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1111 Coast Village Road | Montecito, CA 93108
5 Society Invites – Montecito’s definitive Fiesta event, Noche de Gala is back after 30 years, and Lotusland brings art from the ground up
6 Beings & Doings – America is a capitalist juggernaut, a global power, and a federal republic. But we are best summarized by yet another twoword combination: Carol Burnett
8 Montecito Miscellany – Polo’s high goal season starts, Carmen on stage, classic cars at the Mission, and more miscellany
10 The Optimist Daily – A $1 billion commitment from Bloomberg Philanthropies will make tuition free for most Johns Hopkins medical students
National News – Assassination attempt on former President Trump Tide Guide
11
Tuskegee Scholars – UCSB and Tuskegee University launch a pilot program to advance Black cultural perspectives in TV writing
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Our Town – Emily Joubert Home & Garden Opens in Montecito, and Drybar Montecito officially opens with a ribbon cutting
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The Giving List – The Santa Barbara RiteCare Center is helping children with speech and language delays find their voice
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Dear Montecito – New writer Beatrice Tolan takes over Stella’s column and tells of her path from aspiring bathtub writer to the pages of the MJ
18 In Passing – Remembering the life and legacy of Rita Beth Moya, corporate and health foundation executive, advisor and philanthropist
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Elizabeth’s Appraisals – A reader’s two rugs (in pristine condition) tell of Native American design and materials
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Brilliant Thoughts – It is no misteak that Ashleigh’s ideas on errors and typos are full of accuracy
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On Entertainment – Finding Heroes on the stage, and home movies come to the Granada for its centennial celebration
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Blessings Porter – This furry friend to all has been a star of the Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Annual Best in Show Dog Show and is coming back for this year’s August event
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Foraging Thyme – The avocado… this sweet, creamy berry (?) makes every meal more delicious – and healthier
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This Week at MAW – Renowned tenor Lawrence Brownlee talks about “Songs of My Youth” and Rising Up, plus other events this week
Robert’s Big Questions – What is the cost of car congestion? Is there a way to make those who drive pay their fair share?
31 Your Westmont – Museum exhibits new acquisitions, conference examines AI and education, and athletics awarded full NCAA DII membership
40
Calendar of Events – Wine along the beach, Ziggy at the Bowl, ALO at the Lobero, and other weekly happenings
42
Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales
43
Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles
Local Business Directory – Smart business owners place business cards here
by Joanne A Calitri
Society is happy to announce that the famed Montecito celebration of Old Spanish Days (OSD), known as the “Noche de Gala,” has been revitalized and will be held on Saturday, July 27, after its 30-year hiatus.
The event, re-imagined by OSD El Presidente 2023 David Bolton, is hosted at Casa del Herrero, with tickets on sale now. This year will mark the history books for OSD with its Centennial Celebration, and now the return of Noche de Gala to Montecito.
The re-imagined Noche de Gala is a celebration of Spanish culture, architecture, music, art, dancing, food, and cocktails. It features traditional dance performances to live music by the 2024 Spirit of Fiesta Georgey Taupin and the Junior Spirit of Fiesta Aleenah Soriano Taupin will perform a cantinas style of flamenco, said to be an explosion of joy and power with grace and fluidity.
On view during the event will be a fashion exhibition of historic costumes worn for OSD from the archives of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum (SBHM). A highlight of the exhibition is the original 1930s Fiesta attire worn by the owners of Casa del Herrero, George and Carrie Steedman, symbolizing their enduring support for this beloved event. As Casa del Herrero is a National Landmark, its house established from Spanish imported antiquities, docent-led mini-tours for guests are available.
“We extend our sincere appreciation to SBHM Executive Director Dacia Harwood for her invaluable contributions to making this collaboration a reality, said Casa del Herrero Executive Director Rosie Rafferty during our interview. “We look forward to celebrating culture, tradition, and community with you at this special event just before the start of Old Spanish Days Fiesta in Santa Barbara!”
Noche de Gala was held at the Coral Casino Biltmore from 1960 through 1994 before closing out due to lack of members to carry it on and the ownership transitions of the club. However, the memories of the event have been kept alive to this day in the hearts of those whose grandparents and parents attended it. Which is to say precisely how the July 27th event came to be.
In my interview with the event committee – Bolton, Board of Trustees President for Casa del Herrero Heather Biles, and 2024 El Presidente Brian Schwabecher – Bolton shared, “For years I had thought it would be great idea to recreate Noche de Gala and bring Fiesta back to Montecito. Growing up at the Coral Casino and in Montecito, I remember those early Noches and how they were the events of the year. Fellow Fiesta Past Presidente Herb Barthels often shared the history and makings of Noche de Gala with me, which generated a dream to recreate this popular event. The opportunity arose during
Society Page 354
by Jeff Wing
My rebellious teen years formed me. I was an iconoclast, an outlier, a pugnacious and angry loner dancing on the knife edge of chaos. Refusing to play the idiot game, I skulked around the outskirts of the Established Order and its meaningless rules of conduct, taking wild, ferocious swings at this stupid world and its numbing expectations. That is, while my male teen cohort spent their hormonal evenings drinking like fish, chasing girls, and doing muscle car donuts in the school parking lot, I was home watching The Carol Burnett Show with my mom.
The summer after my freshman year of high school, my family moved from Boulder, Colorado, to Phoenix. At
Centennial Junior High in Boulder, we wore flannel shirts and chunky hiking boots with Vibram soles. The popular kids at Centennial were witty loudmouths and lovebirds. I was the silent wallflower in the back of the class. We spent summers swimming in the Boulder reservoir and winters saucer sledding down Wonderland Hill.
High school in ‘70s Phoenix was another world – climate-wise, the planet Mercury. My parents had wearied of the Colorado winters and thought it would be a good idea to try out the Sonora Desert and Phoenix – a furnace charmingly nicknamed the Valley of the Sun by an early marketer probably living in Connecticut.
At Phoenix’s Arcadia High School, the popular guys sported feathered-back hair which they would manage with insouciant tosses of the head. They carried enormous salon combs whose tortoiseshell handles stuck idiotically out of the back pockets of their skintight bell-bottoms; a strutting stupidity that absolutely enthralled me.
The feathered-back hair gang would swagger into Algebra I in loose formation, blank-faced as samurai, sit in a remote corner of the classroom and spend the hour snickering and high-fiving. I knew intuitively they were not comparing notes on Harvey Korman’s champagne-like comic timing, or Tim Conway’s on-air habit of cracking up his co-stars mid-skit with his endless rad-libs. And would those self-regarding, hat-haired hotshots with their protruding
combs have any remote conception of the indescribable Lyle Waggoner?
That first year at Arcadia H.S. I didn’t know my ___ from my ___. I’d always been shy and jittery, and the move from the Rocky Mountains to the Sonora
Beings & Doings Page 374
by Richard Mineards
After a two-week lull, Santa Barbara Polo Club’s high goal season launched in luxurious style with the Ferguson Robert Skene Trophy tournament, the local bath, kitchen and lighting gallery hosting a fieldside lunch featuring Petrossian Beluga caviar and Lanson vintage champagne – founded in 1760 and holding a Royal Warrant from the time of Queen Victoria.
Other co-sponsors of the splendiferous repast a tiara’s toss from the rustic clubhouse, included Christofle, the top French silverware company, and Gaggenau, manufacturer of top-notch kitchen appliances, with catering by
Westlake Village’s Made In Italy.
Both matches were closely fought, with Justin Klentner’s Klentner Ranch team narrowly losing to Grant Palmer’s Antelope team 14-13, and La Karina cruising to victory against Mokarow Farms 11-8.
When I worked for the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail in London, I would enjoy going to top Mayfair hostelry Claridge’s when Lanson would take over the ballroom with free-flowing bubbly and serve a delightful concoction known a Black Velvet; half champagne and half Guinness.
Among those enjoying the too-too tony kickoff were Alan Nierob and Steph Mcinnis, Ramona Silva – who I last met at the late Cat Pollon’s 70th birthday bash in Marrakech – and Johan Gyllenkrok , Jacob Bledsoe , Thiep Cune, Christopher Klapp, and club manager David Sigman
Carmen, Bizet’s classic opera, never loses its entertainment value.
Having last seen it when it was staged by Opera Santa Barbara a year ago, the latest production at the Granada, courtesy of the Music Academy of the West’s Summer Festival, was a decidedly contemporary twist on the Spanish love story conducted by Daniela Candillari, principal conductor of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Director Ken Cazan set the production in present-day Spain, with choreography by flamenco star Manuel Gutierrez and contributions from MAW’s Sing! children’s chorus.
Mezzo-soprano Maggie Reneé was
Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a $1 billion commitment to Johns Hopkins University, marking a watershed moment in medical school history. This unprecedented contribution, announced last week, would make tuition free for most medical students beginning this autumn. The donation will cover complete tuition for students from families earning less than $300,000, as well as living expenses for those earning up to $175,000.
Currently, nearly two-thirds of Johns Hopkins medical students are eligible for financial help, and 45 percent of the current class will also receive assistance with living expenses. The university expects that this robust endowment will reduce the average overall loan load for graduates from $104,000 to $60,279 by 2029. Furthermore, this contribution will expand financial aid opportunities for students in the university’s nursing, public health, and graduate programs.
“By reducing the financial barriers to these essential fields, we can free more students to pursue careers they’re passionate about – and enable them to serve more of the families and communities who need them the most,” Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg LP, stated. Bloomberg attended Johns Hopkins University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1964.
According to Ron Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins University, the donation will be added to the university’s endowment, with every penny going toward student support. Daniels cited Bloomberg’s admiration for the medical profession’s perseverance and dedication during the pandemic as a driving force behind the donation. “Mike has really been moved by the challenges that the professions confronted during the course of the pandemic and the heroic efforts they’ve made to protecting and providing care to American citizens during the pandemic,” Daniels noted.
Johns Hopkins joins a growing list of medical schools that provide significant financial aid to students. With tuition waived for many medical students at Johns Hopkins and other top institutions, the goal is to attract and retain the greatest and brightest minds in medicine. There is an urgent need for more primary care doctors and specialists in underprivileged communities especially, and these educational investments are critical steps toward fulfilling that need and providing universal access to healthcare.
by MJ Staff
On July 13, 2024, former president of the United States Donald Trump and currently the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee in the 2024 presidential election, was shot and wounded at a campaign rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
The FBI has identified Thomas Matthew Crooks, age 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, as the suspect – who fired eight rounds from an AR-15-style rifle while Trump was speaking to the audience. Crooks was located on the roof of a nearby building, approximately 400 feet from where Trump was located. The shots were fired at approximately 6:11 pm EDT, grazing Trump’s upper right ear while killing 50-year-old Corey Comperatore in the audience and critically injuring two other audience members. Crooks was subsequently shot dead by Secret Service Counter Sniper team members located nearby.
On July 15, the FBI announced that the search of the subject’s residence and vehicle are complete and that they have gained access to Crooks’ phone and continue to analyze his electronic devices. As of now, no clear motives have been identified and Crooks is believed to have acted alone.
Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net
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Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net
MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor
Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe
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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
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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
by Debra Herrick
IUCSB lecturer
Wendy Eley Jackson will help teach one of the core courses to the Tuskegee scholars (photo by Brad Elliott)
f you’ve heard Octavia Spencer give an interview, you can probably tell she’s from the South. But someone who really understands her voice can tell she’s from Alabama. Reese Witherspoon on the other hand? Her voice reveals she’s from Tennessee. And a good dialogue writer knows, it’s not just the twang. It’s the culture.
A unique pilot program at UC Santa Barbara focuses on writing for diverse voices, creating a new kind of space between a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and a HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities). Ten Booker T. Washington Scholars from Alabama’s Tuskegee University – an HBCU – will spend the summer at UCSB – an HSI – taking classes in screenwriting.
“We find ourselves at a pivotal juncture in our human history, where the call for fresh and diverse perspectives to be acknowledged is paramount,” said UCSB Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts and Professor Daina Ramey Berry. “It is a time when compelling narratives must emerge and take center stage.”
The Tuskegee Scholars Program brings together 10 Black students from Tuskegee and 15 students from UCSB for six weeks to take classes in TV writing and introduction to cinema, along with field trips to studios in Los Angeles for hands-on experience. The program seeks to prepare students for careers in the film industry by providing exposure and research opportunities, especially for students who may not have had access to such experiences and those who seek to present different cultural perspectives in storytelling.
The program also aims to plant the seeds for an entertainment industry in Tuskegee by growing the local talent with guidance from top-level educators and industry professionals.
While UCSB’s Department of Film and Media Studies was launched in 1973, for Tuskegee the Summer Scholars program is a beginning, as the college seeks to develop its own film and media studies program. UCSB’s Tuskegee scholars are all working towards a concentration in film and media arts.
“In many ways, the program echoes the historic mission of Tuskegee University, which was founded to provide both academic and industrial education,” said Berry, who partnered with film and television executive Adriane Hopper Williams to launch the program. Williams was born on the Tuskegee Institute campus at Alabama’s first hospital to serve people of color, John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital, where her father was the director and later the vice president of health affairs. Today, Williams and her husband Derrick own a production services company called DNA Media Group, and laid the groundwork for what is now The Legacy Lives: Tuskegee – a nonprofit organization committed to revitalizing Tuskegee’s university and town.
“We are excited about our academic partnership that allows our students to be exposed to the film and entertainment industry,” said Tuskegee University Provost S. Keith Hargrove. “UCSB has been phenomenal in its outreach and collaboration with Tuskegee University to invite and engage our students, receive academic credit,
Tuskegee Scholars Page 364
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Imagine waking each morning ready for stimulating encounters & adventures. This is how life unfolds at Maravilla— an ideal setting for your very own kind of invigorating and fulfilling life. Schedule a tour and discover an enriched community experience.
by Joanne A Calitri
The boutique store Emily Joubert has now opened in Montecito is located at the Montecito Country Mart. Owner Judy Cottingham-Sieber and her husband Mike Sieber held a private opening for friends on Thursday, July 11, and a public opening July 12. Their first stores are in San Francisco and Woodside, CA.
I attended the private opening and met with the store owners. Judy has family roots in Montecito with her being a first cousin to Susan Jackson. Susan shared with me at the opening, “Our mothers were sisters, and their mother, [our grandmother] is to whom the store is named, Emily Joubert.” Indeed, with loving respect the painted portrait of Joubert appears in all the stores, and on the website.
I asked Cottingham-Sieber what she cultivated specifically for her Montecito location, and she said, “There is a definite nod to Montecito with our more coastal look items, such as the rattan furniture made in northern California from recycled bamboo, the Adirondack outdoor chairs, and the leather coasters with ‘Montecito’ engraved in gold.
I love to support artists and for this store I am featuring Grace Chamberlain’s watercolors, and Alice Ford, who recently showed at Bergdorf Goodman NYC.” While she greeted friends, I shopped the store with her Visual Merchandiser, Roland Cuthbert-Manuel, from the San Francisco store. He did the Montecito store layout for the opening. Items he directed for our readers are the EJ private label square outdoor seat cushions with Indian block print, enamel lamp bases with lampshades made from Vintage silk sarees, the EJ tartan print men’s Dopp Kit zip leather bag, and EJ exclusive on Belle d’Arles perfumed soaps. In furniture he pointed out oversized copper pots with lids, the outdoor Adirondack chairs from reclaimed redwood handmade in the bay area, and the one-of-a-kind Estate Antique wood chairs upholstered with Antoinette Poisson art designs on the fabric. For the kitchen, the EJ private label Belgium linen aprons, table linens, organic balsamic vinegar, olive oil, cutlery and cooking utensils. There is a selection of teas from Mariage Frères, Lodestone Candles of Kent & Co., Cereria Molla candles and fragrance sticks, books, jewelry, and children’s clothing and toys.
At the opening were her store manager Jennifer Williams, staff, friends, and local businesses. We were treated to champagne and Pascale Beale’s artful crudités and
Our Town Page 344
by Steven Libowitz
There are 19 RiteCare Childhood Language Centers across California, a program of the California Scottish Rite Foundation that provides life-changing speech therapy, language skills, and literacy services to more than 2,300 children at no cost to the families. The highly effective centers in many ways more than fill the gaps between what the public schools are able to provide and what is necessary to help the children achieve and thrive in their classrooms and in life, including working with kids who are younger than school age when the programs are particularly effective.
“The public schools do a great job, but they don’t have the flexibility or capacity to design a therapy session around the child’s specific needs,” explained Arthur L. Salazar, Jr. , Executive Vice President and Board Secretary for the foundation. “Our programs also allow the parents to be much more engaged
in the session, which gives them the opportunity to be able to practice some of those exercises at home. That really helps reinforce the lessons, which makes a big difference.”
The goals for each child depend on the level of speech and language delays, Salazar said.
“It can be something as small as allowing a child to be able to say several words to their mom: ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I love you,’ simple things that they weren’t able to communicate before. It might be helping to overcome their stutter and gain a confidence that allows them to improve their grades at school and go on to college. It’s pretty amazing how some of our clients from years ago have gone on to become very successful, including lawyers who now advocate for services for children with disabilities, and others in leadership roles with youth groups. They get confidence in public speaking and in themselves that they matter, and they realize they’re valued and that they can do anything.”
By Heidi Schreck | Directed by Matt Hawkins
What’s even more notable for locals is the superior effectiveness of the Santa Barbara RiteCare Childhood Language Center, which stands out from the other 18 RiteCare Language Centers in a number of ways. Santa Barbara’s center, for example, is the only one to offer Camp Chit Chat – a fun and socially interactive camp for children ages three-and-a-half to six with mild to moderate speech and language delays. Each camp participant participates in a small group of no more than three same-aged peers also working on similar skills such as articulation, language, fluency, and social communication. The popular camp is an excellent opportunity for children to maintain essential communication skills during the summer – when regular therapy services are not available – through fun activities that also develop social and emotional confidence. A closing picnic at the end of summer for all the kids and their families helps to build the Center’s supportive community network of understanding and encouragement.
The camp was created by the center’s director, Speech-Language Pathologist Julie DeAngelis – who has worked at RiteCare for nearly 17 years – and is co-run by fellow SLP and Center Program Director Summer Calvert. Community support has provided the funding to create and maintain Camp Chit Chat.
“Santa Barbara has something special,” said Salazar. “The way that Julie and Summer have been able to connect with the children and their families, plus the dynamics of the Santa Barbara community, has created a unique community engagement at the center. Camp Chit Chat has become an important bridge to mitigate some of the ‘summer slide’ that might otherwise take place, especially with children who are struggling with speech and literacy skills.”
The Santa Barbara RiteCare Center also excels through the connection with UCSB’s undergraduate program, in which students serve as interns at the center, providing an asset to both the university and the center.
“The Center gets more staff to help with
Lab is just one of
things like Camp Chit Chat throughout the year, while those undergrads who are considering careers as speech pathologists have an opportunity to see what that profession looks like up close and personal,” Salazar said.
The interns also help out with Brain Lab, the software-based literacy intervention program for children in 2nd to 6th grade – which Santa Barbara RiteCare’s center is the only one to offer. Peabody Charter School referred many of its students to the after-school program, and was so impressed that the school later created its own reading intervention curriculum based on Brain Lab. The program is in Santa Barbara due to the directors’ impetus.
“You have to have a special credential to be able to supervise the use of that software,” Salazar explained. “Julie and Summer took the initiative on their own to obtain those credentials.”
Last year, Calvert also completed an intensive training to get certified in dyslexia intervention, allowing the Santa Barbara RiteCare to provide additional skills to children with that learning disorders.
“They do phenomenal work there because for Julie and Summer, speech therapy and language services aren’t just what they do during their business hours,” Salazar said. “It’s a passion.”
All that wouldn’t be possible without community support, because the Foundation itself only provides about 15-20 percent of the funding necessary to run the center, covering administrative expenses, while local grants and giving cover the salaries, materials and more. Recently, through community generosity, SB RiteCare was finally able to hire a third SLP, which will allow the center to reduce the waiting list for its services.
“The community has really stepped up with solid support that has grown to the point where we had enough of a comfort level to be able to hire additional staff and be able to sustain it,” Salazar said. “That means up to another 35 families will be getting the help they need to make a huge difference in their lives.”
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by Beatrice Tolan
My name may be familiar to you, reader. Maybe you recognize it from the fading memory of your child’s school theater production playbill, or perhaps from reading Stella Haffner’s interviews with me in this very column. Thanks to Stella and the Montecito Journal, you’ll be seeing my name on a much more regular basis as the new author of “Dear Montecito.” How did this come to pass?
At every school I attended – MUS, Crane Country Day School, and Laguna Blanca – I was the resident art-kid, only comfortable when buried in a sketchbook or hidden behind a theatrical role. After a long day’s work in elementary school, I’d put in an extra shift at home as an aspiring author, writing stories (including a 100+ page rip-off of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight) in my makeshift office: a bathtub with couch pillows in it.
Though I grew out of my bathtub phase (my family wanted to use my office for its “intended purpose”), I never stopped writing, keeping a daily record in over 20 journals since 2012 that include song lyrics, poems, and scrapbook collages. Naturally, I left college with a degree that married visual arts, performance, and writing: animation. Even with the chaos of the pandemic, I was fortunate to nab a stable job right out of college. But two years into what some animators would consider a dream position – producing mobile filters for the social media mogul TikTok, my work seen by millions – I called my boss on a sunny afternoon to say: “This is my last day.”
My rational mind’s desire for stability could no longer withstand the persistent gnawing in my gut. I was the most unhappy I’d ever been, with no answer as to why. I spent two years in search of an answer by busying myself with a myriad of unrelated jobs, from working in a children’s ceramics studio to hosting trivia. I deflected my peers’ questions, playfully naming my unforeseen career deviation my “side-quest era,” as if I was some valiant adventurer boosting her skill points before returning to her main quest. I was fully aware that none of these gigs were my true calling; however, they satisfied an itch I’d never noticed needed scratching at my previous jobs: community. After the pandemic had swallowed my final college years, it felt refreshing to meet and learn from people outside my artistic discipline. Learning more about the world through other people’s accounts revitalized my creativity, and I promised myself that whatever my next job may be, it would involve illuminating the stories of those around me.
Rally your group and head to charming Solvang, California and the Vinland Hotel & Lounge. Here friends, family, and colleagues will find the ideal setting for making lasting memories and sharing bright ideas. Whether tasting at an area winery, relaxing in a wine suite, brainstorming in our inviting conference space, or just relaxing on-site at V Lounge, you’ll find your whole group inspired by the perfect group getaway.
On the cusp of this discovery, the universe floated Stella to me to cover my first ever solo gallery show, HORSE$H*T. My show’s closure and Stella’s departure from these pages lined up perfectly, in what felt like a fateful opportunity.
I ask you, young reader, to contact me with accounts of personal achievements, valued life lessons, or thought-provoking stories so that I might share them with a wider, waiting audience. I’m particularly interested in stories about how the Montecito community has facilitated your upbringing, career, or passion project. I look forward to bringing diverse experiences to readers’ attention to foster compassion, connection, and community. Thank you Stella Hafner and the staff at the Montecito Journal for believing in me. And now – it’s back to the bathtub.
Rita Beth Moya, corporate and health foundation executive, advisor and philanthropist, passed away peacefully July 3, 2024, surrounded by her loving family at her home in Montecito, California, at age 74. She was loved by all who knew her for her grace, generosity, intelligence, humility, and character.
Rita was born to Paul David Becker and Anna (Ulmer) Becker on December 24, 1949 in Hastings, Nebraska. She was raised on a farm near the town of Harvard with her younger sister, Jan. The girls helped with many laborious farm duties. No job was too big or too small for Rita and she later claimed that it taught her to see life as filled with opportunities, not obstacles. She cultivated not just crops but a strong, lifelong work ethic which led her to become a motivated, accomplished, and extremely successful woman.
and character
The world began to pay attention at an early age; she attended Harvard High School, where during her junior year she received a summer scholarship to Kansas State University, allowing her to earn college credits prior to college. At the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1972 and quickly moved on to achieve her Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from Virginia Tech University. It was here she met the
light of her life, Steve Moya, who became a successful media and corporate marketing executive. In 1974, she moved to California where she and Steve were married in Bel Air on March 27, 1976.
Steve and Rita started married life in a home in Manhattan Beach, a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean. Over time –whether they lived in Newport Beach, Bel Air, Montecito, or Louisville, Kentucky – they loved to entertain friends and family. Their hospitality became a hallmark throughout their lifetimes as their guests knew the Moyas as the ultimate hosts, serving delicious food and offering lively conversation and inventive activities. Never one to miss an opportunity to advance healthy cooking, Rita created a cookbook entitled Eating Sustainably in response to the many requests for her recipes. Her approach evolved to using the best ingredients that promoted sustainability, health and wellness. She was ahead of her time in using organic ingredients with no sugar, gluten, and no added salt or fats.
In a time when there were fewer opportunities for women in business, Rita rose to the very top. In 1989 when women were rare in the C-Suite, she was selected to join the global organization for preeminent women, The International Women’s Forum of Southern California; known as The Trusteeship.
During her illustrious career she served as Director of Public Affairs Systems at GTE Corporation, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Foundation and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Data Information Corporation, the first statewide health data exchange in California and in investment banking for United Health Group. Later in her career she served as Chief Strategist and member of the Board of Directors at BioIQ where she was instrumental in the growth
and success of this innovative health and diagnostic testing company. She divided her time between business and nonprofit endeavors, serving as Co-Chair of Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara, and on the Board of Directors of Direct Relief, holding board leadership roles for over 15 years, including Chair of the Board.
Rita and Steve always made time for travel and renewal. They enjoyed traveling throughout the world, visiting over 50 countries. She loved to experience various cultures in Europe, Africa, and South America. Her favorite U.S. destination was Telluride, Colorado where she developed a strong passion for snow skiing.
Steve, her beloved husband of 46 years, died in June 2022. Her parents Paul and Anna Becker also predeceased her. She is survived by her sister, Jan Phares (Kurt) of Irvine, California, her father-in-law Oscar Moya, sister-in-law Deb Bailey, and brother-in-law David Moya, all of Seal Beach, California, nieces Sara Towe (David) of Irving, Texas, and Kendra Battle (Jeremy) of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and nephew Brandan Bailey of Bullhead City, Arizona, grandnephew Charlie Towe, and two grandnieces Madeline and Claire Towe of Irving, Texas. Rita and Steve loved children and were honored to be godparents to many of their friends’ children. Rita will be missed by her family and the many, many friends she made over a lifetime.
A Celebration of Life service will be held in Santa Barbara at a date and time to be announced by the family. Rita would be honored to be remembered with contributions to two of her favorite organizations:
Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara Committee at https://donate.hrw.org/page/107245/donate/1?ea. tracking.id=EP2022EVpg and Direct Relief at https://donate.directrelief.org/ give/601070/#!/donation/checkout
by Elizabeth Stewart
In HT ’s great grandfather’s day, he farmed citrus and avocados on his ranch on Shepard’s Mesa in Carpinteria. He was an early 20th century businessman and had a hacienda adobe in mind for the main house at the ranch. He hired artisans from Mexico, and the house was built with bedrooms opening to a center courtyard. HT has the two Navajo rugs from that ranch – unique, authentic, gorgeous, and in remarkable condition for rugs almost 100 years old. I love the boldness of the colors and design. If a Navajo rug speaks in this straightforward yet symbolic visual language, you know you have something special. Together the pair of rugs is worth over $3,000.
Here’s how I analyzed and dated HT’s rugs: I researched four factors to determine age and importance: a) color and design; b) materials used; c) unique marks to determine geographic origins and age; d) the deep spiritual role certain motifs and markings play in these weavings.
The ‘early’ rugs, mid to late 19th century, have clean, clear, abstracted shapes that let the imagination fly; or as it is said, let it “follow the path of the wind.” Similarly, the design itself also allows the imagination to fly with the wind. A good example of this “flight” is the imaginatively aggressive style called the “storm pattern”, in which an artist will weave the path of the lightning itself into a shape as the theme of a rug.
HT’s rugs date from the first quarter of the 20th century, and in rare condition; wool is often destroyed by pests. These
appear to have a cotton background, which means they could date before 1910. These may use a type of wool from the Navajo-Churro sheep, or plant yarns such as sumac, yucca, and juniper. Both rugs “speak” in that true, bold, abstracted visual language, the patterns authentically streamlined and minimalistic. The more circular shapes indicate later period rugs, and the commercial copies made still later appear flashy and busy. I think of some neon-colored Pendleton Navajo-style fabrics and have to wince.
Most importantly, HT’s rugs are examples of natural plant or insect-based dyes, not synthetic, chemical aniline dyes, which – invented in 1856 – were not used in the American Southwest by Tribal artists till the mid-20th century. Natural dyes create multi-toned colors, with subtle changes in color in each dye lot. HT’s rugs show true natural dye colors of brown, indigo, white, and madder red.
The main classic designs of Navajo rugs are associated with the locations of the early trading posts where a style predominated. “Two Grey Hills” originated in 1910 from a post in Northwest New Mexico, which featured rugs in four-fold symmetrical geometric design in earthtones and reds, blacks, and creams. The classic “storm” pattern is best described as a design that looks like a fierce thunderstorm feels; the lines are spiked and jagged. The style “Crystal” is named for the trading post’s location in the Chuska Mountains. This is the style of HT’s first rug. The shapes resembling the iron cross are called “whirling logs” and we also see hooks and frets. The log is the mythical hiding place of a warrior who was assisted by
the gods as he escaped down a river. You can imagine him whirling in the water. HT’s second rug is in the style “Ganado Red” with hints of the zig zag style “Red Mesa” outline. Ganado features a defined central motif, notable boarders (HT’s is serrated), and a diamond lozenge design. The classic Teec Nos Pos design (Navajo: T’iis Názbąs) originated in the northwest corner of Arizona, and borrowed from the intricacies of Persian rugs. The final classic design is the Yei, which imagines those benevolent stick figured spiritual beings, also seen in Navajo sand paintings, along with cornstalks and arrows.
I can picture these rugs in the 1920s Santa Barbara hacienda on that family ranch, which HT says was eventually subdivided. And very appropriate that Native American culture was represented on that ranch in Carpinteria, known for the rich culture of the Chumash Native American people. These rugs are important to retain. They are organic, few of them remain, and original rugs of the peoples from the Four Corners of this age are rare, as more modern rug styles catered more to the “Western” taste. The rug styles and visual language live on as there are talented modern Navajo Native American weavers that are considered great artists still weaving today.
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 Queen of Mariachi Aida Cuevas Canta a Juan Gabriel 40 años después Sun, Oct 20 / 7 PM / Arlington Theatre
Essential African Pop from Mali Habib Koité and Bamada
Wed, Oct 30 / 8 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
Friends in a New Collaboration DoosTrio
Kayhan Kalhor, Wu Man, Sandeep Das Wed, Feb 19 / 8 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
by Ashleigh Brilliant
Among the many books my wife had brought back from her travels, which I’d never looked at until recently, was one I thought I might enjoy. It is a supposedly amusing collection of signs and other short messages written in English by Japanese people not totally familiar with our language.
But I did not find it amusing. I am only too aware of how hard it can be to master another language. Anybody who makes the attempt, in my view, deserves credit and praise, not laughter. I well remember a time when I was staying in a Youth Hostel in Eastern France, and among my fellow lodgers was a group of young people from Germany (which was then still divided into East and West Germany). The Second World war had been over for only about half a decade. In that conflict, the whole of France had been occupied for several years, and there were still good reasons for ill feelings against German tourists.
This particular memory concerns a list of regulations which had been posted in the hostel. It had apparently been first written in French, and then, on the same sheet of paper, it was translated into German. But whoever did the translation was a Frenchspeaker whose knowledge of German was somewhat limited.
So, these young people found much to laugh at in the posted notice, and, observing this, I saw a good, but somehow unpleasant, example of unintended linguistic merriment.
But History is full of mistakes made by people, and even by nations. One example that comes to mind was Prohibition in America. One of the most difficult kinds of laws to pass in this country is a Constitutional Amendment. Yet the notorious Eighteenth Amendment outlawing the manufacture, transportation, or sale of alcohol was not only passed with large majorities, but was repealed even more overwhelmingly only thirteen years later.
Another category of mistakes are those made by printers, which still occur so often that they are familiarly referred to as “Typos,” for “Typographical Errors.” One of the worst of these occurred as long ago as 1631. First, some background:
When the first Queen Elizabeth of England died in 1603, she left no immediate successor. As the “Virgin Queen” (which is how Virginia got its name) she had no children. The nearest in line was a cousin named James, who was already a King – of Scotland – and known there as James VI. In England he became James I. He was a scholarly type and had written several books (including one against tobacco). But one of his most notable acts was to commission a new English edition of the Bible, which we still know today as the “King James version.” This publication was very popular, and the steady sales required numerous re-printings. However, it was one of these, in 1631, whose single error caused an uproar. The mistake was the omission of just one word.
In the Old Testament “Ten Commandments,” one of them is the strict injunction, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” But, by some incredible oversight and failure in proofreading, in each of the 1631 edition’s 1,000 copies, that passage reads “Thou shalt commit adultery.”
This was a little past the age when, for such a sacrilege – whether or not intentional – heads would literally have rolled. This time the printers were simply fined and their printing license revoked. But all copies of the offending edition were to be destroyed. This was easier to do with unsold copies. Of those that were bought and kept, a few have survived to our own time. One showed up recently in New Zealand. Needless to say, it is now extremely valuable.
There are many stories about misprints, some of which may be true. There was this “correction” which is said to have appeared in a daily newspaper:
“We apologize for saying yesterday that Mr. Murphy was ‘a Defective on the Police Force.’ Of course, what it should have said was that Mr. Murphy is ‘a Detective on the Police Farce.’”
And another such tale, which I only hope is true, concerned two reports which both appeared on the front page of a local weekly. One was about a fire which had destroyed a large unused barn on the edge of town. The other reported the death of a local society matron. Unfortunately, the intended headings of the two stories somehow got reversed – and the eminent lady’s picture appeared under the heading:
“OLD EYESORE GONE AT LAST.”
Ashleigh Brilliant was born in England in 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, then 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.
by Steven Libowitz
Heroes, Tom Stoppard’s loose translation of Gérald Sibleyras’ 2003 French play Le Vent des Peupliers (“The Wind in the Poplars”), won the 2006 Olivier Award for Best New Comedy – the highest honor in British theater, equivalent to Broadway’s Tony Awards. A year later, the funny, heart-warming work – about three aging World War I soldiers who spend a lot of time on the shared terrace of a French home for war veterans in 1959 –opened at the Geffen in Los Angeles in a production starring Richard Benjamin, Len Cariou, and George Segal. Then, Heroes promptly more or less disappeared.
Considering its pedigree – Stoppard’s theater credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Real Thing, while he also wrote the screenplays for Brazil, Empire of the Sun, and won an Oscar for 1998’s Shakespeare in Love – the play’s failure to catch on is something of a surprise. To local theater veteran Ed Giron, it’s also a shame.
“It’s very witty, and it speaks to things that are nostalgic but also current,” said Giron, who is appearing in the three-character play over six shows, from July 19-28 at Center Stage Theater, in what is believed to be Heroes’ Santa Barbara premiere. “It’s able to find both the humor and the pathos in people who are starting to get older and have some disabilities they continue to deal with. They’re curmudgeons, but they also have a lot of camaraderie.”
Giron stars alongside fellow Santa Barbara theater stalwarts Bill Waxman and Van Riker in portraying the three veterans as they pass the time recollecting, all the while dealing with memory issues, lingering injuries and PTSD from the war, and yearning for the adventures of their youthful past as means of escape from a mundane present. Gustave is grumpy, arrogant and agoraphobic, Henri has a major leg wound but is still complacent, while Philippe is suffering from a war-related neurological deficit that causes frequent fainting spells.
delightful as the principal character, with tenor Xuyue Qing as Don José, the hapless soldier, and baritone Paul Jang as toreador Escamillo, the handsome love rival.
We were all clearly in the right aria!
Broadway veteran John Rubinstein was a true tour de force in the New Los Angeles Repertory Company’s Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground by Richard Hellesen, presented by the Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic.
Directed by multi-award winner Peter Ellenstein, the two-hour show, with simple but effective scenic design by Michael Deegan and Sarah Conley, and lighting design by Esquire Jauchem, is a compelling exploration of one of America’s Miscellany Page 324
by Lyn Rejahl Pry
Blessings Porter has yet to meet a human he hasn’t liked. And, in his 14 years, he’s met hundreds of people.
Since moving from Orange County to Montecito more than ten years ago, he’s become a frequent beachgoer on the Rosewood Hotels & Resorts Miramar Beach’s oceanfront sand. He’s a favorite unofficial “ambassador” to other local residents and area visitors enjoying the outdoors, weather permitting.
Blessings has competed in two recent Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Annual Best in Show dog shows, placing in the top five in his first show and winning the category of “Best Look” in 2023. Additional competitions include “Trick of the Day,” “Most Spirit,” and “Best in Show.”
Although he hasn’t experienced fine dining at Caruso’s first-hand per se, he has enjoyed the cuisine and attention with its Pampered Pet program.
his first visit to their Rainbow Rising Child Care Centers of California, he was given his official name by the children –Blessings Rainbow.
Blessings also completed the obstacle course challenge with great agility, thanks to his playground experience as a therapy dog with children outdoors during recess, on bikes, slides, teeter-totters and racing.
A Southern California native, he was one of a litter of five whelped from mother, Wee Bonnie Miss Muffet, and father, Linus’s Winter Sport, Jr.; both AKC West Highland Terriers owned by an Amish family.
Adopted by the Porters, and following
After months of training on school sites with children, Blessings became a professional therapy dog for children, earning his official Red Vest honor coat. His specialty is helping children who are sad, unhappy, lonely and perhaps physically or emotionally injured. He also shares his gifts with every person he meets.
Blessings plays games, loves being read to, likes to be chased by children and understands several languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, Korean, French and a little Russian.
He’s always a polite gentleman to other dogs, especially female Cocker Spaniels, as well as people, babies and, notably, horses.
He has been welcomed to attend the U.S. Polo Association’s illustrious 124-year-old Farmers & Merchants Bank Silver Cup, which returned to the famed Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in Carpinteria, California, in 2020.
His elevated status as a senior citizen canine is evident by the many teachings he has shared.
“He has taught me to be a faithful friend, in good times and bad,” said his mom, Libby. “Also, don’t get involved with angry, misbehaving others and avoid a possible negative incident. If humans could listen like well-behaved doggies, it would be a better world.”
Libby recently took Blessings’ advice, revisiting her previous theatrical background as a vocalist, with a performance of popular and theatrical songs, “A Celebration of Life,” at the Miramar in May. ( see www.montecitojournal.net/2024/05/21/ singing-stars-at-the-bar )
Libby has been a SAG member since 1976 and is a well-known voice-over artist.
Over the past several decades, in addition to being a mentor to children and other adults, she has been: an aerialist performer; a ballroom-style dance competitor; a yoga, Pilate Reformer and dance teacher, as well as a Bodies in Motion Certified Spinning Instructor. She has also been an athlete – a USA/ USCF Women’s Internationally Licensed Road and Velodrome Track Racer Master-level cyclist (winning a total of 10 Bronze and Silver Medals in America and England).
Her success as an international cyclist allowed her, with others, to form the School of Champions and its national standard for training and certifying cycling coaches, trainers and instructors, plus children at all levels of the United States Cycling Federation.
Blessings and his mom are looking forward to entering the 2024 Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Annual Best in Show dog show this August. He was one of 30 entrants in 2023.
Possessed of a share your gifts with others as a mission in life and a look-tothe-future attitude, Libby and Blessings are proof that age is only a number.
“Always greet every morning with boundless energy and vigor, and know the wisdom of finding one’s inner peace,” said Libby of the approach to life she shares with Blessings.
For more information on the 2024 show, email miramar@rosewoodhotels.com
July 20th, 1-5pm with Designer Sonia De Mello 1114 State Street, Suite 24 in La Arcada by the Turtle Fountain
by Melissa Petitto
hat is more quintessential than the California avocado? Creamy, decadent, savory, sweet – the avocado is so versatile and nutritious! My favorite avocado farmer is Vista Del Mundo and wow does he have an incredible harvest right now. There is some confusion as to whether the avocado is a fruit or a vegetable, but it’s neither, it’s a berry. Especially high in magnesium, potassium, B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folate, avocados are vital for reducing inflammation, reducing oxidative stress, and increasing immune function. They are also an incredible source of good fats and fiber, helping us to feel full and aiding in digestion. In fact, each avocado provides about 14 grams of fiber making them a wonderful prebiotic. There is one study that showed that avocados decrease fecal bile acid concentrations and increase bacterial diversity, making them especially helpful in reducing colon cancer. The healthy fats in avocados have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by decreasing LDL cholesterol and increasing HDL cholesterol. The high potassium and magnesium content is also very beneficial for blood pressure control. This decadent berry is always great in savory dishes, but have you tried it in a sweet application? Let’s take it into the kitchen!
Yield: 4 Servings
2 each ripe avocados
½ cup dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled
¼ to ½ cup cashew, almond or macadamia nut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Toppings
¼ cup cocoa nibs fresh berries
Directions:
1. Combine the flesh of the avocados and remainder of ingredients in a blender or Vitamix and puree until smooth. For a thinner/creamier result add more of the milk.
2. Divide the mousse into 4 serving cups and allow to cool until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.
3. To serve, sprinkle with cocoa nibs and fresh berries.
Melissa Petitto, R.D., is an executive chef and co-founder at Thymeless My Chef SB, was a celebrity personal chef for 16 years, just finished her 10th cookbook, and is an expert on nutrition and wellness.
This is Mollie’s latest news from Mollie’s Italian Deli and Market in Carpinteria!
Mollie is back from Italy! Mollie studied in Italy under one of the most famous chefs in Umbria in the year 1990. Chef Vissani is amazing and was ranked #1 in a field of 26,000 chefs! His restaurant Casa Vissani is one of the best in Umbria. Mollie visited the small, family-owned olive oil facilities that grow and mill the olives in Rome and Umbria that Chef Vissani uses in his restaurant. He only uses the very best authentic oil. After tasting the finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil, she has brought some back to share with you! The olive oils that are sold here just do not compare. A study compiled at UC Davis’ Olive Center 2010 uncovered that oils sold here do not meet international and USDA standards. Another small olive mill, Suatoni offers Suatoni Oleo and Rajo. Delicious for salads and cooking. Mollie also has brought back family owned and milled Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Il Refugio of Tuscany. The couple that run this mill are from Santa Barbara and now produce both wine and olive oil. Come and find out for yourself!
Mollie’s Italian Deli and Market
1039 Casitas Pass Rd. Carpinteria, CA 93013
805 452 2692
Saturday, July 27th
2 pm to 5 pm
Celebration Includes: Champagne
Wine
Italian Antipasto Buffet
Olive Oil Tasting
$55 per person
by Steven Libowitz
Lawrence Brownlee is one of today’s most celebrated bel canto tenors, in demand for opera performances as well as song cycle recitals with major orchestras across the country and around the world. He’s particularly praised for his interpretations of Rossini – his Grammynominated album Virtuoso Rossini Arias prompted famed New Yorker critic Alex Ross to ask rhetorically, “Is there a finer Rossini tenor around?”
Brownlee’s one-week residency at the Music Academy of the West, his festival debut, and first visit to Santa Barbara, features two dramatically different concerts. His 19-selection Mosher guest artist recital at Hahn Hall on July 23, titled “Songs of My Youth,” will feature some arias from signature roles and art songs that date back to his earliest days as an opera singer, as well as spirituals that come from his childhood with his family in church in Youngstown, Ohio. He’ll be supported by pianist John Churchwell, the co-director of Lehrer Vocal Institute and a longtime friend and colleague. (“We both have a great love for music and tennis and often play together,” Brownlee said. “Now we’re looking forward to play pickleball when I come to Santa Barbara.”)
Brownlee won’t be singing in the second concert but will instead be curating and coaching the vocal fellows in a program called “Uprising/Rising Up,” which was inspired by his Grammy-nominated 2023 album Rising. The concert is comprised of songs that explore our search, discovery, and celebration of the human spirit. In similar fashion, Brownlee’s album traces an ancestral link among Black composers by focusing on the common inspiration of Harlem Renaissanceera poetry through existing song-cycles and new commissions.
Brownlee talked about both over the phone from Germany where he was set to start recording a new album the following day.
Q. What inspired you to create the “Songs of My Youth” concert?
A. They’re songs that come from musical education as a young kid – the first French song I ever heard in the classical style, the first Italian and German songs I ever performed. I’m singing “Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön” from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which was the first opera role I ever sang. These are pieces that set
me on the path and made me decide that I wanted to pursue music as not only my passion, but my life’s work and my profession. For people who know me for Rossini, they’ll be able to see what else I do, and the genesis of who I am now.
I enjoy sharing that with people because it is a part of what I tell people as far as how I was raised, and my maturation process in the music world.
You’re also singing four American spirituals.
I grew up in a Christian home with parents who were very involved in music at church. My father directed the choir and my mother sang solos. These are some of the things that I heard all the time growing up… It’s a way for me to pay homage to them because these songs were very meaningful to them.
I notice they’re last on the program, even though they were first in your life.
I’m the most at home with these songs, and they’re very moving for me as I tap into them emotionally within. I’m very relaxed with them, so it would be hard to follow up with more technical pieces.
Why did you want to do this program at MAW?
I want the fellows to hear those early pieces not as something only scholastic, just things for beginners, but as expressive pieces of music in which you can use your full artistic cache of things, that you have your arsenal to bring these things to life. As far as musicality, as far as intention, as far as pronunciation and everything, these are real gems.
I know that George Floyd/Black Lives Matter was the impetus behind Rising
by Robert Bernstein
The U.S. is all about freedom and the automobile is a key symbol of that freedom. “See the USA in your Chevrolet” was sung by Dinah Shore on our old RCA TV.
In reality, Americans spend hundreds of hours a year stuck in traffic. Very little driving involves seeing the Rockies or wheat fields that Dinah sang about. Back in the early 20th century if you were the first guy on the block with a car you had freedom and probably plenty of dates. But that went away when your neighbors got cars.
What else went away? Neighborhood markets. Neighborhood farms. And good public transit. If you did not own a car, your life was affected by those who did. Not only were you breathing their exhaust and risking being hit by their cars. Your time was polluted, too. You had to travel further for daily needs, and you had to wait longer for transit to get there. British geography professor John Whitelegg coined the term “Time Pollution” in a 1993 article.
Not only do motorists pollute the air and time of non-motorists, they do so for fellow motorists, too. They create congestion that slows down fellow motorists. In principle we can find new energy sources that pollute less. But you can’t solve congestion by building more roads, because you simply run out of space. As Mark Twain supposedly said, “Buy land, they’re not making it anymore.”
Half of urban land in the U.S. is already paved over for roads, parking, and other car uses. If a resource is finite and valuable, shouldn’t we charge for using it?
Since the 1950s, 86% of U.S. population growth has occurred in the suburbs. Motorists loved the idea of “free parking” in the suburbs. Except it is not free. It is paid through general taxes and increased prices at the stores that host the “free” parking. Non-motorists pay for those subsidies even though they walk, bike or take the bus to the store. The result is “suburban sprawl.”
In urban areas, motorists often do pay for parking. But they don’t pay for taking up space on the streets when they are not parked. That is “congestion” and there is no price paid for it.
Singapore was the first country to start charging “congestion pricing” in 1975. Singapore is fiercely “free market,” and congestion pricing is a free
market solution. Several European cities followed. When it was proposed for London, there was talk of rioting or even revolution. In fact, it all went quite smoothly.
Paying the true free market cost of driving works. It reduces unnecessary driving and benefits those who actually do need to drive. In most cities with congestion pricing, some of the money is used to fund public transit. It is a lot cheaper to pay someone else to use transit than it is to accommodate more cars.
Conservative New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed congestion pricing for New York City in 2007. As a true conservative he understood markets. Unfortunately, New York City transportation policy is held hostage by New York State politics.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revived the idea in 2017, working with then New York City Mayor de Blasio The only remaining hurdle was the Federal government. In 2021 President Biden helped expedite the Federal approval. New York City would be the model for other U.S. cities to follow. It was all set to go into effect in July 2024. Then now-Governor Kathy Hochul slammed the brakes on it at the last minute. With no explanation. She feebly claimed she was concerned about the effect on business. Even though business organizations helped lead the effort for congestion pricing.
How would she make up the loss in revenue by killing congestion pricing? Yes. By taxing the very businesses she claimed to care about.
In Japan we experienced the benefits of waiting a few minutes for a bullet train rather than sitting in car traffic. Will Americans ever grasp this?
I am still hopeful, based on this quote attributed to Winston Churchill: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”
Robert Bernstein holds degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UCSB. His passion to understand the Big Questions of life, the universe and to be a good citizen of the planet. Visit facebook. com/questionbig
by Scott Craig
Experience 45 of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s recent acquisitions at a stunning summer show. The exhibition features works by three dozen artists, including Americans Richard Artschwager, Laddie John Dill, and Louisiana Bendolph of the Gee’s Bend quilters, contemporary Chinese artist Yue Minjun, and numerous local artists.
New Acquisitions: Selections from the Modern and Contemporary Collection, appears through Wednesday, Aug. 7, thanks to generous support for the Westmont Acquisition Fund and from several art collectors and artists themselves.
The museum’s summer hours are 10 am – 4 pm, Monday through Friday; closed on Saturday, Sunday, and college holidays. For more information, please call the museum at (805) 565-6162.
Dill, an American artist associated with the California Light and Space Movement, is known for his mixed-media paintings and gas-charged tube sculptures. His use of nontraditional materials, such as sand, cement and natural oxides, give an earthy texture to his paintings.
Donors to the exhibition include the Berkus Family, Jim and Dianne Bess, Robert and Judy Egenoff, Marie and Arnold Forde, Mitchell Johnson, Amanda McIntyre, the Jens Pedersen Family, Dewayne and Faith Perry, Robertson Family Trust, Teresa Rounds, Susie Schlesinger, Clifford Temps, Bob Tuttle, and Byron and Nancy Wood.
Westmont’s annual Impact Conference, co-sponsored by Salesforce, explores opportunities and dangers using artificial intelligence tools in education Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26, in the Global Leadership Center. Tickets to the two-day event cost $100 with breakfast and lunch provided both days. To register or get more information, please visit westmont.edu/impact.
“The conference, geared toward leaders in education, explores how technology can complement and enhance rather than replace relationships among humans,” says Zak Landrum, director of Westmont’s Center for Applied Technology Lab (CATLab), CRM and data services at Westmont. “As colleges and universities grapple with the role of AI and the disruption that will inevitably occur in our society, the Impact Conference offers a chance for leaders of these institutions to consider the path ahead.”
The conference includes keynote talks from Vala Afshar, Chief Digital Evangelist at Salesforce; Julia Freeland Fisher, director of education at the Clayton Christensen Institute; Ash Black, director of AI and industry at the University of Arizona; Emilio Reyes Le Blanc, Azure Core solution specialist at Microsoft; and Mike Ryu, associate professor of computer science at Westmont and director of engineering for CATLab.
“These speakers bring so much wisdom from years of work in the tech industry,” Landrum says. “In a constantly changing landscape, they’ve managed to keep relationships, positivity and courage at the center of their work. I’m excited to learn from them.”
Afshar, author of the recently released book Boundless, co-host for the podcast DisrupTV and a major tech industry influencer with over 970,000 followers on X, will offer strategies to inspire innovation in business.
Freeland Fisher, an expert in discovering innovative practices in educational technology and bringing them into the public spotlight, will share her latest thinking about the impact of AI on educational institutions and how AI can potentially benefit students.
Artschwager’s objects straddle the line between illusion and reality. His works make no distinction between the two-dimensional and interactive worlds
Bendolph belongs to the younger generation of quilt makers associated with Gee’s Bend. She starts her process with a sketch and then moves into improvisation and innovation using bright, new fabrics.
Minjun, based in Beijing, China, is best known for his inventive take on self-portraiture, usually frozen in maniacal laughter in various settings. Pop art and surrealism influence his brightly colored depictions.
most influential leaders and a poignant reminder of the resilience and vision required to lead a nation.
The one-man show delves into the life and legacy of Dwight D. Eisenhower, offering an intimate portrayal of the man behind the presidency.
Rubinstein, who I last saw on The Great White Way in Children of a Lesser God in 1980 – a production that won Tony for best show – is quite superb in the role, perfectly capturing every nuance of his subject – who served as 34th president from 1953 to 1961, dying in Washington, D.C. in 1969 at the age of 78, having served as Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe.
The show had limited four-day run, but was well worth watching...
Mother Nature forced the cancellation of a flyover by the Italian Air Force’s answer to the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels – the 63-year-old Frecce Tricolori aerobatics team. The occasion was a Festival Italiano held at the Cabrillo Pavilion marking the first visit of the Los Angelesbased Italian Consul General Raffaella Valentini to our Eden by the Beach.
The bountiful bash, catered by Via Maestra 42, also counted Mayor Randy Rowse, councilmember Oscar Gutierrez and Emanuele Amendola,
Invitation to Bid No. 2024-002
Gates & Carport Fire Station 92
The Montecito Fire Protection District hereby invites the submission of sealed bids for:
ITB# 2024-002 – Gates & Carport Fire Station 92
Bid Opening – Monday, August 12, 2024 at 2:15 p m in the conference room at Montecito Fire Station 91, 595 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara.
ITB documents may be viewed on the Montecito Fire Protection District (MFPD) website at www.montecitofire.com or a copy may be secured from MFPD at 595 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara CA between the hours of 8:00 a m and 5:00 p m , Monday through Friday. Responses must be sealed, clearly marked “Station 92 Gates & Carport Project – General Contractor Bid” and returned to:
Montecito Fire Protection District
Attn: Anthony Hudley, Battalion Chief 595 San Ysidro Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108
Bids will be accepted until 2:00 p m August 12, 2024. Bids received after this time will be returned unopened. Faxed bids will not be accepted.
Published July 10 and 17, 2024 Montecito Journal
director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles, and executives of UCSB’s Italian studies program among the 120 guests, including Fred Sidon, Jacopo Giacopuzzi, Lisa Woolf, Sara Firestone, and Costanza Leonardi
A delightful repast...
For the first time in its 238-year history Old Mission Santa Barbara hosted a car show.
The Old Mission Motor show had a cavalcade of vintage to modern vehicles gathering on the lawn in front of the iconic image of Old Mission Santa Barbara.
A friar’s blessing kicked off the color-
ful event that was sponsored by Village Properties realtor Ruth Ann Bowe , Milpas Motors, Montecito Bank & Trust, Firestone Walker, Mission Linen, Marborg, and the Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation.
Ubiquitous DJ Darla Bea provided entertainment.
The 70 sold-out entries included a 1916 Rausch & Lang electric vehicle and a 2023 Corvette. Local car aficionado Dana Newquist won the prize for Best Pre-War Automobile with a 1917 Templar, and Montecito’s Monte Wilson won best European auto with his wife Maria’s 1960 Fiat Jolly – while Miscellany Page 384
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Gold Coast Creative, 1475 Sterling Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013. Erika M Pruett, 1475 Sterling Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 10, 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. 2024-0001630. Published July 17, 24, 31, August 7, 2024
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Tre Lune; Tre Lune Ristorante; Tre Lune Restaurant; Tre Lune Ristorante - Bar 1151 Coast Village Road, Montecito, CA 93108.
Quattro, INC, 114 E. Haley St. Suite O, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 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. 2024-0001565. Published July 10, 17, 24, 31, 2024
Black leads a team of 60 students this summer building AI solutions across multiple platforms, including VR/AR environments. He’ll examine ways educational institutions can adapt and work with non-sentient intelligence.
Le Blanc, an experienced technical sales leader with expertise in data strategy, analytics, AI and cloud platforms, will describe working in the center of the AI storm in Silicon Valley and how industry partnerships open new opportunities for creating educational communities of the future.
Ryu will facilitate several student presentations about AI projects developed this summer through the generous support of the Fletcher Jones Foundation.
In 2018, Westmont became the first school to create a program like CATLab, which includes the collaborative efforts of faculty, staff, and students. Working during the summer, students gain substantial professional experience that helps them find internships in Santa Barbara and employment after graduation. “By allowing students to create our Salesforce infrastructure, we’re pioneering a model that provides low-cost technology solutions to Westmont and invaluable experience to students,” Landrum says.
“Thanks to the support of my mentors at CATLab, I’ve learned to step into different roles that used to intimidate me,” says Westmont senior Rosario Montane “I’ve learned to be confident in my skills but humble enough to always adapt and learn from others. Most importantly, I’ve learned that beyond all job opportunities and technological advancement, our most valuable asset is still human connection.”
The Education Trailblazer Academy, offering practical information to help higher education officials successfully use Salesforce at their institution, begins Wednesday, July 24, at 1 pm.
Westmont Athletics has been granted full membership into NCAA Division II... a year early. The NCAA Division II Membership Committee told President Gayle D. Beebe and Robert Ruiz, director of athletics, that the Warriors had successfully completed year two of the NCAA probationary period and had been granted a waiver for year three of the transition process and has immediately been granted full membership.
As a result, Warrior teams will be eligible for postseason play beginning with the 2024-25 season in both the PacWest and NCAA Division II championships. Additionally, Westmont student-athletes and coaches are eligible for awards and honors, and teams become eligible for regional and national rankings.
“I’m so excited for what this means for our student-athletes and for Westmont,” Ruiz said. “It’s such a remarkable moment in the college’s history and our athletic department’s history. So much hard work has been put into this process. To see that work come to fruition with the announcement that we’re moving into full membership today is a bit surreal, but it just feels so rewarding because of what it will mean to each of our student-athletes and each of our programs on this campus.”
Yet, prompted by reliving their wartime glory, the trio dreams of adventure, scheming to get away from the home as if they were about to hit the battlefield.
“They talk about their ‘mission’ to escape, how to position themselves, studying the map, preparing in detail, bringing food and water, even though the expedition that they’re ultimately going on is just a few days,” Giron explained. “There’s a lot of humor in that.”
But there’s also something inspiring, he said.
“You see people who still want to have an adventure, and don’t believe it’s too late to explore new worlds, to get out of the isolation that they have found themselves in and to go on an expedition.”
For Giron, the Heroes will also have a lot of poignancy, as they represent the first DIJO Productions play since the passing of his longtime theater colleague and friend (and Montecito resident) Jerry Oshinsky, who died in April. Oshinksy produced many works with Giron and Waxman under the aegis of DIJO.
“Bill and I inherited DIJO, if you will,” Giron said. “I’m dedicating my performance to Jerry.”
Visit https://centerstagetheater.org
Back in the day, mention of home movies got folks scattering as fast as they could. After all, who wanted to watch other family’s foibles or vacation videos on some flickering screen in a living room? But the term takes on a different meaning in the new “Santa Barbara Home Movies’’ series launching July 20 as part of the Granada Theatre’s centennial programming. Subtitled “Films by Artists and Performers Who Call Santa Barbara Home,” the series showcases cinema created by directors, writers, and/or actors who – yes – call the American Riviera home.
The first movie, 1995’s Steal Big, Steal Little, was not only written and directed by longtime Santa Barbara resident Andrew Davis just two years after his seven-time Oscar-nominated The Fugitive, the film actually uses as its setting Santa Barbara and surrounding areas. The film’s opening scene was shot during the actual Solstice Parade on State Street, and with lots of other recognizable Santa Barbara locations and familiar faces, it’s truly a home movie.
Davis and star Andy García, who plays dual roles in the film, will participate in a post-screening conversation, while Davis is also expected to join in when The Fugitive screens later in the series on November 23. In between, there’s a month of “Zemeckis Family Films” in August, when the Granada will revisit four of Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis ’ smash hits on successive Saturdays, including Romancing the Stone (August 10) followed by a post screening conversation with Zemeckis, Back to the Future (August 17), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (August 24), and Forrest Gump (August 31). Zemeckis’ family classic, The Polar Express is booked for December 3.
Prices for all screenings are a 2024 Granada Centennial special providing two tickets for $20.24. Visit www. granadasb.org.
Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage
What prompted you to go in the Harlem Renaissance direction?
It was exploring issues of agency and space and opportunity. As someone who gets a chance to do a lot of recitals, I wanted to do something meaningful that would open the doors for people, for young composers, for young musicians to be able to get their music out there. I want to use my platform in a positive way. So the idea was to pair writings from the Harlem Renaissance with African American composers. I thought that would be a really nice project. I wanted people to feel like they could express their artistic voices and let who they were as musicians really come out.
But the “Uprising/Rising Up” isn’t drawing from the same material.
No, the idea was to have the fellows be provoked by the Rising project and then use their voice to speak out on something or to express something that is potentially meaningful… It’s not about anger or fear, but rather human interaction, belief, hope, and love.
I was fascinated by a quote from you that I read where you said, “I need to have an out of body experience in the sense that I don’t just rest on what I know. I need someone to untap potential in me.” That seems both bold and vulnerable.
As they say, complacency is the death of art. When you become too comfortable, you begin to phone it in. You need something to provoke, you need something to challenge you, upset the apple cart. That’s how you grow. It’s an opportunity for you to discover things that you didn’t know you could do.
I imagine you try to impart those concepts when you work with the students. Yes, and it’s also so good for me. It is kind of like a mirror that I place in front of myself. I see them and I feel a greater responsibility to do that thing that I’m telling them to do, to have a true intention and to have and use all your colors and musicality and your expressiveness. It’s medicine for me too.
Thursday, July 18: It’s masterclass mania as Houston Symphony Concertmaster Yoonshin Song, one of six different teaching artists leading the public coaching sessions this season, takes her turn with the talented fellows. (Lehmann, 1:30 pm; $10)... The marvelous mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, the double Grammy winner who has sung at just about every important concert hall across the globe, lands at Miraflores for her four-week residency as second-year co-director of Lehrer Vocal Institute. The
2002 MAW alum will share her wisdom and experience with the singing fellows fresh off last weekend’s performances of Carmen. (Hahn, 3:30 pm; $10)... It’s 7-11 time at MAW, as seven teaching artists and 11 fellows – covering strings, brass, winds and piano – combine for tonight’s x2 series concert. There’s music for 18 musicians – but not Steve Reich’s seminal work, rather Pierre Gabaye’s “Récréation,” Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s “Nonet in F Minor, Op. 2,” and Brahms’ “Clarinet Quintet in B Minor, Op. 115.” What a treat! (Hahn Hall, 7:30 pm; $45)
Friday, July 19: This week’s Fellow Fridays (nee Picnic Concerts) performance features the fellows performing works that have curated themselves, including Henri Tomasi’s “Fanfares liturgiques” and Bartók’s “Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 110, BB 115,” with other pieces TBA. (Hahn Hall, 7:30 pm; $45)
Saturday, July 20: Tonight’s Showcase Series faculty artist’s sampler is the only concert performance featuring mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke and pianist John Churchwell, the co-directors of Lehrer Vocal Institute, who will be teaming up for Wagner’s “Wesendonck Lieder,” which include early studies for his opera Tristan und Isolde. Also on the program: Danzi’s “Wind Quintet in B-flat Major, Op. 56, No. 1”; Ravel’s “Piano Trio in A Minor”; and Christopher Cerrone’s “Double Happiness,” an electroacoustic work performed by percussionist Michael Werner and pianist Conor Hanick. That’s 16 teaching artists in all for those of you keeping count. (Lobero Theatre, 7:30 pm; $40)
Tuesday, July 23: The viola studio is also spreading the wealth around, with four teaching artists handling one masterclass each. Today, it’s the MAW debut of Milan Milisavljević, Principal Viola with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, whose performances and recordings have won much critical acclaim. (Weinman Hall, 1:30 pm; $10)
Wednesday, July 24: Enjoy a glass of wine and settle into the classy yet intimate chamber environs in MAW’s main building for a Salon Series evening boasting mezzo-soprano Maggie Reneé – hot off her stirring turn in the title role of last weekend’s Carmen production at the Granada – singing Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder arranged by Stéphane Fromageot and scored for singer and piano quartet. Five other featured fellows will play Vaughan Williams’ “Piano Quintet in C Minor.” (Lehmann Hall, 7:30 pm; $45)
dessert trays. There was a definite excitement in the air and warm welcomes for our newest retailer. Be sure to stop by.
411: www.emilyjoubert.com
The official ribbon cutting ceremony and grand opening of Drybar Montecito at 1046 Coast Village Road, Suite J, was held on Wednesday, July 10.
Marking the day official for owner Erin Moone Lazzaro was the special recognition and plaque by the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce Director of Communications Mary Lynn Harms-Romo and the Chamber’s Advertising Manager Laurie Barene. Harms-Romo said, “I’m so glad that you are here, in this great location in beautiful Montecito.”
Speaking at the ribbon cutting, City of Santa Barbara Councilmember 3rd District Oscar Gutierrez welcomed Moore and her business to town, presenting her with a SB City Service pin, saying, “Thank you to the Chamber and to Erin for opening a new business. I know how difficult it is, we are inspired by you. I know the community appreciates it.”
He was followed by Coast Village Association President Beth Sullivan, who said “Since you’ve arrived, you’ve jumped into every single community event before you opened, and this community loves that and we love you. We are happy to support Drybar.”
Erin thanked the Chamber, Montecito, the CVA and the Montecito Association, her husband Nick Lazzaro, her store manager, and staff. She invited that, “There are so many events in Montecito and we believe every event should start at Drybar. We are here to start the fun and celebrate weddings, graduations, proms, date nights, mom’s night out and more. It is nice to own a Drybar and make people feel beautiful, like I do with my StarCycle business downtown. Montecito is definitely having a moment right now, and watching it elevate from the shops and people, everyone is so welcoming.”
Moone is the founder of StarCycle in 2012 and grew it into a franchise model with over 20 locations. She is a graduate of UCSB, has taught yoga, spin and Barre3, and is a mother of two.
2023 when I was honored to serve as Fiesta El Presidente, and Casa del Herrero reached out to brainstorm a possible Fiesta event. I suggested collaborating to bring back Noche de Gala to Montecito, explaining the importance and popularity of the event, and soon the concept was moving forward.”
“The Casa’s Spanish-influenced architecture and garden design provide the perfect backdrop to kick off the 2024 Fiesta season and bring Santa Barbara’s heritage to life,” Biles added. “We are delighted to host Noche de Gala at Casa del Herrero. Partnering with Old Spanish Days to revive this historically popular event allows us to share Casa del Herrero with a broader audience while celebrating the rich history of Fiesta Week in Santa Barbara.” With respect to both organizations, and Montecito, Schwabecher brought it together saying, “Our Fiesta’s connection to all of southern Santa Barbara County goes back decades. Montecito has been a community that has helped celebrate with one of the largest historical parties: Noche de Gala. Being our 100th anniversary, it’s great to see our community bring back a tradition and historical celebration which highlight our shared history, geography, and heritage. We are thrilled to bring a co-sponsored Fiesta celebration back to Montecito during our centennial anniversary.”
411: www.casadelherrero.com/event-calendar/ noche-de-gala-2024
Lotusland is holding its annual fundraising duo of an art exhibition and gala. Good news art lovers, the exhibition and art works for sale are online through July 20. If you are attending the sold out Lotusland Celebrates: The Way of the Lotus gala this Saturday, you can select and purchase artwork along the garden path where the pieces are being shown. The exhibition is titled, Grounded, Works Inspired By, Connected To, and Reclaimed from Lotusland. The art is made from fallen wood pieces found around the grounds at the Lotusland estate.
Holding the keys to the concept of upcycling the wood and tying it to art with the mission of Lotusland as a fundraiser is Ashley Woods Hollister, curator of Grounded. Hollister is a longtime volunteer/collaborator with Lotusland and has curated fundraising exhibitions. She owns the regenerative-focused vermouth producer, T.W. Hollister & Co. with her husband Clinton K. Hollister,
works on local boards, most recently with the Music Academy in Montecito, and holds an MFA from Pitzer College and Sotheby’s Institute of Art London.
Hollister invited Johanna Burton –the Maurice Marciano Director of The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles since 2021 – to join her as co-curator for Grounded. This is their first time in such collaboration. Burton has over 20 years in the field of art, including two directorships in NYC and Columbus, OH, and holds multiple degrees, M.A. in Art History from Princeton University (PhD, ABD); an M.Phil from NYU in Performance Studies; and a M.A. in Art History, Criticism, and Theory from the SUNY, Stony Brook. Also of relevance, MOCA established its Environmental Council in 2020, with artist collaborations, exhibitions, and public programming to foster dialogue around critical environmental issues as part of its mission towards a sustainable future.
Artists showing are both single and collaborative efforts. Single artist works are by Cassandria Blackmore, Hilary Brock, Phoebe Brunner, Jamie Chaos, Ian Collings, Colette Cosentino, Pedro De La Cruz, Jonas Jungblut, Paolo P. Lima, Nelson Parrish, Jay Riggio, Cole Sternberg , Blakeney Sanford , and Lynda Weinman. Artist collaborative works are by Jamie Chaos, Lynda Weinman, and Torie Zalben’s piece titled, Call Me Mother; and Robert Martin Andersen and Christina Justiz Roush’s three-piece work titled, Renew, Protect, and Contain. Pricing ranges from $2,000 to $28,000.
I was invited by Hollister to stop by during the collection of the art last week for a viewing, photo, and brief interview for our readers.
Q. What was your inspiration to upcycle fallen found wood on the ground from trees on the Lotusland property?
A. My inspiration for this exhibition was the amazing botanical museum of
Jamie Chaos, Lynda Weinman, and Torie Zalben (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
living plants that is Lotusland and how to honor them at all stages of their life, including when they have fallen and disconnected from their root system to replenish the soil. And now with these plants and trees as works of art, hopefully to connect with the souls and spaces of their new owners.
How did Johanna Burton join to curate?
I was introduced to Joanna via a dear friend of mine Anna Raginskaya of the Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management that specializes in art acquisitions for top clients. Johanna and I met when she recently became the Director of MOCA. I couldn’t have been more aligned to her devotion to equity of access and curatorial work, and with the aspect of MOCA’s new environmental counsel to their board. I thought that bringing Johanna in to co-curate this exhibit would be a beautiful opportunity for her to get to know the area via one of Montecito’s botanical treasures [Lotusland].
How were the artists selected?
We had a very short timeline to select artists, and we’re so grateful for the ones that could create a piece of work and hope to work with the ones that didn’t have the open spot in their schedule next time around.
Was there an art direction given to the artists or are their works from the found wood derived from their own creation?
Each artist was directed to create a
work around one of the pieces of wood that they foraged at Lotusland that had fallen in the garden, thereby creating a grounding of the vibration of Lotusland to bring to their art and the people that purchase the works.
My review of the art hones in on the fact that art is where you find it and can be sourced everywhere. New canvases can be made from ones that seem to have passed away, coming new again. The cyclic format of the core mediums used in this exhibition are a testament to reclaiming nature in its most vulnerable state. The adornments and perceptions of the artists onto the “dead wood” pieces, re-rendered what was once beautiful in its natural form to a new channel of energy – the caveat being, what we recreate for beauty, beatifies us. In the words of Marc Chagall, “Great art picks up where nature ends.”
411: www.lotusland.org/celebrates2024/
Joanne A Calitri is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@ yahoo.com
• FLOOR LEVELING
• QUALITY REMODELING
• FOUNDATION REPLACEMENTS
• FOUNDATIONS REPAIRS
• EARTHQUAKE RETROFITTING
• RETAINING WALLS
• FRENCH DRAINS – WATERPROOFING
• SITE DRAINAGE SYSTEMS
• UNDERPINNINGS – CAISSONS
• STRUCTURAL CORRECTION WORK
• CONCRETE DRIVEWAYS
and create a unique experience for both institutions through a summer program initiated by Ms. Adriane Hopper Williams. We intend to further expand our partnership with a faculty exchange and support the potential development of a film degree at Tuskegee University.”
“Our objective for our partnership with UCSB specifically is to create a diverse learning environment where Tuskegee students and UCSB can learn from each other and both programs can benefit from what the other has to offer,” said Williams. “Studies have confirmed that working with similar people makes us intellectually lazy so we want to expand the perspectives and points of view of all students involved in order to enrich their creative output. I am tired of hearing that there are not enough qualified Black people to hire for industry professions and we believe that this program will help to change this narrative.”
Hallmark Mahogany’s Napa Ever After writer Wendy Eley Jackson, a UCSB lecturer, will teach the cohort’s flagship course in writing for television, including sections on the discovery and cultivation of story concepts, the language of film and the structuring of scripts. “Everyone writes from the lens of their experience or where they allow their imagination,” said Eley Jackson, who was born in Alabama. “Students really want to learn how to ‘write to voice’ more than ever before.”
While the scholars are on campus, Eley Jackson said, the hope is that they have a sense of belonging while in a program that is comfortable, collaborative, and safe. Her Alabama background is no coincidence. Dean Berry enlisted her – at least in part – because of it.
“My mom and all her sisters graduated from Tuskegee,” Eley Jackson said. “My father was one of the original Red Tails of Tuskegee Airmen. I myself was born in Dothan, Alabama, right south of Tuskegee, and I took my first steps, at nine months old, on the tarmac of Moton Field in Tuskegee. I spent every summer on that campus from the time I was nine months to 15. I can recog-
Group photo of the Tuskegee Airmen: Leroy E. Eley Sr., Charles “A-Train” Dryden, Charles Nesby Sr.; Seated: General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. (courtesy photo)
dent of MACRO Television (Mudbound, Fences, They Cloned Tyrone, and Judas and the Black Messiah). Finally, they will also meet industry professionals from Sony Studios. Come fall, Tuskegee will offer classes in development and pre-production of film and television and introduction to film, allowing students to continue to pursue their professional dreams.
nize the tree where my family members’ pledged a sorority. I know the voice.”
By learning how to research and write to voice, students elevate the potential for complex portraits of Black families and communities in mainstream media and streaming.
“Narrative possesses the remarkable capacity to construct connections rooted in understanding, tolerance, empathy and respect, guiding us in comprehending the intricacies of our lives and the ever-evolving world surrounding us,” Berry added. “The time has now arrived for us to harness the boundless potential of storytelling, as manifested through the realms of entertainment and the performing arts, to ignite social transformation.”
Big picture is for Tuskegee to start with a concentration program in film and media arts and to grow it over the next two years to a full degree program. Starting in the summer program at UCSB, students will immerse themselves in the art of cinema, television, and media production as they learn the arts of writing, development, cinematography, sound and editing. Through DNA Media Group and The Legacy Lives: Tuskegee summer program, students have been invited to interact with Ayo Davis, president of branded television at Disney Studios. They will also have conversations with Jamila Hunter, presi-
“The highly regarded film and television program at UCSB offers Tuskegee students an opportunity to pursue and develop their interests in film and television, screenwriting, production, etc.” said Wayne A. Barr, director of choral activities and interim chair of Tuskegee’s Department of Fine and Performing Arts. “We hope for the enthusiasm and positive experiences of this first cohort of Booker T. Washington Scholars to ultimately lead to the development of a film and media arts program at Tuskegee University in the near future.”
Tuskegee alums, including Grammy winners Lionel Richie , The Commodores, and Tom Joyner, American writer Ralph Ellison and entertainer Keenan Ivory Wayans, have used their talents to create inclusion both in front and behind the scenes in American industry.
Williams, who first initiated talks for the program, was inspired to act after visiting Tuskegee in 2021, when she “discovered that this university town –once a vibrant hub of Black educators, physicians, entrepreneurs – was now in severe decay.”
“I was inspired to do something about it, immediately,” she said. Her mother, Barbara Hopper, owned a Tuskegee real estate company, New Horizons Realty, and developed properties throughout the town between 1971 and 1981. “One of the first things I remember my mother doing was starting a school out of the old Varner slave plantation and calling it Tuskegee Laboratory and Learning Center. She saw a need and she filled it with top level instructors. That is where my brothers and I went to elementary school.”
Years later, the family would move to California when her father, Dr. Cornelius L. Hopper, was hired as the vice president of health affairs for the University of California systemwide.
“So if you want to know my history with Tuskegee University, UC schools, and understand my desire to launch an educational program, it started with my parents’ life-long commitment to higher learning, and our deep love for Tuskegee,” she said.
Williams and her husband have a combined 30 years of experience in the entertainment industry, including an Emmy and four Emmy nominations. In addition to Greene from MACRO, industry executives that have advised the program launch include Stephen Galloway, Chapman University’s dean of film and media arts.
“It is so incredibly exciting to see this partnership with Tuskegee University develop,” said Tim Sherwood, interim dean of UCSB’s College of Creative Studies (CCS).
“Dean Daina Ramey Berry is a visionary leader and the opportunity to work with her and CCS faculty Wendy Eley Jackson in seeing this program become a reality has been a true pleasure!”
Herrick is the associate editorial director of UCSB Magazine and The Current; the editor and co-founder of Lum Art Magazine; and serves on the board of trustees for the MCASB. She is also a 2023 Individual Artist Fellow (Established) for the Central California region.
Desert only increased my painted-window interiority. The next year I would tentatively fall in with the theater geeks and begin efflorescing into an actual life, on campus and in my own raggedy temple. Sophomore year, though, was a demoralizing crawl through a wilderness of imagined humiliations and infinitely collapsing self-regard. Thursday evenings would arrive like healing triage.
“From Television City in Hollywood! It’s The Carol Burnett Show! With Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner!” Burnet’s beloved charwoman character would appear in cartoon form to introduce the three (cartoon-rendered) principles. It was a strange ensemble – a vaudevillian comic genius, a Carol Burnett lookalike, an 8’ tall TV Titan in tuxedo, and the literally inimitable Ms. Burnett.
Leaving aside the weekly reminder that there was, in this storm-wracked world, a place actually called Television City , Thursday nights with Carol Burnett were an absolute salve, a respite my mom and I shared that one night a week. We adored the Carol Burnett show, we communed over it. We were each navigating lives of unrelated turbulence and our weekly Carol Burnett summit put everything in momentary, spirit-lifting perspective.
The day’s primetime roster perfectly teed-up our weekly Carol Burnett liturgy with a pine-scented aperitif called The Waltons. An earnest hour in the Blue Ridge Mountains with this homily-murmuring clan, and you couldn’t wait another minute to see Korman and Burnett energetically chewing the scenery and throwing endless deadpan glances at an appreciative studio audience
who – but for this or that regulatory restriction – would surely have swarmed the stage to embrace the players. The Carol Burnett Show was love in a CRTpowered box. Seeing my beleaguered mom collapsing in such happy tears was its own bracing medicine, if only one restorative evening a week.
Carol Burnett…the very idea of Carol Burnett! What is it about her? Thanks for asking. Carol (if I may) is the personification of the best we can be; as individuals and as a checkered, accidental nation burst from a hollering match with a nutty old king. Yeah, even our origin story reads like sketch comedy. What is America, again? What typifies “the American Experiment?” Is it the Second Amendment? NATO? The Pentagon? COVID? Our system of government? Our economic system? Endless schoolyard slappy-fights between our elected workfare cheats? NOPE.
America is Carol Burnett in her squashed maid’s cap – teaching us to laugh through our tears, consecrating that Chaplinesque hilarity and bittersweetness that is the very stuff of our wholly unsung national essence.
is not swaggering global hegemony, is not the phony stentorian yammering of our largely useless, besuited “lawmakers,” is not the bipolar behemoth whose $842 billion defense budget and unctuous Sanctity of Life preaching coexist without irony. America is not placard-pumping and fist-throwing, neither is it our GNP. America is a wise, lopsided grin. That is our global strength. Take it to heart.
America is Carol Burnett lightly mugging for the camera as she and Julie Andrews deliver themselves of a gorgeous, Golden age of TV rendition of “I Have a Love” from West Side Story; the eternal Bernstein/Sondheim flame. America is Carol Burnett and Betty White singing a stirring comic duet to the toothless joys of aging. America is Carol Burnett letting fly with a rafter-rattling Tarzan yell.
Today being an American can seem a bit of a mixed bag – thanks in part to our habit of dumping ketchup on Chateaubriand by lamplit French boulevards. Other reputational details attach like lampreys. News flash: we’re NOT drone strikes, we’re NOT religious entrepreneurs, we’re NOT police actions, and we’re NOT assholes. What are we?
We are Leonard Bernstein, Adolph Green, Betty Comden, the miraculous Nicholas Brothers, Jerome Robbins, Paul Robeson, Judy Garland, Fred Astaire, Tony Bennet, Sammy Davis Jr! We ARE Lena Horne! We ARE Cyd !%&$! Charisse! Bill Evans! Langston Hughes! Sid Caesar! Eydie Gorme! Donald O’Connor! Sarah Vaughan!
Most tellingly, America is Carol Burnett – a gorgeous, take-no-prisoners smartass with a huge heart and two left feet. That’s a National Identity we can all embrace –one whose Exemplar-in-Chief lives in our town and is occasionally seen walking around. Like one of us.
Ms. Burnett, thanks a million for what you gave my mom and me when we most needed it. And thank you for being so effortlessly emblematic of what this wildly misunderstood country is truly about –heartfelt wisdom served up with loving laughter.. Keep up the great work. We need you. Now more than ever.
I hesitate to invoke the vision of an enormous Pattonesque American flag flapping momentously in a manufactured breeze, but… America. What makes this country a lovable freak in the family of nations is our wiseacre ability to subsume the wanton b.s. in knowing, instructive laughter. America
Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. He has been writing about Montecito and environs since before some people were born. He can be reached at jeff@ montecitojournal.net
That’ll Teach Him!
The December ‘58 Montecito Ledger reported “…alert Montecito firemen thwarted a holiday disaster here Friday night…” It seems the fouryear-old son of a Montecito couple on Hermosillo Drive set a closet full of clothes on fire with his new plaything – a cigarette lighter. “I wanted to see how bright it would burn in the dark,” the pyro-adjacent toddler explained. Preparing dinner in another part of the house, the kid’s parents noticed a scent of smoke distinct from that of their burning pot roast. They summoned the fire dept. who quickly quelled the blaze. The opportunity for a teaching moment did not escape the grownups. “The boy’s parents sternly lectured their son, and Fire Chief G.H. Ensign allowed him to sit in the fire truck’s driver’s seat.”
Also in 1958 – 14 yearold chess master Bobby Fischer won the United States Chess Championship, a 7,600 pound Mark 15 hydrogen bomb was lost in the waters off Savannah, Georgia, and the Isaia Bros. Market at 1470 E. Valley Rd. had some marvelous deals afoot! We’re talking a can of dog food for 5¢, a pound of margarine for 15¢, and Swiss steak at 69¢ a pound! But for the near immolation of Georgia, it was a pretty good year.
he won Best in Show with his 1954 Jaguar XK120.
The event raised $25,000 for repairs to the historic mission. Proceeds from the rev-erential bash provide funding for a number of deferred maintenance projects for the historical landmark.
Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry appeared topless in a new image shared on social media last week.
The former Dos Pueblos High student
was debuting her new album cover and announcing it is titled 143, revealing that the release date is September 20.
143 is code for “I Love You” after being used in the early 1990s in messages sent by pager.
The singer was wearing a skinny acrylic tank top that appeared to make her look naked as she added a see-through iridescent skirt.
Behind her was a red and white celestial storm that made Katy look lost in the cosmos with her arms spread out to make her look like an angel.
The album’s lead track is “Woman’s World,” released last week, with the video scheduled at the weekend.
Montecito comedienne and former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres says she is “done” with show business after her next Netflix appearance.
Ellen, 66, hit the stage for a standup show in Santa Rosa as part of her “Ellen’s Last Stand Up Tour,” two years after her Burbank-based show was cancelled due to accusations of running a toxic workplace that tarnished her reputation as TV’s favorite host.
During the show Ellen discussed her exit from the spotlight and joked her career would end for “being old, gay and mean,” according to one San Francisco outlet.
When asked if she might return to the spotlight in the future, she firmly put down the possibility.
“This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done,” Ellen said of her upcoming one-woman show taping in the fall.
Sex and the City actor John Corbett, who lives in Santa Ynez with his actress wife Bo
Derek, says he regrets being an actor.
Corbett, who returned with the spinoff series And Just Like That, reflected on his career, sighing: “I picked the f---*&ing wrong thing to do with my life.”
The actor, 63, shared his thoughts on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast after reaching (in his description) “the fourth quarter of the football game, in life and in showbiz.
“I made a lot of money, I live in a beautiful house. People come up to me in every f--*&ing restaurant I go in. I’m a friend of the world.
“But as far as having a fulfilling work life, I didn’t write one f--&*ing line. I didn’t write one joke to make people laugh. So it has been unfulfilling on that level.”
One805 has announced that 13-time Grammy Award nominee and Grammy Award-winner, recording artist, songwriter, musician, and record producer Alan Parsons will be the musical director for the One805Live! fall concert at Kevin Costner’s oceanside Carpinteria estate.
Headlining the event in September are Pink and Dallas Green performing as the duo Me + You, with additional performances from Grammy Award winners
Kenny Loggins and Richard Marx.
Goleta-based Alan began his career at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios at the age of 18, his first credits as sound engineer The Beatles’ Abbey Road and Let It Be
Notable engineering works of his include Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, for which he earned his first Grammy nomination, and Al Stewart’s Year of the Cat, where he was responsible for the iconic saxophone part.
He received an OBE – Order of the British Empire – in the 2021 Honors List and is a founding board member of One805.
More than 130 MClub members and other guests converged on the historic Santa Barbara Club for an art exhibit presented by the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara.
Speaker Jean Stern, former director of the Irvine Museum, presented an eye-opening and informative talk on famous art forgers in history.
Trustee Keith Moore was honored for his ten years on the foundation’s board.
Among the supporters turning out were Maria McCall, Kristan Borgatello, Hiroko Benko, Anne Luther, Brendon Twigden , Katherine Murray-Morse , Nancy Newquist-Nolan , Diane Waterhouse, and Frank McGinity.
Opera Santa Barbara has announced a new program funded by philanthropists Roger and Sarah Chrisman , known as the Chrisman Emerging Artists Fund, which will replace the company’s
Chrisman Studio Artists program. It will fund advancing the careers of alumni of that program and other California-based young artists through principal roles in mainstage operas.
“In the post-pandemic era, the most urgent priority in supporting young artists is to provide them with those coveted next-level opportunities,” says OSB artistic and general director Kostis Protopapas . “We have so many amazing artists living here in California who have gone through our Chrisman studios and similar programs at other companies.”
The company’s production of The Marriage of Figaro next February will be cast entirely by alumni of the Chrisman Studio program and young artists from with the company’s ranks.
These include bass-baritone Colin Ramsey , sopranos Sunwoo Park , Jennifer Lindsay and Olivia Barker,
mezzo-sopranos Max Potter and Christina Pezzarossi, baritones Matthew Peterson and Byron Mayes, bass baritone E. Scott Levin, and tenors Manfred Anaya and William Grundler.
On Sunday, July 28, for the 17th consecutive year, I have the onerous task of judging the Santa Barbara Polo Club’s annual hat contest.
Hopefully we’ll have a torrent of colorful tony tête toppers in the stands and cabanas to choose from while my trusty shutterbug, Priscilla, snaps away with the winners appearing in my popular weekly column in due course.
On a personal note, I remember the delightful diminutive sex guru Dr. Ruth (Westheimer), who has died at the age 96 at her Manhattan home.
The vertically-challenged psychologist, who became recognized as America’s best-known sex counselor with her frank and funny radio and TV shows, was in her 50s when she first hit the air in 1980.
I would often appear with her during my regular slots on The Joan Rivers and
Geraldo Rivera shows, totally amused by her delivery, best described as “a cross between Henry Kissinger and a canary!” Armed with a degree from the Sorbonne in Paris and a frank pizzazz on matters sexual that would turn the air blue, Dr. Ruth was a delightful character who blazed an amazing new trail...
TV host Conan O’Brien at the Rosewood Miramar... Oprah Winfrey in Sun Valley, Idaho, at “summer camp for billionaires”... Michael Douglas and actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix.
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
by Steven Libowitz
Free al Fresco Music – The Music at the Ranch Tuesday night concert series at the Stow House-Rancho La Patera re-creates the folk festival atmosphere on July 23 with The Americana Cats. The amplified acoustic collective emerged from an informal music circle in 2013 in Carpinteria, that gathering in turn inspired by late night jam circles at the then-local Live Oak music festival. Expect a wide range of cover and original songs spanning Americana to blues, country, folk, Cajun, and more at the tree-lined lakeside space, where picnics (responsible alcohol allowed), blankets, and low-backed chairs create a memorable community vibe.
WHEN: 5:30-7:30 pm
WHERE: 304 N. Los Carneros Road, Goleta
COST: free
INFO: (805) 681-7216 or www.goletahistory.org/music-at-the-ranch
Guests at Concerts in the Park, the much beloved summertime frolic featuring free live music on the Great Meadow in Chase Palm Park, will be dancing up a storm on July 18 to Area 51, SB’s longest-running party band and festival favorite. Perch on chairs or sprawl on blankets adorning the gently-sloping hill at whose grassy foot the park’s permanent, in-built stage will be a front of musical frolic – all in the company of swaying palms and ocean views. Next week (July 25): The local luminary Latin jazz band Mezcal Martini, who also opened Music at the Ranch last Tuesday, play the monthly Meet Me in Old Town Goleta Block Party on July 18 (with guest shots from the Spirits of Fiesta), and at El Capitan Canyon on July 27.
WHEN: 5 pm opening act, headliner 6-7:30 pm
WHERE: 300 W. Cabrillo Blvd.
COST: free
INFO: (805) 564-5418 or www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/parksrec/ recreation/events/parkrec/concerts.asp
The 2024 Downtown Santa Barbara Live Music Series, which takes place every Wednesday on the 700 Block of State Street (between Ortega and De La Guer-
THURSDAY, JULY 18
Jennifer Juniper – Part-time Ojai resident Jenny Boyd is an author and a psychologist, but is still best known as a former rock and roll muse. Former fashion model Boyd, whose sister Patty was married to George Harrison and Eric Clapton, traveled in the same British circles. She was married to Mick Fleetwood two different times and, just as Patty was the subject of Clapton’s timeless song “Layla,” Jenny served as the inspiration for Donovan’s 1968 song “Jennifer Juniper.” Jenny witnessed the Beatles creating their songs on the rooftop of their bungalow in India and was a fly on the studio wall while Fleetwood Mac made their massive hit album Rumours. Fascinated with the creative energy, Boyd began to research the essence of creativity as a PhD dissertation, interviewing a lost list of famous musicians to learn about their process. Her 2023 book, Icons of Rock: In Their Own Words, comes from those talks with Harrison, Clapton, Ringo Starr, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Keith Richards, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Graham Nash among others, updated with recent interviews with Jacob Collier, and others for comparison to the music world today. Boyd will talk about the book at a book signing today.
WHEN: 6 pm
WHERE: Chaucer’s Books, 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza Shopping Center
COST: free
INFO: (805) 682-6787 or www.chaucersbooks.com
Sip & Savor by the Shore – The California Wine Festival, the biggest and one of the longest-running such events in town, bunkers down once again at two beachside locations along Cabrillo Blvd. Tonight’s Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting lets guests sample vintage wines from some of California’s top winemaking regions, with the opportunity to go behind the bottle to chat with the wineries’ staff, plus enjoy hot and cold bites from local restaurants and live music from American Idol finalist Adam Lasher The festival will start on Friday, July 18, with the Sunset Rare & Reserve Tasting from 6:30 to 9 pm at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort’s Plaza del Sol. The night will kick off with a “first sip” champagne reception, followed by tastings of rare and vintage wines, and a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean as the sun sets. Saturday afternoon’s Beachside Wine Festival is the festival’s signature event, where thousands of revelers are awash in tastings from several scores of vineyards, each one pouring multiple selections, along with regional craft brews offering up cold ones to taste. Even more Santa Barbara restaurants and caterers are on hand to serve up sumptuous treats while local reggae band Upstream provides the beat. This year also sports a “Best Tri-Tip in the 805” competition, where you can sample then select your favorite from among Barbareño, Santa Barbara Woodfire Catering and others. Salud!
WHEN: 6:30-9 pm Friday, 1-4 pm Saturday (12 noon VIP entry)
WHERE: Plaza del Sol at Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd. (Friday); Chase Palm Park, 236 East Cabrillo Blvd. (Saturday)
COST: $115 Friday, $80 Saturday ($135 VIP)
INFO: www.californiawinefestival.com/santa-barbara
ra), brings local bands to the heart of town in the heart of summer. Grab dinner or a treat from a neighboring restaurant, or bring your own food and set up your chair near 718 State Street to soak up the sounds and the summer vibes. This week (July 24): Goleta acoustic band The Goodlanders, whose lead singer Katherine Ho was a contestant on season 10 of The Voice and had her version of Coldplay’s “Yellow” appear in the film Crazy Rich Asians.
WHEN: 5:30-7:30 pm
WHERE: 700 Block of State Street COST: free
INFO: https://www.downtownsb.org/events/summer-music-series.
Summer Screenings After Sunset – The uber-popular UCSB A&L free summer films series takes place every Friday evening under the stars at the County Courthouse Sunken Garden, with a 2024 theme of “Sun, Surf and Cinema”. This week (July 19): 50 First Dates, the funny and charming Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore romcom that brings together a commitment-phobe and a girl whose short-term memory loss means she can’t remember the previous day.
WHEN: 8:30 pm
WHERE: Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Garden, 1100 Anacapa St. COST: free
INFO: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
SATURDAY, JULY 20
MAW @ SBMA – The Music Academy of the West’s Arancia Quartet – composed of four of the 2024 String Quartet Seminar fellows – heads downtown for a special intimate performance at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s McCormick Gallery. Violinists Miyabi Henriksen and Steven Song, violist Sheng-Chieh Jason Lan and cellist Shijie Ma will reprise Gabriella Smith’s “Carrot Revolution,” a piece that was originally commissioned by an art museum and reads as a patchwork of Smith’s wildly contrasting influences, including unexpected juxtapositions and intersecting planes of sound, all in celebration of the spirit of fresh observation.
Birkey’s Back – Former longtime Santa Barbara resident and current NYC-based jazz trumpeter-vocalist-composer Nate Birkey is headed back to his hometown for another show at SOhO. Joining him will be his west coast quintet featuring Santa Barbara saxophonist Tom Buckner and Los Angeles-based pianist Jamieson Trotter, bassist Gabe Davis, and drummer Peter Buck. While there hasn’t been a new album since his 10th release, the revelatory Rome project, Birkey has been creating a film score for an upcoming movie called For Every Lonely Soul. He composed tracks specifically for the dreamy, atmospheric indie film about love, loss and chosen family, while also drawing from his catalog and creating new arrangements and recordings of vocal standards. The singer-horn man has promised to preview some of the selections at SOhO.
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State Street COST: $15
INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com
WHEN: 3 pm
WHERE: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St.
COST: Free with regular museum admission
INFO: (805) 963-4364 or https://tickets.sbma.net
SUNDAY, JULY 21
Rastaman Vibrations – Ziggy Marley can count eight Grammys, an Emmy, and credits as an activist and humanitarian among his career accomplishments over four-plus decades. Marley has stayed at the forefront by deftly exploring issues from environmental awareness to self-empowerment, social injustice to political inequality, all underpinned by the transformative power of love. His Circle of Peace summer tour, which comes fresh off producing Bob Marley: One Love, the musical biopic about his famous father, started earlier this month, and will once again land at the Santa Barbara Bowl, a venue where Bob once played a legendary show. Fellow Jamaican reggae veteran Don Carlos and Boston-based funk specialists Lettuce open. WHEN: 6 pm
WHERE: 1122 N. Milpas St.
COST: $45.50-$85.50
INFO: (805) 962-7411 or www.sbbowl.com
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24
Folk-rock-pop Twin Bill – One-time Santa Barbara-based ALO and singer-songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter have both appeared many times at SOhO, but tonight they’re teaming up in a more formal venue for a midsummer mashup. Once known as Animal Liberation Orchestra, ALO are celebrating the release of Silver Saturdays as well as 25 years together since forming as teens, a journey that has had them play with surf-troubadour Jack Johnson and the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh (among many others) along the way to forming a healthy cult audience for their brand of jam-pop; hooky compositions laced with improvisational departures. Frankenreiter’s own four-decade sojourn has taken him from pro surfer catching waves to grabbing audiences with his blend of laid-back grooves, philosophical lyrics and soulful delivery. Frankenreiter will no doubt preview material from Get Outta Your Mind, his first new album in nine years. WHEN: 8 pm
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $41 & $51 ($106 VIP tickets includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres) INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com
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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
Timeless, eleganceNightwear, robes, loungewear www.shopglamourhouse.com 805-969 5285 Ann@shopglamourhouse.com
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
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.
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
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
Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc. Lina 805-940-6888
Montecito Electric Repairs and Inspections Licensed C10485353 805-969-1575
Montecito Home. $30,000 per month. 4 BD 4 BTH – attached Nanny’s Quarters + Guest House. Minimum of 2 years lease. (310) 498-0315.
Private, serene, for the serious writer, artist, 1 BD cottage, charming, stunning views quiet. Contact Jaylin (805) 796-6079
Tell Your Story
How did you get to be where you are today? What were your challenges? What is your Love Story? I can help you tell your story in an unforgettable way – with a book that will live on for many generations. The books I write are as thorough and entertaining as acclaimed biographies you’ve read. I also assist with books you write – planning, editing and publishing. David Wilk. Great references. (805) 455-5980 www.BiographyDavidWilk.com
In Home. Chef Bradley Mark 50 yrs. local experience Lv. msg. (805) 403-1769 Serve Safe Cert. #6168504
Casa L. M.
Landscape hedges installed. Ficus to flowering. Disease resistant. Great privacy. Licensed & insured. Call (805) 963-6909
Do you need to get away for a weekend, week or more? I will housesit and take care of your pets, plants & mail. I have refs if
It’s simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email Classified Ad to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860. All ads must be finalized by Friday at 2pm the week prior to printing. We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge)
view plot off of Bluff Ave. Island Edition-C #83 $50,000 For info Mrs. Ella (805) 455-0731
&
SITTER Longtime Santa Barbara resident, retired, active 70 yr old woman. Experienced with house sitting and dog sitting. Prefer 1 small dog or 1 cat. Trustworthy, tidy, pet lover. References upon request. (805) 451-3415
Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue Summerland, CA 93067 (805) 969-1944
Donate to the Parrot Pantry! At SB Bird Sanctuary, backyard farmer’s bounty is our birds best bowl of food! The flock goes bananas for your apples, oranges & other homegrown fruits & veggies.
Do you have a special talent or skill? Do you need community service hours? The flock at SB Bird Sanctuary could always use some extra love and socialization. Call us and let’s talk about how you can help. (805) 969-1944
K-9 PALS need volunteers to be foster parents for our dogs while they are waiting for their forever homes. For more information info@k-9pals.org or 805-570-0415
ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo
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465 HOT SPRINGS ROAD, MONTECITO 9BD/14BA • $52,000,000
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280 LAS ENTRADAS DRIVE, MONTECITO 4BD/4½BA;±3.51 acres • $22,850,000
Nancy Kogevinas, 805.450.6233 LIC# 01209514
Deborah Samuel, 805.570.6680 LIC# 02119798
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