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MON DAY, F E BRUA RY 1, 2 0 21
Out of the lockdown funk Funk Zone businesses attract customers after stay-at-home order ends
Carbajal reissues call for coastal protection By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
The patio at Corks ‘n Crowns can seat 14, many of which have been full since the lockdown ended.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW
Two more wells to be capped in Summerland
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone neighborhood was lively after the rain cleared — and the stay-at-home order. Tourists and locals relaxed at wine bar patios and browsed local boutiques. “This weekend was one of the best I’ve had in a minute. People were really stoked,” said Shane Braly, general manager of Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. at 137 Anacapa St. F. The brewery serves Mony’s Mexican Food, so it can serve on the patio as well as pick-up. The traffic Saturday surprised him, and staff members came to help serve customers. He blocked off the patio entrance with a pallet, so he could restrict the flow and keep households separate. He met many customers from L.A. who came to escape the stressful environment at home. “I was shocked how many people Please see FUNK ZONE on A8
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Above, passersby stroll past the Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co., at 137 Anacapa St. F, in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone Sunday afternoon. Below, Wheel Fun Rentals in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone was open for customers to rent bicycles and buggies.
Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone gathered customers Sunday afternoon, the first weekend after the lockdown ended.
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The State Lands Commission will cap two more wells on Summerland Beach this year. Olsson #805 and Duquesne #910 are the two wells that will be capped in July, and were identified as part of the process for the recent capping of Treadwell and NorthStar. Since the engineering was completed for those wells, SLC decided to finish all the wells. They will be capped using money from SB44, the Coastal Hazards and Legacy Oil and Gas Well Removal and Remediation Program, authored by former State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson. Hillary Hauser, the executive director of the local nonprofit Heal the Ocean, said the organization “screamed” when they heard the news. “Summerland Beach, right now because of getting those two wells capped last November, is a different beach,” she told the News-Press. “I sit here and work on the phone with papers and documents, so when I finally went down to Summerland at the end of all this, I didn’t even know where the wells were. It was just pristine. “It was a clean beach. It looked like the Carribean.” HTO Advisory Board member Harry Rabin is currently working with SLC contractors InterAct to monitor the results of the work and identify other sources of oil in the area, namely seeps. Danny C, a special vessel involved with capping oil seeps, will come in with divers to double check where everything is, and
Curtin Maritime will send its barge and oil divers to do the pile driving, cementing and all other well capping work. “I am just thrilled to be working on physical things that make a physical difference,” Ms. Hauser said. “There’s a certain amount of policymaking that has to go on, but this is an enormous benefit to the ocean, so this kind of project makes me smile big.” The plugging and abandonment for Duquesne and Olsson will be less complex than the previous cappings because of their locations in the tidal zone. The work is expected to start after July 2021 when the next state fiscal year starts and the SLC can access the next annual $2 million from SB44. The capping of these two wells is estimated to cost $1 million. In a statement, HTO wrote, “HTO thanks the SLC for proceeding ahead with Summerland work. There was the possibility of the next round of SB44 funding being used at Haskell’s Beach, near the Bacara, where there are other oil problems. “Summerland Beach is ever so much cleaner, healthier and happier since Treadwell and NorthStar were capped in November 2020, but with this upcoming work, soon this stretch of coastline will be next to pristine. Better yet, there might be enough money left over in this funding cycle to tackle Haskell’s.” A description of the project is available on HTO’s website, healtheocean.org. email: gmccormick@newspress.com
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Last week, Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, formally reintroduced the California Clean Coast Act, calling for protection for California’s coast from offshore drilling and the impact of oil spills. The bill was Rep. Carbajal’s first bill introduced as a member of Congress, and comes on the heels of President Joe Biden’s executive orders signed last week to temporarily halt oil and gas drilling on federal public lands and offshore waters. The orders also identify steps to double renewable energy production from offshore wind by 2030. Rep. Carbajal’s bill calls for a permanent ban for future offshore oil and gas leasing in the areas off the coast of California. The bill was reintroduced to coincide with the 52nd anniversary of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, in which 100,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled into the local waters. “The Central Coast has witnessed the devastation of oil spills first-hand, including the toll they take on our coastal communities, local economies, and fragile ocean ecosystems. 52 years and several oil spills
later, we must pass this bill and permanently end new oil and gas development off our shore,” Rep. Carbajal said in a statement. “It’s time we relied less on fossil fuels and more on renewable energies, like offshore wind, which will create energy and good-paying jobs without damaging our environment or our planet.” Several local environmental advocates praised Rep. Carbajal and voiced support for the legislation. “The west coast is united in opposition to offshore oil drilling where even small spills can have devastating economic and ecological impacts,” Katie Davis, chair of Santa Barbara Sierra Club, said in a statement. Added Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, which was founded in the aftermath of the 1969 spill, “The California Clean Coast Act is necessary to protect our coast from the threats of offshore oil drilling. From the 1969 blowout at Platform A, to the 2015 pipeline spill along the Gaviota Coast, the Central Coast has suffered the devastating effects of offshore oil development on our communities and those who live, recreate, and work here. Please see carbajal on A7
Obituaries............. A8 Sudoku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 1-6-13-19-45 Meganumber: 12
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 3-9-8-0
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 4-44-58-59-70 Meganumber: 3
Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 16-19-26-28-36
Sunday’s DAILY DERBY: 01-04-08 Time: 1:43.41
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 1-2-7-52-61 Meganumber: 4
Sunday’s DAILY 3: 6-2-9 / Sunday’s Midday 5-5-9