••• “Amid growing concerns from community members and university officials about the spread of Covid-19 in Isla Vista, the Nexus sought out to document the current state of partying during an average weekend in quarantine. Over 300 unmasked people—mostly in large groups—were seen on the streets […] between the hours of 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. on the evenings of Friday, Aug. 28 and Saturday, Aug. 29.” The photos are infuriating. If all we do is put up signs and issue warnings, we’ll be stuck in the purple tier forever. It’s time for negative reinforcement—i.e., ticket people who don’t wear masks. (Photos by Max Abrams / Daily Nexus.) —UCSB’s Daily Nexus
••• Noozhawk takes a long look at the city’s deal with Pacific Retail Capital Partners, the owner of Paseo Nuevo mall. “Further complicating matters is the fact that the proposed development agreement does not include the Ortega Building, which formerly housed Macy’s and The Broadway, or Nordstrom. The deal includes only the open air portion of the mall.” If you haven’t walked through there lately, you might be shocked any how many empty storefronts there are—both in the mall and on that stretch of State Street.
••• Edhat‘s Roger the Scanner Guy is retiring: “For the past 11 years, Roger the Scanner Guy has been a frequent contributor reporting on everything from a fast-moving wildfire to a dog stuck in a storm drain. He would listen to local scanner traffic and was the first in the area to report on major occurrences.”
••• “A bill that would have allowed for duplexes on most single-family lots in California passed the Assembly late Monday night, but died when the year’s legislative session came to an end before the Senate could take it up for a vote. […] Property owners could also have split their lot in two and built two more units, thus allowing four homes where there previously was just one.” According to the Montecito Association, which rallied opposition to the bill, assemblymember Monique Limón abstained, for reasons not explained. —L.A. Times
••• “Efstratios ‘Elias’ Argyropoulos of Montecito was sentenced Aug. 31 to three years in federal prison for defrauding 130 investors out of more than $3.4 million [….] Argyropoulos met some of his victims at church gatherings, where he used his relationships to extend his network of investors, prosecutors said. In addition to the prison time, his sentence includes $3.4 million in restitution to his victims.” —Pacific Coast Business Times
••• Another Q&A with school-board candidate Elrawd MacLearn. —Newsmakers
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