In the wake of an Oxnard man’s shooting death by Santa Barbara police officers amid State Street Fiesta-goers Friday night, the police department is investigating whether the lethal action was within the agency’s policy. The two officers, who have both been placed on administrative leave, have been identified as Kenneth Kushner and Mike Claytor, both six-year veterans of the department.
As winds push the fire northeast, firefighters make progress on southern front and Happy Canyon goes home.
There’s a short list of things the musical laymen of the world think of when they hear the word “rockabilly.” For most, it’s gravity-defying pompadours, head-to-toe leopard duds, Bettie Paige, and the Stray Cats. With a reputation-and more than 20-year history-preceding them, the Stray Cats, the band responsible for bringing rockabilly music to the masses, have decided to regroup and hit the road for a full-blown tour.
When a friend dies unexpectedly, the mind searches for meaning in his or her passing. In Randy Madron’s case, the meaning is both in what the musical community has gained by his life and lost by the guitarist’s untimely death in his sleep, at the age of 53, on the morning of July 15. As a member of the Goods, the Beaver Trail Boys, the Wedding Band, Spencer the Gardener, and countless other groups, Randy brought along a depth of musicianship and soulful playing that made all his performances memorable.
The boy charged with murdering Luis Angel Linares in a gang brawl last spring listened quietly on August 7 to testimony from Santa Barbara Police Detective Gary Siegel that the young defendant had confessed just hours after the killing. The accused, Ricardo Juarez, had turned 14 a mere month before the homicide, which took place after school near the corner of State and Carrillo streets on March 14.
As you read this, the Zaca Fire will be raging on. Burning a massive swath of land through the Santa Barbara backcountry, the month-old blaze has scorched more than 73,000 acres as of press time. Though considered to be on the brink of containment fewer than two weeks ago, the fire has since found new life, with the uncontrolled portions of its perimeter stretching for more than 25 miles throughout the wilderness.
Congressmember Lois Capps and six other members of the California congressional delegation met on August 1 to question the conduct of a private company that’s been giving fits to the Rehabilitation Institute of Santa Barbara and other California providers of acute medical care, or short-term treatment for a severe or debilitating illness. Auditing firm PRG-Schultz International (PRG) was hired to examine the Medicare- and Medicaid-funded acute-care cases over the past five years and determine whether the patients should have been authorized for treatment.
Ending a nearly yearlong legal ordeal, Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge George Eskin on August 1 sentenced Amanda Leigh Charis to 365 days in Santa Barbara County Jail, a psychological evaluation, and slightly more than $78,000 in restitution. Charis had been convicted of four felony counts, including grand theft and perjury; complainants Jill Ballantyne, Sharon Granoff, and John Maxwell-all former landlords-described Charis’s tenancy in their respective properties as being marked by outrageous behavior.
Popcorn! Short Film and Video Festival, the popular one-night, outdoor mini-festival of short films presented each year by the Contemporary Arts Forum, gets a makeover and an upgrade this year with the addition of a musical performance. The trio that will play between the films is led by Brent Green, a Pennsylvania animator and musician who has worked with the Chicago band Califone.
LITTLE DOGS, BIG KISSES: Who wouldn’t love to take home a cuddly little guy like Simon? The S.B. County Animal Shelter currently has lots of Chihuahuas looking for homes (see here)
