Something To Carp About: Recent Episodes
Dennis Mitchell
Interviews and discussion of the many issues facing the California beach community of Carpinteria. STCA seeks to shed light on the joys of living in "Carp" (which is situated exactly between Santa Barbara and Ventura), along with a wide-ranging discussion of the top local issues: Ocean/beach/wildlife preservation, history, the local economy, agriculture, cannabis and how we're all being impacted by covid. Join host and Carpinteria resident Dennis Mitchell and his guests for fun conversation and good information.
00:00 Your humble narrator provides brief updates on a couple of hot local issues: The upgrading of the 700 block of Linden Avenue and the firestorm of controversy over ballot proposition T.
03:29 A fun chat with Evelyn Spence, the new managing editor of Coastal View News. CVN is a hometown newspaper of superior quality, and Evelyn fills us in on how she’s keeping her finger on the pulse of the community and protecting the paper’s legacy.
22:22 Another fresh new face on the local scene is Jayme Yahr, who recently assumed the helm as executive director of the Carpinteria Valley Museum of History. Since I’m still pretty much a newbie in town, this was my first visit to the museum, and I was rewarded with a private audio tour.
48:49 A remote section of Bates Beach has long been considered OK for nudity, even though technically it’s still illegal. Local activist Gary Summers provides the historical backdrop, and updates us on the effort to remove the last existing legal barriers to making it an official clothing-optional beach.
00:00 The 36th annual California Avocado Festival takes place October 1-2 on Linden Avenue in Carpinteria. In this episode we touch base with organizer/promoter Mike Lazaro to find out what challenges he faced in bringing the event back after a two-year hiatus.
11:57 Cannabis By the Sea magazine offers a unique, objective look at the world of medicinal cannabis and the advances in science and law that are bringing it to more people who need it. To find out more about this outstanding publication and to discuss the state of legal cannabis in Carpinteria, I sat down with publisher Melinda Bie and editor Amy Marie Orozco.
37:55 We head back to Murphy’s Vinyl Shack in downtown Carpinteria for a new edition of “The Vinyl Say.” This time proprietor Kevin Murphy fills us in on the demand for 60’s music, why some Beatles records are still so hard to find and why there hasn’t been a Rolling Stones Anthology up to now.
In this episode we'll cover education in Carpinteria, why the town is so beautiful, and we'll continue our discussion of the issues surrounding cannabis legalization in one of the state's most productive growing areas.
Guests and start times:
00:00 Carpinteria Unified School District President Diana Rigby fills us in on the challenges she and her staff faced in getting the new school year off the ground. Listen and you'll see what good hands the children of Carp are in when they go to school each day.
18:22 Brian Mootz joins us for a lively chat about the group known as Carpinteria Beautiful. Hear how they keep the town neat and tidy with small army of volunteers who pick up trash, repaint bus benches and provide other improvements to keep Carinteria...Beautiful!
34:46 We continue our previous conversation with cannabis guru Alex Robles, including the prospects of Carpinteria's first area dispensary and what it means to growers now that the cultivation tax has been scrapped. We'll even take a trip outside the studio to discuss homegrown cannabis.
"Something To Carp About" is heard several times a week on Carpinteria Valley Radio at www.carpinteriavalleyradio.com. Send inquiries to radioknbs@gmail.com.
A fun trio of guests this time around, starting with Alcazar Theatre General Manager Kim Gutierrez. We'll find out how she keeps the historic theatre clean, modern and relevant. Then we'll walk up Carpinteria Avenue and visit with Jody Thomas, the librarian at the new Carpinteria Community Library. You'll get the latest on the transition and what's happened since the grand opening. And it's our first edition of "The Vinyl Say!" featuring Murphy's Vinyl Shack proprietor Kevin Murphy, all about vinyl records and how to acquire and take care of them.
It’s here! The first STCA podcast in magazine-style format, with topics that include helping families in need, letting dogs run leash-free in some areas, and how things stand with the ongoing evolution of cannabis legalization. Guests and start times:
00:00 The Carpinteria Children’s Project facility on 8th Street brings a long list of essential services together under one roof. Ismael Ullom fills us in on the group's heroic efforts to help families in need.
13:03 C-Dog is a group of Carp dog lovers who have established the city’s only leash-free dog park. Van Fleisher and Lorraine McIntire give us the history and mission of the organization with details on the legalities and benefits of going leash-free.
41:30 Alex Robles is one of our region’s leading cannabis experts and a past guest. This time we’ll discuss the elimination of California’s cultivation tax and what’s next for the industry.
"Something To Carp About" is heard several times a week on Carpinteria Valley Radio at www.carpinteriavalleyradio.com. Send inquiries to radioknbs@gmail.com.
For this episode I've gathered audio clips from the first batch of podcasts as sort of a "best-of" edition. Listen for highlights of interviews with cannabis expert Alex Robles, Kevin Murphy of Murphy's Vinyl Shack, surfing photographer Brent Flaaten and a bit of the hot debate over the proposed Surfliner Inn. The podcast is being retooled to present more guests and topics each time, so stay tuned, another fun episode will be posted soon! In the meantime, you can listen to this and other episodes regularly at www.carpinteriavalleyradio.com.
Channelkeeper takes the lead in helping protect our most precious resource, and this time we talk to Executive Director Ted Morton about the group's mission and history. You'll learn about their presence in Carpinteria and how they seek remedies when problems rise to the surface in the water and at our beaches.
It was my privilege for this episode to chat with the 2020 Carpinterian of the Year Beth Cox. Listen to find out what the award entails and why Beth was a perfect choice. You'll get insight into why Carp is a place where real help is always within reach and how giving is its own reward.
The issue of legal cannabis and its impact on Carpinteria continues to command interest among locals. With so much change happening and still on the way, I caught up with Peter Dugre, the Executive Director of CARP Growers, to help put it all in perspective. Listen for the latest on the "peace agreement" with a local anti-cannabis group, the impending arrival of Carp's first area dispensary and more.
The Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center is one of the town's many unique attractions, so to learn more about it I visited with Executive Director Linda Rosso and IT Specialist/Volunteer Lann Ledbetter. We discussed the new "Nurture and Nature" exhibit and got some insight into how the facility is run. Listen to learn how exhibits are planned and how local schools and young people play a critical role.
For this bonus edition you'll learn all about the cool tribute band Shakey Zimmerman, as we chat with founder and lead singer Pat Nevins. Listen as Pat expresses his passion for Bob Dylan's music and how the group came to be. As you'll hear, there will be an impressive Carpinteria/Santa Barbara presence at the concert Saturday, May 21, 2022 at the Alcazar Theatre. Check out the band at www.shakeyzimmerman.com.
For this episode we sat down with Annie Sly, former co-proprietor of Sly's Restaurant on Linden Avenue. Carpinteria is facing big changes these days, and the building that housed Sly's is closer than most to the site of a proposed boutique hotel and a major renovation project up the street. Annie offers her insights as a longtime Carpinterian on the town's evolution and the impact these projects could have.
One of Carpinteria's claims to fame is that it is home to some of the best surfing conditions in the world. Surfers the world over come to Rincon Point to practice and compete, and joining me this time is local surf photographer/enthusiast Brent Flaaten. Join us as we explore the world of the waves, advances in surfboard technology and what makes surfers surf. Brent is a former Carp resident who also offers his views on where the city stands and where it's headed.
The Harbor Seal Habitat is one of Carpinteria's most visited places, and my guests are the city's vice-mayor Al Clark and Emily Morrill, both of whom serve as volunteers to help keep the seals safe. It's a very involved process that takes dedication and a sincere love for the animals. You have to see it to believe it, and on this episode we'll try to bring it a little closer to you. The volunteer website is www.carpinteriasealwatch.org.
Families in Carpinteria are excited about the new skate park, which will be breaking ground soon. The project's roots go back decades, and to fill us in on the details my guest is Peter Bonning, the Vice President of the Carpinteria Skate Foundation. All you need to know about the skate park in one fun podcast.
The journey of discovery into my new hometown continues, with lifelong Carpinterian Tina Fanucchi-Frontado. Join us for a lively discussion of some of the top issues facing locals, including the proposed Surfliner Inn and the proliferation of cannabis growing. Tina is involved in the Women’s History Month events around town, and we’ll also take a look back at the town’s colorful past and what the near future holds.
This episode completes the last podcast, during which my guest turned the tables and interviews your humble host. Alex Robles, Program Director of Green Coast Radio and a leading cannabis expert, had just wrapped up our chat for STCA #4 when he decided it would be fun to pick my brain and learn more about the foundation of this podcast. Join us as we discuss the history of my Breakfast With The Beatles show, my tenures at various radio stations and the present state of radio.
For this episode I sat down with Alex Robles, host of the "In My Grow" podcast and the Program Director at Green Coast Radio. It's about all things cannabis, particularly why mass legalization hasn't turned out like we thought it would. The struggles faced by growers, the fight to open more dispensaries, when and how to grow your own, all on the table for this episode because it's high time.
We're on location this time, talking with Kevin Murphy, the proprietor of Murphy's Vinyl Shack at 977 Linden Avenue in Carpinteria. Carp doesn't have all the amenities that a big city has, but it has a record store that's right up there with the best of them. Join a couple of hopeless music geeks as we discuss how Kevin's cool store got where it is, the state of the vinyl revival, and what it's like to do business in Carpinteria.
We're taking an in-depth look at the project to widen highway 101 between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara, with special guest Das Williams. He's the county supervisor for District 1, which includes much of the project. We'll discuss timelines, sound walls, and worker & driver safety, along with speculate on the impact it will have on Carpinteria when it's finished.
Our first edition features a fun chat with longtime Carpinterian and fellow broadcaster David Jay. Join us as we explore the lighter side of living in Carp, and also get to a serious discussion of the proposed Surfliner Inn, tourism and the impact that legalized cannabis has had on the town.