If you enter the Santa Barbara Museum of Art from State Street,
walk past the fountain in Luddington Court and through the ancient
Greek and Egyptian art into the McCormick Gallery, the first thing
you’ll see is a stark reminder that fine art wasn’t always so
gloriously easy to access.
In a terse, last-minute press conference, Brett Wagner announced the withdrawal of his 2006 congressional bid last Thursday and, without missing a beat, launched an out-of-left-field recall campaign against 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone. Wagner said that while an “act of God” would have been required for him to win the congressional seat, Firestone’s removal was winnable and necessary; waiting until 2008 to vote Firestone out, Wagner warned, would be too late and might cause irreparable damage to the environment.
Supervisor Brooks Firestone has floated a plan to preserve 43 acres of Gaviota land between El Capitan State Park and the Gaviota Tunnel by designating it cemetery land. Noting that 11 of the 43 acres are zoned for highway commercial uses, Firestone asserted the land would constitute a significant sore thumb on an otherwise open coastline. Since none of the groups currently fundraising to preserve Gaviota have the $3 million needed to buy the land, Firestone suggested to Craig Geyerwhom he recently appointed chair of the Goleta Cemetery Districtthat the district do it. Geyer, who noted the district could run out of plot land in about 40 years, said he’d bring the matter to the board for discussion.
According to a contract with the U.S. Army, the JROTC program is required to carry a minimum enrollment of 100 students per semester, while employing two full-time military instructors; despite showing an enrollment of 106 at the beginning of the 2005-’06 school year, the program now lists only 61 students.
With some delicate last-minute wordsmithery, Brooks Firestone persuaded fellow supervisors to endorse ballot language opposing the proposed county split, which will come before voters this June. Given that North County supervisors Joni Gray and Joe Centeno signed the initial petitions putting the split on the ballot, this unanimity had long hung in the balance. Firestone’s willingness to delete the phrase “Please Vote No on Measure H” ultimately changed Centeno’s mind. Nevertheless, it should be obvious that the textcrafted by Firestone and Supervisor Salud Carbajalargues against the split. They contend the proposed new Mission County would begin $30 million in debt, causing public safety and health services cuts, and massive layoffs. Split supporters argued the debt predicted was grossly exaggerated to scare voters.
COLOMBIAN MUSIC, THE RICHEST KIND: You may have heard Juanes — the pop sensation from Colombia — doing his charismatic thing at the Chumash
After directing the North County District Attorney’s office for the past 15 years, Christie Stanley announced that she’s running for the post of top prosecutor in Santa Barbara County; her boss Tom Sneddon is retiring after a 24-year reign. For a while it appeared that Stanleywho enjoys strong support from her colleaguesmight run unopposed. In recent weeks, however, two defense attorneysDoug Hayes and Gary Dunlophave taken out nomination papers and paid the filing fees to run for office.
“By the Numbers” on last week’s Living page placed the average cost per parking ticket at $45. The actual number is $40.
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The Dancing Drum Rhythm and Art Center opens its new space on March 11, at 810 E. Gutierrez St. between
Homeowners, realtors, and architects both for and against larger houses crowded City Council chambers on Saturday during a heated public meeting of the Neighborhood Preservation Ordinance (NPO) committee. City planning staff unveiled the first draft of updated guidelines for the design and renovation of single-family, two-story homes-the product of two years of work with the NPO Update Steering Committee. Informally dubbed the Big House Ordinance when it was created in 1992 to limit house size, the NPO requires houses to be compatible with their neighborhoods.
