••• Brazilian flip-flop maker Havaianas now has a shop at Paseo Nuevo. —KSBY
••• “Bike Rider Encounters Zebra on Camino Cielo […] Non-native animal has been spotted numerous times in recent weeks.” I love everything about this, including that Noozhawk felt the need to point out zebras aren’t native to the area.
••• County school superintendent Susan Salcido and sheriff Bill Brown appear to have been reelected, although all votes have not been counted; turnout was pathetic. Meanwhile, “the outcome was somewhat closer in the battle for the new State Assembly district created by redistricting. County Supervisor Gregg Hart […] won convincingly, but not enough to avoid a November run-off against Republican Mike Stoker.” Also, congressperson Salud “Carbajal will still have to run again this fall to clinch the seat, this time against Brad Allen—the only registered Republican in the race—a Summerland resident and former heart surgeon who happens to be married to actress Jaclyn Smith.” —Independent
••• The Coast Village Association Community Business Improvement District is officially a go. Property owners will be assessed fees that “will be used for private security to help with the unhoused population and panhandlers in the area; much needed beautification of the road, branding and promotion of the road; events such as Taste of Coast Village; social media and marketing; parking attendants; traffic management; and more.” —Montecito Journal
••• “Van Do-Reynoso, who presided over Santa Barbara County’s Public Health Department through nearly two and a half grueling years of Covid, will be stepping down to take a new gig with CenCal as its chief customer experience officer.” —Independent
••• “Santa Barbara City Council decided to temporarily halt any new hotels while the city tackles the housing element process, in which the city will have to show a specific plan on how it will meet the state allocation of 8,000 new housing units by 2031. The urgency ordinance will prevent any new projects, though there are currently 21 hotel projects either recently approved or pending approval in various stages of review—from pre-application to receiving building permits—that would be excluded from the interim ordinance.” That’s from the Independent; this is from me: The idea that pausing hotel automatically leads to housing is a stretch, in my opinion. If the city wants more housing, it has to incentivize it—and make it much easier to navigate the tortuous process. But it’s far easier to say no than find ways to say yes, isn’t it?
••• Carly Rae Jepsen plays the Arlington on October 20. —KEYT
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Thanks for saying something about the housing issue. Not that I think Santa Barbara needs more hotels over housing (with 21 projects already in queue), but the permitting process and power of the architectural review board in that process makes new construction both expensive and arduous. If the goal is more housing and affordable at that… they need to make some serious changes.