Articles People Want - Isla Vista

From the Isla Vista Free Press, October 7, 1987 (issue #11).

Here are some things that might be fun or interesting to write about. Add more items here if you want to see something written! See How to Contribute to LocalWiki IV for other ideas. The list on the right from 1987 is also great (some of that did get covered in a book). :)

Potentially especially interesting/important article ideas:

Isla Vista Master Plan - a summary of what this is, how it developed, how it influences IV, and controversies around it! Here's the county website about it and related zoning info page.
Isla Vista Clinic Building - its history as a community center since the 1970s, how the county reclaimed it from the redevelopment agency, its current uses, its future. Isla Vista Free Box has an old photo of it.
Successor Agency to the former County of Santa Barbara Redevelopment Agency in Isla Vista - what are the programs that the former redevelopment agency did, and what is the successor agency doing? This is useful context for the Isla Vista Facade Improvement Program, the Pardall Road renovation project in 2008 (including Counterculture Tiles preservation), the Pardall Solar Parking Lot, the clinic building, the Isla Vista Redevelopment Project Area Committee, and more. See pages 58-69 of the 2007-2008 report and pages 55-74 of the 2009-2010 report for some summaries of what it worked on.

Article ideas about larger themes:

Alcohol in Isla Vista - a history of the culture of drinking in IV, problems and crackdowns, reactions. Could be combined with or separate from Liquor Licenses in IV, which comes up a lot in the news archives about various businesses in IV - how they're limited in number and have been shifted between businesses over time.
Symbols of Isla Vista - 2009 banner project, old postcard, couch poster (original, another copy of original, remake), the tree (including on the welcome sign), that other sign by the beach, murals depicting IV, IV house.
Food Grown in IV - could talk about the public fruit tree map, Sueno Orchard, Estero community garden, St. Michael's community garden, Family Student Housing community garden, 1950s photo of farmers in IV, 1940s-50s farmers (mentioned here and here). The Community Gardens in Estero Park could also have their own article.
Remembering People Who Have Died Here - women killed by Thor Nis Christiansen, 2001 Isla Vista killings, 2014 Isla Vista killings, cliff falls, overdoses, deaths of homeless people.
Housing Problems - zoning, rent increases, evictions, a history of the IV Tenants Union (linked above), homelessness, RV parking, low vacancy rate.
Local Folklore - myths and mythical beings, such as the albino raccoons, Platform Holly as inspiration for "Crystal Ship", rumors about the Devereux Campus, stories of bootleggers at the jailhouse, Indian burial grounds. What are the stories we tell ourselves and pass to newer residents? What do they mean?
IV Businesses Started by UCSB Alumni - a list with some context would be interesting as part of better understanding the relationship between IV and UCSB.

More article ideas about specific topics:

Del Playa - This could be a "virtual walk down Del Playa" pointing out interesting houses, parks, and other features.
Pardall Road - Including the 2008 Redevelopment Agency project (not all the business owners liked it).
Ocean Art in IV - This would be about IV culture - you could make a collection of photos of the sometimes-weird and sometimes-nice beach/ocean-themed murals in IV. The title is up to you - coming up with something oddly specific can also be fun ("Weird Mermaids and Dolphins of IV", "Del Playa Beach Paintings", whatever you like). You could dig up photos from the internet or walk around and take your own photos (these paintings are especially common on DP houses). You could write about why this is interesting - how these paintings are used to differentiate and help sell apartments in otherwise-boring apartment buildings, or whatever you think is interesting about them. Some example photos you could use: one, two, three, four, five, six - and Britta has some more photos like this on her computer that she could upload.
Grocery Store Price Comparison - write down the prices for a representative set of items from various grocery stores in/near IV, such as the prices for milk, eggs, bread, oranges, some typical kind of beer, and some typical kind of laundry detergent, at IV Market, Albertson's, Costco, and IV Food Coop.
How to Find Housing in IV - when to look? how to look? what are the apartment management companies around here?
Can and Bottle Collectors - people sometimes interview them: profile, fines, documentary.
Geology and Geography - Beach Cliff Erosion (see also The Beach), Beach Tar Study, historical accounts and maps of the Goleta Slough, a bunch of maps.
Skateboarding in IV - History of skateboarding in IV, skate park efforts.
Emergency Services - what happens when you call 911 in IV, SBCFireDispatch.
Pardall Tunnel - mentioned by this walking tour as having been built around 1967. There is also the small park outside the tunnel that used to include this wooden swing.
Isla Vista Bakery - how it was here for a long time and was part of the community, and its renovation including the graffiti mural (now on the side of Hana Kitchen) done as part of Kim Yasuda's class.
Meet Your Neighbors Day - including flags made by various communities.
Juggling in IV - there's an interesting history here, including the annual Isla Vista Jugglers Festival held since 1977.
West Campus Point - the faculty housing complex at the edge of Isla Vista.
Jungle House - what's the story with this colorful apartment building on Trigo, as seen in this photo and this one?
IVTV - somewhat infamous public access TV show about IV in 1999-2001.

Other things people want

Add more details and photos to Isla Vista Facade Improvement Program.
Add more buildings with photos on Apartment Buildings with Classy Names.
Help fact-check and revise A Brief History of IV.
Add more interesting buildings to Architectural Distinctiveness.
There is interesting information about Isla Vista Market in "Profile of Downtown Isla Vista" by Michel Nellis. We could also contact the author of that dissertation and ask her for permission to quote larger-than-usual sections of the book; it's very useful.

Pages tagged “needsmoreinfo”

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A few places to find information and inspiration

Here are some collections of information that other people have written, which might be informative and inspiring. If something seems useful, it's best to quote a piece of it and add a link instead of copying and pasting lots of text.