Chumash marine sanctuary
Playing in the garden
Designation phase includes public input on proposed sanctuary - A2
Three playhouse designs to be selected for site at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden - B1
Our 166th Year
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W E DN E SDAY, NOV E M BE R 10 , 2 021
County OKs jail rehabilitation project Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approves option two By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed option two of the Main Jail Rehabilitation project 41Tuesday. Following the class-action lawsuit filed by Disability Rights California, The Board of Supervisors moved forward with the comprehensive settlement by approving the project.
The board considered four options for the jail’s renovation, ranging in cost from $24.2 million to $67.1 million. The baseline renovations include deferred capital work estimated at more than $14 million. Option one proposed an additional $6.16 million for improvements to programming space, mental health areas and cell improvements. The board followed the staff recommendation of the Sheriff’s Office
and passed option two. This project includes option one’s improvements with additional costs for an assessment of longer-term inmate housing and program space on the Main Jail campus or additional beds at the Northern Branch Jail. The estimated cost of this project is $24.9 million. The board did not pass the project without push back. “I submit to you that the Main Jail is a money pit,” Supervisor Das Williams, who
cast the sole vote against the project, told the board. Mr. Williams explained the cost of maintenance and utilities for the Main Jail currently amounts to around $1.6 million per year. “It’s not just $24 million,” said Mr. Williams. “It’s $24 million plus this $1.6 (million) that will only increase as the facility continues to age.” The utility of the Main Jail came into question, namely as the Santa Barbara
Inflation at a peak National wholesale prices rise 8.6% in a year; average gas price is $3.22 in county
jail population has reduced dramatically in the past year. While the population normally hovered around 1,000 inmates, the Sheriff’s Office reports the jail’s population is currently 632 people. Some members of the board suggest this is the result of newly implemented criminal justice reforms. “The initial decisions to divert low-level offenders is great. I just hope we continue to balance this as we move forward,” Please see JAIL on A3
City to issue demand letter to SCE Santa Barbara Clean Energy launch muddled with confusing letters from competition By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Santa Barbara City Council authorized City Attorney Ariel Calonne to send a demand letter to Southern California Edison during its meeting Tuesday. The letter outlines confusing and potentially unlawful actions the company took during the auto-enrollment period for the city’s community choice energy program, Santa Barbara Clean Energy. On Oct. 1, SBCE took over as the main generator of electricity
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Regular gasoline sold for $4.359 a gallon at a Shell station on Hollister Road in Goleta.
By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER
(The Center Square) — The costs of goods and services rose at above-normal rates again in October, as new federal economic data released Tuesday shows inflation continuing
to impact the U.S. economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the producer price index, a figure that measures wholesale prices, grew another 0.6% in October, after increasing 0.7% in August and 0.5% in September. Overall, the figures show that inflation has grown 8.6% in the past 12
months ending in October, tying a record set earlier this year. That rise in inflation means everyday goods and services are more expensive for Americans. BLS said gasoline and food helped drive this latest increase, Please see INFLATION on A4
Development for former homeless secures extra funding Santa Barbara City Council approves $1.5 million loan to Housing Authority project
Trattoria Mollie chef starts her next chapter By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Trattoria Mollie — a popular Italian restaurant operated by an enthusiastic, acclaimed Ethiopian chef whose culinary studies took her to Italy — has closed its remaining location on State Street. Sunday was the last day of business at the restaurant. The closure came on the heels of the previous closure of Trattoria Mollie on Coast Village Road in Montecito after three decades. But Chef Mollie Ahlstrand remains determined to be an active part of the community that loves her cuisine and everlasting smile. The Montecito chef told the News-Press Tuesday that she
is already busy with her newest venture, Mollie’s Catering. “I’ve already booked so many parties.” And she’s teaching cooking classes as well. But that’s not all. “Tino’s Italian Grocery on Carrillo Street will be selling my items such as lasagna bolognese, veggie lasagna, minestrone, etc.,” she said. She added her goods will also soon be at Tri-County Produce. And … “Who knows? I might open a small restaurant,” she said. Mrs. Ahlstrand, who was born in Mekele, Ethiopia, studied at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara and later political science at UCSB, but decided by the late 1980s to study Italian Please see MOLLIE on A4
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By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
An apartment complex for “extremely low income” and “very low income” tenants — focused on the formerly homeless — is on track to begin construction at the end of December after Tuesday’s Santa Barbara City Council and Finance Committee meetings. The development, Vera Cruz Village, is being built by the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara. The Housing Authority asked the City Council for more than $1.5 million to cover unforeseen construction costs. The money will be repaid over 30 years. The Finance Committee approved the expense during its meeting, and the full City Council agreed in its consent agenda.
It is unusual for the City Council to vote on an item the same day as a committee, but this agenda item was expedited to meet the scheduled construction date. There were few questions from the Finance Committee — apart from Chair Eric Friedman ensuring the money wasn’t coming from the general fund. The city’s affordable housing fund is separate, Laura Dubbels, housing and human services manager, assured. “As we know it is very difficult to find these types of projects, and so they go a long way towards diversifying our community and those who live here as well as helping us achieve our affordable housing needs numbers that we have in the City of Santa Barbara,” Mr. Friedman said. Please see HOUSING on A4
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Trattoria Mollie has closed its final location on State Street, but Chef Mollie Ahlstrand is remaining active with catering and cooking classes.
in the city — one piece of SCE’s business — while customers receive that electricity through SCE’s delivery and billing. Customers are automatically enrolled in SBCE. In August, while SBCE was sending its first informational mailer, SCE sent a letter titled “Rescheduling of Community Choice Aggregation Service Request” to 9,000 residents. It confused recipients because the service is auto-enrolled, not requested, and they wondered Please see LETTER on A2
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 11-17-20-27-34 Mega: 9
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 6-0-0-2
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 9-14-16-26-49 Mega: 14
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 1-11-21-23-27
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 10-06-12 Time: 1:46.32
Monday’s POWERBALL: 21-46-47-57-62 Meganumber: 8
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 2-9-9 / Midday 1-0-4