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Our 165th Year
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T H U R S DAY, NOV E M BE R 19, 2 0 2 0
Getting scrappy
Explore Ecology’s Art From Scrap launches fundraiser for 30th birthday
Health officials optimistic about COVID-19 vaccines Public Health Officer pleased with vaccine success rate, expects county to have it by January By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg is optimistic about the Pfizer and Moderna COVID19 vaccines and expects that Santa Barbara County will have them by early January. In an interview with the News-Press, Dr. Ansorg said he and his colleagues at the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department are “very excited” about the newly announced vaccines, as well as their
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Art From Scrap, located at 302 E. Cota St. in Santa Barbara, collects salvaged goods, like this frame, and sells them at a low cost as craft supplies. Tara Patrick is the director of the program and has used her creativity to continue serving crafters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Turning 30 doesn’t always call for an existential crisis, lots of wine and self-deprecating humor. For Art From Scrap, 30 years is a milestone to celebrate. The staff planned a large party to commemorate the day but like many events nowadays, COVID-19 changed their plans. So, now, they launched a virtual celebration and a $30-for-30-years fundraiser. Art From Scrap started with a handful of parents who wanted to provide more art supplies to
students. They found materials that would otherwise be trash and turned it into an opportunity for kids to get creative. For years, they collected skateboard wheel shavings from a local shop. The students enjoyed these curly, bright plastic pieces and the other unique salvage. It grew from the parents’ garage to an empty airplane hangar (rented for a nominal fee). They began teaching about the environment alongside their ecofriendly art projects. The organization expanded and renamed itself to Explore Ecology,
an environmental education and arts program that reaches around 30,000 kids each year. It’s located at 302 E. Cota St. in Santa Barbara, and a variety of ages visit for the Art From Scrap Creative Reuse Store, a shop of secondhand art materials at a bargain. “We can’t open yet. It’s not feasible the way the store is set up because you kind of have to search through things,” Tara Patrick, Art From Scrap Creative Reuse director, said. “It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, so it’s not like the greatest place to go during the
pandemic.” The store closed in March but recently opened an online shop and an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday parking lot sale. Staff members pick out a portion of the stock, usually priced at about $1, and sell it outside under COVID-19 precautions. A small portion of the stock is available online and gives just a taste of what Art From Scrap offers. There are ceramic baby doll parts, old photographs, mosaic tiles and seemingly Please see scrapPy on A8
reported efficacy rates. According to Reuters, Pfizer’s vaccine was reported to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data, and Moderna reported its vaccine was 94.5% effective. Before Santa Barbara County, or anywhere else for that matter, can get the COVID19 vaccine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration needs to grant the vaccines emergency use authorization. Dr. Ansorg Please see vaccine on A4
MORE INSIDE Local couple reunites after months apart - A4
Funds awarded for Visual Arts and Design Academy $2.2 million awarded for new SBHS building By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
At left, the store is a treasure hunt of materials, and customers usually rifle through the stock to find just what they need. Now, a small portion of the store is online and available during a parking lot sale from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. At right, Donations vary widely. Sometimes, they get a bag of jewelry. Other times, it’s a box of wine corks.
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L O T T E RY RESU LTS
i nside Classified.............. A7 Life.................... A 3-4 Obituaries............. A8
The California Department of Education’s Facilities Program awarded $2.2 million to the Visual Arts and Design Academy at Santa Barbara High School to benefit the construction of a specialized building. The program is currently operating in a 50-year-old space, but a modern, permanent structure would benefit students as soon as 2023. As part of the project, the existing buildings will be updated and a new building will be constructed. VADA anticipates breaking ground in the second half of 2021. “This is a huge milestone
for the school because these new funds allow us to break ground on a new building, which will begin our phased facility modernization project,” Daniel Barnett, program director and art instructor of VADA, said in a statement. The project has raised $4.7 million of its $6.5 million goal. Nearly $1.2 million was funded through Measure I 2016, a bond measure that uses Career Tech Ed grant funds to further the public’s investment. VADA raised over $1.3 million through donations from an anonymous donor and Lillian and Jon Lovelace.
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