Santa Barbara News-Press: April 08, 2023

nearly $1 million in help

Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara provides $925,000 in grants to local organizations

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

With the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising costs of living, housing crisis and more, the volunteers with the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara have made it their mission to rise from these challenges.

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is a volunteer-led donor organization that, according to their website (womensfundsb. org), “enables women to combine charitable dollars into significant grants addressing the critical needs of women, children and families in south Santa Barbara County.”

The Women’s Fund educates and inspires women to engage in making lasting change in the community.

As of 2023, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has grown to 1,200 members of all ages and backgrounds and hopes to grow even more.

Recently, the Women’s Fund announced an increase in its grants to others, totalling $925,000. This is huge for the organization, as it allows it to expand its efforts to help the community and grow deeper roots in the Santa Barbara County area.

On May 9 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara, the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will host its annual Celebration of Grants, where it will award grants to various community organizations.

As explained by Kerry Parker, the Women’s Fund Communications Committee co-chair, the main areas of exploration for these grants are for family support services, housing assistance, education, mental health and health care.

Specifically, there have been community involvements in the past few months that have been a direct cause of the grants provided.

“Freedom 4 Youth” is a mission that uplifts and empowers youth impacted by the criminal legal system to build safe and compassionate communities. Last year, a Women’s Fund grant

FYi

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara will host its annual Celebration of Grants May 9 at the Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara. A reception will take place 4:45 to 5:40 p.m., followed by the awards presentation from 6 to 7 p.m.

This event is open to members of the Women’s Fund and those who are aspiring to become members. To purchase tickets, go to womensfundsb.org/event/celebration-grants-2023.

To become a member, visit womensfundsb.org.

Pink Moon

The full Pink Moon - April’s full moon and the first moon in the spring season - descends behind Santa Barbara Airport’s air traffic control tower on Thursday. The Pink Moon’s name references the blooming flowers and trees that spring season brings. This full moon is also known as the Paschal full moon and holds significant importance to those that celebrate Easter - the date of the religious observance falls on the Sunday following the first full moon that makes its appearance on or after the March equinox.

Lawsuit: ‘Unlawful pause’ on student loans cost taxpayers $150B

By SCOTT MCCLALLEN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) –A new lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Education’s “unlawful pause” on federal student loan payments that have cost taxpayers $150 billion from lost interest.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan by the New Civil Liberties Alliance and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, says Congress lawfully suspended monthly payments and interest accrual on federally held student loans for six months.

However, the lawsuit challenges the legality of the department unilaterally extending the deferment period 30 months past the statutory expiration date of September 2020 without Congressional approval.

Patrick J. Wright, vice president for legal affairs at the Mackinac Center, said perpetual deferment of student loans is “bad policy.”

obligations is an unlawful form of debt relief that reduces the incentives PSLF provides and undermines Congress’s goals in enacting that program.

So far, the Department of Education has issued eight separate extensions – most recently in November 2022. The department first relied on economic hardship provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965; then pivoted to the HEROES Act of 2003; then ceased citing legal authorities and stopped publishing new extensions in the Federal Register. It most recently claimed that it had been relying on the HEROES Act all along.

The lawsuit says that only Congress can categorically suspend repayment obligations for all student-loan borrowers nationwide, and only Congress can cancel the accrual of interest on student loan debt owed to the United States.

The department initially issued a short extension to give Congress more time to extend the suspension legislatively.

of $100,000 helped establish a program reducing recidivism for young females currently or formerly incarcerated or on probation.

Another area that the Women’s Fund has assisted in is the Sanctuary Centers. Located in downtown Santa Barbara, the center provides extensive mental health care. Ms. Parker noted there is a “critical shortage of psychiatric services for youth” and that the Women’s Fund provided a grant of $100,000 last year, which was able to fund two more psychiatrists for the program.

A main area that the Women’s Fund focuses on is the homeless population in Santa Barbara.

“The most effective approach to helping homeless individuals transition to permanent housing is to provide safe temporary shelter with support services,” Ms. Parker explained.

A $75,000 Women’s Fund grant last year supported an onsite case management office at the DignityMoves Village in Santa Barbara.

Ms. Parker added that once the grant is given, the Women’s Fund stays committed to staying in contact with the various programs to check on their progress and see where they may need more help.

“The agencies we work with keep us posted on the progress of the projects we fund,” she continued. “We often conduct site visits to allow our members to witness the impact of the work we’re supporting firsthand.”

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara is desiring growth in the Santa Barbara community from volunteers and donors. “We welcome all women to join us!” exclaimed Ms. Parker.

email: abahnsen@newspress.com

“Perpetual deferment of federal student loans is bad policy because it shifts the burden from those who took out student loans to those who did not,” Mr. Wright said in a statement. “More importantly, it is illegal, as it strips congressional powers and unilaterally hands them to executive bureaucrats. We have a proud history of making sure that the executive branch acts within their constitutional authority, even during a national emergency.”

Congress enacted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program in 2007 to help 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations like the Mackinac Center attract employees with a debt-relief incentive keyed to working 10 years for nonprofits. The lawsuit claims the nonprofits have standing to sue because the suspension of repayment

Still, electorally accountable lawmakers in Congress declined to extend the suspension of payment obligations and interest accrual any further, despite legislating other forms of Covid19 relief.

NCLA litigation counsel Sheng Li said that the administrative state “lacks the power to extend a debt-relief program beyond its statutory deadline.”

“We know that only Congress may suspend student-loan repayment obligations and cancel interest accrued because it took an Act of Congress to provide such debt relief at the outset of the pandemic,” Mr. Li said in a statement. “Congress also enacted a clear six-month deadline for that debt-relief program. The Administrative State lacks the power to extend a debt-relief program beyond its statutory deadline, especially when doing so costs taxpayers over $150 billion.”

Medi-Cal recipients advised to reconfirm eligibility

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

CenCal Health is encouraging MediCal recipients in Santa Barbara County to reconfirm their eligibility.

On March 31, the temporary suspension of eligibility renewals ended nationwide.

California’s Medi-Cal members are receiving communication this month about their annual redetermination, and they must respond to maintain their benefits.

CenCal Health is the community health plan that partners with local providers to deliver health care services to many residents in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

“The first series of packets will be sent out on April 20,” Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, chief customer experience and health equity officer for CenCal Health, told the News-Press.

“Members have 60 days to fill it out and return to the Department of Social Services office.

FYi

To complete the renewal application for Medi-Cal, go to www.mybenefitscalwin.org. You can also check www.cencalhealth.org/keep for a list of resources or call the CenCal Health member services

There is a prepaid envelope included for convenience. We are encouraging community members to update their contact info and be ready when the packets are sent out.”

To maintain healthcare coverage, other life changes need to be reported, including changes to income, disability status and family size, according to CenCal Health.

If you are unsure about what to report, contact the local California Department of Social Services office. Account information updates can be done in person, by phone, fax or online.

“We have been working closely with DSS

offices, community based organizations and healthcare providers so our members are aware that redetermination has started and can assist members and patients,” Dr. Van Do-Reynoso said. “Our member services department can guide members who call where they can access support at local DSS offices or other partners and provide general guidance for steps members need to take to stay covered.

“We are using a wide variety of tools to support our members,” Dr. Do-Reynoso said.

“We have a pretty comprehensive outreach

PHOTO COURTESY WOMEN’S FUND

Lynn Karison speaks at last year’s Celebration of Grants event at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum.

The headlines about Putin and the reality about Russia and China

“PROMINENT RUSSIAN MILITARY BLOGGER KILLED IN ST. PETERSBURG CAFÉ EXPLOSION”

Things are not always what they seem. Layers, smoke, trick mirrors, deception.

What looks to be a Ukrainian intelligence operation is quite likely something else.

One of Mad Vlad Putin’s main goals is to crack down on the Russian people; to follow in the footsteps of his hero Joseph Stalin and make Russia one big prison (and morgue), acting as chief warden (and mortician).

This is especially important one year after his brutal incursion into Ukraine because so many of the Russian people are wishing he were gone: once friendly oligarchs and disenfranchised FSB and GRU cronies along with ex-generals weary of seeing their troops slaughtered for just a few yards of Ukrainian turf.

How do you accomplish instilling fear into your citizens while insisting on the need for even more draconian powers?

With false-flag terrorism.

If you want to know who blew up Putin propagandist Vladen Tatarsky to smithereens with a booby-trapped bust of himself, look no further than Russia’s powerful internal security service, the FSB. Ukraine has denied responsibility for this vanity killing (a bomb hidden within a bust of the victim). But citing Ukrainian intelligence as the culprit may garner sympathy and pump up the few remaining pro-Putin militarists.

President Putin’s goons will more likely blame it on some domestic anti-Putin organization, round up all the usual suspects and dump them in a gulag or psych ward (another Stalinist-era tactic).

Mr. Putin pulled a similar stunt in September 1999 when, to consolidate his new power as prime minister of Russia, got his FSB (which he had earlier ruled as director) to plant bombs that exploded in or near five apartment buildings in Russian cities, including Moscow. Mr. Putin blamed this outrage on Chechen separatists and triggered the Second Chechen War, which made him hugely popular in the eyes of the Russian populace, hungry for revenge.

More than 300 men, women and children were killed in this wave of terror. Chalk them up as Mr. Putin’s first round of murder victims, sacrificed to propel him from prime minister to president.

“XI & PUTIN HAVE THE MOST CONSEQUENTIAL UNDECLARED ALLIANCE IN THE WORLD”

Again, don’t believe everything you read, even when it comes from a prestigious journal, in this case Foreign Policy, written by a highly esteemed sage, Graham Allison of Harvard University, who appears to be indulging in our latest national group fantasy as we beat a drum toward war.

Shock! Horror! We are supposed to quake in our boots, right?

I have the utmost respect for the man who authored the definitive work on the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, but (based on reliable sources) here is what I believe is really going down: China is shrewdly trying to alarm the United States by pretending to side with Russia though it has done no such thing. Again, smoke, mirrors and deception.

All President Putin got from his so-called “historic” meeting with Xi Jinping in Moscow was Beijing’s offer to share some intelligence. That and some components for unmanned aircraft. The Russian dictator walked away from the encounter bitterly disappointed and wondered aloud to his closest advisers why President Xi even bothered to fly in for “their” photo op (which was actually Mr. Xi’s photo op.)

President Xi concluded his visit to Moscow by saying, “Change is coming that hasn’t happened in 100 years, and we are driving this change together.”

What Mr. Xi meant by change is, “You are now the junior partner of our always tense relationship, and you will help us by incapacitating yourselves even further than you already have done through your misguided, bloody and downright stupid war on Ukraine.”

To which Mr. Putin lamely replied, “I agree,” before bowing his head as President Xi departed in his motorcade, leaving Mad Vlad to the ongoing care of his numerous physicians.

Bottom line: President Putin needs weapons from China, and

he’s not getting any. This “change” is purely about China’s emasculation of Russia, and Mr. Putin knows it.

President Xi is running circles around President Putin as part of China’s long-term strategy of strengthening itself through weakening both Russia and the United States.

Mr. Xi only needs to walk circles around Joe Biden.

As (literally) witnessed by…

“CHINESE SPY BALLOON DID GATHER INTELLIGENCE FROM SENSITIVE US MILITARY SITES BEFORE IT WAS SHOT DOWN, US INTELLIGENCE REVEALS”

Duh. Their balloon was doing figure eights above our nation’s nuclear ICBM silos in Montana and dispatching electronic signals by satellite in real time back to China. Meanwhile, our military continues to fret about whether it is woke enough.

Do you think the Chinese military-intelligence complex would go to the trouble and expense of dispatching a balloon halfway across the globe just to snap souvenir photos like those taken by Chinese tourists in Solvang?

Speaking of which, I’ve often wondered why Chinese visitors, in droves, seem to have a fetish for Danish-style architecture or a passion for aebleskivers (fried batter balls). Gee, you think it might have something to do with Solvang’s close proximity to Vandenberg Air Force Base, the launch site of a Minuteman III ICBM test missile last month?

Woke or awaken, take your pick.

“PUTIN’S WARNINGS IGNORED AS FINLAND TO JOIN NATO ALLIANCE”

Finland officially became the 31st member country of NATO last Tuesday. This is yet another slap in the face for putrid Putin while Finland’s protection from its aggressive neighbor is now assured by 30 other countries.

Mad Vlad had said, “The expansion (of NATO) into this territory (Finland) would certainly provoke our response.”

Translation: Perhaps Dmitry (Drunkard) Medvedev will erect another inebriated tirade, this time about dropping a bomb on Helsinki.

For the sixth year in a row, Finland has ranked No. 1 in the World Happiness Report.

The Finns just got even happier.

“US INDICTS RUSSIAN SPY WHO TRIED TO INFILTRATE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT”

Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov was planted in the U.S.A. as an “illegal” by Russia’s GRU (military intelligence) and while masquerading as a Brazilian citizen named Victor Muller Ferreira, earned a master’s degree at Johns Hopkins in foreign policy, then signed up as an intern with the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Upon arriving in The Netherlands, Mr. Cherkasov was extradited to Brazil and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for falsely obtaining Brazilian identity documents.

Mr. Chekasov has now been indicted in the United States on charges of espionage. Turns out, FBI Counterintelligence had been onto him for quite some time.

Which explains the following …

“RUSSIA ARRESTS WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTER ON SPYING CHARGE”

Emboldened by President Joe Biden’s shoddy, inequitable trade of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout for basketball player Brittney Griner, poisonous Putin now has someone to trade for Mr. Chekasov’s safe return to Russia. “NEWSOM

WYATT, Carolyn Virginia

Carolyn Virginia Wyatt passed away peacefully, surrounded by love, in Santa Barbara on March 5, 2023. A loving devoted wife and adoring mother and grandmother, she was born in Hollywood, CA on February 6, 1936. She is survived by her husband Philip Wyatt, her children Scott, Jon, and Lori, and her grandchildren, and stepchildren.

She attended UC Santa Barbara before transferring to the University of Southern California where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. At USC she met Wallace Wolf, whom she married in 1957. He predeceased her in 1997.

While in Los Angeles, she was a fashion designer working with Helen Rose, a principal in a commercial TV production company, a runway model, and an executive on the 1984 �������������������

Carolyn was a caring friend and an inspiration to many throughout her life. Despite her passing, her contagious smile, laugh, wit, charm, and love of life will always be treasured.

Throughout the years, Carolyn enjoyed riding horses and playing tennis both for leisure and competition. Among her many talents in the arts were pottery, painting, ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� on her roses. Her passion and fondness for her dogs and those of others is warmly remembered.

Carolyn was a staunch supporter and participant in many philanthropies in the Santa Barbara community including the Breast Cancer Resource Center, Serenity House, ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� contribution in her name to one of these organizations.

DOMINGUEZ, Eleanor

Eleanor Dominguez, 82, of Santa Barbara, CA, passed away peacefully and surrounded by generations of family on February 21, 2023. A loving wife and mother, Eleanor was known for her kindness and unwavering dedication to her family. She touched countless lives with her generous spirit and warm presence. Eleanor is survived by her loving husband of over 60 years, Alfred, who remained by her side throughout her life, ensuring she was always surrounded by love and care. Eleanor is also survived by her devoted daughter Roxanne, her son James, her sister Rose Marie, and four grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her mother Consuelo Reynoso, father Ascension Reynoso, and brothers Ruben and John.

Eleanor was born on June 15th, 1940, in Richmond, CA. Shortly after the war her family moved to Santa Barbara, CA. Eleanor attended local schools. After graduating from Santa Barbara High School she entered the workforce, eventually working at U.C.S.B. as a systems analyst for over 30 years.

Eleanor will be remembered for her kind heart, generosity, and her unwavering dedication to her family and friends. She will be deeply missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her. Eleanor’s memory will live on through the cherished moments shared with her loved ones.

A rosary service will be held Monday, April 10th, 7:00 PM at St. Raphael’s Church, Goleta. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 11th, 10:00 AM at St. Raphael’s Church, Goleta, followed by a reception at the church.

CLAYTON, Barbara

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Barbara J. Clayton on March 24, 2023, at the age of 86. She was born on September 16, 1936, in Newton, Illinois to Clarence and Bessie Jourdan. The Jourdan family moved to Santa Barbara in 1938 where Barbara was raised and educated.

Barbara met the love of her life, Robert Clayton, at the skating rink in 1951. They married in 1953. The young couple raised 4 children and were very active in the community. Barbara was ahead of her time in many areas. She insisted that her children wear seatbelts, long before seatbelts were required, and that they wear sunscreen, when zinc oxide was the only choice. She also baked all of the household bread in an effort to eliminate food additives, believing that additives and preservatives caused behavior issues in children. She was a trailblazer. Robert and Barbara were happily married for 64 years when Robert passed away in 2017.

Barbara, in addition to raising 4 active children, spent her career at Applied Magnetics. She held several positions at AMC before retiring as materials manager. She loved her job and the many friends she made there.

Outside of work, Barbara had many passions. She loved working in her garden, playing cards, and going to the casinos. She enjoyed painting, arts and crafts, lawn bowling, and alley bowling. She was a dedicated member of MacKenzie Park Lawn Bowls Club for many years.

Barbara is survived by her children: Robin Shaffer (Curt Shaffer), Kim Clayton, Rolanda Cordero, and Robert Clayton II. In addition, she is survived by 9 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandchild and many nieces and nephews. Barbara will be remembered for her kind heart, generosity, and her unwavering dedication to her family and friends. She will be missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing her.

A celebration of her life will be held May 20th, at the second annual Jourdan/Musgrove Family reunion in Buellton at the Flying Flags RV Resort and Campground. For more information contact Rolanda Cordero via email (rolandac@verizon.net) or by phone at 805-315-3587. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Barbara’s memory to VNA Serenity House.

DUNHAM, Margaret Mary

On March 22, 2023, at the age of 98, Margaret “Margie”/ ”Sister” Mary Dunham, passed away peacefully in her sleep. She was born on May 21, 1924, to George and Francesca Duarte Wilson, in Piru, Ventura County, CA (where the lake is now).

Growing up during the depression she learned to garden, sew, and to be thrifty, skills she would use later in life as a wife and mother. She had a green thumb and could revive plants that were usually headed to the trash. She also enjoyed crafting dolls, mice, slippers, and even sewed beautiful Fiesta dresses for her girls to wear in the Santa Barbara Fiesta Parades.

Her children loved hearing stories about her education at a one-room tent school on Casitas Pass Road. When the tent school closed, she attended schools in Carpinteria and graduated from Carpinteria High School in 1941.

On March 3, 1946, she married Gordon Dunham, they were married 35 years until his death in 1981. Together they raised five children in Santa Barbara. Her family was her life. She loved her family and little dogs unconditionally. She played a significant part in many of her grandchildren’s lives, watching after them, getting them to school and back, while caring for their daily needs. She was blessed by a long and healthy life, except for the last few years where she suffered with dementia. She was loved and will be dearly missed by all who knew her.

Margie was predeceased by her Parents, George & Francesca Wilson; Husband, Gordon Dunham; Brothers Marvin, Carol, Edgar, Alfred, Paul, Woodrow, Daniel & Chester; Sisters Muriel Yaryan, Barbara Shiells, Isabella Dreyer & Jessie Field; and Grandson, Jim Usher.

Margie is survived by her children, Suzanne Usher (Ed), Janet Yanez (Joey), Steve Dunham, Nancy Dunham Campbell and Carole Dunham Taylor.

She was blessed with 8 grandchildren: Karen Widler (Mitch), Jim Usher (Roxanne), Joe Yanez (Danielle), Julie Griffith (Matthew), Danielle Ramirez (Vince), Casey Dunham, Kevin Campbell, and Meghan Taylor. She was a proud grandma of 10 great-grandchildren: Waylon Widler, Ethan Usher, Maggie Usher, Devin Griffith, Riley Griffith, Billie Yanez, Emme Yanez, Jesse Ramirez, Kaya Campbell and Kalani Campbell, as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Margie asked that friends and loved ones, when they are able, visit a park and eat a cookie and enjoy their surroundings.

In memory of Margie, donations may be made to the Jim Usher Memorial Scholarship at rodeoboosters.com/donate or to a charity of their choice.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com To place an obituary, please email the text and photo(s) to obits@ newspress.com or fax text only (no photos) to (805) 966-1421. Please include your name, address, contact phone number and the date(s) you would like the obituary to be published. Photos should be in jpeg format with at least 200 dpi. If a digital photo is not available, a picture may be brought into our office for scanning. We will lay out the obituary using our standard format. A formatted proof of the obituary and the cost will be emailed back for review and approval. The minimum obituary cost to print one time is $150.00 for up to 1.5” in length -- includes 1 photo and up to 12 lines of text, approximately 630 characters; up to approximately 930 characters without a photo. Add $60.00 for each additional inch or partial inch after the first 1.5”; up to approximately 700 characters per additional inch. All Obituaries must be reviewed, approved, and prepaid by deadline. We accept all major credit cards by phone; check or cash payments may be brought into our office located at 715 Anacapa Street. The deadline for Weekend and Monday’s editions is at 10a.m. on Thursdays; Tuesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Fridays; Wednesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Mondays; Thursday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Tuesdays; Friday’s edition deadlines at

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TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

One person dies after car goes off highway

SANTA MARIA — A car went 200 feet over the side of the road Friday on State Route 166, leaving one person dead and another in critical condition.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded at 8:13 a.m. to the incident, which happened three-fourths of a mile east of Rockfront

Ranch in Santa Maria. The California Highway Patrol also responded. Crews extricated the two people who were in the car. Santa Barbara County Copter 3 airlifted the person in critical condition to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, said Capt. Safe Safechuck, County Fire’s public information officer. State Route 166 was closed in both directions.

— Katherine Zehnder

DHCS funds nearly 15M Medi-Cal beneficiaries

MEDI-CAL

Continued from Page A1

plan including social media, website, texts and a call campaign with the aim that we will be able to blanket the community with urgency to be ready for the renewal process.”

The News-Press asked Dr. Do-Reynoso what happens if members fail to apply for renewal of benefits.

“Unfortunately, they will lose benefits and may not have access to immediate healthcare services,” she said. “To avoid disruption of coverage, we strongly encourage members to update their information starting today and complete the renewal pack online or by mail right away.”

In Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, all

Medi-Cal eligibility and enrollment decisions are made by each county’s respective DSS. CenCal Health does not determine Medi-Cal eligibility. The federal government administers Medicaid; MediCal is the name of California’s Medicaid benefits program.

The California Department of Health Care Services funds health care services for nearly 15 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries.

About one-third of Californians receive health care services financed or organized by DHCS.

“It’s a privilege to help improve the health of our communities in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara,” said Marina Owen, CEO of CenCal Health. “We can better serve our members if they update their account information as soon as possible, and by responding to

REVUE

Continued from Page A2

“He is setting out on his first trip this weekend to Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama to meet with local activists with his wife and his children in tow.”

Translation: Gavin is taking his family on an allexpense paid vacation (spring break) courtesy of the Democratic Party.

“RFK JR. IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, WILL CHALLENGE BIDEN FOR DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION”

I’d take RFK Jr. any day of the week over Joe Biden and Gavin Newsom.

Says Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: “My top priority will be to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class. Polluted our landscapes and waters. Poisoned out children and robbed us of our values and freedoms.”

Amen, brother.

“THE UNSEALED INDICTMENT AGAINST DONALD TRUMP”

This document can be summed up in one word from Britain: CODSWALLOP.

The modern American vernacular: NOTHINGBURGER.

As in, old lettuce, sour pickles — and regurgitated beef from those afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Oh, add a banana, because this is what our country is becoming through a politicized Justice Department and judicial system: A banana republic.

“EVERYONE ON EARTH WILL DIE UNLESS WE STOP RAPIDLY DEVELOPING BOTS”

Eliezer Yudkowsky, cofounder of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute, believes humans will lose to a “horrific dangerous technology.”

Mr. Yudkowsky posits that artificial intelligence will not do what we want, “does not care for us nor for sentient life in general” but will perceive human beings “as atoms that it can use for something else.”

And while we’re on the subject of A.I …

“THE CALIFORNIA NEWSPAPER THAT HAS NO REPORTERS LEFT”

Which paper: The Salinas Californian.

How: Gannett, the owner of over 1,000 newspapers nationwide, provides copy from its other newspapers. Reports msn.com: “The only original content comes in the form of paid obituaries, making death virtually the only sign of life.”

Which sadly suggests the newspaper business is getting deader than a doornail.

My forecast: Within five years almost all newspapers will be paperless.

Reasons: 1) The cost of newsprint; 2) the cost of physical distribution; 3) smartphone and tablet preference/addiction.

As for content: Newspaper editors can now order up copy on any topic of their choosing from an artificial intelligence platform called ChatGBT. I requested a brief column explaining Easter Sunday:

“Easter Sunday is one of the most significant religious holidays in the Christian calendar, and it is observed by millions of Christians around the world. It marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, three days after his crucifixion, as described in the Bible.

“For Christians, Easter Sunday represents the triumph of life over death and hope over despair. It is a time to reflect on the sacrifice and teachings of Jesus, and to celebrate the new beginning that his resurrection brings.

“Easter Sunday is typically celebrated with church services, family gatherings, and traditional foods, such as hot cross buns and Easter eggs. It is also a time for prayer, reflection, and gratitude for the blessings in our lives.

“While Easter Sunday has deep religious significance for Christians, it is also a time for people of all faiths to come together in celebration of renewal, hope, and the beauty of the spring season.

“As we celebrate Easter Sunday, let us remember

communication from our MediCal partners, members will be able to keep their health coverage. Together, we can build a healthier Central Coast for all residents.”

CenCal members can update their contact information and complete their renewal application at www. mybenefitscalwin.org (which has an additional link to www. keepmedicalcoverage.org).

“The website is very easy to use. It is critical that members maintain access to healthcare services by updating their information on the website and filling out the renewal packet,” said Dr. Do-Reynoso. “You can help friends and family with the renewal process. Together we can support our vulnerable community members to thrive by helping them maintain access to healthcare services.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

the message of love, compassion, and forgiveness that Jesus taught us, and let us strive to live those values in our daily lives.”

There is nothing stylistic about ChatGBT’s copy. But it works as straight reportage, and it’s free for any newspaper to publish — in contrast to having to pay journalists a salary plus benefits — and quite likely what you will read in future newspapers, despite journalists’ unions efforts to stave off the inevitable. Or as the Wall Street Journal put it three days ago, “The robots have finally come for my job.”

“ALBERT EINSTEIN & CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S FRIENDSHIP BEGAN WITH A HILARIOUS EXCHANGE OF MUTUAL ADMIRATION”

“What I admire most about your art is your universality,” Einstein said to Chaplin.

Chaplin replied (with perfect comedic timing),“True, but your glory is even greater! The whole world admires you even though they don’t understand a word of what you say.”

Sir Charlie’s ghost is often present on Coast Village Road at the Montecito Inn, of which he may or may not have been a founding owner when it was built in 1928. Some say it was Chaplin’s weekend getaway from Hollywood. He and his pal “Fatty” Arbuckle would bring sweet young things to Montecito amid promises of making them into starlets.

These days the ghost of Chaplin plays harmless pranks on unsuspecting hotel guests and restaurant patrons. For instance, he’ll jerk a barstool, prompting a male customer to pratfall while concurrently causing a female to slip on an imaginary banana peel, and they’ll engage each other on the floor — Charlie’s slapstick style of sparking a new romance. Strangely, no injuries occur from these pratfalls and slippages (which of course have nothing to do with stiff martinis …)

Costumed as his character “The Tramp,” Chaplin is seen walking through walls. He sometimes flicks empty glasses off serving trays and taps the shoulders of certain patrons. And if you’re having a private moment in the toilet, he switches the light off or silently unbolts the lock, leading to potentially embarrassing encounters.

I personally saw Charlie at work years ago while minding my own martini inside The Montecito Bar (now a high-end sushi restaurant). For no rational reason, the heavy glass door opened very slowly outward as if someone had pulled the handle for entry. But no one was there. All of a sudden, when the door was open as wide as it would go, in a split second it slammed shut with such forces that the glass shattered into a million pieces.

Another time, I watched as a half-glass of red wine spilled all by itself onto my friend’s brand-new white linen jacket.

Chaplin’s spiritual presence extends to the barand-grill next door, whose former maître d’ told me, “One time I was serving a movie executive and he ordered our Dover sole. Everything is set up on a jack stand. Suddenly, for no reason at all, against the laws of physics, the whole jack stand of trays flips up, away from me and the plate with the fish on it goes sailing up in the air, in an arc, and the other plate goes flying off and the fish comes down right in the middle of the plate — a physically impossible maneuver. I laughed because it was so darn funny and a big wad of snot flew out of my nose right onto the fish.

“The whole thing was right out of a Chaplin movie.

“See that wall?” the former maître d’ continued.

“It’s closest to the Montecito Inn. We have customers who tell us about noises in the night from the inn. A member of my staff saw Charlie just before opening time. He was costumed as The Tramp: bowler hat, mustache, legs splayed, walking out, walking backward, walking out again, walking backward. The waitress screamed and ran out the door into my arms. She would never work in that section again.”

Attending his deathbed, a priest told Chaplin, “May the Lord have mercy on your soul.” Sir Charlie replied, “Why not? After all, it belongs to Him.” And He apparently delivered dear Charlie’s spirit to Montecito.

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

CenCal members can update their contact information and complete their renewal application at www. mybenefitscalwin.org (which has an additional link to www.keepmedicalcoverage.org).

Business/Real Estate

SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2023

Small businesses concerned about labor market, new taxes

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Newly released small business survey data shows that those businesses cite the labor market as their top concern.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released a survey of small businesses which found that the labor market is their top concern, with 43% of small businesses saying they have job openings they cannot fill.

“The labor force participation rate remains below pre-COVID levels, which is contributing to the shortage of workers available to fill open positions,”

NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said. “Small business owners are struggling to take advantage of current sales opportunities.”

The concern from small business owners comes as new federal hiring data released Friday showed that hiring has slowed. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the data, which showed employers added 236,000 jobs in March, keeping unemployment at about 3.5%.

“The labor force participation rate, at 62.6%, continued to trend up in March,” BLS said. “The

Organic Soup Kitchen announces second location

SANTA BARBARA — Organic

Soup Kitchen has announced the opening of a second location in downtown Santa Barbara.

The new facility at 608 Anacapa St. will allow the organization to meet the increasing demand for nutritional meals for low-income cancer patients and those who are

employment-population ratio edged up over the month to 60.4%. These measures remain below their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels (63.3& and 61.1%, respectively).”

NFIB, which boasts thousands of members, has also become outspoken on the Biden administration’s policies, pushing back on Biden’s environmental regulations and tax increases in a time when businesses are already struggling to deal with elevated inflation.

The small business group launched an ad campaign to push back on tax increases on small businesses proposed in President Joe Biden’s latest budget.

“Main Street cannot afford these new tax increases,” said NFIB President Brad Close. “As expectations for better business conditions remain low, while high inflation and worker shortages continue to plague Main Street, these proposals would hurt small businesses’ ability to recover, grow, and create jobs. The White House should instead focus on promoting economic growth by providing certainty, such as permanently extending the Small Business Deduction.”

chronically ill throughout Santa Barbara County. The center will focus specifically on SoupMeal clients. SoupMeals are nutritional options for people in low-income areas. They can be picked up and delivered for the patients.

SoupMeals are handcrafted and packaged at Organic Soup Kitchen’s downtown kitchen.

Since 2009, the organization has served more than one million SoupMeals. Organic Soup Kitchen has made a commitment to Santa

Barbara County to provide food security for all through education and advocacy programs.

Organic Soup Kitchen’s mission is in direct alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals set forth by the United Nation’s Environmental, Social and Governance policy including Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Climate Action and Partnership for the Goals.

To learn more, visit www. organicsoupkitchen.org.

— Annika Bahnsen

Preparing homes for market pays off in the end

Real estate news on Santa Barbara’s South Coast has consistently reported that the number of sales is down, that active and new listings are down, and that there is about one to two months of available inventory.

Even with interest rates up, financed and cash buyers are still showing strong, yet prudent, demand for homes in our area.

All of this makes for what continues to be a “seller’s market” marked by buyer demand, brisk showing activity and, in many cases, competitive offers and overbidding — most notably in those properties around and below our median price of about $2 million.

Given this buyer demand and “seller’s market,” some sellers may question why they have to go through the cost and process of preparing their home for market, doing updates or repairs, paying for presale inspections, staging and pricing competitively. The answer is simple: They will sell faster and make their investment back and likely more.

and estimates for major repairs.

By spending money up-front, sellers can often head off costly repair negotiations during escrow. With more information about the property, buyers can write offers confidently and avoid surprises during their inspection period. It has been shown many times in recent years that when the seller provides a major repair estimate — foundation, roof, drainage — up front, they can avoid the buyer renegotiating that work during escrow. The cost of a $350 inspection may head off a $30,000 to $80,000 concession.

CARA GAMBERDELLA

Once the seller has their house prepared and inspected for market, the last piece is pricing the home to sell. The listing price is an integral part of the overall marketing strategy. In today’s market, sellers cannot simply put their home out at a “make me move” price and expect buyers to bite.

Even with low inventory and high demand, buyers are more informed and savvier than they have been in decades, and they are influenced by the gloomier real estate news coming out of our national media.

Through presentation and price, a seller’s home has one chance to make a great first impression, convincing those skeptical buyers that this house is “the one.”

This is not the time to skimp on pre-market repairs or updates, staging, decluttering and freshening up the curb appeal. The first step is for a seller to interview and hire an experienced Realtor as their listing agent. This professional will be an invaluable team member with the goal of selling the home at the best possible price and terms.

A listing agent’s recommendations for market preparation will always start with a tour of the property, assessment of the needs and the client’s budget. Most homes will need some level of staging — whether it is decluttering and accessorizing the seller’s furniture and décor, or a full staging of a vacant home.

Other updates may include paint, flooring, repairs of items that could hinder the sale of the home, landscape tune-up or a curb appeal refresh. The seller’s Realtor will work with the seller and trusted vendors to procure estimates for any recommended work, and then prioritize with the seller where they may get the best return on their dollar and stay within budget.

It is part of the listing agent’s service to manage and schedule any pre-market work, so the sellers can concentrate on their own work and responsibilities. Some brokerages offer services where a seller can have staging, high-impact cosmetic renovations and repairs designed to maximize the home’s value with no out-of-pocket or up-front fees. All costs are deferred until closing or a negotiated term.

Staging, paint and flooring are updates that have the highest impact on a buyer’s perceived value. Statistics show that staged homes sell 87% faster and up to 17% more than comparable homes that are not staged. That might mean $300,000 or more on a home in our median price-point.

In recent years, we are seeing more sellers getting, and listing agents recommending, pre-sale reports

The listing agent will advise the seller using recently closed comparable sales, active inventory that may be “competition,” current market forces and overall buyer sentiment and activity to give an informed opinion about the best pricing strategy. On properties that are uniquely challenging to price, often a listing agent will invite other agents who are active in the neighborhood, property type or price range for a preview and their price opinion. Sometimes many heads are better than one.

Ultimately, the only person who can definitively tell the seller what their home is worth is the buyer who writes an offer and closes the transaction. The goal is to pinpoint the list price that will get the best exposure and generate high interest to get a buyer or buyers to write that offer.

As of the end of February, the average Days on Market for single-family homes in Santa Barbara was 30, up from 23 in 2022. The average list-to-sale price was 97% down from 101% in February 2022. From the perspective of current buyers, 30 days on market is long, and they assume “something must be wrong” with the property.

In many cases, homes sitting on the market for longer periods are not priced correctly or not presented in a way that garners demand and value in buyers’ eyes.

Even with this average, there are properties that are still selling in one to two weeks and for significantly over the list price. These are the homes that are prepared thoughtfully and priced strategically.

With higher interest rates and some more sobering national real estate news, buyers are not as willing as they were a year ago to throw any amount of money at something with four walls and a roof. They are more prudent and thoughtful and must feel that the home is worth quick and decisive action.

Savvy sellers can capitalize on limited competition by presenting a polished and well-priced property that encourages the group of buyers out there to funnel to their offering as the one they “must have.”

A former local high school English teacher, Cara Gamberdella has been practicing real estate for 17 years, all with Village Properties. Santa Barbara has been home to Ms. Gamberdella and her family for more than 46 years. You can find more information about Ms. Gamberdella or contact her with any questions at www.caragamberdella.com.

On this episode we are visiting Dublin, Ireland and following that we will be showcasing some of the most famous Impressionist Painters with your host Michael Kourosh

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released a survey of small businesses which found that the labor market is their top concern, with 43% of small businesses saying they have job openings they cannot fill.

UCSB baseball dominates series opener against Titans

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS WRITER

The UCSB Baseball team (19-7, 6-1 Big West) rolled into Goodwin Field and showcased all the qualities that make them the favorites to win The Big West this season, scoring 14 runs on 16 hits, including three homers, and allowing just three hits to Cal State Fullerton (1410, 7-3 Big West), as the Gauchos took the series opener, 14-0, Thursday night. Nick Oakley provided two of the three UCSB long balls for his first multi-homer game of his career, and Matt Ager was dominant in his 7 2/3 innings on the mound, striking out nine and walking just one, as he and Elliot Gallegos combined to shut out the Titans.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Ager’s night got off to an unlucky start, as an error and a walk put the first two Titans on, but a strikeout and a pair of

L AgUNA BLANcA

BEATS BISHOP DIEgO

The Laguna Blanca Owls boys volleyball team took the win Thursday against Bishop Diego.

The scores of the sets were 25-16, 25-21, 18-25 and 25-20.

This improves their overall record to 14-3 and their league record 5-0.

Ganden Walker had a huge defensive game with 18 digs and three blocks, leading the team in both categories. Thomas Couvillion led the Owls on offense with 24 kills.

Tyson Deveze also had an

groundouts got him out of the inning. And from there, he was nearly untouchable. He set down the side in order in the second and did the same in the third, finishing it with back-to-back punchouts. He gave up a two-out triple in the fourth, and a two-out double in the fifth, but left both stranded. They would be the last two baserunners he allowed, as he set down the final nine Titans he faced in a row as he worked into the eighth inning, including snaring a line drive to end the sixth and striking out the side in the seventh.

Like their pitcher, the Gaucho hitters were on fire Thursday evening, scoring 10 of their 14 runs in the first three innings.

In the top of the second, an error by the Fullerton first baseman kept the inning alive for UCSB with two outs and two runners on, and Oakley immediately took advantage, hitting his second home run of the season to put the Gauchos up 3-0.

The offense erupted in the third, scoring seven runs, their most in an

impressive night with 18 digs. Middles Kincade and Drew Levinson both work hard transitioning and making themselves available to score from the middle position.

“It was a fun cross town battle tonight,” said assistant coach Kat Niksto.

The Owls will play Foothill Tech next on April 11.

DOS PUEBLOS DEfEATS SANTA BARBARA

The Chargers boys’ lacrosse team had a match against their rivals, winning against Santa Barbara 10-3 on April 6.

inning this season. It started with doubles by Ivan Brethowr and Christian Kirtley, putting runners at second and third for Jared Sundstrom, who crushed his team-leading eighth home run of the season on a line out to left to double the Gauchos’ lead. Jonah Sebring followed Sundstrom’s homer with a double, making it four straight extra-base hits to lead off the inning, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Corey Nunez drove Sebring home with the Gauchos’ fifth straight hit. A one-out LeTrey McCollum single and a walk loaded the bases, but Fullerton was able to get their second out at home on a ground ball. However, a wild pitch to Brethowr allowed McCollum to scamper home, then Brethowr knocked a single through the right side for his second hit of the inning, putting the Gauchos into double figures. Brethowr collected his second RBI of the night in the fifth inning on a groundout which brought Zander Darby

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Captain Gus Miller led the scoring with five assists and one goal. Jack Finneran and Dan Finneran both tied for leading scorers, with three goals each. Alongside his own goal, Cairo Rios went six for eight on face-offs.

This win improves the Chargers’ overall record to 6-2 and league record to 2-1.

Dos Pueblos will compete against Cate on April 11.

SANTA BARBARA BASEBALL

LOSES TO cA m ARILLO

The Dons had a tough loss against Camarillo on April 6 with

REMINDER

PROPERTY TAX DEADLINE

All property owners, especially those who purchased property after January 1, 2022, are reminded that the 2022-2023 secured property tax second installment is now due and payable. Any property owner not receiving a 2022-2023 property tax statement should contact the office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector:

Santa Barbara Santa Maria 105 E. Anapamu St., Room 109 511 E. Lakeside Parkway

Telephone: (805) 568-2920 Telephone: (805) 346-8330

FAILURE TO RECEIVE A PROPERTY TAX BILL

DOES NOT RELIEVE THE TAXPAYER OF THE RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE TIMELY PAYMENTS

Second installment payments must be paid or U.S. postmarked on or before April 10, 2023. Thereafter a 10% penalty, plus a $30.00 cost will be added to prepare the delinquent tax records and to give notice of the delinquency.

Payment mailed through the United States Postal Service must be mailed to:

HARRY E. HAGEN

TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR

COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA P.O. BOX 579 SANTA BARBARA, CA 93102-0579

Credit card and electronic check payments may be made by phone or online at www.sbtaxes.org . A convenience fee will apply to payments made by credit card. Electronic check payments are free. If paying by phone, please call (805) 724-3008 Local or (877) 399-8089 Toll-Free.

Payments may also be made in person at the County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Offices between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. , Monday through Friday, holidays excepted, at the addresses listed above. HARRY E. HAGEN, CPA

in from third to make it 11-0, then the Gauchos collected their final three runs in the eighth. Kirtley led off the inning with his second double of the game, and Sundstrom drove him home with a single before Oakley bookended the scoring with his second home run of the evening, bringing home Sundstrom for RBIs four and five for the Santa Barbara High School grad.

Elliot Gallegos replaced Ager on the mound with two outs in the eighth inning and, after giving up a single to the first batter he faced, retired the next four Titans in order to wrap up the game.

ON THE STAT SHEET

• Ager continues to be a workhorse on the mound, with his innings total up to 51 after Thursday’s start. He also returns to the top of The Big West’s strikeout list with 59 (22 looking, also a conferencebest) on the season. His final line from Thursday was 7 2/3 innings pitched, zero

a final score of 2-3. Despite outhitting Camarillo four to five, the Dons could not finalize on their score.

Liam Keithley started as pitcher and recorded 18 outs for the Dons. Jetner Welch went two for three at the plate to lead in hits.

Santa Barbara will play Tuesday at Buena.

ROyALS BEATS DONS IN BOyS TENNIS

The San Marcos boys tennis team beat Santa Barbara 15-3 Thursday.

The Royals had impressive singles matches, with Jed Greenwald and Carter Cotich showing off their consistency each winning 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.

San Marcos’ one and two teams for doubles won all of their matches. Shea Suzuki and Kyle Shaffer were the talk of the match, decisively defeating Santa Barbara’s one team 6-0.

The Royals play against Lompoc Wednesday.

BISHOP DIEgO LOSES

TO gRAcE BRETHREN

The Cardinals baseball team played Grace Brethren Thursday and lost 6-1.

First baseman Johansen scored the Cardinals only run in the last inning and had two hits total in the game. Ferries pitched the entire game, with four strikeouts recorded in the game. The Cardinals’ records are now 2-9 overall and 0-4 in league.

cARPINTERIA BOyS’ TENNIS TEA m LOSES TO NORDHOff

In their game against last year’s CIF winners Nordhoff, the Warriors put up a great fight but ended up losing 12-6.

Carpinteria is now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the Citrus Coast League.

runs on two hits, one walk, and nine strikeouts.

• Oakley is the fifth Gaucho to hit multiple home runs in a game this season, joining Brethowr, Aaron Parker, Sundstrom (who has two such games), and John Newman, Jr. (who did it in UCSB’s last game).

• Speaking of multi-homer games, UCSB has hit two or more home runs in each of their last six games, tallying 19 long balls in that stretch.

• McCollum and Brethowr each extended their hitting streaks on Thursday, to 13 and 11 games respectively. McCollum is batting .442/.547/.488 over the course of his streak, while Brethowr is batting .356/.408/.756 with five home runs in his 11-game stretch.

Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

“We played fine today, but I know there is more upside to this team. I just have to find out how to get it out of them,” said head coach Charles Bryant.

Max Stone had an impressive match today, as he swept his three sets and did not drop a game. Ryan Souza added one point to the score in his singles match. Lucas Martin and Connor Gralewski also improved the Warriors’ score, going 2-1.

The Warriors will play back-to-back against Channel Islands on Tuesday and Wednesday.

BISHOP DIEgO fALLS TO T HAcHER IN BOyS TENNIS TEA m

The Cardinals boys’ tennis team lost a decisive game 17-1 against Thacher on Thursday.

“We may have had our serves broken a few times today but not our spirit. We fight on, steadily improve and wait our turn to be rewarded with a win,” said head coach Pete Kirk.

The only point came from Aaron Bush, who had a 6-3 win in round three. “Aaron is playing way more aggressively now. No more just rallying it around. It paid dividends in that third round match,” explained Kirk.

The Bishop Diego boy’s tennis team will play Santa Ynez on April 14.

cARPINTERIA cOmPETES

Ag AINST NEWBURy PAR k IN SWImmIN g

The Warriors took on Newbury Park on Thursday in a co-ed swim match. The Warriors split with the Panthers, the boys winning and the girls losing.

The girls lost 53-111, yet still showed an impressive

performance. Senior Erin Otsuki placed first in both the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

Junior Lilli Nemetz was another winner for the Warriors, capturing the 200m and 500m freestyle events.

The boys beat Newbury Park 100-70.

Junior Jackson Melton was the star of the show, barely beating his school record for the second consecutive day and the fourth time this year in the 200m individual medley. Other winners on the boys side included Matthew Endow for the 100m fly and 100 backstroke, Jacob Otsuki for the 100m freestyle, Chase Glasgow for the 100 backstroke, Jacob Taff for the 100 breaststroke, and Eli Sheaffer for the 500m freestyle.

The Warriors will compete against Hueneme on Wednesday.

DOS PUEBLOS DEfEATS NORDHOff IN BOyS gOL f

The Chargers took on Nordhoff at the Glen Annie course for their first match in a home and away series. The team shot a season low of 360, breaking its previous school record of 364 earlier this year. They were five over par as a team.

“It has been very exciting watching everyone play well on the same day. The boys decided before the match to try to stay focused all round for every shot, and it really paid off,” said head coach Kevin Ahlers.

Teddy Vigna and Denver Douglas both shot a 71, earning them a co-medalist title. Laith Reynolds and Scott Nightingale were right behind them, both with a 72. Colt Roberts fell short behind with a 74.

Dos Pueblos will play Rio Mesa on Tuesday in a league match.

— Compiled by Annika Bahnsen

KC Springer scores her 100th career point

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

In a recent win against Nordhoff High School, senior KC Springer scored her 100th career lacrosse point as a San Marcos Royal.

The point came on the match’s second goal, and put the Royals up 2-0, which eventually led to their dominant 17-1 win.

The senior made a quick and

tricky move against the defense to finish with a lefthanded unassisted goal for her 100th point. Springer went on to score two more goals in the game.

Springer, a combo attacker and midfielder for the Royals, entered the game with 99 points but now has 102 career points on 74 goals and 28 assists, a true milestone for the athlete.

“It’s really nice for KC to

reach that milestone,” said head coach Paul Ramsey. “She didn’t play freshman year after breaking her leg in a pre-season tournament so her numbers come from only two and a half seasons of action.” San Marcos lacrosse improves to 6-4 overall and 2-1 in league play. They will play against Santa Barbara in a rescheduled match on Monday.

email: abahnsen@newspress.com

Life theArts

CALENDAR

COURTESY PHOTO John Oates of Hall & Oates fame will perform April 13 at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.

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 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Storytelling: Native People Through the Lens of Edward S. Curtis” is on display through April 30 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, visit sbnature.org.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL

WOMEN: Surrealist Art by American Women” is on display through April 24 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, www. sullivangoss.com. By appointment on weekdays: “Holly Hungett: Natural Interpretations” is on view through May 20 at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara’s gallery, 229 E. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and weekdays by appointment. For more information, call the foundation at 805-965-6307 or go to www.afsb.org.

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.

‘Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story’

Art exhibit begins today at Wildling Museum in Solvang

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

‘Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story,” an art exhibit, is on view from today through Oct. 16 in the Valley Oak Gallery at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, 1511-B Mission Drive in

Solvang. A reception with the artists will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. April 16 at the museum. Through the eyes of 11 Central Coast artists, the exhibition explores both the beauty of the reserve and the important work taking place on its grounds.

Featured artists in the exhibition include Whitney

Abbott, Chris Chapman, Dennis Curry, Camille Dellar, Bill Dewey, Bruce Everett, Russ Hunziker, John Iwerks, Manny Lopez, Mark Oliver and Nina Warner.

Unknown to many visitors and even some local residents, Sedgwick Nature Reserve is a hidden gem nestled in the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains in the Santa Ynez Valley. One of

seven reserves managed by the UCSB Natural Reserve System, Sedgwick is among the largest and most diverse reserves of its kind in the country.

It is composed of just under 6,000 acres, or about nine square miles, and hosts several different kinds of habitats: oak savannah, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, gray pine forest, vernal pools and two

watersheds. Managed by UCSB, Sedgwick has become a worldclass research, conservation and education facility.

“We love to highlight local conservation areas, and Sedgwick Reserve is a major one,” said Stacey Otte-Demangate, executive director of the museum. “As part

7:30 p.m. Stacie Burrows will perform her one-woman dark comedy “Bulletproof Unicorn,” which she wrote, at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in downtown Santa Barbara. Ms. Burrows, a Los Angeles comedian, tells how she went to Texas to fix everything that was wrong with her dysfunctional family. It was a challenge. Tickets cost $30 for general admission and $50 for a patron ticket, which includes one drink. To purchase, go to centerstagetheater.org.

7:30 p.m. The Derek Douget Band will perform at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. Mr. Douget is a saxophonist who plays in the Ellis Marsalis Quartet, and he’s the director of the Heritage School of Music. Mr. Douget, who grew up in Louisiana, has played with everyone from the Louis Armstrong Quintet to Dr. John. Tickets cost $25 and $35 for general admission and $106 for VIP seats, which include a pre-concert reception at 6:30 p.m. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

8 p.m. The Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “The Children” April 6-April 23 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Michael Butler, Linda Purl and Nancy Travis star in the play set at a remote cottage on the British coast after a tsunami wreaks havoc on a nuclear reactor. A married couple’s lives are further disrupted by the mysterious appearance of a longlost colleague. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

APRIL 9 2 and 7 p.m. The Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “The Children” through April 23 at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Michael Butler, Linda Purl and Nancy Travis star in the play set at a remote cottage on the British coast after a tsunami wreaks havoc on a nuclear reactor. A married couple’s lives are further disrupted by the mysterious appearance of a longlost colleague. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400.

APRIL 12 8 p.m. Elton Dan & The Rocket Band will perform at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. The band plays tribute to Elton John. Tickets cost $34 and $52 for general admission and $92 for VIP seats. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

APRIL 13 7:30 p.m. John Oates, one-half of the duo of Hall & Oates, will perform at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. The concert will also feature singer-songwriter and guitarist Steve Postell. Tickets cost $45 and $55 for general admission and $106 for VIP seats, which include pre-concert reception.

— Dave Mason

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

SATURDAY, APRIL 8, 2023

At left, Bill Dewey’s “Sedgwick Reserve” (2016), digital photo. At right, Nina Warner’s “Early Moonrise,” oil on panel.

IMAGES COURTESY WILDLING MUSEUM

Dennis Curry’s “Sedgwick Reserve” (2013), oil on canvas.

Bill Everett’s “Figueroa Creek” (2012), oil on canvas.

SEDGWICK

Continued from Page B1

of the UC system, it’s unique for the amount of serious academic research it supports, particularly with native oaks.” Exhibition sponsors are the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, Pete and Becky Adams, George and Denise Rose, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Margaret Weiss and donors to the Patti Jacquemain Exhibition Fund.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

FYI

“Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story,” an art exhibit, is on view from today through Oct. 16 in the Valley Oak Gallery at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, 1511-B Mission Drive in Solvang. Visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and weekends 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. For more information, call 805-686-8315, email info@wildlingmuseum.org or visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/ news/sedgwick-reserve.

Teddy Bear Picnic scheduled for May 21 at Montecito Club

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation’s third annual Teddy Bear Picnic is set for May 21 at the upper lawn of the Montecito Club, 920 Summit Road in Montecito. It is one of TBCF’s two signature fundraising events and celebrates the nonprofit’s focus on community, family and support.

The event offers a variety of activities including a competitive Cornhole Tournament with prizes, lawn games, a sledding hill, sack races, henna tattoos, face painting and a photo booth inside a vintage VW Bus provided by Traveling Photo Bus. Other activities include floral crown making, wine pulls, jewelry pulls, drawings and live music by Josh Jenkins.

Guests can purchase tickets at teddybearcancerfoundation.org/ picnic. Tickets are $125 each for table seats or $75 to be seated on a blanket on the lawn and $50 for children under 12.

Attendees will be treated to a buffet-style picnic lunch from the Montecito Club, ice cream from Dave’s Drip House and wine poured by Brittany Rice, winemaker at Sunstone Winery and owner of Millesime Cellars. All activities (excluding the Cornhole Tournament) are included with each ticket purchase.

Sofie Langhorne and Deborah Stanley, both of whom sit on the TBCF’s board of directors and are event sponsors, will co-chair the Teddy Bear Picnic.

“I love that this is a family-

How to make self-care a priority in your life

friendly event that I can share with my grandchildren,” said Ms. Stanley, whose granddaughter is a pediatric cancer survivor. “They look forward to this event every year, and I’m so pleased to be able to support such a wonderful organization.”

TBCF’s mission is to advocate for families living in the Tricounties who have a child with cancer by providing financial, emotional and educational support. In 2022, TBCF significantly expanded its programming to include additional funding for gas and hotel stays during out-oftown treatment, additional direct financial aid and more counseling programs, including individual and couples counseling and the re-opening of their Bear Necessities program, which provides support during extraordinary circumstances.

Since its founding in 2002, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation has provided more than $2,500,000 in direct financial aid to families. It also offers emotional support groups and one-on-one counseling in both English and Spanish for parents, children and teens. Its educational advocacy program provides tutoring and neuropsychological assessments to assist children who are reentering the school system. To learn more about TBCF, visit teddybearcancerfoundation.org. For more information about the Teddy Bear Picnic, contact Kirsten Stuart at 805-308-9943 or kirsten@ teddybearcancerfoundation.org.

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

Ihave a little exercise for you to try. Come up with a to-do list of everything that you want to accomplish over the next few days.

Stop reading at the end of this paragraph, so you can make your list. Once you’ve completed the exercise, continue reading from here.

Now, go over your list and be honest with yourself: Did self-care show up at all among the things you want to accomplish?

Frankly, I just did this exercise, and self-care showed up next to last on my list. My bad.

Most people put life issues, work and family ahead of themselves. But when you start ignoring physical or psychological symptoms, along with missing health appointments and not exercising, and are eating like Guy Fieri, you could be setting yourself up for a difficult future, because eventually that behavior will catch up with you.

Here is an excellent list of selfcare actions from the National Institute of Mental Health:

• Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can help boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do 30 minutes at one time.

• Eat healthy, regular meals and stay hydrated. A balanced diet and plenty of water can improve your energy and focus throughout the day. It’s also good to limit caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks or coffee.

• Make sleep a priority. Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.

• Try a relaxing activity. Explore relaxation or wellness programs or apps, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation or breathing exercises. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy activities you enjoy such as journaling.

• Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say no to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much. Try to be mindful of what you

have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.

• Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of things you are grateful for. Be specific. Write them down at night or replay them in your mind.

• Focus on positivity. Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts.

• Stay connected. Reach out to friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help. Sometimes it’s hard to know when to reach out for help, but if you have been experiencing any of these symptoms for two weeks or longer, it’s time:

• Difficulty sleeping.

• Appetite changes that result in unwanted weight changes.

• Struggling to get out of bed in the morning because of mood.

• Difficulty concentrating.

• Loss of interest in things you usually find enjoyable.

• Inability to perform usual daily functions and responsibilities.

Also, here is a link that will help you decide when to seek professional help: www.nimh.nih.gov/health/ publications/tips-for-talking-withyour-health-care-provider.

Or you can always call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or chat at 988lifeline.org.

If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you know that if the oxygen masks are released, you need to put on your own mask before you can help anyone around you. Well, the same rule applies to life: Take care of yourself first. Then you can take care of others and other things. Pardon me, while I go and rewrite my list. For more information, see www. nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caringfor-your-mental-health.

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychotherapist and humanitarian. He is also a columnist, the author of eight books and a blogger for PsychologyToday. com with more than 28 million readers. He is available for video consults worldwide. Reach him at barton@bartongoldsmith.com. His column appears Saturdays and Mondays in the News-Press.

VADA to host evening of art, food, wine and music

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara High School’s Visual Arts and Design Academy will host its annual fundraiser, VADA Draw, on April 22. The evening of art, food, wine, music and socializing will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Maune Contemporary Art Gallery, 1309 State St., Santa Barbara.

The highlight of the event is the raffle, which guarantees that guests leave the event with a piece of art in hand. Artwork for the raffle has been donated by Santa Barbara artists and VADA supporters throughout the country. It is displayed during the event, where people can meet local artists.

“I am thrilled to say that while everyone leaves the ‘VADA Draw’ as a winner with a piece of art, it’s truly our students who benefit the most from this extraordinary event,” said Daniel Barnett, the VADA director. “Your attendance and support play a vital role in sustaining and nurturing our one-of-a-kind public school arts education program.

“Together, we not only foster the growth of individual artists but also create a vibrant community for artists of all backgrounds.

Join us at the VADA Draw, and help us continue to make a lasting

impact on the lives of our talented students.”

Tickets range from $50 to $150 and can be purchased at www. vadasbhs.org/the-vada-draw.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

IMAGE COURTESY WILDLING MUSEUM

SUDOKU

Thought for Today

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Saturday, April 8, 2023

ARIES — Make sure you keep up your end of the bargain today, Aries. People are counting on you whether you realize it or not. You may get the idea that you can sneak out of responsibility if you lay low and not say a word. The fact of the matter is that people are watching you and they will know when you haven’t upheld your promises to the group.

TAURUS — You may feel tension in your world today without really knowing why, Taurus. This feeling of conflict may have your stomach in knots, making it difficult to deal with anything or anyone in a rational manner. Try not to take everything personally when people disapprove of your actions.

GEMINI — Don’t downplay your abilities now, Gemini. You’re on the brink of greatness, so act like it. Things should go quite well if you let them. Don’t clog up the works by thinking that you’re unworthy of the good luck that is sure to come your way. If things don’t work out exactly the way you want them to, take it as a sign that the situation wasn’t right for you anyway.

CANCER — Take a leap of faith today, Cancer. Consider taking two or three. Trust that things will follow through perfectly. You will be drawn to those who put a smile on your face. These are the people you need to stick close to now. A positive attitude will lead you in a positive direction.

LEO — When others can’t seem to decide which way to proceed, it will become crucial that you stand up and be the deciding force, Leo. Be as aggressive as you need to be today in order to set things in motion. The elements are already in place. What’s needed now is a bit of follow-through. You’re in the perfect position to provide this missing piece of the puzzle.

VIRGO — Your head may be going in a thousand different directions today, Virgo. You may not have much time to stop and think about your next move. Things will come up suddenly and you will need to be able to react quickly. The faster you move, the less time you will have to react.

LIBRA — You’re apt to feel emotionally brave today,

Libra, so take advantage of this feeling by extending it to the people around you. Try not to get anxious or jump ahead of yourself. Enjoy where you are at this very moment. Don’t get stressed about things you feel you need to do. Be happy with yourself regardless of what you end up accomplishing.

SCORPIO — Your biggest dream is in front of you, Scorpio, yet there’s a large object standing in your path. When you peer around one way, the goal is only partly visible. When you peer around the other way, the other side of the dream becomes clear, but you still don’t have the complete picture.

SAGITTARIUS — Luck and prosperity lie within your grasp now, Sagittarius. The only problem is that you might not notice because you’re so caught up in some emotional drama that occupies your entire being. Don’t concern yourself with issues that don’t directly pertain to you. Your time and energy are too precious. Keep your mind focused on your biggest goals.

CAPRICORN — You may fall into a bottomless pit today, Capricorn. Be careful about offering so much of yourself that you drain your internal resources. You might think other people will be equally generous about offering themselves to you. Don’t assume this. You’re better off assuming that you will get nothing in return.

AQUARIUS — Don’t just talk about grand trips around the world - start planning them, Aquarius. If you don’t start saving your resources and reserving blocks of time for your dreams, they may never come true. Today is a good time to set things in motion. Your attitude is likely to be more flexible, and you will find that this way of thinking will bring you to the people and places that can help you the most.

PISCES — Think of yourself as a great pioneer crossing the frontier for the first time, Pisces. Acknowledge yourself as the important person that you are. Believe in yourself and your rights and opinions. Indecision could hinder your actions. Don’t let it. Take an active stance at all times. Be brave in the face of hardships that you might confront today.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, April 8, 2023

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

It may be well to put all your eggs in one basket, then keep an eye on the basket. But if yours tends to leak, you may need an extra basket.

Today’s North-South bid easily to 3NT. South’s jump to 2NT promised a balanced 18 to 20 points, and North had an easy raise. West led the deuce of spades. When East played low to prevent dummy’s king from becoming an entry, South’s queen won.

DOWN ONE

South next led the jack and a second diamond to dummy’s king.

When no ace appeared, he gave up on the diamonds and led a club to finesse with his jack, losing. He won only two tricks in each suit: down one.

South’s play wasn’t eggsactly best. He should lead a diamond to dummy’s ten at Trick Two, then try a club to his eight. If West won with the nine or ten and, say, shifted to a heart, South could win and lead a diamond to dummy. He would be safe if a defender held A-x or if a club finesse with the queen won. DAILY QUESTION

You hold:

Your partner opens one heart, you raise to two

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

hearts and he bids two spades. What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner’s two spades will usually be a try for game. He asks you to judge a close case by looking at your holding in his second suit. You have a sound raise, but with weak trumps and possibly wasted diamond honors, I would not jump to four hearts. Bid three diamonds and let partner decide.

“One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.”— William Feather

Creator of mosaic tile plaque is also known for his World War II-related paintings

R.T. sends me a midcentury painted mosaic tile plaque, which is a curious image of a yellow fern with green and red foliage signed by E.C. or C.C. Bealle.

The work has been painted in sections and placed together to tell a story in a work of mosaic art.

If the artist is C.C. Bealle, I can tell the owner that this is quite a find, because Mr. Bealle (1892-1970) was an American portraitist and illustrator known for his bright and passionate paintings of World War IIrelated images.

In fact, he was the artist responsible for the success of the World War II (Loan) War Drives, appealing to all Americans with his visual images and his evocative language to “give to the War Fund!!” and help the U.S. win the war.

R.T. would recognize his greatest work: the portrayal of the Iwo Jima Flag raisers on a poster that raised millions of dollars from average Americans who, for the most part, purchased bonds, which, at the top value, were only $200. The combined eight War Drives that involved posters painted by C.C. Bealle made $156 billion.

The other famous image he painted represented his work as a war correspondent. He witnessed the Japanese surrender in 1945 aboard the USS Missouri and painted MacArthur accepting that surrender.

Before Mr. Bealle became a realist painter of actual events, however, he had another side to his personality: abstraction and surrealism, of which we see hints in the little tile plaque owned by R.T. As a young artist trained at the famous Art Students League in NYC, he was part of a group show at the young MOMA in winter 1936-37: “Fine Art Dada and Surrealism.”

But R.T.’s piece is interesting because I see no other mosaic work sold or offered for this artist. (I have sales and auction records through such subscription services as ArtNet and ArtPrice and AskArt, to name a few.)

That doesn’t mean he didn’t

dabble in mosaics. The tradition of artists painting on ceramic tiles goes back well over 2,000 years, and while I am on that subject, there is Art World news about the discovery of ancient mosaic works of art.

I read in ArtNet news that the famously persistent Art Crimes unit of the Italian Government, the Carabinieri, has been on quite a wild ride in Los Angeles these past few months, where they have been working with the FBI to apprehend 16 huge slabs of an ancient Roman Mosaic floor, cut into weighty segments of 200 pounds each and stored since the 1980s in an L.A. storage locker.

Today the slabs are being shipped to the newly opened Museum of Rescued Art in Rome, having been packed and crated under the watchful eyes of the Italian Consulate in Los Angeles. The Carabinieri has a notoriously long memory. They have known of the theft of this whole slab of Roman mosaic floor since 1909, but could find no proof,

although the owner is from an ancient Roman family that has been persistent in the search for the floor as well. The only other document of an alleged theft was a curious ad in 1959 in the L.A. newspaper for a Roman floor offered for sale.

In England this past week, we heard about mosaic history in the making. The supermarket chain ALDI is building a market in Milton Keynes, but work has been temporarily shut down because of the discovery of an entire intact Roman mosaic floor buried for over 2,000 years, the remnants of a Roman Villa and Bathhouse. It’s wonderfully well preserved.

The Oxford University Archaeological Team has offered to publish its findings about the floor, which it is now investigating. It’s assumed to be the work of an entire school of mosaic artists who were active in the East Midlands of England over 2,000 years ago called the Druidians.

Ironically, ALDI will not choose

a new piece of land upon which to build a supermarket, but will build the market over the site, claiming that it will preserve the mosaic floor, but we will see.

Back to R.T.’s piece. The era, of course, is the 1950s, not 1st or 2nd century C.E. The value is $250.

Mr. Bealle’s illustration work sells for much more. He painted the covers of Colliers, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, Saturday Evening Post, and many Reader’s Digests covers as well as paperback book covers. The originals of these covers sell for over $1,500.

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.

COURTESY PHOTO

This mosaic work by C.C. Bealle is valued at $250.

Voices

SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS

ere’s more to this than indicting Trump

Tomorrow Christians celebrate the Super Bowl of observances: the persecution of one man who became too popular and said things those in power at the time didn’t like.

The scenario runs parallel to what has been taking place with Donald Trump for nearly a decade.

Jesus stood firm against those in power. He pushed forward his beliefs, and he was doing it for the masses, the people. He did so without concern for his own welfare. He held large rallies and spoke to thousands who were willing to hear his story. He was warned many times he could be in danger and was canceled for speaking his mind.

Eventually, those in power had had enough and “Trumped” up charges against him. They launched a very effective campaign to discredit Jesus and managed to turn people against him. When he was “indicted” and brought to “trial,” it was decided the best thing to do was kill him.

This greatest story of persecution occurred over 2,000 years ago. It still makes headlines today.

And before all you woke liberals jump to conclusions and upchuck your cookies that I’m comparing Donald Trump to Jesus Christ, I’m not comparing the men, but how people in power successfully get rid of those who disagree with them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is a great modernday example, and there are hundreds of other events in the history of our world. Most, if not all, have been in the name of God. And nearly all in countries under dictatorships.

The exact road we’re traveling down. Make no mistake, this is also a war against Christianity.

Like Mr. Trump, the prophet Jesus was feared and what he stood for. The inroads he was making with the people. The vast number of followers. They couldn’t let it continue. It was undermining their power, their credibility.

The Left/Democrats, whatever label fits, are deathly afraid of Donald Trump. They see the same things the high priests of old saw — someone who could take their power away just when they are about to gain full control.

They cheated very effectively in 2016 but underestimated Mr. Trump and his support. They knew better by 2020 and cheated even more, lied and colluded with top law enforcement agencies in the country. Blue states did their jobs changing

voting rules, ditching ballots, didn’t have to prove who you were when you voted, used big tech to bury damaging stories and shut up those who opposed them and on and on. Anything and everything they could concoct to blind the voters.

It worked, and they were extremely pleased with themselves. They were free to destroy America, and no one could stop them. But what keeps shocking them is Mr. Trump’s ability to still maintain huge support, and like what happened with Jesus, they are pulling out all the stops to finish him.

I’ve said it many times before.

Sure, Mr. Trump is the front man, but it’s not about Mr. Trump. The Left can’t seem to understand that, or maybe they do. It’s about what he stands for. He’s the voice that speaks for millions upon millions

of Americans who reject the direction the liberals, Lefties, communist America haters are taking the country. It’s a revolution. They have to shut him down, cancel and politically crucify him. The one person who continues to stand in their way of a complete takeover has to be eliminated.

The long-term goal of the Left to become the high priests of the United States is in hyper drive. The dark forces who have planted their people in the American fabric are eating away at our foundation like a PAC Man chewing away as fast as they possibly can just in case they do lose power. And losing control is already beginning to take place.

Parents are pushing back against the insane direction teaching has gone. The catchand-release (if they even bother

to catch) of criminals is scaring everyone, including the Left, who supported defunding the police but are now carrying guns. The evidence of failure is swirling all around us like a dust storm attempting to hide the truth. Only they can no longer conceal what a disaster America has become.

The stories and realities of how vulnerable we’ve become against other nations should be the headlines every day. Not Story Hour for Drag Queens in the military. Go ahead be what you want to be, no one cares. But is this where our military is going?

I have a good friend whose son joined the Marines four years ago. His four years are up ,and he’s going to quit but would like to stay. The reason he’s leaving are many, but he says one of the main reasons is that those in charge have no idea what they’re

doing.

He and his fellow soldiers are provided faulty and old beat-up weapons and told to take care of them and bring them back better than they got them. Meanwhile, warehouses are filled with furniture still wrapped in plastic. He had to pay for his own food and uniform.

When he traveled to places like Australia and Japan and saw how well their military were taken care of, he became disheartened. Overseas he stayed in barracks full of cockroaches and mattresses so filthy he couldn’t bring himself to sleep on them.

If even half true, and I have no reason to doubt it, while we focus on the insane stupid woke stuff, we give up our own security and hand over our military inventory to another country, and wan’t fill our recruiting quota. And other nations are becoming stronger and stronger.

Is this a plan by the Wokers?

Is it intentional to make us ripe for a takeover? Our youth can’t function without a cell phone and a safe space. Who’s going to step in to defend this country when the good soldiers age out?

We’ve depleted our weaponry jeopardizing all of us, regardless what political beliefs you have or what gender you want to be we are in trouble. Does our president know that? Did President Joe Biden know a Chinese balloon was studying our defense system? China didn’t care if it was shot down. By that time, its spying surveillance was complete. How insane is that?

Is President Biden aware when Mr. Trump was president, we were feared and now we’re being mocked? There certainly is more going behind the scenes than trying to just get rid of Mr. Trump.

Pressure was building against the Biden Dynasty as the truth of Chinese collusion was being verified. It was perfect timing to unleash the Kraken on Trump and remove the magnifying glass from Bidens’ corruption.

I was happy to let Mr. Trump ride off into the sunset on his golf cart, but the Left’s sickness and persecution has pulled me back, along with millions more. I long for the days of low inflation, lower gas prices, being respected by other countries and a closed border. Let’s get that person who cared about the American people back in the White House. If you’re a liberal, you’re welcome.

Jesus died on the cross, and that story will last until the day eErth ceases to exist. Mr. Trump’s indictment too will last forever. And instead of a shroud of Turin, it will be Mr. Trump’s court appearance on T-shirts. Thanks, Joe, for uniting the country.

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

Joe Manchin is Democrats’ best choice for president

Almost two years ago (June 2021), I suggested that though I hated writing it, there was one way the Democratic Party could save itself from internment, and that would be by nominating Joe Manchin as its 2024 presidential candidate.

That could still happen.

I proffered that, “The radical Left has a chokehold on the Democratic Party, and its elected officials don’t have the courage to stand up to the bullying, except for one man: West Virginia’s U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin.”

Trade de cit hurts America

The U.S. trade deficit is close to $1 trillion, and this should be a concern, especially for conservatives.

Our trade deficit with China is $382 billion, and in 2022, the United States imported $538 billion from China. For decades, the U.S. has run large trade deficits as a result of poorly negotiated free trade agreements. Conservatives should be alarmed over the growing trade deficit as it is a sign of our overdependence on foreign nations, but it is also detrimental to our economic and national security.

Since the end of World War II, the United States embraced a policy of free trade, which accelerated with globalization. The idea of establishing free trade agreements was favored by both Republicans and Democrats. Nevertheless, it was Republicans and conservatives in the postwar era that abandoned their preference for protectionism to embrace the ideology of free trade. The Republican Party, with its heritage from the Federalists and Whigs, had been the political party that favored tariffs and a policy of protectionism. Both Presidents William McKinley and Calvin Coolidge campaigned with the slogan the “Full Dinner Pail,” which referred to Republican adherence to protective tariffs. This was a conservative philosophy that promoted economic nationalism and the good of the nation, while the alternative, free trade was advocated by progressives such as Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The conservative movement became heavily influenced by the libertarian view of trade. In fact, the free market became similar to a “golden calf” as many worshiped at the altar of global free trade.

The argument was made that free trade not only benefits the consumer, but in the long run it would help workers and make the nation more prosperous. Free trade advocates even argued that granting China most favored nation status would both help the United States economically and democratize China.

in the end, is a good Democrat and nearly always comes through in signing legislation Democrat leaders feel is of vital interest to the party.

PURELY POLITICAL

James Buckley

Today, there is much talk of Mr. Manchin running as a third-party candidate, but I don’t believe that will or would happen. Donald Trump is more likely to head up a third party (but he won’t) than does Sen. Manchin. And Sen. Manchin,

However …

It’s not too late for Joe Manchin to challenge the other Joe — the one in the White House. After all, when Sen. Manchin caved and voted for the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act 2022,” President Biden made promises he failed to keep.

A Wall Street Journal editorial (April 5, 2023) under the heading “Joe Manchin Gets Another Blow,” opined that the West Virginia senator had been snookered yet again by the president. This time by a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals judgment that struck down a permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas pipeline meant to transport gas from places

such as West Virginia to the midAtlantic region that had been blocked.

Because Democrats refused to exclude the pipeline from judicial review, it fell to … judicial review. It certainly made Sen. Manchin look stupid and weak. And it really hurt his chances of re-election in the very red state of West Virginia. It also apparently made him angry. Angry enough, one could surmise, to challenge President Biden in the 2024 primaries.

I believe that’s a course he’ll consider very strongly. Not saying he will, but one can easily imagine the way such a turn could develop.

If it does develop, Sen. Manchin will have a tough time overcoming the hard left’s and the proabortion lobby’s antipathy towards him. After all, he even voted with Republicans against the Democrats’ attempt to enshrine abortion as a federally protected “right.”

The following is also from my

column from 2021: “Joe Manchin should announce his candidacy for president as a Democrat in early winter 2023. He would, of course, be pilloried by the far Left. Alec Baldwin has already called Manchin ‘a traitorous Democrat’ for his vote with Republicans against the cynically mis-named ‘Women’s Health Protection Act.’

No doubt other far-Left types in Hollywood — and the Ilhan Omars and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezes in Congress — would rail against him, but Manchin could possibly garner enough votes from the greater middle and saner contingent of the Democratic Party to overcome the Left’s noisy and likely nasty opposition.”

I did suggest it would be a long shot, but a Joe Manchin at the top of a Democratic ticket could possibly overtake the 2024 Republican Party nominee, whether it be Mr. Trump, Ron

It was former President Donald Trump, who along with other conservatives such as Patrick J. Buchanan, started to urge Republicans and conservatives to embrace economic nationalism. President Trump made trade policy a priority within his administration, and he correctly noted that the United States was not just losing on trade to China, but with other nations as well.

The promised benefits of free trade fell short, especially for the middle class. As a result of trade agreements, the trade deficit not only increased drastically, but the manufacturing sector of the economy was hollowed out along with good paying jobs.

It is estimated that 3.7 million jobs have been lost to China alone. This led to the decline of the middle-class and many communities, especially in

Please see HENDRICKSON on C4

DID YOU KNOW?

Bonnie Donovan

John Hendrickson The author is with the Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation

Henry Schulte

The author lives in Solvang

Sen. Joe Manchin

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

“The Left/Democrats, whatever label fi ts, are deathly afraid of Donald Trump,” columnist Henry Schulte writes.

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

GUEST OPINION

Don’t punish everyone because of one developer

W hat happened in Isla Vista recently happened several years ago, so it is not that common, and it is not good business.

As you know, out-of-town developers target buildings ripe for investing large corporate money. They build and leave!

Lost in time or saved for eternity?

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead, after having paid for the sins of the world by way of his death and atonement.

The gift of Easter represents that if you believe in Jesus’s substitutionary death for your sins, you have been given eternal life.

What does this mean in this age, when America is no longer a Christian nation, and most young people no longer believe in God? Who needs a savior from sin, death and hell when one doesn’t believe in any of them?

Regarding the lack of faith among so many young people, the resulting hole in their soul is evident for everyone to see. Anything goes, and, as a result, the levels of fecklessness, depression and suicide are off the chart.

They don’t know who they are because they have never met their loving creator.

They are drowning in a sea of moral, social, sexual and historic relativism, leaving them with nothing to believe in during this life — and ultimately nothing to live for.

This has happened before, unfortunately. In a previous age, a brutally prophetic commentary was written by British Pastor J. Stuart Holden during World War I. He wrote, “God’s rule could scarcely be considered moral if it did not involve the destruction of that which has been robbing the nation of its soul. Something of a great and overwhelming calamity simply had to come to arrest and bring to an end the flippant folly which was beginning to characterize every class of society. To many of our young men, this war has come as a positive redemption from vain, empty, and worthless living. Their lives have been redeemed from destruction even though they go to death.”

Pastor Holden’s words only make sense if there is life after death.

Do you believe that all “good people” will go to heaven apart from believing in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross?

Escape from New York: Timing

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series by News-Press columnist Brent E. Zepke.

I’m writing because you must understand that one or two developers does not mean everyone that owns and/or lives in Isla Vista has to be punished. Making up new rules and regulations often have very bad results for the people you want to help.

If all good people go to heaven apart from Christ, the Bible then asks, then why did Jesus have to die?

The Bible references life on Earth, apart from faith in Jesus, as living in the shadow of death. However, when people place their faith in Him, they discover life and experience life abundant. That has been described as follows. For people who believe in God, Earth is as close to hell as they will ever get.

For people who don’t believe in God, Earth is as close to heaven as they will ever get.

Jesus said that the world hated him and subsequently crucified him because he testified that its deeds were evil as they denied they needed a savior. To this day, the world that God so loves still doesn’t want to be convinced they need to be saved from themselves and this world we live in.

The church, which is supposed to be a witness of and to the truth, is only too happy to oblige the unbelief of the world, as heaven and hell are scarcely talked about these days. Albeit, how can you have one without the other? Too many churches preach forgiveness and the hope of eternity but without repentance, thereby distorting the holiness of God by way of a heretical doctrine of tolerance.

An allegory of the main theme herein was depicted in the movie classic, “Blade Runner,” in which a group of bioengineered humanoids, known as replicants, returns to Earth to meet their maker to demand an extension of life.

In the final scene the leader of the replicants, as he faces death, bemoans that “the life he knows will be lost in time like tears in the rain.” The absolute truth here is that life apart from any aspect of eternity becomes meaningless in the end.

For example: rent controls hurt the very people it is supposed to help. (Contact Peter Ruppert, a professor of economics at UCSB, to learn more about that).

Property ownership is a basic principle of our country. and housing providers are basic, too.

We realize that housing — or the lack thereof — is problematic: There’s not enough supply. If there were, then tenants could move around more easily.

Penalizing the housing provider community for one out-of-town corporate developer is not an answer, even though the activist housing alliances demand punitive action.

Build more housing by offering incentives to developers; not demanding harsh rules and regulations, with dismal results. Better jobs for people is another way to pay for market housing, but that requires better education and industry.

It is not the housing providers at fault. It’s the lack of housing and good jobs.

Michael C. Schaumburg Santa Barbara Parklets’

accessibility violations are disheartening

Reading “Mixed Results for Parklets,” by Neil Hartstein and published April 5 in the News-Press, I realized that your readership could benefit from more context on the persistent

accessibility violations in the Parklet Program.

I have served on the City’s Access Advisory Committee since 2017. This committee is advisory to city staff and council on issues related to accessibility.

The AAC has consistently objected to the city allowing the construction of new inaccessible facilities in the public right of way (PRoW) since May 2020.

The city promised from the start that the parklets would be completely accessible. So it is very disheartening to read that almost three years later, the city is reporting that more than a quarter of the parklets are still inaccessible.

The fact is that these accessibility requirements, which are outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act and Chapter 11B of the California Building Code, existed long before the parklets were built, and no local ordinance can lessen those requirements.

The December 2022 deadline was at least the third such deadline for accessibility as I recall.

When the city wants compliance with parklets, they get it and fast. The fire lane width was widened, and most of the storm drains were cleared without much fuss or delay. The sidewalk clearance was brought in to compliance pretty quickly too, once the city finally agreed to require it.

If the city had a commitment to providing legally required accessibility in the PRoW, it would have been done long ago.

Frustratedly,

Nicholas Koonce Santa Barbara

U.S. no longer at its pinnacle

‘These are the times that try men’s souls” — again.

We now have four parties: Democratic, Republican, Independent and Don’t Know. I don’t think our citizenry is as intelligent as we would like to believe.

We are ignorant of our history, our progress and our values. We will never be perfect, but we must learn from our past or it will be repeated as we are now experiencing.

Once a faulty precedent is accepted, it will be repeated over and over again as “law.” When we pick and choose which laws we

will accept or ignore, we will have no law, no borders, no character and no values. We are no longer the pinnacle of national power, empathy, compassion or aid. We are seen as a nation disintegrating very rapidly. We are not feared, or appreciated as the leading miracle nation, desired by people from around the world.

We can rise to the occasion once again if we choose. This is my concern for a future generation.

Randy Rosness Solvang

How can it be wrong to prosecute felonies?

H ouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy says the Trump indictment has “irreparably harmed” the country.

What on Earth is he talking about?

Prosecution of a misdemeanor or felony crime is harmful, illegal, unconstitutional, wrong?

The answer to his befuddling statement is found in a message on a popular T-shirt: “Trust God. Not government.”

Speaker McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is trafficking in the popular libertarian philosophy, which is also the evangelical church argument, that government is evil. The fundamentalist church and its anti-civic bedfellows, patriotic libertarian Republicans, are the only forces for good on Earth.

The problem with this is that our patriotic ancestors in 1776 were not fighting against government and law. They were fighting against “King’s government” and “King’s law.” And those bad laws of King George III are listed in painful detail in the Declaration of Independence.

Our ancestors wanted “People’s government” and “People’s law.” When laws are made by the people, they are blessed by God, and people have respect for them.

Speaker McCarthy is trying to use our ignorance of history to return the nation to a British-style autocratic government in the form of Donald Trump, himself or a new Republican leader in 2024. I get it. And now you get it too.

Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross, Utah (Former Goleta resident)

President Joe Biden’s budget threatens Main Street

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act brought historic tax relief to taxpayers. For example, taxpayers and small business owners across Iowa benefited greatly from the economic growth created by the TCJA. Many businesses expanded, hired new workers, and increased wages or provided bonuses to their employees.

The TCJA also sparked a tax reform effort in Iowa with Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republicanled legislature enacting income tax rate reductions starting in 2018 and leading to last year’s historic tax reform measure that will create a flat 3.9% rate by 2026.

The economic benefits of the TCJA are clear, but key provisions will expire in 2025, and President Joe Biden’s 2024 budget proposal threatens significant tax increases that will harm taxpayers.

The TCJA cut individual and corporate income tax rates

and reduced taxes for small businesses. All individual rates were lowered while the corporate rate fell from 35% to 21%. The TCJA also lowered and widened the tax brackets that benefited middle and lower class taxpayers. In addition, the TCJA made significant tax reforms that finally aided small businesses creating the small business deduction

(section 199A), which is a 20% tax deduction for small business income. Nevertheless, since the reforms in the TCJA were not permanent, many are set to expire after Dec, 31, 2025. If this is allowed to occur, most taxpayers will be faced with a large tax increase.

Further, President Biden’s $6.8 trillion budget proposal calls for an estimated $4.7 trillion in new tax increases that will be especially harmful for small businesses. Some of the proposed tax increases would reverse the TCJA including raising the top income tax rate back to 39.6%, creating a new 5% tax on small business income, increasing the corporate tax rate to 28%, among other increases. President Biden is arguing that these tax increases will only impact those at the very top, but what is often forgotten is that many small businesses will be greatly impacted as they pay their business taxes via the individual personal income tax rates.

Iowa taxpayers and small businesses have struggled to

As of this writing, the indictment of the former — and possibly future — President Donald Trump brings to mind the movie “Escape from New York.” Of course, the target is a conservative, much as it was when “someone” leaked the pending opinion in Supreme Court opinion in the abortion case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization in order to create a reaction to influence the decision makers. When this failed, they started picketing the home of the conservative justices, but not liberal justices, as the DOJ refuses to enforce the law barring such pickets. Similarly, did “someone” leak the Trump indictment — in advance of it being unsealed this week — to cause a reaction to influence voters and potential jurors?

Rumors are that some Democrats were hoping the leaked news would provoke Republicans to react in a way that they could, have and are, using the activities of Jan. 6.

A rumor had previously surfaced that the top FBI officials had hoped for the same results when sending agents with automatic weapons to raid his home at Mar-a-Lago for documents he had offered them. When there were no riots, the rumors were that the top brass kidded that they needed a Ray Epps, a reference to the man with the megaphone inciting people to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6 but who was not charged. Was this the reason for the leak in the indictment?

The reference to the movie “Escape for New York” is appropriate as this was a story about the crime in New York City being so out of control that there was no justice after the city’s Manhattan borough was made into a maximum-security prison. Director John Carpenter used actors Kirk Russell, Lee Van Clief and Ernest Borgnine to present the story of the convicts being able to force a president to come into their prison in Manhattan. Getting chills yet?

I wonder when the writers John Carpenter and Nick Castle wrote their script in 1981, they experienced a Nostradamustype moment, or if they based their story on their actual experiences that may have been similar to a few of mine in the 1970s?

For example, when one of my legal cases was in the Bronx, crime caused my local management person to drop me off rather than accompany me into the court house. Once inside, I saw why.

My laughing at the sign above the judge proclaiming “No spitting” was interrupted by the spat as the first defendant punctuated his sentences by loudly spitting on the floor. By the third defendant, even the judge no longer appeared to notice the spats.

My being the only person in a suit, as well as the only “nonspitter,” caused all the others to ask if I was a public defender. The men’s room had an armed policeman stationed there. I felt for the guard and the judge. At about the time the Eagles were writing “This could be heaven…” in their song “Hotel California,” it could have been applicable to my business trips beginning with runs in Central Park and finishing with walks to dinners and Broadway shows.

However, even then as the Eagles completed the above sentence with “or this could be hell,” there were indications of crime even in the federal courthouse in Manhattan. For

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

Andy Caldwell

Matt Everson John Hendrickson

COURTESY PHOTO President Joe Biden

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved additional protections for tenants Thursday after mass eviction notices were issued at the CBC & The Sweeps apartments in Isla Vista.

Freedom comes from our Creator, not government

It is a unique and special time now because Christians, Jews and Muslims all are engaged in major holidays of religious contemplation and renewal.

Christians with Holy Week and Easter, Jews with Passover and Muslims with Ramadan.

We’re talking billions around the world. So, although in our time there has been a retreat in various circles from religion, it still remains a major force and presence in our world.

In our own U.S.A., as I have touched on in columns past, the number identifying with religion and attending religious services has dropped.

Per Pew Research, now about 40% of Americans monthly attend religious services either in person or viewing online or on TV. If we consider 40% of the U.S. adult population — the number over 18 — we’re talking about over 100 million Americans engaged in an active way with religion.

So, although on a percentage

basis, engagement with religion has dropped, it still remains a major factor among the American population.

Why should we care?

Looking at the three major religions — all engaged today in major holidays — we see on the surface different narratives and traditions.

But regarding the rules for living that emerge out of these different traditions, there is remarkable common ground.

They all view it as sacrosanct life, family and property. That is, the basic rules conveyed to each individual regarding how to live a meaningful, responsible and successful life, and how to engage and relate to one’s neighbors, are remarkably similar.

Which raises an important point that gets too little attention.

Certainly, in our country and in the Western world, few words get more use than the word “freedom.”

But the freedom we hear so much about is freedom in the political sense. Is this or that country, or society, “free”?

According to the words composed by Thomas Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence, we are all born with rights and “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.”

And in the stirring conclusion of the Declaration, the signers declared the American colonies, “free and independent states.”

The focus was government and politics. But outside of government protecting freedom, where does each individual find their personal freedom they want protected?

It was George Washington, whom I often quote, that pointed out that no beautifully designed government will work if, at the individual level, we do not have morality and religion. We

see every day that beautifully designed political systems and governments fail if, at the individual level, there is wanton and irresponsible behavior.

So the core of a free society is free choice at the individual level, and the core of free choice at the individual level is right and wrong. If there is no right and wrong, what does it matter what individuals choose?

Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has pointed out that “woke” culture is a form of religion. And he is right. Individuals may reject the truths of religion as we know them, but it remains for them to choose what they will accept, on faith, to be true. If they reject religion, they must invent one.

Once we believe that traditional truths, good and evil passed down through the generations, interfere with our personal freedom rather than enable it, and that we can make everything up, meaning and personal responsibility are lost. We then see more and more

horrible incidents like the most recent murders in a Christian school in Franklin, Tenn., by a very lost and confused individual.

It’s no accident that socialist societies are godless societies. They think they can make everything up.

During this special season, when so many continue to appreciate that there is meaning and truth in this world, let our prayers be directed that this continues and that more and more will begin to understand that the source of our personal freedom is our Creator and not government.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

Copyright 2023 by Creators.com.

Parents need a bill of rights to protect children from government

Every problem, every challenge we face, each starts with public education.” — George H. W. Bush

Our colonies were founded by enlightened men who fled societies that forced aristocratic social dictates on them. They wanted a better life for their families where they could pursue freedom of speech, religion, occupation and education.

After fighting the bloody American Revolution for independence, they feared a band of powerful plutocratic federalists would deprive them of their newly gained rights and freedoms. They refused to ratify the Constitution without a guaranteed “bill of rights.”

The Age of Reason was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries. One of the most salient precepts debated was: At what age or time does a child cut the umbilical cord and become a “free thinker” and responsible for their actions?

In every U.S. state, there are laws that make parents liable for the actions of their children — legally and financially for their mischief and the selective crimes they commit. Therefore parents have a moral and legal obligation to teach their children how to act within a society until they are age 18.

Kids enter pre-kindergarten at age 4 and graduate high school at 18. For 14 years, teachers influence them most at schools they attend, eight hours a day.

If we look at the academic and social curriculum force-fed to them today by school boards and teachers, that’s why most parents are mad as hell.

Although the 10th Amendment

Trump: Good and evil

The Stossel TV Studio is just a block from Trump Tower. On this day, noisy helicopters hover, and sidewalks are pointlessly blocked by the usual politics/ media excess: too many barricades manned by too many bored police officers. The predicted “big demonstration!” and “possible violence” are not visible.

Donald Trump left for the courthouse around 1 p.m. Tuesday to turn himself in. He was booked and fingerprinted at the courthouse. He then pled not guilty to the 34-count charge of falsifying records to hide hush money payments. Presidents should not be above the law, but neither should they face politically motivated charges.

politicians and teacher unions so they can dictate what children are taught in public classrooms. And this House bill will curtail that.” “Society’s problems start and end with public education.”

— Michael Bloomberg

This bill follows a growing national movement for the rights of parents to be a part of policymaking and give them the right to restrict how and when teachers talk about race, gender and sex. Our parents have voiced that this is a priority for Congress since “woke Democrats” forced the teaching of CRT and LBGT sex education in public classrooms. Parents are mad and demand that this ends now.

The bill spells out five specific rights for every parent at every level of public education until a child reaches 18: “The right to know what children are being taught; to be heard by all school leaders, to review school budget spending, to protect their children’s privacy, and to keep their children safe.”

Manhattan district attorneys campaigned on opposing Mr. Trump, bragging, “I have sued Trump more than a hundred times!” He suggested he would be the best choice to get Mr. Trump before he even saw the evidence. That’s just wrong. Federal prosecutors did see the evidence and decided against charging Mr. Trump.

Using campaign funds to pay someone to keep silent about sex may well violate the rules, but most campaign finance rules are useless, and no serious person thinks this case would ever be brought against anyone other than Mr. Trump.

This is a slippery slope to banana republic.

On the other hand, Mr. Trump definitely is a horrible person.

In his real estate business, he cheated the little people, cleverly using our slow and expensive justice system to avoid paying what he owed. As president, he was unpresidential and childish. He’s vain, selfish and mean. He doesn’t read or listen to advice from smart people, and he lies again and again. I hate him.

granted each state the responsibility to educate their own children, President Jimmy Carter formed an alliance with the teacher unions in 1979 and federalized state education.

“The federal government will have the loudest voice in education moving forward.”

— Jimmy Carter

Teacher unions have been fast-tracking orders from Washington and local Democrats for decades. Local school boards dictate curriculum that glorifies liberalism. Each year they remove salient U.S. events and heroes from history and replace them with obscure incidents from some identity group.

Since President Joe Biden took office, public schools have been cloning woke progressives. White kids are taught to feel guilty

for being white. Black kids are taught that America is a racist nation. Children are now taught about both heterosexual and LBGT alternative sex in public elementary school.

In the 2021 Virginia governors’ race, Democrat Terry McAuliffe said, “I don’t think parents should tell schools what they can teach.”

On Election Day, indignant parents voted for Republican Glenn Youngkin.

“A quality education is good for the students and better for the nation.”

— Mitt Romney

Mr. McAuliffe woke up the sleeping giant. For the next few months Virginia school boards were filled to capacity with angry parents who demanded their seat at the table. And this was contagious. Soon there was standing room only at school

board meetings across America filled with angry parents.

In reaction to the parents’ outrage, President Biden sent the FBI to school board meetings to remove parents, calling them domestic terrorists. During COVID-19 when kids were schooled at home, parents were appalled with the curriculum. School boards added or removed books they liked or disliked without consulting parents. Any parent who questioned the board about anything they didn’t like was told to go home.

Last week, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his fellow Republicans passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights, which lists parental rights in the classrooms. Speaker McCarthy said, “The past two years, we’ve seen a troubling trend taking root in the Democratic Party. They are taking power away from parents and giving it to the

“We want parents to control their kids’ education, not the government doing it.”

— Kevin McCarthy

The bill is straightforward in detailing the rights parents already have in their school districts. Yet for years, school boards made decisions long before parents arrived at meetings. And parents spend the entire meeting challenging them. Board members won’t listen to their concerns and cut them off.

Chris Dier, a teacher in New Orleans, retorted, “It will make teachers’ jobs harder by fueling the narrative that teachers suppress the parents’ rights in favor of the union and the government.” Yet that’s what they did when President Carter joined the unions and government and

Russia is strangling freedom through intimidation

The shocking arrest of Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter in Russia for The Wall Street Journal, marks the latest assault on freedom by President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Gershkovich represents a highly respected, influential, surviving authentic news organization and is a most unlikely foreign agent. Poignantly, his parents, Jewish Russians, fled the Soviet Union in 1979.

This is the first arrest of a U.S. journalist by Russia since the end of the Cold War, but only the latest example of escalating repression.

Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russia opposition leader, is a prisoner following his brave return to Russia in 2021. He had been evacuated to Germany for emergency medical treatment after being poisoned.

Before Mr. Navalny returned, authorities there tried to intimidate journalists and restrict protests supporting him. State media regulatory agency

Roskomnadzor demanded social media not post information related to protests.

In Britain in March 2018, a police officer found Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, a city near London. Authorities immediately hospitalized them in intensive care. The nerve agent responsible sickened the officer, likewise hospitalized. Skripal worked for the GRU, the military intelligence arm of Russia. He also was a double agent for British intelligence from 1995.

In September 2018, opposition activist Peter Verzilov became severely ill after a court hearing related to a protest and his subsequent arrest. He also was flown to Berlin for specialist medical treatment, where poisoning was diagnosed as the likely cause.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, an

opposition leader and journalist, suffered two severe health attacks in 2015 and 2017. The diagnosis in each case was probable poisoning. He is vice chairman of Open Russia, an organization founded by successful business entrepreneur Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a strong Putin opponent who has been persecuted and imprisoned.

A particularly prominent victim is Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London in November 2006 from acute radiation poisoning. Mr. Litvinenko was a former colleague of President Putin in the KGB, the principal arms of state security in the Soviet Union, an agency rightly feared for ruthless methods and effective results.

Mr. Putin is a product of distinctive KGB culture.

Mr. Litvinenko defected to Britain, where, until silenced, he was a prominent and influential

public critic of President Putin and the government of Russia. After a meticulous and thorough investigation, representatives of Scotland Yard testified in a public inquiry the Russian government was involved in this killing.

Earlier, critics of Russia’s regime sometimes died violently gangland style, in public. In early 2009, near the Kremlin on a sunny day on a public street, a gunman murdered activist attorney Stanislav Markelov. Journalist Anastasia Baburova tried to help him and was killed. The hit man was a pro, his pistol equipped with a silencer.

Mr. Markelov had denounced the release from prison of Col. Yuri Budanov, convicted of strangling a woman during the Chechnya war.

Today, Russian military aggression, related espionage and sabotage, and other outrages are constant. The invasion of Ukraine is only the most extreme example. Military involvement beyond Ukraine is extensive. Interference

in U.S. elections is notorious. Harassment of American and other citizens is a part of this picture.

Winston Churchill observed “the key” to Russia is national interest. We must actively seek levers to secure the release of Mr. Gershkovich.

In 2021, courageous journalist Dmitry Muratov of Russia received the Nobel Peace Prize.

Last June, he auctioned the prize for $103.5 million, which was donated to UNICEF to aid Ukraine children.

In March, the Kremlin shut down his news organization, Novaya Gazeta.

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.

Yet it would be better for America if he were president today, instead of Joe Biden. Nothing is more important to more people, especially the poor, than a solid dollar and a growing economy.

Mr. Trump’s presidency brought us closer to that than today’s Democrats ever will.

Mr. Trump knows how government can kill growth.

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John Stossel

Star Parker

The author is with the Center for Urban Renewal and Education

William Haupt III

The author is a Center Square contributor

Arthur I, Cyr

COURTESY IMAGE

Donald Trump: ‘Not everyone needs welfare’

STOSSEL

Continued from Page C3

He criticized “job-crushing regulations,” saying he’d eliminate two of them for every new one passed. He didn’t, but he did repeal some big ones: allowing more oil drilling, reducing the Environmental Protection Agency’s power to regulate waterways that are barely waterways, ending President Barack Obama’s regulations forcing automakers to make “greener” cars (President Biden reimposed them), and allowing internet service providers to charge different rates for different services (repealing the destructive net neutrality).

His words alone sent a message: “Not everyone needs welfare. You can work!”

Under President Obama,

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example, when my representation of Gulf Credit Cards led to my requesting the court’s file containing the records for the hundreds of thousands of dollars owed by the Democratic National Committee for their use at Holiday Inns, the records were missing.

Gosh, imagine that?

Why is President Trump being indicted now for alleged events that happened in 2016 or 2017?

Could it be to shift the media from the news contained in the documents shown on Fox News Channel of the Chinese having given $1.3 million to the Bidens for distribution within their family? Or could it be to shift the media from the videos shown on Fox of the event inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021?

When Speaker Nancy Pelosi ordered the videos sealed for 60 years, she was unaware that someone had given a copy to

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took control of education.

Ben Hodge, a teacher in York County, Pa., said, “This claim of indoctrination and teachers hiding things from parents, I think is a red herring. I don’t know what this parents’ rights bill will do other than give more pathways to parents on things like book banning and influence on what is taught.”

But those are the issues that concern parents the most, and these schools belong to the taxpayers.

Bill Gates said, “It’s hard to improve public education.”

And he is right. Parents are not only fighting a battle with school boards and unions but liberal politicians. The NEA and AFT combined, the two largest teacher unions, gave $32 million to the 2020 Biden-Harris campaign. They pour money into every local election, especially the school boards, so they can control education from the top down.

Most Republicans have cited parents’ rights to advocate for other changes such as school choice.

Donald Trump has supported school choice as the best criteria to improve public education.

“The government should not have a monopoly on something as important as education.”

— Donald Trump

For 100 years, the Supreme Court has recognized the role of parents as responsible for the care, custody and control of their minor children. It is time we enshrine a child’s upbringing, education and care as a fundamental parental right. If parents are denied these rights in public schools, they must have the right to choose alternative education with their tax dollars in private, religious, home and charter schooling. And no entity of government, union or school board shall abridge that right. We must reform education.

“The plain unvarnished truth is public education is a shoddy, fraudulent piece of goods sold to the public at an astronomical price. It’s time the American consumer knew the extent of that fraud which is victimizing millions of children each year.” — Samuel Blumenfeld

There is nothing conservative about trade deficit

HENDRICKSON

people stopped looking for work. Democrats’ message was: Poor people are victims of an unfair system; you need handouts.

Under President Trump, people started working again. Six million Americans were hired.

Unemployment dropped to a 50year low.

President Trump signed the First Step Act, reducing long prison sentences for drug-related offenses.

He launched Operation Warp Speed, speeding production of COVID-19 vaccines.

He appointed judges who believe in free speech and limited government.

Hooray for President Trump!

But then there’s the evil Trump.

He lies and breaks promises.

Mr. Trump promised he would “cut spending, big league” and then increased spending.

President Biden’s been worse;

the incoming speaker Kevin McCarthy, who then gave them to Tucker Carlson to show on Fox.

These videos showed the Capitol guards opening the doors and welcoming the arrivals — it is not trespassing when you are invited in — and even showing the man with the Viking outfit, who was serving a multi-year sentence, around. After the judge saw the video, he ordered an immediate release of him.

The video was also edited to speed it up to falsely indicate activities that did not occur, and set to music to create the false image of prohibited activity. The theme was spread by the false reporting that the protesters were armed. There were no arms found.

A Capitol guard was supposedly killed; he called his wife hours after his supposed death.

Damage was done; someone did take Speaker Pelosi’s laptop, but the Capitol was reopened at 8 that same night.

The pressure to shift the media’s attention was heightened

this administration’s crazy spending is why inflation is killing your savings. But Mr. Trump was little better. He increased spending from an already astounding $4.1 trillion in 2017 to $6.55 trillion in 2020.

Mr. Trump promised to end America’s wars. He didn’t. In fact, he signed a massive $738 billion defense bill, bragging that it was “an all-time record!” At least Mr. Trump, unlike his predecessors, didn’t start new wars.

President Trump imposed tariffs on China, ignorantly claiming they’d protect American consumers. Instead, the tariffs punished American consumers and businesses. So Mr.Trump then gave billions of your dollars to farmers and others hurt by his tariffs.

Finally, Mr. Trump refused to accept the results of the election. For 224 years, our democracy has

when a Chinese bank voluntarily confirmed that the Biden family received the $1.3 million. Was this a warning shot of potential other amounts that might be contained in the hundred HunterBiden suspicious transactions that President Biden keeps sealed even though previously these were shared with Congress?

What then happened?

Previously, our president sold oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. China increased its military budget by 7%; the proposed Biden budget does not.

China warned President Joe Biden not to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen when she visiited America. The president did not but Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, who received the same threat, met with her at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. In the first three months of 2023, twice as many Chinese have been “apprehended” crossing our southern border — 4,293.

had a peaceful transfer of power. Mr. Trump ended that. He lied about voter fraud. He told his supporters, “Fight like hell.”

On Jan. 6, 2021, he did tell them to “peacefully” march to the Capitol, but when things got ugly, he did nothing. Only hours later did he post a video asking protesters to go home.

Today he shows no remorse for any of the nasty things he did.

Because of Mr. Trump, President Biden will probably be re-elected.

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.

That’s twice the entire number in 2022, while the number who were not “apprehended’ remains unknown, and the president of Mexico said he was turning to China to help stop the flow of Fentanyl because our president has done nothing. Our president had no comment. The proverb “Timing is everything” is interpreted as meaning the consideration of other events can greatly influence some desired outcome. Whose actions are shown by this timing? Whose hidden?

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.”

Ron DeSantis will endorse Donald Trump

BUCKLEY

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DeSantis, Mike Pompeo or any one among several serious Republican candidates.

More importantly, if the Senate and House were controlled by Republicans, a moderate Democrat such as Manchin in the White House would be some comfort if a Republican did lose in 2024. Many, including me, would be at least calmed with that situation, though my preference would be a Republican president and a Republican Congress in order to expedite the changes necessary to save the Republic.

However …

LOOKING INTO MY CRYSTAL

BALL I woke up on a recent morning, surprised and intrigued by the following missive, written in easily

translatable Sanskrit through a mystical collusion of fallen flakes gathered at the bottom of my tabletop snow globe.

Now I’m merely reporting on this portentous forecast of events likely to take place between now and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November 2024. I was not visited by ghosts from the past, present or future, and have no insightful knowledge of what may or may not actually occur, so digest the following with a modicum of skepticism.

Here you go; I do hope I’ve translated it correctly:

“The presidential contest between Democrat Gavin Newsom (or possibly Joe Manchin) and Republican Donald J. Trump (or Ron DeSantis) will be tight, but Mr. Trump will pull out a squeaker. If the winning candidate turns out to be Mr. Trump, his vice president will be Florida’s current governor Ron DeSantis, who, in the end,

never contests the race and does not officially file his candidacy. In July 2024, DeSantis will endorse Mr. Trump for the presidency and will be rewarded with the vice presidential slot at the Republican Convention.”

The magic snowflakes left room for error and foretold that if Mr. Trump dropped out of the race, Mr. DeSantis would be the Republican candidate, but didn’t predict who his running mate would be.

On the Democratic side, the leaves predicted that Joe Biden would decline to run for reelection after being challenged and beaten for the nomination by Joe Manchin in an early primary. California Gov. Gavin Newsom will jump in immediately upon assessing the situation and with a pile of delegates from California and New York, will easily beat Sen. Manchin, who will then accept his role as Gov. Newsom’s running mate.

The contest will come down to a radical Democrat leftist (Gov. Newsom) pulled ever so slightly to the middle by his vice president (Sen. Manchin) versus a former president (Mr. Trump) out to salvage his reputation — and the country — held in check by the slightly less conservative former governor of Florida (Mr. DeSantis), who would be heir apparent, possibly ushering in 12 years of conservative Republican governance. I am accustomed to reading tea leaves but have never — up to now — been confronted with reading snowflakes. I do hope they prove as reliable as tea leaves.

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.

the Midwest. This triggered additional cultural and social problems, such as the opioid crisis, that continues to plague many of these communities.

The COVID-19 pandemic also exposed the nation’s overreliance on foreign goods, especially for pharmaceuticals and other medical equipment.

The supply-chain crisis is another example of our overdependence. It is not just cheap consumer goods that have been outsourced, but high technology products such as semiconductors among others that are vital for both our economy and national defense.

President Trump’s administration was the first to seriously address the trade deficit and to rebalance trade.

President Trump selected Robert Lighthizer to serve as U.S. trade representative and lead the administration’s trade policy efforts. The Trump administration responded to the trade deficit and the growing threat of China by utilizing tariffs. Tariffs were placed not only on Chinese goods, but also on steel and aluminum. America’s steel industry was especially harmed by cheap subsidized foreign steel flooding the market. The tariffs placed on steel helped to save the industry and its workers.

A shift may be occurring within both the Republican Party and the conservative movement concerning trade policy. The increasing militarism and economic expansion of China has also made many question the benefits of global free trade.

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., has recently introduced legislation that would revoke

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China’s MFN status. In response to the millions of manufacturing jobs lost to China, Sen. Hawley mentioned the impact it has on American families and communities.

“When these jobs and factories disappeared, communities suffered. The unwinding of the social fabric in these forgotten places led to declining rates of marriage and fertility, and rising rates of addiction, divorce, and suicide,” Sen. Hawley noted.

Sen. Hawley and Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio — among other Republicans — have consistently joined with former President Trump on the need to restore manufacturing and to develop a trade policy that places America First. It is time for Republicans and conservatives to rediscover their trade policy heritage and abandon the free trade ideology. “Actually, there is nothing conservative about free trade. What exactly are these people conserving?” asked Ambassador Lighthizer.

This is the question conservatives should be asking.

Further, Ambassador Lighthizer explains the danger of trade deficits: “We literally are trading the wealth of our country, the ownership of our equity, debt and property, for Christmas lights and toys, for tennis shoes and garden tools. We are bleeding to death from self-inflicted wounds. So, do massive, consecutive trade deficits matter? Only if you care who owns and controls your country.”

The trade deficit is anything but conservative.

John Hendrickson is the policy director for Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

Tax cuts only benefited the wealthy

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recover from the pandemic and the impact of high inflation.

President Biden’s tax increases would be especially harmful to Iowa’s Main Street businesses and compound an already fragile economy. Inflation is a top concern for many small business owners.

Critics of the TCJA make the argument that the tax cuts only benefited the wealthy, which is blatantly false. The TCJA was a tremendous economic benefit to both the middle-class and small businesses. In addition, the TCJA actually increased revenue to the federal treasury through economic growth. Unfortunately some in Washington, D.C. saw that as a green light to increase spending with the direct consequence of record inflation, massive deficits, and an escalating national debt.

Iowa taxpayers and small businesses would be better served if federal policymakers followed the example of the Iowa legislature and Gov. Reynolds by focusing on lowering taxes

and limiting spending. This is the economic formula that has made Iowa’s economy strong. This means making the TCJA permanent, pushing back on proposed tax increases, and fighting inflation by cutting government spending. In fact several state legislatures are responding to the urgency to make the TCJA permanent by passing resolutions calling on Congress to act.

Taxpayers and small businesses would be better served if federal policymakers made the TCJA permanent. This would provide greater economic certainty. Small businesses are the engines of economic growth and are major employers. Raising taxes and increasing spending will only result in more economic harm.

Matt Everson is Iowa’s state director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, and John Hendrickson serves as policy director for Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

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