Supervising Gaviota
by Ethan Stewart Several issues related to the Gaviota Coast had environmentalists and land conservationists alternating between smiles and frowns
Ethan Stewart
Recent Stories
Teachers Need Houses Too
A series of public forums discussing the Santa Barbara School District’s tentative plans to develop employee housing-for teachers-drew small crowds at La Cumbre Junior High but sparked plenty of tension on Monday. Faced with significant teacher turnover in a region boasting some of the highest housing costs in the nation, the district contracted the Maryland-based development firm UniDev late last year to conduct an economic feasibility study on its Hidden Valley property near Veronica Springs and the Tatum property in the eastern Goleta Valley.
Healthcare in the Mist
Alt Medicine at UCSB
According to alternative medical lore, a young patient diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) was seen separately by two practitioners of alternative medicine while attending the international conference series Global Medicine Project (GMP) at UCSB several years ago. The two alt docs-one a native Tibetan healer, the other a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine-were given no information about the patient’s Western medical diagnosis and neither had prior experience with MS.
Dishonorable Discharge
School Board Axes ROTC, Draws Heavy Fire
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.
Riding High
Arguably the biggest bike race in the history of North America pedaled into town last Friday afternoon, concluding stage five of the eight-stage race with a photo finish along Cabrillo Boulevard. The First Annual Amgen Tour of California began in San Francisco on Sunday, February 19 and concluded some 600 miles later in Redondo Beach last Sunday.
On the Trail Again
The crowd of supporters was sparse last Thursday as incumbent Santa Barbara Sheriff Jim Anderson officially announced he would defend his title in the upcoming election. Bogged down in recent months by Sheriff’s Council controversy and hamstrung by severe state budget cuts, Anderson, 50, nevertheless declared his first three years in office a success.
From the Pan to the Fire
Surrounded by friends and family, Sheriff’s Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi (pictured) threw his hat into the ring this week as a candidate to replace his boss, Sheriff Jim Anderson. During the Monday morning press event at the Santa Barbara Courthouse, Arnoldi, 55, alluded to a recent rash of scandal surrounding the Sheriff’s office and pledged to restore “leadership and integrity” to the position and “trust and respect” to the department.
Survival of the Fittest
Best of the Banff Film Festival, presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. At Campbell Hall, Wednesday and Thursday, March 1 and 2.
The ever-popular Banff Mountain Film Festival rolls back into town this week with two action-packed nights of movies at UCSB on March 1 and 2. This year marks the 30th annual installment of the high-octane movie menagerie-a color-soaked swirl of extreme sports, ominous mountain peaks, snow covered inspiration, and far-flung survival tales from all parts of the globe.
Destination Stoke
Native Surf Filmmaker Screens Latest Flick
From magazines to movies, surf media has long suffered from time delay. All too often local lineups and beachside parking lots will be abuzz with tales of epic swells on foreign shores, heroic contest results, and horrific wipeouts months before the physical documentation of these events ever becomes available for widespread consumption. Such is not the case this week when UCSB graduate and Santa Barbara resident Josh Pomer unveils his latest surf film, Destination Point, at the Victoria Hall Theater.
Judgment Day
Last Friday was high noon for two-thirds of the murderous Jones family in a Santa Barbara courtroom as Judge Frank Ochoa handed down sentences to Philip Jones, 51, and his daughter Kelee Davidson, 27, for their roles in the execution-style murder of Kelee’s ex-husband and UCSB grad student Jarrod Davidson.
