the beat of their program, says gop politically...
TRANSCRIPT
By KELLY HOOVERNEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
The California Coastal Com-mission has unanimouslyapproved installing an 8.5-mile oilpipeline that will extend from theEllwood Onshore Facility in Goletato west of Las Flores Canyon. Finalapproval means the end of marinebarging in the state of California,possibly as soon as this spring.
The state-of-the-art pipeline hadalready been approved by theSanta Barbara County PlanningCommission and the Goleta Plan-ning Commission last month, but itneeded the green light from theCalifornia Coastal Commission tobecome reality. On Friday, theCoastal Commissioners gave theproject the final stamp of approval.
Former Coastal CommissionerDr. Dan Secord said he agrees thepipeline is a much better solution.“Marine barging has dangerousconnotations. Pipelines are safer. Isupport this project.”
Environmental groups arepleased, as are state and localagencies that have been pushingfor an oil pipeline since 1997. “Ourcommunity has worked so long andso hard to protect our coast fromthe risks and harms of offshore oiland gas development. By stoppingbarging from the Ellwood project,we will protect the majority of theCalifornia Coast, from San Fran-cisco to Long Beach,” said LindaKrop, Environmental DefenseCenter Chief Counsel.
Ms. Krop said the move frommarine barging to an oil pipelinehas been a long time coming. “Themain benefit is that we have elim-inated the risk of an oil spill off ourcoast. This was a pretty large bargethat traveled along most of theCalifornia coast. So the risk of aspillage will be greatly reduced.Plus locally, we won’t have to seethe barge come in and smell theodors associated with the bargewhich means a reduction of airpollution as well.”
Venoco, the company that oper-ated the marine barge and will nowoperate the oil pipeline, is alsopleased. Steve Greig, Venoco Gov-ernment Relations Manager, saidthe company, like environmental-ists, wanted to end marine barging.“We have been waiting for this dayfor quite some time. This was theend of a two-year process and weare happy that it marks the abilityto end barging on the coast,” hesaid.
Venoco is the last oil producer inthe state to transport its oil torefineries by marine barge ratherthan onshore pipeline.
The State Lands Commissionhad given Venoco until 2013 todesign a new method of transpor-tation. The company has beenworking to get its proposed pipe-line project approved. Concernsregarding the hazards and envi-ronmental impact — should thepipeline leak — had to beaddressed. That slowed theproject’s approval. While there isalways the possibility of a leak evenwith an oil pipeline, in the end, theCommission agreed the pros faroutweigh the cons.
The benefits include adecreased chance of an oil spill,early detection if there is one and
CoastalCommission
approvesVenocopipeline
Approval willeventually end
barging operation
Please see VENOCO on A6
‘Queenof Fiesta’
HattieFeazelle
dies at 100
MIKE ELIASON / NEWS-PRESS FILE
Hattie Feazelle, at 100 yearsyoung, still showed herenthusiasm for the Fiestathrong as she served as GrandMarshal of the 2011 OldSpanish Days Fiesta parade.
By ERIN GRAFFYNEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
One of the most beloved icons ofFiesta passed away at 100 years oldSunday. Hattie Feazelle, an exu-berant figure at every Fiesta, diedpeacefully early Sunday morningsurrounded by her family.
She was born at Cottage Hospitalon March 27, 1911, and grew up onMicheltorena Street, attendinglocal schools and then some collegeclasses. But during the Depression,Hattie found she could make goodmoney as a waitress. Her spunkypersonality and sense of humorwere a hit with the customers sheserved at landmarks such as GreenGables, The Townhouse and TheOld Yellow House in Summerland.
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The beat of theirown drummer
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Peter Lancedefense
urges D.A. to‘dance or getoff the stage’
By MORGAN HOOVERand ANGEL PACHECONEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
The Peter Lance defense teamurged the court Monday morning toproceed with Mr. Lance’s pre-trialDUI hearing set for Sept. 20, with-out delay. Mr. Lance was arrestedon a DUI charge in the earlymorning hours of New Year’s Day2011.
In a sworn declaration, thedefense’s handwriting expertJames Blanco said yesterday thatSean Espley, the new handwritinganalyst from the CaliforniaDepartment of Justice being usedby the District Attorney, shouldtake no more than five hours toconfirm Mr. Blanco’s findings.
In four separate declarationssworn under penalty of perjury,Mr. Blanco asserted that OfficerKasi Beutel, who arrested Mr.Lance, witnessed a forged Trom-betta blood-test waiver, and wentinto the field prior to the arrest witha pre-checked form that concludedbefore she met Mr. Lance that hisbalance was “unsteady” and that
Please see LANCE on A6
REMEMBERING 9/11
MICHAEL MORIATIS / NEWS-PRESS
TheVandenberg
HonorGuard poststhe colors at
the 9/11memorial
held at theVandenberg
Chapel onMonday.
Vandenberg holdsmemorial service
VAFB PLEDGE:NEVER FORGET
Please see VAFB on A6
By NORA K. WALLACENEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
As the world continues to markthe solemn 10-year anniversary ofthe 9/11 terrorist attacks, men andwomen at Vandenberg Air ForceBase on Monday took time fromtheir morning schedules to honorvictims, thank first responders andpledge never to forget.
The 9/11 memorial, to rememberthose who died in the World TradeCenter towers, the Pentagon and atShanksville, Pa., was held a dayafter the actual anniversary, so asnot to conflict with other ceremo-nies held Sunday.
Col. Richard Boltz, commanderof the 30th Space Wing, said manyof the emotions he felt in the daysleading up to the anniversary weresimilar to those he experienced in2001. He thought of the hundreds offirst responders who rushed to thescene, he said, and he marked thebravery of the passengers ofFlight 93, who stopped a fourthairplane from its suspected path toWashington, D.C., and of thecountless people who helped their
COURTESY OF JACQUELINE PILAR
To commemorate the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the UCSB College Republicans organizedthe 9/11: Never Forget project; a memorial comprising 2,977 flags, each one representing a life lost thatday ten years ago.
UCSB club honors 9/11 victims at West BeachBy NIKKI GREY
NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
This past weekend, the UCSB Col-lege Republicans lead the 9/11: NeverForget Project memorial. Partneringwith Young America’s Foundation,the college students organized theevent, which consisted of 2,977American flags, each representingone person murdered ten years ago.
Many people attended the memo-rial, Andrew Coffin, vice president ofYoung America’s Foundation said,including Santa Barbara locals, tour-ists from all over the country and someof the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines whoparticipated in the Santa BarbaraNavy League’s “Welcome Home”weekend.
Located at West Beach on 9/11, theSanta Barbara Tea Party-sponsoreddisplay featured member ThomasStrelich playing his bagpipe from8:46 a.m. to 9:02 a.m. to commemoratethe lives lost at the World Trade Cen-ter. At 6 p.m., Howard Hudson played“Taps” on a bugle, which was followedby the gathering and laying to rest ofthe flags.
Mr. Coffin called the event a “uni-formly positive experience.” “When (gazing) at those flags, youremember that each one represents a
Please see UCSB on A10
REPRESENTINGTHE FALLEN
VICTIMS HONORED WITHSYMBOL OF NATION THAT
MOURNS THEM
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an elaborate plan to contain potentialspillage. The state-of-the-art pipelinehas a leak detection system that willprotect it from corrosion, will sys-tematically clean itself and check fordamage.
If a leak is detected, the system willautomatically be shut down in Hous-ton at Venoco’s headquarters and canonly be turned back on locally,
following approval by the city andcounty.
During public hearings, safety andhealth concerns were voiced by someresidents living near the proposedpipeline. Venoco representatives saidthey were for the most part addressed.“The opposition was more aboutquestions rather than concerns,” saidMr. Greig.
Currently, oil produced from plat-form Holly off of Goleta is processed atEllwood Onshore Facility, thentransported in a three-mile pipeline
known as line 96 to the EllwoodMarine Terminal. Oil is then loadedonto a marine barge and transportedto refineries in Los Angeles and SanFrancisco.
For the next three weeks, Venocoofficials will be preparing plans for thepermits needed in order to start theproject. Once they are approved,construction is scheduled to start onOct. 3. The pipeline should be up andrunning by next spring.
e-mail: [email protected]
Construction scheduled to start on Oct. 3■ VENOCOContinued from Page A1
Capps, Congress remember9/11 from Capitol steps
By MICHAL ELSETHNEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara,joined Congressional leaders andlawmakers on the east steps of theUnited States Capitol Building inWashington, D.C., on Mondayevening in a 9/11 remembrance cer-emony paying tribute to the lives lostten years ago.
Ten years ago, Mrs. Capps told theNews-Press after Monday’s ceremo-ny, in the midst of what was “a day ofshock,” members of Congress spon-taneously gathered on the CapitolSteps in a moment of unity andcourage to sing God Bless Americatogether.
“At day’s end, I stood on the Capitolsteps with hundreds of my colleaguesin a show of national unity andresolve. We sang “God Bless Ameri-ca,” she said describing that day.
Ten years later, Monday’s cere-mony brought the images back freshto Mrs. Capps’ mind, she said. Sheremembered the outrage anddespair she felt about the attacks. “Itwas so fresh, the memory of the hor-ror,” she said.
But Monday’s ceremony was also aremembrance of the what she
described as a show of unity andresolve a decade ago. Resolve andrenewal were the common themes atthe brief remembrance ceremony,held by members of Congresstogether a day after many, like Mrs.Capps, observed the anniversary intheir home districts.
While September 11 will always bea day of remembrance, September 12is a day of renewal, House SpeakerJohn Boehner, R-OH, told the gath-ering. “Where better to stir our heartsthan the Capitol, which likely savedby brave patriots who, on instinct,banded together to thwart the ene-my,” he said.
“Memories as powerful as thesecome easily... capturing their mean-ing is tougher,” he said. “So it is up towe who live on — particularly we whoserve — to ‘never forget,’ to neveryield, but to hold fast until we havepreserved the blessings of freedomfor those who come after us.”
Since 9/11, Americans have donemore than endure, said U.S. SenateMinority Leader Mitch McConnell,R-KY. Igniting a response that wasunexpectedly uplifting, the attacksled to a new generation of heroes, andcourage has become a part of thenation’s story. “They have proven
beyond all doubt that al-Qaida waswrong about America,” he said. “Youcan destroy our symbols, but not ourspirit.”
The Capitol itself was the originaltarget of the plane that came down inShanksville, Pa., though those work-ing inside the building didn’t know itat the time. The courage and sacrificeof the passengers on United AirlinesFlight 93 saved lives at the Capitol,where many of those gathered on thesteps Monday had just started theday’s work at the time, unaware of thedanger.
Now, Mrs. Capps said part of herremembrance of 9/11 is an ongoingcommitment to those making ongo-ing sacrifices, such as local firstresponders, whose budgets haveendured significant cuts. One of herpriorities now, she said, is resistingcuts to law enforcement and firstresponders at all levels.
“The vigilance is ongoing,” shesaid.
As they did during their brief pauseon September 11, 2001, members ofCongress closed Monday’s ceremonyby singing “God Bless America.”
e-mail: [email protected]
he had waived his right to a blood test,the most accurate measure of hisBlood Alcohol Content (BAC).
Officer Beutel charged Mr. Lancewith driving with a BAC of .09, or onehundredth of a percent above the .08legal limit. Mr. Lance contends thatOfficer Beutel manipulated theAlcotest 7410 Plus Breathalyzer to geta higher reading, and that she signedoff on a blood-test waiver containingan alleged signature of Mr. Lance thatwas actually forged.
The original Trombetta blood-testwaiver from the Lance arrest ninemonths ago was destroyed by thePolice Department — a controversialmove the defense intends to attack asone of several acts of governmentmisconduct in a motion to dismiss thecase first filed Aug. 5, and originallyscheduled to be heard on Aug. 24, thencontinued to Sept. 8 and further con-tinued to Sept. 20 after the D.A.changed its original DOJ handwritinganalyst, Joseph Merydith, for Mr.Espley, and asked for additional timefor Mr. Espley to evaluate Mr. Blanco’sfindings.
Mr. Merydith had been working onthe case since July, but after agreeingwith Mr. Blanco’s declaration filedAug. 24 that Officer Beutel had pre-checked forms, Deputy D.A. SanfordHorowitz asserted that Mr. Merydithhad a “conflict of interest,” because hehad once been related to Mr. Blanco bymarriage.
As a result, Mr. Espley was asked totake over for the People.
“What is also so troubling,” statedDarryl Genis, who represents Mr.Lance, “is that the Deputy D.A. hasgone out of his way to delay a hearingon our motion to dismiss, by changinghandwriting experts mid-case. This isall just subterfuge to delay our day incourt.”
In that motion Mr. Lance is allegingthat Officer Beutel lied in her arrestreport when she accused him ofmaking “unsafe turning movements,”when the two officers who initiallystopped him, Bruno Peterson andHeather Clark, have sworn under oathat DMV hearings that Officer Beutelnever witnessed their stop of Mr.Lance’s vehicle.
In a supplemental declaration filedyesterday, Mr. Genis also alleges thatthe Santa Barbara Police Departmentand the District Attorney’s office haveengaged in “outrageous governmentalconduct” in a concerted effort to
protect Officer Beutel; includingallowing Mr. Lance’s original Trom-betta waiver to be shredded and actingto keep Officer Beutel from having totestify under oath.
As the declaration notes, last weekOfficer Beutel was scheduled to testifyat two DMV hearings, one in anotherDUI case and in Mr. Lance’s case. Buton Aug. 27, Lt. Paul McCaffrey of thePolice Department filed a “Declara-tion of Unavailability” for OfficerBeutel claiming that she would beforced to miss both hearing because ofan “I.O.D.” or injury on duty.
Nevertheless, as Mr. Genis dis-closed in the supplemental declara-tion, “as late as the afternoon of Sep-tember 8, the very date of our DMVhearing in which Officer Beutel hadbeen subpoenaed to appear in Ven-tura, the District Attorney discoveredto the defense a recorded interviewbetween their in-house investigatorNorma Hansen, D.D.A. Horowitz andOfficer Kasi Beutel which had beenrecorded the very day before, Sep-tember 7, 2011, wherein Officer Beutelwas clearly not too sick or injured toanswer questions that were conve-niently helpful in assisting the DistrictAttorney’s defense of the stunningallegations that she engaged inwrongful conduct and behavior bypre-printing the forms.”
On the issue of whether the prose-cution needs more time for their newhandwriting analyst Mr. Espley toevaluate Mr. Blanco’s work, that dec-laration from Mr. Blanco filed yes-terday explained that he used to workin the same DOJ lab as Mr. Espley,which makes him familiar with labprotocols.
“Given the simplicity of such a taskand given typical laboratory protocols... these analyses could be accom-plished in absolutely no more than oneday,” he declared under penalty ofperjury.
At yesterday’s hearing, when Mr.Horowitz said he was not sure if Mr.Espley could be ready by Sept. 20, Mr.Genis asked Judge Hill to order him tobe ready. Judge Hill refused therequest.
Mr. Horowitz told the court that Mr.Espley’s schedule would not allowhim to have an analysis ready for thecourt before the middle of October andhe insisted that as recently as lastFriday, Mr. Espley had still notreceived the handwriting documentsfrom Mr. Blanco he needed to confirmor deny Mr. Blanco’s findings.
“They’re still not there,” Mr.Horowitz told the court.
Mr. Genis said Mr. Blanco sent hima FedEx confirmation that the docu-ments had, in fact, been deliveredFriday to Mr. Espley.
He slid his iPad across the tabletoward the prosecutor, presumablywith the confirmation visible on thescreen.
Mr. Horowitz retorted that the dec-laration from Mr. Blanco, which wasprovided Monday morning to the courtby Mr. Genis, should have beenreceived earlier.
In response, Mr. Genis said, “I can’tsimply point my finger at Mr. Blancoand say, ‘Let there be a declaration,’and have it be so.”
Judge Brian Hill pointed out thatMr. Horowitz cannot point his finger atMr. Espley and produce results either.
“I’m as anxious as you are,” saidJudge Hill, “as Mr. Lance is, to movethe ball forward.”
Mr. Genis countered “Justicedelayed is justice denied.”
“Both sides have caused somedelays,” said Judge Hill. “These thingstake some time.”
Mr. Genis pointed out that Mr.Espley will only have to look at one-tenth of the documents Mr. Blancoreviewed.
“Tell him it’s time to dance or get offthe stage,” said Mr. Genis.
Judge Hill told the defense attorneythat his language was inappropriate.
“Well I chose that metaphor overanother one,” replied Mr. Genis.
Judge Hill asked Mr. Horowitzwhether it would be “practical” to getanother expert from the Departmentof Justice to review the documents bythe end of the week, as Mr. Genis evi-dently had proof they arrived Friday.
Mr. Horowitz responded that itwould not be practical because theanalysis would take more time.
Judge Hill said he would schedule ahearing for one of the last three days ofSeptember and a status update forSept. 20.
“He simply cannot conduct hisanalysis by the 28th, the 29th or the30th,” said Mr. Horowitz of Mr. Espley.
In response to Mr. Horowitz’sinsistence that Mr. Espley cannotproduce his analysis until the middleof October, Mr. Genis threatened,“What if we pull the time waiver?”
Pulling the time waiver would meana trial would have to begin in 30 days.
“You don’t have to play that game,”said Judge Hill.
A status update for the hearing willbe held at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 20.
email: [email protected]
Hearing to be set for end of September ■ LANCEContinued from Page A1
SANTA BARBARA NEWS-PRESS NEWS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2011 A6
coworkers escape the burning towers.“I think it’s both remarkable and
ironic that an attack planned andexecuted by humanity’s worst set thestage for the actions of humanity’sbest,” Col. Boltz remarked.
The short ceremony Mondayincluded a number of readings andprayers paying homage to those lost atthe towers and Pentagon, as well as forthe victims on the planes and firstresponders. Representatives fromvarious faiths, including Protestant,Catholic, Muslim, Jewish and Baha’i,were involved.
Capt. Peter Lucero, the base Muslimlay leader, offered traditional prayersin Arabic, wishing peace upon thosewho died and to “those still enduringfrom that tragedy 10 years and 1 dayago.”
“We pray to prevent the furtherkilling of any young child, an old man,or a woman — the innocents ofsenseless violence,” Capt. Lucerosaid. “We are clearly charged by thecreator to do thus.”
Protestant Chaplain Daniel Walkeroffered a benediction, praying, “Helpus to unite in the spirit of caring for ourfellow man, cultivate a sensitivity forthe needs of others and possess thepersonal willingness to act.”
Some of the most moving moments,however, came during the recitationof a personal 9/11 experience from oneof Vandenberg’s own. Staff Sgt. CasieHoffman, who works in intelligence614th Air and Space Operations Cen-ter, spent much of her formative yearsnear or around the World TradeCenter towers. Her mother, aunt andassorted cousins worked in the towers,and she attended day care in one of the
iconic buildings.The Sept. 11 attacks, the longtime
Brooklyn resident told the audience ofabout 75, were a heavy motivator inher enlistment, but are truly more of areason as to why she stays in theservice.
On that fateful day, she was in
chemistry class in high school.“At the young age of 15 you don’t
know much about terrorism, politicsor war,” she recounted. “Your priori-ties are getting your first car, yourcurrent relationship and survivinghigh school. When I heard the wordterrorist, I knew my father was going to
deploy. It was just a matter of time.”Her father, Shane Laden, was a
narcotics detective with the New YorkPolice Department, but also an Armyreservist.
That morning, she went to theschool office to call her father, andended up fainting with worry.
“When I came to, there he was in hisNYPD uniform telling me that I havenow become the big girl in the house,”recalled Staff Sgt. Hoffman. “I wasnow expected to take care of mymother and little sister. I aged 10 yearsin a matter of 10 minutes.”
Detective Laden and one of her
uncles, a Drug Enforcement Admin-istration employee, worked at the siteof the World Trade Center wreckagefor three weeks straight before theywere able to go home. In total, sherecalled, the two men worked the areafor three months. The family alsolearned that a cousin had been killed,along with many family friends, in thecollapse of the towers.
Soon after, she said, her father wasactivated with the 10th MountainDivision, and was gone for almost twoyears.
“At times, I feel like I lost the middleportion of my adolescence,” said StaffSgt. Hoffman. “I had to grow up,quickly.”
Though she visits New York everyyear, she has not visited Ground Zero.
“I’m afraid visiting will add a touchof reality to the nightmare we alllived,” she explained.
Though at times she may be angry orupset, Staff Sgt. Hoffman said she triesto concentrate on the positive thingsthat have occurred since the attacks,and to think that “every evil act iscounterbalanced by good. It’s the goodwe need to hang on to.”
In 2006, she joined the Air Force,and has been stationed at Vandenbergfor 41⁄2 years. She is married to Staff Sgt.Robert Hoffman, who works with the9th Space Operations Squadron atVandenberg.
She stays in the military, she noted,because she doesn’t ever want “an-other family to go through what we hadto go through, what we continue to gothrough or worse. I stay in because weare not a country that fights wars onour own soil and I will do my part toprevent that happening but, mostimportantly, I stay in because I believein what we stand for.”
email: [email protected]
Representatives of various faiths involved in ceremony■ VAFBContinued from Page A1
MICHAEL MORIATIS / NEWS-PRESS
Members of the military and civilians gathered at the Vandenberg Chapel on Monday for a service commemorating the victims of the 9/11 terrorattacks.