Santa Barbara County Supervisors Wrestle with Push into Purple Tier

Supervisors Decide to Fight One of Governor Newsom’s Rules

This graph depicts the percentage of COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County by demographic. The black outlined bar represents the percentage of cases over the entire pandemic, while the red, overlapping bar represents the percentage of cases by occupation during the previous week — or the 45th week of the pandemic. | Credit: Courtesy

Santa Barbara County had the rug pulled out from under it this week when it joined 40 other California counties that were ordered by the state to move back to the most-restrictive purple tier.

“I’m tired of getting reprimanded to wear a mask,” said Terri Strickland, owner of the Hitching Post steakhouse in Casmalia. “Ninety-nine percent of the people I know wear a mask even when they don’t want to. Everybody’s doing what they’re supposed to be doing…. Purple means total shutdown for businesses.”

Strickland was joined by other public commenters who were equally upset at the state’s move and the Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors’ decision to abide. Some commenters ― and even boardmembers ― called on the board to push back against Governor Newsom and not force Santa Barbara businesses back into the new restrictions.

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Santa Barbara County Supervisors Wrestle with Push into Purple Tier

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