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Charting the Unknown

Bob No»l Announces Charter School Funding

A month after winning reelection to the Santa Barbara School Board, Bob No»l took the first step toward delivering on his main campaign promise at Tuesday’s board meeting-and it turned out the reality of his campaign was far from what the other boardmembers had expected. Completely surprising his collegues, No»l proudly announced he had recently received some $405,000 in startup grant money from the state to pursue his goal of opening a charter school for grades 7-12 in the Santa Barbara School District. But the year ahead promises more than a few challenges if No»l is to realize his dream.

A GOOD BLUFF

A GOOD BLUFF: An amazing sunset shot taken this fall, near the Carpinteria Bluffs. Photo courtesy of Jesse Strigler, Brooks Institute.

The Sandman

Scott Doss Creates from the Beach-Literally

Scott B. Doss works down at the beach. Likely, you’ve seen him toiling away in the sand-and likely you were impressed. Doss is the famous “Sandman,” the guy who has been creating life-sized human figures at Stearns Wharf for years. As a dedicated creator and entertainer, he has carved out a unique and illustrious niche in the culture of “outsider artists,” a term Doss himself uses to describe street performers who are untrained, largely unrecognized, and yet often marvelously talented.

The Lobero Is Your Living Room

This Tuesday night, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra will give us a rare musical experience: the sound of a small orchestra. Classical music these days tends to come in very small or very large packages, either from famous soloists or big, bold orchestras. The in-between sound that privileged audiences of the 18th century hired for their “chambers” (big living rooms and dedicated music rooms-surely you have one of those, or both) hardly finds a place in 21st-century schedules.

Let Us Now Praise Altman

Josef Woodard praises the recently late Robert Altman and bemoans saxophonist David Binney’s lack of fame.

BACK IN BLACK:

From the Another View of Santa Barbara 2007 calendar, this photo of silent protesters outside the SBMA was taken by Aaron Fisher, with a camera loaned to him for the calendar project.