Ryan P. Cruz

A federal judge decided this week to halt the proposed $25 billion merger between Kroger and Albertsons, effectively squashing the deal that would have joined the two largest supermarket chains in the country. California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the decision as a “victory for consumers” in a statement released Tuesday, in which he said the merger “presented a significant risk of reduced competition and higher food prices nationwide.” Bonta was part of a bipartisan coalition of states that filed lawsuits challenging the merger in federal court in February 2024. “Halting the Kroger and Albertsons megamerger is a win for California households and communities,” Bonta said. “As many families continue to feel the burden of inflation, fighting corporate consolidation that threatens to increase grocery prices is more important than ever.” Had the merger gone through, it would have drastically affected the labor union negotiations for thousands of employees, he said. “I am tremendously proud of the work of my office and our partners across the state and country in raising the alarm about what this merger would have meant for our communities,” Bonta said. In Santa Barbara County, the Vons on Turnpike Road in Goleta and the Albertsons at 1500 North H Street in Lompoc were among the locations set to be sold if the merger went through.

Carpinteria girls soccer played three matches in the past week, and the Warriors earned their first two wins of the year with victories over Fillmore and Santa Ynez.

Former Dos Pueblos Coach Justin Sell Faces Another Lawsuit Alleging Abuse Four More Former Students File Suit Against Sell, Santa Barbara Unified School District for Enabling Sexual Abuse From 2005 to 2011 Former Dos Pueblos football coach Justin Sell was named in another lawsuit with four former students alleging sexual abuse from 2005 to 2011 | Credit: Paul Wellman (file) Former Dos Pueblos High School assistant football coach and security guard Justin Sell — who was convicted for stalking and engaging in sexual acts with a teenage student over a decade ago and has since face several lawsuits accusing him of abusing more former students — is now facing a third civil suit, this time with four more former students alleging abuse from 2005 to 2011. The lawsuit, filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court last month, also alleges that Santa Barbara Unified School District is at fault for “extreme negligence” that “enabled the open sexual assault, harassment, molestation, and abuse” of the students, according to attorneys with Slater Slater Schulman LLP, the law firm representing the four men, who are all now in their thirties. During the 2014 criminal trial, in which prosecutors said Sell “systematically and methodically groomed” a teenage victim, Sell pleaded no contest to multiple felony charges and was sentenced to one year in County Jail and five years of probation. Since then, two victims filed civil lawsuits against Sell, with the most recent lawsuit ending in a $25 million verdict against Sell and the district , where the courts found the district was at least “80 percent at fault” for the abuse and grooming. In the latest lawsuit, four additional former student-athletes — identified only by their initials — detail the “disturbing track record of grooming” and abuse from 2005 to 2011, a time during which it is alleged that multiple complaints made to the school and district went unacknowledged or unaddressed. According to the complaint, Sell was “physically close with students, inappropriately touched students, sexually harassed students, and spent significant amounts of time with minor students with no justification.” The former students said they could not easily terminate their relationships with Sell and were forced into several inappropriate situations. Some alleged incidents included Sell “standing in the doorway and staring” while the boys showered, and several occasions where Sell “struck them inappropriately” while working out in the campus gym, in full view of other teammates and coaching staff. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that in 2009, another football coach saw Sell at a student's house (Sell would regularly drive students to and from school in his muscle car, in violation of school policy) and although this behavior was reported to both the athletic director and school principal, Sell continued to ignore instructions to maintain boundaries with students. “The Santa Barbara Unified School District failed to uphold its mandatory duty to protect these students by properly investigating the significant volume of warnings from students and faculty,” said Adam Slater, founding and managing partner of Slater Slater Schulman. “Instead, it condoned and enabled this horrific pattern of abuse and misconduct against high school football players. We are committed to achieving justice for our clients.” The four plaintiffs claim that the abuse they suffered caused “severe physical and mental injuries, emotional distress,” and they are seeking damages to repay past and future costs of medical care and treatment. Santa Barbara Unified School District spokesperson Ed Zuchelli said that the district has received the lawsuit and is reviewing the details, though he could not comment on specifics regarding the lawsuit. “The School District is devastated any time a student finds themselves in a vulnerable position in a school environment where children should feel safe,” Zuchelli said. “The District has strict standards of professional and employee supervision, and has several methods of reporting inappropriate behavior. Any allegation of misconduct will be thoroughly and swiftly investigated.” Anybody seeking resources for sexual assault survivors can call (800) 656-HOPE (4673) to be connected The National Sexual Assault Hotline operated by RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).

Harsher punishments for theft and drug-related crimes go into effect December 18.

The Surfliner Inn keeps chugging along. The proposal for a 36-room hotel in a city-owned lot near the Amtrak train station in downtown Carpinteria has battled through constant community backlash, a petition with thousands of signatures, and a failed ballot measure that would have derailed the project completely. Now, plans for the Surfliner Inn are back on track, and last week the project passed through preliminary review with Carpinteria's Architectural Review Board (ARB), despite another round of fervent community comments and concerns over the hotel's size and impacts on parking. The latest iteration of the Surfliner includes 36 guest rooms, a rooftop bar, restaurant, pool, visitor center, and a new parking lot with 93 spaces. The development team, headed by Whitt Hollis and Jeff Thiemer, had already gained approval from the City Council back in December 2021 before Measure T was placed on the ballot. But since then, the project was downsized and redesigned to remove some of the bulkiness of the original plans. More than 30 members of the public showed up to speak about the hotel, with the majority of commenters speaking against the proposal, many sharing similar concerns to those raised during previous reviews of the Surfliner. Several downtown residents worried that the hotel was still too big for the location, and others questioned the convoluted parking plan — which allowed the hotel to combine 46 on-site parking spaces with 93 more to be built in a new lot on the other side of the train tracks. “It doesn't seem like a good plan to me,” said downtown resident Amy Orozco. “I don't see it going smoothly.” Supporters of the Surfliner wore pins saying “All Aboard,” and some were small business owners who said that the hotel was an example of responsible growth in the downtown area. One resident, Rudy Gomez, said, “Carpinteria is an ice cream sundae, and the Surfliner Inn is the cherry on top.” The ARB could not comment on parking or stormwater drainage — items that will likely be brought up during Planning Commission reviews — but boardmembers did provide comments regarding the size, landscaping, and architectural design. Boardmember Richard Little asked the developers to “take into consideration the comments by a lot of members of the public about the size and scale,” although he agreed that the project already meets city regulations. Boardmember Patrick O'Connor said he was also willing to approve the project, though he encouraged the developers to look into providing a wider setback near the train platform — an area he called a “coffin corner” — in order to make sure there was enough clearance to prevent any safety issues. “I just don't want to find myself having to approve this thing and 10 years later we've got tragedies on our hands,” O'Connor said. Despite the concerns, the board unanimously approved the project — with the conditions that the developers address the safety concerns near the corner, improve lighting and landscaping plans, and possibly look into building a soundwall. Following a review of environmental impacts, the project would continue to a review with the city's Planning Commission.

Warriors girls basketball gives up the lead in the second half to Nordhoff

Kamil Abdul Nafeo has made his mark as one of Cate’s team leaders in assists.

Hundreds of scarves, hats, socks, and gloves are available at locations throughout Goleta and Isla Vista

Our reporter shares his favorite stories of the year.

Santa Barbara’s postal workers are in high-speed overdrive to process and distribute mail during the holidays.