The Argument for Taller Buildings in Santa Barbara

••• KEYT reporter John Palminteri shoved a Santa Barbara high school student who interfered with his shot, and the resulting video went sort of viral. —Independent

••• “Santa Barbara County emergency managers won’t send so many weather-related alerts in the future, after deciding to focus the notification system on incidents with recommended actions—such as evacuating, sheltering in place or avoiding an area. County officials don’t want residents to get desensitized to alerts by receiving too many of them.” —Noozhawk

••• The argument to allow Santa Barbara buildings to be higher than 45, or even 48, feet. —Noozhawk

••• “A trio of community-minded activists, concerned that the local race for state Assembly has been overshadowed by the Board of Supervisors contests, has organized a late-breaking debate to hear from the legislative contenders on Wednesday evening. At last count, five of the seven candidates—Jonathan Abboud, Steve Bennett, Stephen Blum, Charles Cole and Jason Dominguez—have confirmed for the event, scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the University Club.” —Newsmakers with Jerry Roberts

••• “The city of Santa Barbara plans to narrow De la Vina street between Carrillo and Haley to one traffic lane, and add a bike path. […] The project should be completed by 2023.” (And this is why I’m voting for Steve Bennett for state assembly: “Santa Barbara Mayor Cathy Murillo reminded people to stay safe on the roads and leave five minutes earlier to get to your destination. She said ‘life is better’ when you are not in a hurry.”) —Noozhawk

••• Noozhawk profiles Corey Welles, Lotusland’s plant health care coordinator, focusing on his successful efforts to heal the soil and avoid “synthetic fertilizers, insecticides and rodenticides to control growth and remove pests.”

••• “The Old Town Sidewalk Improvements Project in Goleta is scheduled to begin on March 2 and is expected to take about nine months to complete.” —KEYT

••• “This December, the City of Santa Barbara partnered with a software developer to dramatically streamline the [sewer lateral] review process. Forward Lateral, explained creator Jesse Aizenstat, replaces literal paper-pushing with a fully digitized cloud system that makes life much easier for homeowners, plumbers, and city workers alike.” —Noozhawk

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