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SB schools name superintendent Hilda Maldonado named next leader By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS
Doris Grant and the Rev. Jarrett Johnson sit in March at the Carpinteria Community Church before Gov. Gavin Newsom issued his shelter-inplace order. Churches can now reopen at limited capacity.
Preparing to fill pews Some churches take measured approach to reopening By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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new health order allows Santa Barbara County churches to reopen their pews at limited capacity. Some local churches are taking a measured approach to reopening instead of rushing to fill the pews. Carpinteria Community Church Office Manager Lisa Bonet said the church has been holding drivein services since the coronavirus outbreak forced churches to close in March. Carpinteria Community Church is located at 1111 Vallecito Road. “Through the month of June or indefinitely, we’re not sure, we’re going to be doing a drive-in church. It allows people to drive in their own and see each other, but they’re social distancing,” Ms. Bonet said. She explained that a parking usher lines up the cars in rows and the churchgoers tune in to an AM radio frequency and listen to the service over the radio. “It’s only good for a certain distance so the people have to be on the property. The pastor and a lay leader take a ladder to one of the rooftops, and on the rooftops they set up a table and cross and they lead the sermons on top of the roof,” Ms. Bonet said. She said church leaders held off on bringing the service into the church building to protect their elderly members. Thirty-eight cars pulled into the first drive-in service on Easter Sunday. Last Sunday 43 cars attended the service. Ms. Bonet said there are two people per car on average. “They’re a little bit more high risk and we want to be extra careful. We’re also the only church in Carpinteria offering this type of service so we get visitors — folks from other churches or people who have never gone to church. They can receive a message of hope in their own car with their own people. So that and the health
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Carpinteria Community Church has been holding drive-in services since the coronavirus outbreak forced churches to close in March.
and safety reasons,” Ms. Bonet said. She continued that the drivein services have been the talk of the town in Carpinteria and feedback has been positive. She added that the speaker system attracts neighbors who listen to the service on lawn chairs at the church. “Some of the neighbors are walking over and sitting in these chairs we’re setting up six feet apart. Everybody has their mask, and we’ve got ushers with masks that give programs to each person that comes to the service,” Ms. Bonet said. Pastor Tommy Schneider from Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara said he is also working carefully to resume in-person services. He plans to resume in-person service on June 7. Calvary Chapel is located at 1 N. Calle Cesar Chavez, No. 21, in Santa Barbara. “The last thing we want to do is open up and have people rush in and not be able to really have all the protocols in place. We are respecting our city and our community really well and our
leaders, civic leaders as well as meeting the needs of our church community,” Pastor Schneider said. Pastor Schneider celebrates virtual services over Zoom. Viewers can also tune in on KEYT at 10 a.m. on Sunday mornings. “We’ll actually even still have some Bible studies and small groups that will continue to meet through Zoom meetings and Google meets and things like that just because it works really well for those who are not able to get around or don’t feel comfortable with that yet,” Pastor Schneider said. He noted that the church website, calvarysb.com, offers online resources including faith-based podcasts and video archives. While church leadership have used technology to continue to spreading God’s word, Pastor Schneider said he looks forward to reuniting with his congregation when he is ready to provide inperson service. “You think about the disciples, right; they gathered together with one accord. They loved the intimacy of being together.
They called it koinonia. It was an intimate fellowship with God and so that’s a special thing and it will be so fantastic to see the faces even behind masks, you know, at a distance and give air hugs,” Pastor Schneider said. Rabbi Stephen Cohen of Congregation B’nai B’rith said temple leaders created a task force to determine when the temple, at 1000 San Antonio Creek Road. in Santa Barbara, will resume in-person services. “We have a very robust online program going online right now with multiple activities happening online every day. We are very conscious of the risks involved in gathering together these days. The task force is creating a plan by which we will follow in returning to being able to gather together physically when it is safe,” Rabbi Cohen said. On Friday, temple leaders will hold a drive-in graduation ceremony for the congregation’s graduating high school seniors. The ceremony will start on Friday at 4 p.m. at the temple. “In an ordinary year we would have a big celebration of them in the context of our Friday night services so this seemed like one way we could celebrate them and be as physically present as possible,” Rabbi Cohen said. Trinity Episcopal Church, at 1500 State St. in Santa Barbara, will continue to offer online worship over Zoom. “This Sunday, which is the feast of Pentecost in the Episcopal Church, we will offer our worship via Zoom,” the Rev. Elizabeth Molitors said. “We don’t have a date set yet for when we will resume in-person worship in our church sanctuary, but when we do so, it will be with every safety precaution in place, to make sure that people’s health is protected. “Our call as Christians is to love our neighbor, and at the most basic level that means doing everything possible to ensure others’ well-being,” email: pgonzalez@newspress.com
he Santa Barbara Unified School District board has selected Hilda Maldonado as the district’s next superintendent. The Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to appoint Ms. Maldonado. She was selected for her extensive background in academic achievement, strong focus on partnerships and leadership in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. She is currently the associate superintendent of leaderships and partnership in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she oversees the development of system capacity to train and retain employees and develop partnership and grant efforts across the district. She will take the helm on July 1, said Camie Barnwell, public information officer for the Santa Barbara district. “It is an honor to be selected to serve the Santa Barbara Unified School District students, staff and community during these extraordinary times,” Ms. Maldonado said in a news release. “I am committed to building on the greatness of this district as we collectively navigate a new education system that ensures ALL students are prepared for life, college and career. I believe a quality education is the key to success for families, communities and our country. It certainly made a difference in my life journey and I wish the same for all our
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Hilda Maldonado has been named the new superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District.
students.” Ms. Maldonado has served a number of roles during her 32 years with the LAUSD. She has worked as a bilingual teacher, a bilingual coordinator, an assistant principal and a principal at two schools – both of which experienced growth in academics, safety and school culture under her leadership. Ms. Maldonado came to the U.S. from Mexico as an 11-year-old and credits her positive experience as an English learner as her motivation to become a bilingual teacher. As a public school graduate, she strongly believes in equity and inclusion for all students. Under her leadership, LAUSD expanded dual language programs, increased Seal of Biliteracy student awards, and improved results for English Please see NEW SUPER on A8
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The Chumash Casino Resort plans to stress safety when it reopens June 10.
Chumash Casino Resort to reopen By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
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he Chumash Casino Resort has announced plans to reopen June 10. The Santa Ynez site will reopen at noon that day, according to a news release Wednesday from the resort. Not all parts of the resort will reopen, and the resort stressed there would be strict safety measures and cleaning procedures.
“We believe we’ve waited until the right time to reopen the resort,” said Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman of the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, in the news release. “All throughout the closure, we’ve reminded our employees and guests that their health and well-being are our top priority. “By securing high-tech equipment, implementing safety procedures and working closely with the state to determine a Please see CASINO on A8
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