Santa Barbara

What are we to make of Twitter? Just about anything we want. A blizzard of tweets on the micro-blogging website from Saturday night's celebrity-crowded White House Correspondents Dinner showered us with froth, frou-frou and photos. An audience of hundreds of thousands, or more, had access to the treacly tweets. From the far coast, meanwhile, an amateur Twitter reporter (Tweeporter?

Like a horror-movie monster that pops up again after being pumped full of more holes than a pepper shaker, a plan to expand oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara just kept rising from the dead. Until now. After the ongoing oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico delivered a better-late-than-never epiphany to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger , he announced Monday that he no longer supports the proposal. Given that the prime contenders for Schwarzenegger's job, Democrat Jerry Brown and Republican Meg Whitman, both say they oppose new offshore drilling (Whitman says she'd approve new projects only if the environmental risks were next to zero)

Santa Barbara International Film Festival Where: Theaters in and around Santa Barbara, including the historic Arlington Theatre When: Thursday to Feb. 14 Price: Opening night film and gala, $60; four-ticket pack, $57 Contact: www.sbiff.org

I recommend this Santa Barbara bed-and-breakfast for its customer service, dedication and professionalism. I continue to love the quietness and peaceful atmosphere. The evening wines, pastries, cheeses, crackers, cakes and pies are excellent. Bath Street Inn, 1720 Bath St., Santa Barbara; (800) 549-2284, http://www.bathstreetinn.com . Rooms from $135. Thomas Ashley Carson

If you go The Arroyo Hondo Preserve is open on the first and third weekends of each month. $5-$10 donation is suggested. Reservations are required and can be made at (805) 567-1115 or arroyohondo@sblandtrust.org . Free nature hikes are held at 10 a.m. on the first Saturday and third Sunday of the month. The Coronado Butterfly Preserve is free and open daily. Carpinteria Bluffs are open daily for walking, hiking, painting and bike trail rides. For more information and directions, go to http://www.sblandtrust.org

There's aggressive panhandling, and then there's the fearsome strategy allegedly employed by Trevor Ian Ruggles. Authorities said Ruggles was arrested Monday on suspicion of multiple misdemeanors after a Santa Barbara police community services liaison observed him tossing a 22-inch machete into the air while cursing and yelling to passersby, “Give me your ... money.” His tactic didn't win much sympathy or result in donations from pedestrians, who...

Film-fest goers have got to eat too. So during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival , which runs Jan. 27 through Feb. 6, 30 restaurants are concocting dinnertime Film Feast menus to tease palates, fill tummies and send satiated movie buffs on their way to the next darkened theater. The fixed-price dinners also deliver economy to the pocketbook, with savings up to 40% off regular offerings, the event's organizers say. Eateries, from casual hangouts to foodie outposts, will offer "Short," "Feature" and "Epic" menus of two, three or four courses, a  tempting invitation to linger instead of rushing back to one of the hundreds of screenings, premieres, tributes and panels.

One more deal in Santa Barbara Thanks to Rosemary McClure for spotlighting the charms of Santa Barbara that are affordable ["Santa Barbara on a Budget," Jan. 9]. A day at Stearns Wharf can give you million-dollar views for the price of parking, not to mention delicious seafood and entertaining pelicans. One affordable restaurant McClure needs to include in her list is the locals' favorite, Farmer Boy on State Street. This is a must for our family, featuring homemade American and Latino favorites for breakfast and lunch.

A night after the Josh Akognon Show at the Big West Conference tournament, UC Santa Barbara didn't want to see a repeat of the Cal State Fullerton star's 37-point performance. The Gauchos already had caught his act in Titan Gym in February, anyway: That night, he scored 29 and brought Fullerton from 22 points behind to win. This time, Santa Barbara did what amounts to holding Akognon down.