Our 165th Year
75¢
W E DN E S DAY, J U N E 10 , 2 0 2 0
Remembering George Floyd Educators at UCSB and elsewhere have reflected on the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS
Hybrid approach for education Webinar focuses on UCSB, SB Unified resuming instruction, remotely and in person RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
The mural on the wall of EOS Lounge continues to attract visitors, some who drop off flowers or candles to honor the memory of George Floyd.
Messages are written on mural as murdered man is laid to rest By: GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
‘H
ey George, look what you started.” That was the message written in yellow chalk on the sidewalk by a Santa Barbara mural honoring George Floyd. Mr. Floyd, the man who was murdered in Minneapolis, Minn., was laid to rest Tuesday at the Houston Memorial Gardens, next to his mother. The death of Mr. Floyd sparked
civil unrest nationwide, including numerous protests and riots in every state, along with many other citizens gathering in public to honor his memory. Citizens of Santa Barbara County organized peaceful protests, marches, a paddle out, and other gettogethers to raise awareness of racial injustice and advocate against police brutality. On the corner of Haley and Anacapa streets, a mural painted by XGriffinX and Chadillac Green continues to catch the eye of Santa Barbarans driving or walking by.
Community members have left various items as a form of respect. Bouquets of roses and sunflowers and candles lie in front of the portrait of Mr. Floyd. Cardboard signs sit propped up on the wall that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Justice should be colorblind.” In addition, there was the message in yellow chalk on the sidewalk: “Hey George, look what you started.” Passersby also wrote messages on the wall next to the portrait in black marker, where someone
wrote, “What do you feel — put it here.” One of the messages reads, “Rodney King: ‘Can we all just get along?’ Not until justice and equality comes to all.” Another reads, “How do we fight these injustices? Is it through rioting, burning and hurting others that are innocent of these cruel acts? Why not turn to the greatest and most powerful weapon in the universe? “Which is love.” Email: gmccormick@newspress.com
County approves 2020-21 budget By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
T
he Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the budget for the 202021 fiscal year Tuesday with a 4 to 1 vote. Board vice chair and Fourth District supervisor Peter Adam voted against it. Tuesday was his final budget hearing as a county supervisor. Though at $1.19 million, the fiscal year 2020-21 budget is a 4.4 percent increase from that of fiscal year 2019-20, the budget is impacted by the recession brought about from the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the agenda letter, Santa Barbara residents forgoing driving and a drop in tourism amid the health crisis has led to a $3.9 million in transportation revenue losses. The cost of response efforts like coronavirus testing, contact tracing and temporary facilities to house COVID-19 patients will cost $5.6 million in the 2020-21 fiscal year. The fiscal year’s total revenue losses are expected to reach $21.7 million. The new budget also estimates a loss of about $10.8 million in realignment revenues for the 2020-21 fiscal year, which is expected to especially impact the Department of Social Services. To make up for this shortfall, the $10.8 million absence will
be backfilled by money from the General Fund. This consists of $3 million from cannabis tax revenue, $3.8 million from strategic reserve, $2 million from Southern California Edison settlement monies and $2 million carrying over from the previous fiscal year. Proposition 172 revenues are estimated to experience a loss of $3.6 million in the new fiscal year. Departments such as the Sheriff, District Attorney, Probation, Public Defender and Community Services will have their expected losses backfilled with Proposition 172 funds to preserve their service levels. With the new budget, the board commits to priorities such as commencing operation of the
soon-to-be-opened Northern Branch Jail, which costs $20.4 million to operate, opening the ReSource Center in early 2021, using four major grants the county has received to work with Behavioral Wellness in reducing the number of mentally ill individuals entering the criminal justice system, and doing priority capital projects. Among these are public safety radio placement, main jail renovations, upgrading the infrastructure at Cachuma Lake Park and expanding the Emergency Operations Center. To protect the county’s finances from the effects of the pandemic, the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget
By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
W
hile there continues to be uncertainty whether local schools and colleges will reconvene this fall to resume schooling, one thing is certain. Technology figures to play a large role. During a webinar hosted by the UCSB Economic Forecast Project last week, Santa Barbara Unified School District President Laura Capps and UCSB Executive Vice Chancellor David Marshall discussed some of the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as how operations may be conducted moving forward. Dr. Marshall said it was “miraculous” that the university was able to pivot to online learning as quickly as it did. But he acknowledged that it’s been an ongoing challenge to provide a UC-quality education via remote learning. “I think we’ve done a really good job at doing it, but we are concerned about reaching all of our students,” he said. “We have 40% of our students who
are first-generation college students, and we made an effort before students left to make sure they had Chromebooks and were able to connect, but people have different challenges in terms of whether they’re able to connect technologically, and it’s so important that they also are able to connect socially and educationally and to have that experience of a UC education.” Dr. Marshall said there are ongoing conversations with the other UC presidents and state officials regarding fully reopening the campus, but said the university is “answerable to the county officials.” “We’re aware that in order to be able to move forward that there are a whole series of criteria and conditions that we need to establish,” he said. There will need to be robust testing available, contact tracing capabilities, mandatory face coverings and physical distancing, while addressing the capacity of classrooms and an update to the cleaning protocols. “Even if we are able to bring students and faculty and staff back on campus, we know that it’s going to be with some kind Please see webinar on A2
Chumash Casino reopens doors
Please see BUDGET on A2
City staff to work with Black Lives Matter By CHRISTIAN WHITTLE
T
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
he Santa Barbara City Council acted Tuesday to start work on a resolution condemning police brutality and declaring racism a public health crisis. The council’s resolution came in response to a national and local outcry for police reform and racial reconciliation spurred on by the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody. In a unanimous vote, the council directed city staff to meet with leaders of Black Lives Matter Santa Barbara to craft the resolution, after members of the public voiced the need to have all community members feel protected, listened to and served by their public servants during the council meeting on June 7.
6
66833 00050
3
“As you know the vision in Minneapolis was very tragic and obviously makes us reflect on our own policies, practices and behaviors,” said Assistant City Administrator Pamela Antil. “The questions of whether we are doing enough, are we vigilant enough, have we fostered a true culture of respect and honesty are questions that need to be asked and answered.” To take meaningful action to answer those questions, the City Council also unanimously voted to take three steps to address public concerns over racism and police brutality. The council directed the City Attorney’s Office to return July 14 with an array of options for an independent police oversight system or review board. The objective for establishing the review board will be to “add sunshine” to the police discipline process by reviewing objectivity,
thoroughness and the Santa Barbara Police Department’s response to any complaints of police misconduct. “We will bring back an array of options that run the gamut from an independent police review board or commission to an independent auditor to taking advantage of the existing fire and police commission in some configuration,” said City Attorney Ariel Calonne The council will ultimately decide what form the oversight will take after a thorough presentation from the City Attorney’s Office. “Typically review boards that you see many cities use — they’re in three types of styles. We want to give you an even more robust choice, but the three styles you see are an investigatory board, an audit board who are reviewing in terms of policies, or a Please see COUNCIL on A7
COURTESY PHOTO
The Chumash Casino Resort is scheduled to reopen at noon today at 3400 E. State Route 246, Santa Ynez. The resort stressed there are strict safety measures and cleaning procedures, along with some limits to the reopening. Guests are required to wear masks and maintain social distancing. The gaming floor is featuring reduced seating and measures such as protective barriers between slot machines. There will temporarily be no bingo sessions or games in the Poker Room, and several restaurants — The Willows, The Cafe and The Buffet — and The Spa will be temporarily unavailable. Guests can go to the food court and the Grains & Grounds eatery. For more information, go to chumashcasino.com
ins ide
L O T T E RY R ESU LT S
Comics................. A6 Classified.............. A7 Life.................... A 3-4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-21-22-34-39 Meganumber: 8
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 0-0-6-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 1-5-9-10-23 Meganumber: 22
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 2-9-10-16-18
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-07-09 Time: 1:49.59
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 1-17-38-68-69 Meganumber: 18
Obituaries............. A8 Soduku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 6-1-7 / Evening 3-4-1