Tragic Notes
Herb Peterson, the man credited with inventing the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich, died on 3/25 in Santa Barbara at age 89. Mourned by family and business associates alike, Peterson, who opened three area McDonald’s restaurants, is also remembered as the manager of the first McDonald’s to employ women and a creative force that helped dream up mascot Ronald McDonald and the chain’s first-ever slogan, “Where Quality Starts Fresh Everyday.”
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The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for missing sailor Richard Keppi on 3/28, deeming that the passage of time since Keppi’s disappearance off Leadbetter Beach on 3/26 had rendered the search ineffective. Friends continue to look for the missing 25-year-old.
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Edward Rafeedie, the U.S. district judge presiding over the copyright infringement suit against The Independent by the Santa Barbara News-Press, died on 3/25, following a battle with cancer. How this may impact the case remains to be seen; if the papers do not agree to settle the matter, it will continue before a new judge. Rafeedie had been vocal in his exasperation that such a matter had not been settled.
