Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa Barbara. Show all posts

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Lori Laughlin's Daughter Lives It Up at Santa Barbara's Rosewood Miramar Resort While Her Mother Lori Does Time for Admissions Scandal Conviction at Federal Correctional Institution, in Dublin, California

Oh these daughters make my blood boil. 

Sure, these parents are literally imbeciles, especially for the fact that for all they did to get their daughters into an "elite" private university (U.S.C.'s not "elite," but that's another story), their daughters couldn't care less. Olivia Jade even attacked her mom when the scandal broke --- she slammed her for getting arrested, because it ruined her career as a YouTube influencer. The youth generation is the greatest generation of spoiled, no-talent trust-fund brats. This story has always blown me away. 

See, "Lori Loughlin's daughter Isabella Rose Giannulli, 22, relaxes at a luxury Santa Barbara resort as her parents languish in jail for paying $500k in bribes to get her and her sister into USC":


Her parents' prison time seemed a distant memory as she relaxed with a dark-haired male companion wearing a dark t-shirt and blue shorts and joked around, appearing to bury her feet in the sand at one point. 
Rooms at the luxury beachside getaway currently start from $806 per night, with many boasting views across the ocean. 
It's a far cry from the current dwellings of her parents who are both serving time in California prisons for their parts in the college admissions scandal. 
Loughlin, 56, started her two-month sentence at FCI Dublin in California on October 30. 
She is said to have been a 'wreck' during her first few weeks behind bars. 
A former inmate turned prison consultant told DailyMail.com this month that the mom-of-two was 'anxious about contracting COVID, is living off a diet of dry cereal and fruit and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, is sharing a cell with three other inmates and is only allowed to shower three times a week.

Still more. 


Sunday, September 8, 2019

Dive Boat Conception's Design Scrutinized After Catastrophic Fire (VIDEO)

So sad --- and mind-boggling, frankly.

At the Los Angeles Times, "Boat where 34 died was a ‘fire trap’ despite passing inspections, experts say. It’s far from alone":


A day of diving off Santa Cruz Island ended like countless others aboard the Conception, with dozens of divers asleep in tightly arranged bunks that all but filled the belly of the 75-foot boat.

As always, there were two ways out in case of emergency — up a curved stairway at the front of the cabin, or through an escape hatch in the ceiling over bunks at the rear.

Before dawn on Labor Day, when flames devoured the 38-year-old wooden-hulled vessel, no one below deck made it out of either exit. The only survivors were five crew members who were up top in the wheelhouse and managed to jump into the water and then onto a dinghy.

Now, as investigators search for the cause of the fire that killed everyone in the bunk room — one crew member and all 33 passengers — questions are mounting about the design of the Conception and its emergency escape routes.

By various accounts, both the design of the boat and the layout of its sleeping quarters met federal standards and both are widely popular among California operators of overnight dive and fishing excursion vessels.

Like other such commercial boats, the Conception was subject to annual inspections by the Coast Guard, most recently in February, when it was certified to be in compliance with all regulations...
Keep reading.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Megan Abundis' Central Coast Weather Forecast

She's a sweetie.

For KSBY News 6 San Luis Obispo:



Tuesday, January 16, 2018

U.S. Highway 101 to Stay Closed for at Least Another Week (VIDEO)

At the video from KSBY Santa Barbara above. And at USA Today below:




Sunday, January 14, 2018

Death Toll from Montecito Mudslides Rises to 20

This is from yesterday's paper, too true, "Hope fades for those still buried by Montecito mudslide."

And from just a little while ago, at LAT, "Death toll from Montecito mudslides climbs to 20, as authorities continue search for the missing":
The death toll in the Montecito mudslides climbed to 20 on Sunday, as officials continued to work to clear the mud and debris-strewn 101 Freeway, which has been closed indefinitely.

The body of the latest victim, who has not been identified, was discovered as authorities continued to search for several people still missing from the deluge, officials said. At least four other people are still unaccounted for.

On Saturday, search and rescue crews recovered the body of Morgan Corey, 25, who was found in debris near Olive Mill Road about 9 a.m., officials said.

At an afternoon news conference at the Earl Warren Fairgrounds, Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Eric Peterson spoke about the difficulties and challenges faced by emergency responders in their search for survivors.

"I have felt the heartbreak of knowing that even with all of your skill and all of your training and all of your planning, you couldn't save everybody," he said. "No one could have planned for the size and scope of what a 200-year storm immediately following our largest wildfire could bring."

A candlelight vigil for the victims of the mudslide is scheduled for 5 p.m. Sunday in the sunken gardens area outside the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.

CalTrans crews continued to work Sunday to clear a two-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway in Montecito that was initially expected to re-open Monday. But officials said cleaning up one part of the freeway at Olive Mill Road was proving especially difficult.

Aided by private contractors and the Army Corps of Engineers, crews have been working around the clock to clear the freeway, a major north south artery that carries about 100,000 vehicles through the Central Coast each day.

The cleanup is focused on what CalTrans calls "dewatering" — using pumps to suck up the mud and rainwater. Once all the mud and debris is removed, the pavement and overpasses must be evaluated for structural safety, and then signs and guardrails reinstalled and lines repainted.

"It's really an overwhelming situation, and we don't want to give an estimate that isn't accurate," said Colin Jones, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation, said about the freeway re-opening.

In addition to the 101, many local roads are blocked. Santa Barbara City Fire Chief Pat McElroy said the big push on Saturday was to clean roads in the Santa Barbara and Montecito areas in order to improve vehicular access.

"As it stands, we're still having to go in on foot in many areas," he said.

State Route 192, which cuts across the foothills, is also unsafe in places, and officials are trying to establish an alternative route as soon as possible.

With the 101 closed, hundreds of people have taken to traveling the coast by boat. Two sightseeing companies, Island Packers in Ventura and Condor Express in Santa Barbara, have worked together to turn their vessels into a ferry service between the cities.

Tickets on the Condor Express, a 75-foot catamaran that normally takes tourists whale watching, were in high demand last week, with many trips packed with the maximum 127 passengers, assistant manager Katie Fitts said.

The 90-minute trip over the water was significantly shorter than the more than four-hour detour on the 5 Freeway, and ferry passengers included firefighters, city workers and medical personnel from Cottage Hospital, she said.

"There are people trying to get to their families that have been struck by this tragedy and people trying to get to work … surgeons and nurses," Fitts said...
More at that top link.

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Montecito Cellphone Emergency Alerts Didn't Go Out Until After Mudslides Began

Here's the story, at LAT, "Emergency cellphone alerts didn't go out until after mudslides began in Montecito."

I just had to post a screen-cap of the mudslides: Man, that's up to the rooftops.

From the article:
It's unclear how many people would have heeded an emergency evacuation order had it been issued earlier in Montecito. Numerous residents said they knew about the mudslide risk from warnings but decided to stay in their homes anyway. Some said that after fleeing from fire in December, they doubted the rains would pose much of a risk.

David Cradduck, 66, was one of many people in his Montecito neighborhood who stayed.

"I think all of us have learned our lessons on this one. We were all bad children and ignored the warning," he said.

After the fires, some said they had disaster fatigue.




Danielle Gersh's Storm Watch Forecast

I lived up in Santa Barbara for 7 and a half years. It's an epicenter of natural and weather-related disasters.

And that's to say nothing of L.A. County, which is currently under all kinds of emergency mudslide warnings as well.

Here's the lovely Ms. Danielle with today's forecast, for CBS News 2 Los Angeles:



Many Montecito Residents Ignored Warnings, Stayed in Their Homes Until It Was Too Late (VIDEO)

I don't know? I don't think I'd want to leave either. But after the worst wildfires in state history, folks in the area had to know the worst flooding ever was imminent. They just had to know. And now look at the death toll: at least fifteen killed and rescue personnel still looking for survivors.

Previously, "101 Freeway in Montecito Buried Under Tons of Mud and Debris."

And more, at LAT, "Many in Montecito ignored mudslide warnings — until it was too late."


And at KSBY Santa Barbara News 6:



101 Freeway in Montecito Buried Under Tons of Mud and Debris

The freeway up there is four lanes, two heading north and two heading south. It's got both a rural feel to it and a coastal feel. Sometimes the ocean views break through while you're driving through tufts and boughs of old growth trees. It's some of the most scenic coastline in the state. And now the freeway there is just buried, and bad!

At the Los Angeles Times, "101 Freeway, buried under tons of mud and debris, remains closed."


Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Santa Barbara Whittier Fire

It's up by Lake Cachuma. Been burning for well over a week now.

At the Santa Barbara Independent, "Whittier Fire Quiets Down Overnight: Crews Working to Contain Bear Creek Edge, State of Emergency Declared."

And at KEYT News 3 Santa Barbara, "State of Emergency and Local Emergency declared in Santa Barbara County," and "Whittier Fire burns 18,311 acres. Continued updates16 homes and 30 other structures destroyed."

Also, "AirTankers work to stop the spread of the Whittier Fire."

Video here, "LIVE CAM : Whittier Fire July 15, 2017."

The air-tankers used to fly overhead --- and I mean literally over the top of my head --- just about every summer when I was living up in Goleta, attending UCSB. Those dry mountains had wildfires every year, some catastrophic. There was always the threat that the fires would burn down the ocean-facing mountainside and wipe out the local foothill communities.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Sherpa Fire Raw Video

I guess it's actually spelled "Scherpa." At the Santa Barbara Independent, "Yes, ‘Sherpa Fire’ Is Spelled Wrong."

And at CBS News 5 San Francisco:



More, at the Los Angeles Times, "Dangerous fires, extreme heat across Southern California."

Monday, June 20, 2016

Santa Barbara Sherpa Fire Still Raging Out of Control

This is a nasty, nasty fire.

Watch, at KEYT News 3 Santa Barbara, "Day 4 of fire fight in Scherpa comes to a close," and "West Goleta Residents Told to Think About Preparing."

And at the Santa Barbara Independent, "Scherpa Fire: Sunday Afternoon Update."

And from the Santa Barbara County Information Officer, incredible photos from the other day, when the fire jumps the 101 Freeway near Refugio:





It's still early on the West Coast. More triple-digit temperatures are expected, and this fire is burning in parts of the Santa Ynez outback, where there's few if any service roads.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton in Santa Barbara (VIDEO)

The Santa Barbara Independent Film Festival was last week. Rachel McAdams and Michael Keaton caused quite a stir with their appearance in town.

Via KEYT News 3:


Sunday, January 31, 2016

Surfer Rescued After Getting Tossed Onto Rocks Along U.C. Santa Barbara-Goleta Beach (VIDEO)

I walked this beach many, many times when I was in grad school at UCSB, but never when it as being pounded with El Niño surf.

Watch, at KEYT News 3 Santa Barbara, "Water Rescue at Goleta Beach."

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Friday, January 8, 2016

El Niño Hits Santa Barbara (VIDEO)

More weather blogging out of Santa Barbara.

Recall I lived there in the 1990s, when we had record rain and flooding, especially due south, at La Conchita.