Banking On Local

MJ WRITING CONTEST

9 - 16 April 2020 Vol 26 Issue 15

#2

SERVING MONTECITO AND SUMMERLAND

Quarantine getting you down? Enter our short story contest and win prizes, details p. 36

BANKING ON LOCAL THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC HAS THROWN SANTA BARBARA COUNTY’S ECONOMY INTO A TAILSPIN. BUT AMERICAN RIVIERA BANK’S CEO JEFF DEVINE AND OTHER LOCAL BANKS ARE ALREADY JUMPING INTO ACTION TO HELP THE COMMUNITY (STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 16)

My Corona

Local doctor Richard Sibthorpe is recovering from coronavirus and shares his story, p. 26

The Honor Roll

Superintendent Anthony Ranii on how educators are upping their online game in the social distancing era, p. 19

Village Beat

Montecito Sanitary District applies for emergency permit to build portion of new building in next 60 days, p. 18

Free Home Delivery kindly brought to you by Maureen McDermut

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

9 – 16 April 2020

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M O N T E C I T O E S TAT E S. C O M

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE 5 Editorial

With the world shut down to protect the public, why are we not exploring voting online, wonders Gwyn. Astronauts do it.

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Montecito Miscellany

Santa Barbara classical guitarist Chris Fossek offers private performances; Polo Club patron Tom Barrack warns of the mortgage market’s collapse; Miles Hartfeld and Gretchen Lieff give wine to workers at home; ShelterBox USA president Kerri Murray launches a new Facebook channel and more; plus the suspension of sightings

8 Letters

A heartfelt thanks from Jeannine’s Bakery, complaints about unleashed canines, stir craziness, park predicaments, plus (no!) more

10 Grab & Go

Rosewood Miramar’s executive chef Massimo Falsini offers a stay at home recipe, plus our weekly list of to-go dining options

11 Focus on Finance

Christopher Gallo breaks down the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BARTSCH

Dream. Design. Build. Live. ’

12 Village People

Meet Slim Gomez, Matt Mosby, Caroline Geddes, and Jorge Bernabe of Montecito Natural Foods

14 On the Record

A tourism update from Visit Santa Barbara’s Kathy Janega-Dykes; Silverhorn Jewelers keeps designing despite the pandemic; the county’s cannabis industry steps up

16 Feature Story

412 E. Haley St. #3, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805.965.9555 | frontdesk@beckercon.com| www.beckerstudiosinc.com @beckerstudios

For 45 years, Montecito Bank & Trust has been serving our local communities and we will continue to stand by you as we face another challenge together. Stay healthy friends and please take care of yourself, your loved ones and your community.

How Montecito’s local banks are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

18 Village Beat

The Montecito Association Land Use Committee meets via Zoom to discuss the Sanitary District’s proposed new building as well as a countywide COVID-19 update and how different Montecito businesses are keeping busy

19 The Honor Roll

County educators lean in for online learning, reports Montecito Union School District Superintendent Anthony Ranii

21 On Entertainment

Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips and others join the Lois & Walter Capps “Bringing Us Together” project; Center Stage Theater offers a new streaming service; K-LITE debuts “Music That Matters Now!” for morning audiences

22 Perspectives

Why the best leaders are the ones who put the safety and lives of their people first

The Optimist Daily 23 Brilliant Thoughts

Help protect our community by:

Drive-Through Service Only (9am–4pm)

• WashingMontecito your hands for Coast 20 seconds Branch: 1106-A Village Rd. Goleta Branch: 5658 Calle Real.

• Staying home if you are not feeling well Walk-Up Service Only (9am–4pm)

• Remaining home if you are 65+ Downtown Santa Barbara Branch: 1000 State St.

Carpinteria Branch: 1023 Casitas Pass Rd. • Keeping a responsible distance from others

Additional Services Available:

24/7 Online & Mobile Banking*: montecito.bank 24/7 Telephone Banking: (800) 608-1995

Service Center (Monday–Friday • 8am–5pm): (805) 963-7511

How does our society determine the value of things? And why does the pharmaceutical industry seem to know the (wrong) answer?

26 My Corona

Santa Barbara doctor Richard Sibthorpe contracted the coronavirus but is recovering thanks to home treatment and isolation with help from health coach Veronica Villanueva

28 Spirituality Matters

Courtney Purcell’s Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup meets Zoom; more streaming Buddhism; virtual meditating with Mahakankala; plus Pacifica Graduate Institute broadens its virtual horizons

30 Seen Around Town

Lynda Millner sings the praises of the perfect getaway known as Catalina Island

31 Our Town

Nomad Goods is ramping up production of personal protective gear

38 Classified Advertising

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

39 Local Business Directory montecito.bank *Must have a registered account.

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer

“Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

Editorial

by Gwyn Lurie

Voting to the Moon and Back

H

uge thanks from the Montecito Journal to Maureen McDermut & Associates for sponsoring this week’s home delivery! We are doing everything possible to get to you during this difficult moment.

In the blink of an eye, the world has changed. On Sunday evening my daughter wanted takeout from a local Mexican restaurant, but my husband questioned whether he was potentially risking his life for a burrito – albeit a good one. Just like that, so many ordinary, mundane tasks have become potentially life-threatening ventures out into a scientific unknown.

If the coronavirus has changed the complexion of picking up takeout, I wondered, what must it be like for the workers at Los Arroyos, or at Vons, or Montecito Village Grocery, or at the post office? Picking up takeout my husband would be interacting with just one stranger. But the workers at these establishments are interacting with dozens of random humans throughout the day, of unknown hygiene and health, so that we can feed our families in the safety of Purelled-to-death biodomes we call our homes. There is not enough gratitude in the world for these workers who take such risks each day so that we can continue to feed our families and live some semblance of a normal life.

The new surreality is that so many mundane tasks we used to not think about have become, overnight, potentially life-threatening rolls of the dice.

Here’s an interesting nuance of voting law I’ll bet you didn’t know. Texas Administrative Code Rule 81.35 was signed into law by George W. Bush when he was governor. It’s the law that allows astronauts to vote from space and even vote early.

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Now with Election Day slightly more than half a year away, and a recent Supreme Court ruling curtailing vote-by-mail in Wisconsin, one of our unalienable rights – voting – must join the list of formerly ordinary but now potentially deadly acts. Shouldn’t all of us have not just the right to vote, but the right to vote safely? I am saddened by the Supreme Court’s decision on Monday that forces many Wisconsin voters to potentially risk coronavirus infection in order to vote in person. And it got me to thinking. What if our January 9, 2018 catastrophic event had happened on November 5, 2018? And what if our only choice had been to vote in person at our assigned polling booth in Montecito, where first responders were still risking their own lives to search for survivors?

That would have made for a difficult choice.

Businesses are asking customers to stay home and shop online. Most banking is done online. Doctors are examining patients online. School is being conducted online, as are graduations. So why would we not, in light of this pandemic, ensure a way to execute our right to vote online? Very soon every computer and phone will be opened via fingerprint, if not retinal scan. Or both. So why would we quarantine this one foundational aspect of our democracy – voting – from

EDITORIAL Page 364

• Available for urgent care.

• Infection control protocol followed, with all areas sanitized including wait area and exam room.

1483 E. Valley Road, Suite M | 805.969.6090 9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

5

Monte ito Miscellany

by Richard Mineards

Richard covered the Royal Family for Britain’s Daily Mirror and Daily Mail, and was an editor on New York Magazine. He was also a national anchor on CBS, a commentator on ABC Network News, gossip on The Joan Rivers Show and Geraldo Rivera, host on E! TV, a correspondent on the syndicated show Extra, a commentator on the KTLA Morning News and Entertainment Tonight. He moved to Montecito 13 years ago.

Social Distance Serenades

Chris Fossek’s coronavirus serenade

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anta Barbara classical guitarist Chris Fossek is looking to the Middle Ages, when balladeers roamed the land, to soothe our furrowed brows during these most trying of times. o l i versofmontecito.com Chris, who has performed at the @oliversofmontecito Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Rome’s Olympic Stadium, has (805) 969-0834 launched a charming new project, Open Window Serenades.

“As long as we keep our social distancing, we can keep these types of live concerts happening,” says Chris, who is married to former State Street Ballet principal dancer Leila Drake.

For $100 to $350, depending on your budget, Chris, who lived in Italy for many years, and also studied in Spain and Germany, will come to your home and serenade occupants, not to mention a few lucky neighbors – who might care to chip in – from his extensive musical repertoire, be it classical, flamenco, Eastern European olive rsof montecito.folk com rsofmontecito.com music, and even rock ‘n’ roll for a 45-minute personal concert. oliversofmontecito @ oliv ersof montecito Having heard him many times over (805) 969-0834 ( 805) 969-0834the years, including when he would entertain in the bar at Ty Warner’s oliversofmontecito.com @oliversofmontecito Biltmore, I can certainly attest to his abilities.

“I know I am not alone in saying NOW OFFERING TAKE OUT AND CURBSIDE PICKUP that simple uplifting moments from ‘times before’ are more precious than (805) 969-0834 ever,” says Chris. “I am really inspired

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero.” – Fred Rogers

to do this. It is very simple. I set up a safe distance from your house, and anyone inside can open a window or sit on the patio with a glass of wine or cup of tea while I serenade you.

“If there are neighbors close by, they can open their windows too. We can all get a taste of that old ‘Happy Hour’ normal for a moment and I get a feeling of giving something meaningful to people, which is a connection I really miss these days. It’s about sharing the unique joy music can bring despite the challenges at present.”

And why not gift a serenade to a friend or loved one to help their spirits too?

Chris can be reached on 805-4551005 or e-mail chrisfossek@gmail.com.

Somber Prediction Santa Barbara Polo Club patron Tom Barrack has warned that the U.S. commercial mortgage market is on the brink of collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Billionaire Barrack, owner of Michael Jackson’s 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos and CEO of Colony Capital, says the effect of the virus could dwarf the impacts of the Great Depression.

He predicts a “domino effect’ that will greatly impact the U.S. economy

MISCELLANY Page 244 9 – 16 April 2020

2020_RMB-EasterBasketToGo-Ad_9-866x6-19_Final_HR-Print.pdf

1

4/6/20

3:20 PM

Easter Basket To-Go Featuring Choices of

Available for Delivery or Curbside Pickup

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Each basket includes complimentary Chocolate Eggs, Fresh Baked Sourdough

Basket for Two $55* Basket for Four $100* Basket for Six $145* Call for Pickup Orders: 805.252.3985 Order Online: bit.ly/MiramarEasterToGo

and a selection of Salumi e Formaggi.

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1759 S. JAMESON LANE, MONTECITO, CA 93108

9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

7

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

Pictures in the Age of Corona

If you have something you think Montecito should know about, or wish to respond to something you read in the Journal, we want to hear from you. Please send all such correspondence to: Montecito Journal, Letters to the Editor, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA. 93108. You can also FAX such mail to: (805) 969-6654, or E-mail to letters@montecitojournal.net

To Our Santa Barbara Family,

J ARROTT

&

CO.

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS

SPECIALIZING IN 1031 TAX-DEFERRED EXCHANGES AND

TRIPLE NET LEASED

M ANAGEMENT F REE

INVESTMENT PROPERTIES WITH NATIONAL TENANTS

Len

CALL Jarrott, MBA, CCIM

tive, we recognize that it is you who are the true heart of Jeannine’s; it is you that causes our community to feel welcome, to come home.

In difficult moments, we strive to maintain a realistic perspective by remembering that we are blessed beyond measure to have our physical health when so many suffer grievously. We wish comfort and peace of mind to each of you who read this. We will all find ourselves on the other side of this and we will perhaps find in ourselves a new sense of Community that recognizes and remembers the kindness we showed each other during this trying time.

The Hardey Family Jeannine’s Bakery

(photo by Jane Walker Wood Orfalea)

T

hese past several weeks have taught us all so much more than we may have wanted to know. It has scared us, challenged us, made us much more conscious of our presence in each other’s lives and engendered a spirit of common resolve.

At Jeannine’s, we have realized anew, over this past month, that our place in the Santa Barbara community is as much about social connections, and about creating a space of recognition, welcome, and acceptance, as it is about preparing food. To be cut off from many of our regular customers and valued employees, to hand over a bag at arm’s length and rush people out the door as quickly as possible, feels cold and unnatural and takes the heart out of what we have tried to do over the past 30 years.

It is disconcerting to live in this time when no decision stands out as the right one, but that is the lot we all bear at this moment. The livelihoods of our Jeannine’s family, their physical well-being and that of our patrons, guided by the recommendations of health experts, and the future viability of our business have felt like competing interests.

Reconciliation of these is a hard place to find. And know that every small business in this town is experiencing the same heartbreaking dilemma.

We are humbled every day by the generosity and thoughtfulness of our friends and neighbors. To those who have supported our employees beyond expectation, purchased more gift certificates than they needed, or offered a word of encouragement, we offer our humble, heartfelt gratitude.

Although we cannot name you all, you know who you are. And to our family of employees who have remained remarkably flexible, loyal, and posi-

Dear Community,

I was walking on Miramar Beach today and was passed by several people walking with their dogs off leash.

Dogs lick people and things. Then they run up and try to sniff and lick people and other dogs. In these uncertain and scary times in which we are going to such efforts to socially distance, please have the consideration and personal responsibility to leave your dogs on a leash when off of your property.

Thank you!

Janet Murphy Montecito

Just Another Day

Not going CRAZZZZZZY...Yet! So much to do around the house!

Today for instance... A really BIG DAY! I put the dirty dishes (Two plates...Two forks...One spoon) in the dishwasher.

And I made my bed...Putting all the pillows facing the right way.

And... I THOUGHT about taking the garbage out!

WHEW... I’m exhausted!

I’m already in my PM Pjs. (Just removed my AM Pjs) and ready for bed because tomorrow is going to be an even BIGGER DAY! I will be SOOOOOOOOO BUZZZZZY washing my towels! Yes...

Drying them too!

AND... The garbage must go out or else...

So ... I hope you are coping as well as me!

Sending Lots of Love and Giggles!

And... Butterfly Kisses Nina Terzian Montecito

Park Predicament

The Rangers at Manning Park will not activate the picnic area electrical outlets without a reservation during a National Emergency.

Matt McLaughlin Santa Barbara

WENDY GRAGG 805. 453. 3371

Luxury Real Estate Specialist for Nearly 20 Years

805-569-5999

http://www.jarrott.com

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

Lic #01304471

Luxury Real Estate Specialist

“Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.” – Fred Rogers

Simpatico No More

I used to eagerly look forward to the MJ weekly issues in large part to read the Letters to the Editor section. But it’s obvious that the new ownership and I are not “simpatico” and I need to kick the habit and won’t be a returning reader in the future.

You did make it obvious from the beginning that things were going to change and they certainly have. What you don’t understand (?) is that the appeal of the Montecito Journal was that it was the only voice of sanity in response to the liberal garbage spewed out by the other weekly journal. “We” (and you know who I’m talking about) are totally outnumbered in this area by the tens of thousands. I’ll call the “Mob,” who would gleefully destroy all the American values many of us proudly cherish and would have our heads on a pike if they could. They are ignorant, lazy, vicious etc, etc, etc puppets of the Left and the liberal media and the MJ was our only outlet for fighting back.

And so, in reality, you probably DO understand and have no problem if your paper and its Letters to the Editor section will become a place to trade favorite recipes, tips on gardening and the latest junk-science rants. The “can’t we just all get along crowd.”

No we can’t… not on their terms Patton Brooks •MJ 9 – 16 April 2020

LUCKY’S steaks / chops / seafood TAKE-OUT, CURBSIDE & DELIVERY NIGHTLY -our staff is eager to deliverCALL IN YOUR ORDERS FROM 3:30-8PM YOUR FOOD CAN BE READY ANYTIME AFTER 5PM wine list available at a 25% discount

(805) 565-7540 or place an order with restaurant connection-

Thank you for your support!

1279 Coast Village Road, Montecito luckys-steakhouse.com

WE HOPE YOU, YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS ARE IN GOOD HEALTH AND GOOD SPIRITS AND THAT IT STAYS THAT WAY. THIS WILL PASS AND WE’LL ALL BE ABLE TO SHAKE HANDS, HUG AND KISS AGAIN, IN THE MEANTIME WE MISS YOU AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON. WITH LOVE FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT TRE LUNE

9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

9

Grab & Go

Rosewood Miramar’s Chef

Carciofi alla Romana

by Claudia Schou

Massimo Falsini Serves First Responders

1 QT extra virgin olive oil 1 pint dry white wine Clean the artichokes, remove the hairs inside and brush them with lemon.

Leave them in ice water with lemon juice. Cut the garlic heads in half and place them in the oil with the lemon as well. Place the artichokes in the oil. Add the mint, salt. Allow the artichokes cook in the oil for 10 minutes and then add the wine. Cover with aluminum foil, leaving a small open spot. Cook for 30 min +/- until artichokes are soft at the core. Serve them warm, directly from the pot.

Tip: Toast some great sourdough and scratch some fresh garlic cloves then place the artichoke with the “precious” jus over it.

S

Rosewood Miramar’s Chef Massimo Falsini feeding first responders

anta Barbara’s hospitality industry has been hit hard by COVID-19.

Several local hotels have laid off their staff and are now closed, putting a halt to the local service industry. Those who remain on property are keeping busy, however. For his part, Rosewood Miramar’s Executive Chef Massimo Falsini is working with first responders and other essential members of our community. Earlier this week, we caught up with Falsini to see how things are going.

What is your daily schedule like these days?

I am here at the Miramar launching a new community outreach campaign called “Miramar on the Move.” Our culinary team prepares an average of 300 to 350 meals per day that we distribute around Montecito and Santa Barbara.

We began last Friday and visited eight locations on our first day. We served 500 breakfast burritos to first responders, essential workers, and those in the care of local nonprofit organizations. We will continue to provide breakfast or lunch Monday through Friday to all those in need of some comfort and a nutritious meal.

What services does Miramar on the Move Provide?

Miramar on the Move provides complimentary, fresh meals via the Miramar Food Truck to those in need throughout Montecito and Santa Barbara. This includes visiting first responders, essential workers, and nonprofit organizations servicing disadvantaged individuals in our community to bring a hot meal each weekday. I prepare a different menu for each day that we go out in the food truck to provide nourishment and healthy fuel to our neighbors and local heroes.

When you’re not on the move, are you trying any new recipes that you hope to incorporate at your restaurants?

For sure. This is the right time to do this. Lots of new dishes will come out in different outlets at Miramar. Now is the season of the artichoke. They are beautiful at our local Farmers Market. During the holidays I prepare a recipe from my Grandma Adriana, “Carciofi alla Romana.” Every holiday this dish was in my grandparents and Mamma’s table served directly from the pot in order to avoid the loss of any flavorful extra virgin olive oil, used for the “almighty” scarpetta or “fettunta” Toscana.

Roman Artichokes Confit – CARCIOFI ALLA ROMANA Ingredients

6 big artichokes 1/4 head of garlic 2 lemons 1/4 bunch of fresh mint 1 TBS fleur de sel 1 bay leaf

10 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Buon Appetito!

•MJ

Grab & Go

• Bettina: Open from 12-8 pm for take-out; 805-770-2383; bettinapizzeria.com • Bree’osh: Call 805-969 2500 or 805-705-7415 or go online at www.breeosh.com to pick up in store • China Palace: Pick up or doordash.com; 805-565-9380 • Caffe Luxxe: To-go only, 8 am-3 pm, order in store; www.caffeluxxe.com • George Dog Food: Complimentary delivery for orders over $40; 805-565-4777 • Honor Bar: Curbside to-go service from 11 am-8 am, Market open at 10 for coffee and scones; 805-969-6964 • Jeannine’s: Take out from 7 am-1:30 pm; 805-969-0088 • Little Alex’s: Take out from 8 am-8 pm 805-969-2297; doordash.com • Los Arroyos: 805-969-9059. Take out, regular hours.

Delivery available at seamless.com, grubhub.com, or doordash.com • Lucky’s: Take out or delivery orders accepted at 3:30 pm for delivery as early as 5 pm; curbside pickup service also available; www.luckys-steakhouse.com • Merci Montecito: Take out only. 805-220-0877; www.mercimontecito.com • Montecito Coffee Shop: Take out only, 10 am-2 pm. 805-969-6250; www.montecitocoffeeshop.com • Montecito Cleaners: Leave your bag of laundry on your doorstep and have it returned, expertly cleaned, folded, and sealed in bags; 805-969-3880 • Montecito Wine Bistro: The restaurant’s revised hours are 4-8 pm for pickup and delivery, limited menu; 805-969-7520; www.pierrelafond.com • Oliver’s: Open for curbside pickup and take out, 5-8 pm, Tuesday-Sunday; 805-969-0834; or delivery via doordash.com • Pane e Vino: Take out and delivery; 805-969-9274; doordash.com • Sakana Sushi Bar: Regular hours; 805-565-2014 • San Ysidro Ranch: Currently open and taking reservations until further notice. Dining for guests in-room only. 805-565-1700; www.sanysidroranch.com • Tre Lune: Offering curbside pickup 11:30 am to 8 pm or delivery through restaurantconnectionsb.com; 805-969-2646; trelunesb.com • Via Vai: Take out only from 11:30 am-2:30 pm and 4:30-8:30 pm; 805-565-9393; doordash.com • Village Cheese & Wine Shop: Open for take out and curbside pickup: 805-969-3815; villagecheeseandwine.com

“It can sometimes be easier to forgive our enemies than our friends.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

Focus on Finance

References Available (lots of them!)

by Christopher Gallo Since graduating from UCSB in 1992, Christopher has worked with local individuals and families as a financial planner. He is a Vice President with UBS Financial and holds the CFP, CIMA, and CPWA credentials. He can be reached at christopher.t.gallo@ubs.com or 805-730-3425.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

I

n response to the massive economic impact of the coronavirus, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) on March 27. This sweeping action brought over $2 trillion to fight unemployment, bolster public health and provide some tax relief to businesses and individuals. Though much of the bill focuses on unemployment benefits and business loans, there are some key provisions that help everyone.

The most wide-ranging change for individuals is the delay in tax filing and payments to July 15. Paperwork and payments are not due until mid-July without any penalties or interest assessed for payments normally due mid-April. Though each state can determine their own timeline for state taxes, California has moved their deadline to mid-July as well.

A few new rules are in effect for retirement accounts that should help most individuals. First, all required minimum distributions (RMDs) from IRAs for 2020 have been suspended.

No one needs to take a distribution from their IRA, inherited IRA, 403, or 457(b) plan this year regardless of pandemic needs. If you have already taken a distribution, you have 60 days to re-deposit it and wait until next year.

Second, the Act allows “coronavirus related” distribution from retirement accounts without penalty of up to $100,000 for those affected by coronavirus. The 10% early withdrawal is waived for those under 59 ½ and the income is recognized over three years, with the ability to repay these withdrawals if they wish. Qualified distributions include those made to individuals with COVID-19, a spouse or dependent of this individual, or those who face adverse economic

consequences as a result of the pandemic.

Recognizing that non-profits will also be hit hard by the virus, the bill includes a few changes to encourage more giving. The major change is allowing cash gifts to public charities of up to 100% of adjusted income for 2020 – this doubles the deductible limit. For those who no longer itemize, the bill also allows for a $300 “abovethe-line” deduction. Corporations may now deduct up to 25% of their charitable contributions up from the usual 10%.

The most noted part of the act is the “recovery rebate” payments of $1,200 for each individual or $2,400 per couple. The phase-outs for this payment are a 2019 income of less than $75,000 or $150,000, respectively. The rebates completely disappear above $100,000 income for individuals or $200,000 for couples. For those who do qualify, these rebates are tax-free.

The CARES Act details are still being worked out and likely there will be more phases of relief offered as the shutdown continues.

•MJ

No Residual Poison Safe for pets and non-targeted Lic # 1036122

MEDICARE

Dan Encell

Director, Estates Division Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Call: (805) 565-4896 DanEncell@aol.com

The greatest professional compliment a client can give their real estate agent is to use their services again (and again...)

So far I have had: 55 clients use my services twice; 33 clients use my services three times; 16 clients use my services four times; 9 clients use my services five times; 7 clients use my services six times; 2 clients use my services seven times; 4 clients use my services eight times; 1 client use my services nine times; 2 clients use my services ten times; 1 client use my services eleven times; and 1 client use my services thirteen times!

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

11

Village People The Friendly Faces Behind Montecito Natural Foods

by Nicholas Schou

Montecito Natural Food’s Slim Gomez, Matt Mosby, and Caroline Geddes

Yes, we have hand sanitizers!

D

uring the disastrous Thomas Fire and debris flows two years ago, the entire Montecito Country Mart was closed for business with the exception of Montecito Natural Foods. That turned out to be a good thing for the town’s first responders, particularly the Montecito

Fire Department, because emergency workers were laboring under high stress in unsanitary conditions with weakened immune systems.

“There were fire trucks and emergency trucks and all that out there,” recalls Slim Gomez, who has owned the store for the past 28 years. “We

FREE IN HOME CONSULTATION

www.MontecitoKitchens.com Don Gragg 805.453.0518

12 MONTECITO JOURNAL

License #951784

stayed open for them.” Gomez says that the store provided responders with healthy drinks as well as a natural immunity-boost liquid shot, which is applied by directly spraying onto the throat. “One of the firefighters tried the immunity shot because he was getting sick and they were all compromised,” she adds. “In two hours, he was better and he told all the firemen.

So now all the Fire Department takes these on a regular basis.”

Fortunately for Montecito residents, the store remains open during the forced closures that have come about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. “When we had the mudflow, we stayed open as a staging area, and we are staying open now, too,” says Matt Mosby, who has worked at Montecito Natural Foods for the past 10 years.

“Right now, I think we are the only business right here who are doing well,” he added. “People are worried and we are able to supply them with products that will keep them healthy.

The staff has well more than one hundred years of combined experience in nutrition and supplements.”

According to Gomez, the store has been around ever since the shopping center opened in 1963. It used to be larger, until a new owner reduced their square footage to put in public restrooms. Gomez estimates that 75 percent of the shop’s sales are health supplements. “We’re very focused on providing knowledge to our customers,” she says. “Most of our demand is for zinc lozenges, Vitamin C, and probiotics,” the latter of which the shop offers under its own label. “We sell more of it than anything else and have been for the past fifteen years,” she says. “People come by and buy four or five bottles at a time.”

Another product that’s been high in demand lately are the shop’s line of

“I don’t think anyone can grow unless he’s loved exactly as he is now.” – Fred Rogers

propyl alcohol-based hand sanitizing spray bottles. “We’re very fortunate because one of our skin care suppliers lives here in Montecito and she made these hand sanitizers for us, and it’s great; we’re selling a lot of them.”

For those who haven’t dropped by to pick up their favorite natural supplements or immunity boosting products, be forewarned that you must come equipped with a sense of humor, Gomez warns, referring to the fact that Mosby loves to tease long-term customers. “Oh, that’s number one,” confirms employee Caroline Geddes.

“If people don’t have a good sense of humor they won’t come back, but they do, because we have wonderful customers.” (She’s not kidding: When I interviewed Mosby for this story over the telephone, he put down the receiver so he could banter with one such visitor. “Thanks for visiting Montecito Natural Foods, where you are our favorite customer,” he said by way of farewell to the shopper, who left in a fit of laughter.)

Humor, much like a virus, is contagious: Both Mosby and Gomez laughed aloud when I shared this anecdote with her after she issued her facetious customer service disclaimer. “Right now we have the best crew we’ve ever had,” Gomez says, referring to Mosby, Geddes, and Jorge Bernabe, who wasn’t there when I stopped by but who handles ordering and stocking as well as working with customers. “And we are very lucky to have a very loyal following in the community.”

Montecito Natural Foods is open from 9 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm on Sunday. 1014 Coast Village Rd # B. For delivery or pickup orders, call 805969-1411.

•MJ 9 – 16 April 2020

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9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

13

ON THE RECORD

Luther says that, while online orders got off to a slow start, they are picking up. “It took people a couple of weeks to get the hang of it but shopping online is working for people,” she says. “It’s been a trend for a long time, so it’s not something new. We had to close during the mudslides and are very familiar with the challenge of keeping our business going. This is another test, and a very serious and concerning one, but we are adapting.

It just takes a bit of time.” Visit sil verhorn.com or call 805-969-0442 for more information.

Nicholas Schou

Nicholas Schou is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of several books, including Orange Sunshine and Kill the Messenger. If you have tips or stories about Montecito, please email him at newseditor@montecitojournal.net

Silverhorn Plans New Designs for Post-Coronavirus Era Silverhorn Jewelers is taking orders online and over the phone (photo by Edward Clynes)

14 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Santa Barbara Tourism Update

I

n the past few weeks, hundreds of Montecito and Santa Barbara residents have been laid off or furloughed in the wake of the social distancing and shelter at home mandates issued in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. To get a sense of how this has already affected Santa Barbara’s tourism and hospitality industries, we spoke this week with Kathy JanegaDykes, the president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara.

Q: Over the course of your time working in tourism, have you ever experienced any situation comparable to the COVID19 pandemic?

A: This is a community that has faced numerous crises in the past, from the recent Thomas Fire and 1/9 Debris Flow to the Refugio Oil Spill, as well as more distant tragedies, but this is one that is unlike any other in terms of its scale, far-reaching effects, and the uncertainties surrounding it.

No one saw this coming, and no one can say for sure when it will be over.

A

lthough it had to temporarily close its design studio on Coast Village Road and boutique shop inside the Four Seasons Hotel a week ago, Montecito’s Silverhorn Jewelers isn’t letting the coronavirus epidemic stall its preparations for the future.

“All our employees are working from home since we are listed as an unnecessary business,” says Anne Luther, Silverhorn’s marketing and communications director. To keep business going, Luther explains, owners Carole and Mike Ridding are busy at home arranging Zoom conference calls with their suppliers as well as gem carvers in Germany, Italy, and the Far East. During the closure, all calls to the shop are being routed to Silverhorn’s sales director, who is able to take orders by phone, as well as via the company’s website; orders are then saved for pickup when the stores reopen or, for more urgent orders, are delivered “contact free” to customers.

Meanwhile, Silverhorn’s longtime head designer, the German-born Noel Bendle, continues to draw original items for Silverhorn’s planned post-coronavirus re-launch. “He is designing a whole new collection for when we open again,” Luther says.

“First he draws the object, then does a watercolor and finally a wax study, so that once the studio opens again he is ready to cast the piece.”

According to Luther, loyal customers – many of whom are matching

Kathy Janega-Dykes, president and CEO of Visit Santa Barbara

Head designer Noel Bendle at work (photo by Edward Clynes)

their colored stones to their stayat-home loungewear – are taking advantage of the opportunity to support Silverhorn during its hiatus. “A lot of people are buying gift certificates for Mother’s Day and weddings and graduations,” she elaborates. “So when the store opens they can use their gift certificates. As the marketing director, I’m doing a lot of email blasts about our products but also about how to support the underserved in our communities, as well as about things that are enjoyable to our customers who are stuck at home, like films and books they might enjoy.”

How do you think the pandemic will impact the local tourism economy and revenue?

At the outset, it’s important to acknowledge the cost of coronavirus in terms of human suffering and loss of life, both in our community and throughout the world, which is unspeakably sad and incalculable.

That said, as the health crisis intensifies, the fallout promises to be unprecedented for the tourism industry. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that this will be seven times more devastating to economic output than the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

At this time, it is difficult to predict the extent of the damage to our local travel and tourism industry, but Santa Barbara will be greatly impacted by loss of revenue and jobs.

Direct visitor-related spending in the Santa Barbara South Coast is $1.9 billion each year, and the tourism industry supports more than 13,000 jobs, according to the 2016-17 Santa Barbara South Coast Visitor Profile

“I hope you’re proud of yourself for the times you’ve said ‘yes.’” – Fred Rogers

and Tourism Economic Impact Study

by Destination Analysts, the most recent year for which we have data.

Several of our area hotels, including many in Montecito, have temporarily closed. For those that still remain open, preliminary information shows that for the week ending March 28, 2020, hotels reported an 83% drop in room demand over the same period last year, with rates decreasing 43% during that same time.

When do you think the mindset of “stay at home” will end?

That’s the question on everyone’s mind right now who works in the hospitality industry, and it’s hard to say for sure. We’ve been closely following weekly U.S. traveler sentiment surveys compiled by Destination Analysts, a leading market research firm, as well as other market analysis from organizations such as Tourism Economics, STR (formerly known as Smith Travel Research), and Visit California.

The latest U.S. survey from Destination Analysts showed a higher proportion of travelers considering rebooking their trips in August. But sentiment may well change, depending on how the pandemic plays out in Southern California, which is Santa Barbara’s largest visitor market, and across the U.S. Do you feel aid options such as California Work Sharing Program, the U.S. Small Business Association Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and anticipated relief from the CARES Act stimulus bill will greatly help the local tourism industry?

On a national level, the U.S. Travel Association aggressively lobbied the U.S. government to pass the CARES Act. Its provisions are purported to deliver economic support to travel businesses, travel workers, and their families, but it’s too soon to tell how effective this will be in providing relief to our local economy.

However, the CARES program cannot possibly help our businesses recover on their own. It is critical

ON THE RECORD Page 204 9 – 16 April 2020

Thank You. Healthcare Professionals First Responders Sanitation Teams Grocery Store Clerks Delivery Carriers Restaurant Workers Caregivers Utility Workers Generous Neighbors Heroes and Helpers And so many more

For a list of local restaurants’ take out hours and stay at home activities visit MaureenMcDermut.com

In good times and bad, always committed.

Be well, stay safe and call me if I can help.

DRE#: 1175027 | 805.570.5545 Maureen.McDermut@sothebyshomes.com © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

15

The Economic Pandemic Meets the Hometown Banker

by Mitchell Kriegman

T

Novelist Being Audrey Hepburn, Things I Can’t Explain. Creator Clarissa Explains it All and more.

Writer for The New Yorker, LARB, National Lampoon, and Saturday Night Live

hey call it the novel coronavirus.

It will have existed for 142 days as of this publication. It’s called a “novel” virus because, while variations have existed before, this one is brand new. It’s unique in that it replicates quickly in asymptomatic people who are stealth carriers, then explodes in the population overwhelmingly, debilitating the populace and quickly maxing out the health system and hospitals. But for a moment consider how the virus is replicating itself in a similar way in our economy.

Healthy businesses are suddenly brought to a standstill, sending people into unemployment, threatening their livelihoods, increasing bankruptcies, unemployment claims, spinning our economic system into a negative trajectory.

Now consider the government’s economic response. Like the virus, the government’s $349 billion Paycheck Production Program, PPP for short, was rolled out last Friday through the banking system, with little preparation or warning to hundreds of thousands of FDIC insured banks and branches in association with the Small Business Association (SBA). Banks had to instantly organize to deliver emergency funds to the 30.2 million small businesses around the country that are in dire straits due to the virus shutdown, many verging on bankruptcy.

Have you ever applied for an SBA loan? Daunting would be sugarcoating it. Have you ever applied for bank loan? Not exactly rolling off a log.

Have you ever been on the verge of bankruptcy? Not a pretty picture.

The PPP stimulus package, or rescue, or compensation, depending on how one looks at it, has been rolled out in such a way that, like the virus, it has maxed out bankers and borrowers all over America.

The Operative Term is Local

“Local” is paramount. Our local institutions are the most functional, valuable, and operative aspect of our lives during the crisis. These include hospitals, food providers, neighbors, and add to that, bankers.

Enter your friendly neighborhood banker, Jeff DeVine, CEO and President of American Riviera Bank.

Jeff, it’s hard to imagine calling him Mr. DeVine, is a supremely local guy with twenty-five years of experience banking in Santa Barbara.

16 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Tuesday, while Team B works from home Monday, Tuesday, and then they flip flop,” he explains. “It means if someone gets sick on one team and the whole team has to quarantine, the other team can move forward with critical tasks at the bank.” The US Army organizes and trains its troops for contagion scenarios like this in exactly the same way.

“We all crave that human interaction which is a bummer,” Jeff adds, acknowledging the essence of smalltown banking, “but we had to pivot to make those changes.”

A Banking Tsunami Jeff DeVine, President and CEO of local American Riviera Bank

American Riviera is a small bank that knows every one of its customers.

They all say hello when customers enter and goodbye when they leave.

When the health crisis hit, the bank quickly put in place hygienic safety measures for customers and employees alike.

Late last week the Department of Treasury rolled out the PPP for 30.2 million small businesses in the United States as part of the CARE (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) ACT which includes $350 billion in forgivable loans that is contingent upon retaining employees. The effort is good for employment and good for the small businesses, the cornerstone of the American economy. Most American small businesses have no

more than two months of liquidity.

That said, the rollout was unbelievably chaotic. The PPP process ripped through the entire banking system forcing local banks and branches across the country to handle and define these crucial life-saving transactions. Very few banks had their online portals up and running by that time. Once they did, they were quickly flooded with applications. Bank of America received 10,000 loan applications in the first hour.

“We had a pandemic plan.

We actually had one in place from before, when the SARS thing happened.”

It was overwhelmingly chaotic enough that even a tranquil bank CEO like Jeff DeVine was astonished.

“So, this is crazy, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jeff remarked. “I mean, not only is the severity of this downturn so dramatic, with the unemployment numbers sky high on top of it, but now there’s the chaos of this program rollout.”

The Treasury Department’s lack of proper language and clear guidance in the roll out plan added a massive additional complicated layer. Add

“Our local institutions are the most functional, valuable, and operative aspect of our lives during the crisis.”

“We had a pandemic plan,” Jeff explains. “We actually had one in place from before, when the SARS thing happened. So, we just took it off the shelf and started implementing it.”

The bank and its customers adapted quickly to social distancing, limiting the amount of customers coming inside of the branch, sanitizing surfaces and implementing new procedures on money handling to put employees at rest.

They made sure customers understood they could put bills, deposits, and checks into the ATM and even the Night Drop box. They also restructured their work hours and locations.

“The executive team made a decision to actually separate all of our employees and their departments into Team A and Team B,” Jeff offers. The goal was to limit the amount of time employees were in any one particular office at the same time.

“Team A works on site on a Monday, Susan Stewart, a customer dropping off a deposit at American Riviera Bank “There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

STAY STRONG SANTA BARBARA. WE’RE HERE FOR YOU. Karely Negrete, American Riviera clerk staying safe while helping keep the bank open

to that, the dire circumstances for businesses, which translates into the confusion and jeopardy for employers and employees. These are people, remember, our neighbors and friends.

The ripples are enormous.

“We would have been working hard anyway,” Jeff remarks, “but, now we’re just working literally around the clock. The amount of emails and phone calls and emergency meetings, it’s really something else.”

As community bankers they know the pain their customers are in. Having

served the town so long the CEO can’t help contemplating how dire the situation has become.

“At some point, this converts from an economic tragedy to a personal tragedy when you actually know somebody who perishes,” Jeff remarks. “We haven’t even gotten there yet, but we all feel the pressure, the weight of wanting to help because we’re community bankers.

That’s what we do.”

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9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

17

Village Beat

A rendering of a new Essential Services building slated for the campus of the Montecito Sanitary District; the District has applied for an emergency permit to build a 2,000 square feet wing of the new building, in response to the COVID-19 crisis

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Kelly has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond. She is also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and is a member of Montecito and Santa Barbara’s top real estate team, Calcagno & Hamilton.

Land Use Committee Discusses MSD Plans

O

n Tuesday, April 7, the Montecito Association Land Use Committee met via Zoom to discuss an upcoming project in Montecito: a proposed project by the Montecito Sanitary District that includes a new 5,000-sq-ft Essential Services building with a new 17-space parking lot, lighting and landscaping, multiple solar canopies, and a new recycled water treatment system, as well as demolition of the existing office building and adjacent parking lot.

Last week, the District applied for an emergency permit with the County to build a 2000-sq-ft portion of the Essential Services building, given the current coronavirus pandemic. “The sanitary sewer system is on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis. Ensuring that drinking water and wastewater services are fully functional is critical in containing the virus,” said MSD

Board President Tom Bollay, who explained that the existing building is inadequate in providing enough space for sanitary facilities and social distancing. Employees, which are considered essential, are working skeletal shifts in order to avoid sharing space as much as possible. “This is an immediate, urgent need during this emergency,” Bollay said.

Architect Brian Cearnal showed the plans for the entire building, which includes a meeting room, conference room, offices, a break room, disinfecting spaces, washrooms and shower facilities, kitchen facilities, and a courtyard area for light and natural ventilation. “The current building is in terrible disrepair,” he said. “We need to protect our workers,” said general manager Diane Gabriel. “We cannot afford to lose any of our four licensed operators [to illness],” Gabriel said, adding that there has been extensive

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outreach on the project, including the neighbors on Monte Cristo Lane, who she says have given their blessing.

The project is part of the District’s 2004 master plan, which also included a new maintenance building and laboratory, which have already been built. The new building will replace the existing Essential Services building, which is considered undersized and has issues including mold, termites, asbestos, inadequate insulation, non-compliance with ADA requirements, and a leaking roof. The District voted last year to earmark over $4M for the project, although some in opposition of the project say the project will cost closer to $6M. The new building will be built on a different portion of the five-acre campus, in order to abandon the access on Monte Cristo Lane and allow access on Channel Drive. The project layout on the site allows for 36,000 square feet of space to be utilized for a future water recycling facility, which is also in the works. Preliminary plans for the recycling facility include servicing the Santa Barbara Cemetery, with plans for servicing local golf courses planned for the future, according to Ciara Ristig, planner with the County of Santa Barbara. Final design and development plans for a recycled water facility have yet to be finalized.

The new building will be built in a Spanish Colonial Revival style with a terra cotta roof and white walls, and will be single level. “We tried very hard to design a building that is in the character of Montecito. It will meet the needs for the District for many years to come,” Cearnal said. The design will be in front of Montecito Board of Architectural Review next week on Thursday, April 16.

If the emergency permit is issued, the District will build 2,000 square

“Love the light for it shows you the way, Endure the darkness for it shows you the stars”

COVID-19 Updates

As of press time, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department reports 218 cases of COVID-19 in the county, which includes 14 cases in the South County communities of Montecito, Summerland, and Carpinteria. Of the over 200 cases, it was announced earlier this week that 37 of those are healthcare workers; a number that the Public Health Department was hesitant to release, citing patient privacy issues.

At the Board of Supervisors hearing on Tuesday, Public Health Director Dr. Van Do-Reynoso showed new modeling that predicts the peak of the virus could occur in Santa

VILLAGE BEAT Page 354

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18 MONTECITO JOURNAL

feet of the new building, in order to protect employees from COVID-19.

If approved, it will take approximately 60 days to build the emergency wing of the building. A follow-up permit will be required in the future.

Board member Woody Barrett spoke to the Committee, explaining that he believes a better scenario is to build temporary facilities to get through the coronavirus pandemic.

“It is essential that we have this built immediately. We have four people that can run the plant. Those people need to have a safe space to change and clean up. It’s vital that we do this now, quickly and concisely,” Bollay said in response.

The Land Use Committee voted to support the architecture of the project, with the acknowledgment that more details and information is needed before the Committee can endorse the project in its entirety. They did not take a position on the need for the emergency permit.

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9 – 16 April 2020

The Honor Roll

by Anthony Ranii This occasional series focuses on education, learning, teaching, and instruction, with a special focus on Santa Barbara County. Anthony Ranii has been a tutor, teacher, curriculum writer, principal, and professional development trainer and is currently the superintendent of the Montecito Union School District.

SB County’s Educators are United

W

hen Gwyn Lurie approached me to write an occasional series on education, I jumped at the chance. It combines two things I love: thinking about education and working with Gwyn (she served on the Montecito Union School [MUS] Board during my first two years and made me think almost as much as she made me laugh). I never would have suspected that my first piece would be on how the county’s schools are working to teach kids through distance learning, just as the many parents reading this never suspected that they would have to balance work and their kids’ education while sheltering at home. But here we are!

Facing the dual disasters of the Thomas Fire and the 1/9 debris flow required this community to use skills we never knew we had. To be clear, these were tragedies and I wouldn’t wish them on any community, but I also believe that those of us who came together during that disaster are somewhat more resilient and able to face this very different threat of COVID-19 more effectively.

During those disasters, I learned how important it was to clearly communicate when disaster strikes. Lately, I have been sharing four words with my work colleagues, parents, and students. Gratitude. I am overwhelmed at how flexible, giving, and resilient our teachers, staff members, parents, and students have been. Essential.

We have to be clear-eyed as a society right now and stick to the essentials.

As educators, we are balancing the health and safety of our society with the need to educate kids (both are essential). Values. Though we are living through unprecedented times, our values remain constant. Opportunity.

Don’t get me wrong, COVID-19 is truly horrible: people are sick and dying, families are separated, businesses are struggling. That said, we also have an opportunity as educators to show our students how much we love them, to do our part to protect the health of the community, and to learn new technologies and pedagogies to help our students learn despite the challenges.

Leaning In

Every educator in the county likely remembers where they were when they got the word that schools would be closing. County Superintendent Dr. 9 – 16 April 2020

Susan Salcido convened a phone call (this was a week before the ubiquity of Zoom came about) with all the superintendents as well as representatives from charter schools and private schools. Susan said it best: “Not one of us ever wants to close school. We know what it means to close school for students and for a community. We all leaned in and did what was needed for the safety of all.”

“Children need to connect. Parents need to connect. We must build

into our schedules opportunities for kids to see each other so they know they are not alone.”

We haven’t stopped leaning in. Susan has continued to convene educators across the county in Zoom meetings to discuss food distribution, digital instruction, and more. According to Susan, “Coming together across the county was the only way to go about it. That is who we are as a county.”

You may not know that this is not true of every county. Even though county superintendents are not “the boss” of the school districts (locally elected school board members fill that role) in my experience there are many who try to be. Not Susan. Unfailingly generous with her time, Susan believes in shared leadership and bringing everyone together, and that’s certainly what she is doing right now.

In fact, all SB County educators seem to be coming together to solve problems. The first problem that needed to be solved was how to feed our students. It may surprise you that (according to a recent study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) 10% of people in Santa Barbara are food insecure. Here in South County, Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) opened many sites for food distribution, and even allowed students from MUS that received free and reduced price lunches to participate (yes, MUS has students who are food insecure!). SBUSD Superintendent Cary Matsuoka reminded me that, “Many families depend on [SBUSD] for breakfast, lunch, and dinner even in normal circumstances.”

Goleta Union School District (GUSD) Superintendent Donna Lewis stated that these meals are “vital to the health

and well-being of our students” and reports that GUSD served 7,000 lunches during their six-day spring break alone (she recommends the delicious lasagna, by the way).

Teaching from a Distance

SB educators helped to get the kids fed, but then we needed to figure out how to actually teach these kids from a distance! Collaboration was once again key, and in this county, we all believe in sharing our best ideas and collaborating to support all of the county’s children. Across the county, packets were created, tech devices were distributed, hot spots were procured, and everywhere you looked there seemed to be a Zoom meeting or lesson starting.

Like many of you, our teachers woke up one morning and had to figure out how to do their jobs while most of them were away from their workplaces, while their students were in their own homes, and (often) while taking care of their own families!

“I saw my teacher today!” exclaimed one child who was picking up a technology device from Dr. Anne Hubbard of Hope Elementary School District who personally passed out tech devices to her students from the district office. When her teachers began using Zoom for lessons, Anne was surprised at how impactful it was just for the students to see their teacher’s face.

MUS is conducting Zoom lessons as well, and it has been remarkable to me how engaged students have been in these digital lessons, and how happy it made them to see their friends and their teacher. For teachers, mastering this new pedagogy has not been easy, but, in Anne’s words, everyone “rolled up [their] sleeves and dove in.”

I’ll be the first one to tell you, it isn’t perfect. In my opinion, distance learning cannot fully replicate the value of that personal interaction between student and teacher. This is especially true with the youngest students in the county. Can you imagine creating a distance learning lesson for a fiveyear-old? Let me tell you, it’s tough!

That said, our students are worth it. Our teachers’ skills in this new methodology grows by the day and, for the most part, parents have been very supportive. Cary Matsuoka at SBUSD said the feedback “has been really positive, especially the master schedule for the secondary schools.”

He noted how important the structure has been for families.

Social and Emotional Support

Alright, we fed the students, we taught them… the job is done now, right? Wrong. School is so much more. Dr. Anne Hubbard reminded me that in this “unprecedent-

• The Voice of the Village •

ed time,” we need to take care of children socially and emotionally as well, especially as many are “picking up on their parents’ anxiety.” To that point, educators across the county are providing social and emotional supports. I conducted grade level social gatherings during spring break, and teachers and parents alike have hosted digital class parties.

Last Friday we held our traditional “Friday Flag” on Zoom. Though social distancing keeps us apart, we are still united by singing our school song, and we all teared up at Kenny Loggins’ seemingly prescient lyrics: “I believe in miracles, you can see one here because we’re all standing together!”

Dr. Amy Alzina at Cold Spring School District told me, “Children need to connect. Parents need to connect. We must build into our schedules opportunities for kids to see each other so they know they are not alone.” She told me about how her 4th grade teacher held a digital “Pajama Day” and the giggles she heard of the children in their PJs watching their teacher wearing his bathrobe while reading them a story (through Zoom).

And we’re still not done. What about students with special needs?

We need to take extra care with them.

Goleta Union School District Speech and Language Pathologist Rebecca Ito sent tools and tips to parents, but is also conducting one-on-one sessions with students through phone call and through Zoom. She is doing this while taking care of her own two school-aged children. She is successful in this, because of a, “strong partnership with my husband and strong relationship with my schools.” She reminded me to “cherish the hidden opportunities,” and to remember to run, play, and really connect with my own children while sheltering at home.

And there we are, back at that word again: opportunity. One of the most important things we try to teach students these days is the importance of being flexible, resilient, adaptable thinkers so they can cope with ever-changing circumstances. There may never be a more a better project-based learning lab than this one, and students, teachers, and parents all have the opportunity to deepen their grit and hone their creative problem-solving skills. Educators across SB county are also working to take this opportunity to show our students how much we care about their learning and the health of the community. To every educator in the county, and to all those parents out there that are our “teaching partners,” I am grateful to all you are doing. We truly are all in this together, so in this first article in this occasional series: we all made the Honor Roll!

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

19

ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 14)

that our local and state governments provide some relief too. This may be in the form of financial assistance or even help with permitting or intervening with other processes to reopen businesses quickly and mitigate the losses they’ve incurred.

How do you advise businesses regarding methods to safeguard what they have built and how to work through this situation?

This might not directly answer your question, but for context, Visit Santa Barbara is what’s known as a destination marketing organization or DMO (formerly known as a conference and visitors bureau), and because of that our core activities are related to marketing that promotes travel. To encourage responsible behavior, we’ve shifted our marketing focus to immediate local community needs, using Visit Santa Barbara’s social media channels and website to promote ways that visitors and locals can support area businesses and attractions from a distance.

For example, we’ve created guides to online shopping, delivery and curbside pickup services, virtual tours and online activities offered by local businesses, all aimed at people who are sheltering in place at home, whether visitors or locals. This is not only to generate support for our community but to keep people inspired

by Santa Barbara’s unique qualities and dreaming of the day when it’s safe to travel again.

For the local industry, we’ve been sending out weekly updates to hotels and hospitality businesses that include links to resources and toolkits provided by organizations that focus on operational issues such as the California Hotel and Lodging Association and U.S. Travel, as well as sentiment studies. Other organizations, such as the Santa Barbara and Goleta chambers of commerce, in turn have provided resources for local businesses wrestling with issues such as securing loans.

What is most important for tourism operators and hotels to keep in mind as they weather the storm created by COVID-19?

In spite of the painful impacts to our economy, one day the crisis will end, and our industry will recover.

To ensure that happens, we will need to work together to support our workforce and promote our destination again.

The good news is that recent surveys indicate there will be pent-up demand for travel after people have spent so many weeks and months of being homebound. Santa Barbara’s appeal is unique and enduring among destinations in California. Once restrictions are lifted, our region will be particularly well positioned to attract drive-market visitors, such as L.A.

20 MONTECITO JOURNAL

residents, who initially will be interested in getaways closer to home.

For now, it is critical for local residents to support our area businesses in whatever ways they can afford. If you need time away from working at home, consider booking a day rate at a local hotel. Support our many restaurants offering dine-out options and retailers with online portals. Buy gift certificates for hotels and businesses for future staycations and excursions for friends and relatives. And when it is safe to so, and our businesses reopen, I hope local residents will be tourists in their own backyard and provide a warm Santa Barbara welcome to visitors who do return. Our local economy depends on it.

Cannabis and Toilet Paper in the Coronavirus Era

Thanks to the fact that California has deemed cannabis to be an essential part of the state’s economy, Santa Barbara County’s cannabis industry is one of the few major employers that isn’t either completely shut down or drastically downscaled during the COVID-19 pandemic. CARP Growers, which represents legally licensed Carpinteria cannabis farms such as Autumn Brands and Glass House Farms, has mandated that all members post special coronavirus safety instructions for employees in both English and Spanish.

“CARP Growers member farms set up emergency subcommittees very early and swiftly to address best practices and protocols for employee safety,” says spokesperson Peter Dugre. “These include on-site social distancing of six feet, masks, gloves, and temperature checks at entry, enhanced sick and family leave pay and staggered lunch scheduling to prevent grouping.” That said, even before the outbreak, hourly employees who handle, weigh, and trim the cannabis harvest, many of them working-class Latina immigrant workers, were already wearing surgical gowns, rubber gloves and facemasks, and those standard safety measures remain in place.

The group has also raised tens of thousands of dollars for its 93103Fund, which seeks tax-deductible contributions to help support local nonprofits feeding and sheltering vulnerable residents during the crisis. In just one week, thanks to a $20,000 donation from CARP Growers and other local donors, the fund has already swelled to $65,000.

Meanwhile, Dugre adds, farms who are members of the association have contracted with local restaurants in a program called “Keep the Lights On” to provide free individually wrapped

Graham Farrar (far right) donating a check to a local homeless program

A “Keep the Lights On” food delivery

lunches to up to 1000 employees two days per week, something that goes a long way to support the county’s hard-hit dining industry.

The president of CARP Growers, Graham Farrar, is also the owner of Santa Barbara’s The Farmacy, a dispensary that is now offering online ordering, curbside pickup, and delivery service, including to Montecito.

Farrar believes that history is in the making right now, because this is the first major statewide health emergency where legal cannabis has been available to adults 21 and older. “Some people look sideways at the fact that cannabis has been declared essential,” Farrar argues. “But the fact is that California has a twenty-plus year history of treating cannabis as medicine.

And now, what people want are toilet paper and cannabis, or so it appears.

People are using cannabis as medicine now more than ever.”

As with the rest of the CARP Growers members, The Farmacy is participating in the “Keep the Lights On” program, providing free lunches to employees from nearby restaurants like Mesa Burger, as well as issuing checks to local nonprofits like Freedom Warming Centers, which provides shelter to the homeless when temperatures dip to freezing levels.

Farrar points out that there is

“In times of stress, the best thing we can do for each other is to listen with our ears and our hearts.” – Fred Rogers

well-documented research showing that cannabis can help fight anxiety and insomnia, two health problems that many people are suddenly experiencing now that they’ve lost their jobs and are stuck at home with no place to go.

“We saw a big spike in consumption when people had fears that the supply would get cut off,” he explains. “Then we saw a small dip as people settled into the groove. Now, consumption is about 10% above baseline.”

To meet the extra demand, including from senior citizens who live in Montecito, The Farmacy tripled the size of its delivery fleet. For in-store pickups, the dispensary first allowed just 10 customers inside at a time, then only one customer per budtender, and finally moved to a system of express pickup – customers must order ahead of time – and delivery.

“We have an EPA-registered biocide that we clean the facility with multiple times a day and at night so we know we are operating in a sterile environment,” adds Farrar. “Every employee has their temperature checked and are screened before entering. For our staff, it relieves their stress, but they are also in a space where they recognize that the community is really grateful and thanking them for providing an important service,” says Farrar. “It’s working really well.”

•MJ 9 – 16 April 2020

On Entertainment

Steven Libowitz has reported on the arts and entertainment for more than 30 years; he has contributed to the Montecito Journal for more than 10 years.

by Steven Libowitz

Persevering Through the Pandemic with Performances Toad the Wet Sprocket’s Glen Phillips is one of the performers for the Lois & Walter Capps Project’s online music festival April 9 & 10

T

he stated purpose of the Lois & Walter Capps Project is “Connecting our community through authentic and essential dialogue,” but its mission comes down to an even simpler three-word mantra, said president and executive director Todd Capps: “Bringing Us Together.”

That encompasses all of the project’s enterprises from Common Table – which began a few months after the Montecito debris flow with an event

at MUS that drew more than 400 people to share food and words with their neighbors – to Coffee Conversations, a series of inclusive community conversations, beginning last winter, that was inspired by “Voices Of The Stranger,” a UCSB course taught by Todd Capps’ father, the late Walter Capps. United

By Art applied the same concept to music, having the community congregate around the commonality of creativity, which so far has offered three

public events starting last fall with a massive gathering on the 500 block of State Street.

Now, of course, all of those endeavors have been shelved in deference to protecting people via social distancing during the pandemic. But the desire to bring people together as a means for hope and healing, albeit only virtually, has only increased, Capps said.

That’s how “The Art of Community: Apart Together – A Home-Cooked Live Music Festival Online for the 805” was born. The two-day fest features lots of music, performed and shared live from the living rooms and studios of local artists, rock stars, pop acts, solo singer-songwriters, and more. The individual performances will stream live on UBA’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/unitedbyart805) from 4-8 pm on both Thursday and Friday, April 9 & 10.

“Just as we came up with the loose and organic mission to create antidotes to the chronic feelings of divisiveness and opposition in our polit-

ical and cultural climate over the last two years – ones that are inviting, inclusive, and enjoyable – we wanted to do the same thing during the current (COVID-19 crisis),” Capps said.

“We have to distance ourselves physically, but it’s important to stay connected in community.”

Just because we’re all stuck at home social distancing, it doesn’t quiet the talented voices in our community, Capps said, noting that dozen of musicians have been spontaneously sharing their songs and thoughts online over any number of platforms.

“We thought, ‘Why not create a virtual music festival?’”

So now we’ll sit down at the virtual common table for both music and words from musicians all over the area. Each of the 16 artists will perform 20-25-minute sets with just a five-minute break, a quicker set change than would be possible in person, and “as close as we can get to a music festival,” Capps said.

“Artists were posting things individually, and people were missing it because Facebook and other sites can be hard to navigate,” he said.

“So we’re not reinventing the wheel, just curating the local extended Santa Barbara community and coalescing it into one space over one weekend

ENTERTAINMENT Page 334

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9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

21

Perspectives

by Rinaldo S. Brutoco Rinaldo S. Brutoco is the Founding President and CEO of the Santa Barbara-based World Business Academy and a co-founder of JUST Capital.

He’s a serial entrepreneur, executive, author, radio host, and futurist who’s published on the role of business in relation to pressing moral, environmental, and social concerns for over 35 years

Why Good Leaders are the Ones Who Make us Feel Safe

I

n one of his massively watched Ted Talks, management guru Simon Sinek explains why good leaders inspire confidence, and why we feel safe when we have someone in charge of an organization who doesn’t demand trust but inspires it.

He takes it back to the nature of humanity as a social species. How when we evolved, we had to trust our fellow to watch out for lions in one direction while we hunted or gathered facing the other direction. That trust that the other fellow has our back is the basis of human society.

As our civilization has gotten more complex and expansive, we still need this basic trust to make sure we can come together in the face of danger.

The truth is there are always dangers to be faced, threats to be addressed,

themselves and do what needs to be done.

Take, for example, General George C. Marshall during World War II, an era that is surprisingly similar to our present situation because it required a country-wide mobilization. General Marshall is best known for leading the United States military for all of World War II, and for designing and implementing the Marshall Plan after the end of World War II. For many historians, he is a paragon of good leadership.

During World War II, just two months before the invasion of Poland, Roosevelt appointed him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs where he ran the war until its successful conclusion. He was responsible for mobilizing the military (and increasing its size so it was ready

When a leader makes choices that put the safety and lives of the people inside an organization first… incredible things can happen. whether it’s market competition, an economic downturn, or a novel unseen virus. But if we come together and work cohesively, we humans can do amazing things.

The key variable of a cohesive organization – whether we are talking about a whole society, a combat troop, or a single company – is a good leader.

It is the leader who sets the tone and trajectory of the entire organization.

If, for example, an employee, or a citizen, fears that someone in a leadership role does not have his back and feels fear of losing his or her place within the organization, then the primary impulse will be to protect him or herself, and collective action becomes impossible. That inherently weakens the organization.

On the other hand, when a leader makes choices that put the safety and lives of the people inside an organization first, so that the people inside feel cared for and like they belong, incredible things can happen. The members of that kind of an organization have trust, and they feel secure in their place so that they can look outside of

22 MONTECITO JOURNAL

for war), which was a huge undertaking, and then constructing a global victory! Now, Marshall was extremely bright, but he was most successful as a leader because of his ability to find unique talents and strategically place them in assignments to help develop their growth and allow them to succeed.

He was also someone who understood innately the need to provide a solid example through his own activities of showing up each day, taking responsibility for what was occurring, and supporting his men however they most required at the moment – without worry of his personal inconvenience. Marshall had what today we would call high emotional intelligence and was able to see each of his admirals and generals for the unique person and talent they possessed. This ability to see them as individuals, and relate to them as individuals, created a relationship of trust with all the military up and down the chain. He had their back, he was a true “servant leader,” and his military instinctively measured up to the trust he showered

Reliable and Refreshing Reads Eight ways to spot misinformation online.

C

oronavirus is not immune from the online breeders of “fake news.” It is important that the information we absorb is reliable and accurate so we can make informed decisions. Here are eight ways to spot misinformation online.

1. Did the post spark anger, disgust, or fear?

News can trigger strong emotional responses, but if your initial feeling is outrage, look to verify the information before you accept it as fact.

2. Did it make you feel good?

We hate to say it, but even good news isn’t always true. Pay extra attention to stories that call you to action.

3. Is it hard to believe?

If your immediate instinct is doubt, definitely double-check the information.

4. Did it confirm your beliefs?

Our brains are wired to trust what we already believe. Is the information legitimate or just easily digestible?

5. Spelling and grammar.

A lack of spell check often goes hand in hand with a lack of fact-checking.

6. Was it a meme?

Memes are a medium of humor, opinion, and attention-seeking, not news.

Aside from lacking nuance, these mediums have been used in more dangerous capacities by extremist groups to attract younger audiences.

7. What’s the source?

Just because something is accurate doesn’t mean it is not biased. Starting with simple facts is a great way to begin assessing a source. Snopes and FactCheck work well.

8. Is there a hidden agenda?

Read varied sources and make sure what you are reading is non-partisan.

Dolly Parton Starts Bedtime Story Program

If you’re looking to add some entertainment to your Thursday nights, Dolly Parton is now offering her “Goodnight With Dolly” readings on YouTube. The popular musician and philanthropist will read different children’s book each session.

Parton is choosing her books from the Imagination Library project, her nonprofit that aims to promote a love of reading by providing free books to children. Up first was The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper.

This program offers another option for a fun activity entertain children while schools and other activities are shut down to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Parton is a strong advocate for the love of reading. Her nonprofit work received special recognition from the Library of Congress and she has provided more than 130 million free books to children. Recently, Parton also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University for coronavirus research. on them with commitment to their common cause.

Going back to Simon Sinek for a moment, he points out that leadership is a choice, not a rank. Just because someone has authority over us does not mean that we should choose to follow them. A leader is someone who makes the choice to look after the people around him or her, and in response, those people are willing to follow.

“It’s really easy to fall into the trap of believing that what we do is more important than what we are.” – Fred Rogers

Perhaps the essence of General Marshall’s brilliance in leadership is expressed in one of his most noted quotations: “Men can do a great deal with very little if they have high morale and determination.” In other words, the most important thing a good leader can do is promote a sense of trust and belonging and help the people feel safe and part of something larger than any one person. That’s how the impossible gets done.

•MJ 9 – 16 April 2020

Brilliant Thoughts

County of Santa Barbara Planning and Development

by Ashleigh Brilliant Born London, 1933. Mother Canadian. Father a British civil servant. World War II childhood spent mostly in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Berkeley PhD. in American History, 1964. Living in Santa Barbara since 1973. No children.

Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots”, now a series of 10,000.

Email ashleigh@west.net or visit www.ashleighbrilliant.com

What is it Worth?

H

ow do we determine the value of things? Is it only the question of what people will pay? Some American railroad tycoon of the “Robber Baron” era spoke in terms of exacting “all the traffic will bear” – meaning that he charged not what seemed fair or reasonable, but simply as much as he could get.

Going by that standard, life would appear to be an auction, and the best things go to the highest bidder.

But of course, not only money is involved. Not many people would literally give their right arm for what they most desire. But many parents sacrifice a great deal for the betterment of their children. On a personal note – when meat was still rationed in England, I remember my parents sometimes letting me and my sister eat their portion, as well as our own. And it shames me now to acknowledge that I felt no appreciation, but just took this as the normal course of events.

Isn’t there anything that has the same value everywhere to everyone?

Still, money is the generally recognized standard of value. One of the great achievements of civilization has been the evolution of money. Isn’t it amazing that, from a simple system of barter, in which you exchanged things of supposedly equal worth, we have evolved through currencies of metal and paper, which merely symbolized values, to the point where transactions are now conducted through almost imaginary electronic channels?

But how do we decide the value of things? One complication is that different people put different values on the same things. A young healthy person may highly value a bicycle, which is useless to someone who’s bedridden.

But do usefulness and value mean the same thing? Maybe they should, in which case a screwdriver would in most cases be far more valuable than a diamond ring. Another complexity is that the same item may have varying value in different situations. A warm blanket means more on a chilly winter night than in a hot summer.

Isn’t there anything that has the same value everywhere to everyone?

9 – 16 April 2020

What about the air we breathe? But it’s too hard to package and quantify.

If the government could control it, there would soon be a tax on air.

But what about the so-called precious metals, like gold and silver and platinum? Traditionally gold has been a standard of value, even though, except for a few specialized uses such as in dentistry, any sensible person would much rather have a tool-kit than a bar of gold. In any case, if gold were the standard, it would always have the same value. But we know that, like other commodities, it varies from day to day.

I know I am only tiptoeing lightly here, over a very complicated subject.

But the fact remains that, whatever name you give it – price, worth, cost, value – what we are talking about is how much something matters to someone, in comparison with something else. And, ever since numbers were invented, I suppose these qualities have been expressed in numerical terms. In the 1950s there was a very popular song which asked, “How much is that doggie in the window?” – but we never found out the answer. Of course, if you are writing a love song, you can get away with sentiments like these (at least, if you are Irving Berlin): ow much do I love you? I’ll tell you no lie – H How deep is the ocean? How high is the sky?

How many times a day do I think of you?

How many roses are sprinkled with dew?

In practical terms, however, we need to have a basic standard of value.

Until comparatively recent times, that standard was gold. Hard as it may be to believe, you could take a paper dollar into a bank and change it for a gold dollar. That was called being on the gold standard.

But that doesn’t work anymore.

Your paper dollar, which used to be a promise, is now just a piece of paper.

Its value is based on whatever faith you have in your government.

Establishing a stable international standard of value may prove to be as difficult as it has been with weights and measures. Considering the success which the pharmaceutical industry has had in turning little tablets and capsules into huge profits, I would suggest that the currency of the future be based on PILLS. With proper accreditation and validation, a certified pill could be the remedy for all our financial ills.

•MJ

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING SANTA BARBARA COUNTY MONTECITO PLANNING COMMISSION CASE NUMBERS:

19DVP-00000-00030 & 19CDP-00000-00098

DATE:

April 22, 2020

HEARING BEGINS: 9:00 A.M. PLACE:

View hearing online via CSBTV or YouTube at: https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/hearings/mpc.sbc

SUBJECT:

San Ysidro Roundabout

Hearing on the request of County Public Works to consider the following: 





Case No. 19DVP-00000-00030 [application filed on July 11, 2019] for approval of a Development Plan in compliance with Section 35-174 of Article II, the Coastal Zoning Ordinance, on land zoned TC (Transportation Corridor), to reconfigure the intersection at San Ysidro Road, North Jameson Lane, and the northbound Highway 101 on- and offramps from two stop-controlled intersections to a roundabout. The project would include new sidewalks, roadway pavement, curb and gutter, median islands, landscaping, stormwater improvements/bioretention areas, lighting, signage, and fencing. One retaining wall of 110 feet long and 3.8 to 20.9 feet high is proposed. Grading would include approximately 650 cubic yards of cut and 1,400 cubic yards of fill. The project would require the removal of 38 trees, including 8 coast live oak trees. A total of 114 replacement trees are proposed; Case No. 19CDP-00000-00098 [application filed on July 11, 2019] for a Coastal Development Permit in compliance with Section 35-169 of Article II, the Coastal Zoning Ordinance on land zoned TC, for improvements described under 19DVP-00000-00030, above; and; Accept the Addendum (dated March 2020) to the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) prepared for the Caltrans Highway 101 HOV project (including the EIR dated August 26, 2014, revised EIR dated October 27, 2017, and EIR Addendum dated June 1, 2018) (the EIR) pursuant to the State Guidelines for Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as there are no new significant environmental impacts as a result of this project. The EIR found potentially significant and unmitigable (Class I) effects on the environment for project-specific and cumulative Visual Resource impacts and Transportation/Circulation impacts. The EIR found potentially significant but mitigable (Class II) effects on the environment in the following categories: Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Noise, Paleontology, and Water Quality.

This project site is located at the intersection of San Ysidro Road, North Jameson Lane, and the northbound Highway 101 on- and off-ramps in the Montecito Community Plan Area, First Supervisorial District.

All documents associated with this project may be reviewed online at www.sbcountyplanning.org. To receive additional information regarding this project and/or to review the application and plans, please contact Nicole Lieu by email at nlieu@countyofsb.org or by phone at (805) 884-8068.

This project site is located at the intersection of San Ysidro Road, North Jameson Lane, and the northbound Highway 101 on- and off-ramps in the Montecito Community Plan Area, First Supervisorial District.

The Montecito Planning Commission hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. The order of items listed on the agenda is subject to change by the Montecito Planning Commission.

If you wish to make a written comment on a specific agenda item, please submit your comment via email by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the commission meeting. Please submit your comment to the Montecito Planning Commission Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Your comment will be placed into the record at the Montecito Planning Commission meeting.

If you wish to make verbal comments on a specific agenda item, please submit your telephone number via email by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing. During the public comment portion of every item, staff will call you using the contact information provided, and you will be able to make your verbal comments via telephone (speaker phone). Please submit your contact information to the Montecito Planning Commission Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org.

If you are watching the live stream of the Montecito Planning Commission meeting and wish to make a general public comment or comment on a specific agenda item as it is being heard, please submit your comment, limited to 250 words or less, to the Montecito Planning Commission Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Every effort will be made to read your comment into the record, but some comments may not be read due to time limitations.

Comments received after an agenda item will be made part of the record if received prior to the end of the meeting.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this hearing, please contact the Hearing Support Staff at (805) 568-2000.

Notification at least 48 hours prior to the hearing will enable the Hearing Support Staff to make reasonable arrangements.

COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA MONTECITO PLANNING COMMISSION

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

23

MISCELLANY (Continued from page 6)

Easy as Pandemic Pie

due to the pandemic and the subsequent public health measures taken in response to it causing high performing mortgage loans to decrease in value.

Barrack, 72, a longtime friend of President Donald Trump, warns that if banks and non-bank lenders are not given the flexibility to undertake loan restructuring efforts, loan repayment demands will likely escalate systematically.

“A market collapse of this magnitude would have a catastrophic follow-on effect across the American economy.”

Showing Gratitude It was the perfect blend when global medical device manufacturer Karl Storz Imaging president Miles Hartfeld expressed his gratitude to employees when they left work the other day at the Goleta offices.

The company makes critically needed endoscopic medical equipment, including bronchoscopes used on the front lines in the battle against COVID-19.

Although Governor Gavin Newsom’s stay at home order does not apply to critical business sectors, including the manufacturers of medical equipment, the company arranged for 300 of its 400 employees to work from their homes, leaving only those absolutely necessary to be present in the building.

“Of the dozens of measures implemented to help protect employees, work at home has provided the greatest benefit to members of the Karl Storz family,” says Miles.

As a surprise thank you to the 100plus employees who stayed in the

Rick Spitzer, Eric Alen, Miles Hartfeld, and Gretchen Lieff (photo

by Priscilla)

required six-foot spacing, before picking up their bottles from the table and heading home.

“We are balancing social responsibility to our employees with our social responsibility to society,” adds Miles.

I’ll drink to that...

Karl Storz employees receive a “Thank You” bottle of Lieff Wines (photo by Priscilla)

offices, he and his Montecito winemaking fiancée Gretchen Lieff personally gave each one a bottle of wine for their continued commitment.

Workers lined up outside the building’s entrance, carefully separated by blue tape lines to maintain the

Two Years Sober Montecito actor Rob Lowe’s youngest son, John Owen, 25, is making his sobriety journey public, following in his famous father’s footsteps.

Stanford graduate John has taken to Instagram to recognize a significant trail marker in his evolution, uploading an image from his Twelve Steps program showing he has been sober for two years, or 17,555 hours.

The post comes as Rob, 56, marks his own significant milestone this year – 30 years of sobriety.

After his son’s post, the former Parks and Recreation star commented: “I have never been more proud. Your hard work is an inspiration. Keep Coming Back.”

All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church

El Montecito Presbyterian Church

Montecito Covenant Church

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church

(805) 969-4771 www.allsaintsbythesea.org

(805) 969-5041 www.elmopres.org

(805) 969-0373 www.mcchurch.org

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The Community of Montecito Churches God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 During this time of social distancing, God is with you.

And we’re here for you by phone or online.

24 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“Listening is where love begins: listening to ourselves and then to our neighbors.” – Fred Rogers

Kerri Murray launches new Facebook channel

Watch out Martha Stewart!

Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA president Kerri Murray has launched a new Facebook channel Cooking Through Corona, in which she and guest culinary wizards, including award-winning writer and actress Leslie Zemeckis, and Johnnie Lee and Mazzy Lee Gore, daughters of Depeche Mode rocker Martin and Kerrie Gore.

Leslie is sharing her secret recipes for Pandemic Pie and Shelter-at-Home Scones, while the girls are making their dad’s favorite recipe for Beans on Toast.

Other delights include The Quarantini, Contagion Cupcakes, Solitude Soup, Shelter At Home sushi rolls, and the Pandemic Playlist, created to chase away the blues.

Food for thought in troubled times...

Beautiful Abode Oscar winning set designers David Wasco and his wife, Sandy, have had the restoration of their 1956 Santa Barbara home featured in Elle Decor.

The dynamic duo, who won the Academy Award for La La Land, moved to our Eden by the Beach eight years ago after living in the L.A. suburb of Silver Lake.

“The view overlooking the ocean and Santa Cruz Island is a living artwork,” says Sandy. “We are so high we can see above the level of the clouds.”

The 2,000 sq.ft. property, Winter House, near Franceschi Park, was designed by Yale and Cornell trained Robert Ingle Hoyt.

The twosome are currently preparing for a 2022 exhibition at UCSB’s Art, Design and Architecture Museum, a retrospective of their four decades in film design.

Decisions, Decisions Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry, who has just revealed she is expecting a daughter with British actor fiancé Orlando Bloom, has thought about hiring her American Idol co-star judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan to perform at her wedding.

The 35-year-year-old former Dos Pueblos High student had previously dismissed the idea of having the pair at her nuptials because she joked they’re “too expensive.”

9 – 16 April 2020

But now Katy says she’s been thinking of getting them both to perform at the event, as well as having American Idol host Ryan Seacrest officiate at the ceremony, she tells Entertainment Tonight.

Ellen at Home Ellen DeGeneres is back (photo

by Glenn Francis of www.Pacific ProDigital.com)

Montecito’s Ellen DeGeneres is set to bring back her hit eponymous TV talk show remotely after suspending production at her Warner Bros.

Burbank studio because of the coronavirus.

Ellen, 62, reveals she has been filming throughout her entire quarantine, conducting a series of A-list interviews for her at-home edition, including John Legend, Jennifer Lopez, and Chrissy Teigen, which launched on Monday.

Oprah Does Good Formed TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey, 66, has donated $10 million to support people and cities across the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic.

Montecito’s most famous resident says she’s also committing $1 million to America’s Food Bank, whose goal is to make sure everyone has access to food.

In the meantime, I hear her longtime beau Stedman Graham, 69, is now out of self isolation in Oprah’s guesthouse and the tony twosome are now reunited, a moment she recorded on Instagram.

John on the ‘Gram Former Montecito funnyman John Cleese, 80, after the boredom of coronavirus quarantine, has joined Instagram.

The former Fawlty Towers star posted a video introducing himself and announcing his membership: “So that you can come and visit me and see thousands of the most private and intimate things from my phone.

“Very sorry this wasn’t better, but you’ve got to start somewhere.”

Before long John had 6,000 followers, and more to come no doubt...

Music of the Night Bored stiff with self isolation?

Composer and theater impresario Andrew Lloyd-Webber has come to the rescue.

Andrew, 72, has set up a channel on YouTube The Show Must Go On, 9 – 16 April 2020

which will enable his many fans to enjoy his hit musicals, including Jesus Christ Superstar and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, free of charge from 7 pm on the day of release for 48 hours, with further shows in the pipeline.

Music to our ears...

CalRE# 01061042 | CalRE# 01875690

Remembering Stuart Celebrity snapper Priscilla

My trusty shutterbug Priscilla recalls meeting the late cowboy actor Stuart Whitman, who died in at his Montecito home last month aged 92.

It was in the early ‘70s when she was an extra in Laurence Harvey’s last movie Welcome to Arrow Beach, which was filmed at the vacant Casa Dorinda, then known as the Bliss Estate, with a cast including Joanna Pettet, Meg Foster, and John Ireland.

“Stuart was gracious and interesting,” recounts Priscilla. “After the film wrapped there was a celebration party at the Lemon Warehouse in Carpinteria.”

Harvey died in 1975 and is buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery.

River Runs Through It Queen Elizabeth has won a battle with environmentalists to build a hydroelectric turbine on her 50,000acre Balmoral estate in Scotland.

The plan for the two megawatt generator on the River Muick will generate up to $804,000 of power a year, which will power the historic estate, built by Queen Victoria, and surplus electricity which could be sold on to the U.K.’s National Grid.

Environmentalists opposed the plans, claiming it would be too noisy for woodland creatures living nearby.

But now the Cairngorms National Park Authority, after further scrutiny, has approved the plans for the picturesque river.

Sightings have been suspended during the coronavirus, given the social distancing edict from California Governor Gavin Newsom.

They will return when restrictions have been lifted.

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Pip! Pip! – and be safe

MAURIE McGUIRE | SCOTT WESTLOTORN

Readers with tips, sightings and amusing items for Richard’s column should e-mail him at ricardmineards@ verizon.net or send invitations or other correspondence to the Journal.

To reach Priscilla, e-mail her at pris cilla@santabarbaraseen.com or call 805-969-3301.

•MJ

805-403-8816 | 805-403-4313 CalRE# 01061042 | CalRE# 01875690

C OL D W E L L B A N K E R RE ALT Y

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Realty are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2020 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker® System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

25

My Corona: Local Doctor Contracts the Disease

by Mitchell Kriegman

B

eing alone in self-quarantine, as many of us are to one degree or another, isn’t easy. Being alone facing a raging coronavirus infection, even with loved ones nearby, is something everyone can’t help contemplating or perhaps doing their best to avoid thinking about. It’s a bridge we’ll cross too, if we find ourselves there. Dr. Richard Sibthorpe, an affable Brit, longtime Santa Barbara resident and a highly lauded cosmetic doctor from the UK, contracted the virus and has crossed that bridge.

Pre-COVID, Dr. Sibthorpe proudly promoted the secret of his successful anti-aging cosmetic practice, “My mantra is to look good and feel fabulous.”

Obviously catching COVID-19 felt less than fabulous.

As hospitals max out with the direst cases, fighting to contain the virus within their own walls, home treatment in isolation will be an inevitable reality for many people. Dr. Sibthorpe prides himself, as many doctors, on his near invulnerability to illness. Doctors frequently feel omnipotent in the face of disease.

That belief allows them to go into situations most of us would prefer to avoid.

Doctors do, in fact, develop antibodies many of us do not, but clearly, they are not utterly immune.

The super efficiency of COVID-19’s contagion makes isolation a central aspect of treatment. The valiant doctors, nurses, and hospital workers including janitors and administrators know too well the dangers of the extraordinary myriad ways the microscopic virus can infect inside a hospital. Disturbingly grocery clerks are finding themselves also on the front line, unprotected from the virus.

Fomite transmission, the fact that the virus spreads contagion from inanimate surfaces, like cardboard, plastic, and metal doorknobs, is a formidable issue at home as well, as we unpack our groceries or receive packages delivered or ordered online.

Asymptomatic people who have contracted the disease “shed” the virus in the air while breathing, unaware they are infecting others. This is why we social

distance and wear masks. Without widespread testing, which despite government pronouncements is clearly not available, there is no way to be sure someone you know, or touch is asymptomatic. There is no tracking of actual active cases only projections and algorithmic modeling. In fact, there is no way to tell if you are contagious.

These unknown variables are part of the swift deadly silent stealth infection we are dealing with and our inability Dr. Richard Sibthorpe to tame it.

When Dr. Sibthorpe checked in with the Montecito Journal on his twenty-fifth day of isolation, he was in good spirits and his voice sounded strong. Clearly, he was looking forward to telling his story. He arrived from the UK on March 11.

Because of the news stories he had heard, he immediately isolated to protect his wife Sheila Herman, a realtor at Goodwin & Thyne. Shortly after, he developed the devasting fatigue, the first hallmark of the deadly coronavirus. On March 12, his wife insisted he go to Cottage Hospital to get tested.

He Didn’t Want to be Tested

“I wouldn’t have gone to be frank,” Dr. Sibthorpe remarked. “As a doctor I’m fairly stoic. I can only recall one infection in my eye and I’m sixty. I’m exposed to a lot of illness through my patients. Just generally, I don’t seem to get ill. But I wanted to be safe for my wife.”

He went with a mask and sat down in the ER but was sent away immediately and asked to sit on a bench outside.

“I was thinking I’d find myself sitting there for hours. It was a little weird because I wasn’t feeling great,” he remembers. But the staff came within ten minutes and took him inside and gave him a coronavirus nasal cotton swab test.

“In hindsight they had made the sensible move with other people in their waiting room,” he admits. Overall, he was impressed with Cottage Hospital and how he was handled. Afterwards, he immediately went home, back into isolation. Still it would take a week to get results. But the coronavirus doesn’t wait for test results. The next day he was so drained he couldn’t move.

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26 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“If I made any effort, I felt exhausted, I couldn’t walk. Talking, even talking was impossible. My wife got a bit annoyed with me because she said, ‘you don’t communicate,’ but I just felt absolutely drained.”

By the next day he could not take a single deep breath and he had a tight pain in his chest and back and couldn’t sleep because of that pain.

“I was literally gasping for air,” he recalls, a horrific experience that reminded him of the time he was a teenager and suffered an acute asthma attack referred to as “status asthmaticus,” so he already knew the anxiety and fear of finding it impossible to breathe.

“I just wanted to stay very still, very quiet. There were times during those days where I felt really bad,” he recounts with typical British understatement.

“I thought, this could be it.”

He was still waiting on the test results, which by this point were immaterial.

He knew from the clinical evidence he was experiencing that he had the coronavirus. The diagnosis was eventually confirmed. When he could, he thought about where he had been exposed.

“I tried to trace it back and I honestly can’t,” he says with astonishment.

“I don’t recall any of my patients being ill. I was with my children and other friends.” The only thing he could remember was coming into the L.A. airport through immigration for his Green Card interview and sitting with sixty people in the room. There were no precautions even though it had already been declared a Worldwide Pandemic. The government’s failure to take precautions, even after clear persistent warnings, has allowed many healthy individuals such as Dr. Sibthorpe to become infected that would not have been otherwise.

Dr. Sibthorpe’s inability to peg the origin of contagion is what is called “community spread” which means that the source of infection is unknown.

One anomaly, in a disease rife with anomalies, is that his temperature was

“Love and success, always in that order. It’s that simple AND that difficult.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

never very high.

“My temperature was 37, 38 centigrade but not into the forties (forties are the equivalent of 105 degrees Fahrenheit),” he added. “I’m from a different school about temperatures. Personally, I think it’s the body’s way of dealing with illness. High temperatures don’t alarm me.”

However, the next development was surreal.

“I completely lost all my smell and taste. It was very odd. I still don’t have it,” he added. This has become another frequent result of the virus attack on the trachea and lungs. Still the last thing he wanted to do was go to the hospital.

“What I’ve learned over forty years is avoid a hospital,” the doctor remarked.

“You might pick up something else while you’re there. You know, if you’re compromised and you need oxygen support, that’s a different matter. But if you’re able to look after yourself, have someone to take care of you at home, that’s the best thing.” So even when he felt he could barely breathe, he chose to stay home. As hospital beds fill up and patients are sent away, many of us may need to think through these same choices. Some of us may not have a choice and need to plan now how we will take care of ourselves in order to outlast the virus.

At home he took over the guest quarters and told his wife to stay out. “I’ll be on the dirty side,” he told her, “and you’ll be in the healthy side of the house.”

His wife had to deal with heart-wrenching distress of not being able to take care of her husband directly. But in fact, she had to begin taking her own health seriously to stay safe, while also caring for her husband at a distance. They placed a table between the “dirty” and “healthy” sides where she would come with mask and gloves to give him food and leave.

Detox and Boost Your Immune System

There is no cure or prescribed treatment for coronavirus, so Dr. Sibthorpe couldn’t fall back on his medical training. One significant aspect of the corona pandemic is that it’s forced many of us look toward more traditional resources out of necessity with renewed focus.

What is the body’s own biological way of staying healthy and fighting disease? Our bodies are not in fact helpless. Mankind has survived devastating diseases in the absence of miracle cures. In this pandemic moment, the old ways come to the fore. It’s a signpost of this moment that more and more people are realizing the importance of basic health, essential treatments that date back to folk medicine.

“I was fortunate, that I’ve changed the way I think about things, so I was open,” Dr. Sibthorpe remarked. “I don’t go down the typical sort of empirical orthodox route all the time. There were certain things that I knew I should be doing. Things like mega-dosing with liposomal vitamin C, vitamin D and K combined, large doses of Zinc, and pro-biotics.”

It was also opportune that celebrated local nutritionist, chef, and health coach Veronica Villanueva was a close friend they could turn to. She worked with both Richard and Sheila, detoxing and building up their immune systems simultaneously. Ms. Villanueva’s book The Grace of Cancer recounts her personal journey to overcome Stage 4 lung cancer. She insisted that husband and wife adhere to the same regimen even though Sheila hadn’t shown any symptoms.

Dr. Sibthorpe laid out the key points of his recovery program. First and fore-

most, bolster your immune system. This is our natural line of defense. This is not the time to undermine your natural defenses. Second, detox your gut. If the body must defend itself, nothing is more important than the microbiome. If you don’t know about the microbiome and how much it determines your health, sleep, emotions, and well-being than you should Google it immediately. Third the old standby – fluids. Dr. Sibthorpe tried to get through a jug of water, about two liters, a day which was the bare minimum. Fourth, keep everyone else a safe social distance away. It’s your responsibility no matter your condition. “The key cornerstone of the Hippocratic oath is do no harm,” he points out.

Dr. Sibthorpe offered a few addition suggestions that included Biocidin, Cats Claw, mushrooms, celery juice, dandelion tea, elderberry, and perhaps the most ubiquitous resource in Santa Barbara County, CBD with a touch of THC. He also bought a Pulse Health coach Veronica Villanueva, author of The Grace of Oximeter which measures the Cancer oxygen in your blood.

“I wanted to see my lung function absorbing oxygen, the saturation levels,” he stated. Breathing, lungs, blood oxygen are a cornerstone of life. “If my levels were 94 to 96 that was fine. If I dropped below 90, then I would probably have needed support ventilation.”

Recently many of us have become aware of how double-edged ventilation support can be. Many don’t survive long-term mechanical intubation.

“Where we are now, is that I’m up and about,” Dr. Sibthorpe reports. “We’re about two weeks exactly. I got the pink ticket, you know, get out of jail, according to the CDC.” That said it should be noted that he hasn’t had a second test for COVID-19. Tests continue to be in short supply despite the outcry and misinformation. The current criteria as of this writing, is to not require a second clear test, even though the CDC advises people in recovery should have two negative tests to confirm they aren’t contagious. Clearly meticulous control and tracking is not a part of our active protocol. That said life is in turnaround for Richard Sibthorpe.

I’m just sort of catching up with the news and it’s almost like a paradigm shift,” he muses. “We’re all at home, we’re not using all the fossil fuels and the planet is getting cleaner. We’ve learned that the social technology, which causes all sorts of isolation problems, actually, it’s the best thing that we have at the moment to do this.”

The doctor takes a moment lost in contemplation then reflects on his condition.

“For me, I’m coming back to eating. I obviously have a huge appetite. But I actually started to slow down my eating. I wanted to taste my food. My wife would give me a bit of chocolate and she said, ‘that’s all you’ve got.’ If a slice of chocolate is all you’ve got, I tell you, you take a piece and you really suck that chocolate, you really make it last.”

•MJ

• Available for urgent care.

• Infection control protocol followed, with all areas sanitized including wait area and exam room.

Sheila Herman with her husband Dr. Richard Sibthorpe 9 months ago in Montecito

9 – 16 April 2020

1483 E. Valley Road, Suite M | 805.969.6090 • The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

27

Spirituality Matters

events, just dabbling to see if people would respond and enjoy them. I just want to expose people to the practice.

One of the things that Buddha taught us is to develop mindfulness in every activity. It’s great to be in retreat at the monastery spending a whole or half day practicing. But we also need to develop these skills in everything we do. So hiking a mountain in Montecito or walking on Butterfly Beach is an opportunity to engage people, share how we can practice mindfulness in that moment.

by Steven Libowitz “Spirituality Matters” highlights two or three Santa Barbara area spiritual gatherings. Unusual themes and events with that something extra, especially newer ones looking for a boost in attendance, receive special attention. For consideration for inclusion in this column, email slibowitz@yahoo.com.

Thai Meditation for Trying Times

A

s recently as early March, Courtney Purcell’s Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup had a full slate of events on its calendar, with gatherings all over town, from the American Buddhist Meditation Temple on Orchid Drive near More Mesa to the foothills and beaches of Montecito, a leap year forest retreat in the expanse at La Cumbre peak to an annual celebration at the Goleta Valley Community Center.

Then came the coronavirus.

So Purcell – who has been practicing Buddhism for more than 20 years and studying various traditions over that span before settling on the Thai Forest tradition – has had to find a way to adapt, coming up with some new practices – including meditation and interviews with monks – to maintain contact and connection with the community. Meditation sessions are taking place every Tuesday evening over Zoom, while Purcell is doing one-onone Q&As with monks from all over the country via the online platform every Friday evening.

Purcell, who with his wife settled in Santa Barbara in 2017 after both had retired from a career in the Las Vegas school system, talked about his practice, why he was drawn to Buddhism, and how the spiritual practice can be especially helpful during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Q. What is it about the Thai Forest tradition that appeals to you?

A. It’s a very austere approach focused on trying to live a way of life as closely as the Buddha himself is thought to have lived, to really emulate that exact approach. It’s very into an intensive meditation practice, a letting go approach to everything,

Courtney Purcell and Ajahn Khamjan (ABMT head monk) at the temple in 2017

ship. So at this point I’m balancing the spiritual life with the worldly one.

Courtney Purcell at his master’s temple in Las Vegas last year during his temporary ordination period

relinquishing not only material possessions but also any sort of emotional attachments. It requires an extremely strict adherence to rules meant to promote mindfulness as well as a sense of restraint, virtue, and morality. It really spoke to me because it matches my personality. It’s very easy for me to follow rules and be very disciplined, rigid and strict.

How does that fit into daily life?

My wife thought that I might want to be a monk, which she said would fully support. I would love to do that.

The Buddha developed a lifestyle that is meant to put one in the position to maximize the benefits of the fruits of the tradition. The monastic path sets that up in the best way, and I’d love to have that opportunity. But I also have a beautiful marriage, a great relation-

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28 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Many of your events have been held at the American Buddhist Temple, which I’d never even heard of before I started seeing your Meetup events, even though it’s been here for 24 years. How did you get connected?

The vast majority of these Thai temples around the U.S. are insulated, with only Thai and Lao people attending. They’re funded nearly 100 percent by that community and geared to those cultures. When I came here I had an existing practice, but wanted to learn more about theirs, which is very similar. I quickly realized I was the only American that ever went there. Over time I became the Englishspeaking liaison, and we started inviting others into the community. Now I’m actively involved as an unofficial secretary to the head monk, generating content in English and facilitating all the mediation programs.

What’s happening over there now with the shelter in place situation?

They are live streaming, at first only to their community but it’s accessible to anyone. I’ve been encouraging him to post other content and recently he did a mini walk around the avocado grove near the temple on Facebook Live, a mini retreat walking meditation underneath the trees to show people that you don’t have to come to the temple to practice. You can go out to your background or find a park and sit underneath a tree and meditate (just as the Buddha did). You can practice any place, anytime, anywhere.

What is the purpose of the Meetup group, to draw visitors to the temple, or other events?

I am trying to provide a way to continue to be part of the ABMT community and help develop their program while also offering something from the Thai Forest tradition. In trying to be creative, I came up with all those

“To love someone is to strive to accept that person exactly the way he or she is, right here and now.” – Fred Rogers

Now of course, the gatherings are online.

Tuesday is the virtual version of what I was doing at an Ayurveda center in Ventura, which has been the most flourishing community, standing room only since the first event, so I’m just keeping that going. As I’ve seen people get incredibly creative in generating content online, I came up with the idea of doing a series of interviews with Buddhist monks. I’ve traveled enough to know many who I thought would be interested in talking with me and doing live Q&As. We started last Friday with the abbot of a Thai temple in Tucson, and this Friday (April 10), it’s an American man who lived for decades as a zen practitioner in Japan before finding his way to the Thai tradition and monastic path. So he’s still in training. I imagine we’ll bring out some wonderful things from his history.

Next week (April 17), I’ll talk with the abbot of a Vietnamese zen monastery in Baton Rouge, where I’ve done retreats, because the world should hear more about his approach, not only in practicing Buddhism but also the monastic life, which is very reminiscent of Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition. On April 24, I’ll interview Ajahn Khamjan Khrueasui, the head monk at ABMT. Then on May 1, I’ll talk with a monk who is living at a monastery in Florida, which will be my first opportunity to interview someone from my Thai Forest tradition. I plan to continue for at least the next six weeks, or longer if we’re still isolating.

Before we go, can you offer your own idea of the Buddhist perspective on what’s happening with the virus?

The Buddha ultimately teaches us that we should work to let go of absolutely everything, not only pleasant things. It’s not that we have aversion to what’s happening, but we accept it as what it is. We let go by recognizing our lack of control, relinquishing our need to control. With this situation, it behooves us to listen to the most reliable information about how we can take care of ourselves and help the community, and make good choices, but also recognize that the situation will play out as it will.

The Buddha taught us in his famous 9 – 16 April 2020

four noble truths – the first one is that there’s suffering in the world, which we are seeing very directly now. The second one is that the problem is in our minds, in our attachment to the outcome and what happens when we fail to recognize where we have no control and become frustrated. So (the virus) is a phenomenal opportunity for us to get to know the nature of what it means to be stressed out, anxious, worried, and panicky and how to approach these experiences not with a sense of dread or aversion but instead seeing it as an opportunity to see our own reactivity and our relationship to the world. I have been using this time to amp up my own practice even more. For me it’s been a sublime period of intensive practice, with all kinds of opportunities to be with my fear and worry. One minute my mind is upset and anxious and the next minute it’s calm and peaceful.

It’s a chance to look at why that is happening.

(Visit www.meetup.com/SantaBarbara-Buddhist-Meditation, www. facebook.com/abmtofsbca and www. facebook.com/khamjankhrueasui to access events.)

More Streaming Buddhism: BodhiPath Beckons

Resident teacher Dawa Tarchin Phillips launches a new three-week course over Zoom on Thursday evenings, offering “What the Buddha Taught” as a way to explore your own life’s journey in light of the Buddha’s wisdom from the perspectives of personal maturation, liberation, awakening and service. The 7-9 pm sessions April 9-23, accessed via Zoom at https://zoom.us/j/746572464, include periods of meditation as well as lecture. No admission charge but donations appreciated. Zoom over to BodhiPath’s other activities – Tuesday Meditations 6-7 pm, Book Club and Writing Group at https:// zoom.us/j/582915912. Meanwhile, Phillips’ annual Spring Retreat, slated for April 27-May 1 with the theme “Finding Inner Peace, Genuine Happiness & Lasting Freedom,” will also be streamed over Zoom. For information and registration, visit https://2020springretreat.eventbrite. com.

Virtual Meditating with Mahakankala

The downtown Santa Barbara center has finally also migrated over to online offerings, with resident teacher Kadam Keli Vaughan teaching and guiding meditations via Zoom several times each week. Featured are “Search for the Self: Buddhist Meditations on Emptiness” from 6-7 pm on Wednesdays, “Learning to 9 – 16 April 2020

Love” from 6:30-7:30 on Thursdays, and “Meditation for World Peace & Healing” from 10:30-11:45 each Sunday. Mahakankala has also moved its Heart Jewel Prayers and Foundation Program over to Zoom.

Visit https://meditationinsantabarba ra.org.

Access to Alexis in our Anxious Times

Santa Barbara native Alexis Slutzky has spent decades as a wilderness guide, mentor, MFT, reclamation practitioner, and council trainer who also specializes in indigenous wisdom traditions, rites of passage, depth psychology, ritual and ceremony and community exploration. Her grief work – which has brought people from both far and wide to retreats at Arroyo Hondo Preserve and elsewhere to spend time in nature and ritual to find inner healing – has become even a bigger salve for the community ever since the Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flows.

Not that she was any more emotionally prepared for the power of the pandemic than others, but she’s using what she refers to as a time of transition to take even deeper dives into what serve as salves. “Given how many of us may be experiencing fear, outrage, grief, anxiety, this time calls us to utilize and engage all the tools we have for presence, collective care, equanimity, creativity, self regulation, connection, and the capacity to show up in relationship,” she wrote in an email.

Now, of course, Slutzky has migrated her practices online in the era of COVID-19, offering several weekly events, including Meditation: Being with Grief and Uncertainty through the Mindful Heart Programs from 9-10 am on Fridays, Awakening Earth Community Council: Forum for Being Human in times of Cultural and Ecological Initiation on Wednesdays from 4:30-6 pm, and Women at the Well, held every other Monday from 6:30-8:30 pm. The latter two offerings are though Slutzky’s own Wild Belonging umbrella.

The community council represents as an extension of the Awakening Earth Series held at Yoga Soup, and serves as a place to come together by a virtual fire to unite in a shared context of love for the world and common care for people and planet, and to build connection and courage for bringing forth what is most alive in response to a world in need of creativity and love.

All are welcome to offer and receive presence and listening and explore our basic humanity in these times. The theme will vary each session through a format that starts with a short meditation, an exploration of the theme and then sharing one-by-one in simple practices to listen to ourselves and

each other.

Women at the Well is an online forum for women-identified people to drop in, connect and remember the ways of communion, deepening and awakening. “It’s an experiment in this time of virtual connection, to see how we can support one another in growing our capacity to show up with open fierce hearts to stand for the life of our children and earth in whatever ways we are called in this time of transformation, healing and change,” Slutzky wrote.

Admission to all of the above events is free, although a voluntary donation for those who aren’t financially challenged themselves is more than welcome. Meanwhile, the Awakening Earth Series continues on Yoga Soup’s virtual platform with a two-hour workshop from 3-5 pm on April 27 with “Belonging & Collective Care” ($20). Visit www.wildbelonging.com.

Slutzky will also be participating in events the next two Sundays through Insight LA Meditation Center, including Being with Grief with husbandand-wife Dr. Radhule Weininger and Dr. Michael Kearney, also of Santa Barbara (April 12) and Tending Our Grief with Weininger (April 19), both 2-5 pm featuring sliding scale admission of $10-$35. Visit https://insightla.org. Plus, she’s started to post videos and writings to her Facebook page (www.facebook.com/alexis.slutzky) to address the current climate during the coronavirus crisis.

Pacifica Moves Platforms During Pandemic

Pacifica Graduate Institute has amped up its availability of offering immersion in depth psychology to prospective students over the last several years, marketing its programs, information sessions, and campus visits all around town and beyond.

Now as the coronavirus turns its Carpinteria campuses into deserted spaces, Pacifica has created a series of virtual events designed to provide a rigorous intellectual experience that

connects with the soul to transform how you see the world. The intent is to demonstrate how its degree programs offer a soul-centered “intelligence” integral to what is being asked of all of us in this increasingly complex world.

The schedule starts this Saturday, April 11, at 3 pm, with Oksana Yakushko, Ph.D., the Professor and Chair of the M.A./Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis in Depth Psychology exploring how the program might serve in becoming a depth psychologist who aspires to become an astute relational clinician, a critical human science scholar and an engaged citizen-activist. Wednesday, April 15, at 3 pm brings “The Archetypal Artist and Creativity in the 21st Century: A Guide to Pacifica’s M.A. Engaged Humanities,” in which a conversation between Mary A. Wood, Ph.D., and Susan Rowland, Ph.D., Co-Chairs and Professors in the program, explore what it means to be creative in a time that calls for resilience, enormous adaptability, the capacity to innovate and to reinvent the self as well as vocation. This conversation introduces this unique opportunity and outlines its special relevance to times of crisis as well as a way of rebirth and renewal of learning as well as the soul.

The periodic and popular Pacifica Experience goes virtual next, with a live online introduction to Pacifica’s various degree programs designed to give prospective graduate students a comprehensive introduction and orientation to the distinctive educational features of the school.

Despite the virtual visit, prospective students will still be able to hear from Pacifica alumni about their experience and what they are doing with their degrees, learn more about admissions procedures and financial aid, attend breakout sessions in specific programs of study and engage in ongoing dialogue and community exchange throughout the day with faculty. Call (805) 879-7305 or visit www.pacifica.edu.

•MJ

Your Montecito and Santa Barbara Real Estate Agent

RDouglas@bhhscal.com | 805.318.0900 RachaelDouglas.com Montecito | Hope Ranch | Santa Barbara | Goleta

©2019 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC

• The Voice of the Village •

DRE 02024147

MONTECITO JOURNAL

29

Seen Around Town

Catalina

by Lynda Millner

The ballroom big enough for 6,000 folks in the day

“T

The Casino in Catalina

his too shall pass!” Until it does, how about some armchair traveling. You don’t have to get on a cruise ship, just a boat, to get to Catalina Island.

It’s the only one of eight Channel Islands to have an incorporated city, Avalon. “Twenty-six miles across the sea, Santa Catalina is waitin’ for me.

Santa Catalina, the island of Romance, romance, romance,” so sang the Four Preps. It’s amazing Catalina can exist so close to the roar of the freeways of Los Angeles. By the way, only golf carts or an “autoette,” which is a mini car no bigger than a golf cart, are allowed on the island and then only one per family.

Before today, Avalon Bay was inhabited by the Gabrielino/Tongva tribe.

The island was a major source of soapstone to the Tongva, who used the material to make stone vessels for cooking. They called the island Pimu or Pimugna. By 1839 the entire island’s native population had died off or been relocated to the mainland to work in the missions or as ranch hands for private landowners.

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovered Catalina in 1542, the same year he discovered Santa Barbara.

In the 1860s Augustus Timms ran a sheep herding business on the island.

One of his vessels would ferry guests across the channel for bathing and fishing. By the summer of 1883 there were 30 tents and three wooden buildings at Timms’s Landing.

George Shatto was the first to try to develop Avalon Bay as a resort destination. He paid $200,000 to the estate of James Lick during a real estate boom in 1887. He built the town’s first hotel, the original Hotel Metropole

30 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Ms Millner is the author of The Magic Makeover, Tricks for Looking Thinner, Younger and More Confident – Instantly. If you have an event that belongs in this column, you are invited to call Lynda at 969-6164.

and pier. His sister-in-law came up with the permanent name of Avalon.

That was a reference from a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson about the legend of King Arthur which features an island of the same name. Sadly Shatto defaulted on his loan in a few years and the island went back to the Lick estate.

The Phineas Banning sons bought the island in 1891, developed a resort, built a dance pavilion in the center of town and other improvements but in 1915 a fire burned half of Avalon’s buildings. Due to debt and World War I, they were forced to sell their shares.

In 1919 William Wrigley, Jr. bought the island (no one knows for how much) and gained control of Avalon overseeing much of the city’s development which remains primarily a resort community today. Yes, it’s the chewing gum guy. Catalina became a place for his baseball team, the Chicago Cubs, to train as well as a resort for day-trippers and honeymooners to enjoy. More history can be learned at the Nature Center at the Airport in the Sky and the Catalina Island Museum.

Facts, like when Marilyn Monroe lived on the island with her first husband James Dougherty in 1943. William Wrigley, Jr. died in 1932 and his son Philip continued his father’s work.

During World War II, the island was

closed to tourists and used for military training facilities. In 1975 Philip Wrigley deeded their shares in the Santa Catalina Island Company to the Catalina Island Conservancy that he had helped to create.

The Santa Catalina Island Conservancy protects about 88% of the acreage. The wildlife love it. In May of 2007 a fire ripped through 4,750 acres just outside Avalon’s city limits. Luckily only one residence and six commercial structures were destroyed. In the 2010s the Company began a series of projects to upgrade the tourist amenities in Avalon. You can hike, go ziplining, visit botanic gardens, play miniature golf or simply have a drink and enjoy the view. Oh, don’t forget, the shopping and the romance is up to you!

The island is probably most famous for its Casino, but not the kind you think. It has never seen a slot machine or any gambling. It gets its name from the Italian language term casino meaning a “gathering place” and gather they did. Built in 1928, 6,000 people at a time in the 1930s and ‘40s would gather to dance to the latest big time band such as Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, and Kay Kyser.

The dancing ran seven days a week with a new orchestra every week. The Casino took 14 months to build for $600,000 and was the world’s largest circular dance floor at 15,000 square feet. The wood was the most expensive black walnut. Now it won’t hold 6,000 because they have added a carpet area and tables. Today they hold a jazz festival, live theatre productions, cultural events and first-run movies.

To my surprise our docent led us into the first-floor entrance of the art deco movie theater with 1,161 seats and where the first talkie movie was shown (the ballroom is on the 10th floor). On our behind the scenes tour we saw all the old camera equipment they used to use. The acoustics in the theatre are perfect. Better watch what you say because if you sit in the center

“Often out of periods of losing come the greatest strivings toward a new winning streak.” – Fred Rogers

seat and whisper, it can be heard all over. The same architects that planned Radio City Music Hall in New York City did the Casino. In 1999 they closed the movie theatre.

Did you ever wonder where the buffalo roam? Actually they are bison and they roam on Catalina Island – 150 to 200 of them. Since two thirds of the island will always be wild, they are safe. They were brought there to be in the movies as “extras” in the 1925 film of Zane Grey’s The Vanishing American. After the filming was complete and the director George Seitz shouted, “That’s a wrap,” nobody told the bison, but keep a safe distance.

They weigh about a half a ton.

As Karyn Planett says, “Sounds a bit like the title of a Ludlum best-selling novel but it’s really all about the Duke of Doublemint, the Chairman of Chew, the world’s largest producer of chewing gum, Mr. William Wrigley, Jr. He is much better known in his business headquarters of Chicago (think Wrigley Field, home of baseball’s cuddly Cubbies). He played a significant role in the development and preservation of Catalina.”

Wrigley’s first project was the Hotel St. Catherine west of town at Descanso Beach. Then he built a private mansion high up on Mt. Ada, later becoming a bed and breakfast. There is a Wrigley owned ranch where Arabian horses are still raised and trained. They have been shown around the world. And last there is the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, a 37-acre showplace for endemic flora. The Wrigleys still own a part of Catalina Island but have gifted the rest to the Island Conservancy.

In the 1990s I spent a Fourth of July weekend in Catalina and was amused by their parade. Everyone decorated their golf carts and the USC band came over to march.

“I found my love in Avalon,” that cozy little community a couple hundred yards off the tender pier. You’ll love it.

•MJ 9 – 16 April 2020

Our Town

Nomad’s iPhone case factory constructed into a dedicated cleanroom for the production of masks

by Joanne A. Calitri

Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist.

Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com

Nomad Goods Switches Gears to PPE Production

O

ur town’s local premium consumer goods brand Nomad Goods, Inc., founded by Noah Dentzel and Brian Hahn, took on the COVID-19 urgent need of single use masks for frontline workers on March 18, and have ramped production to over a million masks per week with shipping in two to three days worldwide, utilizing their iPhone case factory as a dedicated cleanroom for production of masks.

Noah discussed with me in our interview that this is a rapid response to a rapidly moving virus, and while there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the changing environment of COVID-19, his company’s mission remains the same: to get the most masks to frontline responders, and people in need, as quickly and efficiently as possible, “We are talking about our overnight, net-new production, meaning that these masks would not otherwise have existed, which puts more supply out there and hopefully drives the price down. If we are truly able to help, let’s give it all we’ve got and bring true value to the table.”

Here’s our interview:

Q. Asian people have been using disposable three-layer face masks, PPE masks, for years in their native countries. Was this the prompt from your suppliers in Hong Kong there to switch gears to produce and distribute masks?

A. In many Asian countries, it is indeed much more culturally commonplace to wear PPEs, in a way that still feels a bit out of place in Western countries. Recent success in some Asian countries like China and South Korea showed that PPEs were an effective tool in the fight against COVID-19. As such, and given our close relations with our Chinese suppliers and their own recent experience in battling COVID-19 through strict quarantine and PPE measures, there was an immediate connection that we could harness their manufacturing abilities to help fulfill some of the need for masks on our own shores. This is an unprecedented move for Nomad, but these are unprecedented times. We recognize there are uncertainties and that we will encounter challenges given the quick pace necessary for the best chance to make a meaningful impact.

We’re driven by the call to serve, and not by profit, and we will take every measure possible to streamline the 9 – 16 April 2020

of urgency to make and ship masks, fast. Ours are disposable three-layer facemasks (also called isolation masks or medical procedure masks).

Particulate filter is tested at >98% bacterial filtration efficiency, meeting FDA testing standards. Polypropylene non-woven fabric, melt-blown filter, nose strip.

Noah Dentzel (left) and Brian Hahn (right), founders of Nomad Goods

delivery of highly needed medical equipment at the lowest cost and fastest way possible while determining allocation based on medical need.

We will be donating any profit to help fight against COVID-19.

CDC finally announced the requirement/suggested use of masks for everyone in the U.S., when did your company start this production, and where were the first masks distributed?

We began discussing the idea on the night of March 18, and we were in production a couple of days later and shipping within one week. We went from concept to shipping in under six days. Compare that to a typical product cycle of closer to six months.

If we were gonna make an impact, we needed to move fast. Although the initial PPE masks are not N95 respirators, medical professionals around the world have found these effective in reducing transmission. Our goal is to provide masks to those who need them most at the lowest cost possible. We are distributing supplies on critical needs basis, according to the following priority system: Priority 1: Medical professionals, Priority 2: First responders, and Priority 3: Essential businesses and personnel who are at risk of exposure to COVID-19.

These are one-time use masks?

They are intended as one-time use masks. However, there has been such a shortage of masks in the U.S. that many people, even doctors, have been reusing one-time use masks, because they’ve found that that’s better than nothing. This has influenced our sense

What organizations are you donating the profit of the masks to?

Right now, we’re using any profits to reinvest in making additional masks to donate masks to frontline responders in need. The demand has been enormous and we’re doing everything we can to get the most masks to the most people as quickly as possible. There is no specific list as that also is evolving. If you know of a group in need, please reach out to us at medical@nomadgoods.com.

What is your weekly production yield and what is the limit of masks per order?

We’ve been ramping up production steadily since we began this, and our production numbers have grown from fifty thousand to already a couple million masks, and that happened fast. While we’re used to ramping production for things like an iPhone case launch, we’ve never quite seen such a huge surge in demand, which really highlights how intense the need for more masks is.

What countries are you shipping the supplies to right now?

We started off with the U.S., but we’re expanding to countries around the world that need supplies. This is certainly a global fight, and it will take a global effort of collaboration if we’re gonna have success at beating this and holding it back. We live in a connected world and we’ll have more success by collaborating.

Are you still able to ship in two to three days large quantities?

Yep. One of the areas where our team and setup is particularly strong is in international shipping and logistics. We have a warehouse in Hong Kong, and of course our home warehouse here in Santa Barbara, and we’ve shipped pretty much from

• The Voice of the Village •

everywhere to everywhere and can do it quickly, inexpensively, and effectively.

Do you forecast that the priorities in shipping will change and if yes, to where/ who?

We do expect to expand more internationally as well as to areas outside of the major current epicenters like New York, Louisiana, and Washington state. COVID-19 is moving fast and we want to make sure that people in its path have the supplies they need so they can help prevent transmission and flatten the curve so our medical infrastructure is not overwhelmed.

How long does the general public have to wait to be able to order the masks?

We expect to open orders to the general public in the coming days, however, at the time of this interview, we are still shipping primarily to frontline responders.

Are you working with Direct Relief here in SB or other like organizations to distribute the masks?

Not at this moment, but the scope of our program and the partners that help us fulfill our mission of efficiently getting masks to people in need is expanding on a daily basis and we are open to any collaborations that help us help others.

Do you have a plan to distribute the masks for the local SB community? Will you prioritize school kids, elders first?

We’re actively working on this and we have already arranged for several hundred thousand masks for the Santa Barbara community.

Are you branching out to other needed supplies, like gloves, gowns...?

We are looking into a handful of other medical products which are currently in short supply and we may pursue them if we see that we can get production running quickly and cost-effectively. Just three weeks ago we wouldn’t have thought we’d be making masks, so I can only imagine where we’ll be with these initiatives three weeks from now.

•MJ 411: medical@nomadgoods.com MONTECITO JOURNAL

31

CITY OF SANTA BARBARA - GENERAL SERVICES DIVISION PO BOX 1990, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93102-1990 INVITATION FOR BIDS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received via electronic transmission on the City of Santa Barbara PlanetBids portal site until the date and time indicated below at which time they will be publicly opened and posted for: BID NO. 4003 DUE DATE & TIME: APRIL 23, 2020 UNTIL 3:00P.M. SANTA BARBARA AIRPORT REGENERATIVE AIR SWEEPER The scope of work is to provide one Regenerative Air Sweeper in compliance with Advisory Circular 150_5210_24 and these contract provisions.

Bidders must be registered on the city of Santa Barbara’s PlanetBids portal in order to receive addendum notifications and to submit a bid. Go to PlanetBids for bid results and awards. It is the responsibility of the bidder to submit their bid with sufficient time to be received by PlanetBids prior to the bid opening date and time. The receiving deadline is absolute. Allow time for technical difficulties, uploading, and unexpected delays. Late or incomplete Bid will not be accepted.

If further information is needed, contact Caroline Ortega, Senior Buyer at (805) 564-5351 or email: COrtega@santabarbaraca.gov The City of Santa Barbara is now conducting bid and proposal solicitations online through the PlanetBids System™. Vendors can register for the commodities that they are interested in bidding on using NIGP commodity codes at http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/business/bids/purchasing.asp.

The initial bidders’ list for all solicitations will be developed from registered vendors.

Bids must be submitted on forms supplied by the City of Santa Barbara and in accordance with the specifications, terms and conditions contained therein.

Bid packages containing all forms, specifications, terms and conditions may be obtained electronically via PlanetBids.

The City of Santa Barbara affirmatively assures that minority and disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of age (over 40), ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, sex, gender identity and expression, marital status, medical condition (cancer or genetic characteristics), national origin, race, religious belief, or sexual orientation in consideration of award.

Federally Funded Project. The majority of this project is funded under the federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Improvement Program (AIP). Contractor will be required to comply with specific federal contract provisions as listed herein and contained the Bid Documents.

(1) Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity 1. The Offeror’s or Bidder’s attention is called to the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Construction Contract Specifications” set forth herein.

2. The goals and timetables for minority and female participation, expressed in percentage terms for the Contractor’s aggregate workforce in each trade on all construction work in the covered area, are as follows:

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Kirk’s Plumbing, 2718 Verde Vista Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Kirk Peters, 2718 Verde Vista Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 5, 2020. 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), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 20200000723.

Published April 1, 8, 15, 22, 2020.

Timetables Goals for minority participation for each trade: 19.7% Goals for female participation in each trade:

6.9%

These goals are applicable to all of the Contractor’s construction work (whether or not it is Federal or federally assisted) performed in the covered area.

If the Contractor performs construction work in a geographical area located outside of the covered area, it shall apply the goals established for such geographical area where the work is actually performed. With regard to this second area, the Contractor also is subject to the goals for both its federally involved and non-federally involved construction.

The Contractor’s compliance with the Executive Order and the regulations in 41 CFR Part 60-4 shall be based on its implementation of the Equal Opportunity Clause, specific affirmative action obligations required by the specifications set forth in 41 CFR 60-4.3(a) and its efforts to meet the goals.

The hours of minority and female employment and training must be substantially uniform throughout the length of the contract, and in each trade, and the Contractor shall make a good faith effort to employ minorities and women evenly on each of its projects. The transfer of minority or female employees or trainees from Contractor to Contractor or from project to project for the sole purpose of meeting the Contractor’s goals shall be a violation of the contract, the Executive Order and the regulations in 41 CFR Part 60-4. Compliance with the goals will be measured against the total work hours performed.

3. The Contractor shall provide written notification to the Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) within 10 working days of award of any construction subcontract in excess of $10,000 at any tier for construction work under the contract resulting from this solicitation.

The notification shall list the name, address, and telephone number of the subcontractor; employer identification number of the subcontractor; estimated dollar amount of the subcontract; estimated starting and completion dates of the subcontract; and the geographical area in which the subcontract is to be performed.

4. As used in this notice and in the contract resulting from this solicitation, the “covered area” is the City of Santa Barbara, California.

(2) Civil Rights – Title VI Assurances The City of Santa Barbara, in accordance with the provisions of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 252, 42 USC §§ 2000d to 2000d-4) and the Regulations, hereby notifies all bidders or offerors that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, [select disadvantaged business enterprises or airport concession disadvantaged business enterprises] will be afforded full and fair opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

(3) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) A DBE goal of 2% has been established for this contract.

The Owner’s award of this contract is conditioned upon Bidder or Offeror satisfying the good faith effort requirements of 49 CFR §26.53.

The successful Bidder or Offeror must provide written confirmation of participation from each of the DBE firms the Bidder or Offeror lists in its commitment within five days after bid opening.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

The names and addresses of Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms that will participate in the contract; A description of the work that each DBE firm will perform; The dollar amount of the participation of each DBE firm listed under (1) Written statement from Bidder or Offeror that attests their commitment to use the DBE firm(s) listed under (1) to meet the Owner’s project goal; and If Bidder or Offeror cannot meet the advertised project DBE goal, evidence of good faith efforts undertaken by the Bidder or Offeror as described in appendix A to 49 CFR part 26.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Stretchlab Montecito, 1046 Coast Village Road, Suite E, Montecito, CA 93108. Next Gen Wellness, LLC, 3913 La Colina Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on February 27, 2020. 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), filed by Maria F. Sanchez.

FBN No. 2020-0000645.

Published March 25, April 1, 8, 15, 2020.

(4) Federal Provisions The following provisions are incorporated herein by reference with the same force and effect as if given in full text: 1) Buy American Preference (Reference: 49 USC § 50101) 2) Trade Restriction Certification (Reference: 49 USC § 50104; 49 CFR part 30) 3) Davis Bacon Act (Reference: 2 CFR § 200, Appendix II(D); 29 CFR Part 5) 4) Debarment and Suspension (Reference: 2 CFR part 180 (Subpart C); 2 CFR part 1200; and DOT Order 4200.5) 5) Lobbying and Influencing Federal Employees (Reference: 31 USC § 1352 – Byrd Anti-Lobbying Amendment; 2 CFR part 200, Appendix II(J); and 49 CFR part 20, Appendix A) 6) Procurement of Recovered Materials (Reference: 2 CFR § 200.322; 40 CFR part 247; and Solid Waste Disposal Act) 7) Government-wide Requirements for Drug-free Workplace (Reference: 28 CFR 83.635) 8) Certification of Nonsegregated Facilities (41 CFR Part 60-1.8) 9) Veteran’s Preference (49 USC Section 47112(c)) 10) Distracted Driving (Texting when Driving) (Executive Order 13513/ DOT Order 3902.10) (See Federal Provisions of the Contract Bid Documents for further details.)

Successful Bidder/Contractor will be required to insert applicable federal contract provisions in all subcontracts and shall be responsible for compliance by subcontractor(s). _______________________________ William Hornung, C.P.M. General Services Manager

32 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Published: April 1, 2020 & April 8, 2020 Montecito Journal

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Urban-Equestrian, 813 E Anapamu St. Apt 2C, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Joel A Chauran, 813 E Anapamu St. Apt 2C, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 5, 2020. This statement ex-

“Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” – Fred Rogers

pires 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), filed by Maria F. Sanchez.

FBN No. 2020-0000719.

Published March 18, 25, April 1, 8, 2020.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HOMES805 INC Trust Account, 1187 Coast Village Road #187, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

HOMES805 INC, 1187 Coast Village Road #187, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 12, 2020. 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), filed by Maria F. Sanchez.

FBN No. 2020-0000791.

Published March 18, 25, April 1, 8, 2020.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Blue.Studio Landscape Architecture, 1203 Diane Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.

Guillermo Gonzalez, 1203 Diane Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.

Crista Lee Sanders, 301 Oliver Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93109.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on February 19, 2020. 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), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0000546.

Published March 18, 25, April 1, 8, 2020.

9 – 16 April 2020

ENTERTAINMENT (Continued from page 21)

with scheduled times where you can watch it all at once.”

Glen Phillips, Lois Mahalia, Alastair Greene, Tina Schlieske, Tariqh Akoni, Cougar Estrada, Spencer Barnitz, Brad Nack, Zach Madden, and the S.B. Piano Boys are among the acts booked for the fest. The full schedule, with some surprise guests, will be posted online before the event.

“It’s a global crisis, but there’s something very powerful and important about feeling a sense of community and getting through it together,” Capps said, adding that if the idea proves successful, the acts might extend deeper into other areas through organic connections. The same goes for the audience.

“We’re not sure who will show up to watch, but as with all of our events, it’s a real mixing of the audiences, because we’re just setting the table and see who comes,” Capps said. “We all need a little break from the stress and there’s nothing better than music to bring us together.” For more information, visit cappsproject.org/united-by-art.

Digital Arts Festival Dives into Dance and Drama Center Stage Theater (CST), the Black-Box venue that makes itself available to the community through largely low-cost rentals, is also stepping up its game in perhaps an even bigger way by offering a new streaming service every night through the end of the month. The segments will run each night at 7 pm, also starting with an interview followed by a performance piece that could range from a video of a show from the past, excerpts of a recent shelter-in-place performance, pictures of visual arts, or the streaming of a short film. The interviews will cover the artist’s typical creative process and/or how they are coping and creating in the new socially-distant reality, perhaps including the evolution of a specific work.

The idea was to both provide an outlet for artists of all types and introduce CST’s audiences to the artists, explained Teri Ball, the theater’s executive director.

PUBLIC NOTICE City of Santa Barbara Fiscal Year 2021 Recommended Operating and Capital Budget NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Santa Barbara has scheduled Public Hearings to consider the Recommended Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2021. The Council will review departmental budgets, as well as proposed adjustments to fees and charges. All hearings will be held in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara.

The dates and times are as follows: • • • • • • • • •

Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 1:00 p.m. - Budget consideration of City Administrator’s Office and Mayor & Council; Information Technology, Human Resources, Sustainability & Resilience Departments, and General Fund / Measure C Capital; Monday, May 11, 2020, 2:00 p.m. – Budget consideration of Parks & Recreation Department (including Creeks and Golf Funds); Wednesday, May 13, 2020, 1:00 p.m. - Budget consideration of Finance Department, General Government, City Attorney’s Office; and Waterfront Department; Monday, May 18, 2020, 2:00 p.m. - Budget consideration of Library Department, Airport Department, and Community Development Department* and Successor Agency; Wednesday, May 20, 2020, 2:30 p.m. - Budget consideration of Fire and Police Departments; Wednesday, May 27, 2020, 9:00 a.m. - Budget consideration of Public Works Department*; Monday, June 8, 2020, 6:00 p.m. - City Council deliberations; Tuesday June, 9, 2020, 2:00 p.m. - Public hearing on proposed increases to any Water, Wastewater and Solid Waste rates (see separate mailed notice and instructions for filing protests); and Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 2:00 p.m. - Budget adoption.

Additional hearings may be added as needed. All public hearing dates and times are subject to change. Any changes will be posted on the City of Santa Barbara webpage located at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov.

Members of the public are invited to attend, and interested persons desiring to be heard shall be given an opportunity to address the City Council during the public hearings at the above-referenced dates and times. Written comments are welcome and should be addressed to the City Council via the City Clerk’s Office, P.O. Box 1990, Santa Barbara, CA 93102-1990. All hearings will be held in conjunction with special meetings of the City Council dedicated to the public review of the budget.

A schedule of public hearing meeting topics, which is subject to change on short notice, will be available beginning on April 21, 2020, on the City’s website at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov.

The City Council is scheduled to adopt the Recommended Operating and Capital Budget for Fiscal Year 2021, on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, during the 2:00 p.m. regular City Council session.

Copies of the Recommended Budget will be available for public review on April 21, 2020, at the reference desks of the Central and Eastside Libraries, in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, and on the City’s website at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov.

For more information, contact the Finance Department at 564-5334.

Copies of fee resolutions with proposed changes will be available for public review on April 21, 2020, in the Finance Department at City Hall and at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Budget. Click on Proposed Fiscal Year 2021 Mid-Cycle Budget. *At least ten (10) days prior to the meeting, and again five days later, but no later than April 21, 2020, data, which was relied upon to support the changes to the fees and charges proposed in the fee resolution for the departments marked by an asterisk above, will be available to the public at the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA. Agendas and Staff Reports for City Council meetings are available 72 hours prior to the meeting in the City Clerk’s Office at City Hall and at the Central Library. These documents are also accessible online at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/CAP. Meetings of the Council are broadcast live and rebroadcast on City TV Channel 18 (broadcast schedule is available at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/CityTV. These meetings can also be viewed over the Internet at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/Council/Videos.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to gain access to, comment at, or participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator's Office at 564-5305 or inquire at the City Clerk's Office on the day of the meeting.

If possible, notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements in most cases.

(SEAL)

/s/ Paul Casey City Clerk April 2, 2020 Published April 8 & April 15, 2020 Montecito Journal

“Artists need to create, but they also need to have a place to show what they’re doing, and to connect with an audience,” she said. “But lots of people were already doing these performances. We thought it would be interesting to put the emphasis on the artist themselves. Audiences always wonder about how a dance performance or a theatrical show gets put together – how the idea turns into the final piece.

These crazy times we’re living in is giving us a chance to let people into what goes on behind the scenes in the process more than usual.”

The concept was changing even at the last minute as the first segment was being put together last Monday, with the original idea of just a performance turning into the interview preview that was to have been conducted by CST board members. But technology alone got in the way, and a single voice made more sense.

Especially when that voice was a well-known one in the community, Ball said.

So former longtime local radio news/feature personality Jim Sirianni – it took all of an hour to go from an initial email to a complete agreement on Monday afternoon, Ball said – will be handling all the interviews and moderating the programs.

“The interviews are taking on a larger element than we had first thought because it’s become about sharing in the artistic process, letting the audience into what and how the artist is doing what they do and how that process is being affected,” she said.

The Digital Arts Festival launched April 6 with Ali Rybczyk, a contemporary painter and creative freelancer who served as videographer for the latest film from longtime Santa Barbara-based dance filmmaker and choreographer (and CST friend) Robin Bisio.

For the most part, CST is largely letting the artists come to them rather than reaching out, extending an invitation to creators in the community to submit new stories, poems, monologues, dances, songs, short plays, multimedia extravaganzas, and more as well as revitalize things that they’ve already produced. The theater is also still collecting submissions for its popular Personal Stories productions although, of course, performances of the personal, first-person true stories won’t be able to take place in person until after the COVID-19 situation ebbs.

Slated for appearances this week are choreographers L. Taylor Ashton-Biel – who is offering video footage from a collaboration with a senior dance major from Kent State University’s BFA in its performance program that was canceled due to COVID-19 – on Thursday, April 9, and Karyn Laver of the Goletabased dance studio The Dance Network on Friday, April 10. Nita June from DogStar Theater – whose new production Electric Baby was slated to open at CST during the week that it closed – is due on Saturday, April 11, followed by Matt Tavianini and Michael Andrews from BoxTales on Sunday, April 12. On Monday, April 13, Ninette Paloma from Santa Barbara Dance Center for Aerial Dance will introduce “The Body/Antibody Project” that came about when the studio responded to school closures by inviting its dancers to choreograph 90-second pieces that reflected their emotional state during this surreal time. Samuel Simon, the playwright and performer of The Actual Dance, which was inspired by his wife’s experience with breast cancer, is booked for Tuesday, April 14, followed the next night by Shannon Noel and Stacie Burrows of MommyTonk – the musical-comedy duo that finds humor in everyday life from parenting to Target trips to stay at home orders.

The series takes a slight twist next Thursday, April 16, as Juliet Rohde-Brown, the current Chair of the Depth Psychology: Integrative Therapy and Healing

ENTERTAINMENT Page 344 9 – 16 April 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

33

ENTERTAINMENT (Continued from page 33)

Practices specialization program at Pacifica Graduate Institute, offers songs that emerged out of her meditations and dreams that have been sung for meditative purposes at the community gatherings for Mindful Heart’s Solidarity and Compassion project. She added photographs and created videos to go along with the songs.

The streaming segments and the schedule can be accessed on the theater’s new blog page, https://centerstagetheatersbdotblog.wordpress. com, which is where you can also find a form to submit a suggestion.

New ‘Music That Matters’ Marks K-LITE’s Morning Show

Notice Inviting Bids BID NO. 5821A STATE STREET CORRIDOR BRICK SIDEWALK REPAIR 1.

Bid Submission.

The City of Santa Barbara (“City”) will accept electronic bids for its State Street Corridor Brick Sidewalk Repair Project (“Project”), by or before April 23, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. through its PlanetBids portal. Bidders must be registered on the City of Santa Barbara’s PlanetBids™ portal in order to submit a Bid Proposal and to receive addendum notifications.

Each bidder is responsible for making certain that their Bid Proposal is actually submitted/uploaded with sufficient time to be received by PlanetBids prior to the bid opening date and time. Large files may take more time to be submitted/uploaded to PlanetBids so plan accordingly. The receiving time at on PlanetBids’ server will be the governing time for acceptability of bids. Telegraphic, telephonic, electronic, and facsimile bids will not be accepted.

If any Addendum issued by the City is not acknowledged online by the Bidder, the PlanetBids System will prevent the Bidder from submitting a Bid Proposal. Bidders are responsible for obtaining all addenda from the City’s PlanetBids portal.

Bid results and awards will be available on PlanetBids.

2.

Project Information.

2.1 Location and Description. The Project is located on both sides of State Street, between Gutierrez Street and Victoria Street in Santa Barbara, CA, and is described as follows: Smooth out undulations and replace damaged bricks in the sidewalks.

2.2 Time for Completion. The Project must be completed within 40 consecutive working days from the start date set forth in the Notice to Proceed. City anticipates that the Work will begin on or about April 2020, but the anticipated start date is provided solely for convenience and is neither certain nor binding. All work must be completed by June 26, 2020.

2.3 Estimate. The estimate for this Project is $125,000.00 2.4 Bidders’ Conference. A NON-MANDATORY bidders’ conference will be held on April 16, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., at the following location: 800 block of State St. and Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara, CA for the purpose of acquainting all prospective bidders with the Contract Documents and the Worksite. No relief will be granted to contractors for any conditions or restrictions that would have been discovered if they had attended the pre-bid meeting.

3.

License and Registration Requirements.

3.1 License. This Project requires a valid California contractor’s license for the following classification(s): “A” General Engineering Contractor, C-8 Concrete Contractor, or C-29 Masonry Contractor 3.2 DIR Registration. City may not accept a Bid Proposal from or enter into the Contract with a bidder, without proof that the bidder is registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) to perform public work pursuant to Labor Code § 1725.5, subject to limited legal exceptions

Michael McDonald is an upcoming guest on K-LITE 101.7’s new feature, “Music That Matters Now!”

K-LITE 101.7’s morning show team of Gary and Catherine quickly came to confront the COVID19 crisis with a new feature called “Music That Matters Now!” The segment, which airs every weekday morning at 8:45 am on the popular Santa Barbara station, also combines talking with a local musician about their ideas about the role music plays during these unprecedented times and brief performances. The musicians choose two songs they consider to be appropriate and inspiring – one of their own and a favorite from another musician or band.

The concept was created during an on-air interview with local singer-songwriter Bridget Benenate, who co-composed American Idolwinner Kelly Clarkson’s smash hit “Breakaway,” which stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart for 20 consecutive weeks.

After K-Lite debuted Benenate’s coronavirus contemplating song “Better Days,” the morning show team decided to expand the feature.

Gary and Catherine, who have been on the air together for nearly 28 years, have been offering “Music That Matters Now!” ever since, starting on Monday, March 30, with Grammy-winning producer/ singer-songwriter Alan Parsons, who had to cut short his overseas tour due to the pandemic and has been separated from his children and grandchildren. Among the musicians who have already appeared or are scheduled are Jim Messina, Michael McDonald, Jim Brickman, Leslie Lembo, John Kay of Steppenwolf, David Pack of Ambrosia, Justin Fox of Dishwalla, and “Music that Matters!”inspirer Benenate herself. The special segment, and the radio station itself, is available over the air at 101.7 FM, or online at www.klite.com or by downloading the KLITE app.

•MJ

34 MONTECITO JOURNAL

4.

5.

6.

Contract Documents. The plans, specifications, bid forms and contract documents for the Project, and any addenda thereto (“Contract Documents”) may be downloaded from City’s website at: https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=29959 Bid Security. The Bid Proposal must be accompanied by bid security of ten percent of the maximum bid amount, in the form of a cashier’s or certified check made payable to City, or a bid bond executed by a surety licensed to do business in the State of California on the Bid Bond form included with the Contract Documents. The bid security must guarantee that within ten days after City issues the Notice of Award, the successful bidder will execute the Contract and submit the payment and performance bonds, insurance certificates and endorsements, and any other submittals required by the Contract Documents and as specified in the Notice of Award.

Prevailing Wage Requirements.

6.1 General. Pursuant to California Labor Code § 1720 et seq., this Project is subject to the prevailing wage requirements applicable to the locality in which the Work is to be performed for each craft, classification or type of worker needed to perform the Work, including employer payments for health and welfare, pension, vacation, apprenticeship and similar purposes.

6.2 Rates. The prevailing rates are on file with City and available online at http://www.dir.ca.gov/DLSR. Each Contractor and Subcontractor must pay no less than the specified rates to all workers employed to work on the Project. The schedule of per diem wages is based upon a working day of eight hours. The rate for holiday and overtime work must be at least time and one-half.

6.3 Compliance. The Contract will be subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the DIR, under Labor Code § 1771.4.

7.

Performance and Payment Bonds. The successful bidder will be required to provide separate performance and payment bonds for 100% of the Contract Price regardless of contract dollar amount, as further specified in the Contract Documents.

8.

Substitution of Securities. Substitution of appropriate securities in lieu of retention amounts from progress payments is permitted under Public Contract Code § 22300.

9.

Subcontractor List. Each subcontractor must be registered with the DIR to perform work on public projects. Each bidder must submit a complete Subcontractor List WITH ITS Bid Proposal through the PlanetBids portal. Failure to do will result in rejection of your bid. The Subcontractors List shall include the name, location of the place of business, California contractor license number, and percentage of the Work to be performed (based on the Base Bid) for each Subcontractor that will perform work or service or fabricate or install work for the prime contractor in excess of onehalf of 1% of the bid price.

10.

Instructions to Bidders. All bidders should carefully review the Instructions to Bidders before submitting a Bid Proposal.

11.

Retention Percentage. The percentage of retention that will be withheld from progress payments is five (5) percent.

By: _______________________________________

Date: ________________

William Hornung CPM, General Services Manager Publication Date: 4/8/20 Montecito Journal END OF NOTICE INVITING BIDS

“Real strength has to do with helping others.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 18)

Barbara County as early as April 26, predicting 57 deaths in Santa Barbara County by August 4. As of press time, there have been two deaths in the county from the virus; the second was a South County resident above the age of 60, with underlying health conditions. The county’s “surge capacity” at local hospitals is 699, which is anticipated to increase. With a 50% compliance with social distancing measures, modeling shows the county will be well within current capacity of hospital beds.

Dr. Do-Reynoso reported to the Board of Supervisors that social distancing measures may be necessary through the summer, and potentially through November. “It’s a conversation that needs to happen in a variety of contexts and settings, so that we as a community can land on a solution that is doable,” she said. Several board members voiced concern over the potential for extending the shelter-athome order. “The economic impacts of this are getting overwhelmed by the health impacts. I’ll tell you, if we go until November 1, there are people that are going to be injured and not by sickness. I don’t think we’re balancing the needs of those people trying to make a living very well. There is a tremendous amount of pain right now,” said Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam. “The damage is going to be really deep if we try and go until November. We should start those discussions sooner rather than later. At some point people are going to stop cooperating,” he said. “It is a fact that economic collapse and poverty also kills people. There is an outstanding question on how long you could close most businesses. The question is how long you can do it without hurting more people,” said First District Supervisor Das Williams.

The Supervisors also noted that social distancing has helped slow the spread of disease in Santa Barbara County, according to models. “These numbers are encouraging, as long as folks continue doing what they need to do,” said Chair Gregg Hart regarding the number of cases in Santa Barbara County. “People are making a difference with their social distancing,” said Supervisor Williams.

For the latest info on COVID-19, visit www.publichealthsbc.org/dashboard/.

Montecito Businesses Pivot

Locally, many Montecito businesses are having to pivot in order to stay in business during the shelter-at-home order. Each week we’ll be featuring one or more businesses and explain what they are doing to stay in front of their customers. If you would like to be featured, send me an email at 9 – 16 April 2020

Ann Picciuto of Glamour House in the upper village is also offering items online, in an effort to pivot her business while her brick and mortar shop is closed Kim Phillips Hayes of Maison K has taken her shop online, with 20% discounts on all items and free local delivery or pickup

kelly@montecitojournal.net.

Two local clothing retailers, Maison K and Glamour House, are taking their products online, seeking online sales until their brick and mortar stores can reopen. “We are all in this together, and we are still here,” said Maison K general manager Nicole Green, who told us she and owner Kimberly Phillips Hayes have used the downtime to work on their website, and have added many of their offerings to the website for purchase.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the business received a significant amount of spring and summer merchandise; everything in the store is now discounted 20%. Shoppers can see what’s available both online (www.mai sonkstyle.com) and via social media channels (@maisonkstyle); local delivery or pickup is available.

Ann Picciuto, owner of Glamour House in the upper village, is also offering a variety of her leisurewear, nightgowns, and robes online at www. shopglamourhouse.com. “Here you can view Glamour House nightgowns, pajamas, robes, and sale items and purchase them online. We will do our best to promptly address your needs and deliver your orders. Some products may be out of stock and require special order and/or are made to order so please do not hesitate to call us with your questions and to

place you order,” Picciuto said.

The Rosewood Miramar Resort is also pivoting their offerings; the resort has been closed since March 23. The resort has been operating a mobile food truck that was at first offering free breakfast to first responders and essential workers; now that’s transitioned to Miramar To Go, which is offering an array of comfort foods including burgers, fried chicken, shrimp tacos, and more, available for pickup or delivery via Grubhub. From April 10 to April 13, from 12 noon to 7 pm, the Resort will also offer Easter To Go, a special service allowing local residents to enjoy an Easter Basket full of their favorite dishes from the comfort of their own homes.

Available for parties of two, four, and six, each basket offers a threecourse meal consisting of primi pasquali, two carvings complete with condiments, two sides and two desserts, with options for each course.

Menu highlights include Classic Lasagna Bolognese, Roasted Longfin Yellowtail and Spring Lamb with sides ranging from Artichoke Confit “Alla Romana” to Roasted Royal Trumpets Mushrooms. For younger diners, the menu features approachable dishes like Organic Chicken Strips and Salmon, Peas & Carrots. In addition to the core dishes, each basket comes with complimentary chocolate eggs, fresh baked sourdough and salumi e formaggi, with a selection of artisan California cheeses, dried fruits, fra-

The 93108 Fund, which was started after the 1/9 debris flow, has been re-energized, offering grants

mani soppressata and more. For more information, www.rosewoodhotels. com/en/miramar-beach-montecito.

The 93108 Fund, which was created to support hourly workers in Montecito following the 1/9 debris flow, has been restarted. In 2018, the Fund raised $400,000 that was distributed through cash grants to those in Montecito unable to work, including bartenders, shopkeepers, waiters, waitresses, hospitality employees, etc. Local foundation, the Kirby Jones Foundation, has offered a $15,000 matching grant to any funds raised by the 93108 Fund. For more information on how to donate or how to benefit, visit www.93108fund.org.

In Carpinteria, KopSun LLC is joining with other businesses, organizations, and individuals to ease the disruptions caused by the COVID crisis.

They have launched a Gratitude Box, featuring items curated from local Carpinteria businesses. The box of local, feel good gifts is $45 which includes shipping. KopSun is collecting all items, wrapping and delivering free of charge. Included in the box is hand soap by Michel Design Works from Susan Willis; handcrafted soy candle by Trisha Taylor, sponsored

by Foothill Ranch Company; chocolates from Chocolats du CaliBressan; Phaelonopsis orchid from Westerlay Orchids; a hand-painted rock from Carp Rocks; a washable fabric face mask by Ranell Hansen; and a hand-crafted, laser cut box designed

by Coastland.

•MJ

M on t e c i to Tid e G u id e Day Low Hgt High Thurs, April 9 5:18 AM -0.8 11:30 AM Fri, April 10 6:09 AM -0.8 12:26 PM Sat, April 11 12:05 AM Sun, April 12 12:49 AM Mon, April 13 1:42 AM Tues, April 14 2:57 AM Wed, April 15 4:35 AM Thurs, April 16 12:30 AM 2.7 6:01 AM Fri, April 17 1:26 AM 2.2 7:05 AM

Hgt Low 4.7 5:09 PM 4.1 5:45 PM 5.8 7:06 AM 5.4 8:13 AM 4.9 9:32 AM 4.5 10:59 AM 4.2 12:12 PM 4.2 1:06 PM 4.3 1:47 PM

• The Voice of the Village •

Hgt High Hgt Low 0.5 11:25 PM 6 1.2 -0.6 1:33 PM 3.5 6:24 PM -0.3 3:01 PM 3.1 7:12 PM -0.1 5:04 PM 3.1 8:34 PM 0 6:40 PM 3.4 10:53 PM 0 7:29 PM 3.8 0 8:01 PM 4 0 8:27 PM 4.3

Hgt

1.9 2.5 3 3

MONTECITO JOURNAL

35

EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5)

the forward march of technology?

I have heard the argument that online voting would lead to voter fraud. And let me assure you, I am not a fan of election fraud or interference or voter suppression of any kind, even if it tilts the scale in my direction. I’m not a fan when Democrats do it to Republicans (Mayor Daley delivering Illinois for JFK), or when they do it to each other (Deborah Wasserman-Schultz to Bernie Sanders in 2016) or when Republicans do it to Democrats (Mark Harris in North Carolina last year), or when the U.S. abets voter fraud in other countries (our 1970 overthrow of the democratically elected Salvador Allende in Chile – and countless other foreign elections the U.S. has been “involved” with).

Put national politics aside for a moment, if you can, and think about this in terms of local politics. If, heaven forbid, this need for social distancing and quarantine continues into the fall and if we, as citizens, are not allowed to all vote by mail, then what happens? This pandemic has already prompted many states to delay their primary elections. This disruption of the political process is spurring on a widespread call for a state-by-state vote-by-mail system to be put in place

by November. And presumably, vote-by-mail is just a logical precursor to on-line voting. Unfortunately, however, our nation is made up of a confusing patchwork of different rules for different states, which allows for decisions to be made not based on fairness, and the importance of every vote counting, but on political gamesmanship that puts a thumb on the scales of justice for political advantage.

How does this serve our democracy? And how does this serve the American people? Wasn’t our fight for Independence a fight for recognition and representation?

There are few things more central to our republic than our right to vote. But for our country to have a proverbial civil/political war over whether or not we should do everything in our power to make sure that every person’s vote is counted, at a time when we are being told that the most patriotic thing we can do is stay home, is quixotic to me.

Here’s an interesting nuance of voting law I’ll bet you didn’t know. Texas Administrative Code Rule 81.35 was signed into law by George W. Bush when he was governor. It’s the law that allows astronauts to vote from space and even vote early.

Here’s how that law comes into practice before Election Day: before the mis-

MONTECITO JOURNAL’S THOM STEINBECK

CREATIVE WRITING CONTEST #2

W

e find writing to be the world’s best salve.

Write a short story up to 250 words. It can be about anything, written in any style.

What matters is your voice.

For this story use the opening prompt:

“ I could not believe those words came out of my mouth.” and continue from there.

Send your story by Sunday, April 11 to: letters@montecitojournal.net.

We will publish the winning story and award the winning writer with a $125 gift certificate to a local restaurant of our choice for take-out food.

36 MONTECITO JOURNAL

sion, an astronaut identifies which elections he or she will be in orbit for. Then, before Election Day, an encrypted electronic ballot is up linked to the astronauts

by Mission Control. Using a set of unique credentials sent to each astronaut via email, astronauts can access their ballots, cast their votes, and downlink them back down to Earth directly to the County Clerk’s Office.

The first person to vote in such manner was the astronaut David Wolf, who was aboard the Russian built Mir space station at the time, and listed his domicile as “low orbit, Earth.” So, in a sense, Wolf was even voting from Russian territory.

If local residents cannot leave their homes to vote, and cannot vote by mail, then they cannot vote. The Founding Fathers wanted to guarantee us life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It was not an either/or situation which, in the face of the coronavirus, seems to be the conundrum Wisconsin voters are facing.

Fortunately, thanks to actual rocket scientists (and your federal tax dollars that funded them) and some forward thinking and patriotic legislation by George W. Bush, we have in fact figured out how to circumvent extreme voting challenges such as Space and there is no reason such systems could not be adapted here on Earth – a place where we do almost everything online these days from pray to date. Do we want a world where only elites get the essentials? – where celebs and NBA stars get coronavirus tests, and for an astronaut on a Russian space station somehow we can figure out a way to make his vote count but not ours. Which America are we going to be? Remember this when you go to the polls. If you can go to the polls.

•MJ

Laughing Matters

S

omeone told me that some people went to the home of a married couple because they hadn’t been able to reach the husband. The wife said he’s in the backyard. They came back in and said they couldn’t find him and she replied, “Dig deeper.”

We are almost two weeks into self-isolation and it’s really upsetting me to witness my husband standing at the living room window gazing aimlessly into space, with tears running down his cheeks. It breaks my heart to see him like this, and I’ve thought very hard of how I can cheer him up...

I’ve even considered letting him come inside. But rules are rules.

Single man with Purell and Lysol seeking single woman with toilet paper for some good, clean fun.

Send us your best joke, we’ll decide if it’s funny. We can only print what we can print, so don’t blame us. Please send “jokes” to letters@ montecitojournal.net

The best little paper in America (Covering the best little community anywhere!)

Executive Editor/CEO Gwyn Lurie • Publisher/COO Timothy Lennon Buckley Editor At Large Kelly Mahan Herrick • News and Feature Editor Nicholas Schou Associate Editor Bob Hazard • Copy Editor Lily Buckley Harbin Arts and Entertainment Editor Steven Libowitz

Contributors Scott Craig, Julia Rodgers, Ashleigh Brilliant, Sigrid Toye, Zach Rosen, Kim Crail Gossip Richard Mineards • History Hattie Beresford • Humor Ernie Witham Our Town Joanne A. Calitri Society Lynda Millner • Travel Jerry Dunn • Sportsman Dr. John Burk • Trail Talk Lynn P. Kirst Account Managers Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Casey Champion Bookkeeping Diane Davidson, Christine Merrick • Proofreading Helen Buckley Design/Production Trent Watanabe Published by Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC PRINTED BY NPCP INC., SANTA BARBARA, CA Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA 93108.

How to reach us: Editorial: (805) 565-1860; Sue Brooks: ext. 4; Christine Merrick: ext. 3; Classified: ext. 3; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Letters to Editor: Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA 93108; E-MAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

“Doing what we can with what we have is the most we should expect of ourselves or anyone else.” – Fred Rogers

9 – 16 April 2020

BANKER (Continued from page 17)

that hurts the banks, the businesses, and the community. It will also lead to the $349 billion running out very quickly, meaning small businesses in need might not get any.

“What is sad is that certain affluent business owners with significant personal wealth can qualify for the program,” Jeff remarked. “This has added a free-for-all aspect.”

OVERSUBSCRIBED AND UNDERFUNDED LEADS TO DANGEROUS DELAYS. Every indication from bankers, especially community bankers like American Riviera, is that there simply aren’t enough funds to go around. Furthermore, it’s not a stagnant situation. The economy is in free fall. Once a business goes off the rails employees and employers have to make emergency life decisions for themselves, their businesses, their families. Employees are equally in jeopardy, if not more so. How long can they hold on, not working, without help?

Why is the PPP so Chaotic?

Let’s drill down into the facts of the PPP roll out in order to understand how and why a program that is absolutely necessary can pose such an enormous problem for bankers.

The intent of the program is laudable and clear – to keep people working and to keep small business going. No one wants them to fail. The Treasury Department announced that businesses could start submitting applications last Friday, April 3.

“Did Treasury check with the banks to see if they would be ready?” Jeff asks. “No, of course not.” Hence the tsunami. Everyone in the banking system was hit with customers’ urgent needs without time to prepare.

“We all crave that human interaction which is a bummer.”

That said there are essentially five concerns with the program itself.

LANGUAGE. The first issue is that the government sent money to banks without the language the banks needed to lend that money. That may sound trivial, but it is not. Banks are highly regulated businesses that have to take their lead from the Treasury Department and the FDIC. If the language doesn’t specifically enable the banks to make the loans, they could lose their license when they are evaluated for review.

“Banks had significant concerns,” Jeff remarks, “as the program rolled out, the Treasury and SBA had still not filled in the blanks on how it was all to work.”

DUE DILIGENCE. Banks cannot lend money to people they do not know. This is not allowed in banking systems.

“American Riviera and banks across the country have been scrambling to create loan procedures and an efficient automated platform to accept loan applications with all the supporting documents,” Jeff explains. It’s a massive undertaking under normal circumstances.

FIRST COME FIRST SERVED. The funding is limited and delivered in the order for which it is applied. If business do not move instantly, the money will run out. Every small business has to try to get into their bank as soon as possible. Furthermore, with the social distancing and shelter at home restrictions, customers can’t walk into their bank, talk to a banker, look him 9 – 16 April 2020

Becky Johnson, friendly local banker at American Riviera, social distancing with a smile

or her in the eye and ask questions to get reassurance. Pandemonium has ensued.

“We had to make a decision on Wednesday, as many banks did around the country,” Jeff remarks, “that we could only handle requests from existing loan and deposit customers.”

The fourth issue is a doozy.

THE SPIRIT AND INTENT OF THE DEAL. The head of the Treasury Department, Steve Mnuchin, spoke publicly to the nation shortly after the PPP was released and said, “I encourage all small businesses that have 500 or fewer people. Please contact your lenders. You will get the money; you’ll get it the same day.” Mnuchin’s statement was rife with concerns and unrealistic expectations that placed still more burdens on the banks.

The spirit and intent of the program is to help small businesses in need retain employees and not close down altogether – those businesses are supposed to be businesses such as gyms, restaurants, nail salons, stores, dog walkers, and the like, all of which fit the 500 and under criteria. But also fitting that criteria are hedge fund owners, lobbyists, money managers, law firms, and more, all with tax consultants and lawyers ready to pounce on an opportunity like this. As for same day – who is kidding who?

The spirit and intent of the loan is to help businesses based on need. Not on simple employee numbers. The possibility for abuse is so extremely high, that it seems almost deliberate.

If a banker lends the money to a hedge fund instead of a small local business,

but apparently, it’s not enough.”

If anyone can help small businesses in Santa Barbara navigate this situation it’s Jeff DeVine at American Riviera Bank. He’s good at translating bank-speak to people. In this regard he has a social function as well as a fiduciary function. American Riviera also has a team that backs him up.

But make no mistake, his job at the moment is a tough one.

“I have been so inspired by the team at the bank that have been willing to do whatever it takes to get this done,” he remarked.

The effects of the virus continue to replicate itself throughout our medical system, economy, culture, and more, maxing out systems in ways that are far reaching and paradigm shifting for ages to come. Seeking information and support locally has become the most powerful antidote to the chaos swirling around us.

•MJ

“Now we’re just working literally around the clock.”

Community Bankers are Pillars of Strength

The American Riviera CEO feels strongly that the government has to dedicate the funds to make the program work.

“When the government created this program, the idea was this is for all of the businesses hardest hit. They need to make sure that there’s enough dollars here for everyone that applies and qualifies. 349 billion is a lot of dollars,

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©2020 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Info is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Sellers will entertain and respond to all offers within this range. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.

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