Santa Barbara News-Press: October 24, 2022

Youth ensembles to perform

day of the dead

California wildfires cancel out nearly two decades of emissions reductions

By MADISON HIRNEISEN

THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) –California’s record-breaking wildfire season in 2020 essentially nullified nearly two decades’ worth of greenhouse gas emission reductions, according to a new study.

The record-breaking wildfire season, which resulted in more than 4 million acres burned, emitted twice as much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere as the state’s total reductions over 18 years, a new study published in the journal of Environmental Pollution.

“Wildfire emissions in 2020 essentially negate 18 years of reductions in GHG emissions from other sectors,” the study’s authors concluded.

The study highlights that between 2003 and 2019, California’s greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by 13%, “largely driven by reductions from the electric power generation sector.” But the 2020 fire season alone is “two times higher than California’s total GHG emissions reductions,” researchers found.

emissions in assessing progress toward greenhouse gas targets because “the targets are specific to human-caused emissions.” He told the Times that this could soon change, however, because the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said all emissions must be considered to achieve carbon neutrality.

California officials have acknowledged that climate change is fueling more intense fire seasons across the state. According to Cal Fire, 15 of the state’s top 20 most destructive wildfires have occurred since 2015.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and the legislature have prioritized legislation aimed at curbing the impacts of climate change in the Golden State in recent years. During the most recent session, the governor signed a law requiring California to reach “net zero greenhouse gas emissions” no later than 2045. CARB also announced earlier this year that the state will ban the sale of most gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

More than 1,300 people wishing to pay their respects turned out Sunday for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s annual Day of the Dead event, mirroring an interactive altar’s theme of bridges to build their own bridge between this world and the next.

“It’s a wonderful feeling,” Patsy Hicks, the museum’s director of education said of Sunday’s turnout. “It felt like a return to people feeling comfortable being together.”

For the 33rd year, the museum honored the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead with a display of altars created by students in the museum’s school and outreach programs and local community groups, including San Marcos High School, Montecito Union School, Quilt Project Gold Coast, SBMA’s Partnership with A-OK After-School Program, and

Researchers also discovered that wildfire greenhouse gas emissions are the second “most important source in the state” after transportation and one that “appears likely to grow with future climate change.” Between 2000 and 2019, the California Air Resources Board that 41% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions inventory was from transportation.

A spokesperson for CARB told the Los Angeles Times that the agency does not consider wildfire

The study concluded that while wildfire emissions are not routinely reported alongside other emissions sources, “it is still important to track these emissions to ensure near and medium-term emission reduction targets are met.” Researchers also noted that forest management practices that focus heavily on fire suppression than prevention “also likely increases the risk of large, destructive wildfires.”

The 2022-2023 state budget included $1.2 billion over two years for wildfire resilience projects, which came on top of a $1.5 billion investment in the 20212022 budget.

Carp City Council to consider Safe Parking program for homeless population

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Carpinteria City Council today will consider adopting a resolution for a Safe Parking Pilot program for temporary overnight vehicle parking on public property in the city for homeless drivers who are living in and out of their vehicles.

The council will meet at 5:30 p.m. in chambers, 5775 Carpinteria Ave.

Staff is recommending the council approve a resolution establishing administrative procedures for the program, and authorizing the city manager to enter into an operating agreement with New Beginnings Counseling Center in an amount not exceeding $94,000 and allocating a FY 2022-23 budget amount of $32,000.

“The city and other local agencies annually expend significant resources responding to issues resulting from homelessness and working to connect people experiencing homelessness to resources; most importantly, housing resources,”

staff said in its report to the council.

The city collaborates with various agencies and groups to respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness that live in Carpinteria.

These collaborations include street outreach work conducted by County Public Health and Behavioral Wellness, CityNet and Good Samaritan, community volunteers who work alongside City Code Compliance and Law Enforcement staff, and policy/ program level work to acquire funding and organizational capacity to deliver programs that prioritize meeting housing needs, including related support services. This work also includes strategic planning to address homelessness in the region.

ln 2019, the city of Carpinteria, along with other Santa Barbara County cities and the County, approved the Phase ll Community Action Plan to Address Homelessness in Santa Barbara County.

“In recent past years, as a part of an Annual Report to the

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More than 1,300 turn out for annual Santa Barbara Museum of Art event

Visitors try their hands at making art during the event.

At left, young artists memorialized their loved ones at the event’s alters. At right, victims of gun violence are memorialized in the altar created by Moms Demand Action.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

The altar displays a number of memorials created by San Marcos High School students during the Day of the Dead family day at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on Sunday.

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California’s flavored tobacco ban is on next month’s ballot

By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – California voters will soon determine the fate of the state’s flavored tobacco ban.

Among the seven initiatives appearing on the November ballot is Proposition 31. The initiative asks voters whether to uphold or repeal Senate Bill 793, a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 that bans retailers from selling flavored tobacco products – including menthol cigarettes.

Gov. Newsom himself has come out in support of the “Yes on 31” campaign saying, “it’s time to stand up and protect our kids and to push back against Big Tobacco,” in a video released over the summer. The governor and other proponents of the ban argue it is necessary to protect kids and young adults from disease and death caused by tobacco products.

“Big Tobacco uses candy-flavored products to target kids – including cotton candy, chocolate, strawberry, and minty-menthol

– and lure them into a lifelong addiction to nicotine,” Lindsey Freitas, advocacy director with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said in a statement to The Center Square. “In fact, 4 out of 5 kids who have used tobacco started with a flavored product.”

“Voting yes on Prop 31 will save countless lives,” she added. “Tobacco is the #1 preventable cause of death in California, where tobacco-related diseases kill 40,000 people each year.”

Backers of the “No on 31” campaign who want to see the law repealed say that the ban would likely have a greater impact on adults than on children. As previously reported by The Center Square, individuals have noted that it is already illegal for anyone under 21 to buy tobacco in California, arguing that it will result in the ban of flavored products for adult consumers.

“Although the law bans the sale of flavored tobacco products to all customers regardless of age, lawmakers named it the ‘Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement Act.’ They claimed it was needed to stop underage tobacco use

— because only kids, apparently, like flavor,” Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, wrote in an opinion column published in the Orange County Register.

“To be sure, no one wants children smoking or vaping, but it’s already illegal in California to sell or give tobacco and vapor products to anyone under the age of 21. If prohibition worked, then we wouldn’t have a problem.”

Tobacco companies have sunk more than $22 million into the “No on Prop 31” campaign aiming to repeal California’s law, according to Ballotpedia. California voters, however, appear poised to uphold the ban.

Polling released earlier this month from the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies shows 57% of likely California voters would vote “yes” on Proposition 31 in favor of upholding the ban. Comparatively, 31% of likely voters said they would vote “no.”

California voters have until Nov. 8 to submit their ballots.

Parking lots would be monitored by New Beginning employees

and an operating agreement be prepared in support of the establishment of a two-year pilot program.

City Council on Homelessness, city staff have reported that, anecdotally, the number of persons homeless and living out of vehicles in Carpinteria has been rising,” staff said.

“Based on these observations and also complaints received by the city about people living in vehicles on public parking lots and streets, the council requested an opportunity to receive information about the New Beginnings Safe Parking Program.”

On March 22, 2021, the council received a presentation, and directed that staff work with New Beginnings to find a suitable location(s) to operate the program in Carpinteria, and to identify suitable location(s) for 24-hour public restrooms.

City staff subsequently determined that in order to implement the direction provided by the council for identifying suitable locations to operate the Safe Parking Program, local administrative procedures and/or regulations would be required.

At its regular meeting of Aug. 8, 2022, the council received a report on options for proceeding with a Safe Parking Program, including how the program is being operated by New Beginnings in other Santa Barbara County jurisdictions.

The council directed that, in part, administrative procedures

“The purpose of this agenda matter is to provide the City Council an opportunity to establish a Safe Parking Pilot Program for temporary overnight vehicle parking on public property in the City of Carpinteria,” staff said.

The New Beginnings Safe Parking Program has been successful in addressing the need for a safe place to sleep at night for people who are homeless and living out of their vehicle, as well as coordinating with the Coordinated Entry System in Santa Barbara County.

New Beginnings operates Safe Parking Programs in the Cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta and Lompoc, and in parts of unincorporated Santa Barbara County.

The program structure includes:

• Spaces made available at each lot range from five to 10.

• Participants enter lots after 7 p.m. and leave by 7 a.m.

• Driver’s licenses, registration and insurance required.

• People assigned to lots based on lot and vehicle type and needs.

• Program is first come, first served with a waiting list.

• Parking only, no gathering in lots.

• Bathrooms either available or are provided via porta-potties.

• Trash, pet waste, loud music and cooking outside are examples

Man hospitalized after falling from IV cliff

of activities not tolerated.

• Participants are prohibited from parking within three blocks of a lot during the day.

• Lots are monitored by roving New Beginning employees throughout night and morning.

• Monitors provide support to participants in numerous ways.

• A monthly monitoring report is provided to the city.

• Each participant is required to renew their permit and review/update their housing plan monthly.

Adopting the resolution would establish the Safe Parking Pilot Program for a two-year term beginning once a lot is approved and operating.

“Establishment of a Safe Parking Pilot Program as a part of the city’s response to homelessness in Carpinteria can be found consistent with the city’s interest in promoting public health and safety,” staff said.

In other business, staff is recommending the council approve a consultant services agreement between the city and Equity Praxis Group for assistance with the city’s racial, equity and social justice program for an amount not exceeding $108,202.

On June 8, 2020, the council adopted a resolution committing the city to collaborate with law enforcement to further community-oriented policing, build trust with the community and ensure the safety of all community members; review

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital having sustained serious injuries in the fall, Santa Barbara County firefighters said after responding to the incident.

and revise city policies to incorporate anti-racist policies into city government and ensure the equitable distribution of resources and public services; and collaborate with, support and amplify minority-owned businesses, community groups and nonprofit organizations within the city and broader community.

The council later formed an ad hoc racial equity and social justice program planning committee tasked with researching and recommending to the council a consultant to assist the city with implementing its resolution; working with the consultant to develop a process, schedule and budget for this work; and further defining the role of a subsequent committee consisting of councilmembers and community stakeholders.

The Equity Praxis Group has submitted a proposal that meets the needs of the city for support in developing and carrying out a Racial Equity and Social Justice program, staff said. Equity Praxis Group describes itself as a mission-driven consulting practice supporting organizations, communities and individual leaders in fostering diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice. The group has a team of 12 consultants, researchers and facilitators with a combined experience of more than 500 years in the fields of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice.

email: nhartstein@newspress.com

News-Press announces its election endorsements

The News-Press has made the following endorsements for the Nov. 8 general election.

STATE

Governor: Sen. Brian Dahle.

Lieutenant Governor: Angela Underwood Jacobs.

Secretary of State: Rob Bernosky.

Controller: Lanhee Chen.

State Treasurer: Jack Guerrero.

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Lance Christensen.

Attorney General: Nathan Hochman.

Insurance Commissioner: Robert Howell.

State Board of Equalization, 2nd District: Peter Coe Verbica.

U.S. Senate/Partial Term: Mark Meuser.

U.S. Senate/Full Term: Mark Meuser.

U.S. House Representative, District 24: Dr. Brad Allen.

State Assembly, District 37: Mike Stoker.

SCHOOL BOARDS

Santa Barbara County Board

of Education, Trustee Area 1: Rosanne Crawford.

Santa Barbara Community College District, Trustee Area 1: Debi Stoker.

Santa Barbara Community College District, Trustee Area 5: Sharon Salvador-Jegottka.

Santa Barbara Unified School District, Trustee Area 1: Efigenia Banales.

Santa Barbara Unified School District, Trustee Area 4: Phebe Mansur.

Goleta Union School District, Trustee Area 1: Caroline Abate.

Goleta Union School District, Trustee Area 3: Christy Lozano.

Lompoc Unified School District: To be announced.

SPECIAL DISTRICT

Goleta Water District, District 2: Greg S. Hammel.

CITY COUNCIL RACES

Carpinteria City Council, Trustee Area 3: Patty Boyd (write in).

Lompoc Mayor: Jim Mosby.

ISLA VISTA - A man in his early 20s fell from a cliff in Isla Vista and was taken to

The unidentified victim fell approximately 50 feet from the cliff near 6741 Del Playa

Drive onto the beach below, firefighters said.

The incident occurred about 10:51 p.m. Friday.

- Neil Hartstein

Operation Lone Star: More than 100,000 apprehended in Rio Grande Valley alone

By BETHANY BLANKLEY

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Texas National Guard soldiers have apprehended or encountered more than 103,000 illegal foreign nationals in the Rio Grande Valley alone since Operation Lone Star launched last year.

According to Texas Military Department Task Force East data, these individuals all entered Texas illegally in between ports of entry after being guided by cartel operatives to cross the Rio Grande River into Texas.

During a recent enforcement action at the southern border, a Texas National Guard soldier stationed near Laredo described an encounter with nine people who’d entered Texas illegally after they’d crossed the Rio Grande River in between ports of entry and were trespassing on a private ranch. Soldiers had

tracked the group through the brush and helped Border Patrol agents apprehend them.

“Oftentimes, we’ll get a group that will disperse in areas like this,” 2nd Lt. Joshua Helton, Alpha Company Platoon Leader, Task Force Center said in a video published to educate the public. “Every night is different.

Usually during the weekdays, we’ll get multiple groups, and we have to be smart and maneuver from one point to the other and maneuver our assets as well to make sure we get in position for other groups.”

“Every day we come into work and notice that a lot of Border Patrol sections are understaffed, so I feel that having our presence here definitely helps,”

Staff Sgt. Joel Martinez, Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry said in an announcement released by Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. “We go into a local gas station, and the locals are always thanking us for doing what we do

here.”

Also actively involved in OLS are Texas Department of Public Safety officers working to thwart human smuggling activity on highways to and from border towns.

In Webb County, in Laredo, for example, in one traffic stop, DPS Criminal Investigations Special Agents discovered 11 Guatemalans (eight men and three women) hidden inside a tractor trailer, attempting to be transported north.

This is a common occurrence, law enforcement officials have explained to The Center Square. Sheriffs and their deputies as well as police officers in counties throughout Texas are regularly apprehending smugglers hiding people inside of trailers, 18wheelers, in car trunks and truck beds.

In another instance in Webb County, DPS troopers stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation when five male foreign nationals

bailed out and ran into the brush. They were later apprehended, and the driver was arrested and charged with human smuggling.

Farther north in Brooks County, DPS troopers stopped another vehicle for a traffic violation. The driver was attempting to smuggle three people from Mission to San Antonio and was arrested for human smuggling.

Since Gov. Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in March 2021, Texas law enforcement officials have apprehended more than 317,000 foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally. They’ve made more than 21,000 criminal arrests, with more than 18,600 felony charges reported. DPS has also seized over 342 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill everyone in the United States.

Texas has also bused over 8,200 people to Washington, D.C., since April, over 3,400 to New York City since Aug. 5, and more than 1,000 to Chicago since Aug. 31.

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U.S. record: 2.7 million Border Patrol enforcement actions in fiscal 2022

By BETHANY BLANKLEY

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – A record 2.7 million enforcement actions were made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in fiscal 2022, according to new data released late Friday.

Total enforcement actions made against foreign nationals illegally entering the U.S., including apprehensions, removals and those being released into the U.S. totaled 2,766,582 between Oct. 1, 2021, and Sept. 30, 2022 – the most ever and more than the individual populations of 15 U.S. states.

It’s a significant increase from the prior fiscal year, when CBP made 1,956,519 enforcement actions. During the Trump administration, total enforcement actions were 646,822 in fiscal 2020; 1,148,024 in fiscal 2019; 683,178 in fiscal 2018; and 526,901 in fiscal 2017.

The totals are derived from U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Fields Operations data.

In September, there were 227,547 encounters along the southwest border, a 12% increase from August. Among them, 19% were individuals who had at least one prior encounter in the previous 12 months, CBP notes.

Encounters increased across the board: nearly 71%, 161,381, were single adults, a 15% increase from August.

Unaccompanied children encounters increased by 5% from August, totaling 11,900; family unit individuals totaled 54,079, an increase of 4% from August.

Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Center Square, “The Biden administration has consistently violated their responsibility to secure our border. It has long been clear that our borders are open – now these numbers should erase any remaining doubt. We have simply never seen these numbers before in our history, and the Biden open-borders policies are the reason.”

The 2.7 million encounters “shattered the all-time record, which was also set by the Biden administration just last year,” he

added. In addition, “CBP recorded more than 600,000 known got-aways since last October, bringing the total number of known got-aways under Biden and DHS Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas to more than 1 million.”

Got-aways are those who illegally enter the U.S. in-between ports of entry to intentionally evade law enforcement.

“CBP also recorded 98 apprehensions of aliens on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database, dwarfing total such encounters from the previous 5 years combined of 26,” he said.

CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus attributed “a new wave of migration” impacting the U.S. southern border to the “failing regimes of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua.”

Despite this, he said, “the number of Venezuelans arriving at the southern border decreased sharply nearly every day since we launched additional joint actions with Mexico to reduce irregular migration and create a more fair, orderly and safe process for people fleeing the humanitarian and economic crisis in their country.

“Over the past week, the number of Venezuelans attempting to enter the country fell more than 80 percent compared to the week prior to the launch of the joint enforcement actions. While this early data is not reflected in the latest report, it confirms what we’ve said all along: when there is a lawful and orderly way to enter the country, individuals will be less likely to put their lives in the hands of smugglers and try to cross the border unlawfully.”

He also said, “CBP and DHS will continue to work with our partners in the region to address the root causes of migration, expand legal pathways, facilitate removals, and take thousands of smugglers off the streets. No matter what smugglers say, those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country will be removed and people should not make the dangerous journey.”

But on Friday, former acting DHS deputy secretary Ken Cuccinelli said, “Mayorkas and Magnus are failing to do their job and are turning their backs on the men and women of

Abbott, sheriffs address fentanyl crisis stemming from southern border

By BETHANY BLANKLEY

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

CBP and Americans to run interference for drug runners and human traffickers.”

He, Mr. Homan, and former COO and acting Commissioner of CBP Mark Morgan had announced that if DHS didn’t release the latest data by Tuesday, they would. The administration has generally released it around the 15th of the month.

Mr. Morgan told The Center Square that CPB quietly released the data on Friday evening at 11 p.m. after their threat.

“The late night release was a blatant attempt to lessen the coverage of the self-inflicted worst crisis at our southern border in our lifetime,” he said. The Biden administration set historic highs in every area, he notes, from the 2.7 million encounters to the “98 aliens on the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Database – more than the last 5 years combined.”

Mr. Morgan told The Center Square, “The primary responsibility of our federal government, is to protect American citizens and our interests. The Biden administration – from Joe Biden, to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, to CBP Chief Chris Magnus – have knowingly, willfully, and consistently violated that responsibility.”

Because of “the overwhelming numbers of illegal aliens and otherwise inadmissible aliens flooding our border,” he said, Border Patrol agents and resources “have been pulled off the front line, away from their national security mission. This has left the border wide open for the cartels to exploit –pushing deadly drugs, criminals, and potential national security threats across our borders.”

Mr. Morgan also is calling on Congress to act.

“It’s time for Congress to step up and do their job by holding this administration accountable for the chaos and carnage they have unleashed on our southwest border,” Mr. Morgan said. “Their first action should be to impeach Secretary Mayorkas, who has served as the administration’s chief architect of their open-border policies and continues to lie to the American people about it. How many more Americans have to die and suffer before we say enough is enough?”

Poll: Americans support banning transgender surgeries, drugs for minors

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square)

– Texas Gov. Greg Abbott met with scores of law enforcement officers in Corpus Christi to discuss measures being taken to secure the border and combat the fentanyl crisis.

“Cartels are bringing fentanyl across the border in record amounts,” Gov. Abbott said. “Texas DPS alone has confiscated enough lethal doses to kill every man, woman and child in America.”

He said, “this past year we’ve seen a record number of people lose their life because of fentanyl, the precursors of which are made in China and shipped to Mexico. Cartels make them into drugs that are then sold in the United States. Last year alone in Texas, we had almost 1,700 people who lost their lives because of fentanyl overdoses.”

More than four Texans a day die because of fentanyl, he added.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the leading cause of death of Americans between the ages of 18 and 45 “is not COVID or cancer,” Gov. Abbott said, “it’s fentanyl. This is a crisis.”

While those in Texas law enforcement are “trying their best to get it off our streets,” he said, “it’s time the Biden administration take it serious and step up to secure the border, if nothing else to stop the fentanyl.”

Gov. Abbott also warned at Thursday’s meeting about the dangers of rainbow fentanyl that cartels are bringing across the border that look like candy “that some kids may take and not survive.”

Gov. Abbott said the state legislature next year will consider several proposals to beef up enforcement efforts and expand resources.

One proposal will identify a “fentanyl overdose for what it is … a poisoning.”

Another will “classify fentanyl for the crime that it is … murder. Anyone who laces a pill with fentanyl and knowingly sells it to someone else who loses their life should be arrested, tried and convicted for murder,” he said.

Another will allow for people to more easily and readily receive immediate medical treatment by making NARCAN more accessible statewide. Another will help those suffering from substance abuse and expand mental health resources.

He also said his executive order declaring Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations is enabling law enforcement to “identify and seize cartel assets” and those of gang members, “to put them out of business. We want them to understand if they are doing business in Texas, they picked the wrong state. We will track down their boats, their money, their cars, whatever assets they have and put them out of business.”

The legislature provided additional resources to local sheriffs to help them combat crime “stemming from Joe Biden’s open border policies,” he said.

“It’s important that I emphasize this: we should not be doing this,” he added. “This is the federal government’s responsibility to take

care of this issue. We are big enough to step up and respond to it but the federal government needs to do its assigned duty under the constitution to secure the border. We’re not going to wait on them. We will continue to step up.”

Nueces County Sheriff JC Hooper said the county is a different place today than it was before President Joe Biden took office.

“Two and half years ago there were only three deaths related to fentanyl. One year ago there were 17; last year there were 31,” Sheriff Hooper said. “We are on a pace to beat that again this year.

“The fentanyl pipeline comes through Nueces County,” he added, “heading to the distribution center of Houston.” Nueces County used to be a pass through, he said, 30 miles off of Highway 77, a route used by smugglers and traffickers of people and drugs.

“Now it’s hitting us right between our eyes,” he said. “It’s hitting our young people. We don’t see an end in sight. Something has to be done.”

Sheriff Hooper also said fentanyl deaths are occurring inside the county jail. “It comes in as easily as spraying some liquefied fentanyl on paper and it’s extremely difficult to detect,” he said. “Now we are spending money on technology to try and address that issue. Fentanyl is everywhere and it starts at the border.”

Zapata County Sheriff Raymundo Del Bosque Jr. said Gov. Abbott helped equip his rural county with a range of resources it wouldn’t otherwise have had.

“Not only has Gov. Abbott pushed to secure the border,” he said, “but also has been constantly searching for resources for rural counties like mine. He has provided us with resources and equipment that have helped us to continue doing our job. Gov. Abbott stepped up to the plate when no one did. He has heard the voice of small rural counties that have been unheard for many years. He’s visited our counties at the border and is helping us and listening to our concerns.”

Fighting crime stemming from the border “is not a red issue, a blue issue,” he said. “This is a red white and blue issue.”

(The Center Square) – The majority of Americans say transgender surgeries for minors should be illegal, newly released polling data shows, backing up a movement to ban the practice in states around the country.

Convention of States Action, along with the Trafalgar Group, released the data, which showed that “78.7 percent of voters believe underage minors should be required to wait until they are adults to legally use puberty blockers and undergo permanent sex-change procedures.”

Notably, 84.6% of Independents and even 53.2% of Democrats say the same.

Mark Meckler, president of the Convention of States, said the poll shows Americans do not support “the idea that young people have to be 16 to drive, 18 to vote, and 21 to drink, and yet can undergo life-altering medical procedures in middle school…”

The poll comes as states around the country are considering bans on the practice. In recent days, a legislative committee in Utah advanced a bill of this kind, and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt doubled down on his opposition to the surgery after signing a bill earlier this month to block the University of Oklahoma Medical Center from using COVID-19 relief money to pay for those transgender drugs and surgeries.

“We have a duty to protect minors from a lot of things: we don’t let them drink, we don’t let them get tattoos,” Gov. Sitt told Fox News. “Their brains aren’t fully developed.”

A leading transgender health association has lowered its recommended minimum age for starting gender transition treatment, including sex hormones and surgeries.

The World Professional Association for Transgender Health maintains that, despite potential risks, it could be harmful to ban treatment including surgery in minors who want the procedure. The association says hormone treatments can begin as early as age 14 and some surgeries as early as 15.

But Republicans in states like Michigan, Tennessee and others are considering similar bans. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s new policy to investigate those gender transition surgeries as child abuse has sparked a flurry of controversy and lawsuits as well.

“We should not allow permanent, lifealtering decisions that hurt children or policies that suppress religious liberties, all for the purpose of financial gain,” Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said in a statement.

As The Center Square previously reported, in 2021 Arkansas became the first state to ban transgender drugs and procedures for minors.

“They need to get to be 18 before they make those decisions,” Republican Rep. Robin Lundstrum said at the time.

The poll surveyed more than 1,000 likely voters Oct. 8 through Oct. 11.

‘Cartels are bringing fentanyl across the border in record amounts. Texas DPS alone has confiscated enough lethal doses to kill every man, woman and child in America.’

Greg Abbott, Texas governor

‘Little kids to grandparents, all were involved’

MUSEUM

Continued from Page A1

SBMA’s ArtReach program.

People representing multiple generations stopped by to see the mini-altars created by more than 300 students, and also community and museum members, displayed as part of 14 larger altars submitted by schools and five to six more by the community, Ms. Hick said.

Teens working with Museum Teaching Artists Nicola Ghersen and Jason Summers during SBMA’s Teen Master Class created an interactive altar display inspired by depictions of bridges in the museum’s collection.

Visitors took part in the interactive display by adding visual symbols of loved ones who died who they wanted to remember, Ms. Hicks said.

“It was really nice,” she said. “Little kids to grandparents, all were involved.”

Santa Barbara Youth Poet Laureate Madeline Miller had planned to display her own interactive altar honoring the Earth and the lives lost due to climate change, but that didn’t pan out, Ms. Hicks said.

Instead, she created a “beautiful” sculpture honoring Mother Earth consisting of a globe representing the earth and feathers, “representing the ephemeral quality of the earth if we don’t take care of it.”

Día de los Muertos-inspired art activities for all ages also were offered in multiple locations. On the Front Terrace, visitors got to create skull charms and minialtars. In the Family Resource Center, they enjoyed printmaking.

Ms. Hicks said the day celebrated both the personal stories and cultural traditions of those who took part in Sunday’s event, and the museum’s connection to the larger community.

“How meaningful it was to be involved today at the museum, a place of beauty,” she said. “It felt like a real bridge between their personal story and a communal story.”

HOCKER, Marilyn Mae

May 31, 1933 – Oct 6, 2022

A longtime Santa Barbara resident, Marilyn Hocker passed away peacefully on October 6, 2022, at the age of 89 surrounded by her family. Marilyn was born in Los Angeles, CA, where she spent the next 19 years in Los Angeles until she met her husband, Lonnie Hocker, then in the Navy, on a blind date. They soon were married in Las Vegas in 1952. The next years were dictated by the Navy, moving to Key West, FL, Tampa, FL, Charleston, SC, and to San Diego, CA.

After leaving the Navy and finishing college in San Diego, they moved to Santa Barbara where she lived for the next 60 years. Marilyn is survived by three children, Keith (Michelle) Hocker, Cindy (Lee) Olsen, Amy (Ryan) Bertul and 2 grandsons, Phillip and Alexander.

Marilyn had been active in the community with numerous volunteer organizations as well as starting her own bookkeeping business. She has served as PTA president, Bluebird Leader, St. Michael’s Auxiliary president, active with high school Drill Team and Swim Clubs and a longtime member of the Woman’s Service Club of Goleta where she held numerous office positions.

Funeral services will be held privately with her family.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Central Coast Hospice, 253 Granada Ave. Suite D, San Luis Obispo, Ca, 93401, who worked tirelessly and with compassion and devotion in her final days and hours.

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Visitors

Gaviota Goleta

Carpinteria Ventura

Solvang

Ventucopa

New Cuyama

Maricopa

SANTA BARBARA

AT BRADBURY DAM, LAKE CACHUMA

SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL

POINT ARENA TO POINT PINOS

TO MEXICO

Memorials to the loved ones of young artists were featured at the event, including, in the foreground above, a boy’s beloved dog, who he says “would jump on the pumpkins and on the clouds.”

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Memorials fashioned by San Marcos High School students were featured at the Santa Barbara Museum’s Day of the Dead event on Sunday.

Youth symphonic ensembles to perform

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s fall youth ensembles will perform free concerts this weekend.

The Camerata Ensemble and Philharmonia Orchestra will perform at 3 p.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church, 21 E. Constance Ave, Santa Barbara.

The Youth Symphony will perform at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E Canon Perdido St, Santa Barbara.

Seating is available on a firstcome basis.

The Santa Barbara Symphony recently appointed Dr. Daniel Gee as the Youth Symphony music director and conductor.

“It is truly an honor to make music with these talented and dedicated young musicians,” Dr. Gee said in a news release.

“In addition to making music together, they are learning important skills like how to collaborate, overcome challenges, and dedicate themselves to something bigger than themselves. Together, we strive to

create the best music we can and to share it with our community.

“Even more so, my hope for these students is that this musical journey will help shape them and positively impact their growth and development.”

This first concert of the season is designed to welcome newcomers to orchestral concerts, according to the symphony.

Each composition will highlight a certain section of the orchestra, and spans from as early as the Baroque period to the present.

Dr. Gee noted the concert’s

Westmont

closing work is by a living composer, Richard Meyer, who was Dr. Gee’s first music teacher at his elementary school. Dr. Meyer is also the longtime director of the Pasadena Youth Sympony.

“It is with deep gratitude that I dedicate my first concert as director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony to him,” Dr. Gee said.

The Camerata Ensemble, led by conductor Marisa McLeod, is composed of musicians who are early in their musical training. It introduces students to the

basics of ensemble playing, following a conductor, and listening across a musical group while playing.

The Philharmonia Orchestra is the intermediate step in the Symphony’s Music Education program.

The ensemble’s string, wind, brass, and percussion students perform as a full orchestra under the baton of Ms. McLeod.

To provide training and experience with other repertoire, Philharmonia students also rehearse as a chamber strings group with Ms.

McLeod and as a symphonic wind band with instructor Karen Dutton. \

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Education programming is made possible through partnerships with school districts, Westmont College, community organizations, local and national funders, and support from individual donors.

To support the Music Education Programs, go to thesymphony.org/support/ support-the-symphony.

email: dmason@newspress.com

The festival celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ through music from throughout the centuries and around the world.

“In a broken world, where there

is constant conflict and strife, it can feel overwhelming and hopeless at times,” said Ruth Lin, who conducts the Westmont Orchestra and chairs the college’s music department.

“We hope that this year’s Christmas Festival will remind all of us that a Prince of Peace was promised, has come, and will come again,” she said in a story at westmont.edu.

“We’ve been planning this for months, and I look forward to having our vision realized and

— Dave Mason

Santa Barbara Symphony’s music program to presents concerts this weekend

COURTESY PHOTO

Dr. Daniel Lee conducts the Youth Symphony, an ensemble affi liated with the Santa Barbara Symphony.

The Westmont Christmas Festival, “The Prince of Peace,” will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 and 3 p.m. Dec. 4 at The Granada, 1214 State St. Performing at the Santa Barbara concert will be the Westmont Orchestra, College Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union.

sharing it with the community,” she said. “I cannot wait to hear our students in the Granada and see the faces of the audience as they take in the entire program.”

Alumnus Daniel Gee, Westmont director of choral activities and director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, will conduct the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers. Lonnie Ostrande conducts the Choral Union.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Ruth Lin conducts the Westmont Orchestra, which will perform along with choirs at the Westmont Christmas Festival at The Granada.

Here’s a look at the history connected with an inkwell

V., my good friend, moved to Casa Dorinda in Montecito, and before she moved, she sent me a picture of an inkwell that she had owned in her family since 1896. She had wondered about it for years and wanted to know the value.

Back in the days of businesses with big desks, people used 11 to 30 tools, including an inkwell, which held up to three or more colors of ink — red being important, and of course, black, and more.

You had a fountain pen, a blotter that covered about a 3-foot surface of the desk and heavy porous papers needing an anchor at both ends. Those anchors were generally bronze or brass and were called “blotter ends.” And they were decorative.

Adding to this was the loose paper rack for stationary, a pen tray because a pen could leak if not put into a tray and a rocker blotter. And that meant that once you wrote something on paper, you must have had a blotter to soak up the extra ink. You had a utility box for paper clips, a calendar frame, a notepad holder and a letter opener.

In the past, handwriting was necessary to accomplish a business deal. When I see how folks today run their office from one cell phone, I remember that a real desk with implements was highly important. The desk set was a central feature of any business person’s desk, and, moreover, was composed of all the elements above.

No one writing at businesses earlier than the 1910s and especially from 1890 to 1905 could be without such sets. These were “showy.”

V.’s inkwell was part of a set. A

lone inkwell was not done. In fact, we see that the top of V.’s inkwell has a monogram, and that was par for the course, because these desk sets were gifts in the best families.

“AHE,” it says.

This inkwell went with a set for a female ancestor of V.’s, because it is so delicate. It is a blown glass base with tiny air bubble designs.

The inkwell is English, but blown in the Italian manner.

Those little air bubbles were originated by the Italian glass blowers of Murano in the 16th century, and the English glass blowers learned from them, or, in many cases, Italian glass blowers came to the continent.

Thus we learn that a desk set was de rigor and that these desk sets. And before the typewriter came on the scene in the 1910s, these desk sets were all about handwritten letters.

To put the valuation of V.’s inkwell in context, I focus now on the period of her inkwell 18901905 and evaluate other inkwells of the period to see where V.’s fits. One could have purchased a complete top of the line Tiffany desk set, with 11 to 30 elements that were strewn across the desk, and those today in bronze would be worth $3,000 to $30,000.

In 1919, one could have purchased for one’s wife who (of course) only wrote letters to family, a lovely Lalique inkwell

in black deco inspired glass, and those today are worth $3000.

Earlier than the Deco inkwell, one could have purchased an American Brilliant cut glass inkwell which today, with a sterling cap, also monogrammed, would be worth $600.

If you had forward design taste in 1910 you would have purchased a Tiffany or Steuben Favrile glass inkwell, which might have been blown in, at $2,000 and up.

Tiffany because they loved exotic patterns in bronze might have sold you in 1903 a Zodiac pattern motif on your inkwell.

If you were interested in phrenology, the study of the shape of the head to tell a malcontent’s pathology, you might have purchased a milk glass head shaped inkwell, on which a forehead snapped open. Those today sell for $2,000 and up.

I would put the value of V.’s lovely little lady’s inkwell at $600.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Mondays in the News-Press.

Written after her father’s COVID-19 diagnosis, Dr. Stewart’s book “My Darlin’ Quarantine: Intimate Connections Created in Chaos” is a humorous collection of five “what-if” short stories that end in personal triumphs over presentday constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

Righetti students host kids at ‘Kinderpatch’

SANTA MARIA — More than 700 elementary school students from throughout the county explored Righetti High School FFA “Kinderpatch” on Friday.

The Santa Maria event gave the youngsters a chance to learn about plants, crops, animals, roping and enjoy ag activities including pumpkin games, a petting zoo, and other attractions.

More than 200 FFA students were on hand to engage the young guests at the annual tradition, which has been going on for more than 35 years.

“It’s amazing to see the kids enjoying everything we worked so hard on,” said FFA member and senior Emma Taylor, who has participated in Kinderpatch since she was a freshman. “This is

something I will never forget.’’ “Our Kinderpatch is highly anticipated every year by our students and community, and we look forward to being able to host this event on campus,’’ agriculture teacher Amy Guerra said in a news release. “It’s a great way to promote agriculture and education.”

— Dave Mason

COURTESY PHOTO

This inkwell is valued at $600.

COURTESY PHOTOS

A variety of activities take place at Righetti High School’s “Kinderpatch.”

Diversions

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

By Horoscope.com

Aries: Some close friends could turn you on to a new interest or perhaps a group you might want to join. Intellectual stimulation through those closest to you could open the way to new plans and innovations. You might want to try combining artistic interests with technology, Aries, perhaps expanding your knowledge of photography, computer graphics, or filmmaking.

Taurus: Sudden, unexpected news could arrive today, perhaps by mail or phone. You could host a virtual group meeting of some kind. A lot of exciting information and stimulating conversation could take place, Taurus, bringing fresh ideas that spark new interests. Expect a very busy but productive day, looking ahead toward the future rather than back toward the past.

Gemini: Short journeys in your neighborhood, perhaps connected with a group you’re associated with, could take up a lot of your time today, Gemini. Fascinating and stimulating emails or calls could arrive. Books and magazine articles could provide information that sends you in a new direction in some way. Write down your ideas!

Cancer: Unexpected money developments could brighten your day today, Cancer. Perhaps you will get a raise or an increase in some other form of income.

Technology could be involved in some way, or a long-term goal you’ve been striving for finally brings in some benefits. There might be uncertainty about when it’s coming or exactly how much it will be, but the outcome will be gratifying all the same!

Leo: A surprising revelation, either from within or from sources like books, the Internet, or communications from others could set you in an entirely new direction. You will have an increased sense of freedom, as well as a clearer and more progressive outlook. You might consider some pretty heavy changes in your life, Leo, but don’t make any final decisions or arrangements today.

Virgo: Discoveries made through occult sciences such as astrology or numerology could see you embrace some rather revolutionary ideas about yourself, the world, and life. You could become involved with a group

associated with metaphysical studies or take an online class or workshop of some kind.

Libra: Sudden lucky breaks could come your way today, Libra, possibly through friends or groups with which you’re involved. A longterm goal you’ve been working toward might bring unexpected but wonderful results. Virtual group activities, particularly those involving social or political issues, could take up a lot of your time.

Scorpio: Today you might feel the desire to break free from your daily routine, Scorpio, particularly regarding career matters. You might consider developing a business of your own, one that would give you a lot more freedom than you currently have. This is a good day to start looking into it.

Sagittarius: A sudden and unexpected opportunity to take a journey by air could come your way today, Sagittarius. This might be something you’ve wanted for a long time finally manifesting. Certainly, adventure is in the air, although it might be mental adventure as much as physical. Some information could come your way that catapults you into a new and exciting field of interest.

Capricorn: Technology could pave the way for you to greatly increase your income, possibly through new skills or investments. This is likely to be a very positive development, setting the stage for future financial success. Some unusual, interesting dreams could come your way, bringing unexpected revelations about you and your past - and possibly your future.

Aquarius: The unexpected need to take a journey by air or spend a lot of time working could bring about an inconvenient separation from your partner. While the reasons for this situation and the projected outcome are very positive, it can cause a temporary upset in your relationship. Don’t worry about it. The upset will pass, particularly when the desired results are attained.

Pisces: Is your workplace upgrading its equipment? Are you in the process of increasing your technology skills? Today’s planets show that success and advancement through technology are definitely in the offing for you, Pisces. If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a computer, do it today if you can.

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday-Saturday and on the crossword solutions page in Sunday’s Life section.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language.

Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance.

All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid.

Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

PUZZLE

THATSCRAMBLEDWORDGAME ByDavidL.HoytandJeffKnurek

KVOEE

RNIDK BAHBYS

YUCKY

Bicycles

New/Used/Rentals

Furniture

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. FBN 2022-0002468

The following person(s) is doing business as: Beach Baby Kids Boutique, 1241 Mission Ridge Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93103, County of Santa Barbara.

Beach Baby Nannies LLC, 1241 Mission Ridge Rd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103; California

This business is conducted by a Limited Liability Company.

The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A s/ Trudie Reich, Managing Member

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/04/2022.

Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/24, 10/31, 11/7, 11/14/22

CNS-3636554#

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS OCT 24, 31; NOV 7, 14 / 2022 -- 58766

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. FBN2022-0002495

The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET, 175 N. FAIRVIEW AVENUE, GOLETA, CA 93117 County of SANTA BARBARA Mailing Address: 5455 E. HIGH STREET, SUITE 111, PHOENIX, AZ 85054 SF MARKETS, LLC, 5455 E. HIGH STREET, SUITE 111, PHOENIX, AZ 85054

This business is conducted by a limited liability company

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 8/17/2016.

SF MARKETS, LLC S/ BRANDON LOMBARDI, SECRETARY,

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/07/2022.

Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 11/7/22 CNS-3630217#

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS OCT 17, 24, 31; NOV 7 / 2022 -- 58754

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT, FBN No: 20220002382 First Filing. The following person (s) are doing business as: SYSTEM SOLUTIONS 1375 COUGAR RIDGE ROAD, BUELLTON, CA 93427, County of Santa Barbara. Full Name(s) of registrants: MICHAEL W ORNEE: 1375 COUGAR RIDGE ROAD, BUELLTON, CA 93427.

This business is conducted by: AN INDIVIDUAL. This statement was filed in the office of JOSEPH E. HOLLAND, County Clerk-Recorder of SANTA BARBARA COUNTY on 09/26/2022 by E47, Deputy.

The registrant commenced to transact business on: Nov 28, 2007. Statement Expires on: Not Applicable.

NOTICE: This fictitious name statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the office of the County Clerk. A new fictitious business name

Biden touts investment in Pennsylvania’s infrastructure

By ANTHONY HENNEN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden, in a visit to Pittsburgh on Thursday, touted his administration’s infrastructure investments in front of an almost-completed Fern Hollow Bridge that collapsed nine months ago.

The president spent most of his time emphasizing federal funding for infrastructure projects ranging from roads and bridges to railroads, service pipes, airport terminal upgrades, and broadband internet.

“For most of the last century, we led the world by a significant margin because we invested in our people, we invested in ourselves, we invested in our land,” President Biden said. “Along the way we stopped doing that. But not anymore. We’re back on track.”

He touted the federal money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that

came to the commonwealth.

“Pennsylvania alone has already received $5.2 billion just this year for hundreds of projects across the commonwealth, and that’s just announced another $2.5 billion to fix and upgrade Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges; and there will be billions more for other projects,”

President Biden said.

The legislation passed in November as The Center Square previously reported, provided $1.2 trillion in funds for a variety of projects.

“For too long, we’ve talked about building the best economy in the world and the best infrastructure in the world,” President Biden said. “Now, we didn’t do it, but we’re finally getting to it, we’re getting it done.”

President Biden was joined by leading Democrats to include Gov. Tom Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb.

“The collapse of the Fern Hollow Bridge was a visceral reminder that Pennsylvania,

like many states, is in a race against time to repair aging infrastructure,” Gov. Wolf said in a release. “This problem isn’t unique to our state, but we need solutions urgently – because our communities deserve to know that they can rely on the safety of the bridges, roads and other infrastructure they use every single day.”

President Biden also argued the spending will shore up infrastructure and give a boost to most Americans.

“This law’s about more than rebuilding our infrastructure, it’s about rebuilding the middle class,” he said.

He also connected America’s state of repair with patriotism.

“When you see these projects in your neighborhoods … I want you to feel the way I feel: pride. Pride in what we can do when we work together, and that’s what I mean when I say we’re building a better America,” President Biden said.

Federal deficit hit $1.4 trillion in fiscal year 2022, nearly 50% above pre-COVID level

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The Biden administration on Friday released its budgetary data for the last month of fiscal year 2022 which showed the U.S. government ran up a roughly $1.4 trillion deficit. That is an average of nearly $120 billion in added debt every month.

Federal debt surpassed $31 trillion earlier this month. The federal debt topped $30 trillion, its own milestone, in January of this year.

In a speech Friday, President Joe Biden touted the deficit reduction from the previous year,

down from $2.8 trillion in fiscal year 2021.

“Because we are making sure corporations pay their fair share, cracking down on billionaire tax cheats and giving Medicare the power to negotiate lower drug prices in the future just getting under way, which lowers one of the biggest costs that government and families have to pay, will reduce the deficit another $250 billion over the next 10 years,” President Biden said.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, though, blasted the announcement saying it was “nothing to celebrate.” Critics also point out that President Biden’s

State attorneys general led by Louisiana’s Landry urge CDC to reverse COVID vaccine school guidance

By VICTOR SKINNER

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

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(The Center Square) — Attorneys general in a dozen states are urging the Centers for Disease Control’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to reverse course on recommendations to include the COVID-19 vaccine on federal child immunization lists.

“This action could deny many parents the freedom to determine whether to subject their kids to an experimental vaccine,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry said.

The attorneys general penned a letter to the CDC’s ACIP committee Thursday in regards to two votes taken during meetings this week, which occurred before the close of the public comment period on including the COVID-19 vaccine on child immunization lists.

The advisory committee voted 15-0 on Thursday to add COVID-19 vaccines to the 2023 schedule of childhood and adult immunizations and the CDC is expected to accept the recommendation. The committee voted unanimously the day prior to add the vaccine to the Vaccines for Children Program, which was created by Congress to ensure low-income children have access to free vaccines.

“States have traditionally relied heavily on these lists to inform their vaccination policies,” the letter reads. “As a result, in many states, your decision is unnecessary and subjects children to retaliation for their parent or guardian’s decisions to decline this vaccination.”

The letter argues vaccines currently included on the childhood immunization lists protect against viruses that “have killed millions of children over the years,” unlike COVID-19, which “does not pose the same danger to kids as polio or measles, nor does the vaccine provide the same protection.”

“While most vaccines prevent the vaccinated individual from getting the disease in the first place and stop the spread of the disease, the COVID-19 vaccine does neither,” the attorneys general wrote.

Including the COVID-19

vaccine could do more harm than good by undermining the public’s faith in the CDC, they wrote, citing ongoing research into both the virus and vaccines, as well as “widespread disagreement on whether kids need to be vaccinated” as important reasons to wait.

“It’s far too early in the process to potentially require otherwise healthy kids to get a vaccine that will not prevent them or others from getting sick. In fact, the vaccine could do the opposite and create complications for kids who are forced to get the vaccine to attend school or play sports,” the letter reads. “Given the lack of need for kids to obtain the vaccines and their lack of effectiveness, adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of childhood immunizations amounts to little more than a payout to big pharmaceutical companies at the expense of kids and parents.”

The attorneys general pointed to the continued “fallout of school closures and the forced masking of kids” that resulted from the “failures of misguided politicians, government bureaucrats, and their select experts,” and urged the committee to “reject considerations of adding the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of childhood immunities and the VFC.”

“A modicum of humility is in order from the elites who demanded Americans’ trust then betrayed it with failed policies, and simultaneously ensured that those with the audacity to question the individuals wielding such power over individual lives and livelihoods would be targeted for censorship and blame,” the letter reads.

“Our Nation’s children are not the federal government’s guinea pigs,” the attorneys general wrote. “As a country that failed so many children over the last couple of years, we owe it to them and their parents to take a responsible path forward.”

The letter was signed by attorneys general from Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Montana, Arizona, Nebraska, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Indiana and Texas.

planned student loan forgiveness erases significant deficit gains.

“The entirety of the decline in the deficit between 2021 and 2022 can be attributed to the expiration of temporary COVID relief, not due to a renewed era of fiscal responsibility,” Ms. MacGuineas said. “In fact, the deficit would have been almost $400 billion lower had the Biden Administration not decided to enact an inflationary, costly, and regressive student debt cancellation plan in August.”

Ms. MacGuineas emphasized that the deficit reduction occurred because spending was much higher the previous year because of the flood of COVID-era stimulus

spending.

The pre-COVID deficit in fiscal year 2019 came in below $1 trillion.

Ms. MacGuineas and other critics have placed the blame for soaring inflation at the feet of recent large spending bills.

“Despite claims of ‘historic deficit reduction,’ lawmakers and the President have approved nearly $5 trillion of new borrowing over the last two years,” she said. “It should be no surprise that the Federal Reserve is having a hard time getting inflation under control when fiscal policymakers keep making their job even harder with more borrowing.”

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – A new equity committee at the U.S. Department of Treasury has sparked controversy and drawn the scrutiny of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

The Treasury Department said in the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity that it would “advance racial equity in the economy and address acute disparities for communities of color.”

“Toward that end, the Committee will identify, monitor, and review aspects of the domestic economy that have directly and indirectly resulted in unfavorable conditions for communities of color,” the Treasury Department’s announcement said.

House Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week raising concerns that the progressively ideological members will have outsized influence on the agency’s policy decisions “such as modernizing the Internal Revenue Service and implementing the so-called ‘Inflation Reduction Act.’”

“The timing of the Advisory Committee’s formation and the elevation of a radically partisan left-wing voice to lead this initiative are disturbing,” the letter reads. “The formation of this Advisory Committee will only worsen this Administration’s politicization of the Department of Treasury (Treasury) and distract it from its core responsibilities which include ensuring a level playing field for all Americans.”

The letter also raises concerns about whether the group “will advance radical and divisive views within Treasury and the Administration.”

One member in particular has been a source of controversy for the committee. Felicia Wong, the committee’s vice chairwoman, has been under fire for previous statements she made supporting defunding police as well her stance on race being a fundamental aspect of all public policy.

One report Ms. Wong coauthored for the Roosevelt Institute says, “no policy, even if facially race-neutral, is raceneutral in practice.” It also claims the U.S. needs “an honest reckoning of America’s legacy of white supremacy and violence, followed by concrete, reparative action to redress those harms …”

That same report questions America’s “skills-based” economy.

“Power relationships within a market-based society have changed somewhat over the

last century,” the report said. “But they remain entrenched in racialized capitalism and a politics that have yet to fully reckon with those deep roots. Many thus continue to believe in a skills-based, opportunity-focused liberalism that denies the history and present effects of race-based economic stratification.

“Therefore, our mainstream politics has yet to recognize, prioritize, and make central the reckoning, race equity, and selfdetermination that a multiracial democracy would require,” the report adds.

This committee is one of several controversial “equity efforts” pushed by the Biden administration across several agencies, a move supporters say addresses wrongs and structural racism in America.

“A critical piece of executing on our racial equity goals is bringing a wide set of outside perspectives and lived experiences to the decision-making table,” Ms. Yellen said in a statement.

Critics, though, contend President Biden is using racialized identity politics throughout his administration to cater to the left wing of the Democratic party.

“At a time when millions of American families are struggling to make ends meet, Secretary Yellen and Biden’s Treasury Department are virtue signaling instead of working to fix the economic mess they created,” said Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., the top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee.

Other critics argued the Treasury Department should be more focused on economic issues given soaring inflation, gas prices and a recession.

“The Department of the Treasury under the direction of Secretary Janet Yellen first denied the severity of the economic crisis facing American families and now refuses to acknowledge the primary culprit behind the turmoil: the explosive growth in federal government spending financed by trillions of dollars printed by the Federal Reserve,” said Joel Griffith, an economic expert at the Heritage Foundation.

“After denying the problem and shirking responsibility, her new ‘equity’ committee will advance an extreme, woke agenda by misleading the public into believing that systemic racism – rather than failed ‘progressive’ policies – perpetuates poverty, low quality schools, and a lack of opportunities in some minority communities.

OCT

RANDY GLICK

U.S. racial equity committee, leader criticized on multiple levels