Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Inspirational journey
Wildfire prevention
The Investigator points to troubling details about the murder- A3
Traumatic brain injury survivor shares her story - B1
U.S. Reps. Kevin McCarthy, Dan Newhouse write about visiting Santa Barbara County - C1
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Unemployment remains above pre-pandemic levels By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Despite the addition of more than half a million jobs in May, the U.S. unemployment rate still remains well above pre-pandemic levels, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In May, the U.S. added 559,000 jobs, bringing the nation’s unemployment rate down 0.3% to 5.8%, according to the bureau’s report. During a normal year, this would be a tremendous increase of jobs in a single month. However, this is not a normal year.
According to the report released on Friday, the U.S. unemployment rate still remains well above pre-pandemic levels. Currently, 9.3 million people are still unemployed, while before the pandemic, 5.7 million were unemployed in February 2020. Before the pandemic struck, the unemployment rate hovered around 3.5% as of February 2020. What’s more, California’s unemployment claims swelled to their worst levels in more than a month last week, according to a federal government report released Thursday. The U.S. Labor Department reported that
California workers filed 74,625 claims for unemployment benefits during the week that ended May 29, an increase of 3,750 over the prior week. This is the highest amount of unemployment claims the state has seen since April 24, when workers filed 78,600 unemployment claims. While the U.S. still has a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic unemployment levels, the number of persons on temporary layoff declined to 1.8 million in May, down 90% from the recent high of 18 million people in April 2020. Friday’s report also noted that people
are beginning to return to their offices as states begin to lift COVID-19 restrictions. In May, 16.3% of employed persons teleworked due to the pandemic, down from 18.3% in the prior month. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality industry also increased in May, with an employment uptick of about 292,000 jobs. The hospitality industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic and still remains down 2.5 million jobs compared to its level in February 2020. Employment also increased in public and private education during the month
Foothills Forever nears fundraising goal
of May, with an increase of 53,000 jobs in local government education, 50,000 in state government education and 41,000 in private education. The report attributes these increases to the resumption of inperson schooling in some parts of the country. Despite these increases, local government education is down 556,000 jobs, state government education has decreased by 244,000 jobs and private education is down 293,000 jobs compared to February 2020. email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
Council to mull safe encampment site Members will consider declaring emergency because of camps in fire-prone areas By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Ken Owen, the executive director of the organization Channel Islands Restoration, shows the different types of plants found at the San Marcos Foothills Preserve in Santa Barbara during a nature walk Saturday.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
In just the last 90 days, activists from Foothills Forever have drummed up nearly enough support to secure the purchase of the San Marcos Foothills, sitting approximately $584,000 away from their goal of $18.6 million as of Saturday. What once was an uphill battle is nearing completion as activists aim to raise enough funds to purchase the open space by this Wednesday’s deadline. Thanks to the support of more than 6,000 generous donors, the effort is 97% funded and just needs over half a million
to secure the deal. Back in March, the developer of the San Marcos Foothills, Chadmar Group, agreed to pause development, giving activists a timeline of 90 days to raise enough funds to purchase the property before it is used to build eight multimillion-dollar homes. The original agreement required the campaign to raise the money by June 2, but the group received an extension through this Wednesday. Now that the campaign sits on the cusp of raising enough funds for the purchase, Campaign Director Mary Rose reflected on how far the effort has come in just a short period of time.
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purchase of the land. On Saturday, Ken Owen, the executive director of Channel Islands Restoration, led visitors on a nature walk of the area, pointing out both native and invasive plant species that grow in the area. Across the grassy preserve, native species like the western ragweed and the green everlasting are sprouting alongside the dirt trail, growing side by side with invasive species like the horehound herb. If the fundraising campaign is successful, Mr. Owen said Channel Islands Restoration is aiming to restore the preserve by utilizing sheep to graze Please see FOOTHILLS on A5
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“I think everybody thought we were nuts, including ourselves, to say (in) 90 days we were going to raise $18 million,” Ms. Rose told the News-Press. “I think everybody thought we were kind of nuts.” She added, “I’m astounded that we’ve come this far. The community has been so supportive and I’m very, very optimistic that we’re going to be able to close this deal and, you know, be able to preserve this open space for the public to enjoy.” During the final weekend before the Wednesday deadline, Foothills Forever invited members of the public to take a natural walk at the preserve in an effort to increase support for the group’s
The Santa Barbara City Council will review homeless encampments, Ortega Park murals and the city’s budget during a packed week of meetings. Members will have two special meetings on Tuesday and two more on Wednesday. On the latter day, the council will hear and consider the recommended operating and capital budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Those meetings are in addition to the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday. During that session, the council will consider proclaiming a local emergency due to encampments in fire-prone areas. Members will also discuss declaring a shelter crisis. Council members will be asked to select a location for a temporary safe encampment for 120 days and approve the process for site management and fireprone area abatement. Tuesday’s regular meeting will begin at 2 p.m. and can be viewed on City TV Channel 18 or streamed live at www. santabarbaraca.gov/cap. Roughly 300 individuals live on the streets or in encampments in the city, according to the 2020 Santa Barbara Homeless Population Point in Time Count. At least 50 of the unhoused people are in fire-prone areas. Fires in encampments are on the rise — with 18 in May alone. The city staff is considering several city-owned properties for a temporary safe encampment location, including: the Carrillo-Castillo commuter parking lot, City Hall parking lot, Spencer Adams parking lot and one of the Santa Barbara Airport’s long-term parking locations. Private property locations such as the Sears parking lot are under consideration as well. A short list of three will be presented to the council at the meeting. Under the proposed resolution, city staff would prioritize the sites for abatement, work with CityNet staff to move campers to the temporary encampment, schedule trash cleanup and vegetation removal, and continue weekly evaluation and cleanup work of abated areas. No federal or state funds are currently available for the services to support the establishment of the temporary safe encampment or abatement activities, the staff report says. The estimated costs for the 120 pilot and abatement services is approximately $1 Please see COUNCIL on A6
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