This year’s calendar puts my Best of Bill column at the confluence of the Resurrection and Tax Day, of hope and despair, of eternal promise and pecuniary purgatory. But enough about death and taxes.
Noozhawk had somewhat of an odd week. Our overall traffic was unusually light, breaking news was sparse and I, for one, had a host of distractions. I guarantee that we’ll all do better next week.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 91,633 readers over the last seven days. What follows is my take on your Top 5 most-read stories for the week.
This is not a news story. It’s my opinion column. Therefore … Happy Easter!
1. Kiteboarder Dies After Being Rescued from Ocean Off Santa Barbara
A 61-year-old Santa Barbara man died after suffering some kind of a medical emergency while kiteboarding off Leadbetter Beach on April 7.
Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Michael Hoose told our Tom Bolton that the man was found unresponsive in the water about three-quarters of a mile offshore.
Fellow kiteboarders flagged down the Condor Express, whose crew pulled the man aboard as the whale-watching boat headed out of the harbor for the afternoon.
While the captain alerted the Harbor Patrol and turned the vessel around, crew members began CPR to try to revive the victim.
Firefighters and an American Medical Response ambulance were waiting at the dock and the man was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in critical condition. Unfortunately, he could not be revived, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick identified the victim as Adam Brown, and said the Coroner’s Bureau will determine the circumstances and cause of his death.
Funeral services are pending but Brown reportedly will be honored with an April 24 paddle-out at Leadbetter Beach.
2. 27 Homeless Residents Return to Streets Under Santa Barbara’s Rose Garden Inn Project
The results are in from the City of Santa Barbara’s $1.6 million Rose Garden Inn project that took 63 homeless individuals off the streets for nearly seven months. Our Josh Molina reported on the city staff report that was presented at the April 12 City Council meeting.
The objective of the program, which ran between July 5 and Jan. 31, was to get transients out of the squalid, unpermitted and illegal encampments that line the freeway, creeks and railroad tracks, and are frequently the source of raging “unplanned” fires.
According to the staff report, 12 transients were placed in permanent housing or other “safe locations,” 13 were connected to mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, and 33 obtained birth certificates and other key documents so they can get disability or other social services.
And there were 27 transients who are right back where they started — most likely in the squalid, unpermitted and illegal encampments that line the freeway, creeks and railroad tracks, and are frequently the source of raging “unplanned” fires.
Like many locals, I’m not smart enough to understand how this project is sustainable, and it doesn’t sound like Mayor Randy Rowse and the City Council are all that convinced either.
“We are seeing results, and people’s lives are literally getting changed,” Councilman Eric Friedman said. “But at the same time, it might not be sustainable for us as a city to continue to fund things.
“It’s not sustainable considering the budget challenges we have in the coming years.”
In keeping with tradition, the council members agreed to form another committee and will look for more funding from Santa Barbara County. At least they didn’t hire another consultant. Yet.
3. BizHawk: City Hats Among Four New Businesses Opening in Santa Barbara’s Paseo Nuevo
Hats off to Paseo Nuevo, which is having success drawing new tenants to the downtown Santa Barbara open-air mall, even without its vacant anchors, Macy’s and Nordstrom.
Paseo Nuevo general manager Mary Lynn Harms-Romo told our Josh Molina that the mall has reached its highest occupancy rate in two years, with four new businesses opening up.
“It has been so encouraging to see tourism returning and shopper visits at pre-pandemic levels,” she said. “It shows a lot of promise toward recovery for our retailers and restaurants.”
So, what’s new?
» City Hats, which sells … hats from its shop at 705 Paseo Nuevo.
» Cindy ’n Claire, which offers formal clothing for women and children at 101 Paseo Nuevo.
» Pink Browny, which sells casual clothing for women from its boutique at 707 Paseo Nuevo.
» Pure Vida Coffee Society, a coffee shop at 801 Paseo Nuevo.
4. Los Osos Man Arrested After Lompoc Woman Stabbed While Driving in Gaviota
A Lompoc woman was found on the side of Highway 101 near Gaviota the night of April 7, bleeding from multiple stab wounds. How she got there is a crazy story.
As our Janene Scully first reported, the California Highway Patrol said the woman was driving along in her car about 7:40 p.m. when her passenger — apparently her husband — suddenly began stabbing her with a screwdriver.
The CHP said the woman, whose identity was not disclosed, stopped the car on the Highway 1 exit ramp north of the Gaviota tunnel and fled. As soon as she did, the suspect — identified by the CHP as 33-year-old Timothy Alcantar of Los Osos — jumped into the driver’s seat and sped away.
A 9-1-1 caller reported seeing the woman, and CHP units, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies and county firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Firefighters treated her for stab wounds to her face and neck, and an American Medical Response ambulance arrived to transport her to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Alerts were spread around for the missing car and, the next day, Lompoc police spotted it in the 700 block of East Ocean Avenue, a couple of blocks from the police station.
Alcantar was arrested and booked into County Jail on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. As of April 15, he remained jailed without bail.
The victim’s medical condition was not available.
5. SpaceX Rocket Launch of Top-Secret Payload from Vandenberg Space Force Base Delayed
The Falcon 9 rocket that SpaceX was to have launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base early on April 15 was postponed for 24 hours by technical difficulties, and then postponed again.
When the rocket does blast off, it will be carrying a top-secret National Reconnaissance Office payload on a mission dubbed NROL-85.
Officials were aiming for a 6:41 a.m. launch on April 16, but then announced April 15 that the launch had been delayed again to 6:13 a.m. April 17.
Most important for local rocket watchers — and listeners — are the sonic booms that are expected to reverberate across the Central Coast when the first-stage booster returns to the launch pad about eight minutes after launch.
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Good Reads
Here are five other stories that are worth your time, and our latest activities guide for your kids:
» Tara Mata Dances Her Way to 2022 Spirit of Fiesta Title in Old Spanish Days Audition — Congratulations to 2022 Spirit of Fiesta Tara Mata and Junior Spirit Layla Gocong. Viva la Fiesta!
» Dos Pueblos Student Athletes Signing With Colleges From Coast to Coast — It was a banner week for South Coast student athletes signing national letters of intent with colleges around the county. Our Barry Punzal was at Dos Pueblos High School for seven Chargers who are taking things to the next level.
» Harvard-Bound Masato Perera Leads Seven San Marcos Student Athletes to Next Level — Barry went to San Marcos High for the Royal celebration.
» Santa Barbara High Celebrates Six Student Athletes Signing College Offers — He also was at Santa Barbara High to celebrate the Dons who are moving on.
» Barrett and Laila Goodman Complete 4-for-4 Family Sweep in Collegiate Athletic Signings — And then there’s the Goodmans.
» ParentNooz Camp Guide — Check out Noozhawk’s 2022 ParentNooz Camp Guide for the latest youth activities opportunities.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara Cancels All Bookings, Events Through 2022.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
It’s about time: U.S. Solar Expansion Stalled by Rural Land-Use Protests.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed went to the dogs this past week, from a Santa Barbara County Courthouse “best dog” to crash inspector @sadiethealaskanmalamute.
• • •
Americans Held Hostage: Day 227
With the United States reeling from “transitory” 8.5% inflation, U.S. citizens and green-card holders in Afghanistan aren’t the only Americans abandoned by our federal government.
• • •
Watch It
What’s it like when the surf’s really up? As in 115 feet up? Take a deep breath and follow big-wave surfer Sebastian Steudtner as he races across the face in a record-setting run at Nazaré, Portugal.
(Ura Films 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.
