While vehicle crashes, weather, and shootings and stabbings dominated Noozhawk’s top read stories of the year, reporters were also busy tracking court cases, immigration issues, housing, and local controversies.
Here are Noozhawk’s picks for stories from 2025 that we thought were important to look back on, in no particular order.
Federal Agents Raid Carpinteria Cannabis Farm
On July 10, federal agents raided Glass House Farms in Carpinteria and detained 10 people. The raid followed months of concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the community, sparking a large protest of people outside the raid.
The crowd gathered on Casitas Pass Road and Foothill Road near Glass House Farms, which operates cannabis greenhouses in the area.
Agents deployed flash and smoke grenades at protesters, injuring Carpinteria City Councilwoman Mónica Solórzano, who was in the crowd, and others.
It was the largest federal agency enforcement action locally, and led to many community and government meetings on the issue. Advocates asked for funding and support for groups helping community members, and many cities allocated some resources.
Noozhawk reported live from the scene of the raid, reported on lengthy meetings in the aftermath, spoke to community advocates about their concerns and efforts, and has continued to report on federal immigration enforcement activity.
Sutter Health Employees Fired Over Viral Video Mocking Patients
It’s not every day that Santa Barbara goes viral, but Sutter Health became the center of controversy this year after a video went viral on TikTok that showed Sutter Health/Sansum Clinic urgent care staff gathering around exam tables and showing off wet marks left by patients after appointments.
In the now deleted video, the personnel can be seen in multiple photos posing with soiled paper on the exam tables. The video also refers to the marks as “gifts” left behind by patients.
There were dozens of negative comments on Sutter Health’s social media accounts, as well as negative Yelp and Google reviews referencing the video.
Many of the comments criticized Sutter Health and called the staff members involved “immature and unprofessional.”
Sutter Health representatives said in a statement that the person was not an employee when they posted the video, and that they terminated the other people involved.
The Death of UCSB Student Liz Hamel
The untimely death of UC Santa Barbara student Liz Hamel was surrounded in mystery after she fell from a breezeway at the San Rafael Mountain Cluster residential buildings.
She was last seen celebrating Valentine’s Day with her roommates and friends at an Isla Vista restaurant before she left the noodle bar with a young man around her age at 10:06 p.m.
Her family hired a private investigator to look into her death and put pressure on campus police to investigate the young man with whom she was seen.
UCPD officials shared that they did interview the man, and in December, they announced that they determined the incident was an accidental fall that resulted in Hamel’s death.
However, her family still has questions and shared that they were working to make sure all of the evidence was carefully reviewed.
Tyrone Maho, the Hamel family’s counsel, and Michael Claytor of Claytor Investigations said in a statement that they disagree with the conclusions and are continuing to investigate.
Longtime UCSB Chancellor Retires; Incoming One Gets a New House
The year 2025 marked the end of Henry Yang’s decades-long career as chancellor of UCSB.
A long search for a replacement that included a search committee and town halls with students, faculty and staff concluded in July when the university announced that Dennis Assanis would take over the role.
Assanis came to Santa Barbara from the University of Delaware, where he was president since 2016 and was part of launching the Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) facility, which is home to the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals that leads in researching vaccines and pharmaceuticals.
The change in leadership also led to a change in house accommodations.
Chancellors in the UC system are given free housing, typically on campus. The university determined that the University House, where Yang and his family lived since the 1990s, needed to be renovated before a new chancellor moved in.
Necessary repairs to the University House, and the Centennial House next door, included electrical, heating and plumbing, and doors and windows needed to be replaced, all of which was expected to cost $8.4 million.
In the end, the UC Regents decided that rather than restore the houses, they could be demolished and used for student or faculty housing. Instead, the Regents purchased a $7.8 million home in Hope Ranch, using donor funds, for Assanis and his family to reside.
Property listings for the home show it has six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The property’s Zillow page describes the home as a Hope Ranch French country manor on a gated drive. The property was listed for $7.95 million in September and sold for $7.8 million on Oct. 28.
The Disappearance and Death of Melodee Buzzard
The story of a missing Vandenberg Village girl got national attention this year when the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office shared that Melodee Buzzard, 9, hadn’t been seen since Oct. 7.
Authorities had been searching for Melodee since Oct. 14, when educators asked deputies to conduct a welfare check.
When she didn’t start attending classes, the school launched mandatory truancy procedures, including phone calls, letters, emails and home visits, leading to the visit to the home.
The Sheriff’s Office said her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, had been “uncooperative” during the investigation. Detectives focused on a multi-state road trip the two had taken in early October, since Buzzard reportedly left with Melodee but returned home alone.
News of Melodee’s disappearance sparked widespread suspicion and speculation, with local residents sitting outside Buzzard’s home and posting signs along the street.
Buzzard was arrested Dec. 23 and charged with murder after Melodee’s body was found in Caineville, Utah.
The girl reportedly was shot in the head at least one time, Sheriff Bill Brown said.
Buzzard has pleaded not guilty to the charges and remains in jail custody without bail.
The case is scheduled to return to Superior Court in Lompoc before Judge Stephen Dunkle on Jan. 7, when he and the attorneys may set a date for the preliminary hearing.
Man Breaks Into Montecito Mansion and Attacks Woman
On May 21, Russell Maxwell Phay, 43, of Nevada was arrested on suspicion of breaking into Ty Warner’s Montecito mansion and seriously injuring a woman in an assault.
He was charged with attempted murder, assault, kidnapping and residential burglary in the incident at Warner’s home, who is a hotelier and Beanie Babies mogul.
In December, videos were shown in court of a suspect, believed to be Phay, violently kicking and stomping on Linda Malek-Aslanian before dragging her across pavement toward a pond across from the front door of the home. She was hospitalized for her injuries.
Detective Matthew Maxwell testified that he listened to a law enforcement interview with Phay the evening of May 21 when Phay told investigators he was communicating with famous singer Katy Perry through a “head link,” and that he was her husband.
Phay believed that Perry was telling him to go to the residence at 1000 Channel Drive, believing it was her home and no one was supposed to be in the house.
Phay allegedly told law enforcement that he believed Malek-Aslanian was Perry’s mother and had been molesting Perry for years, and that he believed Warner was somehow involved in the abuse.
Phay allegedly chased Warner through the house before Warner managed to get to his garage and flee the property in his Mercedes to the nearby Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore, where he had an employee call 9-1-1, according to Maxwell.
Malek-Aslanian was found partially in a pond on the property, with her head and arm above the water, and appeared to be badly injured, according to court testimony.
When law enforcement arrived on the scene, Phay allegedly barricaded himself in a bathroom before escaping out a window. He was eventually Tased by law enforcement and taken into custody.
Phay remains in jail custody and is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 2 for an arraignment hearing.
Madre and Gifford Wildfires
Santa Barbara County saw two major wildfires this year.
The Madre Fire started in July and reached 35,000 acres the day after igniting off Highway 166.
The Madre Fire hit 100% containment on July 26 after burning 80,779 acres and destroying one structure and damaging another.
On Aug. 1, the Gifford Fire exploded as flames raced through tall, dry grasses and thick chaparral, blackening terrain on both sides of Highway 166.
The fire would burn 131,614 acres before hitting 100% containment in September.
Together, the fires burned more than 210,000 acres, or roughly 328 square miles, over six weeks, with the Madre Fire burn scar actually helping to stop the Gifford Fire’s spread on the eastern border.
Sable Works to Restart Oil Production; Environmentalists Seek to Stop it
All year, Sable Offshore Corp. has been seeking approval to restart oil production on its Santa Ynez Unit, which includes offshore platforms and transportation pipelines through Santa Barbara County. Pipeline CA 324, formerly known as Plains 901, was the pipeline that ruptured in 2015 and caused the Refugio oil spill.
That break spilled 142,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Gaviota Coast shoreline and into the ocean, and since then the oil production infrastructure has been shut down.
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors was split on the decision to transfer a series of permits to Sable, and nine months later, the board decided against the company, denying the transfer in a 4-1 vote.
In December, Sable successfully petitioned federal authorities to assume regulatory authority over its pipelines, taking oversight from the California Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Days after Sable received federal approval to restart the pipelines in Santa Barbara County, the Environmental Defense Center filed a lawsuit challenging the decision.
The EDC and other local environmental groups filed the lawsuit against the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Department of Transportation, claiming that the agencies’ decision did not meet basic standards to grant the approval, and that the pipelines still pose a risk to the Gaviota Coast.
In the lawsuit, the EDC claims that PHMSA did not conduct adequate reviews on a series of pipelines owned by Sable.
Santa Barbara County Haunted Locations
From haunted theaters, post offices, and bakeries, there are plenty of places with spooky stories that will send a shiver down your spine.
This year, Noozhawk reporters took on a little paranormal investigation as they spoke to local residents who give ghost tours and people who have had their own experiences with the supernatural.
While standing outside the front of the post office at 828 Anacapa St. in Santa Barbara, Julie Brown, a Santa Barbara City College professor and founder of Santa Barbara Ghost Tours, said it felt like an arm rose through the concrete and grabbed the top of her calf.
“But in a very gentle and sweet way,” Brown said. “Let me tell you, my reality was shaken and I couldn’t talk.”
She said she thinks the hand was thanking her for praying for the spirits in town.
While working at the Big Yellow House as a child, Rod Lathim befriended the ghost of a little boy whom he named Hector. Lathim said Hector does not appear to him with human characteristics, but rather his body is composed of sparkly particles.
Hector made himself known, turning lights on and off, sometimes even on command, according to Lathim. He would even create sounds of a wine bottle crashing onto the floor, but when Lathim would go to check, there was nothing there.
“He delighted in being mischievous and playful,” Lathim said.
Rental Apartment Median Cost Nears $3,000
The median cost for a one-bedroom apartment in the county has grown to almost $3,000, according to the 2025 Rental Housing Survey for the South Coast released by the City of Santa Barbara.
The survey shows that the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment has risen steadily since 2016, when it was $1,695 per month.
It has gone up 67.6% since then — to $2,841 per month in 2025.
A two-bedroom apartment has increased to $3,850 per month compared with $2,325 in 2016 — about a 65% increase.
Noozhawk reporters spoke to residents about what they were getting for $3,000 a month.
Devon Cabelli, an elementary school teacher, said at the time that she and her partner pay $3,000 for their apartment.
“It’s an insane ask for what we’re getting out of it. Our place has no storage, but it is also the most affordable place that we can find. There are no cheaper options,” Cabelli said. “We’ve looked into it.”
UCSB students Mariela Vargas and Cynthia Gonzales, who live in Isla Vista in a one-bedroom apartment with one other person, said they have to put up with unsanitary conditions, including humidity that causes mold in their bathroom and bedroom.