Continued - Election 2020: Chamber Ballot Positions Continued from p.1 CEO for the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce. "We hope that the information we provide on our positions can help the community better understand how their vote on these measures could impact our local community." The Chamber encourages all community members to their own research and make informed decisions when they submit their ballots this election season. "We encourage all community members to prepare for the upcoming election and cast your vote," Morris said. "This election will have lasting impacts at the local, state and national levels, and it is important that your voice is
included in those decisions." To help educate voters, the Chamber recently held a Candidate Forum for local City Council and Mayoral candidates. Over 50 community members participated in the virtual event, where they had opportunities to talk with candidates in a small group format. Additionally, the Chamber will be conducting interviews with local Congressional and State Assembly candidates. These interviews will be available on the Chamber website and social media platforms, so community members can get to know who is running locally for
these seats, what their platform positions are, and what impact they have at the state and local levels. Finally, the Chamber offers a variety of election resources on their website (santamaria.com/advocacy), including a voter guide, voter registration and ballot information, and more. "Your voice matters, and your vote matters," Morris said. "As champions for our community, we encourage everyone to make informed decisions and cast their vote in the upcoming election."
PG&E Expands Efforts to Prevent Wildfires High temperatures, extreme dryness and record-high winds have created conditions in California where any spark at the wrong time and place can lead to a major wildfire. More than half of the area where PG&E customers live and work is at high risk for wildfires. Their Community Wildfire Safety Program includes plans to make their system, and our community, safer. An outline of this plan includes: • Reduce wildfire potential • Asset inspection and repair • Enhanced vegetation management • System automation • System hardening • Public Safety Power Shutoffs • Improve situation awareness • Weather stations • High-definition cameras • Wildfire Safety Operations Center (WSOC) • Meteorology • Reduce impact of PSPS events • Reduce impacted customers • Reduce length • Improve coordination with and support communities and customers You can learn more about PG&E’s plans to continue to improve wildfire prevention efforts at http://bit.ly/ PGEWildfirePrevention. The site also provides a place where you can sign up to receive notifications on Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) in your area. 2
The image above shows the California Public Utilities Commission High Fire-Threat District Map for Santa Barbara County. With fire seasons in California becoming longer and more severe, PG&E has put together a long-term plan to help make communities safer, and more prepared for dealing with wildfire threats.
