SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A month ago, a viral video of a woman railing against a Latino construction worker rocked Santa Barbara, raising conversations around the dynamic between white and Latino people in the coastal town.

A second video surfaced last week in which she appears to harangue a taco vendor. And now the Santa Barbara County district attorney has charged Jeanne Umana with battery and trespassing.

In the first video, filmed on his phone, construction worker Luis Cervantes tells the woman, who had walked onto a construction site, that she was on private property and had to go. As she’s walking away, Umana turns and says, “I live here. I’m American; you’re a Tijuanan.” The video sparked a large protest in Santa Barbara, with hundreds pouring into the street to decry what many deemed racist behavior.

In an interview with The Times the following day, Umana, 74, apologized for her remarks, saying her “judgment went very, very badly.”

A second video, posted by activist Edin Alex Enamorado last week, shows Umana in a separate incident speaking harshly to a sidewalk vendor at a park.

Enamorado, based in the Inland Empire, frequently posts viral video of incidents he believes to be racist and is known as an advocate for sidewalk vendors.

Umana told the local news outlet the Santa Barbara Independent that the second video was recorded in August, before last month’s incident.

“You’re illegal,” Umana says to the sidewalk vendor, who repeatedly asks what the problem is.

“You’re a crook. You’re an illegal crook. You know what crook is? I thought you didn’t speak English! You don’t speak English, because you’re a liar and a crook,” Umana says, threatening the vendor with calls to the police.

Umana claimed in the video that she works “for the police fepartment,” as she did in the previous viral video. The Santa Barbara Police Department confirmed Umana does not work for the department.

City Councilman Oscar Gutierrez said he was troubled by “the level of confidence that she showed in both those videos.”

“And my biggest issue,” he added, “is just the targeting of people of color. … And feeling that she can associate herself with the city really, really bothers me.”

Gutierrez said he was grateful Umana had been charged, though he was “pretty disappointed” the district attorney did not pursue a hate crime charge, which Santa Barbara police had recommended. Enamorado agreed, saying that, as an activist, “it feels that (the D.A.) gave us nothing.”

“Based on the evidence that we have at this point, we filed the charges we believed we could prove to a jury of 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Jennifer Karapetian, Santa Barbara’s chief deputy district attorney. Umana’s arraignment is set for Nov. 30.

Asked whether the second video spurred action by the district attorney, Karapetian did not address the timing of the charges.

Gutierrez said he’d asked the city attorney to look into sending Umana a cease and desist letter so she would stop claiming to work for the city.

“The audacity she had to feel like she could represent the people on that level, and then for her to go out and attack people of color, is just beyond obscene,” Gutierrez said. “It’s criminal.”

Umana could not be reached for comment.

Israeli flyers dropped on Gaza offer cash for intel on hostages

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military began offering cash and protection for anyone who shares accurate information on the whereabouts of hostages held by militant group Hamas.

Gazans found the leaflets on the streets across Gaza on Tuesday, Oct. 24, after they’d been dropped from Israeli aircraft, the latest in a slew of steps by Israel to locate some of the people Hamas is holding captive.

“If your will is to live in peace and to have a better future for your children, do the humanitarian deed immediately and share verified and valuable information about hostages being held in your area,” read the leaflets, written in Arabic and shared by the Israel Defense Forces.

“The Israeli military assures you that it will invest maximum effort in providing security for you and your home, and you will receive a financial reward. We guarantee you complete confidentiality,” they said.

More than two weeks after Hamas attacked and killed around 1,400 Israelis, there are growing calls inside the country to rethink the scope of a ground invasion that had been expected any day. The fate of the hostages — estimated at around 200 including perhaps several dozen who are dead — is one of the main concerns that have so far held back the land incursion.

Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union, has so far released four hostages, including two elderly people that were set free Oct. 23 for medical reasons.

Washington state senator arrested in Hong Kong

OLYMPIA, Wash. — State Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, was arrested in Hong Kong Friday, Oct. 20, for possessing a firearm not licensed there and related charges, a spokesperson confirmed Oct. 23.

Wilson could not be immediately reached for comment via phone, but he said in a statement that “it was an honest mistake. And I expect the situation to be resolved shortly.”

Wilson was embarking on a five-week personal vacation to Southeast Asia when he departed Portland International Airport, said spokesperson Erik Smith, who could not confirm the date of departure or the airline Wilson used.

Smith said Wilson inadvertently packed a revolver in his carry-on bag. The gun was not spotted by security at the airport and Wilson only realized he had packed it when he was midflight and reached for some gum in his bag, Smith said.

Once Wilson landed in Hong Kong, he alerted customs authorities to the gun, and was arrested. He was jailed and later posted bail that was set at 20,000 of a currency that Smith could not confirm, though news outlet The Standard reported bail was HK$20,000. Wilson has surrendered his passport and the firearm, Smith said. He is awaiting a hearing scheduled for Oct. 30 and has legal counsel.

Smith said the gun is properly licensed and registered in the United States, and that Wilson is taking the vacation at his personal expense and is not representing the state Senate. However, Wilson was planning to meet with certain officials, such as officials with the port of Shanghai, Smith said. Wilson also sits on the commission of the Port of Longview.

“We are learning about the incident with Sen. Wilson at the same time as the press and public here in America,” Senate Republican Leader John Braun, of Centralia, said in a statement. “As I understand it, this was an honest mistake. I do not have any additional information to share at this point, but we are watching the situation closely. That said, I hope that this can be resolved in a timely manner.”

According to the TSA, firearms can be brought on commercial flights only if they are unloaded, packed in a locked, hard-sided case and checked.

Last year, transportation security officers detected 108 firearms in carry-on luggage in Oregon, a record number, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Seventy-eight of those were found at PDX, which was a record for the airport too. Firearms were found at a higher rate at PDX — about 10 per 1 million passengers screened — than the national average. The airport screened about 7.7 million passengers in 2022.

Kathleen McDonald, TSA Federal Security Director for Oregon, said in a statement when the statistics were released in January that it was her hope that they “serve as a wake-up call for those who choose to travel with a firearm.”

“This is not a new problem, but it is one that must be addressed since we have reached an unacceptable level (of) firearms coming through our security checkpoints,” McDonald said. “We are pleading with the traveling public to double-check the contents of your carry-on luggage and follow the proper procedures for traveling with firearms.”