Santa Barbara News-Press: October 30, 2022

A splash of color

Colorthon fundraiser benefits Lompoc Hospital District Foundation

Making banking easier

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

On Saturday, 350 people, 50 more than last year, participated in the Colorthon fundraiser for the Lompoc Hospital District Foundation at the Mission Club Golf Course in Vandenberg Village.

“It’s beautiful we had a great turnout,” said foundation President Alice Milligan. “It’s a beautiful day at the country club. People are having a great time enjoying it. They are being sprayed with color and loving it.

We even had people bring kids in strollers.”

“It went great. We had a big turnout. There were people showing up late for walk-ins. It was fun. We had a bunch of staff volunteering. It was a good time,” Aaron Poirier, Director of Rehabilitation Services for Lompoc Valley Medical Center (LVMC), told the News-Press.

The popular family-friendly fundraising event kicked off at 9 a.m. with a huge spray of color (dyed cornstarch) that coated the shirts of participants. Registrations and dozens

of sponsorships from local individuals and businesses helped the Lompoc Hospital District Foundation meet its initial fundraising goal. While final tallies are not yet in, the event raised more than $30,000, according to Ms. Milligan.

During the Colorthon’s 5K event, participants walked and ran throughout the stunningly landscaped Mission Club course, stopping at six predetermined color stations to get coated in an array of vibrant colors.

“Everyone was laughing and having a good time with a lot

of Lompoc staff helping out. There was a Zumba warmup beforehand and people were enjoying getting outside, moving their body, getting activity in and supporting a good foundation,” said Mr. Poirier. The proceeds will be used to purchase new equipment and materials for the Rehabilitation Services Department serving LVMC, the Comprehensive Care Center and Lompoc Health, North H Center. The purchases of the new rehabilitative equipment and materials will drastically

Paso Nuevo hosts Halloween Monster Mash

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Paseo Nuevo hosted its annual Halloween Monster Mash on Saturday in Center Court. In the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, members of the community participated in this family-friendly Halloween event.

“It’s very much a kind of trick or treating party so to speak; we have a DJ in Center Court. What the peak of it all is the goodie bags we hand out starting at 3 pm in Center Court. There are little backpacks for the kids filled with candy and a promotional card,” Danielle Methmann, Marketing and Events Coordinator for Paso Nuevo, told the News-Press.

Paseo Nuevo invited children and families to fill the center with their spookiest and sparkliest costumes in search of sweet tricks and treats. This community event was an opportunity for children to dress up in their best costumes and trick-or-treat in a safe environment. Participating retailers throughout Paseo Nuevo, as well as other downtown businesses, handed out candy from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

nEWs-PRE ss sPECi

Higher number of RsV cases this season

Physicians discuss increase in virus and treatments

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

health officials have reported seeing higher cases of Respiratory Syncytial

flu season than in recent years

expect this to be a severe season for RSV.

percentage of admissions for RSV in Kaiser Permanente facilities in Northern California during Week 41 was 0.5% compared to 0.3% during Week 40,” according to the California Department of Public Health, page 14 of the California Weekly Report and Other Respiratory Viruses. The week 41 report is for October 9-15.

“We are concerned we are seeing it more than usual. Most people will get it at some time in their life, and you can get it more than once,” Dr. Laura Polito, Sansum Clinic urgent care physician director, told the News-Press. “It is most dangerous in children under 2, the immunocompromised or the elderly. It is presented as a common cold for healthy adults.

“This is a lot like what happened with COVID,” she said. “We are mostly concerned with the vulnerable people. We have seen in urgent care eight cases of RSV, which is unusual for this time of year. We usually don’t see any until December or January.”

“We have already started seeing cases earlier than normal and several have been quite severe,” Dr. Jenna Holmen of Pediatric Infectious Disease for Cottage Children’s Medical Center told the News-Press.

The News-Press asked a Sansum Clinic pediatrician, Dr. Daniel Brennan, how many cases of RSV have been seen in pediatrics so far.

“This is difficult to estimate, but I know of several patients already this week who have been hospitalized with RSV, and many others who required visits to the emergency room,” Dr. Brennan said. “We seem to be experiencing a very early start to the cold and flu season. I have seen more RSV and influenza already this October than I recall seeing in October of 2020 and 2021.”

Symptoms of RSV include: cough, nasal congestion, runny nose and fevers sometimes.

“There is testing available and a rapid test is available now. However, testing is mostly for the vulnerable people. If you feel you need to be tested, contact your primary care provider,” said Dr. Polito. “A rapid test is available in urgent care, but we use it mostly for the vulnerable. RSV is spread by droplets. The six feet (social distancing) rule is a really good rule. It can live on a hard surface for several hours and on soft surface for a shorter period of time,”

Noted Dr. Holmen, “For most children and adults, it is like the common cold with extra mucus. The highest risk are babies less

than 1 year old and adults over 65. Symptoms include severe respiratory distress, rapid breathing, struggling to breathe, and babies can change colors and turn blue. Other symptoms include the usual cold symptoms such as a cough and sometimes fever.”

Dr. Brennan told the NewsPress, “RSV is a virus that pediatricians are very familiar with. For most adults and older children, RSV causes typical common cold symptoms such as runny nose, nasal congestion and cough. But for infants, preemies and those with highrisk conditions like asthma, RSV can create enough mucus and inflammation in the lungs to result in hospitalization to provide things like breathing treatments, deep suctioning, supplemental oxygen, intravenous fluids and sometimes respiratory support in severe cases.”

The News-Press asked Dr. Holmen and Dr. Brennan, both pediatricians, what precautions parents should be taking to protect their children.

“We haven’t seen much in the last two years due to masking,” Dr. Holmen said. “Masking is always an option, but good hand washing is the first line of defense. For babies under a year, try to keep them away from sick children. There is hard work being done on vaccines and one or two are really close. We might get a vaccine in the next year or so.”

“If there is an outbreak of RSV at your school or daycare, it may be a good idea to keep your child

COURTESY PHOTOS

Dr. Jenna Holmen

Dr. Daniel Brennan

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Participants of the Lompoc Hospital District Foundation Colorthon 5K start the run at the Mission Club in Lompoc on Saturday.

Please

event is for families and we enjoy doing it’

Continued from Page A1

improve the department’s ability to care for patients of all functional levels effectively and efficiently.

“We are still finalizing things but the general theme is … to improve our ability to offer a functional environment for patients, especially at our skilled nursing facility. The main goal is to be able to improve our patients’ ability to mimic function in situations and improve our ability to provide good quality care for the community,” said Mr. Poirier.

The Lompoc Hospital District Foundation is celebrating its 32nd Anniversary.

“I think it ran extremely well from a planning standpoint. They do a great job with all the events put on. Everything is through and throughout. It is a great team with the foundation,” said Mr. Poirier.

“People are happy and laughing, we have music going and when they come off the course the kids and families are having a good time. It’s a wonderful experience watching people come off the course. It’s a happy day for families. This event is for families and we enjoy

doing it. We like to do something involving everyone in the community which is why we do this,” said Ms. Milligan.

In addition to aiding medical services, the event also inspired some romance. A proposal took place at the finish line, where Michael Snider and Antonia Garule got engaged.

The Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit organization incorporated September 12, 1990, with a goal of promoting health education in the community, raising funds to purchase critically needed technology or equipment and educating the public about the hospital’s services, facilities and programs.

Through its special events, Foundation members have raised $3.1 million, with a total fundraising effort of $9.6 million in the past more than quarter-century. The Foundation recently completed a $2 million capital campaign to pay for the renovation of rooms at the Comprehensive Care Center, the skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility run by Lompoc Valley Medical Center.

If you would like to donate, you can do so at https://lompocvmc. com/giving.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Event features haunted house

MASH

Continued from Page A1

“Last year we had 200 backpacks and we ran out in ten minutes. There was a line half an hour prior down De la Guerra last year. There is a concentration of local businesses giving out candy. There are swarms of families coming through during the event time period. Families come through and get a goodie bag and then wander through local businesses collecting candy,” said Ms. Methmann. This year, 300 backpacks were handed out to children aged four to eleven.

“This year there will be eight or so inflatables lining de la guerra and surrounding Center Court. There

will also be costume characters, larger dinosaurs seven feet tall or more wandering about,” said Ms. Methmann. Attendees strolled down Paseo Nuevo’s version of a haunted house, which is a creepy corridor that was decorated with all things spooky.

“After the goodie bags are handed out it will be a dance party in Center Court and trick or treaters wandering about. I will also be handing out prizes to the best dressed. It’s a lot of fun for all ages,” said Ms. Menthmann. For more information and specific details about this event, visit https:// paseonuevoshopping.com/events/ halloween-monster-mash/. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

around every year.

from Page A1

home until the illnesses settle down,” Dr. Brennan said. “This is especially true if you have a very young child, a preemie, a child with an underlying health condition or if you have a high-risk person living in your home.

“If your child is sick, it has always been a good idea to stay home until he or she is feeling better,” Dr. Brennan said. “This is just a kind thing to do in order to keep your school community, classmates and teachers healthy. Some viruses take longer to resolve than others, and some children may continue to shed certain viruses longer than most of us realize. These are factors that can be taken into consideration when parents are deciding when to send their kids back to school or when daycares/ preschools are setting their return-to-school health policies.”

Dr. Polito said the approach is supportive treatments. “If they are really sick we send them to hospital, where they

are monitored and given oxygen and fluids if needed. Antiviral medications have been used, but (we) don’t necessarily have good data behind them including Ribavirin and IVIG, which is an IV infusion of antibodies. There is no definitive treatment but there are ongoing studies.”

Dr. Holmen agreed that physicians provide supportive care. “There are no antibiotics. If a child is struggling to breathe, bring them to an emergency room or pediatrician.”

Dr. Brennan said pediatricians are very familiar with RSV.

“Treatment for most cases of RSV include supportive care, fluids, rest and time,” he said. “Nasal saline drops, humidifier and steamy bathroom treatments can be helpful to keep mucus thin and make it easier to breathe through the nose. For patients with asthma, nebulizers/inhalers may be helpful.

“But for infants, preemies and those with high-risk conditions, RSV can create enough mucus and inflammation in the lungs to result in a need for hospitalization to provide things like breathing treatments, deep suctioning,

supplemental oxygen, intravenous fluids and sometimes respiratory support in severe cases,” he said.

“While there is not a treatment for RSV once you are infected, we do have a monthly preventive treatment with a monoclonal antibody called Synagis available for certain high-risk infants,” said Dr. Brennan.

Dr. Brennan said that if children have symptoms and parents suspect it’s RSV, reach out to your doctor and let the physician sort out testing and treatment options.

“Most cases will not require medical treatment,” he said. “But telehealth has become a great tool for patients to access their healthcare provider from home and ask questions, talk through symptoms, review exposures, and discuss when to return to school and how to proceed with testing and treatment.”

Dr. Polito said bring the person in your care to the doctor right away if they have a common cold but seem sicker. “Healthy adults won’t feel sicker. Many have had RSV more than once and don’t even know it.”

Dr. Holmen noted pediatricians know RSV well and that it is

“But this year is more severe. Parents should have a low threshold for evaluation.”

Dr. Brennan said that while the pandemic has been difficult, it has taught many good lessons for community health.

“Being mindful of when you are sick, and taking steps to protect those around us, is a kind thing to do,” he said. “We now know how well measures like good hygiene, handwashing, ventilation and staying home until we are feeling better can help keep those around us from getting sick.

“We also know that high-quality masks are another tool that can help reduce the spread of germs if you are experiencing symptoms or just want to reduce the chances of being exposed if you are in an indoor or classroom setting,” he said. “Many viruses, including RSV, can survive on surfaces for many hours. When coming home from preschool, a good practice is to wash hands, face and maybe even change into a clean shirt before interacting with other siblings.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

P.O.

Because of an editing error, an incorrect photo appeared with a story on cystic fibrosis in Saturday’s News-Press. The photo should have been of Dr. Richard Belkin. Instead the photo was that of Dr. Daniel Brennan, who was misidentified in the caption as Dr. Belkin. The website version of the story was corrected Saturday morning. The correct photo of Dr. Belkin is with this correction.

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COURTESY PHOTO

Dr. Richard Belkin

‘Parents should have a low threshold for evaluation’

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

A dragon and a dinosaur struggle up the stairs during the Halloween Monster Mash event at Paseo Nuevo shopping center in Santa Barbara on Saturday.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

A participant is sprayed with color during the Lompoc Hospital District Foundation Colorthon 5K at the Mission Club in Lompoc on Saturday.

In the event of a nuclear holocaust

Chatter

about a nuclear exchange with Russia is heating up as frantic conversations take place between the most senior defense officials at the Pentagon and the Kremlin. The latter is ramping up new rhetoric to compensate for Russia’s inability to win a regional war it illegally instigated and believed would be a slam-dunk but is now in retreat and facing defeat.

It seems that desperate despot Vladimir Putin is intent on dropping a dirty radioactive bomb on Kherson, the second largest city in Ukraine, once the Russians complete their evacuation of Russian collaborators and Kherson is retaken by Ukrainian troops — and then blaming their dirty deed on the Ukrainians to “justify” a Russian “response” based on having been “provoked.”

“This is classic Russian ‘vranyo’ — a lie that I know you don’t believe, and I don’t believe it either. We both know that. But this is my story and I’m sticking to it,” said Michael Clarke, a professor of war studies at King’s College London.

Which means the Russians aren’t playing chess but have instead devolved to their own version of transparent Tiddlywinks along with Mr. Putin dispatching ill-clothed conscripts from prisons and mental hospitals to the frontline with rusty weapons and little food — essentially sending them into a meat grinder (perhaps a Hitlerian tactic to rid his country of violent criminals and the mentally ill) with a plan to “snuff out” deserters who are opening complaining they don’t have their basic needs met to survive. Little wonder so many Russian men of conscription age have fled Russia to neighboring countries and Mr. Putin is reduced to recruiting from prisons and psych wards.

If a dirty bomb is detonated by the Russians and radiation blows into a neighboring NATOmember country, say, Poland, Article 5 would instantly be invoked and activated, meaning the automatic commencement of war between all NATO countries and Russia, resulting in World War III and with it, the potential use of nuclear warheads that might ultimately include an allout exchange of intercontinental ballistic nuclear missiles as each side fears a preemptive strike by the other.

what that would mea N For you

Vandenberg Space Force Base, eleven miles north of Lompoc, is a Russian nuclear target, and so is Los Angeles due to its high density population. (Russian targeting is tightly focused on military bases, large civilian populations and critical infrastructure, a doctrine based on inflicting as much damage as possible and rendering it difficult for the opposing

country to survive.)

tigator

If Mad Vlad explodes a nuclear “Tsar Bomba” (100 million tons of TNT) as an airburst over Vandenberg, almost everyone in Santa Barbara will die from thermal burns or radiation sickness.

It is for you to monitor news media and read the signs carefully and if/when you realize a nuclear attack is a real possibility (our Defense Department sources working around the clock in Washington, D.C., already believe so), pack up your car (the gasoline tank should always be half full) and get the heck out of Dodge.

Don’t wait for the government to instruct you. If you do, it’ll already be too late because all they will advise you is fill your bathtub with water, seal your home with wet towels and hope for the best. (Spoiler alert: A bathtub full of water, covering door and window cracks with wet towels and hoping for the best won’t cut it.)

wheN to go

If any nuclear warhead is detonated anywhere in or around Ukraine, well, that’s the right time to skedaddle because from that point onward rapid escalation becomes feasible and the situation can spiral out of control in the fog of war to include the possibility of an accidental launch or a belief by one side that the other side has launched or is about to launch an all-out nuclear strike.

If that happens, you have about 30 minutes to prepare or flee. Trust us, you do not want to be caught in a gridlocked exodus on Highway 101 where road rage will be the least of your problems. Go when the going is good, ahead of the mad panic — and stay calm.

where to go

There are seven options based on Russian targeting:

1. Northern Nevada: Not much there except Route 50, “The Loneliest Road in America,” and the small city of Ely with its 24/7 Denny’s.

2. Eastern Oregon: East of Bend there is nothing but lunar landscape, best suited for hard-core and well-practiced survivalists.

3. Central Idaho: Bingo. Ironically, a small city called Moscow (maybe the safest place of all, given its name and location).

a Nd Fire

drivers can use a temporary detour on Reynolds Ave.

The on-ramp at Santa Claus Ln. will close Sept. 6, will remain closed for up to five months and is anticipated to reopen Jan. 29.

4. Southern Wyoming: Bingo. (Take your cowboy hat, and don’t admit you’re from California.)

5. West Texas: Marfa with its “mystery lights” is a pretty cool artists enclave so if you paint or sculpt that’s your spot. There is a Prada shop outside of Marfa so it works for Montecitans too. Wait, strike that, the Prada shop is just an art “installation.”

6. Northern California: The Mount Shasta area. If you can get to know a few Lemurians, they may allow you access to their golden city a mile beneath this sacred mountain. But if not, skip across the border into southern Oregon, specifically, Ashland with its plentiful supply of lithia spring water, ideal for remaining calm in less than ideal circumstances.

7. Maine: Forget it. It’s too far from Santa Barbara, and all routes are hazardous due to nationwide military bases and (especially in the Rust Belt) high-density populations. But if you make it there, the Canadian border is close. That said, if Canada is your goal, no need to drive east, head straight north to Shasta then Ashland, drink some Lithia water then drive across northern Nevada and take a Louie at Idaho, go straight up the middle of the Gem State (have a strong libation Moscow) until you get across the border and don’t stop until you reach Banff.

what to ta K e

• Bottled water. (Lots of it. We recommend Alkaline88.)

• Potassium iodide pills to protect from radiation sickness.

• Tinned, canned and boxed non-perishable food.

• A healthy supply of whatever prescriptive medications you need. (And don’t forget your recreational drugs, even the illegal ones like magic mushrooms, poetically linked to a mushroom cloud. Law enforcement, which no longer enforces much of anything, will revert to the Wild West er

101

NorthbouNd

Sunday nights from 9 p.m. - 7 a.m. the highway will be one lane from S. Padaro Ln. to Sheffield Dr.

Monday - Thursday nights from 8 p.m. – 5 a.m. the highway will be one lane from S. Padaro Ln. to Sheffield Dr.

The northbound on-ramp at Ortega Hill Rd. will be closed for up to eight months and is anticipated to reopen Feb. 14, drivers can use the on-ramp at Sheffield Dr.

The off-ramp at Evans/Lillie Ave. will be closed for up to four months and is anticipated to reopen Jan. 25, drivers can use the northbound off-ramp at N. Padaro Ln. as a detour.

SouthbouNd highway 101 Sunday nights from 10 p.m. - 7 a.m. the highway will be one lane from Sheffield Dr. to Reynolds Ave. with an off-ramp at Carpinteria Ave.

Monday - Thursday nights from 9 p.m. – 7:30 a.m. the highway will be one lane from Sheffield Dr. to Reynolds Ave., off-ramp at Carpinteria Ave.

Monday, Oct. 31 and Tuesday, Nov. 1, from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., with off-ramp at Carpinteria Ave.,

Drivers can use the detour on Via Real, Santa Ynez Ave., Carpinteria Ave., and Reynolds Ave.

upcomiN g clo Sure

The southbound off-ramp at N. Padaro Ln. has been rescheduled to December.

Consecutive ramps in the same direction will not be closed at the same time (unless where noted) to allow drivers to use a ramp before or after a closure. To view timelines, detours and maps, visit www.SBROADS.com and select the project segment.

o live mill rouNdabout

The Olive Mill Roundabout will improve traffic flow at the intersection at Olive Mill Road, Coast Village Road, North Jameson Lane, the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp at Olive Mill Road, and the southbound Highway 101 on-ramp at Olive Mill Road.

Construction is scheduled from mid-November 2022 through summer 2023. Project information, including maps and a timeline, is available at www.SBROADS.com.

- Katherine Zehnder

ROBERT ERINGER

WILLIAMS, Charles “Chick”

Chick was born in Northridge California on March 10th 1959. He passed peacefully the morning of October 8th, 2022 at Serenity House. The family moved to Santa Barbara when he was just a baby and he never left. Chick went to Cold Spring School and Montecito Union then off to Santa Barbara Junior and Senior High.

Chick recently retired from the city of Santa Barbara Parks and Rec dept. Of all the jobs he had this was his absolute favorite job. He made many great friends there.

When people asked Chick where he worked he would say “I get paid to hang out at the beach all day” He loved his job and the people he worked with.

One of Chicks’s loves was his dog Coco. She went with him everywhere. They could be spotted chasing squirrels at Wilcox or walking the trails in Montecito or curled up on the couch watching a ball game. She was always by his side. Another passion was softball. He played on local leagues for many years, most recently with the “Old Guys Rule” team.

Chick leaves behind his older siblings, Barb (Sam) Licata, Mark, Suzi (David) Schwartz, Barbara (Willy) Hughes, many nieces, nephews, cousins and aunts and uncles and all his softball friends and friends at the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Rec dept., especially his best friend Leveque. We miss you little brother. A celebration of Chicks wonderful life will be held November 18th at 3:00 at Shoreline Park.

PEPITONE, Frances

1928 - 20022

Frances Pepitone passed away peacefully on October 21st. Frances and her husband Sam moved to Santa Barbara in 1961. She was a waitress at several restaurants while her husband worked as a manager at Vic Tanny’s Gym. In 1963 establishment, Pepitone Figure Salon at 1011 Chapala St. The business prospered which allowed them to expand and move to La Cumbre Plaza in 1975. This location had pampered. After the passing of our dad, Frances, her son Lenny and daughter Roz ran Pepitone Health Spa until exercises in bed while at a care facility. Frances was the 4th child of 7. Four brothers with family, good homemade Italian food, Italian music and laughter. When her mom would visit, you could smell the fresh homemade Italian bread baking down the block. It was the home where her family from all over loved to visit. She was loved by everyone. She never spoke an unkind word to anyone. Her nieces and nephews would tell you that Aunt Fran was their favorite Aunt. Frances’s grandchildren affectionately called grandchild. She loved her family visits while convalescing especially if you brought her a burger from the Habit. Frances made sure her children went to Mass and Catholic school. In her retired years, she became quite a prayer warrior. Although she had loss a real trooper.

Frances is proceeded in death by her parents Giuseppe and Pasqua Benenati, her husband Sam, her son Lenny, her brothers Frank, Bill, Leo & Joe Benenati and their spouse’s, sister’s Lena Salca and spouse, sister Lucy Ahee and her grand baby Billy Scanlon. She is survived by daughters Mary Ann Armstrong (Mike) Patty Orr, and Roz Scanlon (Bill), 7 grandchildren, 9 great and 3 great great grandchildren. Frances always had a smile on her face and smile she did even as she faded away. She will be greatly missed, and forever in our hearts.

Our family would love to thank the entire nursing staff at Cottage Hospital, 1 WoodClaeyssens Pavillon and especially Dr. Nguyen who always made sure Frances got the best care and comfort. On Oct. 28th, family and friends attended funeral services at St.Luis De Monfort Catholic Church in Orcutt, followed by Italian cuisine requested boyfriend Gary Mc Kinsey’s home in Santa Maria.

HIDALGO, Thomas Ruben, Colonel Santa Barbara native son, Colonel Thomas Ruben Hidalgo, SBHS Class of 1938, passed away peacefully at his home, on October 22, 2022 at the age of 102 years. Born in 1920 to Tomas and Severa Hidalgo in Santa Barbara, CA. Preceded in death by both his parents, sisters, his brother and his loving wife of 72 years, Jennie Nieto Hidalgo. Jennie and Thomas were married in November of 1942 in Santa Barbara, CA where they lived and raised

Thomas began his military career by taking ROTC classes at SBHS where he competed and won a medal for Close Order Drill. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1939 and was sent to Europe with the 980th Field Artillery Battalion during World War II. He was engaged in battles and campaigns in Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland, Ardennes, and Central Europe. He distinguished himself in service to his country by earning the Bronze Star, the American Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.

After being discharged in June 1945 with the rank of Staff Sargeant, he went into business with his father and owned and operated Hidalgo Plumbing on Chapala Street in Santa Barbara. He and his father operated their plumbing shop until the early 1960s when the city bought their property. He was an avid Ham Radio Operator and earned the Army Occupation Medal, the Korean Service Medal and a second Bronze Barbara National Guard where he was called upon many times throughout the years. of 1955, helping to control the streets of Los Angeles during the Watts Riots of 1965 and during the burning of the Bank of America in Isla Vista in 1970. In November of 1977, by Executive order of the President of the United States, Thomas was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding service as a Citizen Soldier of the U.S. Army. stationed at Santa Barbara. He later was stationed at the National Guard Armory in Los Angeles until his retirement in 1980 when he retired as a full Colonel. Our family is very proud to know that our father contributed so much to his country.

After his Military retirement in 1980, he continued his civilian life working in the Plumbing Department of UCSB. He was a member of the Chancellor’s Advisory employees enjoy today. He was very proud that he received the Chancellor’s Outstanding Employee of the year 3 different years. At the age of 72, he retired from the University in 1989. In September of 2015, Thomas went on the Honor Flight and visited the Capitol of the United States, Arlington Cemetery, and witnessed the changing of the guard. A trip that he would recommend to any Veteran to attend.

Colonel Hidalgo is survived by his sons: Thomas E. Hidalgo and Robert J. (Annette) Hidalgo. His daughters: Cynthia Patricia (Ronald) Dugger; Stephanie Annette (Lawrence, deceased) Kubecka and Jacqueline Yvette (Michael) Wilson. Grandsons: Thomas M. Hidalgo, Brian P.(Debra) Coker and Sean T. Coker; Andrew S. (Major Cassandra, USAF) Hidalgo; Matthew (Kelly) Hidalgo; Joseph (Angeline) Hidalgo; and Marcus (Candace) Almendras, USN. Great-granddaughters: Aubriana, Kylie and Savannah Coker; Gabrielle Almendras and Adrian Hidalgo. Great-grandsons: James and Theodore Hidalgo; Lawrence and Anthony Almendras and Gabriel Thomas Hidalgo.

Arrangements are being made by Welch-Ryce-Haider Mortuary with a viewing at the Mortuary at (15 E. Sola, Santa Barbara) at 11:00 a.m., on Thursday, November 10, 2022 and following after, a graveside Full Military Honors Ceremony at the Santa Barbara Cemetery, 910 Channel Drive, Santa Barbara, at 1:15 p.m. He joins his maternal grandparents, parents, and his brother at the Santa Barbara Cemetery where he will be laid to rest in the Veteran’s Section. At this time, the ashes of his beloved wife, Jennie N. Hidalgo who passed on April 13, 2015, will be interred with Thomas. May they continue their marriage in eternity.

a Veteran, that you thank him or her for their service to our country.

MCKINLEY, Daniel Dan was born November 2, 1958 to Dean and Judith McKinley of Flora, Indiana. Dan began playing piano at four and quickly fell in love with music. He played in a rock band during high school which led to a dream of living in California to play professionally. Dan moved to the Santa Barbara area in the early ‘80s and decided never to return to the Midwest.

Dan became a sound engineer and worked in several venues in the Santa Barbara area. He was a tough guy with a strong work ethic and generous heart. Dan’s Santa Barbara friends became his family and support. His friends knew the door was always open to anyone needing a place to stay.

In addition to music, Dan loved dogs. Dan owned several that he loved to play with and care for. His most recent, Scarlett will miss him.

Dan is survived by brother Larry (Mary Ellen), sister Susan (Al) Kruger, nephews Jeremy (Monica) Silk and Jacob (Kaci) Kruger, niece Sarah Kruger and great-nephews Justin Silk and Ryder Kruger and great nieces Adelyn Silk and Aspen Kruger. Also by a large number of friends in the music and theatre business.

RASMUSSEN, Mary Ann

It is with great sadness that Mary Ann Rasmussen, known by her many friends and family as M.A., passed away in September.

She was a dynamic and creative soul, whose jampacked life spanned a wide array of interests over many decades. Her friends admired her for her intelligence, boundless curiosity and love of learning. And she could be counted on for her irreverent sense of humor. She was an avid reader, wrote, taught and published poetry, played musical instruments, took up photography, backpacked, cycled, loved her sail board, swam open water and pool competitions, studied languages, traveled to Mexico, Canada, and Europe - Paris was her favorite city - she and Paul loved to spend months in Paris making friends and visiting museums.

She is survived by her three children, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

SANCHEZ, Julie Anne

Julie Anne (Klussman) Sanchez passed away on September 16 at her family home in Orcutt, California after a courageous battle against stomach cancer. Julie was born on March 29, 1961 in Whittier. She grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended the Buckley School, and graduated from El Camino Real HS in Woodland Hills. She earned a BA in Journalism from CSU Northridge, then worked for Club Med and community Amgen, URS (AECOM), and Vernon Construction. In 2017 Julie founded Venturoso Partners, dedicated to creating of the Central Coast chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

gourmet foodie gatherings with friends and family. An accomplished writer, Julie’s most recent project is “Cancer Looks Funny on You.” Julie was the ultimate team player,

warm smile, her quick wit and tender hugs will endure.

three sons, Austin E. Sacks, Nathan P. Sanchez (Natalie), and Roger V. “Ro” Sanchez. her mother, Patricia Klussman of Westlake Village. She was preceded in death by her Kristi King of Santa Barbara (Jeff), and Karen Lewis of Mendocino (Will), nieces Leina King, Carrie Tomlinson, Courtney Condren, and nephew Will Tomlinson. Julie’s cousins

BERMUDES, Frank John May 5, 1944-October 6, 2022

Just eight months after the loss of his youngest son, Kevin Paul, Frank passed away peacefully at S.B. Cottage Hospital on October 6, 2022 at 78 years of age after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Frank was born at Saint Francis Hospital on May 5,1944 to Michael and Fairy Bermudes. He was named Francis after the hospital. He legally changed his name to Frank upon joining the U.S. Navy in 1963, but much to his chagrin the old-time Filipino community insisted on continuing to call him Francis.

Frank served in the U.S. Navy from 1963-1966. He was stationed on the USS Platte in

Frank attended Franklin Elementary, S.B. Junior High School, S.B. High School “Once a Don always a Don” and S.B. City College. Frank enjoyed participating in the Franklin Alumni Golf Tournaments with his sons and former classmates for many years. He also enjoyed coaching both his sons in Little League and umpiring games.

Frank is best known for his stellar work ethic and customer service. Frank was a member of the Teamsters Union Local 186 for 33 years. He was sales manager for Mission Linen Supply and a route salesman for Frito Lay before retiring from Oroweat Bakery in 1999. In his retirement, Frank went to work part time for the City of Santa Barbara, working in the downtown parking kiosks where he became re-acquainted with many old friends. He also enjoyed an occasional golf game, the L.A. Dodgers, on the S.F. Forty Niners and enjoying his grandchildren’s sports events. He could be seen daily at Shoreline Park and Rancho Santa Barbara dog parks with his dogs Ruby and Jake.

Frank and his family were very proud of his 18 years of sobriety. He worked very hard to overcome his dependence on alcohol. He would not have been able to accomplish this great feat without the love and support of his family.

Frank is survived by his son, Brian Bermudes, grandchildren Kaila and Lance Bermudes, his brother Kermit (Pauline) and his former wife Barbara. He is also survived by many was much loved by all and will be terribly missed at family gatherings where he always enjoyed barbequing his beer marinated tri tip and chicken. Frank was predeceased by his parents, Michael and Fairy Bermudes, his son Kevin and stepfather Paul.

A memorial and military salute will be held at San Roque Church, 325 Argonne Circle, Santa Barbara on Thursday, Nov 3, 2022 at 10:30. At Frank’s request, a reception will follow at the family home, 3621 San Jose Lane, Santa Barbara.

A special thanks to all the wonderful nurses and doctors at both Cottage Hospital and The Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. Those wishing to honor Frank may do so by sending a donation to the Ridley-Tree Cancer Center through the Cancer Foundation of Santa

DAUGS, Nina Marie

Mrs. Nina Marie Daugs was born April 7, 1948 in Anchorage, Alaska. She passed away peacefully, October 10, 2022 at her home in Santa Barbara, California, surrounded by love, with her husband Dennis Daugs and daughter Jamie Kern Lima by her side. Nina graduated from Terra Linda High School, in San Rafael, CA class of 1966. She was a three time national roller skating champion in the dance division. She later husband Dennis, opened her own escrow company, SeaTac years. She enjoyed traveling, cruising, wearing matching sweatshirts with Dennis, cuddling with her puppies, to her daughter Jamie, who she adopted the day she was born.

Nina is preceded in death by her daughter Jodie Marie Kern, her sister Jackie, brother Gary and her parents Helyn and Jack Howe.

Nina is survived by her husband Dennis Daugs, her daughter Jamie Kern Lima, her son-in-law Paulo Lima, her step children Diana & Kevin Porter, Dennis Daugs Jr, Kimberly Daugs, and Steve Daugs, her sisters Marilyn Mallory and Kim Jackson, her grandchildren Joshua, Whitney, Matthew, Daniel, Rachel, Nathaniel, Michael, Hadyn, Olivia, Esther, Wonder and Wilder, her great grandchildren Khloe, Kenzie, Levi and her many daughters who call her mom, including Jacqueline Hemmer and Lia Key.

Nina was a devoted wife, mother, and follower of Jesus. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her. Her love and spirit will live on in the beauty all around us and in every life she touched.

family asks that you make a donation to the Scleroderma Foundation in honor of Nina’s memory.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com

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Today

City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Cuyama 73/43/s 77/43/pc Goleta 71/49/s 69/50/pc

Lompoc 67/46/s 65/48/pc

Pismo Beach 70/46/s 64/48/pc

Santa Maria 70/46/s 67/49/pc

Santa Ynez 78/44/s 77/47/pc

Vandenberg 63/48/s 62/50/pc

70/53/s 69/52/pc

63/32/pc

Bishop 75/33/s 74/33/pc

72/62/pc 70/53/pc

Concord 74/48/s 68/53/pc

80/51/pc 80/53/pc

Eureka 58/46/c 62/47/pc

Fresno 76/50/s 76/51/pc

Los Angeles 80/58/s 78/57/pc

Mammoth Lakes 61/23/s 58/24/s

Modesto 75/46/s 71/46/pc

61/48/s 60/51/pc

Napa 74/44/s 69/47/pc

Oakland 65/50/s 62/54/pc

Ojai 84/55/s 81/49/pc

Oxnard 72/52/s 70/53/pc

Palm Springs 89/63/s 88/61/pc

82/56/s 79/56/pc

Paso Robles 79/39/s 75/43/pc

Sacramento 77/46/pc 72/49/pc

San Diego 73/57/pc 74/60/pc

San Francisco 64/50/s 61/53/pc

San Jose 70/49/s 67/53/pc

San Luis Obispo 76/48/s 72/51/pc

Santa Monica 74/55/s 74/57/pc

Tahoe Valley 61/27/s 62/36/s

60/53/sh

Mexico City 76/54/c 75/53/sh

Montreal 58/41/s 58/45/pc

New Delhi 89/64/pc 90/65/pc

Paris 66/52/c 66/56/c

Rio de Janeiro 90/77/c 92/70/t

74/54/s 74/54/s

74/64/pc 82/68/sh

65/53/pc 67/55/s

LAKE

BARBARA

Business/Real Estate

Making banking easier

American Riviera offers checking accounts with no overdraft fees

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

American Riviera Bank in Santa Barbara County is working to help customers during a difficult economy, with services ranging from checking accounts with no overdraft fees to Small Business Administration loans.

The bank recently announced its Simply Checking Account for families and individuals who otherwise would be unable to maintain one.

Simply Checking is officially certified by the National Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) as meeting the Bank On National Account Standards. ARB is now one of only 200 financial institutions across the country that offers Bank On certified accounts.

“It doesn’t target any specific income bracket. It is intended for people that don’t have the funds to maintain an account,” Laurel Sykes, chief risk officer for American Riviera Bank, told the News-Press.

“People that don’t have a traditional account such as a working family making $20,000 a year are likely paying up to $600 on check cashing fees alone,” she said.

“California law caps check cashing fees at 3%. A lot of larger institutions charge fees as high as $8-$10.

Incentives in banking are to increase the unbanked, and the number of unbanked has dropped to 4 and a half percent.”

Ms. Sykes defined two terms — “unbanked” and “underbanked.” “Unbanked” refers to no services. “Underbanked” means that an account is held but services are not being leveraged or there are high prices with low balances.

“We wanted to broaden the reach in the community with 5% of the country unbanked and 15% of single mother households unbanked,” Joanne Funari, chief operating officer, told the News-Press. “Of those unbanked, 21% cite the reason being they do not have enough money to meet the minimum balance requirements.”

American Riviera Bank’s Simply Checking Account has no overdraft fees.

“We are not penalizing clients for making mistakes,” Ms. Funaria said.

“The trend (of unbanked customers) has fallen, but it is still too high in my book,” said Ms. Sykes. “You tend to see it in different geographies depending on the demographics.

Some are afraid of being charged fees or do not understand how accounts work.”

But she noted some progress is being made. “Government payments coming through during COVID have

contributed to 1.2 million more households banked in 2021 than 2019.”

Key features of Simply Checking include a monthly service fee of only $5, no overdraft or non-sufficient fund fees, the ability to pay bills and make purchases, and federal deposit insurance. There are also a variety of ways to avoid the $5 monthly service charge, such as setting up direct deposit or making 10 debit card transactions a month. Current customers can also link accounts to take advantage of the combined balance option.

Simply Checking is available in every one of American Riviera Bank’s five branches in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

“We wanted to make it easy for people. We also waive fees for 65 and older or 25 and younger,” said Ms. Sykes.

The News-Press asked Ms. Sykes and Ms. Funari if there are any risks on either the bank or the customer side, especially with speculation of a looming recession. “I don’t see a whole lot of risk for any of this. Maybe for larger institutions, there is a risk,” said Ms. Sykes.

“It is available to a broader audience; it is available to everyone,” said Ms. Funari. “I don’t see any risks for the client or the bank. It is an added

Mary Noor named Bank of America senior vice president

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Bank of America recently named Mary Noor as senior vice president and market executive of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

Ms. Noor has been responsible for deploying the bank’s philanthropic capital and building community-based partnerships. She will work closely with Bank of America President Midge Campbell-Thomas to leverage the full breadth of the bank’s resources and expertise to help local households and communities achieve economic mobility, according to a news release.

Ms. Noor began her career in financial services in 2001, serving in various positions over the years from financial center operations and community relations to market executive. A Southern California native with family in Ventura, she earned her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix and her bachelor’s degree in public administration from San Diego State University.

Active in the community and mentoring teammates, Ms. Noor has been recognized with the company’s top employee volunteerism award four

COURTESY PHOTO Mary Noor

consecutive years in a row.

Passionate about empowering women and diversity and inclusion efforts, Ms. Noor helped to launch the bank’s employee network for women in San Diego and Indianapolis, and volunteers with Junior Achievement, Habitat for Humanity and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Bank of America has nearly 3,000 employees across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

email: kzehnder@newpress.com

Supply and demand impacts home prices

Editor’s note: Renee Grubb of Village Properties is among the writers of a new real estate column, which begins today in the News-Press. Her column will appear once a month on the new Business/Real Estate page in the Sunday NewsPress.

Alongwith Village Properties, I’m excited to be part of a new monthly real estate column with the NewsPress.

Having been in the real estate business since 1984, I’ve seen numerous cycles come and go, and I have always embraced a long-term time horizon. The real estate market, like all markets, ebbs and flows, it’s fluid and ever-changing. How we, as professionals, interpret and navigate market conditions to deliver the best outcomes for our clients, in any market, reveals who the true professionals are.

product that will help people, and that is what we do. We are a community bank,”

The News-Press asked Ms. Sykes and Ms. Funari about other ways they support their customers.

“I think in general we have multiple ways to support people in the bank, business owners or first-time home buyers,” said Ms. Sykes. “If a bank is a member of Federal Home Loan Bank, they are eligible to sponsor grant programs,”

Ms. Funari noted, “ARB has been the No. 1 market share leader in San Luis Obispo (SLO) and Santa Barbara counties for four years and is a preferred lender for Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans. SBA allows for up to $5 million in financing and waives fees for loans up to $500,000.

“SBA loans are great for small businesses,” she said. “Small businesses were hard hit during COVID, and hospitality was hit hard. There is a long-term loan for hospitality with smaller monthly payments helping to manage cash flow. We want to get the money out there to help small businesses grow.

“In SLO, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties and in California as a whole, 95% of businesses have annual sales of less than a million dollars. The state is made up of primarily small businesses.

Sometimes these are undercapitalized and in need of support,” said Ms. Funari.

She said her bank’s mortgage department can leverage brokers or originate portfolio loans, which prove helpful to customers.

“Through a federal home loan bank, we can support low- to moderate-ncome borrowers for a downpayment through the WISH Program.”

“We can offer more besides just a checking account,” Ms. Sykes said. “One more thing is the last thing you want is a rent check returned. Overdraft protection transfer can set up transfers from a savings account. It’s important to go into a bank educated about all of the options. I think that one of the other things that is imperative is that everybody knows how it all works and educational and financial awareness is imperative.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

FYI

For more about Simply Checking at American Riviera Bank, go to arb.bank/bankon.

Success in brokerage is a craft of commitment, learned and honed over time. Needless to say, the local market has changed dramatically over the past few years, and consistent adaptation was and is necessary to excel. As a broker, or as a consumer, it is imperative to pay attention to local market fundamentals, and as best you can, ignore some of the more fear-inducing, armageddon-like headlines.

To understand what is happening now in the Santa Barbara real estate market, we need to provide some context.

In 1990, the annual median price for South Santa Barbara County was $272,000. The annual median price in 2021 was just under $1.5 million, meaning, the average annual appreciation from 1990 to 2021 was approximately 6.3%.

In 2020, median price rose 16.6% year-overyear, and in 2021 median price rose 24.4% year-over-year, well above historical norms. During this 32-year time period, prices declined annually eight times, and only three of those years declined by more than double digits (1992, 2008, 2009).

While we’ve seen a slight retrenchment in price over the past few months from a peak in April/May, median price remains markedly higher in 2022 than in ’21. Median price in the third quarter of 2022 was $1.6 million, up 13% from the third quarter of 2021.

With notable weakness in the equity and bond markets, and interest rates’ meteoric rise from the beginning of the year, why have prices in Santa Barbara continued to rise?

Unsurprisingly, the answer lies in a sustained undersupply of inventory.

At present, we have 1.4 months supply, which means, at the recent sales pace, it would take between one and two months to sell every home and condo on the market (typically three-six months equals market equilibrium). Earlier this year, we had less than one month’s supply, meaning for every home on the market, there were more than 12 buyers. For reference, in 2018 and 2019, months supply averaged around 4.5 months.

Whereas early this year and last year there might be 10 or more offers on a subject property, extreme competition has since faded. In April, the Sold-to-List Ratio (measuring how far above/ below the asking price a property cleared) was 106%, meaning on average, homes closed 6% above the list price. For the first time in a while, August and September show that on average, homes are closing at 99% of list price.

Even though it has been and remains a seller’s market, sellers are reluctant to sell unless they really want or need to: be it downsizing, needing more space or moving out-ofarea to be closer to family. It’s difficult to find a replacement property, and they may not want to finance the purchase at current interest rates, likely much higher than their underlying mortgage.

Luxury sales specialist joins Anderson Hurst Associates

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Ashley Anderson and Paul Hurst welcome Luxury Realtor Brook Ashley to Anderson Hurst Associates, the award-winning real estate partnership at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties in Montecito.

Brook Ashley joins the team as senior associate, bringing with her numerous real estate honors and her reputation

for groundbreaking sales and 33 years of Montecito and Santa Barbara Real Estate experience.

“Brook is widely respected in our profession, beloved by her many repeat clients, and is revered in the Santa Barbara community for the work she has done as a Realtor and for her philanthropic endeavors,” Mr. Hurst said in a statement. “We are honored to welcome her to the Anderson Hurst family.”

So with an undersupplied market, and limited new construction of any scale, it’s reasonable to assume we find ourselves in this market for some time. Even if rates continue to rise and if pricing softens off the highs, it seems there are still plenty of qualified purchasers seeking to own property in our slice of paradise.

While we love long-term price appreciation, it may be a good sign for the market in the long run to take a breath and normalize after the craze of the past few years.

But, while these are general comments, every neighborhood and submarket is different. And to any of you builders out there, if it’s not clear already, we need more inventory!

Over the coming months, this column will feature market commentary and insights from me as well as from several of our experienced agents, so stay tuned!

RENEE GRUBB

REAL ESTATE

COURTESY PHOTO

From left, Ashley Anderson, Paul Hurst and Brook Ashley gather at Berkshire Hathaway Montecito. Ms. Ashley recently joined the real estate team.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Laurel Sykes, chief risk officer, and Joanne Funari, chief operating officer, stand in front of American Riviera Bank in downtown Santa Barbara. They explained the bank is helping its clients in various ways during a difficult economy.

By Charlotte Berney

Lompoc Valley Chamber seeks businesses for Small Business Saturday

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce invites the businesses of Lompoc Valley, including those in Vandenberg Village and Mission Hills, to participate in Small Business Saturday on Nov. 26.

Businesses wishing to participate in Small Business Saturday Shop Small must sign up online at lompoc.chambermaster.com/events/ details/shop-small-saturday-2022-10935.The cost is free for chamber members and $35 for prospective members.

All participants must donate a raffle item such as goods, gifts or gift certificates to the Small Business Saturday Raffle Baskets. The deadline to register is Nov. 14, and donated items must be turned in by Nov.17 to be included on the Chamber Shop Small map.

The first four businesses who register will receive a free swag bag with Small Business merchandise. Maps can be picked up at the chamber building Nov. 21.

Consumers can participate in the Shop Small raffle by obtaining a map at the Chamber building or participating businesses on Shop Small Saturday. To enter in the raffle,

La Kaiser Jewelry to celebrate opening

SANTA BARBARA — La Kaiser Jewelry will host an after-hours store opening party Nov. 10 to celebrate its first Santa Barbara location, 1101 State St.

My Trees Trust and its executive director, James Egremont-Lee, is partnering with LaKaiser Jewelry for the event.

The event will feature a room where you can make personal charm pendants and pick out a permanent bracelet. In addition, a small presentation and short talk about My Trees trust will be presented alongside wine and hors d’oeuvres. Fifty percent of the profits made that night will be donated to the My Trees Trust.

This is an RSVP-only event. To make a reservation, email prinfo@lwoodspr. com.

La Kaiser is a fine and demi-fine jewelry line designed and made in the U.S. It was started by Swiss native and South African-raised Cindy Kaiser and is inspired by her many international travels. The line features gemstones with an emphasis on opals, but includes labradorite, tanzanite, mother of pearl, and topaz.

In addition to its ready-to-wear pieces, La Kaiser also takes custom orders and creates engagement rings.

For more information, visit www. lakaiser.com.

- Katherine Zehnder

consumers must make a purchase and have maps validated at four businesses listed on the map.

Validated maps plus receipts must be turned in to the chamber by Dec. 5. For more information about this event, call 805-736-4567 or email membership@lompoc.com.

In addition, the Lompoc Valley Chamber will be hosting its first Old Town Market Small Business Saturday. This one-day event is aimed at providing a space for small, home-based, and micro-business owners to participate in the nationally recognized Small Business Saturday.

Old Town Market Small Business Saturday Fair is scheduled for 3 to 6 p.m. Nov. 26 in the 100 block of South H Street. The event will feature local vendors, live music and food.

The Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce is currently seeking small and micro-business vendors who would like to participate in this year’s festivities by having a booth selling nonedible products or bringing awareness to their businesses; organizations and nonprofits are also welcome.

The cost of a 10-foot by 10-foot space for this event is $25 for Chamber members and $35 for non-chamber members. All participating

vendors must have a current Seller’s Permit Number.

Applications can be obtained at the Lompoc Valley Chamber office located at 111 South I street.

The vendor registration deadline is Nov. 18.

According to American Express, the company that launched Small Business Saturday, “ Small Business Saturday spending has now reached a reported estimate of $103 billion since the day began in 2010. That’s $103 billion over nine days alone.

Ninety-six percent of consumers who reported shopping on Small Business Saturday said the day makes them want to Shop Small all year long, not just during the holiday season.”

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

FYI

For information about Small Business Saturday and access to free marketing tools, visit www.americanexpress.com/us/ small-business/shop-small.

New team member earned Howard Gates Award from Santa Barbara Association of Realtors

ASHLEY

Ms. Ashley’s real estate honors include the Howard Gates Award, honoring exceptional skill and tenacity, from the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors. Her listings and high-profile sales achievements have been featured in The Wall Street Journal.

As a luxury sales specialist, she has successfully closed an array of significant properties from a classic Montecito estate designed by George Washington Smith to the ultra-modern architectural home known as “The Glass Pavilion,” and numerous sales across prices and neighborhoods in the Santa Barbara area.

Ms. Ashley is also a freelance magazine writer, book author, book editor, and newspaper columnist. And she is president of Dare Wright Media and has taught tae kwon do karate. She is a member of the board of the international animal welfare organization Born Free and serves on the Regional Advisory Board of the Anti-Defamation League.

Ms. Ashley grew up in New York City, graduating from The Brearley School. She attended George Washington University and

Columbia University, and has a bachelor’s in cultural anthropology.

Prior to her successful career in real estate, Ms. Ashley was a professional actress starring on Broadway and television.

“Being part of Anderson Hurst Associates brings an extra level of expertise to my clients and their transactions,” Ms. Ashley said. “I have admired Ashley and Paul’s ethical standards, success and technological skills for many years, and am delighted to be working with them.”

Anderson Hurst Associates noted it has consistently ranked in the Top 1% of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services — a worldwide network of more than 50,000 agents —and are recipients of the prestigious Legend Award acknowledging excellence in performance for five or more consecutive years. Anderson Hurst Associates has represented historic residential properties in Santa Barbara, varying from sale of the iconic 1910 Villa De La Guerra, to the sale of 833 Knapp Drive, the original home in Montecito’s Arcady Estate.

Anderson Hurst Associates said it serves clients in all price ranges throughout the Santa Barbara area.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

• First aid kit (to include painkillers and antacids).

• Shortwave radio. (The southern hemisphere should still be broadcasting, will be nice to hear from someone, anyone.)

• Flashlights and extra batteries. (Don’t count on electrical power.)

• Matches and gas-fueled lighters.

• A safety can of gasoline.

• Portable tools (such as Leatherman and Swiss Army Knife) but take the whole tool kit if you have one.

• Blankets, warm coats and well-constructed walking boots along with thick socks. (Could be a long cold winter without heat.)

• Important documents (passports, deeds, etc.).

• All the cash you can muster for when Amex will no longer do nicely. (Don’t expect to find working ATM machines.)

• Even better, all the gold and silver coinage you can muster. (At some point, folks are going to realize paper money is just, well, paper with fancy ink backed by nothing.)

• Whatever firearms you possess plus ammunition. If you have none, buy a baseball bat, pepper spray and/or stun gun, add knives, swords and machetes.

• And of course take your pets —and food for them. (And, no, they are not food for you; don’t even think about it. It is your duty to protect every living thing over which you have control.)

COMPLACENCY KILLS

We do not wish to sound alarmist but please remember that when putrid Putin lined Russia’s Ukrainian borders with troops and heavy weaponry much

earlier this year the Ukrainians were completely taken by surprise when they got invaded. They never thought it would happen, and their denial of the obvious caught them off guard.

We are all very complacent here in sunny southern Cal. No one seems willing to comprehend just how dangerous this situation has become. Just as the Ukrainians were unwilling to accept all the signs that were there for them to see, you might be taken by surprise.

It has been said that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. In this instance, a pound of cure is not possible. All you’ve got is the ability to prevent being in the wrong place at the wrong time if/when a very bad event takes place.

Leave early. Think of it as a vacation. And if nothing happens — excellent! You’ve had a little break and, more important, a dry run and a little practice for the next time this occurs. (War with China? It’s coming…).

We apologize for frightening anyone and truly hope Mad Vlad is just huffing, puffing and bluffing about his threat to use nuclear weapons for “defending” his illegal annexation of regions within Ukraine’s borders.

Maybe he will blink and nothing will happen. Let’s hope for that.

But Mr. Putin is boxed in like a cornered rat and pretty soon he’ll have nothing to lose by resorting to the only weapons he has left to him after expending his arsenal of missiles and Iranian suicide drones: chemical and nuclear. Add his deep resentment and hatred in his psychopathic brain for those — the U.S.A. and the U.K. — he holds responsible for the disintegration of his beloved Soviet Union and the fact that he may be dying from cancer and doesn’t see the point of the perpetuation of a world in which

his narcissistic self will not be present.

Because remember, you’re dealing with a psychopath as well as a narcissist.

Referring to a nuclear strike rehearsed under Putin’s supervision earlier this week encompassing missiles, planes and submarines, Col. Igor Korotchenko, editor of Russia’s National Defense magazine, spoke to the media about, specifically, wiping Britain and the United States off the map. “It is very important,” he said, “we have shown our main enemies what awaits them,” adding, “This is not nuclear blackmail, this is what we would really do” (sink the U.K. into the ocean and turn the U.S.A. in a “naval strait” named after Joseph Stalin).

Two things to hope for if Mr. Putin takes the plunge and pushes the nuclear button in the “Cheget” briefcase that accompanies him everywhere (and most especially in his bunker, where he currently resides, deep beneath the Urals.

One, his commanders refuse to oblige and depose him instead. Two, the condition of his nukes and delivery systems are as decrepit as the tanks he sent into Ukraine and blow up in his face.

In any case, always have a contingency plan, in this case an exit ramp. And always utilize your plan ahead of the masses because if/when everyone leaves at once, no one’s going nowhere.

But whatever you do, don’t listen to what the fools in government say or you’ll be dead before you even know what hit you.

Robert Eringer is a longtime Montecito author with vast experience in investigative journalism. He welcomes questions or comments at reringer@gmail. com.

John A. Dominique:

from Page A5

‘No one seems willing to comprehend just how dangerous this situation has become’

Hollister Ave. striping project approved

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project is headed to the final design phase and will be in construction in early summer 2023.

At a special city council meeting held on Thursday, the Goleta City Council voted in favor of moving the project forward after hearing a presentation from city staff and testimony from community members. This meeting was the culmination of several city council meetings and a recent, well-attended workshop.

“Public Works is excited to move to the next phase of delivering this project. The project will meet several community goals such as increased parking and bike lanes. The project will also include

several safety improvements,” Charlie Ebeling, Goleta Public Works Director, said in a press release.

The Project includes:

• One vehicle and bike lane in each direction;

• A non-traversable painted median;

• Back-in angled 90-minute parking along the north side of the street;

• Parallel 90-minute parking along the south side of the street;

• Pavement restoration;

• Traffic signal equipment and timing upgrades.

For more information on this project, visit: https://www. cityofgoleta.org/city-hall/publicworks/hollister-ave-in-old-towninterim-striping-project.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Westmont volleyball sweeps its way to GSAC Championship

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

Westmont Volleyball (19-4, 13-2 GSAC) returned the GSAC Championship crown to Santa Barbara on Friday night after a cleansweep over the second-place Vanguard Lions (19-10, 9-6). With their season-high seven consecutive win, the Warriors clinched their seventh GSAC Championship in program history, and third under head coach Ruth McGolpin in her fourth year at the helm.

“Honestly, the game felt like it was in slow motion,” reflected a victorious McGolpin. “I really don’t have any words for it. It was like we were playing in slow motion but at a fast pace.

“The three things listed on our board today said that we wanted to ‘play fearless, have passion, and have fun’. We definitely displayed all three of those things tonight.”

Overall, the Warriors out-killed the Lions 41-28, while posting a team-wide attack percentage of .337. On the other side of things, Westmont held Vanguard to an attack percentage of .070.

“Our offense was unbelievable,” said McGolpin, “and our passing was so good, which allowed all of our attackers to be consistent, and fiery.”

Leading the way offensively for the Warriors was Phoebe Minch, who collected a gamehigh 12 kills. Minch also led the Warriors with 13 digs. Senior Lexi Malone collected nine kills on 12 attempts, leading to a .667 attack percentage, while Jessie Terlizzi added seven kills of her own.

“The outside hitters were standouts tonight,” noted McGolpin. “Phoebe hit outstanding, and

Jessie was on fire. Jessie hit some outstanding shots, and smart shots, too. She had Vanguard on their toes the whole night. The middles were absolutely fantastic as well.”

Senior Keelyn Kistner collected a gamehigh 19 assists, while freshman Alexa Shiner recorded 15 of her own.

“I have to give a shout-out to our setters,” noted McGolpin. “They’re the ones who set the pace, and they’re the decision makers out there. They did a great job tonight.”

During the opening minutes of the game both sides were searching for footing, with neither looking as sharp as expected. Partway through, with Westmont leading 10-9, a kill from Taylor Distelberg followed by three consecutive Vanguard attacking errors forced the Lion to use their first timeout down 14-9.

From that point on, the Warriors were in control. The Lions called their final timeout after a kill from Alexis Dennick put the Warriors up 19-13, but the delays had no impact on the momentum-claiming Warriors.

Eventually, a block from Sara Krueger put the exclamation point on a tone-setting 25-17 win to open the night.

At the beginning of the second set, nothing could stop the Warriors, who sprinted to an 82 advantage before Vanguard’s first timeout. During the initial run, the Warriors collected four kills and were aided by the same number of Vanguard attacking errors.

Later on, with Westmont up 12-7, kills by Dennick, Malone, and Minch highlighted a five-point run that put the Warriors up 17-7 going into another Vanguard timeout. Minutes later, Westmont ended a one-sided 25-13 win with kills from Krueger and Distelberg

followed by a Lions’ attacking error.

In the third and final set, the Lions hung with the Warriors as the game went into double-digits. Vanguard initially led 12-11, but a kill from Terlizzi and an ace from Kaili Hashimoto sparked a three-point run that eventually led to the conference title.

A kill from Terlizzi, an ace from Shiner, and another kill by Distelberg put the Warriors in the driver’s seat up 17-13 going into a Lions’ timeout. The Warriors continued their march, and minutes later, the crowd rose their feet with the Warriors up 24-17.

In the end, Krueger sent the Warriors and their fans into a frenzy by collecting the GSACclinching kill, ending the night with a 25-17 win and a three-set sweep. From there, the celebration was on.

“It’s been a very special start to the season,” smiled Malone, one of the leaders of the GSAC Champions. “Before we got on the court we had the goal of having fun, and we really brought that energy on the court tonight. Passion was another goal for us and you could see how fiery we were all game long.

“We are so excited, and it feels so good to be not even close to done yet.”

“We still have three more regular season games,” echoed a proud and focused McGolpin. “We want to win those and give ourselves a fighting chance to host an Opening Round. The postseason is right around the corner, but now we’re ready to get focused on tomorrow’s match.”

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.

email: sports@newspress.com

COURTESY PHOTO

Increased parking and bike lanes, as well as enhanced safety, are among the goals of the Hollister Avenue Old Town Interim Striping Project.

All in good taste

Santa Ynez Valley prepares for four-day culinary celebration

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

After a hiatus since 2019, the “Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley” is set to return from Thursday through Nov. 6.

A four-day, six-town celebration of the region’s bounty, “Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley’’ is designed

to serve as an introductory course to the region’s food and wine and the people behind it.

More than 100 restaurants, wineries, tasting rooms, breweries, distilleries and entertainment venues will come together for nearly two dozen main and ancillary events set in and around the communities that make up the Santa Ynez Valley — Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Los

Olivos, Solvang and Santa Ynez.

New this year, though, is a collaboration. “Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley” is the product of a partnership between Visit the Santa Ynez Valley and Sunset Magazine, bringing together two respected travel and lifestyle brands for one unique event.

Among the activities will be a breakfast hay wagon or horseback ride at Alisal Ranch, yoga in the

vineyard followed by wine tasting at Brave and Maiden, build your own charcuterie class and demo by Community Clayworks and The Lucky Hen Larder at Brick Barn Wine Estate and a guided hike on the Midland School Trail System.

In addition, Feed the Valley, a local nonprofit fighting food insecurity, will be a beneficiary of the event. Five percent of all ticket sales will benefit Feed the Valley.

“ ‘Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley’ celebrates everything that has made this region among the world’s most beloved wine country and food destinations, and partnering with the west’s premier authority on travel and lifestyle will only make it better,”

said Shelby Sim, president/ CEO of Visit the Santa Ynez Valley, which is overseeing the event’s production. “The ‘Taste

Ways

of the Santa Ynez Valley’ offers something for everyone to enjoy, both visitors and locals alike. After two long years, we couldn’t be happier to be able to throw this celebration once again.” Each day of the celebration will focus on specific communities in the region, beginning with a day in the charming Old West town

COURTESY PHOTOS

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enters Scorpio, moving into your productivity zone. Over the next two weeks you’ll easily be able

pick up on what others miss just by using your instincts. Practice selfdiscipline if you want to reach your lofty goals.

CANCER — Energies start to lighten up this week when Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your expansion zone. This transit renews your sense of optimism as you focus your attention away from work and toward adventure.

LEO — Your intuition is coming back stronger than ever when Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your transformation zone. No longer the independent Lion, you’re willing to come back to the pride and share your resources and everything you’ve learned.

VIRGO — The October skies make you lucky in love right now as Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your partnership zone. You’re feeling much more in tune with your partner’s needs.

LIBRA — The October skies make you lucky in love right now as Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your partnership zone. You’re feeling much more in tune with your partner’s needs,

SCORPIO — You’ve never been one to beat around the bush, Scorpio, but as Mercury enters your sign on Monday, people are really going to see where you stand on the issues thanks to your blunt talk.

SAGITTARIUS — Home is where the heart is and where your luck is when Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your family zone. It’s an ideal time to consider finding a dream home or creating a family, but don’t act on it yet.

CAPRICORN — Don’t be afraid to pitch any big ideas this week when Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your communication zone. This is an ideal time to take a class, share your ideas and do everything with confidence. Don’t sell yourself short, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS — Your new career goals might include getting more money when Jupiter enters Pisces on Thursday, moving into your value zone. This is an ideal time to look for unique ways to earn money so you can get the things you’ve been dreaming about.

PISCES — You’ll receive an extra bit of luck this week when Jupiter enters your sign on Thursday. Although it’s still retrograde, you’ll be able to get a little positivity in your life as Jupiter helps you feel calmer and more confident when facing challenges.

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

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your day with appreciation. Instead of waking up with a moan and groan, and not looking forward to the day,

appreciate what you have.

may not like what you have to accomplish, or you may feel tired — this is pretty normal — but complaining to yourself or to the one you’re with will actually put you in a bad mood, which is hard to get out of once you start your day off that way.

• Drink plenty of water. Most people don’t drink enough water to function well, and believe me, getting dehydrated can really mess with your sense of wellbeing. Note: Mugs of coffee don’t count. If your daily activities mean you won’t be near a water

fountain or another source, take a water bottle with you.

• Pay it forward. Do something good for someone for no reason at all. Both of you will feel better, and when they thank you, you can suggest that the best way to express thanks is to help someone else in turn.

People who do this on a daily basis sometimes form groups to help one another, like old-time barn raisings. Having helpful and supportive friends improves everyone’s life.

• Find one thing that you can look forward to in your day, even if you have other things on your mind. Once it occurs, come up with something else you can look forward to. It could be going for a pleasant walk or just going outside for a breath of fresh air. It could be dinner with

your sweetheart.

It doesn’t have to be a big deal at all. What’s important is that you are going to enjoy the experience and make a nice memory.

• Avoid conflict as much as possible. If someone is giving you a hard time, you can excuse yourself from the room or end the phone call. If you become upset, take a walk for five minutes to let yourself cool off.

Usually, you will discover that whatever happened has triggered a past memory. That’s normal for us human beings, and we have the ability to see it and respond appropriately rather than react with more heat. Upsetness just brings on more of itself and needs to be avoided.

• Savor whatever it is you most enjoy. I savor a morning cup (or

two) of my favorite coffee drink: I mix a little decaf with some grain beverage and creamy oat milk. It may not be your cup of tea, but it really makes my morning nicer and warmer and allows me to make doing all of the above that much easier.

You are in more control of your day — and your moods — than you may realize. Finding ways to make the moments better will change your entire day. Don’t let one bad thing ruin it all.

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychotherapist and humanitarian. He is also a columnist, the author of eight books and a blogger for PsychologyToday.com with more than 28 million readers. He is available for video consults worldwide. Reach him at barton@ bartongoldsmith.com. His column appears Sundays and Mondays in the News-Press.

Pioneer Valley FFA officers, advisers hone leadership skills at conference

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Pioneer Valley High School Future Farmers of America officers and advisers attended the Chapter Officer Leadership Conference recently in Hollister, where they participated in workshops and team building activities and improved leadership skills.

The team met other members from throughout the South Coast and brought back new energy and ideas to their school in Santa Maria. They were also awarded the best lip sync during the annual lip sync contest.

“COLC was an amazing event that I wish everyone could experience. I loved getting to

see and meet other leaders as well as the regional and state officers. I truly learned a lot about leadership and had fun building better bonds with my fellow chapter officer,” said Issael Guerra, chapter president.

“I know I speak for everyone when I say that COLC was an unforgettable experience. This conference brought my team closer together and helped my team create memories that will last forever,” said Natalia Sanchez, chapter secretary.

“From the workshops to the dance, there are always many opportunities to build connections and socialize with people from all around the South Coast Region. As this was my second year attending COLC, I can say that this

conference seems to always do its job in showing everyone what FFA is really all about — family.”

This conference was also an opportunity to celebrate PV Ag Chapter accomplishments from the 2021-2022 school year. The department was honored for ranking the 6th best Agriculture Department in the state of California, where there are more than 320 agriculture departments.

“We continue to make it a goal to rank in the top 20 in the state and have worked tirelessly on our student achievement to make this happen,’’ said Marcie Guerra, FFA adviser.

In the last school year, PV agriculture students earned 33 State Degree Awards, five American Degree Awards,

Jonathan Grunzweig joins hospital foundation board

Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation has elected Jonathan Grunzweig to join its board for 2022 and serve on its Finance and Investment Committee.

A resident of the Santa Ynez Valley since 2005, Mr. Grunzweig previously served as the chief investment officer of DigitalBridge. He received a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and a juris doctor degree from Harvard Law

School.

Before his time at DigitalBridge, he was a partner at the Skadden Arps law firm in Los Angeles. A native of Cleveland, he lives in Ballard with his family.

Mr. Grunzweig joins the members of the board, who are Rich Nagler, Dr. Gustavo Dascanio, Ernie Zomalt, Barbara Anderson, Richard Crutchfield, Judith Dale, Guy Walker, Tresha Sell, Bob Andrews and C.J. Jackson.

Since 1978, the foundation has provided more than $36 million to the hospital in support of critical capital projects, programs and services. The foundation is currently leading a campaign to raise $600,000 to purchase a stateof-the-art CT scanner to replace the current equipment.

For more information, visit cottagehealth.org/syvchfoundation.

— Marilyn McMahon

one State Champion Soils Judging Team, nine Proficiency Award Regional Qualifiers, six Proficiency Award State Qualifiers, one Proficiency Award National Qualifier and one Executive Committee Member.

“The Pioneer Valley High School Agriculture Department is excited for the year ahead,’’ Ms. Guerra added. “This school year we have added new staff, are adding new subject areas to our course list and will continue to challenge our students to grow as individuals and as leaders. We look forward to continued success from the students in our agriculture department.”

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

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Jonathan Grunzweig

COURTESY PHOTO

The Pioneer Valley High School Agriculture Department includes, from left, : Hector Guerra, Kylin Bray, Marcie Guerra, Natalia Sanchez, Bella Zaragoza, Luis Rodriguez, Gracie Velazquez, Issael Guerra, Reegan Leon, Andrea Cuevas, Paola Valdovinos, Natalie Baldwin, Tyler Dickinson, Brooke Phillips and Alondra Barrueta.

Global food icon to appear at The Granada

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

UCSB Arts & Lectures will present an evening with iconic home chef Nigella Lawson at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara.

A bestselling cookbook author and star of countless television specials, Ms. Lawson has become an unstoppable and empowering force in the world of food since publishing her first cookbook, “How To Eat,” in 1998.

She is the author of 12 bestselling books, including her latest, “Cook, Eat, Repeat,” and the beloved personality of TV series including ”Nigella Bites.” She was voted Author of the Year at the British Book Awards and Best Food Personality at the Observer Food Monthly Awards.

In conversation with Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW-FM’s “Good Food,” the culinary powerhouse and global food icon will recount her trajectory by way of the people, food and recipes that have shaped her unique life of cooking, eating and repeating.

Ms. Lawson, who lives in London, read Medieval and Modern Languages at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford, and went on to become deputy literary editor of The Sunday Times at the age of 26. As a critic and op-ed columnist, she wrote for a range of newspapers including The Times and The Guardian.

At The Granada event, Ms. Lawson will chat with Ms. Kleiman, who opened her own restaurant, Angeli Caffe, in 1984.

By serving rustic, regional Italian food in a beautifully

TASTE

Continued from Page A1

and foodie haven of Los Alamos on Thursday. The celebration ends Nov. 6 with a celebration of the best of Solvang.

The events, which will include wine tastings, special chef-driven dinners, vineyard experiences, horseback riding, charcuterie pairings and much more, will conclude with a performance by award-winning, platinum-selling country band, LANCO, and tasting at the 700-seat, open-air, Solvang Festival Theater.

“We wanted to bring back ‘Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley’ with a bang, and I think we’ve done it,” Mr. Sim said. “This will be an experience worth remembering for anyone who comes. And with Feed the Valley as a beneficiary, a good time will help do some good, too.”

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

FYI

designed, yet casual atmosphere, she created a restaurant archetype that inspired imitations all over the country. By the time her restaurant closed in 2012, it was a Los Angeles institution. Since 1998, the radio show and podcast, “Good Food,’’ has been the place where Ms. Kleiman could explore every aspect of food and how it intersects with human (and sometimes animal) life. The show airs on KCRW, an NPR station in Santa Monica, and has a worldwide audience on the web.

Tickets are $31 to $46 for the general public and $16 for UCSB students with ID. To purchase, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at 805-893-3535 or visit www. artsandlectures.ucsb.edu or twww.granadasb.org.

email:mmcmahon@newspress.com

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Home chef Nigella Lawson is the author of 12 bestselling books.

For more information on ticket packages and a full list of “Taste of the Santa Ynez Valley” events, dates, and times, visit www.tastesyv.com.

COURTESY PHOTOS

At left, Lucky Hen Larder presents the wine and cheese pairing in 2019, New this year, Lucky Hen Larder will provide a charcuterie board demonstration at Brick Barn where guests will learn how to put together a proper charcuterie board with meats, cheeses and accouterments. At right, a wine tasting reception takes place in 2019 at Gainey Vineyard.

e positive e ects of switching parties

‘I did not leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left me.”

— Ronald Reagan

Growing up during the Great Depression, Ronald Reagan idolized Franklin D. Roosevelt. The New Deal helped many families in financial need. As a result of his admiration for FDR, Mr. Reagan registered as a Democrat and cast his first vote for Mr. Roosevelt for president.

A lifelong Democrat, it was not until he became president of California’s Screen Actors Guild that his political leanings completely changed.

William Haupt III

When Ronald Reagan went to bat for labor against studio executives, Democrats controlled the movie industry. In a tough battle, Mr. Reagan won the creation of the residual payment system and the actor’s pension and health plan that lives on today. Unfortunately, Mr. Reagan’s victory would become his Waterloo as an actor, and he soon found himself out of work and ended up getting a job in TV.

In 1962, at age 51, he left the Democratic Party and became a Republican. He said that he didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the party left him. After a brief stint in television, Ronald Reagan was elected twice as governor of California. He then won the presidency of the United States and served from 1981 to 1989.

“I have always told people, how can a president not be an actor?”

— Ronald Reagan

With the evolution of political parties in America until they found their true identity, party switching was quite common. But since the 20th century, although some voters will vote for a candidate from another party, the majority of Republican and Democratic voters have retained their party affiliation.

Partisan affiliation has been one of the most stable features of the modern American electorate for decades. While people’s feelings toward individual politicians or their attitudes will waver at times, political partisanship is a deep-seated identity that is resistant to change.

“I am a Republican, a black, dyed in the wool Republican, the party of black freedom and progress.”

— Frederick Douglass

However, within the last five years, a political shift is beginning to take hold across the U.S. as tens of thousands of suburban swing voters who helped fuel the Democratic Party’s gains last election are becoming Republicans. While the numbers in the two major parties remain roughly the same, 13% of the partisans that have changed party affiliation have gone from Democrat to Republican.

According to voter registration data analyzed by The Associated Press, more than a million voters across 43 states have switched to the Republican Party over the last year. Democrats have seen their largest losses among older voters; non-college whites, those that do not like big government and disapprove of their far left turn on race, CRT, social justice, global warming, and transgender issues.

Voter registration data shows these numbers reflect a phenomenon that is playing out in virtually every region of the country since President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats took control of Washington. This is in both Democratic and Republican states, in big cities and small towns in all regions of our nation.

Nowhere is this more dangerous for Democrats than in the suburbs,

where well-educated swing voters who had turned against former President Donald Trump’s appeal to blue collar workers appear to be swinging back. Over the past year, across suburban counties from Denver to Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, far more people are switching to the GOP. Republicans also gained ground in mediumsize cities such as Raleigh, North Carolina; Harrisburg,

Pennsylvania; Augusta, Georgia; and Des Moines, Iowa.

One Colorado voter who registered as a Republican told an AP reporter, “I could no longer put up with the (Democratic) party’s inability to quell violent crime or its obsession with racial justice. Too many of their policies now appeal to small segments of

Ballot-counting month is upon us

Election day-weekmonth is finally here.

All the filledout ballots will be harvested and dropped into boxes throughout the state, including here in Santa Barbara County by Nov. 8. Before we get into the grit and nit (I hate clichés) of the subject matter, let’s take a moment to reflect upon what we’ve done to the electoral process.

The whole idea of a “protected” or “private” ballot is encapsulated by the in-person method of voting.

Not only are candidates or their proxies prevented from handing out fliers or other campaign material within a certain number of feet from the entry to a polling place, but voters are given their ballots with protective covering on them so that when they are finished voting — in secret — they can then place a sheath on their

choices to prevent anyone nearby from seeing who and what they’ve voted for or against.

This method was adopted even before we became a constitutional republic because property-owning colonial males (the only sector of society that could vote at the time) were required to state orally who or what they voted on, in full view of other participants (similar to an Iowa caucus).

PURELY POLITICAL

James Buckley

The intimidation factor was ever-present, and the pressure to vote a certain way could be overwhelming, so eventually secret paper ballots were adopted. Now, take the current manipulated machinations we’ve drifted haphazardly toward. We’ve

returned to the easily corruptible 18th-century way of voting. Today, someone … anyone … can “help” someone else fill out a ballot, place it in an envelope in full view of nearby friends, relatives or, hey, even a candidate or two. A discussion may follow as to why that particular vote was wrong or whatever. That same ballot could then be taken out at any time during the month-long voting period and “dropped” into one of many boxes created for the occasion.

Afterward, naturally, those boxes are emptied into bags which are then either counted right away or stored for post-election analysis — oh, and tabulated.

Why this is a good thing baffles the mind, but it is easy to see why

certain people would support such a convoluted voting schedule.

In today’s world, what with computers and the algorithms fed into them, savvy politicians and handlers know exactly where their votes and voters are and now have a complete month to gather “volunteers” to go door-to-door, building-to-building, dormitoryto-dormitory hospital-bed-tohospital-bed, in some cases prisonto-prison, to collect the ballots they know will strongly favor their candidates. Even better, they know where not to go to collect votes that are likely to favor the opposition.

And it has become rather simple to discard votes you believe may help your opponents. Just don’t place them in the bag.

Oh, and once those mail-in ballots are separated from the envelopes they’ve been placed in, there is absolutely no way

of knowing who filled it out or where it came from. So, if a recount is demanded or ordered, that beautifully clean ballot can be counted any time but can never be validated one way or the other.

It’s a crummy system and one that must be scaled back to a oneday or weekend-only in-person voting procedure.

As wily Democrats were once inclined to say about abortion: Mail-in ballots should be safe (though in this case, available) but rare.

James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@ substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.

Let’s x our state and country

Remember in 2020 when Gov. Gavin Newsom outlawed the independent contractors? We suspect his idea was going after either Uber or Lyft. Well, now we see the results firsthand of such sweeping legislation. Independent contractors exist in many walks of life — musicians, gardeners, artists, delivery people and many more.

Certainly, because of Lyft and Uber drivers, this a fallout from union outcry. You have one last week to vote, and it’s up to you to help steer this country back into a place of common sense, decency and prudence. We ask, is your life better now than it was in 2019?

What about the gas and food prices? Rent is out of control! With the cost of everything, Proposition 13 is a moot point. There are all these houses that have recently sold at such exorbitant rates, and the government has raised the property taxes (except for those sites that became Housing Authority properties).

The other day, when a reader filled up their car, it cost upward of a hundred dollars. That is half the price of a oneway airline ticket to the East Coast! One of our contributors when visiting Minneapolis this past weekend, noticed gas prices were a full $2 lower than here. As for food prices, a friend bought a half pound of butter for $7! That same price for butter last year was $3.50. What is going on?

Wake up, people, and vote!

Now let’s get to crime and “the cottage industry of homeless inc.” — i.e., all the companies who serve and maybe even pander to the homeless population.

We have reported on this before, but people are still seeing the organized tactics of the homeless people en masse being dropped off in Santa Barbara. And regarding crime, we see in many cities, including our own, where these police oversight committees hinder the effectiveness of police forces and deal lethal blows to police morale. It is getting harder and harder to recruit public safety personnel nationwide.

Regarding oversight committees, who would want non-professionals to scrutinize their line of work or to determine best practices?

Look at the mess that our schools have become. Our school boards are made up of highly politicized noneducators, and see how they have ravaged our school systems, not just locally, but again, nationwide. The divisiveness they have created among communities is devastating. And the same thing will happen with our police force. Who in their right mind would join a police department under these present conditions?

And for similar reasons, we now see a national shortage of teachers. Lay people determining policies for schools who have no idea what they are talking about. Imagine a body of surgeons with an oversight committee made up of non-surgeons who would dictate their best practices and policies. That is just pure insanity.

Speaking of school boards, Gabe Escobedo had wanted to run for State Assembly, yet Supervisor Gregg Hart became the chosen one, so, we suspect, the Democratic Central Committee told Mr. Escobedo to pick anything else and they would support him.

Please

HAUPT

The author is a contributor to The Center Square

PETE SOUZA/U.S. GOVERNMENT

President Ronald Reagan was a lifelong Democrat when he became a Republican in 1962 at age 51. “I did not leave the Democratic Party,” he said. “The Democratic Party left me.”

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

California’s flawed assumptions and alarming failures

Irecently

interviewed

Dr. Robert Marbut, a renowned expert on homelessness and a senior fellow of Discovery Institute’s Center on Wealth & Poverty.

Dr. Marbut has a Ph.D. in political behavior and American political institutions, and his career has been marked by bipartisanship having served as a White House fellow under George H. W. Bush, and most recently as the executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness from 2019 to 2021 under both the Trump and Biden administrations.

The Discovery Institute recently presented Congress its report titled “How Congress Can Reform Government’s Misguided Homeless Policies,” which our local electeds should read as they continue to spend tens of millions of dollars on the problem of homelessness.

Dr. Marbut visited some 65 jurisdictions throughout the United States, and only three of them are dealing with this issue in a comprehensive manner that bodes well for the homeless and the use of billions of American tax dollars. To read the report, please visit www.fixhomelessness.org.

Here are some key points from the executive summary:

— “The federal policy of Housing First is at the heart of America’s deteriorating homelessness problem. Supported by powerful and self-serving interests, this approach is embraced by many state and local jurisdictions, as well as the White House and Congress.

“Housing (to repeat) should be part of any homelessness program. But, by insisting that subsidized housing be provided to people experiencing homelessness without time limits or any requirements that individuals participate in wraparound services (such as mental illness clinical services and treatment, substance use disorder treatment, job training, and job retention programs), this approach has become a “housing only” solution in practice.

“In essence, we have created an enormous federal homelessness assistance program which is functionally equivalent to HUD Section 8 Housing — but with no rules.”

— “The results have been disastrous. The dramatic shift in the trajectory of homelessness numbers correlates with the federal

adoption of Housing First. Namely, unsheltered street homelessness rose by more than 20% even as subsidized housing vouchers went up more than 40%.”

—“California provides an alarming example of the failures of Housing First. In 2016, California enacted a law that required that every state dollar spent on homelessness be spent on Housing First programs.

“From 2015 (the year before the new state policy) to 2019, unsheltered streetlevel homelessness in California rose 47.1% in just four years.

“California now boasts almost half of America’s unsheltered streetlevel homeless population and nearly one in four of America’s overall homeless population, even though it contains only 12% of the U.S. population. Only this year did the state pass a ‘Care Court’ program that may —in a year or two — make it easier to get help for people with serious mental illness. Also, a recent settlement announcement by the L.A. Alliance for Human Rights commits L.A. County to more mental health and addiction treatment outreach and beds, not just housing.”

— “Advocates had claimed that shifting to a Housing First approach, with its massive increases in subsidized housing vouchers, would end homelessness in 10 years (i.e., by 2023!). The failure of their prediction is rooted in flawed assumptions about the nature of the crisis, especially the prevalence of untreated mental illness and drug use disorders within the homelessness community.

“In their 2019 groundbreaking study, the California Policy Lab, a nonpartisan research institute based at the University of California, found that 78% of the unsheltered homelessness population reported having mental health conditions and 50% reported that their mental health conditions contributed to their loss of housing. Additionally, 75% of the unsheltered population reported substance abuse conditions, and 51% reported that the use of drugs or alcohol contributed to their loss of housing.”

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on KZSB AM 1290, the News-Press radio station.

Santa Barbara News-Press election endorsements

The News-Press has made the following endorsements for the Nov. 8 general election.

STATE Governor: Sen. Brian Dahle.

Lieutenant Governor: Angela Underwood Jacobs.

Secretary of State: Rob Bernosky.

Controller: Lanhee Chen.

State Treasurer: Jack Guerrero.

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Lance Christensen.

Attorney General: Nathan Hochman.

Insurance Commissioner: Robert Howell.

State Board of Equalization, 2nd District: Peter Coe Verbica.

U.S. Senate/Partial Term: Mark Meuser.

U.S. Senate/Full Term: Mark Meuser.

U.S. House Representative, District 24: Dr. Brad Allen.

State Assembly, District 37: Mike Stoker.

SCHOOL BOARDS

Santa Barbara County Board of Education, Trustee Area 1: Rosanne Crawford.

Santa Barbara Community College District, Trustee Area 1: Debi Stoker.

Santa Barbara Community College District, Trustee Area 5: Sharon Salvador-Jegottka.

Santa Barbara Unified School District, Trustee Area 1:

Efigenia Banales. Santa Barbara Unified School District, Trustee Area 4: Phebe Mansur.

Goleta Union School District, Trustee Area 1: Caroline Abate.

Goleta Union School District, Trustee Area 3: Christy Lozano.

Lompoc Unified School District: To be announced.

SPECIAL DISTRICT Goleta Water District, District 2: Greg S. Hammel.

CITY COUNCIL RACES

Carpinteria City Council, Trustee Area 1: Patty Boyd (write in).

Lompoc Mayor: Jim Mosby.

LETTERS TO THE NEWS-PRESS

California can’t be blamed for gas prices

Editor’s note: This letter to the editor was addressed to Momus, the anonymous columnist whose articles appear Saturdays in the News-Press.

D ear Momus,

After reading your last paragraph “Aw, Gov, give it up and get real. More like, greedy California state government is stealing $$ at the pump, charging the highest gas tax in the country at 67 cents a gallon” (“Rumors & Buzz, Oct. 8, News-Press), I decided to look that up and asked Google about that. I found much information and a chart from www.cdtfa.ca.gov that shows the rate as of July 1, 2022 to be 50 cents a gallon. Considering that gasoline prices have increased nearly $3 since Russia invaded Ukraine, it is illogical to claim that our beautiful state, with only a few toll roads/bridges, has had anything to do with the historical ups and downs of gasoline prices.

Rather, it is the actual greed of massively rich oil companies that manipulate those prices, which I believe a “journalist,” anonymous or not, would easily research and understand. Putting an incorrect (false) political spin is not journalism as I know it, and not satire or mockery. For that, you need to be factual.

Not anonymous,

Ann Pekarek Santa Barbara

County schools need Rosanne Crawford

I have known Rosanne Crawford, a candidate for the Santa Barbara County Board of Education, for 24 years. In fact, she was the first person I met when we moved back to Santa Barbara, through her Nanny service Childtime.

She has exactly what you want in any policy maker. She would be an outstanding asset to any legislative board in California. She has a remarkable ability to sift through the weeds and grasp the essence of an issue.

She has been active for three decades in following local education and civic issues. Rosanne and her husband raised a son and a daughter who attended Roosevelt Elementary School, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High School, did very well, and went on to first-rate universities and professional careers.

Rosanne was one of the core group of parents who drove the Rebuilt Roosevelt Capital Campaign years ago. Before that, the school was all portables, except for the multi-purpose room and the library.

Rosanne has a brilliant rightbrain mind. She will ask the hard questions. She is an independent, courageous thinker. She was raised in a bilingual household, speaking Spanish and English.

Rosanne believes that the literacy outcomes in Santa Barbara County, especially for the Spanish-speaking community, are unacceptable, where more than 50% of the students who graduate from Santa Barbara County high schools are not proficient in reading. The incumbent board is just “fine” with these outcomes. This is a dismal record, not something to boast of. Rosanne offers concrete solutions. Rosanne will work to create a program which will serve as a “soft power” model to promote literacy outcomes within the 20-plus districts that

the county board of education oversees. She will encourage a phonics-based approach, a proven method for success. The county board does, in fact, have broad powers to establish this kind of a program, which Rosanne will champion.

The Crawfords are now the grandparents of two, and they are deeply rooted in the community’s past and future.

Rosanne Crawford has worked right alongside me in my neighborhood school advocacy since our children were tiny. We’ve never given up our advocacy on that issue. She is a treasure of a kind human being, with vision and persistence, and she is always the voice of reason. She is tough as nails, and she makes no apology for it.

I am so proud to join with the Coalition for Neighborhood Schools in endorsing Rosanne Crawford for Santa Barbara County Board of Education, Trustee Area No. 1. I hope you will join us in voting for her for positive change in educational literacy outcomes throughout Santa Barbara County.

Alice Post Coalition for Neighborhood Schools, Santa Barbara

Respect all life

I came across a remarkable quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

She said, “It is a great poverty to decide that a child must die so that you might live as you wish.” What poverty indeed. Mother Teresa had a wonderful respect for life whether it be the life of a person dying on the streets of Calcutta, alone and unloved, or the unborn baby whose life is threatened by abortion.

Nathan Post Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Carbajal can’t bring home the bacon

Editor’s note: Santa Barbara resident Albert Mercado, a recipient of the Patriots Award from the Patriots Association, submitted this letter to the NewsPress shortly before he passed away. The News-Press decided to publish Mr. Mercado’s thoughts posthumously.

M y son Franco — who enjoys volunteering with programs that deliver meals to the low-income seniors who are homebound — tells me that one of the most gratifying feelings is to see and experience the smiles and expressions of gratitude he witnesses from all the recipients.

Hearing their sad stories and being able to offer some solace and offer them perhaps their only daily meal and see how they appreciate our services really makes up his day.

But unfortunately, some time ago we learned that this service, which has helped low-income seniors for 47 years, came to an end because of a lack of federal funds.

One has to ask how is it possible that in a county that is among the highest federal taxpayers, its own needy citizens cannot be helped. Where is our representative to the federal government, whose main job is to serve the community that sends him or her to Washington, D.C., to recover as much as those taxes for local consumption?

One learns that during the announcement of the closing of the senior service. our congressman, Mr. Salud Carbajal, was packing packages for the deployed military. Which again is a very meritorious action, but one has to realize that the function of the representative is to serve their constituents first

and, if successful, engage in other activities. Why do we always have to depend on the good will of private citizens or institutions to rectify these situations?

The fact that the goodwill of the citizens overcomes the lack of federal resources makes our representatives most inefficient. Other major social problems such as the exploding number of homeless individuals, the lack of low housing, the cost of education, the cleaning of the environment, the effects of the coronavirus on businesses and private individuals are some of the issues that need equal resources as well as attention from our representatives.

Santa Barbara County during the last six years has sent to Washington billions of dollars in taxes. Our representative, Mr. Carbajal, can only bring back home a miniscule amount, which does not even start to pay for some of the needs. Most of the time, the money that our district receives is pre -assigned to issues that are not primordial. It is a very wellknown fact that the most successful societies are those where the consumers and not the politicians decide how to use the funds.

Many other districts that pay much less in taxes have representatives who recover a much greater amount.

In many cases, money speaks louder than some obscure law being introduced. The No. 1 task for a district representative is to lobby for their district in Washington and try to recover as much as possible of the paid taxes for local use (bring home the bacon).

The performance of a representative is not measured on how good of a party person he or she is or how they follow the mandates of their congressional bosses. The performance is measured on how they follow directions and help the only bosses they have, their constituents.

One may say Mr. Carbajal is fairly new. He has been in office for less than six years and does not know all the ropes. But the problem is that the congressional district that includes Santa Barbara County during approximately the last 20 years has had a tremendous handicap.

We had congressional representatives who were among the worst in recovering funds.

First, we had Lois Capps, who in bringing home the bacon was ranked among the lowest 10% in Congress. Now we have Mr. Carbajal, who is closely following those steps.

They both were very good in towing the party policy and almost to a perfection following mandates from their party bosses. In some cases, due to the inability of the representative to bring the money back, the county — at additional expenses — had to send to Washington other officials to basically request for more money.

The county needs a representative to work on local issues first — and once these are resolved, embark on other grandiose bipartisan issues that are continuously being advertised.

The actual efficiency measure rests on how much of our taxes are employed for the local benefit, not on how the representative is trying to enact some obtuse laws that most of the citizens do not understand and do not follow most of the time.

The district is in dire need of funds. Mr. Carbajal was not able to bring home the bacon. We need a completely different approach.

Brad Allen will try to represent us in Washington since he understands that he would work for the district and not for his party bosses.

Age of disasters

Still on my election rant. I’ve made mention of this before but just about two years ago when I first started writing regularly in the News-Press, in one of those early columns I wrote what I thought was going to happen after President Joe Biden opened the border. In typical liberal fashion, my life was threatened for pointing out the truth.

I never foresaw how truly devastating Mr. Biden’s action was going to be. Most people whose eyes are open can see it, except the liberal media who continue to smother the truth. Hard to comprehend: Forget all the kids who have died because of it, forget the environmental impact, forget the cartels, forget the 865 migrants who died trying to get here. In just this year!

What I struggle trying to understand is the absolute disaster this has on every single person in this country. Yet not everyone seems to care. Fentanyl has no political affiliation. High gas prices couldn’t care less if you’re a Republican or Democrat. Inflation has no idea who you are. Criminals don’t ask beforehand whom you voted for.

So I just don’t understand how Democrats, the communists, the woke or whatever title applies to stupid thinking, goes along with it? Their lives are equally impacted. Those who support this kind of recklessness are hurting right along with the rest of us.

Is the ideology of the left so strong and blind they’re willing to suck it up and pretend it doesn’t bother them? That it’s more important to stick to their guns (see what I did there) because it would be sinful to admit their line of thinking is wrong. Or is it that so many people are not paying attention and are so deceived by the media and the left-driven propaganda that changing one’s gender holds a higher priority than bringing the country back under control? I do wish someone would explain it to me.

I hate bringing this up again because this “hate Trump” stuff has gotten really old, but there are still so many neuroses over the man. They continue to blame him for everything. They don’t have the ability or the willingness to admit that the Democratic Party they are married to at the hip is the problem.

I know they care about their children and worry about the rampant drug problem, crime and inflation but are unwilling to accept who’s responsible and make the necessary changes to fix it.

I would never change my position or thought-process to agree to print more money, teach white kids they’re horrible, have no bail, make everyone a trans, stop oil production, defund the police, keep our border open, and on and on. None of that makes logical sense. None of it. You couldn’t convince me otherwise because all those things are wrong and terrible. But why do so many people still subscribe to that line of thinking?

Change is sometimes required as many of us have done over the years within our own minds. When I was younger, I had no problem with abortion. I used to be extremely homophobic. Had no issue with drug use. We adjust. We learn. We grow. We change. We cannot hold firm to a belief or ideal just because. I can’t imagine that something as basic as printing more money is OK with left-leaning thinkers because they’re told to shut up and go along with it. It’s obviously not OK. And then to print even more money and call it an Inflation Reduction Act, when you already know it isn’t going to work, is just stupid piled on top of more stupid.

Andy Caldwell

Albert Mercado Santa Barbara Foreman, Santa Barbara Grand

Henry Schulte

The author lives in Solvang

NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

For me, it’s an ending, but not the end

When I first started writing newspaper editorials and columns for the

Los Angeles Daily

News in November 1992, I learned that “-30-” (pronounced “dash thirty dash”) was the journalist’s code for letting an editor know where your copy ended.

Most media historians believe the typesetting mark originated when news was filed by telegraph.

Western Union’s famous mid19th-century 92 Code of numerical shorthand signals lists the meaning of “-30-” as: “No more -- the end.”

I prefer the definition in Webster’s Dictionary: “A sign of completion.”

From 1992-1999, I wrote an estimated 300 bylined newspaper columns and nearly 1,000 unsigned editorials combined for the Los Angeles Daily News and Seattle Times. Since Creators Syndicate started carrying my column nationally in 1999, I’ve penned nearly 2,000 weekly or biweekly columns over 1,177 weeks, for hundreds of print and website

clients, totaling more than 1.1 million words.

It has been a blessing to work in a career that I have loved, getting paid by the line to opine, as a proud “ink-stained wretch” whose first high school job was as a press inserter for my hometown newspaper, the Atlantic City Press, back in the late 1980s.

The sentimental English major in me finds it altogether fitting to bring my columnwriting to close after “dash thirty dash” years.

Why now? The professional and personal reasons are myriad. In this modern age of oversharing, I’m not going to get into every last one.

Suffice to say, the American media landscape has changed dramatically since I entered this industry as a 22-year-old idealist who truly believed the “pen is mightier than the sword.” (Side note: Eagle-eyed readers who followed my blog writing in the early 2000s might recall that

my original website logo was a pen/knife with the phrase “the pen became a clarion” from a Longfellow poem.)

It’s not just “fake news” that plagues us. It’s sold-out, skewed “news” that serves corporate and global special interests, not the truth. It’s lazy, soulless, dumbed-down opinion writing from hacks who care nothing about the craft. It’s shady influence operations masquerading as “journalism.” It’s information-suppression disguised as “misinformation” monitoring.

The homogenization of American journalism on both sides of the ideological spectrum has led to its collective deterioration. My colleagues at the Daily News were an eclectic bunch -- including a Korean War Navy vet in his 60s, a former college math professor in her 50s who had taught English in Shanghai, and a hotshot New England politico in his 30s who had worked in D.C. as a press

secretary.

Now the liberal media is dominated by endless supplies of smug, usually very palefaced millennial J-school grads spouting about “diversity” while parroting the same worn set of views on whites as evil, America as oppressor, nuclear families as abnormal, and liberal democracy as sacrosanct.

“Conservative” media is not much better. It’s dominated by snot-nosed D.C. libertarian elites from overpriced universities who slavishly promote “freemarket capitalism” and cast “big government” as our greatest enemy, while private Silicon Valley corporations and their nonprofit allies crush nationalist dissent, handcuff free speech and deplatform free thinkers through censorship (hard and soft) and lawfare (systematic abuse of the courts to harm political critics).

Because of my peacefully expressed reporting, opinions and speeches, my family has been punished and stigmatized, my reputation tarnished and my voice squelched. It’s not “big

government” that waged this war on my career. It’s a constellation of vindictive wrongthink police in the private sector, from the Southern Poverty Law Center and Anti-Defamation League, to foreign newspapers and moneyed interests that have no business influencing American politics, to “conservative” swamp creatures and profiteers such as Bill Kristol, Jonah Goldberg, Mona Charen and Ben Shapiro, and even to former colleagues at the Fox News Channel, which blacklisted me several years ago and told a friend of mine who was a guest on Tucker Carlson’s show not to say my name after antifa rioters had attacked me and others on stage at a Back the Blue rally in Denver a few years ago. (My friend ignored the warning. God bless him.)

I have no regrets. As Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

I remain thankful to every single reader over the last three decades, and I will be eternally

Betting on 2022

Some pundits say that Democrats will win the midterms. MSNBC tells us, “Democrats are seeing momentum headed into midterms.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi claimed, “We will hold the House by winning more seats!” Really? Want to bet?

This fall, CNN’s Douglas Brinkley said, “There is a blue wave going on right now.”

Michael Moore agreed. “There is going to be such a landslide” of elected Democrats.

At the time those predictions were made, people who bet on elections believed Republicans had better than a 70% chance of winning back the House. Whom should we trust? We can listen to: No. 1: People who bet. No. 2: The media pundits. No. 3: Polls. No. 4: Professional election forecasters.

Among forecasters, Nate Silver has the best track record. As I write, his FiveThirtyEight website gives Democrats a 55% chance to hold the Senate. The Economist’s forecasters give Democrats even better odds.

But I don’t believe them. I believe the people who bet. That’s the topic of my latest video.

At the moment, the bettors think Republicans have a 60% chance to win the Senate and an 88% chance to win the House.

I take these numbers from ElectionBettingOdds.com, a website I helped start. StosselTV producer Maxim Lott averages predictions from betting sites around the world and converts them to easy-tounderstand percentages. I trust those numbers more than other predictors because in the past, the bettors were right more often than anyone else.

Bettors don’t get everything right.

Leaders, lettuce and crisis in Britain

Rishi Sunak was elected leader of the Conservative Party and became the prime minister of the United Kingdom (Britain plus Northern Ireland). This follows the incredibly brief and tumultuous tenure of hapless Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Prime Minister Sunak is a promising choice, and the process by which he was selected is reassuring. Conservative members of Parliament nominate candidates to be leader, and party members around the country vote if there is more than one nominee.

Others withdrew in deference to Mr. Sunak, who has senior executive experience in government and finance. This effectively underscores the gravity of the current situation.

The British possess distinctive humor, cutting and subtle. As the woes of Prime Minister Truss multiplied, with astonishing speed, the tabloid newspaper

Daily Star pointed a webcam at a head of lettuce and asked readers to monitor whether the lettuce would last longer than the prime minister.

The lettuce won.

After Prime Minister Truss resigned after only 45 days in office, the head of lettuce received a gold plastic crown to go along with a blond wig. As her resignation became official, the webcam indicated 20,000 were looking at the lettuce on YouTube.

The Economist inspired the lettuce gimmick by asking rhetorically whether the next prime minister could last longer than a head of lettuce. This effectively implies current governmental instability.

Brexit, shorthand for leaving the European Union, was finally carried out by the government of Prime Minister Johnson. The vexing details of disengaging from the EU bureaucracy were responsibly addressed by Prime Minister May, but Parliament rejected her complex plans.

Arthur I. Cyr

Characteristically, Mr. Johnson largely ignored the difficulties and rammed Brexit through. This has created special problems regarding Northern Ireland. The province is on the same island as Ireland but is under British sovereignty.

To a significant degree, Britain’s current political disorder is a direct function of not addressing resulting economic and policy problems.

called “gilts,” short for gilt-edged security, issued by the Treasury and listed on the London Stock Exchange, immediately declined precipitously.

The Bank of England reacted quickly, of necessity, to stabilize the market. Otherwise, the British financial system could conceivably have collapsed.

In reaction, mass media concern has focused on London and other financial markets, in particular the United States. Could the same sort of crisis unfold quickly on the other side of the Atlantic?

Since the turn of the century, both Democratic and Republican administrations have presided over enormous fiscal deficits and Federal Reserve Bank policies have kept real interest rates very close to zero for many years.

economy provide reliable underwriting for public debt that has expanded rapidly.

Britain lacks these obvious assets, but does possess more subtle advantages. These include an effective military, skillful diplomats and a history of developing worthwhile alliances, not least with the United States. The Ukraine war shows the importance of British strengths.

Rishi Sunak’s lineage is from India, a first among Britain’s prime ministers. That may foster fresh, imaginative approaches to public policy that current circumstances require.

In 2016, they, like most everyone else, thought Hillary Clinton would become president. A week before Election Day, she was a 75% favorite.

But on Election Day, I saw how betting markets find the truth more quickly than others. Before the votes were counted, bettors were switching to

The headline “50 Years of Title IX” on the cover of the fall 2022 edition of the Temple University law school magazine Esq. and the lead article entitled “What Has It Accomplished, What Is Next” promised to be authoritative.

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 says: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (emphasis added).”

While I was aware that the goal of Title IX was to provide equal financial support for athletes, my reading of those 37 words led my discovering “That’s all folks” — to quote the ending of Bugs Bunny cartoons. Those 37 words made up

Britain has had three prime ministers in just over three years: Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. There have now been three prime ministers in less than three months.

Prime Minister Truss brought forward a radical supply-side budget, including dramatic tax cuts at the top of the income scale. Global financial markets reacted quickly and severely. So-

Nevertheless, a comparable U.S. financial crisis seems unlikely, though financial panics are always possible. The vast scale and wealth, and unequaled global influence, of the American

Let states handle education

all of Title IX.

The unanswered question was: Why were the feds involved in education? The 10th Amendment of the Constitution provides that any powers not specifically given to the feds, such as education, are reserved for the people, meaning the states. Initially, in 1867 (the actions immediately after the Civil War are always interesting), the feds just started to collect information. It appears, as it frequently does, that the leverage for the feds to become involved was their “federal financial assistance,” which always comes with “strings.”

President Jimmy Carter’s Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights regulations in 1979 supported the theory that

Title IX was limited to athletic issues by providing that male and female athletes should receive equivalent treatment, benefits and opportunities.

Note the standard was “equivalent,” not “equal.”

President Carter in 1980 raised the Education Department to cabinet level.

sports, such as wrestling, due to budget restraints, despite men’s football and basketball typically paying for the entire athletic budget.

Arthur I. Cyr is author of “Liberal Politics in Britain” (Routledge and Transaction). He is also the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., and a Clausen Distinguished Professor. He welcomes questions and comments at acyr@carthage.edu.

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. We welcome a variety of views. Letters must be exclusive to the News-Press. In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitted by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity, and shorter letters have a better chance of being printed immediately.

We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

Brent E. Zepke

In theory, I agreed with that objective as I saw the importance of exercise in staying not only healthy, but alive. Sadly, as I watched the obesity rate, and all the accompanying health problems, increase from 1950-2022 from 10% to 42%, schools reduced their emphasis on health and physical education.

It did bother me that an unintended result of Title IX was the cancellations of some men’s

In the above cited article, law Professor Kenneth Jacobson did not mention any of the cancellations, but did cite many of the athletic achievements of women, such as Olympic medals. While these are truly noteworthy, my opinion is the greater benefit is all the women whose lives were improved by their physical activities.

How did Title IX become extended beyond sports?

Enter the Obama-Biden team, whose OCR in 2011 issued guidance, but not regulations, requiring schools to have processes in place to eliminate, prevent and address all issues of sexual harassment. Attorney Gina Smith said that this created

“an avalanche of regulatory laws and guidance that spawned a cacophony of social and legal actions.” In other words, confusion and frustration for educators and a great deal of money for lawyers.

Enter President Joseph Biden Jr., a Democrat who not only revoked Republican President Donald Trump’s reduction of federal regulations but in his first year issued the record number of 42,000 pages of new regulations.

Subsequently, Dr. Jacobson indicated that there likely will be litigation under Title IX on allowing transgender athletes to compete. A sign of how far we have come is that in 1972 the drafters did not define “sex.”

The implementation of Title IX requires that institutions must create a system to handle alleged sexual assaults regardless of

We do not print submissions that lack a civil tone, allege illegal wrongdoing or involve consumer complaints. We also may decide not to print letters or op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days. All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification. We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters.

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Direct questions to Managing Editor Dave Mason at 805-5645277 or voices@newspress.com.

Michelle Malkin

John Stossel

Please

STOSSEL

The author lives in Santa Barbara.

Please

SIMON WALKER/HM TREASURY/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

SIMON DAWSON/NO.10 DOWNING STREET

COURTESY

PHOTO

At left, Rishi Sunak brings his experience in government and finance to his new role as the British prime minister. Center, Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned after only 45 days in office. At right, a head of iceberg lettuce lasted longer than Prime Minister Liz Truss’ tenure.

After Mr. Escobedo announced his candidacy for the Santa Barbara School Board, immediately he was endorsed by City Councilmembers Kristin Sneddon, Meghan Harmon, and exiting school board member Laura Capps and all the rest of the politicians who follow the narrative they are mandated to adopt. That is if they want to maintain their DCC endorsement.

Remember Mr. Escobedo’s political aspirations began with his attendance at Central Committee meetings. Somehow, he landed on the Planning Commission as the chairperson, with no experience, although Jay Higgins with approximately five years of tenure was the most likely chairperson to be appointed. Mr. Escobedo quickly bowed out of his candidacy

for state Assembly, and now he is all about what’s good for the kids as he vies with overwhelming endorsements for outgoing Kate Ford’s school board position. He works at UCSB as an intramural coordinator. He was appointed as the chair of the city’s Community Formation Commission — police oversight committee. We wonder just what is his angle?

While our focus is on the kids, Halloween is tomorrow. Watch out for what looks like candy, yet another method for attacking our country from the inside out. The deadly drug fentanyl is being manufactured to be mistaken as candy. It resembles Nerds, Sweet Tarts, peanut butter cups and even malted milk balls. Who needs bombs or an invading army when our officials leave the border open with an invitation to anyone, while they ignore the trafficking of drugs and human beings? All this while

we are forced to build housing in drought-prone areas.

When we as constituents ask, how does this work, it makes no sense. We collectively are ignored by the elected, while they cut ribbons to the newest decoy/cause/ crisis.

Building on the false perception of a “housing crisis,” we see locally the fallout of Gov. Newsom’s state Senate bills 9 and 10, which forces development onto neighborhoods that are ill-suited to absorb said housing. Sacramento’s housing edicts have gutted, hogtied and made ineffectual, our own local boards and commissions since nothing is “in their purview.” They are unable to comment on most of what matters.

The changes to our way of life since 2019 reach beyond anything we could have imagined. Between the failure of the schools, in part from the lockdowns, the-across-

COURTESY IMAGE

the-board focus on pronouns rather than productivity has plunged our society into mass confusion and division. The canceling and ostracizing of individuals and groups masked as inclusivity and equity is breaking our country apart. While our elected officials agree with the narrative at large, and they march in lockstep to the assigned beat of the drum, they are allowed to stay in office.

We have what it takes to fix our country. The time is now: Tuesday, Nov. 8.

“You have no right to complain if you don’t get involved”.

— Larry Donovan

Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Sundays in the Voices section.

Bettors consider things polls and prediction models often miss

something about “putting your money where your mouth is” that focuses the mind.

Donald Trump.

On election night, it was fun to watch the silly people on TV.

Even after bettors were switching, pundits still said that Hillary would win. “Trump is more likely than not to lose,” proclaimed Dana Bash on CNN.

Only hours after the betting shifted did TV anchors finally adjust their predictions.

In 2020, bettors correctly predicted President Joe Biden’s win and called nearly every state correctly.

Over time, betting has been a better predictor than polls, pundits, statistical models and everything else. There’s

ElectionBettingOdds.com tracked hundreds of races. It turns out that when bettors think a candidate has a 63% chance, those candidates do win roughly 63% of the time.

One reason bettors predict more accurately is because bettors consider things polls and prediction models often miss.

In 2016, Clinton-favoring polls overlooked people without college degrees. Polltakers were also misled by Trump supporters who refused to talk to them.

Most betting markets, like FTX, Betfair, Smarkets and Polymarket, only allow non-Americans to bet. That’s because uptight, narrowminded American politicians

banned gambling on elections.

Fortunately, they made an exception for PredictIt.org. There, Americans are allowed to bet up to $850.

Our foolish bureaucrats promise to shut PredictIt down, but for now, we can take advantage of the “wisdom of the crowd” that Predictit provides.

Which party will win the Pennsylvania senate race?

Republican Mehmet Oz is favored, 54 cents to 49 cents.

Who will be Arizona’s next governor? Kari Lake leads 82 cents to 22 cents.

The first Cabinet member to quit? Janet Yellen, at 32 cents (out of a dollar). Then Alejandro Mayorkas, at 21 cents.

If you think you know more than the bettors, you can try to make

money by betting at Predictit.org. If you are not American, FTX, Betfair, Smarkets and Polymarket will take your bets. All this betting gives us valuable information about the likely future.

Since betting markets are clearly superior predictors, I’m surprised that anyone still pays attention to pundits. I no longer watch the blabbermouths on television.

I check the odds at ElectionBettingOdds.com.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Everyone is suddenly trans

Where’s BLM?

All Americans must pay the same price for their inflated food costs, strip their pockets of cash to fill their cars. Why do you go along? We all know who’s causing it and how to fix it. It’s the Democratic Socialist Party determined to ruin this country and take every man, woman and child down along with them. They don’t care about you. This is all about power, and the leftist voters are being used to move the destructive agenda forward.

More crazy stuff like everyone is suddenly trans and that’s where we need to focus our attention is just a distraction. Abortion is a distraction. They rave and scream about race and equity, yet abortion kills disproportionally black babies by a wide margin. In 2019, 74% of abortions in Mississippi were performed on black mothers.

The cities and states with the most homeless, worst schools, the highest crime rates are run by Democrats. If that’s their plan, it’s working, if not, they’re utter failures.

The only tool available the average American citizen has is coming up in a couple weeks, and even that is in question. The system may already be corrupted beyond repair. Yet we must still exercise that right and hope people are paying closer attention to the sneakiness this time and keep the dems from cheating again.

Even election denier Hillary Clinton says there’s going to be cheating.

No, sorry, that was in 2016 when she denied the election results.

Henry Schulte welcomes questions or comments at hschulteopinions@gmail.com.

society; not to the average working middle class.”

According to L2, a political data firm that uses a combination of state voter records and statistical modeling to determine party affiliation, over one million voters who switched affiliations across 42 states in the last 12 months formally changed their registration from Democrat to Republican.

The loss of a million voters by Democrats does not mean success for Republicans in the midterms.

Especially since there are so many lackluster GOP candidates running for key offices. But it is an opportunity for Republicans to choose more prepossessing candidates as they gear up for 2024.

“Campaigning is talking to the

people, telling them what you will do; then doing it.”

— Marco Rubio

The Republican National Committee has been hosting voter registration events at gas stations in swing states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania to link President Biden and the Democrats to record-high gas prices and inflation. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel told the AP, “The Democrats and Biden are totally out of touch with the American people. That’s why voters are turning to the GOP.”

The scope and breadth of the party-switching suggests the Democrats move to the progressive left does not appeal to middle class America. Over the past year, nearly every state moved in the same direction as thousands of voters became Republicans, especially in rural and suburban America.

In Iowa, Democrats used to hold a 2-to-1 margin in party changers.

That flipped last year, with the GOP ahead by the same amount. The same happened in Ohio. In Florida, Republicans captured 70% of party switchers last year. In Pennsylvania, Republicans captured 63% of party changers.

Justin Bieber wrote, “The grass is only greener on the other side if you water it.” Even with President Biden’s weak popularity and with most voters fearing America is walking the wrong path, Republicans will not benefit unless they offer real solutions to the problems created by Mr. Biden and the progressives. These Republicans are middle-class voters, not corporate elites. It would not only be good for the GOP if they develop policies that work for all America, it might influence Democrats to do the same.

Emily Seidel, head of Americans for Prosperity, said her network is seeing first-hand that suburban voters are distancing themselves from Democrats who represent

extreme policy positions. But that doesn’t mean that they’re ready to vote against those lawmakers either. Candidates have to make their case, they have to give these voters something to be for, not just something to be against.

According to the AP, there was not a single “got ya” issue that convinced most of these Democrats to switch parties. Like Ronald Reagan said, they felt that the “Democratic party left them” when it became the party of progressives, socialism, special interests and the party of radical social justice. Can the GOP lead by example and right the ship for all America? Time will tell.

“If a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and that is moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power.”

your responsibility ends at the classroom door?

ZEPKE

whether they are reported to law enforcement. Think about that! Since sexual assaults are a crime, they should be handled by the established legal system that has safeguards to protect the rights of everyone.

What happens when Title IX requires schools to create their own mini-legal systems? Perhaps an unintended, but certainly foreseeable, consequence was that school’s inability, or unwillingness, to ensure the rights of males in “he said-she said’ cases, greatly harmed them as well as the reputations and finances of such schools as Duke University and the University of Virginia.

The article cites attorney Irene Lax, whose firm is suing Brown University for allegedly mishandling complaints of sexual misconduct, saying she hopes to see more applications of Title IX to K-12. If Brown University is being sued for not doing this procedure appropriately, how will other smaller schools, perhaps even K-12, find the money and staff to protect everybody’s rights?

This month, President Biden’s secretary of education, Miguel Cardona, and the OCR are preparing to issue final regulations that attorney Gina Smith said would expand the scope and jurisdiction of sex discrimination to include sex stereotypes, sex characteristics, pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity, current, potential, or past family or marital

status, and sexual harassment (harassment on the basis above, as well as quid-pro-quo , hostile environment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking).

Imagine, professors and K-12 teachers trying to teach a subject while protecting themselves from being charged with violating someone’s real, or perceived, stereotype, characteristics (whatever that means), orientation or identity.

Think your responsibility ends at the classroom door? Think again, as attorneys like Smith and Lax will be watching how you handle your students’ “family marital status, dating violence or domestic violence.” How can you know about “stalking” unless you stalk the stalker? Ever thought about malpractice insurance?

Attorney Smith suggested states should create a regional investigation and adjudication centers that will, of course, cost time and money to establish and run.

A much fairer and simpler approach is to put education back into the states by voting out the people who are creating that sink hole of a system.

Brent E. Zepke is an attorney, arbitrator and author who lives in Santa Barbara. His website is OneheartTwoLivescom.wordpress. com. Formerly, he taught law and business at six universities and numerous professional conferences. He is the author of six books: “One Heart-Two Lives,” “Legal Guide to Human Resources,” “Business Statistics,” “Labor Law,” “Products and the Consumer” and “Law for NonLawyers.”

I am indebted to my early writing mentors

MALKIN

inspired by all the patriots I’ve profiled over the years — especially the ordinary parents, whistleblowers, citizen journalists and activists who have sacrificed far more than I for their truth-seeking and truthtelling.

I am indebted to my early writing mentors, the late Father Edward Lyons and Debbie Collins at Holy Spirit High School in Absecon, New Jersey; my late Oberlin College English professor Dewey Ganzel; my husband and co-conspirator in all things, Jesse; my first newspaper boss, Tom Gray; Creators Syndicate founder Rick Newcombe and his staff; and stalwart supporters JewishWorldReview.com founder Binyamin Jolkovsky, VDARE founder Peter Brimelow, Wendy McCaw of the Santa Barbara

News-Press, WRKO radio host extraordinaire Jeff Kuhner, and the late KFAQ host Pat Campbell.

Most of all, I wish to thank my teacher Mom (who taught me to express myself with passion and flair) and my doctor Dad (who gave me a bedrock foundation in science, logic and facts). From both of them, I inherited the zeal to speak up for what is right and true without fear — but always with humility — which I will continue to do in new ways for myself, my family and my country.

This is an ending, but not the end. The next chapter awaits to be written.

Michelle Malkin’s email address is michellemalkinInvestigates@ protonmail.com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators. com.

COURTESY