Thousand steps repairs
Sicily on State Street
Project to fix beach stairway to start this month - A2
Bedda Mia offers savory Sicilian cuisine - B1
Our 166th Year
75¢
W E DN E S DAY, M A RC H 16 , 2 0 2 2
School helps Ukrainians Dunn School hopes to raise $240,000 for emergency scholarship fund
Lawmakers decline to end Newsom emergency powers By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE
(The Center Square) – A resolution that would have ended California’s two-year state of emergency and terminated Gov. Gavin Newsom’s emergency powers failed Tuesday. Lawmakers in the Senate Committee on Governmental Organization voted 8-4 against Senate Concurrent Resolution 5 Tuesday, which would have ended the state of emergency Newsom signed on March 4, 2020. The resolution was
introduced by Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, in December 2020, who has long called for an end to the state of emergency. She said Tuesday that passing SCR-5 would restore the constitutional balance between the three branches of government. “As infection and hospitalization rates continue to drop, it’s time for the state to allow local governments to take the lead and address emergencies locally without the Please see NEWSOM on A3
COURTESY PHOTO
Ukrainian journalist Olia Freimut is grateful that her daughter Zlata Mitchell is attending Dunn School in Los Olivos — far from the war in Ukraine.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Dunn School has started its own effort to help Ukraine. The Los Olivos boarding and day school has established the Emergency Ukrainian Student Scholarship. The project supports current students from Ukraine and is designed to bring additional displaced Ukrainian students to Dunn School. The initial goal is to raise $240,000 for students from Ukraine to board at Dunn for a full school year. That would cover tuition, room and boarding, as well as school supplies, living expenses and homestay support during school breaks, according to a news release. To donate to the fund, go to dunnschool. orgl/ukraine or call the school’s Office of Philanthropy at 805-686-0627. One hundred percent of donations will go directly to educating Ukrainian students displaced by the war, according to the school. Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the
students at the school included Zlata Mitchell, whose mother is Ukrainian journalist Olia Freimut. Ms. Freimut had doubts when he sent Zlata to Dunn School because it was so far from Ukraine. But she recently said she was thankful for the decision in light of the war. “She has food, she has friends. She has a community, teachers, the best professionals around her, and for me, right now, I’m so happy she is in a safe place,” Ms. Freimut said in the news release. Kalyan Balaven, the head of school at Dunn, said there was no question the school would do everything possible to support Zlata and continue her education in Los Olivos. “The question was what we were prepared to do to help Ukrainian students whose learning had come to a halt during this tragic time. “The answer is in the strength of our community rallying together to help as many students as possible continue their education,” Mr. Balavaen said. Nearly three million people have fled from
Ukraine during the invasion, and most of them leave everything behind. “Every single morning I look up, and I look at the news, then I start calling everybody I love,” Ms. Freimut said. “My father, it’s my mother, it’s my brother … my friends. My best friend, she’s still in Kyiv. … “Every time, I’m looking at the phone saying, ‘Please answer, please answer,’ and if they’re not answering, I’m just losing my mind, because they are in shelters underground for a lot of days with small kids and no food.” Ms. Freimut expressed support for the idea of bringing more Ukrainians to Dunn School. “For us, America is like paradise,” Ms. Freimut said. “People think that if you’re in America, you’re safe, you are in a proper society, you won’t be bombed tomorrow. For kids who are suffering so much during this awful horrible time, it will be a nice prize to go and feel very important and share their minds and experience with local societies.” email: dmason@newspress.com
Santa Barbara County to bolster health department infrastructure as COVID cases wane By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF-WRITER
As Santa Barbara County’s COVID-19 case rate continues to decline, the county will continue certain vaccination and testing efforts as well as bolster its local health department infrastructure. Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, director of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, gave an update to the Board of Supervisors on how the county is faring and mitigating COVID Tuesday — and the presentation came exactly two years to the date when the county reported its first positive case. Santa Barbara County saw the first peak in positive cases on July 11, 2020, with a case rate of 26.2 per 100,000 people. The delta peak occurred on Aug. 14, 2021, with a case rate of 31.3 cases, and the omicron peak was on Jan. 10, 2022, with a case rate of 258.1. As of Tuesday, the case rate sits at 4.4 per 100,000 people with new
and active cases declining from a two-week average. The county reported two new deaths Tuesday, but both instances involved individuals who were 70 years old and had underlying health conditions, Dr. Do-Reynoso said. Overall hospitalizations are also down from a two-week average. Moving forward, the county health department said it would continue to maintain mobile vaccination programs, monitor immunization trends, consider the seasonality of surges, increase capacity within communities to conduct isolation on-site, and encourage utilization of state and federal programs as the main mechanism for testing of rural and isolated communities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health both recognize local health departments’ infrastructure needs to be bolstered, Dr. DoReynoso said. That involves
FOLLOW US ON
66833 00050
3
COURTESY PHOTO
It will take one to three years to bolster the infrastructure of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, according to its director, Dr. Van Do-Reynoso.
said. “So not only is this legal, I think this is actually good planning.” email: kschallhorn@newspress.com
Biden signs spending bill, averts shutdown $1.5 trillion package includes $9.5 million for Santa Barbara County projects By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
President Joe Biden signed a massive $1.5 trillion spending package Tuesday to avert a partial government shutdown and provide nearly $14 billion in aid to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. The appropriations package also includes several million dollars in funding for Santa Barbara County projects and other nearby needs. “With this bill, we’re going to send a message to the American people, a strong message,” President Biden said. “Democrats and Republicans (can) actually come together and get something done … and fulfill our most basic responsibility to keep the government open and running for the American people, serving American people and investing in their communities.” The bill included more than $9.5 million in direct funding for Santa Barbara community projects, according to U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal’s office. “I have, and always will, use my seat in Congress to work to deliver real results for Central Coast residents. I am proud to have secured over $17 million for local projects — including Please see SPENDING on A3
President Joe Biden said the passage of the spending bill shows Democrats and Republicans working together to keep the federal government operating.
“This funding will go to local governments and community organizations that are directly serving our neighborhoods,” U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, said about federal money coming to the state.
LOTTERY
i nsi d e Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
6
increasing data capacity, communications, community relationships and staff training. Funding has been earmarked for this work, which will last between one to three years, Dr. Do-Reynoso said. Additionally Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to uphold an appeal of a Montecito Planning Commission’s denial of a lot line adjustment. The planning commission denied a proposed property line adjustment between two legal lots in a single-family residential zone in a 2-2 vote in January 2020. The property owners of the two lots had wanted the line adjusted so an existing dwelling could be located solely on one lot as opposed to straddling the two as it is now. “This actually increases the lot size of the parcel where the house exists right now so it will actually come into greater conformity with its neighbors through this process,”’ Supervisor Bob Nelson
NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTOS
“With these funds, we will be able to make long-overdue improvements to community centers, create more affordable housing units for families, and protect our water supply,” U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, said about federal money designated for the Central Coast.
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A3 Weather................ A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 11-14-17-19-43 Mega: 13
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 3-5-5-7
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 9-14-28-59-60 Mega: 24
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-12-15-23-32
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 11-04-09 Time: 1:43.38
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 19-20-37-39-61 Meganumber: 8
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 3-6-9 / Midday 3-2-3