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T H U R S DAY, J U LY 29, 2 0 21
UC poll: Residents almost evenly divided over recall By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A UC Berkeley poll released this week found that among the Californians most likely to vote, 47% say they would vote “yes” to remove Gov. Gavin Newsom from office. This latest poll comes just seven weeks ahead of the Sept. 14 recall election when registered voters will determine whether Gov. Newsom will be removed from office. Last week, the state certified a list of more than 40 gubernatorial candidates. The poll, which was completed by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, emphasized the pivotal role voter turnout will play in Gov. Newsom’s political fate. The study found that while only 36% of the state’s overall electorate would vote “yes” to the recall, 47% of those who are most likely to cast their ballot are in favor of recalling the governor. In addition, the study found that 50% of voters would vote “no” to the recall effort and 3% are still undecided. In order for Gov. Newsom to be removed from office, more than 50% of voters would need to vote “yes” to the recall. While the odds are still in the Democratic governor’s favor, the chasm is narrowing. Bobbi McGinnis, the chairwoman of the Santa Barbara County Republican Party, told the News-Press Wednesday that the poll’s results show “Californians are paying attention” to the governor’s policies and procedures, which she said are “driving people out” of the state. Ms. McGinnis cited increased tax rates, high gas prices and the overall cost of living in California as reasons Gov. Newsom should be removed from his position. She also cited a recent study from the attorney governor’s office that showed homicides increased 31% between 2019 and 2020. Ms. McGinnis blamed
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A new poll shows that of the voters most likely to participate in the upcoming recall election targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom, 47% would vote to remove him from office.
Gov. Newsom’s criminal justice policies for the increase. With the election just seven weeks away, Ms. McGinnis said she’s feeling confident that recall effort can prevail. Leading up to Sept. 14, she said the county’s Republican Party will be knocking on doors and phone banking to encourage people to vote “yes” on the ballot. “This gives Californians a real opportunity to change the direction of the state,” Ms. McGinnis said. “If they want to keep business here, if they want to keep kids here, if they want to reduce housing costs, vote yes on the recall.” With support for the recall gaining traction among those most enthusiastic to cast their ballot, Spencer Brandt, the organizing director for the county’s Democratic Party, said the key to stamping out the recall effort will be to engage residents who voted for Gov. Newsom in 2018 and Joe Biden in 2020 to come out and vote “no” to the recall. He said he’s unsure of how many registered voters know about the upcoming recall Please see RECALL on A2
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Kim Cantin (left) lost her husband Dave and her son Jack in the devastating Montecito debris flow in 2018. Her daughter, Lauren (far right), survived the tragedy. In May of this year, the remains of her son were found near the site of the Cantins’ old home on Hot Springs Road.
Finding closure after debris flow
Kim Cantin talks to News-Press about the discovery of her son Jack’s remains in Montecito By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Three and a half years after the devastating Montecito debris flow destroyed her home and took the lives of half her family, Kim Cantin has finally received some closure. At last, after 40 months of searching and hoping, the remains of Mrs. Cantin’s 17-year-old son, Jack, were found in Montecito earlier this year. Mrs. Cantin, a survivor of the debris flow, said the remains of her 17-year-old son, Jack Cantin, were discovered in May within 1,000 yards of where the family’s home on Hot Springs Road once stood. Jack and his father, Dave Cantin, were among the 23 people who perished in the debris flow. In the days following the Jan. 9, 2018, debris flow, search and rescue
crews were unable to locate Jack’s body. This led to an effort that culminated in more than three years of searching by community members and anthropologists. A team of UCSB anthropologists and undergraduate researchers are 90% confident that they discovered Jack’s remains in May. While the information is still being confirmed by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Mrs. Cantin said she is relieved to be able to bury her son with dignity. “One of the most horrible things that I experienced — that I would wish on no one — was to lose a loved one where they kind of essentially vanished and you don’t know where they are, and you want to have them to lay them to rest with dignity. I wasn’t afforded Please see CANTIN on A4
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
Kim Cantin (right) and her daughter with Lauren posed for a photo in Santa Barbara nearly a year after the debris flow in 2019.
NEWS-PRESS SPECIAL REPORT
Complaints doubled over jets’ noise Santa Barbara Airport works to accommodate neighbors’ concerns By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER/NEWS-PRESS
A Southwest Boeing 737 flies over the Hope Ranch neighborhood. Residents of Hope Ranch report many of the airport’s noise complaints.
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The largest aircrafts land on Runway 25. Its voluntary path directs pilots over the ocean before turning left through More Mesa and onto the runway. Southwest Airlines is working with SBA to get the FAA’s formal approval of a noise-abatement approach. The airport is pushing for a quick approval, hoping it would direct more pilots away from populated areas. When pilots don’t take a noiseabatement approach, the airport reminds them of the preferred route. Additionally, air-traffic controllers approve pilots for takeoff and landing by specifying
the route they should take. Controllers call planes off-route to learn possible issues. Each noise complaint is investigated by Santa Barbara Airport staff, who document each case and research what conditions may have caused the change in approach. “We have multiple people working on this, and it is taking the capacity that we have (to the point) where we may need to bring more bodies on board,” Mr. Keller said. The airport receives about 52 complaints each day, which Mr. Keller says is akin to 2019’s volume. Please see COMPLAINTS on B4
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Elizabeth Gabler, a longtime resident of Hope Ranch, can hear the airplanes coming while she is inside her home. She runs outside and looks at the plane’s identifying marks before calling in a noise complaint. In fact, she has memorized the number of the automated complaint system. She’s that frustrated by the loud hums of jet engines. Noise complaints are common at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport now that more flights have resumed. The volume of
complaints has doubled since last month, Airport Operations Manager Aaron Keller told the News-Press. The airport is trying to be neighborly, but its options are limited by Federal Aviation Administration laws. In the interest of safety, the FAA doesn’t allow airports to establish a mandatory flight path. Pilots must be able to change paths based on weather and other conditions. The Santa Barbara Airport has voluntary noise-abatement approaches set for each runway. Smaller planes often use Runway 15L and 15R and are directed to fly over Highway 101.
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Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 20-24-32-35-39 Meganumber: 25
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 5-5-2-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-35-36-54-64 Meganumber: 11
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 13-16-17-24-34
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-07-06 Time: 1:40.74
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 25-30-53-59-60 Meganumber: 5
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 5-6-7 / Wednesday’s Midday 2-1-6