Downtown Fight Results in Two Arrests

See what happens when you close the pot clinics, people resort to binge drinking and whoop'n on each other. The bar seen downtown is outta control. It's not a safe place to be after sundown.

That's why I drink at the James Joyce, Dargan's, or better yet, Carr Winery on Salsipuedes St. Great Wine! Great Vibe! And no testosterone tortured douchebags throwin' down.

I mean really! Wouldn't you guys rather be sleeping in a girl's bed than in a jail cell? Anybody that still picks fights downtown should be sterilized because seriously, we don't need more of you running around!!

"I mean really! Wouldn't you guys rather be sleeping in a girl's bed than in a jail cell?"...

...this is what happens when you mix alcohol with testosterone this is what happens.

For many years residents and hotel people have been complaining of the ever-encroaching bar scene downtown while those who run Santa Barbara callously give the go ahead for one bar after the other. I've seen first hand how these bars not only draw rowdy mob-mentality spoiled kids, but gangbangers as well. Now the situation has blown up, and given local societal trends, what happened the other night is a sign of things to come.

Between this (it was obvious it would just be a matter of time before it happened) and the gang problem, it's too scary to go downtown, and if any friends/relatives from out of town call me and ask me where there is a good restaurant, I certainly won't advise they go anywhere near that area.

To the mayor and city council: Nice going; I guess Susie, Tamara, and Kay were right all along.

bill please just stop,

One reason the hotels are popular is becuase they are within close proximity to the downtown bars!! The reason we have police is to handle situations just like that one. It's their job. What else do the Santa Barbara Police have to do? Santa Barbara Police don't do much crime fighting to begin with, compared to other police departments. Arresting homeless people, drug addicts, drunks and drunk drivers is generally all they do. Pretty good job and income for someone with nothing more than a high diploma from one of the sorry high schools in S.B. or California in general.

Meh, the police also ticket people for marijuana and jaywalking while letting the meth addicts roam free. Not kidding, my wife lived below some meth addicts, the cops knew about it, they drove 'em around one time and talked to them about what I don't know, meanwhile the meth heads stole everything from her and the cops did nothing in response, filed some papers ie nothing. I'm guessing they figure they aren't paid enough to deal with the tough problems thus they focus on the drunks and potheads, who wants to deal with a crazed meth head.

At least the cops helped me when a stalker was after me so they're not all bad. These brawls give them something to do, perhaps they'll focus less on petty crime and tackle the hard stuff... nahh.

As a side note, imagine if instead of being high on alcohol they were high on pot. Fighting would be the last thing on their minds, they'd get the munchies and help local businesses.

bill please just stop,

One reason the hotels are popular is becuase they are within close proximity to the downtown bars!! -DarNel-

DarNel: The city council is well aware of complaints made by the Hotel Santa Barbara and the Holiday Inn Express (Virginia Hotel) which contradicts your comment. Why not give these hotels a call ask them what they think about all the drunken revelers? I got news for you, I know how they feel because I've been in contact with them on this issue for years so you do not speak for them.

Let's get back to the issue at hand: There was a riot the other night, and this is the result of having too many drunks in one area. The people making the complaints have been in the area longer than a number of the businesses in question have so the issue is that the city has foisted this problem upon the hotels and residents alike.

Another point: Long before these bars/dance halls came into being, these hotels existed and thrived, which again contradicts your statement that the hotels exist in a synergetic manner with the bars in question.

The bar patrons and their enablers are like little children who are used to getting away with bratty behaviour; they don't like it when people finally come down on them and call them on it, and obviously I struck a nerve with you.

As for the comparision between smoking pot and drinking booze, or course pot is *much* less harmful than alcohol, but booze is a poltically correct drug and there is much more money to be made off of it so naturally potheads get busted while drunks are given the Red Carpet in S.B.

Riot?

Please, an argument got out of hand as folks were leaving the bars and the police dealt with it -- case closed.

There's no reason to make a big deal out of nothing.

this is nothing but a case of a D-BAG and his friends and someone from out of town. Hell i bet none of them are even from SB. if they are then they haven't lived here longer then 5yrs.

billclausen, lighten up and live a little! C'mon downtown and have some drinks and dinner at one of the many fine restaurants, then take in a movie or enjoy a stroll. Life is too short to hold a grudge against those whose lifestyles don't fit your own mold.

"billclausen, lighten up and live a little! C'mon downtown and have some drinks and dinner at one of the many fine restaurants, then take in a movie or enjoy a stroll"

East beach: Are you asking me out on a date???

Well bill,

I've talked with people that stay at those downtown hotels and they've all said the reason they stay there is because of their location. Here's an interesting note, Over the past 5 years, I've talked to security/staff at the Hotel Santa Barbara on weekend nights about complaints or problems with bar noise. In over at least 40 conversations, never once did they state there was a problem. They also pointed out the location of the hotel being the draw. FYI, the Hotel Santa Barbara is usually booked solid on the weekends, has repeat customers and not a cheap room rate. I have no doubt the hotel gets a FEW complaints, but the place has one of the highest weekend occupancies rates in town. Only person bitching is the GM.

It would seem that censorshp is alive and well at the indy.. good job. What part of my post violates the policy?

The nightlife here is so boring and artistically dull that stuff like this happens outside bars that have no class. When all you have to lure customers into your establishment is alcohol, a Dj, and a little tail..... it is amazing that this does not happen more often, although a few times a year can be enough for some. The bars on state street have no ambience that I want to be a part of, yet I find classy establishments in Goleta, Ventura, and off State st. in SB.

All I know is that the representatives from those hotels as well as a resident I know have complained and there must be a good reason they are complaining. Maybe I've been the victim of a conspiracy, and maybe Richard Nixon is alive and well and living at the Art Museum.

I sure find it to be a big coincidence that three people who have no other apparent ties than the fact that they work/reside in the same neighborhood have put so much energy into curtailing the expansion of bars and "dance permits". Spacey puts it well when he/she says it's mainly about DJ's, alcohol, and "a little tail", and sexed up people looking for tail and booze are no different from little children and they do NOT want to be told to curtail their activities so of course I expect the nasty comments in this blog.

I realize DarNel that you lack the ability to see the world in a way that includes anyone else's well-being, and I've illustrated the problem these bars have created for those who live and work in the area, but the bottom line is that people such as yourself (which includes many of S.B.'s politicians) only care about your short-term gratification, and if this imposes on other people, you couldn't care less, as you've proven in your blog.

Meanwhile, you wonder why stabbings and riots plague your wonderful Progressive Paradise, while innocent people get dragged into this.

S.B. is basically paradise, yea a few A-holes.With pot clubs re-opening maybe we can get mello again.With booze u lose.

Honestly people going back and forth wasting their breath by putting down total strangers is wrong. That being said about some of them comments on this story, I would like to put in my own comment, not against the people leaving their feelings on this situation.

This is an unfortunate event but one that does not consistently happen in the downtown bar area. Yes, I am sure that there are a few bar fights every now and then (possibly every weekened, I dont know) but not "brawls" such as the one that was described in this story. This fight was probably due to the fact that it was a holiday with more than usual traffic downtown.
Stuff like this happens on MAJOR holidays, its not something that we need to start worrying about every single night of the entire year.

bill,

You haven't illustrated anything other than your own bias against the bars downtown. It's you that, "lack the ability to see the world in a way that includes anyone else's well-being." People like you take a bar fight and turn it into the St. Valentine's Day massacre. Acoustical studies have shown that the music levels are well within acceptable levels, in addition to the police that check the noise levels. Bring some real data to discussion not just what ONE person told you. Try talking with real hotel guest, like I DID!

Actually DarNel, I've talked with people who live there, and who work there, and they say it's a problem, and I have no reason to doubt them. Luckily for me, I don't have to work or live there, but I feel sorry for those who do. I also talked to another business owner who told me that merchants were at odds with bar owners at meetings involving this issue so even though you make me out at simply being uptight and of course wrong, the fact is that this bar scene has disrupted the lives of people. In short, you doth protesteth much.

Clearly, you don't like being told that your beloved lifestyle comes at the expense of others, and neither you nor the other bloggers care that people are inconvenienced by loud drunken people. I've lived in the area since 1973 so I have a little background per what I'm talking about.

Like I say, I'm lucky in that I don't have to live or work down there, and unlike you, I feel sorry for those who do because they sure didn't ask for all of this. So much for social conciousness.

It's your word against theirs, and the evidence suggests that the people I've been in contact with who have complained about this have a much stronger case than you do. If these bars are so good for hotel business, why would the General Manager of one of them be complaining?...as you admit in your 7 AM March 18th blog entry? Doesn't make sense.

bill,

You keep talking about the people that live there. Reminds of a situation up in the Central Valley, were the residents of a new subdivision complained to the local City Council about the smell generated by a nearby dairy farm. If you're dumb enough to move in right next door, well you get what you deserve. And are you just dense? NO ACOUSTICAL STUDY COMPLETED TO DATE HAS SHOWN THE NOISE LEVELS TO BE UNACCEPTABLE!! Fact of life, some people just bitch and whine about everything. Santa Barbara just happens to have more than any other City I've ever lived in. Just so you know, I'm a native New Yorker and I find the night life in S.B. to be pedestrian. So you should be very proud of how lame downtown is.

oh for pete's sake - get off your damn computer and go outside for some air! jeez!

"If you're dumb enough to move in right next door, well you get what you deserve. And are you just dense?"

No, I'm not dense, in fact everything I've stated is true. One of the residents in question has lived there all of her 50+ years and her family has owned the property on which she lives since 1920.

Look DarNel, the bottom line is that you have an agenda and regardless of the facts I present you are trying to get me off topic. I've made my point, presented hard-core evidence, but facts mean nothing to you so go on and keep calling people names who don't toe your line but understand that you're not fooling me by trying to change the subject at hand which is that the bars were imposed upon the residents, merchants, and other workers in the area.

East beach: Are you asking me out on a date???
- billclausen

Only if you're paying!

Actually, I sensed you don't live or work near downtown, hence the invitational tone to come on down and enjoy the scene for yourself.

Just got back myself, decent number of people out earlier due to the nice weather. Should get busier as spring break peaks.

I've worked in an office near State/Ortega for years and our clients often insist on lodging at the Hotel SB (or the Holiday Inn in a pinch). They really like being able to walk around to the restaurants and bars after a full day of meetings - and these are mostly folks in their 40's and 50's. I've never heard any of them complain or say they felt threatened.

bill,

The one with the agenda is you and it's crystal clear. That resident your speak of, I'm guessing lives on Fig. Even by New York standards, I wouldn't consider Fig a residential street. Talk about zoning mistakes!! What 50 y.o. idiot would want their single family home in commerical/industrial zone!! Suggest she sell and move to say to a nice rural town like Sanger or Reedley, if she can't stand the loud drunks.