••• “Beginning this January [Jim and Tim Buckley] will be running the Montecito Journal no more, having sold to Gwyn Lurie—a onetime Hollywood screenwriter and former ABC News writer who served eight years on the Montecito Union School Board. Lurie and a team of 42 mostly local investors have amassed a $2.3 million war chest to buy the paper outright and provide the operating capital to get the new venture going.” The Montecito Journal’s article about the sale says there are actually 50 investors—did they do a GoFundMe or something?—and printed the list shown here. It’ll be interesting to see how a publication with so many owners navigates conflicts of interest. —Independent
••• “A draft overview of potential water rate increases, presented by the Montecito Water District board at a sparsely attended public workshop on Monday, included scenarios that would raise the monthly service charge for a 3/4-inch water meter, standard for many single-family homes, from $45 now to up to $128 by 2024. Higher fixed charges would provide more fiscal stability for the district, the presentation showed, but small users would be hit with larger bills.” —Independent
••• “The City Council voted 4-3 to give [developer Ed] St. George more time to develop a smaller hotel project [at 302 and 308 W. Montecito St.], and come up with a plan to build four rental apartment units, either on site or somewhere else.” —Noozhawk
••• “A paraglider suffered critical injuries following a crash in the backcountry of Santa Ynez on Friday afternoon. […] Fire engines and Helicopter 308 responded to the area east of Goat Rock in the back county” and they managed to hoist the paraglider out. —Edhat
••• The “commercial wind farm planned for land south of Lompoc received Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approval on Wednesday.” —Noozhawk
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