Posted on November 6 at 11:36 a.m.

It's spelled Kettmann. Two ts, two ns. Sorry you are such an angry person.

On Within the Syuxtun Story Circle

Posted on October 8 at 11:18 a.m.

Thanks nalu.
We've fixed the article to reflect the correct information, and will also issue a correction in next week's print edition.

On EDC Fights for Otters

Posted on August 26 at 1:30 p.m.

Thanks to all for reading and commenting on this article.

For your clarification, our "Restaurant Soup" entries are not supposed to be restaurant reviews. Proper and critical restaurant reviews require repeated, anonymous visits to an establishment, and while we'd love to provide such a service to Santa Barbara, The Independent simply does not have the big budget that would be required to send our writers on such assignments every week.

So instead, we try to provide our readers with an explanation of what they may expect to find at any given establishment on any given day, and those reports do tend to have a positive spin. Those who disagree or who have had poor experiences are free to complain in the comment section, as has been done here.

As to the claim that these write-ups are related to some advertising arrangement, that, as our publisher Randy Campbell correctly assured, is patently false. Other than what every reader can find, the writers and editors have no knowledge whatsoever of who advertises with The Independent, and the business relationship has zero connection to editorial coverage. As a matter of policy, The Independent does not publish "advertorials."

A quick review of the many previous restaurant write-ups (http://www.independent.com/news/food_dri...) will show that many featured eateries are not advertisers, and many are. We leave it up to the discretion of the writer, so long as they pick the next letter in the alphabet to continue along with our "Restaurant Soup" theme.

Thanks again for keeping the conversation on Independent.com lively.

On L is for Left at Albuquerque

Posted on July 30 at 12:39 p.m.

Thanks, Bela, for your astute and accurate assessment of the point of this Q&A.

I did, however, send a series of questions along the lines of what mangomamma is asking in the same email to Mr. Schneider, and hope to get responses to those questions at some point too. When I do, they will also be published.

And one of these days, I hope to have a sit-down chat or walk-thru the garden with the director, but both of our schedules have been far too busy in recent months to make such an event occur.

On Botanic Garden Director Speaks

Posted on July 16 at 10:03 a.m.

No, it is #358. The large #58 is just part of the marking. There is another mark on the bottom of the tag that denotes the additional number #3.

On Condor Found Strangled

Posted on July 15 at 10:26 a.m.

Thanks for your comment, Becky.

From my extensive research over the past 10 years and numerous interviews with scientists, it seems that the ammo is a major player in condor deaths, but I am open to other evidence.

Can you direct me and the other readers to the studies you mention?

On Condor Found Strangled

Posted on June 27 at 10:11 a.m.

woops. the cq slipped thru this time, but i don't think it made it to print though. it actually means the opposite of "check" or "cheque," as in:

"Hey editors,
I know this spelling is correct, so don't mess it up.
Thanks,
writer

P.S. Don't print the cq either!"

And it's i before e except after c, except for some other instances.

On The Winners (and Losers) Are…

Posted on June 12 at 3:43 p.m.

Soj is only open until 11pm, according to their website, and this was featuring places open past 11:30pm with regularity. There are other spots open till 11pm also not on this list.

I did, however, miss at least two later night spots in the City of Santa Barbara: Live Culture (www.liveculturelounge.com), which is open till midnight, and the new incarnation of Reds in the Funk Zone, which is also apparently serving tapas till the wee hours.

On Late-Night Eats

Posted on June 10 at 9:47 a.m.

Thanks InTheKnow. We corrected the error.

On West Valerio Home Catches Fire

Posted on June 4 at 4:36 p.m.

As the editor of this article, I feel the need to respond to a couple comments above and some very angry sentiments that have not been expressed here, but have been coming into the office on email and over the phone.

As explained in the Table of Contents blurb on the author of the article (viewable until June 11 here: http://www.independent.com/news/in-print...), Ethan Stewart is actually entirely supportive of the plans for Harding School. If there is any bias, it is pro-Harding. He supports the IB program as a possible solution and believes that it is actually a more "natural" way to learn. That being said, there do exist criticisms of the program and the people pushing for it. To have ignored those sentiments would have been poor journalism.

In the three-page article, there are only two paragraphs that dwell on dissenters from the Harding plans. The rest of the story presents the plan in a very positive light (perhaps too much so in retrospect, angry people aside). As well, in the front of the story, there is a paragraph detailing the problems that Harding has experienced in the past. But in an article about reform, the reader must be informed what is wrong and needs to be changed. Otherwise, it won't make any sense.

Likely, much of the ire is rooted in the headline "Mission Impossible." But the point of that was a pop culture reference to the TV show, in which the mission is always tough, but eventually achieved. It's a shame people are taking it too literally, because the underlying message is that we think it has a very good chance of being successful and, at the very least, is a good-hearted attempt to do something forward-thinking and positive.

Also, for the record, Ethan is neither racist nor a child-hater, as some people have asserted. The white flight comments above may have some merit, but Ethan made a passing reference to the well recognized trend, and left it at that. This was not an article specifically dealing with white flight, but to have ignored the phenomenon would have also been poor journalism.

All those who initially reacted to the headline and failed to read the story with an open-mind should take a deep breath, and read the story again. You will find a solid piece of honest and careful journalism, the kind we've come to expect from the multiple award-winning reporter Ethan Stewart.

Cheers,
Matt Kettmann

On Mission Impossible?