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The connection between music and memory Kim Campbell and others talk about Glen Campbell and his final tour - A4
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A stroll up State Street Economic project explores promenade’s real estate, activity, aesthetics
Texas dogs now Cali-bound County Animal Services transports 22 dogs at risk of euthanasia to SB By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Today marks a new start in the Santa Barbara area for 22 dogs and one cat after Winter Storm Uri left Texas residents without power or running water. Thousands of Texas pets entered animal shelters during the storm’s freezing temperatures, ice and snow, and because of the rapid influx, many dogs and cats who were in the shelters prior to the storm were then at risk of euthanasia due to space limitations and exhausted resources. Therefore, animal shelters directly impacted by the storm called for help to safely transport 1,000 animals or more across state lines to free up critical space in the shelters. And, of course, Santa Barbara County Animal Services answered
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESs PHOTOS
In a webinar by UCSB’s Economic Forecast Project, a panel said that the 500 block of State Street is doing very well, although crowded with the many unique parklets.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
State Street has seen a full makeover since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to improve Santa Barbara’s main downtown corridor, a brainstorming session was held Thursday by the UCSB Economic Forecast Project. The panel examined the street space spanning from Cabrillo Boulevard up to Sola Street. Prior to the webinar, Dr. Peter Rupert, UCSB economics professor and director of the EFP, and Gene Deering, principal of Radius Group Commercial Real Estate, recorded a video of the two of them walking and analyzing each block. During Thursday’s virtual event, Dr. Rupert and Mr. Deering were joined by Kristen Miller, president and CEO of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce, as the group examined the vacant and heavily trafficked areas, while also exploring how each block could be improved. Starting along the waterfront in the first block of State Street, Mr. Deering said the Hotel Californian has made those blocks “very healthy.” “They (Hotel Californian) did a great job of building out the space and creating small retail spaces within the Hotel Californian,” he said. “No one’s too worried about it in terms of vacancy or lack of traffic.” Warren Nocon, the managing director of Hotel Californian, shared during the webinar that he, his colleagues and employees are very supportive of how the city has handled the pandemic. “The closure of State Street and opening of the promenade and these outdoor dining areas gave our agents something to talk about,” he said. “It was nice to see the entire Funk Zone as a community really treat the pandemic as something serious.” Brad Finefrock, of Finney’s Crafthouse & Kitchen in the same
Dr. Peter Rupert, director of the UCSB Economic Forecast Project, said in a webinar that he likes the individuality of each parklet on State Street, such as the one seen here outside Joe’s Cafe, but would like some city regulations on them.
block, had a different review of the promenade. “Over time, State Street’s closure has kind of developed and matured a bit, but it has adversely affected our business,” Mr. Finefrock said during the webinar. “The promenade is now more of a destination site pulling a larger audience which typically had pulled down to the Funk Zone and our area. It had an adverse affect on our sales over the last six to nine months, so that’s been a slight negative.” However, he added that he believes outdoor dining should be allowed permanently. “It’s very difficult for operators like ourselves to not know if we should invest the significant amount of money into patios, parklets, cabanas and overhead structures unless we know that there’s going to be a long-term approach to this outdoor dining theme,” he said. Next, in the 100 block of State Street, Mr. Deering said the lease rates in that block are about $7 per square foot — some of the highest in Santa Barbara due to the 1,500 to 1,800 squarefoot sized spaces. However, the businesses in that block such as Rusty’s Pizza Parlor, McConnell’s Fine Ice Cream and Santo Mezcal
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are doing “very well.” In the 200 block, Mr. Deering pointed out that there’s no sign or entrance indicating people are entering the Funk Zone, and he said that could be beneficial to the area. He added that the former Fish Enterprise Co. building was sold twice, but was purchased for $3.5 million, $600 per square foot, and will become a high-end tech office. The transition from the 200 block to the 300 block, Dr. Rupert said, needs some work. “My least favorite part of State Street is going under the freeway,” he said. “It’s very narrow, it’s dark, it’s loud … damp, smelly … “To me, this is something that doesn’t give us a very good welcoming to tourists who are walking up State Street from the beach.” He suggested replacing the undercrossing with a pedestrian overpass, so people could also enjoy all the shops and restaurants that are above it as well, such as Dawn Patrol or Casa Blanca Restaurant. Ms. Miller even suggested an interactive lights show in the meantime. As they entered the 400 block, Dr. Rupert said, “There’s a lot of controversy over which blocks
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Newsom signs education bill Legislation pays school districts billions of dollars to reopen By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Friday morning to bring California kids back into the classroom. Assembly Bill 86 gives school districts $2 billion to open schools for students in transitional kindergarten through second grade by April 1, after a year of distance learning. There will also be $4.6 billion given to districts to fund efforts mitigating learning loss, such as summer school, tutoring, oneon-one support, mental health services, access to school meal programs, programs to address pupil trauma and extended learning time. “We look forward to the much-needed recognition of the importance of education,” Hilda Maldonado, superintendent of Santa Barbara Unified School District, said in a statement to the News-Press. “This investment will help us to support our students and ensure that the learning recovery can begin.” The legislation is part of an effort to incentivize more schools to open back up, because if they don’t, they won’t get their share of the $2 billion in reopening funds. Specifically, districts will lose 1% of eligible funds every day they remain closed after March 31. Schools that are already open or have plans to reopen by the end of March are allowed to move forward with their reopening and still qualify for funds. Vaccinations for teachers are not required for reopening, according to the bill. However, the bill codifies Gov. Newsom’s commitment to setting aside 10% of vaccine supply for teachers. In addition, the bill removed the previously proposed union approval required to reopen, leaving the decision solely up to each district independently. When Santa Barbara
County reaches the red tier, all elementary school grades must reopen for in-person learning, and the districts must commit to opening at least one middle or high school grade to in-person instruction to get their fair share of funds. Parents also retain the right to have their children continue to learn virtually if they choose, according to the Los Angeles Times. Schools reopening in counties in the purple tier will be required to test students and staff who do not have symptoms on campuses without any reported cases, but if districts adopt a plan to return to the classroom by March 31 or already offer inperson elementary instruction, they don’t have to adhere to that requirement. Schools opening in the red, orange and yellow tiers are not required to do the additional testing. As of Thursday, elementary schools in the following districts were open for hybrid in-person instruction: Ballard, Blochman Union, Carpinteria Unified, Cold Spring, College, Hope, Los Olivos, Montecito Union, Santa Barbara Unified, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District and Solvang School District. Buellton, Goleta Union, Lompoc Unified and Orcutt Unified are set to reopen Monday, and Vista Del Mar Union will begin March 15. All other schools are continuing distance learning for the time being. “Lompoc looks forward to using the AB 86 funds to provide a better learning environment for our students,” Trevor McDonald, superintendent of Lompoc Unified School District, said in a statement to the News-Press. “With the news of the bill’s passage and students coming back on Monday, the excitement in the air district wide is palpable!” email: gmccormick@newspress.com
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ins id e Classified............... B5 Life..................... B1-2
got closed. Many store owners on the 400 block have been asking to close that to cars as well.” They discussed the stark difference between the 400 and 500 blocks, and Mr. Deering pointed out local developer Peter Lewis’s plan to build an 84unit residential building in the parking lot behind the old Staples property, at 410 State St. “So many of us believe housing is the key to revitalizing State Street,” Mr. Deering said. “Developers need scale. There’s only so many larger parcels that can enable building enough housing to make it worth the developer’s while.” The 500 block marks the bustling State Street that many imagine — parklet after parklet and high foot traffic. Shaun Smith, co-owner of Institution Ale Co. in the 500 block, said he supports the promenade becoming permanent and said the bar will be opening a 5,000 square-foot beer garden next door in the coming months. “Like most, we’ve also seen some uptick in business thanks to the opening up of State Street and closure of through traffic,” he said. “That’s been beneficial for us and will continue to be beneficial hopefully after COVID-19 as a more permanent solution to bring more people to State Street. It’s finding that balancing act of how we can create the best customer experience and the safest customer experience.” He added that many of his customers see outdoor dining as a positive experience, and they would choose to do so even if they had the opportunity to dine indoors. The former scientology building in the 500 block, Mr. Deering said, sold last year for $5.7 million and will become a boutique and hotel. Dr. Rupert pointed out that while the parklets in the 500 block of State Street benefit the restaurants Please see state on A5
the call. “So many community members couldn’t stay warm and didn’t have water. There were animals flooding into the shelter,” Angela Yates, director of SBCAS, told the News-Press Friday. “A thought came to me and I said, ‘Can we offer help?’” Before long, SBCAS, with the help of C.A.R.E4Paws, Shadow’s Fund and the Santa Barbara Animal Care Foundation, figured out a way to rally support and resources to transport as many animals as they could to the county in vans. Later this evening, 22 healthy and social dogs and one healthy and social cat will arrive at the Animal Services shelter in Goleta from El Paso in hopes of finding happy homes. The dogs selected for the journey range from 4 to 70 pounds, Please see DOGS on A6
Obituaries............. A6 Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A6
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 11-18-22-28-37 Meganumber: 14
Friday’s DAILY 4: 9-7-1-6
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 10-11-17-27-54 Meganumber: 20
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 6-8-10-15-33
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-06-07 Time: 1:43.47
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 21-40-44-50-55 Meganumber: 16
Friday’s DAILY 3: 7-4-3 / Sunday’s Midday 7-7-9