Signing on for their future
Working together with the Earth Day spirit
Local high schools hold signing day for college scholarships - A4
Environmental stewards provide free trees and reusable paper bags - B1
Our 165th Year
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T H U R S DAY, A PR I L 2 2 , 2 0 21
Chambers react to orange tier shift By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
The bowling alley and arcade at Zodo’s Bowling & Beyond in Goleta officially open at noon Friday to the general public.
Getting the ball rolling
With Santa Barbara County moving into the orange tier of COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday, local Chamber of Commerce officials are hopeful that the tier shift will further fuel the rolling economic recovery in the region. Now that the county is in the orange tier, small businesses and restaurants can open at expanded capacity, movie theaters can welcome more guests and family activities, like bowling, can finally reopen. When the county moved back into the red tier of restrictions back in March, businesses across the county started to see a comeback, and officials are hopeful the orange tier will further accelerate the region’s economic recovery. “With every reopening, we see an improved economic environment,” Kristen Miller, the president and CEO of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce, told the News-Press in an email. “We are excited with the progress made but we need to continue safely allowing all businesses, in all sectors, the opportunity to work, staff up and move forward.” Ms. Miller said some businesses are already taking advantage of the expanded capacity allowed in the orange tier, particularly event venues.
“This new tier allows for increased or unlimited capacity across many sectors and gives industries that have been on hold for over a year the opportunity to finally begin recovering,” Ms. Miller said. “We have already heard from hotel operators and individuals in the event industry that people are eagerly planning for weddings and other events so the impact of this tier change has been anticipated for some time. We are pleased that many more can get back to work.” In Solvang, officials are eyeing a steady uptick in economic recovery that started when the county moved into the red tier back in March. This recovery is being seen particularly in retail sectors, where sales are spiking back up to pre-pandemic levels. “We have (heard) a lot of businesses say last week their numbers are looking like 2019 numbers over (this year’s) spring break,” Tracy Beard, executive director of the Solvang Chamber of Commerce, told the News-Press on Wednesday. Despite this uptick in the retail sector, Ms. Beard said the restaurant industry in the Santa Ynez Valley is still struggling. Chilly evening weather has deterred some customers from dining at restaurants with outdoor seating in the Please see CHAMBER on B4
Zodo’s Bowling & Beyond to reopen Friday
Goleta adopts homelessness plan By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
At left, as Zodo’s Bowling & Beyond in Goleta reopens its bowling alley, staff members will sanitize the bowling balls after each group’s use, and the general manager said they reorganized the bowling balls by size so the amount of surfaces touched is reduced. At right, There will be a 15-person maximum for the arcade at Zodo’s Bowling & Beyond in Goleta, which will officially reopen at noon on Friday.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Only one more day to “spare” until Zodo’s Bowling & Beyond will reopen its bowling alley and arcade to the public. As Santa Barbara County entered the orange tier on Tuesday, bowling alleys were cleared to open with a maximum of 25% capacity, or a maximum of 50% capacity if all guests test negative for COVID-19 or show proof of full vaccination. Zodo’s will officially open its bowling alley and arcade at noon Friday. Limited capacity for Zodo’s means 12 lanes are open out of its 24 in total, and only four people are allowed to bowl per lane versus
the previous six. In addition, there is a 15-person maximum for the arcade. “We’re very fortunate we do get to open the doors,” Charity Rice, the general manager of Zodo’s, told the News-Press on Wednesday. She added that although other longtime businesses in Goleta have closed permanently such as the Beachside Bar-Cafe and Mercury Lounge, staff at Zodo’s, which has been around since the 1960s, is happy to be able to reopen again. There are many sanitation practices in place for the reopening, including disposable bowling shoes (similar to hospital slippers) for anyone who doesn’t want to use the bowling shoes available, according to Ms. Rice.
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had to close because we did do everything the right way,” Ms. Rice said. “Business was going good, it was nice and steady, nothing was out of control. It was hard to be open for five days and then have the Public Health Department (shut it down).” She confirmed that the department was understanding of the situation, and found the individual who gave Ms. Rice the incorrect information to ensure it wouldn’t happen to anyone else. However, she expressed concerns that the mix-up gave Zodo’s a “reputation that we’re being irresponsible.” “We’ve been very responsible in following all the guidelines,” she Please see ZODO’S on A3
Please see PLAN on A3
L O T T E RY RESULTS
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Staff members will sanitize the bowling balls after each group’s use, and the general manager said they reorganized the bowling balls by size so the amount of surfaces touched is reduced. This reopening follows a mix-up that led Zodo’s to reopen for five days at the beginning of April due to a miscommunication with the County Public Health Department. Ms. Rice said she was told by a county official that the bowling alley could reopen when she called the county’s call center at 2-1-1. However, the bowling alley was not yet permitted to open, so Ms. Rice was contacted by the health department and ordered to shut down indoor recreation again. “It was a bummer when we
The Goleta City Council adopted its first ever strategic homelessness plan Tuesday evening in an effort to get individuals experiencing homelessness out of the streets and into homes. The council was recommended to allocate $115,000 for homelessness initiatives in the city’s fiscal year 2021/2022 budget as a placeholder, but council members decided against doing so for lack of specificity. “We have to have a plan in front of us to show how we’re spending our money and make sure all the obligations for a city contract have been met, so I will not support setting aside any money just because we can use it,” Council member Roger Aceves said. “I know we can use it. I know we have a General Fund, but I want a reason to articulate where we’re spending the dollars.” In addition to needing a solid plan of spending, the council suggested adding an objective to increase access to affordable, quality child care and day care for at-risk families. Council members also expressed that they think $115,000 may not be adequate to address all the objectives listed. “My concern with it was that I wanted to see housing first, not services first,” Council member
Stuart Kasdin said. “I would like more money set aside, ideally. When I think of ‘what are some of the biggest concerns for the public,’ when I think about ‘what do people care about out there in our general public,’ you have pavement and homelessness. (Those) are among the two biggest things … Honestly, I think we’re going to need more (money). We want to house people. We want to show progress.” However, the council sang praises of the plan put together by city staff and agreed to wait until the city’s upcoming budget process to consider funding for homeless initiatives using the new plan for guidance. “Part of the value of having the strategic plan is that it will help us identify what our priorities are and where we should be focusing our funding,” Council member Kyle Richards said. “As a member of the Grant Review Funding (Standing) Committee for two years, I know one of the frustrations was we would often get proposals that deal with the homeless and homeless prevention from a number of good organizations in our community without having a real strategic vision or any goals or objectives for the city. “I think that with the approval of this plan, that will benefit us greatly as we move forward because then we’ve now identified what our goals are and
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A4 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-12-17-41-42 Meganumber: 23
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 0-9-0-3
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 6-23-43-49-52 Meganumber: 5
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 5-23-24-27-33
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-09-12 Time: 1:40.79
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 21-25-32-63-67 Meganumber: 6
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 8-0-2 / Wednesday’s Midday 9-4-9