Monkeypox case in Ventura County
‘Parsley’ and a puppy
Contact tracing underway as first case confirmed - A2
Local author’s children’s book based on her experiences with the plant and a canine companion - B1
Our 167th Year
75¢
T U E SDAY, J U LY 2 6 , 2 02 2
Heal the Ocean clears trash from homeless encampment
SB Council to get update on State Street Master Plan By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The city council today will receive an update on the State Street Master Plan, a long-term visioning document for the next 30 to 50 years concerning the revitalization of downtown. The council will meet in its chambers at city hall, 735 Anacapa St., starting at 2 p.m. Staff is recommending that the council receive an update on the work of the State Street Advisory Committee and the State Street Master Plan consultant selection process. Following that process, staff recommends that the council award a contract for consulting services to MIG, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $709,156 and approve extra expenditures up to $70,915 as a contingency for future planning efforts, including additional outreach, California Environmental Quality Act review
$18 minimum wage initiative unlikely to appear on 2022 ballot after judge ruling
COURTESY PHOTOS
Heal the Ocean workers showed up on Sunday and Monday to clear up trash and debris associated with a homeless encampment east of East Beach below the Clark Estate to Butterfly Beach in Montecito.
By NEIL HARTSTEIN
Items removed from the beach included plastic, styrofoam, flammable liquids and containers filled with human waste.
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Heal the Ocean workers returned Monday to a homeless encampment to clean up associated trash and debris before it pollutes the water, just like they did last week when they found plastic, styrofoam, flammable liquids and containers filled with human waste just waiting for waves to wash them out to sea. HTO Field Supervisor Harry Rabin and a sheriff’s deputy visited the same site, east of East Beach below the Clark Estate to Butterfly Beach in Montecito what Mr. Rabin calls a “gray area” when it comes to law enforcement - as they did last week, Mr. Rabin told the News-Press. They found the “last three holdouts” from last week’s visit near Butterfly Beach, including a man in a tent and a woman sleeping under a tarp, he said. They left after another woman showed up and encouraged them to go. Workers then cleaned up debris and trash they left behind - enough to fill a 6yard bin. Please see BEACH on A3
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Deputies accompanied the workers in an effort to convince residents of the encampment to remove their belongings and vacate the area.
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By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – California voters will not get the chance to decide whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $18 an hour in November after a superior court rejected a request to place it on this year’s ballot. Last week, several supporters of a ballot initiative that would incrementally raise California’s minimum wage to $18 an hour asked a court for a writ of mandate to compel Secretary of State Shirley Weber to place the measure on the 2022 ballot after it failed to qualify by the June 30 deadline. The measure is currently qualified to appear on the November 2024 ballot after counties finished verifying signatures this month. In a court filing, proponents of the initiative claimed COVID19 made it difficult to collect signatures resulting in signatures being submitted to county registrars “later than expected.” The filing also stated that the Secretary of State “failed in its duty to inform counties” that the measure was intended for the 2022 ballot by communicating to counties that they had until midJuly to verify signatures – missing the June 30 deadline for measures to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. District Judge James Arguelles denied the petitioner’s request to compel Ms. Weber to place the measure on the 2022 ballot on Friday. In a tentative ruling filed before Friday’s hearing, Judge Arguelles ruled that the petitioner’s claim that Ms. Weber failed to complete a “ministerial duty” to advise counties to complete signature verification by June 30 “lacks merit.” “The burden was on Sanberg (and all others proposing statutory initiatives) to conform to the June 30 deadline if he wished to place
the initiative on the November 2022 ballot,” Judge Arguelles wrote. “Sanberg’s failure to do so did not somehow reallocate the burden to Weber.” Judge Arguelles also rejected the petitioner’s claim that COVID19 interfered with the signature collecting process and said that granting the request “would likely interfere substantially with the conduct of the November 2022 election.” After Friday’s ruling, entrepreneur Joe Sanberg, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and Orange County Democratic Chair Ada Briceño issued a joint statement Friday denouncing the ruling and announcing that they plan to pursue “legislative paths” to increase the Golden State’s minimum wage. “Workers cannot wait another two years for a raise,” the statement said. “They are barely earning enough to afford next month’s rent. As the cost of living in the Golden State continues to skyrocket, it is vitally important that our state leaders step up to the plate and fight for those Californians living on the bleeding edge of poverty.” The proponents also called the decision a “gross double standard,” noting that Judge Arguelles is the same judge who granted petitioners four extra months to complete signature gathering for a recall effort targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom. At this point, it appears Californians will have the opportunity to vote on this measure in 2024. According to a recent analysis from Michael Reich, co-chair of the Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics with the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UC Berkeley, the initiative would “raise pay for about 4.8 million California workers by 2025 would have a minimal effect on the number of jobs.”
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
and unforeseen costs. The downtown revitalization effort called for in the Master Plan will focus on the State Street area from Anacapa to Chapala streets and State Street from Sola Street to the Highway 101 underpass. The plan “will look holistically at various challenges and opportunities for downtown Santa Barbara and present an urban design framework and implementation plan that, once completed, can be translated into future capital improvement projects in the corridor,” staff wrote in their report to the council. “Downtown Santa Barbara can be reimagined to focus on people, in turn creating a thriving public space,” staff said. “This Master Plan builds on the momentum of the eight-block State Street closure driven by the COVID19 pandemic and will identify opportunities and constraints to Please see COUNCIL on A4
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 2-10-24-41-47 Mega: 10
Monday’s DAILY 4: 6-9-8-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 14-40-60-64-66 Mega: 16
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 7-12-24-33-35
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-02-12 Time: 1:44.63
Monday’s POWERBALL: 25-37-38-39-65 Meganumber: 5
Monday’s DAILY 3: 5-2-8 / Midday 4-6-4