On behalf of Team Noozhawk, I want to thank all of our Hawks Club members — longtime benefactors and newcomers alike — for responding to our 2021 election appeal.
The Santa Barbara mayoral and city council campaigns were among the most competitive that I can remember, and I’m proud of the work our staff produced to help you make informed votes in each of the races. That’s their job as professional journalists — not to tell you how to vote but to provide you with what you need to know, without bias.
I’m also gratified by the growing readership Noozhawk has, and the enthusiasm and loyalty our team has earned in the last 14 years.
With an average of 23,000 readers a day over the past 365 days, we know we’re your go-to source for reliable and trustworthy local news and information — especially when it comes to breaking news and emergencies.
But our readers know we deliver much more than that. While one of our Fossil Media competitors absurdly claims that its “online audience has grown to be the largest in Santa Barbara County, with over 750,000 pageviews a month,” I can’t even remember when we were that small. Our monthly pageviews are 1.7 million, according to our Google Analytics and Quantcast.
This past week, Noozhawk had an audience of 115,129 readers and, overall, the news was not nearly as grim as last week.
What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period.
Trigger warning: This is my opinion column, and you’re going to come across some. But I’m Noozhawk’s publisher, not a reporter, and my job comes with a larger civic responsibility in the community.
Whether you agree or disagree, letters to the editor are always welcome.
1. Randy Rowse Wins Santa Barbara Mayor’s Seat; Council Members Re-Elected
On an Election Day that, nationally, produced epic swings of the political tide from coast to coast, the wave even washed ashore in usually impervious Santa Barbara.
Defying conventional history if not wisdom, Randy Rowse — an independent former city councilman and an actual, real-life businessman — was elected mayor in the Nov. 2 mostly mail-in voting.
For many reasons, Rowse is an ideal choice for these desperate times. Downtown is filthy and disjointed, City Hall is in shambles, nowhere seems safe, the city’s historically chronic homeless problem is running amok, state housing mandates threaten to materially change the character of the community, the municipal bureaucracy is unchecked, and neighborhoods feel isolated from each other.
Dump nearly two years of COVID-19’s public health and economic catastrophes on top, and the only way you can’t see the crisis in city leadership is if you refuse to look.
Rowse is not beholden to any political party, which is an anomaly even in a supposedly nonpartisan election. But that absence of onus should be helpful as he tries to refocus city government on what matters to the middle, not to the extremes.
Noozhawk has noted that he’s the first man to be elected mayor after three decades of women. I’m not terribly impressed by that gender measure, but the more meaningful distinction is that he’s the first business man — or woman — in 40 years.
Not since nominal business executive David Shiffman left the mayor’s office in 1981 has someone with Rowse’s qualifications moved in. The timing could not be better.
With a background in hospitality from his decades as the owner of the Paradise Café, which he sold in 2019, Rowse knows how to manage and interact with a wide range of employees and customers to produce a quality experience. He’ll need every bit of that expertise, too.
Fundamentally, so many of the City of Santa Barbara’s challenges can be traced to poor customer service, or even no such service. Think about the problems I listed a few paragraphs back and how they can be alleviated — not necessarily resolved — by putting the customer first.
Government need not be run like a business and, honestly, as a small business owner myself, I don’t see how it could. But in its public-facing interactions, it should function with similar customer-service principles: How can I help? What do you need? How can we improve? What can I do? I can tell you that no restaurant needs to hire an $80,000 consultant to answer those questions.
As simplistic as that sounds, I believe Rowse has the leadership skills to cultivate such a culture, and we’ll start to see progress on some of the issues many of us thought were intractable.
Frankly, that’s one of the reasons why Mayor Cathy Murillo finished a distant third in the race, behind Rowse and political newcomer James Joyce III. Not only did she not have that skill set, there was scant evidence that she thought she needed it.
Still, after her one term as mayor, Murillo’s legacy will take its rightful place in Santa Barbara’s history books, where she’ll be listed on the line between Rowse and her predecessor, Helene Schneider.
In other news, incumbent City Council members Kristen Sneddon (District 4), Eric Friedman (District 5) and Meagan Harmon (District 6), were easily re-elected. Friedman had the easiest time of it; he was unopposed.
2. Santa Barbara Man Dies After Rollover Crash on Highway 1 South of Lompoc
A 37-year-old Santa Barbara man died of injuries he suffered Oct. 31 in an extensive rollover crash on Highway 1 south of Lompoc.
As our Tom Bolton was first to report, the wreck was called in just before 5:30 p.m. on Highway 1, north of Jalama Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the man was driving a 2005 Chevy Silverado southbound at an unknown speed when the pickup truck left the roadway and hit the right guardrail, arced to the left and crossed both lanes, then veered back to the right and recrossed both lanes.
The truck then slammed into a tree on the same side of the road where the ill-fated zig-zag started.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli told Tom that the vehicle ended up lodged in dense vegetation upside down about 30 feet off the highway.
After a heavy extraction effort, the severely injured victim was removed from the wreckage and transported by a county ambulance to Lompoc Valley Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
On Nov. 5, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department identified the victim as Daniel Pablo Duarte.
3. City of Santa Barbara Tangles with Warren Butler, Restaurants Over Outdoor Dining
Speaking of customer service, the City of Santa Barbara just can’t stop tripping over its tape measures when it comes to outdoor dining downtown at a time when coronavirus concerns have brought an array of temporary accommodations to help keep restaurants in business.
As our Josh Molina was first to report, the City Attorney’s Office has charged at least two restaurants — the Chase, at 1012 State St., and Mizza, at 1112 State St. — with misdemeanor counts of violating the city’s emergency outdoor dining order.
In the case of the Chase, the city alleges that management has allowed seating, umbrellas, lighting, heaters and other stuff to encroach on the public sidewalk over an 11-day period.
But Warren Butler, a veteran restaurateur and manager at the Chase, says the restaurant outside the restaurant maintains a passageway of at least eight feet to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, which actually requires only four feet of open space.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Denny Wei, an assistant prosecutor in the City Attorney’s Office, would not discuss the specifics of the litigation beyond the Santa Barbara County Superior Court filing.
“The city goes out of the way to make sure that people comply voluntarily,” he told Josh. “We only file action because people aren’t complying.”
Back in July, the City Council abruptly ordered staff to remove sidewalk dining tables and chairs that had not been permitted before anyone had ever heard of COVID-19.
At the time, city engineer Brian D’Amour said the outdoor dining license standard was eight feet but some restaurants — including the Chase — were tighter squeezes on the sidewalks.
Each misdemeanor violation carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or six months in jail. Mizza’s owners declined to comment on its case.
Back to my earlier point about customer service, it’s too bad there wasn’t an elected official adroit enough — or willing — to go ahead and informally mediate a solution that could have achieved each objective of commerce and public mobility. Isn’t everyone on the same side?
Change my mind.
4. 2 People Hospitalized After Altercation, Possible Shooting on Santa Barbara’s Eastside
In what seems to be a trend, a Santa Barbara altercation turned violent the night of Oct. 30, this time on the Lower Eastside.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, Santa Barbara police Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale said two men showed up at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital emergency room around 10:20 p.m., one with a gunshot wound and the other with a stab wound.
At about the same time, he said, a resident of the 500 block of North Nopal Street — between East Haley Street and Bond Avenue, a block west of North Milpas Street — reported a fight and a possible shooting in the neighborhood.
“Officers responded to the area and located blood evidence, evidence related to a shooting, and a knife in the street,” Ragsdale said.
Witnesses said a verbal confrontation had escalated, with one person pulling out a pistol and another brandishing a knife in response.
The weapon wielder with the knife “reportedly stabbed the gun-wielding suspect,” Ragsdale said. “Simultaneously, the suspect with the gun allegedly fired at the subject who had just stabbed him, striking a lower extremity.”
By the time police arrived, of course, everyone involved had fled. The two guys at the hospital were not as elusive.
Ragsdale said the alleged shooter — identified as 34-year-old Felipe Mercado of Goleta — was arrested after being treated for his wound.
Mercado was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of attempted homicide, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and using a firearm while committing a felony, he said. Bail was set at $1 million.
The alleged stabber, whose identity was not disclosed, was treated for nonlife-threatening wounds. He was not arrested, although Ragsdale said detectives were still investigating the circumstances.
5. Body Discovered in Water Below Shoreline Park in Santa Barbara
The body of a man was discovered floating in the ocean below Santa Barbara’s Shoreline Park the morning of Nov. 4.
As our Tom Bolton reported, Santa Barbara police Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale said emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene after a 9-1-1 caller spotted the body around 11 a.m.
“From the officers’ vantage point above, it appeared that the individual below was face down in the water,” Ragsdale said. “High tide made it difficult for rescuers to initially assess the medical status of the person in the water.”
Santa Barbara Fire Department rescue swimmers were called in to assist.
Ragsdale said it appeared that the man, believed to be in his late 60s, had been dead for several hours.
“There are no obvious signs of foul play,” he added.
The Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Bureau is investigating the cause of death. The man’s identity was withheld pending notification of family.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Woman Arrested After Shooting Spree on Highway 101 in Santa Maria.
• • •
Americans Held Hostage: Day 66
Day 66 of Americans stranded in Afghanistan.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
I do this, too, but not for the same reason: Scientists Discover the Adorable Reason Why Dogs Tilt Their Heads at You While You’re Talking.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
@sadiethealaskanmalamute brings her own business interruption to my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Save the tired arguments. The time is now.
(Kite & Key Media video)
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Instagram: @bill.macfadyen, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.