Bishop Diego thrashes Santa Maria

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER
The Cardinals rumbled for more than 450 yards on the ground as Bishop Diego walked all over Santa Maria, winning 48-7 at La Playa Stadium yesterday evening.
Running backs Aaron Skinner, Eli Orosco and RJ Escamilla combined for 426 yards alone and Skinner scampered into the end zone four times. Bishop Diego head coach Tom Crawford credited the defensive line for clamping down on the Saints and allowing only a few sizable gains.

"It means your line is doing a good job," Crawford said of the nonexistent Saints offense. "We got contributions from pretty much everyone on the squad."
With the victory, Bishop Diego pushed its record to 3-0, with earlier wins over Santiago and Nipomo.
Skinner's four touchdowns and 193 rushing yards stood out as the highlight of the evening. After scoring on a quick five-yard run to the left with 6:57 to go in the first half, Skinner took the ball in again less than two minutes later on an 8-yard run after the Saints fumbled the ball on their 34.
"The line did a great job," Skinner said. "The holes were there and I just did my job."
On their next possession, Santa Maria started at their 39. Quarterback Robert Rodriguez bumped into his running back on first down and fumbled the ball, diving on it quickly. After a two-yard run and an incomplete pass, the Saints punted it away, a theme that repeated itself throughout the night.
Cardinals quarterback Christian Winnewisser completed his first big pass of the night on the next drive, hitting Art Gonzalez over the middle for a 30-yard gain down to the Saints 41. After a 15-yard rumble by Orosco, Escamilla bobbled a pass over the middle and dropped the ball into the waiting hands of the Saints' Steven Grigg.
The Saints handed the ball right back to Bishop Diego two plays later when Michael Placencia picked off a pass near the 50 and ran it back to the 19 with 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter. A few plays later, Winnewisser completed a pass to Jeremy Kjar, who sprinted untouched for a 17-yard touchdown.
With the score at 21-0, the Saints looked to be waking up after an 18-yard pass to Grigg on their next drive. However, their offense ground to a standstill on the next two plays and they punted the ball away.
On the next play, Orosco drew thunderous cheers from the crowd after leaping over a Saints defender and gaining 17 yards. A few plays later, a muffled snap turned the ball over to the Saints at their 41. After two short runs, the Saints running back fumbled on a dive up the middle and Shane McCarthy recovered the football for the Cardinals.
Winnewisser then completed a play action pass to Kjar, who took the ball down to the Saints 20. With an empty backfield, Orosco ran a reverse to the left, picking up 12 yards before being tackled by Duran. Skinner punched the ball in a few plays later on a 4-yard dive up the middle to push the score to 28-0.
After another Saints fumble at their 42, Bishop Diego seemed on the verge of netting another touchdown before half-time, but a muffled snap on the last play of the half kept the Cardinals out of the end zone.
Escamilla opened the second half with a 24-yard kickoff return to the 40-yard line. After a 19-yard gain by Skinner and a 15-yard pass to Gonzalez, Skinner busted open a 33-yard scamper into the end zone with 9:18 left in the quarter. After another uneventful Saints possession, the Cardinals took over at their 28. Escamilla took a pitch to the right, gaining 12 yards.
Orosco put in his second highlight of the evening, dancing left and outrunning three Saints defenders for a 54-yard touchdown run with 3:52 left in the third quarter. Although Orosco typically plays wide receiver, he will assume second-string running back responsibilities due to an injured Anthony Martinez.
The Saints went three and out in the following possession, punting the ball away. On the resulting drive, Skinner racked up more yardage with a 42-yard gain. After Orosco and Escamilla pushed the ball down to the 17, Skinner drove left to the 8-yard line before fullback David Renick crushed through the Saints defensive line into the end zone with six seconds remaining in the quarter.
Renick recovered a Saints fumble on the first play of their drive, bringing the Cardinals offense back onto the field at the Saints 36. A few plays into the possession, Orosco spun his way down to the four, but fumbled the ball away on the next play.
A few possessions later, the Saints pulled off their first touchdown of the night on a trick play. Wide receiver Ryan Duran took a toss from Rodriguez and swung out left, passing to running back Josh Pipersburg for a 54-yard touchdown with only a few minutes remaining. Bishop Diego took a knee to run down the clock.
Yesterday's final score closely resembled last year when the two teams faced each other in Santa Maria, with Bishop Diego taking that contest 48-12. The Cardinals will travel to St. Joseph next Friday for their fourth game of the season.
"We have our work cut out for us," Coach Crawford said, explaining that St. Joseph is expected to contend for their league title.
Orosco echoed his coach, saying, "They're supposed to be good, so we've got to be ready."
When asked if the Cardinals can go to the air if their ground game struggles against St. Joseph, Orosco said, "Oh yeah, we're ready to go."

FINALLY ... A USC game that matters

BY BILL SPICER
Three weeks into the season and we FINALLY have a USC game that matters! Seems like we’ve been waiting ... since springtime for this. With a Saturday full of less than spectacular TV games, this is the steak, the main course, complete with the great Kirk Herbstreit and the glare of the national spotlights.

By not playing last week the Trojans have slipped in the public what-have-you-done-for-me-lately poll. Today the Trojans will need a strong showing to cover the 10-point spread, and more importantly, keep pace with the other two national championship contenders, LSU and Oklahoma. But keep the faith USC fan, coach Carroll has admitted this is a ‘big game,’ and with an extra week to prepare, the Fan says USC starts the hunt for a national championship in earnest today with the Nebraska Cornhuskers hanging tough early, and then falling by the wayside for a resounding Trojan victory! Game On channel 3 at 5pm.
Last week it was OREGON’s turn to stand up and for the Pac-10, with a smash mouth, no respect, statue of Liberty-loving victory over Michigan. But be advised Duck Nation; this was clearly not your father’s Wolverines, and I’m not sure how much to read into the win. Certainly it was a coming out party for Oregon QB Dennis Dixon, and his heroics won him the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Be careful, today Oregon takes on a hard-luck and angry Fresno State Bulldogs team that would love nothing more than a big revenge win at Autzen Stadium. The Fan expects a competitive game, and an Oregon win.
UCLA continues its affair with the Beehive state, today taking on the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. Last week’s hard fought win over BYU didn’t produce the attention it deserved. Today the Bruins are a two-touchdown favorite.
California is a heavy favorite at home facing the cream-puff portion of their schedule with a game against the Bulldogs of Louisiana Tech. But as Appalachian State has reminded us, you got to play ‘em to win ‘em.
Sneaking up on the Pac-10 big boys are Arizona State and Washington. Both are 2-0 and starting to gather some attention. At ASU, vagabond coach Dennis Erickson brings swagger and high expectation to the desert…and so far, so good. In Seattle we have a tremendous match up and is our Game2Watch. The Huskies haven’t won two in a row or had a quality win in who-knows-how-long, now they are sporting both! With mighty momentum on their side, they take on THE Ohio State Buckeyes. Are the dreaded Huskies indeed back? We’ll see today!
Hats off to the new guys, the VS. Network. Now you can add channel 71 to your line up for college football viewing. For the second week in a row this is where we go to see the Bruins play, and the VS. Network has 15 more games scheduled from the Mountain West, Big 12, and Pac-10 conferences.
Falling off the radar, but not TV, is the intriguing match up of the Colorado Buffaloes hosting the Florida State Seminoles. Both programs have seen better days, and each is desperate for a win.
Today we have 12 games on regular TV and cable today; here are the SuperFans

Games 2 Watch!

Notre Dame @ Michigan: Who will emerge as the cream of the swill?

Tenn @ Florida: If the Gators want to be in the conversation for national champs, it starts right here.

UCLA @ Utah: Dorrell may sweat this one, but the Bruins will triumph!

USC @ Neb: A sea of red turning to crimson.

Florida State @ Colorado: The Fans have great love for the Republic of Boulder, but that championship season is only getting smaller in your rearview mirror.

Ohio St @ Washington: This could be a signature win for the Ty Willingham era.

Boston College @ Georgia Tech: The RamblnWreck are the ACC’s best.

Builders flock to East Beach

BY STEVEN LIBOWITZ
DAILY SOUND ARTS EDITOR
Developers have bellyached for years about how difficult it is to build in Santa Barbara, what with zoning codes, building regulations and an arduous permit process. But you don’t need anything other than a few plastic tools and an active imagination to construct your own sculpture at the annual Santa Barbara Sand Castle Festival at Each Beach today.
More than 30 groups have already signed up to participate in the festival’s main activity, a sand sculpture contest, eclipsing last year’s record total of 28, said Naomi Kovacs, executive director of the Citizen’s Planning Association & Foundation, the organizations that sponsor and benefit from the event.

“Usually between five and ten teams sign up in the morning, so we could have up to 40 groups participating, which is unheard of for these sort of events,” she said.
Each team, consisting of no more than 10 people, is assigned a 16-foot by 16-foot plot near the water’s edge in front of the bathhouse. Beginning at noon, teams will have three hours to build their sand structures, working from sketches, drawing or purely from the imagination. While contestants may use tools to shape their castles, only sand, water and natural objects found on site (shells, seaweed, driftwood, etc.) can be used for decoration.
Contest categories include Sandcastles, Sand Sculptures, Castle & Sculpture Mixed Creations, plus a separate category for children 6th Grade & Under who receive no help from adults in building any creation. There will also be a “People’s Choice” award spanning all categories.
A giant King Kong, whose hand extending above the sand was large enough to accommodate people sitting inside, was one of the crowd favorites, Kovacs said.
“It looked like he’d captured you. People posed for pictures all afternoon,” she said.
Another highlight was a “really cool, big octopus,” Kovacs recalled, and “the castle that looked like Hogwarts” from Harry Potter.
“People do all sorts of things,” she said. “The year before, these guys built a castle on top of a palm of hand. They called it a ‘Hand Castle.’ They were spewing out bad puns all day long to anyone who walked by, things like ‘You’ve got to hand it to us’ and ‘Aren’t we handy?’”
But the fun at the festival, which runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., extends beyond mere castle construction.
Activities for kids include an inflatable bouncer house and slide, free sand candle-making and the Cap’n Planner’s Treasure Hunt — an area of sand blocked off where keys are hidden in the sand, some of which open a treasure chest filled with prizes. “Find a key and try the lock and if it opens you get a prize,” Kovacs said.
Winners of the popular Surf-a-Duck race – in which numbered rubber duckies race from out in the ocean to be first back to shore – win prize, including membership for 2 and a book about Lotusland; a picnic pack with gift cards to various local shops, a 6-month memberships to 24 Hour Fitness, Whiz Kids membership, and a bicycle.
“The point of the festival is to bring people down to the beach at the end of summer and celebrate the community and our natural assets: the beach, the ocean, the panoramic views we all enjoy here,” Kovacs said. “It goes along with the organization’s mission of protecting the environment.”
Musical entertainment kicks off at 10 a.m. with 60’s surf & sun music spun by DJ Gerry DeWitt, who will also play songs between sets from bands that include Kelp, Bruce Goldish, Claude Hopper and Hula Anyone? Judging (and audience viewing and voting) takes place from 3-4:15 p.m. followed by an awards ceremony at 4:30 and the Surf-a-Duck race at 5.
The structures will all be gone by morning, once the tide washes in. But that’s the whole point, Kovacs said.
“It’s not about making lasting art. It’s about the experience of building it and then letting it go. Letting nature do its thing.”
In other beachfront activities today, the cadre of swimmers joining together for a relay crossing of the Santa Barbara Channel from Santa Cruz Island to Goleta Beach — at 26 miles, the equivalent of a land-based marathon — are expected to arrive at the family beach between UCSB and the Goleta Pier in the late afternoon.
You can join the Santa Barbara Channel Swimming Association “Sandpipers” and “Ocean Ducks” in swimming the last quarter-mile, or cheer them on from your own boat or the beach, which is also the site for a barbecue banquet that gets underway at 5 p.m. The cost is $15 for adults, $10 for children, and proceeds benefit the Environmental Defense Center. Call 637-8331 or visit www.oceanducks.org.

Travis Armstrong takes the stand

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER
Defense attorneys questioned three former News-Press employees, a former LAPD deputy chief of police and the current News-Press editorial page editor during yesterday’s federal hearing into alleged labor law violations at the Santa Barbara News-Press.
Starshine Roshell and Melissa Evans returned to the stand — both for brief stretches of time — and Rob Kuznia made his first appearance in the trial, testifying for about an hour during the morning session. Travis Armstrong closed out the hearing, which will resume a week from Monday.

Roshell, a former News-Press columnist, took the stand first and News-Press attorney Cappello immediately focused on the Santa Barbara Solstice Parade in June 2007, displaying a photograph of Roshell participating in the event and preparing to question her.
However, National Labor Relations Board attorney Brian Gee immediately objected. Evidence to deny the reinstatement of Roshell’s column, Gee argued, is not relevant, since reinstatement of the column is not being sought by the NLRB with regards to Roshell.
Gee said although the Board is charging the News-Press with terminating her column in retaliation for her union support, the remedy is only a broad cease and desist order.
The photograph Cappello planned to question Roshell about depicted her walking with the Santa Barbara Independent float, carrying a blond Barbie doll in a pair of barbecue tongs. Cappello also tried to ask Roshell about the group of people with masks over their faces walking with the same float to determine if they are plaintiffs in the hearing.
Judge William Kocol reminded Cappello that he will not allow him to fish for after-acquired evidence that may affect reinstatement rights, but only to question witnesses on evidence he has already obtained.
Kuznia took the stand next and confirmed that he had received a bonus in 2006. Cappello then started to focus on whether Kuznia had a conversation with former reporter Dawn Hobbs about the legality of affixing a banner on the Anapamu Street footbridge before a group of newsroom employees engaged in a protest on the pedestrian overpass.
Judge Kocol, visibly exasperated with that line of questioning, asked Cappello to focus his questions on more central issues in the case.
Kuznia then testified that the traffic on Highway 101 below the footbridge had varied over the hour they held the signs and banners, sometimes moving at 70 miles per hour, other times “log-jammed.”
Cappello then turned to the issue of the “peeps” e-mail, as it is now referred to in court. At the onset of the hearing yesterday, union attorney Ira Gottlieb handed Cappello a stack of documents that Kuznia had sent to him on August 13, including the “peeps” message. Gottlieb explained that he had not noticed Kuznia’s e-mail until Thursday.
“I can’t simply just turn my head to what occurred regarding this series of e-mails,” Cappello said to the judge. “...I can’t tell you how difficult it is to try a case when key pieces of evidence relevant to a charge are not produced.”
The message in question relates to an attempt by newsroom employees to deliver a letter to News-Press owner and copublisher Wendy McCaw. Cappello has argued that the event was noisy and disruptive, grounds for the suspension notices that employees received, which were never enforced. Federal attorneys maintain that the event was quiet and professional, charging the News-Press with threatening employees with suspensions in retaliation for their union activity.
A hearing into subpoena compliance based on the “peeps” e-mail and another message referred to as the “blitzkrieg” e-mail is expected to take place on September 24, when the trial resumes.
Kuznia testified under questioning by Cappello that he had not seen the “peeps” e-mail while initially gathering documents to respond to a subpoena. He also testified that after going back through his e-mail account, he did not see the “blitzkrieg” e-mail and did not recall it specifically.
“I’m sure I read it,” Kuznia said, adding, “It’s like over a year ago.”
News-Press attorney Matthew Clarke took over for Cappello as Daniel R. Sullivan, a former LAPD deputy chief of police and owner of a security and law enforcement consulting firm, took the stand to serve as an expert witness for the defense.
After running through Sullivan’s impressive list of law enforcement credentials, Clarke offered him as an expert to testify to the legality of affixing a banner to a freeway overpass and the appropriate law enforcement response. However, Gee objected based on the fact that Sullivan had little personal experience with street and highway codes.
Judge Kocol agreed with Gee, stating that Sullivan did not appear to have enough understanding of the “niche issue” of hanging banners from overpasses. After permitting Clarke two more attempts at proving Sullivan’s credentials, the judge rejected him as an expert witness.
Clarke then provided an offer of proof as to what Sullivan would have testified to, explaining that he would have said the hanging of a banner over a freeway constitutes a misdemeanor offense and the responsible parties would be cited by law enforcement.
Judge Kocol also rejected that offer and asked for clarification on the whole issue of affixing a banner to the bridge as an area of litigation in the hearing. Cappello indicated that McCaw will take the stand to testify in part that employees who committed such an offense, which Cappello characterized as illegal, dangerous and a potential cause of traffic accidents, would be subject to termination.
Judge Kocol overruled objections by the prosecution, stating that he will let the matter play out.
Cappello then called former reporter Melinda Burns to the stand for a few moments to confirm that a statement she made following her firing had aired on a local public access cable channel. The defense attorney said the statement constitutes after-acquired evidence that will determine Burns’ reinstatement and back pay rights.
Current News-Press editorial page editor Travis Armstrong replaced Burns on the witness stand for the last hour of testimony. Cappello led Armstrong through a brief overview of his background in journalism, which included positions at the Portland Oregonian and the San Jose Mercury News before he came to the News-Press in January 2002.
Armstrong then explained how he took over as acting publisher for a month while McCaw and copublisher Arthur von Weisenberger took a vacation in the summer of 2006. When asked why she appointed him that task, Armstrong said, “I think she trusted me.”
Cappello then asked Armstrong about former editor-in-chief Jerry Roberts, focusing on the time Roberts spent as both publisher and editor of the newspaper. Armstrong confirmed that Roberts had control over both the advertising and news sections of the publication.
Cappello argued to the court that such a conflict between the business and news sides mirrors the situation when Armstrong headed both the newsroom and the opinion section during his month as acting publisher, seen by many as the impetus for mass resignations and the unionization effort at the News-Press.
“I never heard one complaint,” Armstrong said when asked if employees had decried Roberts’ position as both publisher and editor.
Cappello then asked Armstrong if the publisher of the News-Press has the absolute right to control the content of the newspaper. After he answered affirmatively, Judge Kocol pressed him for an explanation.
“Ms. McCaw owns the newspaper,” Armstrong responded.
Armstrong’s testimony then turned to the “Rob Lowe incident” in which the address of a lot in Montecito where the actor wanted to build a home was published in the pages of the News-Press.
Armstrong said a difference exists between broadcasting the address on a local public access channel and printing it in the News-Press, explaining that the address was not only published in the largest newspaper in the Santa Barbara area, but will remain in the News-Press archives forever.
Armstrong also testified that McCaw issuing a statement reprimanding the editors and staff writer responsible for the story and ordering that celebrity addresses should not be printed was not a breach of journalistic integrity or ethics.
Armstrong will return to the stand on September 24 at 9 a.m. when the trial resumes at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court building on State Street.

Atkins plans to challenge ruling

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

The defense for a 14-year-old Santa Barbara boy charged with murdering a 15-year-old during a March gang brawl plans to file motions with the Superior Court to dismiss a judge’s finding that the accused should stand trial on the charge.
“We intend to challenge decisions that were made at the preliminary hearing both by the judge and the prosecution,” said Jennifer Archer, co-counsel for Ricardo “Ricky” Juarez. “We believe there is substantial, if not overwhelming evidence that Ricardo R. killed [Luis] Angel Linares.”


Juarez has been locked in Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall since being arrested on March 14, immediately after the gang melee left Linares stabbed to death in the parking lot of Saks Fifth Avenue.
During a 12-day preliminary hearing, which was held last month to discern whether or not sufficient evidence existed to hold Juarez over for trial, the boy’s public defender, Karen Atkins and Archer put on a case that took the focus off their client and and directed it onto Ricardo R.
During that hearing, testimony was given by law enforcement officers, as well as other witnesses who said Juarez was seen with a knife stabbing someone during the fight.
Forensic testing conducted on a knife discovered in a garbage can on State Street showed Linares’ blood on the blade and Juarez’s DNA on the handle, according to witness testimony.
But despite the seemingly damning evidence against Juarez, Atkins presented similar evidence, to the extent she was allowed, that Ricardo R. was also seen with a knife during the fight, admitted to stabbing Linares and was seen by others doing so.
Much of Atkins’ case seemed to hinge on showing a videotaped interrogation of Juarez during the hearing.
But in the early days of the lengthy preliminary hearing, Superior Court Judge Brian Hill ruled that he would not allow the tape to be shown in court, but would instead watch it from home.
On the end of the 12th day of the hearing, when it became clear Hill was ready to stop the hearing and make his decision, Atkins put up a staunch protest and demanded she be allowed to show the videotaped interrogation in court.
After Hill ruled, Atkins said she planned to appeal the court’s decision, which was officially confirmed yesterday.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer said he is not surprised that Atkins intends to file a motion to dismiss the findings of the preliminary hearing.
“That doesn’t surprise me based on the comments at the end of the preliminary hearing,” Dozer said. “It’s certainly more common in a serious case to have defense council do everything legally possible to put a defendant in the best possible position however that is defined by them.”
Yesterday’s appearance in court was supposed to be for Juarez’s post preliminary hearing arraignment, but that was rescheduled for Oct. 25 in order to give Atkins and Dozer enough time to pour over the roughly 2,000 pages of transcribed testimony from the preliminary hearing.
If a plea is made by Juarez at the Oct. 25 arraignment, a trial would likely begin within 60 days, pinning it to begin in late December.
A separate hearing will likely be held on Sept. 27 where Atkins and Dozer will argue whether or not a subpoena issued to the social networking web site MySpace by the defense, can be legally withheld from the prosecution.
“We’re still doing a lot of investigation,” Atkins said.
Atkins demanded to know yesterday if the District Attorney’s Office has struck any deals with Ricardo R. for his testimony.
“There have been no deals made in return for testimony,” Dozer said. “There is no plea bargain in place.”
Dozer noted that in order to get Ricardo R. to testify during the preliminary hearing, the court had to order him to so, and grant him use immunity for that testimony. Use immunity, according to earlier interviews with Dozer, means the testimony given by Ricardo R. on the stand could not be used against him as long as he told the truth.
But Atkins believes a possible deal was struck in order to go after Juarez and try him as an adult, which is the current course the District Attorney has taken.
But whether the District Attorney has struck a deal or not, the facts as Atkins see them point to Ricardo R. as the killer.
“In any case they’re overlooking overwhelming evidence,” Atkins said. “Ricardo R. is the killer and our client is not.”

Church says get out of town

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Three Nuns who have been told to move out of their Santa Barbara convent so it can be sold to help the Archdiocese of Los Angeles pay a multi-million-dollar sex abuse settlement will not be allowed to remain in Santa Barbara city limits under any circumstances, according to Ernie Salomon, a spokesman for Save Our Sisters, a group formed to ensure the sisters continue to reside in their East Side neighborhood.
Salomon said the three sisters have been told by their superiors in Los Angeles and Guatemala that they can no longer speak publicly about the Archdiocese's’ decision to evict them and that even if enough money is raised to purchase the home, the will have to leave.
“They are not going to be allowed to minister in the City of Santa Barbara period,” Salomon said. “And it’s mind boggling. It’s like if you find a new home, you’ll have to leave anyway.”
Tod Tamberg, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said his employer is not responsible for the relocation of the nuns and that all orders about where the nuns will be after the Dec. 31 deadline to vacate their longtime home expires is up to a Sister Gomez, who is the provincial superior for the Sisters of Bethany Order in Los Angeles.
“We do not have any permission under the church’s cannon law to interfere in the inner workings of the [Sisters of Bethany] religious community,” Tamberg said.
Attempts to reach Gomez for comment were unsuccessful, but a sister that answered the phone said, “Don’t call back because she doesn’t want to say anything, please.”
Sister Angela Escalera, who has resided at the Sisters of Bethany house on Nopal Street since 1964, told the Daily Sound on Tuesday that she first received word from the Archdiocese that the convent would be sold on Aug. 28. But the Archdiocese insists the letter was written and sent to the Provincial Superior in Los Angeles on June 28.
A statement released by the Archdiocese's on Tuesday attempted to explain the lag time in the arrival of the eviction notice.
“For reasons which still are not clear, the Provincial Superior did not communicate with the Sisters in Santa Barbara until August,” the statement says. “The Archdiocese first became aware of this situation when members of the media began calling the Archdiocese last week.”
Because the Archdiocese owns the two-and-a-half bedroom convent located next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Tamberg said they have the power to evict the nuns, but insisted the power to decide where the situation goes from there lies with the provincial superior.
The three sisters now faced with leaving their home include, Escalera, who is the superior of the convent, Sister Margarita Antonia Gonzalez, 49, and Sister Consuelo Cardenas, 55.
The convent was established in 1952 and has been described in recent days as “big asset to the community,” by Anthony Dal Bello, a longtime supporter and friend of the sisters.
Dal Bello and Salomon were two of 17 people who formed the Save Our Sisters group.
Since the story broke on the eviction last week, supporters have phoned, checks have been written and religious groups have joined hands to figure out a way to preserve the three sisters’ place in the pricey enclave of Santa Barbara.
“The response has come from all over Southern California,” Salomon said.
He said lawyers have offered their services free of charge and lenders have offered low rates on loans in order to help the sisters purchase their current residence, or another nearby.
Tamberg said the convent has not yet been put on the market and some estimate the modest, stucco home could be sold for as much as $700.000.
Salomon said Save Our Sisters does not plan to seek out a meeting with the Archdiocese's, but rather hopes to change the minds of whoever is responsible for making the final decision by creating a wave of public opinion.
“Public opinion can turn this around and if it can’t, we’ll have to think about moving them to a location close to Santa Barbara but not in the city limits,” Salomon said. “What [the archdiocese] does not need is more terrible publicity and that’s what they’re getting.”
Salomon, a 72-year-old Jew, said what makes the Archdiocese's’ decision to evict the nuns more stinging than it would under normal circumstances, is the money will be used to pay for the sins of pedophile priests.
“These guys are going to be taken care of and the women are going to be punished literally for the sins of the fathers.”
Salomon said those interested in donating or finding out more about Save Our Sisters should send an e-mail to saveoursisters1@aol.com.
He said donations that have been sent to the sisters will remain with them for relocation regardless of where the nuns eventually land.
He said checks and donations can be sent to:
Sisters of Bethany
215 N. Nopal St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Downtown Organization parts ways with director

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

The Santa Barbara Downtown Organization has been operating without an executive director since Aug. 1 when Mark Chaconas, the organization’s second full-time executive director resigned, according Bill Duval, the president of the organization.
“It just wasn’t a very good fit for either of us,” Duval said of Chaconas’ brief, five-month stint at the organization. “He wanted to explore some other things.”


Duval said Chaconas’ resignation had nothing to do with any specific difference he may have had with the organization’s board of directors, which consists of more than 30 members.
Duval also said Chaconas’ departure was “friendly.”
Chaconas was dubbed executive director of the 1,400 member organization on Feb. 28 and was the successor to Marshall Rose, who had held the position for 10 years before leaving to start the Hollister Brewing Company with his son Eric and friend Larry Kreider.
Before naming Chaconas executive director, Duval said at that time that the organization received about 35 resumes and applications from candidates.
In a story that appeared in the Daily Sound on March 1, 2007, Duval lauded Chaconas’ qualifications to take over the top job.
“We felt very fortunate to be able to select from such a qualified pool of candidates,” Duval said in that story. “In the end we felt confident that Mark has the history, the knowledge and the energy to lead our organization in a way that best serves local business and the aesthetic beauty of our city’s cultural hub.”
He said a search for a new executive director is underway, but that it won’t be handled the same way it was when Chaconas was selected. He said board members have been making suggestions about people who might be qualified candidates.
Before Chaconas took over at the Downtown Organization, he served as executive director for the Foundation for Girsh Park. Chaconas also acted as the director of Workforce Housing for Bermant Development Company and as the Chief of Staff for former Third District Santa Barbara County Supervisor’s Bill Wallace and Gail Marshall.
Phone calls to Chaconas were not immediately returned to the Daily Sound.
The organization began in 1967 to “meet the needs of business, professionals and property owners,” according to its web site.

Plaque marks open space at Ellwood Mesa

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

The 137 acre Sperling Preserve on Ellwood Mesa will remain open space forever and a new, brass and sandstone donor marker erected there and officially unveiled yesterday will remind all who visit the popular site that anything is possible.
“Nothing is impossible and this is what we’re celebrating,” said Hannah-Beth Jackson, who was an Assembly member for the 35th district when the preserve was secured by the Trust for Public Land in Jan. 2004. “This is an example of the little engine that could. What it takes is a community of people who say anything is possible.”


The decades-long battle to slip the pristine, ocean front bluff from the hands of developers ended up as a success and culminated with an ambitious, cooperative effort between politicians, developers, the public and the Trust.
The effort came to a head during a relentless donation drive that yielded $20 million in less than one year.
The thing that was clear watching the small group who gathered to see the donor marker unveiled yesterday, was that the people in high places, such as Jackson who helped secure $12 million in state funding for the purchase, and the joggers, surfers, housewives and students who passed tin cans around parties for change, all played a part in securing and preserving Ellwood.
Current 35th district Assemblyman Pedro Nava was on hand and told the crowd about his time on California Coastal Commission, where he helped thwart a development project planned for Ellwood years ago. At that time, Nava said the commission told the County of Santa Barbara to place a road that was planned to be plowed directly through the the bluff through one of the county’s nearby parks.
Nava said that gave the residents and the Trust for Public Land four years to plan their attack.
“It was a bad idea,” Nava said of that development plan. “This is a wonderful, wonderful day for all of those here who put future generations first.”
Bob Comstock, owner of Comstock Homes, who owned the property and played a large role in working out the Trust for Public Land’s acquisition of the bluff, was also on hand yesterday.
Comstock said the transaction was much more complex than he could have imagined.
“It’s been a very educating journey to see this where it is today,” Comstock said.
He said he took a walk at the preserve on Wednesday and paused to watch a set of blue whales just off the coast.
As the sun beat down on those in attendance, and joggers passed by, Jackson took a look around, turned toward Comstock and said, “It’s probably as satisfying as seeing $20 million in your bank account.”
Comstock smiled slightly but didn’t immediately get back to her.
After the blue tarp was lifted from the donor marker, the group gathered around and gazed in admiration at the landmark, which Carla Frisk, a spokeswoman for the Trust estimated cost tens-of-thousands-of-dollars.
John Iwerks, who constructed the hulking stone and bronze marker, said it took him years to complete.
On the top of the marker, a shrunken down, but to scale image of the Ellwood Mesa rises from the surface of the bronze ocean.
Panels on the front and sides of the marker list the names of those who donated to the preservation effort and showcases brief historical facts.
A quote on one of the bronze plates says: “One Monarch Butterfly weighs less than a gram, but the collective weight of thousands has transformed this community.” The quote is attributed to Gordy Slack.
“The panels just say what they’re supposed to say,” Frisk said. “It just feels really good to me.”
Iwerks said he used topographic maps to design the top plate that shows the bluff. He said he painstakingly created the bluff mold with foam core, which took several different attempts.
Yesterday, the bronze plates were tarnished green and red. Frisk said before they were placed in mortar, they were solid green and a couple of days ago when she visited the preserve the were solid red.
Like the wide-opened Ellwood Mesa itself, Iwerks said the bronze will change over time.
“It’s sort of a living thing that’s still out here,” Iwerks said.

Football team bus goes up in flames

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A bus carrying 38 freshman football players from Oxnard High School burst into flames on Highway 101 at around 2:20 p.m. today, fire officials said.
Santa Barbara County firefighters arrived on the scene a few miles south of Buellton to find the chartered school bus fully engulfed in flames, Fire Spokesman Eli Iskow said. Nobody was injured in the incident and the football players piled into a second bus.

"They buddied up and continued on to San Luis [Obispo] for a football game," Iskow said.
The fire remains under investigation and the charred bus has been towed to an impound area, fire officials said. Iskow said firefighters managed to save some of the football equipment as they fought the flames.

Road rage incident ends in arrest

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Road rage led to the arrest of a Ventura man after he tailgated and harassed a man driving to work in Santa Barbara on Wednesday afternoon, police said.
A 26-year-old Oxnard man was on his way to work on Milpas Street, driving at 65 mph in the fast lane of Highway 101, when a pickup truck approached at high speed and began tailgating him, authorities said.

After the victim changed lanes, the driver of the truck — a 2007 Toyota Tacoma — passed and then pulled in front of the victim, applying the brakes, Santa Barbara Police Spokesman Lt. Paul McCaffrey said.
“It appeared to the victim that the suspect was deliberately antagonizing him,” McCaffrey said. “The suspect driver repeated a pattern of accelerating to 65 mph, and then rapidly braking while directing in front of the victim’s truck.”
As the victim exited the freeway at Milpas Street, the suspect followed suit, authorities said. The victim lost sight of the Tacoma for several blocks, but when it reappeared directly behind him, he called the police, McCaffrey said. When the victim parked at his workplace in the 600 block of Milpas Street, the suspect, identified as 23-year-old Idelberto Cruz Martinez (pictured), challenged him and two coworkers to a fight, police said.
“Just then, SBPD Sergeant Stoney arrived to handle the disturbance,” McCaffrey said. “He tried to separate the parties and ordered Martinez to step back. Martinez exclaimed that the police ‘can’t tell me what to do,’ and assumed an aggressive stance.”
After handcuffing Martinez, officers conducted a sobriety test, which he failed, police said. Authorities arrested the 23-year-old for suspicion of DUI, being an unlicensed driver, disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, McCaffrey said.
Officers also determined that a 49-year-old Ventura woman had allowed Martinez to borrow the Tacoma. Since she admitted knowing that Martinez did not have a driver’s license, McCaffrey said authorities will request that a charge be filed against her for providing a vehicle to an unlicensed driver.

Prosecution rests in News-Press trial

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Proceedings at today’s federal hearing into alleged labor law violations at the Santa Barbara News-Press slowed to a crawl as federal attorneys drew their case to a close.
The most exciting moment of the day came at the opening of the hearing, when federal attorney Steve Wyllie informed the judge that a rambling, incoherent letter mentioning News-Press attorney Barry Cappello had been found attached to a sign in the court parking lot. Although Cappello did not find the letter to be threatening, the security guards at the entrance to the courthouse were notified.

Cappello opened the official proceedings by tying up loose ends among items already in evidence, ensuring that the judge had made note of certain sections in several documents.
Cappello then attempted to question lead union organizer Marty Keegan on Operation Cold Shoulder, a community-based campaign to protest the News-Press formed in 2006. However, after objections from the prosecution, Judge William Kocol ruled that Cappello had no evidence the campaign was linked to the union campaign and sustained the objections.
Cappello also started to delve into the language contained in invitations to a meeting between News-Press advertisers and the unionizing employees, which resulted in a back and forth of objections and arguments between the prosecution and defense, prompting Judge Kocol to chastise both sides for wasting time.
“We are starting to argue about matters that are so remote to the central issues of this case, they probably aren’t worth arguing about,” Judge Kocol said.
News-Press associate editor Scott Steepleton returned to the stand as Wyllie also cleared up a few loose ends related to performance evaluations. Steepleton testified that he didn’t review the 2005 performance evaluations of every employee he reviewed before writing their 2006 evaluations.
Union attorney Ira Gottlieb then brought the court to a standstill as he questioned Steepleton about the newspaper’s policy on firing employees for illegal activity. Steepleton leafed through the News-Press employee handbook looking for language pertaining to illegal activity for 15 minutes as the court sat in silence.
Eventually, Steepleton testified that an employee would not be fired for merely affixing a sign to a footbridge over Highway 101, explaining that the company’s decision to fire an employee would be based on the content of the sign, not that it had been attached to the bridge.
Under cross examination by Cappello, Steepleton said he conducted his 2006 performance reviews of newsroom employees with honesty and accuracy, and did not conduct reviews of pro-union employees any differently.
At that point, the NLRB attorneys rested their case. Judge Kocol announced the lunch break to the visible relief of many in the courtroom. Following lunch, Gottlieb attempted to introduce a stack of documents into the record, most of which were denied by the judge following objections of relevance from Cappello.
However, he did manage to get about four full-page announcements that the News-Press management placed in the newspaper. Gottlieb did not discuss the contents of the announcements, but argued that they show the atmosphere between fired employees and the News-Press management.
Remarks made by employees about the News-Press and its owner and copublisher Wendy McCaw should be weighed against the content of those announcements, Gottlieb said. Earlier in the trial, Cappello introduced a variety of statements made by employees following their dismissal that he is arguing will deny them reinstatement and back pay.
With that, Gottlieb also rested his case and turned the floor over to Cappello, who promptly called Steepleton to the stand again. Steepleton testified that he reviewed the 2005 evaluation of pro-union reporter Rob Kuznia before writing his 2006 evaluation. Cappello then pointed out that Kuznia received a bonus in 2006, an attempt to show that there was no disparate treatment of pro-union employees.
Federal and union attorneys have charged the News-Press with deliberately lowering the evaluation scores of union employees to deny them annual bonuses. News-Press attorneys maintain that evaluations accurately reflected the work performance of employees.
News-Press director of human resources Yolanda Apodaca took the stand next, testifying that complaints about evaluation scores are common, even among non-union employees.
Apodaca testified under questioning from Cappello that there is no progressive discipline policy in place at the newspaper. She also said there is no mention of a separation existing between the opinion and news section in the employee handbook.
During his cross examination, Wyllie attempted to show that several employees fired by the News-Press over the past seven years had received counseling before they were discharged, suggesting the existence of progressive discipline. Apodaca said she did not consider it counseling, but admitted that at least one employee had “serious meetings” with an editor before being fired.
Steepleton is likely to return to the stand tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Bankruptcy Court building on State Street.

All dogs go to heaven

Some go to heaven on earth

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER
Dioji. It’s not a new Sushi restaurant on State Street or a fancy gimmick to make the public aware of the impacts of global warming. Say it one more time a little slower, then put the consonants together in normal English and one might find the clever name of one of the most posh K-9 resorts around is a fancy way to spell D-O-G.

With 10,000-square-feet of cage-free indoor and outdoor play area and a giant bone-shaped swimming pool, the Dioji K-9 Resort & Athletic Club opened its doors to “members” yesterday.
“We wanted our amenities and service to set the industry standard,” said Jeannie Wendel, who spent years researching similar facilities with her husband Bryce before opening the doors. “Therefore we offer an exquisite blend of unique service offerings in a state-of-the-art facility with unparalleled hospitality and customer service.”
A full day at the athletic club for a dog starts at $40. A months worth of unlimited products and services tops out at $640. Dioji also offers full salon, which offers dental cleaning for $20, pedicure nail trim for $15, pedicure with polish for $20, gland expression for $15 and a de skunk service for $50.
Dioji is located at 7340 Hollister Ave. in Goleta.

Newly-formed press club meets

The newly formed Santa Barbara Press Club met for the first time last night as those in attendance choose board members and planned the organization’s direction forward.

A scholarship program, media awards and a local media job and internship board stood out as key topics discussed during the meeting. Named as board members are Jeramy Gordon (president); Marjorie Wass (vice president); Jen Malkin (secretary); Bonnie Carroll (membership director); Steven Libowitz (treasurer); and Leslie Dinaberg, Mo McFadden, and Ira and Linda Distenfield (at-large members).

— Eric Lindberg, Daily Sound

Where have all the hippies gone?

BY CHERI RAE
When Barack Obama recently appeared in Santa Barbara, addressing an enthusiastic crowd at Santa Barbara City College, in nearly the same spot where Bill Clinton spoke several years ago, he was charismatic, compassionate, smart, persuasive, hopeful, strong, and even funny. At the outset, he commented on the beauty of the surroundings, and surveying the crowd, observed that amongst the cross-section of those who had come to hear him there were even a few hippies in attendance. He joked that he didn’t think there were any hippies anymore.

True, you don’t often see groups of long-haired, tie-dyed, gentle spirits just hanging out, grooving on the vibe of peace, love and understanding. Bell bottoms and granny glasses may be gone, the let-it-all-hang-out behavior is long-gone, and even most of the music has passed from the scene.
And we children of the Sixties may look at our photo albums with a bit of embarrassment mixed with nostalgia and wistfulness, back to a time when we believed in our collective duty to make a difference. We had a war to end, and an environment to save; we cared about corporate corruption, political shenanigans and media madness—and some of us never stopped.
The movement was always about much more than appearances; the reality is that hippie ideals are still in evidence: they’ve just cleaned up, changed clothes and gone main stream. Much has changed, in our revved-up technological society that moves faster than we ever could have imagined back in those days. They may not look the same or even sound the same, but hippie values are now even stronger than ever.

Politics: Those of us who were raised on Watergate have no patience with government officials—local and national—who betray the public trust. With increased scrutiny and instantaneous news cycles, we question authority even more closely. We may expect more of our representatives than ever, and have even less tolerance when they stumble or fall. We may no longer chain ourselves to bulldozers, stage sit-ins or believe in the effectiveness of protest marches; today, we testify in hearing rooms, write letters to the editor, participate in blogs and stand up in public to make our voices heard and our views expressed.

Health Care: Individuals advocating for universal health care refer back to the days of free clinics when everyone was treated regardless of condition or ability to pay. The fundamental belief that access to quality medical treatment should not depend on the patient’s job or income originated long before it was embraced by the current crop of politicians.

Education: The college kids who spent some of their time on campus in teach-ins or protesting the relevancy of certain classes nevertheless embraced the notion of learning as a lifelong activity. Today, we advocate actively for a good education for our own kids and grandkids, as well as for all children in the community. Some have founded alternative schools, and others are great teachers who implement innovative techniques despite the restrictions of No Child Left Behind.

Environment: The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970—a consciousness-raising activity that was planned in large part as a positive way to commemorate the horrendous oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara the year before. “Love Your Mother Earth” was the motto of the day, and the belief in a personal connection to the earth, and how individual choices matter—from consumer purchases to food intake, recycling to gardening—was commonly accepted, long before anyone talked about global warming.

War: The cry to end a quagmire of a war and bring the troops home, sadly, did not originate in the past few years. Those of us who remember Vietnam—in person or as it was brought home to us nightly on television and in the broken lives of our returning friends and family who served—have been horrified to witness the current international debacle from which there is no simple solution. Yet we keep trying the “give peace a chance.”

Economics: “Small is Beautiful,” was more than just a book that defined the times, it was a philosophy that defined the style of life that embraces the notion that there’s enough for all if all don’t take too much. Distrust of corporate culture led to the embrace of entrepreneurship and small business ownership as a cherished value—for the creativity and soul enriching work that comes from putting ideas and products into the marketplace, and enriching the lives of others in the process.
So love beads and Nehru jackets, headbands and even “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” may be gone (thankfully) forever, but even in today’s chi-chi Santa Barbara, parts of the hippie movement never left at all. I’m glad candidate Obama paid attention when he came to town.

E-mail letters@santabarbarafree.com

Board says mural doesn't comply

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Mark Abrishami could paint over the brightly colored mural on the front of his Chili Town restaurant on Milpas Street for ten bucks, he says. But that wouldn’t solve the relentless graffiti that pops up on the walls of businesses throughout town, nor would it show those who pass by the east side establishment what graffiti style art, when channeled in the right direction, can look like.

For Abrishami, who was told by the City of Santa Barbara’s Sign Committee yesterday that the mural does not comply with city ordinances, the fight to keep the loud sign up isn’t about Chili Town as much as it is about helping to provide an outlet for local youths to express themselves.
“We can take this really negative point [graffiti] and turn it around and make it positive,” Abrishami said. “We can do the whole wall with $10, [But it’s] not going to solve the problem of graffiti and the gang-related issue.”
Not that Abrishami’s mural is the cure-all for graffiti related social issues, but so far it has saved him some headaches.
He said his building hasn’t been vandalized with graffiti since the mural was painted a month ago and insists that most of his neighbors like it.
But beyond his own situation, Abrishami hopes the controversy surrounding the mural will prompt the city to start thinking of ways to provide outlets for local artists who prefer a bottle of spray paint over a paint brush.
“They have to show their creativity and when we limit them they’re going to do it in the dark, they’re going to do it on a sign on the highway,” Abrishami said of graffiti artists, also known as “taggers.” “Instead of punishing those people, why don’t we give them the tools to work, give them the wall, give them the spray paint and say ‘show us what you have.’”
Abrishami suggested the city construct a wall that would be used for spray painting, or divvy out sections of sidewalks to different spray paint artists. He compared the latter example to chalk art festivals.
Though members of the sign committee wished Abrishami well on his future efforts to eradicate graffiti, their job is informing the local business owner about what is required by city ordinance, which he is currently violating.
“I really applauded his creative effort, but it needs to be discussed in a public forum as to whether that approach is appropriate,” said Steve Hausz, a member of the sign committee and the City’s Historic Landmarks Commission.
Hausz said one of the most glaring ordinance violations with the mural is the size of the letters.
He said the ordinance stipulates that text on a business’ sign must be no larger than 12 inches, but the text on Abrishami’s mural is 21 inches.
Because the city’s municipal code when dealing with signs is wide reaching and thorough, Hausz said allowing Abrishami’s eye-catching mural to remain could be precedent setting.
Hausz said the mural also violates rules set up for the Haley and Milpas street corridors, which he admitted were due for a change.
“I personally would like to see a lot more color in that district,” Hausz said. “I think there are appropriate ways of using color.”
Jennifer Rose, an at-large public member of the Sign Committee, said Abrishami’s ideas about stifling graffiti are all well and good but should be presented before a different audience.
“[Abrishami’s presentation] just doesn’t fall with what we’ve been charged by the city’s ordinance to do,” Rose said.
Hausz said if Abrishami wishes to appeal the Sign Committee’s decision to the Architectural Board of Review, he may. If it fails there, he could make an appearance before the City Council. Abrishami said he plans to do both, not for the sake of the mural, but to explain the need to provide an outlet for graffiti artists and vandals.
“The city has to provide these young people a wall and encourage them to maybe bring more people together rather than separate people,” Abrishami said.
But for now, the mural, regardless of who and how many people like it, is out of place in the pages upon pages of city ordinance that ensure Santa Barbara’s buildings will remain, well, just the way they are.
“We can’t just have everybody grab the bull by the horns now and take matters into their own hands,” Hausz said. “We have a way we want Santa Barbara to look.”

Flamingos hatch at zoo

A Chilean flamingo tends to its newly-hatched chick at the Santa Barbara Zoo yesterday. Eight flamingo chicks have recently hatched, and several more are expected to hatch soon. This is the third time in recent years that the Zoo’s flamingos have successfully bred. They produced five chicks in 2003 and three last year. Zoo officials claim their success is due to a wall that was erected near the exhibit during a recent construction project. The chicks don’t turn pink until they are about a year old. The chicks born last year still have several grey feathers. For more information about the Zoo, visit www.sbzoo.org.

Budget still haunts school districts

BY NICK DURNHOFFER
DAILY SOUND CORRESPONDENT
According to a Board of Education presentation, the Santa Barbara School Districts incurred $1.15 million in deficit spending last year, resulting in a transfer of monies from the government’s general fund.
Fiscal Services Director Shirley Corpuz said the deficit spending resulted from poor reserve funding estimates made in previous years. She also stated that her team failed to consistently report timely and accurate budget information because her office is severely understaffed.

Ed Diaz, the Santa Barbara School Districts Business Services Assistant Superintendent, said the poor reserve funding was a result of the budget team’s exclusion of open claims in areas such as workers’ compensation and liability.
“In the prior years we were not setting reserves for open claims,” Diaz said. “The account was understated.”
According to Corpuz’ report, the deficits were derived as follows: $25,000 and $125,000 in property and liability for elementary and high schools, respectively; $650,000 total for workers’ compensation; $100,000 total for dental and vision packages; and $250,000 total for retiree benefits.
Corpuz said the group’s budget problems were not necessarily the fault of staff members, but rather the lack thereof.
“The bottom line is we don’t have enough staff to do timely and accurate reporting,” Corpuz said.
However, Board of Education Member Bob Noël said he was displeased with the late budget information and that the Board should reconsider who it pays to conduct its audits and financial reports.
“Why are all these chickens coming home to roost now?” Noël said. Why didn’t we have this last year? .. This money should really go to restoring programs that were cut.”
“I think the public has the right to know. We have certainly heard unsystematically that the office is understaffed, and additions have been made … We have a mess and these are some very, very egregious errors.”
Santa Barbara School Districts Superintendent Dr. Brian Sarvis said the business and fiscal services offices are currently reorganizing their structures and evaluating how to resolve these budgeting issues.
“We will have a new budget manager,” Sarvis said. “We do need more help … We have stayed lean throughout. We have only half the staff that other districts our size have.”
“We are developing a plan right now and frankly it will be costly, but I want it to be well thought through …We’ll be asking for outside analysis … If you don’t think I care about these concerns, you are dead wrong.”
In another report, Diaz said the state was also severely underestimating its revenues, which was contributing to various insufficient school budget plans throughout California.
“The July revenues were $1.2 billion below [state] projections,” Diaz said. “They’re proving to be too optimistic … It could be a chain reaction if revenues come low again this year.
Diaz said he believed the state budget team was not taking into account what he called a “subprime mortgage crisis.”
“They have optimistic assumptions of the subprime mortgage economy,” Diaz said. “12,000 jobs in California were lost and there are more lost everyday … This could trickle down to our state coffers.”
Additionally, Diaz’s report showed the average school district reserve is set at 10 percent, whereas Santa Barbara’s is slightly less than half that number. The report stated the reserve averages were set higher at districts that were smaller, having fast growth, seeing declining enrollment or engaging in legal pursuits. The reserves were set lower at districts that have a consistent ending balance, steady population or covered employee contract obligations.
Board of Education member Kate Parker said she was unsure as to whether or not districts with declining enrollment actually had higher reserve percentages.
“I’d really be curious to see schools with declining enrollment if they are closer to this 10 percent,” Parker said. “It seems unlikely for districts with declining enrollment.”
Noël said Diaz’s report came as a complete surprise to him.
“I find it remarkable about this 10 percent,” Noël said. “This is the first time we have ever talked about that number … I just hope this doesn’t mean that we’re trying to build a case here for other purposes and trying to create a walking reserve … I never heard of anyone aspiring to 10 percent.”

Challenger set for action

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Finding a balance.
That is the campaign theme of Michelle Giddens as she gears up to challenge for a Santa Barbara City Council seat this fall. As she sat down to chat in her dining room as her 3-year-old son Cody played nearby, Giddens said finding a middle ground is crucial to the issues concerning housing in Santa Barbara.

“My primary focus is to find a balance between maintaining the charm of Santa Barbara and protecting personal property rights,” Giddens said.
She described how she became involved with city issues for the first time when the Council began drafting the Neighborhood Protection Ordinance a few years ago, around the time she purchased her home. Housing issues continued to grab her interest as she joined the Citywide Homeowners Association and eventually served as its president.
Viewing the housing crunch as a whole, Giddens said the community needs to understand that there will have to be a tradeoff between limiting height and density and providing affordable and workforce housing.
“We’re going to have to make sacrifices in some areas,” she said.
More specifically however, Giddens said she took issue with a recent Council decision to lower inclusionary requirements to include any projects with two or more units, calling it “too much.” That issue and others, such as a lowering of the height restriction for new buildings, should be discussed in the General Plan update, she said.
“[Plan Santa Barbara] is going to drive our city into the future,” Giddens said.
Bringing all the intricate issues facing the city together in one forum so residents can view the big picture and add their own voices to the mix is great, she said. Allowing for individual voices is something she sees as lacking at City Hall and is a key part of her campaign for balance in city government as well.
“I think we need some more integrity on the Council,” Giddens said.
While she doesn’t believe it is intentional or malicious, Giddens said current city leaders often don’t present both sides of an issue, making the community as a whole unaware of any debate that may exist.
“Even if someone is trying to educate themselves and get involved, they can’t,” she said.
Simply making sure the pro and con arguments in staff reports are balanced will help that issue, Giddens said. She also called for more outreach to neighborhood groups to get them involved at City Hall.
Although housing issues and providing for fair debate stand as key areas of her campaign, Giddens also brought forward public safety as a concern she plans to address over the coming months. She said she will push for a comprehensive program aimed at young children that involves the faith community, police department, county officials and city government.
“The people here really do care,” Giddens said.
The problem, she said, is that efforts to curb violence are too scattered and unorganized. She described how she went to the police department and asked what she could do as a civilian to help prevent gang violence.
“Nobody could give me an answer,” she said.
With widespread collaboration, she said a goal of cutting the gang population in half is attainable within five years.
Environmental issues also rank high on her list of priorities. As the owner of an environmentally focused business — indoor air, water and laundry purification — Giddens said the environment has always been a big concern for her.
While Santa Barbara has good programs in place, she said there is plenty of room for improvement. She envisions the city as a leader in protecting the environment.
“I’d like to see more required use of renewable energy,” Giddens said when asked for specifics.
More awareness and outreach to the community about simple solutions such as composting and recycling is key as well, she said. Although the city does a good job of educating children about those issues in school, Giddens suggested sending people out to neighborhoods to discuss conservation techniques with adults.
Born in California, Giddens grew up in Texas and earned a degree in business administration from the University of Texas in Austin. The 41-year-old has 20 years of professional business experience, including owning her business for 12 years.
“I’ve been in leadership positions all my life,” she said.
Signs proclaiming support for Giddens in the Council election already dot many of the yards in the Mesa neighborhood where she lives. She has a campaign mailer in the works and a slew of fundraisers set up, including a private one today.
Giddens said she will be walking precincts soon and has the dates of three key candidate forums already jotted down on her calendar. She has her campaign slogans — “For a Positive Change” and “I Will Listen — firm in her mind. It’s safe to say her campaign is in full swing.

Judge calls testimony irrelevant

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

It appears that more testimony will be removed from evidence than was heard during yesterday’s proceedings in the federal hearing on alleged labor law violations at the Santa Barbara News-Press.
A line of questioning News-Press attorney Barry Cappello directed toward many of the previous witnesses concerned whether a group of reporters had actually affixed two “Cancel Your Newspaper Today!” banners to a footbridge over Highway 101 or just held them against the fencing.

Cappello explained to the judge after objections from federal and union attorneys as to the relevance of this seemingly inconsequential detail that the matter related to reinstatement rights for six employees fired for the activity on that bridge. He argued that attaching the banners to the bridge was a municipal code violation and that the newspaper would not want to hire back anyone who broke the law.
“Those are not the type of people we want at the News-Press,” Matthew Clarke, a lawyer with Cappello’s firm stated yesterday.
However, Judge William Kocol apparently misunderstood that argument and believed they would fire anyone for merely affixing a sign to a bridge, or breaking any similar municipal code.
Cappello clarified yesterday that an employee would only be fired if they coupled that violation of the law with disloyal activity toward the company, which is the News-Press’ position as to the activity on the bridge.
“We have wasted quite a bit of time here,” Judge Kocol said, explaining that he no longer sees the testimony on whether the banners had been affixed or not as relevant or pertinent to the hearing.
As far as the testimony heard yesterday, former News-Press reporter Melissa Evans took the stand to open the hearing and lead organizer Marty Keegan testified to close out the day. Attorneys also spent a great deal of time questioning News-Press community affairs writer Karna Hughes about her performance evaluation for 2006.
News-Press attorney Matthew Clarke rounded out his cross examination of Evans as the hearing got underway, focusing on her performance evaluation for last year. The News-Press is charged with illegally lowering the evaluations of pro-union employees, including Evans and Hughes.
Clarke asked Evans about an issue raised in her evaluation concerning a story that had not been published until three months after she wrote it. Evans explained that the story — about a Catholic study group — was a feature and not a “hard-hitting” story, and that she had no reason to believe the facts in the story had changed before it was published.
Clarke then shifted to language in her evaluation about her mind being on something “other than work” during 2006. Evans confirmed she had gone on medical leave to deal with something in her personal life. Clarke asked if it had affected her time at work, to which she responded affirmatively, stating that she had not been in the office or working while on leave.
Judge Kocol, seeking clarification, asked if any editors suggested her personal issue had affected her work performance. Evans said it had never affected her performance and that it had never been discussed with any of her editors.
As Karna Hughes took Evans’ place on the stand, National Labor Relations Board attorney Steve Wyllie asked about her responsibilities at the News-Press in 2006. Hughes explained that she compiled the “Public Square” section — which contains light local news often dealing with nonprofit organizations or awards — and did some writing for the Life section.
Hughes later clarified that the Public Square ran Monday through Friday and appeared in a shortened form on Saturday for the first half of 2006, and then was reduced to four days a week during the latter half of the year.
Wyllie questioned Hughes about a meeting between her and associate editor Scott Steepleton in which they discussed the evaluation. Hughes said she took issue with one part in which Steepleton wrote that the Public Square was not done two days in advance of publication.
Hughes said her understanding since she started at the News-Press was that turning in her Public Square material two days in advance was only a suggestion and the requirement was the standard 5 p.m. deadline the day before publication. She said prior editors had only raised it as a suggested goal.
She also took issue with Steepleton writing that she “can be antagonistic” when asked to do tasks she didn’t find appealing. Hughes said the only issue Steepleton raised during their meeting was when he asked for a photo to run in Public Square and she discussed putting it in the Travel section instead.
“I thought it wasn’t appropriate for my section,” Hughes said, adding that the photo eventually ran in Travel.
Steepleton testified that those issues among others had resulted in the lowering of Hughes’ evaluation score, making her ineligible for an annual bonus.
Clarke focused his questions during cross examination on whether Hughes approached Steepleton about taking on additional responsibilities to help out in a short-staffed newsroom following resignations in July 2006. Hughes said she never approached Steepleton, but that she did ask her editor, Andrea Huebner, if she could help out with anything.
Clarke also questioned Hughes about two e-mails from former reporter Tom Schultz now known in the courtroom as the “peeps” e-mail and the “blitzkrieg” e-mail. Hughes said she regularly deleted e-mails, explaining why she didn’t turn those documents over pursuant to a subpoena from the News-Press.
Lead union organizer Marty Keegan took the stand to round out yesterday’s testimony. Wyllie led him through the details of the subscription cancellation campaign put on by the unionizing employees, which Keegan said included cancellation cards, rallies, press conferences and radio and print advertisements.
Cappello started his cross examination and quickly focused on a demand listed by unionizing employees in a letter sent to editorial page editor Travis Armstrong, who had been acting publisher at the time. In the demand, the employees asked the News-Press to invite back the six editors who resigned in early July.
Cappello asked if that demand had been withdrawn from the campaign. Keegan said they had removed it fairly early in their unionization effort. Cappello then asked if he had sent a formal announcement to the News-Press announcing they were withdrawing the demand. Keegan said he had not issued a formal statement or contacted anyone at the newspaper about the demand.
Keegan will resume his testimony under questioning from Cappello today at 9 a.m.

Plans for revamped transit center move forward

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

The Metropolitan Transit District’s current transit center is the most suitable site to erect a new, revamped mixed-use “transit village” that will serve the South County for up to 50 years, according to a report presented to the Santa Barbara City Council last night by the City’s Redevelopment Agency.
“Analysis concludes that the most appropriate location for the MTD transit center is its current location,” an agenda report by prepared by the Redevelopment Agency says. “Comments from the majority of the advisory bodies, decision-makers, and the public support this conclusion.”


The seven member city council and five member MTD Board voted unanimously after hearing the presentation to seek “requests for qualifications” from developers, who they hope will submit their visions of the project in the months to come.
Though the future project is still in the earliest of preliminary stages, Mayor Marty Blum said the unanimous vote goes a long way to show the need and support for such a project.
“It’s amazing that we all agreed this is a good idea,” Blum said. “It’s not easy but we think there’s some good possibilities.”
Blum said the numerous scenarios that were discussed in the feasibility report will bump the number of bays for buses from its current number of five to 18. She said the future center will hopefully have spaces for shared cars and a bike shop.
“We’re looking at all the alternatives to transportation as we become more crowded downtown,” Blum said.
The second big finding in the feasibility report, according to Renee Brooke, a redevelopment specialist for the City’s Redevelopment Agency, is that any future transit center will require public subsidies that range from $18.7 million to $28.4 million.
The agenda report says the element of the project with the most variability is the housing component, which could accommodate nearly 100 units if the building was three stories, with a stepped back fourth story.
Councilman Das Williams said one of the important things he thinks the transit center will provide is workforce housing as well as well as affordable.
However, Blum and Williams said the No. 1 priority right now and into the future is ensuring that an efficient bus system is up and running.
“I absolutely think it’s a must,” Williams said. “We need to have a modern transit center. We have a great transit system right now and we need something that will do a better job by bus riders and need people who are currently driving to use the buses and we don’t have that right now.”
The controversial issue of height, which Blum said downtown area standards say can reach 60-feet, will also be a hot point of discussion. However, Blum said the city is urging developers and architects who will be submitting plans to restrict the height of the transit center to 50-feet.
Another element of the transit center could include a 6,000-squre-foot child care facility, with an accompanying outdoor space of the same size. The agenda report says this element of the plan would require a subsidy of $2.2 million.
But the agenda report also says opinions presented during public meetings were largely negative when it came to providing child care near a transit center and establishments that serve alcohol.
Brooke emphasized the preliminary nature of the project and said a best case scenario for those in favor of the project, would be breaking ground on the center in three to five years.
“The important thing to note is we don’t have a definite project on the table yet to discuss,” Brooke said.
Williams emphasized the need to use redevelopment funds now while they still exist. He said the redevelopment agency exists as a result of portions of property taxes that remain in the city in order fund redevelopment projects.
But the money will start flowing back to the state at the end of the decade, according to Williams, who added that a project of this scale needs to get underway before that occurs.
After proposals are submitted to the city, the agenda report says the city will enter into an exclusive negotiating agreement to develop the site, which is estimated to occur during the spring of 2008.

Local nuns get evicted to pay priest sex abuse settlement

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

For the past 55 years, the nuns who reside at Sisters of Bethany’s Convent on Santa Barbara’s east side have lived modest lives in their two-and-a-half bedroom home next to Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church.
But for the past week, photographers, reporters and droves of community members have visited the three nuns who live at there. The visits aren’t on account of the commendable work the sisters do with the poor, but rather are tied to the shadow of sexual abuse inflicted by pedophile priests that has plagued the Roman Catholic Church for years.

And though the three resident nuns had nothing to do with the scandal, its impacts are so wide reaching and so costly, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles have informed the nuns that they intend to sell their Nopal Street home in order to help pay a $660 million priest sex abuse settlement.
But if Sister Angela Escalera, the superior of Sisters of Bethany house, and a mix of ambitious community members have their way, the home will be sold to the nuns.
“We have worked here forever,” said Escalera, who has lived at the convent since 1964. “The outpouring is so overwhelming. We are getting offers of help from people all over Santa Barbara.”
Escalera said a woman offered to sell her second home in Texas to help the nuns purchase their home, which some estimate is worth as much as $700,000.
J.L. Taft, a longtime supporter of the sisters, walked into Escalera’s office yesterday and told her he would planned to write a $1,000 check.
“I go way back with these people,” Taft said of the nuns. “I think it’s a crime. I’m thoroughly disgusted with the whole church.”
Escalera told a Daily Sound reporter about Taft’s aunt, Emily Dover, who became a sort of unofficial caretaker of the nuns when they moved into their current location in 1952.
She said Dover brought the sisters two dozen eggs each week for 30 years.
“She’d roll over in her grave,” Taft said of his late aunt if she knew of the proposed sale.
As Escalera, 69, who is partially disabled, sat in her office yesterday facing a wall lined with Notre Dame Football memorabilia, she talked about her disappointment with the way the eviction notice has been handled.
She said she received a call on on Aug. 28 from the Bethany Sisters’ Provincial Superior in Los Angeles, who said a letter arrived from the Archdiocese that day. Escalera said the superior read her the letter, which was faxed to Santa Barbara the following day.
“I just told the sisters ‘We’re in God’s hands,’” Escalera said of informing her fellow sisters of the letter. “If we’re met to stay we’ll stay, if not then we won’t.
“It’s the way it was done that was just unbelievable.”
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles insists the letter was written on June 28 and Sisters of Bethany’s Provincial Superior was informed of the eviction at that time.
“The Archdiocese assumed that the Provincial Superior, in fulfilling her responsibilities, would contact the members of her community in Santa Barbara to explore options for her sisters to remain in Santa Barbara, or to move to existing convents owned by their religious community in Oxnard and Los Angeles,” a statement released yesterday by the Archdiocese said. “For reasons which still are not clear, the Provincial Superior did not communicate with the Sisters in Santa Barbara until August.”
But Escalera insists that her superior did not know of the eviction until the end of August when the letter reportedly arrived.
“In my heart I know they are lying,” Escalera said of the Archdiocese’ claim. “Sister [Escalera’s superior] is responsible and she did call me immediately when she got it. They’re just looking for something to attack.”
Due to the delay in the letter’s arrival, Escalera said she and Sister Margarita Antonia Gonzalez, 49, and Sister Consuelo Cardenas, 55,, who also live at the convent, now only have four months to vacate their longtime home.
But despite the short notice, community members hope to form a nonprofit at a meeting tonight inside the convent.
“They’re a big asset to this community, so we need to take care of them so this problem does not arise again,” said Anthony Dal Bello, a longtime friend of the nuns who was an altar boy at Our Lady of Guadalupe. “We welcome everybody’s help since they’ve helped everyone. It’s time for the community to come to their assistance; Jews, Catholics, non Catholics, everyone.”
Dal Bello said he received 35 e-mails yesterday from people all over the state requesting information about how they can help the sisters remain in Santa Barbara.
Ernie Salomon, who also helped organize tonight’s meeting, said the Archdiocese's decision to sell the property out of line with Jesus Christ, or any religious leader’s teachings.
“It really gauls me that the pope comes out while he’s in Austria and the headline in the LA Times says ‘the pope was asking his fellow man to do more with charity work’ and they do this to these nuns,” Salomon said.
For now the sisters will do their best to continue their work while a possible sale looms.
Since hearing about the eviction nearly two weeks ago, Escalera said she’s gone from feeling “numb” to “overwhelmed” with the support from the community.
But what really eats at Salomon is the fact that three of Santa Barbara’s nuns are paying for the sins of male sex offenders.
“They’re being punished because they’re the weakest target,” Salomon said. “While the bishop is continuing to live in his mansion with his servants.
“It’s very sad that something like this can happen.”
Dal Bello said those who want to donate money to the sisters should send checks to:
Sisters of Bethany
215 N. Nopal St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Marijuana eradication efforts yield results

BY COLBY FRAZIER
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

The record number of marijuana plants eradicated from remote parts of Santa Barbara County continued to mount on Monday, when the Sheriff’s Department seized 6,345 plants east of Highway 154 below East Camino Cielo.
Monday’s eradication effort brings the county’s total number of seized plants during 2007 to 102,218, a record number that law enforcement officials say caries an estimated street value of more than $327 million.


Sgt. Erik Raney, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, said each mature marijuana plant can yield up to a pound of marijuana. As a result, he said each plant has an approximate worth of about $3,200.
So why the record number of seized plants?
Raney said an increase of aircraft traffic during the nearly two-months-long Zaca Fire is one reason the number of confiscated plants has spiked this summer.
Raney said Zaca Fire pilots spotted at least six illegal marijuana grows during the blaze.
“This has been a record year for marijuana eradication in Santa Barbara County,” Raney said. “The Sheriff’s Department will continue to eradicate grows as they are discovered throughout the year.”
Another possible cause of this year’s increase in marijuana stings, Raney speculated, are the drought conditions that have swept across Southern California.
He said the chaparral and grasses in the foothills and in the back country have taken on a drier tone of brown than in past years, and as a result, the green, often irrigated marijuana plants have become more visible from the air.
“They’re relatively sophisticated operations,” Raney said.
He said CAMP (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting), a statewide contingency of law enforcement agencies, and the DEA assisted with Monday’s operation. Raney said the marijuana plants were not located near any homes.
Raney said CAMP has assisted with the eradication of three different marijuana grows in the county so far. In past years, Raney said CAMP moves from county to county providing their services for predetermined amounts of time, but this year they’ve been able to spend more time in Santa Barbara County.
By combining with CAMP on marijuana eradication missions, Raney said the Sheriff’s Department doesn’t have to drain its resources to the extent it normally would.
Raney said the increase in marijuana grows throughout California pose a threat to residents and visitors to the National Forests.
“Marijuana plantations are very often the work of dangerous drug cartels, and forest visitors or residents who happen upon them may be harassed or assaulted,” Raney said. “The growers are usually armed, sometimes with automatic weapons and high-power rifles, and they have been known to place booby-traps designed to seriously maim or kill intruders.”
Also on Monday, Raney said an eradication project in San Bernardino County turned violent when law enforcement officials were involved in a shoot out with armed suspects.
But the illegal grows and their negative impacts aren’t limited to people. Raney said they have a devastating impact on the environment.
He said the growers often clear swaths of land, block streams and small rivers to supply their irrigation systems and leave behind trash and other waste.
“It’s not just the green leafy, fun loving substance people think it is,” Raney said. “It’s a dangerous substance.”

Evans, Roshell testify in News-Press trial

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

As the federal hearing into alleged labor law violations at the Santa Barbara News-Press continued yesterday, attorneys extensively questioned former News-Press writers Starshine Roshell and Melissa Evans, while former reporter Tom Schultz returned for a brief stint on the stand to round out his testimony.
Prior to witnesses being heard, however, federal attorneys presented their argument to the court that campaigning for a restoration of journalistic ethics at the newspaper is a protected union activity.

Administrative Law Judge William Kocol brought up the issue yesterday as a key factor in deciding many of the charges in the trial after News-Press attorney Barry Cappello filed a brief last week arguing the activity is not protected.
Cappello reiterated his argument yesterday as well, stating that “Ethics are issues of the publisher, not reporters.”
National Labor Relations Board lawyer Steve Wyllie disagreed, describing that activity — largely the focus of the newsroom unionization effort — as “clearly protected.”
Wyllie argued that News-Press employees attempted to unionize to improve their working conditions and that ethical considerations clearly weigh in on that. He said due to a blurring of the wall between the opinion and news sections, employees had a “justified fear of being disciplined,” which impacted their ability to perform their job.
Wyllie cited an incident when a staff writer and several editors received reprimands from News-Press owner and copublisher Wendy McCaw for publishing the address of a parcel in Montecito where actor Rob Lowe planned to build a home.
Cappello rebutted that requests that management recognize the union is only explicit in two of the four demands that unionizing employees made, making the ethical issues addressed in one of the other demands an invalid bargaining point. Therefore, he argued, campaigning on those issues is not protected.
Judge Kocol said he appreciated the arguments coming from each side, pointing out that the federal attorneys had not been presenting their case on that issue forcefully enough.
Wyllie continued to focus on his argument that protesting on ethical issues is protected while questioning former News-Press reporter Melissa Evans, who took the stand yesterday afternoon.
After discussing Evans’ background at the newspaper, Wyllie asked her if the unionizing employees discussed newsroom contracts at other newspapers while coming up with goals for their campaign.
Evans said they had examined a contract between employees and management at Newsday. Under further questioning, she testified that she had found sections of that contract pertaining to byline protection particularly appealing.
“It would give us some right to raise objections to content changes,” Evans said, explaining that byline protection allows reporters to object to substantive changes to their articles during the editing process and remove their name from the printed story.
Evans said she felt such protection is necessary to keep editors from changing stories or applying inappropriate standards, citing the Lowe incident mentioned by Wyllie earlier as an example of such behavior at the News-Press. She testified that without those protections, her reputation and ability to develop and keep sources would be affected.
Under cross examination by News-Press attorney Matthew Clarke, Evans testified that requests for byline protection did not appear in any demands by the unionizing group to McCaw or News-Press management, or by her personally when asked in an unemployment hearing for her reasons for unionizing.
Evans explained that byline protection was not specifically mentioned because she felt it fell under the larger request for a restoration of ethical standards and the divide between the opinion and news sections at the News-Press.
Wyllie also questioned Evans on issues raised by associate editor Scott Steepleton in her 2006 performance evaluation, which union and federal attorneys allege was lowered intentionally along with those of other union supporters in order to deny their annual bonuses.
One issue involved a feature story Evans said she wrote about a Catholic study group in the spring of 2006. However, she decided along with her editor, Andrea Huebner, to hold the story until the fall, since the study group was taking a break for the summer.
When the story came up for publication, Steepleton, who had since taken over as head of the newsroom, approached Evans and questioned her about the article. Evans said she explained the reasoning behind holding the story.
“He seemed satisfied with that explanation,” Evans said.
She said the issue never came up again until she saw it in her performance evaluation. Evans also testified that issues of her being “caught up in things other than work” and not producing enough work did not come up prior to her evaluation either.
Steepleton testified earlier that those issues served as his basis for lowering her overall performance score, which made her ineligible for an annual bonus.
Wyllie then shifted gears to show Evans a video of footage shot by a local television station of the protest on the Anapamu footbridge. News-Press attorneys maintain that newspaper management fired Evans and five other reporters to disloyalty related to that incident, which they have argued is not protected union activity in part because none of the signs held at the protest contained union references.
During the video, lead union organizer Marty Keegan is heard telling the reporter shooting the footage that the protest was in order to initiate bargaining with the newspaper management over a newsroom contract. Wyllie later argued that those actions showed the protesters had attempted to convey their activity was union-related. Cappello made a point to clarify that the footage shown in court had never aired on television.
Defense attorney Clarke brought that video up again during his cross examination, choosing to focus on whether Evans could tell if the “Cancel Your Newspaper Today!” banner had been affixed to the fencing, a municipal code violation that Cappello has argued would make that activity unprotected.
Evans said she could not tell if the banner had been attached or not. She also testified that a “McCaw, Obey the Law” sign had been present on the bridge, which has not been shown in any photographs introduced into evidence or confirmed by any prior testimony.
Clarke also questioned Evans on e-mails she received from Tom Schultz, asking why she did not turn them over pursuant to her subpoena. Evans said she rarely keeps e-mails longer than several months.
Cappello questioned Schultz about those e-mails when he took the stand in the mid-afternoon. At issue are two messages authored by Schultz that Cappello has argued are “critical” pieces of evidence that portray an attempt by newsroom employees to deliver a letter to McCaw as loud and disruptive.
One e-mail, discussed extensively in earlier testimony, states, “Peeps, we rocked the house, crossed their wires and got ‘em unglued.” The second message refers to the delivery attempt as a “sonic boom” and “blitzkrieg,” and contains references to banging on sauce pans and jackhammering demands into the floor.
Schultz cleared up his reasons for not turning over those messages in a subpoena issued last week following his testimony, stating that his outgoing messages are only saved for up to 30 days.
Cappello then focused on an e-mail from former reporter Dawn Hobbs in which she addressed the recipients as “storm troopers.”
“I just don’t think ‘storm troopers’ is a way to describe quiet and professional behavior,” Cappello argued to the judge.
Schultz replied to questions from union attorney Ira Gottlieb that editorial page editor Travis Armstrong had used that term in a federal hearing in January and that newsroom employees had not previously used “storm troopers” to describe how they walked to deliver the letter. Gottlieb later said the “blitzkrieg” e-mail was clearly sarcastic.
Schultz also testified under questioning by Cappello that he received a bonus in 2006 and had openly expressed his support for the union in the newsroom.
While Evans and Schultz testified for a large part of the afternoon, Starshine Roshell spent most of the morning on the witness stand as attorneys questioned her on the cancellation of her column at the News-Press. The newspaper is charged with terminating her column as retaliation for her union support. Defense attorneys argued that the cancellation was part of a larger attempt to remove the appearance of bias from the newspaper.
Roshell testified that prior to the cancellation, she had written an article about duct tape that referenced a rally in which newsroom employees placed duct tape over their mouths to symbolize a gag order handed down by McCaw preventing them from speaking to the media. Roshell said she also wrote a column referencing the July 6 resignations of many top editors at the News-Press, including editor-in-chief Jerry Roberts.
She also testified that she had directed invectives at Armstrong as he led Roberts from the newsroom, but that Dawn Hobbs had not.
During his cross examination, Clarke asked Roshell to demonstrate in court how she had shouted those obscenities so Armstrong, who was present, could discern for his testimony if it had been her voice or Hobbs’. Judge Kocol interrupted to ask Roshell if she felt uncomfortable shouting invectives in court.
“Not at all,” Roshell responded, eventually shouting out the phrase.
Clarke asked Roshell if the columns of a group of community columnists as well as Scott Steepleton had been canceled prior to her column being canceled, to which she responded in the affirmative.
Clarke then began introducing columns that Roshell wrote for the Santa Barbara Independent following her resignation from the News-Press, eliciting objections from NLRB attorney Brian Gee, who argued that they are irrelevant. Clarke responded that they provide examples of the racy topics Roshell covered.
Gee then argued that the content of her columns had not been raised as a reason her column had been canceled. Clarke said he was not suggesting it had been, but merely pointing out that it would have been a legitimate reason for canceling the column. Judge Kocol refused to hear further testimony on that issue unless Clarke took the position that it had been a reason for the termination of the column.
Clarke eventually took that position, providing numerous examples of sexual language and content in her columns, eliciting chuckles from the audience. Roshell later testified that content was not raised as an issue when she met with Steepleton to discuss the cancellation and that editors had not told her to tone down the language or content of her column in 2006.
Melissa Evans will return to the stand today at 9 a.m. as Clarke continues his cross examination.