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Herb Peterson Day McDonalds restaurants honor Egg McMuffin creator while raising money for Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
Biden considers military deployment near Ukraine U.S. Embassy employees authorized to evacuate
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Today’s Herb Peterson Day. And that means you can buy Egg McMuffins for $2 each (up to five of them per order) at the six McDonalds in Santa Barbara and Goleta. The annual special sale is popular, said David Peterson, Herb’s son and the owner of the two McDonalds in Goleta. “Typically, our breakfast clientele doubles on this day,” said David, whose famous father was the Santa Barbara entrepreneur who invented the Egg McMuffin. And Herb was well-known and well-liked in the Santa Barbara area. “Not a week goes by that someone doesn’t mention my dad and what he meant to the community,” David told the NewsPress Monday. “My dad was generous, funny and kind. “He lit up a room,” David said. “Everybody knew him. He had a constant smile.” And his legacy is such that one woman called David and told him she was bringing a bouquet to a McDonalds in Goleta this morning to honor Herb, who died in 2008 at age 89. In addition to honoring the Egg McMuffin creator, today’s sale is a fundraiser. The proceeds from Egg McMuffin sales at the six restaurants will go to Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. “Last year, we raised $4,000. That was the first year we raised money for the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics,” David said. He added he hopes to see a similar amount raised today. David said he learned more about the clinics when the pandemic struck and became impressed with the nonprofit and its CEO and chief medical officer, Dr. Charles Fenzi. “Many of my staff are his clients as well,” David said. “I’m impressed by all that they (the clinics) do. They’re an incredible gift to Santa Barbara and Goleta.” Before the pandemic, “I wasn’t aware of what they did,” David said. “Now I’m a complete fan.” He said his father would have loved that the Egg McMuffin sales were helping the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. “My dad loved supporting the community. He loved this town.” David added that Dr. Fenzi is very likable in much the way that Herb was and likes to wear neckties, “just like my dad.” “My dad would have really enjoyed the cause,” David said. Herb Peterson created the Egg McMuffin in 1970 and called it the Fast Break Breakfast, David recalled. Herb, who owned the McDonalds restaurants in the Santa Barbara area, went a step further and asked McDonalds CEO Ray Kroc to try the Fast Break Breakfast at a McDonalds on upper State Street. Mr. Kroc happily devoured four or five of them. Later Herb donned his chef’s hat and impressed the McDonalds board in Chicago. In 1971, the Egg McMuffin became a hot breakfast item at McDonalds restaurants across the nation. David said Herb created what he called “a poor man’s Eggs Benedict.” It features an egg,
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The State Department Monday authorized U.S. government employees at the American Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, to evacuate and ordered the staff’s families to do so amid tensions with Russia. “Authorized departure gives these employees the option to depart if they wish; their departure is not required,” the embassy explained Monday on its website (ua.usembassy.gov). “Ordered departure for family members requires that family members leave the country. The U.S. Embassy’s departure status will be reviewed in no later than 30 days.” The evacuation authorization for employees and orders for families come as President Joe Biden is considering sending several thousand troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic
By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS
David Peterson sits in front of a photo of his father, Egg McMuffin creator Herb Peterson, at the McDonalds that David owns on Fairview Avenue in Goleta. Today you can buy an Egg McMuffin for $2 as the six McDonalds restaurants in Goleta and Santa Barbara celebrate Herb Peterson Day.
An Egg McMuffin features an egg, Canadian bacon and American cheese inside an English Muffin.
Canadian bacon and American cheese inside an English Muffin. “It’s delicious. It’s hand-held. It’s
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portable, and it tastes great. The price is great,” David said. “Now breakfast is 30% of our business
worldwide.” email: dmason@newspress.com
(The Center Square) – All medically-eligible California students would be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine to attend in-person learning without the option for a personal belief exemption under a new bill introduced on Monday. The proposal by Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, would add the COVID-19 vaccine to a list of required inoculations to attend K-12 schools. If the law is enacted, students could no longer opt out of the vaccine with a personal belief exemption. They would be required to get the vaccine to attend in-person learning or obtain a medical exemption starting Jan. 1, 2023. Sen. Pan said Monday that his bill would ensure schools remain open for all students and provide “confidence and certainty” to parents that their children will be safe from disease in school. “Students in California are currently required to be vaccinated from many serious diseases to prevent their spread in schools and communities,” Sen. Pan said during a news conference Monday. “Given the tragically high number of people, including children and
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teens, who suffered death and disability from COVID-19, we must make sure our students are vaccinated against COVID as well.” It’s unclear whether Sen. Pan’s bill would apply to private schools, although a 2015 bill he sponsored did remove the exemption for students at private institutions. His office wasn’t immediately available to elaborate. “Vaccination is the cornerstone of ensuring our schools stay open and safe,” Sen. Pan later added. Sen. Pan’s bill goes a step further than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s existing directive announced last fall, which will require California students to be fully vaccinated to attend school once the Food and Drug Administration fully approves the COVID-19 vaccine for schoolaged children. Gov. Newsom’s directive allows students and parents to opt out of the requirement if they claim it violates their personal beliefs. Sen. Pan’s proposal, however, would take away the personal belief exemption, allowing students to be excluded from the mandate only if they have a medical exemption. It would also Please see BILL on A3
newspaper to readers in some areas. We appreciate our readers’ patience as we work to resolve this. If you experience delays with your paper, call 805-966-7171 or email circulation@newspress. com.
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States as part of a broader NATO effort to bolster NATO allies, bordering Russia and Ukraine. On Monday, NATO said its Please see UKRAINE on A3
California bill would mandate COVID-19 vaccine for K-12 schools, ban personal exemptions
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President Joe Biden is considering sending several thousand troops to Eastern Europe and the Baltic States.
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