SHIRLEY KIMBERLIN Everything I list turns to SOLD! 805-886-0228 skimberlin@aol.com
This week’s listings on the back page
Council to ban synthetic drug sales
Break it down
By Lea Boyd
Without a regulation to enforce, there has been little point in investigating local businesses, said Sergeant Brad Welch
A new ordinance aimed at keeping synthetic drugs off Carpinteria convenience store shelves was unanimously supported by the city council at its Feb. 22 meeting. If final approval is given at the next meeting, the new regulation will prohibit the sale of “psyschoactive bath salts” and “psychoactive herbal incense,” two groups of drugs that have gained popularity in recent years and are often sold in gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores. “I think it’s an important step to make it unavailable here,” said Carpinteria Sergeant Brad Welch of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. He said that it’s uncertain whether the drugs, which are packaged under several names such as Bliss, Pixie Dust, Spice and Fake Weed, are being sold in Carpinteria stores. Without a regulation to enforce, there has been little point in investigating local businesses, Welch said. The “bath salts” are synthetic stimulants designed to mimic the effects of cocaine, methamphetamines and ecstacy, while the “herbal incense” is plant material laced with synthetic compounds that mimic the effect of marijuana. Though they are advertised as eliciting euphoria, the drugs, Welch said, can cause “paranoia, agitation, hallucinatory delerium and psychotic behavior.”
Skatepark and city sign MoU
The next step toward a local skatepark was taken Monday night when the council unanimously approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and the Carpinteria Skate Foundation. The agreement legally identifies the role that both parties will play in the process of design, permitting and operations. City staff time will be dedicated to the project, while funding the design and construction of the park is the responsibility of CSF. Initially, CSF had lobbied for a skate park on the vacant 6th Street lot adjacent to the Amtrak station. Neighbors raised several concerns, however, and ultimately, the site of the defunct Thunderbowl skate rink on City Hall property was identified for the future park. CSF President Peter Bonning thanked the council for
CITY COUNCIL continued on page 5
MATTHEW BErgEr
eliseo Zavala busts some urban moves on the suburban stage at Plaza Playhouse Theater last Saturday night. The break dancing act was one of several riveting performances to grace the local venue for the Carpinteria Rotary Charitable Foundation Talent Showcase on Feb. 20. The annual event raises funds to buy musical instruments for students in local schools. Last year the club purchased over $12,000 in instruments and collected over 60 used instruments. For more photos from the talent show, see pages 12 and 13.
School Board stalls on dual immersion
All indications pointed to a Carpinteria Unified School District Board of Education decision to green light a dual language immersion program at Canalino School, but at its Feb. 23 meeting, the school board got cold feet and voted to table its decision. New information, in the form of an estimated start up price tag of $50,000 led to the board opting to wait for further budget information before launching the program that would cultivate bilingual Spanish and English speakers. Assistant Superintendent Cindy Abbott, the district’s longstanding number cruncher, presented the board with the costs for professional development to train teachers for the program. “There are a lot of different things on the table that the board wanted to understand better before deciding on anything,” Abbott said in a conversation after the meeting. She said the second interim budget report gauging district funds for the current fiscal year is scheduled for March 8, and the board is also set to undergo an extensive budget study session. Information gained at those meetings will inform the board’s decision on dual language immersion, which Canalino School and its parent group have proposed as a great fit for the school with potential benefits for both English learners and English speaking students.
An estimated start up price tag of $50,000 led to the board opting to wait for further budget information before launching the program.
Abbott said the delay has no bearing on what the school board’s decision might be or when a program could be implemented. There is still time to keep it on track for next school year. Parent interest is high for the program, which would be open to all elementary school students in the district but housed on the Canalino campus. Students would start in kindergarten with 90 percent of the instruction in Spanish and 10 percent in English. The ratio would drop each year until both languages are given equal instruction time in the fourth and fifth grades. Canalino staff says there is enough interest to operate two kindergarten classes and two first-grade classes in the 2016-2017 school year, which is when implementation was planned. Similar programs are cropping up around the state due to data indicating that cognitive and social benefits are high. ––Peter Dugré