Ethan Stewart, Author at The Santa Barbara Independent

Living By Ethan Stewart | Thu Jun 21, 2007 | 12:00pm

Life and Death in the Sandy Shadows of Coastal Armor

Whether or not Al Gore is responsible for it, mainstream America seems to be fast waking up to the realities of global warming and the associated doom and gloom of Earth’s rising sea levels. And while these new ocean heights will no doubt equal polar bears dancing on ice cubes and State Street going all Lost City of Atlantis, they also portend some very real and disturbing scientific trends, the depths of which the scientific community has just now begun to examine.

News By Ethan Stewart | Thu Jun 14, 2007 | 12:00pm

Venoco Seeks Carp Expansion

Enviros, earth crusaders, and assorted other folks concerned with the well-being of our coastline got a new bogeyman this week as the draft Environmental Impact Report for a proposed oil and gas drilling operation in Carpinteria was released for public consumption. The hefty 763-page document details the good, the bad, and the ugly associated with the Paredon Project-a proposal from local oil heavyweight Venoco that aims to mine the crude oil and natural gas hiding in two existing state oil leases just offshore from the company’s property near the Carpinteria Bluffs.

Travel By Ethan Stewart | Thu Jun 14, 2007 | 12:00pm

A Non-Hippie Goes Bio

The choice has been around for years now, but for whatever reason, those who choose to fuel their vehicles with earth-friendly biodiesel gasoline tend to hail from the “hippie” set. Catch a car puttering past on biodiesel and there’s a good chance the driver will have a big beard, a taste for tofu, and a Grateful Dead album playing at high volumes rather than a three-piece suit, a $60 haircut, and a healthy stock portfolio.

Arts & Entertainment By Ethan Stewart | Thu Jun 14, 2007 | 12:00pm

Big-Top Fun

Circuses are scary-and I’m not talking about the clowns. Last week, on a windy afternoon in Santa Maria, I found myself 40 heart-pounding feet off the ground, my sweating palms gripping a trapeze bar. I feigned a smile to my hosts from Circus Vargas, thought about my last ride in an ambulance, and jumped.

News By Ethan Stewart | Thu Jun 07, 2007 | 12:00pm

Community Academy Reunited

If the tooth fairy had to pay up for all the tooth-pulling that went on at the Santa Barbara School Board meeting this week, she would be looking for a low-interest loan right about now. For more than five hours Tuesday night, boardmembers-playing one person down due to Annette Cordero’s absence-struggled to decide the fate of a plan to merge the full student population of the Santa Barbara Community Academy elementary school onto the sparsely populated La Cumbre Junior High School campus.

Living By Ethan Stewart | Thu May 31, 2007 | 4:55pm

Once in a Blue Moon

Tonight marks the second full moon in the month of May.

Food & Drink By Ethan Stewart | Thu May 31, 2007 | 12:00pm

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry

No matter what you have planned for the evening, the fun has to start somewhere. And, in a town stuffed to the gills with bars, restaurants, wannabe L.A. lounges, and somewhat seedy dives, deciding where to warm up your engines can be daunting. When the rat race releases its daily grip on your soul and the brain in your stomach pains for libations and platters of food, the questions begin to swirl among the happy hour set: Downtown?

News By Ethan Stewart | Thu May 24, 2007 | 12:00pm

Cabrillo Port Dies a Santa Barbara Flavored Death

Exactly one year ago, it seemed all but certain that the southern stretch of the Santa Barbara Channel would soon be home to Cabrillo Port, a billion-dollar liquefied natural gas terminal built by Australia’s BHP Billiton, the largest mining company in the world. However, as the cliche goes, things aren’t always what they seem. After a practically perfect storm of Santa Barbara-led opposition, the controversial Cabrillo Port project was officially terminated on Friday, May 18, with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoing the would-be LNG facility, citing environmental concerns.

Outdoors By Ethan Stewart | Thu May 17, 2007 | 12:00pm

Walking on Water

For the record, though it pains me to admit it, I used to be a boogie boarder. While I have long since evolved beyond the lay-down sponge riding, the fact remains that not only did my love affair with surfing begin years ago in the prone position but also, when the conditions are right, I still occasionally kick my way into a beach break barrel or two, sliding merrily along, belly down and ass up, on what the Australians so affectionately refer to as an elephant’s tampon.

Sports By Ethan Stewart | Thu May 17, 2007 | 12:00pm

Of Water and Wood

A few weeks back, in the afterglow of a special late-season west swell, the recently opened Dan Merkel Gallery played host to living legend Greg “Da Bull” Noll. On a night normally associated with college kids’ booze-soaked thrills, the most colorful character in modern surf culture held reluctant court in the back of the gallery.

Author: Ethan Stewart