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Airport expansion
DOJ accused of ‘abuse of power’ IRS whistleblowers say department interfered in Hunter Biden investigation By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE SENIOR REPORTER
COURTESY SANTA BARBARA AIRPORT
This is an architectural rendering for the Terminal Improvement Project, set to begin in 2026 at the Santa Barbara Airport.
SB facility’s staff discusses proposal during open house By LIAM HIBBERT NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The Santa Barbara Airport held an open house Tuesday to talk about the proposed airport expansion, set to begin in 2026. The expansion, named the Terminal Improvement Project, would add over 30,000 square feet to the airport, which would include two new gates, additional seating and improved security lines as part of a plan to keep up with current overcrowding issues. The details of these plans, drawn out in detail and explained by its architects and the airport staff, were presented to the public during the open house at Direct Relief, the Goleta nonprofit near the airport. “Within the current terminal, we are at capacity, passengerwise,” said Santa Barbara Airport Marketing Supervisor Angi Daus. “This improvement project is going to be able to give our passengers a better experience,” she told the News-Press. The majority of the construction would be on the south side of the terminal, where the baggage claim and security lines are. There would also be some other additions and upgrades throughout the rest of the airport as needed. The Terminal Improvement Project was first proposed in 2017, and after construction begins, it is not expected to finish until 2028. Given that the project is expected to span over 10 years, there will likely be questions as to why the process must take so long. Marketing Supervisor Daus argued that while the decade-long time frame can be frustrating, it is not inherently bad. “It’s a good amount of bureaucracy. It’s part of our democratic process,” said Ms. Daus. “We want to make sure
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Newsom-threatened school board draws national attention By KENNETH SCHRUPP THE CENTER SQUARE REPORTER
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
Public meetings are planned to discuss the Santa Barbara Airport and its plans for expansion.
that all the members of our community are part of the process and that we take our time so that as many people in the community know about it.” The open house gave community members a chance to talk to those involved with the project roll-out, ask questions and see detailed plans for the future of the airport. For those who missed the meeting or would like to attend one in the future, the airport has yet to set a date, but assured there will be more. “This is our first community meeting,” Ms. Daus said. “We’re only at about 10% for the total project right now. “We’re just getting started,
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(The Center Square) — Two IRS whistleblowers testifying before Congress Wednesday allege that Hunter Biden benefited significantly from “abuse of authority” and interference from President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice in the inter-agency investigation into the younger Biden’s several alleged tax crimes. Supervisory Special Agent Gary Shapley and Criminal Investigator Joseph Ziegler, both IRS employees with a combined 27 experience years at the agency, said Hunter Biden’s preferential treatment was different from other cases in their experience. In particular, they testified that Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf helped block investigators’ plan for an interview of the president and a search warrant of the Biden residence in Delaware. As The Center Square previously reported, court documents made public last month show that Hunter
Biden, who pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanor taxrelated charges, will also face a charge related to possessing a gun while being a drug user. However, that firearm charge will be subject to a pretrial diversion agreement, meaning Hunter Biden’s lawyers brokered a deal and Mr. Biden will likely not see prison time for the gun charge. Hunter Biden’s plea deal was immediately criticized by Republicans as a “sweetheart deal” and was a key point of focus for Wednesday’s hearing. Supervisory Special Agent Shapley worked on Hunter Biden’s case and said both the IRS and Delaware State prosecutors recommended charging Hunter Biden with multiple felonies and misdemeanors related to his tax filings from 2014 to 2019. Mr. Shapley testified that President Biden’s political appointees “were allowed to weigh in on whether to charge the president’s son” and the final plea deal ended up being much less than the IRS originally
“This improvement project is going to be able to give our passengers a better experience.”
FYI
For more information about the Santa Barbara AIrport, visit flysba.santabarbaraca. gov. Check the project page at flysba.santabarbaraca. gov/projects/terminalimprovement-project for more specifics and scroll to the bottom of the page to subscribe for project email updates.
— Angi Daus, Santa Barbara Airport marketing supervisor
there will be a lot more meetings,” she said. email: lhibbert@newspress.com
(The Center Square) — Gov. Gavin Newsom doubled down on threats to the Temecula Valley Unified School Board for thus far refusing to adopt his preferred social studies textbook hours before it was scheduled to hold a workshop to present stateapproved alternatives amid state and national furor from Democratic officials. “The Temecula school board rejected the adoption of a widely used social studies curriculum — forcing students to use an outof-print textbook that doesn’t meet requirements and breaks the law,” Gov. Newsom said the morning of the workshop. In advance of the workshop, the school district, which maintains a contentious relationship with the elected school board, issued an agenda explaining its rationale for the proposed curriculum, one of the four State Board of Education adopted materials for “History/ Social Studies.” “A Social Science Pilot team consisting of 47 teachers from all grades, at all sites, came to a consensus of adopting TCI
COURTESY PHOTO
Gov. Gavin Newsom
Social Studies Alive 1st-5th grade for an eight-year adoption. TCI Social Studies Alive 1st5th will be the primary history instructional material for elementary students,” Temecula Unified School District said. In the workshop meeting, board members clashed Please see NEWSOM on A4
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-4 Obituaries............... A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-10-20-22-32 Meganumber: 1
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 7-4-2-6
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 19-22-31-37-54 Meganumber: 18
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-11-12-18-34
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-03-09 Time: 1:44.39
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 7-10-11-13-24 Meganumber: 24
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 3-3-7 / Wednesday’s Midday 9-2-1