You can count on sheep
‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ Santa Barbara Symphony to present virtual concert - A3
Our 165th Year
Friends, family and MakeA-Wish volunteers gathered outside of the Montecito Bank and Trust on Coast Village Road to celebrate the granted wish of local teen Carmelo Bisquera.
Animals help with wildfire prevention at San Marcos Foothills Preserve - B1
$2.00
SU N DAY, A pr i l 4 , 2 0 21
Wish granted
Arrests made in fatal shooting By MITCHELL WHITE
NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Two juveniles were arrested Friday night in connection with a fatal shooting that occurred Monday night on the city’s Eastside, police said. The juveniles, a 17-year-old and 15-year-old, both of Santa Barbara whose identities were withheld, were booked into Santa Barbara Juvenile Hall on suspicion of murder. The suspects are also accused of special circumstances of gang activity, as well as felony special allegations for the use of a gun, Lt. Shawn Hill, spokesman for the Santa Barbara Police Department, said in a news release. Please see arrests on A7
U.S. adds 916K jobs in March Unemployment rate falls to 6% By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Local teen’s dream comes true through Make-A-Wish By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
A parade of law enforcement vehicles and classic cars bounced down Coast Village Road in Montecito on Saturday as part of a Make-A-Wish effort to honor local teen Carmelo Bisquera. The caravan of cars passed by the Montecito Bank and Trust, where
Carmelo and his family waved to dozens of colorful low-riding cars, Teslas, firetrucks and police vehicles. The parade of cars was a part of a newly formed Make-A-Wish Hope Patrol, which provides a socially distanced way for family and community members to celebrate kids and their granted wishes. Carmelo, who was raised in Santa Barbara and now lives in San Luis
Obispo, was born with a rare endocrine condition known as hypopituitarism. The disorder causes an underactive pituitary gland, which caused Carmelo to be born legally blind and under the care of doctors since the day of his birth. He was also later diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Carmelo’s mother, Elena Bisquera, said her son was in disbelief at all of the fanfare and gifts surrounding him on
Saturday. “I haven’t seen him smile like this in a long time,” Ms. Bisquera told the News-Press. “For me, it’s an amazing experience to see him be happy.” Not long ago, Ms. Biquera contacted the Make-A-Wish chapter that serves Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to ask if her 17-year-old Please see wish on A4
Hoppy Easter Easter Bunny makes appearance in Montecito By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Families from the Santa Barbara area gathered at the Montecito Country Mart on Saturday to get their close-up with everyone’s favorite rabbit — the Easter Bunny. After a year of limited festivities due to COVID-19, Ingrid Harris and her children, Heidi, 8, and Eli, 5, were happy to be out enjoying Easter traditions once again. “(This Easter) is more exciting than last year because things have started to open up,” Ms. Harris told the News-Press. “We’re just going to have a small dinner at our house (to celebrate). We just came from church and had Please see bunny on A5
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
The Easter Bunny greets a young visitor at the Montecito Country Mart on Saturday.
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ins id e Classified............... A6 Life..................... b1-4
Job growth in the U.S. boomed in March, as the Labor Department reported the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March and the nation’s unemployment rate edged down to 6%. Job growth was widespread in March, led by gains in leisure and hospitality, public and private education and construction. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of 675,000 and an unemployment rate of 6%. The total was the highest since the 1.58 million added in August 2020, according to national media reports. March’s unemployment rate of 6% is still 2.5 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The number of unemployed persons, at 9.7 million, continued to trend down in March but is 4 million higher than in February 2020. Among the major work groups, the unemployment rate for Asians rose to 6% in March, following a decline in February 2021. The jobless rate for Hispanics edged down to 7.9% over the month, while the rates for adult men (5.8%), adult women (5.7%), teenages (13%) changed little, the Labor Department reported. “Among the unemployed, the number of persons on temporary layoff declined by 203,000 in March to 2.0 million,” read a news release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “This measure is down considerably from the recent high of 18.0 million in April 2020 but is 1.3 million higher than in February 2020. The number of permanent job losers, at 3.4 million, was little changed in March but is 2.1 million higher than February 2020.” The number of long-term unemployed, or those who have not had a job for 27 weeks or more, was 4.2 million, up by 3.1 million since February 2020. In March, the long-term unemployed accounted for nearly 44% of the total unemployed. The number of persons jobless for five to 14 weeks declined by 313,000 to 1.9 million. The number Please see jobs on A8
Obituaries............. A8 Soduku................. b2 Weather................ A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 1-7-8-31-38 Meganumber: 16
Saturday’s DAILY 4: 0-8-4-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 10-42-48-53-62 Meganumber: 19
Saturday’s FANTASY 5: 7-9-25-26-27
Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-02-08 Time: 1:49.03
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 1-12-17-39-53 Meganumber: 5
Saturday’s DAILY 3: 3-2-9 / Midday 1-6-6