Daily Sound - Two motorcycle pursuits keep CHP busy

Daily Sound - Two motorcycle pursuits keep CHP busy

Daily Sound - Goleta projects a $1.1 million deficit

Daily Sound - Goleta projects a $1.1 million deficit

Goleta Police Department – Marketplace Station Media Coverage

Goleta Gets First Formal Police Station
Santa Barbara Daily Sound

Central Coast Welcomes New Police Station (Video)
KEYT

Fatal House Fire in Goleta

KEYT

An over-night house fire in Goleta claimed the life of a local man, sleeping in his bed. Flames burned the main structure at La Patera Rancho located on the 900 block of North La Patera Lane.

Santa Barbara County Fire Officials say two ranch workers were sleeping when the blaze broke out around 2 a.m. this morning.

The fire crews on the scene could not find a water supply on the property, so they had to draw from a nearby pond to battle the flames.

The blaze also came close to power lines. Firefighters discovered the victim's body after they doused the flames. The case of the fire is under investigation.

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SB Daily Sound

A two-alarm house fire early this morning in the Goleta Valley claimed the life of at least one resident, fire officials said.At 2:48 a.m., firefighters arrived at 900 N. La Patera Lane to find the main ranch house fully engulfed in flames, County Fire Spokesman Michael Burke said. Live power lines on the ground and a lack of water made it difficult for crews to knock down the blaze, officials said.

“That area is kind of rural, and basically we bring our own water with us up there, so we had to wait for our water tenders,” Burke said. “They lost pretty much the whole main house there on the ranch.”

At 1 p.m., Burke said investigators are still on the scene, trying to determine the cause of the blaze. Officials had not determined the age or gender of the victim yet, he said, adding that more information will be made available throughout the day.

Lawsuit filed in drowning death at Cathedral Oaks

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By Eric Lindberg
July 19, 2007

A lawsuit filed Wednesday against the Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club in Goleta involving the drowning death of a 4-year-old boy at the club’s pool alleges negligence, wrongful death and willful misconduct on the part of the club’s owners and lifeguards.Jonathan “Yoni” Gottesman drowned on August 15, 2005 while at the club for the first day of a summer camp. Lawyers for the Gottesman family said lifeguards and counselors did not receive proper training and did not watch the camp participants closely enough.

“Cathedral Oaks falsely advertised itself as a safe and secure environment for kids,” said Barry Cappello, attorney for the Gottesmans. “The Gottesmans relied on these misleading assurances, and now their young boy is dead.”

Attorney John Levitt, representing the athletic club, told the Daily Sound he has not seen a copy of the complaint and is not prepared to comment on the case. Cathedral Oaks management also did not have a copy as of yesterday evening.

“I think it would be inappropriate for me to respond to the lawsuit before I see it,” said Julie Main, owner of West Coast Athletic Clubs, which manages Cathedral Oaks and several other clubs in the Santa Barbara area.

According to the complaint filed Wednesday in Santa Barbara Superior Court, surveillance video shows Gottesman being dunked by a camp counselor before struggling and sinking under the water.

“The facts that we allege are true are extraordinarily strong,” Cappello told the Daily Sound. “The video clearly shows the camp counselor aggressively dunking this 4-year-old kid who just barely passed his swimming test a few hours earlier.”

The lawsuit alleges that Gottesman floated face-down in the pool for eight minutes with a lifeguard no more than six feet away and a camp counselor in the water continuing to dunk other kids. Another camp participant noticed his submerged body and called it to the attention of the counselor.

“It was only then that any action was taken to rescue Yoni,” Cappello said. “Improper resuscitation and CPR techniques and equipment were used after Yoni was pulled from the water and there was a lengthy delay in calling 911.”

Gottesman barely passed a swim test earlier that day and the instructor determined he should remain in the shallow end on the wall, according to court documents. However, the lawsuit contends that information did not reach the camp counselors and Gottesman drowned near the middle of the pool.

Two lifeguards, three camp counselors and a swim instructor were on duty during the incident, Cappello said, adding that one of those lifeguards had been fired from another local country club a week prior to Gottesman’s death for being inattentive.

Cappello said he is ready to move forward with the case and will continue to gather evidence in the coming months.

“We feel we have a very strong case,” Cappello said. “...We intend to aggressively uncover evidence by taking depositions. We intend to bring the case back to the District Attorney to review it with the new evidence.”

The District Attorney’s Office declined to pursue criminal charges following a lengthy investigation into Gottesman’s death.

“We have concluded there is insufficient basis in fact or law for criminal prosecution of any single person or of an entity,” District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr., said in a July 2006 press release.

Investigations into the athletic club by California’s Department of Social Services determined that it did not have a license to provide childcare, according to court documents. The department notified Cathedral Oaks that it was operating a childcare facility without a license in violation of California Health and Safety Code. The club appealed that ruling three times and was denied each time, according to the lawsuit.

Named in the complain are West Coast Athletic Clubs, owners Richard Berti, Richard Ortale, Julie Main and Jim Knell, and camp personnel on duty at the time of the drowning. Cappello said he expects the case to head to trial within a year.

Hulsey's manslaugther trial date set

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By Colby Frazier
July 3, 2007

After nearly a year of court hearings and several delays, a trial date for Heather Lea Hulsey, who is facing numerous felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run, was scheduled yesterday to begin on September 24.

Hulsey has been held in Santa Barbara County Jail since June 4, when her bail was increased from $50,000 to $250,000. The decision to raise Hulsey's bail came after the prosecutor in the case, Senior Deputy District Attorney Arnis Tolks, told the court the defendant was arrested by UC Santa Barbara Police two weeks prior to the hearing for public intoxication.

At that hearing, Tolks told Superior Court Judge Frank Ochoa "[Hulsey's] not someone who should be allowed in the community... She's got a severe, severe alcohol problem. I believe she needs to be locked up. I believe she needs no temptation with alcohol whatsoever."

At yesterday's hearing, Mindy Boulet, Hulsey's public defender, requested a bail hearing -- called an OR/BR (own recognizance, bail reduction hearing) -- be held.

Ochoa denied Boulet's request for the bail hearing, saying the request was filed incorrectly.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Hilary Dozer, who sat in for Tolks, agreed with Ochoa and called such a hearing a "stall" tactic.

"There are rules and I think those rules need to be complied with," Dozer said. "I think frankly it's an effort to just stall the case, not an effort to settle it, it's a sham."

Boulet called Dozer's statement "completely inappropriate."

"I really take offense to what Mr. Dozer is saying," Boulet said.

Dozer said Boulet could file another motion for a bail hearing, but would have to file additional paperwork stating why the court should overturn its prior decision to raise Hulsey's bail.

After Ochoa set the trial date, Dozer told the court that any prior offers by the prosecution for a plea on the behalf of Hulsey would not be off the table -- a technicality he said was previously discussed by Tolks and Boulet.

Boulet denied any such discussion and acted surprised by Dozer's request to expel any former plea agreements.

But Ochoa said he recalled a conversation with Tolks and Boulet to that effect and agreed with Dozer's statement.

"Whatever understandings that might be out there are off the table," Dozer said.

Boulet was able to get Ochoa to schedule a restitution and settlement hearing for August 20.

Hulsey, who entered the courtroom in a dress and high heels, shackled between two other female prisoners in jumpsuits, will remain behind bars unless someone posts her quarter-of-a-million-dollar bill.

The charges against Hulsey stem from the death of her neighbor, Dr. Ronald Shlensky, who was struck by Hulsey's Toyota 4Runner last July 27 while walking his dog in the 700 block of Knapp Drive in Montecito.

Shlensky died the next day in Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital from what an autopsy report called "blunt force type injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle."

Hulsey pled not guilty to the charges and told police she hit Shlensky when she reached down to retrieve her cellular phone from the floor of her SUV.

Neighbors found Shlensky bleeding in the street.

During Hulsey's preliminary hearing in March, two of Hulsey's friends said they were drinking vodka with Hulsey at the Montecito Country Club pool in the hours leading up to the incident.

Evely Laser Shlensky, Shlensky's widow, declined to comment on the possibility of a trial.

Dozer told Ochoa the trial will likely run for three weeks.

Dessert Alert

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By John Dickson

At the end of this week, Zaffiro restaurant, in Camino Real Marketplace, is adding a dessert bar in the area where you can go after dinner or late at night and get some dessert, coffee, espresso, and after dinner drinks etc. Speaking of Zaffiro, they will also be starting a brunch at the end of this month or beginning of June.

John Dickson's column appears every Tuesday in the Daily Sound. E-mail your restaurant news tips to info@santabarbara.com.

Aceves bids goodbye to the force

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

After 32 years as a Santa Barbara City Police officer, Roger Aceves has decided to hang up his badge.

During his tenure on the force, Aceves negotiated the release of a young hostage during a 21-hour incident on Bath Street and nearly lost his thumb in a fight at the Faulding Hotel.

But Aceves, 52, is ready to spend time behind the dais at Goleta City Hall, where he has pulled double duty for the past five months as a Goleta City Councilman — a calling that has become his new full-time job.

Shortly after graduating from Santa Barbara High School, Aceves joined the police force as a dispatcher in 1975.

He was hired as a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Deputy in 1977, but found his permanent calling in Santa Barbara as a police officer in 1981.

"It was in my blood to become a policeman," Aceves told the Daily Sound during a phone interview.

He said his great grandfather was Chief of Police in Gomez Palacios in the state of Durango, Mexico. His genetic disposition for law enforcement combined with an explorer unit class at Santa Barbara High School to spur his interest in the profession.

Aceves served for 10 years as a major crimes detective, but retired as a police officer.

His newest calling came in a tight race for a seat on the Goleta City Council, during which he and two other challenging candidates unseated three incumbents.

When the smoke cleared and the last absentee ballot was counted, Aceves pulled through with a slim 55-vote lead over incumbent Cynthia Brock — a narrow victory that sealed the sweep.

Before his bid for the Goleta City Council, Aceves ran for Santa Barbara County Sheriff in 2001. He took third place, but as a non-sheriff managed to rack up about 10 percent of the vote.

"That was a remarkable showing considering I was an outsider trying to come back," Aceves said. "That told me that I had a calling to set policy and I'm just so excited about being a City Councilman because that's exactly what my next public service role should be."

Rather than putt around the Southwest in a motor home or retire to the Hollywood Park horse racetrack, Aceves' No. 1 priority entering retirement is to establish a vibrant parks and recreation program in Goleta.

"That's something that we've lost sight of as a community," Aceves said.

Aceves also plans to use his expertise as a police officer to make Goleta a safer place.

Aceves' most recent political accomplishment arrived via a tentative five-year contract with the Sheriff's Department, which provides law enforcement for Goleta.

The contract will go before the council and receive public comment in the next couple of weeks.

But taking a hard line on law enforcement isn't the only thing Aceves has brought with him to City Hall.

His 25 years as a negotiator for the Police Department taught him how to listen and "find a resolution to whatever is being debated."

His skills as a negotiator were put to test in 1994 when a man took his own son as a hostage after a domestic dispute with the boy's mother.

The man shot a rifle at Aceves, but narrowly missed by about 12 inches. Aceves said the man attempted to shoot the SWAT team eight additional times during the course of the 21-hour debacle that ended with Aceves successfully taking the man down.

For his efforts, Aceves earned the H. Thomas Guerry Award, which is given each year to an officer who demonstrates valor, skill in conflict resolution and oustanding overall performance.

Aceves said one of his favorite posts at the Police Deparment was as a detective, where he investigated crimes and interviewed suspects.

"I really enjoyed my time as investigator where I was able to obtain confessions," Aceves said. "I would not give up. I would continue to fight until I got the confession."

One confession Aceves said he was particularly proud of was when a man charged with murdering his wife near Earl Warren Showgrounds repeatedly called Aceves collect from jail. Aceves said he managed to get the man to admit the murder was premeditated, which increased the charge to first degree murder.

"He just kept calling and calling collect and ultimately confessed to the premeditation of the murder of his wife," Aceves said.

Though Aceves noted similarities between fighting crime and being a city councilman, he hopes the toll that the latter takes on his body won't be quite as extreme.

As a police officer, Aceves said he's undergone six work-related surgeries.

"It's been a very physically-demanding job," Aceves said. "I'm really proud that I was able to help my community."

Raytheon Closes Down Goleta Plant; Lays Off 27

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

Raytheon, one of Santa Barbara County’s largest employers, gave notice to Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone that it plans to lay off 27 of its employees who work in the Santa Barbara Remote Sensing unit.

Ron Colman, a spokesman for Raytheon said the cuts are unfortunate but have been in the works since its Oct. 5, 2006 announcement that it planned to consolidate the sensing unit with its Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems located in El Segundo.

“It just made sense to locate all of our space business work in one place,” Colman said. “It’s an unfortunate decision for the people in Goleta and Santa Barbara areas but business wise it made sense to locate everybody under one roof.”

The defense and aerospace systems provider, which has been a rock for the local economy for several decades, will continue to operate its Electronic Warfare site as well as its Vision Systems site in Goleta.

Colman said Raytheon employs about 1,800 people locally and the three sectors of its local business nets $500 million annually.

These are the kind of numbers that Firestone laments losing, even if it is only a portion of the business.

“Raytheon is one of the most important employers in the county,” Firestone said. “I am sorry to see that they are closing a division.”

Colman said the company, which according to its website wracked in $20.3 billion last year and employed 73,000 people throughout the world, has been whittling down the number of employees at the sensing unit for nearly a year.

He said the number of employees working at the facility right now is 125 and that the company anticipates being completely consolidated with the operation in El Segundo by early next year.Raytheon is required by the “Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act” to notify the county before it intends to make any sweeping lay offs.

According to a statement issued last year when the company announced its plans to consolidate, all of the affected employees “will be given the opportunity to apply for open positions at other Raytheon facilities.”

But for the most recent string of layoffs, little hope appears to exist.

“None of the affected employees are represented by a union and none have bumping rights,” said Andrea Gibbore, director of human resources in the letter sent to Firestone. “Certain employees may be offered the opportunity to transfer to another area. However, at present, the company does not know which employees may be offered this option.”

In the letter Gibbore said the second wave of lay offs is expected to occur on June 30.

The 27 people losing their jobs fill 20 different job titles. Topping the list position-by-position are three production specialist seniors, three senior technical support engineers, two senior systems engineers II, two principal software engineers and two principal mechanical engineers.

Goleta's Plan Evolves

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
By Colby Frazier
April 28, 2007

In a public hearing last night, the Goleta City Council took the second step to begin making changes to the city's General Plan.

The council was advised by Steve Chase, planning and environmental services director, to begin whittling down nearly 200 proposed amendments to the General Plan that were submitted by community members since the amendment process was officially initiated by the council on March 5.

At the forefront of the changes is the General Plan's 55 percent inclusionary housing rate, which would require all new construction to classify this percentage as affordable.

Other possible changes vary in diversity from tinkering with floor area ratios and setback for new and remodeled structures and changing the current language in the General Plan that uses the word shall, to should.

This section of the General Plan is known as "the housing element," and was turned down by the California Department of Housing and Community Development last month.

While many of the public comments were in favor of swift amendments to the General Plan, several others were opposed to such changes and a proposed "Fast Track" that some amendments might take if eventually approved.

Chase said council needs to specify what amendments would require a "tweak" and be put on a "Fast Track," and others that would require a full modification.

"You are proposing an extremely costly process that is not in the best interest of this city," said Barbara Massey during public comment. It's "greed in it's finest form."

Chase said amendments should be dealt with by a two-pronged process. The first prong would include changes that could take as long as 18 months and cost as much as $200,000, while the second prong would take about six months and cost the city $50,000.

Kristen Amyx, president and CEO of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce told the council she supported the majority of the changes and urged them to continue moving forward.

"The General Plan should in fact be more general," Amyx said.

Such changes were a large part of the three newest council members' campaigns and Eric Onnen wasn't shy about making his intentions clear.

"We made a commitment when we took office," said Onnen. That the changes would be made "as expeditiously as we could and I think we have to fulfill that commitment."

The council will continue the discussion of amendments in public workshops as well as future council meetings.

State Rejects Goleta's Affordable Housing Plan

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Tuesday, March 22, 2007
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

The controversial housing element in the Goleta General Plan that calls for 55 percent of all new development to be classified affordable, was recently turned down by the California Department of Housing and Community Development.

This marks the third time the state has sent the city's inclusionary housing rate proposal back to the drawing board.

"...The Department finds the element continues to require significant revisions to comply with State housing element law," said Cathy E. Creswell, deputy director for the Department of Housing in a letter to council.

The decision by the department of housing comes on the heels of a March 5 city council meeting, during which the council officially voted to open the General Plan to possible amendments.

Some at that meeting criticized the council for diving into General Plan changes before the state's decision on the housing element was known.

Goleta City Manager Dan Singer said that argument was killed on Tuesday when the department of housing issued their findings.

"It's not a surprise," said Councilman Roger Aceves. "I totally expected it to come back."

APPROVAL
The 55 percent inclusionary housing rate was approved by the city council last year with a 4-1 vote. Current city mayor Jean Blois made the lone dissenting vote.

Of those who voted in favor of the rate, only councilwoman Jonny Wallis remains on the council.

The other three members; Jack Hawxhurst, Cynthia Brock and Margaret Connell, lost their spots on the council during the November General Election to Aceves, Michael Bennett and Eric Onnen -- all of whom repeatedly attacked the 55 percent inclusionary rate during their campaigns.

"We're cleaning up the General Plan," Bennett said. "The General Plan was a good document, it just needed to have the necessary changes to provide the things the General Plan was drafted to do."

For Singer, the department of housing's decision to send the housing element back to the city is not so much of a rejection, but more of a continuation of the process.

"This is a constructive letter," Singer said. "It gives us some very good suggestions that I believe the Council is willing to consider as we move forward with a General Plan Amendment."

The letter drafted by the state that outlines its reasons for turning down the city's housing element says: "The proposed 55 percent inclusionary housing policy represents one of the highest percentage inclusionary requirements in the State, and will significantly impact the cost and supply of housing in Goleta."

The 55 percent inclusionary housing rate isn't the only part of the housing element the department took exception to.

The letter also says the housing element submitted does not adequately demonstrate the projected residential densities and buildout capacities on the available sites identified in the plan.

Other issues identified in the letter state a lack of public participation while drafting the plan, as well as a lack of consistency throughout the plan.

Changes will also likely include floor area ratios that are specified in the General Plan and setbacks for new and remodeled structures.

After the General Plan was approved on Oct. 2 of last year, eight lawsuits were filed -- many as a result of the inclusionary housing rate.

Singer said the outcome of the lawsuits won't be known until the council makes official changes to the General Plan.

He did say however that a tentative agreement was reached with the plaintiffs of the lawsuits to not move forward with the lawsuits, but it expired last week. Singer said the city hopes to reach another similar agreement with the plaintiffs that will keep the various parties out of court until the current council's actions are made official.

'PERENNIAL QUESTION'
Now it's no longer a matter of if the General Plan will be amended, it's a matter of when it will be completed.

"That's kind of the perennial question," Singer said. "The more changes that get thrown out on the table so to speak the more complicated and cumbersome the process is going to get."

Singer said the council will likely split their changes into two different amendments in order to get some of the less complicated changes enacted more quickly.

On one side will be less changes like the inclusionary housing rate, which Singer said won't require any additional environmental review and will move through the process more quickly. On the other will be a host of changes that could take as long as a year to complete.

Singer said most inclusionary housing rates in the state of California fall anywhere between 15 to 30 percent, and Goleta will likely end up somewhere in between as well.

The council is scheduled to discuss General Plan amendments again at its April 16 meeting.

"I'm looking forward to holding additional public hearings to talk about the housing element and hopefully help us create one that the state will approve," Aceves said. "It's exciting. We'll be able to do it, and do it right."

Posted with permission from the Santa Barbara Daily Sound.

Update 3/22 2:05PM:
Story is now posted at the Santa Barbara Daily Sound Blog.

Goleta Updates Planning

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

The Goleta City Council took several steps last night to change the way big and small projects are dealt with by the city's Design Review Board.

The council voted on 24 staff recommendations and heard spirited public comment from citizens concerned about the openness and fairness of the effort to "demystify," as the council members referred to it, the planning process.

The recommendations stem from three public study sessions held on Dec. 18, Jan. 16, and Feb. 20, which "brought focus upon difficulties encountered in the permitting of small residential projects, both from a technical and customer service perspective," according to an agenda letter prepared by Steve Chase, planning and environmental services director for the city.

The first item on the agenda to change was the Design Review Board's structure from a nine person board consisting of five city residents, two licensed architects and two licensed landscape professionals, to a seven member board made up of four community members and three professionals.

It passed 4-1. Councilman Eric Onnen was the lone dissenting vote. Onnen agreed with staff recommendation that said the board should consist of five members. The five member board would have consisted entirely of professional with one at-large member of the public.

Other issues such as the board's authority as a decision-making body and the length of terms were not tampered with.

Of much concern to some of the council members were complains from residents who had spent thousands of dollars moving through the planning process, only to be shut down near the end.

The council voted to amend the board's three-step process for approval that include conceptual, preliminary and final review of plans.

This also impacted the point during the process at which an appeal can be filed on a particular project.

Staff recommended the council vote to require appeals be filed no later than the second step in the approval process.

"The point of appeal occurs late in the process, sometimes long after design considerations are established and after costly working drawings are drafted," Chase said.

While the majority of the council felt this would help clear up any confusion and eliminate costly expenditures that are eventually thrown out, Councilwoman Jonny Wallis said she thought moving the appeal back will encourage residents to file appeals before they hear all of the information.

"If you cut off an appeal you've done a disservice," Wallis said. "To file an appeal you have to know everything."

Another hot topic for the council was staff recommendation from the city's capital improvement projects to be exempt from board review.

The argument for exempting the city according to the staff report, was that capital projects already undergo substantial review by the city council and redevelopment agency and so shouldn't be required to go before the board.

Also talked about was that capital projects are less visible than private projects.

Wallis said capital projects are very much in view.

"City Hall could be very visible," Wallis said.

"I personally think the city is being hypocritical when we can do this but the citizens cannot do this," said Mayor Jean Blois.

Councilman Roger Aceves agreed with Blois and the council agreed to defer the item until a later meeting.

Also discussed were how to deal with floor area ratios, corner setbacks, land use permits, discretionary projects and how to deal with remodels versus new homes and buildings.

The meeting highlighted campaign promises by Onnen, Aceves and Michael Bennett -- the three newest councilmembers -- who repeatedly said they hoped for quick change to the planning process as well as the city's General Plan.

Harry Rouse said he's fine with improving the planning process, but doesn't want public input and other things to fall by the wayside in the process.

"Yes, streamline the process if necessary," Rouse said. "But stay the course, protect the good land."

Posted with permission from the Santa Barbara Daily Sound.

Update 3/20 6:00pm: This story is now posted at the Santa Barbara Daily Sound Blog.

City Adjusts Traffic Light Timing Through Old Town

Santa Barbara Daily Sound
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
By Colby Frazier
Daily Sound Staff Writer

An effort to improve traffic flow through Old Town Goleta was completed yesterday, after city engineers changed the timing of five traffic signals between Fairview Avenue and State Highway 217 along the Hollister Avenue corridor.

The project began about six months ago when the city installed a new traffic signal at Kinman Avenue and Hollister.

While installing the new signal, officials decided to put the remaining five signals on a more updated timing schedule that included motion sensors, which will trigger light changes.

The "system in place in the past had gone into disrepair prior to the city's incorporation," said Marti Schultz, the city's principal civil engineer. "With that installation [at Kinman Avenue] we reconnected the entire system and put it back in working order."

Shultz said the previous lights were on a set timing system, which wouldn't change regardless of the flow of traffic on crossing streets.

Kirsten Zimmer Deshler, a spokeswoman for the city said the old setup was frustrating to drivers because it forced traffic to stop every hundred feet.

Schultz said the only hiccup residents may notice are perceived delays on side streets that cross Hollister Avenue.

"They will experience possibly a little bit longer wait time," Schultz said of traffic on cross streets. "If they do, then they should be patient, it's not broken but there has been a change."

"Vehicles will now be able to travel on Hollister Avenue through Old Town with less stopping and starting which results in less wear and tear on vehicles and is good for the environment," said Steve Wagner, community services director for the city.

Posted with permission from the Santa Barbara Daily Sound.