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Big day for Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Meet the Woman of the Year Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso to be honored - A3
Our 165th Year
Local landmark turns 95 - A6
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t u e s day, m a rc h 16 , 2 0 21
Rain, blustery winds sweep across the county
SB Police PIO placed on leave Interim chief announces investigation into allegations about Anthony Wagner By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Anthony Wagner, the public information officer for the Santa Barbara Police Department, has been placed on administrative leave following allegations about his conduct and his involvement with awarding cannabis dispensary licenses. Interim Chief Bernard Melekian on Monday announced his decision to have an outside firm investigate Mr. Wagner. Chief Melekian also said he was placing Mr. Wagner, who served briefly as a spokesman for Mayor Cathy Murillo, on administrative leave. Please see pio on A2
Oscar nominees announced By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS
City workers worked Monday to clean up palm fronds blown down by high winds at Chase Palm Park
By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Mother Nature risked getting a speeding ticket as blustery winds whipped across Santa Barbara County Monday, with wind gusts even registering on a speed radar near Santa Barbara Airport. A cold front moved out of the county on Monday, bringing early morning showers, cool temperatures and high wind speeds. Though most county streets dried out
by Monday afternoon, wind gusts and chilly temperatures remained a constant throughout the day. Rain showers covered the county in the early morning hours Monday, dropping about 0.2 inches of rain in Goleta, 0.19 inches at the Gaviota Coast, 0.15 inches in Santa Barbara and 0.13 inches in Solvang, according to data from Santa Barbara County Public Works. Other notable rain totals included 0.38 inches at Tecolote Canyon, 0.17 inches in the San Marcos Pass
and 0.13 inches at the Cachuma Reservoir. In addition to cool temperatures and rain, the cold front caused blustery winds Monday, with wind speeds hovering between 20 to 30 mph. The National Weather Service enacted both a wind advisory and high surf advisory as the storm system blew through, keeping the warnings in effect through this morning. Within the surf advisory, officials warned of large waves and dangerous rip currents throughout Santa Barbara’s South Coast.
According to Meteorologist Joe Sirard, the forecast for the rest of the week anticipates “quieter weather” across Santa Barbara County, with temperatures creeping towards normal by mid-week. The high for today is expected to reach 66 degrees with wind gusts as high as 15 mph. Temperatures are expected to stay in the mid-60’s the rest of the week, with highs nearing 70 degrees by the weekend. email: mhirneisen@newspress.com
A warm welcome Vista de las Cruces School rolls out the red carpet for its reopening
By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Students at Vista de las Cruces School in Gaviota walked on a vinyl red carpet Monday as they returned to campus for the first time in a year. At the entrance to the school, Dr. Lois Peterson, who doubles as principal and superintendent for the single-school district, greeted students and squirted hand sanitizer into their palms. She wanted students to feel special as they walked into the school, so she and a few staff members taped down a red carpet entrance and decorated the school over the weekend.
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Dr. Peterson sent a video to families Sunday night showing drone footage of the red carpet. One parent wrote back, “The kids are so stoked. Kids are so excited. We’ll be lucky if they sleep tonight.” Vista de las Cruces is open for a full schedule, and all its students enrolled for in-person learning (though some temporarily stayed on Zoom for personal reasons). Two teachers elected to teach online until they receive their second dose of the vaccine, and the students were given the choice to stay home or return to campus while they wait. Both classes returned to campus Monday. “I gotta give it to the kids for how they’ve Please see school on A8
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Vista de las Cruces School, located at 9467 San Julian Rd. in Gaviota, opened with a full schedule.
Nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced Monday morning, recognizing top actors and films during a pandemic year that shut down movie theaters and elevated streaming services. This year’s Oscars will broadcast live April 25 on ABC from two Los Angeles locations, Dolby Theatre and Union Station. The ceremony is airing more than two months later than last year’s show due to pandemic-related delays. With movie theaters largely closed during the pandemic, a number of this year’s nominees are coming from streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, which already dominated this year’s awards season at the Golden Globes. Netflix’s “Mank” received 10 nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, with nominations in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, among others. Meanwhile, the film “Nomadland,” which is streaming on Hulu, is making waves with multiple nominations at this year’s awards after a successful Golden Globes run. Daniel Lahr, executive director of the Central Coast Film Society, told the News-Press he was particularly excited about the many nominations “Mank” received from the Academy. The film features the story of William Randolph Hearst, who owned the landmark that is now Hearst
Obituaries............. A8 Sudoku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-8-13-21 Meganumber: 19
Monday’s DAILY 4: 3-3-1-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 2-24-25-31-65 Meganumber: 18
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 6-7-9-19-28
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 05-11-03 Time: 1:43.25
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 5-11-51-56-61 Meganumber: 2
Monday’s DAILY 3: 3-8-8 / Midday 5-5-0