What were you reading on Noozhawk this past week? Unfortunately, a lot of it was pretty gruesome.
1. Authorities Identify Victims of Apparent Murder-Suicide Near San Marcos High School
In a brutal, apparent murder-suicide in the early hours of April 13, Heidi Hubrecht and Luis Avila DeDios were found stabbed to death on the landing outside Hubrecht’s apartment near San Marcos High School. One of Hubrecht’s roommates was also stabbed in the attack but a second roommate was unharmed.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s investigators believe DeDios was waiting for Hubrecht, his former girlfriend, inside her Camino De Vida apartment. They say he set upon the two women with a hunting knife when they returned from a night out, then killed himself with the weapon.
Hubrecht, 23, was a 2011 UCSB graduate and an English language teacher at Education First Santa Barbara. DeDios, 23, of Goleta, was a student at SBCC.
The attack survivor, a UCSB student, was treated and released from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. The other roommate was asleep in her room and was woken up only when deputies arrived at the grisly scene, authorities say.
2. Nancy Lowe Bullock, 1958-2012
The week after Easter is often a quiet one for churches. For parishioners at All Saints By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Montecito, the week ended in sadness and shock at the untimely death of Nancy Bullock, popular wife of the church’s rector, the Rev. Jeff Bullock.
Bullock, who was a planned giving officer at Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care as well as an adviser to All for One Youth & Mentoring Program and the former executive administrator at Mount Calvary Retreat Center, died unexpectedly April 13 at age 53.
The Right Rev. Mary Glasspool, bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, preached a powerful sermon April 15 and returned two days later to preside over Bullock’s funeral service, which drew an overflow crowd of family and friends. Click here for her obituary.
Meanwhile, a surprise visit by Vice President Joe Biden on April 20 brought smiles to dozens of preschool students at All Saints By-the-Sea Parish School. Biden was in the neighborhood on a fundraising foray for the Obama-Biden re-election campaign. It wasn’t known if he collected any donations from the kids but he likely left with tiny finger-paint hand prints on his suit jacket.
3. Two Men Stabbed in Fight at Mesa Party; Suspects At Large
Two men were stabbed during an altercation at a party in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood the night of April 13, Santa Barbara police reported. One of the men was hospitalized with life-threatening wounds.
Within days, four suspects — Sean Michael Crane and Eddie Jonathan Mesa Jr., both 23; Michael Joseph Hardy, 22; and Devin Thomas Kelley, 24, all from Santa Barbara — were in custody and charged with multiple felony counts. Crane has been charged with attempted murder in the attack on one of the victims, a 40-year-old man who remains in critical condition at Cottage Hospital.
4. Rates for Water, Sewer and Trash Service May Go Up in Santa Barbara
Water, sewer and trash customers in the City of Santa Barbara are expected to be hit with a series of rate hikes this summer, in part to offset a costly settlement with an environmental group that sued the city over alleged Clean Water Act violations.
Although officials maintained the city’s sewage-system overhaul was on track and that none of the cited spills affected water quality or caused beach closures, they opted to settle the suit brought by the nonprofit Santa Barbara Channelkeeper rather than proceed to trial. As part of the settlement, the city pledged to spend an extra $5 million on pipe repairs over the next five years.
Where’s the money coming from? Officials are proposing a 10 percent increase in wastewater rates, a 3.5 percent increase in water rates and 2.69 percent increase in trash and recycling rates. If approved by the City Council, the rate hikes will take effect July 1.
5. Santa Barbara Gears Up for Earth Day Festivities This Weekend
The Community Environmental Council’s annual Earth Day Festival is 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Alameda Park, 1400 Santa Barbara St. Noozhawk and our partner, ParentClick.com, are hosting a booth in the Kid’s Corner. Stop by and say hello to our reporters, editors and staff, and enter our drawing for cool prizes.
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