••• “The Santa Barbara City Council will not renew its contract with Flock Safety or enter into a contract with another license plate reader platform for now. Council members plan to revisit the issue after reviewing the city’s automated license plate reader policy. Santa Barbara Police Chief Kelly Gordon said the lack of the technology would hinder investigations and recommended that the city switch to Verkada’s license plate reader platform […] where footage stays within the control of a single organization [….] In order to not have any automated license plate reader technology, the city would have to repeal its policy that allows the use of the technology, according to staff. That would be a big change for the city as the technology is also used in its downtown and waterfront parking lots.” Unmentioned in Noozhawk‘s article: the Santa Barbara Country Sheriff’s Office is using Flock cameras.
••• “The cases of measles in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties that emerged in the space of a week were only two of many cases resulting from an international airline flight that, for privacy reasons, remains shrouded as to date and origin. In Santa Barbara alone, contact tracers identified more than 150 people who might have been exposed by a single positive case resulting from that flight, said Ann Carlisle, director of Disease Control and Prevention for the county’s Public Health Department.” Perhaps it’s time to rethink respecting the privacy of people who put herd immunity at risk. —Independent
••• “Charter Communications has completed its $34.5 billion acquisition of Cox Communications, launching the Spectrum brand into Southern California markets that were earlier served by Cox.” —Edhat
••• “Isla Vista will establish a memorial for the 14 people over the decades who have died after falling from the cliffs along Del Playa Drive.” Located at Walter Capps Park, it will “include a bench, a kiosk with photos of the cliff fall victims, and educational materials on bluff safety.” It will cost $45,000, but apparently there’s a belief that it “can help save lives.” —Noozhawk
••• “Roughly $3.3 million is needed to help the city of Carpinteria keep its Community Pool up and running [….] The pool first opened in June 1989. Nearly four decades later, parts of it are in critical need of repair or replacement, including the pool deck, pool gutters, mechanical equipment, chemical feed systems and pool heater.” Love that pool and will definitely donate. —Noozhawk
••• An update on the overtime fiasco at the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office included this: “a new labor agreement between the county and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association union […] is expected to help curb costs. The new contract, [management analyst Nicole Parmelee] explained, changes the calculus so that paid sick leave and comp time can no longer count as overtime hours. It also caps individual employees at 1,300 overtime hours per year; limits annual comp-time accrual to 120 hours; requires period cash-outs of comp-time balances; and clarifies when employees can bill for drive time.” 1,300 hours a year is 25 hours each week. —Independent
••• “The federal law that prohibits paving and logging National Forest land is officially on the chopping block, and conservationists warn that the cleaver could strike lands on the Central Coast. […] Another public comment period on the proposed rule change and its environmental impact statement is now open until September 21. Notably, when the Roadless Rule was established, it followed a two-year process generating more than 1.5 million public comments and holding more than 430 public hearings. For its rescission, the USDA is holding zero public hearings and allowing 30 days for public comment.” You can comment here. —Independent
••• From a Noozhawk article about the conversion of the former Macy’s building (701 State Street, at Ortega) into Yardi Systems offices: “As for the three peacock tile murals, Cearnal said they have been in touch with the Museum of Contemporary Art to preserve and ‘somehow’ relocate the murals.”
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