The latest winter storm to blow through Santa Barbara County dumped a surprising amount of rain March 12-13.
Fortunately, it cleared out and cleared up in time for the March 13 total lunar eclipse. If only I had a camera that wasn’t my iPhone.
As of midday March 13, our Tom Bolton reported, with stunning photos by our Ray Ford, rainfall totals ranged from 1.35 inches in Santa Maria to just under 4 inches on San Marcos Pass above Santa Barbara.
According to the National Weather Service forecast, sporadic, scattered showers are possible March 14 but the weekend and next week should be mostly dry with daytime temperatures in the low 60s.
The rain didn’t slow down Noozhawk’s traffic, which numbered 151,700 readers this past week, as tracked by our WordPress analytics.
What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over the past seven days, as tracked by our Google Analytics.
Before we get started, this is the part of my Best of Bill recap when I remind you that it is my opinion column and not a news story. But you knew that.
1. Santa Barbara School Board Votes to Send 85 Layoff Notices in Grueling, Emotional 8-Hour Meeting
In a contentious meeting that stretched to nearly 2:30 a.m. March 12, Santa Barbara Unified School District trustees voted 3-2 to send preliminary layoff notices to 85 teachers, including arts and music positions.
As our bleary-eyed Josh Molina reported, the grueling, nearly eight-hour meeting saw unprecedented public participation, with 80 speakers unanimously opposing cuts to arts programs.
Despite emotional pleas from students and teachers, the board majority approved the notices, which are required by state law to be sent by March 15.
Board president Gabe Escobedo and fellow trustees Sunita Beall and Rose Muñoz voted for the layoffs, with board members Bill Banning and Celeste Kafri in dissent.
Kafri emerged as a strong voice against the cuts, suggesting the school district should instead reduce administrative spending, which she noted had increased substantially despite a 15% enrollment decline.
She cited SBUSD financials showing management costs had risen to $15.4 million from $12.4 million since 2022 — a staggering increase of more than 24%.
“To me, without a doubt, we need to say we cannot cut arts electives or elementary specialists,” Kafri said to loud applause.
Banning, who voted against the layoffs alongside Kafri, nevertheless dismissed her alternatives as “back-of-the-envelope stuff.”
The retired Goleta Union School District superintendent insisted many layoff notices eventually would be rescinded.
Students shared personal stories about the impact of arts education on their lives.
“Without the arts programs, I would not have the confidence to express myself and share my art with the world,” said Naomi Jane Voigt, a San Marcos High School sophomore and the 2025 Santa Barbara Teen Star winner.
Dos Pueblos High senior Benjamin Minor had a similar experience, noting that he began taking piano lessons at age 5, learned the clarinet in the fifth grade through the district, joined his junior high band and is now a member of the DPHS band.
“It won’t only impact me,” he said of the layoffs. “It’s going to impact my peers in my music classes, students in junior high class and students learning their instruments in elementary school.”
Teachers, parents and students began gathering at SBUSD headquarters two hours before the 6 p.m. March 11 meeting.
Based on the lengthy, business-as-usual agenda, the board evidently didn’t anticipate the public interest. In teacher layoffs! Who knew?
Frustration mounted when Escobedo inexplicably prioritized a ho-hum Harding University Partnership School agenda item over the layoffs discussion, drawing boos from the waiting crowd.
When the board finally got around to the layoffs, the trustees chose to hear online speakers first, prompting San Marcos High instrumental music director Michael Kiyoi to approach the microphone at 9 p.m., requesting that students present in the room get a chance to have their say before anyone else. It was a school night, after all.
Which leads me to another point: Public agencies have no business conducting their — excuse me, our — business in the middle of the night.
And given the gravity of the topic, the Santa Barbara Unified School District trustees’ marathon was a travesty of transparency. You flunked.
2. Delayed SpaceX Rocket Finally Departs, Delivers NASA Satellites
After weeks of weather and technical delays, five NASA satellites finally reached space aboard a SpaceX rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base the night of March 11.
As our Janene Scully reported, the 8:10 p.m. liftoff carried two critical science missions: SPHEREx, a space telescope designed to map the universe and search for ingredients essential to life, and PUNCH, a group of four satellites that will study the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind.
According to NASA, the SPHEREx telescope will operate at minus-350 degrees Fahrenheit to capture panoramic views of the universe during its two-year mission.
Meanwhile, PUNCH’s satellites will create 3-D observations of solar wind, which can disrupt power grids, communication systems, and endanger satellites and astronauts.
Spacecraft separation occurred less than an hour after the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch, with ground controllers immediately working to confirm the satellites’ operational status.
The rocket’s first-stage booster successfully returned to VSFB eight minutes after launch, generating sonic booms heard throughout Santa Barbara County — although the sound was pretty muffled at my house in Montecito, where clouds also obscured most of my view.
Locals may see and hear two more launches this week.
The window for a SpaceX Transporter-13 currently is scheduled between 11:39 p.m. March 14 and 3:31 a.m. March 15 from Space Launch Complex 4E.
A Firefly Aerospace Alpha is scheduled for 6:25 to 7:17 a.m. March 15 at Space Launch Complex 2W.
3. Tri-County Produce on Milpas Street Plans to Close at End of April
Tri-County Produce, a beloved, no-frills Santa Barbara grocery store for nearly 60 years, will close its doors next month as owner John Dixon retires.
“Over the years, Tri-County Produce became a cherished institution for locals, known for its high-quality products and exceptional service,” the company said in a March 7 statement announcing the late April closure.
As our Josh Molina reported, Tri-County Produce was founded in 1966 as a wholesale distributor, then transformed into a public farmers market a decade later.
Dixon and his dad, the late Jim Dixon, bought the store in 1985, expanding it to include gourmet foods, beer, wine, and fresh meat and seafood. It’s been my wife’s favorite market for years.
The property at 335 S. Milpas St. was sold in 2022 for $9.75 million to a development team led by Austin Herlihy and Chris Parker, who plan to build a four-story housing development on the lot behind the warehouse-like store.
“Chris and Austin have been incredibly supportive of John’s desire to retire and have worked out an arrangement for him to either terminate the lease or sell the business,” according to the company statement.
Herlihy and Parker had intended to maintain the market as is and build 53 apartments on the adjacent lot, a block from the beach. That project is wending its way through the City of Santa Barbara’s approval process.
4. BizHawk: Takashi Ramen Brings Flavors of Japan to Goleta
Takashi Ramen, Goleta’s newest restaurant at Hollister Village Plaza, is now open and serving authentic Japanese cuisine with ambitious plans for growth.
“You are never going to eat food like this in Santa Barbara,” owner-chef Natacha Chaiseree told our Josh Molina.
“This soup is from us, a family recipe. It is over 100 years old.”
Chaiseree has brought her Japanese-Thai heritage to dishes like the popular 24-hour Tonkotsu Chashu Ramen, which features a rich pork broth and tender chashu.
After working at a Camarillo ramen restaurant, Chaiseree returned to Goleta to care for her aging mother and decided to go into business for herself.
Aiming to be fast, delicious and affordable, Takashi Ramen — at 7060 Hollister Ave., Suite 102 — sports self-pay kiosks that eliminate tipping.
The name “Takashi” means “never give up” — reflecting both Chaiseree’s determination and her ultimate goal: expanding into a franchise operation like Goleta-born Habit Burger.
She says she’s already seeking partners for expansion but for now is enjoying her early success in close proximity to UC Santa Barbara and Goleta’s high-tech community.
5. Schmidt Family Foundation Buys Historic Mar y Cel Property in Montecito
The family foundation of Montecito philanthropists Wendy and Eric Schmidt has purchased the Mar y Cel property in the foothills above Westmont College, with plans to protect the land as open space.
As our Giana Magnoli reported, the 350-acre property at 698 E. Mountain Drive features sweeping coastal views and the historic Tea Garden built by the Bothin family in the early 1900s.
The Schmidt Family Foundation bought Mar y Cel, Spanish for “sea and sky,” from the estate of the late Dr. Keith Schofield, who died last year, and his wife, Kay. The Schofields owned the property for 24 years.
The purchase price was not disclosed.
Eric Schmidt, a billionaire entrepreneur and former CEO and chairman of Google, is the brand-new CEO of Relativity Space, a Long Beach-based rocket startup.
Wendy Schmidt is a businesswoman and president of the Schmidt Family Foundation, which holds more than $1 billion in philanthropic assets.
The couple own the historic Solana estate, a 22,000-square-foot Eucalyptus Hill mansion built in 1914 by Santa Barbara legend Frederick Forrest Peabody, the Arrow shirts magnate, and designed by architect Francis T. Underhill.
“The Schmidts plan to protect these historic and important lands as open space, and will spend the coming months determining how best to do that,” according to a foundation statement after the Mar y Cel deal closed March 7.
Approximately 150 acres of the property already exist within a conservation easement with The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, including access to the West Fork of the Cold Springs Trail.
The property gained notoriety in 2008 when an illegal campfire near the Tea Garden reignited and sparked the devastating Tea Fire, which destroyed 210 homes and burned nearly 2,000 acres.
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Good Reads
Here are six more stories you should read:
» Shanda Herrera Released as Pioneer Valley High School Principal, Will Be Reassigned — North County editor Janene Scully has an update in the personnel saga playing out at Pioneer Valley High School in Santa Maria.
» Milpas Street in Santa Barbara to Lose 13 Trees to Improve Safety — South County editor Josh Molina follows the City of Santa Barbara’s plans to cut down 13 trees on Milpas Street, many of them stately ficus trees.
» Carpinteria Man Arrested in Series of South Coast Robberies — Josh sleuths around on a spate of South Coast robberies.
» Award-Winning Film Reveals California’s Invisible, Endangered Ranchers at Santa Barbara Premiere — I’m a big believer in the mission and work of the California Rangeland Trust and have a story on the Santa Barbara premiere of its new documentary, You Just Can’t See Them From the Road. There’s a video, too.
» Lompoc Seeks Historic Designation for 98-Year-Old Theater Building — Janene raises the curtain on the latest plans for the historic Lompoc Theatre.
» Dan McCaslin: Why Continue Roaming This Backcountry? — Outdoors columnist Dan McCaslin shares some of his discoveries from his latest adventures in the Santa Barbara County backcountry.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Judy Foreman: Driver’s License Renewal Tests Taker’s Resolve — But That Passes.
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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
When a single picture tells an entire story: San Diego Rolls Back California’s Most Aggressive ADU Incentive.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
You Just Can’t See Them From the Road is the star of my Instagram feed this past week, and deservedly so.
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Watch It
Feeling the squeeze from Santa Barbara County home prices? California City may be more than just desert for you.
