Justin Tevis, another one of the eleven candidates running for Santa Barbara City Council - Michael Jordan reportedly pulled out before tip off - is a bit more fired up.

Olivia Uribe, one of the eleven candidates running for Santa Barbara City Council, talks about what she would do if elected.

The County of Santa Barbara still has no direct contact with the Jackson family, and knowing the bizarre and fluid nature of this situation, they are staying prepared. Here’s the latest from County Communications Director William Boyer…

“The County today (July 2nd) continued with its limited pre-planning efforts to ensure that certain logistics and resources could be made available should an event take place in Santa Barbara County related to a memorial or funeral service in honor of Mr. Jackson. Most of these efforts were placed on hold throughout the day (Wednesday) as the situation unfolded and it appeared from news reports and information from other Southern California law enforcement agencies that the focus for any such public activity appears to have no shifted to other areas that are outside Santa Barbara County. County officials will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Santa Ynez Valley throughout the weekend to determine if additional staffing or resources are needed in order to protect the public’s safety. County officials continue to seek direct or indirect information from the Jackson Family about their wishes for Mr. Jackson.”

UPDATE: The public memorial for Michael Jackson will take place on Tuesday, July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in downtown LA at 10 a.m.

Michael Jackson purchased the Neverland property in 1988 for $30 million.

Video below the fold…

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…the Santa Barbara Gap Fire broke out on West Camino Cielo, four miles west of the Chumash Highway (HWY 154) -  Tuesday night - July 1, 2008 at 5:45 p.m.

Breaking News… the Associated Press is reporting that a Neverland burial has “fizzled” and it appears more likely that  a funeral and burial will take place in Los Angeles, not in Los Olivos! Jackson’s body returning to Neverland Ranch, either for the private service or a burial sometime in the future, hasn’t been ruled out if the family can get the go-ahead from state and local officials.

It’s official… the Jackson family has released a statement about reports that a public memorial for Michael Jackson would be held at Jackson’s former home, Neverland Ranch… “Contrary to previous news reports, the Jackson family is officially stating that there will be no public or private viewing at Neverland. Plans are underway regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce those plans shortly.”

And, even though traffic on Santa Barbara’s Blog reached an all-time high over the last 24 hours, it’s time to announce that the circus is officially over. And it’s time for the gawkers and the media to go home.

OK, so maybe this story and the circus won’t go away easily! KEYT is reporting that a Heal the World Celebration will take place at Chamberlin Ranch in Santa Ynez (map) on Friday at 5 a.m.. The entry fee is reportedly $40 per person. UPDATE: KEYT is now reporting that the Heal The World Celebration has been canceled.

So, at the end of the day, we know that Michael Jackson’s funeral win not be held at Neverland. The funeral is likely to take place in Los Angeles next week.

It’s July 1st, which means rate increases… and more money for the City of Santa Barbara. Some of the increases include slip fees and water-front parking fees.

Pictures of the fee-increase signs are below the fold…

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An Unbroken Line of Cars 125 Miles Long

Here come the masses to Santa Barbara… according to an open letter to the Santa Barbara community (below ), the body of Michael Jackson will arrive at Neverland Ranch on Thursday. A 30-car motorcade will reportedly wind its way up from Los Angeles to Los Olivos starting at 10 a.m. on Thursday. A public service for the King of Pop will reportedly be held this Friday at Neverland . A private memorial service is slated for Sunday, and no official announcement has been made as to the final resting place for Michael Jackson.

The LA Times reported on Wednesday, that a procession from Staples Center to Neverland would be so popular that “cars would stretch unbroken from 125 miles between Los Angeles and the Santa Ynez Valley .” Needless to say, this should be one crazy holiday weekend in Santa Barbara.

UPDATE: William Boyer, Communications Director for Santa Barbara County had this to say… “As of 7:00 PM (Tuesday), Santa Barbara County officials still had no confirmation of any final decisions by the Jackson Family or their representatives concerning finalizing plans for any funeral or memorial service in honor of Michael Jackson pertaining to any events in Santa Barbara County or at the Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez.  County officials understand that there have been widespread media reports “confirming” that there will be events for Michael Jackson in the county and/or at Neverland.  However, County officials have been in contact with law enforcement officials in Los Angeles area who are communicating with the Jackson Family and/or Jackson Family representatives, and no final decisions has been made on any events with Santa Barbara County.”

The Open Letter to the Community of Santa Barbara is below the fold.

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