This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund .
The mood is bright at Dwight Murphy Park in Santa Barbara on Thursday, never mind the marine layer clinging to the coast. It’s the groundbreaking ceremony of the park’s renovation project — a project nearly a decade in the making. A crowd of government officials, a contingent from the nearby Santa Barbara Zoo, and community members mill around while kids play on a small, dated playground. Soon, everyone gathers to listen to a few short speeches as city councilmembers and other folks involved in the project line up behind golden groundbreaking shovels.
“I think a few of us in the audience and here [at the front] can't believe we're here today, but we are super, super excited and so pleased we're about to embark on a complete renewal of one of Santa Barbara's oldest parks,” Jill Zachary, the City of Santa Barbara’s director of Parks and Recreation, told the crowd.