Our 164th Year
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t u e S DAY, M AY 19, 2 0 2 0
Peabody Stadium almost ready Santa Barbara High School project set for completion in late June By MARK PATTON NEWS-PRESS SENIOR WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS
Peabody Stadium appeared Monday to be closer to completion. Work is expected to be finished by late June.
Santa Barbara High’s Peabody Stadium is shaping up as a Midsummer’s Night Dream come true. The $39 million project is expected to be ready for use by the end of June, according to Steve Vizzolini, the director of facilities and modernization for the Santa Barbara Unified School District. “It is important to note that while graduation cannot occur (because of the coronavirus pandemic), the stadium could be used for the traditional ceremony in June,” he said on
Monday. Santa Barbara High principal Elise Simmons recently committed to holding the traditional “Walk of the Dons” ceremony at the stadium for the Class of 2020 whenever COVID-19 restrictions are lifted. The original Peabody Stadium was built in 1924. A ground-breaking ceremony for its reconstruction was held on Aug. 23, 2017 after the Foundation for Santa Barbara High School raised $5 million for the project. The remainder has come from voter-approved bonds, state seismic mitigation funds and developer’s fees. Vizzolini said the track surface is the last big
piece that needs to be completed. “The paving that will be applied to it has been completed except for some minor rework,” he said. “Once certified as done, there is a 28-day cure time before the synthetic surface can be installed. “Other than that, there are just a smallpunch list items, which are basically minor rework and corrections to completed work.” Among the finishing touches will be the installment of donor plaques to the back of the concrete seats and the signage for major donors at the new donor plaza. “These will all be completed during the 28Please see STADIUM on A8
Toast for oil-free future Center and supporters mark anniversary of Refugio Oil Spill
COURTESY PHOTO
Carpinteria pools have reopened.
Carpinteria city pool opens today Santa Barbara pools remain closed By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS
In these 2015 photos, workers finish repairing the damaged pipe at the source of the Refugio Oil Spill. The fifth anniversary of the spill is being marked today.
By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Center for Biological Diversity and its supporters are mixing cocktails to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the Refugio Oil Spill today. On May 19, 2015, Plains All American Pipeline Line 901 spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil north of Refugio State Beach. Twenty thousand gallons of oil flowed into the ocean, killing hundreds of marine mammals and birds. “Let’s toast to an oil-free future in Santa Barbara County and call on elected officials to end dirty and dangerous drilling. We don’t deserve another oil spill in this county,” said Center for Biological Diversity spokeswoman Stephanie Prufer. Ms. Prufer asked supporters to make an oil spill-themed cocktail or mocktail, take a picture of the drink and post it on social media with the tag #nooilsb. The center hosted a webinar Monday on oil projects in Santa Barbara County in partner with the Environmental Defense Please see oil on A2
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Swimmers dove into the Carpinteria Community Pool for the first time in weeks on Monday morning. Last week the city of Carpinteria announced the pool, located at 5305 Carpinteria Ave., would reopen with certain social distancing measures that are consistent with state and county public health orders. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can spread to people through pool water. Proper operation and disinfection of pools should kill the virus that causes COVID-19,” a city press release read. Pool staff will only allow five swimmers in the pool at once. Swimmers must shower at home before swimming and come wearing their swim suit because the locker rooms are closed. Swimmers must also bring their own hand sanitizer and pool equipment such as kickboards, buoys, hand paddles and fins. Staff will not allow swimmers into the pool without hand sanitizer. Swimmers must reserve a lane 24 hours before their swim at https://www.carp-pool.com. Pool staff assign reservations in one-hour time slots with 45 minutes allowed for each swim. Swimmers can only make one reservation per day. Staff will check swimmers in at the front cashier window. Swimmers must exit through the west gate into the parking lot. Staff may remove swimmers who violate the pool rules. The pool fee schedule is available on the pool website. Day passes cost $7 and multiswim passes start at $45 for 10 swims. City Parks and Recreation Public Facilities Director Matt Roberts said the city understands there is high demand for more lanes and is following all county guidelines.
“We didn’t think they would limit us to five swimmers at a time in our 10 lane pool. That was less than we had hoped,” Mr. Roberts said. He pointed out that the Carpinteria Community Pool is geared towards exercise, and staff are working to bring back programs like aqua aerobics and masters club swimming within county guidelines. “People are annoyed that they can’t seem to get a spot. As soon as the time comes up 24 hours in advance, appointments fill up in less than a minute. We have a lot of seniors and people who aren’t elite athletes who are interested in getting back into the pool because they realize it is important to their health,” Mr. Roberts said. He also added that swimmers have respected the new pool rules so far and staff reserve the right to revoke swim privileges for problematic swimmers. “With this privilege comes the responsibility of knowing if you don’t follow the guidelines, you won’t be able to make a reservation. We will only accommodate those who are compliant,” Mr. Roberts said. Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo said city pools will remain closed. She said pools are explicitly not to reopen during phase two of Governor Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus guidelines. “I understand that swimmers are anxious to get back in the water. As soon as we have the green light from the governor, we will reopen city swimming pools with all of the public health requirements anticipated,” Ms. Murillo said. The city of Santa Barbara operates three public pools: Los Baños del Mar Pool at 401 Shoreline Dr.; Ortega Park Pool at 600 North Salsipuedes St., and the Oak Park Wading Pool at 300 W. Alamar Ave. email: pgonzalez@newspress.com
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LOTTERY
Comics................. A6 Local................. A 2-8 Obituaries............. A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-9-23-27-35 Meganumber: 16
Monday’s DAILY 4: 3-0-0-1
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 11-17-32-33-46 Meganumber: 25
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 4-16-21-31-38
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 11-03-12 Time: 1:41.59
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 8-12-26-39-42 Meganumber: 11
Soduku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Monday’s DAILY 3: 4-0-3 / Midday 9-0-7