In today's newscast:
Wood stoves compromise air quality
Air monitoring officials are trying to wean residents in the Santa Cruz Mountains off of wood-burning stoves. That's because winter weather can trap their smoke, hurting air quality.
A temperature “inversion” is when a layer of warm air flips with the cold air that usually sits above it, creating a lid effect.
On chilly days in the San Lorenzo Valley, smoke from wood stoves gets trapped with that cold air.
“ Wood smoke in particular, is really bad. You can liken it to cigarette smoking,” said Richard Stedman with the Monterey Bay Air Resources District. He oversees a wood stove exchange program, launched in 2008, that helps low-income homeowners install electric or pellet stoves instead.
Hundreds have made the transition in the tri-county area, most in the San Lorenzo Valley.
"A lot of times people will use a wood stove because they don't have really good electricity," he said, "or certainly there's not a lot of natural gas in the San Lorenzo Valley area.”
The district plans to issue “Spare the Air” alerts during inversions this winter. It's a request to keep the valley haze-free by using low-emission heating sources.
Santa Inez Band aims to create a federal trust
The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians wants to move 365 acres into a federal trust so it can be out from state or county control.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors plans to send a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the issue.
The board isn’t challenging the tribe’s application, but their letter highlights some drawbacks, like a loss of county tax dollars.
Tribal chairman Kenneth Kahn asked the board at its Tuesday meeting to remember his tribe’s track record.
“As you finalize your letter, I ask you to weigh our record alongside the concerns you raised," he said, "and to our tribe’s right and ability to govern our lands responsibly.”
Kahn says the tribe has no current development plans for the property.
