Santa Barbara News-Press: February 11, 2023

Foodbank reaches $20 million goal

‘Anxious Nation’

SBIFF movie shows young people and their families dealing with anxiety - B1

Young woman sees her super Bowl dream come true

Santa Barbara-based Dream Foundation arranges for San Bernardino resident to go to Sunday’s big game

MORE iN sidE

Santa Barbara entrepreneur David Bolton and his company are again producing the Super Bowl broadcast for Latin American viewers. A5.

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Kellirae Cox couldn’t help but smile.

The 21-year-old San Bernardino resident was a school cheerleader throughout her life at the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, and she has always loved watching football. Now she gets to attend her first NFL game, and it’s not just any old NFL game.

On Wednesday, the student body at the school for the deaf gathered at a pep rally and watched as one of its alumni, Miss Cox, found out she’s going to the Super Bowl Sunday with her mother, aunt and former cheerleading coach Stacey Hausman.

That’s thanks to efforts by the Dream Foundation.

The Santa Barbara nonprofit makes dreams come true for terminally ill adults. Miss Cox,

FYi

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County has reached its $20 million fundraising goal to purchase and outfit its new Sharehouse in Goleta.

Of the $20 million, $1.5 million came from federal funding procured by U.S. Rep. Carbajal, DSanta Barbara, who advocated for the project and appeared Friday morning at a news conference with Erik Talkin, the Foodbank’s CEO, at the Sharehouse.

“The rest of the funding came from a variety of sources,” Mr. Talkin told the News-Press during an interview. “Mostly from local donors; up to about $15 million came from the Santa Barbara community.”

“The bulk of the remaining funding (not federal funding) came from an assortment of private foundations, other individuals’ contributions and other charitable sources,” Judith Smith-Meyer, the Foodbank’s senior communications manager, told the News-Press. Noted Mr. Talkin, “It has been

eight long years since we started looking to secure this and begin the building work. It is difficult to find usable property in Santa Barbara that doesn’t cost millions. We were lucky to find a place that was reasonably priced.”

The Sharehouse is intended to enable the Foodbank to better address food insecurity

countywide and ensure that all county residents (and anyone stranded here in case a disaster closes Highway 101 and State Route 154) will have food during a disaster.

“It serves the entire county, but is situated in the South County. A major benefit of the increased capacity is in case of disaster,”

said Ms. Smith-Meyer. “In cases where the South County is cut off from the North County, when we are cut off from our usual food sources, we will have ample food ready. We will have one million pounds of food available in the warehouse at all times for disaster response.

COURTESY PHOTO

Kellirae Cox, who’s now 21, was a cheerleader throughout the years when she attended the California School for the Deaf in Riverside. Thanks to the Santa Barbara-based Dream Foundation and the NFL, she, her mother, her aunt and her former cheerleading coach will attend the Super Bowl Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.

a San Bernardino resident with melanoma that has metastasized, has a life expectancy of six months. But she’s at peace with her diagnosis, and in the eyes of those who know this young

Please see DREAM on A4

Expect higher prices for Super Bowl spread this year

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The Super Bowl has become something like an annual holiday for Americans full of football, food and beverages, but the recent spike in food prices means catering a Super Bowl gathering will cost Americans more than ever.

While pricing data isn’t available for all the typical brands, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest data show food prices have soared in the past two years, outpacing the increased prices on other goods and services.

According to that data, which was released in January, food prices rose 10.4% over the past year.

For instance, deviled eggs may be off limits since egg prices have spiked in the last year, rising a whopping 59.9%.

“The remaining major grocery store food groups posted increases ranging from 7.7 percent (meats, poultry, fish, and eggs) to 15.3 percent (dairy and related products),” BLS said.

Alcohol has risen as well. BLS

data for all urban consumers showed “beer, ale, and other malt beverages at home” rose 8.6% over the past year while alcoholic beverages overall rose nearly 6%.

Cheese dip may be a bit too pricey this year for some consumers. “Cheese and related products” rose 12.8% last year.

Fruit and vegetable platters will be more costly as well with fresh fruit and vegetable prices rising 6.4%.

Americans may be tempted to skip the fresh food and go for frozen, but frozen and freeze dried prepared foods rose 15% in the past year. And the snack category saw an 11% increase as well.

Americans ordering takeout this Sunday will not avoid the higher prices. BLS data shows the “food away from home” index rose 8.3%.

There are some bright spots for American football fans. The cost of chicken wings, for instance, has declined according to a report from Wells Fargo. Chicken overall, though, has risen in cost.

Burgers may also be a good choice as well, since uncooked ground beef rose 0.7% last year, according to BLS.

Columnist Robert Eringer recounts mission against domestic terrorist - A2

Santa Barbara County nonprofit celebrates funding for its Sharehouse

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Erik Talkin, the CEO of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, gives U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, a tour of the new Sharehouse building in Goleta.

For more about the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, go to foodbanksbc. org.

The new Foodbank facility includes its Administration & Nutrition Promotion Center.

American Gothic: Dealing with the No. 1 domestic terrorist in the U.S.

Earlier this week The New York Times published an article by Portland, Ore.-based freelance reporter Bryan Denson revealing one of my undercover missions for the FBI, which was, until now, publicly unknown.

I did not include this assignment in my 2008 nonfiction book “Ruse: Undercover with FBI Counterintelligence” (Potomac Books) because I did not know at the time if that operation was still active. If it was, I could not risk compromising it.

I cooperated with Mr. Denson to help establish the facts. From my experience, it is always better to speak with journalists and assist them with accuracy rather than let their imaginations run wild and write a one-sided story. Plus I’m proud of the work I did over an eight-year period in service to my country.

Here follows, from my own perspective, what went down.

THE BOOK MODE

Craig Rosebraugh of Portland had styled himself into the mouthpiece of the Earth Liberation Front and, as such, had drawn attention to himself from the Portland field office of the FBI.

At that time (around the turn of the century), ELF activists had attacked various sites in and around Portland and elsewhere with firebombs, earning themselves the label “domestic terrorists.”

I had, years earlier, created what I called my “Book Model” for the FBI as a way to ruse targets into telling me what they were thinking, doing and thinking of doing.

This formula worked like a charm against Edward Lee Howard. I rendezvoused with the CIA traitor in Moscow, Havana, Geneva and Zurich to extract from him “positive intelligence” of interest to the FBI and to penetrate his circle of Russian and Cuban intelligence contacts, in addition to trying to repatriate Mr. Howard in an extraordinary rendition to face the music in court for his treasonous scheme.

The Book Model also worked in our favor against hippie-guru Ira Einhorn, who fancied himself a should-be-famous author and invited me into his existence in Champagne Mouton, France, where he was fighting extradition to the U.S. for bludgeoning to death his ex-girlfriend Holly Maddux in Philadelphia 20 years earlier.

Thus I contacted Mr. Rosebraugh — a cold call — on the presumption that he desired to write a book.

He did, and I quickly inserted myself into his existence as his editor, publisher and, as my mentor CIA legend Clair George liked to say, his “new best friend.”

RENDEZVOUS IN SANTA BARBARA

My phone rang at 5:17 p.m. on Feb. 22, 2002.

Caller ID pegged an L.A. number: Craig Rosebraugh, calling from his sister’s home to confirm our meeting the following day in Santa Barbara.

I told him I’d reserved a room in his name at the Inn at East Beach, please phone me upon arrival.

Next day, Craig phoned at 3:07. Twenty-three minutes later we met in the hotel’s lobby. I introduced my editorial hitman, code-named “Floater,” with whom he would work IF (I told Mr. Rosebraugh) we determined he could deliver a revelatory book.

In his late 20s, Mr. Rosebraugh looked like a cross between the actress Shelley Duvall and the pitchfork farmer in “American Gothic,” the famous painting by Grant Wood.

Craig had a narrow, pasty face framed by a nerdy haircut and ornamented with wireless spectacles and acne around a mouth jammed full of teeth featuring prominent canines. He was costive, intense and prone to eyeballing new people and not letting go.

Having been eyeballed by the former KGB chairman, assorted Cuban Intelligence officers and

Ira Einhorn, this was by no means challenging. At one point Craig said, “I NEED to be serious and paranoid.”

This was the brains behind America’s most dangerous domestic terrorist group?

My first impression, probably the best one, was this: What Craig needed most was a hug.

Floater and I drove him in my Jeep to the East Beach and grabbed a picnic table where I gave my spiel about book publishing and asked Mr. Rosebraugh if he had any questions. He shrugged and shook his head no.

I asked him if he thought he’d been followed to California. Craig proceeded to educate us about two kinds of surveillance, overt and covert. He said he was followed overtly on a regular basis. “I walk by my local coffee shop, and there they are, looking out at me. I’m used to it.”

I asked where he’d like to go for dinner. Craig didn’t care, so long as it was vegetarian. So at 6:30 that evening, Floater and I collected Mr. Rosebraugh from the inn and drove to The Natural Cafe on State Street. America’s No.1 domestic terrorist told me he’d been vegetarian for 12 years and that he drank only water because he was allergic to alcohol from abusing it as a teen.

“I drank everything,” said Craig with a grin that suggested he’d drunk everything all at once.

“And I’m sugar intolerant,” he added.

No soda or fruit juice. And no caffeine because he would suffer heart-pounding and shortness of breath.

Mr. Rosebraugh added that he once worked late into the night but no longer possessed such energy. And it was all about work, no play; very one-dimensional.

I listened to him ramble on about how he had joined the Animal Liberation Front after taking part in demonstrations against the Gulf War in 1991. He soon left the ALF, he said, because “they didn’t see the whole picture” (meaning, the environment).

RETHINKING NONVIOLENCE

These movements were just stepping stones in Mr. Rosebraugh’s personal odyssey of self-discovery to become, it seemed to me, The Rebel with the Right Cause. To this end he was matriculating toward a Ph.D. at Goddard College in Vermont. His thesis? “Rethinking Nonviolence: Arguing for the Legitimacy of Armed Struggle.” A doctoral degree, he told me, would enable him to teach.

That was Mr. Rosebraugh’s ambition: To motivate others to take direct action and choreograph them from behind the scenes.

I asked Craig how he saw himself five years down the road. Teaching and writing, he said, on his own “farm retreat” someplace rural, maybe Montana.

And he had already discovered the sad truth about the mainstream media. “They make deals and renege,” he told me, citing John Stossel of ABC’s “20/20,” who waited till the cameras were running to say to Craig, “You’re a thug.”

Craig confided that he had lost many friends because of his rebellious stance.

“They just didn’t want to risk trouble from the authorities,” he told me, agreeing to write a book, minimum 300 pages, within three months, for five-grand. A lot of work for so little brazhort was exactly what I wanted to hear.

007

When I arrived at the Inn at East Beach to settle Mr. Rosebraugh’s tab next morning, the jovial clerk looked at me and said, “Oh, so you’re 007 — oops,” he looked at Craig, back at me. “Sorry to give your secret away.”

He was referring to my American Express card, with which I’d booked the reservation. Its last three digits: 0-0-7.

I laughed. Craig laughed. It wasn’t exactly a poetic moment, but one worth filing under I for irony. We drove to Pierre Lafond in Montecito’s upper village for coffee. It was a lovely day in mellow Montecito.

ROBERT ERINGER NEWS REVUE

Craig was relaxed — and happy that we had tentatively agreed to a book deal.

Floater took a photograph of me and my new best friend, “the most dangerous domestic terrorist in the United States.”

ENTER THE SPECIAL AGENTS

One hour after Mr. Rosebraugh departed, FBI Special Agents descended upon Montecito. They were getting more intelligence on Craig and the ELF from me and Floater in two weeks than they had amassed in two years.

They had asked me to make reservations for dinner, someplace we could eat for under 20 bucks a head. So I booked upscale Lucky’s on Coast Village Road in Montecito, where a fine glass of unfiltered Robert Mondavi cost that much. It was time to break in the new agents in my case, teach them how to enjoy life.

Dinner was a lovely affair, a large round table for six. Bo Derek dined nearby; Andy Granatelli was at his usual table. Montecito author T.C. Boyle stood at the bar sipping chardonnay. (Those were the glory days of Lucky’s, when James Sly was in charge of the kitchen.)

I extracted from my folio an eight-by-10 color photograph of me and my target.

“Gee.” Special Agent John scratched his head. “I’ve never seen Craig Rosebraugh look so happy. Come to think of it, I’ve never even seen him smile before.”

Floater, to my left, overheard. “You’re kidding? We had him laughing.”

“Craig’s not so bad,” I said. “Just misdirected. He needs somebody to give him a hug.”

Special Agent John looked at me with a shocked expression.

“I could be his big brother,” I said. “Steer him in a harmless direction. Or even better, put him to work for us.”

“What do you mean by that?” asked Special Agent John.

“Craig wants to move to Montana and start a revolution cult,” I said. “So we should set him up as an anarchist guru, and he attracts all the other violenceprone anarchists from around the country to join his commune. This will enable us to keep our eyes on everyone in one place, a kind of open prison for wannabe domestic terrorists.”

No, no, no. They wanted to assemble evidence against Mr. Rosebraugh and throw his scrawny butt behind bars, set an example for others. I shrugged. “Well, at least wait till he writes us a blueprint of the ELF. He won’t tell us everything in a book, but it may be enough to connect the dots.”

“What about having to publish the book?” asked Special Agent John.

“You don’t understand the book biz or our Book Model,” I winked. “I can stretch this out for two years and still not publish his book, just by saying it didn’t turn out as good as I expected.”

“But what if he publishes it on his own?”

“What do we care? But if we care, we could probably stop him, because I’ll make him sign something that says his writing is commissioned for payment. That way we’ll own copyright.”

For a measly five grand, staggered into five payments of $1,000, Mr. Rosebraugh was ready to spill his guts — and we’d own the product.

Floater, his “editor,” would travel to Portland and work with him, hammer away at any reluctance to reveal all on the basis that “we can always edit out the parts that incriminate anyone, including yourself.”

“I promised Craig a decision in two weeks,” I said to Special Agent John. “Can you get into gear and

approve $1,000 by then?”

Headquarters was impressed, approval was surprisingly swift, and Floater traveled to Portland in mid-April to consummate the deal with cash.

Mr. Rosebraugh, excited by the project, had jumped the gun and already written more than 100 new pages, including details of his love life. I called Floater’s cell phone, by pre-arrangement, while he was in Portland.

“I’ve got Craig here with me,” said Floater. “Want to talk to him?”

“Sure.”

“Hello?” said Craig.

I said, “How’s my favorite author?”

Craig chuckled.

“Everything working out OK with your editor?”

“Yes,” replied Craig. “Very well.”

“Excellent,” I said. “It’s going to be a fabulous book.”

EVERYTHING THE FBI ALWAYS WANTED KNOW BUT DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO ASK

Floater telephoned me later.

“That worked out good — Craig was happy you called,” he said. “But we have a new problem.”

“What now?”

“FBI Portland wants me to cut you out of the loop.”

“Huh?”

“I’m working directly with them, and they want to keep everything in-house. They don’t want FBI Albuquerque in on this.” (The Albuquerque field office administered my activities so we were necessarily involved.)

After I had conceived and launched this operation, FBI Portland wanted me gone so they wouldn’t have to deal with FBI Albuquerque, typical feebie disjointedness and rivalry. Never mind that Craig Rosebraugh believed that I, not Floater, was supposed to publish his book.

“Tell them to ---- off,” I told Floater. “This is our Book Model on the line. We’re running this operation, not them. And we’re doing it our way. If they don’t like it, tell them we’ll stand it down.”

(The joy of being an independent contractor.)

With greater discretion than I, Floater conveyed my sentiments to FBI Portland.

Special Agent John said, “Oh, OK.”

Over the next nine months, Craig Rosebraugh wrote 395 pages on everything the FBI always wanted to know about the ELF but didn’t know how to ask.

Craig also sent us his doctoral thesis — another 379 pages — in which he called upon readers to reject the peaceful techniques of Mahatma Gandhi and join him in “an effective revolutionary movement within the United States.” Had we been Russians, we would have given Craig whatever he needed.

FBI Portland, however, had lost the plot.

The way I’d conceived this, Mr. Rosebraugh’s scribing was not supposed to be the end-all but a vehicle for getting close to him and earning his trust for incriminating confidences, same as earlier book model cases targeting Edward Lee Howard and Ira Einhorn. We could have used Craig and whatever entity we helped him create as a magnet for every revolutionary in the U.S. bent on violence.

But without defined goals (as usual), the FBI chose not to recognize the opportunities available to us. Instead it focused on taking a scalp (law enforcement), not intelligence collection.

At some point after the operation was left to meander aimlessly, Craig became impatient, searched my name on the internet — and linked me to the CIA’s Clair George. This spooked him into terminating our relationship and refunding the money we’d paid him, which was dutifully returned to FBI coffers.

WENDY McCAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-Publisher

ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER . . . . .Co-Publisher

YOLANDA APODACA . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Operations

DAVE MASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor

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VOL. 167 NO.

www.newspress.com Newspress.com is a local virtual community network providing information about Santa Barbara, in addition to the online edition of the News-Press.

Robert Eringer is a longtime Montecito author with vast experience in investigative journalism. He welcomes questions or comments at reringer@gmail. com.

From my experience, it is always better to speak with journalists and assist them with accuracy rather than let their imaginations run wild and write a one-sided story. Plus I’m proud of the work I did over an eight-year period in service to my country.

Relaxing rodents

Chalk art experience planned during film festival

SANTA BARBARA —

The Society of Fearless Grandmothers-Santa Barbara, Sunrise-Santa Barbara, UCSB Environmental Affairs Board and 350 Santa Barbara are planning a Chalk Art Action with Elders and Youth.

This will be in support of the Green New Deal at the Fiesta 5 Theater, 916 State S., and Metro 4 Theater, 618 State St., from noon until 3 p.m. today and Sunday

Vandenberg conducts test of Minuteman III

during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Elders are joining with the youth to create chalk art on State Street to entertain and inform people who will be standing in line for SBIFF-featured films. The SBIFF is all about storytelling, and the Society of Fearless Grandmothers wants to encourage people to think about climate crisis storytelling.

The society noted that much recent storytelling has focused on the dreadful impacts of climate change (fires, floods, extinctions), but added the world needs new storytelling to help people

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was launched at 11:01 p.m. Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The purpose of the ICBM test launch program is to validate and verify the safety, security, effectiveness and readiness of the weapon system, according to Air Force Global Strike Command.

envision a better future — a postfossil fuel era where policies protect people and the planet. Students will be writing messages about their vision of a green future, calling for passage of the Green New Deal, a plan for addressing climate change by ending the use of fossil fuels while providing good-paying jobs in clean energy.

The public is invited to share their visions of a green future with chalk art messages in State Street this weekend. Look for the grandmothers with baskets of chalk at Metro 4 and Fiesta 5.

— Katherine Zehnder

Col. Bryan Titus, Space Launch Delta 30 vice commander, was the launch decision authority.

“The Airmen and Guardians who perform this vital mission are some of the most skillfully trained and dedicated personnel in America’s Air and Space Force,” Col. Titus said in a news release. “These test launches demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces and provide confidence in the lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.”

— Katherine Zehnder

McMorris Rodgers backs bill to hire more VA service officers

By TIMOTHY SCHUMANN

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Eastern Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and others are trying again with a bipartisan bill that would allocate federal funds to County Veterans Service Officers, allowing for greater flexibility at navigating VA services at the local community level.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that veterans and their families have easy access to the benefits and services that they have earned,” said bill cosponsor Rep. Mike Levin, D-CA, in a statement.

“That is why my colleagues and I are reintroducing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to support the work of county veterans service officers who interact directly with our local veterans every day.”

The title of the bill, the Commitment to Veteran Support and Outreach Act, or the CVSO Act, is named after the county veterans service officers it seeks to staff up, and give more resources.

“Veteran service officers are often the only lifeline connecting veterans and their families with the benefits they earned in service to our country,” said Rep. McMorris Rodgers in a statement. “This is especially true in rural communities where a shortage of VSOs is resulting in too many veterans slipping through the cracks.”

Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minnesota, boosted the bill as well.

“This legislation will establish a grant program that can be used by CVSOs to improve veteran outreach, as well as train and hire additional officers,” he said.

The text of the bill gives special priority to awarding grants in “Areas with a critical shortage of county or Tribal veterans service officers, areas with high rates of suicide among veterans”, or areas with a high number of “referrals to the Veterans Crisis Line.”

It also includes outcome-based evaluation for determining efficacy of the grant monies allocated.

The CVSO Act has received endorsements from the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers, America’s Warrior Partnership, the Green Beret Foundation, and the Wounded Warrior Project. It received a more than passing vote of 401-18 in the House during the 117th Congress, but did not receive a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Monty Roberts: A Legend and Animal Hero

Monty Roberts, the man who listens to horses, welcomes AnimalZone into his home where he shares amazing stories about his life with horses. From an early age, he began to understand how horses silently communicate through body language.

He was also known for his relationship with Queen Elizabeth II. He was the Queen‘s personal horse trainer and forged a strong friendship with the monarch. He would get calls in the middle of the night from the Queen to discuss horse issues. The relationship became known as “The Cowboy and The Queen”.

The passing of the Queen had a powerful emotional effect on Monty. He and his wife Pat were honored to be the only Americans invited to the Queen’s intimate committal service at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

It is a fascinating and heart warming episode with a legend and animal hero.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS Antonio, right, and Mirabel, two young capybara siblings that recently arrived from Alabama, sunbathe at their enclosure at the Santa Barbara Zoo on Friday.

A one-pager by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, DWisconsin, supporting the bill said it would “authorize $50 million annually for five years to expand and support CVSOs or similar local entities, who currently assist veterans in obtaining over $50 billion in benefits annually.”

COURTESY PHOTO

Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Congressman calls out FBI, says ‘Twitter Files only tell part of the story’

Bishop: How much did the FBI pressure other social media platforms?

By VICTOR SKINNER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop is leveraging Twitter to expose how the company worked with the FBI to silence free speech, the latest in a series of his recent posts that have gained significant social media attention.

“The FBI sought to silence constitutionally protected speech & access internal Twitter data to further their spying & censorship regime,” the North Carolina Republican posted Thursday, along with a video clip from a recent House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing. “The Twitter Files only tell part of the story. How much did the FBI pressure other social media platforms, ones w/ even more users & influence?”

The Twitter files refer to thousands of internal Twitter documents exposed by CEO Elon Musk and journalists Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss and others that expose how the company handled numerous issues. This includes its moderation process for a New York Post article on the Hunter Biden laptop controversy; shadow banning; Donald Trump’s

The Twitter files refer to thousands of internal Twitter documents exposed by CEO Elon Musk and journalists Matt Taibbi, Bari Weiss and others that expose how the company handled numerous issues.

suspension from the platform; and FBI communications with the company’s Trust and Safety Team.

The video posted by Rep. Bishop on Thursday featured testimony from George Washington University professor Jonathan Turley, a nationally recognized constitutional law scholar.

“The question that gets at me is this,” Rep. Bishop says in the 1 minute, 52-second video clip of the committee hearing. “How could the FBI, which is sworn to protect the Constitution, ever justify using intense application of its resources, agents, etcetera, to urge social media platforms to use those standards to take down speech the Constitution protects?”

Dr. Turley replied that aside from the legal issues, there’s bigger questions at play.

“It’s a particularly ominous thing to have the chief law enforcement agency performing this role, an agency with

incredible powers,” he said.

“Here you had the government itself looking for citizens who should be silenced and targeted. That’s a problem in and of itself, whether it also triggers an agency relationship.

“Do we want to go back to the day when governments created those types of lists?” Dr. Turley questioned.

Rep. Bishop’s post generated more than 70,000 views, with over 1,800 likes and 660 retweets in about 17 hours.

One of his many Dec. 20 tweets about the 4,155 page, $1.7 trillion spending bill now has more than 24 million views. That was the tweet telling the world he and his team were reading the bill and would post “some of the most egregious provisions.” Subsequent tweets generated hundreds of thousands to more than 1 million views each.

One of the follow-ups said, “The omnibus contains over $15 billion

in earmarks. That’s nearly 700 extra pages – with over 7,000 total earmarks from BOTH parties.”

A Jan. 10 tweet, on Friday, was pinned on the congressman’s page. It says the “The Deep State is on notice,” referring to House Resolution 12 calling for a probe of the U.S. government and private companies collecting and sharing information. Late in the day, it had garnered more than 500,000 views.

Other Rep. Bishop posts to Twitter in recent weeks have also been popular. A Jan. 2 tweet asked why congressmen didn’t get Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s rules package at least 72 hours in advance. Rep. McCarthy infamously needed 15 rounds of voting to become speaker of the chamber.

A post that panned President Joe Biden’s State of the Union on Tuesday generated more than 41,000 views and nearly 850 likes: “This meeting could’ve been an email,” Rep. Bishop wrote.

Arizona congressman calls Biden stock buyback tax a ‘retirement tax’

By CARLY MORAN THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

DREAM

Continued from Page A1

woman, who stands 4 feet 2 inches tall, she couldn’t be taller in terms of her positive energy.

“She is a beacon of hope and positivity for all of us,” Ms. Hausman wrote the Dream Foundation.

Miss Cox wrote the foundation with her request for the tickets to the game in Glendale, Ariz. The foundation contacted the NFL, which made a large donation, so Miss Cox, her mother, her aunt and Ms. Hausman could attend the game.

And they will stay at a Phoenix home, thanks to an Airbnb host.

“I was very surprised that I got the tickets,” Miss Cox said, using American Sign Language during a Zoom call from San Bernardino. The aunt who’s going with her to the game, Suzanne, served as the interpreter during the News-Press interview Thursday afternoon.

“I thought it was never going to happen. It was very last minute when we did the applications,” Miss Cox said. “I was surprised and excited.”

The Super Bowl pits the Kansas City Chiefs against the Philadelphia Eagles, and Miss Cox explained why she’s rooting for the latter.

It’s personal.

“Kansas City beat my team, the (Cincinnati)

Biden’s call for an increased tax on stock buybacks following the State of the Union address.

“President Biden failed to mention that American families are poorer today than

Bengals,” Miss Cox said with a smile. “So I cannot vote for them, and I cannot root for them.”

Her aunt added that the entire family is supporting the Eagles.

Signing enthusiastically, Miss Cox stressed how excited she is to attend Sunday’s big game.

“Even though I’m deaf, I can still feel the excitement of the teams, of the people around you,” she said. “You can feel the vibrations at half time.”

Miss Cox is excited to see the halftime show, which will star Grammy-winning singer Rihanna.

Throughout elementary, middle school and high school grades, Miss Cox, who loves to dance, was one of the California School for the Deaf’s cheerleaders at football and basketball games and even wrestling matches. She also has participated in cheerleading competitions with other schools for the deaf.

Today she’s enjoying her online college classes at Mount SAC in Walnut and said she’s interested in zoology. She has two dogs — a Chiquaqua named Holly, who acts like the boss of the two canines, and a rottweiler who understands American Sign Language, Cleo.

Miss Cox has maintained her positive energy despite some health challenges. She was born with an unknown condition that causes disabilities such as deafness, stunted growth, breathing difficulties, stomach issues and weak bones. Despite all that, she became known as

they were even a year ago,” Rep. Schweikert said. “In his speech, the President proposed a 4% tax on stock buybacks, which won’t help

Please see STOCK on A8

someone who embraces life.

“I’ve always tried to live a normal life and be positive,” said Miss Cox, who has one sibling, an older sister. “I never want people to say, ‘Oh,you’re deaf.’”

Miss Cox said she’s comfortable in both the hearing and deaf worlds. “I have a lot of hearing and deaf friends.”

When asked how she came to be at peace with her cancer diagnosis and life expectancy, Miss Cox thought for a moment.

Then she started signing.

“All my life, I’ve had health issues, and it’s never changed me,” Miss Cox said. “I decided when I found out that I had cancer, I wasn’t going to change my life or my attitude.

“I’m still Kellirae. I’m not cancer; I’m Kellirae.”

email: dmason@newspress.com

FYI

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will play Sunday at Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, and the game will air on Fox, Channel 11.

For more about the Dream Foundation, go to dreamfoundation.org.

‘I thought it was never going to happen ... I was surprised and excited’

CONRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – U.S. Rep. David Schweikert spoke against President Joe

SB company to produce eighth Super Bowl broadcast

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The biggest sporting event in the U.S. will be broadcast in Spanish Sunday throughout Latin America — thanks to the efforts of a Santa Barbara-based company.

For the eighth time in nine years, Cultural Global Media is coordinating all aspects of the live Super Bowl production for Fox Sports Latin America.

When Philadelphia faces Kansas City, it will be a special moment for CGM and its founder and owner, David Bolton. A graduate of Santa Barbara High School, he is beginning his 35th year of producing live national sports broadcasts.

“We are honored that the NFL and Fox Sports executives in Mexico City again have the confidence in our work to hire us for this 57th Super Bowl,” said Mr. Bolton, who began his television career in 1982 at Santa Barbara station KEYT.

“Every Super Bowl is memorable,” Mr. Bolton continued in a news release. “We are fortunate to have a strong, talented and dedicated production team. Some of the camera and audio operators have worked with us for more than 20 years.

“On the field, it’s always a team effort,” he said. “It’s the same for us on the production side. A lot goes into pulling off a solid broadcast. It’s definitely a team effort in our production truck.”

Preparations for this year’s Super Bowl began exactly one year ago, according to Mr. Bolton. Everything began to heat up during the past two months.

The Santa Barbara company is responsible for everything from production trucks to cameras, satellite coordination, camera, audio and replay operators, plus logistics with the NFL.

Cramer bill bans banks from making financial decisions based on politics

By KIM JARRETT THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) - Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., reintroduced the Fair Access to Bank Act to combat what he called the “weaponization of the financial system.”

According to the bill, banks and credit unions with assets over $10 billion would face penalties of up to $10,000 per violation for refusing to do business with legally-compliant businesses. The financial institution could also lose its status as an insured depository institution or insured credit union.

“There is no place in our society for discrimination, and big banks and financial institutions are no exception,” Sen. Cramer said in a statement.

“The Biden administration and their liberal base are weaponizing the financial system to defund, debank, or discredit industries they do not like. It is fundamentally unfair.”

The senator cited Citigroup’s refusal to fund coal projects. Citigroup declined to comment when contacted by The Center Square.

Executives from several industries are praising the bill.

“This bill gives our producers the ability to provide affordable, reliable, and secure American energy resources to our country and the world,” said Ron Ness, president of the North Dakota Petroleum Council, in a statement provided by Sen. Cramer’s office. “The oil and natural gas industry needs fair and non-discriminatory access to capital.”

Lawrence G. Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of NSSF, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, said the bill would end “‘woke’ financial discrimination.”

“For too long, banking institutions have arbitrarily denied services to legal and constitutionally-protected businesses such as those in the firearm industry, to advance a politically-driven agenda that would deny critical financial services to the industry that provides the means for law-abiding citizens to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Mr. Keane said.

Thirty-six senators from 22 states have signed on to the bill.

“It’s a lot of detail and sometimes feels a bit overwhelming, but our team members have done this multiple times and they really help carry a big load,” said Mr. Bolton. In nine years of coordinating NFL broadcasts, CGM has produced Super

Look at strategies to reduce debt

Debt can be simply understood as the amount owed by the “borrower” to the “lender.”

A debt is the sum of money that is borrowed for a certain period of time and is to be returned along with the interest. The amount as well as the approval of the debt depends upon the creditworthiness of the borrower. Debt can be a very important, positive part of one’s financial plan. But you have to be prudent with your debt. My Mom, who was born on a farm in Wisconsin, always told me, “Don’t buy it until you have the money to pay for it!” When her shoe had a hole in it, she would put cardboard in her shoe until she could afford to buy new ones.

Our young people today, on the other hand, want to get the newest, latest gadget — and they want it now! Put it on the credit card!

The U.S. government has been anything but prudent with its approach to debt. If the U.S. government were a company, it would be close to bankruptcy! For the first time since World War II, the U.S. debt is now higher than the Gross Domestic Product (the monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold in a year).

The U.S. debt today is over $31 trillion. The deficit (the amount of money the government spends over the amount it brings in) is now over $1.3 trillion.

U.S. unfunded liabilities (debt obligations that do not have sufficient funds set aside to pay them) are now over $181 trillion!

Our politicians must get their house in order sooner rather than later! This is not a political view. It is simple math!

Debt is a part of most Americans’ finances. Most home purchases are done via a mortgage.

Easy debt with high interest rate credit cards has become the norm for many. With interest rates moving up and a difficult economy on the horizon, debt is becoming more and more of a problem.

Digging out of debt is a tough job!

The reality is 44% of credit card bills aren’t paid in full each month, leaving a revolving balance. And credit card holders have an average balance of more than $7,000! But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Look at strategies to reduce debt.

Start by paying off the most expensive debt. Simply put, it just makes sense to pay off the credit card with the highest APR (annual percentage rate) first. This method will help you get out of debt the fastest. After all, why pay a high interest rate on a revolving balance?

Another approach is to gain momentum by paying the lowest balance first. While starting with the card with the highest APR makes financial sense, it can become disheartening for those struggling with a high balance or those who are burdened with multiple credit card balances. Some credit card holders would prefer to start with the card with the lowest balance and pay it off in full. The psychological boost of wiping out one debt at a time can be a worthwhile incentive to persevere with the process.

Once the first bill is tackled, pay off the second lowest balance. This strategy, also known as “the debt snowball plan,” helps people gain momentum as they eradicate one bill at a time.

Consider a credit counseling service. Those who carry a high amount of credit card debt, or who just feel overwhelmed, might consider a credit counseling agency.

Clients are offered a repayment plan that can greatly reduce or even eliminate interest charges.

Professionals negotiate with creditors to create a single monthly repayment plan so people can get out of debt faster and without spending hundreds or even thousands in interest. And don’t forget

Stay the course!

Bowls and multiple NFC playoff and championship games.

“These stadiums are so modern and so energetic on game day. It is truly an honor to be able to be a part of these big games,” said Mr. Bolton

One of Mr. Bolton’s early career

ideas was creating a local sports show on Santa Barbara TV. It was an idea that developed into KEYT’s “Friday Football Focus,” the longest running non-news show on local television.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

“Financial institutions should extend credit and offer services based on sound underwriting, risk and reward – not political beliefs,” said Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark, in a statement. “The Fair Access to Banking Act would prevent this biased practice and hold banks and credit unions accountable for failure to comply.”

FRITZ OLENBERGER PHOTO David Bolton stands in front of his Super Bowl wall with past game balls and helmets, including both the Eagles and Chiefs. Mr. Bolton’s company, Cultural Global Media, is coordinating all aspects of Sunday’s live Super Bowl production for Fox Sports Latin America.

UCSB men’s basketball defeats Long Beach State

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB men’s basketball team (19-4, 10-2 Big West) made their way south as the Gauchos took on Long Beach State on ESPNU. After 11 lead changes and 16 ties, it was UCSB who pulled out the win, defeating the Beach 75-72.

“Long Beach is such a good team and they are wellcoached,” said UCSB Coach Joe Pasternack said. “They’re just a tough team to play against, especially on the boards. We may have lost the rebounding war, but our guys played hard.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

From the moment these two teams hit the court, everyone in the Pyramid knew it would be a highcaliber contest. The Beach came out strong with their fan base behind them, taking an early lead in the first half. However, adversity never stopped the Gauchos. With key plays from Ajay Mitchell and Josh Pierre-Louis, the Gauchos pushed their way back into the game to take the lead with less than six minutes to go in the first half. This didn’t come without resistance from the Beach as the home team went on a late run to take the first half 43-38.

Miles Norris led the offensive efforts in the first 20 minutes as he secured nine points along with two assists. Helping him out was Andre Kelly, who not only registered eight points, but added on seven rebounds.

At the start of the second half, neither team was able to get into a rhythm before the first timeout on the floor. Once that hit, both teams picked up their games. Both the Beach and the Gauchos wanted to

come out with the win as they exchanged the lead nine times on the way to deciding a winner. With the whole team working together and Calvin Wishart making two key free throws, the Gauchos pulled ahead in the last three seconds to give them the 75-72 win over the Beach.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Mitchell ended the night with a double-double, putting up 17 points and 10 assists. With numbers like this, he contributed to 40 of the team’s 75 total points.

• Kelly not only scored points on offense, but he hit the boards hard. He earned his seventh doubledouble of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds, four of which he grabbed on offense. On his way to 14 points, he made 70 percent of his shots.

• Norris and Pierre-Louis were also instrumental parts of this offense as the seniors recorded 13 points apiece. To top it all off, Pierre-Louis added on eight boards and two steals.

• On the way to beating the home team, the Gauchos were more efficient from the field with a 50.9 field goal percentage while also turning over the ball three less times than the Beach.

UP NEXT

The Gauchos will return to The Thunderdome today, as they host the Aggies of UC Davis. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m. with a live stream available through ESPN+.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

Lane climbs rebounds list as UCSB falls to Long Beach State

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

Ila Lane continued re-writing the UCSB women’s basketball record books Thursday night against Long Beach State, pulling in 14 rebounds to bring her career total to 827, the seventh-most in program history. The senior from Moraga added 19 points to lead the Gauchos (15-7, 8-4 Big West), who fell just short of upsetting the conference-leading Beach (16-7, 11-2 Big West) at the Thunderdome.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After a slow first five minutes, Callie Cooper came off the bench to spark the Gaucho offense, providing three assists and forcing a pair of turnovers in the first quarter alone. Alexis Whitfield scored five points in the opening frame and kept the momentum rolling into the second.

The sophomore forward scored UCSB’s first bucket in the second, then Alexis Tucker and Ila Lane took over. The two seniors combined for seven points in one minute to turn a four-point

deficit into a three-point lead. The offense lit up again in the last minute to stretch the Gaucho lead to five by halftime.

Lane had seven points and six rebounds at the interval, and the senior wasted no time increasing those totals in the second half.

Lane scored the first bucket and grabbed the first board out of halftime and, with 4:19 left in the third, recorded the 822nd rebound of her career to put her alone in seventh place. However, that rebound came right as the Beach started a 13-3 run, which put the visitors ahead by the end of the frame.

UCSB kept themselves within touching distance throughout the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to one with just over a minute and a half to play, but barely missed out on another comeback win. The Gauchos had the ball with under a second left, but could not put up a shot to beat the buzzer.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The next Gaucho ahead of Ila Lane on the career rebounds list is Brandy Richardson, who pulled down 836 boards between

2001-2005; after Richardson comes Erin Buescher and her 864 rebounds from 1997-2000.

• Alexis Tucker was UCSB’s next highest scorer Thursday, scoring 14 points on only seven shots from the field; she went 2-2 from three-point range.

• Alexis Whitfield led all substitutes with seven points off the bench, all of which she scored in the first half.

UP NEXT UCSB will look to bounce back in Northern California on Saturday, as the Gauchos travel to UC Davis. While Santa Barbara won the most recent game between these two teams, the University Credit Union Center is not full of happy memories; the Gauchos have not won in Davis since February of 2015. Saturday’s game tips off at 2 p.m., and will be live on ESPN+, with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com.

Eric Boose writes about sports for UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

UCSB baseball picked to win Big West in Preseason Coaches’ Poll

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

The Big West announced the results of its Preseason Baseball Coaches’ Poll Friday, and UCSB has been picked to repeat as conference champions in 2023. The conference’s 11 head coaches picked the Gauchos to finish atop the Big West this season and elected UCSB’s Mike Gutierrez and Broc Mortensen to the Preseason All-Conference team.

The Gauchos have retained multiple key pieces from the team which finished 2022 with a 27-3 conference record, while also adding talent through the transfer portal and in the incoming class of freshmen. In addition to Gutierrez and Mortensen, who were both named to the All-Big West Second Team last season, UCSB returns all-conference honorees Ryan Gallagher, Matt Ager, Christian Kirtley, and John Newman, Jr. for a total of six AllBig West selections. Gallagher and Ager both earned Freshman All-American honors last season, and Gallagher was named Big West Freshman of the Year.

Also back this season after missing the 2022 campaign is Carter Benbrook, who was named a Preseason All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association earlier this month. The crop of newcomers is headlined by freshman Tyler Bremner, whom D1Baseball picked as their Big West Preseason Freshman of the Year. Following behind the Gauchos in the Preseason Poll in order are UC Irvine, Long Beach State, Cal

The Gauchos have retained multiple key pieces from the team which finished 2022 with a 27-3 conference record, while also adding talent through the transfer portal and in the incoming class of freshmen.

Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Hawai’i, CSUN, UC San Diego, UC Davis, CSU Bakersfield, and UC Riverside. UCSB received eight first-place votes, with the Dirtbags, Titans, and Rainbow Warriors receiving a single first-place vote each. UCSB’s first game of the season is only a week away, as they will open the 2023 campaign against Minnesota at the Sanderson Ford Classic in Surprise, Ariz. First pitch against the Golden Gophers is set for 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

Eric Boose writes about sports for UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

Westmont women’s basketball falls to Vanguard

By RON SMITH WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont Women’s Basketball (20-2, 13-2) - ranked fifth in the NAIA - suffered its second loss of the year, falling to #12 Vanguard (19-4, 12-3) by a score of 53-50. The visiting Warriors recorded their lowest shooting percentage of the year, making just 29.6% from the floor (16 of 54).

“I am proud of how our players battled,” noted Westmont’s head coach Kirsten Moore. “Obviously, that was two tough offensive teams. I thought we got a lot of great looks, but didn’t get shots to go down in the second half. They knocked down the shots down the stretch, credit them for that.”

The Warriors defense held up well, limiting the Lions’ Melissa Akullu - who leads the Golden State Athletic Conference in field goal percentage - to just three points on one-of-eight field goal attempts.

“We forced more turnovers, we had more steals and more offensive rebounds,” pointed out Moore. “We won the game in a lot of areas, but unfortunately we didn’t knock down shots tonight to win on the scoreboard.

“We played tough, gritty defense, but we let their shooters get loose for too many threes.”

The Lions were led in scoring by Lauren Baumgartner who tallied 17 points. Halle Si’l added 15 and Jaryn Madsen notched 12.

Stefanie Berberabe tallied 17 points, six rebounds, six steals and three assists for the Warriors while Kate Goostrey added 14 points on four-of-nine shooting from beyond the arc. Sage Kramer scored eight of her 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Westmont held a 31-28 lead at the half.

Unfortunately, however, the Warriors only made six second-half field goals as they were outscored 25-19 in the third and fourth quarter.

As a result of tonight’s game, Westmont’s lead atop the GSAC standings has dropped to one game over second-place Vanguard with three games left in the regular season. Menlo (17-7, 11-4) sits in third place in the GSAC standings, two games behind Westmont.

“The GSAC is still ours to go win,” asserted Moore.

“We have tough games coming up so we are going to regroup. Hopefully, this will help us battle down the stretch and try and see if we can close this thing out.”

Today, Westmont will travel to San Dimas to take on Life Pacific (6-19, 2-13) in a game that is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Next week, Westmont will host Menlo on Thursday and conclude the conference season with Jessup (13-11, 8-7).

Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College.

email: sports@newspress.com

Westmont competes in Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships

By JACOB NORLING

WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont Women’s Swimming was back at it on Thursday when they competed in day two of the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships. Much like on day one, the Warriors continued to set new standards, both in their own personal record books, as well as the program’s.

PRELIMINARIES

The day got started in the morning with the 500 yard freestyle, which featured six Warriors across the first five heats of the race. Highlighting Westmont’s 500 performance was Olivia Garrison, who broke her own program record time with a mark of 5:07.80. Garrison posted the 10th-best time of the 500 preliminaries, which clinched her a spot in the finals later Thursday evening.

Garrison previously held the program’s top mark with a time of 5:10.24.

“I focused a bit on changing my strategy for the race,” said Garrison. “This time, I built up to the last 200 of the race and focused on that final push. It feels really good to keep improving, and hopefully I can improve again during finals.”

McKenzie Rion also made strides in her 500, finishing with a season-best time of 5:19.56. The freshman cut 20.71 seconds off of her previous season best.

Four different Warriors competed in the morning’s next event, the 200 yard IM. Headlining Westmont’s performance in the 200 IM was Ella Chaisson finishing with a season-best time of 2:09.23. Chaisson not only cut 4.63 seconds off her season-best mark, but also posted the seventhbest time of prelims, earning her a spot in the A-Heat finals in the evening.

“I didn’t think I was going to make top-eight, because a bunch of girls were going super-fast,” admitted Chaisson. “I’m super excited though, getting into the top-eight is awesome. I believe this is my first time in the topeight at conference.

“During finals I’ll try to go out fast with the rest of the women, and we’ll see what happens.”

Also earning a spot in the 200 IM finals was Daisy Marquardt, who posted the 20th-best time of prelims with a mark of 2:12.17. The freshman cut 4.48 seconds off her previous season-best time.

In the 50 yard freestyle five different Warriors competed, with Bailey Lemmon leading the way in heat 11. Lemmon set a new Westmont record by completing the sprint in 24.43 seconds, which

was 0.09 seconds faster than the previous best mark. The previous program record was held by none other than Lemmon herself, and was set when she swam a 24.52 at NAIA Nationals her freshman year. The senior posted the 14th-best time of prelims, earning her a spot in the finals during the evening.

“The 50 free is my favorite individual event,” nodded Lemmon.

“I like to get hyped and excited before, and in this race that’s easy, because it’s the most fun race. I entered in a bit of a slower heat than last week so I was out ahead of the rest of the girls, which made for a better race for me. That one is just a ton of fun to compete in.”

Elsewhere, Emma Diehl earned a spot in the finals after she swam a season-best 50 of 24.82, which was 23rd-best during prelims. Also competing during the 50 yard freestyle was Leighton Bell, who achieved the NAIA B-Standard with a time of 25.58.

A pair of Westmont seniors swam their season-best times in the 50 free as well, with both Gaby Rego and Emma Leathers posting new year-bests. Rego trimmed 0.44 seconds off her time with a mark of 28.18, and Leathers cut 2.82 seconds off with a time of 29.90.

“Everyone has been asking if I’m sad about this being my last meet,” reflected Leathers, “but no, I don’t feel sad. I’ve had a great career. I had the honor of swimming in college and have had so much fun. Hopefully over the last couple days I can collect a few more best times, but regardless, I couldn’t have asked for a better season.”

FINALS

In the evening Westmont kicked things off with competition in the 200 yard freestyle relay. The Warriors’ A-Team posted the eighth-best time of the event with a mark of 1:40.11. Stealing the headlines of the race was Lemmon, who did not let her program record in the 50 free last more than six hours.

After setting the Westmont record with a time of 24.43 in the morning, Lemmon broke it again on the first leg of the 200 relay. This time, Lemmon placed her name atop of the program record list with a 50 yard freestyle time of 24.28.

Next in the pool was Garrison, who competed in heat two of the 500 yard freestyle finals. Garrison finished sixth in her heat and by a fraction of a set just missed breaking her own program record from earlier in the day.

After swimming a 5:10.24 in the morning, the sophomore finished with a mark of 5:10.33 in the evening.

Marquardt competed in the first heat of the 200 IM, and posted a time of 2:12.49, which was less than half a second off of her time from earlier in the day.

In the championship of the 200 IM Chaisson earned All-PCSC status with a seventh place finish. Following the trend of Westmont’s continuous improvements, Chaisson shaved nearly a full second off of her time from the morning, this time finishing in sixth place with a seasonbest time of 2:08.28. In doing so, Chaisson became the first Warrior of the meet to be named to the AllConference team.

Westmont capped off the day with the 50 yard freestyle finals, which featured both Diehl and Lemmon. In the first heat, Diehl capped off her day with a time of 24.79, which was a season-best mark by 0.03 seconds.

In heat two, Lemmon completed her trilogy of recordbreaking performances when she finished her final 50 free in 24.05. After coming into the day with a program record that was three years old, Lemmon set a new record on three separate occasions, cementing her place atop Westmont’s all-time leaderboard.

“I just feed off the energy of all my amazing teammates,” reflected Lemmon. “I love the 50, but more than anything I love seeing my teammates at the end of the lane. They’ve given me energy all day long, and it’s just really exciting to get to compete for them.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, but wow, I dropped half a second off my 50 in one day. That’s insane, and I’m stoked.”

Westmont’s record setting day made for a very pleased head coach at night’s end.

Head Coach Jill Jones Lin said, “For Bailey, knowing how far she’s come, to get to go out there and go lifetime-best after lifetime-best is pretty impressive.

“The whole day was really great. Starting out with the 500s, we had some great races, and then Olivia broke the school record again and moved up again in the NAIA rankings. Ella making it to the finals in the 200 IMs was huge. Daisy went a lifetime best in that as well, and Rian and Abigail went lifetime-bests too.

“Then at the end of the day, to see our sprinting pay, was fantastic.”

The Warriors dive back in tomorrow morning at 9:30, when the 100 butterfly kicks off day three.

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.

email: sports@newspress.com

UCSB men’s tennis to host LMU on Friday

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

Another weekend means another chance for UCSB men’s tennis to extend their unbeaten streak, with the Gauchos welcoming Loyola Marymount to the Arnhold Tennis Center this afternoon. UCSB won their first two home duals in dominant fashion on January 21, shutting out Grand Canyon, 7-0, and Portland State, 4-0, without losing a single set of doubles or singles play. The Lions (2-1) and Gauchos (70) are near-permanent fixtures on each other’s schedules, having met 19 times since 2000. UCSB has won 18 of those matches, including each of the last six. Last season’s

rendition was a 4-3 victory in which the Gauchos won on the top four singles courts. Phillip Jordan, Pablo Masjuan, Kai Brady, and Gianluca Brunkow all helped tame the Lions last season in Los Angeles.

Today’s match is set for 1 p.m. at Santa Barbara’s Arnhold Tennis Center.

LAST TIME OUT

UCSB played a pair of matches in San Antonio last weekend, winning both by a 5-2 scoreline. Against the University of New Orleans on Friday, the Gauchos won the final five points of the match, all in singles, to take the win. The next day, UCSB again earned all five of their points in

singles play, taking down UTSA, who played host for the weekend.

Phillip Jordan was recognized for his strong performances in San Antonio, being named Big West Men’s Tennis Player of the Week.

UP NEXT

The Gauchos are home again for their next match, hosting Boise State at the Arnhold Tennis Center on Friday, Feb. 17. First serve against the Broncos is set for 1 p.m. A live stream will be available through ucsbgauchos. com.

Eric Boose writes about sports for UCSB.

email: sports@newspress.com

SM boys soccer falls to Montclair

The San Marcos High boys soccer team lost their opening game of the CIF Division 1 Playoffs on Thursday, falling to Montclair 3-0. Most of the first half was scoreless in the game, with Montclair scoring its first goal with about a minute to play in the half. Montclair opened the second half with another goal, earning their third on a penalty kick in the closing minutes.

The Royals created scoring opportunities throughout the game, but were unable to capitalize.

“We played ourselves into the game well and created some good chances throughout the game but struggled to convert them,” said San Marcos Coach Paul McLean. “Montclair scored a great goal at the close of half and then again in the second half and we struggled to respond. They were solid and it wasn’t our best night.

“As coaches, we are really proud of these seniors who have won the Channel League three straight years and have only lost a handful of games,” McLean added. “Our captains have done a fantastic job leading our team on the field.

Justin Hess, Tully Knoles and Leo Vico have been excellent players and leaders and have epitomized the values of the San Marcos soccer program. They have given 100% effort, put the team first and have embraced their opportunities. We will miss them and the rest of this senior group who were a huge part of our success.”

Cate boys soccer beats Polytechnic

The Cate boys soccer team defeated Polytechnic 6-4 in the first round of the CIF-SS Playoffs, winning in penalty kicks after tying in regulation play. Things got off to a rough start for Cate, as Polytechnic scored in the first minute of the game. The Rams evened the score at one in the 38th minute on a goal by George Marin.

The Panthers broke the tie in the 65th minute, but the Rams managed to knot up the score again in the final minutes of the match on a goal by Beltran Campuzano assisted by Marin. Neither team managed to score through the end of double overtime, leaving the game to be decided by kicks from

the spot. The Rams nailed all four of their kicks, while the Panthers managed only two, handing Cate the victory.

“I’m very proud of how our team answered after giving up the early goal,” said Cate Coach Jorge Reynoso. “We showed grit and perseverance having to come back no once but twice in this game. It was truly a great team effort.”

The Rams return to action with a second-round game at home against Animo Leadership Academy today.

SY boys soccer edges Saint Joseph

The Santa Ynez boys soccer team defeated Saint Joseph on Thursday, winning their final Ocean League game by a score of 3-2.

Aiden Tapia got the scoring started for Santa Ynez, earning a goal four minutes into the game with an assist from Tyson Gonzalez.

Four minutes later, Tapia earned an assist on the game’s second goal, setting up Tristan Amezcua. The team’s third goal was scored ten minutes into the game with a kick from Gabriel Beleski assisted by Braeden Melville.

Saint Joseph scored both of their goals in the second half, but were unable to close the gap.

Bishop Diego boys basketball falls to Redondo Union

The Bishop Diego boys basketball team lost in the first round of the Division 2A playoffs, falling to Redondo Union 67-47.

Redondo Union claimed an early lead and never looked back.

“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys, we battled back time and time again but we just didn’t have it tonight,” said Bishop Diego Coach James Coronado. “Any time we started to gather some momentum, a play or two just didn’t go our way when we needed it. That never caused us to lose our grit and our fight, we kept fighting until the end and that’s all you can ask for as a coach. This was a special group of seniors that did a lot for Bishop Basketball … I will be forever grateful.”

The Cardinals were led by Damien Krautmann’s 18 points, while Bryan Trejo contributed 16.

- Compiled by Matt Smolensky

FOOD BANK

Continued from Page A1

“At any given time, we could have 100,000 people stranded here who don’t live here, between tourism and the employment force.”

Mr. Talkin also stressed the Sharehouse will benefit the entire county. “It will enable a lot more food to be stored and the ability to bring more food into the county. The facility will primarily serve Goleta, Santa Barbara and Carpinteria, but it will benefit the entire county.”

Ms. Smith-Meyer discussed details.

“The Sharehouse allows the Foodbank to increase capacity in food storage, nutrition education and disaster response,” she said,

“We have been working for 30 years out of a converted fire station on Hollister, which is much smaller, and food is trucked from Santa Maria every day of the work week,” said Ms. Smith-Meyer. “This allows Santa Maria to serve the North County, while allowing this warehouse to focus on the South County.”

“The increased capacity is huge,” Ms. Smith-Meyer said. “We currently turn away 32,000 pounds of fresh food and produce every single week donated by the L.A. Wholesale Produce Market. That 32,000 pounds is out of 80,000 pounds we turn away each week.”

According to the Foodbank, the facility’s new freezer/cooler space will increase its cold storage in South County tenfold.

Mr. Talkin talked about the Sharehouse’s educational programs.

“We have our new nutrition promotion center inside the admin building, on the Sharehouse campus,” he said. “This allows us to do food literacy training for children, families and groups. You need to educate people to simply use the good, fresh produce available in the county.

“We will also be able to do a lot more

disaster training,” Mr. Talkin said. “We can use the facility to increase that training. By having more food available, we will be able to help a lot more agencies and people.”

Friday’s news event with Rep. Carbajal included comments by the congressman and Mr. Talkin, who led the congressman and media on a tour of the facility. Rep. Carbajal presented a giant check representing the $1.5 million grant to Mr. Talkin.

“It went well,” Mr. Talkin told the NewsPress. “There was a lot of interest, and it is great to have some good news coming out of the federal government in terms of support for a local project like this.”

Rep. Carbajal said he received a request last spring from the Foodbank to help the nonprofit secure federal funding for the Sharehouse.

“And I immediately knew how important this would be — because before I was a member of Congress, I worked with nonprofits in this area to tackle one of our region’s most central issues: hunger,” he said.

“One in six children from Santa Barbara county is food insecure — and that’s why organizations like the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County are so critical. They help families across our region get the food on the table that they need.”

Ms. Smith-Meyer expressed the Foodbank’s gratitude to Rep. Carbajal and noted that the federal funding is more than 5% of the total funds raised.

And Mr. Talkin said he was grateful to the community for its support in establishing the Sharehouse.

“It will be an asset to the community for decades to come, and we really couldn’t have done it without the local community giving what they could,” said Mr. Talkin. Added Ms. Smith-Meyer, “We are excited to invite the community to join us in the fall. It’s a long-term investment, and we are excited to get started.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

tax would decrease wages by 3% over the next decade’

STOCK

Continued from Page A4

families struggling to afford goods at the grocery store and gas at the pump.”

Stock buybacks are used by corporations to buy shares of their own stock. When the company buys its own shares, it increases the stock value, and thus the return on investment for shareholders. The current tax rate upon buybacks, passed by Congress a month ago, is at 1%.

“This tax on American retirement savings

will decrease investment in the tools our workforce needs to modernize our economy, and it will ultimately lower living standards for Americans,” Rep. Schweikert said. “Inflation-adjusted wages are down 4% since President Biden took office, and this tax would decrease wages by 3% over the next decade.”

In contrast to Rep. Schweikert’s focus on 401ks, President Biden reflected upon corporate profits. “You may have noticed that Big Oil just reported record profits,” President Biden said. “Last year, they made $200 billion

in the midst of a global energy crisis. It’s outrageous. They invested too little of that profit to increase domestic production and keep gas prices down. Instead, they used those record profits to buy back their own stock, rewarding their CEOs and shareholders.”

Rep. Schweikert argues that the shareholders President Biden spoke of include everyday Americans. The congressman serves on the Ways and Means Committee and as the lead House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee.

‘This

‘It is great to have some good news coming out of the federal government’

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

The interior of the Sharehouse will allow the Foodbank an increased capacity.

Life theArts

Hoop skirts actually empowered 19thcentury women

Ask the Gold Digger - B4

CALENDAR

‘Anxious Nation’

Santa Barbara International Film Festival movie shows how young people and their families are dealing with anxiety

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Jamie Lee Curtis, who earned an Oscar nomination for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” will receive the Maltin Modern Master Award at 8 tonight as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Movie critic Leonard Maltin will interview Ms. Curtis on stage at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St., Santa Barbara. For more information, see sbiff.org.

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues daily through Feb. 18. See sbiff.org for the schedule.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from nonnative plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann.com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The Search for the Modern West,” an exhibit, continues through Feb. 20 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, see sullivangoss.com or call the gallery at 805-730-1460.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free.

Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical.org.

4 and 8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

By DAVE MASON

NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Laura Morton’s daughter Sevey struggled with anxiety since she was a baby.

Ms. Morton felt defeated as a parent and didn’t understand why her daughter wasn’t getting better. This led her to wonder how other families were dealing with the mental health of their children.

Ms. Morton teamed up with Santa Barbara entrepreneur Kathy Ireland and Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Vanessa Roth to create “Anxious Nation,” which will screen at 1:20 p.m. Sunday at Fiesta Five, 916 State St., as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The 100-minute documentary will be shown again at the same theater at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Ms. Morton and her daughter Sevey, who’s doing well today but continues to work on her with anxiety, are featured in the movie, along with other families and experts such as Dr. Shefali Tsabery and Tim Storey, both of “Super Soul Sunday,” a self-help talk show hosted by Montecito celebrity Oprah Winfrey; Harold Koplewicz, founder of the Child

Mind Institute; Lynn Lyons, author of “The Anxiety Audit,” and Kenya Hameed, a clinical neuropsychologist with the Child Mind Institute. Experts also include Jeff Zeig of the Erikson Institute and founder of Evolution of Psychotherapy Conference.

Ms. Morton, a New York Times bestselling author who lives in San Diego, and Ms. Roth are the movie’s directors and writers. Ms. Morton and Steve Purcell are the producers.

“It’s film you have to experience,” said Ms. Ireland, the movie’s executive producer and a former supermodel and TV actress. “There are not adequate words to describe it. It’s very helpful in initiating conversations.

It’s powerful.

“I believe what sets this movie apart is its authenticity, its honesty,” Ms. Ireland told the News-Press this week. “We experience the lives of several different children, teenagers, young people, their families and leading experts in the medical community. It takes such an honest look (at anxiety).

“Anxiety does not discriminate, regardless of economics or ethnicity,” she said. “I believe Santa Barbara is a microcosm of an anxious nation.

FYI

“Anxious Nation” will screen at 1:20 p.m. Sunday at Fiesta Five, 916 State St., as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. It will be shown again at the same theater at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, go to sbiff.org. For more about the movie, go to anxiousnation.com.

“I know families who are suffering from this (anxiety), and they need to understand they’re not alone, that there’s hope,” Ms. Ireland said. “It shines a bright light on that.”

She stressed the importance of discussing anxiety, the root of problems such as crime and suicides, and detaching anxiety from any stigma.

“I have served on boards of education for over 25 years,” Ms. Ireland said. “I have a huge place in my heart for young people.”

Ms. Ireland also said she and Ms. Morton, a New York Times bestselling author, have known each other for years.

Ms. Morton told the News-Press that “Anxious Nation,” which had its world premiere in October, has been screened at nine festivals,

including the Corona Film Festival, where it won the best female filmmaker award.

“For me, the greatest reaction have been the emails through our website, anxiousnation.com,” Ms. Morton said. She said people have told her they realize they and their families aren’t alone after watching “Anxious Nation.”

“They say, ‘I thought it was just happening in our home.’”

Ms. Ireland said “Anxious Nation” will provide some tools for dealing with anxiety and will help people realize they don’t have to be defined by their anxiety.

“I’ve seen such a sense of relief when people walk out of the theater having experienced ‘Anxious Nation,’” she said.

Ms. Morton said the documentary addresses the importance of using the proper medication in treating anxiety. She noted it’s not one size fits all and that the correct diagnosis plays a crucial role.

“We decided to let the stories of medications unfold organically,” she said. “One of our cast members was overly medicated and wrongly medicated. Some were properly medicated, and it helped and worked.

“If you’re properly diagnosed, medication can help,” Ms. Morton

said. “If you’re improperly diagnosed or wrongly medicated, medication can hurt you.

“And not everyone needs medication,” she added.

She also noted medication doesn’t have to be long-term.

Ms. Morton said many kids deal successfully with their anxiety through creative pursuits such as music, dance and sports. “There’s a lot of ways you can channel your energy.”

Ms. Ireland noted that one girl in “Anxious Nation” shared her faith in God as a healing force. “As Laura said, everybody is unique.”

“We talk about finding something that works for you,” Ms. Morton said. “Finding a therapist — we liken it to finding a good pair of jeans.”

Ms. Morton said her daughter has found acting to be therapeutic.

“Sevey is in high school,” Ms. Morton said. “Sevey is still working on her anxiety and uses tools. She’s doing great.”

“She’s been my greatest teacher, since the day she was born,” Ms. Morton said. “Having this open dialogue between us keeps us well aware of where we are individually and together.”

email: dmason@newspress.com

8 p.m. Transform Through Arts will present 10 dance companies in “Colors of Love” at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. General admission costs $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are $25 for students. To purchase, go to www. centerstagetheater.org.

FEB. 12

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival continues daily through Feb. 18. See sbiff.org for the schedule.

1 p.m. Participants in Ted Nash’s workshop will go on stage at the Mary Craig Auditorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. The free program is called “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance and Evolution” and will feature student composers, performers and writers from Mr. Nash’s workshop. 2 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400..

FEB. 14

6 to 7:30 p.m. Nicole Lvoff and Joe Woodard will perform on Valentine’s Day at the Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. Their music varies from Beatles songs to jazz standards. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2023

COURTESY PHOTOS

At left, Laura Morton spends time with her daughter, Sevey Morton. Ms. Morton said Sevey continues to work on her anxiety but is doing well today. Center, Kathy Ireland, a Santa Barbara entrepreneur and former supermodel and TV actress, is the executive producer of “Anxious Nation.” At right, Oscar winner Vanessa Roth is one of the film’s directors.

Natural History Museum hosts

‘Out of Closet’ Treasure Sale

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Featuring treasures from closets around town, an “Out of the Closet” Treasure Sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 25 and 26 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road.

Admission is free for shopping.

This stand-alone sale is an expansion of the popular “Out of the Closet” booth at the museum’s annual holiday event. The items in that booth each winter come from people in the community who want to benefit the Anthropology Department’s collections and research.

Funds raised by that booth have enabled the department to acquire several 19th-century Chumash baskets and a variety of works by modern-day Native artists.

This month, the Department of Anthropology is teaming up with other departments at the

museum to put on a larger benefit sale, offering a unique selection of books, rocks, folk art, nature education materials and more.

“Supporting our collections and curators is vital to continuing our active scientific research,” said Kim Zsembik, director of guest experience and the sale’s organizer. “Many shoppers are familiar with the Library and Anthropology Department sales during the Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace fundraiser.

This new experience includes community-donated treasures to support the Earth Science Collections, too. Jewelry makers will find rough rocks and minerals to polish for their creative projects, and in doing so, they’ll be supporting our earth science research.”

For more information, visit sbnature.org/calendar.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

Calling all wine and chili lovers to Buellton

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Wine and chili lovers will unite on March 19 in Buellton at the 2023 Buellton Wine & Chili Festival.

Taking place at Flying Flags RV Resort, this year’s festival has a great lineup of wineries, breweries and spirits, along with live music, food trucks and a funspirited chili cook-off.

Tickets include chili tasting and live entertainment from Ghost Monster, DJ F.I.U, and more. The Hot Chili Ticket for $55

Why do some people make it so hard for us to love them?

Igot a call around the holidays from a relative I hadn’t heard from in quite a while.

He’s a grown man now, with his own business, and although I was surprised to hear from him, I welcomed the call with an open heart. He said he just wanted to tell me how much he loved me, and I returned the sentiment.

We continued our communication (mostly by text) for the next couple of weeks. Then I got the “I need an angel investor” message, and I honestly thought about it … for about five seconds. It really broke my heart. I decided to make him an offer anyway, but I wanted collateral (a guitar). He “thanked me for my consideration,” and I haven’t heard from him since.

When this stuff happens in families, everyone loses.

The truth is if he had played me for a couple of months, I probably would have given him the money, but he was either not patient or not smart enough. I thought our bloodline was more creative than that, which is yet another disappointment.

I have always been willing to share what I have — never had a problem with that. I’m fortunate, and I know it, and if I can’t help other people with what I’ve created, then what’s the point, right? But when someone tries to hustle me, the walls go up, and the Bank of Dr. Barton is closed forever.

That being said, to quote the wise and wonderful Ben Franklin, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” may be the best financial advice you will ever get (along with, “Don’t trust stockbrokers” and “Learn how to make your own investments”).

You want nothing more than to help your family. But if family members are already in their 40s and they still don’t have their

lives together, as long as they are of sound mind and body, it is not your responsibility.

I have made a living fixing broken people and lives, and I know for sure that you can’t help everyone, and not everyone deserves or will accept your help. Assistance, be it emotional or financial, has to be given to the right people in the right way. Otherwise, it becomes a drain on the giver and that person may decide to bequeath a major portion of their wealth to, oh I don’t know, maybe animal rescue (like I did). When anyone, even a family member, tries to take advantage of you, walk away. Life is too short. You just need to find a few people, who hopefully like some of the things you like, to hang out with every now and then. You don’t need a tribe.

I may start going back to the Renaissance Faire with my lute guitar and reconnecting with my friends who are still role-playing there. I’m sure it’s changed, but it sounds like fun. What did you used to do that brought you joy? Whatever it is, you can do it again. It’s very healing to laugh and play, and it makes your hurts disappear. I’ve moved on from the toxic part of my “family,” and I treasure the lifelong friends I have made through my work and travels. Sometimes a family of choice is better for you than a family of origin.

Dr. Barton Goldsmith is a psychotherapist in Westlake. He’s the author, most recently, of “100 Ways to Boost Your SelfConfidence — Believe in Yourself and Others Will Too.” Email him at Barton@BartonGoldsmith. com. Follow his daily insights at www.twitter.com/ BartonGoldsmith. Reach him at barton@bartongoldsmith.com. His column appears Saturdays and Mondays in the News-Press.

for guests 21 and older includes tastings, a souvenir wine glass, unlimited wine, craft beer and spirit tastings. For guests under 21 years old, the Mild Chili Ticket is $20 and includes unlimited chili and salsa tastings but no alcohol.

Buellton breweries and wineries participating in this festival include Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Buscador Winery, Brick Barn Wine Estate, and more. Local chili and salsa makers participating include Flying Flags, represented by general manager Jim Colvin,

Figueroa Brewing Co., the Buellton Rotary Club and more. Local businesses and residents can participate in the annual Chili Cook-Off to see who has the best chili and salsa in the Valley. Restaurants, nonprofit groups and community members can register at www. buelltonwineandchilifestival. com and show off their cooking skills.

Locals and visitors staying in Santa Barbara, Goleta, Santa Maria and Lompoc can catch a ride on the Brew Bus for $25. For pickup locations, visit Buellton’s

Wine and Chili Festival website. Visitors to Buellton can stay at Flying Flags or Sideways Inn, which was made famous by the Academy-Award-winning film “Sideways.” For more lodging options, see www. discoverbuellton.com/lodginghotels. For event information and to purchase tickets, visit www. buelltonwineandchilifestival. com or call the Buellton Chamber of Commerce at 805688-7829. email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

Jen Brown joins Scholarship Foundation board

SANTA BARBARA — Jen

Brown, a retired attorney whose legal work over two decades included high-profile litigation spanning multiple continents, has joined the board of directors for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Ms. Brown received bachelor’s degrees in political science and communications at the University of Washington before earning a law degree at Gonzaga University School of Law. After briefly serving as a law clerk at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Wash., she was named associate attorney at the firm of Gardner Bond Trabolsi & St. Louis in Seattle.

Ms. Brown went on to become a partner at the global law firm Cozen O’Connor, and later served as associate general

counsel for Patriot National Insurance Group, where she oversaw London market and U.S. insurance coverage matters, including NFL concussion lawsuits.

In recent years she has supported education-based nonprofits in Santa Barbara, Munich, Cape Town and Seattle, including the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.

“Jen has an infectious energy and can-do spirit, qualities that obviously served her well throughout her impressive career, and which have already made her a popular addition to our organization,” said Mary Dwyer, interim Scholarship Foundation president and CEO.

“We are extremely pleased to have her as a board member.”

— Marilyn McMahon

BY RICH KATZ / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

COURTESY PHOTO Jen Brown

Books from the museum’s library will be sold during the event.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Rose quartz, travertine and azurite are among the precious minerals at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History sale, set for Feb. 25-26. At right, the sale will feature colorful crafts and textiles.

Diversions

Thought for Today

“The universe is transformation: life is opinion.”

Marcus Aurelius

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Saturday, February 11, 2023

ARIES — If you aren’t currently romantically involved, Aries, today you might suddenly see an old friend or neighbor in a new light. This can be thrilling, but it might not be a good idea to do anything about it just yet. You’re feeling especially sensual today, and therefore any attraction you feel could pass by tomorrow.

TAURUS — Your financial situation could undergo some positive upheaval now, probably as the result of a career advance. This process is likely to continue today, Taurus, as social events put you in touch with valuable contacts. It might be a good idea to listen to others today and not try to voice ideas of your own or make any decisions.

GEMINI — A powerful desire for change could have you thinking of traveling, Gemini, or perhaps relocating to a distant state or foreign country. Friends who live far away could be trying to convince you to join them. This isn’t a minor decision. It requires careful thought. You might be tempted to act impulsively, but wait for a while. In a few days, you will know if the change is right for you.

CANCER — Some vivid and interesting dreams could bring a lot of repressed memories up and force you to confront them. This could be a bit disconcerting, Cancer, but still positive. Psychological obstacles to financial success and romantic happiness could be cleared away, which could change your life. It’s vital that you write down your dreams.

LEO — A transformation in your circle of friends could occur today and change your life, Leo. Someone exciting could move in nearby, and you could hit it off. Expect stimulating conversations and fascinating new information. If you aren’t currently involved, this person could be a potential romance.

VIRGO — Opportunities to do well-paying creative work could come to your attention today, Virgo, perhaps online. You will probably like it, as it may give you freedom. Whether you actually want to try it or not depends on your situation. You might want to get some chores done around the house today in order to leave free

time tomorrow for whatever you want to do. Something exciting might happen.

LIBRA — Libra, you probably feel especially sexy and passionate now. You may enjoy browsing through catalogues of rich fabrics or furniture. Erotic novels could also appeal to you. If you’re currently involved, you may want to spend the evening alone with your partner. If you aren’t, don’t be surprised if you attract someone new.

SCORPIO — Legal matters should definitely work in your favor today, particularly any involving property. You’re likely to feel positive about life, Scorpio, and your home life should be especially gratifying. Sex and romance also could be on your mind. If you can get together with a lover, you will probably grow quite a bit closer.

SAGITTARIUS — A call from a romantic partner could lead to an intimate get-together, Sagittarius. It’s likely to be highly gratifying emotionally and bring you closer together. Passionate poetry and sexy novels could especially appeal to you right now. If you’re into writing, you could channel your rush of sensuality into producing results that are so well thought out that they surprise even you. Get started!

CAPRICORN — Creative projects that you may have been working on for a while could prove especially ego boosting, Capricorn. You’re doing a great job. A change of employment and increase in income may be in the works. If you don’t feel passionate about what you’re doing, expect the chance to become involved in an enterprise that you do feel strongly about.

AQUARIUS — You’re an appealing person, Aquarius, but today you could project more magnetism than ever. Don’t be surprised if you draw admiring glances from strangers you pass in the street. Romance should be going very well for you. A hot date with a current or potential love partner could take place tonight.

PISCES — Today you may contemplate changes in your home. They could be physical, like redecorating, refurnishing, or remodeling. Or someone could move in or out. Whatever the change, it’s likely to be fortunate. If you’re thinking of such a change, you can proceed confidently.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, February 11, 2023

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.

In an end play, you present an opponent with the lead when any lead he chooses will help you. An “early end play” may sound like an oxymoron, but even the opening leader may be end-played.

Against today’s six spades, West led a safe ten of clubs, and South took the ace and drew trumps, discarding the nine of hearts and jack of clubs from dummy. He next led a diamond to dummy’s queen. South might have made an overtrick on a lucky day, but East took the king and returned a diamond. A heart finesse with the queen lost also: down one.

ELEGANT LINE

South could succeed in various ways. An elegant line is to pitch two diamonds from dummy on the trumps, then lead a heart to dummy’s nine. East wins with the ten but is end-played in three suits. Any return gives South a 12th trick.

No opening lead can beat six spades with best play by declarer. East can’t discard successfully on the run of the trumps.

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

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.

PUZZLE

diamond, your partner responds one spade, you jump to 2NT and he bids three diamonds. What do you say?

ANSWER: After partner bids again over your 2NT, which promised a balanced 18 or 19 points, you won’t stop below game. Partner is looking for the best game or may have slam aspirations. Bid three hearts. If he holds A 10 7 6 5, K 7 6, K 10 8 2, 3, you want to play at six diamonds.

dealer

vulnerable

The powerful symbolism of a hoop skirt

G.E. sends me a Daumier print of a Parisian woman with a huge bell shaped skirt catching the falling snow.

G.E. asks if this fashion really was worn. Why this silhouette? What does the hourglass figure symbolize? What made the skirt grow so big? What was happening at the date of this Daumier print in the world of Parisian women (1860s)?

This is the era of 1850-1870 of the Second Republic in France, after the Bourbon Royal Louis Phillipe abdicated in 1848. “Les Misérables,” Victor Hugo’s novel, takes place during the very beginning of the July Monarchy (1830-1848).

In 1848, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte was elected president by a vote taken by men. All men, property owners or not, were allowed to vote. Subsequently, the Second Empire was established by plebiscite on Dec. 2, 1852,

when the Prince-President LouisNapoleon Bonaparte officially became Napoleon III, Emperor of the French.

As president, he was a conservative Catholic, whose policies belied his stated campaign belief in the values of the revolution (1790s). He wanted stability, tradition and nationalism in his reign. In the light of this, French Republicans wanted government help with employment, bread, and rights.

In the nation that established The Rights of Man (1789), women, especially, had few civil rights. Under the Napoleonic code (1804), women were forbidden from entering into legal contracts. Wives couldn’t engage in commerce without a husband’s written permission, and all property in a marriage was the husband’s.

By 1860, French women were actively protesting to achieve the vote. In the light of discord, Napoleon III championed growing French

industry and capitalism, and he championed the remaking of Paris (under Baron Hausman, architect of “Modern” Paris 1854-1870).

Napoleon actively supported the Algerian War between French colonists and Muslim Algerians. Women in France were questioning the purposes and nature of marriage and their own rights in the light of the conservative regime, and many historians point to the crinoline cage hoop skirt as the outward symbol of a real cage.

This cage was invented in 1856 by Frenchman R.C. Milliet as a series of steel bands strung together with tapes and wires, a lightweight “volumizing” hoop skirt.

Previous fashion had emphasized this unique hourglass silhouette. The ideal female body (1840-1860) was a slim torso, dropped shoulders, small waist and large hips. The crinoline enabled a corseted waist to look even smaller because of the dome shape.

Technology enabled the fashionable woman space, air, and movement. She did not have to wear numerous heavy petticoats, but one cage of five to eight hoops. And these cages could be 6-8 feet wide.

Fashionable women could “take up” 8 feet of floor or street space. They asked for two seats on a bus, and they expected men’s help downstairs or up into carriages. Some historians of fashion say this was proof of servitude to men and fashion.

Today we view the elaborate gown, hoop skirt, and think those skirts limited the female. But they empowered the female. Taking up physical space is important in a world where you do not take up political space.

In 1860, male commentators on this fashion wrote that a woman could conceal a pregnancy or hide a man under those hoops. These

comments, meant to be defensive, show that the hoop skirt could be threatened by its very size.

Also, fashion historians point out the sexual nature of the 1860s “crinoline debate.’ Men wrote, “What are you hiding, my lady?

And within your own bell-shaped space, what would I see?”

The threat of the female with a large physical presence led to the rise of what is called the New Domesticity. That was the mid-19th-century education of young girls as wives and mothers, marriage through matchmaking and not passion or romance, and the archetype of the good wife vs. the middle class adulteress. Divorce was not allowed until 1870, and by 1870 a new French word is born: ‘“feminisme.”

That is a powerful container for symbolism.

Men’s fashion of the same era became black, plain, and severe — the bland businessman of the 18401870s. Middle- and upper-class men became solemn, and women became elaborate and “large.” Vilification of what a woman wears, and who she is when she dons a costume (Hillary’s pantsuits) is as common today as it was then. I find it so fascinating that a woman might have chosen to wear voluminous crinoline as an art form, to create an illusion, to underscore what she is, where she is. How she envisioned who she is, was, perhaps, powerful, because the illusion was also a reality.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Saturdays 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.

CALENDAR

Continued from Page B1

FEB. 15

7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

FEB. 16

7 p.m. “The River Bride,” the story of folklore, love, regret and two sisters who struggle to be true to each other and their hearts will be presented by PCPA (Pacific Conservatory Theatre) from Feb. 16 through March 5 in Santa Maria. The play is being performed at the Severson Theatre at Allan Hancock College, 870 S. Bradley Road. Curtain rises at 7 p.m.

Feb. 16-18, 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 23, 7 p.m.

Feb. 19 and 22, 10 a.m.

Feb. 24, 1:30 and 7 p.m.

Feb. 25, and 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 26. Tickets are $49. To purchase, visit www.pcpa.org or call the box office at 805922-8313.

7:30 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

FEB. 17

4 to 6 p.m. Flying Goat Cellars will host a reception for mosaic artist Kathleen McCabe-Martin at the cellars’ tasting room, 1520 E. Chestnut Court, Lompoc. 8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

At top, the cage for a hoop skirt was invented in 1856 by Frenchman R.C. Milliet as a series of steel bands strung together with tapes and wires. At left, while women lacked political equality in 19th-century France, they could make a physical presence known by wearing large hoop skirts.

FEB. 18 7 to 9 p.m. The Nicole Lvoff Jazz Trio will perform at Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. There’s no cover. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

Feb. 19

2 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

4 p.m. The Takács Quartet will perform an all-Beethoven concert at St. Mark’s-inthe-Valley Episocpal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos. Tickets cost $20 for general admission. To purchase, go to smitv.org/ syv-concert-series. Tickets for students are free. For more information, contact Linda Burrows at 805-705-0938 or syvconcerts@ smitv.org.

7 p.m. Singers Ken Stacy and Claire Khodara will perform at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., Suite 205, Santa Barbara. General admission costs $25 in advance and $30 cash on the day of the show. To purchase or get a dinner reservation, go to www.sohosb.com.

March 9

7 p.m. Pianist Jerome Lowenthal, who served as a Music Academy of the West teaching artist for half a century, will perform a concert, “Lowenthal’s Legend,” at the academy’s Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Tickets are $55 for general admission and free for ages 7-17. To purchase, go to musicacademy.org to call the academy’s box office at 805-969-8787. — Dave Mason

COURTESY PHOTOS

DID YOU KNOW?

Bonnie Donovan

Beware of government taking over a private industry

During the Santa Barbara Fire and Police Oversight Commission’s first meeting on Jan. 26, both Police Chief Kelly Gordon and Fire Chief Chris Mailes gave an update on their departments.

The most interesting item discussed during this introductory meeting was not only the “Fire Department’s 101” and the goals for 2023. As the commission will consider the annual budgets and make recommendations to the Santa Barbara City Council and City Administrator Rebecca Bjork, Chief Mailes discussed the push to end the city’s 27 year-long contracts with the American Medical Response and endorse the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, who has also put a bid in for the contract.

The recommendation for this $100 million to $140 million contract (some figures are 200-350 million for the 10 years) is to remain with the private company AMR. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department filed a protest and then an appeal. Chief Mailes countered, “Every single fire department in the entire county is behind a county-run ambulance system.”

That’s funny because aren’t the majority of our communities served by the county fire department?

2033’s president of the United States

‘Good evening,” she began. “I’m Sarah Huckabee Sanders,” sitting somewhat sternly in a highbacked chair as she prepared to give the Republican retort Tuesday to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech.

She reminded me of Johnny Cash who, even at the height of his fame, modestly introduced himself at the beginning of his concerts with a simple “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.” Audiences loved him, and he never disappointed.

I think you’ll love Ms. Sanders, and I do believe she won’t disappoint either.

In case you weren’t aware of it, she, as the newly elected Republican governor of Arkansas, had just launched her 2032

presidential bid. And, just like Mr. Cash, you will get to know Gov. Sanders. She needs no introduction to Republicans, who know her dad — former Baptist minister, presidential candidate and two-term Republican governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee — from his regular TV appearances on Fox News Channel. They know his daughter from her stint as press secretary to President Donald Trump.

“Being a mom to three young children,” she observed, “taught me not to believe every story I hear.

So, forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden. From out-ofcontrol inflation and violent crime

to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you.

“They know it. And you know it. It’s time for a change,” she said. There probably weren’t many Democrats watching the rebuttal. They were too busy congratulating their favorite plagiarist’s “performance.”

And, truthfully, up to this point, Gov. Sanders’ speech was boilerplate. Her delivery was stiff, but it smacked of sincerity. She’ll get better, lots better. Perhaps it was unfamiliarity with the teleprompter’s scrawl, or maybe this recent bit of news that caused her to rein in her usual amiable self:

“… Five months ago,” she revealed, “I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. It was a hard time for our family, particularly for our kids — Scarlett, Huck and George — but we kept our faith and persevered. Thanks to exceptional doctors here in Arkansas, a successful surgery, and the grace of God, I am cancer-free.

“Through it all,” she added, “I couldn’t help but think about my mom. She was 20 years old and in her first year of marriage when she was diagnosed with spinal cancer. The doctors told her she might not live. If she did live, they said she’d never walk again, and if she did walk, she’d definitely never have children.”

She paused slightly, took a gulp of air, and reported that “The daughter (my mom) was told she’d never have was just sworn in as the

new governor of Arkansas and is speaking to you tonight.”

She didn’t ask for pity or even condolences but proffered that “You and I were put on this earth for such a time as this ...”

More to the point, she said she’d be the first to admit that “President Biden and I don’t have a lot in common. I’m for freedom. He’s for government control. At 40, I’m the youngest governor in the country.

At 80, he’s the oldest president in American history.

“I’m the first woman to lead my state. He’s the first man to surrender his presidency to a woke mob that can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Them’s fightin’ words, pardner.

She claimed that “Washington taxes you and lights your hard-

Why more conservatives are running in school board elections

“Going to school is not the same as going shopping. Parents should not be burdened with locating a suitable school for their child.”

— Diane Ravitch

Some of the most involved parents pay little attention to school board elections because they don’t know when they are held. It is common that these elections take place at times that differ from the general elections. This helps both teachers and their unions retain control of the educational curriculum.

UC Berkeley political scientist

Sarah Anzia recently released a book examining the consequences of off-cycle elections in U.S. politics. She finds that 90% of states hold elections for municipal races apart from major national elections. Data obtained from the National School Boards Association shows that three quarters of the states hold school

board elections off cycle to limit voter turnout.

By decreasing voter turnout, this enables unions to get increased pay and benefits for the teachers. It also allows them to adopt and implement policies, teaching methods and curriculum developed by the federal and state Departments of Education and the local liberal politicians. “One penalty for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

— Plato

In states that run board elections concurrently with general elections, most races are decided in the primaries. Since the average turnout for primary elections is 27% of registered voters compared to 60% for general elections, this guarantees school board

incumbents are almost always reelected.

Many politicians get their start as members of school boards. Therefore members of these local boards are eyeing opportunities in the county, municipal and state governments. Since most board members are “union- and Democratfriendly,” this is reflected in their politics in other offices.

“If you believe teachers unions don’t have political motives you’re fooling yourself.”

— Lori Lightfoot

For well over 100 years, we’ve had “off-cycle” school board elections simply to conciliate teacher unions and the teachers.

Until recently, this widespread and questionable practice of local school districts holding elections apart from general elections has

been taking place across the nation. A new report from the Government Accountability Institute shows the teachers unions have been working overtime since 2008 taking millions away from classrooms to finance political campaign activity. Most of these donations have gone to Democratic candidates and to help fund other liberal organizations. And recent elections show this has been effective in electing progressives.

According to GAI, spending by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers on political activities increased more than $74 million since 2008 while spending for teachers increased by $5.3 million. The two teachers unions gave $91.8 million to Democrats.

Historically, conservatives have not been as vocal about down ballot races. Although Democrats and the unions still control many school districts, the Democratic-

union stronghold on school district domination has been challenged in recent years. This is especially with the election of President Joe Biden.

In the past few years as progressives have been forcing their far left policies on public education, these often-ignored school board elections are gaining much-needed attention from the GOP. Conservative groups have been stepping up to support antiprogressive candidates in local board elections as more concerned parents are showing up to attend their local school board meetings.

“People are fed up with status quo education and are looking for ways to improve it.”

— Dale Lee

Conservative groups have taken notice that these elections mean more than just getting rid of the progressive curriculum.

Chief Mailes said the goal is to have a medic-trained firefighter on every piece of fire equipment, to enhance the medical response by minutes, maybe seconds. We remember that the city and county have already received financing for a countywide regional fire dispatching center, which would dispatch city and county fire units only, from the same center. That annual cost of $800,000 is to the city only.

Sounds like yesterday’s news? But we wonder what we are doing to another private industry if we allow more government agencies to absorb more private enterprises.

And here is the $100 million question for the taxpayers.

Sure, some of that is for equipment, but how much of that is for salaries, which add to government pensions, which increase with the salaries?

Those CalPERS government pensions and benefits far outspend the private arena, and the system of checks and balance sheets doesn’t receive the same scrutiny or fall-out as private enterprises.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors makes the final decision. And we pay for it.

Again, we ask the Redesign State Street Downtown Advisory Team, why wasn’t Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade used as an example in its presentation to the city council, because after all, both Santa Monica and Santa Barbara are upscale beach towns. Well, we have a pretty good idea why, after reading an article in the Circling the News out of Santa Monica, referred to us by another perplexed citizen.

We see a lot in common with the Santa Monica Third Street Street Promenade. For one, citizens and visitors complain about the lack of safety while walking the promenade. Just like public speakers said at our city council meeting several weeks ago.

These promenades are a failure. Sadly, they’re only good as a beacon for transients and others engaged in unlawful and unsavory behavior. Loitering, illegal

and

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as press secretary for former President Donald Trump, has impressed columnist James Buckley, who thinks she could run for president in 2032. Gov. Sanders gave the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

damage. It is clear: 320 feet is not sufficient distance to mitigate mudslide risk — and Legacy Estates knows this.

Thus, they refuse to allow additional environmental study because it is so close to the Purisima Hills.

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

GUEST OPINION

Selective outrage is a moral hazard

Our entire nation was aghast and justifiably outraged at what we witnessed in Memphis, Tenn. when a group of police officers essentially beat a man, Tyre Nichols, to death, whose apparent crime was driving erratically and resisting arrest.

Having said that, selective outrage is a real problem in our society today.

In the last couple of months, we have seen some Santa Barbara Westside gangbangers arrested for allegedly murdering an innocent bystander on Stearns Wharf for the benefit of their criminal gang. Another group of gangbangers allegedly executed an entire family in Goshen, Calif., which included an infant — most likely at the behest of Mexican drug cartels.

Finally, a police officer was gunned down in Selma, Calif., by a guy who should have been in prison until 2026, because of previous convictions, were it not for California’s desire to empty our prisons of tens of thousands of inmates, many of whom are lifelong criminals.

Where is the outrage for these victims?

According to a county grand jury report from three years ago, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department offered a list of 18 named gangs: two in Santa Barbara, three in Goleta/Isla Vista, three in Lompoc, two that have ties in Lompoc and Santa Maria, and eight in Santa Maria.

Some gang members from San Luis Obispo County also reside in Santa Barbara County.

All told, there are several thousand gang members in our county, while California has an estimated 300,000 gang members.

Read that again: 300,000 gang members not including wannabees.

These gangs engage in human trafficking, gun and drug running, property crimes, and violent crimes including murder.

At most, in California they receive a slap on the wrist for all the above, especially if they are juveniles. Often criminals in California are caught and released faster than an endangered fish.

This has to do with the fact that California reduced some

500 felonies to misdemeanor status, meaning they no longer count as a strike on their record.

The bottom line? In California, criminal gangs understand that crime does pay. I often wonder how California can claim it doesn’t have enough money to build more prisons and subsidize more investigation and prosecution units throughout the state, but somehow it came up with $12 billion in a futile attempt to end homelessness.

As I mentioned previously, a great number of the homeless could be removed from our streets if they too were prosecuted for their lifestyles of crime in our community.

One would be hard pressed to determine which program has failed society the most. The social justice/criminal justice reform movement that treats criminals as if they are the victims, or the multi-billion-dollar efforts to house people and reintegrate them into society sans the requirement to quit doing drugs and abusing alcohol?

One story discussed on my radio show last week speaks to the intersectionality of all the above as these problems are not confined to California or the United States. Daniel/ Sophie Eastwood is currently serving a life sentence for murder in a Scottish prison. Daniel, who was born a man, progressed from identifying as a woman to identifying as an infant girl. He has since been supplied with a pacifier, diapers, meals blended in the fashion of baby food, and get this, he demands that his guards hold his hand whenever he leaves his cell.

The story of Daniel/ Sophie Eastwood brings me to a point of this story lost on our society in general.

Gangbangers, the homeless and career criminals should not be treated as if they don’t know what they are doing, avoiding the just consequences of their life choices. They are sentient adults — not innocent, helpless babies/victims, although the trend is to treat them as such.

National security blunders

T he primary duty of the president of the United States is to protect America and its citizens. Is President Joe Biden carrying out this obligation or is he putting America in grave danger?

First, look at the southern border. Are President Biden’s “open door” policies keeping us safe? How can they when drugs, criminals and several men on the terrorist watch list have crossed the border?

Second, why was a Chinese surveillance spy balloon allowed to enter the skies above America and cross the entire mainland? Incredibly, it passed over several military bases and nuclear sites, no doubt collecting valuable information and sending it directly to communist China. What damage was done to our national security as the balloon invaded our airspace? Isn’t invading a nation’s airspace a violation of its sovereignty? And when did President Biden know about the spy balloon, and why wasn’t it blown up over the ocean before it crossed into America?

Going forward, President Biden and our leaders need to face reality. China is our number one enemy. This trial balloon was a test to see how America would react.

Will China use balloons for electromagnetic pulse attacks, more surveillance or even bioweapons in the future?

These are very dangerous times for America. Consequently, as a nation we need a strong, quick thinking and fast acting president.

Joe Biden is not that man.

Diana and Don Thorn Carpinteria

Better planning at no cost

The Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department is tasked with smoothing the way for thousands of new homes.

Especially in unincorporated towns, which have little say in their own affairs, the process could be improved.

A single green-lighted development in a small town like Los Alamos could increase its population by 10% or more. That has a significant impact on traffic, safety, crime, scarce water resources, flood control, demands on limited landline and internet infrastructure, noise and air pollution.

Current P&D procedures do not

make it easy for existing residents to be involved until irreversible decisions have already been made. A plan to build 59 homes here, that could grow to as many as twice that number, stands as an example. Another plan, now in the “pre-application” process, would add 69 more homes, with a potential total of 138 if ADUs are counted.

Only neighbors within 300feet of the proposed project are normally sent advance notification. Certainly projects of this magnitude in a small town could impact most residents.

Further, P&D standard noticing for the proposed project is done in dense, stilted language. Why not begin with a summary paragraph in plain English, with the basic facts and their import?

Other adjustments to protocol would be to display the notice in our post office for all to see, and to do so at least several weeks before public P&D decision-making meetings.

Instituting these changes, which would not add a single dollar to the county budget, requires action by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. These process adjustments in transparency, candor, timeliness and democracy, would lead to smarter, better-informed development … and more positive attitudes toward county government.

Seth Steiner Los Alamos

It could happen again

There has been much controversy about the proposed Los Alamos “Village Square” mega-development, but one issue requires the public’s and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors’ attention.

The developer, Legacy Estates, responded to concerns about potential flooding and mudflow near the development by stating, and I am not making this up, “as for mudslides, the Save Los Alamos (advocacy group) letter claims the project is ‘at the foot of a very steep hill.’ In fact, the closest hill is 320 feet from the project boundary. We measured it.” 320 FEET? The 2018 mudslide in Montecito traveled many miles. The debris flows were up to 15 feet in height of mud, boulders, and branches, moving at speeds of up to 20 mph, which reached beaches 2.25 miles from the mountains. These mudslides killed 23 people, destroyed 130 homes, and caused hundreds of millions in

With today’s increased risk and understanding of atmospheric rivers, flooding and mudflow, they know that this project would never be approved. The project itself exists in a flood zone.

The Board of Supervisors knows the dangers of building housing near hills prone to mudflows. As Supervisor Das Williams pointed out at the Feb. 7 Board meeting, “we have had a terrifying reminder of what a climate-enhanced disaster can do … Just a few weeks ago, we had flooding that was all over the county… These present us with a challenge… a challenge to not forget past events … Government has … the mission to fulfill (which) is to not just look for the next few years but to look for the arc of history and to look into the future.”

Devastation to life and property has happened before. If the board does not act to require additional environmental study, it could happen again.

Brian Ross Adams Los Alamos

Beaches shouldn’t be dumps for debris

Iam at my wits end like many resident and business owners in Carpinteria.

On Jan. 9, our Ash Avenue beach was dictated by the County of Santa Barbara as being a location to dump debris and mud from the flood basins. This happened in 2018 after the Montecito mudslides, and our beach have been polluted ever since.

I have contacted the district office of EPA out of San Francisco. I have called the Coastal Commission, appeared at Carpinteria City Council meetings, called County Supervisor Das Williams’ office, called NOAA, Heal the Ocean, Central Coast Water Board and many other agencies. They claim materials being dumped are safe and not raising bacteria levels. What is the threshold for reporting this? Our beach is muddied water. It’s mud instead of sand, and one cannot participate in recreation there.

There needs to be a better alternative than to have our town endured the carnage happening with dump trucks going around. Is this going to happen every time it rains?

Why can’t this be dumped in multiple landfills, used for construction purposes or dispersed more evenly?

Carpinteria thrives on tourism. That is how people make a living, and we are not going to be able to support that with the state of our beaches at this moment. But we are told to get over it and that it’s not a big deal.

Would you like to take your kids to play at our beach? The California State Parks have posted signs at their beach to stay out of the water; hazardous materials submerged. What is going on here?

I have started a petition for change to the County Supervisors office. I’m waiting for a call back from a supervisor personally. You can sign the petition at www.change.org/ STOPTHEDUMPCARPINTERIA.

Please, can another side to this sediment dumping story be told?

Thank you.

Michelle Carlen Carpinteria resident and business owner

Streamlined version of the 10 Commandments

Thinking about the 10 commandments, I remember the 1981 movie where Mel Brooks was playing Moses (“History of the World, Part I”).

He was coming down the mountain fumbling three stone tablets. He starts speaking, “I have the 15 commandments!”

Then, one of the tablets falls and crashes. He continues, “I have the 10 commandments!”

Why are there 10 Commandments anyhow? Why not four or 13? The answer is as easy as counting the fingers on your hands!

At any rate, scholars say the 10 Commandments were written 2,700 to 3,800 years ago. Since I am

Living in the age of lies

As children if we did something wrong, our parents would ask us to fess up. And this was usually followed up with a “Don’t you lie to me!”

This mantra continued all through childhood. You were taught that if you say one lie, it will lead to another lie until you’re buried so deep you can’t get out. Or like pathological liars, you eventually think you’re telling the truth.

Law enforcement agencies at all levels, from local police to the FBI, tell their suspects, “Don’t you lie to me, or there will be worse consequences.”

Even when applying for a job, purchasing a gun or running for Congress, we all know you’re not supposed to lie. In fact, you used to get in trouble for it.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t believe anyone anymore about anything. We have been lied to for so long from the top down. Americans are being treated like children, but the roles have reversed, it’s the “parents” who are doing the lying.

This truth has never been more evident than in the last six years or so. I’m going to begin with one of the biggest lies in modern times, former President Donald Trump and Russian collusion.

The problem with this lie, is the people who perpetrated it, knew they were lying and yet tried to shove it down our beaks like a momma bird feeding her chicks. We were just the stupid American public, and if the lie were repeated enough, it eventually would be believed. Or so Hillary Clinton, U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, the FBI and other fabricators thought.

We all know the story and the outcome. It shredded the last smidgeon of confidence in politicians, all the threeletter agencies and even our legal system. When it was confirmed, the entire accusation had been a hoax, no one, including the media who helped propagate the affair, never said, “Oops, we’re sorry.”

No, they moved on to the next lie. In the case of Mr. Trump, they just couldn’t let it go that they couldn’t hang him on the collusion lie. So they moved on to the impeachment lies.

Then perhaps the greatest swarm of lies emerged in the form of a virus.

Once again, since we’re just the stupid public. The old guilt trip maneuver was used on a national level.

Get the shot or you’re a traitor to your country and all you want to do is kill your neighbor.

a proponent of staying up with the times, I thought: It’s time for a new 10 Commandments! This thought and the following occurred to me one morning. It wasn’t anybody appearing to me and telling me them, just thoughts appearing — gifts, as all thoughts are. And these are not actually commandments. A commandment is something somebody commands you or tells you to do — action you must take or not take. I like Father Guido Sarducci’s explanation better on “Saturday Night Live”: The commandments are really like “suggestions.” They are similar to, “Always wait a half hour to go swimming after you eat.”

However, first I need to interject that there seems to be an inverse ratio between those who voice strong support for the 10 Commandments, and those who can actually recite them!

So, here are the best commandments I can come up with for now:

1. If you claim that something is true, you have to back it up with facts that others can see for themselves.

2. Have integrity about what you say. Be clear within yourself about whether what you’re saying is: a) a fact, b) something you made up, or c) something somebody else made up. Everything we say can be only one of these three things.

3. If you can’t back something up with facts, it is called a belief. If you repeat something somebody

Remember when Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine would be 95% effective? And Moderna about 65%. And Johnson and Johnson was a one shot and done. None of it was true. Not a single word. Pfizer as we all know then said, just one more booster. OK, we were wrong, just take the second booster and you’ll be right as rain. Well, OK, for sure a third one will fix the problem. You’ll be completely protected now, and the vaccine is perfectly safe.

Huge lie. I know people who have had five shots and still got COVID. In some cases, six times.

Ah, but you won’t get it as bad. They didn’t know that either; it’s just a marketing ploy. But the lie worked, and it got people running to the pharmacy every month for another shot. Then people started dying or contracting

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing

station.

Andy Caldwell

Henry Schulte The author lives in Solvang

Frank Sanitate The author lives in Santa Barbara

Beijing’s balloon and practical Asia realities

The large balloon launched by China, which drifted at a leisurely pace over North America until shot down Feb. 3 by a U.S. F-22 fighter, is definitely an odd addition to international relations.

Given today’s advanced satellite surveillance, along with other electronics plus human intelligence agents, the purpose of this floating device remains puzzling — and intriguing.

By tangible contrast, there is no denying China has become aggressive in Asia, claiming territories and waters well beyond established jurisdictions. Conflicts are myriad and are occurring in the context of China’s massive, sustained military buildup.

At the start of February, the Philippines and the United States reached a major agreement to expand U.S. military presence to four additional military bases, beyond the five covered in the current Enhanced Cooperation Defense Agreement. This is a dramatic turnaround from the U.S. military departure from the Philippines three decades ago.

Beyond military defense, steady growth of Asia regional trade agreements provides practical though indirect deterrence of China military ambitions.

In November 2020, East and

Southeast Asia nations signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement at a virtual summit hosted by Vietnam.

The list of members alone is impressive: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. These nations account for just under one-third of the total population of the globe, and nearly onethird of the total gross product of the world’s economies.

Two aspects of the agreement are particularly noteworthy.

First, rules of origin are greatly simplified and standardized. These are the regulations that determine the country of origin of a product.

Previously, they varied widely among individual countries, imposing barriers to trade and hampering shipping and sales of products on a regional basis. In the future, there will be less obstruction of supply and distribution chains.

Second, this is the first comprehensive free trade agreement involving China, Japan and South Korea. All three nations historically have been at odds and occasionally at war.

This comprehensive agreement builds on earlier much more limited accords of the Association

of Southeast Asian Nations. The larger concept was developed at the ASEAN summit held in Bali, Indonesia in 2011, and the first negotiations to realize the agreement were held in the 2012 ASEAN summit hosted in Cambodia.

The founding document of ASEAN was signed on Aug. 8, 1967 by the foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the

Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. This was during the Vietnam War, and two years after the United States began comprehensive direct military involvement on the ground in South Vietnam, while significantly escalating air operations against North Vietnam as well as generally within the region.

An important later successful U.S.-led effort is Asia Pacific

Economic Cooperation, conceived by Australia Prime Minister Bob Hawke. President George H.W. Bush embraced the effort, and APEC began in 1989. The U.S. remains an active partner.

The 2006 APEC summit in Vietnam is noteworthy. Vietnam’s leaders honored U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, a dramatic demonstration that economic self-interest, and the tangible benefits of trade and investment, can overcome even great political and ideological divides.

Looking to the future, RCEP could eventually restrain China’s sustained, sizable military buildup. The United States should work toward that goal.

Philippine-U.S. ties became close during World War II. The BBC notes the new defense accord “has stitched the gap in the arc of U.S. alliances” from Japan and South Korea in the north to Australia in the south.

Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War - American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan). He is also the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., and a Clausen Distinguished Professor. He welcomes questions and comments at acyr@carthage.edu.

Schooling the education establishment

In a surprising move, the College Board revised its high school Advanced Placement pilot course in African American Studies last week to eliminate or tone down the most controversial elements.

The College Board, which creates and manages tests and associated curricula to help institutions of higher education ascertain how likely prospective students are to succeed in college, “purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated with critical race theory, the queer experience and Black feminism” from its AP course, The New York Times reports. “It ushered out some politically fraught topics, like Black Lives Matter, from the formal curriculum.”

The organization also eliminated required teachings on economic reparations based on race, and the curriculum now offers “Black conservatism” as a research project idea.

The draft curriculum announced last August drew heavy criticism for its politically charged approach to the subject. Although numerous conservative figures denounced the curriculum, mainstream media — including The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, and all the other usual suspects — have concentrated their ire on Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and characterized him as the reason the College Board bent the knee.

I am sure that Gov. DeSantis is delighted that the media have thrown him in that briar patch.

Gov. DeSantis certainly was front and center on the issue.

On Jan. 19, his administration announced it would not allow the

Pompeo vs. Libertarians

Editor’s note: This is the second of two columns by John Stossel on Mike Pompeo.

Former CIA Director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will probably run for president. People call him a “staunch conservative.”

In our extended interview, I gave him a hard time about that.

“Conservative” once meant promoting limited government. But lately Republicans push new regulations and drive up America’s debt by spending more.

Mr. Pompeo surprised me by agreeing that, under Donald Trump, Republicans spent too much. He surprised me again by saying that entitlements must be cut and that we don’t need to spend more on our military. That was refreshing.

Then we talked about the border.

“Immigrants made America,” I point out. “I’m an immigrant,” Mr. Pompeo responds. “My ancestors came through a legal process. This is the difference.”

curriculum to be taught in Florida public schools. In April of last year, Gov. DeSantis signed HB 7, which bans Florida public schools from teaching that a “person is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously, solely by virtue of his or her race or sex” and any teachings that suggest superiority of one race over another, that hard work is a racist concept, that a person can “bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex,” or that a child “must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress for actions, in which he or she played no part, committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex.”

At the signing ceremony, Gov. DeSantis said, “We believe in education, not indoctrination. We won’t use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country,” citing the New York Times’ highly tendentious and historically shady 1619 Project as a banned curriculum.

In mid-January of this year, the Florida Department of Education sent a letter to the senior director of the College Board Florida Partnership stating, “the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.” The new curriculum appears to have addressed those concerns.

In addition, Gov. DeSantis announced last week his intention to eliminate indoctrination in state-supported higher education institutions by prohibiting public universities from using any funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; critical race theory programs; or “other discriminatory initiatives.”

Speaking at the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota, Gov. DeSantis said, “No funding, and that will wither on the vine. And I think that that’s very important because it really serves as an ideological filter, a political filter.”

The governor’s proposal would “specify standards and content for general education core course requirements to ensure higher education is rooted in the values of liberty and the western tradition,” Gov. DeSantis tweeted. In his speech, Gov. DeSantis also called for tenure reform because “the most significant dead-weight cost at universities is typically unproductive tenured faculty.”

Gov. DeSantis has not been entirely alone in these efforts to rein in the education establishment. “(M)ore than two dozen states have adopted some sort of measure against critical race theory,” The New York Times reported last week.

Clearly, however, it was Florida that tipped the balance: the College Board did not cave until the DeSantis administration rejected its curriculum.

What is most impressive here is how much success even a little pushback can achieve. If the College Board perceives that it needs Florida more than it wants the most radical elements of its proposed AP curriculum, that shows the power even a single state can wield.

Governors and state legislatures throughout the country should learn this valuable lesson and redouble their efforts to protect the rights of students, parents, and taxpayers against the political aims and cultural whims of the nation’s education establishment.

It’s important to respect the rights of everyone

Rebecca Phillips tried to shrink after her gasp caused the man’s eyes to turn and scan her naked body as she stepped out of the shower stall in the women’s shower. In the moments that it took her 17-year-old brain to process that she should cover herself with a shower curtain, she could feel his eyes roaming from her head to her toes.

Her hiding behind the curtain, waiting for someone to leave, was a typical reaction most people have to prevent others of either gender from staring at their naked bodies. And it was particularly embarrassing for Rebecca who, as a 17-year-old, was still too young to consent even if she was willing — which she most certainly was not!

No longer would the women’s shower or locker room in the YMCA in Santee in San Diego County, be a “safe haven” for her after this incident on Dec. 30. Her second shock was when she told the management of the Y, and the management

made Rebecca feel “As though I had done something wrong” while informing her that this “male-looking” person was “transgender,” which meant that this individual was allowed to shower wherever the individual pleased.

The YMCA statement was “As a communityfocused organization, we strive to meet the needs of all individuals.

We recognize that birth and gender identity are sensitive subjects. We rely on subject matter experts, laws and guidelines established by the state of California to ensure our policies are welcoming and respectful for all community members.”

Missing from any explanation to Rebecca was why the Y’s striving “to meet the needs of all individuals” did not include her needs? Or perhaps even a majority of “individuals” since 51% of the population is female.

The Y even refused to meet with Rebecca’s father even though he was responsible for her safety while she was a minor. Decades ago this question hit the desk of this young Philadelphia lawyer when a human resources manager in Midland, Texas asked when, and if, the young, bright male engineer transitioning would permit him/ her to use the women’s restrooms. I quickly learned that in an office in the middle of cowboys and oil rig roughnecks country, this was no laughing matter. This manager wanted help in how to accommodate this engineer while also protecting the privacy rights of the women in their small office. Since I knew the law would not be helpful as even Title VII of the Civil Rights Act did not define even “males” or “females,” I decided that determining a person’s gender was not a legal

question, but a medical one. The manager could require a note from the engineer’s physician indicating when medically he had sufficiently become a woman to be entitled to use the women’s restroom.

Almost half a century later, President Joe Biden’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Ketanji Brown Jackson, who decides cases involving women’s rights, testified in her nomination hearings in 2022 that she could not define “women” since she was not a biologist. After that response, no one bothered to ask her about defining “transgenders.”

What is the medical definition of “transgender?”

Mayo Clinic’s website provides, “Transgender is an umbrella term used to capture the spectrum of gender identity and genderexpression diversity.”

“‘Gender identity’ is the internal sense of being male, female, neither or both.”

“‘Gender expression’ is often the extension of gender identity that involves the expression of a

person’s gender identity through social roles, appearances, and behaviors.” Under this definition, “gender expression” may, or may not, involve a person’s social roles, appearances and behavior.

“Those who identify and express their gender fluidity outside the gender binary, might not involve hormonal or surgical procedures.” Under this approach, even a medical professional would have a difficult time establishing, or refuting, whatever the person claims.

“Being transgender doesn’t say or imply anything about a person’s sexual orientation or physical or emotional attraction or sexual behavior.”

It appears that under the Mayo Clinics standards that even a physician must rely solely on the person’s word that they are transgender.

Now consider how the management at the Santee YMCA can implement the Y’s mission statement of “To bring

But today, I point out, the “legal process” for an ambitious person who wants to work is nearly impossible. “You might get in after waiting 12 years!”

“Whatever the rules ... you got to enforce it,” Mr. Pompeo responds.

“Shouldn’t we change the rules?” I ask.

“I actually think it’s time to take a break,” says Mr. Pompeo. Today, people apply for asylum and then stay until their request is accepted or denied. When Mr. Pompeo was secretary of state, he said, he told Mexican officials, “You’re not going to have these people traveling in caravans through your country. We’re sending them back to you.”

President Joe Biden reversed that policy.

“You can now see 4 million illegal immigrants in just 24 months,” says Mr. Pompeo. “This will fundamentally change the nature of our country ... drugs came across our borders. There’s not much difference between a cartel leader and a jihad leader.”

“Why not legalize drugs?” I ask. “Then cartel leaders wouldn’t exist!”

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. We welcome a variety of views. Letters must be exclusive to the News-Press. In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitted by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity, and shorter letters have a better chance of being printed immediately.

We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

We do not print submissions that lack a civil tone, allege illegal wrongdoing or involve consumer complaints. We also may decide not to print letters or op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days. All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification. We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters.

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If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF.

Send letters to voices@ newspress.com. Writers also may fax letters to 805-966-6258. Mail letters to P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102. The News-Press reserves the right to publish or republish submissions in any form or medium.

S. T. Karnick is a senior fellow and director of publications for The Heartland Institute, where he edits Heartland Daily News.

John

Brent E. Zepke

Arthur

S.T. Karnick

The author is with the Heartland Institute

COURTESY PHOTO

Gov. Ron DeSantis

COURTESY PHOTO

Many truckers are leaving California

DONOVAN

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public defecation, drug use, lewd behavior, and the mentally ill — sound familiar?

The Santa Monica promenade, like Santa Barbara, has empty storefronts (47%). One difference is State Street is a main street, and Santa Monica’s Third Street is a cross street. Another difference is the length — only three blocks long so the mass of street people is more concentrated than our street population, whose territory takes 11 blocks.

Like our Paseo Nuevo, the anchor stores — Macy’s and Bloomingdales, at the mall that spills into the Three Street Promenade — are now vacant, as are many of the mall stores.

Once a thriving shopping and dining destination for locals and tourists, the Third Street Promenade now has empty parking lots with broken elevators.

A promenade property owner, John Alle said, “Let’s admit we have a problem, and let’s address it. This could be the biggest comeback story — if we take care of the issues.”

That business community did address the matter of safety. They installed a large sign warning of the danger.

You can see the story at circlingthenews.com/santamonica.

When discussing our State Street Promenade, downtown restaurant owner Kevin Bosse remarked, “The city and the

people of Santa Barbara are not really being served by a process in which no one seems willing to ask hard questions or to acknowledge proven truths. If the MIG consultants cannot even tell the city council actual data and history they know to be true, then the whole thing is a con, and the fix is in.

“It looks like they are being paid over $800K to tell the SB Council what they want to hear,” he said. “The following questions should be posed directly to MIG: 1) Of the 20-plus surviving pedestrian malls in the US, how many are on main streets or thoroughfares?

2) Of those, how many are longer than four to five blocks? 3) How many of the surviving Pedestrian Malls have never had to have multiple expensive re-visioning or remodels?

“4. What are some of the specific reasons 90% of the pedestrian malls failed? Retail exodus? Vagrancy and blight? Rejection by the public in the face of the above?

“BTW, the answers to the above questions are: 1) None. 2) None. 3) None. 4) All of the above, and much more.”

So again, we see a lot of similarities between the promenades of Santa Monica and Santa Barbara.

Was the sad story of Santa Monica not used as a comparison because it did not fit the narrative that the city council wants to hear?

Like the narrative, President Joe Biden, during his State of the Union address, used a narrative that does not fit what consumers

know to be reality. Any trip to the grocery store does not fit the narrative that inflation has gone down. You name it; everything has doubled or tripled in cost. Eggs, if you can find them, have tripled in price; chicken and meat, the same. If inflation has come down, no evidence of it has appeared on the West Coast.

Speaking of eggs, a farmer’s chickens stopped producing for a year. After he bought his feed locally, his chickens started laying eggs again. Sounds like the poisonous dog food that was recalled years ago.

The president, meanwhile, was so proud to have brought gasoline prices down. However, we have yet to see gas at $2.99 a gallon as it was for an entire year before he took office.

And gasoline prices are not the only thing that affects the mysterious supply chain. California is set to lose approximately 70,000 independent truckers.

If truckers are not members of the union and are not willing to work for a corporate (union) trucking firm, they are out of business.

Being independent by nature, many truckers are leaving California for less restrictive climates. Although this restriction comes courtesy of Gov. Gavin Newsom, President Joe Biden sure fawned all over the unions.

To continue our discussion of natural gas hikes, many readers have sent us copies of their bills for comparison.

We discovered that local residents are being charged different rates for their gas commodity, and that appears to be based on their zip code. Rates range from $3.20 in the 93111 zip code to $.64 in 93427.

For example, zip code 93427 is billed at $.64 per therm, zip code 93108 at $1.52, zip code 93109 at $1.80, zip code 93105 at $2.01, zip code 93101 at$ 3.16 or $2.43, zip code 93111 at $2.79 to $3.20, zip code 93117 at 2.79, zip code 93103 at 1.80.

Why?

The commodity rate is multiplied by the number of thermal units used. The gas commodity charge wasn’t on our invoice until 2021. Could the huge increase be the $6.5 billion tax on natural gas, which was included in the $1.7 trillion budget of 2022? It is in our best interest, as a community, to insist the government represent us, and not its special causes. It is in our best interest to demand those in public office listen to the voices of the business owners and private industries who suffer the actual cost when a deal or a venture fails. Government entities never fail. They just print more money, then put on the emperor’s new clothes and say, “Everything is just fine.” But is that the naked truth?

Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Saturdays in the Voices section.

Democrats continue to call the GOP evil people

Continued from Page C1

Their aim is to limit the control that Democrats and the unions have on the school systems. This includes the negative influence the progressive-teachers-union alliance has done infusing their political views with education, libraries, sports and liberal social engineering.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the new face of the Republican Party, helped two dozen conservative candidates win in the midterm elections. Speaking at an Orlando school board event, he said he plans to continue to influence school board races across the state. He says he intends to flip more local seats from progressive education officials, starting with Broward and Hillsborough counties.

Gov. DeSantis criticized “obnoxious” board members who went against the state

and parents by passing mask mandates amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “Far too long, these school boards have not reflected the values of the communities that they were elected to serve, and I plan on putting an end to that.”

Gov. DeSantis said, “Electing conservative school board members is not rocket science. We are just educating our voters about who shares our values and who doesn’t — that’s it. We are confident once they have that information, they are going to be able to make the right decisions for them.”

Democrats continue to call the GOP evil people who want to limit the teaching about LGBT sexual relationships, CRT and distorted American history. Yet concerned parents are spending millions on candidates who will limit negative race baiting and open sexuality and take offensive books out of libraries. They will also nix plans for gender-neutral

bathrooms and transgenderinclusive sports.

The 1776 Project was formed last year to counter the New York Times’ 1619 Project that teaches U.S. history around slavery and its lasting impacts. The 1776 group was able to elect conservative majorities in dozens of school districts across the U.S. while promoting their “parents bill of rights.”

According to campaign finance filings, they netted victories in Texas and Pennsylvania, spending $2 million during the last campaign cycle. The 1776 group is campaigning for dozens of candidates already for the next election cycle. It’s supporting candidates in Maryland’s Frederick and Carroll counties, in Bentonville, Arkansas, and 20 candidates across Michigan with many more to come.

Its candidates have won not only in deeply red locales but also in districts with liberal strongholds, including Philadelphia and

BUCKLEY

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earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country. Whether Joe Biden believes this madness or is simply too weak to resist it, his administration has been completely hijacked by the radical left.”

“Americans want common sense from their leaders,” she said, “but in Washington, the Biden administration is doubling down on crazy.”

She went on to articulate the truth of what the state of the union really was when Joe Biden became president.

“President Biden,” she said, “inherited the fastest economic recovery on record. The most secure border in history. Cheap abundant, home-grown energy. Fast-rising wages. A rebuilt military. And a world that was stable and at peace.

“But over the last two years,” she declared, “Democrats destroyed it all. Despite Democrats’ trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in American history …”

“President Biden,” she insisted, “is unwilling to defend our border, defend our skies, and defend our people,” and concluded that “He is unfit to serve as commander in chief.”

Wait, there’s more,

Minneapolis. Ryan Girdusky, the founder of this highly successful group, said, “Places we’re not supposed to typically win, we’ve won and I think we can keep on winning.” Danette Stokes of the United Education Association said, “Teachers are overworked and underpaid. If we pay them morem it will reflect in the classrooms.”

The average teacher’s salary is $62,613 for eight hours of work nine months a year plus generous benefits. Giving them more money will not produce better educated or socially prepared students with Democrats and unions controlling curriculum.

“There is obviously something wrong with our educational system. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that there might be something wrong with at least some of our school teachers. But of course, heaven help anyone daring to express such heretical views.”

— J. Paul Getty

Our spies often exaggerate their importance

Continued from Page C3

“It’s a terrible idea,” Mr. Pompeo responds. “You see the decimation that we have from our drug culture today.”

“That’s because it’s illegal!” I push back.

“It’s not,” responds Mr. Pompeo. “There’s too much product available. Family institutions are beginning to fray in ways that are fundamentally dangerous to the United States.”

36,000 in Germany. “We won those wars! Now those countries should defend themselves.”

Xi Jinping is the “singular greatest threat in the history of our nation,” says Mr. Pompeo. If we bring all the troops home, that will “put the American people at enormous risk.”

And Mr. Pompeo calls Edward Snowden “a traitor” who should be executed. Mr. Snowden stole documents from the National Security Agency that showed how our government illegally spied on Americans.

to seven. Then government reviews concluded that mass surveillance did not stop a single attack.

“You can’t just steal American secrets,” says Mr. Pompeo. “If you find something illegal, there is a process to correct it.”

But people who used that process saw their homes raided, their careers ended. I understand why Mr. Snowden sneaked out of the country.

Another area where Mr. Pompeo and I disagree is former President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

The Chinese do cheat. They steal intellectual property. But tariffs haven’t stopped that. The Chinese also foolishly subsidize some industries. But so do we! Free trade benefits everyone. That’s one reason I’m a libertarian.

Mr. Pompeo does want to cut government. Why isn’t he a libertarian?

“I grew up libertarian,” he says. “The idea of less government power being better for the American people is something that is very near and dear to my heart.”

“Every day,” she scolded, “we are told that we must partake in (the ‘progressive’s’) rituals, salute their flags and worship their false idols … all while big government colludes with Big Tech to strip away the most American thing there is — your freedom of

speech. “That’s not normal. It’s crazy, and it’s wrong.”

Sarah’s delivery admittedly wasn’t great, but it was a good start with a good message. She, along with a couple other Republican governors (Ron DeSantis, Glenn Youngkin) has declared war on woke, and it’s a war worth fighting.

Upon taking the governorship of Arkansas, the first things Ms. Sanders did was to sign an executive order to ban Critical Race Theory in the state’s schools. She also eliminated use of the derogatory term “Latinx,” repealed COVID-19 orders and promised to never again submit to authoritarian mandates and shutdowns.

Ms. Sanders also just signed her education reform bill. She has frozen new government hiring and new regulations.

She intends to cut the state’s income tax rate this year and every year.

“We will get the overregulating, micromanaging, bureaucratic tyrants off of your backs, out of your wallets and out of your lives,” she vowed in her inaugural address to Arkansas.

And though she wrapped up her answer to President Biden’s State of the Union falsehoodfilled imbroglio differently, she may as well have used the same words she used upon ending her inaugural address:

“Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”

I like this lady.

James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@ substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.

Kindness is stronger than ‘being nice’ to others

SANITATE

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else said, that is a belief too. Acknowledge that your beliefs are beliefs.

4. A story can be made up of: all facts, some facts and some beliefs, or all beliefs. Everything we speak is a story we are inventing.

5. With beliefs, it is important to ask: Why is it important for me to believe this? Answering this question for ourselves also gives us the right to ask the same question of others.

6. Saying why it is important to me means that it supports something I think is good, is of value to me. Going deeper, we can question that value as well: Why is this value important to me? And so on. You get to a point where you can’t go back any further, other than saying, “it just is a value to me!” Then you have come to one of your principles.

7. The first and great principle, for me, is: Have integrity. The first six ideas above build up to this point.

You have integrity when you say: “This is what seems true to me, right to me, good to me. It is the best way to think — and act. I’m open to change my view if I see a greater reason to, just as I choose to claim this principle right now.”

It is taking responsibility for what we say — and living it. I call this the republican part of our humanness: individual autonomy and responsibility.

8. The second great principle is: Be kind. Kindness is stronger than “being nice” to others. It is even stronger than “loving” one another. “Love” can have many meanings. Kindness is simpler. “Kind” means treating people as if they are ‘kin” — kinfolk, related to us – sisters, brothers, relatives — because they are. One way of defining kindness is: I create a world that works for everyone. This is the democratic part of our humanness: kindness.

9. Maybe kindness should be the first principle, but it doesn’t matter. It includes being kind to myself. It would be unkind to be kind to everybody else, but not to myself. Maybe that’s why integrity comes first: It requires me to be responsible to myself.

10. Here is the streamlining part I promised in the title: To summarize these commandments in four words: Have integrity; be kind. These are not new ideas. I summarized them in a poem, in words quoting two famous people “This above all: to thine own self be true.”

“Love one another, as I have loved you.”

His answer makes no sense. Families fray, and drugs are shipped despite our drug war. The war creates a black market that causes crime. There are no alcohol “cartels,” only because we ended Prohibition.

But I won’t convince Mr. Pompeo. Or you, probably.

I ask Mr. Pompeo why America needs 54,000 troops in Japan and

I call Mr. Snowden a hero for risking his freedom and career to reveal the truth.

Mr. Pompeo says the secrets Mr. Snowden revealed have endangered Americans.

But our spies often exaggerate their importance. For instance, the NSA claimed its mass surveillance stopped 54 terrorist attacks. Then the number dropped

“Tariffs mainly punish the American consumer,” I point out. Tariffs make goods more expensive.

“Tariffs are a very blunt instrument,” acknowledges Mr. Pompeo, but they “solve a very real challenge. How is it you prevent an adversarial nation from screwing you in their trade relationships?”

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Copyright 2022 BY JFS Productions Inc.

Donald Trump wasn’t as lucky as Hillary Clinton SCHULTE

Continued from Page C2

The FDA and CDC are doing a little political tap dance, admitting there could be problems and the boosters maybe/might be causing strokes. The government, Biden administration, Lord Anthony Fauci and big pharma have been in collusion with each all along. Pushing the big lie at our expense while their pockets were filling with cash. That was and is real collusion.

And it’s impossible to imagine: Pfizer was actually manipulating the virus just so it could come up with another form of vaccine. If true, that’s beyond belief.

To push the drugs, the death count from COVID was falsified to make things look worse to scare and force you to want the vaccine. And all those who tried to tell the truth were excoriated, lost jobs and otherwise effectively kept from speaking the truth. Twitter, the White House and the drug dealers continued to hold hands using the American people as their guinea pigs. We were subjected to another great lie when it was discovered Hillary Clinton had classified documents and a server hidden in her basement. Nothing to see here. She gave 33,000 (they were all about yoga classes) of her emails a good bath, smashed her phones and laptops and otherwise swept all her lies under the security blanket of the FBI, and of course, again, the media.

Donald Trump wasn’t as lucky as Hillary Clinton. He got raided, and agents even went through his wife’s unmentionables. But now it appears since the dems, media and FBI had so ferociously gone after Trump, they have been backed into a legal box. They are forced to at least pretend they’re going after President Joe Biden for a similar breach of having secret documents.

Just a sidebar. I thought former press secretary Jen Psaki was the biggest liar of all, but current press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is unbelievable, literally.

We were being lied to when the schools tried to sneak a racist indoctrination program in the curriculum. When parents finally began to push back, corrupt school boards tried to lie that it wasn’t happening.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas looked straight into the camera and said with a straight face, the border is closed. I don’t want to get started again on that massive lie. Just impeach the guy and be done with it.

I’m running out of room and only touched on a few of the great deceits. I could write 10 columns and not cover them all. The truth is most people are aware of the lies. Even the left knows they’re lying Whatever comes out of Washington, the mouths of the FBI, the news, almost from any source, are all lies.

And if we accept them for being all lies, we may find the truth. Maybe.

Henry Schulte welcomes questions or comments at hschulteopinions@gmail.com.

Integrity is when you are as honest with yourself — and of course others — as you can be.

Perhaps warning signs would help

ZEPKE

Continued from Page C3

Frank Sanitate is an ex-monk, author, retired seminar leader, husband and father who lives in Santa Barbara. some other odd ailments and strokes after getting boosted. No, it’s not the vaccine they said. But it was and is.

together safe, inclusive, and welcoming programs to develop their minds, bodies, and spirit” while respecting the rights of all individuals and comply with the medical restrictions, where according to the Mayo Clinic, one cannot use a person’s actions or appearance (with or without clothing) to determine whether a person is transgender.

Does that leave the Y with any other means of identifying whether a person may choose to shower where he/she pleases besides his/her unsupported word? Is it a violation of his/her rights to even ask him/her?

What about the privacy rights of women to expect that the ageold tradition that showers are segregated by genders will not be violated without their consent? Perhaps warning signs would help although these signs could not be considered consent for minors who, like Rebecca, are not legally capable of consenting.

It’s a shame that in the almost half a century since my conversation with the manager in Midland, Texas, after 30 years of practicing employment law, I still cannot improve on that advice although Mayo Clinic appears to indicate that even physicians must rely on the unsupported word of individuals, and either way will violate the privacy rights of some people.

It’s sad that current laws appear to make it impossible for the YMCA and similar organizations to protect the rights of everyone.

Brent E. Zepke is an attorney, arbitrator and author who lives in Santa Barbara. His website is OneheartTwoLivescom. wordpress.com. Formerly, he taught law and business at six universities and numerous professional conferences. He is the author of six books: “One Heart-Two Lives,” “Legal Guide to Human Resources,” “Business Statistics,” “Labor Law,” “Products and the Consumer” and “Law for Non-Lawyers.”