First things first, today is May Day so happy birthday to my wife, Missy, and our daughter-in-law, Colleen.
Next week is National Nurses Week, and Noozhawk is proud to present our annual Salute to Nurses section, honoring the compassion, skill and dedication of the professionals who care for our community every day.
From hospital floors to clinics, schools and in-home care, nurses are often the first and last line of support for patients and families.
This special section shines a spotlight on their stories, their impact and the difference they make throughout Santa Barbara County.
It’s also an opportunity for readers to recognize and thank the nurses who have touched their lives. Join us in celebrating these everyday heroes and the vital role they play in keeping our community healthy.
Click here for Noozhawk’s 2026 Salute to Nurses section, which is sponsored by VNA Health, Cottage Health, Allan Hancock College, Santa Barbara City College, Westmont College and Network Medical.
And thank you to all of our community’s nurses.
Noozhawk reached an audience of 135,641 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period, as tracked by our Google analytics.
This is my own opinion column, which I write in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher. It is not a news story, nor am I a reporter.
1. Santa Barbara Council Backs State Street Plan, Sidesteps Vehicle Access Hours
In a major step toward reshaping downtown Santa Barbara, the City Council has voted to back the vision of the long-awaited State Street Master Plan — while leaving unresolved one of its most contentious questions: when, or even if, vehicles will be allowed on the corridor.
As our Rebecca Caraway reported, the plan from Pasadena-based Moule & Polyzoides outlines a redesign of nine blocks between Haley and Victoria streets, featuring a significantly narrowed State Street.
Under the plan, wider, 30-foot sidewalks with rolled curbs would flank two 10-foot travel lanes for the electric motorcycles — excuse me, e-bikes — that have been given a free ride since Santa Barbara’s former main street was turned into a “pedestrian promenade” during the COVID-19 pandemic nearly six years ago.
My favorite feature? Remote-controlled retractable bollards at cross-street intersections because, let’s face it, we love bollards and won’t stop installing them until they line every bike lane in the city.
While city staff proposed allowing vehicles overnight and prioritizing electric motorcycles — excuse me, e-bikes — and pedestrians during the day, the council opted to leave operating hours undecided for now.
Councilwoman Meagan Harmon praised the plan’s balance of vision and flexibility, while Councilman Eric Friedman supported the infrastructure but not locking in access times.
They were joined by Council members Oscar Gutierrez, Mike Jordan, Wendy Santamaria and Kristen Sneddon.
Mayor Randy Rowse cast the lone dissenting vote, warning that the city — already awash in red ink — risked spending tens of millions of dollars more just to recreate the current car-free setup.
“What I’m afraid of doing is spending a whole lot of money creating a pretty version of what we’ve got,” he said.
The council also endorsed creating a “passive space” design for the 700 to 900 blocks, between Ortega and Carrillo streets, with details still to come.
According to staff, the project is a bargain at $48 million to $68 million. When it’s all said and if it’s ever done, I suspect the estimated price tag of $100 million to $150 million is closer to reality.
Staff is to present the council with a funding blueprint later this year, using a combination of the city’s capital budget, state transportation funds, hotel tax reinvestment, parking revenue, state and federal grants … and a sprinkling of fairy dust.
While I hope this works, I’m hugely skeptical of the premise and outlined five of my many objections in last week’s Best of Bill column.
But it’s been clear for some time that this cake has already been baked with an underlying agenda. No matter how much icing is lathered on it, though, locals don’t have to eat it. I’m pretty sure most will continue to pass.
After all my griping, the one thing that could — and would — make the new State Street more palatable and economically attainable is downtown housing. And a lot of it.
As the State Street Master Plan reached its presentation stage, my fellow UCSB Economic Forecast Project board members and I have had a vigorous internal discussion about the financing.
While executive director Peter Rupert wrote an overall letter of support for the project that was signed by most of the board, a full board consensus is emerging for the addition of 2,000 to 3,000 new residential units along and around State Street.
To make that volume viable, we are proposing a short-term emergency planning ordinance to allow an increased density of around 120 units per acre, with a sunset after three or four years.
Such a temporary incentive would create urgency and encourage smaller property owners to collaborate with neighbors on larger and more feasible developments.
Designing and approving three to four levels of affordable-by-design housing over first-floor commercial and retail in the heart of downtown will make State Street a 24-hour neighborhood.
And THAT, not bollards and bikes, would be the cornerstone of a true revitalization project.
2. Two-Vehicle Crash on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara Leaves 2 Injured
Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo
An April 26 rollover wreck on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara left two people injured after a pickup truck and a car collided near Las Positas Road.
As our Janene Scully reported, Santa Barbara firefighters responded around 4:45 p.m. to a collision involving a Toyota Tacoma and a Honda Accord on the southbound side of the freeway.
Fire Battalion Chief Jon Turner said the Tacoma rolled onto its side along the right embankment, but both occupants were able to climb out of the truck.
Two people were transported by an American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital with moderate injuries. No identities or medical conditions were available.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the circumstances of the crash, which backed up traffic for a couple of hours.
3. Katy Perry’s Foundation Looks to Build Youth Camp in Goleta Valley
A proposed youth arts camp backed by pop star Katy Perry is drawing both excitement and concern as it heads into the Santa Barbara County review process.
As our Pricila Flores reported, the Firework Foundation — founded by Perry and her sister, Angela Lerche — plans to build Gratitude Canyon at 183 Winchester Canyon Road, just north of Highway 101 in western Goleta.
The project includes cabins, a dining hall, gym, pool and other facilities, while preserving roughly 97% of the site as open space, according to project materials.
Designed to serve “underserved youth from the surrounding region and local community” through arts and nature-based programming, the camp is going before the county’s South Board of Architectural Review.
Neighbors have raised concerns about traffic, fire risk, water use and whether the project aligns with agricultural zoning requirements.
Perry, a Montecito resident, grew up in Santa Barbara and attended Dos Pueblos High School before embarking on what has been a pretty successful musical career.
4. Multiday Search for Wanted Man Ends with Arrest in Santa Barbara
After eluding Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies for more than two days, a 40-year-old fugitive was finally arrested the night of April 23 near downtown Santa Barbara.
As our Tom Bolton reported, authorities said Anthony Torres Lopez Jr. was taken into custody around 11:20 p.m. near Bath and West Carrillo streets.
Lopez had two outstanding warrants, including allegations of possessing tear gas as a felon and violating probation tied to weapons and extortion-related charges. Other than that, he sounds like a model citizen.
As Tom also reported last week, the search began the evening of April 21 when deputies responded to calls about a suspicious person lurking about the Patterson Place Apartments at 120 S. Patterson Ave.
Sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said Torres Lopez rammed a sheriff’s vehicle with his BMW before driving over a sidewalk and down a pedestrian path, then running off on foot.
The getaway triggered an extensive search that included two separate visits to a house on Camino Cascada, a cul de sac off Cathedral Oaks Road west of North Patterson Avenue.
The second trip included a search warrant and a full-on SWAT contingent.
Torres Lopez was booked into County Jail on multiple charges, including narcotics possession for sale.
As of May 1, he remained held without bail.
5. Supervisors Raise Concerns About Remote Work by Clerk-Recorder-Assessor
Questions and frustrations about leadership and accountability exploded into public view during Santa Barbara County budget hearings last month after the county’s top elections and records official appeared remotely rather than in person.
As our Daniel Green reported, the Board of Supervisors openly criticized Clerk-Recorder-Assessor Joe Holland for delivering his department’s glitchy budget presentation via Zoom, noting he was the only department head not physically present at the April 15 workshop.
“I am a little disappointed that you weren’t able to make it here in person, or … let us know in advance,” Fourth District Supervisor Bob Nelson said.
“We asked all the department heads to be here in person, and maybe that might have gone a little smoother,” he added, referring to the malfunctions.
Several supervisors said Holland’s absence — at the hearings and long term — raised concerns about his ability to manage the office.
An independently elected official, Holland has worked remotely for about 18 months due to what he has said are medical issues.
He defended his performance, pointing to his oversight of several recent elections from home and asserting that he remains accessible to staff.
“I’m proactively reaching out to them, and they can proactively reach out to me anytime they want,” Holland said, adding that he expects to return to the office soon.
All five supervisors have endorsed challenger Melinda Greene in the June 2 election, intensifying scrutiny of Holland’s leadership.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories I recommend:
» Renovation Plan for Goleta’s Sandpiper Golf Club Stays On Course with One Revision — Staff writer Pricila Flores tees up an update on planned renovations at Sandpiper Golf Club.
» SpaceX Gets Settlement, Apology in Lawsuit Against Coastal Commission — North County editor Janene Scully has been following the standoff between SpaceX and the California Coastal Commission.
» Santa Barbara Foundation Honors Women of Year Awardees Dorothy Largay, Marybeth Carty — Pricila is on hand for the annual luncheon honoring two of the community’s biggest champions and volunteers.
» Judge Delays Decision on Motion in Ashlee Buzzard Case Amid Questions — Janene reports on another delay in the Melodee Buzzard murder case.
» Montecito Trail Rescues Put Rattlesnake Safety in Focus — Staff writer Nick Forselles isn’t rattled by the warnings he’s received about sharing local trails with native snakes.
» Mark Patton: Former Little League, Prep Baseball Rivals Now Revel in Shared Gaucho Success — Sports columnist Mark Patton has been following the baseball exploits of Chase Hoover and Kellan Montgomery since they were in local Little League. Now they’re pitching together as UC Santa Barbara teammates.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Driver Dies in Rollover Crash on Highway 154 Near San Marcos Pass.
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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 7 — I’ll be speaking at the Erin Graffy de Garcia Legacy Endowment’s “Society Lady Afternoon Tea” at the University Club of Santa Barbara. My topic will be the Erin Graffy Journalism Fellowship that was established with Noozhawk after the 2025 death of my dear friend, Erin. The inaugural Fellow was 2025 Dos Pueblos High School alumna Sienna Valentine, now a freshman English major at UC Davis.
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
Art scam ends up being a fake down: Father-Daughter Duo Forged More Than 200 Artworks by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso and Others — and Sold Them for $2 Million.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
I accompanied @nationalreview art critic Brian Allen to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art for a little culture and found some agriculture instead. The proof is in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Brays for days. HT to Best of Bill reader Kevin Hudson.
