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Our 165th Year
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F R I DAY, M A RC H 5 , 2 0 21
VAFB address previews year of growth By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
At Gelson’s Market, costs across all items are up about 2% from last year, according to Gelson’s chief merchandising officer, John Bagan.
Food, gas prices creep up Pandemic affects costs; winter storm in Texas might be a factor By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
There are many different reasons why Santa Barbara residents and Americans nationwide might be seeing a slightly higher total when they fill up their car with gas or buy groceries these days. Like most things, the cost increases can be attributed to the pandemic. Jams in the world’s supply chain could be one reason, according to NBC News, and global shipping dropped in 2020 for the first time since 2009. John Dixon, the owner of TriCounty Produce on Milpas Street, told the News-Press Thursday he doesn’t have specific numbers, but there has been an increase in prices. “There has been a number of products on a regular basis rising five cents here, 10 cents there,” he said. “That’s been happening all year. It is true that a lot of things have been going up in price, but not significantly. Things that used to buy for $1.99 are now $2.39.” Mr. Dixon didn’t mention any specific products increasing in price more than others, but said that the incremental increases seem to be across the board. “It’s small amounts, but over time, if it keeps going up a nickel here, a dime there — in this business, it’s all about the nickels and dimes,” he said. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index
John Dixon, owner of Tri-County Produce, told the News-Press that there has been slight increases in costs of produce as a result of the pandemic, but they are small and incremental in nature.
data for January found that the cost of food eaten at home rose 3.8% from a year ago, while energy went down 3.6%. The combined production bottlenecks and demand spikes could be the explanation. The recent winter storm in Texas could also be a reason the national average price of gas
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Rep. Carbajal votes for reform bill By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, voted Wednesday to pass House Resolution 1, a sweeping democracy reform package aimed to protect and expand the right to vote and restore integrity and accountability to Washington, D.C. The House passed H.R. 1, also known as the For the People Act, by a vote of 220 to 210. The bill faces a rocky road ahead in the Senate without Republican support. The bill creates automatic voter registration across the country, enhances absentee voting and expands early voting opportunities. “Many see Congress as a dysfunctional, corrupt
institution more beholden to special interests than the public interest. Today, we face several enormous challenges and confronting them begins with making sure our government is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people,” Rep. Carbajal said in a statement. “I proudly voted for H.R. 1 to enact the transformational change our government needs. This bill delivers on our promise to clean up corruption, end the dominance of big money in politics and fortify our ethics laws so Americans can have faith in our democracy again.” H.R. 1 guards against foreign interference, ends partisan gerrymandering, allows felons who have served their sentences to vote, requires more online Please see BILL on A2
L O T T E RY RESULTS
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jumped by roughly 18 cents in the past two weeks, according to national media reports. Food prices also have to do with the climate, and extreme storms and changing weather patterns can impact growing timelines and crop yields. However, Mr. Dixon doesn’t think that’s the case for Tri-County Produce, at least.
“Produce is definitely affected by supply and demand on a regular basis. Any time you affect that supply and demand, it certainly affects prices one way or another, up or down, but I’m not going to attribute it to climate change or things like that. I think we’re having our pretty usual weather patterns,” he said. At Gelson’s Market, however, costs across all items are up about 2% from last year, according to Gelson’s chief merchandising officer, John Bagan. “Every major department is seeing costs increase in 2021 versus the beginning of 2020 except for produce,” Mr. Bagan told the News-Press Thursday. He said costs vary across the major departments. Areas like liquor, dairy, seafood, service deli and frozen increased 4% to 6%. Grocery, pre-pack deli, floral and meat prices rose by roughly 2% to 3%. Produce prices actually decreased by 4%. The Certified Angus Beef Prime grade beef category showed an increase 10% to 15%. Farm-raised salmon prices increased by 15% to 20%, and live lobster costs are seeing increases at 30%. “Quite honestly, costs for fresh fruits and vegetables were mostly favorable all of 2020 and into the start of 2021 due to shortfalls in the food service and hospitality pipeline,” Mr. Bagan said. “There were heavy supplies that
2021 is expected to be a busy year at Vandenberg Air Force Base, filled with burgeoning commercial partnerships. That was the message shared Thursday during the 2021 State of Vandenberg Air Force Base address, held by the Santa Maria Valley and Lompoc Valley chambers of commerce. During the virtual talk, Col. David Rickards of the 30th Space Wing reviewed 2020’s accomplishments, including the first commercial launch from the base. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, which will document sea levels, into orbit Nov. 21, 2020. Community members heard sonic booms that morning. It was one of just five launches in 2020. Col. Rickards listed 13 launches manifested for 2021, noting that the 2,000th launch from Vandenberg will likely happen this fall. “It’s going to be a busy year,” he said. “It’s quite exciting to see our tempo increase.” Firefly Aerospace, a commercial partner, should launch from the base this year, he said. The 30th Space Wing began planning for a commercial space hub last year. It signed memorandums of understanding with REACH (Regional Economic Action Coalition of the Central Coast), Deloitte, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, Cal Poly and Santa Barbara County to create a master plan. “It establishes relationships; it doesn’t establish a timeline per se,” Col. Rickards said. “A lot of cooperation will have to come together.” The public-private partnership will help establish the infrastructure needed for the
project to get off the ground. The 30th Space Wing is also planning a commercial solutions opening and pitch day May 26 with a “Shark-Tank-like panel” to hear proposals. “Contracts may be awarded from those pitch-day commanders on the spot,” Col. Rickards said. The event will be publicized by the end of the month. While Vandenberg Air Force Base did not become the headquarters of the U.S. Space Command last year, officials see potential in another base opportunity this year. The Space Training and Readiness Command, or STARCOM, is expected to be established in 2021. Col. Rickards said Vandenberg is a good candidate thanks to its large acreage. The base became home to Space Delta 5 in July, inactivating the role as 614th Air Operations Center, and transferred to the Space Force in September. The first members of the U.S. Space Force came to Vandenberg in 2020, and Col. Rickards estimated the Space Force will be 6,000 members strong by the end of 2021. “The list is long for applications into the Space Force and transfers in,” he said. He anticipates the Air Force will provide support to the new field. Another accomplishment in 2020 is the opening of a STARBASE program on the base. It allows elementary school classes to visit and explore STEM applications. “The goal no matter what is to motivate students of all ages to explore STEM education,” Col. Rickards said. STARBASE staff are currently forming relationships with local schools.
Sudoku................. A5 Sports ................... A8 Weather................ A8
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 11-18-22-28-37 Mega: 14
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 0-2-0-8
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 4-8-13-34-64 Meganumber: 18
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 1-8-11-12-18
Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-12-11 Time: 1:45.35
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 21-40-44-50-55 Meganumber: 16
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 2-2-5 / Thursday’s Midday 2-5-3