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Our 165th Year
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Derek Chauvin trial begins Santa Barbara County officials respond to the death of George Floyd By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS
A mural of George Floyd, located in the 200 block of East Haley Street in Santa Barbara, was painted in June 2020.
The trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer whose knees pressed into George Floyd’s neck and back in a viral video last May, began Monday morning. Prosecuters are charging the former police officer with second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and seconddegree manslaughter. The alleged murder occured in Minneapolis, though the ramifications were felt internationally. Protests made headlines, even locally, and the Santa Barbara Police Department banned the use of the carotid restraint (where an officer wraps an arm around the subject’s head but does put the subject in a choke hold). The restraint employed by Mr. Chauvin is
not a carotid restraint, and the trial’s opening statements circled whether the method was excessive. “Officers take an oath when they become police officers,” Prosecuting Attorney Jerry Blackwell said. “They take an oath that I will enforce the law courteously and appropriately and as you will learn, as it applies to this case, never employing unnecessary force or violence. ... On May 25, 2020, Mr. Derek Chauvin betrayed his badge when he used excessive and unreasonable force upon the body of George Floyd when he put his knees on his neck and his back, grinding and crushing him until the very breath — no, ladies and gentlemen, until the very life was squeezed out of him.” Mr. Blackwell, who is assisting prosecution pro bono, opened with a statement condemning Mr. Chauvin’s actions as improper
policing. He noted that bystanders were so appalled at the use of force that they called the police on the police. Defense Attorney Eric Nelson implied that Mr. Chauvin’s response was reasonable, focusing on Mr. Floyd’s large stature and drug use. His statement accused Mr. Floyd more than it defended Mr. Chauvin. “What you will learn is that when an officer responds to what is sometimes a routine and minimal event, it often evolves into a greater and more serious event. … You will learn that Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do over the course of his 19year career,” he said. “The use of force is not attractive, but it is a necessary component of policing.” Days after Mr. Floyd’s death, then Police Please see chauvin on A2
Upset over cannabis odor Carpinteria residents concerned about neighborhood greenhouses By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A coalition of residents living in Linden Meadows in Carpinteria is on year three of speaking up about their concerns regarding the odor of cannabis greenhouses adjacent to their neighborhood. The residents have brought their complaints to the Carpinteria City Council and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. Some have filed lawsuits against the local businesses running the greenhouses. The businesses include EverBloom, Enigma, Melodious Plots and Saga Farms, which are all owned by the same family, the Van Wingerdens. Ever-Bloom Inc. declined to comment to the News-Press on the matter. Meanwhile, the Carpinteria residents have yet to get their requests granted. The neighbors want businesses to find a way to get rid of what the residents call a stench. The greenhouses in question, some of which are small, “mixed light” greenhouses, sit at 4555, 4587 and 4701 Foothill Road (Ever-Bloom), along with 5601 and 5775 Casitas Pass Road. Carrie Miles has been a key individual leading the push for odor control, and the resident told the News-Press the smell can be “overwhelming.” “We feel like we have absolutely no control over what’s going on,” she told the News-Press Monday. “It’s not something you want to smell, and then people are having health issues with it. And there’s, like, nothing we can do.” Ms. Miles said the owners are attempting to combine the Melodious Plots (which she likes to call “Malodorous Plots”) greenhouses with more greenhouses adjacent to the neighborhood on Sterling Avenue, which currently have lettuce growing in them. She fears the intention is to start growing marijuana in those greenhouses as well. The smell obviously depends on wind direction and strength, along Please see cannabis on A3
COURTESY PHOTO
Bree Valla, deputy superintendent of the Lompoc Unified School District, runs across the new track at Huyck Stadium as part of the Lompoc Community Track & Field dedication Monday.
Lompoc Community Track & Field opens By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
A coalition of residents living in Linden Meadows in Carpinteria are speaking up about the cannabis odor that is present in the neighborhood due to adjacent greenhouses.
Ever-Bloom, Inc. is the local greenhouse adjacent to Linden Meadows that residents say has been giving off the cannabis odor.
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The Lompoc Community Track & Field in Huyck Stadium opened with a reception on Monday. Construction was nearly complete when the pandemic struck, delaying its original ribbon-cutting date last spring. Now, with restrictions loosened and the turf christened with its first football game two weeks ago, it is official. The stadium serves as the home field for both Cabrillo and Lompoc High Schools. “This is a really proud moment for our community. It’s something that we deserve and proof that we can deliver on a project that benefits the community,” Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne told the News-Press. “I look forward to more improvements and investment in our community like this.” The project, six years in the making, took support from community members as well as the board of the Lompoc Unified School District. “Many people told (Superintendent Trevor McDonald) that there was no way he would be able to get this project done in Lompoc,” Bree Valla, Lompoc Unified’s deputy superintendent, said. “He said he respectfully disagreed.” Superintendent McDonald has been focused on the school district’s health and physical fitness since he began his tenure
in 2013. He has sought grants himself to pull off projects such as: biking and swimming lessons for students, exercise equipment for staff, hiring gym teachers for each elementary school, installing gopher-proof netting on school fields and providing meals cooked from scratch. The renovation of Huyck Stadium, almost untouched since its construction in the ’60s, was funded through $1.7 million of the district’s construction fund and additional community fundraising. “It really feels good to see how the community came behind such a monumental project for the entire community,” Ms. Valla said. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians donated $450,000 for the construction of the track. “Huyck Stadium has been the heart of the Lompoc community for decades, so we were proud to partner on this project,” Kenneth Kahn, tribal chairman for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, told the News-Press in a statement. “Our charitable foundation prides itself on supporting youth recreational programming, so when we learned about the upgrades that were needed to improve the experience for both student-athletes and the community, we definitely wanted to be a part of the project.” A long list of community Please see lompoc on A2
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