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According to our WordPress analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 166,749 readers this past week.
What follows is my own take on what our Google Analytics has tracked as the Top Five most-read stories over that period.
This is my opinion column, by the way. It is not a news story.
1. Construction Begins to Turn Former Hotel Into Permanent Housing for Homeless
The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has begun converting a former Quality Inn into permanent supportive housing for 32 formerly homeless residents.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, the $18 million project will transform the vacant, two-story motel at 3055 De la Vina St. into Spanish Colonial-style studio apartments, complete with a community room, laundry facilities and offices for support services.
New Beginnings Counseling Center will provide on-site physical and mental health care, addiction services and community programs.
“This project isn’t just a project, it’s a promise,” said Rob Fredericks, the Housing Authority’s executive director and CEO.
“It’s a promise to the residents who are going to live here.”
Funding for the project comes from the City of Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara Foundation, Banc of California and the state’s Homekey+ program.
Residents will pay 30% of their income toward rent and receive Section 8 assistance.
The Housing Authority expects residents to move in by April.
The complex is located at the De La Vina intersection with State Street, near MacKenzie Park and Trader Joe’s.
2. Flood Watch Issued as Region Prepares for Strong Rainstorm
Rain began falling Nov. 13 as a major storm system moved into Santa Barbara County for the weekend.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, the rain was expected to intensify through Nov. 15 with potential flooding and thunderstorms.
Emergency officials activated sandbag stations and urged residents to prepare for “possible flooding in low-lying areas, strong winds, hail, lightning, dangerous flash flooding, and shallow debris flows” near recent burn areas, according to ReadySBC.org.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch from midnight Nov. 13 through noon Nov. 14, with a second wave expected overnight and into Nov. 15.
The weather service said Santa Barbara County could receive 3-4½ inches of rain from the storm.
“Saturday is the period of most concern,” weather service meteorologist Ryan Kittell said, advising residents to stay indoors if possible due to damaging winds and heavy rain.
Gale warnings are in effect in the Santa Barbara Channel, and cooler temperatures around 60 degrees are expected through next week with additional lighter rain possible.
3. Police Release Name of Motorcyclist Killed in Santa Maria Crash
A Santa Maria man died Nov. 9 when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a pickup truck in the 600 block of East Boone Street.
As our Janene Scully reported, emergency crews responded around 11 a.m. to the crash scene, two blocks west of South College Drive, and began performing life-saving measures on the motorcyclist.
The man was transported by an American Medical Response ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center, but he succumbed to his injuries.
Santa Maria police Sgt. Shane Armstrong identified the dead man as 30-year-old Vincent “Vinny” Hargadon.
No one else was injured in the wreck, and police are investigating the circumstances.
A GoFundMe account was established by friends to assist the Hargadon family with funeral expenses.
A post on the site described Hargadon as “a beloved son, brother, father and friend” who especially was “a devoted father to his beautiful daughter, Easton.”
“The pain of losing him is felt immeasurably by his family, as well as all who were fortunate to know him,” the post said.
The site had raised nearly $25,000 as of Nov. 14. Click here to make an online donation.
4. 443-Unit Sears Housing Project Gets Pushback from Santa Barbara Review Board
The Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review harshly criticized plans for 443 apartments at the former Sears site at La Cumbre Plaza, telling the out-of-town developers they “don’t know Santa Barbara.”
“When I see this, it really looks like a hotel in Orange County,” board member Will Sofrin said at the Nov. 10 meeting.
Fellow member Dennis Whelan hit the bullseye with his acerbic observations that it’s “a 1970s interpretation” with an “institutional feel.”
As our Josh Molina reported, the project by property owner Riviera Dairy Property LLC and Beverly Hills developer Kennedy Wilson includes 36 studios, 183 one-bedroom units, 201 two-bedroom units and 23 three-bedroom units, with 10% reserved for moderate-income residents.
ABR members demanded story poles to visualize the buildings’ heights and questioned whether architects had even researched Santa Barbara’s architectural style.
“You need to get a designer who understands Santa Barbara architecture,” architect Fred Sweeney said during public comment.
Kennedy Wilson is working with two nonlocal architects, RELM Studio in Los Angeles and AO Architecture from Orange. The developers already had revised the plan from April when it went before the Planning Commission.
Combined with nearly 700 units proposed for the Macy’s side of La Cumbre Plaza, the area faces a major transformation.
Construction isn’t expected before 2028, when the Macy’s lease expires.
5. 1 Person Killed, 2 Injured in Highway 154 Crash Near Stagecoach Road
A pre-dawn head-on collision on Highway 154 near Stagecoach Road in the Santa Ynez Valley left one person dead and two others injured on Nov. 11.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, a sedan and SUV slammed into each other around 5:30 a.m. just north of San Marcos Pass.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said the sedan’s passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.
He said the sedan driver suffered moderate injuries and the SUV driver had minor injuries. Both were taken by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
No identities were released.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances of the wreck.
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Good Reads
Check out these six stories before you go:
» Judge Releases Ashlee Buzzard From Jail Custody with Monitoring — North County editor Janene Scully has been busy covering the Melodee Buzzard disappearance. While Melodee’s mother garnered all of the headlines this week, authorities don’t appear to be any closer to finding the missing 9-year-old.
» $7.8 Million Home Purchased for New UCSB Chancellor — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway goes house-hunting for news about new UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis’ new home.
» Santa Barbara Rock Gym Announces Closure, Saddens Climbing Community — Staff writer Pricila Flores has the unfortunate story of a local business finding its financial mountain too steep to climb.
» Santa Barbara Planning Commission OKs Plans to Close Los Patos Exit, Underpass — South County editor Josh Molina reports that the fate has been sealed for a vintage Union Pacific railroad trestle and the Los Patos Way exit ramp it spans off southbound Highway 101 near the Andrée Clark Bird Refuge.
» Crash Involving American Medical Response Ambulance Sends 1 Person to Hospital with Major Injuries — Editor in chief Tom Bolton often reports on ambulances at crash scenes but this time the ambulance he’s reporting on was the crash scene.
» Mark Patton: Remembering Two Veterans Who Served Both America and My American Pastime — Sports columnist Mark Patton shares a poignant Veterans Day story about two veterans who still loom large in his life, decades after their untimely deaths.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? SpaceX Rocket Roars in Late-Night Launch From Vandenberg Space Force Base.
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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
My family in Colorado, Montana and Nebraska had quite the night sights to see, but all I saw was clouds: The Sun Erupted With the Year’s Largest Solar Flare This Week, and Space Weather-Fueled Aurora Activity Could Continue.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
What do @sadiethealaskanmalamute, turkey vultures and my grandsons have in common? They’re all featured in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
I’m not ready for baseball season to end. HT to my brother, Ross Macfadyen.
