Escape from Oakland
A look at ‘Hypnotic’
Nevada rolls out plan to bring Oakland A’s to Vegas with up to $375M in taxpayer funds - A3
Review: Ben Affleck stars in a story full of mind control and illusions - B1
Our 167th Year
75¢
F R I DAY, M AY 2 6 , 2 023
Big weekend for tourism More travelers expected in the air, on the road
NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE
Alleged fentanyl distributors to stand trial together Defendants accused of distributing fentanyl that led to inmate’s death at Northern Branch jail By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Two Santa Barbara County men charged with distributing fentanyl inside the Northern Branch jail — resulting in two inmates overdosing and one of them dying — are expected to stand trial together in early December, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The defendants, Kaelen Wendel and Michael Villapania, were indicted for distributing fentanyl that led to the Oct. 20, 2022 death of one jail inmate and serious bodily injury to a second at the county’s Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria, Sheriff Bill Brown announced earlier
this month. A federal grand jury indicted the pair in January, charging them both with “the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury.” The inmate who died was identified only as “E.E.” in the indictment. The inmate who sustained serious bodily injury was identified only as “J.V.” Mr. Villapania pleaded not guilty to the federal charge on March 23, Ciaran McEvoy, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the NewsPress. His trial was scheduled to start May 16, but was continued until Dec. 4, Mr. McEvoy said. Mr. Wendell pleaded not Please see FENTANYL on A6
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Traffic moves freely through this portion of Highway 101 at Summerland. This area likely will see a lot of traffic during Memorial Day weekend. The American Automobile Association expects today will be the busiest one of the Memorial Day weekend.
By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The holiday weekend is here, and many people will be exploring the beautiful city of Santa Barbara to celebrate. Coined as the “unofficial start to summer,” Memorial Day weekend will attract tourists from all over the world. “It is shaping up to be a great
weekend in Santa Barbara, with partly sunny skies and mild temperatures,” Kathy JanegaDykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara, told the News-Press Friday. “Between the waterfront, downtown, and into the regions of Summerland, Montecito and Goleta, visitors are sure to have a memorable time along the Santa Barbara South Coast.”
Kathy Janega-Dykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara, seen speaking at a tourism summit in this photo, told the News-Press that Memorial Day weekend is shaping up to be a great one in Santa Barbara, with partly sunny skies and mild temperatures.
Ms. Janega-Dykes also noted, “Three-day weekends are important to both local businesses and the area’s visitors. Memorial Day weekend is a great time for families to gather and explore together on the water, and throughout our beautiful community.” This weekend will bring popular events to the city, including the I Madonnari Street Painting Festival, which will have street painters create 130 vibrant, large scale, intricately detailed images on the pavement at the Santa Barbara Mission’s plaza. Guests of all ages can enjoy this free event with food vendors, live music and an authentic Italian market. The festival is taking place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday. For people coming from out of town, Ms. Janega-Dykes suggested a few ideas for their stay. “Santa Barbara is extremely walkable, and guests can easily go shopping, wine tasting, dining and explore other diversions on foot. “Because a few of the area’s hiking trails were damaged during recent storms and those that are open may be crowded, we recommend heading into Goleta to explore trails, such as the UCSB
A United Airlines passenger jet takes off from Santa Barbara Airport, where a record-breaking 2,000 passengers are expected to fly each day during this holiday weekend.
FOLLOW US ON
6
66833 00050
3
email: abahnsen@newspress.com
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
“We are in a different time from when we all went to school,” said Hilda Maldonado, superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, during her State of the Schools address Thursday at the Carrillo Recreation Center.
Superintendent, others discuss State of Schools By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Parents, teachers, staff and even a few city council members filed into the Carrillo Recreation Center early Thursday morning to hear Santa Barbara Unified Superintendent Hilda Maldonado’s State of the Schools address. The attendees, numbering around 100, grabbed their coffee and snacks and headed to their seats as the executive director of the Santa Barbara Education
Foundation, Pedro Paz, started the meeting. “We all know education is a fundamental right, and is key to development,” said Mr. Paz. “This year we’re focusing on putting more money in the classrooms and exploring new partnerships in our communities.” Mr. Paz also announced an increase from $100,000 in awarded teacher grants last year to $150,000 this year. Mr. Paz then introduced Dr. Please see SCHOOLS on A6
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. B6 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A6
North Campus Open Space, which has 136 acres to explore.” For travelers who are flying this weekend, Angi Daus, a representative from Santa Barbara Airport, said, “It’s going to look busy, and it actually already does! We expect recordbreaking days where over 2,000 passengers will fly out of SBA each day.” Due to this traffic, be prepared and arrive even earlier than you normally do to the airport. SBA has posted a list of tips at flysba. santabarbaraca.gov/news/airporttips-summer-travel. The American Automobile Association reports that there will be around 360,000 travelers using air travel this weekend, an 11% increase from last year. More people are also expected on the road. Doug Shupe, a West Coast spokesman for AAA, said it’s estimated 3.3 million people will travel 50 miles or more away from home this weekend, which is a 7.7% increase from last year and nearly half a percent higher than in 2019, before the pandemic began. Santa Barbara is the third most traveled city in California during the holiday weekend, according to AAA’s booking data. Mr. Shupe also told the NewsPress that if you are figuring out when to travel, today will be the busiest day in Southern California. He suggests leaving either very early or late this morning, or on Saturday. If you are driving this weekend, Mr. Shupe said, “Inspect your vehicle and make sure your car is ready for the road!” Gas prices have also seen a spike in prices as the weekend approaches. According to AAA, the average price for self-serve regular gasoline in California is $4.81, which is two cents higher than last week. In Santa Barbara County, the average on Friday was a few cents higher: $4.86 a gallon.
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A3 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-8-22-40 Mega: 7
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 3-3-3-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 5-11-41-44-55 Mega: 14
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 8-11-25-27-29
Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-10-09 Time: 1:46.59
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 12-21-44-50-58 Meganumber: 26
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 0-2-8 / Midday 1-9-6