The case against Case
Seeing the sea
Robert Eringer looks at the career of longtime local private investigator - A2
Sea Center exhibit focuses on life in the Santa Barbara Channel - B1
Our 166th Year
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Goleta celebrates 20th birthday
SB panel begins to ‘winnow’ council redistricting maps By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF-WRITER
The Santa Barbara Independent Redistricting Commission made headway on its new map last week, beginning to narrow down the choices following input from city council members and the public. Iterations of about five maps were heavily discussed during Thursday’s meeting, and staff was directed to prepare a “matrix” of pros and cons for each before the next meeting scheduled for March 9. During Thursday’s meeting, many people expressed concern about the way Eucalyptus Hill was divided in the draft maps.
Residents and council members said they would prefer the Eucalyptus Hill area to remain intact in District 4 rather than have a narrow section of the area contained in District 1 as well. “I’d like to support the Eucalyptus Hill Association in that canyon,” said District 4 Councilmember Kristen Sneddon. “They’ve worked very hard and raised their own funds to mitigate fire in that canyon, and it’s all part of one neighborhood. Some of the discussed maps (such as Plan 105B) took a whole triangle of the neighborhood and included it into District 1. Others (such as Plan 101R) put just a Please see MAPS on A7
Navy SEALs fighting vaccine mandate secure victory but fight isn’t over By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
People picnic at the Stow House during the City of Goleta’s 20th Birthday celebration at the Rancho La Patera & Stow House on Saturday.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, the city of Goleta celebrated its 20th birthday with a free community event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rancho La Patera & Stow House. Throughout the day there were a minimum of 800 participants celebrating the city. Goleta is one of the youngest cities in California. “We all had apple cider and lemon bundtini cupcakes and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to the city of Goleta and we all clapped 20 times. It was a lot of fun and celebratory and I think that’s what we all needed,” Kelly Hoover, the City of Goleta’s Community Relations Manager told the News-Press. The tribute took place at 2:30 p.m. and included remarks from Mayor Paula Perotte, First Mayor
Margaret Connell, Congressman Salud Carbajal, Senator Monique Limón, Santa Barbara County Supervisors Gregg Hart and Joan Hartman, Sheriff Bill Brown and the Goodland Coalition. “What is amazing about the city of Goleta is that it has only been 20 years and so much has been accomplished in that time. When the city started, there were people who thought we might not make it and be financially viable,” said Ms. Hoover. Live music was played by the Salt Martians (Bluegrass) and The Nombres (Rock and Country), with special performances from the Dos Pueblos High School Theatre Company, 2021 Junior Spirit of Fiesta, Savannah Hoover and Teen Star finalist Audrey Harmand. “We had a large signature frame that people signed as they Please see GOLETA on A6
Information about Goleta was shared with curious people at the celebration.
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Junior Spirit of Fiesta Savannah Hoover gives a performance at the celebration.
The Nombres performed rock and country music at the event.
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(The Center Square) – A group of Navy SEALs locked in a legal battle over vaccine mandates got another victory in their fight, which could go all the way to the Supreme Court. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit this week denied a request from the Navy for an emergency stay of an injunction that prevented them from taking action against the SEALS in question. The SEALS filed for religious exemptions but were denied, and they say their requests were not given fair consideration. “The Navy has been extraordinarily successful in vaccinating service members, as at least 99.4% of whom are vaccinated,” said the appellate ruling. “But that general interest is nevertheless insufficient under [Religious Freedom Restoration Act]. The Navy must instead ‘scrutinize … the asserted harm of granting specific exemptions to particular religious claimants.’ The question, then, is not whether [the Navy has] a compelling interest in enforcing its [vaccination] policies generally, but whether it has such an interest in denying an exception to [each Plaintiff].” First Liberty Institute, the group representing the SEALS, welcomed the decision. “Events around the world remind us daily that there are those who seek to harm America. Our military should be welcoming service members, not forcing them out because of their religious beliefs,” said Mike Berry, Director of Military Affairs for First Liberty Institute. “The purge of religious servicemembers is not just devastating to morale, but it harms America’s national security. It’s time for our military to honor its constitutional obligations and grant religious accommodations for service members with sincere religious objections to the vaccine. We’re grateful the Fifth Circuit denied the Navy’s motion.” That ruling upheld an injunction issued by U.S. District Court for the Northern District
of Texas Judge Reed O’Connor in January. “The Navy servicemembers in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect,” Judge O’Connor’s ruling reads. “The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution.” The decision comes amidst a weakening of COVID-19 mandates nationwide. Several Democratled states reversed their mask mandates in recent weeks. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the majority of Americans will no longer need to wear masks indoors. “We want to give people a break from things like mask wearing ...” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a press briefing. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court in January overturned President Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate on private companies but upheld the mandate for certain health-care workers. “The question before us is not how to respond to the pandemic, but who holds the power to do so. The answer is clear: Under the law as it stands today, that power rests with the States and Congress, not OSHA,” justices wrote in the majority opinion. Now, the highest court may revisit the issue in the SEALs case. Judge O’Connor’s January ruling case suggests the Navy went too far. “No matter how remote the possibility, Plaintiffs could be compensated for their losses,” the ruling reads. “They could be reinstated with backpay, retroactively promoted, or reimbursed for lost benefits like medical insurance and the GI Bill. But because these injuries are inextricably intertwined with Plaintiffs’ loss of constitutional rights, this Court must conclude that Plaintiffs have suffered irreparable harm. Plaintiffs have suffered the more serious injury of infringement of their religious liberty rights under RFRA and the First Amendment . . .”
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