Gaucho Gossip

UCSB is considering a bid for the construction of Loma Paloma, an addition to the Manzanita Village dorm project that would include student facilities like lounges and spaces for recreational activities. Currently, Manzanita Village includes dorms, dining commons, and a student resource center. While the $3.4 million project was postponed due to lack of funds, the new bid has landed within range of the university’s budget. Construction could begin in April, making Loma Paloma ready for student use by June 2008. Associated Students is pushing UCSB to accept the bid.

A joint investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department and the Mammoth Lakes Police Department resulted in the 3/2 arrest of Isla Vista resident Steven Neff in connection with two 2002 attacks in which women were injected with the animal tranquilizer ketamine and then sexually assaulted. One victim was a skier at Mammoth Mountain and the other a jogger near Sandpiper Golf Course in Goleta. Neff pleaded guilty at a hearing on 3/5. The following day, the Santa Barbara Police Department announced that a former coworker of Neff’s at the International Sports Sciences Association in Carpinteria alleged that she, too, had been assaulted by Neff. For more information, visit independent.com.