Not going to SBA
The Hawaii flights on the B757 normally have a take off weight >220,000 lbs. Since this flight was airborne for only 57 minutes, I'm pretty sure it was above its' max landing weight of 198,000 lbs (not faulting the crew for doing that - I would have done the same.) Perhaps this crew did not consider SBA as a possible diversion airport because of the heavy landing weight.
At our company the FAs could also initiate evacuation on their own. That's why most of us have the mindset of keep the aircraft rolling slowly or get on the PA immediately with "remained seated" after an abort or an abnormal landing to avoid an unnecessary evacuation.
Just my 2 cents...