Third District Supervisor Brooks Firestone has floated a proposal to shift the responsibility for Isla Vista’s sewage and sanitation removal from the Goleta West Sanitary District (GWSD) to “Com Service Area 31” of Santa Barbara County, an agency with no prior involvement with sewage collection.
Firestone broached the subject at the May 9 public meeting of the GWSD board of directors. He later said that it is just a suggestion, which he believes should be researched as to its feasibility and put before the public to elicit their reactions.
Several residents of Goleta and Isla Vista have expressed concern over the proposal, raising several points. One is that Goleta West has a reserve of $22 million for use in state-mandated upgrades and other emergencies. What would become of that reserve is a major issue in the transfer, since he Isla Vista system accounts for a major percentage of the Goleta West authority.
Another concern is that the Goleta West District is currently negotiating a merger with the Goleta Sanitation District; it is unlikely that those negotiations would proceed if Isla Vista were taken off the table. Goleta West District officials say public perception of the agency is overwhelmingly favorable.
“Tell those concerned to stay tuned,” Firestone said on Wednesday. “It may turn out that no change is necessary.”
The County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public meeting on the subject for June 21.

Villaraigosa elected mayor of L.A.

Antonio Villaraigosa was elected mayor of Los Angeles on Tuesday, succeeding James Hahn and becoming the first Hispanic mayor of the city in modern times.
As his supporters chanted “Si, se puede” (“yes, we can”), Villaraigosa promised the throng at his victory party to “bring this great city together.”
The 52-year-old Villaraigosa defeated one-term Mayor James Hahn by a wide margin, 59 percent to 41 percent. His election is seen as recognition for L.A.’s growing population of Hispanics. Los Angeles is now 48 percent Hispanic, 31 percent white, 11 percent Asian and 10 percent black.
“I’ve said to people, ‘I’m an American of Mexican descent and I intend to be a mayor for all Los Angeles,’” he said the day after the election. “In this diverse city, that’s the only way it can work.”
The problems Villaraigosa’s administration must confront include serious gang violence, a lack of affordable housing, and seemingly intractable traffic problems.

Coroner’s Office seeks help

An unidentified male was found deceased on April 28 at the side of a building at 1123 Chapala St., and the coroner’s office has been unable to identify him through fingerprints or any other means. The public’s help is being sought in an attempt to identify the decedent.
He was described by the Sheriff’s Department as a transient white male adult, 40-60 years old with a full head of light brown hair (gray on the sides), powder blue or light gray eyes, 5’-9” tall, approximately 130 lbs., with no teeth. He does not have any tattoos, scars or distinguishing marks, and was last seen wearing a soiled blue suit jacket and pants and had tennis shoes in his possession.
Anyone with information that could be helpful in identifying the man is urged to call the Coroner’s office at 681-4145.

Georgakis to lecture on ‘The Code’

“Phi, The Golden Ratio, A Study in Mathematical Elegance,” by Peter Georgakis, 2005 Faculty Lecturer at Santa Barbara City College, will be airing on Channel 21 several times next week.
His talk is about the star of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code,” the code itself, the Fibonacci series. The Fibonacci series is a number series that Mother Nature is extremely fond of, Georgakis said, and it is found in nature in everything from the petals of flowers to various leaves, the human body, the human face, and snowflakes.
The lecture will be broadcast Monday at 8 a.m., Tuesday at 4 p.m., Wed. at 3 p.m., Thurs. at 12 p.m. and Saturday at 9 a.m.
Georgakis is trying to connect with as many elementary, junior high, and high school teachers as possible, and is willing to try to schedule visits to area schools for a follow up to the lecture, as long as students have seen it first.

Clean up for kids tomorrow