Cinema in Focus: ‘WALL-E’
Agenda-toon cleverly targets adults but it loses its appeal to children.
2 Stars — Shallow
The creative genius of Disney’s Pixar studio has been taken captive in its latest cartoon, WALL-E. Taking human consumption and waste to the extreme and imagining a time in which garbage has taken over our planet to the extent that people have to leave, the film presents a humanity that is unrecognizable. Although able to create amazing robotic machines and gargantuan spaceships, humans are presented as ignorant, obese beings who have no more sense than to despoil our planet and let robots clean up our mess while we lounge on a cruise ship in space. But this isn’t a cruise ship on which humans dance, swim and recreate, but rather one on which humans no longer walk or engage one another in relationship but instead live on moving, reclining beds with their appetites satisfied by robotic servants while their minds are titillated by holographic television. If this is an attempt to exaggerate a tendency people have to be lazy and wasteful, it does so with incredible dislike for human beings.
Written and directed by Oscar-winning director Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo), the creativity and humor of the film is pervasive. From the allusions to robots of cinematic fame such as R2D2 of Star Wars to the use of classic art in the credits (Monet’s impressionism, Seurat’s pointillism, Van Gogh’s neo-impressionism), Stanton does not disappoint his audience. The ability to create a love story between two machines that use only sounds to communicate is amazing. It is both believable and engaging.
These two machines are robots created seven centuries apart but with the ability to feel loneliness, fear, loyalty and love. The hero of this romantic tale is WALL-E (voice by Ben Burtt). As his name implies, he is a “Waste Allocation Load Lifter – Earth class.” Manufactured by the mega-corporation of “BnL” (Buy ‘n Large) which is responsible for getting humans to consume so much that we create such a large amount of garbage that we need a robotic garbage machine, WALL-E is that machine and is now the last of his kind. Having worked for 700 years to clean up the trash left behind by humans who abandoned the planet, WALL-E has become lonely. Repairing his aging parts off the junkyard remains of previous units of his kind, soaking up the sun in his solar panels for energy and collecting objects of interest from the piles of trash he bundles daily, WALL-E’s only companion is a single cockroach who befriends him.
But into his piles of trash which now dwarf the skyscrapers of his city lands a spaceship with an enticing visitor named EVE (voice by Elissa Knight). As her name implies, EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) is a highly advanced robot who has been sent back to earth to see if the planet has once more produced life. When WALL-E presents her with the present of a small plant, then the adventure literally lifts off as WALL-E becomes the knight in robotic armor who saves not only his beloved EVE but humanity as well.
WALL-E is an “agenda-toon” that is not so much for children as it is for the adults it hopes to reach with its message. That it is a degrading exaggeration wrapped in creative genius makes it a film that lacks the timeless appeal of Stanton’s other films, such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and A Bug’s Life.
Discussion:
» How much truth do you believe is expressed by this film? Why do you answer as you do?
» When the Captain (voice by Jeff Garlin) of the ship on which the humans have been living for the last seven centuries realizes the robotic autopilot will not return to earth, he finds the fortitude to stand up against it. Do you think human beings would ever become so dependent on machines that we would not be able to stand up and turn them off?
» What do you think of this film’s storyline of misfit robots bringing about the freedom of humanity? Is there an underlying meaning and, if so, what is it?
Cinema In Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary. Hal Conklin is a former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is pastor of Free Methodist Church on the Mesa. For more reviews, visit www.cinemainfocus.com.
Commentary: Effort to Recall School Board Member Out of Line
Carpinteria's Beverly Grant does her job well; simply disagreeing with her vote shouldn't make her a target.
The effort to recall Carpinteria Unified School District board member Beverly Grant has failed, according to Santa Barbara County election officials.
“I’m pleased the Carpinteria community has said no to this extreme measure and political carnival,” Grant said. “I look forward to serving out my term.”
The required 2,346 signatures of registered voters needed for the recall fell short by 89 signatures.
The reasons given for the attempt to recall Grant were a smokescreen for the real reason: her vote to remove from district campuses images considered offensive by the Native American community.
Recall is an extreme measure that should be used only in cases of dishonesty or malfeasance in office, such as the commission of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity, that affects the performance of official duties. Recall should not be used simply someone doesn’t agree with how an elected official.
Grant has held herself to the highest code of an elected official. She reads everything sent to board members, studies and prepares herself thoroughly before board meetings.
She is scrupulous about obeying the Brown Act, works at collegiality with other school board members and staff, and always votes her conscience, considering carefully what is best for the present and future students of the Carpinteria Unified School District.
Some people disagreed with her position about the Indian images, and they let her know how they felt. That is democracy in action. But the extremism of recall, although legal, has no place in Carpinteria.
Toni Stuart represents Unified Carpinterians.
Dos Pueblos High’s Summer School Classes to Resume Monday
Dos Pueblos High School summer school classes will resume Monday, but for at least the next two weeks will be relocated to La Colina Junior High School at 4025 Foothill Road in Santa Barbara.
The relocation is necessary because Dos Pueblos High’s campus is being used by Santa Barbara County emergency services as a staging areas and incident command center for the Gap Fire.
The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District will continue to provide transit service for Dos Pueblos-bound summer school students. According to MTD, morning bus service to La Colina and afternoon bus service to Dos Pueblos will be as follows:
Morning route (destination: La Colina Junior High)
» 7:27 a.m., MTD Line 2720 will start at Turnpike and Hollister.
» 7:43 a.m., Line 2720 travels from Hollister to Storke.
» 7:50 a.m., Line 2720 arrives at Dos Pueblos. Students picking up the bus at Dos Pueblos are advised to be at Dos Pueblos by 7:50 a.m. Dos Pueblos will be the transfer point for students on Line 23.
» 8:05 a.m. to 8:10 a.m., Line 2720 will depart for La Colina.
Afternoon route (destination: Dos Pueblos High School)
» 12:20 p.m., MTD Line 2720 departs La Colina.
» Line 2720 will stop at Turnpike and Hollister.
» Line 2720 will continue to Dos Pueblos by way of Hollister and Storke.
More than 300 students are enrolled in the summer session at the Dos Pueblos.
Barbara Keyani is the Santa Barbara School District‘s coordinator of special projects and communications.
Hotline Set Up to Help Fire Victims With Their Animals
Fire victims in need of assistance with animals can call the animal hotline at 805.681.4332.
The Earl Warren Showgrounds is no longer accepting animals.
The Los Padres National Forest Information Center, which is handling calls for the Gap Fire as well as the Basin Complex (Monterrey County) and the Indians Fire, can be reached at 805.961.5770.
William Boyer is Santa Barbara County‘s communications director.
Report from the Front Lines, Day II
The sounds of helicopters and the sight of sneaking around your own neighborhood. Second in a series.
High noon Friday:
The helicopters are flying low over the neighborhood. Welcome to the sounds of siege, I tell my husband. All day Thursday it was the same — thwock, thwock, thwock. I’ve met a few Vietnam vets who still tense up at the sound of helicopters. I’m beginning to understand. We wonder. though, why didn’t they get those birds into the sky earlier this morning when the winds were calmer? We realize what it feels like to be at the mercy of who-gets-what in the chess game played for firefighting resources. And, of course, we’re glad they’re here — but daylight was five hours ago.
No sun anymore, a smoky, almost humid blanket of foul ash clouds the sky. A strange stillness overtakes our half-deserted neighborhood. A few neighbors wave, on foot or bike.
We were able to take two loads out, a jerry-rigged event as we were told if we left we couldn’t drive our cars back in. So we off-load my car into a friend’s car, then he and my husband take our belongings to a safer location. However, when my friend drops my husband off, he isn’t even allowed to walk back in. Meanwhile, I’m home “safe” with the Subaru parked in go-mode, dog ramp at the ready for our three big dogs. I tell my husband about a shortcut into the neighborhood, and drive four-wheel roads to fetch him, evading roadblocks. It beats me how we are safer without a car to evacuate ourselves and our animals, never mind being separated. But I don’t make the rules, I just bend ‘em. What matters is we are together now, as helicopters thwock overhead, the sky fills with ash, and the fire beast in the hills feeds on wind and dry terrain.
About a year ago we started a neighborhood watch, and most of us have traded phone numbers so we can stay in touch. Ironic stories abound: one neighbor’s son was taking out heirloom Civil War rifles when he was stopped by officials who wanted to arrest him on the spot. After a call to a captain and since the rifles don’t fire without blasting powder, he was allowed to “transport firearms” after the guns went into the trunk.
Another neighbor up the road instructs us on how to fight fire — if it’s feasible. Goggles, face mask and long pants to ward off blowing embers. Hit the firebrands with water, he says, water puts out fire. Another man, who rebuilt his mother’s home in this neighborhood, is also determined to stay. “I’m not rebuilding again,” he says.
A report of looters in the neighborhood last night had us all convening under streetlights. Without really putting it into words we know we are there for each other, watching and waiting, be it wildfire, looters or “evacuation” rules that don’t seem to make common sense. From my office window I can see the big hill that separates us from the fire’s east flank up Patterson Canyon. If the flames hit Maria Ygnacio Creek, we’ll have to load up the dogs.
Until then, together we stand and fight.
Laura Hout is a Santa Barbara real estate agent. Click here to read her first report.
Letter to the Editor: Privatize Vector Control
Californaia has thousands of hard-working pest control companies ready to do vector control at a fraction of the cost of government. The government should never compete with the private sector for any service job. The city, county and state are all out of money, and need to start cutting staff like the rest of us. It’s time to get rid of state- or county-run vector control; it’s a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. The government is big enough, and should not be taking jobs from the people who pay them.
Kevin O’Connor
Owner, Hydrex Pest Control
Letter to the Editor: Wake Up from the Bush/Cheney/McCain Nightmare
Is legitimate criticism of government policies less patriotic than monotonous karaoke choruses of self-promoting, right-wing ideologues? I think not. Unfortunately, there are many well-intentioned Americans who choose to sing along, ignoring certain relevant lessons of world history.
In the 1930s and early ‘40s, “good Germans” wore swastika armbands, gave proper salutes, and proudly sang their national anthem:
Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles
Uber alles in der Welt
(Germany, Germany, above all
Above everything in the world)
Germany, like the United States, is a country with a rich cultural tradition and a history of outstanding scientific achievements. It was the birthplace of such creative and intellectual giants as Beethoven and Einstein. Yet, it was there that a mind-numbing, follow-the-leader mentality led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich. As patriotic Germans allowed themselves to become intoxicated by military conquests and dreams of Aryan dominance, they passively acquiesced to the horrors of the Holocaust.
We should always remember this and not remain silent in the shadow of war crimes, regardless of their origin. It is our individual and collective responsibility as Americans, and as human beings, to wake up from this Bush/Cheney/McCain nightmare and declare to the world, “never again.”
Robert Baruch
Goleta
Captain’s Log: What About the Critters?
A tale from the perspective of a field mouse explains how escaping the Gap Fire isn't easy for some animals.
Bravo, the brave little field mouse, peered cautiously out of his burrow and felt a little afraid. Something was horribly wrong around the picturesque swale he called home, partway up the mountainside above Goleta.
The worst of it was the acrid smell of smoke that made his nose and lungs hurt. No, maybe the worst of it was the way his eyes burned. Bravo wanted to run away, too, but his genes got in the way. Those other terrified animals all had long legs that stretched way out and could cover ground fast and far. Bravo’s legs couldn’t outpace the flaming terror that rode the evening downslope winds. He wasn’t brave by choice, but by design — nature’s design.
Turning slowly back toward his burrow, Bravo resigned himself to hunkering down to hopefully escape the impending nightmare. Suddenly the ground trembled and a horrible rumbling sound grew louder and louder.
Bravo looked up and gasped, wide-eyed, as a monstrous silver hawk glided over. Bravo scurried toward his burrow, fearing the talons he hoped to escape. Instead of talons, his hind end was sprayed by a reddish liquid as he disappeared down the hole. A field mouse doesn’t much know a fire-retardant bomber from a huge hawk, but a field mouse sure does know when things are going badly.
Things were going very badly. Abandoned by other animals and with the ground trembling, loud rumbling ringing in his ears, smoke filling his lungs and burning his eyes and the ground heating from the raging fire sweeping through his swale, Bravo ran to the deepest end of his burrow and screamed until he fainted.
Bravo the brave little field mouse was one of the lucky ones. He woke up — dizzy, with singed lungs and barely enough air to breathe — to the dawn. His world seemed much quieter and that had to be a good sign. He poked his head out of the burrow. It seemed safe, even though the bushes and trees were burned and smoldering.
He climbed onto a rock where he had stood up very still many times to enjoy the view of the mountainside and the blue sea far beyond. It felt good to be alive.
The fire had passed and was well below him on the mountain. Then a breeze ruffled his little whiskers. It was an upslope breeze, marking the shift to onshore daytime winds that would send the Gap Fire marching back up the mountain.
Oh, no. Here we go. Time to be brave again, Bravo!
Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a new nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need.
Report from the Front Lines
First-person account of dangerous dilemma: Should I go or should I stay?
11 p.m. Thursday:
About 10 engine trucks lined up at the corner of our street and Old San Marcos Road earlier tonight for “structure protection” for our neighborhood. Not good. It’s 11 p.m. now and they are gone, either up to Painted Cave or perhaps to Patterson Avenue above the curve, both of which are under mandatory evacuations. All day long we’ve been under siege as water-dropping helicopters fly low over our neighborhood. The power went out again, and we had to pack up in darkness, me with the camping headlamp, Daniel with candles and lanterns. We were told to leave when the trucks arrived earlier, but along with some other neighbors we opted to stay. As of now we are ready to go, stuffing as much as we can into two cars with room for the three big dogs. Daniel was supposed to go to work tonight, but I said ”No, you don’t.” He agrees in retrospect and they found someone to cover for him.
How do you decide what to take, and what to leave? For me it’s writing, music, photo albums and great-grandma’s red lamp. Some of the Indian jewelry that survived the 1990 Painted Cave Fire for sentimental reasons. Maybe they’re good luck things? There are things I learned in the last fire that you just can’t replace. Hard drives, external hard drives, laptops, yeah, we got all that. But the mementos. They hurt the worst. And the hell with the rest. And, no, at this point, we can’t take loads out and come back — because they won’t let us back in. We do have a place to go to, which is good, even with the dogs. So until we get the word, we are here, packed and ready, drained, sweaty and high on adrenaline. I’m having wine. Go figure! So are the neighbors. It’s a gallows humor-sort group at this point. We’ve been through this before. And the rest have fled. I can hear those helicopters even now, which is amazing, I didn’t think they flew at night. The wind has picked again, too, and it’s blowing right toward us. We are triangulated between the two mandatory evacuation areas. Dead in the direction the wind is blowing.
Uh ... the big fire trucks are back. Not a good sign. Our neighbor is a newscaster and right now she is doing a live phone-in broadcast about how the winds have just picked up significantly again. Reports of structures lost are now coming in. I’ve opened the north window in my office — and the winds are strong again — the smell of smoke choking and way too close. On the second story I have a bird’s eye view of fire trucks going by. And also not good: the winds are predicted to be a factor through 4 a.m.
Not sure fireworks are going to be fun for us this year …
Laura Hout is a Santa Barbara real estate agent.
Direct Relief to Continue to Give Away Free Face Masks in Goleta
Direct Relief International, in cooperation with the Santa Barbara County Health Department and the city of Goleta, will continue to distribute free NIOSH N-95 face masks to residents who cannot avoid outdoor exposure to the wildland fire smoke generated by the Gap Fire.
Distribution will be from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Camino Real Marketplace kiosk between Borders and the movie theater.
“We are very fortunate that DRI has a large supply of the masks and that they are being made available to the public for free,” said Dr. Elliot Schulman, director of the county Public Health Department.
Schulman said it is critical that the masks be fitted properly on the face, so instruction for proper fitting will be included at the distribution sites.
“It’s better to avoid exposure, particularly for those with known lung or breathing problems,” Schulman said. “But if you have to be outdoors, especially if you’re doing vigorous activity, it is wise to wear a mask to reduce exposure to inhaled wild land fire smoke.”
It is the tiny, invisible particles that get into the lungs and can cause problems, he said.
Goleta Mayor Michael Bennett said the city “is grateful to DRI for the generous donation of masks that are being made available to Goleta-area citizens during the Gap Fire.”
William Boyer is Santa Barbara County‘s communications director.
Santa Barbara Says Waterfront Fireworks Show Will Go On
After careful consideration and communication with regional agencies, the city of Santa Barbara is moving forward with plans to hold its annual fireworks show at the waterfront Friday.
Since the Gap Fire started Tuesday, city officials have contemplated whether the show should continue. Top officials from the fire, police and waterfront departments have made a preliminary determination that there are sufficient staff resources to patrol the event.
As the event approaches, emergency conditions will continue to be reassessed to ensure public safety.
The fireworks display will be launched from West Beach starting at 9:30 p.m. Friday.
Click here for more information on the fireworks show.
Nina Johnson is an assistant to the Santa Barbara city administrator.
Disaster Relief Legislation Includes Tax Breaks for Fire Victims
Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, chairman of the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security, announced Thursday that disaster relief legislation is being drafted for victims of the Gap Fire.
“My measure will bring much-needed assistance to those who suffer losses and devastation as a result of the Gap Fire,” Nava said. “Property owners should not be penalized when a natural disaster strikes. The state owes it to its residents and local governments to provide much-needed relief when a disaster occurs.”
Specifically, the legislation would allow victims whose homes were damaged to receive a homeowner’s property tax exemption while the home is being repaired or rebuilt, even if the owner can’t live in the property during that time.
Additionally, it would allow taxpayers to deduct excess disaster losses not compensated for by insurance, for up to five years on income-tax returns. It would provide state reimbursements of local property tax losses to the counties resulting from the downward property tax assessments of properties damaged by the fire.
John Mann represents Assemblyman Pedro Nava.
Foresters Step Up to the Plate for Little League’s Challenged Players
The young players will join the semi-pro baseball team on the field before Saturday's game.
Before the start of the Santa Barbara Foresters-Maxim Yankees game on Saturday at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium, players from the semi-pro Foresters and the Dos Pueblos Little League Challenger Division will enjoy pre-game activities, united by a love of baseball.
Challenger players are matched up with “buddies” from the non-Challenger teams in the DPLL before each game. The buddies act as personal baseball coaches to the Challenger players, helping them with skills and physical feats such as rounding bases.
“I want (the Challengers) to be a support to parents through connections and similar situations,” said Challenger coordinator Retta Slay, whose son Keaton has Down’s syndrome. “But the big heart of the program is the little league buddies. That’s what makes it so wonderful.”
Saturday’s game is an opportunity for the Challengers and their buddies to join the Foresters on the field before the game. Challenger first baseman and accomplished percussionist Ben Sarrasin, 9, will play with his band, The LMNOPs, from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Sarrasin is a student at Crane Country Day School and has been working with Gifted Artist Records in Los Angeles to produce his first compilation of jazz and blues standards, due out in December.
His backup musicians have played for bands such as the Doobie Brothers, America and Chicago.
At 4:30 p.m., all uniformed DPLL players will be invited to join the Foresters on the field, and at 5 p.m. everyone will be introduced. Three-year Challenger veteran Emily Grigor, 13, will throw the first pitch. Challenger coach Claudia Watters will sing the national anthem.
Foresters head coach Bill Pintard has been actively involving the semi-pro team with the Challenger players.
“Bill just really has a heart for this, to help children with special needs and to play baseball,” Slay said. ‘It’s the perfect fit.”
The disabilities that Challenger players face range from Down’s syndrome to autism to stiff leg muscles. Deaf children sometimes have their parents sign for them during games.
There is a shady area reserved for all DPLL families and their guests as well as a snack bar for all attendees. The bright Challengers banner will be hung near the reserved section, and ticket prices include all pre-game entertainment.
The Foresters game will begin at 5 p.m.; however, DPLL is aware that poor air quality from the Gap fire may cause respiratory problems for some little league players. In that case, parents are welcomed to stay for the activities then leave after the national anthem.
Noozhawk intern Mollie Helmuth can be reached at .
Goleta Fireworks Show, Stow House Fourth of July Celebration Canceled
The city of Goleta has canceled its annual Fourth of July fireworks show because of the dangers posed by the Gap Fire.
Mayor Michael Bennett made the announcement at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
The fireworks show was to take place from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday at Girsh Park.
Also canceled was the Goleta Fourth of July event planned at the Rancho La Patera at Stow House at 304 Los Carneros Road. That event is sponsored by the Goleta Valley Historical Society.
Wake Forest Forward to Transfer to UCSB
Mekia Valentine will be eligible to compete with the Gauchos beginning in 2009-10.
Mekia Valentine, a 6-foot-4 forward/center from Greensboro, N.C., has committed to transfer to UCSB and play basketball for the Gauchos, head coach Lindsay Gottlieb announced Thursday.
Valentine spent the last two seasons at Wake Forest University, where she earned ACC All-Freshman honors after averaging 5.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 2006-07. She shot a team-high 46.8 percent from the floor in her first season with the Demon Deacons and set a freshman record with 50 blocked shots. Valentine blocked a school-record nine shots in a game against Western Carolina on Nov. 14, 2006.
The forward followed her tremendous rookie season with a solid performance in 2007-08, averaging 6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 30 games for Wake Forest. Valentine again led the squad in field goal percentage, shooting an impressive 47.7 percent from the floor.
She was one of just three players to appear in all 59 games for the Demon Deacons the past two seasons.
“I am ecstatic that Mekia is our newest Gaucho,” Gottlieb said. “Her talent, work ethic and leadership abilities will make her a great asset on and off the court. She has competed on the highest level of women’s college basketball and will bring a competitive edge to our team, as well as fulfilling a need in the frontcourt. Above all else, she is an absolutely outstanding young woman. I couldn’t be happier to welcome her to UCSB.”
Pursuant to NCAA Division I transfer requirements, Valentine will sit out the 2008-09 season and will be eligible to compete with the Gauchos beginning in 2009-10. She will have two years of eligibility remaining and is permitted to practice with the team when workouts begin in the fall.
The forward will help fill the void in the front court with the departure of All-Big West selections Jenna Green and Kat Suderman after the 2008-09 campaign.
Valentine had a very successful high school career, earning McDonald’s All-American distinction after her senior season at Dudley High School. She was named the team MVP and was recognized as the 3A Conference Player of the Year. Valentine, who also earned three letters in track and fielder as a prepster, was the 23rd-ranked high school recruit overall in 2006 and third-ranked at her position according to Full Court Press: The Women’s Basketball Journal. She chose Wake Forest over Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Syracuse and Vanderbilt.
Valentine joins a Gaucho squad that returns all but two players from last year’s squad that went 23-8 overall and won a 12th Big West Conference championship in the past 13 years. UCSB returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005, losing to fourth-seeded Virginia in the first round of the Greensboro Regional.
Ryan Hall is a UCSB assistant media relations director.
Gap Fire State’s No. 1 Fire Priority
The Gap Fire is California’s No. 1 fire priority, authorities said Thursday afternoon.
Speaking at an emergency meeting planned by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, county Fire Chief Tom Franklin said that’s good news, especially since there are 300 blazes burning across the state, most of them sparked by lightning.
“That’s the order we are kind of standing in line to get aircraft,” he said to the board, which convened the meeting to officially declare a state of local emergency. “We’re at the top of the heap.”
Franklin added that the priority situation is fluid and subject to change at any time.
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .
UCSB Catcher Chris McMurray Signs With Cincinnati Reds
The Gaucho decides to forgo his senior season and will play for Billings, an affiliate in Montana.
UCSB catcher Chris McMurray, deciding to forgo his senior season at the school, signed a professional contract with the Cincinnati Reds after being drafted by the National League team in June.
McMurray was chosen by Cincinnati in the 18th round (539th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. The Mission Viejo native was the highest pick of seven Gauchos taken in the draft.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander was assigned to Billings, a rookie ball affiliate of Cincinnati in Montana. He has played in two games for the Mustangs, collecting his first professional hit and RBI in a 3-2 win over Great Falls on Wednesday. Billings leads the Pioneer League North Division with a 10-6 record.
As a junior at UCSB in 2008, McMurray played in 46 games and started 40 behind the dish for the Gauchos. He batted .312 with 48 hits, 28 runs scored and 39 RBIs. His eight home runs and .545 slugging percentage ranked second on the team. McMurray also was solid defensively, throwing out 14 would-be base stealers and posting a .990 fielding percentage, which ranked eighth in the Big West Conference.
McMurray was named to the 2008 All-Big West Second Team.
Scott Flanders is UCSB‘s associate media relations director.
Fire Forces Cancellation of Stow House, Rotary Club Holiday Events
The 34th annual Old-Fashioned Fourth of July Celebration at the Rancho La Patera at Stow House and the Rotary Club of Goleta fireworks event, both planned for Friday, have been canceled because of the Gap Fire.
The festival at Rancho La Patera is the Goleta Valley Historical Society‘s largest fundraiser, with expected crowds of more than 2,000 people. The celebration features live music, hayrides, games and more.
Cancellation of the event will affect the historical society’s budget, the caterer to provide the barbecue, the bands hired to perform and numerous volunteers and vendors.
“A decision was made this morning after conditions did not improve,” event organizer Dacia Harwood said. “The safety of the volunteers and supporters is our top priority. Precautions are being taken by the city of Goleta and the Goleta Valley Historical Society to protect the historic Stow House and ranch.”
Pacific Harvest Catering spent more than $2,000 on food and supplies for the event. “We just want to help out where we can,” said Dawn White, co-owner of Pacific Harvest who inquired about helping feed the firefighters.
The Stow House museum will be closed for weekend tours.
For more information, call Harwood at 805.681.7216 or 805.637.6783.
Dacia Harwood is the events and marketing coordinator for Rancho La Patera & Stow House.
Serendipity: Sustainable U.S. Document
The Preamble to the Constitution still accurately reflects who we are and who we want to be as a nation.
Perhaps because of Independence Day or the upcoming election, I found myself in the shower reciting words I memorized in sixth grade. Then I started thinking about them. I decided that the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States exemplifies a sustainable document. It is a perfect encapsulation, both necessary and sufficient, of the goals of America:
Why did the founders, and all for whom they wrote, want to bind themselves together? The colonies had different histories and goals; they competed in commerce and disagreed on religion, slavery and other issues. Yet they wanted to unite — to stand together — for the future. The Preamble doesn’t name particular issues, partly because there wasn’t agreement even on ones as basic as human rights. More importantly, its generality reflected the founders’ desire that the document be broad enough to be relevant to a posterity who would live with these new ideas.
When I parse the words of the Preamble, I am struck that the document defines who we are, not by contrasting ourselves to other nations or other behavior. Rather, it defines who we aspire to be as an independent people, compared to no one but ourselves.
The objectives of this new government — justice, tranquility, defense, welfare and liberty — are named singly yet can only be achieved together. They are intertwined ideals, to be strived for in community, like the states themselves.
The founders knew what justice was, both as perpetrators and victims. Though they had a different idea than we do today about whom the People were, they desired to establish justice for them. They understood that domestic tranquility was possible only when people feel they are being treated justly. In turn, domestic tranquility is the norm when the people’s general welfare is promoted and they are protected from foreign invasion.
What are the blessings of liberty? Then and now, they are the freedoms to be who we are, to think what we want to think, to worship the way we want to worship and to make our way in the world the way we wish, while not impinging on the freedoms of others and others-to-come: our posterity. These blessings, when applied without prejudice, insure justice and promote welfare.
Attempts to achieve these objectives separately have failed not only in conflicts around the world but within the United States. Slavery took a civil war to abolish, but it was another century before this blessing of liberty was linked to general welfare in the form of blacks’ civil rights. Similar stories hold for women’s rights, gay rights and the freedom of religion. Perhaps early efforts to restore our environment faltered because the general welfare was decoupled from the cause of justice for us and our posterity.
The Preamble is succinct and elegant; specific and yet flexible. It is cherished by Democrats, Republicans and independents; daughters of the American Revolution; new citizens; and immigrants both legal and illegal. This sustainable document represents the great work-in-progress that is the United States.
Happy birthday, America!
Karen Telleen-Lawton’s column is a mélange of observations supporting sustainability. Graze her writing and excerpts from Canyon Voices: the Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon at www.canyonvoices.com.
Letter to the Editor: Santa Barbara Mayor Responds to Newspaper’s Mudballs
On July 2, the Santa Barbara News-Press editorial page editor launched a number of mudballs at me. Here is my response:
I did not cause a “deadly youth gang crisis.” The truth is that the budget for the Police Department has climbed each year I have been mayor. The fiscal year we just ended, it was $32,206,702 and this new fiscal year has an increase to $32,960,553. The overall crime rate has fallen steadily over the past decade, and this city has stepped up to pull together youth-serving organizations for a short-term summer strategy focusing on core gang members and a longer-term strategy preventing and intervening in gang activities. It is working. Government, nonprofits, schools, businesses are all working together, making a difference in the lives of our youth.
Saying that I am “approving overdevelopment that is changing the essence of Santa Barbara” assumes that I act alone and that there is overdevelopment going on. The fact is that I don’t act alone, and we are a well-planned and well-managed city. Do I like the two buildings on Chapala Street that are so controversial? Not much, but I did not have anything to do with their approval. They were approved at the Planning Commission without an appeal. Yes, this town is changing, a steady growth rate over the past 50 years of a little over 1 percent a year. Now the growth rate has leveled off, less than 1 percent each of the last couple of years. Do I like the way this town has evolved? Yes, very much. We have managed our growth well here. It is one of the best places to live in the world, not only for its physical beauty but for its wonderful people who live here. We are a caring, compassionate people, ready to help our neighbors and to celebrate this place.
The editorial page editor says that I twice tried to get him fired. Show me the letters or the e-mails to that effect. He can’t because they don’t exist. Early in his career, I tried to get then-publisher Joe Cole to get him out into the community so he can see who we are and what we are about in order to write better editorials and opinion pieces. I have never tried to get him fired, although everyone knows I have had many reasons to. He cannot come up with any proof of this.
Show me any proof that I resent former Mayor Harriet Miller. It does not exist. I don’t. She has her style and I have mine, which is the way it should be. It was the editorial page editor who canceled my appearance on her radio show for no reason that I know of. I stand ready to come on the radio station anytime, and I have an open invitation to the editorial page editor to come on my radio program.
I have no idea about the other mudballs he threw. I don’t remember refusing to have a picture taken with Bruce Rittenhouse on the beach of Puerto Vallarta, nor do I know of any letters about former Mayor Miller I would have delivered to the News-Press. Why would I do either of those things? Nor have I ever ordered my husband to do anything. We are married 44 years because of a mutual respect for each other, not for any ordering around.
Mud is better when it is not flung around.
Mayor Marty Blum
Santa Barbara
As Blaze Rages, Evacuee is Forced Out of His Home Away from Home
An SBCC student from Redding living in a house threatened by the Gap Fire finds solace at San Marcos' Red Cross shelter.
A raging fire creeping down a mountain toward civilization. A mandatory evacuation order. A fire-related power outage darkening 150,000 homes.
Given the turmoil caused by the growing Gap Fire in the mountains above Goleta, one might expect the evacuation center at San Marcos High School on Hollister Avenue to be teeming with refugees.
But as of early Wednesday evening, the number of evacuees taking advantage of the free food and cots offered by the Santa Barbara County Chapter of the American Red Cross amounted to a grand total of one: Santa Barbara City College student Erik Hoyer.
“I decided to come here, get some food, take a nap and cross my fingers,” the 23-year-old commercial-diving student said while sitting on one of several military-green cots laid out in the school’s cleared-out cafeteria.
A native of Redding, Hoyer has no family in the area. He has been living with three roommates in an old farmhouse in Glen Annie Canyon, whose residents were ordered out of their homes Tuesday night.
The seven-bedroom farmhouse belongs to a woman who recently retired and moved to Arizona. About 10 p.m. Tuesday — four hours after the fire started — Hoyer said he and his roommates were watching the movie The French Connection when they heard a knock on the door.
They answered, and a fire supervisor with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department told them about the evacuation order. Interestingly, they learned that “mandatory evacuation” doesn’t mean people must leave, but that they cannot return if they choose to do so.
The message came as a surprise to the roommates. “I looked at the fire and I didn’t think it was anything,” Hoyer said.
Two roommates left, and Hoyer and another stayed. The next morning, Hoyer awoke to find a fire truck in his driveway — as was the case for nearly every other driveway on the block.
He chatted with a firefighter before going to work and learned that if the fire got too close, the houses would be sprayed with a fire repellant in an attempt to add a protective layer. For Hoyer, the gravity of the situation was beginning to sink in.
Hoyer, who does finish carpentry at Bomo Design on State Street, found it difficult to concentrate at work. At lunchtime, he decided to leave for the day.
He headed home but was stopped by a blockade of fire and sheriff vehicles at the end of North Glenn Annie Road and told he wasn’t allowed in. Hoyer was told he could go to San Marcos High School, and he did. Hoyer said he was treated well by the handful of Red Cross volunteers stationed at the school.
“They gave me pizza and water,” he said. “The Red Cross has been doing a great job.”
Red Cross volunteer Troy Harris said the low turnout is pretty typical for this area. “It’s unusual to have anybody show up, so this is nice,” he said of Hoyer’s visit. “There are people in Santa Barbara who prefer a hotel bed to a cot. … But whoever is here, we will feed.”
Hoyer said he was a little worried about his other roommate, who as of Wednesday night was still at home.
At 9:30 p.m., Hoyer and a friend were on the roof of the friend’s house on Turnpike Road watching the blaze make its way down the hill.
“I’m looking at it now. It’s lighting up the sky,” Hoyer said from his cell phone. “It’s huge.”
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .
Goleta Council Approves Growth Plan for Fairview Gardens
A five-year improvement project is designed to get the organic farm's labor camp up to code — and away from neighbors.
To the chagrin of neighbors, a labor camp on the premises of Fairview Gardens organic farm, which has generated many noise complaints through the years, will grow in the short term so it can move away from its neighbors in the long term.
The Goleta City Council on Tuesday night unanimously gave the nod to a five-year improvement plan for the organic farm, whose labor camp violates code and is made up of families living in bathroom-less yurts — a kind of cross between a tent and a trailer.
The proposal stirred up old resentments between the farm and the neighbors, who long have complained about the noise of the nearby labor camp, as well as the noise of roosters, which were removed from the premises this spring. On Tuesday, a handful of neighbors spoke out against the plan.
“Families living in tents or yurts are very noisy; there’s no sound barrier or insulation,” said neighbor Larry Cobb, a resident of the nearby Via Fiori neighborhood who says he has dealt with the farm’s practices for decades. “Adding more residents to this area will only compound the problem.”
Fairview Gardens is on 12.5 acres of land that traditionally have been used for agriculture for more than a century. While visitors have praised the farm’s efforts to create an organic and sustainable agricultural operation, neighbors have had to live with noise and seemingly unsanitary conditions for years.
Located on Fairview Avenue just south of Cathedral Oaks Road, the farm’s biggest concentration of laborers is a collection of three yurts and a trailer toward the back of the farm that abuts several cul-de-sacs off Wakefield Road. The proposal calls for replacing the trailer, which is not up to code, with a yurt, and adding a fifth yurt closer to the front of the farm to accommodate a five-member family living in a trailer.
The plan calls for moving all of the yurts toward the front of the farm within a year. Officials said the farm must keep the labor camp in place for a while, primarily to allow it to install a water and sewer system at the site of the future camp. Within five years, the trailers will be replaced with permanent housing.
The temporary labor camp soon will be served by a mobile kitchen and a mobile shower facility.
A separate project calls for restoring the 115-year-old farmhouse.
The on-again, off-again tension flared up again in late 2007 when the farm, in an effort to get permits for several structures, became the target of complaints from neighbors about its poultry operations and laborers’ living conditions.
The farm passed health inspections, but it became clear that the living conditions for the farm’s workers were inadequate and the noise from the roosters were a nuisance. The farm’s administration, reputed to have been unresponsive and even unfriendly, now is working with neighbors and the city.
Although the City Council’s vote was unanimous, council member Eric Onnen said he found the idea of the temporarily enlarged labor camp difficult to swallow.
“I am blown out of the water by this yurt,” he said. “This is a hell of a kink in this process.”
Most council members, though, praised the farm for its apparent newfound willingness to work with the city and the neighbors. They also sought to assure neighbors that they will not allow the farm to shirk its responsibility to abide by the timeline.
Noozhawk staff writer Rob Kuznia can be reached at .
Gap Fire Smoke Causes Outage, Cutting Power to 150,000
Smoke from the Gap Fire caused a massive power outage Wednesday evening, affecting 150,000 Southern California Edison customers from Goleta to Carpinteria, Edison officials said.
Edison spokesman Rudy Gonzales said the fire’s heavy smoke interfered with the 220,000-volt lines at a north Goleta power station that serves as the primary feed to the South Coast.
“If it’s heavy enough, smoke can act as a conductor between two lines,” Gonzales said. “It’s the equivalent of two lines smacking together.”
Gonzales said Edison is trying to work around the problem by using other lines. As a result, about half of the 150,000 homes regained power minutes after the outage, but the northern part of Santa Barbara and much of Goleta remained without power late into the night, he said.
“If the smoke lightens up, the system will be back in operation,” he said.
Officials on Wednesday night were urging residents who do have power to conserve, because Edison officials were redirecting power from the main conduit — which is down — to minor ones, which aren’t as reliable. As a result, the lights were still mostly out in Goleta as of 9:40 p.m., although some were flickering, said Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Carrie Topliffe.
Boy Scout Rises to the Challenge
Aidan Ehler participates in the Ordeal, a prestigious but difficult first step to full Order of the Arrow membership.
Only three young men from Ventura County were elected by their Scoutmaster and fellow unit members to participate in an Order of the Arrow induction ceremony. Aidan Ehler, a recent eighth-grade graduate from Marymount of Santa Barbara, was one of the three chosen to participate in the ceremony, called the Ordeal.
When asked about the values he learned from this experience, Ehler said, “I learned about cheerful service. You work even when you’re not asked to, you do the right thing even when you’re not being looked at and by not asking why or questioning what is asked, you just get it done.”
According to Scout information, to be eligible for the Order of the Arrow membership, Ehler had to hold the First Class rank as a registered member of a Boy Scout troop. He had to had 15 days and nights of Boy Scout camping, including a long-term camp of six consecutive days and five nights of resident camping
Ehler is a member of a patrol group called the Rhinos in Ventura County. Ehler has been a Boy Scout only since fifth grade but has accomplished more than most do during their entire service.
When asked how he accomplished so much in such a short time, he said, “I did it by going to every single summer camp and participating in every activity that my troop did. You have to stay incredibly active and focused.”
Ehler embodies everything that the Boy Scouts stands for and demonstrates these important qualities in his life each day. Ehler says what has been most valuable to him has been the knowledge of survival skills to get through almost any situation in life.
He says he loves that the Boy Scouts follow the “old-fashioned” way of doing things and attends regular backpacking trips with his troop. They hike into a designated camping area and hike for a while before they camp for the night, then continue to hike and camp at higher elevations each day.
Ehler says he looks forward to using these skills, as well as others acquired throughout his schooling, as he embarks on his journey into high school next year.
Sara Jenkins represents Marymount of Santa Barbara.
Symphony’s Musical Fireworks Sure to Be Spectacular
The Santa Barbara Symphony's holiday concert in the Sunken Gardens is a worthy tradition.
There are many kinds of traditions at work in the world, and there is no legally binding definition of the term.
A perfect example of the latter kind of tradition is the free patriotic concert offered by the Santa Barbara Symphony each year in the Sunken Gardens of the county courthouse, on the anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776).
These concerts began in the latter years of the music directorship of Varujan Kojian (1985-93) and are a solidly established Santa Barbara tradition.
After a pre-concert at 4 p.m. by Peter Feldman and the bluegrass band The Very Lonesome Boys, this year’s concert will begin at its traditional time of 5 p.m.
The concert will be conducted by Diane Wittry, music director of the Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra (for it is also a strong Santa Barbara tradition to turn over the podium to remarkable women conductors).
It was Wittry’s inspiration to have her program celebrate U.S. geography — since history and geography are twin disciplines — and the concert has been given the motto “Travel Across America,” with selected pieces representing various cities and regions across the land: John Williams’ Liberty Fanfare (from Rocky), New York, New York, St. Louis Blues, Mardi Gras from Mississippi and I left my Heart in San Francisco.
The concert also will feature performances by the Santa Barbara Symphony Choral Society under music director Jo Anne Wasserman. It will join the symphony in singing such American classics as This Land is Your Land, God Bless the USA, An American Hymn and the Armed Forces Salute. (If you think it odd that a Woody Guthrie song should be on this bill, remember that the greatest song of Revolutionary France, La Marseillaise, was written in support of the monarchy of Louis XVI.)
Tchaikovsky’s rousing 1812 Overture, American only by adoption, will close the concert with a bang.
Gerald Carpenter covers the arts as a Noozhawk contributor.
Goleta Emergency Preparedness Partnership Faces First Test
The Gap Fire sends the alliance into active mode as it promotes disaster-safety education.
The Gap Fire marks the first serious disaster the Goleta Partnership for Preparedness has faced since its creation in September.
The partnership is an alliance of the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, the city of Goleta and the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter.
The organizations joined forces to promote disaster-safety education and leadership to ensure the community would be prepared in case of a threatening event, such as the brush fire that ignited Tuesday.
Goleta City Manager Dan Singer said the partnership put a lot of initial focus on business preparedness.
“When you think about major disasters, if it strikes in the daytime, there is likelihood that companies have a lot of employees from out of the area,” Singer said.
The focus now has turned to active emergency operation mode, with the separate arms of the alliance functioning in individual community roles, he said.
“Red Cross is prepared to do massive shelter and care, the city is mostly involved in traffic control and police presence as well as evacuations,” Singer said. “The chamber and business community aren’t really intimately involved.”
The Red Cross is offering free disaster volunteer training classes Thursday and Friday for residents who would like to help provide shelter and food for people affected by the fire.
The “Fulfilling Our Mission” and “Mass Care” trainings will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. “Shelter Operations” and a “Shelter Operations Simulation” will be presented from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. All of the classes will be held at the chapter office, 2707 State St. Volunteers must attend both days of training to assist in local Red Cross relief efforts. To reserve a space or for more information, call 805.687.1331.
Janet Stanley, CEO of the Santa Barbara area Red Cross, said a shelter has been set up at San Marcos High School. As of early Wednesday evening, only one person had taken advantage of the service.
“We deployed one of the Goleta emergency preparedness disaster trailers to the shelter,” Stanley said, “and we had it up and going in one hour.”
Purchase of the Red Cross shelter trailers was the first official priority of the partnership, the result of a successful 2007 campaign to raise money and support.
The trailer has emergency supplies for up to 100 people, from basics such as snacks and blankets to comforting amenities such as crayons and coloring books for children. The Red Cross will provide mental health services to those who are in need. More supplies will be driven to the shelter if necessary.
Noozhawk intern Mollie Helmuth can be reached at .
CHP to Be Out in Force Through Fourth of July Weekend
As California motorists head toward traditionally crowded highways on the Fourth of July holiday, the California Highway Patrol urges drivers and passengers to protect themselves by avoiding alcohol, observing speed limits and wearing safety belts.
“The summer is in full swing, and everyone wants to squeeze in as much fun as possible,” said Capt. Jeff Sgobba, commander of the CHP’s Santa Barbara area office. “Traffic volumes may be high and, unfortunately, so is the potential for collisions.”
Last year, 18 people died in crashes during the 30-hour July Fourth holiday. CHP officers made 568 DUI arrests in that period. This year, every available CHP officer will be on the road during the “maximum-enforcement period, which will begin at 6:01 p.m. Thursday and end at midnight Sunday.
Independence Day also marks the first holiday since California’s hands free cell phone laws went into effect Tuesday. “If they need to make or take a call, drivers must remember to keep their hands on the wheel, not on the phone,” Sgobba said. “Drivers under 18 must refrain from using the cell phone when they’re driving a car.”
During the holiday weekend, the CHP will be joining forces with statewide traffic safety agencies from Nevada, Arizona and Oregon in C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) enforcement focusing on speed, DUI and safety belt use.
“We want people to think safety whenever they get behind the wheel this summer,” Sgobba said. “Common sense and courtesy will go a long way toward achieving that goal, but if a driver chooses to ignore our sug