Santa Barbara News-Press: February 08, 2023

Stressing economic gains

President Joe Biden notes low unemployment, bipartisan efforts in State of the Union - A2

Old Fashioned celebration

Attempted murder suspect appears in SB court

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The man charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a homeless man in the neck last month in downtown Santa Barbara had his case continued for two weeks following his appearance in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on Tuesday.

The defendant, Mitchell Grant Grote, 27, was scheduled Tuesday to have a date set for his preliminary hearing, but the case continued to Feb. 21, Senior Deputy District Attorney Kevin Weichbrod said after the Santa Barbara courtroom appearance.

Mr. Grote pleaded not guilty at his Jan. 31 arraignment. He remains in custody on more than $1 million bail.

Prosecutors charged him with two felony counts: attempted murder and assault with personal use of a deadly weapon.

Mr. Grote “did unlawfully and with malice aforethought attempt to murder a human being,” prosecutors said. They identified the injured man as W. Vankoppen. They charged the defendant’s alleged offenses were serious and violent felonies, and that his actions were “willful, deliberate and premeditated.”

The charges carry with them special allegations of use of a deadly weapon, a knife, and causing great bodily injury.

Prosecutors also listed aggravating factors, including that Mr. Grote’s alleged actions disclosed a “high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness.”

Santa Barbara police arrested Mr. Grote on Jan. 29 after responding earlier in the day to calls reporting an injured and bleeding man near Anacapa and De La Guerra streets. They located the victim, who they described as a middleaged homeless man. He was suffering from a stab wound to the neck and was quickly transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital by medics.

Patrol officers began their investigation, and detectives were called in to assist. Officers from the Community Action Team were able to assist and advance the investigation rapidly due to their relationships with people in the Santa Barbara community who are suffering from homelessness.

With information provided by community members, C.A.T Officers identified Mr. Grote as a suspect, and probable cause was developed to make an arrest, police said.

He was found later on Milpas Street and arrested on suspicion of attempted homicide.

email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

Aid for Turkey, Syria

Goleta-based Direct Relief mobilizes medical assistance, $200,000 funding to earthquake responders

Storms leave SB with more water

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

At its headquarters in Goleta, Direct Relief prepares shipments of emergency aid for Turkey and Syria following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the region on Monday, Items include medication and supplies to treat people with injuries and pre-existing medical conditions, such as field medic packs, antibiotics and other essential medicines, as well as oral rehydration solutions and hygiene items for those displaced from their homes.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Within hours of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake Monday that caused widespread damage across Turkey and northern Syria, the Turkish government requested international assistance, and Goleta-based Direct Relief began mobilizing its response.

Direct Relief has committed $100, 000 each to two different

organizations — the AKUT and the Syrian American Medical Society. Earthquakes typically cause blunt trauma and orthopedic injuries, such as broken bones, lacerations, and crush syndrome from being trapped under heavy debris. An overwhelming number of injuries in the initial moments of an emergency can create an acute need for health personnel, medical supplies, blood, and medicines. In an earthquake’s aftermath,

people often become ill due to their lack of shelter, compromised water and sanitation systems, lack of refrigeration, and untreated injuries. These circumstances can lead to bacterial infections and disease outbreaks among people who are forced into temporary shelters.

People also frequently lose access to the medicine they need to

Santa Barbara-based nonprofit ShelterBox responds with relief efforts after 7.8 earthquake

By CALEB BEEGHLY NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA is helping with relief efforts after Monday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake near Gaziantep, Turkey.

The earthquake and its aftershocks have impacted Turkey and Syria, which led to the response from ShelterBox, which provides shelters and other humanitarian relief for regions in crisis.

According to Kerri Murray, president of ShelterBox USA, the hardest part about this humanitarian crisis is that “So many people are already displaced … The region is already home to millions of refugees and IDPs (internally displaced persons) from the decade-long civil war in Syria. For many of the Syrian survivors of the earthquake, this is just the latest in a series of unthinkable tragedies. It is a true crisis within a crisis. ”

The civil war in Syria has killed 75,000 people and displaced tens of thousands. Before the earthquakes, around 4.1 million people in northwest Syria already relied on humanitarian aid. In addition to this, Turkey has

had seven earthquakes over a magnitude of 7.0 in the last 25 years. However, due these strings of crises, ShelterBox USA has

Last week the Santa Barbara City Council voted to terminate the state of emergency prompted by the huge rainstorm that dumped 5 inches of water on Santa Barbara in two days, flooding the streets and clogging them with debris.

On Tuesday, the council focused on the flip side of the heavy rainfall: The city’s available water supplies are now sufficient to meet demands for at least the next three years.

Council members heard this from city water officials who provided a water supply update that showed just how big a dent the massive January storm made in the state’s drought status, improving it from”extreme” to “abnormally dry.”

“It’s much, much better than it was three weeks ago,” Joshua Haggmark, the city’s water resources manager, said.

“We went from a very dry state to a much improved, wetter state,” added Dakota Corey, the city’s new water supply and services manager.

The city-owned and operated Gibraltar Reservoir, which ended Water Year 2022 at a below average 68% full, now stands at 272% above average, she said.

“It’s full and began spilling over on Jan. 5.”

The Cachuma Reservoir, for

all intents and purposes, is full to the point of potentially spilling over, Ms. Corey said.

“Anytime it’s spilling, we get free water because that’s not deducted from our Cachuma allocation,” she said.

Just last year, the city was only allowed to use 5% of its maximum allocation of 3,300 acre feet, but now that figure has jumped to 30%, or 990 acre feet, she said.

At the same time, because of the rain, the city now can rely more on its Gibraltar Reservoir and other water resources to meet its needs instead of relying so much on Lake Cachuma like it did last year.

This means the city of Santa Barbara will be able to “bank” the extra water it doesn’t need from Lake Cachuma for later use if necessary.

In fact, the city now has so much “banked” water on hand in the San Luis Reservoir that it’s been able to pay back all its “water debt” to the state, and in the future will be able to purchase water outright if necessary instead of having to go back into debt, Ms. Corey said.

“The community is using its water resources very efficiently,” she said. “We have one of the most diverse water supply portfolios in the state. We’re not stuck relying on one.”

Desalinated water continues

Finch & Fork Restaurant focuses on Black History Month - B1

KENNETH SONG /NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

The Cachuma Reservoir, for all intents and purposes, is full to the point of potentially spilling over, said Dakota Corey, the new Santa Barbara water supply and services manager.

BREA BURKHOLZ/DIRECT RELIEF

COURTESY SHELTER BOX

ShelterBox prioritizes the most vulnerable, often women and children, in the world’s worst conflict zones including Syria.

The city-owned and operated Gibraltar Reservoir, which ended Water Year 2022 at a below average 68% full, now stands at 272% above average.

Supplies can now meet demands for several years

Biden cites economic progress during State of the Union

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

An upbeat President Joe Biden noted the creation of jobs and the fact that “COVID no longer controls our lives” as he delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night before a divided Congress.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the California Democrat who is president of the Senate, sat behind President Biden in the packed House, which included lawmakers, Cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and honored guests, as he stressed bipartisan efforts and other progress. Vice President Harris joined other Democrats in standing up during applause during various parts of the speech. For the most part, Speaker McCarthy remained seated, but did stand at least three times during the speech’s more bipartisan moments.

“The story of America is a story of progress and resilience,” President Biden told those in Congress and viewers watching at home. “Of always moving forward.

Of never giving up. A story that is unique among all nations. We are the only country that has emerged from every crisis stronger than when we entered it….

“Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much,” President BIden said. “Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.

“Today, though bruised, our

democracy remains unbowed and unbroken,” President Biden said.

He noted he has signed more than 300 bipartisan laws such as the Violence Against Women Act, the Electoral Count Reform Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Critics of the Biden administration have cited recordbreaking inflation and high gas and food prices, but the president on Tuesday night pointed to inflation coming down and a decrease in gas prices, which he said are down $1.50 a gallon since their peak in mid-2022.

He also noted food prices were dropping, although not as quickly as he would like.

“Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months

while take-home pay has gone up,” he said.

But critics have pointed to excessive government spending for causing increases in inflation and related hardships for families trying to make ends meet.

In addition, small businesses across the country, including some in Santa Barbara, closed during the pandemic, but President Biden pointed on Thursday night to new small businesses.

“Additionally, over the last two years, a record 10 million Americans applied to start a new small business,” the president said. “Every time somebody starts a small business, it’s an act of hope.”

The president also cited the unemployment rate of 3.4%, a 50year low. He also pointed to a near

record low for uinemployment among black and Hispanic workers.

“We’ve already created 800,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs, the fastest growth in 40 years,” President Biden said. “Where is it written that America can’t lead the world in manufacturing again?

“For too many decades, we imported products and exported jobs,” he said. “Now thanks to all we’ve done, we’re exporting American products and creating American jobs.”

He said the supply chain should start and end in America.

President Biden described inflation as a global problem caused by the pandemic’s disruptions of supply chains and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s disruption of energy and food supplies through his invasion of Ukraine. Again, critics, have blamed U.S. inflation on government spending.

Among the special guests honored at Thursday’s speech was Brandon Tsay, who bravely disarmed the Monterey Park mass shooter at his family’s dance hall, Lai Lai Ballroom.

After the president’s talk, Arkansas Gov. Sandra Huckabee Sanders, former President Donald Trump’s press secretary, gave the Republican response after the News-Press went to press. Her remarks will be added to the website version of this story, which you can find today at newspress. com, and will be published in Thursday’s edition.

email: dmason@newspress.com

Santa Barbara International Film Festival starts tonight

Michelle Danner directed “Miranda’s Victim,” which will make its world premiere tonight to open the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The movie, which is about the court cases that led to MIranda rights, will screen at 8 p.m. at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. The festival will continue through Feb. 18 at various venues in Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to sbiff.org.

Carbajal: More than $23 million allocated for Central Coast transit

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

U.S. Rep. Carbajal on Tuesday announced $23,577,941 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for transit improvements on the Central Coast.

Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, helped to craft the improvements in 2021.

“As a kid growing up in Oxnard, I learned firsthand the importance of reliable public transportation for my family and so many others on the Central Coast,” said Rep. Carbajal in a statement. “Now, through my work on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the landmark infrastructure law that I helped craft is delivering critical investments for transit improvements up and down our region. I look forward to

working with our regional transit authorities and local leaders to ensure these funds improve transit availability and affordability, cut carbon pollution, and reduce traffic for all our area’s residents.”

Provided through the Federal Transit Administration, funding includes:

• $8,772,266 for Santa Barbara.

• $7,000,569 for Santa Maria.

• $1,763,907 for Lompoc.

• $4,815,298 for San Luis Obispo.

• $2,225,901 for Arroyo Grande.

“Congressman Carbajal’s influence has been paramount in safeguarding public transit system funding in smaller regions like ours so that we have the same access to federal resources as more urbanized areas,” Marjie Kirn, executive director of the Santa Barbara County Association

of Governments, said in a statement. “We look forward to working with the congressman and regional transit operators in 2024 to protect critical federal public transportation investment in our county.”

The Central Coast funding is part of more than $2 billion in funding that California received for fiscal year 2023.

Since the law’s enactment, more than $370 million has been allocated to the Central Coast for infrastructure, clean water, climate resilience and other related projects. These projects include $75 million for improvements to Highway 101, more than $6 million for airport improvements and funds to plug abandoned oil wells in Channel Islands National Park. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

TRAFFIC, CRIME & FIRE BLOTTER

Detectives search for attempted murder suspect

found a woman with several stab wounds to her upper torso. Deputies quickly identified the suspect as the victim’s boyfriend, 23-year-old Jesus David Galvan Cuevas, according to Raquel Zick, the sheriff’s office public information officer.

Ms. Zick said the suspect fled prior to deputies’ arrival, and the victim was transported to an area hospital. The victim was seriously injured but is expected to recover.

In the days that followed, detectives have been actively investigating this crime and believe that Mr. Cuevas has fled the area in a black 2006 Audi A3 station wagon, Ms. Zick said.

WENDY McCAW . . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-Publisher

ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER . . . . .Co-Publisher

YOLANDA APODACA . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Operations

DAVE MASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor

HOW TO REACH US . . .

MAIN OFFICE 715 Anacapa St. Santa Barbara, 93101..805-564-5200

MAILING ADDRESS

P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102

NEWSROOM ADVERTISING

Sheriff’s detectives are sharing a photo of Mr. Cuevas, who is described as 6’ tall, 260 pounds, with black hair, brown eyes and a full beard that could have been shaved to alter his appearance.

Ms. Zick said Mr. Cuevas should be considered dangerous. The sheriff’s office is encouraging anyone with information about his location to contact sheriff’s detectives at 805681-4150. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can provide information by calling the tip line at 805-681-4171 or going online at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip.

News Hotline 805-564-5277

Email...dmason@newspress.com

Life 805-564-5277

Sports 805-564-5177

News Fax 805-966-6258

Corrections 805-564-5277

Classified 805-963-4391

Classified Fax 805-966-1421

Retail 805-564-5139

Retail Fax 805-564-5189

Toll Free 1-800-423-8304

Voices/editorial pages ..805-564-5277

HOW TO GET US . . .

CIRCULATION ISSUES 805-966-7171

refunds@newspress.com

newsubscriptions@newspress.com vacationholds@newspress.com cancellations@newspress.com

Mail delivery of the News-Press is available in most of Santa Barbara County. If you do not receive your paper Monday through Saturday, please call our Circulation Department. The Circulation Department is open Monday - Saturday 8 a.m. to noon.

SUBSCRIPTION RATES

Mail delivery in Santa Barbara County: $5.08 per week includes sales tax, daily, and the Weekend edition. Holidays only, $3.85 per week includes

COURTESY PHOTO

COURTESY PHOTO U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal

— Katherine Zehnder

COURTESY PHOTO

Jesus David Galvan Cuevas

COURTESY PHOTO

President Joe Biden

Gavin Newsom calls for federal investigation into high natural gas prices as state provides heating bill relief

By TOM JOYCE THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) — California Governor Gavin Newsom wants the federal government to take action against recent natural gas price increases and touted action the state has taken to combat rising prices.

The Democrat recently sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, requesting that the agency “immediately focus its investigatory resources on assessing whether market manipulation, anticompetitive behavior, or other anomalous activities are driving these ongoing elevated prices in the western gas markets.”

To combat these rising prices, California will give its residents a credit of $90 to $120 on their gas and electric bills starting next month, according to a news release from the governor’s office.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted last week to streamline the California Climate Credit to help California families with their heating and electric bills. Residential utility bill

customers will receive a $90 to $120 credit starting in March. The credit will apply to customers of PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Southern California Gas Co. Additionally, customers of Bear Valley, Liberty, PacifiCorp and Southwest Gas will receive a credit for varying amounts.

On Tuesday, the CPUC and the California Energy Commission were set to host an en banc hearing to “examine the causes and impacts of the recent spike

in natural gas prices,” according to the governor’s office.

“Millions of California families are opening their utility bills to sticker shock – and we’re taking action now to provide relief to help with those high gas bills,” Gov. Newsom said.

“We know this provides only temporary relief from soaring bills. That’s why I’m asking the federal government to use its full authority to investigate the spike in natural gas prices and take any necessary enforcement actions. We’re going to get to

the bottom of this because Californians deserve to know what’s behind these exorbitant bills.”

Californians do not need to take any action to receive their credit. The credit is known as the California Climate Credit. It comes from the state’s capand-trade program managed by the California Air Resources Board. The utility bill credit represents the consumer’s share of the revenue generated by the trading program.

Initiative to increase the vote threshold for new or increased taxes in California qualifies for the 2024 ballot

By VICTORIA ANTRAM BALLOTPEDIA VIA THE CENTER SQUARE

(The

Center Square) —

An initiated constitutional amendment to increase the vote threshold for new or increased state and local taxes has qualified for the November 2024 ballot in California.

On Feb. 2, the secretary of state reported that after a full check of signatures, the campaign had submitted 1,075,585 valid signatures. That exceeds the 997,139 valid signatures required to qualify for the ballot.

In California, an initial random sample count is conducted to verify signatures. If the random sample count does not find more than 110% of the required number of signatures are valid, then a full check is conducted. Californians for Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability filed the initiative in November 2021 and submitted more than 1.4 million signatures in August 2022. The campaign initially targeted the 2022 ballot but missed the June 30 signature submission deadline.

The initiative would amend the California Constitution to state that “every levy, charge or exaction of any kind imposed by state law is either a tax or an exempt charge” and define local taxes in the same manner. The amendment would require a law proposing or increasing a tax to include the duration of the imposition of the tax, an estimate of the annual revenue from the tax, a statement regarding the use of the revenue whether for specific or general purposes, and the ballot title and summary for the tax measure question. Under the amendment, new or increased taxes must be passed by a two-thirds legislative vote in each chamber and approved by a simple majority of voters. The amendment would also increase the vote requirement for local taxes proposed by local government or citizens to a two-thirds vote of the local electorate. The increased vote requirements for new or higher taxes would not apply to citizeninitiated state ballot measures. Currently, state tax increases require approval by a twothirds vote in each chamber

or a simple majority vote at a statewide election. Taxes can be reduced with a simple majority legislative vote.

The initiative has received endorsements from California Business Roundtable, California NAIOP, and Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. As of the latest campaign finance filings submitted on Jan. 31, Californians for Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability had received nearly $16.4 million in contributions.

The campaign said, “The Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act will give voters the right to vote on all future state taxes and holds politicians accountable for new fees and other increased costs paid by working families and all Californians.”

The initiative is opposed by AFSCME California, California Contract Cities Association, California Professional Firefighters, California State Council of Laborers, SEIU California State Council, and League of California Cities.

Graham Knaus, executive director of the California State

Association of Counties, said, “This deceptive initiative would undermine the rights of local voters and their elected officials to make decisions on critical local services that residents rely upon. It creates major new tax loopholes at the expense of residents and will weaken our local services and communities.”

The initiative is the sixth measure to qualify for the California ballot in 2024. The state legislature voted to refer a constitutional amendment to the March 2024 ballot that would repeal the local voter requirement for publicly-funded housing projects classified as low rent.

The other four measures are eligible to appear on the November 2024 ballot and are all citizen initiatives. The measures address creating a pandemic prevention institute, the state’s minimum wage, remediation for labor law violations, and regulation of fastfood working conditions.

Between 2010 and 2022, an average of nine initiatives qualified for California statewide ballots.

San Francisco’s Housing Plan gets certification to build more than 82,000 new homes

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) — San Francisco’s blueprint for building 82,069 housing units over the next eight years received state certification, confirming the Housing Element Plan created by the city in compliance with state law.

More than half the planned units are designated as affordable to low- and moderateincome units in a scheme that triples the annual build of the previous 10 years.

In 2019, Executive Order N-0619 was issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom to identify urbanized state-owned property that could be used for housing development. The Department of General Services was tasked with creating a database of such properties.

Working together with the Department of Housing and Community Development, a program to develop state housing began in September 2019, prompting the legislature to pass Assembly Bill 1255.

City councils determined which parcels of land, meeting the requirements of AB1255, would be included in their housing elements and were

suitable for residential development. Failure to identify land areas for affordable housing developments resulted in state penalties.

“San Francisco is moving forward aggressively with not only getting our Housing Element approved, but doing the critical work to reform our laws and processes to get rid of barriers to housing and deliver the homes our city badly needs. This is essential for our economy to recover, for working people to be able to afford to live near their jobs, for families to grow and thrive, and for government to tackle critical issues like homelessness and climate change, ” said San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

San Francisco’s Planning Department staff meet with HCD teams to ensure compliance in their housing element plans.

A statement released by the governor’s office revealed “The plan includes midterm assessments and if the City does not permit 29,000 homes within four years, they pledge to immediately rezone additional sites. Additionally, if the City’s housing production for lowerincome residents falls behind, San Francisco will specifically

rezone additional sites that are adequate to meet the housing needs for lower-income households and other supportive programs. These strategies are part of a larger constraint reduction package intended to increase certainty and accelerate housing production.”

The Newsom administration, through its agencies, will continue to analyze “the patterns that created years of costly building delays in San Francisco.”

Gov. Newsom congratulated Mayor Breed and city leaders for their collaboration. “I hope this model of cooperation continues going forward, and that other cities take advantage of the resources and technical assistance made available by HCD toward housing element compliance. As the City works to untangle an antiquated and stubborn system that impedes production of housing for every income level, HCD will continue to monitor closely, investigate and provide any technical assistance that can help them meet the 82,069-unit goal over the next eight years.”

The San Francisco Housing Element, having been certified, will have to remain compliant by meeting implementation

milestones and program commitments and will be monitored by the Department of Housing and Community Development.

“These efforts will take strong partnerships between our local and state governments, and we are ready to continue working with the Governor, the Legislature, and the State Department of Housing and Community Development to make a real difference on housing in San Francisco, the Bay Area and California,” Mayor Breed said.

According to Matt Lewis, director of communications at California Yimby, an organization dedicated to making California an affordable place to live, work and raise a family, the San Francisco housing plan can produce results if there are regulation reforms and the governor holds them accountable to see it to completion.

“A hundred percent of the new homes in San Francisco will be affordable to somebody, and that’s actually a really important clarification,” Mr. Lewis said.

Mr. Lewis believes that San Francisco first needs to address the rules that make it prohibitive to build affordable housing for the city’s plan to succeed.

COURTESY PHOTOS Gov. Gavin Newsom

Business owners highlight cost of inflation for businesses, families

By BRETT ROWLAND THE CENTER SQUARE INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

(The Center Square) — Business owners from West Virginia told the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on Monday that they are struggling with inflation, among other problems, as the economy continues to shift gears from the pandemic.

Tom Plaugher is the vice president of operations for Allegheny Wood Products, a familyowned company that operates sawmills and dry kiln facilities for hardwood throughout West Virginia. The company employs 800 people and sells its product worldwide.

“Our industry is directly tied to housing,” Mr. Plaugher said during

DIRECT RELIEF

Continued from Page A1

manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and mental health issues.

“With the death toll in Turkey and Syria climbing rapidly after a catastrophic earthquake struck the region less than 48 hours ago, Direct Relief is mobilizing significant quantities of medical aid in response to specific requests from on-the-ground responders,” according to a news release on Tuesday. “At least 4,000 people in Turkey and 1,500 people in Syria are reported dead, and the number of casualties is expected to rise significantly as rescue workers continue the search for survivors.”

AKUT, one of the organizations receiving Direct Relief’s help, is “an association of search and rescue volunteers and staff in Turkey,” Tony Morain, vice president of communications for Direct Relief, told the News-Press Tuesday.

AKUT has deployed its teams to the earthquake zone, and its early reports detail more than 1,700 collapsed buildings, no power and below-freezing

SHELTERBOX

Continued from Page A1

firsthand experience providing relief in these regions. ShelterBox

USA was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and 2019 for its work in Syria.

“We have been actively responding to the displacement needs of the Syrian crisis for over 11 years, have long-term partners in the region, an initial stock of relief supplies pre-positioned, experience working with displaced Syrian families in the cold winter months, and a deep understanding of the types of shelter and household needs that address displacement needs in the region,” Ms. Murray said.

“While the logistics are immensely challenging in an area where thousands of buildings have been reduced to rubble, and it’s still an active search and rescue situation, we remain committed to helping meet the urgent shelter and household needs.”

Although specific needs still need to be assessed, ShelterBox USA plans on providing family emergency tents, shelter tents, blankets and solar slights. It has also already deployed its emergency response team and will be on the ground soon.

“While activating this earthquake response was not something we anticipated one week ago, we know that we are uniquely suited to lend our support to this massive disaster,” Ms. Murray continued. “At the same time we are responding to this crisis, we are in the midst of large-scale shelter distributions in Ukraine, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Cameroon and more.

“Now more than ever, the work of ShelterBox is essential,” she said. “As a non-profit organization, it is critical we raise charitable donations to scale up our emergency shelter projects to reach more families across the

Continued from Page A1

to play a critical part in the city’s water supply portfolio, Ms. Corey said, adding that with all the extra water on hand, the city was able to shut down the desalination plant for a few months for cleaning and maintenance. It should resume operations on April 1.

All this, plus increases in groundwater resources and recycled water usage, means there’s nothing but “good news” ahead water-wise for the city, she

a field hearing in Petersburg, West Virginia, on the state of the economy in Appalachia. “We need single-family housing starts and remodeling expenditures to be high because those are the homes where people install hardwood floors, hardwood furniture and cabinets, hardwood moldings and millwork. Rising interest rates put a damper on housing in the latter half of 2022, and the outlook for 2023 is not good.”

Higher prices can’t just be passed on to consumers, he said.

“I have heard it said many times that higher costs don’t really affect businesses and that they simply pass that additional cost along to their customer. It does not work that way in our industry,” Mr. Plaugher said in written testimony. “Our product pricing is based on supply

temperatures. Southern Turkey is home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees, many of whom live in camps and are vulnerable to the cold. The $100,000 is emergency operating funding, which can be used for transportation, logistics, staff, supplies or whatever is needed, according to Mr. Morain.

and demand. We sell into a global market, and we have to compete with products from all over the world. If the price for our lumber becomes too high, customers will simply look for a cheaper alternative or a replacement product.”

Inflation has hit Cheetah B’s, a restaurant in Petersburg, West Virginia. Owner and operator Ashley Bachman said inflation means higher prices.

“The cost of goods has been steadily rising throughout the past couple of years. It has been tough to stay ahead of. We have had to change our menu prices countless times just to make sure that we don’t go out of business,” she said. “We still are not charging enough for our menu items because we are afraid that we will price ourselves

pallets; enough to fill one semitruck. We are trying to ship today or tomorrow and they will arrive within days,” said Mr. Morain.

FYI

SAMS, the other organization being helped by Direct Relief, operates health facilities in the northwest of the country. Those facilities have already received more than 1,000 patients impacted by the earthquake.

Direct Relief said it will continue to respond to requests in the region hit by Monday’s 7.8 earthquake as they become known and will continue posting updates as more information becomes available. For more details or to donate, go to www.directrelief.org/ emergency/turkey-syria-earthquake.

Direct Relief is initially providing SAMS with 108 emergency medical backpacks stocked with medical supplies for first responders,1,000 hygiene kits, antibiotics, analgesics, oral rehydration salts, prenatal vitamins and supplies to assist with wound care and acute injuries.

The region of Syria hit by the earthquake contains a large population of internally displaced people and refugees at particular risk of impacts from interrupted power, health services, food and water access, and limited shelter.

“We shared inventory with groups in the area, and the SAMS got back to us with specific requests which we are preparing to ship to them. It is a little over 25

Direct Relief is communicating with other longterm Syrian partners about their immediate needs and has shared its medical inventory list with the Turkish Red Crescent.

In discussions with freight forwarders on Monday, Direct Relief’s transportation team determined that the best option for delivering material aid is to fly it into Istanbul, clear customs there and truck it to the final destination.

The Adana, Turkey airport is operational but is much

out of business.”

Inflation also means people are eating out less.

“I see lots of my old customers out at the grocery store, and they will tell me they are sorry they haven’t eaten at my restaurant lately because they are just struggling to live,” Ms. Bachman, a mother of three, said in written testimony.

Wiley McDade, a U.S. Navy veteran and co-owner of Devil’s Due Distillery in Kearneysville, West Virginia, told lawmakers that inflation is holding back job growth.

“Despite input cost increases, we are reluctant to raise prices and have not done so,” he said.

“However, it comes at a great cost: Growth. Our workforce should consist of seven to 10 ... yet we do so with five. Everyone works long hours, wearing many hats.”

smaller and is currently getting inundated with relief aid workers and aid moving in from Turkish authorities. The airport could quickly become overwhelmed.

“We are also looking at trucking from our warehouse outside of Amsterdam. Our warehouse in the Netherlands provides supplies to Ukraine,” said Mr. Morain.

In its news release Tuesday, Direct Relief noted, “Initial reports indicate as many as 2,818 buildings have collapsed in Turkey, with the most affected districts including Malatya, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Adıyaman, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Sanliurfa, Gaziantep, Kilis and Adana.”

“The Turkish Ministry of Health is reporting at least 15 hospitals were significantly damaged by the earthquake — about half of all hospitals located in the severe impact zones,” according to Direct Relief.

Noted Mr. Morain, “Individuals who want to help can donate, which will help with shipping costs. If you can’t donate money, sharing the word and making sure others are aware of what’s happening is helpful and both are highly appreciated.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

MERCADO, Giancarlo

1964-2023

It is with great sadness, that we announce that our dear Giancarlo Mercado passed away suddenly on 21 of January, 2023 at his home in Los Angeles, CA.

Born on 18 of August, 1964 in Los Angeles CA. Giancarlo received his BS in Political Science from UCLA; M.A. in TESOL and his Doctorate Degree in Educational Leadership from CSUN. His career as an Educator with LAUSD (his other family) spanned over 30 years. Beloved family and friends spanned across six continents. Giancarlo enjoyed traveling, entertaining, mentoring, charitable causes, good food and drink, reading, learning and most importantly, spending time with his family and friends.

Constantly challenging himself both physically and mentally was a trait we all admired.

Example: on a whim, Giancarlo trained for and completed the 545 Mile AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles because he always believed: “We’ve yet to have our finest hour.” He crossed that finish line with his signature smile, the one we all hold so close to our hearts.

He was someone who always saw the best in all of us, which made everyone who knew him, respect, admire and love him.

Giancarlo is preceded by death by his late father, Albert Mercado of Santa Barbara, CA, and is survived by his mother, Nelly Mercado, also from Santa Barbara, CA, older brother Albert W. Mercado and wife Ana of Phoenix, AZ, younger brother, Franco Mercado of Santa Barbara, CA, nephew Ryan Mercado and great-niece Adelina of Salt Lake City, UT, niece Gina Mercado of Scottsdale, AZ, including many loving aunts, uncles and cousins.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday February 8, 2023 at 11:00 AM at the Old Mission Santa Barbara. Interment to follow at Santa Barbara Cemetery. Reception to be held at his mother’s residence, Mrs. Nelly Mercado, in Santa Barbara. Arrangements entrusted to McDermott-Crockett Mortuary.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com

To place an obituary, please email the text and photo(s) to obits@newspress.com or fax text only (no photos) to (805) 966-1421. Please include your name, address, contact phone number and the date(s) you would like the obituary to be published. Photos should be in jpeg format with at least 200 dpi. If a digital photo is not available, a picture may be brought into our office for scanning. We will lay out the obituary using our standard format. A formatted proof of the obituary and the cost will be emailed back for review and approval.

The minimum obituary cost to print one time is $150.00 for up to 1.5” in length – includes 1 photo and up to 12 lines of text, approximately 630 characters; up to approximately 930 characters without a photo. Add $60.00 for each additional inch or partial inch after the first 1.5”; up to approximately 700 characters per additional inch. All Obituaries must be reviewed, approved, and prepaid by deadline. We accept all major credit cards by phone; check or cash payments may be brought into our office located at 715 Anacapa Street.

*Early Deadline for Presidents’ Day: Obituaries publishing Sat, Feb. 18 thru Wed, Feb. 22, deadline is Thurs, Feb. 16 at 10am. The usual deadlines for Weekend and Mon editions are on Thur at 10am; for Tues’s edition it’s 10am on Fri; for Wed’s edition it’s 10am on Mon; for Thur’s edition it’s 10am on Tues; for Fri’s edition it’s 10am on Wed (Pacific Time). Free Death Notices must be directly emailed by the mortuary to our newsroom at news@newspress.com. The News-Press cannot accept Death Notices from individuals.

“While activating this earthquake response was not something we anticipated one week ago, we know that we are uniquely suited to lend our support to this massive disaster,” said Kerri Murray, president of Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA, about Monday’s 7.8 earthquake near Gaziantep, Turkey. In this photo, Ms. Murray is speaking last year at a downtown Santa Barbara event for the nonprofit.

world.

“We are launching an emergency fundraising appeal and hope the community will support our global humanitarian relief efforts,” Ms. Murray continued.

ShelterBox USA does not accept

said.

“Put it all together and in short, the city has plenty of water to meet supplies for at least the next three years,” she said. “We could have more dry years to come, but even under those assumptions, we have plenty of water.”

Nevertheless, Ms. Corey still urged residents to continue their water conservation efforts.

Councilmember Mike Jordan suggested it might be a good time to consider expanding desalination efforts. “We should use this opportunity to set up for the next drought time.”

government funding, so charitable donations are essential to its work. Ms. Murray said she knows Santa Barbara is philanthropic and knows what it is like to be displaced, so she is hopeful that the community will help them help the world in crisis.

Mr. Haggmark agreed another drought could creep up on the city fast. “We want to finish doing our planning and be ready for that by continuing to bolster our local supplies,” he said.

Councilmember Eric Friedman questioned the wisdom of building new housing units for future residents while still asking residents who are here now to continue conserving water.

“There’s a disconnect here,” he said. “It’s the No. 1 question on water I get from the public.”

Ms. Corey noted that most new

email: cbeeghly@newspress.com

FYI

For more information or to donate to efforts to help victims of Monday’s earthquake, visit shelterboxUSA.org

housing involves large multi-family buildings that provide residents with the latest, very efficient fixtures that use less water, and use relatively small amounts of water for landscaping.

All in all, council members were very impressed, not just with Tuesday’s presentation but with how much better Santa Barbara’s water supply situation is today.

“It’s quite amazing what a few months make,” Councilmember Friedman said. email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail. com

DAVE MASON/ NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

Life theArts

Old Fashioned celebration

Former slave’s whiskey focus of Black History Month events

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Black History Month is being celebrated in a novel way at Finch & Fork restaurant and bar where master classes in making Old Fashioned drinks are being offered using Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which is named after a formerly enslaved man, Nathan “Nearest” Green.

The Santa Barbara restaurant is partnering with Uncle Nearest to raise money for historically black colleges and universities.

silver whiskey takes 25 days to make, using an 11-step process that includes a triple charcoal mellowing system designed for the brand.

The recipe behind the Uncle Nearest Tennessee whiskeys dates back to the whiskeys made in the late 1800s in Lincoln County. According to Nearest Green Foundation co-founder Fawn Weaver, “(the recipe) was saved from a fire just behind the square in Lynchburg and is now under lock and key at the Farmers Bank in Lynchburg, the bank Jack Daniel founded in 1888.”

For more information about the Black History Month celebrations at Finch & Fork, 31 W. Carrillo St. in the Kimpton Canary Hotel, Santa Barbara, call 805-884-0300 or visit www. finchandforkrestaurant.com.

For every Old Fashioned sold in February, Finch & Fork will match Uncle Nearest’s $1 donation, which has as its goal $1 million.

The next class will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at Finch & Fork in the Kimpton Canary Hotel, 31 W. Carrillo St. The Pura Luna Apothecary team will be leading the “love potion” event, which includes a celebration of Valentine’s Day. Tickets are $65.

A Bourbon Pairing Dinner hosted by Matt Neal from Uncle Nearest will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 24. It will include a four-course dinner curated by Nathan Lingle, Finch & Fork executive chef. Tickets are $95.

Known as Uncle Nearest, Nathan “Nearest” Green has been acknowledged since 2016 as the first black master distiller on record in the United States, according to Wikipedia. He taught Jack Daniel to make Tennessee whiskey and served as the first master distiller, formerly called “head stiller,” for the Jack Daniel Distillery as a free man after the Civil War. He was instrumental in developing the Lincoln County Process, the sugar maple charcoal filtering method used to make most Tennessee whiskey.

It is the first spirit named after a black individual. As of September 2019, it is sold in all 50 states and 12 countries.

The Uncle Nearest brand originally included a silver and an aged whiskey, both distilled from locally sourced grains and bottled in Tennessee.The

The recipe includes corn malt, a former whiskey ingredient long missing from Tennessee whiskeys.

The brand’s first three releases are named after the year Nearest was born (1820), the year he was credited with perfecting the Lincoln County Process (1856) and the year he retired (1884).

In 2019, Uncle Nearest announced Victoria Eady Butler, a descendant of Nathan Green, as master blender, becoming the first known black female whiskey master blender. She was named Master Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine, VinePair and The Spirits Business in 2021

In June 2020, the Nearest Green Distillery and the Jack Daniel Distillery founded the Nearest & Jack Advancement Initiative. Each company contributed $2.5 million to create the Nearest Green School of Distilling at Motlow State Community College, which includes the Leadership Acceleration Program for apprenticeships and the Business Incubation Program, which provides expertise and resources to black individuals entering the spirits industry.

On June 1, 2021, Uncle Nearest formed the Uncle Nearest Venture Fund, a $50 million initiative to invest in minority-founded and owned spirits brands. The company began the Old Fashioned Challenge in January 2023 to raise $1 million for historically black colleges and universities. email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

Award-winning scientist to showcase obscure inventors

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

An award-winning scientist, science communicator and author, Ainissa Ramirez will speak at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at UCSB Campbell Hall.

In her recent book, “The Alchemy of Us,” Dr. Ramirez showcases little-known inventors — particularly people of color and women — who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias and convention. Doing so shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology.

She also reveals that innovation is universal, whether it’s splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

Dr. Ramirez is known for her passion about getting the general public excited about science. A graduate of Brown University, she earned her doctorate in materials science and engineering from Stanford. She started her career as a scientist at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, N.J., and later worked as an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Yale.

Besides her books, “The

CALENDAR

Alchemy of Us” and “Save Our Science,” Dr. Ramirez co-authored “Newton’s Football.” She has written for Forbes, Time, The Atlantic, Scientific American, American Scientist and Science and has explained science headlines on CBS, CNN, NPR, ESPN and PBS.

Dr. Ramirez speaks widely on the topics of science and technology. Her TEDxBroadway talk on science education explores the importance of creating excitement among young people about science through the arts. She has won prizes from the National Science Foundation, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the American Institute of Physics. She speaks internationally on the importance of making science fun.

She has served as a science advisor to the American Film Institute, WGBH/NOVA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and several science museums. She also hosts a science podcast called “Science Underground.”Her free lecture is sponsored by UCSB Arts & Lectures. For more information and registration, visit www. artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

COURTESY PHOTO

“The River Bride,” the story of folklore, love, regret and two sisters who struggle to be true to each other and their hearts, will be presented by PCPA (Pacific Conservatory Theatre) from Feb. 16 through March 5 in Santa Maria. The play is being performed at the Severson Theatre at Allan Hancock College, 870 S. Bradley Road.

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont RidleyTree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings:

Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann. com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “The Search for the Modern West,” an exhibit, continues through Feb. 20 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara. The gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, see sullivangoss.com or call the gallery at 805730-1460.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit “Parliament of Owls” runs through Feb. 5 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, go to www.sbnature.org.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical.org.

8 p.m. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival opens with “Miranda’s Victim” at the Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. See sbiff.org.

8 p.m Transform Through Arts will present 10 dance companies in “Colors of Love” at the Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. General admission costs $30 in advance and $35 at the door. Tickets are $25 for students. To purchase, go to www.centerstagetheater. org.

FEB. 10

8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

FEB. 11

8 p.m. Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Selling Kabul” at the New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, The play is about an Afghan man hiding from the Taliban in his sister’s home in Kabul. Tickets cost $40 to $84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

FEB. 12

Noon. Participants in Ted Nash’s workshop will go on stage at the Mary Craig Auditorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. The free program is called “Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance and Evolution” and will feature student composers, performers and writers from Mr. Nash’s workshop. FEB. 14 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nicole Lvoff and Joe Woodard will perform on Valentine’s Day

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2023

COURTESY PHOTO

The Nearest Oaxacan Old Fashioned is named after Nathan “Nearest” Green. Master classes in the Old Fashioneds named after the former slave are being taught at Fork and Finch Restaurant in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTOS

John Demourkas Julie Heider-Gray

“Bobbie”

Natural history museum board announces new members, officers

By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

Barbara “Bobbie” Evans

Kinnear, John Demourkas and Julie Heider-Gray have joined the board of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

The museum also has announced a new slate of board officers. They are Brad Willis as chair, Terrence Valeski as immediate past chair, Douglas Drier as vice chair for governance, Salvatore “Tory” Milazzo as vice chair for finance, Sarah Sheshunoff as vice chair development, Keith Reichel as vice chair for master plan, Hank Mitchel as secretary, and S. Timothy Kochis as member-atlarge.

And the museum provided the following information on each of the three new board members, beginning with Ms. Kinnear.

She graduated from Texas Christian University with a bachleor’s in nursing science.

Early in her career, Ms Kinnear became a pediatric nurse burn specialist and later worked for many years as an operating room/ recovery room supervisor and as director of nursing. As a change

of focus, Ms. Kinear founded and operated a small importing/ wholesale business with artists in China.

Ms. Kinear and her husband John have lived in Santa Barbara since 1973. She has served on many local boards including Santa Barbara Visiting Nurses Association, Junior League of Santa Barbara, The Garden Club of Santa Barbara, Crane Country Day School, the National Charity League, Casa Del Herrero, and the Westmont Foundation Board of Directors.

Another board member, Ms. Heider-Gray, is an intellectual property attorney with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. She was in-house counsel for more than 10 years at Genentech Inc., most recently as associate director, assistant general counsel and head of the Cancer Immunology IP Group.

She previously worked in the IP Groups of Foley & Lardner LLP and Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, PLLC.

The third new board member, Mr. Demourkas, was born in Santa Barbara to immigrant parents

and grew up on the Mesa. He attended Santa Barbara City College and UCSB, and while in college, he started his first corporation — Sewell/Demourkas, Inc., a professional beauty products distributor.

In 1979, he became a founding employee of Nexxus Products Co., an international producer and distributor of salon professional beauty products, headquartered in Santa Barbara. Mr. Demourkas ultimately became vice president of operations, COO and CFO, remaining at the company until 2006 when he oversaw its sale to Alberto-Culver, Inc.

He and his wife Deneen are active with the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and have both sailed competitively throughout the U.S. Europe and the Caribbean.

In 2015, he won the Rolex Farr40 World Championship. He served as the yacht club’s commodore in 2006 and was a member of the Santa Barbara Youth Sailing Foundation, serving as its treasurer for nearly 10 years. For a full listing of the trustees and their bios, please visit sbnature.org/about/board.

email:dmason@newspress.com

‘Conquering the Pacific’

UC Davis professor to reveal little-known story in Maritime Museum lecture

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

“Conquering the Pacific: An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery ” will be presented by Dr. Andrés Reséndez at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum,113 Harbor Way. There will also be a pre-lecture reception for members only from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. Admission is free for SBMM’s Navigator Circle Members, $10 for all other museum members and $20 for nonmembers. As part of his presentation, Dr. Reséndez will discuss his latest book, “Conquering the Pacific” and tell the little-known story of the first trans-Pacific expedition.

“A Genoese navigator brought the New World to European attention in 1492. A similar ‘Columbian moment’ occurred in the Pacific, even though most people are unaware of it,” said Dr. Resendez. “Polynesian navigators first crossed the great ocean by island-hopping from the coast of China to the Americas, and Magellan was the first European to go from the New World to Asia in one swoop during his famous voyage of 1519-1522,”

“But the complete trans-Pacific voyage — from America to Asia and back (‘the vuelta’) — only first occurred in 1564-1565 under the guidance of an Afro-Portuguese pilot. Known to just a few specialists, this dramatic expedition finally turned the largest ocean on Earth into a vital space of human contact and exchange.”

Dr. Reséndez, whose presentation will offer a narrative of this secret, no-expenses-spared undertaking, is an author and history professor at UC Davis, where his research is focused on early European exploration and colonization of the

“Conquering the Pacific,” by Dr. Andrés Reséndez, tells the littleknown story of the first trans-Pacific expedition.

Americas and the early history of the Pacific, including the voyages of discovery.

He grew up in Mexico City and earned his bachelor’s degree in international relations at El Colegio de México and his doctorate in history at the University of Chicago

Before assuming his current position at UC Davis, he was active in politics, served as a consultant for historical soap opera and taught at Yale and the University of Helsinki in Finland.

“Conquering the Pacific:

An Unknown Mariner and the Final Great Voyage of the Age of Discovery,” which was released in 2021, is about the first expedition to sail from America to Asia and back, transforming the Pacific Ocean into a vital space of contact and exchange.

Dr. Reséndez’s previous book, “The Other Slavery: The Uncovered

Eric Seale joins Cottage Heath board

SANTA BARBARA — Eric Seale has joined the board of directors for Cottage Health. He is a managing partner at Accufy Analytics, a financial software firm specializing in renewable energy financing structures. Mr. Seale holds a master’s degree in finance from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Mass., and a bachelor’s degree in electrical

Story of Indian Enslavement in America,” was a finalist for the 2016 National Book Award and winner of the 2017 Bancroft Prize from Columbia University. His previous books include “A Land So Strange: The Epic Journey of Cabeza de Vaca” and “Changing National Identities at the Frontier: Texas and New Mexico, 1800-1850.” He is currently a Carnegie Fellow as well as a distinguished fellow at the Huntington Library. This event is sponsored by Marie L. Morrisroe.

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

FYI

For more information, call 805-9628404 or visit sbmm.org. To register, go to sbmm.org/santa-barbara-events/ and become a member at sbmm.org.

engineering and computer science from Princeton University in New Jersey. His most recent Cottage Health board service was with the Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation from 2016 to 2022. Mr. Seale and his wife, Sandy, have five adult children and five grandchildren.

— Marilyn McMahon

PET of the WEEK

Candy Corn

Candy Corn wants to be your friend.

The outgoing cat, who’s definitely under 2 years old, is awaiting adoption through Volunteers for Inter Valley Animals in Lompoc.

Candy Corn, who’s orange and white like his namesake, loves to play and be scratched behind the ears. But he likes people better than other cats. VIVA said Candy Corn isn’t doing well at its shelter, where cats roam freely in rooms together.

But while Candy Corn isn’t

Eric Seale

crazy about cats, he loves to sit in a warm, human lap where he’s the star of your life.

This friendly cat has been neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

If you would like to meet Candy Corn, call VIVA at 805-735-6741. Or visit www.vivashelter.org and complete an adoption application.

An adoption coordinator will schedule a private adoption appointment where you can meet the many wonderful cats and kittens at the shelter, located at 133 North D St. in Lompoc.

— Dave Mason

Shelters seek homes for pets

and facebook.com/capaoflompoc.

CAPA works regularly with Animal Services-Lompoc.

• K-9 Placement & Assistance League, k-9pals.org. K-9 PALS works regularly with Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

COURTESY PHOTO

campuses in Goleta and Santa Maria), sbhumane.org.

• Santa Maria Animal Center, countyofsb.org/phd/animal/home. sbc. The center is part of Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

• Animal Shelter Assistance Program in Goleta, asapcats.org. ASAP is kitty corner to Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

• Bunnies

•

• Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation, sbcanimalcare. org. (The foundation works regularly with the Santa Maria Animal Center.)

• Santa Barbara County Animal Services in Goleta: countyofsb.org/ phd/animal/home.sbc.

• Santa Barbara Humane (with

CALENDAR

Continued from Page B1

p.m. The Nicole Lvoff Jazz Trio will perform at Crush Bar & Tap, 1129 A State St., Santa Barbara. There’s no cover. For more information, go to crushbarsb.com.

Feb. 19

4 p.m. The Takács Quartet will perform an all-Beethoven concert at St. Mark’s-inthe-Valley Episocpal Church, 2901 Nojoqui Ave., Los Olivos. Tickets cost $20 for general admission. To purchase, go to smitv.org/ syv-concert-series. Tickets for students are free. For more information, contact Linda Burrows at 805-705-0938 or syvconcerts@

• Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG in Buellton, syvhumane.org.

• Shadow’s Fund (a pet sanctuary in Lompoc), shadowsfund.org.

• Volunteers for Inter-Valley Animals in Lompoc: vivashelter. org.

— Dave Mason

smitv.org.

7 p.m. Singers Ken Stacy and Claire Khodara will perform at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., Suite 205, Santa Barbara. General admission costs $25 in advance and $30 cash on the day of the show. To purchase or get a dinner reservation, go to www.sohosb.com.

March 9 7 p.m. Pianist Jerome Lowenthal, who served as a Music Academy of the West teaching artist for half a century, will perform a concert, “Lowenthal’s Legend,” at the academy’s Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road, Montecito. Tickets are $55 for general admission and free for ages 7-17. To purchase, go to musicacademy.org to call the academy’s box office at 805-969-8787. — Dave Mason

COURTESY PHOTOS

Barbara

Evans Kinnear

Diversions

Thought for Today

“We have to rediscover the eternal values and then live them out.” —

Jordan Peterson

HOROSCOPE

By Horoscope.com

Wednessday, February 8, 2023

ARIES — Unfortunately, Aries, this may be a period of conflict and tension in your family life, especially where siblings are concerned. Don’t you think it’s time to deal with these problems once and for all?

It would be nice to build a new relationship with them. It might be painful, but it’s up to you to take the first step.

TAURUS — You now seem to be able to do everything you want to do, Taurus. Things are going well as you reap the rewards of important past decisions you made. The obstacles that tended to get in your way are history now. Your family is happy and healthy. Your success is encouraging you to make plans for the future.

GEMINI — You need to be more spontaneous, Gemini, and stop trying to organize other people’s lives. You will see that it isn’t so hard to just let things happen. The unexpected also has a special charm. You’re a slave to routine. You need to take a big bite out of life and put your trust in chance for a while.

CANCER — You’re a hard worker, Cancer, and you expect the same from the people around you. Today you may want to take a look at your personal and work relationships.

Demanding person that you are, you may be concerned about the quality of your friendships. Don’t be afraid to separate good from bad.

LEO — Watch for any errors in orientation or strategic mistakes, Leo. You may be having some communication problems with almost everyone today. You feel like whatever you say falls on deaf ears and that no one really wants to listen to you. Don’t get frustrated. Relax and see it with humor. Just be an observer for one day and see what happens.

VIRGO — At the moment, there’s a great deal of electricity in the air, especially in your life at home. Ignore those people who try to provoke you. Don’t get involved in conflicts that could degenerate into fights. Go somewhere to be alone. Reenergize by really listening to your desires, feelings, and instincts.

LIBRA — If people say that

SUDOKU

you’re stubborn when you’re just determined, let them talk, Libra, and do what you need to do. However, when you think you’re being determined but you’re actually being obstinate, you may want to listen to the people around you. They don’t tell you to calm down because they’re jealous of you but because they care about you.

SCORPIO — It’s time to face up to certain things about yourself that you may have denied for some time, Scorpio. You have only yourself to answer to, so relax. You aren’t the first one to have to deal with old issues that probably aren’t as shameful as you think. You don’t have to be proud of them. You can’t keep hiding them from yourself.

SAGITTARIUS — It scares you when life seems like it’s slipping through your fingers and you can’t slow it down. But it isn’t life that’s playing tricks on you. You aren’t seeing things as clearly as you should be. You feel a little left out, but don’t worry. You’re just out of energy. Try and think of this empty feeling inside as a kind of purification or a much-needed break from everything.

CAPRICORN — When you were younger, your humanity and generosity seemed limitless. You felt very involved in the world and what was going wrong with it. Today you may remember these great dreams. It may be time to make some of those dreams come true. It would be especially beneficial to you if you could somehow connect this to the work you do for a living.

AQUARIUS — You’ve always been sensitive to the pain of an unhappy childhood, Aquarius. Today you can no longer stand the thought of all those children living in misery, victims of war or other atrocities. And this becomes especially painful when you take a look at the happy children full of joy around you.

PISCES — You may feel like you need to work for a cause or political party, Pisces. The period you’re in right now is bringing you closer to social issues or humanitarian causes and pushing you to think about what you can do for people less fortunate. You can help develop a new strategy as far as human relations are concerned.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

I was sitting in the club lounge with my friend the English professor when a player bragged about making today’s slam.

“My play was masterful,” he crowed. “I discarded a spade on dummy’s ace of diamonds — and another spade on the jack. West won and led a third diamond to the ten, and I threw the queen of spades. I took the ace of spades and got to dummy with trumps to ruff two spades. Dummy’s last spade was good, and I pitched my queen of clubs.

“If I rely on the spades for three tricks, I go down. Those are the true facts, and I claim that anyone else would have won less tricks.”

FALSE FACTS

“His play was better than his English,” the prof said. ‘Masterful’ means domineering; he meant ‘masterly.’ There are no false facts, and ‘claim’ is no substitute for ‘assert.’ ‘Fewer’ was correct, not ‘less.’” “I hate to hear someone flout his play,” I said.

“You’re hopeless,” the prof sighed. “‘Flout’ means to treat with contempt. The word you want is ‘flaunt,’ a boastful display.”

QUESTION You hold:

CODEWORD PUZZLE

You open

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday through Saturday.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid. Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

PUZZLE

one diamond, your partner bids one spade, you raise to two spades and he next bids 2NT. What do you say?

ANSWER: Your hand is too weak in high cards to accept an invitation to game. Bid three diamonds, suggesting a minimum, unbalanced hand with long diamonds and only three-card spade support. This sequence shows an advantage of raising spades directly; now you can sign off. South dealer E-W vulnerable

Border officers refute claim that fentanyl isn’t smuggled into U.S. between ports of entry

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, claimed at a U.S. House committee hearing Tuesday that the majority of fentanyl — 90% – was being seized at southern border ports of entry and that over 80% of those apprehended for smuggling it were American citizens.

“We’ve got to stop the flow of fentanyl into our country,” he said. “It’s a matter of life and death.” However, he said, “the vast majority of fentanyl coming into the country is seized at ports of entry, not from migrants traveling across the border on foot.”

Rep. Raskin added that “90% of fentanyl seizures were at ports of entry at vehicle check points and not between, and what’s more puzzling … is that 80% of people convicted of smuggling [fentanyl and drugs] were American citizens, not foreign nationals.”

A similar argument was made by Democrats in a House Judiciary Committee hearing on border security last week.

Texas law enforcement officers

working through Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star, have seized more than 360 million lethal doses of fentanyl since March 2021 between ports of entry and throughout Texas, more than enough to kill everyone in the United States. Because Mexican cartels “are bringing fentanyl across the border in record amounts,” Gov. Abbott designated them as foreign terrorist organizations.

And while Texas law enforcement officers are “trying their best to get it off our streets,” Gov. Abbott’s argued, “it’s time the Biden administration take it serious and step up to secure the border, if nothing else to stop the fentanyl.”

A Border Patrol agent at the southern border in Texas told The Center Square on condition of anonymity for fear of being retaliated against, “We know fentanyl is coming through because of our intelligence from sources in Mexico, interrogations (interviews) with smugglers and cartel and drawbridge images. Illegal aliens are carrying narcotics in their backpacks or

duffel bags. The cartel is going to choose the easiest and least secure route depending on the size of the load. Do you think that’s going to be at a port of entry or inbetween?”

Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith, who’s helping to prosecute the greatest number of felony charges brought against illegal foreign nationals in Texas, told The Center Square that Democrats’ claims about fentanyl “gives evidence to the fact that they are willfully ignorant to what is really happening on our southern border. It also shows they have no regard to the thousands of Americans who have lost their lives to this dangerous poison.”

Last week, Hays County, Texas, resident Brandon Dunn testified about his son being killed from fentanyl poisoning, saying, “given the lethality of this drug, any amount smuggled in in a backpack or a fanny pack or even in somebody’s pocket can be enough to kill thousands of people. It’s not just a border checkpoint issue. Without immediate medical intervention, a person is not likely to survive.

That’s how fast it kills.”

House Oversight Committee member Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Louisiana, responded by saying there were over “a million gotaways” in the last two years “that we know about; that’s stout young men as the chief (John Modlin) testified wearing camouflage, rolling hard. They got Milspec radios. They’re carrying backpacks. They work for the drug cartels. What do you think’s in the backpacks?

“Every American watching this understands there’s a tremendous amount of illicit fentanyl and meth crossing between the ports of entry.”

Border Patrol agents use the term “gotaways” to refer to foreign nationals who illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry, intentionally evade law enforcement, don’t return to Mexico or Canada, and “got away” into the interior of the U.S. Law enforcement officers express concern about not knowing who or where they are. In fiscal 2022, more than 637,000 gotaways were reported nationwide, including over 350,000 in Texas, according to

Border Patrol data obtained by The Center Square.

Goliad County Sheriff Roy Boyd told The Center Square, “If Democrats actually believe that fentanyl is only being smuggled in through ports of entry, I have a bridge I’d like to sell them. The reason the seizures are happening primarily at port of entry is because Border Patrol is being directed to administrative duties, which prevents them from patrolling the vast unoccupied areas along most of the border with Mexico.”

Tom Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, told The Center Square, the claims made by Democrats “are wrong. Most fentanyl is SEIZED at ports because all, 100% of conveyances, are stopped and may be sent to secondary for further search based on a variety of circumstances.

“They don’t know how much fentanyl crosses the border between the ports. To assume that a small portion of fentanyl comes between the ports of entry, the same place where 1.2 million people entered and got away, is

ridiculous,” he said, referring to the known gotaways reported over the past two years.

“Not to mention that up to 80% of agents have been pulled from border operations to process (foreign nationals), which leaves hundreds of miles of border where there are no agents to intercept speaks for itself,” he added. “It’s not a coincidence that fentanyl overdose deaths are at an historic level during the same exact time that we have historic illegal immigration. This issue is killing thousands of U.S. citizens. They need to stop playing politics and the spin and work on strong border measures to save lives.”

Terrell County Sheriff Thad Cleveland, who’s pursuing human smugglers on a daily basis, told The Center Square, “It doesn’t matter if 90% or 99% of fentanyl is seized at the ports of entry.” What’s being reported only “represents what is seized, not how it is crossed, or more importantly, what gets away. … We must do what is right. Americans are being poisoned daily. We need to prevent those poisonings by securing our border.”

observe the live stream of the Commission meetings in the following ways:

- Televised on local cable channel 20; - Online at: http://www.countyofsb.org/ceo/csbtv/livestream.sbc; and - YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20

- Via live stream through Zoom Webinar, as described below.

2. If you wish to comment on the specific agenda item, the following methods are available:

- Place a comment in the record. Submit comment to the Commission Analyst/Clerk at: natasha@ sblafco.org prior to 5 p.m. on the day prior to the Commission meeting. Your comment will be placed into the record and distributed to the Commission.

- Comment read into the record at the meeting - Submit your comment via email prior to 5 p.m. on the day prior to the Commission meeting, limited to 250 words or less, to the Commission Analyst/Clerk at: natasha@sblafco.org. Please state in your email that you would like this “read into the record.” Every effort will be made to read your comment into the record, but some comments may not be read due to time limitations. Comments timely received will be placed into the record and distributed to the Commission.

- Zoom Webinar “Attendee” - If you would like to comment through Zoom, please log onto the LAFCO website at www.sblafco.org and follow the instructions for registration and participation by Zoom that are on the agenda for the hearing.

Additional information. – Additional information regarding items to be considered at the meeting may be obtained by contacting the LAFCO office at 105 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara CA 93101 or by calling 805-568-3391. The agenda and staff report for the hearing will be available at the LAFCO website at www.sblafco.org. 5 days before the hearing. Dated this 8th day of February 2023.

Webcast: adminmonitor.com/ca/cpuc SoCalGas’ March 6 and March 15, 2023, PPHs will be held virtually, meaning you can participate via internet or via phone using the access details above. Please note: If you need a language interpreter ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� comment, you must participate by phone using the phone number above. After calling in and entering the passcode above, press *1, unmute your phone and record your name when prompted. You will be put into a queue in the order you dialed in.

Why is SoCalGas requesting this increase?

��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ����������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ Annual revenues are the total amount of money a utility is allowed to collect through rates in a given year.

The revenues requested in this application pay for the costs of owning and operating gas infrastructure. This application does not include the cost to purchase natural gas for SoCalGas customers and does not determine how revenues are assigned to customer groups. Those are evaluated and authorized in separate proceedings. SoCalGas is requesting this increase to: ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ could impact its employees, customers, and/or system; �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� environment; ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� empower customers with information and tools to better manage their gas use; �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� compliance; and ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

If the CPUC approves this application, SoCalGas will implement new revenues in gas rates beginning on January 1, 2024. This will impact your monthly bill.

������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� Individual customer bills may vary.

How does the rest of this process work?

The assigned Judge will consider proposals and evidence presented during the formal hearing process. The Judge will issue a proposed decision that may adopt SoCalGas’ application, modify it, or deny it. Any CPUC ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� any alternate decision(s), will be discussed and voted upon by the CPUC Commissioners at a public CPUC Voting Meeting. Parties to the proceeding are currently reviewing SoCalGas’ application, including the Public Advocates ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� customers to obtain the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels. ����������������������������������1-415-703-1584, email �������������������������������, or visit PublicAdvocates.cpuc.ca.gov

Your participation by providing your thoughts on SoCalGas’ request can help the CPUC make an informed decision. Where