santa barbara fire

Eric Privat looked over his shoulder and pointed to his watch.

"One more minute to history," said the Moorpark College coach.

After an 11-year wait, the Moorpark College women's soccer team could hardly contain itself Friday afternoon as it defeated cross-county rival Ventura College, 1-0, for the first time in school history.

Sophomore midfielder Stefanie Evans scored the goal in the 49th minute.

"We've been waiting for this for a long time," said Privat, whose team stayed atop the Western State Conference's North Division by improving to 13-0-3, 5-0-1 in division play, with a win over the 11-time defending champion at Moorpark.

The WSC-leading Oxnard College men's soccer team will have to wait a little longer to deliver the knockout blow in the conference race as Mark Knight, the WSC's leading scorer, equalized in the 63rd minute to save a 1-1 draw for Santa Barbara City on Friday afternoon at Oxnard College.

"It would have been nice to separate ourselves a little more," said Oxnard coach Ross Greaney. "But we didn't back down."

"Santa Barbara played very rough. I was disappointed the referee didn't punish them more."

Unbano Centeno gave Oxnard a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute, volleying home a pinpoint Sergio Garcia cross after buildup from captain Gaby Gonzalez.

"We're still in first and we proved tonight that we're not going to give that up without a big-time fight," said Greaney.

Midfielder Luis Jungo returned from injury and gave the Condors a boost in the middle. The closest they came to a winner was Alberto Anguiano's breakaway, which was closed down well near the end.

With the result, first-place Oxnard (8-3-4, 5-1-2), which has never won the WSC outright, maintained its one-point edge in the conference standings over second-place Santa Barbara (8-5-2, 5-2-1.)

Oxnard faces a big week upcoming, with visits to third-place Los Angeles Mission and fourth-place Moorpark.

"This is the week," said Greaney. "This is the season right here."

Moorpark had won WSC titles in three of the previous four seasons when Ventura kicked off its program in 1996. Eleven years later, the Pirates entered Friday 21-0-2 against Moorpark, including a 1-0 playoff win in 2003, with 11 straight WSC North titles.

Ninety minutes later, the first mark was snapped and the second is in serious jeopardy after two 1-0 away losses to co-leaders Moorpark and Santa Barbara City.

"All good things come to an end," said Ventura coach Steve Hoffman. "They deserved to win. ... It's not the end of the world. We've still got a chance to win the division."

Although the margin of error was reduced significantly after Katz's goal four minutes after the intermission.

After the Pirates defense cleared an effort by Moorpark's Heather Mauck off the goal line, the sophomore from Northridge followed up with a looping shot from 20 yards.

"The coaches only told us at halftime," said Katz of Moorpark's winless history against Ventura. "I said, This needs to happen.'

"This is amazing."

Moorpark's veterans doubt they'll appreciate what they've accomplished for some time. At least five former Raiders captains were on hand to view the historic day.

"It's surreal," said captain Jessica Zuelhdorf. "It probably won't sink in until I go home.

"Dude, I was in elementary school (in 1996)!"

Only the combination of Ventura goalkeeper Alyse Quiroz and sweeper Michelle Jameson kept the Pirates in the game.

Moorpark had plenty of chances to open the scoring during a scoreless first half.

After a Ventura defender collided with Quiroz in the seventh minute, Moorpark striker Leslie Barmientos collected the loose ball from the pile of bodies, only to fire it straight back in.

Quiroz sprawled to tip a free kick by Zuelhdorf over her bar in the 14th minute and pushed a shot by Moorpark striker Linda Miloud wide after an excellent chance was generated by a long throw and flick on.

Ventura only seemed dangerous going forward on its four first-half corner kicks. Yet it was Moorpark's Cecilia Engelking who put the ball in the back of the net off a corner.

The goal was negated by a Moorpark foul on Quiroz.
Just 10 days after denying a local request to send a letter to the federal government seeking emergency funding for the Santa Maria River Levee, the state Department of Water Resources has done an about-face, which could open the possibility for federal dollars.

The department's director, Lester Snow, submitted a letter Friday requesting "Advanced Measures Assistance of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," after telling local officials earlier this month that the levee project did not meet the requirements for such funding.

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Local officials are looking to an emergency fund through the Army Corps of Engineers to help cover the cost of work before winter rains.

Such work has already begun to extend a pilot channel near Suey Crossing which is designed to keep the river flow in the middle of the bed and not against the levee.

Additionally, efforts to clear willows from the channel around the Highway 1 bridge, near Guadalupe, are expected to be in full swing by Wednesday, said Tom Fayram, deputy director of public works and water resources.

The last piece of prep-work involves purchasing about 10,900 tons of rock to stockpile at strategic locations along the levee that can be quickly placed to fight erosion, if needed.

Fayram and other local officials are hoping to use the emergency federal dollars to purchase the rock. The flood control district is already using its maintenance budget and dipping into its small reserve fund to cover much of the work.

The first request for this federal funding was denied earlier this fall by officials in the corps' Washington, D.C., office partly because the request lacked a supporting letter from the state.

When that occurred, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors drafted a letter to the governor urging him to direct the Department of Water Resources to support the county's efforts.

"Such action (the denial) by the state is incomprehensible given the threat," wrote Brooks Firestone, chairman of the board of supervisors.

Local officials see the potential for major problems this winter if the region receives significant rain because about 25 percent of the drainage area for the Santa Maria River was charred in the Zaca Fire. This damage means rainwater won't be absorbed as fast, and more runoff can make its way into the river quicker.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, also lobbied on behalf of the county both through phone calls to the corps and letters to obtain the money.

"I am pleased we are making progress on Santa Barbara County's request for emergency funding to stabilize the Santa Maria levees," Capps said in a written statement. "I have already asked the Army Corps of Engineers to approve this request as soon as possible. ... I will continue to aggressively pursue this and other options to secure federal funding to prevent a levee failure on the Central Coast."

Finally obtaining the letter from the state does not guarantee the county will see the $495,000 they are seeking, Fayram said.

"They said 'no' once already," Fayram noted, however, he added the denial seemed based on the technicality that the state hadn't submitted their letter.

"We are happy the state did support our request," he said. "The last tool we need in our toolbox this winter is the rock."

On the same day the state offered a letter in support of emergency funding, two local mayors - Larry Lavagnino of Santa Maria, and Lupe Alvarez of Guadalupe - returned from a lobbying effort in Washington, D.C.

Lavagnino, Alvarez and Santa Maria Utilities Director Rick Sweet were on Capitol Hill to ensure that $300,000 included in a Senate appropriations bill, earmarked to study a fix for the Santa Maria River Levee, stays in the final budget proposal that will be presented to the president.

In order to fix problems with the levee, the corps must study the structure to determine the best solution. And the only way the corps can be directed to study the levee is through a line item in its budget from Congress.

The 26-mile Santa Maria River Levee was built by the corps between 1959 and 1963, and it is the agency that certifies whether the barrier is adequate to protect the city from a 100-year flood. The certification on the levee was officially dropped earlier this year, when the Santa Maria facility appeared on a list of levees nationwide at risk of failure.

Decertification of the levee opens the door for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to place the city in a flood plain and require flood insurance for homeowners.

However, if the levee were fixed to the satisfaction of the corps, which could then certify the barrier, the flood-insurance provision would be dropped. A head-on collision on Calle Real at Mendocino Drive in Goleta resulted in the death of two local teenagers on Wednesday and a DUI charge.

According to a press release, the crash occurred at approximately 11:30 p.m. when a BMW traveling westbound on Calle Real attempted to pass a white vehicle by changing into a lane of oncoming traffic. The BMW then collided with an eastbound-traveling SUV carrying three passengers. Both vehicles sustained major damage and the SUV caught fire. Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Dept. spokesman Sgt. Erik Raney said that although this is the most likely scenario, it is heavily based on a witness report.

"We have a witness account," Raney said. "What we do know is the BMW was traveling westbound, there was an eastbound SUV and they crashed right in the middle of the road."

The Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. and paramedics responded to the scene after nearby residents called 9-1-1, according to a press release. All four victims were transported by ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Despite the hospital staff's efforts, Juan Alvarez, 19, a passenger in the SUV, and David Ramirez, 18, the driver of the BMW, were pronounced dead. The SUV's two other occupants remain at Cottage Hospital in serious but stable condition.

Though the BMW driver's entrance into the eastbound lane may have initiated the crash, Raney said Anna Alvarez, 29, sister of Juan Alvarez and the driver of the SUV, was charged with a DUI after tests found she was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Major Accident Response Team is conducting further investigation to determine the speed at which the vehicles were traveling and additional factors that may have contributed to the collision. Investigators are looking for more information, and in particular want to speak with the driver of the white vehicle. For persons with information regarding the crash, contact Sgt. Greg Nordyke at (805) 681-4100. SANTA FE (AP) - Barbara Medina Salas has been named the Santa Fe Fire Department's new fire marshal.

That makes her the first woman to hold the post in the department's 127-year history.

Salas is a 12-year veteran of the fire department. She worked as a fire inspector before being promoted.

Salas' primary responsibility is to supervise the department's fire prevention bureau. The bureau conducts building inspections, construction-plan reviews and is in charge of enforcing the fire code.



(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)