The OneCare NOW event in Santa Barbara began at 5:00 PM with participants from 26 organizations gathering in De la Guerra Plaza in front of City Hall. The local TV station, KEYT, provided coverage of this part of the event, with a live shot of the gathering on their 5:00 PM news cast.

California School Employees, Progressive Democrats, Humanist Society, MoveON, Santa Barbara Teachers Assn., Planned Parenthood, SEIU, ACLU, League of Women Voters, Green Party, Gray Panthers, Committee of Ten Thousand (COTT), WILPF, United Nations/UNESCO, and AAUW were some of the state wide organizations who had local chapter members at the
rally. Local groups such as PUEBLO, PUEBLO Youth, Democratic Central Committee, CLUE, SB Womens Political Committee, Democratic Women of Santa Barbara, Mental Health Assn., SB Friends Meeting, SB County Action Network, and two Unitarian Social Justice Committees were represented. Truly a broad spectrum of support.

About 200 people marched with us. Almost everyone had a sign or a banner. There were lots of pedestrians on State St. who saw the signs, heard our chants, and heard us singing "Health Care is your right, health care is my right".

We had wonderful cooperation from the SB Police Dept., assuring that we were safe and that the march did not unduly impede the rush-hour traffic.

The setting for the speeches and rally was the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden.

Many co-sponsoring organizations marched with their own banners, showing the public the breadth of the support for SB 840 (Kuehl).

Representatives from participating organizations were invited to share the stage with the speakers. The speakers included, among others: Marty Blum, Mayor; Salud Carbajal, 1st District Supervisor; Dr. Van Hamilton, Internal Medicine; Hannah Beth-Jackson, former Assemblymember. The speeches were brief, heart-felt, and to the point.

People of all ages attended, from 4 months to 4 score years.

Jon Williams, local activist and HCA member, will create a half hour video from footage he shot which can then be aired on our Public Access TV station, Channel 17.

The Daily Sound, our free daily paper, gave us very complete coverage in their Friday, June 8th, edition. It can be seen on line at

http://www.dailysoundonline.com/