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T U E SDAY, A PR I L 25, 2 023
Talent in sister cities Santa Barbara Sister Cities board announces winners at Saturday’s artists and authors showcase
SB Council expected to establish parklet fees By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
After an unanticipated delay two weeks ago, the Santa Barbara City Council is expected today to adopt a resolution to establish fees for outdoor dining parklets on State Street and adjoining blocks. The fees are meant to collect almost enough revenue to cover the city’s costs of cleaning and maintaining the downtown promenade, which staff estimates will cost about $675,000 in fiscal year 2024. The fees are expected to generate about $650,000 from parklets on the promenade, which go from the 400 to 1300 blocks of State Street. The city approved a variable rate structure in January where fees would be determined by the amount of space taken up by a parklet — $5 per square foot up to 100% of business frontage, $7.50 per square foot for 100% to 200% beyond frontage and $10 per square foot for 200%-plus beyond frontage. Restaurants would be able to reduce their fees by making various design changes to their
parklets, such as making them portable. A portable parklet with no platform and no roof would cost $3 a square foot up to 100% of business frontage; a portable parklet with a platform and no roof would cost $4 a square foot; and parklets that are not portable and have no roof but have a platform would be $4.50 a square foot. “It incentivizes portability and an updated design that allows businesses to determine the rate they pay based on what they are going to put outside,” Brian Bosse, the city’s downtown team manager, told the council back in January. “It gives them the opportunity to design what they want based on their needs.” The council was all set to formally adopt the resolution establishing the outdoor dining fees at its April 11 meeting, but a majority of council members agreed to hold off after several restaurant owners complained that the fees were too high. They said it was unfair to make them bear the nearly full cost of promenade cleaning and maintenance. Please see COUNCIL on A3
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Gil Garcia, treasurer of the Santa Barbara Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee, addresses the crowd at the Young Artists and Authors Showcase.
By CALEB BEEGHLY NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
Art and poems, created by 1318 year olds in Santa Barbara and Puerto Vallarta, were put on display and judged Saturday at Sister Cities International’s annual Young Artists and Authors Showcase. Participants were invited to submit innovative creations to illustrate various aspects of food security in their own communities, fitting YAAS’ 2023 theme, “Peace by Piece: Food Security in My Community.” The art was judged by Michael Long, an artist at Studio 121. The art was judged not just on its artistic merit — Mr. Long joked at the Santa Barbara event that he is a sucker for good shading and use of light — but also on how well it evokes what the artist was trying to convey. (Each piece had a written part detailing what the piece represented.) According to Mr. Long, one of the more common styles of artwork among the pieces was a comic-book-esque or manga-like style, which he enjoyed. The art was judged in two categories: artists from Santa Barbara and artists from Puerto Vallarta. The winning artists from Santa Barbara are Leighton Willow Smith (first), April Harper (second), and Sebatian Cadwell (third). And the winning artists from Puerto Vallarta are Melany Nicole Joya Rodriguez (first), Viviana Vasquez Romero (second) and
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
The M. Special brewery on State Street simplified its parklet design in January. The Santa Barbara City Council is expected to establish rental fees for parklets at its meeting today.
Bed, Bath, and Beyond to close in Goleta and elsewhere By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The first-place art entry by Melany Nicole Joya Rodriguez for the Mexico/Puerto Vallarta category, at the corner in the center, is shown during the YAAS Showcase.
Amara Estefania Coria Garcia (third). Mr. Long said there were many “really good pieces” and that the quality of the art often surpassed what you might expect from younger artists. The poetry was judged by Alicia Sorkin, who is on the Santa Barbara-Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee and is a former Spanish Literature teacher, and
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(first), Brock Mitchell’s “I am an Oak Tree” (second) and Penelope Welsh’s “Counting Pennies” (third). After seeing the submissions, Ms. Sorkin said the future of Santa Barbara poetry “is in good hands.” For their thoughtful and hard work, the winning artists and authors received cash prizes. Please see ART on A4
email: abahnsen@newspress.com
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Melinda Palacio, who recently became the Santa Barbara poet laureate. Like the art, the poetry was not just judged on poetic merit but also on how well the message is conveyed through the poem. The poetry contest consisted entirely of poets from Santa Barbara. The winning poems are Ryan Calkins’ “Peace in the Garden”
Many customers have been shocked by the news that longtime retailer Bed, Bath, and Beyond, which has a location in Goleta, is shutting its doors due to bankruptcy. The news of the closure took place Sunday morning, when the retailer sent an email to customers sharing that the company was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, which is the location of the Bed, Bath, and Beyond headquarters. The company will shut down all of its locations, which includes 360 Bed, Bath, and Beyond locations as well as 120 Buy, Buy, Baby locations. The Goleta store at 189 N. Fairview Ave. has been confirmed to be a part of this
shut down, closing after serving the community for many years. There is no exact date of when the Goleta location is expected to close its doors, but it will be a part of the California closures that will take place by June 30. The San Luis Obispo and Ventura stores will also close by June 30. In the coming few weeks, Bed, Bath, and Beyond plans to have special sales and offers. Additionally, changes in the return and exchange policies are probable, as many Bed, Bath and Beyond locations across the country have already enacted new policies. Bed, Bath, and Beyond have said its coupons will stop being accepted once sales begin, and gift cards will not be valid in the coming weeks.
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 12-22-41-42-43 Mega: 18
Monday’s DAILY 4: 9-4-5-7
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 3-21-29-46-63 Mega: 9
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 2-5-12-13-29
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 08-05-07 Time: 1:46.83
Monday’s POWERBALL: 19-21-55-66-68 Meganumber: 3
Monday’s DAILY 3: 9-8-4 / Midday 5-6-6