• Santa Barbara County voters who wish to vote in the June 5 primary but didn’t register by the May 21 deadline can take advantage of California’s conditional voter registration, also known as same-day voter registration, now through June 5. Registration can be done online, but a visit to one of the county elections offices is required. Voters can register online at registertovote.ca.gov and verify their registration at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov. Registration can be done at county elections offices, located at 511 E. Lakeside Parkway, suite 134, Santa Maria; 401 E. Cypress St., room 102, Lompoc; and 440-A Calle Real, Santa Barbara. More information is available at countyofsb.org.
• Sen. Kamala Harris (D-California) joined fellow congressional Democrats at a press conference on May 23 to demand the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop separating parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border. “This administration has clearly decided that they’re going to attack women, children, and their families. You can look at several policies that make this clear,” Harris said in a statement, pointing to reports that hundreds of children have been separated from their families by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, that pregnant women were being detained in conditions they were previously protected from, that the DHS was reportedly looking to decrease the standard of care for children in detention facilities, and the Trump administration’s rescinding of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Harris also spoke about legislation she introduced with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle), the Detention Oversight Not Expansion (DONE) Act, which would place a moratorium on the construction or expansion of detention facilities and increase oversight of ICE detention facilities. “This is about our children and families, and whether we’re going to be a compassionate government or a cruel government,” Harris said. “And I think we’re better than this. I wish the [Trump] administration understood that.”
• Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, voted to pass the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included three amendments that Carbajal authored. The bill passed the House with a 351-66 vote. Carbajal’s amendments included authorization for the NDAA to create a National Guard Cyber Security Training Center Pilot Program and build support for an existing cyber training complex at Camp Roberts in San Luis Obispo; a halt to the U.S. Air Force’s decision to downgrade Vandenberg Air Force Base firefighters’ current medical certification level and reduce their medical care at the base until a report is made to Congress; a $2 million increase in funding for female body armor procurement for the U.S. military; and $5 million in authorized funding for an educational partnership agreement between the Defense Department and Cal Poly SLO, which would help fund Cal Poly’s High-Performance Computing Lab and Electrical and Micro Propulsion Lab. “As a Marine Corps veteran, I am honored to serve a committee dedicated to supporting our Central Coast servicemembers, who are bravely working to protect our national security interests,” Carbajal said in a statement. “This legislation outlines policy to help the men and women serving to protect our country. This bill is not perfect, and I believe we must do more work to reduce our nuclear weapons stockpile. However, I’m pleased that this year’s defense spending package will include important investments that reflect our Central Coast values.”
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) received an endorsement for his re-election campaign from the California Small Business Association, according to a press release from Jordan Cunningham for Assembly. “You have demonstrated your commitment and leadership to serving the small business community in your district and in this great state of California,” association President Betty Jo Toccoli said in the release.
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 7, 2018.