Meet the Jr. Carpinterian of the Year
Super blood moon Our Kenneth Song was there to capture the total lunar eclipse - B4
Chamber honors Lucia Alarcon, as well as finalists Laura Flores and Luke Williams - B1
Our 165th Year
75¢
T H U R S D A Y , M A Y 2 7, 2 0 2 1
All hands on deck after fire Service providers make suggestions, voice support for temporary homeless shelter
After the Santa Barbara City Council’s emergency meeting Tuesday night — which was called to explore options for an emergency, temporary homeless shelter to reduce wildfire risk — many questions were left unanswered as city staff now scrambles to pull together a plan for the city’s requests in two weeks’ time. What the council did agree on was to have one or multiple temporary locations to house individuals, now living in fire-
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
It would cost at least $100 million to house every unhoused individual in Santa Barbara. At least that’s what Barbara Andersen, the collaborative facilitator for SB ACT, estimated, considering the city’s need for 262 emergency shelter beds, 120 transitional housing units, 232 permanent supportive housing units and 158 permanent housing units.
prone encampments, through the end of September. Proponents say that would allow fire crews, CalTrans and Union Pacific to abate the hazardous encampments and provide a safe place for the camps’ residents to sleep. While council members asked for a number of different safety aspects for the shelter, such as a sobriety requirement, a long-term solution in October, wraparound services and full security, local homeless service providers
voiced their support, suggestions and concerns with the rapidly developed plan. The following were key considerations they voiced to ensure council’s consideration: trust, engagement, adequate services, funding and collaboration. Council member Kristen Sneddon asked service providers directly that when it comes time to transfer these encampment residents to the temporary shelter, “What happens if they say no?”
Jeff Shaffer, the director of initiatives at SB ACT, recommended the city hire two City Net workers right away to start building rapport. “They have to have trust with whoever is going to be bridging them to that site,” he told the News-Press following Tuesday’s meeting. “How do we bring trained case management professionals and folks who know how to engage people and begin that process, which takes some time before you just start moving
people out?” He said that in his experience, staff need 11 to 13 contacts with these individuals before they can ask the individuals to do anything, and movement must be focused on a solutions-based approach rather than just changing a destination. Mr. Shaffer recommended fully dedicated staff hit encampments every day starting as soon as possible to make these contacts, with the same people interacting Please see HOMELESS on A2
Rescued and released SB Wildlife Care Network sets rehabilitated pelicans free
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
It’s the time of year when the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network is busiest. It admits 2040 animals each day, on average, and releases its patients into the wild when the rehabilitation is complete. Two brown pelicans, patients #779 and #895, flew free Wednesday after a little over a month inside Wildlife Care Network’s aviary. The juvenile pelicans arrived seven days apart, both emaciated, hypothermic and severely dehydrated. Their weight nearly doubled after treatment, including fluids, antibiotics, anti-parasitics, wound care and lots of food. Caretakers watched to see when the pelicans can fly and feed themselves before releasing them. A staff veterinarian also looks at the texture of the feathers, waiting until they look healthy. Executive Director Ariana Katovich told the News-Press that she’s never had a release day go poorly. The team has always confirmed that the animals are ready for the wild. Patients #779 and #895 were another success Wednesday when they trotted out of their cages, immediately taking flight. “It looks like they’re playing Please see PELICANS on A4
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
A boat that washed up on shore at Padaro Beach over the weekend is expected to be removed this morning. The boat washed up on shore on Saturday and spewed toxic waste and debris along four miles of the shoreline.
Officials attempt boat removal in Carpinteria By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
A juvenile pelican takes flight Wednesday after being rehabilitated by the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. It rejoined the wild alongside another brown pelican.
Chalk it up to ambition I Madonnari artists begin 800-square-foot painting By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
ANNELISE HANSHAW / NEWS-PRESS
Artists Ann Hefferman, left, and Jay Schwartz lay down an outline of the featured I Madonnari painting. Sharyn Chan (not pictured) printed blueprints as part of the outline process.
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MORE INSIDE Free chalk available to kids for this year’s festival. For more, please see B2.
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L O T T E RY RESULTS
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The 2021 I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival is virtual again this year with 88 independent paintings and one 800-square-foot featured piece by three veteran artists. It will be “the biggest piece Santa Barbara has ever seen,” artist Jay Schwartz told the News-Press. The festival spent $3,000 on chalk this year, anticipating large-scale paintings. The 88 sponsored paintings will be located mainly on driveways and private property. Because of public health restrictions, community members can’t view the paintings in person. The final masterpieces will be photo-
graphed and posted online, and the featured painting is broadcasted live from KEYT’s website for people to watch its progress. Ann Hefferman, Sharyn Chan and Mr. Schwartz began the 40-foot by 20-foot painting Wednesday morning, and the livestream launched that afternoon. This year’s piece is a recreation of a map Ms. Hefferman saw in Mexico City, titled “México y Sus Riquezas
A boat that washed ashore in Carpinteria over the weekend is expected to be removed this morning from the Padaro Beach area. The 45-foot vessel drifted to the shores of Carpinteria on Saturday, breaking apart and spreading debris across the beach and in the water. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office suspects that the boat broke free from where it was originally anchored and slowly drifted to shore. No passengers were on board the ship when it washed ashore. Removing the boat from the shore proved to be no simple feat, as the Sheriff’s Office and volunteers from Heal the Ocean had to coordinate with Union Pacific to stop any trains coming through the area to buy enough time to get an excavator over the tracks. The attempted removal is expected to take place at 5 a.m. today during low tide, and officials are aiming to get a MarBorg truck down to the shore to haul the boat out. According to Raquel Zick, the sheriff’s office public information officer, the Sheriff’s Office worked around the clock to gain access to the beach and had to construct a ramp to get the excavator across the railroad tracks and onto the shore. “Gaining access is very challenging,” Ms. Zick told the News-Press. “There’s not a ramp along that section of beach, or most of our beaches actually, so we had to coordinate how to
get heavy equipment over the railroad tracks and get it on the beach.” Due to protocols in the harbor and navigation code, the Sheriff’s Office was required to post notice and wait 72 hours before removing the ship, which is why the boat remained in place during the first half of this week, Ms. Zick said. She estimates the boat removal will cost the Sheriff’s Office around $7,000 to $9,000, which they will pay for with funds from a Surrendered and Abandoned Vessel Exchange grant. After the ship crashed on shore, toxic waste and debris began spilling from the vessel, according to volunteers from Heal the Ocean. In the days since the boat washed ashore, the ship has slowly deteriorated, leaving pieces of insulation and Styrofoam littered along the shoreline and spewing diesel fuel and sludge into the ocean and onto the beach. The Coast Guard and Patriot Environmental Services arrived at the beach Saturday to remove the toxic waste that spilled from the boat. The cleanup effort continued through Wednesday. Volunteers picked up about three garbage truck loads worth of trash and debris that came from the crashed vessel, according to Harry Rabin, a volunteer with Heal the Ocean who helped coordinate this week’s cleanup. Mr. Rabin said as of Wednesday, debris from the boat had spread about four miles down the coast, and a portion
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Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 1-6-8-23-42 Meganumber: 12
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