allied Neighborhood Association, Veronica Springs Neighborhood Association, Hidden Valley Residents Association and others who were concerned about piecemeal planning in that area, parts of which are under city control and parts of which fall under country jurisdiction.

Critics of the planning process cited two pending projects — the Hillside House proposal of up to 127 units and the Veronica Meadows project (owned by Mark Lee), which calls for 24 two-story homes off Las Positas Road — as particular areas of concern. The rebuilding Cottage Hospital, potential development at Elings Park and the future of Earl Warren Showgrounds were also mentioned as projects that would impact the quality of life in the Las Positas Valley.

Speaking for the Allied Neighborhood Association, Lloyd Applegate said, “If Santa Barbara is to live within its resources, it behooves us to determine just what the city’s resources are before risking to do further damage to our quality of life.”

Others contended that Santa Barbara already has a thorough planning process and there’s no need to undergo a comprehensive study of the Las Positas valley.

“It’s incorrect to assert that the city considers projects on a piecemeal basis,” said county planner John Polansky, who works with the city on many projects.

“We are very comfortable with the city’s current planning process,” said Pam Flynt, executive director of Hillside House, which elected to annex its property to the city, rather than remain in the county during this development phase.

The council will have a joint session with the Planning Commission on March 10, at which time the Las Positas area will be discussed as part of the overall General Plan.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on March 3, 2005.

Book introduces kids to idea of fire safety

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“In truth, a match is more lethal than a gun in many ways,” said Richard Lambert, author and producer of Go For Safety, a new home fire safety program for children that includes a charmingly illustrated book, and companion CD.

Lambert, president of the Idea Bank, a Santa Barbara-based producer of training videos, CDs and DVDs, said he got the idea of using a gopher game show to teach fire safety (get it … Go For Safety) while having breakfast at the Good Earth Restaurant.

“It just sort of came to me,” he said. “One of the things we’re challenged by when you tell a story is that we are all sort of professional TV watchers in this country,” he said.

The story uses two competing teams of gophers: Gino, Tina and Vinnie Vanilla, who live under Brooklyn, and their challengers, Larry, Louise and Pralina LeClaire from the bayous of southern Louisiana. The distinct accents help children distinguish which characters are talking on the companion CD, which features songs — with music by local artist Mark Henderson and lyrics by Johnny Elkins — and special segments about matches and lighters; smoke alarms; escape plans; and advice like “crawl low under smoke” and “stop, drop and roll.”

Also available are a DVD and lesson plans, including sheet music and coloring activities, designed for use with children aged 7 to 9.

A Santa Barbara native (Lambert Road in Carpinteria was named for his great-great-grandfather), Lambert formed the Idea Bank while living in Arizona in 1983. He returned to Santa Barbara in 1989 as issues of fire safety were becoming better known and his clientele moved in that direction.

In addition to Go For Safety, which will be available at Amazon.com starting next week, Lambert has produced several videos/DVDs on juvenile fire setting, arson awareness and home fire safety, as well as public service announcements that are used by fire departments across the country. Up to now, the Idea Bank’s primary clientele has been public information officers and public safety professionals. This project is the company’s first foray into the consumer market, and Lambert is excited about it.

“Only 16 states in this country require fire safety education in their schools (and California is not one of them). This is a huge problem,” he said. “Smokey the Bear has been around for a long time. I’m trying to reach them with a little bit more energy and updated songs.

“There’s a lot of room at the top … in terms of things that can be done creatively.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on March 3, 2005.

County honors women helping women

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“Women Change America” was the theme when the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and its Commission for Women honored several local organizations for their ongoing service to women and families on March 1, in honor of Women’s History Month.

First district commissioner Cynthia Thurber presented the honors to Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center for being a “safe haven for women who have been assaulted sexually.”

SBRCC executive director Elsa Granados said she was proud to receive the award, because whenever the organization gets recognition it raises the visibility of sexual violence and more women begin to access their services.

Second district commissioner Magdalena Torres honored Villa Majella‘s maternity home and outreach program.

“It’s an honor for me today to represent all of the founders, directors, staff, volunteers and donors who have worked for the past 23 years to serve women and newborns in our community,” said program director Mary Andrews-Dalbey. “Above all, I applaud the women who have faced challenges and overcome obstacles in a choice to mother their babies. For many, it became the motivation to turn their lives around. They are what we’re all about.”

Prior to receiving the award, Andrews-Dalbey noted how closely many of the organizations that provide services to women and families work together. For example, after living at Villa Majella for up to two months after giving birth, mothers and their babies are often referred to St. Vincent’s for housing and childcare services. SBRCC and the fourth district honoree, Domestic Violence Solutions, often work closely together as well.

Third district supervisor Brooks Firestone selected the UCSB women’s basketball team as service organization of the year, for its Gaucho Outreach Program, which has been involved with a number of public service projects, including Adopt-a-Highway clean-up on Highway 217 and “Lil’ Gaucho” Clinics held at local schools, said commissioner Mary Ellen Brooks.

“I really think that our community outreach is the classic win-win situation. It is a great ‘Habit of Excellence’ for our women — giving to others and making them feel connected to our community,” said coach Mark French. “Also, it’s good role-modeling for local kids to see the Gauchos take time out of their busy day and do something besides play basketball.”

The fifth district also honored the American Association of University Women.

In past years the Commission for Women has chosen a woman of the year and a teen of the year rather than honoring service organizations. Brooks said it changed its focus in 2005 in order to help bring more exposure to these groups and also to encourage more women to get involved in the community.

For more information on the Commission for Women call 568.3410 or email scantil@co.santabarbara.ca.us.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on March 3, 2005.

Raytheon brings science back to school

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CMS Girls Engineering Camp, photo by Texas A&M University, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

CMS Girls Engineering Camp, photo by Texas A&M University, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

Washington School hosts “Introduce a girl to Engineering Day”

There’s a guy I know who was so concerned about the disproportionate number of women in math and science that when his daughter was born, he vowed that every time she was complimented on her looks, he would add the postscript, “and she’s good at math and science too.”

The aerospace company Raytheon is also concerned about the number of women going into math and science, but it’s taking another tack than my friend.

“Three Cheers to Engineers!” was the slogan at Washington Elementary School on Feb. 25, where Raytheon hosted an “Introduce A Girl to Engineering Day” for more than 60 upper grade students.

“Math Rocks!” was one of the four learning stations, where students were challenged to build moveable cars out of candy, cookies and frosting (similar to ginger bread houses), where each of the ingredients had a point-value, and the points couldn’t add up to more than 300.

“The best part is eating the cars when you’re done,” said Sarah Strickland, one of several financial analysts who helped plan the project.

Electrical Engineer Lisa Dunn, who just two years ago was the president of UCSB’s Society of Women Engineers, worked with a group of kids constructing boats out of tin foil. They used their engineering skills to make a seaworthy craft and their math skills to figure out the maximum number of pennies their boats would float.

Software Engineer Ben Burleson was the “balloon flinker,” helping the students test gravity, using foam cups filled with packing peanuts and attached to helium balloons.

Helium also played a critical role in the hovercraft experiment, where students like Gwen Archambault and Korrina Harmsen created floating vehicles out of balloons and paper plates.

Materials and Process Engineer Elizabeth Mallon gave the keynote speech, explaining the difference between engineering and science to students, who were eager to find out what the different industries are that use these skills and what kind of education is needed.

“They asked a lot of questions,” said Mallon. It’s not like high school presentations where they’re too cool — or too shy — to ask.

“Women are very smart and clever and we want to get more of them in our workforce,” said Francisco Cabrera, in explaining to the students (including a few boys) why Raytheon had sponsored the event.

Raffle prizes included an autographed book about Sally Ride, junior science kits, fiber optic lead pencils and more, including the grand prize — a home planetarium star theatre, which went to Caitlin Connor.

Raytheon also donated engineering books, videos and bookmarks to the Washington School library and all of the participating students received “Three Cheers to Engineers!” t-shirts, as well as goodie bags, said Isabel Villegas, the Human Resources representative who coordinated the whole event, as part of Raytheon’s observation of National Engineering Week.

Last year the company hosted Kellogg School students at Raytheon, but spokesman Ron Colman said next year they’ll pick another elementary school and bring the program to the students, since they got an even better turnout than expected.

Raytheon also hosted a week of job shadowing with members of UCSB’s National Society of Black Engineers, which included an engineering competition, an ice cream social and a free hot dog lunch.

“We’re hoping to hire some of the students that came in,” said Villegas, adding that last year’s AS president Jamie Fitz-Gerald is now working at Raytheon.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on March 3, 2005.

J.R. Richards, former Santa Barbara High Principal

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Santa Barbara High School’s colors were green, gold and black this week, as the Dons mourned the death of former principal J.R. Richards, who died unexpectedly on Saturday. He was 63 years old.

Affectionately known around town as “J.R.,” Richards was the only graduate of Santa Barbara High to serve as the school’s principal. He was a mathematics teacher in the Santa Barbara High School District for 25 years, becoming assistant principal at Santa Barbara High School in 1993 and serving as principal from 1995 until the summer of 2003.

“He was the most connected person I think I’ve ever met. Everybody he ever dealt with walked away feeling like he totally cares about him. He established a loyalty in people that came from his own loyalty to them. He made you feel like you were really worth something,” said Peter van Duinwyk, a colleague for 30 years, who retired from Santa Barbara High with Richards in 2003. “He got kids — and teachers — to put out that extra five percent that made all the difference in the world. …Whether on the playing field or state test taking, it’s all related.”

“He had a great sense of humor and was a good teacher,” said Santa Barbara High Teacher Bruce Lofthus, who also taught with Richards at Dos Pueblos High School. He was one of the people responsible for getting me back into teaching. “Just one of those very enthusiastic people. You knew that he was interested in young people and it showed,” said Lofthus, noting that Richards also taught math to his two daughters. “They thought he was great.”

“It is hard for me to think about Santa Barbara High School without thinking about J.R. and his dedication to the staff, students, and school community,” said Superintendent Deborah Flores.

“The more said about him, the better,” said van Duinwyk. “He’s such a community jewel, we want to talk about him as much as possible so that others can follow. … As an administrator, I’d go up and ask him questions. His answer always was, ‘if its good for kids, lets start there.’ And it wasn’t necessarily the thing that everybody approved of. That was his standard.”

Richards’ high standards have lived on at Santa Barbara High. “He instilled so much in the kids and the staff,” said Patty Diaz, his longtime secretary. “The staff knows to put the kids first.”

“He had a lot of stuff done to him that was not equitable, not fair. But he never had a bad word to say about anyone. It was a pure joy to have him around for the additional year that we got him. And that he was able to go out on his own terms,” said Diaz.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on February 24, 2005.

Gang-related crime is up

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Gang activity is increasing on Santa Barbara’s streets. Arrests are up 51 percent, from a total of 189 in 2002, to 369 gang-related arrests in 2004, said Sgt. Ralph Molina, who gave a special presentation to the Santa Barbara School Board on Feb. 8.

“The good news is that when it comes to schools, we have seen very few isolated incidents during this past year,” Molina said, attributing this to the strong relationship between the schools and the police.

One of the reasons for the upswing in activity is that there are a lot of older gang members who were incarcerated and are now back on the streets. “They begin to go out and recruit and their numbers begin to increase,” he said.

Molina estimated that there are 3,000 gang members in Santa Barbara County, with approximately 1,000 of them in the cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta and the unincorporated area in between. In the city of Santa Barbara he estimated there were about 600 gang members, with 40 percent of them under the age of 18 and about half of that group in junior high.

Board members requested the presentation after a recent expulsion of a student involved with gangs.

“My experience is that about 90 percent of these kids that are gang members, are pretty good kids,” said Molina, who has worked in the gang unit for the past 13 years.

” They just have a lot of serious problems and they turn to that lifestyle without knowing an alternative. But when we get one on one and we talk to them and establish that relationship…you’ve got to find out what they’re all about if you’re going to deal with them, you can’t just arrest them and put them in jail,” he said.

In addition to the increase in the sheer numbers of known gang members, Molina said he is also seeing a big connection between gangs and drugs. “A huge connection. All the other cities outside of Santa Barbara have had that problem for years, where it’s been gangs and drugs. … The last couple of years we’ve seen a huge increase with gangs and selling of drugs.”

Molina said he is also seeing a lot of large gang fights, especially among the younger members. “The kids between 13 and 17 are keeping us busy. … That seems to be the core of the activity.”

There is also some evidence of increased gang activity among girls, but it’s harder to document, Molina said. “They’ll portray themselves as the girlfriends … we know that they are associating. … We’ve seen an increase on the girls and there’s been a couple rumors that they’re trying to form their own gang, but that we haven’t seen yet.”

As a result of the increased activity, in January of last year Santa Barbara Police brought back the youth services unit and increased the enforcement level, which may explain some of the increase in number of arrests, Molina said. He added that he would like to see the district reinstitute a program in which officers taught classes on gang violence. Funding for the program dried up a few years ago.

When asked by board member Nancy Harter whether there was a correlation between loss of funding for these types of programs and increased gang activity, Molina said he wasn’t sure.

“There’s always more we can do. The schools do a good job. There’s a lot of community-based organizations that really get involved. (We need) everyone working together to deal with this.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on February 17, 2005.

Schools turn to universal preschool

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Preschool playground, Philippines, The Learning Connection Preschool, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

Preschool playground, Philippines, The Learning Connection Preschool, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

Public officials tout preparedness factor but finding funding is another story

The evidence is clear. Quality preschool education programs:

= Help children enter school ready to succeed.

= Promote positive child development.

= Prevent violence.

= Help parents move from welfare to work.

= Improve employee performance and productivity.

= Aid economic development and growth.

In fact, the most recent data from a 20-year study in Chicago estimates that, ” for every $1 that we spend for preschool they can save $7 down the line, in terms of special ed referrals, in terms of earning power, in terms of better health for children, in terms of youngsters later on not being in the juvenile justice system,” said Julian Crocker, San Luis Obispo County’s school superintendent.

Crocker was in town to address the Tri-County Education Coalition on a subject near and dear to the education community’s heart: universal preschool.

While subsidized programs like Head Start and state-funded preschools are available, those programs are overcrowded, with waiting lists for about 91 percent of the local Head Start programs.

Families living just above the poverty level are the least likely to find a quality program, Crocker said.

“They may not qualify for assistance, they may not qualify for Head Start, and they do not have the resources to pay for a quality private preschool.”

First Five California is one of the major efforts under way to optimize early childhood development.

“The whole idea of closing the achievement gap before they start kindergarten, which makes a lot of sense,” said Crocker.

“What they’re doing is trying to target the lower decile schools and … to prove the value so that, at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later, the idea of universal preschool will be state-funded.”

Finding funding for universal preschool is one obstacle, but Crocker sees organization as another big challenge. “There’s a lot of players involved,” he said.

He acknowledged that many people in public education are overwhelmed with responsibilities.

“Many times I have the thought that, my gosh, I can barely handle all the students I have now. What are you talking about trying to add 3 and 4 year olds to the mix, too?” he said.

“We need to change that viewpoint and I would hate it if we look back 10 years from now and have another whole system dealing with Pre-K that’s not part of the public school system. I think the most damaging thing we could end up with is a system of preschools that are separate from the public elementary schools.”

There are two major preschool initiatives in the works right now, Preschool for All, and an initiative sponsored by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell.

“One of the major things that’s going to be necessary is some kind of unified approach. … I think that’s our first challenge,” Crocker said.

As to the debate about whether a quality preschool program emphasizes child development or academics, Crocker dismissed it.

“To me it’s not an argument. It’s like should you have water or food,” he said.

“You need both of them. I think sometimes we hurt ourselves within the education community by staking out territory.”

Originally published in South Coast Beacon

Principals offer plans to keep kids on track

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Junior high and high school principals were in the spotlight Feb. 1 at a special meeting of the Board of Education highlighting their plans to raise academic achievement.

All three high schools met their adequate yearly progress criteria, which are required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. On the junior high side, however, La Colina was the only school that met all components of its 2004 AYP goals.

To put the presentations in context, interim Superintendent Brian Sarvis said, “this has a lot to do with our accountability climate and especially an accountability climate that comes to us at the federal level in a model that’s a fairly punitive model.”

The bulk of the meeting focused on what the schools are doing to improve their test scores. For example, Santa Barbara Junior High has implemented several new programs, including a “STAR club,” which provides additional instruction and training for 75 students who fall just below the proficient level in English and math, and mandatory tutorials for students who don’t pass their instructional focus tests, said principal Susan Salcido.

At Goleta Valley Junior High, principal Paul Turnbull has instituted a program of midterms and finals to help gauge when students are having trouble with their work, rather than “wait until August to find out what we did and did not do well.” Some of the other interventions include working with community mentors, after-school tutorials and holiday and summer academic camps. Turnbull also said he is working closely with Dos Pueblos High to develop a six-year educational plan for each student.

Following Goleta Valley’s lead, La Colina Junior High has eliminated general math and is enrolling all students in algebra. The philosophy is to put the students in a higher-level class and then “teach them and support them,” explained principal David Ortiz. State standards call for all eighth-graders to take algebra.

Ortiz also noted that the principals are working together on ideas and strategies.

Jo Ann Caines, La Cumbre Junior High’s new principal, attended the meeting but did not make a presentation because she had just started her job the day before.

“Day Two and I’m still smiling,” she said.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on February 10, 2005.

Author-Go-Round comes round again

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While parents were dazzled by the star-studded film fest this week, local students were treated to the chance to schmooze with the authors and illustrators responsible for bringing some of their favorite characters to life, at the 35th Annual Author-Go-Round, sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Education Office.

“This annual event pays tribute to the reading and writing of children’s literature,” said County Superintendent of Schools William J. Cirone.

“The students come away with a sense that they have been involved with a real literary happening,” Cirone said.

Upper elementary and junior high students from all over Santa Barbara County, including the Santa Barbara, Goleta, Montecito and Hope District elementary schools, Santa Barbara Junior High and Goleta Valley Junior High, met in small groups each day with authors and illustrators Bruce Hale (Moki the Gecko picture books and the Chet Gecko mystery series for older readers), Valerie Hobbs (Carolina Crow Girl and (How far Would you Have Gotten if I Hadn’t Called you Back? ), Wendelin Van Draanen (Sammy Keyes mysteries and the Shredderman series) and Lee Wardlaw ((101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher and (My Life as a Weirdo).

In addition to reading aloud and discussing their books with the students, the authors shared fun tidbits. For example, Van Draanen, an Edgar Allan Poe Award winner for Best Children’s Mystery, said that her character Sammy Keyes is the friend she wished she had growing up, and thinks they would have gotten along great together.

Wardlaw shared that she thinks the BEST things about writing are working at home, seeing her books in bookstores, creating people she’d like to meet in real life, and getting fan mail, while the WORST things about writing are getting bad reviews, not having anybody to talk to during the day (except for cats), and waiting two-three years from the time her book is bought by a publisher to when it is actually published.

Almost 700 students participated in the Author-Go-Round this year.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on February 3, 2005.