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It was another busy week for Team Noozhawk, with an audience of 133,659 readers over the last seven days, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories that our Google Analytics says you were reading over that span.
Just to be clear, this is my opinion column and not a news story, and I write it in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher.
1. BizHawk: Drippin’ Chicken Bringing Finger-Lickin’ Flavor to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara’s newest Nashville hot chicken destination is generating excitement before it even opens its doors in May.
As our Josh Molina reported, Drippin’ Chicken made a strategic appearance at the recent Deltopia in Isla Vista, cleverly offering free samples that quickly won over the hungry college crowd.
“That’s good stuff,” one student raved on Instagram, while others praised the flavor with “10 out of 10” ratings despite the intense spice level.
The restaurant, coming to 418 State St. behind Shaker Mill, features eye-catching exterior artwork by Aaron Kain, who spent four days creating a mural that blends surf and graffiti styles with Santa Barbara and Nashville themes.
“We tried to incorporate Santa Barbara as much as we can with the hot chicken, West Coast vibe,” owner Jesse Sodhi told Josh.
“… You can expect great quality food, fresh ingredients, low wait times and fair prices.”
According to Sodhi, Drippin’ Chicken is about a month away from opening.
2. Goleta Man Charged with Attempted Murder in Upper State Street Stabbing
A week after a Santa Barbara stabbing left a man in critical condition, two suspects have been arrested in the violent altercation and one of them has been charged with attempted murder.
As our Giana Magnoli reported last week, the victim was stabbed multiple times during an April 6 melee outside a bar in the 3100 block of Upper State Street, across from MacKenzie Park.
He was rushed by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in critical condition.
On April 12, Santa Barbara police detectives arrested two Goleta men in Carpinteria as suspects in the case.
Our Rebecca Caraway reported that the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office has charged 36-year-old Eduardo Zermano-Arzate with one felony count of attempted murder with premeditation.
He also faces special allegations of using a knife in the commission of a crime, causing great bodily injury, committing the crime while out on bail in other cases, and having two prior serious felony convictions.
Deputy District Attorney Tate McCallister said 37-year-old Alexis Garcia was charged as an accessory after the fact.
Zermano-Arzate pleaded not guilty and will be back in Superior Court on April 21. He is being held in County Jail without bail.
Garcia is out on bail and is to return to court on June 13.
3. Bill Macfadyen: Cookie Shop Crumbles Under Santa Barbara’s Sudden Eviction Notice
Readers have been eating up my Best of Bill column before my half-baked writing goes stale. Thank you.
And, by the way, I did treat our Josh Molina to lunch in recognition of his reporting clean sweep of last week’s Top 5 stories. Thanks to Rebecca Caraway and Giana Magnoli, I narrowly avoided having to do it again this week.
4. Santa Barbara Looks to Curb Free-Period Parking Shuffle in City Lots
The City of Santa Barbara is taking aim at the “75-minute shuffle” — a hallowed tradition in which downtown employees repeatedly move their vehicles to avoid paying parking fees in local lots, where the first 75 minutes are free followed by $3 an hour.
As our Josh Molina reported, Parking Programs supervisor Sarah Clark presented a plan to the City Council’s Finance Committee on April 15 to prevent people from “exploiting” the free period.
She said that while many drivers use it two or three times daily, some do it “six or seven times” — simply circling the block or “doing an illegal U-turn sometimes on a one-way street to swing back around and get back inside.”
According to Clark, the practice not only creates traffic and delays at exits but also costs the city revenue that “per the municipal code, we should otherwise be getting.”
Under the proposed system, users would be limited to one 75-minute free period per day.
The proposal includes other parking changes: halving downtown resident parking permits to $125 monthly from $250, cutting commuter permits to $70 from $145, and creating a tiered free parking system around State Street.
What’s behind the crackdown? Without scrounging for new revenue, the city faces a projected $3.1 million deficit in next year’s parking fund.
I don’t pretend to be an expert in parking economics, but in case no one at the city has noticed, the parking lots are rarely full because locals avoid downtown at all costs.
As an employer who moved a company out of downtown, in part, because of nonstop parking headaches, it seems to me there’s a simple, alternative solution to the shortfall:
Reopen State Street to vehicles and clean up the neighborhood. Give locals actual reasons to return to downtown and park in the freaking parking lots!
The Finance Committee — Mayor Randy Rowse and Councilwomen Meagan Harmon and Wendy Santamaria — appeared generally supportive of the latest parking revenue scheme. The full council will take up the proposal on April 22.
5. Coastal Commission Rejects Efforts to Block 250-Room Funk Zone Hotel
The California Coastal Commission has unanimously approved a 250-room hotel development in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone, despite concerns about affordability.
The project at 101 Garden St. — first proposed by the Wright family years ago — had previously received the City of Santa Barbara’s approval but faced appeals citing potential flooding, soil contamination and community incompatibility.
As our Josh Molina reported, Coastal Commission staff recommended denying the appeals after determining no substantial environmental issues existed.
While approving the project, several commissioners expressed reservations about room rates estimated at $300 per night.
“I would rather see a mix of units, with higher-end rooms and lower-end rooms,” said commission chairman Justin Cummings, a Santa Cruz County supervisor who said he “reluctantly” supported the recommendation.
Commissioner Meagan Harmon, a Santa Barbara city councilwoman, acknowledged affordability concerns but noted the agency’s decision was limited to examining “valid appeal grounds.”
“It really is a narrow consideration that we have in front of us,” she reminded her colleagues.
Harmon noted the staff’s “very thorough” analysis, adding “and I agree with them.”
The Wright family has held development rights for their property since 1983, previously proposing residential units in 2008 before withdrawing that plan as unprofitable.
In other Coastal Commission decisions during the three days of meetings at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort:
- Unanimously denied appeals of employee housing and additional shops at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort in Montecito
- Approved UC Santa Barbara’s San Benito student housing project
- Fined Sable Offshore Corp. $18 million for pipeline repair work on the Gaviota coast
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read:
» More Black Bear Sightings Reported in Goleta, UCSB — Bear with staff writer Rebecca Caraway as she tries to keep up with a peripatetic — or a bear-ipatetic, if you will — visitor making its way around Goleta.
» Man Pleads No Contest to Vehicular Manslaughter for Fatal Goleta Collision — Executive editor Giana Magnoli has an update in the case of the driver charged in the 2023 hit-and-run death of Ruben Reyes Victoria, who was killed as he tended to Camino Real Marketplace landscaping along Storke Road in Goleta.
» Fire Damages Lassens Store in Santa Maria — North County editor Janene Scully is following up on an April 15 fire that left the Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins store in ruins.
» Santa Barbara to Widen Sidewalks Along Block of State Street for Dining — South County editor Josh Molina edges into the latest half-assery — my description, not his — with the City of Santa Barbara’s interminable desire to kick the State Street can down the road.
» Minotaur IV Rocket Blasts Off from Vandenberg Space Force Base — Janene checks in on the latest Vandenberg Space Force Base rocket launch, this one from a rarely used launch pad.
» Meteorologist Dave Hovde Leaving KSBY After 22 Years — Sadie Dittenber, a California Local News Fellow and education reporter for the San Luis Obispo Tribune, forecasts the end of an era at KSBY News.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? BizHawk: Shalhoob’s Restaurant Brings the Meat to Goleta’s Magnolia Shopping Center.
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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.
- May 28 — My favorite topic, Noozhawk, is on the agenda for my appearance at the Rotary Club of the Santa Ynez Valley.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
A tiny Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and her family get a joyous, bittersweet and improbable homecoming after a 1½-year ordeal: Israeli Soldier in Gaza Rescues Dog Abducted from Kibbutz in Oct. 7 Terror Attacks.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed is showing signs of neglect, but I’ve just been too busy to post. I’ll make it up to you next week.
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Watch It
Pachyderm protection includes earthquake coverage.
