Our 167th Year
Taking to skies?
Gift drive breaks record
Southwest Airlines promises fewer flight cancellations - A4
Residents help CASA’s efforts to fulfill Christmas wishes of local youths - B1
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F R I DAY, DE C E M BE R 3 0 , 2 02 2
NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE
Vandalism witnessed
Stormwater flows well on State St. But 15 parklets remain out of compliance
Rebecca Brand took photos and video on the night a window was shattered at Rudy’s restaurant
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
State Street fared well during the latest rainstorms, despite the fact that 15 out of 50 outdoor dining parklets remain out of compliance with the city’s new stormwater runoff requirements. “State Street has done well so far!” Sarah Clark, downtown plaza parking manager, told the News-Press Thursday. “Maintenance staff reported that stormwater was flowing quite well during the rain, and we didn’t see much debris deposited.” City staff has not yet reinspected the 15 delinquent parkets to see if the required adjustments have been made to allow stormwater to flow underneath them, Ms. Clark said. “The facilities that remain non-compliant were issued administrative citations that gave a Jan. 6 compliance deadline, so we’ll likely re-inspect the week
REBECCA BRAND PHOTO
Santa Barbara resident Rebecca Brand took this photo just after a rock was thrown on Christmas Eve through the front window of Rudy’s, a Mexican restaurant on upper State Street.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER A rock was thrown on Christmas Eve and shattered the entire front window of Rudy’s, a Mexican restaurant at 3613½ State St. in Santa Barbara. Rebecca Brand, a Santa Barbara resident, was a witness to the incident, which took place shortly before 8 p.m. Ms. Brand told the News-Press she saw the window shatter in front of her after the rock was thrown. She also said she saw a transient woman and a man standing at that moment. She said the same woman seized Ms. Brand’s cell phone and later assaulted Ms. Brand with the phone. The transient is Nelly Gackowska, 61, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. Ms. Gackowska has been charged with two felonies in the Rudy’s restaurant incident: second-degree robbery and grand theft from a person. Ms. Brand told the News-Press that the police failed to include the assault in their report “and to me that is the worst part.” An assault charge was not filed. Ms. Brand took photos of the broken window and the suspect, and she took a video that includes an audio recording of what was said at the scene. Ms. Brand posted the video on Facebook. Preliminary court appearances in Ms. Gackowska’s case are scheduled for Jan. 9 and 10, according to the District Attorney’s Office. In an exclusive News-Press interview, Ms. Brand described what she saw Ms. Gackowska allegedly do on Christmas Eve.
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Rebecca Brand told the News-Press she was assaulted by a transient woman after the front window at Rudy’s was shattered.
“I was leaving the Tee-Off Restaurant and Lounge in Ontare Plaza on Christmas Eve,” Ms. Brand said. “I was walking to my car, and a friend was walking with me. About five feet from my car, I heard a bang and a really loud crash, and glass fell in front of my face down by my feet as the entire window of Rudy’s shattered right before me. “I yelled ‘What the hell? What the hell?’ I was frightened when the glass came down. It was like a
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answered on the second ring,” she said. “Nelly was screaming at me, ‘You are going to go to prison!’ ” Ms. Brand said. “She came at me and tried to get my phone out of my right hand and started slamming my phone on my right hip, and got the phone out of my hand. “She grabbed my phone and started to run with it. I ran to get Please see RUDY’S on A5
of the 9th,” she said. Each administrative citation carries a fine of $100. “After we re-inspect, we’ll do another round of administrative citations for any that remain noncompliant,” she said. “If a business receives two admin citations and fails to remedy the Please see PARKLETS on A10
By JOSH HYPES (The Center Square) – More than two-thirds of voters now say the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new poll from the State Policy Network. Voter satisfaction with the country’s direction has continued to plummet since July. SPN’s State’s Voices opinion poll surveyed nearly 2,000 registered voters and was conducted in partnership with Morning Consult through online interviews. Erin Norman, a messaging strategist for SPN, said the data showed trust in federal institutions have remained stable but low. In 2019, 40% of voters said they trusted the federal government to handle domestic issues, according to data from Gallup. In its most recent poll, SPN found that only 33% of voters somewhat trusted the federal government, while only 15% greatly or completely trusted the government. State and local governments polled substantially better. More than 40% of respondents said they somewhat trusted their state and local governments and nearly 20% greatly or completely trusted them. Voter approval of President Joe Biden’s performance remains low at 43%, according to the poll. This is a slight improvement from 38% approval in July. “We’ve consistently seen low levels of trust in all levels of government,” Ms. Norman said. “Trust in state and local government remains a little bit higher, but it’s still not really
where you would ideally want to see it.” Anxiety over economic concerns weighed heavily on voters’ minds. More than 75% of respondents said they had cut back spending in the past three months because of economic concerns. “What the data here is telling us from this poll is that people really are feeling the pinch,” Ms. Norman said. “The vast majority of Americans have had to make some sort of cutback in their lives based on economic concerns.” Ms. Norman said that many Americans feel there are no affordable options for housing or energy. In 2019, the median price for a single family home was $274,000. By October 2022, the price has nearly doubled to $384,000, according to the National Association of Realtors. Similarly, energy prices broke records in June as the average price for a gallon of gas pushed above $5. As of this week, the average price of gas is $3.12. Ms. Norman said that despite regressive trust in the government and economic cutbacks, nearly two-thirds of voters said they were very or somewhat optimistic about the future. “I feel like that’s such a uniquely American perspective and one that gets lost in a lot of the doom and gloom ... of news that comes out today,” Ms. Norman said. “So people are really optimistic about their own future. They’re a little bit less optimistic about the future of America.” The poll had a margin of error of 2%.
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curtain of glass shattered in front of my eyes. “I instantly took pictures of the woman and the man who were standing at the scene,” Ms. Brand said. “The man appeared to be laughing and smiling. “I took pictures of the shattered glass,” said Ms. Brand, who described the woman — Ms. Gackowska — as a transient. Ms. Brand continued to describe the incident. “I called 9-1-1, and they
COURTESY PHOTO
More than two-thirds of voters believe America is heading in the wrong direction THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Sarah Clark
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