Chamber News

In partnership with the City of Santa Barbara Environmental Services Department, the Chamber hosted a Mayor’s Cleanup Day last Saturday, just in time to welcome summer visitors! Previously hosted by Hospitality Santa Barbara, with the Mayor’s support this year, 120 volunteers helped to improve the cleanliness of Downtown and the Waterfront. In addition to Hospitality…

The Chamber is excited to announce the return of the Goleta Lemon Festival, September 24 & 25 at Girsh Park. Applications for vendors and volunteers for the 2022 Goleta Lemon Festival are now being accepted. Each year, the festival hosts 70+ booths featuring local non-profit organizations, as well as food, beverage, and merchandise. The Community…

The Chamber continues to gather businesses and work with government to propose solutions and improvements to the economic vitality of the downtown corridor, including the State Street Promenade. Please see the excellent letter to the editor, written by Chamber members Richard Yates and Tina Takaya, regarding the State Street Promenade featured on Noozhawk.

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…