The last two weeks have been surreal.
The entire nation is on lockdown. Schools and downtowns are empty. Businesses are closed, and many may never reopen. In a matter of days, unemployment skyrocketed to record levels.
Perhaps for the first time, we’re truly examining what is essential to our lives and our communities.
With the impacts and uncertainties of the coronavirus crisis growing by the hour, I think you will agree that having access to reliable and trustworthy local news reporting is more important than ever.
In the past two weeks, Noozhawk quickly reprioritized our reporting efforts to focus on providing the most critical information, data resources and analysis to help you understand and navigate the COVID-19 pandemic affecting Santa Barbara County.
Our reporters are still out in the community, working round the clock and putting themselves at risk to keep you informed. Thanks to their efforts, you can depend on Noozhawk to tell you the truth — and hold our leaders accountable for how they’re managing this unprecedented crisis.
But, we need your help, too. While not everyone can afford to invest in local journalism right now, we also can’t afford to lose it. Can we count on you?
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Your support, at any amount, will help us stay focused on what’s important: helping Santa Barbara County get through this emergency and coming out stronger than ever.
We’re grateful for your support, and we’re also grateful for your readership.
According to our Google Analytics, there were 154,782 of you reading Noozhawk this past week. As most of you know, these Best of Bill columns are my take on the Top 5 most-read stories during that period.
Our COVID-19 coverage once again dominated our analytics so, for the second week in a row, I’ve expanded the Top 5 into a Top 10.
As a reminder, this is my opinion column, and not a news story.
1. COVID-19 Cases in Santa Barbara County Likely Much Larger Than Just Those Testing Positive
This story wasn’t actually your top story over the last seven days. In fact, Josh Molina’s report only reached the fifth spot.
But the Top Two stories were both updates on how many coronavirus cases the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department was reporting officially, and each story’s count — nine on March 19 and 13 on March 21 — has since been eclipsed.
As of March 27, there have been 32 confirmed cases in the county and it seemed pointless to repeat really outdated information. This isn’t a Fossil Media newspaper, after all.
There most certainly are more, which was the point of Josh’s story and what all of us have been thinking anyway. So I’m invoking Publisher’s Prerogative and batting No. 5 in the leadoff position.
Which reminds me, I’m writing this on what would have been Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
OK, let’s get my head … back into the game.
What Josh reported on March 23 was that the county had 18 confirmed COVID-19 cases at the time, but officials knew that number to be higher.
“Because this virus is so novel, it is impossible to predict the exact or even close amount,” Dr. Henning Ansorg, the county’s public health officer, told a news conference. “I am convinced it is a multitude of the tested positive results, for sure.”
Ansorg was joined — at a safe distance — by Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart, District Attorney Joyce Dudley and Jan Koegler, the county’s public health emergency preparedness manager.
They all emphasized the need for social distancing as the best way to avoid transmitting the virus.
“Assume you are at risk for contracting it, and take action to stop the spread,” Ansorg said. “If you have even only mild symptoms, please stay home.”
People who believe they have the coronavirus are advised by Ansorg to self-quarantine until they’ve gone 72 hours without a fever. If things get worse, he said, seek professional medical care.
So far, officials say, coronavirus tests have been prioritized for high-risk populations due to limited testing capacity.
2. Man Seriously Injured in Assault on Santa Barbara’s Eastside
In the latest episode of Santa Barbara Police Department Mysteries, a man with a serious stab wound in his chest was found — in broad daylight — on March 24 in the normally bustling 300 block of North Milpas Street, near East Montecito Street.
Police spokesman Anthony Wagner told our Tom Bolton that officers were dispatched to the scene at 4:45 p.m. and found the victim “conscious and alert.” He was treated there, then transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
That’s it? No, Wagner said, officers were combing the area looking for “a suspect.”
Was the assault gang-related? Can’t say.
Anything else? The investigation is ongoing.
I don’t know if Lower Eastside residents are expected to be reassurred by that treasure trove of information, but I find it derisory and patronizing — and you should, too.
Witnesses told Noozhawk that the assault actually occurred at Eastside Neighborhood Park, at East Yanonali and North Soledad streets across from the Franklin School playground.
From there, they said, the victim walked the four blocks to his job, passing two —admittedly closed— elementary schools, the Franklin Neighborhood Center and the busy Trader Joe’s parking lot. Again, in broad daylight.
The man’s identity and medical condition were not disclosed, nor did Wagner offer any useful insight on, say, a description of “a suspect.”
As Eddie “Billy Ray Valentine” Murphy said to the closed-mouth chauffeur in Trading Places: “Thank you. You been helpful.”
3. Pedestrian Struck, Killed by Amtrak Train in Downtown Santa Barbara
A man was struck and killed by a train early March 21 while he was walking on the railroad tracks just west of the Amtrak station in Santa Barbara.
Police Sgt. Chad Hunt told our Tom Bolton that a southbound passenger train hit the man just after 7 a.m. near West Montecito Street.
He said the victim was declared dead at the scene, but the circumstances did not appear to be suspicious.
The man’s identity was withheld pending notification of relatives.
4. County Law Enforcement Leaders Call for Cooperation with Stay-at-Home Order
Local law enforcement officials issued a joint appeal for Santa Barbara County residents to cooperate with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide stay-at-home order as the coronavirus runs its course through California.
The March 21 statement from the Santa Barbara County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association emphasized that Newsom’s order was “issued for the safety and well-being of those who live and work in the communities we serve.”
The group acknowledged that law enforcement officers have “great concern and empathy for those who are experiencing frustration, financial loss, heightened anxiety and fear during these troubling times.” But they warned criminals and their ilk that they would not abide “those who attempt to take advantage of this situation.”
Evidently, criminals in Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria missed the memo we posted on Noozhawk.
As our Janene Scully reported, the Santa Maria Police Department also asked residents to stop tattling on neighbors.
“Our hope is that our community members responsibly follow the statewide directive,” police Lt. Mark Streker said. “However, the Santa Maria Police Department will not be ordering residents out of parks or off of public walkways.”
The officials signing the statement were Sheriff Bill Brown, Guadalupe Police Chief Michael Cash, Lompoc Police Chief Joe Mariani, Santa Barbara Police Chief Lori Luhnow, Santa Maria Police Chief Phil Hansen, acting UC Santa Barbara Police Chief James Brock, Allan Hancock College Police Chief Catherine Farley, District Attorney Joyce Dudley, county Probation Department Chief Tanja Heitman and California Highway Patrol Capt. Cindy Pontes.
5. Fire Destroys Large Homeless Encampment in Santa Barbara
Another large homeless encampment caught fire along Highway 101 in Santa Barbara. There were no injuries in the blaze, which was reported just after midnight March 21 on the southbound embankment behind Los Patos Way, across from the Andree Clark Bird Refuge.
Santa Barbara fire investigator Ryan DiGuilio said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined but suspicion was falling on a warming or cooking fire.
“It was a pretty elaborate camp, one of the more elaborate ones I have seen,” he told our Josh Molina. “It was pretty big.”
That’s an understatement.
For years, Los Patos Way business owners and clients have complained to me and to Noozhawk, to elected officials and to local fire departments about the sprawling, filthy, densely populated encampment.
No one has done a thing, but maybe an urban renewal project will finally be in the cards.
6. Only One Hospitalization So Far from 26 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in Santa Barbara County
7. Amid Coronavirus Meltdown, Struggling Restaurants Cook Up Plan for Survival8. Confirmed Coronavirus/COVID-19 Cases Rise to 9 in Santa Barbara County
8. ‘Zoomers’ Ready to Do Grocery Shopping for Boomers During Pandemic
9. Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore in Santa Barbara Closes Until April 15 in Response to Coronavirus
10. As Coronavirus Cases Grow in Santa Barbara County, Law Enforcement Facing ‘Unique Set of Challenges’
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Pedestrian Killed by Alleged Hit-Run Driver on Highway 101 in Montecito.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
So you’ve binge-watched everything on Netflix and now you’re really bored: 17 Best Board Games for Adults Who Like to Party.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
Spring has sprung, and it’s been pretty outside. You can see what I saw in my Instagram feed.
• • •
Watch It
Is the social order starting to fray inside your house as the coronavirus shutdown drags on? Let these ethereal moon jellies carry your cares away.
(Monterey Bay Aquarium video)
• • •
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk and Instagram: @bill.macfadyen, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
