Bark bus and its furry passengers
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Our 165th Year
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NEWS-PRESS SPECIAL REPORT
One year with COVID-19 Local leaders in public, private sectors look back and ahead
Editor’s note: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and on March 15, 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his first lockdown order. After a rollercoaster year, Santa Barbara County leaders in the healthcare, government, business and nonprofit sectors talked to the News-Press about the pandemic and what the future may hold. This is the first in a twopart series. The second part will be published Monday, the day before Santa Barbara County is expected to move into the less restrictive red tier. By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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OVID-19 took a lot. It took more than 2 million lives worldwide, 500,000 lives nationwide, 50,000 lives statewide and 400 lives countywide. It took away jobs from 20.5 million people solely in the month of April 2020. It took 1.3 million jobs from leisure and hospitality workers, 58,000 jobs from mining, oil and gas extraction workers, 116,500 jobs from travel and transportation workers, 441,000 jobs from construction workers, and many more, according to AARP reporting. It took away face-to-face interaction somewhat altogether, replacing it with Zoom meetings, Zoom graduation ceremonies, Zoom happy hours and even Zoom weddings. It took away Santa Barbara’s inperson Old Spanish Days, Summer Solstice, Earth Day, Halloween and Holiday Parade celebrations, among many others. It took away handshakes, highfives, fist bumps, hugs, kisses and even hid smiles and muffled laughter underneath masks. It took away someone’s favorite
mom-and-pop burger joint, someone’s dream wedding, someone’s senior thesis or fifthgrade talent show or book fair, someone’s very first real job — and someone’s grandmother, father, aunt, cousin, sister, brother and best friend. It took away a sense of security for people, replacing it with fear of the unknown, uncharted territory. But communities pulled together and improvised. Santa Barbara’s State Street became a pedestrian promenade. Restaurants moved their tables into parking lots and onto the street and built parklets. Sporting events put cardboard cut-out fans into seats just to encourage the athletes. Grocery stores started delivering orders right to people’s homes. California schools navigated distance learning for an entire year. Artists held virtual performances free of charge. Healthcare workers logged thousands of hours of overtime. The top three fastest developed vaccines in history were all being distributed within a year. Millions and millions of people made sacrifices to keep themselves and others healthy, because for once, everyone was in the same boat. Now, as the population becomes more and more vaccinated, things seem to be taking a turn, and top leaders in Santa Barbara County reflected on the past rollercoaster of a year and what it means for the future. Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, an infectious disease specialist at Cottage Health, discussed Santa Barbara’s experience with COVID-19. “It felt like the world was crashing down around us in the Southern California region, the Please see covid on A7
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS
Above, Santa Barbara’s downtown corridor has now turned into a promenade, featuring a number of parklets, plant fixtures and newly painted green bike lanes. At right, State Street’s sprawling sidewalks were left empty for a time after stay-at-home orders and COVID-19 restrictions were implemented.
Above, local restaurateur Aaron Petersen provides a unique perspective to the pandemic, as he owns three Solvang restaurants and opened two more at the Santa Barbara Harbor in the midst of the pandemic. Mr. Petersen is shown here in front of CHOMP on the Rocks at the harbor. At left, Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons, an infectious disease specialist at Cottage Health, is among the county’s health care workers who have received the COVID-19 vaccine. She told the News-Press she sees “nothing but promise” ahead as case numbers decline.
Some restrictions lifted for breweries, wineries By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Erin Rossow, manager at M. Special Brewing Company in Goleta, told the News-Press that the lifting of restrictions was the best news he has heard all year. Shown here are customers enjoying the State Street location.
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tier, likely by Tuesday. Joe Josiah is a bartender at Brass Bear Brewing & Bistro, at 28 Anacapa St., and he said it makes his job easier, because a lot of the frustration with the rule came from the lack of explanation for it. “When people come here, if they just want to drink, it’s nice to not force them to have to get food as well, because a lot of people felt forced to do that,” he told the News-Press. “A lot of people didn’t understand why.” He said many customers thought it was a business choice to require a food item, but at the end of the day, it was a state regulation. “It’s just nice to not force people to do something they don’t want to do.” Shane Braly runs the taproom at Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company in the Funk Zone, and when asked by the News-Press Please see restrictions on A4
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ins id e Classified............... A6 Life..................... B1-4
Californians can now grab a beer at a brewery or a glass of wine at a winery without buying a food item. The California Department of Public Health announced last week that effective Saturday, wineries, breweries and distilleries are still outdoor only, but can take reservations with a 90-minute time limit at tables only with limited hours. The state removed the requirement for brewery and winery customers to order a food item along with their drinks, and to many local breweries, this came as a welcome surprise. The non-food guidelines will not apply to outdoor bars until the county enters the orange tier, however. “It’s so much easier, I would say,” Ben Concilla, manager at Institution
Ale Company on State Street, told the News-Press on Saturday — the first day without the food requirement. “I think we’ll have more customers now.” Over the course of the pandemic, some brewery owners and managers expressed frustration with the food rule, saying that it caused them to lose business when they otherwise wouldn’t have. “It’s very exciting. This is the best news we’ve heard all year,” Erin Rossow, manager at M. Special Brewing Company in Goleta, told the News-Press. “I think customers will overall just be more happy to go out.” While it will be a while until customers are allowed to approach the bar and order their IPA or Chardonnay or mingle with other customers, the small change is another sign of restrictions lifting, as Santa Barbara County quickly approaches the less restrictive red
Obituaries............. A8 Soduku................. B3 Weather................ A6
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-8-13-21 Meganumber: 19
Saturday’s DAILY 4: 1-6-1-1
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-24-25-31-65 Meganumber: 18
Saturday’s FANTASY 5: 19-20-22-31-39
Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-12-01 Time: 1:47.33
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 5-11-51-56-61 Meganumber: 2
Saturday’s DAILY 3: 2-8-7 / Sunday’s Midday 4-5-0