Graduation season is upon us, and Noozhawk’s reporters and photographers are gearing up to cover high school commencement ceremonies throughout Santa Barbara County.
We’re also again honoring the achievements of new graduates — of all ages — with our free graduation announcements. Click here to fill out our easy form to add your grad to our Class of 2024 section.
There’s no diploma involved, but for youngsters who are much, much younger and a whole lot shorter, we’re providing a shot at a different kind of glory.
On May 22, we’ll be drawing the name of one lucky buckaroo to represent Noozhawk as our Mutton Bustin’ rider during the 81st annual Santa Maria Elks Rodeo on May 30.
Contestants must be between the ages of 5 and 7 as of May 30, 2024, and weigh no more than 60 pounds.
Click here to enter the drawing, and more details about the thrilling ride on the back of a sheep.
The Santa Maria Elks Rodeo & Parade runs May 30 to June 2 at the Elks Unocal Events Center, at 4040 Highway 101 in Santa Maria.
Noozhawk is a proud sponsor of the rodeo, my second favorite sport after baseball, and I hope to see many of you there later this month in Santa Maria.
While I wait for the early taste of Cowboy Christmas, Noozhawk had an audience of 120,985 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over that span.
I must remind you that this is my opinion column, which I write in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher. It’s not a news story, and I am not a reporter.
1. Santa Barbara Hospital Reports Increase in Rattlesnake-Bite Patients
Snakes alive!
As our Giana Magnoli reported, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital’s emergency room has treated an alarming seven patients suffering from rattlesnake bites already this year, significantly higher than usual.
“We’ve never had rattlesnake bites so early in the year, and we’ve never had so many,” said Denise McDonald, the hospital’s nursing director.
The seven cases, including gardeners and Montecito-area hikers, arrived in just the last seven weeks. In comparison, only two bites occurred in June last year.
“We know it’s only going to get warmer, so we expect even more going forward,” McDonald warned.
Interestingly, no bites have been reported yet at North County hospitals.
Experts caution hikers, gardeners and others who are out and about in the great outdoors to remain vigilant. Giana includes a list of do’s and don’ts, and other safety tips.
And you won’t want to miss our Tom Bolton’s nature photography. He’s got an eye for rattlesnakes — from a distance.
2. Gunman in ‘Alpha Dog’ Murder Granted Death-Penalty Reprieve
Ryan Hoyt, the gunman in the notorious 2000 murder of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz in the mountains above Santa Barbara, has had his death sentence commuted to life in prison without parole.
The now-44-year-old Hoyt was convicted in 2001 of killing Nicholas on orders from his drug dealer, Jesse James Hollywood, to forgive a debt.
As it wound its way through the appeals process, Hoyt’s habeas corpus petition had argued that his inexperienced defense attorney was deficient during his trial in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Earlier this year, Superior Court Judge Brian Hill granted Hoyt’s motion to vacate his sentence.
After a lengthy review, the District Attorney’s Office cited Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moratorium on executions and other considerations in deciding not to retry the penalty phase.
Nicholas’ mother, Susan Markowitz, told Tom she was “shocked” about the reprieve.
“I felt angry, and I’ve been trying throughout all these years to get rid of any anger I was harboring toward those involved in the murder of my only child, Nicholas,” she said.
“The news brought back the emotions I felt the same day I found out Nicholas was murdered.”
Markowitz said she later realized she felt compassion toward Hoyt’s mother, and didn’t want her to have to “endure that same pain I have felt and will continue to feel for the rest of my life.”
Hoyt? Not so much.
“He will now have to live in his own cage, and for the rest of his life think about how he so callously took away the innocent life of my 15-year-old son, Nicholas,” she said.
Hoyt, formerly of West Hills in the San Fernando Valley, is incarcerated at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
He was found guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the killing of Nicholas, who was shot nine times and buried in a shallow grave near Lizard’s Mouth off West Camino Cielo on Aug. 9, 2000.
Hollywood was the “mastermind” of a scheme to kidnap Nicholas as leverage to collect an alleged $1,200 debt from the teen’s half-brother.
After growing alarmed about potential consequences for the kidnapping, the slow-witted Hollywood decided that killing Nicholas was even more ingenious. He gave Hoyt a semi-automatic handgun and instructed him on what to do, in exchange for forgiving Hoyt’s own dope debt.
And what of the rest of the lineup of low-life losers convicted in the case?
- Hollywood — Captured in Brazil in 20o5 after fleeing the country, the now-44-year-old former West Hills resident is serving a life sentence without possibility of parole at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego. Feeding his ego, he was the subject of a 2006 crime drama, Alpha Dog.
- Jesse Rugge — The now-43-year-old Santa Barbara native was released from prison in 2013 after serving 11 years for his kidnapping conviction.
- William Skidmore — The now-43-year-old former Simi Valley resident was paroled in 2008 after serving nine years in prison for his kidnapping and robbery conviction.
- Graham Pressley — The Goleta resident was 17 at the time of the murder. He was convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced to a juvenile facility, and released in 2007. He died of cancer in 2022.
3. Future of Miramar Hotel, State Street Major Topics at Santa Barbara Economic Summit
The UCSB Economic Forecast Project waded into the State Street debacle with our 2024 summit at The Granada Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara.
Gene Deering, a principal at Radius Commercial Real Estate, provided an entertaining but sobering history and assessment of State Street, from the 1800s to today, including a mostly grim review of each block’s present state.
The main event was Rick Caruso, the founder and executive chairman of Caruso, owner of the Rosewood Miramar Beach in Montecito and developer of two of the most successful and most visited shopping malls/entertainment centers in California: The Grove in Los Angeles and The Americana at Brand in Glendale.
In a panel discussion with Deering and Peter Rupert, the Economic Forecast Project’s executive director, Caruso shared an insightful perspective on how to fix downtown Santa Barbara that demonstrated how we’ve been doing everything pretty much bass-ackward.
According to Caruso, the “experience” — one that is, first and foremost, clean and safe — is the key to getting locals to return, proportionality must be part of every design decision, shoppers need to be on sidewalks as they don’t make buying choices from the middle of the street, and vehicle transportation should be incorporated.
Oh, and as our Giana Magnoli reported, Caruso offered to lend his world-class design team to assist.
Imagine that: using professionals with a record of actual success at building an enduringly popular and diverse destination instead of $850,000 outside consultants who build reports.
Kirk Greene, our personal finance columnist, followed up with a deeper dive into the economic consequences of downtown’s embarrassing drift. Early next week, I’m planning to provide my own take on what the summit exposed.
4. Bill Macfadyen: Questions Abound in Horrific Forklift Collision That Killed Orcutt Woman
There’s not much new to report in the tragic — and unusual — May 2 forklift collision in Santa Maria that killed 39-year-old Tiffany Peterson of Orcutt.
As our Janene Scully reported May 10, multiple investigations are underway in the crash at the intersection of Skyway Drive and Hangar Street near the Santa Maria Airport.
Peterson was a passenger in a Dodge pickup truck driven by her dad, Charles Peterson, when it collided with a forklift driven by 81-year-old David Baskett of Santa Maria.
Santa Maria police say Peterson was pronounced dead at the scene and her father suffered moderate injuries. Baskett was unhurt.
A GoFundMe account established to assist Peterson’s family with her funeral expenses had raised more than $17,000 as of May 17.
Click here to make an online donation.
5. BizHawk: West Coast Pharmacy Opens on Calle Real in Goleta
Running in the opposite direction from the corporate culture of national drugstore chains, West Coast Pharmacy has opened in Goleta’s Calle Real Center, pledging personalized service, shorter waits and, eventually, even pet medicines.
As our Josh Molina reported, the pharmacy — part of a regional family of four stores in Ventura and Thousand Oaks — is filling prescriptions at its newest location at 5726 Calle Real next to Sushi Teri.
“We’re trying to establish relationships between the patient and the pharmacist,” said managing partner Gary Klass, who opened the store with business partners Lisa and Al Sanchez.
“We can also correspond with the doctor or the patient via text, via phone. There’s an open communication.”
West Coast Pharmacy also offers compound mixing, special medications and delivery. Pet meds are part of its long-range plans.
The pharmacy is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
“There’s a huge need out here for a community-based pharmacy,” Klass said.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories that are worth your read:
» Mark Patton: Victory in Sports Isn’t Drawn Up in a Praybook — To say sports columnist Mark Patton is gifted is simply inadequate to describe his storytelling talents. He again proves he’s the best there is in our community with his latest column.
» Disney, City of Santa Barbara Embroiled in Drama Over Video Users Tax for Streaming Services — South County editor Josh Molina lost me at “Disney” but the City of Santa Barbara is scrounging for money wherever it thinks it can find it.
» Santa Barbara Council Hits the Brakes on Proposal to Raise Fees, Reduce Free Parking Downtown — Josh has the details of an encouraging surprise from the Santa Barbara City Council.
» With Boost in Launch Rate, Vandenberg Space Force Base Focuses on Sonic Booms, Other Potential Impacts — North County editor Janene Scully adds up a series of issues that has rocketed to the forefront of the Vandenberg Space Force Base launch schedule.
» Krishna García-Martínez Becomes SBCC’s Youngest Graduate — at Age 13 — For those of us oldsters who think today’s college students are getting younger and younger, staff writer Rebecca Caraway proves we’re not wrong.
» Dan McCaslin: Boondocking on the Carrizo Plain — Outdoors columnist Dan McCaslin is off on another adventure, this time to a place offering a picture-perfect view into California’s ancient past.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Chick-fil-A to Close Santa Barbara Location for 8-10 Weeks.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
A Seaside homeowner shows authorities he’s not de-fence-less: How a Tongue-in-Cheek Piece of Art Is Creating Change.
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Here’s What I’m Up To
- June 6 — I’m not a morning person but the Rotary Club of Santa Maria Breakfast mentioned the possibility of pancakes. I’ll be there early to share Noozhawk’s story and North County expansion plans.
- June 7 — Mountain View School in Goleta is having me back to participate in its annual sixth-grade exit interviews. Talking to the school’s Cougar cubs is always one of my favorite things I get to do as Noozhawk’s publisher.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
@sadiethealaskanmalamute, #mailboxesofmontecito2024 and the UCSB Economic Forecast Project summit account for most of my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
HT to Best of Bill reader Rick Mendoza, even though he’s apparently been sitting on this video for a while.
