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Blessing Box provides essential items, neighborly help By Raiza Giorgi
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ince California’s Stay At Home order has been in effect for just over a month now, local volunteers with various churches and organizations have seen a huge uptick in amount of families in the Santa Ynez Valley that are food insecure. Several groups have started in the Santa Ynez Valley to help those in need. Read our separate story on the River of Giving group on Page 3 Another effort to help those in need is the Buellton Blessing Box. “I come by this box at least four to six times a day and fill it with essential items and nonperishable food,” said Candice Signa, volunteer. “There is such a great need for diapers, wipes and feminine hygiene products as those aren’t available with some food assistance programs.” The Buellton Blessing Box was put up just outside Buellton Garage on Second Street, as owner Jeni Hurnblad had an old armoire sitting around and thought it would be a goodwill gesture. “We just want to help our community and this way people can just come and get what they need, or people who want to donate quietly can just come and fill the box,” Hurnblad said. The Solvang Blessing Box was installed at Bethania Lutheran Church. The people in charge of checking supplies at both locations are Hurnblad, Signa, Elizabeth Breen and Jen Klamm. “When Elizabeth put out a post on Facebook to fill the blessing box, it was great to start helping because I am a stay at home mom with three boys and I wanted to help in someway,” Klamm said. Every few days she puts a post online about picking up donations anywhere in the valley, which is a good excuse to get out of the house and gives her boys a great lesson in community service. “They don’t complain, and even though they’re small, I think they get the bigger picture,” she said. Since Klamm and her family are relatively new to the valley, it’s also been a great way
Photos by Raiza Giorgi The Buellton Blessing Box was put up just outside Buellton Garage on Second Street, as owner Jeni Hurnblad had an old armoire sitting around and thought it would be a goodwill gesture.
to learn the many backroads and ways to get around. “Google Maps doesn’t work to get to where I need to, so learning to drive down a dirt road and take a second left after the oak tree has been a fun adventure,” she laughed. Breen has been volunteering through Bethania Church on their food assistance projects and is out every Tuesday giving groceries to those in need. “The trouble is, there was already a food insecurity issue even before COVID-19 started,” Breen said. “Now we are seeing so many suffer from this because they’ve lost their jobs and lived paycheck to paycheck. At our recent grocery-giving event we had 130 new families come.” Families in need contact Breen and she helps them by either dropping off items of need, shopping for those who can’t, or trying to put them in contact with other programs in place as well. Signa has been one of the local go-to resources for helping people find assistance along with trying to keep people’s spirits up by printing yard signs for people to put up to show solidarity. Along with several other realtors and construction companies, they have given away gift cards to local grocery stores to help combat food insecurity. “I just want people to know they can reach out and we will do our best to get them what they need to get through this,” Signa said. “We are all stronger together.” Kira King, 10, and her best friend Nathan Biron, 10, both of Buellton, decided they wanted to help as best they can and =have started selling slime to raise money to donate to the volunteers to purchase goods for the blessing boxes. Kira’s Slime Lab has been in operation for more than six months and has sold more than 50 containers BLESSING CONTINUED TO PAGE 22
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Volunteers Candice Signa, Elizabeth Breen, Jeni Hurnblad and Jen Klamm go by the blessing boxes several times a day to restock.
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PG&E warns of scammers during COVID-19 outbreak Perpetrators using ‘spoofing’ technique to simulate utility’s phone numbers Staff Report
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uring the COVID-19 outbreak, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is alerting customers to be aware of potential scam phone calls or emails threatening to shut off power if a payment is not made. Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, PG&E’s Corporate Security department has received several reports regarding scammers requesting payment on past due utility bills immediately with a debit card. PG&E has also seen an increase in “spoofing,” which is when the incoming call appears to come from a PG&E telephone number. “It’s alarming that people are trying to capitalize on the pandemic and people’s fears,” said James Murphy, Senior Director, Corporate Security at PG&E. “Unfortunately, that’s the reality with scammers. We’ve seen a steady stream of scam calls recently and are reminding customers that PG&E will never ask for personal information or a credit card number over the phone,” Last week, PG&E announced that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has voluntarily implemented a moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment, effective immediately. This suspension applies to both residential and commercial customers and will remain in effect until further notice. Customers should assume that any threat related to a disruption in service for non-payment is a scam. Earlier in the year, PG&E started seeing a new scam trend with the request becoming more detailed. Scammers include specific names of customers, and in some cases, guessing general dollar amounts owed. They
are also disguising their true phone numbers with a caller ID that says “PG&E” or “Pacific Gas & Electric.” Other scam phone call tactics include: n Notifying residents that they are eligible for a federal tax refund related to their utility bill n Trying to sell services related to solar evaluation n Claiming to represent a PG&E initiative to sell a product in order to gain access to their home PG&E offers the following tips to help protect customers from all types of potential scams: n PG&E’s Credit Department will not ask for personal information or a credit card number over the phone. Anyone who has received such a phone call and provided credit card or checking account information should report it immediately to the credit card company or bank and law enforcement. n Other types of scams that can impact customers include online “phishing” where scammers seek personal or financial information, as well as in-person scams where scammers pose as an electric or gas employee. n Customers with concerns about the legitimacy of a call about a past due bill, service request or request for personal information are encouraged to call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000. n Customers should always ask to see identification before allowing anyone claiming to be a PG&E representative inside their home. PG&E employees always carry their identification and are willing to show it to you. n If you feel threatened in any way, notify local law enforcement immediately. PG&E takes security seriously and will actively work with law enforcement to help stop any scam victimizing customers. Anyone who has received such a call can report it immediately by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 or visit www. pge.com/scams.
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Photo by Flemming Bertlesen Lake Cachuma has risen almost 8 feet since its low point on March 9, and today stands at about 9 feet below spill level.
Wet spring boosts county’s water supply
Lake Cachuma is 81% full as county is close to average yearly rainfall By Tom Bolton
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Noozhawk Managing Editor
t wasn’t exactly a “March Miracle,” but the precipitation Santa Barbara County received this spring rescued what otherwise had been a fairly sorry rain season and gave a healthy boost to local water supplies. As of Monday, the county as a whole had received 95 percent of its average rainfall to date, according to the Flood Control District. At the beginning of March, that figure stood at only 57 percent. A series of springtime storms made the difference, with most local communities receiving well above their average rainfall amounts for the March-April period, and some even getting double. “We’re really happy,” said Joshua Haggmark, water resources manager for the city of Santa Barbara. “Where we were just a month ago was pretty dismal.” Beyond the general benefit to the environment, the rains have significantly boosted local water supplies. Lake Cachuma, the Santa Ynez Valley reservoir that is a major water supply for much of the county, is now at 81 percent of capacity, a level it last reached a year ago. The lake has risen almost eight feet since its low point on March 9, and today stands at about 9 feet below spill level. “Without Cachuma being full, we’re in about as good a shape as we’ve been in the last few years,” Tom Fayram, deputy director of water resources. Fayram noted that Gibraltar Reservoir and Jameson Lake upstream on the Santa Ynez River are both full and spilling, which means most of the water coursing down through the watershed will end up in Cachuma. The river continues to flow downstream from Cachuma as well, Fayram said, which recharges groundwater basins. The city of Santa Barbara, which expects
about half its water to come from Cachuma this year, is working on a water supply update, Haggmark said, noting that is scheduled to be presented to the City Council next month. Santa Barbara has begun taking water from its Gibraltar Reservoir, Haggmark said, and will get a significant portion of its supply from the municipal desalination plant. In addition, the city expects in coming months to finalize a deal with the Montecito Water District to share the desal supply. In the meantime, Santa Barbara is planning to keep its wells idle to allow the groundwater basins to replenish, Haggmark said. Dave Matson, assistant general manager for the Goleta Water District, told Noozhawk that the recent rains and improved reservoir conditions definitely will benefit the district’s estimated 87,000 customers. “We anticipate having full water supplies from the lake for the next two to three years,” he said. In a typical year, the district supplies about 16,500 acre-feet of water to its customers, and about 75 percent of that will come from Cachuma this year, Matson said. Goleta will limit pumping from its groundwater basins, Matson said, using those supplies primarily to maintain water quality. The district does not expect to tap into its 7,450-acre-foot entitlement in the State Water Project at all, Matson said. State officials have not yet revealed what the allocation levels for State Water will be this year. On the broader front, the United States Drought Monitor map for California no longer has Santa Barbara County in any kind of drought status, after it was listed as “abnormally dry” at the beginning of March. In that regard, Fayram noted that “there a difference between drought and a stable water supply; they are two different things.” But he added that “we’re definitely in a way better position than we were just a couple years ago.” Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com.
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Photos by Maili Halme The River of Giving group was created to provide groceries and paper goods to the hard-working families in restaurants and the hospitality industry
Help flows through The River of Giving
Valley residents assist restaurant, hospitality workers in need of food By Pamela Dozois
news@santaynezvalleystar.com
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he River of Giving group was created to provide groceries and paper goods to the hard-working families in restaurants and the hospitality industry who are temporarily out of work due to the COVID-19 crisis. “St. Mark’s is generously providing soup to seniors and families on Tuesdays and Saturdays and is filling the need for housebound people who are unable to cook. We are fulfilling an opposite need,â€? said Maili Halme, coordinator of the project. “We are providing food for families with an average six household members and some with 8 to 12 in one household. Because our focus group originally was on cooks, we knew that if we provided wholesale, raw ingredients that they would be able to prepare that food to feed their families for a week.â€? Each delivery provides two kinds of protein. The first week was tri-tip and chicken, the second week was pork shoulder and ground beef and the third week consisted of chicken and ranchera beef. In addition to the meat, the deliveries contain milk, eggs, cheese, butter, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage or lettuce, onions, cilantro, jalapeĂąos, potatoes, rice, beans, bread, apples, oranges or tangerines, and strawberries which were generously donated. Also provided is toilet paper, hand soap, paper towels and optional items such as pineapples, melons, cooking oil, mayonnaise, salt and laundry detergent. A separate donor specifically provides diapers, and another donates dog and cat food. “We are delivering to 61 families (ap-
Maili Halme, coordinator of the project, explained that the group is called The River of Giving because the money flows from donations though the group and directly to the hard working families who need help for the first time in their lives.
proximately 350 people) in the Santa Ynez Valley as well as Lompoc and Los Alamos,� Halme said. “We knew we were not reaching everyone, so we recently partnered with The Ranch Church. They have a meeting place in the former auto parts store location on Fir Street behind the hardware store and next to the laundromat. “It is an ideal location in walking distance for the residences of the core of our work force in Solvang. Recently we provided food for 40 families (an additional 200+ people) and we ran out in 15 minutes. It was our first day and now that we know the demand
is high, we are planning for 500 on Thursday. The shipment for Thursday will include: 500 10-pound bags of potatoes, 2,000 bags of carrots, 480 cauliflower, 600 heads of lettuce, 600 bags of celery, and then pallets of oranges, turnips, onions, tomatoes and peppers. We will also include chickens and ground beef, rice, beans, tortillas, and bread.� Halme explained that the group is called The River of Giving because the money flows from donations though the group and directly to the hard-working families who need help for the first time in their lives. Food is purchased wholesale and in bulk,
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so the cost is very low. It is an all-volunteer group so 100 percent of the donations go directly to food for the families. “As one woman said to me, ‘I’ve never needed food nor asked for help before. If I ever needed anything, I just got another job. This has been very humbling, but I have to feed my children and my parents live with us too,’� Halme said. “She lost both of her jobs because of the restaurant closures and her husband lost both of his jobs. All of the people we are donating too are looking forward to our town reopening so we can all go back to work.� “The tears of gratitude from the families we are reaching have been immense,� she continued. “These are the people who feed us year in and year out at the restaurants we love. It is an honor to be able to give something back to them in this time of great need.� The group has partnered with two nonprofits so that donations can be made directly to these 501c3 organizations. They will receive 100 percent of the funds donated to either group on their behalf. Please make a note on your donation specifying that it is for “The River of Giving.� Donations can be made to: The Santa Ynez Valley Senior Citizen Foundation, P.O. Box 1946, Buellton, CA 93427 (TAX ID: 95-3169593) or to The Ranch Church, P.O. Box 679, Solvang, CA 93464 (TAX ID 260373981)
For more information or to let Halme know about other families they can help, call her at 805-705-1994, or email mailihalme@gmail.com.
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Supervisors give green light to 50-acre cannabis farm County gives 3-2 approval to operation at Santa Rita Hills By Melinda Burns Contributing Writer
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he largest cannabis operation to come before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors – 50 acres of cultivation at the gateway to the fabled Santa Rita Hills, a federally-designated wine grape-growing region – was approved for a zoning permit in a contentious 3-2 vote on April 21. Santa Barbara West Coast Farms LLC, located on 73 acres on Highway 246, a mile west of Buellton, was before the board on appeal. The county Planning Commission turned down the project in December, saying the proposed area for cannabis cultivation and processing covered too much of the property and would generate “skunky” smells. The commission found that the operation would create conflicts with vintners and other “legacy agriculture,” partly because of the potential for “pesticide drift” onto the lucrative cannabis crop. But 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who represents the Santa Maria Valley, wasn’t having any of it. He said Tuesday that to deny West Coast Farms would effectively be to ban all outdoor cannabis cultivation in the Santa Rita Hills. “Everybody says this is the wrong place,” Lavagnino said. “That seems to be the argument every time cannabis comes up. It’s easy to tell people to go somewhere else.” If the board wasn’t going to approve the West
Photo contributed Santa Barbara West Coast Farms LLC, located on 73 acres on Highway 246, a mile west of Buellton, was approved for a zoning permit in a contentious 3-2 vote on Tuesday.
Coast Farms cannabis operation, Lavagnino said, “I guess we go out into the Los Padres National Forest to do it illegally because there’s nowhere else for them to go.” It was the second cannabis project to be approved by the board on Highway 246 in just over a month. On March 17, the board voted 4-0 to allow 22 acres of outdoor cannabis cultivation, including 5 acres in hoop houses, on 62 acres at Busy Bee Organics, just half a mile east of
West Coast Farms. In all, county planners said, 625 acres of cannabis cultivation are proposed in the Santa Rita Hills, an area 7 miles long and 3 miles wide between the Santa Rosa and La Purisima hills. Lavagnino said he viewed cannabis as the county’s “one reliable source of income.” The county estimates it will collect $9 million in cannabis taxes this fiscal year, a third of which will be spent on planning and enforcement. The county’s annual budget is about $1 billion.
“We’re in a fiscal crisis,” Lavagnino said. “I don’t know where everybody thinks we’re going to pay for all these things we need to do in this county.” But the Busy Bee vote and a barrage of opposition to cannabis from residents living with the pungent smell of cannabis along Carpinteria’s urban boundary, where the plants are grown in greenhouses with open vents, prompted the county Planning Commission on March 25 to recommend tighter zoning restrictions for the industry. Cannabis operations, the commission said, should be required to be compatible with surrounding neighborhoods and to prevent odors that are detrimental to people’s health and comfort. The board has yet to schedule a hearing on the recommendation. Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, who represents the Santa Ynez Valley and part of the Lompoc Valley, rose to the defense of local vintners on Tuesday with a “no” vote on the West Coast Farms plan. For starters, she said, more study is needed to determine whether the volatile oil compounds, called terpenes, that waft onto grapes from cannabis could “taint” the region’s boutique wines. She said that the Sta. Rita Hills American Viticultural Area is designated as an AVA because its cold nights and warm days were ideal for growing wine grapes. A bottle of pinot noir from these vineyards can command $95, Hartmann said. “This region has been working for 20 years to create a reputation there,” she said. “It takes seven years to get a functioning vineyard. CANNABIS CONTINUED TO PAGE 6
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Photo contributed The black bear nicknamed Brownie was safely returned to the forest by local state Fish and Wildlife and Sheriff’s deputies
Bear wanders downtown Solvang, taken back to forest Staff Report
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large black bear was spotted wandering around Mission Drive in Solvang on the evening of Saturday, April 26. The animal was reported at about 9:30 p.m. near Fredrick’s Court on the 1600 block of Mission Drive, according to Raquel Zick, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. There was a shelter-in-place issued to Solvang residents that was lifted around 11:20 p.m., and according to scanner traffic the bear was to be tranquilized and released back into the forest. State Fish and Wildlife along with Sheriff’s deputies confirmed they safely got the bear, nicknamed Brownie, back to an undisclosed location in the Los Padres National Forest.
Cannabis can grow anywhere. Santa Rosa Hills is one of a kind. “We have a thriving wine industry, and I think we’re putting it at risk.” A number of vintners were joined at Tuesday’s “virtual” hearing by several dozen supporters from around the county, including Carpinteria, Solvang and Tepusquet Canyon, who called in or emailed letters to be read aloud. “I get tired of people telling me what it’s like to live here,” said Jackie Thiele, a resident of the Santa Rita Hills, noting that some supervisors have claimed they can’t smell anything when they drive through. “I live here. We are slowly losing our quality of life. What are we going to look like down the road? Don’t ruin our community by allowing these massive grows.” If cannabis odor-control systems, which were originally designed for landfills, are not working in Carpinteria inside greenhouses, these critics said, how well will they work in open fields? “Wineries cannot sell wine when the air smells like skunks and dumps,” said Blair Pence, the owner of Pence Vineyards & Winery, whose tasting room is across Highway 246 from West Coast Farms. In a letter to the board, Pence, who is the co-founder of Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis, a countywide citizens’ group, said that three-quarters of his business was from direct sales to consumers. They are drawn to the region because they can enjoy wine tasting out-of-doors and stroll around the vineyards, Pence said. When an illegal cannabis operation popped up a mile away, Pence said, the smell of cannabis drove him and his wife out of their home and into a rental. After a year, he said, the illegal grow was finally shut down. Pence said he had county approval to build a winery on his 38-acre property but has put it on hold. He’s heard the jokes about “CannaBarbara” and believes competitors might try to take away his customers in a business where public perception is everything. “It could be really bad,” Pence said after Tuesday’s vote. “We’re very afraid as to what this will
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do … Cannabis wants to ride our coattails.” West Coast Farms is owned by Scott Rudolph and Kavaughn Bagby, San Diego real estate developers who are reportedly farming cannabis elsewhere. Unlike the majority of cannabis operators in this county, including the owners of Busy Bee, they were not claiming “legal, non-conforming” status – that is, they were not farming cannabis on their land without a permit, based on prior cultivation for medicinal use. And unlike Busy Bee, they were not proposing to grow cannabis in hoop houses, which vintners and residents view as a blight on the landscape. In a letter to the board, Larry Conlan, an attorney for West Coast Farms, said that the company had done lab studies on Pence’s wine and found “zero effect” from terpene drift. (Pence says the study was not conducted during the critical period when an illegal cannabis grow was operating nearby.) It is ironic, Conlan said, to criticize cannabis farmers for how they may respond to pesticide drift from neighboring farms and vineyards, when cannabis itself is pesticide-free. Pesticide drift is not allowed under California law, he said. In addition to 46 acres of cannabis cultivation, West Coast Farms is now approved for 4 acres for a nursery and two new processing buildings, each 3,000 square feet. The company will flashfreeze marijuana for cannabis oil, bag it and ship it during two monthlong harvests per year, Conlan said, and there will be no drying of cannabis, which typically creates the “skunky” smell. “There will be no opportunity for detectable, traceable odor,” Conlan told the board. But several Carpinterians cautioned that the odor-control system that has been installed on greenhouses and will be installed around West Coast Farms doesn’t work very well. “Will we be wearing masks forever?” one speaker asked. “Carpinteria still smells?” Lavagnino responded. “We just had an election in Carpinteria.” “People spent hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said, to decide “whether cannabis was a hindrance or a help.” “As far as I can see, Supervisor Williams is
still sitting there,” Lavagnino said. “The people of Carpinteria have spoken. The wine industry doesn’t have a monopoly on land-use decisions just because they’re there.” In fact, 1st District Supervisor Das Williams won re-election in November with 52 percent of the overall vote and 57 percent in Carpinteria. His challenger, Laura Capps, took him to task for accepting $60,000 in donations from the cannabis industry during his previous 2016 campaign. But on Tuesday, Williams and Board Chairman Gregg Hart, who represents the 2nd District, said they were only “reluctantly” voting for West Coast Farms. Hart, who represents the Goleta Valley, and western Santa Barbara, said he hoped the board would soon take up the question of stricter zoning regulations for cannabis. Williams made a motion to reduce the cannabis operation at West Coast Farms to 37 acres, but the motion died for lack of support. “I continue to have concerns about projects of this size on lots of this size,” Williams said, in voting to approve the project. Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam, an industrial-scale vegetable grower who represents Orcutt and the city of Lompoc, voted “no.” The county may need revenue, he said, “but this is a bridge too far for me, where we’re going to sacrifice existing businesses that have millions of dollars invested and have somebody move in across the street that’s going to imperil their operation.” Adam, a staunch conservative, expressed surprise to find himself in alignment with citizens groups who want the board to revisit the county’s one-size-fits-all environmental report for cannabis projects. Terpene taint has not been adequately reviewed, Adam said, and neither has pesticide drift from farming operations next to cannabis. “There are effects that are worse in retrospect than we thought they were,” he said. “West Coast has utterly destroyed traditional tribalism,” Adam said. “I’m sitting here with the strangest of bedfellows. Maybe hell has frozen over.”
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SANTA YNEZ | 4BD/5BA/1HBA | $8,900,000
SANTA YNEZ | 2BD/2BA/1HBA | $7,999,000
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Ag Parcel 16 Acres+/-
SANTA YNEZ | 3BD/4BA/2HBA | $6,995,000
SOLVANG | 5BD/5BA/1HBA | $3,850,000
SANTA YNEZ | 4BD/3BA | $1,995,000
SOLVANG | $1,300,000
Patty Murphy 805.680.8571
Lauren Daniels 559.301.1620
Patty Murphy 805.680.8571
Meagan Tambini 805.448.4285
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Brinkerhoff Avenue
Beautiful Nyborg Estates
Rancho De Maria
NEW CUYAMA | 4BD/4BA | $1,295,000
SANTA YNEZ | $800,000
SOLVANG | 4BD/3BA | $798,000
BUELLTON | 3BD/2BA | $559,000
Frank Abatemarco 805.450.7477
Brady Group 805.391.0587
Meagan Tambini 805.448.4285
Brady Group 805.391.0587
SANTA YNEZ VALLEY BROKERAGE | 2900 NOJOQUI AVENUE | LOS OLIVOS, CA 93441 | SIR.COM © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. DRE License Numbers for All Featured Agents: Mike Brady: 825140 | Micah Brady: 1219166 | Jennifer Nation: 1217818 | Patty Murphy: 766586 |Lauren Daniels: 2015901 | Meagan Tambini: 1348412 | Frank Abatemarco: 1320375
8 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
The nefarious experiment on all us Coronavirus guinea pigs By Andy Caldwell
I
s Santa Barbara County’s public health officer, Dr. Henning Ansorg, looking through the wrong end of the microscope, telescope and horoscope? In a public health briefing on April 15, Dr. Ansorg indicated he believes that “anywhere from 0.5 to 0.7% of the population has been exposed to the virus. That is what our current understanding is from studies done in Europe and China .... it is definitely ... less than 1 percent of the population. That leaves 99% ready to catch the virus at any time.” He was citing these statistics in reference to a question about our ability to develop herd immunity, indicating in his opinion that we are a long ways off from that level of defense against the virus. Yet, Gov. Newsom says California is not going to get back to “normal” until we have a vaccine or we have developed herd immunity. Nevertheless, how on earth could this good doctor believe that less than one percent of the population has been exposed to a virus that has been in our community for nearly four months? And, what does that say about the transmission rate of the virus? Dr. Ansorg believes this because less than 1% of the county’s population has had
a confirmed case of the virus. He equates a confirmed illness with the infection rate. Hence, Dr. Ansorg and the board of supes who are relying on his guidance are completely dismissing the fact that 80% of the people who do catch the virus will have no symptoms and therefore not seek medical attention. The reality is, according to Stanford Professor Michael Levitt (Nobel laureate and biophysicist), the infection rate of the virus drops naturally over time, even in those countries (e.g., Sweden, more on that below) that have not shut down their economy and forced people to stay in their homes. Moreover, all the data indicates that upwards of 80% of the population will not “catch” this virus, as it relates to them having symptoms, and the odds are you have to be in close proximity to an infected person to catch it in the first place (shared confined space, which is why staying at home may not have been the best advice). As it pertains to looking through the wrong end of the lens, using Dr. Ansorg’s very own numbers, the real data indicates no more than 0.5 to 0.7% of the entire population will suffer a fatality once they are infected. The Santa Barbara County death rate, relative to our entire population, is less than 0.001%! Regardless, more than 99% of the populace will not suffer mortality even if the virus were
to spread unabated. As one research pathologist I interviewed (Roger Klein) indicated, “the coronavirus in all actuality is infrequently severe and rarely fatal.” Hence, Stanford University epidemiologist and Meta Data analyst John Ioannidis believes what we are witnessing is not a once-in-acentury pandemic but a once-in-a-century evidence fiasco. Dr. Ioannidis, in addition to many others, points to the one closed population segment where an entire population was tested. There were 3,700 people on the Diamond cruise ship. Eighty percent of the people on the ship never suffered morbidity. The fatality rate, of those who did get sick on the ship, did approach 1%, however, the passengers were elderly with underlying conditions so that skewed the fatality rate upwards. With respect to the economic shutdown and Stay At Home orders, consider the fact that Sweden took an entirely different approach than most of the rest of the world. The following quote says it all: “This is, in fact, the first time we (the world) has quarantined healthy people rather than quarantining the sick and vulnerable. As Fredrik Erixon, the director of the European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels, wrote in The Spectator (U.K.) last week: ‘The theory of lockdown, after all, is
pretty niche, deeply illiberal — and, until now, untested. It’s not Sweden that’s conducting a mass experiment. It’s everyone else.’” There is another perspective to this crisis that should duly concern Santa Barbara County residents. The Board of Supervisors has completely deferred to the governor’s edict on this matter of a shutdown along with Stay At Home orders. They are only beginning to consider a process of reopening our economy and society, a process they estimate will take four to six weeks; however, in the meantime, the only thing they have asked the governor to do is send them money. Compare and contrast this to San Luis Obispo County. They organized a letter signed by county supervisors and mayors requesting the governor cede back local control as it affects managing the crisis and the economy. In conclusion, we didn’t elect public health directors to create policy and the governor no longer has the constitutional authority to keep us in lock down because his original impetus to flatten the curve has been accomplished Our elected leaders must now turn their attention, post haste, to flattening the curve of economic catastrophe now that our California hospitals and care providers have more than enough surge capacity, by a factor of tenfold. The opinions expressed are his own.
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May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 9
Don’t let this evolve into a child abuse pandemic By Kim Colby Davis
CASA of Santa Barbara County Executive Director SBCASA.ORG
E
ven in the best of times, child welfare systems are often stressed and underfunded. In Santa Barbara County, we have the finest professionals you will find in Social Services, and they do a job that many of us could never do. It is the unfortunate reality that they often see humanity at its worst, with children in unthinkable situations. Caseworkers are often overworked, with too few social workers for the needs of foster children and their troubled birth families. Juvenile Dependency judges have caseloads of more than 500 children, and although Santa Barbara County is fortunate to have the tremendous resource of dedicated children’s attorneys, they are likewise overloaded with an average of 150 cases each. Last year, California had 83,000 children living in foster care — the largest number of any state in the nation. And in Santa Barbara County this year, we have well over 600 children who are dependents of the court for their protection. Times are tough enough for a child who has been removed from their family because of parental abuse or neglect. Nearly all children who are removed from parents suffer additional grief and trauma from the separation itself. And foster care is nothing we would wish on any child. But the invisible, stealthy, silent enemy that is COVID-19 has thrown all this dysfunction into even more chaos. For the safety of everyone, many child welfare departments are limiting in-person visits to only the most severe cases, just as the potential for child abuse is rising. For social workers, the potential toll is physical as well as emotional. The national shortage of gloves, masks, and safety gear is impacting foster care, as caseworkers worry about visiting homes without any protection. The court’s mandated visits between biological families and children are temporarily stopped because of the pandemic. And shutdowns at family courts are burdening all parties — children and families, judges, court professionals, foster families — and the result will be even longer stays in foster care for children who have already experienced unthinkable adverse life experiences. The closing of schools has been a disaster for abused children. Teachers are the primary
reporters of suspicious bruises or behavior suggesting child abuse. Now those protective eyes and ears are not on children who might be seriously hurt at home. There is a rise in admissions to hospitals of children injured by family members, and it is not surprising. Sadly, history has shown us that child abuse increases when there is heightened family stress such as that now being brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. But there are other valuable “eyes and ears” on children: Court Appointed Special Advocates — called CASAs — who play a powerful part in California’s foster care system statewide. In Santa Barbara County, CASA is an important community resource. Our CASAs are ordinary citizens from all walks of life who volunteer to advocate for a child in foster care. They are recruited and well-trained by our CASA program. Today, in Santa Barbara County, we have 209 CASAs who are helping 310 foster children and youth in our community. So far this fiscal year, 288 volunteers have served 487 children. Supervised in their advocacy work by CASA program professionals, CASA volunteers are effective and influential advocates for children in court, in school and in the community. They are also positive adult role models for children who have suffered greatly and who have lost all trust in adults. CASAs help children get the medical and educational support they need, and they work with the professionals in the child welfare system towards reunification with their family when possible,
or towards adoption, guardianship, or in the case of some of our older youth, a successful plan for the safe transition to life on their own. COVID-19 has dramatically upended the landscape for CASA programs. For their protection, most CASAs can’t visit their case children face-to-face right now, and yet they have continued to check on their assigned children through text, phone, Zoom or Facetime. We call these “virtual visits,” and many volunteers have shared heartwarming stories about other ways they have connected – dropping birthday gifts off on their porch and waving through the window, or surprising them with a new toy or game to help with the boredom that comes with being stuck inside. Some CASAs have been able to help their assigned children from the required “social distance,” but it is difficult. There are now no outings to a park, a library, or an ice cream shop—those “ordinary” times a CASA shares with a child who may be deprived of such experiences. Most importantly, our Juvenile Dependency courts are operating on limited schedules, and so the critical court advocacy that CASAs offer to foster children is on temporary hold. All the while, the child is not sure what the future holds or where he or she will be living next month or next year. Older foster youth are suffering from lost jobs or, if they were attending college, a lost school year—including no dorm living. For these older kids, the chance increases for them to become homeless, hungry, sick, trafficked or tempted into crime.
Foster children are our children, and we must help them through this pandemic nightmare which impacts them so disproportionately. Even at the height of this pandemic, CASA of Santa Barbara County is recruiting volunteers and is prepared to conduct training “virtually” while we practice social distancing. What better way to spend time at home than training to be a CASA? We need you! We will launch “CASA University” in May, so that community members can complete most of their CASA training “virtually” through an online training course. Like most nonprofits, CASA of Santa Barbara County is dealing with the challenge of postponing our major fundraising events at the same time that we know we will be seeing a rise in child abuse and in children becoming dependents of the court. We are determined to rise to the challenge because we know that CASAs are a beacon of hope to a child who has lost all hope. It is essential that CASA is adequately supported by public and private funders. CASAs are critical in helping children recover from trauma and ultimately find that safe “forever family” that we wish for all kids. The essential work of CASA is done quietly, with the strict confidentiality required by the court. But these humble, quiet volunteers are all around you. It may be the simplicity of knowing that a child’s favorite truck got left at the last place he lived, or it may be that a child knows her advocate is the one she can trust to send the text no one would ever want to receive – a text that causes that volunteer advocate to spring into action to save that child from further abuse. CASA volunteers are there for the child, to help change a child’s story. Even COVID-19 cannot stop the quiet advocacy of a CASA. We cannot let this global health pandemic evolve into a child abuse pandemic. And we cannot allow children entering foster care to bear the stress, of must be the most terrifying time of their life, alone because there are not enough CASAs to advocate for their best interests. We must continue to do this important work even through the horror of the COVID-19 pandemic. And we urge members of the community to volunteer to help a child. We must not forget the abused, neglected children in our community. They need and deserve the advocacy and attention that a CASA can deliver. Letters to the editor should be no more than 300 words in length. Send letters to: Raiza Giorgi, PO Box 1594, Solvang, CA 93464 or email to: news@santaynezvalleystar.com Please include your name and address and phone number.
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10 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
UCSB Economic Forecasts show impact of COVID-19 Pandemic has greatly affected tourism/hospitality industry By Raiza Giorgi
publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com
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eaders in the various tourism and hospitality industry talked about the impacts of COVID-19 on a local level during the UC Santa Barbara Economic Forecast Project webinar Thursday afternoon. “There has been an 86 percent drop in travel spending compared to this time in 2019, and Santa Barbara is greatly impacted with 47 percent drop in hotel rates,” said Kathy Janega-Dykes, executive director of Visit Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara Airport has seen a 95 percent drop in traffic, and future implications for this small airport remain unknown. Recovery from this pandemic could take years, and the community must work together to support the local workforce, Janega-Dykes added. Even with a list of negative impacts associated with job losses and most of the tourism and hospitality industry having to shut down due to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders, there is a light as when the Stay At Home orders are lifted people will want to be going somewhere. “Seven in 10 people surveyed said they can’t wait to travel once restrictions are lifted, and with air travel seeing a huge hit, we expect a lot of road trippers, and those that want to drive within a few hours of their homes,” Janega-Dykes said. “For Los Angeles and San Francisco residents, we are a perfect destination.” As a majority of the cities are seeing higher
Graph contributed Table provided by USCB Economic Forecast Project.
cases of COVID-19, people will want to travel to smaller cities and rural areas to enjoy wide open spaces. “Places like the Santa Ynez Valley will be a huge attractor to people wanting to go somewhere and enjoy open areas,” Janega-Dykes said. Getting to that point might be tricky as there are expectations there might be an increase in cases when Stay At Home orders are lifted, said Lynn Fitzgibbons, M.D., Infectious Diseases Director for Cottage Health. Fitzgibbons said hygiene and social distancing will remain very important once that happens. “Most people who get thi s experience mild to moderate symptoms, and it varies on the community as we are not like Manhattan,” she said. “We are prepared to handle low rebounds.” Another unknown at this time is small
businesses, who are taking huge hits on revenue loss and it’s possible that 30 percent of restaurants could permanently close, according to Sherry Villanueva, founder of AACME Hospitality. Villanueva said they are operating at a zero income, and their restaurants and facilities have furloughed 345 employees. “There are 941 restaurants in Santa Barbara County, which roughly employs 18,095 people and $103.8 million in wages,” Villanueva said. “This trickles down to suppliers like fisherman and produce, linen cleaning, farming, etc.” Restaurants and hospitality also are having a hard time getting access to capital as they don’t fit a lot of the typical business models. “The volume and level of need is extraordinary,” said George Leis, President and COO of Montecito Bank and Trust, who gave an update to the PPP and SBA programs rolled
out. Leis said the volume of calls has been overwhelming and managers are working until well after 11 p.m. going over loan documents and requests. “The rollout of these programs has been like flying an airplane while they’re building it,” Leis said. “We had zero direction of how these are supposed to be done, and rules are changing everyday. Meanwhile we are giving out $100 million just from our bank.” His colleague Roger Gilbert said all the banks and programs have already exhausted the $349 billion doled out through the CARES Act, and they’re hoping for an additional $200 billion to be funded for the second round. They have clients waiting to be accepted, and yet if one of those businesses close, there is no guarantee of it being repaid. “What we do know is that we have to reopen, do it safely, but these businesses need to get their doors open in order to survive, but when they do reopen will people be too scared to go out,” said Peter Rupert, executive director of the Economic Forecast. Rupert reported that regarding the effects on employment, Christopher Rugaber of the Chicago Tribune reports that some economists predict that the unemployment rate (previously sitting at a half-century low of 3.5 percent) may reach above 15 percent. Jeff Cox of CNBC reports of a more dire outlook from St. Louis Fed projections that suggest this slowdown could cost 47 million jobs and lead to jobless rates around 32 percent. To read more about the local projections using those two figures visit https://efp.ucsb.edu/Pages/ COVID19.html.
CoastHills helping small Unique trauma healing businesses in loan access center comes to SYV
Federal Paycheck Protection Program available through credit union during pandemic Staff report
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he federal government is throwing a $349 billion lifeline to small businesses, and CoastHills Credit Union is helping local businesses gain access to the funding — even if they do not have a pre-existing banking relationship with the credit union. The U.S. Treasury unveiled the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) late last week, and CoastHills is teaming up with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to help deliver the loans, which may be forgiven tax free as long as all conditions are met. “We are in a unique position, as a preferred lender with the SBA, to help small businesses throughout our five-county field of membership get the help they need,” CoastHills president/
CEO Paul Cook said. “Credit Unions have a duty to aid their communities, and at CoastHills, we make a difference in our neighbors’ lives. “Opening our doors to local businesses in need is a prime example of that vision.” CoastHills has a webpage dedicated to helping businesses apply for PPP loans (www. coasthills.coop/business_services/sba-loans/ ppp), and business owners are advised to visit and download the application form directly to their own devices. From there, applications may be returned electronically to the Credit Union via email to PPP@coasthills.coop. In order to be eligible to receive the loan, businesses must be SBA 7(a) loan eligible, have fewer than 500 employees and have been in business on or before February 15, 2020. The loan payouts may be used to distribute up to eight weeks of payroll and benefits costs, a portion of mortgage interest or rent, and utilities. For more information, please visit https://www. coasthills.coop/business_services/sba-loans/ppp.
Staff report
M
ental health issues are more in the news every day. With that in mind, Beverly Taylor, LMFT, has announced the establishment of a multi-disciplinary healing center in the Santa Ynez Valley. Taylor has 20 years in the relational, trauma and addiction treatment field here on the Central Coast. The Family Counseling and Trauma Healing Center is a result of Taylor realizing there was not a comprehensive healing center that encompassed the services of residential treatment at an affordable price in a day program. After exploring the various facilities around the country, she noticed a gap in services for affordable, effective day treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, loss, addiction and disordered eating. “FCTHC offers an exceptional level of care, healing and hope,” Taylor said. “Trauma is often the root cause of many problems we see today.”
FCTHC’s staff of local professionals provides a well-planned intensive day treatment program designed for a client’s individual needs. The program offers two to five days per week for a minimum of four weeks. Included in the program are individual and trauma therapy, group acupuncture, art therapy, yoga therapy, coaching, mindfulness meditation, group and family therapy. Customization insures being able to provide the most effective treatment plan for the client’s individual situation. Taylor’s experience as a marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and certified EMDR trauma therapist qualifies her to build a supportive environment using a variety of experiential therapies with the assistance of the expert staff. “There is so much unmet need right now,” Taylor said. “I am honored to be able offer deeper and integrative healing to those who seek it.” For more information, visit www.traumahealingcenter.net or call 805.697.7756.
May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 11
The Link Between Hearing Loss and Dementia
Dr. Melissa Alexander helping patients minimize effects of hearing loss
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he ability to hear can have a significant impact on all aspects of life, from someone’s emotional and physical well-being to their professional career and activities they enjoy outside of work. Despite research proving the link between untreated hearing loss and increased risks of falls, depression, anxiety, hospitalization and dementia, millions of people let their hearing loss go untreated. According to Dr. Melissa Alexander, an audiologist based in Santa Monica, “Twenty-five years ago a case-control study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association first reported that hearing impairment in older adults was strongly and independently associated with the likelihood of having dementia raising the intriguing hypothesis that age-related hearing impairment may contribute to dementia risk.” Alexander added that over the last four
years, growing epidemiologic and clinical research studies have bolstered that theory. “Longitudinal studies of community-dwelling older adults have demonstrated that hearing impairment is independently associated with a 30-40% rate of accelerated cognitive decline,” Alexander explained. Compared to individuals with normal hearing, individuals with varying levels of hearing impairment had an increased risk of incident in dementia over
10 year of follow-up. Alexander continued, “Neuroimaging studies have also demonstrated that individuals with untreated hearing loss have reduced neuron volumes in the auditory cortex, responsible for speech processing and understanding, and accelerated rates of whole brain atrophy.” According to a study published in the
Alexander continued, “That number continues to increase over time. After a decade, healthcare expenses increase by 46 percent. Those numbers, when broken down, average $22,434 per person.” Factors associated with the increase include dementia, decline of cognitive ability, depression, lower quality of life, and falls. Alexander also added that a second companion study done by Bloomberg School suggests a link between untreated hearing loss and higher morbidity. Through the study, it was revealed that people with untreated hearing loss had 3.2 more diagnoses of dementia
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), failing to treat hearing loss can also have a financial impact. Alexander explained, “The University of California San Francisco, Johns Hopkins with AARP, and Optum Labs also ran this study. They Looked at data from 77,000 to 150,000 patients over the age of 50 who had untreated hearing loss. People with normal hearing created 26 percent less health care costs compared to people who were recently diagnosed with hearing loss.”
per 100 over the course of 10 years, 6.9 more diagnoses of depression, and 3.6 more falls. And hearing loss continues to rise. According to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, hearing loss in prevalent in 55 to 64 year olds at a rate of 8.5 percent and approximately 2 percent of individuals 45 to 54 are significantly deaf. Alexander continued, “The number rises to 25 percent for individuals aged 65 to 74 and 50 percent for anybody above the age of 74.
Photos Contributed Alexander Audiology offers worldclass hearing care for Santa Ynez Valley patients. 1607 Mission Drive #201 Solvang, CA 93463 (805) 322-4522
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Those numbers are predicted to rise in the future. As many as 38 million people in this country could have hearing loss by the year 2060.” Even younger demographics experience hearing loss. About 15 percent of 18-yearolds have a hard time hearing and 2 to 3 out of 1,000 children have hearing loss. “I am now seeing younger and younger patients coming in for hearing testing, many reporting tinnitus. Noise exposure is a major problem and it is causing younger people to experience hearing loss in their teens and twenties,” Alexander explained. Using hearing aids can change these figures and help with some of the health issues connected with hearing loss. Alexander continued, “When I diagnose a patient with a hearing loss, I discuss with the patient how their hearing impairment affects their life. I routinely request a significant other be present to take part in the consultation, not only to obtain their feedback, but to inform them of the detrimental effects of untreated hearing loss.” Alexander continued, “Because hearing loss is typically insidious, it isn’t always evident to the patient how much they struggle to hear. And because hearing loss is essentially an invisible disability, it’s important that I share with the patient’s loved ones how to effectively communicate, why it’s necessary to wear hearing aids consistently and what they can realistically expect the patient to hear with their hearing aids on.” It’s important that hearing tests occur early as possible to provide a baseline of hearing. Alexander continued, “Because the ramifications of hearing loss are so detrimental, hearing testing should be taken seriously and performed on an annual basis. Hearing protection, such as custom earplugs, ear muffs or over the counter hearing protection should be a routine staple of every household. For even younger children, parents should make sure headphones have a limiter so that even if their child turns up the volume, the sound cannot cause damage to the ears.”
12 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
Santa Ynez Inn launches Recognizing Heroes Giveaway By Raiza Giorgi
The giveaway will run May 1-14 with the first winner chosen on May 8 and second winner chosen on May 15. Each winner will be selected from nomination submissions of those that have gone above and beyond during these tough times to help others in their community. Submissions should be sent to info@ santaynezinn.com once the giveaway opens on May 1. Submissions require the name of the person being nominated along with their story. Once it has selected a winner, the SY Inn will reach out to the person who nominated the winner for the winner’s contact information. The winner will also be announced on social media.
Publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com
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he Santa Ynez Inn is launching a Recognizing Heroes Giveaway that started on May 1, where two winners will get a chance to enjoy a quintessential wine country getaway to the Santa Ynez Valley. “There are so many people going the extra mile to help others during this current climate, we wanted to do our part in recognizing their efforts,” said Julio Peñuela, newly appointed General Manager of the SY Inn. “We’re also glad to be able to partner with other local businesses to bring this opportunity to life.” Peñuela is looking forward to opening the doors and welcoming the community back once it is safe to do so. “My wife and I welcomed our beautiful firstborn into the world last year just before moving to Solvang in October from down the hill in Santa Barbara, and we can’t wait to introduce our family to our new neighborhood,” he said. “In the meantime, we are enjoying supporting local business as much as possible in order to help be sure that our tourism indus-
Photo contributed
Santa Ynez Inn
try will thrive once again in the near future.” Peñuela has big plans for the inn, including hosting events geared towards welcoming residents of the valley in addition to visitors and guests of the hotel. “We want to celebrate the prolific spoils of
SYV and make the Inn a place where locals feel just as comfortable as they would on their own front porch,” Peñuela said. “We are incredibly thankful for the essential workers and the sacrifices that they have made during this time, and hopefully this giveaway is a little way of showing our gratitude.”
Each winner will receive the following prizes:
n Gift certificate for a two-night stay at Santa Ynez Inn n $75 gift certificate at The Landsby’s signature restaurant, Mad & Vin n $200 gift certificate to Santa Ynez General n Bottle of Alma Rosa’s Estate 2017 El Jabali Pinot Noir and a VIP reservation at the winery’s tasting room.
Coronavirus gets comical with parents working from home By Raiza Giorgi
of keys on my keyboard, and sent an unexplainable email to the CFO. The CFO responded back with ‘I hope you’re enjoying time with your coworker, he looks like he’s learning a lot about our business! Future CFO!’”
Publisher@santaynezvalleystar.com
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arents are having to stay home with their children all day, every day because schools are practicing distance learning, all the while working if they can from home. Let’s just say work has become … well … interesting. I typically work from home anyway and try to get the majority of my interviews done during the day while the kids are at school, but I am also now having to teach them while simultaneously working. There are many times I’m having to start my interviews with, “Please understand you might hear my kids in the background,” or maybe even mute them while asking kids to quiet down a little. I reached out to some of my friends online and asked them to do a fun activity with me, to replace the word kid or child and use coworker to see what responses would be. Here’s mine: “My coworkers like to have wrestling matches loudly right when I am on a press conference and have just been unmuted to ask a serious question.” I hope these other answers from local parents have you entertained as well. If you have a good one, let us know at news@santaynezvalleystar. com!
Zdena J.
“I’ve been sleeping with my coworker for years and now she decided to move on and sleep in her own bed. I’m happy for her growing independence and I miss her so much at the same time.”
David M.
“My coworker laughs at me one moment and then eats my food. I think my coworker is a bully.”
Carey B.
“My coworker makes me wipe her bottom.”
Richard G.
“My coworker peed on the floor then slipped in it and started crying while trying to stand back up. I felt so bad for her. My other coworker thought it was hilarious.”
Cheri G.
Photo by Lea Montes The littlest coworker of the Montes family did not approve.
Lea M.
“I was fired. My ‘co-workers’ complained to upper management (dad) about their workload and Instead of talking through it — a tonka truck was thrown at me, while violently being screamed at by the 3ft real BOSS.”
Alisse H.
“My coworker was yelling ‘ewwwwwww! Cooper (the dog) farted!!!’ while on a conference call with CDC and the State.”
Jaime M.
“My coworker demands I get him snacks all day. (I think he might have an eating problem). All he says to me is ‘I’m hungry!’ Then he makes a mess all over the floor and expects me to pick it all up!”
“My coworker was under other management today and unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper today... in the bathroom ... thousands of dollars worth of TP spread all over - we are trying to salvage some of the damage!”
Kristen R.
Maudia R.
“My coworker showed up and worked in her underwear all day... both my coworkers slept in my bed last night.”
Elizabeth H.
“I came inside from letting the puppy out and found one of my coworkers laying half naked on the ground and the other standing above with a diaper in hand and said, ‘My coworker needed her diaper changed.’”
Kelly F.
“My coworkers started singing a song called ‘poop in your pants’ when I was on a phone call.”
Amanda M.
“My coworker sat on my lap, pressed a bunch
“My coworker took the rubber base off the chair leg from the kitchen chairs, filled it up in the dog’s water dish, and drank from it like a cup.”
Kathleen D.
“I have three coworkers, we’re a busy office. They say I’m the boss but I think management got it wrong when I applied for the position...I’m clearly not the boss. The other day one of my coworkers screamed at me for an Apple, and when I gave him an apple, he took a bite and then threw it AT me, hitting me in the leg saying “I DON’T WANT AN APPLE!” I wonder where the complaints department is, so I can report a hostile work environment?”
Abigail E.
“My coworker peed on the couch.”
May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 13
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14 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
$500K grant will assist job services for veterans Staff Report
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he California Employment Development Department (EDD) in coordination with the California Workforce Development Board, and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, has awarded the Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board (SBCWDB) a Veterans’ Employment-Related Assistance Program (VEAP) grant. The grant will provide services to veterans and their spouses who face significant barriers to employment, and promotes industry sector strategies to help unemployed and underemployed individuals transition from military careers to rewarding civilian employment. The SBCWDB is one of 10 agencies across the state to receive the competitive grant funding. “We are very excited to be able to bring this substantial EDD Veterans Grant to Santa Barbara County that will enable us to assist veterans and spouses of veterans with employment and training services,” said SBCWDB Chair Sandra Dickerson. “We look forward to partnering with local public and nonprofit organizations in this effort.” The grant-funded project is an expansion of the innovative program design that provides veterans training and employment services in a mobile veteran’s center approach. The Veteran Employment & Training Services program will serve veterans and spouses at
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locations closer to their home. The program brings together four different partners to provide vocational training services (including paid work experience/job opportunities), and other supportive services. The SBCWDB will lead the collaborative, with the following partners: n EDD Job Service: re-employment services, career services, locally coordinated workforce preparation services and direct job placement. n EDD Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG): job search and job placement assistance, individualized career and training services. n Goodwill Industries of Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties: will recruit veterans and provide case management, paid work experience, training and follow-up services. n Santa Barbara County Veterans Stand Down: veteran referrals from Stand Down and connection to Stand Down participating agencies for enhanced collaboration. “During my time working with Stand Down, I’ve seen firsthand the needs of our veterans,” said 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino. “The most vital of those needs is a job. This grant will allow our veterans the chance to become gainfully employed and productive members of the community.” For information about Santa Barbara County Workforce Development Board, visit www. sbcwdb.org.
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Photo contributed Cottage Health recently launched a new online medical service.
Cottage CareNow to offer free online visits for COVID-19 symptoms Staff Report
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or the health of its community and patients, Cottage CareNow will begin offering free online visits for individuals who may have COVID-19 symptoms. Individuals with COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough or shortness of breath) or upper respiratory symptoms (sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion) can visit Cottagehealth.org/carenow for a free initial online diagnosis. This free online visit is for upper respiratory or COVID-19 related conditions. If clinically appropriate, Cottage CareNow providers will refer patients to the appropriate site for an in-person evaluation. If any individual is having severe breathing difficulties or a life-threatening emergency, they should call 911 or visit the nearest emergency department immediately. Cottage CareNow is an online service from Cottage Health that began in December 2019. This platform connects patients with Cottage providers who can offer online diagnosis and treatment for common medical conditions. Cottage CareNow helps patients with conditions like colds, flu, skin rash and more.
Users can access Cottage CareNow 24/7/365 from their smartphone, tablet or computer by visiting cottagehealth.org/ carenow. No insurance plan is required to access the service. The fee for nonCOVID-19 related common conditions is just $29 for an online interview or $39 for a video face-to-face visit, payable by credit, debit or health savings card. Anyone in California who is over 18 can create an account, and dependents can be included. Visits for children under 18 must be completed by a parent. The service is easy to use. After entering symptoms and health information, patients choose to have a Cottage Health provider review their results and respond with a treatment plan within an hour or request an immediate face-to-face video visit. CareNow is staffed by Cottage Health nurse practitioners and Cottage Health credentialed providers. When appropriate, prescriptions are submitted directly to the patient’s preferred pharmacy. If virtual care is not appropriate, the patient is not charged for the Virtual Visit and will be referred for an in-person evaluation. Cottage CareNow assists in connecting patients with a primary care physician if they do not currently have one.
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May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 15
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES
Santa Maria Valley woman continues COVID-19 battle Melissa Meza, whose husband survived virus, undergoes ECMO treatment
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he battle goes on for COVID-19 patient Melissa Meza as her husband wages a one-man campaign to encourage recovPhoto contributed ered patients to consider donating plasma to help Santa Maria Valley resident Melissa Meza has been others win their own war. hospitalized for more than three weeks with the coronavirus. Santa Maria Valley resident Louis Meza and Meza, both in their 40s, marked their 24th wedhis wife were among Santa Barbara County’s ding anniversary. earliest patients confirmed to have COVID-19, “I want to thank everybody for the prayers, landing both in Marian Regional Medical Center. and please continue to pray for her,” he said. On the same day Louis Meza was released, Melissa Meza also received plasma, reportedly his wife was admitted and immediately put on a from Ventura County’s first COVID-19 patient, ventilator because of her declining condition. leading to a phone conversation between Louis Melissa Meza, who works for Mechanics Meza and the donor, Dwight Everett. Bank operations center in Santa Maria, has While continuing his own recovery and remained hospitalized for the past three weeks. checking on his wife’s condition, Louis Meza, “She’s doing a lot better,” he said, adding that who works at The Hitching Post in Casmashe has opened her eyes and been responsive, including when medical staff talk to her remotely lia, has eagerly told their story with a mission to encourage people to continue social distancing, via a tablet. “She’s still in a fight. She’s going to hand-washing and other measures. have a lot of recovering.” He also has encouraged others who recovered Last weekend, she was transported to an from COVID-19 to contact blood banks about out-of-county hospital for specialized treatment donating plasma when it’s safe. called extra corporeal membrane oxygenation “We have a lot of sick people out there that (ECMO) that has shown promising results for need this,” he said, continuing his push to end COVID-19 patients. the stigma. “It’s not shameful that you had it.” ECMO has been likened to the heart-lung He is awaiting results to determine when he bypass machine used in open-heart surgery. can donate. The device pumps and oxygenates a patient’s “As soon as I find out I can, I’m going to go blood outside the body, allowing the heart and give blood,” Meza said. “I can’t wait until that lungs to rest. day.” “Our Easter miracle — a bed opened up, a A GoFundMe page to help the Mezas had machine opened up and they had transportation raised more than $28,000 on Saturday and can be ready in two hours,” Louis Meza said. found by clicking here. Her pulmonologist, Dr. Baljinder Sidhu, rode in the ambulance as she was taken to the Santa Noozhawk North County editor Janene SculMonica hospital. ly can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Days after her transfer, Louis and Melissa
COVID-19 affecting access to cancer care
ACS network says delays, financial strain dominate patients’ experience Staff Report
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ancer patients and those who’ve recently completed treatment are finding it challenging to get necessary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) says many are experiencing financial stress trying to afford care in an increasingly difficult economic environment. “It’s the unknown that is so troubling,” said ACS CAN California Grassroots Director Lori Bremner, who is a cancer survivor herself. “Every symptom feels magnified after you’ve been treated for cancer. To be unable to get into
a doctor to get care during the COVID-19 crisis is stressful.” According to the latest survey from Survivor Views, a national cohort of cancer patients and survivors who complete surveys on a range of public policy issues important to the cancer community, a little over half (51%) of all those surveyed reported some impact on their care due to the virus. Of those who’ve experienced an effect, nearly 1 in 4 report a delay in care or treatment. The most common delays were for in-person provider appointments (50%). Among just the respondents who remain in active treatment, more than a quarter (27%) report a delay in their care, and 13% say they don’t know when it will be rescheduled. Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) in the respondents Survivor Views survey say COVID-19 is having CANCER CARE CONTINUED TO PAGE 22
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16 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
Resources offered for Latinos facing COVID-19, diabetes SDRI establishes three-pronged approach during outbreak Staff Report
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ansum Diabetes Research Institute (SDRI) announced on April 10 the creation of three vital resources to assist the local Latino diabetes community during the Coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19/ Coronavirus is a serious threat to everyone, especially Hispanic and Latino people with diabetes. “In the current COVID-19 crisis we are seeing extraordinary numbers of people with diabetes around the world having poor outcomes from the infection,” said Dr. David Kerr, Director of Research and Innovation at SDRI. “Because of this, we need to look closely at what we can do to prevent someone with diabetes becoming unwell with COVID-19.” The situation is especially dire right here in our community, explains Dr. Kerr. “In Santa Barbara County, in the Hispanic and Latino population, the rates of diabetes are almost double that of the background population in the United States,” he said. In response to the disproportionate impact and the information gap facing Latinos,
SDRI, a global leader in diabetes research, education and clinical care, is stepping up by developing three new trustworthy resources to help in this special time of need. n SDRI’s free, bilingual web resource – latinodiabetes.sansum.org – provides relevant, up-to-date diabetes information and
daily updates in Spanish and English on what Latinos with diabetes should know and do about avoiding and/or treating COVID-19. n SDRI’s new Latino Diabetes Helpline – 805-350-8730 – means that answers to individual questions and concerns about diabetes and/or COVID-19 are just a phone call away.
This new 24/7 Helpline is staffed by experienced bilingual SDRI diabetes care experts. n SDRI’s bilingual community health workers are conducting a phone contact campaign to reach out to SDRI patients and participants, especially those with recent high blood sugar readings, to check on their well-being, share knowledge and resources, encourage healthy practices, and combat the loneliness that comes with social isolation. “Diabetes is a very lonely disease and it is so important for us to support people at this difficult time when you have a lot of anxiety and worry about diabetes and what the effects of the virus might have,” Kerr said. SDRI’s goal is to help people control their diabetes as well as possible, especially at this time, which will dramatically reduce their chance of becoming infected with COVID-19, because uncontrolled diabetes is shown to impair one’s immune response. “Preventing even one person from ending up in critical care has major health and economic benefits for everyone,” Kerr added. We invite you to go to latinodiabetes.sansum.org or sansum.org for more information on COVID-19 and diabetes.
THANK YOU
The Santa Ynez Valley Association of REALTORS® would like to extend our sincere gratitude and appreciation to all first responders and essential workers doing critically important work on the behalf of our wonderful community. We encourage everyone to do their part in helping to flatten the curve and we’re confident that in doing so we will emerge stronger than ever before.
We’re all in this TOGETHER.
Real estate is an essential service; please contact your local REALTOR® if you have any real estate questions or issues.
www.syvaor.com 805.688.7744 info@syvaor.com
May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 17
Cinco de Mayo celebrated in U.S., not so much in Mexico
By John Copeland
C
inco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico, but heartily celebrated here in the United States. In fact, as a holiday, celebrating Cinco de Mayo actually began in California and celebrated for quite a while before it was observed in Mexico. Celebrating this year is likely going to be creative given the stay at home orders and social distancing. However, I think I can honestly say, that most partyers in America have no idea what they are celebrating. Care to hazard a guess? No, it is not Mexican Independence Day, that is on Sept. 16 and is not widely celebrated in the U.S. Literally “the Fifth of May,” Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory in the face of great odds over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The French? Yes, did you know that France once invaded Mexico, installed an emperor, and briefly ruled Mexico while the United States was distracted by the Civil War. You may be wondering: Well, how did the French take over Mexico? During the 1860s, the U.S. was not in any position to enforce the Monroe
Doctrine, which is probably another bit of American history worthy of writing about another time. Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, the Mexican Civil War of 1858, and the Reform Wars of 1860 between liberal and conservative factions in Mexico. The liberals ultimately won and Benito Juárez was elected president. However, wars are expensive business. To finance its conflicts, the Mexican government borrowed heavily from England, Spain and France. All this warfare left the Mexican Treasury nearly bankrupt. Just like banks holding mortgages, the European powers expected the debts to be repaid. In 1861, President Benito Juárez, in an attempt to give the Mexican economy a change to recover, suspended all foreign debt payments for two years. This did not sit well with Mexico’s debt holders; France, Britain and Spain. After a lot of diplomatic wrangling, Spain and Great Britain negotiated a settlement with President Juárez and withdrew their forces. But the French decided to use the opportunity to carve an empire out of Mexican territory. In 1862, the United States was in the midst of the Civil War. The South was trying to convince several European governments to become allies, which if successful might have permanently split the United States. One potential Confederate ally was about to flex its muscles in Mexico. France had a real interest in curbing the growing influence of the United States. If France was successful in seizing Mexico, and allied itself to the Confederates, it might result in a divided the United States, which would
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be less powerful and less threatening to other nations. Late in 1861, the French fleet stormed the port of Veracruz and landed 6,000 French troops under General Charles Latrille de Lorencez. Certain that victory would swiftly be theirs, the French marched on Mexico City. Juárez desperately rounded up a ragtag force of loyal Mexican citizens and sent them to the town of Puebla de Los Angeles directly in the path of the French. Led by Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza, about 4,000 Mexican militia fortified the town and prepared for the French assault. Most of Zaragoza’s men were farmers armed with antiquated muskets, machetes and farm implements. On the 5th of May, 1862, Lorencez and his army, arrived before the city of Puebla. Showing his contempt for the Mexicans, General Lorencez ordered his troops to attack the middle of General Zaragoza’s defenses. The French cavalry galloped through ditches, over adobe ruins and up the slope of Guadalupe Hill. The Mexican militia stood its ground and sent the French forces reeling back from the town. The battle lasted from daybreak to early evening, the French lost nearly 500 soldiers, while the Mexican defenders lost less than 100. Lorencez and the French forces fled back to Veracruz with Zaragoza’s militia in pursuit. The victory represented a significant morale boost for the Mexican people. Puebla de Los Angeles, the site of Zaragoza’s historic victory, was renamed Puebla de Zaragoza in honor of the general. However, the victory, was short-lived. One year later, the French landed 30,000 additional troops, they defeated the Mexican army, captured Mexico City, and installed Austrian Archduke Ferdinand
Maximilian as Emperor Maximilian I, ruler of Mexico. However, the France’s Mexican Empire would last only three years. When the American Civil War ended, the United States supported Juarez’s efforts to expel the French. Napoleon III, facing tenacious Mexican guerrilla resistance and potentially a serious conflict with the United States, withdrew the French military from Mexico. The Mexicans recaptured Mexico City, and Maximilian was apprehended and executed. On June 5, 1867, Benito Juarez returned to Mexico City. Since the ousting of the French, no country in the Americas has been invaded by any European military forces. Mexicans and Latinos living in California during the 1860s are credited with being the first to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in the United States. Far up in the gold country town of Columbia (now Columbia State Park), Mexican miners were so overjoyed at the news that they spontaneously fired off rifle shots and fireworks, sang patriotic songs and made impromptu speeches. Cinco de Mayo, has been celebrated in California continuously since 1863. For many years it was virtually ignored in Mexico. Today, Cinco de Mayo is a big deal in Puebla, but remains a relatively minor holiday in Mexico. In the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage. As Californians, we have long traditions and ties with Mexico dating back to the days of the Californios. For those of us that live in the Santa Ynez Valley, reminders of those ties and traditions are all around us. Cinco de Mayo is a good time to think of our shared heritage.
18 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
Local author starts new western series
Photo Contributed Author R. Lawson Gamble (Rich) has published a new book, the first in his new “Johnny” series titled “Johnny and the Kid”, an old-time Western.
R. Lawson Gamble’s latest, ‘Johnny and the Kid,’ has been published Staff Report
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uthor R. Lawson Gamble (the R is for Rich) has published a new book, the first in his new “Johnny” series titled “Johnny and the Kid”, an old-time Western. This new series has its roots in the actual sense of the Old West. It is written in the first person and speaks to how a young boy develops into a gunfighter at the time: What the forces are that come to bear, which incorporates his widowed Ma; the transient nature of the people who come through the town, all of whom’s first stop is the Saloon; the cowboys on cattle drives, hobos, and fugitives from justice. “I’ve finished eight books in the ‘Zack Tolliver’ series and I sat down to write for pleasure. I’d always wanted to see if I could write a story from the ‘first person’ point of view,” said Gamble. “As I wrote, I was Johnny, a 15-year-old boy facing many unexpected challenges. With each obstacle and danger that came along, I, as Johnny, had to solve it, face it, or run from it and do whatever this young boy would do and I found it very exciting.” The book took Gamble only two months to complete. In starting the series, he wanted the essence and look of the book along with the formatting to reflect the Old West in
terms of stolid, feet on the ground, horse-sense approach of the people at the time, which was set between 1870 and 1880, post-Civil War, in a boom town called Deep Water, Texas. “In the formatting, I did some unusual things, like block paragraphs without indent, so looking at the interior gives the reader the feeling of the flat plains of Texas and the square corral fencing,” said Gamble. “It is slightly smaller in size so you can throw it in a saddlebag.” Each of the books to follow in this new series will have the title “Johnny and the …” – the second book is titled “Johnny and the Preacher,” which is due out in late fall. The cover of each of the books will be the same with a slightly different color hue – all sand and dust of the Old West. “Ever since I was a little boy, I loved watching the old Westerns on a black and white television, shows with Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy and the Lone Ranger until the day my Dad cut the TV cord,” Gamble said. “By that action he more or less left me in that era. This book is an outgrowth from those early days.” The book is dedicated “To Ma and Pa Gamble from their pistol-packin’ little boy, ‘TwoGun’ Ricardo.” “When my mother, who is 99 years old, read the book she said she could see me as her little boy with my cowboy hat and my two pearl-handled pistols strapped around my waist,” said Gamble. In a book review, Fiona Ingram. one of the editors for Readers’ Favorite says, “The character development is so well done that it’s as if Johnny was sitting in my living room telling the story. The plots and subplots are wonderful. I love the who’s who that kept the suspense heightened. It’s the best book I’ve read this year.
Well done!” “When an author starts a new series, particularly if the genre is different, he/she risks losing what has already been gained in the first series in terms of followers,” Gamble said. “We readers like familiar ground, familiar characters, and love nothing better than to venture into book after book created in the same familiar way. When an author seems to move away from there, their interest drops off, even at the suspicion that the original series might not continue. “There are lots of other series out there to find. Although I fully intend to continue my Zack Tolliver FBI series as usual, those who enjoy it and follow it, upon seeing this different work among my books, may lose faith. It is a risk I have to take. “Writing has always been pleasurable for me but never as much as while writing ‘Johnny and the Kid,’” said Gamble. “I immediately wanted to start ‘Johnny and the Preacher’ as soon as I’d finished.” Gamble gives talks about Los Alamos Valley history. He has spoken at the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society for the “Valley Speaks” series and at the Santa Barbara Westerners chapter at the Santa Barbara Club, just to name a few. “Johnny and the Kid” is available on Amazon or any retail bookstore. He will be doing book signings and readings in the area to launch his new series. For more information, visit rlawsongamble.com or amazon.com/rlawsongamble.
Did you stock up to hunker down at home?
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May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 19
Lights, camera, action on the Central Coast By Daniel Lahr
Executive Director of the Central Coast Film Society
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o, it looks like we have all been spending some quality time inside for our own good lately. Lots of people are now caught up on films and television shows they’ve been wanting to see, but what do you do when you have finished your list? Why not revisit some classic films with ties to right here on the Central Coast? The Central Coast Film Society has put together a Top 10 list of things to watch while sheltering at home. Here’s what you might want to dust off and enjoy.
later the airport closed as Highway 101 was rerouted to its current location.
7. Pete’s Dragon - Montana De Oro State Park
This classic Disney film (not to be confused with the 2016 remake of the same name) was set in Passamaquoddy, Maine, but was filmed on this coast. The lighthouse seen in the film was built at Montana De Oro State Park on Point Buchon. You can still hike to that location, but you won’t find a lighthouse anymore -- it was quickly dismantled after production so it wouldn’t confuse passing ships.
10. Little Giants - Arroyo Grande
In the small village of Arroyo Grande came this feel good film with Rick Moranis and Ed O’Neill. They play brothers living in Urbania, Ohio. Only, it’s actually Arroyo Grande. Watch as the misfit team lead by Moranis trains to go up against the big team coached by O’Neill. A perfect small-town, homegrown family comedy.
9. Spartacus - San Simeon
At 197 minutes long, Spartacus is the type of movie to make a viewing event out of, or when you’re stuck at home all day. Which makes pausing for bathroom breaks a little easier. This classic movie, with Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier and directed by Stanley Kubrick, will have you transported back to the glory days of Rome by stopping at Hearst Castle as a backdrop.
8. The Spirit of St. Louis - Santa Maria
Billy Wilder’s production starring James Stewart was filmed all over the world, following the story of Charles Lindbergh and his monumental flight from New York to Paris. However, in this movie, they were flying out of Allan Hancock Field (now the site of Allan Hancock College) in Santa Maria. The film was released in 1957 and only a couple years
inspired part of the Harold Ramis comedy, “Bedazzled” with Brendan Fraser, which had an action-packed drug lord compound scene that was also filmed in Santa Barbara.
1. John Adams - Santa Maria
Nojoqui Grade. (Fun fact: our president, Raiza Giorgi’s, family property is Nojoqui Falls Ranch, and her husband was watching them fly over as they were filming.
4. The Rocketeer - Santa Maria
6. Of Mice and Men - Santa Ynez Valley
Directed and starring Gary Sinise, this film was filmed extensively in the Santa Ynez Valley at Gainey Ranch. This adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel is a heavy drama that was praised by critics but didn’t do that well in the box office. The 1939 version of the story was filmed a little further north in San Luis Obispo and the Hearst Ranch.
5. Outbreak - Santa Ynez Valley
What is a pandemic without watching a movie like this? With its huge ensemble cast, most of the movie takes place in Northern California. But watch carefully when Dustin Hoffman and Cuba Gooding Jr. are in a helicopter trying to divert an Air Force plane (that flew out from Vandenberg AFB). You can see they’re flying over the Santa Ynez Mountain Range over
“The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause.”
Walt Disney Pictures got its toes wet in comic book superhero films with “The Rocketeer” in 1991. Much of the film’s non-Los Angeles scenes were shot at the Santa Maria Airport and surrounding areas. The film was well-received, but plans for sequels were scrapped after the movie only performed “modestly” at the box office. Director Joe Johnston would go on to make another comic book film, “Captain America: The First Avenger.”
3. Batman: The Movie - Santa Barbara
Bam! Pow! Batman’s first big screen appearance, in 1966, showed the caped crusader running along Stern’s Wharf in Santa Barbara looking for the villain’s secret lair. While most everyone enjoys all the various and recent versions of Gotham City’s superhero, it might be time to go revisit what started all the fun with this campy and fun movie.
2. Scarface - Santa Barbara
The story of Al Pacino’s Tony Montana is one that Walter White could only dream of. In the carnage-infused climax at Tony’s Miami mansion, you may recognize that it’s actually in Santa Barbara. The scene also seems to have
Yes, this isn’t a movie, but this Golden Globe-winning series is a masterpiece from HBO and perfect to binge at home as we head into Memorial Day and Independence Day in an election year. Earlier this year was the 250th anniversary of the Boston Massacre, which is depicted in the opening parts of this series. It follows the Paul Giamatti as John Adams in a remarkable telling of the man’s life. What you may not know is a good portion of the visual effects were done in Santa Maria by CafeFX, also known for doing effects in movies like “Pan’s Labyrinth” or “The Mist.”
Honorable Mention Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Touch of Satan, S10, E8 - Santa Ynez Valley Alright, this one is so special it needs its own category. Ever see movies that are so bad they’re funny? Well, that’s what “Mystery Science Theater 3000” does all the time. You can binge bad movies until the cows come home, but if you want something with a local backdrop then watch this beauty. Filmed in 1971 Santa Ynez Valley, this horror film is worthy of the bad jokes that two robots and a trapped spaceman fire at it. Be sure to check out all of Central Coast Film Society’s spotlights of other Central Coast films on their social media or website: www.centralcoastfilmsociety.org.
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Tuesday through Sunday • 10am-4pm
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Wildling photo competition will highlight local critters Place and $50 for Second Place. A complimentary Family Membership will be awarded for Third Place. The museum hopes to display competition finalists from both the adult and youth categories at the Wildling Museum in September 2020 (contingent upon California COVID-19 re-opening guidelines). Finalists and winners will be showcased on the Wildling Museum website in September 2020. No more than five (5) entries may be submitted per person. Wildling Museum members enjoy one (1) free entry with valid membership. Fee for entry is $10 per photograph. The Adult category is open to all artists, 18 years or older, as of April 3. The Junior category is open to all artists, 17 years or younger, as of April 3, 2020. Wildling Museum Board of Directors, Staff, and their spouses are not eligible for entry. Full competition rules and entry forms are available for download at: www.wildlingmuseum.org/ news/2020-photography-competition.
Museum’s 11th contest now accepting submissions from all ages Staff Report
T
he Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce its 11th nature photography competition, now a biannual event for both adult and youth photographers. The Wildling’s 2020 competition will highlight the native critters that call the Tri-County region home. “We want to encourage our museum followers to find solace in nature during these uncertain times, and often there’s no better place to start than your own backyard,” said Executive Director Stacey Otte-Demangate. “We are fortunate to have a wealth of local wildlife and we’re excited to highlight native species in the newest iteration of our photography competition.” The Wildling Museum is currently accepting entries capturing all forms of local wildlife, including land and sea mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects, so long as they are found in the counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, or Ventura. Photographers competing in the adult category will be awarded $250 for First Place, $100 for Second Place, and $50 for Second Place. Youth photographers competing in the junior category will be awarded $100 for First
Important dates:
Photo by Elliot Lowndes Eight-legged Snowy Plover, Digital photographic print, 2018 Second Place Winner.
n All Entries Due: July 6 n Semi-Finalists Notified: July 26 n Semi-Finalists Prints Due: August 24 n Finalists notified: September 4 n Exhibition Open: September 12 n Exhibition Reception: September 12
Carrot muffins make a delicious healthy snack By Vida Gustafson
n 1 tsp baking powder n ½ tsp baking soda n 1 C AP flour n 1 C grated carrot n ½ C raisins n ½ C chopped walnuts or pecans n 1 tsp cinnamon n 1 tsp vanilla extract n ¼ tsp salt
Contributing Writer
I
love making a batch of muffins as often as I can manage and carrot muffins are such a pleasant way to get in healthy nuggets like walnuts, raisins and, of course, carrots. A muffin feels so much more special for breakfast than a bowl of cereal and is super easy to take along on hikes or trips to the beach. This recipe makes 12-14 moist muffins loaded with goodies. Always remember to get your ingredients as locally sourced as possible, many of the local produce stands have carrots available.
Method
Ingredients n 2 eggs n 1/3 C white sugar n 1/3 C brown sugar n 6 tbsp melted butter n 1/3 C oil (I used sunflower oil)
Photo by Vida Gustafson Carrot muffins are such a pleasant way to get in healthy nuggets like walnuts, raisins and, of course, carrots.
Thoroughly butter your muffin pan, or line with baking cups if preferred. Pre-heat the oven to 400 °F. Stir together eggs, oil, sugar(s) and melted butter. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon and mix into the wet ingredients. Lastly, add the nuts, raisins and carrots. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing.
May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 21
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Summer, fall classes available at Hancock Staff Report
A
llan Hancock College announced its summer and fall offerings on its website on Monday for students seeking to continue their studies or return to school to gain new job skills. As of April 20, credit and noncredit summer and fall classes are viewable by clicking the Class Search button on Hancock’s website. Open registration for summer and fall classes begins May 9. Summer classes start on June 15. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Hancock transitioned 98 percent of its spring classes to a remote format and saw 97 percent of students stay enrolled during the first month of the pandemic. Similarly, most summer classes will also be offered remotely. Students using Class Search will now see the new class location designation “REMOTE ERT” for summer classes. This indicates that a course has transitioned from being held on-campus to being taught remotely. “We are proud of the all the hard work our faculty, staff and administrators put in to making the transition to remote learning in the spring. Because of them, our students were able to continue their education during a very difficult and disruptive time,” said Hancock Superin-
tendent/President Kevin G. Walthers, Ph.D. “As we move into the summer term, we want to encourage our students to stay in their classes, stay on track and utilize all the support resources available to help them succeed.” Students new to remote learning can learn more about how to access their classes and use online learning tools on the college’s Helpful Student Resources webpage. During spring, many important student services, including offering academic counseling, tutoring, library, nursing and mental health counseling, and other important student services, are available by phone or virtually via Zoom and Cranium Café. In addition, the college implemented a laptop lending program for students struggling with a lack of access to technology. Those services will continue through the summer. Information about these resources and many others are available on the college’s COVID-19 response webpage. Hancock continues to monitor the evolving COVID-19 outbreak situation and will provide further information and updates regarding the fall 2020 term as more information comes available.
o CANCER CARE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15 a notable effect on their ability to afford their care, due mostly to reduced work hours (14%). While the economic stress is prevalent across all respondents, the concern is especially pronounced among patients with lower- and middle-class incomes. Nearly half of those earning $30,000 or less say they’re worried about affording their care (46%); more than a third (34%) of those earning up to $60,000 are worried and a quarter (25%) of those earning up to $110,000 are concerned. “Reduced work hours and job loss can also have a notable effect on a cancer patient’s ability to access and afford healthcare during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Bremner. “All the while, cancer patients and survivors are wellaware their underlying health condition is increasing the chance of severe complications if they contract COVID-19.” Patient groups, including ACS CAN, are asking Congress and the administration to take action on policy changes that would help patients. Those changes include creating a special enrollment period so uninsured or underinsured Americans can enroll in comprehensive health plans established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), increased funding for state Medicaid programs and subsidies to help people who lose their employer-sponsored health care afford their health insurance
premiums for up to six months. The American Cancer Society has created a resource for cancer patients and survivors at cancer.org: Coronavirus, COVID-19 and Cancer Hub. ACS is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through our National Cancer Information Center and cancer hotline at 800-227-2345. As nonprofits step up during the pandemic and struggle financially, ACS CAN has also joined with the California Association of Nonprofit to ask policymakers to make programs aimed at assisting employers through the COVID-19 crisis be made equally available and beneficial to nonprofit and for-profit entities. The Survivor Views survey was conducted using a web-based instrument sent to 3,055 Survivor Views cohort members and promoted to non-panelist respondents through email and social media promotion. The survey was taken by more than 1,200 cancer patients and survivors between March 25 and April 8, and has a margin of error +/- 3% and 96% confidence level. For more on the results: https://bit.ly/2V9TavE For more information about ACS CAN, go to fightcancer.org.
SYHS hires basketball, volleyball coaches
Santa Ynez Valley Union High School has named new coaches for its boys basketball and girls volleyball programs, Athletic Director Ashley Coelho announced. Walter Tyler will take over as the Pirates’ boys basketball coach and Amelia Brown moves from the lower-level programs to run the varsity girls volleyball team. Brown is a teacher for agriculture classes on campus. Tyler will be a walk-on coach. “She is a positive role model for all of our student and has excellent rapport with the staff, students and parents,” said Coelho of Brown. “I’ve observed Amelia coach this last season, and I know that her skill set, positive energy and love of the game will make our program successful. Her enthusiasm for the sport is infectious.” Brown played volleyball at San Luis Obispo High, where she earned all-state honors as a senior. She attended Cal Poly and played on a club volleyball team that won four league titles. Previous coach Tom Wright stepped down due to job responsibilities. He received a promotion at Todd Pipe & Supply, according to Coelho. “We wish him the best of luck in his new position,” she said. “I am grateful for Tom’s dedication to Pirate Volleyball for the last 15 years, and he will be missed by his Pirate family.” Tyler has coached youth club and high school basketball in the area for several years. He previously coached the frosh boys at Cabrillo High and was also the varsity track and field coach at the school.
“Walter Tyler is an excellent candidate for this position because he puts student-athletes first, and wants to create a positive culture that is rich with Pirate Pride and a sense of family,” said Coelho. “He draws a lot of his inspiration for coaching from John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. “He has a vision for the boys basketball program that I strongly believe in, and I know the program will succeed under his leadership.” Tyler replaces Ray Vazquez, who resigned at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Local students earn academic honors at Colgate
Three students from the Santa Ynez Valley have earned at Colgate University, located in Hamilton, N.Y. Luke Beckmen of Buellton, a graduate of Cate School and Lita Wright of Santa Ynez, a graduate of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, earned the Dean’s Award with Distinction for the fall 2019 semester. Students who receive a term grade point average of 3.6 or higher while completing at least three courses for a conventional letter grade earn the award. Meanwhile, Isabella DeLeon, a member of the Colgate University Class of 2021, earned the Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence for the fall 2019 semester. DeLeon is from Solvang and is a graduate of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Students who receive a term grade point average of 3.3 or higher while completing at least three courses earn the award.
o BLESSING CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Kiras Slime Lab - Kira King, 10, and Nathan Biron, 10, of Buellton created a special slime to sell to raise money for stocking the blessing boxes.
to date. “Nathan and I have been making and selling slime for a while and thought this would be a great way for parents to get something fun for their kids to do at home, and feel like they’re helping too,” Kira said. Kira and Nathan said they both love playing with slime and said it’s a great way to relieve stress. “The feeling of squishing it and the different textures gets people to focus on the slime
and perhaps they might forget bad feelings,” Kira said. They created a special slime called Ray of Sunshine of which 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the blessing boxes, and 50 percent of their other varieties will be donated. If people do not want the slime, they can still donate to their efforts and the slime will be donated as well. Visit www.kirasslimelab.com and click on the COVID-19 relief button.
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May 5 - May 18, 2020 H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H Santa Ynez Valley Star H 23
Š 2016 by Vicki Whiting, Editor Jeff Schinkel, Graphics Vol. 32, No. 51
Thrifty, I’m doing really GREAT at saving my money!
I knew you could do it, Fritter! It’s exciting just watching your money grow and grow and grow, isn’t it?
Circle every other letter to discover a very easy way you can help your family save some money every month.
Fritter is trying to save $10 per month so that he can have enough money next summer to go to the Six Wags Amusement Park
Grow? How do you make dollars larger? Gee, all my money is still the same size as regular money. Uhhh, forget I said anything and just keep saving, Fritter!
Fritter has been putting the money he is earning into a savings account which earns him money called interest!
Talk with your family about times you’ve had to all save money to do something or ge something. Talk abou t spending mistakes t that have been made and what was learned from them.
When Fritter puts money into his savings account, that is called a deposit. When he takes money out of his savings account, that is called a withdrawal. For example, looking at his savings account book, you can see that Fritter deposited $5.00 that he earned doing chores on October 15. You can also see that he made a withdrawal of $7.00 on October 18.
Standards Link: Reading Comprehension: Follow simple written directions.
WITHDRAWAL INTEREST BALANCES MISTAKES DEPOSIT ACCOUNT SAVINGS CHORES PARENT MONEY MONTH PLAN BANK BOOK PAYS
S A M I S T A K E S
H Y P A R E N T V G T S E R E T N I D N
N B A N K U A P E I
O I K O O B L A P V
M N G C L M P Y O A L A C H O R E S S S
L A W A R D H T I W
B A L A N C E S T N
Small to Large
Look at what Fritter spent money on this week. Is there anything you think he could have done without? How much money would he have saved if he didn’t buy two or more things on the list?
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Newspaper Scavenger Hunt
Find these things in today’s newspaper: a numeral over 1,000 a numeral between 10 and 100 a telephone number an address a zip code an age
Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to locate information.
Brought to you by
Find six amounts of money in today’s paper. Look at the advertisements and news articles, too. Cut them out and glue them onto a piece of paper from smallest value to largest value. Standards Link: Research: Use the newspaper to locate information.
Exaggerate!
Think of your best exaggeration. For example: Our Thanksgiving turkey was so big that we couldn’t fit it through the door.
24 H Santa Ynez Valley Star H www.santaynezvalleystar.com H May 5 - May 18, 2020
TA K E A V I R T U A L T O U R T O D AY
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