What a very unusal week, and I’m not talking about the shocking re-emergence of authoritarian conquest that we thought had been vanquished after World War II.
The week’s local news is nothing close to the revolting reality of what Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is doing to Ukraine, but each of Noozhawk’s Top 5 most-read stories was out of the ordinary, if not downright peculiar.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 108,082 readers this past week. What follows is my take on those Top 5 stories you were reading.
I must remind you that this is my opinion column, not a news story. And this week, I’m unloading with both barrels.
1. Highway 101 Shut Down in Carpinteria Due to Fire Under Freeway
Many of us have made our peace with the long-awaited and years-long Highway 101 widening project along Santa Barbara County’s South Coast.
We expect heavy traffic, delays and inconvenience related to its construction, which currently is underway in Carpinteria, Summerland and Montecito.
What few had foreseen was an apparently intentionally set culvert fire that twice shut down the freeway for several hours last weekend in Carpinteria.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which was first discovered just before 6 p.m. Feb. 19 by, appropriately, Carpinteria-Summerland firefighters who were passing by.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the engine crew observed smoke and flames coming from two manhole covers and another opening under a bridge along Via Real on the north side of the freeway, just east of the Casitas Pass Road overpass.
“The storm drain where the fire occurred is lined with a thick plastic material, which caused the fire to continue burning with intensity for several hours,” said Christina Favuzzi, spokeswoman for the Montecito Fire Protection District.
In addition to Carpinteria and Montecito firefighters, the Santa Barbara and Ventura County fire departments dispatched crews to assist.
The fire closed the highway’s northbound lanes for about three hours, but Via Real remained blocked off into the night.
Around 1:30 a.m. Feb. 20, construction workers reported seeing smoke coming from the same storm drain system, and the northbound lanes were closed again.
Favuzzi said a Montecito specialized fire truck equipped with a compressed air foam system was deployed.
“Firefighters sprayed the foam into the storm drain to eliminate the fire’s oxygen source and successfully extinguish it,” she said.
The freeway was reopened about 5 a.m. after Caltrans and Carpinteria Public Works Department engineers had assessed the soundness of the drains and roadway.
Authorities later determined that arson was to blame, and a 24-year-old Carpinteria man was arrested Feb. 21 as a suspect.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick said deputies had observed the man, identified as Santiago Garcia-Soriano, digging suspiciously near a Carpinteria Creek culvert.
When confronted by deputies and a Carpinteria-Summerland fire investigator, Zick said, Garcia-Soriano admitted starting the initial fire. She said he was arrested on suspicion of felony arson to property and misdemeanor cocaine possession.
As of Feb. 25, he remained in County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
That wasn’t the only excitement in the Highway 101 construction zone Feb. 19.
As our Janene Scully reported, a series of collisions involving as many as eight vehicles stalled southbound traffic through Montecito and Summerland beginning just before 7 a.m.
2. Deputies Shoot Alleged Reckless Driver at Providence Landing Park in Vandenberg Village
An allegedly reckless driver and suspect in several hit-and-run collisions around Vandenberg Village on Feb. 23 was shot by a Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputy in Providence Landing Park.
As our Tom Bolton and Janene Scully were first to report, sheriff’s Cmdr. Erik Raney said the chain of events started around 1:30 p.m. with multiple calls about a reckless driver.
Just before 2 p.m., a hit-and-run crash was reported in the 4000 block of Stardust Road, near the west side of the park, and numerous deputies and emergency personnel converged on what sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick would later call a “major incident.”
Raney said deputies spotted the suspect, who was on foot at that point, near a recreation building at the park at 699 Mercury Ave.
“They attempted to make contact with him,” he said. “He was uncooperative. At some point during that contact, there was an officer-involved shooting.”
Zick said the shooting and the encounter that preceded it were under investigation, but she acknowledged that two deputies fired at the suspect.
She would not say whether the man had a weapon or whether there was a physical altercation, but she did say that the identities of the suspect and two deputies were “not yet available for release.”
Zick said the suspect was in stable condition with nonlife-threatening wounds at Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria. She did not say whether any charges had been filed.
No one else was hurt in the incident.
According to emergency radio traffic, deputies requested heavy backup as soon as they arrived at the park, and at least one armored Bearcat was deployed.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for the neighborhood, and nearby Maple High School, at 4010 Jupiter Ave., was placed on a brief lockdown.
Raney said it had not yet been determined whether the suspect’s vehicle was his or if it had been reported stolen. The California Highway Patrol was trying to retrace the crash course through the Lompoc suburb.
The next day, Zick issued a four-paragraph news release that basically repeated everything Noozhawk had reported the day before.
Not surprisingly, there was no comment from Sheriff Bill Brown about the latest shooting involving his deputies.
In fact, has anyone actually seen Brown recently? I understand he was just in Washington, D.C., being installed as vice president of the Major County Sheriffs of America. That’s another nice national accolade but, last I read, he was seeking re-election here, in Santa Barbara County.
As alarming as the afternoon shooting in a public park was, and however justifiable it may prove to be, our community is owed a lot more transparency from its top lawman, whose silent treatment act is getting old.
Brown had not responded to Tom’s direct requests for comment as of Feb. 25. Meanwhile, nearly every crime report from his office raises more questions than it answers — and absurdly so as you’ll read in the next item.
There should be nothing reassuring about that to the public, especially in this climate of scrutiny, nor is it fair to the men and women who wear the same badge as Brown and report to him. His approach needs to change, or maybe voters should just do it for him on June 7.
3. Emergency Personnel Respond to Shooting on Del Playa Drive in Isla Vista
A late-night shooting in Isla Vista on Feb. 18 drew a heavy emergency response, the victim was taken to the hospital and the suspects got away — and that’s about the extent of the useful information provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department.
Our Tom Bolton was able to pry out of sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick that the shooting was reported around 10:50 p.m. in the 6500 block of Del Playa Drive, east of El Embarcadero Road.
Evidently, someone was shot in the shoulder and transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. No further details — including the victim’s identity and medical condition — were available.
According to emergency radio traffic, the two suspects were described as black males, ages 17-20, who ran away on foot. Two or three other suspects may have been with them.
The next day, Zick requested that anyone with information about the mystery case contact detectives at 805.681.4150. Otherwise, the Sheriff’s Department has nothing to report.
4. David Attias Petitions Court for Unconditional Release 21 Years After Isla Vista Killings
Speaking of Isla Vista, convicted murderer David Attias is back in the news, asking a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge for his unconditional release from the outpatient supervision program he’s had to endure for the last nine years.
Attias, now 39, made his plea — eerily — on Feb. 23, the 21st anniversary of his horrifying, 2001 nighttime rampage when he raced his car down crowded Sabado Tarde Road and into a group of pedestrians.
Four young people were killed in the gruesome wreck: UC Santa Barbara students Nick Bourdakis and Chris Divis, both 20; 27-year-old Elie Israel; and 20-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Ruth Levy, whose 27-year-old brother, Bert, was critically injured in the collision and died of related causes in 2016.
Attias, at the time an 18-year-old UCSB freshman, was convicted of four second-degree murder charges, and then found not guilty by reason of insanity.
He was incarcerated at Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County but, in 2012, was transferred to the Department of State Hospitals’ conditional-release program.
Attias has been living in Oxnard ever since while participating in the community outpatient program.
But he wants his life back and is petitioning Judge Tom Adams, who presided over his original trial and his transfer from Patton State Hospital, for a restoration of sanity and his unconditional release.
Attias’ victims were unable to make the hearing, but our Giana Magnoli reported that Bourdakis’ younger sister, Lindsey, was in Adams’ courtroom to represent them and their families.
“I don’t want people to forget,” she told Giana. “I don’t want his family to be done with it. We’re reminded of it every day, and I only hope he’s reminded of it every day.”
Among those testifying in favor of release were his dad, Daniel Attias; his girlfriend; a family friend; one of his therapists; and Attias himself.
Daniel Attias acknowledged that his troubled son had moved from Los Angeles to attend UCSB but stopped taking his prescribed psychotropic drugs during his very first semester.
Deputy District Attorney Maggie Charles asked him what he and his wife would do if it appeared their son had again stopped taking his medication or started taking illicit drugs.
He replied that they would act “as a backstop” if they saw any sign of regression, delusional thinking, violent behavior or medication skipping.
“David knows that he has serious mental illness that if untreated could lead to disastrous outcomes,” Daniel Attias said, adding that his son is now very committed to sobriety, therapy and taking his psychiatric medication.
Judy Marquez, one of Attias’ therapists, said her client has taken anger-management classes and gets help with reading social cues and making appropriate responses.
Speaking for himself, Attias said he plans to continue taking his anti-psychotic medications “because they help me a lot.” He added that he’s been sober for many years now.
“I’m embarrassed of who I was when I was 18,” he said.
Adams is expected to rule soon after testimony concludes.
I’m glad Attias is getting the help he needs in what appears to be a genuinely supportive environment but, good Lord, the public is being asked to go way out on an awfully flimsy limb of trust here.
Attias’ victims deserve better, and so does he for that matter.
5. CHOMP on the Rocks Appears Headed for New Owner, Concept at Santa Barbara Harbor
Aaron Petersen, owner of CHOMP on the Rocks in the Santa Barbara Harbor and its upstairs neighbor, Salty at the Beach Bar | Grill, is looking for someone else to come in on the ground floor.
He may have found a match in veteran restaurateur Amy Rose, whose dad once owned the venerable Harry’s Plaza Café.
Petersen, who also owns CHOMP of Solvang and Mortensen’s Danish Bakery a block away, expanded his operation in late 2020 when he acquired the former Endless Summer Café and Chuck’s on the Waterfront spaces in the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum building at 113 Harbor Way.
It was unfortunate timing, given the raging COVID-19 crisis and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s usual erratic response.
Salty at the Beach, a sports bar with big-screen TVs and live music, found its niche but CHOMP was more like a nibble. Petersen decided to bifurcate the lease and seek a partner downstairs.
As our Josh Molina first reported, Rose is looking to bite on the CHOMP space. She’s not prepared to discuss her plans, but is excited about returning home.
“This is going to be a passion,” she told him. “I want to get back to Santa Barbara.”
Petersen, who says he’ll retain a 25% ownership in the new venture, wanted to get one thing straight. He told Josh that neither Salty at the Beach nor the Solvang CHOMP is closed or closing — internet rumors to the contrary.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? High School Student Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted Murder of Classmate.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
By the time you read this, it’s probably too late: 40 Interesting Facts About Ukraine.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
Although I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Kathleen McDermott in this life, I had the honor of attending the 90-year-old former Goleta resident’s funeral at St. Raphael Catholic Church. The longtime St. Raphael School teacher was a fervent @noozhawk reader and supporter, and her children — Tom, Brian, Molly and Maureen — specifically asked her friends to support Noozhawk in her obituary. And, boy, have they. Thank you to the family for their generosity, and for making me a McDermott for the day. There’s more in my Instagram feed.
• • •
Americans Held Hostage: Day 179
It’s been 179 days since the United States abandoned thousands of U.S. citizens and green-card holders to the Taliban in Afghanistan. It may be yesterday’s news now that we have Ukraine, but it’s no less shameful.
• • •
Watch It
Bear with me while this cub takes a snowflake break. HT to Best of Bill reader Mikayla Dawson.
(Ring 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.
