Merry Christmas!
Noozhawk is in the final stretch of our annual year-end fundraising campaign, and I’m asking for your support.
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Noozhawk had an audience of 97,046 readers this past week, according to our Google Analytics. What follows is my own take on the Top 5 stories you were reading during that period.
As a reminder, this is my opinion column, not a news story.
1. Driver Charged with Intentionally Causing Highway 101 Crash in Summerland That Injured 4 Passengers
The top story in my Dec. 10 Best of Bill column is back this week with a totally unexpected twist: A Highway 101 crash in Summerland that injured five people may have been intentional.
As our Tom Bolton initially reported Dec. 7, a West Hills woman was driving a 2019 Chevy Silverado southbound when she veered off the freeway in the Highway 101 widening project construction zone.
The pickup truck rolled down an embankment near the Evans Avenue exit ramp and landed on its side on the Union Pacific railroad right-of-way.
Four passengers — a 79-year-old woman, two teenagers and a 12-year-old child — were injured in the wreck, along with the driver. All were transported by American Medical Response ambulances to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where they were treated and released.
The crash caused a massive backup on the freeway, which in turn sent frustrated motorists streaming to Noozhawk for an explanation.
As Tom later discovered, the driver — 50-year-old Christina Watanabe — was arrested by the California Highway Patrol and charged with five felonies.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Sarah Barkley, Watanabe “intentionally drove off the roadway.” A possible motive was not provided.
Watanabe was charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon (the truck), one count of elder abuse likely to cause serious injury or death, and three counts of child abuse likely to cause serious injury or death — all felonies.
Her Dec. 16 arraignment in Superior Court was continued until Dec. 27. As of Dec. 24, she remained in County Jail on $2 million bail.
The victims’ identities and their relationship to Watanabe were not disclosed.
2. Man Dies After Crash in Shopping Center Parking Lot in Santa Maria
A van driver died Dec. 19 after he crashed into the concrete base of a light pole in a parking lot near JCPenney in Santa Maria.
As our Tom Bolton was first to report, emergency personnel were dispatched to the shopping center at 1321 S. Broadway just after 9:30 a.m.
According to a post on the Santa Maria Police Department’s Facebook page, “The driver of the vehicle was the sole occupant. The male driver was unresponsive and transported to Marian Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.”
The man’s identity was not released pending notification of family.
Santa Maria police are investigating the circumstances of the wreck.
3. Laguna Blanca School Issued Notice of Violation for Over-Enrollment of Students
Let me see if I can simplify this:
Laguna Blanca School has a conditional-use permit allowing 330 students at its upper and middle school campuses in Hope Ranch.
Earlier this year, the private independent school at 4125 Paloma Drive applied to expand its enrollment to 385 students. The application requires a neighborhood impacts traffic study, which is expected to be completed early next year, according to Travis Seawards, deputy director of the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department’s review division.
As our Jade Martinez-Pogue reported, Laguna Blanca has enrolled 355 students for the fall term, 25 students above the current cap.
Some Hope Ranch residents have complained.
After confirming the over-enrollment, the county issued a notice of violation. Because Laguna already had filed a permit amendment application, Seawards said, no action will be taken until the application is resolved.
“We have been in communication with the county, the Hope Ranch general manager and the Hope Ranch board, and we are in the process of exploring ways to mitigate these concerns,” Laguna Blanca spokeswoman Tara Broucqsault said of the neighborhood opposition.
“Our proposal for an amendment to the CUP is still in process.”
There. Did I miss anything?
4. Bill Macfadyen: Shoreline Drive Crash Leaves One Dead, One Severely Injured, Few Clues
It was a crash, of course.
5. Santa Barbara County Likely to Have a Wet — but Not White — Christmas
Just as predicted, a significant storm rolled into Santa Barbara County in late afternoon Dec. 22 and rained steadily through the night of Dec. 23. I can’t recall such sustained rain in a very long time.
San Marcos Pass in the mountains above Santa Barbara recorded 5.89 inches of rain from the storm, with many of the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department’s vast network of rain gauges collecting more than 4 inches.
Even normally arid Cuyama got three-quarters of an inch of rain.
As our Tom Bolton reported Dec. 23, the storm caused very little damage but there were plenty of traffic crashes around the county and several instances of flooded streets.
The rain is expected to clear out around midday Christmas Eve, but another storm is in the forecast for Christmas night.
Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, predicted the weekend storm would drop around a half-inch of rain before giving way to sunny skies on Dec. 26.
Snow levels could drop as low as 3,000 feet so be sure to check to see if 3,997-foot La Cumbre Peak is snow-capped on Dec. 26.
Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
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• • •
Last Year on Noozhawk
What was our most-read story this time last year? Neighbors, City Upset after Santa Barbara Homeowner Fells Street Trees Without Permit.
• • •
Americans Held Hostage: Day 116
It’s been 116 days since hundreds of U.S. citizens and legal U.S. residents were abandoned when the United States surrendered Afghanistan to the Taliban. Now the U.S. government is easing sanctions and opening the door to even providing funding to the murderous terrorist regime.
• • •
Bill Macfadyen’s Story of the Week
What will we think of next? Stagecoaches? Oxen-drawn wagons? Giant Kite Will Pull a Ship Across the Ocean Next Month.
• • •
Best of Bill’s Instagram
A quick trip to Austin was … weird, but @sadiethealaskanmalamute is always good for a laugh in my Instagram feed.
• • •
Watch It
She didn’t get the memo about the dance routine change, but she definitely got the proposal.
(House of Highlights 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.
