Voices section expands
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Our 165th Year
More commentaries and letters in four-page section - C1-4
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S U N DAY, O c t obe r 11, 2 0 2 0
Assembly candidates speak out Steve Bennett calls for fiscal responsibility
Editor’s note: The News-Press is publishing a series about local candidates. The series will continue with reports on the Goleta mayoral race on Monday, a congressional race on Tuesday and a state Senate race on Wednesday.
MORE INSIDE Here’s how to cast your ballots. A4 Commentaries on the election. C1-4
Charles Cole opposes high taxes, overregulation
By JOSH GREGA
By JOSH GREGA
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Steve Bennett has been a supervisor for Ventura County for more than 20 years, and now he wants to bring the same ethos of fiscal responsibility he dedicated to the county to the state level by running for assemblyman of California’s 37th District. Mr. Bennett is running against Republican candidate Charles Cole. Comparing when he first became a supervisor in the Please see bennett on A4
Charles Cole isn’t pleased with the direction in which California is headed, citing high taxes, overregulation on businesses, and one-sided politics in the public education system as key issues that he wants to address as a state Assemblyman for the 37th District, for which he is running as a Republican candidate. The 22-year-old is running against Democratic candidate and Ventura County District 1 supervisor Steve Bennett.
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Steve Bennett, who sits on the Board of Supervisors in Ventura County, is seeking the 37th District seat in the Assembly.
“What I plan to do is a ‘no’ vote on anything that raises taxes, over-regulates businesses and puts more Marxist indoctrination into public schools,” Mr. Cole told the News-Press. Citing that 1,200 regulations on businesses were passed in California last year, Mr. Cole remarked that working toward deregulation will be his very first order of business should he be elected in November. “I’m going there to repeal burdensome regulations on businesses so I’d like to get a jump Please see cole on A4
Protest against Teen Talk Parents and community members opposed to new sex education curriculum
Firehawk helicopter arrives in SB County By MITCHELL WHITE NEWS-PRESS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
A new tool has been added to help quell the spread of local wildfires. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff-Fire Air Support Unit announced the arrival of Copter 964, a 2004 Sikorsky HH-60L
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Local parents and members of the community gathered Saturday morning in front of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse to protest Teen Talk, Santa Barbara Unified’s new controversial, middle school sex education program. Teen Talk was approved by the school board last month, but protestors hope to vote out the school board and overturn the vote, saying the board ignored the 1,000 parents in opposition. The 12-session program covers sexual anatomy, the reproduction cycle, the range of gender identities, sexual orientation, gender expression, birth control, STDs, condom application, relationships, body image, sexual assault and safe sex. Those opposed to Teen Talk view it as pornographic, citing lack of family values, age-appropriate concerns and Planned Parenthood involvement, and prefer the Health Education and Relationship Training curriculum. All parents have the right to opt out of the program.
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“Firehawk” helicopter on Thursday. The new helicopter has the ability to drop more than three times that of the current Bell Huey aircraft, can carry more than twice the amount of passengers or patients and can travel some 80 mph faster than the county’s current arsenal, Please see FIREHAWK on A2
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The 2004 Sikorsky HH-60L “Firehawk” helicopter has officially arrived in Santa Barbara. KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Opponents of Santa Barbara Unified’s controversial middle school sexual education curriculum, Teen Talk, gathered at a protest Saturday at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.
Several dozen people took part in Saturday’s protest, which featured signs that read, “No Planned Parenthood curriculum,” “Protect our kids,” “Stop normalizing child sex,”
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Santa Barbara native Charles Cole, seen speaking during Saturday’s Teen Talk rally, is running for the 37th District Assembly seat.
“#TooMuchTooSoon,” “Teen Talk is child abuse” and “Did you know? Your children are being exposed to porn in school.” “I just think it’s wrong,” protester John Sween told the
News-Press. “Kids are going to evolve and find out what it’s all about on their own at some point. I think you can have some type of sex education, but to promote Please see teen talk on A3
TV schedules, Abby on hold Beginning today, the NewsPress is placing its TV schedules and the Dear Abby (Abigail Van Buren) and Carolyn Hax columns on a temporary
hiatus. During their absence, we are expanding local content in our Life section. As always, our main mission is to cover the communities of Santa Barbara County. We appreciate our readers’ support of that mission.
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Classified............... A7 Life.................... b1, 4 Obituaries............. A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-10-22-41 Meganumber: 21
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Saturday’s DAILY 3: 7-6-7 / Sunday’s Midday 7-6-3
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