The Round Tower Under Construction on East Valley Road

••• When I look at the ballot for the March 3 election, I feel like I know for whom to vote for every race—and then I get to the seven candidates running for the 37th District assembly seat. Noozhawk‘s recap of a recent debate makes a good case for Steve Bennett. “He has spent nearly 20 years on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, and 20 years as a public high school teacher. His experience at the county includes campaign finance reform limiting contributions to $1,000, and co-authoring the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources initiative, which requires a public vote to approve rezoning agricultural or rural land for development. He displayed the widest breadth of knowledge on a variety of topics during the forum.”

••• The Independent checks in with the folks rebuilding on the stretch of East Valley Road between Hot Springs Road and Sycamore Canyon Road. Of special note: at 1225 East Valley Road, Mary Beth Myers is constructing “a [round] tower built on steel and concrete caissons sunk 22 feet into the ground. The first floor is elevated six feet off the ground.” The architect is Jeff Shelton. What with the tower (pictured) and the water-tank conversion, round buildings are having a moment.

••• “In an effort to understand the effect rising sea levels will have on our California beaches, […] Dan Reineman, an assistant professor of environmental science [at CSU Channel Islands], is asking surfers and beachgoers to log their observations on wave-break patterns and overall wave quality during upcoming winter tides. These high winter tides, commonly known as king tides, occur when the moon is closest to the Earth and its gravitational pull on the ocean is strongest.” The next king tides are February 8 and 9. —Independent

••• Noozhawk has created “a database of residential and nonresidential projects going through the City of Santa Barbara’s review process. The directory includes in-progress projects that trigger a building permit, whether they are pending, approved or have been issued. The intent is to track projects with neighborhood-level impact, not neighbor impact. You probably won’t find kitchen remodels in it, unless it’s part of a larger project.” Check it out here.

••• Organic Greens, the first recreational cannabis store in Goleta, has opened. —Independent

••• Residents oppose the plan to build “33 units of “permanent supportive housing” for mentally ill and homeless people on a small chunk of vacant land” in Noleta. —Independent

••• “Several changes have been made to the San Ysidro Roundabout project over the last several weeks. […] The six-foot pedestrian pathway that runs through the roundabout has been widened to eight feet, to accommodate pedestrians, as well as bicyclists, who decide they do not want to traverse the single lane roundabout with vehicle traffic.” —Montecito Journal (not online yet)

••• The beautiful barn owl that was injured on the 101 in Santa Barbara was released at Chaser Palm Park, thanks to the efforts of the Ojai Raptor Center. The CHP officer who rescued the bird was on hand; between the mustache and the uniform, he looks like he wandered over from Chippendales, and that’s a compliment. —KEYT

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