The Week That Was : 03_12

Teen crashes car into pole, cutting power An allegedly drunk 17-year-old male crashed into a utility pole at approximately 3 a.m. Dec. 4, knocking out power from Mussel Shoals to Carpinteria.

The driver was traveling westbound on Highway 192 toward Casitas Pass Road when he lost control of his vehicle and struck a power pole on the other side of the street. The car spun around and came to rest on the shoulder. It then caught fire and became engulfed in flames, but the driver was able to extricate himself.

The teen then left the scene and went to his Carpinteria residence, where he was contacted by the California Highway Patrol. Officers discovered he had a blood alcohol level of .20 percent; the legal limit for those under 21 is 0.

He suffered minor face and neck injuries and was cited and released into the custody of his father. — N.S.W.

Big names come out for Unity Shoppe More than 20 celebrities, 28 performances, countless volunteers and a few big matching grants helped the Unity Shoppe raise more than half of the money it needs for operations in the coming year.

The Unity’s Shoppe’s annual telethon Dec. 6 helps support the giant food and clothing non-profit’s $1 million dollar yearly budget. Among the biggest donors: $200,000 came in from the Weingart Foundation with the mandate that it had to be matched.

Using the Weingart matching donation as leverage, Unity Shoppe signed Santa Barbara’s Downtown Rotary Club on for $100,000 and the Rotary raised an additional $25,000 in outbound calls during the telethon.

Santa Barbara city and county fire pitched in and raised $9,000 by auctioning off seats on a packed fire engine during the downtown parade.

The Unity Shoppe’s free food and clothing store for the working poor, as well as the new retail store, is now open at 1219 State St.

Unity still needs food, clothing, volunteers to help wrap gifts, and a couple hundred thousand dollars for construction and operations. — D.D.

Foodbank still needs donations Generous South Coast Beacon readers and staff donated 86 pounds of food to the Foodbank for the Thanksgiving holiday. Demand for services was at an all time high, according to Nichole Lanse, director of development.

The demand continues and so does the Beacon’s food drive. We will be accepting donations at our office, 15 W. Figueroa St., through the end of the year. As well, the Foodbank is doing a virtual food drive on its website. For credit card donations visit www.foodbanksbc.org. — L.D.

Carrillo Hotel foundation readied Contractors working literally around the clock next week will begin to fill the enormous hole in the ground at Chapala St. and Carrillo St. in Santa Barbara.

Construction on the five-story, four and half star luxury Carrillo Hotel is going slower than planned, said Santa Barbara City Senior Building Inspector David Gomez. The next phase, Dec. 19, will require the temporary closure of Chapala St. for a 12-hour, 3,000 cubic yard concrete pour of the hotel’s foundation.

The date of the marathon pour is tentative and depends on whether or not rains slow down installation of rebar in the hole. Gomez said the Carrillo Hotel is slated to open sometime in the late fall of 2004. —D.D.

WEV opens new business center Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) invites the community to the grand opening of its Women’s Business Center from 4 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 15. The new building, at 333 S. Salinas St., consolidates the offices of WEV and the Small Business Loan Fund into a new location.

The center received a five-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to support WEV’s bilingual offerings, including Self-Employment Training programs, business counseling, technical assistance and training to women in business and women who are considering starting a business.

Call 965.6073 by Dec. 12 to RSVP for the grand opening. — L.D.

Pedestrian hit by car suffers major injuries Fifty-two year old Goleta resident Lizabeth Ballinger remained in serious condition in the intensive care unit of the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Wednesday, but she is expected to live after being hit by a car traveling 45 m.p.h. The collision broke both her legs, and threw her into the car’s windshield, causing major head trauma.

According to California Highway Patrol reports, Ballinger walked 15 feet into a dimly lit crosswalk at 5:25 p.m. Dec. 4 near Auhay Drive and Hollister Avenue when 20-year-old Guillermo Gonzalez of Santa Barbara drove his 1997 Honda into her at more than 40 miles per hour. Reports state Gonzalez tried to brake, but didn’t see Ballinger until it was too late and he struck her.

Ballinger, who has mental disabilities and lives at a group home near the accident, was walking home from her mother’s house on Old Mill Road when the accident happened.

Ballinger’s mother told her to take the bus, but she insisted on walking. CHP officer Don Clotworthy said Ballinger’s mother agreed because her daughter was a good walker. Ballinger was reported missing when she never arrived back at the group home.

Gonzalez may receive a ticket for traveling at unsafe speeds, Clotworthy said. He was traveling within the speed limit, but doing so in a poorly lit area when he hit someone in a crosswalk. —D.D.

ABR reviews Mental Health’s mixed-use plans The Architectural Board of Review (ABR) got its first look at the Santa Barbara Mental Health Association’s planned mixed-use project this week. The 16,200 square foot development at 617 Garden St. will combine 50 affordable residential units — half of which will house Mental Health Association clients — with a relocated Fellowship Club, Mental Health offices and some city offices.

The innovative project, being developed in conjunction with the Housing Authority of Santa Barbara, met with some concerns about its mass, bulk and scale. ABR Chairman Jeffrey Gorrell advised the Architect Jan Hochhauser’s team to “… keep it humble and pedestrian-friendly. … This could be a very interesting project but you need to keep your mind open.”

The Planning Commission is expected to review the design in February, said Jessica Grant, case planner for the city. — L.D.

Cottage neighbors sound off on parking “Oak Park neighborhoods are relying on the ABR (Architectural Board of Review) to pay the same amount of attention to parking as to the rest of the architecture,” said Cottage Hospital neighbor Joddi Leipner, in delivering a message that was echoed by several of the residents.

The ABR’s Dec. 8 design review hearing focused on the two parking garage structures, one of which will be behind the Knapp Building at 2400 Bath St. and the other at the northeast corner of Pueblo and Castillo Streets. Neighbors expressed concerns about an eight-foot sound wall becoming a magnet for graffiti, the possibility their homes (mostly older bungalows) could sustain structural damage during construction and primarily the large scale of the structures in relationship to the rest of the neighborhood.

Despite concerns, the project seems to be progressing. “I’m very impressed by where this has come from where it began,” said ABR Member Kirk Gradin. The ABR elected to continue the item to its subcommittee on the hospital project, where they will persist in monitoring the plans. — L.D.

National UFCW members target strike The forces of 1.4 million United Food and Commercial Worker’s union members from across the nation are converging in Southern California this week. Their goal is to strategize an end to the now 61-day strike that has idled 70,000 Southern California grocery workers and halved the sales of the stores at which they work.

UFCW spokesperson Ellen Anreder said bargaining talks have ended for the coming holidays and the two sides are still very far apart. The union summit this week occurs amid UFCW backing by the Teamsters, which helped close down food distribution centers last week.

Teamsters Local 186 President Bill Elder said out-of-town drivers and managers are barely running the distribution centers.

“Inside the warehouse the word we’re getting is that it’s becoming a nightmare,” said Elder.

Slow distribution equals spotty supplies at local Vons and Albertsons. Strikers are diverting customers to Ralphs, where shoppers face even fewer supplies due to high demand on that chain, said Elder.

Anreder said the national issue could lead to national pickets.

“It’s anticipated that the level of strike activity will increase, including the extension of picket lines in more of Safeway’s high volume cities, among other strategic moves,” she stated. — D.D.