As I’ve written many times before, one of my favorite things to do as Noozhawk’s publisher is to participate in the annual sixth-grade exit interviews at Mountain View School near Goleta.
COVID-19 put the kibosh on last year’s interviews so it was great to be back in 2021 — albeit virtually.
As always, the students are earnest, poised, encouraging of each other and remarkably honest. Their academic achievements are impressive but so is their candor about aspects of their education that are works in progress.
What was most striking about this year’s class was their optimism, gratitude and perseverance. The three students I interviewed — Ava Knothe, Brooks Firestone and Kieran Young — each had a quiet but unmistakable confidence I found as inspiring as it was reassuring.
I can only imagine the obstacles they had to confront over the last 16 months as fifth- and sixth-graders, but they appeared unfazed by the chaos they described. They seemed to know that the experience had made them stronger and even had begun to process how they would benefit.
What was terribly disappointing to me, however, was thinking about all they had missed.
The pandemic and lockdown decisions have been an awful ordeal for each of us, and they’ve been especially hard for schoolchildren. At a critical development stage of their lives, they were forced into physical and emotional isolation from their friends while being robbed of important milestones and opportunities.
But Ava, Brooks and Kieran are excited about the next phase of their education and are eager to make the most of it, even if they’re a bit apprehensive about moving on to new and unfamiliar campuses — Laguna Blanca School, Marymount of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Middle School — in the fall.
I’m excited for them, too, and after spending some quality Zoom time with them the other morning, there’s no doubt they’re ready to go.
Click here to read our Jade Martinez-Pogue’s story, “Mountain View School Sixth-Graders Reflect on Learning During the Pandemic.”
Meanwhile, I want to thank Noozhawk readers for their generosity in supporting our spring fundraising campaign. After we met our initial $80,000 goal, we raised it to $100,000.
We didn’t quite make the higher total, but we are so grateful for your confidence in us and your financial commitment to our mission of delivering trustworthy, reliable and unbiased news coverage of Santa Barbara County.
Of course, it’s not too late to donate to our Hawks Club. Your contribution — no matter how large or how small — helps us continue to provide you with the essential local news and information you rely on, 24/7.
Thank you for your support.
Noozhawk had an audience of 99,251 readers this past week, according to our Google Analytics, although the last day — June 3 — brought heavy site traffic and subsequent see-sawing in the Top 5 list of most-read stories. When the clock hit midnight, in fact, two stories were tied for No. 2.
What follows is my recap of those five — I mean, six — stories. To be clear, this is my opinion column … and I’ve definitely got some opinions this week.
1. Goleta Woman Ejected, Critically Injured in Crash on Highway 101 West of City
A suspected DUI crash on Highway 101 in the middle of the night June 3 put one Goleta woman in the hospital and the driver in Santa Barbara County Jail.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, the wreck occurred around 2:15 a.m. on the southbound side of the highway just west of Dos Pueblos Canyon, a few miles west of Goleta.
California Highway Patrol Lt. Grady Stevens told Tom that emergency responders found a crumpled 2014 Toyota Corolla on its side at the base of a palm tree. He said the car had gone off the highway, went down an embankment and slammed into the palm.
A passenger, identified as 23-year-old Kassandra Soto, was ejected in the collision, and was transported by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Her medical condition was not known, but authorities said she had head trauma and other critical injuries.
CHP Officer Shannan Sams said the driver, identified as 26-year-old Adriana Chavez, suffered minor injuries but was arrested on suspicion of felony drunken driving causing injury and driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or greater causing injury.
Chavez was booked into County Jail with bail set at $100,000, she said.
2. City of Santa Barbara, Former Finance Director Named in Lawsuit Alleging Sexual Harassment
A newly filed sexual harassment lawsuit is reverberating through Santa Barbara city hall with explosive charges against top current and former city officials.
In a Noozhawk exclusive, our Josh Molina reported June 2 that Jennifer Tomaszewski, the city’s finance and treasury manager and former interim finance director, is suing the city, City Administrator Paul Casey and former finance director Bob Samario.
The lawsuit, filed by attorney Christina Humphrey in Santa Barbara County Superior Court, alleges that Samario sexually harassed Tomaszewski and several other women over the course of more than a decade, and that the city ignored or overlooked his behavior.
According to the filing obtained by Noozhawk, the city spent at least $100,000 on a 150-page report allegedly detailing years of harassment against multiple women employees.
But the suit claims that Casey, rather than terminating Samario after the review was completed, instead allowed him to retire with full benefits and words of praise for his long service.
Although city officials refused to confirm it at the time, Samario was placed on leave in November 2019 while the review was being conducted. His retirement from his $202,000-a-year position was abruptly announced on Feb. 26, 2020.
Samario did not respond to Josh’s emailed request for a response, while Casey declined to comment.
City Attorney Ariel Calonne gave Josh an awkwardly worded statement.
“I am very surprised to see this kind of news release from an attorney,” he said. “We will investigate these claims seriously and go from there.”
Given the magnitude of the potential payout if the lawsuit’s claims are proven, not one city taxpayer should be reassured by Calonne’s odd answer. What the hell has he been doing for more than a year?
Tomaszewski’s lawsuit also alleges that Casey retaliated against her by refusing to hire her for the permanent finance director position because of her involvement in the investigation and because she was a woman.
Among the suit’s specific allegations against Samario are unwelcome flirting and inappropriate comments about Tomaszewski’s appearance, clothing and fitness.
That begs the question of whether the City of Santa Barbara is required to undergo California’s sexual harassment prevention training like the rest of us employers. Because if they do, it sure seems like they suck at it.
According to his LinkedIn page, Samario is now the chief financial officer for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians in San Jacinto, in Riverside County.
2. Police Release Name of Motorcyclist Killed in Santa Maria Crash
A Santa Maria man was killed in an apparent overnight motorcycle crash on May 30, and police are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
As our Janene Scully first reported, the victim — identified by police as 31-year-old Christopher Jay “C.J.” Paz — was found dead in a landscaped area at the roundabout intersection of East McCoy Lane and South College Drive, near Grace Baptist Church at 605 E. McCoy Lane.
Sgt. Michael McGehee told Janene that Paz drove off the roadway near the roundabout, his motorcycle struck a tree and he was flung into the landscaping.
McGehee said the crash may have happened as early as 2 a.m. but the wreck wasn’t discovered until around 8 a.m.
In another twist, he said Paz was wearing a helmet when he hit the tree but the helmet was not on his head when officers arrived.
The crash is under investigation, but McGehee said “there just wasn’t a whole lot of evidence in the roadway.”
In Paz’s obituary, his family said he “will be remembered for his art work that he loved distributing to his loved ones, his skateboarding skills, his beautiful smile, humorous and free-spirited personality, and his ability to love and care about others.”
On a GoFundMe page established to assist his family, he was described as “a loving son, grandson, a boyfriend, brother and amazing friend … He had no care in the world and lived everyday the best way he could, doing what he loved.”
As of June 4, nearly $14,000 had been raised. Click here to make an online donation.
Paz is survived by his parents, Laurie Paz and Cesar Lomeli; siblings Christopher, Maranda and Andrew Lomeli; grandparents Rosemary Paz and Javier Paz; and his girlfriend, Cheyanne, and their dog, Buddha.
A viewing will be held at Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary, 1003 E. Stowell Road in Santa Maria, from 4 to 7 p.m. June 9, with a rosary at 6 p.m. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. June 10 at the mortuary.
3. Motorcyclist Fatally Injured in Los Alamos Collision
A day after the fatal Santa Maria crash, motorcycle tragedy struck again when a Buellton man was killed in a collision with a car in Los Alamos.
Our Tom Bolton and Janene Scully collaborated on the story, reporting that the crash happened just before 4 p.m. on Memorial Day, May 31, on Bell Street near Cat Canyon Road.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer Benjamin Smith, the driver of a Honda Civic, a 21-year-old Santa Maria man, had stopped in a Bell Street driveway facing south, then made a U-turn directly into the path of a motorcyclist riding south on the street, which also is the southbound exit ramp from Highway 101.
The motorcyclist, identified as 52-year-old Mark Anderson, lost control and both he and his Harley-Davidson slammed into the side of the sedan.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli said Anderson was pronounced dead at the scene.
A family friend, Jay Bardessono of Solvang, described Anderson as “one of those people who was always there when you needed a hand, selfless with a huge heart.”
A GoFundMe account was just opened to help Anderson’s family with funeral expenses and for the future education of his 14-year-old daughter, Bella.
Nearly $2,500 had been raised by June 4, but I think Noozhawk readers can help considerably. Click here to make an online donation.
Funeral services are pending.
The car’s driver was identified as Luis Silva Lopez. The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the wreck.
4. Proposed Ordinance Would Regulate Alcohol Sales in Santa Barbara
The City of Santa Barbara’s drive to regulate alcohol sales in an effort to reduce “nuisance behaviors” was delayed by the Planning Commission, but not derailed.
As our Josh Molina reported, the city has proposed implementing a “deemed approved ordinance” to cover alcohol sales at liquor stores, mini-markets and other businesses to cut down on the public drunkenness, harassment, loitering, littering and public urination that far too often occurs around them.
Although the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is responsible for liquor licenses, local municipal governments can have a say in the sales through land use policies.
There are 141 off-sale alcohol businesses that would be grandfathered in under the proposed ordinance, but they could risk fines or alcohol sales suspension if they didn’t clean up their customers’ acts outside.
New businesses would need to go before the Planning Commission for a conditional use permit to sell alcohol.
Another objective of the ordinance is to limit the sale of 50-milliliter bottles of hard liquor, often called “airplane bottles,” that are relatively inexpensive and often consumed as soon as customers are out the door.
Ann Hefferman, who lives near five such businesses on North Milpas Street, says the initiative is long overdue.
“Every week I find alcohol containers stuffed into the hedge, into the bushes, into the gutter and on the ground, and these very small, airplane-sized or pint-sized bottles, or cans of beer or malt liquor,” she said.
“To me, this speaks to the fact that they are easily accessible, easily consumable and easily dispensable.”
Attorney Patrick Morris, who represents several small corner markets and liquor stores, complained that the city had only given him three days notice before the Planning Commission’s hearing on a revised proposal. The commission agreed to a delay.
5. Condemned San Luis Obispo County Murderer Found Dead in San Quentin Prison Cell
Evidently, the actuarial tables took care of what California’s “death” sentence could not when a San Quentin State Prison inmate from San Luis Obispo County was found dead in his cell May 31.
Richard Allen Benson, 74, formerly of Oceano, had been living on Death Row for more than three decades after his conviction for the torture, molestations, rapes and murders of a young Nipomo mom and her three little children. For good measure, he then set their home on fire.
As the San Luis Obispo Tribune’s Matt Fountain reported, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Benson was found unresponsive Memorial Day morning and pronounced dead by paramedics.
He lived alone in his cell and foul play was not suspected, authorities say.
In a 1987 trial that had been moved to Santa Barbara because of pre-trial publicity in San Luis Obispo County, Benson was convicted and sentenced to death for four counts of first-degree murder in the 1986 killings of 24-year-old Laura Camargo; her daughters, Stephanie, 4, and Shawna, 3; and her 23-month-old son, Sterling.
Benson, a 38-year-old parolee at the time of the crimes, also was convicted and sentenced for two counts of lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years old and of arson of an inhabited structure.
I don’t have the stomach today to recount the depraved and revolting details of what Benson did, but you can read them in Fountain’s story.
Even Benson acknowledged in a 1987 jailhouse interview that “I should die for what I did.” More’s the pity it took so long.
Prayers to the Camargo family. May Laura, Stephanie, Shawna and Sterling finally rest in peace.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Dramatic Moments Mark George Floyd Protest as Thousands Rally in Santa Barbara.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
If you do what I can’t this year … email me pictures: Summer of 2021 Is a Great Time to Travel Across These Old West Highways.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
@sadiethealaskanmalamute and I took a road trip to Palm Desert in my Instagram feed this past week.
• • •
Watch It
Joe Kelly is one of baseball’s premier relief pitchers. The Los Angeles Dodgers fan favorite is also at the top of his rock paper scissors game.
(The Reel 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.