-Susan Hahn
The horrendous economic slump of the 1930s affected all parts of the United States. Santa Barbara initially attempted to meet the crisis with its own resources, only to find conditions worsening year by year.
by Nelson Harvey
The bipartisan Senate Judiciary Committee was a hot zone last Monday as Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Arlen Specter (R-PA) wrestled over and ultimately passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill that-if signed into law-would give some 11 million people currently living illegally in the U.S. a realistic shot at citizenship while creating annually 400,000 new green cards for foreigners wishing to come live in America. Turning up the heat was Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who set an immutable March 27 deadline for the committee to release an immigration proposal; if they failed, Frist warned, he would bring his own enforcement-only immigration bill-aimed at beefing up the borders and allowing local police to enforce immigration law-to the Senate floor this week.
Cabrillo Arts Pavilion for Santa Barbara Channelkeeper’s annual Blue Water Ball. The event’s keynote speaker was Waterkeeper Alliance Executive Director Steve Fleischli, who oversees the 153 affiliated Channelkeeper groups worldwide.
Surfboard industry heavyweight and South Coast local Al Merrick announced last week that his world-famous, locally made Channel Islands surfboards will soon be sharing store racks with a price-point, pop-out label of his own design called Anacapa Surfboards.
As the cold clings to our coast a little longer, satisfy your need for the kind of stuff that sticks to your ribs.
At the Lobero Theatre, Saturday, March 25.
The following is an excerpt from a conversation I had with my sister-in-law immediately following the latest Sings Like Hell show.
by Peter Byrne
Democratic Party heavyweights in California smell the blood of an Austrian. Looking to unseat Arnold Schwarzenegger, Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi have endorsed Phil Angelides for governor. How did Angelides-who has the charisma of an undertaker-become the Man?
Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer star in a film written by Russell Gewirtz and directed by Spike Lee.
Spike Lee likes to call his films “joints,” a personalized nod to the idea of a film as an atmospheric enclosure, a “place” where sights, sounds, premise, and X factors blend to create a unified whole. In Inside Man, Lee’s best film in years, said “joint” is akin to other recent films, including Phone Booth and 16 Blocks, which take dramatic advantage of a claustrophobic setting in lower Manhattan.
At the Lobero Theatre, Friday, March 24.
Narrating his coming to Silver City, Mark Twain (Hal Holbrook) mentions the “Carson River,” and pauses. “A moist ditch,” he adds, “half a mile wide.” Not satisfied that he had given us an accurate picture of the river’s insignificance, Twain says, “If it was my river, I wouldn’t leave it out at night-some dog might come along and lap it all up!”
As Pieta Brown gently caressed the strings of her acoustic guitar, Bo Ramsey’s electric guitar enchantingly followed suit. Soon this captivating duo was radiating a sound so subtle that it barely resonated. But despite the Tap Room of Buellton’s Firestone Brewery being filled to capacity, as the song gradually drifted into the ether, the silence in the room was deafening.
Such is the experience of the music series in Santa Barbara. As the traditional live music bar-SOhO and Velvet Jones notwithstanding-becomes a scarce commodity, a variety of concert series have stepped in to bridge the gap.
