Santa Barbara News-Press: December 31, 2022

A New Year’s wish for Santa Barbara

By WENDY MCCAW NEWS-PRESS CO-PUBLISHER

Santa Barbara, once the gem of the Central Coast, is deteriorating into a city that is crime-ridden, graffiticovered, with inebriated indigents and a disgusting downtown mess. Visitors who come to our “fair city” complain about how much downtown has changed and how they don’t feel safe walking there with their families. Maybe therein lie some of the reasons why there are so many vacant storefronts.

Walk along State Street in the so-called pedestrian walkway, and you take your life in your hands as bicycles, skateboarders and other wheeled individuals whiz by, often within inches of hitting the unsuspecting pedestrian. What happened to the restrictions about skateboarders and other wheeled devices on pedestrian walkways? The city should have come up with enforceable laws on this dangerous situation many months ago. Why are they dragging their feet?

At Ralph’s downtown recently someone had stolen some items and was told to return them by the grocery security guard. The thief ignored him and left the store with his ill-gotten goods. The security guard lamented that there was nothing he could do, that the police will not prosecute shoplifting if under a certain dollar amount.

Another witness to the confrontation said that he works at Home Depot and that blatant shoplifting is so out of control that they have had to put products like house cleaning supplies in locked cages. Santa Barbara and Goleta appear to have similar enforcement challenges.

Earlier this week we reported on a woman who witnessed a rock being thrown into a window at Rudy’s on State Street. The witness took photos of the crime with her cell phone and was then attacked by the perpetrator. Suffering from an assault and the theft of her phone, remarkably she was able to get the police there in time. Fortunately, she was able to get her phone back; however, the police seem to want to ignore the fact that there was an assault, having declined to put that in their report. Have we reached a point where vigilante action is what citizens must consider?

When corruption and hooligans were out of control in the 1850s in San Francisco, the residents

formed the Committee of Vigilance. This was the birth of the term, vigilante. It was a community’s solution because law and order had collapsed. Today, the citizens of Santa Barbara may have to be the first-responders. This isn’t the fault of the police — there is simply not enough police presence downtown. We need more police patrolling the streets on foot and on bicycle. And we need laws that have serious consequences for the crimes being committed and the wherewithal of the authorities to enforce them.

In 2017, the city introduced the Santa Barbara Downtown Ambassadors, a program which seemingly does little to help clean up State Street. They don’t deal with vagrants, crimes or provide visitors with any type of safety or comfort. They need to be replaced by active police officers with a clear set of priorities to clean up the streets and stop street crimes. Other communities along the coast have laws that are enforced and are thriving. We should follow their example. In Carmel, there is no graffiti, there are no vagrants, and it’s a clean, prosperous, thriving town. Closer to home, Solvang has no vagrants, no graffiti, lots of visitors and successful stores, hotels and restaurants. What are the differences between Solvang and Santa Barbara? Could it be the political difference between the two city councils?

My wish for Santa Barbara as we enter this new year is to take a strong stand against crime of all kinds. Laws need to be enforced and made to protect the residents and businesses. It would be nice in the coming year if the city would prioritize for a change, the people and businesses that make a city successful.

Santa Barbara’s newest hotel

Andrew Firestone and Jess Parker launch Courtyard by Marriott hotel on State Street

FYi

Courtyard by the Marriott is at 1601 State St., Santa Barbara.

Average daily rates start at $250 per night. Reservations can be made by calling 805-975-0660.

For more information, see marriott. com/en-us/hotels/sbacs-courtyardsanta-barbara-downtown/overview.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Entrepreneur Andrew Firestone this week opened the Courtyard by Marriott Santa Barbara Downtown hotel and Saint Remy restaurant on State Street.

“This property is an iconic downtown Santa Barbara hotel that has been around since the late ’60s on the backdrop of State Street for a long time,” said Mr. Firestone, co-founder with Jess Parker of StonePark Capital, a Santa Barbara hospitality development company. Mr. Firestone and Ms. Parker are the managing partners of the hotel.

“Its unique look and design has made it a unique adoption of mid-century modern architecture in contrast to Spanish-style architecture of Santa Barbara. To have that look and feel continued was really important and to have the utility of the hotel maximized was one of the most important things,” said Mr. Firestone, the former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and a Santa Barbara

native. “The

“Most

In

“it

Falcon 9 soars from Vandenberg

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

SpaceX wrapped up 2022 with the launch of its Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The Falcon 9 took off at 11:38 p.m. Thursday from Space Launch Complex 4E with its ISI EROS C-3 mission to a low-Earth

FYi

To learn more about ISI go to www. imagesatintl.com.

To learn more about EROS C go to: imagesatintl.com/home/eros-ng/eros-c.

orbit. This was the 11th launch of this booster, which previously supported the launch of Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15 and two Starlink missions.

Jessie Anderson, a production engineering manager at SpaceX, discussed the launch during SpaceX’s live and recorded webcast.

The EROS satellite is from ImageSat International, an Israeli-based company specializing in collecting, analyzing and creating space-based intelligence, according to Ms. Anderson.

This was Space X’s 61st and last launch of 2022.

“Today’s payload is part of the EROS new generation … one of the world’s top, intelligence gathering assets in space. Now,

to date, three of the seven satellites are fully operational, and the EROS C-3 will be the fourth to orbit,” said Ms. Anderson.

The Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket that stands 230 feet tall, which is roughly the height of a 20-story building. While stage 2 continues to orbit, stage 1 returns to Earth and is used again.

The landing Thursday night of the first stage marked the 160th overall successful recovery of an orbital class rocket.

“Falcon 9 launched the @ImageSatIntl EROS C-3 mission to orbit overnight, completing SpaceX’s 61st and final launch of 2022 — nearly double our record of 31 launches set last year,” tweeted SpaceX.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

DAVID JAKLE PHOTO

Wendy McCaw

other important thing was to figure out a partner which was the best fit for the property. It felt natural for it to be a Courtyard by Marriott. It has a beautiful pool/courtyard area for guests.

importantly it is within walking distance of the downtown State Street corridor,” Mr. Firestone said about the hotel,

which opened Monday at 1601 State St. Mr. Firestone said the hotel stands out as being “a little slice of history.”

addition,

has some amazing downtown views from both roof decks, right down to the Pacific Ocean,” he told the

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Jess Parker, left, and Andrew Firestone are managing partners of the Courtyard by Marriott Santa Barbara Downtown hotel, which opened Monday.

The city and the sea

Time is precious (and wearable)

With New Year’s upon us, we reminisce by reviewing the news of the last 12 months and singing “Auld Lang Syne.”

But we also look to the future, as in resolutions going forward to better our lives.

Which renders New Year’s Eve a marker of time, a divider between yesterday and tomorrow; time that we measure monthto-month with a calendar and hour-to-hour with a clock or a wristwatch. The instrument we use for the latter can be almost as precious as time itself, which is not only shorter than we think but passes faster and faster the older we get.

How is that possible?

Because time is relative.

Meaning?

The year between ages 4 and 5 is one-fifth of your life.

But the year between age 49 and 50 is one-fiftieth of your life.

One year measured against 49 years goes a lot faster than one measured against four years.

That is why time during childhood seems to have taken so much longer than, say, during our 50s.

TIMEPIECES

I’ve got some fancy wristwatches, but the only one that consistently tells me the truth is a Benrus Citation my father bought in 1948 and impulsively handed to me on my 24th birthday in 1978 when he was 54. By then he had worn it for 30 years. He died precisely 30 years later just 12 days shy of my turning 54.

I’ve always had a thing for watches. Sometimes I think if my parents had only bought me the simple Timex I’d wanted from J.J. Newberry when I was 7 years-old my enthusiasm and love for horology would have been satiated.

Instead, come Christmas, Santa Claus brought me a wristwatch from Akron, a cheap import shop that existed in the 1960s; a watch that probably cost more than the

Timex but stopped ticking after a few hours. My uncle, visiting on Christmas day, removed and disassembled the movement with a view toward reassembly — and I never saw it again.

When I first started making some money in 1974, my high school buddy from Sweden turned up in London with a new Omega wrapped around his wrist. I coveted this battery-powered and humming futuristic adornment and saved up my money for such a purchase, around 65 British pounds ($130), no small sum then, especially for me, struggling on a shoestring to run Tricky Dick’s Coffee House (my own creation, a spinoff of the family business). For maybe 20 pounds more I could have purchased — and almost did — a Rolex Submariner.

Stupidly, I opted for the Omega’s novel hum. Little did I know about the art of movements and complications vs. quartz and battery imposters, not to mention blue chip purveyors and future investment.

The Rolex Submariner has since appreciated a hundred times its 1974 price-tag.

The Omega? A few years later I traded it to a Vietnamese exparatrooper for the camouflage pullover he wore while battling Viet Cong.

Eventually needing a new watch, the best I could afford was a stainless-steel blue-faced number with a steel bracelet from Tudor, a company owned by Rolex and known as its poor little sister. I wore it (and still have it) till the day, on my 24th birthday, my father handed me his Benrus, which for me was the grand prize.

FRANCK & LOUIS

Thirteen years later I became a regular visitor to Geneva — the watch-making capital of the world — due to my work for a privatesector intelligence client who lived in the town I dubbed “Serene City” and whose billboards and shop fronts were (presumably still are) full of horological masterpieces, driving me nuts

and impelling me to believe that though my father’s watch was my most treasured possession, I still needed to choose my own, as if to branch out and establish independence, my own identity.

And though I was drawn to the simple but elegant and very thin classic Cartier Tank, I opted for a Cintree Curvex timepiece (two, the smaller version for my wife) by newcomer Franck Muller, the self-proclaimed “Master of Complications.” This I wore proudly for several years but after living in the Principality of Monaco (the second of three Monaco incarnations) and tiring of all things glamorous, I returned my father’s old Benrus to my wrist.

Then came Christmas 1995 in Washington D.C. and the grand opening of a Cartier Boutique just minutes by foot from my new home in Chevy Chase Village.

My wife gifted me with the Tank, which was conceived during World War I by Louis Cartier for warriors (especially tank commanders) who had neither time nor a third hand to pluck a watch from their pocket. The French Renault FT-17 tank was Louis’s design inspiration.

The classic beauty and lightness of this timepiece, coupled with a green crocodile strap, captured my gaze and wouldn’t let go whenever I consulted it for the time.

A few years after that while in London’s Burlington Arcade, I happened upon a Rolex Prince, the precious “doctor’s watch” (with separate seconds dial) acclaimed by some as the most beautiful timepiece ever created.

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

Rolex produced these gems in the late 1920s through the early 1930s in steel, silver or gold. Their topof-the-line was a “tiger-stripe” of yellow and white gold. (I’d first seen one at the flagship Ralph Lauren Polo on Madison Avenue in New York City.)

My search took a while but in June 2002 at a shop specializing in high-end vintage watches on London’s Portobello Road I purchased — for a king’s ransom — a tiger-striped Rolex Prince, circa 1930, a gift to myself after a) landing a job as intelligence adviser to Prince Albert of Monaco and b) profiting on the newly-launched euro’s exchange rate against the dollar.

Most sane people keep valuable possessions like this in a vault. But I didn’t buy this timepiece to lock away; I wore it throughout my five-and-a-year tenure as the Prince’s spymaster. And when the messenger (me) got shot down while flying too close to the sun, both the real prince and the timepiece lost their luster and I returned, as I always do, to my father’s Benrus.

PATEK

For years I’d dabbled with the idea of purchasing a timepiece produced by Patek Philippe, the world’s premier watchmaker. Four decades ago, after my grandmother passed, I almost used the five grand she left me to purchase (in her memory), at Tiffany in New York, the classic Patek Calatrava, a straightforward model known as their “banker’s watch.” It thereafter had been my Patek of choice. But when the time came to take the plunge, the more I researched new and pre-owned Patek timepieces, the loftier my sights became, ultimately jumping to their “Grand Complications,” namely, their Perpetual Calendar and more particularly a discontinued model called Retrograde, which after some due diligence I purchased for a good price.

Rather than hoarding cold

Highway 101

construction update

MONTECITO/SUMMERLAND/

CARPINTERIA — The Olive Mill Roundabout will not start construction the week of Jan. 3. due to rain, Caltrans announced.

Caltrans reported the following closures during highway construction work for now through Jan. 7:

NORTHBOUND HIGHWAY 101

On Sunday nights from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the highway will be one lane from Santa Claus Lane to Sheffield Drive.

Monday to Thursday nights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. will be one lane from Santa Claus Lane to Sheffield Drive.

The off-ramp at Evans/Lillie Ave will be closed for up to four months and is expected to reopen Jan. 26. Until then drivers can use the northbound off-ramp at North Padaro Lane.

The on-ramp at Ortega Hill Road is expected to reopen Feb, 14. Until then, drivers can use the on-ramp at Sheffield Drive.

SOUTHBOUND HIGHWAY 101

On Sunday nights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., the highway will be one lane from Sheffield Drive to Carpinteria Avenue.

On Monday through Thursday nights from 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., the highway will be one lane

from Sheffield Drive to Carpinteria Avenue.

On Jan. 5 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the off-ramp at Carpinteria Avenue will be closed to pour the concrete safety barrier. Drivers can use the off-ramp at Reynolds Avenue during the closure.

The off-ramp at North Padaro Lane is expected to reopen Feb. 28. Until then, drivers can use the detour at South Padaro Lane and Via Real.

The on-ramp at Santa Claus Lane is expected to reopen Jan. 29. Until then, drivers can use the detour on Via Real, Santa Ynez Avenue, Carpinteria Avenue and Reynolds Avenue.

Barbara News-Press, P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102. Published daily.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Stearns Wharf extends into the sea off Santa Barbara in a view from Franchesci Park on Thursday.

ROBERT ERINGER

IRS increases deductible costs for mileage by 3 cents per mile in 2023

By TOM GANTERT THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) - The optional standard rate for deductible costs for operating an automobile for business will increase to 65.5 cents per mile in 2023, a 3-cent increase from the current rate, according to the IRS.

The new rates begin Jan. 1 and apply to electric and hybridelectric vehicles, gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles, according to an IRS news release.

The IRS has increased the deductible costs for automobiles on business from 53.5 cents in 2017 to 58 cents in 2019. The IRS set the rate at 58.5 cents a mile in January 2022 and then upped it 4 more cents in June 2022 with a mid-year increase.

The IRS said the mid-year increase in June was in recognition of the gasoline price increases. The U.S. average price of a gallon of gas rose to $4.92 per gallon in June, the highest average ever in the U.S. according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The average price of a gallon of gas dropped from $4.92 in June to $3.20 in December, the lowest since Oct. 2021.

11 states will cut individual income taxes in 2023

By JOSH HYPES THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Eleven states will reduce their individual income tax rates on Jan. 1.

Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, and North Carolina will cut the individual income tax rate on New Year’s Day, according to the Tax Foundation. Over the past two years, more than 20 states have cut individual income tax rates.

Three of these states – Arizona, Idaho, and Mississippi –will also move away from a graduated-rate income tax to a flat tax where all income is taxed at the same rate regardless of income level, the Tax Foundation reported.

Only one state, Massachusetts, is increasing its individual income tax, according to the Tax Foundation. The state will change

from a flat to a graduated-rate tax of 9% on any household income over $1 million.

Two states, Hawaii and Illinois, expanded their tax credit programs, which reduce the final dollar amount on the tax bill rather than reducing taxable income, according to the Tax Foundation.

States with low or no personal income tax rates are among the fastest-growing populations in the country, according to data from the U.S. Census. Among those states are Florida, Idaho, and North Carolina.

Florida has no income tax, while both Idaho and North Carolina have a flat tax on income, according to data from the Tax Foundation.

Alabama, Delaware, Iowa, Rhode Island, and Nebraska enacted exemptions for a portion to all of retirement income or

military pension, according to the Tax Foundation.

Hillsdale College Professor of Economics Gary Wolfram told The Center Square that states with lower income taxes often attract more businesses and economic activity to their economies.

“States with lower income taxes attract economic activity,” Mr. Wolfram said. “The latest census data on state population growth is evidence of the fact. This results in job opportunities and increases in property values that particularly benefit the median income earners.”

States like New York, Hawaii, California, and Oregon with high income taxes have shrinking populations, data from the U.S. Census shows. These states are also among the top ten states with the highest income tax with California having the highest tax rate in the country at 13.3%.

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – President Joe Biden signed the nearly $1.7 trillion omnibus bill Thursday night, but that legislation has come under heavy fire from critics for funding a range of controversial issues.

Aside from the contents of the bill, President Biden took fire for heading to St. Croix for the holidays, where the several thousand page bill was flown to him for his signature.

“The omnibus – filled with wacko climate change initiatives – is being flown more than 1,000 miles to be signed because the president couldn’t be bothered to stick around and do his job,” U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas,

Aside from the contents of the bill, President Biden took fire for heading to St. Croix for the holidays, where the several thousand page bill was flown to him for his signature.

said.

U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., highlighted some of the more controversial spending items in a string of tweets that went viral.

“And, of course, $1,438,000,000 for membership in global multilateral organizations, including the UN. The word ‘salmon’ appears 48 times in the bill. $65 million for salmon?

Seems fishy,” he wrote. “On a more sinister note, here’s at least $575 million for ‘family planning’ in areas where population growth ‘threatens biodiversity.’ Malthusianism is a disturbing, anti-human ideology that should have ZERO place in any federal program.”

President Biden, though,

Please see BILL on A7

heirloom

Patek,” goes their trademark mantra, “you merely look after it for the next generation.”

U.S. House committee releases Trump’s tax returns

By TOM GANTERT THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) - The House Ways and Means Committee that is controlled by Democrats released six years of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns on Friday.

The New York Post reported the returns cover the years 2015 to 2020. The Trumps reported positive income of $24.3 million in 2018 and $4.4 million in 2019 and had negative income in four of the six years in which tax returns were released.

The House Ways and Means Committee released a 29-page overview of the returns on Dec. 20.

Mr. Trump posted a video Dec. 23 on his social media platform Truth Social in response to his tax returns being released.

Mr. Trump called the release a “deranged political witch hunt.”

“Now, in an outrageous abuse of power, the radical Democrat Congress illegally obtained and leaked my personal tax returns which show only that I’ve had tremendous success. It’s been

Former President

Donald Trump posted a video Dec. 23 on his social media

cash as numbers on a financial statement, I’d rather enjoy money in the form of a spectacular work of art. Not to lock in a safe. But to carry on my wrist and admire the craftsmanship that went into its creation — and, more important, to remind myself that time is short. And precious.

There is no finer family heirloom for handing down to children or grandchildren than an elegant gold mechanical watch.

“You never actually own a

And with two grandsons, it is simply a matter for impermanent me to match personality with style so that, eventually, each may celebrate, with a fine timepiece, the passage of minutes and hours on this earthly plane while coming to understand that time is the most valuable thing they will ever have.

(Sad to say, we must provide this

caveat: U.S. cities have become dangerous due to red state big city D.A. disinterest in prosecuting crimes and removing criminals from society. Consequently, if you

own precious wristwatches, lock them away in safe deposit boxes when not in use. Furthermore, do not wear high-end wristwatches when out and about in large cities anywhere in the world as they have become a major target among criminal gangs who engage in muggings and restaurant raids. If you choose to wear a precious timepiece in large cities, conceal it beneath your sleeve.)

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

platform Truth Social in response to his

tax

returns being released.

an amazing period of time. The seizure of these confidential records was completely unconstitutional,” Mr. Trump said. “There is no legitimate legislature (sic) purpose for their action. And if you look at what they’ve done, it’s so sad for our country.”

Mr. Trump said his tax returns contained relatively little information and said the returns were extremely complex and very few people would understand it.

Mr. Trump said Republicans should release President Joe Biden’s tax returns, which have already voluntarily been made public.

NEWS-PRESS FILE

The optional standard rate for deductible costs for mileage increased to 65.5 cents per mile, up from 62.5 cents. The rate has risen by 12 cents per mile since 2017.

‘There is no finer family

... than an elegant gold mechanical watch’

Critics vocal against omnibus, but were unable to stop it

SCHEIBE,

November 1932 - December 12, 2022

Dorothy “Jean”

Dorothy “Jean” Scheibe, beloved wife of Murray (19322019), devoted mother to Benjamin (Kathy Hall), Leah (Will Hollifield), and Rachel (1962-2018). Jean passed suddenly on December 12, just weeks after celebrating her 90th birthday in Mendocino with family.

Jean graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from William and Mary in 1954. In her senior year, she met Murray, a graduate student in physics at the University of Maryland. Jean thought Murray was cute but what really attracted her was his intellect. She once said she married him because he was the only man she had met who was smarter than she was. They married in 1955, and had Ben nine months and 2 days after the wedding, as she noted more than once to her daughters. The couple soon moved to the west coast (the Bay Area), with Leah and Rachel joining the family in later years. Friends teased that they really were following the New York Giants, Murray’s team (and Jean’s adopted team as the Senators weren’t very good), to San Francisco. The family moved to Santa Barbara in 1971. After the children reached appropriate age, Jean rejoined the workforce, working as an employment counselor for a private agency and then at the state’s Employment Development Department. She used her earnings to help fund the couple’s love of travel, including to such exotic locales as the Middle East, southeast Asia, Nepal, and Tibet, as well as most countries in Europe. While in town, the couple were avid patrons of the arts, sharing seasons at the symphony and playhouse, and making annual trips to the Pismo Jazz Jubilee. Jean was active in the community, donating time to Recording for the Blind (making good use of her, lovely, mellifluous voice) and working for many years as a docent and tour guide at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

Elegant and worldly, Jean was a sought - after addition to any social gathering. With her keen, sardonic wit, she was referred to on more than one occasion by her children’s friends and colleagues, as well as others, as a “pistol” or “firecracker.” Nor was she ready to go even at 90. Right up to the end, her insatiable joie de vivre had her planning her post-pandemic return to guiding Courthouse tours, booking her room in Pismo for the 2023 Jazz Jubilee, and seeing which cruise she might want to take next. Sadly, she was taken by a fast moving infection before her plans for embarking on her tenth decade could come to fruition. It is cliché to say that one was beloved by all but with Jean the outpouring of grief from all the people she touched has been astounding. Everyone is devastated by her passing. Vital, Vibrant, and Vivacious are the words almost all used to describe her.

Survived by Ben, Leah, and brother David Carlson (Toni), Jean was preceded in death by Murray at age 87, and daughter Rachel, a loss from which she never truly recovered. Jean’s ashes will be released to the sea together with Murray’s, together forever. A celebration of her life will be held in the new year. In lieu of flowers, friends are asked to consider a donation to ASAP, the Santa Barbara Courthouse Legacy Foundation, or Planned Parenthood. We miss you so much Mom. You were our foundation.

SINK, Virginia Titus

Virginia Titus Sink, passed away on November 19, 2022. Her husband of nearly 60 years, John Marshall Sink, predeceased her in 2009. She is survived by three of her children: Charles Marshall Sink (Oakland); Dorian Sink Newton (Oakland), and Jordan Sink Greenbaum (Atlanta). A daughter, Stephanie Sink Reeser, predeceased her. Virginia leaves eleven grandchildren (two predeceased her), and eight great-grandchildren, living throughout the United States.

Virginia was born on January 4, 1931, in New York, New York, the daughter of Robert and Beatrice Titus and sister of Janet Boden. She grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut and attended its Edgewood School. At 16, she was admitted to Radcliffe College, where she met her future husband. She majored in psychology, which proved of great use with all her children and their offspring.

Virginia and her family moved to Goleta in 1960, where they soon bought a new tract house, off Fairview Avenue. In 1971, the family moved into Santa Barbara, above the Mission on East Las Tunas Road. At this time, Virginia started her career with the TriCounties Blood Bank, where she was well-liked and respected by her colleagues. The children, having grown, and her husband, having passed, Virginia eventually (in 2012) moved to Oakland, to be nearer some of her children and grandchildren.

Virginia was a voracious reader, up until the final year of her life. Two or three novels per week was her usual pace. She had an abiding love of See’s candies, as well. Virginia enjoyed travel and kept a well-used passport. She often travelled on trips sponsored by Santa Barbara’s Museum of Art, including trips to India, East Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. She and her family visited most of Europe, in time to see the widespread riots in Paris in 1968, among other experiences. She also drove across the United States to see relatives in Atlanta and to expose her children to the Eastern Seaboard and Expo ‘67. Her patience driving all day in an un-airconditioned car in an era before the interstate highways was commendable. Her love of good food and wine, as well as longdistance driving, has been inherited by various children and grandchildren.

Virginia Sink was much loved and will be missed by her extensive family and many friends. No memorial services are planned. Those who wish are invited to contribute to Planned Parenthood or the charity of their choice.

ROMOFSKY, Dolores (née Williams) It’s often the little things you remember. And fortunately, Dolores was a little thing.

Standing at +/- 5’0”, she proudly showed off her relatively towering family. “Can you believe these are all mine?”

Friends and Family called her Dolores, her kids called her Mom and Mama, and her grandkids called her Grandma D and Grandmar. She had names for everyone, too. Fun names like Katrina for her daughter Katy and Marksalot for her son Mark. Matter-of-fact names like Scott Anthony and Steven Francis. Was somebody in trouble? Could be or could just be enjoying the way the names ran together. There was a music to the way she talked. And music was never far off the subject. Plenty of time spent singing in the church choir at St. Mel or just whistling like a bird to her old favorite tunes. “I’ve always got a song in my head”, she was fond of saying. She had a language her own too. “Oh fish feathers” was a favorite swearing substitute. You knew things were serious if she also stamped her foot. Often on her feet, she stayed active most of her life. From years spent playing tennis in round robins with her friends, to just tackling the steep terrain of Woodland Hills on her morning walks, Dolores kept busy and liked a challenge.

Raising a family of four, with a variety of pets, and a husband to boot was one such challenge she handled with aplomb. She liked to keep busy, and even after the family was grown, she would ask “How can I help?” or say “Put me to work!” whenever she visited.

She was proud of her kids and grandkids, and she loved nothing more than to tell a story to them or hear a story from them.

Even more, she loved to feed people and play hostess. Inviting friends over for dinner and drinks, organizing annual Christmas teas, and wrangling all the family under one roof for many a holiday.

She’ll be remembered for her distinctive laugh, her occasionally but never admitted stubbornness, her stories, and her biscuits and Irish bread.

To Dolores, Mom, Grandma D, and Grandmar, See you later, alligator After a while, crocodile

Dolores Mae Romofsky (née Williams) born September 9, 1930 – died December 7th, 2022. Dolores was born to Francis (Frank) and Mary Jane Williams in Ocean Park, CA, the second of two daughters. She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister, Mary Frances and brother-in-law, Charles, her Irish cousin, Kieren Kennedy, and her husband, William “Bill” Romofsky. She is survived by her sons, Steven (Karen), Mark (Stevee), and Scott (Eve), daughter, Kathleen (Brian), and grandchildren Brian, Jonathan, Priscilla, and Savannah, as well as her nephews Pat and Chris, and niece Cindy. More loved ones went before, and more remain behind. A Funeral Mass will be held:

Saturday, January 7th, 2023 at 11:00am

Holy Cross Catholic Church 1740 Cliff Dr Santa Barbara, CA 93109

Reception and Luncheon: Saturday, January 7th, 2023 Noon to 2:00pm Hayes Hall on the grounds of Holy Cross Catholic Church In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Direct Relief International in Dolores’ name. www.directrelief.org

She

Nancy graduated from Cathedral High in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nancy met Norman Kovanda in June 1950 at a teenage dance at the Summer Pavilion in Lincoln. They were both 17 years old. They dated for four years until Norman graduated in 1954 from the University of Nebraska. They were married on February 12, 1955 and started a marriage that lasted until now, 67 years later.

They had four children, Deborah, Sandra, Jeannie, and Stephen Kovanda, in Denver. They moved to Santa Barbara in 1962.

Norman and Nancy started a tax and investment business in 1964, heading it until their retirement in 2019, 55 years later.

Nancy was a fond fan of Nebraska Cornhusker football. GO Big Red!

Nancy is survived by her husband, Norman, daughter, Sandra Kovanda, grandson, Dean Kovanda, daughter, Jeannie (Rob) Graham, grandson, Steven (Kathleen) Symer, great-grandsons, Nathan and Jack Symer, granddaughter Kristin (Geoff) Payton, greatgrandkids, George and Eleanor Payton, and many beloved nieces and nephews.

Nancy will be greatly missed by all who knew her. She was a wonderful woman.

Nancy’s memorial will be held at burial site at the Santa Barbara Cemetery, Friday January 6th, at 1:15PM, located at 901 Channel Dr., Montecito, CA.

EDWARDS, Donald Robert

Donald Robert Edwards passed peacefully, in his sleep, on December 6th, 2022, at his home in Solvang, California. Don was the first son born to James Robert and Wilma Jean Edwards on June 22nd, 1939, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Don grew up in Santa Barbara, with a native’s love for sunshine, beaches, and mechanics. Growing up in Santa Barbara, California, Don loved mechanical things and always toyed around with engines. As a youngster, he started hopping up lawn mowers, then motor scooters, then motorcycles. At a young 16 years of age, while in high school, he had a 1940 Ford coupe with a “full race” flathead engine, which he raced at the Santa Maria drag strip, but, when he first saw a Crackerbox race boat, his life was forever changed. He had to have that boat and sold the Ford to buy it.

After attending Santa Barbara city schools, and San Jose State College, Don enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, and served his full term as a reservist. Don’s racing career began in 1959 in an 18-foot flat-bottom boat built by Don Beck. He loved the competition, and in 1961 he was able to hit speeds of over 80 miles per hour, which was pretty fast for the day. According to Don, the boat was painted in gold color, and caused a lot of commotion wherever it went. So, it became known as the ‘Golden Komotion’. A few years later, Don worked with the sports legend Rich Hallett, to design and build a 21foot wooden hydroplane drag boat. Don set a record in 1966 on the Feather River at 136 miles per hour. All in all, Edwards, Hallett, and their engine builder Dave Zeuschel won four National Championships between 1965 and 1967, making this new version of the ‘Golden Komotion’ the “World’s Winningest Gas Hydro” drag boat in 1967.

While in the Coast Guard, Don attended the Seattle Seafair Trophy Race, which featured a class of racing boats called ‘Unlimited Hydroplanes’. He was instantly drawn to these boats and decided to retire from drag boat racing at the end of the 1967 season.

Don was innovative, enterprising, and determined - he commissioned Rich Hallett to build the first ever Unlimited Hydroplane hull specifically to be powered by a turbine engine. No one had ever built a turbine powered hydroplane before. But that effort perfectly defined Don Edwards. At the time, finding one available at any price became problematic. After doing some research they found one, an Allison T40, at T.M. McBride, a WWII surplus company in Los Angeles. Edwards was able to purchase the engine for a mere $1,500, but it came without any documentation, records, manuals or virtually any information at all. The Allison T40 was an experimental engine that had been in development for the Navy, and, to say the least, was an unusual engine. The boat also had some very advanced technology features, too, which in years to follow became standard. ‘Golden Komotion’ was the first attempt at using turbine power in an unlimited hydroplane, something that is the standard today. The history of the ‘Allison T40 Golden Komotion’ can be found in Doug Ford’s book “What Were They Thinking?”.

After boat racing, Don pursued real estate investing. He was also a successful entrepreneur, owner of Golden Komotion Enterprises, dealing in various agricultural equipment and trucks. Together, Don and Lydia purchased and operated a 160-acre cattle ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. After seven years of ranching, they moved to Solvang. Never one to sit still, Don and Lydia traveled to lakes, harbors and rivers of counties that held their interests - racing! Don, while visiting Bass Lake in the Sierras, one of his favorite lakes, wanted to have a reunion with his racing friends. That year, 2006, was the beginning of the annual Bass Lake Boat Fest, a 4-day celebration and event that takes place at the Pines Resort every June.

While living in Solvang, Don and Lydia pursued their passions as authors. Don wanted to ensure that the history and achievements of the ‘Glory Days’ - along with that of his close friends in the boat racing world - would be well documented. His best-selling book “Drag Boats of the 1960s” was co-authored by Barry McCown, a fellow drag boat racer. Writer/filmmaker Bob Silva was the writer, and famed race boat driver Larry Schwabenland wrote the foreword.

Don is survived by his loving wife Lydia Schwartz Bell Edwards, his brother Richard J. Edwards (Gale), nephew Torey M. Edwards, niece Mandy Edwards Kirschner (Aaron), stepchildren Ryan Bell (Jill) and Jennifer Bell Courcier (Richard), cousins James, Michael and Thomas Brinks, William Brinks’ daughter, Pamela Brinks, and many extended family members, all of whom will miss him dearly.

Don’s legacy can be seen, and appreciated in museums, websites, and books, including:

-Evergreen Museum near Portland, Oregon.

-Antique Aero in Paso Robles, where his last drag boat is located. Locally - in Buellton at Mendenhall’s Museum and Anderson’s Museum. National Automobile Museum in Reno, Nevada.

-Hydroplane & Raceboat Museum in Seattle, Washington.

-NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. Online at: – www.donedwardsdragboats.com

– Facebook groups:

• Drag Boat Racing’s Golden Years

• Southern California Speedboat Club

• Hydroplane History

• Drag Boat Review

More history can be found in books by:

–What Were They Thinking? by Doug Ford

–Turbine Racing in Seattle Images of Sports by David D. Williams

–Central Coast Motor Sports by Tony Baker

–Drag Boats of the 1960s by Don Edwards and Barry McCown

The family expresses their deepest gratitude to the nurses and staff of VNA Health and Serenity House of Santa Barbara for their care and comfort for Donald.

A service and celebration of Donald Edwards will be held in late January 2023.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com

To place an obituary, please email the text and photo(s) to obits@newspress.com or fax text only (no photos) to (805) 966-1421. Please include your name, address, contact phone number and the date(s) you would like the obituary to be published. Photos should be in jpeg format with at least 200 dpi. If a digital photo is not available, a picture may be brought into our office for scanning. We will lay out the obituary using our standard format. A formatted proof of the obituary and the cost will be emailed back for review and approval.

The minimum obituary cost to print one time is $150.00 for up to 1.5” in length -- includes 1 photo and up to 12 lines of text, approximately 630 characters; up to approximately 930 characters without a photo. Add $60.00 for each additional inch or partial inch after the first 1.5”; up to approximately 700 characters per additional inch.

All Obituaries must be reviewed, approved, and prepaid by deadline. We accept all major credit cards by phone; check or cash payments may be brought into our office located at 715 Anacapa Street.

The deadline for Weekend and Monday’s editions is at 10a.m. on Thursdays; Tuesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Fridays; Wednesday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Mondays; Thursday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Tuesdays; Friday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Wednesdays (Pacific Time).

Free Death Notices must be directly emailed by the mortuary to our newsroom at news@newspress.com. The News-Press cannot accept Death Notices from individuals.

SIDER, Anna Marilyn

On December 13, 2022, Anna Marilyn Sider stepped into the glorious presence of our Lord. Following an extended illness, she died peacefully in her sleep early in the morning, having been surrounded the evening before by her family.

She is survived by her husband, John, sister, Ruth, children, Philip(Sonya) and Rebecca, granddaughters, Holly(Trey), Alia and Carly, and great-granddaughter, Zoey. She is preceded in death by her sister, Lois.

Anna had a great love for living things, and people most of all. She cared for others with a tender and radiant love.

Her joy of life was overflowing, and she shared that joy with all who knew her.

A celebration of Anna’s life will be held at 10am on Saturday, January 7, at Montecito Covenant Church in Santa Barbara. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Anna’s name to Santa Barbara Humane Society at sbhumane.org/give.

BISHOP, Elissa Kay

Elissa Kay Bishop of Santa Barbara and Buellton passed away on December 14, 2022, at the age of 89. Kay is survived by her three daughters, five grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. Mom loved to laugh and sing and always saw the positive in life. Kay was a devout Jehovah Witness and will be missed by many. At this time, a private service will be held with immediate family.

SHERFEY, Kathleen May “Kate”

With great sadness we share the passing of Kathleen “Kate” May Sherfey on November 30, 2022, in Bradenton, FL.

Kathleen was born in Santa Barbara to Joan and John Sherfey on July 15, 1968. She grew up in Carpinteria, attended local schools and graduated as Salutatorian from Carpinteria High School in 1986. She then attended UCLA where she studied Engineering. She worked for Majors Engineering in Sacramento, CA, briefly before moving to Santa Barbara. There she worked twenty years for Garner & Tyler Accounting. She then relocated to Federal Way, WA, and later to Bradenton, FL, where she worked as a Senior Account Manager for Aviation for IAT Insurance Group. Her colleagues praised her for her role in the Underwriting Support department and for her infinite knowledge, integrity and dedication to Aviation.

Kathleen was an avid reader, baker, a clever wordsmith, and a master of games and puzzles such as Scrabble and crosswords. She was funny and creative and enjoyed clock craftmanship in her spare time and was known for being a cool, fun aunt to her many nieces. She is greatly missed by many. She is preceded in death by her father, John. She is survived by her mother, Joan Sherfey of Ojai, CA, her sister, Kelly (Matt) Damron of Ridgefield, CT, her sister, Cortney (Andrew) Rasura of Ojai, CA, and her nieces, Madison, Lily, and Alexandra Damron and Sophia and Annelise Rasura.

City

Lompoc 61/47/r 59/42/pc

Pismo

Santa Maria 61/47/r 58/41/pc

Santa Ynez 61/44/r 59/37/pc

Vandenberg 61/49/r 58/45/pc

Ventura 58/49/r 64/45/pc

Bakersfield 61/45/r 52/39/pc Barstow 64/46/c 57/34/pc

Big Bear 47/28/r 38/14/sf

Bishop 55/33/r 46/18/pc

Catalina 58/47/r 54/46/pc

Concord 57/38/r 60/39/pc

Escondido 62/49/r 58/47/sh

Eureka 54/39/r 52/39/c

Fresno 57/45/r 52/42/pc

Los Angeles 61/50/r 63/45/pc

Mammoth Lakes 36/20/r 30/3/sn

Modesto 58/42/r 56/38/s

Monterey 59/45/r 57/45/pc

Napa 58/39/r 63/39/pc

Oakland 57/44/r 58/44/pc

Ojai 58/43/r 60/39/pc

Oxnard 60/49/r 61/44/pc

Palm Springs 67/50/c 62/44/sh

Pasadena 59/49/r 61/43/pc

Paso Robles 60/43/r 58/33/pc

Sacramento 58/43/r 57/35/s

San Diego 63/53/r 61/51/sh

San Francisco 57/46/r 57/47/pc

San Jose 59/41/r 57/40/pc

San Luis Obispo 61/46/r 61/37/pc

Santa Monica 61/45/r 65/40/pc

Tahoe Valley 38/20/r 32/13/pc

Atlanta 64/51/t 68/51/pc

Boston 55/50/r 56/37/r

Chicago 40/34/c 46/36/c

Dallas 73/56/pc 78/63/pc

Denver 48/25/c 34/22/c

Houston 76/57/s 78/67/pc

Miami 85/70/pc 84/70/pc

Minneapolis 36/24/c 33/20/pc

New York City 54/49/sh 58/43/pc

Philadelphia 56/50/sh 60/40/pc

Phoenix 68/53/pc 59/45/r

Portland, Ore. 48/38/sh 47/34/pc

St. Louis 53/43/c 59/47/pc

Salt Lake City 42/33/sn 40/24/sn

Seattle 48/39/c 46/33/pc

Washington, D.C. 58/49/r 61/43/pc

12:52 p.m. 0.2’ 7:10 p.m. 3.1’ 11:26 p.m. 2.1’ Jan. 2 6:05 a.m. 5.7’ 1:40 p.m. -0.2’ 8:15 p.m. 3.2’ none

Beijing 42/18/pc 41/18/pc

Berlin 63/55/sh 61/51/c

Cairo 70/54/s 70/53/pc

Cancun 84/74/pc 83/74/s London 57/47/sh 53/39/c

Mexico City 70/49/pc 70/49/s Montreal 42/35/r 39/29/r

New Delhi 65/44/pc 64/43/pc Paris 61/52/c 55/50/r

Rio de Janeiro 83/73/r 81/72/t

Rome 65/47/pc 64/48/s Sydney 77/67/sh 77/65/s Tokyo 50/39/pc 53/39/s

KOVANDA, Nancy Pauline Nancy Pauline Kovanda, the daughter of Maurice and Pauline Costello, was born on January 15, 1933. She passed away peacefully at age 89 on December 23, 2022.

was predeceased by her sister, Jeanne Spale, and her two brothers, Maurice Costello Jr. and Robert Costello, her daughter, Deborah Kovanda, and son, Stephen Kovanda.

How to prepare for a rightsize move

Selling a home (and buying a new one) is often a joyous occasion.

Your family has outgrown the home, and you need an extra bedroom or two. You’re starting an exciting new job in a new location. Or you’re finally able to acquire your dream home with more land and a pool.

But if you’re like many people today considering rightsizing to a more manageable home space for retirement or moving to a senior living community, the task of selling your home (and dealing with a lifetime of possessions) can seem daunting and may be fraught with emotion.

A successful move and transition to a new lifestyle requires logistical, financial and emotional planning. As experts in this real estate space (we’ve helped five clients move into senior living communities in 2022 alone), we’ve pulled together some tips that can make selling your home and moving to a more manageable living arrangement easier.

1: Choose the Right Living A RRA ngement

Take time to consult with family, friends and/or trusted advisers to determine your best next living arrangement: Is it rightsizing to a single-level home with a more manageable yard? A lock-n-go condominium so you can travel without maintenance concerns? Or is a senior living community the right fit for you?

This is often one of the most difficult decisions to make. Not only does your next living arrangement need to fit your financial circumstances, but it should also feel right and provide you with a positive lifestyle change.

Given today’s low housing inventory, it will likely take time to find the right property to meet your needs if you’re looking to downsize. If you’re considering a senior or assisted living arrangement, be sure to tour several different communities and visit often (have a meal if possible!) before making a deposit. Many senior living communities in our area have long wait lists, so you can never start the process too early. Most deposits are refundable should you have a change of plans.

Remember, it’s best to make a transitional move while you can enjoy the amenities and benefits of your new lifestyle, instead of waiting until you have to make a move.

2: Consu Lt with youR

fin A nCi AL A nd tA x A dviseR s

Many homeowners need to sell their home prior to transitioning to another living arrangement. If you’ve owned your current home for a while, be sure to consult with your financial planner and accountant to understand the potential tax consequences of selling the home, especially capital gains. Your trusted adviser can also help you create a shortand-long term financial plan and budget based on your new living

Marshall named Community Bank vice president

SANTA MARIA — Shannon

Marshall has joined the leadership team at Community Bank of Santa Maria as vice president and branch at the South Broadway Branch.

“I spent my career in banking, 26 years here on the central coast. My position at Community Bank of Santa Maria is a perfect continuation of this journey. I look forward to providing the community and our customers a quality community banking experience,” said Ms. Marshall. “I am very happy to be part of the team.”

Janet Silveria, the bank’s president and CEO, noted, “... we are excited about the talent and experience Shannon brings to the Community Bank of Santa Maria team.”

Ms. Marshall is a Central Coast native. She is an active member of her community as a volunteer for numerous nonprofits, a board

arrangement.

3: woR k with A n expeR ienCed R e AL estAte Agent

Rightsizing your home is exciting, but it can also be quite stressful (just like any other major life transition). The best way to stay positive is to work with experts who have the experience to support you and guide you through the process. Working with a real estate professional who has experience assisting homeowners through financial and lifestyle transitions is a must.

An experienced real estate agent will (1) determine your home’s value so you can make an informed decision regarding your next living arrangement, (2) identify items to repair or replace prior to selling, (3) establish a timetable to make your move as stress-free as possible, and (4) plan, coordinate and handle all of the logistics from listing to closing to moving. Most experienced real estate agents have a list of trusted vendors and professionals to assist not only with the sale of your home, but with the move to your next living arrangement.

Before selling your home, it is wise to spend time rightsizing your possessions. A professional organizer can help you sort through your belongings to determine which items are suitable for your new home space and which items should be gifted, sold or donated. By using a floor plan of your new space, a professional organizer can help you visualize where your furniture and cherished possessions will fit and prevent you from taking too many large pieces with you.

Once your home has sold, a professional organizer will help label and pack your belongings efficiently and deliberately to make the transition as seamless as possible. Many organizers will also set up your new living arrangement for you, which can be invaluable. If you are able to move before selling your home, a professional organizer can help with the move out process by working in tandem with your real estate agent and a staging consultant so that your home presents well to the public.

2022 saw more California businesses relocate to Florida

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s invitation to Floridians to move to California ahead of the November election, California businesses continue to leave, and increasingly to Florida.

While their top relocation destination is overwhelmingly Texas, several major companies have relocated to Florida since Gov. Newsom’s been in office.

The most recent include several major companies that announced their relocation plans this year, after “Tech Flight” began from Silicon Valley to Miami in late 2020.

Rental home management company Belong announced in September that it was relocating its headquarters from San Mateo to Miami. Its general manager in Florida said the move “was good news for Miami rental owners. Miami is one of the fastest growing rental and real estate markets in the country, so it makes sense for Belong to set up our HQ in the center of the action.”

The company also said it was rapidly expanding “into the Florida market, highlighting Miami’s appeal to start-ups and tech companies.”

Investment fund Black Dog Ventures Partners, with offices in Tempe, Arizona and San Francisco, announced it was relocating its headquarters to Tampa. Its CEO and founder Scott Kelly told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that the Florida city “was ridiculously welcoming… has a significant amount of people moving there; there’s a lot going on in the entrepreneur space.”

After working in Silicon Valley for 15 years, he said “our goal is to bring the syndicate of the West Coast investors into the Florida ecosystem.”

Astronics Test Systems, a subsidiary of Astronics Corporation, also announced it was moving its headquarters from Irvine, California, to Orlando. It plans to hire 60 more local residents over the next two years, paying an average wage of $92,000, 60% higher than the average wage in Orange County, it said.

California’s 8.84% corporate income tax rate and average combined state and local sales tax

8.82%

ATS President Jim Mulato said, “Orlando’s welcoming and collaborative government and business community made it an easy decision to relocate Astronics’ headquarters from Irvine to Orlando.” The company has enjoyed success in the Orlando market since 1994, he said, but it’s continued to grow “by drawing from the specialized talent pool of University of Central Florida graduates and other surrounding technological universities.”

American Technology Network Corp., a leader in the tech optic industry, was relocating to Florida from California because “California is no longer a state in which this growth can continue,” the company said in a news release. Its new Florida facility will be more technically advanced with a more streamlined warehouse and shipping area, allowing ATN “to deliver the highest quality of products to its customers in a more efficient manner,” its chairman and chief marketing officer, Marc Vayn, said.

In 2021, San Francisco-based cyber security company OPSWAT, a leader in critical infrastructure protection, announced it was relocating its headquarters to Tampa.

In November 2020, Tech titan Keith Rabois told Fortune that he was leaving Silicon Valley and moving to Miami because “San Francisco is just so massively improperly run and managed that it’s impossible to stay here.”

Also in late 2020, Jonathan Oringer, founder of Shutterstock, left the Bay Area for

Miami, as did David Blumberg, founder and managing partner of Blumberg Capital. In a Facebook post, Mr. Blumberg said he was moving because of “Poor governance at the local level in San Francisco and statewide in California has driven us away,” the San Francisco Business Times reported.

As other tech giants left the Bay Area, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said he began receiving a lot of calls from tech executives. He told NBC News at the time, “There is absolutely no doubt that a big part of the reason why they are moving is that they feel that there is an inhospitable environment for regulation and taxation.

“There is an attitude that has been expressed by some leaders that says, ‘We don’t want you and we don’t need you,’” he said, referring to California politicians. “It’s the opposite of the ‘How can I help?’ attitude, ‘How can I grow this ecosystem?,’” referring to that of Florida’s leaders.

Businesses relocating to Florida also pay far less in taxes.

California’s 8.84% corporate income tax rate and average combined state and local sales tax rate of 8.82% makes it one of the most expensive states to do business. By comparison, Florida’s 5% corporate income tax and average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7% makes it less expensive to do business.

California’s tax system ranks 48th on the Tax Foundation’s 2022 State Business Tax Climate Index. Florida ranks 4th.

member of the Lompoc Valley YMCA, and a trustee of the Lompoc Hospital Foundation.

In her spare time, she enjoys camping with her husband and two daughters, spending the day at Avila Beach, and sipping wine with friends and family.

rate of

makes it one of the most expensive states to do business. By comparison, Florida’s 5% corporate income tax and average combined state and local sales tax rate of 7% makes it less expensive to do business.

4: hiR e A pRofession AL oRg A nizeR

KELLY KNIGHT

Re AL estAte updAte

— Katherine Zehnder

COURTESY PHOTO

Shannon Marshall

Please see KNIGHT on A7

‘It’s exciting to see people enjoying themselves’

which is really unique.

News-Press. “I want my guests to come and park their car and walk for the rest of the time they are there.

“I like to think we have checked all of the boxes: state-of-art fitness, full restaurant, rooftop decks, spa and meeting rooms. Marriott has come to offer a standard guests have come to expect at an approachable price point.”

Mr. Firestone described the rooms.

“We have the existing building that has been renovated from carpet and wallpaper and furniture to match the new rooms built in the new building,” he said. “The courtyard is where the restaurant has an indoor/outdoor feel. It has a courtyard experience

“The rooms are a continuation of the mid-century modern look and the feel; the colors and fabrics mimic that. They are really generously sized rooms. The nice thing about renovating and building new is the ability to maximize layout and design to meet travelers expectations. It satisfies every guest’s needs. The original building and new building form a courtyard experience. Guests can go out on balconies and look out over the courtyard having an urban resort feel.”

The News-Press asked Mr. Firestone about the restaurant, Saint Remy.

“We have owned this property for 10 years and always had the vision to complete the expansion and include a restaurant. Making a space that is approachable and comfortable and doesn’t feel like

an average restaurant. We have all types of seating including: common tables, smaller booths and lounge seating. It is a fun energy when you walk in with indoor/outdoor seating. We have everything from kids’ food to interesting Mediterranean dishes.”

The restaurant also has a full liquor license, which includes wines and craft cocktails.

“The idea was to put spin on classic cocktails and dishes making them uniquely Santa Barbara,” said Mr. Firestone.

He is seeing a positive response to the hotel.

“This morning I hung out in the lobby watching people check in and out. We have a lot of guests that are Marriott patrons. I have heard over and over, ‘This is such a cool version of a Courtyard by Marriot.’ It is an adapted use of an existing property, and it feels unique and special. It made me so proud to hear people excited about it. I have three young kids, and it’s exciting to see people enjoying themselves and families eating waffles and chocolate chip pancakes.

“I hope locals can come down and take a look at the property,” Mr. Firestone said. “You don’t really get a sense of the property from walking by. I hope this is

the place locals have their family stay. It is a unique and different property for downtown Santa Barbara.”

“My goal from the start was

to give a place for families and people to come to Santa Barbara and use the hotel as a launch pad to everything downtown,” Mr. Firestone said. “A place to enjoy amenities and use that to launch into the State Street corridor with its shopping and eating. In just a few days, I have seen people using it that way. and that’s really exciting. I hope this is a launching pad for people to explore everything Santa Barbara has outside of the hotel.”

“Our hope was to create this downtown urban retreat in the middle of downtown, a little resort with all the amenities a guest could look for at a reasonable price point. We respect what Marriot brings to their standards. I think Santa Barbara is the most magical visitor destination on the West Coast, and I think Courtyard by Marriott is the gold standard. I have an incredible amount of pride in this project because it’s in my backyard,” said Mr. Firestone.

The hotel is walkable to all that Santa Barbara has to offer, including the Old Mission, museums, Santa Barbara Harbor, The Funk Zone, Stearns Wharf and the Santa Barbara Zoo.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

This is the view of Santa Barbara from the rooftop lounge at the Courtyard by Marriott Santa Barbara Downtown.

This is one of the hotel’s rooms with a king-size bed.

The hotel’s amenities include this gym.

This is among the rooms at the hotel.

Biden EPA to finalize what waterways are under federal purview

By COLE LAUTERBACH THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The Environmental Protection Agency is finalizing rules for how it will implement a controversial part of the Clean Water Act.

The waters of the United States, or WOTUS, definition details that the EPA sets the threshold and exceptions of what waterways fall under federal jurisdiction.

A waterway, from rivers to road ditches, that fall under the federal umbrella under WOTUS can only be altered with EPA permission.

The final rule change goes back in time, reinstating the rules for navigable waters, seas, interstate waters and upstream sources. The agency says the final rule reverts policy back to what it was before it was expanded in 2015.

“When Congress passed the Clean Water Act 50 years ago, it

recognized that protecting our waters is essential to ensuring healthy communities and a thriving economy,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.

“Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what we’ve learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nation’s waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects people’s health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners.”

The final proposal was met with criticism by road builders, who say applying WOTUS to road ditches would undermine key provisions in President Joe Biden’s infrastructure law.

“Federal environmental reviews can take as long as seven years to complete for new transportation projects. While

the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) sets a two-year review timeline, EPA’s rule puts this goal out of reach for many projects by adding more permitting requirements with no resulting tangible environmental benefits, and in the process increasing the time it takes to deliver transportation improvements,” said ARTBA Vice President of Legal & Regulatory Issues, Nick Goldstein.

The rule had been narrowed by an EPA led by former-Trump appointees.

In June 2021, the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers announced it intended to redefine WOTUS.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard Sackett v. EPA, a case filed against the agency by an Idaho landowner, in October. The court is expected to release an opinion in early 2023.

Texas border security efforts enhanced in 2022 as illegal border crossings surged

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Since Gov. Greg Abbott launched Texas’ border security mission known as Operation Lone Star, Texas law enforcement officers have apprehended an unprecedented number of foreign nationals who’ve entered the U.S. illegally. They’ve also seized enough fentanyl to kill more than the entire U.S. population.

Since OLS was launched in March 2021, thousands of officers from police departments, sheriff’s offices, State Police, Texas National Guard, and others have apprehended more than 336,000 foreign nationals as of Dec. 29. This includes more than 100,000 apprehensions in the Rio Grande Valley alone. They’ve also made over 23,000 criminal arrests, with more than 20,000 felony charges reported. These numbers do not include apprehensions made by U.S. Border Patrol.

OLS is filling “the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration’s refusal to secure the border,” Gov. Abbott said. “Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Biden’s open border policies.”

Texas National Guard and Department of Public Safety OLS efforts expanded in July, Gov. Abbott said, after he issued an executive order authorizing officers to apprehend foreign nationals illegally entering between ports of entry and returning them to ports of entry, handing them over to Border Patrol. The order cites U.S. and Texas constitutional provisions but doesn’t declare an invasion. It was issued two days after six county judges were the first to declare an invasion on July 5.

Since then, judges and commissioners from at least 40 counties have called on Gov. Abbott to declare an invasion and repel it: meaning, prevent illegal entry and return illegal foreign nationals to Mexico. Gov. Abbott’s July 7 order, local officials point out, doesn’t change what Guardsmen and DPS were already doing: apprehending people between ports of entry and handing them over to Border Patrol agents, as The Center Square began reporting last year.

While Gov. Abbott has yet to declare an invasion, he was the first Texas governor to begin building a border wall on state soil, the first to sign memoranda of understanding with four Mexican governors, and the first to designate Mexican cartels as foreign

terrorist organizations.

New OLS task forces also were created this year, including a DPS task force to pursue gotaways in the Rio Grande Valley. In early December, the Texas National Guard added 45 drone pilots to help OLS elite brush teams locate and arrest gotaways, the term used by Border Patrol to categorize those who illegally enter the U.S. in between ports of entry to evade capture by law enforcement.

Earlier this year, Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd created the first OLS Task Force, working with 20 law enforcement entities to thwart cartel activity along Highway 59.

The governor also repeatedly met with law enforcement officers statewide to target cartel and gang-related human and drug smuggling and trafficking and address the fentanyl crisis.

He met with forensic scientists in Houston crime labs, University of Houston scientists developing a fentanyl vaccine, and with state lawmakers to introduce legislation to enhance fentanyl and human smuggling penalties in the next legislative session.

Since last March, DPS officers have seized more than 354 million lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to kill more than the entire population of the United States. OLS officers also uncovered stash houses being used for human smuggling, and the state began offering greater rewards for those who help identify them.

Overall, since November 2021, at least 6,128 Texas National Guardsmen and women were stationed along the Texas-Mexico border; an additional 3,700 were deployed elsewhere through OLS. Since March 2021, more than 1,600 state troopers have been working with hundreds of officers from local sheriff’s offices and police departments through OLS.

Most recently, Gov. Abbott called up an additional 400 National Guard troops who were deployed to El Paso to respond to a crisis created by several thousand people arriving in large groups, reportedly brought by cartel operatives, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the Mexican government.

He also called for an investigation into NGOs reportedly facilitating illegal immigration.

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office launched separate investigations into nonprofits allegedly facilitating illegal immigration and sued the Biden administration multiple times over immigration and border security policies, so far winning most cases in court.

Legislation caused division with Republican ranks

celebrated the bill, which averted a government shutdown and funded the government through September.

“Today, I signed the bipartisan omnibus bill, ending a year of historic progress,” President Biden said. “It’ll invest in medical research, safety, veteran health care, disaster recovery, VAWA funding – and gets crucial assistance to Ukraine. Looking forward to more in 2023.”

The bill caused division within the GOP, where some Republicans like Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., helped move the bill through while others like Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, tried to rally opposition.

“The Republicans who gifted us the omnibus should be ashamed,” Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, wrote on Twitter. “How many of them ran saying they’d secure the border? How many ran as fiscal conservatives? They ALL did. These ‘Republicans’ LIED to their voters. Truly a DISGRACE!!”

Others criticized not just what is in the bill, but how it was passed.

Congress now routinely passes most major legislation in a multithousand-page omnibus bill, crafted in secret at the end of each year, with no time to read, in a nearly empty House chamber with no floor amendments allowed and no real debate,” said Justin Amash, a former Republican representative for Michigan. “This is oligarchy, not representation.”

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-

Calif., who is expected to lead the Republicans in the House in the next Congress, opposed the bill, signaling that Democratic legislation will have a hard time getting through the House for the next two years.

“For the first time in history, a bill in the House was passed without a physical quorum present – more people voted by proxy than in person,” he said. “The omnibus will damage our country, [and] the blatant disregard for Article I, Section 5 of our Constitution will forever stain this Congress. In 11 days, the new [House Republican] majority will change the direction of our country. We will also return the House back to a functioning constitutional body by repealing proxy voting once and for all.”

Moving doesn’t have to be overwhelming

the move. Talking about your concerns with family, friends and your support team can help alleviate some of the stress and anxiety. Above all else, be patient with the process.

5: Create a workable moving sChedule

Be sure to create a moving schedule that keeps you being overwhelmed to a minimum. The packing and decision-making process takes time, so be sure your support team listens to you and understands your needs.

6: don’t ignore your emotions

Rightsizing your home space or moving to a senior living community is exciting, but it can also be intimidating. No matter how prepared you are, you will likely have a mix of emotions going into

Bottom line: Selling your home and transitioning to a new living space and lifestyle can sometimes feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. An experienced team of trusted advisers and professionals can help you sell your home quickly and with ease, so you can focus on enjoying your next life chapter in a living space that is just right for you.

Kelly Knight is a former practicing attorney and associate real estate broker with Village Properties. She is the founder of Knight Real Estate Group and specializes in helping clients rightsize to an optimal living arrangement.

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

Life theArts

Story Catcher Mailbox

Community members share letters of praise and grief and become stronger in the process

By JARED DANIELS NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

In the aftermath of the destruction and tragedy caused by the Thomas Fire and mudslides that followed, one local artist was inspired to help her community address their grief.

From this act of love and empathy sprang the Story Catcher Mailbox — a living piece of public art that continues to give people in the South Coast the opportunity to express both their praise and their grief years after the initial shock of unexpected tragedy.

The concept of the piece is simple on its face. One writes a letter expressing either their grief or praise for something occuring — or perhaps has occurred or they fear will occur — in their life. They then deposit it into a 7-and-a-half-foot mailbox located at 609 State St. in front of Wylde Works in Santa Barbara, and their letter is read aloud to community members and whoever else may wander in to imbibe in Wylde Works’ home-crafted honey-centric and kombucha adult beverages.

But according to organizer Danielle Siano, this simple act has a much more profound meaning on those who participate than would initially meet the eye.

“It’s happening to you when you write it down, but then when you hear it, it’s a different kind of connection,” Ms. Siano told the News-Press. “You’re able to

become the witness of something instead of being enmeshed in it, and I think that’s a really big part of freeing oneself from their story.”

Even those who choose to simply express their feelings in writing without hearing their letter read aloud, Ms. Siano believes that the project still

helps individuals begin the healing process to overcome grief.

“We’re being asked to trust when we let something go, and we don’t always get to see how it works out in the end,” she said. “By writing the letter, that process has begun … So as soon as someone connects with

themself and takes that very first step, they’ve started something. They’re on that path, and that’s the important part — and (Story Catcher Mailbox) is an invitation to start that path.”

In addition to letters of grief, Ms. Siano wanted to ensure that letters of praise would also be included in the project.

While these two expressions seem contrasting at first, Ms. Siano was inspired by a book — “The Smell of Rain on Dust” by Martín Prechtel — to see the interconnected nature of these seemingly disparate emotions. “(Grief and Praise) are really rooted in the core essence of life itself,” she said. “What are we here for? We’re here to love, and built into that is the impermanence of love and the ultimate loss of things and people we love. When we experience the loss of what we loved, it’s because we loved and praised it so much

Please see LETTERS on B2

FYI

The Story Catcher Mailbox is located in front of Wylde Works at 609 State St. in Santa Barbara, with monthly readings of letters occurring inside Wylde Works. For more information, visit storycatchermailbox.com.

CALENDAR

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 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara.Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit “Parliament of Owls” runs through Feb. 5 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, go to www.sbnature.org. 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform its annual New Year’s Eve concert, featuring music varying from The Beatles to James Bond to Broadway, at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Pops conductor Bob Bernhardt will conduct the concert, which will feature renowned soprano Mela Sarajane Dailey. There will also be champagne, noise-makers and, of course, party hats.

To purchase tickets, go to thesymphony.org or thegranadasb. org or call the symphony at 805893-9386.

9 p.m. The Boogie Knights and Spazmatics will perform during the New Year’s Eve Disco Boogie Ball at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez. Tickets cost $50. To purchase, go to chumashcasino.com/ entertainment.

JAN. 3 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at the Marian Regional Medical Center, 1400 E. Church St., Santa Maria. For more information, go to vitalant. org. 7:30 p.m. The American Theatre Guild will present the North American tour of “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” a theatrical concert celebrating the music of Aretha Franklin, at The Granada, 1214 State St. Tickets cost $59 to $114. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

JAN. 4

7:30 p.m. The American Theatre Guild will present the North American tour of “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” a theatrical concert celebrating the music of Aretha Franklin, at The Granada, 1214 State St. Tickets cost $59 to $114. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

JAN. 5 1 to 5 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at the Lompoc Police Department, 107 Civic Center Plaza, Lompoc. For more information, go to vitalant.org.

JAN. 13

7 p.m. Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuéllar will perform a free concert at Isla Vista Elementary School, 6875 El Colegio Road, Isla Vista, as Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara resumes its programming.

7 p.m. The Los Angeles Reed Quintet will perform during the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos. The program will include music by Mendelssohn, Mahler, Ligeti, Nina Shekhar, Yanjun Hua, Corelli, Fred Coots, and Sam Lewis

JAN. 14

7 p.m. Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuélla will perform a free concert at Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes Center, 1065 Guadalupe St., Guadalupe. The concert is presented by Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara .

JAN. 15

7 p.m. Mariachi Garibaldi de Jaime Cuélla will perform a free concert at The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara. The concert is presented by Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara.

JAN. 17 1:30 to 6:30 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, 4436 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. For more information, go to vitalant.org.

JAN. 19 2 to 5:30 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, 524 Chapala St., Santa Barbara. For more information, go to vitalant. org.

JAN. 21

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform its “Plains, Trains & Violins” concert at The Granada, 1214 State St. The concert includes Miguel del Aguila’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, “The Journey of a Lifetime” (El viaje de una vida) with violin soloist Guillermo Figueroa and the concert world premiere of Elmer Bernstein’s “Toccata for Toy Trains.” The orchestra will also perform Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). Tickets cost $35 to $175. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

JAN. 22

3 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform its “Plains, Trains & Violins” concert at The Granada, 1214 State St. The concert includes Miguel del Aguila’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, “The Journey of a Lifetime (El viaje de una vida)” with violin soloist Guillermo Figueroa and the concert world premiere of Elmer Bernstein’s “Toccata for Toy Trains.” The orchestra will also perform Dvorak’s Symphony No. 9 (“From the New World”). Tickets cost $35 to $175. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

4 to 5 p.m. “Roy Dunn: Capturing Imagery of Our Wild Neighbors” will take place at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature, 1511-B Mission Drive, Solvang.

JAN. 24

2 to 6 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at Camino Real Marketplace, 7046 Marketplace Drive, Goleta. For more information, go to vitalant. org.

7 p.m. UCSB Arts & Lectures presents mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and a music ensemble in “Eden” at The Granada, 1214 State St. “Eden” explores the individual human connection with nature and features music from four centuries. Tickets cost $46 to $131 for general admission and $20 for UCSB students with ID, one hour before the performance, and youths 18 and younger. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

JAN. 25

10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Vitalant blood drive at Allan Hancock College, 800 S. College, Santa Maria. For more information, go to vitalant.org.

email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School, 721 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara. The concert is presented by Viva el Arte de Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTO The American Theatre Guild will present the North American tour of “R.E.S.P.E.C.T.,” a theatrical concert celebrating the music of Aretha Franklin, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 and 4 at The Granada, 1214 State St. Tickets cost $59 to $114. To purchase, go to granadasb. org. MORE INSIDE For more on the Los Angeles Reed Quintet, please

PHOTOS COURTESY STORY CATCHER MAILBOX

Story Catcher Mailbox

organizer Danielle Siano listens as Alexis Slutzky reads her letter.

A letter writer deposits her thoughts into the side of the mailbox for praise.

Passersby eye the Story Catcher Mailbox on State Street in Santa Barara.

If you challenge the project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Planning Commission prior to the public hearing.

Feeling better in the New Year

Iknow the New Year is about letting go of the old and embracing the new, but what if the old isn’t letting go of us?

There’s a war in Europe. Hundreds of people are still dying daily from COVID-19. And these are just a couple of the more entrenched problems in the world.

On top of all this, everything is more expensive or harder to get, so if you are asking yourself, “How are we going to afford that?” you are not alone, but that’s not really going to make you feel any better.

What will make you feel better is to focus on the positive parts of life and look toward the future with hope in the face of uncertainty. You need to hold the hands of those you love and realize that love and connection are more important than your immediate worries.

Yes, I love my work too, but it doesn’t give me nearly the love

that I get at home. A warm and welcoming personal life puts everything else in perspective and makes my outlook more realistic and balanced. It will be a few tough years ahead, but there was a similar financial crisis in 2008, and we got through that one OK. What will make your life easier is to adopt some new attitudes. If you planned to travel the world post-COVID, and money is tight now, it may be necessary to postpone that journey. If you can’t find true happiness in the world you have created for yourself, then make some changes. It’s your life, and you will profit more by focusing on personal growth than on material wealth.

One of the things we need to be more aware of is our moods, because they have an impact on those we love as well as on our own health and happiness. We have all noticed that people are angrier than they have ever

Documentary about SB triathlete lands on Vimeo

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

From Santa Barbara director Neil Myers comes the heartwarming documentary, “Climb.”

“Climb” was an official selection at 40 film festivals in six countries. It won 26 awards, including best documentary, best cinematography, best original score and many other awards.

The film tells the story of Mr. Myers, a triathlete who was nearly killed during a training ride where he collided head-on with a truck on Gibraltar Road in Santa Barbara. He suffered many broken bones, the collapse of both lungs and suffered a brain bleed. After a month in the hospital and two months of rehab, the triathlete

got back on his bike and began his journey back to competition.

The film premiered in 2021 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. And on Dec. 15 of this year, it landed on the Vimeo. com platform.

While the film builds to a dramatic, exciting finish at the Santa Barbara Triathlon one year after the accident, the story is more of a love story. It’s about love of cycling and of the community that Mr. Myers said saved his life and helped him back to the starting line. He also said the film is about the love of his family, who was with him every step of the way.

To see the trailer, go to www. climbdoc.org.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

been. Civility has gone out the window, and we need to bring it back. So why not make this a year of improving our inner emotions and outer behaviors rather than our bank accounts?

What you have is not as important as what you feel, and your feelings, good or bad, have a tremendous impact on your ability to manage your daily life

and plan for your future. If you are depressed about the state of the world and your bank account, and it’s keeping you in bed all day, that is not going to help you. Find that feeling of New Year’s hope, and embrace it. Use it as a springboard to help you let go of your fears and sadness, because feeling bad won’t make your world better. And if you don’t feel OK, act as if you do, and go through the motions. That will help those positive feelings take over, and you will feel better.

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

Author to discuss debut novel during Chaucer’s virtual talk

SANTA BARBARA — Chaucer’s Books will virtually host Oscarnominated screenwriter Iris Yamashita at 7 p.m. Jan. 16 as she talks about her debut novel “City Under One Roof.”

In this book, a stranded detective tries to solve a murder in a tiny Alaskan town where everyone lives in a single high-rise building.

When a local teenager discovers a severed hand and foot washed up on the shore of the small town of Point Mettier, Alaska, Cara Kennedy is on the case. A detective from Anchorage, she has her own motives for investigating the possible murder in this isolated place, which can be accessed only by a tunnel.

Ms. Yamashita, who received her Oscar nomination for the movie “Letters from Iwo Jima,” has been working in Hollywood for 15 years, developing material for both film and streaming.

She has taught screenwriting at UCLA and is an advocate of women and diversity in the entertainment industry. She has also been a judge and mentor for various film and writing programs, and lives in California.

To watch the discussion on Zoom go to us06web.zoom.us/ j/84006664299#success.

To watch it on YouTube, go to youtube.com/channel/ UCRVxV4ZOqkmnBj8TvT25NFQ.

Letters cover a range of topics

LETTERS

Continued from Page B1

— there’s a relationship to how much we love them to how much pain we feel.”

When the News-Press attended one of Story Catcher Mailbox’s events at Wylde Works, there were plenty of letters expressing both grief and praise on a range of subjects that almost any person could understand either firsthand or through empathy.

Letters of an older soul expressing regret for not doing what they could have; words from a young person lamenting the lack of commitment and monogamy in the Santa Barbara dating scene; an ode to the natural beauty of Santa Barbara; and words of encouragement written to one’s younger self to urge them to go on, and that things get better.

Far from an easily-satirized college slam poetry event, the feeling that comes from attending one of Story Catcher Mailbox’s readings is pure — with both letters of praise and letters of grief having a visible impact on those who attend.

In a time when news of our

lives and our loved ones, both good and bad, are often delivered through social media feeds, the Story Catcher Mailbox provides an avenue to both celebrate and grieve individually, and as a community.

email: jdaniels@newspress.com

COURTESY PHOTO

Santa Barbara triathlete Neil Myers tells about his journey to get back on his bicycle after being injured in a collision in “Climb.”

— Katherine Zehnder

COURTESY PHOTOS

Iris Yamashita tells the story of a detective trying to solve a murder in a small Alaskan town in “City Under One Roof.”

PHOTOS COURTESY STORY CATCHER MAILBOX The mailbox accepts letters of grief as a means of helping the community to heal together.

Diversions

Thought for Today

HOROSCOPE

By Horoscope.com Saturday, December 31, 2022

Aries: You may want to escape into your dreams today, Aries. Trying to do something practical may be met with opposition, as the general mood of the day calls for things to be more ethereal and elusive. Connect with your sensitive side and feel free to spend time on artistic projects.

Taurus: You will be able to find a greater connection to your inner soul today, Taurus. You will also find that you’re more psychic than usual. Trust your intuition. The more you look inward, the more you’re apt to find the solutions to your outward questions. Combine a sense of dreamy emotion with a grounded feeling of love and beauty.

Gemini: You may have many irons in the fire today, Gemini. People and projects could demand your attention, yet you may feel so dreamy and unmotivated that it could be hard to make progress on any of them. Creative solutions are the best route for you.

Cancer: This is going to be a great day for you, Cancer. Strangely enough, you will find that tension may help you get things done. There’s an easiness today that will create openings for exploring creative outlets. Regarding love and romance, try to stay grounded. You and the object of your desire may have two different points of view on the relationship.

Leo: You may need to let go and release your control, Leo. You know what you want, so just trust your intuition. If you continue to let your brain do all the work, you will probably miss valuable information that can only come when you slow down and look within. Connect with others on sensitive issues and feel free to let your guard down.

Virgo: This is an excellent day for you, Virgo. You will find that things automatically flow your way. You will receive more attention than usual and be the center of any flattering discussions. The one difficult point might be intimate relations with others. Romantic issues may take on a more serious, grounded tone at this time.

Libra: You may feel a bit lazy and unmotivated today, Libra. It could be hard to drag yourself out of bed. In terms of love and romance, there’s apt to be some tension, as one part of you wants to make plans while another part is feeling up in the air and in the clouds.

Scorpio: Love and romance are apt to be going quite well for you now, Scorpio. You should find that it’s easier to be yourself in a partnership. Let your romantic side shine through. Indulge in delicious candlelit dinners and share your deepest fantasies with those you love. If your partner resists this energy now, you may want to consider looking elsewhere for romantic company.

Sagittarius: You may feel a great deal of nervous energy today, Sagittarius. Tension could come to you from all angles. Indecisiveness might be your biggest problem. You may be in a frenzy trying to figure out where to move next. The key is to slow down and relax. Don’t make a move without evaluating things.

Capricorn: Issues having to do with love and romance are in your favor today, Capricorn. You’re more in touch with your emotions. You will find that your attitude toward love is more grounded than usual. Feel free to let go of some control. Let fate take you where it will in this department. Also make sure that you don’t worry so much about things.

Aquarius: You may not feel in sync with the day’s energy, Aquarius. Something about it may not sit right with you. Your natural instinct to want to take the lead may be overshadowed by an unwillingness to even get up. You may feel like your internal fire is squelched, especially when it comes to love and beauty.

Pisces: Issues regarding love and romance should be going well for you now, Pisces. You will find that your natural tendency to ground and plan is working perfectly with your desire to find what you want in a mate. Things may be about to come to a dramatic climax in your emotional realm.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, December 31, 2022

Simple Saturday columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.

If you’re a believer in Murphy’s Law, you may have heard this corollary: “When you need to do something vitally important, you’ll have to do something else first.”

Some players think drawing trumps is too vital to delay. In today’s deal, North-South bid boldly to four hearts, and West led the king of diamonds. South took dummy’s ace ... and drew trumps. He next led the queen of clubs, and West’s king covered. Declarer took the ace and his jack and ten, but he couldn’t reach dummy’s high nine. He lost a diamond and three spades.

TRUMPS

South must draw only two rounds of trumps with the queen and jack, then lead the queen of clubs. When West covers, South takes the ace and then, hopefully, the jack and ten.

As it happens, declarer’s luck is in. East, with the missing trump, must follow to the clubs, and then South can lead a trump to dummy’s king and take the nine of clubs for his 10th trick.

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

How to play Codeword Answers to previous CODEWORD

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language.

Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance.

All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid.

Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

PUZZLE

then

three

What do you say? ANSWER: Partner doesn’t want to play at game or at notrump. His bidding suggests a minimum, distributional hand with diamond tolerance. You must not persist with 3NT. Pass. If partner’s hand is 8 7, A K Q 7 2, J 5 4, Q 7 6, three diamonds may be your last makeable contract.

North

“It’s easy to fool the eye but it’s hard to fool the heart.”

Al Pacino

Los Angeles Reed Quintet to come to Los Olivos

LOS OLIVOS — The Los Angeles Reed Quintet will perform Jan. 13 as part of the 42nd season of the Santa Ynez Valley Concert Series.

The concert will take place at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos.

The program will feature music by Mendelssohn, Mahler, Ligeti, Nina Shekhar, Yanjun Hua, Corelli, Fred Coots and Sam Lewis.

The quintet consists of Patrick Posey, saxophone; Lara Wickes, oboe; Eric Jacobs, clarinet; Anthony Parnther, bassoon, and

Brian Walsh, bass clarinet.

“We are so excited to bring the Los Angeles Reed Quintet back to SYVCS!” Artistic Director Robert Cassidy said in a news release. “They captivated the audience at their last performance on the series with their energetic, colorful and imaginative display of what chamber music can be. Please come out for this unique experience!”

Tickets cost $20 for general admission and $35 for patrons. They’re free for students. To obtain a ticket, go to smitv.info/ syvconcerts.

Upcoming Santa Ynez Valley Series concerts include:

• Feb. 19, 2023: Takács Quartet.

• March 1, 2023: Conor Hanick.

• May 13, 2023: Demarre McGill and Rodolfo Leone.

It’s time to review the history behind self-winding clocks

brass with crystal has different outward casing styles, but the clock technically speaking is the same internally since 1946. These were often given as retirement and wedding gifts, given by families and companies, and the gift of the Atmos reflected the relationship the clock honored. The Atmos was an object that one could give that would reflect reliability, dependability, accuracy and beauty.

Imagine a clock that winds itself based on changes in atmospheric pressure. This clock doesn’t need a human. It winds itself with the help of a sealed bellows of ethyl chloride. When the temperature rises, the metal spring is condensed. When it falls, the metal spring expands, and the mainspring is wound.

Because this clock is so delicate, a pendulum was invented that practically has no friction and hangs off a wire thinner than a human hair. This is the Atmos clock, the brand of a torsion pendulum clock made by JaegerLeCoultre of Switzerland.

Clocks that ran on atmospheric pressure were invented in the 17th century and refined throughout the 18th century.

A particularly noteworthy torsion pendulum clock is the Beverly Clock in Dunedin, New Zealand, which has not been touched by a human since 1864 and is still telling accurate time.

I love this gold and crystal atmos mantel clock with its modern case, given as a retirement gift, as so many were in the mid-20th century, and the strange pendulum.

Many Atmos clocks have been given as gifts since the 1940s. Not the least of the “givers” is and was the Swiss government, for which the Atmos Mantle Clock has been the go-to gift for visiting dignitaries since the 1950s.

In the U.S., the version you see in the photo of gold plating over

For example, a version of the Atmos mantel clock called the Moonphase, which retails today, used, for $10,000, is the same torsion pendulum Atmos clock set into a case of plated Rose Gold and crystal. The difference is that the Moonphase tells the time, month and moon phases, and is not accurate only once in every 3,821 years.

The Atmos was invented by the Swiss engineer Jean-Leon Ruetter in 1928 and became commercially produced by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1936. Jaeger-LeCoultre was formed in 1833 by Antoine LeCoultre. The brand is my favorite for clocks and watches. They have invented and patented thousands of clock movements, including the world’s smallest movement, the world’s most complicated movement and of course, the perpetual movement of the Atmos clock.

My business manager Shawn is a collector of men’s unique wristwatches and loves the wizardry of the Tourbillon movement and its JaegerLeCoultre Grand Complication watch, called the Hybris Mechanica a Grand Sonnerie — a wristwatch that will set you back $2.5 million. It was designed in 2009.

What you get on your wrist for $2.5 million are treats for the ear because Sonnerie means ”chimes,” and yes, the watch has miniature tiny gongs and hammers inside that can play the miniature chimes inside that watch. Because of its 1,300 parts

and many complex tiny gears, it will play you the entire Big Ben chime song and the Westminster chime song, as well as showing you the time, and the perpetual calendar for the date, day, month and leap year.

The challenge, I have learned, to the watch making industry, in the creation of the Grand Complication wristwatches, is the precise engineering needed to find more and more complexity, in a relatively small wristwatch, and to solve the complexity problem in mechanically engineered miniature ways that are not digitally based, but mechanically astounding.

Think of it this way. If in 1980, your Casio beeped every hour, this $2.5 million dollar Hybris Mechanica a Grand Sonnerie wristwatch will play amazing tiny chimes. It will come delivered with its own 450-pound safe and two backup watches. What are you waiting for?

Over the length of its career as the premier Swiss mantle clock, the Atmos has had various models

Santa Maria offers New Year’s Day hikes

SANTA MARIA — The

Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department invites the community to enjoy two guided New Year’s Day hikes at Los Flores Ranch Park, 6245 Dominion Road, Santa Maria.

Participants will meet at Los Flores Ranch events parking lot.

No registration is required.

Designed for varying ages and fitness levels, the free hikes will take place from 10 a.m. to noon

and changes to its horology, but the essential engineering is the same. However, in the last few years a LeCoultre designer developed the Atmos Mysterieuse — a most gorgeous torsion pendulum mantel clock set in a case with a base covered in cream shagreen (shark’s hide), and mother of pearl, with a Baccarat crystal cloche, which hermetically seals the Atmos horological movement. The case is accented with 9.35 carats of diamonds and retails for $230,000.

The value of the 1960s era Atmos is estimated at $3,0005,000.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Mondays in the News-Press. Written after her father’s COVID19 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.

Sunday.

The easy-to-moderate hike is two miles round trip and is designed for beginners. The moderate-to-advanced hike is 4.5 miles round trip and is designed for experienced hikers. Both excursions offer great views and scenery, according to the parks department.

Participants are encouraged to bring sufficient drinking water. Dogs on a leash are welcome.

Questions may be directed to the Recreation and Parks Department at 805-925-0951, ext. 2260.

— Katherinee Zehnder

— Dave Mason

COURTESY PHOTOS

Clockwise from top left, Patrick Posey, Lara Wickes, Eric Jacobs, Anthony Parnther and Brian Walsh.

COURTESY PHOTO

The Atmos clock came to represent reliability, dependability, accuracy and beauty, columnist Elizabeth Stewart writes.

Happy New Year, sort of. Let’s review some of the top issues of 2022.

We can start with the arrival of 4 million (maybe 5 million, 6 million, no one knows) uninvited “guests.” These trespassers have no skills, don’t speak our language, don’t have any insurance and no place to live. Their survival is completely dependent on the money Americans are watching being ripped from their fingers and jeopardizing their own survival.

We saw how this massive human trafficking made Mexican criminals multibillionaires many times over. Maybe next year the new Congress can do some research and see if the cartels contributed to the Democrats’ financial campaigns for helping make it all possible.

We witnessed the number of people who died along the way, the high number of women who were raped, and we were amazed at the sheer volumes of drugs coming across the border to kill Americans.

We witnessed how American politicians neglected their jobs and ignored our border but became very concerned about the Ukrainian border. So much so, billions of freshly minted dollars were handed to a corrupt Ukrainian government, and we didn’t even get a receipt. We learned how there wasn’t enough money to build a southern wall, but we kept finding billions to send everywhere else.

And while we were spreading our wealth outside America, thousands of organizations in the U.S. were trying to raise money in the private sector to help our veterans. We learned our government can’t seem to find the money or be organized enough to properly

take care of our troops but can certainly find it for other causes.

We saw how elected officials played with the lives of 350 million people, soon to be 370 million people, by keeping America on the verge of joining a war that we shouldn’t even remotely be involved and how the military went woke instead. And we saw how these same politicians continued to play with nuclear fire. Something to plan for in 2023.

A 2022 Gallup poll concluded that about 7% of the population identify as gay. But this year it felt like the entire country, based upon our media coverage, decided it was time to “transition” to something else.

Our television screens, print, our libraries, our school boards, our hospitals, our teachers had taken that 7% and mushroomed it to be in every facet of our lives. We were witnesses to men dressed like women, singing perverted songs and dancing proactively in front of children. It’s fine to behave like you want but we were seeing a perverse behavior trying to become normalized for kids.

We saw how the government continues to recklessly enjoy playing with OPM. We watched as the Democrats continued their pandering to the black community, claiming they understood their pain, so they found another way to buy votes in the name of reparations. Billions of dollars more appear to also be headed to Africa for reparations to people who won’t even know what it’s for. And of course, Gov. Gavin Newsom and California want to lead the way wasting tax dollars as he stirs up his sugar pot for his presidential run.

Another year in a crazy world

Did You Know as we end 2022 and begin 2023, we are told yet again about people in need?

We think this upside-down, convoluted, world needs to be turned right side up, and we can start by saying “NO” to the nonsensical contradictions that are foisted upon us every day.

We are told that we must build more housing for people in need. Massive projects all over town and without parking because they say no one will need a car since we have a bus system. How often do people use the bus or train?

We are also told we must cut our carbon footprint to abate extreme weather, sea level rise, etc., all caused by climate change.

During Christmas the massive storm throughout the country, which caused many flight cancellations, made us wonder what all these people who traveled would do without these planes. Don’t they know, according to the media, they are causing climate change?

At every airport, the majority of travelers continue to their destination by car, few walk, take the bus or the train.

We hear businesses need employees and that they cannot fill their job openings. Did You Know? investigated this, wondering how people can survive without working. We discovered that a two-person family can bring in $100,000 staying at home. No, not a mailorder business but that can be earned between President Barack Obama’s American Care Act and President Biden’s assistance.

This payout is unsustainable. The American public is paying this tab and will be for years. There is no equity with this formula. A just and productive society makes America a place that rewards work — not welfare. But a movement is afoot to adopt a “National

Anyone who has a stock portfolio can be thankful that 2022 has been put to to bed, or more likely, thrown out with the garbage.

It’s over. One of the least productive and most depressing years of the past 50 years is finished. Kaput.

So let’s be thankful.

Thankful that baby boomers, born just after World War II, who had it better than probably any generation, ever, are now on their way out.

Thank goodness.

The good times for them began with returning World War II GIs — young, mostly men, in their uniforms, stuffed with experiences most would never speak about again. Women too, the WACS and the WAVES, who served behind the lines had an inkling of the kind of freedom their daughters and

DID YOU KNOW?

Bonnie Donovan

Please see SCHULTE on

ANTHONY QUINTANO/FLICKR/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Anthony Quintano took this photo on Dec. 30, 2012, looking down at the big New Year’s Eve ball in Times Square in New York City. Columnist Henry Schulte recently looked down, metaphorically, at what happened during 2022 in the U.S. He didn’t like what he saw.

Please see DONOVAN on

James Buckley

PURELY POLITICAL

Henry Schulte

The author lives in Solvang

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

This is the wall at the U.S - Mexican border in San Diego. Columnist Henry Schulte expressed concern about the high number of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S.

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

in Santa Barbara.

Wendy McCaw

Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

Climate change zealots seek to ban gas stoves

The results of politics without principle

George Santos, a newly elected congressman from Long Island, N.Y.., has been caught in a string of embarrassing lies about his background.

He claimed to have received a degree from Baruch College in 2010; he didn’t. He claimed to have worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup; he didn’t. He claimed to own multiple properties; he doesn’t.

Psychic predictions and New Year’s resolutions!

It has been my tradition to offer my very own psychic predictions for the new year. This year, my predictions are all too easy.

Life in California will continue to be a dystopian reality unless your New Year’s resolution includes speaking out against some giant whoppers in our society! The cause for truth, justice and the American way has been taking a beating as of late by race, climate, and social justice hustlers.

The California Reparations Task Force wants to pay black residents who are either descendants of slaves, or those whose ancestors lived in America prior to the end of the 19th century, upward of $230,000 each to appease our collective conscience as it pertains to racism. It is estimated that nearly 2 million California residents may be eligible for the payout that would exceed $500 billion in the aggregate.

The truth? California was admitted into the Union in 1850 as a free state. Slavery was never legal here. Hence, if the reparations are paid, people who never owned slaves in California will pay reparations to people whose ancestors never were slaves in California.

Back in 2008, California voters were duped into approving a high-speed rail project that was supposed to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2020 at a cost of $33 billion. Well, 14 years and $5 billion later, the train is only slated to connect Bakersfield and Merced, and to complete this particular worthless segment of the train to nowhere, taxpayers must shell out another $15 billion!

The overall project cost estimate is now over $100 billion, and the truth is, nobody expects it will ever be constructed. Meanwhile, traffic congestion and failing roads abound.

For decades, environmentalists have been hyperventilating about the environmental impacts of offshore oil rigs, the ecological impacts of naval operations off our coast, and the deadly impacts to whales from ship strikes as they traverse the California coast. Yet, all concerns have been set aside regarding plans to capture energy from the ocean winds offshore the Central Coast.

The various wind farm structures would be tethered

to the ocean floor by hundreds of cables, chains, and steel wires smack dab in the middle of whale migration routes. This ocean obstacle course will surely disrupt migration and all facets of life for migrating whales, sacrificed on the altar of all things renewable.

Consider the never-ending parade of plans to end homelessness. President George W. Bush had a 10-year plan to end homelessness by 2012. In 2010, President Barack Obama initiated a plan preventing and ending homelessness for veterans by 2015; preventing and ending homelessness for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness by 2017; preventing and ending homelessness for families, youth, and children by 2020.

President Joe Biden has released a federal plan for ending homelessness in America that starts with the ambitious goal of reducing homelessness 25% by 2025.

Not to be outdone, Gavin Newsom, back in 2008, announced his 10-year plan to end homelessness in San Francisco when he was the mayor there, and in 2021, Gov. Newsom promoted a plan to end family-homelessness in five years.

Meanwhile, the problem grows worse because we are not addressing the sources of homelessness including fatherlessness families and the formerly incarcerated.

Finally, as America thaws from the record setting 2022 bomb cyclone, do you remember the year 2000 prediction,“Within a few years, winter snowfall will become a very rare and exciting event”? Not to mention “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is”!

What is it going to take to convince the world that there are hundreds of more powerful variables than greenhouse gasses that determine weather patterns? Moreover, while weather patterns can be measured in decades, climate patterns can only be accurately measured in eons.

Remember, only the truth can set us free.

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on KZSB AM 1290, the News-Press radio station.

In recent years, global warming zealots have sought to ban gasolinepowered cars, gasolinepowered lawn tools, and a whole host of practical, fossilfuel-dependent products Americans have come to rely on to make their lives better.

that the average family would spend an extra $1,000 per year in energy costs in addition to the unfathomably large up-front money to convert their homes from gas-powered stoves to socalled green energy sources.

The author is with The Heartland Institute

Now the climate change brigade has set its sights on gas stoves.

Believe it or not, President Joe Biden’s consumer watchdog bureau is threatening to haul away your gas stove by next Christmas.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission website focuses on the 152,000 toy injuries in 2021 and the 2,400 deaths resulting from home fires. But rather than use a pre-holiday online forum to talk about dangerous toys or sparky space heaters, the CPSC chose to warn people about the dangers of climate change and fossil fuels, starting with your gas stove.

We are now heading into the teeth of an undeniable recession, after two years of historic inflation. But the situationally unaware fabulists cannot be deterred from disconnecting you from things you can burn, starting with gas.

A recent study from Pecan Street found that it could cost nearly $100 billion to transfer the United States from natural gas in just the initial phases of necessary power panel upgrades for homes. Industry representatives estimate

Richard Trumka, a commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, warned Americans about the long-term environmental and health impacts from gas cooking stoves in a recent online message to the Public Interest Research Group. Mr. Trumka asked viewers to “spread the word about this hidden hazard before you gather with family and friends for the holidays.”

The climate action group Mothers Out Front recently asked CPSC to “consider the full range of options at CPSC’s disposal, including mandating lower level CO detectors and requiring warnings on gas stoves, all the way to requiring replacements.” Mr. Trumka seems to have taken that to heart.

Mr. Trumka solicited input on upcoming regulation, saying, “We need to be talking about regulating gas stoves, whether that’s drastically improving emissions or banning gas stoves entirely.” He added, “I think we ought to keep that possibility of a ban in mind because it’s a powerful tool in our tool belt and it’s a real possibility here.” Mr. Trumka warned that new regulation could be “on the books by this time next year.”

The American Medical Association has also adopted resolutions highlighting the potential health hazards of indoor air pollution caused by

gas stoves. Lisa Patel, deputy executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate, explained, “So all of these things are really linked in terms of health.”

“And that’s why I look at getting rid of gas stoves as being an important individual action to improve a person’s immediate health, but then a long term action that we can take to improve community health and global health to stop the process of climate change,” said Ms. Patel.

Through codes, statutes and ordinances such as the ban on new gas hookups in New York City, progressive groups are beginning to dismantle our cheapest energy sources to dump expensive power demands on an already overloaded electrical grid. Those who can least afford to pay are once again going to get stuck with the bill while the elitists pushing these ridiculous policies will assuredly find a way to make sure they are able to keep their luxurious gas ranges.

If there is one certainty in life (aside from death and taxes), it is that when it comes to climate change-inspired bans, you can be assured that those in power will not bear the brunt of the misery that these unnecessary bans inevitably bring.

On the other hand, hardworking Americans will always pay the price.

Matt Dean (mdean@heartland. org) is senior fellow for health care policy outreach at The Heartland Institute. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

America heads in the wrong direction

“Never forget!” “Leave no Man behind!” “America First!”

Well, we have forgotten, and we’ve left men behind.

America Third? That’s the direction of our country and culture as our current administration tears up the Constitution, sets its own rules, redefines marriage, conjures up 97 genders, spends money like grains of sand, and has a twotiered justice system.

You can steal $999 without prosecution or bail, have your estate invaded by the FBI (depending on your political party) or have “high crimes” ignored as “disinformation” (again, depending on your party).

Every election is now, highly suspect.

There is no transparency or honesty. We gave up border security and energy independence, and we allow drag shows in public schools, with mothers and a few fathers attending and supporting those events.

Our nation and Constitution were founded on Christian principles, but there is an intention on destroying Christianity and America altogether. American and Christian flags are torn down or burned while gay pride rainbows flags are popping up throughout our nation. Our southern border is completely open, allowing millions of illegal immigrants to enter states without vaccinations,

as fentanyl, sex trafficking, and criminal activities flood our borders.

Do we grant benefits and citizenry to illegals, for potential votes?

Randy Rosness Solvang

Rallying for America

At breakfast, I read with interest a letter to the editor. Entitled “Rallying for President Trump” (News-Press, Dec. 17). it made an enthusiastic case for continuing to fully support him. The unflinchingly ardent argument by the writer was more bracing than two cups of my morning java.

The public airing of all types of political beliefs is a fundamental strength of America.

To further inform discussions, we now have the report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

This bipartisan effort drew largely on testimony and documents from Trump backers and officials he himself had appointed.

The writer blames “paid rogue infiltrators” for the violence at the Capitol.

Now it should be clear to all that when President Trump exhorted his followers to “Be There. Will Be Wild!” and then welcomed those who were armed with weapons, he was not acting in the public interest, but in his own.

And, of course, with a measure

of satisfaction, he watched the brutality, mayhem and desecration continue for more than three hours before asking his supporters to step back.

A sign of responsible citizenship is the willingness to re-assess one’s position based on new information. Fortunately, there is now the Select Committee’s report.

Seth Steiner Los Alamos

Have your say

News-Press’ note to readers: Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. The News-Press welcomes a variety of views.

Letters must be exclusive to the News-Press. In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitated by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity,. We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

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 op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days. All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification.

We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters.

We prefer e-mailed submissions.

If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF.

Send letters to voices@ newspress.com. Writers also may fax letters to 805-966-6258.

In fact, he lives with his sister and has previously been a “deadbeat tenant” who was sued for thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and bounced checks. (He says now that he never even paid the judgment. “I completely forgot about it.”)

In a lie with perhaps the most ridiculous justification, Mr. Santos told voters he was Jewish; he isn’t. His explanation? He’d heard stories that someone on his mother’s side of the family had converted from Judaism to Catholicism. “I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos insisted. “I said I was Jew-ish.”

Like “Black-ish.” Get it? Once upon a time, this would have produced outrage. Now, it barely registers. A “senior GOP leadership aide” reported to the New York Post that Mr. Santos’ — ahem — “embellishments” of his background were well known and a “running joke” with Republicans.

Democrats, of course, are demanding that Mr. Santos resign. But they are in no position to point fingers. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, infamously claimed to be a “native American” on the basis of her family stories. She continues to serve as a U.S. senator and even ran for president.

Speaking of presidents, Joe Biden has made a career out of lying.

He has said he graduated at the top of his law school class at Syracuse University (he graduated in the bottom 10%), that he was the Outstanding Political Science student at the University of Delaware (he wasn’t); that he received a commission to the Naval Academy (nope). He plagiarized a paper in law school. He later plagiarized a speech originally given by former British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.

He claimed to be the first in his family to go to college (he wasn’t). He said he got arrested in South Africa in the 1970s trying to see Nelson Mandela (he didn’t). He exploits public sympathy for the tragic deaths in his family, claiming that his son Beau died in Iraq (he died of cancer in a Maryland hospital) and that a drunk driver killed his first wife Neilia and their 1-year-old daughter Naomi (the other driver was not drunk, and Neilia Biden was at fault in the crash).

No consequences.

True, Mr. Biden did halt his 1988 presidential campaign. But evidently, he just needed to stick around long enough to bounce back. Now he’s in the White House, where he gets to lie, daily. (The Washington Post’s presidential fact-checker Glenn Kessler “gave up” pointing out Biden’s falsehoods after his first three months in office, tweeting: “Here’s the Biden database — which we do not plan to extend beyond 100 days. I have learned my lesson.”)

President Biden’s press secretaries lie. His appointees lie.

No consequences. This is how American politics devolves. Although Republicans have played their share of dirty pool, the Democratic Party has taken the lead eroding political standards, after which Republicans scramble to play along.

The latest rule changes involve not just mailed-in ballots but “ballot harvesting,” which must be viewed

Andy Caldwell

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

A transient woman sits on a bench in downtown Santa Barbara. Columnist Andy Caldwell says the problem of homelessness is growing worse because the root problems aren’t being addressed.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Writer Matt Dean warns hard-working Americans will pay the price for efforts to ban gas stoves.

Matt Dean

President Zelensky holds a strong hand

President Volodymyr

Zelensky of Ukraine is ending 2022 in a strong and highly visible manner.

On Dec. 21, he addressed both houses of Congress and received multiple standing ovations. Time magazine has named him Person of the Year.

The war in Ukraine continues, with devastating, perhaps irreparable damage to the influence and image of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and the military of his nation.

Rightly, the Red Army of the Soviet Union was generally respected and greatly feared by those nations occupied by that powerful force. After all, this was the military organization that faced, fought and ultimately destroyed the bulk of the enormous war machine of Nazi Germany. The vast majority of the mechanized units of the Wehrmacht were deployed on the Eastern Front, a theater where the war was literally a fight to the collective death, without the restraints present in combat involving American, British and others in the West.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Army with some regularity

suppressed popular revolts in occupied nations with relative ease. These included East Germany in 1953, Hungary and Poland in 1956, Czechoslovakia in 1968. Yugoslavia successfully broke away in 1948.

Clearly, President Putin and associates miscalculated how easily Russia’s military would be able to occupy Ukraine and take control, in Cold War fashion.

As in armed conflict throughout history, the determination and courage of the people of Ukraine has been the vital factor.

But Russian forces have also proven extraordinarily deficient.

Mechanized weapons and equipment have broken down to a striking degree, military units are ineffective, and general disorganization has accompanied the large but clumsy invasion.

Clear by now is that the end of the Soviet Union also has opened the door to corruption and disorganization, undeniably and extraordinarily widespread.

In a particularly shocking development, dead Russian soldiers have simply been left

Making New Year’s resolutions

Today began like any other Saturday in 2022.

However, as today winds its way towards its finale of the ball hitting the ground in Times Square or, for those of us of a “certain age” in the Pacific time zone, seeing it on television, today’s activities will be different from any of the preceding 51 weeks in 2022. Why?

Of course, traditionally we celebrate the last time the small hand on our clocks and watches reaches 12. This tradition has been “tweeted,” such as the digitalization of many timepieces, but the essence continues to expressed in the 1788 lyrics written by the poet Robert Burns of whether we should remember the people that helped shape our year, and lives, as expressed in the song “Auld Lang Syne”:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind?

Just as asking questions is often the beginning of our learning something, either in or out of classrooms, the timing of the above question often stimulates

thoughts of anecdotal experiences that helped shape our year, and lives, as illustrated by the lyrics of Auld Lang Syne continues:

We two have run about the slopes and picked the daisies fine…. We have paddled in the stream…

Simply put, these types of relationships and experiences are too much a part of us to not be remembered. But how?

And we’ll take a right good will draught For auld lang syne.

This message was identified by Robert Burns some 234 years ago and has become traditional as the ball approaches the ground in Times Square. Then what?

Think of the words of western author Louis L’amour: “There will be a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning.” I like to think that when the ball hits the ground, it represents the beginning of new opportunities in this thing we call “life.” How should I start?

The starting point was following the pattern of “Auld Lang Syne” of

where they lie on the battlefield by retreating comrades.

Not abandoning comrades, alive or dead, is a traditional tenet of military culture.

One key factor almost never mentioned is Mr. Putin’s own lack of military experience, including combat, in contrast to leaders of the Soviet Union. He was in the KGB, technically a military organization, but in reality, an intelligence arm of the Soviet Community Party.

The Biden administration decision to provide the Patriot missile defense system to Ukraine is important. The Patriot is part of a great revolution in military technologies over the 19th and 20th centuries.

In World War II, various changes created a much more fluid battle environment.

The tank and other motorized vehicles, long-range heavily armed aircraft, modern electronic communications and other innovations drastically altered the characteristics of fighting.

One important innovation was the Tube-launched Optically tracked Wire-guided missile, or TOW, a relatively small lethal anti-

tank weapon.

In the spring of 1972, North Vietnam launched a massive armored invasion of South Vietnam.

TOW missiles, usually launched from helicopters, completely

devastated large numbers of Soviet-supplied tanks along with other targets. This offensive was destroyed.

Other Precision-Guided Munitions include the Stinger anti-aircraft missile.

This weapon proved important in defeating the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, over a decade starting in 1979.

From 1973, the Pentagon began to develop a satellite network for use in earth navigation.

The resulting Global Positioning System alleviated the challenge, as old as warfare, of determining accurately the location of forces.

Technologies equalize numerical disparities. However, the human element remains key.

Ukraine demonstrates strength in both dimensions.

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.

Charity is better than government

It’s the season for giving. I’ll give!

I’ll donate to the Doe Fund, a charity that helps ex-cons find purpose in life through work. “Work works!” they say. It does. Doe Fund graduates are less likely to go back to jail.

I’ll donate to Student Sponsor Partners, which helps atrisk kids escape bad “public (government-run)” schools.

SSP sends the kids to Catholic schools. I’m not Catholic, but I donate because the Catholic schools do better at half the cost. Thousands of families break the cycle of poverty thanks to SSP.

When I was young, I assumed the government would lift people out of poverty.

“Government programs, a ‘war on poverty’ will give a leg up to the poor,” said my Princeton professors. I believed. But then I watched the programs fail. Now I understand that government actions do as much harm as good. Sometimes, much more harm.

Take that “war on poverty.” When it began, Americans were lifting themselves out of poverty. Year by year, the number of families below the poverty line decreased. Then came our government bureaucrats with their rules and programs. So far, they’ve spent $25 trillion on programs for the poor.

The money helped some people. The poverty rate dropped for the first seven years of the “war.”

But then progress stopped. Government’s handouts encouraged people to became dependent on handouts. Learned helplessness, it’s called.

Welfare created an “underclass” — generations of people who don’t work. They’d lose benefits if they do.

There’s still time in 2022 to make your New Year’s resolutions for 2023.

remembering what I call, for lack of a better term, my “successes,” and the far too many “other” outcomes, and search for ways to improve my contributions to both of them. But how?

While I laugh at the quip, “There are only two types of problems: yours, which are all trivial, and mine, which are all unsolvable,” I take it as a challenge to search for ways to improve myself; is this endeavor unique?

The reality is that there are multiple ways that many people create these, from a typed list to one scribbled on a napkin to an oral list, and sometimes your spouse is even thoughtful enough to help you with yours (although my experience is to reframe from writing hers), and these are

labeled “New Year’s resolutions.” What are some common ones?

Surveys show these typically these items and the percentage of people who include them.

1. Improve health: 86%.

2. Get in better shape: 83%. 3. Be happier: 80%. 4. More quality time with family and friends: 74%. 5. Get finances in order: 73%. 6. Get more control over life: 64%. 7. Not sweat the small stuff: 61%. 8. More comfortable with body image: 61%.

Since almost all of them only require that the writer change one or more habits, they do not appear to qualify as “mine being insolvable.” Why do they appear every year?

The studies show that 75% of these will be violated by Jan. 20.

I remember learning a lesson from cleaning out a desk and finding a “to do” list from five years prior that still contained the first three things from that year’s list: I should clean out my desk more often, and without specific goals the above items can never be achieved.

An expert said a “Beginning is not only a kind of action. It is also a frame of mind, a kind of work, an attitude, a consciousness” (Professor Edward Saul). How can we create this?

Studies indicate that if you do something for 30 days, just 10 more than the 20 for most resolutions, it will become a habit,

For teachers’ unions, parents and children come last

Schools in the Rochester school district in Michigan include in their curriculum a course called “History of Ethnic and Gender Studies.”

If my child were attending school there, I would wonder why this is in the curriculum as part of K-12 education and what is taught.

One mother, Carol Beth Litkouhi, wondered enough that she went to the school and asked for details about what will be conveyed to her child in this program.

The response she got from the school amounted to “Sorry, none of your business.” Excuse me. A mother has no right to know what her child is being taught?

Ms. Litkouhi turned to the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation, who filed a lawsuit against the school district. A request was made under the state’s Freedom of Information Act to release to this mother details about the program. But this request also went nowhere.

Now the Oakland County Circuit

Court has ruled supporting the school district’s claim that because teachers belong to a teachers union, they are not public employees subject to the FOIA.

Mackinac will appeal this absurd ruling.

But let’s forget the legalities for a moment and just consider the outrageous reality being perpetrated against America’s parents and children by public school bureaucracies and teachers unions.

Look at the website of the American Federation of Teachers, the nation’s second largest teachers union. It is an unapologetic megaphone for America’s left.

According to Investopedia, “A labor union is an organization formed by workers ... for the purpose of improving pay, benefits and working conditions.”

But teachers unions are much more than this. They exist to further an uncompromised left-wing agenda, targeting our children.

AFT issued a press release after the November elections headlined “American Voters Reject Extremism in Win for Democracy and Freedom.”

Can it really be that an organization that claims to value democracy and freedom opposes parents knowing what their children are taught in school?

That same press release talks about women’s “right to reproductive health.”

The teachers union believes women have a right to abort their child but that parents have no right to know what their child is taught in school.

Other AFT press releases include praise for newly passed federal legislation codifying protections for same-sex marriage and praise for President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiative.

What does this stuff have to do with “improving pay, benefits, and working conditions”?

The PAC political contributions of the AFT was 16th-highest in

spending in the nation in the 20212022 cycle, making $2,150,500 in campaign contributions to candidates.

Percentage of contributions to Democrats? 100%. Percentage contributions to Republicans? 0%.

Jason Riley of the Wall Street Journal reports, “AFT shaped the guidelines used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to slow the full reopening of schools.”

The dividends for this show up now in the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress — the “nation’s report card.” Results show the largest declines in math scores for grades 4 and 8 since NAEP started testing in 1990 and also declines in reading scores.

Michigan, where the circuit court just ruled in favor of unions over parents, has among the biggest declines in scores in the country.

WalletHub ranks state school systems nationwide using rankings based on “quality” and “safety.”

Michigan stands 38th in the nation.

I hope that the Mackinac Center Legal Foundation succeeds in its appeal of the circuit court decision regarding application of Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act.

But this still is not the answer.

Education should be freed from the diabolical control of bureaucrats and unions. We need a free market in education with power given to parents to choose where to send their child to school.

All businesses put their customers first. In a free, competitive school system, the customers — parents and their children — would come first.

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, visi www.creators.com.

Copyright 2022 by Creators.com.

Generations of people bear children but don’t marry. They’d lose benefits if they do. Government taught people to be passive. This passivity was something new and bad. That’s why charity is better. Charity workers can make judgments about who needs help and who needs a push. Not all charities do good. Some are as bad as the government. But when they are well run, charities encourage independence.

They also don’t force us to give them money.

here’s an even better way to help people: capitalism. Not that I’ll convince most people.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren complained that Elon Musk should “pay taxes and stop freeloading off everyone else.” Freeloading? I like Mr. Musk’s answer.

“I will pay more taxes than any American in history ($11 billion that year) ... Don’t spend it all at once ... oh, wait, you did already.”

They sure did. The feds burn through $11 billion every 15 hours. Now Republicans and Democrats will spend even more.

Mr. Musk, meanwhile, is trying to make Twitter profitable. Some of his ideas are bad. Some will fail. But at least Mr. Musk spends his own money, or money people willingly loan him.

Sen. Warren and her fellow politicians take money from us by force.

I prefer Mr. Musk’s way.

Billionaires sometimes do nasty things. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg censors truthful reporting. Mr. Zuckerberg and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos sneakily lobby for regulations (like a higher minimum wage) that give them advantages over their competitors. Donald Trump and Oprah Winfrey bought gross polluting yachts.

But it’s their own money. They are free to spend it on whatever they want. Most do better things with it than the government would.

Mr. Zuckerberg invented better ways to connect with people. Mr. Bezos makes shopping easier and cheaper. Mr. Musk stopped socialist

Arthur I, Cyr

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

President Volodymyr Zelensky

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Brent Zepke The author lives in Santa Barbara

Star Parker

The author is with the Center for Urban Renewal and Education

The challenge is how to keep them

guaranteed income” whether people work or not. The result is a record-low, labor-force participation rate. This means fewer Americans working and higher taxes for those who do work.

President Joe Biden and our government employees want the taxpayers to pay off all student loans. Why should they?

Stanford University just issued a 13-page report of all banned words, including “American” and “Grandfather,” yet the word “Grandmother” is still allowed. What does that mean? Stanford is banning words. An institution of higher learning? Where is the return on investment on that?

Didi You Know? is bemused by the contrasts in our world.

Currently, 53.2 million people worldwide (twice the population of Texas) are displaced in their own countries because of war, floods, starvation and other calamities.

Around the world, there are 27.1 million refugees seeking asylum in other countries. In the U.S., 37.9 million people live below the poverty line. In California, alone, 4.5 million people (twice the population of New Mexico) live below the poverty line. There are 161,549 homeless people across California.

In contrast, in the United Kingdom, high inflation and high energy prices are driving widespread strikes of all essential services across the country. Sixtyeight million people (twice the population of California) are dependent on the governmentcontrolled National Health Service, which is failing under the weight of under-funding, loss of key personnel, and strikes by Nurses, Ambulance Drivers, and support staff.

During 2022, more than 41,000 illegal immigrants landed on English beaches in small rubber boats. Together with immigrants using other means of entry into England, the immigration processing system is

SCHULTE

Continued from Page C1

It was a year where nearly every American took huge pay cuts as the cost of literally everything reached all-time highs. Inflation tore cash from our hands faster than we could count the money.

And yet Democrats still found the need to feebly push for a minimum wage of $15 an hour as businesses were paying twice that much just to find someone who would even work. You could only cringe at the check-out counter staring at your receipt as your grocery costs soared to the clouds.

The cost of fuel made your arm quiver as you squeezed the gas pump and watched the dollar numbers on the fuel ticker spinning and the gallons follow in

HOLLIS

Continued from Page C2

in tandem with the Biden administration’s allowing millions of illegals to enter the country. Why? Because Democrat activists and lawyers are also busy fighting election integrity laws in state after state. When identity and citizenship cannot be verified, improper ballots will not be able to be disqualified.

Do the math.

Or take Maricopa County, Ariz., where anywhere from 20% to 48% of voting machines jammed on Election Day, affected by ballots that had — inexplicably — irregular-sized images and text, creating long lines and wait times of hours for voters —

ZEPKE

Continued from Page C3

and the tried-and-true method is to “Replace a habit you don’t want with another habit.” (Shirley S. Wang). Breaking a habit requires planning as “People who prepare plans on how to reach their goals, which psychologists call “implementation intentions” are more effective by spelling out what they are going to do if an obstacle arises,” according to Psychology Professor Peter Gollwitzer. New

STOSSEL

Continued from Page C3

idiots from censoring my Twitter account, created better electric cars and gave satellite internet to poor people.

Businesses do better things because competition forces them

overwhelmed. (Compare that to the U.S. border crossers at over 2 million.) Their railway system has been brought to a standstill in most places around Britain. The postal workers and employees in other essential services are also striking or considering doing so.

Following Brexit, commercial enterprises are finding it difficult to trade with their biggest trading partner, the EU. The UK government is now facing the highest debt load in peacetime history. In essence, London is falling down.

Meanwhile, with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, we learn in a six-episode reality show from ex-pats, the Duke and Duchess of Victimhood, about their travails in living a life of Royalty. Some of the video content was shot from their Montecito mansion, with a reported square footage of 13,765 square feet, including a guest house. This is a luxurious 7.5-acre property, costing $14.7 million, with a reported nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a guest cottage, tennis court, swimming pool, tea house, a five-car garage, and landscaped

slow motion.

Gas prices went to places only our nightmares ever imagined. We were told it was Russia’s fault. But while we were taking out small loans to fill our cars, the price of fuel in Russia didn’t seem affected at all. Russia’s economy was booming.

The only thing the sanctions affected was us.

And speaking of prices going up, we saw interest rates rise as fast as gas prices as the feds tried to fix the huge faux pax the Democrats kept insisting upon by spending billions we didn’t have. Gas came off a little, but mortgages went the other way and began to stretch out of reach for many people, causing the hot real estate market to start cooling off.

We also learned with great clarity and buckets of facts that

disproportionately Republicans — who opted to vote on Election Day. Thousands of people were impacted. But apparently, as long as it looks like just stupidity and incompetence, again, no consequences.

There are always justifications for questionable behavior -at least initially: “We’ve got to win, because our opponent (insert name here) is a threat to democracy” or “The issue(s) we’re fighting for (insert issue here) are so important.”

But politicians who cheer when they win by gaming the system shouldn’t. Their victories will be shallow and short-lived.

Eventually, the ability to lie, cheat and steal attracts the utterly unprincipled, and demoralized citizens will vote for them anyway.

Year’s Eve resolutions could be a great start: Then what?

Here are a few helpful principles in implementing resolutions:

1. Select an outcome that is at least theoretically within your control.

2. Specificity of a plan an outcome is better than generality.

3. Avoiding extremes and absolutes may prevent setting yourself up for failure.

4. Only make ones for which you are strongly motivated.

5. Be convinced you can do

to spend money well. If they don’t spend well, they disappear.

Government never disappears. When politicians fail, they force us to give them more of our money so they can do it again.

People hate capitalists, but it’s the capitalists who create the jobs, lift people out of poverty and feed the world.

gardens surrounding it all.

By the way, they also lease from the British Royal Family, Frogmore Cottage, a 10-bedroom home, which we understand was extensively renovated by Prince Harry and the wife, for 2.4 million pounds (approximately $3 million) to create a five-bedroom home. We assume that at least five bathrooms were included in the renovation, among other luxuries. In contrast, the average home in California is 1,625 square feet in size with 3 or 4 bedrooms and 2 or 3 bathrooms.

So this forlorn couple is earning tens of millions of dollars maligning the British royal family and the British press, on whom they depend on for trashing, as their main source of income. They actually live like kings, compared with 97% of Californians, on these proceeds. Who else do you know has a total of 14 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms in their private homes? Despite being avowed environmentalists and climate change activists, Did You Know? reckons that the “Disloyals” carbon footprint, in housing alone,

America has its own secret police force, the FBI. They had been working for only one master, the Democrats. It raised the question: Are Americans really free anymore?

We learned you cannot speak your mind or have an opinion unless you share the same air space as the Biden administration. We were educated how law enforcement helped manipulate our election process holding hands and skipping along with big tech. We confirmed Democrats don’t care about Americans. They just want the votes and laws be damned on how they get them.

In summary; 2022 brought us closer to the brink of war; we’re all going to pay a heavy price for stupid, gutless politicians adding millions upon millions of new “citizens”; thousands more

Corruption does not merely block justice in a particular case. It erodes standards universally. It spreads despair, resentment, resignation and retaliation. It seeps into the body politic, into the public consciousness, into the popular culture.

When corruption becomes the coin of the realm, it spreads well beyond the power of the instigators to limit its reach. Once the public decides that the government lacks any honor, the media lacks any truth and the legal system lacks any justice, they will take matters into their own hands.

Conspiracy theories will proliferate, untempered by reliable sources of information that long ago abandoned credibility for propaganda.

it, as the strongest correlation with success is the confidence beforehand that they can be done.

Recognizing that “Sometimes it is necessary to make repeated efforts to reach a goal” (Professor Janet Polivy), there are techniques to assist in converting from the same list of unfulfilled resolutions to a simple one: Do it again.

Perhaps Marie Beynon Ray captured the spirit of “Auld Lang Syne” with “Begin doing what you want now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star

I’m a reporter, not an entrepreneur. I’m not likely to invent something new and useful. So today, I’ll give money to charity. It makes me feel good.

But the world benefits more from people like Mr. Musk — and the millions of entrepreneurs who try new things.

not to mention private planes and helicopters, must be 12 times, or more, than that of the average Californian. In a recent interview, Prince Harry said he will not have more than two children due to climate change. Huh? Maybe the wife doesn’t need more than two.

On the local home front, more housing projects seem to be full speed ahead. We still wonder where the jobs are to pay for the housing.

A ludicrous idea is that 700 to 2,000 housing units could be built on La Cumbre Plaza and several hundred only a quartermile away on Hope/State Street without a massive reconstruction of the whole area of State Street. Remember the city staff and Santa Barbara City Council almost shut down Chick-fil-A due to a traffic backup. What is going to happen with the traffic when they have already added Grace Village, The Marc, La Estancia and the senior housing on Hope?

Now we have another large Housing Authority project in the process at Hope and soon at La Cumbre.

The bike master plan is to eliminate a lane of traffic from both north and south on State in the same area. Imagine the constant gridlock. Ah, the future. While we welcome 2023, please stop following wannabe stars. When your elected officials make a claim, make sure they live by it first.

To start with, there should be no more natural gas in their homes. They must pay to have their homes “upgraded” to all-electric, including heating for their pools. They should no longer have the privilege of driving a vehicle, gaspowered or electric.

They must take the bus, take the train, carpool, bike, walk, run, or like our savior Jesus Christ, ride a donkey.

Happy New Year!

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

kids are going to die from drug overdoses; fuel is still too high; interest rates are too high; we’re burning money like piles of fall leaves; selfish imbeciles tried to change biology and “drag” kids along with them and doctors were cutting off kids body parts to help them along with their gender identity.

Comedians can’t tell jokes and we’re no longer a real country anymore. We are one big Santa bag with a print machine producing an endless supply of fake money and giving it to anyone who asks for it.

That’s just in 12 months. Can’t wait to see what joy the next 12 have in store for us.

On an up note, as of Jan. 3, Nancy Pelosi is no longer the speaker of the House. Happy New Year.

Everyone in government is seen as a “crook.” Mob justice, too, will be excused: “It’s just this once.” “Their crimes were egregious and ‘the system’ failed us.”

Corruption cannot be controlled by the powerful; it can only be contained by the principled. While we still have some semblance of control, we must use it. The collapse of our government and the breakdown of our society are what await us if we do not live our lives based upon principles and demand that our political and cultural leaders do the same.

To find out more about Laura Hollis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators. com.

Copyright 2022 by Creators.com.

in our hand and melting like a snowflake.” Happy New Year.

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 NonLawyers.”

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel. com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Copyright 2022 BY JFS Productions Inc.

In 10 years, baby boomers won’t control anything

BUCKLEY

Continued from Page C1

granddaughters would one day experience.

Most of the returning soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen married their hometown, high-school or college sweethearts and got on with having babies and raising families.

Though it was often a bumpy ride, there was a lot of fun along the way.

A list of those “bumps,” and not particularly in chronological order, but maybe in order of their impact, would include: the fear of atomic and then nuclear annihilation that permeated the boomers’ early school days; many dads had to go back in uniform a few short years after coming home from Europe or the Pacific; they were sent to Korea to fight again. Communism was on the march and the Soviets had absorbed Eastern Europe. The Free World (née the United States of America and its allies) had to stop them, first in West Berlin with an airlift, then at the 38th parallel north in Korea, and then again in Vietnam.

If anyone is searching for what made boomers who they became, the answer is Vietnam.

That was them.

There were other bumps, including the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, Kent State (National Guard troops firing on protesting students, killing four of them), and myriad lesser incidents such as riots in Detroit and Los Angeles in the mid ‘60s, mayhem in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic Convention, followed by the years-long Watergate unraveling and the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon.

If Vietnam defines the boomer generation, the Woodstock Music Festival (held on Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, N.Y. (I was there along with 400,000 or so other mostly teenagers and 20-somethings) completes the picture.

The years between the end of World War II in September 1945 and the festival in Woodstock in August 1969 brought us to where we are today.

First, there was Dr. Benjamin Spock, a noted pediatrician who advised parents not to punish children for being children in his bestselling “Baby and Child Care.”

More than 500,000 copies of the hard-bound best seller were sold in the first six months of its printing in 1947. Little did most mothers and fathers of the day know that Dr. Spock

Have your say

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. The NewsPress welcomes a variety of views.

Letters must be exclusive to the NewsPress.

In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitated by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity,. We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

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 op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days.

(who today is described as a “left-wing political activist”) was a leader of the movement that has produced transgender and sexual grooming at the elementary school level by drag queens, “teachers” and other invited guests, along with a plethora of bizarre “learning” experiences that have nothing to do with reading, writing or arithmetic.

Another doctor who strongly influenced the baby boomer generation was Dr. Alfred Kinsey, whose “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” (released in 1948) moved the left-wing agenda considerably along. This former entomologist became a sexologist whose “research” proved flimsy at best. Turns out, he was something of a pedophile.

But enough about the medial profession, after all, we have Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The halcyon days of the baby boomers were the 1950s, before all that sex stuff became the center of their universe.

Boomers had more toys than they could ever play with, and had part-time jobs at soda shops, drug stores, supermarkets and gas stations that translated into cash. That made this age group the most sought-after demographic for the recording industry (records and record players), the car industry (a 1957 Chevy convertible was every boy’s and girl’s dream), the clothing industry, and virtually every other business.

The draft and a trip to Vietnam put an end to what had been for most an idyllic childhood. But they have left a trail of destruction behind.

The good news is that within the next 10 years, boomers will no longer control anything. They’ll be gone. The ruin they’ve wrought (starting with the $31 trillion U.S. debt) will take another generation or two to clean up.

The psychological damage done to proceeding generations, however, may never be put right.

But just as bull markets always burst up out of even the worst bear markets, all this gender-changing, preadolescent grooming, and Woke Equity! Diversity! Inclusion! garbage that came to a head in 2022 will one day be thrown out with the trash.

Wishing you a healthy and happy 2023!

James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb. substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.

All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification.

We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. We prefer e-mailed submissions.

If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF.

Send letters to voices@ newspress.com. Writers also may fax letters to 805-966-6258.

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.

Direct questions to Managing Editor Dave Mason at 805-564-5277 or dmason@newspress.com.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Prince Harry

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Meghan