BlogaBarbara: The Back Story on Onnen's Absence

To truly understand my approach to Eric Onnen's absence from the last Goleta City Council meeting, one has to review what happened the week before when a vote for employee raises for City of Goleta workers took council to the midnight hour. While watching the meeting, it was clear that Onnen was keeping the meeting going unnecessarily with questions that did not pertain to government but were more suited to his extensive experience in the private sector. He brought up bonuses, for instance, which can't be given to public employees as it would be a gift of public funds. The meeting, it seemed, continued because he did not do his homework.

More at BlogaBarbara...

BlogaBarbara: Absent Eric? Goleta Budget Vote Too Important to Miss...

BlogaBarbara

For a rookie councilmember, that's a really tough vote to miss -- especially when there is apparently a movement started to recall the last election.

BlogaBarbara Community Post: Goleta Shows Us How

Goleta CC has approved a bond issue to help fund rental housing near Old Town...

UCSB's Long Range Development Plan

Sara De la Guerra at BlogaBarbara has a Review of UCSB's Long Range Development Plan.

Goleta the Fleeceable?

"Along with the proposed contract for police services it would appear SB County and Goleta City council have driven a stake into the heart of Goleta."

The Community Post at BlogaBarbara goes on to ask, "So the question is are we better off now than we were 6 years ago or are the taxpayers getting fleeced?"

Old Town Goleta: San Jose Creek and Steelheads

parkparkpark, a reader/commenter at BlogaBarbara, offered up for discussion the San Jose Creek project that the Goleta City Council had on their agenda last night.

In the enlargement nothing will be done to improve steelheads' ability to migrate up San Jose Creek! In earlier incarnations there was going to be a small channel with a natural bottom for steelhead, but that was removed. But now the concrete bottom will be left as is all along South Kellogg, which forms an impenetrable barrier to steelhead.

The project as about to be approved is right out of 1965. 35 years of South Coast environmentalism is being ignored by this undertaking, and the steelhead will suffer.

Further, the City of Goleta has only done a Negative Declaration, not a full EIR on the project.

Click here to read the full post and reader comments at BlogaBarbara.

BlogaBarbara: Goleta Housing Plan Rejected By State

For those that are interested, there is quite a discussion going on over at BlogaBarbara regarding the State rejecting Goleta's housing plan.

Close To Home: UC Regents Buy Devereux

BlogaBarbara is reporting that the 33-acre Devereux Property was acquired today by the UC Regents according to an announcement that was sent out by UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

To read more, click here to visit BlogaBarbara.

What does this mean for development of this coastal property? UCSB continues to expand and now the Devereux Property will be developed without needing to adehere to local planning guidelines as it is now state property. Yang didn't discuss any plans other than have the property produce income so there is no additional financial burdern for UCSB. This will be something to keep a close eye on.

-Sara De la Guerra, BlogaBarbara

UPDATE: Click here to read Chancellor Yang's Memo to the Campus regarding the approval of the UC Regents for the acquisition of the Devereux property.