• Santa Barbara County election offices and polling places will be abuzz on Nov. 6 for the midterm election. According to the county’s website, conditional voter registration is available through Nov. 6 at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway in Santa Maria, 401 E. Cypress St. in Lompoc, and 4440-A Calle Real in Santa Barbara. Ballot drop boxes are also located at 511 E. Lakeside in Santa Maria and 4440-A Calle Real in Santa Barbara, and at 100 Civic Center Plaze in Lompoc. More information is available at (800) 722-8683 or countyofsb.org.
• The office of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) issued a statement on Oct. 26 after a suspicious package addressed to the office was reported to authorities by a postal employee in Sacramento. In the statement, Harris’ spokesperson Lily Adams said that the package was “similar to those that have been sent to other elected officials,” in regards to a spate of mailed pipe bombs sent to Democratic leadership. “Fortunately, nobody was injured,” Adams stated. “Sen. Harris is enormously grateful to law enforcement officials across the country who have worked so hard over the past week to keep our fellow citizens safe.” Two days earlier, Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) issued a statement on Oct. 24 in regards to the explosive devices that were sent to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama, political influencer George Soros, and the offices of CNN in New York. “This attempted attack is absolutely unacceptable and amounts to an act of terror on our leaders and our free press,” Carbajal stated. “Regardless of how strongly we disagree on the issues, violence has no place in our political discourse.” Carbajal asked the post office to temporarily suspend mail delivery to his office for a few days amid the investigation. On Oct. 26, authorities in Florida arrested Cesar Sayoc, an avid supporter of President Donald Trump, for allegedly sending the bombs.
• After a mass shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh left 11 dead and more injured, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) released a statement on Oct. 27, saying she was “heartbroken” by news of the incident. “We can’t ignore the recent spike in hate crimes and the pervasive effect of giving a wink and a nod to hate groups and those who would commit violence,” Feinstein stated. “It is incumbent upon all of us to condemn the anti-Semitic hatred that led to this atrocity.” Two days later, after an alleged hate crime ended with two deaths and more package bombs were discovered being sent to Democratic leadership, Feinstein issued another statement, linking the incidents as “a string of politically and racially motivated crimes,” and pointed to the president as a cause of blame. “It’s difficult not to draw direct lines between the hateful, divisive rhetoric of Donald Trump and an increase in such crimes,” Feinstein stated. “Saturday’s synagogue shooting was the largest killing of Jewish citizens in our history. But instead of helping the country mourn and recover, the president insisted on attending a political rally. That’s shocking, but unfortunately not surprising.”
• 24th District House candidate Justin Fareed (R) issued a new television commercial targeting Rep. Salud Carbajal and his votes concerning disaster relief and wildfire prevention funding. In a release, Fareed’s campaign said that “Carbajal voted against two critical bi-partisan measures that would help to prevent wildfires by implementing common sense land management and forest protection practices on public lands,” the release said. “Salud Carbajal has cast votes that cost lives,” Fareed stated. “In Congress, we deserve a leader who will put people over politics, work to prevent future disasters from happening, and side with Central Coast families, not special interests or party bosses.”
This article appears in Nov 1-7, 2018.
