To the great surprise of many, Wendy McCaw, owner of the Santa Barbara News-Press, has chosen not to appeal a federal court decision that requires her, among other things, to offer reinstatement and back pay to former columnist Richard Mineards.
Mineards, now columnist for the weekly Montecito Journal, estimates that “given the 10 percent legal interest annually and the doubling every five years” he will be due a staggering $2 million in back pay. He was laid off January 9, 2009.
It will double again if matters are not concluded by January, 2018, the 10th anniversary of his layoff, he said.