City of Santa Maria to pass out kitchen pails

SANTA MARIA — The Santa Maria Utilities Department is offering free kitchen pails for Santa Maria residents at a distribution event on March 25.

The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Preisker Park, 330 Hidden Pines Way). The distribution will be at the park’s southeast corner, near the all-inclusive playground.

Ordinance

Continued from Page A1 the city should go after rather than make wholesale changes in the law.

Several council members, however, said they supported the emergency ordinance, which took effect immediately upon adoption, because it’s not a brand new law but only reflects the council’s original intention when it passed the tenant protection law, which, according to Councilmember Mike Jordan said, “clearly allows the possibility of bad actors.

“We’re just making good on an ordinance that’s already been passed,” he said.

Councilmember Kristen Sneddon agreed. “We need to clean up the language as we intended.”

She said it’s evident that there are loopholes in the ordinance that are being exploited “and are being done to the detriment of the

Converters

Continued from Page A1 setting,” Prosecutor Harmon said.

Mr. Arciniega remains charged with conspiracy to commit grand theft of personal property and receiving stolen property, both felonies. He also is charged with bringing or sending drugs into the Main Jail in Santa Barbara, another felony.

Like Mr. Reyes, Mr. Arciniega pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment.

Prosecutors allege the pair collected gloves, a hydraulic jack and multiple reciprocating saws

The kitchen pail is a convenient way to collect food waste before depositing it in the outdoor organics container. This event is being held for the city’s solid waste customers who may be unable to visit the department during regular business hours. Limit is one pail per household, while supplies last. Verification of address is residents, and that the emergency ordinance and its clarifications are needed.

“This is a very real problem and affecting very real people,” Councilmember Sneddon said. The landlords, she said, are basically accusing the tenants of lying when they cry about being evicted for no just cause. “I’m as uncomfortable with that as I would be saying all landlords are bad landlords.”

While Mayor Randy Rowse voted for the emergency ordinance, he said the council only has listened to tenant anecdotes. “I don’t hear any real numbers. Are there illegal things going on? Yes. But most of the testimony, while true — they’re doing things that are already illegal.

“What went on here today is cleaning up language responsible to the original language the council put forward.”

In addition to requiring landlords to show good faith, the emergency ordinance would with metal blades, drove to the Santa Ynez Valley, identified victim vehicles and used tools to access catalytic converters. The stolen catalytic converters had a value exceeding $950.

They were arrested on March 5 after deputies responded around 5 a.m. to the 500 block of Sertoma Way in Buellton for a report of thefts of catalytic converters in progress.

While they were on their way, a sheriff’s dispatch relayed that the suspects were seen fleeing the area in a Fiat. Deputies spotted a vehicle matching that description near McDonald’s in Buellton. When deputies attempted to required. For more information, visit www.cityofsantamaria.org/ residentialorganicsrecycling or call the Utilities Department at 805-925-0951, ext 7270.

— Katherine Zehnder

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

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DAVE MASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor require them to take out permits to do the work, not just say they’re going to do it. In addition, it would require them to give advance written notice to tenants that they have to vacate before the work begins, and explaining why they cannot do the work while the tenants are still there.

HOW TO REACH US . . .

The law already requires landlords to give tenants at least 30 days early notice that they will have to vacate.

The council voted to ask staff to do further work on three issues: the amount of time landlords have to give written notice to tenants before renovations begin; landlords being able to relet a unit after taking it off the market; and a requirement that when one unit is permanently removed from the rental market, that all units on the same parcel be removed as well, a particular sticking point among some council members.

The council heard strong debate Tuesday from both tenants and landlords. More than 20 people stop the vehicle, the suspects fled, and the driver, later identified as Mr. Reyes, entered the opposing lanes of traffic, driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 101, officials said. spoke during the public comment period.

In the interest of public safety, deputies discontinued their pursuit of the vehicle and shared the suspect and vehicle description with the California Highway Patrol, who located the vehicle further south on the 101 in the southbound lanes. CHP tried to stop the vehicle, and the driver again entered the opposing lanes and the pursuit was terminated, officials said.

Tenants described it as a battle for the soul of the community.

Landlords, however, insisted the problem remains undocumented. They urged the council to wait and not rush to make changes for a problem that doesn’t exist.

Quite a lot of discussion Tuesday dealt with what the term “good faith” means.

Assistant City Attorney Dan Hentscke told the council the emergency ordinance would not change anything for landlords acting in good faith.

“Any good landlord should not have any problem complying with any of the requirements of the law we’re proposing,” he said. “You have to do it for the reason you say you’re doing it. You can’t have ill intent. You can’t play ‘hide the ball’ or be doing it for a malicious reason.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

Law enforcement set up a spike strip on Highway 101 near Las Varas Canyon, where officers successfully disabled the vehicle that was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes.

After a short foot pursuit, Mr. Reyes was taken into custody at 5:28 a.m.

Mr. Arciniega was successfully tracked by a sheriff’s K9 unit to his hiding place in a palm tree and apprehended at 6:30 a.m. Deputies recovered two catalytic converters from the suspects’ vehicle.

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