Santa Barbara News-Press: June 05, 2022

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Ty Warner mystique

‘Rare Earth’

Columnist Robert Eringer delves into a book that sheds light on the man behind Beanie Babies - A2

Exhibit looks to present the natural world in a new light - B1

Our 167th Year

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S u n d a y , J UN E 5 , 2 0 2 2

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden opens Backcountry

Suspect arrested in Cabrillo vandalism investigation Sheriff’s office reports racial slurs on Lompoc school’s walls, murals, windows

‘Unstructured play’ designed to encourage children to play in nature By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

On Monday, the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is opening a 4.5acre Backcountry “unstructured play” area designed to encourage children to enjoy nature and play outdoors. The soft opening took place on Saturday morning “for donors to preview before we open to the public on Monday … The soft opening went really well …we had kids all over doing exactly what we thought they would do and we got really positive feedback. We also had a number of ‘young at heart’ (patrons) outside the normal age range,” Garden Executive Director Dr. Steve Windhager told the News-Press. Dr. Windhager explained his inspiration for the project: “Walking through the garden, it felt like a place where children should look and not touch, and I wanted that to change. I wanted children to feel invited into the natural world and feel like they were a part of it.” With the development phase beginning in 2012, this project has been almost a full decade from development to completion of construction. Conceptual design began in 2014. “Elaine Gibson, a former trustee and strong proponent of children’s outdoor play, was a strong partner in developing concepts we used in the park … The project was put to the side for a while but we continued to explore the idea. In 2019 we ran a pilot test and internal program called ‘Garden Casitas’ which were seven playhouses throughout the garden, which were designed by artists and architects. The pilot test was extremely successful. We launched the capital campaign to build and endow the space and to have staff to maintain in perpetuity. In late 2019, we contracted with Brightview for design and building. Construction started in November of 2021 and was completed literally yesterday” Dr. Windhanger told the NewsPress during an interview on Saturday. The garden is designed for all visitors, but the target audience is Please see BACKCOUNTRY on A5

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest associated with the Cabrillo High School vandalism incident that took place on Tuesday. The vandalism included racial slurs painted on the walls, over murals and on windows, according to Raquel Zick, the Sheriff’s Office public information officer. On Friday, at approximately Please see VANDALISM on A6

Gas prices spike again Saturday By DAN MCCALEB THE CENTER SQUARE

ANDREA RUSSELL PHOTO

Children explore the Backcountry, an area opening Monday to the general public at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden.

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(The Center Square) – The national average price of a gallon of gasoline is making a steady march toward $5, a threshold nine states have already breached. Overnight, gas prices spiked another six cents nationwide, according to AAA. American motorists are paying on average $4.82 a gallon as of Saturday. A week ago, the average was $4.60, but prices have only risen every day since then. Motorists in nine states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington – are now paying more than $5 a gallon. The average price in california stands at $6.297, while in Santa Barbara County the average cost is $6.235. If recent trends continue – and there’s no reason to think they won’t – several other states will join the $5 club soon, including Indiana, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and others. A month ago, the average cost of a gallon of gas across the U.S. was $4.23. A year ago, it was

$3.05. Prices have risen $1.77 a gallon on average since then. Diesel gas prices also hit a new record Saturday, reaching a national average price of $5.62. Rising energy costs are in part driving 40-year-high inflation, where the cost of everything, from food to clothing to other household items are rising. As gas prices rise, consumer consumption is dropping. Consumption has declined at a rate of 3% to 5% the past seven weeks, according to DataTrek, suggesting that the high costs are affecting consumer’s behavior. The prices have a political cost, as well, drawing fresh criticism for President Joe Biden’s energy policies, in particular his blocking of new oil leases and pipeline development, and other regulations on the oil and gas industry. “Joe Biden said he can’t ‘click a switch’ to make gas prices go down, but he clicked a switch to make them go up,” said Daniel Turner, executive director of the energy workers advocacy group, Power the Future. News-Press Associate Editor Matt Smolensky contributed to this report.

LOTTERY

i n s i de Classified.............. A8 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A4

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COURTESY PHOTO

Sheriff Bill Brown called the vandalism at Cabrillo High School “a premeditated and despicable hate crime.”

Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4

Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 9-13-21-27-45 Mega: 5

Saturday’s DAILY 4: 7-4-6-9

Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 11-16-22-48-59 Mega: 11

Saturday’s FANTASY 5: 4-8-10-26-27

Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 01-06-10 Time: 1:44.59

Saturday’s POWERBALL: 14-16-36-52-60 Meganumber: 16

Saturday’s DAILY 3: 7-8-3 / Midday 8-4-8

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