Should Santa Barbara Ban the Fiesta Rodeo?

••• “A petition to ban Santa Barbara’s traditional Fiesta Rodeo, and any other rodeo events in the city, has gained traction in the past few weeks with nearly 1,500 signatures.” —Independent

••• “Santa Barbara police arrested an out-of-control driver Friday night after a truck crashed through the front of a laundromat [on the Mesa], striking a man inside. During their investigation, officers learned that the driver had intentionally crashed through the glass-paned doors and windows of the laundromat to strike a man who was standing inside. […] The man reportedly suffered moderate injuries.” —KEYT

••• “Starting Wednesday, all visitors to select medical facilities will be required to provide evidence of vaccination or proof of a negative Covid-19 test in order to enter, according to a new Health Officer Order released from the California Department of Public Health last week. The new order applies to general acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities. For indoor visitation, visitors to these medical centers will be required to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative Covid-19 test that was completed within 72 hours of the visit.” —Santa Barbara News-Press

••• A long look into the efforts to address the homelessness situation in Santa Barbara. —Sentinel

••• “The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors has voted to do what’s necessary to acquire the last property for the Randall Road debris basin along San Ysidro Creek in Montecito. […] The county offered [Catherine] Montgomery $1.35 million for the property back in May, as well as an offer for an exclusive easement over her property and for Montgomery to retain ownership, both of which were declined, said Maureen Spencer, interim deputy director of the Public Works Department.” Montgomery’s husband and daughter died in the debris flow. —Noozhawk

••• UCSB professor emeritus Jim Boles tells the Independent that the Hope Ranch “volcano” isn’t a solfatara after all: “The correct answer lies in the folds of uplifted earth visible at the cliffs from the collision of tectonic plates over the eons. Compressed in those layers are the ingredients for spontaneous combustion—iron sulfides and hydrocarbons—when oxygen is added.”

••• “The latest project from developer Ed St. George, now proposing a hotel and workforce housing on the former Solvang Lumber Yard site, drew mostly favorable comments from the city’s planning commissioners. […] His concept envisions a 92-room hotel and 43 apartment units in four buildings on the two-acre site.” One of the buildings “would have 33 studio apartment units of approximately 300 square feet for serf workforce housing. ‘Three hundred square feet is not so bad. My wife and I have a place over in Italy that’s about 340 square feet and it fits us just fine,’ St. George said.” —Noozhawk

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