Improper protests
‘Strange new worlds’
Justice Thomas, Sen. Cruz critical of demonstrations outside Justice’s homes - A4
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Firefighters contain 10-acre Goleta fire
Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham talks about how he answered the call to public service and what’s awaits him after Sacramento
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Firefighters were able to contain a vegetation fire Sunday that broke out at La Patera Ranch. The fire began at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, west of Fairview Avenue in Goleta and spread to about 10 acres. Officials, at the time, warned the fire had the potential to spread up to 100 acres, especially as it was a windy Sunday. Firefighters battled the blaze from the air and on the ground.
No structures were damaged or injuries reported. The fire was fully contained at about 9 p.m. Sunday, according to Mike Eliason, the Santa Barbara County Fire Department public information officer. Santa Barbara County Fire was assisted by the city of Santa Barbara, Montecito, CarpinteriaSummerland and Los Padres National Forest fire officials to extinguish the fire. The cause of La Patera Fire is under investigation. email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
COURTESY PHOTOS
Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, has decided against running for re-election, but added he is not ruling out jumping back into elected politics in the future.
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN
Poll: Americans worried about gas prices, few say country is ‘headed in the right direction’
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
When it came time for Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham to decide if he would run for re-election for a third time — if he would continue to make the nearly 600-mile round trip trek to Sacramento and back — he came to a realization. It was time to go home. At the end of this year, Assemblymember Cunningham will leave the office he’s held since 2016. A Republican, Mr. Cunningham represents District 35, a Central Coast area that includes San Luis Obispo County as well as northern Santa Barbara County. Redistricting has split his district in two, taking away northern Santa Barbara County, a place the San Luis Obispo legislator called his “adoptive home” and where he has fond memories of playing ball growing up. “I knew their issues. I knew all of the local electeds. I knew who to call to get stuff done and who to call to get input from,” Assemblymember Cunningham told the News-Press. “The new district is just different. It just isn’t the community I represented, a community that has been really good to me.” But it was family, not a new Assembly district drawn with an increase of registered Democratic voters, at the forefront of his mind when he decided not to run for reelection. Assemblymember Cunningham spoke openly about how his work — both in the Assembly and as an attorney — has at times stood in the way of his children’s events and his penchant for coaching. His wife, Shauna Cunningham,
By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE
Throughout his time in the Assembly, Mr. Jordan Cunningham has emerged as an ardent defender of children’s privacy from Big Tech and social media companies.
was often left to juggle the needs of their four children with her own law career while he served in Sacramento. “It’s time for me to be home,” Mr. Cunningham said. And Mr. Cunningham knows a thing or two about homecoming. A Central Coast native, Mr. Cunningham attended Atascadero High School in Atascadero, about 40 miles north of Santa Maria. He is an alumnus of Point Loma Nazarene University where he studied physics and took internships with the San Diego mayor and the FBI in Washington,
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D.C. While he waited to attend the UC Berkeley School of Law, Mr. Cunningham took a fellowship in the state Senate, where he worked for then-Minority Leader Jim Brulte and helped with some legislative work. His interest in public policy was cemented. It was at Berkeley School of Law where Mr. Cunningham met his wife. The pair studied for the bar together, and he went to work at Jones Day in San Francisco after law school. Mr. Cunningham’s legal career has a bit of everything: the
East and West Coasts, federal clerkships and Big Law, the U.S. Department of Justice and the San Luis Obispo County’s District Attorney’s Office. With a call for public service still heavy on his mind, Mr. Cunningham came back to the Central Coast after about four years in Washington, D.C., to work as a deputy district attorney for San Luis Obispo County. He prosecuted a wide array of crimes, from environmental issues to domestic violence and more. He served on the Templeton Please see CUNNINGHAM on B4
(The Center Square) – Americans are increasingly worried about gas prices and the direction of the nation, according to a new poll. Rasmussen Reports’ new poll shows that only 28% of likely U.S. voters surveyed “think the country is heading in the right direction,” a percentage point decrease from the previous week. Rising inflation, elevated gas prices, labor market problems, supply chain shortages and other issues have continued or worsened since President Joe Biden took office. A third of small businesses have considered shutting down in the last year, another sign of the economic woes troubling Americans. Recent Gallup polling has shown that economic issues top Americans’ list of concerns with inflation now the largest worry when it comes to the economy. “Americans’ confidence in the economy remains very low, and mentions of economic issues as the most important problem in the U.S. are at their highest point since 2016,” Gallup said. “Inflation, which registered as
the top economic problem last month and continues to be, was previously at this level in 1984.” Another Rasmussen poll found that Americans are more concerned about gas prices than climate change as energy prices have soared in the past year. “A majority of voters are concerned about rising energy costs and favor increased drilling for oil and gas, although most Democratic voters consider reducing climate change a higher priority,” Rasmussen said. According to AAA, the national average gas price comes in at $4.33 per gallon, up from $2.97 at the same time last year. That rise comes as President Biden restricted oil leasing and pipeline development. The poll found that 82% of surveyed likely American voters are concerned about the rise of gasoline and energy costs. “Only 14% aren’t concerned about the rising price of energy,” Rasmussen said. “Sixty percent (60%) favor a law that would dramatically increase oil and gas drilling in the United States, including 47% who would Strongly Favor such a law. Thirty percent (30%) would oppose a law to increase drilling, while 11% are not sure.”
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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE PHOTO
Firefighters succeeded in containing La Patera Fire Sunday.
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