Environment 2-19
Storms blowing through between 2/13 and 2/16 dropped 1.96 inches of rain on the City of Santa Barbara as of 2/18. The wet holiday weekend notwithstanding, Santa Barbara County precipitation totals indicate that the city has received 87 percent of the rain deemed normal for a full rainy season. Residents awakened on 2/13 to snow-capped mountains throughout the county. Four inches of snow were measured on La Cumbre Peak that morning. (/rain219)
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Responding to Venoco’s plan to put its Paredon oil project to a vote of the people, Carpinteria City Attorney Pete Brown filed paperwork in Santa Barbara Superior Court asking for a judge’s ruling on the legality of the potential special election ballot item. With concerns over what the officially titled Carpinteria Community Initiative could mean for, among other things, the city’s general plan, the city is asking for a legal ruling before proceeding with its duty of preparing a ballot title and summary.
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The Pacific coast’s brown pelican was on 2/5 removed from California’s Endangered Species List. However, California’s International Bird Rescue Research Center called the removal premature, as brown pelican populations have recently exhibited alarmingly uncharacteristic migration behavior. In Oregon and Washington, 400 birds were also killed or injured during December freezes. Officials state these reports are not enough to put the brown pelican back on the list.
