New laws to hit the street
Visions of Africa
Regulations for prostitution, jaywalking to take effect on Jan. 1 - A3
Santa Barbara photographer produces coffee table book revealing continent’s fauna and flora - B1
Our 167th Year
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F R I DAY, DE C E M BE R 16 , 2 0 2 2
Record-breaking tenure Before he leaves office, Roger Aceves looks back on his 16 years with the Goleta City Council By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Roger Aceves, Goleta’s longestserving city council member, will leave office on Dec. 20 after a record-breaking 5,558 days on the job. In all that time, he never missed a council meeting. Mr. Aceves was elected to the Goleta City Council in November 2006 and sworn in December 2006. During his 16.03 years on the council, he served twice as mayor of Goleta. And Mr. Aceves said he is proud of many accomplishments during his long tenure. “My main focus has always been having a strong physical presence,” he said. “One of the reasons there have been so many 4-1 votes is that I don’t vote for something if we can’t afford it. “One of the things we did accomplish was purchasing city hall. This saved us $600,000 annually in lease payments,” he said. “We also acquired Fire Station 10 property. We haven’t built it yet, but we have purchased the property. “We also created the 501 trust fund to handle future pension and retiree health benefits, which the council initially wasn’t in support of. The trust fund covers any future increases of rates of PERS (Public Employees’ Retirement System). So it will not come out of the city’s general fund,” Mr. Aceves said. He also noted he persuaded the city council to approve diversity equity and inclusion policy. “I have been the only Latino elected to council,” Mr. Aceves said. “My last official resolution was a resolution condemning actions of three L.A. City Council members, which were discriminatory against blacks, Latinos and people of color. I asked every single council Please see ACEVES on A4
60-foot boat runs aground on Santa Cruz Island Everyone aboard is rescued without injury By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
A 60-foot fishing boat ran aground early Thursday morning on Santa Cruz Island, but all six crew members aboard were transferred safely to another fishing vessel without injury.
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All six crew members on the Speranza Marie, a 60-foot fishing boat, were safely transferred to another vessel after their boat ran aground early Thursday morning on Santa Cruz Island.
Flacks becomes Goleta’s first homelessness services coordinator By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
“I am really honored that the voters re-elected me four times,” said Goleta City Councilmember Roger Aceves, who will leave office Dec. 20 after 16 years. He’s seen here at his home in Goleta.
Chuck Flacks recently assumed his position as the first homelessness services coordinator for the city of Goleta. “Goleta is my home. I’ve long wanted to work for the city because cities are where policy meets action and residents are involved and engaged,” Mr. Flacks told the News-Press. “Homelessness is solved by oneon-one connection and problem solving,” he said. “This position will allow me to connect with Goleta residents (both housed and without homes) to work on problems related to homelessness and help people take the next right steps.” The News-Press asked Mr. Flacks, who began his work on Dec. 5, how his career has prepared him for this. “I have worked in the nonprofit sector (working closely with the government) since 1992. My focus has been on community development including affordable housing, workforce development, nonprofit capacity building and homelessness. I have worked at senior policy levels and hands-on counseling with homeless people.” “I’ve worked in homelessness
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KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS FILE PHOTO
To learn more about the Homelessness Strategic Plan, visit cityofgoleta. org/projects-programs/ studies-and-other-projects/ homelessness-strategic-plan.
Roger Aceves said he’s proud of accomplishments such as the purchase of the Goleta City Hall, which saved the city leasing fees.
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Chuck Flacks, the city of Goleta’s first homelessness services coordinator, said the Goleta Homelessness Strategic Plan includes creating more affordable and permanent supportive housing.
policy and services in Santa Barbara since 2015. I was the executive director of the Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness from 2015-2017 and director of programs for PATH Santa Barbara from 20172020,” Mr. Flacks said. “I started a homelessness consulting company, Flacks Seed Consulting, in 2020 with both the county of Santa Barbara and city of Goleta as clients. In addition, in 2021-2022, I was a manager of homeless data for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.” Jamie Valdez, Goleta’s Neighborhood Services Please see FLACKS on A4
LOTTERY
in s i de Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A4
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Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary is working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard, state and local agencies in investigating the incident, which resulted in diesel fuel being spilled. Coast Guard Sector Please see BOAT on A4
Sudoku................. B3 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 11-14-17-35-41 Mega: 3
Thursday’s DAILY 4: 7-1-7-6
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 14-22-48-58-68 Mega: 6
Thursday’s FANTASY 5: 17-18-23-33-34
Thursday’s DAILY DERBY: 11-09-10 Time: 1:40.29
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 36-51-59-66-68 Meganumber: 25
Thursday’s DAILY 3: 9-2-5 / Midday 6-9-9