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T H U R S DAY, M A RC H 11, 2 0 21
Standing in solidarity with Tibet
Red tier within sight
Community holds Tibet flag raising to advocate for human rights
NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE
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Health officer predicts change on March 23
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK
By DAVE MASON
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
The sun broke out of the clouds just in time on Wednesday morning for the first Tibet flag raising in Santa Barbara County history. March 10 marked Tibetan Uprising Day, and Santa Barbara joined 425 cities in Germany and numerous cities in California and several in Wisconsin in raising the Tibet flag to raise awareness for human rights and freedom for Tibetans, Uighurs, Mongolians and people in Hong Kong. County supervisors Das Williams and Joan Hartmann co-sponsored a resolution this year declaring March 10 Tibetan Uprising Day. “I think that it’s important for Santa Barbara to declare ourselves in solidarity with the struggles of the people of Tibet, but also, even more importantly, to try to minimize our economic aid to the government of China in perpetuating human rights crises,” Mr. Williams, the 1st District supervisor, told the NewsPress at the flag-raising site. “If we keep buying Chinese products — many of which are made in the slave labor camps in the country — then we are actually helping oppress the Tibetan and Uighur people, so I think the second part is to raise consciousness about that.” Mr. Williams and more than a dozen community members gathered at 9 a.m in front of the County Administration Building on Anapamu Street, including
March 23. If you own a restaurant, gym or store, mark it on your calendar. That’s the date Santa Barbara County is expected to take a step closer to pre-pandemic life and return to the coveted red tier. That would allow, among other things, the resumption of indoor dining, an expansion of customer capacity inside retail outlets, and the reopenings of indoor movie theaters, indoor museum exhibits, indoor gyms and secondary schools with limits on capacity. That all adds up to good news for a struggling economy and residents eager for a more normal world. “The earliest we could get into the red tier is March 23,” Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county public health officer, told the News-Press Wednesday. “Honestly, it’s quite likely we will reach the red tier that day. “That means effective the following day (March 24), certain things can happen. For instance, there could be dining with very limited (25%) capacity indoors with ventilation,” Dr. Ansorg said. “Retail capacity will increase in the red tier,” he continued.
RAFAEL MALDONADO/NEWS-PRESS
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Santa Barbara County passed a resolution declaring March 10 Tibetan Uprising Day, and flew the first Tibet flag in county history at the Administration Building on Wednesday morning.
Ice, snow cause pile up on SR 154 Officials expect rainy conditions to continue today By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Wednesday’s storm system dropped snow and ice on State Route 154, leading to extended road closures as Caltrans officials cleared an eight-car pile-up near Cold Springs Bridge. Officials from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the multi-car pileup around 11 a.m. Wednesday as icy conditions caused vehicles to slide off the road and into other vehicles. The 154 was closed by Caltrans until around 1:25 p.m. After a period of steady rainfall in the early morning hours Wednesday, roadways remained wet during the morning commute. A fatal crash occurred around 6:45 a.m. on the Highway 101 just north of the State Route 1 interchange. A 21-year-old Guadalupe woman, whose identity was withheld, was traveling south on the 101 when, for unknown reasons, she allowed her vehicle to travel to the right off the roadway. The vehicle traveled onto the dirt shoulder, down an embankment and crashed into a tree, according to the California Highway Patrol. Weather conditions were
COURTESY PHOTO
Icy conditions caused an eight-car pile-up near Cold Spring Bridge on State Route 154 Wednesday morning.
cloudy and wet at the time of the crash, and it was not actively raining, the CHP said. The cause of the collision is under investigation, and alcohol does not appear to be a factor, authorities said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Officer Schmidt
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“You shouldn’t see lines in front of grocery stores anymore. “Obviously you will still need to wear a mask when you go into a store,” Dr. Ansorg said. The county’s COVID cases have fallen to 9.7 per 100,000, and state health officials said that’s good enough for the red tier if 2 million people are Please see RED TIER on A8
Stimulus checks coming soon House approves COVID-19 bill, president expected to sign Friday By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The latest COVID-19 relief bill officially passed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives, and based on the time frame for the last relief package, eligible Americans could expect $1,400 stimulus checks from the IRS within two weeks. The House approved the final version of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Wednesday afternoon. The commanderin-chief is expected to sign it Friday. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, voted to pass the bill Wednesday. “This pandemic has killed over half a million Americans, driven families into poverty and crushed our economy. Overcoming these challenges requires a big, bold investment and the American Rescue Plan delivers at a scale that meets the moment,” Rep. Carbajal said. “This rescue plan mounts a national vaccination program, puts our children back in school in a safe and sustainable way, keeps small businesses open and their workers on payroll, and will lift
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, voted to pass the president’s American Rescue Plan Wednesday, saying, “This rescue plan mounts a national vaccination program, puts our children back in school in a safe and sustainable way, keeps small businesses open and their workers on payroll, and will lift nearly 12 million Americans out of poverty. I’m thrilled to say that more help is on the way.”
nearly 12 million Americans out of poverty. I’m thrilled to say that more help is on the way.” The package sends $15 Please see BILL on A2
L O T T E RY RESULTS
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at the Buellton-area CHP office at 805-681-5551. Rainy weather is here to stay in Santa Barbara County as the remnants of Wednesday’s storm system move out of the area today, leaving traces of scattered showers and a chance of thunderstorms through this
evening. Today’s showers and possible thunderstorms are expected to drop less than half an inch of rain across the county, which would bring total storm system accumulations to about an inch, Joe Sirard, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, told the News-Press. Steady rain showers covered Santa Barbara County starting Tuesday night through early Wednesday morning. Scattered showers continued throughout the rest of the day in the county accompanied by periods of sunshine. As of 6 p.m. Wednesday, the showers brought 0.75 inches of rain in Goleta, 0.76 inches in Montecito, 0.94 inches in Santa Barbara and 0.74 inches in Santa Maria, according to data from the county’s Public Works Department. Other notable totals included 1.29 inches of rainfall at the San Marcos Pass and 1.11 inches at Gibraltar Reservoir. Looking ahead, the forecast calls for dry conditions in Santa Barbara County starting Friday, with cooler temperatures reaching the mid-60s through the weekend.
DAVE MASON/NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
“The earliest we could get into the red tier is March 23,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, the Santa Barbara County public health officer. “Honestly, it’s quite likely we will reach the red tier that day.”
Sudoku................. A5 Sports ................... A8 Weather................ A8
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-6-20-40-42 Meganumber: 27
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 8-2-5-4
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 4-33-46-58-65 Meganumber: 13
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 2-15-29-32-39
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 02-09-03 Time: 1:47.83
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 17-18-37-44-53 Meganumber: 18
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 1-8-3 / Wednesday’s Midday: 3-2-4