Santa Barbara News-Press: July 08, 2023

Sounds of two worlds

Larry & Joe plays music of Appalachia and Venezuela - B1

King’s dream

Columnist Star Parker comments of recent Supreme Court decisions - C1

CEC’s new hub

State Street facility to serve as base for people concerned about the environment

Retired SB County deputy probation officer sentenced to prison

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Retired Santa Barbara County

Deputy Probation Officer

Manuel Edward Torres, 67, has been sentenced to 11 years in state prison for theft of over $500,000 in public funds.

Between 2009 and 2019 Mr. Torres stole roughly $635,000 dollars in union dues paid to the Santa Barbara County Probation Peace Officer Association (SBCPPOA). Mr. Torres, a county probation officer since 1986, had acted as president of the SBCPPOA for over 20 years before retiring in 2019.

“The theft of public funds violates the trust that the people give their public officials and can not be tolerated,” said District Attorney John Savrnoch.

“The hard-working people who make up the SBCPPOA deserved more from one of their own who was entrusted with their hard earned money.”

On April 27 of this year Mr. Torres pleaded guilty to the felony charge of theft of public funds across the ten years. In addition to the prison sentence, Mr. Torres has been ordered to pay over $1 million in restitution to the SBCPPOA and $300,000 in restitution to the California Franchise Tax Board. There is an administrative action in place to have Mr. Torres’ retirement benefits taken back from 2009-2019 by the Santa Barbara County Employees’ Retirement System. email: news@newspress.com

CalSTA announces $1.5 billion for rail bridges and ports

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH

CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

THE

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The Community Environmental Council has opened a new community-based hub on State Street.

The new base for the Central Coast environmentally-focused group was officially unveiled Thursday during a ribbon cutting that included the CEC team and Santa Barbara officials such as Mayor Randy Rowse. The building will act as a center for the CEC and any members of the community who need a space to meet and strategize.

“The environmental issues that we’re facing, like climate change, are far too complex for any one organization to solve. It requires an all-in approach,” Sigrid Wright, the chief executive officer of the CEC, told the News-Press Friday. “I think people sometimes don’t know where to go or what to do to get started. Some of that is just meeting — start where you’re at.”

Ms. Wright said the issues presented by climate change are real and active, not just around the globe, but here along the Central Coast as well. She highlighted a local approach, stating the need for communitymade solutions to the issues that will emerge in this area.

“We knew from years of doing this work that the community was really lacking in meeting space,” said Ms. Wright. “You can go to hotels, you can sit in the conference rooms in banks, but there really aren’t spaces that are dedicated to nonprofits and activists doing this type of work.”

The Environmental Hub is over 10,000 square feet of space at 1219 State St., right across the street from The Granada. The CEC has been in operation since 1970 and was one of the country’s first ecological centers. Over the decades the CEC — named California’s 2020 nonprofit of the year — has pushed the state for important legislation changes. The organization helped pass

Please see CEC on A8

(The Center Square) - An estimated $1.5 billion to improve efficiency and build a more reliant supply chain for the movement of goods throughout the state’s local and global trade gateways, has been apportioned by California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA).

The fund assigned $1.2 billion to 15 port/rail projects and $350 million to 13 transit/rail bridge projects.

At the award event at the Port of Long Beach on July 6, Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin identified how the projects awarded qualified for the funding. “CalSTA’s ‘Core

Four’ priorities are safety, climate action, equity and economic prosperity, and the strategic investments announced today shine in all those areas,” he said.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and major trade centers across the state will employ projects that increase the capacity to move goods.

Other high-priority projects to build rail bridges will see improvements in safety and time at rail crossings, as freight trains at street-level are eliminated.

“This investment in critical Port of Los Angeles projects, along with supporting regional projects, will accelerate our efforts to boost competitiveness, create jobs and enhance decarbonization efforts,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka.

Almost 40% of the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program

awards are in zero-emission projects which bolsters a commitment made in March between California and Japan to cut planet-warming pollution at seaports and establish green shipping corridors.

One of three major LA Ports projects of the Port and Freight Infrastructure Program (PFIP) is at the Port of Los AngelesPort of Long Beach. The Maritime Support Facility (MSF) Improvement and Expansion Project will reduce truckmiles-traveled inside container terminals by expanding the facility from 30 acres of container storage to 70 acres of storage at all 12 container terminals. This is expected to reduce truck-miles-traveled inside container terminals and the associated emissions to

Please see CALSTA on A8

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and major trade centers across the state will employ projects that increase the capacity to move goods.

PHOTOS COURTESY CEC

Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse cuts the ribbon Thursday evening for the Community Environmental Council’s new hub, across from The Granada on State Street. Left of Mayor Rowse is Sigrid Wright, chief executive officer of the CEC.

Above, the community gathers at the official opening of the Environmental Hub. At right, Charles Newman, first vice president of the Community Environmental Council, meets with the council’s CEO, Sigrid Wright.

Newsom readies $352M for housing, infrastructure near transit hubs

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH

THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - Gov. Gavin Newsom is releasing more than $300 million dollars in grants to fund housing and infrastructure development around transit hubs across the state.

Funded by the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP

2.0) grants totalling $352 million, Metropolitan Planning Organizations will develop state housing and infrastructure that will accelerate the state’s climate goals by reducing the number of cars on the roads through the creation of neighborhoods close to transit hubs and jobs.

“California is backing local governments that are addressing the housing shortage and climate crisis with a focus on underresourced communities that often

bear the brunt of the climate crisis. It is important that we build more housing in strategic locations near transportation hubs which helps reduce pollution and congestion by reducing the number of cars on the road,” Gov. Newsom said.

The awardees who will use these flexible grant program dollars to plan and build “sustainable, resilient, and equitable communities that are inclusive and take measurable strides toward reducing vehicle miles traveled,” include:

• Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments $9.13 million;

• Madera County Transportation Commission $2.18 million;

• Sacramento Area Council of Governments $31.83 million;

• San Diego Association of Governments $38.73 million;

• Shasta Regional Transportation Agency $2.24 million;

• Southern California Association of Governments $237.41 million; and

• Tahoe Regional Planning Agency $567,239.

“Abundant affordable housing is key to addressing the climate crisis,” said Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramírez.

REAP will benefit five communities with a $30 million

grant from its Higher-Impact Transformative (HIT) fund as well, to transform un-resourced neighborhoods.

“These highly competitive awards are going to communities that have demonstrated a strong commitment to transforming historically under-resourced communities,” said HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez. HIT awardees are:

• City of Oakland $10 million;

• City of Rancho Cordova $4 million;

• Tahoe Regional Planning

Agency $2,412,475;

• San Diego Association of Governments $10 million; and

• Bay Area Rapid Transit $3,587,525.

“High-impact REAP 2.0 grants will make possible the development of significant affordable housing near transit hubs, connecting vulnerable Californians to opportunity and moving the state toward its climate goals by reducing vehicle traffic,” Mr. Valasquez stated. REAP was born as part of the Governor’s $100 billion “California

Comeback Plan” for recovery and transformation with the largest economic allocation in the state’s history.

A vehicle rollover Thursday on Highway in Lompoc resutled in two injuries.

Two injured in vehicle rollover

There was a vehicle rollover Thursday on

UCSB lab receives $18 million grant

FILE

The UCSB Materials Research Laboratory is set to receive $18 million in federal grant funds for developments on sustainable polymers, advanced biomaterials and facility support.

The National Science Foundation has announced that the UCSB research lab will receive the money over the course of six years. The award is aimed at helping to promote the research of more sustainable and recyclable polymers.

“This new funding ensures that UCSB researchers will continue to open doors in scientific advancement while benefiting our entire community through the results of their work,” said Congressman Salud Carbajal. “With these resources, our local community and businesses are able to gain access to toptier facilities and cutting-edge research.”

The UCSB Materials Research Laboratory is one of the top five materials research facilities in the world.

- Liam Hibbert

Highway 1 southbound, in Lompoc.

Two occupants, a male and a female, of the vehicle, a Ford Explorer, sustained non-life threatening injuries in the incident. They were transported from the crash site by

ambulance. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Newsom gets his $180 billion climate package approval

By

RIA ROEBUCK

JOSEPH THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - The California Senate today approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s package of up to $180 billion in clean infrastructure, with funds to be disbursed over the next decade.

The action is expected to yield 400,000 construction jobs.

The Governor’s package, guided by the final report, is a blueprint for regulation changes and steps for various sectors to promote climateaction and develop the required infrastructure to support California’s climate goals.

Funding will come from the state’s budget, the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act.

On May 19, 2023 a strike team to work across state agencies to accelerate clean energy and infrastructure projects across California, was created when Gov. Newsom signed an executive order requiring its formation.

The final affirmative vote on the package by the legislature is expected to speed up construction, expedite any legal challenges, allow for change to California law to speed up permitting, address cumbersome environmental processes and establish a Green Bank Financing Program.

The result of these combined efforts could shorten project timelines by over three years which would save millions of dollars for state and local governments and businesses. It will reduce mountains of

paperwork by hundreds of thousands of pages.

“California is one step closer to building the projects that will power our homes with clean energy, ensure safe drinking water, and modernize our transportation system,” Gov. Newsom said. “Thanks to our partners in the Legislature, we’re about to embark on a clean construction boom that maximizes the unprecedented funding available from the BidenHarris administration. I look forward to signing these bills to build California’s clean future, faster.”

While these proposals promise to build faster it still ensures appropriate environmental review and community engagement, the office of the governor assures.

Judge orders attorneys in Trump documents case to get security clearance

Gov. Gavin Newsom

Metropolitan Planning Organizations will develop state housing and infrastructure that will accelerate the state’s climate goals by reducing the number of cars on the roads through the creation of neighborhoods close to transit hubs and jobs.

- Liam Hibbert

COURTESY PHOTO

NEWS-PRESS

Congressman Salud Carbajal

Committee on Oversight and Accountability to look into White House cocaine

By BRETT ROWLAND THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The Committee on Oversight and Accountability plans look into how cocaine ended up in the West Wing of the White House.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, sent a letter to United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Friday requesting a briefing and information related to the discovery of cocaine in the White House.

“The presence of illegal drugs in the White House is unacceptable and a shameful moment in the White House’s history,” Rep. Comer wrote in the letter. “Congress funds White House security procedures, and the Secret Service has a responsibility to maintain effective safety protocols. This incident and the eventual evacuation of staff now clearly raises concerns about the level of security maintained at the White House.”

Rep. Comer asked Ms. Cheatle for a staff level briefing on the matter by July 14.

DOCUMENTS

Continued from Page A2

counsel Jack Smith and others.

“[Jack Smith,] the DOJ, and the FBI, should be sanctioned for prosecutorial misconduct and Grand Jury Abuse,” Mr. Trump posted on his social media platform. “Election Interference!”

The 49-page indictment laid out the charges against Mr. Trump and his valet and alleged co-conspirator Walt Nauta. Mr. Trump was charged with keeping classified documents after leaving office and later obstructing the government’s efforts to get them back. The indictment contains specific dates and times with tothe-minute details of where the documents were stored, where they were moved, and who was involved.

Among the records were 197 that contained classified markings, including 98 marked “secret” and 30 marked “top secret.” The “top secret” designation means that unauthorized disclosure “reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage” to national security,” according to the indictment. Mr. Trump turned those records over to the National Archives and Records Administration on Jan. 17, 2022, in response to demands from that federal agency.

On June 3, 2022, an attorney for Mr. Trump provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with 38 additional documents with classified markings. And during a raid of Mar-a-Lago on Aug. 8, 2022, the FBI recovered 102 additional documents with classified markings.

While the U.S. Secret Service provided security to Mr. Trump while he was at his Palm Beach property, Mr. Trump never told the agency that classified documents were stored there, according to the indictment. Mara-Lago hosted 150 social events – such as weddings, fundraisers and movie premieres for tens of thousands of guests from January 2021, when Mr. Trump left office, through the FBI raid on Aug. 8, 2022. Mar-a-Lago had about 150 employees during that time, prosecutors said in the indictment.

Prosecutors allege the documents belong to some of the nation’s most secret agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense, the National Security

A year after declaring invasion, Texas border judge issues warning to Americans

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Kentucky, sent a letter to United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle on Friday requesting a briefing and information related to the discovery of cocaine in the White House.

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., sent a letter to Ms. Cheatle requesting that she release information about the cocaine. He also requested Ms. Cheatle provide the Secret Service’s procedures for keeping the White House complex secure. As previously reported by The Center Square, White House Press Secretary Karine JeanPierre largely referred questions Wednesday about cocaine found in the White House over the weekend to the U.S. Secret Service, which is investigating the matter. The Secret Service confirmed Wednesday that the white powder found in the West Wing on Sunday was cocaine.

The Secret Service continues to investigate how the illegal drug got there.

The cocaine was found during a routine search, according to a Secret Service spokesperson.

The White House was temporarily closed on Sunday evening after agents discovered the white powder inside a work area. The building was temporarily closed to allow law enforcement to investigate.

President Joe Biden was not at the White House at the time. He left with his wife for Camp David, the President’s country residence in Maryland, on Friday. Cocaine, a central nervous system stimulant, is illegal in the United States.

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR (The Center Square) – Terrell County Judge Dale Carruthers was sworn into office on the same day as President Joe Biden.

Judge Carruthers now says her life and the lives of her residents haven’t been the same since. A lifelong Democrat, she switched parties to become a Republican last year after she was one of the first judges in Texas history to declare an invasion at the southern border and in her county on July 5, 2022.

One year later, she spoke to The Center Square in an exclusive interview about the impacts of what she says are President Biden’s “open border policies” on her county.

“It’s been 2.5 years, from day one we’ve been at it,” she said. “If we didn’t have Operation Lone Star, we’d be in a world of hurt,” she said, referring to the border security mission Texas Gov. Greg Abbott launched in March 2021.

Her county of slightly more than 700 residents is primarily impacted by crime committed by gotaways – the term U.S. Customs and Border Patrol uses for foreign nationals who illegally enter Texas from Mexico intentionally seeking to evade capture from Border Patrol and law enforcement officials.

“This is who is coming through, large groups” of mostly single military age men, she said. As family units arrive at ports of entry, she explained, cartel “runners, traffickers, and smugglers come through Terrell County.” Some are single women, she says, but they’re all wearing camouflage.

They’re trespassing, breaking and entering, stealing, “smuggling people, exploiting people, kidnapping children, selling women and men into slave trade,” she said. “If that doesn’t frighten you, nothing will.”

The gotaways are “carrying drugs the entire time,” she said. “The boys they kidnap are mules.”

Other crimes follow, she said, “after that, Americans start dying.”

“We warned you,” she says to the American people. “We weren’t crying wolf, we’re crying coyote,” referring to Mexican scouts who guide people into the U.S. illegally.

Agency, National GeospatialIntelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, the Department of Energy and the Department of State.

The documents contained information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of the United States and other allied nations, U.S. nuclear programs, plans for possible retaliation in case of an attack and potential U.S. vulnerabilities, according to the indictment.

Mr. Trump stored the boxes in several locations at Mar-a-Lago, his social club with 25 guest rooms in Palm Beach. The boxes that contained classified documents were stored in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room, prosecutors alleged in the indictment.

The club was not authorized to store classified documents.

Prosecutors further alleged that Mr. Trump showed classified documents to people not authorized to see such records.

In one case on July 21, 2021, at the Bedminster Club in New Jersey, Mr. Trump allegedly showed a writer, a publisher and two staff members classified documents. During the recorded interview, Mr. Trump said that the documents were “highly classified” and that could have declassified them while president, but could no longer do so after leaving office, according to the indictment. In August or September 2021, prosecutors allege Mr. Trump showed a representative of his political action committee a classified map of a country.

Mr. Trump is the first president to face felony criminal charges.

In April, Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in New York related to charges he paid hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels through a lawyer before the 2016 presidential election and covered it up as a legal expense before being elected president.

The Litigation Security Group “is a team of security specialists available to be detailed to the Court to serve as Classified Information Security Officers to assist in the handling and protection of classified information. These CISOs serve in a neutral capacity providing advice and assistance to the Court and the parties in the handling of classified information,” according to a U.S. Courts website.

“We are telling you the Mexican cartels are here,” she said.

Under Gov. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, increased numbers of Texas DPS troopers, Texas Rangers, game wardens, National Guardsmen and others are working with the county’s small sheriff’s office to interdict cartel-driven crime, she said. The gotaways are “evading the law, coming in for the wrong reason. There’s always a crime behind it,” she said, almost always involving human smuggling.

Multiple daily high speed pursuits in the small town of Sanderson, the county seat, have “became the norm,” she said. “That should not be the norm.”

On the morning she spoke to The Center Square, there were two high speed pursuits.

In a neighboring smaller town, a shopkeeper is

“living in fear,” she said, and sleeping in the shop to make sure no one breaks in. “They shouldn’t be living like this. It’s like that on a daily basis.”

Ranchers, who find backpacks on their property left by gotaways, are warned not to touch them “because it could have fentanyl on it and kill you,” she said.

Prior to declaring an invasion last year, she said, certain concepts weren’t a “part of our vocabulary.”

“You can’t replace your child,” she said, referring to the amount of fentanyl increasingly being brought in. “If they get past us, they’re already in your neighborhood,” she said, referring to the gotaways bringing in fentanyl and other drugs.

“Now fentanyl is everywhere. People think, ‘it won’t happen to me.’ I hope it never does but this year was worse than last year,” she said.

“The schools shouldn’t have to put up barricades” as a way to protect them from vehicle crashes from high-speed pursuits, she said. “No school should be on lockdown because of people illegally entering this country.”

“We are not going to sacrifice our children to this,” she added. “Why should any city in this entire United States?”

“We warned everyone a year ago and it’s only gotten worse. We can do everything in our power to inform you. We aren’t alarmists. We’re trying to let you know what we’re dealing with,” she said to the American people.

“They’re coming to your town,” she said, referring to criminal gotaways, “and your residents will be just as angry as my residents are.

“Don’t turn a blind eye. Don’t deny calling this an invasion. Any other country would call this an invasion. Declaring an invasion had to be done.”

Columnist

Judge Dale Carruthers’ county of slightly more than 700 residents is primarily impacted by crime committed by gotaways – the term U.S. Customs and Border Patrol uses for foreign nationals who illegally enter Texas from Mexico intentionally seeking to evade capture from Border Patrol and law enforcement officials.

Prosecutors say documents included some from the CIA, NSA and other agencies

COURTESY PHOTO

Former President Donald Trump

Estate

Federal Judge approves

Seattle’s multi-million

dollar suit against Monsanto

By TIMOTHY SCHUMANN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – A federal judge will allow the city of Seattle’s multi-million dollar case against Monsanto for PCB contamination of the Duwamish River to move forward.

The decision comes in the footsteps of the Washington state attorney general’s office, which three years ago received a $95 million dollar settlement from the same corporation

U.S. District Judge Richard Jones on Thursday denied a motion by Monsanto for what is known as a “summary judgment,” which would have ruled in Monsanto’s favor and dismissed the suit outright.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls, or PCBs, “are a group of synthetic organic chemicals that can cause a number of different harmful effects” and have “no known natural sources,” according to the CDC.

Governed by the Toxic Substances Control Act, passed by Congress in 1976, “[PCB’s] have been shown to cause cancer in animals as well as a number of serious non-cancer health effects in animals, including: effects on the immune system, reproductive system, nervous system, endocrine system and other health effects,” according to the EPA informational page on the chemicals. The city alleges these pollutants, manufactured and sold by Monsanto, will now require the

construction and build-out of a water treatment plant that will cost the city millions.

The ruling by Judge Jones is not the first time Monsanto has tried to have the case dismissed.

Judge Jones’ ruling followed on the heels of a similar attempt by Monsanto which argued the city did not have standing to sue by trying to include the city of Seattle with the already settled case granting $95 million to the State.

“There is no concurrence of identity of the parties. As noted above, the ambiguity of the term ‘agencies’ in the State Settlement Agreement and the extrinsic evidence provided by the city demonstrate the city was not intended to be included in the State Settlement Agreement,” argued U.S. Magistrate Judge Michelle Peterson this April in her 22 page recommendation.

Monsanto, which went defunct in 2018 and had its assets acquired by German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Bayer, asserts it doesn’t carry liability for any damages.

“The City cannot prove that Monsanto’s conduct constituted a nuisance as the sale and lawful manufacture of PCBs was expressly authorized by federal statutes, and Washington law expressly exempts it from being deemed a nuisance,” a representative for Monsanto said in a statement, Courthouse News reported.

South Carolina business group hopes workforce act will help with worker shortage

By

(The Center Square) — While a new National Federation of Independent Business survey shows that finding qualified workers remains challenging,

a South Carolina business association hopes a new law will lessen the burden.

“Our small business members say it’s hard for them to find and keep qualified people, but we’re hopeful that H.3726, passed by the legislature and

Tremblay column on

signed into law this spring by Gov. Henry McMaster, will go a long way toward remedying the situation,” NFIB State Director Ben Homeyer said in an announcement.

Please see SHORTAGE on A5

hiaTus

Business columnist Tim Tremblay is taking some time off. His column will resume later in the Business/ Real Estate section of the News-Press.

Painted Cabernet plans grand re-opening

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Santa Barbara’s original “paint and sip studio,”

The Painted Cabernet, is having its grand re-opening under the original ownership of Maria Wilson.

In addition to a wide selection of beers, The Painted Cabernet will be introducing an updated wine selection, featuring a variety of wine from Santa Barbara County and surrounding areas, plus a few specialty wines.

“The best part about it is that it caters to any level

of artist, whether you are a beginner and wanting to explore your artistic side, or an experienced painter wanting to learn new techniques,” said Ms. Wilson.

One of the key highlights of the re-opening is the introduction of additional painting classes, including new classes which offer music-themed nights such as 80s music, R&B music, 70s rock, Karaoke and more.

There will be discounted prices for August and September.

For more information visit www.paintedcabernet. com.

email: lhibbert@newspress.com

New Jersey fishermen on hook for $7 million in pandemic relief

By CHRISTIAN WADE THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) — New Jersey fishermen could be on the hook for $7 million in COVID19 funds that may have been improperly distributed, according to a report.

An audit conducted by Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh’s office found that more than half of the $14.4 million New Jersey distributed in federal funds to commercial fishermen through the pandemic-related program may need to be returned because the recipients might not have been eligible to receive the money.

The comptroller’s office determined that about 41% of the payments, or $5.9 million, are subject to possible recoupment because the applicants were made “more than whole” by the money or were ineligible for relief payments under the program guidelines. Another $1.1 million in relief payments are subject to recoupment because the applicants failed to provide

enough documentation to support their awards when requested, according to the comptroller’s report.

The fisheries relief funds, provided through the federal CARES Act in 2020, were intended to help businesses recover from the economic impact of the pandemic.

In the memo to Deputy Commissioner Department of Environmental Protection Sean Moriarty, Mr. Walsh noted that the state agency’s “responsibility to ensure that taxpayer dollars are used effectively and efficiently does not end when the payments are distributed.”

“Agencies administering COVID-19 relief programs have an obligation not only to have sufficient controls in place to prevent fraud and improper payments, but also to respond quickly when potentially improper payments are later detected,” he wrote. The pandemic fisheries program first came under scrutiny last year when the comptroller’s office detailed examples of

overpayments requiring an additional layer of review to determine whether they were appropriate.

The comptroller’s office said the state agency has pledged to provide updates on its review of the flagged applications and efforts to seek recoupment of the funds.

The agency has also implemented new controls for distributing federal funds in other COVID-19 programs that it administers to reduce the opportunity for fraud, waste or abuse, the comptroller’s office said.

“Receiving and processing applications and distributing funds in a timely manner were critical to the success of the Fisheries Program, but the work is not done when the funds are distributed,” Mr. Walsh wrote. New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry is one of the largest in the nation, generating over $8 billion a year and supporting over 50,000 jobs, according to industry figures.

COURTESY PHOTO

Owner Maria Wilson is holding a grand re-opening for Painted Cabernet.

DeSantis campaign raises $20 million in six weeks

Best first fundraising quarter of any non-incumbent GOP candidate for president in over a decade

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis posted the best first fundraising quarter of any non-incumbent Republican candidate in over a decade, according to campaign finance data.

The DeSantis for President campaign raised $20 million in six weeks, surpassing the amount the Trump campaign raised during its first two fundraising quarters combined.

“The campaign’s haul is the largest firstquarter filing from any non-incumbent Republican candidate in more than a decade,” Gov. DeSantis’ campaign announced in a news release on Thursday. “It bests the $18.3 million former president and quasi-incumbent Donald Trump’s campaign raised during its first two fundraising quarters as a candidate,” citing $3.8 million raised in Q4 2022 and nearly $14.5 million raised in Q1 2023, according to campaign finance data filed with the Federal Election Commission.

“Joe Biden’s leftist policies are destroying the country, and Republicans are excited to invest in a winner ready to lead America’s revival,” Gov. DeSantis for President campaign manager Generra Peck said. “We are grateful for the investment so many Americans have made to get this country back on track. The fight to save it will be long and challenging, but we have built an operation to share the governor’s message and mobilize the millions of people who support it. We are ready to win.”

Campaigns are due to report fundraising data to the Federal Election Commission by July 15. Mr. Trump’s campaign reported raising $35 million in the second quarter but had double the amount of time that Gov. DeSantis’ campaign had since entering the race on May 24.

The Never Back Down super PAC supporting Gov. DeSantis’ campaign has raised $130 million since March, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported, including “$82.5 million transferred from Gov. DeSantis’ former state political committee, part of the recordbreaking fundraising for his re-election campaign.”

The Campaign Legal Center, run by a Trump

supporter, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission claiming Gov. DeSantis’ campaign violated campaign finance laws by transferring money to two different PACs and was using money donated by Trump supporters “against them,” Newsweek reported.

Of the $20 million Gov. DeSantis’ campaign raised, $8.2 million was raised within the first 24 hours of launching his campaign, ABC News reported. This surpassed the $6.3 million candidate Vice President Joe Biden raised in the first 24 hours after he launched his presidential campaign in 2019.

Mr. Trump remains the frontrunner among registered voters, according to numerous polls.

According to a June Eschelon Insights poll, Mr. Trump has a 39% favorability rating compared to Gov. DeSantis’ 36%. In four randomized scored hypothetical votes, if the 2024 presidential election were held at the time of the survey, President Biden beat Mr. Trump in one vote by 1% and Mr. Trump beat President Biden in three separate votes each time by 2%.

The poll also found in a DeSantis-Biden matchup, President Biden defeated Gov. DeSantis by a vote of 45% to 42%. In a TrumpDeSantis primary, Mr. Trump trounced Gov. DeSantis by a vote of 60% to 32%.

The findings are consistent with a July 2022 Eschelon survey. If Mr. Trump weren’t running for president, Gov. DeSantis was the overwhelming choice of voters, the survey found, including among “Trump-first” Republicans and “Party-first” Republicans.

The survey also paired the two with Mr. Trump leading by double-digits last year.

According to a July Newsweek YouGov/ Economist survey, Gov. DeSantis has a combined 35% favorability rating compared to Mr. Trump’s 39%.

If the 2024 presidential election were held today, the plurality of those polled said they’d vote for a Democratic Party candidate over a Republican Party candidate by a vote of 39% to 36%.

According to a RealClear Politics 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination polling average, Mr. Trump has 53% support compared to Gov. DeSantis’ 20.9%. All of the eight other

Vance issues warnings to two Ohio colleges, Ivy League universities

Affirmative action ruling could lead to investigation, says U.S. senator

By J.D. DAVIDSON THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance threatened to investigate two Ohio colleges and Ivy League universities if those schools plan to try to get around a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that banned affirmative-action-based admissions.

In a statement, the Republican from Ohio said Ivy League presidents, along with presidents at Kenyon College and Oberlin College, made statements he said indicated plans to defy the court’s ruling and continue to focus on race during the admissions process.

“The United States Senate is prepared to use its full investigative powers to uncover circumvention, covert or otherwise, of the Supreme Court’s ruling,” Sen. Vance said in a letter to the university and college presidents. “You are advised to retain admissions documents in anticipation of future congressional investigations, including digital communications between admissions officers, any demographic or other data compiled during future admissions cycles, and other relevant materials. As you are aware, a number of federal criminal statutes regulate the destruction of records connected to federal investigations, some of which apply prior to the formal commencement of any inquiry.”

In a letter to the Kenyon community

SHORTAGE

Continued from Page A4

Gina M. Meyers (805) 898-4250

gmeyers@cbcworldwide.com

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following the ruling, interim President Jeff Bowman called the decision disappointing and sobering. He said the college remains committed to access and inclusion.

“While it will take some time to fully understand the implications of the ruling, I can say with certainty that the decision does not alter Kenyon’s mission or our commitment to access and inclusion,” Mr. Bowman said. “In fact, it only strengthens our resolve.”

Mr. Bowman also said the ruling makes it more difficult for colleges to fulfill their educational mission and “dramatically understates the role race has historically played and continues to play in determining access to resources of all kinds.”

In his letter, Sen. Vance called it alarming that Mr. Bowman extolled the “transformative power of living, learning and working in a diverse community” and said that “the decision does not alter Kenyon’s mission or commitment to access and inclusion.”

Sen. Vance also singled out Oberlin College President Carmen Twillie Ambar saying she was “deeply saddened and concerned for the future of higher education” when the decision was announced. Sen. Vance also said Ms. Ambar told students and faculty that rather than dampening her enthusiasm for affirmative action policies, the decision “only strengthens our determination to be a welcoming place where diversity is celebrated.”

GOP candidates have single digit support ranging from 6.1% to 0.1%. Mr. Trump’s spread is over 32 points. Among the polls cited, Fox News has Mr. Trump defeating Gov. DeSantis by 34 points, Harvard-Harris has him winning by 45 points, CNN by 21 points.

The outlier is a June Marquette University Law School poll, which has Mr. Trump leading Gov. DeSantis by only one percentage point, 31% to 30%, with a margin of error of +/-4.3%.

“Among Republicans and independents who lean Republican, the GOP presidential primary is a near-even divide,” the poll states.

“If the election were held today and DeSantis were the GOP nominee against Biden, it would be a very close race, with 49% for Biden, 47% for DeSantis, and 4% declining to choose. Biden has a materially larger lead over Trump in a hypothetical matchup, with 52% for Biden to Trump’s 43% and 4% undecided.”

Ohio budget contains tax breaks for East Palestine, rail safety measures

By J.D. DAVIDSON THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Ohio’s newly signed budget contains state tax breaks for members of the East Palestine community impacted by the Feb. 3 train derailment that led to the release of toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water.

The budget also contains state rail safety measures in response to the Norfolk Southern rail crash.

“The people of East Palestine have remained strong and steadfast as their lives have been so heavily impacted over the last few months by the derailment,” said Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel, RColumbia County. “I hope this relief and increased rail safety shows that I am sincerely committed to finding solutions for them.”

The state tax deductions could cover things like lost business for impacted local businesses.

The safety measures include expanding the Ohio Wayside Detector Expansion Program by establishing a $10 million grant for projects that include installation, equipment, power sources and employee training.

Also, the budget includes $100 million for the Rail Safety Crossing Match program to fund safety at railroad crossings. The tax breaks and funding come days after Gov. Mike DeWine asked President Joe Biden for a federal disaster declaration for East Palestine.

Gov. DeWine said the community needs the declaration if Norfolk Southern fails to follow through on promises to make East Palestine whole again.

According to Gov. DeWine, FEMA officials have told the state that federal help would only be possible with the declaration if Norfolk Southern stops its support. Thus far, the company has reimbursed citizens and state and local governments for costs associated with the damage.

As previously reported by The Center Square, the National Transportation Safety Board blamed the derailment on an overheated wheel bearing. There were no injuries from the crash.

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FINANCIAL AND ACADEMIC PERSONNEL ANALYST

Phelps Administrative Support Center (PASC) Responsible for financial matters and academic personnel processes for the departments and programs that the PASC serves. Manages payroll reconciliation and audit general ledgers. Projects and monitors expenditures across all funding sources. Advises faculty on policies regarding budgets. Serves as primary UCPath initiator for all staff and selected academic appointments including requesting position control numbers and initiating the funding entry. Ensures proper employee and supervisor set-up in Kronos on-line timekeeping system. Is responsible for the visa aspects for visiting scholars. From preliminary analysis, extensive communication with applicants and OISS, to submission of documents, ensuring accurate tracking of status and follow-through. Coordinates annual summer research additional compensation. Provides administrative back-up and possesses the ability to work under pressure of deadlines. Serves as back-up for academic personnel actions for permanent faculty and continuing lecturers including faculty retention, merits and promotions, lecturer reviews, leave requests, and retirements. Maintains a broad knowledge and functional understanding of all academic personnel policies and procedures. Provides consultation and advice to the department Chair and faculty regarding academic personnel policies. Collaborates on financial matters and academic recruitment cases, meeting Affirmative Action guidelines, and ensuring that overall general procedures are followed. Reqs: Bachelor’s degree in related area or equivalent work experience and/or training. 1-3

Proponents say H.3726, the “Statewide Education and Workforce Development Act,” will lead to a “more coordinated approach” in the state’s “workforce and education pipeline.”

It establishes the Office of Statewide Workforce Development Coordination under the Department of Employment and

Workforce to coordinate publicly funded workforce initiatives, such as scholarships and apprenticeship programs. It also moves the Coordinating Council for Workforce Development from the Department of Commerce to the DEW.

As part of the measure, which took effect on May 19, the CCWD will develop a Unified State Plan that provides “a systemwide approach to streamline and unify” the efforts of agencies “involved in education and workforce

development” in South Carolina. According to a February fiscal estimate from the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, DEW anticipated the measure would require 35 full-time equivalent employees and increase spending by $7.4 million in fiscal 2023-24 and $4.4 million in subsequent years. Other costs include a one-time $3 million expenditure in fiscal 2023-24 for a career coach, facility improvements, technology and professional services.

Bill intended to provide a ‘more coordinated approach’ in state’s ‘workforce and education pipeline’

COURTESY PHOTO

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

REAL ESTATE

Staging your home can sell it quicker and for more. Here’s how to hire a pro

By Jim Buchta

Even though it’s still technically a seller’s market, staging your home for sale might still be a worthwhile investment. You love your house and have invested much time and money into making it just the way you want it. But now it’s time to sell, and your real estate agent advises undoing all that work. Neutralize it so someone else can imagine living there. at can be upsetting for a seller to hear, but it’s the not-sosecret strategy for selling a house quickly and for the highest price: home staging.

Even though it’s still a seller’s market, staging your home might still be a worthwhile strategy to consider.

Here’s some advice on how to do it:

What is staging?

Staging isn’t just decorating or interior design. While many stagers have degrees and years of experience in those elds, staging is a very speci c craft — some say art — that’s focused on making a home as sellable as possible.

Staging can be as simple as decluttering and depersonalizing a house while you’re still living there. But it can also mean painting, replacing xtures and cabinet hardware, even installing new appliances. You can also swap your furnishings and accessories for more on-trend and neutral items.

Some stagers just tell sellers what to do. Others actually do the work. Twin Cities-based Laurie Fleming of Fix Design Haus has a 12,000-squarefoot warehouse full of furnishings and accessories she’s constantly moving in and out of homes.

“Staging is an insurance policy to know that I’m doing everything I can to get top dollar in my sale and that I can’t control other factors, including mortgage rates and home prices,” she said. “At its core, staging is all about solving problems that buyers might nd objectionable.”

Why it matters

While stagers themselves are reluctant to guarantee a quick sale or make promises about your return on investment, there is some proof of staging’s bene ts from a national survey the National Association of Realtors released this spring.

Almost half of the sellers’ agents surveyed said staging a home made it sell more quickly. One- fth of both buyers’ and sellers’ agents said staged houses fetched an o er that was 1% to 5% higher than similar unstaged homes.

Almost a quarter of the sellers’ agents said they staged all sellers’ homes before listing them for sale, while 10% said they only staged homes that were di cult to sell.

Most agents said real estate television shows — think “House Hunters” on HGTV — a ected buyers’ perspectives on homes. ree quarters of the respondents said those TV shows a ected their business by setting unrealistic or increased expectations.

Martha Stewart and Chip & Joanna Gaines have pretty much ruined it for home sellers these days. Buyers want what they see, no matter their budget. ey don’t want to see your stu or any sign of you and your beautiful family or any trace of your u y dog or cuddly cat.

“You’re so house-blind when you live there, and you don’t see what oth-

HOA Homefront Reader Questions

What if our reserves are zero?

By Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. CCAL

er people see, and you’re able to look past your collections,” Fleming said.

“And we know how to make a house look newer than it is.”

Lindahl said buyers are so discriminating that hiring a professional stager is essential.

“I don’t even think it’s an option. I think it’s something you must do,” he said. “Everyone’s house, including

ing point for those jobs is $2,000 to $2,500 for a living room, dining room, kitchen and primary bedroom, including decor and 90-day furniture rental.

For the highest-end homes, you will easily pay more than $10,000.

First impressions

Most buyers today are shopping online, so they’re looking at photos of your house rst. A properly staged house is key to making great photos that will spur the buyer to see it in person.

e goal, Fleming said, is to usher as many buyers as possible into the house during the rst couple of days it’s on the market so there’s a sense of competition and urgency. at can in uence someone to o er more than the asking price.

“You have to create fear that the buyer will lose the house,” Fleming said. “People want what they want, and they’re willing to pay for it.”

Michael agreed. “When a room is staged, it is easily dened,” she said. “But when they are empty, it can make it di cult for the potential buyer to know what they are looking at.”

Dear Kelly:

What happens if the reserves go to zero? What is insolvency?

– B.E.

Dear B.E.: HOAs which fail to set aside money in their reserve fund are progressively falling into an unliquidated state of insolvency because the reserve study calculates the cost of deterioration occurring each year. Insolvency means the HOA assets are less than the total of its liabilities. “Unliquidated” means that the bill for the replacement has not been received, even though an asset is deteriorated. If the HOA does not set aside su cient money to o set that deterioration, it is unprepared for the day when the asphalt, roofs, paint, or other common area elements must be replaced. When a major component needs replacement, the insolvency becomes liquidated, in that the HOA “suddenly” needs the replacement cost- but it is not ready because it has not built up the funds to pay for it. Bankruptcy is not the answer. e best approach for HOAs is to scrupulously set aside the money each month as prescribed by the reserve study, so the HOA is ready when those major common area items come up for repair, refurbishment, or replacement.

– Best, Kelly

Mr. Richardson: How are the reserves used? e purposes? For any type of project?

– E.A.

Dear E.A.: Reserve funds are intended to prepare the HOA for the deterioration of major physical components. Reserve funds should be accumulated following the important information in the reserve study and cannot be used for anything other than replacing, repairing, or refurbishing the speci ed deteriorating capital components. Civil Code Section 55510(b) bars boards from spending reserve fund money except for repairing, replacing, restoring, or maintaining the components regarding which the money was saved. Withdrawing money from the reserve fund account for

any other purpose is considered “borrowing” from the reserve fund. Per Civil Code Section 5515, boards may temporarily transfer money from the reserve fund, but must state in the board’s meeting minutes the reason why the borrowing is occurring and when it will be repaid. e money must be repaid to the reserve fund within one year.

Kelly:

– ank you, Kelly.

In one of your articles, “But We Homeowners Can’t A ord It!”, you mentioned reserve accounts and special assessments as means for funding, but what in a case where a major problem occurs, can HOAs take out a loan?  I’m assuming so, but thought I’d ask.  ank you, your article is one of the reasons I read the Saturday paper!

Dear S.S.:

– S.S.

Some HOAs have bylaws or CC&Rs limiting the power of the board to borrow on behalf of the HOA, and those HOAs would need to submit proposed loans to the membership for an approval vote. Other HOAs have governing documents placing limits on the amount of borrowing the board can pursue. e ability to obtain a loan is not guaranteed, because the HOA banks have their own lending guidelines. One common requirement is that the HOA have a certain amount of money in its reserve account, and another is that the HOA not have too many delinquencies. A healthy reserve fund can not only make it more likely that the HOA would qualify for a loan but can itself be a short-term borrowing source.

– Best regards, Kelly.

mine, doesn’t look like a showhouse when I’m living [in] it.”

Lindahl said nearly every single seller who works with his agents stage their homes. He even started his own in-house staging company so every agent can o er the service.

e cost

If you want professional advice and need to seriously zhuzh up your house, you’ll spend at least a few hundred dollars.

For KLRE clients, the cost of an initial consultation is included with every listing agreement, but sellers will pay for furniture and accessory rentals.

Fleming said a basic consultation — which includes a visit to the house, a meeting with clients and a list of recommendations — is $350. Usually, she said, the agent pays that fee and recoups it once you sell.

She said a completely vacant home can cost $3,000 to $15,000 for a 30-day contract, depending on how many rooms you’re staging — that survey found the living room, main bedroom and kitchen are most important — and for how long. But she’s had clients spend upward of $150,000 to $200,000 for her to manage subcontractors on projects that are too small for a big builder and too big for a handyman.

“If [your] house doesn’t sell quickly, you’ll be incurring some rental or renewal fees,” Fleming said. “ e value of staging can change quite a bit if you’re on the market a long time. at’s where it turns upside down for you.”

Kari Michael, president and founder of Kariel Staging & Decor

vacant homes. e start-

Feelings, not data Fleming said what differentiates her from an agent is an agent focuses on market information while she hones in on emotion.

“I know what makes people feel like they want to live and spend more time in the space,” she said. “We’re going beyond data.”

Staging a house can be a humbling and sometimes painful experience because sellers have to confront parts of their home others might not like. Fleming is the one to gently deliver that news.

“Not every Realtor wants to be the bad cop,” she said. “And I don’t have a pro t or loss based on how the listing proceeds.”

Fleming likes to meet with all her staging clients before starting to make sure they’re comfortable with the coming changes.

“I want them to ask questions. I have to read their body language to know what’s overwhelming to them and what I can say to them,” she said. “You have to have an enormous amount of respect for people and their homes.”

©2023 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

On Gardening:

Luminary

tall garden

phlox brings in

bees, birds and butter ies

By Norman Winter

Making its debut this year is Luminary Sunset Coral tall garden phlox. I grew it last year as part of Proven Winners’ garden writer trial program and fell madly in love with it. e color is electrifying in the garden — so thrilling in fact, that I just had to add more plants this year.

For whatever reason, last year I decided to plant them around a windmill palm in combination with Heart to Heart to Bottle Rocket caladiums and the chartreuse Royal Hawaiian Maui Gold elephant ears. ere is simply no rhyme or reason to do such a combination, but I did and I loved it.

is year I added more of the phlox to the area and decided to try Heart to Heart Clowning Around as caladium partners along with the elephant ears and palm tree. e partnership was everything I dreamed. e coral colors in the caladium leaves matched perfectly.

Admittedly, caladiums aren’t your rst consideration in a phlox partnership. In the front yard I combined Luminary Sunset Coral phlox with Rockin Playin the Blues salvia, Chestnut Gold Rising Sun rudbeckias, and Augusta Lavender heliotrope. I love the look, even though it is a little wild ower-like for the front entrance ower bed.

During my years as director of the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens in Savannah, Georgia, I noticed constant butter y activity around the tall garden phlox. With the advent of the Luminary series, I was anxious to see how they performed with regards to pollinators and resistance to powdery mildew.

I’m delighted to report that I have

Tall Garden phlox attract pollinators like this female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail seen feeding on Luminary Ultraviolet.

Photos courtesy Norman Winter/TNS been growing Luminary Opalescence, Ultraviolet, Sunset Coral, and the new Prismatic Pink debuting in 2024, and there has not been a single leaf with powdery mildew. ey are also spoton with their reputation for attracting butter ies, particularly swallowtails.

So, my plan will be until further notice that if I am creating a pollinator habitat, there will be a place for at least one of the Luminary phlox varieties. at being said, I am now currently combining Luminary Ultraviolet phlox with reblooming hydrangeas, rudbeckias, Luscious lantanas,

Mexican sun owers and even SunPatiens. Out of the ve colors in the series, the white selection, Luminary Backlight, is just a little smaller in height and spread but by only a couple of inches. Luminary Prismatic Pink, which will be making its debut in 2024, is already extra-special to me for garden fragrance. You will love how its spicy sweet aroma permeates the air, welcoming you into their presence. It is de nitely one for creating memories. e others are noted for fragrance, but this is the one my nose

Laurie Flemming collects a blanket for a future staging project for a client.

Laurie Flemming looks at art in the warehouse of her home staging company. Renée Jones Schneider/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

in Crystal, said she only stages

Kelly G. Richardson, Esq. is a Fellow of the College of Community Association Lawyers and Partner of Richardson Ober DeNichilo LLP, a law rm known for community association advice. Submit questions to Kelly@rodllp. com. Past columns at www.HOAHomefront.com. All rights reserved

Sunday’s Open Homes

OPEN HOUSE DIRECTORY

We no longer take submissions via e-mail, instead an easy-to-use form can be found at newspress.com

Click on “RESOURCES” then click on “TO PLACE AN OPEN HOMES AD”

Deadline is 5 p.m. on Wednesdays for the following Friday & Weekend Editions. If you have any questionsplease e-mail: openhomes@newspress.com

Santa Barbara County Sales

This is a partial list of all recorded residential sales in Santa Barbara County from June 20 thru June 23, 2023 While these recordings are public record, the News-Press receives this information from an outside source. This list does not represent all sales that occurred over this time period. Consult your REALTOR for further information regarding home sales in your area of interest.

knows. Yes, Proven Winners describes the color as a “bubblegum” pink.

e Lady Bird Johnson Wild ower Center calls these perennials “fall phlox,” but you probably grew up calling it summer phlox or tall garden phlox. ey will bloom from early June until October. Remarkably, the Phlox paniculata is native to 36 states, but most of us have probably never seen one in the wild.

e Luminary series no doubt is packed with native DNA, o ering us carefree and easy-togrow plants. e native habitat is described as rich open woods, thickets, meadows and moist roadsides. Fertile soil with plenty of sun is all that is required to give you the green thumb.

e tall garden phlox, one of our best perennials, is not a garden center staple, which is one of the mysteries of life. I urge you to simply keep your eyes open and buy them when you see them.

Norman Winter, horticulturist, garden speaker and author of “Tough-as-Nails Flowers for the South” and “Captivating

Combinations: Color and Style in the Garden.” Follow him on Facebook @ NormanWinter eGardenGuy.

©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

HOPE RANCH ANNEX

Luminary Sunset Coral tall garden phlox is making its debut this year. Here it is combined with Heart to Heart Clowning Around and Royal Hawaiian Maui Gold Elephant ear.

Luminary Prismatic Pink tall garden phlox will make its debut in 2024. Its wonderful fragrance permeated the air welcoming you and butter ies into its presence.

CalSTa

Continued from Page A1

the adjacent communities of Wilmington and San Pedro.

The project will “reduce cargo delays, which in turn aids in maintaining and accommodating expected container volume growth,” a summary by CalSTA states. These ports account for 35% of all water borne containers entering and exiting the US.

The project is expected to be completed by April 2026.

“This game-changing grant will make a tremendous difference in our efforts to bring more business and jobs to the harbor, enhance the efficiency of cargo movement and accelerate the Port of Long Beach’s ongoing transformation to zero-emission operations,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero.

The Broadway Grade Separation rail project is the top priority of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Grade Separation Fund

Priority List. This project entails replacing the existing Broadway

CEC

Continued from Page A1

the state’s recycling law in 1990 and secured the city of Santa Barbara’s commitment to 100% renewable energy in 2017. Most recently Ms. Wright was honored

as Congressional Woman of the Year for 2022.

The CEC is focused on its next goals in sustainability for the Central Coast and beyond, and aims to use the new Environmental Hub to center those operations, as well as draw in new people who want to help fix what CEC and others regard as the looming

climate crisis.

“For anyone that’s feeling dismayed, worried or anxious about the future of our species and our planet, this is the place to come work through that and create hope together,” said Ms. Wright.

email: lhibbert@newspress.com

Michigan bill would allow concealed carry on college campuses

By SCOTT MCCLALLEN

CENTER SQUARE

THE

(The Center Square) – Michigan

Republicans are pushing bills aiming to keep anonymous gun and ammunition purchases by credit cards as well as allow individuals with concealed pistol licenses to carry on college and university campuses statewide.

Rep. Gina Johnsen, R-Lake Odessa, introduced House Bill 4831, which aims to prohibit banks and credit card companies from requiring Michigan retailers to use specialized codes to label firearms purchases.

In September 2022, The Center Square reported that guns and ammunition purchased with credit cards show a merchant category code approved by the International Organization for Standardization.

Rep. Johnson said the government or financial companies could abuse the information.

“If there’s a legitimate reason to suspect criminal activity, law enforcement can follow the proper procedures and get a search

warrant,” Rep. Johnson said. “However, we cannot allow companies to pry into the lives of law-abiding citizens or act as government enforcers. We must protect the privacy and rights of responsible gun owners, and not allow intimidation or intrusion into their lives.”

Triggered by the COVID pandemic, riots, and gun restriction bills moving under a Democratic trifecta Legislature wielding power for the first time in 40 years, more Michiganders are applying for concealed carry permits and likely buying guns as well.

Data from the Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners show Michigan added 6,389 net CPL holders in May, the most significant monthly increase since June 2021.

HB 4285 aims to allow concealed pistol license holders to carry their firearms on college and university campuses. The bill follows a February shooting at Michigan State University that killed three students and wounded five others.

“Law-abiding gun owners should be allowed to carry on college campuses,” Rep. Johnsen said. “Everyone deserves the right to protect themselves and others. Disarming responsible

individuals only puts lives at risk. By trusting lawful citizens and implementing sensible policies, we can create a safer environment for students, faculty, and staff.”

State law bans even those with concealed pistol licenses from carrying on school property, at child care centers, in sports arenas, bars where liquor is the primary source of income, places of worship, entertainment facilities with a seating capacity of more than 2,500, hospitals, college universities, and casinos.

The bill, if passed by the House and Senate and signed into law, would threaten financial institutions with a $10,000 fine per violation.

HB 4831 was referred to the House Committee on Insurance and Financial Services for consideration, while House Bill 4285 was referred to the House Government Operations Committee.

The bills will likely die in the Michigan government, where Democrats hold a trifecta. Democrat lawmakers who The Center Square reached out to for a comment on the gun bills haven’t yet responded.

Station with a new station and reconfiguring the platforms, which will eliminate the need for trains to be held off while another train is boarding at the station.

The project will build a rail bridge at Broadway in the City of Burlingame (eliminating congestion and improving safety) ,and enhance access and connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists by providing sidewalks and bike access along reconstructed portions of Broadway, California Drive, and Carolan Avenue. It will also provide better east-west connectivity and connect to existing north-south, and eastwest bike facilities. The project is anticipated to be finished by 2028.

“These investments –unprecedented in scope and scale – will modernize our ports, reduce pollution, eliminate bottlenecks and create a more dynamic distribution network,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “No other state has a supply chain as critical to the national and global economy as California.”

Lake Cachuma’s maximum level at the point at which water starts spilling over the dam holds 188,030 acre-feet. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, equivalent to the amount of water consumed annually by 10 people in an urban environment.

‘These investments ... will modernize our ports, reduce pollution, eliminate bottlenecks and create a more dynamic distribution network’

PHOTOS COURTESY CEC

The new, 10,000-square-foot-plus hub is designed to be a place where people can gather to discuss environmental solutions.

The CEC teams stands together in the new hub, located at 1219 State St.

‘For anyone that’s feeling dismayed, worried or anxious about the future of our species and our planet, this is the place to come work through that’

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

Life theArts

e sounds of two worlds

Larry & Joe plays music of Appalachia and Venezuela

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Txhe banjo meets the harp as the sounds of xAppalachia and Venezuela blend with Larry & Joe.

Larry Bellorin is from Monagas, Venezuela, and plays several instruments including the arpa llanera — the Venezuelan folk harp. His other instruments vary from stand-up bass to maracas and cuarato, a four-string guitar with Spanish roots.

Joe Troop is a Grammy-nominated banjo, fiddle player and guitarist who grew up in Durham, N.C.

Together, the duo plays seven instruments. That’s not counting two other instruments — their voices.

A Santa Barbara audience will hear this international blend of music when Larry & Joe performs at 7:30 p.m. July 19 at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., suite 205.

“The banjo and the Venezuelan harp are the principal instruments. They fold into each other well — unexpectedly — the nylon strings of the harp and the steel strings of the banjo,” Mr. Troop told the News-Press Thursday from Ridgway, Colo., one of the stops on the duo’s national tour.

“It’s similar to what a banjo and piano would be, but the harp adds the element of plucking like a banjo,” Mr. Troop said. “It’s not as sharp of a sound as a piano. It’s much more of a soft sound.”

Mr. Troop said the banjo and harp balance each other well.

He and Mr. Bellorin started their duo in March 2022, and they don’t live too far from each other. Mr. Troop resides in Durham, and Mr. Bellorin calls Raleigh his home.

In March of this year, they released their digital album “Nuevo South Train.”

“We do a mix of music from across the Americas and original music. A lot of it is traditional music that we bring new life to with our polycultural approach,” Mr. Troop said.

He and Mr. Bellorin met in 2021 when Mr. Troop was offered a musical residency at The Fruit in Durham.

“I had hear about this amazing Venezuelan musician who was working in construction (in North Carolina),” Mr. Troop said. “When I saw videos of him (performing), I called him to participate in the residency.

“We immediately got a standing ovation the first time we played together,” the banjo player said. “When I met Larry, I knew this project would become the principal project in my life.”

Mr. Bellorin and his family moved to North Carolina eight years ago to escape the oppressive regime in the dictatorship of Venezuela. He immediately applied for asylum in the U.S. and is still waiting to be interviewed by the U.S. government.

“For the first six and a half years, the only work he could get was construction,” Mr. Troop said. “He had to hang up a musical career.”

Mr. Troop is glad to see Mr. Bellorin performing again.

“He is an encyclopedia of different Latin American folk genres and traditional music from the Caribbean and from all over South America,” Mr. Troop said.

He noted Mr. Bellorin plays the plains music shared by Venezeulans and Colombians.

Mr. Troop’s personal story also features South America and is parallel to Mr. Bellorin’s. Mr. Troop, who earned his bachelor’s in Spanish in 2005 at the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, lived for 10 years in Buenos Aires before moving back to North Carolina.

“I made a niche in the music industry fusing Appalachian folk music that I grew up with and Latin American music,” Mr. Troop said. email: dmason@newspress.com

CALENDAR

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

9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily: The Sistine Chapel Art Exhibition runs through Sept. 4 at the Santa Barbara Mission, 2201 Laguna St., Santa Barbara. Tickets start at $25 for adults, $18 for children, and $22 for seniors, military and students. Each ticket also includes admission to the mission museum. To purchase, go to santabarbaramission.org/ sistine-chapel-omsb or stop at the museum’s gift shop.

Father Joe Schwab is hosting personal tours that delve into the theological and philosophical perspectives of Michelangelo’s art. Groups of 10 or more can contact Donna Reeves for a private tour at development@sboldmission.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, has reopened its recurring summer exhibit, “Butterflies Alive!” Featuring a variety of butterflies, this experience allows guests to walk through a garden while nearly 1,000 butterflies flutter freely around them. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. The exhibit, which runs through Sept. 4, is included in museum admission. Members are always admitted free. For others, prices vary from $14 to $19. For more information, visit sbnature.org/ butterfliesalive.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The James Castle exhibit is on display at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is free from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information, see sbma.net.

7:30 p.m. Violinist and Mosher guest artist Augustin Hadelich will share the stage with Jonathan Feldman, a Music Academy of the West teaching artist and chairman of Juilliard’s collaborative music department.The concert will take place at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, and will feature music by Schubert, Ravel, Prokofiev and others. Tickets cost $55 and $60 for general admission. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

FYI

Larry & Joe will perform at 7:30 p.m. July 19 at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., suite 205, Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $20. To purchase, go to www. sohosb.com.

For more about the musicians, see larryandjoe.com.

Larry & Joe this year released their digital album “Nuevo South Train.” At left is the album’s cover photo.

8 p.m. PCPA is performing “Bright Star,” a musical by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, today through July 23 at the Solvang Festival Theater. The Tony- and Grammy-nominated musical blends bluegrass and true evens into a journey along the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tickets start at $25. To purchase, go to pcpa. org or call 805-922-8313.

JULY 12 7:30 p.m. Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist Daniel Champagne will perform at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., suite 205, Santa Barbara. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $23 cash at the door. To purchase a ticket and get a dinner reservation, go to www. sohosb.com.The concert is for all ages.

JULY 13 8 p.m. Singer and pianist Jimmy Webb will perform his hits, including songs from the Glenn Campbell songbook, at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. He will also perform songs from his collaborations for many artists during his 50-year musical career. Tickets cost $55 to $71 for general admission. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

JULY

— Joe

ZION MCKNIGHT PHOTO

Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop combine their Venezuelan and Appalachian cultures on a national tour that brings them to Santa Barbara on July 19.

PAT JARRETT/VIRGINIA FOLKLIFE PROGRAM

Between them, Larry Bellorin and Joe Troop play seven instruments. That’s not counting two other instruments — their voices.

“We do a mix of music from across the Americas and original music. A lot of it is traditional music that we bring new life to with our polycultural approach.”

Troop of Larry & Joe

SAMANTHA EVERETTE PHOTO

Here are 10 rules to love by

By DR. BARTON GOLDSMITH NEWS-PRESS COLUMNIST

Learning how to be in a relationship can have its challenges. Here are xsome rules to love byx xthat can guide you to bliss and beyond.

— When someone you love hurts you, never let your anger get the better of you, or lash out. Instead, let your partner know that you’re feeling hurt and would like them to apologize. Your love life will be better for it.

— Minimize the drama in your life. Not every little thing is worth getting upset over. When you spend most of your emotional energy on other things, you won’t have much left over for the one you love. Keep small matters in perspective.

— If you make a mistake, admit it. We have all done and said dumb things; it’s part of being human.

Accept that neither you nor your partner can be perfect. You’ll both benefit by not taking each other’s mistakes personally or too seriously.

— If your love life has slowed down, check in with your partner about it. It’s fine if you’re both OK with where things are, but if one of you needs more physical attention, you should address it.

Without talking, resentment can build over time and keep you from being as close.

— Spend an evening on the couch just cuddling. Maybe put on some background music, but don’t just sit there watching a movie. Settle down in each other’s arms and enjoy the closeness. Cuddling is a great form of intimacy.

— Value the good times and each other.

This will provide a buffer for difficult moments or little daily problems that come up. When you

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with your blankets (nothing plastic, nothing nylon, no tarps) and low-to-the-ground, low-back chairs.

JULY 20

8 p.m. The Jerry Douglas Band will perform its bluegrass and folk music at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Tickets cost $35 and $45 for general admission and $106 for VIP tickets, which include premier seating and a preshow reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

JULY 21

7:30 p.m. The Cowboy Junkies

No. 0702

On their way to Fourth celebration

have a strong bond, traffic jams can be laughed off rather than make you stew.

— Accepting that you are each trying your best to be there for each other will reinforce the love between you. Feeling accepted by your mate is life-enhancing and gives you the strength you need to tackle new or difficult issues.

— Never shut out your partner or put them down. Withdrawing from or saying something degrading to the person you’re sharing your life with takes away from your bond. There is no reason why two people who love each other can’t work through the normal upsets of life in a positive way.

— Trust that your partner has your back. Over time, your mutual respect and your knowledge of each other will grow. If you’ve been hurt in past relationships, don’t let that rob you of your joy today. Put yourself into the relationship 100%.

It is never too late to have a happy, strong and loving relationship. Couples go through all kinds of ups and downs.

As long as you continue to be open to learning new things about each other and how to be great mates, you have the ability to keep your relationship moving forward.

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 or 818-879-9996.

He has lived and practiced in Westlake Village for more than two decades.

His column appears Saturdays in the News-Press.

will perform their country music and folk rock at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Tickets cost $55 and $65 for general admission and $106 for VIP tickets, which include premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

AUG. 11

8 p.m. Blake Lynch, aka Nurse Blake, will perform his healthcare-related standup comedy at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $48.50 to $93.50 at granadasb. org. The $195 VIP package includes perks such as a photo opportunity with Nurse Blake.

— Dave Mason

7-08-2023

OPPOSITES ATTRACTING BY JOHN WESTWIG / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

Christine Bisson to chair Foodbank board

NEWS-PRESS STAFF REPORT

The Foodbank of Santa Barbara County has announced that Christine Bisson has been elected to serve as the organization’s new board chair for the 2023/2024 term.

Ms. Bisson, who replaces Interim Board Chair Dr. Charles Stolar, began her term on July 1.

Ms. Bisson is currently an associate professor and coordinator for the Food Science and Nutrition Program at Allan Hancock College, where she has been teaching since 2000. In her role as a nutrition instructor, she became increasingly aware of challenges faced by the growing numbers of students impacted by food insecurity. Her work with the college’s Food Security Action Team and Food Share program introduced

her to the work of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as board chair, working together with the staff, volunteers, agency partners, donors, families and individuals who share the common goal of a nutrition secure future for everyone in Santa Barbara County,” said Ms. Bisson.

Ms. Bisson earned her bachelor of science in nutrition at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and graduated from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science with a master of science in nutrition. She completed a dietetic internship program in Denver and became a registered dietitian and member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was formerly a public health

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nutritionist at the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in San Luis Obispo County, as well as a member of the statewide WIC Nutrition Education Committee.

Ms. Bisson participated in the development of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan leading to involvement in the Higher Education Impact Group in collaboration with colleagues from Santa Barbara City College, UCSB and Westmont College. This evolved into the Higher Education Working Group of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network, in which Ms. Bisson continues to participate as a member. Ms. Bisson has served as a Foodbank board member since 2019.

email: news@newspress.com

AAUW event to raise awareness about human trafficking

LOMPOC — The American Association of University Women invites the community to attend a reception in Lompoc for a group called Pedal the Pacific.

The group consists of college students biking from Seattle to San Diego to raise awareness around human trafficking. On July 17, the AAUW will host the pedallers alongside the North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center at the Hilton Garden Inn, Lompoc.

The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6.

“Human trafficking is a growing crisis in the country and disproportionately impacts women and girls,” said Lucy

Thoms-Harrington, president of the Lompoc-Vandenberg branch of AAUW.

“The work by this Pedal the Pacific team of female college students from across the country who are biking the entire West Coast to raise funds and awareness speaks to their commitment and dedication to ending human trafficking. AAUW is proud to stand with the NCRCCPC and the Pedal the Pacific team in recognizing this vital work.”

To attend the event, email your RSVP to lompocvandenberg-ca@ aauw.net by July 12.

— Liam Hibbert

Goleta Dam Dinner scheduled for Aug. 19

GOLETA — The Goleta Dam Dinner is a dinner for the community with meals taking place alongside the dam with views of Lake Los Carneros and the mountains.

The dinner is on Aug. 19 from 4 to 7 p.m. Attendees can bring their own picnic dinner or buy food at the event. Local bluegrass music group, the Salt Martians, will be performing.

“What I really love about the Dam Dinner is that there’s no agenda,” said Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte. “It’s just breaking bread with your neighbors and sharing

time with your community.”

Enter the Dam Dinner off Nortth La Patera Lane or Stow House at 304 N. Los Carneros Road. Wear walking shoes and bring a jacket in case it gets windy.

Organizers request that no one brings pets. But service animals are allowed.

For more information, watch these videos, the first in English, the second in Spanish: https://youtu.be/0ERI5zReyLU. https://youtu.be/0q5zcYgOJxU.

— Liam Hibbert

Pedestrians walk under the Highway 101 overpass on State Street toward Fourth of July activities on West Beach in Santa Barbara.

Diversions

horoscope • puzzles

Thought for Today

“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.”

— Aristotle

HOROSCOPE

By Horoscope.com

Saturday, July 8, 2023

ARIES -- This is an excellent day for you, Aries. The farther you extend your emotions, the more prosperous you will be. Don’t be afraid of new things. More than likely, the new things entering your life now will make the most sense later. Trust that your heart knows the direction to take. Be generous with your time and energy.

TAURUS -- It may seem like people aren’t taking things as seriously as you’d like them to, Taurus. If so, take it as a hint that perhaps you’re the one who needs to lighten up. Life is a game. In the grand scheme of things, we’re merely specks of dust floating in space. Our lives are but the blink of an eye in relation to the universe. Don’t take yourself so seriously.

GEMINI -- Don’t turn down any opportunities today, Gemini, even if they seem like dead-ends at first. One could be your lucky break.

Realize that success doesn’t always have a big neon sign pointing you in the right direction. Prosperity simply comes when you act freely and instinctively. This is one of those days in which an unmarked door could lead you to the path of happiness and health.

CANCER -- It’s time to put your plans in motion, Cancer. There’s a very expansive energy urging you to reach out and make valuable connections with others. Remember that many hands make light work. Don’t hesitate to ask for help if you need it. There are many outstretched hands waiting to help you in whatever way you need.

LEO -- Go for the gold, Leo. Don’t settle for less. There’s an expansive energy on your side urging you on to prosperity in every aspect of your life. Take control of the situation and act on your emotions. Don’t refrain from doing something because you think it’s going to hurt someone’s feelings. Other people can take care of themselves. You’re responsible for you. Do what’s best for your well-being.

LIBRA -- Arguments could quickly turn into declarations of war today. Things could get blown out of proportion if they aren’t handled with care, Libra. The key lessons for you are about balance and communication. Things will move quickly, so make sure you have your seat belt fastened. Let your vivacious spirit lead the way to new adventures.

SCORPIO -- Your life is taking off in many different directions, Scorpio. Everything seems to be expanding at once. It may be difficult to get a solid grip on any one thing. Try not to get overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time and remember to maintain a good sense of humor in every situation. Keep things light and energetic.

SAGITTARIUS -- This is a great day for you, Sagittarius. There’s a terrific feeling of expansion in the air. This is one of those times in which a small germ of an idea can grow into something big right before your eyes. Projects are moving quickly, and information is being rapidly dispersed. Catch the energy and set your dreams in motion. You can accomplish a great deal if you try.

CAPRICORN -- You may feel like someone caught in a tornado, Capricorn. Things are whirling around you and everything seems out of control. Don’t get stressed out. There’s nothing you can do about it. Allow the storm to do what it will. You will only get hurt if you try to stop it. Accept things you have no control over. The storm will settle down soon.

AQUARIUS -- It’s time to take charge, Aquarius. There’s fuel for your fire, and the scope of your influence is virtually unlimited. Don’t hold back in any way. Confidently attack every project knowing that things will work out in your favor. Expand your mind and the rewards will be tremendous. Stay active. You will attract beneficial people and situations.

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday-Saturday and on the crossword solutions page in Sunday’s Life section.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

VIRGO -- The more you vacillate, the more valuable time and energy you waste, Virgo. Take a decisive stance and be confident about your choice. Give it everything you’ve got. If it doesn’t work out, try a different approach. Don’t be paralyzed by indecision. Things are moving too quickly. Take control of your life or someone else will.

Monday, November16, 2015

Daily Bridge Club

PISCES - Don’t concern yourself with getting more. Concentrate on what you already have, Pisces. Work with whatever resonates within you. You instinctively know what does and doesn’t work. Don’t waste your time on meaningless issues. Focus on priorities. The more balanced and stable your emotions can be today, the more prosperity will come into your life.

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.

DAILY BRIDGE

‘Play Bridge With Me’

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency Saturday, July 8, 2023

Since 1981 I’ve written a monthly column for the ACBL’s magazine. Many have been “over-my-shoulder” style. You listen in on my thoughts during a deal.

“Simple Saturday” columns treat basic technique and logical thinking. Learning players are introduced to the finesse early. But some finesses are better than others: A “bad” finesse can’t win or gains nothing if it does win; a “good” finesse may gain even if it loses.

Ninety of the best of these appear in “Play Bridge With Me,” my 23rd book, just published. The deals are intermediate level; the focus is on logical thinking.

At four hearts, South won the first diamond with the king and led a trump. West won and led another diamond to dummy’s ace. South drew trumps and led the queen of spades to finesse, but West won and cashed a diamond. Later, South lost a finesse in clubs also. Down one.

left, opens one heart. Your partner doubles, and the next player passes.

PUZZLE

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.

What do you say?

ANSWER: Had you been the dealer, you would have opened the bidding (with a “prepared” one club since you have no option). When your opponent opens, you need not act, even with 14 points. This hand has a lot of losers; it is good for defense but won’t make a good dummy for your partner if you double and oblige him to become declarer. Pass. South dealer

At today’s four spades, I win the first heart in dummy and lead a diamond. I can’t risk losing an early trump finesse; I need a quick pitch for my heart loser. East wins the second diamond and returns a heart, and I win to discard dummy’s last heart on my high diamond. When I finesse in trumps, East wins and exits with a trump.

ANSWER: This case is close. In theory, your 11 points are enough for a jump to two spades, inviting game, but your king of hearts, trapped in front of the opening bidder, may be worthless. Many experts would jump anyway. I would reluctantly downgrade the hand and settle for a response of one spade. East dealer N-S vulnerable

FOUR LOSERS

South has four possible losers but an extra winner in spades he can use to pitch a diamond from his hand. After he wins the first trick, he can lead the ace and ten of spades. No finesse. South wins West’s diamond return and discards his last diamond on the queen of spades. Then he can lead trumps. Note that South is unlikely to gain, and may lose as the cards lie, if he wins the first diamond in dummy and leads the queen of spades.

PASSED HAND

Now I must guess in clubs. But East, a passed hand, had the ace of diamonds, queen of hearts and king of spades. He won’t have the ace of clubs, so I lead to the king, making the game.

For a postpaid to U.S. copy of “Play Bridge With Me,” send $23.95 to PO Box 962, Fayette AL35555. Tell me how you’d like it inscribed. Profits donated.

The dealer, at your right, opens one spade. What do you say?

How to judge the quality of an unknown artist’s art

By DR. ELIZABETH STEWART NEWS-PRESS COLUMNIST

J.S. has a lightly touched oil on canvas in the postmodern style that has no signature.

The back reads “Carmel Art Association.” She thinks it may have been in a show, so she is wondering if the painting is good enough for her to do considerable research to find the artist. For this, she needs to know how to look at the painting, and I suggest a formal analysis of the work. In this article, I guide her — and you — to learn how to do such a thing.

Even if this painting is not in J.S.’s taste, she writes that she

could use the money if the work turns out to be quality. How can she judge this piece of art?

Well, I answer her, she should look for certain elements in this painting that indicate a professional approach that distinguishes an amateur work from an accomplished work. Just like there are certain grammatical and rhyming elements in a good poem, there are elements that indicate a good work of art.

And here are the seven magic keys. Read on. There are seven elements in a work that indicate skill. The following elements form the structure of a painting: Color, Value, Texture, Space, Form,

Shape and Line. I discussed the elements in this story for Worthwhile.

Isolate how an artist has approached these elements, and you can “read” a painting. All works contain at least a few of these elements, and once you can learn to see the components of the work, you can judge for yourself.

Here’s how I see the first element. A shape in a painting is a two-dimensional enclosed figure that reads as having a certain length. In J.S.’ painting this is the human shape, bound by lines. Now, within that shape we see contours. Those contours lead us to the next element, which is form.

That’s a tricky element to describe because it refers to the illusion of three dimensions (in a twodimensional work).

Form is the suggestion of three dimensions achieved by the artist’s expertise in contouring within a shape, through the use of shadowing, modeling, or texturing.

In J.S.’ work you can see that the human body figure has “volume.” In other words. it looks like the figure has depth in space. Note the waist and the hips of the figure: We see depth there, and this is expertly accomplished. To be ‘read’ properly, a painting will deal with “Space,” the next element.

Space is the illusion of distance in a painting, as well as sometimes the illusion of nothing-ness or No Space, and together they create the feeling of location in a work.

For example, in J.S.’s piece the figure stands in a certain scale in relationship to the horizon line rendered in pinks in the background. We may “read” that the figure “stands” before a vista of landscape with features of rolling hills. The “no space” area is the “sky,” which has no indication of the “where.”

However, the no-space is expertly rendered to give the viewer a sense that the figure stands in some kind of atmosphere. And this is achieved expertly through the artist’s use of another element, Texture.

Like Form, texture has an implied three dimensions.

For example, look at the line of purple on the figure’s right “leg.” The subtle brushstrokes of purple, set off by white, then blues and greens, indicate the depth of the leg and also add interest. (I like to say that if there is an area in which you, the viewer “linger” in a painting.

Check to see if you believe the artist to have intended you look there, or are you looking at a mistake or accident — a common

COURTESY PHOTO

J.S. asked columnist Elizabeth Stewart how to evaluate this unsigned work of art. Dr. Stewart noted much has to do with seven important elements.

indication of an amateur painter.)

In J.S.’s case, the artist is using the abstract cross hatching of his brush to create texture, which creates depth. The deep purple of the leg is highlighted by white, which brings me to the next element: Value. Value is the hardest element to capture because it requires an ability to see the tonal range in any given color, and the technical ability to communicate the right range on paper or canvas. Look again at the purple line of the leg. That purple is the darkest purple value used in this painting. (There are other purples of lesser value.)

Some artists are simply better at seeing color variations, for example, a blue tone goes from dark blue to light. To master value well indicates years of experience in both seeing/looking and in technique.

For example, see the way that the values of the following colors change for intended reasons in this work: the yellow, purple, pinks, greens, blues; the subtlety

of value. Change indicates skill in the medium, and a talent for seeing as well, which leads me to the next element: Color.

Color is a trap for many viewers because we all have favorites. Beyond personal preference, I look for certain handling of color that indicates expertise. There are elements within any color that a good artist will see. These are Intensity (how strong or weak a color may be), Value (the appreciation of clarity or brightness in a color) and Hue (the actual color itself). A gifted “eye” is an expression that means an artist will both see color and handle pigment with a special insight. For example, some artists can see 20 different colors in one swipe of the brush.

And finally, the most obvious element, and saved for last is Line. Line is one element that does NOT exist in nature, but it is a necessity in art. Without line, there is no art, it is said. “Does the artist handle line well?” Even abstracted, does the artist use the line to his/her advantage? Is it decisive? Is J.S.’s painting worthy?

Yes, I think so. I don’t necessarily like the colors, but love the expertise of the artist.

Yes, it’s worth the research to find the artist and appraisers. It is worth the research, no matter your taste, to find the artist for your client. Memorize the seven elements, and you can see for yourself.

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.

Champagne at SOhO

Voices

SANTA

A new birth of FREEDOM

When convicted felons are free to roam!/C2

DID YOU KNOW?

Bonnie Donovan

We must ght sexual slavery

Did you know of these horrifying statistics?

The National Association of Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse estimates that there are more than 42 million survivors of sexual abuse in America today. They calculate that one in three girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, estimates that at least 100,000 children are sexually exploited in America every year.

The Department of Human Services estimates that there are between 240,000 and 325,000 children and women forced into sexual slavery in the U.S. every year.

It is estimated that there are 500,000 online predators active each day and that their targets for grooming are between 12 and 15 years of age. Over 50% of victims of sexual exploitation are in the 12 to 15 years age group. Worldwide estimates of child sex trafficking every year have reached 1.2 million.

Did you know that America is the biggest market for sex trafficking?

Txhe series of decisions handed xdown by the U.S. Supreme Court in its latest session are so consequential that I would call it “a new birth of freedom.”

These are, of course, the words of President Abraham Lincoln at the bloody battlefield at Gettysburg.

There is a deep and meaningful connection between Lincoln’s words then, in 1863, and the words of our Supreme Court now in 2023.

The 14th Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights after the Civil War to assure that all citizens receive equal protection under the law. This after the horrible history of slavery and the earlier Supreme Court decision, Dred Scott, which denied exactly that equal protection to African Americans.

The 14th Amendment was ratified to fix the blemish on this nation regarding its treatment of one large segment of humanity. And it is the 14th Amendment to which Chief Justice John Roberts turned, in writing the decision on Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina and Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, to negate the use of race in college admissions.

The use of race in admissions “cannot

Txraditionally, July xFourth in the U. S. is when we celebrate the privilege of citizenship in the democracy ensured by the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, including inspiring messages by politicians. Does this happen in the Biden administration?

Not really, as in 2021 the president on the Fourth was busy with plans that led to the fiasco involving Afghanistan that would occur in the next month. What about other Fourths?

In 2022, President Joe Biden criticized the Supreme Court — not because the justices did not follow the principles of our founding documents: but because they did follow them. Tragically, rather than criticize their legal analysis in determining that the 10th Amendment to the Constitution requires that abortion issues be decided by states, the Democrats orally and physically attacked “conservative” Justices John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Barrett, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas. The oral attacks came with such

be reconciled with the guarantees of the equal protection clause” of the 14th Amendment, wrote Justice Roberts.

The decision also captures the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous words in 1963 that “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Those words, and Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in general, captured the spirit of what the Civil Rights Movement was supposedly about. The complaint was not about American ideals but the failure to live up to the American ideal of a free nation under God.

Dr. King famously concluded that great speech, dreaming of the day “when all of God’s children, Black men and White men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last.”

But soon, the inspiration of God Almighty and freedom floated into the sky to be displaced on the ground with the cynicism

comments as Lori Lightfoot, the Democratic mayor of Chicago saying “F–k Justice Thomas.” The physical attacks came through inaction: Democratic Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice refused to enforce the law that prohibits the picketing of Supreme Court justices’ homes to influence their votes.

So then, and now, only the conservative justices and their families, are harassed by pickets. Not picketed are liberal Justices Elana Kegan, Sonya Sotomayor and now Ketanji Brown Jackson.

In 2023, the attacks continued as the president criticized the same conservative justices’ ruling in Biden v. Nebraska, where they determined President Biden lacked the power to cancel student loans.

For decades, banks used due diligence to manage the risks to borrowers and lenders, which was

and ambition of politics and political power. The ideal of individual freedom and equal treatment under the law was displaced by the idea that justice is achieved through government power and social engineering. A federal bureaucracy grew out of the 1964 Civil Rights Act — the Civil Rights Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Office of Minority Business Enterprise, etc. — all empowered with understanding that discrimination in favor of certain racial groups was lawful and constitutional.

Then, in the early 1970s, it went beyond correcting the historic evil of slavery and the legacy of racism against African Americans to become in general about race and ethnicity.

In 1973, the Federal Interagency Committee on Education was directed to

the federal government.

About a decade ago the ObamaBiden team eliminated the banks and administered the program, including their usual “strings,” in their administrations. In that decade the outstanding loans more than tripled to $1.75 trillion which, of course, inspired colleges to increase their costs by 206% in that decade.

The criticism included attacking conservative justices for the ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, where the Supreme Court upheld the equality of applicants by denying Harvard College and UNC the power to give preference to some applicants on based on their race.

The liberal justices, appointed by Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Sonya Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson (Elana Kegan recused herself), voted to continue “affirmative action,” by saying, in essence, “Discrimination against minorities is illegal, but discrimination in favor of minorities is legal.” Democrats, such as U.S.

produce rules classifying Americans by race and ethnicity and it responded with five racial/ethnic categories: American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black, White and Hispanic.

In polling done by Pew several months ago, 50% said they disapprove of colleges using race and ethnicity in their admission policy and 33% said they approve. However, among blacks, 29% said they disapprove and 47% said they approve.

Unfortunately, Dr. King’s great dream of freedom, which inspired the Civil Rights Movement, has been lost in the hearts and minds of many black Americans and eclipsed by social engineering.

What the Supreme Court has done is show that our Constitution embodies and codifies that dream.

We’ll all be better off for the court’s courageous decision against social engineering and for a nation of free citizens, treated equally under the law.

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.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, suggested that the Supreme Court be expanded by adding liberal Justices.

The mainstream press responded by continuing to attack the Supreme Court. And that included personal attacks against Justices Thomas and his wife, and Justices Alito and Kavanaugh while, sadly, the DOJ continues to permit illegal picketing at their homes.

The history is that 71 years after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and 45 years after the 1978 case California v. Bakke case ruled that racial quotas were illegal, the issue persists. Have the colleges finally decided to comply with the law?

Maybe, as the University of North Carolina, one of my alma maters, indicated that it would review its plans to comply. Harvard College indicated that they would use essays on racial issues to accomplish the same result. The president of the defendant in the Bakke case, the University of California, said the $500 million spent on diversity since 2005 was not enough since the dean of one of their law

schools said affirmative action would continue. How many years, taxpayers’ dollars and students impacted, will be enough?

The clear message from the San Francisco experiment is that failing to hold any individuals accountable will fail to alter the behavior, and may actually incentivize others to participate.

2024? Imagine returning to a July Fourth filled with positive messages about the eminent scholars who, many times, have taken pay cuts to move their families to the expensive D.C. area in order to serve the country as Supreme Court ustices, not having their families, and neighbors, subject to harassing pickets?

Without a court being forced to limit the unlawful combination of the administration with social media to hide the news of their corruption from the public?

Without news of stories of cocaine in the White House? Without news of a presidential speech to the graduates of military academies that their main fight will be against climate change?

Without a president being

Did you know that in the U.S., California tops the list for sex trafficking with 1,334 reported cases and 2,122 victims in 2021?

Sexual trafficking of children and women is among us, here in California. Here in Santa Barbara County. The traffickers and their customers are depraved monsters, without pity.

We are not just talking numbers. We are talking about children and adults, human beings, who are being held in bondage. Women and children are being sold for sexual exploitation until they are too sick, ruined by drugs, or worn out for further use.

We as civilized people must take notice. We must pressure the authorities and all our elected officials. We must provide vocal support and material support to our chiefs of police and our county sheriff and their officers to seek out and arrest anyone involved in this ultra-criminal trade in human beings.

At any time, it could be your daughter, your son, your granddaughter, or your grandson who is snatched into the sex trade. Gone for good.

Please make a date to see a movie playing now at the Fairview Theatre in Goleta, Metro 4 in Santa Barbara and Regal Edwards in Santa Maria. It is entitled “Sound of Freedom.” It is a true story of two young children, brother and sister who were lured by a woman into a singing contest that turned out to be a snatch of about a dozen children destined to be sold into the South American sex slave market to criminals.

It tells the true story of federal agent Tim Ballard (played by Jim Caviezel) — a man who risked his life to find the boy and the girl in two different countries each held by the worst kind of criminal monsters for their own sexual pleasure and to put them to labor in the fields, processing Coca leaves.

He and a partner, along with a local police chief, devised a brilliant ruse to rescue 52 other young children and capture a number of child traffickers, including the woman who lured most of them into captivity, and pedophiles who paid to sexually assault the children.

You cannot leave this movie without feeling that you must do something. You must play a part in stopping the ruination

Columnist Star Parker praised the U.S. Supreme Court for what she called its courageous rulings.

GUEST OPINION

When convicted felons are free to roam!

Unfortunately for California, our lived experience is a constant stream of Willie Hortons!

You remember Willie Horton, don’t you? Well, maybe you don’t, and that is our problem!

Willie Horton, according to history.com, was, in 1974, involved in the robbery and brutal stabbing murder of a 17-year-old gas station attendant, Joseph Fournier, in Lawrence, Mass.

Though Mr. Horton denies murdering the teenager, he was at the scene of the crime and was convicted of firstdegree murder along with the other two men involved. Mr. Horton, who was 23 at the time, was incarcerated at a Massachusetts prison and given a life sentence. He began to serve out his time in prison, until he was approved for the prison’s furlough program.

When Mr. Horton was given a furlough in June 1986, he didn’t go back. While driving his nephew’s car without a license, he was pulled over.

Instead of surrendering to police, he crashed the car and escaped, fleeing to Florida, then Baltimore.

In April 1987, he was arrested and convicted for entering a suburban Maryland home, attacking and tying up the male homeowner, raping the homeowner’s fiancée multiple times, and driving away with stolen goods.

By 1988, UPI reported, one in 10 state and federal prisoners had taken a leave from prison within the last year, and most states and the federal government allowed prisoners who were serving life terms to leave prison temporarily. The Willie Horton affair subsequently became a focal point in the Bush-Dukakis presidential race in 1988.

Here in California, we have countless Willie Horton stories to tell, but the press, for the most part, isn’t interested in detailing California’s scorched-earth policy as it pertains to telling convicted felons, “You are now free to roam about the country”! Case in point? In 2018, Derrick Thompson was behind the wheel of a vehicle that was being pursued by law enforcement for erratic driving. It was in Montecito that Mr. Thompson ended up striking a pedestrian who

FDA bars life-saving chemo

Every year, 2 million Americans receive the dreadful news that they have cancer.

Getting a handle on the devastating disease requires immediate and continuous treatment ranging from chemotherapy to surgical intervention. Unfortunately, recent medication shortages have made beating cancer far more difficult than it needs to be.

Even Meta deserves the rule of law

In Robert Bolt’s play “A Man for All Seasons,” the character of Sir Thomas More argues at one point that he would “give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!” Defending the right to due process for a broadly disliked company is similarly not the most popular position, but nonetheless, even Meta deserves the rule of law.

suffered major injuries as a result.

While Mr. Thompson ended up fleeing from the wreck, his two companions along with 17 pounds of marijuana and some $20,000 in cash were recovered from the vehicle.

Mr. Thompson was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 for a violent felony (evasion from law enforcement causing injury, fleeing from a collision that caused serious permanent injury, and for possessing marijuana with the intent to sell). He should still have been in prison a few weeks ago, when instead, he was involved in another vehicle crash, after having run a red light. That resulted in the deaths of five women in Minnesota. These women are dead for the same reason that Willie Horton was able to rape a woman multiple times back in 1987. That has to do with liberals being soft on crime!

However, here in California, we have become so progressive that we don’t let our felons and lifers out for a mere weekend furlough.

We let them out for good!

You can blame our state legislature and naive voters for our nearly endless streams of Willie Hortons and Derrick Thompsons, not to mention our California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the five dead bodies in Minnesota. Voters were duped into passing Proposition 57, which allows the parole board to release “nonviolent” (they changed the definition of what constitutes nonviolent!) prisoners once they have served the full sentence for their primary criminal offense.

Before Prop 57, prisoners were often required to serve extra time by a sentence enhancement, such as those for repeat offenders.

Proposition 57 also allowed the Department of Corrections to reward prisoners’ good behavior with reduced sentences, and that, my friends, is why Mr. Thompson was free to kill five women in his second felony vehicular accident in less than five years.

In recent years, dislike of Meta and Facebook has been bipartisan. Many Democrats despise the company because they believe it has failed to address misinformation on its platforms. Many Republicans hate Meta because of alleged censorship of conservative viewpoints. They also mostly agree that Meta exercises monopoly power, exploits children and violates its users’ privacy.

The company has also faced blowback internationally. In the European Union, privacy concerns about the capacious nature of the U.S. government’s surveillance apparatus have manifested in efforts to penalize U.S. firms like Meta that interact with EU citizens.

In light of all of this anger, it’s no wonder that enforcement agencies are attacking the company with tools at their disposal. The problem is that they seem willing to give up important principles to do so. To paraphrase Sir Thomas More, even in pursuit of the devil himself, the law’s protection of due process is too important to give up.

The Federal Trade Commission’s recent order against Meta is a perfect illustration of government regulators ignoring due process in order to attack

The author is with the International Center for Law Economics

a villain of its choosing. In this case, the FTC alleges that Meta violated its 2012 and 2020 consent orders through conduct that nearly all occurred well before the orders were last modified.

On top of the obvious problem of holding Meta accountable now for violating terms of a consent order that did not yet exist, the proposed remedies are considerably more expansive than the underlying allegations would seem to merit.

The FTC’s proposal would restrict Meta’s ability to monetize the data of minors, require an external privacy auditor to sign off before it could release new or updated products, and force the company to add a member to its board’s privacy committee from a nonprofit dedicated to “safeguard[ing] civil liberties” or “strengthen[ing] consumer privacy standards.”

In fact, these remedies are so unusual that one of the FTC’s Democratic commissioners wrote a statement questioning the nexus “between the original order, the intervening violations, and the modified order.”

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the Irish Data Protection Commission recently fined Meta a record €1.2 billion for violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation.

In this case, the alleged crime was that Meta relied on GDPRauthorized standard contractual clauses to transfer personal data about EU citizens to the United States.

The ruling came down despite the fact that the Irish DPC’s draft decision conceded that the data transfers “were being effected, in good faith, under and by reference to transfer mechanisms provided for at law.” Meta and other U.S. firms reasonably relied on this method and supplemented the standard contractual clauses with other protections. It also bears noting that none of these tech firms control U.S. public policy on government surveillance – the issue decided in the EU’s Schrems II case that presumably makes data transfers to the United States impermissible.

In both the FTC and EU cases, Meta appeared to be acting in good faith in response to regulators. As Darth Vader threatened after he broke his word to Lando Calrissian in the “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

For Meta, it appears they believed they were following the deal, which turned out to be altered. Much like Lando, they can only pray that it won’t be altered any further.

As Sir Thomas More warned, ignoring due process to attack villains may feel good in the short term, but it will leave us all exposed to arbitrary power in the end. In the pursuit of bringing peace, freedom, justice, and security to their empire, enforcers have turned to the Dark Side.

Ben Sperry is a senior scholar with the International Center for Law & Economics. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

U.S. retailers report historic shoplifting losses in 2022

“By God I will stop these retailers from gouging their customers with their high prices.”

— President Joe Biden

According to a June survey by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, more than 90% of cancer centers are facing shortages of carboplatin and cisplatin, which are platinum-based chemotherapies. The shortages were spurred by the Food and Drug Administration’s temporary closure of an Indian drug manufacturing facility, and the agency has done little to offset the disruption. America’s drug regulator must act fast to get chemotherapies to patients who desperately need them.

The trouble began in December 2022 when the FDA wrapped up an inspection on India-based chemotherapy manufacturer Intas Pharmaceuticals and subsequently wrote a scathing 36-page report detailing the many problems at the plant. Test procedures and laboratory control mechanisms were “not being followed,” and critical documents related to “Good Manufacturing Practices” guidelines were nowhere to be found. Operations grinded to a halt, and the ripple effects were almost immediately felt in the U.S. Clinics have started switching patients to other platinum-based chemotherapy treatments less impacted by the Intas fiasco, but this has resulted in a “whack-amole” game of substandard substitutions and shortages.

The FDA has since allowed Intas to partially resume production under strict supervision and permitted importation of unapproved, China-manufactured medications.

But, the FDA’s decision to allow imports from foreign companies such as Qilu Pharmaceutical is likely a oneoff, and it’s unlikely to lead to bolstered supply over the long-term. Indian and Chinese drug manufacturers often face difficulties recruiting a diverse population to conduct clinical trials, making it less likely that their products will garner FDA approval.

In March 2022, the FDA issued a denial for a Chineseproduced drug called sintilimab for the treatment of nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. In briefing documents for the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee, agency regulators cautioned that, “(t)he current trend of marketing applications to the FDA, based on foreign data from single country trials, is a departure from decades of MRCTs (multiregional clinical trials) as the consistent approach to drug development.”

The author is a Center Square contributor

Txhe crime of shoplifting xis a serious offense that is often not taken as seriously as it should. In fact, many people believe that shoplifting is a victimless crime — especially since many retail outlets and big box stores have a high sales volume. This is far from true. The cumulative effect of shoplifting and theft is substantial, and the losses are absorbed by every honest paying customer each day.

According to the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention, over $13 billion worth of products is stolen from retailers every year. This amounts to $35 million in stolen property each day! Even more shocking is that one in 11 people will commit the crime of shoplifting in their lives, but only one in 48 will get caught. And less than half of these crooks arrested by police will even be prosecuted! In all states, punishment for shoplifting coincides with the value of the stolen property. If the value of the items shoplifted

A variety of stores graces the 900 block of State Street in Santa Barbara. The National Association of Shoplifting Prevention says over $13 billion of merchandise is stolen every year from retailers.

is less than $1,000, this is petty theft. These were once the typical cases of shoplifting that retail stores dealt with. Most of these shoplifters were caught by store security, ticketed by the police and released. They were given a court date and usually paid a nominal fine.

The crime of shoplifting used to parallel the income and poverty levels of the communities where the retail stores were located. Stores in lower-income neighborhoods with patrons who

While the FDA acknowledged that the drug has been studied using a randomized, doubleblind trial design and the study (called “ORIENT-11”) met its primary endpoint (progression-

NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

received federal and state welfare checks, on the WIC program, and received food stamps, had the highest rate of shoplifters. And most shoplifting fell under the petty theft threshold and was absorbed by retailers.

But this was about to change after the violent George Floyd protests and the 2020 general election.

During the heart of the George Floyd violence, looting and riots,

Henry Schulte

The author lives in Solvang

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

station.

Andy Caldwell

ADOBE STOCK

ROMAIN TALON/ADOBE STOCK

Ben Sperry of the International Center for Law & Economics writes that ignoring due process in dealing with Meta and Facebook leaves everyone exposed to arbitrary power.

Ben Sperry

William Haupt III

Pround realities

‘The training offered the alliance an opportunity to further strengthen its interoperability by demonstrating a combined defense capability, rapid deployment, and extended deterrence in the defense of the Korean Peninsula,”

This U.S. Air Force press release, issued June 30, describes drills in South Korea involving intercontinental B-52 bombers along with tactical fighter aircraft. The media message describes significant escalation in the ongoing confrontation between North Korea and South Korea. The B-52 Stratofortresses that traveled from the United States date from the 1950s and the height of the Cold War. They have undergone retrofitting over the years but remain essentially as designed and constructed more than a half century ago.

The B-52 is not only an example of the exceptional military design and development capabilities of this country, but also a symbolic reminder of the continuity of some conflicts in the world as well as the horrific possibility of nuclear war.

This bomber has proven to be flexible as well as durable, in ways unforeseen during the original creation. The construction in the 1950s was a function primarily of the need to deter the Soviet Union by the potential delivery of nuclear weapons on targets there and elsewhere. By the following decade, B-52s were actually delivering conventional bombs on targets in both North and South Vietnam during our long war there.

The B-52s in the current exercise flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. They are separate from others, deployed to South Korea since mid-June, that are from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

Additionally, the Biden administration plans to send the largest nuclear-armed U.S. submarine to South Korea for the first time in four decades. The powerful Ohio-class submarine is capable of staying submerged indefinitely and remain on patrol

for months.

Remarkable long-range capabilities represent starkly the capacities of technology to bridge and minimize the challenges of geography, including the exceptional distances across the Pacific Ocean.

South Korea has also been recently visited by the USS Michigan, a submarine armed with cruise missiles, capable of

great flexibility and deception in flight. This ship is actively involved in combined South Korea-U.S. special operations training.

Military partnership between our two nations is exceptionally close, dating from the devastating Korean War of 1950 to 1953. During our long Vietnam War, the Republic of Korea maintained approximately fifty thousand troops in South Vietnam.

In contrast to U.S. military force profiles, almost all these soldiers and marines were combat troops.

Their approach to combat sparked some controversies, but there was no doubt that they were extremely effective. North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong revolutionary forces actively tried to avoid contact with the Koreans.

North Korea is engaged in ominous long-range missile tests, with evidence of steady improvement in launch and delivery capabilities. U.S. efforts to restrict this dangerous

behavior by working through the United Nations have been consistently stymied by China and Russia.

Expanding cooperation between Seoul and Washington builds directly on South Korea President Yoon Sukyeol’s successful six-day visit to Washington D.C. in April, marking the 70th anniversary of the vital alliance between our two nations.

As emphasized in an earlier column, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has opportunities to develop a starring global leadership role, with noisy North Korea shunted off to stage left.

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

One man vs. China

Jimmy Lai stands up to communist dictators

Tchis week, while we ccelebrate the work of America’s founders, I honor a living freedom fighter: billionaire businessman Jimmy Lai.

When Communist China crushed freedom in Hong Kong, Mr. Lai could have gone anywhere in the world and lived a life of luxury. But he chose to stay in Hong Kong and go to jail.

A new documentary, “The Hong Konger,” tells his story.

Mr. Lai grew up in poverty in China.

“My mother was (imprisoned) in a labor camp,” he recalls. “We were just 5 or 6 and managing ourselves without an adult in the household. When I was 8 and 9, I worked in the railway station carrying people’s baggage.”

There he learned about a little British-controlled island near China called Hong Kong, where people were less poor. So he went there “in the bottom of a fishing junk, together with maybe 100, maybe 80, people, and everybody vomiting.”

Once in Hong Kong, he was amazed at how plentiful food was.

“I never saw so many things for breakfast. I was so moved. I was crying.”

He got a job in a sweatshop.

“We had to wake up before 7 and work until 10 p.m. But it was a very happy time ... a time that I knew I had a future.”

The chance to have a future makes such a difference.

At the time, Hong Kong was an unusually free country. Police enforced law and order, but otherwise, the British rulers left people alone. That allowed people to prosper.

“The British gave us the institutions of freedom,” says Mr. Lai. “Rule of law, free speech, the free market ... That created the best in the world. That was very enlightening for me.”

Mr. Lai eventually saved

assault on democracy

At least as far back as the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January x2017 and the “Women’s March” that followed the next day, Democrats and left-wing activists have invariably complained about the imminent perils threatening “our democracy.”

Time and again, Democrats have depicted virtually any action they do not approve of — from uncouth Trump tweets to state-level GOP-led election integrity initiatives to standard originalist Supreme Court picks — as ushering in protoauthoritarianism or “democratic backsliding,” to use the corporate media’s favorite term of art.

Taken at their word, Democrats and left-wing activists’ stipulated concerns about “our democracy,” which proliferated in particular after the Jan. 6, 2021, jamboree at the U.S. Capitol, would suggest a heightened concern with popular sovereignty and selfdetermination, and an acute opposition to consolidated governmental or corporate power. But Democrats and left-wing activists should not be taken at their word.

Their actions tell a completely different story. For all their sanctimonious preening about the modern Republican Party’s purported threat to “our democracy,” prominent Democrats and left-wing activists have themselves led their own tremendous assault against American democracy.

Consider the U.S. Supreme Court, which the Constitution’s Framers intended as an anchor of “our democracy” insofar as it protects certain structural safeguards and individual rights against the excesses of majoritarianism run amok.

In September 2018, Senate Democrats discarded millennia of “innocent until proven guilty” civilizational norms with their vicious, unhinged and unprecedented character attack on then-Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. That weeks-long Democratic disinformation campaign, meant to mark a soon-to-be Supreme Court justice with a permanent scarlet letter as a “rapist,” culminated with grassroots progressives quite literally banging on the door as Justice Kavanaugh took his ultimate oath of office inside. How “democracy”enforcing.

enough money to start a clothing business. “I started a very small factory. Eventually we became one of the biggest sweater factories in Hong Kong.” Gradually, his clothing business, Giordano, made him rich.

Mr. Lai assumed that the Communist Chinese, seeing the prosperity in Hong Kong, would leave the island alone. After all, even the Communists were embracing some capitalism.

“I thought China is going to be changed,” says Mr. Lai. “China is going to be like a Western country that I’ve been to. I was very excited.”

But then came the Tiananmen Square massacre. That inspired Mr. Lai to start a media company. Media are important, he said,

because they deliver information, “which is choice, and choice is freedom.”

Mr. Lai’s media business thrived. He covered Chinese government abuses when other Hong Kong media wouldn’t. “Everybody was so chickened out, so scared. They went into self-censorship to avoid offending the Communists.”

Even foreign investors kept quiet to protect their investments in China.

Then, in 2020, China passed a “national security” law that declared it illegal for Hong Kongers to criticize the Chinese government.

“It became impossible for media to survive!” complained Mr. Lai. “Whatever we say can be

sedition.”

A conviction for sedition would mean jail time, three years to life.

But Mr. Lai kept his paper open. “If we just surrender,” he said, “We will lose the rule of law. Lose the freedom. We will lose everything.”

Hong Kong did lose its freedom, but Mr. Lai still refused to leave. “I came here without anything. ... I owe freedom my life. ... Don’t think about the consequences. Do what is right.”

For publishing the truth about the Communist government, Mr. Lai was arrested and sentenced to five years in jail. Chinese officials say they may add more years. Still, Mr. Lai says he doesn’t

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

regret his decision to stay.

“It would be so boring just being a businessman. I want to make my life mz ore meaningful and interesting. That’s why I got into the trouble I got into today. And I’m happy to have it.”

Happy?

Jimmy Lai is a remarkable man, and a hero of freedom.

You can watch the whole documentary about him at FreeJimmyLai.com.

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.”

If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF. Send letters to dmason@newspress.com.

Mail letters to P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102.

The News-Press reserves the right to publish or republish submissions in any form or medium.

In March 2020, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stood on the steps of the Supreme Court to openly threaten President Donald Trump’s first two Supreme Court picks if they did not rule correctly in a forthcoming abortion decision. Sen. Schumer intoned: “I want to tell you (Justice Neil) Gorsuch. I want to tell you (Justice Brett) Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”

That outburst triggered a rare public rebuke from the typically mild-mannered Chief Justice John Roberts: “Threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous.”

Later that same year, President Trump’s nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the high court elicited nonstop hysterical comparisons of — and risible public demonstrations about — the “Handmaid’s Tale” dystopia that would come if Justice Barrett’s nomination succeeded.

On May 2, 2022, in an unfathomable and unprecedented breach of democratic norms, a draft of the forthcoming abortion decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked to Politico. Curiously, the leaker has never been “found,” or at least publicly identified, but the evidence and basic incentive structure overwhelmingly point to a clerk for a liberal justice or perhaps even one of the liberal justices him/herself.

Following the leak — in an action the leaker surely could have reasonably anticipated,

John Stossel

Josh Hammer

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO President Yoon Suk Yeol

Businessman

COURTESY VOICE OF AMERICA Jimmy Lai, second from the left, is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman who runs a media company that criticized the Chinese government. He was sentenced to five years for sedition and could face additional time in prison.

ANGEL STUDIOS

ZEPKE

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videoed telling the prime minister of India and the CEOs of Apple and Google, that “I sold a lot of state secrets and a lot of very important things?” without wondering if this, and similar ones, are real or imaginary? Without so many untruths that the label “gaffes” was created?

Imagine a believable press secretary?

James Madison’s statement

— “In framing a government to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed, and in the next place obligate it to control itself” — is an applicable warning.

How to avoid these types of July Fourths? The brilliant scientist Albert

WILLIAMS

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free survival), the agency voiced skepticism about the results’ applicability to the U.S. population.

Einstein offered that “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

In November 2024, you will have an opportunity to vote for the types of July Fourths you would prefer. While the label “insane” is a bit rough, perhaps it was necessary to convey the message.

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.”

of Chinese-manufactured, platinum-based chemotherapies, given that there are likely significant ethnic differences in patients’ responses to these drugs.

Tim Ballard (Jim Caviezel) rescues Rocio (Cristal Aparicio) from slavery in “Sound of Freedom.”

We must act to protect children

DONOVAN

Continued from Page C1

of children’s lives and their parent’s lives.

It becomes a personal priority for action and involvement. We need to speak with our protection officers to make them know we care, and we are prepared to act wherever necessary.

We need our police and sheriff’s departments to tell us what they are doing to stop this scourge of our young. And what do they need to do more? We must make our priorities in this known, emphatically, to the city councils and to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.

If we do not act on this, and act effectively,

how can we look in the mirror?

Did You Know? reached out to a local man that has been working to protect children for years and gave us the following information.

20th Century Fox acquired the movie and intended to distribute it. However, Disney acquired Fox and decided to put the movie on hold. Subsequently, Angel Studios acquired the rights and has now released it. The main issue lies in the fact that major studios have control over theaters, and these theaters are prohibited from screening the film. From this gentlemen’s perspective, this decision seems ill-advised from a business standpoint, especially considering that this movie was projected to generate 25% more revenue than Disney’s own Indiana Jones franchise. He suggests that

theaters should exhibit “Sound of Freedom” and assert that it is a business decision. After all, what can the studios possibly do?

Complain about the additional revenue it brings in?

A few years back, he worked on a film shedding light on the issue of sexual exploitation in Santa Barbara County. You can watch “OUR KIDS” on Vimeo: https://vimeo. com/189434168

If anyone would like to help out with a new documentary, please reach out to Matthew Organista at matthew@mattheworganista.com.

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

Shoplifting epidemic hurts retailers

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many progressives campaigned to defund the police. And they were joined by local liberal officials who chastised police departments.

“There’s a lot of innocent people who’ve been unfairly jailed during these protests.”

— Kamala Harris

For several years, George Soros has been financing an underground movement to downgrade or even eliminate criminal punishment. He has given millions of dollars to progressive candidates in district attorney races throughout the nation. His goal is to cripple the hands of law enforcement.

Working with activist attorneys, public records show Mr. Soros funneled cash through a complicated web of federal and state political action committees as well as disputable non-profits nationwide.

He gave $3 million alone to local protest groups that disrupt and limit the work of law enforcement.

“People use false accusations and smear tactics to distort the merits of my work.”

- George Soros

According to the National Retail Federation, since 2015, Mr. Soros has given over $20 million to far left candidates running in local district attorney races. The FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report blames Mr. Soros for the spike in crime throughout the nation.

And with the vast number of progressive prosecutors refusing to prosecute many of these criminals, shoplifting is now a major crime across the U.S.

Between 2015 and 2019, retail shrink rose annually 7%, according to the NRF. In 2020, it surged by 47%, and in 2021 it increased 10% more.

Retailers recorded a 26.5% surge in organized gang theft incidents last year. This nationwide shoplifting epidemic is crippling the profits of brickand-mortar retailers, which have closed hundreds of retail stores nationwide and plan to close more in 2023.

Nonprofit Capital Research Center’s 2022 Retail Security Survey found that retailers lost $94.5 billion overall in 2021 mainly due to external theft and organized retail crime. According to Scott Glenn of asset protection for the Home Depot, “Theft attempts at our stores are the highest ever.”

For the first time since its founding in 1883 by Bernard Kroger in Cincinnati, Ohio supermarket giant Kroger last year listed “organized grab-andrun theft” as a factor that has forced Kroger to raise shelf prices across the board to compensate for major theft to preserve their profit margins.

KTLA-TV in Hollywood recently reported that 7-Eleven chain executives ordered franchises in Los Angeles County to lock their doors and go home after a recent overnight crime spree that left two dead and three wounded. Thousands of dollars in merchandise were stolen in a dozen armed robberies.

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Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association, told the San Jose Mercury News that in San Francisco and Oakland alone, businesses lose $3.6 billion to organized retail crime each year. That is about 20% of the combined total of reported retail sales in both Oakland and San Francisco.

“The No. 1 rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal.”

— Jimmy Breslin

Michael Lipetri, chief of the New York Police Department crime patrol, says he hasn’t seen crime levels like this since 1995. From Jan. 1 through Sept. 12, 2021, the NYPD says there were over 29,000 complaints for graband-run shoplifting. During the same time period in 2020, they recorded 20,000 of these cases.

Mr. Lipetri says, “We have over 1,700 individuals during the past year that have been arrested for three or more major shoplifting arrests. Yet if you look at the number who have been arrested compared to those who have been prosecuted, a very small percent have actually served any jail time at all.”

We’ve all heard the adage “Let the punishment fit the crime.” This is the theory of retributive justice. When someone breaks the law, they must suffer proportionally for their offense: or “the greater the crime, the greater the punishment.”

Now that we have so many progressive district attorneys in Democratic-run states who send few crooks to jail, we have an epic crime wave across America.

The progressives soft on crime

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policies are harming businesses, and they are harming our lawabiding Americans. The Democrats’ crime policies are leaving communities to fend for themselves since these crooks endanger everyone in the store when they are shoplifting. Since these crooks know that most of the time the police will not show up, they are violent and reckless and are a threat to all shoppers.

Today’s grab-and-run shoplifting cartels are not like the kids who stole candy from the local grocery store.

These are organized syndicates of criminals who steal whatever they can and sell it on the open market. They sell stolen items on local street corners and even on Amazon and on Facebook.

Retailers across America, especially in Democraticcontrolled states, are suffering historic losses due to the “soft on crime policies” of Joe Biden and Washington progressives. Executives from Walgreens, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said they will raise prices and close more stores if this crime wave continues. They claim they have no alternative but to pass their losses on to paying customers.

“Nothing is easier, or more satisfying, than blaming high prices on those who charge them rather than those who have caused them.”

— Thomas Sowell

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According to the FDA, “ORIENT-11 was conducted exclusively in China and enrolled a patient population which lacks the racial and ethnic diversity of the U.S. population, notably with regards to currently underserved groups.” However, this rationale for rejection ignores the agency’s history of approving drugs with subgroup/ ethnic group designation should the need arise.

The FDA recommends that sponsors note in product labeling when “analyses were not useful because of inadequate sample size,” implying that these medications can be approved as long as the manufacturer provides necessary warnings for doctors and patients. But the FDA has clearly deviated from its own advice in rejecting therapies such as sintilimab.

These concerns are also likely holding back approval

HAMMER

Continued from Page C3

and perhaps even desired — a deranged pro-abortion

California leftist named Nicholas Roske flew to the nation’s capital with a plan to assassinate Justice Kavanaugh. Mr. Roske thankfully aborted his scheme at the last minute.

While Mr. Roske was the only confirmed assassination attempt of that stressful postDobbs leak/pre-Dobbs decision period, countless other leftists protested outside the rightleaning justices’ private homes in Virginia and Maryland and attempted to intimidate them to change their votes in Dobbs, in flagrant violation of 18 U.S. Code Section 1507.

To the surprise of no one, Attorney General Merrick Garland never brought any charges.

More recently, in the aftermath of the just-completed Supreme Court term, many notable Democrats have resuscitated the threat of courtpacking, which had momentarily died down following the ambiguous conclusions and recommendations of President Joe Biden’s “Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States,” which disbanded on Dec. 8, 2021.

(It is curious that Democrats have chosen to do this now, even as this term had fewer 6-3 “ideological” splits than the prior term and even as the two justices who found themselves in the Court majority least frequently this term were the two most consistent conservatives, Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.)

There are few threats as vehemently anti-”democratic” as that of packing the Supreme Court.

As even the Democratdominated Senate Judiciary Committee concluded in its bone-chilling 1937 report issued after Democratic presidential icon FDR’s own court-packing proposal: “Let us of the Seventyfifth Congress, in words that will never be disregarded by any succeeding Congress, declare that we would rather have an independent Court, a fearless Court, a Court that will dare to announce its honest opinions in what it believes to be the defense of the liberties of the people, than a Court that, out of fear or sense of obligation to the appointing power, or factional passion, approves any measure we may enact.

The FDA can alleviate shortages of these and all life-saving medications by relaxing its approval criteria and approving promising medications manufactured abroad.

While these companies’ clinical trials are not as broad as the FDA would prefer, the agency shouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Regulators could use post-approval monitoring to ensure that warnings on labels are up-to-date and reflect the experiences of different populations of users. Millions of lives depend on a flexible regulatory approach grounded in free trade and international cooperation.

David Williams is president of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

“We are not the judges of the judges. We are not above the Constitution.” Consider also the extraordinary preliminary injunction granted earlier this week by Judge Terry Doughty in the case of Missouri v. Biden, which pertains to what this column has previously referred to as the Biden Regime’s intentional “collapse” of the “’public’-’private’ distinction.”

In a whirlwind 155-page ruling, Judge Doughty validated the plaintiffs’ complaints that the Biden administration eroded the First Amendment by dictating that social media companies censor specific users, accounts and posts to tamp down on COVID-19 “disinformation” and “misinformation.” In Judge Doughty’s own words, that should terrify anyone even remotely concerned about the actual state of American democracy: “The United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth.’” Yikes.

But the Biden Regime disagrees. Indeed, the administration has already appealed the grant of the preliminary injunction to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. We should not mince words here: The Biden Department of Justice is appealing to the Fifth Circuit for the “right” to jawbone putatively “private” companies into censoring disfavored online speech when it comes to certain sensitive subjects that implicate Regime priorities. That is simply astonishing.

So much for “our democracy.”

The Left would prefer that the “public” and “private” merge together to squash all who dare to dissent from Regime orthodoxy.

In Political Science 101, most college freshmen learn that this is a trademark trait not of “democracy,” but of “fascism.”

In reality, the left’s crocodile tears about the fate of “our democracy” can be easily explained by the fact that when Democrats and leftwing activists speak of “democracy,” they really mean “progressivism.” It is quite a sleight of hand.

The victim of that sleight of hand, unfortunately and ironically, is actual American democracy itself.

Josh Hammer is senior editorat-large at Newsweek.

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