Thank you to everyone who joined us at Santa Barbara’s Lobero Theatre on Feb. 5 for an unforgettable evening with CalMatters political columnist Dan Walters. It was fantastic!
Your strong turnout and thoughtful, enthusiastic engagement affirmed exactly why Spotlight Santa Barbara exists — to create space for informed, civil conversation at a time when too much of our public discourse is defined by noise rather than nuance.
Seeing a packed house come together to listen, think and ask smart questions was genuinely gratifying for all of us at Noozhawk.
We’re deeply grateful to Dan for sharing his clear-eyed perspective on California’s past, present and future, and to our partners who helped make the evening possible: Spotlight Santa Barbara founders Jeff Giordano and Brian Goebel along with our co-sponsors — the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, American Riviera Bank, Nicholson & Schwartz CPAs and Pence Vineyards.
Most of all, thank you to our community for showing up with curiosity and goodwill. This was exactly the kind of conversation Santa Barbara needs more of, and it’s only the beginning.
Noozhawk will have our story on the event over the weekend, and we’ll be posting a video recording of the entire evening after it goes through the post-production process.
While you wait, Noozhawk drew an audience of 145,125 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period, as tracked by our Google Analytics.
If you’re new to Noozhawk, thanks to the plug from Dan Walters, this is my opinion column, which I write in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher. It is not a news story and I am not a reporter.
1. ‘I’m Not the Story’: Beth Goodman Reflects On Getting Pepper-Sprayed by Federal Agent
Santa Barbara real estate agent Beth Goodman got a face full of pepper spray while protesting a Jan. 28 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation on the Lower Eastside.
As our Pricila Flores and Evelyn Spence reported last week, Goodman was among a crowd of protesters who converged on the intersection of Carpinteria and South Salinas streets, where federal law enforcement officers apparently were attempting to detain a suspect.
The protesters, responding to a 6:50 a.m. alert from the 805UndocuFund immigration advocacy group, began recording the officers’ activity, blowing whistles, honking car horns and yelling at them to leave.
In multiple videos sent to Noozhawk and posted on social media, the masked Goodman can be seen confronting one masked officer in particular, repeatedly thrusting her cell phone in his face while positioning herself between him and a white SUV that had been stopped in the middle of the street.
After the officer repeatedly orders Goodman to back away from him, he launches a stream of pepper spray from an aerosol container.
In a later interview with Pricila, Goodman said she stepped in to protect Hispanic residents of the neighborhood.
“I figured I should be the target and not someone else who might get taken away, and if I got taken away, the outcome might be better for me than for someone else,” Goodman said.
According to her real estate website, Goodman is a mother of four who grew up in Montecito as the daughter of a top-producing real estate agent and a prominent architect who designed some two dozen homes in Birnam Wood Golf Club.
“I just thought, ‘Oh shit, that hurts,’” said Goodman, who nevertheless continued to record the officer.
Afterward, she was helped by fellow protesters and American Medical Response EMTs, then spent the rest of the day recovering from the effects of the spray.
ICE officials did not respond to Noozhawk requests for comment, but Santa Barbara police Sgt. Bryan Kerr said SBPD officers were dispatched to a “large fight” reported at the scene and documented what they observed.
Goodman has not filed a formal complaint, and apparently has not released her own video of the incident.
She emphasized that her experience should not overshadow the broader issue of U.S. immigration law enforcement.
“This is not about Beth Goodman,” she told Pricila. “I am an accidental representative, but I’d like to go back to my real job and have this country rise up and take back our freedom and liberty.”
2. Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Train in Santa Barbara
A pedestrian was struck and killed by an Amtrak train while he was walking on the railroad tracks near Santa Barbara’s Milpas Street crossing the afternoon of Feb. 1.
As our Janene Scully reported, the fatal incident occurred around 1:45 p.m. when the northbound Pacific Surfliner passenger train was crossing Milpas Street behind East Beach Batting Cages and East Beach Tacos.
Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Jon Turner said firefighters, police and an American Medical Response ambulance converged on the area, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau is investigating the circumstances of the man’s death, but authorities have not yet disclosed his identity.
Milpas Street was temporarily closed at the bustling intersection with the southbound Highway 101 entrance ramp and the weird new left turn lane at Hutash Street.
Pacific Surfliner 769 was later canceled after significant delays from the investigation.
3. Santa Barbara Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Toddler’s Death
A Santa Barbara man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus eight additional years, for the savagely violent 2023 murder and abuse of Mila Solis, the 3-year-old daughter of his then-girlfriend.
As our Daniel Green reported, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Pauline Maxwell sentenced 27-year-old Elvis Lopez after a jury convicted him last year in the toddler’s murder, along with a charge of assault on a child causing death and multiple counts of child abuse.
Prosecutors said Mila suffered a severed spine and other fatal internal injuries on Feb. 4, 2023, while Lopez was “babysitting” her. Emergency responders found the girl unresponsive, and she later died at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Daniel, who has been covering the trial for months, reported previously that Lopez testified that Mila fell from a bed while the two of them were napping, and he woke up when he heard “a loud noise.”
Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian alleged that Mila’s injuries came from an “intentional, violent blow to her back” with a punch or kick after she refused to take a nap.
Medical testimony indicated that Mila’s injuries were consistent with severe trauma, comparable to a car crash or a fall from a building.
Prosecutors also presented evidence of ongoing physical abuse over a period of several months after Lopez began dating the toddler’s mother, Stephaney Valladares.
Mila’s father, Miguel Solis, had testified that he and his mother had begun noticing signs of abuse and had documented them by taking photos.
Rest in peace, Mila.
4. SBCC Foundation Incorrectly Spent Part of $20 Million MacKenzie Scott Donation
The Santa Barbara City College Foundation has revealed that a significant chunk of a $20 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott was improperly used to fund part of the college’s SBCC Promise program.
As our Daniel Green reported, SBCC Foundation CEO Bobbi Abram said an internal review following a leadership transition uncovered accounting misstatements that led to Scott’s 2021 unrestricted gift effectively funding the Promise program.
The size of the transfer — evidently made without authorization from the foundation board, SBCC trustees or school administrators — was not disclosed.
The SBCC Promise covers two years of tuition, books and supplies for eligible local high school graduates and reportedly runs to about $2.5 million annually.
According to SBCC, the program has served roughly 9,800 students since 2016.
The foundation said $13 million remains from the gift from Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and will continue to be invested.
Trustees have launched an independent review, and the matter will be discussed publicly at a Feb. 19 board meeting.
5. Goleta Review Board Supports Unique Design For Sandpiper Golf Club
A highly distinctive redesign of the Sandpiper Golf Club clubhouse has moved a step closer to approval with the City of Goleta’s Design Review Board voting to advance the project to the Planning Commission while requesting refinements to several elements.
As our Pricila Flores reported, the proposal replaces the 50-year-old clubhouse at 7925 Hollister Ave. with a striking, nearly 37,200-square-foot structure designed to blend into the coastal landscape.
The concept features turf-covered, sloped roofs that resemble natural hillsides and waves, expansive glass walls with ocean views, and above- and below-ground facilities integrated into the terrain.
Design Review Board members praised the design’s originality, with one calling it unlike anything “Goleta has ever seen.”
Concerns focused on details, including bird safety, the appearance of a glass elevator tower and minor architectural adjustments.
The project also includes a redesigned golf course, underground utilities, restored historic structures and expanded public amenities.
A key historic element of the project is the restoration of the Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station, a well-known landmark on the Sandpiper property, which is owned by hotelier Ty Warner.
Plans call for repairing the structure using its original materials and design and repurposing it as the Rio Grande Coffee Shop.
While the historic gas pumps will remain as a visual nod to the past, they would be converted to provide charging for electric motorcycles, er, “bikes.”
The gas station restoration plans are scheduled for a Feb. 26 review by the Goleta Historical Preservation Commission.
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Good Reads
Check out these six stories before you go:
» Sales-Tax Hike for Unincorporated Areas Fails to Win Support from County Supervisors — Staff writer Daniel Green delivers some — at least temporary — good news for beleaguered Santa Barbara County taxpayers.
» Santa Barbara Finance Committee Considers Tax Increase Ballot Measures — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway delivers some potentially bad news for beleaguered Santa Barbara taxpayers.
» Fundraiser Set Up for Family of Goleta Mother Found Dead in Ventura County — Staff writer Pricila Flores is following the mysterious death of a Goleta woman whose body was discovered in the Santa Clara River near Ventura.
» Shelby Housing Project Near Dos Pueblos High Back on Table for Goleta — Pricila dusts off the plans for a long-stalled housing project on Cathedral Oaks Road west of Glen Annie Golf Club.
» Multiple Mountain Lion Sightings Reported in Santa Barbara — South County editor Evelyn Spence is tracking a mountain lion that reportedly is haunting Santa Barbara’s Samarkand neighborhood.
» Santa Barbara, Santa Maria Hit Heat Records with Temperatures in 80s — Daniel takes the temperature in Santa Barbara County and finds it … hot!
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Preschool Teacher on Paid Leave After Interaction at Lompoc Protest.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Nothing suspiciously corrupt about this mythical train-to-nowhere’s protection racket: Proposed Legislation Would Hide California High-Speed Rail Spending, Files from Public.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed might have had a shot at catching @charleycrockett, one of my favorite country artists, during his Ojai R&R. But I missed out.
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Watch It
This video has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration, and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
