I’ve been a professional journalist for nearly 40 years, and — for the most part — I’ve enjoyed every minute. But nothing in all those decades compares to the fun I’ve had these last 13 years with Noozhawk.
In spite of what you may have heard, this is an exciting time to be a journalist, especially in the pioneering age of online local news.
There’s been no roadmap through the wilderness for Noozhawk to follow so we’ve been blazing our own trail since our launch in 2007. We prefer it that way, actually.
From the very start, we’ve been blessed with a tremendous team, and I could not have gotten us this far without the leadership and expertise of my business partners, executive editor Tom Bolton and business development vice president Kim Clark.
We’re very proud of what Noozhawk has accomplished and the positive impact we’re making. We’re also looking forward to bigger and even more ambitious plans in 2021.
We hope that won’t include a pandemic, but — let’s face it — these last few years have dumped plenty of adversity on our community, and yet we’re all still here.
All of us at Noozhawk — our editors, reporters, sales team, photographers and talented freelance contributors — share a commitment to deliver to you the freshest news in Santa Barbara County, 24/7.
But we can’t carry out our mission without you. We’re in the thick of our year-end Hawks Club membership drive, and we aim to raise $50,000 by Dec. 31 to support the local journalism you rely on every day.
We know not everyone can afford to invest in Noozhawk right now, but please help keep us soaring if you can.
Your contribution, at any amount, makes a difference. Thank you for your support.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk drew an audience of 111,147 readers this past week. These weekly Best of Bill columns are a compilation of — and my own take on — our Top 5 most-read stories of the past seven days.
Please remember this is my opinion column as Noozhawk’s publisher. It is not a news story.
1. Woman Found Dead in Car on Mesa in Santa Barbara
Responding to a report of an unresponsive woman in a parked car the weekend morning of Dec. 12, Santa Barbara firefighters discovered she apparently had killed herself with an unusual “chemical concoction.”
As our Tom Bolton first reported, Santa Barbara police spokesman Anthony Wagner said emergency personnel were dispatched just after 7 a.m. to a cul de sac at the ocean end of Santa Cruz Boulevard, near the top of Thousand Steps on the Mesa.
Wagner said a multiagency hazmat team was brought in because the woman had used some kind of chemical mixture, reportedly hydrogen sulfide, which was created from common household products.
There were unconfirmed reports that a note on the car window warned of the presence of a dangerous gas.
The incident remains under investigation.
The woman’s name was not released pending notification of relatives.
Click here for suicide prevention information and resources that are available 24/7.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800.273.8255, and the Santa Barbara County 24-hour, toll-free hotline is 800.400.1572.
2. Long-Awaited Southwest Airlines Plans to Swoop into Santa Barbara Market
Finally.
Southwest Airlines, #myfavoriteairline, will begin service in and out of the Santa Barbara Airport in April, and I cannot wait.
Fulfilling a longstanding dream of local travelers, both of the personal and business varieties, the nation’s third largest airline — and the busiest in California — announced its change in plans on Dec. 16.
Southwest has not yet revealed routes, but sources told our Tom Bolton that there’s a good chance they’ll include Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and San José, as well as Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
An estimated 125 jobs are expected to arrive with the airline, including pilots, flight attendants, gate and ramp workers, and support staff.
Many of us in the business community have been on the Southwest trail for forever. My friend, Karen Ramsdell, and I had conversations about it for years before she retired as airport director in 2013.
The agreement is a signature achievement for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce — of which I am proud to be board co-chairman, I should disclose — and its president and CEO, Kristen Miller.
As the point person for area businesses begging for service to the Bay Area, Sacramento and San Diego, Miller has doggedly pursued this deal, and was instrumental in putting together the incentives needed to get it done.
“We are proud to find an airline partner with convenient access to a network of destinations that will drive economic growth in many sectors, including business, technology, hospitality and more,” she told Tom.
I could quote myself, but I’ll paraphrase instead:
We really needed this. After the disaster that 2020 turned out to be, Southwest’s arrival brings exciting opportunities for our regional business community.
Even as the current public health and self-inflicted economic catastrophes look likely to get worse before they get better, South Coast innovators and entrepreneurs already are looking beyond these dark days. Southwest Airlines and its economical fares can be instrumental in our recovery.
San Antonio, here I come.
3. Brand-New Santa Barbara Restaurant Protests Ban on Outdoor Dining — One Taco at a Time
Leave it to one of Santa Barbara’s newest restaurants to make one of the boldest moves yet in the growing revolt against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest lockdown order over the chronically untamed coronavirus.
To protest the unscientific ban on outdoor restaurant dining, YonaRedz, at 532 State St., served up free queso tacos to customers who brought their own chairs on Dec. 13.
“I want to promote the idea of eating outdoors,” owner Yona Estrada told our Jade Martinez-Pogue. “It’s much safer than ordering food with a large group of friends then going somewhere inside to eat.”
Under Newsom’s newest decree, all restaurants are closed — inside and out — to anything other than takeout or delivery service. Restaurant owners have been pointing out the contradiction of shuttering restaurants while keeping open, as two examples, outdoor gyms and recreational facilities.
“These sectors have worked their tails off since the reopening of the economy over the summer to meet every government-ordered mandate and instill top-notch procedures to keep you all feeling safe and happy as you dined outside,” said Estrada, who only opened in November.
With the number of COVID-19 cases rising throughout California, Newsom abruptly ordered his second lockdown to begin Dec. 7.
“The sudden shutdown has left tens of thousands of local restaurant workers with no answers, no financial assistance, or ability to know just how long they’re meant to hang on while their income is stripped away,” Estrada said.
Just a few months ago, the former auto mechanic was cooking up tacos in a buddy’s backyard. Now he’s a small business owner — the first in his family, in fact.
That’s the embodiment of the American-freaking-dream, and I hope Estrada will be the inspiration for others to find their voices.
One of Santa Barbara’s most successful and respected restaurateurs, Mitchell Sjerven, of bouchon santa barbara at 9 W. Victoria St., certainly has been speaking out. In a Dec. 17 commentary, “Restaurants — and Their Employees — Need Saving Now,” he laid out the dire future that is closer than you think.
“Without reclassification (of restaurants as essential businesses) or exiting the lockdown any time soon, no amount of gift card sales or deferred taxes or low-interest loans can replace the lost revenue needed to meet payroll, rent and the other fixed costs of restaurants,” he wrote.
“Only safely reopening for business can.”
Lest you think Sjerven’s only thinking of himself, there was this chilling warning to those who casually dismiss any hardship:
“For those suggesting takeout meals as a solution, please know that a full-service restaurant cannot possibly earn even a fraction of the revenue needed to cover overhead by selling takeout — and, even then, will attempt to do so with 70 percent fewer employees as no on-premise dining means no guests so no need for front-of-house staff.”
Seventy percent fewer employees is a staggering figure. Think of your favorite restaurant, which will have at least 10 employees but more likely has at least twice that many or even three times that number. You do the math, then ask yourself what happens to those human beings — and their families — when they’re out of a job.
That is unacceptable. And infuriating.
It would be helpful if Mayor Cathy Murillo and the City Council would become more vocal and visible in this fight. Because if you think the many tragedies from COVID-19 have been cataclysmic, just wait until the bill comes due for the flip side of this twin disaster.
The public health and economic crises are inextricably linked and cannot be separated. We either address them both, simultaneously, or we pay the price … for both. And there is no vaccine coming for our calculated economic predicament.
4. Bill Macfadyen: Tragic Santa Barbara Accident Stands Apart from Bad Run of COVID-19 News
I have nothing new to share about the Dec. 8 single-vehicle crash along the Santa Barbara waterfront that left the driver dead, possibly from an apparent medical emergency that preceded it. Police have still not released the driver’s name.
In other news, the rest of my column was caught in the quagmire that Gov. Gavin Newsom created with his latest lockdown order. Thank you for all the emails and messages about my pushing back.
While I appreciate the support, other local businesses and their employees need it more. Please contact all of your local elected officials and tell them to start standing up for us against this unconstitutional and unscientific insanity.
5. Guide to the Best and Brightest Holiday Light Displays in Santa Barbara County
On a light note, thankfully, we round out the Top 5 with our Brooke Holland’s report on displays of Christmas and holiday lights around Santa Barbara County — and beyond, actually.
Her guide is a pretty good roundup of drive-by oohing and ahhing in this oddest of seasons. Click here for the details.
Which reminds me: If you’re looking for socially distant, daylight exercise in the great outdoors, Brooke also put together a comprehensive guide to open space throughout the county. Click here for that informative report.
Meanwhile, Noozhawk is sharing pictures of your own decorated homes and businesses. Click here for the first batch of photos, and click here for the second round.
Click here to submit a photo, or click here for more information.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Physician Arrested on Attempted-Murder Charges in Goleta Attack.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
In the end, evil killed her, too, but Miriam Rodríguez refused to let fear win: She Stalked Her Daughter’s Killers Across Mexico, One by One.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
I was off my Instagram game this past week, but I still managed to muscle in a classic Ford Mustang.
• • •
Watch It
Caesar Augustus may have decreed an in-person census, but this couple just found out that Gov. Herod Newsom shut down all the hotels in Bethlehem. Stick around for the outtakes video that will queue up afterward.
(johnbcrist 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.
