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Afghanistan in crisis
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Solvang officials present State of the City Residents heard updates from Assemblymember Steve Bennett, city officials
Biden warns of threat of attack at Kabul airport By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
President Joe Biden warned Saturday that the threat of another terrorist attack near the Kabul airport is “highly likely” as the U.S. scrambles to complete its evacuation efforts. In a statement, Mr. Biden said the situation remains “extremely dangerous” on the ground, and said U.S. officials expected another attack to occur prior to Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline. The Islamic State Khorasan, or ISIS-K, took responsibility for Thursday’s suicide bombing at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans. In response to the attack, the U.S. launched a retaliatory strike Friday, which Pentagon officials say killed two ISIS-K militants. On Saturday, Mr. Biden vowed that Friday’s strike would not be the last. “We will continue to hunt down any person involved in that heinous attack and make them pay,” the president said in a statement. “Whenever anyone seeks to harm the United States or attack our troops, we will respond. That will never be in doubt.” Leading up to Tuesday’s withdrawal deadline, the State Department said Saturday that about 350 Americans are still awaiting evacuation. Given the threat of an attack, U.S. officials have warned Americans to stay away from the airport. About 6,800 people were evacuated in a 24 hour period on Saturday, according to Pentagon officials. Since Aug. 14, the U.S. has evacuated 117,000 people total. Evacuations have been down since Thursday’s attack, according to national reports. Prior to the bombing, White House officials said early Thursday that 13,400 people had been airlifted over a 24-hour period. email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
Supervisors to vote on vaccine mandate for county employees By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER MADISON HIRNEISEN / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Assemblymember Steve Bennett, left, presented a resolution celebrating the Solvang Chamber of Commerce’s 100th anniversary to Tracy Beard, the executive director of the chamber, and Solvang Mayor Charlie Uhrig during Saturday’s State of the City address.
By MADISON HIRNEISEN
Assemblymember Steve Bennett, DVentura, was the keynote speaker at Saturday’s event.
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Solvang Chamber of Commerce held its State of the City address on Saturday, taking time to reflect on the last fiscal year and outline goals for the future. Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, opened Saturday’s meeting as the keynote speaker, addressing a group of community members and business owners gathered in the city’s Veterans Memorial Hall. He reflected on some of his first visits to Solvang about four years ago, noting that the city has maintained its charm and sense of community. “From being back here from time to time, I’ve seen how well you’ve maintained the quality of life here and the things that make you special and unique,” Mr. Bennett said. “That’s really what community’s about — community is not about how many strip malls you have, it’s about the character and quality and sense of community, and you’ve done that far better than most people.” During his remarks, the assemblyman outlined Please see SOLVANG on A5
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The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will consider the adoption of a COVID-19 vaccine or testing requirement for all county employees during its regular meeting Tuesday. During last week’s meeting, the board voted 3-2 to direct staff from the County’s Executive Office to develop a policy that would require all county employees to be vaccinated or undergo mandatory weekly testing. Staff from the CEOs office will be presenting the policy to the board on Tuesday, and Supervisors will vote whether or not to adopt the requirement. According to a board letter from the County Executive Office, 49.3% of the county’s workforce has verified vaccination through documentation and 13.4% self-attested their vaccinated status. About 37.3% of county employees have not disclosed their status. With the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant causing an uptick in case rates throughout the region, the County’s Executive Office wrote that instituting a vaccine mandate or testing requirement is the best way to promote safety. “It is the County’s intention to maintain a safe working environment for employees as well as the public we serve,” officials wrote. “In order to Please see SUPERVISORS on A7
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