Conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, with Alexander Mogilevsky, piano. At the Arlington Theatre, Saturday, March 25.
The Russian National Orchestra has a beautiful sound, smooth yet emotional-the sound of an all but cosmic excellence that belies the mere 16 years since it was founded by Maestro Mikhail Pletnev, who has led it ever since.
A week after receiving unfavorable feedback from Santa Barbara County supervisors, the authors of a Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) feasibility study for the Santa Barbara Ranch found far more sympathetic ears at the Santa Barbara City Council meeting Tuesday night. With a pending application to build between 54 and 72 luxury estates on the oceanfront hills of Naples, open space advocates and environmentalists are urgently seeking a way to protect what many consider the gateway to the Gaviota Coast. The TDR plan would exchange some development rights from the 800-acre Naples area to city-owned property in downtown Santa Barbara and some county holdings.
Agreeing that the maze of bikeways, sidewalks, parking lots, and driveways connecting Stearns Wharf to the Harbor was a mess, the S.B. City Council unanimously voted to spend $2 million in Redevelopment Agency funds to make the area more pedestrian-friendly for tourists and natives alike.
Santa Barbara County probation officer Darin Siegel was arrested Friday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) on federal charges of conspiracy to sell firearms illegally.
WHO’S WATCHIN’ THE MAN? Thank God the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force finally stumbled onto the Raging Grannies. I know I’ll be sleeping better at night. For those unfamiliar with the Grannies, they’re peace activists who subscribe to the impudently impish notion that it’s better to be outrageous than to be outraged. To this end, the Grannies wear big hats and goofy costumes and write clever songs against the war, which they belt out with more gusto than polish in public places. The Grannies boast sleeper cells-which they cleverly call “chapters”-just about everywhere on the Pacific Coast except, naturally, for Santa Barbara.
Frankie Muniz, Jon Foster, and Samaire Armstrong star in a film written by William Brent Bell and Matthew Peterman and directed by Bell.
Horror takes a lot of artistry, like telling an offensive joke. If you build it beautifully, people will thank you for showing them eviscerated teenagers, bloodied corporate executives, and even the occasional baby doll with worms crawling out of its cute eyes. What’s terrific about Stay Alive is that it shows you all of the above with enough sneaky suspense, red herrings, and murder-able gamers to say you saw the gore and you were pretty cool with it.
The first steps in what’s sure to be a long and contentious process to expand oil and gas drilling near
Number of Americans arrested for marijuana-related charges in 2004- an all-time record. Of those, 89 percent are for mere possession, which is an average of one arrest every 41 seconds. Source: Marijuana Policy Project
At least 2,000 people came out in the rain last Saturday to oppose HR4437, the draconian immigration bill under consideration by the Senate. Chanting protesters marched from De la Guerra Plaza to Alameda Park, where they listened to speeches for another hour. Passed by the House of Representatives last December, the bill emphasizes stringent border enforcement and criminalization of undocumented workers.
-Mayor Marty Blum taking a jab Tuesday night at county Supervisor Susan Rose’s lack of interest in Transfer Development Rights and how they might help preserve Naples.
