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Sharing the ocean’s wonders Senate passes Sea Center reopens to the public, moves stations outdoors
COVID relief plan By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Sarah Cowan, left, teaches visitors about abalones at a booth outside the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf on Saturday. The Sea Center reopened on Friday.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Families of eager children and parents relieved to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine lined up outside the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf Saturday morning to enjoy its second day of reopening. Running Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Sea Center already had a 25-minute wait by 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. Kids were restless waiting in line, chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of the white abalones or to pet the baby swell sharks. The Sea Center’s ability to move some of its interactive exhibits outdoors allowed for six different stations on the deck. Each family or group got five minutes at each tent, resulting in a 30-minute experience. Robin Artac, of Thousand Oaks, made the trip up to Santa Barbara with her two sons, Nick, 10, and Lucas, 8, who were pumped to be able to visit the center in person again. “We’re so glad it’s back open. He (Nick) asks to come here, like, every weekend,” Ms. Artac told the News-Press. “We love coming here. We come here a lot and we’ll spend hours here … This is another great way for us to get outside.” Both Nick and Lucas told the News-Press they want to be marine biologists when they grow up. “It (the Sea Center) is so cool,” Nick said. “Especially the wet deck, because it’s, like, so cool.” The wet deck allows for visitors to become scientists themselves and use oceanographic tools to sample the ocean directly below the wharf and examine the
Santa Barbara County returns to ‘Moderate Drought’ status By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Becca Buck, left, a volunteer at the Sea Center, educates a family on sea life on Saturday.
marine life they scoop up. The Sea Center was able to reopen the wet deck Friday for visitors to enjoy. The Artac boys said they enjoy petting the swell sharks as well, something they also got the opportunity to do Saturday morning, after sanitizing their hands, of course. “I like petting the swell sharks because it’s super smooth on one side and the other side feels like sandpaper,” Lucas said. Visitors of the Sea Center for the next few weeks will be able to pet baby swell sharks; feel
sea otter and sea lion pelts and baleen whale teeth; examine the wet deck’s tidal animals; touch sea stars and sea urchins; watch live camera footage of seahorses with a TV hooked up outside; check out the endangered white abalone; and visit the gift shop. Hand sanitizer is required for any of the touch exhibits, and each group is socially distanced from the next. Jeff and Cate Lee, of Orange County, also made the trip up to bring their two sons, Jeffrey, 7, and Jake, 5, to the Sea Center. “Whenever we come up from
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Orange County, number one, I have to eat at Santa Barbara Shellfish Company because they have the best seafood,” Mr. Lee told the News-Press. “And then, because we’re on Stearns Wharf, we always come and visit the ocean museum. It’s part of our family trips coming up here to visit Santa Barbara.” When Jeffrey and Jake were asked what they were most excited to see, they answered with one word: “Sharks.” “We love it,” Mr. Lee said. “We’re wanting to support the Please see SEA CENTER on A7
Rainfall is set to return to the South Coast this week, as the county is expected to receive upwards of one inch of rain Tuesday through Thursday. Partly cloudy but mostly clear conditions are forecast today and Monday, though a cold storm system is expected to move through the region Monday night into Tuesday morning and bring increased clouds over Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. The front is expected to push inland Tuesday afternoon, bringing an increasing chance of rain through the day. The system is expected to move inland Wednesday night, or it could remain just off the coast around Point Conception, weather officials said. The main frontal and will move through the county Tuesday night into Wednesday, with rain and mountain snow expected.
Weather models are showing that Wednesday could be “more of a showery pattern” which will linger through Thursday or later in the week. A 70% chance of rain is forecast Tuesday night, and a 60% chance of rain is expected on Wednesday, according to the weather service. Early estimates show the county receiving between a half-inch and one inch of rain, with up to 1.33 inches in higher elevations. There is also the potential for decent amounts of snow, possibly six to 12 inches or more for higher mountains and some light accumulations down to 3,500 feet. With the wet weather, roadways are expected to be slick, and minor street flooding is possible. In addition, wintry driving conditions are expected in the mountains, with poor visibility and snow covered roads in and around Interstate 5 over the Grapevine and across the higher Please see weather on A6
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Another round of $1,400 stimulus checks and extended $300-per-week unemployment benefits, along with more food and rental assistance, got one step closer to American’s pockets Saturday morning. The U.S. Senate narrowly passed President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan in a party-line vote of 50 to 49, after 27 hours of debate. The legislation will now go back to the House for final approval, and then head to President Biden’s desk for his signature. Democrats hope to have the bill to his desk before unemployment aid programs expire on March 14. Three main adjustments were made to the House bill before the Senate’s passage. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ effort to put a $15 minimum wage hike into the bill failed late Friday night, setting a record for the longest vote in modern Senate history — 11 hours and 50 minutes. The Senate parliamentarian ruled that the measure violated the rules of reconciliation, the procedure Democratic leaders were using to approve the bill in the chamber without any Republican support. The unemployment benefits were lowered to $300 a week versus the House’s $400, but the aid will extend through Sept. 6. The first $10,200 of the jobless benefits will also be tax-free to households with incomes under $150,000, according to national media reports. The Senate also decided to narrow the eligibility for stimulus checks by 7 million families, who will now receive a partial payment of what they would have under the House version of the bill. The new bill cut off those who earn more than $160,000 a year and individuals who earn more than
$80,000 a year. Individuals earning less than $75,000 will receive the full $1,400; married couples earning less than $150,000 a year will receive $2,800; and families with children will be eligible for an additional $1,400 per dependent. The Senate’s version will deliver money to about 90% of American families, and adult dependents, such as college students, will be eligible for the payments as well. The child tax credit was extended for one year and new funding is going toward COVID-19 vaccine funding and testing, rental assistance and K-12 schools for reopening costs, as was proposed in the House bill. On Saturday, President Biden issued remarks on the passage of the American Rescue Plan, thanking Vice President Kamala Harris and the senators who reached “a compromise to do the right thing for the American people during this crisis.” “It obviously wasn’t easy, it wasn’t always pretty, but it was so desperately needed — urgently needed,” he said. “This nation has suffered too much for too long,” he added. “And everything in this package is designed to relieve the suffering and to meet the most urgent needs of the nation and put us in a better position to prevail, starting with beating this virus and vaccinating the country.” President Biden again said he believes America will have enough vaccine supply for every American by the end of May, but acknowledges it would “take longer to get it in their arm, but that’s how much vaccine we’ll have.” President Biden said he hopes the bill will find “quick passage” in the House “so it can be sent to my desk to be signed into law.”
Obituaries............. A8 Soduku................. B3 Weather................ A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 12-18-27-28-34 Meganumber: 19
Saturday’s DAILY 4: 2-2-7-6
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 10-11-17-27-54 Meganumber: 20
Saturday’s FANTASY 5: 3-21-27-32-34
Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 01-07-09 Time: 1:46.71
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 11-31-50-52-58 Meganumber: 18
Saturday’s DAILY 3: 3-5-7 / Sunday’s Midday 9-6-1