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1 day ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
Temporary signs on sidewalks in Santa Barbara could get seized by the City of Santa Barbara, according to an ordinance change under discussion. Some businesses place signs on the ground to draw attention from prospective customers. Those signs, however, can block pedestrian access or cause mobility issues for people with disabilities.
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2 days ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
Santa Barbara cops are back in the saddle. After years of struggling with recruitment and retention, the Santa Barbara Police Department is experiencing its highest staffing levels in more than a decade. Last year alone, it hired 20 new officers — a statistic that is “almost unheard of,” according to Police Chief Kelly Gordon. “About five years ago, probably a little less, we saw a very significant exodus from the department,” Gordon said. “I guess that’s the best way to put it.
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2 days ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
They might be a match made in heaven. Sunstone Winery board president Teddy Cabugos and Splash Nano’s co-founder Kalon Baird have created a 5-milligram hemp beverage that they believe will one day replace alcohol at sports venues and in everyday life as a healthier alternative. “Anywhere alcoholic beverages are sold you should be able to buy one of these products,” Cabugos said.
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3 days ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
They are trying to make it easy. The city of Santa Barbara is looking to pre-approve outdoor furniture for State Street to make it easier for restaurants. The Historic Landmarks Commission reviewed pre-approved designs at its meeting last week.
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6 days ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
He’s a master chef with impeccable credentials, and he has worked at some of the region’s most elegant and upscale restaurants. But one thing keeps him up at night: pizza. It has always been his dream to open a pizza place. Dreams come true for David Rosner. Rosner, or “Rozzi,” as he is affectionately called, will officially open Rozzi Pizza in Santa Barbara on Friday, and he’s going big with mouth-watering, 18-inch pies. “I am a pizzaholic,” Rosner said.
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1 week ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
Here’s some breaking news: Elected officials in Santa Barbara are getting a pay cut. Members of the City Council will receive a 4.87% pay cut this year. The salaries of the mayor and the council are tied to the area median income for a one-person household, which dropped from $83,370 in 2023 to $79,310 in 2024. The cut cannot be changed because it is part of the City Charter, approved by voters in 2004. The pay cut is buried in the proposed city budget for 2026.
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1 week ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Kristen Sneddon is on a mission: Find a way to put $5 million into the Local Housing Trust Fund. She hammered that theme home at Tuesday’s City Council budget discussion. “I just really, really, firmly believe that we can put $5 million into the Local Housing Trust Fund,” Sneddon said. Santa Barbara’s Housing Trust Fund dominated the meeting.
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1 week ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
Santa Barbara’s downtown is changing into a neighborhood of small apartments and micro-units, a shift that has created a sudden new need: storage units. The Santa Barbara Planning Commission recently approved a complex lot split, transfer of development rights and a development plan to build 760 storage units and 44 micro-units, across a city block downtown. “There’s a tremendous undersupply of self-storage,” said developer Greg Reitz, principal of REthink Development.
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1 week ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
By all accounts Liz Hamel was the kind of girl everyone loved. The life of the party, her friends said she had the gift of bringing the best out of people. If you were in a bad mood, Liz could fix it, just with a smile on her face. But that joyous life was tragically cut short, and no one seems to know why. Hamel died under mysterious circumstances. She reportedly fell from a third-story breezeway at the San Rafael apartments at UCSB. A passer-by found her on the ground and called 9-1-1.
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1 week ago | 
noozhawk.com | Joshua Molina
The secret exit is going away. Unmarked, the Highway 101 offramp that leads to Los Patos Way is set to get erased along with the Union Pacific Railroad Bridge above it. The exit has a number, 95, but no name, and leads to the Andree Clark Bird Refuge, and commercial buildings, and, eventually, Cabrillo Boulevard. The bridge, built in 1901, before the Model T Ford was invented, only has a 12-foot, 3-inch-tall clearance, which makes it a dangerous exit for some RVs and certainly big trucks.
