The second annual Santa Barbara Rodeo opens July 31 at Earl Warren Showgrounds and already is promising more thrills, spills and activities than last year’s inaugural run.
One of the most popular events is mutton bustin’, in which young cowboys and cowgirls try to hang on to sheep while the animals — easily twice their size — race to rejoin their flock. The kid who lasts the longest wins.
The contest is a thrill, although it most often ends in a spill just steps out of the gate.
Noozhawk asked for entries for a buckaroo to ride for our brand in the Aug. 2 mutton bustin’ performance, and the name we drew out of my Rodeo King hat is 7-year-old Theo Gardiner of Carpinteria.
His dad, Jimmy, tells me that Theo — the only boy among three sisters: 11-year-old Gigi, 4-year-old Maude and month-old June — is looking to make the most of his opportunity.
The Waldorf School second-grader is very active and his dad says he spends much of his time “catching lizards, playing sports, hunting, fishing, and just loving everyday.”
He’s usually accompanied by his dogs, Buckwheat, a long-haired Dachsund, and a yellow Lab named Birdie.
Although this is Theo’s first rodeo, he helps with family cattle brandings at Ranchería Ranch near Bakersfield and tends to seven goats: three milking goats, two fiber angoras and two pygmy meat goats that he already shows in 4-H.
Cowboy up, Theo. Looking forward to seeing you ride.
According to our WordPress analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 120,986 readers this past week.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period, as tracked by our Google analytics.
Please remember that this is my opinion column. It is not a news story.
1. Public Safety Power Shutoffs Possible for 1,799 Santa Barbara County Customers
As if last weekend’s extreme heat wave wasn’t uncomfortable enough, Southern California Edison warned that nearly 1,800 South Coast customers could have their power turned off with wildfire danger rising with the temperatures.
As our Evelyn Spence reported, Edison announced that the hot, dry and windy weather conditions might force it to implement notorious public safety power shutoffs on July 26-27.
Edison officials said the potential outage — California’s half-assed workaround for its decrepit, jerry-rigged electric utility infrastructure — would affect 1,799 customers in parts of the eastern Goleta Valley north of Highway 101, along Highway 154 up over San Marcos Pass, and on the Gaviota coast west of Goleta.
Although the power was out in my Montecito neighborhood for nearly seven unexplained hours the night of July 22, only a few scattered Edison outages were reported over the weekend.
In a related but not related article that was our seventh most-read story of the week, our Ray Ford — by far the most respected wildfire writer on the Central Coast — unpacks and explains the phenomenon of sundowner winds in the context of the 2008 Tea Fire.
That 1,940-acre, wind-whipped wildfire raged through the Montecito foothills and the Santa Barbara Riviera the night of Nov. 13 that year, quickly destroying more than 200 homes.
While Ray’s storytelling is informative and fast-paced, you can almost feel the heat from his frighteningly vivid photos.
2. UCSB Demolishes Oldest Dorm to Make Way for New Housing
UC Santa Barbara’s decades-long transformation of student housing has reached another milestone with the demolition of Santa Rosa Hall, the university’s first residence hall, to make way for a much larger residential complex.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, the 412-bed dorm, which opened in 1955, was razed last month as crews prepare the site for construction this fall.
The new East Campus Housing Project will replace it with four buildings providing 1,688 beds and bicycle parking spaces.
Construction remains on schedule, with the site expected to be cleared by the start of fall quarter on Sept. 24, according to UCSB spokeswoman Kiki Reyes.
The residential community is slated to open by fall 2028 and is the second phase of the university’s plan to add 3,500 undergraduate beds after abandoning the controversial Munger Hall proposal.
3. Bill Macfadyen: Dog’s Tragic Death Doesn’t Justify Online Lynch Mob
I said what I said, and nothing has changed since I did.
4. No Injuries Reported After Vehicle Drives into Montecito Country Mart Toy Store
Last week’s news was filled with bicycle wrecks. This week it’s cars crashing into South Coast storefronts. Mercifully, there were no injuries this time.
As our Evelyn Spence reported, just before noon July 27, a woman drove her Lucid Gravity electric SUV over a bollard and into the Toy Crazy shop at Montecito Country Mart, 1026 Coast Village Road.
Authorities say the driver — whose identity was not disclosed — was unhurt in the incident, nor was anyone else.
Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Rich Ames said the building had moderate damage, and a city building inspector evaluated whether it was safe to occupy.
Santa Barbara police Lt. Ethan Ragsdale said alcohol and drugs are not believed to have been factors, but the circumstances are under investigation.
Not three days later, Evelyn was reporting on a similar incident at Pet House in the Calle Real Center, 5781 Calle Real in Goleta.
The second crash occurred just before 7 a.m. July 30 when a Toyota Corolla sedan crashed through the front window of the closed business.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Mike Gray told Evelyn the driver, whose identity also was withheld, was not injured.
Although the impact destroyed the front counter and several merchandise shelves, no animals inside the store were harmed.
The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the circumstances of the wreck.
Be careful out there.
5. BizHawk: Habitat for Humanity’s Santa Barbara ReStore Coming to State Street
Habitat for Humanity of Southern Santa Barbara County is returning its popular ReStore concept to the South Coast with a new location in downtown Santa Barbara.
As our Daniel Green reported, Santa Barbara ReStore is set to open Aug. 26 at 400 State St., on the northeast corner of East Gutierrez Street.
The nonprofit-operated shop sells donated furniture, home décor, building materials and fixtures, with proceeds supporting affordable housing projects throughout the county.
Habitat for Humanity had a ReStore in Goleta, but it was an early casualty of the COVID-19 debacle in August 2020.
The organization signed a lease for the State Street storefront in 2023 and began accepting donations in March in preparation for the opening.
Donations are accepted from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays through the rear entrance on East Gutierrez Street.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read:
» Downtown Renewal, California’s Future in the Spotlight at Santa Barbara Forum — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway rounds up Noozhawk’s latest Spotlight Santa Barbara discussion, this time exploring potential solutions to chronic local challenges.
» Montecito Residents Worried about Creek Flooding Ahead of El Niño Storms — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway drops in on a Montecito neighborhood meeting over Santa Barbara County emergency preparedness.
» 18 Suspects Identified in Connection with Carpinteria Cannabis Farm Burglaries — Either there’s no honor among thieves or they were all part of the same group chat, but South County editor Evelyn Spence reports on a remarkably thorough break in a series of thefts from a Carpinteria cannabis operation. Say, is anyone else old enough to remember when California officials at every level promised that legalizing marijuana would put an end to black market-related crime while bringing in kajillions of dollars in annual revenue, or is it just me?
» Air Force Awards $250 Million Contract for New Satellite Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base — North County editor Janene Scully is following new projects due to join Vandenberg Space Force Base’s growing constellation of aerospace operations.
» Santa Barbara Zoo’s Second Red Panda Cub Dies — Evelyn has more heartbreaking news from the Santa Barbara Zoo.
» Guadalupe Council Terminates Royal Theater Renovation Project — Staff writer Jack Dindia lowers the curtain on a Guadalupe theater renovation — but the reason why the City Council decided to exit stage left is unusual for government.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Santa Barbara County Coast Included in Tsunami Advisory After Huge Russian Quake.
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What I’m Up To
Although I’m not looking for a free meal, I occasionally do have free time if you’re looking for a speaker for your club, group or organization and want to hear more about Noozhawk. Email me at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com.
Oct. 29 — I don’t recognize who Scouting America — Los Padres Council is describing, but I’m being honored with the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award at the annual Salute to Scouting celebration at the Santa Barbara Club, #myhomeawayfromhome.
Dec. 10 — Having not learned their lesson from last year, the Channel City Club has invited me back to emcee its Christmas brunch at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. I’m privileged to do this in honor of my close friend, the late Erin Graffy, the club’s longtime host.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
In the name of “science,” Anthony Fauci should be mocked and ridiculed until the end of time: Anthony Fauci’s Journal of Hypocrisy. Unfortunately, that’s the closest he’ll ever get to consequences.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Hanging with my grandchildren and emptying the tank from Idaho. It’s all in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
See if you can just watch this once. HT to Best of Bill reader Anne Randall.
