Team Noozhawk is still working through a few hitches and glitches we discovered after our switch to the Newspack web publishing platform on Dec. 7.

But we’re quickly adapting to the new system and increasingly turning our attention to the opportunities it brings.

The most immediate project is a long-overdue refresh of our A.M. and P.M. Reports.

We had intended to roll out those redesigns with Noozhawk’s new look, but ours is a small staff and we just ran out of capacity.

Since many of you start your daily interaction with Noozhawk primarily from our e-Bulletins and not our website, a brief explanation is in order.

Our old platform was set up to pull together the newsletter content and generate a code that then was imported into our MailChimp email program. It was fast and efficient, and a lot of it was automated.

For all its innovation, our new WordPress-based platform is not as fast or as efficient with newsletters, and it requires more manual effort than we prefer.

In this interim period, we’re accepting the approximation of our old e-Bulletin design, but many of you have noticed that it’s not as clearly defined or marked. We agree, and will be fixing that.

We’re working on a bold, new design now, and will be introducing it early next month. As with our new website, our goal is to show off more of the breadth of content we produce.

Your feedback has been very helpful on all of this, and we appreciate you taking the time to provide it.

Now, on to my Best of Bill column. According to a full week of Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 105,680 readers over the last seven days.

What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading. As always, I must remind you that this is my opinion column, and not a news story.

1. Highway 154 Shut Down by Multivehicle Crash

For the second week in a row, Noozhawk’s top story is a crash on Highway 154 in the Santa Ynez Valley. This time, there was far less trauma to go with the still-considerable drama.

As our Tom Bolton reported, three people were injured in a six-vehicle collision that was called in at 8:40 p.m. Dec. 9 near Lake Cachuma.

Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said the injuries were minor and no one required hospitalization.

The wreck, which shut down the highway for nearly two hours, is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

Details of the collision and the identities of those involved were not available.

Just missing the Top 5 was a second multivehicle crash near the lake, this one reported at 1 a.m. Dec. 11.

Safechuck told Tom that one of the vehicles, an SUV, caught fire after the collision about a mile east of the lake entrance. He said firefighters quickly put out the blaze.

Two men and a woman suffered minor injuries, and they were taken by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

No other details were available, but the CHP is investigating the circumstances of the wreck.

You’ll recall that last week’s top story was Tom’s harrowing account of a fiery Nov. 17 crash that badly burned and injured a Goleta man.

Tom interviewed several of the passing motorists who put their own lives in danger to help with the rescue on Highway 154 near Paradise Road.

2. Latest Soaking Pushes Santa Barbara County Rainfall Well Above Normal

Early season storms that have given Santa Barbara County a good soaking — and dumped deep snow on the Sierra — are raising hopes that relief is on the way from California’s chronic drought.

Dare to dream, but don’t count on it.

Our Tom Bolton waded into the county Public Works Department’s rainfall totals and found that, so far, all areas of the county are well above average.

As of the morning of Dec. 11, the county Flood Control District reported, San Marcos Pass had received 15.55 inches, or 245% of normal rainfall to date for the rain year that began Sept. 1.

Elsehwere, Lompoc had received 230% of normal; Santa Maria, 185%; Santa Ynez, 161%; Santa Barbara, 155%; Goleta, 126%; and Carpinteria, 112%.

As is often the case, San Marcos Pass was the wettest spot in the county after the latest storm, logging 6.91 inches of rain.

3. Santa Barbara to Pay $225,000 to Settle Flightline Restaurant Dispute

The City of Santa Barbara grounded high-flying plans for the Flightline restaurant at the old Elephant Bar & Grill on Santa Barbara Airport property.

Now the city’s own wings have been clipped with a $225,000 settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Flightline’s backers.

As Noozhawk has reported previously, local restaurateur Warren Butler and a group of investors had sought to take over the lease of the High Sierra Grill & Bar, at 521 Firestone Road, back in 2019.

High Sierra had sought to transfer its lease after struggling to gain traction since moving into the space that the Elephant Bar had occupied for 30 years before going out of business in 2013.

The Flightline proposed a World War II theme, heavy on military memorabilia and celebrating aviation in general.

But then-airport director Henry Thompson and city officials torpedoed the lease transfer, expressing skepticism about the Flightline’s financing.

Butler, his group and High Sierra Grill sued the city, which eventually threw in the towel after failing to convince Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Donna Geck to grant a summary judgment in its favor.

As our Josh Molina reported, the city essentially is forking over $225,o0o to avoid going to a jury trial.

“The city reached a global settlement, which represented the anticipated cost of a trial and the city’s expense for outside counsel,” city attorney Sarah Knecht said.

Butler told Josh he never understood the city’s opposition to the lease deal.

“This is definitely validation that we were right,” he said. “This was my dream.”

Steve Siry, his primary investor, was more blunt.

“I don’t think the settlement, what we were awarded, comes anywhere near a fair compensation for the kind of stuff we had to deal with from airport administration and the city in the general,” he said.

“It was a slap in the face to us the way the airport administration treated us.”

Siry said it’s the principle that counts.

“I want the taxpayers to know where their money is going and why,” the local pilot said. “I don’t think the city knows anything about this airport.”

And what about the building that has been sitting vacant and ignored for the last three years, just a few yards from the airport administration office?

I’d call the condition “squalid” but city officials are sensitive about that word. Let’s go with decrepitude instead.

4. Lompoc Man Faces Murder, Firearm Charges for Shooting

A 22-year-old Lompoc man was shot and killed the night of Dec. 9, and the alleged gunman has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges.

As our Janene Scully reported, Lompoc police were dispatched at 11:25 p.m. to the 600 block of North Fourth Street south of Pioneer Park, where officers found the victim with multiple gunshot wounds.

Sgt. Vincent Magallon said officers administered life-saving measures until paramedics arrived, but the victim — later identified as Victor De Luna — died at a local hospital.

The next day, 20-year-old Benito Martinez was arrested on charges of murder and having a concealed, unregistered firearm, as well as sentencing enhancements related to the gun.

Police did not provide any details on what preceded the shooting.

De Luna was born and raised in Goleta, but moved to Lompoc as a teenager.

In a GoFundMe post, his sister, Sara De Luna, described him as “an incredible father to his 6-year-old son, Anthony. A loving son, fiancé, uncle, brother, cousin and friend.”

“Our family cannot find the words to describe the grief and pain we are experiencing,” she said.

Sara De Luna said her brother worked hard to provide for his family and that Anthony “was his world.”

“Victor was a courageous, loyal, hard-working and trustworthy person,” she said. “If you knew Victor, you knew you could count on him for anything at any time.

“My little brother did NOT deserve this.”

As of Dec. 16, the GoFundMe account had raised nearly $7,000 to assist De Luna’s family with his funeral and to support his son and fiancé. Click here to make an online donation.

Martinez entered a not guilty plea during an appearance in Santa Barbara County Superior Court and was sent back to the Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria, where he’s being held on $2 million bail.

He’s due back in court on Dec. 21. 

5. Police Investigating Shooting Near Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara police swarmed the waterfront the night of Dec. 9 after multiple 9-1-1 calls reported a shooting near Stearns Wharf.

Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale told our Tom Bolton that emergency dispatchers began receiving calls around 8:45 p.m. about gunshots near the base of the wharf at State Street and Cabrillo Boulevard.

Police and Harbor Patrol officers rushed to the area, and discovered the wounded man. He was treated at the scene, then taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

The man’s identity and medical condition were not available.

“The suspect(s) are still outstanding, and the Police Department is actively investigating this case,” Ragsdale said.

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Good Reads

Don’t miss these seven stories before you go:

» SpaceX Rocket Blasts Off for Mission to Map Water on Earth — That rumble you heard just before 4 a.m. Dec. 16 was the latest SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket roaring away from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Nighthawk and North County editor Janene Scully was up for the launch.

» Story Catcher Mailbox Project Returns to State Street — Staff writer Grace Kitayama delivers with her report on a project giving voice to Santa Barbara’s stories of grief and praise.

» Lompoc Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Ex-Girlfriend in Orcutt — Elyse Erwin and her family finally get justice in her 2017 murder. Janene has been reporting on this story from the start.

» Goleta Man Charged with Manslaughter for Crash that Killed 2 Lompoc Women — Janene follows up on the fiery crash that killed two young women from Lompoc — 19-year-old Jenna Corrin Causby and 20-year-old Dorothy Ann Guthrie — and the Goleta man who allegedly caused the catastrophe.

» Fishing Vessel with 6 Aboard Runs Aground on Santa Cruz Island — Staff writer Serena Guentz catches the story of a 60-foot fishing boat and its crew of six that ran aground on Santa Cruz Island.

» SB ACT’s Coordination Helps Agencies Make Positive Impact on Homelessness — In the second of a three-part series sponsored by the Hutton Parker Foundation, contributing writer Ann Pieramici checks out the Neighborhood Navigation Centers and their role in getting people off the streets.

» Santa Barbara’s Pepper Marks Wins Title at Hueneme Wrestling Tournament — Sports editor Barry Punzal goes to the mat for Santa Barbara High School wrestler Pepper Marks.

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Last Year on Noozhawk

What was our most-read story this time last year? Driver Dies, Passenger Hurt in Single-Vehicle Crash on Shoreline Drive in Santa Barbara.

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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week

Holy cows really get away from the manger: Cows Flee Live Nativity Scene, Jump Into River.

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Best of Bill’s Instagram

I had a busy Friday night in my Instagram feed this past week, including a visit with Saint Nico.

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Watch It

I don’t like to be cold, but I don’t mind watching a train plowing through four feet of snow near Soda Springs on the west side of Donner Pass. HT to Best of Bill reader Kurt Daniels.