It’s a matter of perspective
Fate of the filibuster Sen. Joe Manchin is in the center of the debate as Democratic leaders threaten to end the rule - A4
Our 166th Year
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F R I DA Y, J A N UA R Y 7, 2 0 2 2
State extends mask mandate And CDC backs booster shots for ages 12-15 By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The California Department of Public Health has extended the statewide indoor mask mandate to Feb. 15. The department made the announcement Thursday, and it means people are required to continue to wear face coverings in indoor public settings regardless of their vaccination status. The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department also has extended its own indoor mask mandate to Feb. 1. Like the state mandate, it applies to people in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. The state’s mask mandate extension comes as cases continue to surge. On Thursday, the county Public Health Department reported 1,253 KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
new COVID-19 cases and one death. (See Page A2 for further numbers.) In other COVID-19 news this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the Pfizer booster for ages 12-15. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, only the Pfizer Bio-NTech Covid-19 vaccine is approved for adolescents ages 12 to 17. The CDC officially endorsed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation to expand the eligibility of booster doses to those ages 12-15. The CDC is also recommending that adolescents ages 12 to 17 should receive a booster shot five months after their initial Pfizer Bio-NTech vaccination series. “We’re right in the midst of Please see COVID-19 on A4
The Hi-Way Drive-In closed Thursday after 61 years in Santa Maria. Owners cited the economic challenges of today’s ever-changing film industry.
End of a movie-going era Hi-Way Drive-In closes after its six decades in Santa Maria By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Hi-Way Drive-In rolled its final credits Thursday night as a 61-year era ended for Santa Maria moviegoers. The last film was the blockbuster “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and the site has been sold to People’s Self-Help Housing for the construction of a low-income housing project. In December, the Santa Maria City Council voted to change the zoning from commercial to residential, which is seen as the first step in the process to build the project. After the council’s vote, Ken Triguerio, the CEO of People’s Self-Help Housing, told the NewsPress that construction won’t begin for probably another two years. PSHH bought the site from the Gran family, who owned the drivein since 1978. The theater opened in 1961.
Family members said they made the decision to close the theater “with great sadness.” “We gave it our all, but due to the current economic climate and the ever-changing film industry, our business as a drive-in theater is unfortunately no longer viable,” the family said at playingtoday. com, which has served as the website for Hi-Way Drive-In. Like indoor theaters, driveins have faced competition from streaming services, on which new movies often premiere the same day they’re released in theaters. But even before streaming, drive-in theaters faced challenges. Once as common in America as apple pie, drive-in theaters stretched coast to coast in big cities and small towns alike. They were the place for families to get everyone together in a station wagon (later an SUV), the place for dates, the place where friends could sit together and watch a
movie and talk without bothering anyone. But the advent of VCRs, DVDs and multiplex indoor theaters led to challenges, and drive-in theaters were closing in the 1990s and early 2000s. In Simi Valley, the Simi Drivein stopped showing movies in the early 1990s. An outdoor mall with a giant parking lot replaced the 101 Drive-in, a Ventura site with three screens and the capability to house 800 cars. The theater, which opened in 1948 with the Ronald Reagan movie “Stallion Road,” was demolished in 2001. In 2019, the West Wind Drive-in in Goleta closed, but it re-emerged the next year when the pandemic’s lockdown closed indoor theaters. The theater has remained popular, even with the reopening of indoor theaters. Besides showing commercial hits, West Wind is popular today as a place for screenings of
movies presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures, Cottage Health and other local organizations. And with the closure of Hi-Way Drive-in, West Wind is now the only drive-in theater in Santa Barbara County. The only other drivein theater on the Central Coast is Sunset Drive-in in San Luis Obispo. There are just 15 drive-in theaters today in California. The family who owned Hi-Way Drive-In expressed its gratitude to its “wonderful and loyal customers over the past 43 years.” “We are especially grateful to all of our current and past employees who worked so hard to keep us open,” the family said at playingtoday.com. The message closed with: “Thank you for all the good years. With much appreciation and a heavy heart, the Gran Family.” email: dmason@newspress.com
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
With the resumption of classes, the Santa Barbara Unified School District has supported COVID-19 testing, vaccinations and booster shots.
SB Unified stresses testing, vaccinations Free clinic set for Saturday at McKinley School By KATHERINE ZEHNDER
California Democrats propose $163 billion tax hike to fund single-payer health care By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — Democratic lawmakers unveiled a plan Thursday to fund what could be the nation’s first universal healthcare program, announcing a proposal that would increase taxes for certain individuals and businesses to fund government-run healthcare for all Californians. The new measure proposes increasing taxes for certain individuals and businesses across the state, depending on individual
income and business revenue and size. Proponents of single-payer healthcare said Thursday that the financing proposal would save California residents and employers money in the long term by stripping back tens of billions of dollars in administrative costs and lowering per-patient spending, despite the increase in taxes upfront. “The reality is that our healthcare system has been broken for decades and has gotten increasingly more costly with California workers and employers
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more and more picking up the tab of spiraling out of control costs,” Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, the proposal’s principal author, said Thursday. “This is not the norm anywhere else but here in our country.” “The public financing options suggested today are only a fraction of what current Californians and employers are paying for,” he later added. Specifics of the financing plan include raising taxes for individuals making more than $149,500 a year, with marginal increases spanning from 0.5% for
those making the baseline amount to up to 2.5% for those making over $2.48 million. For businesses, the plan would impose a 2.3% excise tax for any gross receipts exceeding $2 million. It would also create a new payroll tax that would require employers with 50 or more employees to pay 1.25% of total annual wages and compensation. An additional payroll tax would be imposed on employers whose employees make more than $49,900 annually. Please see HEALTH CARE on A4
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Schools reopened this week, with the Santa Barbara Unified School District encouraging parents and families to do all that they can to be safe for inperson learning. The district is advising that all students 5 and older should be vaccinated and that all students 16 and older should get booster shots if they have not already done so. Vaccinations appointments are available at most local pharmacies and clinics. And the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department will host a free vaccination clinic 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at McKinley Elementary School, 350 Loma Alta Drive. This will include all vaccination and booster shots for everyone 5 and older. Earlier, the district requested
its staff and students take advantage of COVID-19 testing before returning to campus. Staff and students were given test kits to take home before the winter break, which includes two tests per box. Hundreds of students showed up Sunday for testing at Earl Warren Showgrounds. And the district is resuming surveillance testing of both vaccinated and unvaccinated staff and students. The district is also emphasizing the importance of using well-fitting masks and is promoting the use of N95, KN95 or KN94 masks. The district has made N95 masks available for staff and blue surgical masks for elementary students. “We remain committed to in-person school and to do so will continue to maintain safety protocols in place, Please see SCHOOLS on A4
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified...............B4 Life..................... B1-3 Obituaries...............A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 2-9-17-20-25 Meganumber: 7
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 6-4-5-0
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 4-6-16-21-22 Meganumber: 1
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 5-12-18-22-33
Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-09-06 Time: 1:46.37
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 6-14-25-33-46 Meganumber: 17
Sudoku...................B3 Sports ...................A2 Weather.................A4
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 2-1-4 / Wednesday’s Midday 9-3-2