Posted on June 19 at 10:30 a.m.

I read the agenda attachment on the school board website (see http://www.sbsdk12.org/board/attachments...). It says that kids who are eligible for free and reduced lunches would also likely be eligible for free bus transportation. This is estimated in the attachment to be 65% of the bused kids, since 65% overall are eligible for free and reduced lunch prices. So, they are only expecting 35% of kids to pay for bus rides.

The numbers of assistant principals for each junior high are in the agenda attachment, but not for the high schools.

On School Board Cuts Budget — Again

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Posted on June 2 at 10:57 p.m.

Where Kirk ended up living is complicated.

Whether same-sex marriage will come to be allowed is less so. Nate Silver, with whom I wouldn't try to disagree with on statistics, calculated that "Marriage bans ... are losing ground at a rate of slightly less than 2 points per year. So, for example, we'd project that a state in which a marriage ban passed with 60 percent of the vote last year would only have 58 percent of its voters approve the ban this year."

See http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/04/w... for his predicted years in which each state will have majority support for same-sex marriage. California is 2010.

On Gay Marriage in the Midwest

Posted on June 2 at 1:15 p.m.

Sorry, "birthplace or childhood home" depending on your continuity, that is.

On Gay Marriage in the Midwest

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Posted on June 2 at 1:13 p.m.

And Riverside, Iowa is the future birthplace of James T. Kirk (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside,_...). That, despite Starfleet HQ being at the Presidio in San Francisco.

On Gay Marriage in the Midwest

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Posted on May 11 at 5:39 p.m.

Thanks Ray and the rest of the Independent staff for your super reporting. In case you didn't see it, at http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5..., SusanG wrote:

"The best hour-by-hour coverage of the Jesusita Fire has been offered by the Santa Barbara Independent, a local alternative weekly. Their reporters have been swarming the area, relaying information into their newsroom and out onto the web from ridge lines, at the evacuation shelters, at fire service headquarters ... even riding bicycles through burned-out neighborhoods and taking down addresses of houses saved and lost. It's been an incredible tour de force of vital information in service of a community in need.

I'm guessing their staff didn't get the memo that "high-end journalism is dying" just because metro dailies are going broke."

On Fire Investigators Narrow Down Start Point

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Posted on April 13 at 9:42 p.m.

We are in Goleta, and at 4am Sunday morning several of our neighbors heard what sounded like two gunshots. (We didn't wake up.) Neighbors from 2-3 blocks away also heard them.

Any chance that these were sonic booms?

On Eastsiders Report Sunday Morning Gunshots

Posted on February 4 at 9:37 a.m.

Regarding "and even multiple sclerosis are on the rise in developed (i.e. neatnik) nations". The incidence of MS is much higher as you go to higher latitudes where kids get less sunshine (and thus make less Vitamin D). Kids staying inside to play video games and even vigorous use of sunscreen could explain a rise in MS--so that could make you feel good about being lazy about sunscreen.

On The Dirty Truth

Posted on August 5 at 9:11 p.m.

Have you checked with the local sheriffs on this? A car was recently stolen in our north Goleta neighborhood, and we heard 2nd hand that 10 cars have been stolen nearby in the past few weeks.

On Vehicle Thefts Declining, CHP Says