Santa Barbara Independent 1/2/25

Page 1


Pipeline Restart Gets Closer by Nick Welsh County: Stand Up for Your Rights by

Cats Die from Bird Flu by

Patagonia in Four Seasons

A Seasoned Traveler Remembers Her Adventures at the Bottom of the World

Robert Almy
Jean Yamamura
by Mary Heebner | photos by macduff everton

Grief

Sustainable Heart

Sustainable Heart

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Transpersonal

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Counseling

Counseling

~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Helping You Navigate the Uncertainty of Our Post-Pandemic World

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~ Relationships

Occupation and Career

Relationships • Occupation and Career • Meditation

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions

Sustainable Heart ~ Transformational Life Counseling ~ Relationships

Occupation and Career

Meditation

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Anxiety

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Meditation Grief and Loss

Grief and Loss • Major Life Transitions • Anxiety

Spiritual Issues

Major Life Transitions

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Grief and Loss

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Spiritual Issues

Major Life Transitions

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Anxiety Spiritual Issues

Communication

Anxiety

Communication

Communication

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Conflict

Spiritual Issues • Communication • Conflict

Conflict

Spiritual Issues

Communication

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Michael H Kreitsek, MA

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with Wisdom and Compassion Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Counseling with Wisdom and Compassion 805 698-0286 www.sustainableheart.com

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling with Wisdom and Compassion 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling with Wisdom and Compassion 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling with Wisdom and Compassion 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Counseling From a Buddhist Perspective 805 698-0286

Coming in January

An Evening with Esther Perel

The Future of Relationships, Love & Desire

Tue, Jan 14 / 7:30 PM Arlington Theatre

“The quality of our relationships determines the quality of our lives.” – Esther Perel

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Julia Bullock, soprano

Tue, Jan 21 / 7 PM Lobero Theatre

Lead Sponsor: Heather & Tom Sturgess

Great Performances Suite Sponsors: G.A. Fowler Family Foundation and The Shanbrom Family Foundation

An Evening with Tommy Orange

Wed, Jan 29 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

FREE copies of Orange’s new book, Wandering Stars , will be available while supplies last (pick up at event, one per household)

Justice for All Lead Sponsors: Marcy Carsey, Connie Frank & Evan Thompson, Eva & Yoel Haller, Dick Wolf, and Zegar Family Foundation

Danish String Quartet

Fri, Jan 31 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

Program includes Mozart, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, O’Carolan and contemporary arrangements of Nordic folk tunes

Event Sponsor: Anonymous

Great Performances Suite Sponsors: G.A. Fowler Family Foundation and The Shanbrom Family Foundation

Editor

Associate Editor Jackson Friedman Opinions

Terry Ortega News Reporters Ryan P. Cruz, Callie Fausey, Margaux Lovely Senior Arts Writer Josef Woodard Mickey Flacks Fund Fellow Christina McDermott Calendar Assistant Lola Watts

Copy Chief Tessa Reeg Copy Editor Nathan Vived Sports Editor Victor Bryant Web Content Manager Don Brubaker

Food Writer George Yatchisin Food & Drink Fellow Vanessa Vin Travel Writers Macduff Everton, Mary Heebner

Production Manager Ava Talehakimi Art Director Xavier Pereyra

Production Designer Bianca Castro Graphic Designer Leah Brewer

Columnists Dennis Allen, Gail Arnold, Sara Caputo, Christine S. Cowles, Laura Gransberry, Betsy J. Green, Shannon Kelley, Austin Lampson, Melinda Palacio, Cheri Rae, Hugh Ranson, Amy Ramos, Jerry Roberts, Starshine Roshell

Contributors Rob Brezsny, Melinda Burns, Cynthia Carbone Ward, Ben Ciccati, Cheryl Crabtree, John Dickson, Roger Durling, Camille Garcia, Chuck Graham, Keith Hamm, Rebecca Horrigan, Gareth Kelly, Kevin McKiernan, Zoë Schiffer, David Starkey, Ethan Stewart, Brian Tanguay, Tom Tomorrow, Kevin Tran, Jatila Van der Veen, Isabelle Walker, Maggie Yates, John Zant

Director of Advertising Sarah Sinclair Marketing and Promotions Administrator Richelle Boyd

Advertising Representatives Camille Cimini Fruin, Suzanne Cloutier, Bryce Eller, Remzi Gokmen, Tonea Songer Digital Marketing Specialist Graham Brown

Operations Administrator Erin Lynch

Office Manager/Legal Advertising Tanya Spears Guiliacci Distribution Gregory Hall Interns Ella Bailey, Hadeel Eljarrari, Nataschia Hadley, Madeline Slogoff, Luke Stimson, Tia Trinh, Ellery Wakeman

Columnist Emeritus Barney Brantingham Photography Editor Emeritus Paul Wellman

Founding Staff Emeriti Audrey Berman, George Delmerico, Richard Evans, Laszlo Hodosy, Scott Kaufman Honorary Consigliere Gary J. Hill

IndyKids Bella and Max Brown; Elijah Lee, Amaya Nicole, and William Gene Bryant; Henry and John Poett Campbell; Emilia Imojean Friedman; Rowan Gould; Finley James Hayden; Ivy Danielle Ireland; Madeline Rose and Mason Carrington Kettmann; Izzy and Maeve McKinley

Print subscriptions are available, paid in advance, for $120 per year. Send subscription requests with name and address to subscriptions@independent.com. The contents of the Independent are copyrighted 2023 by the Santa Barbara Independent, Inc. No part may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must accompany all submissions expected to be returned. The Independent is available on the internet at independent.com. Press run of the Independent is 25,000 copies. Audited certification of circulation is available on request. The Independent is a legal adjudicated newspaper court decree no. 157386. Contact information: 1715 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 PHONE (805) 965-5205; FAX (805) 965-5518

EMAIL news@independent.com,letters@independent.com,advertising@independent.com

Staff email addresses can be found at independent.com/about-us

Patagonia in Four Seasons COVER STORY

A Seasoned Traveler Remembers Her Adventures at the Bottom of the World by Mary Heebner | Photos by Macduff Everton

As we step into the new year, we hope you’ve been inspired by the impactful stories our reporters have covered in 2024. In the past 12 months, we’ve covered the stories that matter most to you and to Santa Barbara County from regional elections to musical performances to stories from our neighborhoods that shine light on the good that is being done every day to make our communities healthy and vibrant.

But did you know that you could be supporting our journalism even more? Did you know that, by becoming a subscriber, you’d be giving more fuel to keep Nick Welsh’s Angry Poodle Barbecue burning? That’s right. When you subscribe, you ensure that Leslie Dinaberg can cover more concerts, that Tyler Hayden can uncover more scandals, that Ryan P. Cruz can report on our housing dilemma, that Callie Fausey can endure more school board meetings, and that Matt Kettmann can, yes, fill his belly even further.

Have you checked out our live music venue guide? Do you read the countless stream of letters on our Opinions page? Have you made your way through our Best of Santa Barbara® issue? If you even kinda thought “yes” to any of the above questions, then the only answer for you is to become a Santa Barbara Independent subscriber today.

You can find ways to support us at independent.com/ becomeasupporter or scan the QR code to subscribe today!

ON THE COVER: Rio Vizcacha Basin, Patagonia, Chile; cowboy riding across wet meadow with Sierra del Cazador in background, late afternoon. Photo by Macduff Everton. Design by Xavier Pereyra.

Join Us in Celebrating the Legacy of President Katrina S. Rogers, Ph.D.

Fielding Graduate University warmly invites you to celebrate the extraordinary leadership of Dr. Katrina S. Rogers as she retires after over a decade of service as President.

January 9, 2025

4:30 PM - 6:00 PM

Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort

RSVP Required

Visit fielding.edu/celebrateKatrina for more details.

Let’s toast to Dr. Rogers and a legacy that will inspire generations to come!

Share your testimonials by emailing communications@fielding.edu

Active AWC-SB members are invited to receive a complimentary headshot by Monie of Monie Photography. Plus, Next Chapter Coaching with Kathryn Martin. What do you (really) want in 2025 – in business and life? What do you need to do to achieve it? Wednesday, January 8, 5:30pm at Workzones Paseo Nuevo

NEWS of the WEEK

Sable Pipeline Restart Gets Closer

Governor’s Office Intervenes to Stop Public Meeting with Fire Marshal over Safety

“I never experienced anything like this, a direct promise that was not kept,” said State Assemblymember Gregg Hart of the “about-face” on the point-blank assurances he and State Senator Monique Limón received from state officials that no decision would be made about Sable and its waiver request until after a public meeting was held in Santa Barbara first.

California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant approved a key pipelinecorrosion-control plan submitted by the Sable Offshore oil company on December 17 that’s pivotal in the company’s long-range efforts to reactivate the pipeline, which in 2015 spilled about 450,000 gallons of crude along the Gaviota Coast. It is also a step closer to allowing production at the massive oil and gas operations in Las Flores Canyon to restart. It, like all oil operations

off the Gaviota Coast, has been shut down the past nine years because of that pipeline rupture.

State Assemblymember Gregg Hart and State Senator Monique Limón have expressed disappointment over how the decision was made, coming 13 days after the Fire Marshal had given them strict assurances no decision would be released until he held a public meeting in Santa Barbara. That meeting has been tentatively postponed until sometime after January 1.

Attorneys with the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and the Center for Biological Diversity leading the charge to stop Sable from restarting the former Exxon production facility blasted the Fire Marshal’s action in press releases using the same headline: “California Allows Dangerous Santa Barbara Oil Project to Move Forward.”

They questioned the safety of a pipeline that was allowed to get so badly corroded and have challenged the notion that such a damaged pipeline can be repaired “as new” as Sable has promised.

Waivers were required for the pipeline’s cathodic protection system because that system, which was designed to protect heated and insulated pipelines such as Sable’s from corrosion, utterly failed to protect it in the 2015 spill, resulting in the subsequent criminal conviction of Plains All American Pipeline, the owner at the time of the rupture.

In fact, the cathodic protection system was mandated when the pipeline was first approved in the late 1980s. That pipeline, originally owned by the Celeron company, was subsequently purchased by the Plains All American Pipeline Company, then by Exxon, and now, most recently, by Sable.

According to the Fire Marshal’s statement, the waiver does not “abandon” the cathodic protection requirement but acknowledges

Miramar Expansion Appealed to Coastal Commission

“You’d think they could move the Gucci shops to the higher-flood-risk areas and the affordable housing to the lowerrisk areas,” said Heal the Ocean’s Hillary Hauser, who is appealing developer Rick Caruso’s planned expansion of the Rosewood Miramar to the California Coastal Commission.

HNEWS BR IEFS

COMMUNITY

Live Oak Unitarian Universalist Congregation helped the community stay warm with its second annual “Chase the Chill” holiday project, distributing hundreds of donated scarves, hats, socks, and gloves at locations across Goleta and Isla Vista. Starting 12/10, event organizer Carolyn Chaney’s “elves” began placing the items in public areas for anybody to come and collect as needed, with a note at each community drop saying: “Take me if you need me or like me. Happy Holidays. ” The group also donated several boxes of items to other distribution centers, including Showers of Blessing, New Beginnings Safe Parking Program.

Camping at El Capitán State Beach is closing for a year starting in January 2025, with an anticipated reopening in January 2026. Prospective campers will have to put their plans on hold while the park undergoes $5.5 million in improvements, including replacing a bridge, building a new entrance kiosk, and widening roads. Until construction begins, the campground will operate on a walk-in basis. Pedestrian access to the beach will remain available during construction.

The California Secretary of State is dispatching a team of deputies to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse’s Hall of Records for a one-day “Apostille” pop-up event on 1/7, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. to help people pursuing official transactions in other countries get the requisite level of certification their documents will need. This marks the first time the Secretary of State has offered this service in Santa Barbara. Read more at independent.com/community

PUBLIC SAFETY

In her appeal to the Coastal Commission, Hauser charged Caruso’s development team relied on erroneous projections for the rate of sea-level rise and that further mitigations are required for the project to comply with the county Local Coastal Plan. The county supervisors saw it otherwise and unanimously approved the project this fall after many months of procedural, personal, and political melodrama and several appeals, including one filed by Heal the Ocean. The supervisors praised the most recent iteration of the project — two to three stories of 34 housing units and 12 new boutique shops citing Caruso’s commitment to set aside 76 percent of the housing units to locals and for increasing the percentage of below-market units from 14 to 26.

Swirling winds knocked down trees and power lines across Santa Barbara and Goleta on Christmas Eve, causing multiple reports of heavy traffic and power outages throughout the county. That morning, fire crews cleared trees that fell on Highway 101 between Turnpike Road and Patterson Avenue and knocked down a small brush fire caused by a downed power line near Foothill Road. Streetlights in downtown Santa Barbara and along Hollister Avenue lost power, and several businesses reported outages while others were able to maintain their services.

“There are social equity issues involved,” Hauser said in a recent interview. “You’d think they could move the Gucci shops to the higher-flood-risk areas and the affordable housing to the lower-risk areas.”

illary Hauser, head of Heal the Ocean, announced that she and her Santa Barbara–based nonprofit have taken their case against developer Rick Caruso’s proposed expansion of the Rosewood Miramar hotel to the Coastal Commission on appeal, alleging that the proposed units of affordable housing are slated for portions of the site most prone to flooding and debris flow.

The appeal poses the opportunity for further melodrama, with Caruso and Hauser both well-known figures assigned the role of unstoppable force and unmovable obstacle.

The two have been wrangling over details of what’s become the Rosewood Miramar Beach since 2018.

Ricardo Hernandez, 76, of Goleta, died after he and another pedestrian were struck by a vehicle while crossing Hollister Avenue in Old Town Goleta on Christmas Eve. The two pedestrians were headed north across Hollister toward Magnolia Avenue an intersection without a marked crosswalk shortly after 7 p.m. on 12/24, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick, when they were struck by a car traveling westbound on Hollister at approximately 25 mph. The two were transported to the hospital, where Hernandez died later that night. The driver, who stayed at the scene, was not arrested and has been cooperating with investigators, Zick said. Neither drugs nor alcohol was a factor in the fatal collision.

HAMLET

that the present system is not adequate to prevent leaks and spills and that Sable must use “alternate measures to meet or exceed” specified state and federal safety requirements. The statement said, “There are 63 conditions listed in the State Waiver that ensure Sable will exceed minimum protections. These conditions include additional reporting requirements for leak detection and more stringent integrity testing.”

Sable, which took over Exxon’s processing plant, pipeline, and three offshore oil platforms two years ago, expressed “appreciation” for the Fire Marshal’s approval and forwarded it to the federal agency for concurrence. Company spokesperson Alice Walton stated that Sable’s proposal includes “stateof-the-art internal and external inspection” programs that will be deployed 10 times more frequently than currently required to address “potential anomalies.”

“Anomalies” is an industry term for corrosion hot spots. After the 2015 spill, federal pipeline regulators determined there were at least 92 such anomalies along the 124-mile pipeline.

The Fire Marshal still has two key decisions to make on pipeline and plant safety. Five other state agencies must sign off on aspects of Sable’s proposal, as well.

Hart and Limón are handling the fight for safety and transparency on behalf of the Santa Barbara community, because this summer, the County of Santa Barbara settled a lawsuit Sable filed against the Board of Supervisors. That settlement stated that the County had no jurisdiction over any belowground work Sable did on the pipeline in Santa Barbara County. By doing so, it erased the possibility of holding public hearings at the county’s Planning Commission and at the Board of Supervisors, the traditional places the community has participated in the county’s historic and often epic battles over oil development.

The EDC also objected that the public has not been allowed to review the documents detailing the proposed waiver. They contended that the technology for in-line oil-pipeline integrity, on which Sable and the Fire Marshal are relying, is notably unreliable.

Media Grants for Santa Barbara County Nonprofit Organizations

According to analysis of the 2015 spill by the federal pipeline agency, the in-line detection system then checking the pipeline had reported that the place where the rupture occurred was only 47 percent corroded. But, in fact, the true level of corrosion was 86 percent.

NEWS BRIEFS CONT’D FROM P. 7

Sable Offshore’s proposals to restart the former Exxon oil refinery plant is slated to go before the Board of Supervisors on February 25. The issue to be decided is whether or not to allow the transfer of title and permits from Exxon to Sable. The Planning Commission voted this fall to allow the transfer despite the dissatisfaction expressed by several commissioners who worried that Sable had not provided enough information about its finances and its insurance coverage. Would the new owners have deep enough pockets to respond adequately to another environmental emergency on the scale of the 2015 spill? Several supervisors have expressed similar concerns, and those questions are likely to dominate that hearing. Ultimately, however, it’s unclear what leverage the supervisors can actually wield and the extent to which Sable even needs to transfer the title and permits or whether the company could resume production using the permits and title now listed under Exxon’s name. n

Hutton Parker Foundation and the Santa Barbara Independent are pleased to continue our Media Grant program for local nonprofit agencies. This unique opportunity provides nonprofits the ability to spread their message to the greater Santa Barbara community.

The Santa Barbara Independent design team produces a custom four-page insert specific to the individual agency’s needs. The insert is published and distributed in the Santa Barbara Independent, with the cost underwritten by Hutton Parker Foundation.

TRANSPORTATION

Goleta has reduced speeds along most of the city’s major roads by 5-10 miles per hour. New signs with new speed limits will be going up in January across Goleta. The County of Santa Barbara made a similar decision at the supervisors’ November and December meetings, slowing speeds by 5mph in parts of Orcutt, Alamo Pintado in Santa Ynez, the Eastern Goleta Valley, and Via Real between Summerland and Carpinteria. Read more at independent.com/transportation

ELECTION 2024

Find out more about this opportunity to boost your organization’s marketing efforts, promote your good works, and tell your story to a wider audience.

ENVIRONMENT

UCSB out-competed 234 other California colleges and universities in civic participation, claiming the title of “Overall Champion” in the 2024 California University and College Ballot Bowl competition. Hosted by the California Secretary of State Students Vote Project, the Ballot Bowl only occurs during an even-numbered year ahead of the General Election, promoting civic engagement among students. In taking the cake, UCSB was the most well-rounded campus in the competition’s three categories: the largest number of students registered to vote, the largest percentage of a student body registered to vote, and the best “Civic and Voter Empowerment Action Plan.”

BUSINESS

For the first time, the Gaviota Coast Conservancy has acquired land on the Gaviota Coast. The environmental nonprofit recently purchased the historic 3,272-acre Rancho Tajiguas property, the largest continuous property on the Gaviota Coast between Gaviota State Park and Isla Vista, for an undisclosed amount below the $45 million asking price. “This is us taking a first step in permanently protecting the coastline,” explained the conservancy’s Executive Director Doug Kern. While they are still assessing the property, he explained, they do have plans to eventually open it up to the public and will share more information in the New Year about their plans. Read more at independent.com/environment.

The final performance reports for South Coast hotels in 2024 show a healthy increase in business compared to the same time last year, with October results revealing a record-setting 10 percent revenue increase compared to 2023, while occupancy was also higher for local hotels in both October and November. The results for October and November 2024 were compiled by hospitality data analytics company STR and were shared by Visit Santa Barbara before the holidays. Read more at independent.com/business.

Three-Year Closure of Seal Rookery Recommended

ACarpinteria committee thinks that the city’s harbor seals should have year-round peace. Right before the holidays, the Carpinteria Ad Hoc Harbor Seal Advisory committee voted to recommend to the City Council a three-year closure of the 1,500-foot stretch of Carpinteria State Beach that makes up the Harbor Seal Rookery.

These resident seals are not an endangered species, but volunteer seal watchers insist the population in Carpinteria is declining, from 365 adults in 2004 to 158 adults in 2023. The seals deserve to be unbothered, they argue, and, considering the rookery acts as a popular tourist attraction, the city should be invested in protecting it.

While the committee acknowledged that the potential causes of declining seal numbers are diverse, including food scarcity and ocean warming, members proposed that humans and dogs are primarily to blame for seal disturbances. Committee members hope that closing the beach year-round will reduce the seals’ baseline stress, making them more resilient to other disturbances, like SpaceX rocket launches.

A closure “just makes sense,” said one public commenter during the committee’s last meeting on December 19. He added that it would also be good for other animals, such as birds who nest on the beach. The current, partial closure the rookery is

closed from December 1 to May 31 for pupping season is “confusing for the public,” he said. But questions swirled around the efficacy of a closure, as well as logistics such as enforcement and related costs.

The committee ultimately voted 5-2 in favor of recommending a closure. Kathleen Lord was one member in opposition, arguing that any decline in numbers is likely to be regional, due to factors such as habitat degradation, rather than limited to Carpinteria.

“Is this closure a distraction from what we should be doing?” She asked. “It’d be hard to implement.”

Carpinteria Vice Mayor Monica Solorzano agreed. “A closure won’t fix everything,” she said.

In January, the city’s Parks & Recreation Director Jeanette Gant will present the committee’s final recommendations to the City Council. From there, the council will direct city staff on next steps. But if they do decide a closure is warranted, it’ll have to be approved by the California Coastal Commission.

Fausey

Bird Flu Kills Two Goleta House Cats

Two house cats in Goleta died of bird flu, Santa Barbara County Public Health officials confirmed on December 23. The cats had been fed raw foods raw milk, chicken, and eggs in two different households. Public Health warned pet owners of the possibility of transmission of Influenza A H5 virus to pets through unpasteurized milk and uncooked foods.

Two cats in one of the households had died before the county was contacted, said Sarah Aguilar, who directs county Animal Services. No certainty exists about the route of virus transmission, she said, and all the cats had been fed the same diet for many years without harm.

However, raw milk has come under scrutiny after herds of dairy cows became infected with H5N1, infecting some dairy workers in turn. During the investigation in March of the first human H5N1 case, veterinarians noted the deaths of multiple barn cats at the dairy in Texas. Raw milk containing H5N1 virus has been found for sale in grocery stores since November. No human infections linked to raw milk consumption have been reported.

Avian flu has spread across the U.S. in the past three years, possibly by migrating wild birds, which can be infected without

signs of disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s surveillance shows that gulls and a vulture in Santa Barbara have tested positive for H5N1, and across the nation birds from geese to pigeons have died of the virus. H5N1 is decimating domestic poultry flocks that become infected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.

Upon infection with H5, cats can develop respiratory illness, neurological symptoms, or liver disease, which can progress rapidly to death, Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department stated in a press release announcing the recall of Northwest Naturals Turkey Recipe raw and frozen cat food after an H5-positive house cat in Oregon died. The viruses and bacteria in raw milk or meats can be harmful to both pets and humans, but the risk is “especially concerning” with the ongoing spread of bird flu virus among dairy cows.

S.B. Public Health advised there was no evidence of cat-to-cat, cat-to-human, or human-to-human contagion with bird flu currently. Questions about symptoms or potential exposure can be phoned to the county’s 24-hour disease control line at (805) 681-5280, or emailed to dc@sbcphd .org

—Jean Yamamura

SELENA GOMEZ EMILIA PÉREZ
KARLA SOFÍA GASCÓN EMILIA PÉREZ
HARRIS DICKINSON BABYGIRL
ARIANA GRANDE WICKED
KIERAN CULKIN A REAL PAIN
ANGELINA JOLIE MARIA
RALPH FIENNES CONCLAVE
ZOE SALDAÑA EMILIA PÉREZ
TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
COLMAN DOMINGO SING SING
CLARENCE MACLIN SING SING
MIKEY MADISON ANORA
JOHN MAGARO SEPTEMBER 5
ADRIEN BRODY THE BRUTALIST
GUY PEARCE THE BRUTALIST

S.B. Airport Attempts to Avoid Drowning

This past February, the Santa Barbara Airport closed twice due to flooding from incessant rainstorms. The year before, it closed in January when powerful storms driven by atmospheric rivers of rain dropped more than 10 inches along the coast and 33 inches in the mountains. Barely 15 feet above sea level the Pacific Ocean is just a few hundred yards away — the airport is bordered by the Goleta Slough and three creek systems. Given its vulnerability to sealevel rise, the airport is currently planning for the effects an increase of up to 6.6 feet, and the public is invited to take part.

around $120,000 in revenue a day. Add to that any damage or debris; for late February 2024, that totaled $879,000. If 2.5 to 3.3 feet of ocean rise occurs, the report envisions the costs from flooding would cause operations to cease as early as 2068, or as late as 2108.

The waterways around Santa Barbara Airport have all been altered to reduce flood risks, but the pooling of water on the runways has shut the airport periodically since it started commercial flights in 1936, most severely in 1969 and 1995, when the entire airport flooded, not just the runways.

The Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment prepared by the airport underlines the effects of climate change in causing three closures in the past two years.

The stakes are high. Any day-long closure affects 21 to 34 flights and costs the airport

COURTS & CRIME

In preparation for the upcoming review, the airport’s Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment is part one of a three-phase endeavor to analyze the area, airport operations, and flood protection, and come up with a plan by 2026. It also looks at Isla Vista and Old Town Goleta and the effects of flooding there, on airport equipment, sewers, storm drains, and more.

An open house for the Climate Adaptation Plan takes place on January 7, 6-7:30 p.m., at Direct Relief (6100 Wallace Becknell Rd.). The city Airport Commission takes up the topic on January 15, 6 p.m., at the Airport Administration Office (601 Firestone Rd.) Comment can also be submitted by email before January 16 at sba_cap@santa barbaraca.gov —Jean Yamamura

Judge Quashes Search Warrant into Pro-Palestinian Accounts

The hearing to quash a search warrant into two pro-Palestinian student Instagram accounts on December 20 was quick. Santa Barbara County Judge Pauline Maxwell seemed to have already made up her mind to reject the search warrant into the UCSBaffiliated accounts @saygenocideucsb and @ucsbliberatedzone on the grounds that it was too broad and did not establish sufficient probable cause.

The warrant was filed by the UC Police Department (UCPD) based on their suspicions that the account holders were responsible for the June occupation and vandalism of UCSB’s Girvetz Hall as part of a political protest, which resulted in $40,000 in damages, according to court records. UCPD issued the warrant on September 11 as part of its investigation into alleged kidnapping, vandalism, burglary, and conspiracy by occupiers.

The police wanted to identify the account holders. However, the warrant would have also revealed other information, such as the IP addresses of those who simply liked, commented, or interacted with the pages. A motion to block the warrant was filed on September 25. Last month, both sides presented their arguments before a courtroom packed with protesters.

The UC and its governing board, represented by attorneys Jonathan Miller and Anthony Davis, argued that posts on @saygenocideucsb took responsibility for the occupation, referring to a letter that says they “have taken Girvetz Hall,” and that it constituted probable cause for the warrant.

However, attorney Addison Steele, representing a person who may have interacted with one or both of the Instagram pages, was not convinced.

“There’s no evidence of a connection between who posted it and who wrote it, and there’s not even really a connection between who wrote it and who occupied Girvetz,” Steele said on December 20. “That’s two or three levels of speculation, which I don’t think indicates probable cause.”

Judge Maxwell ultimately ruled that the warrant was overly broad implicating possible violations of freedom of speech and political speech, particularly concerning those who simply interacted with the posts. Police are too often given leeway on such warrants, she noted. However, she said that she does believe the warrant can be rewritten to articulate probable cause with a narrowed focus, giving UCPD the opportunity to write a cleaner warrant that may pass.

Flooding at S.B. Airport on February 19, 2024

Kyle Amundsen

After attending Art Center College of Design Kyle pursued a career in design and advertising that lead him to work at John Moran Auctioneers for 15 years. It was here he became fascinated with American & California Impressionist art, fine jewelry and diamonds. For the last 15 years Kyle has owned a company in Pasadena brokering estate jewelry, fine art, buying and selling diamonds & cutting diamonds.

We Are Buying Watches, Jewelry, Diamonds Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds Gold, Platinum and Silver

Hana Goble

Hana attended Gemological Institute of America after graduating from UC Riverside and has been passionate about antique jewelry for over a decade. Her deep interest in the history and craftsmanship of fine jewelry led her to work as a traveling buyer for a prominent estate jeweler, specializing in old-cut diamonds and signed pieces. She especially enjoys researching hallmarks and uncovering the history behind jewelry she encounters.

Michael Merritt

Mike is the owner of this company and the host of the event. He has 36 years of experience in buying and selling new and vintage jewelry, wrist watches, pocket watches, coins and currency. Mike personally takes almost every call for the appointments and will be happy to answer all of your questions about the process and about what items are purchased.

Alan Bedwell

Alan grew up working in the family jewelry business in London. That store is still located in the prestigious Gray Antique Market today. It was here that Alan learned the trade of fine English and American silver, signed European vintage jewelry and Swiss watches. For the last 18 years Alan has been living in New York City and owns a business curating special pieces for stores all across the country.

Plans for Eight-Story Building Still Incomplete

Plans for the eight-story building at 505 East Los Olivos Street located behind the historic Old Mission Santa Barbara are still incomplete. On December 13, the City of Santa Barbara sent a letter to the project’s development team outlining the project’s missing parts and errors within it. This is the second response letter Santa Barbara has sent to the team. From now on, application reviews will cost $2,346.50 eac one fourth of the project’s application fee.

The property at 505 East Los Olivos is nestled between the historic mission and the Museum of Natural History. The project’s applicants, Ben Eilenberg and The Mission LLC, are proposing to build an approximately 90-foot-tall building with 255 rental units, including 51 low-income units. The project would also include 445 parking spots and 336 bicycle parking spots underground.

The project’s plans require details on the proposed driveway and roof, as well as corrections to the submitted floor plans and elevation drawings, among other things. The city also needs clarification on how close the building will be to the nearby Mission Creek. The city states that all developments should be at least 25 feet away from the top of the creek’s bank. On diagrams, it appears the proposed building is within that 25-foot limit, meaning the project would need approval from the city’s community development director.

The project falls under Builder’s Remedy, which is part of the state’s housing laws that allows developers to bypass regional zoning codes to build projects that include affordable housing units when a city does not have a state-certified housing element. This project’s prelimi-

nary plans were submitted in January 2024, when Santa Barbara was out of compliance. The city is currently in compliance.

According to state code, the developers cannot revise their project’s residential units or constructed square footage by 20 percent or more without having to submit a new preliminary application. A new preliminary application permit would not fall under Builder’s Remedy laws. That means the developers cannot significantly grow or shrink this project’s size without losing the benefits of Builder’s Remedy.

Renderings of the building included in the plan show a rectangular structure with a parking garage at its base, cutting into the slope of the property. Without permission from the architect or designer, the Independent is unable to provide any design renderings.

The project’s architect has not signed or included identification information on submitted plans, but under the “professionals” tab in Accela, the city’s software program, the local firm Bildsten Architecture and Planning is listed with the license type “architect.” Bildsten Architecture and Planning did not respond to a request for comment in time for this story.

NEWS BRIEFS

HOUSING

The court case between the Shelby property owners and the City of Goleta is a battle over the development of a 12-acre parcel of open space above Dos Pueblos High School and next door to Glen Annie Golf Club. After the city questioned a new application in the development of 56 single-family homes — 13 of them low-income affordable — California’s Attorney General filed a friend-of-the-court brief on 12/20 asserting that the city must accept Shelby’s preliminary application. The Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is currently set to be heard on 1/15 in Judge Thomas Anderle’s courtroom.

Santa Barbara County’s superior court has ruled that a nearly 85-year height restriction on a property in Hope Ranch is unenforceable. The decision comes after a civil suit between Hope Ranch residents Max Liskin and Marc and Pauline Lowe, Liskin’s neighbors who sought to waive a 1940 deed on their property that would have restricted any home they built to a single story. The court’s decision states that the one-story restriction is not a general restriction and other properties in the area with single-story height restriction deeds had multi-story homes. It also states that the one-story restriction is not necessary to protect Hope Ranch’s views, privacy, or rural character.

Questions about the project’s feasibility will have to wait until the project’s application is complete. The Mission LLC and Eilenberg (who did not respond to a request for comment in time for this story) have three months to submit a revised application a timeline that started December 13. Once the application is complete, the project will need to undergo California Environmental Quality Act review.

The county is looking to remove some of its subjective language from its local coastal plan, implementing objective design standards that would take the place of the Architectural Board of Review for multifamily and mixed-use housing projects. It would also update its Density Bonus Program, supportive housing, and shelter standards in the coastal zone to align with state laws. But the county’s proposed amendments will need revision. On 12/12, the California Coastal Commission rejected Santa Barbara’s current proposal, voting to approve if it makes two changes to protect the Coastal Commission’s rules. Read more at independent.com/ housing. n

The Department of the Air Force invites you to attend Public Scoping Meetings for the Environmental Impact Statement for Authorizing Changes to the Falcon Launch Program at Vandenberg Space Force Base

The Department of the Air Force (DAF) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental effects associated with:

DAF’s authorization of the redevelopment of Space Launch Complex (SLC)-6 to support Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy operations, including launch and landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB); DAF’s authorization of an increase in Falcon 9 launches and landings at VSFB and downrange landings in the Pacific Ocean; and

The Federal Aviation Administration’s issuance or modification of a vehicle operator license to Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy operations at VSFB and approval of related airspace closures.

The DAF will hold three in-person public scoping meetings and a virtual public scoping meeting to inform the public about the Proposed Action and accept comments on the scope of the analysis. During the in -person public scoping meetings, project team members will be available to provide information, and there will be an opportunity to provide oral and written comments. Scoping meeting materials will be provided in English and Spanish at the in-person scoping meetings and online at w w w V S F

IN-PERSON PUBLIC SCOPING MEETINGS (5 p m 8 p m Pacific Time)

Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025 Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1679, 3801 Market St., Ventura, CA

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 Westside Neighborhood Center, 423 W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara, CA

Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 Dick DeWees Community Center, 1120 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc, CA

VIRTUAL PUBLIC SCOPING MEETING ( (6 p m Pacific Time)

Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 w w

PUBLIC COMMENTS Public scoping comments can be submitted in English or Spanish in the following ways:

In-person at one of the three public scoping meetings

Via comment form on the project

scoping

will also support consultation under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations. Visit the project website at w

to learn more about the project.

To ensure the DAF has sufficient time to consider public scoping comments during preparation of the Draft EIS, please submit comments within the 45-day scoping period.

Donald M. McInnes 3/7/1939 - 10/23/2024

Donald M. McInnes passed away peacefully on October 23, 2024 at the age of 85 in Rancho Mirage, CA. Beyond his deep love for family, he leaves behind a legacy of music as a violist. Donald appeared as a soloist with major orchestras, performed thousands of recitals, and can be heard on numerous studio recordings. As an educator, Donald shared his immense knowledge with countless students at some of the finest music institutions throughout the world.

Donald is survived by his husband, three children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Donald M. McInnes Memorial Fund at the Music Academy of the West, www.musicacademy.org/ donate. A Celebration of Life will occur 1/10/25 at the Music Academy of the West at 1:30 and 1/11/25 at Wiefels Mortuary in Palm Springs at 1pm.

Robert (Bob) Moran 10/3/1922 - 12/8/2024

Robert (Bob) Moran, of Goleta California, in his 103rd year, passed away at his home on December 8, 2024 in the company of his loving niece

Bobbi Reeves, long-time caregiver Shalimar and nurse, Marianne.

Bob was born to Edward and Clara (Mullen) Moran in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on October 3, 1922.

During World War 2 Bob served as a mechanic in the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. After the war he was a linesman for Bell Telephone in Montreal. This job  also took him to Canada’s North at the 55th Parallel where he worked

on the  ambitious construction program- the Distant Early Warning, or DEW Line.

An avid downhill ski enthusiast, Bob spent many winter weekends in the Laurentians, where he met and fell in love with Grenda Lyon. They married on February 28, 1953 and spent the next seventy years together until Grenda’s passing on October 30, 2023.

Despite their enjoyment of skiing, Bob and Grenda were not big fans of winter. California called to them so they packed up their belongings and headed west in 1964 to set up home in Goleta, working at Pacific Tel.

Bob was the last of a generation. He was predeceased by his siblings Cecilia (Leonard) Storey, Edna, Kaye (Stan) Lemieux, Gert (Lloyd) Lockhart, and brother Lenny (Hilda) and also his nieces Laurie Lockhart (George Vessios), Janet Lockhart and nephew John Lemieux.

Mourning his loss are his nieces and nephews  Karen (John) Beasley, Paul ( Sandra) Lemieux, Bobbi (David) Reeves, Kim Lockhart, Ann (Dr. Collin) Powell, Sheila (Gary) Duggan, Larry (Joanne) Lemieux, Greg (Sherry Harrison) Lockhart, honorary niece, Heather (Brian) Ayer and honorary nephew and loyal friend, Gerard Green. Also missing him are many great and greatgreat grandnephews and nieces, and his dear friends Nadine Anderson, Rachel McKeone and Kathy Weir.

Bob will be remembered for his ability to enjoy life, his willingness to try new things. He and Grenda enjoyed  traveling and seeking out new adventures, like cruising the Caribbean during a hurricane! They loved to party and entertain and share their good fortune and great climate with family and friends, bringing them to places like Solvang, Ojai, San Simeon and Disneyland. He could BBQ a mean tri-tip roast! When not entertaining he communicated with friends and family world-wide on his ham radio.

He was a true Renaissance man, lover of the arts, Italian marble and museums. He was an accomplished artist, a painter and a sculptor. He loved to sing and play guitar. He was a gardener of fruit trees; fig, avocado, peach and Meyer lemon. He loved the sunshine (even though it did not agree with his Irish complexion) and swimming in the Pacific ocean or at the spa.

Bob cherished his Catholic faith. In his final days, he received the Sacrament of the Sick from an old friend, Father Maurice O’Mahoney. Bob’s funeral will take place on Monday, January 13, 2025 at St Rapheal’s Church at 10:00 am followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please do a kindness that no one knows about.

Bob’s parting advice: Don’t smoke!

Charles E. Kriech

4/7/1931 - 12/23/2024

Charles passed away on December 23, 2024, surrounded by family after a long, loving, and fulfilling life. He was born April 7, 1931, in Indianapolis, IN, to Carl and Louisa Kriech.

He grew up in Indianapolis and graduated from Purdue University in 1952 with a degree in engineering. After graduating, he served three years in the Navy during the Korean Conflict. Upon returning to Indianapolis, Charles began working at General Motors, where he met the love of his life, Nancy Fox. Charles and Nancy married in May 1957.

They moved to Santa Barbara in 1961 and established deep roots in the community while raising their six children. Charles worked for General Motors on various projects, including the incorporation of the first computer into a GM vehicle and mentoring many young engineers, until he retired in 1993.

Charles was deeply involved in St. Raphael’s Church, where he served as the Head of the Lectors for over 50 years and mentored many individuals in the art of public speaking. A strong advocate for blood donation, he frequently received calls to donate blood and platelets due to his rare blood type. In retirement, Charles enjoyed working on his 1932 Ford Model B, which he had owned since 1955. He was also an active member of a local Model A club, and he and Nancy loved connecting with fellow vintage car enthusiasts.

Charles felt happiest when surrounded by family and

friends. He enjoyed having the ones he loved around him, whether it was celebrating his birthday with angel food cake and vanilla ice cream or playing card games like Euchre. Charles was a member of a local poker group that played together for years.

He was fortunate to be survived by his loving wife of 67 years, Nancy, and their children: daughter Beth Ann Vaughan of Goleta (married to Matt), son Andrew Kriech of Austin, TX (married to Sharon), son Jeffrey Kriech of San Jose, CA (married to Emilie), daughter Amy Holtz of Goleta (married to Brian), daughter Emily Quinn of New Castle, CO (married to Mike), and daughter Sarah Hayden of Camarillo, CA (married to Thomas). He is also survived by his 16 grandchildren: Vanessa, Katy, Chelsea, Nick, Rachael, Michelle, Nolan, Emma, Simon, Ryan, Megan, Lily, Bryce, Nora, Jason, and Spencer. Additionally, he was blessed with 5 great-grandchildren. He is remembered fondly by his brother, David Kriech, of Texas.

A Memorial for Charles will be held on January 11, 2025 10:00 am, at St. Mark’s University Parish, 6550 Picasso Rd., Isla Vista, CA 93117. Reception to follow Memorial Service.

Donations in Charles’ honor can be made to the Santa Barbara VNA/Hospice.

Luis Martinez Castillo 4/8/1948 - 12/14/2024

Luis Martinez Castillo was born on April 8th, 1948 in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. He was the only son of four siblings. Luis grew up very quickly and at a young age he started working to support his mother and sisters. Luis later migrated to the United States in search for a better life and decided to settle in Santa Barbara. Soon after he married his wife Teresa Vazquez in 1975. A couple years later Luis and Teresa welcomed their only son Luis Alonso to the world.

Luis worked over 20 years at Santa Barbara City College. He began as a grounds keeper and was later promoted to mainte-

nance. He loved his job fixing anything and everything at the college and SBCC was his last employer before he retired.

Luis really enjoyed do-ityourself projects at home and always had a new project he was working on. He liked fixing things and in many ways he would put his own personal touch to the repair. His home and mobile home have many remnants of his fabrications and repairs.

Luis also had a love for BBQ. On any special celebration he was quick to buy plenty of meats and BBQ for the occasion. He even built his own grills that are used to this day by close family members. He was known for his “famous” chicken among his friends and family.

Although Santa Barbara was Luis’ residence, he also enjoyed visiting his old home, Mexico. Whether it was going back to his old home town in Jalisco or going on a vacation, Mexico was his favorite destination and it felt like a second home to him. He also visited his family frequently in Tijuana. Luis was very opinionated and outspoken, but he had a tremendous heart. He was always lending a hand to help his friends and family in a time of need. He also loved spending time with his wife, son and grand daughter. He often made time to be with close friends as well.

Luis left this world December 14th at home near friends and family. He joins his mother Bertha and his sisters Trinidad, Carmen and Lucila in paradise. Luis is survived by his wife Teresa, his son Luis Alonso and his granddaughter Kaitlin Rose.

Rosary will new held Jan. 2nd at 7:00pm at the WelchRyce-Haider chapel in Santa Barbara.

Funeral services will be held at Our Lady of Sorrows Church Jan. 3rd at 10:00am.

Reception is at Parish Hall (behind Our Lady of Sorrows Church) immediately after mass from 11:00am-2pm.

County: Stand Up for Your Rights

Any Risk of More Leaks from the Failed Oil Pipeline Is Unacceptable

Iserved as deputy director of the County Planning Department, managing the Energy Division in the mid-1980s. Though I no longer live in Santa Barbara and generally stay out of the politics of another area, I urge the county to aggressively insert itself in the technical review and approval process for the inoperable crude oil pipeline now owned by Sable.

Pipeline transportation of locally produced crude oil was considered an essential alternative to proposed tanker ship transportation by county policy. I personally managed the environmental impact report and statement for the All American/Celeron pipeline (AAPL) and took the project before the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for approval.

At that time, each newly approved petroleum project, including AAPL, was subject to a cooperative multi-agency system safety review process that included the company engineering team. Post discretionary review was an essential part of findings of approval that each project was mitigated to the maximum extent feasible. In part, this allowed local first responders to develop integrated incident response plans. During construction, these projects were all monitored by the Permit Compliance Program team.

resources at risk, substantially different factual basis. There are huge oil reserves offshore: two major production and processing facilities developed by Exxon and Chevron have substantial demonstrated capacity. These existing facilities, and the valuable resources they were intended to produce, argue that replacing the failed pipeline is feasible and could effectively mitigate the significant risks of employing elements of a failed system.

Based on past proposals by Exxon, the current owners of the Santa Ynez Unit (three offshore oil platforms and Las Flores processing facility) and Point Arguello production facilities can together afford to replace, not repair, the existing failed pipeline.

Think On Your Feet

Our feet were designed to walk on Earth. Sand, grass, dirt and mud conform to the shape of any foot and provide full contact and support. Instead, we walk on cement, hardwood floors and unforgiving tile. Injuries, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis and even fractures occur when the foot is not fully supported.

Our feet were designed to walk on Earth. Sand, grass, dirt and mud conform to the shape of any foot and fully support our body weight. Instead, we walk on cement, hardwood floors and unforgiving tile. It’s no wonder our feet hurt from time to time.

Custom orthotics can fill in the gap created by walking on hard surfaces.

Custom Orthotics minimize the risk of painful injuries by providing full contact and support like the Earth.

• Foot Pain

• Ingrown Toenails

• Thick Fungal Nails

• Heel pain

• Sports Injuries

During the system safety review, AAPL informed the county that they would need to import steel for the pipeline due to limitations in domestic supply. As the review moved forward, the county was not given data showing whether the steel to be used was an acceptable grade for transportation of corrosive crude oil. In addition, the county system safety team was not allowed to review welding records, cathodic protection, shutoff valve design, and other key engineering elements of the project because AAPL insisted the project was only subject to authority of the State Fire Marshal.

Litigation ensued; the county lost.

As a result, the county was only allowed to evaluate and condition aspects of pipeline construction that affected surface restoration (such as soil stability), essentially from the top of the pipe to ground surface. The county was assured that the Office of the State Fire Marshal would require AAPL to use industry standard design, use appropriate materials, and implement industry standard monitoring and maintenance. Before I retired, I saw the project built and put into operation.

I was disappointed when I was called by the media to comment on the Gaviota oil spill. And I was upset to learn of the causes. At the time, I stayed out of the public reaction and discussion. Now, however, I want to point out some obvious facts.

First and second: The steel wasn’t good enough, and neither was the maintenance. Third and fourth: ExxonMobil valued the remaining crude oil reserves and existing production facilities good enough to propose restarting its existing production platforms but proposed replacing the pipeline. And now Sable owns the system and proposes to “repair” the pipeline, with no county oversight. Same crude, same steel, same

• Bunions • Hammertoes

EXPERIENCE MATTERS

In the 1980s, the State of California failed the citizens of Santa Barbara County and the citizens of the state by exercising sole oversight of engineering issues, shutting the county out of any system safety review of the proposed pipeline, and by allowing inadequate maintenance during operation of the pipeline and failed leak response during the pipeline spill. In short the state agreed to take responsibility and failed.

The people of Santa Barbara County and their representatives are told that they cannot review the critical engineering data that justifies start-up of a “common carrier” pipeline with a demonstrated record of failure. That is wrong. The pipeline extends under the Santa Ynez River, the Sisquoc River, and the Cuyama River. Together, these form the most important local water supplies in the county. Given the chemical makeup of crude oil from the Monterey and related formations, any leakage from the repaired pipeline, even below leak system detection limits, has the potential to foul the water supplies of Lompoc, Santa Maria, and huge areas of the region’s agriculture. This alone is a reasonably foreseeable significant impact given the pipeline’s history.

By shutting the county out of the review and decision process on potential future use of a failed pipeline, the state is denying Santa Barbara the California constitution’s right to exercise its police power to protect its citizens through land use actions.

Also shut out of the discussion are the many landowners that the Planning Commission and county staff worked with to route the pipeline in the least damaging way across their land. Were they compensated fairly during condemnation proceedings, given what we now know about the condition of the pipeline and the proposed “repairs?”

I am frustrated to see the county make so little visible effort to stand up for its residents. A former president and county resident told us, “Trust but verify.” There is nothing to prevent Sable from volunteering to cooperatively review and improve the engineering of their pipeline with the county in the name of transparency and being a good corporate neighbor: Exxon did; Chevron did; Unocal did; Texaco (Getty) did. In my opinion, the county should insist on direct involvement in the current review. Even if the law is unchanged, the facts are different.

• Patients with Diabetes • Neuropathy • Warts

• Painful Corns & Calluses

•30+ Years treating these and all conditions of the foot and ankle

• Serving Santa Barbara and Goleta

We accept Medicare, Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield and Cottage Board Certified ABFAS

University Professional Bldg.

The heart of the matter is the heavy corrosion that caused the pipeline to rupture.

Patagonia in Four Seasons

A Seasoned Traveler Remembers Her Adventures at the Bottom of the World

Torres del Paine National Park: Explora Hotel Salto Chico above Salto Chico (Little Falls) on Rio Paine with Cuernos del Paine across Lago Pehoe

Photographer Macduff Everton and I have visited Chilean Patagonia in all seasons, which, below the Equator, turn on their heads. Sun-drenched windswept Decembers, Fall colors in March, and snowy, frigid Julys. We embarked on more than a decade of adventures exploring the mountains and valleys of La Última Esperanza (Last Hope) Province, and fjords stretching toward the Strait of Magellan. These four vignettes are from those times.

SPRING: CERRO BENÍTEZ

Cerro Benítez, 10 minutes north of Puerto Natales, is a geologic formation in the transition zone from plain to steppe. We scramble through brush and tufted grasses to a plateau

with goblinlike nodules of conglomerate rock, dappled with lichen. The wind bears down on us, making it hard to stand, let alone move. Above Last Hope Sound, clouds draw up like huge manes of thick hair. They tower over the mountains and then pound the land in dark streaks of rain. In moments, the sky shifts from muted gray as a cold, white sun burns a hole through the cloud bank. The downpour at last dwindles to a hiss. Clouds race across the sky, and we dart about like blown rubbish. The wind howls at us to fall to our bellies, and we obey, slinking like lizards, inching to the edge of a cliff.

We peer over to see, less than 20 yards beneath us, a juvenile condor perched on a rock ledge. This windy promontory offers a god’s-eye view of Laguna Sofía and the great beyond, where soaring condors with 12-foot wingspans seem proportional.

Our descent takes us through forests of lenga, southern beech, smattered with ruby-red chaura berries, each one a burst of sweet liquid, a little gift in a parched place. Scampering

downhill, the wind at our backs, makes for a playful descent.

The following day, we drive to Laguna Figueroa on a route taken countless times by tourists toward Torres del Paine. A two-hour walk leads us first along Chorrillo Picana, Picana Creek, then up the side of a hill, where we crouch down through dwarf forests of the twisted low growing ñire, Antarctic beech. This is surely a place where los duendes, spirits of the forest, reside.

Like a slow exhalation, the sandstone rock path opens out onto a forest of tall, bare southern beech trees, each outlined in snow and wreathed in barba de viejo, old man’s beard, a chamois-green moss that only grows in pure, highly oxygenated air. Clusters of pan de indio, Indian bread, an edible loquat-looking fungus, sprout from its branches. A sudden snow dusts the valley and hills.

A hare crosses our path of vision, since not even the slightest movement in such a still and silent place escapes notice.

We narrow our footsteps to a worn single-file path to the

Cerro Benítez: View with condor overlooking Laguna Sofía, near Puerto Natales
Rio Vizcacha Basin: Horse next to seasonal lake beneath Sierra del Cazador

top of the mountain, awed by a panorama that stretches from the glacial mountains in the fjords in the southwest, to the Paine Massif and Southern Ice Field in the northwest. A silver ribbon of a stream bisects the pocket valley below, and several little ponds mirror the sky.

When we reach the top, we lean over a tawny ledge crusted in bright orange lichen to find we are nearly shoulder-toshoulder with another juvenile male condor, sunning himself. Condors fly so close to us that we can not only hear but also feel the thwop of their wings breaking the silence until they rise far up in the heavens, becoming black slashes against the sky, creatures of space, transcendent in the light.

SUMMER:

SIERRA DE LOS BAGUALES

Sierra de Los Baguales, Range of the Wild Horses, is an eastwest chain of mountains near where Chile meets Argentina, containing amphitheater-shaped valleys with sedimentary

rocks rich in fossils. Often referred to as mysterious and even sinister, it was a sacred and forbidden site for Patagonia’s Indigenous population.

We ride horses for six hours through whirlpools of dust and wind to a summit. Our horses love being worked. In the distance, shadows swim up the sides of bare mountains, washing their charcoal and russet flanks in deep purple. Spots of golden light rest on shelves of the steppe. They pick their way carefully up the knobby mountain. From moment to moment, the sky is a pearl, a smooth stone, a downpour.

I suddenly realize: I’m on the top of the mountain, at the bottom of the world, and what is beneath my feet? The past traces of human artifact, fossils, layers of soil, mineral, and bone. Paintings start to form in my mind. We stop at an ancient riverbed crammed with fossilized seashell and bone. The riverbank once marked the edge of a grassy meadow encircled by a leafy forest. Now, only shreds of petrified wood remain, splayed around the base of phantom trees. Pick-upsticks in a fan-pattern, all grays and ochres.

Like a buried manuscript of a forgotten past, a fossil is nothing short of a miracle. Most organisms live and die without leaving a trace of their existence but sometimes, life rests between strata at just the right moment, with just the right conditions, and its delicate features are preserved as stone. Drawings also are fleeting. A thought caught on paper at a moment in time, sometimes buried beneath layers of pigment yet the original marks persist. Even an erasure leaves traces of the old marks a pentimento that remains an integral part of the clues, layers, the map of where we are, of who we are, in this place, now.

AUTUMN:

TORRES DEL PAINE

Paine means “blue” in the language of the indigenous Aónik’enk group of the Tehuelche, and gives its name to mountains, a river, and one of the world’s most famous national parks. In 1879, the Scottish explorer, hunter, and

Torres del Paine National Park
Sierra de los Baguales: Riders exploring Patagonia

adventurer Lady Florence Dixie, absurdly and misogynistically referred to as a “tourist,” was the first European hunter, tracker, and adventurer to explore the mountains. She called them Cleopatra’s Needles.

The Park is a jewel within a province that encompasses a diversity of ecosystems, from dense forest to grassy steppes, glaciers, rivers, and lakes. Berries grow everywhere, including the thorny califate. Locals say if you eat its sweet fruit, you will doubtless return to Patagonia.

In spring, the mata negra blossoms as fragrantly as honey, while at the end of its cycle in autumn, the edible cenicero del diablo mushroom bursts its white bulb and dispenses its spores, leaving bronze-colored cups, as thin-walled as Japanese porcelain, to fill with rainwater.

Declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1978, Torres del Paine National Park is one of the most remote and unspoiled places on the planet, noted for the Cuernos (horns) and Torres, the landmark towers formed from volcanic granite and sedimentary layers over millions of years, sculpted through

at least 10 periods of glaciation, into rugged, emblematic profiles.

The Southern Patagonian Ice Field is a vestige of the last Ice Age, when ice blanketed Patagonia. Today, it is the second largest ice field in the world, but it too, like the poles, is actively retreating. Grey Glacier is one of dozens of glaciers born from this mother of ice. When moist air currents from the Pacific Ocean meet the frigid air rising from the ice, clouds form in an instant, and wind shreds them like rags flung against the mountain peaks.

We watch weather being born daily: sudden snowstorms, radiant sunshine, rain, and wind. At the end of a tongue of land, the blunt face of Grey Glacier towers above us, staggering, immense, its face scarred with gashes of the deepest ultramarine blue. A glint of blue from a calving glacier may be the only color in a cloud-veiled vista.

Ice is a filter the thicker the ice, the bluer its color. As the incident light penetrates layers of ice, the rest of the spectral red and yellow hues fall away; only hues of blue and green make it through. Blue blossoms on water float by like ghosts in the night. Icebergs calve and strain with knuckle-cracking sounds, as if they were alive. They are alive. I’m mesmerized by the tinkle-pop music of ice bits melting in the river, when suddenly there is a crash and tearing rasp as a small knob of ice thunders into the sea. At sunset, a milky purple mist covers Cuernos del Paine, a fortress of rock that appears to covet light while cradling cold. Never have pastel shades of pink and blue appeared so foreboding.

WINTER: THE FJORDS

Light snow flurries on a winter afternoon. We are greeted by Roberto, who’s standing with his first mate, Enrique, and we all board his small, seaworthy boat. The hold below used for fish has planks on which we lay our sleeping bags. We note a shower head above the toilet in the small head and decide showering is not an option. Central heating is a wood burning stove, on this wood-clad vessel.

As we leave Natales, white-breasted cormorants, tinged pink in early morning light, take flight using Last Hope Sound as a runway, smacking their shadows with their wings on this windless wintery day. Six hours later, after dining on fresh mussels we bought from a passing ship, the sun sinks behind

Isla Hunter, and we spend our first night in a sheltered cove in Victoria Bay.

The following day, as we arrive at Isla Virtudes at sunset, a cotillion of albatross dips their bladelike wings, reel in a circle, then soar across the bow. In these frigid waters, the centolla is the king of crabs; sea urchins ring the rocks; hake reside in the depths; sea lions, dolphins, and penguins leap, dive, and hunt; and whales breech and blow. On a map, there are so many islets, some of them yet unnamed, that it appears as if a loaded paintbrush spattered them into being. Many, through this labyrinth of channels, though untenanted of mammals, host a variety of bird and insect life that thrives amid springs and waterfalls. Some florae, such as the cycad, date to the age of the dinosaur. Endangered guaitecas cypress, the tepú, and other moisture-loving plants and mosses flourish. Each lush patch is its own primordial universe.

Roberto Muñoz, our captain, is a fisherman born in Puerto Cisnes in Aysén, the region north of Magallanes. Seventeen years of fishing out of Puerto Natales weights his 30-some years with an accumulative knowledge and respect for the waters. Roberto navigates around small islets and shallows, carefully paying attention to the tides and reading the currents, while simultaneously translating the unseen topography beneath us as if it were braille. Weather can turn in an instant. More than half of his dozen friends who also came to fish the fjords died within the first six years. Even the most freedomseeking sea dog is at heart a realist. Romantics go off to sea, but only the realists return.

Morning breaks as a streak of cadmium yellow smears the horizon, filling in the crevices between the jagged profile of black islands and gray clouds. We pull anchor and soon arrive at the fishing grounds. Enrique sets several long lines in the deep channel, each marked by a flagged float. He baits sardines onto hooks that stud the line at yard-and-a-half intervals, carping that more than half would doubtless be eaten by clever fish and sea lions. He tosses a 300-yard weighted line overboard the first 200 yards lead line and the final 100 with baited hooks and mutters something to himself, perhaps a prayer.

After a few hours, anticipation grows, as Enrique yanks up the lead line with a rapid waist-twisting motion that segues to the first series of hooks. A dozen pull up empty, but then he hoists a merluza as long as my arm onto the deck, followed by several more empties, and then more fish, including one smaller merluza tres aletas. After a long hour’s labor without pause, the men’s reward was 20 large hake and a few smaller fish. A fisherman’s life is, by necessity, circumspect, practical, yet buoyed by hope.

Isla Virtudes, Última Esperanza, Chile: Sea urchin divers anchored off Isla Virtudes

INDEPENDENT CALENDAR

THURSDAY 1/2

1/2: Opening Reception: The Power of Photography See 120 outstanding images from the series (which now numbers more than 1,500 entries and counting) with insightful words from the collection of Peter Fetterman, one of L.A.’s most respected photography dealers. Exhibit runs through January 27. 5-8pm. Sullivan Goss, An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St. Free Call (805) 730-1460. sullivangoss.com/exhibitions

SATURDAY 1/4

1/4: No Simple Highway at SOhO

Join for a long, long, crazy, crazy night of Grateful Dead music from S.B.’s premier Grateful Dead tribute band! 8:30pm. SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St. $15-$20. Ages 21+. Call (805) 962-7776 or email bella@sohosb.com sohosb.com

SUNDAY 1/5

1/5: Taylor-Made Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King & James Taylor

Celebrate the music of two of the most renowned pop artists of our generation with Taylor Made Tapestry’s tribute show to Carole King & James Taylor, which re-creates the two artists’Troubadour Reunion Show from 2007, with Carla Buffa as Carole King and Stephen Bock as James Taylor. 7pm. SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St. $25-$28. Call (805) 962-7776 or email bella@sohosb.com sohosb.com

FARMERS MARKET SCHEDULE

THURSDAY

Carpinteria: 800 block of Linden Ave., 3-6:30pm

FRIDAY

Montecito: 1100 and 1200 blocks of Coast Village Rd., 8-11:15am

SATURDAY

Downtown S.B.: Corner of State and Carillo sts., 8am-1pm

SUNDAY

Goleta: Camino Real Marketplace, 10am-2pm

TUESDAY

Old Town S.B.: 500-600 blocks of State St., 3-7pm

WEDNESDAY

Solvang: Copenhagen Dr. and 1st St., 2:30-6:30pm

(805) 962-5354 sbfarmersmarket.org

FISHERMAN’S MARKET

SATURDAY

Rain or shine, meet local fishermen on the Harbor’s commercial pier, and buy fresh fish (filleted or whole), live crab, abalone, sea urchins, and more. 117 Harbor Wy., 6-11am. Call (805) 259-7476. cfsb.info/sat

FRIDAY 1/3

1/3:

Flow’s 1st Friday Tea Social and Stuff Swap Enjoy a flow yoga class followed by a stuff swap, where attendees are invited to bring their lightly loved clothing, accessories, barely used toiletries, jewelry, housewares, and more to swap with others. All remaining items will be donated to Transition House of S.B. for those in need. 6pm. Flow Yoga and Wellness, 4441 Hollister Ave., Ste. A. $25. Email connect@sbflowyoga.com tinyurl.com/FlowYogaStuffSwap

MONDAY 1/6

1/6: S.B. Parks & Rec Older Adults

Clubs: Scrabble Club Players of all levels are invited to this weekly social group designed to connect older adults through their love of Scrabble. The group is open to English and Spanish speakers. 1-4pm. Louise Lowry Davis Ctr., 111 W. Victoria St. Free tinyurl. com/OlderAdult-Clubs

1/6: Lecture: The Ancient Art of the Maya Forest Garden S.B. County Archaeological Society’s Anabel Ford, PhD, will draw on her research studying how people in the tropics of Mesoamerica exhibit the art of enduring practices based on honed skills, trial and error, and local methods that supported all the daily needs of food and shelter. 7:30-9pm. Farrand Auditorium, S.B. Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol. Free. Call (805) 682-4711. sbnature.org/calendar

TUESDAY 1/7

1/7: S.B. Parks & Rec Older Adults Clubs: Duplicate Bridge Club New members are welcome to join this weekly group open to English and Spanish speakers whether you are a duplicate bridge master or looking to learn. 1-4pm. Louise Lowry Davis Ctr., 111 W. Victoria St. Free tinyurl.com/ OlderAdult-Clubs

1/7: Your S.B. Team Presents: Let’s Get Organized! Join Nancy Newquist Nolan and Rachel Quittner of Your S.B. Team and expert Karen Martin of Curated Transitions for tips and a plan to declutter your home. 10am. Grace Fisher Foundation Inclusive Arts Clubhouse, 121 S. Hope Ave., #F118, La Cumbre Plaza. Free. Call (805) 637-8932 or email rachel@yoursbteam.com yoursbteam.com/Events

Shows on Tap S Shows on Tap

1/2-1/5, 1/7-1/8: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Thu.: Off the Cuff: Musician Jam Night, 7:30pm. Free Fri.: The Moon and Broken Glass, 5:45pm. $10. Banda Maguey, 9:30pm. $60. Ages 21+. Sat.: No Simple Highway, 8:30pm. $15-$20. Ages 21+. Sun.: Taylor Made Tapestry: A Tribute to Carole King & James Taylor, 7pm. $25-$28. Tue.: A Cappella Night: The Baker’s Dozen of Yale Univ. with UCSB’s Vocal Motion, 7pm. $10-15. Wed.: Birdhouse Improv of UCSB Improvability, 7:30pm. Free-$8.1221 State St. Call (805) 962-7776. sohosb.com

1/3-1/4: Carr Winery Fri.: David Segall Trio, 7-9pm. Sat.: Falcon Heavy, 4pm. 414 N. Salsipuedes St. Free Ages 21+. Call (805) 965-7985 or email info@ carrwinery.com carrwinery.com/event

1/4-1/5: Cold Spring Tavern Sat.: The Winetones, 1:30-4:30pm. Sun.: Tom

1/4-1/5: Hook’d Bar and Grill Sat.: Adrian Floy and the THC, 3pm. Sun.: Traveling Hurtados, 1pm. 116 Lakeview Dr., Cachuma Lake. Free Call (805) 350-8351. hookdbarandgrill.com/ music-on-the-water

Ball and Kenny Sultan, 1:30-4:30pm. 5995 Stagecoach Rd. Free Call (805) 967-0066. coldspringtavern.com

1/4: The Cruisery Live Music Saturdays, 9pm. Free. 501 State St. Call (805) 729-3553. thecruisery.com/the-cruisery

1/4: Maverick Saloon Tex Pistols, 8:30pm. 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. Free Ages 21+. Call (805) 686-4785. mavericksaloon.com/event-calendar

1/4: M. Special Brewing Co. (S.B.) Nautical Thrust, 8pm. 634 State St. Free Call (805) 968-6500. mspecialbrewco.com

1/6: The Red Piano Morganfield Burnett, 7:30pm. 519 State St. Free Call (805) 358-1439. theredpiano.com

WEDNESDAY 1/8

1/8: S.B. Parks & Rec

Older Adults

Clubs: Knitting & Crochet Club Older adults can connect through their passion for knitting or crocheting. All levels and English and Spanish speakers are welcome. 9-11:30am. Louise Lowry Davis Ctr., 111 W. Victoria St. Free tinyurl.com/ OlderAdult-Clubs

1/8: Broadway in S.B. Presents: Mean Girls

This hilarious musical based on the 2004 film tells the story of Cady Heron, who moves from the African savanna to a public school in the U.S. and navigates the “queen bees” and the “wannabees.” The musical runs through January 9. 7:30pm. The Granada Theatre, 1214 State St. $60$135. Call (805) 899-2222 or email boxoffice@granadasb.org ticketing .granadasb.org/events

“Models in the Windows,” 1960, by Ormond Gigli
Adrian Floy and the THC

WISE BLOOD FROM OAXACA

ENTERPRISING EXHIBITION AT MCASB EXPLORES THE JUNCTURE OF CULTURES, ECOLOGY, AND CONTEMPORARY ART PRACTICE

With its current exhibition/project, the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) is densely packed and aswirl with collaborative sight, sound, and touch energies; multimedia resources; and sociohistorical ideas. But at the center of this thought-provoking maelstrom is a tiny insect.

That would be the tiny but mighty cochineal, found in the nopal cactus in Oaxaca and long cultivated by the Zapotec people as a source of a mythic red dye coveted for fabric and textile work. The cochineal, exported from Mexico to distant lands for centuries, becomes both a literal subject and central metaphor for a show whose

title conveys its ambitious objective: Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Contemporary Art

MCASB’s exhibition, involving a wide array of artists and video subjects, was curated by John Connelly, Dalia García, and Audrey Lopez and is a companion piece to an exhibition at UCLA’s Fowler Museum. Both are part of the large-scale PST Art project “Art & Science Collide.”

In MCASB’s segment, the expansive context involves education of young artists in the Oaxacan diaspora in working with the famed dye, and a corralling of artists spinning around the idea of reflecting roots and venturing into personal artistic directions.

The gallery itself plays host to an array of sensations and concepts, virtually transforming into a contemporary curatorial weaving project unto itself.

Our first impression comes in the realm of sound. The series of video monitors distributed around the gallery linked to the project by Dyani White Hawk and cinematographer Razelle Benally (Oglala Lakota/ Diné) called “LISTEN” show indigenous people speaking in an array of native tongues. It all coheres into a buzzing, bustling sonic mesh in the room, alluding to the dignity and fragility of often ancient but endangered indigenous languages.

Artifacts, tools, and subtle references to aspects of the dyeing and weaving arts are well-represented. Tania Candiani shows a large wooden loom, “Zanfona,” with occasional “performances” on the structure, as well as a set of grinding stones for creating the coveted cochineal dye. That dye is put to good, contemporary use in Sarah Rosalena’s “Eight-Pointed Star” its shape

faintly visible in the woolen thicket. Edgar Jahir Trujillo also uses cochineal pigment and textile fiber on canvas in his evocative woven work “Radiación adaptive.”

Contrasts between indigenous cultural references and Eurocentric ideas enter naturally into the exhibition’s thematic fabric. Painter Darío Canul (Tlacolulokos) shifts between native Oaxacan iconography in his painting “2020” to a radically revised variation on the Renaissance tradition of depicting the crucified Christ. In this case, Christ’s body is adorned with indigenous Zapotec tattoos and markings.

In the rumpled, jungle-referential installation side gallery, Wendy Cabrera Rubio slyly addresses the frictional interface of native Mexican life and colonial invaders/interlopers in her mixed media piece “Vitality and the utopian imagination in post-revolutionary Mexico.” She flies in quotes from alienation guru Kafka and has created a pillowy effigy of the dubious 1901 book, The Blood of the Nation: A Study of the Decay of Races Through the Survival of the Unfit by David Starr Jordan, touching on the exploitation and dehumanization of imperialist New World entities.

Another cross-historical juxtaposition takes on an organic form in the blend of ancient Oaxacan signifiers and modern graffiti “street” art, in Andy Medina’s boldly graphic “Zapotec March 2024.”

Medina, a 31-year-old Oaxacan-born artist, perfectly embodies a cultural synthesis objective proposed by the MCASB show. Histories, landscapes and languages artistic and otherwise collide and collude here, with a powerful insect issuing symbolic and actual marching orders.

—Josef Woodard

Sangre de Nopal/Blood of the Nopal: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Contemporary Art is on view at MCASB (653 Paseo Nuevo) through April 27, 2025. See mcasantabarbara.org.

QUEEN BEES BUZZ AS MEAN GIRLS COMES TO SANTA BARBARA

Mean Girls is having a moment. The Tina Fey–penned film that brought “that’s so fetch” into the popular vernacular back in 2004, as well as becoming a Broadway musical in 2018 and a movie musical in 2024, is also a Broadway touring company that’s making its way to The Granada Theatre January 8-9, 2025.

I spoke to José Raúl, who plays the role of Aaron Samuels, on the phone last week. He says that audiences should “prepare to have a good time and to laugh out loud.” The story follows the adventures of Cady Heron, who grew up on a savanna in Africa and lands in a high school in suburban Illinois full of even more vicious animals than she ever experienced in the wild the clique of mean girls.

“So, we see a girl apply the survival tactics of the of Sub-Saharan Africa to suburban Chicago, and you’re going to see her really, get kind of shocked as she experiences a major culture shock by the animalistic nature of being a teenage girl in an American high school,” says Raúl.

The songs and dance numbers are sure to bring the fun and all the feels but mostly, as People magazine wrote, “Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin’s songs keep the laughs coming!”

New York magazine called the show “HILARIOUS! A smart, splashy new musical that delivers with immense energy, a wicked sense of humor, and joyful inside-jokery.”

“It’s just been a staple in culture throughout my entire upbringing,” says Raúl. “One of my favorite things is that the audience really is another character for us. That’s true for a lot of theatrical experiences, specifically for Mean Girls…. You know, it’s been in our consciousness for nearly 20 years, right? So, we have this sense of, I don’t want to say ‘ownership’ isn’t the wrong word. It’s just, like, it’s a part of us.”

Mean Girls will be on stage at The Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) January 8-9, with both performances at 7:30 p.m. See broadwaysantabarbara.com and granadasb.org for tickets.

“Zapotec, March 2024” by Andy Medina
“Eight-Pointed Star” by Sarah Rosalena
“2020” by Dario Canul (Tlacolulokos)
From left: Shawn Mathews, Natalie Shaw, Kristen Seggio, José Raúl and the Tour Company of Mean Girls
JEREMY DANIEL, 2024

Vitamin Sea Gives a Whole New View of Life in Santa Barbara

Astaycation at the Rosewood Miramar Beach is certainly unlike any other. My husband and I were lucky enough to do an overnight stay the night after the general election, and let me just say that unplugging at the Rosewood Miramar Beach is about as close to an escape from reality as I can possibly imagine.

The place oozes with a throwback to Hollywood glam and the impeccable service of yesteryear from the moment we pull up to the valet in our Honda Accord, which is surely the least fancy car they’ve seen that day. Nonetheless, we’re greeted like VIPs and escorted through the stunning blackand-white lobby to check in before we’re driven in a golf cart to our room.

“So this is how the other half lives,” I said, as we looked around our beautiful bungalow room. Now a Triple Forbes Five-Star Property, this room is a far cry from the bungalows of old, which were so “shabby chic” that my family and friends rented one for us to celebrate my bachelorette party back in 1994. Now the Cape Cod–style architecture of the exterior opens up to a high-class yet comfortable room, with plush beds, linens, and robes, and an in-room bar featuring top-shelf spirits. It also has a separate closet/dressing room that’s bigger than my kitchen at home, as well as an equally expansive and oh-so-gorgeous bathroom.

The shower I could write a whole essay on how fabulous the shower is, with multiple showerheads and room to sit down and relax if you’re so inclined. There’s also a clawfoot tub and stunning marble-topped sink — the room is so large you could fit an entourage of hair and makeup artists in here pretty easily.

There are subtle beachy-blue and sandy-gray accents throughout the bungalow to liven up the white, which is everywhere on the property. So many white roses and other

white accent flowers! The gardens are predominantly white and green and so painstakingly well-kept that I feel certain that if I plucked a petal and dropped it, a groundskeeper would magically appear within minutes to clean it right up.

a different wine. Among the highlights: the Baja Kanpachi crudo with a beautiful verbena lemon and lime tea sauce; the Santa Barbara spiny lobster girasoli; the buttery, perfectly prepared New York strip; and the incredible house-made, artisanal sourdough bread, which features Chef Massimo’s 30-year-old sourdough starter and was served with housemade olive oil (from olives grown on the property) and a house-made seaweed-infused butter that was simply heavenly.

Along with the amazing meal, what made our dinner even more outstanding was the level of service. You know how on Downton Abbey when they have a special dinner, there’s a perfectly choreographed presentation for each course? That’s how this was, with multiple wines precisely poured at the exact time each dish came to the table. I definitely felt like we were royalty for the night but without all those pesky tabloids to worry about.

Escaping Reality at the Rosewood Miramar Beach

Our garden bungalow is surrounded by lush green gardens with a beautiful pair of oaks in the center courtyard next to a firepit and some white Adirondack chairs. The perfect place for a glass of wine before dinner. I’m so relaxed it’s hard to tear myself away from the fire, but our evening reservation awaits!

It’s sometimes easy to take the ocean for granted when you grow up in Santa Barbara, but the views at Caruso’s the resort’s Michelin-starred fine dining restaurant definitely take my breath away when go there for dinner. And what a dining experience it was! Chef Massimo Falsini and his team (including the lovely Chef de Cuisine Shibani Mone, whom I met during our Cheese the Day adventure) went all out with a prix-fixe experience that was simply off the charts. Our four-course menu went way over and above, adding many more courses, starting with a lovely glass of champagne and a stunning amuse bouche with five (!) perfectly composed bites, including miniature gougères with truffle crema and truffle garnish that I’ll be dreaming of for the rest of my life. That was followed by a mini cone stuffed with crab salad and squash and topped by some gorgeous caviar and gold leaf. And mind you, this was all before the first course.

We got the “Sense of Place Wine Pairing” with excellent regional wine pairings. Because there were two of us, we tried two things in each category antipasti, primi, secondi, and dolci e formaggi and each was individually paired with

We spent the next morning walking around and exploring the property, which, although I had been to the Revere Room and the Manor Bar several times, I had never actually done before. Those two venues are both located in the main building (with ocean views), and so is the lobby — December is a great time to visit, as the Christmas tree display is always exceptionally stunning and the spa, Goop boutique, and a few rooms. The bungalows, where we stayed, are around both the gardens and the pool areas (there are two), where there’s also a beautiful pond, a bocce court, the Cabana Bar, and the Scoop Shop, which has casual poolside bites, as well as scoops of ice cream.

The train tracks (where an affable, liveried guard greets you) separate these areas from the beachfront, which is where Caruso’s is, as well as the Miramar Beach Bar (with the beautiful blue sign that launched a thousand Instagram posts), and easy stairs down to the beach itself, where guests have “beach butler service” as well as complimentary use of chairs, umbrellas, beach toys, and water sports equipment.

Is staying at the Rosewood Miramar Beach a splurge? Sure, at least for most of us (rooms start at $1,485 a night; the four-course prix-fixe menu at Caruso’s is $175 per person, plus the “Sense of Place” wine pairings add $155), but it’s definitely an incredible place to go to celebrate some major life moment or if you really wanted to indulge your luxury fantasies. And for us lucky locals, Visit Santa Barbara currently has a locals-only lodging promotion, offering 30 percent discounts for residents from Goleta to Carpinteria who book overnight trips to the Santa Barbara South Coast. The deals apply to stays through early 2025 at more than a dozen properties, including the Rosewood Miramar Beach.

Although this off-season deal is only for locals, area residents can extend the offer to their visiting friends and relatives. Dates of stay, as well as terms and conditions, vary by property, and blackout dates may apply.

To view all the available offers, terms and instructions for booking, visit: santabarbaraca.com/locals.

Hard to beat a killer view like this one.

Santa Barbara’s Christmas Bird Count: A Great Tradition

The Central Coast lost one of its top birders last year with the passing of Brad Schram. Not only was Brad a great birder, but he was always friendly and generous with his time and expertise. Brad was a long-term Santa Barbara resident before moving up to San Luis Obispo upon his retirement. You could always tell when Brad was down visiting because his license plate was distinctive: BIRDSLO. Only recently did I realize the double meaning behind his message: not only did it identify him as part of a birding community, but it also expressed an attitude. Birding shouldn’t be about racing from place to place seeing how many birds you can list, but it should be about slowing down, being in the moment, aware of the sights and sounds all around you. By embracing this philosophy, you are far more likely to observe new bird behaviors and be in tune to the sounds birds make. By standing still and quiet, birds will get used to your presence and will return to their normal activities, sometimes coming close to you. This heightened awareness can also help you find unusual species.

On this year’s Santa Barbara Christmas Bird Count, I will attempt to emulate Brad’s example. The count is always a highlight of my birding year. I have a whole day set aside just for being with the birds, and there are no other obligations to make me hurry. I hope to make BIRDSLO one of my New Year’s resolutions.

This year’s count is on Saturday, January 4 — no rain, please! Rain is welcome any other day, but it does make our job harder. Every year, the National Audubon Society holds Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), this year being the 125th. Groups across the country go out into the field, or watch backyard feeders, to count species seen and the number of individuals of each bird. Communities record all the birds observed within a 15-mile radius ours stretches from Ellwood to Montecito. The results are tabulated from all across the country and beyond and help to give us an important snapshot of population trends.

Many of us have been scouting locations within the count circle to find where birds are concentrating this winter, and to find any rarities that we can add

to bolster our total number of species seen. We are still missing most oriole species apart from Bullock’s, Costa’s hummingbird, and several species of waterfowl.

Would you like to be involved in the count? If you missed the December 21 deadline for joining a group, the other way you can participate is by counting birds that come to your yard or to your feeder. If you choose this latter option, in order for your sightings to be tabulated, you must enter them on eBird. You don’t need to be registered to participate with the latter option. More information, including instructions of how to submit your backyard tally, can be found on the SBAS Christmas Bird Count website: santabarbaraaudubon.org/santa-barbara-christmas-bird-count.

Another marvelous event our local Audubon Society runs is the Winter Bird Count 4 Kids. This year’s event, the 11th annual, will be held on Saturday, January 25. All kids ages 8-16 are welcome with a responsible adult. Experienced naturalists will teach the basics of birding and how to use binoculars (binoculars will

be loaned for those who don’t own a pair), then guide you on a walk around Lake Los Carneros. Children (and adults) will learn how to identify, record, and tally the bird species observed. This is always a great event, and I hope to see you there. See santabarbaraaudubon.org/events/wbc4k for more information.

Carpinteria’s CBC has already been held and was very successful; it looks like the count had its highest number of species ever. Observers there were hoping to add a rare bird to the list, one that has returned for its second winter. The good news is that it showed up after a considerable wait. It’s the painted bunting, a tree ornament of a bird if there ever was one.

Ranson
Society,
We are hoping this sage thrasher, seen recently at Elings Park, will stick around for the count.
This spectacular painted bunting was seen on the Carpinteria Christmas Bird Count.

Redefining the Retail Experience

As is often the case with creative individuals, designer Beau Lawrence’s career in fashion commenced with an “Aha!” moment. His happened in the summer of 1997, when he was 22, while browsing retail shops at the Newport Beach Pier. He smoothed his hand over the graphic T-shirts in Billabong when suddenly it hit him, “These guys are smart,” he thought. “They’re not smarter than I am. I’m going to do the same thing. I’m going to build a brand.” He hopped in the car and drove nearly 90 miles from Newport to Valencia and optimistically declared to his parents his new career path: “Mom, Dad, I’m not going to be an architect. I’m going to be a fashion designer.”

Ace

Rivington Opens Flagship Store in the Heart of Downtown Santa Barbara

traveled to a time when retail shopping was a whole experience in and of itself. For Lawrence, that time was the ’80s, when he was young and would accompany his parents on their shopping trips. He appreciated the high level of service that was the norm back then and wanted to emulate it in his store. He also referenced some great ambiance creators: “I’ve looked at so many people, from Walt Disney to Ralph Lauren and others, for the power of space and being able to create feelings and experiences in a space like our retail stores.”

He tells me this story almost 28 years after the fact, in the office space on the top floor of his men’s clothing store, Ace Rivington, the latest location of which he opened on October 17. This space represents what I believe to be a window into his mind and, consequently, his brand: Sentimental maps, Ace Rivington posters, fashion design books, photographs, model airplanes, letters, and other accolades line the walls and shelves of the intimate space, which functions like a man cave, if that man were a fashion designer with a love for 1930s aviation.

A desk occupies one corner; a couch, coffee table, and a chair occupy the other. I take the sofa; he takes the leather foldable chair opposite though I feel it should be the other way around. This space, his office, is his sanctuary. It is adjacent to the design room, where a workman’s table occupies the room’s center, and a whole wall displays a miscellany of flannel shirts.

Downstairs is the retail space located at the corner of State and Figueroa. He spends every day in the flagship store, “at least six days a week,” he offers. It’s a warm and inviting space the back wall is covered from crown to sole in wood. An electric fireplace glows opposite a leather sofa, and 1940s French jazz permeates the air. You feel like you’ve been transported back in time.

This is precisely how he wants you to feel like you’ve

This is why he converses with his customers connects with them. He especially enjoys giving recommendations to first-timers to Santa Barbara and welcoming them to our quaint town. “One of my first questions when customers come into the store is, ‘Where did you have dinner last night? Where are you having dinner tonight?’”

“Why’s that?” I ask.

“Because there are so many spectacular food considerations in this town and so many inspired entrepreneurs and restaurateurs who are creating experiences in their own rights for people.”

If you visit the store, you’ll surely receive this high-quality service as you peruse a selection of jeans, flannel shirts, graphic tees, custom belts, shoes, and other accessories. It’s quality over quantity for Lawrence. “We’re not building a broad range of fashion,” he says. “We’re building fashion basics, things that I want to look cool in your closet for the next 10 years.”

The jeans are a hallmark of the brand, offering comfort and stretch but controlled growth to avoid what Lawrence refers to as “dumpy butt.” Lawrence works with Candiani Denim, a fourth-generation family-run mill in Robecchetto, Italy, half an hour west of Milan.

He always knew he wanted to explore his creative side, but he wasn’t sure how. “What I was very clear on from an early age was that my path would revolve around making things,” he recalls. He attended the College of the Canyons in Valencia,

where he studied math and science. Shortly after, he went to The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), where he studied fashion design. After FIDM, he interned for fashion designer Richard Tyler, worked at BCBG, and then at Guess, receiving a Design Excellence Award in 2008.

He launched Ace Rivington in 2013 and ran it out of his garage. He based the brand around an imagined character, Ace Rivington, a “globe-trotting, gallivanting modern-day private pilot able to explore every corner of the planet.” Lawrence wrote numerous stories detailing this character’s adventures, who became more than just branding for him; Ace Rivington was a whole venture, almost becoming a television show at one point.

The brand started with wholesale at the outset and even launched a catalog that “was a flop.” The day before Thanksgiving in 2016, Lawrence opened Ace Rivington’s first retail space in the Waterline in the Funk Zone. “Within the first few weeks of being there, I knew that retail was going to be a big part of our path,” he muses. He then opened a location at La Arcada Plaza and, shortly, after one in Los Olivos. To stay afloat during the pandemic, Ace Rivington produced masks made from denim chambray, a soft denim material, and delivered them door-to-door.

Now, he’s on a prime corner at State and Figueroa in downtown Santa Barbara, soaking it all in and feeling a tinge of nostalgia. Lawrence hands me a black-and-white photograph dated December 27, 1930. It’s taken from the standpoint of Ace Rivington, facing the stores across the street. He points to a partially obscured sign for a shoe repair shop and informs me that the space was once owned by the illustrious shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo. His excitement at this fact resembles that of a kid in a candy store; I imagine he mentions it to people often.

“When you think about the scope of people who have created concepts and businesses out of Santa Barbara, it’s so significant and inspiring,” he reflects. Ferragamo ran his shop across the street for a few years before moving to Hollywood. Lawrence hopes for Ace Rivington to become a fixture of downtown Santa Barbara. “My goal is that we’ll be here for 25 years,” he says.

Ace Rivington is located at 1100 State St. See acerivington.com.

Ace Rivington’s new flagship store
A peek inside at some of the merchandise

An Epic, 3,000-Person First Date Comes to Santa Barbara

Matingin Captivity: Unlocking Erotic Intelligence was written nearly 20 years ago by New York Times best-selling author and relationship psychotherapist Esther Perel. A global phenomenon, it’s basically the bible for sex. “Even then,” says UCSB Arts & Lectures publicist Charles Donelan, who knew Perel in the ’90s, “she was coloring outside the lines.”

Perel uses very similar methodologies today as she did then — just with a much wider audience. That audience includes listeners to her top-rated podcast, Where Should We Begin? with Esther Perel; 40 million TED Talks fans; and converts from appearances at places like SXSW.

Ahead of her upcoming UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) talk, in what Nylon magazine and The Today Show have called an “epic, 3,000-per son group date,” Perel spoke with me about forbidden love, ghosting, and how to maintain desire.

Keeping desire alive: Perel writes in her book that couples who maintain play in their relationships are both “physically and sensually alive.” When we talked recently, I asked her about that. “People ask, ‘How do you sustain desire?’ We own it. We have the capability to awaken or dim it ourselves. And that means in our relationships too. What often happens is that we want our partner to do it.”

Yes, modern dating is brutal: In 2006, when Mating in Captivity was released, “ghosting” referred to actual ghosts. Instagram was four years away from launch. Whitney Wolfe Herd, the founder of Bumble, was 17. And while ways of meeting partners may have changed since Perel shot to stardom, her methods remain firmly rooted in the same principles.

Historically, she says, you didn’t present yourself to partners. You presented yourself as the child of someone, for example. “Rejection isn’t new,” she says. “Romantic agonies are not new. But they are more intense today because we live in a culture of authenticity.” Today, when you meet somebody, “it’s just you,” she continues. “[You’re] a little picture with a caption. There’s not much protection there. If you are rejected, it’s not because they don’t like your family or income, they just don’t like you. Boom that hurts.”

On forbidden love: “Esther’s always been a little bit of a disruptor,” Santa Barbara sex and couples therapist Jenn Kennedy, PhD, LMFT, says. “She says things that are provocative.”

That was especially true in her book’s chapter on infidelity, where she writes, “I’d like to suggest that we view monogamy not as a given but as a choice.” I find she tends to take the approach that what’s best for the whole person may be best for the relationship. It’s part of why her message has such massive appeal. “Her perspective, and the way she phrases things with real-world examples, is so digestible,” Kennedy adds.

Perel’s colloquial writing is present in her book, but also in the way she speaks to patients regularly on her podcast. In her weekly sessions, she talks to couples working through infidelity, lost souls looking for love, secret lovers turned life partners, or potential partners working against obstacles.

what you want when what you want is what you’re not supposed to want this is where you experience your ultimate freedom. Desire is often predicated on the forbidden.”

So, of course, I had to ask about the Netflix rom-com Nobody Wants This with Adam Brody and Kristen Bell. “The obstacle [for these characters] is the same principle as Romeo and Juliet,” Perel says. “The biggest stories have been stories of impossible love. This impossibility this need to transcend the obstacles that you really know

In 2019, when Perel was last in Santa Barbara, she used audience questions as a “jumping-off” point for most of her live discussion. “Aliveness is a central theme of my work,” she says. “It’s part of why I do live events — so people actually get to experience [it] in body and flesh, with others. That aliveness isn’t about excitement [or] sex every night; it’s the way we experience curiosity, vibrancy, serendipity, the unknown … that is part of all relationships. And it’s what I try to create at scale when I do a ‘first date’ with 3,000 people.”

So, if you’ve got a burning question that you’re willing to ask in front of a few hundred strangers, join Perel this January.

An Evening with Esther Perel: The Future of Relationships, Love & Desire takes place on Tuesday, January 14, at 7:30 p.m., at the Arlington Theatre (1317 State St). To purchase tickets to the event, visit artsandlectures.ucsb.edu. To learn more about Esther Perel, visit her website at estherperel.com

Esther Perel COURTESY

FOOD& DRINK

Etty’s To-Die-For Deli Etty’s To-Die-For Deli

Cyndi Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, had a vision. “People just didn’t come into the building,” she says about the community center on lower Chapala. Unfortunately, the location lacks the gym and/or pool that’s the heart of many other Jewish community centers. So, Silverman says, she figured, “If you feed them, they will come.”

‘If You Feed Them, They Will Come’

This August, the center opened Etty’s Jewish Deli & Bakery. (It’s named after Etty Yenni, a generous patron who underwrote the project.) Silverman recalls, “A lot of people told me I was crazy.” And then Etty’s executive chef

Doug Weinstein chimes in, “And now they’re here twice a week. We should have a naysayer’s surcharge.”

Those people happily pouring in are chowing down on a host of expertly prepared Jewish classics, from piled-high pastrami sandwiches on house-made rye to egg creams featuring U-Bet chocolate syrup. There is a bit of a twist at Etty’s, however, and not just in the challah. You must become a member at no cost of the Jewish Federation before you can enjoy the food.

Silverman explains it’s for two reasons; the first, sadly, is safety protocols. The second is health code permits if the Federation is only feeding its club members, everything is, dare I write, kosher. (For the record, Weinstein claims, “We are kosher style, not a kosher kitchen. But you can skip the sour cream, say, if you want to keep kosher yourself.”) The upshot is 360 new members for the Federation since Etty’s dished its first knish. Silverman enthuses, “I couldn’t have dreamed that.”

At the heart of the Etty’s effort is Weinstein, who has had a long dual career in telecom and technology sales and Jewish delis, particularly the baking side. Decades ago, he even ran a deli at the Jewish Community Center in Long Beach, across from the airport, which had the unfortunate timing of opening a week before 9/11. Having volunteered at Santa Barbara’s Jewish Federation since 2016, Weinstein oversaw 17,000 (pre-pandemic) meals per year to seniors in the community. Silverman knew to lean on him when they designed the kitchen and planned their deli.

That’s why it’s set up well for classes, too open-windowed, so anyone can see in, but also featuring a camera for cooking close-ups that can be beamed to large screens around the high-tech building. They also hope to build a robust catering/ events business, having room to host up to 130 people for a sit-down dinner. Weinstein sells it, “From bris to shiva, we do it all!”

Most items are created in-house, and even though the bagels come from Yetz’s Bagels in Isla Vista, the kicker is Yetz’s owner Daniel Dunietz turned to Weinstein to get

his business up and running. “I can say without a doubt that I couldn’t have done it without Doug’s help,” Dunietz recommends on LinkedIn. “From helping manage operating expenses to picking out new equipment, Doug has been a tremendous help troubleshooting the various issues that inevitably arose when starting any business.”

As for the all-crucial pastrami, Silverman relates, “We tasted a lot of pastrami. And while we won’t reveal our source, when people ask where it comes from, I tell them, ‘It comes from heaven.’ ” Weinstein does fess up that it’s from the same people who developed the pastrami for the heralded Langer’s in Los Angeles. The lox comes from a bit closer to home the Eastside and Santa Barbara Smokehouse.

But in addition to all these delights and be sure to order the vegetarian yet comfortingly rich matzo ball soup the Federation stresses that Etty’s is about community. A group of volunteers dubbed the Kibitzers “work” the room at lunch, bussing for those who don’t, aiding those puzzled by the ordering or food pickup system, and chatting with those dining alone. There’s also hope that drawing people to Etty’s will attract more attention to the Federation’s moving and powerful exhibit Portraits of Survival: Life Journeys During the Holocaust and Beyond, which features 38 area survivors’ tales.

“We bring people in for a pastrami sandwich,” Samantha Silverman, executive director of the Adam Bronfman Jewish Community Center, says, “and then try to combat hate through education.”

At Etty’s itself, though, the education is all about food. Weinstein mentions the 300 cookbooks he has to peruse for ideas, and while he says that for now, the goal is to “settle into the space and a routine, the vision is to explore Jewish food from around the world.” One early experiment along these lines is a tomatillo-based salsa of sorts with Sephardic spices featuring the trimmings of pastrami that he jokes is a take on chorizo, hence, “harizo.”

“We have heard a couple of suggestions and no complaints,” Weinstein says about Etty’s opening months. He pauses for effect and says with a twinkle in his eye, “In a building full of elderly Jews, that’s impressive.”

Etty’s Jewish Deli & Bakery (524 Chapala St.) is open Tuesday-Friday for breakfast (8:30-11 a.m.) and lunch (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.). For more information, see jewishsantabarbara.org/deli.

| PHOTOS BY INGRID BOSTROM
Doug Weinstein, Executive Chef
Here’s what’s cooking at Etty’s Deli .

The Ellwood Interviews

The Ellwood, coming to 5905 Sandspit Road in Goleta, the former home of Beachside Bar-Café, will undoubtedly be the South Coast’s biggest restaurant opening in 2025. Late January is the current target date. The Restaurant Guy sat down with principals involved with the project, including Omar Khashen (founder and Operating Partner), Brian Escalera (builder and partner), Craig Riker (Executive Chef), and Antonio Gerli (General Manager and sommelier level three). The full interviews are available online at santabarbara.com/dining/ news. Below, I have included some highlights.

Khashen tells me that when they first open, it will be just for dinner, 5-10 p.m. Lunch service will be 11 a.m.-3 p.m., hopefully within six weeks or so. Within the restaurant is a private dining room that’s about 12 to 14 seats. A happy hour is planned for 3-6 p.m. during the week. On the weekends, The Ellwood is going to be adding brunch. Once the lunch service opens, the brunch will come along with that. Breakfast during the week will mainly come out of “The Coop,” which is next to the Goleta Pier where the snack shack used to be. I am told that they will have donuts, coffee, and pastries, and they may add a full breakfast down the line if there is demand for it.

I asked Khashen what is happening with the property located on the other side of the Goleta Pier that I noticed is in the early stages of construction. “There is a phase two to the project, and that side of the property is called ‘The Break,’” he said. “What we’re now adding that wasn’t here before is a big outdoor events venue. We’ll be able to use it for weddings or corporate parties or concerts. It was used as a storage shed before, so when we leased the space, we negotiated to have that area included. Once this restaurant is open, we’ll turn our attention to rebuilding that side.”

Khashen tells me that the menu is “seafood forward,” meaning that a good chunk of the menu is seafood, but it’s not a seafood restaurant by any means. “We balance out a lot of stuff,” he says. “We have steaks on the menu and chicken dishes and a lot of different vegetable dishes. But the heavy lifting is seafood. Some of it leans toward Italian, too, but it’s kind of all cultures. It’s an influence of myself and our chef Craig Riker and different dishes that we enjoy. It’s family-style dining and dinner, so a lot of shared plates. The proteins are larger format, meant to be shared by two to four people. The idea is that you’re going be able to taste through the menu. You’re not just getting one entrée-composed dish. You can try an appetizer, perhaps some seafood at the start, share a protein, then get a couple of vegetables.”

While I was there, I spoked to General Manager Antonio Gerli and I asked what he can share about the wine program. “I’m a sommelier level three while Chris, the director of operations, is a sommelier level two, and my Assistant General Manager, Lauren, she is a sommelier level two,” he said. “We’re going to have a great BTG program: wine by the glass. We are going to have close to 20 wines by the glass. We are trying to cover all the possibilities, all the needs of our customers with the pairing with our food. When I worked at the Bacara as the lead sommelier at Angel Oak, we didn’t have 20 wines by the glass. I think we had 12. So, this is a huge wine program. Regarding the wine by the bottle, we are focusing on the local ones because we have great wineries and great wine from Santa Barbara County. Plus, we will have Italian wine and French wine. The program for wine is going to be intense, so I have prepared all the materials for the servers to study, with a matrix for pairing and descriptions of the food.”

FOOD & DRINK

Advertising Deadline Editorial Listing

Friday, January 24, at noon Monday, January 13

John Dickson’s
SEA YA SOON: The Ellwood restaurant hopes to open in late January at Goleta Beach in the former home of the Beachside Bar-Café.

ARIES

(Mar. 21-Apr. 19): There are experiences, people, and places that can either be good for you or bad for you. Which way they tilt at any particular time may depend on your mood or their mood or forces beyond your immediate control. An example for me is social media. Sometimes it’s a mediocre drug that dulls my sensibilities and aggravates my fears. On other occasions, it brings rich new connections and teaches me lessons I’m thrilled to learn. What about you, Aries? In my astrological view, 2025 will be a time when you will be wise to reevaluate and redefine your relationships with these paradoxical resources. If there are some whose influence is far more likely to be bad than good, consider ending your bond. For those that are equally bad and good, do what you can do to enhance the goodness.

TAURUS

(Apr. 20-May 20): Taurus supermodel Linda Evangelista has supreme levels of self-esteem. At the height of her career, she bragged that she got out of bed each morning with the intention of earning no less than $10,000 in the coming day. I’m not advocating that you be equally audacious in your expectations during 2025, dear Taurus. But it’s reasonable for you to adopt at least a measure of Evangelista’s financial confidence. According to my analysis of your destiny, cosmic rhythms will be conspiring to open up economic opportunities for you.

GEMINI

(May 21-June 20): In 2025, dear Gemini, I invite you to make ample use of at least five of the following 11 tactics: (1) Shatter the molds. (2) Defy the conventions. (3) Challenge the norms. (4) Redefine the boundaries. (5) Disrupt the status quo. (6) Defy old rules and create new ones. (7) Go against the flow and against the grain. (8) Bushwhack through frontiers. (9) Dance to unfamiliar rhythms. (10) Search for curious treasures. (11) Change the way you change.

CANCER

LIBRA

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As 2025 unfolds, your burdens will grow lighter, and your duties will become more interesting. Joyless missions and trivial hopes will be increasingly irrelevant and easy to relinquish, opening up opportunities for fresh assignments that motivate you to play more and to work smarter rather than harder. During the coming months, dear Libra, I predict you will be basking in extra good karma and tapping into more fertile mojo than you have in a long time. Would you like more freedom than ever before? It’s yours for the plucking.

SCORPIO

(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Painter PK Mahanandia is well-known because of his fine art. He is even more famous for an amazing adventure he had in the name of love. It’s a long story, but his wife was living in her native Sweden while he was stuck in his native India. Mahanandia was still at an early stage of his career and couldn’t afford to fly by plane. Instead, he bought a used bicycle and headed west, covering about 27 miles per day. He pedaled through Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey until he arrived in Europe 127 days later. He had raised money by drawing portraits of people he met along the way, so he had enough to travel by train the rest of the way to Sweden. I’m thinking you may have an epic romantic adventure yourself in 2025, Scorpio. Maybe not quite as extreme, but very interesting.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): To symbolize your destiny in 2025, I drew a tarot card. It was the Nine of Cups. Here’s my four-part interpretation: (1) Sometime soon, you should identify your top desires and ruminate about how to express them in the most beautiful and fulfilling ways possible. (2) Take a vow that you will shed half-hearted, insecure approaches for bringing them to fruition. (3) Be uninhibited about seeking not just a partial but a complete version of each fulfillment. (4) Figure out which allies you will need in your life to manifest the happiest and most meaningful outcomes.

CAPRICORN

(June 21-July 22): Good advice for the first half of 2025: (1) Lose your respect for tangled complications that have begun to rot. (2) Keep some of your necessary protective defenses, yes, but shed those that no longer serve you and are weighing you down. (3) Bury a brokendown dream to make room in your heart for a sweet new dream. (4) Scour away as much resentment as you can. (5) Sneak away from people and situations that are far too demanding. (6) Discard as much as you can of what’s inessential, unhelpful, and defunct. (7) Don’t make a radical break for freedom yet, but begin plotting to do so by your birthday.

LEO

(July 23-Aug. 22): Steve Jobs, founder of Apple computers, said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” I propose that you make this one of your mottoes in 2025. More than ever before, you will have exceptional power to transform the environments you share with others. You will have an enhanced ability to revise and reinvigorate the systems and the rules you use. Don’t underestimate your influence during the coming months, Leo. Assume that people will be listening especially closely to your ideas and extra receptive to be affected by you.

VIRGO

(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Aztecs were originally known as the Mēxihcah people. Before they forged an empire, they were semi-nomadic tribes. But even then, early on, they were guided by a prophecy that they would eventually settle permanently in a place where they found an eagle roosting on a cactus holding a snake in its talons. In 1325, wanderers spied this precise scenario on a small island in Lake Texcoco. Soon they began to construct the city of Tenochtitlan, the capital of their future kingdom. I bring this true myth to your attention, Virgo, because I want to invite you to formulate a similar prophecy in 2025 and then fulfill it. Your personal empire is primed for expansion and consolidation.

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You’re the most pragmatic sign of the zodiac and are most highly skilled at getting constructive things done. It’s also true that you thrive on organizing the chaotic details of our messy world into smooth-functioning systems. But I periodically need to remind you that these superpowers of yours require you to nurture a vigorous and rigorous imagination. All of what you ultimately accomplish originates in the fantasy realm. This will be especially crucial for you to keep in mind during 2025.

AQUARIUS

(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The “Mona Lisa” is a world-famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Beneath its visible surface is evidence that the artist reworked it extensively. There are at least three earlier versions with different facial features. In one, the figure has eyebrows and is wearing hairpins and a headdress. These details were scrubbed out of the image that now hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris. I bring this to your attention, Aquarius, because I suspect you have been engaged in a comparable process as you have worked on your labor of love. In my reckoning, you’re finished with your false starts, practice runs, and dress rehearsals. In the coming months, you can make excellent progress toward ripening and culminating your creation.

PISCES

(Feb. 19-Mar. 20): Ancient Greek literature references a drug called nepenthe. Anyone who ingested it would forget memories that stirred pain and sorrow. Many of us modern people might consider taking such medicine if it were available. But let’s imagine a very different potion: one that arouses vivid memories of all the wonderful experiences we have been blessed with. If there were such a thing, I would recommend that you sample it frequently in the months to come. That’s because your relationship with the good parts of your past will be especially useful and inspirational. In fact, drawing on their power will be instrumental in helping you create your best possible future.

SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT

CLASSIFIEDS

EMPLOYMENT

gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu, Job # 73754.

and clinical needs. Hours vary during quarter breaks. Must be available to come in or stay late depending upon staffing and clinical needs. Weekly schedule may include evenings and occasional weekend or holiday hours.

CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENTIST STUDENT HEALTH

Get your free Information Kit with details! 1‑855‑526‑1060 www.dental50plus. com/ads #6258

SAFE STEP. North America’s #1 Walk‑In Tub. Comprehensive lifetime warranty. Top‑of‑the‑line installation and service. Now featuring our FREE shower package and $1600 Off for a limited time! Call today! Financing available. Call Safe Step 1‑888‑989‑5749 (Cal‑SCAN).

CAMPUS DINING

The Campus Catering Supervisor is responsible for event preparation and supervision. Acts as onsite manager at events throughout the year. Core job responsibilities are Event Set‑Up, Student Staff Management and Event Management. Responsible for adhering to budgeted labor costs while also ensuring the highest degree of excellence in service and meeting the client’s needs. Reqs: Bachelor’s Degree ‑ or equivalent combination of education and experience. 1‑3 years demonstrated ability to organize and manage a variety of events while maintaining a high standard of excellence, including ability and willingness to prioritize and make necessary adjustments for last minute events. Proven ability to train, schedule and supervise student staff. Or equivalent combination of education and experience. Notes: Satisfactory conviction history background check. Valid driver’s license and clean driving record. ServSafe Certification or equivalent certification. Required within 90 days Must be able to drive a van and/or box truck. Able to work flexible hours including nights and weekends. Hiring/Budgeted Salary: $53,800.00/yr. ‑ $54,866.00/ yr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,

Will assist in the overall operation of the clinical laboratory of the Student Health Service by performing the duties of testing personnel (as specified by CLIA 88) in the specialties of hematology, urinalysis, clinical microscopy, diagnostic immunology, chemistry, microbiology, and virology/ molecular diagnostics. Must be capable of working independently and making independent judgement while maintaining compliance with existing laws, regulations and policies. Must possess a high degree of accuracy and precision. Exercises a high degree of independent judgement while dealing with clinicians, patients, health service staff and laboratory related technical situations. Is capable of fast, accurate laboratory work while doing multiple procedures. Is familiar with all laboratory equipment including hematology, urine and chemistry analyzers and other equipment such as centrifuges, vortexes, microscopes, autoclave, point of care devices and incubators. This position requires that all instruments be maintained, safe, and calibrated to assure accuracy and operation in compliance with existing preventive maintenance, Q.C, Q.A., and safety guidelines. Maintains the equipment and the entire work area in a clean, presentable fashion to preclude injury to self and others.

Reqs: Graduation from college with Bachelor of Science degree in major of appropriate scientific field. 3‑5 years training and experience sufficient to comply with Federal CLI 88 requirements for personnel of high complexity testing. Familiar with all laboratory equipment, including Hematology, Microbiology, Urinalysis, Molecular and Chemistry analyzers and other standard laboratory equipment.

Skilled in entering laboratory results into, and export results, from the Laboratory Information System (LIS) in a timely manner.

Must have a current CA Clinical Laboratory Scientists license at all times during employment.

Ability to utilize Electronic Medical Records system (EMR) for test orders and monitoring of lab test results. Ability to possess a high degree of accuracy and precision while doing multiple procedures. Ability to work independently and making independent judgement, while maintaining compliance with existing laws, regulations and policies. Ability to work with Microsoft Word and Excel. Notes: Must successfully complete and pass the background check and credentialing process before employment and date of hire.

To comply with Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Health Officer Order, this position must provide evidence of annual influenza vaccination, or wear a surgical mask while working in patient care areas during the influenza season. Must be willing to work variable shifts, holidays, overtime and one evening shift or weekend hours depending on staffing

Any HIPAA or FERPA violation is subject to disciplinary action. Student Health is closed between the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays. Credential verification for clinical practitioner. Satisfactory criminal history background check. Pay Rate/Range: $40.50 to $53.47/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information: https://policy. ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM‑20 and https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/ Anti‑Discrimination. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job # 74602

FIXED ASSET ACCOUNTANT

BUSINESS & FINANCIAL SERVICES/ CONTROLLER’S OFFICE

Uses in‑depth accounting knowledge to resolve complex accounting issues of a high level of complexity and a high volume of transactions. Analyzes problems using a variety of applications from multiple sources to determine solutions. Independently performs responsibilities with a detailed understanding of significant processes, practices and policies. The University of California, Santa Barbara is an enterprise with expenditures in excess of $1 Billion annually and assets totaling $2 Billion. The reliability and quality of the financial information presented in these statements is essential to the management and resource allocation decisions of an extraordinarily broad clientele of stakeholders, ranging from the State of California, the Regents of the University of California, The University Office of the President (UCOP), the campus Senior Officers and Academic Senate, as well as program managers in numerous campus departments. The integrity and reliability of the information contained in the financial statements plays a critical role in establishing the campus’ borrowing capacity in the capital markets, its credit rating, and thereby its ability to expand its mission of providing advanced instruction, research and public service to the People of California. Reqs: Bachelor’s degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training. 4‑6 years Performing accounting duties at a level of responsibility equivalent to Accounting Analyst, including high level critical thinking and process improvement, fund accounting knowledge, or equivalent combination of education, training and experience. 4‑6 years Computer proficiency is required. word processing, spreadsheet, and computerized accounting system experience are essential to this position. Advanced excel knowledge and experience (macros, vlookups, pivot tables) as well as experience working with large data projects, data sets, and data extraction.

1‑3 years Fund Accounting experience in a University setting, or experience performing accounting duties for Fixed Assets. Note: Satisfactory criminal

history background check. Salary or Hourly Range: $77,600 to $91,100/ yr. Full Salary Range: $69,500 to $123,500/ yr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu, Job # 74639.

DINING

Under the direct supervision of the Personnel Manager, the Front House Personnel Supervisor is responsible for assisting the Personnel Manager in all aspects of hiring, training, scheduling, and supervision of all student employees. Reqs: Minimum 2 years supervisory experience. Ability to utilize computers, learn new software, and work with Microsoft Word. Excellent communication and customer service skills including ability to actively listen and effectively convey information, policy and procedures both orally and in writing. Ability to effectively work in a high volume operation with continuous personnel actions. Ability to effectively work with other managers and full time staff as a team. Or Equivalent combination of education and experience. Notes: Must maintain valid CA DL, a clean DMV record and enrollment in DMV Pull‑Notice Program. Satisfactory conviction history background check. Hiring/Budgeted Salary: $53,800.00/ yr. ‑ $54,866/yr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information: https://policy. ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM‑20 and https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/ Anti‑Discrimination. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job # 74800

HUMAN RESOURCES

Manages, plans and administers the leave processes for staff. Participates in the ongoing development of centralized leave services within Human Resources. Utilizes a case management system to counsel employees and supervisors/managers on a wide range of leave entitlements, including but not limited to, medical and pregnancy leaves, and the available options to continue health and welfare benefits. Meets and collaborates with other HR representatives and campus representatives to manage moderate to complex disability

cases. Assists with designing and conducting workshops for employees and supervisors/managers on leave policies and processes including applicable state and federal laws, such as Family Medical Leave (FML) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA), pregnancy disability and union contracts. Creates and maintains web based educational material related to leave policies and processes.

Reqs: Bachelor’s Degree in related area and/or equivalent combination of education and experience. 2‑5

years experience working with FMLA, CFRA, PFL, PDL. Ability to handle difficult and complicated issues with professionalism and sound judgement.

Ability to build relationships, collaborate and problem solve across all levels of the organization. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Excellent analytical and problem‑solving skills. Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, Google Suite. Demonstrated ability to successfully work with diverse populations.

Note: Satisfactory criminal history

NOW HIRING

ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE

The Santa Barbara Independent has an opportunity in our advertising sales division for an engaged, motivated candidate to join our established team of sales professionals.

This full-time position requires the ability to sell multimedia products — print, online, and other developing industry offerings, plus excellent organizational and time-management skills to meet deadlines crucial to our production process; superb verbal and written communication skills; the ability to build strong client relationships via collaborative selling and excellent customer service; as well as the charisma to be a strong ambassador of the Independent in our community.

With a 35+ year history of serving Santa Barbara, our award-winning products are an integral part of our community and are well-respected on a national level. We offer a competitive (non-capped) commission structure starting at a draw of $45,000+, along with a strong benefits package, including health and dental insurance, Section 125 cafeteria plan, 401(k), and vacation program. This is a full-time position based in our downtown Santa Barbara office but our sales team is currently working from home.

Please introduce yourself, reasons for interest, and a brief summary of your qualifications, along with your résumé, to hr@independent.com.

No phone calls, please. EOE m/f/d/v.

FRONT HOUSE PERSONNEL SUPERVISOR CAMPUS

LEGALS

ADMINISTER OF ESTATE

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER

ESTATE OF: KORMAN DORSEY ELLIS

No.: 24PR00678

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: KORMAN DORSEY ELLIS

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: CURTIS WAYNE COOK in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

THE PETITION requests that (name): CURTIS WAYNE COOK be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 2/20/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: SB 5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Anacapa Division.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date

of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 12/2/2024 by Nicolete Barnard, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Gregory I. McMurray; 1035 Santa Barbara Street, Suite 7., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805‑965‑3703 Published: Dec 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: GEORGE ESCAMILLA No.: 24PR00693

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: GEORGE ESCAMILLA

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: JILL ESCAMILLA in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

THE PETITION requests that (name): JILL ESCAMILLA be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 2/20/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: SB 5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Anacapa Division.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the

SERVICE DIREC TORY

LeafFilter, the most advanced debris‑blocking gutter protection. Schedule free LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1‑833‑610‑1936

NEED NEW WINDOWS? Drafty rooms? Chipped or damaged frames? Need outside noise reduction? New, energy efficient windows may be the answer! Call for a consultation & FREE quote today. 1‑877‑248‑9944.

PEST CONTROL: PROTECT YOUR HOME from pests safely and affordably. Roaches, Bed Bugs, Rodent, Termite, Spiders and other pests. Locally owned and affordable. Call for service or an inspection today! 1‑833‑237‑1199.

WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION: A small amount of water can lead to major damage in your home. Our trusted professionals do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! Call 24/7: 1‑888‑248‑0815. Have zip code of service location ready when you call! (Cal‑SCAN)

petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 12/11/2024 by Monica Buenrostro, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Jill Escamilla; 2121 Monterey St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805‑689‑0767

Published: Dec 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER

ESTATE OF: KEITH NORMAN‑DEAN

SPITTLER No.: 24PR00690

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: KEITH NORMAN‑DEAN SPITTLER

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: GARY SCOTT SPITTLER in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

THE PETITION requests that (name): GARY SCOTT SPITTLER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 2/5/2025 AT 8:30 a.m. Dept: SM‑1 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 312‑C East Cook Street Santa Maria, CA 93454. COOK DIVISION.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

for Petitioner: John Kenneth Dorwin SBN 111082 PO Box 2011, Buellton, CA 93427‑2011; 805‑698‑0002

Published: Dec 26 2024. Jan 2, 9 2025. NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: ZOUHAIR SBIAA No.: 24PR00677

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: ZOUHAIR SBIAA

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: NARJIS SBIAA in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

THE PETITION requests that (name): NARJIS SBIAA be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 2/20/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: SB5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Anacapa Division.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.)

The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 01/23/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: SB5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street, P.O. Box 21107 Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Anacapa Division.

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

names listed above on May 11, 2007. Filed by: LINDA SENES/CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Dec 02, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2024‑0002810. Published: Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WALKER MEDICAL WELLNESS: 1145 E Clark Ave, Suite I Santa Maria, CA 93455; Walker & Walker Medical Corporation PO Box 2430 Santa Maria, CA 93457 This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Aug 7, 2017. Filed by: ELIZABETH WALKER/ VICE PRESIDENT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Nov 26, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E35. FBN Number: 2024‑0002790. Published: Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

available. Call 1‑888‑878‑9091

AGING ROOF? NEW HOMEOWNER?

STORM DAMAGE? You need a local expert provider that proudly stands behind their work. Fast, free estimate. Financing available. Call 1‑888‑292‑8225

ELIMINATE GUTTER cleaning forever!

WATER DAMAGE CLEANUP & RESTORATION: A small amount of water can lead to major damage and mold growth in your home. We do complete repairs to protect your family and your home’s value! For a FREE ESTIMATE, call 24/7: 1‑888‑290‑2264

WATER DAMAGE cleanup: A small amount of water can cause major damage to your home. Our trusted professionals dry out wet areas & repair to protect your family & your home value! Call 24/7: 1‑888‑872‑2809. Have zip code!

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 12/17/2024 by Monica Buenrostro, Deputy. Attorney

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 12/2/2024 by Nicolete Barnard, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Julianna M. Malis; Santa Barbara Estate Planning 14 W. Valerio Street, Suite A Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805‑946‑1550 Published: Dec 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025. AMENDED NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: TIMOTHY HAMILTON JOBE No.: 24PR00387

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: TIMOTHY HAMILTON JOBE, TIMOTHY H. JOBE, TIM JOBE

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: TAYLOR JOBE in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.

THE PETITION requests that (name): TAYLOR JOBE be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decendent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however,

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 12/19/2024 by Monica Buenrostro, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Barbara G. Fischer 950 Boardwalk, Suite 201, San Marcos, CA 92078; 760‑471‑1100 Published: Dec 26 2024. Jan 2, 9 2025.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER

ESTATE OF:

ALBERT DACOSTA

SOCHIN AKA ALBERT D. SOCHIN

CASE NO. 24PR00702

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of ALBERT DACOSTA SOCHIN

AKA ALBERT D. SOCHIN.

A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by MARK SILBER in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA BARBARA.

THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that MARK SILBER be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act.

(This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 02/27/25 at 9:00AM in Dept. SB 5 located at 1100 ANACAPA STREET, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93121‑1107

IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the

Attorney for Petitioner MARTIN S. REED, ESQUIRE SBN 58096 REED & REED 1901 AVENUE OF THE STARS , SUITE 1100 LOS ANGELES CA 90067 Telephone (310) 286‑7100

BSC 226226

1/2, 1/9, 1/16/25

CNS‑3882317# SANTA BARBARA

INDEPENDENT

FBN ABANDONMENT

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

The following Fictitious Business Name is being abandoned: RIVIERA BEACH HOUSE: 121 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 The original statement for use of this Fictitious Business Name was filed 2/3/2022 in the County of Santa Barbara. Original File no. FBN 2022‑0000328. The persons or entities abandoning use of this name are as follows: Maya Mallick 9400 Culver Blvd Culver City, CA 90232 The business was conducted by an Limited Liability Company. Registrant commenced to tranact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Dec 29, 2021 Signed by: MAYA MALLICK/MANAGING PARTNER Filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 12/9/24, FBN 2024‑0002875, E67. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in the Office of the County Clerk, Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). Published: Dec 19, 26 2024. Jan 2, 9 2025.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NAILS BY RUTH: 25 Carlo Dr, Suite A Goleta, CA 93117; Ruth B Clincy (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Aug 26, 1986. Filed by: RUTH B CLINCY with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Dec 02, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E67. FBN Number: 2024‑0002816. Published: Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME

STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WASH 4 LESS: 1054 Foxenwood Dr. Santa Maria, CA 93455; Wash 4 Less (same address)

This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ECOTTON: 359 Ortega Ridge Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108; Michael H Mankowski (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 18, 2024. Filed by: MICHAEL MANKOWSKI/MANAGING DIRECTOR with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Nov 14, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E49. FBN Number: 2024‑0002678. Published: Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BARATTO, SULLIVAN & CO. INSURANCE AGENCY: 5266 Hollister Ave, Ste 330 Santa Barbara, CA 93111; Insurance Matters Solutions & Financial Services, Inc. (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Mar 8, 2012. Filed by: PETRA THOM/CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Nov 27, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E49. FBN Number: 2024‑0002805. Published: Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HI TIME LIQUOR: 4010 Calle Real #1 Santa Barbara, CA 93110; Telle Mark Inc. (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Mar 10, 2011. Filed by: ZIYAD ABDULHAI/MANAGER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Dec 06, 2024. This

FICTITIOUS

MARKETPLACE

ANNOUNCEMENT

AFFORDABLE

BATH & shower updates in as little as 1 day! Affordable prices ‑ No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & military discounts available. 1‑877‑543‑9189

BECOME A published author. We want to read your book! Dorrance Publishing trusted since 1920.Consultation, production, promotion & distribution. Call for free author’s guide 1‑877‑729‑4998 or visit dorranceinfo.com/ads

CONSUMER CELLULAR ‑ same reliable, nationwide coverage as the largest carriers. No long‑term contract, no hidden fees free activation. All plans feature unlimited talk & text, starting at just $20/mo. Call 1‑877‑751‑0866

CONSUMER CELLULAR ‑ the same reliable, nationwide coverage as the largest carriers. No long‑term contract, no hidden fees and activation is free. All plans feature unlimited talk and

text, starting at just $20/month. For more information, call 1‑844‑908‑0605 (Cal‑SCAN)

DID YOU KNOW Newspaper‑generated content is so valuable it’s taken and repeated, condensed, broadcast, tweeted, discussed, posted, copied, edited, and emailed countless times throughout the day by others? Discover the Power of Newspaper Advertising. For a free brochure call 916‑288‑6011 or email cecelia@cnpa.com (Cal‑SCAN)

DON’T LET the stairs limit your mobility! Discover the ideal solution for anyone who struggles on the stairs, is concerned about a fall or wants to regain access to their entire home. Call AmeriGlide today!

1‑833‑399‑3595

ELIMINATE GUTTER cleaning forever! LeafFilter, the most advanced debris‑blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. 10% Senior & Military Discounts. Call 1‑855‑424‑7581 (Cal‑SCAN)

GET A break on your taxes! Donate your car, truck, or SUV to assist the blind and

visually impaired.

Arrange a swift, no‑cost vehicle pickup and secure a generous tax credit for 2025. Call Heritage for the Blind Today at 1‑844‑491‑2884 today! (Cal‑SCAN)

HOME BREAK‑ins take less than 60 seconds. Don’t wait! Protect your family, your home, your assets now for as little as 70¢/day!

1‑844‑591‑7951

JACUZZI BATH Remodel can install a new, custom bath or shower in as little as one day. For a limited time, we’re cutting installation costs in half and offering a FREE safety upgrade!

Additional terms apply. Subject to change and vary by dealer.

Offer ends 3/31/24 Call 1‑844‑501‑3208

PORTABLE OXYGEN Concentrator may be covered by Medicare!

Reclaim independence and mobility with the compact design and long‑lasting battery of Inogen One. Free information kit! Call 877‑305‑1535

PREPARE FOR power outages today with a Generac Home Standby Generator. Act now to receive a FREE 5‑Year warranty with qualifying purchase* Call 1‑855‑948‑6176 today to schedule a free quote. It’s not just a generator. It’s a power move.

REPLACE YOUR roof w/the best looking & longest lasting material steel from Erie Metal Roofs! 3 styles & multiple colors available. Guaranteed to last a lifetime! Limited Time Offer up to 50% off install + Additional 10% off install (military, health & 1st responders.) 1‑833‑370‑1234

STOP OVERPAYING FOR AUTO

Gretsch, Epiphone, Guild, Mosrite, Rickenbacker, Prairie State, D’Angelico, Stromberg. And Gibson Mandolins / Banjos. These brands only! Call for a quote: 1‑855‑402‑7208

REAL ESTATE

MONEY TO LOAN

RETIRED COUPLE $$$$ for business purpose Real Estate loans. Credit unimportant. V.I.P. Trust Deed Company www.viploan.com Call 1‑818‑248‑0000. Broker‑principal DRE 01041073. No consumer loans. (Cal‑ SCAN).

CLASSIC CARS WANTED

Running or not. We are local to S.B. Foreign/Domestic. Porsche, Mercedes, Ford, Chevy etc. We come to you. 1-805-699-0684

protected by law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu, Job # 74840.

OFFICE MANAGER

CAMPUS DINING

Manages all Human Resources and Administrative aspects of a dining commons with up to 50 career staff and approximately 120 student staff who prepare and serve meals for up to 4,500 customers daily, and has an annual budget of up to $5.5 million. Duties include: budget analysis, employment and personnel administration, accounts payable, office management, purchasing, management of the CBord Menu Management System, and hiring and training of student and career staff who serve as office assistants. Manages client/customer service which requires the ability to prioritize demands and exercise independent initiative and judgment in problem‑solving and special projects. In compliance with HDAE goals and objectives, affirms and implements the departmental Educational Equity Plan comprised of short and long‑term objectives that reflect a systematic approach to preparing both students and staff for success in a multicultural society.

Works in a team environment that is ethnically diverse and culturally pluralistic. Reqs: Bachelor’s Degree 1‑3 years Experience in an office environment. Experience supervising staff. High level of competency in written and verbal communication. Knowledge of and demonstrated ability to use standard computer systems including email, Microsoft Word, and Excel. Ability to take initiative and exercise strong problem solving skills. Or equivalent combination of education and experience. Notes: Satisfactory criminal history background check. Pay rate/range: $28.07/hr. ‑ $33.99/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. For more information: https://policy. ucop.edu/doc/4010393/PPSM‑20 and https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/1001004/ Anti‑Discrimination. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job # 74736

INSURANCE! A recent survey says that most Americans are overpaying for their car insurance. Let us show you how much you can save. Call Now for a no‑obligation quote: 1‑866‑472‑8309

THE DIFFERENCE in winning and losing market share is how businesses use their advertising dollars. CNPA’s Advertising Services’ power to connect to nearly 13 million of the state’s readers who are an engaged audience, makes our services an indispensable marketing solution. For more info call Cecelia @ (916) 288‑6011 or cecelia@ cnpa.com.

YOU MAY QUALIFY for disability benefits if you have are between 52‑63 years old and under a doctor’s care for a health condition that prevents you from working for a year or more. Call now! 1‑877‑247‑6750.

MUSIC

INSTRUMENTS

WE BUY Vintage Guitar’s! Looking for 1920‑1980 Gibson, Martin, Fender,

AUTO CARS WANTED

DONATE YOUR Car to Veterans Today! Help and Support our Veterans. Fast ‑ FREE pick up. 100% tax deductible. Call 1‑800‑245‑0398

DONATE YOUR VEHICLE to fund the SEARCH FOR MISSING CHILDREN. FAST FREE PICKUP. 24 hour response. Running or not. Maximum Tax Deduction and No Emission Test Required! Call 24/7: 1‑877‑434‑6852 (Cal‑SCAN)

GOT AN UNWANTED CAR??? DONATE IT TO PATRIOTIC HEARTS. Fast free pick up. All 50 States. Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans find work or start their own business. Call 24/7: 1‑855‑408‑6546 (Cal‑SCAN)

TIENE UN vehiculo no deseado?

Donelo a Patriotic Hearts! Recogida rápida y gratuita en los 50 estados. Patriotic Hearts ofrece programas para ayudar a los veteranos a encontrar trabajo o iniciar su propio negocio. Llama ahora: 1‑855‑ 408‑7368 (24/7) (Cal‑SCAN)

WELL BEING

ANNOUNCEMENTS

24/7 LOCKSMITH: We are there when you need us for home & car lockouts. We’ll get you back up and running quickly! Also, key reproductions, lock installs and repairs, vehicle fobs. Call us for your home, commercial and auto locksmith needs! 1‑833‑237‑1233.

ATTENTION: VIAGRA and CIALIS

USERS! A cheaper alternative to high drugstore prices! 50 Pill Special ‑ Only $99! 100% guaranteed. CALL NOW: 1‑866‑472‑4367

BATH & SHOWER UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices ‑ No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 1‑877‑510‑9918.

BEAUTIFUL BATH UPDATES in as little as ONE DAY! Superior quality bath and shower systems at AFFORDABLE PRICES! Lifetime warranty & professional installs. Call Now! 1‑855‑402‑6997

CASH PAID FOR HIGH‑END MEN’S SPORT WATCHES. Rolex, Breitling, Omega, Patek Philippe, Heuer, Daytona, GMT, Submariner and Speedmaster. These brands only! Call for a quote: 1‑855‑402‑7109

DIRECTV STREAM ‑ Carries the most

local MLB Games! Choice

Package $89.99/mo for 12 mos Stream on 20 devices at once. HBO Max included for 3 mos (w/Choice Package or higher.) No contract or hidden fees! Some restrictions apply. Call IVS

1‑866‑859‑0405

GOT AN UNWANTED CAR??? DONATE IT TO PATRIOTIC HEARTS. Fast free pick up. All 50 States. Patriotic Hearts’ programs help veterans find work or start their own business. Call 24/7: 1‑855‑402‑7631

MOBILEHELP AMERICA’S premier mobile medical alert system. Whether you’re home or away. For safety & peace of mind. No long term contracts! Free brochure! Call 1‑888‑489‑3936

WE BUY houses for cash as is! No repairs. No fuss. Any condition. Easy three step process: Call, get cash offer & get paid. Get your fair cash offer today by calling Liz Buys Houses: 1‑844‑877‑5833

WESLEY FINANCIAL Group, LLC Timeshare Cancellation Experts Over $50,000,000 in timeshare debt & fees cancelled in 2019. Get free info package & learn how to get rid of your timeshare! Free consultations. Over 450 positive reviews. 833‑308‑1971.

crosswordpuzzle

Across

1. President Franklin 7. Immediately

Leatherworker’s poker 14. Of a part of the heart

15. LBJ son-in-law Charles

16. By way of

17. *Big, round housecats (answers to starred clues are new words added to Collins Official, for international non-US play as of 1/1/25)

18. *Most materialistic and highclass (using four different vowels)

20. In ___ (basically)

21. Golf stroke

22. Algonquian-speaking Canadian group

23. Four-hour movies, maybe

25. Feathered scarf

26. *Flattens out like a hot resting dog (just a fun word to say)

29. *Whatchamacallit (previously in the list, but with a Y)

33. Infants’ sicknesses

34. Four-handed piano song

35. Psychologist/writer/PBS host LeShan

36. Little help

37. Mario’s brother

39. Video games playable by large groups simultaneously

40. Happy tail movement

41. Bit of a cloud

42. American tennis star Stephens

44. *”Isn’t that true?” (not a type of mineral)

46. *Became a huge fan of (all tenses are now fair game)

47. “Oh yeah? ___ who?”

48. “The ___ Kid” (1950s Western)

49. Liquidation event

51. Oktoberfest ___ (website with an “O’Fest Essentials” category)

53. Nevada neighbor

56. *Cranial attack in a fight (surprisingly, new to the list as one word)

58. *Subject-changing segue word (either spelling is new)

60. Java brewer

61. Multigenerational baseball surname

62. Sweetsop relatives

63. “Yup,” without the out-loud part

64. Forrest played by Tom Hanks

65. Malaria-carrying fly

Down

1. Lobby gp. 2. “Am ___ only one?” 3. Greek god of love 4. Wash, as containers for leftovers 5. Sweet spheroid on a stick 6. Golfer Ernie

7. Photographer Diane 8. Chimney remnants 9. Be adjacent to

Simple sandwich, for short

Statistician’s unnamed guy

Sagacious

“The ___ Show with Stephen Colbert”

Desktop image

Computer lab inventory 24. “This party rocks!” 25. Commit to the ___

26. Uh, it’s a vowel sound

King of Troy in “The Iliad”

Place for “iced tea”?

Harbor hauler

Bank jobs

“What Have ___ to Deserve This?” (Pet Shop Boys

“Rack Your Brain” new Scrabble words for 2025!

LEGALS (CONT.)

(www.sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le de un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro. Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 o más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil. Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso. The name and address of the court is: (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): Santa Barbara County Superior Court, 115 Civic Center Plaza, Lompoc, California 93436.

CASE NO: (Número del Caso): 22CV01075

The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is: (El nombre, la dirección, y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante que no tiene abogado es): KAREL ROCHA (212413), PRENOVOST, NORMANDIN, DAWE & ROCHA, 2122 N BROADWAY SUITE 200, SANTA ANA, CA 92706 Tel (714) 547‑2444

DATE (Fecha): 07/15/2022. Clerk, by (Secretario) /s/ Dolores Buendia, Deputy (Adjunto) Published Dec 12, 19, 26 2024. Jan 2 2025.

TRUSTEE NOTICE

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE Trustee

Sale No. : 00000010079762 Title Order No.: 240130082 FHA/VA/PMI No.: YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST, DATED 08/01/2005. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE. IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER TREDER and WEISS, LLP, as duly appointed Trustee under and pursuant to Deed of Trust Recorded on 08/09/2005 as Instrument No. 2005‑0075367 of official records in the office of the County Recorder of SANTA BARBARA County, State of CALIFORNIA.

EXECUTED BY: MARIE A LEDESMA, AN UNMARRIED WOMAN, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO HIGHEST BIDDER FOR CASH, CASHIER’S CHECK/CASH EQUIVALENT or other form of payment authorized by California Civil Code 2924h(b), (payable at time of sale in lawful money of the United States).

DATE OF SALE: 01/08/2025 TIME OF SALE: 1:00 PM PLACE OF SALE: AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 1100 ANACAPA STREET, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101. STREET ADDRESS and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 7635 PADOVA DR, GOLETA, CALIFORNIA 93117 APN#: 079‑471‑003 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made, but without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said note(s), advances, under the terms of said Deed of Trust, fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee

and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligation secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of the Notice of Sale is $629,050.02. The beneficiary under said Deed of Trust heretofore executed and delivered to the undersigned a written Declaration of Default and Demand for Sale, and a written Notice of Default and Election to Sell. The undersigned caused said Notice of Default and Election to Sell to be recorded in the county where the real property is located. NOTICE TO POTENTIAL BIDDERS: If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same lender may hold more than one mortgage or deed of trust on the property. NOTICE TO PROPERTY OWNER: The sale date shown on this notice of sale may be postponed one or more times by the mortgagee, beneficiary, trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about trustee sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may call 833‑561‑0243 for information regarding the trustee’s sale or visit this Internet Web site WWW.SALES. BDFGROUP.COM for information regarding the sale of this property, using the file number assigned to this case 00000010079762. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Web site. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. NOTICE TO TENANT: You may have a right to purchase this property after the trustee auction pursuant to Section 2924m of the California Civil Code. If you are an “eligible tenant buyer,” you can purchase the property if you match the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. If you are an “eligible bidder”, you may be able to purchase the property if you exceed the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. There are three steps to exercising this right of purchase. First, 48 hours after the date of the trustee sale, you can call 833‑561‑0243, or visit this internet website WWW.SALES.BDFGROUP.COM using the file number assigned to this case 00000010079762 to find the date on which the trustee’s sale was held, the amount of the last and highest bid, and the address of the trustee. Second, you must send a written notice of intent to place a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 15 days after the trustee’s sale. Third, you must submit a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 45 days after the trustee’s sale. If you think you may qualify as an “eligible tenant buyer” or “eligible bidder,” you should consider contacting an attorney or appropriate real estate professional immediately for advice regarding this potential right to purchase. FOR TRUSTEE

SALE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: 833‑561‑0243 WWW.SALES.BDFGROUP. COM BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER TREDER and WEISS, LLP IS ACTING AS A

DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. BARRETT DAFFIN FRAPPIER

TREDER and WEISS, LLP as Trustee

3990 E. Concours Street, Suite 350 Ontario, CA 91764 (866) 795‑1852

Dated: 11/19/2024 A‑4829098

12/19/2024, 12/26/2024, 01/02/2025

APN: 023‑060‑043 TS No: CA08000655‑24‑1 TO No: 3116426

NOTICE OF TRUSTEE’S SALE (The above statement is made pursuant to CA Civil Code Section 2923.3(d)(1). The Summary will be provided to Trustor(s) and/or vested owner(s) only, pursuant to CA Civil Code Section 2923.3(d)(2).) YOU ARE IN DEFAULT UNDER A DEED OF TRUST DATED October 20, 2006. UNLESS YOU TAKE ACTION TO PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY, IT MAY BE SOLD AT A PUBLIC SALE.

IF YOU NEED AN EXPLANATION OF THE NATURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST YOU, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A LAWYER. On January 29, 2025 at 10:00 AM, At the Main Entrance to the County Courthouse, Santa Barbara County Courthouse, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101, MTC Financial Inc. dba Trustee Corps, as the duly Appointed Trustee, under and pursuant to the power of sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust recorded on October 27, 2006 as Instrument No. 2006‑0084144, and that said Deed of Trust was modified by Modification Agreement and recorded May 1, 2013 as Instrument Number 2013‑0029475, of official records in the Office of the Recorder of Santa Barbara County, California, executed by DAVID W GLEDHILL, AND PATTI C JACQUEMAIN, TRUSTEES OF THE GLENDHILL JACQUEMAIN TRUST U/D/T DATED MAY 2, 2006, as Trustor (s), in favor of MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC., as Beneficiary, as nominee for AMERICA`S WHOLESALE LENDER as Beneficiary, WILL SELL AT PUBLIC AUCTION TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER, in lawful money of the United States, all payable at the time of sale, that certain property situated in said County, California describing the land therein as: AS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN SAID DEED OF TRUST The property heretofore described is being sold “as is”. The street address and other common designation, if any, of the real property described above is purported to be: 1040 MISSION CANYON ROAD, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93105‑2122 The undersigned Trustee disclaims any liability for any incorrectness of the street address and other common designation, if any, shown herein. Said sale will be made without covenant or warranty, express or implied, regarding title, possession, or encumbrances, to pay the remaining principal sum of the Note(s) secured by said Deed of Trust, with interest thereon, as provided in said Note(s), advances if any, under the terms of the Deed of Trust, estimated fees, charges and expenses of the Trustee and of the trusts created by said Deed of Trust. The total amount of the unpaid balance of the obligations secured by the property to be sold and reasonable estimated costs, expenses and advances at the time of the initial publication of this Notice of Trustee’s Sale is estimated to be $1,930,250.59 (Estimated). However, prepayment premiums, accrued interest and advances will increase this figure prior to sale. Beneficiary’s bid at said sale may include all or part of said amount. In addition to cash, the Trustee will accept a cashier’s check drawn on a state or national bank, a check drawn by a state or federal credit union or a check drawn by a state or federal savings and loan association, savings association or savings bank specified in Section 5102 of the California Financial Code and authorized to do business in California, or other such funds as may be acceptable to the Trustee. In the event tender other than cash is accepted, the Trustee may withhold the issuance of the Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale until funds become available to the payee or endorsee as a matter of right. The property offered for sale excludes all funds held on account by the property receiver, if applicable. If the Trustee is unable to convey title for any reason, the successful bidder’s sole and exclusive

remedy shall be the return of monies paid to the Trustee and the successful bidder shall have no further recourse. Notice to Potential Bidders If you are considering bidding on this property lien, you should understand that there are risks involved in bidding at a Trustee auction. You will be bidding on a lien, not on the property itself. Placing the highest bid at a Trustee auction does not automatically entitle you to free and clear ownership of the property. You should also be aware that the lien being auctioned off may be a junior lien. If you are the highest bidder at the auction, you are or may be responsible for paying off all liens senior to the lien being auctioned off, before you can receive clear title to the property. You are encouraged to investigate the existence, priority, and size of outstanding liens that may exist on this property by contacting the county recorder’s office or a title insurance company, either of which may charge you a fee for this information. If you consult either of these resources, you should be aware that the same Lender may hold more than one mortgage or Deed of Trust on the property. Notice to Property Owner

The sale date shown on this Notice of Sale may be postponed one or more times by the Mortgagee, Beneficiary, Trustee, or a court, pursuant to Section 2924g of the California Civil Code. The law requires that information about Trustee Sale postponements be made available to you and to the public, as a courtesy to those not present at the sale. If you wish to learn whether your sale date has been postponed, and, if applicable, the rescheduled time and date for the sale of this property, you may visit the Internet Website address www.Auction.com or call Auction.com at 800.280.2832 for information regarding the Trustee’s Sale for information regarding the sale of this property, using the file number assigned to this case, CA08000655‑24‑1. Information about postponements that are very short in duration or that occur close in time to the scheduled sale may not immediately be reflected in the telephone information or on the Internet Website. The best way to verify postponement information is to attend the scheduled sale. Notice to Tenant NOTICE TO TENANT FOR FORECLOSURES AFTER JANUARY 1, 2021 You may have a right to purchase this property after the trustee auction pursuant to Section 2924m of the California Civil Code. If you are an “eligible tenant buyer,” you can purchase the property if you match the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. If you are an “eligible bidder,” you may be able to purchase the property if you exceed the last and highest bid placed at the trustee auction. There are three steps to exercising this right of purchase. First, 48 hours after the date of the trustee sale, you can call 800.280.2832, or visit this internet website www. Auction.com, using the file number assigned to this case CA08000655‑24‑1 to find the date on which the trustee’s sale was held, the amount of the last and highest bid, and the address of the trustee. Second, you must send a written notice of intent to place a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 15 days after the trustee’s sale. Third, you must submit a bid so that the trustee receives it no more than 45 days after the trustee’s sale. If you think you may qualify as an “eligible tenant buyer” or “eligible bidder,” you should consider contacting an attorney or appropriate real estate professional immediately for advice regarding this potential right to purchase. Date: December 13, 2024 MTC Financial Inc. dba Trustee Corps TS No. CA08000655‑24‑1 17100 Gillette Ave Irvine, CA 92614 Phone: 949‑252‑8300 TDD: 711 949.252.8300 By: Loan Quema, Authorized Signatory

SALE INFORMATION CAN BE OBTAINED ONLINE AT www.Auction.com FOR AUTOMATED SALES INFORMATION PLEASE CALL: Auction.com at 800.280.2832 Order Number 108442, Pub Dates: 01/02/2025, 01/09/2025, 01/16/2025, SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT

County of Santa Barbara Department of Public Works, Transportation Division

Chris Sneddon, Director Mostafa Estaji, Deputy Director

NOTICE OF PREPARATION

DATE: January 2, 2025

TO: State Clearinghouse, Office of Planning and Research 1400 Tenth Street Sacramento, CA 95814

FROM: County of Santa Barbara Department of Public Works, Transportation Division 123 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2058 (805) 568-3000

SUBJECT: Notice of Preparation and Scoping of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)

PROJECT NAME: Sandyland Shoreline Protection Project (Project)

PROJECT LOCATION: The Project site is comprised of an existing approximately 3,700-foot-long rock shore protection device (“Seawall”) located in unincorporated Santa Barbara County South Coast, approximately 0.7 miles west of the City of Carpinteria. The Sandyland Seawall is located seaward of the residential homes and accessory structures along Sand Point Road, between the residences and the beach.

LEAD AGENCY: The County of Santa Barbara (County) is the Lead Agency preparing the EIR with the purpose of informing decision-makers and the public regarding the environmental effects related to the proposed Project in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (Public Resources Code § 21000 et seq.).

As the Lead Agency, the County has prepared the enclosed Initial Study / Environmental Scoping Document in accordance with the Santa Barbara County Environmental Thresholds and Guidelines Manual and CEQA Guidelines Section 15082. The County has identified a potential for significant environmental impacts associated with the implementation of the proposed Project. The EIR will address the potential effects for each of the environmental resource areas described in the enclosed Environmental Scoping Document.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The proposed Project would repair and restore the 1983 design of the existing 3,700-foot-long Sandyland Seawall (Shoreline Protection in the form of a rock revetment) located between Sand Point Road residences and the coastline. Specifically, the proposed Project would involve repairing the revetment by placing up to 15,000 tons of 3- to 5-ton armor rocks to achieve the 1983 design of the revetment with a 16.4-foot crest elevation (relative to NAVD88 vertical datum), a 2:1 (horizontal:vertical) seaward slope, and a crest width of 10 feet. The repair would involve minor re-working of the revetment, using new (imported) armor rocks to fill voids in the revetment, correct low points and reduced width in the revetment crest, and address areas where existing armor stone has been dislodged. Where possible, existing displaced armor rock would be salvaged and re-used.

In addition, the proposed Project would provide dune vegetation enhancement along the landward splash wall. Existing non-native vegetation would be removed and native dune vegetation would be planted to create additional habitat area. Construction of the dune feature may require the import of a small amount of sand for dune vegetation establishment in locations where sand cover does not exist.

Lastly, of the 23 existing private access stairways constructed along the revetment to serve residents of Sand Point Road, under the proposed Project, 12 private access stairways would be demolished, and the design rock revetment would be restored in their place. The remaining 11 existing access stairways would be rebuilt with publicly accessible stairways in their place.

VIRTUAL PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL SCOPING MEETING: A scoping meeting will be held virtually on January 16, 2025, at 5:30pm. Please register in advance for this Zoom webinar at: CivicEngage Evolve  https://www.countyofsb.org/4402/28667/Sandyland-Shoreline-ProtectionProject. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining, including a Zoom link and a call-in number.

The scoping meeting, which is part of the EIR scoping process, is intended to provide an opportunity for agencies and interested members of the public to provide oral comments on the scope and content of the environmental analysis.

PUBLIC AND AGENCY COMMENTS: The County requests that responsible agencies provide input on the scope of the EIR to reflect any relevant statutory responsibilities related to the proposed Project. Interested members of the public are also encouraged to provide comments on the scope of the EIR.

All written agency and public comments must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. on February 3, 2025. Please send your comments and the name of a contact person in your agency to the Environmental Project Manager, Morgan M. Jones, at the address provided below.

Project Manager: Morgan M. Jones

Transportation Division Department of Public Works 123 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Telephone: (805) 568-3059

Email: mmjones@countyofsb.org

Additional information regarding the proposed Project will be posted to the County’s webpage at:

https://www.countyofsb.org/4402/28667/Sandyland-Shoreline-ProtectionProject

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.