Noozhawk’s ongoing coverage of all the head-on collisions on Santa Barbara County highways — and publisher Bill Macfadyen’s acid commentary about it — has been helpful in raising awareness, but I think you need to do more.
I grew up in Santa Paula, where Highway 126 is known as “Blood Alley” for all of the terrible, fatal crashes on it. Santa Barbara County is starting to feel that way, so much so that I refuse to drive Highway 154 over San Marcos Pass anymore.
Please push local elected officials, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol to get serious about this awful problem. How many more wrecks will we accept? This is a crisis and it needs a serious response.
Nate Phillips
Santa Barbara
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News about death should be just reported with details if applicable, not made like it’s a game show as Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen does, putting in all these blurbs when he is talking about a deadly head-on collision, as he did in his Sept. 20 column, “Apparent Connections Complicate Alleged Drunken-Driving Crash on Highway 154.”
It’s fine to put humor in with things that don’t involve death, head-on collisions and serious injury. The funny statements and humor just don’t go with a death report.
Here is one of the sections of his recent column:
“Not far away from the scene of the head-on collision at the top of this Best of Bill compilation, another head-on collision left three people injured the day before, including a woman who had to be airlifted to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
“If you’re keeping score, that’s a total of 10 injuries from two wrecks involving five vehicles in a span of less than 36 hours. That’s some data dump, but are authorities keeping track?”
Jacques McKaba
Montecito
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As a Goletan, I have been trying to support the Flightline Restaurant at 521 Firestone Road at the Santa Barbara Airport. I can’t help but feel the lack of business at the site must be because it lives between two worlds, in a business sense.
Does it get support from any chamber of commerce? Not sure if it needs it, but it lives in Golets for all intents and purposes, yet it is a Santa Barbara business. Goletans are loyal, and want our tax dollars to go where we are. It is difficult to support any actions of Santa Barbara proper when this fabulous restaurant site is in Goleta.
The new Flightline is magnificent. The menu is varied and the environment is fantastic. Where else in Goleta can you find so many booths where you can eat privately, with a light and airy room surrounding you with such history?
Chris Hall
Goleta
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I find it interesting that the day some of us joined with the youth of Santa Barbara and Goleta to protest the climate change inactivity of our government, and those of other countries, Cat Canyon had another oil spill, as reported in the Sept. 20 story, “Oil Spill Reported in Cat Canyon Southeast of Santa Maria.”
Has Santa Barbara County granted operators clearance to add to their oil fields?
Edith Ogella
Santa Barbara
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Bruce Porter appeared in Solvang’s Danish Days Parade with a “Bruce Porter, Supervisor” sign, implying that he holds that Santa Barbara County office when he is simply a candidate. Not only is he jumping the gun, but as a military man he should know about stolen valor: It is dishonorable to claim a title that you haven’t earned.
It is deliberately misleading. I hope this isn’t a portent of the kind of campaign he intends to run for Third District supervisor.
Seth Steiner
Los Alamos
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