In setting Noozhawk’s priorities and budgeting for 2020, my partners — executive editor Tom Bolton and business development vice president Kim Clark — and I made plans to add a reporter, a sales and marketing position, and a Hawks Club membership coordinator in the fourth quarter.
We knew we had a lot on our plate this year, with a couple of in-depth reporting projects lined up, a revolutionary local sports experiment in the works, and an exciting — and somewhat terrifying — invitation from Newspack to migrate our website to an innovative new platform sometime over the summer.
Let’s get into the fall, we reasoned, and then we can turn our attention to expansion. We budget very conservatively, and we thought we’d have a better idea of what 2021 might bring by then.
And then the coronavirus took those plans and shredded them.
As you know, Noozhawk is essentially a 24/7 operation. We’re known for breaking news, and we report on drama and inconvenience better than anyone.
Our small team of professional journalists is passionate, productive and battle-tested when it comes to disasters. We were up to the COVID-19 challenge, even after the crisis turned into a marathon and not a sprint.
But adrenaline eventually runs out, and we realized we needed more Hawks in the nest … now. Our readers hunger for even more contagion coverage and context, as well as stepped-up reporting on the year’s economic catastrophe and everything else going on — or not going on — in Santa Barbara County.
The demands on our sales team have jumped, meanwhile, and our Hawks Club has grown to the point that it really does need more full-time TLC. We’re interviewing for an additional sales and marketing consultant to join Sheridan Taphorn and Collin Nathanson on Kim’s team, and we expect to have a Hawks Club point person in place by the end of July.
This week, our newest Noozhawk, Jade Martinez-Pogue, joined the news team.
Jade is a brand-new alumna of UC Santa Barbara, having graduated last weekend with a communications degree and a journalism certificate. She wrote for The Bottom Line, UCSB’s independent student-run newspaper, and spent her senior year as national beat reporter and a member of the editorial board.
We’re asking a lot of her to run stride for stride with an epoch-making pandemic and economic upheaval, but she could not have any better role models than Tom and managing editor Giana Magnoli; North County editor Janene Scully; staff writers Josh Molina and Brooke Holland; copy editors Michelle Nelson, Marcia Meier and Marcia Heller; and sports editor Barry Punzal.
Jade is perceptive, personable, undaunted and eager to learn, and I’m looking forward to watching her develop as a journalist. We’ve had a pretty good record with Bottom Line alums; staff writer Sam Goldman went on to receive his master’s in journalism from UC Berkeley and now freelances in the Bay Area, and intern Shomik Mukherjee is now a reporter with the Eureka Times-Standard.
Amid an economic meltdown, we know that investing in talent may be counter-intuitive and is fraught with risk. Other news organizations are cutting staff and pulling back.
But Noozhawk got to where we are by drinking upstream from the herd. I’m confident — we’re confident — that the community will recognize our commitment and respond accordingly.
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According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 149,915 readers this past week.
What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading over the last seven days. This is an opinion column — my opinion column — although it may smell more like a wildfire roundup this time.
1. Evacuations Ordered as Firefighters Battle Wind-Driven Vegetation Fire West of Buellton
A wildfire burning west of Buellton forced the mandatory evacuation of hundreds of homes the afternoon of June 14 as high winds pushed the flames east toward the community.
A fierce aerial assault helped firefighters blunt the threat, and all evacuations were lifted by the next morning.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, the fire was called in around 1 p.m. in the 7300 block of West Highway 246, north of the highway between Drum Canyon and Domingos roads.
Propelled by winds of 25-30 mph, the blaze quickly grew to about 600 acres as it swept over brush, rangeland and vineyards.
More than 200 firefighters and several retardant-dropping aircraft were deployed to what was dubbed the Drum Fire.
The fire’s footprint topped out at just under 700 acres, and Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason told our Giana Magnoli that full containment was reached June 16.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but no injuries or structure damage were reported.
2. Santa Barbara Moves Forward With Housing Authority on 29-Unit Project
Embarking on a new effort to help some of the neediest among us, Santa Barbara took a few steps — 29, to be exact — toward creating housing for more than two dozen formerly homeless locals.
Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara officials and advocates went before the City Council’s Finance Committee on June 16 to request approval of a $2 million loan to help the agency buy a vacant downtown parcel for a 29-unit studio project.
As our Josh Molina first reported, the $14.8 million project is proposed for 110-116 E. Cota St., adjacent to Plaza Vera Cruz and across the street from the commuter parking lot that is used for the Saturday morning Farmers Market. In addition to providing critical housing, the plans call for on-site wraparound supportive services.
The committee approved the 30-year loan from the city’s Housing Asset Fund, although the full council must also agree.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” Councilwoman Meagan Harmon said. “One of the best things about being on City Council is voting for projects like this.”
Councilwoman Alejandra Gutierrez pointed out that the timing — amid the coronavirus pandemic — could not be better.
“During this time, we need something like this,” she said.
Taking an even longer view was my friend, Ben Romo, who noted the city’s chronic lack of housing, especially for “lower-income neighbors.”
“We have very few opportunities in the community to do anything of significance in terms of density,” he said. “I think that, every chance we have as a city, we ought to take and really maximize those opportunities.”
3. Firefighters Battle Vegetation Fire Near More Mesa in Santa Barbara Area
A grass fire ignited on More Mesa west of Hope Ranch on June 12 and the flames burned into trees along the eastern edge, briefly threatening residences at the far western end of Vieja Drive.
Santa Barbara County fire Capt. Daniel Bertucelli told our Tom Bolton that the fire was reported just before 11 a.m. near Calle Las Brisas and the end of Mockingbird Lane. He said the first units to arrive found multiple fires in the meadow.
An evacuation warning was issued for homes along Vieja Drive, off Puente Drive, about 11:40 a.m., but the all-clear was given about an hour later.
By 1 p.m., Bertucelli said, firefighters had stopped the blaze from advancing, keeping it to around seven acres.
Although the smoke drew widespread attention from around the South Coast, there were no injuries or structure damage reported.
County firefighters were joined by crews from the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria-Summerland fire departments, and water-dropping aircraft played a key role.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
4. Changes May Be Coming as Turmoil Engulfs Santa Barbara City Hall
Dysfunction, dissatisfaction and intrigue have been hallmarks of Santa Barbara City Hall for years, and the chaos and turmoil have only been exacerbated by the coronavirus crisis and the accompanying shutdown of the economy.
Whether by design or defeat, the City Council has been transfused with new blood over the last two elections. Business and property owners have begun pushing back against a government bureaucracy that seems to know only inaction or overreach. And more and more citizens, either aligned with Black Lives Matter or simply frustrated with the status quo, are asserting themselves and demanding changes.
Hey, man, politics may be messy, but it’s rarely dull.
As our Josh Molina reported in an extensive, June 11 exclusive, much of the public ire has been focused on embattled City Administrator Paul Casey and George Buell, the director of the city’s Community Development Department.
Josh, with the assistance of our Tom Bolton, produced a balanced, well-represented report covering just about every hot-button issue in the news.
The story, I’ve been told by several insiders, landed with the thud of a bunker-buster bomb at City Hall.
And then it exploded.
The day after we posted Josh’s story, speculation boomeranged around the Internet. Casey woud resign, we heard. No, we were told, Buell will retire immediately. Other senior department heads were said to be contemplating a new beginning for themselves.
Nothing happened for a week, however, until the afternoon of June 18 when Buell announced his resignation, effective a month from now.
Time will tell whether his will be the only head to roll, but read Josh’s story for a thorough wrapup of the sordid details.
5. Firefighters Battle Raging Fire in Large Home Near Santa Barbara Mission
A historic Upper Eastside Santa Barbara home caught fire the night of June 11, and the epic battle to put it out pulled in firefighters from throughout the South Coast.
As our Tom Bolton first reported, firefighters were dispatched around 8:25 p.m. to the 300 block of Junipero Plaza, between Garden and Laguna streets, down the street from the Santa Barbara Mission.
Crews arrived to find the three-story, 6,300-square-foot house engulfed in flames but, fortunately, the residents and their dog had been eating dinner outside when the blaze ignited. All were unharmed.
The house, one of my favorites in Santa Barbara, was built in 1904, and Fire Chief Eric Nickel told Tom that structures from that era of construction can be a challenge for firefighters.
“Typically, houses of this sort have large beam construction, lots of hidden spaces and original plaster walls,” he explained.
All seven SBFD fire engines and a ladder truck were dispatched to the fire, which Nickel said burned for 45 minutes and took another two hours to control.
Crews from three Santa Barbara County fire engines and a ladder truck joined the attack, along with Montecito firefighters.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries were reported.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? 2 Found Dead in Goleta Parking Lot Were Elderly Hope Ranch Couple.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Finally, some good news for 2020: Yellowstone Won’t Blow Up This Year.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
@sadiethealaskanmalamute had a sibling reunion with her brother, @bodie_jax_the_malamute, at Los Alamos County Park, #myfavoritepark. Then she went to @picolosalamos, a long-standing #bestofbillrecommendation. It’s all in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Morro Rock is one of California’s coolest landmarks. Here’s a view you likely haven’t seen. HT to Mike McPhate of the California Sun.
(severalguysfilms video)
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— 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.
