LAW AND DISORDER

A lawsuit to prevent the City of Goleta from
implementing its General Plan has been launched by
the newly formed Citizens for a Better Goleta (CBG), joined by the
Shelby Family Partnership, LLC. The Shelby family seeks to develop
land that is currently zoned for agriculture. CBG’s board of
directors includes Chamber of Commerce activists who have long
complained that city council policies inhibit new development.
Although the suit was filed one week before election day, the
plaintiffs’ attorney said the timing was merely coincidental: The
CBG had to file within 30 days of the General Plan’s adoption by
the City Council.

Attorneys laid the groundwork for the defense this week in the
murder trial of Carlos Varela, who is accused of
killing his former girlfriend, UCSB student Holly Lake, in 2005.
Varela allegedly stabbed Lake to death in her car after the couple
drove home from a Tom Petty concert. On Tuesday, the court heard
from a forensic witness who testified that Lake had cheated on
Varela – a point that defense attorneys used to argue that Varela
had committed a crime of passion.

Philippe Carasso was sentenced to 35 years in
prison for killing Ramy Henwin in late 2001.
Henwin, an American citizen of Syrian origin, was having tea with
Carasso’s sister in his backyard when Carasso shot him twice with a
shotgun. Carasso, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, first
pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but later reversed his
decision – to the chagrin of his lawyers – because he said he
wanted to take full responsibility for his actions.