In the days and weeks to come, there will be plenty of post-mortems on the weirdest Election Day(s) I’ve ever seen. Some of them will be done by Noozhawk’s own professional journalists.

Before I move on, however, I want to give a shout-out to four-term Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves. In 16 years — 16 years — he has not missed a single council meeting.

While his dedication is impressive, it’s his accessibility, integrity and humble servant leadership that have been hallmarks of his tenure in public service, both as an elected official and as a longtime local law enforcement officer before that.

Goleta City Councilman Roger Aceves proved there could be middle ground. (Noozhawk file photo)

Aceves has always been just as community-minded off the clock, and he stays busy as a tireless volunteer for civic and nonprofit organizations in Goleta and throughout the South Coast.

Although a reliable and loyal Democrat, Aceves is an increasingly anachronistic presence in Santa Barbara County’s one-party echo-system — a magnanimous moderate who will talk and listen respectfully to all of his constituents and who genuinely tries to find win-win, centrist solutions to the challenges at hand.

I’m old enough to remember when that was not so astonishing in politics around here. I miss those days.

Unfortunately, Aceves was swept out of a fifth term on Nov. 8 and his time on the council will be coming to a close. I’m going to miss him, too. We all should.

The 2022 election may have dominated the news, but it did not dominate Noozhawk’s list of most-read stories this past week. Like nearly all of the local elections, it wasn’t even close.

According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 99,945 readers over the last seven days. What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading, and I’m as surprised as you’re going to be that they were mostly positive in nature.

Still, I must disclose that this is my opinion column and not a news story. Thank you for reading it anyway.

1. Atlas V Rocket Provides Loud Farewell with Vandenberg Space Force Base Liftoff

With its familiar rumble and for the last time, United Launch Alliance’s workhorse Atlas V rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in the wee hours of Nov. 10.

The 1:49 a.m. launch marked the end of the Atlas V era on the West Coast. Beginning next year, ULA is shifting rockets with its new Vulcan Centaur family.

As our Janene Scully was — literally — the very first to report, the Atlas V successfully deployed its two payloads after racing to space:

» The Northrop Grumman-built Joint Polar Satellite System, a weather data collaboration of NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

» NASA’s Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator, or LOFTID, helping to refine heat shield technology for future space missions

Following the mission, Vandenberg’s historic Space Launch Complex-3 on South Base will begin upgrades to accommodate the new Vulcan Centaur rocket.

I watched the Atlas V’s ascent from the roof of my house in Montecito, then tried to help fellow nighthawk Janene with her story. She would’ve been able to sign off a lot sooner without my meddling, but it was fun adding middle-of-the-night photos from our Len Wood and Ryan Cullom, as well as Solvang reader Matt Udkow.

2. BizHawk: Business Is Heating Up for IHOP at New Location on Hollister Avenue in Goleta

Anthony Rodriguez, left, and Bert Medina are ready to serve breakfast, lunch or dinner at IHOP’s new location at 7127 Hollister Ave. in Goleta. (Joshua Molina / Noozhawk photo)

IHOP appears to have flipped its business prospects after moving to Goleta’s Plaza Shopping Center, at 7127 Hollister Ave. across Santa Felicia Drive from Camino Real Marketplace.

The restaurant held a soft opening late last month after vacating its former home at 4765 Calle Real, near Starbucks east of North Turnpike Road.

“Business is starting to really pick up,” general manager Migule Velasquez told our Josh Molina. “Everything is working great.”

The family-friendly IHOP features a stacked menu, although it’s the double blueberry pancakes that are the #bestofbillrecommendation.

The new location, open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, is between Albertsons and Planet Fitness, which moved in over the summer.

A hundred years ago, Tom Bolton and I opened our South Coast Beacon newspaper in an upstairs office at the Plaza Shopping Center. The ill-fated weekly was a flop but we have fond memories of where it started.

3. Storm Drops Rain on Santa Barbara County; More On the Way

Yes, the rain was welcome but how about the post-storm sunset from Montecito’s Butterfly Beach? (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

The first storm of the rainy season rolled through Santa Barbara County earlier this week. Although our yards and landscaping got a good soaking, it didn’t do much for our drought-depleted reservoirs.

A handful of streets flooded and numerous crashes were reported around the county, including several injury wrecks on Nov. 7 and 8. Wind advisories also were issued, and at least one sailboat washed ashore on Butterfly Beach in Montecito.

The storm dropped 3.2 inches of rain on San Marcos Pass above Santa Barbara, according to county rain gauges.

Elsewhere, 0.82 inches of rain were recorded in Carpinteria, 1.49 inches in Montecito, 1.77 inches in downtown Santa Barbara, 1.69 inches in Goleta’s Ellwood neighborhood, 1.33 inches in the Santa Ynez Valley, an inch in Lompoc and .68 inches in Santa Maria.

As our Serena Guentz reported, the storm had a minimal effect on local reservoirs, with Lake Cachuma’s capacity inching up to 31.8% on Nov. 9 from 31.7% two days before, Gibraltar Reservoir rising to 20.1% from 19.7%, and Jameson Reservoir to 53.5% from 53.2%.

4. Bill Macfadyen: Natural Café’s Exit Exposes Downtown Santa Barbara’s Squalid Reality

My column on The Natural Café’s upcoming departure from downtown Santa Barbara sure touched a nerve at City Hall. I heard from a couple of City Council members who, curiously, seemed more upset at my use of the word “squalid” than the overall conditions the adjective was describing.

I also heard from far more readers who shared their own experiences about venturing downtown as locals. It wasn’t a pretty picture.

“We were both embarrassed and disappointed by what we observed,” one wrote of a visit just last week with out-of-town guests. “A lot less people on State Street for a Friday night, as well as being a younger demographic, more trash, fewer shoppers. etc.”

Another described happening upon a vagrant relieving himself in landscaping in the 800 block of State Street at midafternoon on a weekday.

But, sure, the word “squalid” is the problem.

5. Santa Barbara Fires City Attorney Ariel Calonne

And that’s a wrap for Santa Barbara City Attorney Ariel Calonne. (Noozhawk file photo)

After affording Santa Barbara City Attorney Ariel Calonne more than three months of paid administrative leave so far, the City Council has finally fired him.

Our Giana Magnoli reported that the council met Nov. 8 in a special closed session, during which the six members present voted unanimously to cut him loose. Councilman Mike Jordan was absent.

Calonne, who was hired for the job in 2014 and was collecting north of $350,000 a year in salary and benefits, declined Giana’s request for comment on his termination, which takes effect Dec. 8.

In a Noozhawk exclusive, our Josh Molina reported in August that Calonne had been placed on paid leave after an undisclosed confrontation with another attorney outside his office at City Hall.

Witnesses told Josh that the argument was heated and had been reported to the city’s Human Resources Department. The council placed him on leave soon after.

In Calonne’s absence, Assistant City Attorney Sarah Knecht has been handling the duties.

•        •        •

Good Reads

Here are six more stories you don’t want to miss:

» Conception Captain Pleads Not Guilty to Criminal Charge in Dive Boat Fire That Killed 34 — Managing editor Giana Magnoli has the latest on the 2019 Conception dive boat tragedy.

» Salute to Service: Santa Barbara County Events to Commemorate Veterans Day — It’s the land of the free because of the brave. North County editor Janene Scully unfurls a long list of Veterans Day commemorations around Santa Barbara County.

» Buellton Bowling Alley Proposal Shelved Due to Red Tape, Fees for Permits — Evidently, the City of Buellton could spare no concern for a bowling alley proposal that languished for more than a decade. Janene pins down a story that strikes me as a bureaucratic gutter ball.

» Santa Barbara Zoo’s ‘ZooLights’ Exhibit Lights Up for the Holiday Season — Staff writer Grace Kitayama takes a field trip to the Santa Barbara Zoo, where she encounters a different breed of animals.

» Five San Marcos Girls Water Polo Players Sign with Big-Time College Programs — Dozens of senior student-athletes at Santa Barbara County high schools signed national of letters of intent with colleges and universities throughout the country. Noozhawk has most of them covered, but sports editor Barry Punzal takes five with five of the biggest standouts.

» Karen Telleen-Lawton: Santa Barbara for the Birds — Columnist Karen Telleen-Lawton goes out on a wing with her latest observations.

•        •        •

Last Year on Noozhawk

What was our most-read story this time last year? Pedestrian Struck by Vehicle and Killed on Las Positas Road in Santa Barbara.

•        •        •

Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week

Perhaps the second most-notorious shipwreck in history, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald vanished 47 years ago on Nov. 10, 1975, “when the gales of November came early.” Here are 12 Memorable Facts About the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

•        •        •

Best of Bill’s Instagram

Teachers, rockets and my grandson were the highlights of my Instagram feed this past week.

•        •        •

Watch It

When octopuses attack … each other.

(Science X: Phys.org, Medical Xpress, Tech Xplore video)

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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Instagram: @bill.macfadyen, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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