Like most of California, Santa Barbara is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. As our population has grown over the past few decades, our housing stock has stayed relatively flat – leading to exponentially rising prices to rent an apartment or buy a home. Partly this is by design, as majority bias in […]
Santa Barbara
WATCH: Video of Global Citizens Club May 2019 Event “Santa Barbara Transitions to Transportation Integration”
Please enjoy this video recording of the May 22, 2019 GCC Public event “Santa Barbara Transitions to Transportation Integration” focusing on Santa Barbara’s transportation future. Speakers: Robin O’Hara, Mark Bradley, Ernesto Paredes, and Gregg Hart. Panel Moderated by Rinaldo Brutoco. Location: Belmond El Encanto Hotel, Santa Barbara.
Global Citizens Club Meeting: Santa Barbara’s Transportation Future
We were delighted by the response to our May 22nd Global Citizens Club meeting focusing on Santa Barbara’s Transportation Future. With attendance reaching almost 100 people, it clearly demonstrated the historically vigorous community interest in finding transportation solutions that will work well for everyone and strategies for investing in new modes to quickly transition to […]
Honoring Earth Day 2019 with a Renewed Commitment to Finding Solutions
Visit the World Business Academy Booth at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival April 27 & 28 at Alameda Park. The world has problems, and Santa Barbara County is no exception. The World Business Academy’s mission is to encourage businesses to create innovative solutions both locally and globally to the planet’s pressing environmental challenges. […]
Global Citizens Club Meeting on Climate Change Grassroots Action Draws a Huge Crowd!
The huge response to our February 19th Global Citizens Club (GCC) meeting was extremely gratifying, with over 200 people from the community turning out to learn more about effectively fighting climate change from a diverse panel of experts and activists. Highlights of the meeting hosted at the El Encanto included a moving statement from local […]
2019: The Year of Climate Mobilization
By Robert Perry, Director of Energy Research “For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air.” – Treebeard, from The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien. For many, 2018’s seemingly endless succession of hurricanes, wildfires, and torrential storms, combined […]
Follow Our New Radio Program “Solutions News” on KZSB 1290AM Friday Afternoons at 5 p.m.!
We have some exciting news to kick off the New Year: The World Business Academy is going live on local radio! Beginning Friday, January 11, we will begin broadcasting a new weekly radio talk show called “Solutions News.” Hosted by Rinaldo, each broadcast will feature a spirited and informative discussion concerning solutions to local, national […]
Bringing a New Vision to State Street
The debate rages on about ways to revitalize State Street and downtown Santa Barbara, and the World Business Academy remains at the forefront of the public discussion about this vital issue. On Wednesday, December 5th, Rinaldo Brutoco and Director of Energy Research, Robert Perry, participated as panelists in the latest public forum focusing on revitalizing […]
2018 in Retrospect: Focusing on Safety, Resilience and Citizen Engagement
Last year on December 5, our friends, supporters and staff gathered at Rinaldo’s and Lalla’s house to celebrate the closing of 2017. It was a lovely evening, and we left the gathering with our hearts full of cheer. But there was also an undercurrent of foreboding as the Thomas Fire had just begun its destructive […]
Watch: Video of community meeting on MCMI (Nov. 14, 2018)
The World Business Academy and the Clean Coalition have teamed up to provide the Montecito community with a sustainable energy solution during times of crisis. Kristy Jansen, Chief of Staff for the World Business Academy and Craig Lewis, Executive Director for the Clean Coalition, presented on this exciting and ambitious initiative at the Montecito Community […]
Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative Public Meeting
The World Business Academy and the Clean Coalition have teamed up to provide the Montecito community with a sustainable energy solution during times of crisis. When completed, the Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative (MCMI) will ensure that vital services remain running during emergencies, and serve as a replicable model for other communities looking to transition California […]
Learn All About the Montecito Community Microgrid at a Public Meeting on Nov. 14
One of the most important ongoing projects of the World Business Academy is the Montecito Community Microgrid, an energy system that would deliver local energy daily and power emergency facilities during outages caused by extreme weather events and system failures. A Community Microgrid is a new approach for designing and operating an electric grid based […]