SB County officially ends COVID-19 state of emergency

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara County has ended its COVID19 state of emergency.

The official end came on Feb. 28 in alignment with the state of California. This was announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 17.

“We have made notable progress in our fight against COVID-19. The first case in Santa Barbara County was reported on March 15, 2020. The Public Health Department swiftly formed a response center, with many staff working around the clock to protect the

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

Teen man killed in motorcycle crash

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY – An 18year-old Santa Maria man was killed Sunday morning when the motorcycle he was riding struck a car head-on on Foxen Canyon Road in the Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County Fire officials said.

The collision occurred around 10 a.m. when the man’s Yamaha R6 motorcycle hit a Honda Accord on the 7600 block of Foxen Canyon Road near Foxen Vineyard & Winery, south of Tepusquet, the California Highway Patrol said.

The car’s driver, Bobbie Dowdy, 42, of Arroyo Grande, and her passenger were uninjured.

Rescue workers arrived on scene but despite their CPR efforts, the unidentified motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, Capt. Scott Safechuck, a SB County Fire public information officer, said.

His identity was not released pending notification of kin.

According to the CHP, the collision occurred when, for some reason, the motorcycle, heading south, drifted across the double yellow line and hit the northbound Honda.

The rider was thrown off his motorcycle, the CHP said, adding that several witnesses provided him with aid until rescue workers arrived.

The CHP is investigating the accident but noted that weather, drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash.

— Neil Hartstein

One stabbed in State Street fight

SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Police officers responded to the 500 block of State Street Saturday night in response to a reported fight in progress which left one person with two stab wounds and the other with facial injuries, police said.

Officers determined that there was a physical altercation between several individuals that started inside a local business and spilled out on the street, according to Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, the SBPD public information officer.

Two adult males were taken to Cottage Hospital’s emergency room for treatment with non-life threatening injuries. One sustained two stab wounds to his abdomen, and the other sustained facial injuries, police said.

The initial investigation revealed that the subjects involved in the fight were unknown to each other, and that one was from out of town, police said.

The incident was not gang related. At this time, no arrests have been made, and detectives are further investigating this case.

— Neil Hartstein

Sheriff’s Office requests continued grant funding for ATV enforcement

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is seeking grant funding to provide increased patrolling and enforcement in areas where illegal off-road vehicles are being used.

The sheriff’s office continues to receive complaints about individuals on ATVs throughout the county, but primarily in the Santa Ynez riverbed and surrounding areas bordering the city of Lompoc. These riders tend to damage private property and the environment. They are also violating a number of other state and county ordinances. The sheriff’s office is planning to enforce laws in the Santa Maria riverbed and the Cuyama Valley and locations in the south county area.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office applied to the State of California Parks and Recreation Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) 2023/2024 grant program. The preliminary application was submitted on Friday. As part of the multi-step application process, there is an opportunity for public comment and feedback before the final application due on June 5. From March 7 through May 1, the public can view the online grant application and submit comments.

To view the application, visit the California State OHV Grants and Cooperative Agreements program at http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/. To make public comments on the application, click on “GRANTS” and then on “On Line Grants Application (OLGA).” Then follow the directions on the menu bar on the left side of the screen.

This is the ninth year the sheriff’s office has applied for grant funding for OHV enforcement in Santa Barbara County.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com health of Santa Barbara County residents. Since then, the landscape of COVID-19 has dramatically changed,” Ryan Schumacher, assistant deputy director of community health and PIO for Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, told the News-Press in an email. “We now have vaccines for everyone 6 months and older. We have treatments for those infected. We have tests that can be done at home. We have complex models that predict surges and variant trends. The Public Health Department has played an instrumental role in ensuring each of these advances are available to our community. As of today, 70% of our residents received at least one dose of vaccine – that’s nearly 320,000.

“The state’s SMARTER Plan outlines the next phases of how the COVID efforts will continue. Specifically, Santa Barbara county residents will be able to continue to have access COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments,” said Mr. Schumacher.

The SMARTER Plan can be found at https:// covid19.ca.gov/smarter/

More info on what’s changing was released by the state on Friday at 2 p.m. and can be found at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/ OPA/Pages/NR23-014.aspx. email: kzehnder@newspress.com