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S AT U R DAY, NOV E M BE R 12 , 2 02 2
Honoring veterans
Control of Congress remains undetermined three days after election
Speakers, bands, choir and color guard participate in ceremony at Santa Barbara Cemetery
By CASEY HARPER and DAN MCCALEB THE CENTER SQUARE
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Former Navy Lt. John Blankenship, left, who served as master of ceremonies, shakes hands with retired Air Force Col. Phil Conran, the keynote speaker during a Veterans Day ceremony Friday at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
When the Prime Time Band of Santa Barbara played “God Bless America,” some audience members couldn’t help but sing along at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. And far up in the sky, the sound and sight of freedom continued with the Condor Squadron soaring above the large audience of civilians, veterans and active military personnel who gathered on Veterans Day. The Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1649 led a ceremony at the picturesque Montecito cemetery, under a blue sky and against the backdrop of mountains. In that setting, the Santa Barbara Choral Society sang favorites such as the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “Shenandoah.” The Gold Coast Pipe Band performed selections such as “Green Hills” and “The Su Gan Set.” Later came “Taps,” played by Howard Hudson on his bugle. The choral society sang “America the Beautiful,” and the Prime Time Band played the “March of the Armed Forces,” during which veterans from various branches of the service stood and were recognized. It was definitely a morning of patriotic music, including a powerful rendition of the national anthem by retired Santa Barbara police Sgt. David Gonzales. It was also a morning of symbolic actions and heartfelt words. The Color Guard from the UCSB ROTC (Surfrider Battalion) presented the colors. Lt. j.g. Christina Sandstedt of the U.S. Coast Guard led the Pledge of
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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La Kaiser Jewelry this week hosted an after-hours store opening party to celebrate its first Santa Barbara location at 1101 State St. “It was great. It turned out really well. We had a really good
The Condor Squadron flies over the Veterans Day ceremony.
Allegiance, and retired Chaplain Jerry Gray of the U.S. Air Force delivered the invocation. And the master of ceremonies — Lt. John Blankenship, a former Navy pilot and the co-founding director of the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation — talked about a hero. Lt. Blankenship told the audience about the heroic actions that retired U.S. Air Force Col. Phil Conran took to save his fellow troops in Laos during the Vietnam War — actions that led Col. Conran to receive the Air Force Cross. Please see VETERANS on A3
FYI
Veterans of the U.S. Army stand to be recognized for their service as the Prime Time Band of Santa Barbara played “March of the Armed Services.”
For more about La Kaiser Jewelry, go to www.lakaiser. com, To learn more about My Trees Trust or make a donation, go to mytreestrust. org. And for more business stories, see pages A5 and A8.
crowd come; it was awesome,” owner Cindy Kaiser told the News-Press. Ms. Kaiser estimated there were at least 50 attendees at Thursday’s event. “It was upbeat and lively. There was music playing, and people drinking wine. It was pretty upbeat,” said Ms. Kaiser. The celebration featured a charm room where attendees made personal charm pendants and picked out a permanent bracelet. Partnering with the store for the opening was My Trees Trust and its executive director, James Egremont-Lee. He made a small presentation and gave a short speech about My Trees trust alongside wine and hors d’oeuvres. Fifty percent of the profits made that night were donated to Please see jEWELRY on A3
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News-Press Associate Editor Matt Smolensky contributed to this report.
La Kaiser Jewelry celebrates grand opening
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(The Center Square) – The fate of the U.S. House and Senate remain undetermined on Veterans Day, three days after voting concluded in the midterm elections. As of Friday mid-morning, FiveThirtyEight has 211 House seats under Republican control compared to 204 for Democrats, leaving both short of the 218 needed to control that chamber. “There were a few individual races with projected winners over the course of Thursday, with more likely to come today, but neither party has won enough seats in either the House or Senate to determine a call for balance of power,” FiveThirtyEight reported Friday. Some races remain separated by only a handful of votes. Outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is leading her opponent by just about 1,200 votes at time of publication. Arizona, California, Nevada and other states also have close House races. Control of the Senate is still undecided and may come down to a Dec. 6 Georgia runoff between Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Raphael Warnock. Arizona’s Senate was won by Democrat Mark Kelley, who defeated Trump-endorsed Republican Blake Masters. Following Sen. Kelley’s win, the Democrats need only one more victory to retain control of the Senate. This could come in the Georgia runoff or from Nevada’s uncalled Senate race, in which Republican Adam Laxalt leads Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto
49% to 48%, a difference of about 16,000 votes. Gubernatorial races are tight as well. The closely watched governor’s race in Arizona has Republican Kari Lake behind Democrat Katie Hobbs by about 13,000 votes as counts continue Thursday. Overall, election night disappointed many Republicans who hoped for the “red wave.” “So after all the analysis it is clear the most likely case is both houses of Congress will go Red and the mega states of TX and FL go redder,” Matt Schlapp, chair of the Conservative Political Action Committee, wrote on Twitter. “We lost too many close races but all in all I go back to VA very pleased.” Former President Donald Trump has taken criticism after many of the candidates he backed did not fare well. Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, President Joe Biden said he always expected Democrats to do “fine” and wants to work with Republicans going forward. “While we don’t know all of the results yet – at least, I don’t know them all yet – here’s what we do know,” he said. “While the press and the pundits are predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen. And I know you were somewhat miffed by … my optimism, but I felt good during the whole process. I thought we were going to do fine. “The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans to be prepared to work with me as well,” he added.
Sudoku................. B2 Business . ......... A5, 8 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-6-8-40-44 Mega: 19
Friday’s DAILY 4: 1-1-1-7
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 1-5-17-37-70 Mega: 22
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 8-10-14-23-39
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 02-05-01 Time: 1:47.97
Wednesay’s POWERBALL: 7-14-24-30-56 Meganumber: 7
Friday’s DAILY 3: 3-5-6 / Midday 7-2-2