Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or somewhere beyond the golden climes of Santa Barbara, you’ve no doubt heard about the upheaval in the snoozeroom of our local paper. The news-press is the oldest daily paper in southern California, published for 151 years. But it seems to have been drawn into the vacuum of moral torpor that has come, in my mind, to be indemic to institutions as the 21st century yawns open.

Some of the best writing on the news-press malestrom can be found, not surprizingly, in the LA times. Like this.

It’s too bad. Some of us native locals have made fun of the paper over the years, calling it the snooze supress and such, because not much happens around here. But that’s a good thing, and it’s less the case recently. It’s growing more common for SB to have it’s share of fresh hell to ponder. And I’ve always thought it was a fair fishwrap for a town this size.

So I hope the newly reconstituted staff can pull it out of the dive, before it spirals in.

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Apropos of which, there was a terrible plane crash southeast of here last week. A family of four from SB. Two killed, mother and young boy. The father and another child survived, but they’re in for a long hard healing. The family dog was in the plane and disappeared. Today, he was found in a ditch near the crash site – alive. … Found by the same two teenage brothers who found the father/pilot last week, and pulled him away from the burning wreckage. Heroes.

I would link you to the story, but I can’t. The SB snooze-mess web site leaves a lot to be desired.