Music Academy of the West Has Plans for a Downtown Hub

••• “What was most recently a seasonal Halloween store and before that the home of a Forever 21 clothing store”—and was slated to be a hotel—”soon will become another home to the Music Academy of the West. The organization has acquired the building at 901 State Street [at Canon Perdido] in Santa Barbara to offer programming and a variety of events. […] The academy stated that it has ‘plans to transform it into a dynamic new hub for music education and community engagement.'” —Noozhawk

••• “The number of collisions in Santa Barbara has risen steadily during the past five years, including a big uptick in 2024, even though overall traffic is down, according to the City of Santa Barbara. […] The city plans to target community education, make road improvements and take other actions based on its findings to help reduce collisions.” My two cents: we have to get people to stop looking at their phones while driving. —Noozhawk

••• “Barney Brantingham, a master hand of journalism, a quintessential newspaper reporter and columnist, and a scribe known for his must-read Off the Beat columns that captured portraits of life in Santa Barbara, has died. He was 93. Brantingham, one of the last of a generation of newspaper reporters who shaped a community with his insider writing voice, worked at the Santa Barbara News-Press for 46 years.” —Noozhawk (and Newsmakers)

••• “After 35 years of community use and enjoyment, the Carpinteria Community Pool is due for its first major revamp [and] renovations will need to rely on community support, staff say.” The Carp pool is a gem—we’ve given once, and we will happily give again. —Coastal View News

••• “Old Spanish Days and Earl Warren Showgrounds will host separate rodeos in August, two months after announcing they would not jointly present the Fiesta Stock Horse Show & Rodeo this year.” —KEYT

••• “Who will be UC Santa Barbara’s new chancellor? Despite sitting Chancellor Henry Yang preparing to leave his position in a few weeks, no replacement has been named. […] For whatever reason, the UC administration is not providing updates about who will take over, and when.” —Noozhawk

••• The tree of the month is the white mulberry: “In fruiting varieties, the male flowers produce abundant pollen that is catapulted from the stamens at the astonishing speed of approximately 380 miles per hour! The female flowers develop into clusters of small fruits that are similar to raspberries.  The berries can be white, pink, or deep purple and are delightfully sweet but, surprisingly, otherwise lacking in flavor. The berries are very attractive to voracious squirrels and hungry birds; through them, the seeds are widely spread, along with a dollop of fertilizer.” —Edhat (photo by David Gress courtesy Santa Barbara Beautiful)

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