In the Station

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

5 On Entertainment – A Wonderland at Sullivan Goss, the Force of Bryan Tari, Steven Gilbar goes noir, plus other events

6 Beings & Doings – Traveling abroad and seeking opportunities for growth – avoid settings that glaringly showcase your incompetence

8 Montecito Miscellany – Dinner & Divots for polo, Choral Society goes Toi, Toi, Toi, the SBEF finds hope, and more miscellany

10 Letters to the Editor – Support for Rosewood’s renovations and a father writes in about his Tree Amigos Tide Guide

11 Local News – Montecito Fire welcomes new Engine 92 with a community push-in ceremony 12 Our Town – The Explore Ecology Annual Environmental Steward awards are handed out along with some local environmental happenings

14 Society Invites – Transition House’s Mad Hatter event returns for its 25th anniversary and the Laguna Blanca Lower School Citizenship Breakfast

16 Elizabeth’s Appraisals – A reader sends in an etching that reveals one artist’s love for all things maritime

18 Real Estate – Living in the bubble that seemingly won’t burst – here are the homes and latest numbers in said bubble

20 The Giving List – The ever popular NatureTrack program is taking grade school students, seniors, and others to the outdoors

Brilliant Thoughts – The many ways that we settle conflict and the strange love that can come out of it 26 An Independent Mind – The lessons to be learned from Argentina and how they can affect the U.S. economy

28

Dear Montecito – Animator-turned-visual artist Beatrice Tolan talks HORSE$H*T and depicting it

30 Stories Matter – This month’s tomes take readers through cultures, history, and even a walk along the Grand Canyon

33

Petite Wine Traveler – Take a tour of the spotted islands of Dalmatia and the wines and flavors found there

34 The Optimist Daily – A study shows that kids read better on printed texts than screens so get them going on the MJ early

37 Food Files – These four women chefs are cooking up a storm at the all-inclusive Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit

39 Your Westmont – Orchestra and choir go on tour, student research expands boundaries, soprano earns honor, and baseball has new HR king

44 Calendar of Events – 1st Thursday events, One Acts on campus, VADA Talks, and more happenings this week

46

Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales

47 Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles Local Business Directory

On Entertainment Artwork in Wonderland

by Steven Libowitz

Sullivan Goss’ new exhibition celebrates mid-Spring with a splash of color and a bit of buoyancy, turning the downtown gallery into a Wonderland with both new works by the gallery’s regularly represented artists and pieces from four artists who have never shown there before. The latter group includes Roland Petersen, the Danish-born painter whose works hang at MOMA and the Whitney in New York (among other museums), and international design phenomenon Sami Hayek whose wall-hanging sculpture called Frequency 4 features a biaxially symmetrical shape that comes from an auditory frequency some say helps to eliminate negativity. Philip Kupferschmidt’s ceramic mushrooms, vases, and jars are adorned with “vivid and gloopy glazes over crusty surfaces, with drips and glops that are so exuberant, they can hardly contain themselves.” And L.A. artist John Millei, who moved here a few years ago, was a teacher at the famed Art Center and is shown and collected internationally.

Several Sullivan-Goss Santa Barbara favorites are also part of the show, including Hank Pitcher, who will be represented by a six-foot-tall by four-foot-wide painting of the aeonium cyclops succulent in full bloom, and Ken Bortolazzo, who will be showing new stainless steel kinetic floral sculptures and a new mobile. Lynda Weinman has forms in ceramic and plastic that recall gardens, while Angela Perko’s painting is called Castor Bean Plant

“The whole seed of the show sprung from the opportunity to work with these new artists who are very well known outside Santa Barbara,” explained gallery owner Nathan Vonk. “The concept incorporates all of them and allows us to bring some art that we already have that are also bright, exciting, fun things to create a cohesive room that looks amazing. I think it’s one of my favorites we’ve had in here in a very long time.”

Many of the artists are expected to be on hand for the opening reception at 1st Thursday on May 2, including Phoebe Brunner, whose paintings in the Westward, the Land is Bright exhibition that continues through May 27 could easily fit in with the theme of Wonderland, which shows through June 24. But every other day of the week might give a clearer view of the artwork.

“Stop by any time,” Vonk said. “You’ll probably have the place to yourself, and you’ll get my undivided attention.”

Art Abounds: ‘Artful Minds’ & LUM Unleashed

Santa Barbara’s Mental Wellness Center kicks off National Mental Health Awareness Month with its popular art show on the beachfront lawn opposite Chase Palm Park

Side Bank Loop (1972) by Roland Petersen

Woman in a Fascinator Hat (2024) by John Millei

Beings & Doings

Moron in a Glass House

by Jeff Wing

I’d fallen hard for a lovely Dutch visitor to Santa Barbara and made the impulsive decision to drop everything and follow her home. Her name was Judith and “Home” was a lovely town on the Dutch Channel Coast, a place called Monster (etymological provenance: the 11th century monastery that was the town’s seedling) in a province called Het Westland; the agricultural belt of the Netherlands. That meant greenhouses as

Tomaaten

Irene,

Arnoud, Karin, Judie, me, Nicolette, Marcel. Before the fall. (courtesy photo)

far as the eye could see, and a season of professional sorrow for incompetent me.

What is Americanism if not a plucky self-confidence that often mixes up Aesop’s Look/Leap sequence? I would show these lovely Dutch villagers how America does it. “This is how we do!”

Ultimately my USAssurance would not impress. I unpacked my American can-do and it worked like a charm — an unlucky plague-bearing charm. Think not of a wrecking ball with defined kinetic purpose. Think Jerry Lewis on roller skates with a samurai sword. That was me!

On my arrival in the Netherlands, Judie’s parents, Koos and Riek (Jacobus and Hendrika) took an immediate liking to me and I to them. Juud and I settled into the attic room (the “zolder”) at the top of the steep staircase that was the spine of the verticalized house. A single enormous storm window, frequently hammered with violent rain, was set into the steeply canted ceiling. Juudje and I would lie beneath it and watch the huge black crows struggle and cry out in the wind-ravaged air above the house, black low clouds racing by like smoke.

Soon enough I got my first job through a family connection. I would be working in “the tomatoes” for an exuberantly wealthy farmer named Hans. Despite my having eaten enough ketchup in my lifetime to buoy a rowboat, I had never pondered what compels a tomato to exit the soil with its synergies intact. This sketchy grasp of food-growing did not serve me well in the tightly controlled environment of the Dutch greenhouse.

All greenhouse work basically involves moving quickly down a row of individual plants and lavishing exacting attention on each one with lightning speed. Dutch kids start working in the greenhouses for summer spending money at a very young age, so by the time they’re teens they are possessed of incredible speed and accuracy in a specialized

work sector that requires both in order to meet profitable volume goals. I soon found that the critically detailed tomato tasks were impossible at the velocities required. The apple-cheeked Dutch teens would jitter busily down the rows, moving quickly past me like double-speed characters in a silent movie – while I plodded along like Karloff’s Mummy; slower though, and with little of the Mummy’s flamboyance.

Whether tearing nourishment-sapping little leaves off the stems to embolden the fruit, or moving down the line on a little electric cart to re-hang the lengthening vines, I was an eight-alarm fire in a moist rag factory – slow and unstoppably destructive. There was no specialized task that didn’t end with me smashing tomatoes in my haste. I would hurriedly get to the end of a row and look back at my work. Often it would look like a drunk had plowed through there in a Plymouth.

Exciting the Product

Strangest of all the tomato duties was “trillen,” which roughly translates to “vibrating.” To get the plants to divest themselves of pollen, you would stand sideways on an elevated electric cart with its little foot pedal. Clutching a battery-powered sex-wand, you

SAVE UP TO 30% ON ALL DINING SETS

We have many tables that expand to accommodate large parties— in stock and ready for immediate white glove delivery.

Montecito Miscellany Return to Neverland

by Richard Mineards

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, with its accompanying theme park, has been brought back to life at a cost of millions of dollars as work continues on an upcoming movie about the reclusive singer’s troubled life and career.

Jackson was preparing for a lucrative run of shows at London’s 02 Arena when he died at a rented L.A. mansion in 2009 of cardiac arrest following an overdose of the surgical anesthetic drug Propofol.

In the years since he died aged 50, the music icon has remained a pop culture figure – celebrated for the body of work he left behind, amid a legacy complicated by controversies, among them allegations of child abuse.

His life is now set to be dramatized in a new biopic Michael, with Jackson’s own nephew Jaafar, an accomplished singer and dancer in his own right, set to play his late uncle.

Neverland, the 2,700-acre property Jackson originally purchased in 1988, has now been reconstructed as filming continues ahead of the movie’s April 18, 2025, release.

The fairground rides, tents, and children’s train it became known for have all been completely rebuilt, along with a Ferris wheel and replica of Jackson’s carousel, as well as an enormous red and white circus tent and red train that carried visitors around the estate.

Billionaire Ron Burkle purchased Neverland for $22 million in December 2020. He was the former adviser to the self-styled King of Pop after meeting at an event for underprivileged children in the mid-2000s.

He snapped up the property from Santa Barbara Polo Club patron Tom Barrack for nearly $80 million less than the asking price.

The original ranch boasted 21 structures, including multiple guest houses

and a 50-seat movie theater. There was also a swimming pool, and basketball and tennis courts.

A Divot-ing Dinner

Divotees were out in force as the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club hosted the second annual Dinner & Divots bash with 110 guests raising around $100,000 for Lobero Theatre Associates’ program to support underserved local youth music education, which also honored the popular theater’s 100th building anniversary. The tented fun fête, a tiara’s toss from the rustic clubhouse, was co-chaired by Mindy Denson and Paige Beard, with entertainment from guitarist Maitland Ward and keyboardist George Friedenthal, who played with the ‘80s group Mr. Mister.

Miscellany Page 324

Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch will be featured in upcoming biopic (photo by Construcentro via Wikimedia Commons)

Brandon Mowery, Mindy Denson, Paige Beard, and David Asbell (photo by Priscilla)

$4,250,000

Letters to the Editor

Support Your Neighbors

My family home is within walking distance of the Miramar. I am a seventh generation Santa Barbarian. My family and I, along with many neighbors both nearby and across Montecito, firmly support the plan to add affordable housing for the workers of the Miramar, which in part is funded by the addition of retail shops and rooms to the west side of the hotel.

I believe Caruso’s proposal is a noble one, shows leadership, and goes above and beyond what any other business or individual has done to positively help our Montecito community with respect to affordable housing. I understand worker housing from personal experience. My family has been farming and ranching in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties since the late 1700s and we have provided worker housing on our ranches for generations. It is in our DNA. The benefits are many: Worker housing creates a sense of community and goodwill. It creates a more loyal and consistent workforce. It takes drivers off our crowded freeways. And it helps to enrich our schools, churches, and cultural institutions with residents who have a real stake in Montecito.

Caruso has listened to us and made substantive changes to their plan. They removed the third floor from the Eucalyptus side of the property, which will improve sight lines and view corri-

dors. They’re devoting less space to shops. They also removed any direct access to the shops from Eucalyptus Lane. This helps eliminate traffic concerns and potential damage to the rural fabric of the neighborhood by keeping the shops contained within the Miramar campus and un-signed from the street. As has been their practice, I know Caruso will continue to listen to us in the future as well - that’s all part of the process.

The Miramar has been a good neighbor with substantial direct and indirect contributions to our community. They bring people together for the holidays, for summertime dog shows, and now they’re bringing back the swim raft. Caruso directly supports MUS and a host of other local groups. Plus, they’re one of our largest employers and generators of tax revenue for our community.

Caruso has shown they want to do the right thing for Montecito. I believe the best response is cooperation, rather than obstructionism. In today’s world, obstructionism is all too common and we’ve seen the results. Through cooperation and goodwill, we will find a balanced result that works for everyone. Let’s lower the volume, drop the fearmongering, and see this plan for what it is – a responsible solution.

Regards, Thomas Oreña Lloyd-Butler

The Tree Amigos Matter

In 1969, my class from Santa Barbara Christian School walked the beach after the Santa Barbara oil spill. I was six or seven. I remember seeing all the tar and the large oil-stained dead fish and tried to pry an eye out of one of them because I thought it would be cool to have. That was the start of the modern Environmental Movement.

Seventeen years ago, two teen girls saw a 21-acre Orcutt open space that needed protection and gathered 1,300 signatures to stop a mixed use development. With letters of support from the Sierra Club, Supervisor Das Williams, the Environmental Defense Center, etc., the Tree Amigos, as they were called, was born. The girls saved an open space that thousands upon thousands of commuters have enjoyed on their way to work every day to Lompoc and Vandenberg. This open space sits on the corner of Clark Ave and Orcutt Rd, seven miles south of Santa Maria.

The Tree Amigos proved that North County teenagers are not powerless, do have a voice, and can work with government to protect environmentally sensitive areas. The Tree Amigos were able to get Fish and Game to put a pause on the development resulting in almost two decades of visual relief for weary, hard-working commuters. With stunning views, abundant wildlife, incredible scenery, Key Site 11 is a peek into the past of what Orcutt used to look like. That undeveloped, western oil “boom town.”

Because Santa Barbara County Supervisors are poised to pass an affordable housing plan based on 100% build out of all open spaces in Orcutt, Key Site 11 is slated by developers to become 150+ apartments and ball fields. No longer a wildlife corridor, but a gleaming mixed-use development full of old-fashioned themed retail and grocery stores ironically with the theme of

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

“boom town.” Birds of prey will soon be replaced by the cheers of parents in baseball stands. Coyotes will be replaced with gas powered mowers, delivery trucks, and shopping carts. I guess you can’t blame the owners of the carwash next door for building this project. Everybody’s entitled to get the biggest ROI on investment, aren’t they? But, wouldn’t it be nice, for once, if we all stepped back and told developers and the County of Santa Barbara you got 99% of what you wanted in Orcutt open space. Why don’t you just save us one little piece of the past.

Ryan Schwab Father of The Tree Amigos

Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net

President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net

Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net

MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor

Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe

Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña

Administration | Jessikah Fechner

Administrative Assistant | Kassidy Craner VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net

Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Natasha Kucherenko

Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick

Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin

Proofreading | Helen Buckley Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz

Contributors | Scott Craig, Ashleigh Brilliant, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Chuck Graham, Stella Haffner, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Elizabeth Stewart, Amélie Dieux, Houghton Hyatt, Jeff Wing

Gossip | Richard Mineards

History | Hattie Beresford

Humor | Ernie Witham

Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri

Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook

Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee

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

Local News

Montecito Fire Department to Host Community Push-In Ceremony for New Engine 92

by MJ Staff

The Montecito Fire Department is hosting a community event on Monday, May 6, at 4 pm to celebrate the arrival of their newest fire engine, Engine 92. The event will take place at Fire Station 92, located at 2300 Sycamore Canyon Road in Montecito, and will feature a traditional push-in ceremony where firefighters and community members will manually push the engine into the apparatus bay. Engine 92 is a Type 1, 2023 Pierce Enforcer with a 500-gallon water tank, designed to meet the unique needs of the Montecito community. It features a “pump and roll” capability, a comprehensive airbag system for firefighter safety, and an “all-steer” capability for navigating tight spaces.

The engine replaces a 14-year-old fire engine, which will now serve as a reserve unit. The outgoing reserve engine, Engine 192, a 1997 KME Renegade Type 1 Engine, will be donated to the Allan Hancock College Public Safety Training Center to help train future firefighters.

The event is open to the public, with parking available at Cold Spring School. The Montecito Fire Department invites the community to join them in celebrating this latest addition to their fleet and the retirement of Engine 192 after 26 years of service.

These are the items you should consider when selecting a real estate agent:

Experience - Dan has over 34 years of full-time real estate experience in Santa Barbara/Montecito

Marketing Plan - Dan will prepare a written marketing plan designed specifically to sell your property

Advertising Budget - Each year Dan spends over $250,000 marketing and advertising his listings

Results - Dan has had over $2 Billion in Sales

Consistency - Dan has ranked in the top 10 Berkshire Hathaway agents worldwide for seventeen years

Support Staff - Dan has excellent, highly trained staff ready to help seven days a week

Add “Call Dan Encell” to your real estate checklist!

Call Dan at (805) 565-4896 today. All calls will be

hello to Engine 92 (courtesy photo)

Our Town

Explore Ecology Annual Environmental Steward Awards 2024

by Joanne A Calitri

Congratulations to the Explore Ecology (EE) Annual Environmental Steward 2024 Award winners, officially celebrated on Sunday, April 28, at the Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival onstage in the Kids Corner.

Each year, the EE group invites the public to submit their nominations for these important award categories of local schools and clubs. The EE team evaluates each nominee to ensure the winners demonstrate exceptional commitment and dedication to environmental stewardship, exemplify the spirit of environmental awareness, environmental action and inspire positive change in their schools and communities. In a quick interview, EE Executive Director Lindsay Johnson explained: “Each year we receive so many inspiring nominations for the Explore Ecology Awards. We wish we could honor everyone that is nominated! The winners this year are a diverse group of teachers, students, and school clubs, all of whom exemplify excellence in environmental stewardship and community engagement. Congratulations to all of the winners for their exceptional contributions to a more sustainable Santa Barbara County.”

EE 2024 Student Winners

Gio Alfaro, awarded for planting two trees at his school.

Ethan Maday, recognized for his advocacy of regenerative agriculture and its potential for global impact.

Margo Leven, awarded for composting at her school, leading to significant waste reduction.

Moxi McLeod does regular beach cleanups and is a volunteer at her school garden and at the Art from Scrap Creative Reuse Store.

EE 2024 Teacher Award Winners

Jennifer Rasmussen, Refugio High School teacher, awarded for her innovative

Ecology

teaching methods and the transformative impact of her hands-on learning electives.

Our Town Page 384

Thank you for your continued generosity. Your support funds local cancer care at Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and makes a difference every day. JOIN US FOR THE UPCOMING PARADE! Mission Santa Inés | May 4th | 3pm

$1.53M

Teri Briggs, Lori Leach, and Jennifer Rasmussen (photo courtesy of Explore Ecology)

Ocean Guardian mom helpers and students at the Explore Ecology Environmental Steward Awards 2024 (photo courtesy of Explore Ecology)

Explore

Marketing PR Jill Cloutier with Explore Ecology Environmental Steward Award 2024 winner Ethan Maday (photo courtesy of Explore Ecology

HOME IS OUR FAVORITE DESTINATION

Society Invites Transition House’s 25th

Annual Mad Hatter Fundraiser

by Joanne A Calitri

Transition House (TH) held its Silver Anniversary Mad Hatter Luncheon fundraiser at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara on Tuesday, April 23. The theme was “Come Celebrate our Silver Anniversary.” Guests arrived showcasing a variety of silver threaded designer pieces, from hats, scarves, dresses, rhinestone tops, right down to the basic silver lurex card’y.

Hats took on their own theme, from

Paris, WWII, Aladdin, red carpet, cartoon, and freelance sculpted. Applause went to the designer hats owned by the late Leslie Ridley-Tree (purchased at her estate auction) and were worn by Erin Graffy de Garcia and Jill Nida. RidleyTree, whose presence at the event is cherished, was known to have at least 80 hats in her collection.

During the cocktail reception, guests shopped the Silent Auction items, which included a cocktail party at

Frank McGinity, Mary Stern, Jim Buckley, and Kathleen Baushke (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Nancy Kozak, Missy Sheldon, Jacquie McMahon, Anna Ylvisaker, Judy Cresap, and Diane White (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

miss daisy’s

Elizabeth’s Appraisals

Wyllie Etching

“ask your friends” by Elizabeth

Stewart

sends me a lovely etching of Scarborough Harbor in England circa 1920 at 13”x5” and asks if I know the artist. I do; the artist is a maritime painter of Britain’s ships, ports, and rivers in the late 19th early 20th century, William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931), who was known for his oils, etchings, and watercolors. By 1907, Wyllie was a leading maritime artist. His etchings are delicate and atmospheric. I bought an etching of his for my son, an image of Clydebank in Scotland, a port, along with Scarborough, which was one of the leading shipbuilding locations in the world in the 19th century. My son Laughlin’s great-great-grandfather was a shipbuilder in the Clydebank shipyard.

I discovered that between 1785-1810, 209 ships were built at Scarborough Harbor, with a tonnage of 35,683 tons. Fifteen huge ships a year were launched, using cradles on an inclined plane at low tide. At this time, 1,500 seamen, 500 of whom were working for the East India Company, belonged to the port. The exports were corn, butter, hams, bacon, and salt fish, while the

imports were coal, lumber, hemp, flax, iron, brandy, and wine. In 1849 a company was formed to repair huge ships there, and a floating dock, which can be seen in the etching, was built that was capable of taking ships up to 300 tons.

Wyllie fell in love with the sea, ships, and boats at an early age, and, as he came from a family of artists, painted what he loved. At 15 years old he was enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools in London with famous teachers John Everett Millais, Frederic Leighton, and Edwin Henry Landseer. In 1869 at age 18 his first painting was admitted into the Royal Academy. In that year he also won the prestigious Turner Gold Medal with his landscape Dawn After a Storm. His favorite artist was marine and landscape artist and innovator J. M. W. Turner, about whom he authored a book in 1905, hence Wyllie’s lifelong interest in atmosphere and water.

He loved boats and the sea, and not only sketched and painted boats but owned many and designed a few; he was commodore of many a British yacht club. His first boat was Ladybird, which was essentially a floating studio on which he invited fellow painters on expeditions

up the River Thames from 1880-1885. These resultant watercolors of the River Thames showed life in many wharves and in many harbors. The subject matter was vast: In the 1880s London was the premier port and the largest center of commerce in the British Empire. Because Wyllie needed funds to support his travels on shipping and cruise vessels, he painted ships’ portraits for sea captains.

In the 1880s he worked for the magazine Graphic as a documentarian illustrator, work different from an artist’s work. As an illustrator, he had to get all the details right, including no imaginative flights of fancy, and he had to render all work in black and white. This use of monochrome, after his long career previously as a watercolorist, changed the way he saw, and he began to etch in 1883. Drypoint engraving, which uses a diamond pointed needle on a metal plate, calls for a reversed image to be created on the metal, which is then inked and pressed, as we see in Scarborough Harbor. Commercial printwork comprised much of his career for 50 years thereafter. He also etched – and whereas etching is mainly a chemical process, engraving is a physical process. (With an etching, the image is created on a wax-coated metal plate with a burr; once the metal is chemically bathed, the lines of the image appear.)

He etched images of the River Thames, London ports, Scottish and Yorkshire ports, yachting, the Mediterranean, the Royal Navy, WWI vessels, sea battles, and images of a new pastime – cruising – for the very wealthy.

In 1914 Wyllie was commissioned by the Royal Navy to document WWI on the sea: He painted accurate battle scenes from firsthand observations. His son Roger was on the front as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps, sending him images. As the final salvo of his long career, he painted a 42-foot panorama of the Battle of Trafalgar 1805 between the British Navy and the French and Spanish Navies, unveiled at the Royal Naval Museum at Portsmouth by King George V in 1930. Wyllie died in 1931 and was given full naval honors. His body was rowed up Portsmouth Harbor in a Naval cutter past battle ships with the colors dipped. GH’s etching is worth $300.

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

The etching of Scarborough Harbor

A closeup shows the signature of William Lionel Wyllie

Real Estate Living in the Bubble

by Mark Ashton Hunt

Ioften feel as if today’s Montecito real estate market is something of a bubble. Not that it is a bubble about to burst, rather the bubble we live in, where the outside world does not seem to exist. We have everything we need right here it feels. And as for home prices, we have seen as the pandemic hit town, prices went up. Construction prices go up, more people undertake renovations or new builds. Inventory goes down, prices go up; inventory goes up, prices go up. Rates go up, prices go up. When will this slow down, if ever? I keep looking for the moment when I can say it is here, happening, the gold rush is over. But for now, those looking to sell will in most cases, achieve top dollar historically.

I say this having watched a couple of up and down markets now (1995 – 2005, very bottom then way up, and 2005 – 2010 way up and then way down). 2010 – 2014 was slow going. Peaks and valleys along the way. 2015 – 2020 was a slowly up-trending market, beach front homes started to see their value recognized (Miramar, Butterfly, Fernald), but otherwise sales and prices were like ripples softly hitting the shore… and then, the pandemic hit and our market surged and keeps on surging.

From mid-2020 forward, Montecito (and much of Santa Barbara) have seen their prices double. Finished homes in Montecito from $5M to $50M are all in serious consideration each day. Not, “let’s put it on the market and see if anyone is interested,” or as a buyer, “let’s wait and see if they lower the price.”

Ours is a market where one can rely on a specific buying strategy. Each home that hits the market has its own momentum (or lack thereof), regardless of market conditions. A home hits the market priced high and goes quickly, and another comes on at a logical price and sits for a while. It is often surprising what sells and doesn’t sell quickly. That said, it only takes one buyer, someone who loves the home and who can afford it.

True, some homes don’t sell right away, or take some time. Sure, some homes and properties are more generally in demand than others (think modern farmhouse, Spanish, classic estates, modern, and again, anything done!). Often, high-priced fixers take a minute to move. That said, looking at recent sales, we see prices with fixers and teardowns reaching $4 to $5M per acre, and well more in prime locales.

Some properties with a flaw or two, or missing a feature or few, may require one or two price reductions before finding a new owner (think small driveway, no parking, lack of privacy, too much work to do, small house to begin with, etc.). These are all points that might reduce the buyer pool, yet create opportunity for a buyer who is flexible on the condition of the property and amenities.

As of April 26, there are +/- 50 homes and condos on the market in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Montecito’s 93108, which is up from the recent high 30’s to low 40’s of the past many months, so that is promising for buyers seeking options.

There have been +/- 17 sales thus far in April (to 4/26) in the MLS which is a solid number for any month, especially when it boasts four closed deals over $10M, the high being just over $30M for 4+/- acres of done, and done well on Picacho Lane, further cementing that calle as a top priced, if not THE top priced street (highest number of homes selling over $10 million) in all of Montecito’s 93108. Additionally, many homes continue to sell off market in all areas. This has been a growing trend over the past few years and becoming more common even in recent months.

Real Estates Page 404

MARK ASHTON HUNT

Representing Buyers and Sellers in Montecito Specializing in property valuation

If you would like me to make an appointment for you to view any home for sale in Montecito, or for a current market analysis of your home, please contact me directly.

Call/Text Mark @ 805-698-2174

Mark@Villagesite.com

www.MontecitoBestBuys.com

DRE#01460852

C

JUST SOLD

Masterfully designed for contemporary comfort & luxury, this estate sprawls 3.5 pristine Montecito acres. Represented Buyer

AT $33,000,000

NEW LISTING

Stunning restored and updated 1920’s Edwards & Plunkett home w/ 3 bed + office, 2 bath in San Roque on 0.20-ac.

AT $3,449,000

ACTIVE LISTING

Luxurious Montecito compound estate spread across 0.77-ac w/ guest house, pool cabaña, pool/spa & ocean views.

NEW LISTING

This sweet cottage on 0.31-acre near the SB Mission, comes with plans & permits for a gorgeous expansion.

NEW LISTING

Beautifully renovated Mission Canyon retreat on a quiet cul-de-sac with 3 bed, 2.5 bath and city & ocean views

$3,695,000

NEW LISTING

Located on the Lower Riviera, this turn-key 2 bed, 1 bath home w/ 2-car garage is on 0.14-ac w/ endless charm.

AT $1,745,000.

The Giving List

by Steven Libowitz

NatureTrack has a simple but vital mission: To foster a lifelong fascination with nature through outdoor field trips. The nonprofit was founded in 2011 by Sue Eisaguirre, who wanted to reach a broader community than she was able to do through her work heading up the docent and K-12 outreach programs for the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve. So she founded NatureTrack to cover the whole of Santa Barbara County with the goal of making nature more accessible for everyone, particularly children from low income families who might not otherwise have the chance.

In the last 13 years, NatureTrack has done remarkable work, providing field trips for school children; letting them immerse themselves in local parks, preserves and beaches, engaging their curiosity and instilling a perhaps new appreciation and awe of the wonders of the natural world. The day trips are provided at no cost to the participants or the school districts, with the organization covering everything, including transportation. There are never more than five kids per docent on the trips, so everyone is able to get all the attention and answers they might want.

As you might imagine, teachers and their students normally rave about the experience, with schools booking excursions year after year and enthusiastically endorsing the program.

But not long ago, Eisaguirre found one of the instructors holding back from providing a full-throated recommendation.

“She was a little hesitant because the trips are so popular, and our availability fills up so quickly,” Eisaguirre explained. “She said she loves what we’re doing and didn’t want to be selfish, but wanted to make sure her

class gets a spot again, so she’d tell other people about it after she booked her trips.”

Indeed, NatureTrack’s field trips have become so popular that virtually the entire school year’s schedule is booked within a few weeks after registration is opened.

“It just kills me that our K-12 field trips have such a long wait list that we are not going to be able to get to the bottom by the end of the year,” Eisaguirre said. “We’ve just had too many requests and there’s only so many of us to go around.”

Indeed, it’s astonishing that NatureTrack is still basically run on a shoestring, with just a single employee in addition to the founder – who puts in much more than 40 hours a week – and its cadre of volunteers, some 100 strong. Maintaining the 5-to-1 participant to docent ration means there are only so many trips they can handle.

Also adding to the demand for the docents is the stupendous success of New Tracks, the organization’s program to increase access to nature for wheelchair users, not only within the school system but for people of all ages. Using Freedom Trax, a device that transforms a manual wheelchair into a battery-powered, all-terrain vehicle capable of traversing previously difficult topography, the program provides those with physical disabilities access to beaches and trails, many for the first time.

“The Tracks program is just taking off like crazy,” Eisaguirre said. “We have 15 of them available, so we’re doing our best to make sure they get used. We have a whole bunch of senior homes that are participating, and we’re going out once or twice a week with different homes.”

The excursions into nature have been a wonder for the elderly who have often not experienced an excursion to the beach or a nature trail for many years. Indeed, Eisaguirre was moved to hear that when program director Abby Pickens shows up

at Mission Villa, the midtown memory care facility, the residents often recognize her.

“Abby has been with them outdoors enough that it seems to have helped their short-term memory,” she said. “It’s like it turned on one of the switches.”

NatureTrack has also been lending out its Freedom Trax devices for anyone to use regardless of age or extent of disability, Eisaguirre said. Students use them not only for official NatureTrack field trips, but also school or family excursions to such places as the Botanic Garden. One Los Olivos family borrowed a Trax so that the brother in a wheelchair could join them for the ceremony on the beach in Santa Barbara, while another was currently taking one to Big Bear to test it out to make sure that it will work for their son so he can confidently attend sixth grade science camp next year. Another was flown to Hawaii for a family that was meeting on a beach there to fulfill the grandmother’s bucket list to visit the beach with her children and grandchildren one more time. And Wilderness Youth Project has employed the Trax so disabled kids could participate fully in their own programs.

“We really do believe that the Trax shouldn’t sit idle,” Eisaguirre said. “If people want to borrow them, they are available at no charge. I’m just thrilled that people are using them.”

Special Freedom Trax Days are slated for June 23 at West Beach near the Pier, July 21 at Pismo Beach, August 17 at Avila Beach, and September 28 at Arroyo Verde Park Ventura.

Pickens has also revived NatureTrack

Family Days, a bimonthly opportunity for families to experience the equivalent of a school trip by visiting nature sports with docent-led hikes, games and connecting with other families.

“They get to see the fun interactive nature games that we do with the kids, and the parents are learning those as well and just enjoying exploring nature like we do with the kids,” Eisaguirre said. “Those are really building momentum too, and it’s ideal to see the preschool age children with their families, because it means they are starting at that early age to see how fun nature is, and how easy it is to spend time in nature with their kids. It’s not some long, arduous hike, but a gentle walk, stopping, exploring, looking at the colors, doing fun things with simple little activities that get the child and the parents engaged.”

Upcoming Family Days include May 4 at El Capitan State Beach, July 14 at North Campus Open Space, and September 21 at Lake Los Carneros.

There are a lot of ways to support NatureTrack in its work, including donations of any amount, which, with only two employees, go almost entirely to the program costs, including the training of docents. But even those with limited funds can be a part of the program by volunteering, either serving as a docent, or with administrative work, much of which can be done remotely.

Help yourself, too, by spending more time outdoors.

Visit https://naturetrack.org for more information

Brilliant Thoughts

How

Conflicts Get Resolved

by Ashleigh Brilliant

What’s remarkable about human conflicts – even very nasty ones – is that they usually do get settled, one way or another. Here are some ways this can happen:

By overwhelming force (war).

By negotiation and compromise.

By some kind of payment or reparations. By legal process, i.e., “going to court.”

By persuasion.

By agreed-upon arbitration.

By intervention on the part of others not involved.

By something bigger, such as a natural disaster, becoming more important than the dispute.

By time – and the disputants simply dying off, or outliving the issue.

And what about “Love,” as taught by many great religious leaders?

Unfortunately some of the longest, most bitter conflicts have been between close neighbors. Between 1870 and 1940, France and Germany, who are mostly separated only by the Rhine River, fought three devastating wars. Somehow, it took all those “lessons” to teach these two largest powers of Western Europe to organize, with all the others, economically and militarily, to prevent any more fighting of each other, and protect them all from what are seen as outside dangers.

But these wars can leave lasting bitterness. As one illustration, after the 1870 conflict, the City of Strasbourg which had been a municipality of France, became officially part of Germany. At that time, there had for years been in Paris a monument representing Strasbourg as part of Eastern France. After the great defeat and loss, that monument was not removed, but was kept permanently draped in black – until 1919, when Strasbourg went back to France after Germany’s defeat in World War I. This was part of the so-called Versailles settlement which, however, was so unfavorable to the Germans that it became one of their grievances which Hitler exploited, and led to the rise of the Nazis.

In my own lifetime I have seen enemies becoming close friends. As a child growing up in World War II, I was taught only hatred towards the Germans and Japanese. But we, the victors, did not deal harshly with the vanquished. Apart from prosecuting a few “war criminals,” we mainly tried to help them recover. This also

induced them to copy our own democratic institutions.

Although there have continued to be relatively small-scale conflicts in various parts of the world, confined to small areas, there has not since 1945 been anything like a Third World War. One factor in this situation is the way the last one ended – with the use of a new weapon so terrible and uncontrollable in its consequences that even potential users have shrunk back in horror.

This brought about a new term for a new type of conflict-avoidance, aptly referred to by the acronym “M.A.D.” standing for “Mutually Assured Destruction.” Under this contemplated scenario, any use by one side of the “Ultimate Weapon” would automatically trigger use of the same weapon by the other side. Being automatic meant that a point might be reached at which, even if the leaders realized that a mistake had been made, neither side could bring back, or even disarm, the missile(s) it had launched.

One might hardly expect such a situation to be appropriate material for comedy, but a movie appeared in 1964 which might be called hilariously frightening. The title was Dr. Strangelove. And central to the plot is the idea that someone with power to launch “The Bomb” might go insane.

Only two years earlier, the actual “Cuban Missile Crisis” had occurred, in which the two nuclear-armed super-powers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, came close to a confrontation over the installation of Soviet missiles in Cuba. That genuine conflict was settled by one side (U.S. President Kennedy) taking a strong threatening stand, and the other side (Russian leader Khrushchev) backing down.

In recent centuries, various attempts have been made, as in the 1907 Hague Convention, to bring warfare under some kind of legal framework. And even today we hear the term “Laws of War,” although that whole concept hardly takes account of what we call “terrorism.” But there are well-intentioned groups dedicated to making peace. One is called “Earthstewards,” which I myself joined on a journey to the Middle East, in an attempt to ease tensions between Israelis and Palestinians – speaking with people on both sides, and actually visiting and staying in their homes. A worthy effort, but, as you know, hardly successful.

One of my epigrams sums up the problem this way:

“Isn’t there some way we can settle our dispute, without resorting to agreement?”

Ashleigh Brilliant born England 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, to the 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.

ARSHA KOTLYA R

ESTATE GROUP

M

May 7

Marine Biologist and Policy Expert

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson

What if We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures

Tue, May 7 (note new date) / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

Tickets start at $20

FREE for UCSB students (registration required; limited availability)

Marine biologist, policy advisor and writer Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson encourages us to step away from hopelessness and explore what the future would look like if we forged ahead with solutions to address the climate crisis.

May 10

Award-winning Conservation Photographer Cristina Mittermeier

Between Land and Sea: Saving Our Oceans to Save Ourselves

Fri, May 10 (note new date) / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

Tickets start at $20 / $10 all students (with valid ID)

Working at the intersection of art and science, National Geographic photographer Cristina Mittermeier drives conservation efforts through storytelling and explores how inextricably linked we are to that most sacred element – water.

May 17

2023 Pulitzer Prize Finalist and Bestselling Author Xochitl Gonzalez

Latinx Voices Are American Voices

Fri, May 17 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

$20 / FREE for UCSB students (registration recommended)

Arrive starting at 5 PM for a LatinXtravaganza Santa Barbara, featuring Mujeres Makers Market, food trucks, DJs, live music and more.

In her acclaimed novels Olga Dies Dreaming and Anita de Monte Laughs Last as well as her writings for The Atlantic, Xochitl Gonzalez examines class, gentrification and the American Dream with love and wry humor.

“Ayana Elizabeth Johnson embodies and inspires optimism in the fight against climate change, injecting creativity, joy and hope into an issue that often feels dire.”

Time magazine

“The ocean isn’t just a victim of climate change – it is our solution.” – Cristina Mittermeier

“ I’ve never experienced a performer as genuinely talented, exuberant, and captivating as Jacob Collier. ”

“This was the greatest event I have been to, maybe in my life. ”

“Everyone, oldsters to toddlers, loved almost every minute. This guy wants music to be a joyful, inclusive experience, and it was! ”

“ His talent, improvisational piano work, and singing, just everything about the show - he kept the sold-out audience in his rapture the whole evening! ”

“ HAVE HIM BACK!!!! ”

Sun, May 19 / 7 PM / Arlington Theatre

/

An Independent Mind

The Argentinization of America

by Jeffrey Harding

Argentina is what happens to a country when the people running it have no idea what they are doing. They think they know what they are doing and are undeterred when things don’t turn out so well. Socialist countries suffer this fate. Ditto most government-run economies. I call this process “Argentinization.”

I mention Argentina because they are the poster child of this phenomenon. At the turn of the twentieth century they were one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Today they are a basket case of inflation, depression, corruption, stagnation, and poverty.

There are some parallels of this phenomenon in the USA.

What set me off was a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Trump Allies Draw Up Plans to Blunt Fed’s Independence.” It knocked me off my perch. The article lede is “ Donald

Trump ’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term …”

The gist is that Trump loves low interest rates, he wants to get rid of Fed Chair Jerome Powell , and it would be really neat if he as president could affect Fed decisions on policy, especially interest rates.

This would be very bad for America and the world. Even if you assume Trump is the greatest authority on monetary policy, by removing the Fed’s independence from political pressure, the next president might not be so knowledgeable. Coming up for re-election a president might want lower interest rates and expansive monetary policy to buy votes. This is a very slippery slope to Argentinization.

We may think that the wise adults in the room would not let this happen, but that naively ignores history. Deficit spending, Quantitative Easing (money

printing) to finance deficits, industrial policy (government funding of businesses it favors), excessive regulation of business, excessive taxation, tariff walls, and threats to free speech will get us there sooner than you think. Before you say, “It can’t happen here!” the things in the preceding sentence are happening here right now.

Back to Argentina. Yes, it was wealthy until the socialists and Peronists got control of government in the 1940s. They promised wonderful things to voters and unions and spent foolishly. The fascist-socialist government took over much of the economy. When things didn’t work out like they wanted, money printing, currency controls, thuggery, corruption, coups, and black markets followed.

One way to destroy an economy is to destroy the currency. Argentina is really good at that. Currently inflation is running at about 285% per year. Not too bad considering that in 1989 it ran at 3,000% (hyperinflation). Their poverty rate is about 43%.

Argentinos got fed up and just voted in a radical libertarian to fix things. Javier Milei is trying to reform the country’s economy by bringing back free market classical liberal principles.

He immediately cut back spending and got rid of useless bureaucracies and balanced the budget in nine weeks. He promises to stop inflation by tying the peso to the dollar. He promises to cut taxes, reduce regulations on business, cut tariffs, and privatize failing nationalized companies.

He is wildly popular in Argentina. But he has a tough fight ahead. The legislature is controlled by socialists, union bosses, and bureaucrats, and they don’t want to give up their power and privileges.

Libertarianism is not some unrealistic intellectual fantasy. It’s what made America the best country in the world.

Javier Milei is doing his best to make it happen in Argentina.

Libertarianism is just the classical liberalism of the Enlightenment on which our Founders based our constitution. Individual liberty, free markets, free trade, stable currency, the right to private property, freedom to act and pursue one’s “happiness,” a just government, and the rule of just laws. Basically, it’s freedom from governments’ excesses and interference into our affairs.

It worked pretty well here.

Can you imagine what Trump could do with some control over the Fed?

He would try to get rid of Fed Chairman Powell and replace him with a compliant inflation-friendly person. He will demand low interest rates. He will push for money printing to keep himself in office. He might appoint Stephanie Kelton , the high priestess of Modern [Magical] Monetary Theory in which, she says, all the government has to do to pay for things is print money. Again, history and theory suggest that this is the path to hyperinflationary hell. But I think it would be appealing to Trump.

The Fed is bad enough as the generator of our booms and busts, but if politicians get hold of it, any semblance of good monetary policy will be trumped by political expediency. And that gets us well on the road to Argentinization.

Jeffrey Harding is a real estate investor and long-time resident of Montecito. He previously published a popular financial blog, The Daily Capitalist. He is a retired SBCC adjunct professor.

Dear Montecito

Beatrice Tolan

by Stella Haffner

Come one, come all! Beatrice Tolan is getting ready to put on her first art showcase: HORSE$H*T. The exhibition opens May 2nd and continues until July 2nd. Join Beatrice at Elsie’s Tavern to see her new collection and join me below to hear about the creation process!

Q. The last time I spoke to you, you were preparing to graduate Northeastern and big things on your resume included doing the VFX work for 2019’s Little Women. What happened next?

A. During the pandemic I was home a lot, realizing that being stuck on the computer doing animation was making me very depressed, and I wasn’t satisfied with anything I was creating. I was working a job with a social media platform, and I felt super unfulfilled to the point where I had to take a year off from work and do some therapy. I felt very lost thinking that what I had spent the last five years doing wouldn’t amount to anything. I had to let go of this idea of doing what I went to school for. But it is really hard to leave a profession that is very artistically focused because your peers will think that you’re abandoning this art that you put your soul into. The stakes felt very high. But I finally decided I needed to lean into something else. So I started volunteering for the Pasadena Humane Society and working at a children’s ceramics studio.

It took a lot of letting go of my ego to apply for a job that had nothing to do with what I went to school for. I think the thing that got me through was reminding myself that I was not the first person to pursue a job that was different from their college degree, and I wasn’t the first person to take a pay cut. Once I started working at the ceramics studio and witnessed other people being creative for fun, that is actually what inspired me to get back into painting.

Your showcase uses horses as a vehicle to express and examine human emotions. Have horses always been a big theme for you or did you start painting them when you decided to put together the HORSE$H*T showcase?

EYE OF THE DAY

GARDEN DESIGN CENTER IS RELOCATING AFTER 27 YEARS!

MOVING SALE: May 1 – May 31

7 days week!

Mon – Sat 8:30 – 5:00 Sunday 9:00 – 3:00 4620 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013

I had painted a lot, previously, during the pandemic. But I always felt as though it was time taken away from animation. As I got back into it, I noticed I was drawing a lot of creatures and I really enjoyed drawing horses because I felt there was so much I could express through this one animal. There is something about horses and zebras and donkeys. They just have very unique shapes to them. I think I was first drawn to the horse because of the shape. I love shapes. I’m kind of obsessed with shapes, and in this case I became obsessed with exploring different ways to render that shape. I think that probably comes from my 3D modeling experience, honestly. From essentially being a 3D animator in college, I’m able to look at something and break it down into its essential shapes. I’m very attracted to things that have these unique shapes. Like mail trucks! There are three paintings of mail trucks in my room; I think they’re the squarest things I’ve ever seen, so like horses, they’re fun to draw and I’m attracted to finding different ways of rendering this, like, iconic shape.

Did you have a lot of experience with horses previously or did this just sort of emerge as you started painting more?

Horses have kind of always been a visual undercurrent for me in that my parents have a lot of paintings of horses in their house. My dad is also into horse racing, so if my dad is around I’m always hearing the sounds of a horse race, the announcer, the horn. They’ve always been kind of trotting around in my brain.

When I looked at what I had been painting for the last few months, I was looking for a common theme and noticed that this was something I could build on.

The showcase isn’t all about the horses, but they are a soft spot for me because there are just so many parts to a horse that are fun to play around and work with. And they’re just humanoid enough that I can put some more emotion into them. I think something I really noticed is that it is easier for people to empathize with animals than it is for us to empathize with humans. In the same way that in a movie, when a dog gets hurt – even if you don’t see it on screen – it always elicits a stronger response than seeing someone die onscreen. Whatever that is, I’m tapping into that.

I think maybe because being a human comes with a lot of judgement for ourselves and others, seeing an animal that is completely different from us but still affectionate and loving… I think you’re able to get different emotions across.

I think that’s really interesting. Do you find that the way you had learned to examine stories in film and animation has carried over into your work with traditional media? Absolutely. I showed someone a piece recently and they said: “I can really tell you were an animator because there is a lot of motion.” This came from my experience story boarding, where I would show people a picture and have them understand the story with only the one frame. I think a lot about the 12 principles of animation that are talked about in a lot of animation classes and books. Some of my favorite principles are anticipation and follow-through. Anticipation essentially means looking at an object or something in motion and understanding that it is about to move. For example, if I hold my arm up right here you understand that I’m about to punch. You’re not going to draw a punch halfway through because it’s not as interesting as the anticipation for an action that’s about to happen – capturing essentially the potential energy of a subject. I think what makes my work stand out is the motion I’m able to capture because of my time as an animator.

What do you hope people walk away feeling after seeing your show?

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

I want people to feel like there is not just one way they should or can express themselves. I think what is most important to me is that it is okay to explore how you express yourself. Never stop exploring mediums. Just because one thing was successful doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it and limit yourself to one thing. I think disappointing people is really fascinating. I have people who enjoy my pastoral art and when I show them something more abstract I’ve done, they have to do a polite, confused smile. So I’ve taught myself not to go into artistic practices with expectations. It’s like going on a hike expecting to find a bird and, if you don’t, claiming the whole hike a failure. With that mindset, you’re bound to miss other discoveries along the way. Expectations lead to disappointment. Exploration above expectation!

Horsewhip! by Beatrice Tolan

Stories Matter

May Matters

by Leslie Zemeckis

AWalk in the Park is the horrifying, hilarious and awe-inspiring tale of two men who walk 750 miles through the Grand Canyon. From the first mishaps that assail the men through to the end of their journey this is one epic read you will not want to put down. New York Times bestselling author Kevin Fedarko has written a spiritual and moving love letter to his favorite National Park with enough history and drama to satisfy adventure lovers everywhere.

Girls are not valued in Eve J. Chung’s Daughters of Shandong set in 1948 China. The Ang family has no male heirs, but four sisters are considered useless. The sisters and their mother are abandoned by the family when the Communist army suddenly appears. The eldest sister, Hai, is condemned to be held accountable for the family “crimes” as announced by the army. Eventually the women escape, making their arduous way to Taiwan where they find freedom and an opportunity to confront the family that has left them to their fate. A breathtaking debut, historical and riveting.

Long After We Are Gone by Terah Shelton Harris took me by surprise. When the powerful King Solomon dies, he leaves 200 acres, the family home, and four children in disarray. The land has been in the Solomon family for generations and a real estate development company is after the valuable waterfront land. Junior, Mance, CeCe, and Tokey have a world of hurt and secrets to deal with as they abruptly see their world torn apart and their inheritance threatened. This one is powerful and rich and heartbreaking.

Crazy Rich Asian fans will delight in Kevin Kwan’s latest romp amongst the top one percenters in Lies and Weddings, which starts off with a spectacular gory mishap. There are a lot of designer names, parties, and the shenanigans we expect from Kwan’s world, and he only gets better with each book.

LVisa Barr’s Goddess of Warsaw spares no horrific detail in her moving, passionate account of a gorgeous woman, Bina, living in the Warsaw ghetto. Married to one man and in love with his brother, their worlds crumble with senseless death after death as the Nazis take everything they have loved and cherished. Because Bina can pass as Aryan she manages to escape to relative safety and begins working for the resistance. This is Barr at her finest, grabbing the reader’s heart and pulse until the very last page.

Y

ukiko Tominaga novel See: Loss. See Also: Love. is a sparse, moving debut about a young Japanese widow, Kyoko, who raises a son between Japan and San Francisco with the sometime help of her wry mother-in-law, Bubbe; a blunt Jewish woman who is herself hitting the online dating scene.

ivien is fighting censorship and the past in Natalie Jenner’s Every Time We Say Goodbye Hired as a script doctor, Viven travels from the UK to Rome to not only work at the storied Cinecittà Studios but to find out what happened to her fiancé who perished during WWII. Jenner populates the glamorous world of cinema with appearances by Peggy Guggenheim, Ava Gardner, and even the Pope. In a dueling storyline, a “schoolgirl assassin” is knocking off Nazis in 1943, a tale so powerful Vivien tries slipping it past censors to make into a hit movie.

The

Leslie Zemeckis is an award-winning documentarian, best-selling author, and actor.

creator of “Stories Matter,” professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers, co-sponsored by SBIFF.

THANKS TO YOU... we raised over $130,000 at the Hope Awards! We can do so much more for Santa Barbara's students because of you! We are humbled by your generosity and excited for the future we are able to give our students.

SPONSORS

It’s not too late! Visit our website at SantaBarbaraEducation.org to donate.

McCann, Karen Byers, Denise Sanford, Sheila Caldwell, and Margaret Slater

Bishop Diego sophomore Aria Bonski Evans sang the National Anthem before polo teams from UCSB and Westmont competed in a truncated game on the hallowed Holden Field announced by polo manager Melanja Jones , with Westmont winning 4-3.

Established in 1972, the dynamic women’s auxiliary has raised more than $1 million for the historic venue over the past five decades.

Among the tony throng were Jeep Holden , Charles and Barbara de L’Arbre, Chris Denson, Karen Byers, Stephanie Petlow, Denise Sanford, Jeff Scheraga, Carol Wathen, Robert and

Sylvia Easton, Donna Reeves, David and Denise Asbell, and Trish Davis.

An Evening of Fireworks

Santa Barbara singer Katy Perry was honored in Beverly Hills last week.

The former Dos Pueblos High student was presented with the Colleagues Champion of Children Award for her philanthropy at the 35th annual spring lunch at the Beverly Wilshire. She co-founded the Fireworks

Foundation in 2019 with her sister Angela Lerche with the mission of empowering children in underserved communities by igniting their inner light through the arts.

Programming includes a summer camp that Katy herself attends, supervising workshops, music productions, and choreography.

Actress, comedian and author Ali Wentworth hosted the glittering event, which also included a fashion show from Oscar de la Renta’s 2024 collection.

Not Toi-ng Around

Supporters of Santa Barbara Choral Society were clearly in the right aria when the popular 76-year-old choir hosted Toi, Toi, Toi, an evening of operatic enchantment at the Rockwood Woman’s Club with 110 guests, many in Tosca attire, raising around $70,000 during the sunset soirée.

After cocktails on the terrace, followed by a musical toast in the La Traviata ballroom, the talented singers under veteran conductor JoAnne Wasserman, with emcees Jim Robbins and Kathleen Stinnett accompanied by collaborative pianist Mi-Young Kim, sang from works

by Verdi, Camille Saint- Saëns’ Samson and Delilah sung by mezzo-soprano Christina Pezzarossi, Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Pezzarossi and baritone Matt Peterson, who also sang from Rossini’s Barber of Seville, with Peterson closing the concert with an aria from Bizet’s Carmen Andrew Sandahl performed a flamenco guitar solo before a three-minute video tribute by Marylove Thralls and Lucas Eskin to the late Metropolitan Opera tenor Eduardo Villa, longtime friend of the choral society, who died last year.

The live auction, conducted by Robbins, included a private studio tour and lunch with film composer James Newton Howard, a week’s stay in Maui, Hawaii, and Cancun or Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a long weekend in New York with balcony seats at the Met, an Abbey Road studio tour in London, and the chance to conduct Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus at the Lobero at the society’s Hallelujah Project 10 concert in December.

Among the heavenly horde turning out and dancing to the Idiomatiques, were event Chair Margo Callis, Brooks and Kate Firestone, Anne Luther, Debra Stewart, Robert Weinman, Jeff and Josie DeVine, James and Erin Graffy de Garcia, Jim and Wendy Kaiser, and Rachida and Kate Rees

An evening of high note...

One Worth

Remembering

With its tantalizing title “The Most Famous Woman You’ve Never Heard Of” the historic Santa Barbara Club was packed when 64 eager guests of Montecito Bank & Trust’s MClub gathered to find out who local historian and Noozhawk scribe Erin Graffy de Garcia would be talking about in her one-hour lecture. The subject London-born Kathleen Burke Hale was indeed fascinating as Erin’s diligent research revealed, particularly her connection to our Eden by the Beach. Hale, who died in 1958, was decorated by seven European nations for her sterling voluntary work in World Wars I and II after studying at the Sorbonne in Paris and Oxford University.

Miscellany Page 424

Janet

(photo by Priscilla)

Jeep Holden with fiancée Nancy Schaak, Charles de L’Arbre, Karen Byers, Casey McCann, and Rob Hambleton (photo by Priscilla)

Katy Perry was presented with the Colleagues Champion of Children Award in Beverly Hills last week (photo by Liam Mendes via Wikimedia Commons)

Sponsor American Riviera Bank’s Jeff Devine and wife Josie with Laura and Craig Sabraw (photo by Priscilla)

JoAnne Wasserman leading the event (photo by Priscilla)

Margo Callis, Roxanne and Kevin Sullivan with Erica, Ray and Am Di Bartolomeo, and Debra Stewart of the Choral Society (photo by Priscilla)

Petite Wine Traveler

Discovering Wine Treasures Along the Dalmatian Coastline

by Jamie Knee

Picture yourself anchored off the breathtaking Croatian coastline, surrounded by waters so clear and azure that they defy belief. As the warm sunlight caresses your skin, you raise a glass of local wine to your lips, its crispness a delightful contrast to the Mediterranean air. Before you, the horizon unfolds revealing a tapestry of islands, each one reminiscent of the distinctive black and white markings of a Dalmatian dog. These islands aren’t merely geographical features; they embody the essence of Dalmatia, a region steeped in history and culture. In fact, it’s here in Dalmatia, with its over 1,200 islands, where the iconic Dalmatian dog is believed to have originated, forever intertwining the region’s identity with its fourlegged namesake.

The Dalmatian Coast is a feast for the senses. Dramatic cliffs plunge into the sapphire Adriatic, charming villages dot the hillsides, and historic towns whisper secrets of a bygone era. But for many travelers, the most captivating experiences involve a good glass in hand. Croatia might not be the first name that suggests itself when it comes to world-class wines, but that’s precisely what makes it so exciting. Here, you get to be a pioneer, venturing off the beaten path to discover hidden gems that tantalize your taste

buds and leave a lasting impression. These must-visit islands – with the stonelaced vineyards of Hvar and Korčula – have been producing wines for over 2,000 years.

The two mainstays of Dalmatian wine are Plavac Mali ( plah-vats mahlee ) for reds, and Pošip ( poh-ship ) for whites. Plavac Mali is the soul of Dalmatia captured in a bottle. Imagine a robust, sun-drenched local with a warm smile and a twinkle in his eye. This full-bodied red bursts with flavors of dark cherry, plum, and a hint of spice, the perfect accompaniment to evenings spent grilling fresh seafood under a canopy of stars.

Pošip, on the other hand, is the embodiment of a refreshing summer day. Light and crisp, it’s like a cool sea breeze carrying notes of citrus, honey, and a whisper of salinity. Each sip is the equivalent of diving into the cool Adriatic after a long day of exploring hidden coves. However, Dalmatia’s wine scene is far more diverse than just these two stars.

Venture beyond the familiar and discover a constellation of local grape varieties waiting to be explored. Debit, a rare white grape, produces wines with a delicate whisper of summer – floral, elegant, and possessing a touch of minerality. Craving something a little different? Explore the nuanced flavors of dry Malvazija (mal-va-SEE-ah) or malvasia

D’ANGELO BREAD

MONTECITO’S BEST BREAKFAST Friday, Saturday & Sunday 8:00AM - 11:30AM Lunch & Dinner 12:00PM - 9:00PM 805.969.2646

Father and Son: Andro Tomić and Sebastijan Tomić of Vino Tomić

Typical Croatian Cuisine with Miljas Plavac Mali Wine

wine. Known for its refreshing and dry character, Malvazija wines offer a delightful array of tasting notes. With lower alcohol content, they often showcase a harmonious blend of flowers, ripe stone fruit, tropical fruit, and citrus, anchored by a subtle seam of minerality. But any journey through Dalmatian wines begins with the region itself, where areas like Hvar Hills boast a commitment to crafting exceptional wines that reflect the unique terroir. Among the many esteemed wineries in Dalmatia, favorites emerge such as Rizman Winery, Miljas Winery, and Vina Tomić, standing out as gems. As you wind through rolling vineyards, the scent of ripe grapes heavy in the air, the true essence of the region unfolds. Stop at a family-run winery in Šibenik, where you can immerse yourself in the rich history and vibrant culture while sampling wines from local producers. Finally, located next to the marina, the Primošten area is renowned for its commitment to tradition and innovation, producing wines that capture the essence of Dalmatia. These wines are not just beverages; they are liquid history, each sip telling a tale of sun, soil, and the passionate spirit of the region. Next time you’re raising a glass, why not venture beyond the familiar and seek out a bottle of Dalmatian sunshine? Consider popping into a wine bar such as Bokeria Kitchen & Wine in Split, where you can sample an array of wines from all around the region. Who knows, it might just become your new favorite travel souvenir – a delicious reminder of crystal-clear waters, charming villages, and the unforgettable taste of adventure. So here’s to the adventure, may it linger on your palate long after you’ve bid farewell to this enchanting land. Cheers!

Good Old-Fashioned Printed Text Outshines Screens for Cognitive Engagement in Young Readers

In today’s digital landscape, the draw of screens is clear, especially among the youngest members of society. But what does this switch-up mean for children’s developing brains? Recent research published in the journal PLOS ONE investigates the neurological ramifications of reading on screens versus printed paper, shedding light on how different mediums influence cognitive engagement in young readers.

The move from traditional print media to digital screens has become more common, particularly in educational contexts. However, concerns have been raised about the possible disadvantages of screen-based reading, particularly in terms of comprehension and retention. This phenomenon, termed as the “screen inferiority” effect, has prompted interest in its underlying neural causes, particularly in youngsters.

To investigate the brain’s response to various reading media, researchers resorted to neurobiology, using electroencephalography (EEG) to record electrical activity within the brain. They used brainwaves to investigate how reading from screens versus printed paper affects cognitive processes in young readers.

In a study of kids aged six to eight, EEG data indicated different patterns of brain activity throughout screen and print reading sessions. When reading from printed paper, children showed increased spectral power in frequency bands linked with cognitive engagement and attention, indicating a higher level of mental alertness than when reading on a screen.

Screen reading, on the other hand, resulted in greater spectral power in frequency regions associated with less focused attention states, indicating a higher cognitive burden. This was substantiated by a link between EEG patterns and attention task performance, showing the difficulties youngsters confront in keeping concentration and processing information while reading from screens.

While the findings are useful, experts admit the need for more investigation. The modest sample size and age range of participants highlighted the significance of broadening research efforts to include a wider demographic. Furthermore, future research might look into how different sorts of texts and reading conditions affect brain responses, providing a more comprehensive knowledge of the effects of reading mediums on young minds.

In the ever-changing landscape of education and technology, understanding the cognitive consequences of reading mediums is critical for creating ideal learning environments for kids. As we move forward, let us continue to investigate the connection between neuroscience and education, empowering young brains to thrive in a digital age.

Vineyards on the Adriatic Sea

Jamie with the stone-laced vineyards of Hvar

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.

from 11 am – 3 pm on Saturday, May 4. The 28th annual Arts Faire event showcases the talents of approximately 60 local artists who are living with mental illness, works encompassing a variety of visual media including painting, drawing, jewelry and sculpture. Many of the artists first discovered their artistic gifts as participants in MWC’s Fellowship Club, where peer educators and an art specialist help them explore their emotions through self-expression. This year also features a collaborative community-based art project where visitors are encouraged to share personal sentiments regarding what mental health means to them. Visit https://mentalwellnesscenter.org for more about the organization’s method of marking May as National Mental Health Awareness Month.

Just an hour later, MCASB hosts the launch party to celebrate the publication of issue seven of LUM Art Magazine from 4-6 pm at Paseo Nuevo Mall. The museum expects visits from many of the LUM artists, writers and contributors and will be serving tamales, aguas frescas and pa-LUM-as (palomas) thanks to Ysidro Sake Spritz, plus other fun treats to enhance celebrating contemporary art and culture on California’s Central Coast. Visit https://www.mcasantabarbara. org/event/lumissue07.

Tari’s Theme: May the Fourth Be with You

Bryan Tari was just 18 years old when he was one of 84 pianists chosen to simultaneously and collaboratively perform a truncated version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue under the baton of conductor John Williams for the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. The pianists – all men, dressed in powder blue tuxedos meant to represent the composer – were seated in three sets of pairs opposite each other within each of the LA Coliseum’s 14 archways (84 in all), the centerpieces of the performance launching the quadrennial games.

“I was probably the youngest one there, and I was seated toward the end,” Tari recalled. “I actually got a closeup for six seconds and two and a half billion people were watching on TV.”

Forty years later, Gershwin and the Coliseum are a sweet memory, but Tari still has John Williams on his mind, as he has put a lot of his piano attention on the film scorer’s compositions that date back even a few years before that storied memory was formed. The classically-trained pianist, who studied opera piano with Warren Jones of Music Academy fame and opera conducting with Los Angeles Opera founder Henry Holt, has created his own piano arrangement of themes from Williams’ Star Wars scores.

Tari, who taught himself how to imitate the big band sound of more than 100 favorites from the Great American Songbook, said he thought taking on Star Wars in 2014 would be fun because he’s a big fan of the film franchise. It turned out to be a much bigger task, requiring something akin to Jedi mind tricks to master.

“I’ve played so many different kinds of music, so I figured I’d just do Star Wars, but it wasn’t long before I realized I was in way over my head,” he recalled. “There was no sheet music for me to work with, nothing to go on. But I just kept working on it, watching the movies over and over again and looking for a logical way to make a medley of the themes.”

After 18 months he was still spinning his wheels, but an insight proved the path. “I had to get into John Williams’ head, and he’s so much smarter than I am,” Tari said. “I needed to actually get an understanding of how he worked, and I had to use everything that I’ve learned from opera and from classical and from playing The Planets – everything from my life – to be able to do this.”

Three years after he started, Tari completed The Star Wars Fantasy Piano Medley, which includes the original movie’s opening and closing sequences, music from the Throne Room, Luke and Leia and Darth Vader’s themes, the Imperial March and Across the Stars, among other segments that also range from Episode 1-6. On Entertainment Page 414

the Montecito Riven Rock Estate of Frank McGinity, gift cards from Tre Lune Montecito, Condor Express, El Encanto, SB Polo Club, SB Maritime Museum, SB Museum of Natural History, Granada Theatre, and dozens of artworks, jewelry, and wine baskets. There were raffle tickets for a chance to win one of three top prizes, like an overnight at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara. The San Marcos High School Jazz Combo of senior students, under the direction of SMHS Instrumental Music Director Michael Kiyoi, played jazz standards seamlessly. Kiyoi was a Grammy Music Educator finalist in 2023.

The Event Chair Diane White had all the details perfect with her event committee of Anna Ylvisaker, Ellen Lilley, Lana Marmé , Jacquie McMahon , Nancy Kozak, Carolyn Creasey, and Jane Macedo de Veer, along with the Silent Auction Committee Judy Cresap and Cheri Jasinski. TH Auxiliary Executive Board attendees were President Florence Michel, Vice President Mimi Veyna, Treasurer Anna Ylvisaker, Secretary Diane White, Membership Pita Khorsandi, and Publicity Jean Keely

The program was led by TH Executive Director Kathleen Baushke and Andrew Firestone. Baushke thanked the guests, her team, and the TH Auxiliary. She said that the TH Auxiliary has raised over $1.7 million for homeless children since holding the Mad Hatter event for 24 years. Baushke affirmed the TH mission is to interrupt generational poverty, and care for homeless children with their families.

Guest speaker Jim Buckley presented a TH success story of a homeless mother of two who now owns her own home. They were present and her son gave a short thank you speech to the guests.

Firestone, our emcee d’elegance, with his daughter Anja, talked about his three reasons for continuing to be the emcee for this event: Transition House’s commitment to results rather than BandAid treatments for homeless issues, the three-decade continued support by his

parents of Transition House, and his daughter as a reference that all children deserve a home. At the request of the Transition House Auxiliary, he led the guests to raise a toast to recently passed Lynda Millner, Society News Reporter for the Montecito Journal for over 25 years, who covered the Mad Hatter Event annually in her news column.

For the Ask, Firestone raised over $65,000, which subsequently secured the matching of $50,000 pledged by an anonymous donor. At the time of this report, final net is still being tallied from the raffle tickets, silent auction items, and private donations.

To conclude the event, prizes were presented to the most creative and decorative hats seen at the event. This year’s winners were Most Beautiful – Beth Amine; Most Humorous – Lex Steinhauser; and Most Creative – CenCal Health team.

Corporate sponsors were California Learning Center, Casa Dorinda, CenCal Health, the Golis Team at Radius Commercial Real Estate, Meridian Group Real Estate Management, Montecito Bank and Trust, Tileco Distributors Inc., The Towbes Group, and Wadell Roofing Services.

411: www.transitionhouse.com

Laguna Blanca Lower School Citizenship Breakfast

The Laguna Blanca Lower School fourth grade students annually hold a Citizenship Breakfast on the school’s Montecito campus to acknowledge their choices of good community citizens in our town. At the breakfast celebration, each student introduces and briefly talks about the citizen they chose. Their speeches honor their citizen and present that person’s qualities to illustrate their being a good citizen in the community.

Society Page 384

Erin Graffy de Garcia and Jill Nida (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

May the Fourth be with Bryan Tari at the Granada

DATE OF HEARING: MAY 15, 2024

PLACE: PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING ROOM 123 E. ANAPAMU STREET, RM. 17 SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The following methods of participation are available to the public.

1. You may observe the live stream of the Montecito Planning Commission meetings on (1) Local Cable Channel 20, (2) online at: https://www.countyofsb.org/1333/CSBTVLivestream; or (3) YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20

2. If you wish to provide public comment, the following methods are available:

• Distribution to the Montecito Planning Commission - Submit your comment via email prior to 12:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Commission hearing. Please submit your comment to the Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Your comment will be placed into the record and distributed appropriately.

• Attend the Meeting In-Person: Individuals are allowed to attend and provide comments at the Montecito Planning Commission meeting in-person.

• Attend the Meeting by Zoom Webinar - Individuals wishing to provide public comment during the Montecito Planning Commission meeting can do so via Zoom webinar by clicking the below link to register in advance. Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing important information about joining the webinar.

When: May 15, 2024 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Topic: Montecito Planning Commission 05/15/2024

Register in advance for this webinar: https://countyofsb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pkBdylFsTEukgAxdU5Fzcg OR PARTICIPATE VIA TELEPHONE: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current

or

(Toll Free) or 833

Webinar ID: 840 5118 8108

Free)

The Commission’s rules on hearings and public comment, unless otherwise directed by the Chair, remain applicable to each of the participation methods listed above.

The Montecito Planning Commission hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. The order of items listed on the agenda is subject to change by the Montecito Planning Commission. Anyone interested in this matter is invited to speak in support or in opposition to the projects. Written comments are also welcome. All letters should be addressed to the Montecito Planning Commission, 123 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, California, 93101. Letters, with nine copies, and computer materials, e.g. PowerPoint presentations, should be filed with the secretary of the Planning Commission no later than 12:00 P.M. on the Friday before the Montecito Planning Commission hearing. The decision to accept late materials will be at the discretion of the Montecito Planning Commission.

Maps and/or staff analysis of the proposals may be reviewed at https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/hearings/mpc.sbc or by appointment by calling (805) 568-2000.

If you challenge the project(s) 23CUP-00004, 23CDH-00023, or 24APL-00003 in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Montecito Planning Commission prior to the public hearing.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this hearing, please contact the Hearing Support Staff (805) 568-2000. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the hearing will enable the Hearing Support Staff to make reasonable arrangements.

23CUP-00004 995 Lilac Drive New and As-Built Fence

Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 15303(e)

Hearing on the request of Becker Studios, to consider the following:

995 Lilac Drive

Gwen Beyeler, Supervising Planner (805) 934-6269

Tatiana Cruz, Planner (805) 568-2082

• Case No. 23CUP-00004 for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to validate an as-built 8-ft.-tall wood fence, 909-linear-ft. in total length, and to allow relocation of 180-linear-ft. of the as-built fence 10-ft. north of the existing location, in compliance with Section 35.472.060 of the Montecito Land Use and Development Code (MLUDC), on property zoned 2-E-1 (Single Family Residential), and;

• Determine the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15303(e) [New Construction or Conversion of Smal l Structures]

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 007-080-027 zoned 2-E-1 (One-Family Residential), located at 995 Lilac Drive, in the Montecito area, First Supervisorial District. Raging Tide Exchange, 23CDH-00023 LLC Residential Additions 1685 Fernald Point Lane Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15303

Hearing on the request of Raging Tide Exchange, LLC to consider:

Joe Dargel, Supervising Planner (805) 568-3573 Kathleen Volpi, Planner (805) 568-2033

• Case No. 23CDH-00023 for a Coastal Development Permit in compliance with Section 35-169 of the Article II Coastal Zoning Ordinance (Article II), to allow for the demolition of two detached garages with attached storage and laundry areas and the demolition of an existing pool, first and second floor additions to the main residence, a new fully underground attached garage, with a mechanical and storage addition, new pool, patio and landscaping

• Determine the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15301 [Existing Facilities] and 15303 [New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures] of CEQA.

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. 007-374-006, zoned 1-E-1, located at 1685 Fernald Pont Lane, in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District. (Continued from 03/20/24 and 04/17/24)

24APL-00003 Tait Residential Addition and Garage 665 Juan Crespi Lane Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15303, 15301 Joe Dargel, Supervising Planner (805) 568-3573 Kathleen Volpi, Planner (805) 568-2033

Hearing on the request of Leonard and Melanie Judson to consider the following:

• Case No. 24APL-00003, an appeal of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review’s (MBAR) preliminary and final design review approval of Case No. 23BAR-00084, in compliance with Section 35.492 (Appeals) of the Montecito Land use and Development Code (MLUDC)

• Determine the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301 and 15303, as outlined in the Notice of Exemption.

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 011-150-019, zoned Single Family Residential (2-E-1), located at 665 Juan Crespi Lane, in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: 805 Tree Care Co, 169 N. Kellogg Ave Apt B, Santa Barbara, CA, 93111. Omar Lopez Barrera, 169 N. Kellogg Ave Apt B, Santa Barbara, CA, 93111. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 9, 2024. 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. 2024-0000911. Published May 1, 8, 15, 22, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Bids

IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT - PHASE 1 FROM PADARO LANE TO SAND POINT ROAD IN THE 1ST SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT

COUNTY PROJECT No. 720783

General project work description: Road Improvements and Reconstruction. Streetscape, Retaining Walls, and Multipurpose Path

The Plans, Specifications, and Bid Book are available at https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874

The Contractor must have either a Class A license or any combination of the following Class C licenses which constitutes a majority of the work: C-8, C-12, C-13, C-31, C-50, C-51 Submit sealed bids to the web address below. Bids will be opened available at the web address below immediately following the submittal deadline.

PlanetBids https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874

Complete the project work within 300 Workings Days

The estimated cost of the project is $ 8,660,000

An optional pre-bid meeting is scheduled for this project on Monday, May 20, 2024,

MONTECITO COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RECORDING

are doing business as: GINATOMLIN.COM; Gina Tomlin Psychic Services, 333 Conejo Rd., Santa Barbara, CA, 93103. Regina Tomlinson Perry, 333 Conejo Rd., Santa Barbara, CA, 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 12, 2024. 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. 20240000629. Published April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Teddy Rice, 966

Embarcadero Del Mar, STE A, Isla Vista, CA 93117. Miryung Penny LLC, 3450 Wilshire Blvd. Ste #1005, Los Angeles, CA 90010. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 1, 2024. 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. 20240000825. Published April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Santa Barbara Mobile Wash, 2234 De La Vina St, Santa Barbara,

CA 93105. Wail Haddad, 2234 De La Vina St, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 2, 2024. 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. 20240000840. Published April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 2024

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: The Would Bees, 199 Ocean View Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013. David M Grokenberger, 199 Ocean View Ave,

By

of the County of Santa Barbara this project was authorized to be advertised on 06/04/2019

Christopher Sneddon Director of Public Works

Published May 1 and 8, 2024 Montecito Journal

Carpinteria, CA 93013. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on February 29, 2024. 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. 20240000525. Published April 10, 17, 24, May 1, 2024

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 24CV00651. To all interested parties: Petitioner Keyana Lenox filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name from Nahla Arie Ndah to Nahla Arie Lenox Ndah.

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 April 8, 2024 by Terri Chavez. Hearing date: June 12, 2024 at 10 am in Dept. 3, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published April 24, May 1, 8, 15, 2024.

Food Files

Mexican Women & Chefs Rule at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit

by Leslie A. Westbrook

My seatmate on Alaska Airlines from LAX to Puerto Vallarta was Jeremy, a South African who made his fortune developing software for Wall Street and had become a U.S. citizen. He was traveling with 16 of his best friends to celebrate his 60th birthday in Punta Mita, Mexico.

I was heading for a special culinary event at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, near Puerto Vallarta, where a coterie of talented women chefs had been flown in from around Mexico to cook their hearts out.

“When I sold my company and retired,” Jeremy confessed, “I took my entire company there to celebrate.”

“Wow … and why?” I asked.

“I didn’t want to get a huge bar bill at the end!” he said and laughed.

In case you’re not familiar with the seven splendid hotels in Mexico owned and operated by Velas Resorts, this savvy luxury company’s five-star properties are all-inclusive, which means guests pay a single price to stay, eat, drink, and make merry. Featuring upscale amenities and an array of unique programs and special events, they’re designed for families, couples, groups of friends, and yes, solo travelers like me.

If anyone had suggested an all-inclusive vacation to me a few years ago, I might have turned up my nose. But these are truly “all-exclusive” resorts, too, and (as I discovered) it’s incredibly liberating being able to dine at any one of several topnotch restaurants, order a margarita at the beachside bar, open a bottle of tequila in your own comfortable suite – and not worry about the bill. Jeremy was right.

Each Velas Resort property boasts

its own distinct style and amenities. I once spent a memorable birthday at the Grand Velas Los Cabos, another of the company’s beachside resorts, which boasts an outstanding contemporary art collection.

I had jumped at this chance to attend a “Women & Traditional Cuisine” weekend at the Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit, also on the Pacific Coast, which promised regional food prepared by four top Mexicana chefs. It turned out to be delicious, inspiring, and educational, allowing me to explore Mexico’s vast foodscape without leaving the resort’s glorious setting on Banderas Bay. (I did manage to squeeze in a quick shopping jaunt to Puerto Vallarta, only 15 minutes away by Uber, as well as a massage at the hotel’s wonderful spa and some beach walks to work off calories.)

The first night’s dinner began with a sublime appetizer: a seashell holding abalone in a bath of seawater and fermented coconut, tender coconut relish, cucumber, and serrano pepper, prepared by television personality/chef Xrysw (pronounced Chris) Ruelas Díaz, the young, award-winning chef of Xokol (located in Guadalajara). Adria Marina, who has cooked at République in Los

Angeles and has restaurants in Tijuana, wowed our table with fresh noodles accompanied by octopus and oxtail and flavored with scallions and coriander. This seemed to be everyone’s favorite dish, and deservedly so. Enmolada con torta de quelite (quesadilla with mole) flavored with wild edible herbs came from the talented hands of gorgeous Zahie Téllez, well known in Mexico for her television cooking show. Maffer Klyota, also from Guadalajara, prepared the robust and tasty main course of suckling pig in tatemado colimote, a typical preparation from Colima, the crisp skin a result of grilling on fire or coals.

For dessert we enjoyed another extraordinary creation from Ruelas Díaz – tierra ice cream that contained a trace amount of earth from Veracruz, served with escamoles (the edible larvae and pupae of ants eaten since Aztec times), a medicinal-plant sponge cake, cacao ganache, and vanilla. It was a memorable finale to a truly incredible meal.

During the day on Saturday, a large expanse of the resort’s tropical main lawn was transformed by tables, chairs, bars, and live music into the perfect setting for a leisurely brunch and joyous afternoon of Mexican hospitality. The four women chefs, there to interact with and answer questions from guests, prepared another array of wonderful dishes, while the hotel’s chefs pitched in with an eye-catching spread of delicious food and alluring specialty cocktails. There was an abundance of choices, including seafood stations with whole fresh fish being fileted, amazing street tacos, and ever-tempting dessert stands.

I was wowed and won over by these hardworking, talented women (not to mention very, very full). While impressed by all of them, it was especially thrilling to discover Adria Marina, whom I plan to visit at her two restaurants, Misión 19 and Georgina, just south of the border in Tijuana and easily reached by car or train.

Some Velas resorts cater to families; others to grownups. The latest “Adults Only” in the hotel portfolio to open is Grand Velas Boutique that premiered this past January in Cabo San Lucas. Other adults-only properties include Mar del

Adria Marina has cooked at République in Los Angeles and has restaurants in Tijuana (courtesy photo)

Cabo (European Plan) and Casa Velas (all inclusive). Visit www.grandvelas.com

¡Viva los Mexicanas y la cochina de Mexico!

Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit https://vallarta.grandvelas.com 1-888-407-4869

Ground ice cream, cocoa butter escamoles, medicinal herb sponge cake, Soconusco cocoa ganache, and Veracruz vanilla (courtesy photo)

Leslie A. Westbrook is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer and journalist who loves exploring the globe. A 3rd generation Californian., Leslie also assists clients sell fine art, antiques, and collectibles via auction. www.auctionliaison.com

Suckling pig terrine (courtesy photo)

Lori Leach , Los Berros School teacher, honored for inspiring students by her commitment to environmental education, conservation, and sustainable practices, and oversees the school community garden.

Teri Briggs, Goleta Valley School teacher, spearheaded a restoration project at a site a half-mile from school, and promotes ecological literacy.

EE 2024 Club Awards

Kellogg Elementary School Ocean Guardians, a student action group of over 50 students, first to replace cafeteria single use plastic forks with reusable metal ones, diverting an estimated 54,000 plastic forks from landfill. Kellogg Elementary has been teaching sustainability practices and environmental education over the last six years and is a NOAA-funded Ocean Guardians school.

Vieja Valley Elementary Clean and Green Club, founded by student Alaina Galbraith, is coordinating a school wide beach cleanup, a sustainability-focused school wide assembly, and petitioned the Hope Unified School District to transition to reusable utensils in the cafeteria to avoid single use plastic in the landfill.

411: https://exploreecology.org

Carpinteria Environmental News

The Carpinteria Bluffs call for volunteers for its Bluffs Restoration on Saturday, May 4 and May 18, from 9 am to 12 pm. The cleanup is in collaboration with CivicSpark and the City of Carpinteria. Work to be done includes planting native species, weeding, and general cleanup.

Tools and snacks provided. Volunteers meet at the Bailard Avenue Parking Lot, 6145 Carpinteria Avenue, with your gloves and sun protection gear.

411: https://carpinteriaca.gov/pitch-in-forbluffs-restoration

The Carpinteria Living Shoreline Project has been awarded a grant of $1.62 million by the California State Coastal Conservancy. The funding provides support for the project’s plans to use a sustainable, nature-based solution along the Carpinteria Beach and shoreline for issues of erosion, flooding, and monitoring sea levels. Solutions include vegetation and sand. I couldn’t help but wonder reading this if they will incorporate the use of “beach roses” in sand dunes, a long-proven standard for erosion and flooding along beaches.

411: https://carpinteriaca.gov/public-works/ engineering-division/capital-improvementsprogram/living-shoreline/

Lifeguard Call for City of Carpinteria. Applicant age range starts at 16. A 500yard ocean swim test must be completed in ten minutes. Testing dates are slated for May 4 and May 18, bring your swimsuit or wetsuit, goggles, a swim cap for long hair, towel and resume. Location: at Carpinteria City Beach at Ash Avenue. All applicants who pass the swim test and interview will receive lifeguard training.

411: https://carpinteriaca.gov/join-ourlifeguard-team/

Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve Environmental talk by John Callender will be held on Thursday, May 2, at 6 pm, at the Carpinteria Library. He will present the history and ecological importance of this wetland to Carpinteria. Callender worked as the City of Carpinteria Planning Commissioner for 15 years and advocated for sea-level awareness. Free event.

411: https://carpinterialibrary.org

The program was introduced by Head of Laguna Blanca Lower School Brooke Green, M.Ed. She introduced the 4th Grade Instructor Suzanne Richter who talked about the students learning the qualities of good citizenship: being trustworthy, responsible, hardworking, caring, respectful, fair, and making a difference in the community. She also mentioned the students learn public speaking and will be presenting their citizen in a brief speech. Next, students were called individually to read their speech about their citizen, and thanked them for submitting to being interviewed by them.

This year’s 20 honorees are Dr. Jerold Black, Pediatrician; Mike Bruce DDS; Dr. Hillary Conant, Veterinarian; Dominic Dopico, former Military Officer and U.S.

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

Army Veteran; Cassie Funk, Zoologist at the SB Zoo; Jill Hall, dog trainer and Search and Rescue Volunteer; Mike Isaac, Excavator; Kelsea King, SB Police Officer; Gwyn Lurie, CEO/Executive Editor Montecito Journal; Stephen McFeely, film writer/producer; Dr. Sherry Nasseri, Clinical Pyschologist; Melissa Patrino, SB Botanic Garden Director of Development; Whitney Roemer, Education Supervisor, SB Zoo; Maya Schoop-Rutten, Maya Chocolatier; Jim Smith, U.S. Military veteran; Gina Sunseri, ASAP Community Cat Coordinator; Tracey Taylor, Housing Financial Analyst, Housing Authority SB; Rachel Tennant SEE International Chief Development Officer; Shawn Whilt, Montecito Firefighter Paramedic; and Greg Wilson, Assistant Head Coach UCSB Soccer.

Explore Ecology’s Lindsay Johnson and Jill Cloutier (photo courtesy of Explore Ecology)

Gwyn Lurie honored by 4th grade student Hunter (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Kelsie King honored by 4th grade student Catherine (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Head of Lower School Brooke Green with 4th grade instructor Suzanne Richter (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Your Westmont

On the Road with the Choir and Orchestra

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

The Westmont Orchestra and the Westmont College Choir join forces in May for the college’s first combined tour. Traveling from Los Angeles to Northern California, about 120 students will perform scenes from “Elijah” by Felix Mendelssohn as well as other pieces.

“It’s a big undertaking and will show the breadth of music at Westmont,” says Daniel Gee, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities. “It’s good for musicians as choir and orchestra members will get to know each other better — we’ll mix the two groups on the buses. They’ll develop new skill sets and sharpen each other musically. It’s also a great opportunity for the choir to work with Ruth Lin, who directs the orchestra, and for the orchestra to work with me. They’ll learn from people with different styles of leadership.”

Students will present concerts at various churches and develop community with these congregations. The Westmont musicians will also visit several Christian schools, interact with the students there and perform. Stops include Solvang, Stockton, the Bay Area and Grenada Hills. See a full itinerary at westmont/ music.edu. All concerts are free of charge.

“I’m grateful that we include touring as an integral part of our program,” Gee says. “Students make wonderful memories and enjoy the opportunity to perform and to reach out to various communities.”

Students ‘Reach Beyond Boundaries’

Students presented their findings from research projects that spanned topics from running on slanted surfaces, the effects of music on heart rate, subliminal advertising, and racial identity in studyabroad programs at the Spring Student Research Symposium on April 18 in the Winter Hall Atrium.

The Westmont Orchestra and Choir hit the road after Commencement

Kim Denu, Westmont provost and dean of the faculty, spoke to the more than 40 student researchers and attendees, emphasizing the importance of research and highlighting its potential to affect various aspects of life, including social justice and advocacy work.

“I had a professor in a research class say, ‘Things are not always as they appear,’” she said. “Part of the work of research is to ask the unasked questions or to solve the unsolved problems through investigative techniques. The work that you’re doing is exploring and reaching beyond boundaries that may or may not have been explored before.”

Sofia Alvarado (‘24) examined the effects of different musical genres on mood and heart rate on 21 participants, who were subjected to five minutes of Billboard’s 2016 Year End Hot 100 chart top 10.

Alvarado says the data suggests that different types of music modulate heart rates based on whether the music is of high or low arousal type. “It shows that listening to slower, calmer music will calm you down physiologically,” she says.

Sociology student Karla Munoz (‘24) interviewed 16 students who had participated in a Westmont in Mexico or Westmont in Cairo program to examine how race and gender affect a student’s experience in a study-abroad program. She says that studying abroad creates multi-layered in-groups and out-groups

that arise from the racial ratio of the cohort and the ability to ethnically pass in the host country. “Some students who perceived themselves as an out-group struggled with finding a sense of belonging and support,” Munoz said.

Jong Min Park ’s research, “Does Running at an Angle Improve Running Economy?” examined the results of 12 men who ran on a special treadmill adjusted to varying angles. The project explored the metabolic, kinematic, and EMG adaptations to running on a 3-degree and 6-degree camber.

“We found that despite all these effects, there was no overall change in the economy, which was pretty positive,” the senior kinesiology student said. “Because if it were changing the way we run, there must be some change in the way we breathe. We found a group actually improved while doing that. Bottom line, runners don’t need to stay on the flat part of the road to preserve performance.”

Psychology student Aidan Holly (‘24) had 51 test subjects answer questions about themselves to rank them through a revised achievement motivation scale and then view two short video advertisements about an energy drink. The videos — one using humor while the other featured themes of success — each included a subliminal message. Holly hypothesized that those who subliminally saw a message of SUCCESS, WIN, or MOTIVATE would be most likely to choose achievement-related products. “We found that every woman chose that achievement-motivation advertisement, while and men were more split 50-50,” he said. “There was probably something about the neutral advertisement that was off-putting toward women. If I were to redo it, I’d try a different ad and see if I got similar results.”

Singer Earns Top Honors

Ava Kimmel, a junior soprano who is majoring in vocal performance at Westmont, won the Adult Vocal Division of the Performing Arts Scholarship

Foundation competition on April 28 at the Music Academy. The foundation provides financial assistance to students of the performing arts and to support music educational outreach organizations in the Santa Barbara community.

Last year, Westmont alumnus Sibo Msibi (‘23) won the competition. He is attending graduate school at Lamont School of Music, University of Denver.

New Home Run King

Westmont’s Daniel Patterson rewrote the baseball record book April 26 in Irvine, but the Warriors (33-15-3, 23-8-1 PacWest) fell out of contention for their first PacWest Conference Championship. Patterson belted two solo home runs in the first game – one in the fifth inning and another in the sixth. That brought his season total to 17, tying him with Timothy Leary who set the record in 2012. Then on the first pitch of game two, Patterson went deep again, making himself the all-time single season home run leader.

Of Patterson’s 18 home runs, 14 have been solo shots. He has led off an inning with a home run 12 times and nine of those times it has been in the Warriors’ first at bat of the game. Patterson also has two grand slams this season.

The third baseman also set the record for total bases in a single season. His 153 total bases surpassed Simon Reid who recorded 142 in 2022.

Jong Min Park

Ava Kimmel

Daniel Patterson

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

What might be telling about upcoming May escrows is that we have only nine properties pending (in escrow) on 4/26, and unless many others are quietly under contract, the month of May might struggle to beat April sales numbers.

For those looking to find a new home in the area, here are four properties that are/ were still available as of April 27. Two homes on East Valley Road near Ladera Lane offer options for buyers who want either that quaint country, San Ysidro Ranch feel, or a more modern, larger square footage compound. Two other homes offer ocean views, with Mariposa being one of just a few ocean view homes priced under $7M, and the new build on Park Hill Lane is an ocean view architectural stunner. As I often say, get out your checkbooks, and as always, please keep Montecito friendly. Until soon…

2868 East Valley Road – $4,900,000

This sprawling, single level, San Ysidro Ranch style home rests on 1 acre, secluded up a shared private lane, offering country living in a close to town location. Turn off East Valley Lane and be transported to a relaxed and creative environment where indoor/outdoor living is just a way of life.

Enchanting gardens, fine finishes, sensational sunroom, lovely primary bedroom suite, terrific chef’s kitchen and more; 3 bedrooms and a den. Outdoor pizza oven, fireplace, and sweet chicken coop. Great workshop. Perfectly located between Montecito’s Upper Village and Summerland, surrounded by many more expensive homes and estate properties.

2815 East Valley Road – $6,495,000

This compound offers a lot of square footage for the price! Set on a level, nearly 1-acre parcel, this remarkable compound rests among a lush, mature garden setting. Nestled among a canvas of live oaks, boulders, and a series of verdant lawns, find the main residence, a 4,750 square foot, 4 bedroom 4 bathroom home.

Look a bit further into the lot and gardens to find the second, plus or minus 1,500 square foot structure featuring 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a living room, den, and kitchen. Vaulted ceilings in the main house offer a lofty sensibility to the upper great room, while downstairs a second great room is ideal for media and play. Beyond the indoor spaces, beautiful private gardens, extensive decks, and patios foster an easy sense of indoor/outdoor living.

975 Mariposa Lane – $6,595,000

Breathtaking ocean vistas welcome you to this refined contemporary residence. Nestled on approximately 1+/- acre, this home, enveloped by majestic oak trees, features a spacious open floor plan featuring 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. Expansive windows frame sweeping ocean and island panoramas. The inviting living room is graced by a vast window showcasing stunning ocean and island views and opens onto a private deck.

A chef’s kitchen with generous center island features quartz countertops, custom cabinetry, and top-of-the-line appliances. The formal dining room bathes in natural light. The primary suite with walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom seamlessly connects to a den room with beautiful ocean views. Two additional bedrooms offer captivating views of the terraced and meticulously landscaped backyard. Additional amenities include a pool, built-in BBQ, wet bar, outdoor shower, and beautifully manicured gardens – all within the Montecito Union School District.

843 Park Hill Lane – $14,990,000

Indulge in luxury living at this contemporary Don Nulty designed estate, where stunning architecture harmonizes with breathtaking panoramic views of the ocean, islands, and mountains. This remarkable new construction seamlessly blends modern design with the surrounding natural beauty. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the property in natural light, framing picturesque views that change with the light throughout the day and night.

Mark and his wife, Sheela Hunt, are real estate agents. His family goes back nearly 100 years in Santa Barbara.

Mark’s grandparents – Bill and Elsie Hunt – were Santa Barbara real estate brokers for 25 years.

Upon entry, sleek interiors, soaring vaulted ceilings, and abundant sunlight create an inviting atmosphere throughout the residence. The open floor plan includes 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, plus 2 half baths, a grand living room, chef’s kitchen, an office, den, gym, and an outdoor patio for dining al fresco. This offering is complemented by a detached 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom guest house on the gated +/- 4.42 acre property that defines the potential for indoor/outdoor living. This estate is conveniently located near the San Ysidro Ranch, hiking trails, beaches, Upper and Lower Villages and is within the Montecito Union School District.

would move quickly and jerkily down the line of hanging tomato plants, exciting the flowers with the wand’s vibrating rubber tip and dispersing the life-giving pollen. GO!! STOP!! VIBRATE POLLENLADEN FLOWER WITH SEXTHERAPIST PRECISION!! GO!! STOP!! VIBRATE POLLEN-LADEN FLOWER WITH SEX-THERAPIST PRECISION!! … and so on down the line. Too often I would stamp on the cart’s sensitive pedal and just go flying down the row, arms waving madly for balance, the vibrating stick swinging every which way like a desolation-dealing machete, reducing dozens of gorgeous tomatoes to an airborne, variegated paste.

After the third or fourth such massacre, an ashen Hans saw fit to allow me a dignified exit, frantically signaling the end of my informal contract by dropping to a hunched semi-crouch and chopping his hands back and forth like an empire delivering bad news. “No! No! No!” he kept saying. What it lacked in nuance it more than made up for in a kind of desperate clarity. “Sorry it didn’t work out,” I said on leaving. “It’s a pity,” Hans phonetically replied, the relief palpable. He quickly ushered me through the greenhouse door. I waved goodbye to the other workers and they stared as at a departing Yeti.

Mooie Bonen. Pot Planten. Huilen.

My next two jobs were similarly challenging, and I rose to those challenges with the destructive force of a dancing clown with nitro. The family I worked for were a legendary greenhouse dynasty in the region, owners of an enormous parcel of land on which is built a sprawling complex of greenhouses growing a variety of different things, from sunflowers to lettuce. The operation to which I was assigned devoted itself to green beans, a very profitable cash crop that had long since seen the storied local family ascend the ladder of social respect and material largesse. Unfortunately for them, their fortunes now depended, in part, on my ability to discern beautiful green beans ready for market from their lesser counterparts. That job lasted just the one day.

I still vividly remember my supervisor disgustedly going through my overstuffed bag of “bad” green beans at the end of a shift. “MOOIE BONEN! MOOIE

Greenhouses in Naaldwijk await the arrival of ruinous imbecile (photo by Jeff Wing)

BONEN! MOOIE BONEN! he cried out with exasperation (“…beautiful beans! beautiful beans! beautiful beans!”), producing fists full of perfectly formed green beans from my trash bag. This locally renowned family had brought generations of trial-and-error experimentation, science, and intuitive knowhow to the growing of perfect green beans, and then I arrived to throw them away. Again I waved on leaving, and again my colleagues just stared.

“Stunned and aghast!” I whispered aloud in a dawning new spirit of self-congratulation.

A Grown Wealthy Man Cries

My last greenhouse job lasted a week. I hadn’t yet been completely disabused of the idea that greenhouses could work out for me. This last fit of employment was in nearby Honselersdijk, a 30-minute bike ride away. The work was with “potted plants” as we call them here in the colonies. Picture a gigantic greenhouse filled end to end with a dizzying symmetry of long, specialized, soil-covered tables with raised edges, the tabletops filled with carefully manicured, nutrient-rich soil as meticulously raked and smoothed as a Zen garden.

Squads of specialists would surround the tables, the small plants carefully but speedily punched into the center of each pot in such a way that the roots would be obliged to exit the opened bottom of the pot to unite with the specialized soil beneath. I failed at this, too, and quite terrifically. On what turned out to be my last day, the owner of the place took me aside. I’ll never forget his parting words. “Jeff. When I looking to your work, I think I must cry.” Okay. Is this about a raise?

Discover your limits in a way that doesn’t involve bringing panicked foreign businessmen to their knees. Trust me on this.

Tari has performed it several times in town, largely at the Lobero, where the audiences have roared with approval at the end of the 16-minute piece. On May 4 (May the Fourth) he’ll be proudly playing the piece again along with themes from the Superman and Godfather scores and a few other favorites on stage at the Granada, the other grand house in downtown Santa Barbara, which last month screened the original Star Wars movie as part of the theater’s Centennial Celebration. “Nobody does this in the world. Not even John Williams,” Tari said. “Of course he could, but I don’t think anybody would take the time to have the patience. I’m even surprised that I pulled it off.”

Gilbar Gets all Ghastly and Grisly

Montecito’s lawyer turned prolific author-about-town Steven Gilbar, who has written some 20 “shamelessly non-commercial” volumes in and about Santa Barbara since 1979, has spent the last several years more micro-focused on Montecito. Gilbar penned The Little Book of Montecito Writers in 2022 and followed it up a year later with a similarly casual treatise about Montecito’s actors. Now the founder of Santa Barbara’s dearly departed Speaking of Stories series has turned his gaze to crime in his own backyard with Montecito Noir: True Tales of Murder & Mayhem in Paradise. Gilbar will talk about and sign copies of the book that takes a chronological look at the seamy side of our seaside slice of heaven at Chaucer’s Books on Wednesday, May 8.

Book ‘em: Burnishing the Brain

Can visiting a museum help you conquer feelings of loneliness, or even stave off the advent of dementia? It sure can’t hurt. In their 2023 bestseller Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross explore the wide variety of connections that contemporary neuroscience has established between artistic practice, aesthetic experience and optimal cognitive functioning. Now the co-authors of what has been called a life-altering journey through the science of neuroaesthetics – which offers proof for how our brains and bodies transform when we participate in the arts – are coming to town as part of UCSB Reads, speaking at Campbell Hall on May 8.

Classical Corner: Youth will Be Served

Proud as they are of the ever-increasing quality and innovative nature of the Santa Barbara Symphony’s concerts at the Granada, the folks at the organization often rave even more about their education program. The periodic performance component of those programs takes place this weekend as Camerata Ensemble & Philharmonia Orchestra kick things off on Saturday afternoon, May 4, at First Presbyterian Church. Proudly spotlighting the younger students still finding their symphonic feet, the program will veer from Bach to Batman, and include a special collaborative appearance by the Music Academy of the West’s Sing! children’s chorus. Sunday, May 5, is the more senior Santa Barbara Youth Symphony’s turn. On that date the accomplished high-school aged musicians from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, led by Music Director and Westmont music faculty member Dr. Daniel Gee , perform works by Mendelssohn, Strauss, and Bériot, and will be joined in part by the Westmont College Choir. It all happens at the Lobero at 4 pm. Both concerts are free. Details at https:// thesymphony.org/education.

Montecito and environs since before some people were born. He can be reached at jeff@ montecitojournal.net

Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage

Youngsters up in the valley will also share the spotlight this weekend, as the Santa Ynez Valley Concert series presents its second annual Young Artist Showcase at St. Mark’s in the Valley Church, just a block from the flagpole in the center of Los Olivos. The free concert features talented students ranging from elementary to high school (guitarists and pianists this year) who have been recommended by their respective teachers – including Deborah Mele, Pascal Salomon, and Natasha Kislenko – for the special honor of performing solo at the 3 pm Sunday, May 5, concert.

Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. He has been writing about

Hiroko Benko, Maria McCall, Erin Graffy de Garcia, Anne Towbes, and Michele Profant (photo by Priscilla)

She founded the Scottish Women’s Hospitals and was the first woman to enter Verdun, site of one of the First World War’s major battles, writing a book The White Road to Verdun about her war experiences. She was also the first woman to receive the CBE – Commander of the British Empire – in 1918 from King George V.

Her first marriage was to Frederick Forrest Peabody of the Arrow shirt company, who lived in Solana, a local aerie now owned by Google billionaire Eric Schmidt

He also personally financed the eponymous stadium at Santa Barbara High School before dying of a stroke in 1927 two years after the Santa Barbara earthquake.

Her second husband mining engineer Col. John McLean was killed in an accident just nine days after they married.

With her third husband Girard Van Barkaloo Hale, consul general to Monaco, the dynamic duo helped refugees in France under Nazi occupation, earning her the title Angel of France. They also personally restored the French village of Maille after the Waffen SS killed more than 500 villagers in retaliation for

areas in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and a farm in the isolated desert of Wickenburg, Arizona.

Along with the compositions of Jason Moran and the remarkable voice of Lisa Fischer, the use of spiritual music from the Black and Jewish traditions was selected to address the power of inspi-

ration during difficulty and hope and determination against seemingly impossible odds.

A piece that flows perfectly...

Here’s Hope

The Santa Barbara Education Foundation held its annual Hope Awards at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum honoring local heroes of public education with 160 guests raising more than $50,000 with a paddle raise benefitting the Teacher Grants program, which has given 387 grants since 2018 with more than $685,000 invested in classrooms.

The two recipients were the ubiquitous Geoff Green, former head of the City College Foundation, and the local radio station 99.9 KTYD represented by Bill Pesso and Lin Aubuchon, in recognition of its dedication to music education in local schools, particularly the Keep the Beat program.

David Edelman, former foundation

Bobby Kinnear, Suzi Schomer, Meg Burnham, Sybil Rosen, Sue Adams, and Carol Fell (photo by Priscilla)

the death of two Nazi officers sending clothes, furniture and, notably, the latest Disney film hit Snow White

They died within a short time of each other in New York.

Among those listening with rapt attention were Anne Towbes, Maria McCall, Sue Adams, author Fannie Flagg, Ann Luther, Hiroko Benko, Sybil Rosen, Peggy Wiley, Wilson Quarre, and Meg Burnham

Who knew?

Dancing the LINES

Alonzo King LINES Ballet, the latest hour-long dance production staged by UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures at the Arlington, was a real showstopper.

The talented company staged Deep River, which premiered last year as part of LINES Ballet’s 40th anniversary, based on more than four decades of thought-provoking dance.

The production is the result of three years of working in designated time periods in unusual settings including in a confined bubble at their studios, grassy

dancers with Pedro Paz, Lynne Sheffield, Shakenya Edison, Peter Schuyler, and Tammy Sims Johnson

Adrienne Schuele, Judy Whiting, Bernadette Bagley, Cathy Cash, Peggy Platner, Erin Graffy, Fannie Flagg, and Geri Bidwell (photo by Priscilla)

Alonzo King LINES Ballet’s Deep River flows perfectly... (courtesy photo)

Folklorico

(photo by Priscilla)

Kim Hernandez, Susan Salcido, Hilda Maldonado, Wendy SimsMoten, and Denise Alvarado (photo by Priscilla)

Dos Pueblos, San Marcos, and Santa Barbara High Culinary Arts Program with mentors and teachers (photo by Priscilla)

board member, and Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools, introduced the award winners.

Tony Ybarra and the Santa Barbara High Folklorico entertained with Kelly Fresch, the ceremony’s chair, welcoming the tony throng with Hilda Maldonado, superintendent of the Santa Barbara Unified School District, and Pedro Paz, executive director of the foundation, adding their remarks.

Among the guests packing the museum’s courtyard, with dinner provided by the culinary programs of various high schools, were David Selberg, Caitlin O’Hara, Nina Dunbar, Frank Schipper, Ingrid Bostrom, Dean Noble, Rebecca Anderson, Darla Bea, and Ed Zuchelli

New Neighbor

Winemaker and animal activist’s Gretchen Lieff’s new Montecito home was socially gridlocked when she hosted a bustling housewarming bash for 60 guests with popular pianist Gil Rosas tinkling the ivories.

Gretchen didn’t have far to go to find her new four bedroom, five bathroom Arcady 1961 property designed by Carl Hillmann, given it’s just a tiara’s toss from her former home.

Among those quaffing the champagne and La Lieff wine while snaffling the caviar blinis were Thomasina Hahn, Mindy Denson, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Alan and Lisa Parsons, Connie Pearcy, Ginni Dreier, Kristi Newton, Robert Adams, Ariana Katovich, and Peter and Kathryn Martin.

‘Tis But a Stem Cell

Former Montecito funnyman John Cleese has revealed he’s forking out $22,000 a year to pay for stem cell therapy to combat the side-effects of aging.

The Monty Python star, 84, admits the fee is hefty, but claims “it is worth buying yourself a few extra years.”

John, who has been having the treatment from La Prairie in Montreux, Switzerland for more than 20 years, is ensuring that he doesn’t look “too bad” for his age by getting the “highest quality” cells from the facility.

He tells the U.K.’s Saga Magazine: “These cells travel around the body and when they discover a place that needs repair, they’ll change into cells you want

for repairs, so they might become cartilage cells or liver cells.

“So I think that’s why I don’t look bad for 84!”

Doctor’s Visit

Billy Baldwin ’s wife Chynna Phillips has to undergo surgery in order to remove a 14-inch tumor from her left leg, while opening up about her terror at the thought of undergoing anesthesia, describing it as “the closest thing to death.”

The former musician, 56, revealed she is having the mass taken from her leg in a video shared on her faith-based YouTube channel California Preachin’.

Chynna says she is “absolutely petrified” at being put under for the the procedure because she says being knocked out with drugs is what she imagines dying would feel like.

“I have a tumor in my left leg. I’ve had it since a girl. They don’t know if I was born with it or not.

“It’s totally benign, but it’s large. I’m talking very large. It’s like 14 inches long and four inches wide. Surgery is coming up. It’s just eight weeks away.”

I wish her well...

On the Mends

Montecito comedienne Ellen DeGeneres admits being branded the “most hated person in America” was a huge blow to her ego as she launched her new stand-up comedy tour in West Hollywood last week, her first since 2018.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show went off the air in 2022 after 19 seasons on NBC in Burbank following the toxic workplace scandal that tarnished her reputation as TV’s favorite host.

In 2020, DeGeneres, 66, was accused by former show employees of fostering an environment that tolerated alleged bullying, racism, and sexual harassment by executives and one in which she reigned supreme.

This prompted WarnerMedia to launch an investigation, with the Montecito resident insisting in a letter to show staff that she was unaware of any toxicity behind the scenes.

She later branded it “a coordinated misogynistic” attack on her and has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since the talk show’s final airing on May 26, 2022.

Where’s Al Jaffee’s Snappy Answers?

Michael Douglas was mistaken for his children’s grandfather while visiting one of his youngsters at college.

The UCSB Oscar winner, 79, revealed the awkward moment in an interview with London’s Daily Telegraph, admitting the ordeal was “rough.”

“‘This is not grandparents’ day, this is parents’ day’, and I say ‘I am a parent!’ That was a rough one.”

The Fatal Attraction star didn’t specify where the mishap took place while he was visiting his son, Dylan, 23, or his daughter, Carys, 21.

He shares them with his Welsh actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who he has been married to since 2000.

Carys is currently attending Brown University in Rhode Island, while Dylan graduated from the same college in 2022.

Royal Company

The Princess of Wales has received a unique honor from her father-inlaw King Charles in recognition of her years of public service and has been appointed to The Order of the Companions of Honor.

Kate, 42, has been made a companion of the organization, founded by King George V in 1917 to recognize outstanding achievements in the arts, sciences, medicine, and public service.

It is reportedly the first time a member of the Royal Family has been appointed to the order in its century-long history.

The order – whose spiritual home in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace – is restricted to 65 members from across the Commonwealth.

She is in good company with other members including Dames Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, Sir David Attenborough, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ian McKellen and Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling

Sightings

Robert Redford noshing at Brophy Brothers... Gary Oldman at the Riviera Theater… Oscar winner Kevin Costner with daughter Grace and sons Cayden and Hayes lunching at Tre Lune.

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

Gretchen Lieff (third from right) welcoming some guests (photo by Priscilla)

Some happy guests enjoying the alpacas (photo by Priscilla)

Connie Pearcy, Gil Rosas, Kevin Kirkendall, and Jim Melillo (photo by Priscilla)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

THURSDAY, MAY 2

‘Singin’ in the Rain’ – We mean that literally this time around, as San Marcos High presents Shannon Saleh’s production of the stage musical adapted from the hit 1952 musical romantic comedy movie that revisited the era a few decades earlier when Hollywood’s studios were transitioning from silent picture to the talkies. The musical, which was adapted by Broadway legends Betty Comden and Adolph Green, is a terrific show for young artists as it dives into what makes art, the business of moviemaking, and navigating relationships; more than a typical fluffy film of the era. Plus, the production promises real rain on stage, unlike when the title got its thrilling (dry) preview at the Granada earlier this month. Theater pro Naomi Jane Voigt portrays the behind-the-scenes singer-turned-love interest Kathy.

WHEN: May 2-11

WHERE: San Marcos High School Marquis Performing Arts, 4750 Hollister Ave.

COST: $15 general, $10 seniors and students ($50 Opening and Closing Night

Happy Hour/VIP seating includes food and drinks at Lighthouse Coffee, VIP bag and early access to seating with a gift bag)

INFO: www.smhstheaterdept.com

THURSDAY, MAY 2

1st Thursday Exhibits – Abstract artist Francis Scorzelli, the cofounder and often president of the Santa Barbara Studio Artists, has a new show called Color Interaction at CPC Gallery in the front room at Christ Presbyterian Church (36 E. Victoria St.). Scorzelli’s large-scale artwork is both energetic and complex, a result of countless layers and time-consuming processes the artist employs to create them on the floor of his downtown studio. Gaze at the gigantic paintings to the sounds of live music by guitarist David Pat who specializes in Bossa Nova and Spanish influences of South America, while enjoying free tasters of local wine by Stolpman Vineyards… Santa Barbara Visual Artists returns to Legacy Arts (1230 State St.) for yet another beautiful and thought-provoking exhibition that plays through June. Tonight’s opening reception features live music, food and wine in the gallery/listening room… domecíl, the charming gallery and shop that favors lowercase letters, goes large with the life-like sculptures of Santa Barbara ceramicist Burt Horowitz that serve to incite an emotional response… The Silver Lining @ KIVA Cowork (1117 State St.) presents Kiva Sensoria, Unleash Your Inner Senses featuring work by Marlyn Daggett, Kenji J. Fukudome, Lisa Trivell, and Philip Jolles, plus Heritage Valley Goods, Pali Wine, Cutler’s Distillery and more… Su’nan The SPACE has just completed its first six-week program “The Dancing Net Skirt” and is excited to share stories about its workshop and organization at Casa De La Guerra (15 E. De La Guerra St.), where participants will be onsite to talk about their art pieces. In Su’nan’s inaugural 1st Thursday event, there will be opportunities to learn how to create cordage and to connect with local Indigenous artists who are the core of the organization… Also making its 1st Thursday debut is Anacapa School (814 Santa Barbara St.), which will feature artist Vera Long at its historic site at the Presidio. The exhibit includes bold, wildly colored figures and large assemblage works including a 20-foot blacklight installation Faerie Forest of Urban Decay. Topiaries, films, underwater art by brilliant adventurous students and music by Ines Izares DJs vinyl, and pizza by Little Dom’s of Carpinteria round out the offerings.

WHEN: 5-8 pm

WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets

COST: free

INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday

THURSDAY, MAY 2

1st Thursday Film, Song, etc. – On the entertainment front, SBIFF’s Santa Barbara Filmmaker Series (1330 State St. STE 101) features 841, Rachel Burnett’s short doc about the surfboard-stealing otter of the California coast that captivated the state and beyond, igniting a media frenzy around the globe that sparked a widespread discourse, and animal vs. ocean safety conflict that placed the critter’s freedom in jeopardy… KAAREM (1221 State St., #14) celebrates the release of Christina Vo’s dual memoir My Vietnam, Your Vietnam that was co-authored by her father, Nghia M. Vo. The evening of convergence through the art of storytelling through book and song – both sharing Vietnamese experiences of healing and hope – will be followed by an intimate musical performance by Linda Sao of See Night… It’s a veritable vocal vacation as both Pop-Up Opera and Quire of Voyces are back at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State St.), on the Front Terrace at 5 pm and in Ludington Court at 6:30 pm, respectively.

WHEN: 5-8 pm

WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets

COST: free

INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday

One Acts X Two – Both UCSB Theater Department and the Ojai Arts Center Theater are featuring one-act works as a mid-springtime diversion. UCSB prof Michael Bernard, who just helmed SBCC Theatre’s Treasure Island at the Garvin, serves as mentor for the senior directing students who are taking on that role for the handful of short plays in the annual festival this weekend only, including The Blood is Life by Julie Zaffarano, directed by Gryphon Seveney; A Game by Dennis Noble, directed by Gabi Baltzell; and Oeuf by Nick Krentel, directed by Jeremy Percy. Up in the mountain village, the Ojai ACT’s talented ensemble cast members including Lynn Van Emmerik, Brian Robert Harris, Anna Kotula, and Steve Grumette will take on a variety of shows benefiting the longevity of the beloved community theater. The intimate, bite-sized offerings –including Spry and Robert DiNero Ate Here, both by Peter and Elizabeth Surdo, Lynn Snyder’s Limbo and Two Sister, by Steve and Liz Grumette – dive into the intricacies of relationships, family dynamics, and the pursuit of personal truth. The performances, with Steve Grumette also directing and running for three weekends, promise to take the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions, serving to both move and entertain.

UCSB Information

WHEN: May 3-5

WHERE: UCSB’s Studio Theater, 522 University Rd. COST: free ($3 suggested contribution)

INFO: (805) 893-2064 or www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu

Ojai Information

WHEN: May 3-19

WHERE: Ojai Arts Center Theater, 113 S. Montgomery St., Ojai COST: $10-$15

INFO: (805) 640-8797 or www.ojaiact.org

FRIDAY, MAY 3

‘Maximums & Minimums’ – You’ve heard of Mostly Mozart, the classical music series that delighted audiences at New York’s Lincoln Center and environs from 1966-2023. Now, the UCSB Percussion Ensemble is putting on a program featuring mostly “minimalist” music, the classical offshoot that originated about 60 blocks away from the Lincoln Center in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s. The term “minimalist” in music has come to represent an approach that employs limited or minimal musical materials and usually features repetitive patterns or pulses, steady drones, and often phase shifting. In a program featuring composers Steve Reich, Brett William Dietz, Ivan Trevino, Nigel Westlake, Marc Mellits, Paul Smadbeck, UCSB student Leah Graafs, and others, the performances range from solo marimba (the minimum)

SBMC Uploads Ukrainian Music – Today’s Santa Barbara Music Club concert features five pieces by Ukrainian composers for piano quartet – including Mykola Lysenko’s “Sorrow” elegy and Viktor Kosenko’s “Courante in E minor” from 11 Etudes in the Form of Old Dances (“Dreams”) – performed by Gulia Gurevich, violin; Alexander Gurevich, viola; Virginia Kron, cello; and Miroslava Kisilevitch, piano. The program will also include cellist Virginia Kron and pianist Leslie Hogan performing “Air on Seurat (The Grand Canal)” by Stephen Paulus; Leslie Hogan’s “Cool Front,” written for Kron; and premiere of “Lament” by famed Ojai keyboardist-composer Jimmy Calire WHEN: 3 pm

WHERE: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 4575 Auhay Dr. COST: free

INFO: https://sbmusicclub.org

to percussion octet (the maximum), and other configurations between. Jon Nathan directs the varied and fun exploration of modern chamber music for percussion.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: UCSB’s Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall

COST: $10 general, $7 seniors, military & students, free children under 12 INFO: (805) 893-2064 or http://music.ucsb.edu

Going Mad in Solvang – Returning to the Valley for the first time in years, Solvang native and frontman Chuck Robertson brings the ska-reggae-punk band Mad Caddies – which he co-founded in 1995 while still a student at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School – back to town to perform on the Solvang Festival Theater stage. Over their career, The Caddies have compiled eight full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs, with the latest, Arrows Room 117, out earlier this month, serving as the first original full-length record in 10 years. With Arrows, the band’s debut for SBAM Records after more than a quarter-century with Fat Wreck Chords, the Mad Caddies are sure to add to their sales total of more than half a million discs. Jon Snodgrass and Bad Cop Bad Cop are the special guests for the show that serves as a salvo for a series of spring and summer concerts both inside the outdoor theater and in the festival gardens. WHEN: 7 pm

WHERE: 420 2nd St., Solvang COST: $25-$70

INFO: (805) 686-1789 or https://solvangtheaterfest.org/show-listing

THURSDAY, MAY 9

VADA Talks About ‘Serious Play’ – VADA Talks, the ongoing series of events from The Visual Arts & Design Academy of Santa Barbara High School, features renowned guests from a wide variety of professions discussing how art and creativity have inspired their work. It’s va-va-voom for tonight’s presentation that visits our little village via “Serious Play: The Making of Hill House Montecito,” in which the creators of the Hill House will share how they worked together to break conventional boundaries in design resulting in the futuristic and almost surreal 10,720-square-foot mammoth structure that is home to art collectors-creators-philanthropists Bruce Heavin and Lynda Weinman. The MJ’s own creative hyphenate Les Firestein moderates the dynamic discussion between Heavin, co-founder of Lynda.com; Robin Donaldson, the Hill House architect; and Silvia Perea, Curator at the UCSB Art, Design, and Architecture Museum, delving into the power of integrating creativity, serious play, and transdisciplinary collaboration. A reception with refreshments follows the talk.

WHEN: 7-9 pm

WHERE: Fé Bland Forum at SBCC’s West Campus, 721 Cliff Dr. COST: free (RSVP required)

INFO: www.vadatalks.org/events/serious-play

BY Mark Saltzman DIRECTED

Full Service SAFE Senior Relocation and Estate Liquidation Services Including: Packing and Unpacking, Estate Sales, Online Auctions and our own Consignment Shop! We are Licensed, Bonded, Liability Insured, Workers Comped, Certified by The National Assoc Of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and The American Society of Estate Liquidators (ASEL).

Glenn Novack, Owner. 805-770-7715 info@movingmissdaisy.com MovingMissDaisy.com Consignments@MovingMissDaisy.hibid.com

TRESOR

We Buy, Sell and Broker Important Estate Jewelry. Located in the upper village of Montecito. Graduate Gemologists with 30 years of experience. We do free evaluations and private consultation. 1470 East Valley Rd Suite V. 805-969-0888

REVERSE MORTGAGES

DID YOU KNOW?

You can now obtain a fixed rate Reverse Mortgage that does not require you to pay off your low-rate existing mortgage.

• Access additional equity with a new reverse 2nd mortgage.

• No payments as long as you live in your home.

• Minimum Age Requirement: Seniors, age 62+. This is an exciting new product! Call me for details. (805) 448-9224

Gayle Nagy Loan Officer NMLS# 251258 (805) 448-9224

Gayle@dmfsb.com 1736 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 POSITION

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Organize receipts for taxes, pay bills, write checks, reservations, scheduling. Confidential. Semi-retired professional. Excellent references. Sandra (805) 636-3089.

MENTAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING

Michael Bolton, MD

Harvard-Trained Board

Certified Psychiatrist

Specializing in Adult ADHD BecomeYourAuthenticSelf. Com

PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY

Stillwell Fitness of Santa Barbara In Home Personal Training Sessions for 65+ Help with: Strength, Flexibility, Balance, Motivation, and Consistency

John Stillwell, CPT, Specialist in Senior Fitness 805-705-2014 StillwellFitness.com

GOT OSTEOPOROSIS? WE CAN HELP

At OsteoStrong our proven non-drug protocol takes just ten minutes once a week to improve your bone density and aid in more energy, strength, balance and agility. Please call for a complimentary session! Call Now (805) 453-6086

EDC Mobile Sharpening is a locally owned and operated in Santa Barbara. We specialize in (No-Entry) House Calls, Businesses and Special Events. Call 805-696-0525 to schedule an appointment

Montecito Electric

AUTOMOBILES WANTED

We buy Classic Cars Running or not. Foreign/Domestic Chevy/Ford/Porsche/Mercedes/Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website - Avantiauto.group

AVAILABLE CAREGIVER

Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc. Lina 805-940-6888

TILE SETTING

Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate.

your home into a masterpiece with Call Cesar Real at casarealpainting@gmail.com for a free es timate today. Let us show you how we can transform your space with color and creativity!

ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo

MiniMeta

ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo

Foreachofthefirstfiveminicrosswords,oneoftheentriesalsoservesaspartofa five-wordmetaclue.Theanswertothemetaisawordorphrase(sixlettersor longer)hiddenwithinthesixthminicrossword.Thehiddenmetaanswerstartsin oneofthesquaresandsnakesthroughthegridverticallyandhorizontallyfrom there(nodiagonals!)withoutrevisitinganysquares.

ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo

Foreachofthefirstfiveminicrosswords,oneoftheentriesalsoservesaspartofa five-wordmetaclue.Theanswertothemetaisawordorphrase(sixlettersor longer)hiddenwithinthesixthminicrossword.Thehiddenmetaanswerstartsin oneofthesquaresandsnakesthroughthegridverticallyandhorizontallyfrom there(nodiagonals!)withoutrevisitinganysquares.

Foreachofthefirstfiveminicrosswords,oneoftheentriesalsoservesaspartofa five-wordmetaclue.Theanswertothemetaisawordorphrase(sixlettersor longer)hiddenwithinthesixthminicrossword.Thehiddenmetaanswerstartsin oneofthesquaresandsnakesthroughthegridverticallyandhorizontallyfrom there(nodiagonals!)withoutrevisitinganysquares.

Foreachofthefirstfiveminicrosswords,oneoftheentriesalsoservesaspartofa five-wordmetaclue.Theanswertothemetaisawordorphrase(fivelettersor longer)hiddenwithinthesixthminicrossword.Thehiddenmetaanswerstartsin oneofthesquaresandsnakesthroughthegridverticallyandhorizontallyfrom there(nodiagonals!)withoutrevisitinganysquares.

Lead-intoshame,short,or

"Looksgreattome!"

Languagefromwhich "Saskatchewan"derives