Noozhawk turns 15 years old this weekend, a remarkable run for a cockamamie idea to provide professionally reported and edited local news exclusively online.
Our fledgling start-up covering Santa Barbara and Goleta launched on Oct. 16, 2007, and has grown into a countywide news source that locals like YOU rely on for independent, objective and trustworthy journalism every single day — and often several times a day.
If there is anything we’ve learned over the last 15 years, it’s that we’re in this together. All of us at Noozhawk work tirelessly to keep you informed about what’s happening in Santa Barbara County, but it’s not an exaggeration to say we cannot do it without your support.
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The 15-year mark is an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come and to think about what’s ahead in the next 15 years. Beginning next month, after our switch to a new web platform, we’ll be sharing some of our plans and what we’re thinking about.
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According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 87,881 readers this past week. What follows is my recap of the Top 5 stories you were reading over that period.
This is my opinion column, not a news story. But after 15 years of these Best of Bill columns, most of you know that.
1. Sheriff’s Detectives Searching for Suspect in Homicide Near Santa Ynez High School
A 72-year-old Santa Ynez man was found dead in his Jason Way home in the early morning hours of Oct. 8, the victim of a suspected homicide. An intensive manhunt for his alleged killer ended with the arrest of a Lancaster man three days later in Santa Cruz County.
Our Tom Bolton was on this story from the get-go, first reporting that Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched just before 4 a.m. to the single-family residence, located on a quiet cul-de-sac off North Refugio Road across from Santa Ynez Valley Union High School.
Inside, according to sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick, they found the body of Terry Lee Wilson. She did not disclose how he was killed, but sources told Tom that he may have been beaten to death.
The suspect was gone when deputies arrived but, a few hours later, a 2014 Chrysler minivan was stolen from a neighborhood off Highway 246 on the other side of the Santa Ynez High campus. Authorities immediately linked the two crimes.
The Sheriff’s Department issued an alert to other law enforcement agencies identifying the suspect as 26-year-old Rylen Quinn Svane-Morris and providing a detailed description of him.
On Oct. 11, Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies were tipped to Svane-Morris’ whereabouts and arrested him without incident.
Zick said Svane-Morris was booked into the Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria on a homicide warrant and other charges. He is being held without bail.
Santa Barbara County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sonia Balleste told Tom that Svane-Morris appeared before Superior Court Judge Stephen Foley on Oct. 13 and pleaded not guilty to a slew of charges.
The list included homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, dissuading a witness by force or threat, and violating a domestic-violence restraining order — all felonies.
It also included special-circumstance allegations that the killing was done during the commission of a burglary, that it involved great violence, that the defendant was armed with or used a weapon in the commission of the crime, and that the defendant threatened or dissuaded a witness.
According to the criminal complaint, Svane-Morris is accused of felony assault with a crowbar on a woman identified only as “Jane Doe” and of dissuading her as a witness by force or threat. There’s also a misdemeanor charge of violating a Los Angeles County Superior Court domestic-violence restraining order involving Jane Doe.
Zick told Tom over the weekend that Svane-Morris had been in “a dating relationship” with Wilson’s daughter, but that’s all we know about that at this point.
In a footnote, the stolen van was recovered in Santa Cruz County, too, and “will be released to the owner,” Zick said.
2. Santa Maria Man Killed, 3 Injured in 3-Vehicle Santa Ynez Valley Collision
A three-vehicle, head-on collision in the Santa Ynez Valley left a Santa Maria man dead and injured three other people the morning of Oct. 9.
As our Tom Bolton was first to report, the California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred on Highway 154 near Meadowvale Road, about a mile north of the Highway 246 roundabout.
According to the CHP, 40-year-old Joseph Anthony Nunez was driving a Ford CMAX east on the highway about 10:25 a.m. when he swerved into the opposing lane to avoid stopped traffic.
The CHP said Nunez’s compact car collided with an oncoming BMW X5 driven by 60-year-old Katha Penny of Oxnard, flipping her sedan, and then hit a Toyota Highlander driven by 52-year-old Steven Mon of Anaheim.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said Nunez was declared dead at the scene.
Mon and two of his passengers suffered moderate injuries and were transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria. Penny was treated at the scene for minor injuries.
The highway was shut down in both directions for several hours while debris was cleared and the CHP investigated the wreck. Authorities said alcohol and drugs are not suspected as factors.
3. Major Injuries Reported in Highway 101 Crash in Western Goleta
A pickup truck towing a motorcycle trailer overturned on Highway 101 in western Goleta the afternoon of Oct. 13, critically injuring the driver and briefly shutting down the northbound freeway just as the afternoon commute was getting started.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, the crash occurred about 3:45 p.m. west of the Cathedral Oaks Road overcrossing and the northbound freeway entrance ramp, near the Rancho Embarcadero neighborhood.
Witnesses told Tom that the trailer began to sway wildly before disconnecting from the Chevy Silverado pickup, which then rolled over onto its roof. The motorcycle landed nearby.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said the driver, the sole occupant, suffered critical injuries but was able to get himself out of the wreckage. The man, whose identity was not available, was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
4. 2 Minor Injuries Reported in Fire at Hotel in Santa Barbara
A fire in a storage area at a hotel in Santa Barbara’s West Beach neighborhood caused little damage in the early morning hours of Oct. 7 but two guests suffered minor injuries.
Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Robert Mercado told our Tom Bolton that crews were dispatched at 1:45 a.m. to the Casa Del Mar Inn at 18 Bath St., a block north of West Cabrillo Boulevard.
The fire was traced to an enclosed storage area underneath a staircase, and Mercado said firefighters had it out within five minutes.
He said a guest suffered minor burns while trying to put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. Another guest had minor smoke inhalation. Both were treated at the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
5. BizHawk: Fresco Café Finds Fresh Lease on Life in Downtown Santa Barbara
As our Josh Molina reported a couple of months ago, Mark Brouillard has moved his popular Fresco Café to downtown Santa Barbara after decades at an Outer State Street shopping center.
The new location — in the recently renovated El Centro Building at 23 E. Canon Perdido next to the historic Lobero Theatre — is smaller than the previous place but has more street visibility and, perhaps more important, is about half the price of his old lease.
“I love it,” Brouillard told Josh after his soft opening late last month. “It’s very vibrant down here.”
As a Fresco fan, I’m looking forward to returning. Two additional features in Brouillard’s favor are the fact that Fresco’s outdoor patio is in the sun for lunch, which is rare for a downtown restaurant, and the patio is streetside but not in the street, which also is unusual these days.
Fresco is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays.
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Good Reads
Check out these six stories before you go:
» Santa Barbara Talks: The Story Behind the Last Woman in California to be Executed — Following his story on Deborah Holt Larkin and her new book about a notorious Santa Barbara murder, staff writer Josh Molina has the author on his Santa Barbara Talks podcast.
» Highway 101 Corridor Project Funding Gets Assist From $75 Million Federal Infrastructure Loan — Managing editor Giana Magnoli maps out the latest with the Highway 101 widening project underway between Carpinteria and Summerland, with the Montecito leg to follow next year.
» DART Impact Alters Asteroid’s Orbit in What NASA Chief Calls a ‘Watershed Moment’ — North County editor Janene Scully has more of the story of the asteroid-altering mission of DART, the spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base nearly a year ago.
» Santa Barbara County Stand Down to Mark 10 Years of Supporting Veterans — It seems like just yesterday that the Santa Barbara County Veterans Stand Down was started in Santa Maria to assist homeless and at-risk veterans. Janene Scully has the latest on the now-tradition, which marks its 10th year on Oct. 15.
» Ray Ford: Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council Hosting Wildfire Preparedness Event — Want to know how you can help build a more fire resilient community? Outdoors columnist Ray Ford is on the trail of the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council and its second annual exposition, Oct. 14 and 15 at Direct Relief, 6100 Wallace Becknell Road in Goleta.
» Former Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo President Warren Baker Dies at 84 — San Luis Obispo Tribune reporter Chloe Lovejoy wraps up the life and longevity of the late Warren Baker, who led Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo as president for 31 years before retiring in 2010. He died Oct. 7 at age 84.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Wind-Driven Wildfire Spurs Evacuations, Closes Highway 101 Along Gaviota Coast.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
This was only the most obvious train wreck in the history of the world: How California’s Bullet Train Went Off the Rails.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Sky views and extraterrestrials are in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Mocked and blocked on the dock.
(@pubity 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.
