Santa Barbara funds CE; Faulkner Farm supporters write letters to editors

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to save the local UC Cooperative Extension programs by approving additional funding, according to the Aug. 11 Lompoc Record.

“State cuts to the UC system, combined with local funding reductions, would have reduced the Extension program’s presence in Santa Barbara County to practically nothing without the infusion of cash from the Board of Supervisors,” writes reporter Sam Womack.

In other South Coast news, Ventura County residents have been writing letters to the editors of the Ventura County Star and the Santa Paula Times voicing opposition to the Hansen Trust Advisory Board’s recommendation to sell Faulkner Farm.

In the Aug. 9 Ventura County Star, Douglas Nelson and Nicholas Deitch of Mainstreet Architects + Planners write that they were hired by UC to provide a Master Plan for the Hansen Agricultural Center at Faulkner Farm.

“We worked for over a year with the first Hansen Trust Advisory Board, UC staff, UC Cooperative Extension and design focus groups from the local community,” they wrote. “Through a collaborative process, we developed a long-range plan for the Hansen Trust - a plan that was based on principles and goals reflecting the vision of benefactor Thelma Hansen.” They call the recommendation to sell Faulkner Farm “a very short-sighted decision.”

In the Aug. 6 Santa Paula Times (available only in print form currently), Mike Mobley and Ginger Gherardi of Santa Paula urge readers to “help in preventing this travesty by writing a letter” to President Yudof and VP Dooley.

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