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Solvang City Council votes to put recall for council member on November ballot By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Solvang City Council voted to pass a resolution placing a recall for council member Chris Djernaes on the Nov. 3 general election ballot at its Monday night meeting. The council passed the resolution with three yeses and one no from councilmember Daniel Johnson. Mr. Dejernaes abstained from voting. Placing a recall for Mr. Dejernaes on the November ballot is the result of a petition by Solvang residents that amassed the number of signatures required for the city of Solvang to accept its certificate of sufficiency. As the News-Press reported, on July 20, 1,342 signatures were submitted to the city clerk on July 20, of which the County Clerk,
The petition for Mr. Djernaes’ removal accuses the council member of contempt of the Brown Act; violation of ethics; disrespect of constituents, speakers, voters, and current and former Solvang City Council members; defamation of organizations and individuals, and harassment of employees of the city of Solvang. Recorder and Assessor Elections Division determined 1,156 were valid. The minimum number of required signatures for a recall petition is 920, one quarter of Solvang’s registered voters. The petition for Mr. Djernaes’ removal accuses the council member of contempt of the Brown Act; violation of ethics; disrespect
of constituents, speakers, voters, and current and former Solvang City Council members; defamation of organizations and individuals, and harassment of employees of the city of Solvang. The notice of intention to circulate the original recall petition also alleges that Mr. Please see RECALL on A2
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Solvang City Council member Chris Djernaes will face a recall vote in the Nov. 3 general election.
Carp approves month-long Linden Avenue closure
Questions without answers Arbitrary waiting period for COVID-19 test results adds to the struggle By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
On Monday, the Carpinteria City Council voted to close a section of Linden Avenue for a month to allow local businesses to operate outside. The closure will run from Aug. 10 to Sept. 8. The city tested out a similar closure over the Fourth of July weekend.
By PAUL GONZALEZ NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Carpinteria City Council voted to close a section of Linden Avenue for one month. Linden Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street and between Seventh Street
and Eighth Street will be closed from Aug. 10 to Sept. 8. The city will allow local businesses located adjacent to Linden Avenue to use the street space to operate their businesses outdoors during that time. The city closed the 800 block of Linden Avenue over Fourth of July Weekend and set
up an outdoor dining area. According to a city council agenda report, Carpinteria is in a local state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In March, Governor Gavin Newsom and California Department of Public Health Please see LINDEN on A2
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County continues to climb higher each day. Santa Barbara County reported 77 new cases on Monday. Between backed up COVID-19 testing facilities and the extremely high demand for tests, the waiting period for results has been inconsistent from one individual to the next. While one patient might get his/her results within a day or two, another won’t receive his/ hers for eight to 10 days, even if they were tested at the same time with the same provider. Emergency medical services agency director Nicholas Clay at the Public Health Department said he doesn’t have an answer to the question of why. “We’ve pushed the state very hard to give an explanation, because obviously we’re the ones at the face of the issue,” he told the News-Press. “They’re hard pressed to provide any additional details.” The director said it all comes down to how massive of an undertaking the testing process is with the demand. Mr. Clay added that the prioritization of tests plays a large factor -- if someone has been quarantining at home with no exposure or symptoms and doesn’t work in a high risk environment, they will likely be placed at the end of the line. “We really are streamlining this process,” he said. “The
labs are following the latest California Department of Public Health guidance in terms of who they run first which might explain some of the days.” Mr. Clay added that County Public Health is also trying to encourage people who booked a test two weeks in advance but ended up getting tested elsewhere to cancel their appointments to free up space. Quest Diagnostics, one of the healthcare providers administering tests in Santa Barbara, said in a statement on Monday that its turnaround time for reporting tests results is now over two days for priority-one patients and seven days for all other patients. “Demand for our molecular diagnostic testing remains high as the virus has spread across much of the United States,” the press release said. “Persistent high demand has strained our testing capacity and extended delays for test results. We expect that as our capacity continues to grow, we will be able to return to average turnaround times in the range of one day for priority-one patients and three days for most other patients.” On top of the elongated waiting period for test results, statistics on the total numbers of positive COVID-19 cases are inconsistent from the county to the state. Mr. Clay said the crux of the issue is the reporting timeline and varying deadlines between the state and the county. “(The state is) obviously Please see covid on A7
Fiesta starts its first online art auction By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Fiesta is taking another step into the virtual world with its first online art auction. The auction runs now through Aug. 9 at www.sbfiesta.org/auction. The auction is the latest way that Fiesta has adapted during a world changed by COVID-19 restrictions. The auction’s works by local artists includes 10 limited-edition Old Spanish Days posters on metal and paintings depicting this year’s Spirit and Junior Spirit in
front of the Arlington Theatre, La Fiesta Pequeña at the Santa Barbara Mission and “The Art & Spirit of Fiesta.” Created by Santa Barbara artist Andrew Leonard, the poster features a dancing couple and local scenes such as the Santa Barbara Mission and the Santa Barbara waterfront. “In a normal Fiesta year, we would auction the limited-edition metal posters during scheduled Fiesta parties like La Primavera,” El Presidente Erik Davis said in a news release Monday. “This is just another way that Fiesta is
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different this year, and we hope it provides a greater opportunity for the community to participate in a meaningful way.” The auction website also features “The Art & Spirit of Fiesta,” painted by Grace Fisher. It was inspired by local photographer Fritz Olenberger’s photo of Alena Velasco, the 2020 Spirit of Fiesta. Mr. Olenberger commissioned the work and donated it to Fiesta. The artist, Ms. Fisher, was left paralyzed after acute flaccid myelitis left her paralyzed from the neck down in 2014 during
La Fiesta Pequeña at the Santa Barbara Mission is depicted in this painting by Chris Potter.
her senior year at Santa Barbara High School. She paints with the paintbrush held in her mouth. “I was thrilled when Gracie agreed to do this painting,” Mr. Olenberger said. “Grace is a remarkable person, who shares with Alena, the Spirit of Fiesta, the qualities of humility, talent and self-determination. I see in this painting a story of two young women connected by their passion for artistic expression — one through dance and one through painting. It is a story of joy.” Please see FIESTA on A2
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Comics................. A6 Classified............... A7 Life.................... A3-4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 8-10-12-35-39 Meganumber: 26
Monday’s DAILY 4: 4-3-7-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 8-33-39-54-58 Meganumber: 17
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 3-8-16-28-29
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-12-09 Time: 1:40.92
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 5-21-36-61-62 Meganumber: 18
Obituaries............. A8 Soduku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Monday’s DAILY 3: 6-4-9 / Sunday’s Midday 6-3-8