Santa Barbara News-Press: June 07, 2023

FBI director faces contempt hearing

House Oversight Committee chair says Christopher Wray violated subpoena - A3

Sizzling drama in Santa Barbara

Ensemble Theatre Company’s ‘Seared’ to feature real cooking on stage - B1

Quartet warms the battleground for president in power-packed visit

By ALAN WOOTEN THE CENTER SQUARE MANAGING EDITOR

(The Center Square) —

Audiences and strategy differ as the North Carolina battleground gets a June warming for the 2024 presidential race with nearly synchronous visits by President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. All are in the state and will be creating new sound and video bytes in a roughly 36hour period starting Friday and culminating Saturday night.

Recommendations on homelessness

Santa Barbara City Council committee stresses emergency shelter, interim housing

Editor’s note: This concludes a four-part series on the city of Santa Barbara’s efforts to deal with homelessness.

By NEIL HARTSTEIN

STAFF WRITER

Santa Barbara desperately needs emergency shelter, interim housing and medical recuperative care beds to address the immediate needs of its homeless population, according to the Santa Barbara City Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness.

Those are some of the recommendations made by the committee following 12 months of research into how best to serve the needs of the city’s unhoused population.

“Federal and state funding is solely focused on permanent supportive housing,” the committee noted in its final report released at a May 11 special council meeting.

“The city needs more emergency shelter beds and interim housing units to address the diversity of needs among our unhoused population,” the committee said.

Just as important, the committee said, is its finding that “a significant percentage of the unhoused population have (a) chronic health condition, substance abuse, and/or cooccuring mental health disorder” that require longer-term and skilled care to be widely available.

As of January, Santa Barbara had a total of 787 homeless persons scattered throughout the city, including downtown, the waterfront, eastside, uptown and other areas, according to a countywide Point-In-Time Count

conducted by the Continuum of Care. Committee members — Councilmembers Eric Friedman, Kristen Sneddon and Mike Jordan — spent the past year gathering information, listening to homeless experts, talking to key city staff and meeting with various stakeholders.

A key finding is that the city should focus on ensuring homeless

persons are “Housing Ready” by providing the supportive services they need in conjunction with placing them in transitional housing before finding them a permanent place to live.

At the same time, however, “housing the most vulnerable requires more supportive services than are currently available,” the committee said. Further, “more interim housing options are

needed for stabilization, physical and mental health care prior to permanent housing referral and placement.”

In its report, the committee also noted there is currently a limited availability of daytime shelter locations for people experiencing homelessness, and that the extended winter season of cold,

“It’s a signal that Biden and his campaign still views the state as a potential investment for November 2024, but that investment needs to start now with a ground-game operation beyond the classic ad war campaign that blankets North Carolina,” veteran political observer Michael Bitzer wrote in an email to The Center Square.

Mr . Trump, Mr. Pence and Gov. DeSantis headline the state Republican Party’s annual convention in Greensboro, its biggest annual fundraiser. Gov. DeSantis is the keynote speaker Friday evening, Mr. Pence is at noon Saturday, and Mr. Trump is in the Saturday night climax.

That lineup announcement has since been followed by

President Biden scheduling a trip to the Old North State. He’ll be in Rocky Mount hyping his Roadmap to Support Good Jobs, “a collaborative agency effort to align on guideposts to build the workforce,” and he’ll also go aboard Fort Liberty, the Army base formerly known as Fort Bragg, near Fayetteville.

Carter Wrenn, Raleighbased political consultant and columnist who worked with former President Ronald Reagan in the 1970s and ’80s and was an adviser to U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, said there is an economically advantageous opportunity for the GOP trio and a definite need for their presidential foe from Delaware.

“On the Democrat side, we’re a swing state,” Mr. Wrenn said in a phone call with The Center Square. “There’s not but five or six swing states. We’re one of them. How we go in the presidential election next year is a big thing. Every statewide election here, where the candidates spend money, they end up being close.

“The Democrat reason for coming here is we’re a swing state. They’re lusting to win North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania – that’s where they’re going to put their attention. That’s it for Biden.”

While the audience is in the thousands for Mr. Trump, Mr.

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Board of Supervisors discusses public health, homelessness

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

After a two-week hiatus, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors met Tuesday to discuss issues varying from public health to homelessness.

The board also talked about listing supporters and opponents for local measures on ballots as well as the District Attorney’s office’s grant agreement with the victim compensation board.

In the first moments of the meeting in Santa Barbara, a report from the Homeless Death Review Team shared data collected over the past year, and explained the importance of this data as well as the cost repercussions this could cause.

Additionally, the board discussed recommendations regarding Local Ballot Measure Supporters Opponents Printing.

This agenda item specifically discussed adopting a resolution in the matter of electing not to list supporters and opponents

for county, city, district and school measures on the county ballot and future county ballots.

Another item on the list had to do with the District Attorney’s office’s grant agreement with the victim compensation board.

The board discussed the California Victim Compensation Board Criminal Restitution Compact Grant. The board adopted a resolution permitting the district attorney to execute a grant agreement with the California Victim Compensation Board to accept and expend the Criminal Restitution Compact grant.

This money will help victims of crime receive compensation federally. This grant will be allocated for the period of July 1, 2023 through 2026 in the amount of $297,792.00.

The next board of supervisors meeting will take place on June 16.

email: abahnsen@newspress. com

in Santa Barbara. A Santa Barbara City Council committee has stressed the need for emergency housing

California offers free job training and financial incentives to caregivers

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - The California Department of Aging announced the launch of the CalGrows workforce training and development program. CalGrows offers free career coaching, free training courses and incentive payments to those who qualify.

California anticipates an increased demand for workers in the state’s health and human services system and is taking steps to prepare for that reality. The Workforce for a Healthy California Initiative is part of that broader strategy to address that need and build a diverse workforce.

“As California’s population ages, we’ll need hundreds of thousands more direct care workers. The CalGrows program is an important milestone toward ensuring the state has the home care aides, care managers, dementia care

specialists, activities coordinators, and other important roles necessary to support our aging population,” said Susan DeMarois, director of the California Department of Aging.

The California Department of Aging, as part of the Workforce for a Healthy California Initiative funded by more than $1 billion from the 2022-23 state budget, has recognized 78 organizations across the state for funding, budgeting $89 million to offer training and incentives for the direct care Home and Community-Based Services workforce and unpaid family and friend caregivers.

Hundreds of courses covering a range of topics, including Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia, Cultural Diversity, Food Safety, Infection Control, Provider, and Consumer communication and more, to support those on a path to a career in health care are now

available in multiple languages through CalGrows.

The 78 grantees include nonprofit organizations, universities and training providers, and forprofit organizations that will train the direct care workforce in all 58 California counties.

“Investing in and growing our health care workforce is critical to the health and safety of Californians,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Wage-earning direct caregivers working with older adults and adults with disabilities, Home and Community-Based Services caregivers, and unpaid family and friend caregivers are eligible for tree training. Caregivers in the paid direct care workforce who qualify can get $6,000 in financial incentives and career pathway development benefits.

“CalGrows training courses empower caregivers across California to learn valuable skills

to improve the lives of those in their care and help further their careers,” Ms. DeMarois said. Individual skill sets, job satisfaction and growth opportunities to help further careers and the retention of skilled, experienced caregivers for older adults and people with disabilities are some of the goals of the CalGrows program.

“As the entire United States faces a healthcare worker shortage, the CalGrows initiative is yet another tool California is using to ensure our health care workforce remains strong by providing opportunities to those already caring for loved ones,” Gov. Newsom noted. This comes on the heels of last week’s announcement of a proposed minimum wage increase to $25 per hour for healthcare workers passing the senate floor and on its way to the assembly for approval.

Bill to loosen Ticketmaster’s hold on ticket sales approved in California Senate

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - Last November, tickets to Taylor Swift’s 2023 “The Eras Tour” went on sale breaking the record for the most tickets ever sold in a single day, over 2 million, but the demand was apparently much higher than one site could accommodate.

On May 31, Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) announced the unanimous passage of SB 829 in the California State Senate, which Ms. Swift’s fans would be happy to learn, loosened the ticket monopoly of ticket-sellers Live Nation/Ticketmaster.

Many of Ms. Swift’s fans who entered the Ticketmaster site, started their purchases and thought they were in process, only to be met with “technical difficulties” messages costing them the purchase.

“The tickets you’ve selected have been released,” popped up for one distraught concertgoer.

Another fan complained that she waited in the Ticketmaster line for 6 hours, then the website crashed. “And now they’re going on sale at stub hub for like $8,000,” she lamented.

Millions of fans and automated bots logged into Ticketmaster overloading the service and crashing the site repeatedly.

In the following days, clips of devastated fans bemoaning their frustrating experiences flooded the news and social media.

“For over a decade companies like Live Nation have lured venues into signing exclusive contracts with promises of cushy kickbacks and access to top talent. But it’s the everyday consumer who ultimately pays the price, making up for those kickbacks in the form of Ticketmaster’s extra fees,” said Sen. Wilk.

The bill would prohibit a primary ticket seller from entering into an exclusive contract with the operator of an entertainment venue making such agreements

illegal and punishable as a misdemeanor. It would also prevent a ticket-seller from penalizing an operator of an entertainment facility for entering into an agreement with another primary ticket seller and prohibit threatening or enforcement actions by a ticket-seller.

Sen. Wilks, who asked constituents about their ticketbuying experiences in a district-wide survey, learned of the frustrations consumers experienced with companies like Ticketmaster.

“My bill restores much-needed competition to the ticketing and live entertainment industry. I am thrilled to see this clear the Senate and move even closer toward being signed into law!” he said.

The bill will now go to the state assembly. It covers all venues and forms of entertainment including, but not limited to, theatrical or operatic performances, concerts, motion pictures, and athletic competitions including football,

basketball, baseball, boxing, tennis, hockey, and other sports and other forms of recreation or show.

It does not apply to entertainment in amusement parks and fairgrounds.

“Getting Taylor Swift tickets was like going through the first five levels of hell,” said Cassandra, who lives in the 21st Senate District represented by Sen. Wilks. “Ticketmaster dropped the ball.”

In 2022 Ticketmaster was responsible for the ticket sales of 2,142 shows of the 2,498 held in that year. SInce congress approved the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010, they have held a commanding presence in the ticketing of live entertainment.

SB 829 is modeled after a similar agreement between Live Nation/Ticketmaster and the government of Ireland and a similar proposal now before the New York Legislature.

California to receive $7 million in latest settlement with Suboxone-maker

By RIA ROEBUCK JOSEPH THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) - A settlement between Indivior Inc. and a coalition of 43 attorneys general, including California AG Rob Bonta, was announced on Friday. The global pharmaceutical company faced allegations of violating state and federal antitrust laws when they developed a new form of Suboxone in the form of sublingual film and introduced it to the market in 2010.

In 2002, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the tablet created by Invisidior, Suboxone and its active ingredient buprenorphine, powerful opioids, for the treatment of opioid addiction. It reduces withdrawal symptoms for addicts during treatment.

The FDA gave exclusive rights to sell the drug for seven years based on representations that the company needed the time to recover its investment in the drug.

Three killed in head-on collision

LOMPOC — Three people died in a head-on collision early Tuesday morning on northbound State Route 1, south of Constellation Road in Lompoc.

The collision involved a sedan and pickup truck.

The three people who died were traveling in a sedan. The truck’s driver and passenger had minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded.

The collision happened around

KENNETH

Attorney General Rob Bonta

Over a billion dollars in sales of Suboxone was generated during this time.

When the exclusive rights expired in 2009, generic manufacturers were set to enter the market within the year threatening 80% of profits from

Suboxone tablets sales.

Indivior, with MonoSolRX’s assistance, introduced the film version and claimed the tablets presented pediatric safety issues, were dangerous, and then raised the price of its tablet while lowering the price of the film. These actions hindered generic manufacturers.

“The cost of prescription drugs is a tremendous problem for many Californians, and Indivior contributed to that problem by preventing lower cost generics from competing with Suboxone, their branded opioid addiction treatment drug,” said Mr. Bonta. In the United States, over 200 people a day died from opioid overdoses in 2021. Synthetic opioids with a lethal potency, like Fentanyl accounted for 89% of those deaths.

Over 4,300 pounds of heroin, almost 131,000 pounds of methamphetamine, and more than 444,000 pounds of cocaine was seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2022, in addition to, 50.6

TRAFFIC, CRIME & FIRE BLOTTER

6 a.m. Tuesday, according to Capt. Scott Safechuck of County Fire.

— Dave Mason

Vehicle pursuit ends with arrest

SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara police chased and apprehended a suspect who allegedly tried to open the locked door of a local business.

Police responded at 12:25 p.m.

Tuesday to the 1900 block of De La Vina Street, where there was a report of a disturbance, Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale said.

The reporting party told police

million imitation prescription pills spiked with fentanyl and fentanyl powder in excess of 10,000 pounds announced in a seizure by the DEA last December.

Given this reality, opioid addiction and its treatment is more urgent than ever before.

Under the settlement, Indivior will pay $102.5 million to the states and be prohibited from engaging in future anticompetitive conduct.

- Indivior must provide the states with information and reasons for any reformulated versions of Suboxone;

- If pharmaceutical companies file for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of generic versions of Suboxone, Indivior must leave the original product on the market for a limited period to allow doctors and patients to choose which formulation they like better; and

- If Indivior files an FDA Citizen Petition in an attempt to delay generic competition in the future, it must also submit any data or information underlying that petition to the FDA and the states.

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the suspect was pounding on the windows and attempting to enter through the business’ locked door. Officers arrived and contacted the suspect without incident.

The suspect was asked to leave the property and complied, Sgt. Ragsdale said.

But when the suspect left in their vehicle, they struck a retaining wall, Sgt. Ragsdale said.

Police conducted a traffic stop for the vehicle in the 2000 block of Bath Street, where a good Samaritan tried to prevent the vehicle from leaving the traffic stop by standing in front of it, Sgt. Ragsdale said.

He said the driver struck the good Samaritan and fled. Santa

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Barbara police pursued the vehicle. Police also provided lifesaving measures and medical aid to the good Samaritan until city fire department personnel and AMR paramedics arrived. The good Samaritan was transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with serious injuries.

Sgt. Ragsdale said officers arrested the suspect at 1:36 p.m. in the 2300 block of Carlton Way. He said that the investigation is ongoing and that more information will be released as it becomes available.

— Dave Mason

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House Oversight Committee to convene contempt hearings on FBI director

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER

(The Center Square) — House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., announced that the committee will hold a contempt hearing Thursday morning on FBI director Christopher Wray.

U.S. Rep. Comer said Mr. Wray violated a congressional subpoena for not handing

over unclassified documents ordered as part of an ongoing investigation into millions of dollars in foreign payments connected to President Joe Biden and his family. The hearing coincides with Republicans’ ongoing fear of corruption within the FBI in favor of left-leaning politicians. The White House has dismissed the allegations.

Rep. Comer described the

anonymous informant who first brought the information to light as a “trusted, highly credible informant, who has been used by the FBI for over 10 years and has been paid over six figures.”

Rep. Comer went on to say that “Americans have lost trust in the FBI’s ability to enforce the law impartially, and demand answers, transparency, and accountability.”

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday.

Interior secretary under scrutiny for family ties to environmental lobby

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER

(The Center Square) — Republican lawmakers are raising concerns about a Biden administration official’s questionable family ties to far-left groups lobbying lawmakers.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., chair of the Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland this week demanding records, communications, documents and more related to allegations that Secretary Haaland’s family members may be unethically connected to anti-fossil fuel groups.

“Prior to joining the Biden Administration as Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Secretary Haaland was evidently involved with the Pueblo Action Alliance (‘PAA’), a New Mexicobased environmental and social justice organization that frequently engages in advocacy, protests and lobbying throughout the United States,” the letter said.

The letter goes on to say that “PAA and its leaders advocate for the dismantling of America’s economic and political system and believe America is irredeemable because there is no ‘opportunity to reform a system that isn’t founded on good morals or values.’”

The left-leaning group is focused on limiting domestic

oil and gas development in the U.S., and Secretary Haaland has reportedly met with that group since taking the helm of the Interior Department, the agency in charge of managing oil and gas production on federal lands.

The Department of the Interior’s press office declined to comment.

The Biden administration has taken heavy fire from energy groups for limiting leasing and discouraging pipeline development even while encouraging more production in other nations.

The letter raises questions about Secretary Haaland’s family and their ties to the leftist group.

“It is reported that Secretary Haaland’s daughter, Somah Haaland (‘Somah’), has been employed by PAA since at least 2020,” the letter said. “In 2022, Somah was involved in a PAA trip to Capitol Hill to ‘lobby members of Congress’ on legislation that would prohibit lease sales for oil and gas development on federal land. Earlier this year, Somah represented PAA at a People vs. Fossil Fuels rally and declared ‘we all need to work together to stop oil and gas developments.’”

The Republican lawmakers also point to Secretary Haaland’s husband, Skip Sayre, saying public financial disclosure reports show that he has consulted for the Laguna Development Corp.

“The Laguna Development Corporation is the ‘business arm’ for the Pueblo of Laguna,” the letter said. “The Pueblo of Laguna is a federally recognized tribal entity that is eligible to receive funding and services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Bureau of Indian Affairs is a federal agency within the Department of the Interior.”

The lawmakers say this could be a conflict of interest.

Energy groups have been outspoken in their opposition to Haaland’s connections.

“Secretary Haaland’s relentless crusade against American energy producers knows no limits, and the public deserves to know about any financial connections

Florida AG Moody defeats Biden administration in court

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) — Florida

Attorney General Ashley Moody won another round against the Biden administration in federal court, this time in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Monday, the court ruled to keep in place an injunction against the Department of Homeland Security’s parole program. The injunction was issued by a federal district judge in Florida last month. DHS appealed the judge’s ruling and lost.

On May 8, U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell of the Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division vacated DHS’s “Policy on the Use of Parole Plus Alternatives to Detention to Decompress Border Locations.”

On May 16, he enjoined DHS’s “Parole with Conditions in Limited Circumstances Prior to the Issuance of a Charging Document” memorandum.

The ruling is the latest among several in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Moody over DHS’ plans to release foreign nationals who’d illegally entered the U.S. en masse into local communities.

DHS is also partnering with other federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations to temporarily house and transport millions of people to U.S. cities nationwide. DHS appealed, requesting the 11th circuit issue a stay of the lower court’s ruling. In a 2-1 vote, the judges on the appeals court’s panel denied DHS’s request.

At issue is a catch-and-release and parole program DHS implemented over which Attorney General Moody sued, arguing it’s

illegal. The plan for DHS to release people en masse when the public health authority Title 42 ended May 11 was first made public by Attorney General Moody’s office as part of her lawsuit through a memo her office obtained written by Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz explaining it. Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol Chief Gloria Chavez in Texas also explained her sector’s plan to release people into local communities, according to a recording of a meeting she held with local law enforcement provided to The Center Square. DHS argues blocking its plan undermines “the Executive Branch’s constitutional and statutory authority to implement its immigration priorities and secure the border.” It also maintains “the most immediate consequence” of the judge’s orders “will likely be (the) overcrowding (of) CBP facilities during increases in border encounters,” which would threaten the “health, safety, and security” of USBP officers and illegal foreign nationals. DHS, like Chief Ortiz, argues overcrowded CBP facilities are resulting in agents releasing illegal foreign nationals without adequate monitoring measures. In the “worst-case scenario,” not being able to release millions of people into the U.S., it argues, would prevent it from apprehending illegal foreign nationals who are illegally entering the U.S.

Former Border Patrol chiefs argue this is what is already happening because Border Patrol agents have been taken off the line to instead process people. They also argue over 7.5 million people have been apprehended or reported evading capture. No

COURTESY PHOTO

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody

one knows how many have evaded capture, who or where they are.

DHS’s arguments fell flat before the district judge and appellate judges hearing its case. The appellate judges ruled DHS couldn’t meet the “irreparable injury” factor to sustain its claim. They denied DHS’s motion “because DHS has not met its burden to show that it will suffer an irreparable injury absent a stay.

“Simply showing some ‘possibility of irreparable injury,’ fails to satisfy” their request, the judges wrote in their nine-page ruling. The court “will not find irreparable harm based on mere conjecture,” the judges said. They also said DHS’s “ability to ascertain future harm is uncertain at best. Given this record, we take DHS’s latest claims of impending disaster if it is not allowed to use either of the challenged policies with some skepticism.”

she stood to gain from her family employment,” Daniel Turner, founder and executive director for Power The Future, said in a statement.

Kathleen Sgamma, president of Western Energy Alliance, argued that the same conflicts would not be tolerated if they were connections to the oil and gas industry.

“Most notably, her daughter works for the Pueblo Action Alliance, an organization whose tax-exempt status with the IRS has been revoked and is listed as ‘Not in Good Standing’ with the New Mexico secretary of state’s office,” Ms. Sgamma said. “We know the secretary and her senior officials have on multiple occasions granted special access to PAA and its allies. They’ve helped PAA lobby members of Congress and the Interior Department on issues before the agency, particularly on oil and natural gas leasing. PAA went so far as to help organize a protest at Interior’s headquarters in 2021 that turned violent.

An open records investigation shows Secretary Haaland’s staff collaborated with the protesters despite knowing their violent intentions.”

The Pueblo Action Alliance did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Casey Harper works at The Center Square’s Washington, D.C., bureau.

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Pence and Gov. DeSantis, they get an advantage of extensive press coverage without having to spend campaign money for rallies, Mr. Wrenn says. And for the state GOP, tickets should sell.

“The reason the three Republicans are coming, of the primary states we’re one of the 10 biggest,” Mr. Wrenn said. “We’ve moved up to Super Tuesday.

“It’s not the convention itself that gets a lot of impact, but it will get press coverage all over the state and on social media. If you’re Pence, or DeSantis or Trump, going to the North Carolina state convention gets you free publicity where it doesn’t cost you anything. And it’s in a bigger state primary and that matters to you.”

COURTESY PHOTO FBI Director Christopher Wray

COURTESY PHOTO Secretary Deb Haaland

Santa Barbara High names basketball coach

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The Santa Barbara High boys basketball program has named Greg Zuffelato as its new head coach.

Mr. Zuffelato currently teaches in the Career Tech Ed Sports Medicine Pathway at Santa Barbara High School and has been an assistant coach with the boys

basketball program since 2019. “It is an honor to be a part of this storied program,” Mr. Zuffelato said. “A tradition exists here at Santa Barbara High School — a tradition that is second to none. It is with gratitude that I thank all of the outstanding coaches and athletes as part of this tradition for building something so special here. It is truly a privilege to be included in this tremendous legacy,”

Mr. Zuffelato previously served as assistant coach with the boys basketball program from 2001 to 2003.

Mr. Zuffelato has more than 25 years of basketball coaching experience, including a year as the assistant coach for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo men’s team.

“We are thrilled to be able to have someone with Coach Zuffelato’s coaching experience

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as the next head coach of our boys basketball program,” Athletic Director Todd Heil said. “His prior experience will be invaluable as we enter the upcoming season.

“Mr. Zuffelato truly cares about the development and growth of his players, not just as athletes, but as people as well.”

email: lhibbert@newspress.com

New Beginnings adds community center

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The New Beginnings Counseling Center will open a new community center Friday in Santa Barbara.

The center will be on East Montecito Street and will keep New Beginnings’ various operations all in one building.

“They have a continuum of services. Most people are familiar with the Safe Parking program, but that’s just one service,” New

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inclement weather “exacerbated the need for more availability of daytime navigation center services.”

The committee urged the city to build on the demonstrated success of Neighborhood Navigation Centers but at the same time make sure they are located in “more dignified” location(s).

Committee members also urged that Dignity Moves have a downtown location that provides geographical prioritization for referrals through a coordinated entry system. The downtown site, they said, should have 24/7 onsite staffing, with scheduled appointments with government and nonprofit service providers.

Again, they urged stabilization and support for clients prior to placement in permanent housing units.

The committee also had several recommendations regarding the continuum of care.

• Cities should have more input in evaluating the performance of service providers.

• More formal collaboration is needed among South County jurisdictions to better represent shared challenges and priorities.

• Funding should be allocated in direct proportion to the total population experiencing homelessness in each city.

Beginnings spokesman Wade Cowper told the News-Press.

The Safe Parking program provides individuals and families a place to park a vehicle they are sleeping in. The program has operated since 2004 and manages more than 150 parking spaces across 26 lots.

New Beginnings works with several local churches, government and non-government agencies, as well as local businesses to keep the operation

going.

The center also hosts a veterans program to provide counseling specific to those who have served. The veterans program has operated since 2013 and helps veterans through the process of finding housing, including temporary financial aid and housing searches.

New Beginnings provides a number of other services, including parenting counseling to help manage domestic instability.

High fire season begins

SANTA BARBARA – The Santa Barbara County Fire Department and local fire jurisdictions have announced the beginning of the 2023 High Fire Season for all areas of the county, effective this week. All burn permits will be suspended for residential burning and hazard reduction, and resources will be deployed to combat vegetation fires.

the lungs and heart. The best protection against wildfire smoke is to stay indoors as much as possible, ideally in a wellsealed “clean air room” with an air purifier.

More information can be found at the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District website (www.ourair.org), and emergency alerts can be signed up for at readySBC.org.

“We’ll each have different top priorities, but mine is the 276 shelter beds needed to make sure that every person has a safe and dignified place to sleep,” Councilmember Kristen

• Consideration of a third-party facilitator for the Santa Barbara County/Santa Maria continuum of care. “Conflict of interest is difficult to manage when the majority of members receive grant funding,” Committee members said. Now that the committee’s work

is done, city staff will compile its findings and recommendations in an executive summary “which will form the basis for where we go from here,” Councilmember Friedman said.

The executive summary, he said, will go into more details of everything the committee has

The center has been around for 50 years and works with approximately 2,000 patients every year.

The staff’s hope is that the new counseling center will allow New Beginnings to better serve Santa Barbara.

“It’s going to make an impact on the community,” said Mr. Cowper. “It’s going to allow New Beginnings to help more people.” email: lhibbert@newspress.com

learned, “which we will share with our partnering agencies and key stakeholders and make available for the public.”

No specific member of the committee was assigned a specific task as follow-up, he said. “It is up to the council as a whole to respond and prioritize the recommendations.” Councilmember Sneddon, for one, can’t wait to get going.

“We’ll each have different top priorities, but mine is the 276 shelter beds needed to make sure that every person has a safe and dignified place to sleep,” she said. “That would be the number that would allow us in the city to not have people sleeping on the streets.

“The need can be met in any number of ways or combinations of emergency, congregate, noncongregate, transitional, mental health or recovery beds,” she said. “To me, this is where our most immediate priority is -— funding those beds and securing funding.

“We also need to be building on the success of Dignity Moves by supporting more projects, and making sure that we have medical and mental health recovery beds,” she said.

“Another key is that preventing homelessness in the first place is highly effective and less expensive than rehousing.”

email: nhartsteinnewspress@gmail. com

A fun method of punctuation

A series of punctuation mark-shaped sculptures functioning as tiny libraries to the public are stationed at various points on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara.

The colorful sculptures, designed by local artist Douglas Lochner and commissioned by the Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture in partnership with the city of Santa Barbara, are a nod to Santa Barbara’s literary heritage, and to inspire summer reading for the public.

During this time, it is important to exercise heightened awareness around fire safety, County Fire noted.

County Fire outlines the following key measures to ensure public safety:

Maintain vegetation clearance: Individuals are advised to maintain proper vegetation clearance around structures to minimize fire risks.

Review and become acquainted with the “Ready! Set! Go!” wildfire action plan, which outlines crucial steps for preparedness and response in the event of a wildfire. For more details, visit www.sbcfire.com.

Wildfire smoke and ash contain small particles called particulate matter, which harm

— Liam Hibbert State Route 54 committee to meet SOLVANG — The State Route Highway 154 Safety Committee will meet June 14 at 5:30 p.m.

The meeting will take place at the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building, 1745 Mission Drive, Solvang.

The meeting can be watched at youtube.com/@SBCAG. To participate, people must attend in-person or submit a comment via email to info@sbcag.org no later than 5 p.m. June 13.

Mailed comments can be sent to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments at 260 North San Antonio Road, Suite B, Santa Barbara 93110 to be received no later than 5 p.m. June 13.

— Liam Hibbert

DAVE MASON /NEWS-PRESS

Sneddon said.

Life theArts

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7, 2023

CALENDAR

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 5 p.m. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, has reopened its permanent mineral exhibit of rocks and crystals that is on view in the small hall off the museum’s central courtyard. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. The exhibit, which opened April 22, is included in museum admission. Members are always admitted free. For others, prices vary from $14 to $19. For more information, visit sbnature.org/ minerals.

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The James Castle exhibit is on display at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is free from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information, see sbma.net. 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.

e heat is on for drama, comedy

Ensemble Theatre Company’s ‘Seared’ to feature real cooking on stage

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.

6 to 8 p.m. The Wharf Merchants Association is continuing its free concert series, now held on the first Wednesday of each month through October, at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. The June 7 concert will feature live music by Do No Harm. Do No Harm is a five-piece, multi-genre, Santa Barbara band, playing rock, R&B, soul, Motown, disco, blues, Latin, country and jazz hits. Other bands in the series will be: Double Wide Kings on July 5, Tequila Mockingbird on Aug. 2, The Academy on Sept. 6 and Down Mountain Lights on Oct. 4.

JUNE 9 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Pearl Chase Society’s Kellam de Forest Speaker Series will continue at the Carrillo Recreation Center. 100 E. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara.

This is the third installment in the series. Author and editor Douglas Woods will discuss the transformation of Santa Barbara’s architecture following the great earthquake of 1925 to a model Spanish Revival-style city. For more information or to make a reservation, call 805403-7053.

By DAVE MASON

MANAGING EDITOR

Harry, the head chef, just got praise in a food magazine for his delicious scallops. He should be delighted and ready to cook it for the masses to boost his struggling restaurant’s revenues. At least, his business partner Mike thinks so, but Harry’s personal recipe for success includes more than four cups of stubbornness. He doesn’t want to be stuck cooking the scallops for the rest of his career, thank you very much.

The chef and his hot temper heat up the plot of “Seared,” the first Ensemble Theatre Company play to feature actual cooking on stage.

The comedy/drama will start sizzling with preview performances Thursday and Friday, followed by the regular run Saturday through June 25 at The New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara.

Written by Theresa Rebeck, “Seared” is directed by ETC Artistic Director Jonathan Fox.

The play focuses on commercial success vs. creative freedom, and the cast consists of four Los Angeles actors.

Andrew Elvis Miller (“Dexter,” “NCIS” and “Halston”) plays the temperamental head chef Harry.

Gary Patent portrays Harry’s business partner Mike. Ronald Auguste (“NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Station 19”) plays friendly waiter Rodney.

Angela Sauer, who appeared in the Netflix series adaptation of “Steel Magnolias,” portrays restaurant consultant Emily, who’s determined to use her marketing wizardry to make the Brooklyn restaurant a success.

“I love her,” Ms. Sauer told the News-Press this week.

“My character comes in like a whirlwind, trying to take over how the restaurant is being run and turn it into a bona fide hit.

“She’s so good at what she does. She understands marketing,” Ms. Sauer said.

There’s just one problem.

“My character does not know a thing about food,” she said.

In fact, the other characters have to explain to Emily what a toaster oven is.

“It’s a great script,” Ms. Sauer said. “We’ve been having a lot of fun. It’s very funny.

“It also has some very real things in it, about what it means to be an artist crushed by our capitalist world,” she said. “It’s got some very funny moments, but some very painful ones, some pathos.”

Having actual cooking in the play makes a difference, Mr. Fox told the News-Press.

FYI

Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “Seared” at The New Vic Theatre, 33 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Preview shows are set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday. The regular run is from Saturday through June 25.

Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays; with added performances at 7 p.m. June 11; 7:30 p.m June 13 and 4 p.m. June 17.

Ticket prices range from $40 to $84. To purchase, call the ETC box office at 805-965-5400 or visit etcsb.org. Prices are subject to change.

“It was just Sunday that we introduced the actual cooking” into the rehearsals, Mr. Fox said. “Amazingly, it was the difference between night and day. It really lifted the play up in a way I had not anticipated.

“It is a play about a creative genius,” Mr. Fox said about Chef Harry. “If the cooking was just mimed, I don’t think the audience would be drawn in. The fact that it’s actually happening gives a sense of this guy’s creativity and accomplishments.”

Plus, the audience will be treated to the aroma, Mr. Fox noted.

To keep everything authentic, Mr. Fox recruited a culinary adviser — Chef Dario Furlati of Ca ’Dario restaurant, which has locations in Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta.

“He took a look at the technique and advised us on the dishes we’re making in the script,” Mr. Fox said. “He shows us, ‘You would do it that way.”

And it turns out, Ms. Sauer noted, that Mr. Miller, who’s playing Chef Harry, is a talented cook. The actor had his cast mates join him for dinner in his hotel room in Santa Barbara, where he cooked the dishes in the play.

“It was really good,” Ms. Sauer said. “That guy knows how to cook for real!”

Mr. Fox noted there’s little food wasted in the play. The food that isn’t being cooked are actually fake food props.

Mr. Fox first learned of “Seared” when he and others in ETC saw the play at the Williamstown Theater Festival at Williams College in Massachusetts. They enjoyed it.

“This play takes a look at what drives creativity and what the potential downfalls are for someone who is living solely for his art,” Mr. Fox said.

Instead of merely being a series of jokes, the humor comes organically from the characters, Mr. Fox said.

“Seared” marks the final production for Mr. Fox, who will leave Ensemble Theatre Company, effective June 30.

Mr. Fox joined ETC in 2006 as its artistic director. His ETC productions include “American Son,” “Porgy and Bess,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Woyzeck” and many others. He adapted and directed ETC’s 2017 world premiere production of Woody Allen’s “Husbands and Wives.”

He has directed performances for Opera Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Symphony. He has also directed productions in Vienna, Austria and is slated to direct “An Iliad” this summer in Montenegro.

Under Mr. Fox’s direction, ETC has become a substantial regional theater. During his time, the ETC acquired and renovated the company’s home at The New Vic, which opened for ETC productions in 2013.

“I have some favorite productions that I did,” Mr. Fox told the NewsPress about his time with Ensemble Theatre Company. “There are a lot of favorite memories, some very fond memories — the people I’ve gotten to know, interactions with the staff through the years. …

“I’m leaving with some very fond memories and a lot of pride in our accomplishments.”

email: dmason@newspress.com

JUNE 10 2 p.m. Chaucer’s Books will host Miss Angel for its Read With Pride event.

There will be a story time reading of “Julian is a Mermaid” as well as other select children’s books at 2 p.m. June 10 at the store, 3321 State St., Santa Barbara. “Julian is a Mermaid” is a picture book written and illustrated by Jessica Love and was the 2019 winner of the Stonewall Book Award. For more information, visit www. chaucersbooks.co

7 p.m. A concert will feature South of Linden, The Vonettes, Ron Solorzano of Mestizo and The Youngsters at Alcazar Theatre, 4916 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria. Cost is $15 for general admission. You can buy two tickets for $25 at https://www.thealcazar.org/ calendar/11838-south-of-lindenfirends.

JUNE 15

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony and vocalist Tony DeSare will perform Frank Sinatra’s hits at The Granada, 1214 State St. Tickets for “An Evening with Sinatra” can be purchased at granadasb.org.

— Dave Mason

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

NEWS-PRESS

At left, “Seared” will be the fi rst Ensemble Theatre Company production to feature live cooking on stage, as shown in this scene with head chef Harry (Andrew Elvis Miller). At right, friendly waiter Rodney (Ronald Auguste), left, works with temperamental head chef Harry (Andrew Elvis Miller).

ZACH MENDEZ PHOTOS

From left, the waiter Rodney (Ronald Auguste), head chef Harry (Andrew Elvis Miller), business partner Mike (Gary Patent) and restaurant consultant Emily (Angela Sauer) are involved with operating a restaurant in “Seared.” The Ensemble Theatre Company’s production opens Thursday with a preview performance. Its regular run begins Saturday.

Zoo celebrates 60th anniversary with Zoofari Ball

SANTA BARBARA — Zoofari Ball: Sparkle & Shine will take place Aug. 26 at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Guests 21 and over will enjoy live music and the shining stars on the hilltop of the zoo, 500 Ninos Drive. The event, which features participants dressed in Zoofari costumes, will take place from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m.

“We could think of no better way to celebrate our 60th anniversary than a

sparkling evening filled with our incredible friends of the Zoo,” said Rich Block, the zoo’s president and CEO. “The funds raised at Zoofari Ball help us continue to advance the zoo’s mission and continue the critical work we do every day, and we are incredibly grateful for the generosity of so many sponsors and donors who make it all possible.” Tickets for the ball cost $425 through July

31 and $500 after that. To purchase tickets or sponsorships, go to sbzoo.org/event/zoofariball-sparkle-shine.

This year’s Zoofari Ball will also include the Travel Raffle, offering a chance to win a sixnight luxury vacation for two to Peru. Anyone 18 and older can purchase raffle tickets for $100. Only 300 will be sold.

— Liam Hibbert

Bishop Diego graduation

Blomgren joins Dream Foundation board

SANTA BARBARA — Chad Blomgren, a U.S. Army veteran and Gilead Sciences senior director, has joined the Dream Foundation Board.

Based in Santa Barbara, the Dream Foundation is the only national dream-granting organization for terminally ill adults.

Mr. Blomgren has been a member of the Foundation’s Dreams for Veterans Advisory

Council since its 2021 inception and will continue to work closely with the organization’s Dreams for Veterans program to enhance the Dream Foundation experience for veterans and their families.

“From the moment my wife and I delivered our first dream, Joe’s, almost 18 months ago, I knew I would have a longlasting connection with Dream Foundation,” said Mr. Blomgren.

“Providing a positive impact for those in the final stages of their lives means everything to me.”

“Chad’s knowledge and passion will certainly improve the final days of our country’s veterans, active service members, and members of the Reserve and National Guard,” said Dream Foundation CEO Kisa Heyer.

— Liam Hibbert

Chad Blomgren

Participants dress up for the annual Zoofari Ball at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

COURTESY MATT BOEDDEKER

Bishop Garcia Diego High School students celebrate their graduation at the commencement Friday at the Santa Barbara school’s Eva Jane McDonald Memorial Field. The ceremony’s speaker was Father Greg Boyle, who founded Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles. Homeboy Industries is known as the largest gang-intervention, rehabilitation and re-entry program in the world.

SUDOKU

Thought for Today

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

ARIES — You may be pushed around by two very powerful camps today, Aries. Since you’re the kind, diplomatic, and sensitive type, you make the perfect target for the more abrasive and opinionated. You may want to side with the cold, hard facts presented to you, although there is a great deal of emotional power working to stir up the pot.

TAURUS — You’re apt to feel a bit wilder today, Taurus. There’s a wave of powerful energy working to strengthen your ego and self-confidence. Use this boost to the best of your ability. You will need it. There is a strong, fact-oriented force working to combat your aims, and you will find that it’s equally powerful and stubborn.

GEMINI — A good tactic today would be to convert your fears to motivation for positive action. You have a great deal of energy at your disposal, Gemini. Don’t waste it. Be aware that it’s one of those situations when the smallest comment or insult may set off a chain reaction of misinformation.

CANCER — You’re likely to be faced with conflicting reports today, Cancer. Information may be tainted with emotion, so be careful about going with the choice that shouts the loudest. You may get pigeonholed into a place you don’t want to be in. Heed the internal warnings you pick up.

LEO — You may be seduced by fantastic promises that offer wonderful rewards. Beware of lots of bells and whistles, Leo. There may be a great deal of talk but not much to substantiate such wonderful claims. Don’t be surprised if people with intense emotions are stepping up to add their opinions about how you should run your life. Don’t forget who’s boss.

VIRGO — People are apt to be quite emotional when it comes to the image they wish to project today, Virgo. Be careful where you step. It’s your job to see through the trendy makeup and fashion that hide the true personalities of the people who insist on wearing these masks.

LIBRA — Libra, don’t be surprised if some of your fantasies and dreams are put on trial by a harsh force that cuts right to the truth of the matter. People may be extra passionate, and most aren’t going to be impressed with unrealistic plans. You can try your normal approach of simply ramming straight ahead with your plans, but a better approach might be to think first and be more strategic.

SCORPIO — You’re at an emotionally climactic point now, Scorpio, and you might find that harsh opposition is coming at you for no clear reason. There’s a stubborn, strong force surrounding you, and you should be aware that the more rigid your viewpoint, the harder it will be for any resolution.

SAGITTARIUS — Be careful to not be too cavalier today, Sagittarius. It would be wise to adopt a more serious tone than usual. You might be inclined to say words carelessly, but people are going to take you literally. Make sure you mean what you say. Your attention to fashion and pop culture may conflict with a force that’s asking you to focus on things of deeper spiritual value.

CAPRICORN — You have the sensitivity to pick up on what’s going on in every situation today, Capricorn. Powerful emotions may conflict with extremely strong opinions. Welcome to the battle between the head and the heart! On this day you may be more apt to side with the heart.

AQUARIUS — The fantasy world that you’ve built for yourself is a pleasure, Aquarius. People frolic in it and have a grand time. Your presence delights people. Today, however, this world may be threatened by harsh realities that are coming in the form of electronic information.

PISCES — It may be difficult to stay grounded today with all the information flying around and all the emotion roiling in your heart. Try not to take things too seriously, Pisces. This is the key to maintaining a level head today. Approach the day with passion and take care of any investigative work that needs doing.

DAILY BRIDGE

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

I suppose snooze alarms are one of those things we can’t do without. (Rearrange the letters in “snooze alarms” and you get “alas, no more Z’s.”)

It might help if an alarm sounded after the opening lead, jolting declarer awake to the necessity of thinking before proceeding. In today’s deal, South opened with a lusty fourdiamond preempt and was raised to game. West led a low heart, and South took dummy’s ace and drew trumps. South next cashed the A-K of clubs; he didn’t want to lose a finesse to West. But West won the next club and led a spade, and East took two spades for down one.

WINNING PLAY

Not many Souths would find the winning play without benefit of an alarm. South must play dummy’s deuce on the first heart.

If East shifts to a trump. South draws trumps and takes the K-A of clubs. When East-West follow, South discards his jack of clubs on the ace of hearts and ruffs a club. He reaches dummy with a trump to pitch two spades on the good clubs, making an overtrick.

You hold:

CODEWORD PUZZLE

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

A 9 8 4 2. The dealer, at your right, opens one heart. What do you say?

ANSWER: To enter the auction isn’t safe. but neither is to pass; you would risk missing a game. You have options. To overcall two clubs on a ragged five-card suit is ill-advised, as is a 1NT overcall with only a single heart stopper and no obvious source of winners. Your most flexible call is a double. Let your partner suggest a possible trump suit. South dealer E-W vulnerable

“Hope is the only bee that makes honey without flowers.”

— Robert Green Ingersoll

Sununu not seeking presidential run in 2024

(The Center Square) – New Hampshire’s Republican governor is not tossing his hat into the ring as a candidate for president in 2024.

Gov. Chris Sununu said that while the Republican Party is “at a crossroads,” he will not seek his party’s nomination.

Gov. Sununu made the announcement on CNN, then did so on social media and through an op-ed with the Washington Post.

“The Republican Party is at a crossroads, and in 2024 we Republicans must nominate the most conservative candidate for president who can win in November of 2024 and get things done in 2025,” Gov. Sununu said in a statement. “As I have

traveled the country these last few months, sharing my message of optimistic conservatism, it’s clear that voters are hungry for this change. However, I will not be seeking the Republican nomination for president in 2024.”

Gov. Sununu, writing in the Washington Post op-ed, said that the party “is on a collision course toward electoral irrelevance without significant corrective action,” as he said the stakes were too great for a crowded field through the election process.

“The path to winning was clear, but I believe I can have a greater impact influencing the future of the Republican Party and the 2024 nominating process not as a candidate, but rather as the governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state

– a governor who is not afraid to speak candidly about issues, candidates, and the direction of our party moving forward,” Gov. Sununu said.

Gov. Sununu wrote in the opinion piece that since 2017 the party has been losing ground on the ballot in both red and blue states, across congressional and presidential candidates.

“I cannot thank enough the countless individuals across this country who pledged their time, energy, and dollars to my efforts,” Gov. Sununu said in a statement. “Over the next few months, I will continue to travel the country to support the Republican Party up and down the ticket, bring on new voters, inspire the next generation, and help grow our party. The stakes are too high for any of us to sit on the sidelines.”

Feds spent over $1.3 billion in Russia, China on controversial projects

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – The U.S. sent over $1.3 billion to China and Russia since 2017, according to a new analysis that details a string of problematic spending projects funded by taxpayers.

The watchdog group, Open the Books, and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, released the analysis, which detailed an array of examples they deemed troubling “including $770,466 to a staterun lab in Russia to put cats on treadmills” and another project for nearly $100,000 for gender equality cartoons.

“It is gravely concerning that no one in Washington can actually account for millions sent to Russia and China for pointless projects,” Sen. Ernst said. “But I have the receipts.”

Sen. Ernst and Open The Books found at least $490 million in taxpayer dollars paid to groups in China and another $870 million paid to organizations in Russia since 2017 via U.S. grants and contracts.

Sen. Ernst introduced legislation last week to require all taxpayer dollars sent to Russia and China be tracked and publicly disclosed. A House version of the Tracking Receipts

to Adversarial Countries for Knowledge of Spending

(TRACKS) Act was introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc.

Rep. Gallagher said “we know the federal government has wasted more than one billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars on our adversaries.”

“This is crazy, but to make matters worse, this may only be the tip of the iceberg,” he added.

Adam Andrzejewski, CEO & founder of OpenTheBooks.com, has echoed the call for more transparency of government spending. Often, it can take years to find out where federal funds went and how they were used.

“Holding firms responsible to publicly report where and how they use their grants and contract awards can deputize private citizens and make them part of the solution,” he said.

Here are a list of examples of federal spending projects found by the analysis:

• $58.7 million from Department of State, including $96,875 for gender equality through exhibition of New Yorker magazine cartoons;

• $51.6 million from Department of Defense, including $6 million for

tech support of the military “deployment and distribution command” software – delivering equipment and supplies anywhere our military is deployed, even though the DOD Inspector General warned the Pentagon about using Chinese IT companies on DOD projects;

• $4.7 million to a Russian company for health insurance that was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022;

• $4.2 million from Health and Human Services, including $770,466 to a state-run lab in Russia to put cats on treadmills;

• $2.4 million on Russian alcohol and addiction research;

• $2 million funneled to China’s state-run Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct dangerous experiments on bat coronaviruses and transgenic mice;

• $1.6 million to Chinese companies from National School Lunch Program, which means taxpayer dollars from the CARES Act meant for American farmers went to Chinese ag exporters;

• $1.45 million for pandemic virus tracking in Russia;

• Subsidies for the Russian space program by funding the Russia Space Agency and vendors.

Ohio Ballot Board members encourages lawsuit to change Aug. 8 election language

By J.D. DAVIDSON THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – A member of the Ohio Ballot Board denounced arguments made by the board in response to a lawsuit trying to change ballot language for the Aug. 8 special election.

Sen. Bill DeMora, D-Columbus, is one of two Democrats on the five-member board to vote against ballot language for the special election that asks voters to increase the threshold to pass citizen-based constitutional amendments. Issue 1 will be the only issue on the ballot. He called a brief responding to a lawsuit filed against the Ballot Board partisan and untruthful.

The suit is in front of the Ohio Supreme Court.

“I agree with everything said in the lawsuit brought against the Ballot Board,” said Sen. DeMora.

“The brief filed today defending [Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s] misleading and partisan position on this matter is the furthest thing from the truth.”

The board approved the

language on a Republican-led 3-2 party-line vote in mid-May, and Sen. DeMora said that language leaves out details voters need to explain the impact of Issue 1.

As previously reported by The Center Square, the approved language reads:

A majority yes vote is necessary for the amendment to pass.

The proposed amendment would:

• Require that any proposed amendment to the Constitution of the State of Ohio receive the approval of at least 60 percent of eligible voters voting on the proposed amendment.

• Require that any initiative petition filed on or after January 1, 2024, with the Secretary of State proposing to amend the Constitution of the State of Ohio be signed by at least five percent of the eligible voters of each county in the state.

• Specify that additional signatures may not be added to an initiative petition filed with the Secretary of State on or after January 1, 2024 proposing to amend the Constitution of the

State of Ohio.

If passed, the amendment shall be effective immediately.

Mr. LaRose’s legal response called the lawsuit an attack on the state’s legal system and asked the court to dismiss it.

The lawsuit, filed by a group called One Person One Vote, challenges the language approved by the board. The ACLU of Ohio recently filed a brief for the League of Women Voters of Ohio, calling the language misleadingly selective, confusing, out-of-context and false.

“The Supreme Court of Ohio should strike this August ballot language down, given that it is designed to deceive voters,” Jen Miller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, said. “Ohio voters have the right to ballot language that is unbiased, thorough, and accurate, so that they can freely and fairly exercise their opinions at the ballot box, especially on an issue as important as this one, which has the potential of drastically curtailing the rights of voters to determine their own futures.”

Cornel West announces 2024 presidential candidacy

By J.J. BRANNOCK THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) –Media personality and former Harvard professor Cornel West announced Monday he will run as a presidential candidate for the People’s Party in the upcoming 2024 election.

In a Tweet announcing his candidacy, Dr. West vowed to run “for truth and justice as a presidential candidate for the People’s Party to reintroduce America to the best of itself.”

His message online came with a video centered around increasing minimum wage,

allowing women access to abortions, universal healthcare, “deescalating the destruction of the planet,” and improving quality of life for Americans.

Dr. West further argued in the video that both the Democratic and Republican political parties are corrupt and lying to the public about the crises in Wall Street, Ukraine, the Pentagon, and Big Tech.

The video concludes with Dr. West stating that “some of us are going to go down fighting, go down swinging, with style and a smile. […] Let’s do it together.”

Dr. West described the

presidency as a vehicle to accomplish tasks he has already been fighting for his whole life. The video was released to mixed opinions on Twitter, with those approving of his candidacy worried that he will take a significant number of votes from the Democratic Party or annoyed that he is not running instead with the Green Party.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who also recently announced he is running for the Republican nomination, reportedly filed his paperwork Monday to be on the ballot for the upcoming primaries.