CARPINTERIA, Calif. (KEYT) – The City of Carpinteria does not have any cannabis farms within its limits but angry residents fed up with odors are taking in all the air impacts, which may be changing soon.

A Santa Barbara County deadline to install multi carbon technology or "scrubbers" to filter the odors out has been missed by nine operators.

The sites were visited by inspections on April 1st and 2nd. 

On April 3rd, letters went out to revoke the cannabis business licenses.

According to Daisy Weber with Supervisor Roy Lee's office, the businesses that failed were:

The Board of Supervisors required the scrubbers in March under a new ordinance.

Other methods to reduce the odors had failed after years of issues and complaints to the county and even city leaders who did not have a direct legal option to respond.

Supervisor Lee, district representative and a former councilmember, said he believed the operators had enough time and "enough was enough."

There is now an appeal option for operators to present evidence relating to their lack of compliance.  In some cases it could be supply chain delays.

If not appeal is filed in ten days, the license is officially revoked. 

The operator will be able to continue business during the appeal. That hearing is required to take place in 60 days and the appeal hearing officer has 30 days to issue a determination.

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The post Nine Cannabis Operators Miss County Scrubber Deadline, Appeals Still Possible appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Santa Barbara is moving closer to adopting new rules on short-term rentals, a proposal that is highlighting a growing divide among community members.
The ordinance would regulate vacation rentals like Airbnb and VRBO, an issue that has been debated for years by the Santa Barbara City Council.

Some residents say short-term rentals are disrupting neighborhoods.

Brandy Zender, who lives in Santa Barbara, says she has experienced ongoing issues near her home in a high coastal fire hazard zone.

“Quite frankly, it's people that want their homes for homes versus people who made this their business. I'm fighting for my home and they're fighting for their business.”

Zender says visitors staying in nearby vacation rentals have caused safety concerns and disturbances.

“Drug paraphernalia thrown over our fence line. People breaking in our fence line, people climbing over our fence line, people backing into trees.”

Short-term rentals—defined as stays under 30 days—are currently mostly prohibited in residential areas, but some continue to operate.

Zender says she would support limited use under stricter rules.

“In a perfect world, I'd like to say yes, but I'm also fair… I think the home share model does offer an opportunity… but we’re limiting that to 4 people.”

City officials say the proposed ordinance aims to create clear rules and protect housing.

“This has been something that the City Council has been discussing for many years,” said Community Development Director Allison DeBusk. “They have concerns about not only the nuisance impacts, but also the loss of residential units and also the loss of neighborhoods.”

The proposal would:

• Require permits for short-term rentals
• Limit where rentals are allowed
• Increase enforcement on illegal listings

Not all residents agree with stricter regulations.

Some say short-term rentals provide more affordable options for visitors and support the local economy.

“Short term rentals are filling a different niche than hotels fill,” said Santa Barbara resident Jarrett Gorin. “They are a more affordable form of occupancy… and if we cut out a huge segment of that… it's going to have impacts that cascade through our economy.”

Others are calling for more collaboration before a final decision is made.

“A more democratic process, really,” said resident Tiffany Haller. “We all need to get together, sit at the table and talk about what the problems are and solve it.”

The Ordinance Committee will continue hearing public input at its next meeting on April 21.

The proposal could then move to the full City Council for a final vote.

For now, the debate underscores a key tension in Santa Barbara—balancing neighborhood stability with tourism and economic activity.

The post Santa Barbara moves closer to regulating short-term rentals, dividing community appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

By Andy Rose, Lauren Mascarenhas, Danya Gainor, CNN

(CNN) — For the second day in a row, a director of Camp Mystic — the rural Christian summer camp in Texas that was overwhelmed by flood waters last year — broke down in tears in a courtroom when asked about Cile Steward, one of the 27 girls and counselors who died in the disaster.

“I wish we had more information” before a decision was made to evacuate the camp, Edward Eastland testified Tuesday as he answered questions about the hours leading up to the catastrophic July 4 flooding at the camp’s Guadalupe River campus and the chaos that followed.

“All the information was there … if y’all had just stayed awake and looked, right?” responded Brad Beckworth, an attorney representing the Steward family.

The three-day hearing is part of a civil lawsuit brought by the Steward family and comes after Travis County District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble initially ordered the temporary shutdown of the camp’s flooded areas, saying the closure is necessary to preserve evidence.

Camp Mystic is challenging the continuation of the temporary injunction as it plans to open again this summer at its neighboring Cypress Lake location, which is on higher ground. It separately appealed the decision to an appellate court in March.

Although he remained composed for most of his time on the stand, Eastland began sobbing when asked about his rescue efforts and the Stewards’ 8-year-old daughter, whose body has not been recovered.

“I don’t remember her being there,” Eastland said when asked if he saw Cile Steward that night. “It was…” he began before his voice trailed off in tears.

Later on Tuesday during a somber moment on the stand, Mary Liz Eastland, Edward Eastland’s wife and the camp director in charge of the nursing staff, testified about her actions as the camp where she spent more than three decades — first as a camper then as a staff member — saw floodwaters rise.

“You knew the property. You knew the flood lines. You knew access points. Your children knew them. And these were first-year campers,” Christina Yarnell, another attorney representing the Steward family, said to Mary Liz Eastland. “You had 34 more years of experience than Cile. She needed your help, and you abandoned her, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she replied.

When asked why she didn’t do more to help the campers, Mary Liz Eastland spoke about being physically unable to reach them due to the flooding.

“I knew I couldn’t get ahold of them,” she said.

The Stewards’ attorneys said in a statement that Tuesday’s proceedings produced testimony “highly relevant to any parent and any State of Texas regulator deciding whether children should ever be allowed to be in the Eastlands’ care again — and we encourage all of them to read every word before making any decisions.”

Judge’s decision could shape evidence available at upcoming trial

Two months after the Steward family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Camp Mystic and its owners, Tuesday’s hearing marked an early-stage fight to preserve key evidence from the July 4 floods before the case moves forward. Gamble, the district judge, is deciding whether to continue her order last month that temporarily shut down the camp’s flooded areas.

At issue is whether the Texas camp can continue rebuilding after the floods tore through cabins and fields, or if it must preserve what the Stewards describe as critical physical evidence, including campers’ sleeping cabins, floodwater markings, building access routes and communication systems that were in place at the time of the disaster.

The

The post Santa Barbara’s Short-Term Rental Ordinance Not Ready Yet appeared first on The Santa Barbara Independent.

Por Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN en Español

El Departamento del Tesoro de EE.UU. anunció este lunes sanciones contra dos casinos y tres personas supuestamente vinculadas al Cartel del Noreste, una de las organizaciones criminales más violentas que operan en la zona fronteriza del norte de México, principalmente en Tamaulipas, Coahuila y Nuevo León.

Las medidas apuntan a dos casinos ubicados en el estado de Tamaulipas —uno de ellos a escasos kilómetros de la frontera con Texas— y a tres personas que, según dijo el Tesoro a través de un comunicado, desempeñan papeles clave en actividades como lavado de dinero, tráfico de personas, de fentanilo y extorsión para el Cartel del Noreste.

Por su parte, la Secretaría de Hacienda de México, a través de la Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), informó que realizó el análisis financiero, fiscal y corporativo de las personas señaladas por las autoridades estadounidenses.

En su investigación, según señaló en un comunicado, identificó que establecimientos de apuestas operaban bajo una misma red empresarial y detectó “inconsistencias” entre entre los ingresos reportados y el dinero que realmente se movía.

Por ello, la UIF presentó denuncias ante la Fiscalía General de la República por la “probable comisión de operaciones con recursos de procedencia ilícita y delitos fiscales”.

Como resultado de las sanciones, anunciadas por el Tesoro a través de La Oficina de Control de Activos Extranjeros (OFAC, por sus siglas en inglés), todos los bienes de los implicados bajo jurisdicción estadounidense quedan bloqueados, y se prohíbe a ciudadanos y empresas de ese país realizar cualquier transacción con ellos.

El secretario del Tesoro de EE.UU., Scott Bessent, dijo que continuarán enfocándose en desmantelar las distintas fuentes de financiamiento de los carteles que “buscan sembrar el terror” entre los estadounidenses.

“Seguiremos atacando las diversas fuentes de ingresos de estos grupos, incluyendo el tráfico de fentanilo y de migrantes hacia Estados Unidos”, añadió Bessent en el comunicado.

Uno de los casinos, ubicado en Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas —muy cerca del cruce con Texas—, habría funcionado como instrumento para “integrar ganancias ilícitas al sistema financiero formal a través de sus operaciones de juego” y para almacenar drogas como fentanilo y cocaína, según el comunicado.

Además, asegura el Tesoro, el Cartel del Noreste supuestamente utilizaba “los cuartos traseros” del establecimiento para “torturar e intimidar a presuntos rivales”.

Otro casino, ubicado en Tampico, Tamaulipas, así como un sitio web de apuestas, son operados por la misma empresa que el de Nuevo Laredo, la cual también fue sancionada.

Ambos establecimientos, junto con la empresa que los opera, fueron sancionados por “haber asistido materialmente, patrocinado o proporcionado apoyo financiero” al cartel, según el Tesoro.

En cuanto a las personas sancionadas, el Tesoro sostiene que una de ellas supervisaba redes de tráfico de migrantes en la zona de Nuevo Laredo, controlando el paso hacia Estados Unidos y administrando “casas de resguardo de dinero en efectivo”.

Las otras dos, de acuerdo con las autoridades estadounidenses, operaban desde profesiones aparentemente legítimas. Uno de ellos es identificado como abogado defensor y habría brindado apoyo que iba “más allá de una relación normal cliente-abogado”, fungiendo como intermediario entre miembros del cartel y su liderazgo.

El otro se presentaba públicamente como activista de derechos humanos, pero, según el Tesoro, encabezaba esfuerzos para “presentar denuncias falsas contra el ejército mexicano, pagar a personas para asistir a protestas y proteger la reputación de integrantes del CDN caídos o