After one of the strangest, most exasperating return trips to the World Series in recent memory, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers will try to run it back — starting Oct. 24 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Repeating is baseball’s hardest trick, even with the sport’s biggest payroll and a constellation of generational superstars — led by the brightest of them all, Shohei Ohtani.
Although the Dodgers and Blue Jays rarely cross paths, Dodger Nation has some unfinished business with at least one scrub Jay.
Toronto outfielder George Springer remains an unrepentant alumnus of the scandal-soaked 2017 Houston Asterisks, the team that stole its way to a World Series win over the Dodgers.
His five conveniently timed home runs earned him the series’ MVC — Most Valuable Cheater — award.
So, yes, the boos raining down on Springer at Dodger Stadium will be music to my ears.
But what I really want to hear is something even sweeter: The sound of the Dodgers going back-to-back.
While we wait for first pitch, Noozhawk was swinging for the fences with an audience of 176,481 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top Five most-read stories over that period, as compiled by our Google Analytics.
I must warn you that this is my opinion column, not a news story. And, this week, I’ve got a few opinions to get off my chest.
1. 2 Sheriff’s Deputies on Leave After Fatally Shooting Stabbing Suspect in Goleta Valley Ralphs
Two Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies have been placed on paid administrative leave after fatally shooting a stabbing suspect the afternoon of Oct. 20 at a Ralphs grocery store near Goleta.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, deputies responded just after 2:30 p.m. to reports of a man attacking another man with a knife at the Magnolia Shopping Center, at 5170 Hollister Ave., a few blocks east of Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital.
According to sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick, an adult male victim had been stabbed twice and cut by the suspect, who fled into the market.
The altercation allegedly stemmed from a dispute over the suspect abusing the victim’s dog.
When deputies arrived and attempted to apprehend the suspect inside the store, an “altercation” occurred and deputies fired their weapons, killing the man.
The exact sequence of events leading to the shooting remains under investigation, Zick said.
The identity of the dead man is being withheld pending notification of his family.
Zick said the stabbing victim — whose identity also has not been disclosed — was transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, treated for his wounds and released.
The dog was uninjured in the attack.
Employees reported hearing four to six gunshots fired inside the 43,000-square-foot store. A TikTok video shows shoppers fleeing from the building after hearing shots.
The entire shopping center was locked down temporarily during the investigation, and Ralphs, the anchor tenant, was closed for the rest of the day.
Most of the complex was reopened as of 3:30 p.m., the California Highway Patrol reported, and the grocery store reopened Oct. 21.
The California Department of Justice assisted with processing the market and crime scene but is not conducting the shooting investigation, Zick said.
Per Sheriff’s Department policy, both deputies were placed on paid administrative leave following the shooting.
In a follow-up report, Rebecca interviewed shoppers and employees of nearby businesses that were locked down during the incident.
Rebecca Dixon, a veterinary assistant at Wilder Animal Hospital across the parking lot, said she “was a little nervous because I didn’t know if they were trying to find someone or what was going on.”
“I was trying to keep calm for the clients who were in here, and just trying to keep it mellow the best I could,” she added.
Dixon said the clinic contacted all of its clients with afternoon appointments to let them know about potential delays.
I was among those who got a call — while on my way to pick up my Alaskan malamute, the Instagram-famous @sadiethealaskanmalamute, who happened to be there for X-rays.
2. Suspected DUI Crash Injures 4 People in Santa Barbara; Driver Arrested
An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after a wreck injured four people — at least one of them a juvenile — near the Santa Barbara Bowl just after midnight Oct. 19.
As our Janene Scully reported, Santa Barbara firefighters and police were dispatched at 12:35 a.m. to the crash scene at East Anapamu and North Milpas streets.
Police investigators say the driver of an Audi sedan speeding east on East Anapamu failed to make the 90-degree turn onto North Milpas and slammed into a tree just north of the Santa Barbara Bowl entrance.
The driver — identified by police as Sebastian Escamilla Lopez — and three passengers suffered minor to moderate injuries and were transported by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
I’m told there may have been a fifth occupant, who was ejected in the crash but ran off before police arrived.
Lt. Ryan DeJohn told Janene that Lopez was arrested on a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol and faces a felony child endangerment charge because a juvenile was in the car.
Lopez is expected to be booked into Santa Barbara County Jail once he’s released from the hospital.
The identities and medical conditions of the injured passengers were not disclosed.
3. Santa Barbara Hires New Consultant to Finish Work on State Street Master Plan
Mushrooming budget deficit be damned, the spendthrift Santa Barbara City Council has voted unanimously to hire yet another consultant to complete the long-sputtering State Street Master Plan, just days after the city terminated the contract of the previous consultant.
If you’re keeping score on this defining debacle in the saga of downtown, the total tab for out-of-town consultants is now north of $900,000 for the — so far — three-year-delayed project.
But, hey, it’s only your money.
As our Josh Molina reported, the council on Oct. 21 voted 7-0 to hire Pasadena-based Moule & Polyzoides to finish the job it originally hired Berkeley-based MIG to do.
The 2022 MIG contract totaled a cool $780,000, and the city paid the company $570,000 for who knows what before voiding the agreement with roughly $210,000 remaining.
Now the council has approved $343,250 for Moule & Polyzoides to produce a plan in early 2026.
“It’s the right choice for our downtown and the whole community,” City Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said, and this time she means it.
The master plan has become a flashpoint in the interminable debate over State Street’s future since the street was abruptly closed to vehicles during the COVID-19 lockdowns in June 2020.
State Street between Haley and Victoria streets remains shut down except for one northbound lane in the 1200 block to accommodate patrons of The Granada Theatre.
Although most locals avoid downtown now, numerous local architects and land-use planners have voluntarily — and for free — proposed multiple iterations of blueprints to revitalize State Street.
Longtime Best of Bill readers know I’m a huge fan of architect Cass Ensberg’s straightforward, common-sense and affordable conceptual solution to fix State Street that she pitched 2½ years ago.
Last year, architects Anthony Grumbine, Qing Xue and Alexis Stypa from Harrison Design; Marc Appleton and John Margolis from Appleton Partners; Justin Manuel of Arcadia Studios; Thomas Sekula of DMHA; and Fred Sweeney came up with charmingly creative plans for the 400, 800 and 1100 blocks of State Street.
As you know, none of those proposals went anywhere with the city’s leadership.
The new Downtown Santa Barbara Improvement District — itself a response by fed-up downtown property owners to try to save State Street — has launched an online petition urging the city to reopen the street to vehicles.
The organization used Placer.ai data and analytics to show the City Council that a staggering 600,000 fewer people a year have returned to State Street since the pandemic.
“In contrast, other corridors that remained open to vehicles — Milpas Street, Upper State Street and Coast Village Road — have all exceeded their pre-pandemic visitation,” executive director Robin Elander said.
On the other side of the street, Strong Towns Santa Barbara has its own online petition to keep State Street closed.
4. FBI Joins Search for Missing Melodee Buzzard of Vandenberg Village
The mystery surrounding 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard’s disappearance has intensified in Lompoc as her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, remains uncooperative with Santa Barbara County sheriff’s detectives.
As our Janene Scully, Pricila Flores and Tom Bolton have been reporting over the past week, authorities first announced that Melodee had been missing for more than a year before revising that timeline to say she was last seen on Oct. 7.
On that day, detectives say, Buzzard and her daughter left in a rental car on a road trip to Nebraska. Buzzard apparently returned alone.
“Ashlee Buzzard remains uncooperative and has not provided detectives with any information about Melodee’s current location or condition,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said.
“The primary goal of this investigation is to verify the location and welfare of Melodee Buzzard and ensure that she is safe.”
Responding to questions from Noozhawk on Oct. 22, Sheriff Bill Brown said authorities are “hopeful that Melodee might be with someone — perhaps an extended family member or friend — who may not be aware of the circumstances of her disappearance.”
Zick said a search warrant has been served at Buzzard’s home in the 500 block of Mars Avenue in Vandenberg Village but investigators have not said what, if anything, was found.
The peculiar case came to light Oct. 14 after Lompoc Unified School District officials reported concerns following failed truancy procedures and an unsuccessful welfare check.
Apparently, Buzzard and her daughter visited Mission Valley Independent Study School in August to initiate her registration in the independent study program offered through the Lompoc school district.
“If attendance does not begin, the school follows mandatory truancy procedures — including phone calls, letters, emails and home visits,” LUSD officials said in a statement last week.
“When a student or family cannot be reached after these efforts, the school requests a welfare check from law enforcement.”
Lt. Chris Gotschall of the sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division credited the school district with “recognizing that something wasn’t right, reaching out, and continuing to assist with this investigation.”
Sheriff’s investigators released no details about the Oct. 7 Melodee sighting, what the deal was with the trip to Nebraska, or any elaboration on Buzzard’s explanations.
Melodee’s father, Rolando Rubiell “Pinoy”Meza, died at age 40 in a 2016 motorcycle crash in Santa Maria.
The FBI has joined the investigation as concerned community members have been gathering outside Buzzard’s house praying for her daughter’s safety and demanding answers.
Sheriff’s detectives asked the public to avoid conducting independent searches that could interfere with the investigation.
Melodee has brown eyes and brown curly hair, and is described as approximately 4-foot to 4-foot-6-inches tall and 60 to 100 pounds.
Anonymous tips can be reported to the Sheriff’s Department at 805.681.4171 or online at sbsheriff.org/home/anonymous-tip/. The FBI can be contacted at 1.800.225.5324 or tips.fbi.gov.
5. Supervisors Support Phasing Out Oil Production in Santa Barbara County
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Oct. 21 to develop an ordinance shutting down onshore oil and gas production in the region.
As our Daniel Green reported, Supervisors Laura Capps, Joan Hartmann and Roy Lee supported the motion.
Opposing it were Supervisors Steve Lavagnino and Bob Nelson, whose North County districts contain most of the county’s oil operations.
The assertive phaseout would occur in two stages: first banning new wells within six months, then shutting down existing operations over some period of time following an amortization study allowing operators to recoup their costs.
More than 50 speakers addressed the board. Supporters of the ban cited environmental concerns and declining production, while opponents warned of lost high-paying jobs and county revenue.
Hartmann defended the decision, calling change “hard, but necessary” and noting that the oil industry has known about climate change since the 1950s.
Actually, I think climate change has been around a lot longer than that, given the lack of dinosaurs I see roaming the earth.
Lavagnino said he supports moving toward cleaner energy sources but observed that many locals still want — and need — gas-powered vehicles.
While it may appear that an all-electric utopia is imminent and inevitable, an achievable and affordable reality may rudely intrude, especially in a state — and a county — with such sky-high poverty rates.
Either way, the implementation of these ambitious mandates is going to be entertaining to observe.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read:
» Santa Barbara Considers Raising Cannabis, Hotel Taxes to Help Balance Budget — Burning through cash faster than they can raise it, City of Santa Barbara officials keep lighting new fiscal bonfires and wondering why the budget deficit continues to grow. South County editor Josh Molina adds up the new tax and fee hikes the City Council is considering.
» Goleta Council Gives Green Light to Update Traffic Signals, Intersections — Staff writer Pricila Flores signals traffic safety upgrades are ahead for Goleta.
» Seriously Injured Corvette Driver Airlifted to Hospital After Crash in Solvang — Editor in chief Tom Bolton corrals a sports car wreck in Solvang.
» Design Work Starting for Santa Ynez Valley Trail Linking Buellton, Solvang — Staff writer Nick Forselles is on the trail of a new connection planned for Buellton and Solvang.
» David Petry Knows Where the Bodies Are Buried; Santa Barbara Cemetery Tours This Weekend — Contributing writer Julia McHugh haunts the Santa Barbara Cemetery with my old friend, David Petry, and explains how you can, too. I’ve been on his tours before and they’re a #bestofbillrecommendation.
» Santa Barbara Faces Tourism Shift, Fewer International Visitors — Pricila maps out the future of Santa Barbara tourism.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Downtown Apartment Living an Early Hit, Despite High Rents, at Santa Barbara’s Soltara.
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What I’m Up To
Although I’m not looking for a free meal, I occasionally do have free time if you’re looking for a speaker for your club, group or organization and want to hear more about Noozhawk. Email me at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com.
Dec. 11 — The Channel City Club has asked me to emcee its Christmas brunch at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. I’m honored to be recruited, all the more so because I’m following the giant footsteps of my close friend, the late Erin Graffy.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Big news for the continent’s largest — and most elusive — birds: California Condors Making a Comeback in Parts of Bay Area.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
A spectacular sunset, a crime scene and our new Western screech-owl tenant are all in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
When the earth puts on a fireworks show of its own.
