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Signs of the season
New hotel opens Monday on State St. By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Downtown Santa Barbara’s newest hotel, a stylish Courtyard by Marriott hotel featuring more than 120 rooms and a Saint Remy restaurant serving Mediterranean coastal cuisine, opened Monday on State Street. Following a complete transformation, Courtyard Santa Barbara Downtown, a 122-room modern, coastal hotel, is located in the heart of everything “the American Riviera” has to offer. It’s located at 1501 State St. Behind the reinvented hotel is Andrew Firestone, star of television reality show “The Bachelor.” who, along with Jess Parker, co-founded StonePark Capital, a Santa Barbarabased hospitality development company, in 2014. StonePark Capital has developed or acquired six hospitality projects on the West Coast totaling over 500 guest rooms. The property is managed by Azul Hospitality Group, a San Diego-based hospitality management platform focused primarily on lifestyle hotels and resorts. “As Santa Barbara natives,
Above, the Nativity scene is played out at Old Mission Santa Barbara on Thursday. At right, a statue moonlights as a rednosed reindeer at the 2000 block Garden Street in Santa Barbara.
‘Herbal Angels’ owners no longer face cannabis-related charges By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS
Brian Fallon to take over as new Lompoc Fire Chief By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
On Dec. 9, the city of Lompoc announced that they will welcome Brian Fallon as the new fire chief in early January. Mr. Fallon has more than 20 years of firefighting and emergency response experience and served as the fire chief for the city of Victorville in his previous position. “Achieving this position is incredibly humbling. I can recall in my college academy, (2002 at Riverside Community College), never thinking I would have the honor to serve the fire department in this capacity. Twenty years later, I remember that feeling vividly and feel
humbled to be trusted with this level of responsibility for the city of Lompoc,” Mr. Fallon told the News-Press. The News-Press asked Mr. Fallon about his career prior to this: “Prior to being appointed to the position of fire chief for the city of Victorville, I served as one of Victorville’s battalion chief’s. Prior to that, I served the city of Rancho Cucamonga for 16 years, where I worked through the ranks, from firefighter to captain, Ultimately serving nearly 10 years as a fire captain for the city of Rancho Cucamonga. “Not a day passes that I don’t appreciate the mentoring and Please see CHIEF on A4
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Brian Fallon will take over as Lompoc’s fire chief in early January.
A North County duo who called themselves “Herbal Angels” no longer face criminal charges of illegally growing pot and possessing it for sale. But one of them still has to stand trial for allegedly lying about what they did — and when they did it. Superior Court Thomas R. Adams discharged defendants Eli Christopher Sheiman and Mariette Wingard from misdemeanor charges of illegal cultivation and possession for sale of cannabis in a written ruling he issued after a lengthy preliminary hearing, prosecutors said. The pair were co-owners and operators of a pot-growing operation at 2761 Cebada Canyon Road west of Buellton, which members of the Sheriff’s Cannabis Compliance Team raided in December 2019. They seized and destroyed some 3,000 pounds of dried and frozen cannabis products. In his ruling, Judge Adams dismissed the drug charges filed against the defendants, holding that they possessed state licenses at the time, however they were obtained, Senior Deputy Attorney Anthony S. Davis told the News-Press. Prosecutors contend they only were able to obtain the licenses because Mr. Sheiman allegedly perjured himself when he filed a false affidavit supporting his application to grow legal medical marijuana. He was charged with two counts of perjury, and Judge Adams ruled that he be held to answer for that at trial. Because the drug charges
against Ms. Wingard were dismissed, “she no longer is part of the case,” prosecutor Davis said. The perjury charges filed against Mr. Sheiman “relate to a false affidavit that Mr. Sheiman filed with the county on Jan. 18, 2018,” the prosecutor said. “In that affidavit, Mr. Sheiman alleged that he was legally cultivating medical marijuana on that property on or before the moratorium date of Jan. 19, 2016. “Based on that perjured affidavit, Mr. Sheiman was able to obtain state licenses to cultivate cannabis,” he said. “On Dec. 16, 2019, Mr. Sheiman and Ms. Wingard were found to be cultivating cannabis on the subject property.” They were charged with illegal cultivation stemming from their operations as of Dec. 16, 2019 “under the theory that the authorization to grow cannabis was based on (Mr.) Sheiman’s initial false statement in the affidavit,” the prosecutor said. “None of the charges stem from any cannabis cultivation that occurred prior to (Mr.) Sheiman’s filing of the perjured affidavit.” Mr. Sheiman pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of perjury at his Dec. 6 arraignment, prosecutor Davis said. No trial date has been set, but Mr. Sheiman is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 24 for a pre-trial readiness and settlement conference. “If he is convicted as charged, the maximum sentence he could face is four years in the County Jail,” he said. email: nhartsteinnewspress@ gmail.com
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Jess and I are thrilled to reintroduce this classic downtown hotel with timeless mid-century architecture and style,” Mr. Firestone said. “We are also proud to partner with Azul Hospitality to bring to life the first Marriott-branded hotel to the City of Santa Barbara.” The hotel’s spacious guest rooms combine comfort with functionality and sweeping balcony views of the Santa Ynez Mountains and Pacific Ocean. The well-appointed rooms have a modern design and feature spacious guest baths, walk-in showers, and large vanities. Each room includes a mini refrigerator, high-speed internet access, flat screen TVs and coffee makers. There are also two-room suites available, complete with a wet bar and conference table. Courtyard Santa Barbara Downtown features a lush pool, whirlpool, firepit and two large rooftop decks, both offering sweeping mountain and ocean views. The arrival experience allows guests to engage in technology and offers inviting, flexible seating spaces throughout the lobby for Please see HOTEL on A4
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