When the stakes are high, you can count on Stef
Superheroes, take heart
Conference names Westmont guard Stefanie Berberabe its Women’s Basketball Player of the Week - A4
Festival of Hearts to present virtual art auction; proceed benefit Friendship Center - B1
Our 166th Year
75¢
T H U R S DAY, F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 0 2 2
‘Go, Falcon!’
Cities dispute sheriff’s office price increases
SpaceX rocket rises from Vandenberg Space Force Base
Goleta becomes latest city to express concern By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN
By DAVE MASON
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR
On a picture-perfect day, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base and soared toward space. You could hear the sonic booms throughout the TriCounties. And dozens of spectators on Harris Grade Road in Lompoc got as close as they could to see the rocket in action. “Go, Falcon!” an announcer exclaimed on SpaceX.com after the countdown ended and Falcon 9 rose. The spotlight was not only on the launch from Space Launch Complex 4, but on the reusable stage 1 booster, which separated from the second stage and landed without a hitch in Landing Zone 4 near the launching point. Three engine burns slowed the descent, and on the way down, a camera on the booster showed the Channel Islands. It was the first voyage for this particular booster rocket, which is why it was still pristine on the launchpad. As the first stage descended, the second stage continued into orbit. After recent weather delays for its other Falcon 9 rockets at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX voiced enthusiasm for being at Vandenberg. “Conditions are gorgeous for today’s launch,” SpaceX engineer Kate Tice told viewers watching at SpaceX. com, minutes before the launch. She explained that the unmanned, 20-story-high Falcon 9 was carrying a national security payload for the National Reconnaissance Please see FALCON on A2
The Goleta City Council moved Tuesday to dispute price increases in its contract with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office — becoming the latest in a string of cities to do so this year. Like a few other cities, Goleta contracts with the sheriff’s office for law enforcement services. As City Manager Michelle Greene noted during the council meeting, the cities that contract with the county sheriff’s office are all subject to the same form of contract. Ms. Greene said the city is on track to pay $8.6 million for the current fiscal year, a 14.75% increase over what Goleta paid the previous year. And the proposed costs for the next fiscal year are $9.75 million. Calling the increase “enormous and unprecedented,” she said the city engaged in a similar dispute last year, which subsequently lowered the cost owed. “I have the utmost respect for our men and women in law enforcement, and I’ve always been so proud so it has nothing to do with their service to our city at all,” Mayor Paula Perotte said. During its meeting Tuesday evening, the Goleta City Council unanimously directed the city manager to submit a notice of dispute to the Santa Barbara
By KAITLYN SCHALLHORN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
MICHAEL PETERSON/U.S. SPACE FORCE
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying National Reconnaissance Office mission NROL-87 launches from Space Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
FOLLOW US ON
66833 00050
3
email: kschallhorn@newspress. com
Goleta City Council to discuss electoral districts tonight
Dozens of spectators view the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base from Harris Grade Road in Lompoc.
6
County Sheriff’s Office for its law enforcement services. Council members expressed concern with the costs and sheriff’s model for determining recomputation of compensation services. “I find it troublesome that our total hours of service are staying the same, and yet more of the costs are being allocated to us,” Kyle Richards said. Goleta will enter the fourth and final year of its contract with the sheriff’s office in July. Given the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office is involved in active discussions regarding its contracts with cities, a spokesperson declined to comment on the issue. City officials are looking at future contract options that are “more fixed cost-related, more predictable that provide stability,” Ms. Greene said. The city councils of Carpinteria and Solvang have also recently moved to contest the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office receipt for law enforcement services. In Solvang, Mayor Charlie Uhrig recused himself from closed discussions and the vote on the contract as he is still employed with the sheriff’s office.
For its 20th birthday, Goleta is getting electoral districts. The Goleta City Council is considering a bevy of proposed maps divvying up the four council seats in districts as opposed to the current at-large system. The council heard proposals earlier this week and is scheduled to hold another public hearing at 4:30 tonight. The effort to change how council members are elected began in 2017 with the city agreeing to draw a new district map in time for the November 2022 elections. “A lot of things will be the same as they were” after redistricting, Kristy Schmidt, the assistant city manager, told the News-Press Wednesday. “Certainly from a staff standpoint, we’ve always taken direction from a majority of the city council and will continue to do so.” “This is more of a political process than an operational process,” Ms. Schmidt added. “From the public’s point of view, it really is about representation and having perhaps a closer
relationship with their representative on their council.” The council is tasked with considering draft maps submitted as part of the community district drawing process as well as recommendations from the seven-member Public Engagement Commission. The commission has highlighted four maps: two from the demographer and two from public submissions. The PEC recommended: • Plan 202 with two districts crossing over Highway 101 in a minimal way. The total population deviation is only 4%. However, it does split the Lake Los Carneros North neighborhood. • Plan 226, with a total population deviation of 4.6%, only has one district crossing over Highway 101 in a minimal way. In this map, the Storke Ranch neighborhood is split between two districts. • Plan 701, drafted by the National Demographics Corp. is nearly identical to Plan 226 except it does not divide the Storke Ranch neighborhood. But the total population deviation is 9.2%. Please see DISTRICTS on A4
INSIDE
L O T T E RY RESULTS
Classified................. B4 Life...................... B1-2 Obituaries............... A4
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Wednesday’s DAILY 4: 0-1-5-2
Tuesday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 11-24-38-62-66 Meganumber: 1
Wednesday’s FANTASY 5: 6-19-21-27-34
Wednesday’s DAILY DERBY: 09-02-04 Time: 1:49.45
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: N/A Meganumber: N/A
Sudoku................... B3 Sports.................... A4 Weather................. A4
Wednesday’s DAILY 3: 0-3-2 / Wednesday’s Midday 8-5-5