This Week in History
October 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus reaches the New World, claiming the land for Spain.
Year: 2007
Texas Company Seeks to Change Oil Rig into LNG Terminal
A plan from Texas-based NorthernStar Natural Gas Company to convert a defunct oil platform-Platform Grace-into a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility underwent its first public environmental review hearings in Ventura last week.
Poetry in Paint: New Works by Ben Brode.
Ben Brode’s seascapes convey a waterman’s sensibility. With their careful attention to the interactions of light and water, they read like the observations of a fisherman looking out to sea to predict the next day’s weather. Brode captures in paint that fleeting moment at sunset when the sky and sea cannot be ignored as they take over the horizon with a dynamic performance in color.
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Cate Blanchett’s Elizabeth triumphs in making the political personal. She awards us would-be historical voyeurs with winning glimpses into both royal girlish giggles and wracking regrets. Both ends are deeply satisfying to behold, and made even better because director Shekhar Kapur mitigates them. Her games played with royal suitors and her unlikely connection to Walter Raleigh-as played with odd detachment by Clive Owen, acting a bit James Bond-ish-are seen through the fetching eyes of Bess (Abbie Cornish), her intimate.
Zaca Fire May Affect Reservoir Capacity
The U.S. Forest Service estimates that the recent Zaca Fire could cause the City of Santa Barbara to lose about 4,000 acre-feet of water from its Gibraltar Reservoir.
Solid Blues Rocks the Luke
When the Solid Blues revue rolls into town next Wednesday to play the Marjorie Luke Theatre, it’s not just blues that will be played, despite the label. With soul icon Mavis Staples and New Orleans piano master Joe Krown on the bill, this show is more like a traveling blues, jazz, and heritage festival, or one of the classic barnstorming revues that used to crisscross the country in the 1950s, bringing stars like Sam Cooke and Ray Charles along with gospel and rhythm & blues artists to adoring audiences for unforgettable nights of cutting, carousing, and celebration.
City Council Hashes Over Development Proposals
The Santa Barbara City Council is soliciting bids from land use consultants to craft a plan for outer State Street.
Movin’ Out
The opener for the 2007-08 Broadway at the Arlington series, Movin’ Out is an unusual jukebox musical that unfolds without dialogue, relying on song and dance to tell a familiar story of 1960s high school sweethearts ripped apart by the Vietnam War. The songs, in this case, are classic Billy Joel numbers delivered by a vocalist and a 10-piece band on a platform above the stage; the dances are the work of New York choreographer Twyla Tharp.
Hotchkiss Attacks Park Expenditure
Santa Barbara City Council candidate Frank Hotchkiss blasted the council’s 10/2 decision to approve $27,500 for a 2,900-square-foot public park near the Granada Theatre.
Keyboard Sublimity
PIANO PROMETHEUS: As an immediate impression and also viewed in retrospect, one of the most profound classical events of the past five years in Santa Barbara happened three years ago, when Andr¡s Schiff brought his interpretation of the mighty Bach Goldberg Variations to the suitably intimate atmosphere of the Lobero Theatre.
