Let's Go HTO

JOURNAL

New Milpas Nonprofit – The group of business owners lighting the way along the Eastside with their holiday cheer, P.22

Holiday Buys – For week two of the MJ’s Home for the Holidays guide, stop to shop in Summerland and the Upper Village, P.36

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA 30 NOV – 7 DEC 2023 | VOL 29 ISS 48 | www.montecitojournal.net

The Giving List

The new Santa Barbara Museum of Art executive director, page 11

LET’S GO HTO

SENATOR LIMÓN AND ASSEMBLYMEMBER HART HELP SECURE HALF A MILLION DOLLARS TO HELP FUND HEAL THE OCEAN’S STUDY OF THE SEEPS AND LEAKS ALONG SUMMERLAND’S ABANDONED OIL WELLS (STORY STARTS ON PAGE 5)

Bringing Light Back to Life

Light Up a Life brings a flicker of hope for those who have lost someone and are struggling this holiday season, page 10

Cher’ing the Stage

The Cher Show is off Broadway and coming to town with three performers playing the legendary icon, page 28

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

the Ocean – The organization receives 5 Heal significant funds to continue their work on the

Montecito – Thinking aloud is something Big Questions – What’s the risk of the 16 Dear 30 Robert’s that happens from time to time – it is also a key climate crisis?

6

18

impact of early oil drilling

tool in understanding one’s stream of consciousness

Village Beat – A menorah lighting in Montecito, it’s time to shop and sip along CVR, plus TBCF turns 21

Miscellany – Adam’s Angels serve 8 Montecito up some turkey, MBT’s annual Community

Brundage – From leading Olympic 20 Avery Committees to nearly bankrupting himself over

Dividends, and more miscellany

Up a Life – For some, the holidays can 10 Light remind us of those we’ve lost and this annual event helps bring light to that community Tide Guide

11 12

Our Town – It’s fun, friends, and turkey at the Friendship Center’s Thanksgiving dinner, plus this new nonprofit is lighting the way for Milpas Street

Invites – See what was heading down 14 Society the catwalk for the 15th annual St. Vincent’s

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Montecito JOURNAL

a marriage to a princess, the tumultuous reign of Montecito’s fallen king

to the Editor – Some thoughts on 35 Letters new, noisy neighbors and a reader wants a new

County Supervisor The Optimist Daily – What’s that warm feeling…?

It’s Patagonia’s new environmentally-friendly parka.

for the Holidays – This week, 36 Home Summerland and the Upper Village get a visit

from MJ’s non-denominational holiday gremlins

Westmont – Theater offers Poor Clare, Far Flung Travel – In a narrow, craggy sea cave, 24 Your nursing program earns final approval, and a new 45 Chuck meets some new friends from his kayak program focuses on preaching

The Giving List – Amada Cruz discusses her new role at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and what led her there

fashion show luncheon

Brilliant Thoughts – Salesmanship is one of the oldest games in the book and here is what Ashleigh learned from selling a certain set of books

26 27 28

Santa Barbara by the Glass – Grab a glass and get ready for some wines that fit both the gift list and the holiday dinner table Elizabeth’s Appraisals – A reader’s photograph leads to a history lesson on Buddha, ceramics, and lions On Entertainment – The Cher Show shows up in town in all of its costumed glory, The Art of Symeon Shimin, SBIFF’s Cinema Society heats up, and more

Matter – Magic, mystery, and a dash 47 Stories of history – these are some books that will keep you reading through the holidays

of Events – Holiday festivities are 52 Calendar warming up the cool nights, Sullivan Goss gets 100 Grand, and more

54 Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads Meta Crossword Puzzles 55 Mini Local Business Directory

“When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” – Sam Lefkowitz

30 November – 7 December 2023

Heal the Ocean

Organization Receives $500,000 to Continue Work on Oil Seepage Research

by Joanne A Calitri

I

n a momentous occasion on Tuesday, November 28, Heal the Ocean (HTO) was presented with a check for $500,000 from Senator Monique Limón representing California Senate District 19 and Assemblymember Gregg Hart representing the 37th California Assembly District, to support HTO’s Summerland Oil Mitigation Study (SOMS).

The study was proposed and started by Heal the Ocean’s Project Lead and Researcher Harry Rabin working with Ira Leifer, Principal of Bubbleology Research International, earlier D’Arcy Cornwall, Nora McNeely Hurley, and Harry Rabin this year.

The funding is said to ensure (photo by Joanne A Calitri) the accurate and consistent mapping of over 100 oil seeps and leaks along the Central Coast, starting with the focus in the Summerland Beach area. The study using high-tech imaging and digital mapping is the first of its kind in the state of California and will set the template for other legacy well projects and remedial work along the entire coast, and perhaps in other global areas with similar issues.

The presentation and speeches were held at Lookout Point Summerland Beach, on Tuesday morning. Limón talked about the history of the Summerland oil drilling from over 100 years ago and now the over 200 oil well abandonment, saying: “We in the legislature support the need to remedy and correct the environmental, health, and community impact of this issue. We created CalGEM which now thoroughly reviews each permit application for adherence to health and safety rules, environmental rules before granting oil drilling permits. We want to ensure that orphan wells are not poorly abandoned. This has been a collective effort across many lines. We recognize the importance and need of cleaning up what has been left here for decades. We knew that the $2 million would be the start, and that the work needs to be continued. With Hart, we secured a half million dollars in funding that work. Specifically, with this new technology our ability to create the data that is so precise to get to these leaky wells is an investment from the State to clean up and to heal the ocean.”

With that, she acknowledged Hannah-Beth Jackson, HTO, Hart, Mayor Randy Rowse, and the ocean cleanup volunteers.

Standing by Limón, Hart, Rabin, and Leifer was Hannah-Beth Jackson, former California State Senator, who initiated the concerns about the legacy wells and requests for funding with the 2017 Senate Bill 44, the Legacy Well Re-Abandonment, a program providing funding for the work at $2 million a year, soon to run its course. The work began in 2018 with the successful re-abandonment of Becker well #1 at Summerland Beach. Jackson shared in my interview before the presentation: “We certainly have to give credit to HTO for their persistence, digging in there to do everything we can to clean up the ocean, and to Senator Limón who has picked up the mantel and doing wonderful work to protect our environment along with Heal the Ocean Page 424 424

30 November – 7 December 2023

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Village Beat

Menorah Lighting in Montecito

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

T

he first public menorah lighting in Montecito is scheduled for Sunday, December 10, from 4 pm to 5:30 pm at the Upper Village Green, on the corner of San Ysidro Road and East Valley. The event is likely to become an annual tradition to add to Montecito’s array of holiday celebrations.

Rabbi Chaim and Mushkie Loschak, founders of Chabad of Montecito, are heading up the event, which will include arts and crafts for Rabbi Chaim and Mushkie Loschak (pictured with their the kids, a magic show, music, latkes, children), are the founders of Chabad of Montecito and donuts, as well as attendance by local leaders. Chabad of Montecito was founded in 2022 based on the core teaching of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, who believed that every Jew is an integral and indispensable part of the Jewish community. The Chabad organization seeks to serve the Jewish community’s physical and spiritual needs; whether it be a class, a visit to the elderly, helping someone in financial need, a prayer service, counseling, etc. “It’s not an easy time in the world for Jews,” said Rabbi Chaim. “We have to stick together. We are going to overcome.”

The Rabbi and his wife moved to the area about a year ago, with the call to get involved in the local Jewish community. Their idea to bring a Menorah lighting came to life with the help of several sponsors, including the Montecito Association and the Jewish Federation of Santa Barbara, among others.

Menorah lightings take place all over the world, giving Jews and non-Jews a message of hope and freedom. The Rabbi said there will be an added security presence at the event, given the war in Gaza.

The event will take place from 4 pm to 5:15 pm, with the lighting at 4:50 pm. For more information, visit www.jewishmontecito.org.

Shop, Sip, and Stroll • Tree Lighting Ceremony • Fireside Cocktails and Captivating Views • Menorah Lighting + Latke Party • Traditional Holiday Dining • Gin + Jazz Thursdays • Teddy Bear Afternoon Tea

Another local holiday celebration happening next week is on Coast Village Road: Shop, Sip, and Stroll will take place from 3 to 6 pm on Thursday, December 7.

Presented by the Coast Village Association and the Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort, this community event features Santa Claus arriving in style to help light a holiday tree while being serenaded by the Santa Barbara Symphony Youth Ensemble, and caroling by the Santa Barbara High School Madrigals. During the event, there will be special appearances by Nutcracker characters and a hot chocolate stand.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to benefit Toys for Tots.

The Coast Village Association is dedicated to fostering community spirit, supporting local businesses, and organizing events that bring residents and visitors together. The Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort is a luxury resort committed to providing unparalleled experiences in a breathtaking coastal setting. The community tree is sponsored by the Montecito Community Foundation.

See you on Thursday, December 7.

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Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation (TBCF) proudly marks its 21st year of standing with families battling cancer in the tri-counties in significant ways. What began as a humble grassroots effort has blossomed into an organization now synonymous with hope and critical financial aid for families enduring the trauma of pediatric cancer.

Despite its modest office on upper State Street and a small but dedicated staff, TBCF has consistently proven its remarkable ability to make substantial impacts with limited resources.

As the holiday season approaches, TBCF launches its Season of Hope campaign to

Village Beat Page 424 424

Montecito JOURNAL

“Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.” – Amy Grant

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Montecito Miscellany

Angels Giving Gratitude and Turkey

Team Turkey gathering for the event (photo by Priscilla)

by Richard Mineards

T

Santa Barbara’s most loved Vintage & Antique Store

—Google Review

he Veterans Memorial Building, a tiara’s toss from Stearns Wharf, was absolutely heaving when 600 needy guests converged on the historic locale for the 4th annual Thanksgiving lunch organized by Adam’s Angels, founded by realtor Adam McKaig.

More than 350 pounds of turkey bought at Shalhoob’s, with the PATH Homeless Shelter donating its kitchen to cook them, were devoured along with nearly 100 pumpkin and apple pies donated by community members.

Guitarist Maitland Ward coordinated the musical entertainment including American Idol contestant Jackson Gillies, Lois Mahalia, Bobby Montana, Hector Hurtado, Miriam Dance, George

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Friedenthal, Randy Tico, Brian Mann, and Ray Pannell.

C.A.R.E.4Paws donated pet sitting services and food for four-legged guests, while Jersey Mike’s, the national sandwich chain, gave gift cards for the 100 volunteers.

Deckers in Goleta donated new hoodies, gloves, hats, and backpacks for the many homeless and needy at the fun repast.

Among the supporters joining in were singer Katy Perry’s father Keith Hudson, fun loving Franciscan friar Larry Gosselin, Peter and Kathryn Martin, Rick Oshay and Teresa Kuskey, uber realtor Dana Hansen, ubiquitous KEYTTV reporter John Palminteri, UCSB men’s basketball coach Joe Pasternack,

Miscellany Page 324 324

Security checking on some suspicious looking characters (photo by Priscilla)

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Montecito JOURNAL

Kitchen Angels: Jennifer Cora, Sebastian, John, Geoff, and Elias (photo by Priscilla)

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart

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Tips for Navigating the Holidays After the Loss of a Loved One

Annual Event Creates Sacred Space in of Santa Barbara encourages Montecito to Grieve and Honor Those We Miss ourHospice community to not just “get through”

the holidays, but to embrace the season as a time for healing. Here are a few tips we hope will be helpful to you or someone you care about: As the holidays near, you should acknowledge that there will be hard times ahead as you mourn your loved one.

Remember that everyone grieves differently, and that it’s okay to not feel okay.

If there are children in your family who are also coping with loss, focus on their needs and help them process through their grief.

Make a conscious decision when it comes to carrying on your holiday traditions or consider starting new ones. Continuing the old traditions may help keep your loved one’s memory alive, but setting new ones may help you to move on.

Honor your loved one’s memory,

For those who have lost someone, the holidays can be a tough time of year

by Christopher Davis

W

ith the holiday season in full swing, it’s an exciting time for many of us to be thinking about all the wonderful memories we’ll be making with our close friends and family members.

This isn’t the case for everyone.

Unfortunately, the holiday season can be extremely difficult and painful for those who feel an empty and aching space in their hearts for a loved one who has passed away and won’t be a part of this year’s annual holiday traditions. Though grief is a normal part of life, it can be especially difficult to cope with loss during one of the most joyous times of the year.

It is in the spirit of shared loss and heal-

ing that we began our free Light Up a Life ceremony in Montecito. It allows all of us a path to integrate our loved ones into the holiday through these sacred events and experience that loss and love with others who are experiencing the same thing.

A small committee launched Light Up a Life in Montecito six years ago, including Sharon Byrne, former executive director of the Montecito Association, and with support from Montecito Fire.

This Year’s Light Up a Life event in Montecito is on December 6 at the Upper Village Green (on the corner of San Ysidro and East Valley) and will feature special speakers and guests, musical entertainment including Cold Spring School Chorus, and the lighting of a memorial tree. Light Up a Life is free and open to everyone.

We look forward to seeing you there.

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Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña Administration | Jessikah Fechner Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Nadel, Bryce Eller Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin, Jeff Wing Proofreading | Helen Buckley Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz

A small committee including the Montecito Association and Montecito Fire started the Light Up a Life event six years ago

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE Day

whether it is through a beloved holiday tradition, or by sharing stories about them with your friends. Remember that although they are gone, their memory will always live on in your heart.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself by getting a proper amount of sleep, eating healthily, and exercising when you can, but without forcing too much of your energy. Taking care of your body will help alleviate stress and improve your overall well-being.

Surround yourself with a supportive community that will be with you every step of the way as you cope with your grief. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it.

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“Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside.” – Willard Scott

Contributors | Scott Craig, Ashleigh Brilliant, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Chuck Graham, Stella Haffner, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Sharon Byrne, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye Gossip | Richard Mineards History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Claudia Schou, Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108.

How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

30 November – 7 December 2023

The Giving List

Cruz plans on expanding the museum’s education programs (photo by Zach Mendez)

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

by Steven Libowitz

I

t might seem disingenuous to employ the expression “a blessing in disguise” when it comes to Covid.

But the truth is, were it not for the pandemic, Amada Cruz would probably not be gracing our little burg as Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s brand-new Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO. After all, who suddenly shifts directions after a consistently upwardly mobile career of running bigger and better arts facilities?

But that’s exactly what Cruz did, and the pandemic was the cause for pause, spurring Cruz, who previously headed the much larger Seattle Art Museum, which has three times the budget and number of employees as SBMA, to move down the coast to the position at Santa Barbara’s State Street institution on the day before Halloween.

“I had just started a few months before the pandemic, and had to spend the next two years-plus just getting the enormous organization with 300 employees and 65 board members through a hopefully once in a lifetime event,” she recalled. “During that process, I started evaluating what I wanted to be doing, and I realized a better fit was to be with an organization that was more manageable. Something I could get my arms around, if you will, where I will definitely know who all the employees are.”

So after previously serving as Director of the Phoenix Art Museum, ED at San Antonio-based Artpace, Director of the Center for Curatorial Studies Museum at Bard College, Acting Chief Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, and founding Program Director for United States Artists in Los Angeles – Cruz has come our way, in the process becoming the latest jewel in the glittering crown that is SBMA. Now that she’s here, Cruz has gotten right to work – not issuing any proclamations or instituting any changes yet, but rather gleaning everything she can about the museum, its collection, and the community it serves.

“I’m on my listening tour, asking the questions, finding out what people think for the next few months,” she said. “It’s helpful to be an outsider with fresh eyes and look at things a little bit differently, but that also means I need to be quiet and hear what others have to say.”

That extends to understanding the larger community and its cultural needs and 30 November – 7 December 2023

Amada Cruz, Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Director and CEO of SBMA (courtesy photo)

relationship to the museum, Cruz said.

“I see a lot of value in the arts beyond the aesthetic, which of course, is vitally important, as well as stimulating creativity. I see the museum as a community builder, so making those connections will be really important. Especially now in this super polarized time. I think that the arts can really bring us together. It sounds corny, but I do feel that art can build empathy. A museum like SBMA that has a general collection of art from different cultures and different eras can really help you to build an awareness of what’s out there outside of your everyday concerns.”

Besides her vast experience in running a complex organization, Cruz also brings her own experiences as an immigrant whose family moved from Cuba to Miami, then Chicago and outside of New York City – a background she thinks will be valuable here in a county where there is a 47 percent Latinx community.

“I speak Spanish fluently albeit with a terrible American accent, but more importantly I have an innate understanding of what it means to be an immigrant, what it means to grow up in a bilingual household,” Cruz said. “For me, one of the big questions I’m thinking about is how do we bring those people into the museum? How do we make the museum matter more to those communities?”

In other words, Cruz is taking the big picture approach to SBMA’s recently updated mission to integrate art into the lives of people.

“The museum is not an ivory tower,” she said. “Museums have evolved to a point where they’re really much less about creating a fortress to protect the treasures

of the pope or the king, to being a more porous institution that is informed by its communities, influenced by the communities, and that reaches out to those communities and makes them part of the story. It’s very much about looking externally now.”

So once she’s settled, Cruz plans to expand upon SBMA’s already robust education programs to continue to grow connections with people, and to collaborate with other organizations and cultural institutions in town to strengthen the impact.

At the outset, though, Cruz is excited to be leading the museum that is in firm footing in succeeding Larry Feinberg, who is retiring at the end of the year after a 15-year tenure.

“I’m grateful to be stepping into this position at an organization that’s in such good shape. The collections are very high quality, the exhibitions have been very scholarly and engage people.

It’s a super active place, which I love.

The staff is really terrific, the board is very, very committed. And the recent enhancements to the building are just

amazing. It’s thrilling.”

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art provides in-person and online resources for art makers, art educators, and art enthusiasts. Your donation supports educational programs and engagement opportunities for the community; classroom and after-school activities for students; in-person and virtual school field trips; and adult studio classes and workshops. Visit www. sbma.net/support or call (805) 963-4364.

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Our Town

Friendship Center Thanksgiving Luncheon Roz and Irwin Bendet with daughter, Bess (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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he Friendship Center in Montecito held a Thanksgiving luncheon for its members and their families and friends on Wednesday, November 22 at the center. The festive feast was led by Executive Director Kathryn Westland and her team of Kim Larsen, cooks, and even her cousins – the Meeker Family from San Diego!

The cooks were busy in the kitchen making both a ham dinner and a turkey dinner, along with desserts. Members of note were Tom and Donna Carvey, with Tom boasting his age at 101.5 years old

G I V E YOURS E LF THE G IF T OF

JOYFUL LIVING.

Robert Antonini (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

and a U.S. Navy WWII veteran; Robert Antonini, a WWII U.S. Army veteran at 97 years old; Irwin Bendet, a U.S. Navy veteran with wife Roz and daughter Bess; and Tom Scheff, a U.S. Army Korean War veteran with Suzanne Retzinger.

New this year for the Friendship Center was its decision to keep Veterans’ Day more personal instead of its annual large event. Westland shared: “Instead of the bigger event, we spent the day celebrating and showering our vets with love. It was requested to keep the day more low-key and personal, so we went that route. In addition, we are in the process of creating a Vets center room on

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Tom and Donna Carvey (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Our Town Page 224 224

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The Meeker family with Kathryn Westland and Kim Larsen (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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30 November – 7 December 2023

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2023/2024 Presenting the world’s finest classical artists since 1919

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Society Invites

15th Annual St. Vincent’s Fashion Show Luncheon

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Designer Catherine Gee with her models (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

by Joanne A Calitri

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2023, 7:30PM

LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC Zubin Mehta, Conductor Emeritus Seong-Jin Cho, piano

ZUBIN MEHTA RETURNS

to direct the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Santa Barbara for the first time since 1979, his first appearance in CAMA’s series since 1993!

Also returning to CAMA’s series will be piano virtuoso Seong-Jin Cho, who garnered world attention in October 2015 when he won First Prize at the renowned Chopin International Piano Competition in Warsaw.

PROGRAM SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op.54 MAHLER: Symphony No.1 in D Major, “Titan” (with “Blumine” movement)

T

he much-loved St. Vincent’s Santa Barbara annual fashion show luncheon took off with all the holiday flair of the season at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Ballroom on Saturday, November 25. This year was their 15th annual event, and saw 300 guests with a wait list, indicating the growth of the event over the years, since its humble beginnings in the gym at a local high school.

The founders of the annual fundraiser in 2009 and event co-chairs every year are Pat Lupo and Claudia Lash, who also make the 70 to 100 gift baskets for the silent auction. Showcasing their collections for the fashion show were Jennifer Siemens, designer and CEO

of the California Kids Collection, an eco-friendly organic kids’ fashion line based out of Ventura, and Catherine Gee, international designer based in Santa Barbara for chic designer women’s fashion worn by A-Listers and locals.

Gee gave the attendees a 20% discount fashion pass.

The event started with a coffee reception and guests warmly talking with old friends and meeting new ones, while milling around the silent auction tables and enjoying the outdoor ballroom patio.

Seen at the event were Rosa M. Paredes, St. Vincent’s President and CEO and her family; Maryam Davodi-Far, the Vice President of Early Childhood Education and Student Enrichment Services with her husband David J. Wu, and children

Society Page 344 344

Jennifer Siemens with the kids modeling her fashion designs (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Principal Sponsor: Mosher Foundation Sponsors: Bitsy & Denny Bacon Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts, a field of interest fund of the Santa Barbara Foundation

David J. Wu (center) with sons Jet and Taj, Lulu Corral, Maryam Davodi-Far, Lourdes Corral, and Rosa Paredes (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Co-Sponsors: Anonymous (2) • Robert Boghosian & Mary E. Gates-Warren Christine & Robert Emmons • Zegar Family Fund

Tickets at the Granada Theatre Box Office (805) 899-2222 ⫽ granadasb.org COMMUNITY ARTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION OF SANTA BARBARA

camasb.org

14 Montecito JOURNAL

“After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” – Oscar Wilde

30 November – 7 December 2023

31 DECEMBER 2023 | 8:30PM - 1:30AM A glimmering night of unmatched elegance where the ordinary is escaped, and the extraordinary is embraced awaits at our New Year’s Eve Le Bal Cristal. Inspired by a glamourous French fête along the American Riviera, we invite you to celebrate with lively libations, spectacular performers, champagne toasts and so much more.

For booth seating, tickets and more information, please visit our website or email our team at Miramar.NYE@rosewoodhotels.com or call us at 805.900.8388

30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

15

Dear Montecito M O N T E C I T O & S A N TA B A R B A R A’S # 1 R E A L E S TAT E T E A M*

Anusha Garg: UCSB Researcher Discusses How We Access the Conscious Mind

by Stella Haffner

Y

ou know what keeps me awake at night? My stream of consciousness! Ba dum tss!

If you’re not laughing, just know that a joke like that would kill at a cognitive psychology conference. But don’t worry, you’re not missing out because this week I am bringing the psychology conference to us with a little help from early career researcher, Anusha Garg.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Anusha, a PhD candidate at UCSB in the department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, about her work on the stream of consciousness. Anusha is part of an emerging school in psychological sciences that uses a technique called “think-aloud” to access the structure and content of our active minds.

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Q. Did you know when you started Anusha Garg is diving into the stream of constudying psychology that you wanted to sciousness through think-aloud measurements study stream of consciousness?

A. I had a really kind psychology teacher in high school, so when I arrived to do my undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, I already knew I was really interested in psychology but I wasn’t sure exactly what part. During my undergraduate degree I worked in six different labs in six different fields – everything from assessing firstborns’ reactions to their second-born siblings to food science and addiction. These experiences led me to my senior thesis adviser, Dr. Chandra Sripada. He is the one who introduced me to the “stream of consciousness,” translating typically to what one is thinking about.

Obvious questions followed, such as, how does one make sense of the structure and content of their thoughts?

So how do we make sense of what we’re thinking?

Definitely a good question! Dr. Sripada used a technique called ‘think-aloud.’ In my senior and master’s thesis for instance, I designed an interview that asked people about different concerns – positive or negative – that they might have in differing areas of life. A week later, I called the participants back to the lab and had them simply think aloud about whatever came to mind, without any further instructions.

We found that when comparing between people’s think-alouds, the content of one’s stream of spontaneous thoughts uniquely held one’s own concerns as opposed to someone else’s. It was a very cool finding! Essentially it is evidence that your stream of consciousness is extremely idiosyncratic and holds a high frequency of your personal concerns. More importantly, my first couple of projects during my PhD have focused on creating a comprehensive taxonomy of the content and qualities of thoughts that one experiences during the stream of spontaneous thoughts. We’ve found evidence suggesting high frequencies of thoughts related to social relationships and environmental stimuli driven mind wanderings amongst individuals. So, we think a lot about a lot of things – we finalized 18 different categories of thoughts people have while mind wandering!

©2023 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information. *#1 Team in SB MLS for units sold in 2022.

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You said that people’s streams of consciousness are extremely idiosyncratic. Does this mean that if you hear me talk through my own thoughts, that you can tell things about my personality?

Definitely. We did this with The Big Five Personality Inventory and found that peo-

“Thanksgiving, man! Not a good day to be my pants.” – Kevin James

Dear Montecito Page 444 444

30 November – 7 December 2023

WHAT DOES A DONATION TO COMMUNIFY MEAN? When 1 in 5 children and 1 in 6 adults in Santa Barbara County are currently living in poverty,* your donation to CommUnify means improving the lives of our children, youth, families and seniors. It means a hand up, not a hand out.

It means a happier, healthier community. Will you help?

Empowering people. Transforming lives.

805.964.8857 Ext.3 CommUnifySB.org/donate * Public Policy Institute of California report, “Understanding Poverty in California,” October 2023

30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

17

Brilliant Thoughts The Ignorance Industry

by Ashleigh Brilliant

I

n the mental economics of our species, there is a slow but steady demand for Information – but the market for Ignorance has become increasingly busy. The plain fact is that most people do not want the Truth. Why? Because it’s too inaccessible, too incomprehensible, and too likely to be unpleasant.

Of course, you and I are not “most people.” We want to know what it’s all about.

But we are perfectly willing to benefit from the ignorance of others. One of the brief, but memorable, jobs I have had in my checkered career was that of a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman. I was then still in my early 20s, but what I most remember from that experience was that the hardest part was “setting the stage,” which meant getting the people to let you into the house, and then having the “decision makers” – probably husband and wife – sitting on the sofa, while you, standing in front of them, did your spiel. This consisted mostly of a very carefully prepared and rehearsed presentation which you had been trained to deliver. Did it include showing any part of the actual encyclopedia? Absolutely not. You couldn’t carry even one sample from that multi-volume set of books. That would, in any case, hardly be an impressive selling tool. (I need hardly tell you that this was long before the advent of computers, which have given everybody instant access to all the world’s knowledge, thus replacing hard-copy encyclopedias and the people who made their living selling them.) I remember being told repeatedly by an old hand who was training newcomers like me, “If you try to sell books, you’ll starve.” Oh no! We were not selling books. We were selling dreams – dreams of a better life for these “prospects” and their children.

We were also selling feelings of importance, making the prospect feel they were getting special treatment. In fact, we were never to admit that we were salesmen at all. In the time-tested “pitch,” which we were supposed to memorize, we were just

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doing some “advance promotional work” for the salesman who would be coming later on. Every word of the pitch had been planned to put the prospects off their guard, to exploit emotions and attack psychological weakness. But I felt that the most fiendishly clever part concerned the price and payment scheme. What you were to offer first was a 10-year plan, with what looked like a very small amount to pay per year. This was in fact entirely mythical. It did not exist – but you would suddenly switch to a two-year plan, with a large hypothetical “discount.” That however would not be in cash, but in the form of a book-case, with a dictionary and an atlas. This whole “discount” idea was a fraud.

But by this time, as I observed when accompanying regular salesmen, the atmosphere in the room would have become very heavy, as if a hypnotic spell had been cast.

For better or worse, I myself wasn’t very good at this sort of thing, and I never made a sale. But I had great admiration for whoever concocted the whole plan, and also for those who made good money at selling. And, after all, we were selling a very fine product, the Encyclopedia Britannica, which was an asset to any home – if anybody ever used it.

But all this is only one way people’s lack of knowledge can be exploited. Another is in the field of what we call “propaganda.” Here, unlike legitimate advertisers, the perpetrators use words (and other media) as weapons of war, to strengthen our side and weaken theirs. A classic example has been leaflets circulated among enemy troops, with what look like official “surrender certificates,” guaranteeing safety and good treatment to the surrendering soldier.

(But the propagandists have to know the enemy’s language and culture pretty well.

In World War II, when fighting Japan, whose troops often fought to the last man, it was found that this device wasn’t working. When language experts were consulted, they saw that “I surrender,” when translated into Japanese, was considered very dishonorable. They recommended that Ashleigh Brilliant born it be changed to say, “I cease resistance” England 1933, came to – and, sure enough, this had much betCalifornia in 1955, to Santa ter results.)

Barbara in 1973, to the Closer to home, Alaskan salmon is Montecito Journal in 2016. both white and pink. However, the purBest-known for his illustrated veyors of some white canned salmon had epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. scanty sales, because ignorant customers email: ashleigh@west. expected pink. But the problem was net. web: www.ash solved, with the slogan, “Guaranteed not leighbrilliant.com. to turn pink in the can.”

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30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

19

Avery Brundage Montecito’s Fallen King

by Anthony Wall

Auctioneers & Appraisers

F

ew have had a grander international presence while living in Montecito than a wealthy Chicago businessman named Avery Brundage. His story is a quintessentially American one – a rags-to-riches, Horatio Alger tale, though not without its twists. Brundage grew up in the Teddy Roosevelt era of bold, rugged achievers. Born to modest circumstances in Detroit in 1887, he became the proverbial hardworking newspaper boy who made good. An exceptional athlete with sharp intelligence, Brundage earned an engineering degree at the University of Illinois and then represented the United States in the pentathlon and decathlon in the 1912 Olympics.

Brundage was not only smart and athletic but politically savvy and a striver. He made his fortune in the rough-and-tumble Chicago construction industry of the 1920s. However, wealth alone would never be enough for the former Detroit newspaper boy. In 1927, Brundage stepped up in the ranks of society by marrying a wealthy Chicago socialite, Elizabeth Dunlap. Two years later, he secured the prestigious post of President of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

By the 1930s, Brundage had attained the wealth, power, and prestige he had ardently sought. However, dark whispers about the man began to circulate. He was an anti-Semite and sympathized with a then-ascending world power – the authoritarian Nazis. After the Nazis assumed power in Germany in 1933, calls arose in the U.S. for a boycott of the upcoming 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Brundage brusquely dismissed such proposed boycott as the work of “a Jewish/communist conspiracy.”

The Irving Berlin Platinum, Sapphire and Diamond Ring. Est. $200,000 – 400,000. Auction December 14.

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Brundage refocused his real estate empire locally. His initial purchases included the Montecito Country Club and the El Paseo complex in Santa Barbara, which comprised the Restaurante del Paseo, 40 shops and offices, and the De la Guerra mansion. He later acquired the El Presidio business block, and in 1956, the Montecito Inn.

At six feet tall and 200 pounds, with powerful shoulders, Brundage could be an imposing presence. Combining that with his shrewd intelligence and self-confidence made Brundage an effective dealmaker. He assured U.S. officials he would get the Nazis to drop their Jewish exclusion policy for the ‘36 Games. Brundage’s backroom negotiating averted a boycott, but he did so by cutting a deal with the Nazis. The only Jews on the 1936 U.S. Olympic track team were sprinters Marty Glickman and Sam Stoller. Their event was a relay, but on the morning of the race, which was to be attended by Hitler, U.S. officials pulled Glickman and Stoller, denying them the gold medal the relay team would go on to win.

Glickman attributed the decision to Brundage.

The European aristocrats on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) so admired Brundage’s work on behalf of the USOC that later that year, they appointed him to the ever-more-prestigious IOC, the world governing body for the Olympics. While Brundage had a sincere interest in the Olympics, there was no better opportunity for him to advance himself socially than to hobnob with the members of the blue-blooded IOC. For much of the 20th century, the IOC was heavily populated with royals. During Brundage’s tenure, its members included King Albert of Belgium, King Constantine of Greece, Prince Axel of Denmark, Prince Franz Joseph II of Liechtenstein, Grand Duke Jean of Luxembourg, Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hanover, Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and the marvelously named Alphert, Baron Schimmelpenninck van der Oye of the Netherlands. Brundage’s courting of aristocracy was regarded as sometimes embarrassingly obvious. He even once remarked to an associate that his dream Avery Brundage Page 464 464

“Pie makes everybody happy.” – Laurie Halse Anderson

30 November – 7 December 2023

OMAKASE EXPERIENCE

Enjoy our Omakase experience at the exclusive 13-seat bar at AMA Sushi. An experience built around trust and spontaneity between our chefs and their diners. With seatings now available every 15 minutes, our chefs offer an always fresh experience complemented by an extensive selection of wine, sake, and innovative cocktails.

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1759 S Jameson Lane, Montecito, CA 93108

30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

21

Our Town (Continued from 12 12))

The founders and board of the MEBA near a tree lighted for the holidays: Jose Perez, Santos Guzman, Beatriz Molina, and Mary Robles (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Tom Scheff, Kathryn Westland, and Suzanne Retzinger (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

campus, with photographs, certificates, medals, and other memorabilia our vets wish to contribute, where anyone can visit and learn more about them.”

The center will have a holiday event coming up in December; check the website for more information.

411: www.friendshipcentersb.org

New Nonprofit: The Milpas Eastside Business Association A new nonprofit called the Milpas Eastside Business Association (MEBA) was officially designated and granted active status by the Secretary of the State of California on July 14 of this year. The newly formed nonprofit was built by four key Eastside business owners and residents who quietly and humbly on their own decided over a decade ago to revitalize the Milpas-Eastside corridor. Their canon to ignite this mission was to put up holiday lights every year at Christmas time along Milpas Street

and the Milpas roundabout. They volunteered to do the work to purchase, put up, take down, and store the lights, and to walk Milpas Street door to door asking their fellow business owners to chip in to make it happen.

This is an inspiring story of trust, philanthropy, and paying it forward to improve the quality of life and doing business on the Milpas Eastside area, and the creation of the MEBA is the natural solution to solidify the commitment to do so.

The MEBA co-founders are Beatriz Molina, Santos Guzman, Jose Perez, and Mary Robles – Eastside community members that are well-known for their efforts toward the holiday lights. Now with the establishment of the MEBA, they can officially seek grants, public funding, and act on their mission statement. While all the formality of administering a nonprofit is new to them, they are backed by the trust of the businesses and people of the Eastside based on their devoted work each year with the holiday lights alone.

The mission statement of the MEBA is: “Designed to address, educate, coordinate, and procure community resources for the community and business residents of Santa Barbara Eastside; to implement community solutions that improve the quality of life, and increase the well-being and health of our diverse community members. MEBA will host cultural events for the community to connect families to community education and resources currently available in the City of Santa Barbara. MEBA will provide holiday festivities and events which will include but not be limited to holiday cultural décor to provide a safe environment for the community. In addition, events will be held throughout the year as an additional resource for the community. MEBA will be working with other nonprofit associations to provide a comprehensive approach to address the improvement of the quality of life for the residents of the Eastside. Our Board of Directors is representative of business owners, social justice, community residency, and networking experience. After many years working in this community, the knowledge and experience that this board brings will contribute toward the success of the endeavors that MEBA will pursue.”

As I sat down to meet with the founders, they, at the outset, are very concerned about the funding needed to do the annual holiday lights for Christmas this year, as they just were informed the week of October 16 that the funding for all the holiday lights on Milpas Street and its roundabout that was promised to them by a City of Santa Barbara councilmember a while back, was subsequently denied by the entire City Council. The MEBA is now starting from zero.

Experience has a local address.

The Burford Group at Morgan Stanley Jerrad Burford Senior Vice President Financial Advisor 805-695-7108 jerrad.burford@ morganstanley.com

Jeanine J. Burford Senior Vice President Financial Advisor 805-695-7109 jeanine.burford@ morganstanley.com

1111 Coast Village Road | Montecito, CA 93108 © 2023 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

22 Montecito JOURNAL

CRC 5937892 09/23

MJ: What was your inspiration to do the holiday lights?

Beatriz Molina [BM]: It started back when the Milpas Community Association (MCA) was formed, and we joined it. We went through a lot of different ideas of what MCA was going to be like. The core group were all business owners, so we first thought to have it represent the businesses. But after meeting for several months, it was really determined that this [Milpas Eastside] community needed a lot of help, so we looked at combining the businesses and the community. We asked the business owners on the committee, what do we give the community that is tangible and visible? And that is when we talked about the Christmas lights, as a visual gift to the community. Christmas and lights are very important to the Latino community. We wanted to bring a sense of celebration within our culture, and the long goal is: how do we bring the community out to be together, to celebrate together and to feel safe on Milpas Street? We formed a subcommittee group doing the holiday lights on our own. Many remember, in the 1950s, there were Christmas lights on Milpas, but they went away, along with a lot of other things, over the years. There were a lot of influences that really hurt us. We want to bring how Milpas used to be – much more functional, safer, and prosperous for businesses, and the needs of the community for cleanliness, safety, and health.

“Good mashed potato is one of the great luxuries of life” – Lindsey Bareham

Our Town Page 344 344

30 November – 7 December 2023

VIRTUAL MEET THE DOCTOR

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30 November – 7 December 2023

Advances in women’s heart health have improved the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Learn what breakthroughs may be next.

Join us for a free virtual discussion on how women can care for their heart, from prevention to intervention.

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Tuesday, December 12, 2023 4 - 5 p.m.

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This event will also be offered in Spanish.

Montecito JOURNAL

23

Your Westmont

‘Poor Clare’ Offers Theater for the Soul

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

W

estmont Festival Theatre reimagines the life of Saint Clare of Assisi as if she spoke like a Beverly Hills teenager in Chiara Atik’s Poor Clare on December 7-9 at 7:30 pm and December 9 at 2 pm in Porter Theatre. Tickets, which cost $20 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors, may be purchased at westmont.edu/boxoffice. For more information, please contact the box office at (805) 565-7040.

“It’s fun and funny, relatable and relevant for our community,” says director Madeline Fanton, artist-scholar in residence at Westmont. “The play asks us to consider our own privilege and how to use the blessings we’ve been given to help

Poor Clare plays December 7-9

at UC Irvine before completing a master’s degree in theater history at CSU Northridge. She is currently finishing her doctorate in theater and performance studies at UC Santa Barbara.

The production is partnering with Kingdom Causes Inc. in Santa Barbara to facilitate a sock drive. Audience members are asked to bring new, men’s, large, white tube socks that will be distributed to local organizations working with the homeless.

Nursing Program Earns Final Accreditation

Madeline Fanton directs Poor Clare

those in need around us.”

Chiara Offreduccio, the woman we know as Saint Clare, grew up in Assisi in the 13th century. Through her encounters with the man who becomes Saint Francis and with the homeless in her community, Clare grows in knowledge and compassion, ultimately leaving her family and wealth behind to live humbly.

Fanton hopes the play will open our eyes, like Clare’s, so we can no longer look away from those in need in our midst.

“Maybe Clare’s willingness to sacrifice everything will give us the courage to at least sacrifice something,” Fanton says.

“As Clare begins to ask herself, so too the play asks each of us: what will you do with the money, influence, and privilege you have been given?”

Fanton, who is teaching Great Literature of the Stage this semester, studied acting

THE BIG BAG

The Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) voted to approve accreditation for Westmont’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) program. Westmont had to clearly demonstrate that its nursing program, which launched in January 2022, met all four of the CCNE standards: mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching-learning practices, and assessment and achievement of program outcomes.

This accreditation is retroactive, which means that our first cohort of eight nursing students, who graduated this past May, earned their degree from a CCNE-accredited program.

Kim Denu, Westmont provost, congratulates and thanks Di Hoffman, the program’s current director, and Carol Velas, the program’s founding director, as well as the entire nursing faculty and staff team. “We are thankful for their leadership,” she says. “We are also grateful for our nursing students and graduates who are representing Westmont through the excellent care and compassion they provide patients in clinical settings within our community and beyond. We look forward to many more Westmont-educated nurses joining their

ranks for years to come.”

Last July, all eight of the initial cohorts passed the National Council for Licensure Exam-RN and have begun careers as nurses, half serving in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. There are 57 students currently enrolled in the program housed in downtown Santa Barbara.

Program Explores the Meaning of Preaching Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Westmont College a $1.25 million grant to create a unique program exploring the meaning and value of in-person Christian preaching. At a time when much communication takes place online, remotely and impersonally, the Incarnational Preaching Project will invite active and aspiring preachers to investigate the value of preaching live to a church community. Westmont’s Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts expects to launch the program in spring 2025.

Aaron Sizer, Gaede Institute director of academic and congregational integration, says Christian theology depends on real human connection. “Christianity asserts, quite distinctively, that God became incarnate, became human,” he says. “God doesn’t ask us to think our way up to heaven but meets us in the tangible stuff of human life. That should inform everything we do in the church, especially our preaching.”

Westmont’s project will gather pastors, liberal arts professors, and others to think together about how incarnational preaching comes alive in particular communities. Rather than focusing on the development of better technical skills, as many preaching programs already do, this project will explore the people,

Your Westmont Page 304 304

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24 Montecito JOURNAL

Nursing students at Westmont Downtown

“May and October, the best-smelling months? I’ll make a case for December; evergreen, frost, wood smoke, cinnamon.” — Lisa Kleypas

30 November – 7 December 2023

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Santa Barbara by the Glass The 12 Wines of Christmas: Local Corks to Pop This Holiday Season

by Gabe Saglie

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26 Montecito JOURNAL

Tercero 2022 Picpoul Blanc ($33): One of the few Santa Barbara County winemakers taking on this lovely white variety, which thrives in France’s Rhône region, Larry Schaffer does it right: aromatic, splashy, and refreshing. It was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel tanks to preserve crispness.

Perfect as an aperitif sipper or as a match throughout the meal. tercerowines.com

Alma Rosa 2020 “Caracol” Pinot Noir ($70): This is a stellar pinot by winemaker Samra Morris, made with fruit from Alma Rosa’s estate El Jabali Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills. It’s full of finesse, yet with an earthy richness and delicious dark cherry and spice box flavors. The name – “snail” in Spanish – refers to the spiral pattern in which this growing plot was planted in 2013 by the legendary Richard Sanford. almarosawinery.com

K LUC

OLD TOWN SANTA BARBARA

Brander 2022 Cuvée Natalie ($32): Always a bestseller for Los Olivos vintner Fred Brander and his winemaking team, led by the talented Fabian Bravo, this blend is nearly-equal parts riesling, sauvignon blanc, and pinot gris. Layered and fresh, this wine shows off lovely flower aromas and stone fruit flavors. The name is an homage to Brander’s late daughter. brander.com

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W

ith last week’s Thanksgiving feasting behind us, the season of holiday eating has officially arrived! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing meals that will run the gamut in terms of flavors and textures, and that means our lineup of wines will need to be just as diverse, to match. Here are 12 wines grown right here on the Central Coast that would be a fine add to any holiday table – a wine shopping list of sorts that’s made up of the best wines I’ve tasted in 2023 and that showcases the awesome diversity of the Central California wine scene.

Happy Mommy Wines 2021 Date Night White ($20): From the playful label

by Solvang winemaker Dana Volk, which is squarely marketed to fellow working moms, this chardonnay is simple and approachable – and affordable – by design. Light and bright, with lots of acidity and bounce, it’s a refreshing take on Santa Barbara County’s most prolific white grape. happymommywines.com

Thacher 2022 Own-Rooted Chenin Blanc ($35): The fruit for this just-released wine comes from Shell Creek Vineyards in the Paso Robles Highlands District; the vines were planted in 1972. Winemaker Sherman Thacher aged the wine in a combo of terra cotta amphoras and neutral French oak barrels. It’s fresh and brimming with minerality with spicy, honeyed flavors. thacherwinery.com

“December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come.” — Fennel Hudson

Pali Wine Co. 2020 “Tower 15” Carignan ($40): Pali’s sister label, focused on small-lot and varietal-driven wines, offers this dusty, layered, savory Rhône wine, with fruit sourced from the famous Camp 4 Vineyard in the eastern stretches of the Santa Ynez Valley. Aged 16 months in mostly neutral French oak barrels by winemaker Aaron Walker, it offers flavors of earth and dark berries, and it pairs beautifully with game. paliwineco.com

30 November – 7 December 2023

Elizabeth’s Appraisals

Carr 2020 Grenache ($50): One of the best grenache wines I’ve tasted this year, this one, from winemaker Ryan Carr, is dense and intense, with flavors of dark berries, dark cherries, and dark chocolate. It’s refreshingly bouncy, though, with smooth tannins and a graceful mouth feel. The grapes for this one come from the 10-acre Lyons Vineyard in the Los Olivos District AVA. carrwinery.com

estate is luscious, voluptuous, and smooth, with oak and berries on the nose, cherries and plums on the palate, and a deliciously spicy backbone.

Great with game. levignewinery.com

J. Wilkes 2021 Cabernet Franc ($60): This just-released bottling from winemaker Jonathan Nagy hails from the Paso Robles Highlands District AVA. This one’s big but elegant, offering deep smoky aromas and flavors of mocha, blackberries, and leather. Intensity on the palate leads to a silky finish, making this wine a perfect pair for rich holiday dishes. jwilkes.com

McPrice Myers “Hard Working Wines” Right Hand Man ($25): Winemaker McPrice “Mac” Myers delivers value with this sister label to his eponymous brand, but also a premium drinking experience. The Right Hand Man syrah hails from San Lucas, in Central California, and is a beautifully balanced wine, with flavors of mocha, earth, plums, and blueberries.

Power down the middle while staying soft around the edges. mcpricemyers.com

Lucas & Lewellen 2020 Carmenere ($64): This chewy wine from winemaker Megan McGrath Gates rounds out the brand’s goal to produce wine from all the major Bordeaux grapes.

As a blending grape, carménère adds depth. Here, on its own, it’s powerful yet sophisticated, rich yet vibrant. It’s the second vintage from a three-acre carménère planting on the label’s estate Valley View Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. llwine.com

30 November – 7 December 2023

by Elizabeth Stewart

Fess Parker “Traditions” Port-Style Red Wine ($28): This quintessential meal-ender is made from traditional port grapes – almost equal parts Tourigo Nacional, Souzao, Tinta Cao, and Alvarelhao – grown on Eli Parker’s Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Delivered in a lovely 500-ml. bottle, it offers tastes of chocolate, cherries, vanilla, and toasted herbs. Licking the bottom of your glass is allowed. fessparker.com Cheers and happy holidays!

Le Vigne 2019 Nikiara ($54): Hands down, one of the best Bordeaux blends I tasted all year. A cabernet sauvignondriven bottling from winemaker Anthony Gallegos that also features merlot, cabernet franc, and petit verdot, this wine from Le Vigne’s Paso Robles

Temple Lion

Gabe Saglie has been covering the Santa Barbara wine scene for more than 15 years through columns, TV, and radio. He’s a senior editor with Travelzoo and is a leading expert on travel deals, tips, and trends.

A

pologies: the photo is not so good, but FK, an older resident of Montecito, sent me a Kodak photo of her Temple Lion in the U.S. Post, asking me if her Chinese ceramic was in fact late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) as told by relatives, and, what is a temple lion, and why a lion? I can accept any image but the best way to send valuation images to me is a digital image: this reader said she has no capabilities in this regard. (I get it: my mom is 95 and doesn’t either.) Digital? Send to elizabethap praisals@gmail.com. If you don’t do digital images, I’ll send you my postal address.

Buddhist Temple Lions are the male of the species, sitting on his haunches, sometimes with one foot raised up on a brocade ball. He is fierce, with his head raised in a wide roar or snarl, with a tongue sometimes visible. The mane is as stylized (abundant curls) as is the tail, but the ears and the eyes are emphasized, both bulging from the head.

For this reason, he is sometimes called a ‘Foo Dog.’ He bares his teeth in a fantastic reference to fearlessness; his backbone usually is knobby and coiled. Oftentimes, the lion will be saddled, or caparisoned, which is highly symbolic (more later). In Asian art generally, there is not a “gap” between the spiritual and the material, and these symbols truly “live.”

So FK, what do these symbols mean?

The term “temple lion” refers to this object’s former position on the roof corners of a Buddhist temple, because the Buddha, formerly known as Shakyamuni, was himself a member of the lion clan called “Shakya.” Why then is the lion roaring, and why is he placed on the edge line of a temple roof? Because the lion is roaring out the dharma, the Four Noble Truths, across the landscape for all to hear.

The lion is a fearless ensign of royalty and nobility. They are the kings of the animal world, with no natural enemy. Furthermore, lions live in clans, and the male lion’s single role is to protect the clan. They do not hunt, the females do. So the male lion is held in the highest respect and regard.

All the “sons” of Buddha, the Bodhisattvas, are Buddha’s lions, and as FK’s figure represents a real animal, the Bodhisattvas agree to remain in the animal world as material beings, until all sentient beings are free from suffering.

FK’s lion, therefore, is a protector creature, found at entrances of monasteries, shrines and temples. FK’s lion is white, because white references the “snow lion,” who is the loftiest being on a high mountain, and of course, a reference to a moun-

FK’s Buddhist Temple Lion

tain represent the “peak” of wisdom.

FK’s lion is missing its brother, however, as two temple lions would have originally been placed at two corners of a structure, reminding devotees of compassion and fierce wisdom.

FK asks the date of her lion and suspects that the curator of the Pasadena Asian Art Museum may have been correct in the date of 1620 (late Ming). The way the pottery body has been fired, leaving certain “gaps” in finishing, indicates this early date.

As I mentioned, FK, some temple lions are saddled or caparisoned. This is because the great beasts are a warrior’s companion in war. The tradition lives on today in state funerals, when a riderless horse is led, saddled, in the funeral procession with the stirrups inverted, implying that the warrior fell in battle.

Genghis Khan, the Mongols, and the Tartars were said to have begun this custom, since their war horses would travel through the gate in the sky to serve a warrior master: a warrior should never walk, but always be mounted. You can see how this symbolism “works” for devotees of the Buddha.

However, Asian ceramics are difficult to date because once a style is deemed to be “perfected,” that style can live on for thousands of years in the same “image.”

However, FK’s piece has that authentic Ming quality to my eye; the glazing is indicative of quality; difficult to have mastered in the 15th century; called in the West, Blanc de Chine, a tradition of pure white ceramic slip with an almost clear glaze. This is meant to show the purity of the material, another important religious reference. The value, FK, is hard to ascertain in photos, however, if the date is 1620 and the piece is in good condition, you have a treasure on your

hands at upwards of $3,000.

Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is a veteran appraiser of fine art, furniture, glass, and other collectibles, and a cert. member of the AAA and an accr. member of the ASA. Please send any objects to be appraised to Elizabethappraisals@ gmail.com

Montecito JOURNAL

27

On Entertainment

The Beat Goes On: It Takes Three Actresses to Play Cher

by Steven Libowitz

M

organ Scott was understandably excited Monday morning over the phone from the Coachella Valley, where The Cher Show had just wound up five performances over the weekend in Palm Desert. The area is home not only to one of Cher’s famed exes, Sonny Bono, who was both mayor of Palm Springs and a U.S. representative for a decade (1988-1998), but also Bob Mackie, the famed fashion designer and costumier who dressed Cher for decades, along with such other entertainment icons as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing, Judy Garland, and many others.

Mackie, who won a Tony Award for Costume Design for a Musical for The Cher Show in 2018, made it out to Sunday’s show and posed for pictures with the cast backstage and the performance.

“Oh, my God, it was so great,” exclaimed Scott, who portrays “Star,” one of three iterations of Cher – along with the younger “Babe” and “Lady” – that illustrate the singer-actress’ evolution over the years. It’s Scott’s first role in a national tour, and the musical’s first roadshow across the country. “Honestly, I am pinching myself every day. Just being able to play the icon that is Cher is surreal. Having Bob Mackie at the show yesterday was even more unreal. We just could not believe it. I mean, it’s such an honor to be able to wear his designs on a daily basis. Meeting him was just incredible.”

All of the iconic Mackie costumes for Cher are part of the show, including the famous “revenge gown” with the huge feather headdress for the 1986 Oscars, with the actors donning some 400 different costumes as well as dozens of wigs over the course of the musical, Scott said. In fact, some reviewers in New York suggested the costume changes drive the plot, as Cher continues to crack wise and deliver both cautionary advice and consolation.

But Scott takes a different point of view, suggesting that audiences are lapping up the story arc and interplay between the Babe, Lady, and Star as much as they do the 35 hit songs they deliver.

“I think it’s a really cool way to show all the parts of Cher,” she said. “We get to see moments of her life with her mother and where the dreams started, the period when she moved through her much more sassy and confident era with Sonny, and then Cher the way she is now. But it’s not just a chronological thing. You get to see how they relate, and that they’re also part of who Cher is today, which is why all three [versions] are interwoven throughout the entire show.”

Morgan, for whom getting involved in The Cher Show has brought up “core memories” of the VH1 videos of Cher’s early days that she watched growing up, said she’s most moved by the fact that Cher is still not only active but still reinventing herself at 77. Cher just released a Christmas album full of duets in October, proving that the artist who has sold 100 million albums, owns three-fourths of an EGOT (lacking only, ironically, a Tony, as the actress who played Star won in 2019), and remains the

Morgan Scott as “Star” in The Cher Show (photo by Meredith Mashburn Photography)

only singer to have a No. 1 single in six consecutive decades is still embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry.

“The end of the show isn’t really an end,” she said. “It’s not a tribute show, it’s not about impersonation, but rather embodying her and representing all the human qualities that we can all relate to. Yes, she’s an icon, but she’s still a human being.”

The Cher Show kicks off American Theatre Guild’s 2023-24 Broadway in Santa Barbara season at the Granada Theatre on December 6-7. Visit granadasb.org for tickets and more information.

Book ’em: Tonia at Tecolote, Authors Assemble at Library Artist Symeon Shimin’s name may not be a household word, but his most famous work might be one of the better-known images in American history: the original poster for Gone with the Wind. But Shimin, who died in 1984, not only painted such promotional images for Hollywood films but was also an award-winning illustrator of 57 children’s books. As well as the artist whose masterpiece – the mural Contemporary Justice and the Child – was commissioned in 1936-1940 for the Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C., where it still hangs today.

Shimin’s daughter, UCSB dance professor emerita Tonia Shimin, spent more than 30 years putting together The Art of Symeon Shimin, a book that serves as a highly-praised compilation of his work. The volume features dozens of high-resolution color plates and dozens more archival photographs, as well as a short autobiography by the artist and essays by Tonia and noted local art journalists Josef Woodard and Charles Donelan. Edited and curated by Tonia, the book represents the first complete collection and overview of Shimin’s fine art. Tonia, Woodard, and Donelan will be on hand for a celebration of the project and book signing for The Art of Symeon Shimin at Tecolote Book Shop from 2-4 pm on December 2.

On Entertainment Page 494 494

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“November, I’ll give thanks that you belong to me. December, you’re the present beneath my Christmas tree.” — Neil Sedaka

30 November – 7 December 2023

Wrap up your holiday shopping with something memorable for everyone on your list.

Give the gift that always fits!

Gift certificates also available.

Rhiannon Giddens, You’re the One Tue, Apr 23 / Granada Theatre

Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

Sat, Mar 9 / UCSB Campbell Hall Just added!

Sierra Ferrell

Sun, Mar 10 / UCSB Campbell Hall Renée Fleming in Recital Thu, Feb 1 Granada Theatre

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo Thu, Jan 25 / Granada Theatre

Abraham Verghese in Conversation with Pico Iyer Wed, Feb 21 / Arlington Theatre

See the full lineup of gift ideas online.

Just added!

Two Nights! Two Programs!

Tue, Feb 27 & Wed, Feb 28 / Arlington Theatre

(805) 893-3535 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu 30 November – 7 December 2023

Herbie Hancock

Wed, Apr 17 / Granada Theatre

Montecito JOURNAL

29

Robert’s Big Questions

Your Westmont (Continued from 24 24))

Risk vs. Prediction?

by Robert Bernstein

M Campus Pastor Scott Lisea

TECOLOTE BOOK SHOP is pleased to invite you to a

Book Signing and Celebration of the Award Winning Book

The Art of Symeon Shimin

With Curator/Editor

Tonia Shimin Special Guests

Charles Donelan and

Josef Woodard Saturday Dec. 2nd, 2023 Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm

relationships, needs and challenges that make preaching meaningful.

“Westmont lives and breathes relational learning,” says President Gayle D. Beebe.

“With support from Lilly Endowment, we’re excited to expand that work to make our Christian liberal arts resources directly available to clergy and congregations.”

The Incarnational Preaching Project is funded through Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative, which fosters and supports preaching that inspires, encourages and guides people to know and love God and to live out their Christian faith more fully.

Lilly Endowment awarded grants to 81 organizations that reflect the diversity of Christianity in the United States, including affiliates of mainline Protestant, evangelical, Catholic, Orthodox, Anabaptist, and Pentecostal communities. Many of the organizations are rooted in the Black church and in Hispanic and Asian American Christian traditions.

Through its Gaede Institute, Westmont continues to cultivate relationships with faith communities across the broad spectrum of ecclesial traditions. The Gaede Institute’s Trailhead, Frontiers, Thriving Communities and Young Adult Leadership Lab programs offer resources and relational learning for high school youth, pastors, congregations and young adults.

Refreshments will be served

Place: Tecolote Book Shop 1470 E Valley Rd #52 SB, CA. 93108 For further information on the art and artist and RSVP

Website: symeonshimin.com "A loving survey of an artist’s varied career." Kirkus Reviews

30 Montecito JOURNAL

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

y last article was about the need for direct government investment in solving the Climate Crisis. That getting rid of bad subsidies and incentives is helpful, but not enough.

This point was made by Simon Sharpe, who worked on counterterrorism for the UK Foreign Office. But Sharpe made another vital point: A lot of climate crisis information is provided by scientists to government policy makers in the form of prediction.

Prediction is about what is most likely to happen. In his experience with terrorism, he realized that the most likely thing to happen is… nothing!

He learned that from a policy standpoint it is more important to focus on risk: What is the worst that can happen? And then we can ask how likely it is to happen.

Terrorism experts are good at assessing risk. And at communicating it to policy makers. But climate crisis research is done by scientists, who have a very different culture. Scientists typically demand “five sigma” certainty – or about 1 in 3.5 million chance of being wrong.

This creates a language barrier when talking about climate risk. Scientists need to be bolder in talking about the worst case risk. And policy makers need to learn how to ask questions in the language of science.

Sharpe gave the example of the risk of London flooding. England had the good sense 50 years ago to invest in the Thames Barrier to block the threat of an ocean wave or rising tide. It can deal with threats up to five meters. How likely is that to be exceeded?

As the average Earth temperature rises, sea levels are likely to rise for two reasons: Warmer ocean water expands with temperature. And ice and snow on land melts and flows into the ocean.

Sometimes quite suddenly, if an entire ice sheet breaks free.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) forecasts a rise of more than 10 meters over the long term if global Earth temperature rises by more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Unless some even worse catastrophe strikes our planet in the next few years, we are on track to exceed that two-degree rise.

When Sharpe talks to British elected officials about this, they are stunned that no one is talking about it.

“Be present in all things and thankful for all things.” — Maya Angelou

A similar problem of risk vs. prediction occurs in the case of meteors possibly striking Earth. Unlike in the case of the climate, the physics is relatively simple.

MIT Professor Richard Binzel presented “A Near-Earth Object (NEO) Hazard Index” to a UN conference in 1995. It was revised and adopted at a 1999 conference in Turin (Torino), Italy, and is now called the Torino Scale of risk of NEOs. The scale goes from 0-10 and it is also color coded.

The scale is also tied to the equivalent megatons of TNT, similar to a nuclear bomb. The Chicxulub impact 66 million years ago is considered a primary cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Estimated at 100 million megatons.

A solid 10 on the Torino Scale. A 10 means it could wipe out all life as we know it.

The famed 1908 Tunguska impact in Russia was estimated at 3-10 megatons; 8 on the Torino Scale. Such events occur on a time scale of 50-1,000 years and could destroy a city if it hit one.

But the Torino Scale is also tied to the probability of impact. When an NEO is first discovered, the probability is difficult to determine. Further observation usually lowers the probability, indicating the object will miss Earth.

The frequency of impacts can be estimated by looking at moon craters. It seems that the frequency goes inversely to the mass of the meteor. Here is the key point: An extinction event may be once in 100 million years. But it might kill all eight billion people on Earth.

Meaning the risk of dying from a meteor is surprisingly large even if the impact probability is low.

Because of the clarity of the meteor threat, scientists and policy makers are working hard on meteor detection and deflection technology. We need that same level of urgency applied to the climate crisis.

Robert Bernstein holds degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UCSB. Passion to understand the Big Questions of life, the universe and to be a good citizen of the planet. Visit facebook.com/ questionbig

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30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

31

Miscellany (Continued from 8)

UCSB Coach Joe Pasternack and family, Sarah and Lilly, ready to dish out some gravy (photo by Priscilla)

Rob Lowe to host new TV quiz show (photo by David Shankbone via Wikimedia Commons)

The Lone Star on the Floor

Lois Mahalia enchanting the turkeys (photo by Priscilla)

and building manager Carmen Munoz.

Not one morsel of food went to waste with surplus supplies being delivered to shut-ins and local parks.

Angels living up to their name. They certainly earned their wings...

Top Marks for UCSB

32 Montecito JOURNAL

UCSB is one of the top ranked worldclass educational institutions, costing just a fraction of its Ivy League rivals, according to Forbes.

Seven out of the 25 universities ranked as top public schools in the U.S. are located on the Left Coast, with four being ranked in the top five of the list.

The Universities of California Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara are in the top four.

They each have a wide variety of majors and acceptance rates between 14 and 46 percent.

Criteria for the list includes return on investment, student success, student debt, and alumni leadership and influence.

UCSB has more than 200 majors students can choose from and the faculty includes six winners of Nobel Prizes for research in chemistry, physics, and economics.

“I find that it’s the simple things that remind you of family around the holidays.” — Amy Adams

As if starring in the Fox Texan firefighting drama 9-1-1: Lone Star for four seasons isn’t enough, Montecito actor Rob Lowe is set to host a new game show, The Floor, in the New Year.

The ultimate trivia conquest quiz show, which Lowe, 59, will helm and produce, is described as “a spectacular battle of the brains in which 81 contestants stand on 81 squares on a massive game show floor, competing for a whopping $250,000 prize.”

The Fox series takes place over 10 weeks and, at the end, the one player who survives and conquers the entire floor walks away the winner.

Nothing flawed about it...

Getting into the Giving Spirit It was a splendid kickoff for Yuletide when Montecito Bank & Trust hosted its 21st annual Community Dividends lunch at the Hilton, which distributed $1.1 million among nearly 200 local nonprofits.

More than 280 guests turned out for the seasonal meal in the oceanside hostelry’s tented rotunda for the joyous occasion – which since its launch by bank founder, the late philanthropist Michael Towbes, has presented an impressive $22 million to charity, given last year the amount donated was $2 million, twice the normal amount.

“You represent the best of all that is around us,” said chairman and CEO Janet Garufis of the bank, which has

Miscellany Page 504 504

30 November – 7 December 2023

T he Holiday Events of Year

Merry-Achi Chr Christmas Back by Popular Demand

José Hernández’

Mariachi Sol de México

Wed, Dec 6 / 7 PM / Arlington Theatre Tickets start at $25 / $10 UCSB students and youth (18 & under) Best New Artist, 2023 Grammy Awards

A Joyful Holiday Samara Joy

Featuring The McLendon Family Fri, Dec 8 / 8 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $40 / $15 UCSB students “A classic jazz singer from a new generation.” NPR Jazz Series Lead Sponsor: Manitou Fund

(805) 893-3535 | www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu Arlington event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 963-4408 Granada event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 899-2222 | www.GranadaSB.org 30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

33

Our Town (Continued from 22 22))

Society (Continued from 14 14))

The Milpas roundabout with Christmas lights in 2022 (photo by Beatriz Molina)

MJ: The how and why of the holiday lights?

BM: The holiday lights reach grows every year since we started 12 years ago, and I’m proud of that growth. With growth it takes more resources than we have, manpower, and money. We went from 3,000 lights to 15,000 lights, now it’s a truckful of lights, and three trees, and that’s just the roundabout. The lights for Milpas Street are now five years old, so fairly new. We are allowed to do the lights on the street poles and the roundabout ourselves with volunteers, but we are not allowed to do the star lights on top, so we pay a contractor in Carpinteria, The Flag Factory, to put up the star lights and store them for us. It took us five years to pay for the purchase of the stars alone.

Why we do it is because we recognize there is a significant poverty level in this community and wanted to bring back Christmas to them, so we do it with the lights so the families can come and enjoy them. Christmas lights are spiritual, cultural, and a joy to the heart. During the mudslides, the Milpas roundabout was still lit from Christmas because we were using gas generators for it, and many came here to get the spirit of Christmas. It gave the community a sense of pride, ‘Look here are lights for the whole of Santa Barbara to enjoy!’

Santos Guzman [SG]: We are putting our heart and soul in these projects for the community. Many people think the City of Santa Barbara does these lights; that is not the case. This is one hundred percent volunteers doing the work and myself asking the local businesses to help in funding it. Jose Perez’s employees and my employees put up all the lights on the lamp posts every year, and it takes three and a half hours to do it in one day.

MJ: The goal of the MEBA this year?

SG: To make the Milpas corridor and the roundabout brighter with more lights. I hope that for the businesses helping me fund this, we will be more successful to give a window to the people that do not have the opportunity to enjoy the Christmas season.

BM: Every year we learn more, how to do things better, how to handle the electrical issue better, we need more power in the roundabout, and more LED lights which are brighter than regular Christmas lights. We are open to donations to decorate the roundabout, both monetary funds and in-kind donations of holiday lights and decorations for outdoors.

MJ: MEBA’s goal for the future?

BM: First is the holiday lights goal – to light up Milpas even better, so all the streets and all the stores, and to go from the Canon Perdido-Milpas intersection all the way through to the ocean. We want it to be bright and light.

SG: As an organization, there are a number of cultural-facing family-oriented events we want to have for the community, for the high percentage of Latin people here [Milpas], and for our younger generation. We want to have an ice-skating rink during the Christmas holidays, which is good for both the locals and tourists.

Maybe it’s a dream, but if it’s possible, I want all of Cabrillo Boulevard to have Christmas lights as well.

BM: Yes, we want to bring back cultural events [that we] used to celebrate here, like Mexican Independence Day, the music, and dancers from the various regions of Mexico.

In closing, the MEBA founders are hoping the community can help them with the funding and in-kind donations for the holiday lights and roundabout.

Please reach out to them via the email in the 411.

411: Contact MEBA at: Milpaseastsidebusinessassn@gmail.com

34 Montecito JOURNAL

Rosa Paredes with the St. Vincent de Paul Daughters of Charity (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Regina Ruiz, Judy Borgatello, Pat Lupo, Claudia Lash, Donna Stovesand, and Rosa Paredes (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Jet and Taj; Florence A. Berger, Director of the Family Strengthening Program; Dr. Regina Ruiz, Chief Development Officer, with her children Amalia at the welcome desk and Diego Adams as a model for the fashion show; development team member historian Sergey Salushchev; the Daughters of Charity – Sr. Arthur Gordon, Sister Maria Hoa Nguyen, Sister Margaret Keaveney, Sister Linda Mulvehill, Sister Mary Hale, Sister Trintaj, Sister Jean Marie Williams, and Sister Paule Freeburg, along with Father Larry Gosselin and Father Dan Lackie; and event organizer Dalina Michaels, and twins Lourdes and Lulu Corral. Also attending were Donna Stovesand, Judy Borgatello, Carol Lupo, Alice Green, Elaine Brown, Vivian Paulicano, Amy Curti, Linda Redmond, Claudia Berniard, Adalee Paredes, Mayra Valdez, Jessica Paredes, Marianne Day, Deborah McQuade, Marie Ciluaga, Debbie Bruce, Rina Bentajado, Elsita Smith, Madeline Petrini, and Margaret Waters.

Volunteers at the event included students from Bishop Diego High School.

The program commenced with Ruiz welcoming the guests, thanking the co-chairs Lupo and Lash, and this year’s sponsors: American Riviera Bank, the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, Cox Communications, EmmaRose Floral, Gee, and Siemens.

Homage and respects were paid to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, who founded the organization and set up programs to care for children, low-income families, and seniors in the Santa Barbara area since 1858.

“In cold December fragrant chaplets blow, and heavy harvests nod beneath the snow.” — Alexander Pope

Next, Berger talked about the Family Strengthening Program and introduced a graduate of the program, Caroline, to share about her experience. Her moving talk received a standing ovation.

Following was the envelope ask collected by the children in the program.

Sister Arthur led the prayer before lunch and the sit-down luncheon was served.

During dessert, the fashion show was held with fun kid designs by Siemens and elegant women’s wears by Gee. Before closing the event, Ruiz read a dedication to Lupo’s husband Bill who had passed away and was a volunteer with his wife for the event. With that, Lupo and Lash were called to the stage and presented with an historic photograph of them with Bill in his honor. The event concluded with hugs and happy attendees who won the silent auction, door prizes, and raffle. New this year is that the event photographs taken of the guests will be on St. Vincent’s website for viewing and by donation to purchase!

411: www.stvincents-sb.org

Joanne A Calitri is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@ yahoo.com

30 November – 7 December 2023

LETTERS Letters to the Editor Love Thy Neighbor

Y

ou’d think someone moving into a new neighborhood would want to maybe take a beat and see what the vibe is like, maybe see how things happen, maybe get a feel for the place. After all, who wants to start off on the wrong foot with the people who are going to be living next you? Well, that’s not the way some new owners played it.

Like most of the streets in Montecito, Hodges is a quiet street, a private street like many others — houses, some big, some small, some behind gates, some behind shrubbery, some street-visible. Nothing notable except the privacy and the quiet.

But here we are, newly neighbored to a rich couple from out of town, drawn as the woman in the couple put it, to their half-acre by that privacy and quiet and intent on creating a peaceful garden for their children.

How? By running a large work crew seven days a week from early morning to well past dark for the last two months, driving excavators and forklifts, breaking rocks, piling rocks, hammering, drilling, yelling, building stone walls. Peace for thee, perhaps, but not for me, not for the neighborhood.

It’s been a truly lovely autumn, but we had to forget about Sunday lunch outside with friends. It does tend to get on one’s nerves.

Several of us have reached out, as best we could — we weren’t able to discover their names until last week. Their real estate agent forwarded our letters politely asking they show some consideration and leave us some quiet on the weekends.

Answer came there none. Until the male was on site and told a neighbor somewhat combatively that we should be glad he’s working the crew at all hours all days, because then they’d be finished sooner.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that some people who manage to gather a great deal of money, like ten digits worth, can experience a withering of empathy, a loss of the capacity to put themselves in others’ shoes.

Honestly, we don’t require much empathy; if we’re living here, chances are we’re pretty comfortable. But still, it’s galling to be brushed aside by people who simply think whatever they do is fine if it’s good for them and it’s not against the law (and it’s not).

Montecito, while historically rich, isn’t usually like that. We have all seen a lot of caring over these last years of fire and flow. Maybe it would be a good idea for those who’ve moved here recently to take a breath, look around, read the MJ and

Letters Page 444 444

Style and Sustainability: Patagonia Transforms Ocean Waste into High-Tech Fashion

P

atagonia once again emerged as a symbol of sustainability and style amidst rising concerns about plastic trash devastating coastal ecosystems through creating the groundbreaking Stormshadow Parka. This novel jacket, priced at $899, represents not just Patagonia’s warmest product but also an eco-friendly mentality, free of dangerous “forever chemicals” often found in weather-resistant clothes.

Costa Rica generates four tons of plastic debris each day, one-fifth of which ends up in rivers and on beaches. Bionic, an environmentally conscious company, enters the fray, employing people to remove beach trash. Their unique technique converts ocean-bound trash into high-performance Gore-Tex materials, which power the Stormshadow Parka’s core.

Patagonia’s global product director, Mark Little, is leading a mission-driven program that emphasizes longevity and timeless elegance. “Our commitment extends beyond mere durability; it’s about enduring fashion and reducing our ecological footprint,” Little says. This attitude exemplifies Patagonia’s demanding design principles, which are underpinned by the Patagonia Purpose Trust – an uncompromising dedication to eco-conscious actions that benefit the globe.

While recycled plastics from water bottles were previously the driving force behind sustainability efforts, Patagonia sought a more meaningful route. In collaboration with Bionic, a global leader in coastal plastic recovery, the brand moved into uncharted territory, redefining material sources by reusing ocean trash.

Bionic’s technique for reclaiming ocean plastics entails complicated engineering, such as purifying deteriorated polymers in difficult coastal circumstances.

Collaboration with Gore-Tex, a leader in performance fabric innovation, resulted in an improved, weather-resistant outer layer for the Stormshadow Parka, seamlessly combining sustainability with high-performance utility.

Eliminating dangerous “forever chemicals” from clothing became critical in Patagonia’s unwavering quest for sustainability. Collaboration with Gore-Tex resulted in the invention of the ePE membrane, a game-changing breakthrough that performs on par with traditional materials while posing no threat to the environment or human health.

The Stormshadow Parka is more than simply a product; it represents Patagonia’s long-standing collaborations with Bionic and Gore-Tex, with the goal of scaling operations for wider industry use. Mark Little hopes to use these connections to influence brands and educate customers, ushering in a massive transition toward a greener, more sustainable future.

Patagonia’s Stormshadow Parka is a symbol of environmentally aware innovation, a tribute to the brand’s unwavering pursuit of sustainability, and a forerunner of a fashion sector embracing responsible methods for a cleaner, healthier globe.

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Montecito JOURNAL

35

Home for the Holidays

Winter Shopping in the Land of Summer

by Jeff Wing

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Never mind. “The Holidays are Upon Us” as they say, announcing the season as one would an attacking gang of bears. The Holidays can be hectic, dear reader – but the season is what we make of it. Candlelight, mistletoe, steaming mugs of glühwein, musical laughter and heartfelt embraces, the occasional Kitchenware and home goods are just some of the dancing chimney sweep making a legalfine items at Field + Fort (courtesy photo) ly actionable racket on the roof; you wouldn’t mistake this for any other time of year. And as you prepare to venture into the frontiers of wintry gift-perusing, it’s good to know there is a nearby town called… Summerland. Founded 140 years ago

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36 Montecito JOURNAL

“December has the clarity, the simplicity, and the silence you need for the best fresh start of your life.” — Vivian Swift

30 November – 7 December 2023

by spiritists, Summerland is possessed of its own welcoming magic. Ringing with the season’s warmest sentiments, this seaside hamlet on the bluffs awaits your visit.

Here’s a catalyst...

Field + Fort is a curated retail destination with a menu. Count to 10 and ponder the implications. Field + Fort’s retail space is just the sort of alluring mayhem that boosts the gift-bestowing imagination to a higher plane; bedding, professional-grade kitchenware, swank comestibles, epicurean pantry items, candles, organic teas and coffee… “gifts,” in short – a literally indescribable variety of them, such that wandering the Field + Fort space is to lose track of time – until, that is, the tummy starts bellowing for attention. No problem. Field + Fort is also a snazzy refueling station whose menu is sensibly divided into Breakfast, Salads, Sandwiches, Feasts, and Sides – that is, from Two Over Medium Eggs with Braised Veggies to a Whole Rotisserie Chicken with Roasted Cabbage and Potatoes and Green S’hug. Okay? At Field + Fort, Gifts and Gastronomy pair perfectly.

The Heidi Merrick Showroom in Summerland also awaits. Saturday and Sunday – stroll in at your leisure between the hours of 11 am to 4 pm; on a weekday you will need an appointment. G’head and pick up the phone. Heidi Merrick originally hails from Santa Barbara but – as success and a client list of Hollywood’s tastefully discreet would have it – is now based in L.A. These sophisticated designs and fabrics are not to be found languishing in any sun-blanched shop window. Featured in such taste-making mags as Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Brazil, ‘tis the season to take the Heidi Merrick plunge and surprise the daylights out of that friend or loved one you used to believe unflappable where gifts were concerned.

Summerland’s Home Crush lives up to its name – if “crush” can be taken to mean “infatuation.” Suitably housed in a California bungalow perched above the dazzlingly azure Pacific Ocean on Lillie Avenue, Home Crush has what you’re looking for in home décor and fab feng shui: furnishings, lamps and fixtures, pillows, gourmet-ware, garden accoutrements. From a gorgeous and functional $30 brass-finished Alir kitchen strainer, to a Double Dimitri Outdoor Daybed whose slatted teak frame won’t be mistaken for a chaise lounge. Is this place for homeowners or designers? Exactly.

Holidays Page 384 384

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Montecito JOURNAL

37

Holidays (Continued from 37 37))

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Chic wears from domestic and European designers can be found at Juniper (courtesy photo)

And then there is The Well in Summerland – a home and garden concept space featuring outdoor and home furnishings, art, one-of-a-kind stone basins; the stuff of a California dream home where “indoors” and “outdoors” are, for much of the year, a state of mind. The owner’s travels in garden destinations Italy, Bali, and France explain the approachable and literally unique beauty to be found here. The Well makes it easy to expand your beloved home by adding a new wing called the out-of-doors. Furnish it, appoint it, cherish it. As for Juniper – what can we say? Woven silk blouses, leather jackets, singularly striking jewelry, Hannukah and Christmas table décor, and a bevy of domestic and European designer offerings that may include at any given time Cinq a Sept, Whiting & Davis bags, Zofia Day jewelry, and many more. Owner Marie Ferris expertly stirs up a fashion inventory that intermingles California whimsy with an edgier East Coast frisson.

Getting Down to Shopping in the Upper Village Milk and Cookies… Batman and Robin… the best things in life are couplets. So it is that our own woodsy little census-designated paradise (not to wax sentimental) boasts not one, but two cozy rendezvous for mingling, gabbing, and cadeau-curating. Montecito’s flagstone-bedecked Upper Village is a cozily contained arboreal walkabout – a palate-cleansing counterpoint to Coast Village Road’s linear,

Holidays Page 404 404

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38 Montecito JOURNAL

“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.” — Aristotle

30 November – 7 December 2023

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magine Artful Things is more than just a store; it’s a destination for unique finds and delightful surprises. It’s not just a store, it’s an experience akin to exploring a museum, where the unexpected awaits – from diamond earrings to rubber chickens. It’s a place where visitors, local and international, find that special something they didn’t know they were looking for in The Village’s charming atmosphere.

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39

Our 56th Season!

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Holidays (Continued from 38 38)) whitewashed Mediterranean glamor.

The Upper Village’s artist colony vibe and flagstone embrace give it a literal town square feel. And should you find yourself completely flummoxed this season on the subject of “gift-giving to a loved one who has everything,” the Upper Village’s longstanding Imagine Artful Things Inc. is the cure for what ails you. “What do they carry?” Um… hard to explain, but the closest approximation is “everything.” Imagine in the Upper Village is the sort of purveyor one happily struggles to describe. Italian Wolf Faux Fur Vest? Yup. Watermelon Tourmaline necklace? Naturally. A foot-long, five-pound cast bronze and aluminum Airstream Trailer? Uh huh!

Individually unique Incalmo glasses

produced using a blowing-and-fusing technique that dates to the Middle Ages? Indeedy. So… we could go on like this for a while. Imagine is less a “store” than a cornucopious menagerie of surprise, delight, and eye-widening wonder. Believe it. The friend or loved one who “has everything” pointedly does not. Imagine can fill those gaps, and spectacularly.

Also in the Upper Village, the aptly named Wunderkind was founded by Philip Manghisi who, at 19, brazenly marched into Jeffrey New York and was in short order made a key member of the buying team. From there the precocious, much-fêted fashion fireball moved from strength to strength, and now brings us the (somewhat eponymous) Wunderkind.

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40 Montecito JOURNAL

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With spaces in Scottsdale, Arizona, and our dear Upper Village (yet another couplet), Wunderkind offers a mélange of lovingly gathered designer ready-to-wear, luxury shoes and handbags, fine jewelry, eyewear, home accents, and contemporary collections. The luxury consumer discovers in Wunderkind a warm experience as charming as the nom de la paix “Upper Village” suggests. Manghisi’s eye for stunning sartorial individualism has never failed him. Nor will it fail you this gift-giving season, as you seek a one-andonly for your dear recipient. San Ysidro Village – an inviting collection of cottages backed by the manageably majestic Santa Ynez Mountains – is nearly a village within the Upper Village.

The Jenni Kayne Collection optimizes simplicity to a new summit of stunning, soft-spoken elegance. Clean, unfussy lines lavishly endorse the wearer in a warming spectrum of earthen tones and deliciously tactile fabrics, while Jenni Kayne Home brings this quietly luminous aesthetic to furnishings and accent pieces, rugs, throws, and an array of home décor that knows a whisper outperforms a shout when one is intent in turning a house into a home worth hunkering down in.

What the literally-named William Laman Furniture Garden Antiques doesn’t boast in its title it more than expresses in its credo. Though happily contrary to the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” the line nevertheless assures the customer that this home and garden destination deals in functional beauty. “NOT WHAT YOU NEED, BUT WHAT YOU WANT.” A more compelling come-hither is hard to imagine. The Upper Village is a flagstone charm offensive that just happens to offer in its sun-dappled environs Everything You Want; which is of course inseparable

from Everything You Need. ‘Tis a season of love and giving. Let’s get started…

If you need a little more help on what to look for this season, scan this QR code for more gift ideas!

Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. He has been writing about Montecito and environs since before some people were born. He can be reached at jeff@ montecitojournal.net

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Montecito JOURNAL

41

Village Beat (Continued from 6)

Heal the Ocean (Continued from 5)

raise critical funding for its mission.

The centerpiece of this campaign is “Project Holiday,” an effort designed to provide holiday meal baskets, Christmas trees, grocery and merchant gift cards and Christmas gifts to all newly diagnosed families who fall within their service umbrella.

Notably, these gifts extend not only to the child undergoing treatment, but also to their siblings and any other children living in the household. The Project Holiday program TBCF Staff: Danielle Maxwell, Roberta Tuck, Corey is just one of many extraordinary, Pahanish, Tessa Boyce, Kirsten Stuart, Lili Munoz, personalized programs designed to Mayetzi Iturbide, Brittany Avila Wazny, Becca Solodon, deliver tangible aid to family homes. and Gisselle Madrigal (courtesy photo) The 2023 year included new program funding by American Cancer Association (ACA) that granted hotel and transportation funding for families receiving treatment outside the tri-county area. Many of the families served by TBCF each year must travel out of the area for treatment. Gas and lodging costs are one of the myriad “hidden costs” of cancer treatment and is never covered by insurance. The ACA grant helped alleviate the financial burden with gas and hotel gift cards to all families in treatment, regardless of their income level.

Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation was able to distribute $70,000 in direct support and exhausted the funding by August but continues to provide gas and lodging support to the new families coming into their service through the remainder of this year. This was made possible through the incredible success of their Golden Gala, held on October 7 at Les Belles Fontaines. The Gala’s generous sponsors and guests ensured that the event fundraising goal was surpassed, allowing TBCF to continue unprecedented levels of support to families. Major sponsors of the Golden Gala included Earl Minnis, Kris and Marlene Gomez, Nurture Cottage, Kennedy Wilson Charitable Foundation, Donna Barranco Fisher and Dr. Robert Kammer, Martin and Kerrilee Gore, Alan and Mary Jane Miller, Rudi Schulte Family Foundation, Village Properties, Arlington Financial Advisors, Ray and Michelle Avila, AIMDyn Inc., James and Vanessa Bechtel, CenCal Health, Kate and Art Coppola, J. Paul Gignac, Hearts Aligned, Pati Kern and Andrew Pfeffer, The Luke 12:48 Foundation, Peter and Kathryn Martin, Susannah E. Rake, Studio Engineers, Inc., Leifur and Nicolette Thordarson, and Thyne, Taylor, Fox & Howard LLP. Additionally, in a milestone moment, TBCF expanded its financial assistance program in 2023. Previously, support was available only for families with children under 18 years of age. Thanks to increased donations from generous individuals, grantors, and the community, TBCF can now extend eligibility to 21 years (provided the patient is treated under a pediatric protocol). The expansion reflects TBCF’s commitment to supporting families through every stage of their cancer journey, especially as they confront the unique challenges of adolescence and young adulthood.

“When a child turns 18 or 21, they don’t miraculously become an adult overnight.

They’re still in high school or college or living with their family or reliant on their parents in other ways. It just feels right to support them the way we’re supporting the other children and teens we serve.” shared Dr. Corey Pahanish, TBCF’s Executive Director. “We’ve wanted to do this for years, and now we finally can. It’s beautifully serendipitous that this is happening on our 21st year in operation.”

As in every year since TBCF’s inception, a growing number of families are qualifying for services and TBCF is continuing to provide them with financial assistance, emotional support, and educational advocacy. To date in 2023 TBCF has provided services to 144 families in the tri-counties, 35 of which were diagnosed this year.

Until there’s a cure for cancer, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation Kelly Mahan Herrick, will continue to provide meaningalso a licensed realtor with ful, necessary, and unwavering supBerkshire Hathaway Home port to families along the Central Services, has been editor at Coast. To learn more about prolarge for the Journal since viding hope to local families bat2007, reporting on news in tling pediatric cancer, please visit Montecito and beyond.

TeddyBearCancerFoundation.org.

42 Montecito JOURNAL

Senator Limón, Hillary Hauser, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Assemblymember Hart, Harry Rabin, and Ira Leifer (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Assemblymember Gregg Hart. They realize how important this is for our community and to our environment.”

Hart stated: “The geologic study that we are funding today aims to transform our approach to plug and re-abandon legacy oil infrastructure. With the help of Bubbleology Research International, we will be able to comprehensively map the ocean floor, pinpointing areas with the highest frequency of oil seeps and leaks and will allow State Lands to prioritize wells that cause the most disturbance, facilitating a more effective approach in curing oil contamination along our coastline.”

Accepting the thanks for their work and for the funding, with humbled hearts on behalf of HTO, was Hillary Hauser, executive director of Heal the Ocean, who added, “Thank you to Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, to Nora, State Lands who never gave up on us, and to Harry and Ira doing the work, we are so grateful to do this work.”

Highlights from Rabin’s speech included, “Santa Barbara has been an environmental leader here and around the world. This project will set a template for other coastal areas with similar issues and is groundbreaking work that will go into the future.”

He was followed by Leifer and the California State Lands Commission’s Sheri Pemberton, who said, “State Lands will not stop until every hole in the ocean is plugged.”

Recognized at the ceremony and present were the key early funders of the oil cleanup, Program Manager of the Manitou Fund Nora McNeely Hurley and her husband, Michael.

Also present were California State Lands Commission Engineer Walter Scott, Summerland Beautiful President D’Arcy Cornwall and member Penny Mathison, HTO board members, local business owners, and Summerland residents.

When the check was presented, all attendees were asked to join in the photo op

and give a big cheer for being a part of the effort.

Watch the videos of the event on the MJ website and MJ YouTube Channel.

411: www.healtheocean.org

“Kindness is like snow—it beautifies everything it covers.” — Kahlil Gibran

Hillary Hauser at the podium with Ira Leifer, Harry Rabin, HannahBeth Jackson and Assemblymember Hart (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

30 November – 7 December 2023

WINTER 2023

VANDENBERG: WHERE ROCKETS MEET RIVIERA

JAMES CAMERON

ON TERMINATING HIS TIME IN SB AFTER 25 YEARS: THE EXIT INTERVIEW

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Montecito JOURNAL

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Letters (Continued from 35 35))

Dear Montecito (Continued from 16 16))

see how good people behave here.

Word to the wise, new neighbors… when the welcome wagon rolls around with cakes and pies, you might want to hire a taster.

L

ple who ranked high in Neuroticism displayed greater tendencies to mind wander about negatively valenced things compared to people that didn’t. We have more data that we’re looking through now, but since the stream of consciousness is so incredibly personal, it is only natural to predict that the structure and content of think-alouds can be used for such purposes.

It’s Time for a New First District Supervisor in Santa Barbara Since Das Williams has taken office as First District Supervisor, the communities of Santa Barbara’s First District have experienced NUMEROUS FAILURES from Mr. Williams to prioritize the safety and welfare of Santa Barbara’s citizens along with his inability to manage the County’s budget. As many are fearing that his leadership will put an end to the Santa Barbara County we have all worked so hard to conserve and protect, I want to remind everyone that there is a very important election coming up for a new County Supervisor. Roy Lee, a member of the Carpinteria City Council, is running against Das Williams and his priority is to put the constituents of Santa Barbara first.

The date of this election is this coming March 5, 2024. Mail-in ballots will be mailed out February 7. This is our only opportunity to effect a positive change.

Kohanya Groff, Ph.D. SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH MONTECITO MONTECITO MONTECITO

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44 Montecito JOURNAL

What is drawing researchers like yourself to using think-aloud as opposed to other techniques to study our cognitive architecture?

Past research used a method that asks a participant to do a task and then interrupts them periodically to probe what they’re thinking about. The main benefit to think-aloud is that you’re not getting these isolated, time slices of information.

Instead, researchers can obtain a continuous stream of information about the content of thoughts – this in turn can be used for many purposes, such as conducting diagnostic tests for ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD, and more. Honestly that’s more so conjecture and a hope that we can refine the think-aloud protocol enough to reach that stage, but it’s a hope nonetheless. With think-aloud, you’re getting a very direct glimpse at the exact content as well as the structure of your spontaneous stream of consciousness.

And aside from being really cool, why is it important to study the stream of consciousness? Do we stand to gain any specific insights?

Your stream of consciousness is something that is with you 24/7. Why wouldn’t you want to know what you’re thinking about and how you’re thinking? And I believe there are real benefits to doing so. Aside from what I’ve mentioned previously, a lot of people might agree that they don’t enjoy being alone with their own thoughts. Incredibly, there was a study that showed people preferring to administer shocks to themselves over being left to their thoughts for periods of time. I want to change that narrative, because I believe that your mind should be a place that you embrace wholeheartedly and enjoy being with. The stream of consciousness and mind wandering has somewhat of a negative rep in the literature, however we want to study it further and understand how to help people “think better.” An example of this is when I had a few of my research assistants do think-aloud for 30 days for 10 minutes, and every week they would come back to me and report how they were feeling. They said it was a process of catharsis, where they had 10 minutes to their day, and they would just think out loud to themselves. They said they came out feeling much lighter. I want to help amplify this feeling, and more.

Do you think there are potential clinical benefits to think-aloud?

Absolutely. And that is what I am in the process of pursuing. I want to use think-aloud and explore its benefits as a therapeutic tool. By developing an app, I want to provide a space in which people can become meta-aware of their thoughts through a process of self-reflection. Think-aloud can provide a tool for someone to catch From the shores of Scotland, themselves when they’re thinking Stella Haffner keeps negatively or find themselves in her connection to her an obsessive pattern of thoughts. I home in Montecito by want to give people ways to access bringing grads of local and maintain positive streams of schools to the pages of consciousness and mitigate things the Montecito Journal like anxiety, depression, PTSD, OCD – all things that can take over

your stream of consciousness.

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“Welcome winter. Your late dawns and chilled breath make me lazy, but I love you nonetheless.” — Terri Guillemets

30 November – 7 December 2023

Far Flung Travel Hugging the Island

A sea lion sneezing

by Chuck Graham

I

t was a microcosm of the island biome, where multiple species benefited from the hard work of one marine mammal species and the help of a narrow, craggy sea cave battered by a surging, Southern Hemisphere swell.

I was kayaking back from an early evening surf session, and as I hugged the sheer cliffs of the southeast end of Santa Cruz Island, the sun had already set to the West behind the isle. As I paddled into Little Scorpion Anchorage, thick fog engulfed the island. Even in the dense mist, I caught a glimpse of a male bald eagle known as Theos perched maybe 10

Theos and his dominion

30 November – 7 December 2023

Fueling up the kayak

feet above the swirling incoming high tide. The majestic, keystone species of the northern chain was perched just outside the entrance of a temperamental sea cave known as “Flatliner.” The grotto is narrow with a low-hanging ceiling but with a cool little beach in the rear of the dank grotto. It requires a lower tide and no swell for the best and easiest accessibility.

However, there wasn’t any wiggle room to paddle inside its tight, dark, confines.

That same scenario carried over for the next three nights as late summer melded into early fall, the mild days of mid-September one of the best times to enjoy the Channel Islands National Park.

Several California sea lion bulls were doing what they do best when it comes to satisfying their voracious appetites.

Working together, the burly pinnipeds were herding bait balls of top smelt into the entry of Flatliner, forcing the fish to jump out of the water and into the barnacle-encrusted rocks. At that point, the bull sea lions mashed their faces into the barnacles to gobble down as many fish as they could.

Several other species had to wait their turns as the bull sea lions dominated the buffet line. After the bald eagle flew off, Brandt’s cormorants and western gulls moved in. Spotted harbor seals, about half the size of the sea lions, lurked just on the periphery of the walls of the sea cave. Periodically, a harbor seal would sneak in and snatch a flopping top smelt before it could escape back into the cobalt blue water.

Just as it grew dark, the male bald eagle with the blue shoulder tags A-03 arrived again, chasing off all the gulls. Theos is about 7 years old now. He landed above Flatliner about 20 feet off the water. The bull sea lions continued rounding up the

top smelt. As they did, A-03 dropped down, snatched a top smelt, and flew off.

After he did, the gulls returned.

I left after that last exchange, one species transitioning for another. I paddled back in the dark thinking about all the natural wonders benefiting from that bait ball in that congested sea cave. I thought how smart the sea lions are using the topography of the island to their advantage.

The next morning, Theos flew over the pier and then soared eastward toward Flatliner. I went surfing again and returned late in the afternoon after the Island Packers ferry returned to the mainland. Scorpion Anchorage was quiet again as I hugged the towering cliffs, paddling back to Flatliner and Little Scorpion Anchorage.

It was a repeat of the day before, except this time I utilized the incoming tide and used the surge from the swell to lift me in my kayak up and onto a rocky shelf.

From there, the bull sea lions were literally herding fish at my feet.

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The tight confines of the sea cave kept things cozy for all species involved. That included a curious photographer, who was the beneficiary of two large exhales from a bull sea lion, salty sea lion snot and saliva gratefully showering me and

my wide-angle lens.

Chuck Graham is a freelance writer and photographer based in Carpinteria, where he also leads kayak tours and backpacking trips in Channel Islands National Park

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Montecito JOURNAL

45

Avery Brundage (Continued from 20 20)) was to marry a princess.

After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, property values in California coastal areas plunged. Brundage promptly began bottom fishing, buying California coastal properties at depressed prices. He eventually decided to move to California and chose Montecito as his home. In 1946, Brundage purchased the Escondrijo estate (the “Hiding Place”) fronting Ashley Road. He built a grand estate and renamed it La Pineta (“The Pinewood”).

Brundage also assembled a serious art collection – a hallmark of any aspiring aristocrat. Brundage filled his Spanish-style mansion with an extensive Asian art collection.

La Pineta became the venue for spectacular parties Brundage threw for the blueblazered IOC crowd.

Brundage would hold the post of IOC President for an unprecedented 20 years, earning him the moniker “King of the Olympics.” In 1956, Sports Illustrated called him “[t]he implacable Mr. Brundage, who is now the most powerful man in sport.”

Brundage refocused his real estate empire locally. His initial purchases included the Montecito Country Club and the El Paseo complex in Santa Barbara, which comprised the Restaurante del Paseo, 40 shops and offices, and the De la Guerra mansion.

He later acquired the El Presidio business block, and in 1956, the Montecito Inn. Brundage would hold the post of IOC President for an unprecedented 20 years, earning him the moniker “King of the Olympics.” In 1956, Sports Illustrated called him “[t]he implacable Mr. Brundage, who is now the most powerful man in sport.”

By the early 1960s, Brundage had reached the aerie heights of wealth, power, and social status he had long sought. While he had fulfilled the role of the Horatio Alger self-made hero, the American archetype, his life was now beginning to more resemble Jay Gatsby. Brundage had not just improved himself but virtually transformed himself. Yet at the peak of that metamorphosis, cracks began to show in the great man.

Like a portent, in 1964, the intense Coyote Fire roared through Montecito.

Brundage quickly commandeered the staff of the Montecito Country Club to La Pineta to rescue its magnificent art treasures. However, the 20-room mansion was destroyed and many valuable art objects lost, despite the dire efforts of the club’s hard-working busboys and golf caddies. Rather than rebuild, the then-77-year-old Brundage bought the Brünninghausen estate on Hot Springs Road.

Rather than being the problem solver he always had been (through persuasion or intimidation) for the IOC, Brundage was becoming a source of its problems. In 1962, the United Nations passed a resolution effectively banning South Africa from the Olympics due to its apartheid practices. However, Brundage pushed through an IOC vote to readmit South Africa for the upcoming 1968 games in Mexico City. Widespread protests followed. The now 80-year-old Brundage found himself again fighting calls for an Olympic boycott, this time by Black U.S. athletes. While Brundage had been able to work skillfully behind the scenes in 1936, the now-elderly “King” was put front and center in this late-’60s controversy.

Black civil rights leaders and Ebony magazine went after Brundage personally (among other things), exposing that he owned a business that excluded Jews and African Americans. That business was the Montecito Country Club. Now publicly branded a racist and hypocrite, Brundage reluctantly disinvited South Africa from the Mexico City games.

Following Brundage’s cave on South Africa, almost all Black athletes on the U.S. Olympic team would go to Mexico City. However, the U.S. Olympic basketball team took a big hit when a young college player – today recognized by many as the greatest basketball player of all time – followed through with a personal boycott. Lew Alcindor of UCLA, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, refused to join the U.S. team in Mexico due to his distaste for the earlier pro-Nazi comments of Brundage.

Although Brundage’s backdown on South Africa averted a Black-athlete boycott, he could not extinguish the fire he had lit. During the ‘68 games, he withdrew from his traditional role of making medal presentations after some Black athletes said they would refuse their medals if presented by Brundage. One of the highlights of the ‘68 games was when American sprint star Tommie Smith blazed to a gold medal in the 200 meters in spectacular world-record time, with teammate John Carlos sweeping in

46 Montecito JOURNAL

for the bronze. But then, in what has become one of the most famous images of ‘60s protest, at the medal ceremony, the two African Americans proudly stepped up on the stand only to then lower their heads and raise leather-gloved fists in a Black-power salute as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played. Brundage was outraged and kicked them off the U.S. Olympic Team.

The writing now was on the wall for the old bear, as calls mounted for Brundage to give up control of the IOC. However, he would hang on for one more Olympics, proudly returning the games to his beloved Germany in 1972. Sadly, the Munich Olympics would be marred by political action of a much worse sort, as Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes. Some of Brundage’s public remarks following that tragedy were seen as insensitive to the Jewish athletes who had died. He would shortly thereafter step down from this 20-year reign over the Olympics – the King was dead. He quietly retired to Montecito. In looking at Brundage’s Olympic legacy, he is widely regarded as doing much to advance the Olympic Movement – but also much to taint it. The IOC’s website later acknowledged that his tenure was “the most controversial of any IOC president.”

While Brundage’s conflicts with Jewish people and Black Americans are well known, accounts vary as to his attitude toward women as Olympic competitors. However, he clearly enjoyed their company in his personal life, particularly the younger ones.

His socialite wife, Elizabeth, was the gracious hostess of the gala soirées thrown at La Pineta for art connoisseurs, aristocrats, and Olympic committee dignitaries. They remained married until her death in 1971. However, Brundage lived a double life, not only having numerous affairs with women in multiple countries, but also a second family. His Finnish mistress, Lilian Dresden, was 29 years old when their relationship began, 32 years younger than Brundage. He fathered two sons with her in the early 1950s (none with Elizabeth).

Even after Elizabeth died, Brundage would not legitimize his relationship with Dresden and their sons by marrying her. One might think that was because Brundage (then in his 80s) was too old, but that’s far from the truth. Fulfilling his long-held dream, in 1973, Brundage married a true princess, a German one at that. Marianne Charlotte Katharina Stefanie von Reuss-Kostritz was 37 years old at the time. Being himself 85, Brundage had married nearly 50 years younger, a rare achievement even by Montecito standards. Unfortunately for Brundage, a princess does not come cheaply. He and his new bride spent millions on property (a home on Picacho Lane, a vacation house in Germany), travel, entertainment, and jewelry. Brundage was headed toward bankruptcy.

Avery Brundage died while on holiday in Germany (where else?) in 1975. Despite the high profile he had maintained – and the real estate and art he had amassed – during his near 30-year residency in Montecito, virtually nothing remains here of Brundage today.

He was buried in Chicago. Rather than leave his world-renowned, 8,000-item Asian art collection to Santa Barbara as a local legacy, he sought a grander memorial. Before he died, he offered the collection to San Francisco on the condition that it build a museum dedicated to it. The City by the Bay agreed, and in 1966 the Asian Art Museum opened as a wing of the De Young Museum (then in Golden Gate Park and later moved to the Civic Center). It is today the largest museum in the United States devoted to Asian art and is well-worth visiting if you find yourself in the Bay Area.

In what has become one of the most famous images of ’60s protest, at the medal ceremony, the two African Americans proudly stepped up on the stand only to then lower their heads and raise leather-gloved fists in a Black-power salute as the Star Spangled Banner played.

So by the time Brundage died, his art treasures had left Montecito, his magnificent La Pineta was in ashes, and his once baronial local real estate holdings had been liquidated to fund the lavish lifestyle he pursued through his sunset years. Part of the La Pineta property was purchased in 1975 by “self-taught artist, poet, musician, and filmmaker” Rowena Pattee Kryder, with the proclaimed purpose of creating a “temple.” Ms. Kryder embellished a concrete colonnade on the property with panoramic, symbolic drawings from various world religions, and named it Cave of Dawning. She “wanted to amplify a power spot by transforming an abandoned ruin into a place where subtle energy could circulate and radiate.” Kryder hoped her work at La Pineta would “release the ancient past embodied in my soul’s mythic journey and… transfigure old symbols into a comprehensive whole relevant to the present.” We can only speculate as to whether her

efforts transfigured whatever may have remained there of Avery Brundage.

“The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.” — Terri Guillemets

30 November – 7 December 2023

Stories Matter

T

Holiday Stories for Everyone

he Longest Minute: The Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 is an almost minute-by-minute recounting of the twin tragedies that struck. Author Matthew J. Davenport follows numerous characters from different parts of the stricken city as they fight to put out the blaze consuming neighborhood after neighborhood.

by Leslie Zemeckis

M

eet the Benedettos by Katie Cotugno is exactly as the cover promotes – The Kardashians meets Pride and Prejudice. Five famous sisters, famous for being famous, are living in a crumbling mansion when the man (or men) of their dreams moves in next door. It’s light, it’s funny.

F

eminists and those fascinated by the witch hunting of the past will be equally fascinated and horrified by Margaret Meyer’s The Witching Tale. Set in England in 1645, it is inspired by real tales of women rounded up and accused of witchcraft. Martha is a simple servant, a healer, in her 40s when she is called upon to help denounce the many women recently jailed, including two from her own household.

Beautifully written and harrowing.

L

ost Hours is Paige Shelton’s latest mystery. Beth, a writer of thrillers, is recovering from her own traumatic kidnapping when another victim of a kidnapping escapes. Covered in blood the woman doesn’t remember what happened, beyond a bear killed her captor. When Beth and the police investigate, it appears the woman’s story isn’t quite true.

The man was stabbed to death. Set in the wilds of Alaska, you mystery lovers will love this one.

F

or the YA reader, Stanislava Buevich has a marvelous story in Clearlake. Thirteen-year-old Moon is very sick. Instead of taking her to a doctor, her mother takes her to a mysterious Scottish Institute run by evil beings who seemingly have been around for a long time. This one is suspenseful as Moon fights to survive before she becomes just another child who vanishes in the night.

F

or the history buffs, Jack Kelly’s God Save Benedict Arnold is an insightful look at the good Arnold accomplished before he turned traitor. A great piece of history, the foreshadowing of Arnold’s sensitive and prickly personality set him on a collision course with Congress who refused to validate or recognize his successful war maneuvers.

30 November – 7 December 2023

A

gatha Christie lovers will rejoice at Darby Kane’s The Engagement Party is patterned after Christie’s And Then There Were None. It is an engagement celebration where from the start, bodies start turning up. A group of college graduates reunited 10 years on for a celebration of one of their friends.

Besides the dead bodies, there are secrets that are revealed in this taunt, modern thriller.

P

ossibly my favorite book is Kobi Yamada’s Maybe. This award-winning illustrated book will make a beautiful gift not only for children (its intended audience) but for those needing a little magic in these often-dark days. It is the beautifully illustrated story about a young person, and her sidekick pig, and the endless potential we all have.

It is for the dreamers, the doers, reminding us of the

possibilities in all of us.

Leslie Zemeckis is an award-winning documentarian, best-selling author, and actor. The creator of “Stories Matter,” professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers, co-sponsored by SBIFF.

Montecito JOURNAL

47

Protective Services, 5455 8th Street #31, Carpinteria, CA, 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 8, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002604. Published November 22, 29, December 6, 13, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Bosco Sportfishing, 7931 Rio Vista Drive, Goleta, CA 93117. Weston C Boyle, 7931 Rio Vista Drive, Goleta, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 17, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002682. Published November 29, December 6, 13, 20, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Quinn Fiduciary

48 Montecito JOURNAL

Services, 601 E. Arrellaga Street #102, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Montecito Fiduciary Services, LLC, 601 E. Arrellaga Street #102, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 1, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002562. Published November 29, December 6, 13, 20, 2023

Fiduciary Services, 601 E. Arrellaga Street #102, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Jaquelyn A Quinn, 333 Old Mill Road Space 168, Santa Barbara, CA 93110. This statement was originally filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 22, 2020. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed October 25, 2023. Original FBN No. 2020-0003043. FBN 2023-0002506. Published November 29, December 6, 13, 20, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT: The following person(s) has (have) abandoned the use of the Fictitious Business Name(s): Quinn

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: LONGEVITYON, 5455 8th Street #8, Carpinteria, CA, 93103. SCSB

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: MEXIPALI, 734 Olive St., Santa Barbara, CA, 93101. Dibya S Singh, 734 Olive St., Santa Barbara, CA, 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 20, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002467. Published November 22, 29, December 6, 13, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Still Point Santa Barbara Corp; Stillpoint Santa Barbara Corp; Stillpoint Santa Barbara; Stillpoint SB; Still Point SB; SSB; Stillpoint, 212 Cottage Grove Ave Ste B, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101. Still Point Santa Barbara, 212 Cottage Grove Ave Ste B, Santa Barbara, CA, 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” — Paul Theroux

on November 3, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002580. Published November 15, 22, 29, December 6, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: In-Shape Family Fitness, 1318 S. Broadway, Santa Maria, CA, 93454. InShape Solutions, LLC, 2800 March Lane Suite #220, Stockton, CA, 95219. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 31, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002552. Published November 15, 22, 29, December 6, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Cherry Bomb Cocktail and Bartending Services, 480 Toro Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108. Joseph W Cordero, 480 Toro Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 4, 2023.

This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland,

County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002373.

Published November 8, 15, 22, 29, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Via Maestra; Enoteca; Via Maestra Enoteca, 3413 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. Bitar Restaurant Group Enoteca LLC, 3413 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 23, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002478.

Published November 8, 15, 22, 29, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Farm to Fork Social Club Catering, 480 Toro Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108. Joseph W Cordero, 480 Toro Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108; Angelina E Cordero, 480 Toro Canyon Rd, Santa Barbara, CA, 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 4, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002372.

Published November 8, 15, 22, 29, 2023

30 November – 7 December 2023

On Entertainment (Continued from 28 28)) Santa Barbara Public Library’s first in-person Local Author Book Fair since the pandemic takes place at the same time, 2-4 pm on December 2, at the Faulkner Gallery downtown, where several dozen of the area’s most respected authors as well as new writers are expected to participate in an event that invites the public to meet the authors, browse a selection of their original works, and simply celebrate Santa Barbara’s diverse and thriving literary landscape.

Focus on Film: Cinema Society Soaring SBIFF’s private preview series with post-screening talent Q&A sessions – which is not exclusively private these days – heats up mightily in the waning weeks before winter as the Oscar hopefuls queue up for attention. Screenings at the Riviera Theatre this week start (Friday, December 1, at 7 pm) with Armenia’s Oscar Submission Amerikatsi – Michael Goorjian’s story of Charlie, who returns to Armenia decades after fleeing as a child in the hope of finding a connection to his roots, but winds up unjustly imprisoned in the country crushed under Soviet rule. But the movie is also filled with warmth and humor as it celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the bonds that unite us all. The Q&A is with Goorjian, who wrote, directed, and stars in the film.

Netflix’s Society of the Snow, Spain’s Oscar Submission, kicks off two Saturday screenings.

This survival thriller is based on the 1972 flight disaster known as Miracle of the Andes when a Uruguayan plane chartered to fly a rugby team to Chile crashed in the Andes. Q&A with writer-director J. A. Bayona is at 10:30 am… Air, which is directed by and stars Oscar-winner Ben Affleck (Argo), is the biographical sports drama that delves into the game-changing partnership between then rookie Michael Jordan and Nike’s fledgling basketball division that revolutionized sports endorsement and contemporary culture with the Air Jordan brand. Q&A with editor William Goldenberg is at 5 pm.

Go big or go home: It’s a SBIFF Cinema Society screening of Barbie, one of the year’s biggest blockbusters, co-written and directed by Greta Gerwig, with Margot Robbie starring as the doll come-to-life. Q&A (December 3 at 10 am) participants TBA... It’s also TBA for the Q&A for Memory, the Jessica Chastain/Peter Sarsgaard drama about Sylvia, a social worker who leads a simple and structured life before Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. (Screening is set for 7 pm on December 6.)

In between, the star power quotient is palpable on Tuesday night when writer-director Ava DuVernay (Selma, 13th) brings her latest film to town, Origin, a biographical drama based upon Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. The film chronicles the tragedy and triumph of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Wilkerson – portrayed by Academy Award nominee Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard) – that she experienced as she investigated the impact of caste on societies shaped by them, and their people. (Screening at 6 pm on December 5.)

Check www.sbiff.org for tickets and details.

30 November – 7 December 2023

Rudolph comes to the Lobero this weekend (photo by Heidi Bergseteren)

Dance Dimensions: Lobero Nose Ballet

The annual invasion of local productions of The Nutcracker doesn’t begin until mid-December, as Festival Ballet and then the State Street Ballet roll out their fullfledged renditions of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic. But this weekend brings a tasty holiday appetizer, especially for the tots and teens, as State Street Ballet Academy presents Rudolph, the charming holiday tale, set to dance, of a misfit reindeer with a blinking red nose who makes friends and embarks on a journey through the North Pole to save Christmas. As befitting a youth production, the ballet, which features dancers ages 3 and up, shares the story of the once-rejected reindeer who learns that there’s a place for everyone. The production, which plays December 2 and 3 at the Lobero Theatre, features the students of State Street Ballet Academy and the Cold Spring School Choir, directed by Sara DiSalvo.

Holiday Music Highlights of the Week Christmas with The Petersens stars the pure-bred American roots music family band who have turned music of the Ozarks into a veritable family business.

The bluegrass-based septet consists of four siblings (Katie, Ellen, Matt, and Julianne), their mom Karen and honorary Petersen and dear friend, Emmett Franz, who collectively play guitar, dobro, fiddle, mandolin, banjo, and bass and offer tight harmonies and that warm brand of humor it seems only siblings can summon. Performing full-time in Branson, Missouri, where they’ve released nine music projects, when they’re not on tour, the group went viral online in 2019 when their YouTube videos gained international attention and have now reached nearly 200 million views. The Petersens released their second Christmas project, We Don’t Need Anything This Year, before heading out on tour playing Christmas classics and more all around the United States, including a debut performance in Santa Barbara at the Lobero on December 5.

‘Get Together’ with The Tribe at SOhO on December 3 as the collective of Los Angeles-based socially inspired professional session and touring musicians and singers who have worked with a veritable who’s who of rock and pop stars over many years return to town for a holiday concert. “Christmas & Songs of Love Thru the Decades” features many favorite Tribe singers, including Rosemary Butler, Rob Morrow, Gary Stockdale, Lauri Reimer, Jaynee Thorne, Hunter Hawkins, Steve Goddard, Eric Ekstrand and Steven Libowitz has covered others, plus special guests, in a band a plethora of topics for the with guitars, bass, drums, percusJournal since 1997, and now sion, saxophone, and keyboards. The leads our extensive arts and charity event also features a silent entertainment coverage auction, with proceeds from the concert and the sales earmarked for the Get Together Foundation and local partners who work with underprivi leged kids and families.

Montecito JOURNAL

49

Miscellany (Continued from 32 32))

Holding the million dollar check are Montecito Bank & Trust Chairman/CEO Janet Garufis, Gina Carbajal, and John Palminteri (photo by Priscilla)

Janet Garufis, Tony Morris, Patricia Fabing, Rona Barrett, and David Selberg (photo by Priscilla)

Janet Garufis, Anne Towbes, and Peter Jordano with Montecito Bank & Trust’s Founding Board Member Jerry Parent (photo by Priscilla)

just been ranked the Number Three best bank in the U.S. and the best in California by American Banker magazine.

Special Community Impact Dividend checks of $50,000 were given to Children’s Resource and Referral in Santa Maria, which provides 240 childcare spaces, and the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association in Ventura County, established in 1947, which provides a grief and bereavement program, by Anne Towbes, Michael’s widow.

Among the appreciative hoard were Kathryn Martin, Rich Block, Rona Barrett, Nina Dunbar, Rolf Geyling, Renee Grubb, Dacia Harwood, Kisa

Bruce Stevens, David Porter, Catherine Remak, George Leis, David Cater, and Rolf Geyling (photo by Priscilla)

50 Montecito JOURNAL

Montecito Bank & Trust’s Ali Sadreameli and Jennifer Strong presenting a $50,000 check to Molly Corbett (center) and the Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association (photo by Priscilla)

Heyer, Peter Jordano, Tony Morris, George and Laurie Leis, Dean Noble, Fritz Olenberger, Caren Rager, former mayor Helene Schneider, Catherine Remak, David Selberg, and John Thyne.

What’s in the Bag? Montecito sail maker Tim Kirshtner, who also ran a business he dubbed “The Beach Doctor Beach Cleaning Service,” has taken his love of the ocean a step further as he notices more and more litter, particularly the detritus of doggie dinners past.

Tim, 47, has been recognized for his

Sailmaker Tom Kirshtner and his newly launched canvas doggy bag (courtesy photo)

“Wisdom comes with winters.” — Oscar Wilde

good deeds, including the Butterfly Beach Association, the Haley McGuire Fund, and what was the Music Academy of the West.

He was also instrumental in getting the county and MarBorg to place stone trash cans along the coastline of our rarefied enclave.

Tim, who studied ecological restoration at City College, now runs Tim Kirshtner’s Custom Canvas and Sail Repair after working for the nonprofit Growing Solutions, the Restoration Education Institute for 20 years, continuing to clean the beaches on his days off, and traveling from Oxnard to the Gaviota coast.

In 2014, he founded the nonprofit Clear Waterways Organization Inc., not only clearing waterways, but roads, drains, streams, and wetlands.

More recently, with the amount of canine residue being left, Tim got tired of the amount of clearing up required.

“When I see a dog bag on the side of a trail, creek, or beach I absolutely cringe,” he says.

“Luckily for many years I have saved fabric end cuts from my business as a sailmaker and decided to do something to help the environment. I also wanted to help dog owners have a place to store their dog waste until they find a trash can.”

Tim’s “doggy bags” are made to universally fit on to any dog leash and handmade with marine canvas.

If you’d like to grab a bag, they are available for a donation to the Clear Waterways Organization.

Just press the donation button on the

30 November – 7 December 2023

website: https://Clearwaterways.org Another option is through Venmo: @ Kirshtner. The bags are mailed out, so do leave an address on the donation note.

One bag totals a $25 donation.

Paws for thought, indeed...

Virgin Mogul and Guests Have Good Time on Necker After the trials and tribulations of his acrimonious divorce from wife Christine Baumgartner, Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner joined fellow racketeers on Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s private island, Necker, in the British Virgin Islands.

The tennis tournament, billed as “the world’s most exclusive pro-am event,” also included other celebrities such as actress Emma Watson, singers Michael Bolton and Jewel, and tennis greats Eugenie Bouchard and Mike Bryan.

Branson, who I’ve known for many years, as well as being a guest on Necker, was described as “the epitome of the ultimate host” and took a team on a catamaran race and wowed guests with his windsurfing prowess at 73.

Other activities included pickleball and attending the famed End of the World party.

An absolutely wondrous Caribbean locale...

A Mariposa Finale The Music Academy staged its third and final performance of its Mariposa series at Hahn Hall with two former alumnae, Frank Huang, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, who attended the Miraflores campus in 1998,

and Natasha Kislenko, who was at the academy in 2001 and has also served as a teaching artist since 2004.

Huang, who currently serves on the faculty of New York’s Juilliard School and has also performed on NPR’s Performance Today, ABC’s Good Morning America, and CNN’s American Morning with Paula Zahn, was in top form with Beethoven’s “Sonata No.5 for Violin and Piano in F Major, ‘Spring.’”

The rest of the program was equally rapturous with Pablo de Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen,” Clara Schumann’s “Three Romances for Violin and Piano,” and Camille Saint- Saëns’ “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.”

A dynamic duo, indeed...

Used Car for Sale Prince Harry’s old car is up for grabs.

The Audi RS6, a 2017 model, was driven by the Duke of Sussex for 4,500 miles during his 15 months of ownership.

Thought likely leased by Audi to Harry, the car had a list price of $114,018 when new, including Daytona Grey Pearl paint, Alcantara seats and carbon interior trim.

The Audi is being sold by a private seller in the U.K. on the online automotive marketplace, Pistonheads, for $52,319.

Despite its royal providence, it is priced similar to those without royal connections.

Musical on the Slopes Gwyneth Paltrow’s iconic ski trial has been turned into a comedy musical launching at the end of the year.

The Oscar winner, 50, appeared in

court after retired optometrist Terry Sanderson filed a lawsuit against the Montecito resident, alleging she collided with him on the slopes at the Deer Valley Resort in Utah in February, 2016.

Paltrow was awarded a symbolic $1 at the end of the trial after jurors ruled Sanderson’s claims were false and he was 100 percent at fault for the collision.

Gwyneth Goes Skiing, a comedy musical based on the trial, begins December 13 at the Pleasance Theatre in London and runs until December 23 with Swedish male actor Linus Kart playing the actress.

Staged by Awkward Productions, the show will have original music by singer-songwriter Leland of Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

Hopefully it’s not all downhill from there...

Cleese Kills It Former Montecito funnyman John Cleese, 84, is to die for, or at least he says!

In a startling admission Cleese says a fan died while laughing during his performances in the 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda with Kevin Kline and Jamie Lee Curtis.

“We killed a man,” he recalled on the GB News series The Dinosaur Hour.

“Kevin Kline and I killed a man in Denmark. He was a dentist and he a huge laugh. A famous laugh. Very popular.

“It was in Aarhus, not a big town, but everybody knew him. And he went to see Wanda and started laughing after just two minutes in and never stopped. They carried him out dead. He’d had a heart attack!”

Plane Trolling

Mystery surrounds the pilot of a small plane trailing a banner declaring “Prince Harry’s Mom’s Fate Accidental” when it flew over the Riven Rock estate of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Saturday.

Despite all the conspiracy theories since Princess Diana’s untimely death in a tragic car accident in Paris in 1997, I have always maintained in the more than 90 TV interviews I did in the six weeks after her untimely demise, that it was indeed an accident with all the factors involved in the matter being last minute decisions made by her beau Dodi Fayed.

Nothing convinces me otherwise...

Rosalyn Carter Remembered On a personal note, I remember former First Lady Rosalyn Carter, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at the age of 96, just days after entering hospice care.

I met Rosalyn, who was married to husband Jimmy for 77 years, at a dinner party thrown by top Manhattan realtor Alice Mason at her sprawling Park Avenue apartment in the ‘80s.

I had arrived somewhat early for the socially gridlocked event and spoke one on one with the former president for nearly half an hour before he was joined by his wife and then top TV newswoman Barbara Walters, a good friend, who practically engulfed both of them.

Jimmy, 99, and Rosalyn were decidedly charming, almost folksy, given their simple backgrounds in Plains, Georgia.

An abiding memory...

Sightings Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Vancouver, Canada, for an ice hockey match... Actress Cameron Diaz and husband Benji Madden at Pierre Lafond...

The Weakest Link host Jane Lynch at the Santa Barbara Symphony.

Pip! Pip!

From musings on the Royals to celebrity real estate deals, Richard Mineards is our man on the society scene and has been for more than 15 years

Violinist Frank Huang and pianist Natasha Kislenko captivate (photo by Zach Mendez)

30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

51

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2

by Steven Libowitz FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 Choice Cho at Campbell – South Korean pianist Seong-Jin Cho was brought to the world’s attention when he won First Prize at the Chopin International Competition in Warsaw in 2015 at age 21, becoming the first pianist from his country to claim the prestigious prize. Since then, his career has enjoyed a rapid ascent, including signing an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon in early 2016, and touring the world as both an orchestral soloist and in-demand recitalist. Praised for his innate musicality, remarkable range, and subtle approach to the repertoire, Cho has performed in front of the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra, among others, and collaborated with such famed conductors as Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Simon Rattle, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Lahav Shani. Cho continues the parade of former piano prodigies to grace Santa Barbara in recent months with a recital at UCSB, playing an eclectic program that includes Haydn’s “Piano Sonata in E Minor,” Ravel’s “Menuet sur le nom de Haydn” and “Miroirs,” Mozart’s “Adagio in B Minor, K. 540,” and selections from Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage II, S. 161.

WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall COST: $30-$65 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu Chip Off the Old… – Mannheim Steamroller creator and founder Chip Davis just keeps, well, rolling along, nearly 50 years after founding what is now the music industry’s largest independent recording label, American Gramaphone, in 1974, to release his innovative music inspired by the sounds of another age. The former teacher and jingle writer went indie when industry executives said his 18th century-based instrumental rock sound dubbed Fresh Aire, which blends classical music with elements of new age and rock, would never sell. Some 40 million albums and a Grammy Award later, Davis and Mannheim still are having the last laugh. Mannheim’s first Christmas album in 1984 revolutionized the making and marketing of holiday music, and the album’s success has been credited with making Christmas records a “must do” for all music artists. Davis now enjoys 19 gold, eight multi-platinum, and four platinum-certified records, and runs a pair of tours surrounding the holidays. It’s been a few years FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1 Holiday Block Party – The Covid pandemic forced the cancellation of Santa Barbara’s downtown holiday parade, producing what was originally imagined to be a temporary pause in an annual tradition for nearly 70 years. But the city has yet to bring back the family event that drew upwards of 100,000 folks to the State Street route for dozens of marching bands, floats featuring dignitaries, dance troupes and more to an early December evening, instead introducing a series of events for the season. Today’s Block Party is the one where the annual State Street holiday tree – which was installed at its usual spot on State Street in front of the Arlington Theatre near the intersection of Victoria Street last weekend – has its official tree lighting ceremony with appearances by this year’s Holiday Prince & Fairy and a visit from Santa, who will also pose for photos. Also on tap for the event: live performances, music by DJ Darla Bea, vendors, wreath making, and other activities hosted by the Downtown Organization.

WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: 1300 block of State Street COST: free INFO: www.downtownsb.org

52 Montecito JOURNAL

‘Fullness of Joy’ – The annual Westmont Christmas Festival, which combines the Montecito Christian college’s orchestra and choirs, has been a hallmark of the beginning of the holiday season for many in Santa Barbara, having grown since its founding nearly two decades ago to become a hugely popular event that takes over the Granada Theatre for two performances.

This year’s festival, with the theme “Fullness of Joy,” celebrates the Christmas story through scripture, poetry, and Christmas music from around the world and throughout the centuries – deepening the audience’s understanding of the holy season. The event features the Westmont Orchestra, College Choir, and Chamber Singers, directed by second year department chair Ruth Lin, who has worked with orchestras and conductors from around the world. Alumnus Daniel Gee (’13), currently Westmont director of choral activities and director of the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, will conduct the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers. Zig Reichwald, Adams professor of music and worship, and alumnus Paul Mori (’77), conductor of the Santa Barbara Prime Time Band, will lead the congregational hymns.

WHEN: 7 pm tonight, 3 pm tomorrow WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $22 INFO: (805) 899-2222, www.granadasb.org or westmont.edu/christmas-festival

since Mannheim Steamroller managed to make it to our area, but now the Chumash will once again host the ensemble that offers modern contemporary interpretations of Yuletide favorites and some new carol-like compositions.

WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Samala Showroom at the Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez COST: $69-$99 INFO: (800) CHUMASH (248-6274) or www.chumashcasino.com Catch the Cat at CST – Opera Santa Barbara gathers five current and former members of its Chrisman Studio Artist Program for a rare performance of El Gato con Botas at the intimate Center Stage Theater. The delightful hour-long performance of Xavier Montsalvatge’s musical setting of Puss in Boots tells the age-old children’s story of the wealth-seeking, match-making cat who, in return for a hat, a sword, and a pair of boots, secures for his young master (a lowly miller) a kingdom and a royal marriage to a princess, tricking a slow-witted ogre out of his castle along the way.

Premiered 75 years ago in Barcelona, El Gato still charms the curious and the contented with the tale and Montsalvatge’s music, which is energetic, tuneful, and full of catchy rhythms, lush melodies, and feline musical effects. OSB’s studio production stars Christina Pezzarossi as the Cat, Omar Rodriguez as the Miller, Michael Segura as the King, Sunwoo Park singing the role of the Princess, and Studio Artist alum Colin Ramsey performing the role of the Ogre, with Timothy Accurso, the company’s Principal Pianist & Music Administrator, on the keyboards. The piece is directed by Pacific Opera Project’s Josh Shaw, whose Barber of Seville for OSB was described as “riotously funny” and “thoroughly amusing from overture to final bow.”

WHEN: 7:30 pm tonight, 2:30 pm tomorrow & Sunday WHERE: Center Stage Theatre, 751 Paseo Nuevo, second floor COST: $28-$35, free for ages 8 to 18 INFO: (805) 963-0408 or https://centerstagetheater.org SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2 Goleta Holiday Parade – Santa Barbara has yet to bring back its perennially popular Christmas parade, which has been on extended hiatus since the pandemic struck in 2020. But wander a bit west and you’ll find a smaller version of something similar, as Goleta celebrates the holiday season with a festive

“Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.” — Hamilton Wright Mabie

30 November – 7 December 2023

IN US O J

MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 ‘100 Grand’ Gets Going – Sullivan Goss Gallery’s super-popular holiday-timed exhibition returns for a 15th year. 100 Grand features 100+ quality works of art on sale for $1,000 or less, serving as a showcase for both emerging talent and established artists as well as an entryway for beginning collectors. All of the paintings, drawings, photographs, assemblage, and sculpture pieces go on sale both online and at the gallery this morning, even though the reception doesn’t happen until 1st Thursday, and take note that more than 60 percent sold within hours last year.

WHEN: Opens 9 am today, exhibit through December 31 WHERE: 11 E. Anapamu St. COST: free INFO: (805) 730-1460 or www.sullivangoss.com

family-friendly affair full of an amiable atmosphere as numerous holidaythemed parade floats, bands, and dance groups come together to kick off the Yuletide season in the heart of Old Town Goleta. DJ Scott Topper will be on the microphone announcing all of the participants as the parade route sends the revelers marching down Hollister Avenue from Orange to Kinman streets.

WHEN: 6-9 pm WHERE: Old Town Goleta COST: free INFO: https://goletaholidayparade.org TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5 Carols Are A-Coming – The Adelfos Ensemble chamber choir inaugurates Santa Barbara’s holiday choral season tonight at Trinity Episcopal Church with its program, “A Light to Lighten the Darkness.” Fifteen-year veteran Music Director Temmo Korisheli and Associate Conductor Steven Browning Thomson lead the formerly all-male a cappella and now mixed-voice ensemble in a program that represents a portion of the group’s 20-year survey of a broad repertoire of music spanning more than a millennium, from ancient chant and Renaissance motets to folksong arrangements and contemporary works. Tonight works include Benjamin Britten’s beloved “A Ceremony of Carols, Op.28,” with Southern California concert harpist Ellie Choate as the concert’s centerpiece in a performance that also features the ensemble’s treble voices in “Dancing Day,” a cycle of traditional Christmas carols by John Rutter, and its men’s voices presenting two original Christmas carols and an arrangement of the Hanukkah melody “Maoz Tsur” by Carl Zytowski, the late UCSB Music professor and founder of The Schubertians.

WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St. COST: $20 general, $15 students and senior INFO: https://adelfosensemble.org WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 Merry Mariachi Music – José Hernández, who comes from a family rooted in five generations of mariachi musicians from Jalisco, Mexico, built on that foundation to grow mariachi music in new lands, in new musical genres, and in the hearts of new audiences with his band Mariachi Sol de México. Founded by Hernández at 22, the group has taken the music to unprecedented places, both physically and otherwise, as Hernández’ charismatic arrangements and signature trumpet playing made the ensemble an instant and lasting success. Tonight, Mariachi Sol de México returns for a repeat performance at the Arlington, the city’s largest indoor venue, for a festive celebration of Mexico’s holiday traditions with the fun title of Merry-Achi Christmas, a performance that includes elements of Las Posadas alongside traditional Christmas carols.

WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Arlington Theatre COST: $25-$65 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

30 November – 7 December 2023

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ARISE5K.ORG ALL MONIES RAISED GO DIRECTLY TO THE SANTA BARBARA RESCUE MISSION’S BETHEL HOUSE. THE 18 WOMEN CURRENTLY LIVING THERE WILL GET CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AND THE HOUSE WILL CONTINUE TO BE RENOVATED. THIS IS ARISE’S THIRD YEAR HELPING BETHEL HOUSE.

EVENT ENTRY ADULTS $25 STUDENTS $10 CHILDREN 3-9 FREE

THE HALLELUJAH N 9 PROJECT

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O

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SATURDAY DEC 9 AT 7:00 PM SUNDAY DEC 10 AT 3:00 PM

Conducted by JoAnne Wasserman with Orchestra and the SING! Children’s Chorus Montecito JOURNAL

53

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8 – 15 JUN 2023 VOL 29 ISS 23

Shelton Remodel – Clark’s Oyster Bar in the former Cava spot on CVR gets a Jeff Shelton facelift and the ABR likes what they see, P.6 Exceptional Civilian – A Q&A after Sharon Byrne is awarded for her work with the Montecito Association and Hands Across Montecito, P.16

World Champions – Westmont’s baseball team wins its first NAIA World Series with details on the plays and players’ feels inside P.18 Stringed Fusion in Ojai – Pipa and banjo come together with Wu Man and her upcoming collaborations at the Ojai Music Festival, P.19

The Giving List

New Beginnings gets its own new beginning with the grand opening of their Collaborative Center, page 20

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA www.montecitojournal.net

Montecito’s Magic Man A Problem with Food Trucks?

Concerns and commendations on food trucks around Montecito has neighbors on both sides of the fence; here is why the subject is not so simple, page 9

From a family traveling act to the father of the renowned Magic Castle, the legacy and final moments of Milt Larsen’s magical life are recounted by his wife and longtime collaborator, Arlene, and the MJ’s Jim Buckley (Story starts on p. 5)

Summer of 76

The Music Academy’s 76th Summer Festival kicks off! See inside for an overview of the 100+ activities and a rundown of the first week’s events, page 34

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15 – 22 JUN 2023 VOL 29 ISS 24

Temp Fire Station – With all the construction sites around town, Montecito Fire has set up a new temporary station to provide quicker response times, P.11 Market Heating Up – After a bit of a lull, the real estate market is heating up just in time for summer, P.16

The Giving List

Growing the Roots – The Summer Solstice Festival is nearly here and these are the ways to help make it happen, P.18 Construction Roundup – One can get lost between the construction projects underway and those being planned; here is an overview, P.28

Take a peek at UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023-2024 season inside and see what’s in store for the stage, page 20

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA www.montecitojournal.net

LONG HAUL

HELPERS

A new documentary that you can be a part of… A specialized clinic… An administrative law judge… These are the people helping remove stigmas and provide solutions for those experiencing Long Covid and other long-term illnesses (Story starts on page 5)

Village Vibe

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30 November – 7 December 2023

Mini Meta

Last Week’s Solution:

By Pete Muller & Frank Longo For each of the first five mini crosswords, one of the entries also serves as part of a five-word meta clue. The answer to the meta is a word or phrase (six letters or longer) hidden within the sixth mini crossword. The hidden meta answer starts in one of the squares and snakes through the grid vertically and horizontally from there (no diagonals!) without revisiting any squares.

PUZZLE #1 1

2

B I G W I N E F I R S T R I D E S O U S T

M B A F L I E R R A N A T O D D S M Y S T

A A H F L AW A T A R I T E M P T F R O S H

TWO EWO K S L A U R A L I L A C A N D

H A T H A R I E S M E T R O S A L T Y S E Z

S OMM E C L A I R A E T N A R A Z E S S N O R E

RIDES

FROM

ALAMO

AND

HERTZ

RENTALCARS

1

4

2

3

4

5

5

PUZZLE #3

PUZZLE #2

3

6

7

1 6 5

8

6 9

Across 1 Participate in a union contract?

4 2013 film with a similar premise as 2019's "Jexi" 5 French bean topper?

7 Like Pierce Brosnan, Colin Farrell, and Liam Neeson 8 They may be seen in a V formation

Down 1 "___ Are You" (2021 Anthony Hopkins thriller) 2 Like many campfire stories 3 Suit yourself?

5 Super-popular 6 Word that's highly unlikely to end a sentence

Across 1 Mimicked mockingly 5 Dicey one to make a deal with 7 "You ___ Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" (2023 Netflix comedy) 8 Card game swindle, informally 9 Part of a drum kit

2

3

7

Down 1 Very little, as of hair gel 2 Its president is Dina Boluarte 3 Part of a track list?

4 Summer sounds?

6 Hover ominously

Across 1 Take an ax to 4 With 5-Across, portrayer of Grace on "Grace and Frankie" 5 See 4-Across 6 Schindler with a list 7 Musicians fall silent when they see these

PUZZLE #5

PUZZLE #4 1

4

1

2

3

4

1

6

6

7

6

7

8

7

8

9

8

Down 1 Person barred from bars 2 Rival of Allstate and State Farm 3 Cut partner?

4 Walk in the park at school 5 Setting of Cartoon Network's "Total Drama Island"

Down 1 Coils, as of hair 2 Finish by 3 Exhibits, as a smile or a frown 4 "Three Tenors" tenor Carreras 5 It's "para" in Paraguay

META PUZZLE 5

5

Across 1 With 7-Across, proved profitable 5 Old Oldsmobile Cutlass model 6 Opposing group 7 See 1-Across 8 Rival of Fendi and Gucci

3

4

7

8

2

2

3

4

5

Across 1 Something a toaster needs 6 Made a dash for 7 Essential oil from rose petals 8 See 1-Down 9 Jiffy

Down 1 With 8-Across, wear for some Waikiki wiggling 2 What a McDonald's hash brown is similar to 3 Odd and funny 4 One of eight in the NFL logo 5 Do a laundry or word-processing job

Across 1 Smallest of sounds 5 Part of FEMA: Abbr.

6 Button next to Forward, perhaps 7 They might be liberal at college 8 "Gangnam Style" hitmaker

Down 1 Jury composition, ideally 2 Like some seats, stares, and stomachs 3 Potentially electrifying school 4 Dig too deep 6 Perform like 8-Across

LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY Thomas Richter

TrustedCaregiver

Private lessons, group classes, and performances Over 20 styles of Social Dance Wedding Dance Ballroom Competition

15+years of experience in caring for the elderly.

www.tho masrichte r.

art

BALLROOM DANCE INSTRUCTOR

(805) 881-8370

Looking for ONE client

PERSONAL CARE, DRIVER, LIGHT CLEANING, COOKING, COMPANY Available weekdays minimum of 20 hours per week

Lori Alvanoz 805-245-4550

Andrea Dominic, R.Ph. Emily McPherson, Pharm.D. Paul Yered, R.Ph. 1498 East Valley Road Montecito, CA 93108

Phone: 805-969-2284 Fax: 805-565-3174

Compounding Pharmacy & Boutique

Concrete Patios

BBQ's

Driveways

Fireplaces

Walkways

Masonry

Diego Carrillo - Owner Call/Text 805-252-4403 SERVING THE 805 • LIC#1099725 30 November – 7 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

55

TAKE A TOUR TODAY

© 2023 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHHS and the BHHS symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.

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2925 SYCAMORE CANYON RD, MONTECITO 7BD/8½BA • $33,000,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

663 LILAC DR, MONTECITO 4BD/9BA • $12,500,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

238 MIRAMAR AVE, MONTECITO 5BD/5½BA • $11,850,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

1545 RAMONA LN, MONTECITO 5BD/3BA; +1BD ADU • $7,995,000 Patrice Serrani / Ted Simmons, 805.637.5112 LIC# 01764713 / 01899664

839+841 SUMMIT RD, MONTECITO 4BD/4½BA • $6,900,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

975 MARIPOSA LN, MONTECITO 4BD/3½BA • $6,895,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

301 SAN YSIDRO RD, MONTECITO 3BD/3BA • $6,850,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

MONTECITOSHORESCONDO.COM 2BD/2½BA • $5,850,000 Kathleen Winter, 805.451.4663 LIC# 01022891

900 TORO CANYON RD, MONTECITO 3BD/3BA • $5,295,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

126 LOUREYRO RD COTTAGES, MONTECITO 6BD/5BA • $4,995,000 Nancy Kogevinas, 805.450.6233 LIC# 01209514

1365 VIRGINIA RD, MONTECITO 3BD/2BA • $4,795,000 Josiah Hamilton, 805.284.8835 LIC# 01415235

800 ROCKBRIDGE RD, MONTECITO ±1.52 acres • $3,995,000 Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, 805.565.4014 LIC# 01426886

161 LOUREYRO RD, MONTECITO 5BD/3BA • $3,295,000 Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, 805.565.4014 LIC# 01426886

ALISAL/SYCAMORE CANYON RD, MONTECITO • ±14.65 acres • $495,000 Nancy Kogevinas, 805.450.6233 LIC# 01209514

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