No Unclaimed Shelter Beds by Montecito Journal

JOURNAL

Dem Women – MJ’s Gwyn Lurie is named “Woman

of the Year” from the organization – here’s Jerry Roberts’ thoughts about it, P.11

Deck the Hills – Search along the hills of the Santa Ynez Valley for some festive gifts, plus other holiday fun found along the way, P.26

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA 14 – 21 DEC 2023 | VOL 29 ISS 50 | www.montecitojournal.net

Holiday Car Party

See some of the wheels and fun from this year’s event, page 14

NO UNCLAIMED

SHELTER BEDS

(photo by Priscilla)

Having a Ball

Grab your gown, wear a wig, and get into the era with the Music Academy’s recent Auxiliary gala event at Lehmann Hall, page 8

The recent meeting of Hands Across Montecito unearths an unsettling truth… there are zero emergency shelter beds left for the houseless (Read more about their findings on page 5)

A CVR Holiday

Santa, carolers, and nutcrackers, oh my! The CVIA and Rosewood Miramar host the first joint holiday celebration along the road, page 12

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Montecito JOURNAL

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

Hands Across Montecito – The most recent 5 meeting of the HAM committee reveals an unsettling figure

illage Beat – Updates on recycled water, sewer 6 Vlines and more at the MA meeting, plus holiday happenings around CVR

ontecito Miscellany – The Aux Ball, Seasonal 8 MSoirées, Puss in Boots, and more miscellany

CRC 5937892 09/23

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Thoughts – Last things first… here Your Westmont – Stargazing Dec. 15, college 20 Barerilliant 38 celebrates Ashleigh’s musings on final endeavors campus photographer, engineering eel Fun – The murky melodrama May 22 RDecember spins a story out of a true tale and

transforms it into its own critical look at lines that should not be crossed Elizabeth’s Appraisals – A local thrift store find leads to the history of a UCSB ceramicist known both locally and afar

– The Revels return, a new Voices – Jeff Giordano writes in 24 Otaken Entertainment 10 Cwithommunity on Tempest, Quire of Voyces, and more his thoughts on Das Williams’ actions surrounding the ring nets The Optimist Daily – Giving nature a seat at the table with this new role in the corporate structure of boards Tide Guide

11 Gwyn Lurie receiving the Woman of the Year award Guest Editorial – Jerry Roberts writes about MJ’s

ome for the Holidays – From exotic nature 26 Hphotography to museum passes – these are some gift ideas from some special spots

students race RC cars, and a new book celebrates Advent

ear Montecito – Osiel Ocampo writes in 39 Dabout their college experience and struggles with showing up for oneself

– The lives of Keith Roger Austin 42 Iandn Passing Frank Davis Umanzio are remembered Big Questions – When is it better to 45 Rownobert’s versus rent? Traveler – Jamie’s wine travels take 46 Pheretiteto Wine Lombardy in Italy

ontecito Moms – From finding the perfect Calendar of Events – A dreamy circus at the 35 Mpaint 56 Arlington, to selecting the ideal tortilla chip – Kate the rein of reindeers at Roy’s, sugar Kramer has an eye for design

plums at the Granada, and more

Far Flung Travel – Twilight, some running Town – From CVR to cars, and even the sea Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified 36 12 O– ura slew tunes, and a host of birds add a little ambiance 58 ads, in which sellers offer everything from of holiday celebrations were in Our Town to this Santa Cruz Island visit

ntro to ‘Overture’ – Lights… cameras… and 18 Ithese UCSB film students getting ready for their 37 Foraging Thyme – Get into the feeling of fall with first film action

Montecito JOURNAL

this roasted sweet potato and microgreens salad

summer rentals to estate sales

ini Meta Crossword Puzzles 59 MLocal Business Directory

14 – 21 December 2023

Hands Across Montecito The Updates and Challenges Facing Homelessness Relief

The HAM team

by Eileen White Read

ur group of 10 with morning bleary-eyed faces, meets at the Coast Village Chevron station and trudges down through the newly-rebuilt Butterfly Lane tunnel with its colorful murals. We emerge on the railroad tracks and begin searching from the Bird Refuge to Eucalyptus Lane. As usual, we find only a few people, but there are lots of signs that unhoused people have been sleeping in makeshift camps wherever there’s shrubbery “cover” – near the cemetery, between the freeway ramps near Channel Drive and Cabrillo Boulevard, behind the condominium communities east of Olive Mill Road, and on the beach below the cemetery. There was, we hear, a man seen camping in Manning Park in the Upper Village. We ask each other, is there a photo, does anyone know who he is? The Montecito Fire experts with us point out many burned-out portable propane canisters littering the ground, signs that groups are building fires, increasing the terrifying potential of fast-spreading dry brush fires. “In the cooler weather there are more fires as people try to keep warm,” says Fire Marshal Aaron Briner. “There’s an incredible risk of fire spreading in this area, and no solution to it.” Later, we all meet on a Zoom to chat: Whom among the unhoused might be amenable to moving into shelters, into veterans housing, into sober living programs? As we discuss, our Hands Across Montecito (HAM) committee – perhaps a wee bit spoiled by three years of success in moving homeless people toward city, county, and nonprofit services – learns some bad news from county representatives on our call: There are no unclaimed shelter beds in the county. On the plus side, we are continuing the “large working group” model combining eager-beaver Montecito Association volun14 – 21 December 2023

teers like me with professionals from City Net, Heal the Bay, various government agencies, and the fire and sheriffs departments. We continue to make weekly/monthly forays into the places where folks are likely to be camping. And we continue identifying camps, interviewing and counseling the unhoused we find, and recording their information into a countywide database. Many people we find, though not all, want to move inside during these winter nights when temperatures drop to the low 40s. Our new challenges include the inability to quickly clean up the fire-hazardous camps; many are located on land owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, and others are on land owned by CalTrans. Removing debris and brush should be a priority, and we need to open new lines of communication with these entities. We are fortunate that the Montecito Association’s highly capable new Executive Director Houghton Hyatt has taken on the role of liaison to the various owners and will request that they provide clean-up crews – or give us, the volunteers, leave to do it. On the call, we get the truly bad news regarding the availability of emergency shelter beds indoors for Montecito’s unhoused outdoor sleepers. There are none. No unclaimed shelter beds in the county. And no new dormitory-style shelters are being built in Santa Barbara County, similar to those operated by nonprofits such as the Salvation Army, Union Rescue Mission, and PATH. Accustomed to being able to move anyone we would find into a shelter, a sober-living program, or a program specifically targeted to veterans, we are shocked and pained to learn the grim mathematics of homelessness in our county. Based on the latest point-in-time count, there are nearly 1,900 people sleeping outdoors on any night in the county, about half of them in the South County. Nineteen hundred people needing a safe bed, yet at the most

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Santa Claus greets children during a recent tree lighting event on Coast Village Road. Montecito Firefighters also participated. (photo by Kelly Mahan Herrick)

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t a quiet, in-person Montecito Association Board of Directors meeting earlier this week, the Board heard from community leaders on various happenings in Montecito. Nick Turner with Montecito Water District reported on the ongoing potential of a recycled water project, which recently received $1M in grant funding from the State. The funds will be received in early 2024 and will help pay for the design details for a potential project. “It’s great news for recycled water, to advance it to the next step,” Turner said. The design phase of the project is expected to take at least two years. Turner also reported that there is an ongoing project on Monte Cristo Road to replace a water meter; it will be completed by January 19, with no work planned around the holidays. John Weigold, GM of Montecito Sanitary District, reported that his District continues to work on lining the sewer lines under the freeway, with construction taking place on either side of Highway 101 near the Miramar. He also reported that there are roughly 300 residences within Montecito who are not connected to the public sewer, who want to be. There are currently six projects to extend sewer access to different areas. All sewer extensions are paid for by the people who benefit from the new service, which could cost several million dollars. “It’s a logistics issue,” Weigold said. A recent project to extend the sewer to 23 properties cost the residents $2.4M. Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi said the only recent crime in Montecito in the last month was a vandalism on Miramar Avenue in November. Lieutenant Arnoldi reported that illegal camping has

“It is best to know some winter, so that the summer, when it arrives, is the more gratefully received.” — Beatriz Williams

decreased and there has been no evidence of illegal fires on the trails as of late. The Sheriff ’s Department has been active in recent holiday festivities. Montecito Fire Chief David Neels reported that crews from MFPD were on a trail rescue in Montecito on Tuesday, which required the aid of a helicopter. No further details were released by press time. Chief Neels also told the Board that the District has begun releasing short emergency preparation videos on social media channels, in anticipation of the winter season. The videos list five prevention measures that all residents should adhere to. They include preventing flooding with sandbags (sandbag stations are opened at Lower Manning Park in advance of rainy weather); identifying whether you live in a risk area, by looking at the Storm Impact Consideration Map at www.readySBC.org; knowing at least two evacuation routes; packing your “go” bag and monitoring the weather during storms; and signing up for emergency alerts at www.readySBC.org. Those living in red-shaded areas on the Storm Impact Consideration Map should be prepared for evacuations during severe weather. Chief Neels said a community event is planned for January 9 at 6 pm at Montecito Union School, in remembrance of the 1/9 debris flow of 2018, when 23 lives were lost and 400 homes were damaged or destroyed following a debris flow. Last year, the annual remembrance event was canceled due to another weather event, which occurred on the same exact day, five years later. Rain and increased winds are forecasted for next week, but nothing significant as of yet. Darcel Elliott with First District Supervisor Das Williams’ office said the

Village Beat Page 514 514

14 – 21 December 2023

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Thank You to our generous sponsors & Parade entrants! Bright Starlights Adam Pavloff

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see you next year! Montecito JOURNAL

Montecito Miscellany Having a Ball by Richard Mineards

ovelist Jane Austen would have been in her element at the Music Academy’s Lehmann Hall when the Miraflores campus’ creative Auxiliary hosted the Aux Ball: Celebrating the Eras with 120 guests in their Regency finery, many donning tiaras, raising around $50,000 towards the SING! choral program for youngsters from first to ninth grade. Mally Chakola, who co-chaired the fun fête with Connie Sickel, said they wanted to attract a younger audience by featuring more recent music together with the classics. The Santa Barbara String Quartet stepped up and played a delightful selection of classical and contemporary music resembling scenes from such TV shows as Sanditon on PBS and the bodice busting Bridgerton on Netflix. The ball shone brightly, offering a captivating journey back in time with opulent bling, glamorous gowns, and intricate hairstyles. There was even Regencyera inspired food, tarot card readers, sil-

Mary Ta, Maya Mallick, Mally Chakola, Belle Hahn, and Windsor Smith (photo by Priscilla)

houette artists, and a particularly potent Scandalous Rumor cocktail with tequila, prickly pear, lime juice, orange liqueur, syrup, and sea salt. Even the Prince Regent, later King George IV, would have been impressed. Among those enjoying the 19th century were Leila Drake, Michael and Kimberly Hayes, Felice Firestone, Karen Lehrer, Meg Di Napoli, and Patricia Hauptman. Time travel has never been more fun...

The Fashion of the Evening

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Noah and Julia benShea with Jenna Jobst Reichental and Avi Reichental (photo by Priscilla)

Santa Barbara Historical Museum went to gown with its latest exhibition Seasonal Soirées: Evening Couture 1880-1980 curated by former museum president Sharon Bradford, whose previous show was The West-Dressed Woman featuring frontier wear during the 19th and 20th centuries from the museum’s vaults. Santa Barbara even launched the career of Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo

Miscellany Page 524 524

Adam Sanderson and Isabelle Meyer Stapf (photo by Priscilla)

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Wishing you a joyous holiday season.

14 – 21 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

Community Voices

his has been an illuminating few months as it relates to the dark underbelly of County politics and disaster-related funding. Allow me to explain: In November, our six ring nets were ripped from the canyons by the Project for Resilient Communities who privately funded their $6M installation. Now, I don’t pretend to know what behind-the-scenes promises First District Supervisor Williams may have made concerning future Net support from our $1.5B County (the Public Works Budget alone is $172M) but I’d bet it went something like this: “Trust me, complexity, nuance and details aside, I’ve got this handled.” Of course, the problem with “trust me” politics is that it requires someone who is, well, trustworthy. And, herein lies the more systemic issue: In our district, shadow-politics has become so pervasive that it is now the norm! Let’s compare this to other districts where the process of representative democracy, at least occasionally, occurs. In January, the Santa Maria River overflowed and while there were no injuries, 20 Guadalupe homes in the Fifth District were flooded. Just nine months later on September 12, 2023, the issue of the flooding was placed on a Tuesday Board agenda. At the hearing, Fifth District Supervisor Lavagnino advocated for an $8M off-budget expenditure to “temporarily” find a solution that was also supported by Public Works Director Scott McGolpin and the 20 or so Guadalupe residents who testified at the open hearing. The Board unanimously (5-0) voted to approve the $8M construction project which was fully funded by the County as the Feds and State did not consider the issue an “emergen-

cy.” Transparency and the all-important democratic process in action! As Chairman of the Board, our Supervisor actually controls the Agenda – yet in the face of more than 500 resident emails, 1,000 donors, and a variety of complex expert opinions concerning Net effectiveness, impacts, and maintenance costs – the issue never saw the light of a public hearing. These folks DESERVED to be heard and the County writ large DESERVED to listen because, as we know, the Montecito slides killed 23 residents and caused more than $1B in damage. The unfortunate reality is that on the heels of the unanimous $8M Guadalupe vote, my guess is that some type of Net accommodation would very likely have passed. Of course, this assumes that our Supervisor truly supported the Nets – big assumption! Leadership is as much about taking responsibility for failure (remember JFK and the Bay of Pigs) as it is about creating a Zelig-like caricature who is drawn to the photo-op like a moth to a flame. The problem is that when it comes to Montecito, our Supervisor knows accountability is muted by the politics of the First District that stretches from Carpinteria to San Roque. Forget your “tribute” payments because they don’t mean nearly as much as the voting counts: Montecito has just 2,000 or so likely voters in a district that sports 24,000. This is something you should consider when you’re next asked to make a campaign contribution and to whom. Money matters only if it funds political competition, otherwise we’re all just part of a grand illusion. Jeff Giordano Santa Barbara County Resident

Another UK Company Gives Nature a Voice in Its Boardroom

n a significant move towards sustainability, the company House of Hackney recently appointed a ‘nature guardian,’ marking a pivotal step in integrating nature’s voice into corporate decision-making. Frieda Gormley, co-founder of the London-based interiors firm, regarded this as a natural evolution for a brand with a strong connection to nature. Gormley emphasizes the role of the nature guardian, stating, “If we choose not to take their advice, we’re actually bound to give a reason publicly as to why we haven’t. This is very much about accountability.” This project is inspired by the eco-beauty company Faith In Nature, which was a pioneer in designating a nature guardian. “Having a presence there speaking for nature is huge,” says Simeon Rose, creative director of Faith In Nature. “You know that nature is there, not necessarily judging you, but getting you to raise your game.” Brontie Ansell, senior lecturer in law at Essex Law School, director of Lawyers for Nature, and the first Faith In Nature nature guardian views her position as demanding. Initially monitoring debates, she gradually voices and votes in favor of nature, resulting in an empowering shift in board dynamics. Rose underscores the subtle transformation: “By knowing that there is ultimately going to be this lens at the end, where nature’s asked its view, you find that it starts trickling in much earlier in the decision-making process.” This strategy is consistent with a broader trend in which businesses reframe their organizational missions

beyond financial profit. In the United Kingdom, the Better Business Act campaign aims to match business goals with societal and environmental benefits. Faith In Nature’s idea has acquired popularity, prompting several requests from diverse sectors looking to emulate it. Rose goes on to say, “All organizations that have governance models can apply it in their own way.” The impact is already obvious for Gormley, as the firm recently denied a lucrative collaboration that did not satisfy their environmental criteria, demonstrating their dedication to nature’s principles. The inclusion of a nature guardian in corporate structures is a significant step toward a more sustainable and conscious approach to business, underlining that every action influences more than just the bottom line, but also on the world around us. JOURNAL

The Dark Underbelly of County Politics: Nets & the Tale of Two Floods

Executive Editor/CEO | G wyn 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 Administration | Jessikah Fechner Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Bryce Eller Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin, Jeff Wing Proofreading | Helen Buckley Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE Day

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“In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

newspaper

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

14 – 21 December 2023

Guest Editorial

Dem Women of Santa Barbara County honors Gwyn Lurie

Gwyn Lurie speaking after receiving the Woman of the Year award from Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County (photo by Marian Shapiro)

Add Dan Encell to your team of trusted advisors!

You want to surround yourself with the best possible team of trusted advisors: Your attorney for legal advice;

by Jerry Roberts

Your accountant for tax advice; Your financial advisor for wealth management; and

he Democratic Women of Santa Barbara County political organization on Sunday presented its Woman of the Year award to Montecito Journal editor Gwyn Lurie, whose acceptance speech included a stinging rebuke of feminist

Guest Editorial Page 164 164

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Montecito JOURNAL

Our Town

CVIA and Rosewood Miramar Beach Resort First Annual CVR Holiday Trey Pinner, Beth Sullivan, Cynthia Withers, Santa, Ruth Green, and Rick Fidel (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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aking their first joint community celebration for the holidays, the Coast Village Improvement Association (CVIA), the Rosewood Miramar Beach, and the Montecito Community Foundation brought the holiday spirit to Coast Village Road on Thursday, December 7, with their event titled, “Shop, Sip, and Stroll,” from 3 to 6 pm. The center of the event was at the intersection of Coast Village and Middle roads, where the holiday tree donated by the Montecito Community Foundation was placed, along with outdoor lighted reindeer, faux oversized presents, and decorations. Town locals gathered there, enjoying the hot chocolate bar set up by the Rosewood Miramar Beach. Entertainment started with the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony Orchestra under the guidance of Marie Hébert, Education Programs Manager, playing holiday favorites. Next, in traditional Ole English costumes, was the Santa Barbara High School Madrigals singing classic holiday songs in perfect harmony. Appearances and spreading cheer were Santa Claus (aka Cortney Lofton) who arrived via a powder blue surrey with Rosewood’s Managing Director Rick Fidel, and actor-dancers from the Santa Barbara Festival Ballet’s Nutcracker. The event leaders were new CVIA Executive Director Beth Sullivan and President Trey Pinner, Fidel, and Montecito Community Foundation President Ruth Green and Board of Trustees member Cynthia Withers. Speeches were given by Sullivan, Pinner, Fidel, Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse, and CA State Assemblymember 37th District Gregg Hart. Santa led the attendees in the countdown for the Actors and dancers from the Santa Barbara

Our Town Page 144 144

Festival Ballet in their Nutcracker costumes (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Marie Hébert leads the Santa Barbara Youth Symphony in holiday songs (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

12 Montecito JOURNAL

“At this season of the year, darkness is a more insistent thing than cold. The days are short as any dream.” — E.B. White

14 – 21 December 2023

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Our Town (Continued from 12 12))

The Santa Barbara High School Madrigals singing traditional Ole English harmonies on holiday tunes (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

official lighting of the holiday tree. The MJ wishes all a wonderful holiday and a nod to the spirit of our town when you go past the holiday tree! For more of the live event, check out the videos on the MJ website and YouTube Channel.

Montecito Association Third Annual Holiday Car Parade of Lights It was indeed a magical day for our 3rd Annual Montecito Holiday Car Parade of Lights (and music!), after being blessed with excellent warm weather. The Holiday Parade Committee was Houghton Hyatt, Megan Orloff, and Andrea Newquist. This was Hyatt’s first year doing the event and she shared: “With all the twinkling lights and every smiling face along the route, it reminds us of our community’s spirit, resilience, and warmth. The Holiday Magic Parade is not just an event; it’s a cherished tradition that unites us, reminding us that, in the midst of the holiday season, we are bound by the magic of shared moments and the enduring spirit of this community.” Orloff added: “In its third year, the Montecito Association’s Holiday Magic

Adam McKaig and his Angels (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Car Parade drives the holiday spirit throughout the community, literally! There are only two entry requirements – (1) embrace the magic of string lights and holiday decorations, (2) bring your holiday spirit! Our more than 20 automobiles are brightly lit with colored lights and winter scenes, holiday music, friendly residents waving to all, and even features a special appearance by the Grinch himself! We started this in 2020 following the success of converting the July 4th annual parade to a car parade in light of the pandemic and

Our Town Page 444 444

Dana Newquist, Houghton Hyatt, Megan Orloff, and Andrea Newquist (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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14 – 21 December 2023

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Montecito JOURNAL

Guest Editorial (Continued from 11 11)) groups for their muted response to the Oct. 7 Hamas strike on Israel. “Dem Women” is the most – perhaps the only – independent-minded group among the federation of partisan clubs in the Democratic Party coalition that dominates local politics, and so it seemed appropriate that Lurie’s distinctive address departed from the usual political cheerleading that typically characterizes such affairs. The 60-year-old editor, screen writer and human rights activist espoused the organization’s mission of electing more women to office, but said that doing so is merely “performative” – unless women exercise a “different kind of leadership” that “more courageously” engages in and encourages “difficult dialogue.” “In the wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel, where women were raped, babies and grandparents were slaughtered or kidnapped, or unspeakably worse, we didn’t hear a peep from any of the Women’s organizations,” said Lurie, whose mother is a Holocaust survivor and was among a crowd of 155 gathered for the event in the courtyard of the Santa Barbara Club. “There we were on October 7th. Once again rape is used as a weapon of war. Young women bleeding from their crotches, paraded through the streets of Gaza,” she added. “Yet I was not seeing a single statement from a feminist organization in this country about it. Not one gender studies department has defended even one victimized woman. The silence was deafening,” she said. “As a woman and as a feminist this offends me. As a mother of two daughters, it terrifies me.” Political intelligence. As a matter of community affairs, Sunday’s event was a professional and personal triumph for Lurie; it has been just four years since she led a group of investors in purchasing the weekly Journal from former owner Jim Buckley, a pro-Trump right-winger, and began to steer the paper as editor-in-chief into Santa Barbara’s center-left mainstream; during the same time, as CEO of the Montecito Media Group LLC, she has led a significant expansion of the company’s publishing operations and revenue streams. As a political matter, the public celebration of her achievements carried several notable and intriguing undercurrents. Nearly every member of the city and county’s Democratic establishment was present or represented – with the noteworthy exceptions of Board of Supervisors President

16 Montecito JOURNAL

Das Williams and Darcel Elliott, his chief of staff who, conveniently for him, doubles as chair of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party. Dem Women not infrequently is at odds with the Democratic county central committee, most often over the issue of campaign endorsements. The former group often backs different candidates than the latter, as it did four years ago, when the women’s group endorsed Laura Capps over Williams in her challenge to his re-election in District 1. Capps, who introduced Lurie on Sunday, now represents District 2 as a supervisor. In a dubious, two-track vocation, Elliott oversees partisan operations and organization of the local party’s central apparatus, while she also draws an annual public salary of $115,295, in addition to about $75,000 in benefits, according to data provided by county public information officer Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta, for her “public service” working in Williams’ supervisorial office; moreover, Williams also has put on the public payroll, as his administrative assistant, Spencer Brandt, a former longtime paid Democratic Party operative, at an additional annual cost to taxpayers of $85,505, plus about $55,000 in benefits. Since taking over the editorship of the Montecito Journal, Lurie often has been critical of Williams, including the cozy relations between his office and the Democratic Party, and the public underwriting of their intersection. Most recently, she lambasted the Board of Supervisors president, who is seeking a third, four-year term next year, for his failure to lend support to the effort to keep and maintain the debris-collecting steel ring nets that were installed in creeks above Montecito following the deadly 2018 debris flow. After the county’s refusal to pay for maintenance of the nets, financed by private donations, the nonprofit group that raised the money for them was forced to remove them on Nov. 1. “And to Supervisor Williams I say this,” Lurie wrote last week, “Montecito needs a County Supervisor that has our back. One who works hard in the calm moments to make sure that we’re okay in the storms. A representative because of whom, not despite whom, we can feel safe. “We need a Supervisor who sees us, and values us, and works with us to understand

Guest Editorial Page 484 484

14 – 21 December 2023

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

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Montecito JOURNAL

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UCSB’s Future Film Legends Seek Resources and Dangle Carrots

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MONTECITO 1485 East Valley Road #9 Montecito, CA 93108

The Overture Crew – Pictured (from left to right): Chloe Schiller, Thalia Rakosky, Isabella Leonard, Iris Ortega Quevedo, Allen Schultz, Colin Kelly, Irie Aburto, Abby Weinstein, Brian Sol, Lucia Seriñan, Cat Hernandez, Keanu Kawakami, Jacqueline Beran, Manuel De Colsa, Finn Christensen, Sandhya Ganesh, Nick Thomas, Junhao Tuo, Kiera Barhoum, Joonha Chung Not Pictured: Raziel España, David Olivares, Dillon McEvoy, Maria Viana, Flavio Florez, Caroline Guzman, MJ Macias, Gabby Vile, Eva Lindholm, Iara Watanabe, Anna-Liis Schertz

by Jeff Wing

spoke with Writer/Director Iris Ortega Quevedo and Producer Isabella Leonard about their UCSB Film Studies project; a short, wordless feature called Overture that is already creating buzz. “Student film” suggests the fledgling efforts of young academic cinephiles feeling their way forward. On the other hand we have George Lucas’ THX 1138 [Star Wars], Greta Gerwig’s Hannah Takes the Stairs [Lady Bird, Little Women], Paul Thomas Anderson’s Cigarettes & Coffee [Magnolia, Licorice Pizza], Martin Scorsese’s The Big Shave [Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas], Sofia Coppola’s Lick the Star [The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation] – and a host of other short student films whose artistic insights foretold legendary careers. Overture is positioned to make a splash. It’s a matter of Hollywood folklore that P.T. Anderson raided his college fund, maxed out his girlfriend’s credit card and threw in his scant gambling winnings to get his inaugural short film made. The never-ending search for “resources” is a common theme among first-time filmmakers, and the promising Overture is no exception. MJ. The teaser you’ve produced for Overture is really surprising – amazing, actually. What is the academic context of Overture?

“It seems like everything sleeps in winter, but it’s really a time of renewal and reflection.” — Elizabeth Camden

Isabella Leonard (Producer) [IL]. UCSB’s Film Studies program is heavily film-theory-based, but the course FAMST (Film and Media Studies) 106 is one of the biggest opportunities for students to create a short film from start to finish – as close to a professional level as possible. I think it’s the only class in the film department that’s two quarters long. MJ. Is it the only class in the film department that actually has hands-on filmmaking as part of the curriculum? IL. No. There are other courses like LaunchPad, which is documentary-based. But FAMST 106 is the only one based on narrative scripts from the students. We also have to raise all the funding, start an LLC, hire all of our cast and crew, create production schedules, do our taxes, get insurance permits, hire all of our actors… we do have wonderful mentorship from our professors, but we do every single thing on our own. It’s a great, great experience. MJ. It’s a deep dive into the business as well as the art. IL. Every member of our crew wants to go into the film industry. A project like this is crucial for our portfolios to be able to launch our careers. And may I call out the actors here? MJ: Yep.

Intro to ‘Overture’ Page 504 504

14 – 21 December 2023

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Montecito JOURNAL

Brilliant Thoughts Last Things First by Ashleigh Brilliant

ne of the saddest songs I know is called “The Last Time I saw Paris.” It came out in 1940, after France had been defeated, and Paris occupied, by the Nazis. Paris had been a favorite haunt of Americans. But the war was still going on (although the U.S. had not yet entered it) and people abroad could now only reminisce about how it had been to walk the streets of Paris, dodge the taxis, and enjoy the cafés. Hitler was so proud of his triumph that he came in person to (a suddenly very quiet) Paris. The last and most poignant line of the song said, “No matter how they change her, I’ll remember her that way.” There was no telling if things would ever be “normal” again. Of course, there is something sad about the last of many things. As it happens, I am the last member of my family – but I am the only one left to feel sad about it. It’s also possible to be the last member of a whole tribe, of which we are reminded by the title of something that was first – the first great American novel: The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper. I’ve never read it, but can’t forget the name of a main character which has always seemed to me incredibly silly: Natty Bumppo. (Happily, Cooper gave him the nickname of ‘Hawkeye.’) But life itself has a last part, which may also seem sad – although Robert Browning put a very positive spin on it in his poem “Rabbi Ben Ezra,” which begins with these words: Grow old along with me – The best is yet to be – The last of life, for which the first was made. Browning, however, is probably better known for another “last” poem, which is called “My Last Duchess.” It is written in the form of a “dramatic monologue,” the type of poem in which a whole story is told through the voice of one person. In this case, that person is a Duke in Renaissance Italy, who is evidently addressing the representative of another nobleman with whom he is negotiating a second marriage, since his first wife, the Duchess, has died. They are descending a staircase which is lined with paintings, one of which is a portrait of his deceased wife. They pause there – and, as the story unfolds, it becomes chillingly apparent that the Duke does not mourn his last Duchess – and that in fact he deliberately caused her death. Why? I would say it was some kind of perverted family pride. This Duke felt that his young bride did not live up to his eminent heritage (“a nine hundred years old name.”)

She was too easily pleased. She smiled at everyone. She didn’t take her family position seriously enough. And so, she had to go. Certain last meals have been historically and culturally important, particularly the “Last Supper” of Jesus with his disciples, as depicted in many works of art, most notably that of Leonardo da Vinci. But Jesus is also quoted as saying that, “The last shall be first,” in the same Gospel that he says: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” (That latter passage leads irreverent people to make it “Many are cold, but few are frozen.”) These utterances are extracted from parables – simple stories intended to teach some kind of moral lesson. I’m not sure why Aesop’s stories are called “Fables” rather than parables, unless it’s because Aesop preferred to borrow his characters from the animal world, rather than let them be humans. Another famous “last” novel was The Last Days of Pompeii, by Edward BulwerLytton, published in 1834. (In case you didn’t know, Pompeii was a Roman town in southern Italy, destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. Its ruins, covered by a thick layer of volcanic ash, have been dug up, and you can still visit them, as I have.) Unfortunately, Bulwer-Lytton has, in recent times, acquired a reputation for an excessively florid style of writing. In particular, the opening sentence of another one of his novels (Paul Clifford, 1830) has been so mocked that there are now Ashleigh Brilliant born regular “contests” for opening lines, England 1933, came to celebrating bad writing, which have California in 1955, to Santa been named in his honor. Lytton’s Barbara in 1973, to the sentence simply says: Montecito Journal in 2016. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. email: ashleigh@west. net. web: www.ash leighbrilliant.com.

“It was a dark and stormy night.” If you think that was a perfectly good way to start a story, I agree – but who are we against so many?

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Montecito JOURNAL

Reel Fun

Portman, Moore, and Melton Stun in Todd Haynes’ New Murky Melodrama by Christopher Matteo Connor

The Art of Michael Arntz by Elizabeth Stewart

Put simply, Gracie is a sex offender – a pedophile. She has a disease of the mind. If this all sounds familiar, it’s because it is. The film is inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. But Haynes and first-time feature writer, Samy Burch, expertly take this story away from simply reiterating the true facts of that story, and they create something even more complicated and compelling, blurring the lines of what is acceptable and what isn’t. It’s a

n artist in Montecito was gifted a unique ceramic charger plate found at a thrift store in Goleta, signed ‘M Arntz’; she writes that the blue glaze has a delicate shading of beige on a textured surface, a work of art. Indeed, it is. The work is by Michael Arntz, a local hero in the world of Southern California modern design and crafts, and Professor Emeritus of Art, UCSB. He created work in many mediums: clay, fiberglass, and The unique ceramic charger plate by local ceramicist paint, for many different causes, sites, Michael Arntz and exhibitions. Many large-scale Arntz sculptures still reside in Montecito gardens today. He’s a seminal figure in the California Design Movement of the 1960-70s with a forceful approach to large-scale work; when I looked at some of the ceramic sculptures recently sold, I was struck by the appearance of strength. Not to mention the values achieved: a large 85” sculpture on stand created in 1970 sold at Bonhams for $3,500 in 2011; at Los Angeles Modern Auctions in 2008 a monumental garden sculpture of 1966 sold for $10,000; this bears that eerie blue glaze as does the charger given to the artist, for which Arntz’ Danish grandmother’s embroidery was pressed into the clay for texture. These works sold embody strength and forcefulness of design; Arntz took advan-

May December was just nominated for a Golden Globe

he quote from Todd Haynes, director of the new film May December, states: “…If there’s any universal theme in all my films, it seems to be disease… And I hope that changes, but I have a feeling it may not until things change in the world…” And while Haynes said that in 1995, it’s been more or less true all these years – from his first underground film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, to Poison, to Safe, to Dark Waters, and now to May December. Where does disease come into play in his latest film? May December tells the story of the actress Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), who takes on the task of studying the infamous Gracie (Julianne Moore), who 20 years earlier made headlines for having sexual relations with a 13-year-old boy. The sick twist? She had his child in prison. Oh, and now they’ve been married for 23 years.

Elizabeth’s Appraisals

Reel Fun Page 244 244

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Montecito JOURNAL

Reel Fun (Continued from 22 22)) movie made to make you feel uncomfortable. And that’s saying a lot, considering the already thorny subject. Because it should be easy enough to condemn Gracie. But we get a snapshot of where their lives are now: Gracie is long out of prison, Joe (Charles Melton) is in his mid-thirties, their children are about to go to college, they live in a beautiful house by the water, they have friends. Is everything actually normal or is something lurking under the surface? And in comes the actress, who wants to study Gracie for an upcoming movie based on Gracie and Joe’s salacious and highly controversial affair all those years earlier. It quickly becomes hard to understand Elizabeth’s intentions as she further inserts herself into their lives, as she slowly starts speaking like Gracie, as she revisits the places where Gracie and Joe discretely started their inappropriate affair. How far is Elizabeth willing to go to embody Gracie? What lines is she willing to cross? Elizabeth clearly is okay with working in the gray areas, manipulating these people to get what she wants. Specifically, Joe. There is a heartbreaking scene (one of many) where after an intense moment, Elizabeth remarks: “This is what grownups do.” It’s a shattering line. And it works in two ways. It emphasizes how emotionally stunted Joe really is. He is no longer a child. But he’s still not a grownup, either. Gracie has emotionally stunted him and stolen his youth. On another level, we also realize that adults – even ones we think are “good” – often manipulate each other to get what they want. Now Elizabeth, in her own way, is taking advantage of him, too. Haynes often focuses on outsiders who push against or are confined by institutions. And generally, when you think of an outsider pushing against an institution, you think of underdogs or mavericks; social justice advocates trying to buck the system, like in Dark Waters. In May December, Gracie is also an outsider, push-

ing against the established idea of normalcy. But she’s an outsider because she’s a sexual predator. The institutions, in this case, are there for good reason: to protect children. Haynes inverts this theme, using it to tremendous and compelling effect. The Golden Globe nominations came out a few days ago, and unsurprisingly, May December was nominated. But surprisingly, it’s been nominated in the comedy category. Everything I wrote probably makes it sound like a serious drama, right? Well, it is. But, believe it or not, it can be quite funny at times, too. Though, I would still be wary of approaching this film as a straight up comedy, or as “camp,” as many out there have been saying. Haynes proudly works in melodrama, evoking his love of Douglas Sirk, and leans into the heightened emotions, the swelling score, and the perfectly on-thenose music stings – style and techniques that have fallen out of fashion with “serious” movies. Maybe that makes it easier to laugh at, for better or worse. Unfortunately, there was only one theatrical screening of May December in Santa Barbara. Netflix, the distributor, can be finicky with its theatrical releases. But here’s to hoping that these nominations will give it another run. So while you can watch it on Netflix, keep an eye out for a possible wider release – you never know! But most importantly, just see it. It’s absolutely excellent.

Christopher Matteo Connor is a writer and filmmaker. When he isn’t writing, watching movies, and working on projects, you can be sure he’s somewhere enjoying a big slice of vegan pizza.

On Entertainment

Revels Tales Told This Winter Any good Revels show should include a little sword fighting that ends with the Sword Dance (courtesy photo)

by Steven Libowitz

ith its 2024 annual Christmastime show, Santa Barbara Revels becomes the first of the regional Revels companies to present the organization’s newest endeavor: The Revels: A Winter Solstice Celebration – Tales from Ellis Island. Inaugurated in Cambridge just last year, the story finds a Mexican medical supervisor informing the newly-arrived immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and Russia that new regulations require that they stay overnight on the island before admission. Thrown together unexpectedly, the disparate families first discover their differences before learning to appreciate and respect their individual customs and ultimately joining together to celebrate and participate in each other’s festivities through a rich blend of Jewish, Irish, and Mexican music, dance, and storytelling. As is her wont, SB Revels founder and producer Susan Keller put some local touches and additions in the piece, adding historically accurate backstory for some of the characters and altering sections to fit the company, excited merely to present something that would seem to appeal to a wide swath of local audiences. It became a lot more timely over the last two months. “This takes place on Christmas Eve of 1924 and here we are 100 years later and it’s surprisingly relevant, because we’re dealing with the same misunderstandings, lack of communication, and prejudices today,” Keller said. “This show is all about the fact that these ethnic groups all have different traditions, different customs. But they find a way to come together by communicating and understanding what they’ve each had to overcome to make it to America, creating hope for the future.” The story centers around two extended families: an Irish clan that includes a young woman, her widowed father and aunt, portrayed by Isabelle Marchand, Bill Egan, and Leesa Beck; and a Jewish family with a young man, his sister, and their

On Entertainment Page 514 514

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Montecito JOURNAL

Home for the Holidays

Deck the Hills with Vows of Dali Another Not-at-all-Surreal Gift-Giving Compass by Jeff Wing

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ere at the MJ we’ve taken great pains (not literally – this is a self-congratulating figure of speech) to throw light on your seasonal gift-giving panic; to add a spark to this season of beneficence. Gifting anything to a loved one – be it an original Van Gogh or a silken beach stone made lovely by untold eons of erosion – should always be a thrilling exercise. We impart to those we love objects that deliberately speak that love, whether in a whisper or a shout. And there are as many varieties of gift as there are shadings of love. You heard it here first. We hope. In the Santa Ynez Valley, the Mayberry-like town of Los Olivos seems to exist outside of space and time. Into that ecosystem saunters LOU Los Olivos owner Leanna Drammer. In 2009, she created Downtown L.A. Fashion Week and has a global reputation for blue-chip event production around such trifles as the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys. Her eye, taste, and acumen are matched only by her fashion intuitions. To her impeccably appointed Los Olivos shop she has now added a gorgeous and inviting online experience (www.loulosolivos.com) that features the warmth and ease of a brick and mortar. Shopping in pajamas is invited. Even suggested. Mary Beth Larkin’s Santa Ynez boutique – (IN)LARKIN – doesn’t want you to have to make that Faustian choice between glamour and comfort. We’ve all (or most of us) had the experience of wearing a knockout ensemble so closely-tailored you dare not sit down or, like, breathe? Larkin’s training at NYC’s Fashion institute of Technology – and immediate post-grad decade with Giorgio Armani – led her to develop what she calls “athglamour” – an uptown offshoot of the “athleisure” movement that happily married comfort and radiant style. Larkin’s shop in Santa Ynez, and her online presence at https://inlarkin.com, are all about you stunning the paparazzi, feeling amazing, and breathing easy. ZFolio parlays the Czech Republic’s 700-year-old glass-making mastery into jewelry and art you can both cherish and wield. When in 2003 Zdena Jiroutova delivered a suitcase full of decorative crystals to a Nevada City Christmas festival, the response to the glittering glassware was such that it gave her the epiphany that grew into ZFolio. Insanely gorgeous and unique jewelry, soul-penetrating glass art you can stare straight into – ZFolio’s spaces in Solvang and Monterey simply astonish. Glass is an amorphous solid not yet completely understood by science. Fortunately, ZFolio’s offerings exemplify a beauty that surpasses understanding. So relax. www.zfolio.com The Fabric Merchant is a business whose name needn’t be puzzled over. Irene Salas came all the way out from Santa Fe (and places more unimaginably distant) to display her wares in the heart of SYV. Salas’ 30 years of international travel in search of couture fabrics, textiles, and home furnishings will wow you. To those entranced by the endlessly varied look, feel, and indescribable texture of fabrics from all over Holidays Page 284 284

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14 – 21 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.

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

(805) 893-3535 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu 14 – 21 December 2023

Herbie Hancock

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Montecito JOURNAL

Holidays (Continued from 26 26)) the Earth, Irene is combination globetrotting expert and textile genie. She has spent decades plumbing the global depths of all the color and tactile beauty this world has to offer. For you! 2920 Grand Ave, Los Olivos Solvang’s The Winston sumptuously answers the longstanding rhetorical question: “Isn’t there a fine hotel experience that allows me to check myself in and relax without having to interact with the frightfully chatty front desk?” We’ve found that the best way to help our guests get the most out of their trip is to simply get out of their way. How does that sound? “Check-in” is a private access code that lets you directly into your room, the dreaded, publicly penetrable “hotel bar” is here a carefully stocked honor bar for guests-only, and the environs feature sound-dampening gravel. Add to that a spirit-lifting color palette and embraceable décor, and you’ll agree The Winston has earned its definite article. www.thewinstonsolvang.com Italian Muffins is not exactly the business you think it is; it’s better. A group of

Holidays Page 304 304

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Holidays (Continued from 28) daydreaming entrepreneur/foodies who craved both pizza and muffins spent a lot of time in a test kitchen (poor dears) combining ingredients in search of what they would come to call an Italian Muffin. When they dialed this in it must’ve been a very loud

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Eureka moment. Margherita? Sausage? Hawaiian? Pepperoni? Yes, these are muffins, folks. And if you can eat just one you may be superhuman. Send a gift box of these things to someone you adore. Contrary to the Beatles tune, you can buy love. www.italianmuffins.com Santa Barbara Travel harkens to a time when travel arrangements were excitedly conversed about with a charming and experienced global pilgrim – someone who had not only seen it all; someone who knew your loves and limits and could advise on how best to optimize your own life-changing explorations. Yes, we’re talking about that delicately lamplit time before robots, algorithms, and inhuman murmuring electronica. Founded by a certain Bertie de L’Arbre in 1947 following his service with the OSS (precursor to the CIA), SB Travel remains a family affair, and an experiential souvenir from a time when the world was a cozy, endless map you sometimes had to fold. www.sbtravel.com Latitudes Photographic Art brings the world to you – the world of “natural beauty” that those two words are rarely sufficient to describe. Stephanie Hogue and Steve Munch are the sort of reverent master photographers you’ll see gliding silently in kayaks through tall marsh grasses, stalking the perfectly singular photograph. These are arrayed in immersive walk-in galleries located in Ventura and – yes – Poipu, Kauai. If you adore photographs of office equipment and dogs catching frisbees, Latitudes will displease you. Hogue and Munch’s galleries, like the artists themselves, are utterly devoted to this nutty, inexplicably gorgeous wet rock we call home. Latitudes does Earth and nature lovers a

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30 Montecito JOURNAL

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14 – 21 December 2023

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talian Muffins, born in Miami, Florida in 2019, brings a unique and delectable muffin recipe to Santa Barbara. These one-of-a-kind gourmet snacks are crafted with high-quality ingredients, offering an enticing taste experience. Ideal for private events, birthdays, weddings, boat trips, work sessions, and open houses, these muffins are a joyous addition to any occasion. Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara italianmuffins.com @italianmuffins

service. https://latitudesgallery.com Ojai’s Jes MaHarry is a jeweler whose creations are intentional infusions of beauty into a world that will take all the beauty it can get. Jes’ love of Life, animals, and the environment can be seen in every lovingly hewn cuff, ring, and necklace this singular artist produces. Jes and her metalsmith/furniture designer husband Patrick met in art school and landed on a ranch in Ojai – whose otherworldly vibe is famously both artisanal and spiritual. Jes MaHarry’s work shines with Ojai’s frank vibratory essence. Her Sun Horse Cuff (for instance) looks almost to have emerged from the Earth. This is “jewelry” for the unsung tastemaker in your life. https://jesmaharry.com Holidays Page 324 324

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Montecito JOURNAL

Holidays (Continued from 31)

An Easy Pass for Gifts What can the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History possibly have to do with gift-giving? If a baby woolly mammoth in the living room seems a bit much, how about giving your favorite Euell Gibbons fan a season pass to Santa Barbara’s jewel in the crown of eco-history? The beloved and entrancing exhibits here are matched by the grounds that surround the place. Walk out the SBMNH’s back door and you will forget where you are. www.sbnature.org UCSB’s Arts & Lectures could be called a misnomer. Yes, the renowned research university has a right brain mission to bring the world’s endlessly kaleidoscopic personae to your hometown. Yes, these often take the form of art and… lectures? Having said that, UCSB’s beloved A&L has been absolutely blowing minds since 1959. Their published seasonal roster of visiting emissaries from the vivid outer orbits of performance and idea-sharing is a much-anticipated menu of delights. Gift your jitterbugging, world-loving friend some A&L tix this season. Knowledge is a bottomless well of delight. https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara (ETC) is the American Riviera’s only Equity theater company. This unbelievably cool theater company produces five plays a year and performs them in the unspeakably sweet New Vic Theatre. Just sitting in this gorgeous hometown performance space feels like cozying into your favorite lamplit corner. Since 1978, the acting is professional and imagination-stirring, the sets are stunning, and the “house” is a dream before the curtain even rises. Gift some season tickets to your most fervent thespian pal and bask in the warmth of their gratitude. https://etcsb.org MOXI (full official title being The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation) is, for one thing, the first LEED Gold certified museum in Santa Barbara County. Which fits the place’s science mission like a glove. The MOXI is a hands-on science experience that gets kids out of the classroom and into the macabre and beguiling world of – yes – science. Exhibit-wise, the laying on of hands is part of the MOXI’s raison d’être. Why? Because while our crazily mechanistic world is a delight to read about, getting your hands on the Wonder is a form of enlightenment. There is a deeply curious sci-

Slide on over to MOXI’s new sock skating experience (courtesy photo)

ence nerd in your life who would love season tickets to this amazing journey. Surprise them this year. Some gifts can be a fork in the road. Looking for another surprise? Just wait until the next section. https://MOXI.org

Sock Skating is Hard Science. Just ask the MOXI. Santa Barbara’s MOXI is a renowned science center where discoveries are made every day. Discoverers are made there, too. Science is humankind’s attempt to get

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32 Montecito JOURNAL

THE YES STORE 1100 STATE STREET, SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA LOCATED IN LA ARCADA PLAZA

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

14 – 21 December 2023

Our 56th Season!

Complete with fuzzy snowballs, MOXI’s new installation is the area’s only Sock Skating Rink (courtesy photo)

to the bottom of a resounding mystery. “How does the world work?” These questions are endlessly deep and intriguing. The effort to answer these questions can be frightfully bone dry. The heroic pursuit of scientific truth is characterized by lots of scribbled mathematical gibberish on blackboards and purloined hotel stationery. Which brings us back to the MOXI. Is the MOXI the kind of science center that features smocked men and women silently staring at bubbling beakers and computer screens, their arms slack or draped into pen-filled pockets? No. It is the kind of science center where future scientists are encouraged to slide around in their socks laughing uncontrollably, arms madly windmilling for balance. At the MOXI, science is something you do; the deep wonders of the world presented as

Holidays Page 344 344

Local Artwork in Santa Barbara Since 1968

Odes for a Princess: The Diana Poems Eulogy for Princess Diana

MARLENA EVANGELINE

Dover White Where oceans snug to Dover White And stones green circle heather bright, And lanes tree shade in English style, The centuries linger all the while. Where castles bred from circumstance Birth human bone and recompense, Sing graveled dirge of fate’s decrees, And bend what’s human to her knees. A sharp curtsy to succession, Standing bold in spite repression, Walks a lady to her wedding, English soil a final bedding.

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Where seas green lap twelve hundred Years, And life evolves in veils of tears, And dungeons toil from ancient grief, The centuries do not retreat. Amend the royal, relieve the poor, And nevermore to ask for more. Oh, stone and grief and castle’s light, Where water snugs the Dover White, Beds now the bone and now the myth, In Britain’s chance, and English mist. Amazon marlenaevangeline.com

Montecito JOURNAL

Holidays (Continued from 33 33)) events already planned around it; including an adult happy hour on December 15, extended hours on December 16-17 when the museum will stay open until 7 pm, and New Year’s Eve hours on December 31, from 9:30 pm – 12:30 am.” Kaia Joye Wesolowski has seen the young experimenters dabbling in materials science. “We’ve been seeing lots of sock experimenting – which material slides the best? Cotton? Wool? Synthetic blend? What happens if you turn your socks inside out?” This is how science is done, people. Stop in and learn a bit about friction and mild, indecorous falling. If you have the MOXI moxie. ‘Tis some season or other. Remember – whether we’re talking about a lovely sun-bleached stick found at the beach, or an outlandish Gucci ashtray (do they make those?), it is better by far to give than receive. With any luck your friends will see it the same way. If you need a little more help on what to look for this season, scan this QR code for more gift ideas!

JOURNAL

an interactive funhouse. And so we come to one of the MOXI’s newest… um… exhibits? The rooftop Sock Skating Rink. Kaia Joye Wesolowski – MOXI’s Director of Learning Experiences – attempts to explain. “The sock skating rink is built out of artificial ice tiles that have a real-ice feel, giving visitors a chance to explore to slips, sliding, and gliding. The slippery polymer tiles have less friction, or resistance, than a normal floor, and we have loved watching visitors go from taking tentative steps to slowly building the confidence to slipping, gliding, and twirling. The rink’s surface provides a safe place for kids to take risks and explore friction through play – and occasionally take a splat. It’s slippery!” MOXI colleague Angie Bertucci weighs in. “The tile material is designed to mimic ice and could be used with real ice skates,” she says. (In fact, hockey teams have used variants of MOXI’s ice tiles to train their players.) “It has about 10-15 percent less friction than traditional ice. The rink is located outdoors on MOXI’s rooftop, in the Levinson Family Sky Garden.” And horseplay? “We don’t allow bare feet on the rink, or any rough play,” Bertucci inveighs with a grin. “That includes knee or belly glides.” Fair enough! The MOXI’s rooftop Sock Skating Rink has a view of the Pacific that may anyway cause even more goggle-eyed slipping and sliding. “This is our first year with the sock skating rink,” Bertucci says. “And we will be making it an annual feature. [The museum purchased the installation so that they can bring some sock-filled fun every winter.] It will be open through January 7, and we do have a few special

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On behalf of everyone at the Montecito Journal, we wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season, and thank you for your continued support!

34 Montecito JOURNAL

“Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.” — Yoko Ono

14 – 21 December 2023

Montecito Moms Kate Kramer: Interior Designer by Dalina Michaels

ontecito native Kate Kramer has an eye for design – whether it is for a home or an afternoon snack: “It’s funny, my career has taken me all over, but one of my most interesting jobs was working at a design firm as a package designer. One of our clients was Frito-Lay, so I literally had a team of people poring over hundreds of chips… trying to find the perfect one – the one that will capture the essence of... the Tostito.” All chips aside, Kramer has moved back to her hometown. With an eye for detail and a sense of style that mesmerizes, she has quickly become a well-known name in the industry. However, what sets her apart is not just her talent, but her deep-rooted connection to the very soil she walks on. Kate’s lineage in Montecito can be traced back through generations, like the ancient oak trees that have witnessed the passage of time. Her great-grandfather purchased the original Hot Springs Hotel, a historical gem that stood proudly in the 1920s. He maintained it through two fires and also owned the Gould Estate (which is now Ennisbrook). Despite enduring the test of fire twice, the hotel’s legacy lives on through Kate’s memories. “I took my son up to the Hot Springs recently, and we touched the wall that still stands on the property. It was pretty surreal,” she reminisced.

Kate with her son Hunter

Growing up amidst such rich heritage, Kate’s creativity found its early roots. She moved to Santa Ynez with her family and attended Dunn School. Later, she pursued her passion for art at UCSB, specializing in studio art with a focus on painting and art history. After that, she honed her skills further at the Contemporary Art Museum of San Diego in La Jolla. Her journey continued at the prestigious Otis College of Art & Design, where she earned a degree in digital media. Armed with her extensive knowledge and unwavering determination, Kate embarked on her career as an Art Director and freelance designer for brands such as Patagonia, UGG, Vuori, and Frito-Lay. What makes her story even more heartwarming is her sidekick in this creative endeavor: her 4th-grade son, Hunter. “He will help me with creative ideas, and he always assists in putting away samples when I get them!” Kate chuckled, sharing the joys of balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship. A year ago, Kate decided to take her passion to the next level by starting her own interior design business: “It’s about creativity, passion, and a keen eye for

hidden treasures. I want to find things that add layers of texture or color. I love finding items that fit a client’s style or perhaps push the envelope,” she says with a glint of excitement in her eyes. She also has a unique perspective on all the pandemic transplants that came to the 93108 the past couple years: “One of the unintended positive consequences that came about from Covid was a wave of new families and individuals that bring with them a fresh perspective and broad world view; people that have diverse backgrounds, an appreciation for elevated design and their finger on the pulse. These are the types of clients I feel grateful to work with.” Kate’s design philosophy goes beyond aesthetics; it’s about telling a story through every piece she selects, every color she chooses, and every texture she incorporates. Montecito’s rich history and natural beauty inspire her creations, breathing life into spaces that resonate with warmth and sophistication. In a world where creativity knows no bounds, Kate Kramer stands as a testament to the power of passion and perseverance: “I want to create a space that feels authentic – to create something timeless that represents my client.” With each project, she leaves an indelible mark, transforming houses into homes and dreams into reality. And her hope

is to continue to grow her business and continue to weave magic for her clients, one space at a time: “I have some exciting projects on the horizon in Los Angeles and Orange County.” Between work and raising her son, there is not a lot of extra time, but Kramer does enjoy exploring museums and local galleries when she can. “If I can pop down to L.A. for a fresh perspective, I love it! There are so many new restaurants or I check out some of my favorite showrooms.” Kramer offers consultations both in-person and on Zoom, where she helps with styling and staging, paint, wall and window treatments, floor plans and layouts, as well as fixtures, finishes, and trims. You can follow her on Instagram: @katehunter_design

Dalina Michaels is a former television news producer and writer. She is a Montecito native and graduated Westmont College with a degree in Communication Studies and Theatre Arts.

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Far Flung Travel

Some sick swells and U2 tunes at the Scorpion Anchorage

The Burly Shorebird of Distant Shores

of their coastal island biome. The plovers were bedded down for the night. I too sought out a larger depression against some bleached out driftwood, pitch my tent, grateful for another night under the stars on one of my favorite isles anywhere.

A snowy plover getting ready for the sleepover

by Chuck Graham

t was getting dark, and I was tired and hungry. It had been a long, great day, but I needed to land my kayak for the night. The day had begun at Yellowbanks on the southeast fringe of Santa Cruz Island. From there, I paddled the entire south side of the largest, most diversified isle off the California coast. When I reached Morse Point on the southwest tip of Santa Cruz, there was still some daylight remaining. After 22 miles of paddling, the easy decision could’ve been to call it a day and paddle across the next morning. However, who knows what the weather would’ve been like, mainly the winds, so I kept paddling. I headed northeast toward Kinton and Near points on Santa Cruz. Those are the shortest distances connecting Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands at six miles.

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The sea conditions dictated my decision. It was calm and glassy as sunset approached. Ninety minutes later, I touched down at Skunk Point, the long, gritty appendage of the southeast end of Santa Rosa Island. Perpetually wind-whipped and wave-battered, the beach at Skunk Point is a graveyard of driftwood and tangled giant bladder kelp, but as it turns out, it’s home to hardy shorebirds as well. It was about a 30-mile day kayaking from Yellowbanks to Skunk Point. Needless to say, I was a little stiff when I finally hit the beach. As I tugged and pulled my gear-laden kayak up the steep, sandy berm, the beach in front of me began to shift, or so it seemed. Tired, hungry, and having trouble seeing as darkness approached, I couldn’t tell what I was looking at. I got down on my hands and knees for a closer look. It was a huge band of western snowy plovers – Skunk Point being one the last, best bastions for these hardy shorebirds. They breed and nest on the remote, windblown beach, finding natural depressions among the pearly white sands and flotsam of debris to drop two or three eggs. Their eggs are speckled and blend in naturally with the rugged islandscape. Anywhere from 50 to 100 of the tiny shorebirds picked up and moved in unison a very short distance to another part

Island Vibrations Some of my best, most memorable trail runs are the ones at first light on the southeast end of Santa Cruz Island, the most biodiverse island in the Channel Islands National Park. One of my most recent runs was along the North Bluff Trail in mid-October. Typically, I’m greeted with killer sunrises rising just east of Anacapa Island and craggy Sandstone Peak in the Santa Monica Mountains. Not this day though. Dewy pea soup fog had persisted for several days. Visibility on the island and from a kayak had been poor at best. I put on my headphones and cranked recently released new versions of the Irish rock band U2’s favorite songs. The four members of the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and drummer Larry Mullen, made some good use of their time during the pandemic. Each member of U2 picked 10 of their favorite songs and reworked them into incredible acoustic renditions. It’s made trail running seemingly effortless of late. However, as I ran in heavy mist, and one of those recent, epic tunes, “Where the Streets Have no Name,” filled my head with melodious rhythms, the thunder of pounding surf caught my attention. I pulled my headphones off and could only listen to another strong

winter swell. It sounded eerie with no visibility, but I could tell there was a lot of water moving 200 feet below me as I continued my run to the mouth of Scorpion Canyon. When I arrived, I was blown away by the sea conditions. Standing on the pier at Scorpion Anchorage, I felt the pilings shudder beneath my feet, as six-to-eightfoot northwest swells hammered away at the structure that was complete in February 2023. Big high tides coincided with the swell, and with each booming set of waves, the surge swept up and over the cobbled berm spilling into the seasonal creek mouth. As I walked the cobble-strewn beach, I could hear and feel the entire beach shifting, the rocky shoreline being remade into another craggy version of itself. Amongst the ocean’s fury as sea foam percolated and floated over the wave-battered cobble, I was surprised to see a lone western snowy plover standing on the cobble in the surging tide and swell. With utter aplomb, it scampered after little invertebrates following the receding tidal surge. Back and forth it worked the reshaped beach, gobbling up little creatures concealed in the rocky shoreline. It was the first time I’ve ever seen a western snowy plover at Scorpion Anchorage on Santa Cruz Island. As resident and migratory birds travel, the islands offer a useful respite, a pit stop for the changing of the seasons, and powerful northwest winds. Whether you’re a tough little plover or a curious kayaker, the islands can be friend and foe, weather dependent of course.

Oops…someone spilled their kombucha

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

Melissa M. Pierson, Owner 1211 Coast Village Road #4 Montecito, CA 93108 Vacations@coastalhideaways.com www.coastalhideaways.com

36 Montecito JOURNAL

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” — William Blake

14 – 21 December 2023

Foraging Thyme Sweet Potatoes by Melissa Petitto

14 – 21 December 2023

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Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. 2. Rub the coconut oil all over the 4 small sweet potatoes and then lightly salt. Place on the prepared baking sheet. 3. Transfer to the oven and roast for 40 to 60 minutes, checking to make sure that a knife inserted in the center comes out easily. Depending on the size of the potato, you may need a little more time. Allow to cool for 5 minutes while you make the sauce. 4. Combine the yogurt, tahini, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, garlic, and salt in a medium bowl; whisk to combine. 5. To serve, spread the sauce on the bottom of a platter. 6. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and season with a little fresh cracked black pepper. 7. Place the potatoes on top of the platter with the sauce, top with the microgreens and crushed pistachios and enjoy!

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The sweet potato lives up to its name and captures the flavors of fall (photo by Llez via Wikimedia Commons)

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he sweet potato is one of my favorite fall finds. I adore all varieties, but right now in the farmers market, there is a particularly sweet one called ‘Bonita Sweet’ and Chavez Family Farms has them! This varietal of the Japanese sweet potato is so sweet – like its name suggests – and oh so tender and creamy. The preparations are endless and versatile as this potato lends well to both sweet and savory dishes. This tuber is excellent for helping us maintain satiety and reducing the glycemic index of meals, as well as an incredible source of energy. The sweet potato is an excellent source of Vitamin A as well. Vitamin A is essential for eye health, the immune system, reproductive health, and growth and development. Sweet potatoes have also been linked to helping reduce systematic inflammation. The beta-carotene that helps with vision also helps to clean the body’s cells of pro-inflammatory free radicals. Vitamin C is another component to aiding in the fight against inflammation and these tubers are great sources of it. The soluble fiber in these potatoes is wonderful for keeping us regular and aiding in digestion. There have also been studies that show that sweet potatoes help lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. I love applying these to both sweet and savory dishes, but today we are going to make a simple roasted side dish that is both elegant and easy!

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Your Westmont

Winter Stargazing at the ‘Mont

There were several epic collisions during the December 7 race in front of Kerrwood Hall

The Westmont Observatory opens December 15

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

undle up and head to the Westmont Observatory, which opens to the public for its free, monthly Stargazing event Friday, December 15, beginning at sunset and lasting several hours. Saturn and many other celestial delights will be targeted by Westmont’s powerful Keck Telescope and the other scopes owned by members of the Santa Barbara Astronomical Unit, whose members set up around the observatory. The great Geminids Meteor Shower, one of the best of the annual shooting star displays, peaks December 13-14, though it may still be visible with the naked eye at the viewing. As a reminder, when visiting the Westmont Observatory, please park for free anywhere near the baseball field and the track and field/soccer complex. To enter Westmont’s campus, please use the Main Entrance off of La Paz Road. The lower entrance off of Cold Spring Road is closed to visitors after 7 pm.

Four Decades for Brad This year’s final Christmas chapel of the semester, complete with a paper snowball fight, feted Brad Elliott, who has worked as the college for 40 years. Elliott, the longtime campus photographer, also oversees the audiovisual, sound, and lighting to the college’s numerous

events, including Commencement, Midnight Madness, Spring Sing – held annually in the Santa Barbara Bowl – and chapel, which is held three times a week in Murchison Gym. Chapel singers and musicians performed lyrically-altered versions of “525,600 minutes” from the musical Rent and U2’s “40.” Elliott, a graduate of the defunct Brooks Institute of Photography, has taken photos of thousands of local weddings, theater productions, sporting events, and family milestones. His wife,

Brad Elliott and Scott Craig pose with Westmont’s famed C.S. Lewis wardrobe in Phoenix in 2008

Dawn (’93), and two of his three children, Amanda (’11) and Jake (’15), graduated from Westmont.

Engineering Students Go for Speed Overcoming obstacles was the challenge of the day as the Westmont Engineering Department hosted its third annual remote control car competition December 7 in front of Kerrwood Hall. New this year, students competed in a bowling pin knockout following the traditional figure eight race. The competition was tight and a final race with all three cars was needed to determine a winner. In the end, it was the team of Noah Shen and Tim Horsey who were victorious after successfully troubleshooting battery and wheel problems. All the students are juniors in the college’s Machine Design course. The race counts as five percent of their total grade. President Gayle D. Beebe, Provost Kim Denu, and engineering director Dan Jensen gave the winners trophies. The Office of the President donated

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14 – 21 December 2023

Dear Montecito

Osiel Ocampo The Path to Being Half Full by Stella Haffner

ecember is a festive season. A month of family. A month of moderate weight gain. But for many featurees of the Dear Montecito column, December is first and foremost the end of the semester. To reflect on the end of term, we are reading a piece by Osiel Ocampo. Osiel was born and raised in Santa Barbara, but cites a recent environmental analysis class for sparking their love of beaches. Twenty years old, Osiel attends Pomona College where they have explored all things creative and are now ready to reflect on the drive to try everything while on an empty fuel tank. In many ways, the end of the semester is defined by time sensitivity. Osiel explores that theme in their letter, discussing what it means to take care of your future self while neglecting your present well-being.

Dear Montecito, I’ve just passed my driving test. I will now have a driver’s license. I can now check it off of my list. The weight on my shoulders has been lessened, however it’s still all consuming. One thing down, many many more to go. I wish I could blame it all on my course load, and I do, but I am the problem. I decided… I decided… I decided to take six one-unit courses. Which I’ve never done before. I was driven by fear, by falling behind. And it has been tough. Excruciating. I reply – “I’m miserable” – a little too much. But I feel miserable a little too much. I don’t want to be consumed by schoolwork. I don’t want to do what I don’t want to do. And I often think about this. Along with drowning in schoolwork, every second of every day serves as a reminder that I can’t escape school. I live there. I eat there. I sleep there. I feel there. I work there. I’m surrounded on all sides. I exist in a bubble, and yes, it does have so so so many benefits, but it also feels isolating. I feel isolated. I put myself in this predicament, and now I want to complain about it. I made a choice, and I am paying for it. Despite trying to do it all – having an internship, maintaining relationships, trying to get A’s wherever I can, taking six classes, trying, attempting, existing, working – something had to give and it was me. I’m not okay. I constantly feel overwhelmed. How am I going to pull off getting four A’s, one B, and a C, all the 14 – 21 December 2023

Osiel Ocampo is working to show up more for themself

while building my credit score? All the while managing my personal and adult life. When can I schedule my dentist and doctor appointments so that I can be available to attempt to do it all? I have yet to schedule my health appointments, even though I fought all throughout the summer to be insured. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I don’t make sense. But it is okay. It will get done. Somehow somewhere it will all get done because it has to. It just has to. I’m going through it now so that I don’t have to in the spring. And the thing is I can’t even guarantee I won’t feel horrible in the spring too. I know I’ll be taking four classes and I’ll like most of them and learn to like the rest. I know I’ll continue to intern for the Admissions Office. That is all I know, and even then that is not guaranteed. I don’t know what will happen between now and then. I don’t know what I don’t know. Fear of not knowing is my main driving force. Come junior and senior year, I don’t know how much more I’ll have in me. To me, it made the most sense to overload on courses now. I felt like I could take on more. And so I did. I really do hope I learn to say no. No, Osiel. I can’t always stretch myself thin and expect myself to be unscathed. Again, out of fear, I took on any opportunity that presented itself. While I was actively struggling, I was adding more to my plate. My cup was half empty, and yet I continued to, I chose to, empty it more. I had previously taken a year off of school convinced I was done. I was never returning,

I am indeed dramatic, but I felt exhausted. I felt defeated. I didn’t save my money. I didn’t make connections. I was angry I wasn’t enjoying any aspect of college, despite not trying. I shot myself in the foot. Citing feeling lackadaisical and disillusioned, I packed my bags, returning home for winter break never to return again. A year later, I returned to school for spring semester. This fall and spring semester would be my first time being at college for a full academic year. My first academic year away from home. It was paramount that I try my best. That I do my best. That I avoid being lackadaisical and disillusioned. While I still feel these things, from time to time, my want to stay in school is stronger, however, I can’t guarantee that my desire to stay in school will carry me to graduation. I cannot guarantee I’ll be willing to do my schoolwork at any given moment. I cannot guarantee I’ll do what is expected of me. Although I’ve proven to myself that I can return to and stay in school, I’m scared that a slew of bad days will result in my departure from school once again. I’m scared that I’ll exhaust my resources, my community. How many more times can I be unsuccessful before people stop caring? Before I stop caring? I’m scared of myself. This semester isn’t quite over, but I just survived. I did just enough. I gave what I could. I showed up to my classes, but I

failed myself. I didn’t show up for Osiel. My relationship with school directly mirrors my relationship with myself. While I can continuously fail myself in many ways, I can only fail school so many times. My art teacher says, “Now is the time to fail.” And I believe her, I should learn from my failures now because they are low stakes. But will I? That is the frustrating part. But I can try, and I will try. Nothing about this semester has been sustainable. I’ve been quick to create situations for myself that will only result in failure. I’m looking to thrive in spring semester. I’m looking to thrive beyond school. I’m looking to mend. I’m attempting to be half full. Muchas Gracias, Osiel

From the shores of Scotland, Stella Haffner keeps her connection to her home in Montecito by bringing grads of local schools to the pages of the Montecito Journal

Montecito JOURNAL

Elizabeth’s Appraisals (Continued from 22 22))

Hands Across Montecito (Continued from 5)

tage of UCSB’s large ceramic studio. He could be seen throwing 75 pounds of clay onto a potter’s wheel. In fact, few potters can lift 75 pounds of clay let alone manipulate that mass while spinning. But Arntz had a unique background: he was formerly a linebacker and a wrestler, retaining that handsome athletic physique. His obituary in the Independent of 7/6/20 lists his athletic achievements: if his works’ keynotes are strength and scale, his private life echoes that. He began as an athlete in Oklahoma, playing football as a linebacker and pulling guard; Santa Monica Junior College recruited him in 1958 where he went on to play for the National Championship Team. He then achieved a football scholarship to attend Long Beach State University (BA 1962), where he discovered the large kilns and stayed on for an MFA (1964). Alfred Moyer in 1965 recruited Arntz for the UCSB department of art, famous for its innovative creators and equipment, and indoor-outdoor ceramic facility; he taught at UCSB for 38 years, and married UCSB alum and artist Penny Schuchman Arntz, whom I interviewed for this article. He was Chair of the Department of Art from 1981 to 1987. Always close to open spaces, he was awarded a 1986 NEA Commission for Art Installations in National Parks. He was made Professor Emeritus in 2003; during years prior, he developed a passion for nature photography for an important reason: he became aware of the UC’s management of their Nature Preserve Sites throughout California. At UCSB’s request, he became a documentary photographer, using the lens to persuade and advocate for the proper custodianship of these lands: in other words, not to subdivide and make money. He had a commitment to Sedgwick Reserve in the Santa Ynez Valley, unoccupied for years at the time. He brought the positive energy of his creativity as a force in preservation of the landscape. An exhibition entitled Science and Spirituality at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History presented his large-scale photographs of the nature reserve on Santa Cruz Island as an interactive exhibition, soliciting viewers’ commentary on what they saw. I read a quote about this feeling of strength: He said, “The message of hope and healing has been and will continue as the fundamental force behind my creative endeavor. The only true factor in the future of our presence on this planet can be derived from such a positive energy and attitude.” I found a strong connection to Native American philosophy and design in his work, and in fact, in 1968 he won the Pearl Chase Fund Award for his Research in Ethnic Arts and Artifacts. Here’s a fun fact about Arntz’ work in Santa Barbara – you see it every time you drive past State and La Cumbre. He was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Award for research and creativity in ceramics, notably sculpture in an architectural environment; this abiding interest led to a commission by Barry Berkus for his Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is ‘Galleria’ for architectural ceramic tiles a veteran appraiser of fine surmounting the four columns below art, furniture, glass, and the pediment, geometric shapes in matt other collectibles, and a brown on black. Today that pediment cert. member of the AAA bears a red Target logo and those tiles and an accr. member of are accented with reds, yellows, and the ASA. Please send any gold gilding, leaving some areas matte objects to be appraised to black, as the building was renovated by Elizabethappraisals@ Gryphon Capital in 2017. This great gmail.com thrift store find is appraised at $800.

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40 Montecito JOURNAL

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cess is slow and expensive,” says Lucille Boss, the county’s encampment response coordinator. At a recent Lompoc meeting discussing homelessness, she recalls, there was shock and outrage among community members upon learning that studio apartments in Lompoc were being rented at $2,200 per month.

Looking Back and Forward

The team walked along the tracks looking for any encampments

In truth, Montecito’s HAM program has enjoyed more success than many homeless-outreach projects, and in a short period of time. For one thing, we were founded and chaired until very recently by the superbly well-connected former MA Executive Director Sharon Byrne, who also held the powerful position as chair of the county’s Behavioral Wellness Commission. Sharon was known to gently-but-firmly convince shelter nonprofits and sober-living programs to give priority to Montecito’s unhoused individuals. Another factor in our success was California’s Project Roomkey program, which opened up dozens of motel bedrooms to unhoused people beginning in 2020, to alleviate the effects of COVID. The project gave temporary housing to 190 people, and 88 people were able to find permanent housing, according to a report on the project. The state’s Project Homekey funneled $18 million to the county, enabling it to purchase and convert a Goleta Super 8 Motel into 59 housing units. “Funding for homeless projects is shrinking after a big expansion,” says Kimberlee Albers, the county’s homeless assistance project manager. With the state’s budget tightening – part of its $31-billion overall deficit – the HAM committee is suddenly faced with these challenges at a time when housing prices are soaring. A rental-housing survey put the median rent for a two-bedroom South Coast apartment at $3,687 in 2022. A local housing affordability report found that

Ron Sickafoose, Eileen White Read, and Andrea Hein

there are 800 shelter beds available. The shelters are full every night. Andrew Velikanje, a formerly unhoused man who now works with Heal the Ocean on beach and homeless-encampment cleanup and serves on the HAM committee, describes the situation as “lots of homeless pouring in, and we need places to put them.” Small wonder, then, that when the temporary annual “warming centers” opened at four county churches and agencies last month, 84 souls eagerly lined up on the first night to receive dinner and a bed until 6 am, when the shelters serve breakfast and close for the day. “The fact that on the first night of rain, we had 70 people show up, shows that the need is only going to increase as more and more people need a place to be dry,” the Reverend Julia Hamilton of the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, told KEYT. Warming centers are very much needed and are a stopgap that will serve up to 150 unhoused people per night during the winter, but their hours are considered too temporary to count as shelter housing. During the day, unhoused individuals and families often gravitate to the “neighborhood navigation centers” operated by Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation and others in parks and at churches in the county. They serve lunch, offer medical care, showers, and clothing, and sometimes serve as a way for the homeless to connect to available housing. That is, when it’s available. “The most important goal is to create affordable permanent housing, but the pro-

“Winter is nature’s sleep.” — H.S. Jacobs

Kristeena Rezapour, Ron Sickafoose, and Kasey Amick

14 – 21 December 2023

the average rent increased by 31 percent between 2021 and 2023, in a county where half of households are renters. Contributing to those higher costs was inflation, of course, but also competition between local residents and college students for rental housing, spurred in part by “renovictions” in Isla Vista, and landlords’ interest in earning higher returns from converting rental apartments into short-term rentals. It all adds up to more low-income families, some with Section 8 low-income housing vouchers, looking for apartments that don’t exist. One result: a spike in the number of homeless children to 746 in 2022. This being Santa Barbara, there are some bright spots peeking above the horizon to alleviate what many are calling the “Hamptonization” of South County – creating a desperate lack of reasonably priced housing for the non-one-percenters. The Santa Barbara Foundation commissioned a thoughtful wide-ranging study that recommended ways for the county to build the nearly 10,000 housing units that planners estimate will be needed for families earning just 80% of the area median income by 2031. The cost would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.9 billion. Recommended strategies include a countywide affordable housing bond, a city transit occupancy tax, more private-public housing partnerships, and nonprofit sector bridge-capital incentives. (There’s lots more detail at www.sbfoundation.org/ housing-affordability-report.) The county recently received promising state grants, including $9 million for transitional housing for “people experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health conditions, including serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder.” This project is sorely needed, as the county this year estimated that 30 percent of unhoused individuals suffered from serious mental illness, and 26 percent from substance abuse. A separate $6 million grant’s purpose is to move 250 unhoused individuals out of “state rights of way and waterways.” However, with demand and supply of shelter spaces so far from equilibrium, one relevant question might be: With no 14 – 21 December 2023

To learn more information about the HAM program’s accomplishments, and to make a donation to support our committee’s efforts, please visit: montecitoassociation. org/handsacrossmontecito

How to Support Organizations That Serve Unhoused People

City Net connects homeless individuals with case managers, social workers, and government agencies to alleviate homelessness. City Net has been working successfully with the Hands Across Montecito’s committee for three years and also serves Santa Barbara County and city. www.citynet.org/montecito Dignity Moves builds tiny-house communities, known as “interim supportive housing.” There’s one community already operating in downtown Santa Barbara and four more planned in other areas of the county. www.dignitymoves.org/santa-barbara-capital-campaign Good Samaritan Shelter operates shelter programs throughout the county, including jail diversion, substance abuse and mental health, and temporary housing. www.goodsamaritanshelter.org/santa-barbara-programs Heal the Ocean cleans debris and waste from homeless individuals’ encampments, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas such as creeks and the beach. www.healtheocean.org/homeless New Beginnings Counseling Center pioneered the now-nationwide Safe Parking program serving people living in their cars, a project founded by former County Supervisor Susan Rose. Fifteen years later, 1,000 people have been transitioned into permanent housing. www. sbnbcc.org/safe-parking Showers of Blessing operates mobile vans with showers, bathrooms, meals, and toiletries, that serve unhoused individuals. www. showersofblessingsb.org

The cast of Ring of Fire Photo: Zach Mendez

City Net’s staff speaking with a houseless individual

new dorm-style shelter beds in the county, where will those unhoused individuals moved out of harm’s way be housed? (And I would add selfishly, how might the HAM committee access these programs to house the unhoused individuals we encounter who clearly fall into one or the other of the state programs’ criteria?) For the county, which has overall responsibility for addressing housing issues, the response has been to build additional “tiny homes” projects similar to downtown’s Dignity Moves 35-unit community. There are 174 units under construction to open in 2024, one in Noleta known as Hope Village, and another in Santa Maria, known as La Posada. But again, questions arise about access... Can we get someone found to be homeless in Montecito into these relatively distant tiny-home communities? Moreover, residency in these places is temporary, between six and 12 months; where will formerly homeless folks go next for permanent housing? And there is the fact that tiny-home communities themselves are temporary; they are constructed on land subject to leases from three to five years. What happens next? In the interim, with needy people eking out a life in Montecito’s byways, the HAM committee is hoping to raise more than $130,000 so that we can reserve four Santa Barbara-area motel rooms, at discount rates, for six months. (Six months is the minimum allowed by law for homeless-related housing.) “This will give us the opportunity to be able to move homeless individuals, when we find them in Montecito, into temporary housing while we try to find something like a shelter bed or a supportive program,” says Al Ortiz, Santa Barbara director of City Net, our nonprofit partner. “It’s only a temporary plan; we really need to work with the county on a longer-term strategy for a sustainable model for more shelter space,” says Doug Black, Vice President of the MA and a member of the HAM committee.

Matin Addedee Saturd ! 12/16 ay @ 2pm CREATED BY

CONCEIVED BY

RICHARD MALTBY, JR. Eileen White Read, a retired nonprofit CEO and former Wall Street Journal reporter, has been involved in issues relating to homelessness since high school when she volunteered at a program serving “street people.” She formerly was on the board of a Los Angeles sober-living residential hotel jointly owned by an Episcopal church and a Jewish temple, and is one of the founders of the Hands Across Montecito project serving the unhoused in Montecito and adjacent areas of Santa Barbara County.

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IN PASSING Keith Roger Austin: May 11, 1944 – September 22, 2023

eith Roger Austin, beloved father and grandfather, entrepreneur, traveler, lover of life, and rock ‘n’ roller, passed away on September 22, 2023, at the age of 79, after a short battle with cancer. Keith, still working in his studio, listening to vinyl records and was on air with his radio show The Rock Files, doing what he loved right up to the very end. Keith was born in Santa Keith near his alma mater Monica, California, May 11, 1944, to Nathaniel and Lynn (Bernice) Austin. And at the age of three, he moved to Las Vegas, where he was raised by his grandparents, Pearl and Paul Taddy, on The Rocking Horse Ranch. The ranch wasn’t the most traditional childhood, but it shaped him into the creative man he would later become. He spent his younger days riding horses, watching atomic bomb tests in the desert, and sitting on the bar, while Grandpa Paul poured whiskey, and Grandma Pearl took orders in their ranch saloon. This was long before the Vegas strip grew into what it is today, and the area was still mostly desert. Grandpa Paul even had to build a one-room schoolhouse just so Keith could attend first grade. He fondly remembered his childhood as living in the “wild, wild west.” Keith’s ambition and independence started from a young age, and at the age of 13 Keith wandered into a press conference for Elvis Presley at the Frontier Hotel in Vegas. In his own words “that was when my love affair with rock and roll first began.” He got to shake hands with Elvis that day and from then on felt, lived, and loved everything rock and roll. Shortly after that fateful meeting, Keith persistently knocked on the door of the local Keno radio station, agreeing to do various tasks until they finally gave him his own weekly radio show at the age of only 14. It was during these early years that Keith met his best friend, Steve Miller, in Las Vegas High’s broadcasting club. Steve and Keith would soon become business partners. And in 1963, they’d open the first teenage nightclub in the United States, The Teenbeat Club, on Paradise Road. It was here that Keith and Steve hosted a weekly TV show featuring live bands called Teenbeat Las Vegas. Keith hosted countless artists on the show, including the Beach Boys, the Grateful Dead, Bobby Darin, the Checkmates, and many more. The club was such a huge success, that in 2012, Keith and Steve Miller were inducted into the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And Keith and Steve remained close friends until Keith’s final days.

Keith will be remembered for his charisma, enthusiasm for life, creativity, ingenuity and fearlessness

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In 1968, Keith closed the chapter of his life as a nightclub owner to go into entertainment. He started working as a local weatherman and then as a tv personality, hosting and producing a talk show called Tonight in Las Vegas where he interviewed many of the big stars playing the Vegas strip, from the likes of Little Richard and Sammy Davis Jr. While starting businesses and breaking into entertainment, Keith married Gail Marks and became a father at the young age of 18. They had two children together, Deborah and Kenneth. And even though this marriage ended in divorce after only seven years, it gave him two wonderful children, who he loved very much. Around 1970 he decided it was Keith lived his life at full speed, never slowing down until finally time to leave Vegas for the the very end bright lights of Hollywood. He planned to sell his talk show to the tv stations in L.A., unfortunately he didn’t have much success in that particular venture which left him with a lot of very expensive video tape. And that is when the Video Tape company was born. Keith knew he could erase and recycle video tape and re-sell blank, used tape to the networks. Legend has it he actually rummaged through the trash cans of ABC to find used tape in those early days to refurbish! The company was such a success, he went on to start several more of its kind, employing hundreds of people over several decades. In the early 1980s, Keith met Linda Bisicky in Cannes, France, during a Broadcasting Convention. They would soon marry and have two children together, Grace and Julia. Keith and Linda moved to Montecito in 1985, wanting to raise their family in a quieter, safe community. For the next 20 years, Linda and Keith raised beautiful children, traveled the world as a family, and made many happy memories together. Keith retired when Grace was born, but quickly went back to radio, creating and producing The Rock Files for KTYD Santa Barbara. This gave him a chance to re-visit and renew his love of 1960s rock ‘n’ roll on his weekly radio show that he produced from his home studio in Montecito. If you knew Keith, you know he never really slowed down. Even in his later years he always kept busy with his lending businesses, real estate ventures, and radio. However, in his own words, “his favorite title was always being called dad.” He also became a grandfather and even great-grandfather several times. Keith was always curious and passionate about life, he had so many interests – ranging from astronomy, to history, skiing, photography, coin collecting, travel, film, and of course, rock ‘n’ roll. He could have a conversation on almost any topic, and he could do it well. He was also a great mentor, and always got along well with younger people, even in his older age. He was an inspiring entrepreneur for many he crossed paths with throughout his life. He told the best, most vibrant stories and he was a wealth of knowledge – he would light up when asked about his Vegas days and there would always be a new story each time, probably even a few he took with him. If you knew Keith, his life always held a little bit of mystery. He was a very charming man; he could sell anyone on almost anything! Keith will be remembered for his charisma, enthusiasm for life, creativity, ingenuity, and fearlessness. People often describe him as “unique, one-of-a kind, and a true character!” And that he was, he lived his life at full speed, never slowing down until the very end. To say his life was an adventure would be an understatement. Keith spent almost 40 years living in Santa Barbara, in his final two years, Keith retired to West Palm Beach, Florida, which was his final residence. Keith is survived by his son, Kenneth Austin, daughters Grace Austin and Julia Taravella, and grandchildren Ryan, Kayla, and Hannah. A private memorial service was held in Santa Barbara for close friends and family.

“Winter forms our character and brings out our best.” — Tom Allen

14 – 21 December 2023

Frank Davis Umanzio: September 10, 1934 – December 7, 2023

rank Davis Umanzio was born on September 10, 1934, in East Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Pasquale and Felicia Umanzio, and passed from this life on December 7, 2023, at age 89. Frank and his beautiful wife Jean met in Medford, Massachusetts, in 1956 and married in 1957, living happily together for 66 years. In 1974, Frank and Jean and their three children moved to Paris, France, where they remained until 1977. They took the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe and greatly enjoyed every adventure. In 1977, they moved to Santa Barbara, California, where Frank will be remembered by his family, as well as for his Frank became immersed in comnumerous hobbies and contributions to the community’s munity life. nonprofits Frank graduated from the United States Armed Forces Institute while serving in the Navy. Frank then went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, a Master of Science degree from Northeastern University, and a Juris Doctorate degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1971. Frank was admitted to practice law by the Massachusetts Bar, the California Bar, and the United States Supreme Court. Frank retired in 1994 after working for Raytheon Corporation for 38 years. He held numerous positions with Raytheon including Senior Corporate Labor Relations specialist; International Director of Industrial Relations for the NATO Hawk missile program in Europe, Division Manager of Human Resources in Goleta, California; Director of Human Resources for Raytheon Corporation; and finally, Vice President and Company Officer at Raytheon’s corporate headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts. Frank served on many community boards and nonprofits, including the American Red Cross, the United Way, the Boys Club of Santa Barbara, both the Santa Barbara and Goleta Chambers of Commerce, the Cities Community Relations Committee, the County Arts Association, and the Industry and Education Council. Frank was also a mediator for the Santa Barbara Rental Mediation Task Force, and the City and County panels of court mediators, and served Juvenile Justice. In 1977, Frank was introduced to the Italian Boot Club, and soon joined the Board of Directors before becoming President for two years. He loved and celebrated his Italian culture. Frank had many hobbies, including playing the saxophone and the clarinet, painting, and wine making under his own label Casa Iomazzo. Frank also loved playing bocce, and boating, and was a long-time member of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club. In fact, he became a legal officiant and married his eldest granddaughter and her husband on the Yacht Club’s beach. Frank passed peacefully after a battle against Alzheimer’s. He leaves behind his loving and devoted wife Jean Umanzio, daughter Diane Alburger (Tim), sons Dennis Umanzio (Nina) and David Umanzio (Lori), five grandchildren: Catherine Spears (Nathan), Christine Alburger, Daniel Umanzio (Taylor), Steven Umanzio, and Alena Umanzio, as well as three great-grandsons, Maverick (born on Frank’s 85th birthday!), Grayson, and Cade. He also leaves behind his younger brother Richard Umanzio (Peggy) and numerous cousins, including Roy Umanzio. Frank’s family thanks the staff at The Palms Memory Care in La Quinta and Mission Hospice for the care and compassion they provided. A Celebration of Life will be held in Indio, California in the future. 14 – 21 December 2023

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Montecito JOURNAL

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Integral Health Bolivia, 1374 B Danielson Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Erik D Taylor, 1374 B Danielson Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 9, 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. 2023-0002738. Published December 13, 20, 27, 2023 and January 3, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Montecito Valley; Montecito Valley Estates; Montecito Valley Estates Group; 1101 Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Tyler Kallenbach Real Estate, 513 E De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 9, 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. 2023-0002613. Published December 6, 13, 20, 27, 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

44 Montecito JOURNAL

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 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 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT: The following person(s) has (have) abandoned the use of the Fictitious Business Name(s): Quinn 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 20230002506. Published November 29, December 6, 13, 20, 2023 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LONGEVITYON, 5455 8th Street #8, Carpinteria, CA, 93103. SCSB 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

Our Town (Continued from 14 14))

The Haley Carty team (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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. 20230002467. Published November 22, 29, December 6, 13, 2023 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 23CV00602. To all interested parties: Petitioner Kevin Brier Random aka Kevin Brierley Random filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Brier Kevin Random. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed December 8, 2023 by Jessica Vega. Hearing date: February 7, 2024 at 10 am in Dept. 3, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published December 13, 20, 27, and January 3, 2024

“A man says a lot of things in summer he doesn’t mean in winter.” —

Leslie Zemeckis and friends (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

found it’s a great and welcomed way to spread a little holiday cheer for Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa!” Kids, families, pets, shoppers, dining peeps, local restaurants, and businesses all came out to greet the parade as it whooshed by, and at times got intertwined with regular traffic looking baffled at the parade cars. Leading the way at 5 pm from East Valley Road was Sheriff ’s Dept Lt. Butch Arnoldi with the Grinch that Stole Christmas. He was followed by Montecito Fire Department’s Scott Chapman; Matt Gunner from Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue; Megan Orloff from Montecito Association and Montecito Bank & Trust; Montecito Association Executive Director Houghton Hyatt; Hands Across Montecito’s Tracey Singh; Laurel Barosh and Brian Finster of Cold Spring School; Adam McKaig and his many Adam’s Angels; Haley Carty; Dolores Gillmore with guests; Leslie Zemeckis; the Miramar Beach Resort Team with Rick Fidel on surreys; Dylan Conway as Santa for Little Mountain Capital; Hillcrest Security’s Andrew Hollingsworth; Pete Demetrulias; Montecito Water District’s Nick Kunstek; Montecito Sanitary District’s John Weigold; Woody Barrett; Dana Newquist and wife Andrea; and the Montecito Fire Department’s Engine crew with paramedic team. The route went down East Valley Road at the Upper Village shops, down San Ysidro Road and onto Coast Village Road, Hot Springs and back to its starting point

Our Town Page 474 474

Montecito Fire Protection District representing at the first annual Chanukah celebration (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Patricia Briggs

14 – 21 December 2023

Robert’s Big Questions

Your Westmont (Continued from 38 38))

Ownership vs. Evil Subscription?

Winners Tim Horsey and Noah Shen pose with Provost Kim Denu, President Gayle D. Beebe, and director Dan Jensen

by Robert Bernstein

$2,500 to the engineering program to host a similar event next year. The engineering department, which graduated its inaugural class in May, dedicated its own building, the Fletcher Jones Foundation Center for Engineering, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in October.

Book Radiates Advent With the arrival of Advent, Paul Willis, professor emeritus of English and former Santa Barbara poet laureate, has co-edited an anthology of readings A Radiant Birth: Advent Readings for a Bright Season. Madeleine L’Engle, Marilyn McEntyre, Eugene Peterson, Tania Runyan, Luci Shaw, Jeanne Murray Walker, Walter Wangerin, Lauren Winner, and Philip Yancey contribute to the book, which provides daily readings for the four weeks of Advent and two weeks of Christmas. Willis joined contributing writer Paula Huston for a reading December 4 in Westmont’s Hieronymus Lounge, where they signed copies of the book, which is

New book celebrates Advent

published by InterVarsity Press on behalf of the Chrysostom Society. The Chrysostom Society, a collection of published writers, is named after a man who was generally considered the greatest of the Greek fathers of the Church who delivered the first Christmas sermon preserved in church history in 386 A.D. “We reflect on Advent and Christmastide as a bright and meaningful season of anticipation and glory,” Willis said. “We enter slowly so that the familiar can astonish us and become wondrous once again.”

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

Paul Willis, professor emeritus of English

14 – 21 December 2023

eople are surprised that I don’t own any Apple products and don’t plan to. I developed an aversion to Apple as a grad student, designing scientific instruments based on the newly emerging personal computers. Apple kept their hardware “closed” to outside connections. The IBM PC had its own problems, using the horrible Intel processor of the time. Apple used the far superior Motorola processor then. But at least you could design your own board to plug into their IBM “open bus.” But my aversion turned into outright loathing when I discovered that Apple later worked on a “subscription” business model. You might wonder why this fits with my Big Questions theme. In part, because subscriptions raise deep questions about what it means to own something. I was a fairly early adopter of the Palm Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). I had suffered a traumatic brain injury from being hit by a car. My speech therapist urged me to offload what used to be stored in my brain onto the PDA. I indeed found it useful. I still use a Palm TX for daily needs. Young people see me taking notes using the Palm and a folding full-size keyboard that all fits in my pocket. They want to know where to get this cool new technology. I am forced to remind people that the opposite of progress is fashion. The Palm was a masterful work of engineering. But it was killed off by the Apple iPhone. Not because the iPhone was better. It was not. Because it was more profitable. Did I mention that I am still using my Palm? I bought it once and it keeps on working. But Apple keeps sucking users with subscriptions for everything. Not to mention the planned obsolescence that forces users to keep buying new hardware. A huge waste of resources and a huge economic drain on people who can’t afford it. I bought legal copies of Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop. I owned them and so far have been able to keep using them. But then Adobe adopted the evil subscription model. You can no longer own their software. I refuse to give in to such extortion. I also used to own Microsoft Office. When they switched to an evil subscription, I discovered that LibreOffice did

everything I needed for free. Microsoft has since apologized and tried to woo me back. But it is too late. Interestingly, I did not care much about the one ownership that is an obsession for most Americans: Home ownership. I was happy to rent. For decades. Until we were evicted by a greedy new property owner from my home of 31 years. Many people are happy to back up their precious data in “the cloud.” For a monthly fee. In the words of Bob Seger, “Say I’m old-fashioned, say I’m over the hill.” I back up my precious data on hard drives and thumb drives. I own them. I can put them where I want and know where to find them. Subscriptions would not feel so evil if not for a couple of problems. One is the cost. Far more than owning. But they can also just go away. Or change. If I buy an e-book, the publisher can “recall” or edit it and I can no longer read it. It happens. With software, not every “upgrade” is an improvement. You may find that the forced “upgrade” is missing a feature you depend on. There is one exception I am open to: A product that becomes a service. I would be happy to ride in a driverless car and not have to own one. The same way I use public transit now. Some carpet manufacturers offer carpets as a service to businesses. They maintain and replace them as needed. They have an incentive to make the carpet last and stay clean. But these are the exception. We should not reward bad behavior. Let manufacturers know that you are happy to pay a fair price to own their product. But you will not be extorted to pay a monthly fee with no guarantee it even will keep work ing in the future.

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

Montecito JOURNAL

Petite Wine Traveler

Lombardy Unveiled: An Adventurous Escapade of Wine, Elegance, and Enchantment by Jamie Knee

aybe you’ve seen everyone’s Facebook and Instagram feeds covered in pictures of this summer’s European travels, well, mine was no exception as I recently returned from a wine, food, and travel extravaganza in the Lombardy region of Italy. I genuinely believe that wanderlust is a part of my genetic makeup. There’s an unparalleled exhilaration in traversing uncharted territories, delving deep into history, and fully embracing the essence of local cultures. Remarkably, this fervor merely intensifies my appetite for future escapades.

Chapter 1: The Oltrepò Pavese Discovery In the heart of Lombardy, Italy, a wine writer’s dream unfurled, and I had the privilege to be part of it. My journey kicked off amidst the rolling vineyards of Oltrepò Pavese, just 50 miles south of Milan in the Province of Pavia, an Italian wine region that often gets overshadowed by its more famous counterparts. Traveling with a group of journalists from around the world, I knew this adventure would be anything but ordinary. The discovery of Oltrepò Pavese was like finding a hidden treasure trove. It was all about Metodo Classico, the sparkling wine of the region, and the illustrious pinot nero, known as pinot noir elsewhere. Oltrepò Pavese is the pinot nero capital of Italy, with nearly

The enchanting village of Bellagio

46 Montecito JOURNAL

boat tour led by Lake Como Explorer. As our vessel glided effortlessly on the glistening waters, we found ourselves drifting past opulent villas and immaculate gardens that seemed plucked from the pages of a timeless fairy tale. The gentle sway of the boat mirrored the serenity of the lake, creating moments of pure and unadulterated tranquility. Plus, the chance to spot George Clooney and Amal’s villa while sailing added a touch of glamour to our already bewitching journey. Lake Como’s shores, adorned with sunlight and graced with elegant villas and lush greenery, beckoned us to embrace life’s simple pleasures. It was a journey into a world where sophistication intertwined seamlessly with nature’s grandeur, and each vista unveiled a new chapter in our extraordinary adventure.

The Petite Wine Traveler in a Oltrepò Pavese vineyard

Chapter 3: The Swiss Interlude in Lugano

9,880 acres dedicated to this remarkable grape. The unique terroir, characterized by microclimates and well-drained soils, work its magic on the grapes, resulting in exceptional wine production. The expertise of the region’s winemakers, and the perfect balance of acidity and sugar in the sparkling wines, make it a hidden gem that I was just beginning to unravel.

View from Lake Lugano

Chapter 2: Sip and Sail in Bellagio As my journey continued, my husband flew out to join me, and together we embarked on a voyage to the legendary Lake Como, a realm of dreams and opulence. Lake Como, a place known for its natural beauty, boasts shimmering azure-blue waters, charming villages, and has long been a haven for the elite. Its aura of exclusivity and privacy makes it an ideal sanctuary, a refuge from the bustling world. It felt like a place that bore a striking resemblance to our own Montecito, with its beautiful villas, high-profile celebrities, seclusion, and the breathtaking embrace of nature. The lake, with its inviting waters, serves as a playground for water enthusiasts – offering opportunities for boating, sailing, and kayaking. It provides the perfect backdrop for a wide range of recreational activities. In the village of Bellagio, its magnetic allure to tourists is evident, offering a charming shopping experience and exuding a small-town charm that feels like stepping into a vintage postcard. Meanwhile, Varenna, adorned with pastel-colored villas and renowned for its sheer beauty, is a place where museums and fresh seafood eateries line the streets, leaving me breathless in its splendor. Our exploration reached its peak with a

Our journey took an unexpected turn as we hopped on a ferry and found ourselves on the Swiss shores of Lake Lugano. Switzerland’s Lugano was a captivating blend of culture, history, and modernity. Riding high above the cityscape in a funicular, we were treated to breathtaking views of this Swiss jewel. The descent brought us back to the streets of Lugano, where we stumbled upon a cozy Swiss wine bar. Sipping on Swiss wines that are hard to find in the U.S. – like Chasselas, Petite Arvine, and Müller-Thurgau – and tasting their unique character felt like unearthing a well-kept secret. Lugano itself, with its Swiss-Italian charm, became a delightful interlude in our Italian escapade. The city’s diversity of experiences was a testament to the rich tapestry of the region’s offerings.

An evening apertivo at Lake Como

the iconic Cathedral Duomo di Milano. We enjoyed an aperitivo, my Aperol Spritz glistening in the soft moonlight. The Aperol Spritz, with its bittersweet orange liqueur and sparkling Prosecco, tasted even more divine in its birthplace, while aperitivo in Milan is a sacred and cherished tradition. It’s a time for relaxation, conversation, and the unwinding of the day’s stresses – a pre-dinner ritual that holds immense importance in the social fabric of the city. Milanese locals and visitors alike gather in bars and cafés to enjoy a selection of drinks and light snacks. Our aperitivo was accompanied by an array of delightful accoutrements: platters of olives, bruschetta, and a selection of exquisite cheeses. The combination was so delectable and generous that it felt almost like a full dinner in itself. It was a perfect way to savor the flavors of Italy and conclude our remarkable journey with a touch of culinary delight, sophistication, and the joy of savoring life’s finest moments. In the end, Lombardy had etched its mark on our hearts and palates. From the undiscovered vineyards of Oltrepò Pavese to the elegance of Lake Como, Lugano’s Swiss charm, and Milan’s cosmopolitan allure, this journey had been a dream come true. It wasn’t just about the wines we tasted or the places we explored; it was about the moments we savored and the stories we created. Cheers to a sumptuous summer escapade in the enchanting tapestry of Lombardy, where each chapter of the journey left us richer, in every sense of the word.

Chapter 4: Moonlit Spritzing in Milan

Jamie Knee is a global wine communicator and travel writer, has hosted 100+ winemaker interviews, international wine judge, and holds multiple wine, sommelier, and educator certifications.

Our journey culminated in the cosmopolitan city of Milan. The grandeur of the Duomo and the bustling Piazza del Duomo set the stage for an unforgettable evening. Milan, with its rich history and modern cosmopolitan flair, provided a fitting conclusion to our adventures. As the moon graced the Milanese sky, we found ourselves at a charming café, overlooking

“Winter is the time of sacred balance and rejuvenation of life in preparation for the coming spring.” — Noelle Vignola

14 – 21 December 2023

Our Town (Continued from 44 44))

The Chanukah celebration committee (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

on East Valley Road. Thanks to the many parade sponsors and to everyone who came out for the parade and wishing our town a happy holiday and New Year! For more of the live event, check out the videos on the MJ website and YouTube Channel. 411: www.montecitoassociation.org

First Annual Montecito Chanukah Celebration Sunday, December 10 saw Montecito’s First Annual Chanukah celebration with open invitation to all to join for the lighting of the menorah, held at the park in front of Pierre Lafond on East Valley Road. The celebration was formed by Montecito’s Rabbi Chaim Loschak, Executive Director of Chabad of Montecito, and his wife Mushkie Loschak with their newly born daughter Shana. Their Chanukah celebration committee was Mitchell Chupack and wife Laura Tompkins, Dr. Jason Solway, Cindy Feinberg, and Executive Director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara Cyndi Silverman. Lighting the menorah was Chupack. Rabbi Chaim sang songs to “Bless the Menorah” and traditional Chanukah songs of peace, and asked the community to join while holding lit candles. He also led a prayer and talked about light, darkness, and peace, and the importance of this first annual celebration for our town and those attending. Attendees and acknowledgements included our town’s Jewish community members, Lt. Butch Arnoldi with the SBC Sheriff’s Department team, Montecito Fire Protection District team, Montecito Association’s Houghton Hyatt, the team from Pierre Lafond, the Rabbi’s family from NYC, the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, volunteers,

Boat Parade of Lights 2023 judges from their perch at the Moby Dick Restaurant (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Polariis lighting up the sea and crowds (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

sponsors, and First District SBC Supervisor Das Williams who also spoke at the event. Activities included a contest to guess the number of dreidels in a glass jar. There were free long-sleeve t-shirts commemorating the event, free menorah kits and Shabbat candles, and specialty Kosher doughnuts and latkes for refreshments. 411: http://jewishmontecito.org

37th Annual Boat Parade of Lights The 37th Annual Boat Parade of Lights was held in the Santa Barbara beach and harbor area along Cabrillo Boulevard on Sunday, December 10. The Parade of Lights event committee is powered by newly appointed City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Administrative Analyst II and Public Information Officer Angela Rodriguez, with Parade of Lights Committee Chair Captain Skip Abed, Waterfront Director Mike Wiltshire, with Captain Dave Bacon with his wife Cathy as emcees. The full-on Stearns Wharf and City of Santa Barbara Waterfront event started with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Stearns Wharf Santa Village. There were faux snow, elves, holiday music, and the tree lighting at the Sea Center. The Boat Parade of Lights started around 6 pm, with over 30 boat entrants, cruising on a new course this year from the harbor to the top of Stearns Wharf and down its right side, circling back to the harbor. The viewing was fantastic from the pier, Moby Dick Restaurant, and straight through to Cabrillo Boulevard. The decorated boats went all out this year with the theme “Disco Extravaganza.” Studio 54 now has serious contenders in our town! The boats had disco lights, disco balls, and of course disco dancers, all in great form with sequined silk costumes, blinking ties, hats, and hair pieces. They played dance music – mostly by Donna Summer, and the Bee Gees song from Saturday Night Fever. Competition was tight this year, especially when Rick Wallace had his sailboat Bosporus disco dance in a circle a few times in front of the judges! Amazing boatmanship in addition to his boat décor – winning him first place in the Sailboat category. Parade Judges were Robin Elander, Kate Ford, Alejandra Gutierrez, Kristen Miller, John Palminteri, Amy Rose, and John Stedman. The MJ gives a warm welcome and super congratulations to Angela Rodriguez, for a fun, upbeat, well-organized, and happier-than-a-clam event.

The Boat Parade of Lights Winners are: First prize winner Shawn Hughes and his family, with Skip Abed (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

14 – 21 December 2023

Grand Prize: Roger Chrisman, Polariis (boat #29) Commercial Fishing Boat 1st Place: Miles Wallace, Isla (boat #31) Commercial Other 1st Place: Shawn Hughes, Scruba Dub (boat #34) Power Boat 1st Place: Roger Chrisman, Polariis (boat #29) Sail Boat 1st Place: Rick Wallace, Bosporus (boat #13) Human Power 1st Place: Charlie Trouba, Floaty

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

Montecito JOURNAL

Guest Editorial (Continued from 16 16))

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our needs,” her editorial column stated. “One who shows up every day. Not just when political pressures build; and not just when an election looms.” Siloes and pussy hats. While making a critique of women’s groups for not speaking out forcefully about the horrors of the Hamas attack, Lurie also pointed to the suffering and deaths of Palestinians, especially following Israel’s military response to the Hamas attack, as one reason for the silence. “Some, I think, were afraid to speak up. Maybe for fear that it would seem like they were saying that the Palestinian people and their plight doesn’t matter. Which of course it does,” she said. “But for some reason in that moment, it became too difficult for so many to hold more than one thought at the same time.” She pivoted from the “hold more than one thought” theme to the need for women leaders to advance hard, if respectful, discourse to break through the algorithm-driven, media and news siloes via which many Americans receive their information, fueling the toxic red-blue culture and politics of the nation. “Women are not monolithic,” she said. “Like any group, there are many strong opinions among us. We will never, all of us, agree on any issue... But we can agree on the rules by which we are going to have these vital conversations,” she added.

“We can agree on the importance of respecting the different paths each of us has traveled. We can agree to encourage difficult dialogue, we can agree to not cancel one another. We can agree to commit to the absolute rejection of violence, in all its forms, against all women. And men. We can agree to lead with compassion,” Lurie said. Referencing the millinery fashion popularized at feminist rallies during Donald Trump’s term, she concluded: “I believe we have the chance to get this right...And I say, let’s do this. Let’s do this differently. It’s time to dust off our pussy hats.” To see Gwyn Lurie’s full speech, scan the QR code below.

Jerry Roberts has worked in the news business as a reporter, editor, columnist, commentator, and author for nearly 50 years

Suzanne Cohen with Gwyn Lurie (photo by Marian Shapiro)

doing good is living well

48 Montecito JOURNAL

“Summer is for surrendering; winter is for wondering.” — Debasish Mridha

Marty Blum, Luz Reyes-Martín, Helene Schneider, Jonathan Abboud, and Marian Shapiro (photo by Marian Shapiro)

14 – 21 December 2023

Call for

In Memoriam Images

• The MJ will be publishing an In Memoriam feature in the final issue of 2023. For those who lost someone in the Montecito community this year, please send by Monday, Dec. 18: the name of your loved one, an image, and any note (50 words or less) you would like to include, to: letters@montecitojournal.net

14 – 21 December 2023

Montecito JOURNAL

Intro to ‘Overture’ (Continued from 18 18)) baseline message in your film that you may want the viewer to take away? IO. I just want to express this emotion. Is it sadness? Nostalgia? The viewer can decide if they want to really think about it, want to really feel it. The film is about everyone’s innocence, really. We’re all human, and we’re fragile.

Overture is in the works

IL. Tristan Wilder Hallett, from Missouri, plays Noah. His real-life mom is actually a UCSB alumnus, so they’re coming out in January for our shoot. The Father in the film is played by Sean Smith, a local to Santa Barbara. The Mother is played by Felicia Williams, from Los Angeles. MJ: Terrific! Thanks, Isabella. Iris, as writer/director, where did you get the idea for this wordless short film? Iris Ortega (Director) [IO]. I would say I wrote out the rough idea in one day, after listening to “Voilà,” a French song by Barbara Pravi. I don’t speak French, but the song had me feeling so sad, so nostalgic – I didn’t know how to explain the feeling. I couldn’t at all explain the emotion that I was feeling, and I thought, “I will just create a situation that attempts to recreate that feeling.”

MJ. I understand Overture was selected for production by a panel of experts? Can you explain that process? IO. Student scripts are sent over the summer before fall quarter, and it’s very high demand. This year there were 32 submissions. I was in Spain, literally typing for three months and sending emails to this professor: “Hey, when can I submit my script?” Of those 32 submissions, a panel of industry professionals and the professors choose 12 scripts to be pitched. MJ. Wow... IO. On pitch day those 12 students go up in front of the department – anyone in the department can attend. It’s held at the Pollock Theater here on campus. From those 12 pitches, four are chosen by the panel of Hollywood professionals. Then those writers and directors have to start hiring their cast and crew. MJ. So it’s not just the value of the script as they see it, but also your demonstration that you have the know-how and determi-

nation to actually make everything happen. IO. They take everything into account, especially in the pitch; the ability for you to get it done, the prospect they see for it to be successful in festivals, because you only have 20 weeks to do the short film. So even if the idea is really good, if it’s not something they think you can achieve in 20 weeks they won’t select it. MJ. Do I understand correctly that Overture is a collaboration between UCSB students and students from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid? IO. Yes! I’m from Spain and I’m here this year as an exchange student through UCSB’s EAP (Education Abroad Program). One of the film’s production assistants and my first assistant director are also from my university. Every year people from UCSB will go to our college and people from our college will go to UCSB, and that’s why I’m here. MJ. How cool is that? Overture is truly a globe-spanning production. To get the film across the finish line, you have funding needs. Isabella, what are they? And please be as specific as possible. Isabella Leonard. We’ve discovered we have about $2,000 in added equipment costs for our four-day shoot. And because we have a child actor coming out from Missouri, we need insurance for that. It raises our insurance from $500 to $2,000. We need to make

DCP files for the festivals, and those range from $150 to $500. [DCP is the file type film festivals require for showing submitted films.] MJ. Good grief. It adds up. IL. In total, we’re in need of $7,774. That will allow us to cover our exact expenses for production, to pay our cast and crew who are volunteering their talent, and to cover any other hidden expenses we haven’t accounted for yet, which will most likely come up. A chart that breaks down the funding need is on our GoFundMe page. MJ. Can donors expect any recognition? IL. Yes! For donations of $500 and above we’re offering an associate producer credit on our film. For donations of $1,500 and above, we are offering an executive producer credit on our film. The same goes for businesses or organizations that may want to donate $500 and above. In that case the company’s logo will be added to the end credits of our film. For $1,500 and above, the logo will be added and the head of the company organization will be given executive producer credit. MJ. Those are serious giveaways. IL. We really need the money to finish. We have a GoFundMe link (https://gofund.me/7c5d045f ) and our Venmo account is @overturethefilm. Anyone interested in donating by check or other means can email overturefilmproduction@gmail.com. Checks can be made out to Overture Film Productions, LLC. Thank you! MJ. Good luck! Creatives rule. IL. Hell yeah! Oh… whoops.

MJ. You created a film that attempts to convey what you felt. IO. It depends on the medium you feel most comfortable with. You could be a painter or a singer, for instance. For me, I’m just more visual. The only way I can be super accurate is doing something visually, and with music and movement. MJ. Art is famously subjective, drawing its power from the beholder’s experience of the work. Having said that, is there a

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 Writer and Director Iris Ortega Quevedo with Director of Photography Brian Sol SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH MONTECITO MONTECITO MONTECITO

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“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.” — Anne Bradstreet

14 – 21 December 2023

Village Beat (Continued from 6)

On Entertainment (Continued from 24 24))

The Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony hosted by Chabad of Montecito was well attended (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

second public meeting for the Flood Control Master Plan for Montecito last month was well attended. The County of Santa Barbara is beginning a multi-phase project to investigate flood mitigation options, starting with developing a plan for Montecito. A Flood Mitigation Master Plan will be created to guide the planning, design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding and flood water impacts to the community. The plan will investigate potential solutions and improvements for flooding in Montecito, for the drainage areas associated with Montecito Creek, Oak Creek, San Ysidro Creek, Romero Creek, and their tributaries. A draft is expected to be released early next year, with another meeting scheduled for some time in March. The Montecito Association has been busy participating in and/or planning holiday events, including the Holiday Magic Parade and Menorah Lighting this past weekend. New directors to the MA Board will be voted in at the annual meeting in January; Board President Megan Orloff and director Penelope Bianchi will be terming off the Board. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 9, 2024. For more information, and to get involved, visit www.montecitoassociation.org.

Coast Village Happenings While finishing landscaping touches take place on the Olive Mill Roundabout, crews have been busy beautifying Coast Village Road for the holidays. Last week a tree lighting took place, featuring performances and appearances by Santa Barbara High 14 – 21 December 2023

School Madrigals, Santa Barbara Youth Symphony, and the Santa Barbara Festival Ballet (Nutcracker characters). Santa Barbara Mayor Randy Rowse spoke at the ceremony, sponsored by Coast Village Association and the Rosewood Miramar, and then helped Santa Claus light the large tree, which was co-sponsored by Montecito Community Foundation. Lots of businesses are in the holiday spirit, lighting up their windows with decorations and festive offerings. At Montecito Country Mart, holiday happenings are in full swing, with Santa visits on Saturdays (one left this Saturday, December 16, 1 - 4 pm), the annual Giving Tree through December 20 (buy a gift listed on the tree, and the gift goes to a child in need, via Unity Shoppe), and lots of festive holiday gifting displays. New shop Emily Joubert is rumored to be opening in the spring, featuring home and garden goods and located in the former home of Montecito Mercantile, which closed in August. Other new businesses to join the mart in early 2024 include Oat Bakery, Alma Fonda Fina, and Orlebar Brown. In the neighboring Coast Village Walk, Montecito Dry Bar is scheduled to open early next year and is currently offering pre-opening specials (visit www.drybarshops.com for info).

Kelly Mahan Herrick, also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond.

grandmother, portrayed by David Beck, Anna Moy, and Revels favorite Meredith McMinn. Recent Revels regular Luis Moreno returns as the supervising doctor, while local celeb Paula Lopez portrays the “Spirit of Place,” aka the narrator. The youngsters provide the pathway to friendship, and over the course of the show, all the new immigrants relive the WWI story of Christmas in the Trenches, learn about the Irish involvement in the Mexican American War with The Sands of Mexico, sing Chanukah songs and Christmas carols, enjoy a traditional Jewish folk tale, and participate in dances from all their countries. The breadth and scope of the music has challenged and enthralled new music director Mica Basilici, whose task is to weave everything seamlessly together. “It’s very exciting because we get to hear all these different musical traditions over the course of two hours, a lot of types of songs with different grooves and meanings behind them,” said Basilici, who also performs with Out of the Box Theatre Company, Opera Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara Choral Society, and works with the Music Academy’s SING! “Everything connects, but there’s also a lot of contrast, which just makes it refreshing.” As always, all of the Revels favorites find their way into Tales from Ellis Island – which has three shows December 16-17 at the Lobero – including the Lord of the Dance (which this year incorporates “Hava Nagila”), a Mummers play by director Matt Tavianini, the Sword Dance, the “Sussex Mummers’ Carol,” adult and children/ teen choruses, and, of course, lots of audience participation. As the Revels motto goes: Join us and be joyous.

Lighting Up ‘The Tempest’ There’s something quite magical and yet weighty in the way in which Lights Up! Theatre Company has taken a firm toehold in the Santa Barbara youth theater scene – one that has never been sorely lacking in the first place. Theater stage and screen veteran Amy Love has parlayed her professional and teaching background into a conservatory and company that quickly captured the imagination of local kids and audiences with such rousing productions as Big Fish, Something Rotten, and several others, not only enduring the pandemic that began in the company’s infancy, but emerging with a strong following. So it’s rather appropriate that Lights The Tempest, coming to Center Stage Theater

On Entertainment Page 554 554

December 14-15, is Lights Up! Theatre Company’s newest Shakespearean endeavor (courtesy photo)

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Miscellany (Continued from 8)

Justin Fox reading during an orchestral version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (photo by Maxx Hennard)

Curator Sharon Bradford relating the story of the 1920s fashion design by the House of Reville (photo by Priscilla)

Karl and Nancy Hutterer, Fritz and Gretchen Olenberger, Richard and Amanda Payatt, Marie Profant, Denise Sanford, Sybil Rosen, Stefan and Christine Rosenfeld, Luke Swetland, Carol Wathen, and Robert Adams.

George Leis, Dacia and Riley Harwood, Sheila Snow, and Barbara and John Ahlman (photo by Priscilla)

Kay Gott and Jacqueline Abbud (photo by Priscilla)

– a favorite of mine for ties, shoes, and silk pocket squares when I was a national TV anchor for CBS in New York – more than a century ago. Latterly we had Cuban American fashion designer Luis Estevez, an old friend, the youngest ever to win a Coty Award (fashion’s Oscars), who opened a boutique on Coast Village Road when our tony town boasted two top hotels, the Arlington and the Potter attracting the affluent international crowd. One outstanding ensemble is an 1890 black silk faille and white satin evening gown designed by Charles Frederick Worth, who founded his couture house in Paris in 1858. Another fine example is a suit dress by Mary McFadden, an old friend from the oh-so tony Jupiter Island Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, who I used to escort to the Costume Institute gala at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum in

52 Montecito JOURNAL

Island Life

the ‘80s when an editor at New York Magazine – now the domain of a former colleague, Anna Wintour, now the iconic editor of U.S. Vogue. McFadden was also known for her pleated gowns reminiscent of the fashions of Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny, whose couture house ran from 1906 to 1946. Unfortunately, the outfit was not in the show as it was deemed more day attire than an evening gown. There were also a number of gowns from New York designer Arnold Scaasi – his original name ‘Isaacs’ spelt backwards – from the collection of my good friend, the late society doyenne Beverley Jackson. Among the fashionistas turning out and dancing the night away to the Konrad Kono Trio, were former mayors Sheila Lodge and Helene Schneider, Hattie Beresford, Thomas and Sheila Lambert, Hilary Burkemper, Marc Appleton, Oscar Gutierrez, Rhonda Henderson,

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner and singer Jewel are reportedly an item. After the Oscar winner’s acrimonious divorce from wife Christine Baumgartner, he and Jewel were having fun on Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson’s private Caribbean Island, Necker, in the British Virgin Islands. The twosome were on the idyllic locale for a tennis fundraiser for Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation. TMZ reports Costner, 68, and the singer, 48, flew to Necker together and spent a week frolicking on the island. Stay tuned.

A “Magnificat” Evening with the Choral Society Santa Barbara Choral Society was in top form under veteran conductor JoAnne Wasserman with its 9th annual Hallelujah Project at the Lobero, which included SING! program choral students from the Music Academy and Dishwalla lead singer Justin Fox in a rocking chair reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The Santa Barbara Choral Society came to the Lobero for its 9th annual Hallelujah Project (photo by Maxx Hennard) “Winter collapsed on us that year. It knelt, exhausted, and stayed.” — Emily Fridlund

Accompanied by an orchestra, the enthusiastic singers sang a bounteous selection of Yuletide favorites, as well as Bach’s “Magnificat” and Randol Bass’ “Gloria,” and, of course, Handel’s rousing “Hallelujah Chorus” from the Messiah. A jolly Santa Claus added to the festive fun, as well as guest conductor Kathleen Stinnett...

A Foundational Lunch The 61-year-old Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara hosted its annual festive Community Leaders lunch at the Hilton for 300 guests to recognize donors and volunteers. Featured speakers included Dr. Richard Yao, President of California State University Channel Islands, who was appointed last year after serving as interim president for a year. Honoree Steve Hicks, who received his MBA from USC, enjoyed a 30-year career in the computer and software industries. He moved to our Eden by the Beach in 1994 and served as board chair of CALM, the Scholarship Foundation, the Museum of Natural History, and the Santa Barbara Foundation. Student speaker was Ethiopian-born Massimo Genovese, who is now studying at Santa Barbara and Ventura Colleges of Law. “The grants opened doors to more creative work and my post-graduate journey,” he attested. In May, the foundation awarded schol-

JoAnne Wasserman inviting the audience to sing along (photo by Maxx Hennard)

14 – 21 December 2023

which I attended, as well as London’s West End version. It was later adapted as a movie. She followed it with Silkwood, Mask, and Moonstruck in 1987, which nabbed her an Academy Award. Cher also won three Golden Globes and, to date, has sold more than 100 million records. An extraordinary and delightful character who really puts the show into showbiz...

Steve Hicks, Massimo Genovese, Nini Lemus, Caitrin McKiernan, Andrew Stephen Hicks, and Patsy Hicks (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

Danna McGrew, chair. Among the supporters were Melinda Cabrera, foundation president and CEO, Roger and Sarah Chrisman, outgoing head of the City College Foundation Geoff Green, and chairman and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust Janet Garufis.

Melinda Cabrera and Danna McGrew (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

Jackie Carrera, Melinda Cabrera, and Janet Garufis (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

arships totaling $7.2 million to 1,864 students throughout Santa Barbara County. More than $148 million has been made in more than 50,000 student grants since the organization was founded, says

Roger and Sarah Chrisman with Chrisman Studio Director Tim Accurso (photo by Priscilla)

14 – 21 December 2023

Something to Celebrate A-boot Opera Santa Barbara took over the Paseo Nuevo’s Center Stage Theater when it staged Xavier Montsalvatge’s charming El Gato con Botas with singers from the Chrisman Studio Artists. Puss in Boots, to give it its English title, was a purr-fect production with director of the studio, Tim Accurso, on piano for the hour-long show, mezzo-soprano Christina Pezzarossi Ramsey as the slinky feline, baritone Omar Alejandro Rodriguez as the miller with aspirations to marry a princess – played by soprano Sunwoo Park. And, like all good fairytales, throw in a king with baritone Michael Segura as the merry monarch, and bass Colin Ramsey as the wine-sozzled ogre. Victoria Vertiz, Liza Retter, and Chloe Swoiskin played nice as mice. Josh Shaw’s set design was perfect as was costume designer Stacie Logue. All quite enchanting...

A Tea-riffic Time Cher’s show at the Granada hits the spot (photo by Meredith Mashburn Photography)

Cher-ing the Feels Singer Cher, 77, certainly has staying power! The American Theatre Guild opened its Broadway in Santa Barbara series at the Granada with The Cher Show, celebrating her six decades of stardom, kicking off with partnering with then husband Sonny Bono in “I Got You Babe” in the ‘60s. She then proceeded to garner an Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and enough Bob Mackie-designed risqué gowns to cause a nationwide sequin shortage. Dubbed the Goddess of Pop, the thoroughly entertaining two-and-a-half-hour show had so much content featuring all 35 of her major hits that it took three women to play her role! In the ‘70s her hits included “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves,” and a disco album Take Me Home, which I remember actually dancing to with her at New York’s notorious nightclub Studio 54 when I was an editor at New York Magazine before my get up and go, got up and went. In 1982, Cher made her debut on the Great White Way with Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean,

Roger and Sarah Chrisman with El Gato con Botas cast and crew (photo by Priscilla)

To the historic Santa Barbara Club when Lobero Theatre Associates hosted its annual Christmas tea for 60 guests. The bounteous bash, co-chaired by Leslie Haight and Emily Johnson, focused on the organization’s youth events, including It’s Magic!, the Nebula Dance Company, and musician Derek Douget, a New Orleans musician who visits schools in the area. Pianist Fredrik Rosvall entertained with a selection of Christmas carols for the supporters including Anne Towbes, Missy

Miscellany Page 544 544

Charles de L’Arbre, Emily Johnson, Leslie Haight, and Jim Dougherty (courtesy photo)

Joan Crossland, Margaret Slatter, and Janet McCann with Maribel Jarchow seated (courtesy photo)

Montecito JOURNAL

Miscellany (Continued from 53 53))

David Asbell, Mindy Denson, Charles de L’Arbre, Annie Williams, and Brandon Mowrey (courtesy photo)

Bermudez. “The audience experiences the full gamut of flamenco shades, colors, and history through the generational range of the artists’ styles. “Flamenco is ever evolving and always full of surprises, but a sense of community is always at its core.” Supporters turning out included Denise Sanford, Dacia and Jack Harwood, David Bolton and Gonzalo Sarmiento, Rick Oshay and Teresa Kuskey, Vibiana Smith, Wendy Acosta, and Rick and Denise Ornelas.

‘Endgame’ Start Stalls DeYoung, Charles de L’Arbre, Eileen Mielko, Trish Davis, Mindy Denson, Stephanie Petlow, Executive Director David Asbell, and Brenda Blalock.

The Sound of Flamenco Fiesta may be long over, but flamenco enthusiasts thronged to the Lobero for dancer Maria Bermudez’ Sonidos Gitanos, a 90-minute show showcasing the art of flamenco. Santa Barbara-based Bermudez, who was named an official Flamenco Ambassador by her hometown of Jerez de La Frontera in 2022, has promoted the dance art for more than 30 years and splits her time between our Eden by the Beach and her native Spain. The Gypsy Sounds concert fea-

Maria Bermudez performing the “Solea” (photo by Priscilla)

Maria Bermudez’ Sonidos Gitanos performers (photo by Priscilla)

54 Montecito JOURNAL

tured nearly a dozen revered superstars of gypsy flamenco performing in an intimate evening of passionate music and dance. Direct from Andalusia, Spain, by way of a performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic the night before, Sonidos Gitanos featured true legends and several of the next generation of dancers, singers, and musicians. The entertaining showcase included José Maya, Diego Amador, Diego Carrasco, Pelé de Los Reyes, Carmen Grilo, Curro Crisco, Manuel Valencia, Ané Carrasco, and Coral and Ana de Los Reyes. “These flamenco artists are highly accomplished performers recognized individually for their artistry and evolution, but they never forget the essence of the deep-rooted culture of Spain,” says

Fans of flamenco including Spirit of Fiesta Jack Harwood (photo by Priscilla)

Despite all the controversial worldwide publicity about his new Royal Family tome, Endgame, Omid Scobie’s book sold just 6,448 copies in the U.K. in the first week of publication. It has now plunged in the ratings to 215 on the Amazon bestsellers list. The hatchet job against the Windsors was widely publicized by normally sympathetic media outlets like The New York Times, which described one chapter as “like a press release cooked up by ChatGPT.” By comparison, Montecito resident Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare sold 467,183 copies making it the fastest selling nonfiction book since records began in 1998.

Film Fest Afar Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who essentially retired from movie making a decade ago, is at the center of an “arts washing” controversy after flying to Saudi Arabia for a controversial film festival. The Red Sea Festival reportedly offered celebrity participants a hefty $1 million each to appear and attracted actors Johnny Depp, Will Smith, and Sharon Stone to the red carpet last week. Oscar winner Paltrow is one of the A-list signings after appearing as Pepper Potts in Marvel films, but not having had a leading role since the 2015 film Mordecai, preferring to concentrate on her lifestyle brand Goop. The festival in Jeddah is run by a foundation chaired by the Saudi culture minister. Critics regard it as part of the regime’s “arts-washing” and “sports-washing” in which glamorous international events are held to distance the country from human rights abuses.

Zorana Morris, Chief Financial Officer, and Sarah Street, Chief Development Officer, will assume leadership of the foundation until a permanent CEO is announced. Green, who has been the foundation’s CEO for nine years, is becoming CEO of the California Association of Nonprofits, starting in January. The search for a new CEO is underway. The position remains open until filled.

Remembering Charlie Munger On a personal note, I remember philanthropic billionaire Charlie Munger, who has moved to more heavenly pastures at age 99. I was invited to dinner a number of times at his 4,657-square-foot rustic $11 million home on a quarter of an acre in gated Sea Meadow, a community he developed 30 years ago and is known by locals as Mungerville. I was also invited to stay at his magnificent beach aerie on Diamond Head, overlooking Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach in Oahu, just a tiara’s toss or two from Shangri-La, the Islamic artfilled mansion of the late tobacco heiress Doris Duke, containing more than 4,500 artifacts. Munger also owned the 85-foot catamaran, the Channel Cat, which is docked in Santa Barbara Harbor, and would lend it to charities for fund raising events. A kind and successful soul...

Sightings Prince Harry back in court in London over his family security issues... Actor Ryan Gosling at the Riviera... Gwyneth Paltrow, stylish in Valentino, at the British Fashion Awards in London. I will be rusticating at my 400-year-old cottage in Cornwall, England, for the holidays, so I wish all readers of this illustrious organ a Happy Yuletide. I will be back in our rarefied enclave in 2024. 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

Filling Roles The Santa Barbara City College Foundation has appointed two senior members of staff as an interim leadership team following the departure of CEO Geoff Green at the end of the month. “Winter is not a season, it’s a celebration.” — Anamika Mishra

14 – 21 December 2023

On Entertainment (Continued from 51 51)) Up! is launching its sixth season with Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the company’s third mounting of a work by the Bard (if you count Something Rotten), one of his late plays and a piece that contains a mélange of magic, mirth, mayhem, and meaty meanings in its tale of betrayal, love, magic, family, and revenge set on an island – a “theatrical flotsam of high emotion and dramatic situation on a storm tossed sea.” “The Tempest encapsulates so much of Shakespeare, and the play is an allegory of the way Shakespeare spun up his whole life of playwriting and inventing all these characters and situations and working out his loves and joys and personal demons through his writing,” said Love, a self-described Shakespeare fanatic. “He puts it all down at the end of The Tempest. What you get is a sense of his love for the act of being, of inspiration and creativity in the language, the characters and the situations. It’s some of his best writing. I know it’s a cliché, but it really does feel like a love letter to acting and theater and directing to me.” The magic of the works is literal, in that Shakespeare abandons any notion of naturalistic drama, instead employing magical devices to conveniently put characters right where they are needed, and has the title character address the audience at the end of the play – “little Easter eggs of self-awareness” that tickle Love’s fancy. Love also tweaks things a bit by casting a female in the lead, transforming the character from Prospero to Prospera. “I love the idea of examining the mother-daughter relationship, exploring what that would feel like,” Love said. “We’ve also changed the role of Antonio to Antonia, who is her usurping sister who has taken over the dukedom back in Milan. I really enjoy delving into the new ideas that can be explored with two powerful women, how the power struggle plays out at the end… Shakespeare is just full of endless ideas, themes, and emotions to explore. We have only scratched the surface.” Diving below the surface has come during the rehearsal process, where Love is making sure that the actors get a good training in Shakespeare. “We spent a lot of time on asking: what does this make you feel? If actors stand on stage and just speak beautiful Shakespearean words, but don’t connect it to universal emotions and motivations, then no one really knows what’s happening. So we instantly went about making sure that the actors knew how they felt about everything they were saying. You have to make it real for them so that they can make it real for the audience.” Lights Up!’s Tempest also added some musical elements that depart from the usual Renaissance fare, including the actors singing sea shanties as they put the stage set together prior to curtain and original music by company musical director Jezreel “Jay” Real. The company is also concurrently rehearsing its other two productions for the season, which features Cole Porter’s Tony Award-winning Musical Anything Goes at The Marjorie Luke Theatre in February, and Footloose at the Lobero in May. Lights Up! Theatre Company presents The Tempest at Center Stage Theater December 14-15. Visit https://centerstagetheater.org for tickets and more information.

Holiday Shows of the Week: Hot and Cold Christmas Shows Choral concerts don’t come much more compelling than the Quire of Voyces, which Nathan Kreitzer founded at SBCC back in 1993 and still enthusiastically leads 30 years later. The a cappella sacred music ensemble has a remarkably crystalline sound cultivated by both Kreitzer’s exacting ear and regular rehearsals. There are but two full

Nathan Kreitzer and the Quire of Voyces return on December 16-17 (courtesy photo)

14 – 21 December 2023

Get your cocoa ready and your skates on for this year’s Winter Wonderland ice skating

weekend programs each year in town, and the Mysteries of Christmas Concert is always quite highly anticipated, not the least of which is that it occurs in the cozy confines and acoustic wonder that is St. Anthony’s Chapel at the Garden Street Academy. This year’s program, at 3 pm on December 16-17, showcases new renditions of traditional songs and innovative arrangements of Nativity verses, including compositions by contemporary composers, many of whom are women, who have played a pivotal role in the recent choral composition renaissance: Matthew Culloton, Cecilia McDowall, Becky McLeod, Susan LaBarr, and Quire’s composer in residence Stephen Dombek. The dozen pieces on the program combine to convey a message of peace, love, and joy with shimmering sonorous harmonies, closing with Sargent’s arrangement of “Silent Night.” Visit www.quireofvoyces.org. For a holiday treat that is as chilly as Quire’s concerts are warm, head out to Girsh Park behind Costco for Ice in Paradise’s annual Holiday Ice Skating Show, where the talented cadre of coaches perform alongside local skaters in a stirring showcase of skills. The rink is turned into a beautiful, wintry setting with festive decorations to create the charming Christmastime scene, and you can take in the action from above from the mezzanine or, for the brave (and warmly-dressed) souls, right down on the ice where you are eye-to-eye with the skaters. Glide out to Goleta for shows at either 12:30 pm or 3:30 pm on December 16. If you are more partial to participating, bundle up to get into the action on the ice when Ice in Paradise hosts its annual festive Winter Wonderland public skating sessions December 18-24. The ice rink transforms into a holiday themed snow globe featuring snow, holiday music, lights, and more. The $25 ticket covers all day skating from 9 am – 9 pm (9 am – 4 pm on Christmas Eve) and includes free skate rentals and hot chocolate. Purchase tickets at the door. For more information, visit www.iceinparadise.org or call (805) 879-1550.

Setting the Stage Ensemble’s Johnny Cash tribute/story-through-song musical revue winds up its run at the New Vic with a final extended weekend through December 17. The Alcazar Theatre in Carpinteria has a second and final weekend helping of its homegrown adaptation of Miracle on 34th Street featuring an all-local cast and production crew, also closing December 17, the same date that A Christmas Story, The Musical closes out its extended run at the Ojai Arts Center. Meanwhile, Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre continues its production of the Kander & Ebb musical The World Goes ‘Round right on through Christmas Eve eve, aka December 23. But that’s not the big news for the Venture venue, as on opening Steven Libowitz has covered night on Saturday, Rubicon announced a plethora of topics for the a $1.5 million gift from the state – the Journal since 1997, and now largest investment from a government leads our extensive arts and entity in the company’s 25-year history – entertainment coverage which is earmarked toward building and infrastructure at the theater, while a concurrent match campaign is raising funds for artistic and educational programs. Talk about Christmas coming early. Montecito JOURNAL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15

by Steven Libowitz THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14 Arruda on Art & Authenticity – Caroline Arruda, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Graduate Studies for the Philosophy Department at Tulane University, heads to town to deliver a talk that combines philosophy with art to engender contemplation about how artists show us what a life well lived might look like. The concept is that contemporary culture sees artists as being authentic because many pursue their creative goals above all else, sacrificing family or a stable life to realize their dreams. Do artists doggedly pursuing such goals with this intensity have something to teach the rest of us about living authentically and living well? Arruda’s address is in conjunction with the exhibition Inside/Outside, which remains on view until February 18. WHEN: 5:30 pm WHERE: Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St. COST: $10, free for students INFO: (805) 963-4364 or https://tickets.sbma.net FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 Blues for the Boys – Back in the Fabulous Thunderbirds days, Kim Wilson was definitely “Tuff Enuff” for anything the blues or music industry could throw his way. But the now 72-year-old blues singer and harmonica player is also tender and big-hearted enough to want to keep giving back to his old neighborhood. So once again, Goleta Slim – as he was known in his early days, growing up in the then-orange grove fragrant suburbs – is coming home with a bunch of buddies in his Blues Allstars band to play a show for the Goleta Boys & Girls Club tonight, when the bluesman will blow through a soul-shaking set of the 12-bar stuff. It’s Wilson’s 10th annual benefit for the nonprofit that serves young people with safe, positive places to learn, grow, thrive, play sports and more. Fabulous! WHEN: 6 pm WHERE: 5701 Hollister Ave., Goleta COST: $50 or $80 per couple INFO: (805) 448-8332 or https://allevents.in/goleta/10th-annual-kim-wilson-blues-review/200025879578811 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 14 Happy ‘Holidaze’ – The Cirque Dreams franchise is associated with Cirque du Soleil, which means its productions combine some of the world’s finest contemporary circus artists with dynamic choreography and whimsical storytelling – capturing the hearts and imaginations of both audiences and critics alike. Cirque Dreams Holidaze puts the Yuletide season at its center, lighting up the stage with a dazzling family holiday spectacular in a Broadway-style musical infused with its circus artistry. Audiences can expect to have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads as a fantastical cast of holiday storybook characters come to life through the ensemble of aerial circus acts, sleight-of-hand jugglers, fun-loving skippers, breath-catching acrobatics and much more. The creative cast of performers is accompanied by an original music score that features new twists on seasonal favorites such as “Deck the Halls,” “Winter Wonderland,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” complete with singers, dancers, penguins toy soldiers, and reindeer to put a twinkle in your eye. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. COST: $20.50-$99 INFO: (805) 963-9589 or www.arlingtontheatresb.com/www.axs.com/ events/492378/cirque-dreams-holidaze-tickets

56 Montecito JOURNAL

Peppy Prime Time Performance – The broadcast networks used to consider 8-11 pm as prime time for TV audiences, but when your members are largely beyond the 18-49 demographic, 6 pm works just as well. That’s when the Santa Barbara’s Prime Time Band – a vibrant group of more than 60 amateur musicians ages 40-90+ that serves to provide free concerts for the community and as an entry point to music making for mature adults – will present a holiday music celebration and community sing-along full of seasonal favorites from traditional carols to contemporary classics. Tenor Gary Smith, the music director of Mt. Carmel Church in Montecito for the past 25 years who has also performed in productions of Evita, The Music Man, and Hello Dolly, and Miriam Dance, Director of Visual and Performing Arts at the Riviera Ridge School and a longtime local singer-songwriter, actress in musicals and frequent backup singer, serve as tonight’s guest vocalists. The Dos Pueblos High School Choir, directed by Courtney Anderson, will also perform in what is sure to be a happy holiday al fresco happening for everyone, directed by Dr. Paul Mori. WHEN: 6-7 pm WHERE: On the steps of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St. COST: free INFO: (805) 687-8009 or www.ptband.org

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16 SSB & Sugar Plums – More than 150 performers are part of State Street Ballet’s annual presentation of the beloved holiday classic The Nutcracker at the Granada Theatre. While the company has all-new administrative and artistic leadership, The Nutcracker will still feature the original choreography by director Rodney Gustafson that premiered in 2008 with a cast of professional dancers, and a few children from Gustafson Dance school. Over the past 15 years, the production has grown significantly and now features students from State Street Ballet Academy and trainees from the company’s professional track program performing alongside SBB’s main ensemble, all accompanied by Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra directed by Brian Asher Alhadeff. WHEN: 3 & 7:30 pm today, 3 pm tomorrow WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $38-$121, children $28 INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org SUNDAY, DECEMBER 17 Seasonal Sounds at SOhO – Gospel Brunch used to be a regular thing at SOhO back when the much-beloved soul-shouting Santa Barbara-based band Cafe R&B – with guitarist-songwriter-arranger Byl Carruthers and wife Roach on vocals – held forth at the downtown nightclub. Now, the great Miriam Dance is bringing back the terrific tradition in what promises to be a truly uplifting and soulful afternoon. The event was put together by singer-producer Dance and features a bunch of her musical friends, including Vivien Storm, Lois Mahalia, Santino Tafarella, and the Inner Light Gospel Choir, who will seamlessly combine the joyous celebration of traditional and contemporary gospel music during a delicious brunch that feeds both the body and the soul. A lively band backs the singers, infusing the vocalizing with raw emotion and passion as the singers harmonize and reach soaring heights with an energy that becomes infectious. Guests will likely find themselves clapping hands, tapping feet, and joining in the spirited call-and-response, a reminder of the beauty and power of music to inspire, heal, and connect us all during December… Tonight, it’s the annual holiday show from Venice, the band composed of two sets of brothers, Mark and Michael Lennon,

“What’s the point of complaining? We live in the north. Winter exists.” — Viki Mather

14 – 21 December 2023

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15 Rein, Rein Go Away – It was just a few years ago that Santa Barbara painter Brad Nack threatened to rein in his annual herd of reindeer paintings – marvelously multi-layered miniature (roughly around one square foot each) oils on canvas of the cute critters that he took all year to create and sold at Christmastime. Multilayered in multiple ways, as in Nack often offered several applications of paint for each work, and that the whimsical wonders evoked all kinds of reactions and emotions in both the artist and viewer. Indeed, he did take one year off – merely to publish his reindeer painting book. But when you have a knack for such a nifty niche, it’s hard to leave it behind, so Nack has been back at it for a while. As always, the paintings go on sale precisely at 6 pm tonight in his one-evening 100% Reindeer Art Show exhibition at Restaurant Roy, where the faithful line up in anticipation of adding to their amalgam of the antlered beasts among the quarter-century collection. The Roy paintings and some others can also be viewed online at Nack’s Etsy shop, although you’ll miss out on both the camaraderie and the effect of seeing the collection on the four walls of a single room. Also on display at Roy throughout the month: Nack’s California Garden series, a selection of work that captures the essence of flora and fauna of the Golden State, rendered in charcoal and acrylic as studies for Nack’s more detailed oil paintings to come. WHEN: 6 pm WHERE: Restaurant Roy, 7 W. Carrillo St. COST: free admission INFO: (805) 966-5636/https://restaurantroy.com or www.bradnack.com

and their cousins, Kipp and Pat Lennon, all of whom are related to the ‘50s girl group The Lennon Sisters. Familial-tight harmonies and familiarity bred over more than four decades of performing together characterize the pop quartet, which counted among its biggest fans and occasional collaborator the late great singer-songwriter David Crosby. WHEN: Gospel Brunch 12 noon-3 pm; Venice 8 pm WHERE: 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court COST: Gospel Brunch $28 ($50 including brunch); Venice $40 ($94.30 with dinner) INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com

Celebrate Coast Village Week with us with our Happy Hour menu Thursday & Friday from 3pm to close and Saturday from 2pm to close! Located in the Montecito Inn with al fresco dining, Coast & Olive welcomes locals and travelers from afar to indulge in California cuisine. Executive Chef, Chris Mottola, offers a menu that features local California produce, fresh seafood, roasted chicken, home-made pastas, and other savory dishes, paired perfectly with artisan cocktails and awardwinning California wines among others from around the world.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20 Parsons and Pals Party on – Turning 75 is a pretty big deal, so Alan Parsons, the great rock engineer (Abbey Road, Let It Be, and Dark Side of the Moon) and producer turned huge hit-making superstar composer-guitarist in the Alan Parsons Project, is doing it up in style at the Lobero Theatre in the heart of downtown in his long-ago adopted hometown. Parsons will be joined by several other local heroes including Michael McDonald (of Doobie Brothers and solo hits fame) and David Pack of Ambrosia (Parsons engineered their debut and produced the second album, and all four members of Ambrosia played on the first Alan Parsons Project record) as well as Al Stewart (Parsons produced Year of the Cat) and Terry Sylvester of The Hollies (Parsons was behind the controls at Abbey Road for five of the band’s albums). But it’s not just a public performance for the fun of it – proceeds benefit One805, the nonprofits that provide smartly-targeted funding and programs for the First Responders of Santa Barbara County, whom Parsons has performed for several times. It’s his actual birthday, too, so join in on offering well wishes for one of Santa Barbara’s greats as a few non-VIP tickets were still available as of this writing. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $306 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com

14 – 21 December 2023

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58 Montecito JOURNAL

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$10 MINIMUM TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD It’s simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email Classified Ad to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860. All ads must be finalized by Friday at 2pm the week prior to printing. We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge) “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” — Percy Bysshe Shelley

Donate to the Parrot Pantry! At SB Bird Sanctuary, backyard farmer’s bounty is our birds best bowl of food! The flock goes bananas for your apples, oranges & other homegrown fruits & veggies. Volunteers Do you have a special talent or skill? Do you need community service hours? The flock at SB Bird Sanctuary could always use some extra love and socialization. Call us and let’s talk about how you can help. (805) 969-1944 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED K-9 PALS need volunteers to be foster parents for our dogs while they are waiting for their forever homes. For more information info@k-9pals.org or 805-570-0415.

14 – 21 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

1 5

H I T P H O T O A U R A L S M A L L P S Y

A C T I F L O A T R O L L S O H O K M A R

WOM B I C E I N T E L L S H A B L A N A Y

F R OM R E N O F O L K S L O O P S O T S

C H OM P R I P E R U T E R O S C R I M T H A T S

MAKES

SMALL

TALK

WITH

FOLKS

CHITCHATS

PUZZLE #3

PUZZLE #2

M A S T S A T E A M K A P P A E L I A S S L A S H

Across 1 Tut's relative 4 Shade similar to pistachio 7 Roadside coin collector? 8 Their heads and bodies may be critiqued in bars 9 Not at all sluggish

Down 1 Catacomb components 2 Recharge one's batteries, so to speak 3 Person writing bad checks 5 Part of VHF 6 Places where stats are shouted?

Down 1 Jessica of "L.A.'s Finest" 2 What might make a gymgoer hot 3 Caribbean islander such as Nicki Minaj, informally 4 Checked out creepily 5 Couple on a basketball court

Down 1 Capital about 260 miles from Jerusalem 2 Indicated that you'd like a hand 3 With 7-Across, not-often-seen sort 4 Don't tread lightly at all 5 "American Greed" airer

Across 1 With 4-Down, thin, crinkly gift wrap 6 Cover of a rap video? 7 Ivory-covered? 8 Lead-in to mother, sister, or daughter 9 Wrongful act, legally

Down 1 Dental damage 2 Things that often come out in the wash 3 Word before "on it" or "it on" 4 Missing no marbles? 5 Like pawns and puppets

META PUZZLE 5

Across 1 Goldfish or koi, e.g. 5 Shipping shortcut 6 Ingredient in some heart meds 7 See 3-Down 8 Haddock's cousin

Across 1 Frankfurter, for short 4 Kid with a soft surface 6 Clothing accessory for Fred of "Scooby-Doo" 7 Become imminent 8 One of its flavors is Salted Caramel Pretzel Path

PUZZLE #5 4

Across 1 ___ Martin (James Bond's car) 6 Like a googol 7 Fabricated 8 Auntie ___ (pretzel bakery chain) 9 What Google is for many a stumped crossword solver

PUZZLE #4 1

Down 1 Some portfolio components, in brief 2 Settle down for the night 3 Longtime classical music record label 4 See 1-Across 5 President Sisi's place

Across 1 It's a hit in comic books 4 Person unlikely to hang out at a nude beach 6 Cowboys try to gain them 7 "Analyze That" director Harold 8 "My People" author Abba

Down 1 U Nu knew it well 2 Include as a bonus 3 Anxiety source for a neatnik 4 "And our love become a funeral ___" (lyric by the Doors) 5 Broccoli ___ (salad green)

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