Chamber News

The Chamber continues to work with partner organizations to identify successful programs that help address concerns in the community. As a result, the Chamber recently met with the Santa Barbara Police Department’s Volunteers In Policing (VIP) program. Testimonials from businesses on the Santa Barbara Waterfront highlight the VIP program as having been successful in addressing…

Santa Barbara welcomed back 14 cruise ships and over 22,000 passengers this spring after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic. Passengers continue to comment that the Santa Barbara port is like no other, with a robust hospitality program welcoming passengers as they come to land. Giving the full tourism experience, volunteers take pride…

Last Friday, Caltrans and local leaders celebrated the completion of new carpool lanes along Highway 101 through Carpinteria. As part of the project, carpool lanes were constructed in both directions during peak periods, two new bridges were built over Franklin Creek and Santa Monica Creek, five new freeway exit ramps were constructed, six new sound…

The Chamber is delighted to introduce our new Director of Communications, Mary Lynn Harms-Romo. Mary Lynn joins the Chamber team with an extensive background in communications, marketing and hospitality. Most recently Mary Lynn served as the General Manager at Paseo Nuevo shopping center in downtown Santa Barbara. Prior to that role, she was the Senior…

The Chamber hosted the second State Street Business Owner Roundtable on Monday, June 13 to discuss interim operations on State Street. 25 downtown business owners, property owners, City Councilmembers, City and Chamber staff attended. The group reviewed the principles highlighted at the first meeting pertaining to cleanliness, homelessness, safety, parking, and vacancies. The group discussed…

Join the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce’s Hospitality Committee in partnership with the City of Santa Barbara’s Environmental Services Division and Mayor Randy Rowse for a community clean up this Saturday June 18, 9 AM – 12 PM. Meet at the State Street Visitor Center, 120 State Street, Suite F for light snacks…

On Wednesday, June 15, 34 individuals experiencing homelessness in downtown Santa Barbara moved into the Chamber endorsed tiny-home village on the 1000 block of Santa Barbara Street. DignityMoves and the County of Santa Barbara have partnered to bring a new interim housing community to downtown Santa Barbara. This interim supportive housing will act as a…

Please join the City of Goleta, SB ACT, and CityNet on Monday, June 27 at 9 AM for a virtual meeting to discuss the Goleta Homelessness “Regional Action Plan.” Community members are invited to attend to raise insights or concerns regarding the impacts of homelessness, and to work on a collaborative response. Every fourth Monday…

Last week members of the Chamber team attended the Cal Chamber 2022 Capitol Summit in Sacramento. The event hosted Chambers and business representatives from across California to discuss the state’s policy priorities, specifically current and upcoming policy as it relates to businesses. This year was considered mild in terms of the 16 Cal Chamber “job…