With yet another tumultuous year coming to a close, Team Noozhawk has been reflecting on 2021 as we begin to forge our strategy for 2022.
You know as well as I do that our biggest stories usually involve breaking news, and this year was no different.
But in addition to the emergencies like the TV Hill and Alisal fires, murders and DUI crashes, the nearly 2-year-old COVID-19 crisis and local sports, two of our most-read stories were the debacles of the Four Seasons Biltmore Resort and Bellosguardo. Funny how readers recognize sketchy when they see it.
Thanks to the financial support of our Hawks Club members, our professional journalists also were able to dig deeper on a number of issues our community cares about:
» UC Santa Barbara’s growing housing crisis and a controversial proposal that could alleviate it
» Noise complaints from neighborhoods under Santa Barbara Airport flight paths
» The scope of COVID-19’s disproportionate and deadly impacts on senior citizens and skilled nursing facilities
Not content to stop there, our 2022 plans include special projects investigating the explosion of fentanyl deaths and the worsening opioid crisis, Santa Barbara County’s shortage of acute-care beds for people experiencing a mental health crisis, and examining the college pipeline and career readiness for local high school students.
We can’t do this work without you, which is why I’m asking you to contribute to our year-end fundraising campaign. Our goal is to raise $80,000 by Dec. 31, and we’ve raised $27,000 so far.
Will you make a contribution today to help Noozhawk get 2022 — our 15th year — off to a strong start?
Your financial support through a membership in our Hawks Club — at any amount — will help us stay focused on what’s important to you: our reporting on the local news and information you need, when you need it.
Thank you.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 97,248 readers this past week. What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over the last seven days.
I must tell you that this is my opinion column, not a news story. I’m also Noozhawk’s publisher, not a reporter.
1. 5 People Taken to Hospital After Rollover Crash on Highway 101 in Summerland
A rollover wreck on Highway 101 in Summerland put five people in the hospital on Dec. 7. The crash — in the southbound Highway 101 widening project construction zone — caused an hours-long backup of traffic and sent many stranded motorists to Noozhawk for updates on their cell phones.
According to our Tom Bolton, the single-vehicle crash of a 2019 Chevy Silverado was reported just after noon near the Summerland exit east of Ortega Hill.
California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Gutierrez said the pickup truck drifted off the roadway in the construction zone, struck a sign, and then rolled over down a steep embankment.
The vehicle came to rest on the driver’s side adjacent to the Union Pacific railroad tracks.
Gutierrez said the driver, a West Hills woman, along with a 79-year-old woman and three children were rescued by Carpinteria-Summerland and Montecito firefighters, then taken by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
Their identities and medical conditions were not available.
The CHP is investigating the circumstances of the wreck, but that stretch of roadway is particularly perilous with the miles of construction currently under way between Montecito and Carpinteria.
Numerous readers contacted us to express appreciation for the updated news while they were stuck in traffic. You’re welcome, but it’s what we do.
2. Authorities Release Names of Woman, Man Killed in Goleta Murder-Suicide
There’s no new news about the Thanksgiving morning murder-suicide at a Goleta hotel.
As we reported previously, 36-year-old Mayra Uriarte was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital after she was shot by her ex-husband at the Best Western Plus South Coast Inn, 5620 Calle Real.
The Santa Barbara native and West Valley City, Utah, mother of three young daughters died of her wound at the hospital.
Santa Barbara County sheriff’s spokeswoman Raquel Zick identified the suspected gunman as 37-year-old Manuel Altamirano Martinez of Mexico. After shooting Uriarte, she said, he shot himself and also died at the hospital.
Sources told our Tom Bolton that Uriarte had been followed to the South Coast by Martinez, who reportedly had a history of abusive behavior.
Uriarte’s funeral services are pending.
A GoFundMe account to help pay for the funeral and to assist Uriarte’s children had raised more than $18,000 by Dec. 10. Click here to make an online donation.
3. California Bar Seizes Unauthorized Law Practice with Offices in Goleta, Santa Barbara
A family law practice with offices in Goleta and Santa Barbara has been seized by the State Bar of California, which alleges that its operators were providing unauthorized legal services.
As our Jade Martinez-Pogue reported in a Noozhawk exclusive, the State Bar says Eric Campbell and Anita Youabian are not licensed to practice law in California, and their LLC, National Family Solutions, is prohibited from doing so.
“National Family Solutions sought to profit by promising vulnerable victims legal services it was not authorized to provide,” said George Cardona, the State Bar’s chief trial counsel.
“The State Bar is committed to shutting down businesses that persist in such practices.”
According to the State Bar, National Family Solutions claimed to provide “low-cost” legal services to self-represented litigants through a provider network of attorneys and other legal professionals.
The State Bar said the company gained clients through its website, charging them flat fees of $1,000 or more depending on the case type, plus monthly service charges for access to case managers and “legal staff.”
Campbell denied that he and Youabian practiced law, chose documents or did legal research.
“NFS has never held itself out to the public as a law practice, or as being authorized to practice law in California,” he said in a statement to Noozhawk. “NFS hired licensed California attorneys to prepare legal document for clients.”
The State Bar “has, in our opinion, blown this matter way out of proportion to what has in fact occurred,” he added.
Obviously, the State Bar disagrees. It says National Family Solutions ignored warnings as early as 2018 that what it was doing constituted the unauthorized practice of law, and continued to operate despite an investigation by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
District Attorney Joyce Dudley declined to comment as the investigation is ongoing.
4. Intensive Search Underway for Missing Fisherman Off Carpinteria Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard and local harbor patrols were searching for a fisherman missing off Carpinteria after his 38-foot vessel was discovered empty and running in circles Dec. 8.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, the state Department of Fish & Wildlife alerted the Coast Guard about a commercial fishing boat operating erratically off Loon Point about 4 p.m.
Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Aidan Cooney told Tom that crews located the Ventura Harbor-based vessel, but found no one aboard.
He said searchers believe only one person was aboard the boat.
The Coast Guard search effort included a Spartan C-27J tactical aircraft from Air Station Sacramento; helicopter crews from Forward Operating Base Mugu, Air Station San Diego and Air Station San Francisco; the Cutter Terrell Horne; and a 45-foot response boat from Coast Guard Station Channel Islands.
Harbor Patrol units from Santa Barbara and Ventura also were involved.
The missing fisherman’s identity has not been released.
5. Wet Weather in Forecast in Santa Barbara County Over the Next Week
After a taste of rain Dec. 9, a stronger storm is forecast to roll into Santa Barbara County over the next week, with an inch of rainfall expected at lower elevations and two inches or more in the mountains.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the storm that is due Dec. 13 and 14 does not currently include any flood warnings in the Alisal Fire burn area. David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard, told him that could change closer to the rain’s arrival.
Click here for the latest weather service forecast.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? State May Implement Stay-at-Home Order for Santa Barbara County.
• • •
Americans Held Hostage: Day 102
It’s now been 102 days since the United States abandoned hundreds of U.S. citizens and thousands of legal permanent residents in Afghanistan. The government’s response? Yawn.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
When illness is everywhere: All Pathology, All the Time.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
It was an honor to present my friend, @dphschargers Principal Bill Woodard, with the 2021 Goleta’s Finest Educator of the Year award from the @sbsouthcoastchamber. It’s in my Instagram feed, but you can also click here to read our Ann Pieramici’s report, “Goleta’s Finest Community Awards Celebrated at 71st Annual Gala.”
• • •
Watch It
This comparison video is sick. And timely.
(Holderness Family Vlogs video)
• • •
How You Can Help Noozhawk
Noozhawk is proud to be the go-to source of news for locals like yourself. You trust and rely on us to provide timely, relevant and thorough coverage of the issues that shape Santa Barbara County.
And we get up early — and stay up late — excited to report what’s going on in our community so we can keep you informed and engaged.
While most of Noozhawk’s revenue comes from advertising and sponsorships, we believe that reader contributions are a vital source of support — financially and fundamentally. We believe that if we ask our readers to contribute what you think we’re worth, we can build a sustainable business model for local news.
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today! Yes, I’ll set up a monthly donation today!
Your loyalty membership helps us continue to provide you with unmatched local news and in-depth reporting on the issues that you care about.
Please note that personal contributions to Noozhawk are not deductible as charitable donations.
Thank you for your support.
— 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.
