The Santa Maria Public Airport District Board of Directors selected its representatives to local and regional committees last week with a few changes from 2011.
Don Lahr, who was chosen by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors to replace the late Ted Eckert on the airport board, will serve on the Marketing and Promotions Committee with board President Carl Engel. Lahr and Engel will also serve as liaison to both Santa Maria and Santa Barbara County.
Engel, who replaces Hugh Rafferty as board president this year, will serve with Rafferty on the Administration and Financial Committee.
Chuck Damiano and Chuck Adams, the only pilots on the board, will continue as board representatives to the Aviation Support and Planning Committee.
Damiano will also join Rafferty as liaisons to both state and federal agencies, including Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Posted in Santa Maria Times on Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Pavement will be on the agenda for the Santa Maria Public Airport Board of Directors when it meets at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Airport Administration building.
While construction crews have begun paving the 1,700-foot extension to the main runway, the board will discuss whether or not to award a contract for parking lot repaving and alterations to Rockwood General Contractors of Arroyo Grande.
The project will rehabilitate the airport’s main parking lot and create more customer friendly parking for Pepper Garcia’s Restaurant, one of the airport’s key terminal tenants.
The project could range from slightly below $50,000 to nearly $199,000, depending on how many alternatives are added to the base project.
Rockwood’s bid of $49,632 was the low bid of seven estimates the airport received for the base contract. If all of the alternates are completed, the final contract cost will be $199,274. Rockwood’s base bid was 24% under the airport engineer’s estimate, while its overall bid was 20% under estimate, according to General Manager Chris Hastert.
R. Burke Corp. of San Luis Obispo provided the lowest bid for all of the alternatives at $164,905, but its base bid of $53,792 was approximately $4,000 more than Rockwood.
“The basis for the bid award is based on the base bid only. We weren’t sure which of the alternates we were going to go forward with,” Hastert said. Base bids ranged from $49,631.68 to $84,380.25. Overall bids ranged from $164,905 to $249,162.10.
Rockwood, Burke, J.F. Will Co., V. Lopez and Sons, Souza Construction, John Madonna Construction and Granite Construction all supplied bids.
Every parking lot at the airport will get slurry sealed and striped, Hastert said.
The Board of Directors will also choose who represents the airport on a variety of local, regional and national committees.
By Brian Bullock/Staff Writer bbullock@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Thursday, January 12, 2012
The paving work to lengthen the Santa Maria Public Airport’s main runway is about to take off.
John Smith, project manager with Tartaglia Engineering, said the pavement, which should begin being laid on Monday, is the icing of a 1,700-foot long, 150-foot wide, 55-inch thick layer cake.
Crews from Granite Construction, the general contractor on both phases of runway project, laid a test strip of asphalt Thursday in a holding bay near the end of the extended taxiway.
The runway extension will allow increased use of the airport by both commercial passenger and cargo carriers.
“We’re anticipating probably 14 days of paving and the test strip, which is where we’re at right now, is where we fine tune the paving process,” Smith explained. “We put down a certain amount of material and we test the snot out of it to make sure it’s up to standards.”
Paving crews were pouring and rolling approximately 75 tons to specially mixed asphalt Thursday morning, brought in from Granite Construction’s Buellton plant. Another 75 tons were laid in the afternoon. As it was laid, a series of tests were performed, including for compaction, one of the most critical measurements.
The asphalt will be laid on acres of compacted native soil and several different layers of rock and crushed aggregate. All of it must meet Federal Aviation Administration standards before it will be approved for use. That date is tentatively set for April 5.
If measurements taken today go as expected, paving will begin on the one-third mile extension of the main runway.
“FAA paving is known to be a challenge. It’s not for the faint of heart. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the contractors who do it,” Smith said. “The weather has absolutely been in our favor. Last year was bad.”
The first phase of the project – extending the taxiway and relocating utilities for the navigational aids for the instrument landing system – began more than a year ago during one of the wettest winters on record. So far this year, crews have worked unimpeded by rain.
The second phase construction of the approximately $12 million project is estimated to cost $5.4 million and will extend the runway pavement 1,700 feet and relocate navigational aids. It’s entering the home stretch, airport General Manager Chris Hastert said. “We’re still hoping to have everything wrapped up with the paving by the end of February,” he said. “There’s a lot of work as far as the (Federal Aviation Administration) is concerned, striping, lighting and everything else.”
The runways at the airport are grooved to allow for rain runoff, Hastert said, so once the pavement is laid, it will have to be grooved. Signs indicating distance and taxiway locations will also have to be added.
The airport will also get new runway lighting, which will shut off at night to save energy. The new lighting will be activated by incoming or outgoing pilots from their planes. “This is the exciting part of the project. Not that the rest of it isn’t important, but this is the part that everybody can see,” Hastert said.
By Brian Bullock/Staff Writer bbullock@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Friday, January 6, 2012
U.S. Navy Corpsman David Oliver get a big welcome Dec. 8 from Dover, official mascot for Welcome Home Troops, a Central Coast group that welcomes service members returning from deployment. Jo Hartman of Orcutt, center, and her therapy dog were at the Santa Maria Public Airport to welcome Oliver home after his tour in Afghanistan.
His gentle soul and hulking frame hide it now, but Dover has survived a few battles of his own, making him the perfect mascot to welcome returning military members. The St. Bernard, who was rescued twice, is the official mascot of Welcome Home Troops, a Central Coast group that greets soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines arriving home.
“The troops love seeing him when they come home,” said Cheryl Tolan, cofounder of Welcome Home Troops. “Most of them have dogs themselves that they had to leave behind. He adds a whole lot to our welcome homes.”
Dover recently sat patiently in the terminal at the Santa Maria Public Airport as a growing crowd of friends, family and veterans gathered to greet Orcutt Navy corpsman David Oliver. He is attached to a Marine unit and had spent seven months in Afghanistan. With little urging, Dover raised a furry paw and exchanged a high-five with Oliver. “He’s a gentle giant. He’s not a huge barker. He’s happy to give five to the soldier,” said Orcutt resident Jo Hartman, Dover’s owner.
A day earlier, Dover attended a ceremony at the Freedom Monument Veterans Memorial in Santa Maria. The following week, he traveled to San Luis Obispo to welcome home wounded Marine Lance Cpl. Cody Elliott. “He’s a busy guy,” Hartman said of the St. Bernard.
Dover’s also a dog with multiple lives. The 3-year-old dog was born among a litter of puppies belonging to a backyard breeder in Santa Maria. As the economy worsened, the breeder found people unwilling to buy puppies for $800 apiece. The Central Coast Society for the Protection of Animals took custody of the puppies, who were covered in fecal matter and drool.
After getting treated, Dover found a home that seemed to be suitable. But that owner later surrendered the dog at a local veterinarian office where the canine collapsed on the floor, suffering from major starvation and intestinal blockage. It turned out the dog had eaten plastic and metal shards along with a string mop that became entangled in his intestines and required surgery.
“This dog captured me from the moment I saw him,” Hartman said. Hartman took home the dog, who wasn’t expected to survive the weekend. He did, but had a huge road to recovery, with special care and feeding requirements.
Even more surgeries followed. The fourth surgery occurred after she rushed Dover to the Veterinary and Medical Surgical Group in Ventura. While she was making the trek, friends surprised Hartman by cleaning her house and putting a bouquet of flowers on her table with a note that said, “Never, never, never, never give up.” “That just did it for me,” Hartman said, her voice filled with emotion. “I couldn’t give up on him. So that’s where we went. If he had been really suffering, there’s no question. …”
At one point, with Dover languishing at the Ventura vet hospital, Hartman brought him home and arranged for a local veterinarian to show up to euthanize the dog if his condition worsened. “We were brokenhearted. I got so attached to him,” Hartman said. Once again, Dover battled against the odds and slowly recovered. While she declined to mention cost of care, the last surgery added up to thousands of dollars. “We just couldn’t see someone so innocent being put down for someone’s inhumane treatment,” she said.
Garage sales, barbecues and “Candles for Canines” helped raise funds. “We were exhausted but it was worth it. I’ll never question that.” Today, Dover is the proof. “He’s a character,” Hartman said. “He’s afraid of chasing big things, but he will chase sparrows out of the yard. He does drink in our Italian fountain, he doesn’t want a water bowl.”
Dover’s arrival and improved health coincided with Hartman’s joining of a military family support group. That group had an umbrella organization, Welcome Home Troops, to ensure that returning veterans get a greeting they earned. It’s a concept Hartman first learned of through her daughter, Tara Huseth, a flight attendant on planes that transport military members to and from the war zone. Huseth told her mom about World War II veterans who regularly greet troops arriving on the East Coast. They showed up, despite the time of day or weather, and were accompanied by canine mascots.
Hartman knew Dover could play a similar role. “I thought Dover would be a perfect match,” Hartman said.
The local Welcome Home Troops meets arriving military members coming into the Santa Maria or San Luis Obispo airports or train stations, or shows up at their homes. “Dover has been all over the Central Coast,” Hartman said. To prep for his duties, Dover underwent intensive training through Doggie Do Good in Nipomo to become a certified companion/therapy dog. For instance, the training helped desensitize him to sound because high-pitched noises upset him. Those are critical to ensure the dog can handle the hubbub surrounding the homecomings and ensure neither human nor canine gets hurt, she said.
The dog’s tale moved the founders of Welcome Home Troops. “When we heard about Dover, we were very touched by that story,” Tolan said, adding that upon learning Dover was getting specialized training, Welcome Home Troops decided to make him their official mascot.
Dover’s story is included in a special section on the Welcome Home Troops website at www.welcomehometroops.info, Tolan noted. “He has an amazing story,” Tolan said. “It’s very touching. He’s very special to us.”
The specialized training, which included time away from Hartman, caused Dover to lose weight and required that he take some time off to put on some pounds. He’s now up to 103 pounds and back on the job of welcoming warriors home. Hartman carries his official certification papers with her when they undertake a mission.
During training, Dover went to an Arroyo Grande oncologists’ office; Hartman hopes to return with him there in the new year after learning how the patients reacted to the dog.
The retired Santa Maria Joint Union High School Special-Ed Teacher also plans to take Dover to work with at-risk students at Santa Maria High School. And he rode in the Grover Beach Holiday Parade on Dec. 3.
But all those are additional duties, because welcoming military members always will be his first priority, Hartman said. “Everything is trumped by the soldiers coming home. That’s what Dover does first.” In true military tradition Dover has a uniform of the day — a vest and red, white and blue bandanna. “He just seems to know when he’s going to work,” Hartman said.
Welcome Home Troops group never forgets
Welcome Home Troops formed in fall 2010 to greet returning military members, whether it’s for rest and relaxation or a permanent stay. It’s a way to “thank each and every one of them for a job well done. “Our troops are never forgotten and are thought about in everything we do,” the group’s website says. “Our prayers are for their safe & speedy return. They make us very proud to be Americans.”
The group was founded by Five Cities residents Robert and Cheryl Tolan and Lenny Jones.
The effort arose from an encounter with wounded warriors on the Central Coast for surfing lessons. The injured veterans were amazed by the welcoming they received from the Tolans’ church congregation. “Every single one of them told us they had never received something like that,” Cheryl Tolan said. “No one thanks them. Everyone’s going about their lives as normal. My husband and I said, ‘We’re not having that happen in our hometown.”
Welcome-home gatherings — families typically tip off organizers about a scheduled return — draw veterans, American Legion Riders, Patriot Guard Riders, military members’ parents and friends and patriotic individuals united by the goal of greeting sons and daughters coming home. They will show up at the Santa Maria or San Luis Obispo airports or train stations to welcome home military members, individuals or groups. Additionally, they have appeared at veterans homes for surprise parties.
Returning members receive a flag signed by their supporters and a gift bag. “I will tell you the best way to describe it is to come to one. I can’t even put it into words, what it does to you,” Cheryl Tolan said. “Even though we’re more than 100 I’m still moved to tears.”
For more information, go to www.welcomehometroops.info or search “Welcome Home Troops” on Facebook.
By Janene Scully/Associate Editor janscully@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Thursday, December 22, 2011
Union Valley Parkway will provide freeway access to southern Santa Maria, and Airport.
Santa Barbara County has about 30 percent of the right of way in hand for the final section of Union Valley Parkway, and is negotiating with Walmart to purchase the remainder. The retail giant owns three of five parcels necessary to complete the third phase of the road project, county Public Works Director Scott McGolpin said last week, adding that the hope is to begin construction on Phase III next summer and have the entire project finished in 2013. Agreements with owners of the other two parcels have been reached, according to the county.
“The city (Santa Maria) has completed Phases I and II, and Union Valley Parkway is ready to go once the interchange is finished,” McGolpin said. Once the right of way is acquired, Santa Maria will do the construction. Caltrans is planning to construct the Highway 101 interchange that completes the project toward the end of 2012, McGolpin said. The road, which will run from Highway 101 to South Blosser Road near the airport when complete and give Santa Maria a freeway connection in the southern part of the city, has been part of the city’s circulation plan for decades.
The county is cooperating with the city of Santa Maria in the design, construction and delivery of all three phases of the project, and is responsible for obtaining and delivering the right-of-way for Phase III, which is in the unincorporated area. As part of the right-of-way negotiations, the Board of Supervisors followed the direction of county counsel last week and agreed to retain Los Angeles attorney Duff Murphy of the firm Oliver, Sandifer and Murphy, in the amount of $50,000. The cost will be paid from the county counsel budget, but the county is eligible for reimbursement from federal highway funds.
Murphy has extensive experience in eminent domain proceedings, and worked with the county in previous eminent domain actions, including acquisition of property for a new North County jail. If a negotiated purchase of the right of way is not possible, county counsel wrote in the board letter, the supervisors may want to file an eminent domain lawsuit to avoid delay of the project’s completion and any additional expenses. Hiring Murphy allows the county to handle the matter without hiring additional staff attorneys.
The board must approve any eminent domain proceedings separately from Tuesday’s action. McGolpin stressed, however, that Murphy also has right-of-way expertise “as we work with Walmart on a deal to the purchase the property at fair market value.” “Our hope is to put a second offer (to Walmart) out shortly,” McGolpin said. “We have a first offer on the table. We haven’t heard anything back on the first offer. Our hope is to put another offer on the table after the holidays and start the communications again.” McGolpin said the county hopes to have the deal with Walmart finished by June.
Amelia McLear, senior manager for Walmart’s public affairs and government relations, confirmed that the company is engaged in discussions with the county about the project. “We respect the desire of the county to move forward on this project, and appreciate the benefits it will bring to the community,” McLear said.
When the new roadway is finished, it will give the southern portion of the city much-needed freeway access and improved traffic flow. It also will create freeway access for the Santa Maria Airport Business Park. Right now, Orcutt and the southern end of Santa Maria are served by just two freeway off-ramps, Clark Avenue and Santa Maria Way.
The parkway, which is sourth of Foster Road, is designed to reduce traffic on both of those roads and Lakeview Road, a highly used connector between Bradley Road and Highway 135.
Staff writer Brian Bullock contributed to this story.
By Marga K. Cooley / Associate Editor / mcooley@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Monday, December 19, 2011
Tight budgets will ground some Air Force aircraft that traditionally appear in smaller air shows, but the organizer of Thunder Over the Valley in Santa Maria retains high hopes of landing an F-22 demonstration team and other military aircraft in 2012.
The Air Force’s Air Combat Command has announced a reduction of single-ship demonstration teams in 2012.
“We face significant fiscal constraints and are making tough decisions about the best ways to continue providing combat airpower to warfighting commanders, which is what we do as the Air Force’s primary force provider,” ACC said in a statement released Dec. 1.
Officials decided that the Air Force will sponsor one single-ship demonstration team for the 2012 air show season, scaling back from the six teams they historically have sponsored. Those demo teams include the A-10 East & West, F-16 East & West, F-15E and F-22.
The A-10 West Demonstration Team performed as a recently as August at Thunder over the Valley, organized by the Santa Maria Museum of Flight. “For the 2012 season, we’re sponsoring our F-22 demonstration team to perform at up to 20 shows,” the statement said. Additionally, the Thunderbirds are set to complete a full season next year, with the schedule recently announced at the International Council of Air Shows conference in Nevada.
“Reducing the number of single-ship demonstration teams will allow us to reallocate more than 900 sorties to our wings so they can maximize their flying hours for combat readiness training, offsetting some of the reduction we’ve seen in flying hours,” ACC officials said. “Most importantly, reallocating those sorties will provide an increase in more than 25 combat-ready fighter pilots — that’s a very good thing for our nation and wise stewardship of our limited resources.”
Mike Geddry Sr., president of the Santa Maria Museum of Flight, recently returned from the International Council of Air Shows convention and said he has high hopes of landing the F-22 demonstration team for the 2012 show.
The Santa Maria airport’s long runway and the past support for the Air Force makes Thunder over the Valley a viable candidate for the F-22 appearance, Geddry said. “I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch …,” he said, adding that confirmation of the F-22 team appearance for 2012 could come by late January or early February.
Additionally, Geddry hopes to secure a heritage flight, which pairs a vintage warbird with a modern-day Air Force aircraft. “We’re working on every angle, but the Air Force is really, really hurting right now,” Geddry said.
The 2012 show is set for Aug. 25 and 26 at the Santa Maria Public Airport and is scheduled to get a Marine Corps Osprey demonstration team, he said. Geddry said he’s also working to line up an appearance by Canada’s jump team.
By Janene Scully/Associate Editor janscully@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Saturday, December 10, 2011 1:00 am
Family, friends, strangers and one special dog gathered at the Santa Maria Public Airport on Thursday afternoon to welcome home Navy corpsman David Oliver.
Barbara Romero of Orcutt said her son had one simple request. “He said,’I just want to see my dog,’” she said as the yellow-haired Sly tugged at his leash while standing in the terminal.
The 23-year-old sailor assigned to the Marine Corps has spent the past seven months in Afghanistan and is home for several weeks.
The 2006 graduate of Righetti High School is the son and stepson of Barbara and Joseph Romero and son of Scott Oliver of Creston. It’s a day the parents have eagerly waited for. “Look at me,” an emotional Barbara Romero said. “Oh lordy, I’ve been waiting for this for seven months,” Scott Oliver added.
A crowd of 75 people including members of American Legion Riders, Marine Corps League members, Welcome Home Troops and other veterans turned out to show support for the returning sailor.
“It’s emotional, it really is,” Scott Oliver said, looking at the sea of veterans armed with American flags and other signs to welcome his son home.
David Oliver will be on the Central Coast through Christmas and New Year’s Day, his mom noted.
“I’m just happy to have him back and out of harm’s way,” Scott Oliver added.
After seeing his family, David Oliver later greeted his supporters with hugs or handshakes. “I really appreciate you guys all being here,” he said.
Before American Legion Riders escorted David Oliver to his home, a Welcome Home Troops representative presented him with a gift bag and signed flag.
“It was overwhelming,” David Oliver said, adding he was thankful for the greeting. He added he hopes to consume “a lot of tri-tip” during his stint relaxing on the Central Coast while spending time with family and friends. “Mostly I want to spend time with my dog,” he added.
By Janene Scully/Associate Editor janscully@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Friday, December 9, 2011 12:15 am
The P2E Neptune air tanker sitting recently on the tarmac at the Santa Maria Jet Center won’t be a permanent fixture – even when a full-time tanker reload base opens at the airport next fire season. It’s one of a federal fleet of air tankers that fly to bases across the country when they’re needed to fight a fire.
What will be there full-time when fire season starts on May 15 is a U.S. Forest Service base manager, ramp supervisor, and a parking tender to guide incoming and outgoing tankers.
Additionally, a representative from Idaho-based ICL Performance Products LP, the company contracted by the Forest Service to provide fire retardant, will be at the reload base full-time during fire season to make sure there’s no delay in trucking needed amounts of retardant from the supply house in Ontario should a fire break out.
The full-time staffing comes as a result of an agreement Nov. 7 between Santa Barbara County’s fire chiefs and the Forest Service, after months of negotiations and political lobbying from congress members Lois Capps and Elton Gallegly, and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
The local representatives, several of whom are up for re-election in 2012, wanted reinstatement of a full-time air tanker reload base after the existing base was downgraded by the cash-strapped Forest Service to call-when-needed status in 2009.
Many contend that the devastating Jesusita Fire, which erupted May 5 in the hills above Santa Barbara just days before the official start of fire season that year, would have been less severe if air tankers had been immediately available. The Forest Service argues that having a full-time base would have made little difference, however, because the fire moved at night and because of the wind. Tankers don’t fly at night and don’t go up if winds are more than 30 mph, said Andrew Madsen, U.S. Forest Service spokesman.
Additionally, the potential cost of several hundred thousand dollars to staff the full-time base could lead to job losses. “We’re already at the breaking point of just a couple of salaries,” Madsen said.
Some benefits
Having a full-time base will ensure that air tankers can reload immediately if a fire breaks out in Santa Barbara County, and allows the planes to begin “painting the hills red” in about 90 minutes.
When the reload base operated on a call-when-needed basis, getting a plane on a fire could take from four to 48 hours, depending on how long it took to get the planes and personnel in place.
The difference is “response time,” said Raul Contreras, a Forest Service air base manager from Porterville, who was recently on duty at the Santa Maria base – the Forest Service provided full-time staffing at the reload base through Nov. 15 this year as part of the agreement. Contreras said that having tankers able to reload in Santa Maria rather than flying to Paso Robles, the next closest base, could shave 30 to 60 minutes off a run. “That’s essential for an initial attack,” he said.
Contreras said the contract with ICL will cost several hundred thousand dollars a year to pay for a full-time retardant supervisor. Aside from the base amount, the retardant provider doesn’t get paid unless retardant is used, and that cost is covered by regional federal dollars.
“We’re paying them to be here just in case,” Madsen said, “so that gives people peace of mind. That’s what the county fire chiefs wanted, the peace of mind that if … we’re ready to go.” Madsen said that during the off season, the Santa Maria base will essentially operate as it did on call-when-needed. “As of last Wednesday (Nov. 15), our forest aviation officer is the only staffing on site,” he said. “If a fire breaks between now and May 14, 2012, we would need to ‘open’ the reload facility before air tankers could reload retardant.” Opening the base means moving the tanker base manager from an off-season role leading training at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Michael Dyer applauded the Forest Service contract with ICL – a one-year agreement with four 1-year renewal options – and its nod to staffing the base full-time. “The agreement is great,” Dyer said. “The huge benefit to the citizens is going to be that, God forbid, when we have a large major fire here again, we’ll have the ability to refill tankers and load them up quicker than previously in the last two years.”
By Marga K. Cooley/Associate Editor mcooley@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Sunday, November 27, 2011
SkyWest passengers arrive Monday at the Santa Maria Public Airport from Los Angeles. More than 42.5 million Americans are expected to travel during this Thanksgiving week.
Thanksgiving holiday travelers might want to add a few items to their checklist this year: an umbrella, a raincoat and, if they’re driving, maybe some new windshield wipers.
The National Weather Service is calling for a Pacific storm to blow through the Central Coast on Thanksgiving Day, which could be enough to dampen holiday travelers but not their travel plans. “We’re expecting this upcoming holiday system to move through the area Wednesday night and Thursday, with a pretty good threat of rain,” said weather service meteorologist David Sweet. “So keep your turkey indoors.”
With more than 42.5 million Americans expected to travel this week — 90 percent of whom will hit the roadways — and rain in the forecast, both transportation and law enforcement officials are asking them to be prepared and be safe.
Holiday travel is expected to rise about 4 percent over 2010, according to the Automobile Association of America, when just over 40 million Americans traveled on Thanksgiving. Statewide, 5.3 million people are expected to travel this weekend — mirroring the national increase of 4.1 percent over last year. More than 4.5 million of them will drive, while 621,000 are expected to fly.
Southern California AAA says 3.3 million of those travelers will be in the Southland and 86 percent, 2.8 million, will be on local freeways, highways and roads.
A small percentage of those cars will be black and white, with the California Highway Patrol beginning its Maximum Enforcement Period on Wednesday at 6:01 p.m. “For us, if you’re not on vacation, you’re going to be working,” CHP Sgt. John Ploetz said of his fellow officers. “We’re hoping to have some overtime units going out, particularly in the evening hours. We usually put extra officers out — normally in the afternoons and evenings.” Ploetz said Highway 166 will be a focus of the CHP’s Santa Maria office because of the heavy traffic from the San Joaquin Valley to the coast for the long holiday weekend.
While most of the increased travel will take place on four wheels, air travel — which accounts for approximately 8 percent of holiday travel — is expected to increase around 1.8 percent over 2010 with 3.4 million people flying to their Thanksgiving destinations.
Overall, air travel is up 2 percent in 2011 through July, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Both Allegiant Air and SkyWest/United Express are adding flights to their Santa Maria schedules.
Allegiant, which provides flights to and from Las Vegas, has added two additional flights, one each on the Monday before and after the holiday — Nov. 21 and 28.
SkyWest, which was offering three flights per day on its Tuesday and Thursday schedule from Santa Maria to Los Angeles, will add an extra flight each day through the end of December.
Santa Maria Public Airport General Manager Chris Hastert said air travelers shouldn’t have any logistical delays related to the airport, but offered a holiday traveling tip. “If they’re bringing presents to loved ones, they should leave them unwrapped because if they don’t they’ll have to unwrap them to go through screening,” Hastert said of the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. “We have adequate parking, but with the increased flight loads travelers are advised to get here early.”
Even though there will be more travelers on the roads this week, weather shouldn’t create too much of a problem. The weather service is predicting less than a half inch of rain from the storm in the coastal valleys, with light winds.
The rain will probably cause more problems for the construction crews working to extend the main runway at the Santa Maria airport than it will for travelers. The project required the airport to remove some of its navigational aids, which limit bad weather landings, but Hastert said the storm shouldn’t cause a problem. “The only thing that would cause any issues is if we get fog again. We’ve only had two cancellations — one was last week,” Hastert said. “When we have weather like last weekend, when we have rain, that’s usually not a factor because the clouds are up a little higher.”
Slick roads could compound problems caused by heavy traffic volumes.
Last year, 21 people were killed in California in Thanksgiving holiday collisions, according to the CHP which made 1,546 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, a 6-percent increase over the previous year. “Hopefully it will be a quiet one,” Ploetz said. “Our main goal is to keep everybody within reasonable speeds, keep them off the cell phones, and if they’re drinking this weekend, to designate a driver.”
After the storm blows through Thursday, the weather service is calling for sunny and warm conditions to return for the rest of the weekend, with daytime highs in the upper-60s and low 70s and overnight lows in the mid-40s.
By Brian Bullock / Staff Writer / bbullock@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Tuesday, November 22, 2011
A bit of Stuttgart has come to Santa Maria.
Over much of the next two weeks, German car-maker Porsche is making its all-new 2012 911 Carrera available for the first time to the world’s automotive press at the Central Coast Jet Center on the south side of the Santa Maria Public Airport.
The event places the city next to Frankfurt, Germany, where the car was unveiled last month, and Los Angeles, where it made its American debut at the LA Car Show on Nov. 3.
Porsche corporate executives decided to make California the site for its journalistic debut because of the deep history between the state and the car company.
“The Porsche 911 Carrera is the iconic Porsche. It’s the Porsche everyone knows. When they think of Porsche, that’s the car everyone thinks of,” said Thomas Becki, head of product and technical press for Porsche. “California is the biggest market worldwide, so it would be logical to present the car in its second home.”
While the car was born in Germany, its development lies in the twists and turns of California’s back roads and stylish boulevards. The state is also the place where the most 911s are sold, Becki said. In 1970, Porsche sold 28,000 911s in the Golden State, more than in New York, Florida and Texas combined, Becki said. North America continues to lead the world — outside of Germany — in 911 purchases, a statistic that will most likely soon change.
Becki said China will become its top worldwide market in the next three to five years, and the company is already having difficulty keeping up with the production demands for its Cayenne models, which is China’s favorite Porsche.
Approximately 450 journalists from 80 countries, including China, a huge emerging market for the car maker, have converged on the Central Coast to get their hands on the all-new 911.
While a pair of Santa Barbara hotels are hosting the automotive writers each night, the Central Coast Jet Center is the exclusive pit stop where they get a chance to drive the completely redesigned sports car and ride with Walter Röhrl, a World Rally Champion throughout the 1970s and ’80s and the company’s top test driver and technical consultant.
The center has been transformed into a combination of test track and showroom. The hangar has been lined with sparkling white walls, with Porsche corporate red graphics, rows of white leather recliners set in front of a stage with a wall-sized video screen displaying clips of the new 911 Carrera touring Figueroa Mountain Road and other international locations.
Audio presentations will be presented in English, German and Chinese as waves of the world press descend on the Central Coast.
An elegant European bistro has also been built in the hangar. It features stainless steel and glass-topped bar tables arranged around comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s spotless 1964 911, and offer writers gourmet dining and beverages.
The conversion, designed and completed by Feld + Team of Wolnzach, Germany, took plenty of planning but came together quickly. Jessica Lilian Fritzch, who designed the show room, began planning the event in July, but put the showroom and stage together in just a few days. The effort even surprised Central Coast Jet Center owner Jim Kunkle. He said construction crews from Germany, Switzerland, Canada and the United States participated in the conversion. “We go out there (into the hangar) and get lost. ‘Where are we?’” Kunkle said with a laugh.
Ramsey Asphalt of Santa Maria paved the mile-long test track, which was a key feature to Porsche corporate executives and, of course, Röhrl. “It shows the suspension, the handling, the acceleration and braking,” Röhrl said of the freshly paved track, which features two straight-aways long enough to get the new car near 100 mph and enough braking and curves to give even a world champion driver a little fun. “I think the new car is more dynamic. On one side it’s more sports car and on the other it’s more everyday car.”
Automotive enthusiasts will soon be reading about the new Porsche and the Central Coast where it was unveiled. “This is good for us. This is the release of this car to the world’s journalists. To be part of it and to have Santa Maria host it, it’s great. We hope to develop more business like this in the future,” Kunkle said.
By Brian Bullock/Staff Writer bbullock@santamariatimes.com Santa Maria Times | Posted: Friday, November 11, 2011