So the best team in baseball … isn’t. Again.
But that’s not what’s important. What Los Angeles Dodgers fans may be facing, very quickly now, are 34-FREAKING-years without a world championship for all their loyalty and support.
As a lifelong True Blue fanatic, I think I’ve had quite enough.
While the Dodgers continue their storied record of post-season futility, Team Noozhawk has been just the opposite: consistent, timely and reliable. We deliver, no matter the situation.
With the Nov. 3 election coming up fast, executive editor Tom Bolton and managing editor Giana Magnoli created an Election 2020 section to contain what has become a substantial amount of seasonal political coverage — the most we’ve ever had since Noozhawk launched on this date in 2007, 13 years ago as of today.
Later this fall, we’ll be launching our deep dive into district elections that Giana has been leading in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network.
Both our sales and news teams have been turning their attention to our Good for Santa Barbara section as we gear up to help in what may be the most crucial nonprofit end-of-year fundraising season in Santa Barbara County’s history.
Around this time next month, we may — “may” being the only word I’ll commit to — be ready to make the transition to the Newspack publishing platform created by the partnership of WordPress, the Google News Initiative and several national journalism foundations.
Newspack programmers have been putting a Noozhawk mirror site through its paces to make sure those 13 years of hard work will still be there when we pull that trigger. We hope to start testing it ourselves in the next couple of weeks.
Now beginning our 14th year, we are just as committed to covering our community as we were when Noozhawk first flapped its wings and leaped into the unknown.
We are grateful, I am grateful, for your encouragement and for all of your loyalty and support.
Noozhawk may not have won a world championship either, but our goal was only ever to be No. 1 in Santa Barbara County. Mission accomplished.
You’ve come to count on us for 24/7 reporting on the local news and information that is most important to you. What you may not know is we count on you for your financial support to keep us soaring.
If you’d like to get us something for our birthday, may I be so bold to ask that it be in the form of a donation to our Hawks Club?
Your financial contribution, at any amount, makes a big difference. Thank you for your help.
According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 101,081 readers this past week.
What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading. Full disclosure: This is my opinion column and not a news story.
1. Montecito’s Historic Rancho San Carlos Sold After 6 Years on Market
Historic Rancho San Carlos, one of Montecito’s largest residential properties, has been sold to a billionaire part-time local who plans to keep it intact as a personal home.
On Oct. 12, our Tom Bolton broke the national story of the sale of the 240-acre property. Known locally as the Jackson Ranch, it sprawls along the 2500 block of East Valley Road and into the foothills to the east of Romero Canyon.
The estate includes a 30,000-square-foot Monterey Colonial-style main house, designed by famed Pasadena architect Reginald Johnson and featuring 12 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms. Ten cottages are scattered around the property, which also includes a small office building, equestrian facilities, and more than 100 acres of avocado and lemon orchards.
The ranch had been on the market since 2014, originally with an asking price of $125 million. That figure gradually was reduced to $75 million, and The Wall Street Jourmal reported the actual sale price at $63.25 million.
The buyer reportedly is Riley Bechtel, the retired chairman of Bechtel, the giant international engineering and construction company founded by his family in 1898. Bechtel splits his time between Montecito and Woodside, but has long been active in the Montecito real estate scene.
The property had been in the Jackson family for nearly a century, having been acquired by rancher, investor and philanthropist Charles H. Jackson Jr. and his wife, Ann, in the 1920s and developed over the next decade.
The ranch eventually was passed on to a family partnership among the couple’s many descendants, with one of their grandsons, Jim Jackson, as the general manager.
“The new owners intend to use the ranch as a personal residence for their family in a manner consistent with the historical uses of the ranch, and have no intention of selling off portions,” partnership spokeswoman Lisa Rivas told Tom.
The property had been listed by Suzanne Perkins of Compass and Harry Kolb of Sotheby’s International Realty.
2. Pedestrian Struck and Killed by Train Near Santa Barbara Amtrak Station
A pedestrian was killed the night of Oct. 14 when he was struck by an Amtrak train as he walked on the railroad tracks near the Santa Barbara train station.
Santa Barbara police spokesman Anthony Wagner told our Tom Bolton that emergency personnel were dispatched just after 7 p.m. to the railroad crossing at West Montecito Street, about 100 yards west of the depot.
He said the man was walking on the tracks as the southbound passenger train was approaching the station.
The victim’s name is being withheld until his family can be notified, but Wagner said the death does not appear to be suspicious.
The railroad crossing gate’s automatic warning arms were lowered as the train approached, but the circumstances of the collision are under investigation.
3. Santa Barbara School Board Selects Jan. 19 for K-12 Students to Return to Classrooms
Santa Barbara Unified School District trustees, given a choice between having elementary school students return to campus part time beginning Nov. 9 or putting off until Jan. 19 a hybrid class schedule for all students, voted to wait till next year.
The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department officially gave the go-ahead for schools to fully reopen for in-class instruction effective Oct. 13, the same night as the school board’s vote on campus restarts in the Age of Coronavirus.
However, just about anyone reading our Josh Molina’s Oct. 11 advance report could see the postponement coming from deep in his story.
4. BizHawk: Rincon Beach Club in Carpinteria Makes Transition to Restaurant
2020 has not been a good year for the events industry, so it’s no surprise that Carpinteria’s Rincon Beach Club has seen a cratering of its catering and hosting business.
But the success of the longtime events venue at 3805 Santa Claus Lane has enabled owner Marc Borowitz to convert the place into a now five-day restaurant, the Rincon Beach Bar.
“We were very lucky because we have a very broad base of clientele,” Borowitz told our Josh Molina. “Those clients, they want to have that dinner they had for a wedding.”
The most popular event dishes have been adapted to a restaurant menu, which includes fresh grilled tacos for $16, chicken flautas for $14 and parmesan truffle fries for $13.
I couldn’t help but notice that a longstanding #bestofbillrecommendation, the mushroom ravioli, is now offered for dinner at $26. Yes, please.
All the food is made from scratch, Borowitz says, and orders are contactless. A full bar features craft cocktails and local beer and wine. Catering is still available for small gatherings.
The restaurant is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, noon to 8 p.m. Thursdays, and noon to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday service is available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a brunch menu from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Somewhat uniquely, Rincon Beach Bar has a service charge for orders rather than accepting tips. Continuing a tradition from its catering past, the practice enables the company to share gratuities with its entire team and not just servers.
5. Boy Dies of Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle in Lompoc
A 7-year-old Lompoc boy was struck by a vehicle the night of Oct. 12. Tragically, he died of his injuries at Lompoc Valley Medical Center.
As our Janene Scully first reported, Lompoc police said the youngster suffered critical injuries when he was hit around 7 p.m. in the 100 block of West Pine Avenue, near Lompoc High School.
The boy reportedly was walking with his mother and grandmother at the time of the collision. Neither adult was hurt.
Police say the driver remained at the scene of the crash and was cooperating with officers. It was not known whether alcohol or drugs are suspected in the crash, which remains under police investigation.
Family friends identified the boy as Zay’dian Peavy in a GoFundMe account established to help his mom, Natashia, with funeral expenses.
Zay’dian was a second-grader at Clarence Ruth School, according to Lompoc Unified School District officials.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Click here to make an online donation.
Rest in peace, Little Man. Prayers to his family.
• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Woman Killed, Several People Injured in Collision Involving MTD Bus in Downtown Santa Barbara.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Cougar Encounter Way Too Close for Comfort: Kyle Burgess was trail running in a canyon near Provo, Utah, when he rounded a curve and stumbled on a couple of mountain lion cubs. And then came mom. HT to my friend, Samantha Swigard.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
Should 2020 take a weather turn for the worse, at least Montecito’s Cold Spring debris basin is ready to flow. It — with a cameo by @sadiethealaskanmalamute — is in my Instagram feed this past week. Also, tangerines.
• • •
Watch It
Security footage bears witness to a backyard intruder near Romero Canyon in Montecito in the early morning hours of Oct. 15. HT to my friend, Megan Orloff.
(Megan Orloff / Noozhawk 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.