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From summer to fall Temperatures expected to decrease throughout county
County extends indoor mask mandate to next month By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Beachgoers enjoy pleasant weather Tuesday on East Beach. The weather is expected to get cooler today.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Nature put on a thunder-andlightning show on a hot and rainy Monday night, but the weather calmed down by Tuesday morning. What’s more, it’s beginning to feel like fall — after a couple more days of summerlike conditions. Highs were around 80 Tuesday in Santa Barbara, where people were enjoying a day in the sun at East Beach. Today throughout Santa Barbara County, it’ll be cooler. Clouds will roll in today, and showers are predicted Friday throughout the county, according
to the National Weather Service. The forecast for Santa Barbara calls for highs of 74 today, 70 on Thursday and 68 on Friday. In the land of microclimates, it’s even cooler at UCSB, where today’s high is expected to be 68. That’s followed by highs of 65 on Thursday and 65 on Friday. Highs in Santa Maria are expected to be 68 today, 67 on Thursday and 65 on Friday. The forecast for Lompoc is 68 today, 65 on Thursday and 64 on Friday. Santa Ynez is expected to cool off greatly, with a high of 76 today, 74 on Thursday and 69 on Friday. Even consistently hot Cuyama is getting some relief, with the
forecast calling for highs of 77 today, 76 on Thursday and 68 on Friday. By Saturday, the clouds will drift away, and it’ll be sunny in Santa Barbara. But the weather will behave. It won’t get too hot, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast for Santa Barbara calls for a high of 70 on Saturday, followed by a high of 78 on Sunday. Then comes another dive: a predicted high of 68 for Monday. It’ll remain mostly or partly cloudy in Santa Maria, where the National Weather Service predicts a high of 70 on Saturday, 73 on Sunday, then 66 on Monday.
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Things will stay partly cloudy and cool in Lompoc, where the forecast calls for highs of 67 on Saturday, 71 on Sunday and 65 on Monday. Santa Ynez is expected to see a sunny day Saturday with a high of 75. Then as things warm up, some clouds will roll back in on Sunday, which has a predicted high of 80. Monday’s high is expected to ease back to 76. And it’ll be comfortable this weekend in Cuyama. On sunny Saturday, a high of 68 is predicted, followed by more sunshine and a high of 76 on both Sunday and Monday. email: dmason@newspress.com
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department announced Tuesday that it will continue its indoor masking mandate until at least the first week of November. Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, the county’s public health director, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the existing indoor mask mandate will remain in effect through Nov. 5 and will be lifted when case rates are less than six per 100,000 for two weeks. The county instated its indoor masking mandate for all, regardless of vaccination status, during the first week of August after seeing a surge in cases associated with the highly transmissible delta variant. But recently, the county has witnessed an “encouraging” downward trend in cases, spurring the department to consider lifting the indoor mask mandate if these trends continue, Dr. Do-Reynoso said Tuesday. According to the latest data from the Public Health Department, the 34 new cases reported on Monday signify a 62% decrease from the previous two-week average. As of Sept. 30, the county’s case rate is 11.5 per 100,000. While these trends show positive progress, Dr. DoReynoso told the board Tuesday that the indoor mask mandate could be reinstated if the county sees another surge in case rates, if there are new
Ordinance Committee approves senior mobile home park overlay By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Beachgoers enjoy throwing a Frisbee on East Beach.
The Santa Barbara City Council Ordinance Committee approved an ordinance that, if approved by City Council, will enforce the preservation of senior mobile home parks. The senior mobile home park overlay is a permanent law of an interim urgency ordinance passed when Flamingo Mobile Home Park sent a notice to residents that it was converting to all ages. Residents expressed their concerns to City Council, afraid that their space rent would become unaffordable if changes were made. Last week, City Council adopted an ordinance that establishes vacancy control
Crossword puzzle temporarily suspended The daily crossword puzzle has been temporarily suspended in the News-Press because of logistical issues. A date hasn’t been set for the
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atop pre-existing rent control in mobile home parks. “The action we recently took to also offer protections for vacancy control, the two together serve as a backstop for very threatened low-income and senior lowincome housing stock in the city, and I also enthusiastically support this as I did that,” Mike Jordan, chair of the ordinance committee, said. The discussion was short Tuesday afternoon. Assistant City Attorney Tava Ostrenger drafted the ordinance after the City of Yucaipa’s overlay, which was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2012. She added a provision that clarified owners must follow federal housing guidelines, Please see MOBILE on A2
puzzle’s return. We appreciate our readers’ patience as we work to resolve this matter. In addition, Parade magazine wasn’t included in last Sunday’s News-Press because copies weren’t delivered to the News-Press by press time. This was an unusual case, and Parade remains part of the News-Press.
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circulating variants of concern or if there is reduced hospital capacity. She also reminded Supervisors that indoor masking in schools, health care settings and congregate living facilities will remain in effect even if the county rescinds its Health Officer Order because these areas are under public health orders from state agencies. To ensure that case rates continue to trend downward, Dr. Do-Reynoso stressed the importance of a layered approach to preventing the spread of COVID-19 on Tuesday. She likened protections such as having good ventilation, wearing a mask, social distancing and getting the COVID-19 vaccine to slices of swiss cheese. “While there are holes in slices of swiss cheese, by combining the slices, we get a layered approach that leads to fewer holes. This is the same, this is true for the COVID19 prevention strategies,” the public health director said. “The strongest protection comes from getting vaccinated. Protection (also) comes from wearing a mask, physical distancing, washing hands often and having good ventilation in indoor spaces. Each of these are important ways to reduce the risks of getting COVID-19, but become really highly effective when one combines them.” Both Dr. Do-Reynoso and Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county’s public health officer, addressed misinformation that has been circulating throughout the Please see MASKS on A2
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-22-32-34-46 Mega: 3
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 9-6-5-2
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-11-18-30-36 Mega: 4
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 3-8-16-19-21
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-08-05 Time: 1:46.62
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 28-38-42-47-52 Meganumber: 1
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 3-0-9 / Midday 2-1-4