Reality has a funny way of intruding at the most inopportune time.
Not even a week after California banned — banned — the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by a mere 4,230 days from now, Californians were told to not charge their electric cars due to … a shortage of electricity.
While absolutely no one is opposed to a more environmentally friendly energy future, it’s way past time for some honesty about whether our happily ever after will be all-electric — in California alone, never mind the entire country.
Forget the staggering, inconceivable financial costs involved. I’d just like to know where the necessary additional infrastructure is going to be approved, permitted and built in a state that already is running public service announcements begging its residents to unplug or not use appliances on hot summer days.
Now that the 2035 deadline to pull the plug on fossil fuels has been written in stone, it’s fair to ask — no, demand — that proponents show us their work.
A report last year by the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto was sobering then, but the Powering Decarbonization: Strategies for Net-Zero CO2 Emissions white paper is positively chilling today.
Fortunately for Noozhawk, the grid managed to stay on this past week for the surge of reader traffic we had as August turned to September.
According to our Google Analytics, our audience totaled 100,222 readers over the last seven days.
What follows is my take — i.e., my opinion — on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period.
Please remember that this is not a news story, because I truly wish I had something more uplifting to start with. But tragic, heartbreaking, raw news is news, too.
1. Young Child Dies After Being Struck by Vehicle in Old Town Goleta
A very young boy died of catastrophic injuries the afternoon of Aug. 30 after being struck by a pickup truck in Old Town Goleta.
As our Tom Bolton reported, Santa Barbara fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said the collision occurred around 2:45 p.m. in the first block of Nectarine Avenue, just north of the 7-Eleven at 5810 Hollister Ave.
The child, identified as 1-year-old Munir “Toota” Delgado, was rushed by an American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where sheriff’s Lt. Rob Minter said the boy died of his injuries.
Toota was known for “his contagious smile and giggles,” according to an aunt, Annette Caines, who established a GoFundMe account to assist his single-mother mom, Shana Delgado, and her family.
The youngest of six siblings, he was just weeks away from turning 2.
“This loss has left a family to pick up the pieces of a heartbreak unimaginable to even myself,” Caines wrote in her post. “Munir Kamai Delgado received his angel wings before any of us could imagine possible, and we pray he is watching and sending signs to his mama, grandma and sister/brothers to provide some comfort in a time of loss.”
Toota is survived by his mother; five brothers, ages 14, 9, 5 and 4; and a 7-year-old sister. Funeral services are pending.
As of Sept. 2, the account had raised more than $12,000. Click here to make an online donation.
Minter said the collision is being investigated by the sheriff’s Major Accident Response Team.
“Drugs and/or alcohol are not a factor in this collision,” according to a Sheriff’s Department statement. “The driver remained on scene and there are no pending charges.”
2. Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Big Rig on Highway 101 Near Goleta
A Lompoc man attempting to cross Highway 101 in the middle of the night Sept. 1 was hit by a tractor-trailer near Goleta. He died at the scene.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the California Highway Patrol said the collision occurred around 3 a.m. near the center divider on the southbound side of the highway just west of Turnpike Road.
The dead man was identified Sept. 2 by the Sheriff’s Department as 30-year-old Paul Douglas Larson.
CHP Officer Jonathan Gutierrez said the big-rig driver, 66-year-old James Boylen of Clearlake, stopped and called 9-1-1.
Boylen was not hurt, Gutierrez said, and he was not believed to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the collision.
3. CHP Investigating Fatal Motorcycle Collision on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara
An Ojai motorcyclist was killed the morning of Aug. 31 when he ran into the back of a car and crashed on northbound Highway 101 just west of Montecito.
As our Giana Magnoli was first to report, California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Gutierrez said the motorcyclist was riding a 2022 Yamaha ZR7 sport bike “in and out of all traffic lanes, at a high rate of speed.”
Just before 10 a.m., he said, the motorcyclist rear-ended a 2022 Honda CRV in the right lane of the northbound freeway, near the Salinas Street entrance and exit ramps.
The man was ejected from the motorcycle and landed on the pavement, Gutierrez said. The wreckage of his motorcycle ended up on the roadway’s left shoulder at the base of the center divider.
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified on Sept. 2 as 31-year-old Joshua Latham.
The Honda driver — identified as 61-year-old Cindy Cowlishaw of Ojai — was uninjured in the collision.
The crash backed up traffic for miles while emergency vehicles converged on the scene and the wreckage was cleaned up.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the collision, including whether the motorcyclist was riding under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
4. SpaceX Rocket Launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base with Latest Starlink Satellites
A SpaceX rocket blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base late on the night of Aug. 30, carrying nearly 50 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.
As our Janene Scully reported, the Falcon 9 rocket rumbled away from Space Launch Complex-4 on South Base at 10:40 p.m., providing sky watchers with a fiery display of power as it streaked high into the night sky.
Less than nine minutes into its flight, the rocket’s reusable first stage separated and safely returned to earth, landing on the drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You, waiting somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
About an hour after launch, the cargo of 46 Starlink satellites was deployed into low Earth orbit, SpaceX officials said.
With the mission, SpaceX has now launched more than 3,100 satellites for Starlink, a sprawling internet constellation providing broadband service around the world, especially in areas without internet access or reliable access.
The launch came just days after SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced a new partnership with T-Mobile to beam internet connectivity to smartphones using the Starlink system.
Musk said the larger Starlink Version 2 satellites will be launched aboard the new SpaceX Starship booster next year.
5. Santa Barbara School District Banning Smart Phones, Watches from Classrooms
The Santa Barbara Unified School District has banned cell phones, smartwatches, earbuds and wireless headphones from classrooms this school year.
As our Josh Molina was first to report, the new district policy requires students to put their electronic devices in their backpacks, purses or lockers to avoid distractions while they’re in “learning zones.”
Students can continue to use the devices in hallways, while outdoors or at lunch.
“We want young people engaged with each other, working on those social skills and competencies, and really plugged into the instruction that has been prepared for them to help them excel,” ShaKenya Edison, the superintendent of student services, told parents during an Aug. 25 webinar on the policy.
Given the popularity of social media, the ban seems like a reasonable step to take. But am I the only one who sees the irony in such a categorical prohibition when, not that long ago, students were subjected to nearly two years of nothing but distractions while stuck in remote “learning”?
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Good Reads
Here are a half-dozen more stories you should read:
» Ambulance Ride in Santa Barbara Ends at Jail, Not a Hospital — Although photographer Peter Hartmann’s picture tells the story, executive editor Tom Bolton goes along for the ride with more details on a stolen ambulance.
» Santa Barbara County Decides to Sue UCSB Over Housing Shortages — Managing editor Giana Magnoli has the latest on Santa Barbara County’s long-simmering dispute with UC Santa Barbara.
» California Lawmakers Vote to Keep Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant Open Past 2025 — Reporters Mackenzie Shuman and Stephen Hobbs of our media partner, the San Luis Obispo Tribune, answer a looming core question about the state’s energy edicts. I’m not the least bit surprised.
» Santa Barbara Appoints Kelly Ann Gordon as City’s New Police Chief — Santa Barbara is finally getting a new top cop, and Giana Magnoli has the 4-1-1 on her appointment.
» Judge Timothy Staffel Retires After 24 Years Presiding Over Santa Maria Cases — North County editor Janene Scully catches up with Superior Court Judge Tim Staffel, who recently stepped down after two dozen years on the bench in Santa Maria.
» Friday Night Lights: Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos Dive Into Channel League Play — Sports editor Barry Punzal previews this week’s prep football schedule, with Dos Pueblos, San Marcos and Santa Barbara high schools all looking to go 3-0.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Liquid Nitrogen Delivery Troubles Lead to Atlas, Landsat 9 Launch Delay at Vandenberg.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
We will not rest until solar panels cover every square inch of the Golden State: California to Cover Canal with Solar Panels in Experiment to Fight Drought, Climate Change.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
@sadiethealaskanmalamute had a good laugh for #nationaldogday in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Americans Held Hostage: Day 370
It’s been more than a year. Time to memory-hole the Americans and green-card holders who actually believed President Joe Biden when he pledged he would get them out of Afghanistan. He reset that responsibility 370 days ago.
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Watch It
This rodeo bull got its eight seconds of glory and then some as it horned in on the fan zone, and then a cowboy with a rope rode up. HT to Noozhawk’s Tom Bolton.
(Miami Herald video)
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Instagram: @bill.macfadyen, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.