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Our 166th Year
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W E D N E S DAY, D E C E M B E R 2 2 , 2 0 21
Flood specialist retires after 35 years Tom Fayram helped Santa Barbara County during Montecito debris flow and other disasters By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
ANNELISE HANSHAW/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Rep. Salud Carbajal greets Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District general manager Jerry Estrada and board chair Dave Davis outside of the newly renovated transit center.
Infrastructure law provides $44M to SBMTD
In 1986, Tom Fayram found his dream job working for the local flood control district, just over a year after graduating from college. Luckily for Santa Barbara County, this man and his dream job helped to prevent and mitigate natural disasters for decades, and the community is more than happy to celebrate him as he enters retirement. “To do a job you love for 35 years … not everyone gets to do that,” said Mr. Fayram, who retired Dec. 10 after his long service as a Santa Barbara County drought and flood specialist. As the county’s deputy public works director since the mid1990s, Mr. Fayram led countless public projects and lobbied for millions of dollars in federal funding for said projects. From the Painted Cave fire in 1990 to the Montecito debris flows on Jan. 9, 2018, Santa Barbara County has seen its fair share of crises. Fortunately, it did not take long for Mr. Fayram to assert himself as the man for the job. “What really gave me job satisfaction was getting projects done that benefited our
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“It’s pretty hard to beat Santa Barbara County,” said Tom Fayram, who has retired after 35 years as a flood and drought specialist.
community,” the civil engineer and Santa Ynez resident told the News-Press. “I remember thinking very early on, I’m going to retire from this job.” The Milwaukee native left the Midwest as a child after his father, who was working at Delco, was transferred to Goleta. And that’s how Mr. Fayram came to the county that would be Please see FAYRAM on A2
Rep. Salud Carbajal visits renovated transit center
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Santa Barbara City College has used federal stimulus money to erase student debt.
At left, Rep. Carbajal rides the bus to Goleta — where he visited what will become MTD’s second terminal. At right, the Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District operates a 112-bus fleet.
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal took a trip on a Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District bus Tuesday afternoon to highlight the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The five-year transportation budget and the addition of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide $44 million for MTD. The timing overlaps as MTD loses its Small Transit Intensive Cities program apportionment in the next two years. The 2020 Census shows the Santa Barbara
Urbanized Area above 200,000, the eligibility threshold to be considered a small city. The new law creates grants and boosts the formula funding for transit districts. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and transportation budget combined are about double the size of the usual budget. Jerry Estrada, MTD’s general manager, told the News-Press he feels prepared to apply for grants the bill makes available — even competing against large municipalities. The money would likely be used to replace aging buses and
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renovate property MTD owns in Goleta to become a second terminal fit for an electric fleet. The popular waterfront shuttle is not part of the discussion. MTD paused the shuttle when the city of Santa Barbara stopped subsidizing that route. Dave Davis, chair of the State Street Advisory Committee and chair of MTD’s board, said the shuttle is part of the committee’s considerations. MTD suspended routes during the pandemic but did not lay off or furlough employees. In late April, it unveiled a fully renovated transit center.
Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, toured the facility and tried a contactless fare payment method before greeting riders. He asked where they were going. One person was going to work; a woman rolled a small cart with groceries onto the bus with her. “How often do you ride the bus?” he asked in Spanish. “Everyday,” she answered (also in Spanish). “It is the infrastructure, our public transportation system, that enables us to get people to their jobs, to schools, to hospitals. So it’s fundamental to Please see SBMTB on A2
Stimulus money enables SBCC to eliminate student debt By FORREST MCFARLAND NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Santa Barbara City College used $1 million of federal stimulus funds to erase student debt for current and former students. Thanks to SBCC’s Fresh Start Initiative and the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, approximately 1,800 students enrolled during the pandemic have received some form of debt relief.
Through the Fresh Start Initiative, students enrolled in spring 2020 through spring 2021 terms were provided with funds to pay off their entire outstanding balance. Students who left prior to the pandemic who are attempting to re-enroll with a previous outstanding balance were also provided with Fresh Start monies. “The responses we received Please see DEBT on A2
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 26-33-35-37-42 Meganumber: 18
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 3-5-2-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 21-32-38-48-62 Meganumber: 10
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 2-5-13-17-25
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 01-02-10 Time: 1:42.42
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 2-13-23-34-66 Meganumber: 2
Sudoku................... B3 Sports.................... A4 Weather................. A4
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 6-5-7 / Wednesday’s Midday 0-6-6