Golden, Cheryl Trosky, and Bob Levine

School Stuff

by Bryan Goligoski It’s a Dog’s World, We are Just Living in It

Living in Santa Barbara, over the past few months, has been an incredible reminder of how lucky we are to call this place home. One reason we’ve made it through these rough times is because of the healthy access we all have to our beaches and trails. They have been good to us, it’s time to be good to them.

Our trails are looking pretty rough these days, and they need a little taking care of. By taking care, I mean curbing your hound if you find yourself in a position where he or she does their business. The high level of traffic recently has left conditions not only messy, but unhealthy as well. The lower portion of Hot Springs currently looks more like a unkept dog run than a bucolic trail to enjoy a hike under the leafy sycamore trees.

Do everyone the favor of grabbing a dog bag provided courtesy of Luke Ebbin, or the Montecito Pet Hospital at the trailheads, and be a responsible owner. Putting a rock over the mess, or chucking things into the bushes, is not an appropriate plan. Sadly, it’s going to take the work of others to get the current situation cleaned up, literally. While nobody wants to be in charge of someone else’s mess, sometimes you just need to do the right thing, as unappealing as that sounds.

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When bad things happen between dogs, not only are emotions • Board of run through the ringer, but lawyers get involved. Architectural Reviews

The other issue at hand is the lowering of standards when it comes to deciding to leash or not leash your pooch. The law is pretty clear that hounds need to be tethered to their owners in some way, shape, or form when treading the trails or hanging out at the beach. It’s also pretty well-known that about a third • All Phases of of people actually do so. Which I have no issues with, assuming the owner has done the work and taken the time to train and socialize the pooch, resulting in Construction their ability to stay under control while off leash.

In my reasonable opinion, there are three kinds of canines. The one just Entitlement described, those that straddle both sides of the disposition fence, and those that simply have attitudes or tendencies that says they need to be on a leash at all times. In the last month, I’ve had to use the phrase “know your dog” several times with a certain amount of gusto to get another owner’s attention and have • Custom quality them take their dogs questionable behavior seriously. It’s never fun, or particularly pretty. Construction

One such incident happened in Sharks Cove in mid-May, when two dogs came at my large Cane Corso puppy showing their pearly white teeth off, but not in a nice way. My dog was leashed, the other dogs weren’t. Instead, they “Santa Barbara Design and Build was fabulous. Don and his were ripping down the beach with the owner’s teenage children a good thirty crew were the BEST from day one. He was honest, timely, yards away trying to chase them down. Not a good situation for anyone.

To add insult to injury, I received an anonymous letter from the dad admonishing my admonishment of the behavior given the seriousness of the situation. This attorney with “twenty years of local residency” not only cited the leash fl exible, artistic, patient and skilled. They understood my vision and built my dream home”. -Santa Barbara Resident law ordinance number, he went on to write that he instructed his daughters to still have the dogs off leash. I hope you can see the irony. And his three years of tenure over my seventeen in town doesn’t buy him the right to make a questionable decision that went bad.

I say this in part to give everyone fair warning. When bad things happen Don Gragg between dogs, not only are emotions run through the ringer, but lawyers get involved. Case in point, an excited Labradoodle got into a row with a Boxer on Butterfly Beach and wound up putting a severe right angle into a bystander’s 805.453.0518 femur when things got real. One sizeable personal injury lawsuit later, checks with six zeros on them were being exchanged to make the situation go away. Fair warning to anyone who doesn’t think these things can get very serious in a hurry. WWW.SANTABARBARADESIGNANDBUILD.COM

The takeaway from all of this is twofold. First, do the right thing and clean up after that loveable furry companion of yours. This place is too nice not to. Second, know your hound, and its disposition. Leash them when necessary and FREE CONSULTATION remember, while it may be a special snowflake to you, the dog doesn’t really understand English in the way you think it does when the situation goes south. Ca Lic # 887955

Take care, be responsible, and have fun out there. •MJ 11 – 18 June 2020 • The Voice of the Village • MONTECITO JOURNAL 11

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 8) those health and safety guidelines, uled for Tuesday, July 14. For more and get kids back on campus,” Dr. information visit www.montecitoasAlzina said, adding that the school sociation.org. will need to dip into reserves to meet the new guidelines, which include social distancing in classrooms and 93108Fund Distributes during recesses.

Dr. Alzina also reported that the School Board voted earlier this week Second Round, Then Hibernates to move forward with a $7.8M bond It was announced earlier this week measure in November, in order to that after a second round of disbursereplace the two remaining portable ments to hourly workers in Montecito, classrooms on campus – which are the 93108Fund will go back into hiberrusting and deteriorating rapidly – nation, now that businesses have been and replace them with a permanent permitted by the State and County to building that will house classrooms reopen their doors. and administrative offices. The 93108Fund, a nonprofit started

Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor after the 2018 debris flow, distributed reported that with increasing temperaa first round of cash grants to hourly tures and windy conditions, a red flag workers in Montecito very quickly warning went into effect earlier this after the COVID-19 shutdown so that week. Montecito Firefighters continue workers could pay for basic necessito be out and about in the communities like food and medicine; a second ty with defensible space inspections round of cash awards will be distribbeginning next week. Chief Taylor uted this week to workers who were said that there is plenty of fuel to laid off or had their hours reduced burn on our hillsides, as the Thomas due to the shutdown of restaurants, Fire burn scar has grown back at retail stores, and offices in Montecito. a phenomenal rate. “Unfortunately “For the first round, we were trythere is plenty of material to burn,” he ing to get cash into the hands of the said, adding that the flip side of the hourly workers as quickly and effiregrowth is a reduction in the risk of ciently as possible,” said Montecito debris flow. resident Ron Blitzer, who started the

The next Montecito Association 93108Fund after the debris flow in Board of Directors meeting is schedJanuary 2018, and re-activated it in

The last round of disbursements from the 93108Fund will be distributed this week, before the nonprofit goes back into hibernation

late March after the COVID-19 stayat-home orders closed many businesses in the Upper and Lower Villages of Montecito. Now, thanks to the generosity of 260 donors in our community, the nonprofit is distributing a second round of cash grants to these same workers. In total, more than 1,230 workers will equally receive $260,000 in cash grants.

In addition to the Fund’s work supporting individual wage earners, the 93108Fund also provided the platform and management system for the Montecito Cash Mob, a collaborative effort which also included the Montecito Journal publishing and editorial team, the Coast Village Association, and the Montecito Association. Between the 93108Fund and the Montecito Cash Mob, over $400,000 was put into the local Montecito business community, according to Blitzer.

Blitzer says he established the 93108Fund within the first month following the 1/9 debris flow in January 2018, distributing cash to hourly wage earners such as servers and retail workers who were out of work during those first few weeks of recovery. This month, now that businesses are opening and people are going back to work following the pandemic, Blitzer plans to put the fund back into hibernation after distributing this second round of cash grants.

“If and when the need arises in our community again, the 93108Fund team will be on the case at the drop of a virus, mountain slide, fire, or tidal wave,” said Blitzer, who received help from a hard-working team of volunteers. “From our hearts to yours, we thank you for helping make our Montecito community a very special place to live and work.”

“None of this wouldhavehappened