With surprisingly little controversy or debate, the City Council voted this Tuesday to designate the second Monday of October ​— ​traditionally celebrated as the federal Columbus Day holiday — as both Indigenous Peoples’ Day and Italian Heritage Day. Mayor Cathy Murillo was careful to point out the newly city-sponsored holidays don’t replace Columbus Day and instead are meant to celebrate both Santa Barbara’s indigenous Chumash people and Italy’s most famous explorer. Santa Barbara follows in the footsteps of both San Francisco and Sacramento, which adopted similar dual holidays as a compromise with those who objected to erasing Columbus completely. Councilmember Randy Rowse abstained from voting, explaining the city had more pressing business to attend to.

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