Though sometimes it takes a lot longer than we’d wish for. We started working on the problem of blighted news racks on Milpas in April 2011. Calls to vendors, work with the city, scrubbing off graffiti – it takes a lot of work sometimes to fix a small thing. But the effects can be quite visible. Check out the change in the situation in front of USA Gas at 8 S. Milpas St. Here’s the before, with panhandlers, trash can overflowing, and blighted news rack:

Pretty trashy, right? Here’s how it looks 8 months later, same spot:

Yes, the curb and sidewalk could be pressure washed. But compared to where we started from, this is progress, albeit just a little patch of sidewalk.

It’s something.

We’ll take it.

Sharon Byrne and MCA at Kids Day 2011

Be sure to come out to this event! Rick Feldman does his usual holiday miracle at the EyeGlass Factory on Milpas with free eye exams, glasses, diabetes screenings, and more – all to promote healthy kids! The MCA will be there too to do a raffle where we give out bikes, gift certificates, and more from our area merchants. Sign up for a FREE residential MCA membership (the only time of year we do this!) and you’ll get a free raffle ticket. We’ll draw 10-15 tickets each hour, so you have plenty of chances to win. Come on out for Kids Day!

From today’s News Press:

Eye exam, glasses offered for children.

Ben Smithwick

December 15, 2011 6:34 AM

More than 100 children will have their eyes examined and will receive new glasses during the 15th annual Kid’s Day at the Santa Barbara Eyeglass Factory on Sunday.

Examinations will be performed by four local doctors and volunteers will serve refreshments and keep kids entertained as they wait, according to Eyeglass Factory owner Rick Feldman.

Kid’s Day is part of the Right to Sight program, a year-round collaboration between Surgical Eye Expeditions, Lions Sight and Hearing Foundation, and several other local nonprofits.

This year more than 1,000 individuals have been given eye exams and eyeglasses. More than $1 million in eye care is believed to have been provided over the past 15 years.

“This is stuff that goes on all year long as a way of providing the community with everything it needs in the way of eye care and eyeglasses,” Mr. Feldman said.

Registration is not required and no child is turned away, according to Mr. Feldman. Members of the Milpas Community Association will be on hand to sign up community members of all ages for the Right to Sight program.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Eyeglass Factory, Milpas and Quinientos streets.

From the Santa Barbara NewsPress:

Classic cars a highlight of Milpas Holiday Parade

By NIKKI GREY, NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER  

  A Chevrolet Monte Carlo was one of the many souped-up classic cars that took part in the Milpas Holiday Parade on Saturday.

MICHAEL MORIATIS/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Santa Barbara Dance Institute dancers perform during Saturday's Milpas Holiday Parade

The parade closed with a Santa Claus sighting.

December 11, 2011 6:51 AM
It's not at every parade you see low-rider classic cars with hydraulics bump up and down the street.

That was one of the many things attendees said made Saturday's 58th Milpas Holiday Parade special in its return after a two-year absence.

Hosted by the Milpas Community Association, the parade began on Milpas and ran from De La Guerra through Mason streets. The "Shining Youth Stars!" themed parade featured 51 entrants, which mainly consisted of children's groups, including school bands, dance teams, and cheerleaders.

But the highlight was car club members with their bouncing low-riders decorated with Christmas tinsel cruising the street.

And, of course, Santa Claus made an appearance.

Good weather during the parade, which began at 11 a.m. and lasted about an hour, was a plus, said Alan Bleecker, president of the Milpas Community Association. In 2009, the parade had been canceled last minute because of rain, Mr. Bleecker said, and last year, not enough people volunteered to help organize the event.

It was good to have the parade back this year, he said.

"What's special about it is that it continues to create community," Mr. Bleecker said. "Our organization's goal is to create a better place to live, work, and visit. Anything we can do to improve the community morale and support of this area is just thrilling."

Local children and families seemed to be the main spectators of the parade, many of whom said they came because they felt more ownership of this parade than "State Street's" parade because it attracts so many tourists.

"I just grew up in this neighborhood," said Adriana Elkington. "We came to support the community."

Her husband, Michael Elkington, agreed.

"Everybody knows somebody in it," he said. "It just makes it so friendly."

Much smaller than the Downtown Holiday Parade on State Street, event organizers estimated there were about 20,000 people in attendance on Saturday, but for some attendees the parade's size was part of it's charm.

"This feels more local," Mr. Elkington said.

Steve Corral, 40, who said he's lived in the Milpas neighborhood his whole life, was happy to bring his son, Mateo, 3, to the parade for the first time this year. His 8-year-old daughter, Sophia, had been to the parade before, but said she was excited to come back. She whooped and hollered when the low-rider cars drove by, but insisted she came to see the cheerleaders.

"She thought it was a car show," Mr. Corral said.

"I like it when they tip over," Sophia said of the hydraulics.

Mr. Corral said the parade was special because of it's history within the Milpas community.

"I like that it's on this side of town," he said. "It's been going down forever.

"The cars I like, too."

Local elected officials were part of the parade, including Mayor Helene Schneider, who cruised down the street with Milpas Motors in a red 1966 Mustang and City Councilwoman-elect Cathy Murillo, who marched with the kids from the Westside Boys and Girls Club.

"We're from the Westside here on the Eastside," Ms. Murillo said. "That's what our goal is, to build community."

District Attorney Joyce Dudley, who was one of the parade announcers, said community building in all parts of town goes hand- in-hand with crime prevention.

"This is where all people can come together and build bridges," she said. "It's my goal to keep our community safe, and this is a great way to do that."

The parade finished with Santa waving to spectators from a fire truck, but the festivities didn't end there.

A new addition for this year included a classic car show hosted by one of the car club parade entrants, Nite Life.

The show, which began after the parade at noon, featured classic cars, low-riders, and antique paddy wagons, according to Danny Trejo, Nite Life president. With about 100 entrants, the car show benefitted children from the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara. The entry fee was $10 and one unwrapped Christmas present to be given to a child, Mr. Trejo said.

One of the great things about having the car show as an addition to the parade, he said, was that people in the community came and brought presents, too.

"We hope to make kids smile that day," Mr. Trejo said. "It makes us smile that day."