Until a couple of days ago, Santa Barbara County had been in a bit of a dry spell. But if we’re gonna have rain, this past week has been about the best way to get it.
The current storm has had virtually no intensity, and yet the rainfall totals are surprisingly impressive.
As of Feb. 7, county rain gauges have recorded about an inch in the North County, up to 3 inches on the South Coast, 3-4 inches in the mountains above Santa Barbara, and — as usual — San Marcos Pass topping the charts at more than 6 inches.
According to the National Weather Service, by the time you read this the rain and the accompanying 50-degree temperatures should have moved on.
Sunny skies and daytime temperatures in the 60s are forecast for the weekend and into next week, with a new storm expected to arrive just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Noozhawk has been seeing some intensity with our site traffic in 2025, all without — checks notes — funding from the federal government. According to our WordPress analytics, we had an audience of 170,436 readers this past week.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during the period, as tracked by our Google Analytics.
As always, I must remind you that this is my opinion column, not a news story. And I’m Noozhawk’s publisher, not a reporter.
1. Preschool Teacher on Paid Leave After Interaction at Lompoc Protest
A Santa Barbara County education employee has been placed on paid administrative leave following a confrontation with immigration protesters in downtown Lompoc last weekend.
As our Janene Scully reported, Rebecca Arreola, an early childhood educator, was captured on video approaching demonstrators at H Street and Ocean Avenue, shouting “Deportation” and spelling it out as a cheer.
The interaction reportedly turned physical when Arreola appeared to push a protester’s sign.
The incident occurred during three days of demonstrations against President Donald Trump and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations detaining and deporting illegal immigrants.
After social media users identified Arreola and her employer, the Santa Barbara County Education Office launched an investigation.
“The employee involved has been placed on administrative leave effective today,” the SBCEO said in a statement, noting that its investigation and any outcomes will remain confidential as a personnel matter.
“As always, SBCEO is committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all,” the statement added.
Arreola, who has worked for SBCEO since 2000, most recently served as a coach and teacher on special assignment in Lompoc, Orcutt, Santa Maria and the Santa Ynez Valley.
The Lompoc Police Department is reviewing reports of the incident.
2. Criminal DUI Charges Filed Against Santa Maria School District Administrator
A top Santa Maria Joint Union High School District official is facing three misdemeanor charges, including driving under the influence, following a November crash near her Orcutt home.
As our Janene Scully reported, 47-year-old Yolanda Ortiz, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services, was charged with DUI, driving with a blood-alcohol content of 0.08% or higher, and resisting a peace officer, according to documents filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
The complaint includes a special allegation that her blood-alcohol level exceeded 0.15%, nearly twice the legal limit.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Ortiz on Nov. 18 after responding to a crash on Old Tisbury Lane, off Black Oak Drive in southeast Orcutt.
Ortiz, who allegedly was driving a 2020 BMW X5 SUV, was briefly booked into County Jail before being released on $5,000 bail.
District officials said the incident occurred after work hours and not in any official capacity.
Ortiz, who has worked for the district since 2015, is scheduled to be arraigned March 5 in Santa Maria.
3. Witness Shares Account of Goleta Plane Crash; Officer Hailed as Hero
In a follow-up to his breaking news report on the Jan. 29 small plane crash and explosion in Goleta, our Tom Bolton filled in far more of the dramatic details.
Authorities confirmed for him that California Highway Patrol Officer Ricardo Ayala had abandoned a traffic stop to rush to rescue the critically injured pilot from the burning wreckage.
The single-engine Cirrus SR22T, with two people aboard, crashed about 2:15 p.m. on Bishop Ranch, along the north side of Highway 101 between Los Carneros and Glen Annie roads.
Ayala was writing a citation on Los Carneros Road when an explosion drew his attention skyward and he witnessed the plane’s aircraft parachute system deploy.
After spotting the crashed plane engulfed in flames, he scaled a chain-link fence and raced toward the scene, where he found the severely injured pilot crawling away.
“He grabbed the pilot’s arms and pulled with all his strength, dragging the injured pilot away from the growing flames,” CHP Officer Jonathan Gutierrez said.
Moments later, a second explosion rocked the area.
Eyewitness Debbie Gantt, who was driving to Trader Joe’s, saw the aircraft in a steep bank before its parachute deployed.
“Then I realized it was going to crash,” she told Tom.
The Goleta resident pulled over on the southbound Los Carneros Road exit ramp with the intent to call 9-1-1, but another motorist beat her to it.
So she started taking cell phone photos of the crash scene across the freeway.
“I got a picture before it caught fire,” Gantt said, then moments later when it did, and again when flames spread to the nearby vegetation.
“Then I saw a man crawling, trying to get away,” she added, before Ayala ran to the rescue.
The plane’s 29-year-old pilot and the other occupant, a 32-year-old woman, were transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Authorities have not yet released their identities or medical conditions.
The circumstances of the crash are under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.
4. 2 Hurt When Vehicle Plunges Off Gibraltar Road Above Santa Barbara
In a dramatic rescue operation, emergency crews used a helicopter and rope systems to save two men whose vehicle had plunged 100 feet off Gibraltar Road into a creek in the mountains above Santa Barbara.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the rescue unfolded around 3:15 p.m. Feb. 1 near Flores Flat, where first responders found the vehicle on its roof in the creek bed below the roadway.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said crews immediately launched a complex rescue operation, lowering a firefighter/paramedic from a county helicopter while others set up rope systems to reach the crash site, about two miles east of La Cumbre Peak.
One victim managed to escape the overturned vehicle and was hoisted to safety by the helicopter before being transferred to an awaiting American Medical Response ambulance.
Rescuers had to extricate the second victim from the wreckage before he, too, was airlifted up the steep, rugged terrain.
Both men were transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries. Their identities were not disclosed.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances of the crash.
5. Developers Propose 443 Apartments at Site of Sears Building in La Cumbre Plaza
Developers have unveiled plans to build 443 apartments at the former Sears location in Santa Barbara’s La Cumbre Plaza, potentially bringing the total new housing units in the area to more than 1,100 when combined with a separate nearby development.
As our Josh Molina reported, Riviera Dairy Property LLC is proposing two four-story buildings at the site at 3845 State St., according to plans submitted to the City of Santa Barbara.
The larger building would sport 400 units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments, while a second structure would contain 43 two- and three-bedroom units.
The project includes 466 parking spaces along with garden courtyards and amenity spaces.
“The design … celebrates Santa Barbara’s Spanish architectural vernacular of white plaster buildings and clay roofs, and also its legacy of Mediterranean gardens and idyllic climate,” according to Dave Eadie, senior vice president for entitlement and development at Kennedy Wilson, a Beverly Hills global real estate investment company.
You’ll just have to take his word for it because, until the public hearing, the city is refusing to release the project renderings to … well … you.
City contract planner Patsy Price claimed that “due to copyright restrictions in state law (Government Code § 65103.5), we cannot post the project plans online or provide copies to the public.”
“Architectural vernacular” or not, the upfront lack of transparency is not a good look for the developers and their agents.
The proposal-that-cannot-be-shown-to-the-public comes as developers Matthew and Jim Taylor are already in the planning process for “The Neighborhood,” a separate 689-unit project at the Macy’s site at the other end of the open-air mall.
City Councilman Eric Friedman, whose district includes La Cumbre Plaza and who presumably has seen the covert renderings, praised the Sears project’s inclusion of larger apartments, noting they are “critical to enable families to live in our city.”
A pre-application review by the Architectural Board of Review is scheduled for March 3.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories that are worth your time, too:
» County, AMR Poised to Settle Ambulance Contract Dispute —After a months-long standoff between the Santa Barbara County Fire Department and American Medical Response, executive editor Giana Magnoli reports on a possible deal over the county ambulance contract.
» ULA Shares Update on Plans to Debut Vulcan Rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base — North County editor Janene Scully starts the countdown on a new player in the Vandenberg Space Force Base rocket arena.
» Santa Barbara Adopts Objective Design Standards for New Apartments — South County editor Josh Molina delivers some unexpected news about the City of Santa Barbara’s topsy-turvy design review process.
» Highway 1 South of Lompoc Set to Reopen Amid Sink Hole Worries — There’s a hole in Janene’s Highway 1 story … and that’s the story.
» Documentary Dives into History of Dumping Toxic Waste into Ocean — Staff writer Daniel Green takes a deep dive into the DDT dumping case and the UC Santa Barbara professor who helped expose it.
» Mark Patton: Remarkable Journey of Ex-UCSB Star Orlando Johnson Was a Family Affair — Sports columnist Mark Patton writes perhaps the last chapter in the storied basketball career of Orlando Johnson, one of UC Santa Barbara’s all-time greats.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Evacuation Warnings Issued Ahead of Powerful Storm Targeting Santa Barbara County.
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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.
- Feb. 11 — I’ll be talking entrepreneurship with students at San Marcos High School’s AAPLE Academy.
- March 31 — The Santa Barbara Yacht Club invited me to talk about the state of news media — and Noozhawk — at its Monday Forum.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
When erosion is too slow: Asteroid Impact on Moon Blasted 2 Grand Canyons in 10 Minutes.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed was a little light this week, but it did include a trip to my favorite doughnut shop in Camarillo: Rolling Pin Donuts. #bestofbillrecommendation
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Watch It
HT to Best of Bill reader Shannon McPhee for this awwwww-inspiring video.
