Inflation leads many to delay retirement
Pastels grace area around Santa Barbara Mission Visitors enjoy images created during last weekend’s I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival - B1
Poll: Quarter of Americans say they’ll have to postpone plans - A4
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T H U R S DAY, J U N E 2 , 2 0 2 2
Vandalism investigation continues
ELECTION 2022
District, county education office decline to comment on Santa Barbara High School incident; candidate for superintendent expresses her views
COURTESY PHOTOS
Christy Lozano
Dr, Susan Salcido
Salcido, Lozano discuss schools Candidates for superintendent address issues at forum before June 7 primary By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY SANTA BARBARA POLICE DEPARTMENT
This mess was found when police investigated reports of students breaking into Santa Barbara High School Monday night.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Santa Barbara police continue to investigate Monday night’s vandalism that left broken windows and other damage at Santa Barbara High School. And the incident, which was noisy enough to prompt nearby residents to call the police, has raised unanswered questions about whether the students were graduating seniors and what consequences they may face if found guilty of vandalism. Santa Barbara police told the News-Press Wednesday that there were no additional details beyond
the initial news release sent to local media. On Tuesday, Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale, the department’s public information officer, told the News-Press and other news outlets that the Santa Barbara Police Combined Communications received calls from several residents around 10:30 p.m. Monday. They said they reported loud, unusual noises and the sound of breaking glass coming from Santa Barbara High School. Several officers went to the high school. When they arrived, they found 50 to 60 individuals fleeing the high school’s main building and running toward East
Canon Perdido Street. Officers were able to detain 16 individuals and determined they were Santa Barbara High School students. Sgt. Ragsdale said Tuesday that the officers’ investigation showed many students were attempting to perform a “senior prank” that involved gallons of baby oil, Vaseline, raw fish and oysters being placed all over the floors and door handles. Toilet paper and streamers were strewn in trees outside the school, and police discovered vandalism including broken windows and items spray painted, Sgt. Ragsdale said. The Santa Barbara High School
principal, Dr. Elise Simmons, was notified and responded to the school. Sgt. Ragsdale on Tuesday said the total amount of damage and clean-up costs remained undetermined. And police on Wednesday told the News-Press that there were no additional details to report. The Santa Barbara Unified School District declined to comment on the vandalism after the News-Press asked a spokesman whether the students were seniors, whether their diplomas would be withheld until
On Tuesday evening, the long awaited candidates forum for Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools finally took place. The Zoom event was sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association and the Resource Santa Barbara. Jerry Roberts and Lanny Ebenstein co-moderated. A set of six questions was asked to each candidate followed by audience questions allowed by remaining time. Each candidate was given two minutes to respond. It was left to moderator discretion to determine when 30 seconds would be allowed to respond to allegations or comments raised
By MADISON HIRNEISEN (The Center Square) — After lengthy, closed-door deliberations over who should lead the California Assembly, lawmakers announced late Tuesday that Speaker Anthony Rendon will remain in his position through at least the end of the legislative session. The decision, announced following a six-hour meeting to lawmakers in the Democratic Caucus, comes after Assemblymember Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, announced Friday that he had secured enough votes to succeed Rendon as speaker. As it turns out, Assemblymember Rivas does have enough support from the Democratic Caucus to succeed Mr. Rendon as Assembly speaker, but that won’t happen right away. “I agree with the majority of
our current caucus that Speaker Rendon should remain as speaker for at least the rest of this legislative session,” Mr. Rivas said in a statement Tuesday. “I look forward to working with him for the betterment of California and the unity of the Assembly Democratic Caucus.” Mr. Rendon, who has held the position of speaker since 2016, is set to be termed out of the Legislature in 2024, meaning the Assembly would need to elect a new speaker after his departure. “I applaud Robert Rivas for securing the support of a majority of the current Democratic Caucus to succeed me as speaker of the Assembly,” said Speaker Anthony Rendon. “Assemblymember Rivas has brought together a broad and diverse coalition that reflects the high esteem in which he is held by our colleagues.” It’s unclear, however, how shifts in the Assembly could impact
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the support Mr. Rivas has to succeed Mr. Rendon as speaker. The November general election will bring in a fresh class to the Assembly, and 13 Democrats will be leaving at the end of this session, according to CalMatters. Assemblymember Rivas had previously announced Friday that he had secured enough votes from the Democratic Caucus to succeed Speaker Rendon. He was complimentary of Mr. Rendon’s time in the position, saying he was an “effective and unifying speaker,” noting that he was “confident a smooth transition of power is a shared value of ours.” Mr. Rivas also noted that he will be the first Assembly speaker “in the modern era to represent a rural district.” Most recently, however, two previous Assembly speakers, Cruz Bustamante (19961998) and Brian Setencich (19951996), represented rural districts as the speaker, according to Alex
Please see VANDALISM on A6
Members voted 5-2 against video recordings of their meetings
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
COURTESY PHOTO
Speaker Anthony Rendon
Vassar, the communications manager at the California State Library. Madison Hirneisen covers California for The Center Square.
Please see DEBATE on A5
County school board to consider audio recordings
Rendon keeps speaker’s gavel after challenge THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
by a candidate in the previous answer. Below are the questions and excerpts from the candidates’ answers. Why should the voters re-elect/ elect you? Dr. Susan Salcido, the incumbent: “I recognize this role as both an honor and a responsibility, that this work is about me as a leader and us as a society and because I am a true educator at heart and believe so strongly in public education and have fully embraced and learned from each role in my educational career, each role informing the next.” Christy Lozano: “I am the right leader for the job. I’m a local teacher with school
A member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Education is surprised with the board’s 5-2 vote on May 5 against video-recording of their meetings and posting those videos for public access. But another member, board chair Judy Frost, said the issue isn’t “dead in the water” and that it’s a matter of logistics and costs. For now, the board has compromised with the consideration of audio recordings. The board will discuss options for audio recordings at its meetings at 2 p.m. today and 10 a.m. June 9 at the county education office, 4400 Cathedral Oaks Road. On May 5, board members Michelle De Ward, and Bruce Porter voted in favor of video
recordings. “I was surprised that the majority of the board voted no, when we had the tools to provide it at a very low cost,” Ms. De Ward told the News-Press. The school board meetings take place on the first Thursday of the month at 2 p.m., a time when most people are working. This presents an accessibility issue, which is why the motion to record and retain meetings was originally brought up. Ms. Frost told the News-Press that she voted against the video recordings, not because she is against them per se, but because she believed that the board did not have enough information at the time. “We had no idea what it was going to take as far as resources and budget, or options and issues,” said Ms. Frost. Please see VIDEOTAPING on A2
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A6
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 3-7-9-0
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 6-15-41-63-64 Meganumber: 24
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 5-8-11-19-39
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-11-10 Time: 1:47.35
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Sports . .................... A8 Weather................. A6
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 8-8-3 / Wednesday’s Midday 2-2-7