Sluggish economy
New Comic-Con Museum
California’s recovery falls behind nation - A3
Art, costumes and more grace San Diego site - B1
Our 166th Year
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T U E SDAY, NOV E M BE R 3 0 , 2 021
Online sales decline
Grand Jury sees Homekey and Roomkey hurdles
Local brick-and-mortar stores see advantage this holiday season
Santa Barbara County attempts second year of homeless housing grants By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury concluded that the county faces obstacles to housing the homeless population through California’s Project Roomkey and Homekey funding. The jury’s recently released report provided recommendations to the county and cities to help tap into these grants. Santa Barbara County 2nd District Supervisor Gregg Hart said many of the guidelines have already been executed. “I am pleased the county has already implemented most of the Grand Jury’s recommendations through the Homelessness Strategic Plan, encampment response protocol and county budget process,” he told the NewsPress. “The Grand Jury properly identified we need to continue to find additional sites for supportive housing throughout the county, and wraparound services are essential for ensuring the long-term success of people transitioning out of homelessness.”
ROOMKEY
“People this year will want to go out and shop,” said Jennifer Steinwurtzel, owner of Jake & Jones boutique, shown above.
By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Online Black Friday sales dipped this year due to supply chain disruptions. And in-person traffic at retail locations was down 28.3% nationally, compared to prepandemic levels. COVID-19 hesitations are a driving factor, but consumers are shopping even earlier this year due to supply chain concerns. According to Adobe Analytics, online sales were down this year for the first time ever. “Online sales on big shopping days like Thanksgiving and Black Friday are decreasing for the first time in history,” Taylor Schreiner, the director of Adobe Digital insights, told Reuters. “It is beginning to smooth out the shape of the overall season.” Many shoppers are spreading out their holiday gift buying starting as early as October. Despite strategies to attract consumers, supply chain issues have made a huge dent in online shopping so far this season. Online retailers offered fewer deals this year due to supply strain, enticing consumers to shop at brick-and-mortar stores. According to Salesforce, the leading customer relationship management platform, discount rates during the week leading to Cyber Monday were on average 8% lower than last year in the U.S. Additionally, 72% of Americans polled said they have seen higher prices in the last three months. Effects of the supply chain can be seen in California at the Port of Los Angeles, which is just now starting to attack its huge backup of freight.
These complications are allowing local businesses to provide in-person sales with more dependable supplies. Though big box stores once had endless inventories, Jennifer Steinwurtzel, owner of Jake & Jones boutique, told the News-Press, “Maybe not this year because of the supply chain issues.” The Santa Barbara entrepreneur added, “People this year will want to go out and shop.” Mrs. Steinwurtzel told the News-Press her business model operates on limited supply with more unique items saying, “Our customers are specific in that they want a dress from a specific designer that only made 20 of those dresses. If they don’t get it, it’s gone.” While small businesses are still taking the brunt of the supply chain disruptions, larger retailers’ reliance on e-commerce allows for the flourishing of brick-andmortar stores. “I’m not someone who loves online shopping,” Loom Boutique owner Torrie Smith told the NewsPress. “I really pride myself on my personal relationships with my clients and customers.” Ms. Smith, whose store is in Santa Ynez, said delayed shipping has encouraged more people in Santa Barbara County to visit physical stores and survey the supply for themselves. Despite retailers spreading out deals before the holiday season, the National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to rise between 8.5% and 10.5%, with more consumers avoiding shipping delays by visiting physical stores. email: fmcfarland@newspress.com
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Biden on omicron variant President addresses nation, backs vaccinations and boosters; South Africa praised for quick action By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
COURTESY PHOTO
Torrie Smith, owner of Loom Boutique in Santa Ynez, said delayed shipping has encouraged more people in Santa Barbara County to visit brick-and-mortar stores and survey the supply for themselves.
President Biden addressed the nation Monday morning from the White House, addressing the new omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus. “Sooner or later we are going to see cases of this new variant here in the United States,” President Biden said. “We’ll have to face this new threat, just as we have faced those that have come before it.” President Biden said he plans on Thursday to roll out a detailed strategy to fight COVID this winter — not with lockdowns, but with widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing., etc. For now, South Africa is being commended by President Biden and other officials for its swift action on the omicron variant. “This time the world showed it is learning … South Africa’s analytic work and transparency and sharing its results was indispensable in allowing a swift global response. It no doubt saved many lives,” said European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, singling out South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Please see OMICRON on A4
LOTTERY
insi d e Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
County officials struggled to find hotels that would open rooms to a high-risk population as part of Project Roomkey, the report says. Roomkey provides temporary housing with wraparound services whereas Homekey focuses on permanent housing, usually in converted motels. Generally, hotel owners were not welcoming to the idea of housing homeless people, the report says. The county established its Roomkey program with one South County hotel that rented one wing for a limited amount of time; it could not find a North County location. At the beginning of 2021, the hotel returned to its tourism clientele, and officials found a location Please see GRAND JURY on A4
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 1-11-27-31-36 Mega: 22
Monday’s DAILY 4: 3-0-7-2
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-27-37-42-59 Mega: 2
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 13-17-20-29-31
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-03-01 Time: 1:42.65
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 8-32-55-64-66 Meganumber: 10
Monday’s DAILY 3: 0-1-2 / Midday 1-7-1