Fourth of July festival returns to Solvang
‘Going Global’ Abstract exhibit to grace Santa Barbara Museum of Art - B1
Program is planned after two-year hiatus - A2
Our 167th Year
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W E D N E S DAY, J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 2 2
A special Flag Day Audience pledges allegiance before new flagpole at Santa Barbara Junior High
County approves $1.4 billion budget Supervisor Bob Nelson casts dissenting vote
By DAVE MASON
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER
NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
A tall, handmade, wood flagpole has journeyed across America to stand proudly at Santa Barbara Junior High School. The pole, which stands approximately 40 feet high, is a replica of one that previously stood at the historic school. On Tuesday — Flag Day — school officials, elected representatives and students pledged allegiance after school custodians raised the American flag for the first time on the Cota Street flagpole. “It is stunning, and we’re so proud to have this complete our campus,” Principal Arielle Curry told the audience surrounding the flagpole. Leading the pledge of allegiance were Nicole Buist and Isel Rodriguez, who attended Santa Barbara Junior High this past school year. Student Hayden Hernandez was there with them. Then Dos Pueblos High School senior Audrey Harmand, a Teen Star finalist, poured her heart into singing the national anthem a capella. At one point, closing her eyes, she added some special jazz to a high note, prompting Please see FLAG DAY on A4
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
A small crowd gathers around the new, handmade flagpole Tuesday at Santa Barbara Junior High School. Made in Keystone, N.Y., it is a wood replica of the historic school’s previous flagpole.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve a $1.4 billion budget, with Supervisor Bob Nelson dissenting. The budget was OK’d following the morning’s hearings and deliberations. In his final comments, Supervisor Nelson explained his reasons for voting against the budget. “I will be collegial in my dissent today. I am really proud of this budget in most ways. It is a values document. It represents a large portion of my values and the values of my constituents. “But there are some fundamental inequities in this budget that I cannot accept,” Supervisor Nelson said. “I do appreciate the effort of my colleagues to try to debate these things. And I do believe all of you when you guys said that in September we will come to discuss this. I appreciate that I know that this board has been making some large strides in resource allocation that we have been trying to deal with, for generations frankly, that we are trying to solve. “But at the end of the day for this budget the way it currently is situated, I can’t be there. I look
forward to the opportunity to have future discussions of future budgets.” he said. In the public safety portion of the budget, a position was recently added. as approved by the Community Corrections Partnership, for a multi-agency assessment, case management and re-entry coordinator for the Discharge Planning Team. Supervisor Nelson said public safety and mental health are the main issues that he hears about from his constituents. Supervisor Nelson, whose district is in North County, advocated for the addition of a community resource deputy for North County to come out of Proposition 172. Supervisor Nelson also pointed out that only one co-response team is in the North County, as opposed to two in the south. Supervisor Gregg Hart agreed that a broader discussion of Proposition 172 is needed. The co-response team is one of the most successful programs in mental health services, according to Supervisor Hart. Other hiring needs for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office were discussed. There are currently nine deputy vacancies on the law enforcement side and 27 vacancies on the custody side Please see BUDGET on A4
Behavioral Wellness Department reports medical data breach By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
At left, Dos Pueblos High School senior Audrey Harmand, a Teen Star finalist, gives some extra jazz to a high note as she sings the national anthem before an appreciative audience. Among those applauding Audrey is Santa Barbara Junior High Principal Arielle Curry, standing next to her. At right, Dr. Hilda Maldonado tells the crowd the flag and the new flagpole represent the resilience and rebuilding during the pandemic.
ELECTION 2022
Reyes-Martin runs for Goleta City Council By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
COURTESY PHOTO
Luz Reyes-Martin
School board member Luz Reyes-Martin announced her candidacy Tuesday for the Goleta City Council. She’s running for the newly created District 1. The district includes the northeast portion of Goleta — east of Glen Annie Road and north of Highway 101. Ms. Reyes-Martin has served on the Goleta Union School District board since 2014. She was selected twice by her board colleagues to serve as president. The candidate said she is committed to preserving the character of local neighborhoods, safeguarding Goleta’s open spaces and delivering essential services to
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residents. “I’m running for City Council to continue to lead our community forward,” Ms. ReyesMartin said in a news release. “Having served our families on the Goleta Union School Board, I know that as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we must work together to better support the health and safety of our community, secure our economic future and ensure residents can continue living, working and enjoying life in Goleta. “I’m a parent, nonprofit executive, community volunteer and environmental advocate,” she said. “I’ve worked hard to make a positive difference in the lives of children and
families in our community. “With master’s degrees in land-use planning and in public administration, I have a deep understanding of how city government can and should work, how it should be accountable to the community, and how essential thoughtful planning is to sustainable communities,” Ms. ReyesMartin, a Stanford University graduate, said. “As a council member, I will be a committed, proactive and responsive representative for the residents of District 1 and the Goleta community as a whole.”. She said she brings a strong understanding of local government, having worked Please see CANDIDATE on A4
The Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness has experienced a breach in medical record information. On March 30, the department discovered that a staff member used their credentials to log into the electronic medical record system and viewed client information An audit of the incident showed that no information was downloaded or printed. “We regret that this incident occurred. While an event like this should never have occurred, through this investigation, we have identified areas for strengthening our system and are making necessary improvements to avoid the likelihood of this occurring again,” said Toni Navarro, director for the Department of Behavioral Wellness in a news release Tuesday. The breach resulted in the names, addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, insurance information, medical record numbers and some medical information being compromised for affected clients. All clients with compromised information have been notified, according to the Department of Behavioral Wellness. “This breach was discovered
as a result of the department proactively implementing a new security measure, which immediately worked to call attention to this breach and will continue to serve this function going forward,” Suzanne Grimmesey, the department’s chief of strategy and community engagement, told the News-Press in an email. When the breach was discovered, further access to client records was terminated, and the department implemented all required and appropriate actions in regard to the employee who accessed the records, according to the news release. The department said audits continue to occur for this investigation and will continue on a regular basis to ensure that department staff are not accessing patient information outside of their scope of duties. For more information, go to countyofsb.org/274/behavioralwellness. For assistance accessing Behavioral Wellness services, call the 24/7 toll free Crisis Response and Services Access Line at 888-868-1649. For more information on identity theft, see the California Department of Justice, Privacy Unit’s website at oag.ca.gov/ privacy. You can also contact the department toll free 24/7 Access Line at 888-868-1649. email: kzehnder@newspress.com
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A6
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 4-11-13-25-26 Meganumber: 2
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 8-7-0-4
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 4-15-24-33-35
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-07-11 Time: 1:47.00
Monday’s POWERBALL: 2-27-42-44-51 Meganumber: 25
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A6
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 1-4-9 / Wednesday’s Midday 9-5-7