Last night was the big meeting where 46 applicants for the vacant seat on the Santa Barbara City Council made their pitch as to why they should be "the chosen one." I wasn't there so I can't tell you anything about it, but there's plenty of good solid coverage in the Daily Sound and on Noozhawk.
If you haven't had a chance to hear the applicants you'll have one more opportunity this coming Monday when there will be a forum that will be streamed live on the Internet. I'll be the moderator on the online chat portion of the event.
If there were a lot of empty seats in the peanut gallery at the City Council meeting last night it was because everybody was a couple of blocks up the street at the Lobero Theater where a packed house saw the premiere showing of Above Santa Barbara.
The film which documents from a high, and sometimes not so high, perspective the County from Carpinteria to Guadalupe involves some of the same talent that was behind Citizen McCaw. When asked by Rod Lathim during the Q & A that immediately followed the screening of the film what led him to become involved in Above Santa Barbara, producer Sam Tyler replied, "I was looking for a project that didn't involve the threat of being sued by Wendy McCaw."
The screening was followed by a reception hosted by Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, one of the funders of the film, over at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. With an open bar, lots of good food and the charming ambiance of the Museum, the gig was on a par with many of those famous Santa Barbara Film Fest parties.
In other news around town, Victoria Sanchez, daughter of Santa Barbara's Police Chief, Cam Sanchez, has been hired by KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, to be the the station's Santa Barbara news bureau reporter. She had previously worked behind the scenes in the news department at KEYT.
And finally, if you hear a lot of John Lennon songs on the radio today its because it is the 30th anniversary of his murder in front of his apartment building in New York City. I'll never forget that day as it's also my birthday.
© 2010 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com
