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Our 166th Year
Central Coast infrastructure bill passes House OKs $20 million for area transportation projects NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Twenty million dollars from the federal government got one step closer to being secured in direct funding for three local transportation projects. A small part of President Joe Biden’s sweeping infrastructure package, the Invest in America Act, passed the House Thursday with bipartisan support. The bill secures $11 million for the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments to fund the Highway 101 Multimodal Corridor Project, which will fund improvements between Santa Barbara and Montecito and enhancements to adjacent local streets, including the Cabrillo Boulevard Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvement Project. The rest of the funding will be split between two projects in San Luis Obispo County — $5 million for the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority to purchase 11 battery-electric buses to replace dieselpowered buses and $4 million for the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments to build a nonmotorized multi-use path along State Route 1, connecting the
Travel on the Fourth Influx expected over the weekend
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, helped to fight for the passage of the Invest in America Act in the House, which occurred on Thursday.
communities of Morro Bay and Cayucos. U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, fought for and secured the funding. He said the extra funding will help ease traffic congestion Please see BILL on A2
County investigating allegations of sexual assault at Cate School By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office are investigating reports of alleged sexual abuse and misconduct by a former Cate School employee. The investigation began April 1 after mandated reporters, outside of the Carpinteria school, spoke on behalf of multiple sexual assault survivors. The complaints allege the abuse occurred while the suspect was employed at the private boarding and day school and took place on Cate School property. Several survivors are current and former students of the school. The name of the suspect is withheld by investigators to guard the case’s integrity. Sheriff’s detectives and investigators from the district attorney’s office served search warrants June 24 at the Cate School campus, located at 1960 Cate Mesa Road in Carpinteria. The Cate School and its legal representatives are working with detectives to locate additional survivors and
witnesses. Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Sgt. Mark Valencia at 805-681-4150. “We have many resources available regardless of your decision to participate in a criminal investigation,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release. “Sheriff’s detectives coordinate closely with the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, VictimWitness Program to ensure the needs of survivors are not overshadowed by the focus on the investigation and prosecution of the accused.” Survivors may also contact the Victim-Witness Assistance Program at 805-568-2400 or tollfree at 855-840-3232. The Sheriff’s Office partners with Standing Together to End Sexual Assault, which provides a confidential 24-hour hotline, legal and medical advocacy, accompaniment and counseling. STESA advocates are available at 805-564-3696. Cate School couldn’t be reached for comment despite the News-Press’ attempt for an interview or statement. email: ahanshaw@newspress. com
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Travelers experienced a traffic jam heading southbound on Highway 101 Thursday morning as a result of roadway construction. While more traffic is expected over the Fourth of July weekend, it will be as a result of more travelers on the roads, not construction. Caltrans will pause all construction projects heading into the holiday.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
In addition to the fireworks and fanfare, Fourth of July travelers in Southern California can expect some traffic this weekend as projections for holiday travel nears pre-pandemic levels. AAA is expecting 3.3 million Southern Californians to travel this Fourth of July weekend, 86% of whom are expected to travel by car. Nationwide, AAA expects 47.7 million people to travel for the holiday, a number that is up nearly 40% from last year and only lags Fourth of July travel in 2019 by 2.5%. According to Jeffrey Spring, a spokesperson for AAA of Southern California, travelers around Santa Barbara can expect to hit traffic on Highway 101 between now and Monday, particularly in the areas between Montecito and Santa Barbara. “You might want to plan an alternate route because your main route might be really really busy,” Mr. Spring told the News-Press Thursday. “We would recommend
looking at a map on your phone or even a paper map to see what alternate routes there may be. Just do some advanced planning in these travel times because people are just wanting to get out and go places, so, many places will be crowded.” Air travel will also be on the uptick during the holiday weekend, with 3.52 million Americans expected to travel by plane between now and Monday. That’s an increase of 163% from 2020, but is still down about 10% from 2019. The estimated influx of air travelers will have implications at the Santa Barbara Airport, where officials are anticipating an extremely busy weekend. Angi Daus, the marketing coordinator for the Santa Barbara Airport, told the News-Press that the airport has been back up to pre-pandemic levels for a few weeks now. In recent weeks, the airport has not dipped below 1,500 passengers per day, Ms. Daus said. That total even increased this week, with the airport serving more than 1,600
passengers a day leading up to the Fourth of July weekend. “We haven’t passed our record number in a single day yet, but we are way back up to our normal levels for sure,” Ms. Daus said. “We are flying just as many (passengers), if not more, on less flights. We’re not back up to the same number of daily flights, but we’re serving people at the same level as before (the pandemic).” Now that more passengers are flying in and out of the Santa Barbara Airport, Ms. Daus said the airport recommends that travelers arrive 90 minutes to two hours early for flights. She also suggested passengers either carpool to the airport or park in the economy lot due to the limited spaces available in the airport’s main lot. For those on road trips over the holiday weekend, Mr. Spring said travelers should prioritize safe driving by getting plenty of rest before a long drive. And, Mr. Spring reminded motorists, don’t text while you Please see TRAVEL on A10
Locals react to Cosby’s release By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
In light of Bill Cosby’s release from prison Wednesday, locals are sounding the alarm for a glitch in the law. Some are placing blame on the prosecutors while others blame the criminal justice system as a whole. In an unexpected reversal in Pennsylvania’s highest court, the former comedian and TV actor’s sexual assault conviction was thrown out — “on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime,” according to District Attorney Kevin Steele, who decided to arrest the celebrity. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the prosecutor who brought the case, Mr. Steele, was bound by an agreement by his predecessor not to charge Mr. Cosby, even though there is no evidence that the promise was ever put in writing, according to The Associated Press. The 83-year-old celebrity served nearly three years of his three- to 10-year sentence. He was convicted for an incident in 2004, when he drugged and violated Andrea Constand, the Temple University sports administrator. While Mr. Cosby was only charged and convicted for that singular assault, five other individuals testified in court that they, too, were victims of his sexual assault. Mr. Cosby tweeted a photo of himself on Wednesday with a caption thanking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for “upholding the rules of law,” writing, “I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal.” The Bill Cosby trial was the first one involving a celebrity in the #MeToo era in 2015, when the first district attorney filed charges mere days before the deadline for the 12-year statute Please see COSBY on A10
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
“If you don’t do it correctly, even if you have all the emotion and all the passion and all the rights on your side, things like this can happen,” Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley said of Bill Cosby’s release from prison.
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