Our 167th Year
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S AT U R DAY, M A RC H 18 , 2 023
Next chapter for Los Alamos As developer plans 59 homes, residents say they want smart, responsible growth
Falcon 9 soars from Vandenberg
By KATHERINE ZEHNDER
SpaceX brings more Starlink satellites into orbit
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Los Alamos, a small town in Santa Barbara County, is considered by many to be a real-life version of the fictional Mayberry of “The Andy Griffith Show” of the 1960s. While many developers look at the wide open spaces as a perfect place to build, many residents are wary of growth for fear of losing the small town charm that many cherish. Several residents expressed that they aren’t against growth per se, but they want to see smart growth. “I, like many in town who have been expressing opinions, don’t mind growth. It’s how it grows,” Los Alamos resident Seth Steiner told the News-Press. “We want to see smart decisions made. It’s unwise decisions that we would like to see not happen over and over. There are so many ways to develop.” Another Los Alamos resident, Christine Burke, told the NewsPress that she would like her town to grow responsibly. “Los Alamos isn’t taken care of well infrastructure-wise,” she said. “The center of town floods, and there are homes with water damage. We don’t even have postal service. Everyone pays for a post office box. “Post office hours have been cut back for the post office, due to lack of staffing and there have been tons of break-ins to the post office as well as mail stolen,” Ms. Burke said. “Schools are at capacity and are unsafe for children. Highway 154 closes during almost every rain.” A proposed 59-unit development of single-family homes for Los Alamos is planned for the base of Purisima Hills, which Ms. Burke said is in a FEMA flood zone. “Before we add new residences, we need to be brought up to speed,” she said as she continued to discuss infrastructure needs. “Sixty new homes means a couple hundred more people. It needs to be done responsibly.”
BY DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 soared Friday into a mostly blue sky from Vandenberg Space Base, bringing 52 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The rocket took off at 12:26 p.m. from Space Launch Complex (SLC-4E) As usual, the rocket’s first stage booster returned to Earth and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You off the California coast. This was the eighth launch and landing for this booster. Friday’s takeoff was SpaceX’s 18th launch of 2023 and 217th mission to date. Everything went smoothly
from the start. “The team is tracking no issues,” a SpaceX announcer said four minutes before the launch during the broadcast on SpaceX.com. As usual, white puffs came around the sides of the rocket. The announcer explained that was the normal result of cold gas coming into contact with the warmer California air. Another announcer calmly expressed the “10.. 9… 8…,” etc. countdown. Then off it went. “Go Falcon, go Starlink,” the announcer said, calm but upbeat. The usual flame under the rocket burned brightly as the Falcon 9 soared. “This is our fifth launch from Please see LAUNCH on A3
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Local residents Brian Adams and Christine Burke stand on Bell Street in Los Alamos on Friday. They’re among residents calling for smart, responsible growth for the town.
She emphasized that what the community primarily wanted is a new Environmental Impact Report. The current EIR is 18 years old. However, Ms. Burke said, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors did not call for a new EIR, which was partially due to procedural errors, The planned single-family home project is called Village Square by Legacy Homes. The floor plans for the homes range in size from 1,850 to 2,559 square feet. “Each home will have at a minimum a two-car garage. Many will have a three car garage along with driveways to accommodate parking,” Frances Romero, the senior planner for TW Land Planning & Development, LLC working with Legacy Estates, told the News-Press. “The public streets in this subdivision will be built to county standards, unlike the majority of
Signs opposing the proposed Village Square development are posted on Den Street in Los Alamos.
public streets in Los Alamos,” Ms. Romero said. “Each street will include two full width travel lanes plus shoulders to accommodate on-street parking that does not
interfere with the travel lanes.” The News-Press addressed the issue of whether all units will be receiving water. “A Service Please see LOS ALAMOS on A3
UCSB loses March Madness first round game to Baylor Gauchos end season with most wins in program history By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS
The UCSB men’s basketball team (27-8, 15-5 Big West) made their second March Madness appearance in three seasons, coming in as the No. 14 seed. They took on the No. 3 Baylor University Bears at Ball Arena in Denver in hopes of continuing with their record-breaking season. The Gauchos put their all on the court against the tough Big 12 team, but were not able to come out with the win, dropping the game 76-54 to the Bears. “I thought in the first half, we really executed our game plan well,” said UCSB Head Coach Joe Pasternack. “We held Baylor to two-of-seven from three. But in the second half, their defense really picked it up as they forced turnovers and then shot 40 percent from three; that really hurt us. But I am really proud of our guys for fighting and battling not just in this game, but all year. We dealt with a lot of adversity and injuries and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys.” The Gauchos finished this season with the most wins in program history, 27, while making their eighth NCAA Tournament. UCSB
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finished the sixth season under Pasternack with an overall record of 27-8.
HOW IT HAPPENED The Gauchos were the first team on the board against this tough Baylor team with a two-point jumper from Ajay Mitchell. As expected, the Bears were not going to allow UCSB to run away with this one. Neither team could keep the lead for more than a few minutes as the Gauchos’ well-rounded offense distributed the ball to all players on the court as the team shot at 61.5 percent. With the lead changing 12 times in this first half, it was the Gauchos who were in the lead after the first 20 minutes, topping the Bears 36-35 in the first half. Once the second half began, Baylor came out even stronger on defense while quickening their pace on offense. Up until the first media timeout of the half, the Gauchos fell behind by four after Baylor made back-to-back shots to take the lead. UCSB did not allow Baylor to run away with the game until late in the second. Multiple Gauchos were in foul trouble as they tried to find an answer for Baylor, who could not seem to miss a shot. By the time the final
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SANTA BARBARA COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT
Firefighters respond Friday to a fire at a semi-truck in Buellton.
Semi-truck’s trailer catches on fire on Highway 101
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS • Miles Norris led the team in his last game for the Blue and Gold. He put up 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He also grabbed four rebounds while securing a teamhigh two steals and the team’s only block of the game. • Mitchell was second on the team in points, registering 13 in his first NCAA Tournament appearance. He also dished the ball out the most on offense, recording a team-high four assists. • Andre Kelly played a big part in the Gauchos’ defense as he grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while also adding on two assists. Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com
BY KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The No. 2 lane of Highway 101 was shut down temporarily early Friday morning after the trailer of a semi-truck in Buellton caught on fire. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department received a call about the fire at 3:57 a.m. Capt. Scott Safechuck, the
department’s public information officer, said the fire was confined to the rear trailer of the OnTrac package delivery truck. He said firefighters kept the fire from reaching packages. There were no injuries, and no one was sent to the hospital. Capt. Safechuck said the cause of the fire is under investigation. email: kzehnder@newspress.com
LOTTERY
i n s i de Classified.............. A8 Life..................... B1-4 Obituaries............. A4
buzzer sounded in Ball Arena, Baylor ran away with their lead to win the game with a score of 74-56.
Sudoku................. B3 Business . ............. A5 Weather................ A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-9-20-28-30 Mega: 6
Friday’s DAILY 4: 4-4-4-7
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 26-28-29-39-49 Mega: 25
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 7-13-22-28-29
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 11-09-10 Time: 1:47.82
Wednesay’s POWERBALL: 16-18-33-37-50 Meganumber: 8
Friday’s DAILY 3: 9-3-9 / Midday 5-0-9