Winning architecture
Senate raises debt ceiling to $2.5 trillion
AIA Santa Barbara presents its annual awards - B1
Measure now moves to the House - A3
Our 166th Year
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W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 1 5 , 2 0 21
Fast and furious
County health officials report on COVID-19
Rain and wind slam county, but storm results in no major damage
Board of Supervisors hears update at its final scheduled meeting of 2021
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Lasting from Monday night into Tuesday morning, a storm slammed Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties with heavy rain and fast wind. Nearly 8 inches of rain was reported on the San Marcos Pass. Elsewhere, rain varied from 2 inches in Santa Barbara and Goleta to 3 inches in Lompoc and Solvang. But there were no major debris flows and no major damage in Santa Barbara County, including the Alisal Fire burn scar. The storm ended by noon Tuesday. The rain reportedly didn’t cause major flooding. But the conditions, which included winds varying from 6 to 19 mph Tuesday in Santa Barbara, did set the stage for obstructions on roads and traffic collisions. For example, there were boulders on Cold Springs Road in Montecito. In the 200 block of Shaw Road in Los Alamos, a 100-foot tree fell during the heavy rain and high winds Monday night into a detached garage and a 200-foot travel trailer. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded. Capt. Daniel Bertucelli, the department’s public information officer, reported there were no injuries. Traffic collisions were reported early Tuesday morning on Highway 101 in Santa Maria, Carpinteria and Ventura. On Monday, Santa Barbara County issued an evacuation order for the areas in and surrounding the Alisal Fire burn scar. An evacuation center was set up at Santa Barbara City College’s Wake Center on Turnpike Road. Around 2 p.m., Tuesday, the evacuation order was lifted, but residents were cautioned to drive carefully because of debris and flooded roads. Refugio Road was Please see WEATHER on A4
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS
A COVID-19 update, cannabis operator appeals and the 2022 Juvenile Justice Realignment Plan were all topics of discussion at the final Board of Supervisors meeting of the year. Dr. Van Do-Reynoso and Dr. Henning Ansorg represented the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department and shared an update concerning COVID-19 and the omicron variant. Dr. Do-Reynoso, the public health director, reported that the county currently has a case rate of 12.8 cases per 100,000 residents. The director additionally showed the case rate among vaccinated individuals is 6.2 cases per 100,000 residents, while the case rate for unvaccinated individuals is 24.1 per 100,000 residents. According to Dr. Do-Reynoso, approximately 84,000 booster
Heavy runoff from Tuesday morning’s rain goes down State Street in downtown Santa Barbara. By noon, the rain was over, and the sky was mostly blue again.
City Council OKs new underground utility district on Cliff Drive from Salida Del Sol to San Rafael Avenue
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
The Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday approved the city’s plan to use the last of its Rule 20A funds for underground utilities on Cliff Drive from Salida Del Sol to San Rafael Avenue. Earlier this year, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to discontinue Rule 20A work credits by the end of 2022. Rule 20A is a statewide funding mechanism for municipalities to bury power lines. Santa Barbara has used the program’s funds to convert utilities on Cliff Drive from Mesa Lane to Lighthouse Road from overhead power poles to underground lines. The $5.2 million project was completed in
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June 2011. The city has an additional $2.5 million in Rule 20A funds it expects in 2022, but Southern California Edison said Santa Barbara must choose a project by the end of 2021 to remain “active” and avoid losing its funds. City staff chose the new project’s territory, and the council moved the plan forward — aware of SCE’s tight deadline. Councilmember Kristen Sneddon, whose district covers the high-fire-risk foothills, asked why the city hadn’t considered burying utilities in her district when drafting a plan 10 years ago. (Undergrounding utilities helps mitigate the risk of wildfire.) “It’s a different world now than 10 years ago in terms of fire hazards,” Councilmember Sneddon said during Tuesday’s
meeting. The CPUC plans to meet in June of 2022 to issue a Phase Two decision regarding the future of Rule 20A, including setting criteria for wildfire mitigation. Rule 20A has primarily been used for aesthetic purposes, the CPUC’s June 2021 decision said. Adam Hendel, a principal engineer with the city of Santa Barbara, wrote a letter on behalf of the city in 2020 to advocate for an extension of Rule 20A along with the League of California Cities. “It is appropriate to add wildland fire mitigation to the Rule 20A project selection criteria because it adds to the City’s discretion to decide for what purpose to use our Rule 20A Please see UTILITIES on A2
shots have been administered in Santa Barbara County thus far, slightly outpacing the national statistics. The director also shared clarifications from the new California Department of Public Health’s statewide masking mandates, saying that counties with existing local health orders, like Santa Barbara, continue to apply. The state health department also considers indoor sports as well as exercise and conditioning as exempted activities to the mandate and recommends weekly screen testing. Dr. Ansorg, the county public health officer, provided an update on the omicron variant. He told the board there are currently at least 50 mutations of the variant, which likely will lead to more rapid spread. Dr. Ansorg also explained that the omicron variant is more Please see COVID-19 on A3
Santa Barbara ends fiscal year with ‘modest surplus’
Utilities to be buried on Cliff Drive
Cathy Murillo is wrapping up her term as the Santa Barbara mayor. In January, Mayor-elect Randy Rowse will start his tenure.
COURTESY PHOTO
At left, there are at least 50 mutations of the omicron variant, Dr. Henning Ansorg, the Santa Barbara County public health officer, told the Board of Supervsiors Tuesday. At right, Santa Barbara County has 12.8 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents, Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, the public health director, said.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The city of Santa Barbara finished the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021, with a nearly $6.6 million General Fund surplus. Its net position grew $31 million compared to a year prior, the City Council’s Finance Committee learned in its Tuesday meeting. The favorable position may prove necessary as the city looks at its pension-plan liabilities and hopes to create housing options for the homeless. Accounting manager Doug Smith credited the “modest surplus” to American Rescue Plan Act funds and strict budgeting. The city cut back on $60 million in expenditures entering the fiscal year.
Sales tax and transientoccupancy tax revenue increased toward the end of the fiscal year, bringing up fourth-quarter revenues. Fiscal Year 2020 ended in a $2.8 million deficit, and the city dug into its reserves. The General Fund reserve balance was $8.5 million below target, but it is now less than $500,000 below policy level. “Reserves have been used heavily since COVID, tight fiscal controls and ARPA funds allowed the city to end the year closer to the policy-target level,” Mr. Smith said. “However, reserves are currently being projected to be used in Fiscal Year 2022 as challenges still remain in the General Fund.” The enterprise funds (such as water, downtown parking, airport Please see SURPLUS on A2
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-7-10-20-25 Meganumber: 26
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 2-4-7-1
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 2-8-21-29-32
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 09-12-10 Time: 1:48.03
Monday’s POWERBALL: 10-30-37-53-59 Meganumber: 4
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 8-1-1 / Wednesday’s Midday 9-4-4