29 minute read
Spirituality Matters
Krishnamurti Foundation’s May Gathering Zooms Online “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.
Can the Mind Be Quiet? That’s the timeless and perhaps uber-timely theme in the novel coronavirus era for Krishnamurti Foundation America’s annual May Gathering, which in our “old normal” times would draw hundreds of higher-consciousness seekers to the KFA’s bucolic grounds in Ojai, reminiscent of the days when the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti himself would conduct talks each spring. This year, of course, the gathering will be confined to live streaming as we remain confined to our homes.
The topic was one Krishnamurti, who was considered one of the greatest philosophical and spiritual figures of the twentieth century, pondered for decades as part of investigating such areas as the nature of the mind, the value of meditation, the potential for psychological revolution within human relationships and bringing about radical change in society. He actually wrote about the query of a quiet mind himself in one of his publications.
“The human mind is never alone,” he wrote in a work of the same name as the theme. “It has so many experiences, is burdened with so many words, the memories of so many things stored deep within itself, the impressions, the conclusions, the opinions, the propaganda that has been put into the mind. It carries it wherever it goes – on a walk, in the air, sitting quietly, ruminating about things, or in the solitary cell of the prisoner or the monk. It is never alone…”
Virtual May Gathering
The 2020 May Gathering, which takes place this weekend, May 2-3, via the Zoom platform, features more than a dozen different talks from a variety of speakers on topics related to many aspects of Krishnamurti’s teachings, an enormous body of work that some have estimated at more than 100 million words, representing 60-plus years of appearances around the world. His charge to the Foundation at his death in Ojai in 1986 was to spread his uninterpreted teachings around the world. That mission will be fulfilled via the airing of two recordings of Krishnamurti’s teachings which will open each day’s sessions – “To Watch Without Any Movement of Thought” and “What Makes Us Change?” – both from public talks in Ojai in 1983, the latter not coincidentally a conversation with polio vaccine developer Jonas Salk. The speakers that follow are all scholars of and/or former colleagues and students of Krishnamurti, many of whom have either written or edited a recent relevant book, said Jaap Sluijter, KFA’s Executive Director and the curator of the gathering.
Among them are Mark Lee, a trustee of the KFA and its former Executive Director for 20 years who has had a half-century association with the Krishnamurti teachings and the Foundations, and served as first director of the Oak Grove School in Ojai, which was founded by Krishnamurti in 1975; Michael Mendizza, an author, educator, documentary filmmaker and former trustee of the KFA who has co-created three biographical documentaries and educational programs about the life and insights of Krishnamurti; Professor Krishna, who first met and heard Krishnamurti in 1957-58 and was a Professor of Physics at the Banaras Hindu University in 1985 when Krishnamurti asked him to take charge of the Rajghat Education Centre as its Rector and Principal of the Rajghat Besant School; Stephen Smith, who served as coordinator of the Krishnamurti Centre in Ojai, and is the editor of the Krishnamurti book Insights into Education; and David Edmund Moody, Ph.D, who was the first teacher and later the director at Oak Grove before earning his doctorate and later writing three influential books on Krishnamurti. (More on Moody below.)
Also on the roster are four younger scholars who are early on their paths of research and study into the philosopher-educator’s teachings.
Jaap Sluijter – who has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering and has worked as a design engineer in the fields of camera systems and musical instruments before joining the KFA – talked about Krishnamurti’s work and influence, its applicability to our current situation with the COVID-19 virus, and what the gathering encompasses over the phone from his home in Ojai.
Q. Why are we still studying Krishnamurti today, more than 30 years since his death? How does his work apply to our current times?
A. Krishnamurti traveled around the world as philosopher-educator on topics of consciousness and tried to tell people about human potential, the possibility to be free and fulfilling the potential to be connected with everything. The emphasis of what he was saying was that we should not believe what we are thinking. Don’t accept authority, your own or others, because anything you believe gets in the way of seeing, looking directly to what’s going on. And you can’t find freedom through knowledge. Any form of authority gets in the way, so don’t follow anybody. He was rigorous about that, adamant even. Which is why he didn’t like people seeing him as a guru. His was the pathless path of the non-guru guru, to fit him into the traditional framework. The purpose of the foundation and the event is to continue educating people that the real problems of life and the world are related to our consciousness. It’s not something from the outside in.
I’m imagining that philosophy seems hard to accept but perhaps even more important during our current crisis with COVID-19.
It’s particularly relevant to these times. How do we come to a different kind of society? He would say it is from the individuals who have freed themselves from attachment to the past who can create something new. The gathering can be helpful because it continues the teachings for people who are interested in these concepts – whether already relatively familiar with his work or brand new to it. They are the speakers, and also something for those of us who feel isolated and don’t have the chance to meet often with people who share that interest. There’s a big longing for people to meet and connect with others, and learn not just through a book, but with each other. The gathering in person is also a place to meet and engage with like-minded people, but we’ll do our best to recreate that online with Q&A sessions after each presentation. It’s hard to do that without a physical presence or opportunity to look everyone in the eye. But Zoom lets us meet the demand, the longing for connection. Already more than 1,000 people have signed up, which is unheard of for us, many more than before. I think that means that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for people to look for more sources where they can engage.
More directly, how do you think Krishnamurti might have responded to COVID?
I think on the one hand he’d say that how we use Nature as utilitarian,
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without caring, has its consequences, that the virus is a manifestation of how we feel so disconnected with nature, which is why we exploit it and ravage Nature without a second thought. But he might also look at it from the point of view of people in prison, that the crisis is an opportunity to reflect and learn about yourself, to take advantage of the slowing down and limited interactions by reflecting on your life.
You have the opening presentations after the audio of Krishnamurti’s talks. What’s on the menu?
I’ll give an overview of the day, and talk about what’s inspiring me at the moment in Krishnamurti’s work and developments relevant to the current situation, and also educate people about what the Foundation is doing. On Sunday, my talk leads into a conversation that will cover some of the material we had put together for the upcoming conference that had to be canceled. We’ll bring those topics out in dialog form, go into some of his questions, such as how evolution might have gone wrong for humans to have become non-free. We plan to look at how his self developed in relation to his work, and bring in the topics that the later talks will cover.
Can we end by me asking about your path? How does a mechanical engineer go from designing camera systems and musical instruments to spending his time promoting the work of Krishnamurti?
I feel it was somehow inevitable… You look at the state of the world and the state of yourself, and at a certain point spirituality and psychology and philosophy just seem more important. What Krishnamurti was pointing at looked like the most sane thing (addressing those areas) that I’d read. That’s why I’m here. It seems pretty urgent for the world.
(Krishnamurti Foundation America’s annual May Gathering takes place 8:45 am - 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3. Admission is free. For more information, the schedule, speaker bios and registration, visit https://kfa. org/maygathering2020.)
Moody’s Musings on Krishnamurti in the U.S.
David Moody’s latest book, Krishnamurti in America, focuses on the latter part of the philosopher’s life, including controversies over his struggles with an earlier foundation, and an affair with a woman in Ojai that only came to light after his death, areas that previous biographies ignored. The book is subtitled “New Perspectives on the Man and His Message,” which Moody said was also meant to help dispel the idolization of Krishnamurti as a guru or prophet.
“I wanted to re-cast his philosophy and put it in a different light,” Moody said. “The conventional image was that he was a religious and spiritual figure, and if people read his talks they’ll experience some kind of enlightenment and maybe escape from all of their troubles. There’s some truth to that point of view, but it overlooks the vast majority of what his philosophy was really about. It was at an entirely different level, that of ordinary psychology and the regular psychodynamics of everyday life. That’s the center of gravity of his teachings. If you come to them thinking that he’s going to be your guru and tell you how to meditate, you’ll be disappointed.”
That’s partly why Moody wanted to explore the philosopher’s time in America and Ojai, including the long affair.
“People only learned about it after he died, and her daughter wrote a book about it, and they were shocked,” he explained. “Many of his followers assumed he was purely spiritual being who had no interest in sex.”
In other words, perhaps, think of Krishnamurti more as Freud than the Buddha?
“Well, it’s hard to find a particular figure who would be comparable,” Moody said. “He deals with the anxieties of everyday life – the fears, the motivations, the conflicts in relationships, loneliness, desire, issues at that level. The book is about how to understand his holistic approach to the nature of psychology, dealing with the issues of everyday life but looking at consciousness as a whole. Even Freud’s broad view was more fragmented.”
Asked to speculate on how Krishnamurti might have viewed COVID-19, Moody pointed me toward his most recent piece of writing, an essay on the topic published on his blog in late March. You can read his fascinating take here: www.davidedmundmoody. com/2020/03/24/krishnamur ti-and-the-coronavirus.
Other Offerings Out of Ojai
Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks’ Ojai-based Foundation for Conscious Living has created a number of new resources for meeting the coronavirus crisis on the home page of the organization’s website, where visitors are able to connect with its Restoring Resourcefulness faculty for coaching and education about how to shift from fear to create wellbeing and creative connection. Short weekly gatherings where people can practice presence as well as giving and receiving loving attention are part of the offerings, as is free access to what the Foundation calls its most powerful transformation process: F.A.C.T.: Facing, Accepting, Choosing and Taking Action. The center’s Restoring Resourcefulness faculty has been exploring F.A.C.T. with the notion and emotion of fear itself; rather than leapfrogging over fear, denying or controlling it, what might happen if you turned your attention and curiosity to the actual experience of fear? Other “Fear Melter” strategies, from the Hendricks, who lived in Montecito for several years before relocating to Ojai, and an exploration of fear signatures – unique fear patterns that generally occur among four patterns – including how to recognize and befriend that fear, are also online and available for free. Visit https://foundationforconsciou sliving.org.
Sheltering in Love Workshop
Barbara Rose Sherman – a Yoga Alliance E-RYT-500 Certified Instructor who is also a UCLA Trained Mindfulness Facilitator (TMF) and UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Practices affiliated instructor as well as a Certified Meditation Teacher (CMT) – invites everyone to join her online to nourish and nurture yourself during the coronavirus crisis. Sherman will lead a restorative yoga/meditation workshop conducted via the Zoom meeting platform featuring guided meditations and mindfulness practices. The event is meant to calm your mind, soothe your nervous system, and create spaciousness in your heart. All levels of yoga practitioners, including those new to yoga, are welcome. Prepare for the 3:30-5:30 pm workshop on Sunday, May 3, by arranging for a quiet place to practice free from distraction where you can use a yoga mat, an eye pillow (or washcloth, for the stay-at-home era), two yoga bolsters (or two couch cushions), and three folded blankets (or three beach towels). Register for the $25 class online at https://www.santabarbarayoga center.com/workshops, then join the virtual classroom at https:// zoom.us/j/8173108221. Nurses, physicians, and first responders are invited to attend for free, with gratitude. •MJ
The City Council of the City of Santa Barbara has set a public hearing on May 19, 2020 beginning at 2:00 p.m. to introduce and subsequently adopt, by reading of title only, an Ordinance of the Council of the City of Santa Barbara to Declare Existing Law By Amending Santa Barbara Municipal Code Section 30.295.040.P Pertaining to the
Definition of Hotels and Similar Uses. This meeting will be conducted electronically via the GoToWebinar platform, as described in more detail below.
On Thursday, May 14, 2020, an Agenda with all items to be heard on May 19, 2020 will be available online at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/cap. Agendas and Minutes are also accessible online at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/cap.
IN ORDER TO PROMOTE SOCIAL DISTANCING AND PRIORITIZE THE PUBLIC’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING, THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA ISSUED EXECUTIVE ORDER N-29-20, WHICH ALLOWS THE CITY COUNCIL TO HOLD MEETINGS VIA TELECONFERENCES OR OTHER ELECTRONIC MEETING FORMAT WHILE STILL MEETING THE STATE’S OPEN AND PUBLIC MEETING REQUIREMENTS. AS A PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PRECAUTION, THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS WILL NOT BE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. COUNCILMEMBERS MAY PARTICIPATE ELECTRONICALLY. THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA STRONGLY ENCOURAGES AND WELCOMES PUBLIC PARTICIPATION DURING THIS TIME. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IS AVAILABLE THROUGH THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:
TELEVISION COVERAGE: This meeting will be broadcast live on City TV-Channel 18 and online at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/citytv. See SantaBarbaraCA.gov/CityTVProgramGuide for a rebroadcast schedule. An archived video of this meeting will be available at https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/cityhall/council/meeting s/videos.
ELECTRONIC PARTICIPATION: Join the Meeting electronically by clicking on the meeting link which will be found on the meeting agenda. You will be connected to audio using your computer’s microphone and speakers (VoIP). A headset is recommended. You can also select the option to use your telephone, but you must use the GoToWebinar software to interact with the meeting. Select “Use Telephone” after joining the webinar and call in using the numbers listed on the agenda that will be posted online.
Oral comments during a meeting may be made by electronic participation only.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDIZED ITEMS: Members of the public wishing to speak on this matter must “raise their hand” in the GoToWebinar platform by selecting the virtual hand icon during the presentation of that item. The “raise hand” icon is generally located on most devices in the upper right hand corner of the screen. When persons are called on to speak, their microphone will be activated and they will be notified to begin speaking. Each speaker will be given a total of 3 minutes to address the Council. Pooling of time is not permitted during meetings conducted electronically.
AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: If you need auxiliary aids or services or staff assistance to attend or participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator's Office at (805) 564-5305. If possible, notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will usually enable the City to make reasonable arrangements. Specialized services, such as sign language interpretation or documents in Braille, may require additionallead timeto arrange.
Published April 29, 2020 Montecito Journal
MONTECITO JOURNAL 39
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bam Playing Cards, 1914 Emerson Ave. Apt A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Mackenzie Fixler, 1914 Emerson Ave. Apt A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 16, 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- 0000978. Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20, 2020. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Little Alex’s, 1024 A Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Doxa Chara Inc., 1024 A Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 20, 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 Brenda Aguilera. FBN No. 2020-0000993. Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 2020.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CinemaCamera, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Peter Fremont Mahar, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Sara Jane Mahar, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 1, 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. 2020-0000901. Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 2020.
taken out the overly complicated SBA loans and are hoping to navigate the process. But the entire burden is on them.
They didn’t choose to shut their bar down. If they reopen it has to work. Their reputation and livelihoods depend on it. Pandemic or not, if the doors open and customers don’t return, or they get frustrated because of limits, or don’t feel safe, Brandon and Misty won’t make their rent and loan payments and will have to shut down.
The question becomes how the City will attune itself to work with business owners like the Ristainos. Will the city relax regulations or create new ones allowing the bar to spill out on to State Street?
“Look at all the pictures of the bars in Sweden,” Brandon offers. “Everyone’s sprawled outside far enough away from each other. But they’re out there drinking, and it looks awesome. The vibe looks cool. As cool as it can be during a pandemic.” In Portugal the government is helping businesses by giving them ratings for how well they are adhering to the safety rules. REOPENING (Continued from page 21) Mayor Cathy Murillo
businesses like Brandon Ristaino’s have such challenges of reinvention ahead?
“Well, if you remember the experimental weekend and the popups, that was Nina Johnson’s work along with me,” the Mayor recounted, “I have to give her credit. If this is your question about unifying, I convened some meetings with people who had ideas about popups. We were going to do business popups. But Nina is a risk taker. I mean, we closed the street. People loved playing basketball in the middle of the street. So those kinds of risks, yeah, we’re willing to take.”
So, What’s the Larger Plan?
Many in Montecito remember a similar amorphous official response to the debris flow in 2018. Historically Montecito has had seven or eight debris flows in the last 104 years. But the response was squarely placed on homeowners to shoulder the risk. Providing ambivalent caution about what was coming, County experts suggested that people could evacuate at their option. The result was that most did not evacuate, and twenty-three of our friends and neighbors perished.
The surreal nature of City Council’s nonchalance to our imminent troubles may be just another example of human frailty in the face
30 April – 7 May 2020 MONTECITO JOURNAL40 “The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.” – Bertrand Russell The City Doesn’t See it that Way
The two most powerful figures in Santa Barbara City leadership are the Mayor Cathy Murillo and Paul Casey, the City Administrator. In fact, at the top of the City Administrator’s job functions are “strategic planning and policy development.” But when asked whether it was time to re-imagine city government to address our current economic and medical nightmare, as a challenge and opportunity for reinvention, Mr. Casey responded, “We are a council manager form of government, meaning I have seven elected officials as my boss,” Mr. Casey explained. “They appoint a City Administrator, me, to run the dayto-day operations of the City organization. They are the policy makers. They are the ones who vote and adopt law. I’m here to execute.”
When reminded that he is a key leader and someone the council looks to for advice to deal with the litany of terrible statistics cited by UCSB economist Dr. Peter Rupert, he calmly offers a counter narrative by the economist Christopher Thornberg with Beacon Economics, who is noted for saying that he believes the pain of the coronavirus-induced shutdown will be short lived. “I see a good bounce back, and obviously that is not the same opinion held by others in the market.”
Whether one agrees with Thornberg or not, it seems even in that more rosey scenario that difficulties lie ahead and leadership is required. When asked after the city council meeting what drives his decisions, what is his overriding concept and where does he see the city going, Mr. Casey once again demurs.
“I think it’s unrealistic and unfair to expect me to already have that answer to something unprecedented, unforeseen. I don’t think you can predict exactly how it’s going to happen. I think the question is a little unfair to say come on Paul, where’s your vision.” However when asked about the importance of his leadership in this moment, Mr. Casey has a ready answer.
“I am providing internal leadership to the 1,500 employees of this organization,” he says. “It’s a large organization. I am providing leadership to my staff and providing leadership to the council and support them in their decision making. But I think it’s unfair to expect me to be the sole component.” Meanwhile, Mayor Murillo Patrols the Beaches
Catching up with the mayor we found her making a tour of the city in her car driving along Cabrillo Boulevard. “I’m busy eyeballing the beaches to make sure they’re not overcrowded,” she offered from her Bluetooth headset. “I went up to Shoreline Park, that looked good. Leadbetter looked good, West Beach. Now I’m on East Beach and we have firefighters down here with their trucks and stuff, keeping an eye out to make sure there’s no big social gatherings. I made a little video and put it on Facebook. All of my Facebook is open to the public,” she added.
When asked for a comment on her silence in the face of Dr. Rupert’s presentation at the April 21 City Council meeting, she took a moment to respond.
“It was a little doom and gloom, but I have to stay positive,” she said. “We’ve known for a long time that it’s urgent to diversify our economy in terms of tourism.”
I asked the mayor if Mr. Casey and the Council are willing to unify to change things significantly in terms of supporting local business, especially when of adversity. Similar scenes may be happening all over the country as cities, counties, and states grapple with the unfathomable. But (an) underwhelming response from the City will be as deadly to businesses and our well-being as the disease itself. The Moment is Escaping Us
As usual it’s beautiful and quiet in Santa Barbara which can make it difficult to understand that we’re in a liminal moment between sheltering in place and venturing out, where testing is inadequate and a whole range of rules and new ideas have yet been put into place for our safety. Depending on how this moment is handled, we are either at the precipice of an extended economic disaster or, perhaps, an economic rebirth. A Fork in the Road
Unlike many cities and counties around the world, Montecito and Santa Barbara’s greatest assets are our human resources. We live in the midst of some of the best minds in the financial, entrepreneurial, and creative worlds. These are people who have volunteered before and would likely volunteer their time and brain power to help innovate, reinvent, and design the new normal. Now is the time for foundations to create the public private partnerships and immediately engage in the challenge of re-envisioning Santa Barbara’s future. Opportunities Await
We need to put ourselves on the forefront of testing and raise a local fund to fully test with County oversight. In Santa Clara, a city twice the size of Santa Barbara, the county spent $200,000 to test everybody in order to have a clear path toward treating the disease and reopening.
Working with local architectural talent we need to develop a cohesive vision plan for a post-COVID world. We need to open commerce, and develop a plan to extend restaurants and bars, so they have extensive outdoor space to compensate for distancing restrictions and to create a sense of joy. We need to focus on the redevelopment of the empty structures already downtown. We need to prepare for homeless increases by taking over empty hotels or pay for those hotels at reduced rates. We need to create public works projects for labor and artists.
We must create weekly City Hall forums so local businesses can be heard and articulate their needs.
But in order for all this to happen, our public officials need to put aside past patterns of behavior and mobilize to design our own custom recovery that creates a clean slate and a new future for Santa Barbara. It’s great that the city’s leaders seem to be optimistic, hoping for the best. But as we all know, hope is not a plan. •MJ
and new customers who have never eaten with us before. I’m happy to be here,” Furlati said. The restaurant is located at 1187 Coast Village Road. For more information, visit www. cadariorestaurants.com. VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 10)
Viva Oliva Moves Downtown
The new shop will allow them to offer even more carefully curated items.
“We have loved being in Montecito, and we hope to see our customers again soon when we reopen at our new location,” Amanda said, adding that she and Sven are in the process of renovating the new space and expect to be open in the early summer. In the meantime, customers can still order their favorite products online, at www. vivaoliva.com.
Dario Furlati, owner of Ca’ Dario Restaurants, has opened his newest eatery on Coast Village Road
Enoteca Primo, and Ca’Dario Pizzeria. “Ca’ Dario was always closest to my heart,” he said about the Italian eatery which bears his name. He went on to open Ca’ Dario Cucina Italiana in Goleta a few years ago, as well as Pizzeria Veloce, located in the Santa Barbara Public Market. His flagship Ristorante on East Victoria Street remains as busy as ever – prior to stay-at-home orders – a fact he attributes to his dedicated team of chefs and longtime front-of-house staff. “We really are like a family,” he said.
The newly-remodeled Ca’ Dario Montecito, located in Coast Village Plaza in the former home of Giovanni’s Pizza, next to Here’s the Scoop, has been outfitted with handsome dark wood accents and tables, cozy booths, and a long bar facing an open kitchen. “We wanted to make it feel like ‘Ca’ Dario’ feels downtown, without having to go downtown,” Furlati said. Once stay-at-home orders are lifted, the restaurant will also offer heated patio seating.
For now, the restaurant is open from 4-8 pm daily for dinner takeout orders via GrubHub, Restaurant Connection, or by calling the restaurant directly at (805) 884-9419. The temporary menu includes a selection of Dario’s signature pastas, pizzas, and entrees, including recipes gleaned from the Italian kitchens of his grandmothers. There are also family-sized meals available.
Once stay-at-home orders are lifted, the restaurant will eventually offer its full menu, promising the same authentic Italian cuisine as the other locations. Longtime favorites include Ravioli Al Burro e Salvia (ravioli with browned butter and sage), Tagliatelle Alla Bolognese (spinach pasta with traditional meat ragout), Costata Alla Fiorentina (a 16 oz grilled rib eye steak with stewed white beans), and an array of fresh salads, appetizers, and homemade desserts. The restaurant will eventually be open for both lunch and dinner.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming familiar faces who know our cooking,
MWD News
Montecito Water
District’s Board of Directors held its regular monthly
Amanda and Sven Dybdahl have moved their specialty olive oil shop, Viva Oliva, to State Street
Specialty olive oil and artisan food meeting this week as scheduled. The agenda included updates on the status of a Water Supply Agreement
Juncal Dam spilling on April 6, 2020. Jameson Lake reached 100% capacity with the rainfall received in early April. (Photo credit, Alan Prichard, Dam Caretaker)
emporium Viva Oliva has closed up with the City of Santa Barbara and the that we must continue to move swift
shop on Coast Village Road, leasing Rate Study. “These projects remain on ly and put resilient plans in place for
a larger space in downtown Santa schedule to be completed and ready the District’s future water needs. This
Barbara, at 927 State Street, across from for Board consideration in June,” community knows that things can
the Apple Store. Owners Amanda and said General Manager Nick Turner. change overnight, and we must be
Sven Dybdahl say they have enjoyed Proposed rates will be mailed to cusprepared.”
being part of the Montecito communitomers for review in mid-May, and MWD is conducting business as
ty since taking ownership of the shop include “desalination,” which refers usual to the extent possible during
a couple years ago, which was located to the cost of the pending 50-year the COVID-19 pandemic response.
at 1275 Coast Village Road. Water Supply Agreement with the Customer service staff is available
Originally founded by
Andi
City of Santa Barbara.
by phone and email during busi
Newville, the shop was located in The Board also reviewed a preliminess hours (8 am to 5 pm, Monday
Paseo Nuevo for four years before nary presentation on Future Demand – Friday), operations are regular, and
opening on Coast Village Road in and Water Supply Options prepared repairs are still being made as needed.
2015. Newville started the store after by Steve Bachman. Dr. Bachman is on However, all major capital improve
realizing the health benefits of extra contract with the District to prepare an ments are temporarily on hold. For
virgin olive oil, and began sourcupdate to the water supply report he example, “Smart Meter” installation
ing high quality olive oils from both completed in 2007. While many of the began in January, 2020 and approxi
California and around the world. recommendations from the past plan mately half of the meters in the District
The oils are housed in fustis: stainhave been implemented, the District’s were upgraded before the project was
less steel tanks which house and current water supplies remain unrelihalted in mid-March due to the coro
dispense the oil while protecting it able. This became evident during the navirus. Customers will be notified as
from heat and light. Newville evenrecent historic drought that spanned soon as these projects resume.
tually decided to move out of state, from 2012 to 2018 and left the District All Board Meetings are open to the
and the Dybdahls, who hail from nearly solely dependent upon the public and accessible by teleconfer
New Zealand, purchased the shop in availability of supplemental water ence. More information can be found
2017 and revamped the interior and and the operation of the State Water in the Agendas and Packets menu
branding, offering an array of artisan Project facilities. available on the Water District’s
goods from small-batch purveyors “Our constituents fully expect us web site: www.montecitowater.com.
and kitchen/serving items. to continue working on these critical Meeting times are posted to the online
In addition to the vast selection of initiatives. We were elected to do a District Calendar and participation
specialty olive oils and vinegars, the job, and we must fulfill our obligais encouraged. For assistance please
offerings include Ojai jellies, Jilli Vanilli tions,” stated Director Cori Hayman
contact call (805) 969-2271 or email
vanilla products, Marshall’s Haute at a meeting earlier this month. “If customerservice@montecitowater.
Sauce, specialty popcorn from Santa anything, current conditions show us com.
Barbara Popcorn Company, olives
from Santa Barbara Olive Company, pickled goods from Pacific Pickle Works, and truffles from Chocolats du CaliBressan, which are infused with Viva Oliva’s own balsamic vinegar, plus many others. The store also has a selection of cheeses and salamis, as well as home goods including olive wood products, hand towels, cookbooks, candles, and more. They also
Great Kitchens Don’t Just Happen . . .
• Certified
Designers • Fine Custom Cabinetry
They Happen by Design.
