Winners of the Montecito Journal Thom Steinbeck Writing Contest

2ND PLACE by JC O’Brien

Untitled I never thought I could be so wrong. I mean, don’t misunderstand me…. I have been wrong a number of times before. And that number is two. (1) ”I can handle that cuz I have a stomach of steel” and, 2) “That doesn’t look like herpes.”) But when it comes to family? I know my facts from my fake news. For example, I knew my brother’s marriage would not last two consecutive minor holidays. I also knew my mother’s “water bottle” contained a liquid that can be made into a hand sanitizer, long before she began meeting her friends weekly in the church basement.

I have always been my family’s finder-of-missing-truths. A final infidelity. (“Dad, what’s that bruise on your neck?”) A desperate Nigerian Prince. (“Grandma, why are you only eating Ramen?”) A shopping problem. (“Honnnneyyy, you said you paid the utility bill this month, right?”) But aside from my wife’s aforementioned bout of consumeritis, I have been 100 percent confident that my adult life was safe. Predictable. One might even say…colorless. I am an attorney like my dad. A planner like my dad. A small-town person like my dad. I even have my dad’s uncomfortable sense of humor. I always chalked it up to the generations of Irish pain that fermented the strands of my DNA. That is until my wife gave me 23and Me as a Christmas gift. I was sure my dad WAS my dad. I never thought I could be so wrong. •MJ

3RD PLACE by Richard Renaldo

4TH PLACE by David Figueras

People Sitting In Cars “I never knew I could be so wrong…” “Is this about Livi?” “Of course it’s about that.” “Oh, I think you knew.” “What do you mean by that?” “Knew that you could be so wrong, I think you knew.” “That’s ridiculous!” “I love when you act surprised by your own behavior.” “I don’t know anyone else who talks to their mother like this.” “You did... but she left.” “She was just sitting in her car…” “For four hours.” “Why does she do that?” “You could have gone out and talked to her.” “I just thought she was going to just sit out there like she does.” “And... now, she’s gone.” “I just want to know that she’s ok or coming back or somewhere good and safe.” “She might. She has nowhere else to go.”

Untitled I never knew I could be so wrong because I am a wise guy, you know the type – always right. I have a lifetime of anticipating worse case scenarios. It’s in my nature to keep well stocked – always has been. That’s why I shrugged off the tp panic. I knew that I had several months’ supply locked in a closet at a short-term rental we operate. So when my wife Dee remarked that we were low on tp, I felt like a certain ‘50s western television character riding to the rescue, getting into my black and white pickup to drive downtown. It was a different ‘50s television sitcom character that returned home with the news that someone had nicked our supply. Dee put her hand to her mouth saying, “Oh, I left the closet door open because we were gone and I didn’t want the guests to run out.” No blame, no anger just a sick realization we were in trouble. Indeed, my first search was fruitless. Now, I have had a prejudice against big box stores and I never patronize them… never. So it was Dee who discovered when WalMart received shipments and showed up at 6 am so she could be one of the few to scarf a twenty roll package. She returned home triumphant… her victory, my loss. “How did you know?” I asked. She replied, “You have always said there is a difference between wisdom and intelligence.” •MJ

“It’s making me crazy.” “That’s a new development?” “Don’t be a smart ass.” “I’m sorry Mom... everything is just off right now, all of it.” “I just want her home.” “Tell you what I’ll do... I’ll go down to the Friendly Market. She buys cigarettes there. She might be there just sitting in her car.” “I would be so happy if she is there. I can’t just sit and wait.” “Keep your phone close. I’ll call when I get there.” “That would be great if she’s there... and Clyde, can you get a couple cans of peaches, if they have them.” “I’ll see what they have left.” “Thank you, Clyde.” “She’ll be there Mom, don’t you worry anymore.” •MJ

Cold Spring music teacher Sara DiSalvo teaches a violin lesson to students via Zoom

MONTECITO JOURNAL50 Home is to provide learning experiences and keep the learning from the school year going; it is not about maintaining an 8:30 am to 3:30 pm schedule like a normal school day. The 364 MUS students will start at 9 am with a class meeting, followed by a lesson at 9:30, and a short recess at 10 am to cut the screen time. There will be more lessons at 10:30 and 11 am, followed by lunch and a less structured afternoon. “We want them to read for 45 minutes following lunch, or get outside and do something fun,” Dr. Ranii said. Because school is technically closed, there is no attendance requirements, and no grades will be given for home assignments. “We understand that the parents and families are going to do what they are going to do, but we need to be flexible,” Dr. Ranii said. The school provided each student the option to take home a device, and were ready to provide wireless hotspots if a student or family did not have access to WIFI.

Special needs students are still able to have counseling sessions online with an array of specialists and therapists. “We’re a full inclusion school, and we’ve got some students with significant disabilities,” Dr. Ranii said, adding that the school’s specialists have been working to modify their curriculum for special needs students.

Those students at MUS who receive free and reduced school lunches are still being provided that service, via remote lunch service at a number of campuses in Santa Barbara. “We’re very thankful to Santa Barbara Unified School District for being our partner in this,” Dr. Ranii said, adding that SBUSD is the provider of hot lunches at the school during the typical school year. Dr. Ranii and Dr. Alzina both report that although school is canceled officially until the end of April, they are preparing for a scenario in which school will not resume until after summer. They are discussing how to best navigate graduations, end of school year plays, dances, and more. “We’re hopeful we can come back to campus in May, but if that can’t happen, we are having some tough conversations on how to navigate this new normal,” Dr. Ranii said.

Small Business Help

Last week, the Santa Barbara City Council voted unanimously to pass a moratorium on evictions for both residential and commercial tenants through the end of May; a similar moratorium was passed by the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors as well, ensuring that residential and commercial tenants in unincorporated areas of the County are not faced with evictions if they are unable to pay their rents due to financial hardship related to the coronavirus crisis.

Both moratorium ordinances explicitly state that the urgency ordinance does not relieve a tenant’s obligation to pay rent, nor do they restrict a landlord’s ability to recover rent due. “Through May 31, 2020, or until the Santa Barbara County local health emergency proclamation is terminated, whichever is earlier, the owner of residential or commercial real property shall not terminate a tenancy for failure to pay rent if the tenant demonstrates that the failure to pay rent is directly related to a substantial loss of income or substantial out-of-pocket medical expenses associated with the coronavirus pandemic or any local, state, or federal government response to the pandemic,” reads the urgency ordinance of the County. The tenant must provide written notice to the property owner that there has been a substantial loss of income from a job loss, layoff, or a reduction in number of compensable hours of work; that there has been a closure of the tenant’s store or business; there has been a need to miss work to care for home-bound school aged children, or a family member infected with the coronavirus; or substantial outof-pocket medical expenses related to the pandemic.

Tenants in the City of Santa Barbara must show proof of financial hardship before the 20th of April and May, and City Council members decided against setting a deadline for tenants to payback missed rents. Instead, the Council agreed to encourage landlords and tenants to work together based on specific situations.

The recently adopted CARES Act, which allocates $350 billion to small businesses to keep workers employed amid the pandemic and associated economic downturn, may be of big help to small businesses in Santa Barbara County. The emergency loans provision of the CARES Act, also known as the Paycheck Protection Program, lets small businesses borrow as much as $10 million with an interest rate no higher than 4%. These loans, backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA), may be forgiven as long as companies meet certain conditions, including maintaining or restoring average payroll.

Locally, many commercial landlords are trying to ease the burden of the situation, deferring or forgiving rent, or offering a discount. “It’s very confusing for everyone,” said Coast Village Association board president Bob Ludwick, who is keeping tabs on both the business owners and property owners along Coast Village Road. “There is no playbook, but it is somewhat like a hurricane devastating the whole country. No one is exempt, no one is not impacted. No one,” he said.

To learn more about the emergen cy loans, visit www.uschamber.com/ co/.

Highway Widening Moves Forward

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Caltrans has announced that the first phase of the highway widening from Carpinteria to Santa Barbara will begin the evening of Sunday, April 5. This phase of the project is called Highway 101: Carpinteria, and it will add a peak-period carpool lane to the freeway in each direction within the City of Carpinteria between Bailard Avenue and the southbound Highway 101 on-ramp at Santa Claus Lane. The new lanes will tie into recently added third lanes to the south and upcoming projects to the north.

“We are very pleased to be starting the Highway 101: Carpinteria project on the heels of the Highway 101: Linden and Casitas Pass project. Highway 101: Linden and Casitas Pass is finishing up new local road connections, bridges, bike lanes, and sidewalks on the local streets in Carpinteria. The widening of the new Linden Avenue and Casitas Pass Road Overcrossings will easily allow for carpool lanes to be built on U.S. 101 below these bridges,” said California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 5 Director Tim Gubbins. The project includes new bridges to be built over Franklin and Santa Monica Creeks. There will be freeway on- and off-ramp improvements at Santa Monica Road, Carpinteria Avenue, and Reynolds Avenue. Six new sound walls will be constructed to reduce freeway noise for neighbors. On local streets, there will be improvements to the intersections at Santa Monica Road and Via Real, Reynolds and Carpinteria Avenues, and Bailard Avenue and the freeway ramps.

Highway 101: Carpinteria is one of the five segments that make up the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project undertaken by Caltrans and SBCAG in cooperation with local agencies to add a new carpool lane in each direction between Carpinteria and Santa Barbara. The project will improve bridges, interchanges, on- and off-ramps, and add sound walls. The Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project is forecasted to cost $700 million and funding has been awarded for the first three segments from SB1, state funds, and Measure A. Highway 101: Carpinteria is a $96 million construction and landscaping project.

“This project is a significant step in addressing freeway traffic congestion that has increased over the last 30 years,” said Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Executive Director Marjie Kirn. Drivers can expect to see initial safety fencing, safety barriers to shift lanes, and work to build up outside shoulders. Then lanes will be shifted and the first year of work will focus on the southbound side of U.S. 101. Construction of public works projects is an essential government service even during current health measures; work crews are working to ensure that these needed improvements are built while accommodating safe working conditions.

For more information, visit www. SBROADS.com. •MJ