LAW AND DISORDER

Rumors ran wild last Thursday that federal authorities had
raided two of Santa Barbara’s medical marijuana dispensaries.
However, despite Thursday morning reports on the radio and a buzz
in the streets, a spokesperson for the Santa Barbara Police
Department denied any knowledge of the rumored Wednesday night
raids on the Pacific Greens and HortiPharm cannabis clubs. With the
feds having recently shut down 11 similar medical marijuana clubs
in West Hollywood, the rumors apparently rang true, as both
storefronts said they had received several calls of concern from
patients. They were able to assuage their clients’ concerns by
reporting business as usual.

In the aftershock of controversy swirling around the county’s
proposed changes to agricultural policy, 3rd District Supervisor
Brooks Firestone kicked off the January 30 supervisors’ meeting by
regretfully announcing that he will remove himself from the vote
when the issue returns to the board later this month. Firestone’s
decision to recuse himself comes after conflict of interest
allegations were leveled against him by the Environmental Defense
Center, forcing a closed session with the county’s legal counsel.
Firestone’s decision was prompted by the fact that he owns some 573
acres of Williamson Act agricultural land, and such landowners are
the ones who stand to benefit from the proposed uniform rules
changes.

Goleta police responded to a robbery of the Holiday Inn at 5650
Calle Real in Goleta shortly after the suspect fled the scene at
about 7 p.m. last Friday. According to police reports, a tall man
dressed in a dark hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap walked into
the lobby of the hotel, brandished a gun, and demanded money. Since
the suspect remains at large, some guests expressed concern that
hotel staff did not inform them of the robbery upon their checking
in later that day. Hotel management declined to state how much the
man had stolen.

Abbie and Cookie, two puppies initially reported stolen from the
DAWG animal shelter on January 31, were returned the following day.
A Ventura resident claimed to have misunderstood the shelter’s
policy and left with the dogs, thinking he was free to take them.
The dogs were reportedly returned in good spirits. Though DAWG
posted a $1,000 reward for the dogs, the man who owned up to taking
them did not receive it.