At The Very Least: October

Singin’ in the Rain

Fans flock to new Amphitheatre’s grand opening concert

More than 2,000 people attended the St. Augustine Amphitheatre’s grand opening, the Blackwater Sol Revue, on Sept. 2, despite rainy weather.

“We never had any thoughts of canceling,” said Jenai Master, sales and administration manager at the Amphitheatre. “We’re a rain-or-shine venue. A little bit of rain is never going to slow us down.”

Some people expressed frustrations about the no-reentry policy and the charge to park, but overall the crowds seemed cheery and the organizers applauded their opening.

“We thought it went amazing. It exceeded our expectations,” said Ryan Dettra, marketing and promotions manager. “… To see everything actually work and how happy the fans were, it was a great experience.”

COMING SOON: $1.50/hour Parking Meters

It’s been a year since St. Augustine’s $20-million parking garage opened and, although its parking fees are not enough to cover its costs, city staff says its revenue could spike when downtown parking meters go to $1.50 an hour in January. At that point, the parking garage will be the cheapest place to park.

In mid-October, the city will begin a pilot program with new solar-powered parking meters around the downtown plaza, where parking is now free, and charge $1.50 an hour.

After straightening some of the program’s kinks, city staff expects to extend the new meters to all of downtown by January 2008, said City Comptroller Mark Litzinger.

However, people can buy prepaid parking credit cards, called Smart Cards, and pay 50 cents an hour. The Smart Card will be available at City Hall’s financial building on Bridge Street, and people can have any amount of money put on the card.

The new parking meters will accept change, dollar bills, credit cards, debit cards and Smart Cards.

Gargoyle Establishes Advisory Board

Flagler College’s newspaper, The Gargoyle, recently announced new policies aimed at clearing up the “gray area” that had students protesting about censorship last spring.

Gargoyle adviser Brian Thompson spent the summer writing the document, which outlines the publication’s mission, ethics and procedures for conflicts, including the creation of an advisory board.

The problem began in April, when the college administration changed quotes and otherwise edited content of an article written by a student for The Gargoyle.

According to the new system, complaints will be mediated through a board made up of a presidential designee, The Gargoyle adviser and editor, other faculty and a member of the professional media.

President Abare said in April, “The first and most important function (of The Gargoyle) is to promote the image and reputation of the institution.”

However, the new document lays out the purpose of The Gargoyle as:

• To serve as an extracurricular learning experience for aspiring journalists, communication majors and other students at Flagler College.
• To report news and provide information to the Flagler College community and other audiences in a fair, accurate and responsible manner.
• To serve as a forum for various opinions, perspectives, issues and viewpoints.
• To uphold the standards of the journalism profession and strictly adhere to all ethical guidelines to ensure the integrity and credibility of the newspaper.

Adult Zoning

The St. Augustine City Commission has been working on a proactive measure to create zones around the city for adult businesses. Hundreds of citizens have spoken out against the zones. However, before the ordinances, strip clubs, novelty shops and adult video stores could have moved into any commercial building, possibly even sidling in with the tourist shops on St. George Street. This third ordinance is an attempt to keep those companies to certain areas. The city already passed two regulations on the risqué businesses, dictating how they can operate, limiting “nude” dancing to thong and pasties and banning alcohol sales.

As of press time, the Commission approved the first reading of a fourth plan which, if approved, would allow adult entertainment in commercial zoning along U.S. 1. The final approval will be voted on at their Oct. 8 meeting.

Tasty Travels

Local teachers Richard “Cheech” Villadoniga and Lisette Robles will be starting a chapter of Slow Food after a summer trip trying to save America’s endangered cuisine. The trip started as Villadoniga won the Geoffrey Roberts Award, an international travel grant worth about $6,000, given each year to someone whose adventures will make a positive difference in the world of food, drink and travel.

The pair covered 14,611 miles over 27 states looking at foods on the verge of extinction.

Now Villadoniga is looking for other locals to create a chapter of Slow Food, an organization that “works to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education and connect producers of excellent foods with co-producers through events and initiatives,” according to their website. Contact Villadoniga at rvilladoniga@yahoo.com or go to eat-american.com for more information.

ART OF WAR

Marine combat artist captures conflict on canvas

Packing his pistol with his watercolors, his easel with his M-16, artist Kris Battles shipped out recently to fill the mission that has fallen upon only 350 others this century.

To make art out of war.

Battles, 39, moved a year ago from St. Augustine to Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia to begin his short-term deployments as one of two combat artist Marines.

He’s already had one run in Iraq, sketching soldiers and turning his work into paintings for the U.S. National Archive. Other than the demands of war, Battles is free to do as he pleases, wandering with a security clearance anywhere in the country he wants to paint. What he paints when he gets there is also his choice.

See more of Battles’ work and follow his travels on his blog, Sketchpad Warrior, at kjbattles.blogspot.com.