Perfect record continues
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Westmont women’s basketball remains undefeated with win over The Master’s- A3
Local architects, architecture honored at annual event - B1
Our 167th Year
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Congress avoids rail strike By KIM JARRETT THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) - A railroad shutdown that could have done billions in damage to the economy according to experts was avoided by a Senate vote Thursday. The Senate voted 80 to 15 to approve an agreement that gives rail workers a 24% raise over the next five years. A second bill that would have added seven days of paid sick leave was rejected. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., had urged
their colleagues not to pass the second bill. They said in a letter that passing the alternative would set a precedent. “Other unionized employees of regulated industries would likely make that same gamble in the future, rendering Congress the arbiter of these types of labor disputes instead of the National Mediation Board,” Sen. Cramer said. “It is in the best interest of all parties that the railroads, not Congress, work through issues such as paid leave directly with their employees.” President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill.
The rail strike would have further exacerbated supply chain problems already plaguing the economy and cost up to $2 billion a day, according to Sen. Cramer. Supply chain issues are improving, but consumer prices are still increasing, according to the Federal Reserve’s November Beige Book, which compiles economic data from the Fed’s 12 regional districts. The nation’s economic issues can be attributed to “free money” thrown into the marketplace, Sen. Cramer said in an interview with The Center Square.
“It’s sort of building an airplane while we’re flying and not knowing or having experience the type of a lockdown shutdown uncertainty of a disease we don’t know very much about and Republicans and Democrats alike almost unanimously passed a lot of appropriations in trying to sort of keep the economy afloat while the economy was running down,” Sen. Cramer said. “The problem is while we were coming out of that, the Biden administration imposed a few trillion dollars more on the economy when the economy was coming
out of the funk and people were going back to work. They spent a whole bunch more money, unnecessarily in my view, and predictably leading to inflation.” Sen. Cramer said he supports the Federal Reserve’s recent actions to slow the demand for goods and services, but he wished the moves had not been done so dramatically. The Fed has raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points this year. But work needs to be done on the other part of the formula that has led to the economic issues which are encouraging supply, Sen. Cramer said.
Ukulele virtuoso entertains kids
Restaurants work to meet deadline for parklet rules City of Santa Barbara requires alterations to allow for runoff
Jake Shimabukuro entertains 800 students at The Granada
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Downtown Santa Barbara restaurateurs have been scrambling to meet Thursday’s deadline to ensure adequate alterations are made to their outdoor dining parklets in order to allow stormwater runoff to flow freely down State Street, city officials said. “All of the business facilities on State Street, between the 400 and 1300 blocks, are required to comply,” Sarah Clark, the city’s downtown parking and plaza manager, told the News-Press. “I’ve observed a number of State Street businesses making changes to their facilities to meet the stormwater requirements.” She said businesses have taken different approaches to meet these requirements. “Some are creating drainage channels under their platforms in the gutter area,” she said. “At least one has removed their platform and created a portable enclosure on the street that allows water to freely flow during storm events.” The alterations couldn’t come at a better time, with light sprinkles in Santa Barbara Thursday morning and predictions of more rain to come. Parklets that were in operation as of Sept. 20, 2022 are not required to be made portable, so many of the existing facilities are not, Ms. Clark said. Newly constructed parklets must be designed to be portable. Councilmember Mike Jordan, a member of the Ad Hoc subcommittee appointed to make interim recommendations regarding the parklets and State Street, said previously his group thought it better to “nudge” restaurateurs into making their parklets portable. Otherwise, he said, they might have to “chop holes” in their parklets in an emergency to allow stormwater runoff to flow through. “We’re playing with catastrophe with blockages on the street preventing stormwater runoff,” he said. Public Works Director Cliford Maurer told the council previously Please see PARKLETS on B4
Woman alleges school coach sexually assaulted her By JARED DANIELS NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Ukulele musician Jake Shimabukuro plays tunes Thursday for the 800 local students at The Granada.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Ukulele great Jake Shimabukuro entertained 800 fourth through sixth graders Thursday morning at The Granada.
To see Jake Shimabukuro play Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on his ukulele, go to youtu.be/Pikp8ufcTeE.
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
of the students. The kids came to the UCSB Arts & Lectures program from Cleveland, Adams, Kellogg, Mountain View, Hollister, Crane and Cold Spring schools. After the program, approximately 30 students from Our Lady of Mount Carmel School in Montecito enjoyed a meet-andgreet with Mr. Shimabukuro. Like him, they carried four-string instruments. They were members of the school’s ukulele club. At Thursday night’s concert, Mr. Please see UKULELE on A4
When Jennifer Christiansen Vurno found herself in distress during her senior year in 1996, she turned to the one person she trusted most: her then-soccer coach and adviser, John Friborg. But Ms. Vurno, who was 17 at the time, said Mr. Friborg, then 40, didn’t offer her guidance. Instead, she alleges, Mr. Friborg betrayed her trust and sexually assaulted her on multiple occassions throughout her final year at the Thacher School. Ms. Vurno, now 44 and a resident of Washington state, has named the Thacher School, a private co-ed boarding school in Ojai, and 39 other unnamed defendants affiliated with the school in a lawsuit filed in Ventura County Superior Court earlier this month. The lawsuit lists seven allegations that include sexual assault; intentional infliction of emotional distress; sexual harassment; negligent hiring, supervision and/or retention; violation of mandatory duty to report suspected child abuse; negilent supervision of a minor; and negligence. In response to a request for comment on the lawsuit, the school’s director of communications, Carly Rodriguez, told the News-Press in an email that “Thacher is committed to supporting survivors and to the safety and well-being of all its students — past, present, and future. Given that this matter is now the subject of litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.” The lawsuit comes nearly a year-and-a-half after the release Please see THACHER on B4
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Mr. Shimabukuro was in Santa Barbara for a “Christmas in Hawai’i” concert Thursday night at the same venue. But long before the evening show, Mr. Shimabukuro played for the kids and answered their questions. He even signed a ukulele brought to him by one
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