As confidence in a coronavirus recovery continues to grow — to the discomfort, even disappointment, of far too many lockdown advocates — it’s inevitable that resilient and freedom-hungry Americans would begin turning their attention to what comes next.
It’s been a really long year.
The last 12 months brought death, economic devastation and a mounting toll of woe from job losses, isolation, social deprivation, psychological turmoil and the public schools debacle. Not to mention the myriad other public health consequences of this public health crisis.
The pandemic has scarred every one of us, and it’s not over yet.
But we’re ready to move on, and the optimism accompanying the COVID-19 vaccines is our first real sign of hope that we’ll be able to.
Last month’s Noozhawk Talks on the vaccines rollout was a huge hit with our readers, and many of you have asked me to do another one. Or two.
I have a couple of ideas on that, and hope to have an announcement about it in next week’s Best of Bill column. Feel free to hit me up with your own ideas, though. You know how to reach me.
Team Noozhawk already has been discussing the next stages of this catastrophe, trying to anticipate the news you’ll need and the questions you’ll have.
Noozhawk has been your lifeline from the start of the pandemic, and you can count on us to be there at the finish — whenever that is.
But even as COVID-19 has consumed our coverage, we’ve continued to provide you with the rest of the daily local news and information you depend on.
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According to our Google Analytics, Noozhawk had an audience of 117,288 readers this past week. What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period.
In other words, this is my opinion column as Noozhawk’s publisher. It is not a news story and I am not a reporter.
1. Vons Grocery Store in Lompoc Slated to Close for Good in May
Lompoc grocery shoppers will soon be losing a key supermarket choice — one of about a half-dozen in the city of 43,000 residents — when its only Vons store closes later this spring.
As our Janene Scully first reported Feb. 25, Albertsons Companies, which owns Vons, said the store at 729 N. H St. is expected to close by May 20, along with a Vons gas station at the corner of North H and East Pine streets.
Melissa Hill, public affairs and government relations director for Albertsons’ Southern California Division, said the closure would mean that a pharmacy and a Starbucks café inside the store also would be out.
“We are committed to making this a seamless transition for our pharmacy customers and provide them with uninterrupted prescription services,” she said.
Hill said prescriptions will be transferred to Albertsons, a few blocks away at 1500 N. H St.
2. 2 Reported Injured in Rollover Crash on Highway 101 in Downtown Santa Barbara
A middle-of-the-night collision off Highway 101 in downtown Santa Barbara left two people injured, but a third was well enough to run from the scene on foot.
Santa Barbara fire Battalion Chief Jim McCoy told our Tom Bolton that the two-vehicle wreck occurred around 2:30 a.m. Feb. 28 on the northbound freeway exit ramp at West Carrillo Street.
As our Ryan Cullom’s nearby photo shows, one car ended up upside down on the freeway side of the ramp while the second one appeared to be halfway up a tree on the other side.
McCoy said two men in the overturned sedan suffered minor injuries, and one was taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital. Their identities and medical conditions were not released.
He said the driver of the other car hightailed it into the night and could not be found.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
3. BizHawk: Bier Garten Looks to Add a Little Buzz to Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone
For the second week in a row, readers put Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone in the Top 5.
That’s no surprise, really, since the neighborhood has a natural draw about it — unlike, say, the excruciatingly slow buildup the City of Santa Barbara is trying to manufacture on State Street downtown.
But I digress.
As our Josh Molina first reported, the Bier Garten has opened at 11 Anacapa St., next to Loveworn, a well-known vintage clothing boutique.
The restaurant menu includes artisan sausages, grass-fed burgers and wood-fired oven pizzas, while the bar features 20 beers on tap, including imports from Austria, Belgium and Germany and homegrown California craft beer.
Bier Garten owner Aaron Running also owns Copenhagen Sausage Garden, one of Solvang’s most popular restaurants.
“We decided to come to the Funk Zone,” he told Josh. “There’s kind of a lack of comfort food here. We’re a nice, casual, relaxed atmosphere.”
That atmosphere includes ample outdoor dining, an open-air bar and fire pits.
With the community beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis, the outdoor beer garden just may be in the right place at the right time.
“We’re excited to offer something in the community that may be a little bit different than what they get in other places,” Running said. “I think they will enjoy their experience here.”
4. American Airlines Adding Direct Flights Between Santa Barbara and Chicago
Starting in early May, American Airlines will be making seasonal, nonstop flights between Santa Barbara and Chicago.
As our Tom Bolton first reported Feb. 27, Santa Barbara Airport business development manager Deanna Zachrisson confirmed that American is planning to add weekend service featuring Airbus A319 jetliners, twin-engine aircraft that can seat between 124 and 156 passengers.
She said the flights, which begin May 8, will depart Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:50 a.m. and arrive in Santa Barbara at noon, before returning to Chicago for a 5:45 p.m. arrival.
United Airlines had planned to begin Santa Barbara-Chicago service last summer … but COVID-19.
However, Noozhawk reader Alan Clammer tipped us off to say those flights would begin this summer, and my friend, Chase McLaughlin, has already found a sweet deal on United in September.
5. Bill Macfadyen: Details of Attempted Murder Case May Be Scant, But Public Interest Isn’t
No new news again, but Cora Vides, the 18-year-old Laguna Blanca School senior charged in the alleged attempted murder of a classmate, is expected back in Santa Barbara County Superior Court on March 8. She pleaded not guilty in the Feb. 14 stabbing at her house in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood.
The 18-year-old victim is recovering from her wounds, but her family has released no information on her condition.
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Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Super Tuesday Election Results for Santa Barbara County.
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Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
A skunk’s gonna skunk: Donations ‘Requested’ by Gavin Newsom Exploded as His Emergency Powers Ballooned.
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Best of Bill’s Instagram
Flowers are starting to bloom in my Instagram feed this past week.
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Watch It
Sure, these may be cat burglars, but how exciting is it to see a trio prowl past a house in Tecolote Canyon west of Goleta? HT to Tom Bolton.
(Tom Bolton / Noozhawk 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.
