••• “The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department announced on Friday that golf courses could reopen—with strict social distancing guidelines. […] County Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said church and faith-based organizations are encouraged to offer their services though online streaming. ‘But if provided in person, these faith-based services must occur outdoors,’ Do-Reynoso said. ‘All persons attending the activity must be inside a motor vehicle occupied only by persons in the same household or living unit, and not to exceed five persons.’ Botanic gardens also made the revised list of essential services, which can be seen here. —Noozhawk (photo courtesy Santa Barbara Golf Club)
••• “The Santa Barbara County Community Services Department, Parks Division, has announced that County beach, park and trail vehicle access and parking will be closed should parks become too crowded.” —Edhat
••• The Santa Barbara Harbor boat launch ramp reopened yesterday. —Noozhawk
••• “There are now 460 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Santa Barbara County. There have also been 6 coronavirus-related deaths in the county. 126 of the confirmed cases are recovering at home, 38 people are hospitalized, and 13 of those are in the ICU. 278 of those who have tested positive are considered to be fully recovered and an additional 12 cases are pending.” —KEYT
••• “The largest cannabis operation to come before the county Board of Supervisors—50 acres of cultivation at the gateway to the fabled Sta. Rita Hills, a federally-designated wine grape-growing region—was approved for a zoning permit in a contentious 3-2 vote on Tuesday. Voting in favor of the pot project were Supervisors Gregg Hart, Steve Lavagnino and Das Williams; Supervisors Joan Hartmann and Peter Adam voted against.” Melinda Burns’s article on Newsmakers is worth a read; we’ll undoubtedly look back one day and wonder how we allowed this area to be overtaken by such a foul-smelling industry.
••• “A group called Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis filed a lawsuit in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Friday against the County of Santa Barbara and the Board of Supervisors. The Coalition released a statement which detailed how the lawsuit is based on the County’s recent decision to uphold the cannabis permit for Busy Bee Organics [above]. The lawsuit alleges County officials created a cannabis ordinance and licensing program which has led to a massive proliferation of unpermitted cannabis grows throughout the County. The suit also attempts to stop the County from issuing more cannabis permits.” —KEYT
••• “‘Jeopardy!’ announced this week that it is seeking Santa Barbara–area residents to compete on the popular show when it returns to the studio in the coming months.” —Noozhawk
••• “Two of the region’s largest chambers of commerce”—Santa Barbara and Goleta—”have agreed to merge, creating a regional chamber for South Santa Barbara County. […] The groups said in a statement that the economic impact of Covid-19 prompted the move, adding that a combined chamber will speed business recovery efforts.” —Pacific Coast Business Times
••• Edhat headline: “Scientists detect human waste in mudslide debris at Goleta beach.” From the article (which is a UCSB press release): “The microbial contamination declined relatively quickly after the sediment was added, probably due to the fresh, nearshore water brought in by ocean currents. ‘The fact that ocean currents remediated the contamination after just one to two weeks was really astonishing,’ [Dong Li, of the university’s Earth Research Institute] remarked. Based on their results, Li believes contamination from enrichment projects like this is highly unlikely to pose a long-term threat to public health, at least from a microbial perspective.”
••• “The Montecito Planning Commission gave unanimous approval to continue discussions about a proposed roundabout at the San Ysidro Road and North Jameson Lane intersection.” The next meeting about it will be May 20. —Noozhawk (the rendering below is from October, so the design may have changed, but you get the idea)
Comment: