High school athletes honored
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SM’s Ahmad, DP’s Somer awarded by SB Athletic Round Table - A10
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SB County in red tier
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Starting today, certain businesses can reopen indoor operations at reduced capacity By JOSH GREGA NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Santa Barbara County is now officially in the red tier. The change will allow certain businesses to reopen indoor operations at reduced capacity and goes into effect at 8 a.m. today. At noon Tuesday, California Health
and Human Services Agency secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced that Santa Barbara County has moved from the mostrestrictive purple tier in the California Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy to its second highest tier, the red tier, indicating “substantial” COVID-19 transmission. Other counties that have moved into the red tier include Butte, Contra Costa,
Fresno, Sacramento, San Joaquin and Yolo counties. Amador, Calaveras, and San Francisco counties have moved into the “moderate” transmission orange tier. Before this was made official, the county moving tiers was discussed during a COVID-19 update at Tuesday’s Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting. According to Public Health director
Van Do-Reynoso, the two weeks between Sept. 7 and 21 saw a unanimous decrease in new cases in all localities of Santa Barbara County. COVID-19 hospitalizations during this period decreased by 30%, med-surg rates by 19% and ICU rates by 50%. The number of new COVID-19 cases in the county per day per 100,000 people is 4.8, which qualifies for the red tier, and
Life at the pumpkin patch
the positivity rate is 3.2%, which qualifies for the orange tier. Under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, a county’s colorcoded status is determined by its most severe metric. Santa Barbara County entering the red tier will begin a gradual reopening of businesses’ indoor operations. Gyms and fitness centers will be able to operate Please see red on A2
Metropolitan Theatres to open on Friday By ANNELISE HANSHAW NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Metropolitan Theatres stocked up on popcorn and hand sanitizer in anticipation of opening its Camino Real (in Goleta) and Fiesta Five (off of State Street) locations. Following a public health announcement moving the county into the red tier, theater staff slotted Friday as reopening day. Although movie theaters are only allowed to hold 25% occupancy, Metropolitan is charging ahead and opening up in Santa Barbara County. David Corwin, president of Metropolitan Theatres, said he hopes people will come out to daytime showings and increase business to matinees. To entice patrons into seats, he extended bargain pricing to Sunday through Thursday and offered double points to members. “It’ll take some people some time, but people have been craving a social experience with other people,” he said.
Vice President of Operations Kim Tucker said during a press walkthrough Monday that she felt the community was ready for this kind of opening. The Camino Real location offered weekend family packs of popcorn and snacks through food delivery apps and orders over the phone. It helped keep some staff working and allowed customers to get a taste of the theatre. And now they’re hungry. General manager Crystal St. Germain said she gets lots of texts asking when the theater will reopen. People have been popping by to check, and the Camino Real Marketplace shopping center is abuzz with business. “All the surrounding retailers and restaurants rely on each other to bring traffic. The more business there is, the more it benefits everyone,” Mr. Corwin said. A challenge theaters are facing is delayed film releases. Many movies have been held back, and Please see theatres on A9
Candidates’ statements being mailed today Ballots sent before statements
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igs enjoy their lunch Monday at Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch, which opened last weekend in Goleta. At top, 2-year-old Frankie Reed pulls a wagon with pumpkins. At right, Nahshon Roldan, 10, and his sister Naomi Roldan, 6, of Goleta, imagine they’re driving a farm tractor. Located at 308 S. Walnut Lane, the patch will remain in operation through Oct. 31. For more about the pumpkin patch, see this Sunday’s NewsPress.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
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Statements by Santa Barbara County candidates are going into the mail today, a day after some voters received their ballots. That’s the word from Joe Holland, the county’s registrar of voters, assessor and clerkregistrar. “People should be getting them in the mail beginning Thursday,” Mr. Holland told the News-Press Tuesday. His office mailed the ballots Monday. Some voters received them Tuesday before candidate statements were mailed. The sequence prompted concern by Assembly candidate Charles Cole, who would have preferred the candidate
statements arrived before people marked their ballots. “I know a few people who vote just based off of the ballot statements,” Mr. Cole, a Santa Barbara Republican running against Democratic candidate Steve Bennett for the 37th District seat, told the News-Press Tuesday. “I think this hurts all candidates,” said Mr. Cole, who called the county election’s office. “They don’t get a chance to get their voice out before the ballots are out.” He said it would be more logical to mail candidate statements before mailing ballots. Mr. Holland said his office received some phone calls about Please see statements on A9
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Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 4-1-7 / Sunday’s Midday 1-7-9