Court competition
Reggae on the Mountain
Dos Pueblos mock trial team finishes third at national event in Baltimore - A3
Ziggy Marley, Soul Majestic among those appearing at three-day festival at Live Oak Camp - B1
Our 167th Year
75¢
F R I DAY, O C TOBE R 2 8 , 2 02 2
Olive Mill Roundabout Construction to start next month at intersection with Coast Village Road
Falcon 9 rises from Vandenberg Rocket is seen as far as Arizona By DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was spotted by residents as far south as Anaheim and as far east as Arizona after its launch early Thursday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base. In the blue twilight, SpaceX launched from Vandenberg at 6:14 p.m. with its payload of 53 Starlink satellites. Before then, Falcon 9 stood on Space Launch Complex-4 on the south base. White clouds were seen around the top from the dispersal of liquid oxygen. “Great news! All systems are a go for launch,” said Jessie Anderson, the SpaceX production and engineering manager, narrating SpaceX’s live webcast from the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne in the Los Angeles area. After lift off, Falcon 9 rose through the sky and became a bright yellow burst of light punching through the clouds above Lompoc. In the clear sky above Goleta,
the rocket left a long white vapor trail. The rocket reached Max Q, the moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket, at 1:12 (one minute, 12 seconds into the flight) after the launch. The first stage main engine cutoff, known as MECO, came at 2:27 (two minutes, 27 seconds into the flight), followed by the separation of the first and second stages at 2:31. The first stage started its entry burn at 6:46 and completed it at 7:05. The first stage landed right on target, within a circle on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, off the California coast. That was at 8:48 (eight minutes, 48 seconds into the flight). “Awesome view of the landing! Falcon has landed!” Ms. Anderson said during her narration. Falcon 9 continued with its second stage, and the NewsPress Thursday evening received reports from people who saw the rocket in the skies over Anaheim and Arizona. email: dmason@newspress.com SpaceX’s Falcon 9 leaves a long vapor trail in the sky above Goleta after its launch early Thursday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Lompoc.
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
Motorists drive through the intersection of Coast Village and Olive Mill roads Thursday afternoon.
By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
This week’s meeting to assuage Montecito residents’ concerns about the impact of the planned Olive Mill Roundabout “went great,” according to Mayor Randy Rowse. The Santa Barbara mayor said Caltrans spokeswoman Kirsten Ayars did a terrific job addressing issues of construction delays, alternative routes and signage to minimize the impact on drivers. “She has an encyclopedic knowledge of the neighborhoods, streets and alleys,” Mayor Rowse told the News-Press. The Olive Mill Roundabout is intended to improve traffic flow at the intersection at Olive Mill Road, Coast Village Road, North Jameson Lane, the northbound Highway 101 off-ramp at Olive Mill Road and the southbound Highway 101 on-ramp at Olive Mill Road. The Montecito intersection is within Santa Barbara city limits. Construction is scheduled from November 2022 through summer 2023. The public meeting, held Tuesday at the Montecito Inn, drew a standing-room-only crowd of 30 to 40 people seeking answers to their construction-related concerns, Mayor Rowse said. Ms. Ayers sought to answer all the questions, leading the discussion on construction staging and access, and reviewing expectations for delays. “The meeting went great,” Mayor Rowse said. “She had an answer for everything.” Further, he said, “anytime you have the city, county and Caltrans together in the same room and they’re all talking is a miracle unto itself.” Plans are underway to post signs along Cabrillo Boulevard listing alternate routes, set up barricades where necessary, and to have flagmen at the ready to guide motorists through the worst traffic-clogged areas, they said. “The priority is to have as little disruption as possible,” Mayor Rowse said. “Everyone is excited about the improvements, but they’re nervous and concerned about how it will go in
FOLLOW US ON
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
HUD officials visit Santa Barbara Regional IX Administrator John Pu tours housing authority sites By JARED DANIELS NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
COURTESY AYARS & ASSOCIATES
The city of Santa Barbara plans to improve the traffic flow at Coast Village and Olive Mill roads with a roundabout, as shown in this rendering.
construction,” Ms. Ayars, president of Ayars & Associates, added. The problem is compounded by the fact that the intersection of Olive Mill Road and Coast Village Road will remain open to drivers alongside ongoing roundabout construction, she said. “It’s a tight, restrictive space already,” Ms. Ayars said. “It’s a challenging project all the way around.” She said flagmen will be on hand during the busiest times of day, from 7-9 a.m. and 3:30-6 p.m. “to help people move through the intersection.” At most, she said, motorists should experience a five- to 10minute delay. Ms. Ayars said the project will begin in mid-November, with construction starting in mid-November and running through spring. Landscaping is scheduled to continue through summer 2023. Mayor Rowse said the most difficult time
66833 00050
3
email: nhartstein@newspress.com
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
HUD Region IX Administrator Jason Pu speaks during a news conference at the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara office Wednesday. Mr. Pu applauded the work done by the local agency to build affordable housing and developments for homeless populations that “anybody would be proud to live in and anybody would be happy to live next to.”
said of his visit to South County. “I think that the best practices that I’ve taken away from the local Please see HUD on A3
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. A6 Life..................... A7-8 Obituaries........... A10
6
for drivers will be when the Olive Mill Road freeway off-ramps are closed. Ms. Ayars said the northbound off-ramp will be closed from mid-November through summer 2023, and the southbound off-ramp will be closed from mid-November through the end of the year. The aim of the Olive Mill Road roundabout, located at the southern end of the road, is to improve traffic flow through the fiveway intersection, especially since traffic is expected to increase following the widening of Highway 101 in that area, Mayor Rowse said. He urged motorists to try and find ways around construction-related delays whenever possible. “Unless they have business on Coast Village Road, they should find other ways to get to work,” Mayor Rowse said.
The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara hosted federal officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Wednesday for a tour of several of the local agency’s development sites. The tour — which included, among others, the El Carrillo, Johnson Court, Vera Cruz Village and Pescadero Lofts developments — drew strong praise from HUD’s Region IX administrator, John Pu, who applauded the Housing Authority’s work in creating public housing that “anybody would be proud to live in and anybody would be happy to live next to.” “What we’ve seen is local collaboration that is creating projects to help house the homeless, provide wraparound services, and to address housing affordability needs in a way that blends seamlessly into the neighborhoods and communities that in which they’re built,” Mr. Pu
Sudoku................. A9 Sports ................A4-5 Weather.............. A10
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 5-8-31-46-47 Mega: 15
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 8-0-7-0
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 21-30-35-45-66 Mega: 21
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 4-14-21-26-34
Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-04-05 Time: 1:49.00
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 19-36-37-46-56 Meganumber: 24
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 1-9-5 / Midday 6-5-8