Aside from me, no one has been with Noozhawk longer than executive editor Giana Magnoli.
She started with us as a staff writer after graduating in 2009 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where she served as managing editor of the student newspaper now known as Mustang News.
As she gained professional experience, she gradually took on more and more responsibilities, and earned her promotion to managing editor several years ago.
With Tom Bolton, one of my business partners, taking a few steps back from the day-to-day management of the news operation at the first of the year, we promoted her again to the executive editor position while elevating Tom to editor in chief.
At every step, Giana’s skills, creativity, enthusiasm and leadership have been crystal clear, and I’m very proud of her and her progress.
I’m also excited to announce that her value to Noozhawk has now been recognized outside of our organization and our community, by the highly respected Poynter Institute, which selected her as one of 30 women journalists for its 2024 Leadership Academy for Women in Media.
Giana will be headed to St. Petersburg, Florida, later this month for her first week of the academy, which focuses on “effective leadership, change management and newsroom sustainability.”
The sisterhood represents digital news organizations like Noozhawk; legacy and public media; audio, visual, engineering, audience and community; and local and nonprofit news.
“One truth about newsrooms is that great journalists have not always made great leaders,” academy director Kate Cox said in a statement announcing the cohort.
She said the program — which now includes more than 600 alumni — is designed to help women journalists who want to “upend the great journalist/poor leader paradigm.”
“We amplify their efforts by connecting them with a network of emerging leaders who share a similar vision for the future of newsrooms, and have the skills to make meaningful change on the people side of our profession,” Cox said.
Giana will be keeping readers updated on what she’s up to with the academy, and we’re looking forward to her new plans and recommendations for Noozhawk’s continued growth on our pioneering journey.
This is a tremendous opportunity for her, and there’s no one more deserving of it.
In the meantime, Noozhawk had an audience of 154,595 readers over the past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading for the period.
And when I say “my own take,” I mean this is my opinion column, which I write in my civic capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher. It is not a news story and I am not a reporter.
1. Roy Lee Scores Upset Win Over Das Williams in First District Supervisor Race
In an astounding upset, Carpinteria restaurant owner and City Councilman Roy Lee appears to have ousted career politician Das Williams in the race for Santa Barbara County’s First District seat on the Board of Supervisors.
As our Josh Molina reported late on the night of March 5, with all precincts accounted for, Lee had captured 51.9% of the vote to Williams’ 47.6%.
According to the county Elections Office, just 637 votes separated the two in the district that encompasses Carpinteria, Summerland, Montecito and much of Santa Barbara to out beyond Highway 154.
As of March 8, with no end in sight for the ridiculously interminable ballot counting three days after the election, Lee’s lead had grown to 52.05% to Williams’ 47.63%.
Although it remains mathematically possible that Williams could reverse his humiliating defeat with uncounted mail-in and provisional ballots breaking his way, it’s mathematically improbable.
Lee was typically gracious and humble when Josh caught up with him on Election Night at his family’s Uncle Chen restaurant in Carpinteria.
“There’s a lot of counting left to do, but we are thankful for all the support so far,” he said. “I am happy and I am grateful for all of the support.
“It’s not over yet, but I am just happy.”
In Josh’s follow-up report the next day, Williams — a two-term supervisor, termed-out Assembly member and former Santa Barbara city councilman with barely disguised ambitions for higher office — insisted he, too, was “humbled.”
“I am humbled by this,” he said, like I said. “Whether the yet-to-be-counted votes turn around the result or not, it points to the need for me to do better and be more inclusive in my work.”
Mm-hmm.
In the same story, Williams blamed low turnout despite his 3-to-1 spending advantage while his chief of staff, Darcél Elliott, washed her hands of the race and threw another campaign official under das bus.
“No one thought that Das’ race would be this close,” she said. “I wasn’t directly involved. I delegated all the campaign stuff to Spencer (Brandt).”
It will be a while before Team Noozhawk can get access to the precinct results, but I think our analysis will be revealing.
My own hunch is that Williams was doomed in Carpinteria by his well-documented work as a cannabis shill; he stepped on his own rake in Montecito with his ham-fisted mishandling of the debris flow ring nets and threatened Hot Springs Trailhead parking along East Mountain Drive; and Lee’s endorsements from retired District Attorney Joyce Dudley, retired Santa Barbara fire Chief Pat McElroy, former undersheriff and interim Santa Barbara police Chief Barney Melekian, and former Supervisor Janet Wolf pulled the rug out from under him in Santa Barbara.
Meanwhile, although both Democrats, Lee is the antithesis of Williams, starting with his refreshing, badly needed perspective as a small business owner trying to make a go of it in Santa Barbara County — and California, for that matter.
His victory is historic on several levels as an inspirational American success story: a first-generation immigrant from Taiwan, a Dos Pueblos High School and UC Santa Barbara alumnus, a small-town councilman, and the welcoming, perpetually happy face of the popular Uncle Chen’s.
He’s also my friend, and I could not be prouder of and more excited for him.
While the First District results stunned everyone, Supervisor Joan Hartmann’s landslide re-election in the Third District actually wasn’t all that surprising, even with three candidates dividing the votes.
The initial thinking was that Hartmann would be hampered by the district’s redrawn map, which dropped Isla Vista and added Lompoc.
In addition, the second-term Democrat would be facing Republican Frank Troise, who said he would be well-funded but was not, and Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne, a more centrist Democrat who jumped in late.
But Hartmann ran a near flawless campaign after working tirelessly over the last few years to meet, understand and embed herself in just about every corner of her district.
Equally important, her sincerity, command of issues, message discipline and constituent service were reflected in the election results, which saw her pile up 60.4% of the vote to Troise’s 24.2% and Osborne’s 15.1%.
In the Fourth District, Supervisor Bob Nelson was having an even better night as he cruised to re-election with a staggering 74.4% of the vote to opponent Krishna Flores’ 24.8%. That outcome was expected from the start.
2. After Tragic Goleta Collision, Community Rallies for Special-Needs Son of 86-Year-Old Victim
The basic, early facts of the Dec. 12 collision in Goleta were distressing enough: An 86-year-old woman was struck and killed by a car as she crossed the 7300 block of Hollister Avenue about a half-mile west of Storke Road.
Our Tom Bolton reported the scant details that he was able to pry out of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, but we knew there was more to the story of Marjorie Vasquez and, as it turns out, her son, Richard.
After digging deeper, our Josh Molina tied it all up with his March 3 feature. It was so much more heartbreaking than we initially thought.
Josh wrote one of the most poignant, empathic and vivid stories we’ve had in a very long time — a loving mother’s lifelong devotion to her son with Down syndrome, the bewildering future that adult son must now navigate alone, the remarkably swift resolution to his housing and care situation, the friendships and relationships the duo forged in their community, and the frantic chaos of a dark accident scene.
As tragic as the circumstances are, it’s an oddly uplifting story. See for yourself.
3. Flood Advisory with Chance of Thunderstorms Issued for Santa Barbara County
The latest storm to roll into Santa Barbara County arrived March 6 and was strong enough for the National Weather Service to issue a flood advisory for much of the day.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, radar indicated moderate to heavy showers, prompting the expectations of minor flooding.
The storm moved on before it could cause any real damage, however, and rainfall totals around the county ranged from a half-inch to just under an inch.
Sunny skies are expected to prevail into the weekend.
4. 5 People Injured When SUV Hits Fallen Rocks on Highway 101 in Gaviota
Five people were injured March 2 when their Chevy Suburban slammed into boulders and rocks that had tumbled onto Highway 101 and flipped on its side.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Scott Safechuck told our Janene Scully that the late-night collision was reported on the northbound side of the highway, about a half-mile north of the Gaviota tunnel.
He said the SUV’s occupants — two males and three females, whose identities were not disclosed — were able to get out of the vehicle before firefighters and California Highway Patrol units arrived.
All five suffered minor to moderate injuries and were transported by two American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
A second vehicle also hit the rocks, but no one was injured in that collision.
Although protective netting has been erected on much of the steep, rugged mountainside along that stretch of roadway, there clearly are some gaps.
5. Bill Macfadyen: Circumstances of Fatal Santa Barbara Hit-Run Crash Overshadow Tragedy
My Best of Bill column on the Feb. 24 hit-and-run collision that killed Dane Angus of Santa Barbara has continued to draw intense reader interest.
A memorial gathering held in the rain at East Beach a week ago was about the only new development in the case of the 32-year-old Angus, a popular Pure Joy Catering employee and candle maker.
Fortunately, the alleged runaway driver — 34-year-old Salvador Jimenez — remains in Santa Barbara County Jail with bail still set at $500,000.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor driving with a suspended or revoked license.
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Good Reads
Here are six stories more stories that are worth your while:
» Sheriff Reveals Suspects in 2022 Alleged Murder for Hire of Elderly Montecito Woman — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway has all the details of a bombshell announcement of four arrests in the 2022 killing of 96-year-old Violet Alberts of Montecito.
» Victim’s Family Seeks to ‘Never Forget, But Move On’ at Sentencing for Fatal Gaviota Crash — North County editor Janene Scully is on hand for the emotional ending to the trial of a Lompoc driver convicted in the 2018 death of 58-year-old Michael Garcia of Santa Barbara.
» Woman Charged with Manslaughter in High-Speed Crash on Highway 101 in Montecito — Editor in chief Tom Bolton has the latest on an Oxnard woman facing manslaughter charges in the 2023 death of a Santa Paula man killed in a suspected DUI crash on Highway 101 in Montecito.
» Developer Bill Levy, Driving Force Behind Major Santa Barbara Projects, Dies at 76 — South County editor Josh Molina writes the last words on the late Santa Barbara developer Bill Levy, whose failed Las Entradas project in what is now the Funk Zone perhaps unfairly defined a remarkable, if complicated, career in local business. He was a good and generous guy, though, and a very early fan of Noozhawk. Rest in peace, Bill.
» Inaugural ‘No One Bought or Sold’ Event Targets Human Trafficking in Santa Barbara County — Contributing writer Ann Pieramici introduces a new effort to combat local human trafficking.
» Luke Zuffelato Earns Boys Basketball Channel League Co-MVP Following Historic Season — Sports editor Diego Sandoval runs up the score with Santa Barbara High basketball star Luke Zuffelato’s latest honors. But Luke’s not the only Zuffelato earning post-season hardware.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Highway 101 Traffic Halted in Santa Barbara After Tree Falls Across Lanes.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Survival of the fiercest: Single Orca Spotted Killing a Great White Shark for First Time Ever.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Dr. Seuss, Elizabeth Poett, Roy Lee and @sadiethealaskanmalamute all put in appearances in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Iceland’s newest tourist attraction is lit. HT to Best of Bill reader Klara Victoria.
