Santa Barbara News-Press: July 15, 2023

Wood Glen celebrates 65 years

Give 2 Pets expands

Thrift store to add locations as it continues its efforts to help animals

Biden administration to cancel $39 billion in student loans

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) — The Department of Education announced Friday that $39 billion in federal student loan debt for about 800,000 borrowers will be “discharged,” or canceled, in the coming weeks.

The move comes just weeks after the Supreme Court struck down President Joe Biden’s effort to cancel hundreds of billions of dollars through the HEROES Act. That plan would have forgiven $10,000 per qualifying borrower and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.

The DOE plan announced this week would change how monthly payments are counted for those under the Income Driven Repayment plans. Those paying for more than two decades with lower monthly payments because of their income would qualify to potentially be impacted by this announcement.

“The Biden administration is trampling the rule of law, hurting borrowers, and abusing taxpayers to chase headlines,” Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., who chairs the House Committee on Education & the Workforce, said in a statement. “Biden’s student loan scam is far from over. From day one, this administration has encouraged borrowers not to repay their loans and has expected taxpayers to foot the bill.”

The Biden administration said the administrative changes to cancel old debts made the loan

balances more accurate, but Republicans quickly blasted President Biden’s latest loan forgiveness plan as a blatant attempt to circumvent the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In particular, Republicans blasted the part of President Biden’s plan that allowed months where borrowers missed payments under a wide variety of circumstances to still count toward their total number of monthly payments made.

“Taxpayers should be enraged but not surprised. Don’t forget, this is the same agency that was called out for using cost estimates that weren’t grounded in reality,” she added.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the move was about fairness for disadvantaged borrowers and helping those “cheated” by colleges.

“For far too long, borrowers fell through the cracks of a broken system that failed to keep accurate track of their progress towards forgiveness,” Mr. Cardona said in a statement announcing the decision. “By fixing past administrative failures, we are ensuring everyone gets the forgiveness they deserve, just as we have done for public servants, students who were cheated by their colleges, and borrowers with permanent disabilities, including veterans.

“This Administration will not stop fighting to level the playing field in higher education.”

Give 2 Pets Thrift Store raises money to help animals at its

By NEIL HARTSTEIN

NEWS-PRESS COUNTY EDITOR

It’s been nearly five months since a brazen homeless woman broke into the Give 2 Pets Thrift Boutique in downtown Santa Barbara, making off with thousands of dollars worth of store merchandise.

When owner Nadia Bernardi talked about it with the News-Press a week later, she was still shaken by the incident, upset that the culprit would target a thrift store that benefits a charity, especially since she had, in her words, “helped, housed, given work to and volunteered with the homeless, drug addicts, veterans and, most of all, pets for the last 25 years.”

But that, as they say, was then

For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ givetopetsfoundation.org.

and this is now, and Ms. Bernardi has clearly recovered from the store invasion, so much so that she’s opted to open two new stores, one in Goleta and one in Carpinteria.

“On Saturday, July 22, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., we are having a grand opening at the Goleta store with a free hotdog stand and beverages for all who stop by to support us,” she told the News-Press.

The Goleta store, located at 7320 Hollister Ave., Suite 5, will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.Wednesdays through Saturdays, at least to start.

The Carpinteria store at 4185 Carpinteria Ave., Suite 3, is slated to open next month.

The Give 2 Pets Thrift Boutique, at 31 Parker Way in Santa Barbara, is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.

The Santa Barbara store has been open since August 2021, and 100% of the proceeds from its sales go to the Give to Pets Foundation, which benefits a sanctuary for special needs and senior animals.

By LIAM HIBBERT NEW-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

House passes bipartisan CarbajalBice bill to combat threat of fentanyl

House defense policy legislation includes bipartisan, bicameral effort countering national security threat of illicit drug trafficking

NEWS-PRESS STAFF REPORT

On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure introduced by Democratic Congressman Salud Carbajal and Republican Stephanie Bice to direct increased federal attention to fentanyl trafficking by utilizing the tools of the Department of Defense (DoD) and involving Mexico as an active partner to combat the drug crisis and disrupt drug cartel and trafficking activity.

The Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act, originally introduced in May with Senators

Joni Ernst, a Republican, and Tim Kaine, a Democrat, passed as part of the House’s defense policy legislation for Fiscal Year 2024.

“The Central Coast of California has been devastated by the scourge of fentanyl on our streets, with some areas seeing a 700% spike in overdose deaths in recent years. Hundreds in my region are dying every year, along with thousands more across the U.S., and pounds of this lethal drug are reaching our borders every day,” Rep. Carbajal said.

“While it’s clear that there is work ahead to return our defense policy legislation to a

place where it can be signed into law, this week we already saw a bipartisan commitment in the House to getting our measure to the finish line. Our bill affirms the Department of Defense’s role in our fight against fentanyl, increases federal attention to its trafficking, and encourages more cooperation with Mexico to crack down on the cartels and other networks that are pushing it into our communities. We need an international and allhands approach to curbing these overdose deaths–and it starts with cutting off the supply before it reaches our communities.”

“The passage of the Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act is great news,” said Rep. Bice. “It will further empower the Department of Defense to take steps to halt cartel trafficking and the national security threat that this has created at our southern border. In 2020, we lost 136 Oklahomans due to overdose deaths from fentanyl –a nearly 152 percent increase from the previous year. This dangerous drug has found its way into our communities, and I am committed to stopping this self-inflicted crisis.”

Fentanyl is a leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, and an estimated 196 Americans are dying every single day due to fentanyl. Of the 168 overdose deaths in Santa Barbara County in 2022, 115 were fentanyl related, compared to 75 in 2021 and 32 in 2019. In Ventura County, fentanyl-related overdose deaths have risen more than 800% in recent years – with 181 deaths in 2022 compared to 22 in 2017. In San Luis Obispo County, overdose deaths involving fentanyl climbed from 9 in 2019 to 74 in 2021.

The Department of Defense plays a crucial role in the nation’s counter-drug intelligence and monitoring operations, and these operations are meant to provide federal law enforcement with actionable intelligence to further investigations. However, a lack of interagency cooperation has hampered the government’s counter-fentanyl efforts.

Specifically, the Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act of 2023 will work to strengthen these efforts by:

• Declaring fentanyl trafficking a national security threat stemming from drug cartels and smugglers;

• Directing the Pentagon to develop a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy, including enhanced cooperation with foreign nations;

• Requiring the Secretary of Defense to increase security cooperation with the Mexican military; and

• Addressing coordination efforts between the military and federal law enforcement agencies.

TRAFFIC, CRIME AND FIRE BLOTTER

One dead in Hwy 101 northbound crash

BUELLTON — One unidentified male has died in a crash on Highway 101 northbound outside of Buellton that injured three others.

The collision occurred Thursday at approximately 3:45 p.m. Two of the people involved in the crash were brought to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital — one with unspecified major injuries, the other with moderate. Another person was minorly injured and did not require transport.

The crash occurred south of Jonata Park Road when the unidentified driver crashed a 2007 Honda Odyssey into the back of a 2013 Toyota Tundra that was stopped in traffic, causing major injuries to Vikki Havly, 67, and moderate injuries to George Clig, 65.

The Tundra was pushed into the center median where it overturned. The Odyssey then crashed into the third car, a 2000 Honda Accord, which caused minor injuries to Mark Robles, 39. The Odyssey then overturned and finally came to a stop on the shoulder of the highway.

The crash remains under investigation. Alcohol and drugs do not appear to have played a factor, according to the California Highway Patrol.

— Liam Hibbert

WENDY McCAW. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Co-Publisher ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER . . . . . Co-Publisher

YOLANDA APODACA . . . . . . . . . . . Director of Operations DAVE MASON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Managing Editor

HOW TO REACH US . . .

MAILING ADDRESS P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102 NEWSROOM CONTACT FOR: News Hotline, Life, Sports, Corrections, Voices/editorial pages

Email: dmason@newspress.com

ADVERTISING CONTACT:

Advertising ...cpage@newspress.com . . . . . . . . . . . .jdaniels@newspres.com ...classad@newspress.com

Legals legals@newspress.com

Obits obits@newspress.com

Real Estate realestate@newspress.com

COPYRIGHT ©2023 SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS

All rights are reserved on material produced by the News-Press, including stories, photos, graphics, maps and advertising. News-Press material is the property of Ampersand Publishing LLC. Reproduction or nonpersonal usage for any purpose without written permission of the News-Press is expressly prohibited. Other material, including news service stories, comics, syndicated features and columns,

HOW TO GET US . . . ONLINE CIRCULATION ISSUES 805-564-5275 Email: circulation@newspress.com

ONLINE SUBSCRIPTIONS RATES $10 / month $110 / annual www.newspress.com

NEWS-PRESS FILE

Rep. Salud Carbajal

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT

Santa Barbara County Fire Department personnel respond to the scene of a traffic fatality Thursday afternoon near Buellton.

‘This is my passion, and I’m in it 100%’

“I’ve dealt with most illnesses that animals get at the end of their lives,” Ms. Bernardi said. “There are lots of medications, veterinary bills, special diets, diabetes and more.”

And all of it costs money. While income from the Santa Barbara thrift store helps, it’s just not enough to cover all the expenses.

“We are holding our own,” she said, “(but) I really need to open the other two locations to make everything work.

“Right now the one tiny store downtown has been doing the best it can for its size. But we have lots of furniture and big items to sell that can’t fit there. Downtown is a thrift store boutique. Goleta will be our discount outlet (more like a real thrift store), and Carpinteria

will have high-end furniture and artwork mainly with some vintage clothing and decorative items.

“So far I have been funding the stores out of my own money,” Ms. Bernardi said. “I would really encourage private donations because I can’t do it any longer. The reason I’m opening more stores is because I’m hoping to make enough with the sales to fund the foundation on its own. Cash donations are desperately needed. I have plenty of merchandise. Give 2 Pets is a 501(c)3 with a tax ID number.

“I have a staff and some volunteers set up for all stores. I’m hiring at the moment for various positions.

“I do a lot on my own. I am a hands-on kind of person. This is my passion, and I’m in it 100%.”

And when Ms. Bernardi says she does a lot on her own, she’s not kidding.

Trump slams Secret Service investigation into cocaine found in White House

By BRETT ROWLAND THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square ) – Former President Donald Trump criticized the U.S Secret Service’s investigation into cocaine found in the White House after it failed to turn up any clues or suspects.

The U.S. Secret Service said Thursday it closed its investigation into cocaine found at the White House because of a “lack of physical evidence” 11 days after the illegal drug was found in one of the nation’s most secure buildings.

“There was no surveillance video footage found that provided investigative leads or any other means for investigators to identify who may have deposited the found substance in this area,” the U.S. Secret Service said in a statement.

“Without physical evidence, the investigation will not be able to single out a person of interest from the hundreds of individuals who passed through the vestibule where the cocaine was discovered. At this time, the Secret Service’s investigation is closed due to a lack of physical evidence.”

Mr. Trump said on his social media platform that he doesn’t buy it.

“It has just been announced that the ‘investigation’ of Cocaine in the White House has ended. Despite all of the cameras pointing directly at the ‘scene of the crime,’ and the greatest forensics anywhere in the World, they just can’t figure it out?” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They know the answer, and so does everyone else! In the meantime, they continue to target and investigate me, for years, in what has been called the greatest Witch Hunt of all time

U.S. Secret Service

Mr. Trump had previously claimed, without evidence, that the cocaine belonged to President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.

Hunter Biden detailed his years-long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction in his 2021 memoir.

The Biden family was not at the White House when the cocaine was found. The family had gone to Camp David for the holiday weekend.

Several of Mr. Trump’s former White House staffers took to social media to say that the press paid more attention to who got COVID-19 in the White House than the cocaine mystery.

“The press tracked who had the sniffles more aggressively during the Trump administration than who’s been sniffing COCAINE in the WEST WING of the Biden administration,” former staffer Harrison Fields wrote on Twitter.

Although she has staff and volunteers, it’s the store owner who arranges for donations of items to sell, inspects the stores to maximize the appeal of her inventory and helps sell store goods. She even goes out with a 10by-10 truck and two to four men to pick up whole households of goods to be sold at the store(s).

Plus, “I do pet sitting for people

that are going through medical emergencies and don’t have anyone to watch their pets while at the hospital.” Her animal sanctuary, however, remains her top priority. She won’t reveal the location because, she said, people used to come by and “it really disrupted the well-being of the animals.

“Everyone got scared and

nervous, and I found it not good,” she said. “The only people that come here are my volunteers, employees and families of some of the pets I have. I hope to have some fundraisers soon so that I can show people around in a group and at the designated time.”

The number of pets at the sanctuary varies, she said.

“Right now we have over 30. I

do have a permanent residence for some seniors and special needs animals. Unfortunately, the turnaround with them is quick because most of them don’t live too long. It’s kind of a rest home for dogs and cats. Once you come here, the next stop is heaven.” email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com

PETS

Continued from Page A1

Give 2 Pets Foundation currently has 30 animals at its sanctuary.

The Give 2 Pets Thrift Store sells a variety of merchandise at its Santa Barbara location.

The

said Thursday it closed its investigation into cocaine found at the White House because of a “lack of physical evidence”

11 days after the illegal drug was found in one of the nation’s most secure buildings.

Cruz: If whistleblowers are telling the truth, AG Garland likely committed felonies

GOP calls for special prosecutor to investigate Garland

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – If two FBI whistleblowers who’ve come forward are telling the truth, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland may have committed at least two felonies, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said. Sen. Cruz called for a special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate Garland.

“[Attorney General] Merrick Garland may have lied under oath to the Senate Judiciary Committee and obstructed justice in the Hunter Biden investigation,” Sen. Cruz said. “There needs to be a special prosecutor appointed to find out if Attorney General Garland has committed multiple felonies.”

The Texas senator told Fox News, “I questioned Merrick Garland in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee and he told the Judiciary Committee under oath that the U.S. Attorney investigating Hunter Biden had complete authority to investigate and there was zero political interference. His statement is directly contrary to what the whistleblowers said.

“The House needs to have a hearing. They need to have both whistleblowers under oath. They need to have David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney, under oath. They need to have Merrick Garland, the Attorney General, under oath. Somebody’s lying.”

“And if Merrick Garland is lying,” Sen. Cruz said, he committed two felonies: lying under oath before Congress and obstruction of justice.”

Because Mr. Garland can’t investigate himself, Sen. Cruz argues, he “should be recused from the entire matter” and a special counsel should be appointed “to determine whether or not the Attorney General of the United States has committed multiple felonies.”

This is unlikely to happen given the fact that the Department of Justice would appoint a special prosecutor and that the Biden administration has denied any wrongdoing.

Wray faces questions over FBI’s alleged bias, FISA abuse from Republicans

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – FBI

Director Christopher Wray faced questions from Republicans lawmakers Wednesday over the federal law enforcement agency’s alleged bias against conservatives and Republicans.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, ROhio, kicked off the hearing by blasting the FBI, laying out several instances of alleged bias, including the FBI’s role in cautioning social media companies to censor certain COVID-19 viewpoints as well as the Hunter Biden laptop story weeks before the presidential election.

laptop was true, and opposition to policies of the government officials in power. All were suppressed. It is quite telling that each example or category of suppressed speech was conservative in nature.”

Mr. Wray pushed back against allegations of bias and defended the agency’s work.

“The idea that I am biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me given my own personal background,” said Mr. Wray, who is reportedly a registered Republican.

Democrats jumped to Mr. Wray’s defense as well.

among critics as well who point out Black Lives Matter riots around the country were largely ignored while Jan. 6 rioters were tracked down.

A Government Accountability Office report published in February said the FBI and Capitol Police were aware of threats before Jan. 6 but did not do enough to address them.

Two FBI whistleblowers have come forward alleging an FBI coverup of alleged crimes committed by Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden. They will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability next week.

One FBI whistleblower, Gary Shapley, and an unnamed colleague, previously testified before the House Ways and Means Committee. They said their years-long investigation into Hunter Biden was hamstrung by Biden-appointed superiors. The committee also published a 200-page transcript of its interview with Mr. Shapley, who said his superiors sought to protect Hunter Biden by blocking search warrants and preventing him from doing his job. After he told Congress what happened, he was removed from the case and

Please see GARLAND on A5

“American speech is censored, parents are called terrorists, Catholics are called radicals, and I haven’t even talked about the spying that took place of a presidential campaign or the raiding of a former president’s home,” Rep Jordan said at the hearing. “But maybe what’s more frightening is what happens if you come forward and tell Congress … you will be retaliated against.”

Rep. Jordan also pointed to U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty’s ruling from earlier this month demanding the White House and FBI stop pressuring social media companies to censor conservative speech, citing the First Amendment. Rep. Jordan cited this paragraph from the ruling to back his point:

“Plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits in establishing that the government has used its power to silence the opposition. Opposition to COVID-19 vaccines, opposition to COVID-19 mask and lockdowns, opposition to the lab leak theory of COVID19, opposition to the validity of the 2020 election, opposition to President Biden’s policies, statements that the Hunter Biden

“We don’t have a two-tiered system of justice,” said Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif. “We have one Department of Justice that goes after criminals regardless of party ideology.

“It is not the fault of the FBI that Donald Trump surrounded himself with criminals,” he added.

Critics have blasted the FBI for an array of alleged missteps, in particular the agency’s role in monitoring the campaign of former President Donald Trump and alleged rampant abuse of secret FISA warrants.

Former Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice John Durham testified earlier this year that the FBI had no real basis for its probe into Russian collusion with the Trump campaign.

Mr. Durham said “the FBI was too willing to accept and use politically funded and uncorroborated opposition research like the Steele Dossier.” That dossier became the foundation for the FBI’s investigation and monitoring of Mr. Trump’s campaign but was almost certainly a political document funded by the Clinton campaign.

The agency’s handling of the Jan. 6 protests in favor of Mr. Trump have raised eyebrows

One whistleblower, Steve Friend, a former FBI special agent who served five years on an FBI SWAT team and five years before that in local law enforcement in Georgia, testified before Congress in May alleging that the FBI manipulated Jan. 6 data to make domestic terrorism appear more widespread.

Mr. Friend said that the FBI’s National Security Branch “has refocused counterterrorism from legitimate foreign actors to political opponents within our borders.”

In response to those allegations, an FBI spokesperson told The Center Square that the agency “has not and will not retaliate against individuals who make protected whistleblower disclosures.”

“While the crimes at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, occurred in Washington, D.C., the reality is many of the people who committed violent acts and other crimes that day traveled to the nation’s capital from multiple jurisdictions across the country,” the FBI said. “The FBI investigates individuals who commit or intend to commit violence and other criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime or poses a threat to national security. We do not conduct investigations based on a person’s views. We are committed to upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment activity.”

Hawley, Missouri lawmakers pledge toxic waste cleanup, compensation for exposure

By JOE MUELLER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, RMo., and a bipartisan group of state and federal legislators on Thursday pledged at the site of a former World War II uranium plant in St. Charles to cleanup hazardous waste in the region and provide compensation for all suffering from exposure.

“It’s time to tell the truth – and the truth is – if the federal government created this disaster, and they did, the federal government should clean it,” Sen. Hawley said during a press conference in front of a 41-acre, 75-foot-high enclosure containing hazardous waste from the 1940s. “If the federal government has poisoned the air, the water and the soil that has made so many people sick, there is a simple and just solution: The federal government should pay the medical bills of every person who has been sick because of it.”

The press conference was assembled by State Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, who said she worked with the group “Just Moms STL” to continually seek government assistance for dealing with multiple hazardous waste sites in St. Louis and St. Charles.

“Our region has been so desensitized to the insanity that has happened to us,” Rep. Byrnes said, admitting she didn’t reveal her efforts while running for the House due to possible voter backlash.

“Our region was number one in the world for World War II bombs and ammunition and we started the Manhattan Project. But we still don’t have a cleanup

site anywhere in this region, including this one. It’s a contained site, but it’s still not cleaned.”

Dawn Chapman from “Just Moms STL” said her group obtained through a records request approximately 15,000 pages of documents revealing the government knew the danger of the radioactive waste. They handed over the documents to three media outlets and they jointly published their analysis earlier this week.

“We read through and highlighted them during COVID because, during COVID, nobody knew if they’d be alive in six months,” Ms. Chapman said. “And we couldn’t be the only ones in the world who had read these. … We have a path forward to fix it, to get St. Louis cleaned up, to help these people who have been exposed and to make this right. I wish the government would have done this, but it didn’t.” The lawmakers admitted there will be many challenges getting legislation passed for cleanup and compensation.

“This legislation is going to be a big uphill climb and we need every one of you,” Rep. Byrnes said.

“You’re going to have to be leaders, you’re going to have to reach out to people.”

Sen. Hawley said he would hold up nominations, interrupt hearings and continually go to the Senate floor until an initiative is passed.

“We seem to have an unlimited source of money to buy and sell weapons for other countries’ wars, but we can’t do anything for anybody here?” Sen. Hawley asked. “Why is it that we can spend hundreds of billions of dollars on wars overseas, but in this community, we can’t lift a finger.”

By GREG BISHOP THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – A 16-yearold swimmer in Springfield says the YMCA dismissed her concerns of changing in the women’s locker room with a transgender woman present and was later ejected from the swim team.

During a news conference Thursday across the street from a YMCA facility in Springfield, Abbigail Wheeler, the 16year-old swimmer who raised objections in late April, said she was uncomfortable changing in a locker room with a transgender woman present. Her feelings

were dismissed when she approached her coach and YMCA administrators, she said.

“I was made to feel as though I was in the wrong,” Ms. Wheeler said. “I was made to feel as though there was something wrong with me feeling uncomfortable changing in the women’s locker room where biological men were being allowed to undress in the same space as me and my underage teammates.”

Christina Newton, a 42-yearold transgender member of the YMCA, was in the crowd during the news conference. Afterward, Ms. Newton told The Center Square that what was said was

“racist.” Ms. Newton believed she and another person were possibly the individuals Ms. Wheeler was concerned about.

“We was both in our swimsuits about ready to head to the pool and we was just talking about my surgeries, that’s it,” Ms. Newton said. “We wasn’t showing people our private stuff.”

The YMCA said in a statement earlier this week that Ms. Wheeler was not banned from the facility and that her father withdrew their family’s membership.

Dan Wheeler said they did withdraw their membership and from the swim team, but only

Two FBI whistleblowers have come forward alleging an FBI coverup of alleged crimes committed by Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden. They will appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability next week.

Despite teen feeling unsafe, transgender person will continue using women’s locker room

Business/Real Estate

In real estate, numbers can be deceiving

Lately I’ve had many potential sellers reaching out asking whether it’s a good time to sell their home, as there have been significantly less sales in 2023 than past years, and the inflated interest rates have halted buyers from purchasing.

I don’t blame them for thinking this way, since both factors are true. Mortgage rates have more than doubled since early 2022, going from sub 3% to 7%-plus, and we have had a low number of sales compared to most years. Even many real estate agents thought this could lead to a dry spell for sellers with the possibility that prices would come down to adjust to the new norm in rates.

Additionally, the median price in Santa Barbara dropped 25% Year-Over-Year from May 2022 to $1,304,500, and the average sales price also dropped 24% YOY to $1,786,267. Total sales have also fallen by 36% YOY.

These numbers have to spell disaster, right?

Well, statistics don’t always tell the whole story, and there is a simple explanation for this.

From January through May 30, there were only 137 home and 60 condo sales, as compared to 195 home and 85 condo sales during the same period in 2022.

As affordability of homes became more difficult for first time buyers, they started shifting their sites onto condos, thus contributing to the decrease in average and

Pricing data shows slowing inflation

By CASEY HARPER

THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Federal inflation data released this week show inflation may be cooling.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released consumer pricing data Wednesday and producer pricing data Thursday, showing a smaller increase than the spikes seen earlier in the Biden administration.

The BLS’ Producer Price Index rose 0.1% in June, less than experts predicted.

“The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.1 percent in June after no change in May. For the 12 months ended in June, prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services advanced 2.6 percent.”

The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in June, less than predicted, and part of a 3% rise over the last 12 months.

“The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over 70 percent of the increase, with the index for motor vehicle insurance also contributing,” BLS said. “The food index increased 0.1 percent in June after increasing 0.2 percent the previous month. The index for food at home was unchanged over the month while the index for food away from home rose 0.4 percent in June. The energy index rose 0.6 percent in June as the major energy component indexes were mixed.”

President Joe Biden touted the economic data on Twitter.

“Today we learned that annual inflation has fallen each of the last twelve months and is now down to 3%,” he wrote. “We’ve made this progress while unemployment remains near record lows. That’s Bidenomics in action.”

Others were clear to point out that while prices are rising more slowly, they are not decreasing and are still much higher than they were a few years ago because of the recent inflation spike.

While the price of some goods have stopped rising or seen a decrease in prices, other goods like certain groceries are still much more expensive.

“Since President Biden took office, the key inflation indicator PPI has increased 16.6%,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said after the data was released. “It’s a clear sign that ‘Bidenomics’ is doing nothing but crushing families with high prices.”

median prices. It’s not that prices are dropping, but more so that the type of homes selling this year have been in a lower average price range compared to 2021 and 2022. There were also only 44 total sales in May, so a couple large or small priced homes could greatly affect those figures.

To get a clearer picture of what’s going on, it’s important to see that homes are currently selling over 100% of list price, with more than half of listings receiving multiple offers. There is still a great amount of competition among buyers as we’ve seen homes still receiving 5-20-plus offers if priced right. Lastly, there is only 1.71.8 months of inventory on the market, meaning if no listings were added, then we would sell out of homes in approximately seven weeks!

Yes, there was a pause for a few months during winter as buyers took their foot off the gas. But once reality set in that these rates were here to stay for the time being, there was no use in waiting to buy in Santa Barbara if they wanted to establish their roots.

The new popular saying has been, “marry the price and date the rate,” as lenders predict rates could eventually drop back to the 5-6% range once inflation comes back to normal levels.

When this is brought up to buyers, they tend to ask, “Why not wait to buy until rates go down then?” Well, the answer is simple:

Lower rates make purchasing more affordable, thus driving more buyers to the market and producing more competition and a greater number of multiple offers on homes. Also, if prices continue increasing each year, buying sooner will save on property taxes long-term, as those are based on your purchase price. Any way you spin it, we are looking at a possible ongoing seller’s market (locally), as demand has a long way to catch up to supply.

Only 10-15 years ago Santa Barbara would typically have 700-1,000 listings on the market at a time. Now, a meager 175 or so. This is due to homeowners having a low motivation to sell if they’re locked into a low mortgage rate, as most sellers would need to purchase a replacement home,

which would require a much higher interest rate. In many cases, it’s more affordable for a seller to stay in their higher value home than downsize to a less expensive property, as their monthly payments could get substantially higher.

Although we are seeing more homes and condos hit the market in the last few weeks, we may see a few years of low inventory as 85%+ of homeowners are holding an interest rate of less than 4%, which leaves some homeowners little motivation to sell and move. This will likely result in home values maintaining strength and growth, even as the numbers nationwide drop or flatten.

Santa Barbara has always been a niche market, and the demand for homes here has continued to grow exponentially each year. So, even if it feels like the market is slowing down due to the “numbers,” the reality is that everyone wants a slice of paradise, and it’s as good a time as any to sell your home.

As a second-generation Realtor, David Magid has been practicing real estate for 10 years, all with Village Properties. The first of his family born in America, David has been lucky enough to grow up and live in Santa Barbara for the last 36 years. You can find more information about Mr. Magid or contact him with any questions at www.DavidMagidHomes.com.

State of Business: NC regularly top four, No. 1 for second year in a row

By ALAN WOOTEN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – CNBC may lean decidedly left, but the right-leaning policies of the North Carolina General Assembly the last dozen-plus years have earned the state its second straight top ranking for the network’s America’s Top States for Business.

CNBC also scored the Old North State first in workforce, third in economy, seventh in education and 10th in business friendliness. The network, whose analysis is led by Scott Cohn, incorporated the reveal with retired college basketball legends Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams.

All 50 states were measured across 86 metrics in 10 categories. North Carolina scored 1,628 out of 2,500 possible points, higher than a year ago.

The workforce category was highlighted by talking points on an educated workforce and the training available. Stable finances were cited among several points in the judgment of the state economy.

While education was seventh nationally, CNBC chose to point out Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s socalled state of emergency in education. The action is not official, such as when hurricanes strike the coast. Critics of his stance say it’s nothing more than opposition to school choice and his desire to protect and entrench the support of traditional public school teachers, a group along with Gov. Cooper that has taken body blows from results of postpandemic testing of schoolchildren.

On a voiceover of the 15-minute segment, Mr. Cohn took aim at Republican three-fifths majorities in both lawmaking bodies and said, “Just where the shifting political winds will take this state remains to be seen.”

Republican leadership counters the results are being seen, and right in the CNBC analysis.

“Republicans had a vision and plan when we won control of the General Assembly back in 2010, and improving our state’s business climate was a big part of that,” said Senate President Phil Berger, RRockingham. “It’s rewarding to see North Carolina prevail over several other qualified contenders.

“We should all celebrate that North Carolina’s

business climate continues to be the best in the nation, notwithstanding the governor’s obstructionism and vetoes of business-friendly legislation. His actions have done nothing to slow our momentum.”

Asked what his state of emergency for education means, the governor chose a bully pulpit stance – a strategy he earlier told the audience he will continue to use.

“Right now, you’re seeing Republicans begin the process of short-changing the public schools, putting more money in unaccountable private school vouchers,” said Gov. Cooper, who watched one of his three daughters graduate from private school St. Mary’s. He said not enough money was going into early childhood education and child care as well.

“You top that off,” he continued, “with the potential for legislation – which hasn’t passed yet – that puts culture wars in classrooms. I think all of those things come together to say we’re in a state of emergency here. If we take the steps we need to take, North Carolina can continue on its success in education, and quality workforce. If we don’t, we’re going to have some problems in the future.”

North Carolina’s other categorical rankings were sixth for technology and innovation; sixth for access to capital; 16th for infrastructure; 18th for cost of doing business; 27th for cost of living; and 34th for life, health and inclusion. There was no ranking in 2020 when COVID19 broke out. With exception of three times ninth place (2009, 2015, 2018) and once 12th (2013), North Carolina has always been top five since the first ranking in 2007 and eight of 16 times been top four or better.

Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Minnesota rounded out the top five. Alaska was No. 50 to be the worst state for business ahead of Louisiana (49), Mississippi (48), Hawaii (47) and West Virginia (46). Correlations to government trifectas – meaning a major political party has the governor’s seat and majorities in both bodies of the legislature – were not evident in either good or bad top five. Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi and West Virginia have Republican trifectas, and Minnesota and Hawaii have Democratic trifectas.

Committee to hold hearing next week

GARLAND

Continued from Page A4

said he received retaliatory treatment.

On Wednesday, the Oversight Committee announced it was holding a hearing next week, titled “Hearing with IRS Whistleblowers About the Biden Criminal Investigation.”

At the hearing, the American people will hear from IRS whistleblowers “who possess critical information related to the committee’s investigation into the Biden family’s influence peddling schemes.”

Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer, R-Kentucky, said, “Since taking the gavel in January, the Committee on Oversight and Accountability has made rapid progress in our investigation into the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings to determine whether these activities compromise U.S. national security and President Biden’s ability to lead with impartiality. From the thousands of financial records we’ve obtained, we know the Biden family set up over a 20 shell companies, engaged in intentionally complicated financial transactions with

foreign adversaries, and made a concerted effort to hide the payments and avoid scrutiny.”

Rep. Comer also said the whistleblowers’ testimony supported concerns Republican senators and many Americans have raised: a “two-tiered system of justice that seemingly allows the Biden family to operate above the law.”

Sen. Cruz also said he met with Rep. Comer to discuss the whistleblower allegations, adding that while the House is trying to hold the FBI accountable, “Senate Democrats don’t want to know the truth. They’re not interested.”

PAYROLL ANALYST Business & Financial Services

Uses critical

Requires demonstrated ability to effectively apply analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills to interpret Federal student loan regulations and strong interpersonal skills to communicate those regulations and to UCSB Alumni. Must be able to maintain confidentiality and exercise good judgment, logic, tact, and diplomacy while performing the critical duties of the position. Note: Satisfactory conviction history background check. Hiring/Budgeted Salary or Hourly Range: $28.36 - $30.43/hr. Full Salary Range: $28.36 - $40.71/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job # 53438

REAL ESTATE

A Note From The SBAOR President

Beyond the Greens: Life Lessons on the Golf Course

Over this past weekend I took advantage of our incredible Santa Barbara weather and played some golf at the local Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta. Even if you don’t like golf, it is a magni cent display of our region and I highly recommend it. e famous 12th hole on this lovely seaside course requires you to hit from a high tee box down to a green that is practically on Haskell’s Beach. One of the amazing advantages of playing golf is meeting so many wonderful individuals and this round was no di erent playing with old friends and making some new ones.

After getting home, I watched the Women’s US OPEN at Pebble Beach. ose women are incredible!! Making me both inspired to go play again and feeling even more blessed just playing our local blu front caourse! Golf, which is frequently viewed as a relaxing activity, o ers more than simply exercise and fun on beautiful courses. Behind the picturesque scenery and cordial rivalry and ribbing, golf instills important life lessons that go well beyond just playing a round. So grab your clubs and come along as we explore the life lessons that golf may teach you.

Patience is Key: You’ll quickly learn that being patient is a virtue on the golf course. e game of golf necessitates accuracy, focus, and composure. Every swing teaches you the skill of holding out for the right opportunity, having faith in the process, and understanding that not every shot will turn out as you had hoped.Similar to this, patience in life enables us to confront di culties with a calm attitude and keeps us concentrated on our long-term objectives.

By Todd Shea President of the Santa Barbara Association of REALTORS®

Embrace Adaptability: Life frequently throws us curveballs, much like the weather can change during a round of golf or you might not have the perfect lie. Golf teaches us to adjust and modify our strategy based on the situation. To overcome obstacles, you might need to switch your club or your shot. When dealing with life’s constant change, exibility and adaptability are essential.

Persistence Pays O : Golfers are familiar with the frustration of making a terrible shot or missing a simple putt. But instead of giving up, they refocus and give it another shot. Golf teaches us the value of tenacity and getting back up after setbacks. One of the most important life skills that can help someone succeed in any e ort is the capacity to pick oneself up after failing.

Honesty and Integrity: When playing golf, players are required to uphold a stringent code of ethics and act with integrity at all times. is culture of self-policing encourages a climate of respect and trust. A fundamental principle, honesty encourages us to operate with integrity in all facets of life and transcends the golf course.

Practice Makes Perfect: and consistency is key to mastering the game of golf. e same idea holds true in everyday life. How you play on the course is a re ection of how much practice (or how much more you need haha) you have put in before playing. Practice and commitment are crucial for improving your abilities, pursuing a passion, or achieving personal growth. Golf teaches us that over time, little, intentional adjustments can result in substantial advancement and success.

Todd Shea

Seller

Stay Present: Golf requires complete attention to each shot, leaving little time for distractions. Golf teaches us the value of being in the moment. It’s simple to get caught up in thoughts about mistakes made in the past or potential outcomes in the future. We can maximize every opportunity, both on and o the golf course, by focusing on the work at hand.

Sportsmanship and Friendship: Golf is frequently played with friends, coworkers, or even complete strangers. e activity promotes good sportsmanship, teamwork, and competitive respect. It teaches us to appreciate the ties created through common experiences, to recognize and support others when they succeed, and to embrace our own triumphs. ese principles extend beyond the eld of play and help us forge lasting bonds in both our personal and professional interactions.

Remember that golf o ers more than just strokes and putts as you step onto the course. e game of golf o ers a platform for life lessons that mold our personalities and direct us toward personal development. Our local area of Santa Barbara is the perfect location to get out and play this incredible sport. In fact, reach out!! I would love to play with you sometime.

So, next time you step onto the fairway, embrace the lessons that golf has to o er and let them enrich your journey both on and o the course.

With Gratitude,

cARPIntERIA

2/2.5

11-2 $840,000

the desirable community of Puerto del Mar near the beach.

Zia Group | eXp Realty of California, Inc. Josh Tappeiner805-679-1480# 02206470

EASt SIDE - UPPER

goLEtA noRtH

MontEcIto - LowER VILLAgE

RIVIERA

3/2

810 Largura Place Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac on Santa Barbara’s Riviera, this 3-bed | 2-bath gem offers breathtaking panoramic ocean & island views

12-3 $2,495,000 Zia Group | eXp Realty of California, Inc. Alexander Stoeber805-450-9944‬ # 02090649

3-6 $2,495,000

810 Largura Place Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac on Santa Barbara’s Riviera, this 3-bed | 2-bath gem offers breathtaking panoramic ocean & island views

Summer Perfection

By Norman Winter

In this sweeping bed, Superbena Violet Ice is one of the rst to catch your eye.

As a busy local real estate guru in in East Alabama and West Georgia, Kim Mixon uses a company called Eden Estate Management in Columbus, Georgia, to do the creation. e result is e Garden Guy nding himself on a Hollywood horticulture set. I had the opportunity to place some plants in trial that I’ll write about later, but today I want to give a shoutout to a blue Superbena verbena — or is it violet?

Roses are red, my love, violets are blue, so the song or poem goes. On

On Gardening: one of my days at Kim Mixon’s home I could not take my eyes o this incredible blue ower. ere were patches here, mingles there, and combinations that simply thrilled. A few weeks later, eastern tiger swallowtails were visiting the blue owers. I might point out here that if we expect butter ies to visit a lantana, which is in the verbena family, we can certainly look for them on true verbenas, too! Blue is a color that stands out like it’s electric. e conundrum here is that the plant I am touting is Super-

bena Violet Ice. Is violet blue like the song, with its ower description? It certainly is to me. I say that knowing full well that when I post this on my Facebook page with photos, many of my followers will be quick to say that it is not blue but purple. As they say, we have freedom of thought and speech. Maybe it is bluish-purple — but wait, that is violet.

Superbena Violet Ice looks blue to e Garden Guy, and I absolutely love it. It is an award winner with such recognitions as Top Performer Michigan State University and Leader of the Pack (that would be Wolf Pack) North

Carolina State University JC Raulston

Arboretum. You may be thinking, “Where does it get ‘ice’ from?” at is due to the white eye in the dead center of each oret. To me, it also develops a light frosty look as it matures.

Superbena Violet Ice can get about 12 inches tall with a potential spread to 30 inches. Fertile, well-drained soil and plenty of sun will have you in Superbena bliss. One other key technique to your happiness: cutting back. I usually wait until they get tired, but this year I have been cutting back while foliage is vibrant and healthy but with somewhat fewer blooms. I

Zia Group | eXp Realty of California, Inc. Todd Shea

think that this has been a game-changer with quicker regrowth and blooms. I am in zone 8a, and I can usually get three years out of a Superbena, whether in containers or in the ground.

How you use it is certainly a matter of preference. One combination the Eden Estate Management team did was to create a dazzling layered look with Rockin Golden Delicious pineapple sage, Heart to Heart Burning Heart caladiums and Superbena

Violet Ice at the front of the border. en there was another area with a convergence of owers that created a summer-like bouquet.

It featured Luscious Marmalade and Luscious Golden Gate lantanas, Supertunia Lovie Dovie petunias, Zinnias and Superbena Whiteout and Superbena

Winter/TNS

Violet Ice verbenas. e blue, or violet if you will, was the rockstar of the combo.

ere are 12, soon-to-be 13 colors in the Superbena series with four selections in the compact Superbena Royale group. So you can see that nding one or two speci c colors or varieties can be a little challenging.

is I know: If you see Superbena Violet Ice, buy it, as it will thrill with color and butter ies wherever you use it.

LLC

Photos courtesy Norman

cARPIntERIA

Santa Barbara County Sales

This is a partial list of all recorded residential sales in Santa Barbara County from June 26 thru June 30, 2023. While these recordings are public record, the News-Press receives this information from an outside source. This list does not represent all sales that occurred over this time period. Consult your REALTOR for further information regarding home sales in your area of interest.

2/2.5

11-2$840,000

4264 Carpinteria Ave 2 Enjoy the best of coastal living in this idyllic Mediterranean-style condo located in the desirable community of Puerto del Mar near the beach.

Zia Group | eXp Realty of California, Inc. Tom Cruz 805-979-6517

HoPE RAncH AnnEX

2-4 $1,895,000

Sun Coast Real Estate Michael Agnoli805-722-0154 #02193883

- LowER VILLAgE

810 Largura Place Nestled in a quiet cul-de-sac on Santa Barbara’s Riviera, this 3-bed | 2-bath gem offers breathtaking panoramic ocean

Summer wasps?

By Paul F. P. Pogue

Ask Angi

Here’s a sight you definitely don’t want to see: Wasps swarming around your yard and taking up residence. Wasps resemble bees but tend to be more aggressive, dangerous and territorial. They tend to be most active during summer, so this is a good time to start keeping an eye out for them. For your safety, due to their aggression, you definitely want to leave this work to licensed and experienced professionals. It’s also very easy to overlook just a few wasps, which might be enough to rebuild a nest and put you right back in the same situation. Wasp extermination calls for specific equipment and expertise.

Wasps tend to be very creative in building and hiding their nests in unusual places, including underground. So if you have a lot of wasps on your property, you might need professional help even finding them.

The cost of wasp extermination or nest removal depends on the extent of the problem. Exterminating a small hive costs about $250. A larger hive will be closer to $500. However, solving your wasp problem often involves more than just removing the hive. In many cases, the wasps will have damaged your home (such as by building in rafters or beams) or left a large hole in the ground. Repair-

ing this kind of damage usually carries an additional cost between $300 and $1,000.

The nest’s location has a big impact on cost. One that’s relatively easy to reach will cost less than one that requires getting on a ladder, digging deep, or getting inside walls.

You can protect against wasps and other invasive pests by preventing them from nesting near or around your home. Seal up all small cracks, crevices, and other openings around the house or yard; wasps like these nooks and crannies to hide their young. Caulk, putty and other sealants are great for such cracks. Porch ceilings, roof eaves and openings in walls are all other prime areas for wasps to nest. Fill up all holes in your yard, including burrows created by other creatures. Wasps often take up residence in existing holes in the ground.

Certain plants will help keep wasps out of your hair. Basil, mint, thyme, geraniums, marigolds, wormwood and citronella all add a little flair to your yard while also repelling pests such as wasps.

Wasp extermination can include highly regulated chemicals. If your pro is using chemicals to help get rid of the wasps, make sure they hold the required state, local and EPA certification to work with that chemical. ©2023

by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital expects to serve an additional 30,000 patients by the time renovation is finished next year on its Emergency Department.

NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO

‘We

are females and that’s how we are’

TRANS

Continued from Page A4

after Abbigail was suspended for objecting to trans people in the girl’s locker room.

The Springfield YMCA didn’t immediately respond to a message asking whether Abbigail was suspended from the team.

EMERGENCY

Continued from Page A1

beds, a family room, an education room and, most importantly, a new system to better manage time and precious bed space. The final phase, expected to be completed in May 2024, is anticipated to accommodate an additional 30,000 patients.

director of Emergency and Trauma Departments.

The vertical care unit allows the hospital to save space on beds for those who need the space, and instead puts able patients in a chair or wheelchair.

“This allows us to see more patients a day,” she told the News-Press. “It allows us to not have a waiting room full of people.”

The success of this second phase has yet to be seen as it has only recently started being implemented. The third phase, estimated to

take around eight months, will not begin until after Labor Day.

“The last phase we have to take down our three trauma rooms, and they’ll all get remodeled and brought up to regulation,” said Dr. McDonald. “Be patient with this while we transition. We’re convinced we’re doing the right thing.”

For more information visit cottagehealth.org.

email: lhibbert@newspress.com

Americans have mixed views on benefits of immigration, survey shows

By J.J. BRANNOCK THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Gallup released a survey Thursday concerning Americans’ views on immigration and the impact immigrants had on culture and economics.

Overall, 68% of those polled thought that immigration was a good thing for the country today, a nine-point decline from 2022 but a

16% net increase from 2002.

Respondents were questioned in June, during which talks about the southern border and the fentanyl crisis increased in Congress. Of those surveyed, 41% said immigration should be decreased, while 26% said it should increase and 31% said to keep it at present level.

Most of those surveyed said that immigration made the culture

ARGYROPOULOS, Efstratios “Elias”

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Efstratios “Elias” Demetrios Argyropoulos, a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and member of the Santa Barbara community. Elias passed away on November 23, 2022, at the age of 76, leaving behind a legacy of love, compassion, and dedication to his family.

Elias was born on November 15, 1946, in Athens, Greece. He spent most of his youth in Oropos on the coast across from Evia with his family. In 1964, at the age of 18, he moved to Portland, Oregon where he had extended family with dreams and aspirations for a better future. Upon arriving, he adapted to his new surroundings and embraced the opportunities that came his way. He worked nights to pay for his apartment, and was only allowed to bring $250.00 from Greece. That was all they would allow out of the country.

Elias met his beloved wife in Los Angeles, and their love story began on the street where they both lived. They married shortly after, in 1975. Together, they built a loving family and shared 47 years of marriage, facing life’s joys and challenges hand in hand. Their love and devotion were an inspiration to all who knew them.

As a dedicated father, he was a pillar of support and guidance to his three children. He took great pride in watching them grow into compassionate, successful individuals. He had a special way of imparting wisdom and teaching life lessons, always encouraging his children to pursue their dreams and embrace their passions.

In addition to being a loving father, he cherished his role as a grandfather. He adored his grandchildren, whose playful laughter brought him immense joy. Elias treasured every moment spent with his grandchildren. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� from Multnomah College, which he attended because he didn’t know any English and �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ where he would make a lasting impact.

His professional journey was marked by his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� assisting emerging biotech companies during the 1980s. Throughout his professional life, Elias worked for esteemed institutions such as Paine Webber, Merrill Lynch, Drexel Burnham Lambert, Oppenheimer, and Shearson Lehman. His expertise, integrity, and commitment to excellence earned him the respect of his colleagues and peers.

Elias was a member of both Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church of Santa Barbara, CA and St. Nicholas Orthodox Church of Northridge, CA. where he found solace, spiritual guidance, and a sense of community. His faith was an integral part of his life �����������������������������������������������������������������

In addition to his professional endeavors, Elias had a passion for baking, a skill he learned from his mother. He also had a deep appreciation for healthy organic foods, holistic health practices, and cutting-edge technology, particularly in the biotech space.

Elias was preceded in death by his parents, Mary and Dimitri Argyropoulos, as well as his grandparents, Elias and Elpiniki Kokiousis. He leaves behind a loving family who will forever cherish his memory. He is survived by his beloved wife, two sons, a ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� his extended family, friends, and all those whose lives he touched.

A private memorial service to celebrate the life of Elias Argyropoulos was held on December 12th, 2022, at the Welch-Ryce-Haider Funeral Chapels in Santa Barbara. Elias was a remarkable individual who brought love, joy, and kindness into the lives of those around him. His memory will forever be etched in our hearts, and his spirit will continue to inspire us to live with purpose and cherish our loved ones. May he rest in eternal peace.

������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ to USC Norris Cancer Center. These contributions will help carry on his legacy of compassion and support for the community.

Donations payable to:

USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center

c/o Mary Aalto

1450 Biggy Street, NRT, Room G501

Los Angeles, California 90089-9601

(include CSAC on the memo line)

surrounding food, music, and the arts, as well as the economy in general, better.

However, only 5% and 3% respectively thought the crime and drug situations were made better by immigrants while 47% thought the crime situation was worse and 55% thought the drug problem was made worse.

The only situation respondents had a net change that didn’t fall between 2001-2019 results was in

social and moral values, which saw a 7% net consensus that immigrants made the situation better, up from the previous net 3% from 2017-2019 polls. Largely due to a pro-immigrant mindset shift for Democrats, the country is generally more positive toward immigration than in the 1990s and 2000s. However, Americans are slightly less supportive of immigration compared to the past few years.

RILEY, Laurie Anne

Laurie Anne Riley (Orthodox baptismal name Anastasia) passed away peacefully at home in Camarillo, CA on June 30, 2023. Born the eldest of two daughters in the summer of 1947, in Denver, CO, her family moved to Carpinteria, CA in the early 1950s, where she attended Carpinteria High School. She moved to Santa Barbara, CA in the early 1970s, where she spent most of her life raising her family and working various jobs as an executive secretary. In 2022, she moved to Camarillo, CA to live with her youngest daughter and two youngest granddaughters. She loved animals and had many dogs, cats, and even a few birds and rabbits over the course of her life. Most recently, she had her long-haired dachshund, Sadie, whom she adored. She had an extraordinary aesthetic sense and her home always looked like it had been decorated by a professional interior designer. She ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ planting. She also enjoyed shopping, dining out, and reading.

V. VAN BEUREN, Lolita Sara

November 10, 1944 - June 30, 2023

Lolita “Lili” Sara Vignot-Van Beuren of Santa Barbara, CA passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 30, 2023. She was born in New Rochelle, New York to Dolores (Berea) Van Beuren, originally from La Coruna, Galicia, Spain, daughter of the Spanish Ambassador, and Alfred Vignot-Van Beuren from New Haven, Connecticut. She ������������������������������������������������������� 1990) and Peter Van Beuren. She adored her family, including many very close aunts, uncles and cousins. She had a wonderful childhood in her house that bordered the woods, and fondly remembered tending roses with her father, which she continued to take pleasure in her entire life. Lili graduated from The Ursaline School in New Rochelle, and earned a BA in economics from Marymount College of New York, a topic she thoroughly enjoyed and put to use working as a stock broker for many years.

Lili was an amazing storyteller, an attentive listener and famous for her memory. She delighted in recounting family stories, those of her life and those passed down through generations. She loved words, and was smart and funny with an unassuming wit. She had a seemingly endless positivity, always smiling, and loved to laugh, assured that humor would get one through all things. She had a special way of immediately befriending anyone she encountered, whether at a shared table or simply stepping into a shop.

Lili discovered Santa Barbara on a trip with her parents in 1968, and made it her dream to call it home, which she did a couple of years later. Lili’s greatest pride and joy was raising her seven children - Jean-Paul Manoux, Andre N. Manoux, Alfred Manoux, Christine Manoux, Philipe Manoux, Joseph Manoux, and Jacques Manoux - who loved her dearly. She created a charmed childhood for them, full of love and opportunity. She will be remembered for her incredible spirit and generosity, always with an open door, that extended to family, friends, including her children’s friends, and beyond.

����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� spouses, her seven grandchildren, and so many who knew her. Her happy places were ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� imagine her enjoying the eternal sunshine she always deserved.

A service will take place on Friday, July 21, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, 21 East Sola Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, followed by a private burial.

“It’s not whether a biological male is naked, whether a biological male is leering, whether a biological male has a camera out, it’s the fact that there’s a biological male in the girl’s locker room,” Mr. Wheeler said Thursday.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus took up the issue standing alongside the Wheelers on Thursday and said they will fight at the Illinois Statehouse to protect women and girls in locker rooms and in sports.

“If biological males don’t want to change in front of other biological males – then let them change by themselves in a gender-neutral bathroom,” said state Rep. Chris Miller, RCharleston.

Despite Abbigail and others

feeling unsafe, Ms. Newton said they won’t use a more private family area as Ms. Wheeler was urged by the YMCA to do.

“No, I don’t, because we are females by and wide,” Ms. Newton told The Center Square. “There’s no biological or nothing to me about it. We are females and that’s how we are.”

Ms. Newton said they have been transitioned with surgeries for four years, but they felt like a women as early as the age of 12.

“If it is wrong to require biological males to change in front of other biological males because they are uncomfortable then why is it OK to disregard the feelings and concerns of biological women who don’t want to share their private spaces with naked men,” Rep. Miller said. “Of course, the only solution the radical left will allow is the one that forces young women to share their locker rooms with men.”

“The YMCA is an inclusive organization proudly open to all,” a spokesman for the YMCA said. “We welcome all people and do not discriminate based on ability, age, cultural background, ethnicity, faith, sex, gender identity, ideology, income, national origin, race, and sexual orientation.”

TODAY Mostly sunny and nice 96 74 59 59

INLAND COASTAL

INLAND COASTAL

SUNDAY Mostly sunny and pleasant 99 75 58 59

MONDAY Sunshine and beautiful 92 75 57 57

INLAND COASTAL

TUESDAY Mostly sunny and nice 91 73 54 57

WEDNESDAY Sunny and pleasant 94 77 58 66

93/58

INLAND COASTAL

70/55 67/54 78/56 90/59 65/55 67/54 92/58 71/59 74/59 74/62 71/61

City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W Cuyama 105/68/s 107/71/s Goleta 74/59/s 75/59/s Lompoc 76/54/pc 76/57/pc Pismo Beach 70/55/pc 74/55/s Santa Maria 78/56/pc 80/56/pc Santa Ynez 96/59/s 99/58/pc Vandenberg 65/55/pc 67/56/pc Ventura 71/61/s 72/62/s

Bakersfield 108/81/s 114/85/s Barstow 115/84/s 116/86/s Big Bear 90/58/s 90/60/pc Bishop 108/61/s 106/65/pc Catalina 82/67/s 84/70/pc Concord 108/60/s 103/62/s Escondido 96/63/s 100/67/pc Eureka 60/53/pc 62/53/pc Fresno 110/78/s 113/78/s Los Angeles 90/66/s 91/68/s Mammoth Lakes 92/49/s 90/48/pc Modesto 106/71/s 108/72/pc Monterey 67/53/pc 66/54/pc Napa 99/56/s 96/56/s Oakland 80/54/s 80/56/pc Ojai 105/67/s 106/67/s Oxnard 73/61/s 72/62/s Palm Springs 120/93/s 121/89/s Pasadena 101/67/s 102/68/s Paso Robles 107/64/s 101/61/s Sacramento 106/66/s 107/66/s San Diego 74/66/s 77/67/pc San Francisco 75/57/s 76/58/pc San Jose 95/67/s 94/65/s San Luis Obispo 82/58/pc 84/59/pc Santa Monica 76/63/s 77/65/pc Tahoe Valley 93/49/s 92/53/s

105/68

102/67

108/83 74/59 Wind west 6-12 knots today. Wind waves 1-3 feet with a west-southwest swell 1-3 feet at 9-second intervals. Visibility clear. Wind from the west at 6-12 knots today. Wind waves 1-3 feet with a southwest swell 2-4 feet at 15-second intervals. Visibility clear. Wind from the west at 6-12 knots today. Wind waves 1-3 feet with a southwest swell 2-4 feet at 15-second intervals. Visibility clear.

INLAND COASTAL AT BRADBURY DAM, LAKE CACHUMA

lows. Today Sun. New First Full Last Aug 8 Aug 1 Jul 25 Jul 17

Today Sun. Today Sun.

July 15 10:28 a.m. 3.6’ 3:42 a.m. -0.6’ 8:43 p.m. 6.2’ 2:21 p.m. 2.8’ July 16 11:02 a.m. 3.7’ 4:18 a.m. -0.6’ 9:20 p.m. 6.1’ 3:01 p.m. 2.8’ July 17 11:33 a.m. 3.7’ 4:52 a.m. -0.6’ 9:54 p.m. 6.1’ 3:38 p.m. 2.7’

At Lake Cachuma’s maximum level at the point at which water starts spilling over the dam holds 188,030 acre-feet. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, equivalent to the amount of water consumed annually by 10 people in an urban environment.

PRECIPITATION Santa Barbara through 6 p.m. yesterday High/low 77/56 Normal high/low 73/58 Record high 98 in 2013 Record low 48 in 1941 24 hours through 6 p.m. yest. 0.00” Month to date (normal) 0.00” (0.01”) Season to date (normal) 28.65” (17.17”) Sunrise 5:58 a.m. 5:59 a.m. Sunset 8:12 p.m. 8:12 p.m. Moonrise 3:49 a.m. 4:41 a.m. Moonset 7:09 p.m. 7:59 p.m.

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2023 Storage 192,213 acre-ft. Elevation 752.65 ft. Evaporation (past 24 hours) 71.1 acre-ft. Inflow 81.0 acre-ft. State inflow 0.0 acre-ft. Storage change from yest. -156 acre-ft. Atlanta 89/73/t 91/74/t Boston 84/72/t 79/70/r Chicago 85/67/t 83/65/t Dallas 101/79/s 97/79/t Denver 82/60/t 91/63/s Houston 101/81/s 100/80/pc Miami 95/79/t 95/80/t Minneapolis 85/62/pc 79/59/s New York City 86/75/t 80/72/t Philadelphia 91/75/t 87/73/t Phoenix 115/92/s 118/91/s Portland, Ore. 95/60/s 88/62/s St. Louis 90/72/t 94/71/t Salt Lake City 98/73/s 106/80/s Seattle 86/58/s 82/56/s Washington, D.C. 91/76/t 88/73/t

SANTA BARBARA CHANNEL POINT ARENA TO POINT PINOS POINT CONCEPTION TO MEXICO LAKE LEVELS City Hi/Lo/W Hi/Lo/W W-weather, s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.

Beijing 92/67/s 96/70/s Berlin 96/70/pc 85/61/t Cairo 101/78/s 104/80/s Cancun 92/78/t 92/80/s London 69/57/t 69/54/pc Mexico City 82/56/pc 83/57/pc Montreal 83/70/pc 79/68/t New Delhi 91/78/t 88/80/t Paris 78/58/t 78/56/pc Rio de Janeiro 73/65/s 77/69/t Rome 89/71/s 92/70/s Sydney 75/56/c 62/53/pc Tokyo 88/79/sh 94/81/pc

“We’ve implemented what we call a vertical care unit,” said Denise McDonald, the

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

Life theArts

CALENDAR

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the Life & the Arts section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com

TODAY

The Santa Barbara County Fair takes place through Sunday at Santa Maria Fairpark, 937 S. Thornburg St., Sanat Maria. For more information, see santamariafairpark.com.

9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily: The Sistine Chapel Art Exhibition runs through Sept. 4 at the Santa Barbara Mission, 2201 Laguna St., Santa Barbara. Tickets start at $25 for adults, $18 for children, and $22 for seniors, military and students. Each ticket also includes admission to the mission museum. To purchase, go to santabarbaramission.org/ sistine-chapel-omsb or stop at the museum’s gift shop.

Father Joe Schwab is hosting personal tours that delve into the theological and philosophical perspectives of Michelangelo’s art. Groups of 10 or more can contact Donna Reeves for a private tour at development@sboldmission.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol Road, has reopened its recurring summer exhibit, “Butterflies Alive!” Featuring a variety of butterflies, this experience allows guests to walk through a garden while nearly 1,000 butterflies flutter freely around them. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. The exhibit, which runs through Sept. 4, is included in museum admission. Members are always admitted free. For others, prices vary from $14 to $19. For more information, visit sbnature.org/ butterfliesalive.

90, said about her experience living at Wood Glen.

Wood Glen celebrates its 65 years

Santa Barbara senior living center focuses on comfort, familiarity and consistency

By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

ASanta Barbara institution is celebrating 65 years of serving the xcommunity’s oldest members amidst a changing market of retirement homes.

Wood Glen Hall is unique among today’s senior living centers — a market dominated by nationwide companies like Aegis and Brookdale. Wood Glen has stayed a local and nonprofit venture through the decades.

The retirement home first opened in 1957 by Aileen and Adrian Wood with the intention to provide “elderly men and women with an ideal, non-institutional home at minimum cost.”

“We’re just us. We’re local.

We’re not here for stockholders or anything,” said Holly Walling, Wood Glen’s marketing manager.

“We’re not governed by some corporation,” she told the NewsPress. “We’re part of Santa Barbara.”

Ms. Walling, like many of Wood Glen’s employees, has worked at the site for over a decade — going on 12 years. With a focus on comfort and familiarity, Wood “We’ve got good food, a good chef, games,” said Jean

see

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The James Castle exhibit is on display at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission is free from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays. For more information, see sbma.net.

7 p.m. PCPA will perform “American Mariachi” at the Marian Theatre at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Tickets start at $25. To purchase, go to pcpa.org.

7:30 p.m. “Guys and Dolls” runs through July 29 at the Garvin Theatre at Santa Barbara City College. Tickets for the Theatre Group at SBCC production cost $26 for general admission, $21 for seniors and SBCC staff, and $17 for students. To purchase, go to theatregroupsbcc.com.

JULY 16

The Santa Barbara County Fair takes place through Sunday at Santa Maria Fairpark, 937 S. Thornburg St., Sanat Maria. For more information, see santamariafairpark.com.

1 to 3 p.m. Sound Investment will perform Sunday at part of the free Summer Concerts in the Park series at Rotary Centennial Park, 2625 South College Drive, Santa Maria. Sound Investment plays everything from classic rock to pop, country and dance favorites. For more information, call the Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department at 805925-0951, ext. 2260.

1:30 p.m. PCPA will perform “American Mariachi” at the Marian Theatre at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Tickets start at $25. To purchase, go to pcpa.org.

2 p.m. “Guys and Dolls” runs through July 29 at the Garvin Theatre at Santa Barbara City College. Tickets for the Theatre Group at SBCC production cost $24 for general admission, $19 for seniors and SBCC staff, and $14 for students. To purchase, go to theatregroupsbcc.com. This matinee will be live-captioned for the hearing-impaired.

8 p.m. PCPA will perform “Bright Star” at the Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd St., Solvang. To purchase tickets, go to pcpa.og.

Please see

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2023

The importance of the marriage bed

By DR. BARTON GOLDSMITH NEWS-PRESS COLUMNIST

My wife and I believe we have the most comfortable bed in the known universe.

With all those down feathers and soft pillows, some days it’s hard to leave our bed and face the world. Luckily, we get to return every night to this place of peace and comfort.

The importance of the marriage bed became clearer to me the other night when we wanted to watch different shows on TV. It was “And Just Like That” for her versus something with swords and dragons for me. Rather than come up with a TV compromise, we opted to each watch our own show in different rooms. We were both so tired from the long day, and we fell asleep in our respective spots.

In the morning, we each woke up feeling a little off! We were both physically fine but felt and acknowledged an emotional disturbance. Not sleeping in the same bed had made us a little uneasy. It just wasn’t right. We planned to get into bed early that evening and snuggle to make up for any time lost from the night before.

Many couples who come to me are not sharing the same bed, and they all give different reasons. I know only too well how important getting your sleep is. No drug in the world will make you feel more dazed than lack of sleep.

But whether your partner snores, you like different television shows, you have different patterns of sleeping and waking, or you got mad at each other and have decided to sleep apart, I strongly encourage you to take another look at your choice and address whatever the issue is that’s

keeping you apart at night.

I believe that the decision to sleep separately can make it more difficult to resolve issues between you and can damage the very foundation of the relationship. I do believe we exchange some kind of energy with the person we are sleeping with, and it can be quite powerful and wonderful. Without that experience, you will feel that something is missing in your love life, though you may not be able to place exactly what it is.

Couples who do not sleep together also tend to be less communicative with each other, which can have an effect on the entire family. Children learn about relationships from watching their parents, so one of the greatest gifts you can give them is to be close and loving with each other. Independence is not a bad thing, but it isn’t really what being in a relationship is about. If you want to have a closer relationship, sleep closer to your mate.

I am not suggesting that you have to stay snug in each other’s arms all night long. It may be hard to sleep that way.

But by just sharing a bed and being able to reach over and touch the one you love, you will feel better about your life.

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., is an award-winning psychotherapist and humanitarian. He is also a columnist, the author of eight books and a blogger for PsychologyToday.com with more than 28 million readers. He is available for video consults worldwide.

Reach him at barton@ bartongoldsmith.com or 818-8799996. He has lived and practiced in Westlake Village for more than two decades.

His column appears Saturdays in the Santa Barbara NewsPress.

No. 0709

WOOD GLEN

Continued from Page B1

Glen insists that consistency is key to their success.

“The only changes have been modernizing,” said 13-year Wood Glen Vice President Mary Jean Vignone.

“The staff has been with us for a long time. It’s that personal touch.”

One of the retirement home’s biggest selling point is its price.

As they oversee a nonprofit, Wood Glen’s board of directors stressed they wanted to uphold the original mission to provide an affordable option.

“We’re not trying to make a profit. We’re just trying to pay off our expenses, utilities and labor,” said Wood Glen President Tim Gamble, an employee of 20 years.

And residents are praising the place they call home.

“I love it. It’s got all you could ever want,” said 101-year-old resident Jean Ferguson.

“We’ve got good food, a good chef, games.

“We do have a lot of entertainment,” she told the News-Press.

Mrs. Ferguson has lived at Wood Glen for 11 years and said she feels comfortable there.

The familiarity is not hard to miss at Wood Glen. Right past the front doors, there is a hallway with heavily cushioned floral couches and chairs that look like the living room of many older people’s homes across America.

Oil paintings line the walls throughout the halls and relaxed, sun-exposed courtyards and lawns make the whole place feel like your grandma’s

Wood Glen is known for a welcoming environment that begins at its front door.

“We’re not governed by some corporation,” said Holly Walling, marketing manager at Wood Glen. “We’re part of Santa Barbara.”

house. For all of its comfort and familiarity, Wood Glen doesn’t get a perfect score from all of its residents.

“It’s kind of boring. We could use more places to go to,” said 90-year-old resident Rosel Jaszke about the activities. “But everybody is very friendly, very nice.”

Wood Glen employees would say that this is a feature of the facilities. That their focus is on a “very serene, very homely, comfortable environment.”

Wood Glen may not have all the bells and whistles that newer, more modern facilities boast, but it plays an important role.

If 65 years has proven anything about the Santa Barbara retirement home, it’s that comfort cannot always be bought, but rather it is a test of time and dedication.

email: lhibbert@newspress.com

DAVE MASON /NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Tim Gamble and Mary Jean Vignone are president and vice president respectively of Wood Glen.

DAVE MASON /NEWS-PRESS

Family-friendly movies are shown for $2 at 10 a.m. Wednesdays at Fiesta Five on State Street, pictured above, and 10 a.m. Thursdays at Camino Real Cinemas in Goleta. For more information, see metrotheatres.com.

Diversions

horoscope • puzzles

Thought for Today

“Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.”— Robin

HOROSCOPE

By Horoscope.com

Saturday, July 15, 2023

ARIES — Some kind of settlement, grant, or bonus that you’ve anticipated for a long time may finally show up, Aries. This should make your day! You may want to celebrate. A chance to attend a large social gathering might come your way. Have fun!

Tonight don’t be surprised if vivid dreams - some great, some sadcome your way. Keep a notebook and pen by your bed so you can write them down.

TAURUS — Today you may put a lot of energy into your romantic relationship, Taurus. The astral energy is encouraging you to focus on romance. Give your significant other a special gift to show how much you care, and spend some time alone together. Any romance initiated or advanced today is likely to prove stable and long lasting. Don’t let fear stand in your way. Move ahead.

GEMINI — Too much work and the resulting pressure over the past few days may have you feeling too tired to do anything more, Gemini, although your optimism and enthusiasm are still intact. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re dragging by the end of the day. If you take care of yourself, you will soon recharge and be your old self again. In the evening, read a good book.

CANCER — Romance blossoms for you, Cancer, perhaps after a long standstill. A new stability and security may settle on love relationships as well as close friendships. Children could be a great source of warmth and pleasure. You might want to channel some of this blossoming positive energy into a creative activity of some kind, which should increase even further your sense of contentment and well-being.

LEO — You might host a social event in your home tonight, Leo. You may be nervous at first, wondering if all will go well. Your efforts should produce the results you want. You might be introduced to new contacts, which could lead to increased professional opportunities. Take a walk after everyone has gone. Your mind will be going a thousand miles an hour and you will want to clear your head.

Williams

so doors of opportunity may open for you in this area. Lift your chin and get going. You will be glad you did.

LIBRA — Your financial picture continues to improve. At some point during the day, Libra, you might have the feeling that you aren’t working hard enough to keep up your current forward motion, and you might worry. This could be a good motivator, but you don’t need to push yourself much harder than you are now. You’re on a roll and it’s likely to continue. Keep moving, but pace yourself.

SCORPIO — Even though all continues to go well for you, Scorpio, your mood may vacillate today. In spite of all the great things in your life, at some time during the day you might feel a little blue. Don’t read too much into it. It’s probably just the result of low biorhythms. Try to distract yourself with physical activity. Go out with some friends and have a good time this evening.

SAGITTARIUS — Trying to get too much work done in the course of the day could prove self-defeating, Sagittarius. Your energy isn’t what it usually is, and you’re probably operating on adrenaline. Consider the situation carefully and list your tasks in order of urgency. The world won’t come to an end if you don’t get them all done by the end of the day. In the evening, watch a movie and order a pizza.

CAPRICORN — A despondent friend may need some cheering up. Your ability to nurture and listen sympathetically will definitely prove beneficial, Capricorn. Take care not to absorb any of this person’s dejection. Your life should continue to go well with professional successes leading to new friendships and goals. Hang on to your enthusiasm and optimism while showing compassion for others.

AQUARIUS — Many projects to complete before a deadline might have you feeling pressured, Aquarius, but your determination is likely to drive you to try to get it all done even if it seems impossible. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Ask for a little help. You can accomplish your ends without putting undue pressure on yourself. Try to relax today.

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday-Saturday and on the crossword solutions page in Sunday’s Life section.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Monday, November16, 2015

Daily Bridge Club

VIRGO — Paperwork, perhaps contracts or other legal documents, might need attention so you can move ahead with your projects, Virgo. These projects could involve writing or speaking. Your mind is in just the right space to participate in anything involving communication,

PISCES — You’ve been doing very well, Pisces, but today you might feel more focused than ever. The path ahead seems clear and well defined. You’re anticipating the future with motivation. You might be considering a long trip abroad or perhaps going back to school for an advanced degree. This is a good day to research and finalize your plans.

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid.

Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

DAILY BRIDGE

‘Play Bridge With Me’

By FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

July 15, 2023

PUZZLE

Since 1981 I’ve written a monthly column for the ACBL’s magazine. Many have been “over-my-shoulder” style. You listen in on my thoughts during a deal.

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.

Bidding is not an exact science, and even world-class pairs reach contracts that are poor or worse. As declarer, you may need to assume the defenders’ cards lie favorably.

your partner responds two clubs, you jump to 3NT and he bids 4NT. What do you say?

left, opens one heart. Your partner doubles, and the next player passes.

What do you say?

ANSWER: Your 3NT showed 18 or 19 points with balanced pattern.

Ninety of the best of these appear in “Play Bridge With Me,” my 23rd book, just published. The deals are intermediate level; the focus is on logical thinking.

Today’s South scraped up a 1NT response to North’s one heart and found himself propelled into game.

He won West’s queen of spades in dummy and led the ace of clubs and then the jack. East refused to take his king, and the jack won. South then tried the A-K of hearts and a third heart, but East won and led another spade. South took his ace of diamonds and gave up. Down two.

Partner’s 4NT is not the Blackwood ace-asking convention but simply a raise to try for slam, as a raise of 1NT to 2NT would invite game. Since you have 19 points with primary honors, including two valuable club honors, bid 6NT. North dealer

At today’s four spades, I win the first heart in dummy and lead a diamond. I can’t risk losing an early trump finesse; I need a quick pitch for my heart loser. East wins the second diamond and returns a heart, and I win to discard dummy’s last heart on my high diamond. When I finesse in trumps, East wins and exits with a trump.

ANSWER: This case is close. In theory, your 11 points are enough for a jump to two spades, inviting game, but your king of hearts, trapped in front of the opening bidder, may be worthless. Many experts would jump anyway. I would reluctantly downgrade the hand and settle for a response of one spade. East dealer N-S vulnerable

“Maybe I should have passed one heart,” South sighed.

MAKEABLE

PASSED HAND

Now I must guess in clubs. But East, a passed hand, had the ace of diamonds, queen of hearts and king of spades. He won’t have the ace of clubs, so I lead to the king, making the game.

The contract was poor but makeable. When East plays low on the jack of clubs, South should overtake with his queen and lead a third club. He must assume that East has K-x-x. South will win four clubs, two hearts, two spades and a diamond. South has about an 18 percent chance — better than none.

For a postpaid to U.S. copy of “Play Bridge With Me,” send $23.95 to PO Box 962, Fayette AL35555. Tell me how you’d like it inscribed. Profits donated.

Continued from Page

JULY 20 6 to 7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Department’s free concert series is taking place every Thursday night in July from 6 to 7:30 p.m. People can bring blankets, chairs, picnics, family and friends to the Concerts in the Park at the Great Meadow in Chase Palm Park, 323 E. Cabrillo Blvd. July 20 is the date for Captain Cardiac and the Coronaries, the ’50s and ’60s Rock band. For more information, visit santabarbaraca.gov/concerts.

8 p.m. The Jerry Douglas Band will perform bluegrass and folk music at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

Tickets cost $35 and $45 for general admission and $106 for VIP tickets, which include premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

8 p.m. PCPA will perform “Bright Star” at the Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd St., Solvang.

To purchase tickets, go to pcpa.og.

JULY 21 7 p.m. PCPA will perform “American Mariachi” at the Marian Theatre at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. Tickets start at $25. To purchase, go to pcpa.org.

7:30 p.m. The Cowboy Junkies will perform their country music and folk rock at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

Tickets cost $55 and $65 for general admission and $106 for VIP tickets, which include premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres.

To purchase, go to lobero.org.

8 p.m. PCPA will perform “Bright Star” at the Solvang Festival Theater, 420 2nd St., Solvang. To purchase tickets, go to pcpa.og.

AUG. 11 8 p.m. Blake Lynch, aka Nurse Blake, will perform his healthcare-related standup comedy at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $48.50 to $93.50 at granadasb.org.

The $195 VIP package includes perks such as a photo opportunity with Nurse Blake.

— Dave Mason

ASK

THE GOLD DIGGER

Plaques honor phone company workers who went beyond the call of duty

By DR. ELIZABETH STEWART NEWS-PRESS COLUMNIST

‘Mr Watson, come here, I need you!” So said Alexander Graham Bell to his assistant in 1876, and those were the first words understood — and heard — through a telephone wire.

Bell’s assistant was summoned as Bell had spilled battery acid on his pant leg. Thus began the honor code for telephone people: You need to serve! You are in the business of communication, so rise to the occasion, and serve the community.

J.E. has two large bronze plaques, meant to be commemorative plaques, which once hung in local phone company buildings in the 1960s.

First, there’s a plaque awarded to two men — Sterling D, Ditchey, plant staff supervisor, and Robert F. Henderson, senior engineer at the Anaheim office. The other is a plaque awarded to Sidney E. Hutchins, frame man of Inglewood. Both plaques were awarded at the silver level. (There were bronze and gold awards as well.)

The plaques do not say what the men did. But the awards did say, “awarded for notable public service.” (My note: Once a hero, always a hero. I learned that Sterling Ditchey was awarded in 2017 the National Order of the Legion of Honor at the rank of Chevalier for his service in World War II. Only 10 such veterans have been so honored.)

Both bronze plaques were given to silver awardees and were adjudicated by the Bell System Committee, which reviewed the incidents of valor, and selected those men and women of outstanding service.

Before 1940, silver medals, which were given directly to heroes, were presented in the form of a lapel pin with a cash award of $250. After 1940. the award was $500. Each separate AT&T office was allowed to present only 10 a year. And along with the statement of exactly what each hero had done, the office presented a description of the valor and an illustration or painting to the hero.

On the two bronze plaques collected by J.E., you see the round image in relief of Theodore Newton Vail with the Roman numeration of 1845 and 1920. The reverse shows three Greek style heroes with the words “The Vail Medal for Public Service.” The central figure, a female goddess, holds a modern day telephone cable, the image of which on a Greek style frieze was explained by the eminent designer sculptor as meaning “communication is speeding down the wire, enabling civilization to move ahead.”

The other two figures on either side of her, both males, are given the names of “loyalty to service,” and “devotion to duty.” The Vail Medal was created in 1920 in memory of the president of the American Telegraph and Telephone Co. from 1907-1919.

Who was Theodore Vail?

Just two years after the famous “Mr. Watson” call from Alexander Graham Bell, Vail became the president of the Bell Co., with Bell as the engineer. Various transmitters were tested, and copper wires were adopted, and Bell bought Western Union. Hence the American Telephone and Telegraph Co. was born.

Vail became the [resident of the young company with the philosophy of “service first,” arguing that service should trump profits, but of course, that philosophy got him fired two years later.

Then, 20 years later, he was asked to come back as president

because of the chaos of the communication industry in the U.S.

Every small town had at least three competing phone service providers, and no one could make a call.

There was no standardized system and no universal service.

Vail was a remarkable president and stayed with AT&T for 20 more years. His motto?

“No business talk after 6 p.m. Tranquil thoughts are needed. Refuse to be hurried. Love your work and have pride in it. Be courageous: state both sides of an argument openly.

“Never let them know you are worried. Service is more important than short-term gain. If we don’t tell the truth about ourselves, no one else will.”

In the many years these awards were given, I have read of heroic exploits awarded.

Examples include fighting through a blizzard to fix a downed

line, saving a child from a burning building or a man from a flood, a female operator staying two days under duress to keep the lines open, a telephone worker saving a stranded man under a collapsed icy bridge using his cable and a cable car and body belt and safety straps, winding his way over water and fog to find that one man.

The value of these plaques is $450 each.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Saturdays in the News-Press. Written after her father’s COVID-19 diagnosis, Dr. Stewart’s book “My Darlin’ Quarantine: Intimate Connections Created in Chaos” is a humorous collection of five “what-if” short stories that end in personal triumphs over presentday constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTOS

These bronze plaques from AT&T are valued at $450 each.

Voices dmason@newspress.com

IDEAS

PAGE C1 GUEST OPINION ANDY CALDWELL: Landlords vs. overlords/ C2

A bicyclist heads down State Street. Columnist Bonnie Donovan would like the Santa Barbara City Council to consider the Historic Landmarks Commission’s recommendations on the street, which is shown below with its outdoor dining parklets.

Let’s save State Street

Txrecommendations

xregarding State Street, which were given during the Historic Landmarks Commission’s meeting on June 20, were completely ignored the next day during a Santa Barbara City Council discussion.

During that public comment period, Councilmember Kristin Sneddon, also the HLC liaison, implored the HLC to give the city council direction for State Street and its parklets.

She began with the usual drivel of how she appreciates HLC’s guidance and how the commission has been circumnavigated in the past.

Her questions: Will we have outdoor dining, aside from what we already have (the 20 yearpolicy for outdoor dining license agreement) and will parklets be allowed on State Street, off State Street off and on private property such as parking lots.

She said 90 parklets exist off of State St. and she asked for “very clear input.”

Yet during the city council meeting June 21, when the fate of State Street was decided to remain closed and in limbo until December 2026, she failed to speak up and insist staff include the HLC recommendations in their report on item 26.

HLC should have had an opportunity to present its recommendations and reasons prior to public comment or council discussion.

Five of six members of HLC said undeniably that there should be no parklets on State Street and that State Street should revert to what it was before the pandemic, when it was open to vehicles. The only dissenter in this opinion was Steve Hauz, who represented HLC

DID YOU KNOW?

during the city council meeting. Anyone who watched that HLC meeting would have had a hard time supporting all of Councilmember Sneddon’s motions: guilty by omission.

Mayor Randy Rowse has stated his position clearly. Some of his major points are the following:

— Due to the emergency shutdown, we ignored our aesthetic standards and traditions while we watched our downtown suffer from our lack of action. The Master Plan process projection is 7-10 years and no capital resources have been identified to execute the plan. It is time to change our interim strategy.

— A trolley service is needed

to activate the street and accommodate those who have limited mobility. For trolleys, at least one traffic lane is necessary to ensure the intersections function safely as a public street. This allows for defined bike lanes and short-term drop-offs curb designations for deliveries and convenience.

The limited roadway promotes calm, between signaled cross streets and activated pedestrian flashers, and includes bike lanes. Unsafe biking was not an issue when the street was open to traffic contrary to some vocal public discussions.

The bike lanes on State Street are integral to the citywide Bicycle Master Plan.

Whether the street is fully open for the remainder of the period between now and when the State Street Master Plan is

finished is a question that needs an immediate answer. The compromise of a couple of blocks remaining closed while the rest are opened to traffic, suggested by Councilmember Eric Friedman, should be executed as an interim experimental plan.

Santa Barbara warrants a bustling sidewalk and robust dining presence downtown. The wide sidewalks, if cleared of planters while maintaining trees to accommodate right-sized outdoor seating contiguous to the businesses, making them easier to control, in compliance with current health and building codes, would help Santa Barbara regain aesthetic standards.

Local architect Cass Ensberg published a simple sketch that outlines possibilities that can be done quickly without exorbitant capital outlay and promote a very “walkable” downtown. The street should be as “programmable” as possible, allowing for event closures, Farmer’s Market or live performances, while having the flexibility to stage our traditional parades.

State Street belongs to all of us, including the less mobile. Without the ability to transport people downtown by vehicle or trolley, we ignore the needs and rights of many Santa Barbarans and visitors. Our traditions and downtown remain seriously threatened.

The form of the State Street Master Plan can evolve over time, yet we need to return to vitality sooner than later. While retail did slow for a couple of years, before the shutdown, Santa Barbara experienced one of the lowest commercial vacancy rates in California. Investors interested

People visit stores this week on State Street.

writes that before the pandemic, the street experienced one of the lowest commercial vacancy rates in California.

It was General Electric.

The spy had hidden confidential files, involving technology worth millions of dollars, in the codes of digital photographs and sent them back to a co-conspirator in China.

This sort of thievery is distressingly common. In total, Beijing steals approximately $600 billion in American intellectual property every year. This staggering — and ongoing — theft has helped make China into the world’s second-largest economy and America’s greatest geopolitical rival.

A better defense against IP theft is desperately needed. But our leaders shouldn’t delude themselves — cracking down on corporate espionage won’t be enough to check the rise of China.

Policymakers also need to actively stimulate American innovation, by making it easier for companies to safeguard their best ideas and products.

Only then can we out-compete China.

All three branches of government have a role to play in these reforms.

Congress can start by passing U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis’s (R-N.C.) Patent Eligibility Restoration Act once it’s reintroduced, which would effectively overrule a series of disastrous court decisions that have made it nearly impossible for U.S. companies to patent breakthroughs in crucial sectors like biotechnology, artificial intelligence and 5G networks. Restoring patent

Frank Cullen

But his target wasn’t a military institution or government agency.The author is with the Council for Innovation Promotion

eligibility in these fields would stimulate more research here in America and help ensure that capital doesn’t flow to other more permissive countries, including China.

The executive branch could impose restrictions on when companies can petition the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, an administrative law body that reviews the validity of patents. For over a decade, Big Tech companies, including major Chinese companies like Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE, have challenged smaller rivals’ U.S. patents at the PTAB in addition to litigating related patent challenges and patent infringement cases in the courts — creating doublejeopardy situations where inventors have to defend their intellectual property on two fronts at once.

That’s not fair. Double jeopardy inherently makes intellectual property riskier, and thus less valuable, in the eyes of investors — and thus depresses startup valuations and deters R&D spending. Companies have a right to challenge the validity of patents they have been accused of infringing, but they should have to choose between PTAB or the courts, rather than trying their luck in both.

The Federal Trade Commission — an independent agency, to be clear — could drop its proposed ban on all non-compete agreements. Without non-compete agreements, employees of high -tech companies would be able to defect to competing firms

Please see CULLEN on C4

Energy independence crucial to security

che recent shortclived revolt in Russia highlights how instability in President Vladimir Putin’s government could quickly spill over into chaos.

T

The good news is that there is no shortage of American innovators who are working on solutions.

About 30 miles off the Texas coast, the Sea Port Oil Terminal will become the nation’s largest oil export terminal, adding 2 million barrels per day to the U.S. oil export capacity. Meanwhile, Alaska is moving forward with a historic project that supplants Russian gas for our Asian allies, such as Japan. In April, the Biden administration gave the greenlight to the $39 billion Alaska LNG Project, a key priority for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, which will include construction of an 800-mile pipeline.

Germany has long been dependent on Russia for its supply of natural gas. However, thanks to American energy

Gentry

Collins

The author is with American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce

Regardless of who ultimately maintains or assumes power in the Kremlin, the American people could be held hostage to Russia’s whims. That’s not just because Russia possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal. It’s also because energy markets in the U.S. and our allies remain dependent on Russia.producers, this destructive relationship may finally change. Last week, U.S liquefied natural gas developer Venture Global LNG signed a 20-year deal to provide Germany’s Securing Energy for Europe GmbH with 2.25 million tonnes per annum of LNG. This deal will make Venture Global Germany’s largest LNG supplier.

The bad news is that the impact of these gamechanging projects could be greatly delayed by America’s broken permitting process that requires approvals from an endless array of (often conflicting) agencies and stakeholders.

The federal permitting process, under just one law called the National Environmental Policy Act, takes an average four-and-ahalf years for an environmental review, followed by additional years for state and local processes and litigation. Sometimes, it can take decades as environmental extremists

COLLINS on C4

Please see

xhe Department xof Justice recently charged a Chinese spy for attempted espionage.

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

GUEST OPINION

Battle continues between landlords and overlords

Fxor decades, the xproduction of housing in California has been constrained and manipulated by government rules, regulations and fees, along with no-growth activists and NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard).

As a result, there is not enough housing to meet the needs of our communities, and what does get built is scarcely affordable for most people. Unfortunately, the latest efforts by the California legislature to address the shortfalls will make things worse.

To enable builders to bypass the impediments to building housing, the state government has produced a solution known as “the builders remedy,” which allows builders to build whatever they want in certain circumstances without any of the encumbrances that would normally be applied to protect neighborhood viability including paying for the infrastructure improvements to serve the project among other impacts.

Moreover, the state has mandated that our county permit the construction of some 24,000 units despite our systemic water shortages.

Simultaneously, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is spending tens of millions of dollars creating tiny hut villages around the county, along with the purchase and conversion of various buildings, to serve the homeless population, with little to no notice to neighbors.

Meanwhile, Supervisors Das Williams and Laura Capps have gone ballistic in an attempt to stall the phenomenon known as “renovictions.”

As implied, a couple of “corporate” landlords have issued eviction notices to entire apartment buildings for the stated purpose of renovating the buildings. Existing law required the landlords to pay a significant amount of money to any tenant evicted apart from just cause. However, these supervisors along with Supervisor Joan Hartmann think the county must do much more to stop the process.

Hence, they have commenced a regulatory jihad to make it extremely difficult for any landlord in the unincorporated area of the county to pull off a “renoviction” by requiring proof that the renovations serve a public health and safety need versus “cosmetic” repairs and

Liberals’ time is over

Karma. You reap what you sow. Or simply put,iyou get what you deserve. For too long, the left thought they had a monopoly on shutting down opposing viewpoints. And they did. They destroyed people’s lives, brought businesses to their knees because they didn’t like their political view. It’s so very tolerant of them.

Georgia on my mind PART 2

In Part 1 of “Georgia on My Mind,” the discussion was why the sweet sounds of the lyrics from that song soured on June 14, 2023 — the day when the Halderman Report, “Security Analysis of Georgia’s Image Cast Ballot Marking Devices,” was unsealed by federal Judge Amy Totenberg, who sealed it on July 1, 2021. Why did she seal it?

renovations. Moreover, they want to require the landlords to offer the displaced tenants the right to come back and occupy the units once the renovations are completed.

Unfortunately, in their zeal to punish landlords who own enough apartments to pull off a mass renoviction, these supervisors have callously and carelessly caught some landlords who own single family residents in their net.

Instead of focusing their efforts on the problem at hand, large apartment buildings evicting all their tenants in one fell swoop, the supervisors are indiscriminately applying these new restrictions to some landlords who own rentals in the form of single-family homes, including those that rent rooms in their homes! Moreover, they did all of this with zero input from property owners!

Lanny Ebenstein, a local economist, wrote the following about this ill-fated ordinance: “In part because the proposed ordinance has not been developed by a broad crosssection of the community, and with participation of all stakeholders, the legislation in its current form would be all but certain to remove rentals, especially those affordable for low-income tenants, from the county housing market. The most crucial variable affecting the price of rental housing in Santa Barbara County, as elsewhere, is supply and demand. Policies that would be most effective in stabilizing rents are those that would lead to more rental housing units rather than the proposed ordinance, which will have a deleterious effect.”

To his point, decades ago, one of the most prolific apartment builders in the county, the late Michael Towbes, publicly informed county supervisors that their policies and requirements were discouraging him from building more units. They didn’t care then, and they don’t care now!

In this battle between landlords and our county overlords, it is painfully obvious that our county supervisors don’t consider landlords or builders to be constituents that deserve equal representation with renters.

June 14, 2023, was also the day that Mr. Halderman wrote about it in his blog.

This 96-page report included the finding that there were “vulnerabilities in nearly every part of the (Georgia) system that is exposed to hackers” being able to change votes anywhere in Georgia without physical access to any of them.

Alex Halderman, professor of computer science and engineering at the University of Michigan, and Drew Sringall, security researcher and assistant professor at Auburn University, were hired in September 2020 by the Curling group, to test the security of the touchscreen ballot marking devices after the openly “never-Trumper” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, a RINO (Republican in Name Only) authorized the switch to the Dominion BMDs (ballot marking devices) for the Nov. 3, 2020, presidential election without ensuring the security of the system.

The overview to the professors’ report provided that “All voting machines face security risks …

However, not all voting systems are equally vulnerable … Georgia’s universal-use BMDs voting system is so insecure that it violates voters’ constitutional rights.”

While in Georgia, the Dominion BMDs were vulnerable to just one-minute attacks from anywhere in the state being able to switch votes everywhere in the state, still switching votes in any of the other 25 states (the professors thought it was 15), that services 37.7% of the

Mr. Biden leading was probably the reason for whatever plans the Democrats had to switch votes, if they had any, were inadequate on election day to overcome the Trump vote. On election night, President Trump won.

However, in a strange turn of events, the polls were kept open, and every night that week between midnight to 8 a.m., more Biden votes were “found” in the controversial states and cities,

Please see ZEPKE on C4

SB 585 would protect businesses

Editor’s note: Roy Reed is board president of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association.

Since 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act has required improved accessibility for disabled individuals, resulting in substantial benefits for those individuals, their families, and their communities. Those with disabilities have enjoyed the freedom of improved access to businesses, transportation, and institutions which they depend on.

Like many new mandates, however, the Americans with Disabilities Act has resulted in some unexpected consequences, one of which has become all-too familiar for many California residents and businesses.

Under the ADA, businesses and institutions are required to bring their facilities into compliance with prescribed standards, which range from things such as size and colors of signs for handicapped parking places to the physical design of restrooms, ramps, and other structural features. While ADA standards are a requirement for new construction and large corporate businesses have the resources to ensure that their facilities are retrofitted to comply with ADA standards, many small businesses, through occupancy of older structures that may not be compliant or simply through lack of knowledge of ADA standards, may fail to meet ADA construction requirements.

As a result, a cottage industry of opportunistic lawyers has emerged — their business model is a simple one — target a small business, survey it for any detectable violations, file a lawsuit and hope for a quick settlement as the business owner faces the

Roy Reed

difficult choice of an extended and expensive legal battle or of making a payment to settle the case.

This has resulted in great economic stress for a growing number of small California businesses, resulting in many closures and job losses, with little hope for relief seen until the introduction of Senate Bill 585.

SB 585 preserves all of the protections and standards of the ADA but affords small businesses, those with 50 or fewer employees, a 120-day window of opportunity to bring their facilities into compliance following notice of the filing of a lawsuit.

If compliance is achieved within those 120 days, the business owner receives relief from statutory penalties, attorney’s fees and other costs associated with the lawsuit.

SB 585 has received broad bipartisan support in the State Senate including the support of our own state Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara.

As it moves to the state Assembly, it must continue to receive bipartisan support if California’s small businesses are to receive the relief it promises.

It is of great importance that our own Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) supports passage of SB 585.

If you would like to help protect small businesses in our local communities and throughout the state, please advise Assemblymember Hart of your wishes. You may do so by leaving a message with his Sacramento office at 916-319-2037 or with his Santa Barbara office at 805-564-1649.

Please join us in our efforts to protect California’s vital small businesses from predatory lawsuits.

But in the words of an old hippie, “The times they are a changin’.” The old pendulum is swinging back around and hitting the liberals behind the knees. You can only push stupid ideas and prevent others from speaking up for so long before they start fighting back, and fighting back they are.

It became rapidly apparent that Budweiser had no idea how powerful the American public — not the Wokers, but the majority of the nation — is. It caught them with their beer cans empty.

Most people don’t care what the trans community is doing and how they want to live their lives. It’s fine.

But when it’s rammed down your throat and in your face 24/7, it becomes tedious. When a man proclaims how proud he is celebrating being a woman for 100 days and then gets a beer logo for his accomplishment, well Bud paid a big price for kneeling at the altar of wokeness. No cute doggies running alongside a Clydesdale can fix that.

You would think Target had learned from that Budding experiment, but no, the chain too mistakenly thought it was immune to stupidity, but it too cost Target billions as well.

Who in marketing thinks that selling “tucking your junk” bathing suits to kids, and at the front of the store, was a great promotion idea? Target can claim how wonderfully in tune they are to the new way of the world, but it’s not the new way for most Americans. Again, no one cares if you’re gay or trans or whatever, just keep it on a low simmer. Stop boiling the pot.

And just when you thought corporations learned their lesson, the uber liberals at Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream had their own meltdown. This one wasn’t gay focused, but it still ripped at the patriot heart of America. When it comes to history, what happened, happened. You can’t keep thinking you can change the past by changing the present. You deal with it. Though most people with a conscience don’t like what was done to the indigenous people of this land, America has been trying to make it right for years. And if you want to call the kettle black, you better check your own kettle before you point fingers and place blame before you’ve really thought it through.

Apparently old B and J are sitting on land taken away from the previous indigenous owners. Questions have been raised if they’re going to give their company back to the original indigenous owners like they’re asking to be done with Mt. Rushmore. We know the answer.

Those kinds of things don’t apply to liberals. They make the rules but don’t have to follow them. They’re much more righteous than the rest of us.

Ask President Joe Biden and his family.

More push back is also finally happening as states have become fed up with the mutilation of minors. Again, who in their right mind — because it isn’t right minded, it’s Leftist thinking — says parents have no right to raise their children the way they want to?

It’s up to a liberal cult who

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,”

Andy Caldwell

Columnist Andy Caldwell writes that three members of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, which meets in Santa Barbara at the County Administration Building, are making things tough for landlords in unincorporated areas

ADOBE STOCK

Columnist Brent E. Zepke is among those questioning the results of the 2020 presidential election in states such as Georgia, which used the Dominion voting system.

Brent E. Zepke

The author lives in Santa Barbara.

WHITE HOUSE PHOTO Donald Trump COURTESY PHOTO Joe Biden

Decline of our nation is crystal clear

Using statistics from the Department of Labor, The Wall Street Journal reports that real hourly wages during the Biden presidency have declined.

When Biden took office in January 2021, the average hourly wage adjusted for inflation was $11.39. Now, 29 months later, it stands at $11.03, a 3.16% decline.

Stephen Moore of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity reports that the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics says that during June, the largest growth in employment in the U.S. economy came from the government.

Government net increase in employment in June was 60,000 workers, almost 20,000 more than the second-highest increase in the health-care sector.

The economic legacy of the Biden administration, which they call Bidenomics, is expansion of government at the expense of the private sector along with massive

spending, which has produced the worst inflation in 40 years, resulting in erosion of the pay of American workers. But what should really be worrying every American is that the Biden administration experience is not a departure from an otherwise healthy trend that can be quickly turned around with a Republican victory in 2024.

President Biden is taking the nation down a dangerous path that began years ago and is in a longterm destructive trend that will take the boldest kind of leadership to turn around.

Economist John Cochrane of Stanford University’s Hoover Institution notes that “creeping stagnation is the central economic issue of our time.”

“Economic growth since 2000 has fallen by half compared with the last half of the 20th century,”

continues Dr. Cochrane.

From 1950 to 2000, the U.S. economy grew on average 3.56% annually. Since 2000, the annual growth rate averages 1.96% per year. What does this mean? “The average American’s income is already a quarter less than under the previous trend,” notes Dr. Cochrane.

The latest projections from the Congressional Budget Office takes this bleak picture and projects into territory that is even bleaker.

More government, more debt, less growth.

First, a little perspective. In 1950, federal government spending as a percent of GDP stood at 15.3%. In 2000 it stood at 17.7%.

CBO projects that in 2024 federal government spending will be 23.6% of GDP; by 2035 it will reach 24.9%, rising to 26% by 2040 and 28.3% by 2050.

Corresponding CBO projections for the federal debt held by the public as a percent of GDP: 2024,

100%; 2035, 120%; 2040, 134%; 2050, 181%.

And the projected real growth rates for the U.S economy: 20222033,1.8%; 2034-2043, 1.6%; 20442054, 1.5%.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has returned from a trip to China out of concern for China’s aggressiveness on the world stage.

China does indeed pose a threat to us. But the first order of business in dealing with threats from abroad is making our own country as strong as possible. And this is where our failure is taking place.

President Biden’s approval rating has actually increased over recent weeks. And polling shows a presidential contest with Mr. Biden running against the leading Republican candidates basically too close to call. This should not be the case.

The decline of our nation is crystal clear for any clearthinking and honest observer. We need Republicans who are ready to deliver a clear message

to the American people about how we will shrink the massive growth of government that is destroying our national vitality.

Our entitlement programs — Social Security and Medicare — drive some two-thirds of our federal expenditures. These are systems that are dinosaurs, with Social Security going back to 1936 and Medicare to 1965.

Reform needs to take place, not in the form of cosmetic changes, but deep and real change in the way of personalization.

Republican primary voters must demand a clear and bold vision from candidates about how they plan to restore an America that will once again grow at 3.5% per year.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.

Justices were right to strike down affirmative action

The left is angry xbecause the Supreme Court ruled racebased affirmative action unconstitutional. President Joe Biden says he “strongly disagrees.”

But Chief Justice John Roberts was right to say, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.”

It’s a victory for Students for Fair Admissions, the group that sued, thereby forcing Harvard to admit that Asians had to score 22 points higher on the SAT than whites, 63 points higher than blacks. How did Harvard justify that? They said Americans of Asian descent score lower in personal attributes, like “likability.”

“Asian Americans are boring little grade grubbers,” complains the Asian American Legal Foundation’s Lee Cheng, in my video on race-based admissions. “That’s bulls--t,” he adds.

Economist Harry Holzer, who defended Harvard, says the school did the right thing.

“Asians are not interesting?” I ask. “They don’t have interesting qualities?”

“Personal ratings reflect a wide range of characteristics,” Dr. Holzer responds. “It’s possible that some of that is anti-Asian bias, but you certainly can’t prove that. ...

When you have a long history of discrimination based on race, you have to take race into account.”

“There are many, many, different ways to achieve diversity without discriminating

against Asian Americans,” Mr. Cheng responds. “Race-focused affirmative action helps rich people. Seventy percent of the students of every ethnic group at Harvard come from the top 20% of family income.”

But Asians already do well in America, earning more money, on average, than other ethnic groups. Blacks have faced more discrimination. “Isn’t it Harvard’s job to try to make up for some of that?” I ask Mr. Cheng.

“The right path out of the history of discrimination based on

race is not more discrimination,” he replies.

Mr. Cheng is right. Affirmative action is racist and therefore wrong. I once tried to make that point by holding a racist bake sale. I called it an “affirmative action bake sale.” I sold cupcakes at a mall. My sign read: Asians — $1.50. Whites — $1.00 Blacks/Latinos — 50 cents. People stared. Some got angry. One yelled, “What is funny to you about people who are less

privileged?” A black woman called my sign “very offensive, very demeaning!” “You got to be out of your gosh darn mind, boy!” said another. One man accused me of poisoning the cupcakes. But after the initial anger, when people let me explain the reasoning behind my racist sign, many expressed second thoughts about affirmative action. “I guess it is unfair,” said one black student. I modeled my bake sale on what a student group at Bucknell University did to

NATO’s new unity — and challenges

President Joe Biden’s trip to Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit this Tuesday and Wednesday in Vilnius, Lithuania was not just routine, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Biden’s first stopped in Britain, underscoring our special relationship. The last stop on the itinerary was Finland, NATO’s newest member.

When Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently visited the United States, some criticized the absence of a state dinner.

However, Britain became part of our transatlantic family in World War II. Formalities are not required.

Early in that war, Finland’s military fought invading, much larger Soviet forces to a draw.

The eve of the summit brought significant news: Turkey’s opposition to Sweden joining the alliance had ended.

NATO is a remarkably durable alliance. Nations led by the United States and Britain signed the NATO treaty in Washington D.C. in April 1949.

By contrast, alliances lasted on average only five years during the long Napoleonic wars of two centuries ago.

Our present alliance began in direct response to Soviet expansionism during and after World War II. By 1949, the Cold War was on. Today, the organization pursues various diverse missions, including humanitarian relief. The collapse of East Europe communist regimes, followed by the Soviet Union, ended

the Cold War but not conflict in Europe.

In 2008, Russian troops invaded a portion of Georgia, following an attack by Georgian troops on South Ossetia. Russia encouraged and fostered these breakaway efforts.

In 2014, Russia intervened in eastern Ukraine and annexed the territory of Crimea.

Conclusion of the Cold War was a great victory for the policy of restraint and deterrence, termed “Containment.”

Every U.S. president from Harry Truman, when the Cold War commenced, to George H.W. Bush, when that conflict ended, supported this foundation security policy.

NATO endured for various reasons.

Bureaucracies instinctively seek selfperpetuation, and modern militaries represent potent political lobbies. However, the strategic realities of a now dangerously aggressive, expansionist Russia under President Vladimir Putin is the most important incentive and has re-energized the alliance.

President Putin continually probes for ways to separate allies from the U.S. Also present is the danger of renewed violence among ethnic groups in Southeastern Europe.

NATO today has a range of missions including but going beyond self-defense narrowly defined. Forces have operated well beyond the North Atlantic region, including notably in Afghanistan.

Humanitarian work has included transport and other support missions during the COVID-19 pandemic. This in turn opens the door to a range of positive and productive activities beyond traditional military defense and security. With further expansion of economic development in

Eastern Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and more widely, demand for better education, health care and related humanitarian activities also will grow.

This could lead to further development of the alliance’s capacities and involvement beyond purely military dimensions.

Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.

The 9/11 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington D.C., and in the sky over Pennsylvania, triggered this clause, for the first time.

After the final defeat of Napoleon, Britain spearheaded cooperation among Europe’s nations to keep the peace. This maintained general stability on the continent for a century.

Today, NATO performs roughly the same strategic role,

The Russia-Ukraine war provides a different test, not the relative stability of the long Cold War.

The Vilnius summit provided one gauge for evaluation.

To learn more, read Henry A. Kissinger’s “The Troubled Partnership” and his other books.

Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War - American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan). He is also the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., and a Clausen Distinguished Professor.

He welcomes questions and comments at acyr@carthage.edu.

America is struggling. While this country and its people have faced their share xdifficulties — including the Great Depression, several wars, terrorist attacks and countless devastating natural disasters — we seem to be losing a key attribute of our national identity: our confidence in our ability to solve problems and achieve what was once considered “impossible.”

call attention to the racism of affirmative action. Bucknell officials shut down the students’ experiment. Schools that practice affirmative action don’t like to be confronted with the reality of affirmative action.

Now that affirmative action is illegal, universities will still discriminate by race. They’ll just hide it better. One tactic is to become “test-optional.” Over 1,800 schools, including Harvard, no longer require students to submit SAT scores.

Already, schools practice legacy admissions, meaning that they favor the children of alumni. That’s clearly unfair. It helps mostly rich people, who are mostly white people.

The problem with both “testoptional” schools and affirmative action is that ultimately, it harms black students.

Those admitted with lower standards often struggle or drop out. Had they attended other schools, they might have done well.

And of course some people look at even the smartest black students and wonder, is she really smart? Or did she just get in because of her race?

If activists want to help young people, they should start before college. Promote school choice. It allows all kids to escape bad public schools.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel. com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Copyright 2022 BY JFS Productions Inc

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. We welcome a variety of views.

Letters must be exclusive to the NewsPress.

In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitted by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity, and shorter letters have a better chance of being printed immediately.

We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

We do not print submissions that lack a civil tone, allege illegal wrongdoing or involve consumer complaints.

We also may decide not to print letters or op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days.

That confidence was born of at least three widespread attributes -- initiative, gratitude and humility — which are sorely lacking at present. Initiative is what’s behind every single aspect of America’s political and economic success throughout the nearly two and a half centuries of our existence. Initiative is tied to individual effort. It is born of optimism and the fundamental belief that one is capable of doing something. It is a recognition of agency, selfefficacy, an internal locus of control.

By contrast, the focus of our national conversations now is not on individual capabilities but on faceless aggregations: “systemic racism,” “white supremacy,” the “patriarchy,” “toxic masculinity,” “climate change” — large, amorphous concepts with ever-shifting definitions that somehow obstruct individual success and threaten society at large, yet over which the individual has little control. These massive societal problems, we’re told, require remedies so equally massive — dismantling “systems” of racism, or radically altering the climate — that they can only be addressed by government (quite possibly, a global government).

In the face of this relentless drumbeat of negativity, it should surprise no one that so many of our young people — who should feel grateful and optimistic — are depressed, crippled by anxiety and selfloathing, angry and hopeless. It’s hard to feel gratitude when you’re bombarded with messaging that everything around you is terrible.

Contrary to the popular narrative, victimhood does not empower.

It only dispirits.

Lack of gratitude soon translates to a lack of initiative — after all, why bother? Is it any wonder then that these same dispirited young people want bigger government with more control to “fix” the

All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification.

We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. We prefer e-mailed submissions.

If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF.

Send letters to dmason@newspress.com.

Mail letters to P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102. The News-Press reserves the right to publish or republish submissions in any form or medium.

Direct questions to Managing Editor Dave Mason at 805-564-5277 or dmason@newspress.com.

Thank you in advance for your contributions.

John Stossel

GOVERNMENT PHOTO

Columnist John Stossel says the U.S. Supreme Court presented a sound ruling in deciding that eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.

Arthur I, Cyr

Dissenting opinions are being censored

Continued from Page

in remaking Paseo Nuevo need the certainty of cogent direction.

A simple interim plan, quickly and economically implemented, is possible.

A theme we observe is formally called bullying. Many of us have grown up on the CBS show “Survivor” where the group throws out one of the members.

We hear that at its July 20 meeting, the Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees is to censor one of the board members, Victoria Gallardo. Are the trustees against one person for speaking their opinion? Or maybe their work ethic?

We watched Councilmember Sneddon basically censor the opinions of the HLC regarding State Street, and we witnessed our city council gang up against Mayor Rowse and outvote his common sense. He’s the only one on the council with business experience in Santa Barbara.

Remember the council’s flip flop of the charge for square footage for parklets?

We question the poor decisions resulting in redos’ at Santa Barbara City College. It’s no smooth operation there. Why do so

many administrators and leaders at SBCC get hired only to leave? They are certainly paid enough.

Why are planning processes dysfunctionally out of control at the college?

Consider the increase in inkind local costs ($170,000) to build the P.E.-health-athletics building project since its state approval to current estimates of near $70 million.

Why are multiple consultants hired to re-do earlier reports?

Why is the superintendent/ president so highly compensated?

Incoming Erika Endrijonas, $338,000; current interim President Murillo, $318,000 plus a housing allowance of $4,000/ month ($386,000!!!!) The documented problems the incoming superintendent/ president (Erika Endrijonas) brings to SBCC. Remember Anthony Wagner of the Police Department who hailed from San Diego? He came with problems, caused problems, and left with problems.

We are reminded of a quote from a recent article by Stephen P. White.

“Freedom which refused to be bound to the truth would fall into arbitrariness and end up submitting itself to the vilest of passions, to the point of self-

destruction.” When a nation, by force or by choice, lives according to a lie for long enough, the consequences are more than the sum of economic malaise and political dysfunction. Habits change. Cultures change. Obfuscating the truth is rampant throughout our city and country. and the rules are not applied uniformly.

For instance, bikers must be on State Street as there are too many hazardous driveways on Anacapa Street yet the master bike plan weaves throughout neighborhoods full of driveways.Think Alisos Street.

Public input is window dressing, while the plan of the Transportation Department is implemented. Under ERETO (Economic recovery extension and transition ordinance), the closure of State Street is right out of a handbook of boondoggle. Only the ideas of those in charge are being put forward, while others in the city are being ignored: the nonbike riders, the non-restaurateurs, the elderly and the soccer moms, to name a few.

The incompetence, negligence and self-dealing at SBCC is so perverse and prevalent, yet the failure is translating into a proposed bond of $30 million that is coming to a property tax bill

Let’s modernize laws to protect innovation

near you. The inaction (think De la Guerra Plaza) brings economic malaise. Think of the antics of SBCC and Santa Barbara City Council. They illustrate the political dysfunction that is destroying our country. What have these non-doers and stallers in office been promised?

More political promotions in this shell game of our cities?

We must have hope; let’s support the good. Think of Cas Engberg, who provided an alternate plan for State Street to thrive for all Santa Barbara residents. It’s all doable now.

Think of the HLC members so earnest in their desire and love for Santa Barbara to remain the uncommon place in America that former Mayor Sheila Lodge extols, still standing her ground against all odds.

Think David and Goliath. Get out your verbal slingshot and make your voice be heard. Action is needed.

To quote our Mayor Rowse, “Together we can turn this around.”

Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Saturdays in the Voices section.

Wokers have pushed their agenda too far

Continued from Page C2

knows better what your children want and need. Well, hopefully this powerful movement gains even more strength and pushes back harder and puts an end to the destruction of young minds and the bodies they’re still trying to grow into. Give kids a break.

Who made you God?

In that vein, school boards have also taken on the roles of God-like power, telling parents to do as they say and shut up.

But no more. Again, the Wokers have pushed their agenda too far. The power doesn’t reside in a handful of people who serve in those positions for only a couple years. The power has always been

in the hands of the parents, and primarily the moms who carried those kids for nine months. Just like in the wild, don’t mess with a momma bear, or you’ll get chewed up.

Moms For Liberty — a conservative organization using common sense and trying to end all the insane nonsense that has plagued our schools — has risen up. The organization has gained enormous power and success in removing lefty board members and superintendents who remain determined to tell parents they know better what’s good for the kids. These “domestic terrorists” won’t be sitting back any longer and allow the Department of Justice to silence them.

Liberalism is losing ground.

We all witness how it’s botched miserably in our Democratcontrolled cities such as San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Baltimore and New York to name a few. All leftist enclaves are littered with homeless, rampant crime and losing good tax-paying citizens and businesses who have said enough is enough and moved to friendly common-sense cities and states.

And though the Wokers’ failed social experiment stares them in the face, those “leaders” still can’t concede “their” cities are a mess and that they’ve lost all control. Most still think raining money on homeless tents will ultimately fix the problem. Billions of dollars later, things have gotten even worse.

CULLEN

Continued from Page C1

and easily divulge valuable trade secrets — thereby derailing their previous employer’s breakthrough R&D projects.

The Office of the United States Trade Representative could more forcefully crack down on digital piracy. A recent USTR report noted that China is one of the main sources of illegal recordings of theater performances and films. Such theft devastates the U.S. entertainment industry — and costs the economy up to $71 billion annually.

The courts could also strike a

blow against IP theft by issuing injunctions that force infringers to stop using the patented designs and ideas they’ve stolen — rather than merely ordering them to pay monetary damages to partially compensate patent owners for the theft.

Lawmakers are working to combat Chinese IP theft. But we shouldn’t pretend it’s the only threat to American innovation. We also need to modernize our own laws and regulations to help companies protect, and further develop, their most promising ideas.

Frank Cullen is executive director of the Council for Innovation Promotion.

We can’t accept energy dependence on Russia

COLLINS

Continued from Page C1

use lawyers to exploit any possible legal loophole to delay and increase costs.

Wokeness and liberal philosophy have failed. Not failing but failed. The liberal happy dance is over. Not a single thing the left has tried has worked. Because lack of self-awareness prevents them from admitting defeat, they continue to forge ahead thinking the public will grow weary and eventually stop paying attention again. Not going to happen. Americans are done being played and can feel the energy shifting.

It’s like the boxer who has his opponent against the ropes. You keep pummeling away until they’re knocked out.

Henry Schulte welcomes questions or comments at hschulteopinions@gmail.com.

21,415 votes would have made a difference

ZEPKE

Continued from Page C2

until finally, Mr. Biden’s sliding ahead signaled it was time to close the polls.

The final vote count indicated that switching just 5,890 votes in Georgia, 5,229 in Arizona and 10,296 in Wisconsin would have made President Trump the winner. Imagine that switching just 21,415 total votes, in states where there were reported irregularities, would have changed who would be president!

Of course, there are many other combinations that could include switching just 3%, of the votes cast in Michigan, or 2% in Nevada, or 1.2%, or 16,798 votes, in Pennsylvania, that President Trump won on election day before the post-election addition of approximately a million more “mail-in” ballots for Mr. Biden than for Mr. Trump, was considered to violate the Constitution, meaning Mr. Trump should have won Pennsylvania.

Jim Kenney, a Democrat, was the mayor of Philadelphia. Kathy Bookvar (D), was the secretary of state, who was then fired by Gov.

HOLLIS

Continued from Page C3

problems they’ve been told they cannot?

The third missing attribute is humility. This may seem incongruous, emphasizing as I have the role of the individual in a flourishing society. But it is essential, if one is to avoid humility’s opposite, hubris. If initiative is the mother of competence, hubris produces catastrophe — and just as frequently in the private sector as in government.

It was hubris that prompted OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush to take people thousands of feet into the ocean in an experimental craft he had decided not to certify using nationally recognized safety standards, which he viewed as an

Wolf (D).

President Trump’s protests, without the Halderman Report (dated July 1, 2021), in the “controversial” states of Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in the time allotted, could only argue anecdotal evidence that was insufficient to persuade judges to overturn the election.

In Georgia, the risk of the lack of security did not end with the November 2020 elections as Brad Raffensberger used the same Dominion BMDs for the special election on Jan. 5, 2021, for the two U.S. Senate seats held by Republicans. This election drew national attention with the Republicans holding 52 Senate seats and the Democrats, 48.

“He’s leaving L.A. … on that midnight train to Georgia” (Gladys Knight & the Pips) became the theme song for the special election based on the rumors that the Democrats from California were sending money and filing for mailin ballots after the November election showed the Democrats needed help to win.

The count in the Senate became 50 Republicans and 50 Democrats

unnecessary impediment to his genius.

Five people, including Mr. Rush, were killed when the OceanGate submersible imploded on June 18.

It was hubris that prompted FTX founder Sam BankmanFried to take tens of billions of dollars from other people via a cryptocurrency exchange neither he nor anyone else on his team was qualified to create or maintain.

FTX had an estimated value of $32 billion before the company spectacularly collapsed and went into bankruptcy. Mr. Bankman-Fried is facing trial for criminal fraud.

It was hubris that prompted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes to think that, with no science or medical background whatsoever, she could develop a

when Democrat Jon Ossoft defeated Republican incumbent David Perdue by a margin of 1.2%, and Democrat Raphael Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler by a margin of 2%.

Vice President Kamala Harris (D) gave the Democrats control of the Senate, and they already had control of the presidency and the House.

The balance of control in the Senate could have been altered by switching just 26,910 votes, out of 4-plus million, in a system “So insecure that it violates voters’ constitutional rights” (Halderman Report).

On Jan. 6, 2021, the day after the Senate election in Georgia, the presidential election results were to be certified. The speech that day by President Trump led to his being impeached, for the second time, for “incitement of insurrection.”

Since “insurrection” is an attempt by a group to take control of their country by violence, and President Trump asked his supporters to peacefully march in protest and the group of unarmed protestors made no attempt to take control of the government,

machine that tested for multiple diseases using only a single drop of blood — something the most sophisticated machines ever developed cannot do. Ms. Holmes’ machines never worked, and she bilked investors out of more than $700 million. She was convicted of fraud and is serving a nine-year prison sentence.

It was hubris for Anthony Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance to fund “gain-of-function” research to see if bat viruses could be genetically modified to “jump” into humans, especially in a foreign laboratory that had inadequate safety protocols.

It is hubris for people in government and media to pretend that only they have the truth, and to censor the public’s access to competing information.

there was no insurrection. .

The impeachment vote in the Senate failed, as it did for his first impeachment, on Jan 16, 2020, for the allegations of Vindman, who did not hear the conversation, that President Trump requested the Ukrainian president to investigate Hunter Biden’s activities in the Ukraine. Sadly, while the FBI knew this was a fiasco based on the agency having Hunter’s computer since December 2019, the FBI did and continue to do nothing about the contents of the computer.

Part 3 will continue to discuss the impact of Brad Raffensberger and the Dominion system.

Brent E. Zepke is an attorney, arbitrator and author who lives in Santa Barbara. His website is OneheartTwoLivescom.wordpress. com. Formerly, he taught law and business at six universities and numerous professional conferences. He is the author of six books: “One Heart-Two Lives,” “Legal Guide to Human Resources,” “Business Statistics,” “Labor Law,” “Products and the Consumer” and “Law for NonLawyers.”

And it is hubris for anyone in government to assume that they can completely shut down sources of energy, shrink or radically alter agricultural production or shutter entire industries in the name of “saving the climate” without disastrous consequences.

The United States’ economy and federal and state governments have worked as well as they have for 247 years not because of the brilliance of a few, or because no one has ever made a serious error, or because Americans are uniquely capable. (The fact that people of every race, creed, color, ethnicity and economic background have come here and succeeded beyond their wildest dreams is proof that anyone can do it.)

America has succeeded because no one individual or group or individuals is in charge. When

U.S. companies’ ability to supply reliable, clean energy to Germany depends on construction of the CP2 LNG project, which can begin later this year if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy act without unnecessary delay.

Alaska LNG is not expected to open until 2030, assuming it can clear numerous potential legal challenges. Planning for the Sea Port Oil Terminal began in 2015, but operations will not begin until 2025 at the earliest. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of leaders like Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. D-West Va., any meaningful reforms to this outdated system continue to be opposed by special interests.

During World War II, America mobilized from a sleeping giant to leading the fight against fascism in Europe and Asia in a matter of months. Then we stood our ground against the Soviet Union for decades until we prevailed in the Cold War. We built the interstate highway system in one presidential administration. Now, permitting infrastructure projects of all kinds takes far more time than

it took Americans to put a man on the moon. This is the opposite of the spirit that made the U.S. a global superpower and the envy of the world.

Energy dependence on Russia, not to mention China, for the basic materials needed to power our economy, is simply not an option that America or our allies can accept. That means finally waking up and fixing the antiquated permitting process that is holding back American energy independence and putting our national security at risk. We have been blessed with an abundance of natural resources.

All we lack is the political will to get the job done. This article was originally published by RealClearEnergy and made available via RealClearWire. It was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

Gentry Collins is the CEO of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, which represents hard working entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators.

He previously served as the national political director at both the Republican Governors Association and the Republican National Committee.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. We welcome a variety of views.

Letters must be exclusive to the News-Press.

In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitted by 6 p.m. Tuesdays. We encourage brevity, and shorter letters have a better chance of being printed immediately.

We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

We do not print submissions that lack a civil tone, allege illegal wrongdoing or involve consumer complaints.

We also may decide not to print letters or op-eds for other reasons.

Limit your letters to one every 30 days.

people get arrogant or make mistakes, whether in government or business, we bounce back because we have other sources to choose from.

In other words, the hubris of a few doesn’t destroy everything, because they don’t control everything.

But the present obsession with “systemic” everything is a threat to American resilience.

It is a deliberate push away from power that is diffused among millions, and a corresponding call for the concentration of power in the hands of a few — the same elites whose hubris has destroyed companies and produced disastrous public policies.

This thinking cannot come to dominate the American psyche. We must refocus our attention on what has made it possible for Americans to achieve greatness

All letters must include the writer’s address and telephone number for verification. We cannot acknowledge unpublished letters. We prefer e-mailed submissions.

If you send attachments, please send word documents. We can’t guarantee that we can open a PDF. Send letters to dmason@ newspress.com. Mail letters to P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara 93102. The News-Press reserves the right to publish or republish submissions in any form or medium. Direct questions to Managing Editor Dave Mason at 805-564-5277 or dmason@ newspress.com. Thank you in advance for your contributions.

and overcome adversity: to be grateful for our forebears and those who have contributed to our freedom and prosperity, notwithstanding their failings; to concentrate on what each of us can do to succeed in our own lives and to solve the problems before us; and to partner that initiative with humility that acknowledges both our own limitations and the reality that the most meaningful contributions often come from sources and people we least expect.

To find out more about Laura Hollis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators. com.

Copyright 2023 by Creators Syndicate.