‘Being that bridge’ Mott responds to recruiting allegations Goodwill celebrates grand opening of St. Joseph coach followed by past mistakes. SPORTS, B1 Lompoc Youth Center. CENTRAL COAST, A3 LOW CLOUDS, THEN SUN 66 • 40 FORECAST, B8 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 | santamariatimes.com Admin: chant not racially motivated Tuesday’s game on the St. Joseph was not the intent of the group of Righetti students called High campus, which St. Joseph students who chanted it. ‘Where’s your passport?’ won 74-57. “I honestly think they were St. Joseph, a private school unaware they said a racist thing,” at St. Joseph players located across the street from Mott said. “They did not intend Righetti, a public school, has a for it to be racist.” JOE BAILEY player from France on its roster St. Joseph Principal Erinn [email protected] and three players from Puerto Dougherty was captured on video St. Joseph High School ad- Rico, a U.S. territory which walking toward the Righetti stu- ministrators on Wednesday dis- doesn’t require a passport. Under dents and briefl y shouting at them missed the notion that a chant coach Tom Mott, the Knights have as they were chanting. Dougherty from a group of Righetti High consistently fi elded teams with then had a brief but heated inter- School students at the end of players from all over the world. action with Ted Lyon, an assistant Tuesday night’s rivalry basketball St. Joseph has beaten Righetti principal at Righetti High. game was intended to be racially the last six times the teams have “Just because I will not allow JOE BAILEY, STAFF charged. met on the court. certain xenophobic statements to In a screen grab from a video taken Tuesday night, St. Joseph High School The Righetti High student On Wednesday, Mott said he be made at my campus and I don’t Principal Erinn Dougherty approaches the Righetti High School student section chanted “Where’s your understood the chant could be section as the students chanted “Where’s your passport?” at St. Joseph passport?” as time ran out in interpreted as racist, but felt that Please see CHANT, Page A7 basketball players. Pope avoids divisive issue NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY — Pope Fran- cis refused Wednesday to ap- prove the ordination of married men or women as deacons to ad- dress a shortage of priests in the Amazon, sidestepping a fraught issue that has divided the Cath- olic Church and emboldened his conservative critics. LEN WOOD, STAFF In an eagerly awaited doc- O cer Matthew Boland walks up to receive the Lifesaving Award during the Santa Maria Police Department’s annual awards ceremony ument, Francis didn’t refer to Wednesday at the Elks Lodge. recommendations by Amazo- nian bishops to consider mar- ried priests or women deacons. Rather, the pope urged bishops to Police, employees honored at luncheon pray for more priestly vocations and to send missionaries to a re- Santa Maria Police Department “The positives seldom make successful or not. gion where faithful Catholics in Team, life savers employees for their accomplish- news,” Hansen said. “That’s why On June 7, 2019, Boland was remote areas can go months or were among ments in 2019. doing this is so important.” dispatched to the home of a even years without Mass. Approximately 100 people in The Distinguished Team distraught elderly woman who The pope’s dodge disap- those recognized attendance who were treated to a Award was given to a group of called police to report that her pointed liberals, who had hoped tri-tip lunch included Santa Bar- Santa Maria police o cers and husband had threatened suicide. he would at least put both ques- DAVE MINSKY bara County Sheri ’s O ce em- information technology employ- Hansen said Boland was the tions to further study. It outraged [email protected] ployees, members of the Santa ees who worked together during sole o cer who responded to the progressive Catholic women’s Dozens of Santa Maria Po- Maria City Council and several the last three years to build and call while other o cers were en- groups. And it relieved conser- lice o cers and city employees SMPD o cers. implement a state-of-the-art gaged in a foot pursuit of a rob- vatives who had used the debate were honored at an awards lun- The event recognizes the ex- computer-aided dispatch and bery suspect at the same time. over priestly celibacy to heighten cheon Wednesday, including a traordinary work of the depart- records management system, Boland located the man hang- their opposition to the pope, and team that played a vital role in ment’s men and women during which is meant to provide im- ing by a rope inside the home’s saw his ducking of the issue as a implementing a new, multimil- a time of intense scrutiny placed proved response times and en- garage and lifted the man from victory. lion-dollar public safety dis- on police o cers, said Santa Ma- hance coordination between the rope, thus saving his life, Francis’ document, “Beloved patch system that went live in ria Police Chief Phil Hansen. police and fi re units. Hansen said. Amazon,” is instead a love letter November 2019. He cited the rise of rise of so- O cer Matthew Boland re- Two o cers, Stephen “Max” to the Amazonian rain forest and The annual event, which was cial media and the proliferation ceived the Lifesaving Award, Sha er and Alfredo Rodriguez, its indigenous peoples from the organized by the nonprofi t Santa of camera phones, which he said which is given for a heroic each were awarded certifi cates fi rst Latin American pope. He Maria Police Council, was held have tended to capture only the life-saving attempt in the line at the Elks Lodge to honor the poor performance of a few o cers. of duty, whether the attempt was Please see LUNCHEON, Page A7 Please see POPE, Page A9 County to seek $4 million from Former PG&E attorney to head EPA West Coast oce state for homeless housing Stoker was told in tribal lands, KQED reported Tuesday. Access to housing phone call to resign Mike Stoker, the EPA’s regional director since 2018, said he got a could help homeless ASSOCIATED PRESS call last week from senior agency live longer The Environmental Protec- o cials in Washington, D.C., tion Agency has named a former telling him to resign. MIKE HODGSON attorney for the nation’s largest The change in leadership [email protected] utility to head its West Coast comes amid confl ict between Santa Barbara County will ap- o ce, replacing the regional di- California and the federal gov- ply for approximately $4 million rector ousted from the post last ernment over environmental in state funds to provide housing week. policy. and services to the homeless, in- LEN WOOD, STAFF John Busterud, who worked for Among the disagreements cluding a program that could lead Dana Gamble, assistant deputy director of the Santa Barbara County Pacifi c Gas and Electric for three are the Trump administration’s to permanent housing for some. Public Health Department, talks about deaths of homeless people in decades, will manage more than policies aimed at expanding do- The Board of Supervisors au- 2018 during the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday in Santa Maria. 600 sta employees and oversee mestic oil and gas production, thorized sta to apply for the environmental protection e orts and its rollback of environmen- money from California Homeless shortly before hearing a report and Prevention provides a across EPA’s Region 9, which in- tal regulations. California, a Housing, Assistance and Preven- on 41 homeless county residents $650 million block grant to be cludes 50 million people living state with robust environmental tion program Tuesday as part who died in 2018. in California, Nevada, Arizona, of the administrative agenda, Homeless Housing, Assistance Please see HOMELESS, Page A9 Hawaii, the Pacifi c Islands and Please see EPA, Page A9 News+ o ers exclusive digital content for our members, STATE A2 OBITUARIES A8 COMICS B5 such as the “Sunday Extra,” a weekly special edition. BUSINESS A4 SPORTS B1 PUZZLES B6 AT SANTAMARIATIMES.COM OPINION A6 LOTTERY B2 CLASSIFIED B8 00 1 $1.50 • D • Volume 138, Issue 254 • A Lee Enterprises Newspaper • Copyright 2020 Follow us online: facebook.com/santamariatimes twitter.com@santamariatimes instagram.com/santa_maria_times A2 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2020 STATE SANTA MARIA TIMES Take us with you Free online calendar News+ Membership Download our app and get news sent Upload your event to our FREE online calendar and News+ is here! Support the work of straight to your phone. Breaking news get more people out to your concert, meeting or all our local journalists by choosing AT SANTAMARIATIMES.COM headlines and alerts at your fingertips. gathering. Stay on top of Central Coast happenings! your level of membership online now. Bullet train cost rises by another $1 billion DON THOMPSON “We don’t think that now 3200 Skyway Drive , P.O. Box 400, Santa Maria, CA 93456-0400 Associated Press is the time to turn back,” © Santa Maria Times Inc. Any reproduction is prohibited without prior written permission. SACRAMENTO — The Kelly said. Main Switchboard . .(805) 925-2691 Death notices ������������������������������� 805-739-2144 estimated cost to complete The currently projected Home delivery . 1-877-286-1686 or 739-2207 Legal ads ������������������������������������������������739-2157 California’s high-speed rail available funds are only Advertising ����������������������������������� 805-925-2691 Classified ads . 1-888-422-8822 Billing questions ����������������������������������� 925-2691 line rose another $1.3 bil- about a quarter of what’s lion, to $80.3 billion, while needed to complete the full Executives News contacts construction is on sched- project.