I was deceived. I’m sorry.

I founded Noozhawk 13 years ago, in part, to be a straight-shooter about local issues. Our professional journalists report the truth, keeping their opinions out of their stories. We don’t take editorial positions or make political endorsements.

On Nov. 7, I posted a commentary submitted by someone purporting to be a retired law professor writing about some of the circumstances surrounding the Cold Spring School District’s failed bond measure.

In advance of the Nov. 3 election, we had published multiple commentaries and letters to the editor for and against the $7.8 million bond, including an Oct. 24 op/ed from district Superintendent/Principal Amy Alzina.

This last commentary itself was nothing out of the ordinary. The author opposed the bond and objected to the district’s handling of the campaign, but the gist was about transparency and the form and function of the initiative and oversight processes.

It was just different enough from the others that I figured it could be the final say on what obviously had been a contentious issue in the 170-student, single-school district in the Montecito foothills.

After receiving the submission, the author and I exchanged several emails over a three-day period. I asked for, and was sent, a short bio and a headshot photo. A Google search of the man’s name turned up nothing useful, but that’s actually not unusual. Believe it or not, not everyone’s on the Internet.

That was the extent of my verification for a commentary about an elementary school bond initiative. It was not the Pentagon Papers, if anyone remembers them.

A few hours after it was posted that Saturday, however, I received an email from a district official challenging the author’s identity with a link proving that the photo was a commercially available stock image.

We immediately removed the post.

Santa Barbara is a small town, I’ve lived here most of my life, and I know where to start pulling at threads to find out things. By late that night, I was able to identify the author. Soon after, the individual contacted me to confess.

I do not understand why someone would go to such elaborate lengths to hide one’s identity for this or to so shamelessly try to manipulate Noozhawk to further a cause, however righteous it may be, but it was I who failed our readers.

I am very proud of Noozhawk’s reputation, and I am livid — at the perpetrator of this deception and myself — that I allowed our good name to be dragged into this controversy.

Moving forward, unless a commentary author is already known to us, a front-and-back facsimile of a valid California drivers license will now be required before we consider the submission.

Fake news is a real phenomenon — as it has been for centuries — and Noozhawk strives every day to prove that a news organization can be objective and even-handed with its reporting so readers can make informed decisions on their own. We stand on our record.

But in a climate of growing censorship in our society and culture, Noozhawk also believes in being as accommodating as we can with our audience. I believe Noozhawk should continue to include space for readers to help us keep our community informed, or to just share their own passions or opinions.

I stand by that intent, but I apologize again for our recent failure.

As always, I welcome your feedback. Under your own name this time.

Aside from that unwelcome distraction, Noozhawk had the riveted attention of 101,057 readers this past week, according to our Google Analytics.

This column is my weekly recap of the Top 5 stories you were reading over the last seven days, along with my own opinions here and there.

As a reminder, I am not a reporter; I’m writing this as Noozhawk’s publisher.

Thank you for reading on.

1. Bill Macfadyen: Fatal Jump from Highway 101 Bridge Causes Santa Barbara Scene

There’s nothing new to report on the Santa Barbara man who leaped to his death from the La Cumbre Road bridge over Highway 101 on Nov. 5. Authorities have still not disclosed his identity.

Click here for suicide prevention information and resources that are available 24/7.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800.273.8255, and the Santa Barbara County 24-hour, toll-free hotline is 800.400.1572.

2. Woman Arrested by Santa Barbara Police After Standoff at Home Near Westmont College

Neighborhood closed. (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

A woman allegedly involved in a domestic dispute was arrested without incident after an hours-long standoff at a house near Westmont College.

Santa Barbara police spokesman Anthony Wagner told our Tom Bolton that officers were dispatched about 1:20 p.m. to the 700 block of Westmont Road, off Sycamore Canyon Road just west of the Westmont campus in Montecito.

He said the woman was believed to be alone inside the house, but that injuries from an altercation had been reported earlier. Evidently, no one required hospital treatment.

A family member told Tom that the woman recently had developed mental-health challenges as a result of a congenital brain condition and a series of surgeries, and that she had no criminal intent.

The street was blocked off, SBPD Crisis Negotiation Response and SWAT units also were sent to the scene, and there everyone sat for the next several hours.

Wagner said the woman eventually surrendered just after 5 p.m.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested on a warrant alleging domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon, said Wagner, who provided few other details other than that she was to be booked into Santa Barbara County Jail.

3. Neighbor Tim’s BBQ of Santa Barbara Packing Up and Heading to Idaho

Caitlyn and Tim Goebel, owners of Neighbor Tim’s BBQ, are moving their food truck and family to a new neighborhood: Boise, Idaho. (Neighbor Tim’s photo)

Sky-high taxes, housing prices, and gasoline and utility costs are just a few of the myriad reasons why California has been bleeding residents for the last 30 years.

But the exodus — which has become a stampede since the coronavirus added another layer of economic anxiety — remains somewhat abstract until if affects your neighbors.

Now it has, in the name of Neighbor Tim’s BBQ.

Tim Goebel, owner of Neighbor Tim’s, is moving his food truck and his family to Boise, Idaho, where the American dream actually is attainable.

“We just need affordable space to get into a bigger home, and rent we can afford,” Goebel told our Josh Molina.

The loss of Neighbor Tim’s delicious food — specifically the #bestofbillrecommendation dry-rub Texas brisket and ribs — is a lamentable one, especially for me.

But the departure cuts deeper than that.

Goebel and his young family are precisely the kind of people we want and need in Santa Barbara County.

In addition to their industriousness, work ethic and generous hearts, his wife, Caitlyn, is from a large and well-respected, longtime local family, and they have three children, ages 4, 2 and 6 months.

It pains me, as I know it does many of you, when young locals have to uproot their lives to pursue opportunities elsewhere. Their ties here fray as they begin to enrich other communities. As their children are assimilated into new schools and routines, pretty soon they cross the point of no return.

In a small community like ours, that hurts.

But looking on their bright side, the Goebels have family in Idaho, and the concept of barbecue travels — particularly when it’s good barbecue. They hope to have a new operation up and running by March or April.

“The goal is to replicate the business and serve the residents of Boise,” Goebel said.

Thanks for the meals and the memories, Tim, and best wishes in the Gem State.

4. Pedestrian Struck, Killed by Vehicle on Highway 101 on Gaviota Coast

Don’t walk here. (Ryan Cullom / Noozhawk photo)

A man walking in the dark along Highway 101 on the Gaviota coast was struck by a vehicle and killed the night of Nov. 6 when he apparently wandered into traffic.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the collision was reported just before 8 p.m. in the freeway’s northbound lanes near El Capitán Ranch Road, about seven miles west of Goleta.

The man, reportedly in his 40s, was declared dead at the scene. Sadly, the CHP said he previously had been contacted by officers.

No information was provided on the driver of the vehicle that hit him.

5. Altercation with Donald Trump Vehicle Parade Leads to 3-Vehicle Crash in Santa Maria

A Santa Maria man was arrested after allegedly — and literally — crashing a parade of President Donald Trump’s supporters. The subsequent three-vehicle wreck left one of the cars overturned and two people injured.

As our Janene Scully first reported, Santa Maria police Sgt. Nathan Totorica said Trump supporters were staging a post-election caravan rally Nov. 8 when 20-year-old Jacob Garza began following in his own car, throwing a water bottle and yelling at participants.

He said Garza sped south on — wait for it — South Speed Street, a block west of South Miller Street, ran the stop sign at East Stowell Road and slammed into a vehicle driving through the intersection. The impact sent the second car crashing into a third vehicle before it flipped on its side.

Two people in the second car were injured, one with a broken arm and the other with extensive bruising.

The scene was utter chaos when police arrived, Totorica said, with Garza being detained on the ground by witnesses and other bystanders arguing with each other.

“We don’t know if he tried to flee, we don’t know if he got pulled out of the car,” he said. “We don’t know how it began other than there was an altercation that occurred.”

Garza was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving causing injury.

He later claimed on social media that he was “the victim of a hate crime.”

“I was targeted and attacked in the midst of a Trump rally for simply being gay,” Garza wrote. “I was followed and harassed, which ultimately led to a multicar accident while trying to escape. I was dragged, degraded and assaulted until police arrived on scene.”

Totorica said the initial police investigation turned up no evidence of any hate crime, or that other drivers had even been following Garza.

•        •        •

Last Year on Noozhawk

What was our most-read story this time last year? Permit Violation Halts Work on Bristol Farms Store in Santa Barbara.

•        •        •

Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week

I’ve never been to “The Rock,” but it appears to be less of a hard place than I thought: Alcatraz’s Gardens Are Flourishing, Against All Odds. HT to Alexandra Haythorn.

•        •        •

Best of Bill’s Instagram

Note to self: #puppypix of @sadiethealaskanmalamute will blow up my Instagram feed every time.

•        •        •

Watch It

The Hallmark Channel is a staple in our house; I actually got my wife and daughter hooked, but that’s a story for another time. If you’re a fan, too, Merry Christmas!

(Holderness Family Vlogs video)

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Thank you for your support.

— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk and Instagram: @bill.macfadyen, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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