Putin the Terrible
A book for Gen Z
Masks and politics
Columnist Robert Eringer predicts Russian presidents aggression toward Ukraine will prove to be his demise - A2
Recent Santa Barbara High School graduate writes ‘Cramm This Book’ - B1
Columnist Brent Zepke notes mandates are ending just weeks before the State of the Union - C1
Our 166th Year
$2.00
S u n d a y , F E B R UA R Y 2 0 , 2 0 2 2
Santa Barbara man won Olympic gold in 1960 Jeff Farrell helped bring home two medals for U.S. swimming relay teams
Goleta, county expect to hear soon from state California considers grant to renovate Super 8 into housing for homeless individuals By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Jeff Farrell takes in the scenery at Butterfly Beach in Montecito on Friday.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Jeff Farrell was a swimmer during his college days at the University of Oklahoma and his best event at the national level was coming in third at an event during his senior year. He was commissioned as an ensign at his Navy graduation in June of 1958, and had no plans of continuing to swim competitively. He reported for duty on a ship in Pearl Harbor and about six months later, he was asked if he wanted to join a handful of other Navy swimmers training at Yale University, preparing for the 1960 Olympic trials. “I decided to give swimming another chance and went to Yale to train under Robert Kiphuth, the legendary Yale coach,” Mr. Farrell told the News-Press in an email. Dry land training had made him much stronger, and he became a fast sprinter who set 25 national records as well as several world records. By mid-1960 Mr. Farrell was recognized as the fastest swimmer in the world. Mr. Farrell was the favorite to win the 100 meter free-style event at the Rome Olympics in 1960. “Six days before my first race in the U.S. Olympic trials, I awakened in great pain - appendicitis - and had to have an emergency appendectomy. But six days later, with great encouragement from Coach Kiphuth, I swam the first of six races I would have at the trials, and I finally did make the team, but only as a relay team member. Competing so soon after my appendectomy was a bit surreal but not really scary because I had confidence and trust in my coach and doctor. And in my own body,” said Mr. Farrell. The 1960 Olympics was the first time the 4x100 medley relay was featured in the Olympics. “In the 1950’s the butterfly element of the breaststroke event was recognized as a separate stroke and the 300-meter relay (backstroke, breaststroke & freestyle) became the 400-meter relay. This was its first appearance as an Olympic event,” said Mr. Farrell.
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He was the fourth swimmer on the team, the freestyler in this event, and the race was won in world record time. One hour later, Mr. Farrell was also the fourth swimmer on the U.S. 400 freestyle relay team, which also won in record time. “Of course I was proud to be so fast and famous. But I decided, after winning in Rome and planning to become a student in Paris, that it would be interesting just to be treated like a 23-year old American trying to learn French. I had no more serious interest in competing. I was excited and proud to get two gold medals in one evening. I had been sorry not to swim the 100-meter freestyle, but although I was tempted to deeply regret this, I decided not to dwell on it, to be proud and happy to be there, participating and leaving with two gold medals. And I looked forward to what might come next in my life,” said Mr. Farrell. After the Olympics, Mr. Farrell studied French and coached swimming in Tunisia and Morocco. Late in 1961 he began the journey back to Yale. He hitchhiked, took planes, buses, boats and airplanes through Europe, the Middle East and Asia, to attend Yale graduate school. Mr. Farrell graduated with his M.A. in international relations in 1963, and then got a job with CARE/MEDICO working in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In 1966 he began working for The Asia Foundation in San Francisco, Thailand and Laos. “In Bangkok I met a lovely young French/ Vietnamese artist and designer and we started a business manufacturing our own line of women’s and children’s ready-to-wear for export and also sold in our retail shop and gallery in Bangkok. We married and had two children, then, after a dozen years, in 1980 we sold the company and moved to Santa Barbara,” said Mr. Farrell. He became a real estate agent in Santa Barbara in 1981. His son Marco also works with him as a real estate agent. “Two years ago we brought Christy Jacobs onto our Coldwell Banker Montecito Realtor team. We take pleasure in helping buyers and sellers in the greater Santa Barbara
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Local officials are waiting to hear whether Goleta and Santa Barbara County will get a California grant to convert this Super 8 motel at 6021 Hollister Ave. into housing for homeless individuals.
Jeff Farrell detailed his experiences in a book, “My Olympic Story: Rome 1960.”
residential real estate market,” said Mr. Farrell. Mr. Farrell still competes locally, nationally and internationally in a program for older swimmers. “I was the first swimmer to be inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame and the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame,” said Mr. Farrell. In 2014 he published a book about his Olympic experience My Olympic Story- Rome 1960 available for purchase on Amazon and at www.MyOlympicStory.com. email: kzehnder@newspress.com
Man dies in Lompoc from gunshot wounds By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Lompoc Police Department has started a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 37-year-old man. Officers responded at 12:51 a.m. Saturday to reports of a shooting in the 1000 block of H Street in Lompoc. When officers arrived on scene, they located the victim, who suffered gunshot wounds,
Sgt. Scott Morgan said in a news release. Officers and medics rendered him medical aid, and medics transported the victim to a local trauma center. The victim died from his injuries, Sgt. Morgan said. This is an ongoing investigation, and anyone with information is urged to contact the Lompoc Police Department Detective Bureau at 805-7362341. email: kzehnder@newspress.com
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. A8 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A4
City and county officials expect to learn in mid-March whether California has accepted their application for about $16 million in grant funding to renovate a Super 8 motel in Goleta into housing for homeless individuals. That application is the main hurdle before officials can begin to move forward on the project and its more intricate details, Jaime Valdez, Goleta’s neighborhood services director, told the News-Press on Friday. If the $16 million is approved by the state, the Super 8 at 6021 Hollister Ave. would be purchased and renovated to provide 59 housing units for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming unhoused. The units would be converted to function as more permanent housing, meaning they would be equipped with a kitchen area and living space as opposed to just operating as a standard small motel room. Additionally, five units would be converted to offer supportive services, from offering health and mental health care services to providing guidance one might need to transition from living outdoors to indoors, Mr. Valdez
said. Another unit would be designated for an on-site property manager. The project is estimated to cost about $20 million with more than $16 million earmarked from the Homekey 2.0 program if approved. “This is $16 million that would otherwise not come into the county or the city of Goleta to address the issues surrounding people experiencing homelessness in the community,” John Polanskey of the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara County said during a presentation earlier this month. “The team has agreed this is a great opportunity to bring in state funding in a significant amount to try to house some of the unhoused folks within and around the city of Goleta.” The statewide Homekey program helps state, regional and local public entities convert hotels, commercial properties, single-family houses and more to rapidly expand housing options for people experiencing homelessness or at-risk of becoming unhoused and impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In all, the California Department of Housing and Community Development has designated about $1.4 billion Please see SUPER 8 on A3
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A5 Weather................ A5
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-12-24-30-36 Mega: 6
Saturday’s DAILY 4: 7-7-1-6
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-4-15-21-63 Mega: 19
Saturday’s FANTASY 5: 4-7-19-22-33
Saturday’s DAILY DERBY: 11-10-03 Time: 1:42.97
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 3-10-15-33-42 Meganumber: 11
Saturday’s DAILY 3: 0-4-5 / Midday 2-7-5