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Hartnell defeats City College women’s soccer team - A3
Wildling Museum exhibition to focus on two notable photographers - B1
Our 166th Year
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T U E S D A Y , S E P T E M B E R 7, 2 0 2 1
Federal unemployment benefits expire By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Jobless benefits expired Monday — Labor Day — for millions of Americans expecting emergency aid. The expired federal programs include $300 weekly bonuses, benefits for gig workers and coverage for those who have been unemployed for longer than six
months. The White House urged states to continue the supplemental $300 payments using federal stimulus funds, but none have taken the president’s advice. California has already allocated the funds. California’s eviction moratorium ends Sept. 30 as well as free health insurance provided through the American Rescue
Plan. The White House gave a 25% boost to food stamp assistance, or SNAP benefits, last month. The change, which some argue is necessary as grocery costs increase, does not expire. Last week, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the addition of 235,000 new jobs nationwide during August. Dow Jones economists previously
projected 720,000 positions to hit the market. The bureau’s latest unemployment statistics for the Santa Barbara-Santa Maria region show a preliminary 5.8% unemployment rate in July. About 5.9% of area residents were unemployed in June, up from 5.4% in May. Some states opted out of federal
Crowds out on Labor Day Stearns Wharf, State Street busy; heat trend expected to last rest of the week
benefits, giving economists a view into what may happen now that the nation is without the perks. Economists at JPMorgan noted no difference in the economy in states that removed benefit programs. Columbia University economist Kyle Coombs documented a slight gain. email: ahanshaw@newspress.com
UC rejects a third of student researchers union By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
State Street was alive with shoppers and visitors on Labor Day.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
It was noon Monday, and this Labor Day traffic jam wasn’t on Highway 101 or one of Santa Barbara’s major streets. It was on Stearns Wharf. The pier was so popular that a long line of motorists at noon couldn’t find a place to park. In fact, pedestrians were walking faster than the cars, which crawled slowly in stopand-go traffic worthy of a freeway until the drivers passed Moby Dick Restaurant. Faced with the pier’s end and the vast Pacific Ocean, they turned around for a somewhat faster trip back to Cabrillo Boulevard. Nearby, scattered crowds stayed cool on the Santa Barbara beaches or did some walking or bicycling around the Funk Zone. A few blocks farther, State Street was alive with pedestrians shopping and bicyclists cruising. One skateboarder kept rolling up the street/promenade as he chatted with a friend standing on a sidewalk. (It was a quick conversation.) Farther down the street, people sat in the outdoor dining parklets of restaurants and chatted over lunch. No doubt about it. This was Labor Day, and residents and out-of-town visitors were making the holiday count. Tourists found Santa Barbara a good escape from the triple-digit temperatures of Los Angeles and Orange counties, and there was relief here for anyone visiting from Santa Ynez, where the National Weather Service reported a high of 99 Monday. But even along the clear, blue Pacific, things were sizzling, and there didn’t seem to be the customary oceanside breeze, not even on the wharf. Santa Barbara saw a high of 87 Monday, according to the National Weather Service. But this is the land of microclimates, and a 10- or 15-minute drive can mean a difference. Goleta’s high Monday was 77. Likewise, Lompoc had a high of 77; Santa Maria, 76. Far from the coast, New Cuyama and Ojai fulfilled their destiny of being hot spots with respective highs of 95 and 105.
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People enjoy their Labor Day with a visit to State Street.
Things aren’t expected to get much cooler. The National Weather Service predicted “very warm temperatures” would last through the week for Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Santa Barbara is expected to see highs around 80 today through Thursday during partly cloudy conditions. The weather service said those clouds will remain Friday, but the high that day is expected to jump up to 86. Saturday is forecast to be a sunny one for Santa Barbara, but the high is expected to be 85. Relief from the heat is forecast for next week when Santa Barbara has a high of 76 on Sunday and 73 on Monday. Again, that’s according to the weather service. UCSB, meanwhile, is forecast to have highs of 76 today, 74 Wednesday, 78 Thursday and 82 on Friday, all under partly cloudy conditions. On Saturday, UCSB will experience a sunny day and a high of 81, the weather service predicted. Like Santa Barbara, UCSB will see much cooler conditions early next week, according to the forecast. Highs are expected to be 74 on Sunday and 71 on Monday. Santa Maria, meanwhile, is forecast to have highs around the mid- to upper 70s today
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email: dmason@newspress.com
ANNELISE HANSHAW / NEWS-PRESS
Graduate student researchers at UCSB protest what they believe is unfair treatment of researchers during a gathering Aug. 25.
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through Monday, with partly cloudy skies each day. The best place to cool off seems to be Lompoc. The National Weather Service said the highs there will be in the low- to mid-70s today through Monday. It’s a different story in Santa Ynez. Highs are predicted to be 91 today, 92 Wednesday, 95 Thursday and 99 Friday, all under partly cloudy conditions. Like elsewhere, sunshine will reign Saturday in Santa Ynez, but the high will be 93. Early next week, Santa Ynez will have a bit of a “cooling” trend, in a manner of speaking. Highs on Sunday and Monday are forecast to be 87 and 85, respectively. Cuyama will continue to be Santa Barbara County’s hottest spot. The weather service is predicting highs of 99 today and Wednesday, both sunny days in the area. But on the partly cloudy of Thursday, a high of 101 is forecast, followed by another partly cloudy Friday and a high of 99. Cuyama will see sunny skies Saturday through Monday, with highs of 98, 93 and 90 for the three days.
The University of California refused to recognize 5,644 of Student Researchers United’s 16,741 petitioners because they are trainees or fellows. The university said it would accept a union of 10,789 graduate student researchers, but Student Researchers United isn’t satisfied. The researchers want to bargain collectively. Attorney Sandra McDonough of Paul, Plevin, Sullivan & Connaughton LLP submitted UC’s response to the California Public Employment Relations Board at almost 5:30 p.m. Thursday — the school’s last day to respond to the petition. The Public Employment Relations Board verified they had a majority Aug. 4, giving the university 15 days. UC asked for an extension and kept quiet while it worked with self-described union-avoidance attorneys. Ms. McDonough lauds in her bio recent judgments for a “higher education entity” for the following: a student discrimination/breach of contract case, two disability discrimination/retaliation cases, a pregnancy discrimination arbitration, a “PERB decision involving contract interpretation issue potentially affecting salary increases for an entire bargaining unit” and a harassment/hostile work environment case. In addition to representing regents of the University of California, she has defended National University and the trustees of the California State University. Student researchers say the letter she wrote on UC’s behalf doesn’t reflect their reality. UC’s reponse divides those who have traditionally received W-2
forms from the university from those who receive funding from a third party. “Critically, the continued receipt of a fellowship stipend is dependent on academic progress, not completion of specific research projects or deliverables that is typical of GSR (graduate student research) employment,” the letter says. Elizabeth McCarthy, a researcher pursuing her M.D. and Ph.D. in biological and medical informatics at UC San Francisco, told the News-Press Monday that is not true for her and students like her. She received her fellowship after she finished all her coursework. She has the same benchmarks as her peers who are paid through the university. The only difference is she sends a periodic report to her grant program. She works at the same bench as the researchers UC wrote it would recognize, and she receives the same amount of money. UCSF pays her the difference between her fellowship and her peers’ funding. Some campuses give employeelike benefits too, but Ms. McDonough writes that it doesn’t mean fellows can unionize like the students on UC’s payroll. “The fact that the University offers these benefits to students who are not employees does not create or imply an employment relationship,” the letter to PERB says. The University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab postdoctoral researchers unionized in 2008, and UC recognized both fellowshipped and university-funded researchers. Please see UC on A4
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 9-11-23-30-43 Mega: 5
Monday’s DAILY 4: 4-7-1-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 8-14-31-58-68 Mega: 15
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 3-16-24-33-35
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-11-05 Time: 1:47.29
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 32-35-40-52-54 Meganumber: 1
Monday’s DAILY 3: 8-9-9 / Midday 9-2-4