Standing Ovation for Jerry Roberts

The word about the $500,000 lawsuit against Roberts had been going around for more than a week earlier. I heard about that lawsuit from sources of sources.

Newspress management still could have been the original source. The LA Times reporter might have been vague or misleading when pressed to name the source. Such questions should not be asked, for a reporter to name the sources in the first place. What would Kettmann do in the same situation?

That's actually Barney's column. I am fixing the byline as we speak, or type, as it may be.

See, already fixed.

Okay, what would Brantingham do in the same situation?

Probably what Rainey did, which was to not divulge the source, no matter who it was.

What the heck could the basis of mccaw's lawsuit against roberts be? Any of these "sources" say? Fire where there's smoke? Barney next?

What the heck is the basis for the lawsuit against roberts? Any "sources" saying? Fire where smoke? Barney next?

Meanwhile, over in Montecito: "Under Jerry Roberts, the News-Press regularly coddled the local political establishment; Travis Armstrong, on the other hand, took it on and shook it up...Editors and journalists twisting the news via selective reportage, headlines, photos, and captions is among the oldest tricks in the newspaper trade. To say that such things are not regularly done at the Santa Barbara News-Press would be at the very least, a misstatement." Timothy Buckley, Montecito Journal. Please send all correspondence to: Montecito Journal, Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 50015, Montecito, CA. 93150. You can also FAX such mail to: (805) 969-6654, or E-mail to Tim@montecitojournal.net
http://www.montecitojournal.net/archive/...
http://www.montecitojournal.net/archive/...

Congratulations to the nine! Barney, where and when is the party in Santa Barbara going to be?

Uh... who are the other seven? My list is:
Cohee, Molina, C. Schultz, Leachman, Medina, Traphagen... but that is only 6... and Traphagen was a sports guy, not news.

Lindsay Foster? Ann Peyrat? bean counters like me want to know.

Yipes! The other resigned changed from seven to eight in no time! OK, who are the other eight beyond the celebrated nine? thx, StiffNoodle

Everyone:

Let's work on McCaw's entry in Wikipedia;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_P._Mc...

Now, this is not a place to rant. If you're unfamiliar with Wikipedia, it is no less than the greatest encyclopedia in the history of man. It is a living, breathing source of information - the kind that only the internet can make possible.

If you're hip to Wiki, lets put the story down in this worldwide record together now. If you're new to it, read the FAQs from the site, sign up, and start adding the FACTS surrounding the current debate, not to mention her current story - good or bad - and make this chapter of her life a matter of record in one very important place.

It should be noted that even I, one who happily swears about and belittles McCaw and Co., will gladly edit the Wiki forum to be fair. It's not a blog. It's an encyclopedia, people! GO!

Vlad Watch, late August edition:

My attempt at art criticism today included a lede sentence and paragraph that further shows that I have no editors who are awake and that I arrived in Santa Barbara, uh, just a month ago.

"Santa Barbara's latest foray into public art appears to have kicked off better than the last one. Although the eight pieces chosen for display on State Street have drawn bemused looks, there has been none of the public outrage that accompanied the works of avant-garde artist William Tucker in 2002."

Of course, if I had been awake and bothered even to search past Newspress archives, I would have figured out that the most recent public art display was the steelhead trout fish painted sculptures that were on display, at the very same eight designated places, only earlier this same year from February to April. Hardly the "last time" in 2002.

I know, that foible about the art display history hardly is as big a blunder as my reference to the City "Agricultural Board of Review" with its non-correction correction two days later, or the stalth move by Das Williams to run as an Independent for the Board of Supervisors for the November election, as I reported last week.

But, still, I AM the most qualified staffer at News-Press to cover the Santa Barbara City government beat. But now I wonder if a front-page article and photo of an art display that obviously slams McDonald's restaurant, a past and potential advertiser, now will have violated yet another made-up, after-the-fact policy rule from News-Press management. Where is that Wall when you need it?

BTW, about my art criticism today for the McDonalds W. Sawblade piece, you all are so privileged that I included a quote from Erin Graffy De Garcia de la Mancha, who said much about the new art without even seeing it.

I know her quote has little or no news relevancy, but Miss de la Garcia recently has written nice stuff in Montecito Journal about the News-Press owner and management, so, upon advice of counsel-publisher, she now has become my favorite source to quote in my continual attempt to gain an institutional memory about Santa Barbara city happenings. Because, again, no one else on the News-Press statt is remotely qualified to write about Santa Barbara city government and history.

"Die, McDonald's, Die"?? After all the Peterson's have done for Santa Barbara, they should at least have been given a chance to comment. They're owed an apology from one of the publishers.

Other than "Scott Steepleton" shown as "Associate Editor," who are the other editors? ("associate" to whom?) I heard that Steepleton is like that Banmiller guy and doesn't live in Santa Barbara; maybe they both missed the huge school of fish on State Street earlier this year. If the editors are just mailing it in from out of town, how can the paper say it's "local."

extra, extra, read all about it! great stuff in my driveway.

pesto problems, cuban cohibas and, today, tuckering all over mcdonald's but forgetting about the big fish.

bitchin' when a paper is under the thumb of an untrained foodie who never got past high school journalism.

nnnaaaawwwwwww, that wouldn't happen...

i'm used to mccaw nixing the news, but now i'm going to have to walk to the store to get a l.a. times, santa barbara daily sound or ventura star to see what's up with the paper suing its editor for mondo bucks.

Actually, I am a middle editor. The veteran reporters turn in their drafts to me and I check the content for compliance with policies no one knows about.

And I just learned that live basil plants, in a pot, as well as sealed packages of green basil leaves, can be purchased by the dozens at Trader Joe's Uptown on De La Graffy Street. That's the store down near Milpas Street, by the AIR-EL-LUH-GAH exit on the Ventura Freeway, right?

Check out new Wendy-Press-Mess blog

http://wendypressmess125.blogspot.com/

The following is a snippet from an e-mail I received last night telling of Wendy McCaw's decision to fire the security firm that contracts guards to the News-Press.

"Also, fyi....Nick Montano, Wendy's private investigator and security
consultant, is doing away with our current security people -- including
Mike who has been here for 23 years through four security companies with
the SBNP."

I spoke with Mike Mantino last night who confirmed that he will work his last shift tonight. (August 30th)

Mike told me that the name of the new firm is U.P.S. and that they are out of Woodland Hills. Mike did not know what the acronym "U.P.S." stands for.

When I asked Mike if the guards that are replacing the company for which he works (Securitas) would be armed guards, he told me he did not know. (It would be interesting to find out though)

Because Mike will remain with Securitas he is not allowed to speak out on the matter at hand.

All I can say about all this is that having worked alongside Mike for the ten years I worked there doing security Mike has an exeptional work ethic and cared deeply about the place and the people who worked there. He will be greatly missed. -Bill Clausen-

Actually, the fish were put on by the Community Environmental Council. CEC got its grant from the County Art Commission.

By contrast, the city is directly paying around $35,000 to install the current pieces. Good try, though.

I wish you could come out on my yacht with me, so I could drown you in the ocean. That would give me something else to write about for my column.

Thanks.

"Dr." Laura

Re: The question about editors: Scott Steepleton is handling the day-to-day chores of managing the news. He assigns and edits stories, and makes sure story budgets are put together.

So who's really in charge? Travis Armstrong. He's making the key decisions, such as hiring new reporters, dictating beat assignments and deciding which stories run on the front page.

It's a pretty dysfunctional system, but the paper is surprisingly OK considering all the trauma it's been through.

Mr Insider: hate to break it to you, but the paper is a joke, or at least the fodder for many a day. Whether it's Vlad's insightful reporting, DR Lauras venom filled anti feminist rants or the dearth of any genuine local NEWS, do not fool yourself

Actually, I am starting to think the paper IS becoming a joke, too. That story today, buried on page 3 of the Nation/World section, is a LOCAL story about the comeback of abalone on San Miguel Island, and how the State is considering opening up the abalone harvest (I had too look up on a map where that island is, and it indeed is very local I found). Without the goal of News-Press management (one sad guy) to boost the cubbie reporters, that story on abalone would be top of the fold material. Instead, a story actually about new State legislation is promoted to the front page instead.

Point is, just because a State agency is deciding what to do, the abalone and the island location and the locals who would harvest them would very, very local. But, because of the functioning and biased editor, that story is buried to the B section on page 3, which really was a childish attempt to punish the author Anna Davison, one of the original Reporters In Black.

I also have learned about the public arts fish sculptures earlier this year that the City paid for them, the County Arts Commission paid for them, as well as others. And, their design and placement was in strict control of the eight pre-established locations for public art. Both the public art that went on display this week, and the fish from a few months ago, were both the same deal on who approved and funded them both.

Amazingly, looks like Dr. Laura in her comment above is even more clueless than I have been about local knowledge and history about Santa Barbara.

Now if only I could find that new car parking garage by Granada Theater? I hear it is by the County Administration Building, but I do not know where that is.

Vlad kinda touched on this in his article, but didnt we see this same article 2 months ago? I could swear that the basic issues in that article were the same: over budget, lawsuits, construction delays, never being close to capacity, et al., and then the point about the missing lane. Why, only 2 months later, was it necessary to run a nearly identical story?

If anyone has insight-- because they are a better thinker than I, or because they are within the decision making process-- feel free to let me and others know the story.

Vlad, would you care to respond?