http://www.erincarlstrom.com/index.php en carlstrom@kurland-digital.com Copyright 2012 2012-04-26T23:01:17+00:00 http://www.noozhawk.com/article/042612_few_sparks_farr_pappas_candidate_forum/ http://www.noozhawk.com/article/042612_few_sparks_farr_pappas_candidate_forum/#When:23:01:17Z By Tom Bolton, Noozhawk   Farr, a Santa Ynez Valley resident with considerable ties to the South Coast, emphasized her accomplishments as a first-term incumbent, repeatedly enumerating steps she has taken with her colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to address the county’s financial woes, rein in runaway pension costs, protect agriculture and open space, and provide strong constituent services.   “Since being elected I’ve worked hard to fulfill those commitments,” Farr said. “I’ve made tough but fiscally prudent decisions to close whatever budget gaps our county faced and voted every year for a balanced budget.”   She also pointed to her support for public safety agencies and efforts to improve safety on roads such as Highway 154.   Farr countered that the county “has made a number of reforms already,” creating a less-expensive program for new hires and eliminating the ability for employees to game the system through what is known as spiking. She also defended the county workforce, saying that most employees are hardworking and don’t end up receiving extravagant pensions.   “A lot of information that’s out there is not accurate,” Farr said. “Most employees don’t get big pensions.”   2012-04-26T23:01:17+00:00 http://syvnews.com/news/local/farr-letter-opposes-tribal-annexation/article_d38e0970-8e8f-11e1-a4f3-001a4bcf887a.html http://syvnews.com/news/local/farr-letter-opposes-tribal-annexation/article_d38e0970-8e8f-11e1-a4f3-001a4bcf887a.html#When:22:52:34Z By Julian Ramos, Santa Ynez Valley News   In a letter to Alaska Congressman Don Young, 3rd District county Supervisor Doreen Farr has detailed her opposition to placing the Chumash tribe’s rural “Camp 4” property in Santa Ynez into federal trust.   The four-page letter addresses a recent request by the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians to Young, an Alaska Republican who is chairman of the House Indian and Native Alaskan Affairs Subcommittee, to help the tribe add the 1,400 agricultural acres into their reservation through direct congressional legislation. Annexation to the reservation would make the property exempt from local and state taxes and local planning and zoning laws.   The significant loss of tax revenue to the county and to all of the special districts, including schools, which depend upon it would impact all county services,” Farr said. “We cannot afford to lose any of this revenue, particularly during the current severe economic downturn.   “Any proposed development has many other potential impacts including impacts to police and fire services, to traffic and circulation and to the continued viability of agriculture, both on the property in question and on all the properties that surround it. If gaming were also on the property it would obviously only exacerbate those impacts.”   She sent copies of her letter to U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Central Coast Congress members Lois Capps and Elton Gallegly, Santa Barbara County CEO Chandra Waller, the other four Santa Barbara County supervisors, and Armenta.   2012-04-26T22:52:34+00:00 http://syvnews.com/news/local/drivers-can-get-a-charge-in-solvang/article_faa8da54-667a-11e1-826f-0019bb2963f4.html http://syvnews.com/news/local/drivers-can-get-a-charge-in-solvang/article_faa8da54-667a-11e1-826f-0019bb2963f4.html#When:21:37:11Z Drivers can get a charge in Solvang Drivers of electric vehicles are now able to plug in at three public charging stations in Solvang, the first to be installed in Santa Barbara County through a public-private partnership intended to encourage the use of electric cars. In Solvang, the program is also intended to bolster tourism, the city’s primary industry.   “There are about 40 more stations in the queue to be installed in Santa Barbara County,” added Dave Van Mullem, director of the Air Pollution Control District. Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr, whose district includes the Santa Ynez Valley, said the goal is an integrated system that will connect regionally, so that drivers from out of town know they can check a phone app and find the next charging station. “I think that will help people who have had concerns about buying an electric car because they’re perceived as being for shorter trips,” Farr said. “It’s particularly nice that it’s not just going to be in Santa Barbara and on the South Coast, but all over the entire county,” she said. 2012-03-06T21:37:11+00:00 http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-can-t-afford-rent-branch-to-close/article_e2093974-675d-11e1-836f-0019bb2963f4.html http://santamariatimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-can-t-afford-rent-branch-to-close/article_e2093974-675d-11e1-836f-0019bb2963f4.html#When:21:33:52Z Unless a hero rides to the rescue, the final chapters in the story of the Guadalupe Branch Library could be written over the next four months. The small, but popular library will close on June 30 because the city can no longer afford the $20,000 annual rent on the building at 4719 West Main St The library has Mayor Lupe Alvarez and 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr in its corner. Both pledged any support they could muster, Farr said there was also some money available to the library that had not been allocated for this fiscal year that could help with rent or moving expenses. Boydstun said around 1,000 people utilize the library each month, and it has 2,534 cardholders. The city has a population of about 7,000. “There’s a lot of mothers and children who use it. A lot of oldsters use it. The computers are going constantly,” Boydstun said. “I just can’t feature a city without a library.” 2012-03-06T21:33:52+00:00 http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/archive/10/9/9728/ http://www.santaynezvalleyjournal.com/archive/10/9/9728/#When:19:25:09Z Ever on a hunt to broaden student experiences, especially in our increasingly global world, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School is opening its doors to international experiences within the confines of its limited budget. Actually, in an unusually positive twist of fate, the opportunity is a financial gain for the school, says superintendent Paul Turnbull. This fall, 30 students from the Niels Brock Copenhagen Business College (Niels Brock) will attend the high school as tuition paying students if enough local host families can be found. Host families will be paid $475 per month per student. “It will be a life-changing experience for all the students involved,” says 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr.  2012-03-01T19:25:09+00:00 http://www.independent.com/news/2012/jan/31/hazardous-materials-banned-highway-154/ http://www.independent.com/news/2012/jan/31/hazardous-materials-banned-highway-154/#When:22:01:04Z Authorities announced Monday that trucks carrying hazardous materials are no longer allowed to travel Highway 154. With Supervisors Doreen Farr and Janet Wolf at his side, along with the mayors of Goleta and Solvang, Assistant Chief Scott Howland of the California Highway Patrol’s Coastal Division Office said that this marked the completion of a process put in motion in December 2010. In August of that year, a truck careened off of the 154 — commonly known as the San Marcos Pass — and crashed into a home on State Street, killing three residents. Since then Santa Barbara County officials have been stepping up efforts to improve safety along the highway Hazardous waste was already not allowed on route 154, but now all hazardous materials fall under the ban. Trucks delivering HazMats to locations along the route will be exempt from the new restrictions, but all other trucks marked as carrying dangerous materials will have to use Highway 101 or else face hefty penalties: $500 and up to 60 days in prison. “This is really a great day for Santa Barbara County,” Farr said. “Now the volume of large trucks will be reduced, and drinking water from Lake Cachuma will be ensured.” Farr also noted that the CHP was “fantastic to work with” and thanked her colleagues for support. “I live in the Santa Ynez Valley. I travel the pass all the time,” she said, adding a personal touch to her remarks. 2012-01-31T22:01:04+00:00 http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/18/new-county-wide-homelessness-collaboration-wins-fe/ http://www.independent.com/news/2011/jan/18/new-county-wide-homelessness-collaboration-wins-fe/#When:19:51:54Z On Friday January 14, local government, non-profit, business and faith communities won an eleventh hour battle for a 30-day federal deadline extension that will allow for the first step in an ambitious campaign to house the most vulnerable of those living on the streets in Santa Barbara County. Supervisor Doreen Farr and Congresswoman Lois Capps were instrumental in advocating for the waiver requested by the County’s Housing and Community Development Department when it appeared that HUD was likely to decline the request. “Our elected leaders are representing a truly community-driven goal, through their efforts to ensure this urgent change at the highest level of housing policy,” said Rob Fredericks, volunteer co-leader of the Common Ground Santa Barbara South County team and Deputy Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara. This prioritization will target limited existing housing resources to those most in need, thereby saving lives and impacting the community through an immediate visible reduction in street homelessness and use of high cost emergency services. 2012-01-18T19:51:54+00:00 http://www.dailynexus.com/2012-01-17/supervisor-discusses-local-issues-upcoming-election/ http://www.dailynexus.com/2012-01-17/supervisor-discusses-local-issues-upcoming-election/#When:21:59:56Z Doreen Farr, supervisor of Santa Barbara County’s 3rd District, hosted an open forum on Thursday afternoon at Coffee Collaborative to hear concerns from Isla Vista community members and give feedback on recent political decisions and the upcoming election. Sitting at an outdoor table overlooking Pardall Road from 1 to 3 p.m., Farr listened to community input about her work on the Board of Supervisors and spoke with students, I.V. residents and business owners about local issues Erik Anciaux, president of the Campus Democrats, said Farr has consistently been a strong proponent of I.V. residents’ liberties. “I was riding my bike down the street and saw Doreen and just wanted to say hi. I’m a big fan of her work for I.V., especially student voting rights,” Anciaux said. “Elsewhere in the county, especially with Mr. Pappas, we’ve seen disinclination of people to work with I.V., but Supervisor Farr has done a great job representing I.V. and being open to the concerns of our residents.” Farr will continue to hold open forums on the second Thursday of every month at Coffee Collaborative, located at 6560 Pardall Rd. 2012-01-17T21:59:56+00:00 http://www.dailynexus.com/2012-01-10/pappas-run-supervisor/ http://www.dailynexus.com/2012-01-10/pappas-run-supervisor/#When:21:54:09Z After losing to Farr in 2008 by a slim margin, Pappas challenged the legitimacy of Farr’s election in Santa Barbara Superior Court, claiming improper voter registration proceedings in 18 Isla Vista and UCSB precincts. Though the Superior Court dismissed the case, Pappas continued to pursue a string of appeals until last month when the California Secretary of State’s Office announced that it found insufficient evidence to recommend filing criminal charges. In August, the Santa Barbara County Superior Court ordered Pappas to pay Farr $700,000 in compensation for legal fees incurred by his series of unsuccessful suits and appeals, which continued for much of the past three years. “He’s lost every step of the way,” Farr said. “We’ve had at least five different entities look at this and all come to the same conclusion, that there was no fraud. According to Farr, Pappas’ inquiries into the legitimacy of the UCSB and Isla Vista ballots indicated his view of the voting blocs in question. “No matter what Mr. Pappas may have said in the first campaign, I think that when he tried to invalidate the value, the worth of all of the ballots at UCSB and Isla Vista, he was making a statement there that the students really need to understand,” Farr said. 2012-01-10T21:54:09+00:00 http://www.noozhawk.com/article/060711_santa_barbara_county_hydraulic_fracturing/ http://www.noozhawk.com/article/060711_santa_barbara_county_hydraulic_fracturing/#When:00:21:41Z Opponents raise concerns over extraction process known as hydraulic fracturing The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors took a long look at the oil and gas industry’s practice of hydraulic fracturing Tuesday. While the process may not be a household term, there was plenty of opinion about the matter — for and against. Santa Barbara County regulations don’t specifically address hydraulic fracturing, but a discretionary Oil Drilling and Production Plan is required for any oil or gas drilled in an inland area within a state field that uses groundwater as a means of flooding a subsurface formation. Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr said she brought the item before the board because she’s received letters of concern from constituents, primarily addressing water quality. The supervisors received a report on the topic Tuesday and will revisit the issue at their Aug. 2 meeting. 2011-12-20T00:21:41+00:00