She’s done it all
Playoffs called off CIF-SS cancels playoffs for fall sports - A4
Our 165th Year
Mory Alvarez reflects on her 44-year career at Devereux - B1
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Unemployment spikes nationwide, raising concerns about local impacts By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Last week, the United States saw a big spike in both initial unemployment claims and continued claims, and Dr. Peter Rupert, a UCSB economics professor, said he’s worried about that trend showing in Santa Barbara County. The week of Jan. 9, around 965,000 people in the U.S. filed for unemployment insurance, according to the U.S. Employment and Training Administration’s seasonally adjusted data. The previous week of Jan. 2 reported 784,000 weekly claims. Also in the week of Jan. 2, there were 5,271,000 continued claims according to seasonally adjusted data, which went up from 5,072,000 the week of Dec. 26. The seasonally adjusted data shows the numbers considering the layoffs and hires that occur seasonally rather than the raw Please see jobs on A3
GRAPHICs COURTESY OF THE ECONOMIC FORECAST PROJECT
At left is the number of continued unemployment claims filed nationwide. The notable increase is that of the week of Dec. 26 to Jan. 2 approximately 200,000 more people filed continued claims for unemployment insurance. At right is the number of weekly initial unemployment claims filed nationwide. The notable increase is from the week of Jan. 2 to Jan. 9 — from 784,000 weekly claims to 965,000.
Sit, stay, teach Therapy dog begins work at Montecito Union School Cleo, an 8-month-old bernedoodle, joined Montecito Union School’s staff Jan. 11.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Students at Montecito Union School have lit up at the introduction of the school’s newest staff member: Cleo, an 8-month-old bernedoodle. Cleo first walked the halls Jan. 11 and has begun to serve the students’ (and staff’s) emotional needs amidst the strain of the pandemic. It may seem unlikely that a puppy could behave in such a bustling environment, but Cleo has settled in very well, according to Principal Dr. Nick Bruski. “She is already so fulfilled when she’s working,” he said. When she was just 2 months old, she began training at Aly’s Puppy Boot Camp in Arroyo Grande. The district spent $14,000 on her training and $900 for the purchase, as approved by the board of trustees July 22, 2020. Dr. Bruski spent $2,600 for the purchase and
is responsible for all veterinary, grooming and household expenses. Cleo lived at boot camp for six months, learning to approach children gently and maintain a calm presence. Cold Spring School’s therapy dog, Sage, underwent the same process before joining the school in 2018. Dr. Bruski used the school’s pledge of kindness, respect and integrity to show students how well Cleo exhibits the traits. She exemplifies kindness in her warm way of greeting each student, and she respects her handler while she walks without pulling. Integrity is practiced when Cleo is alone on her cot. She doesn’t stir, even when no one is watching. “Her training is really about her being safe in the school setting,” Dr. Bruski said. A unique challenge roams in the school’s nature lab — chickens. Dr. Bruski informed trainers of the school’s intentions to raise chickens, so trainers worked with Cleo to respect the birds’ space.
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Aly’s Puppy Boot Camp shared a video of Cleo around chickens with the caption: “Cleo is bombproof around the chickens!” The nature lab and science farm project is what spurred the idea of getting a school dog. When students received surveys asking what they’d like in the lab, many wrote they’d love a dog. “They want animals and a dog at school. That coupled with the Thomas Fire and the debris flow, and now COVID, it felt like a great time to bring in a therapy dog to enrich the lives of our students,” Dr. Bruski said. She started working one-on-one with students with autism, some of which are nonverbal. A 2014 study by S. Fung and A.S. Leung in the Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy found that animal-assisted play therapy delivered a “small but statistically significant increases in the Please see dogs on A4
Late Sunday, the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department halted all use of a recent Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shipment following an announcement by state officials that six vaccine recipients received medical treatment for what appeared to be severe allergic reactions. A higher than usual number of adverse events were reported at one community vaccination clinic in the state, and those six vaccine recipients required medical attention over the span of 24 hours, all appearing to experience a severe allergic reaction during the standard observation period of 15 to 30 minutes. None of them required hospitalizations, and more than 330,000 doses from this lot have been distributed to 287 providers in the state with no reports of any other clusters or individual events related to this lot. Santa Barbara County received a lot of the vaccine in question, but had not administered any of the doses, and will not until they are cleared for use. Health officials are waiting on more information regarding this lot, but Deputy Health Director Paige Batson said Tuesday that she predicts it will be cleared for use. “It’s reassuring to know that with over 330,000 doses given throughout the state and only these six individuals at this one particular vaccination site in Southern California (had reactions),” she said during a Public Health COVID-19 update. “To me, it’s reassuring that there may have been something else besides the vaccine.” The matter is under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and California is the only state to have held further vaccinations with this lot. Ms. Batson also spoke to the new COVID-19 variants circulating, including variant B.1.1.7 which emerged in the UK and L452R which has been found in multiple counties throughout California, including Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties. B.1.1.7 has been characterized as spreading easier and quicker than other variants, but according
to Ms. Batson, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness or increased deaths. Regarding L452R, she said it is too early to tell how prevalent the variant may be although it’s been identified in several other outbreaks. “Viruses constantly change through mutation and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time,” Ms. Batson said. “However, it is important to appreciate that an increase in the number of cases will cause more strain in hospitals and potentially more deaths.” Public Health Director Dr. Van DoReynoso announced that, according to the current four-week projection, Santa Barbara County remains at less than 15% ICU capacity, meaning it will remain under the regional stay-athome order. She also mentioned that in the first week of 2021, a total of 15 business outbreaks were reported, including four in agriculture, three in grocery stores, three in medical and health care settings, two in manufacturing, one in administration, one in a hotel and one in skilled labor. In the first week of January, there were 14 congregate care setting outbreaks. In addition, the most recent week of data cases interviewed between Jan. 9 and Jan. 15 indicated that a majority attended a gathering, and over 75% of those attended a gathering with family and friends. “This data shows clearly the impact of gatherings around the December holidays and the new year,” she said. Dr. Do-Reynoso said that the health department is now vaccinating individuals 75 years and older, and it has not yet begun vaccinating the 65 to 74 age group or the rest of Phase 1B. Local data shows that the county has administered 65% of the doses it’s received, as opposed to the state data that shows around 44% of doses have been administered. That, according to Dr. Do-Reynoso, is due to a lag in state data. “I know that from the volume of calls that we have been receiving, the number of emails we’ve been receiving, that our community is eager to get the vaccine,” she said. “We are working hard on your behalf, and we’re just as frustrated with the limited number of vaccines we have.” email: gmccormick@newspress.com
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By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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Moderna vaccine shipment on hold
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