Space NK Is Closing All of Its U.S. Stores

••• Beauty retailer Space NK is closing all of its U.S. stores, which would include the one at the Montecito Country Mart. I’d be surprised if there isn’t about to be a massive retail die-off. —WWD (photo courtesy Montecito Country Mart)

••• Edith Caldwell Abode “will remain open until Ms. Caldwell finds a person to sublease the space,” at 8 De La Guerra, off State Street. —Santa Barbara News-Press

••• “Of the county’s 720 hospital beds spread across five facilities, 50 percent are now occupied by both Covid and non-Covid patients. Intensive care units are at 56 percent capacity. ‘This is very concerning,’ said Supervisor Gregg Hart, ‘because hospitalized Covid patients often quickly require more intensive treatment with little advance warning.'” —Independent

••• “A man wielding what appeared to be a ‘machine gun’ to an employee at Los Agaves on Milpas Street chased away a woman and man dining in the restaurant on Thursday evening.” —Independent

••• “The Goleta Water District passed a measure last Tuesday in favor of a five-year plan that will increase water rates by anywhere from 58 percent to 74 percent, depending on water usage. For a single household with a water bill of $48, it will rise to $57 on July 1, according to the new water rates. But the rates crank upward for those who use more than 600 cubic feet of water—at 1,300 cubic feet, the rate jumps from $111 to $148.” —Independent

••• “Amazon began expanding its grocery store pickup to the Santa Barbara area earlier this week. According to an Amazon release, local Amazon Prime members are now able to shop groceries from Whole Foods Market online at amazon.com and schedule pickup in little as an hour.'” —Santa Barbara News-Press