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Over the summer, the Carpinteria Valley, Goleta and Santa Barbara chambers of commerce agreed to a historic merger in response to the fierce economic meltdown triggered by the coronavirus crisis.
Since then, the 1,100-member-strong Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, which I am privileged to co-chair, has been working diligently to strengthen the local business climate and restore the vibrant economy we had just nine months ago.
As part of our Roadmap to Recovery strategic planning, a chamber task force met by Zoom on Oct. 7 with Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart, chairman of the Board of Supervisors; County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato; Assistant County Executive Officers Nancy Anderson and Terri Maus-Nisich; Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, director of the county Public Health Department; Jason Harris, the City of Santa Barbara’s economic development manager; Santa Barbara Unified School District board chairwoman Laura Capps; and Assemblywoman Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara.
Our message to the elected officials and policy makers was simple: Business needs certainty.
Employers don’t hire based on uncertainty. Banks don’t make loans based on uncertainty. Investors don’t write checks based on uncertainty. Companies don’t embark on long-range initiatives based on uncertainty.
Throughout this crisis, however, all we’ve had is uncertainty — grounded in a one-sided diagnosis of what we’re up against.
Make no mistake: By any measure, COVID-19 is the mother of all uncertainty.
We’re making remarkably swift progress in understanding the contagion, but the fact remains that there is not yet a vaccine, or herd immunity, or even some kind of sophisticated protection.
The best defense we have is astonishingly elementary: wearing masks around others, social distancing and thoroughly washing our hands.
Although the hospitalization rate in Santa Barbara County has been largely flat for months, the casualty count and the death toll have continued to rise; as of Oct. 9, the county has recorded 9,387 cases and 115 deaths.
Clearly, the coronavirus will be lingering for the foreseeable future, but that is uncertainty we cannot control.
The uncertainty we can control, that we must control, is that stemming from the arbitrary, capricious and often contradictory tiers Gov. Gavin Newsom has imposed to determine whether Santa Barbara County is allowed to loosen its reopening restrictions.
As I’ve maintained from the very beginning of the outbreak, the unintended consequences of California’s near-total initial lockdown and seemingly begrudging reopening are far more fearsome than the coronavirus.
The toll from our self-imposed economic destruction — including the myriad public health problems arising from it — will long outlast COVID-19 and dwarf even its most dire impacts.
But that appears to be a mere afterthought in complicated reopening formulas that, having ditched hospitalizations as the baseline, turned to cases, then testing and now to some kind of vague “equity” requirement — at least until the goalposts are moved again.
A more balanced course of action would be an acknowledgement that, just as with flu season, we will have spikes of COVID-19 or even just spurts. Rather than threatening to again shut down everything in sight, creating more havoc and disruption, the state should reassure businesses that they will be able to remain open and operating under clearly defined parameters. The same goes for schools and other organizations.
Those are certainties we can all live with, because we cannot continue to live the way we are. It is unrealistic to expect a county of 450,000 people — let alone a nation of 330 million — to suspend their lives and livelihoods indefinitely.
Focus on protecting the lives of those whose health is most at risk, but allow the majority at minimal risk to get on with theirs — incorporating, of course, the necessary public health accommodations that COVID-19 requires.
Business can do this, but we need the active support and advocacy of not just local officials but the two we elected to represent us in Sacramento: state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, and Limón, who wants to succeed her.
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According to our Google Analytics, meanwhile, Noozhawk drew an audience of 102,169 readers this past week.
What follows is my take on the Top 5 stories you were reading, according to Google. If you haven’t figured out by now, this is my opinion column and not a news story.
1. Arrest Made in Fatal Stabbing on Santa Barbara’s Eastside
A prison parolee was arrested as a suspect in the murder of a Santa Barbara man, within hours of the fatal stabbing on the Lower Eastside.
Santa Barbara police Lt. Aaron Baker told our Tom Bolton that 38-year-old Jorge Diaz was found mortally wounded about 9:15 p.m. Oct. 2 near Cacique and South Voluntario streets, in a densely populated residential neighborhood two blocks east of South Milpas Street.
Diaz was rushed by an American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The next day, SBPD spokesman Anthony Wagner told Tom that detectives had arrested 32-year-old Ernesto Gil Lopez of Santa Barbara as a suspect in the case. Lopez was taken into custody on suspicion of murder and a parole violation, he said.
As usual, police would not disclose a positive motive for the killing, or whether they believe it was gang-related.
Funeral services for Diaz were pending, but a GoFundMe account was established to help his family with expenses.
The organizers described him as “a loving father, son and brother. Jorge will be dearly missed by his family and friends.”
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2. Police Make Arrest in Stabbing at Bar on State Street in Downtown Santa Barbara
This late-night Sept. 24 bar stabbing was our No. 2 story last week, and it remained in the No. 2 spot this week with the news that a suspect had been arrested.
To recap, Santa Barbara police said a man (whose identification was not disclosed) was stabbed during an altercation (whose details were not provided) outside a bar in the 500 block of State Street. The victim was transported by AMR ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (where his medical condition was not revealed).
On Oct. 2, SBPD spokesman Anthony Wagner told our Tom Bolton that 24-year-old Marco Arizmendi was arrested and booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and a gang enhancement.
According to Wagner, Arizmendi is also “suspected of a parole violation.” Parenthetically, that seems like it should be a pretty easy thing for a police department to check. Either he is a parole violator or he is not. Why the emphatic ambiguity?
3. Wreckage of Small Plane, Pilot’s Body Recovered from Ocean Off Goleta
There’s nothing new to report in the Sept. 27 crash of a single-engine Cessna 182 off UC Santa Barbara’s Campus Point.
The pilot and the plane’s lone occupant — 61-year-old Debra Nicholson of Tahoe City — had taken off from the Santa Barbara Airport just after 7 a.m. en route to Truckee Tahoe Airport. The aircraft plunged into the Santa Barbara Channel a few minutes later.
As our Tom Bolton reported, the plane was recovered and hauled to the Goleta Pier on Oct. 1. Nicholson’s body was found inside the fuselage.
The Santa Barbara County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau is conducting an autopsy on Nicholson, while the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.
4. BizHawk: Bob’s Vacuum Powers Up Again with New Owner, New Location
Bob’s Vacuum has been a housecleaning mainstay on Santa Barbara County’s South Coast for nearly 50 years. So the news that it was closing for good in May went over about as easily as a Hoover WindTunnel sucking up a big, bent, rusty nail.
As our Josh Molina reported in the Oct. 1 BizHawk, however, Bob’s Vacuum is back. Longtime service representative Gilbert Short bought the business, and its venerable name, from previous owners Stephanie and Dave Evans.
“It’s extremely important, especially to the older people in the community, to have somewhere to go,” Short told Josh. “They need somewhere to have their vacuum fixed.”
This is where I interject that it’s not just “older people,” as my wife, a longtime Bob’s Vacuum fan, can attest.
Short, who estimates he has fixed some 5,000 vacuum cleaners over the years, reopened in the Hollister Professional Park, at 5276 Hollister Ave., Suite 403, and business is brisk.
“I appreciate all the support,” he said. “I feel every comment people say.”
5. Residents Raise Concerns About Crosswalk at Cliff Drive and Alan Road in Santa Barbara
A Santa Barbara woman suffered serious injuries and her dog was killed last month when they were hit by a car while walking in a marked crosswalk at Cliff Drive and Alan Road across from Arroyo Burro Beach Park.
The dreadful collision spurred nearby residents to demand that the City of Santa Barbara take immediate action to prevent future carnage. Around 70 neighbors signed a letter to the City Council charging that the current crosswalk is simply not safe.
“We use the crosswalk frequently, and have all observed that the crossing is a treacherous one,” the letter states. “Automobiles travel fast on Cliff Drive in this area, and too often do not heed the existing crosswalk or small marker indicating that state law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians.”
In addition, the residents surmised, glare, ambient light and out-of-towners also may be factors.
Pointedly, the letter accuses the city of not taking proactive safety measures, calls for “immediate action to provide a fix for this currently high-risk crosswalk,” and asks that residents be included in the discussion.
As it turns out, city officials already had been pursuing grants to purchase and install a $100,000 suite of pedestrian-activated flashing lights for the crosswalk.
“Our transportation planning employees have a great track record of winning grants,” Mayor Cathy Murillo declared in an email to our Brooke Holland.
How nice for those employees. Too bad for the neighbors that Derrick Bailey, the city’s principal traffic engineer, acknowledged that — if successful — the grant route will take several years before such safety improvements see the light of day.
In an email to Brooke, City Councilman Eric Friedman said he recognized the urgency of the situation and shared the concerns over the estimated timeline.
“As demonstrated by the recent injury incident, the crosswalk at Cliff Drive and Alan Road is a public safety issue,” he said, adding that he’s working to identify other potential funding resources.
So, here’s a thought: Santa Barbara’s current annual municipal budget is around $343 million, yet there’s apparently no way the city can scrape together $100,000 on its own. I don’t believe that and neither do you.
On its own website, the city provides a helpful Financial Transparency Tool so you can try your hand at being your own budget analyst. Anyone care to venture in and find those dollars? Email your suggestions to me and I’ll look to compile them in a future Best of Bill column.
Let’s help out the Alan Road neighborhood, and then maybe look around for some other danger zones we can assist. Who’s up for the challenge?
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Woman Taken to Hospital After Being Attacked in Santa Barbara.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
Whale, this is a tune I haven’t heard: Blue Whales Sing All Day When They Migrate and All Night When They Don’t.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
#bestofbillrecommendation meals and @sadiethealaskanmalamute hijinks filled my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Greatest catch in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
NO WAY!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?
Cody Bellinger ROBS Tatis of a 2-run HR!! pic.twitter.com/0VejV1v1ZJ
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 8, 2020
(@MLBONFOX 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.
