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UC Santa Barbara Chancellor Henry Yang recently announced he would be stepping down at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. How has Isla Vista been shaped by Yang's 30 year tenure? KCSB's Dick Flacks reflects with Jonathan Abboud, former AS-UCSB president and current general manager of the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD), about their memories of working closely with the Chancellor over the years, even during the darker, painful, aspects of Isla Vista's history.
"It takes a village," as the saying goes, to keep thousands of pounds of trash out of local landfills during 'move-out' season in Isla Vista - the time of year when students move out of their rentals and leave for summer. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IV Community Services District, about the person - and program who led the effort to reduce waste, and raise funds for local non-profits. Plus, the County of Santa Barbara imposes new rules on property owners whose properties and backyard decks are getting dangerously close to the bluff edge, due to eroding cliffs.
Deltopia crowds doubled in size, and citations were also up at this year's IV unofficial spring break street party. Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IVCSD, joins KCSB's Dick Flacks to recap the mayhem. The good news is, the parties started earlier and ended earlier this year, no one died and more parties were closed, reducing opportunities for party-crashing out-of-towners. There's also an update on the local housing crisis in this week's episode.
UC Santa Barbara has settled two lawsuits with Santa Barbara County and the City of Goleta. The university was being sued for failing to live up to its promise to provide housing for its growing enrollment. Sustainable University Now (SUN), has its own legal battle with UCSB. KCSB's Devon Szalva spoke with Dick Flacks, of SUN, to find out more. Here's their conversation.
Since the increasingly deadly War on Gaza began, many Americans have protested against the war, with college campuses acting as a center for protests and anti war sentiment. The New York Times notes that a “sustained antiwar protest like the one against the Gaza invasion has not been seen for decades,” -- arguably, since the Vietnam War, with activists drawing parallels between the two. KCSB's Zoha Malik spoke with leftist activist and UCSB professor emeritus Dick Flacks, who was a founder of the antiwar and leftist group Students for a Democratic Society in the 60s, to learn more.
UCSB's big plans to build the world's biggest dormitory died quietly in 2023. Earlier in the year, hundreds of longtime IV residents, many on lower fixed-incomes, were handed 'renoviction' eviction notices. Finding an affordable place to live in IV and the greater Santa Barbara South Coast area did not get any easier in 2023. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with housing advocate Stanley Tzankov with CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) to recap the year in housing, and discuss efforts being made to help keep rents within the means of longtime residents and students.
Dick Flacks has been blamed for sparking the civil unrest in Isla Vista in 1969, but the protests had started before he arrived at UC Santa Barbara to teach sociology. He did, however, have a reputation as a leftwing activist and was well known enough for then-CA governor Ronald Reagan to say UCSB hiring Dick at the time was like 'hiring a pyromaniac to work in a firecracker factory,' writes Nick Welsh in the Independent. In this episode, you'll learn more about the storied career of Professor Flacks, in a conversation with investigative journalist Melinda Burns. Then, KCSB's Harry Lawton speaks with Dick and his wife, the late Mickey Flacks, about their lives of radical activism as well as some interesting history about KCSB-FM. Dick is a monthly host of Inside Isla Vista and one of KCSB's longest-running programmers. His "Culture of Protest" weekly radio show has been on the air on KCSB for over 40 years. Read more about DickFlacks and his legacy in this story in the SB Independent: https://www.independent.com/2006/05/11/ucsbs-most-dangerous-professor/
If you've driven to Isla Vista lately, you know that it can be hard to find a parking spot sometimes. The local government (IVCSD) is digging into data about who and when people are parking in IV - and just how many parking spaces there are. IVCSD GM Jonathan Abboud shares with KCSB's Dick Flacks the reasoning behind the call for a parking study. Then - is 'Dormzilla' dead? Flacks says it appears so, as UC Santa Barbara reps come up with an alternate plan to build student housing on the site of the proposed Munger Hall, the virtually windowless mega-dorm that generated criticism from near and far, making international headlines. Get the latest, on this week's Inside Isla Vista.
Hundreds of residents of Isla Vista are facing evictions which could lead to homelessness for some tenants, after an out of town firm bought two large apartment complexes and issued notices to move out for reasons that the properties would be renovated. KCSB's Dick Flacks spoke with Samantha Szepesi, a leader of the Core Spaces Tenants Association, and Stanley Tzankov, Cc-founder of the Santa Barbara Tenants Union, about the situation in Isla Vista. There are community concerns that there may be more events such as this happening in the greater Santa Barbara area.
Associated Students President Gurleen Pabla created a survey to find out what UC Santa Barbara students what they think about Munger Hall. The proposed mega-dorm is the university's only plan to mitigate a severe student housing shortage. Pabla speaks with KCSB's Dick Flacks about what students said about the so-called 'Dormzilla.' And how UC President Michael Drake, UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang and members of the UC Board of Regents have responded to the data Pabla has gathered.
KCSB's Dick Flacks and IVCSD General Manager Jonathan Abboud cover the latest news on the proposed Munger Hall at UCSB, as well as other initiatives by the Community Services District, including hiring new staffers and organizing a community-wide yard sale on Saturday, May 27th.
To help prevent falls from Isla Vista's eroding bluffs, the local government and Associated Students of UCSB have launched a bluff erosion safety campaign. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with IV Community Services District General Manager Jonathan Abboud about this campaign. They also discuss a recent event that spread anti-Jewish hate messages across the area. And, the ongoing housing crisis.
The UC Santa Barbara administration is facing several challenges in an effort to resolve a student housing shortage by building what would become the world's largest dormitory. KCSB's Clarissa Hom speaks with Daily Nexus reporter Mark Alfred and Dick Flacks, of the Sustainable University Now organization, to bring you the latest news on this topic, including a scathing new report from the faculty senate claiming the building plans would pose a variety of problems to its residents.
Santa Barbara County is planning to file a lawsuit against UC Santa Barbara for not living up to a multi-year plan to build more student housing while increasing enrollment by thousands of students. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with County Supervisor Gregg Hart about how long term discussions have not resulted in plans both sides can agree on to resolve an intense housing shortage in Isla Vista, Goleta and the greater Santa Barbara area.
Fall quarter at UC Santa Barbara is still weeks away, but it's not too early for Isla Vista community leaders to prepare to welcome new residents. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD), about the housing situation in Isla Vista for students and UC Santa Barbara staff, following a severe housing crisis during the past school year. Jonathan also explains other ways in which the IVCSD is informing residents about what IV has to offer, as well as community policing efforts, dangers of ocean cliff/bluff erosion and other public safety concerns and resources. More information about the Isla Vista Community Services District can be found at https://islavistacsd.ca.gov/
Campus Housing Alternatives to Munger Hall, Please (CHAMP), a new coalition, recently united with several UCSB orgs and others who are concerned about UC Santa Barbara's plans to build 'the world's largest dormitory' at UCSB. KCSB's Dick Flacks spoke with UCSB alumna Deb Callahan, who assisted students in organizing a recent event on campus called "Munger Hall: Student and Public Response Panels" about what's next for the organization and why she thinks housing students in single rooms with no windows is not a healthy option for campus housing.
What's behind the major housing crisis at UC Santa Barbara and why hasn't UCSB stuck with the housing plans it outlined years ago in its Long Range Development Plan (LRDP)? KCSB's Robert Stark speaks with Dick Flacks, UCSB professor emeritus and chair of the non-profit collaborative Sustainable University Now (SUN) to try and find answers. Flack mentions that the UCSB Faculty Senate will be taking a closer look at the proposed "Dormzilla" Munger Hall project this Friday (4/15). Flacks wrote an op-ed "UC Santa Barbara Housing Mysteries," published in the Independent. Here's the link to read it: https://www.independent.com/2022/04/05/uc-santa-barbara-housing-mysteries/
This year's Deltopia street party drew thousands of revelers to Del Playa Drive, the largest turnout in recent years. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IV Community Services District for an update on this year's event, and local efforts that went in to keeping the party safe and local. Editor's note: Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office updated its arrest count - to four arrests (not six, as mentioned in this episode).
Cityhood for Isla Vista has been a dream for decades. In recent years, IV residents came together to form a local government. This week, IV's local government - the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD)- turned five years old. KCSB's Dick Flacks spoke with Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IVCSD, to talk about how the CSD came to be, what it has accomplished and what is ahead for Isla Vista and its residents.
Isla Vista has moved into Santa Barbara's 2nd District, and has a new county representative, Gregg Hart. In this conversation with KCSB's Dick Flacks, Hart explains his longtime connections to Isla Vista, what he thinks about the University's plan to solve an acute housing crisis by building a 4,500 room windowless "Dormzilla," a.k.a Munger Hall, how IV's homeless crisis was resolved and the possibilities that IV could become a testbed for alternative transportation.
Retired UCSB sociology professor Dick Flacks dives into the debate over Santa Barbara's proposal to create a 2 percent cap on rent increases. Flacks offers counterpoints to residential property owners who say that maximizing rent increases would hurt tenants because they would not be able to make repairs or conduct regular maintenance. Flacks makes a case for tenants and talks about ways to increase affordable housing. He says that the city should consider building on parking lots, working with other regions to take a bigger view, and work with the city's Housing Authority to acquire more land to build affordable housing projects. Flacks also explains how he believes nonprofit social housing will help to create more affordable housing. Flacks is a Santa Barbara legend and regarded as one of the most progressive thinkers on issues of social justice. Please by subscribe to this podcast and visit SantaBarbaraTalks.com
For 141 years, Isla Vista has been in a part of Santa Barbara County's 3rd District. This is likely to change in January when a new redistricting map is adopted. On this episode, KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IV Community Services District, to find out more about the change.
Sustainable University Now, a coalition of local activists, is demanding that UC Santa Barbara leaders live up to a pledge to provide more student housing. As UCSB has grown enrollment over the past decade, student housing has not kept up. The University recently renewed plans to consider consider building a massive residence hall, which could house over 4,300 students. The proposed building, to be financed by local billionaire Charles Munger, was dubbed 'Dormzilla' in a recent SB Independent story. The residence hall would be three times larger than the current largest dorm complex, and become the tallest building on campus (besides Storke Tower). KCSB's Pia Ramos speaks with Dick Flacks, representing SUN, about why they are calling on UCSB leaders to fulfill the pledge to build more housing.
Isla Vista community leaders are expanding their staff to be able to coordinate more events of interest to the greater community. And, the County Supervisors plan to purchase a former sorority house on El Colegio Road for an emergency shelter project. Isla Vista Community Services District General Manager Jonathan Abboud tells KCSB's Dick Flacks on Inside Isla Vista the new property, called the "Hedges House of Hope," in honor of the late longtime IV resident and houseless supporter Father Jon-Stephen Hedges, will be similar to the Pescadero Lofts building which many former houseless individuals now call home.
The IV Community Services District wants to help make Isla Vista at night a friendly place for all ages. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with IVCSD General Manager Jonathan Abboud about this topic, as well as the COVID situation in IV. A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic is coming to IV on Saturday May 22 at 1pm. Appointments will be available. As more details are announced, you will find them at: https://islavistacsd.ca.gov/
KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Isla Vista Community Services District General Manager Jonathan Abboud about this year's quiet Deltopia event, and the IVCSD board of directors' goal to vaccinate every Isla Vista resident.
Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the Isla Vista Community Services District, joins KCSB's Dick Flacks to share the latest news and information about the community. Abboud said that the number of large house parties seems to be on the decline now that fines and other penalties can be issued to party hosts who ignore public health orders to not gather in groups.
George Thurlow, the UCSB Chancellor's Isla Vista liaison, and an original member of the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) board of directors, has retired. Thurlow has been connected to Isla Vista since he was a student at UCSB many decades ago. KCSB's Dick Flacks speaks with Thurlow, who offers insights into how IV has changed in recent years, since the local government was formed. He also hints at some of his future plans, which include Isla Vista.
Parents helping their children move in to Isla Vista this past weekend were spotted without masks - not setting a good example, to be sure. Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the Isla Vista Community Services District (IVCSD) joins host Dick Flacks on this episode to offer a 'state of COVID-19 in Isla Vista and offer an inside peek at what's in the works to help mitigate the spread of the disease in this close-knit community.
Students are moving (back) to Isla Vista in time for the new school year, even though virtually all classes at UCSB and SBCC will be starting out online. In this episode, KCSB's Dick Flacks is joined by Jonathan Abboud, general manager of the IV Community Services District. The two talk about surging COVID-19 case numbers, efforts to flatten the curve, housing, the US Census and more.
Isla Vista's Community Services District has called off its Spring party plans now that UCSB has canceled in classroom learning through the end of April, due to concerns over spreading Coronavirus. (As of now, there are no cases of Coronavirus on campus, in IV or in the County). Dick Flacks is joined by IVCDS general manager, Jonathan Abboud. Abboud also talks about his bid to represent the area in the California State Assembly race.
KCSB FM is marking the 50th anniversary of when student activists protesting the Vietnam War, poor living conditions and other issues rioted in the streets. On February 25, 1970 a burning dumpster was pushed into the vandalized Bank of America building in Isla Vista. Tonight, listen to KCSB News coverage of the bank burning, then UCSB Professor Emeritus, Dick Flacks, recalls the time of unrest 50 years ago and what came out of the student activism. Read more here: https://www.kcsb.org/special-programming-50th-anniversary-of-the-isla-vista-bank-of-america-burning/ Photo courtesy of Isla Vista Riots Collection, Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library
Veteran activists Mickey and Dick Flacks join us to talk about their joint memoir, Making History, Making Blintzes. How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America.
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mickey and Dick Flacks' new book Making History/Making Blintzes: How Two Red Diaper Babies Found Each Other and Discovered America (Rutgers UP, 2018) is a chronicle of the political and personal lives of progressive activists Richard (Dick) and Miriam (Mickey) Flacks, two of the founders of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). As active members of the Civil Rights movement and the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1960s, and leaders in today’s social movements, their stories are a first-hand account of progressive American activism from the 1960s to the present. Throughout this memoir, the couple demonstrates that their lifelong commitment to making history through social activism cannot be understood without returning to the deeply personal context of their family history—of growing up “Red Diaper babies” in 1950s New York City, using folk music as self-expression as adolescents in the 1960s, and of making blintzes for their own family through the 1970s and 1980s. As the children of immigrants and first generation Jews, Dick and Mickey crafted their own religious identity as secular Jews, created a critical space for American progressive activism through SDS, and ultimately, found themselves raising an “American” family. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Host Dick Flacks speaks with Spencer Brandt, chairman of the Isla Vista Community Services District board of directors, about what the IVCSD is focusing on in the new year. Topics include public safety, community-oriented policing, rental housing, landlord conflicts and more.
Part 2 of the interview with Mickey & Dick Flacks about their book: 'Making History & Making Blintzes', we follow them to Chicago and the events during the Democratic national Convention in August 1968. KCSB's Harry Lawton has the story.
We speak with Mickey and Dick Flacks regarding their lives as ‘red diaper babies’. In the first part of this series, they discuss their upbringing, early education, and the founding of students for a democratic society. KCSB’s Harry Lawton has the story.
If you experience any technical difficulties with this video or would like to make an accessibility-related request, please send a message to digicomm@uchicago.edu. The 1960s were years of protest and experimentation at University of Chicago and in society. The Class of 1967 is convening a panel to look at that time, what it meant then and how we think about it now, with a focus on the sit-in of 1966 against the Rank (and the war in Vietnam). Participants will include: 1967 classmates Lynn Vogel, who was an opponent of that sit-in; Tom Heagy, Student Government President (conservative party/Gnosis); and others who were at the University in those years: Jeff Blum, Student Government President (progressive party/SPAC); Jackie Goldberg, graduate student and leader in the sit-in; Dick Flacks, sociology professor and supporter of the student protests; and moderated by classmate Heather (Tobis) Booth, activist in those years, Chair of SPAC. Whatever your feelings were then, they inevitably shaped who you are now, and you will not want to miss this communal reflection.