Thanks to Noozhawk readers, our stolen @noozhawk Instagram account has been returned safely to us, none the worse for wear.
As I mentioned in last week’s Best of Bill column and our Giana Magnoli explained in more detail, a hacker gained control of our 17,000-follower account the morning of Sept. 23, then brazenly held it for ransom before putting it up for sale on Instagram.
We couldn’t get the attention of anyone with any responsibility at either Instagram or its parent company, Meta, so we asked for your help to flood their support systems with flags about the account.
It worked.
Less than a day after Giana’s story posted, sales manager Sheridan Taphorn was notified by Meta that the social media giant had seized back @noozhawk and rightfully returned it to us.
Needless to say, we’ve since implemented additional protections.
For the record, Noozhawk’s website and databases were not hacked. They all follow stringent security protocols and standards, and are continuously monitored for suspicious activity.
Other third-party accounts we use also were not affected.
Thank you again for your help. We could not have done it without you.
While you were helping us, there were 147,693 of you who were reading Noozhawk this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over that period.
This is not a news story, it’s my opinion column. It’s also more of a wreck than usual, which won’t be news to some longtime readers.
But that’s the news this week. It’s been one full of crashes, several of them truly heartbreaking.
1. Driver Killed in Fiery Crash on Highway 154 Near Lake Cachuma
A Riverside County man was killed the night of Sept. 30 when his car veered off Highway 154 near Lake Cachuma, plunged 50 feet down a steep embankment, collided with a tree and burst into flames.
The California Highway Patrol identified the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 2015 Hyundai, as 36-year-old Nicholas E. Johnson of Menifee. He was declared dead at the scene.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the CHP said the incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. about 2½ miles east of the lake’s main entrance, near Rancho Alegre at 2680 Highway 154.
Santa Barbara County firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, which had begun to spread to nearby vegetation when they arrived. Johnson was declared dead at the scene.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the wreck. Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP’s Buellton office at 805.691.6160.
2. Highway 101 Crash West of Goleta Sends 3 People to Hospital
Three people were injured the night of Sept. 28 in a three-vehicle collision on Highway 101 on the Gaviota coast.
As our Janene Scully reported, the wreck occurred just before 10:30 p.m. on the southbound side of the highway east of Naples, about 3½ miles west of Goleta.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said two American Medical Response ambulances transported the injured to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment.
The identities of the three were not disclosed but Safechuck said they suffered minor to moderate injuries.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances of the collision.
A couple of days later and 40 miles to the north, a Santa Maria man was killed in a rollover wreck off Highway 101 west of the Highway 154 interchange.
Authorities say that crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. Sept. 30 when the driver, identified as 76-year-old Kathleen Palmer of Santa Maria, veered off the highway in the Woodchopper Hill area between Buellton and Los Alamos.
The Audi sedan flipped on its roof about 75 feet down the hillside, where county firefighters found Palmer with major injuries.
Her passenger, identified as 74-year-old Doug Palmer, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Safechuck said a Calstar helicopter airlifted Kathleen Palmer to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.
The CHP is investigating that crash as well.
3. 250-Room Hotel in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone Headed to City Council Tuesday
The Santa Barbara City Council has postponed its vote on what has become a contentious 250-room Funk Zone hotel project, following a last-minute blizzard of documents from developers and opponents.
As our Josh Molina reported Oct. 1, the delay to Nov. 19 was prompted by the submission of hundreds of pages of technical documents and public comments just days before the council meeting.
The proposed hotel at 101 Garden St., near the intersection of East Yanonali Street, has faced criticism for potentially disrupting the neighborhood’s character and displacing existing businesses.
Opponents argue that housing should take priority over hotel development.
Marc Chytilo, an attorney representing “Keep the Funk,” a neighborhood group opposing the project, said the hotel flies in the face of what Santa Barbara needs most: housing.
“The problem is particularly acute for lower wage employees, such as those employed in the hospitality and service fields,” he wrote in an appellant letter to the city.
“While the Funk Zone is rich in jobs for service workers, there is very limited nearby housing.”
However, the Wright family, which proposed the project years ago, maintains that it has a legal right to build based on a 1983 Specific Plan approval from the City of Santa Barbara.
That green light granted the developers the right to build a hotel or housing. The Wrights opted for a 250-room hotel, and the Planning Commission approved the project.
“What we are looking at today is a hotel project,” project planner Kathleen Kennedy said. “A lot of people have talked about that it should be housing.
“We don’t have a housing project. We have a hotel project that we feel complies with the specific plan.”
In response to housing concerns, the developers have agreed to contribute an additional $500,000 to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, doubling their initial commitment.
The upcoming council vote will not include further public comment.
4. UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang Getting Pay Raise to $820,000
As a parting reward of sorts, UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang will see his base salary increase to $820,000 from $579,750 in his final year before retirement.
Our Rebecca Caraway reported that Yang’s overall 24.2% raise — approved by the UC Board of Regents — is intended to align his and other University of California campus leaders’ compensation with national peers.
According to the UC Office of the President, the nine UC chancellors are among the lowest-paid compared to their counterparts — even though many lead top-ranked institutions.
The 83-year-old Yang, appointed in 1994 and the longest-serving UC chancellor, announced in August that he will step down at the end of the school year to return to teaching and research.
The Board of Regents also approved salary and base increases for the chancellors at UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Riverside and UC San Francisco.
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive opted to forego a pay raise this year, and the new chancellors at UC Berkeley and UCLA did not receive additional salary adjustments.
5. 11-Year-Old Santa Maria Girl Dies After Highway 1 Crash
A tragic collision on Highway 1 near Vandenberg Village took the life of an 11-year-old Santa Maria girl on Sept. 29.
As our Janene Scully reported in yet another major wreck story, the crash occurred around 5 p.m. at the notorious intersection of Santa Lucia Canyon Road, about a mile north of the unincorporated community between Lompoc and Vandenberg Space Force Base.
According to California Highway Patrol Sgt. Charmaine Fajardo, 65-year-old José Alfred Gonzalez of Lompoc turned his Toyota Camry north onto the highway from Santa Lucia Canyon and into the path of a southbound Toyota Prius.
The T-bone collision injured everyone.
Authorities said one of Gonzalez’s passengers, later identified as Jaylah Gonzalez, died of her injuries after being rushed by an American Medical Response ambulance to Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
Fajardo said the Prius driver, 21-year-old Shane Giles of Lompoc, suffered major injuries and was taken by AMR ambulance to Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria.
Gonzalez and a second passenger, 59-year-old Luz Maria Gonzalez of Lompoc, also were transported to Marian with minor injuries.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the collision, the latest in a long line of catastrophic wrecks at the intersection, quite a few of which Janene has reported on and I’ve written about in the past.
Funeral arrangements were pending for Jaylah, who was a student at Rice Elementary School in Santa Maria.
The Santa Maria-Bonita School District had grief counselors available on campus for students, faculty and staff.
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Good Reads
Be sure to read these six stories before you go:
» Heat Advisory, Excessive Heat Watch Issued for Santa Barbara County Area — While North County editor Janene Scully raises the temperature on Santa Barbara County weather, I have to say this has been the chilliest heat wave in a while.
» District Attorney Files 10 Charges Against Santa Maria Court Bombing Suspect — Janene is closely following the case of the alleged Santa Maria courthouse bomber. In addition to federal charges, she reports that he’s now facing Santa Barbara County charges, too.
» Goleta Library to Close for Up to 2 Years; City Seeks Temporary Home — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway catalogs some peculiar news about the Goleta Valley Public Library.
» Man Arrested in Connection with Fire Burning on Remote Gaviota Ridge — Janene has the latest on the Ridge Fire burning on Hollister Ranch, including the arrest of a Lompoc man suspected of starting it intentionally.
» Historical Museum Wins Bid for Santa Barbara News-Press Archives — Executive editor Giana Magnoli dusts off what I hope will be the last word on this saga. But I doubt it.
» Mark Patton: Jon Lee Brought a Golden Touch to Volleyball from All Angles at East Beach — Sports columnist Mark Patton hits the sand running with his feature on beach volleyball legend Jon Lee. In addition to his long list of accomplishments, Coach Lee tried valiantly to get a Noozhawk Sports section off the ground in our early days back in 2007 and 2008. The idea was ahead of our time, but just look at us now!
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Landscape Worker Struck, Killed by Hit-Run Driver in Goleta.
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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.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
There are a lot of holes in this story: Scientists Confirm 40 Huge Craters at Bottom of Lake Michigan.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
I never need an excuse to go to Los Alamos, but the 78th annual @olddayslosalamos parade would be a good one if I did. It’s all in my Instagram feed this past week, along with some #nicotime.
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Watch It
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. HT to Best of Bill reader and pilot Ken Verdugo.
