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Columnist Robert Eringer looks back on trqcking the connections between retired U.S. colonel and Russia - A2
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SB school officials resign after scandal Resignation follows journalists’ investigation into ‘grooming,’ CRT controversy Editor’s note: This is the fourth story in a series. This article originally appeared in the Daily Wire, which publishes its articles at dailywire. com. Luke Rosiak is an investigative journalist for The Daily Wire. By LUKE ROSIAK THE DAILY WIRE
Two top administrators at the Santa Barbara school system resigned shortly after a three-part Daily Wire series that exposed how
a Communist-supporting “ethnic studies” teacher committed battery against a teenage girl in class and then continued to influence school policy even after his criminal conviction. In the series, the victim — an illegal immigrant whom The Daily Wire referred to with the pseudonym of Maria because she is a minor and the victim of abuse — also alleged that Jennifer Freed, a “social emotional learning” guru, pressured her to drop the charges against the
teacher, Matef Harmachis. Ms. Freed denied the allegation, though she has boasted that she holds group sessions for schoolgirls in which she talks to them about sex. Mr. Harmachis was convicted of battery, but later called his victim a “Karen.” Shawn Carey, the assistant superintendent for secondary education with the Santa Barbara Unified School District, announced her resignation only days after signing a contract extension. Her
Shawn Carey, the assistant superintendent for secondary education with the Santa Barbara Unified School District, announced her resignation only days after signing a contract extension.
school district salary in 2019 was $207,000. After leaving the school district, she will take a new position as director of school and district support for the county education office. A job ad matching that position says the salary tops out at about $141,000. Chief information officer Brian Rowse also recently announced his departure. A flood of departures by top Please see SBUSD on A3
Chalk on the walk I Madonnari Street Painting Festival back in person for 36th year
PHOTOS COURTESY DAILY WIRE
California lawmakers advance several gun bills following Texas school shooting By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Dawn Morrison Wagner works on chalk art in front of the steps during the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival at the Old Mission Santa Barbara on Saturday.
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The 36th annual I Madonnari Street Painting Festival began Saturday, once again an in-person event for the first time since 2019 after two years of virtual viewing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival will continue through Monday, and is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event takes place in front of the Santa Barbara Mission where paintings are created live with chalk pastels. This is the first festival of its kind in North America, presenting the performance art of street painting. This event is produced by and raises funds for the Children’s Creative Project, a nonprofit arts education program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office. “It’s going great, I am here now and it is packed and there are lots of vibrant colors and it is going well. On average we usually see about 8,000 attendees every day. People are really excited to be back in person. Lots of families are here … The sun is out now. Please see CHALK on A5
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elder and dependent adult abuse involving violence.” Among those measures was a bill that would allow California’s attorney general and victims of gun violence to sue gun makers and distributors who are “irresponsible, reckless, and negligent in the sale or marketing of their products in California.” Using an exception in federal law, AB 1594 requires gun makers and sellers to “enforce reasonable controls” and “reasonable precautions” to prevent their weapons from being sold to a downstream distributor who fails to enforce precautions. Failure to comply with this “firearm standard of conduct” would be cause for civil action, according to the bill. “It’s not fair that almost every industry in the United States can be held liable for what their products do, yet the gun industry is exempt from that, providing no incentive to follow our laws,” Assemblymember Phil Ting said in a statement Thursday. “Hitting their bottom line may finally compel them to take every step possible to prevent illegal sales and theft of firearms to reduce gun violence.” Other measures passed by the Assembly this week include a bill to restrict ghost guns and the parts to build them, a measure to prohibit firearm marketing to minors and a bill that increases requirements for vendors at gun show events. Bills passed out of their original houses will now move to the other chamber to continue the legislative process. If these bills are passed by the opposite house, they will move on to Gov. Newsom’s desk to be signed into law.
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(The Center Square) – In the aftermath of a massacre at a Texas elementary school earlier this week, California lawmakers have advanced several pieces of legislation in an effort to address and prevent gun violence. Just one day after a gunman entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers, Gov. Gavin Newsom and leading lawmakers vowed to expedite a package of gun legislation to the governor’s desk, which Gov. Newsom said he would “enthusiastically” sign by the end of next month. While California already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, several proposals brought forth this year include bills targeting unserialized weapons, known as “ghost guns,” and would allow lawsuits against gunmakers and distributors under certain situations. Earlier this week, a bill backed by Gov. Newsom allowing Californians to sue anyone who “manufactures, distributes, transports or imports” assault weapons and unserialized “ghost guns” was advanced by the Senate and now moves to the Assembly. The law, which is modeled after Texas’ abortion law, would allow citizens to collect $10,000 per weapon. “Taking the cue from Texas and the SB 8 bill that put women’s lives at risk, we’re going to use those core tenets to save people’s lives here in California,” Gov. Newsom said at a news conference earlier this week. Senate lawmakers also passed legislation Tuesday that would require immediate reporting of any perceived threat of an “incident of mass casualties” at a school to local law enforcement. Other bills that advanced included measures requiring firearm dealers to have a digital surveillance system installed at their business and prohibit the sale of firearms on state property. On the Assembly side, lawmakers pushed forward more than half a dozen gun violence prevention measures throughout this week, including a bill that creates a 10-year firearm ownership ban for people convicted of “child abuse and
Gov. Gavin Newsom and leading lawmakers vowed to expedite a package of gun legislation to the governor’s desk, which Gov. Newsom said he would sign by the end of next month.
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