1. Longtime Resident Michael Magne Dies After Battling Complications from 2010 Ski Accident
Santa Barbara businessman Michael Magne was one of the nicest guys around, with a welcoming personality that made even people he had just met feel comfortable. He owned and operated the old skateboarder hangout, A Skater’s Paradise; co-founded Jensen Audio Visual with his wife, Kelly; served as president of Black Ice Brewing Co.; and ran unsuccessfully for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors in 2002.
He was a tireless advocate for youth activities and opportunities, and was active in the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce, Sparkle Santa Barbara and Old Spanish Days. One of his proudest moments was when Kelly was elected to serve as Fiesta’s la presidenta in 2007.
In 2010, however, Michael suffered a devastating ski accident and he never fully recovered. He died last week of complications from the accident.
At just 53, he leaves behind his wife and two young children, along with a community full of grateful friends and fond memories.
2. Noozhawk Journalists Recount Lessons Learned from Prescription Drug Abuse Series
Noozhawk was privileged to earn a California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowship from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. As most of you know, we used it on a comprehensive series called Prescription for Abuse, which concluded this week.
Our team, led by staff writers Lara Cooper and Giana Magnoli, spent six weeks reporting on the misuse and abuse of prescription medications. On Oct. 19, staff writer Alex Kacik shared a number of insights that we learned during our project. Perhaps the most meaningful was from Lara: Addiction truly can happen to anyone.
The Prescription for Abuse project was sponsored by the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Mosher Foundation, Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceuticals, Zona Seca and KEYT, and had a big assist from the Noozhawk-sponsored Santa Barbara Teen News Network.
3. Tam Hunt: The Unitary Executive and the Erosion of Due Process
My friend, Tam Hunt, has been contributing commentaries to Noozhawk for several years now. He often writes about alternative energy, his profession, but occasionally will switch gears and tackle politics. His Oct. 14 column on the U.S. assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American living in Yemen, drew some of the heaviest traffic to date.
In his op/ed, Tam explored the proper scope of presidential authority and some perhaps unintentional similarities in the philosophies and policies of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
How coincidental that less than a week after we published Tam’s post on due process, or the lack thereof, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was himself hunted down with the help of U.S. forces and then, bloodied and balding, was finished off with some street justice by Libyan rebels.
4. Tyler Fourmy Sentenced in Fatal 2010 Coast Village Road Crash
Tyler Fourmy, the Santa Barbara teenager who struck and killed Florinda Flores as she walked to her bus stop on Montecito’s Coast Village Road last year, pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and was sentenced Oct. 17 to 45 days in Santa Barbara County Juvenile Hall, 400 hours of community service and probation.
Pointedly noting the 18-year-old Fourmy’s previous record, Juvenile Court Judge Tom Adams stiffened the punishment that had been recommended by the Probation Department. Fourmy’s case was heard in Juvenile Court because he was 17 at the time of the collision.
Flores’ husband, Wolfgang Schulz, and her family have filed a civil suit against Fourmy and his parents, Susan Granziera and Patrick Fourmy.
Flores, who was 47 when she died, left behind a daughter, who is 15.
5. Bank of Santa Barbara Summit to Explore Global Economy, and Local Effects
Noozhawk staff writer Alex Kacik’s advance story on The Bank of Santa Barbara’s “Global Economy Impacts on Regional Business” summit may have gotten an assist from a simultaneous contest for tickets to attend the forum at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort.
Six lucky Noozhawk readers won tickets to the Oct. 20 event, which featured reports on the global economy from former Federal Reserve Bank senior economist Gary Zimmerman and The Wall Street Journal’s most accurate economist of 2006, Sung Won Sohn, now a professor at CSU Channel Islands.
Of course, economic discussions can be dry, but eyes at this one were anything but. The Bank of Santa Barbara turned the event into a benefit for the family of Navy Master Chief Petty Officer Louis J. Langlais, a Santa Barbara native who was killed in action in August in Afghanistan. Tears were flowing during some of the emotional tributes to the Seal Team 6 member.
More than $10,000 was raised for Langlais’ wife, Anya, and their two sons, Gabe, 9, and Jack, 7.
In other news this week, Noozhawk’s Alex Kacik was honored with a Mayor’s Award for Media bestowed by Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider on Oct. 19. The annual event recognizes area businesses and organizations that help provide employment for people with disabilities.
Other recipients were my friend, Santa Barbara Airport director Karen Ramsdell; Nakia Rhodes of Trader Joe’s, 3025 De la Vina St.; and Marshalls.
If you own a shelter or rescue dog and haven’t sent us a photo of you and your furry friend, it’s not too late to email it to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). October is Adopt-a-Dog Month and we’re running a slideshow of your pictures to mark the occasion.
Next month, we’ll have readers vote for their favorite photo. Thanks to the generosity of La Cumbre Feed, 3652 Calle Real, the winning adopted dog will be dining on $100 worth of free dog food from WellPet. All photos received by Nov. 1 will be entered in the contest.
Finally, our apologies to some email subscribers who have not been receiving their Daily Noozhawk most of this week. Our vendor, MailChimp, is busily trying to figure out why email customers using ... wait for it ... Cox Communications suddenly stopped receiving Noozhawk as of Tuesday. I know what many of my tweeps are thinking right about now, but I’m just as surprised as you are. Really.
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