UC Santa Barbara’s basketball team will be playing the role of the underdog against the mighty Baylor Bears in the opening round of the NCAA tournament the morning of March 17.
But if Princeton and Furman can slay a couple of giants, so can the Gauchos.
While UCSB is looking to make history this weekend, Noozhawk made a mistake when we inadvertently sent some of our e-Bulletin subscribers a draft version of a redesign we’re working on for our free A.M. Report.
We apologize for the confusion but, if you got it, consider yourself part of our test audience! Feel free to share any feedback with us at e-Bulletin@noozhawk.com.
Noozhawk’s actual news had an audience of 112,466 readers this past week, according to our Google Analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over that period.
In case our test email has left you discombobulated, this is my opinion column. It is not a news story.
1. Lamborghini Driver Fighting Infraction Charge over 152 mph Incident on Highway 154
You remember the Lamborghini driver who was pulled over on Highway 154 in Santa Ynez last fall after allegedly hitting 152 mph — nearly three-freaking-times the speed limit?
As our Janene Scully reported at the time, a California Highway Patrol officer stopped 50-year-old Zhan John Akopyan of La Cañada Flintridge on Nov. 20, near the Meadowvale Road intersection west of the roundabout at Highway 246.
The CHP initially filed a misdemeanor reckless driving charge, but Janene reported that the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office dialed it back to an infraction for driving over the speed limit.
Evidently, that was still too much for Akopyan, whose Beverly Hills attorney, Nathan Soleimani, entered a not guilty plea on his behalf at a Feb. 6 court appearance.
Seriously.
A trial is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 20 in Superior Court in Santa Maria.
2. County Ordering Storm-Related Evacuations for South Coast Communities
Preceded by evacuation orders and school cancellations, California’s latest “atmospheric river” storm system arrived in Santa Barbara County as expected on March 14.
Fortunately, while the storm delivered a long day of steady rain, it apparently moved through too quickly to cause major damage.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, county authorities canceled evacuation orders around 5:30 p.m., but advised residents to be vigilant about wet roads, downed trees, slides and debris.
Rain gauges around the county recorded 1 to 3 inches of rainfall, and our Grace Kitayama reported that Santa Barbara and Santa Maria both set records for the date.
According to the National Weather Service, Santa Barbara logged 2.54 inches of rain, obliterating the previous record of 1.36 inches from back in 1952. Santa Maria topped out at 1.27 inches, well above 1958’s 0.63 inches.
“There was less rain than expected and we didn’t see any significant impacts in the evacuation zones, and that’s why they wanted to lift evacuation orders,” Kelly Hubbard director of the county Office of Emergency Management, told Giana.
In case you were wondering, we’re not done with the rain yet. Sprinkles are possible over the weekend with heavier showers expected March 21.
3. City of Solvang Falls Victim to Phishing Scam, Loses $538,000
Phish stories are ubiquitous in the news, but we’re still surprised when the con artists scam someone we know. Or a city we know.
As our Janene Scully reported, the City of Solvang is one of the latest municipalities to fall victim to a phishing attack.
According to the city’s annual audit, it was swindled out of $538,000 last year, although insurance covered a little less than half of it.
“The city was also a victim of a phishing attack which caused a net expenditure of $538,000,” according to the briefest of explanations in the annual report.
“The city reported the incident to law enforcement authorities, and the city received $250,000 in insurance proceeds for the loss after June 30, 2022.”
The fraud incident surfaced at a Feb. 27 City Council meeting, but Mayor Mark Infanti waved off a citizen who asked about the bamboozlement.
“That’s something that happened a while back,” he said. “It was brought up at a prior council meeting, but we are not going to address your question directly and give you an answer.”
In response to questions from Janene, about all that City Attorney Dave Fleishman would say is that he believed the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department investigation is ongoing.
As embarrassing — and expensive — as the ruse was, at least Solvang didn’t fall for a phony sister city request like Newark, New Jersey.
4. Surfer Dies Near Goleta Beach After Apparent Cardiac Arrest
In spite of the heroic actions of a fellow surfer, a male surfer died near Goleta Beach the afternoon of March 13 after reportedly going into cardiac arrest.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck told our Giana Magnoli that an unconscious surfer was pulled from the ocean between Goleta Beach and the UC Santa Barbara campus around 3:30 p.m.
He said the rescuer performed CPR until firefighters and medics arrived to take over, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
No identities were disclosed, and no other details were available.
5. BizHawk: Santa Barbara Sex Therapist Jenn Kennedy Launches The Pleasure Project
If it bleeds, it leads. But sex has more appeal.
All week long, my last Best of Bill column, “State Street Stabbing Puts Downtown Santa Barbara Back in News,” was running back and forth with Josh Molina’s latest BizHawk column.
Josh won in the end, by a few dozen reads.
I can’t say I’m surprised because his column was about my friend, Jenn Kennedy, a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in sexology.
Kennedy, a former Noozhawk photojournalist, founded Riviera Therapy in Santa Barbara, and recently launched The Pleasure Project, a six-week program “for women to cultivate an erotic template.”
She said a half-dozen women meet with her online to talk about sex, with a focus on sexual satisfaction with themselves and their partner.
“I really enjoy the connections, helping people have the a-ha moments — ‘Oh, this is what’s been going on,’” said Kennedy, a board-certified sex therapist.
“And one of the takeaways last week from a participant was, ‘I feel less alone.’ It’s normalizing — ‘Oh, I have been feeling this way.’”
Aaaaand, with that, I’ll let Josh take it from here.
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Good Reads
Don’t miss these six stories before you go:
» Laurie Jervis: Silicon Valley Bank’s Collapse Causes Waves Through Central Coast Tech, Wine Industries — Noozhawk wine columnist Laurie Jervis — a top-notch business reporter when we were colleagues at a Fossil Media newspaper in our former lives — uncorks some of the unfortunate Santa Barbara County connections to the Silicon Valley Bank bailout fiasco.
» Stabbings in Santa Barbara Send Two People to Hospital with Critical Injuries — Executive editor Tom Bolton has the police report on a pair of stabbings in the … you fill in the blank: _____ block of State Street downtown.
» Most of Los Padres National Forest Reopens for Public Use — Staff writer Serena Guentz ventures out with news on the reopening of Los Padres National Forest after a two-month closure.
» Military’s Blue Angels, Thunderbirds to Take Flight at Point Mugu Air Show — North County editor Janene Scully is accustomed to scanning the heavens — usually for rocket launches. She sets her sights a little lower in the sky for the weekend’s 2023 Point Mugu Air Show.
» Commander Declares ‘Bright and Busy’ Future for Vandenberg Space Force Base — Janene lands at the “State of Vandenberg Space Force Base” presentation put on by the Santa Maria Valley and Lompoc Valley chambers of commerce. 2023 is another busy year for the VSFB launch pad, including the latest SpaceX rocket that’s expected to blast off March 17.
» Kristin Smart’s Family Calls on Los Angeles County to Charge Paul Flores with Additional Rapes — San Luis Obispo Tribune staff writer Chloe Jones has the latest on Kristin Smart’s killer.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Firefighters Battling Difficult-to-Access Vegetation Fire at Hollister Ranch.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
For Gov. Gavin Newsom, conflicts of interest and favoritism are only wrong for everyone else: Cheering Silicon Valley Bank Bailout, Gavin Newsom Doesn’t Mention He’s a Client.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Cuteness overload with Baby Nico and @sadiethealaskanmalamute in my Instagram feed this past week. What’s not to love?
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Watch It
I know I usually include nonlocal videos, but this Gorilla in the Mist is too good not to share. HT to Bangori, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s star entertainer — rain or shine.