Good morning!
We hope you enjoyed your weekend. The winds and wet weather are here, so please drive carefully and stay safe.
Our top story of the day takes a look at the controversy over adding a seventh period to Santa Barbara Unified junior high schools to allow all student the option to take electives.
Be sure to follow the New-Press on Instagram for more photos and video about the situation.
Education news is one of our focus areas at the News-Press. If you have ideas for stories, news or features, or a tip on something that affects you and your family, please reach out to me at jmolina@newspress.com.
One of my goals as editor is make the News-Press feel like a place where the community is reflected in the coverage. The best stories don’t come from a journalist sitting on a computer or scrolling social media for news. The best stories come from real people experiencing life — and I want to hear what matters to you.
I have covered education in this community for decades, and what happens in our schools matters to me.
My son, now in college, went through the public school system locally from seventh to 12th grade, and I have a daughter in the public system now who is about to enter junior high school. City councils and the board of supervisors often get the most media attention, but our school boards — and classrooms — are where the most impactful local decisions are made.
A community focused on its schools is a community focused on its future.
Joshua Molina
News-Press Editor
Top read of the day
Santa Barbara Unified teachers fight for a 7th-period for all students to take electives
By Joshua Molina • Santa Barbara News-Press
Six or seven? The answer to that questions sits in the hands of the Santa Barbara Unified District School Board of Trustees.
3 stories sparking buzz
Bitar Group acquires The Nook at Lama Dog in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone
The Bitar Group has taken over The Nook, a Funk Zone restaurant located at 116 Santa Barbara St. Georges Bitar told the News-Press that the group assumed operations of the Nook on Feb. 1, with escrow expected to close later this month.
Michael B. Jordan feels the love from screaming fans at Santa Barbara International Film Festival
Hundreds of fans screamed as Michael B. Jordan exited his van, and then signed a shirtless photo of himself, at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Lynn Montgomery: My 161 Nights in a Kyiv Airbnb
It is four years this month, since Russia invaded Ukraine. This is the first in a series where I invite you to bear witness and experience the war, with Leona and me at the House of Swans. Much has changed since the beginning days when I booked my first nights and began this friendship with my remarkable host – a widowed mother, paramedic, and poet. Even as my faith in my own government has, at times, faltered, Leona endures, and never wavers in her belief that Ukraine will defeat Putin so her proud country can remain free.
Local voices
“For me, the seventh period is a no brainer. I think we should 100% do it. We need to be investing in kids as close to the classroom as possible”
— Celeste Kafri
Must watch
Jerry Roberts interviews Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown about federal deportation efforts
Forwarded this email or viewing online? Subscribe here.
Have a news tip? Email us at info@newspress.com.
