Olympics teams deal with weather, COVID-19
MEDAL COUNT
GOLD
U.S. remains No. 1 with total count of 79 medals; China leads in gold medals - A3
SILVER BRONZE
25
31
Overall Ranking #
Sculptures grace Casa del Herrero ‘Symbiotic’ exhibit now on view at historic Montecito site - B1
23 1st
Our 166th Year
75¢
T H U R SDAY, AUGUS T 5, 2 021
Masks mandate
County reinstates indoor requirement, effective Friday By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
After a surge in the region’s COVID-19 cases, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department released a new health officer order on Wednesday, which includes a new indoor mask mandate that will go into effect Friday at 5 p.m. The order will require that all people, regardless of vaccination status, mask up in all indoor public settings. This includes inside offices, retail stores, restaurants, bars, theaters, entertainment centers, conference and event settings and in state and local government offices serving the public. There are very limited exceptions to the order that allow people to go unmasked indoors, and these include when working alone in a closed office or room, when actively eating and drinking, while obtaining a medical or cosmetic treatment where mask removal is required, when unmasking is needed to complete an indoor religious ritual and
when engaged in water sports. The order also specifies that performers and professional athletes may remove face coverings while performing or practicing. And a mask could be temporarily removed or lowered in communications involving a hearing-impared person reading lips. The decision to reinstate a mandate comes after weeks of climbing case rates were recorded across the county, largely propelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant. With new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealing that fully vaccinated people who experience a breakthrough infection can spread the variant, the Public Health Department decided to reinstitute a mask mandate to slow the surge. “Requiring indoor masking is the least disruptive strategy and can make an immediate impact on limiting the spread of COVID-19, specifically the Delta variant,” Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Please see MASKS on A4
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
Three masked travelers stroll Wednesday through the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport. The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued a new Health Officer Order that will require all people to wear masks indoors starting at 5 p.m. Friday.
Viva la Fiesta!
Litigation anticipated against Ty Warner and Four Seasons Attorney representing Biltmore employees ready to file lawsuits
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Four Seasons and Ty Warner, owner of Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara, may soon be facing lawsuits from hundreds of former employees seeking severance pay. Anticouni & Ricotta, a law firm specializing in employment law, alleges Four Seasons and Ty Warner owe more than $6.5 million in severance and around $2.6 million in vacation pay. The firm also accuses the employers of negligent infliction of severe emotional distress. The firm represents more than 300 individual employees, and Bruce N. Anticouni, the firm’s founder, expects many more to join soon. The attorneys attended mediation sessions on April 30 and July 10, both lasting a few hours, hoping for an agreement. Four Seasons and Mr. Warner did not make a settlement offer during the first session. Mr. Warner offered 10% of employees’ severance. Four Seasons did not make an
Ysabella Yturralde, the Spirit of Fiesta, performs during La Fiesta Pequeña in front of the Santa Barbara Mission.
offer but stated that if employees accepted the 10% offer, they forfeit their employment seniority with the company. The 10% offer was sent to employees Tuesday, and rejections started to come in within a day, Mr. Anticouni told the News-Press. He believes the law entitles the former employees he represents, from servers to managers, to full severance and vacation as a legal termination of employment. The resort maintains that employees were furloughed. Employees left March 20, 2020, with promises the hotel would reopen when safe. San Ysidro Ranch, another one of Mr. Warner’s properties, never closed. The company canceled employees’ health insurance in June 2020 while still stating that the employees were on a furlough, alleges Mr. Anticouni. Mr. Anticouni plans to bring litigation both to Santa Barbara County Superior Court and a federal court. He said the company’s actions violate the Please see BILTMORE on A4
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
Large audience watches La Fiesta Pequeña from a distance By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Officially, La Fiesta Pequeña was closed to the public at large. But nothing on Wednesday night kept a large audience from showing up anyway. Not COVID-19 precautions. Not the lack of parking next to the Santa Barbara Mission. Not the fencing put around the lawn just in front of the mission. Not even the big trucks parked to block the view.
FOLLOW US ON
People found they could still easily see the dancers and musicians, as they sat on lounge chairs and blankets and brought their kids and pets to see the kickoff to Santa Barbara’s longtime and unique celebration. “Viva la Fiesta!” La Presidenta Stephanie Petlow said on stage as Old Spanish Days filmed the many performers. Parking may have been the biggest challenge for the audience, who found the mission parking lot closed. But spectators were willing to walk far from nearby neighborhoods and places like the parking lot at Rocky Nook Park
6
66833 00050
3
Please see FIESTA on A2
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
The Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara has been closed for 17 months.
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2
on Mission Canyon Road. They brought coolers and food, and laughter was everywhere. Many took photos with their smartphones. A good number, in fact, stood along a fence, just to the right of the mission stage. The big trucks didn’t block that part of the view. There were few masks in sight, but people seemed to be socially distanced. There was more than six feet between various groups, as the News-Press determined by driving around the area.
Obituaries............. A4 Sudoku................. B3
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO:4-14-18-36-43 Meganumber: 14
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 3-0-5-1
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 1-9-17-27-34 Meganumber: 24
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-15-26-28-38
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-10-02 Time: 1:46.23
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 5, 21, 32, 36, 58 Meganumber: 14
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 0-2-7/ Wednesday’s Midday 3-7-4