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Among the top 1% Goleta McDonald’s manager receives Ray Kroc Award
Another day, another new record high for the price of gas By DAN MCCALEB THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – A day after the average price of a gallon of gas hit the $5 mark nationally for the first time in history, prices ticked up again overnight to set another new record Sunday. According to AAA, the U.S. average is now $5.01 a gallon, a day after reaching $5. Prices have risen every day in June. A week ago, the average price was
$4.89. A month ago, it was $4.42. A year ago, it was $3.08. That’s nearly a $2 a gallon increase in the past 12 months. In California, the average is now $6.43 per gallon, while in Santa Barbara County the average is $6.35 per gallon. The price of diesel fuel also rose slightly overnight to $5.77 a gallon. Diesel powers the trucks that transport food and other consumer goods across the Please see GAS on A2
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
David Peterson, left, the owner of several local McDonald’s restaurants, and Carolina Ramirez pose together for a photo at the Camino Real Marketplace location in Goleta on Friday. Ms. Ramirez was recently honored with the Ray Kroc Award for outstanding leadership.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Carolina Ramirez, a McDonald’s manager in Goleta, recently won the coveted Ray Kroc Award for her outstanding leadership. She’s among the top 1% of McDonald’s managers around the world to receive the honor, named after McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. Ms. Ramirez manages the
McDonald’s restaurant located at 6900 Marketplace Drive in Goleta and owned by David Peterson. (The restaurant is located at the Camino Real Marketplace.) She received the Ray Kroc Award from McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempcinski at the chain’s worldwide convention in Orlando in front of an audience of 40,000 people. “It was such an honor to get this award,” Ms. Ramirez told
the News-Press. “When I was nominated, I felt like a winner. When they told me I won, it was an incredible honor. It was like a dream come true, especially coming from Mexico at 16 years old.” Ms. Ramirez, who came to America as a teenager from Durango City, Mexico, has worked for McDonald’s for 21 years and has been a manager for the past five years. She spoke no English
when she moved to America, but today she’s known for being a gifted leader of more than 60 team members who serve more than 1,000 guests a day. “She is warm, smart, caring and teaches her team the value of hard work and providing a warm smile and meal to our happy guests,” Mr. Peterson said. Mr. Peterson, who also owns the McDonald’s at 146 S. Fairview Please see AWARD on A4
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Current gas prices are shown at the 7-Eleven location off Calle Real and Ellwood Station Road in Goleta on Sunday.
Report: At $1.5 trillion, California has nation’s largest public pension debt load By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – California has a larger unfunded pension liability than any other state in the nation, a new report released this week. The report, released by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), found that unfunded pension liabilities nationwide have climbed to $8.28 trillion, “or just under $25,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.” The report found that California has the greatest amount of unfunded pension liabilities of any state, totaling over $1.5 trillion.
Ms. Ramirez, center, is shown with a group of her coworkers.
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That amount is a rough estimation of how much the average pensioner will receive for the projected duration of their lives in retirement, also factoring in the number of pensioners, active workers and beneficiaries. After subtracting the pension’s assets and expected return on investments, the unfunded actuarial liability is found. It doesn’t include other pension benefits such as statepaid health care. According to Ballotpedia, there were 82 public pension systems in California in 2020. Of those, 10 were statelevel programs and 72 were administered locally. As of 2020, Please see PENSION on A2
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Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 4-11-13-25-26 Mega: 2
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 8-2-8-1
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Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 6-12-14-20-27
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Sunday’s DAILY 3: 8-6-3 / Midday 6-7-8