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F R I DA Y, J U LY 14 , 2 0 2 3
Designed to save lives Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team sees advantages with its new Ford F-450 truck
Coral Casino partners with Chef Thomas Keller Michelin Star chef to oversee efforts to improve club’s restaurant By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club in Montecito has brought in famous Michelin star chef Thomas Keller to oversee
food and drink operations. Mr. Keller is known for his seven Michelin star awards between country-wide restaurants and his Best Chef in America award in 1997 by Please see CHEF on A4
DEBORAH JONES PHOTO
Michelin Star Chef Thomas Keller has won honors such as the James Beard Foundation Award. DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
“It can get to a lot of places that a lot of traditional four-wheel vehicles can’t,” Sheriff Bill Brown said about the new Ford F-450 truck now being used by the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team.
California Democrats move to strengthen sentencing for trafficking minors By KENNETH SCHRUPP THE CENTER SQUARE
At left, compartments in the custom-design truck are used for medical supplies and gear. Above, Nelson Trichler, an incident commander with the Search and Rescue Team, looks at a spool of rope that’s part of the truck’s features. The truck was designed by the team members in conjunction with QTAC, a Chico company that completed the manufacture.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
A new, custom-designed truck — complete with spools of 600 feet of thick ropes and other special features — is making it easier for search-and-rescue volunteers to save lives in Santa Barbara County.
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The new Ford F-450 truck has been used since February by the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue Team. And it was officially unveiled on a sunny Thursday afternoon outside the Direct Relief headquarters in Goleta. Direct Relief — which provides Please see TRUCK on A2
(The Center Square) California Democrats reversed course and moved to strengthen sentencing for trafficking minors after public outrage over the Assembly Public Safety Committee’s initial failure to approve the bill. With a final vote of 6-0, including two abstentions from progressive Democrats, the bill now moves to the Appropriations Committee, after which, if it is approved, can move the bill to be voted upon by the entire State Assembly. If passed, SB 14 will make trafficking of minors a serious felony that would qualify under California’s three strikes law, which keeps dangerous, serial criminals off the streets, and make individuals convicted of the crime ineligible for early release. Public figures from across the nation and political spectrum came out against the Public Safety Committee’s initial vote by all its Democratic members to deny SB 14’s passage out of committee. With figures ranging from California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas),
California governor Gavin Newsom, and even billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk questioning the vote, SB 14 quickly was brought back to the table. Progressive Democrats, including Assembly Majority Leader Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) opposed the bill on grounds that it would increase incarceration, which they believe does little to deter crime. “Longer sentences…increase our investment in systems of harm and subjugation at the expense of the investments that the communities need to not have this problem to begin with,” Mr. Bryan, who abstained from the July 13 vote after voting no on July 12, said. Capturing some of the public sentiment presented by citizens confused why the measure did not pass, Assemblymember Heath Flora (R-Manteca) took to the floor during the debate on whether or not to send SB 14 back to committee or skip committees and achieve a full floor vote, saying, “You can choose a team. Pick pedophiles, or children.” Senator Shanon Grove (RBakersfield), author of the bill, Please see TRAFFICKING on A4
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