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Congregation B’nai B’rith celebrates Hanukkah with community service
Carbajal supports stimulus bill Congressman tells News-Press passage would mean help soon By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal is praising a stimulus package that the House is expected to vote on next week. If passed by Congress and signed into law, the bill would mean quick help for small businesses including stores and restaurants, unemployed individuals and others in need during the pandemic, Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, told the News-Press Wednesday. “I think it would be pretty immediate,” he said by phone from Washington, D.C. “Right now, people are hurting throughout the country and in my district,” Rep. Carbajal added. “We need to get this done.” The $908 billion Bipartisan Emergency COVID Relief Act of 2020 would extend all pandemic unemployment insurance benefits by 16 weeks, beyond their expiration on Dec. 31. And it would expand federal supplemental unemployment insurance benefits by $300 per week for 16 weeks, from the end of December into April. The act also provides $300 billion for the Small Business Administration and would allow the hardest-hit small businesses
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“Right now, people are hurting throughout the country and in my district,” Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said as he discussed a bipartisan stimulus package. “We need to get this done.”
to receive a second forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loan. Eligibility would be limited to small businesses with 300 or fewer employees who have sustained a 30 percent revenue loss in any quarter of 2020. The act also simplifies the loan forgiveness process for borrowers with PPP loans of $150,000 or less. The act also contains an Please see carbajal on A8
Solvang says no City says it will not enforce stay-at-home orders By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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Jen Lewis, director of religious learning at Congregation B’nai B’rith, prepares lunch bags to distribute during the temple’s celebration of Hanukkah
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Hanukkah begins at sunset tonight and will continue until sundown Dec. 18. To celebrate the Festival of Lights this year, Congregation B’nai B’rith plans to light up the community with acts of service. Each day of Hanukkah, members of the Santa Barbara congregation will observe a “mitzvah,” meaning commandment. Mitzvah Day is usually observed the weekend before Thanksgiving, and the congregation meets for a large act of service. Because of the COVID19 pandemic, CBB merged Mitzvah Day and Hanukkah to make “Mitzvah Week” — eight days of serving inspired by commandments in scripture. “On Mitzvah Day, we see it as an opportunity to serve others. It’s an act of loving kindness, and loving
kindness goes out. We should be kind to ourselves too, but loving kindness is about connecting with others and spreading the love,” said Mariela Socolovsky, director of community engagement at CBB. On the first day, congregation members will practice Leviticus 19:18: “... you shall love your neighbor as yourself…” CBB suggests making cookies for neighbors and friends or dropping off cards. “Given the fact that Hanukkah was coming up, we decided to spin things around like a dreidel, and bring this idea of bringing things to light by doing good things in the word,” Ms. Socolovsky told the News-Press. There are suggestions on each day for acts of service and community organizations to partner with. Throughout the week, there is a toy drive and a coats and blankets drive to Please see hanukkah on A8
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Hanukkah begins tonight.
The Solvang City Council passed a resolution this week stating the city will not actively enforce county and state stay-athome orders. The city requested that Santa Barbara County prioritize education and not enforce orders within city limits, which was a motion by Solvang Mayor Ryan Toussaint. The motion passed unanimously with a 5-0 vote at Monday’s council meeting. The council also strongly backed the creation of a new Central Coast Region, which would consist of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties. The region would separate the area from more severe Intensive Care Unit numbers in Los Angeles County and elsewhere. The mayor and council directed city staff to immediately pursue maintaining the status quo of safe, open outdoor dining and other current business practices. Solvang will create an ad hoc committee to work with City Manager Xenia Bradford, other state and local officials and organizations to maintain the current economy, with Mayor Toussaint and City Council member Jim Thomas as likely
appointees to the committee. Authorization was granted for Ms. Bradford to immediately adjust the budget by $10,000 to cover extra expenses related to these actions and for maintaining public safety. The mayor and council sent a letter Monday to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. In the letter, Mayor Toussaint wrote, “Significant concerns about the latest round of business shutdowns were expressed by residents, business representatives and our council. The community of Solvang has done a great job at being mindful, safe and responsible while keeping our local economy going during these challenging times. The current order by the state is ill-conceived, unnecessary and quite frankly negligent when it comes to protecting our community in a safe, balanced and sane manner.” The mayor added, “Solvang is a charter city, with a very active community base and a nimble and responsive city government led by a dedicated city council and staff. The city is also unique in that nearly all businesses are small and locally-owned, and with a great dependence on tourism. Even before the March 19 Executive Orders, the city was active in efforts to first contain
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