Trimming the Tree

the giving list 9-16 DECEMBER 2021 VOL 27 ISSUE 50

SERVING MONTECITO AND SUMMERLAND

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics operates eight clinics and focuses on innovative care, page 50

Trimming the Tree

After a year off due to COVID, a festive crowd of Montecito locals gathered this past Saturday to trim the giant tree near the Manning Park tennis courts on San Ysidro Road. Story starts on page 42

A New Home

Once parked at San Ysidro Ranch, the 23Strong bench has found a new resting place at Lower Manning Park, and the artist is ecstatic, page 5

Quite the Exploration

While international travel can be tricky — and we have some tips — a trip to Rome was just what a woman with plenty of wanderlust needed, page 20

Shopping’s Upper Hand

As we continue to celebrate shopping local this holiday season, we take a look at what goodies and events the Upper Village has to offer, page 44

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9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

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Inside This Issue

Advice for what matters most, when you need it most Congratulations to Steve Hepp for being named to the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” 2021 list.

As your life evolves, Merrill can provide personalized advice and guidance to help you stay on track to pursue your goals.

The JJD Group Steve Hepp, CIMA® Senior Vice President Wealth Management Advisor Portfolio Manager

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Source: The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list, February 11, 2021. Data provided by SHOOK™ Research, LLC. Data as of June 30, 2020. The Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person and telephone due diligence meetings to evaluate each advisor qualitatively, a major component of a ranking algorithm that includes: client retention, industry experience, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, including: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. Investment performance is not a criterion because client objectives and risk tolerances vary, and advisors rarely have audited performance reports. Rankings are based on the opinions of SHOOK Research, LLC and not indicative of future performance or representative of any one client’s experience. Rankings and recognition from Forbes are no guarantee of future investment success and do not ensure that a current or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance results, and such rankings should not be construed as an endorsement of the advisor.

Neither Forbes nor SHOOK Research receives compensation in exchange for placement on the ranking. Forbes is a trademark of Forbes Media LLC. All rights reserved.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) makes available certain investment products sponsored, managed, distributed or provided by companies that are affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“BofA Corp.”). MLPF&S is a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, Member SIPC and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp.

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5 In the Know Susan Venable’s 23Strong memorial bench has found an appropriate new home 6 Real Estate Snapshot Just how is the South Coast real estate market doing? Let’s just say it’s impressive.

10 On Entertainment Béla Fleck and why his heart belongs to bluegrass; plus, Mike Eliason’s new book 12 Community Voices Why it’s important to focus on your own well-being in the post-pandemic world 13 Your Westmont Engineering students put their creations to the race; and a local educator is honored 14 Montecito Miscellany Empty Bowls makes the Foodbank feel full; plus, a Christmas Walk at La Arcada 18 What We Are Thankful For . . .

CommUnify might be a new name, but its history in Santa Barbara County showcases tremendous impact 20 Travel Buzz Visiting Rome amid a pandemic has its challenges, and we’ve got plenty of tips 24 On Art A long-lost Hank Pitcher piece of art has been unearthed 25 On Business Hotel Santa Barbara has been sold for tens of millions 26 Far Flung Travel A trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is eye opening . . .

28 Perspectives by Rinaldo S. Brutoco “Take This Job and Shove It!” Worker Driven Economic Growth The Optimist Daily The Sustainable Gifting Guide: A secondhand gift-giving guide for a more sustainable holiday 29 Brilliant Thoughts How exactly do we know who really is who?

29 Ernie’s World A return to normalcy?

32 Seen Around Town A fall fashion show at the Santa Barbara Woman’s Club to the Waterhouse Gallery, check out where Lynda Millner was this week 34 Calendar of Events From Grace Fisher’s winter bash to plenty of holiday happenings, a look at the week ahead on the South Coast 36 On A Mission Judging success for a nonprofit can take on many forms 37 Our Town Joanne A Calitri explores the “Elements of Healing” exhibit at The Well Summerland 40 1st Annual Holiday Parade Check out the photos from the Montecito Association’s first holiday parade 42 Village Beat The lighting of the giant tree has returned to Montecito 44 Home for the Holidays Checking out what the Upper Village has to offer this holiday season 48 ARISE 5K Check out the photos from the fundraising walk at Leadbetter Beach 50 The Giving List Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics operates eight clinics along the South Coast, and focuses on innovative care 52 Legal Advertisements 56 Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles 57 Monthly Meta Crossword Puzzle 59 College Bound You’re almost there parents; it’s just about time to watch your soon-tobe adults hit those college application submit buttons . . .

60 Santa Barbara by the Glass Taking a wine-driven trip to Paso Robles 62 Classified Advertising 63 Local Business Directory

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In the Know

by Nick Masuda

23Strong Memorial Finds Its New Resting Place

3,000 PROJECTS • 600 CLIENTS • 30 YEARS • ONE BUILDER

Susan Venable sits on her 23Strong memorial bench that has been relocated to Lower Manning Park (Photo by Nick Masuda)

S

usan Venable can’t help but get choked up a bit, as the mental images that come from weeks of helping clear out other people’s homes amid natural tragedy are something that will stick with her for the rest of her life.

As an artist, the Montecito Debris Flow was chockful of visual reminders, but none more so than the 30 boulders that she saw as she returned from Los Angeles shortly after the disaster.

They were standing guard just off Jameson Road like sentinels, in Venable’s mind.

“I don’t even know why they were there, but it was just one of those moments where it sparked an idea inside of me,” Venable said.

The artist had never worked with a massive boulder in any piece, but this wasn’t a normal situation.

She approached First District Supervisor Das Williams with the idea of a memorial park, where the boulders would be made into a semi-circle with varying sizes, with the smallest representing the youngest of the 23 victims, the largest left for the oldest.

But the appetite for a full-fledged park just wasn’t there, Venable said, with too many other critical recovery efforts a much higher priority.

Williams did offer some advice: Find a private location to place a memorial — less red tape, same sentiment.

Thus, Venable’s 23Strong bench was borne.

“It was a vision just stuck in my head after all that I saw while helping the community; I just felt like we needed something to honor those that we had lost. Everyone knew someone impacted by the debris flow,” Venable said.

She shopped the idea of a single boulder, cut into a bench. No names, just 23Strong along the back.

She’d find a suitor at the San Ysidro Ranch, where the memorial was cut to specification to live next to a garden — all happening in a 48-hour time frame due to the impending wedding season that the Ranch was preparing for.

The bench had found its forever home.

Or so Venable had thought.

Recently, a friend told Venable that

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9 – 16 December 2021

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Real Estate Snapshot

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

(Kelly is a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and a member of the award-winning Calcagno & Hamilton Real Estate Team. She can be reached at Kelly@ homesinsantabarbara.com)

Montecito Market Update

A

s we head into the holiday season, the Montecito real estate market has slowed considerably; as of press time there have been just 39 sales so far in Q4, compared to 99 sales in the same time period last year.

Q3 saw a slowdown as well, with 82 sales from July through September, compared to 127 in Q3 last year. Typically in Q3 (the summer months), we see about 50 sales in Montecito. Year-to-date, there have been 319 sales of homes, condos, land, and estates, compared to 328 sales during the same timeframe last year.

Looking at sales prices, median sales price is up about 5%: $4,475,000, compared to $3,062,500 in 2020. Average sales price is $5,849,000, up from $4.1 million in 2020, year-to-date. Sales in Montecito have been diverse, from a $669,000 adobe on Coyote Road to the legacy sale of 1.13 acres on Fernald Point for $45 million, which sold off market in March. 1104 Channel Drive also sold, for an impressive $31.25 million after being on and off the market since 2016.

Listings: A Winter Cool Down

As is expected when the weather cools and we approach the holidays, we are seeing a drastic lack of inventory in the Montecito market, along with the greater Santa Barbara County market. As of this writing there are currently 45 active properties in Montecito, as well as five additional listings currently in escrow. There are two properties marked “Coming Soon” in the Santa Barbara MLS in Montecito.

There are currently about 177 active listings total from Goleta to Carpinteria, including homes, condos, and PUDs. 43 of these are currently

This year’s highest price sale in Montecito: a beachfront home on Fernald Point, which closed in March for $45 million (listed by Kathleen Winter of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices)

pending. This translates to just a 1.1-month supply of homes if no other homes are to come on the market. (A six-month supply is considered a balanced market; fewer than six months is considered a sellers’ market and over six months is considered a buyers’ market.) Last year at this time we had a two-month supply of homes. In a typical year, we’d have about 350 homes available to purchase in the month of November. With only 177 current listings, we are still dealing with a staggering lack of inventory, which continues to put upward pressure on our prices.

Higher End Homes Selling

The sale of ultra-high-end homes has been nothing short of staggering this year. Since January 1, we’ve seen the sale of 37 homes of more than $10

Real Estate Page 55 554

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On Entertainment Béla Fleck:

by Steven Libowitz

His Heart Belongs to Bluegrass Béla Fleck

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C

redit Béla Fleck’s son for sparking the banjo master’s desire to return once again to his bluegrass roots. Fleck, who was first inspired to take up the five-string instrument as a child when he heard Earl Scruggs play the theme song for Beverly Hillbillies, has long since become an ambassador of the instrument who has expanded perceived limitations of the banjo via innovation, exploration, and technical prowess. Fleck has won 15 Grammy Awards — including in both country and jazz categories in the same year — and holds the record for the breadth of his nominations, spanning country, pop, jazz, bluegrass, classical, folk, spoken word, composition, and arranging. He’s composed classical concertos and collaborated with a wide range of musicians, from Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia to jazz pianist Chick Corea, tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain, and even the Tuvan throat singer ensemble Alash.

But bluegrass keeps calling him back. Even as his Flecktones explored banjo in an amplified rock setting, Fleck in 1988 released Drive and continued in 1999 with Tales from the Acoustic Planet Volume 2: The Bluegrass Sessions. Both records featured a core band of bluegrass stalwarts including Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Stuart Duncan, Tony Rice, and Mark Schatz, friends and colleagues for years.

But once Rice was unable to tour the second album due to health problems and getting the band back together never seemed to work out timing-wise, Fleck somehow let more than 20 years go by. But this past September saw the release of My Bluegrass Heart, powered not only by the same bluegrass wizards but also more recent arrivals on the scene, from Chris Thile to Billy Strings, Sierra Hull and Molly Tuttle.

“If you grow up in the bluegrass world, you never really leave it behind, or at least you always come back,” Fleck said over the phone from his New York home last week in advance of launching the second leg of a tour supporting My Bluegrass Heart featuring Fleck along with Bush, Douglas, Duncan, Edgar Meyer, and Bryan Sutton that will play the Arlington Theatre on December 15.

“I’ve really been wanting to do it for a long time, get a chance to play and record with guys of that caliber. Those are my guys. But without Tony (who died last year after a long illness), I had nowhere to start.”

But then his son Theodore came down with a health scare, a hereditary disease that affected blood clotting, Fleck said.

“It was a terrifying period, and we didn’t know if he was going to make it.

He’s doing great now. But that was the catalyst for me to get back together with my old bluegrass pals. It was about touching base with who you are, part of a community that cares about you and that you care about. It suddenly became a compulsion.”

Recording began in early 2019 and continued for the better part of the year, Fleck said, with the personnel evolving and growing as time went on.

“I couldn’t get my entire old team back together without Tony, and there are so many good players nowadays who I wanted to get to know better and come up with a broader representation of what was going on [with bluegrass].

It was just amazing to get all of them together to make a Béla Fleck record, all

“As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.”— Buddy Hackett

On Entertainment Page 164 164

9 – 16 December 2021

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Community Voices A Better Post-Pandemic You?

H

olidays bring a jumble of emotions and 2021 is no exception.

But there’s a particular grimness this season and I find myself lingering in the shadows of Thanksgiving for illumination.

November in Santa Barbara: Why have there been so many deadly traffic accidents?

Just earlier this month we saw dark smoke along Highway 101 and watched horrified the helpless efforts to save two dying people whose car had hit the wall and caught fire at Garden.

A few days later driving by the makeshift shrine of flowers at Cathedral Oaks and Cambridge where a drunken vehicle had plowed into and killed two others. Then on Carrillo, a young drunk driver with no headlights and another innocent death. And then a 71-year-old on a motorcycle at Cota and Salsipuedes, the impact so great his body was tossed nearly a block. Another life lost; another innocent DUI statistic.

Why is it happening?

Why is every kind of crime up nearly everywhere? This past weekend, I took a holiday road trip to my beloved San Francisco, which hinted at near anarchy with immense homelessness. Even the magnificent front entrance to the Fairmont Hotel was trashed when we arrived for breakfast early Thanksgiving morning.

COVID has worsened the stress, anxiety, and isolation of modern life.

The weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal is often a resource of sanity, and I turned to an article titled “Five Principles for a Better Post-Pandemic You.” (Note the story assumes post pandemic despite new variants.)

In desperate optimism, I studied the five suggestions offered in the book review of Brad Stulberg’s The Practice of Groundness.

These are the things to do in order to “find well-being in an anxious world”: — Accept where you are. Don’t sugarcoat it. That only makes things worse.

by Gretchen Lieff

— Focus on the present. Let yourself flow. Be present in the moment.

Get offline.

— Be patient with yourself.

Sometimes just resting for a little while is ok.

— Embrace your vulnerability.

Facing vulnerability helps us know and TRUST ourselves.

— Find community. This is my favorite, as it involves our bonds with those we love that matter most.

My search for post-pandemic meaning takes me to a New York Times Metro Diary letter called “Unleashed.”

The writer is walking down a busy New York City sidewalk and spots an elderly woman dragging a dog leash.

But there’s no dog attached. Concerned and troubled, the writer continues walking away. And on the next block she spots a small white poodle clearly lost. Without thinking she picks up the frightened pooch and starts running back toward the lady with the empty leash. Miraculously through the thick crowd, the “joyfully wriggling” pup jumps into her frantic owner’s arms.

Big breath.

I’m struck by the chaos, angst, and randomness of the story and wonder why it’s so compelling.

A short time later, while driving along Montecito’s Coast Village Road, an amazing sight pulls me in the opposite direction of the New York dog lady story.

Along the CVR sidewalk are dozens of purposeful people walking their dogs in military formation. It’s a group of dogs and owners taking this walk with utter seriousness. In near reverence, my car follows quietly past several intersections. My rescue shepherds are silent in the backseat.

K9 Solutions is a local dog training company whose motto is: “Any Dog, Any Age, Any Problem.” Owner Eric Smith said to a large following, “We reduce the stress and chaos in your life by helping teach your pup (and you) to behave and listen.”

“We’ve done more than 500 community dog walks over the past nine years… that’s about 15,000 dogs and their owners. Since COVID, I get two types of phone calls: ‘I got a puppy I don’t know what to do with’ or ‘I’m spending lots of time with my dog… and he’s acting like a jerk.’”

I sat down with Smith recently to ask him a few questions.

Q. So, you teach the dog and client.

A. I teach dogs to behave and owners to give their dogs purpose.

In the chaos of life these days, how does this fit?

The majority of dogs in our program were reactive/aggressive. That’s significant… because when we walk, we walk together; and when we sit, we sit together.

I’m guessing you have a lot of experience with both dog and human impulse behavior?

Things are twisted… things that used to be right in the world are now wrong.

Interesting. What are the parallels?

I want to do what’s in the best interest of the dog. I don’t sugarcoat… that doesn’t help.”

So, a bit of tough love?

It’s all about tough love… we teach structure, discipline — like raising a child.

So, what’s the message during these troubled times?

Can you be a little more specific?

Sure, where’s the hope?

I feel hope every day. The building of relationships between people and their pets. Dogs don’t like conflict. They look to humans to keep them safe.

I guess we all want to feel safe?

My dogs know when they’re here together they stay calm. It’s the collective energy of the pack. It’s contagious.

We are safer together than apart. For dogs and people.

Getting back to your question of what’s wrong with the world — the collective energy of humanity is off.

Something has tipped the balance in the wrong direction. And that’s triggering people who don’t have enough self-control to manage themselves. It’s just my

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opinion.

So, if we have internal self-control and discipline, we can manage this current difficult stuff?

Yes… definitely for our human clients and for their dogs. Teaching trust.

What are we left with except ourselves and what my 91-year old dad calls our “character”? Dad still refers to the sayings of my Pennsylvania Dutch grandfather whose drive forward resulted in an AMA Presidency: “Make yourself necessary.”

Let’s make it through – together. •MJ

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

Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood Deputy Editor | Nick Masuda nick@montecitojournal.net Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz Editors -At-Large | Ann Louise Bardach Nicholas Schou Contributors | Scott Craig, Julia Rodgers, Ashleigh Brilliant, Sigrid Toye, Zach Rosen, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Stella Haffner, Pauline O’Connor, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Sharon Byrne, Gretchen Lieff, Robert Bernstein, Christina Favuzzi, Bob Roebuck, Leslie Zemeckis Gossip | Richard Mineards History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town | Joanne A. Calitri Society | Lynda Millner Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Claudia Schou, Gabe Saglie Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson Bookkeeping | Christine Merrick Proofreading | Helen Buckley Design/Production | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design | Esperanza Carmona 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 G, Montecito, CA 93108.

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9 – 16 December 2021

Your Westmont

by Scott Craig (photography by Brad Elliott) Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

Small Cars Offer Big Lessons for Budding Engineers

Cars collide as they make their way through the figure-eight course

The right stuff: Westmont’s first cohort of engineering stuff

“E

ngineering is so hard you have to have fun,” said Dan Jensen, director of Westmont engineering, as small, remote-control cars zipped along the road in front of Kerrwood Hall. On December 6, students in Jensen’s Machine Design course raced their foot-long RC cars on a short, figure-eight racetrack as part of their coursework.

A few cars collided and went airborne, landing on their roofs, and one lost its tire. But when the dust settled, teammates Carlos Potrero and Josh Guinto emerged as the winners.

“We’ve been practicing on our own time, and Josh is definitely the better driver,” Potrero said. “I am glad he was able to punish them.”

The students created the cars from

kits with hundreds of parts.

“It was very complicated,” Guinto said. “We got to build everything from the shocks to the tires, and we learned how it all works: the differential and slipper knots. Literally, we put every part on this car.”

“It’s a challenge for them to manufacture the cars while learning about power transfer and suspension systems, but it’s a lot of fun,” Jensen said. “Every car worked, and that’s a huge accomplishment by itself. The manufacture of this complex system takes dozens of hours and uses parts not unlike a lot of automotive components in real cars.

Our goal for today was to have everybody laugh and feel like they accomplished something significant.”

Now in its third year, the engineering program is gaining traction with about two dozen new students enrolling this fall. The first graduates will earn their bachelor’s degrees in engineering from Westmont in 2023.

Jensen, a senior fellow at the International Design Center at Singapore University of Technology and Design and MIT, joined the col-

lege in the fall to prepare adaptive engineers committed to blending science, engineering, and the arts.

He earned a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Local Educator Earns Gold Star

Marianne D’Emidio-Caston, who served the local education community for more than three decades, received the Westmont Education Department’s 2021-22 Excellence in Education Award.

D’Emidio-Caston, who most recently directed student teaching at Antioch University Santa Barbara, spoke to Westmont education students, encouraging them to find a trusted, long-term professional partner to “grow with and, more generally, to do teaching with.”

“Marianne’s style of leadership is an extremely personal one, finding ways to meet each student or colleague at a common point in order to move

Your Westmont Page 224 224

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

13

Monte ito Miscellany

Paula Suter, Stu Lewis, and Paula Bard (Photo by Priscilla)

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 14 years ago.

Foodbank Feeling Full After Empty Bowls

A

Kaitlin Denbaars, Danyel Dean, and Jared Denbaars (Photo by Priscilla)

fter making it an online event given the pandemic last year, the 23rd annual Empty Bowls fundraiser at the headquarters of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, just a tiara’s toss from its normal venue at the Ben Page Youth Center, was quite the gridlocked occasion at the weekend.

The bustling event, founded by bubbly Danyel Dean, who has been on the committee for more than two decades, is now one of the most popular bowls events in the U.S., not to mention France, Argentina, Hong Kong, and New Zealand.

The event, which has raised more than $2 million over the last two

decades, providing nearly 16 million meals for needy residents, was expected to net more than $100,000 for the Foodbank, which runs 300 programs annually.

Fourth- and sixth-grade students from Crane Country Day School

showed their artistic talents decorating the bowls, which participants are allowed to take home as part of the $30 ticket price for a hearty meal of nourishing soup and crusty stone-

Miscellany Page 534 Sally Park, George Leis, Sarah Evans, and Paul Wieckowski (Photo by Priscilla)

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9 – 16 December 2021

Lorem Ipsum Lorem Ipsum

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

15

On Entertainment (Continued from page 10 10)) my music but still very much a team sport.”

That team, of course, revolves around Fleck in their willingness to take bluegrass into dimensions far beyond the traditional sound of the Kentucky hills or Nashville studios.

“It took those 20 years for me to amass a certain quality of compositions I wanted to record, so it was important as always to align myself with the guys that are pushing bluegrass into a more current state,” Fleck said.

But the truth is that Fleck’s career has done a lot of the actual pushing even if the younger artists have gone in their own directions.

“Guys like Chris Thile and Billy Strings freely admit that they listened to me a lot and that they know my stuff inside and out, which is an incredible honor,” he said. “And it also makes it easier to work together. Back in 1980, it was hard to teach my music to guys I’d play with. But now they know how my music goes, they know what’s allowed and where the freedoms are in there, and how the sound you get out of your instrument along with the teamwork is critical to it being good.”

It’s also a bit of a two-way street, Fleck said. “I’m definitely inspired and influenced by them. Chris Thile has sparked ideas for me and when I play with him it feels like he’s a younger version of me with more stuff all his own.”

The effort saved in teaching his fellow musicians was welcome, because Fleck felt some pressure to have Heart compare with the two previous albums, calling Drive and The Bluegrass Sessions “high water marks for the time” that had an outsized impact in the bluegrass world. “They were moments in time and position statements, and I wanted this record to stand up alongside them.”

Fleck pronounced himself more than thrilled with the double album that resulted from the recording sessions, with My Bluegrass Heart — which features both highly sculpted songs and improvisation-filled numbers — instantly topping Billboard’s bluegrass chart. And he’s thrilled to be back out on the road playing the music with buddies old and new.

“I have to admit, I’m trying to maintain my equilibrium because I’ve played with everybody before, but it’s amazing to have all the [bluegrass] power in one place.”

Mike Eliason has quite the following on social media for his stunning photography of Santa Barbara County

Man Behind the Lens

Carpinteria native Mike Eliason has taken tens of thousands of photos over the course of his 35-year career as a photographer in town. Eliason spent the first quarter-century as a newspaper photojournalist who worked for just about every paper in town, capturing sunsets and shooting alongside wildlife and wildfires before the Santa Barbara County Fire Department hired him as its Public Information Officer, an extension of his time working as a reserve firefighter for Carpinteria and Summerland in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The new job has brought him to the front lines of local disasters, and his up-close shots of battling the Thomas Fire and the rescue efforts and devastation of the Montecito Debris Flow were ubiquitous not only on local news sites but were also published by national and global news organizations.

But it’s only now that Eliason has entered the world of books, and only because of the pandemic.

On Entertainment Page 394 394

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9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

17

What We’re Thankful For

by Nick Masuda

CommUnify Embraces Urgent Needs of Santa Barbara County

Susan Rose, Patricia Keelean and Judi Weisbart

T

ea was served in copious amounts as CommUnify invited dozens to an outdoor event at the gorgeous Santa Barbara Club on December 2.

Good thing, because one simple statement was quite sobering.

Santa Barbara County is essentially tied for first in California for highest poverty rate.

With the sale of countless multi-million-dollar homes in the area grabbing the attention of the world over the past 21 months, the statement brought about some dropped jaws and even a couple of sighs.

Considering the United States’ eighth-richest zip code resides in the county — Montecito’s 93108 — there is good reason for people to be taken aback.

But that’s why CommUnify is critical, and not just at the holidays or when the organization is looking for donations.

The longtime nonprofit, formerly the Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County, focuses on finding solutions to help county residents live healthy and financially secure lives — from youth to seniors.

“It’s clear that CommUnify lives and breathes the urgency of this problem every day through the wide array of services they provide to so many — from infants to seniors. I’m grateful for their behind-the-scenes support,” said Laura Capps, a board member with the Santa Barbara Unified School District and event attendee.

The nonprofit is built upon four pillars: community, stability, service, and education.

In order to serve in each of these capacities, CommUnify employs nearly 400 staff members and operates more than 17 programs and services in the community, which include: Head Start/Early Start programs, energy assistance, home weatherization services, financial literacy and family self-sufficiency supportive services, a variety of prevention and intervention services for youth, and the 2-1-1 information and referral helpline.

“What makes CommUnify a uniquely valuable community resource is the breadth and scope of its services,” said Gregg Hart, Santa Barbara County’s

Thankful Page 544

Christmas in Narnia

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18 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.” — George Bernard Shaw

9 – 16 December 2021

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9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

19

Travel Buzz

by Leslie A. Westbrook

R

My Roman Holiday

ome, I barely know thee. I visited you briefly in the 1980s on a whirlwind trip through Italy on my first European travel writing assignment and carry a few impressions in my memory bank.

Now, along with legions of visitors over the centuries, I too have fallen in love with Roma, la citta bella, one of the most beautiful, chic, and historic cities in Europe. With apologies to Paris, London, and Barcelona, other European capitals that I also adore!

Rome, Italy, November 2, 2021: Part One of Three

I exited Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, rolling past a dizzying array of Italian designer boutiques, a waltz through Duty Free and breezing past customs (no questions asked, as I was arriving after a brief few days in Barcelona which, being in an EU country, made movements easy peasy), into a sea of hustling cab drivers and cigarette smoke. A tall, kindly driver named Maurizio — a dead ringer for Tony Bennett

— greeted me with a name placard to whisk me off to my lodging for the week: the Sofitel Villa Borghese Roma. It is situated on a lovely small street in the heart of Rome just a short stroll to the Borghese gardens, museums and zoo and a pleasant walk from Rome’s many famous sites and chic shopping streets.

The seven-story hotel, formerly a 19th century Roman palazzo, also lies within easy walking distance of some of the city’s best-known cultural landmarks including the Trevi Fountain, Villa Medici, and Spanish Steps and sits directly across the street from the “Villa Aurora,” which goes up for auction January 22, 2022, for approximately $550 million.

The hotel has decidedly French accents, thanks to both architect/ interior designer Jean-Philippe Nuel and the fact that French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte stayed here during the recent G20 Summit. Apparently, I missed Madame’s departure by just a few hours; Angela Merkel was at the Hassler; President Joe Biden, I

View of the Vatican taken from the Villa Medici (Photo credit: Leslie A. Westbrook)

believe, camped out at the home of our American Ambassador in Italy.

“I like it when we sail away,” the pedal-to-the-metal driver said and we flew out of the airport. “You are staying next to the American Embassy and don’t need a car you can walk everywhere, including the Via Veneto where La Dolce Vita was filmed!”

En route, Maurizio offered a fantastic, blurry historical and visual introduction to Rome peppered with recommendations, as he navigated the city’s wild traffic patterns and roundabouts, pointing out fantastic

sites along the way.

“You MUST have the amatriciana pasta... and carbonara, too... and visit the Spanish steps and the tiramisu is THE BEST in Rome!” I would soon begin my quest for the best tiramisu in homage to creator Ado Campeol, the “Father of Tiramisu” who passed away on November 2, just shortly before my arrival.

“There are Seven Hills of Rome, the Aventine, Palatine,” Maurizio recited as he followed a train and

Travel Page 304 304

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31

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20 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Visit us at AmericanRiviera.Bank 805.965.5942

9 – 16 December 2021

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

21

Your Westmont (Continued from page 13 13))

hallelujah!

Handel’s Messiah Part I and selections from Parts II and III Conducted by Jo Anne Wasserman

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22 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Westmont Education Faculty and Marianne D’Emidio-Caston

forward together to support goals of a program, an institution, an individual student, or a community,” said colleague Michele Britton Bass.

In retirement, D’Emidio-Caston serves as president of the Thoreau Community School, a nontraditional proposed TK-6 school that places heavy emphasis on outdoor learning, social-emotional health, social justice, and student voice.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies at Antioch and a doctorate in confluent education at UC Santa Barbara. She has taught in Spain, coordinated bilingual edu-

cation, founded a summer theater program, served as the director of the Santa Ynez Valley Family School, and was superintendent/principal of the Vista del Mar Union School District.

The Westmont Excellence in Education Award has been given since 2011 to call attention to different career paths in education that students and graduates might not consider at first when entering the field of education. The award also highlights the excellent work of individuals or teams in the community and helps to focus attention on core departmental values.

•MJ

9 – 16 December 2021

To our valued friends, clients & neighbors During the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to those who have made our success possible. It is in this spirit that we say thank you for your continued support, referrals, and for making our local community so special. We truly believe we have the best job in the best community.

Sending our best wishes for your holidays and New Year.

With Gratitude,

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9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

23

On Art Hank Pitcher’s ‘East Beach to Butterfly’ Unearthed

by Ted Mills

“East Beach to Butterfly” is the work of Hank Pitcher

Photography by Ralph A. Clevenger & Friends Chiara Salomoni John Kelsey Beatriz Moino Eryn Brydon Liz Grady On exhibit now through March 31, 2022

O

nce a longtime backdrop to a part of Coast Village Road shopping history, a Hank Pitcher canvas has been rediscovered, 30 years after it was hidden from the public.

Out of sight, out of mind, this Pitcher work was thought lost. But now it is making its return to the spotlight with a special showing at the Lobster Town USA gallery on Santa Claus Lane.

Its re-emergence has brought up a lot of history and emotions for all parties involved. Family members have passed on, businesses have closed. And the location where Pitcher once stood to paint the Butterfly Beach landscape, looking down towards the Coral Casino “lighthouse” and Carpinteria beyond, has long since eroded into the sea.

Speaking for the painting’s owners

is Ingo Koch, a longtime fisherman and electrical contractor. Though the painting has been part of the family since 1985, “We don’t live in places with nine-foot ceilings,” and so it will be put up for sale. The massive 9-footby-16.5-foot work was in storage at his stepfather’s house. And now with his stepfather’s passing, the painting has re-emerged, ready to move on.

Longtime Montecito residents might even recognize the work. It was commissioned by Ingo’s mother, Carine Degli Esposti, for East Beach and Butterfly, the men’s clothing store that was a partner business to Antoinette, one of the first stores in the strip mall currently anchored by Starbucks.

Art Page 394

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24 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say.” — Rick Riordan

9 – 16 December 2021

On Business

by Nick Masuda Hotel Santa Barbara Sold to Wisconsin-Based Hospitality Group

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Hotel Santa Barbara was sold for $41.9 million

T

he iconic Hotel Santa Barbara has been sold for $41.9 million to the Geronimo Hospitality Group, ending a 46-year run by the current ownership.

Hotel Santa Barbara, located at 527533 State Street, has seen renovations as recently as 2019, but the new ownership will be utilizing 2022 to prepare upgrades to the 75-key facility.

“We are excited to welcome Hotel Santa Barbara to the Geronimo Hospitality Group family of brands and

9 – 16 December 2021

can’t wait for locals and travelers alike to experience our unique spin on hospitality,” said Jeff Whiteman, chief operating officer at Geronimo Hospitality Group. “Santa Barbara is a very special place, and we look forward to providing guests with memorable experiences for years to come.”

Geronimo Hospitality Group is known for boutique hotels (including Bottleworks Hotel and Ironworks Hotel Indy in Indianapolis), clubs, fitness centers, and co-working spaces.

•MJ

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

25

Far Flung Travel

Keeping the Wild in the Wilderness

by Chuck Graham

The Canning River runs through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

I

had to admit it. I was lost and feeling a little vulnerable, the grandeur of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), the largest refuge in North America, was swallowing me whole. Located in northeastern Alaska, the braiding Canning River was a maze of channels that separated me from the rest of my group.

I had opted for paddling a pack raft, ditching the four-man raft for the day to strike out on my own in the chilly 38-degree water, dodging dense gravel bars and spindly willow branches while bouncing through Class IV rapids on the winding, frigid river.

At first, I followed my three com-

A Red Phalarope in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

26 MONTECITO JOURNAL

panions on the second of the three rivers rafted, the Canning, and then I paddled river right. A week prior we began on the Upper Marsh Fork at the base of the north slope of the Brooks Range, trying not to choke on relentless swarms of mosquitoes.

Three weeks later we would finish along the breezy, barren, and desolate shores of the Arctic Ocean.

We reveled in the expanse of Alaskan wilds that has remained protected over the last 67 years but has come under fire too many times by politicians, hell bent on exploiting its precious resources, that being potential oil reserves.

There are two ways to gain access in ANWR, either by backpacking

in, or flying in and then paddling its many rivers that braid toward the Arctic Ocean. Wildlife abounds in ANWR from grizzly and polar bears to caribou, Dall sheep, wolves, moose, and musk oxen, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, this pristine wilderness can’t avoid controversy. In August 2020, the Trump Administration announced that it would open ANWR for oil exploration, creating a bidding war amongst companies seeking riches on ANWR’s sweeping and fragile coastal plain. The proposed drilling site lies in the middle of the migration route of the 130,000 Porcupine Caribou Herd, denning polar bears and within vital nesting grounds of thousands of migrating shore and seabirds.

However, during his first week in office, the Biden Administration put a temporary halt to any drilling in what truly is the last of the Last Frontier. Keeping it that way seems to ebb and flow with whoever is in office at the time, but there’s no

denying its raw beauty. It’s as wild as wild gets.

Could this be the fate of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? One of the planet’s last great bastions of untouched wilderness rests in the crosshairs again and its future continues to remain uncertain.

After watching a cantankerous bull moose destroy a grove of willows with its impressively massive antlers on a large gravel bar in the middle of the Canning, I was able to work my way back to the main channel of the broad runnel. I had feared my companions and I would miss each other along the river, further complicating a reunion in the refuge amongst legions of mosquitoes and

A Caribou calf in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

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9 – 16 December 2021

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One week later, the night before our bush plane rendezvoused with us on the coastal plain, I walked alone on the spongy tundra. It was just after midnight as an Arctic fox bounded unimpeded ahead of me. A young caribou calf played peekaboo with me from a knobby knoll, and a red-necked Phalarope adorned in its breeding plumage waded in the shallows of a mirror-like pond. The silence was deafening, so much so that it became too quiet in the refuge.

Suddenly, something out of the ordinary infiltrated the Alaskan solitude.

The realization became all too clear. It was the dull thud of oil drills pounding the Alaskan wilderness roughly 30 miles to the west at Prudhoe Bay. For a moment, my heart sank.

Could this be the fate of ANWR? One of the planet’s last great bastions of untouched wilderness rests in the crosshairs again and its future continues to remain uncertain.

•MJ

2022

coastal horizons that were seemingly infinite.

Fortunately, I had my binoculars with me and even more importantly there was high ground to scan north and south. I sacrificed myself a little.

Despite being barefoot, I scrambled up that slick, muddy bluff with no issues, although squadrons of Alaska’s state bird ravaged my arms and legs. All I had on was a hat, a pair of paddling shorts and a short-sleeve sun shirt; balmy paddling conditions prevailed for several days in the great north.

As I scanned, I literally wiped each of my arms off with my hands, hordes of mosquitoes transforming into a black, oily gunk.

In the end I rediscovered my rafting mates floating toward me from upriver. Utter euphoria followed as I slip-slided down the muddy bluff, diving into the frigid river and drowning all the bloodsuckers that clung to me.

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CAMA and Music Academy of the West co-present the London Symphony Orchestra in concert in celebration of the Music Academy’s 75th anniversary

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

27

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

“Take This Job and Shove It!” Worker Driven Economic Growth

H

ave you heard all the news stories lately about “the Great Resignation” (or as some podcasters are calling it, the “Take this job and shove it” moment)? Tune into CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, MSNBC, or pick up a copy of the Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, or even your favorite internet news service and you’ll be hearing lots about it. What’s peculiar about the phenomenon is that it is only affecting the United States and none of our European or Asian allies.

So, what is this uniquely American affliction? Why have so many Americans refused to re-enter the workforce even at wage levels substantially higher than they were pre-pandemic?

The term “the Great Resignation” refers to the fact that over four million Americans left the workforce who, one would normally have expected, should have returned to work once the pandemic eased — but didn’t. The unemployment rate has dropped to 4.2 percent, yet millions of currently still available jobs remain unfilled.

Let’s start with a look at the alternative. Europe and leading Asian industrial economies took a different approach to the COVID pandemic than the U.S. They chose to send financial support to companies in return for keeping people on their payroll. For reducing churn on employment, this worked extremely well as the idle employees were in place to re-open as the pandemic came under more control. In addition, workers in European nations enjoy much stronger workplace protections than commonly available here in the U.S. The United States, on the other hand, gave checks directly to the employees.

This direct payment was enormously helpful in keeping the economy afloat, but encouraged every worker to start thinking like a “free agent” with less loyalty to historical employers and more attention on their own after-tax income.

The federal minimum wage has been stalled at the shockingly low, non-livable rate of $7.25/hour since 2009; meanwhile inflation has risen 20% in the same period. With absolutely no change in the federal minimum wage, the states have been forced to raise their minimum wages. For example, California is at $14/hour for smaller employers and $15/hour for companies larger than 26 employees starting

28 MONTECITO JOURNAL

January 1. The California laws, and those of many other jurisdictions, have for years been the last resort of state governments who have seen greater numbers of their population fall into poverty and even homelessness, while working a full 40 hours per week.

Fortunately, that state intervention isn’t needed at the moment, as today’s tight job market is driving wages higher from the bottom up instead of the other way around. As reported last week in this column, wages for the bottom 25% of the workforce increased faster than the top 75% for the first time since the 1970s.

There simply are not enough folks around wanting to work to keep wages low.

The shortage of qualified workers applying for jobs is likely to push wages still higher in the coming months. Yes, this will add to a temporary increase in “wage-push” inflation, but it will also result in real wage gains that will ultimately provide far more economic value to our “consumerist” economy than the transient inflationary impact. It is a big “Net Plus” to the economy.

The fact that so many folks have decided to not return to their former workplaces are giving workers a much stronger bargaining position than they’ve had in five decades! This ability to increase one’s individual paycheck is one reason for the Great Resignation.

It’s a tool to increase worker bargaining power — and it’s working.

On this point, however, let’s dispense once and for all with that old canard that temporarily paying higher unemployment benefits kept people from returning to work. The data is now overwhelming that those states who cut higher unemployment benefits many months ago are suffering the same rate of “resignation” as the more progressive states like California. The real reasons are other factors which are outlined in this column.

Workers are demanding more control generally, and specifically better workplace conditions as they look at the offers on the table before them in deciding whether it’s worth it to them to return to the workplace.

One issue is the cost of commuting, which is exorbitant in the U.S. due to the severe lack of quality public transit or affordable housing near jobs. It was not uncommon before COVID, particularly in California, for workers to spend

The Sustainable Gifting Guide

A secondhand gift-giving guide for a more sustainable holiday

A

survey by online secondhand marketplace Vinted revealed that one in six people are dedicated to giving repurposed presents this holiday season. That said, giving secondhand might still feel a bit strange, so here are some etiquette guidelines to help you master the art of secondhand gift-giving.

Tell the truth Be honest about where your present has come from by including a message in the card that explains why you decided to give this particular gift to your friend or loved one.

Stay on message To give a great gift, you have to give it some thought. “A handpicked vintage gift is a treasure. It’s a considered piece that’s going to add real character to a home,” says Instagram-based vintage homeware vendor Chloe McDonald.

Do it for the kids Don’t just wrap up boring hand-me-downs for the kids in your life this year.

Dig a little deeper by searching for independent sellers who specialize in cult brands like OshKosh or Levi’s.

Make sure your gift looks the part Make sure to give secondhand gifts a thorough check before wrapping them up and sending them to a loved one. Look out for things like missing pages from books or old, used-up batteries in toys.

Here’s how to ask for no gifts this year

The saying “less is more” has never rung truer than during these unpredictable and tumultuous times. If you want to reduce material gifts this year, here’s how to make that request of friends and loved ones.

Start with a thank you Gratitude is a wonderful way to frame this conversation, especially because some people express love through gift-giving. Let your friends and family know that you’ve truly appreciated the gifts you’ve received from them in the past.

Be honest Honesty is the best policy as they say. Let people know that you’re focused on simplifying and decluttering your life.

Offer alternatives Some people may be at a loss of what to do if you simply say: “no gifts!”

Instead, offer alternatives to people who still want to extend their generosity.

Some alternatives that you can ask for are experiences, like a gift card to your favorite restaurant or an art class, consumables, like a nice bottle of wine. •MJ 90 minutes or longer commuting each way to work on clogged freeways — contributing to a continuous deterioration in the quality of life and massive costs for automobile related expenses, especially fuel. Don’t underestimate traffic congestion and the cost of gas as a real drag on more people willing to return to the workforce.

Also, many folks who are 55 or older have decided they’ve had enough of “the rat race” and are opting to reduce their future income by choosing early retirement. They are voting with their feet to leave the workplace permanently and settling for less in current income in return for greater personal freedom and more personal “downtime.”

Finally, and this is the largest category for non-returning workers, many women would genuinely like to return to the workplace but the cost and/ or lack of availability of consistent childcare has prevented their return.

Providing for quality childcare to all

“The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.” — George Carlin

families regardless of wealth status is probably the most important proposed piece of President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” act that was passed by the House but remains bogged down in the Senate. More than anything else that legislation would unlock the return of up to two million women to the workforce, which would make that section of the act one of the most economically important to the entire economy.

Even as union membership continues its multi-decades decline, workers are regaining increased leverage in our economy and that is all to the good.

While small businesses may be having trouble adjusting to near term higher labor costs, especially those who are critically short of help in the service sectors, wages rising on the bottom is the one sure way to dramatically raise the economy. As is often remarked, a rising tide carries all ships — especially those on Main Street.

•MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

Brilliant Thoughts

Ernie’s World

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

Read more exciting adventures in Ernie’s World the Book and A Year in the Life of a “Working” Writer. Both available at amazon.com or erniesworld.com.

Back to Normal?

Who Really is Who?

T

he identity question has bedeviled mankind from the beginning of civilization.

And, although we now have fingerprints, DNA, and many other methods of distinguishing individuals, it continues to be a problem today – as evidenced by the fact that, at your bank, pharmacy, or airline ticket-counter, and other places you regularly deal with, you will very likely be asked to identify yourself, starting with your birthdate. Much of this information is now encoded on cards you’re expected to carry, such as your license to operate a motor vehicle.

But the validity of the card depends entirely on the authenticity of the person possessing and presenting it.

Of course, there are safeguards — but in fact so-called “identity theft” is now one of the most common and widespread crimes.

Why should this be? The answer is one word: money. The transferring of funds, which is more and more a matter of machines communicating with each other, must ultimately be from one individual to another — and necessarily depends on the correct identity of those individuals, particularly the recipient.

You know who you are — so why should anyone else doubt it? You have a name and a face. These were once sufficient for most practical purposes.

If it became a legal matter, the testimony of others who knew you would generally be considered convincing evidence. Ah, how simple those times seem now. And yet, mistaken identity has long been a theme both for comedy and for drama. Shakespeare used it as a plot device in his Comedy of Errors, and The Tempest. Much more recently, in Monty Python’s Life of Brian a man named Brian, who happens to be born a few doors down from Jesus, is mistaken for him by the Three Wise Men — and you can imagine all the complications that ensue.

But, if we’re getting Biblical, we might as well go back to one of the very first families — in which there were twin brothers, Jacob and Esau.

Jacob connived with their mother, Rebecca, to deceive their elderly blind father, Isaac, into thinking that he, Jacob, is Esau. Jacob therefore gets the inheritance (“birthright”) that was due to Esau. So, it was money, from the beginning.

Right up to modern times, however, there have also been true and 9 – 16 December 2021

by Ernie Witham

very tragic cases of “the wrong man [or woman]” being accused and punished. One would think that, with all the technically advanced methods now available to prove one’s innocence, such incidents could rarely happen. Yet a number of lawyers are still being kept busy on an enterprise called “The Innocence Project,” and, often through their efforts, we still hear of people being released after long periods of imprisonment, their original convictions having been caused by mistaken witnesses or incompetent legal representation.

Then there are the instances of nonentities who happen to closely resemble certain celebrities, or other wellknown people, and can take advantage of this — even make a career out of it. In the early 1960s there was a comedian named Vaughn Meader who himself became quite a celebrity by doing a very clever impersonation of President Kennedy — especially after the 1962 release of an LP called The First Family, which won the Grammy Award for “Best Album of the Year.” But his still-rising career crashed to an abrupt end with the Assassination of November 22, 1963.

Despite attempted comebacks in other roles, Meader was too associated with Kennedy, and lived the remaining 40 years of his life in relative obscurity.

Earlier, in World War II, there were some deliberate impersonations, as a tactic to deceive the enemy. One of the most notable was by a man named M.E. Clifton James, who bore an uncanny resemblance to one of the Allies’ top military leaders, General Bernard Montgomery. At the time when the Germans’ main concern was when and where the expected invasion of Europe would come, the movements and activities of “Monty” were being watched as closely as possible. In a 1954 book called I Was Monty’s Double, which was subsequently made into a film, James describes how, when he appeared as Monty in North Africa and Gibraltar, he was spied on by German agents.

And it’s claimed that this caused some German troops to be diverted from the Normandy area to southern France.

But let none of this divert us from acknowledging that, to most young people today, the chief importance of identification, or “ID,” lies in proving that they are legally old enough to drink.

•MJ

I

know that many people are now touting that 70 is the new 60 and 40 is the new 30. Does that mean that 10 is the new fetus?

They also say that telecommuting is the new work standard. Does that mean we should all get water coolers with life-size computer screens so we can stand around and gossip over Zoom about the new guy in accounting – who’s probably working from a coffee-wine-massage-psychotherapy studio in the Funk Zone?

“I heard he and the woman in human services, who actually works from a beach parking lot, have been having telesex!”

“Wow. I hope they’re using a virus protector.”

And what about autonomous cars? Will we still have to go to driver’s ed and pass a test at the DMV? Will a robot give us the test?

“WHAT-IS-THE-SAFE-TY-PRO-TO-COL-DRIV-ING-YOUR-TES-LA-ON-ACOLD-RAIN-Y-NIGHT-IN-THICK-FOG-ON-THE-101-FREE-WAY?” “Ah, put on an extra blanket and drink brandy instead of beer?”

I guess that’s why some of us just want to go back to the old normal.

“You sure have some weird thoughts, dude,” a voice yelled out from the living room.

“Yeah, maybe I do, Techie Guy. Now stop talking and figure out why my 75-inch, Class 4K Crystal Ultra-High-Definition LED Smart TV with HDR makes everything, including the news, look like a bad soap opera.”

I watched as he opened several menus, made some adjustments, and finally, movies started looking like movies again.

“Afraid I can’t do anything about Fox News and CNN,” he said. “I think they are soap operas.”

I went to my office and began my first attempt at a rewind – getting back to work on my novel. I pulled out the typewriter...

“Whoa, that’s a big keyboard? Where’s the screen? And the flash drive?”

“No memory. Just printed pages. When you rewrite, you start over. That’s how we did it in my day.”

“Archaic, dude. Did you ever see a dinosaur when you were a kid?”

I started typing... “Eddie ran to the closest phone booth and checked for pocket change...”

“What’s a phone booth, dude? And what’s pocket change?”

I was about to fire him, but then he said: “Just wanted to know if you like bright or muted colors on your TV?” “Normal,” I said. “I just want normal.”

“Kay.” But he had a point. My text did seem a bit dated. Plus, if I threatened to fire him, he had the ability to set my television up to only receive the QVC network and reruns of the Great British Baking Show. I let him work and moved on to my next attempt at reversing time. I went to the garage and dug out my golf clubs.

I hadn’t played since the day I lost 20 golf balls on the first three holes and injured my big toe kicking the golf cart. I took a couple swings.

“Whoa, dude, your woods are actually made of wood! You should take those on the Antiques Roadshow. Oh, and your television is all set. Don’t try to adjust it again by yourself. I’ll send you a bill. Please don’t pay by pocket change.”

I put the golf clubs away. Maybe I’ll move on to No. 3 on the list. Going back to the gym. I put on some shorts, threw a towel around my neck, and drove downtown. The place was still in business! I typed in my phone number and scanned my index finger. “See Team Member” came up on the screen. I tried it again. Same result.

“Name?” the team member asked. “Phone number? Date of birth?”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in,” I said. “I have a Silver Sneakers account.”

“Wow! Two years ago,” she said. “Silver Sneakers probably thought...”

“That I died?” “... No, that you gave up exercise.”

I sucked in my gut and tried to lift my chest back to where it used to reside.

“I was stuck living the new normal.”

She typed in more information, had me rescan my index finger, and said, “Well welcome back.”

Yay! I stepped up on an elliptical machine. I started it up and began ellipticaling. My hips hurt, my legs cramped a bit, and I couldn’t breathe.

“Hooray! I’m normal,” I yelled.

Not sure everyone in the gym agreed with me.

•MJ

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

29

Travel (Continued from page 20 20))

The five-star Sofitel Villa Borghese Roma location

Gardens Are for Living

drove atop the train tracks. “There’s the imperial palace, Circus Maximus, where the chariot games à la Ben Hur took place … and there’s the Teatro di Marcello — the Coliseum took the idea from there — and there’s a ghetto there too. Capitoline Hill is great for a picture with the sculpture of the twin brothers Romulus and Remus and the she-wolf depicting the creation of Rome… and the Temple of Hercules, where you have to put your hand in…”

“Ah, the Bocca della Verità! The mouth of truth,” I said. “That’s where liars’ hands are bitten! I remember that from a scene in the movie Roman Holiday!”

At last, we finally came upon an actual and most impressive site, certainly not my favorite, but memorable just the same, that I would see more than once during my whirls around Rome: the Vittoriano — one of the biggest, most distinctive and controversial monuments in Rome.

“What is that?” is oft muttered by passersby.

At the top of this extravaganza sits the “Altar of the Fatherland” that celebrates PRE

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Gardens Are for Living

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SIDEN TOP 6%

the unification of Rome. This humongous, impressive, neoclassical, white multi-layered Carrera marble monument towers above Piazza Venezia and took 45 years to build (1885-1935) and was inaugurated in 1911.

No way was I going to be able to squeeze all of Maurizio’s suggestions in during just one week, but I was going to do my darnedest to have a great time and see as much as I could without burning out. Thankfully, I’d arrived in Europe a week earlier and conquered my jet lag in London.

Maurizio then explained that once we passed through the ancient Roman walls that surround the city, I had entered Rome.

“Ciao Rome! I can’t wait to explore you!” I said out loud.

And explore I did over the next seven days.

Safely deposited at my hotel, I couldn’t wait to dig in and hit the ground running.

And that’s exactly what I did: Hit the ground, well, walking briskly with the first of many terrific tour guides who opened my eyes to this city of wonder.

Editor’s note: In upcoming reports,

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30 MONTECITO JOURNAL Montecito Journal newspaper.indd 8

6/8/17 2:12 PM

“Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them.” — P.J. O’Rourke

Sina_Omidi_Real_Estate

9 – 16 December 2021

The champagne bar at the Sofitel

follow Leslie’s travels in Rome, including a cooking class, fashion tour, visits to welland lesser-known villas, and, most importantly, the search for the best tiramisu.

GETTING THERE: I flew into Rome from Barcelona with Alitalia, which recently ceased to exist and morphed into ITA. There are currently no nonstop/direct flights on any airline from Los Angeles International to Rome (only connecting flights), but they will resume in June 2022.

I traveled via London both ways — with a week-long stop in the UK — on code sharing American Airlines and British Airlines. Business class is comfortable for overnight flights; the section looks like an office space, but the design is ingenious: small cubicles with seats that fold down for sleeping, personal movie screen, and comfortable headsets provided.

Premium Economy for day flights (return trips) is fine for napping and movie watching.

Traveling in the Time of COVID-19: Time + Patience

— Be prepared to check the latest COVID-19 travel requirements for countries. It can be exhausting and frustrating. I took four COVID19 tests between London-BarcelonaRome-home. One testing requirement changed overnight before my London arrival – I had to book the Lateral Flow Test (rather than the more expensive PCR) — and has apparently changed yet again. As Santa Barbara Travel Agency’s Charles de L’Arbre noted before I left: “Travel today is somewhere between ‘we don’t know what we don’t know’ and ‘knowledge is power.’” All I can say is “good luck”!

Oh, and the VeriFLY app? Phooey on that, I say!

— Unless you have reason to travel to the UK first as I did, you may elect to skip the separate UK entry requirements and fly from LAX directly to a country that is an EU member. If you have an EU passport, you can upload your U.S. vaccine record and get a 9 – 16 December 2021

digital EU COVID Certificate valid in all EU Countries. The QR code then grants you access to museums and other venues restricted to vaccinated persons. There are plans to extend this convenience to non-EU citizens, so ask your travel agent for updates.

— Be sure to plan plenty of time and patience. I have a file of papers/passes/proof of negative COVID tests from my two-week sojourn to London/ Barcelona and Rome that is three times thicker than my travel notes!

— Keep a paper trail. You never know if your phone might not work or you could run out of juice. I had an EU Digital COVID Certificate; two UK passenger locator forms (airside transit and Non-Red List, document control for Spain) and more.

— You will even be asked your airplane seat number on some forms.

With airlines charging for pre-assigned seats now in many cases, you will have to do last minute online paperwork, if you don’t pay ahead of time for a seat assignment.

— Have all pertinent info in hand — a friend’s niece was denied entry to Mexico from Portugal because she didn’t have complete information on where she was staying.

For example, here’s what took place during COVID-19 travel in and out of Barcelona:

— The Barcelona airport seemed best equipped, both on my arrival and departure, for the task of dealing with COVID-19 travel restrictions. Upon arrival, a nurse checked documents and a doctor took temperatures and asked questions. For departure: an airline employ wearing a face shield took everyone’s temperature in line before boarding the plane — aiming his “pistola”-like thermometer at each traveler’s head.

(I never did find out what happens to those with a fever.)

— For my Alitalia Flight 77 from Barcelona to Rome, I was told I needed a COVID-19 test before fly-

The ancient wall that surrounds the city of Rome is 19 kilometers – once you pass through that wall, like Alice in Wonderland, you have passed through the magic gates to the kingdom

ing into Rome, but the ticket agent at Alitalia check-in told me that a test was not necessary for Italy — after I had someone come to the hotel ($80) to test me, since pharmacies are closed on Sundays in Barcelona.

Fear of Losing

Most important tip: Be sure to have your ID (a driver’s license suffices if you don’t want to use your passport) for museum entrances, etc. and copy of your COVID vaccination card. I had copies made which I then encased in plastic — one guard did ask if it was the original and when I said no, after much consternation and intercession from our private tour guide, let me into the Villa Medici.

Best travel mask:

Hygiene Hero Super Mask passed the test with flying colors! It’s super comfortable and worked well for approximately 20 hours of continual use (with breaks to eat!) including airport transports, flights, layover time in Heathrow, plus I love that it can be handwashed and dries quickly when traveling! If only travel COVID-19 test requirements in various countries were this easy. www. hygiene-hero.com

SLEEP

Sofitel Rome Villa Borghese (Via Lombardia, 47, 00187 Roma RM, Italy Tel: +3906478021) Roman hotel with a French twist in a historic building with modern design by Jean-Philippe Nuel.

Hollowed out and remodeled in one of Rome’s pie-shaped buildings (imagine someone pinched the tip), a former 19th century palazzo and originally a guesthouse belonging to the aristocratic Ludovisi Boncompagni family, the hotel is

• The Voice of the Village •

Rome is known for four classic pastas: amatriciana (pictured from Settimo restaurant), carbonara, caccio e pepe, and gricia

featured among the 190 historic buildings of Italy. Rumor has it that during his escape from Italy after committing a murder, Caravaggio found refuge in the stable of Villa Ludovisi Boncompagni. Room configurations vary: some have lots of closet space; others don’t. Some have deep soaking tubs; others have showers only. I had fun trying to find the mysterious images in the ceiling frescoes above my comfy bed. I love the façade, but the interiors are a bit confusing at times.

The intimate lobby, with its proximity to fabulously attentive and helpful concierge/front desk staff, has a wall of Perrier-Jouët champagne bottles in a huge glass display case (although we were in prosecco country) and Acqua di Parma in another showcase, uniting the French/ Italian theme. Modern whistles and bells that, once conquered, are cool, especially lowly placed bedside footlights that go on when you get up to tinkle. (Not so cool, if you sling your foot outside the bed in the middle of the night). I get the glass shower doors in the bathrooms, but not the glass toilet door. Rates average $500 to $1,500 per night for a suite with an outdoor patio. Dining views are stellar in the rooftop restaurant and terrace Settimo — you may share your neighbors’ uneaten breakfast with bold birds at the very good restaurant, enhanced by stellar service and special requests that are magically granted, without nary a blink of the eye.

Website: https://all.accor.com/ hotel/1312/index.en.shtml •MJ Leslie A. Westbrook is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel journalist who is happy to be cautiously globe-trotting once again, despite the required numerous Covid tests and hassles. Check out her new website at www.lesliewestbrook. com Ms. Westbrook also assists clients sell estates and individual items at auction: www.AuctionLiaison.com MONTECITO JOURNAL

31

Seen Around Town

Strutting Their Stuff

by Lynda Millner

Mandana Mir and Sharon Byrne plus musician Tony Ybarra at the fashion show

Woman’s Club models: Janet Patton, Kris Proksch, Lynda Millner, Jama Scarlett-Lancaster, Mandana Mir, Simar Gulati, Salli Peterson, and Kohanya Groff and narrator Sharon Byrne

T

he Santa Barbara Woman’s Club (SBWC) recently held its annual fall fashion show with styles from Mandana in the Upper Village of Montecito. Seven, mostly member models, strutted the stage and the dining tables. Those twirling were Janet Patton, Kris Proksch, Jama Scarlett-Lancaster, Mandana Mir, Simar Gulati, Salli Peterson, Kohanya Groff, and yours truly, while Sharon Byrne narrated.

Sharon had help with the show from the shop’s owner, Mandana. She has an interesting addition to her boutique with a room for consignment clothes, so if you’re looking for a bargain, check it out. Music for the show was provided by Tony Ybarra.

After modeling for many years,

it was my first foray in a while.

Memories!

The Woman’s Club is more than 100 years old and has a fascinating history. It began as the Fortnightly Club in 1892. Its mission was to advance the civic and cultural enlightenment of its members. They didn’t want to meet in homes, so the first clubhouse was upstairs at 1235 State Street.

The latest papers, magazines, and books were available for the women to read and discuss. After one year there were 97 members.

One of the major problems was lack of hitching posts for their carriages on Equestrian Avenue. A complaint was issued to the city fathers (husbands?) and posts were soon added. More room was needed so

they leased Dr. Belcher’s home. The previous tenants had left because they felt the house was haunted.

Next came 6 Arlington Avenue with a much-needed auditorium that seated 150. Membership was limited to 100 permanent members and dues were $6 per year. They were still growing by 1906 and wanted to build a new clubhouse. They held a glorified garage sale, sold advertising space, and more and by 1910 they were good to go.

The first World War had a big impact on the Club and women’s involvement in the community. In the SBWC president’s address in 1918 she stated, “The demands upon women are growing greater each day… She must take the man’s place as he is called out, and more and more there is need of the volunteer worker. There can be no leisure women and it is the duty of the trained worker to inspire the slacker amongst us.”

It is because of the club that we have a publicly owned beachfront

and harbor encompassing the whole of East and West beaches. They preserved trees in the city and were active in many projects.

By 1924, with 437 members, they needed more space. On February 8, 1927, a “fortunate” disaster struck.

The Rockwood Inn in Mission Canyon burned down. Room and board was $15 per week. The morning after the fire, Mr. and Mrs. Max Schott drove past the ruins. Mrs. Schott immediately put down $100 to hold it for the Club. They paid $17,000. They hired the Edwards, Plunkett and Howell architectural firm who had built the Arlington.

The grand opening was in 1928 and SBWC owned it outright within 12 years.

Parking has always been a problem even in the horse and buggy days. Mrs. Samuel Stanwood, a club member, owned the neighboring lot and sold it cheap, members donated, and voila, a parking lot.

A fascinating array of entertainment and entertainers have appeared over the years such as Susan B. Anthony in 1895 and Helen Keller in 1914. Others like Lockwood de Forest, Carl Sandburg, Ray Bradbury, Huell Howser, John Lindberg, Margaret Sanger, Edward R. Murrow, Eleanor Roosevelt, Vincent Price, Steve Allen, Marilyn Monroe, and Lena Horne visited.

In 1923, Santa Barbara attorney William Griffith spoke on good government.

“Here is your city — you can do one of three things with it. If you do not like it, you can leave; if you approve of it, remember it will not improve of itself; and if you love it, you can make it the city of which you have dreamed, a bigger and bet-

Seen Page 564

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9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

33

CALENDAR OF Note to readers: This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and other events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next week. It is by no means comprehensive. Be sure to read feature stories in each issue that complement the calendar. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, information must be submitted no later than noon on the Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Please send all news releases and digital artwork to slibowitz@yahoo.com)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11 TRAP-ped with Pockets — You may never have heard of the band Pockets, the group of studio players and vocalists who will, once again, grace the stage at the Lobero for the annual benefit supporting TRAP, The Rhythmic Arts Project. But the musicians who comprise the band — Táta Vega (vocals), Chris Pinnick (guitar), Carl Graves (vocals/ percussion), Steve Nelson (bass), Jimmy Caleri (piano/sax), Rick Geragi (percussion), and Bill Bodine (trumpet) — have collectively played on more than 1,000 albums and CDs by artists you definitely do know: Madonna, Chicago, Elton John, The Beach Boys, Cher, Van Morrison, America, TOTO, Michael McDonald, Marianne Faithful, and Oingo Boingo among them. Also appearing are Vinnie Colaiuta, Grammy-winning drummer with Sting, Jeff Beck, and Herbie Hancock, and Luis Conte, the renowned percussionist currently with James Taylor. The gathering is in service of supporting and celebrating TRAP, the nonprofit founded by their friend and colleague, local

drummer Eddie Tuduri, who created the innovative approach and learning resource for working with people who are developmentally disabled as part of his own recovery from a TBI suffered while surfing in town.

The funds go to further the worthy cause, but the night is all about fun, funk, and fellowship, even during intermission, when the live auction boasts autographed guitars from Vince Gill, Robben Ford, and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.

WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $30-$65 INFO: (805) 963-0761, www.lobero.com SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12 Let There Be Lights — Although some Christmas parades have been canceled due to concerns about COVID, all three area harbors are back in action with their annual maritime “marches,” with delightfully decorated vessels cruising by piers

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11 A Grace-ful Christmas — It’s been nearly seven years since Grace Fisher — then an extremely active high school teenager who was an actress and dancer and played three musical instruments and was set to attend the prestigious Berklee School of Music — suddenly found her spine ravaged by a rare virus called Acute Flaccid Myelitis that within hours left her paralyzed from the neck down. But rather than bemoan her fate, Fisher, who spends her waking hours in a wheelchair and navigates the world only through the use of a mouth-stick device, instead found other ways to express herself via the challenges, and over the years has composed significant pieces of orchestral music that are often heard at benefits for her Grace Fisher Foundation, which she created to support others who have been stricken by AFM with a mission of bringing art and music to kids of all abilities. Tonight marks the 4th annual Winter Music Showcase concert for the foundation at which Fisher will share more of her inspiring original compositions (performed by the Solstice Chamber Orchestra) and animations created through the device, with additional appearances by such Santa Barbara colleagues as Will Breman, who was a semi-finalist on TV’s The Voice; former Teen Star Santa Barbara Jackson Gillies, who also competed on American Idol, the Madrigals Choir, Three For Joy, and the Bar-back Boys. Smiles, and tears, are welcome.

WHEN: 5-6:30 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $20-$59 INFO: (805) 899-2222, www.granadasb.org

34 MONTECITO JOURNAL

EVENTS

by Steven Libowitz

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12 Downbeat December — No, we’re not referring to a second consecutive Christmas season of coping with COVID, but rather the return of Santa Barbara Jazz Society’s annual Holiday Party and Jam Session at SOhO. Both professional and wanna-be musicians and singers are invited to take a shot at shining on stage in front of friends, colleagues, and local jazz lovers, backed by a crackerjack trio of pianist Debbie Denke, bassist Kim Collins, and drummer Craig Thatcher.

Bring your instruments, or charts for the singers, and get ready to jazz jam away a Sunday afternoon just two weeks before Christmas. As always, the Dos Pueblos High School Jazz Band will perform a couple of numbers during the break, when the school band will also be awarded $1,000 from SBJS’s Scholarship Fund.

WHEN: 1-4 pm WHERE: SOhO, 1221 State Street, upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $35, $10 for performers & students INFO: (805) 962-7776, www.sohosb.com; (805) 687-7123, www.sbjazz.org and through harbors filled with people in awe. Channel Islands Harbor kicks off the festivities with its 55th annual holiday Parade of Lights, with a “Jingle Jungle” theme, starting at 7 pm on Saturday, December 11, but a full day of holiday activities precede the parade, including the annual Holiday Mast Lighting at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum with live music and a visit from Santa…

Back in Santa Barbara, the signature holiday event that’s 20 years Channel Islands’ junior but still celebrating 35 years, starts at 12 noon with a Winter Wonderland on the City Pier loaded with Santa and his elves, holiday music, and 10 tons of manufactured snow. At 4 pm, the human-powered category competition gets its own time slot for the first time during daylight hours, with dozens of standup paddlers and kayakers dressed in festive attire looping around Stearns Wharf; you might even see some brrrr-inducing barrelrolls from the brave and boisterous bunch. The main boat parade launches at 5:30 pm, with 30 or so illuminated watercraft lighting up the night as they make their way from Leadbetter Beach down the coast to the Cabrillo Arts Pavilion, then back along the coast to Stearns Wharf. A brief firework show bids farewell to the fest, this year dubbed “Magic Under the Moonlight.”... Next weekend, it’s Ventura Harbor’s turn, with two days of fun in the village and on the water boasting shimmering lights, whirling kid carnival rides,

“When children are doing nothing, they are doing mischief.” — Henry Fielding

boutique gift shopping, and a variety of vessels winding their way through the nooks and crannies of the harbor from 4-8 pm on Friday & Saturday, December 17-18. Fireworks also close out the festivities at Ventura for the event with the cleverest title of the bunch: “Back to Seality!” Free admission to all events.

INFO: Channel Islands: www.channelislandsharbor.org; Santa Barbara: www.santabarbaraca.gov; Ventura: www.venturaharborvillage.com/pa rade-of-lights SUNDAY, DECEMBER 12 Merry Montecito Music — The Santa Barbara Master Chorale marks its return to the live stage for the first time in two years with its annual Christmas concert that also features a move to Montecito with the event taking place at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church rather than the Chorale’s usual digs of the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Barbara. Associate Conductor Erin Bonski-Evans leads the singers through an upbeat program called “Sing We Now of Christmas,” with special guests soprano Christine Hollinger, harpist Laurie Rasmussen, and the American Riviera Children’s Honor Chorus.

WHEN: 3 pm WHERE: 1300 E. Valley Rd., corner of East Valley and Hot Springs COST: $20 general, $10 children grades K-12 INFO: www.sbmasterchorale.org •MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

Wrap up your holiday shopping with something memorable for everyone on your list.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

with special guest Shawn Colvin Feb 26 / Arlington Theatre

An Evening with

Colson Whitehead

Apr 28 / Granada Th

eatre

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Apr 13 & 14 / Granada Theatre

Joshua Bell, violin Peter Dugan, piano Feb 3 / Granada Theatre

An Evening with

John Leguizamopbell Hall C Feb 2 / UCSB

am

oln Jazz at Linc estra Center Orch n Marsalis o with Wynt da Theatre r Feb 4 / G

ana

Roxane Gay

Roxane with One N Feb 25 / Granada Theatre

Ballet Hispánico Noche de Oro: A Celebration of 50 Years

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Feb 22 & 23 Arlington Theatre

Jan 21 / Granada Theatre

(805) 893-3535 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu 9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

Gift certificates available online!

MONTECITO JOURNAL

35

On A Mission

by Cassie Lancaster

F

Success Comes in Many Different Forms

or nonprofits, there are many barometers of success.

One is fundraising, obviously. The more a nonprofit can raise, the better its odds become of fulfilling its mission.

Mission Scholars’ stated goal is distinct: to change lives by helping exceptional, underserved students get into and graduate from the best college possible.

Another is outcome. One advantage enjoyed by Mission Scholars, the program I run under the aegis of the Santa Barbara Education Foundation, is that its goals are clear-cut and easily demonstrated. We help high-achieving, low-income students get into four-year colleges, then we help them succeed once they get there. Both of these objectives entail measurable effects, so demonstrating our results is a pretty straightforward matter. But acceptance letters and college degrees don’t tell the whole story.

A third way to judge the success of a nonprofit is through the lens of community involvement. Some would view this more as a measure of momentum than of success, but I would argue that the energetic support of the surrounding community is the foundation upon which all other success rests. It’s harder to measure, in part because it can take on so many different forms, but I witness the ripple effects of enthusiastic community involvement every day.

36 MONTECITO JOURNAL

In early 2020, for example, a Mission Scholars senior named Kathy RamirezGijon was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Bill & Melinda Gates Scholarship.

This alone was a triumph, both for her and for our program. But one thing stood between Kathy and actually becoming a Gates Scholar, which would mean a full ride to the college of her choosing: a daunting 30-minute personal interview.

A large part of my job is to marshal the tsunami of generosity and goodwill from our supporters and direct it to where it will do the most good. In this case, that meant drawing on the skills of one of our earliest volunteers, Dr. Andy Gersoff.

Six months earlier, Andy had offered to serve as a mock interviewer for Mission Scholars. His background as both an interviewer for Cottage Hospital’s residency program and an alumni interviewer for Yale University made him a real catch for our program. A few of our Scholars had conducted mock interviews with him prior to their first round of college interviews, and I had been impressed with his ability to balance kindness and patience with high expectations for his interviewees. Every Scholar had left his prep sessions ready and eager for their college interviews.

But Kathy’s interview would be a different beast entirely. Landing the Gates Scholarship would eliminate one of the biggest hurdles low-income students face when contemplating college: the cost of attendance. This interview represented a chance for Kathy to avoid the painstaking cobbling together of loans, grants, and financial aid, and the long-term debt that often comes with it.

Kathy took the mock interview seriously, and so did Andy. She dressed up for it, just as she would for the real interview, and he conducted it in a formal setting, at the conference table in his office at Cottage Hospital. One by one, she tackled his tough questions, and, little by little, her apprehension about the coming interview began to fade.

A third way to judge the success of a nonprofit is through the lens of community involvement. Some would view this more as a measure of momentum than of success, but I would argue that the energetic support of the surrounding community is the foundation upon which all other success rests.

When she left Andy’s office, she was ready. Still, Andy did some further research, watching YouTube videos to tease out potential interview questions and emailing Kathy more pointers as her interview date approached.

When the day came, Kathy aced the interview, and a month later she was named a Gates Scholar, one of only 300 out of the 36,500 that applied.

The credit belongs to Kathy alone — she worked very, very hard to become the sort of student who would be considered for a Gates Scholarship in the first place. But the sense of triumph was shared by many people: her family, her friends, her teachers, and all of us at Mission Scholars, and especially Andy.

I could tell you many stories like this. I could tell you about Julie and Bill McGeever, owners of the assisted living community Heritage House, who heard about the conditions our Scholars were enduring during the first fall semester of the pandemic — the isolation, the financial insecurity, the dangers to their health, both physical and mental — and offered our Scholars a safe outdoor space at their magnificent facility, including hot meals served by their staff. That period was particularly hard on low-income students, so the McGeevers’ generosity was a godsend.

I could tell you about Chris Bruzzo and Susan Monaghan, two businesspeople at the top of their respective fields who spend many hours each month working to ensure career opportunities for our Scholars during and after college: evaluating résumés, facilitating professional introductions, and setting up meetings with local and national corporations to develop partnerships for future internship and mentorship opportunities.

I could tell you dozens of other stories about our volunteers as well, some of whom work directly with our Scholars as their mentors and tutors, others of whom move behind the scenes to help us spread the word and fundraise, but all of whom have made a tangible difference in the lives of our Scholars.

Mission Scholars’ stated goal is distinct: to change lives by helping exceptional, underserved students get into and graduate from the best college possible.

But our motivation is the same as that of so many other programs here in Santa Barbara: to make our uniquely wonderful town an even better place to live.

So maybe the best way to think of all these small stories is as one large story: a groundswell of community involvement without which our success, or the success of any other nonprofit program, would quickly flounder.

Funding is critical, but so are people. The stories of Andy and Kathy, of Julie and Bill, of Chris and Susan, are all part of the larger story of the Santa Barbara community, and it’s a story that bears telling, and retelling, and celebrating. •MJ

“Children are a great comfort to us in our old age, and they help us reach it faster, too.” — John Ruskin

9 – 16 December 2021

Our Town

by Joanne A. Calitri

Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist.

Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com

Elements of Healing Exhibit at The Well Summerland

Scott Reed with daughter Ruby, Belle Hahn, and Ashley W. Hollister (Photo by Joanne A Calitri)

At the Elements of Healing exhibit opening (from left), Ashley W. Hollister, Tedde Minogue, Michael Haber, Belle Hahn, Alana Walczak, and Shane Brown (Photo by Joanne A Calitri)

M

ore than 150 guests arrived at The Well in Summerland on December 1 to view owner Shane Brown’s first art exhibition at the venue, co-curated by Ashley Woods Hollister and Tedde Minogue, who chose the work of photographer Michael Haber.

The exhibition features nine blackand-white large-scale framed photographs of the collaboration of Haber and his muse Belle Hahn fused with the natural world of Lotusland. The images are moving, poignant, elegant, and openly emotional, with Hahn freely expressing the same. All works are for sale at a generously reasonable price, with a percentage of the proceeds going to CALM Santa Barbara and Lotusland.

Hollister and Minogue shared, “This exhibit feels so important and relevant in a time where women are finally starting to talk freely about abuse. Belle’s individual story of sexual abuse from the upper most echelons of society is deeply poignant and forms a bridge for women everywhere – of any experience to walk on which is beyond powerful. Our curatorial takeaway is that her privilege allowed her recovery to look different because of her resources/access, so now Belle and we proudly with her are joining a collective of women combining forces to hopefully make some changes and our avenue is through art.”

At the opening, Hahn presented a speech of her personal experience 9 – 16 December 2021

with both heart and dignity. She wore a one-of-a-kind designer dress made of air plants and moss by Nathaniel Gray Couture.

Despite the damp foggy weather, warmth and kindness prevailed among the guests, which included Hahn’s sister Lily Hahn, Rebecca Anderson, Scott Reed with his daughter Ruby, Alana Walczak, Mary and Lucy Firestone, Setenay Ozdemir, Jennifer Smith Hale, Jennifer Blaise Kramer, and Sierra Muller.

Here is our interview with Belle Hahn: Q. How did you and Haber collaborate on the images in the exhibit?

A. Michael is a very close friend.

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He, Rebecca Anderson, photographer Kim Reierson, and I were walking around Lotusland to find locations for a photography project of women in the garden which included me. I had a wave come over me where I felt ready to be photographed unplanned right then and there, and knew I needed to be nude with the nature. They were taken by surprise, but I asked them to trust me. To me it was a sacred time. These photos represent to me the safety of trusting nature, mother earth, and trusting a man to not take advantage of me at a time when I was feeling very vulnerable. I had a history of childhood sexual abuse. This was a healing moment for me amid all my pain. Nudity and vulnerability are often shamed by society unless it’s through an artistic lens. Here the message is healing through art and the natural world.

Please share more about your new nonprofit, “The Trust.”

As you know my father Stephen Hahn was very philanthropic in the community, specifically with the Music Academy of the West, with Hahn Hall, Lotusland, with the music and the arts. My mother, Thomasine Richards, was always an extremely giving woman. I have always looked up to people that are

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• The Voice of the Village •

generous, and I have attempted to be as well.

I have my own foundation, The Little One Foundation, because my father always called me his little one.

From there I want to create a branch called The Trust, named after the root chakra. If you can’t ground yourself and trust who you are, the rest of the amazing things that you are can’t flow from that. What I realized was that not everyone has the option or the finances to receive the tools for therapy and healing, or even have any idea what to access for resources. You need to be vulnerable and naked in your truth to be able to ask for help. The Trust’s mission is to create a foundation that provides support to people coming from trauma, specifically from sexual abuse, and to create a network of resources once someone has their realization to find healing. I want to be a catalyst for others for healing. It’s when we don’t heal our own stuff, we transfer it onto our own children, and the cycle of abuse repeats. My belief is if everyone is honest enough to get help when they are in pain, then the cycle of abuse can stop.

•MJ 411 Instagram: @thewellsummerland Websites: calm4kids.org, lotusland.org

Real Estate Appraiser Greg Brashears California Certified General Appraiser Serving Santa Barbara County and beyond for 30 years V 805-650-9340 EM gb@gregbrashears.com MONTECITO JOURNAL

37

In the Know (Continued from page 5)

The boulder bench is dedicated to the 23 lives lost in the Montecito Debris Flow (Photo by Nick Masuda)

the bench was no longer at the Ranch.

Venable told her friend that she was mistaken and that she would show her where it’s at.

They made the trek, only to find out that Venable’s friend was right.

It had been moved, away from its original home and into a spot near a public walkway.

It didn’t feel right to Venable, and she connected with Williams once again to see what they could do to relocate it.

Williams took care of the Parks and Recreation approvals, and now it was up to Venable to find her ideal spot for the bench.

She chose a spot under the Big Cypress tree on Butterfly Beach, with a handful of victims losing their lives in that area during the debris flow.

It was universally approved — at the municipal level.

But the Coastal Commission would still have to approve, and that was likely to be a longer process.

“Public Works got back to me and said it might be up to 18 months and maybe even $10,000 to go through the process,” Venable said. “I just didn’t think we had that type of time.”

And she thought back to Lower

38 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“A two-year-old is kind of like having a blender, but you don’t have a top for it.” — Jerry Seinfeld

Manning Park being a control center during the debris flow, memories of the Bucket Brigade and its efforts still very fresh in her head.

It’d be an appropriate home.

And there it now rests, with the move paid for by San Ysidro Ranch owner Ty Warner.

It sits just behind the playground, where generations of children will be exposed to the bench, stirring conversations over why it is there.

It’s a way to keep the memories of those the community lost alive and well.

“I’m ecstatic; it was quite the journey to get it here, but it’s the right resting place,” Venable said.

For Venable, it’s her way of giving back to a community that continues to rise in the face of adversity.

“One thing about the debris flow disaster, is that it didn’t matter if you were wealthy or you were poor, it impacted everyone the same,” Venable said.

“And you were inspired to help out, however you could. That’s what makes this place special, and sometimes we need reminders of that.” •MJ 411 Website: 23strong.com

9 – 16 December 2021

On Entertainment (Continued from page 16 16))

Art (Continued from page 24)

“I was always posting pictures on social media, but very sporadically,” he explained. “But when COVID hit, everything was just so negative on the news and social sites, so I decided to post one positive picture a day to combat all that.”

Twenty months in, old friend James Buckley of Shoreline Publishing approached Eliason about putting together a book, with a few journalistic shots but mostly evergreen pictures of the area organized into several categories including Nature and Valley. Santa Barbara and Beyond: The Photography of Mike Eliason was published a couple of weeks ago, just in time for holiday gift-giving.

Rather than collecting pictures from his job, which he sees as “getting the news out accurately and timely, and educating the public to what’s going on in their community,” the 160-page book is filled with “pictures that make Santa Barbara so unique and beautiful,” Eliason said. “I’ve been here so long, and the community has been so kind to me that I enjoy just driving around and documenting and showcasing what I see as a reflection of the community in pictures.”

Eliason did an in-store event at San Ysidro Pharmacy last weekend and will sign copies again at Chaucer’s Books on December 14 and The Mesa Bookstore on December 19. More information at https://bit.ly/3pxilpT.

Painted across three vertical canvases, Pitcher’s landscape was displayed with the left and right wings at an angle, following the design of the store’s walls. And there it remained, used as a recognizable image in the East Beach and Butterfly’s advertising for years until business dropped. The Espostis took out the men’s section, moved in women’s intimate apparel under the new name Intimo, and the painting got walled up in 1991. Instead of being removed, it disappeared behind a store divider.

“To both owners, this was their favorite stretch of beach,” Pitcher recalled about the commission. “He [Rino Degli Esposti] was from Italy, and they had a house in Italy. The idea was that when they retired, they could take back a little piece of Santa Barbara and put it in their house.”

Those plans never came to fruition; the Espostis stayed in town.

“I had forgotten about the painting,” Koch says. “My brother (who is a general contractor) had not.”

In 2016, when the store’s original location closed, they knew enough to not knock the wall down with a sledgehammer, but to uncover the canvases and move them back to the family house.

(Intimo and Antoinette closed for good this year.) Koch’s mother Carine had long since passed and with his stepfather also ill, he describes a house “frozen in time.” The canvases froze too, still wrapped in plastic from their entombment.

“It brings back memories for me, for sure,” he says.

Koch, who is an electrical contractor, was storing the canvases for view at his shop on Nopal Street. He’s still building his new storefront, having moved from his space in the same strip of businesses as Lobster Town USA. Maire Radis, who owns not just the gallery (formerly Porch), but the building it is housed in, will be hosting the work for view and for sale.

With only some slight restoration needed, the Pitcher piece looks like it was painted yesterday.

But how much would a large Hank Pitcher be worth? Sullivan Goss, who has represented the Santa Barbarabased painter since 2001, would help determine that, if and when asked.

Sullivan Goss has given Pitcher several solo shows since 2001 — seen as the beginning of his second wave of success — and published a career-spanning hardcover book on him in 2017. In a chronology section near the back, a photo shows the painter standing next to the East Beach and Butterfly painting. At the time it was considered a lost work.

A smaller study of the same landscape was shown in the gallery some years ago at Pitcher’s “Montecito Beaches” show. The larger version is more detailed, a slight shift in perspec-

Sing Out

The brand-new Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus makes its recital debut at 8 pm on December 13 at First United Methodist Church (305 East Anapamu Street) where the non-audition tenor-baritone-bass choir with no gender or sexual orientation requirements has been rehearsing since late September. UCSB’s newish Director of Choral Music Nicole Lamartine leads the ensemble, which stands at about two dozen members.

“That’s a pretty good number considering the pandemic,” Lamartine said. “We want to open our doors to everyone, including some who have never sung in choir before, which is a big part of my expertise. They wanted a community, and a place where they could feel safe and make friends while making music. My job is to facilitate all of that and I’m just thrilled. And they sound great.”

The concert features a selection of winter choral music and carols.

Suggested donation is $15. Visit https://sbgmc.org.

Classical Corner: Music Academy Makes Move

The Music Academy of the West has appointed Daniela Candillari to the new position of Principal Opera Conductor for the next three summer festivals, quite a coup for the endlessly ambitious Academy. Candillari, who made her MAW debut helming the Academy’s West Coast premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain in 2019 and led the singers on a program of all contemporary vocal chamber music last August, was slated to make her Metropolitan Opera debut on December 8 conducting Eurydice from composer Matthew Aucoin, who appeared as both a guest conductor and composer at the Music Academy in 2016-17. We’re imagining her appointment signals a commitment to contemporary operas by MAW for the next few years. Meanwhile, Eurydice will screen at Hahn Hall on December 12 as the next installment in the rebroadcast series of the Met’s Live in HD series.

Details at www.musicacademy.org.

Focus on Film: Awards Announced

With the 37th Santa Barbara International Film Festival slated to open in less than three months, the fest has already named two of its major award winners for the March 2-12, 2022, festival. Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis will receive the Outstanding Performers of the Year Award for portraying former husband and wife Richard Williams and Oracene Price in King Richard, the bio-drama about the father and coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The twice previously Oscar-nominated Smith — whom SBIFF honored with its highest award, the Modern Master, way back in 2007 — is considered one of the favorites to take home a statuette in April. Kristen Stewart gets SBIFF’s American Riviera Award on March 4 for a career topping performance in Spencer where she also portrays a real person, Princess Diana. SBIFF is also hosting a special screening of Spencer followed by a Q&A with director Pablo Larraín on December 9. Visit www.sbiff.org.

Meanwhile, longtime SBIFF executive director Roger Durling drops by Chaucer’s Books on December 13 to sign and talk about Cinema in Flux, the curated collection of essays he wrote recommending films to watch during COVID’s darkest lockdown days, offering insights reflecting on what was happening around us as both a commemoration and celebration of cinema providing hope.

•MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

The painting was done in three sections

tive revealing the faux lighthouse. Right in the middle, in the distance, a flagpole flies the Stars ‘n’ Stripes.

“Hank is trying to make a formally sophisticated painting that also documents a place that he has a connection to that you and I can barely understand,” says Sullivan Goss’ Jeremy Tessmer.

In 1985, Pitcher was renting a house on Miramar Beach to the south. This was his neighborhood at the time and the work of this era documents all different viewpoints of this stretch of sand, looking out towards the islands or back towards shore or up and down the coast. He was also about to get married, and one stipulation along with the money for the commission was a wedding gift. The soon-to-be future Pitchers would be honeymooning in Italy, and from the Espostis, he asked for and received a list of their favorite secret eateries.

“That was the most fabulous gift,” Pitcher recalls. “We would walk into places that [tourists] would just walk past and have the most fabulous meals.

We’d say Carine from Santa Barbara sent us.”

“There are many paintings like this,” says Tessmer on Pitcher’s body of work.

“When you find lost treasures like this, there are people who know, there are records somewhere, but we don’t know about it yet.”

“I’m a lot better than other people [in keeping track of my work], but that’s mostly due to my sister who loves to organize things,” Pitcher says when asked how many works of his are out there, undocumented. “All I do is paint.

So, there’s a lot of paintings out there.

Occasionally they show up in weird places.”

“East Beach to Butterfly” will be available for viewing during Lobster Town USA’s regular hours (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 12-5 pm) for the next two weeks and limited days after that due to the holidays. Also available to show by appointment.

•MJ 411 Address: 3823 Santa Claus Lane, Carpinteria email: lobstertownusa@gmail.com MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Parade

The Carty Family

by Joanne A Calitri

W

1st Annual Montecito Car Parade of Lights

ith the theme “Holiday Magic,” it was indeed a magical evening for the 1st Annual Montecito Holiday Car Parade. Huge nod to the co-chairs Sharon Byrne, Mindy Denson, and Dana Newquist, along with their committee members, for a most upbeat treat for our town and its annual visitors.

Kids from 1 to 92 lined the streets of the parade route cheering on the brightly-lit cars decorated with toys, garland, Santa’s mailbox, sleighs, pets, holiday music, and more.

Jack Overall as Santa Claus in Newquist’s antique fire engine tossed candy kisses along the way. Montecito Fire pulled up the rear, and keeping everyone safe were Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi with Senior Deputy Eric Delgadillo, and Special Duty Deputy James Carovano, who held key checkpoints on the route in CHP cruisers.

As the merriment still lingers in the air, here’s to a new Montecito holiday tradition!

Thanks to the many parade sponsors including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who were first to donate, Montecito Journal, Nina Terzian, Riskin Partners, Penelope & Adam Bianchi, Sean Fahey, Robert Pavloff, Pane E Vino, Village Properties, Noozhawk, Montecito Fire Protection District, and Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

•MJ Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com

Adam’s Angels Electric car sponsored by Adam McKaig

Adam’s Angels Electric car sponsored by Adam McKaig Team Nina Terzian

Participants from Calsmart

40 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Adam’s Angels Electric car sponsored by Adam McKaig

“Having one kid makes you a parent. Having two kids makes you a referee.” — David Frost

9 – 16 December 2021

VE

.LU X U RY. L

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DESIGN . CALLIGRAPHY . WEDDINGS . GIFTS

L e t t e r Pe r f e c t S tat ione ry

Winner

Best of Santa Barbara ²0²¹

Artisan Wrapping . Custom stationery

Montecito Water District

S a n ta B a r b a r a , C a l if or ni a Holly Kane and family for Cold Spring School

Dana Newquist, Jim Crooke, Jack Overall and Santa’s elves

Teresa Nowak’s La Boheme group

9 – 16 December 2021

Leila Drake, State Street Ballet. Photo: ASAP Cats

• The Voice of the Village •

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41

Village Beat

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Santa Barbara’s Holiday Dining & Shopping Destination

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.

Holiday Festivities in Montecito

I

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Santa Barbara

t was a welcome sight, two years in the making: the usual crowd of Montecito locals gathered this past Saturday to trim the giant tree near the Manning Park tennis courts on San Ysidro Road. The tradition took a hiatus last year because of the pandemic; the tree was trimmed quietly by a skeletal crew of elves.

“We’re happy to be back in full force this year,” said Dana Newquist, who inherited the job of trimming the tree in the early 1990s.

It’s a festive tradition that goes back many decades, and we retell it here each year to keep the memory alive. In the early 1960s, then Montecito Fire Chief Don Hathaway and his wife, Helen, and children Dean and Ronda, would rise in the middle of the night each December to conduct a super-secret mission: to decorate the Monterey Pine tree at the corner of North Jameson and Highway 101, which at the time was only about seven feet tall. Montecito

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42 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“Siblings that say they never fight are most definitely hiding something.” — Lemony Snicket

residents would awake to find the tree decked out in garland and ornaments, wondering who among them had decorated the tree.

The tree grew and grew, and so did the group of “elves” who decorated it: friends and neighbors were let in on the secret and invited to join, and Helen would make gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate for everyone. Eventually the Montecito firefighters got involved, bringing ladders to help decorate the top of the tree. The story goes that each year, Helen would look in the newspaper in the days following the decoration mission, to see if there was anything written about it; she kept a scrapbook full of photos and article clippings.

In the late 1970s, Doug Coale, owner of Mesa Tree, began bringing his cherry picker to hoist volunteers to place garland on the top half of the tree. In the ‘90s, Don enlisted Newquist to carry on the tradition, and Dana, aka “the head elf,” would organize the tree-trimming event each year, eventually enlisting the help of the Montecito Association Beautification Committee. Members of the community were also invited to take part, and a large collection of miscellaneous holiday decorations were used year after year.

It was in 2011 that the tree became distressed and had to be removed; Don Hathaway passed away that same year, in July. With the help of some generous donors, Newquist organized the purchase and installation of a new, 18-foot Blue Aptos Redwood tree, which was planted near the tennis courts at Manning Park on December 15, 2012.

Beneath the tree is a plaque honoring the Hathaway Family.

Since the relocation of the tree, the decorating has taken place during the day, and many firefighters, the Montecito Association Beautification Committee, and school kids decorate the tree every year to mark the holiday season.

In 2017, the tree trimming, scheduled for mid-December, was canceled as the Thomas Fire raged in the Montecito foothills. Just days after a community-wide evacuation was lifted, a handful of dedicated elves turned out on Christmas Eve to trim the tree, without the usual help of Montecito firefighters. In 2020, the pandemic was cause for another quiet event, but this year, dozens of people, including Montecito firefighters, turned out to reconnect and deck out the tree, just prior to the first annual Holiday Magic Parade.

•MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

THIS HOLIDAY SEASON Visit Santa

November 26-December 24

Nightly Snowfall

November 26-December 31

Silent Night, Silent Disco December 2, 5:30-7:30PM

PaseoNuevoShopping.com @ShopPaseoNuevo

651 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara CA 93101

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

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43

Home for the Holidays

The Upstairs at Pierre Lafond has a distinct holiday feel this season

by Nick Masuda

The Upper Village is Bustling with Holiday Shopping Options

Lena Skadegard jewelry is part of the Holiday Pop-Up Shop at Wendy Foster Montecito, running from December 10-12

S

hopping local isn’t just something that Montecitans say, it’s something that they do — 365 days a year.

That becomes especially apparent over the holidays, when boutiques, pop-ups, and mom-and-pop shops get the opportunity to help all of us provide a bit of holiday cheer through locally crafted gifts.

The Upper Village in Montecito

44 MONTECITO JOURNAL

has plenty of options for your shopping needs, and here is a look at a handful of businesses with holiday specials:

Plaza del Sol

All we can say is don’t delay, as there are a pair of events starting Friday and running through Sunday at Plaza del Sol in the Upper Village

that are must-attends. Here are some details: — There is a Holiday Pop-Up Shop at Wendy Foster Montecito with KAS cashmere scarves & long-time Wendy Foster favorite, Lena Skadegard jewelry — a pair of great gifts and a touch of sparkle for the holidays.

— There is fireside lounging at Wendy Foster Sportswear Shop with the theme of cozy, including cashmere, cozy lounge sets, soft layers, and everything needed to stay cozy this season.

Also, according to Michaela Donahue at Wendy Foster and Pierre Lafond, the Upstairs at Pierre Lafond

is stocked with holiday decor, table trimmings, hostess gifts, and extra special findings to surprise everyone on your list.

For more, visit wendyfoster.com or shopupstairs.com.

Kismet Montecito

Talk about great timing. As the area sees a resurgence in brick-and-mortar shopping, Kismet Montecito has opened its doors just in time for the holiday, with the boutique selling intimates and fine jewelry.

Holidays Page 464

9 – 16 December 2021

Need presents!

San Ysidro Village

American Riviera Bank Bank on better.

Birgit Klein Interiors & Una Malan

Interior design, custom upholstery & case goods, fabrics & accessories

Country House Antiques

New shipment! Swedish, French, English antiques & decorative accessories

Hogue & Co.

Flowers, gifts, wedding & event design

House of Honey

Interior design, home furnishings & gifts.

Stop by for one-of-a-kind holiday gifts for everyone on your list!

Jenni Kayne

Holiday is here! Discover the latest cozy knits, luxe footwear, and our latest holiday styles

Montecito Coffee Shop

For 30+ years, the best breakfast café in Montecito

Randy Solakian Estates Group Coldwell Banker Realty Private Estates Brokerage

San Ysidro Pharmacy

PCAB accredited ∙ Compounding ∙ Luxury gifts ∙ Cosmetics ∙ Vitamins ∙ Brandnew shipments of beautiful holiday gifts & candles!

TF Design

Add warmth to the holiday season with our new Bubble Candle Holders! Discover the modern simplicity of handmade home accessories, furniture, and artwork

The UPS Store

Visit us for all your holiday packing and shipping. We are here to help!

William Laman Furniture. Garden. Antiques.

Hand-selected antiques & home furnishings. Great accessories for entertaining and gift giving in a beautifully curated, safe environment

Visit us! 525 San Ysidro Road, Montecito Upper Village ∙ www.sanysidrovillage.com 9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

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45

Show your LOVE for LOCAL

Holidays (Continued from page 44)

| Bigham

Things will get cozy with the fireside lounging at Wendy Foster Sportswear Shop

Founder and curator Lindsay Eckardt tells the Montecito Journal that she has created a special Kismet market tote for any purchase of $250 or more during the holidays.

Kismet also offers gift wrapping

“I’m encouraging everyone to come pop by and say hi if they’re at the post office as I’m right next door in suite J,” Eckert said.

For more, find Kismet at instagram.com/kismetmontecito or visit kismetmontecito.com.

Jenni Kayne

This weekend is going to be bustling in the Upper Village, as Jenni

Locally owned and operated for over 42 years 14 State Street | 962-0049 | Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 mountainairsports.com

The special Kismet market tote

The Gift Tree Event is happening from December 10-12

P ER F E CT G I F TS F O R T H E H O LI D AY S E A S O N Choose from our wide variety of premium olive oils, balsamic vinegars, gourmet foods as well as our selection of beautiful homeware items including handmade olive wood products and Italian ceramics. We have a little something for everybody!

T H E FA R M AC Y P R E S E N T S :

HOLIDAY HIGHS

Don’t miss special holiday deals, discounts, and curated gift bundles all season long at The Farmacy.

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46 MONTECITO JOURNAL

WE SHIP TO ANYWHERE IN CONTINENTAL USA • ORDER IN STORE OR ONLINE 927 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 | (805) 886 4342 | www.VivaOliva.com

“I grew up with six brothers. That’s how I learned to dance—waiting for the bathroom.”– Bob Hope

9 – 16 December 2021

MAR 1

Just Announced!

Richard Thompson

One of Britain’s most astonishing guitarists – with two Lifetime Achievement Awards (Americana Music Association & BBC Awards) and a coveted spot on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.”

Lemondrop just might be the place to help with your child’s wish list

Kayne is hosting an annual Gift Tree Event at 525 San Ysidro Road. It’s a ton of fun, as patrons can choose an ornament off the tree to reveal the special surprise to redeem that day.

Make sure to RSVP by sending a quick email to montecito@jennikayne.com.

For more on Jenni Kayne’s offerings, which range from sweaters to shoes to furniture, check them out at instagram.com/jennikayne or jennikayne.com.

Lemondrop

Let’s face it, the holiday season is about watching the eyes and hearts of children explode with wonder — they bring out the best in all of us.

At Lemondrop, patrons will find children’s clothing, shoes, and some great gift ideas perfect for the season — all focused on the “tween” years of 8 to 14.

Make sure to find them at instagram.com/lemondropsb or lemondropsb.com for more about the store’s offerings — or to make that wish list

before making the trek to 1485 East Valley Road this weekend.

San Ysidro Village

Since you’re likely already in the neighborhood to check out one of the weekend’s exciting events, make sure you stop by San Ysidro Village, as the shopping center can take care of a few more holiday needs.

Featuring stores such as TF Designs (tinafreydesigns.com), William Laman Furniture Garden Antiques (williamlaman.com), Country House Antiques (805-969-7893) and the Montecito Coffee Shop to keep that energy up all day long.

Visit sanysidrovillage.com for more.

DEC 14

The Robert Cray Band

The five-time GRAMMY® Award winner has created a sound that rises from American roots and arrives today both fresh and familiar.

“After nearly 40 years, Robert Cray remains as viable as ever.

In a world turned upside down, his music continues to serve as comfort food for the soul.” - Something Else!

DEC 23

Others in the Area

resor: The fine jeweler can be found T at tresormontecito.com Aquatic Jewels: Check out the saltwater aquarium store at aquaticjewelssb.com ere’s to some happy — and local H — shopping this weekend!

•MJ

Men At Work

GRAMMY® Award winning, multi-platinum selling act, with numerous dearly loved songs, such as “Down Under,” “Who Can It Be Now,” and “Overkill.”

Scan & Download the Lobero App Today!

Gift certificates available now at the Box Office.

• Digital ticketing • Calendar of Events

Opt-in to receive

Pre-sale ticket opportunities, Special Promos, Discounts & More!

Visit Lobero.org or 805.963.0761 LOBERO THEATRE ENDOWMENT FOR AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

@loberotheatre

The Bentson Foundation John C. Mithun Foundation

MONTECITO JOURNAL

47

ARISE 5K Walk & Run

The La Boheme dancing team giving their unending energy for ARISE

by Nick Masuda, photos by Priscilla

L

Helping Victims Arise

eadbetter Beach was bustling with activity early Saturday morning, with ARISE Women’s Conference hosting the 2021 5K Walk and Run that supports the Santa Barbara Mission’s Bethel House Women’s Residential Treatment Program.

ARISE is a nonprofit organization that supports women from domestic violence shelters and drug rehabilitation homes, helping them “arise from their past to a new life.”

The “friend-raiser” started at the Leadbetter picnic area, stretched down to Chase Palm Park on Cabrillo Boulevard and returned to Leadbetter Beach.

Here is a look at some of the activity from Saturday.

•MJ

Vonal Tzinzun and Mackenzy Fowler led participants in stretching exercising

Participants ready to take on the Arise 5K Walk and Run

BER DECEM 11 & 12

POP UPS! Magill LA Menswear Sant and Abel Pajamas MRE Jewelry Clare V. Hand Painted Monogramming Dec 11 • 11 to 3 Amy Logsdon Custom Watercolor Portraits on site Dec 12 Cynthia Benjamin Vintage Eyewear Parker Thatch at Montecito Mercantile Photos with Santa! Dec 12 • 1 to 4

LIVE MUSIC & KIDS CRAFTS

montecitocountrymart.com •@montecitocountrymart

48 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Ysidro Spritzes Chainstitch Embroidery & Monogramming Dec 12

M O N TEC ITO C OUN T R Y M AR T

“Sisters never quite forgive each other for what happened when they were five.” — Pam Brown

9 – 16 December 2021

A TEAM. A FAMILY. AN ASSIST WITH EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS.

The supporting ARISE Hudson Family: David, Kami, and baby Legend, with Leigh Beermann and Gloria Easter

That’s the Power of WE. Imagine life with a complete support system. It’s like an extended family working together and making things easier.

Meals, prescriptions, personalized care, even a hobby or two, all taken care of. Having it all, an extra hand when you need it.

That’s Assisted Living at Maravilla.

Lunch & Learn | Tuesday, Dec. 21st • 11:30am

Join us for a presentation on our beautiful community. Afterwards, take a tour and enjoy a delicious lunch. Seating is limited.

To RSVP, call 805.319.4379.

C A R F-ACC R E D IT E D C A S ITA S • S E N I O R R E S I D E N C E S I N D EP EN D EN T & A S S I S T E D LIV I N G • M EM O RY C A R E

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Plenty of positivity was flowing throughout the event

Daxton shows off one of the motivational signs along the race route

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

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49

The Giving List

by Steven Libowitz

Putting the Focus on Treating People Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics are in Goleta, Isla Vista, and Santa Barbara

SBNC focuses on serving the underserved with state-of-the-art medicine

With that commitment to care intact, SBNC has also been revising its methods to have its medical, dental, and mental health professionals encompass an integrative approach toward a patient’s overall health. Most recently, that meant installing integrative behavioral health specialists in their facilities so that kind of care can be seamlessly woven into a medical visit. Just two years ago, SBNC established a Bridge Clinic adjacent to Cottage Hospital so that patients can, in only a matter of footsteps, follow up on an ER visit with behavioral health implications.

S

anta Barbara Neighborhood Clinics operates eight clinics in Santa Barbara, Goleta, and Isla Vista, largely located in neighborhoods where healthcare is most needed by an underserved population. The buildings themselves aren’t glamorous even though they’re located in a town with a gleaming new cancer center and a gorgeously re-designed front entrance to the main hospital. But that’s part of the point.

“The outside might look a little shabby because that’s not where the money goes,” said Maria W . Long, Director of Development and Community Awareness at Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. “The money goes to treating people, with a mandate to never turn anyone away regardless of ability to pay. And it’s really good medicine.”

“The outside might look a little shabby because that’s not where the money goes. The money goes to treating people, with a mandate to never turn anyone away regardless of ability to pay. And it’s really good medicine.”

— Maria W. Long

Indeed, if physical exterior appearance, or even the phrase “neighborhood clinic” suggests some sort of substandard or minimal care, nothing could be further from the truth.

Instead, Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, which launched in 1998 through a merger of three earlier clinics that date back 50 years and now serves more than 22,000 people, attracts top medical professionals whose main motive is to bring the highest-level of care to the community.

“If you look at the bios of some of the doctors that we have working here you’ll see Ivy League school graduates that choose to come to work for us,” Long said. “These are very skilled people that really want to use their talents and working here is more of a calling than anything else.”

That ethic also extends to the entire staff as evidenced by the fact that early on during the pandemic the administrators decided to join their front-line colleagues in showing up at the clinic daily well before vaccines became available.

“Nobody worked from home because we made a decision as a team that if the doctors and line staff were going to work, we’d be there too,” Long said.

“We’ve been boots on the ground for two years now.”

50 MONTECITO JOURNAL

“When we talk about whole person care, we’re not just talking about your physical body, but also mental health and your mouth, your teeth, all of it. And the new Westside clinic will be so important because it’s a model for what we can do in the future: world-class doctors serving the unemployed and the underemployed, the uninsured and under-insured.”

— Maria W. Long

“After the ER handles your medical emergency, a social worker or charge nurse can literally walk the person next door to the Bridge Clinic and they’ll do the intake right there and then,” Long explained. “It’s important, because there’s only a small period of time where somebody is willing to seek help after an emergency, and we have to grab that small window while we can, and do it in a way that isn’t punitive, isn’t shameful, but only wanting to help.”

The new clinic has proven popular as the COVID situation sparked a sharp increase in alcohol and drug abuse.

“We’ve been calling it the pandemic within the pandemic because the spike and the myriad of mental health problems that it has caused has meant that we’ve had to expand the clinic twice already, and it’s only been open a year and a half.”

SBNC’s personal approach to serving its clients isn’t only post-crisis, though. When vaccines became available to the general population earlier this year, clinic personnel recognized the potential for resistance among their clientele and decided to take a more proactive approach to initiating getting the shots into arms.

“We physically called all of our patients individually one by one, talked to every single one of them to combat the fear factor and answer all of their questions,” Long said.

Last year, SBNC completed its $20 million campaign that earmarked half of its funds to cover its annual $2.5 million operating deficit, more than $3 million to upgrades and existing facilities, and almost $7 million to replace its long-outgrown Westside clinic. Plans call for a community room on the ground floor, expanded medical and behavioral health services — including

“What strange creatures brothers are!” — Jane Austen

9 – 16 December 2021

Let’s discuss your real estate needs.

Last year, SBNC completed its $20 million campaign that earmarked half of its funds to cover its annual $2.5 million operating deficit, more than $3 million to upgrades and existing facilities, and almost $7 million to replace its long-outgrown Westside clinic

nine exam rooms — on the second floor, and a new dental clinic on the top floor.

The intention is to address a still underserved population with state-ofthe-art integrative medicine, Long said.

“When we talk about whole person care, we’re not just talking about your physical body, but also mental health and your mouth, your teeth, all of it.

And the new Westside clinic will be so important because it’s a model for what we can do in the future: world-class doctors serving the unemployed and the underemployed, the uninsured and under-insured. There’s a whole new generation, a whole new group of folks that need our services, individuals and families. That’s why we’re here.

“So, it’s hard to get excited about a building, but easy to be excited for the people that it’s going to serve.”

•MJ

The Morehart Group Paige Marshall Mitch Morehart Beverly Palmer Susan Pate

805.452.7985 themorehartgroup.com themorehartgroup@compass.com DRE 02025980 | 00828316 01319565 | 01130349

Hospice of Santa Barbara's 38th Annual

Light Up A

Life

Wednesday, December 15, 2021, at 6:00 pm Dedicate a Digital Star to Honor a Loved One on our Virtual Tree of Remembrance!

For more information, visit hospiceofsb.org/lual or scan the QR code on the right

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

FREE Virtual Event MONTECITO JOURNAL

51

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Glamour House, 840 Deerpath Road, Santa Barbara, CA , 93108. Glamour House, INC, 840 Deerpath Road, Santa Barbara, CA , 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 2, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20210003274. Published December 8, 15, 22, 29, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Casa Mejia, 209 S. Voluntario St. Apt 1, Santa Barbara, CA , 93103. Jeniffern E. Jimenez, 209 S. Voluntario St. Apt 1, Santa Barbara, CA , 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 6, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20210003288. Published December 8, 15, 22, 29, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Ayurvedic Lifestyle Design, 2020 Las Tunas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA , 93103. Ayurvedic Lifestyle Design, LLC., 2020 Las Tunas Rd, Santa Barbara, CA , 93103.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 15, 2021.

This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20210003157. Published December 8, 15, 22, 29, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Medina & Thompson, 1071 Alston Road, Santa Barbara, CA , 93108. Marc Alan Gamson, 1071 Alston Road, Santa Barbara, CA , 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 15, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0003164.

Published December 8, 15, 22, 29, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bright Solutions Glass Tinting, 233 Big Sur Drive, Goleta, CA , 93117. Jeancarlo Parra, 233 Big Sur Drive, Goleta, CA , 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 22, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0003212. Published November 24, December 1, 8, 15, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Flame Chix, 209 South Voluntario St. Apt 1, Santa Barbara, CA 93013.

Keith H. Morrison, 1692 Las Canoas Road, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 17, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0003182.

Published November 24, December 1, 8, 15, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Pollo Flameado, 209 South Voluntario St. Apt 1, Santa Barbara, CA 93013. Keith H. Morrison, 1692 Las Canoas Road, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. This statement

52 MONTECITO JOURNAL

was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 17, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0003180.

Published November 24, December 1, 8, 15, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Rocket 2691, 165 N. Fairview, Goleta, CA 93117. Apro, LLC, 4130 Cover Street, Long Beach, CA 90808. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on October 25, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0002973.

Published November 17, 24, December 1, 8, 2021.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: Source California Realty; Source Group Realty, 1286 University Ave, 516, San Diego, CA, 92103. Larry Tadlock, 1286 University Ave, 516, San Diego, CA, 92103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 15, 2021. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2021-0003156.

Published November 17, 24, December 1, 8, 2021.

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: Michael Shawn Summers. Case Number: 21PR00511. To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both: A Petition for Probate has been filed by: Gary J. Summers in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 1/13/2022 at 9 am in Dept. 5, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. A Request for Special Notice is available from the court clerk. Attorney for the petitioner: Kendall A. VanConas, 805-988-9886.

Filed November 24, 2021 by Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer. Published 12/8, 12/15, 12/22, 12/29 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 21CV04039. To all interested parties: Petitioner Hilary Suzanne Molina filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Hilary Suzanne Lyn. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted.

Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed November 8, 2021 by Elizabeth Spann. Hearing date: December 17, 2021 at 10 am in Dept. 4, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published 11/17, 11/24, 12/1, 12/8

Notice Inviting Bids Bid No. 5931 Level Sensor Purchase and Installation 1.

Bid Submission.

The City of Santa Barbara (“City”) will accept electronic bids for its Level Sensor Purchase and Installation Project (“Project”), by or before January 4, 2022, 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 at various predetermined locations throughout the City, and is described as follows: The work includes all labor, material, supervision and equipment necessary to deliver and install level sensors in 45 predetermined manholes per these specifications. After installation, the City will require a method of data collection provided by the successful bidder to collect level data from each sensor, a service agreement for ongoing maintenance for 2 years from award of contract, and training for City staff on installation and removal of sensors.

2.2 Time for Completion. The Project must be completed within 60 calendar days from the start date set forth in the Notice to Proceed. City anticipates that the Work will begin on or about the third week of January 2022, but the anticipated start date is provided solely for convenience and is neither certain nor binding.

2.3 Estimate. The estimate for this Project is $300,000.00 2.4 Bidders’ Conference. A pre-bid conference will not be held. Questions may be entered through PlanetBids Q&A tab.

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 and/or C-36 – Plumbing 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

4.

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

5.

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.

6.

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 one-half 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.

Retention will only be withheld for bid items 1-5; no retention will be withheld from bid item 6 (2-Year Service Agreement for Maintenance, Installation, and Removal Training).

By: _______________________________________ William Hornung, C.P.M. General Services Manager

Date: ________________

Publication Date: 12/08/21 Montecito Journal

“You can kid the world, but not your sister.” — Charlotte Gray

9 – 16 December 2021

Miscellany (Continued from page 14)

Danyel Dean, Jordan BenShea, and Susan Denbaars (Photo by Priscilla)

Lisa Klonowski, Levi and Regan Parillo with Eleanor, Avika, and Maisi (Photo by Priscilla)

ground granular bread.

“We’re delighted to share this wonderful experience once again,” says Danyel. “It is nice to come together to alleviate hunger in the community.”

Food for thought!

ed more than a thousand spectators with strolling carolers in Dickensian garb, freshly popped popcorn, and even snowmaking machines turning the area into a winter wonderland with colorfully decorated Yuletide trees.

Youngsters were even able to send letters to Santa Claus with typewriters provided in the Crafter’s Library, which given their youth was probably the very first time they’d ever encountered one!

Given the pandemic restrictions last year the complex held Festive Fridays, but numbers were severely limited.

Talli Robinson, La Arcada’s PR, says: “We were absolutely thrilled so many people turned out to kick off the festive season. It was really magical!”

Indeed, it was.

Feeling Festive

The 26th annual Christmas Walk at La Arcada Plaza, the charming thoroughfare just off State Street near the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, attract-

Round 1: Meghan

Charlotte Andersen inviting Santa (Richard Pommerville) to listen to the Christmas request from Bridget (Photo by Priscilla)

British government ministers are considering changing the law to protect free speech after the London Appeals Court ruled in favor of Meghan Markle in a privacy dispute against the U.K.’s Mail on Sunday.

Downing Street, the home of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has said publicly that it will closely study the ruling that upheld the High Court’s decision that the Duchess of Sussex had “a reasonable expectation

April Rodriquez, Evelyn Mills, and Ember Reiter with La Arcada strollers Nora and Michael Hurley (Photo by Priscilla)

Michael Shasberger led the 17th annual Christmas Festival (Photo by Brad Elliott)

of privacy” over a letter written to her estranged father Thomas Markle.

Senior figures in government have told the Daily Mail, the sister newspaper, a change in the law may now be needed to redress the balance between the competing rights of privacy and free speech.

Legal experts have said the case could have a chilling effect on free speech, giving too little weight to the right of freedom of expression.

The Mail on Sunday is now considering an appeal to Britain’s Supreme Court, I’m told.

Stay tuned...

Some ‘Salvation’

The venerable Granada was socially gridlocked when Westmont College held its 17th annual Christmas Festival “Salvation For All” over two days given the demand for tickets.

Michael Shasberger, Adams professor for music and worship, who is retiring in May after 16 years, created the hugely popular event and has directed it each year, normally at the First Presbyterian Church.

Featuring music from around the world and throughout the centuries, the concert featured the Westmont orchestra conducted by Shasberger, the Westmont College Choir and Chamber Singers led by Daniel Gee, and the Westmont Choral Union conducted by Grey Brothers.

Christmas hymns and carols featured large as well as classics by Bach, Handel, and Mendelssohn.

A delightful kickoff to the Yuletide season.

Fabulous Flowerpots

Arlene Larsen, co-owner of Montecito’s Magic Castle with her husband, Milt, is going to pot!

During the downturn caused by the pandemic, Arlene has been busy making one-of-a-kind flowerpots from trim, fabric, and jewelry she has been collecting over the past six decades.

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

“I’ve been making and selling costumes since I was 15 years old,” says Arlene. “I started in the theater and collected broken jewelry and scraps anyone would discard. To them it was trash, to me it was beautiful.

“The very best leftovers were from costumes made for Carol Burnett, The Dean Martin Gold Diggers, and all the big production numbers the networks produced in the 80s.”

All the pots, as extravagantly decorated as a Faberge egg, feature silk or fresh flowers, and retail from $100 to $1,000, depending on their ornateness.

“I started making these four months ago and I spend many hours on each one,” adds Arlene. “It is like putting a jigsaw together. They are quite magical!”

While I was interviewing her at the old Cafe del Sol location, she received the good news that the city had now issued her a permit which will enable the Magic Castle to reopen in the New Year after innumerable planning delays, which even made the dynamic duo consider selling the property a few months back.

The pots, of which only 61 have been made, are available at zamagic@ aol.com.

Getting in the Spirit

Having shown the more gracious and opulent upstairs living arrangements with the first production in Ensemble Theatre Company’s Jane Austen trilogy four years ago, it was time to move downstairs at the New Vic for The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley, its second production of the current season.

The Michael Butler-directed play takes place in the servants’ quarters, cleverly designed by Bruce Goodrich, and tells an 1815 tale of the youngest sister Lydia and her ne’er-do-well former military husband George Wickham. Add in to the grand mix a trio of domestic staff, including the housekeeper, new maid, and the foot-

Miscellany Page 584 MONTECITO JOURNAL

53

Thankful (Continued from page 18 18))

Julie Weiner, CommUnify’s chief development officer, speaks to the gathering at the Santa Barbara Club

Second District Supervisor and event attendee.

“Many community organizations have a single focus and can operate in silos. CommUnify works with our neighbors who need help in every part of Santa Barbara County from very young children to seniors. Its services are focused on the individual needs of every person they serve. It efficiently uses the synergy of its 17 different programs to help make lasting positive change in people’s lives.”

While many nonprofits focus on

We are so grateful for your support in our Walk to End Alzheimer's Santa Barbara on Nov. 6, 2021.

either the South or North counties, CommUnify has actively chosen to serve both, with a significant footprint stretching from Carpinteria all the way into Santa Maria.

And with the expansive footprint, demand continues to rise — pushing CommUnify to increase its efforts in not only fundraising, but also education behind what the organization does, including programs such as Los Compadres (teenage outreach) or CalSOAP (focused on aiding students with post-secondary education).

Currently, CommUnify operates on a $25 million budget, of which nearly $17.5 million is earmarked for the Head Start programs, which are paid for by the government.

That leaves 16 remaining programs to operate on roughly $7.5 million.

Overall, roughly 2% of the $25 million (or $500,000) comes via private donations — something Chief Development Officer Julie Weiner says would ideally grow to $2 million, which would allow CommUnify to serve all those that need it, as the organization does have waiting lists for some services.

Weiner pointed to the Adolescent Family Life Planning program, where CommUnify works with teen mothers to get them back on track with life goals, with dedicated case managers working with the youth. It also allows the new child to be placed in an early Head Start program, in turn presenting the opportunity for the young woman to finish her high school degree (or junior high in some cases).

With mothers as young as nine years old, the demand is significant throughout the county, with 32 girls currently working with the one full-time case manager that CommUnify has to offer, with an additional part-time case manager added to the mix. There are an additional 66 girls on the waitlist, and that’s just in the North County.

“We would love to grow that program and be able to bring on more full-time case managers to handle just the waitlist,” Weiner said. “So, if we could grow the fundraising for that program, then we could fill in the gap that we don’t have funded right now. And then, let’s call it the stretch goal. The wish list is to fundraise above and beyond what we need to do just to service the program as it is right now. And bring onboard case managers and help more young women.”

For 2022, Weiner will work with CommUnify’s CEO Patricia Keelean to find more funding — but they know that the organization must showcase the breadth of what it does in order to compete for the philanthropic dollars that are commonly available in one of the nonprofit capitals of the world.

“People don’t recognize CommUnify, mostly because of the name change. I feel like if we’re not going to get there, people aren’t going to want to support us, because why would they want to support an organization if they don’t really understand what we do?

“We have work to do, because we want to help this community move forward.”

•MJ 411 Website: communifysb.org

Thank you to our Walk sponsors: NATIONAL PRESENTING SPONSORS

This Walk raised a total of $217,045.

GOLD SPONSOR

The commitment of our sponsors, volunteers and participants furthers the Alzheimer's Association mission to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support.

SILVER SPONSORS

To learn more, visit alz.org/cacentral or call our 24/7 Helpline 800.272.3900.

BRONZE SPONSORS

54 MONTECITO JOURNAL

BrightStar Care | Casa Dorinda | Central Coast Home Health and Hospice | Covenant Living | First American Title | Hennessy International | SIMA | State Farm, Paul Cashman | Swell - Santa Barbara Athletic Club | Valle Verde | Vista del Monte

9 – 16 December 2021

Real Estate (Continued from page 6)

The highest priced sale ever in Coast Village Gardens: a 2/2 penthouse sold for $1.7 million in August (listed by Tim Walsh of Village Properties)

There have been over a dozen sales in the Hedgerow this year, including an estate on Mimosa Lane (listed by Dan Encell of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices)

million. Last year that number was 13. In 2020, three of those sales were more than the $30 million mark; this year just two exceeded $30 million. In the $20M range, we saw a significant sale in Ennisbrook on Las Entradas Drive, a view property designed by George Washington Smith on Park Lane, a 3.5-acre estate on Picacho Lane, and a cluster of sales near the beach on Channel Drive.

Montecito’s Hedgerow continues to be a hot spot for those looking for the quintessential Montecito home. There were over a dozen sales in this area, ranging in price from about $3 million to nearly $12 million. A notable home on Mimosa Lane was listed for sale in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, it was listed before the pandemic began, for just under $9 million, and didn’t sell. It was relisted in early 2021 for $11.5 million and sold quickly for over asking, closing at $11.7 million. Further proof that the pandemic changed our market temperature significantly.

South Santa Barbara County

Looking at the entire South Santa Barbara County market, the emerging data shows a big difference between November 2021 and November 2020 in number of units sold (93 homes/PUDs in 2021 versus 147 in 2020), median sold price ($1.905 million in 2021 versus $1.725 million in 2020), average sold price ($3 million in 2021 versus $2.5 million in 2020), and average days on market (25 in 2021 versus 40 in 2020). Number of pending sales is also down: there are currently 98 homes in escrow versus 133 at the same time last year.

To get a better perspective, let’s look at 2019, which we can consider a more “typical” year as it was before the pandemic. In 2019 we had 81 sales in November, the median sold price was $1.27 million, and the average days on market was 51 days. At the end of November 2019 we had 94 pending sales.

In terms of number of sales, we are shifting back to pre-pandemic numbers, but in terms of property values, we are still at an all-time high, with a median sales price of $1.9 million and an average sales price of $3.1 million.

The number of total sold properties (not including condos) in the Santa Barbara South Coast is up 19.8% from last year: 1,438 compared to 1,200 in 2020, year-to-date. This is the highest number of sales we’ve ever seen year to date.

The condo stats in the South County tell a similar story: units sold are up from 429 to 521; median sales price is up 15% to $836,000 from $725,000 last year; average sales price is up 6% to $1.06 million from $937,000; and days on market is down, from 32 days in 2020 to 25 days this year.

Another phenomenon we’ve seen at an unprecedented rate this year: both our median sales and average sales prices are higher than their respective list prices. There continues to be a high demand for good quality, realistically priced inventory, and the market most definitely favors sellers right now.

Historically, the strongest segment in our South County market has been from $1 million to $1.5 million. The past two years have shifted that activity, with a push towards the $1.7 million-$2.2 million segment. Buyers seem to be stretching to jump into the next price bracket simply because they have no choice! Unfortunately, the lack of inventory spans across all price points, and all buyers are feeling the crunch.

9 – 16 December 2021

Condo Market Strengthened

This year so far we’ve seen the sale of 43 condos in Montecito, priced from $849,000 to $5.3 million. This is on par with what we saw last year in the same time period: 46 condos sold in a very similar price range. In 2019, there were only 20 condos that sold. Many of the luxury condo purchasers this year and last are second home buyers from out of town: buyers seeking solace in our area, near the beach. There were 16 sales at Bonnymede and Montecito Shores, five on Coast Village Road, and nine in the Upper Village.

Two record sales happened at Coast Village Gardens (1220 Coast Village Road). A lower level 2/2 unit sold in early August for $1,375,000, and a third-floor penthouse (2/2) sold for $1.7 million later in the same month.

There was a time not long ago when the building had multiple units for sale under $1 million, which sat on the market for months. Again, proof of our unprecedented sellers’ market right now.

As we head into December, it’s likely that the lack of inventory will continue, as it’s not typical for most sellers to list their homes around the holidays. Listing in December could be a solid strategy for sellers looking to get the absolute best price, as less competition usually means more eyes on your listing.

What’s Next for Our Market

As we head into December, it’s likely that the lack of inventory will continue, as it’s not typical for most sellers to list their homes around the holidays. Listing in December could be a solid strategy for sellers looking to get the absolute best price, as less competition usually means more eyes on your listing.

That being said, many buyers may put a pause on their search in December, in an effort to hold out for the spring, which we all hope will bring a much-needed bump in inventory. But let’s be honest: if a home comes on the market that greatly appeals to a buyer, they are most likely going to go for it, even if the holidays are right around the corner. Buyers will continue to enjoy low interest rates, and with last week’s news of a significant increase in conforming loan limits, qualifying – and buying – just got easier for a lot of people.

In Montecito and in the South County in general, it’s likely that price appreciation will continue to climb, but, dependent on the number of new listings that come to market, appreciation could occur at a slower pace than we’ve seen this year and last. Some price segments – not necessarily in Montecito – are susceptible to the slight rise in interest rates we are expecting next summer. We are also seeing a lot of buyer fatigue, which could impact activity. In order to appease all the buyers in our market and shift from a sellers’ market to a buyers’ market, we would need to flood the market with dozens, if not hundreds, of listings, which I just don’t see happening anytime soon.

•MJ

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

55

Seen (Continued from page 32 32)) Lotusland Executive Director Rebecca Anderson, Anthony Grumbine, and Rose Thomas at the Lutah reception

Gretchen Lieff and historian Melinda Gandara at the Lutah screening

ter Santa Barbara.”

For information about the club call (805) 682-4546.

by Lutah executed with an exceptional dedication and attention to detail. The special screening and panel discussion will reveal some of the unique characteristics of Lutah’s hand at Lotusland and the legacy of her work in Santa Barbara.”

A portion of the proceeds benefited the Lotusland Pavilion Restoration Project, an architectural

Lobero of the award-winning documentary film, Lutah—A Passion for Architecture: A Life in Design. There was a patrons’ reception in the tent prior to the filming.

As Lotusland executive director Rebecca Anderson said, “When we dig into the Lotusland archives, there are never before seen drawings

Screening for Lutah

Ganna Walska Lotusland recently collaborated with the Lutah Maria Riggs Society for a screening at the

Mini Meta

Last Week’s Solution:

By Pete Muller & Andrew White For each of the first five mini crosswords, one of the entries also serves as part of a five-word meta clue. The answer to the meta is a word or phrase (five letters or longer) hidden within the sixth mini crossword. The hidden meta answer starts in one of the squares and snakes through the grid vertically and horizontally from there (no diagonals!) without revisiting any squares.

PUZZLE #1 1

2

3

4

J A N E

J A S O N

U N I T Y

J U D E A

U S E D

NOTED

N B C L A L AW S P A C E D E N T S S K I

BLANK

C R A V E

R I C E R

U L T R A

S E U S S

H Y P E

S T R A P

VERSE

A W A R E

1

2

3

4

5

1

6

6

7

7

7

8

8

8

9

9

9

Across 1 See 1-Down 6 Set to simmer 7 Rare jungle mammal with stripes 8 2010s NBA All-Star Williams 9 Cozy rooms

Down 1 With 1-Across, dreaded cry for a cafeteria worker 2 Tatted 3 Concern for photographers and drivers 4 Motorcyclist's invitation 5 They may be mistaken for each other

Across 1 Far from abundant 6 Big name in network technology 7 "I've ___!"

8 "___ Line Is It Anyway?"

9 Pollution metric developed by the EPA

PUZZLE #4 2

4

1

3

4

7

6

8

8

7

9

9

8

Across 1 Angel ___ 6 Extra life, to gamers 7 Divisive character?

8 Welcome into the family 9 Canon product

O B I T S

M P O O S E E M Y

VERSE

2

1

7

Down 1 Data source scanned by a laser 2 Russell who played the title role in 2014's "Noah" 3 Well-known Finnish loanword 5 Peachy-___ 6 Word in a Machiavellian justification

T A R O T

R A P G A T O R A D E L E B I S O N O T S PARADISELOST

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Down 1 Kind of violin stroke 2 Topical matter?

3 Has ___ (is able to avoid blame) 4 Celebrity in the K-pop world 5 Restaurant host's request

META PUZZLE 5 4

56 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Across 1 Bolt who bolts 6 Animal important to Chinese Cold War diplomacy 7 Orlando in Hollywood 8 Egg cell 9 "Is water ___?" (captivating internet query)

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Across 1 ER units 4 Rapper with the 2021 album "Certified Lover Boy" 7 French city where Joan of Arc died 8 Bested, slangily 9 Word in a Machiavellian justification

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Down 1 Vowel sound with an upside-down "e" symbol 2 Espionage base near D.C., in brief 3 "Likewise," formally 4 CBS military drama 5 Carry around

PUZZLE #5

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gem billet by George Washington Smith. Following the film there was a panel discussion with notable architects Deming Isaacson, Marc Appleton, Anthony Grumbine, and Lutah Maria Riggs Society Historian Melinda Gandara and moderated by Lotusland Research Associate Rose Thomas. The consensus seemed to be that when Lutah and George

Down 1 Kind of length or point 2 Electrical terminal 3 Fey's character on "30 Rock" 4 Intense criticism, metaphorically 5 Tiff

“Everyone knows that if you’ve got a brother, you’re going to fight.” — Liam Gallagher

2

Across 1 Include on an email (without the option to "reply all") 4 Snack cakes akin to Yodels 6 Strong string 7 Mere suggestion 8 Currency of the Philippines

3 5

Down 1 "Changes" singer 2 They pass the bar, sometimes 3 River that lent its name to two African countries 4 Browser letters not often typed anymore 5 Comprehends

9 – 16 December 2021

Artist Thomas Van Stein at work

Washington Smith worked together, his work was better. They are both buried by the altar in the chapel they designed for the Santa Barbara Cemetery.

It was appropriate the event was held in the Lobero Theatre since Lutah’s fingerprint is revealed there.

Lotusland’s archives contain several drawings by Lutah for the George

Washington Smith projects executed for the Gavit family in the mid 1920s. She dedicated her life to her profession and to our community.

37 Years of Fine Art at Waterhouse

Waterhouse Gallery is celebrating its 37th year of fine art for us to

Derek Harrison painting a portrait

buy and enjoy in La Arcada Court.

To celebrate, Ralph and Diane Waterhouse invited four artists to set up easels in the courtyard and paint so we all could watch. They were Thomas Van Stein, Derek Harrison, Craig Nelson, and Wyllis

Heaton. There was soon an audience applauding. Later in the afternoon, Ralph and Diane hosted a reception.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words” then enjoy the photos accompanying this column. I don’t need to write a thing.

•MJ

Muller Monthly Music Meta http://www.pmxwords.com

December 2021 Can You Make the Time? by Pete Muller ACROSS 1 Ready for bed, or for a certain party 6 Some educators, for short 11 Top 14 R.E.M. lead singer Michael 15 Counter 16 Beatles breaker-upper, to detractors 17 Exclamation that sounds like a window molding 18 Real first name of the singer John Travolta introduced as "Adele Dazeem" 19 Bottom 20 Figures on the cover of George Harrison's album "All Things Must Pass" 22 Zaps, in a way 24 RR stops 27 "Oy" follower 28 "___ and Hum" (U2 album) 29 "Is She Really Going Out With ___?" (Joe Jackson song) 30 Uncheck, maybe 32 Key for "Moondance" 34 Aversion 38 Access, in a way 40 Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, say, if you're a Cubs fan 41 Rats 43 They may be significant 44 Tribe called the "Snake Indians" by Meriwether Lewis 46 Romanian currency since 1867 47 Take your clothes off and run around to get attention 50 45s might be called "75%-ers" if this measure were used instead of the customary one

51 Choice word 52 A Tribe Called ___ (hip-hop group) 53 Some soda bottle sizes 55 Search result, sometimes 56 Popular ramen ingredient 58 Devices that are frequently swiped (in more ways than one) 62 Defunct sports org. that used red, white, and blue balls 63 Obsolescent connector 64 Rourke's co-star in "The Wrestler" 65 Container (and, in a way, what you will find outlined by this year's clues related to the mega-meta) 66 1974 law regulating benefit plans, in brief 67 Meets (with), in a way

25 Island shared by two countries 26 Old Commodore computer 28 It might come after a call 30 Words sometimes preceding a tough message 31 Shakira's hips are incapable of this, if you believe her song title 33 Hoots and hollers 35 Surf, in surf-speak 36 Flags 37 Follow 39 Surgery sites, for short 42 Songbirds known for impaling their prey 45 Ideal conditions 47 What you call a pigeon if you want to eat it 48 Supercharged 49 Frankie Goes to Hollywood classic that was once DOWN banned by the BBC 1 Metric prefix?

51 Finnish city that sounds 2 Highest degree like a Spaniard introducing 3 Animal on the cover of a famous poet Linda Ronstadt's album 53 California city made "Silk Purse" famous by a CCR song 4 Some digital pics 54 Something Berlin once put 5 "You Ain't ___ Nothing Yet" on?

(BTO classic) 57 Choice word 6 3 and 5 and 13, but not 15 59 "Te ___" (Rihanna song) 7 Bloodshot 60 Buttigieg or Biden, for 8 Ties not worn around the short neck 61 Solange, to Beyoncé, for 9 "We Are Young" band short 10 Cave feature 11 Left ___ 12 First name in the name of a Yosemite peak 13 ___ Comitatus (militant far-right socialist movement) 21 Passed 23 Include, as a PDF 24 Commandment verb

WHAT IS A META?

The MMMM is a free award-winning monthly crossword, published at noon on the first Tuesday of each month. Its difficulty level is similar to a NY Times Wednesday or Thursday puzzle. To finish the puzzle, solvers need to figure out the meta, which is usually a song or band. Solvers have until Sunday at 11pm to submit their answer to the meta.

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This month’s meta is a hit from the ’70s.

©2021 Pete Muller

9 – 16 December 2021

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

57

Miscellany (Continued from page 53) man as they prepare for Yuletide and a gaggle of aristocratic guests upstairs.

The show, which runs through December 19, has an excellent seven-member ensemble cast, including Adam Poss as Darcy, Kyle T. Hester as bounder Wickham, and Chelsea Kurtz as Lydia.

A rollicking Regency romp which will undoubtedly get you in the Christmas spirit!

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Linguine With Clams and Ginger Made with

Bakana Gold

Empire Expands

Rosewood Miramar owner Rick Caruso has embarked on his latest mega project, a 165-unit residential six-story apartment building on a 7.5acre commercial parcel at The Lakes shopping center in Thousand Oaks.

Rick has leased the property from the city since The Lakes opened in 2005.

His eponymous company has holdings in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, and across the Los Angeles area, including The Grove, a charming shopping complex, near my old home in Hancock Park.

The apartment project is due to start being built next year.

Crying Roses?

Extra Virgin olive oil Ingredients

200g of spaghetti, 20 to 25 clams, 1 zucchini, 3 tomato, 2 to 3 cloves of garlic, 1 red onion, 1 bunch of parsley, A few basil leaves, freshly ground ginger, 10 cl of liquid cream (light) Bakana Gold Olive oil, 1 pinch of coarse salt, Fine salt, Freshly ground pepper.

Preparation: Cook the pasta in boiling water with a drizzle of olive oil and coarse salt. Stop cooking as soon as they are "al dente".

In a wok, sauté olive oil then add the onion and garlic, chopped beforehand. When they are golden brown, add the diced tomato and simmer over low heat for a few moments.

Add the rinsed clams in clean water and leave on the heat for two minutes. Salt and pepper.

Incorporate the zucchini cut into slices into the preparation. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for five to ten minutes. The clams should be split open and the zucchini almost cooked.

Halfway through cooking, sprinkle with chopped ginger, parsley and basil, then pour in the liquid cream. Finish cooking and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve everything hot on individual plates, mixing or not the pasta with seafood ...

Enjoy your Meal..

WWW.BAKANAGOLD.COM

58 MONTECITO JOURNAL

The musical Hairspray, which spawned two films in 1988 and 2007, not to mention a successful multi-Tony Award winning Broadway show, has stood the test of time.

The hugely entertaining production, which follows teen Tracy Turnblad in 1962 Baltimore as she searches for national TV fame, is witty and funny with a very definite message, particularly in the current era.

Tracy’s laundress mother, famously played by Harvey Fierstein, John Travolta, and the late Divine in previous guises, is equally splendid with Andrew Levitt in the over-the-toprole urging on her starstruck daughter, delightfully played by Niki Metcalf, in the Matt Lenz-directed American Theater Guild show at the Granada.

It was a show to dye for!

Maroon Five rocker Adam Levine, known for his colorful collection of tattoos, has showcased new artwork in a completely new area.

The 42-year-old Montecito-based musician debuted a rose on his face near his left eye when he attended a boffo bash at the Art Basel in Miami.

People’s 2013 Sexiest Man Alive was joined by his Namibian model wife, Behati Prinsloo, 33, on the red carpet.

The tony twosome live just a tiara’s toss from the estate of Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry and her British actor fiancé Orlando Bloom.

“My father had a profound influence on me. He was a lunatic.” — Spike Milligan

Wreaks of Positivity

Montecito’s Michael J. Fox has managed to stay upbeat over the last 30 years famously battling Parkinson’s Disease.

The longtime actor says he has found purpose and joy despite living with the disease.

Michael, 60, is married to actress Tracy Pollan, 60, who played his girlfriend in Family Ties. They have four children — Sam, 32, twin daughters, Aquinnah and Shuyler, 26, and daughter Esme, 20.

The Back to the Future actor tells AARP magazine he has stayed positive through all the tough times.

“Gratitude makes optimism sustainable,” he says profoundly. “If you don’t think you have anything to be grateful for, keep looking!”

On the Market

Oscar winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow is now a California girl after buying her estate in our rarefied enclave.

But now, I hear, her old home on Manhattan’s oh-so tony Upper Eastside is on the market for $14.5 million.

The 19th century, seven-bedroom, eight-bath residence was bought in 1984 by Paltrow’s parents, the late director-producer Bruce Paltrow, and actress wife Blythe Danner.

At the time, Gwyneth, then 12 years old, was attending the elite Spence School nearby.

The sprawling 7,205 square-foot, 20-foot-wide townhouse was sold in 1992 when she was 20.

RIP, Arlene

On a personal note, I remember actress Arlene Dahl who died at her New York home aged 96.

Dahl, mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas, 63, starred in the 1955 film Journey to the Center of the Earth with James Mason and Pat Boone.

A charming, always elegantly attired lady who I would see often on Manhattan’s society circuit with her husband of 37 years, Marc Rosen, she was married six times, including screen star Fernando Lamas and Lex Barker.

She was known for her striking red coiffure.

Sightings

Former CBS talk show host David Letterman with a TV crew on Miramar Beach... Actress Eva Mendes checking out the vintage stores in Carpinteria... Zooey Deschanel and beau Jonathan Scott at the Rosewood Miramar Pip! Pip! Be safe, wear a mask when needed, and get vaccinated.

•MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

College Bound

*Terms and Conditions Apply

by Mentors 4 College

You’re Almost to the Finish Line . . .

I

t’s December and all around you everybody is caroling and decking the halls and eggnogging and generally getting into the holiday spirit. But not you. You have a high school senior and that can mean only one thing: Your house is filled with the loud, desperate angst of a teenager going through the final agonizing throes of finishing up their college applications.

They are writing the last of their “why this school” essays and wracking their brains to explain how, at the tender age of 18, they could possibly know definitively why they want to major in “Digital Mapping.” All you want to do is wrap a few gifts, sit by the fire, maybe mull some wine, and throw some tinsel on the tree, but one look at their sorry little face tells you, you cannot do that. Not without them lying on a couch, years later, telling some expensive therapist all about your failings as a parent.

Have the student and another person (at least one other person – a parent, a friendly teacher) proofread everything that’s being submitted. Read it out loud for content and then read it for grammar/punctuation.

With a thumping heart and a face filled with apprehension, your high school senior has turned to you, and with their finger poised above the “submit” button, hope oozing from their pores, they have asked you, “Is. It. Ready?” And all you can think of, in that singular, defining moment is… I probably shouldn’t have had that third cup of wassail. But you are a loving, supportive parent and you know that this college stuff is grueling, and you also know that your kid has worked very hard, so you dig deep, you take a big sobering breath (which you blow away from them, but not towards the fire) and you tell them you’re here to help. And that’s where we come in.

What to do and what to review before you hit that “submit” button: Here are some basic tips on what to go over before your kid hits that “submit” button. So, grab a cup of Joe, turn the volume down on Dean Martin, and spend some time going over these reminders — you and your high school senior will be glad you did. Then hit “submit” and enjoy your holidays.

— Proofread everything. Have the student and another person (at least one other person – a parent, a friendly teacher) proofread everything that’s being submitted. Read it out loud for content and then read it for grammar/punctuation.

— Re-read all instructions and check for extra materials requested. Are you sending in everything that’s required (supplemental essays, portfolio submissions, etc.) and do your answers match the prompts/directions you were given?

— Double-check all essays. Check your word count. Do not write more than the word count. Make sure, again, that you answered the prompts. And make sure the right school name is mentioned in the right essay answer.

— Send test scores (if applicable) – standardized tests and/or AP scores.

— Make sure you took advantage of explaining your extracurricular activities and your role/participation in each. Take the time to be thorough in describing your role in the activity and what the group/club does. It’s a great way to stand out on your application.

— Check for inconsistencies/omissions/wrong information. If you included a hyperlink, does it work? Are there blank spaces where there shouldn’t be? Did you list the right phone number and email address? You get the idea. And, oh, by the way, if you have an email address that your friends all think is a riot but could be considered “provocative,” now’s the time to change it. Unsure if it’s provocative? If it starts with “Yomamma”… change it.

— Check the individual school’s application checklist. Make sure you haven’t missed any changes or updates.

— Print a copy of all your applications for your records.

— Sign, include payment information (if application requires a fee) and only submit once!

Like the elves, we work during the holidays. If you have questions or concerns about the college application process or would like a free mentor to help you and your high school student navigate the college application journey, contact us at mentors4college.org.

Happy Holidays.

•MJ 9 – 16 December 2021

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

59

Santa Barbara by the Glass

by Gabe Saglie Gabe Saglie has been covering the Santa Barbara wine scene for more than 15 years through columns, TV and radio. He’s a senior editor with Travelzoo and is a leading expert on travel deals, tips and trends. Gabe and wife Renee have 3 children and one Golden Retriever named Milo

Wine on the Road:

A Visit to Paso Robles

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60 MONTECITO JOURNAL

e are a community of dreamers,” Anthony Yount tells me as we sip al fresco on the Denner Vineyards patio, overlooking a landscape of green, undulating hills and dozens of acres of proprietary vines. I’d asked the winemaker what he feels makes the Paso Robles wine world unique. He went on to find a silver lining in the pandemic, even.

“By necessity,” he says, “it strengthened bonds in our community, and the realization that we all need each other.”

I paid a three-day visit to Paso Robles last month and, in some ways, the wine experiences there do feel new. Fresh investment, especially in the last decade, has led to a new generation of state-of-the-art winemaking facilities and glossy tasting rooms.

But what matters most remains, and Yount put his finger on it: this is an area where winemakers push envelopes and bend rules, where experimentation is celebrated and where camaraderie reigns supreme. Along with ideal topography and climate conditions, Paso’s Central Coast positioning is enviable: equidistant from L.A. and the Bay Area, the holy grails of California wine consumers. And its open attitude – winery events here are far less regulated than in Santa Barbara County – creates a bevy of special wine-inspired experiences.

Here’s a snapshot of three wineries that should inspire your own next trip to Paso.

Denner Vineyards

Ron Denner, a part-time Montecito resident, once owned a company called Ditch Witch, which makes specialized construction equipment like drills and excavators. When he bought land in Paso in 1997, “I didn’t want to make a lot of wine, I wanted to make great wine,” he told me when we chatted earlier this year. To that end, Denner employs gravity flow winemaking — extracting juice from grapes via gravity, not pumps — and focuses on small-production, hand-crafted blends.

And his property enjoys the benefits of sitting along the Templeton Gap, an east-west corridor that funnels marine air and creates big swings in daytime and night-time temps. That ensures that grapes ripen fully while maintaining their acidity. The 2019 Viognier ($55) is flinty and bright, with peach

“It’s not easy being a mom. If it were easy, fathers would do it.” — Betty White

and honeysuckle flavors; it’s aged in cigar box-shaped barrels to maximize the wine’s contact with lees, or yeast particulates produced during fermentation. The 2019 Dirt Worshipper ($85), mostly syrah (and a tip of the hat to Mr. Denner’s former profession) features dark berry notes and elegant tannins. And my favorite, the 2019 Mother of Exiles ($85), is a cabernet sauvignon-driven blend that delivers classic Bordeaux character through a rich and chewy mouthfeel. Make a tasting reservation at dennervineyards.com.

Thacher Winery and Vineyard

“The color of a wine doesn’t really matter to me,” Sherman Thacher tells me as we taste through several of his wines on his namesake property off Paso’s Vineyard Drive. I’d just remarked how a smooth texture and medium heft seem to be a common thread across his wines. “To me,” he continues, “it’s all about the mouthfeel.” In fact, that’s a remarkable quality across the Thacher wines — the super pleasurable way they glide across the palate with a distinctive plush finesse. Part harvest timing and barrel methods, for sure, but knack has something to do with it, too. Thacher launched his eponymous, family-run vineyard in 2004, and the property — once a historic ranch that’s still home to a 100-year-old barn today — is a gorgeous snapshot of rolling vines, grasses, and oak trees. The 2017 Grenache ($52) has a bright nose and delivers freshness and softness on the palate. The 2017 New Routine ($60) is a voluptuous 65-35 cabernet-syrah blend that delivers depth and spice. And the 2017 Resident Alien ($52), a blend of petite syrah and tannat, is smoky and floral at once, and smooth. Thacher wines are produced in small batches — only 175 cases of the Resident Alien, for example — and the winery’s total annual production remains at only 5,000 cases. Reservations for guided tastings are highly recommended, and you can make them at thacherwinery.com.

Alta Colina

Bob Tillman, a former engineer, founded Alta Colina in 2003, and the winery remains a family project. Alta

Glass Page 634 9 – 16 December 2021

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

61

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Volunteers Do you have a special talent or skill? Do you need community service hours? The flock at SB Bird Sanctuary could always use some extra love and socialization. Call us and let’s talk about how you can help. (805) 969-1944

The Magnificent Gift.

A biographical book as a present for a beloved parent or spouse. Preserve their life story for family, friends and future generations with a professional, entertaining, comprehensive biography or autobiography, including family history.

Gift them this season and our finished book will be ready in plenty of time for the 2022 holidays. David Wilk (805) 455-5980 www.BiographyDavidWilk.com WHAT’S YOUR STORY??

Would you like to preserve your life story as a biographical documentary?

Professional production services. Don’t’ wait!!

Affordable (805) 769-7459

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED K-9 PALS need volunteers to be foster parents for our dogs while they are waiting for their forever homes. For more information info@k-9pals.org or 805-570-0415.

SPECIAL SERVICES Over 25 Years in Montecito

Over25 25Years YearsininMontecito Montecito Over

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TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

It’s Simple. Charge is $2 per line, each line with 31 characters.

Minimum is $8 per week/issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue.

Email text to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860 and we will respond with a cost.

Deadline for inclusion is Friday before 2 pm.

We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex “Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet.” — Gene Perret

EXCELLENTREFERENCES R EFERENCES EXCELLENT EXCELLENT REFERENCES • Repair Wiring • • Repair RepairWiring Wiring • Inspection • Electrical Remodel Wiring • Remodel Wiring • Wiring • New New Wiring • New Wiring • • Landscape LandscapeLighting Lighting • Landscape Lighting • • Interior InteriorLighting Lighting • Interior Lighting

(805) 969-1575 969-1575 (805) 969-1575 (805) STATE LICENSE STATE LICENSENo. No.485353 485353

STATE LICENSE No. 485353 MAXWELLL. HAILSTONE MAXWELLL. HAILSTONE MAXWELL L. HAILSTONE East Valley Road, Suit 147 1482 East Valley Road, Suit 147 1482 East Valley Road, Suite 147 Montecito, California 93108 Montecito, California 93108 Montecito, California 93108

www.montecitoelectric.com www.montecitoelectric.com 9 – 16 December 2021

Glass (Continued from page 60) Colina is Spanish for “high hill,” and this vineyard’s elevation — it peaks at 1,800 feet above sea level — creates a perfectly steep, exposed site for growing premium Rhone grapes. I joined a virtual industry tasting event of recent releases from my Paso hotel during my recent visit, though I’m making a visit to the property and its 31-acre estate vineyard a must on my return trip; it’s well known as one of the most beautiful vineyards in Paso Robles. The 2019 Claudia Cuvée ($38), named for the founder’s mother, is 100% marsanne, a white wine with delicious spice and floral notes and a soft but creamy mouth feel. The 2018 GSM Blend ($58) is mostly grenache, which helps make this wine bouncy and juicy, with a tasty toasty character. And the 2018 Old 900

Syrah ($58), grow in one of the coolest spots on the vineyard, is deep, intense, and savory. Alta Colina is also home to the popular Trailer Pond, five vintage trailers set on a lake that have quickly become some of the most sought-after stays in the area. To find out more, and to make wine tasting reservations, go to altacolina.com.

One word on getting around: We leaned on Uber for most of our trips to and from vineyards, but rideshare is not super dependable, especially on weekdays and for short rides between wineries. Consider hiring a private driver, which makes the experience not only a whole lot safer but allows you to really take in the sweeping landscapes. One person we met, with a business called Sip Sip Hooray, told me she charges $20 to $25 an hour. •MJ

CA$H ON THE SPOT CLASSIC CARS RV’S • CARS SUV • TRUCKS MOTORHOMES We come to you!

702-210-7725

Need help with your holiday libations?

Let Certified Sommelier Brian Brunello assist you!

Voted Best Wine Shop in Santa Barbara Independent’s 2020 Reader’s Poll We Deliver!

CONVENIENT PARKING ON CORNER

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10AM-6PM Sunday 11AM-5PM 1271 Coast Village Road, Montecito (Across the street from Los Arroyos Restaurant)

(805) 969-5939 www.MontecitoVino.com

ADVERTISE IN THE LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY (805) 565-1860 WE BUY BOOKS Historical Paintings Vintage Posters Original Prints

805-962-4606

info@losthorizonbooks.com

LOST HORIZON BOOKSTORE now in Montecito, 539 San Ysidro Road

FRENCH VINTAGES Art Collectibles & Furniture www.frenchvintages.net or jzaimeddine@yahoo.com

FREE DELIVERY ANYWHERE

JACQUES

661-644-0839

STEVEN BROOKS JEWELERS Appraisals for Estates and Insurance Graduate Gemologist ~ Established 1974 Sales of Custom Designed and Estate Jewelry Purchasing Estates sbjewelers@gmail.com or 805-455-1070

9 – 16 December 2021

Luxury Consignment

Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, etc Local Consignment in Montecito Call for Consignment Appointment: 805.245.3360 TheRealReal.com

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Harmony 18K yellow gold ruby & diamond earrings 6.45 carats

812 Stat e St ree t • Sa n ta Ba rba r a 805.966.9187 Brya n tAndSons.com