What were you reading on Noozhawk this past week?
1. Bill Macfadyen: Paula Lopez’s Absence, and Silence, Keep the Story Alive
OK, so the top story on Noozhawk this week was my column about the top story on Noozhawk last week. Awkward.
2. Four Jailed in Drug Bust Near Franklin School
Four people were busted on felony drug charges May 8 after Santa Barbara police raided a house in the 1100 block of East Mason Street, across from Franklin School.
Gabriel Eduardo Alvarez, 20, who lives at the house with his 17-year-old girlfriend, was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of heroin for sale, manufacture of a controlled substance, transportation of marijuana, possession of cocaine, and possession of concentrated cannabis, said Sgt. Riley Harwood, an SBPD spokesman. Alvarez was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail, with bail set at $30,000.
His girlfriend, whose identity was withheld because she’s a minor, was charged with possession of methamphetamine for sale, and possession of heroin for sale, Harwood said. She was booked into Juvenile Hall.
Also arrested at the home were Manuel Carlos Cabrera, 20, and Lisa Ybarra, 43, Harwood said.
Cabrera was booked for alleged possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of hydrocodone, and possession of concentrated cannabis, with bail set at $30,000.
Ybarra was charged with felony possession of methamphetamine, with bail set at $10,000.
A fifth suspect, Pedro Omar Palencia, 31, of Santa Barbara, was cited for possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
What’s encouraging about the case is that the whole investigation was launched after police received a citizen’s complaint about suspicious activity at the residence. Harwood said detectives spent three weeks checking it out before they made their move.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” Irish philosopher Edmund Burke may have said first, but someone on the Lower Eastside heeded his words best.
3. Suicidal Woman Tumbles from Cliff at Arroyo Burro Beach
Emergency crews responding to a report that a woman had jumped off a cliff at Arroyo Burro Beach on May 13 got a bit of a surprise when she popped up from the sand and, apparently uninjured, ran into the ocean.
Santa Barbara Fire Capt. Gary Pitney told Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton that the woman was with her boyfriend when she took the leap, which ended up being more of a tumble down the 100-foot cliff.
“We thought she was going to be unresponsive when we got here,” Pitney said, “but then she jumped up and ran off into the surf.”
A Harbor Patrol officer eventually coaxed the woman out of the water, and Pitney said she was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for evaluation.
4. Granada Books Writing New Chapter for Downtown Literary Scene
After nearly two years of planning, retirees and local literary enthusiasts Sharon Hoshida and Emmett McDonough will be opening a new business next month. Their startup isn’t the usual cutting-edge market disrupter, however. In fact, the idea — an independent bookstore — has been tried, and left wanting, many times before.
So what’s different about this one?
For one thing, it’s starting out as a nonprofit organization, funded through the recently organized Pomegranate Arts and with sizable support from the Santa Barbara Foundation. When all the shelves are filled, Hoshida and McDonough told our Gina Potthoff, the place will be able to showcase more than 25,000 mostly new and mostly local books. Also planned are regular author readings and community events on a patio off the back of the store, at 1224 State St.
To fuel community enthusiasm in advance of the June 20 opening, Granada Books has been hosting weekly tours of the site.
“We have to pay for this one book at a time,” said McDonough. “Live or die, succeed or fail, on community involvement. People don’t want what happened to record stores to happen to bookstores.”
5. Early Morning Fire Damages Jill’s Place in Santa Barbara
An overnight kitchen fire caused an estimated $75,000 in damage to a popular locals hangout just off downtown Santa Barbara, but the real damage is in the restaurant’s forced closure for repairs.
The fire was reported at 3:45 a.m. May 10 at Jill’s Place, 632 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara Fire Capt. Gary Pitney said crews arrived to find smoke pouring from a rear door and rooftop vents. Firefighters traced the blaze to the kitchen and quickly had it out.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Pitney said. No injuries were reported.
Owner Jill Shalhoob told our Tom Bolton that the restaurant suffered mainly smoke damage and that she hopes to be back in business within a month. She’s also been posting updates on the Jill’s Place Facebook page. Click here for the latest information.
Jill’s a longtime Noozhawk advertiser and supporter, and we wish her and her hard-working staff a fast turnaound. We’ll be back for tri-tip as soon as she reopens, and I encourage you to get in line to dine, too.
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Since you’ve read this far, a bird in hand is worth … a watch:
(Austin Stone Community Church video)
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— Bill Macfadyen is Noozhawk’s founder and publisher. Contact him at wmacfadyen@noozhawk.com, follow him on Twitter: @noozhawk, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
