LOCAL NEWS
March 24, 2023
The IRS has extended the deadline for filing 2022 tax returns for communities affected by this year's storms, including Carpinteria. The deadline was automatically extended to October 16 this week for a list of counties impacted by the bad weather. Santa Barbara County is on the list. The IRS announcement and more information can be found here.
March 24, 2023
The city Planning Commission this week approved the most recent draft of Carpinteria’s housing element. Coastal View News reports the plan will now be sent to Santa Barbara County with a few modifications, as part of the state directive to build more homes locally. The Carpinteria area has been targeted by the county for 901 new housing units to comply with the state’s mandate to provide more affordable housing. The county’s preliminary plans for areas just outside the city limits have met with stiff opposition from many locals.
March 24, 2023
Carpinteria continues its recovery from Tuesday's major storm. A small tornado believed to have been a waterspout that came ashore caused heavy damage at the Sandpiper Mobile Home Park, and Noozhawk reports Habitat For Humanity has been helping with repairs. Work crews are still tending to several fallen trees around town. The next rain is forecast for the middle of next week.
March 23, 2023
The next major change for the highway 101 project locally will be a shift in the southbound lanes between Summerland and Santa Claus Lane. Caltrans reports the change will take place in the overnight hours between April 1 and 2, with traffic channeled to newly-created lanes while the old lanes are upgraded. An overview of the project and updates can be found at www.sbroads.com.
March 23, 2023
Revenue from cannabis taxes in Santa Barbara County is expected to be $5.8 million for the current fiscal year, with the money earmarked for services including libraries and road improvements. The number is much lower than projected, partly because of the end of the cultivation tax. Growers are also still struggling with a number of issues including costly regulations and legal challenges by anti-cannabis groups. But the budget shortfall will be made up by using past cannabis revenues, and some county officials are suggesting the numbers will bounce back once a set of new laws takes effect next January.
March 9, 2023
Chevron has begun work on decommissioning some of the oil platforms along the south coast, including here in Carpinteria. They’re now the owners of the old Venoco facility on Dump Road, and are in the midst of preparing for the actual decommissioning of the plant once the necessary permits are secured. Government affairs representative Sarah Dearman told Carpinteria Valley Radio that the company has taken preparatory steps that include the removal of equipment and the scrubbing of the big green tank #861, and that she hopes the actual decommissioning will be underway a year from now. The entire interview with Dearman can be heard on this video taken from our YouTube Channel.