Sheridan Taphorn has played an integral role in Noozhawk’s success.
As a news side intern from UC Santa Barbara, she accompanied me to — where else? — a rodeo, where I watched as she effortlessly interviewed the mom of Noozhawk’s lucky mutton bustin’ rider.
There was something about the interaction that clicked with me, and I was smart enough to file that away for future reference.
We didn’t have any news openings at the end of her internship, but we asked if she had ever considered sales and marketing. As it turned out, she said she preferred it to reporting.
Hired as a marketing assistant, Sheridan quickly advanced to full-time sales rep and then sales manager, showcasing drive, creativity and leadership while working closely with Kim Clark, our business development vice president and ace of sales.
Now, we’re thrilled to promote her to director of sales and marketing as we prepare for an expansion this fall.
Join us — my partners, Kim and editor-in-chief Tom Bolton, and me — in congratulating Sheridan at staphorn@noozhawk.com or 805.456.7197.
Better yet, contact her for your advertising needs, like our newly relaunched ParentNooz After-School Activities Guide. Sheridan and her team can help promote your company or program.
It was another busy week at Noozhawk, with monster readership driven by an alleged gang-related murder on State Street in downtown Santa Barbara and the Gifford Fire, currently California’s largest wildfire of 2025.
According to our WordPress analytics, we had an audience of 197,934 readers over the past week.
What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period, as tracked by our Google Analytics.
As you should know, this is my opinion column. It is not a news story.
1. 1 Dead, 2 Wounded in Downtown Santa Barbara Stabbings
Two men have been charged with murder in the Aug. 1 stabbing death of a Santa Barbara man during a violent confrontation allegedly involving rival gangs on State Street in the heart of downtown.
As our Giana Magnoli, Tom Bolton, Josh Molina and Janene Scully have been reporting, 30-year-old Anthony Michael Bisquera Hartley was killed early on “Fiesta Friday” when he apparently was caught in the middle of a gang fight in the 500 block of State Street near the Cota Street intersection.
On Aug. 5, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced it was charging 30-year-old Sergio Rivas and 28-year-old Juan Fernando Rios with Bisquera Hartley’s murder, along with special allegations of using a knife and committing the crime to benefit a criminal street gang.
Both men are accused of being associated with the Eastside criminal street gang.
A third defendant, 29-year-old Luis Gerargo Terrazas, was charged with attempted murder of Rivas and faces similar gang-related allegations.
Terrazas, allegedly associated with the Westside criminal street gang, was among the stabbing victims and was arrested later at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Gangs? In Santa Barbara?! I’m shocked. (Note: This is sarcasm.)
Santa Barbara police said foot patrol officers were flagged down by a passerby reporting a fight in the 500 block of State Street around 12:20 a.m.
Three people were found stabbed and were transported by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where Bisquera Hartley died from his wounds.
Beyond calling the stabbings “an isolated act of violence,” which I don’t think is as reassuring to the public as Santa Barbara police brass think it is, the department has released little to no information about the circumstances of the altercation, which occurred on perhaps the most notorious block in State Street’s nearly 50 blocks.
All three defendants were arraigned before Superior Court Judge Thomas Adams, and remain in County Jail with bail set at $2.05 million for Rivas, $2 million for Rios and $1 million for Terrazas.
According to court records reviewed by Noozhawk, Rios was charged with attempted murder in 2018 but only convicted on a lesser felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. He served less than two years of a four-year prison sentence.
Family members described the Santa Barbara-born Bisquera Hartley as a devoted single father of three children and a “kind, easy-going man” who loved to read, sketch and spend time with family.
“If you knew Anthony, you knew him as a goofy, easy-going guy,” said his sister, Monique LaMarca. “You knew that he was an amazing father who showed up for his children, and worked hard to provide for them.
“You knew that he was a solid friend and brother/son.”
Bisquera Hartley is survived by his children, Kaleb, Kayden and Arabella, known as “Bella.” He is also survived by his mother, Karen Bisquera, and siblings Alysia Dominguez Bisquera, Monique LaMarca (Mathew), David Bisquera Hartley and Justine Hernandez.
A rosary vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at St. Rafael’s Catholic Church, 5444 Hollister Ave., with a funeral mass at the church at 10 a.m. Aug. 22. Interment will follow at Goleta Cemetery, 44 S. San Antonio Road.
A GoFundMe account established to assist his family with funeral and other expenses had raised more than $45,000 as of Aug. 8. Click here to make an online donation.
2. Highway 166 Remains Closed as Gifford Fire Hits 96,000 Acres
New evacuation orders were issued Aug. 7 for San Luis Obispo County as growth on the northwest end of the Gifford Fire threatened additional areas, officials said.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, the wildfire has burned 99,232 acres, or about 155 square miles, and remains 15% contained as of Aug. 8.
While the northwest section showed concerning activity, incident commanders reported “minimal activity” overnight across the rest of the fire.
Highway 166 remains closed between Highway 101 in Santa Maria and Perkins Road in New Cuyama, with no estimated reopening time announced. The major roadway has been shut down since the fire started the afternoon of Aug. 1.
About 1,500 structures remain threatened as damage inspectors arrived to verify preliminary damage reports, incident commander Dustan Mueller said.
Authorities say the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Challenging conditions continue with temperatures expected to reach into the low 100 degrees on Aug. 7 and gusty afternoon winds.
Nearly 3,000 firefighting personnel are now deployed to the blaze.
Commanders added a second base camp in Santa Margarita to complement the one at the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo grounds in Santa Maria, and a third may be established in the Cuyama Valley for southern operations.
And speaking of resources, Noozhawk’s Gifford Fire coverage has been a total team effort with every one of our news journalists — Giana, editor in chief Tom Bolton, South County editor Josh Molina, North County editor Janene Scully, and staff writers Rebecca Caraway, Nick Forselles and Daniel Green — writing at least one story. Match that.
3. Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta Draws Crowds But Raises Concerns
Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days Fiesta returned last week with colorful parades and strong attendance, but underlying tensions left a few people feeling disconnected from the century-old community celebration.
As our Nick Forselles reported, organizers called the July 30-Aug. 3 festival a success, citing packed mercados and three days of sellout crowds at the inaugural Santa Barbara Rodeo Days at Earl Warren Showgrounds.
However, recent federal enforcement of U.S. immigration laws and the aforementioned murder on State Street downtown created a negative buzz and an unsettled atmosphere for some.
“It’s far removed from the actual community that lives here,” said Andi Garcia, an immigration activist and sixth-generation Santa Barbaran.
“It’s not about the local, it’s more about just the tourism.”
El Presidente Fritz Olenberger disagreed, describing a festive week with record attendance.
“This year, I think we did a great job bringing the community together,” he said.
The newly launched Santa Barbara Rodeo Days — and its adjacent free carnival — proved particularly successful, with the rodeo selling out all three nights at Earl Warren Showgrounds.
Showgrounds CEO Ben Sprague called the community response “humbling” and said organizers are considering expansion plans for next year.
4. Body of Possible Drowning Victim Recovered at Red Rock
A 19-year-old Oxnard man drowned Aug. 3 while swimming at the popular Red Rock recreation area on the Santa Ynez River, about four miles east of Lake Cachuma.
As our Janene Scully reported, Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokeswoman Karen Cruz-Orduña said the man disappeared beneath the surface and was missing for more than an hour before emergency crews recovered his body from a deep pool.
Two days later, our Tom Bolton reported that authorities had identified the victim as Roberto Pérez Juárez and had ruled his death an accidental drowning.
First responders were dispatched shortly after 1:45 p.m. to the Los Padres National Forest swimming area off Paradise Road.
The response included county and Santa Barbara firefighters, a specialized water rescue team, the sheriff’s Search & Rescue Team and the U.S. Forest Service.
According to Jazmin Garcia, who established a GoFundMe account to assist Pérez’s family with funeral arrangements, Pérez and his brother, Martín, were swimming in the river when the current carried him off — too far and too fast for Martín to reach him.
As of Aug. 8, more than $2,300 had been raised to help return Pérez’s body to his heartbroken parents in Veracruz, Mexico. Click here to make an online donation.
5. Shuffled Paseo Nuevo Deal Could Bring High-End Market, Housing, Fitness Center Downtown
A $39 million redevelopment plan for Paseo Nuevo promises to reshape downtown Santa Barbara with hundreds of new housing units and upscale retail anchors.
As our Josh Molina reported, the ambitious project would demolish the hulking, former Macy’s building at the corner of State and West Ortega streets.
In its place, the developers would build a seven-story, 233-apartment complex spanning the block between Chapala and State streets, bringing much-needed residential density to the city’s core.
The mall would preserve most of its interior while gaining transformative new anchor tenants: a 17,000-square-foot upscale grocery store similar to Eataly or Erewhon, and a 25,000-square-foot fitness center.
These additions could draw daily foot traffic and revitalize the struggling retail center in the floundering downtown.
While the bulk of the project’s new apartments would be market-rate, 80 below-market-rate units would be built atop municipal Parking Lot 2, at the corner of Chapala and West Ortega streets, to address affordable housing needs downtown.
Former city planner Dan Gullett called the redevelopment a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the heart of our city,” although he is an advocate for more affordable housing and community-serving businesses.
The project represents a critical pivot for downtown revitalization after years of retail decline and an exasperated community observing little meaningful or urgent effort by city officials to address it.
On Aug. 5, the City Council reviewed the proposal by AB Commercial, an entity of AllianceBernstein, the Nashville-based global investment company that owns the mall’s long-term leases.
The city owns the land underneath the open-air mall, and the original plan was to demolish the entire thing.
AB Commercial dismissed that plan as too expensive, and has since warned it will abandon the project if significant changes are made.
While Mayor Randy Rowse lamented the loss of Lot 2, he said he was focused on the positives.
“Any affordable housing is pretty amazing, but 80 affordable units is a freakin’ miracle,” he said.
• • •
Good Reads
Don’t miss these six stories before you go:
» Family Seeks Justice for Victim in July 4 Fatal Shooting in Santa Maria — North County editor Janene Scully talks to the frustrated family of 25-year-old Brandon Cabrera, who was gunned down more than a month ago.
» Attorneys Deliver Closing Arguments in Stearns Wharf Murder Trial — Staff writer Daniel Green remains on the case of the 2022 murder of Camarillo resident Rob Gutierrez, who allegedly was caught in the middle of a gang shootout, even though I’m often lectured that “we don’t have gangs” in Santa Barbara.
» Man Arrested in Goleta After Confrontation with ‘Creep Catching’ Group Pleads Guilty — South County editor Josh Molina has an update on the “Ghost” story with a creepy ending.
» Santa Barbara Looking to Halt Illegal Short-Term Vacation Rentals — It’s a different kind of crime than that of the above items, but Josh checks in on Santa Barbara’s short-term vacation rental dilemma.
» Stuck Mobile Home Blocks Traffic on Highway 101, South of Buellton — Janene writes her way around an “immobile” home on Highway 101.
» Santa Maria Council Approves Six-Story Apartment Project Despite Opposition — Janene also storyboards a six-story apartment proposal in Santa Maria.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Husband, Wife Killed in Santa Maria Crash Identified.
• • •
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.
- Aug. 21 — The Cosmopolitan Club of Santa Barbara is looking for an update since my last appearance, some 15 years ago. We’ve come a long way. HT to my friend, Chris Tacelli, for getting me the invitation.
- Aug. 26 — It’s been a minute since I’ve talked with the Rotary Club of Goleta Noontime and we’ll have some exciting news to discuss.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
There’s an interesting hook to this story, I cod you not: Could Artificial Intelligence Make It Easier and Safer to Monitor Fisheries?
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
My Instagram feed is still riding high from the success — and the excitement — of the first Santa Barbara Rodeo Days. And getting Miss Rodeo California here makes my victory lap that much sweeter.
• • •
Watch It
Instead of butting heads with some co-workers, wouldn’t we prefer to head butt them from time to time? HT to Best of Bill reader Anne Randall.
