S.B. County puts most unbudgeted requests on hold

Santa Maria Times: After debating among themselves whether or not Santa Barbara County's financial future is bleak, county supervisors listened Monday to departments ask for more funding than proposed in a 2007-08 budget -- pleas that ranged from hiring extra sheriff's deputies to providing a social worker for inmates needing treatment programs after jail.

Goleta Man stabbed, treated for wounds

Santa Maria Times: A Lompoc man who was stabbed early Sunday morning in Goleta has been released from the hospital.
Binicio Nicholas Pereda, 20, was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment of three non-life threatening lacerations to his back that appeared to be caused by a knife, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

Deputies responded to a report of a stabbing at 2:20 a.m. Sunday at a residence in the area of Mallard Avenue and Alondra Drive, and found Pereda out front the house, where his friends were performing first aid.

Witnesses said Pereda had been a guest at a party held at the house, and had stepped outside. Party-goers found a wounded Pereda about 20 minutes later.

Witnesses could not provide any information on the suspect. The sheriff's department reported there is no indication the incident was gang-related.

Los Angeles-Federal Grand Jury Indicts Goleta Man

Santa Maria Times: A Goleta man has been indicted along with four others by a federal grand jury for his alleged involvement in an international lottery scam that took upwards of $20 million from victims over the course of more than 15 years.

Scott Henry Walther, 31, surrendered to federal authorities and made his initial court appearance Wednesday in United States District Court in Los Angeles, according to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

Through companies in Costa Rica, the Netherlands and other places, the defendants allegedly mailed more than 1 million solicitations that falsely offered an increased chance of winning foreign and domestic lotteries.

Victims were reportedly told that their money would be pooled to buy larger blocks of tickets, and that they were virtually guaranteed to win millions of dollars, which would be invested in trust or pension accounts that would pay monthly pension checks.

Some money was sent back to victims, reported the Department of Justice, but was far less than the amount sent in by them.

United States Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Press Release No. 07-065

Anti-Drunken Driving Campaign To Start

A year-long campaign aimed to reduce alcohol-related collisions involving college-age people on roadways near UCSB is set to begin Sunday.

The California Highway Patrol will boost its presence near the UCSB campus and focus on drunken drivers.

UCSB, Santa Barbara City College, the University of California Police Department, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control will also join the enforcement and education efforts during the campaign.

According to the CHP, 19 college-age people were injured in alcohol-related traffic incidents on roadways near UCSB in 2005.

One resulted in a fatality, the CHP said.

Source: Santa Maria Times - County Lines 3/30