Ready for the rematch
The tradition continues
Annual ‘100 GRAND’ art exhibition and sale continues - A3
Our 165th Year
UCSB basketball set to square off with LMU today - A6
75¢
s at u r day, de c e m be r 12 , 2 0 2 0
A piece of Kenya
Goleta to provide more COVID-19 relief
Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace features RoHo Goods
Council sends letter of support of new Central Coast region By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
More COVID-19 relief and financial assistance will be provided to small businesses and individuals in Goleta. The Goleta City Council authorized the city manager to allocate funds for the following: up to $15,000 to rental assistance and working with homeless service providers; $200,000 from the General Fund for immediate COVID-19 relief efforts; $100,000 for the Memorandum of Understanding between the cIty of Goleta and the Santa Barbara Foundation; $50,000 toward the United Way’s Low-Income Individual Assistance Program; and $50,000 toward an emergency rental assistance program for tenants who earn up to 80% of the area median income. “There’s been a lot of talk about the next 20 years and it occurs to me that for a lot of our residents, and particularly for people who
are small business owners, they’re just trying to figure out what they’re going to do for the next 20 days,” Council member James Kyriaco said in the council’s special meeting on Thursday. The motion passed by a 4-1 vote, with Council member Roger Aceves as the one dissenting vote. “We just spent over two hours talking about what dire financial need we are in,” he said. “We need revenue. I am not questioning these programs, I am not questioning that we have extreme needs… “One, we can’t afford it, and two, we’re not being strategic.” Mr. Aceves said he believes all communities should be rowing the same boat and working together. In response, Mr. Kyriaco said, “We have a little bit of a different viewpoint about whether we can afford to do it versus whether we can afford not to do it.” Mayor Pro Tempore Kyle Richards supported the motion, Please see GOLETA on A8
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
RoHo Goods made its debut at the Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History on Friday.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Another pop-up shop made its debut at the Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace, this time bringing a slice of Africa to Santa Barbara. RoHo Goods partners with talented artisan groups all across Kenya who create intricate, colorful products such as beaded leather sandals, cowhide bags, African beaded jewelry, Binga baskets, reusable gift bags made out of African fabrics, keychains, coin purses and more. While each product is unique and handmade, there’s more to RoHo than the material things. RoHo staff is currently working with 400 Kenyan artisans, 95% of which are women, and they ensure fair pay for the work the artisans do and send their children to quality schools in the area. The idea for RoHo was a result of Caleigh Hernandez falling in love with a pair of sandals. She moved to East Africa after college and worked for several nonprofits in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. “I was ready to move back to the states,
A necklace at the RoHo Goods pop-up store at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
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but I saw that there were really beautiful products coming out of this area that needed a little bit of tweaking quality control wise and color adjustments in order to make them more feasible for a Western market,” RoHo Founder and CEO Ms. Hernandez told the News-Press. “Then I realized these people weren’t getting paid particularly well for the work they were doing. “So, it’s our commitment to support our artisans in that way and ensure they’re receiving what they deserve.” Ms. Hernandez and her team provided the artisans a 50% increase in wages above industry standard, and continue to provide scholarships for their children. This is RoHo’s fourth year at the Folk & Tribal Arts Marketplace, and Ms. Hernandez said it’s their favorite event every year. However, COVID-19 threw a wrench into business. “It’s been an incredibly tough year for small business, that’s for sure,” the founder said. “We had to get pretty creative because a number of our products were not able to get shipped from Kenya when Kenya initially closed its borders, which meant that a lot of Please see market on A8
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Binga Baskets, from Zimbabwe, at Caleigh Hernandez’s RoHo Goods pop-up store at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Handmade handbags and jewelry at Ms. Hernandez’s RoHo Goods pop-up store at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
Largest commercial sale in downtown area By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The property at 1001 State St. currently occupied by Amazon has been sold to London-based investment firm Global Mutual in what was the largest true commercial property sale ever in the downtown Santa Barbara commercial business district. According to a press release, Radius Commercial Real Estate partnered with CBRE to sell the property, which was listed at $38.4 million and sold close to the asking price. Radius executive vice president Austin Herlihy told the News-Press that his company teamed up with CBRE to give the property international exposure. The team that sold the property consisted of Mr. Herlihy, his Radius colleague Chris Parker, and CBRE’s Dan Riley, Austin Wolitarsky, and Simon Mattox. Mr. Herlihy told the News-Press that he and his team got more than 10 offers for the property and more than 100 interested parties.
He explained the high level of interest, “I think we did a great job marketing the property and selecting the buyer for our client. However, an asset like this, in this location sells itself.” The building is 48,564 square feet and was formerly occupied by the department store Saks Fifth Avenue. Between 2018 and 2019, the property underwent a massive $20 million renovation to turn it into creative office space for current tenant Amazon. In the press release, Mr. Herlihy called the property’s sale “a real statement of confidence in the local economy despite the pandemic.” He added, “It’s no secret the downtown corridor has taken some hits over the past few years, but we’re continuing to see the positive signs of renewal and movement that will bring State Street back to a high level of prominence and vitality.” email: jgrega@newspress.com
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
The property at 1001 State St. currently occupied by Amazon has been sold to London-based investment firm Global Mutual in what was the largest true commercial property sale ever in the downtown Santa Barbara commercial business district.
Obituaries............. A8 Sudoku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-8-13-20-39 Meganumber: 1
Friday’s DAILY 4: 0-0-4-0
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 19-31-37-55-67 Meganumber: 25
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 3-16-24-33-35
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 09-07-02 Time: 1:48.77
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 11-14-31-47-48 Meganumber: 4
Friday’s DAILY 3: 2-2-7 / Sunday’s Midday 2-1-5