Earth day festival returns

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

After a three-year hiatus, Earth Day will return to Alameda Park on April 29 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and April 30 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., presented by the Community Environmental Council (CEC). This year’s Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival is co-produced with long-time festival partner, CarpEvents.

“The Community Environmental Council is thrilled to return to Alameda Park, copresenting Santa Barbara’s Earth Day Festival with our longtime partners at CarpEvents,” Kathi King, CEC’s director of climate education and leadership and festival co-director, said in a press release. “By moving the festival to the end of the month, we hoped to encourage the community to support all of the local celebrations happening throughout our region on April 22 and provide a larger opportunity to bring everyone together at Alameda Park on April 29 and 30.”

“We are thrilled to be in a new role with this festival this year and can’t wait to bring tens of thousands of community members to Alameda Park to showcase the innovation happening in eco-focused products, earthfriendly services, and electric vehicles,” Michael Lazaro, CEO of CarpEvents said in a press

Please see EARTH DAY on A2

A DignityMoves village is a small community of previously unsheltered people living in small pre-built houses. This one is in downtown Santa Barbara and represents an effort to get homeless people off the streets and into temporary housing.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER

NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

DignityMoves has helped homeless individuals to get off local streets and into temporary housing.

They live in a 34-room village in downtown Santa Barbara.

DignityMoves started construction on the community in February 2022 and completed it in less than six months. Completed in a partnership with Santa Barbara County and Good Samaritan Shelters, the DignityMoves village, which consists of small pre-built houses, has been fully occupied since its inception. There’s a waiting list of more than 100, and DignityMoves says the village is being embraced by neighbors and local businesses.

“The project in downtown Santa Barbara prioritizes people sleeping and living in the immediate area,” Elizabeth Funk, founder and CEO of DignityMoves, told the News-Press.

“Neighbors will tell you they notice a visible difference,” Ms. Funk said. “There are no more people sleeping on the stairs in front of the art museum. The project gets them off the streets

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Bill seeks to reinstate military members discharged over COVID-19 vaccination status

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Nineteen Republican U.S. senators introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Department of Defense to offer reinstatement to service members who were fired over the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined by his colleagues, filed an amended bill to one he filed last legislative session, which would have allowed service members to opt out of the vaccine mandate without facing repercussion. The bill went nowhere.

Several provisions to protect service members in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2023

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