Waterhouse Gallery celebrates 37 years
‘Longest Night’ memorial service
Owners Diane and Ralph Waterhouse credit hard work and good relationships with artists for their success - B1
Community groups honor homeless individuals who died in 2020 and 2021 - A2
Our 166th Year
75¢
T H U R S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 21
Housing to replace drive-in theater in Santa Maria City council change zoning to accommodate low-income housing
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
The Santa Maria City Council has voted to change the zoning at Hi-Way Drive-In to allow for a low-income housing project. The drive-in theater has not been financially viable, and the owners are selling the property to People’s Self-Help Housing, a nonprofit. Tuesday’s vote to change the zoning from commercial to residential was the first step in a potentially two-year process on the path to building a lowincome housing project that will be funded by People’s Self-Help Housing and state grants. “It’s relatively flat, which helps with the cost of the preparatory work for construction,” Ken Triguerio, president and CEO of People’s Self-Help Housing, told the News-Press Wednesday.
Randy Rowse smiles at his election-night party, shortly after seeing his large lead.
Mayor-elect prepares for office
“It’s in the middle of a residential area,” Mr. Triguerio said. “Infrastructure is pretty well developed around it, which makes it more financially feasible.” Currently People’s Self-Help Housing has 2,000 units of rental housing, but more homes are needed, he said. “We have a wait list of over 500 people for our rental units,” Mr. Triguerio said. “On our list of interested parties is more than 5,000 who would qualify for the housing. We have so many people in great need of an opportunity like this.” Chuen Ng, director of community development for the city of Santa Maria, said the People’s Self-Help Housing project will provide additional homes for low-income and very Please see HOUSING on A2
Grand Jury dispels Allan Hancock College allegations
Randy Rowse says he doesn’t feel pressure to serve any group or party over another By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Randy Rowse stepped into his election-night party at El Paseo with a smile. Standing among his family, friends were some of the area’s prominent conservatives. But Santa Barbara’s mayorelect doesn’t feel pressure to
represent any one group or party affiliation. He appreciates his supporters — from which he received over $300,000 in campaign contributions — but now he says he has to serve the city. “I’m not working for the people who voted for me more than the people who didn’t
vote for me. I owe everyone everything, period,” he told the News-Press. “There’s no group, no ideology. I have no party, as you already know,” he said, referring to previous interviews where he discussed running unaffiliated. “It’s really a very, very simple process. It really is; it’s
egalitarian as all get out.” Despite his lack of party affiliation, he said he is not an “unknown factor” coming into the Santa Barbara City Council. Mr. Rowse was seated in the chambers just two years ago and has worked with four of six council members. Please see ROWSE on A3
UCSB to begin its winter quarter Jan. 3 with remote learning By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
UCSB plans to have students do two weeks of remote instruction before in-person learning resumes Jan. 18.
FOLLOW US ON
6
66833 00050
3
Because of concern over the omicron variant, UCSB has decided to begin its winter quarter with two weeks of remote learning. The quarter begins Jan. 3. Inperson learning will resume Jan. 18, pending reassessment of the pandemic, according to a news release. The university noted the variant poses challenges for starting inperson classes. UCSB noted the problems faced by students and instructors who test positive over the break and can’t travel back to campus on time. The university said there’s also a time issue for those who test positive on arrival and need to self-isolate. According to UCSB, beginning the semester with two weeks of
remote instruction allows students and instructors to deal with any delays or COVID-related health issues without missing classes. It also allows additional time for people to get booster shots. The university explained the objective is to minimize disruptions to students’ course work and provide as much stability as possible for students and instructors in uncertain times. UCSB is encouraging students to stay wherever they can best do their coursework during the two weeks of remote instruction and to get COVID-19 tests before returning to campus. University housing , dining halls and other campus facilities will be open to those who choose to return to campus. University operations other than instruction Please see UCSB on A3
COURTESY PHOTO
Allan Hancock College is the subject of a recent Santa Barbara County Grand Jury investigation.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury investigated allegations of financial mismanagement, grade manipulation and a difficult work environment at Allan Hancock College — the kind of accusations that, if true, could dull the shine of the “Hancock Promise.” The Grand Jury, though, could not substantiate the complaints with fact. Hancock’s president, Dr. Kevin G. Walthers. told the News-Press he believes the complaint came from a “handful” of the college’s employees. The Grand Jury’s report acknowledges some staff bitterness. The broad complaint points to instances as early as five to seven years ago. Dr. Walthers said each incident has been addressed by the Santa Maria college. “We feel like we’ve looked at this a couple of times, and now that somebody else has looked at it maybe it will bring it to a resolution,” he said.
He mused whether the Grand Jury was a way to “vent some steam” for a public employee. The pressure was visible in a 2018 survey among 217 faculty and staff; 81% of administrators, 47% of classified staff and 41% of faculty completed the survey. The results put responses in three categories: favorable, unfavorable and neutral. When given the statement “There are enough people to do the work in my work group,” 58% of respondents answered unfavorably. Of those surveyed, 46% disagreed with “There are no significant barriers at work to doing my job well.” The firm that conducted the survey, Korn Ferry, scored the questions answers 21% below average for the education industry. Other poor-performing questions looked at training and communication. Despite concerns, the same respondents indicated above industry-average that they believe Allan Hancock Please see REPORT on A2
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 3-0-6-0
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 25-31-58-64-67- Meganumber: 24
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 4-11-30-31-38
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-12-09 Time: 1:47.55
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Sports . .................... A3 Weather................. A4
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 4-9-3 / Wednesday’s Midday 3-1-0