You can ‘redo’ your wedding day
Getting out the vote
Ballots for the Nov. 3 election will be mailed to voters early next month - A3
Our 165th Year
Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyard sponsors contest - A5
S AT U R DAY, SE P T E M BE R 19, 2 0 2 0
Ruth Bader Ginsburg dies U.S. Supreme Court justice remembered for her advocacy of equality By DAVE MASON
NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a champion of equal rights and the second woman appointed as a U.S. Supreme Court justice, died Friday from complications of metastatic pancreas cancer. She was 87. Mrs. Ginsburg was nominated in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and confirmed that year by the Senate.
Before then, the only woman on the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O’Connor, who was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and confirmed by the Senate in 1981. At the time of her death, Justice Ginsburg was the most senior member of the court’s liberal wing. She was known for her support for the wing’s votes on abortion rights, same-sex marriage, voting rights, immigration, health care and
affirmative action. “Our Nation has lost a jurist of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said in a statement. “We at the (SCOTUS) have lost a cherished colleague. “Today we mourn, but with confidence that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsburg as we knew her — a tireless & resolute champion of justice.”
Parking lot closures affect beachside restaurants in various ways By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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Local pilots help Oregon firefighters DART partners with Direct Relief to bring supplies NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
To bring much-needed supplies to the front lines of the wildfires in Oregon, pilots with the California Disaster Area Response Team are flying 100,000
KN95 masks and medical supplies from Santa Barbara to Eugene today. A fleet of small airplanes took off from Santa Barbara Municipal Airport this morning as a part Please see SUPPLIES on A9
DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Direct Relief, headquartered in Goleta, partnered with the California Disaster Area Response Team to coordinate a fleet of volunteer pilots that flew from Santa Barbara to Eugene this morning to provide much-needed supplies to the front lines of the Oregon wildfires.
Opposition to Prop. 15 Local business and agricultural organizations object to measure By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
The director of operations for Harbor Restaurant and Longboard’s Grill, Jordan Scott, said staff noticed a decrease in foot traffic and business over Labor Day weekend due to the beach and parking lot closures.
Jordan Scott, the director of operations for Harbor Restaurant and Longboard’s Grill, said business was slower at his wharf site. “We definitely saw a decrease in foot traffic and business during the day,” he told the News-Press. “The evenings were relatively comparable to the rest of this summer, but not to previous years. There was definitely a drop off in sales, and we attribute it to the parking lots being closed and people not being on the beaches, for sure both on the Fourth and Labor Day weekend.” In addition to Stearns Wharf, Please see closures on A10
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By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
To slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent crowding over Labor Day weekend, the city of Santa Barbara closed its beaches to residents unless they were exercising, along with the beach parking lots to discourage visitors. The city did the same for the Fourth of July weekend, like many other cities in the county and along the coast. These closures impacted the beachside restaurants, entities already dealing with COVID-19 dining restrictions. Normally, many beachgoers are able to park their cars at the beach and walk to the beachside restaurants. They didn’t have that option during the Labor Day weekend. However, the beach and parking lot closures both negatively and positively affected each restaurant in a different way. Cameron Pyles, the general manager of Shoreline Cafe at 801 Shoreline Drive, told the NewsPress the closures resulted in a slow weekend. “We probably did about $5,000 less in revenue every day from Friday to Monday,” he said. “It was more manageable because there weren’t so many people with the COVID situation, so it was OK for our staff, but it definitely did impact us because we only had 15 of the public spots out directly in front of us.” However, Mr. Pyles added it was good to see people out on their bikes and walking. On the other hand, Chad Stevens, the owner of Chad’s at 216 W. Cabrillo Blvd., said the opposite of his establishment. “For us, it was super busy because all the hotels had no vacancies, so there were a lot of people out and about even with those beach closures,” he told the News-Press. “It wasn’t like there was a party, but there was definitely a fair amount of people on the beach, from 100 to 200 spread out. People seemed to be socially distancing.” He continued that Chad’s is one of a handful of restaurants serving breakfast and lunch in the area, which resulted in a busy holiday. “A lot of people were getting away from the fires up north, or even down south, too,” Mr. Stevens said. Although the parking lot on Stearns Wharf was still open,
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg appeared in 1993 before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearings. The Supreme Court justice died Friday.
Those who knew Justice Ginsburg include Santa Barbara author Jane Sherron De Hart. Dr. De Hart, a UCSB professor of history emeritus, met Mrs. Ginsburg in 1995 at a meeting of the Supreme Court Historical Society. Dr. De Hart said Justice Ginsburg’s eyes lit up when she mentioned a mutual friend. “She said, ‘I had a beer with him Please see ginsburg on A10
Seaside impact
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Breakwater Restaurant at the harbor wasn’t affected by the beach and parking lot closures, and was actually busier than the previous Labor Day, according to the manager, Larry Griggs.
Most of the over-the-phone public comments at Tuesday’s Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting supported a resolution backing Proposition 15. But many dissenting voices were expressed through letters to the board. Many opponents were individuals involved with business and agriculture and included organizations such as GrowerShipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties, the Buellton Chamber of Commerce, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Santa Barbara County Farm Bureau. Despite the written opposition, the supervisors passed the resolution supporting Proposition 15 with a 3-2 vote. Proposition 15 would change the income tax system created by
Proposition 13 in 1978. Under Proposition 13, commercial, and industrial properties are taxed according to their purchase price, with tax limited to no more than 1% of that price with an annual adjustment of either the inflation rate or 2% per year, whichever is lower. By contrast, Proposition 15 would have properties taxed according to their fair market value, with the exception of properties zoned as commercial agriculture and those whose business owners possess $3 million or less in California holdings. A common criticism those in agribusiness made against the proposition was that exempting only agricultural land to the proposed income tax increase is too limited. In a letter sent to the board from the Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Please see PROP. 15 on A2
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Comics................. A8 Classified............... A9 Life.................... A5-6
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 13-18-28-38-42 Meganumber: 4
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Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 26-29-41-52-64 Meganumber: 11
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Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 06-10-09 Time: 1:44.25
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Obituaries........... A10 Soduku................. A7 Weather.............. A10
Friday’s DAILY 3: 1-1-6 / Sunday’s Midday 7-1-0
