News in Brief: Oct. 18 to Oct. 24

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CAMPUS

Former University of California, Santa Barbara student Daniel Chen was sentenced Friday to 36 years in prison for kidnapping, beating, and raping a UCSB student in a gruesome 2014 assault. Chen, 22, pleaded guilty and admitted to the charges in August, and further admitted to stealing the victim’s cell phone, for which he was convicted of robbery. He will register as a sex offender and is expected to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence.

The Associated Students Program Board announced the electronic music artist Tchami as the headliner for Delirium 2017, the annual “Halloweekend” music event. Tchami, a Paris-based disk jockey, specializes in the “future house” subgenre of electronic dance music. A.S. Program Board holds an annual Halloween concert as an alternative to street partying in Isla Vista during the popular weekend.

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich will speak on Nov. 2 for a UCSB Arts & Lectures-sponsored event at Campbell Hall. The free talk is titled, “How Did We Get Into This Mess?: Reclaiming Our Economy and Our Democracy.” Reich served as the Secretary of Labor during the first four years of the Bill Clinton administration. In recent years, he has authored several books and works as a professor at UC Berkeley.

Retired San Mateo builder and UCSB alum Richard Breaux (‘68) will serve as the new chairperson of the UCSB Foundation Board of Trustees. Breaux will serve a two-year term as chairperson after becoming a trustee in 2013. The Board of Trustees provides gifts and private donations to the university.

ISLA VISTA

A small fire broke out early Saturday morning atop a second-story balcony at 6613 Del Playa Drive. Fire crews quickly responded to extinguish the fire, which resulted in no injuries. The cause remains undetermined, said Santa Barbara County Fire Captain Dave Zaniboni. Resident Austin Winnett, a third year biochemistry major, wrote on the UCSB Free & For Sale Facebook group that a fellow resident was sleeping on a couch and noticed the fire. As a result, the residents were able to evacuate the house and alert authorities.

The I.V. Community Services District (CSD) held an open house Tuesday to show what the district has worked on in the past year. The open house took place at the I.V. Community Room, the “only locally run indoor public facility” in I.V. (according to the event’s Facebook page), where locals received snacks and beverages. The open house took place before the CSD’s regular bi-weekly meeting.

After a relatively cool start to autumn that saw plenty of windy evenings, weather in Isla Vista took a hot turn on Monday as the temperature climbed above 90 degrees for the second time this year. The heat wave continued into Tuesday, when a peak forecasted temperature of 98 degrees may top the 96 degree peak — set on Sept. 3 — as the hottest I.V. weather in 2017. The weather will stabilize towards the end of the week, with forecasted highs in the 70s, according to weather.com.

Mexican restaurant El Sitio is now closed. The restaurant, located at 6580 Pardall Road, served tacos, beer, and other Mexican food. There is currently no information as to whether the location has been rented or if El Sitio’s beer and wine license has been acquired by another business.

COUNTY

A Solvang woman was arrested Monday after causing several drunk-driving collisions along Hollister Avenue, Noozhawk first reported. Renee Romero, 30, hit three vehicles and an electric box between the Los Carneros Way intersection and the entrance to the Ellwood Beach Apartments. Romero damaged several vehicles and sent a man to the hospital with minor injuries. Authorities booked her into Santa Barbara County Jail later that day.