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Police focus on drivers using cell phones
SANTA BARBARA — Due to April being Distracted Driver Awareness Month, Santa Barbara police will have extra officers on patrol to conduct an operation focused on drivers suspected of violating the hands-free cell phone law.
Under state law, drivers are not allowed to hold a phone or other communications device while operating a vehicle. This includes talking, texting or using an app.
Using a hand-held cell phone while operating a vehicle is punishable by a fine. A second violation within 36 months of the initial violation will result in a point being added to the driver’s license.
If you have an important phone call or need to program directions, pull over to a safe parking spot, police advise.
Before driving, either silence your phone or put it somewhere you can’t reach, law enforcement advise.
— Katherine Zehnder
Summerland gas station operators settle civil actionSUMMERLAND — Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley announced Thursday that her Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit settled a civil action against Summerland Market, Inc., and Elian Mtanous Hanna, the former operators of underground storage tanks at the gas station on Lillie Avenue in Summerland.
The case arose after inspectors from the Santa Barbara County Certified Unified Program Agency documented repeated violations of state law concerning the operation of USTs containing gasoline, handling of hazardous materials, and management of hazardous waste.
The civil complaint filed in December 2018 alleged unlawful conduct over the course of nearly five years, beginning in August 2013.
The alleged violations include operating a UST without the required CUPA permit, disabling the automatic leak-detection system, not keeping leak-detection sensors in a position to detect leaks at the earliest possible opportunity, failing to test the secondary-containment system in a timely manner, failing to annually certify the leak-detection monitoring equipment, unlawfully disposing hazardous waste, and failing to establish and implement a Hazardous Materials Business Plan.
These alleged violations started a month after the district attorney resolved a prior civil action against these same defendants for $30,000 in civil penalties.
On March 17, a final judgment stipulation was entered to resolve the case. The judgment includes the following provisions: $165,000 in civil penalties, $4,037.50 in cost reimbursement to Santa Barbara County CUPA and injunction requiring the defendants to comply with environmental laws and regulations.
The $165,000 in civil penalties includes: $42,500 to Santa Barbara County CUPA, $11,250 to the County District Attorney’s Office, $7,500 to California General Fund, Toxic Substances Control Account, $3,750 to California Department of Toxic Substances Control and $100,000 to Santa Barbara County, for the exclusive use by the district attorney for the enforcement of consumer protection laws.
“These repeated violations were committed despite a prior enforcement action. The defendants’ apparent disregard for our community’s well-being showed a pattern of behavior that repeatedly threatened the safety of the public, employees, first responders, and our environment,” District Attorney Dudley said in a news release. “Our office will always seek to protect our community from the formidable dangers related to underground storage tanks, hazardous materials and hazardous waste.”
— Katherine Zehnder
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