••• I had ignored the Montecito Journal‘s article last week about eucalyptus trees because it buried the lede: an East Valley Road resident entreated Birnam Wood to remove the majestic row of 77 eucalyptus trees lining the street, and Birnam residents on Boundary Drive are also concerned; it was enough for the Birnam Wood Homeowners’ Association to take action. “Caltrans informed the association that an encroachment certificate is required to remove the trees, as the agency shares jurisdiction over the right-of-way along East Valley Road. Although the trees are privately owned, any work within the right-of-way must be approved by Caltrans.” The trees would be replaced by oaks. Personally, I think it’s a shame. And the removal process will undoubtedly make driving that stretch impossible.
••• “Delta Air Lines will cease flying between Atlanta and Santa Barbara, with the last service down for January. When it ends, the California airport will lose its longest-ever scheduled passenger flight. […] Salt Lake City will now be Delta’s sole Santa Barbara offering.” —Simple Flying
••• City council member Kristen Sneddon announced to Newsmakers that she’s running for mayor of Santa Barbara, promising “new leadership that will lead us to progress and not stagnation,” which would be more meaningful if she hadn’t been part of city leadership for eight years now. “After the city’s adoption 10 years ago of a district elections system under threat of a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit, the mayor is the only City Hall official now elected citywide. As a practical matter, the mayor is just one vote among seven council members; as a political matter, however, the mayor enjoys greater influence and authority than council colleagues, because she or he controls a bigger media platform, works with the city Administrator to set the council’s agenda, and chairs council meetings.” In other words, not much power at all.
••• “The developers behind the controversial Paseo Nuevo redevelopment project now have the option to not build 80 affordable housing units on Parking Lot 2, and instead build only 24 at the site of the old Macy’s building. The developers, AB Commercial and The Georgetown Company, had proposed 233 market-rate apartments at the site of the old Macy’s building and another 80 affordable units on Parking Lot 2. However, the city, in behind-the-scenes negotiations, is now offering them the ability to build only at Macy’s.” —Noozhawk
••• “In the past three months, 172 administrative citations have been issued to errant e-bike riders for violating street safety rules.” —Independent
••• “The University of California Board of Regents approved the acquisition of an off-campus property to serve as the residence for the current and future chancellors of UC Santa Barbara to enable them to carry out their roles and required official duties. The property, which is located 10 minutes from campus, was purchased for $7.8 million and the cost will be fully covered by private philanthropy. No state funding or student tuition dollars will be used to finance the property.” —UCSB house organ The Current
••• “Summer Solstice Celebration has officially announced that Wave is the theme for the 2026 Solstice Parade.” —Edhat (increasingly outsourced to writers in India)
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In my humble opinion, removing the majestic eucalyptus trees seems diabolical! Why on earth would someone want to remove them??
Because they’re hazards. They fall down in wet years, burn like roman candles in dry years. Their bark and their leaves smother native plants and they suck up more water than a grove of coastal oaks. They offer no value to wildlife nor the ecology at large and are in fact a case study for man’s hubris and willful ignorance. Cut them all down. Every last one.
There’s a huge eucalyptus down in Hidden Valley across from Valle Verde retirement community. That tree would flatten any house. Would not want one in fall radius of where I live.
They have very small root system (anchor) considering the weight, density and height making them prone to falling in wet windy conditions- aside from the fire hazard.
as everyone else has stated here, eucalyptus trees are a serious hazard and liability. there is zero benefit to having them. they don’t belong here and replanting is the best option.
They’re called “widow makers” for a reason….
Eucalyptus trees are not “widow makers”
A “widowmaker” is a term for a suspended branch that could fall and cause serious injury or death. They can be caused by age, fungal growth, stress on a branch, or damage from other falling trees
Hallelujah on the eucalyptus trees being removed. They are not indigenous to this area and pose a major fire and falling hazard. The more of them we can remove from the region the better.
Dude, If we have a fire of that magnitude nothing will help, You are the problem!
Yes! Reminds me of the old footage of the Painted Cave fire that KEYT pulls out every fire season- of the lady screaming “ where is the fire dept” while her hair whips around her face- as if the fire dept could battle the ferocious winds in that cul du sac.
Well said
Eucalyptus are non-native, invasive, messy trees that are giant flamethrowers.
People should be forced to remove them. Anyone with any fire responsibility would not want these near their homes. It’s completely not true that if we have a fire of that magnitude, nothing will help. This is spoken like a true rookie. This row of trees makes Birnam wood completely indefensible from a fire. If they were gone, Birnam Wood is much more defensible.
They are giant massive flammable weeds, and this stretch of road looks hideous with them. Plan some nice trees that have beautiful canopies that are not giant flamethrowers.
Get rid of them.
Oaks actually slow fire progression and are native. Eucalyptus are messy and dangerous and can spread fires with their giant embers they send off.
Too bad Delta abandoned the ATL route. That was a nice flight !
Really sad about the Atlanta flight :( Seems they are increasing the routes to SLC from SB though.
The trees too big to trim, and given their old age, pose a significant falling and fire hazard because there is a high powered gas line running underneath them. They are expensive to maintain (annual trimming costs a fortune) and they not native to the area. They will be replaced with native trees and other native landscaping and hopefully an improved trail. The open air space will be beautiful as well. Several community groups will be involved to ensure that this will be an overall improvement to this area.
Well, so much for naturalizing koalas….
I cannot in any way support Kristen Sneddon for mayor. A the end of the “Newsmakers W/Jr,” interview on You Tube she said she will start her campaign by having a listening tour. I thought, what has she been doing for the eight years on the council? Obviously talking, from what I’ve seen. I admit, I have a condition, I’m fascinated by local politics and I watch every council meeting. Now the meetings are on You Tube so I can watch anywhere. I don’t agree with Randy Rowse on every issue but I think he’s doing a good job. Why change horses in the middle of the stream, as the saying goes? And State street was a stream Saturday night! A gross river of human pathogens and flotsam. In the interview Kristen said she was in favor of an approved plan to put trees down the middle of one block but “leadership” had blocked it. Yeah, hello! I could visualize trees in 24″ boxes floating by. I could go on but I’ll leave it at that. We’ve got a year until the election.
I was floored when she promised “new leadership that will lead us to progress and not stagnation,”. That’s you! For the past 8 years you’ve literally been the leadership that brough us stagnation.
The university is in dire straights with the budget and this is how they are courting donors? Who are these donors who are SO concerned with making sure there is housing for the Chancellor, what do they expect in return? The whole thing stinks.
Eucalyptus trees are from Australia and, as far as I know, none of them arrived with proper immigrant papers. Therefore, they all should be cut down and shipped back to Australia, or at least that’s what ICE has stated.
Edhat (increasingly outsourced to writers in India) ?
That’s a shame about losing the SBA->ATL, I suppose there’s still DFW as a stopover and the new Chicago route being added next year, so not all bad.
I know it’s sad to lose trees, but those eucalyptus trees are so dangerous for the area – old age, falling damage, fire hazard, etc. I agree that they should be removed.
It’s disappointing Delta is discontinuing non-stop flights to Atlanta. I had an important appointment in Atlanta which my husband and I flew out just this last Wednesday and came back Thursday. It was much easier to travel non-stop than going through SLC. Hope they bring it back.
Santa Barbara should start using Ranked Choice Voting so that anyone elected has at least 50% support. Seems undemocratic for someone to hold office when they can be the choice of a minority of voters. For example, Randy Rowse received 38.6% of the vote. Would he have won if ranked choice voting was used?