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Sempra Energy Foundation has given $20,000 to Westmont students affected by the Tea Fire. Flames damaged the residences of 62 students, destroying computers, books, school gear, clothing and other personal items.

In a decision released this week, California’s Second District Court of Appeal unanimously supported �鶹avӳ����ý’s plan to update its campus facilities, reaffirming a December 2007 Santa Barbara County Superior Court ruling that upheld unanimous approvals by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors and the Montecito Planning Commission.

Four student venture teams from �鶹avӳ����ý’s entrepreneur class will present their start-up business plans to a panel of outside reviewers Thursday, Dec. 11, at 5:30 p.m. at Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall. The 19th annual �鶹avӳ����ý Collegiate Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition is free and open to the public. Networking and refreshments will begin at 5 p.m.

�鶹avӳ����ý’s fall dance recital, “Stories From Africa,” originally planned for the weekend after the Tea Fire, has been rescheduled now that students have returned to campus. Performances will be Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 11-13, at 8 p.m. in �鶹avӳ����ý’s Porter  Theatre.

�鶹avӳ����ý’s famous 150-foot redwood affectionately known as the Pickle Tree survived the Tea Fire and will be the focus of attention at the seventh annual Christmas Tree Lighting on Kerrwood Lawn, Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Local poets have responded to the Tea Fire by organizing a reading in honor of Paul Willis, a �鶹avӳ����ý English professor and poet who lost his home and library in the blaze. Proceeds from the reading will benefit the �鶹avӳ����ý Wildfire Relief Fund. The event will be Saturday, Dec. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Fé Bland Forum at Santa Barbara City College.