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Report: SB County has low gun death rate By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF-WRITER
COURTESY PHOTO
Kerri Murray, president of Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA, left, talks at the Przemysl train station in Poland with a woman who drove from France to Poland to help Ukrainian refugees. The station is a short distance from Poland’s border with Ukraine, and Ms. Murray said this woman ended up giving rides to four refugees.
Going the distance for Ukraine
Santa Barbara County has the fourth-lowest gun-related death rate compared to other midsize counties in the U.S., according to a new report from BackgroundChecks.org. The report found Santa Barbara County had 4.5 gunrelated deaths for every 100,000 residents in 2020. Only Richmond County, New York; Monmouth County, New Jersey; and Ocean County, New Jersey, had lower rates, according to the report. Santa Barbara Interim Police Chief Bernard Melekian said he was “a little surprised” by the overall ranking given some of the crime in the northern part of the county. But he said the city and county were both “very aggressive with following up on crime.” “If law enforcement moves quickly and does aggressive follow-up and makes arrests and demonstrates that the agency is concerned with the victims, it breaks the retaliatory violence cycle,” Chief Melekian told the
ShelterBox USA President Kerri Murray travels from Santa Barbara to Poland and meets people helping refugees
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Julia traveled five days with her 10-year-old son, leaving everything behind in Ukraine. “The worst part was she was forced to leave her 22-year-old son behind. He had to stay (to fight Russia),” Kerri Murray, president of Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA, told the NewsPress Wednesday by phone from Krakow, Poland. Ms. Murray met Julia, whose last name isn’t being published to protect her son still in Ukraine, at the Przemysl train station, which is eight miles from Poland’s border
with Ukraine. “I said to her, ‘What is your biggest need right now?’ ” Ms. Murray recalled. “She said, ‘A place to stay. I also need a shower. I don’t know which one I need first. We have no idea where to go.’ “These families are being ripped apart,” Ms. Murray said. “They don’t know if or when they can go home. They’ve left their family members. They’ve shown up at the train station. “But what you would think would be a chaotic situation is unbelievably calm, unbelievably coordinated,” Ms. Murray said. “The Polish citizens are all amazing, providing hot meals at
the station, providing sim cards, providing rides.” People with good hearts in Poland are helping Ukranians. Ms. Murray, a Santa Barbara area resident, saw that firsthand as she encountered volunteers coming to the train station with signs offering rides for refugees: “I can take three women, two children, can take four people.” “I met this woman who was from France, who drove 20 hours to the train station,” Ms. Murray told the News-Press. “She started talking with a group of women. By the end of the conversation, she was taking four women with her — two to Munich and two of them home to
live with her. “You see this overwhelming outpouring of support,” Ms. Murray said. She stressed the need for humanitarian aid. “It’s a heart-breaking crisis,” she said. “It’s the fastest growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. People need food, water, shelter, access to medical care.” “When I showed up (at the train station), there were thousands of people,” Ms. Murray said. “Mostly what I saw were women. There were also so many children and Please see SHELTERBOX on A4
Carbajal confident oil ban, sanctions will make a difference in Russian war By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF-WRITER
COURTESY PHOTO
U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, second from the left, and other members of the House Armed Services Committee and the committee’s staff meet with Major Gen. Hryhoriy Halahan (far right) in December in Ukraine.
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When U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal visited Ukraine in December as part of a bipartisan delegation, he met with military and government officials who said they would not back down from what was then just a possible Russian invasion. And that’s exactly what has happened, Rep. Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, told the News-Press, calling the Ukrainians’ resolve “admirable.” Rep. Carbajal, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, praised President Joe Biden’s ban on Russian oil, as well as other economic sanctions, in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. He said he’s confident the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European nations will work to decimate the Russian economy and topple the ruble.
“The more time goes by, the more the (Russian) economy will suffer. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his oligarchs will be isolated,” the congressman said. “They are seeing their president run amuck in an unprovoked aggression toward Ukraine. The Russian people do not want to see their men and women come back in body bags, and that’s exactly what’s happening.” U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency Director Scott Berrier recently estimated between 2,000 to 4,000 Russian troops have invaded Ukraine since President Putin launched the war. Rep. Carbajal warned there is still work to be done. He said the U.S. has more than 100,000 troops in Europe that are being repositioned — a clear Please see SANCTIONS on A4
News-Press. “The city police and the (county) Sheriff’s Office do a very good job on following up.” Chief Melekian said Santa Barbara saw three gun-related homicides within the first two months of 2021. But arrests were quickly made, and there were no more gun-related deaths last year. According to the BackgroundChecks.org report, Santa Barbara County reported 20 gun-related deaths in 2020, and 52% of all homicides involved firearms. Additionally, 31.7% of all suicides in 2020 involved a gun, the report said. Among the midsize counties, Orleans Parish, Louisiana; the city of Baltimore, Maryland; Jackson County, Missouri; Jefferson County, Alabama; and Pulaski County, Arkansas, had the highest gun-related death rates in 2020. In California, Solano County had the highest gun-related death rate among midsize counties with a rate of 12.3 for every 100,000 residents. It came in at No. 56. Kern County had the 16th Please see GUNS on A3
Newsom, California lawmakers promise relief amid record high gas prices By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — As California’s gas prices continue to skyrocket to record-breaking levels, Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers are vowing to bring consumers relief at the pump through tax rebates. California’s average price for a gallon of gas reached a record-high of $5.57 Wednesday, shattering the previous day’s record by 13 cents, according to the American Automobile Association. Nationwide, the average price for a gallon of gas reached $4.25 Wednesday. With residents feeling the impact of rising gas prices on their wallets, Gov. Newsom announced during his State of the State Address on Tuesday that he plans to introduce a proposal to “put money back into the pockets of Californians.” While the governor did not elaborate on details during his address, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office told The Center Square in an email that the relief will come in the form of a tax rebate. “We are looking to move quickly on this,” the spokesperson said. “The governor is focused on providing billions in relief to Californians who are suffering from rising gas prices across the country due to the ongoing situation in Russia.” In response to Gov. Newsom’s announcement, Senate President pro Tempore Toni
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Gov. Gavin Newsom
Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said in a joint statement Tuesday that the State Legislature will work to provide “substantial relief” to families by tapping into the state’s General Fund to deliver tax rebates. “Californians are rightfully upset at the skyrocketing cost of fuel,” Sen. Atkins and Assemblyman Rendon said. “The Legislature will put the state’s robust revenue growth to work by returning substantial tax relief to families and small businesses as fast as possible.” Sen. Atkins and Assemblyman Rendon noted that using General Fund money would provide greater relief than a modest slash to the gas tax — referring to a measure Gov. Newsom floated in his budget Please see RELIEF on A3
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L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 0-5-9-6
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 7-18-38-58-64 Meganumber: 24
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 14-18-19-20-29
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-06-10 Time: 1:46.49
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 1-2-5 / Wednesday’s Midday 1-0-5