It comes as no surprise that the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee has endorsed incumbents Helene Schneider for Mayor and Bendy White for City Council, but two additional names have received endorsements from the Committee:
Megan Diaz Alley was born and raised in Crown Point, Indiana and achieved a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism, from Columbia College Chicago. Following graduation, Megan worked behind the scenes in the film industry, handling multi-million-dollar budgets as an Art Department Coordinator on film productions in Southern California.
Her passion for the environment on the central coast, led Megan to the Santa Barbara area, where she has worked for several non-profit organizations, including the Community Environmental Council (CEC) where she educated community leaders and the public on climate change and our dependency on finite resources such as fossil fuels. Megan also served as a producer and host of Nonprofit Spotlight, a program that highlights the proactive work of our region’s nonprofits.
Currently, Megan is the Development and Public Relations Coordinator for the local nonprofit Surgical Eye Expeditions (SEE) International, which in addition to its global mission of restoring sight and preventing blindness to disadvantaged individuals worldwide, is the parent of the Santa Barbara Vision Care Program (SBVCP), which provides comprehensive eye exams, eyeglasses, medications, and eye surgery at no cost to qualified patients who reside in Santa Barbara County.
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Like many communities throughout the country, Santa Barbara became interested in city improvement and beautification. In March of 1902, the City Council appointed the first Board of Park Commissioners. Within two years, the Board added two important parks (Oak Park and East Beach Park, now known as Chase Palm Park) to the city’s park system. In Oak Park more than 100 oak trees and other species were planted to give the park its natural, arcadian setting. Because of continued tree planting and maintenance throughout the city, Santa Barbara was officially designated a “Tree City USA” in 1980. It has retained that designation ever since. During this time period (and through at least 1931), various civic organizations purchased much of the Santa Barbara waterfront with the intention of assuring that it would be preserved in perpetuity for public use.

Granada Books Sets Thursday Dramatic Reading





“Although the first automobile ever sighted in Santa Barbara may have been the one appearing in the 1899 circus parade, W.S. Sherman was said to have owned the first automobile in town, taking delivery on Thursday evening, September 20, 1900. Townspeople watched in fascination the next day when he took it out for all to see. His sensational new purchase was a locomobile steamer, made by Stanley. The model was called a “Locosurrey.” This truly horseless carriage was priced at $1,200 and was operated as a rental machine with headquarters at Short’s Bike Shop, two doors south of Caesar’s Alley, leading to De la Guerra Plaza and the city hall. For a half dollar, Sherman would give a customer a ride around two city blocks.” - Walker Tompkins


