For the past seven years, I’ve had the privilege of being a judge in the Goleta Teen of the Year program. It’s one of the most rewarding — and coolest — things I get to do in my job, even though the task of selecting a winner never gets easier.
I’m always astounded by the accomplishments, the intelligence, the drive and the compassion of the seven young men and women who make it to the final round of the Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime competition.
This year was no exception, but this year’s winner, Maddy Matthys, is exceptional.
A vivacious senior at Dos Pueblos High School, Maddy is the captain, lead prosecutor and lead defense attorney for the school’s nationally recognized and perennial powerhouse Mock Trial team, which recently finished fourth in the world. Assistant Principal Bill Woodard, who coaches the team, calls her “the most talented and most highly decorated high school mock trial competitor in the nation.”
Her legal prowess aside, Maddy describes herself as “a science nerd,” and is an integral part of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy as well as an enthusiastic mentor of the Montessori Center School fifth- and sixth-grade FIRST LEGO League robotics team.
If that’s not enough, and it’s not for her, she’s on the Chargers’ varsity tennis team, plays cello in a quartet at the Music Academy of the West, and spent her summer performing scientific research for two UC Santa Barbara projects, one involving kidney disease and the other marine biology.
The daughter of Alison and Eric Matthys, Maddy hopes to follow her sister to Duke University.
Cole Kurth of San Marcos High School was this year’s Goleta Teen of the Year runner-up, and the other finalists were Dos Pueblos seniors Anmole Ahdi, Dayne Gardiner, Colleen Murphy and Arianna Wallis, and San Marcos senior Adrian Rodriguez.
Congratulations to Maddy and her fellow finalists, and best wishes for the brightest of futures.
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What were you reading on Noozhawk this week?
1. Raytheon Lays Off Employees at Goleta Facility
As many as 50 Raytheon employees were handed layoff notices this month at the company’s Goleta complex, but a spokeswoman would not confirm the figure.
Sources told Noozhawk that most of the layoffs were in the defense contractor’s Vision Systems Division, and some were longtime employees.
Raytheon spokeswoman Corinne Kovalsky confirmed the layoffs, but had little else to say.
“To remain competitive in today’s challenging environment, we routinely assess our resource levels to ensure our work is aligned with our customers’ evolving requirements,” she said. “Any impacted employees have an opportunity to apply for other jobs within Raytheon. They are offered access to career counseling, employment services and severance packages based on their years of service.”
2. Two UCSB Students Diagnosed with Meningococcal Disease
A third case of meningococcal disease has been confirmed at UC Santa Barbara, but public health officials said it is not yet known how the three students came down with the illness, a bacterial infection that causes bloodstream infections and meningitis.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department is conducting blood tests on other potential cases in the outbreak, said Dr. Charity Thoman, deputy health officer for public health. The three students — two males and a female — were all diagnosed between Nov. 11 and Nov. 18.
Thoman told a Nov. 21 news conference that UCSB and public health officials have taken preventative measures, including prescribing antibiotics, for more than 300 students considered “close contacts” with the ill students.
College-aged youth, particularly first-year students who live in residence halls, are at increased risk of meningococcal disease. The close quarters, kissing, and sharing food, drinks and cigarettes can increase risk.
There is no vaccine for the type of strain found in the UCSB students, as regulators with the Food and Drug Administration have not approved a vaccine in the United States.
3. TynanGroup Prepares to Mark Big Milestones in New Funk Zone Location
Santa Barbara-based TynanGroup Inc. has been busy this year, having purchased, renovated and relocated into spacious new headquarters in the old Big Dog Sportswear offices in the Funk Zone. Our Gina Potthoff recently got a tour of the complex, which now houses all of the TynanGroup empire under one roof — including a new addition that moved here over the summer.
TynanGroup has specialized in developing luxury hotels and resorts, residential properties, surgery centers, banks and other opportunities. Earlier this year, it invested in VG Life Sciences Inc., a publicly traded biotech company in Pasadena, and moved its operations to Santa Barbara.
Company president John Tynan says VG Life Sciences is moving toward clinical trials for drugs that could be used in the fight against cancer and autoimmune and infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS.
Also in the new building at 121 Gray Ave. are Anchor Point IT Solutions and MedBridge. According to Dave Odell, TynanGroup chief financial officer, the company in January will open The Lab, a workout and physical therapy facility, in partnership with Elite Performance & Rehabilitation Center and P3, of which Tynan is also part owner.
“We’re doing some pretty significant science,” Odell said of work in The Lab. “This is sort of a coming together.”
4. Santa Barbara Police Cracking Down on Gangs with ‘Operation Falling Dawn’
Gang activity has spiked in Santa Barbara this year, but police officials say they’ve been working behind the scenes to put a dent in it.
Police Chief Cam Sanchez told a Nov. 20 news conference that 68 suspected gangbangers and their cohorts have been arrested in a sweeping, multiagency undertaking dubbed Operation Falling Dawn. He said the perps were responsible for nearly 325 crimes, more than half of them felonies.
Sanchez didn’t offer specifics, but said SBPD believes there’s “a nexus between the Mexican Mafia and local gang activity.”
“We do have a gang problem,” he added.
On display at the news conference was a timeline plotting gang incidents between July 2012 and September 2013. Our Lara Cooper reported that the incidents appear to increase dramatically after the Feb. 19, 2012, murder of Kelly Mitchell Hunt, 21, of Ventura, who was shot to death in the 1000 block of Olive Street.
Sanchez said it’s not likely that Hunt’s slaying sparked the increase, but the murder investigation led to the discovery of several other cases.
5. Craig Allen: Three Reasons to Expect Home Prices to Fall
It’s not unsual for Noozhawk business columnist Craig Allen to get a spike in traffic when he writes about real estate. It is, after all, Santa Barbara’s national pastime. Sure enough, his Nov. 17 column explaining why he expects a drop in local home prices put an exclamation point on the trend.
According to Craig, several factors simmering behind the scenes may lead to at least a softening in the local landscape, although not the meltdown that occurred in 2009. During two years of tumult between 2007 and 2009, the California Association of Realtors reported that median home prices plunged more than 66 percent in Santa Barbara County.
To make his case, Craig discusses affordability and loss of investor interest, but he hones in on interest rates. He says the rates simply cannot stay this low forever and are throwing off clear signals that both short- and long-term rates are on the way up.
If you’re thinking of buying or of selling, it seems like a good time to get your house in order.
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The greatest catch, at the most critical time. Ever. It could only have been better if it had come against Alabama. War Eagle!
(Auburn Athletics video)
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.