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The Museum's Town Halls are intended to provide a safe, neutral place for community conversation in which diverse viewpoints of a topic can be heard and discussed in a respectful manner. The discussions aim to foster public discourse around issues that will affect our lives and well-being as well as that of our children and grandchildren. It is not designed to promote one opinion, but to give an airing to a spectrum of views in order to safely talk about contentious issues as a community.
In March 2006, the series premiered with “Sea Otters in the Santa Barbara Channel: Harmful Competitors or Rightful Residents?” Biologists, fishermen, city representatives, and community members (adults and children) gathered together to discuss sea otter management issues and the environmental, economic, and social implications of a management plan. This community dicussion has continued into 2011 as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers ending its 24-year-old sea otter translocation program, which was designed to establish a popluation of sea otters on San Nicolas Island by physically relocating otters that ventured south of Point Conception.
The Town Hall series has also included the following topics:
- Oil in the Channel: Contentious Solutions
- Building Heights: The Pros and Cons of Measure B
- Can California be Saved?
- Death...in the Age of Choice
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Unions: Advocates for Growth or Drags on the Economy?
Monday, March 19
7:00—9:00 PM
Fleischmann Auditorium at the Museum
Labor disputes are rattling governments, private employers and workers alike. For months, collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin public servants dominated the headlines. Here in Santa Barbara we have seen the issue debated in several arenas: police force retirement funds, teachers and class size, and grocery store workers’ health care. Indeed, the role of unions is being questioned and argued in every corner of our society and the range of opinions transcends political party, economic status and ethnicity.
What are the historical, ethical and economic considerations of unions? Become informed and share your opinions. Come to this FREE Town Hall for a moderated discussion with panelists from many sides of the union debate.
This Town Hall is sponsored by
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