Future rabbi’s first pulpit
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‘Surprisingly resilient’
‘Murder is murder’ Brother of slain Buellton man takes issue with recent commutation
Flower industry in good shape as Senate designates July as American Grown Flowers month
By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Lee Shaw recalled opening an email from former Buellton Police Chief Leland Bentley and he couldn’t believe what he was reading. In late June, Gov. Gavin Newsom granted 13 pardons and 21 commutations, including a commutation for 60-year-old Louis Calvin, who fatally shot Mr. Shaw’s brother, Wayne, during a roadrage incident in 2005 in Buellton. Mr. Calvin, who was 45 at the time of the March 2005 incident, was eventually sentenced to more than 32 years in prison, though is now eligible for immediate parole. The email Mr. Shaw received was a news clip detailing the governor’s pardons and commutations, including the “sincere remorse” Mr. Calvin has expressed for the fatal shooting. “How do you have remorse for killing somebody, when your plea at the time was self defense?” Mr. Shaw asked during a recent phone interview from his Montana home. Mr. Calvin has been incarcerated for 15 years. According to the governor’s
RAFAELMALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Owner of Westerlay Orchids Toine Overgaag said the flower industry has been “surprisingly resilient.”
By JORGE MERCADO NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The U.S. Senate designated July as American Grown Flowers month a couple of weeks ago, encouraging consumers to buy “Certified American Grown” flowers. Following the news, no one was happier than Erin Caird, owner of Por La Mar Nursery in Santa Barbara and Glad-AWay Gardens in Santa Maria. Ms. Caird, who has been in the flower industry for multiple decades, has been pushing for the designation for almost 10 years. “It means a lot. I’ve been on a panel for California flower growers for years and the next thing to do was support American grown,” Ms. Caird told the News-Press. “Seventy percent of flower production came out of California but then we saw other states trying to break in, like Alaska with the peonies, or Philadelphia, or Delaware, and so we’re just trying to spread it out to American growers.” The support for the flower industry could not have come at a better time. Like most industries, the flower industry was facing a lot of obstacles at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but has since weathered the storm quite well. “We have really bounced back. For our industry right now, we have been doing okay just because the supermarket chains are open and they are primarily our business,” Ms. Caird said. “I think it’s because people aren’t traveling, so we’re actually probably doing better than... some industries because we’re still open. I do feel that a lot of the nurseries, we’ve just been fortunate.” While some flower growers have ceased operations, Ms. Caird said she believes that is more due to the rise of the cannabis industry than anything COVID-related. Owning both a shop in the south and north part of the county, Ms. Caird says the entire county is currently really in a good place. “I was just with a flower grower (Friday) and they said they are doing really well,” Ms. Caird said. Toine Overgaag, owner of Westerlay Orchids in Carpinteria, has had a similar experience as Ms. Caird. “When COVID first hit and all the supply chain disruptions that came, I think what the market overall was seeing is that with people staying home, not traveling now there is a little bit of money left for these small luxuries, like Please see FLOWERS on A6
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Mr. Shaw, a father of six, was fatally shot following a road-rage incident in Buellton in March 2005.
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Gov. Gavin Newsom recently granted a commutation for 60-year-old Louis Calvin, seen here during a preliminary trial hearing. Mr. Calvin was sentenced to more than 32 years in prison for fatally shooting Santa Ynez Valley resident Wayne Shaw.
commutation, during his time in prison, he has participated in self-help programming, earned a vocation, maintained an exemplary disciplinary record and is currently enrolled in college courses. Mr. Shaw told the NewsPress that, after learning of the commutation, “It just didn’t sit right.” “If you look at the circumstances of what happened and what was left behind — my brother was married with six kids, a business owner, and a very big contributor to the (Santa Ynez) Valley. “There’s a whole bunch behind it. But kind of the blunt thing is, is murder is muder, I don’t care how you want to put it.” Mr. Shaw said he has learned things that were not known to investigators at the time of the Please see COMMUTATION on A6
Solvang City Council to discuss recall petition Petition has enough signatures to have item placed on November ballot By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Westerlay Orchids has not had one employee test positive for COVID-19, a trend Mr. Overgaag hopes to continue.
The Solvang City Council will meet Monday and revisit an effort to recall City Council member Chris Djernaes. During its meeting, the council will discuss a resolution which calls for the recall of Mr. Djernaes to be placed on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. This will mark the second time the council has discussed a petition calling for Mr. Djernaes to be removed after the first petition failed because of an insufficient amount of signatures, according to acting city manager Xenia Bradford. According to the staff report for Monday’s meeting, 1,342 signatures were submitted to the city clerk on July 20, with a recall petition of Mr. Djernaes filed with the county. All signatures for the latest petition were examined to the county records, and following the examination the County Clerk, Recorder and Assessor Elections Division verified that
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The Solvang City Council will meet Monday and discuss whether to accept a recall petition for City Councilmember Chris Djernaes.
1,156 signatures were valid. The minimum number of required signatures for a recall petition is Please see RECALL on A4
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