Our 164th Year
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T U E S DAY, M AY 2 6 , 2 0 2 0
I Madonnari succeeds online First virtual edition of festival recreates 1947 painting
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
The almost complete chalk recreation of Thomas Hart Benton’s 1947 painting “Achelous and Hercules” is seen from above. It was produced during the virtual I Madonnari chalk art festival.
By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
A formation of airplanes flies over Santa Barbara on Memorial Day.
‘Good for the soul’ Beachgoers relax, remember and rally on Memorial Day
By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Monday, thousands of Americans celebrated the men and women in the U.S. military who died protecting their freedom. Santa Barbara locals and visitors enjoyed the surf and sun and dining near West Beach as a group of protesters called for state and local governments to roll back even more coronavirusrelated safety measures such as mandatory face coverings in businesses and closing hair salons and gyms. Santa Barbara County restaurants started offering dinein service on Friday. Prospero Sotelo, manager of the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company at Stearns Wharf, said management has brought back 75 percent of its pre-coronavirus staffing. “It’s been great for business, and it’s great for our customers,” Mr. Sotelo said Monday as he took orders from a long line of hungry customers. Sam Alipour came from Los Angeles to visit Santa Barbara with his parents and siblings. “It feels great. We’re out with family, and it’s good for the soul,” Mr. Alipour said as the group enjoyed lunch on the wharf. Connor Buell and a friend came to Santa Barbara from Bakersfield
Memorial Day broadcast honors fallen veterans By DAVE MASON to escape a blistering heat wave. “It’s extremely refreshing because in Bakersfield it’s gonna be 108 to 105 this week so the weather is fantastic. Bakersfield has been pretty open, so it’s not that different from here. It (Bakersfield) is probably less regulated. It feels like there is a
lot of freedom that a lot of other beaches don’t have,” Mr. Buell said. He explained that other coastal communities like Pismo Beach and Cayucos are still pretty “strict.” “It feels like this is a little stressfree secret spot that maybe not a
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lot of California knows about,” Mr. Buell said. Shea Silva and Stephanie Porto said they were in Pismo Beach Sunday night with their children and Morro Bay last weekend. Mr. Silva said they plan to visit Morro Bay again next weekend. Please see MEMORIAL on A8
Santa Barbara Shellfish Company saw plenty of customers during Memorial Day at Stearns Wharf.
These 24 notes mean everything on Memorial Day. “Taps” was played by a solo bugler during a KEYT-TV broadcast that started with a bagpipe processional and ended with a “Missing Man” fly-over formation. In-between those moments, the annual Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation program honored fallen veterans with David Gonzales singing the National Anthem, a choir singing “Shenandoah” and the main address by Anthony J. Mastalir, commander of the 30th Space Wing and Western Launch and Test Range at Vandenberg Air Force Base. The program featured an opening statement by retired Air Force Col. Philip J. Conran, chairman of the foundation board. Col. Conran is a 30-year veteran and recipient of the Air Force’s highest honor, the Air Force Cross. He also received a Purple Heart, the Airman’s Medal, four Distinguished Flying Crosses for actions in Vietnam and the Legion of Merit medal. Other speakers included Lt. John Blankenship, the foundation co-founder and
a former naval officer, who talked about the work of service members on the frontlines of fighting the coronavirus pandemic. The program also featured an address by Brig. Gen. Fred Loprez, who served more than 30 years of active duty with the Marine Corps and Reserve. During the ceremony, Lt. Col. Patricia Rumpza, a retired Air Force officer, led the pledge of allegiance. Retired Army LTC Jack Armstrong delivered the invocation. In a news release before the broadcast, Lt. Blankenship said the foundation felt it was important to find a way during the pandemic to present the Memorial Day event this year to honor fallen heroes and demonstrate America’s resilience in the face of COVID-19. He said the solution was Monday’s broadcast, which brought an expanded audience for the ceremony. Elsewhere, a smaller than usual crowd gathered at the Santa Maria Cemetery for a Memorial Day service that included a presentation of wreaths, bagpipes and several guest speakers. Email: dmason@newspress.com
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NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
People enjoy the warm weather Monday at West Beach in Santa Barbara.
Pastor Rob McCoy speaks to supporters during a gathering on West Beach.
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The first virtual I Madonnari chalk art festival was a success, albeit secluded from the public. The festival’s last day should have been a celebration of art at the Santa Barbara Mission. Instead, artists Sharyn Chan, Ann Hefferman and Jay Schwartz finished the event’s featured painting on Monday in the quiet calm of an undisclosed site off Alameda Padre Serra. The secluded spot overlooked Santa Barbara. Kathy Koury, the executive director of the Children’s Creative Project, created the I Madonnari Street Painting Festival in 1987. The event raises funds for the project’s arts education programs. Ms. Koury’s idea has inspired more than 100 similar street painting festivals in the U.S., Canada and Central and South America. This year, the feature painting was a chalk pastel rendition of Thomas Hart Benton’s 1947 painting “Achelous and Hercules.” The painting features the
Greek god Achelous, in the form of a bull, wrestling with mythic hero Hercules. Ms. Koury said she chose “Achelous and Hercules” for the featured piece because it is an uplifting celebration of American workers. “We wanted to do something American, with an American artist. Something that reflected strength and abundance,” added Ms. Hefferman. “Lushness of color, smoothness and the movement in it are inspiring,” Ms. Hefferman said. This year’s painting is one of I Madonnari’s largest ever at 12 feet by 50 feet. Ms. Hefferman said the artists started working on Thursday and paced themselves through 10-hour days of painting. Normally, the artists use chalk pastel directly on the pavement at the mission, but this year they used a base layer of waterbased tempera paint on the work surface. “The mission’s surface is so good you don’t have to put down the tempera, but here if we don’t, we have a lot of speckle,” Ms. Please see chalk on A2
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Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 7-27-35-43-45 Meganumber: 15
Monday’s DAILY 4: 6-1-8-2
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 8-10-20-44-46 Meganumber: 18
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 5-7-26-29-35
Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-10-01 Time: 1:48.02
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 2-8-18-21-23 Meganumber: 16
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 3-7-0 / Midday 4-8-9