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W E D N E S DAY, N OV E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 21
Biden releases oil reserves to address gas prices AAA says average price in Santa Barbara County is $4.645 a gallon By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
The price Tuesday at the Speedway gas station in Santa Barbara was under the reported average price of $4.645 a gallon for regular unleaded gas in Santa Barbara County.
(The Center Square) — President Joe Biden announced Tuesday his administration will release 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help address skyrocketing energy costs. The announcement is part of a joint plan with China, India, Japan, South Korea and Britain, and it comes as gas prices in the U.S. have risen about $1.20 a gallon in the past year. The White House said, “32 million barrels will be an exchange over the next several months, releasing oil that will eventually return to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the years ahead.”
“The exchange is a tool matched to today’s specific economic environment, where markets expect future oil prices to be lower than they are today, and helps provide relief to Americans immediately and bridge to that period of expected lower oil prices,” the White House said. “The exchange also automatically provides for re-stocking of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over time to meet future needs.” The American Automobile Association gas prices tracker reports the average price of gas nationally at $3.40 per gallon of regular gasoline, up from $2.11 at the same time last year. In California, the average price is now $4.705 a gallon, according to AAA.
In Santa Barbara County, the average price on Tuesday was $4.645 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the price in the county was $3.196, according to gasprices.aaa. com. Other energy costs also have risen sharply, according to data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The energy index rose 4.8% in October after rising 1.3% in September,” BLS said. “The gasoline index rose 6.1% in October, its fifth consecutive monthly increase. The index for natural gas rose 6.6% over the month, its largest monthly increase since March 2014. The electricity index increased 1.8% in October, its largest 1-month increase since May 2014, while the fuel oil index
Prosecution accuses Haobsh of false testimony
also rose sharply, increasing 12.3 percent.” The White House said the rising prices are the result of a surge in demand after a dip during the pandemic, but critics point to President Biden’s energy policies, including shutting down the Keystone pipeline, discouraging drilling on federal lands and implementing stricter regulations. “President Biden killed the Keystone pipeline and greenlit Putin’s Nord Stream II. Then he begged OPEC to produce more oil,” U.S. House Republican Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, said. “Dear Mr. President: Let us produce our own energy and create jobs right here Please see RESERVES on A2
Diverse groups come together at interfaith service
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
“Mr. Hoabsh, do you think anyone’s going to believe that nonsense?” Supervising Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Ladinig opened the cross examination of Pierre Haobsh, the 31-year-old Oceanside man accused of murdering Chinese herbalist Dr. Weidong “Henry” Han and his family. Mr. Haobsh continued his testimony in the Santa Barbara Superior Court Tuesday, alleging the U.S. Department of Energy conspired to kill him and Dr. Han for their intention to bring energy technology to China. Much of his hours-long testimony was unsubstantiated but — if believed — could cast reasonable doubt on the accusations facing the defendant. Mr. Haobsh allegedly made false statements to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s detectives at the time of his arrest on March 25, 2016. Mr. Ladinig also questioned the defendant’s credibility by quoting friends, family and business associates of Mr. Haobsh. The exchange revealed a pattern of contacts losing trust in Mr. Haobsh. His sister Nadine Courtney called him “a manipulator,” citing an occasion Mr. Haobsh said he had cancer with three weeks left to live. A former business partner Bill Michael told investigators Mr. Haobsh “could look the Lord in the eyes and lie to him.” The two had created a company, R.E.M. Group LLC, alongside a group of partners under the expectation Mr. Haobsh could produce energy using magnetic fields. Mr. Haobsh’s invention needed a battery to jump start, and the group alleged the machine didn’t work. The Tempe police were called to investigate a dispute involving a wire hidden on the property. (Mr. Haobsh contends the wire connected to an exterior light fixture and claimed the group was stopping him from leaving for China.) “You’ve seen the police
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
“We are each made in the image of God and when we look at each other and remember that, we are united,” said the Rev. Randall Day of St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Pierre Haobsh appears before a Santa Barbara Superior courtroom Tuesday.
report from the Tempe Police Department. They thought you were full of it,” Mr. Ladinig said. “That’s not the term they used,” replied Mr. Haobsh. Mr. Ladinig corrected the wording to “evasive.” By the prosecution’s questioning, Mr. Haobsh’s energy invention was defunct. But Mr. Haobsh’s testimony — and the letters he wrote to attorneys, the judge and former President Donald Trump — said otherwise. Mr. Haobsh claimed he invented a cheap form of technology that could be used to desalinate water and power jets. He said its potential for humanitarian use is what prompted Dr. Han to partner with him. While Mr. Haobsh was in Santa Barbara the week of the Han family’s deaths, Dr. Han signed a Please see TRIAL on A2
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Deputy District Attorney Benjamin Ladinig cross examines the defendant. At right, Judge Brian Hill listens.
Editor’s note: The Rev. Randall Day of St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church and Rabbi Deborah Lewis of the Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Community spoke to the News-Press in advance of Tuesday night’s Santa Ynez Valley Interfaith Thanksgiving Service about the importance of the community coming together. The News-Press notified the community about the service in a previous story. The Santa Ynez Valley Interfaith Thanksgiving Service celebrated the community and its diversity Tuesday night in Los Olivos. The service scheduled for last night was sponsored by the Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Community, Bethania Lutheran Church and St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church, where the service took place. Other sponsors included Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist representatives, as well as those of other faiths. “This interfaith Thanksgiving service is gathering with friends
and neighbors — people I care about and love. So it’s just responding to the natural inclination of what anyone does on Thanksgiving,” the Rev. Randall Day of St. Mark’s-in-theValley Church told the NewsPress in an email before the service. “And, not surprisingly, my friends are Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu and Baháʼí as well as Christian. “For the community, an interfaith Thanksgiving service strengthens our unity, as people come together in a mutual experience of giving thanks. We see how offering thanks looks quite similar from all faith perspectives,” he said. Another faith representative agreed. “Interfaith Thanksgiving brings us together around the feeling of gratitude, and that is a current that runs through all religious faith traditions. I love that we can get together and give thanks for the community and the things that we have been given,” Rabbi Deborah Lewis of the Santa Ynez Valley Jewish Please see INTERFAITH on A4
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L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 2-27-28-35-45 Meganumber: 3
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 2-5-7-0
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 3-5-15-18-36
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-01-12 Time: 1:47.47
Monday’s POWERBALL: 7-20-29-38-67 Meganumber: 22
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 3-3-1 / Wednesday’s Midday 7-5-0