••• The city’s Waterfront Department released the RFP for 1 Garden Street, the 400-square-foot stone building at the corner of Cabrillo Boulevard. I still like the idea of roller-skate rentals.
••• Construction on the final segment of Highway 101 widening officially begins April 6, so use the Los Patos Way off-ramp while you can: “The first change drivers will notice is the permanent closure of the southbound off-ramp at Los Patos Way. Then the northbound off-ramp at Cabrillo Boulevard that exits from the left will close a few weeks later.” Construction on the segment is expected to last through 2028, but at least we’ll get a third (rush-hour carpool) lane and a southbound on-ramp at Hot Springs Road/Cabrillo Boulevard. Every time I’m stuck in traffic while the carpool lane in Carp is more or less empty, I wonder whether carpool lanes really incentivize people to ride together. Is a primary purpose to punish solo drivers? Not all of us are commuting, so it’s not as if we have an option to bring someone along. And would it not be better for air quality if cars weren’t sitting around in stop-and-start traffic?
••• Two more return engagements at the Santa Barbara Bowl: Bob Dylan with Lucinda Williams (June 17) and Jungle (October 9).
••• The Music Academy of the West released its Summer Festival lineup, and there are some surprises, including Aaron Copland’s “Lincoln Portrait” with narration by Josh Brolin; Kevin Puts’s opera, “Elizabeth Cree,” a “Gothic thriller” set in Victorian-era London; and Gustav Holst’s “The Planets, An HD Odyssey,” pairing the Academy Festival Orchestra with NASA footage.
••• “With Runyon selling The Post, do we know if they are going to continue to develop Platform on the southeast corner of Garden and E. Yanonali?” asked Curtis. Yes, indeed, says cofounder David Fishbein, adding that “we are also staying on at The Post for leasing, property management and marketing.”
••• The Big Yellow House in Summerland (108 Pierpont Avenue) sold for $5.497 million; the buyer is Cordara Holdings LLC.
••• A consignment shop called Neighbor Neighbor has opened at 801 State Street (at De La Guerra). Owner Taiana Giefer says her goal is to make it feel like a sample sale in downtown L.A.: Each “collection” includes around 1,500 pieces sourced from roughly 50 Santa Barbara County closets, the whole store turns over every month or two.
••• Opening March 27 at Sullivan Goss: “the sixth solo exhibition by magical realist painter Susan McDonnell. Known for her meticulous technique and poetic sensibility, McDonnell continues her exploration of the natural world through a series of luminous still-life paintings and three exquisite drawings, each asking us to consider the miraculous and mysterious lives of the flora and fauna around us.” Below: “Bumblebees and Blueberry Blooms.”
••• “Stagnant pools leftover from rain and sustained above-average temps combined to create ideal conditions for a surge in winter mosquito breeding,” reports the Mosquito and Vector Management District of Santa Barbara County, which is investigating whether the invasive “ankle biter” aedis aegypti mosquito has made its way here yet. (Hope not, because it’s known for spreading Dengue fever and other diseases.) Anyway, this part was news to me: the district will give residents mosquitofish to place in their water features. For more exciting pest info, sign up for the organizations newsletter, The Itching Post.
••• Up now at the SBIFF McHurley Film Center on State Street: an “exhibit featuring David and Sandy Wasco’s Academy Award winning work on the film La La Land […] Residents of Santa Barbara since 2012, [the couple is] known for designing the early Wes Anderson movies as well as Quentin Tarantino’s most notable films. The exhibit shows the process of designing a film from early meetings with Director Damien Chazelle, through scouting locations, to designing the built sets.” I love La La Land! It appears that you have to buy a movie ticket in order to see the exhibit; lucky for us all, Christian Petzold’s latest, Miroirs No. 3, opens on Friday. P.S. How is it possible that the SBIFF and its theaters are not on Instagram? UPDATE: TM points out there is indeed an Instagram account, which I can see from my personal account but not the Siteline one, so I have to assume the organization has blocked Siteline.
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Re: carpool lanes, it would be nice if they could instead be toll lanes for single drivers (and free/reduced for carpoolers) so they could also serve as a revenue generator for infrastructure and maintenance. Is that at all possible in the future? or would it be cost- or space-prohibitive to install the systems needed for that?
Agreed, toll lanes would be a much better use than carpool lanes given the ability to generate revenue.
Toll lanes for single drivers are just a way to let rich people get by traffic. The incentive should be to carpool and not for one to buy their way to bypass everyone else.
It can do both – raise revenue for infrastructure investments & incentivize carpooling.
SBIFF is on instagram. https://www.instagram.com/officialsbiff
They also have a showtimes app.
Was it necessary for some reason to block the southbound off-ramp at Los Patos Way so soon? A lot of cars use the current southbound offramp to Cabrillo Blvd-Hot Springs Road. If all of these vehicles add on to the vehicles previously using the Olive Mill [Spring Road] exit, there may be a logjam at the Spring Road-Olive Mill intersection, with cars backed up onto 101.
100% agree about the carpool lane. I don’t think the carpool lane really increases more ride sharing. It seems really dumb to build a lane and keep it empty during the am commute, while the other two lanes move slowly. This might work in bigger cities but here on my morning commute from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara all i see is an empty third lane.
Car pool lanes are only used during early a.m. and late afternoon rush hours. The rest of the time it is an additional lane & available to use.
We do not need toll roads in SB! Just another tax…..more revenue for what???? Additional miss use of funds? Add to already inflated salaries and pensions!
It was tax dollars that paid for the widening project anyway. At least a toll would more fairly source funding from those who use the lanes. Like how a gas tax is paid only when you fill up.
According to statistics (before Donald Trump’s lies became the American way) the widening of a freeway encourages traffic. In 5-7 years after completion of widening, congestion will return and surpass previous levels of congestion.
100%. Soon as the 3 lanes are completed, CT will start over, adding #4. Americans continue to repeat their stupid mistakes over and over again.
Wow, have to bring him up when talking about a local freeway widening issue, living rent free in there isn’t he?
Well, you, know…the medication hasn’t been approved yet