Earlier this week, we emailed a Noozhawk readership survey to our newsletter subscribers. The survey is more comprehensive than we’ve conducted in the past for several reasons:
- We’re curious about what kinds of stories catch your eye and keep you reading. This helps us figure out where to focus our attention and resources as we plan our coverage
- We’d love to learn more about you as a reader — when and how you like to consume news, what matters to you — so we can tailor our content to better fit your life and perhaps reach others with similar interests.
- Your feedback will help shape our digital experience, how we deliver news to you, and what new features or services might make your experience even better.
- Understanding our readership as a whole helps us have more productive conversations with our advertising partners and develop delivery options that make sense, ultimately supporting our ability to keep bringing you the quality journalism you rely on.
The response has been phenomenal, totaling several hundred already. That’s not surprising because Noozhawk readers always step up when we ask them to.
But we’d prefer several thousand so I’m posting the link here for your help. Thank you for your support.
While that exercise directs Noozhawk’s focus to the future, I’ve sure spent a lot of time lately revisiting the past.
So far this year, Santa Barbara County has lost what seems to be an inordinate number of civic leaders, community legends and close friends.
On Feb. 28, I was privileged to emcee the celebration of life for my dear friend, Erin Graffy.
This week’s Best of Bill column has two more giants from opposite ends of Santa Barbara County: Jim Glines and Tom Parker.
Later this month I’ll say goodbye to longtime family friend Suzie Allen, and I was shaken by the obituaries this past week for my former copy editing colleague, John McCafferty; Margo Kinney, one of my most loyal Instagram fans; Stina Hans, a stalwart reader and tireless community volunteer; Dr. Chuck Fenzi, who enthusiastically collaborated with Noozhawk on numerous projects; and the most unassuming jeweler extraordinaire, Pat Clemens.
That’s quite enough!
Noozhawk was drawing an audience of 153,551 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 most-read stories over the past seven days.
And just to be clear: This is my opinion column. It is not a news story.
1. Santa Maria Bank Founder, Auctioneer, Rodeo Backer Jim Glines Dies
James “Jim” Glines, co-founder of Community Bank of Santa Maria and a tireless community fundraiser, died Feb. 27 at his home. He was 82.
As our Janene Scully reported, the gregarious Glines was known for his larger-than-life personality and storytelling ability.
Glines partnered with William Hares in 2000 to establish the bank that proudly promoted “Santa Maria Style Banking.” He served as CEO until his 2014 retirement but remained board chairman until his death.
“His influence on all of us is beyond measure,” said Janet Silveria, the bank’s current president and CEO.
That influence included a wide range of community groups for which the Santa Maria Valley native played a pivotal fundraising role, often demonstrating his masterful auctioneering skills.
A longtime member of the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, one of his passion projects was the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo. He also was a past chairman of the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo Queen Contest.
Glines, a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, was particularly dedicated to Allan Hancock College, where he helped establish the Bulldog Boosters and raised more than $1 million for athletic programs during his 24-year leadership.
“Jim was a force of nature throughout Santa Maria, and he loved this community,” said Kevin Walthers, the community college’s superintendent/president.
His love of rodeo also saw him strongly supporting Hancock’s rodeo team, Walthers said.
John Glines called his dad “my hero” and “a legend” but said he would want to be remembered for “what a great granddad that he was.”
“He was very proud of his family,” the younger Glines added.
Glines is survived by his wife, Kathy, along with four children — John Glines, Patrick Glines, C.J. Blevins and Danica Jones — and five grandchildren.
A funeral service is scheduled for 10:07 a.m. March 10 at his longtime church, Pacific Christian Center, at 3435 Santa Maria Way in Santa Maria.
And, yes, the time is intentional. According to son John, Glines insisted on punctuality, believing that unusual start times would stick in people’s memories and ensure promptness.
A celebration of life will be held later. Donations may be made to the Hancock College Bulldog Boosters.
2. BizHawk: Pascucci Restaurant Finds New Home in Santa Barbara’s Arts District
Pascucci, a downtown Santa Barbara culinary institution for more than three decades, will relocate next month to 1230 State St., Suite A, in the Arts District.
“We are excited to be renting from local landlord Ray Mahboob and be close to the Arlington, Granada and New Vic theaters, while surrounded by all the other wonderful small restaurants and unique, local shops,” owner Laura Knight told our Josh Molina.
The restaurant will continue serving customers at its current 509 State St. location until the move.
This marks Pascucci’s third location on State Street since Knight opened the original restaurant in Paseo Nuevo 31 years ago.
Interestingly, Suite A was previously slated for Yona Redz, which now remains with sister restaurant Santa Playa Mariscos in Suite C under the Yona Redz name.
3. Tom Parker, Legendary Nonprofit Leader and Philanthropist, Dies
Tom Parker, a pioneering philanthropist who transformed Santa Barbara’s nonprofit landscape, has died at age 77 after a stouthearted battle with brain cancer.
As president and CEO of the Hutton Parker Foundation for more than a quarter-century, Parker leveraged his real estate genius to create an innovative funding model that donated more than $100 million to area nonprofit organizations while growing the foundation’s assets to $130 million from $50 million.
“Tom Parker was the most entrepreneurial philanthropist I ever met,” Chuck Slosser, a retired president and CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation, told our Josh Molina in an understatement for the ages.
Slosser praised Parker’s strategy of purchasing properties and renting them to nonprofits at below-market rates.
Former Mayor Helene Schneider credited Parker’s shrewdness of investing in real estate rather than the stock market.
Born and raised in Santa Barbara, and “Once a Don, Always a Don,” Parker went to Cal Lutheran University on a football scholarship before later earning an MBA.
His community service extended across numerous organizations, including the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics and the UCSB Economic Forecast Project.
In 2020, he was named Man of the Year by the Santa Barbara Foundation and organized a COVID-19 coalition that raised more than $10 million for Santa Barbara County needs.
A lifelong competitive and recreational sailor, Parker was a member of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club and raced his first sailboat at age 7.
On a personal note, Tom was a friend and one of Noozhawk’s earliest supporters — like before-we-launched early.
He and the foundation under the leadership of then-executive director Pam Lewis were enthusiastic partners with Noozhawk on several special projects we pulled off over the years.
But by far the most fun I had with him was when he, Joe Howell and I emceed the 2016 community celebration of life for our friend, the late Larry “Mr. Santa Barbara” Crandell.
It took us a few weeks to plan, primarily because of all the Larry Crandell stories we shared among us — which is just how Larry would have wanted it — but Tom’s tales were the best and most vivid. And if you’ve ever heard Joe Howell tell a story, you know he’s hard to top.
Parker is survived by his wife, Karla; sons Jess and Chris and their wives and children; and his former wife, Susan.
The family requests donations to local charities in his memory.
Rest in peace, my friend.
4. Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Train in Summerland
Authorities have identified 67-year-old Terrance Charles Brennan of Carpinteria as the man who was struck and killed by a train in Summerland the night of Feb. 27.
As our Tom Bolton reported, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said emergency personnel responded to the Union Pacific railroad tracks near Lookout Park shortly after 9:45 p.m. following reports of a pedestrian being hit by a northbound Amtrak Pacific Surfliner.
Brennan was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders.
The Sheriff’s Department is investigating the circumstances of the incident, and has not released any other information.
In an obituary submitted by family friends, Brennan was described as a lifelong surfer, a master storyteller and having “the rare gift of making everyone feel special and loved.”
“A gifted artist and painter,” the obituary adds, his art evokes “a feeling of the old California he so deeply loved” and has been found at Lotusland in Montecito and the Santa Barbara County Courthouse downtown.
Brennan is survived by his stepsons, Ronnie and Josh Brennan, and was preceded in death by his son, Tristan Brennan.
Funeral services are pending.
5. Santa Barbara Will See Strong Winds, Rain Throughout the Week
Although the “one-two punch” of rain forecast for Santa Barbara County failed to land much of a blow, we sure felt the wind — especially the ice-cold wind that pummeled us into the night of March 6.
As our Daniel Green reported, the National Weather Service issued high wind advisories earlier in the week along with expectations of rainfall starting early March 5 and continuing through the following day.
The rain turned out to be one day’s worth of intermittent showers and drizzle but we’ll take all the wet we can get.
The wind was not so welcome, with bluster and gusts making the mid-50s temperatures feel so much colder.
The weather service said sunshine and daytime highs in the low to mid-60s are expected for the weekend.
Click here for the full weather service forecast but, in the spirit of daylight saving time springing forward on March 9, I’m ready to jump ahead to spring!
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read:
» Santa Barbara County to Hike Up Enforcement Along Montecito’s Hot Springs Trail — After nearly six years of complaints and pleas from frustrated neighbors, Santa Barbara County is finally addressing a sliver of the controversy over Montecito’s heavily used Hot Springs Trail. South County editor Josh Molina has been on the trail of this tale almost the entire time.
» Ray Ford: Time to Get Serious About Our Trails — Outdoors writer Ray Ford hikes in to Santa Barbara County’s trails debate with some questions, observations and perspective that need to be part of the larger discussion, sooner rather than later.
» Orcutt Financial Adviser Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Federal Court — North County editor Janene Scully has an update in the fraud case of former Orcutt investment adviser and “entrepreneur” Julie Anne Darrah.
» Endangered Trout Relocated to Santa Barbara County After Palisades Fire — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway tells a fish story you haven’t heard before.
» Boil Water Advisory Lifted for Hope Ranch Residents — Rebecca also goes back to the well for an update on the curious water main break in Hope Ranch.
» Condoleezza Rice Takes Center Stage at Westmont College President’s Breakfast — Staff writer Daniel Green sits in on an extremely timely and surprisingly hopeful conversation with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Roy Lee Scores Upset Win Over Das Williams in First District Supervisor Race.
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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.
- March 31 — The Santa Barbara Yacht Club invited me to talk about the state of news media — and Noozhawk — at its Monday Forum.
- April 4 — Noozhawk in the age of artificial intelligence will be the topic when I make a return visit to the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara.
- May 28 — My favorite topic, Noozhawk, is on the agenda for my appearance at the Rotary Club of the Santa Ynez Valley.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
The legend behind Lonesome Dove was a pioneer in more ways than one: Charlie Goodnight Was a Frontier Colossus.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed was a wide-ranging collection this past week, including some #nicotime that you’ve all been missing.
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Watch It
Nest we forget about the Big Bear Bald Eagle Cam, Jackie and Shadow have hatched a couple of little bobbleheads. You know you’re gonna spend way more time than you think watching this livestream.
