Sun Staff

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) helped send key pieces of the Inflation Action Plan to President Joe Biden to become law, including provisions to invest in U.S. manufacturing of semiconductors—which will help lower costs of household items and create technology jobs, according to a July 28 statement from the congressman’s office. The bipartisan […]

• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) hosted a roundtable with Central Coast chambers of commerce and business owners to discuss the impact of inflation on local communities and highlight his recently announced Inflation Action Plan and Inflation Resources Guide, according to a July 21 statement from the congressman’s office. The action plan was developed […]

• More than 12,700 tons of trash was cleared from state roadsides during the first year of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative—a $1.1 billion multiyear cleanup effort that began July 2021, according to a July 14 statement from Newsom’s office. This amount would fill enough trash bags to line the California coastline twice, according […]

• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) hosted a virtual roundtable discussion with community leaders on addressing gun violence in communities across California, according to a July 7 statement from Padilla’s office. The conversation follows the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act’s passage—which President Joe Biden signed into law in June. “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is a […]

• In late June, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined a bipartisan majority of the House Armed Services Committee to send a comprehensive defense policy bill for fiscal year 2023 to the House floor, according to the congressman’s office. There will be multiple provisions included to support operations at Vandenberg Space Force Base, promote […]

• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) recently introduced legislation to help the homelessness and growing substance abuse crises, according to the senator’s office. The Coordinating Substance Use and Homelessness Care Act of 2022 would create a grant program under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support culturally competent, trauma-informed substance use […]

• The Santa Barbara County COVID-19 Community Data Dashboard will be transitioning to a new format using data from the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) COVID-19 dashboard beginning July 1, the county Public Health Department announced on June 17. This change marks an important step in the COVID-19 response as county Public Health enacts […]

• Gov. Gavin Newsom and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new partnership on June 9 to advance bold climate action, according to Newsom’s office. California and Canada signed a memorandum of cooperation (MOC)—a document that outlines shared objectives—to fight climate change, reduce pollution, cut back on plastic waste, advance zero-emission vehicles, protect the […]