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Fur-midable candidate
Local tuxedo kitty announces run for mayor of Carpinteria By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Juno the Klepto Kat recently announced her “catpaign” for honorary mayor of Carpinteria, and working to clean up the city is her top priority. The 5-year-old tuxedo kitty, born on Cinco de Mayo, was a rescue from Los Angeles, and her owner, Connie Geston, said she noticed Juno’s restlessness from the minute she adopted her. Starting last year, random items began appearing in Ms. Geston’s yard in Carpinteria, and she thought the neighbor kids were just throwing things on it. Little did she know, her rescue was a klepto-cat. To date, the cat has collected more than 550 items and consistently brought them to her owners for recognition. Worthy items of Juno’s collection include socks, a scrap of astro turf, gardening gloves, cleaning rags, a multicolored stuffed llama, balls, toys, succulents and many more. “The month of September was her biggest month,” Ms. Geston told the News-Press. “She brought home, I think, 98 things.” While Juno’s owner returns the majority of the items to the neighbors her cat stole from, she keeps a display rack of the items no one wants anymore. Ms. Geston even started a Juno Succulent Garden. “When she brings things home, she meows really loud to let you know she’s bringing you something,” Ms. Geston said. “We call it the drag, drop and flop. She drags it home, she drops it, and she flops right in front of it, very proudly.” Juno is already an honorary ambassador for Carpinteria Beautiful, whose mission is to promote, preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the city. The cat volunteers once a week and takes to the streets of Carpinteria in a fluorescent vest to pick up litter in the community.
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
Carpinteria Unified School District board members discussed its plan to reopen secondary schools during its meeting Tuesday night. The board voted 4-1 in favor of waiting until January to open middle (pictured) and high schools.
Carpinteria Unified plans for hybrid By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Carpinteria Unified school board voted Tuesday evening to delay reopening secondary schools under a hybrid schedule until Jan. 7, the first day of second semester. The board voted 4-1 in favor of waiting until January to open middle and high schools. Elementary students returned Tuesday for hybrid learning, which superintendent Diana Rigby said went smoothly. “Even our TK students had masks on today,” she said. Students are divided into cohorts and meet either Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday on campus. About five to 14 students are in each cohort. A total of 42 elementary students opted for independent study, meaning they teach themselves at home instead of joining a cohort.
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By MITCHELL WHITE Juno the Klepto Kat recently announced her “catpaign” for honorary mayor of Carpinteria.
COURTESY PHOTO
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
COURTESY PHOTO
Juno’s owner, Connie Geston, has kept track of the number of items her cat has brought back to their home in Carpinteria, and her total number is more than 550. Ms. Geston also serves as Juno’s press secretary. At left, Juno poses in front of her collection.
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NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
The National Transportation Safety Board released its aviation accident preliminary report Tuesday on the Sept. 27 fatal crash that occurred off the coast of Campus Point in Isla Vista. The pilot, later identified as 61-year-old Deborah Nicholson, from the Lake Tahoe area, was the sole occupant and was fatally injured in the crash. The flight departed the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport just after 7 a.m. Sept. 27 for a cross-country flight to the Truckee-Tahoe Airport in Truckee, according to the report. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna T182T airplane departed the runway and established radio contact with Los Angeles Center departure control and turned a heading of 255 degrees with a climb to 8,000 feet above ground level. The airplane then turned to the north, followed by a turn to the east and a “rapid descent,” according to the report. “Radio and radar contact were lost, and an alert notification was
issued by the FAA. Wreckage and an oil slick were located approximately 2 miles from SBA in the Pacific Ocean by the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department. There were no mayday calls received by ATC from the pilot,” read the report. The reported weather at the time of the crash was overcast skies at 900 feet and a visibility of seven miles, authorities said. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department requested assistance from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department dive units to assist in the search for the pilot and airplane. The pilot and airplane were located Oct. 1 and the estimated depth of the wreckage was 200 feet, authorities said. The report did not disclose the cause of the crash. The Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau investigation is expected to be finalized in the next several weeks. In the preliminary report, the NTSB noted that information is subject to change and any errors would be corrected when a final report is completed, which is typically released 12 to 18 months after the incident. email: mwhite@newspress.com
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Christie Cooney, a parent in the district, commented on independent study. She said it was way worse than the previous distance-learning model. “What I ask is that we find a way to employ a teacher to continue distance learning,” she said. “To turn them over to an independent study program with no instruction from a teacher is not an adequate form of distance learning, and I think we can do better.” The board voted to purchase Calvert, a digital learning tool that will assist students learning independently. Learning Loss Mitigation funds will cover the $19,500 expense.
Report issued on Goleta plane crash
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Voters to cast ballots in Carpinteria Unified District board race. A6
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