Mel’s Blacks Out
After 45 years of serving strong drinks at reasonable prices, Mel’s Place closed its doors for good this Sunday, chased out of business by a looming rent increase and an inability to find substitute quarters.
Month: August 2008
Solstice Funds Withheld
The Santa Barbara Arts Commission reaffirmed its decision to withhold a $15,000 grant that’s gone to the Summer Solstice parade for the past 25 years, despite clear instructions from the City Council’s Finance Committee to do otherwise.
New Album Finds The Coral Sea Burning Brighter Than Ever
When The Coral Sea released Volcano and Heart, the S.B.-based ensemble seemingly had the world at their feet.
Death Race
It is 2012 and a general state of chaos is brewing. The prison system has become a vicious for-profit world run by private companies, and the public’s thirst for blood has led to the phenom of the pay-per-view “death race” among felons with weapons-equipped machines.
This Week in History
Hurricane Katrina, one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the U.S., makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ra Ra Riot
This month, Ra Ra Riot made their debut with the band’s first complete album, The Rhumb Line.
vol. 22, no. 137, Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 2008
La Casa de Maria may be a peace retreat center in the mountains above Montecito, but don’t let the serenity fool you:
How a Group of Ex-Catholic Nuns Saved Their Famous Montecito Retreat Center
El Bosque Road in Montecito is a narrow lane winding past old homes hidden behind thick foliage and shaded by oaks. Follow its curves and you’ll arrive at an old estate that’s changed very little since a community of religious sisters began living there 65 years ago.
Environment 8-28
Creeks restoration manager Cameron Benson said recent tests show no fecal contamination of the beaches near Mission Creek, but indications of such contamination exist at Arroyo Burro and Leadbetter beaches, even though there’s no outfall flowing into either.
Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals
The night was something surreal; the air was warm, the Bowl was packed, and when the sun set at almost exactly 8 p.m., the Innocent Criminals poured onto the stage and launched into a full-blown jam session.