Drawing high praise
Wade Nomura and his amazing life
UCSB’s McLaughlin up for mid-major player of the year - A4
Carpinteria major talks about his adventures in ‘Creating Destiny’ - B1
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State to expand vaccine eligibility Residents 50 and up eligible April 1, 16 and up April 15 By MADISON HIRNEISEN
county public health director, said in a statement. “Locally we have seen a promising increase in our vaccine supply, and Public Health is ready to welcome community members newly eligible for vaccination.” In addition, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state will expand its vaccine eligibility in the coming weeks, unveiling plans to open vaccine appointments to residents ages 50 and older starting April 1 and all residents ages 16 and older April 15. The governor, who spoke from a vaccine clinic in Orange County on Thursday, said the expansion of vaccine eligibility is coming due to an influx of doses set to arrive in the state in the coming weeks.
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Hope is on the horizon for Santa Barbara County residents aged 50 and older as both county-wide and state-wide vaccine expansions will accommodate this age group in the next eligibility tier. The Public Health Department announced Thursday that county residents aged 50 and older can now register for a vaccine clinic at Lompoc’s Dick DeWees Community and Senior Center, which will occur Sunday through April 3. “We are very excited to expand eligibility to more community members, beginning with the County Public Health Vaccination Clinics,” Dr. Van Do-Reynoso,
“In just a few weeks, there will be no rules or no limitations as it relates to the ability to get a vaccine administered,” Gov. Newsom said. During his speech, the governor also announced that, as of Thursday, anyone accompanying an eligible family member to get vaccinated can also receive a dose at the appointment. “Regardless of your age, regardless of your pre-existing condition, if someone comes in eligible under the existing rules, but with a family member, we will accommodate the family member, no questions asked,” Gov. Newsom said. As of Thursday, statewide allocations neared 16 million doses, which Gov. Newsom said pushes
California ahead of any other state by almost 6 million doses. The state received 1.8 million doses of the vaccine this week, yet Gov. Newsom said the state’s allocation will be nearing 2.5 million doses per week in a few weeks. With coronavirus cases steadily decreasing locally and statewide since vaccinations began in the state, Gov. Newsom said counties could start moving into the green tier, or restriction-free status, in the “foreseeable future.” “Our only constraint is manufactured supply,” Gov. Newsom said, praising the state’s increased infrastructure that is already ready to handle 4 million doses a week by the end of next Please see VACCINE on A6
COURTESY PHOTO
A CVS employee administers a COVID-19 to a patient. A total of 286 locations in California are currently distributing the vaccine.
Local to compete on Ellen’s game show
Carbajal tours border facility Congressman says immigation system is ‘broken’ on all fronts
USCB staffer to be featured on ‘Ellen’s Game of Games’
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
When she had to go get fitted for a harness, Erin Nerstad realized just what she was getting herself into. The associate director of UCSB’s Interdisciplinary Humanities Center will be featured this Sunday on NBC’s “Ellen’s Game of Games,” hosted by multi-award-winning TV host, producer, writer, actress and Montecito resident Ellen Degeneres. Mrs. Nerstad competed against three other contestants in the game show’s “See Ya Later, Alligator” minigame, which required them to solve pictograms, and if they correctly did so, choose an opponent to eliminate. She laughed as she referred to sending other contestants home as “pretty terrible.” “Having to eliminate someone was a bummer because you just met everyone and everyone’s really nice,” Mrs. Nerstad told the News-Press. “But I was pleased that I was put on a puzzle solving game. I feel like I was able to compete in that — I think if they had put me on one of the other games, it would not have gone so well.” While the local game show contestant wasn’t able to spoil the results on who won the big cash prize of up to $100,000, she did offer the following: “I am pleased with how everything went … I felt like I was able to participate well and use my problem solving skills.” Mrs. Nerstad has lived in Santa Barbara for almost four years, and is married with two daughters, ages 9 and 5 years old. She’s new to the game show scene, and started her journey with her sister-in-law when they attended a taping of the “Ellen Show” in March 2020, just prior to the pandemic. After the taping, the two women did a 30-second audition tape, and Mrs. Nerstad was chosen for “Ellen’s Game of Games.” However, up until the
PHOTO BY MIKE ROZMAN/WARNER BROTHERS/NBC
Santa Barbara resident Erin Nerstad, will be featured on Ellen Degeneres’ TV game show, “Ellen’s Game of Games” this Sunday on NBC.
day of the episode’s taping, she was convinced she was simply an alternate. “I was thinking that maybe I was just kind of along for the ride,” Mrs. Nerstad said. “I don’t know why, but when I got there, I actually saw my name on my station where I was going to stand and it sort of all sunk in … You’re so full of adrenaline and then out comes Ellen and you’re just thinking, ‘Oh, it’s really happening. I’m on Ellen’s Game of Games.’” The game show features several wacky minigames, using all kinds of equipment including bungee cords, blindfolds, cannons, balloons, shaving cream, slime, umbrellas, toothpaste and,
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was seeing how they make the show,” Mrs. Nerstad said. “It’s pretty impressive, all the different layers of planning and different divisions or departments of people with different types of expertise.” While the players and host had to remain fairly socially distanced because of COVID-19, the Santa Barbara resident said she did get to briefly chat with Ms. Degeneres before the taping, which she described as “surreal.” However, she laughed as she said one letdown was, “I didn’t get the ‘Ellen hug’ that a lot of people get to have.” The contestant added that she did plenty of research prior Please see GAME SHOW on A6
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, visited a border facility in Texas for unaccompanied migrant children and said of the situation: “One could characterize it as a crisis.”
The other 10% to 20% of children will be transferred to another foster care facility. “The two things that are needed are getting more beds stood up and more staffing so that they can provide a more orderly process by which these children can be processed and not be bottlenecked from the initial intake,” Rep. Carbajal said. He added, “It’s my understanding that the majority of those reaching our borders are coming through the Texas area, but I believe there are some on the California border.” In response to a question from the News-Press, Rep. Carbajal addressed the fact that the White House has been requesting limited media access to these facilities, saying more transparency is needed. “I would echo that and I have echoed that to the administration,” he said. “Let’s make no mistake about it — it (the situation at the border) was in shambles. This facility was stood up, I think on the 19th or the 20th of February. It’s taken Please see CARBAJAL on A6
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indeed, harnesses. Contestants are selected to play in one of four preliminary games, and the winner of each game advances to the semi-final round to play “Know or Go,” where players stand on trap doors and drop down a chute if they answer incorrectly. Then, the last contestant standing advances to “Hotter Hands,” the final round where the individual has one minute to answer a series of questions. Each correct answer increases the winnings, but each incorrect answer requires them to start over. The cash prizes range from $1,000 to $100,000. “One of the things I really appreciated about the process
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said the difference between the U.S.Mexico border facilities under the Trump administration versus under the Biden administration now is “night and day.” On Wednesday, the congressman, along with other lawmakers and White House officials, toured the Carrizo Spring Influx Care Facility in Texas, which is being used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children. Only one news reporter from NBC was able to enter the facility with the delegation, per the request of the White House. Rep. Carbajal held a press conference Thursday to share his experience at the facility and field media questions. When he was asked if he would call the situation at the border a crisis, Rep. Carbajal said, “I think it’s very similar, at least as we saw in the previous few years in the last administration. I think one can characterize it as a crisis if one wants to because of the need to make sure the children are not bottlenecked in our processing facilities.” The Biden administration has yet to refer to the situation on the border as a crisis. The Texas facility provides a place to stay for unaccompanied minors 13 to 17 years of age. The congressman said 766 children were at the facility on Wednesday, and he was informed that the capacity is 952 children in hard-sided structures. He added that more 80% of the children that are currently placed in the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement facilities, including Carrizo, are in the process of being unified because they have a family member or parent that’s available to provide that unification.
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Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 4-9-17-27-38 Meganumber: 18
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 4-9-4-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 12-23-35-38-55 Mega: 11
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 5-15-20-24-26
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Thursday’s DAILY 3: 4-9-8 / Thursday’s Midday: 9-0-4