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Our 167th Year
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T H U R S DAY, J U N E 9, 2 0 2 2
Salcido, Brown, Holland ahead Incumbents outpace opponents in Tuesday’s primary
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTOS
Sheriff Bill Brown
Tuesday proved to be a good day for incumbents. Santa Barbara County officials seeking re-election got more votes than their primary opponents in what the elections office called “semi-official” results. Ahead in the races were Susan Salcido, the Santa Barbara County superintendent of schools; Sheriff Bill Brown and Santa Barbara County Clerk-
Recorder-Assessor Joe Holland. All of the county’s 216 precincts reported results, but votes are still being counted. The election won’t be certified until July 7. One thing’s for certain: Turnout was low. Of the county’s 235,212 registered voters, 49,288 people cast votes. That’s just under 21%, and that’s despite every registered voter receiving a ballot in the mail. That said, most of those voting Tuesday did so via mailin ballots, which they put in
the mail (no stamp needed) or dropped into a designated, secure box. Only 4,464 of the 49,288 voters cast their ballots at a polling place. In the county superintendent race, Dr. Salcido received 28,877 votes or 64.06% of the ballots. Challenger Christy Lozano, a Santa Barbara Unified School District teacher on voluntary leave from Dos Pueblos High School, had 16,093 votes or 35.7% of the votes. “While ballots continue to be processed, I am filled with
gratitude for the countywide votes of confidence and am more committed than ever to serving the students, families, educators and schools of Santa Barbara County,” Dr. Salcido told the News-Press in a statement. The News-Press reached out to Ms. Lozano, who declined to comment until more votes are counted. In another race, Sheriff Brown is ahead with 25,913 votes or 56.79% of the votes in his bid Please see ELECTION on A2
Chick-fil-A plan OK’d
Susan Salcido
Carbajal vs. Allen, Hart vs. Stoker
Santa Barbara City Council votes against naming restaurant in a public nuisance ordinance
Stage is set for general election
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Chick-fil-A won approval this week for a proposed agreement to relieve traffic congestion. The Santa Barbara City Council voted 6-1 to approve the traffic circulation agreement, which provides enforceable traffic control measures and site improvements for the Chick-fil-A restaurant at 3707 State St. The council also voted 7-0 to rescind its plans for an ordinance for the declaration of a nuisance, resulting from extensive queuing at the drive-through lanes at Chick-fil-A. The council voted in accordance with the recommendation by the staff report. In recent years, the queuing from Chick-fil-A’s drive-through onto State Street reportedly created serious traffic congestion, as well as hazardous conditions for pedestrians, cyclists and those with disabilities. At the meeting on Tuesday, staff and Chick-fil-A presented reports demonstrating that temporary measures implemented by the restaurant have significantly improved those conditions. The staff report was given by Daniel S. Hentschke, the assistant city attorney. “The most important thing is that the interim measures appear to be working,” said Mr. Hentschke. The traffic monitoring since March 1 shows that the number of cars in lines was significantly lower than city staff observed in 2021. In March there were several minutes of queuing on several different days. In April there was more queuing than in March with a daily average of 24 minutes ranging from 3 minutes to 72 minutes. Chick-fi-A admitted to city staff that staffing challenges contributed to some of the higher queuing times in April, but queuing was still significantly less than observed in 2021. For May, the daily average range was from 18-30 minutes, with the average duration of a queue being about 30-40 seconds. The condition observed is within the range that is expected for business traffic around town, reported Mr. Hentschke. The traffic circulation agreement was worked out by Chick-fil-A and the project team,
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
The drive-through line at Chick-fil-A has contributed to traffic congestion on State Street, but observers say the problem has become less severe.
which consisted of Assistant City Attorney Daniel S. Hentschke, City Planner Renee Brooke and Derrick Bailey, principal transportation engineer. The agreement was made available for public review. The agreement includes implementation of the council’s directive to work with Chick-fil-A to come up with an equitable solution, and the plan facilitates the implementation of site improvements to improve traffic circulation. The measures in the agreement are contractually enforceable, Mr. Hentschke said. The agreement has three primary purposes: stop the nuisance proceedings, establish enforceable operational requirements and terminate the nuisance proceedings on successful implementation of the site plan. “It does commit both sides to work in good faith to achieve the approval and implementation of the site plan, including construction of the site improvements,” said Mr. Hentschke.
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U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal
Chick-fil-A and property owners have signed the agreement, subject to Santa Barbara City Council approval. Additionally the city retains full enforcement authority should a nuisance exist despite site modifications and operational requirements. The council also heard public comments on this issue. “My family has the privilege of calling this beautiful city home. I drive by Chick-fil-A multiple times a day, and so I consider myself a qualified observer,” one man told the council. “I also frequent many of the local businesses surrounding the Chick-fil-A.” He said his family buys groceries at Whole Foods and that his children go to local dentists. “We also visit the Chick-fil-A,” he said. “My daughter, who is diagnosed with Celiac disease, can eat her favorite meal of grilled nuggets, fruit cup and an apple juice without any worries. So as I have observed Chickfil-A, and what I have seen over the past months is a significant improvement in traffic flow and customers being able to get in and
out of the parking lot. “I happened to visit on one of these busy occasions, and one of the new traffic controllers at the front kindly waved me on and I drove by. I’ve noticed multiples of those traffic control people at the entrance and exit directing customers to only turn right and not to turn left. “Whatever Chick-fil-a has been doing in that neighborhood and community I love is working, and so I urge the council to allow Chick-fil-A to continue to operate as is,” he said. “And this will give them the time for their proposed improvements and the restaurant to solve this problem once and for all.” Another man noted he and his wife have lived in Santa Barbara for more than 55 years. He said he liked the food at Chick-fil-A and said “it’s only gotten better” since Mr. Collins took over the operation. “It’s an interesting problem for the city that’s trying to get more business in the city to have an Please see CHICK-FIL-A on A6
The primary is over. Now comes the next chapter in the political drama called Election 2022. In the Nov. 8 general election, it will be U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, against Republican candidate Brad Allen of Summerland. And Gregg Hart, a Democrat and member of the Santa Barbara County Board Supervisors, will run against Republican candidate Mike
Dr. Brad Allen
Stoker, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator, in the race for the newly created 37th Assembly District. On Tuesday, Mr. Hart led with 27,872 votes or 59.22% of the votes. Mr. Stoker received 17,507 votes or 34.20% of the ballots. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, seeking his fourth term, received 298,380 votes or 61.91% of the votes. Dr. Allen, a semiretired pediatric heart surgeon, received 13,590 votes or 28.64% of Please see UPDATES on A2
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
COURTESY PHOTO
Gregg Hart
Mike Stoker
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: 1-6-0-9
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 4-34-40-41-53 Meganumber: 3
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 1-4-10-17-27
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-01-04 Time: 1:46.98
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Sports . .................... A3 Weather................. A6
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 6-0-8 / Wednesday’s Midday 3-9-2