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SB City Council to consider civilian oversight of police By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
COURTESY PHOTO
Jeri Moulder and Blance Heitkamp, residents at Covenant Living at Samarkand in Santa Barbara, crochet sunflower pins to raise money for Direct Relief and its efforts to help Ukraine.
Crocheting for Ukraine
The Santa Barbara City Council will hold a special meeting Friday regarding civilian oversight of the Santa Barbara Police Department. The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. in the David Gebhard Public Meeting Room at 630 Garden St. It can also be viewed online at www. santabarbaraca.gov/cap. The Community Formation Commission is recommending Santa Barbara create a Civilian Oversight Board to review and recommend police policies, and provide opportunities for community input and education on policing practices. The board is also intended to provide a mechanism for the impartial and fair review of Santa Barbara Police Department probes into allegations of misconduct. Santa Barbara established the Community Formation Commission in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a black Minneapolis man, at the hands of law enforcement. The commission recommended the board be made up of seven at-large members and encouraged young adults who have experienced homelessness or arrests to apply. The commission suggested the board include at least
one member with a law enforcement background who has not served in Santa Barbara County and no current city employees or family members of city employees or Santa Barbara police officers. The Community Formation Commission, made up of 13 members and two alternates, has spent more than a year studying, researching and reviewing community feedback regarding a civilian oversight system. The commission also recommended the establishment of an independent police monitor position, considered to be an executive-level employee. Similar positions receive about $196,000 for a salary, according to a council agenda report. The independent police monitor would be responsible for multilingual and accessible outreach and education for the community. The monitor would also be responsible for tasks such as building relationships between law enforcement and the community. The agenda, which includes the commission’s report, can be found here: santabarbaraca.gov/gov/ cityhall/council/meetings/ videos/default.asp. email: kschallhorn@newspress. com
Samarkand residents raise more than $8,100 for Ukraine with special sunflowers
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Covenant Living at Samarkand residents have raised more than $8,100 for aid for Ukraine by crocheting and selling approximately 150 sunflowers. The successful fundraising effort was led by resident Jeri Moulder. She and others recently delivered the money to Direct Relief, the Goleta nonprofit that
has provided many medical supplies to Ukraine. “The donation will go largely toward shipping as well as to the health needs of refugees who have fled to neighboring countries, largely Poland,” Greg Mora, Direct Relief’s senior manager of individual philanthropy, told the News-Press. Ms. Moulder knew she wanted to do something to help Ukraine, which has coped with a nearly
two-month-long invasion by Russia. “I was so upset when the war started, as we all were, and I thought, ‘Well, I can’t go over there and do anything so, what can I do? Well, I can crochet,’” Ms. Moulder said. Ms. Moulder started by making herself a little sunflower pin to wear, as a symbol of solidarity with Ukraine. The pins also have blue and yellow ribbons, the colors
of the Ukrainian flag coming down on each side. The sunflower is significant because it is the national flower of Ukraine. She made one for herself and a few friends at Covenant Living. “Then I thought, ‘Why should I just give them away?’ ” Ms. Moulder told the News-Press. She and her friends decided to sell the sunflowers to raise Please see CROCHETING on B4
Congressional candidate wants government to work better Santa Barbara resident Jeff Frankenfield runs as independent
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS
“The biggest challenge I feel for the Central Coast is the economy,” said Jeff Frankenfield, running for the 24th Congressional District seat.
Jeff Frankenfield wants to bring people together and discuss good ideas from both Democrats and Republicans. “I think people are just tired of the status quo of what’s going on with the federal government, with the bad blood between the far left and the far right. It’s been so toxic,” the Santa Barbara candidate for Congress told the News-Press. “I think historically we’ve done a better job of meeting in the middle and appreciating
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each other’s opinions,” said Mr. Frankenfield, 50, who’s running in the June 7 primary as an independent against U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara; independent candidate Michele Weslander Quaid and Brad Allen, a Republican. The seat represents the 24th Congressional District, which includes Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and part of Ventura County. “I think there are good ideas from the Democrats. I think there are good ideas on the Republican side,” said Mr. Frankenfield, who’s running for his first elective office. “I’ve read through both platforms. They both have valuable ideas.
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
ELECTION 2022
Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series about candidates in the June 7 primary.
Santa Barbara City Council forms housing crisis committee
“I want to come into it (Congress) with an open mind,” Mr. Frankenfield said. If elected, Mr. Frankenfield said he would likely caucus with Republicans. “But I would want to stay true to who I am and talk to the moderates and find new solutions. “We are a diverse, beautiful country,” Mr. Frankenfield said. “If we can’t mimic that in our government, it’s not going to work.” “I think most people I talk to are where I am. They’re in the middle, and they’re tired of the fighting,” said Mr. Frankenfield, a Seattle native who served with the Marines at Camp Pendleton Please see CANDIDATE on A4
The Santa Barbara City Council decided to establish an ad hoc committee to explore various ways to alleviate the housing crisis in the area. The city council was expected to approve the scope of work for a study the body approved earlier this year. But after a lengthy public comment period and a bevy of questions posed by council members, the body unanimously decided to form a housing crisis committee instead. Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez was named chair of the committee with Councilmembers Alejandra Gutierrez and Kristen Sneddon joining him on the group. Councilmember Oscar Gutierrez said he wanted the group to be multifaceted and acknowledged it would include public outreach and town hall meetings. The group will also come up with direction on the sequence and priority for a temporary rent stabilization ordinance and a rental registry program, items the city council approved in December.
Originally, the council was tasked with approving the scope of a rent stabilization economic analysis to be funded with $200,000 of federal pandemic relief money. But many council members expressed concern about bringing in an outside consultant who might not understand the community’s needs well. “As to the study, I have to say, I don’t think that it’s necessary for us to spend the taxpayer dollars to get the information we already know if we’re also going to put in place an ad hoc committee that’s doing the same research. It seems to be duplicative of effort and just wasteful of money,” Mayor Pro Tempore Meagan Harmon said. “We don’t have unlimited funds, and I think the work the housing crisis committee could do … will, to me, be more worthwhile than a study put together by a consultant from a different community.” “I don’t want to spend money on another study. After hearing everybody today, I think it’s very clear that we have the answers within our community,” said Councilmember Alejandra Gutierrez. “We all want to take Please see HOUSING on A2
INSIDE
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: 8-3-9-3
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-9-33-47-53 Meganumber: 24
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 2-25-34-36-37
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 04-05-01 Time: 1:45.36
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Sports . .................... A3 Weather................. A4
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 5-7-3 / Wednesday’s Midday 8-2-4