It’s been almost a week and I still can’t believe the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off the deal of my lifetime.
Now, while a re-energized Dodger Nation waits for pitching reinforcements, Noozhawk was throwing strikes with an audience of 144,004 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top Five stories you were reading during that period.
Just remember that this is my opinion column, not a news story.
1. Santa Maria Police Investigating Fatal Shooting at Oakley Park
A 15-year-old Pioneer Valley High School student was shot and killed the afternoon of Dec. 9 at a northwest Santa Maria park. No suspects had been publicly identified as of Dec. 15.
As our Janene Scully was first to report, Santa Maria police and other emergency personnel were dispatched around 2:3o p.m. to Oakley Park, at 1307 N. Western Ave., where a shooting had been called in.
The victim, later identified as Jesus Samir Cabrera Valverde of Santa Maria, was found on the northern edge of the park, by the sports fields near the intersection of Agnes and Western avenues.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“This investigation remains active and ongoing,” Lt. Daniel Rios told Janene on Dec. 12.
Valverde was a student at Pioneer Valley High, and Santa Maria Joint Union High School District officials said counseling services were made available to students and staff on campus.
“This is a very tragic incident, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family,’’ district spokesman Kenny Klein said.
District officials also said they were cooperating with the police investigation.
Valverde is survived by his mother, Irma Valverde.
A GoFundMe account was established to assist the Valverde family with funeral expenses, but had raised only $2,300 as of Dec. 15. Click here to make an online donation.
Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact Detective Juan Rubio at 805.928.3781 x1682 or the SMPD Anonymous Tipline at 805.928.3781 x2677.
“I just ask the community to help find who did this to my son and to collaborate with authorities please,” Irma Valverde told KEYT News.
2. Female Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Vehicle in Goleta
In a heartbreaking story, an 86-year-old Goleta woman was struck and killed by a car as she was walking across Hollister Avenue a few blocks west of Camino Real Marketplace the evening of Dec. 12.
As our Tom Bolton reported, Marjorie Vasquez was crossing the 7300 block of Hollister, near Lowell Way west of Storke Road, when she was hit just after 6 p.m.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said emergency personnel arrived to find Vasquez lying near the median, where she had died of her injuries.
Zick said the driver, identified as Julie Chang of Santa Barbara, stayed at the scene after the wreck. She was not physically hurt in the incident.
The sheriff’s Major Accident Response Team is investigating the circumstances of the collision, but Zick said alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors.
No information was available about Vasquez’s family or funeral details.
3. Caltrans Announces Timeline to Fully Reopen Highway 1 Along Big Sur Coast
If all goes according to plan, Caltrans officials say, the long-closed section of Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide in Big Sur should reopen in late spring.
The highway has been closed since Jan. 8 when a powerful winter storm triggered the first of a series of massive landslides that blocked the roadway and destabilized the mountainside.
Owen Lavine of our partner, the San Luis Obispo Tribune, reported that Caltrans aims to complete the necessary repair work, including grading, contouring, culvert installation, surveys, paving, and rock fall barriers, to reopen the highway in the next few months.
That is if this winter’s weather cooperates, of course.
The slide project stretches between Ragged Point, about seven miles north of Piedras Blancas Light Station in San Luis Obispo County, and Lime Creek, just south of Esalen Institute in Monterey County.
4. BizHawk: Café La Fonda Opens to All in Downtown Santa Barbara
Café La Fonda has opened at 129 E. Anapamu St. across from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden — the latest restaurant to settle in at Santa Barbara’s most picturesque location not at the beach.
As our Josh Molina reported, the joint venture of chef David Cruz, Ruben Gonzalez, Alex Lazaro and Jennifer Sanchez features a mostly Mexican food menu inspired by Cruz’s grandmother’s recipes, using only fresh ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
“I love to cook,” said Cruz, who has worked at the Rosewood Miramar Beach and an array of local eateries for the past 30 years. “The kitchen is my passion.”
The Café La Fonda team transformed the former Courthouse Tavern space in just three weeks.
If you don’t remember the Courthouse Tavern, you’re not alone; it was only open for about 15 minutes before closing over the summer. Before that, the place went through equally forgettable and whirlwind phases as Elements and the French Table.
But that’s the past. I like the chances for La Fonda’s future — especially since there are about 2o things on the menu that look like they have #bestofbillrecommendation potential. Starting with the La Fonda Shrimp Enchiladas, the Chilaquiles Rojos and the French Toast Breakfast.
The restaurant also provides catering for parties and special events at Casa de la Raza.
About 20% of the café’s proceeds will go to Casa de la Raza’s Suicide by Firearm Prevention Project, which is to launch next month.
Café La Fonda is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sunday. It’s closed Monday.
5. Santa Barbara Man Charged with Luring Teenage Girl for Sex in Ventura County
A 35-year-old registered sex offender from Santa Barbara was arrested in Ventura County for allegedly attempting to lure a minor for sex. Imagine that!
As our Tom Bolton reported, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said Samuel William Lafond pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of attempting to engage in sex acts with a teenage girl in Oxnard.
The case stems from a late November undercover operation by Ventura County’s Child Exploitation & Human Trafficking Task Force, which targeted individuals engaging in sexual conversations with underage children online.
“During the operation, it is alleged that Lafond engaged in sexual conversations with an undercover officer he believed was a 14-year-old girl,” the District Attorney’s Office said.
Lafond, who also had an outstanding felony warrant, was arrested Dec. 5 by the Oxnard Police Department’s Family Protection Unit.
He entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment in Ventura County Superior Court. As of Dec. 15, he remained in Ventura County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Lafond already was on probation after pleading guilty last year to possession of child pornography and other charges. He was arrested in 2021 in Carpinteria.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories to check out before you go:
» $25 Million Verdict Finds Santa Barbara School District 80% at Fault in Sexual Abuse Case — Staff writer Serena Guentz has the verdict in a disturbing and jaw-dropping civil case.
» State Weighs In on Santa Barbara County, American Medical Response Ambulance Services Lawsuit — Serena has the latest 4-1-1 on Santa Barbara County’s mess of its ambulance services contract.
» Los Olivos Residents Renew Pleas for Safety Measures on Highway 154 at Foxen Canyon Road — North County editor Janene Scully delivers some unfortunate news for exasperated Los Olivos residents hoping for a safer Highway 154 sooner rather than later.
» Fire at Vandenberg Village Apartment Building Displaces 20 People, Plus 6 Pets — Janene adds up the damages and devastation after a Vandenberg Village apartment building fire.
» What’s Next for Santa Barbara’s Downtown Parking Program? — Managing editor Giana Magnoli reports that free parking may become a thing of the past in downtown Santa Barbara.
» 37th Annual Boat Parade Lights Up Santa Barbara Harbor as Holidays Float In — Serena puts into words Santa Barbara’s annual boat Parade of Lights, but it’s the photos from Kim Clark, Lisa Crawford, Mike Eliason, Ray Ford and Veronica Rodriguez that really tell the story.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Highway 154 Shut Down by Multivehicle Crash.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
It’s come to this: Security Robot Assumes Patrol Duties in Downtown Portland.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Santa Barbara sunsets in my Instagram feed this past week. What else do you need?
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Watch It
Andre Braugher’s character, Detective Frank Pembleton, was riveting in the cop show, Homicide: Life on the Street — for my money the greatest police drama that TV has ever known.
But he was comedy gold as Capt. Raymond Holt on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Whenever I hear “BRB” for “be right back,” I always think of him and smile.
“It’s the same number of syllables as the acronym; what is the point?” he famously exclaimed.
In that same vein … “RIP.”
