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Noozhawk had an audience of 170,348 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my recap of the Top Five most-read stories over that period, as tracked by our Google Analytics.
As a reminder, this is my opinion column, not a news story.
1. Surfer Found Dead in Ocean Identified as Santa Barbara Man
The surfer found dead off the Gaviota coast last week has been identified as a Santa Barbara resident, but the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.
As our Janene Scully reported, the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau identified the man as 45-year-old Vincent Ian Posner.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said a cause of death was pending.
Posner was discovered underwater, attached to his surfboard’s leash, not quite a mile west of Refugio State Beach around 1:45 p.m. Aug. 21.
Authorities had received reports of a surfboard floating 100 yards offshore near a kelp bed.
County Air Support Unit Copter 308 spotted the board from above and guided a rescue watercraft to the location.
According to county fire Capt. Scott Safechuck, Posner was transported to Refugio Beach, where he was pronounced dead.
Personnel from the county fire and sheriff’s departments, California State Parks and American Medical Response responded to the scene.
Funeral services are pending.
2. Santa Maria Man Named as Motorcyclist Killed in Orcutt Crash
Authorities have identified the motorcyclist killed in an Aug. 16 three-vehicle crash in Orcutt as 39-year-old Raymond Frederick “J.R.” Abernethy III of Santa Maria.
As our Janene Scully reported, Abernethy was riding his Suzuki motorcycle north on Orcutt Road about 10:15 a.m. when a Chevy pickup turned left in front of him at Siler Lane, two blocks north of East Foster Road.
The motorcycle struck the back of the pickup, ejecting Abernethy onto the hood of a Mercedes-Benz sedan behind the truck.
When the Mercedes driver stopped, Abernethy was thrown onto the roadway.
The California Highway Patrol said he suffered major injuries and was rushed by American Medical Response ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria. Doctors pronounced him dead at the hospital.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the wreck.
In his obituary, Abernethy’s family described him as “a loving and caring soul” with a youthful spirit and a talent for cooking.
According to the obituary, he also had “found a renewed passion in his walk with his Lord and Savior,” Jesus Christ.
Born in Santa Maria and raised in Guadalupe, he attended Righetti High School and had worked as a construction mason for the last 15 years.
Abernethy is survived by his daughter, 7-year-old Avyanna, as well as his parents, Patricia Estrada and Raymond Abernethy Jr.
A celebration of his life is set for noon Aug. 29 at Calvary Chapel Santa Maria, 2620 Santa Maria Way.
Rest in peace.
3. 2 Employees Injured in Jet Bridge Collapse at Santa Barbara Airport
A jet bridge at the Santa Barbara Airport collapsed during maintenance operations on Aug. 26, sending two airport employees to the hospital with minor injuries.
As our Daniel Green reported, the 9:25 a.m. incident occurred while crews were performing routine maintenance on the Gate Two passenger boarding bridge.
No passengers were involved in the incident, which drew a response from both Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara County firefighters.
Both injured workers were transported by an American Medical Response ambulance to Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.
Their identities and medical conditions were not disclosed.
“This is the first time something like this has happened at the Santa Barbara Airport,” airport director Chris Hastert said.
Airport operations continued normally with no flight delays. All other jet bridges underwent visual inspections but no concerns were identified.
Engineers will investigate the cause while the damaged bridge remains out of service indefinitely.
4. Metrolink Train Service from Ventura County Stalled Until Next Year
I know you’ll find it hard to believe but the launch of Metrolink commuter rail service from Ventura County to Santa Barbara and Goleta has been delayed again, to January at the earliest.
As our Josh Molina reported, the service is stuck in ongoing insurance negotiations, reorganized contractor agreements, and a review of the proposal by Union Pacific, the owner of the railroad tracks Metrolink will be using.
The $85 billion merger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern Railway has also absorbed legal resources, contributing to the holdup.
After decades of fits and false starts, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments originally thought the service would begin operating in October.
Whenever it’s launched, morning northbound trains are expected to arrive in Santa Barbara at 7:51 a.m. and Goleta at 8:03 a.m., with afternoon return trips departing Goleta at 4:25 p.m. and Santa Barbara at 4:40 p.m.
An estimated 200 passengers are projected to ride the train each day. That may not sound like many, but it’s a more realistic number than will ever ride California’s mythical bullet train to nowhere.
Sorry. Too soon?
Actually, “too soon” are words that will never be said about that $128 billion-plus boondoggle, but I digress.
Metrolink tickets will cost $50 for a 10-trip book or $150 for a monthly unlimited pass.
SBCAG and the Ventura County Transportation Commission are to split the $450,000 startup costs.
The service aims to reduce Highway 101 congestion as the freeway’s interminable widening project enters its final phases.
5. BizHawk: Family-Owned Luna’s Café Debuts in Downtown Santa Barbara
After several months of renovations, Luna’s Café has opened in the restaurant space formerly occupied by Judge for Yourself Café, a downtown Santa Barbara fixture for decades.
As our Josh Molina reported, Federico DeJesus and his family acquired the lease for the site at 1218 Santa Barbara St., a half-block from the historic Santa Barbara County Courthouse, and opened for breakfast and lunch in late July.
DeJesus, who immigrated from Guerrero, Mexico, and started his career as a dishwasher, owns Luna’s with his wife, Nancy, and their adult children, Kayla and Eyssy.
“My parents immigrated from Mexico, came from nothing,” Eyssy DeJesus told Josh. “Now, he’s got something for his own.”
The menu features American staples like pancakes and burgers alongside Mexican specialties, including chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and huevos a la Mexicana.
Thursday specials include tri-tip and seafood omelets plus huevos con chorizo.
Renovations included replacing the floor, updating the bar and refreshing the interior.
Oh, and in case you were wondering whether there’s a connection to Carlos Luna and his local restaurant empire, the anwer is no.
The DeJesuses’ restaurant is named after the family dog, their Shih Tzu, Luna.
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Good Reads
Don’t leave without checking out these six stories:
» State Investigating Santa Barbara County’s 9-1-1 Outage From Severed Fiber Line — Executive editor Giana Magnoli splices together the pieces of last month’s fiber-optic line outage that shut down emergency communications in two counties.
» UCSB Community Reacts to Dennis Assanis Chancellor Appointment — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway does some background checking on incoming UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Dennis Assanis, the school’s first new Top Gaucho in more than three decades.
» Gifford Fire Still at 95% Containment with No New Growth — Giana has some good news from the Gifford Fire front.
» Santa Barbara Detectives Identify More Apparent Victims of Luxury Car Scam — Rebecca looks under the hood of a bogus luxury car sales operation.
» SBART Luncheon: High School Fall Sports Teams Kick Off 2025-2026 School Year — Sports editor Diego Sandoval is back on the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table beat.
» Wayne Mellinger: Claudia’s Shopping Cart Once Held Her Life, Now She Holds the Cards — Columnist Wayne Mellinger turns over the cards in one woman’s success story. Is it dusty in here?
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Bill Macfadyen: Joe Biden Brings His Idle Passion to Santa Ynez Valley.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Thanks to the astounding achievement of ultra-endurance athlete and former UC Berkeley All-American swimmer Catherine Breed, I have an opportunity to promote The Devil’s Teeth, one of my all-time favorite books: Bay Area Swimmer Breaks Record for 30-Mile Ocean Swim from Farallones to Golden Gate Bridge.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed was just grand kidding around this past week.
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Watch It
Every dog has its (spa) day. Or should. HT to my friend and Best of Bill reader, Dave Bemis.
