••• The good news: United is adding non-stop flights between Santa Barbara and Chicago O’Hare. The bad news: The eastbound flight is a red-eye. (Photo courtesy United Airlines.)—Edhat
••• “The Montecito Water District is closing in on a deal to buy 1,430 acre-feet of water from the City of Santa Barbara, every year for the next 50 years. That’s enough water to meet a third of Montecito’s annual demand. The city would produce the extra supply at its $72 million desalination plant, at a yearly cost to Montecito of $4.3 million. […] Preliminary scenarios presented at a recent meeting of the district finance committee suggest that the average monthly water bill in Montecito could go up by as much as 50 percent, from $239 now to $375 in five years.” —Edhat
••• The Independent profiles 15-year-old Olivia Seltzer, founder of The Cramm, a successful news website for teens. Good for her! The world needs more journalists. But how does the piece not mention The Skimm, an obvious inspiration (down to the extra M)? And is it really possible that the principal of Santa Barbara High School had never heard of “TBD,” as in “to be determined”?
••• “In their natural habitat, gulls primarily eat squid, anchovies, crabs, barnacles and other marine life. But when it comes to people food, they are willing to try just about anything. […] Usually it’s humans who are responsible for polluting natural ecosystems. But on Anacapa and Santa Barbara islands, gulls appear to be the ones spoiling the wild habitat with processed food and puked-up trash.” —Los Angeles Times
••• “La Casa de la Raza, one of Santa Barbara’s crown jewels for the Latino community, is working to keep the organization alive. Andrea Medina, co-executive director of the organization, told Noozhawk La Casa de la Raza needs to raise about $2 million to pay its debts and save the building at 601 E. Montecito St.”
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