Chances are, the word biodiversity makes you do one of two things: either immediately glaze over in a cloud of vague buzzword understanding, or call to mind far-flung exotic locations teeming with rare plants and animals that have little or nothing in common with what’s in your backyard.
In a small two-bedroom home, nestled anonymously on the upper Westside of Santa Barbara, the lights are humming right now. Vaguely Victorian in style with a white picket fence and a well-manicured front lawn, the home does little to betray the blooming emerald harvest growing inside its walls. A woman walking her dog passes by the driveway, urging her four-legged friend to “do your business,” never giving a second thought to the perpetually drawn window shades of the back room, the constantly spinning electricity meter humming in the side yard, or the sweet odor of fresh ganja blowing in the breeze.
Going into Tuesday night’s Santa Barbara School Board meeting, one thing was certain: The children of our community were guaranteed to be the big losers in what was sure to be a full-scale assault on the district’s budget. The beans were spilled earlier this month when the district’s money guru, Ed Diaz, told the board that their new contract with the teachers’ union would necessitate some $3.35 million in cuts in order for the budget to meet the required three percent reserve.
Months in the making, the gut wrench of imminent-and substantial-budget cuts in the Santa Barbara School Districts got a whole lot more uncomfortable this week for the decision-makers.
Coming on the heals of a historic State Lands Commission hearing in Oxnard earlier this week, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) voted 12-0 yesterday to deny the $800 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility proposed to be built 20 miles south east of Anacapa Island.
Massive drums, slicing swords, martial arts masters delivering vicious body blows and bell-ringing knockout punches, a bit of bloodshed, and a guy laid out across a bed of nails with 200 pounds of flaming concrete on his stomach are just a few of the things to expect when the Tsunami XF Budo and Fight Spectacular sets up shop at the Page Youth Center this weekend.
What do John Palminteri, a boat-destroying whale, The Departed, and the world-famous phrase “Hello, and welcome to Moviefone” have in common?
More than six months after David Klotz suffered fatal injuries outside the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office concluded its investigation last Wednesday, opting not to file any charges in the death.
Whether you find them in the wild, gaze upon them in the cozy comfort of your living room, or stumble across them on your way into your friendly neighborhood Trader Joe’s, it is hard not to react to an orchid. Their seductive curves reminiscent of the ultimate feminine form, their fragrance a subtle intoxicant, and the explosion of wild, LSD-like colors across their petals recall to our subconscious a forgotten notion of awe-inspiring beauty.
Times are tough in the Santa Barbara School District. With declining enrollment having progressed from a troubling trend to a harsh reality, the task of balancing budgets in both the elementary and high school districts has grown exponentially more difficult.
