Our 167th Year
Key Senate race
‘Devotion’ takes flight
Quarter of Georgia voters have already voted in runoff - A3
Review: Film tells story of U.S. Navy’s first black aviator - B1
NEWS-PRESS EXCLUSIVE
County drops murder complaint
News-Press columnist Arthur Cyr addresses Santa Barbara audience, says today’s challenges are more economic than military
Public defender says man was arrested for alleged violent attack that never happened
Optimistic talk about Asia By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
When it comes to Asia, the news is good for Americans, according to Arthur Cyr, a global issues expert and author. “The geostrategic situation has changed such that we no longer worry about military dimensions,” Dr. Cyr, the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., told the Channel City Club and Committee on Foreign Relations during a brunch Monday morning at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. But “we end up worrying a lot about China,” said the Clausen distinguished professor and author, who writes a weekly global issues column for the Voices section in the Santa Barbara News-Press Weekend. Dr. Cyr, a UCLA graduate and former president of the Chicago World Trade Center, told the large audience that despite being “technically the No. 2 economy in the world,” China falls behind Japan in terms of actual economic power, when population numbers are taken into consideration. And Dr. Cyr, the former vice president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, said he doesn’t believe China is the serious threat that many politicians and media outlets contend it is. He also said he believes the U.S. and its military remain an effective deterrent to China invading Taiwan, which China still regards as “a renegade province.” “China is not an aggressive nation,” Dr. Cyr said. He also noted that Taiwan in recent decades has greatly increased its lobbying in Congress Please see CYR on A4
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The attorney for a Lancaster man who had a murder complaint against him dismissed by the District Attorney’s Office charged Monday that he never should have been arrested in the first place, claiming the homicide he was accused of committing never occurred. “Since early October, Rylen Svane-Morris has been locked in a cell for a death penaltyeligible murder charge — for an alleged violent attack that never happened,” Senior Public Defender Erica Sutherland told the News-Press. “The prosecution dragged its feet on the investigation, delaying the recovery of evidence exonerating my
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
DAVE MASON / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Dr. Arthur Cyr, director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., was in Santa Barbara Monday to give a talk about Asia.
FOLLOW US ON
3
The Santa Barbara City Council today will take two steps to get the new Fire and Police Commission up and running in January: interviewing 24 applicants seeking five seats on the commission and hiring an outside independent consultant to help monitor citizen complaints. The council will meet at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St. Councilmembers also will hear reports from their Finance and Ordinance Committees which will meet earlier Tuesday, the former to consider a proposed fee structure for the outdoor dining parklets and the latter to consider ordinance amendments affecting accessory dwelling units. Also earlier Tuesday, the full council will meet in closed session to discuss recruitment for the position of city attorney to succeed former City Attorney Ariel Calonne, who the council voted to fire effective this Thursday. Mr. Calonne had been on paid administrative leave since July 25 following reports of a heated argument between him and another attorney in the City Attorney’s Office which was overheard by others and reported to Human Resources. Assistant City Attorney Sarah Knecht has filled in at the City Attorney’s Office since his suspension, including appearing at council meetings. Staff says two dozen people have applied to sit on the Fire and Police Commission, all from Santa Barbara and two with former law enforcement experience. The council is scheduled to interview the applicants today and to make their appointments to the board next Tuesday. The council voted unanimously to create the
new commission and assign additional civilian oversight duties in an effort to improve transparency, accountability and public trust. Barbara Andersen, senior assistant to the city manager, will serve as an independent police monitor who receives and processes complaints about alleged police misconduct, analyzes complaint trends, and prepares reports for the commission in coordination with the police department. The council, however, is expected today to authorize the hiring of an experienced independent police monitor to advise Ms. Andersen in creating and implementing the new civilian oversight commission of the Santa Barbara Police Department. After a comprehensive vetting process, the City Administrator’s Office is recommending Hassan Aden of The Aden Group, LLC to be retained for this purpose. Staff recommends the council authorize the city administrator to sign an agreement with The Aden Group for professional police monitoring advisory services, for up to $67,200, covering the period from Dec. 6 to June 30, 2023. Mr. Aden, a 26-year-veteran of the Alexandria Police Department in Virginia, rising to the rank of deputy chief, and later serving as police chief of the Greenville Police Department in North Carolina, now serves as deputy monitor in the federal consent decree imposed on the City of Baltimore Police Department overseeing all of the accountability requirements and managing various aspects of the team. He also serves as an associate monitor in the Chicago Police Department consent decree and oversees the supervision requirements. Additionally, he has served as the lead monitor Please see COUNCIL on A2
LOTTERY
i nsi de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
66833 00050
client,” she said. “He has been assassinated by the media, which published false information about a violent attack that never happened.” On Oct. 8, 72 year-old Terry Lee Wilson was pronounced deceased near his home in Santa Ynez, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office said in a press statement released Friday. “His death has been under active investigation since then. “Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris was arrested and charged with murder. Due to new information regarding Terry Wilson’s cause of death, the People cannot proceed with the homicide case against Rylen Quinn SvaneMorris at this time. Therefore, the People have dismissed the Please see DROPPED on A4
Council to advance process of setting up Fire and Police Commission
Dr. Arthur Cyr delivers words of optimism during a brunch for the Channel City Club and the Committee on Foreign Relations at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort.
6
75¢
T U E SDAY, DE C E M BE R 6 , 2 02 2
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 4-11-12-15-45 Mega: 24
Monday’s DAILY 4: 5-0-1-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 1-21-36-46-52 Mega: 16
Monday’s FANTASY 5: 2-3-17-35-38
Monday’s DAILY DERBY: 07-09-12 Time: 1:41.22
Monday’s POWERBALL: 35-45-47-54-55 Meganumber: 14
Monday’s DAILY 3: 3-5-8 / Midday 2-1-4