On a side note a good friend who lived in SB first almost 30 but moved back to Italy 5 years ago came to visit I told her walk up State street. Her assessment. “It looks like crao. Smells like piss even inside some of the store. The bikes were dangerous.” She was very disappointed. She also told me that her Italian dentist came to CA and told him to visit Santa Barbara, which she raved about. He did and was grossly disappointed, not understanding why she was so excited about it.
Thank you, Charles. I grew up in Santa Barbara, starting in 1961 and visited my mom and step dad here often when I moved for several decades to NYC. My husband and I now live here permanently. So I've seen a lot of changes. This is the worst I've ever seen downtown. And here's what I have to say: I have zero patience with any Santa Barbaran who voted for Gavin Newsom. He has got to go. There is no hope for Santa Barbara as long as he's in office. He has the worst people working for him and the worst influence over our local politicians. People need to come together about getting Newsom gone - because nothing else will restore Santa Barbara to its beauty. Of course Newsom is going to try for the White House. And I hope he runs. Yes, I really do. Because the rest of this country will hate what they see of him and they won't be as wimpy as Santa Barbarans are about letting him know. If you want to see Newsom's soul, look up a smiling photo of Ted Bundy. The resemblance between those two says it all.
We "the people" tried to recall Gruesom. We were outvoted by the ignorant lead the Elites like Pelosi, Obama, Oprah et al. Grassroots movements only go so far.
Who are they grooming for the next election in 2026???
Great article.All respect to the author who makes many great points and clearly cares a lot and thinks it's possible to stop or reverse the madness.Along with the "no cars on State Street" by the green crowd you can also add no locals on State Street.I havnt shopped or gone to a restaurant between Victoria and the beach in over 5 years and and no plans to in the future even when friends from out of town visit.At this point I would be fine turning all of State Street into "affordable housing" or free housing for the "newcomers" that have come across the border.Growing up in SB even decades ago they said SB was for Newly Weds and nearly deads.Now it's for the nearly deads and billionaire elites that know what's best for the minions who serve their food and clean their houses and polish their Teslas.Its pretty much over for State St and SB.
It’s so sad. I want State st BACK! I’ve seen plenty of post where people will not return because of no traffic. Santa Barbra looks like the getto with the trashy k-rail to block traffic. Even worse now painted like graffiti Santa Barbara better get it back together. Everyone just hangs at the funk zone, and no longer gos up State St. We all miss having all the parades going up State Street as well. It’s a shame.
I walked up State on the 4th and took videos. Hardly anyone was walking in the street. You can find my videos on Facebook. 500-700 blocks. Vast majority of folks were on the sidewalk looking at stores. Eating ice cream. Avoiding being run over.
An interesting wake-up call this past weekend with family in town, ALL of the open streets surrounding State St and in the Funk Zone are thriving again. The ugly dead zone with all the vacancies is the closed State St. Doesn't everyone see this!
I also know of two people who once lived here for many years, one of whom Anne spoke about, who were totally horrified on recent visits about the absolute destruction of the once unique downtown Santa Barbara area. As a native Santa Barbarian I sadly feel no connection anymore with the downtown area.
Talk about exposing the interlocking anti car and crippled transportation groups that have had deep roots in government. The distinction is it is corrupt not just ideology. He mentions the 3rd Street in Santa Monica that does not have "leg's." Yet repeated anti car groups and councils point to it as a great success? Guess that is why it is a shell of what was projected decades ago.
Re-read this. It is a solid great read that destroys the likes of Davis, Jordan, past and present city trolls who want the Community, once held together by a robust transportation grid multi blocks wide, on either side of State St. killed.
To answer the question Who is Driving State Street? the answer is currently no one. It is a powerful long held power elite who faced with decades of failure cannot admit they are wrong. The Single A wannabes have been playing in the Majors and wonder why rational people want to fire them.
Back when I was a young man, I was driving my 1953 Ford convertible up State street ...heading for the Blue Onion Restaurant...where I would turn around and head back down the 4 lane State street to the Beach. I was looking for girls...and suddenly I had a car full of them beside me in the next lane. I was flirting with them big time...when suddenly I slammed into the car in front, which had suddenly stopped. No damage...cars had steel bumpers back then, but I was very embarrassed as the car full of girls laughed, and drove away. I still remember the good ole days. Where have they gone?
Why isn't State Street choice on the November ballot? Where do the bricks and mortor people stand on this issue? Most of us want State Street to be a street--for all types of vehicles all of the time.
Keep pounding away is all I can say. Try and talk sense into your bicycle minded friends, and those who think keeping cars off of State Street will help clean the air. Just point out how silly that thought is.
Marxists are in complete control of our City and they are laser focused on destroying our once beautiful community, to build back in their vision. A 15 minute city, a SMART city, whatever you want to call it, is the death of our downtown as we know it. The emergency of Covid is behind us and unless we demand a FULL STOP to this closure of State Street, it is a death warrant for business owners and property owners alike. We are their test study for the nation. If they can destroy something as beautiful and naturally perfect as Santa Barbara, they can take any city that they want, which is all of them.
In my naïveté of 8 years ago, I would attend City Council meetings with other stakeholders and wonder how they could be making such horrible decisions. It was like they were purposefully trying to destroy our city with their poor decision making. I would wonder why anyone would want to destroy what we have, it was truly unthinkable. So I resigned that they were stupid. This however is a big mistake because they are not just stupid, they are calculated and very strategically following the playbooks that they’ve been given to ‘Build Back Better.’ In every Council meeting, every committee meeting, the various social justice non-profits in SB put out the call via text, email and social media to attend these meetings, attend in mass, and to be vocal in favor of the playbook. They are better organized than us, less busy than us, and fiercely committed to following their party politics at all costs. In order to save our downtown, we must rebalance our State and local politics, which can only take place after a national win and a full examination of voter fraud. Once we clean house, we must all get involved in reclaiming our community. We can put it back with some effort, the way it was before King Kong started playing demolition, but we must first wrestle control from the Marxists who know nothing of creating, only destroying. I for one, would start by replanting the enormous Stone Pine trees on Anapamu.
Rent controls, destruction of real estate values, long expensive torturous permitting processes, are forms of confiscations. It would be too obvious to simply take your properties from you. Property owners are being brought to their knees so that the ‘housing authority’ can be brought in as a white knight to create low income housing. If that isn’t a class battle, I don’t know what is.
We sold a building on State Street last year after being held hostage by the City which created a vacant building for over 8 years that had unsustainable debt servicing for such an obscene period of time. They are using the mudslides, Covid as their reasoning for downtown degradation but this is an intentional transfer of wealth.
Actually Thomas John, Marxist is accurate too, we are just collectively unaware of it. Alexis De Tocqueville said "American's are Cartesian having never read Descartes." That was true in the 19th century, today, American's are Marxists having never read Marx. All the undergirding ideologies of the material dialectic are driving the current narrative, so it is very accurate to say most in Santa Barbara are Marxists or communists or socialists, and sadly most don't even know it, but it doesn't make it any less true.
I'll look into this some more. Socialist I'll buy now. I've started Alexis De Tocqueville a 1/2 dozen times over my life. I need to just buckle down and finish it.
All good points. The noisy minority is getting their way, because most of us are not fully aware of the meetings and do not attend. I happen to live in the north county area, but am in the City several days a week for business.
41 empty storefronts are a very disturbing sight. If that square footage is not drawing shoppers to State Street, I do not see how restaurants can be thriving and continuing to support the vehicle ban. When I walk past my favorite eateries, I do not see large crowds, either inside dining or outside waiting for a table.
How will conversion of sections of this corridor to housing reinvigorate retail business? Has anyone told us who the tenants will be? Work-force housing? How will food servers, retail clerks, hotel "workers", maintenance and cleaning services employees be able to afford these rents? If you know anything about rental pricing, tge majority of units will be priced out of the reach of these folks. Even if developers are required to provide x-number of "affordable" units, those rents are often out of reach, and are subsidized by higher rents in the other units. Will attorneys, CPAs, accounting/consulting firms, nurses, doctors, other professional, law enforcement, other "high earners", be inclined to live in this isolated island? What if they choose to live there but work elsewhere? They will need easy access to transportation to reach outlying places of employment.
So far, it is relatively easy to get across that corridor to my designated parking lot, then walk back three blocks to my place of business. However, that "free" lot is designated for new construction this year. Replacement parking for those 100+ cars has yet to be designated.
As for getting one's shopping done via bicycle, a bike certainly will not be sufficient for a trip to Costco or the dry cleaners. Is that a new business opportunity: pop-up dry cleaners on every block?
Last-but-not-least, will the repurposing of the downtown corridor result in new building height limits?
Big picture, folks, not the personal bicycle cocoon.
Charles, excellent article - vivid and illustrative. It’s worse than I thought - the left-wing morons have taken over the asylum! It’s time for CRAP to the rescue - Citizen Review and Protest!
On a side note a good friend who lived in SB first almost 30 but moved back to Italy 5 years ago came to visit I told her walk up State street. Her assessment. “It looks like crao. Smells like piss even inside some of the store. The bikes were dangerous.” She was very disappointed. She also told me that her Italian dentist came to CA and told him to visit Santa Barbara, which she raved about. He did and was grossly disappointed, not understanding why she was so excited about it.
When progressive "leaders" oversee the legions of Environmental Studies majors that make up our city staff-this is what you get.
Thank you, Charles. I grew up in Santa Barbara, starting in 1961 and visited my mom and step dad here often when I moved for several decades to NYC. My husband and I now live here permanently. So I've seen a lot of changes. This is the worst I've ever seen downtown. And here's what I have to say: I have zero patience with any Santa Barbaran who voted for Gavin Newsom. He has got to go. There is no hope for Santa Barbara as long as he's in office. He has the worst people working for him and the worst influence over our local politicians. People need to come together about getting Newsom gone - because nothing else will restore Santa Barbara to its beauty. Of course Newsom is going to try for the White House. And I hope he runs. Yes, I really do. Because the rest of this country will hate what they see of him and they won't be as wimpy as Santa Barbarans are about letting him know. If you want to see Newsom's soul, look up a smiling photo of Ted Bundy. The resemblance between those two says it all.
We "the people" tried to recall Gruesom. We were outvoted by the ignorant lead the Elites like Pelosi, Obama, Oprah et al. Grassroots movements only go so far.
Who are they grooming for the next election in 2026???
Great article.All respect to the author who makes many great points and clearly cares a lot and thinks it's possible to stop or reverse the madness.Along with the "no cars on State Street" by the green crowd you can also add no locals on State Street.I havnt shopped or gone to a restaurant between Victoria and the beach in over 5 years and and no plans to in the future even when friends from out of town visit.At this point I would be fine turning all of State Street into "affordable housing" or free housing for the "newcomers" that have come across the border.Growing up in SB even decades ago they said SB was for Newly Weds and nearly deads.Now it's for the nearly deads and billionaire elites that know what's best for the minions who serve their food and clean their houses and polish their Teslas.Its pretty much over for State St and SB.
It’s so sad. I want State st BACK! I’ve seen plenty of post where people will not return because of no traffic. Santa Barbra looks like the getto with the trashy k-rail to block traffic. Even worse now painted like graffiti Santa Barbara better get it back together. Everyone just hangs at the funk zone, and no longer gos up State St. We all miss having all the parades going up State Street as well. It’s a shame.
I walked up State on the 4th and took videos. Hardly anyone was walking in the street. You can find my videos on Facebook. 500-700 blocks. Vast majority of folks were on the sidewalk looking at stores. Eating ice cream. Avoiding being run over.
An interesting wake-up call this past weekend with family in town, ALL of the open streets surrounding State St and in the Funk Zone are thriving again. The ugly dead zone with all the vacancies is the closed State St. Doesn't everyone see this!
They want a 15 min city and selling you this shit.
I stopped going downtown 4 yrs ago.
I also know of two people who once lived here for many years, one of whom Anne spoke about, who were totally horrified on recent visits about the absolute destruction of the once unique downtown Santa Barbara area. As a native Santa Barbarian I sadly feel no connection anymore with the downtown area.
Bravo, Bravo, Author, Encore!!!
Talk about exposing the interlocking anti car and crippled transportation groups that have had deep roots in government. The distinction is it is corrupt not just ideology. He mentions the 3rd Street in Santa Monica that does not have "leg's." Yet repeated anti car groups and councils point to it as a great success? Guess that is why it is a shell of what was projected decades ago.
Re-read this. It is a solid great read that destroys the likes of Davis, Jordan, past and present city trolls who want the Community, once held together by a robust transportation grid multi blocks wide, on either side of State St. killed.
To answer the question Who is Driving State Street? the answer is currently no one. It is a powerful long held power elite who faced with decades of failure cannot admit they are wrong. The Single A wannabes have been playing in the Majors and wonder why rational people want to fire them.
"applause - curtain down"
Back when I was a young man, I was driving my 1953 Ford convertible up State street ...heading for the Blue Onion Restaurant...where I would turn around and head back down the 4 lane State street to the Beach. I was looking for girls...and suddenly I had a car full of them beside me in the next lane. I was flirting with them big time...when suddenly I slammed into the car in front, which had suddenly stopped. No damage...cars had steel bumpers back then, but I was very embarrassed as the car full of girls laughed, and drove away. I still remember the good ole days. Where have they gone?
Why isn't State Street choice on the November ballot? Where do the bricks and mortor people stand on this issue? Most of us want State Street to be a street--for all types of vehicles all of the time.
Keep pounding away is all I can say. Try and talk sense into your bicycle minded friends, and those who think keeping cars off of State Street will help clean the air. Just point out how silly that thought is.
Marxists are in complete control of our City and they are laser focused on destroying our once beautiful community, to build back in their vision. A 15 minute city, a SMART city, whatever you want to call it, is the death of our downtown as we know it. The emergency of Covid is behind us and unless we demand a FULL STOP to this closure of State Street, it is a death warrant for business owners and property owners alike. We are their test study for the nation. If they can destroy something as beautiful and naturally perfect as Santa Barbara, they can take any city that they want, which is all of them.
In my naïveté of 8 years ago, I would attend City Council meetings with other stakeholders and wonder how they could be making such horrible decisions. It was like they were purposefully trying to destroy our city with their poor decision making. I would wonder why anyone would want to destroy what we have, it was truly unthinkable. So I resigned that they were stupid. This however is a big mistake because they are not just stupid, they are calculated and very strategically following the playbooks that they’ve been given to ‘Build Back Better.’ In every Council meeting, every committee meeting, the various social justice non-profits in SB put out the call via text, email and social media to attend these meetings, attend in mass, and to be vocal in favor of the playbook. They are better organized than us, less busy than us, and fiercely committed to following their party politics at all costs. In order to save our downtown, we must rebalance our State and local politics, which can only take place after a national win and a full examination of voter fraud. Once we clean house, we must all get involved in reclaiming our community. We can put it back with some effort, the way it was before King Kong started playing demolition, but we must first wrestle control from the Marxists who know nothing of creating, only destroying. I for one, would start by replanting the enormous Stone Pine trees on Anapamu.
Marxist? How so?
I believe both things are true. Union domination is part of Marxism
Rent controls, destruction of real estate values, long expensive torturous permitting processes, are forms of confiscations. It would be too obvious to simply take your properties from you. Property owners are being brought to their knees so that the ‘housing authority’ can be brought in as a white knight to create low income housing. If that isn’t a class battle, I don’t know what is.
We sold a building on State Street last year after being held hostage by the City which created a vacant building for over 8 years that had unsustainable debt servicing for such an obscene period of time. They are using the mudslides, Covid as their reasoning for downtown degradation but this is an intentional transfer of wealth.
Thank you. That is much more helpful.
Actually Thomas John, Marxist is accurate too, we are just collectively unaware of it. Alexis De Tocqueville said "American's are Cartesian having never read Descartes." That was true in the 19th century, today, American's are Marxists having never read Marx. All the undergirding ideologies of the material dialectic are driving the current narrative, so it is very accurate to say most in Santa Barbara are Marxists or communists or socialists, and sadly most don't even know it, but it doesn't make it any less true.
I'll look into this some more. Socialist I'll buy now. I've started Alexis De Tocqueville a 1/2 dozen times over my life. I need to just buckle down and finish it.
All good points. The noisy minority is getting their way, because most of us are not fully aware of the meetings and do not attend. I happen to live in the north county area, but am in the City several days a week for business.
41 empty storefronts are a very disturbing sight. If that square footage is not drawing shoppers to State Street, I do not see how restaurants can be thriving and continuing to support the vehicle ban. When I walk past my favorite eateries, I do not see large crowds, either inside dining or outside waiting for a table.
How will conversion of sections of this corridor to housing reinvigorate retail business? Has anyone told us who the tenants will be? Work-force housing? How will food servers, retail clerks, hotel "workers", maintenance and cleaning services employees be able to afford these rents? If you know anything about rental pricing, tge majority of units will be priced out of the reach of these folks. Even if developers are required to provide x-number of "affordable" units, those rents are often out of reach, and are subsidized by higher rents in the other units. Will attorneys, CPAs, accounting/consulting firms, nurses, doctors, other professional, law enforcement, other "high earners", be inclined to live in this isolated island? What if they choose to live there but work elsewhere? They will need easy access to transportation to reach outlying places of employment.
So far, it is relatively easy to get across that corridor to my designated parking lot, then walk back three blocks to my place of business. However, that "free" lot is designated for new construction this year. Replacement parking for those 100+ cars has yet to be designated.
As for getting one's shopping done via bicycle, a bike certainly will not be sufficient for a trip to Costco or the dry cleaners. Is that a new business opportunity: pop-up dry cleaners on every block?
Last-but-not-least, will the repurposing of the downtown corridor result in new building height limits?
Big picture, folks, not the personal bicycle cocoon.
John Richards
Charles, excellent article - vivid and illustrative. It’s worse than I thought - the left-wing morons have taken over the asylum! It’s time for CRAP to the rescue - Citizen Review and Protest!