Noozhawk has launched its spring Hawks Club membership drive, and we need your help to meet our goal of $50,000 by May 31.
We’re committed to delivering the trustworthy, unbiased and in-depth reporting you rely on, 24/7.
We don’t take our existence or our professional journalism obligations for granted, and we hope you don’t either.
That’s why our spring fundraising is so important. The money we raise in this campaign will ensure we can continue to deliver the freshest news in Santa Barbara County.
Among the work your financial commitment helps provide:
- An upcoming in-depth project exploring the complexities of the county’s housing crisis, including innovative solutions and the human stories behind the headlines.
- Comprehensive coverage of the Nov. 5 local elections, featuring candidate interviews, profiles and analysis to help you make informed choices at the ballot box.
- Unmatched breaking news coverage when it matters most, like our reporting on the intense thunderstorm, heavy rainfall and hail that caused significant flooding and damage in Montecito last month. Our dedicated team worked around the clock to provide critical, real-time updates as the storm progressed, and interviewed victims and authorities to bring you the most accurate and important information about what was happening, the results and, afterward, why it occurred.
Several thousand Noozhawk readers who are passionate about journalism and want to know what’s happening in our community already support our work. Can we count on you, too?
When you support Noozhawk’s independent, professional journalists, you enable all of us to be better informed, connected and empowered.
Thank you.
In addition to the news coverage provided by our experienced journalists, Noozhawk provides a small number of internships for college students interested in local news.
Over the next week, you’ll see reporting from the latest fledgling news hawks to join our kettle:
- Isabella “Bella” Genovese, a graduating UC Santa Barbara senior double majoring in Global Studies and Environmental Studies with minors in Chinese and professional writing, journalism track.
- Pricila Flores, a graduating UCSB senior majoring in Language, Culture and Society with a minor in professional writing, journalism track. She also is editor in chief of The Daily Nexus, the campus’ independent student newspaper.
- Alissa Orozco, a UCSB graduating senior majoring in English with a minor in professional editing.
You can also expect some exciting additional personnel news in the next week or so.
While you’re waiting for that, Noozhawk drew an audience of 134,268 readers this past week, according to our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over the last seven days.
And by “my take” I mean this is my opinion column, which I write in my capacity as Noozhawk’s publisher. I am not a reporter, and this is not a news story.
1. BizHawk: Shalhoob’s Restaurant Brings the Meat to Goleta’s Magnolia Shopping Center
L.J. Shalhoob’s journey in the food industry began at a young age, as he grew up cutting meat alongside his grandfather, John “Jerry” Shalhoob, starting at just 9 years old.
Despite his friends’ suggestions to go to college so he could learn the business side of the business, Shalhoob saw the family meat company as his true education.
Now 36, he’s opened the latest iteration of the family legacy, Shalhoob’s, at 5112 Hollister Ave. in the Magnolia Shopping Center in Goleta.
Located in the former home of Woody’s Bodacious Barbecue, it has been eagerly anticipated by the neighborhood, which is a bit of a dining desert.
As our Josh Molina reported, Shalhoob’s features classic menu items from the original Shalhoob’s Funk Zone Patio at 22 Gray Ave. in Santa Barbara, including tri-tip, a tri-tip sandwich, barbecue ribs and Shalhoob nachos.
A liquor license is on the way, and Shalhoob plans to expand his popular “Shooby” burger concept, which he had been testing at the Santa Barbara Public Market before shutting down that outpost, as Best of Bill readers know from a couple of weeks ago.
“We really just try to put out high-quality product,” Shalhoob said. “Every item on the menu, there’s a lot of thought put into it.”
Jerry Shalhoob started his namesake company in 1973, providing meat to local restaurants. His son, John, later bought the butcher shop.
Now, L.J., aka “Little John,” is continuing the tradition. He even has a young son — John Shalhoob IV — who could be next in line to meat his future.
2. Lawsuit Accuses Santa Barbara County Public Health Leaders of Discrimination, Workplace Safety Violations
Three employees of the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health have filed a lawsuit accusing the department’s leaders, Drs. Mouhanad Hammami and Henning Ansorg, of gender and racial discrimination, harassment and workplace retaliation.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, the lawsuit by Paige Batson, Dr. Noemi Doohan and Shellie Robles-Davis alleges the issues escalated after Hammami was hired as public health director last year.
The three women claim he “disregarded” input from female, nonwhite and LGBTQ staff, and that the county failed to properly investigate complaints despite “requests for protection.”
Both Hammami and Ansorg, the county’s public health officer, are accused of racial discrimination in hiring decisions.
“This harassment, discrimination and retaliation suffused the entire Department of Public Health, but defendants Ansorg and Hammami effected some of the most glaring occurrences,” alleges the lawsuit, which also names the county as a party.
Batson, a 20-year employee who served as deputy director of the community health division, and Doohan, the chief medical director, resigned last year.
In the lawsuit filed by Santa Barbara attorneys Kristi Rothschild and Julian Alwill, they both claimed loss of income, loss of future income and benefits, and emotional distress.
Robles-Davis, a supervising public health nurse, accused both Ansorg and Hammami of unlawful racial discrimination “by refusing to hire/promote me, the most qualified candidate, twice, and instead promoted a less qualified, less experienced member of staff.”
All three plaintiffs are suing for monetary damages and allege they’ve suffered significant emotional distress, anxiety or panic attacks, migraines, and other medical issues requiring stress leave.
The county told Giana it takes all allegations seriously but could not comment on personnel matters.
Hammami declined Giana’s request for comment, and she was unable to reach Ansorg.
The county rejected the plaintiff’s claims last August, and the trio received right-to-sue letters from the state in December. A case management conference is set for August.
Giana has all the details of the lawsuit, and her story is well worth your time.
3. Former UCSB Fraternity Member Given 6-Year Prison Term for 2017 Rape at Isla Vista Party
A former UC Santa Barbara fraternity member has been sentenced to six years in state prison for raping an intoxicated woman in 2017.
As our Josh Molina reported, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury convicted 28-year-old Higinio Gonzalez Machorro in December of sexually assaulting the woman, identified only as Jane Doe.
Prosecutors say Gonzalez Machorro invited the woman to a Fourth of July party at the Isla Vista residence he shared with other fraternity brothers.
There, they say, she became “blackout drunk” and he took the incapacitated woman into his apartment and raped her.
The District Attorney’s Office said the woman “considered the defendant someone she could trust.” Boy, was she wrong.
She quickly reported the rape, however, District Attorney John Savarnoch told Josh.
Gonzalez Machorro initially denied having sex with the woman, but DNA evidence proved otherwise. He then claimed the sex was consensual, but jurors didn’t buy that either.
The case took seven years due to the lengthy investigation and COVID-19 court slowdowns.
“This outcome would not have been possible without the courage and strength of Jane Doe, who persevered through unimaginable physical, mental and emotional trauma,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Megan Chanda, who prosecuted the case.
“It was Jane Doe’s steadfastness in her pursuit of justice that made this possible.”
The name of Gonzalez Machorro’s fraternity was not disclosed.
4. Families of Two College Students Share Frustration Over Lenient Sentencing in Their Murders
The final defendant in the 2021 double homicide of two local college students in Goleta was sentenced April 11, bringing a close to the criminal case but doing little to temper frustration over the justice case.
Bryan Munoz, a 24-year-old Santa Barbara man and admitted Westside gang member, was sentenced to 13 years in state prison for his role in the conspiracy to commit the robbery that led to the Jan. 7, 2021, shooting deaths of Jasper Van der Meulen and Enzo Rastelli.
Van der Meulen, a 19-year-old UC Santa Barbara student, and Rastelli, a 19-year-old Santa Barbara City College student, were found gunned down inside an Audi A3 hatchback parked in the 600 block of Burtis Street near Hollister School.
Rastelli was declared dead at the scene, and Van der Meulen died a week later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said later that the two men were shot while selling marijuana. He called the incident a robbery and “drug deal that went bad.”
The actual shooter pleaded guilty to murdering Van der Meulen and Rastelli in 2022. He also admitted that he used a firearm during the commission of the murders, and that the crimes were done in association with the Westside criminal street gang.
None of us know the double murderer’s name because — in the most amazing of coincidences for a criminal street gang — he was just 15 years and 11 months old when he pulled the trigger, making him a minor who could not be tried as an adult.
The teen who must not be named is serving a seven-year sentence at Santa Maria Juvenile Hall.
That doesn’t sit well with his victims’ mothers, who made emotional impact statements at Munoz’s sentencing in Superior Court.
“Where’s the accountability?” Tanya Rastelli asked. “Why should these laws be so lenient? It’s maddening.”
Sharon Donohoe acknowledged that her son “was not perfect,” adding that she learned after his death that he was selling marijuana and still dealing with an addiction the family thought he had under control.
“But Jasper was brave and resilient, and his future was bright,” she said. “He had a kind, gentle and generous spirit, and an open heart that welcomed everyone he met, and that touched many.”
Rastelli told Rebecca that she believes the gang purposely used an underage toadie — my words, not hers — for the heavy lifting because they knew he’d get a light sentence.
“They’re utilizing the age of these kids, and these kids don’t have a fighting chance,” she said.
“Of course, they’re gonna look up to the shiny thing that has money, they’re gonna look up to some sort of gang family.”
5. Landmark Barnsdall-Rio Grande Gas Station in Goleta Appears Headed Toward Restoration with New Café
The historic Barnsdall-Rio Grande gas station, a beloved Goleta landmark at 7843 Hollister Ave., is set for a long-awaited restoration — and more.
As our Josh Molina reported, Sandpiper Golf Club has proposed reviving the 1929 Spanish Colonial Revival building as part of renovations that include a new café, clubhouse and course changes at the oceanside golf property at 7925 Hollister Ave.
Goleta’s Historic Preservation Commission voiced strong support for preserving the 349-square-foot former gas station.
The commission took no action at its April 15 meeting, and the project still requires an environmental review.
“This is the best thing happening in Goleta right now,” commissioner Fermina Murray said of the plan to adaptively reuse the iconic structure.
The gas station would be used as a support building for a proposed 695-square-foot Rio Grande Café and a 727-square-foot trellis structure for outdoor seating. The site would include 14 parking spaces.
The project is part of a course renovation pitched by Sandpiper owner Ty Warner, the Beanie Babies billionaire.
Plans call for a new clubhouse, rerouting of some sections of the golf course, and the addition of comfort stations and a maintenance building.
For locals like Robin Cederlof, whose dad was a frequent customer decades ago, the gas station restoration holds deep personal meaning.
“I am thrilled you are interested in helping us preserve and showcase our Goleta history,” she said.
The station — which appears in the 1981 film noir crime drama, The Postman Always Rings Twice, with Jack Nicholson — closed in the 1950s after Highway 101 was rerouted.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories worth your time:
» State of City Event Reveals Santa Barbara Faces $7 Million Budget Shortfall, Considers Sales Tax Hike — South County editor Josh Molina is as surprised as almost everyone else when Santa Barbara’s assistant city administrator drops a budget bombshell on the business community.
» First Pair of WorldView Legion Satellites to Launch Aboard Rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base — North County editor Janene Scully doesn’t know when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch next, but she has the details of its payload.
» La Posada Village Opens in Santa Barbara, Bridging the Gap From Homelessness to Housing — Staff writer Rebecca Caraway homes in on a new housing site for the homeless.
» Mark Patton: UCSB’s Kelly Barsky Talks a Good Game at Women’s Basketball Final Four — Sports columnist Mark Patton catches up with UC Santa Barbara athletic director Kelly Barsky, who is not sitting idly by in her new national role for women’s basketball.
» Santa Barbara Pilot Program to Collect Back Taxes for Illegal Vacation Rentals Extended for Another Year — Josh checks in on Santa Barbara’s illegal vacation rentals.
» Dan McCaslin: Fish Creek Canyon Lures Hikers for Spring Backpacking — A third of the way through spring, and winter may finally be behind us. Outdoors writer Dan McCaslin follows the trail for one easy hike you can take.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Wildflower Season in Full ‘Super Bloom’ in Santa Barbara County After Rainy Winter.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Wendy, I’m home: Fire Breaks Out at The Shining Hotel in Oregon.
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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.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
A glimpse of snow, @sadiethealaskanmalamute sightings and three people who were not @santabarbarafoundation “Persons” of the Year are all in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Dam. HT to Best of Bill reader Jim Fuentes.
