Visiting the past through baby rattles
Montecito artist shows her imagination in new show Virtual exhibit is called ‘Naked Porcelain ... Splat on the Wall!’ - A3
Our 165th Year
In the 18th century, they were a sign of prestige - A4
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Goleta mayoral race Playgrounds open with guidelines
ELECTION 2020
By ANNELISE HANSHAW
Candidate Roger Aceves devotes life to public service
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
When playgrounds opened, Erica Urech cautiously brought her two kids equipped with face masks and hand sanitizer. It was relaxed at first, just a couple families around. Then, she saw an overwhelming group of what she thinks was outof-state tourists take over the slides. And no one was wearing masks.
Editor’s note: This is part of a News-Press series on local candidates. The series will continue Tuesday with a look at the congressional race. Profiles of the state Senate candidates will be published on Wednesday.
“Excuse me, did you pack masks to wear?” she asked them. She just received a rude glare. So, she and the other couple of parents packed up and left with their kids. Sunday, she felt irritated again as she saw parents without masks. But, she stayed at her picnic table and periodically spritzed her kids’ hands with sanitizer. Kid’s World at Alameda Park was abuzz Sunday, though the Please see playgrounds on A8 Signs posted at playground entries give guidelines to avoid transmitting COVID-19. Playgrounds opened Oct. 3 in Santa Barbara.
By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Stepping into the home of Roger Aceves is akin to browsing a Goleta and Santa Barbara-based art collection. Every wall is covered in paintings, from detailed watercolors of Goleta Beach and the Santa Barbara Mission to antique prizes from local auctions and Santa Barbara-themed keepsakes. Mr. Aceves and his wife, Debby, have collected these local treasures over their 44 years of marriage and have been using them to decorate their home in Goleta since 1982. While always supporting locally, the couple also makes sure to save their pennies as they do it. “If we can’t afford to buy something for our home, we don’t
MORE INSIDE Candidates for the Lompoc Unified School District board discuss their views. A7.
RAFAEL MALDONADO / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Roger Aceves, the longest-serving Goleta City Council member of 14 years, is running for Goleta mayor to “refocus our council and refocus to make sure that our basic needs are taken care of.”
buy it. My wife and I sit down and talk about it and we have a very good budget,” Mr. Aceves told the News-Press. “Government needs to be run the same way. If we cannot afford to do it, we shouldn’t do it.” This is his main focus in his run for Goleta mayor, looking to replace sitting Mayor Paula Perotte. Mr. Aceves has spent his entire career serving the region, which includes 32 years working in law enforcement, 14 years on Goleta City Council and 42 years for Santa Barbara Elks Lodge which he now chairs on the Board of Trustees and his time as a former governor’s appointee to the Please see ACEVES on A8
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS
SB City Council to discuss promenade improvements By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Mr. Aceves has four main priorities: supporting local businesses, fixing aging infrastructure, improving parks and open spaces and ending the Revenue Neutrality Agreement, which has required Goleta to pay more than $100 million in sales tax revenue to the County of Santa Barbara.
Mayor Paula Perotte runs for second term By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte is running for a second term this year, as she seeks to preserve the city’s small-town feel and support its small businesses. The 40-year resident of Goleta was elected to City Council in 2010 and elected as mayor in 2018. However, local government is only a small fraction of the wide variety of work the mayor has done in her lifetime. Mayor Perotte worked for the Santa Barbara Community Action Commission, where she helped parents of special needs children obtain their necessary services. Prior to that, she worked at her family’s high-tech business, waited tables at Joe’s Cafe, had a home business as a pie maker, drove a bus and spent 15 years working with the Parent Teachers Association at local and state levels. She and her husband, Peter, raised two daughters in Goleta and are “happily spoiling” their two grandsons, Colton and Dakota. As mayor of Goleta, she told the News-Press some of her proudest accomplishments include: moving forward with a new fire station; keeping Goleta’s crime rate among the lowest in the state; removing
Venoco’s Ellwood Oil Processing facility at Haskell’s Beach; increasing public participation and transparency in city government; and funding Goleta Old Town improvements. Mayor Perotte said she will continue to protect businesses and residents from evictions and foreclosures, and support restaurants with a “Goleta on the Go” campaign. “Our Economic Development Committee is forming a plan specifically to help local businesses during and after the pandemic,” Mayor Perotte told the News-Press in an email. “In the meantime, we have enacted safety measures so that local businesses can reopen partially or fully as soon as possible. We will continue to improve our quality of life and public safety so that people are attracted to visit, work and shop here.” She said that economic consequences of the pandemic have affected the timing of some of her plans to improve streets, parking, crosswalks and sidewalks for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. However, she intends to accelerate road repair, bike paths and other infrastructure improvements. In addition, the mayor wants to continue efforts to attract businesses that provide clean, well-paying jobs. “We want to support current local Please see PEROTTE on A8
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Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte is running for a second term. She intends on preserving the city’s small-town feel and supporting its small businesses.
The Santa Barbara City Council will meet Tuesday and discuss installing interim intersection delineators and lighting for the State Street promenade. The closure of the State Street area to promote economic recovery for downtown businesses successfully stimulated vitality to the downtown, according to the staff report. However, the State Street Subcommittee is looking toward the future of the promenade, and looking to replace the construction barricades and borrowed plantings. “Although not permanent, the interim intersection control could look less like a construction detour and more appropriate to the aesthetic and commercial feel of State Street,” the staff report reads. “Additionally, the existing construction barricades are not effective at channelizing bicyclists and pedestrians, which are now sharing the roadway section. Finally, the lighting on the roadway section of Downtown State Street is not designed for people and activities. The interim promenade could use more lighting within the roadway section.” The council will receive a recommendation from the subcommittee to approve the installation of interim intersection delineators and lighting to last until a permanent design is determined. The subcommittee suggested large terracotta pots, iron-looking traffic delineators, a green bike path and string lighting
in addition to the Holiday tree lighting starting Nov. 1. In other business, the council will be asked to approve a Mobilehome Park Overlay Zone and re-establish Mobilehome Park Vacancy Rent Control, in order to protect existing mobile home parks from redevelopment to other uses. Santa Barbara has seven existing mobile home parks with a total of 333 units. “These parks are unique communities that provide residents with affordable housing, including housing for low-income seniors,” the staff report reads. “During the AUD Program assessment … both the Planning Commission and City Council requested additional protections for mobilehome parks following the removal of the parking incentive. The proposed amendments provide those protections.” The Overlay Zone would limit the allowed uses in the seven existing parks to mobile homes, permanent recreational vehicles and accessory uses. The Ordinance Committee also requests re-establishing vacancy controls over rental rates for mobilehome parks, which limits the amount a park owner can increase rents when a mobile home owner sells their home. City staff found that this Overlay Zone is consistent with the city’s General Plan, will not result in environmental impacts, encourages retention of existing structures and the maximum potential of material lifespans, and reduces waste associated with demolition and redevelopment. Please see council on A2
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LOTTERY
Classified............... A6 Life.................... A3-4 Obituaries............. A8
Saturday’s SUPER LOTTO: 3-7-10-22-41 Meganumber: 21
Sunday’s DAILY 4: 7-6-5-4
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 5-11-25-27-64 Meganumber: 13
Sunday’s FANTASY 5: 1-6-12-25-36
Sunday’s DAILY DERBY: 12-10-11 Time: 1:44.67
Saturday’s POWERBALL: 5-18-23-40-50 Meganumber: 18
Soduku................. A5 Weather................ A8
Sunday’s DAILY 3: 1-1-3 / Sunday’s Midday 9-5-4