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SB City Council committee to discuss housing Members to work on simplifying approach to affordable housing fund By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara City Council’s consideration of a proposed affordable housing fund took two different turns than expected Tuesday. Staff had presented council members with a draft ordinance to create a Housing Opportunities, Preservation and Equity (HOPE) Fund for their review. And staff had asked for any suggestions before staff returned to council with a revised ordinance for approval. Instead, the council voted unanimously to send the proposal
to its Ordinance Committee so its members could distill the draft ordinance down from its lengthy, complex, multi-faceted approach to a simplified approach the full council can consider and approve. In addition, council members strongly agreed with members of the public and the Santa Barbara Housing Authority that too much emphasis was being placed on housing programs and administrative services rather than the bottom line: building more affordable housing. Councilmember Mike Jordan, an Ordinance Committee member, put it bluntly: “We just need more units. Period. We can discuss what
kinds of units later.” Councilmember Meagan Harmon, who helped set the affordable housing trust fund in motion, said the fund was not meant to provide housing programs and administrative services. “This fund is really about the production of housing,” she said. “That’s what’s guided my thinking from the very beginning.” Before the council listened to a staff presentation on the ordinance followed by several speakers on the subject, they heard several residents talk about their being evicted by their landlords.
The residents said their landlords claimed they needed to make renovations, but the residents said that was just an excuse to oust them, then raise the rent for new tenants moving in. Tuesday’s session was a repeat of last week’s council meeting when residents — many of them long-time Santa Barbarans — pleaded with the council to help them stay in their homes and not have to move out of town just to afford a place to live. Organizers of the group vowed last week that they’d return weekly to voice their concerns. They made good on their promise on Tuesday.
One woman, cradling her infant in her arms, said she was evicted when eight months pregnant because of bogus “renovations.” “It was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever had to experience,” she said, noting she received a payout to move, “but not for peace of mind.” She, like speakers who followed, urged the council to put an end to rent evictions “just to hike up the rent and make people who grew up here not afford to live here anymore.” Wendy Santamaria, a community organizer with the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, confided
Grace Fisher’s dream Foundation’s clubhouse to serve as arts outlet for youths of all abilities
that, like the people she works with, she, too, is facing eviction. “I’m going through the same thing,” she said. “They’re trying to raise the rent, and I can’t afford it anymore. I’m seeing these people pushed and harassed, and now it’s happening to me, too.” When it came time to talk about the affordable housing fund, Mayor Randy Rowse cautioned that, aside from the staff presentation and hearing from public speakers, the council would not take action on the ordinance other than to forward it to the council’s Ordinance
Suspect in child’s death to return to court By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A Santa Barbara man will return to court in May to set a date for his preliminary hearing on charges that he killed his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter. Elvis Alberto Lopez, 25, appeared in court last Thursday to set that date, but the matter was continued to May 4 for a preliminary hearing setting, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian told the News-Press. Mr. Lopez was charged in a six-count felony complaint with the murder of 3-year-old “Jane Doe” on Feb. 4, with assault on a child causing death for the Feb. 4 incident, and with child abuse for an incident that occurred on Feb. 2, prosecutors said. In counts 4 through 6, “the defendant is charged with three separate incidents of child abuse that allegedly occurred between Sept. 1, 2022 and Feb. 1, 2023,” prosecutors said. Mr. Lopez was previously convicted of a serious and violent felony, or “strike” offense, prosecutors said. If convicted in this case, he would receive a second strike, according to the complaint filed against him. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and he denied all special allegations. His bail is set
NEWS STAFF WRITER
The community is invited to the grand opening of the Grace Fisher Foundation’s Inclusive Arts Clubhouse today from 4 to 7 p.m. The clubhouse is located at La Cumbre Plaza (Space F 118, next to the Museum of Sensory and Movement Experience) in Santa Barbara. The site is designed to be a safe and welcoming space for children of all abilities to explore and express themselves through mediums such as art, music and dance. It’s also an outlet for social programming. “This has been a dream since
I started the foundation back in 2016,” Grace Fisher told the News-Press. The Grace Fisher Foundation’s focus is on children and young adults living with a disability, but there are also programs in place for adults living with other conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord injuries. And Ms. Fisher has been a strong advocate for youths of varying abilities. She’s been in their shoes. She had to learn new ways to express herself creatively after being diagnosed in 2014 with acute flaccid myelitis. The rare spinal condition left Ms.
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Fisher — at the time a Santa Barbara High School senior and an accomplished pianist, cellist and guitarist — paralyzed from the neck down. But she went on to compose music and paint pictures with special technology. “I have been so grateful that throughout the years everyone has rallied behind me and wanted to support me any way that they could,” Ms. Fisher said. “The dream that inspired it was when I got home from the hospital, I didn’t feel like there was a space dedicated towards inclusivity within the disabled community. I wanted a place where people could come
together, connect and build friendship and community. “I think a lot of the time with disabilities, it can be isolating not just for the person but also for the families and parents,” Ms. Fisher said. She noted the new clubhouse isn’t just for participants. “It is for the whole family. There is already a parent’s yoga class in place. In the next few months, I want to develop other programs for families as well.” The News-Press asked Ms. Fisher about her vision for the clubhouse. “It is a place for our adaptive programs, which includes adaptive music, art and dance. Please see FISHER on A4
at $4 million. Santa Barbara police dispatch received a 9-1-1 call reporting a medical emergency concerning the child at 1:33 p.m. on Feb. 4. The initial report was that a 3-year-old girl had fallen out of bed, injuring herself. Santa Barbara City Fire and American Medical Response personnel were attending to the child, performing CPR, when police arrived. The child was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Santa Barbara police detectives, with the assistance of the Santa Barbara County Coroner’s office, investigated the girl’s death. Based on the evidence gathered, the case was categorized as a homicide. Based upon their investigation of what police called “this heinous crime,” detectives identified Mr. Lopez, the boyfriend of the girl’s mother, as their prime suspect, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was contacted at his family’s residence by Santa Barbara Police Department detectives and taken into custody without incident, police said. email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com
Rain predicted for this week
COURTESY PHOTO
Grace Fisher appears in front of the Grace Fisher Foundation’s new Inclusive Arts Clubhouse, located in La Cumbre Plaza in Santa Barbara. The grand opening of the facility will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. today.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER
Please see COUNCIL on A4
Rain is expected late Thursday through early Saturday in Santa Barbara County and elsewhere in Southern California. That’s according to the National Weather Service. After the rainfall, skies are predicted to be partly or mostly cloudy throughout the region through Tuesday. Today’s sunny spot is Santa Barbara, the weather service says. Everywhere else, including UCSB, will see partly cloudy skies today in the county. But on Thursday, the weather service expects Santa Barbara will join other communities and see its share of clouds before
the rain falls by the evening. The Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service predicts 2 to 4 inches of rain for Santa Barbara County. Rain or shine, it’ll be cold. Highs today are supposed in the upper 50s to low 60s throughout Santa Barbara County, and the lows will be in the upper 30s to low 40s. That’s how temperatures are expected to remain through the weekend. Sunday will be warmer with highs in the mid to upper 60s throughout the county. Again, that’s according to the weather service. — Dave Mason
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 4-9-20-27-34 Meganumber: 17
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 3-5-7-8
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 1-13-22-27-37
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-07-05 Time: 1:41.79
Monday’s POWERBALL: 2-13-29-58-69 Meganumber: 4
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 7-7-1 / Wednesday’s Midday 2-0-3