Consumers to be rewarded for wildfire mitigations
Creepy creatures at museum
California regulation requires lower insurance rates for certain homeowners and businesses - A3
Families to celebrate Day of the Dead with free day of activities - B1
Our 167th Year
W E D N E S DAY, O C T O B E R 1 9, 2 0 2 2
‘A lady in every sense’
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Paul Flores found guilty of murder His father, Ruben, is acquitted of being accessory in Kristin Smart case
Montecito resident Corinna Gordon leaves legacy of caring, kindness and wit
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
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Paul Flores has been found guilty of murdering Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student who disappeared in May 1996. The jury announced its verdict in the first-degree murder case Tuesday in the Monterey County Superior Court in Salinas. A separate jury found Mr. Flores’ father, Ruben Flores, not guilty of accessory after the fact. There was an allegation that he helped to hide the body of Ms. Smart in Arroyo Grande. Paul Flores, who is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 9, faces 25 years to life behind bars. After the jury announced its verdicts, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley commented on the case. “I have often said justice delayed is justice denied,” Ms. Dudley told the News-Press Tuesday. “But in this case, even though justice was delayed for so long, it has finally brought the Smart family some sense of justice. “This would not have been possible without the continued hard work and detailed work on the part of the San Luis Obispo law enforcement officers and members of District Attorney
Gov. Gavin Newsom
Pandemic state of emergency to end Newsom says it’ll be over in California on Feb. 28
By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE STAFF REPORTER
(The Center Square) — California’s COVID-19 state of emergency will end Feb. 28. 2023, nearly three years after it was declared, Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced. The governor’s decision to lift the state of emergency in February means California will phase out the final 27 of nearly 600 directives enacted during the pandemic that still remain in effect. “Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been guided by the science and data — moving quickly and strategically to save lives. The State of Emergency was an effective and necessary tool that we utilized to protect our state, and we wouldn’t have gotten to this point without it,” Gov. Newsom said in a statement on Monday. “With the operational preparedness that we’ve built up and the measures that we’ll continue to employ moving forward, California is ready to phase out this tool.” The announcement comes as California has seen a decrease in COVID-19 cases and deaths. According to the latest data, California is averaging 7.5 new cases and 0.05 deaths per 100,000 residents. Gov. Newsom’s office said Monday that waiting until February to lift the state of emergency will give the health care system “flexibility” to handle a potential post-holiday surge in January and February while also providing time for state and local officials to prepare for the phaseout. The governor initially declared the pandemic state of emergency on March 4, 2020. Gov. Newsom and other state health officials have said maintaining the state of emergency was critical to ensure California could
MORE INSIDE The battle over federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates is ramping up. A3. Please see EMERGENCY on B4
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Paul Flores
Dan Dow’s office,” she said. “Clearly today justice was served,” Ms. Dudley said. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told the News-Press, “I am so proud to see the murderer of Kristin Smart brought to justice due to the superb investigative and prosecutorial skills of the members of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s and District Attorney’s offices. “Because of their tenacity and indefatigable work, a highprofile cold case has been Please see VERDICTS on A4
Six State Street parklets not ADA-compliant By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
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Corinna Gordon, right, who was friends with fellow Montecito residents Anne and Kirk Douglas, leaves a legacy of class and humor. The popular interior designer and jewelry artist died Sunday, surrounded by her family.
By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
Friends remember Corinna Gordon for her ladylike elegance, her impeccable sense of fashion, her spirit of generosity, her kind heart. As well as her wicked sense of humor. There’s no doubt that people will continue to smile as they talk about her. The popular Montecito interior designer and jewely artist— who was born in England and near Scotland and was friends with late Montecito celebrities Kirk and Anne Douglas — leaves a legacy of fond memories. Surrounded by her family at her home, she died Sunday after a long struggle with breast cancer. “She was such an extraordinary person,” friend Tammy Hughes told the News-Press Tuesday. Ms. Hughes, who lives in Montecito, elaborated further. “She was such an extraordinary party girl, but she was also a really deep person who wanted to understand how people worked,” Ms. Hughes said. “She was really
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amazing. “And she had an absolutely filthy dirty joke train of emails that she would send around,” Ms. Hughes continued. “All of us would clamor to open them. It was always good for a laugh. “She had the most wicked sense of humor,” Ms. Hughes said. “You know how the Brits can make an absolutely filthy joke sound elevated? That’s what she did. When it’s told in a British accent, it doesn’t sound quite as filthy.” Another Montecito friend, Kirsten Cavendish Weston-Smith, said Mrs. Gordon was hilarious. “She was probably one of the funniest people anyone of us really knew. She had this wicked sense of humor,” Ms. WestonSmith told the News-Press Tuesday. “Every single morning, you would wake up to a joke from Corinna,” she said. Ms. Weston-Smith, who’s also from Britain, attended the same boarding school as Mrs. Gordon in England. Mrs. Gordon moved to Montecito in the 1980s, and when Ms. Weston-Smith later relocated there in 1989, Mrs. Gordon made
certain she felt welcome. “The first thing she did was to have a party to introduce me,” Ms. Weston-Smith said. “She was somebody so gracious that she wanted to include you and make sure you were part of whatever community she had, to introduce you, to make you feel welcome and loved. “She was a very special person,” Ms. Weston-Smith said. “She always cared about other people first.” Ms. Hughes noted Mrs. Gordon found ways to help local nonprofits varying from the Breast Cancer Resource Center to Lotusland, the Dream Foundation and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Ms. Hughes said Mrs. Gordon didn’t have as much money as major philanthropists. “But she was an artist. She was a jewelry maker. She would often donate these extraordinary jewelry pieces to her favorite fundraisers. “She was 100% inspiration to other women,” Ms. Hughes said. Ms. Weston-Smith said Mrs. Gordon was “incredibly talented” Please see GORDON on A4
Six out of 44 outdoor dining parklets in the downtown promenade on lower State Street remain out of compliance with ADA requirements to provide accessibility to people with disabilities — a fact that surprised and dismayed the Santa Barbara City Council Tuesday. In its filed report to the council, staff noted that 11 of the 44 parklets remained out of compliance, but Interim ADA Coordinator Ashleigh Shue told councilmembers Tuesday that that number had dropped to six as of Monday. But the lower figure didn’t appease some council members. “I’m shocked there are still six that remain noncompliant,” Councilmember Kristen Sneddon said. Mayor Randy Rowe agreed. “I share the dismay of my colleagues that we still have six out of compliance.” Staff was quick to reassure the council that steps are being taken to take care of the errant parklets — even if the restaurateurs who own them
don’t. Sarah Clark, the city’s parking and plaza manager, said a certified ADA specialist was inspecting the six parklets at that very moment. Of those six, four have received two administrative citations, she said, noting “If they don’t pass the inspection, they will be required to remove the parklet from State Street.” One of the remaining noncompliant parklets is owned by a restaurant that opens late, so the city has had a hard time inspecting it, but they have talked to the owner and are arranging for an inspection, she said. The other one is a newer business with one administrative citation. If it fails a second inspection, it will receive a second citation, and if required changes aren’t made, it, too, will have to be removed, she said. In response to a question by Councilmember Eric Friedman, Ms. Clark said the city will soon begin inspecting parklets outside the promenade area, including Coast Village Road. The Montecito street is within the Please see COUNCIL on A4
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-10-16-34-35 Meganumber: 11
Tuesday’s DAILY 4: 8-7-0-6
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Tuesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-9-16-24-27
Tuesday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-07-06 Time: 1:47.40
Monday’s POWERBALL: 19-30-36-46-60 Meganumber: 25
Sudoku................... B3 Weather................. A4
Tuesday’s DAILY 3: 4-5-3 / Wednesday’s Midday 0-2-4