As a lifelong rodeo fan, mutton bustin’ has always been one of my favorite events.
It’s the one where tiny cowboys and cowgirls cling to the wooly necks of sheep easily twice their size and try to hang on while the determined ruminants sprint back toward their flock across the arena.
Most rides end quickly — usually with a slow-motion face plant in the dirt just a few steps out of the chute.
Occasionally, they go far, and the buckaroo with the longest ride walks away with a silver belt buckle. And a face full of dirt.
This year, 7-year-old Auroura Tallulah “Lula” Chatham of Lompoc is ready to ride for the Noozhawk brand at the 83rd annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo.
Noozhawk is once again proud to sponsor the rodeo — and a mutton buster — and, after wrangling 37 entries into our drawing, we lassoed Lula’s name for the May 31 performance.
According to her mom, Monica Botello, Lula is known for her “spunky attitude and adventurous spirit,” and has a huge imagination and an even bigger personality. (Sounds like my daughter, only she’s now in her 30s.)
Lula loves drawing, video games, and daily adventures with her beloved dog and cat.
While she’s never ridden a sheep before, her mom said she’s more than game.
“With her fearless personality and determination, she’s ready to take on the adventure,” Botello told me.
I believe it.
Aside from Lula and her fellow mutton busters, the weekend’s Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competition features some of the top rodeo cowboys, cowgirls and animals in the country during performances the nights of May 29 and 30 and the afternoon of May 31.
Click here for our Janene Scully’s reporting on the rodeo and its Elks Rodeo Queen candidates.
All rodeo events take place at the Elks Unocal Events Center, 4040 Highway 101 in Santa Maria. Click here to purchase tickets online.
And don’t forget the annual Elks Rodeo Parade, this year with an extra-patriotic theme of “America’s 250th Anniversary.”
The parade begins at 10 a.m. May 30 with more than 130 entries traveling south on Broadway between Mill Street and Enos Drive.
While Lula prepares for the ride of her life, Noozhawk was riding herd over an audience of 130,076 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
And that brings us to this column — my own take on the Top 5 stories our Google analytics says you were reading over that span.
This is not a news story, by the way. It’s my opinion column.
1. Declining Santa Barbara District Enrollment Leads to School Principal Changes
Shrinking enrollment across the Santa Barbara Unified School District is forcing officials to rethink campus staffing, facilities and the long-term future of some of its schools as student numbers continue a years-long decline.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, with an assist from Pricila Flores, the district projects enrollment will fall to 11,446 students in the 2026-2027 school year.
That’s down from 11,708 students this year and is significantly below enrollment levels from a decade ago, when the 17-school district served roughly 15,600 students, according to state education data.
Citing those trends, SBUSD trustees voted on May 19 to place La Cumbre Junior High Principal Bradley Brock in charge of both his school and its Westside neighbor, Santa Barbara Community Academy.
The district does plan to hire an assistant principal for the transitional kindergarten-through-sixth grade elementary campus.
SBUSD officials said additional school consolidation options could be explored this fall after enrollment numbers are finalized and community input is gathered.
Predictably, administrators blame Santa Barbara’s high housing costs, declining birth rates and changing population patterns as the major factors driving the enrollment drop — nothing internally.
“It’s not like a tracked housing location,” SBUSD chief operating officer Steve Venz said of Santa Barbara’s high cost of living.
“It’s a very specific place and a desirable place to live.”
By comparison, Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County’s largest city, has seen a slight decline in the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District over the same period but a substantial increase in elementary school students in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.
2. New 5-Foot Wildfire Zone Requirements Are Undergoing State Review
Property owners in California’s high fire-risk areas could soon be required to clear nearly all combustible vegetation and materials within 5 feet of homes and buildings under proposed new state wildfire regulations.
As our Evelyn Spence reported, the plan is expected to go before the California Board of Forestry & Fire Protection in August.
The draft “Zone Zero” rules would apply to properties in State Responsibility Areas and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones and are designed to reduce the risk of structures igniting from embers during wildfires.
Existing homeowners would have three years to clear out, while new construction would be subject to the rules immediately.
The proposal would require removal of combustible items such as mulch, wood chips, dead leaves, firewood and dying vegetation near structures, while limiting plants in the zone to small, nonwoody varieties.
Additional requirements would mandate trimming trees near roofs and chimneys, creating under-eave safety zones and replacing combustible gates, fencing and nearby outbuildings — i.e., wood — with noncombustible materials within five years.
“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” insisted Terry O’Brien, chairman of the state forestry board.
“We’re building in flexibility so local experts can tailor solutions unique to their individual communities while maintaining meaningful fire-safety standards.”
While I don’t disagree with the concept, I’m certainly curious about the projected cost — particularly for residents on fixed incomes. But I guess that’s one way to force more housing inventory to open up until Proposition 13 can be neutered.
If approved, the regulations would take effect this fall.
Click here for the complete set of proposed regulations. Click here to see if your home is in an affected zone.
3. Years in the Making, Goleta’s New Splash Pad Springs to Life
After years of waiting, planning, delays and plenty of crossed fingers, Goleta kids finally got the chance to do what kids do best: run wildly through spraying water while shrieking at maximum volume.
Staying just out of the spray, our Rebecca Caraway was on the sidelines as the City of Goleta officially opened the South Coast’s first public splash pad at Jonny D. Wallis Neighborhood Park, at 170 S. Kellogg Ave. in Old Town.
The May 21 event drew excited families, city leaders and one lucky 9-year-old birthday boy who got to activate the water jets for the first time.
Mayor Paula Perotte acknowledged the project’s long road to completion, citing drought restrictions, construction setbacks and mechanical issues, but said the city never wavered in its drive to create a place for families to gather and make water-logged memories.
“It’s so great to be able to cut the ribbon on something that brings joy, that brings excitement, that brings activity, that brings kids away from their screens and out into the street and out into the community and out into our parks,” added City Councilman James Kyriaco.
The free splash pad features 34 water jets, cushioned play surfaces and recirculated, filtered water. In addition to a safe surface for children, the facility actually uses far less water than a swimming pool.
It will operate six days a week through Labor Day, closing Wednesdays for maintenance.
4. BizHawk: Sandbar Mexican Restaurant in Santa Barbara Sets June Reopening
Sandbar Cocina y Tequila, downtown Santa Barbara’s longtime party-and-margarita destination for the younger set, has been getting a major makeover and is preparing to reopen next month.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, the restaurant at 514 State St. temporarily closed in November and is to reopen June 18 with a redesigned space and a new culinary direction.
According to Sandbar’s Instagram account, the revamped menu is inspired by coastal Baja and Sonoran cuisine and includes cocktails themed around the Riviera Maya.
The updated interior was reimagined by Santa Ana-based Vanrooy Design to evoke a Yucatán-style coastal retreat.
5. Santa Barbara Man Gets 5-Year Prison Term in 2024 DUI Crash That Injured 4
A 24-year-old Santa Barbara man who prosecutors said was driving up to 90 mph while intoxicated before causing a violent three-vehicle crash on Hollister Avenue in the Goleta Valley has been sentenced to five years in state prison.
As our Evelyn Spence reported on May 21, Luis Gerardo Sanchez Ruiz pleaded guilty to driving under the influence causing injury, driving with a suspended license and driving with a blood-alcohol concentration above the legal limit in connection with the Dec. 13, 2024, head-on collision.
The wreck occurred just before 8 p.m. on the westbound side of Hollister between the east end of Auhay Drive and the Page Youth Center, at 4540 Hollister Ave.
Four people were injured in the crash, including one victim who suffered a broken sternum, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Sanchez Ruiz had a blood-alcohol concentration of .16 and admitted allegations that included causing injuries to multiple victims and personally inflicting great bodily injury.
He also had a prior conviction for reckless driving involving alcohol.
District Attorney John Savrnoch said the case highlights the serious consequences of impaired driving.
“The court clearly heard the victims who have faced suffering and trauma due to the decision of another to commit a completely preventable crime,” he said.
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Good Reads
Check out these seven stories before you go:
» Santa Barbara Memorial Day Ceremony Remembers the Fallen and Their Families — Staff writer Daniel Green is on hand for a moving Memorial Day commemoration at the Santa Barbara Cemetery. Our North County editor, Janene Scully, reports from the Santa Maria Cemetery ceremony.
» New Paseo Nuevo Plan for Offices, Housing Heads to Santa Barbara City Council — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway has another Paseo Nuevo scoop following her May 12 exclusive on plans for a new Yardi Systems headquarters in the old Macy’s building.
» Planning Commission Pushes Through Chick-fil-A Project for Goleta Valley — Daniel stays with Chick-fil-A on its drive through the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission for a new store at 4765 Calle Real near North Turnpike Road.
» UCSB Economic Summit Offers a Largely Positive Look at Artificial Intelligence — South County editor Evelyn Spence connects the dots between artificial intelligence, housing and the local economy at the UCSB Economic Forecast Project’s annual summit. Columnist Kirk Greene provides his own take.
» A Decade of Questions: Pearl Pinson Remembered After Vallejo Kidnapping, Suspect’s Death in Solvang — Janene follows the 10-year saga of a vexing Solano County kidnapping and its Santa Barbara County connection.
» Rob Raede: Mission City Sandwich Shop Crafts Cinematic Sandwiches That’ll Make You Say ‘Woah’ — Let’s Go Eat columnist Rob Raede finds a place where he’s not sandwich bored.
» Vicente Rodriguez Captures 2026 Santa Barbara City Golf Championship — Sports editor Diego Sandoval tees up the city’s new golf champion, former Santa Barbara City College star Vicente Rodriguez.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Community Gathers to Mourn 3 Dos Pueblos Students Killed in Crash.
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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.
July 23 — In the second event of a series Noozhawk is hosting with Spotlight Santa Barbara, I’ll be moderating a discussion we’re calling “California’s Problems, Santa Barbara’s Choices.”
Our panelists are Kristen Miller, president and CEO of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce; UCLA economics professor Lee Ohanian; Pete Peterson, dean of Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy; and former Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.
We’ll be at the Lobero Theatre again so save the date.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Everyone should have the complete picture by now: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Last State Budget Includes $33,000 Portrait of Himself.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed is still raising the roof, along with some sun ray-flections and a few stars of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce’s Constellation Awards.
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Watch It
Santa Barbara’s future. HT to Best of Bill reader Scott Elser.
