IT’S HISTORY FOLKS: Born in Scotland, nurtured by musical legends, and inspired by history, Al Stewart‘s music goes far beyond expectations. Like any experienced songwriter, he has plenty of bleeding-heart love songs under his belt, and has collaborated with just about everyone from Jimmy Page to Phil Collins.
A tentative $28 million settlement was announced by attorneys for the Los Angeles Franciscan order and 28 plaintiffs who charged they were molested by friarsmany of them at St. Anthony’s Seminary and the Santa Barbara Missionduring the past 50 years. The settlement came a week before the first Franciscan sex abuse trial was set to start. The alleged molester in that case, Brother Mario Cimmarrusti, repeatedly refused to answer questions in a recent deposition on the grounds that his answers would incriminate him. In addition to the financial payoff, the Franciscans agreed to disclose public statements made under oath by current and former Franciscans during recent court-ordered depositions. According to attorney Tim Hale, representing 13 of the plaintiffs, the depositions illuminate in disturbing detail a cloistered culture in which sexual abuse was allowed to flourish. Hale said the earliest instance of sexual abuse he was able to document occurred in 1937; the most recent incident was in the mid ’90s. The priest in that case, Hale said, was transferred to a parish in the San Francisco Bay area, where he allegedly molested again. In anticipation of a sizable settlement, the Franciscans began selling off real estate in recent years, including St. Anthony’s Seminary in Santa Barbara.
Jake Copass-cowboy, comic, ranch-hand, and poet-was born in 1920 on the flatlands of central Texas. With his parents and seven siblings, he grew up during the Great Depression, but did not let hard times dampen his spirits. “The times I thought were the hardest and most abusive were actually the most valuable of my life,” he recalled.
James “Rusty” Tramel, the former Santa Barbara prep school student convicted 21 years ago for his part in the brutal stabbing murder of a homeless man, gained his freedom this week after Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger chose not to oppose his parole. Schwarzenegger, who blocked Tramel’s release in the past, accepted the recommendation of the state parole board, whose members were impressed by Tramel’s transformation behind bars. In recent years, Tramel was ordained an Episcopal minister, became engaged to be marriedhis fiancee was also a ministerand secured a post with a parish near Berkeley. After the murder, Santa Barbara became the flashpoint of a major homeless-rights campaign. Homeless advocates wore pins bearing the last words of the victim: “No, my friend.”
When the tour bus containing The Beautiful Girls rolls into town next week, don’t expect a horde of models to be disembarking. Having been Australian favorites since their first release, Morning Sun, appeared in 2002, the Sydney-based band has been throwing forth their melodic beauty ever since. And with their reputation as being one of that country’s finest live acts, The Beautiful Girls were soon spreading their musical charm and splendor across the world.
-Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Phil Angelides, during a press conference.
1. Some areas in Ireland receive this many inches of rain each year:
Seventy inches
Eighty inches
Ninety inches
In September 2003, Dr. James Rolfe, a successful Santa Barbara dentist, traveled to Wardak, a remote mountain province in war-torn Afghanistan. Arriving at the grounds of a boys’ orphanage, Rolfe set up a homemade, portable dentist’s office and base camp, and word that an American doctor was offering free dental treatment spread quickly. People came from miles away and waited patiently for a full day, or longer, to be seen by the dentist. In a country of some 30 million, reports Rolfe, the number of people who have seen a real dentist, even once in their lifetime, is miniscule.
1. “The Greenfields of France” aka”Willie McBride”
2. “Fields of Athenry”
Though each March 17 most of us head to the local pub-adorned in green, some even donning the Lucky Charms leprechaun-style felt hat-to throw back the Guinness and toast to St. Patrick, how much do we really know about the man whose day we’re celebrating? Here are a few facts for those lacking in St. Paddy’s Day knowledge.
