Announcing Real-Time Spanish Interpretation of Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Meetings

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) – The County of Santa Barbara has begun providing Spanish interpretation of Board of Supervisors meetings in real-time. Requests for the service are no longer required to watch a meeting, although advance requests are still needed to interpret public comment originating in Spanish. For information about public participation during the pandemic, go to www.countyofsb.org/ceo/cob.sbc. 

“To promote access and equitable opportunities for participation in Board of Supervisors hearings, I’m proud of the County’s efforts to provide Spanish language interpretation,” said Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart, Chair of the Board. “During this challenging time, it is critical for us to reduce language barriers and bring all Santa Barbara County residents into important conversations for the future of our community.”

The County traditionally has provided interpretation services upon advance request. The board meetings are televised on cable TV channel 20, and streamed via the County website and YouTube channel (“CSBTV20”). Video recordings of the meetings are rebroadcast on CSBTV cable channel 20 and posted on YouTube.  

The live Spanish interpretation is available on Cox cable TV systems, with an anticipated launch for Comcast cable subscribers by spring 2021. Video recordings with Spanish interpretation will be posted on YouTube. Cox subscribers can access Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) by following the directions below. 

• Press the MENU button on the remote control and scroll to the Settings option and press Select. 
• Scroll to the Language Options preference and press Select. 
• Scroll to the Audio Language preference and press Select. 
• Using the UP or DOWN arrow buttons, select the desired option.
  • To turn SAP on, select the Alternate (SAP) option.
  • To turn SAP off, select the Primary option. 
• Press the SELECT button, and press the EXIT button to exit the menu.  

For the latest information on COVID-19, with details on all that the County of Santa Barbara is doing to keep its residents safe, go to publichealthsbc.org and follow County Public Health on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For information about County programs and services, go to countyofsb.org and follow the County on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter en Español.

Click here for the Spanish translation.