In his ruling (pdf), Espinoza points out that the court’s received 300 petitions asking for relief from the law and “dozens of parolees continue to file new petitions every week.” The petitions argue that in L.A. County, there’s virtually no affordable housing that complies with Jessica’s Law’s requirement that registered sex offenders—regardless of offense—reside at least 2,000 feet from parks and schools.

“It is now abundantly clear to the court that the question of the constitutionality of Penal Code Section 3003.5(b) ‘is a recurring problem important to other parolees and CDCR,’” Espinoza writes.

Espinoza argues that because filing a petition requires the assistance of legal counsel, “In the interests of equity and judicial economy, the Court now deems it appropriate to consider the procedural rights of all similarly situated parolees….” In other words, if some parolees have been able to get a stay of enforcement, all parolees should be granted a stay.

In this week’s CityBeat, I wrote about a five-block section of San Diego that’s become home to an unknown number of homeless sex offenders on parole. Laura Arnold, a deputy public defender, is doing what lawyers in L.A. County have been doing—filing petitions with the court on behalf of parolees who would have a place to live if not for the residence restrictions. Experts on sex-offender management have said repeatedly that there’s no connection between where a person lives and whether that person will re-offend. For a good overview of the issue, see the California Sex Offender Management Board’s 2008 report, “Homelessness Among Registered Sex Offenders in California.” Espinoza sits on the board.

The L.A. ruling doesn’t apply to any other county in the state and, Arnold told me, the California Attorney General’s office has the option of appealing Espinoza’s ruling. I’ve put in a call to the California Department of Corrections to get a response.

PLAN A: A.A. Bondy, JBM, Aaron Swanton @ The Casbah. With his dark lyrics and bluesy twang, Mississippi singer-songwriter Auguste Arthur Bondy gets cozy with the great horned one on last year’s solid When the Devil’s Loose. Don’t miss Aaron Swanton, guitarist of Scarlet Symphony, who’s got some great songs of his own. PLAN B: Irradio, Ape Machine, Roxy Jones @ U-31. Irradio’s indie rock soars with high-octane guitars, organs and sax. Ape Machine might not be breaking new ground with blues-rock riffs coming straight from the Black Sabbath handbook, but they do their classic rock well. PLAN C: Sonido de la Frontera @ El Dorado. Get groovy with Sonido de la Frontera’s dub-textured cumbia. BACKUP PLAN: Lesands, Symmetry / Symmetry, Sea of Bees @ Soda Bar.

OTHER COOL STUFF:

“Chilltown” w/ Nature’s Kid, Little Gold, The Lovey Dovies, Christian James, DJs Brother Face @ Tin Can Ale House.

DJ David J (Love & Rockets / Bauhaus) @ Bar Pink.

Chill Clinton, Byron Blocker, DJ Echo @ Beauty Bar.

Sadistik, Kid Called Computer, Griefshare, Dr. Nickel, Kristoff Krane, Cas-One, Alexipharmic @ Kava Lounge.

Jim Jeffries @ Belly Up.

Hal Ketchum, Johnny Hiland @ Anthology.

FeverCrotch @ Waterfront Bar & Grill.

The Kandinsky Effect, Trio Gadgjo @ Lestat’s.

Jesse LaMonaca and the Dime Novels @ Riviera Supper Club.

Hypnotic Odyssey, Privatized Air @ Ruby Room.

The Shadowlight Sessions (338 7th Ave.) @ Dizzy’s.

Jazz Jam w/ Gilbert Castellanos @ El Camino.

The Bombpops, The Red Ribbon Army, The Getdown, Pop Punk Mayhem @ 710 Beach Club.

“Awesome Set” w/ DJs Tom, Ace @ Bluefoot.

“Vinyl & Vino” w/ DJ Artistic @ House of Blues.

“Knight Vision” @ Kadan Club.

“Nocturnal Emissions” w/ DJs Dwin, Edroc, Julz @ AC Lounge.

Photo by Gary Allard, which will be on view at Plastic Fantastic

Plastic Fantastic is a show that’s needed to happen in San Diego for quite some time now.

I mean, if I see one more North Park hipster with a plastic Holga hanging around her neck, or one more Facebook update featuring someone’s photos taken by a smart-phone app that imitates the look of a toy camera, I may start violently vomiting up Polaroids one right after another until my head explodes.

It’s time to step it up, move from quantity to quality and turn this trend into art.

The truth of the matter is, I actually really, really like the look of the photos produced by plastic cameras (or their digital, imitative counterparts) despite the somewhat annoying popularity of the trend. The light-leaked, screwy colored photos bring on an instant wave of nostalgia, taking me back to the days when you couldn’t walk behind a photographer and demand to see the photo she just snapped.

Photo by Kari Pfeffer, which will be on view at Plastic Fantastic

Patience. Surprise. Mistakes. These elements have been obliterated with the explosion of digital photography. But I’ll stop my rant here because what I think about plastic cameras and their byproducts isn’t important. What’s important is this interview I did with Joseph Bellows, the owner of a prestigious fine-art photography gallery in La Jolla by the same name.

Bellows is the curator behind the Plastic Fantastic show that’s opening at Subtext from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday, Sept. 3.  I asked him a few questions over email and got his thoughts on the popularity of plastic cameras, his curatorial process and more:

1. Tell me what do you think about the resurgence in plastic cameras?

I’ve always been more concerned with the results than I have been with the equipment used when making a photograph. While I do appreciate technique when it come to printing, and feel the craft of making a print is very important, the lens and camera are the tools used by an artist. Just as the chisel and hammer are for a sculptor. I’ve always wondered why those that appreciate and collect fine art photography discuss cameras and lenses. Do we care which brushes are used by painters?

2. What kinds of alternative processes are represented in the show?

Unfortunately, I was unable to view the original prints when judging the work for Plastic Fantastic. I enjoy the various photographic processes, and would have liked seeing various techniques and processes. I judged the work by viewing jpegs only.

3. Tell me about your curatorial process? What were you looking for?

As I’m sure it is with anyone judging a photo show, my personal interests and experience have informed the decision-making process. I look for
interesting subject matter and good composition. If I were to have seen the original prints, I would have taken technique and presentation into
consideration as well.

4. How do you feel about all the smart-phone applications that attempt to mimic the looks and feel of plastic-camera photography and alternative processes?

A Polaroid imitation taken by me and my Android "FxCamera" app.

Good question. I’ll have to think about this a bit more as it’s news to me. My initial reaction is that it’s clever, but not authentic. Possibly more like a reproduction than an original. When it comes to producing original works of art, why not use the advances in digital technology to create new techniques and effects, and not mimic others. Sounds like a fun application, though.

PLAN A: Brothers Young, D/Wolves @ Bar Pink. Check out our feature to find out more about up-and-coming indie rockers D/Wolves, who reflect their surf-rock vibe through proggy song structures and lots of synths. Portland’s Brothers Young are a bunch of lads who sing beautiful vocal harmonies over lilting folk. PLAN B: MEN, Jamuel Saxon, Mrs. Magician @ The Casbah. MEN, a Brooklyn-based art collective with members of Le Tigre, make slick electro-pop with cutting lyrics about sexual concessions and civil liberties, making it perfect stuff for both a dance floor and a college course on cultural studies. BACKUP PLAN: Gun Runner, Maren Parusel, Fearless in Fairweather @ Belly Up.

On Wednesday, Sept. 1, San Diego Museum of Art curator John Marciari will answer the public’s questions as part of the international “Ask a Curator” event.

The event seeks to connect museum curators with patrons in a day of public conversation. To ask Marciari a question, use the hashtag “#askacurator” and direct your questions to @SDMA.

What are a few questions Marciari might like to answer? We’re glad you asked. Here are a few questions we asked Marciari to help get the ball rolling:

1. What are your specialties/areas of interest?

I publish mainly on Italian and Spanish painting of the 16^th-18^th centuries, but like most curators, I actually deal with a much broader range. Here at the Museum, I’m responsible for European Art from around 1300-present.

2. What sort of research are you currently doing?

At the risk of seeming immodest, I think the best way to give you a sense of my current projects is to send you to the article that Jim Chute wrote about me a few weeks back, in the U-T. That’s at http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/aug/07/changing-history-history/

3. Should people ask you about current exhibitions?  Any particular exhibitions you feel most comfortable with? Any future exhibitions you’re working on?

People can certainly ask about our main exhibitions on right now (Toulouse-Lautrec, Heroes), or about the little “Century of Lithography” installation that has just opened, or about any of the permanent collection galleries. I’d have more to say about the European & American galleries than about the Asian galleries.  I can easily give previews of the Thomas Gainsborough or Howard Hodgkin exhibitions that are coming up in February.

4. Can you help me come up with one or two questions you would want or hope to be asked?

What’s a typical day like for a curator?

How did you become a curator?

What are some of your favorite works at the Museum?

What exhibitions are coming up and how do you choose?

I don’t want to lead you with too many questions, though… I’m more curious to see what questions really come out on the day.

PLAN A: Echo Revolution; The Horde and the Harem; And I Was Like, What?; Martin Hall Music @ Tin Can Ale House. Echo Revolution play bright alt-rock with a ’90s feel that actually sounds pretty good. But I’m most excited about Portland’s And I Was Like, What?, who cross spindly math-rock guitar with heartfelt strings in tracks like “Birthday Suit” and “F#.” BACKUP PLAN: The Styletones @ Bar Pink.

OTHER COOL STUFF:

Choose Your Poison, HSW, Blood Stained Reality @ Ruby Room.

Long Live Logos, On Blast, The Steelwells @ The Casbah.

Beres Hammond @ Sound Wave.

Robin Henkel @ Humphrey’s Backstage Live.

Lady Dottie and the Diamonds @ U-31.

Melly Frances and the Distilled Spirits @ Riviera Supper Club.

“The Get Down” @ Kadan Club.

“Dub Dynamite” w/ Rashi, Eddie Turbo @ The Office.

“Hip-hop Ethics” open mic @ Queen Bee’s.

Street Fighter II Tournament of Champions @ Soda Bar.

PLAN A: Slayer, Megadeth, Testament @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre. This gathering of speed-metal high royalty just might be the best metal lineup all year. PLAN B: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Rogue Wave, The Whigs, Delta Spirit, The Silent Comedy, The Nervous Wreckords, The Burning of Rome, White Apple Tree @ Oceanside Pier. The FM 94/9 Independence Jam offers another good excuse to go to Oceanside: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros recently made it big with the cozy, Southern-tinged Americana of songs like “Home.” Long Beach’s Delta Spirit, originally from San Diego, play homey rock with country touches. And The Silent Comedy were downright spiritual at U-31 during North Park Music Thing two weeks ago. BACKUP PLAN: Wolfgang Gartner, LA Riots, Rifat Ziadeh, Brazzabelle, Marc Thrasher @ Wave House.

OTHER COOL STUFF:

Mario Escovedo Experiment (3:30 p.m.) @ Eleven.

Lamb’s Players Cabaret Theatre @ Anthology.

Dead Man’s Party, Generator @ Belly Up.

Vinyl Film, Ruby Tigers @ Ruby Room.

Sharam, Yusef, Johnny James @ Voyeur.

Polynesian Cultural Family Festival w/ Te Vaka @ World Beat Center.

The K.i.D., Shotti3-Ce3, Mac Mulla, Doc Diggi, T KALI, Bello Mafioso, Border City, Wes Nile, Kenny Vic, Cutthroat Loc, BYGMYKE, EL GUN LEGRO, DJ Kray-Z-K @ Brick by Brick.

Maxim Hometown Hotties 2010 @ Hard Rock Hotel.

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CityBeat theater editor Martin Jones Westlin is trying out his hand at a San Diego theater web start-up called Words Are Not Enough. If you’re a theater junkie, check out his new digs and let him know what you think: marty@wordsarenotenough.info.

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San Diego galleries are growin’. Symbolic Collections has expanded and opened a new gallery space in La Jolla at 7412 La Jolla Blvd. And newbies including the Machine Shop Gallery is officially up and running (open by appointment only); Ice Gallery is celebrating a closing this weekend; and The Periscope Project is opening their doors next weekend.

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The Ocean Beach Mural Project continues with a new piece gracing the east-facing wall of the Ocean Beach US Bank. Since 1999, artists and community members have painted mosaic squares for the mural during the annual Ocean Beach Street Fair. Find out more about the history of the mural project, and click here to learn more about his year’s 40-foot mural.

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With the help of local youth, artists Irene Castruita and Isaias Crow or “Crol” have finished a mural project. To see the mural, cruise over to 4275 37th St. or, to check out photos of the finished mural, click here. The mural is part of Crol and Castruita’s Prizm Process, an arts and civic organization, which is raising funds this weekend by selling comics, actions figures and more from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Proceeds will benefit the Prizm Process’ Summer Art Youth Program. For the location of the benefit event, call Castruita at 619-851-4074.

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Curious about Second Life and how artists are using the virtual space? Take a few minutes to watch this video about San Diego State University’s Aztlan Island. Local artists Elle Mehrmand and Micha Cárdenas are the Visiting Artists in Residence during the 2010/11 academic year.

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The first-ever San Diego Fine Art Society Art Awards are underway. Visit artpulse.tv/vote to cast your vote for things like best artist and best exhibition and check out the Art Awards event that’s happening from 8 to 11 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.

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According to our blog stats, a lot of people looking for “Etch A Sketch Art” end up on this blog.  I did a post year’s ago about it, but as it turns out, there’s some more up-to-date info about the Etch A Sketch phenomenon. An Etch A Sketch mural titled “Battle of Kurukshetra” is showing at Papaha’s Gallery & Studio, 4683 33rd St. in Normal Heights through October. Here’s a bit more on the mural:

“This mural is made up of 36 Etch A Sketches and is entitled ‘Battle of Kurukshetra,’ writes Papaha. It has 6 portraits of a musician, Sri Chinmoy, playing an original composition ‘The Last Day of the Battle of Kurukshetra,’ with other imagery including piano keys, grand piano legs and grand piano lid. The entire mural took over 40 hours of drawing (and some erasing & drawing again).

The gallery is open by appointment only, but you can see the mural pretty well from the street. Papaha is a longtime San Diego artist who is currently acting as the art director for a project that is attempting to put together the world’s biggest seesaw. Yes, seesaw.

“It will be over 70 feet long and the riders will go up 15 feet,” writes Papaha.

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Click This | Artsy Bits:

Watch a few webisodes on the new Arts Pulse TV site. What do you think?

San Diego Art Link (a new arts blog). Keep up-to-date on some of the more underground art shows in this town.

Help this UCSD student put on an art show (and get some art in return!).

Slacker trio Wavves just premiered their new video for “Post Acid,” a catchy lo-fi pop-punk single from King of the Beach. Featuring a skateboarding, guitar-playing alien and a cameo by MTV News reporter John Norris, the video was directed by DIY filmmaker Patrick O’Dell and filmed in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, the city where San Diego-bred frontman Nathan Williams now spends his days smoking weed and listening to hip-hop.

OTHER COOL STUFF:

Mississippi Man, The Drowning Men, The Ross Sea Party @ Tin Can Ale House.

The Downs Family, Tiltwheel @ Eleven.

George Duke Jazz Quartet, Big Sam’s Funky Nation @ Anthology.

“Scream Louder” w/ Teen Wolf & G-Minor, Bulimitron, Turbo Teen, Osal8, Snowlin, Mastre, Ghost M.D., Wired, The Office Twins, Thrashin’ @ World Beat Center.

“Bonkers!” w/ Junior the Discopunk & Mr. Atari @ Bar Pink.

The Vibeout @ Beauty Bar.

Damian Lazarus, Jon Dadon @ Voyeur.

Atomic Groove (happy hour), Pink Floyd laser show w/ Radiohedz, Have a Cigar, DJ Man Cat, Coda Collins @ Belly Up.

Caburlesque Kittens, DJs Colour Vision, Andrew Decade @ U-31.

Crushed on You, DJs Rob Moran, Dan Sant @ Whistle Stop.

DJ Cobra & Rico DeLargo @ Fluxx.

Angel City Outcasts @ Hensley’s Flying Elephant.

River City, Western Set, Heavy Guilt @ Ruby Room.

Adestria, Casino Madrid, City Delivered, Deadbeat Nightlife, To Build an Empire @ SOMA.

Lipstick n Leather, Hott Thing, DJ Snatch Boogie @ Sound Wave.

“Local Brews Local Grooves” @ House of Blues.

“Make Out” w/ DJs Brandon Relf, Jeff Graves, Astronauta Jackson @ Kadan Club.

Thee-O, Justin Marx, Freestyle Research, DJ SR-71, xULx @ Kava Lounge.

Zsuzsanna, Chad Cavanaugh, Emerson @ Lestat’s.

“Overtime” w/ Beatnick, Mr. Mention @ The Office.

DJ Seize, SIX, Jay Valdez, Neon Cough, Soup, Marcelo Radulovich @ Onyx Room.

This is Confusing, Backdraft, Mudfish, Rhythm and the Method @ Queen Bee’s.

Rick Derringer, West Coast Bandits @ Ramona Mainstage.

Grampa Drew @ Riviera Supper Club.

“Party in the Ghetto” w/ DJ Prssmny @ Bluefoot.

Awaiting Samsara, I Created a Monster, Calamitous Intent @ Brick by Brick.

Everything is Terrible (film) @ Che Cafe.

Cold Sweat Sextet @ Dizzy’s.

Grandmasta Rats, Charlie Rock @ El Dorado.

Vast Zephyr, Lucky and Wild, The Crashing Marbles, TONS, Proteus Escape, Entice @ Epicentre.

J Irie & the Lambs Blood, Cualli, South Bay Wailers, Maitland Roots, Danny Dread, Chunky Roots & Selecta Fari, Johnni Roots @ 710 Beach Club.

Edgartronic, DJ Tim Nguyen @ AC Lounge.

In the years since its 2002 breakup, Arab On Radar remains one of the weirdest, creepiest, and best bands to have emerged from the noise rock scene in Providence, Rhode Island. Over an eight year run, the band–composed of four guys nicknamed Mr. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Mr. Type A, Mr. Clinical Depression, and Mr. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder–crafted a brash, hypnotic sound defined by an angular guitar assault, nasally vocals and a twisted sense of humor that shows through in song titles like “God is Dad” and “Spit Shine My Asshole.”

Last Spring, news broke that the band was planning to reunite and go on a U.S. tour. But on Tuesday, Justin Pearson, head of Three One G–a label that’s put out two excellent Arab On Radar comps and a DVD–told me that the band is cancelling its tour and breaking up once again. Eric Paul (aka Mr. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) hasn’t confirmed the break up to me yet–and I don’t really expect him to–but a bookie at the Che Cafe confirmed this week that the band has cancelled its Sept. 4 show with XBXRX and All Leather.

Here’s an e-mail interview I did recently with Paul, who also goes by Mr. Pottymouth, for a feature that would’ve run in CityBeat had the band not cancelled its show. The confounding exchange doesn’t offer much by way of factual information, but it does afford you a clear view of the band’s distinctly warped perspective.

Why did you guys decide to get back together?

Due to legal reasons, certain band members have not been allowed within 150 feet of each other, making it difficult to perform. These legal issues have since been resolved.

Is this a reunion show or a more permanent thing?

Permanent!

Are you working on a new album?

Yes

If so, is there any theme or idea behind the album? Anything we might expect?

I believe that Mr. Type A said it best in an interview with Ghettoblaster Magazine. He called the new material an Evolutionary Mutation.

San Diego seems like a place where you guys have gotten a lot of love. Is that right? Is there anything you’re looking forward to when you get back here?

San Diego has always been a great place for us to play I believe it has a lot to do with 31G putting out a few of our records. What am I looking forward to when I get back there? I am looking forward to my yearly visit to the Heaven’s Gate house to pay homage to my dearly departed family and friends. It should have been me. I can’t believe I overslept.

How did you come up with the name Arab on Radar?

We were scared of getting drafted into the Gulf War.

One thing I always couldn’t wrap my head around was whether you guys were making weird, sick jokes or if your perverted, often disturbing lyrics were sincere. Do you consider it a joke? Or something more sincere? Or maybe a mix of the two?

I have always viewed the lyrics as a very important Public Service Announcement for the mentally ill.

You’ve been playing for a while in Chinese Stars, right? Which of you guys were in Chinese Stars? Were you in any other projects in the years after Arab on Radar broke up?

Me and Mr. O.C.D. were in Chinese Stars. Mr. Type A was in Athletic Automaton, and Mr. Clinical Depression was in Made In Mexico.

You broke up around 2002 right? Why did you break up?

See answer 1.

How has the whole noise scene–revolving around records like Load, Skin Graft and Three One G–changed over the years, in your opinion?

I feel that the only thing that has changed is the increase in theft. Not just illegal downloading but theft on many other levels.

How do you think the band will be different from what it was back in the late 90s and early 00s? Have you made any changes to the lineup? Is there a different sound you’re going for?

We are picking up where we left off. Same line-up. Same issues. Same sound. I think the only difference is that we are wearing blue uniforms now.

How have people reacted to your reuniting? Is anybody excited, or surprised, or worried?

I think you hit the nail on the head. I think people’s reactions have been a mix of all three. But we are used to it. That is how we have always been received.

What are you most looking forward to on the tour?

The bad people and the good people.

Miss Erika Davies (photo by Kelly Davis)

PLAN A: Miss Erika Davies, Martian Horses @ San Diego Museum of Art. Channeling the spirit of Billie Holiday, Miss Erika Davies uses her wonderfully flexible voice to sing about falling in and out of love. (See our feature on this page.) Martian Horses, a local nine-piece, come across like an acoustic Arcade Fire with their swooping songcraft. PLAN B: Dave Phillips, Sixes, hING, Spirit Photography @ Tin Can Ale House. Taking cues from freaks like Nurse With Wound and Wolf Eyes, Switzerland’s Dave Phillips builds schizophrenic compositions with harsh and crazy noises while Oakland’s Sixes dish out low-level feedback and ear-piercing drones. Indeed, this is what nightmares are made of. BACKUP PLAN: Joshua White Quartet @ Dizzy’s.

OTHER COOL STUFF

Steel Pulse, Social Green @ Belly Up.

Transfer, Dead Feather Moon, The Secret Seven @ Beauty Bar.

New Mexico, Black Hondo, Shapes of Future Frames @ The Casbah.

Josh Damigo @ West Coast Tavern.

Something Corporate @ SOMA.

The Silent Comedy, The Donkeys @ Eleven.

“Living Room Live” w/ The Silent Comedy (acoustic) @ W Hotel.

The Shivas, The Dirty Legs, Family Wagon @ Soda Bar.

“Trouble with Authority” @ Whistle Stop.

In Her Own Words, A Likely Story, Hundred Caliber, Add the Color @ Park Gallery.

Kali Roots Reggae w/ Kindle to Ember, Madison Row, DJ Peligro @ Queen Bee’s.

Smooth Sailing, Into the Storm, Sleep Lady, Swore @ Ruby Room.

Panton Rococo, Cabeza De Gallo, La Banda Skalavera @ House of Blues.

Pat Travers @ Anthology.

The Victor Ship @ Bar Pink.

Flosstradamus @ Voyeur.

FeverCrotch @ Blarney Stone Pub.

“Jerk Alert” w/ DJ Mike Face @ Bluefoot.

Grip, Menchinn @ Brick by Brick.

Lady Dottie and the Diamonds @ El Dorado.

“Fire Corner” @ Kadan Club.

Aaron Beaumont, JT Spangler, Shannon Curtis @ Lestat’s.

“Generations Party” w/ DJs Artistic, Cros1, Felt1, Mr. Hek @ U-31.

“The Bank Job” w/ Chris Herrera, Mike Soul, Where’s Wee-G, Skidone @ The Office.

The Funkyard, Full Blown Stone, Boom Snap @ Sound Wave.