Tequila – To Kill Ya
Premium vodkas are so last century. The new chic drink is quality, artisan tequila. How do I know?
Year: 2006
We Need Backup
The S.B. police union and brass united to inform Santa Barbara City Council’s Finance Committee that the city needs more cops on the beat. Police union president Detective Mike McGrew (left) noted that the number of sworn officers has dropped from 151 to 126 since 9/11.
MEASURE D’s A-OKAY:
Rebutting critics who charge that county officials have failed to deliver what was initially promised when Measure D was approved in 1989, the Santa Barbara grand jury concluded, “All construction projects in the original Measure D Expenditure Plan have been completed on or ahead of schedule with the exception of the Highway 101 widening project, which was cancelled in 1993 as a result of public opposition.”
How to Stop Fighting
In October of last year, I was reading The Santa Barbara Independent when my eye caught an advertisement for a free kickboxing class at a martial arts center in town. I had recently returned to the States from a stint as a professional modern dancer in London and was looking for a way to stay in shape while I plotted my next move. It was a time of upheaval: I had ended a six-year relationship and returned to my hometown to be close to my father who is facing cancer. In retrospect I wonder why I even made the call.
All Along the Watchtower
A FOND FAREWELL: Now it is time to say good-bye to Maestra Gisle Ben-Dor, who will be conducting her final program as Music Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony this Saturday and Sunday, May 6-7, in the Arlington Theatre. It is a sad occasion, but, since Ben-Dor and her superb band will be performing Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125, “Choral,” the occasion will also be joyous and transcendent. As both pieces give substantial work for vocalists, solo and in chorus, Gisle has once again-perhaps for the last time-called upon the S.B. Choral Society and their brilliant director, Jo Anne Wasserman, as her partners in the sublime. For tickets and other information call 963-4408 (the Arlington) or 898-9386 (the symphony).
CALLING ALL CLUNKERS:
In an effort to keep the road clear of old cars and their smog-producing pollutants, the Air Pollution Control Board (APCD) is resurrecting a program to buy cars made in 1988 or earlier for $800 a piece.
Peaks and Valleys
“I live in the only east-west valley in North America.”
-Dan Gerber, in conversation
SPEED WRITER: The factoid above is the sort of thing a poet would want to know: Dan Gerber and wife Debbie, a prize-winning horsewoman, have settled in a valley near Santa Ynez unlike any other. An honorary Santa Barbaran, Dan has read at our Museum of Art, at the Contemporary Arts Forum, at UCSB, and in various April Poetry Month celebrations in town. A man as distinguished as his valley, he’s one of the most admired and honored poets in our area.
Floral Arrangements
Sharon Hearne was born to work with flowers. When asked to draw a picture of herself as a young schoolgirl, she drew a flower.
Tacos
The secret to a perfect taco? The trick is balance. Here are five that get it right.
DRINKING, DRIVING, AND POLITICIZING:
Carpinteria City Councilmember Joe Armendariz was arrested for drunken driving Saturday night after he rolled his Lexus on the side of Sycamore Canyon Road with a half-empty miniature bottle of vodka in the front seat.
