Coast Village Road is Back!

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MISCELLANY

8 – 15 February 2018 Vol 24 Issue 6

The Voice of the Village

S SINCE 1995 S

Montecito miracle: Lynn Kirst and mom Colleen survive mudslide, appear on Megyn Kelly Today, p. 6

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, P. 8 • ASHLEIGH BRILLIANT, P. 13 • CALENDAR OF EVENTS, P. 50

COAST VILLAGE ROAD IS BACK! And to entice you to visit this Saturday, shops and boutiques are offering refreshments, live music, painting demonstrations, dog treats, free dance lessons, wine tasting, champagne, and wood-fired pizza, along with “significant” and “steep” discounts on their wares, topped off with a $2,500 gift card raffle (story begins on page 12)

Bucket Brigade

Abe Powell and Jimmy Jennings, along with 350 newly made friends, scoop up mud in Montecito Oaks, p. 5 Cover photo courtesy Coast Village Association

Our Village

Montecito’s upper village has probably had the toughest time of it, but stores there are now open too, p. 28

For Reel

Montecito-raised Casey McGarry unspools film short Cascarones at SBIFF, p. 44

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

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8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

3

THERE’S A WHOLE WORLD BETWEEN ON AND OFF

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 5

Guest Editorial

6

Miscellany

8

Letters to the Editor

Seamlessly Integrated Electronic Systems Home Automation Audio/Video Lighting Control Motorized Shades Home Theaters

Surveillance Design / Build Crestron Expert

One Call Does It All

HomeControlSolutions.com (805) 565-7755 CA Licenses Low/High Voltage C7 & C10-596033 Alarm ACO 6802 Licensed since 1990

HCSsecurity.com (805) 565-2211

An assortment of missives courtesy of MJ readers Reev Rohter, SJV, Paul Orfalea, Dana Newquist, Barbara Laytham, Anne Wilder, Carol Gordon, Michael Roush, Tracie Snyder, and Karim Kaderall Knit ‘n Needle; Channel City Club; MBAR meeting; Spanish; STEAM program; fundraiser; Cold Spring School Board; MA meeting; Tuesday talk; art classes; brain fitness; story time; yoga; and Italian talk

Tide Guide 11 Real Estate View

Michael Phillips gauges the temperature of Santa Barbara’s real estate market; the latest Heat score is 53, down from last year’s 76

12 Village Beat

Latest on mudslide recovery; Land Use Committee meets; MFPD welcomes new addition; Friendship Center’s Festival of Hearts; and home intrusion in Montecito

Lutron Specialist Serving Santa Barbara for 27 years

Lynn Kirst and her mother; Doug Margerum wine; Golden Mike Awards; All Saints by the Sea; author Petra Malinova; John Palminteri; Ellen DeGeneres; T.C. Boyle in New Yorker; plus Neil Diamond and Elton John

10 This Week

Enterprise-Class Networking / WiFi High-End Security Systems

A month after the mudslide, Bob Hazard gets to know the helping hands rebuilding Montecito – including Girl Scouts, Little Alex’s, and Lompoc students

13 Brilliant Thoughts

Ashleigh Brilliant tries to right wrongs and clear up misunderstandings, with help from Google, while getting in sync with erstwhile lyrics

14 Seen Around Town

Lynda Millner reports on Condoleezza Rice at Arlington Theatre; and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s new exhibit “Brought to Light”

20 Coming & Going

James Buckley chronicles SB Channel City Club guest Ryan Crocker, and previews General William Begert’s appearance February 8, plus the Genesis Open

22 Spirituality Matters

VILLAGE PROPERTIES

26

Understanding Insurance

28

Our Village

proudly congratulates EMILY KELLENBERGER For her outstanding representation and successful closing of:

33 Ernie’s World

They say it’s your birthday, Pat Witham, but husband Ernie can’t believe it’s the same day as the Super Bowl – which turned out to be super

35 On Law

In part three of his series, Steven Blum plumbs the depths of surface water law in relation to the Montecito flood and debris

201 TORO CANYON ROAD

CARPINTERIA Offered at $3,400,000 | Represented Seller

44 On Entertainment

200 LAMBERT ROAD

CARPINTERIA Offered at $16,000,000 | Represented Seller

1215 FRANCISCAN COURT #2 CARPINTERIA Offered at $659,000 | Represented Seller

805.252.2773 | emily@villagesite.com

VILLAGESITE.COM

In part 2 of a series, Bob Hazard spreads the word about the upper village’s assortment of businesses and their owners Joanne Calitri gets in tune along with 116,000 attendees at the National Association of Music Merchants show in Anaheim

3037 CALLE NOGUERA

SANTA BARBARA Offered at $1,109,416 | Represented Buyer

Matthew Bourhis addresses the challenges of businesses procuring insurance and money in the aftermath of Montecito’s natural disaster

32 Our Town

18 W. VICTORIA #209

SANTA BARBARA Offered at $1,050,000 | Represented Seller

Steven Libowitz chronicles La Casa de Maria; Sacred Space; singing with Yoga Soup; Sound Healing; Jim Dreaver; and Buddhism

46 48

Steven Libowitz dissects documentaries and extra activities at SBIFF; City of Conversation; classical music and CAMA; plus additional events summary

Legal Advertising In Business

Jon Vreeland chronicles the story of the Liquor and Wine Grotto, along with its coowners, Jason Herrick and Brian Brunello

50 Calendar of Events

Comic Mike Birbiglia; Engelbert Humperdinck; La Cuneta Son Machín; Valentine Dance Show; UCSB a cappella; Chicago at Arlington; Cameron Carpenter; Seth Stephens-Davidowitz; and Valentine’s & Boxes

52 Real Estate 1250 COAST VILLAGE RD, MONTECITO, CA 93108 All information provided is deemed reliable, but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it. We recommend that buyers make their own inquiries. CalBRE # 01397913

Mark Hunt reviews 2017 with a monetary breakdown by the numbers; he also recommends four available houses in the MUS District

54 Classified Advertising

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

55 Local Business Directory

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

Guest Editorial

by Bob Hazard Mr. Hazard is an associate editor of this paper and a former president of Birnam Wood Golf Club.

Helping Hands in Montecito It has been nearly a month since we were awakened in the middle of the night, without electrical power, to the drumbeat of a pounding rainstorm and the roar of a descending mountain of mud and boulders.

As is usual in a natural disaster, there were scenes of personal heroism from unnamed first responders and nearby neighbors helping neighbors.

Every resident has a personal story of what happened to them in the middle of this tragedy. Now, as the Thomas Fire and subsequent mudflow slide off the pages of national news organizations, we are left with Montecito somewhat broken in structure but not in spirit.

Village Frame and Gallery would like to thank all the first responders and reach out to our lovely Village to say that when you are ready we are here and happy to assist.

With grateful hearts, Joyce and the Village Frame & Gallery Team

Rebuilding Montecito For a few, the natural reaction may Abe Powell, leader of the Bucket Brigade be to collect whatever insurance money is available and move on with life, perhaps even somewhere else. Most of us, however, recognize the benefits of living here and desire to play a role in restoring Montecito: to rebuild stronger and better than it was before.

EDITORIAL Page 164

FINE ART

VILLAGE FRAME & GALLERY

MUSEUM QUALITY FRAMING

1485 E AS T VA L L E Y R D MON T E C I TO 8 0 5 . 9 6 9 . 0 5 2 4

We are resilient.

OneWe step at strong. a time‌ are Dus ea simus queWe num harcius et arum faccusto conse will rebuild.

elibus modi ra culluptas mi, voluptaero consedit eata do

aboreheniae. Ti te nullit#montecitostrong voluptatur, cor a persperument u faccupt istorroriam endigni mincto doluptae cullat.

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LICENSE 611341

8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

5

It is heartening to see our community begin to rebuild after this sad and surreal time in our local history.

Monte ito Miscellany

by Richard Mineards

We offer our sincere sympathy to our friends, clients and neighbors who have lost loved ones, and whose homes, property and emotional beings have been so deeply impacted.

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, and a commentator on the KTLA Morning News. He moved to Montecito ten years ago.

Montecito Miracle for Kirsts

Lynn Kirst and her mother, Colleen, on Megyn Kelly Today

Thank you to all the fire fighters, police, first responders and local heroes who have made all the difference in this most difficult time.

In the aftermath of this disaster, Glamour House, is committed to helping those directly impacted to replace their most necessary intimate apparel.

With deepest gratitude,

I

t is an extraordinary tale of grit and survival.

So much so that this illustrious organ’s bridle correspondent, Lynn Kirst and her 93-year-old mother, Colleen, were flown to New York last week by the NBC network to appear

Ann and Rick Picciuto Gehrke, Owners, Glamour House Intimate Apparel Projects West Construction

with Megyn Kelly on the Today show.

In the 10-minute segment, the dynamic duo recounted in harrowing detail how they narrowly escaped certain death when a killer mud-

MISCELLANY Page 184

Our Doors are Open

lingerie, loungewear, slippers

Sale In Progress

We’re happy to let you know that Jenni Kayne Montecito is back open.

Through the month of February, we’re offering 10% off everything and 10% of our sales will be donated to Direct Relief.

JENNI KAYNE MONTECITO

525 San Ysidro Rd, Montecito, CA 93108 montecito@jennikayne.com 805.309.0550

Celebrating 53 Years In Montecito’s Upper Village 1470 East Valley Road | 805.969.5285

GlamourhouseLingerie.com

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

Hospice of Santa Barbara Offers Thomas Disaster Support In the wake of the Thomas Disaster, HSB remains committed to serving our community as we

have during past crises. We will be offering a host of specialized services to our community during the weeks and months to come as we heal from the trauma of the recent disasters.

(Feb. 20 - March 27) (Feb. 17 - March 24) (Feb. 8 - March 1) (Feb. 10 - March 3)

If you are in need of our services, please contact us at 805.563.8820 If you would like to donate to support these vital community services, please call or visit our website.

1155 COAST VILLAGE ROAD I 805.969.0442 I WWW.SILVERHORN.COM MONDAY - FRIDAY 10 - 5:30 • SATURDAY 10 - 5 • SUNDAY CLOSED

8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

7

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

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

In Praise of Brian and Jay

I

chose to write this letter even at the hesitation of the people I am writing it for…

I am a past resident of Montecito, where I grew up. I attended Mt. Carmel School as well as Bishop Diego. I moved away after college, yet continue to visit my parents and sister who are still there and remain lifelong friends with many who reside there.

In the early morning of January 9, I received a call from my 15-year-old nephew, who very calmly stated that my parents, Theresa and Roy Rohter, were in their home in Montecito when they were struck by a mudslide. He informed me that my mother had been swept away by the mudslide, yet had survived and was at a neighbor’s house. My father was currently unaccounted for.

I was then called by my brother-inlaw, Jay Krautmann, who resides in Montecito and is a real estate agent with Village Properties. He informed me that he and Brian Brunello, a dear friend of mine and co-owner of the Liquor and Wine Grotto on Coast Village Road, had hiked to the property and were trying to reach my mother and search for my father.

Brian, who I have known since fifth grade, and whom I considered my little brother, was also calling me to keep me informed of what was going on. He was with my mother even before the first responders could reach the scene. He and Jay were actually clearing boulders for the ambulance to be able to drive to the home. I credit them with rescuing my mother from the cold, wet, muddy landscape that had enveloped the area.

I cannot fully express my gratitude for Brian and Jay. Their actions in the pitch black of that early morning will forever be remembered. It was Brian who then informed me that my father had been found and did not survive; those words were ones no one wants to hear, yet they could not have come from a more comforting source.

Arriving in Santa Barbara the next day, Brian offered up his car and his home… a home I had been to so many times growing up. Yet this time it meant more. It was a second home to me and it was comforting. His brother Mark came down from northern California to stay with me as well and to help with anything I needed. His mother – my second mom – leant me her shoulder to cry on.

I write these words to show the spirit and loyalty of family. The undying

8

MONTECITO JOURNAL

friendship and bond that can come with many years. I am also writing this to help others understand the sense of community that surrounds Montecito. Without these things, I do not know what I would have done.

Brian and Jay are a testament to these bonds: unselfishly giving their time and energy while losing business of their own.

I humbly ask that this letter be published to acknowledge Brian and Jay, to help them with their business, which closed for a period of time due to the mudslides.

They, as well as all of the first responders and others who helped the victims so unselfishly, need the support of this community as well as the recognition for supporting us during our time of need.

Reev Rohter Formerly of Montecito

Shop Here. Now. I visited Coast Village Road for the first time recently, to collect some work at Letter Perfect, and wrote the following message to friends.

“Dearest friends, “I drove over to CVR from Santa Barbara and to collect some work from Leslie at Letter Perfect. The shop looked lovely as always, though with perhaps more boxes than usual, and Leslie looked happy to see me. But there were also some locals there, talking about the most recent business eviction notice from a CVR landlord.

“There’s real suffering, visible shock in people, no FEMA assistance for business losses and only 1-2 days “loss of business” funds available due to the confusion in “mandatory” vs. “voluntary” evacuation assignments.

I learned that CVR being considered “open” since its utilities are from Santa Barbara (meaning it was considered a “voluntary” evacuation zone), while at the rear of each shop on either side of CVR the utilities are Montecito’s responsibilities, and therefore those zones were assigned “mandatory” evacuation zones at the same times the shops themselves on CVR were in ‘voluntary’ evacuation zones. This situation drastically reduces the financial reparation options for CVR shop owners, very unfairly it seems.

“Thus, while these shops could not in any way conduct business, resulting in terrible financial losses, their location in a ‘voluntary’ evacuation zone means they also cannot apply for

any significant compensation.’

“People were clustering and sharing stories as they do after catastrophes, some shaking, many with tears in their eyes. CVR is jammed much of the day with heavy traffic consisting of trucks and drivers trying to evade clogged 101 traffic. This severely inhibits the return of customers to shops as well. Surely, the Highway Patrol could work with local police to ensure “101” rush-hour traffic is kept off CVR for the foreseeable future?

“While clearing the mud and boulders is still a news focus, the financial disaster in the lower and upper villages is largely in shadow and not well appreciated by everyone further west in SB, harder to present on TV, and with no Montecito mayor, a leaderless ongoing disaster. Imagine two ugly strip malls of chain stores replacing the local shops.

“Without a mayor, Montecito remains “leaderless.” The current catastrophic situation demands the singularity of personal leadership (not a committee) with a strong vision for the coming recovery. Perhaps Oprah could help organize and fund a longterm recovery plan. Ellen has been a strong presence most days in her community. Perhaps she could collaborate with Oprah and others in a position to offer a plan for the future that will avoid CVR and the upper village becoming ugly strip malls of

national chain stores, persuading local landlords to work alongside them in managing rents until business can significantly return to the area.

“KEYT has done a formidable job throughout this disastrous season and continues to follow stories. However, muddy broken buildings are more graphic than trying to explain the slow moving financial disaster facing CVR shops and enterprises. Just because CVR is “open for business,” as John Palminteri let us know, doesn’t mean anyone is able to shop there while landlords are readying yet more eviction notices. It would be great if KEYT could follow this terrible ripple effect as it continues to unfold.

“Tell everyone to go to CVR and to eat and to spend in the establishments owned by people just like you and me.”

If you feel it is worth publishing, please use only my initials (below) as signature.

SJV Montecito (Editor’s note: We have not heard of anyone receiving “eviction notices” along Coast Village Road or in the upper village.

In fact, what we hear is that landlords from both areas have offered various rental plans to merchants to ease the financial burden this series of calamities has places on nearly all Montecito businesses,

LETTERS Page 244

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

Publisher Timothy Lennon Buckley Editor At Large Kelly Mahan Herrick • Managing Editor James Luksic • Design/Production Trent Watanabe Associate Editor Bob Hazard

Account Managers Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Leanne Wood, Caroline Harrah, DJ Wetmore, Ashley Rochestie Bookkeeping Christine Merrick • Proofreading Helen Buckley • Arts/Entertainment/Calendar/Music Steven Libowitz • Columns Leanne Wood, Caroline Harrah, Erin Graffy, Scott Craig, Julia Rodgers, Ashleigh Brilliant, Karen Robiscoe, Sigrid Toye • Gossip Thedim Fiste, Richard Mineards • History Hattie Beresford • Humor Ernie Witham, Grace Rachow Photography/Our Town Joanne A. Calitri • Society Lynda Millner Travel Jerry Dunn • Sportsman Dr. John Burk • Trail Talk Lynn P. Kirst Published by Montecito Journal Inc., James Buckley, President PRINTED BY NPCP INC., SANTA BARBARA, CA Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA 93108.

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

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• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

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8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

9

This Week in and around Montecito

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Festival of Hearts Friendship Center presents the 19th annual Festival of Hearts at Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Resort. This year’s theme is The Queen of Hearts’s Tea Party and will be a festive luncheon with local wines, heart art, and a live auction.

When: 11:30 am to 2:30 pm Where: 633 East Cabrillo Boulevard Cost: $125 per person Info and Tickets: www.friendshipcentersb.org or 969-0859

(If you have a Montecito event, or an event that concerns Montecito, please e-mail kelly@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860) THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8 MBAR Meeting Montecito Board of Architectural Review seeks to ensure that new projects are harmonious with the unique physical characteristics and character of Montecito. Today the Board will discuss recovery efforts, revisions to the Miramar and Biltmore, new hardscape and landscape on Mesa Road, new single-family home on Nicholas Lane, an addition on Sycamore Canyon, and other agenda items.

When: 1 pm Where: County Engineering Building, Planning Commission Hearing Room, 123 E. Anapamu Knit ‘N Needle Fiber art crafts (knitting, crochet, embroidery, and more) drop-in and meet-up for all ages at Montecito Library.

When: 2 to 3 pm Where: 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Spanish Conversation Group at the Montecito Library The Montecito Library hosts a Spanish Conversation group for anyone interested in practicing and improving conversational skills in Spanish.

Participants should be familiar with the basics.

When: 1:30 pm Where: Montecito Library, 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063 After-School STEAM Program Build with Legos, do snap circuits, and drop-in craft activities at Montecito Library. Ages 5 and up.

When: 3:30 to 4:30 pm

Where: 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063 Gathering of Hope & Remembrance As we approach one month since the mudslide, All Saints seeks to reunite those who gathered to serve and be served at All Saints-by-the-Sea on January 9, and all from the community who have been impacted by the mudslide. The gathering will begin with a brief time of reflection, healing, and non-denominational prayer in the Sanctuary at 6:30 followed by a community meal (sponsored by All Saints) in the Parish Hall at 7 pm.

Those who were present at All Saints on January 9 are especially encouraged to reunite. If you brought blankets, clothes, or food; offered medical assistance; offered hospitality; received care; were evacuated; or were a first responder on site, you’re welcome, including children. If possible (not required), please rsvp for dinner information to info@asbts.org.

When: 6:30 pm Where: 83 Eucalyptus Lane in Montecito Info: info@asbts.org Community Concert Event A healing event with music, food, and drink to bring joy back into our community; hosted by Physical Focus.

When: noon to 4 pm Where: Physical Focus, 140 Hot Springs Road Cost: free and open to the public; any donations to go to Montecito Union School and Cold Spring School SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Mudslide Fundraiser Advanced Veterinary Specialists hosts a fundraiser at Oreana Winery

to benefit the Ellen DeGeneres Montecito Disaster Fund. Enjoy live music, wine, and a raffle.

When: noon to 4 pm Where: 205 Anacapa Street MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 Cold Spring School Board Meeting When: 6 pm Where: 2243 Sycamore Canyon Road Info: 969-2678 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Montecito Association Meeting The Montecito Association is committed to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the semi-rural residential character of Montecito.

When: 4 pm Where: Montecito Hall, 1469 East Valley Road Tuesday Talk: Framing Conversations with Your Children in Response to Mudslides Dr. Andrea Gurney, Ph.D., leads a lecture for parents.

When: 6:30 pm Where: El Montecito Presbyterian Church Library, 1455 E. Valley Road RSVP: bkennedy@westmont.edu; free childcare available with reservation After-School STEAM Program Build with Legos, do snap circuits, and drop-in craft activities at Montecito Library. Ages 5 and up.

When: 3:30 to 4:30 pm Where: 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063

M on t e c i to Tid e G u id e Day Thurs, February 8 Fri, February 9 Sat, February 10 Sun, February 11 Mon, February 12 Tues, February 13 Wed, February 14 Thurs, February 15 Fri, February 16

Low

12:31 AM 1:11 AM 1:45 AM 2:17 AM 2:49 AM 3:22 AM

10 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Hgt

High

Hgt

Low

Hgt

High

Hgt

Low

4.5 4.6 4.8 5 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.5

11:43 AM 12:40 PM 01:22 PM 01:57 PM 02:27 PM 02:55 PM 03:22 PM 03:48 PM 04:15 PM

0.9 0.5 0.1 -0.2 -0.4 -0.6 -0.6 -0.6 -0.5

06:14 PM 07:22 PM 08:02 PM 08:31 PM 08:56 PM 09:20 PM 09:44 PM 010:09 PM 010:35 PM

2.8 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.2

010:27 PM 2.4 011:39 PM 2.5

2.4 2.3 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.5

4:12 AM 5:12 AM 6:03 AM 6:44 AM 7:21 AM 7:54 AM 8:26 AM 8:57 AM 9:29 AM

• The Voice of the Village •

Hgt

ONGOING MONDAYS AND TUESDAYS Art Classes Beginning and advanced, all ages and by appointment – just call.

Where: Portico Gallery, 1235 Coast Village Road Info: 695-8850 MONDAYS Connections Brain Fitness Program Challenging games, puzzles, and memory-enhancement exercises in a friendly environment.

When: 10 am to 2 pm Where: Friendship Center, 89 Eucalyptus Lane Cost: $50, includes lunch Info: 969-0859 TUESDAYS Story Time at the Library A wonderful way to introduce children to the library, and for parents and caregivers to learn about early literacy skills; each week, children ages two to five enjoy stories, songs, puppets, and fun at Story Time.

When: 10:30 to 11 am Where: Montecito Library, 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063 WEDNESDAYS Yoga on Coast Village Yoga is back on Coast Village Road at Simpatico Pilates! Stretch, strengthen, breathe, and rejuvenate, with Vinyassa flow classes taught

by Leanna Doyle. All levels are welcome.

When: 8:30 am Where: Simpatico Pilates, 1235 Coast Village Road, Suite I Info/Reservations: 895-1368 THURSDAYS Casual Italian Conversation at Montecito Library Practice your Italian conversation among a variety of skill levels while learning about Italian culture. Fun for all and informative.

When: 12:30 to 1:30 pm Where: 1469 East Valley Road Info: 969-5063 •MJ 8 – 15 February 2018

Real Estate View Year-over-Year Median Price up

by Michael Phillips

Montecito Heat Index 35 30

29

We Are Here to Help With Experience & Expertise

29

Heat Index

25 20 15

18

2017

15

2018

12 10

10 6

6 4

5 0

0 1-2M

2-3M

3-4M

4-5M

5+ M

$$ in Millions

T

he Montecito Heat Index is a measurement of signed real estate purchase contracts, which are pending final closing for Montecito single-family homes in five distinct price sectors. This data, rather than closed sales, more closely measure present demand or Heat. And since real estate activity fluctuates, monthly and seasonally, today’s Heat score is compared to a year ago today.

All data are from the Santa Barbara MLS and are uniformly deemed reliable.

So how hot is our market? Today’s Heat Score is 53; last year’s was 76, a significant decrease of 30% and thus chilly at best.

In spite of our preoccupation last December with the Thomas Fire, Montecito ended the year with a median sale price of $3,380,800, a sizeable 11% increase over the prior year.

As the total Heat score reflects, buyer demand in January was at best weak. It is extraordinary actually given the mudflow disaster which began the morning of January 9, that there were any buyers at all. Looking at individual price sectors, and as the adjacent chart reflects, all but the $4-5-million sector underperformed compared to last year, and for the lower end $1-2M and $2-3M groups, demand was off 48.1% and 38.6%, respectively. Atypical numbers for our most in-demand sectors.

8 – 15 February 2018

Michael is a realtor at Coldwell Banker, and is a former Montecito Planning Commissioner.

He can be reached at 969-4569 and info@ MichaelPhillipsRealEstate. com

So, what will likely be the impact of the fire/mudflow disaster upon Montecito home prices? There are interesting reports to be found measuring impact on real estate prices following natural disasters.

In the short term, all disaster areas experienced sales below what was expected – some in the double digits. Once recovery began, there were different results. All locales are different, of course, and Montecito has always been a bit outside of the norm – yet, surprisingly, other higher-end, upscale, in-demand communities typically experienced not a sustained drop in home values, as might have been expected, but an increase.

Simply put, as the competition for undamaged homes increased, so did prices. A good example is Santa Rosa to the north, which experienced an increase in their home prices of nearly 10% following its fires at the end of last year. People didn’t leave. They liked their community and stayed and competed for homes. My guess is that will happen here as well.

•MJ

“After our house burned to the ground in the Tea Fire, we hired Don Gragg and his crew at SBDB to rebuild with us. We were impressed with all of Don’s design ideas it seemed he knew exactly what we were looking for. We were so pleased with our main house that we went on to build another beautiful studio on the property. One of the best aspects about how Don runs the job is that he takes care of everything. There is no need for the owner to try to communicate with the City re; permits, which can be a complicated process…We definitely recommend Don Gragg.”

Jeff & Gretchen Jones

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This French restaurant gives me the crêpes

MONTECITO JOURNAL

11

Village Beat

FOR SALE

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

Mudslide Recovery

A

fter receiving clearance from Montecito Water District that the boil-water notice was lifted in the majority of Montecito, most businesses and restaurants in the upper and lower villages were back in business over the weekend, marking another milestone in the recovery process.

Los Arroyos reopened its doors on February 2, despite the lack of internet service. Other businesses including Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Montecito Deli also reopened late last week. Lucky’s and Oliver’s reopened February 5, and Jeannine’s Bakery is expected to open this week, after undergoing some renovations.

Alison Hardy, owner of Jeannine’s, has been offering free lunch, coffee, and pastries (prepared in her downtown location) for the last two weeks, making the bakery patio a sort of meeting place for volunteers, Red Cross personnel, and regular custom-

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|

ers. Hardy has also been donating lunches to the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade and other volunteer organizations who are on the ground in Montecito, helping homeowners dig mud out of their homes.

A number of different events are planned for this weekend, in an effort to raise funds for various causes and to bolster business in Montecito.

Guaranteed Rate, one of the nation’s largest retail mortgage lenders, will host a Cash Mob event on Saturday, February 10, to support local businesses on Coast Village Road. According to organizer Jeff Bochsler, a Cash Mob occurs when a group of people assemble to make purchases at locally owned and operated businesses in support of the community. The event is co-sponsored by the Coast Village Association.

“With the recent natural disas-

VILLAGE BEAT Page 344

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12 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

OPEN HOUSE

Sunday, February 11, 1-3pm 8 – 15 February 2018

Brilliant Thoughts

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 with wife Dorothy 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

Getting It Wrong

M

aybe you’ve heard about the child who came home from Sunday School reporting he’d been learning a song about a cross-eyed bear named Gladly.

The song turned out to be one called “Gladly the Cross I’d Bear”. Now, let me tell you some similar misunderstandings of which I myself have been guilty.

One of them I’ve remembered since childhood, and only recently learned the true version. The way I remembered the song from grade-school, it said, “Jesus’s bits are shining for a pale moonlight.” Of course, I’d long realized this couldn’t be right.

But only now, thanks to Google, do I know that what it really said was “Jesus bids us shine with a clear pure light.”

(You may wonder how a little Jewish boy came to be learning Christian hymns in public school. The answer is that this was Toronto in the early 1940s, and in those days nobody made a fuss about such things, especially in a city which, because of its reputation for Christian rectitude, was known as “Toronto the Good.”)

But there were other misconceptions, which I carried away from Bible readings. One of them arose from hearing about how the Children of Israel worshipped in the desert. What I couldn’t understand was, how did those warships ever get into the desert?

And it wasn’t only scriptural expressions that sent me in wrong directions.

When I heard accounts of somebody “turning over a new leaf,” I imagined an area strewn with fallen leaves, and the person going around, carefully turning each one over.

But it’s trying to deal with foreign languages that is notoriously a cause of confusion. On my first hitchhiking visit to France as a teenager, when trying to find my way out of Paris, I was told by several people that I should go “tout droit.”

Having learned enough French in school to know that “Droit” means “Right,” I kept taking right turns, until I became hopelessly lost. Only later did I establish that “tout droit” means “straight ahead!”

And, speaking of language confusion, I once came across a phrasebook published in Japan for Japanese visitors to the U.S. I couldn’t read the Japanese – but one of the expressions it was explaining was given in English 8 – 15 February 2018

as: “Don’t Be a Little Bug.” A true incident of World War II shows how easily non-native speakers can go wrong in English. In 1942, some German saboteurs landed from a U-boat on the U.S. East Coast.

They’d been specially selected for their knowledge of English, and their supposed ability to pass themselves off as Americans. One of them, however, in talking to a real American, immediately aroused suspicion, when he happened to describe the bright sunlight as “a sight for sore eyes,” (when he clearly meant that it made the eyes sore.) This little misuse of an idiom led to the capture of the entire group, most of whom were eventually executed.

But errors come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Have you heard of how a whole edition of the King James Bible had to be scrapped (in 1631), because one word had somehow been omitted? It was the word “not” in the commandment “Thou shalt not commit adultery”!

Going from a miniscule error to some gigantic ones, we might ask how Napoleon (1812) and Hitler (1941) both came to make the same major mistake of invading Russia. Also, you probably know about Ford’s Edsel disaster, and about that famously wrong 1948 Chicago Tribune banner headline: DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN. But how could so many of us have been so wrong about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union – and about Donald Trump’s chances of becoming president?

Let me conclude with a story of another linguistic mistake, which I learned in French class at school. This story is obviously not true, but it taught us an important lesson in pronunciation: A young lady in France is unfortunately afflicted with a large mouth, which she wants to make smaller. She goes to a doctor, who recommends an exercise in which she is to say “petite pomme” (“small apple”) repeatedly several times a day. These words require a minimum opening of the lips. She goes away, but returns a few months later complaining that it hasn’t worked – her mouth is now larger than ever.

The trouble turns out to be that instead of “apple” she had thought he’d said “pear” (poire). Correct pronunciation of a word such as “poire” requires opening the mouth as widely as possible!

•MJ

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The program will also include guest speakers, local movement disorders specialists Erin Presant, DO and Sarah Kempe-Mehl, MD.

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

13

Seen Around Town Brought to Light

Curator of photography and new media Charlie Wylie at the SBMA (Photo credit to the SBMA)

by Lynda Millner

Starr Siegele, Robert and Mercedes Eichholz, director and CEO Larry J. Feinberg, and Eik Kahng, assistant director and chief curator at the SB Museum of Art opening reception

A

special preview reception was held at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) for exhibition sponsors, sustaining trustees, legacy society, benefactors circle, director’s patron, PhotoFutures, and special guests. This was followed by a reception for all of the members.

The new exhibition titled “Brought to Light” is drawn from the 28,000 works of art in the museum’s own collection and it’s all about portraits, both painted and photographs. Charlie Wylie, curator of photography and

new media, and Eik Kahng, assistant director and chief curator, led the way.

The collection is broken down into three areas: revelatory photographs; Crosscurrents: The painted portrait in America, Britain, and France, 1750 to 1850; and Crosscurrents: American and European Portrait Photographs, 1810 to 1900.

Since SBMA’s founding in 1941, they have always featured photography as an art form in its exhibition program. The museum’s photographs have grown to approximately 8,000

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pieces. With the major renovations going on, the museum will have a permanent gallery for photography for the first time.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of the Dana and Albert R. Broccoli Charitable Foundation, Frances E. Kent, SBMA Women’s Board, SBMA PhotoFutures, Gwendolyn and Henry Baker, Patricia and Richard Blake, Roxana and Fred Anson, Susan Bower, Lorna S. Hedges, Priscilla and Jason Gaines, and Barbara and Owen Patotzka.

Before the invention of photography, painted portraits were the most coveted means of commemorating family members and VIPs in society.

Within two months of the discovery of photography, first announced by the French on August 19, 1839, photographers began taking pictures of loved ones and their friends.

SBMA supporters Tish Gainey and Mary Garton

It’s interesting to note that photography was discovered or invented in two countries at the same time – in France and in Great Britain – with neither inventor aware of the other’s discovery. Soon they were exchanging information, and great technical progress was made.

Larry J. Feinberg, Robert and Mercedes Eichholz director and CEO, told us about the renovation that was begun 20 months ago. Stage 1 will be completed this summer. Much seismic retrofitting has been completed.

Remember this building used to be a

SEEN Page 534

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• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

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Monday - Saturday 10-5 • Sunday 11:00 -5:00 MONTECITO JOURNAL

15

EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5) Tom and Linda Cole, Sharon Bradford, and Josiah Hamilton at the Bucket Brigade Site

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The Bucket Brigade

Recently, Abe Powell, chairman The Thomas Fire and mudslide in Montecito has affected of the board of the Montecito Fire many of our friends, customers and neighbors.

We’ve mudslide in Montecito has affected many of our friends, customers and neighbors.

Protection District (MFPD), and had numerous calls regarding concerns about how these lls regarding concerns about how these events will affect our water quality. his friend Jimmy Jennings, orgaevents will affect our water quality. nizers of the Montecito Bucket Brigade, led some 350 volunteers

The fire has andquality will affect groundwater quality the Fire affect groundwater over the next few over months. land will be intoravaged the flood-and-mud-ravaged Montecito Oaks neighborhood – next few months.

Fire ravaged land will be susceptible ulling debris into the surrounding water sources and contaminaBng them. AddiBonally, a block east of Olive Mill Road, to erosion pulling debris into the surrounding water d to combat the fires will seep into the groundwater affecBng water quality. north of North Jameson Lane – sources and contaminating them. Additionally, fire

with charming street names such retardant toxins used to combat the fires will seep into as Santa Clara Way, Santa Elena experienced a boil water alert, we quality. recommend that our customers service water the groundwater affecting water Lane, Santo Tomasoall Lane, and

sis, and filter systems once alerts are liEed.

Santa Isabel Lane.

Typical Montecito Oaks homes If your community has experienced a boil water alert, sit on half-acre lots, and most we recommend that our customers service all water remain covered in mud and muck ems offers a variety of services for water filtraBon including reverse osmosis drinking softeners, reverse osmosis, and filter systems once alerts with limited access to driveways, Eeners and a variety of other treatment opBons. are lifted. garages, and doorways. Owners have a difficult time entering their

Matilija Pure Water Systems offers a variety of services for properties, even just to evaluate Matt Boneck lends a hand you, but the fact remains the fire will affect your water. The last defense is at the point the damage or remove prized personal possessions. water filtration including reverse osmosis drinking water are here to help with special discounts for those affected by these events.

Abe Powell’s Bucket Brigade arrived on the scene, accompanied by earthsystems, water softeners and a variety of other treatment movers, bulldozers, and backhoes, manned by volunteers with tote bins, shovoptions.

els, boots, mud gear, masks, gloves, hard hats, food, drinks, and smiles, and

saniBzaBon or filter changes call us at (805) 963-7873 or www.getpurewater.com offered to help residents remove and pile up mud and debris. The volunteer

We don’t want to alarm you, but the fact remains the services and equipment were offered without charge to distraught homeowners fire will affect your water. The last defense is at the point who have lost everything. It was a scene that brought even the strongest of us ems has been serving our local community for 70 years and we are here to help our close to tears. How great is that? of use – your home. We are here to help with special th through these tragic events. discounts for those affected by these events.

To schedule any service, sanitization or filter changes call us at (805) 963-7873 or www.getpurewater.com

Hugging and Helping

Residents such as Sharon Bradford, Tom and Linda Cole, and Josiah Hamilton, volunteered for the backbreaking work of the Bucket Brigade, not because of publicity, but because they care about their neighbors and want to help with recovery. They describe their role as “community servants.” Tom and Matilija Pure Water Systems has been serving our local Linda have spent 25 years working on emergencies in this country and in Africa community for 70 years and we are here to help our and have the expertise as both knowledgeable worker bees and caregivers. friends and neighbors with through these tragic events.

The Bucket Brigade quickly discovered that the lot sizes in Montecito Oaks are too small to amass the mammoth mud mounds covering these homes. By ​Sincerely, working with Rob Lewin and the County Office of Emergency Management, they hope to find a way this week to load the mud piles already accumulated at curbside into County trucks, and transport it to appropriate public dump ​Daniel Masse, CWS sites, at no cost to private property owners. This would allow Bucket Brigade Sincerely, ​General Manager volunteers to assemble the rest of the mud at curbside next Saturday and ​MaBlija Pure Water Systemsrepeat the process, until all the debris and mud has been removed.

Daniel Masse, CWS Concurrently, other teams of Bucket Brigade volunteers were dispatched to ​ General Manager the hard-hit La Casa de Maria Retreat and Conference Center to clear mud and dirt off the grounds at the top of El Bosque Road. More volunteers assist Matilija Pure Water Systems ed neighbors with destroyed and damaged homes along San Leandro Lane and Glen Oaks Drive. Volunteers uncovered stuffed animals, shoes, fishing rods, tires, lounge furniture, and purses – all reminders of the nearly 400 residences destroyed or damaged.

EDITORIAL Page 434

16 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

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The Santa Barbara Symphony marks the 100th Anniversary of Leonard Bernstein’s birth with some of his best known-works from Fancy Free, West Side Story and more accompanied by soprano Lisa Vroman and the Santa Barbara Choral Society. Program will also feature American composers Aaron Copland and Robin Frost.

Soloists: Lisa Vroman, Soprano; Jon Lewis, Trumpet; Sarah Beck, English Horn; Natasha Kislenko, Piano. Also featuring the Santa Barbara Choral Society.

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MISCELLANY (Continued from page 6) slide swept away Lynn’s longtime Montecito home.

“It was like a living monster coming toward us, and I found myself chestdeep in mud within seconds, while it came up to mother’s chin,” she calmly explained. “It was a miracle we survived.”

Ironically, Colleen had been under mandatory evacuation from her East Mountain Drive home the day before because of the Thomas Fire and had moved into Lynn’s house, a short distance from Coast Village Road, bringing her treasured valuables to safeguard them from the blaze.

On the day of the water-fed disaster, Lynn had woken up and noticed the plug-in lights in the electrical sockets had all been extinguished.

“I heard this very heavy rain.

Colleen was asleep on the sofa and I went out to see her. I saw a glow in the mountains and saw the mud coming straight at us. It engulfed the garden, and we ran into the library as the debris flow blasted through the doors.

“Thankfully, the house is so wellbuilt [that] the walls held. It was like a dam and the mud came right up to my chest. I’m 5’8” and my mom 5’, so it was up to her chin. I somehow cleared my way through the debris to the patio and dragged my mother out, wrapping myself around her for

18 MONTECITO JOURNAL

two hours. I really thought the gas line was going to explode.

“We just stayed on the pile of debris, which was like an island. The entire neighborhood was a massive debris field. I saw my pickup truck and punched in the door combination and managed to get my mom, whose legs were stuck under a metal bar.

“There was so much debris in the wheel well, we couldn’t move but stayed in the truck for an hour until firefighters arrived. They rocked us free from the debris and we loaded other neighbors. My truck was like a bulldozer, and one of the firemen drove us out. My dad’s spirit was with us.

“The truck was totaled with smoke billowing from the front, but we got on to Olive Mill Road and eventually ended leaving it on Coast Village Road absolutely wrecked. Then we called an ambulance given my mother was in shock, as was I, and went to Goleta Valley Hospital.”

A film crew from the NBC current affairs show Dateline was in our rarefied enclave filming the carnage and asked Lynn if she’d recount her harrowing escape on Today, so the tony twosome jetted to Manhattan for their appearance at the Rockefeller Center studio.

“It was a nice break after what we

Doug Margerum with Jack Russell terrier Gabi (who always listens) and winemaker Michael Miroballi

had gone through, and we were glad to let everyone else in America know what our community had suffered,” added Lynn, who is now living in a rental property until her home can be repaired.

“But I fear it is pretty much destroyed.”

Grape Expectations Santa Barbara winemaker Doug Margerum has been getting priceless publicity, with two of his wines being featured on the cover of the new issue of the Wine Spectator.

• The Voice of the Village •

His M5 white and sauvignon blanc are considered two of the best value wines in the world at $30 or less, out of more than 1,300 wines tasted by experts from the oenophile glossy.

“It’s great to have the wines recognized by such an esteemed publication,” says Doug. “M5 white is a companion wine to our flagship M5 red wine.

“Both are Grenache-based... Some of the most compelling wines we have enjoyed in our lives have been Rhone

MISCELLANY Page 384

8 – 15 February 2018

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8 – 15 February 2018

Ranch Resources Montecito project is operated by local veterans. Please contact us immediately anytime night or day for support and site evaluation.

Cj McDonald 818-264-8538 / cj@ranchkids.org MONTECITO JOURNAL

19

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(from left) Channel City Club Foreign Relations Committee chairman Brian Robertson, retired U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker, and Channel City Club sponsor Hiroko Benko, owner of Condor Express whale watching

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n its heyday, Santa Barbara’s Channel City Club hosted some of the biggest names in the country.

Senator Fred Thompson, for example, then considering a run for president of the United States, addressed a crowd of some 400 or so at the old Miramar.

The event was memorable in that “Mr. Santa Barbara,” the late Larry Crandell, made humorous comments on the color of the senator’s tie, so much so that it caused Mr. Thompson to look askance at his on-stage host and ask the audience assembled, “Who is this guy?” Raucous applause and laughter ensued. Other notables over the years include Elizabeth Dole (also running for president, early on), Ray Bradbury, Kenneth Starr, and well, a host of celebrities and political figures from across the spectrum.

The Miramar closed at the turn of the 21st century and at the same time other venues opened up for such speakers, most of whom are enticed by speaking fees, which the Channel City Club never offers and never has.

Despite the competition, the Channel City Club switched locations to Fess Parker’s DoubleTree Inn and the 72-year-old institution continues to this day.

Its latest speaker – sponsored by Condor Express and its owner, Hiroko Benko, and hosted by Channel City’s Committee on Foreign Relations, currently headed up by Brian Robertson, founder and now retired CEO of Robertson Travel – was retired U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan (not all at the same time, of course), Ryan Crocker, a retired U.S. Foreign Service officer with a long and distinguished career. Mary Ellen Hickey, a notable (and Carpinteria-born) Foreign Service officer who retired from the service with the equivalent rank of a two-star general herself, introduced Ambassador Crocker.

Mr. Crocker began his career at the U.S. consulate in Khorramshahr,

• The Voice of the Village •

Iran, in 1972, and from there “rose to the highest ranks in the foreign service,” Mary Ellen says in introducing this impressive public servant.

Ambassador Crocker now serves as a diplomat in residence at Princeton University.

Crocker has been praised by figures as disparate as Colin Powell, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and General David Petraeus. “Not a bad career,” Hickey notes, “for a boy from Spokane, Washington.”

Crocker’s review of the past decade or so in the Middle East is astute, as his numerous gigs as ambassador (three times under a Republican administration and the same number of times in a Democratic administration), gives him a unique vantage point.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t offer much hope for a lessening of tensions in that area anytime soon. His knowledge of the differences between Shia and Sunni philosophy is deep; his hopes, however, concerning Christians, Jews, Kurds, and others in the region are not particularly positive.

In any case, listening to men and women of Ambassador Crocker’s stature is what the Channel City Club and its Committee on Foreign Relations is all about.

Up next: Thursday, February 8, will be General William J. Begert; his topic: “Reality of North Korea.”

General Begert will discuss the Korean peninsula from the U.S. military perspective. He is in a good position to see it from that viewpoint, as he served as commander, Pacific Air Forces, and Air Component commander for the commander, United States Pacific Command, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

General Begert flew more than 300 combat missions over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, has logged more than 875 combat hours, and served as vice commander of U.S. Air Forces in

COMING & GOING Page 364 8 – 15 February 2018

In light of the recent tragic events affecting our entire community, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is offering free admission through February 28—in the belief that the power of art will provide solace, tranquility of mind, healing, and a source of inspiration going forward.

EXHIBITIONS OPENING JANUARY 28:

Brought to Light: Revelatory Photographs in the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Collection Through April 22, 2018

Crosscurrents: The Painted Portrait in America, Britain, and France, 1750–1850 Through May 27, 2018

Crosscurrents: American and European Portrait Photographs, 1840–1900 Through May 27, 2018 Please enter through the Museum Store or Park entrance (near the Library), as State Street entrance is closed.

Free admission during February is a gift to our community from Clay Tedeschi and the Charles Bloom Foundation.

For more exhibitions and events, visit www.sbma.net.

1130 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA • Tuesday–Sunday: 11 am–5 pm • Free Thursday Evenings: 5–8 pm

8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

21

Spirituality Matters

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

Moving Mud at Maria

T

here was no loss of life or injuries at La Casa de Maria during the mudslide and debris flow that struck the Montecito hills and lands below on January 9 – thankfully, the mandatory evacuation notices were heeded.

But the sacred grounds at the popular Montecito retreat center was inundated with the mud and boulders, causing anguish in the local spiritual community over the losses suffered at the long-established haven for workshops, prayer, meditation, and other forms of quiet contemplation.

Aerial views showed the extent of the disaster, which was confirmed when a few select staff were let back in to the property on the final Saturday in January and discovered that fully 10 structures were completely destroyed, including Casa Regina, the administrative offices, the meditation chapel and the dining room and pool area. As of last weekend, water, electricity, gas, and communications were all either off or minimal.

Clean up crews are on site, moving mud, clearing passageways and removing debris from the devastated lands, beginning the recovery process. Even more uplifting, La Casa director Steve Jacobson said on the center’s website, was discovering that several sections of the property and buildings were completely untouched by the debris flow, including the Center for Spiritual Renewal, which looks pristine in a video, while the stained-glass windows in the main chapel are still intact. Unfortunately, knowing that reopening is still many months away and in the wake of no possibilities for income, two-thirds of the staff were let go, adding to the growing economic and personal toll of the tragedy.

For those who want to help, contact the Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade, as the toxic materials and unstable buildings require only professionals on site. But they’re taking names of anyone who might want to help with re-planting and such once it’s safe. Meanwhile, monetary donations are welcome and easily accomplished via the website. Visit www.lacasademaria.org.

Shifting to Summerland Meanwhile, Radhule Weininger Thursday Meditation Group, which had been held at La Casa de Maria’s loft for 15 years, is taking up temporary residence at Sacred Space, the charming Summerland shop featuring gardens and showrooms stocked with crystals, candles, incense, fountains, furniture, deity statues, and much more. Starting this Thursday, February 8, Weininger will lead guided mindful and compassionate meditations with simple instructions weekly, after which guests can enjoy tea, cookies, and connecting conversations.

Among the upcoming guest leaders are Anthony Bonavita, Ph.D., a psychologist and psychotherapist, and grief counselor at Cottage Hospital, who is also a Buddhist chaplain and meditation teacher; Marjorie Schuman, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist and meditation teacher and author of Mindfulness-Informed Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis: Inquiring Deeply; and Katherine Morrow, a meditation teacher who has a Ph.D. in mythology with emphasis in depth psychology from Pacifica. The Sacred Space is located at 2594 Lillie Ave. in Summerland. Call 565-5535 or visit www.thesacredspace.com. Visit the events calendar at www.radhuleweiningerphd.com for more information.

Weininger’s monthly Sunday half-day meditation retreats, which were also held at La Casa, will now take place at Trinity Episcopal Church in downtown Santa Barbara.

Singing for the Soul The second Monday of December, at the height of the smoke and ash filling the air from the Thomas Fire, I donned my N95 mask and headed down to Yoga Soup for “The Big Sing”, the final session of the initial inCourage Community Chorus classes led by Britta Gudmunson and Ben Gould. It was quite a gathering, two hours of singing in rounds and call-and-response formats, those who had come for the previous five weeks joined by friends and other community members seeking to share their voices with others. We smiled and supported one another, reveling in the harmonies and feelings that were created as the fire burned behind Summerland and approached Montecito.

Now, two months later, and post-fire and mudslide, the couple are doing it again, re-launching The inCourage Chorus once again as a non-audition, nondenominational, all-ages community choir. As before, those who are comfortable singing and those who are brand-new to lifting their voices in song

22 MONTECITO JOURNAL

in public are equally welcome to join in communing with songs from around the world spanning culture, tradition, and language. All songs taught in the oral tradition, meaning no music-reading experience necessary, just ears and a willingness to listen.

The spring session begins with two open Mondays on February 12 and 19, when the drop in cost is $10. The full 13-week schedule (February 12 to May 7) is available for a $150 to $200 sliding scale fee. Please note: There are no paid drop-ins during the season after the first two weeks, though guests are welcome for one free entry anytime during this session. (No one will be turned away for lack of funds.). The session concludes with a concert on Friday, May 11, to raise funds for an as yet to be named local nonprofit.

Gudmunson and Gould approach music as medicine, as well as every human being’s birthright, which is what sparks their mission to bring community together in a spirit of courageous, musical expression, and activism while exploring the connective instrument of voice. Members of the Ubuntu Choir Network, the pair completed the immersive Community Choir Leadership Training in Victoria, B.C., last year and have been singing together for more than four years. Britta also teaches a weekly Sunday night Revive & Restore class at Yoga Soup from 5:45 to 7 pm, for which Ben provides an entirely live instrumental soundscape. Email britta@yogasoup.com for details.

Thunder’s Recipe for Rain-induced Flooding Shane Thunder 432hz Sound Healing – which features alchemical gemstone and Tibetan singing bowls, chimes, drums, aromatherapy, and guided meditation – returns on Friday, February 9, for one of his periodic regular dates. Twelve days later, he’s back at the studio again, this time for his HEAL Community: Montecito Disaster fundraiser. The event is specifically designed to help those who have suffered deeply from the Montecito mudslides, with the aim of bringing light and love to a community that needs healing. For details, visit www.yogasoup.com or www.artistecard.com/SpiritMetacine.

Dreaver on Disasters How does an awakened person respond to tragic loss such as the double disasters of the Thomas Fire and Montecito mudslides? “When I read the stories about the victims, I burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably,” said Jim Dreaver, the local author of End Your Story, Begin Your Life in his current email missive. But the awakened person doesn’t wallow in the sadness. “Eventually, I resumed my normal emotional state – of presence, ease, and a harmonious, inwardly happy flow.”

The point, Dreaver said, is that those who have awakened still feel all the normal human emotions but only in response to real events, such as the mudslide, as opposed to imagined threats and slights. “The whole world of ‘me, myself, and my story’ that exists between our ears, along with all our emotional reactivity, is a fiction, an illusion. Only now is real, which is the essential realization of awakening.”

This Monday, February 12, Dreaver continues his periodic gatherings to teach how simple it is to awaken just by stopping to look within and seeing that our ego-based judgments, expectations, and reactive emotions come and go, while our true self, the open-hearted awareness that sees all of that, remains. The event takes place 7 to 8:45 pm at a private residence on Verde Vista Drive. Call 563-4904.

Bountiful Buddhism Mahakankala Buddhist Center’s Foundation Program classes – which is a structured study to enable participants to gain deeper understanding and experience of Buddhist teachings and to develop a regular meditation practice – resume on Tuesday, February 13. Geared toward those who have a general understanding of Buddhism but wish to learn more, the program uses regular teachings and meditation, systematic study, and group discussion to support growth in spiritual life.

The class meets 7 to 9 pm on most Tuesdays and Fridays per month, and regular attendance is required, but newcomers may visit two consecutive classes at the center, located at 508 Brinkerhoff Avenue, before deciding whether to join the ongoing group. Call 563-6000 or email info@MeditationInSantaBarbara.org for details.

Regular attendance is also required for all sessions of Dawa Tarchin Phillips’s next course at the Santa Barbara Bodhi Path Buddhist Center, which begins at 7 pm next Thursday, February 15. “Discover Joyful Mind”, which runs three consecutive weeks, serves as a practical introduction to mindfulness, meditation, and heart-centered compassion practice for the purpose of awakening. Phillips will teach the essential fundamentals of how to develop a meditation practice and show how to learn the building blocks of a successful practice to discover innate wakefulness and joyful mind. The program costs $60, but a sliding scale is available, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. Bodhi Path is at 102 W Mission St. Call 284-2704 or visit www.bodhipath.org/sb.

•MJ

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

8 – 15 February 2018

MONTECITO JOURNAL

23

LETTERS (Continued from page 8) including ours. However, as the following letter indicates, there are apparently exceptions. We, along with SJV, wholeheartedly encourage our readers to spend as much disposable income as they can afford locally, especially over the coming months. – J.B.)

Letter from Paul First shock, then outrage, is how I reacted to the letter tenants of Coast Village Plaza received from landlords, regarding a 5% interest on deferred rent payments for January and February. It is disheartening to think that anyone would seek to profit from the devastating financial as well as personal blow that recent disasters have brought to our Montecito business community.

Having the various enterprises we have in the upper and lower villages is such a vital element in the heart and soul of Montecito; a loss to any of them is a loss to all.

We need to look for ways we can support our small businesses. Without them, our jewel of a little piece of paradise would lose a significant portion of its unique sparkle. Even one empty storefront in a small community like ours is like a dripping faucet: persistently unnerving. (Think Xanadu Bakery). Losing a front tooth has a disastrous impact on a beautiful smile.

If our neighborhood villages start losing tenants as a result of lack of income during evacuations due to fire and mud, we will all feel the impact.

If compassion for the individual business owners and employees trying to make their living isn’t enough to motivate us to support them in the many ways we can, then selfish concern for our property values might.

In addition to a making a commitment to shop, eat, and do business locally, it’s worth considering a “pay it forward” plan. Upfront payment for a year’s worth of haircuts, manicures, dry cleaning, and various services could enable some businesses to make it through the current challenging times. Montecito is full of

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Paul Orfalea Montecito

“Upfront payment for a year’s worth of haircuts, manicures, dry cleaning, and various services, could enable some businesses to make it through the current challenging times.”

– Paul Orfalea

It Can Happen Again The Thomas Fire became the largest fire in California history, and the job done by the men and women on the ground was miraculous, and we all owe a huge debt of gratitude. For the past couple of decades, politicians have been warned that the lack of proper land management posed a major threat to life and property.

The Thomas Fire denuded the mountainside, causing the mudslides that resulted in the partial demolition of my property in the Olive Mill area of Montecito, as well as the loss of three cherished friends. I can rebuild the house. I’ll never enjoy the partnership I had with my friends.

Am I sad? Absolutely.

Am I mad? Absolutely.

It is my firm belief that this incident could have been prevented.

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directorship with the Montecito Fire Protection District, remaining on the board for nine years. The experience was valuable in helping to understand preventive actions required by fire districts. Perhaps most important are those efforts that govern public lands.

My work with the Montecito Fire Protection District came with the introduction of Fire chief Herb McElwee.

Herb had a long career in Fire and became an adviser to then Governor Wilson. One of his ideas was to develop a citizen volunteer group to assist Fire personnel in any conflagration.

As a result, the Montecito Emergency Response & Recovery Action Group (MERRAG) was born. The tasks MERRAG volunteers performed were peripheral support efforts that freed up our firefighters. Another effective program used inmates for clearing brush and controlled burns managed by firefighters. To save the district money, Herb submitted these programs to insurance companies and was often successful at obtaining grants for these projects.

Those were different days.

As recently as July of 2017, at a City of Solvang City Council meeting, wildfire risks were discussed and citizens were encouraged to contact our Congressman Salud Carbajal about the excessive amounts of fuel for wildfires in the form of vegetation in the Los Padres National Forest.

Some local leaders understand that we must provide for a safe buffer between wildlands and civilization.

Others appear to be in lockstep with special interest groups that oppose responsible land management.

It is unsettling to me, as it should be to all communities, that Congressman Carbajal introduced H.R. 4072. This legislation would file large swaths of land under tight restriction from proper land management, making prescribed burning (controlled burns) and vegetation thinning harder for the forestry service. Adding insult to injury, our Congressman voted against the Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2017, and against the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act that will make way for more proper land management of public lands, reducing the threat to private property and mitigating the potential for loss of life.

Wildfires have become, over the past two decades, an annual and often semi-annual occurrence, and they become more widespread and destructive. There are simple and effective ways to prevent wildfires, which often cause mudslides. The Resilient Federal Forest Act Of 2017 was just such a bill that Congressman Carbajal voted against.

Why? Read for yourself; here’s part of the language of the summary of the Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2017: “…improve forest management activ-

• The Voice of the Village •

ities on National Forest System lands, on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes.”

Further, here’s part of the summary of H.R. 1873: “enhance the reliability of the electricity grid and reduce the threat of wildfires to and from electric transmission and distribution facilities on Federal lands by facilitating vegetation management on such lands.”

For as long as memory serves, and until recently, the Chumash practiced controlled burns. Our ancestors, who worked the lands and built our communities, understood the importance of buffer zones that separated wilderness from society. Unquestionably, we should continue to take care of our environment, but we should exercise common sense. Recycling, conservation, and protecting our environment have been at the forefront of thinking for decades. Many groups take their ideas to dangerous extremes.

We never again want to trade lives, dreams, and property for ideas or legislation that put us in harm’s way.

History teaches us hard lessons; the Thomas Fire and resulting Montecito mudslides could happen again unless we are listening.

Dana Newquist Montecito

“We never again want to trade lives, dreams, and property, for ideas or legislation that put us in harm’s way.”

– Dana Newquist

Reflections on a Fire I’m writing to thank you for publishing the articles from three of the families that live in Montecito who shared their experience of the mudslides and how it affected their lives.

As a victim of the Thomas Fire in Ventura, I found their personal reflections invaluable in my recovery process and feel sure many others would also. To that end, I’m inquiring if you have distributed issues of that copy in Ventura and whether or not you have considered compiling those and other personal reflections in some format that could be saved for future generations who care to look back on these challenging times and read first-hand of our experience.

Having had few minutes to evac8 – 15 February 2018

uate ourselves that fateful night in December with my daughter and 10-year-old grandson, along with the bearded dragon who luckily wasn’t overlooked in our rush to safety, it is with continued awe I acknowledge my home still stands while the 13 other homes on my street burned to the ground.

Like others in my circumstances, my good fortune has been tempered by the massive losses my community has sustained. Yes, as the guardian of precious heirlooms handed down for generations, as well as my mother’s invaluable and accomplished oil paintings, I am grateful to still have them; however, our home, which she built in 1960 and has housed four generations of our family, now stands oddly alone among the ruins of my neighbors’ dwellings who, like me, have lived on that street for decades.

I can’t begin to imagine the pain they have suffered and how this has affected them both in the short term and in the long term, as they slowly move on to either rebuild or in some cases make peace and turn bravely toward a future never imagined.

Make no mistake, my life and that of my family, friends, and neighbors will never be the same, home or no home. This fire, this flood, was bigger than me, bigger than you, bigger than all of us put together, and I believe that it is only in coming together will we sort this out, sifting through more than the ashes to find a greater understanding and compassion for not only ourselves but all those whose lives this event touched; incredibly, there are far more than most people realize. United in one, may love lead the way.

Barbara Laytham Ventura

Thanking the Law Just recently, I returned to my house in Montecito and found myself so grateful that our family and home were spared from the horrific debris and mudflows. Among the many things going through my heart and head, and that I keep revisiting, is how thankful I am for the huge presence of the various law enforcement groups that have been here to protect all of our homes.

While I’m so happy to see signs posted thanking the firefighters, I can’t help but feel sad for the law enforcement groups that don’t see any signs thanking them. I also had a thought that maybe – if you have not already done so – your paper could write an article about all of them and all that they have done, and spotlight some of these fine men and women.

For example, while walking up Picacho Lane, one of the CHP women I met was providing fresh bread and bagels to those in the community, and she was going to pick up some 8 – 15 February 2018

sandwiches later on to dole them out to people she found that were digging in their yards and such. Apparently, the wine and cheese store near Via Vai was providing the sandwiches to her for free – I think that’s what she said.

Her name is Charmaine Fajardo and she was from the San Luis Obispo crew. (Her cell number is 916-7472099/Email: cfajardo@chp.ca.gov.)

Then, later on my walk, near the entrance of the San Ysidro Ranch, I came across another CHP officer from SLO named Mark Johnson (he didn’t have a card), and he had his stories about helping others. He mentioned that none of the law enforcement, from out of town, are here on a mandate – they all volunteer (they are paid, of course) to be here. He made the point of their conflicting role; they write traffic tickets and some give a bad name to the profession, but most of them relish the role “to protect and to serve.” And both of those CHP officers that I met on my walk this morning were really enjoying the work they were doing. I could sense their relief of being in the “serve and protect” mode and not the more difficult jobs they do. It was really heartwarming, I know you have loads to write about but wanted to throw that one in there for your consideration. I have a couple weeks’ worth of MJ editions to catch up on, and I look forward to doing just that.

Anne Wilder Montecito

A Special Guy It’s satisfying to see Buffalo Joe Schomer as one of the “cowboys” honored recently (Trail Talk, MJ #24/1). This late gentleman definitely fits in among world-class names like Glen Campbell and Michael Towbes.

Joe was a very special guy. Thank you.

Carol Gordon Santa Barbara

Stearns Wharf Reverie Needless to say, Montecito remains very much on my mind and I am hopeful all the recovery efforts are going well. I wanted to share a story if I may: A couple years ago, I was having lunch at one of the restaurants on Stearns Wharf with a very good friend, Anaya Cullen. As you might recall, Anaya is an accomplished costume and wardrobe designer and had done such terrific work on An American Tango. We were at the end of the wharf and looking back at the amazing sights of Montecito and Santa Barbara, and we both shared how deeply meaningful the communities are, especially as it relates to the support of the arts.

Frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it, and I smile each time I think about all the words of encouragement

from everyone regarding An American Tango, from those who’d come to the rehearsals and the performances, those who’d approach us each time there’d be a State Street Ballet gala soirée or event or what have you, all with something so kind and enthusiastic to say about the show. You may not appreciate how that kind of warmth feels, as a career in the arts isn’t exactly the most stable sometimes; such feedback goes right to the heart.

I mentioned to Anaya how special Stearns Wharf is for me. I remember when my children were growing up, from their playing in the sand, to the peanut barrel and the kids’ toy chest at Longboard’s, to boat rides from the wharf and around the harbor, the touch tanks at the Museum Sea Center, inevitable stops for candy... and so much more.

Stearns Wharf is, well, timeless. One can just imagine the history it’s all seen, an area that looks back on one of the most beautiful communities in the world. So, I was inspired to try to create something, a sort of “thank you” to Montecito and Santa Barbara, if you will. I’d only recently returned to writing music, inspired, in part, by Tango, and now with a focus toward dance and storytelling. It was Leila Drake, so very kind in listening to the first passes of “Stearns Wharf”, who suggested it might make for an underscore to a short ballet-dance film. And later, Bill

Soleau listened to it and expressed interest in its possible choreography.

It tells the story of a Young Girl, playing at water’s edge, who creates in the sand a fantasy character, that of a mysterious and beautiful Young Woman.

As the story moves toward a fantasy from decades ago, the Little Girl fades away and the Young Woman finds herself alone on Stearns Wharf, waiting for her lover, the Young Fisherman, to return. When he does, we see that their love is eternal, and characterized in a pas de deux. As the story further unfolds, we will come to learn at the very end that, as the fantasy returns to present day, the Little Girl is telling the story of her grandparents.

I guess for me it’s all about blessings, appreciation, and “time.” We’ve been really pleased with the reactions we’ve been getting. Though the eventual film will be relatively short at 10 minutes, it’s still ambitious and colorful, so we’re working at putting some rather complex pieces together. We hope we might be able to shoot before summer and will let you know.

Michael Roush Los Angeles (Editor’s note: Mr. Roush produced An American Tango, an original ballet-musical written by Guy Veloz and choreographed by Bill Soleau for State Street Ballet.)

LETTERS Page 274

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Understanding Insurance

by Matthew Bourhis Matthew Bourhis received his law degree from King Hall and practices insurance law with his father, Ray Bourhis, a Montecito homeowner and evacuee. Their law firm website is www.raybourhis.com.

Business Interruption Insurance – Recovering it All

J

eannine’s is my favorite breakfast spot in Montecito. Grab a coffee, have a seat outside, and do a little people-watching while you wait for pancakes. It makes for a delightful morning. That’s why it’s upsetting to me, and many others, that Jeannine’s may be facing some tough insurance challenges due to the recent debris flow. Unfortunately, it’s a problem for almost every business in town.

For days, there was deep mud outside Jeannine’s. Everything shut down on Coast Village Road – no customers, no workers, no income, not to mention the physical damage and cleanup. To say this was a “business interruption” would certainly be an understatement. It has created a dire financial situation for some. A total catastrophe for others. Businesses have to figure out how to stay afloat while pulling in a fraction of their ordinary monthly income. Layoffs will occur, essential repairs might be delayed, and price hikes may be necessary to save costs and cover the overhead.

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Most people would expect these costs to be covered by business insurance. No big deal – the insurance companies will cover it. But that is not always true. As with most insurance policies, business insurance contains numerous deductibles, exclusions, and limitations.

Business owners need to measure and report intangible losses. It is more than simply lost profit.

One section might say: “We do not insure under any coverage for any loss which would not have occurred in the absence of one or more of the following excluded events.”

Ad nauseam, the policy may go on to say, “We do not insure for such loss regardless of: (a) the cause of the excluded event; or (b) other causes of the loss; or (c) whether other causes acted concurrently or in any sequence with the excluded event to produce the loss; or (d) whether the event occurs suddenly or gradually, involves isolated or widespread damage, arises from natural or external forces, or occurs as a result of any combination of these.”

To some insurers, that means the business insurance policy does not cover damage caused by a specific, excluded peril, such as earth movement. Further, that it will not cover damage regardless of what caused the earth movement in the first place. That

means that if a covered peril, such as a fire, causes a landslide, destroying your business, you would not be covered, even though your policy is supposed to protect you from fire damage. At least, that’s what the insurer would want you think.

Policies are deliberately written with unintelligible language to confuse insureds. The problem is that insureds often rely on the policy language to determine what’s covered.

They take it at face value. Between the lines, however, are important legal doctrines. Case law and state insurance regulations determine coverage.

Frequently, the policy language belies the reality of the situation. A business in Montecito that is covered for fire should be covered for the recent mudslide and flood damage, because the fire caused those events to occur.

Unlike with homeowners insurance, business owners require protection for intangible losses. This includes business delays and loss of use. Businesses lose their customers, their employees.

They lose capital to cover their overhead. These are significant damages and they can cause a chain reaction, sending a business down a hard road to recovery.

Business interruption insurance is usually contained in the endorsements section in the policy. There are many different types of policies, but the simplest kinds replace lost income.

That means if business income was $100,000 per month and now it is $20,000, the insurance company pays the difference, $80,000. Once the business is made whole, it can pay its employees, cover the overhead, and maintain stable prices.

Business owners need to measure and report intangible losses. It is more than simply lost profit. It is a disrupted customer base, and losing valued employees. Businesses would be wise to consult with an accountant or other expert on measuring business profits, to assess all aspects of their loss. This enables them to present a reliable figure to recover their fair share from the insurance company and get back to serving delicious pancakes.

•MJ

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26 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

LETTERS (Continued from page 25)

The “Silver Lining” We originally evacuated to Coast Village Inn and hunkered down there for three days after the disaster, hoping we could get back to our home on upper Hot Springs. When it became clear as Montecito was on lockdown and all we saw were emergency responders and trucks and more trucks, we knew we needed to leave. I grabbed the first Airbnb I found.

Fifteen days evacuated and normally hoteling it in a swanky Airbnb in Mission Canyon would be like a novel staycation. But this isn’t a vacation. It has been a refuge.

We were locked into our Airbnb until Feb 1, and truth be told I’m glad we could still come to it and shower and do laundry freely. I’m a real Annie Dilliard (author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) when I want to be, but clean free-flowing water is now a luxury I don’t take for granted any longer.

The weird mix of euphoria and grief once being home left me feeling strange and lost. I think this is where the word “bittersweet” comes in. I’ve been to my house every day since, unpacking, clearing out the spoiled food in our fridge, and sweeping up the dirtied ash from the winds.

Remarkably, even after that rain of biblical proportions, it still smells like an ashtray.

It’s... just... so... bittersweet, and I know many have used this word, but it’s the perfect sentiment.

So happy and grateful to be alive and to be one of the lucky ones able to return to our home, but also incredibly sad at the loss of life and those friends we have known. Grieving not just for those we lost but also for the place that has been altered so violently and yes, a little bit of the place is lost. I’m not trying to be negative. I’m being honest and it’s what everyone I talk to thinks.

I read a blog from a woman who is in her 60s who grew up here, now lives in Vermont, and witnessed first the Thomas Fire and then the floods from afar, and she talked about grieving a place. The place: Montecito.

I came here 37 years ago, a 19-yearold Chicago girl smitten by the natural beauty of plentiful sunshine, gorgeous coastline, and perfect weather. I wholeheartedly adopted California and this particular place, Montecito, as my

own. I grew into an adult woman here.

I had babies here. I raised my family here. My dad died here. My marriage ended here.

This is my home – hook, line, and sinker.

I have lived through many a drought, a few fires, and a whole lot more traffic, so I know that Montecito will come back strong and vibrantly. I don’t doubt it for one minute, especially with the love and energy our community is already pouring into it, but the sobering truth is some things are never the same, and this realization only adds to the quiet grief that will linger for some time for those of us who have resided here for decades.

Certainly, that fact will be a painful reminder as we continue to hear the sounds of construction and trucks rambling up the road for some time to come. Where I live, it is relatively peaceful on upper Hot Springs, but Friday it was a long procession of big trucks on their way up to Mountain Drive.

Some will leave this place forever, and I know some who already have, many will stay because they have no choice, and many will choose to stay because simply this is their home.

Some sadly will not be able to rebuild their homes in the same location. The debris flow has changed the course of the creeks in a spectacular way.

Mother Nature has a mind of her own, and we clearly had a front-row seat to her power and fury. I’m not sure what I will eventually do. My kids are scattered from west to east to northwest to northeast. It may be time to go.

I don’t really know.

Our community, and those who are lifers, no doubt will rebuild and will build better. We have become more aware and more educated about the natural place where we live, and if anything this disaster has been one big geology lesson that was long overdue.

We also now share a unique bond.

Sharing a monumental disaster really brings people together. Hopefully, we are tougher for the wear of the experience of loss, pain, and trauma shared collectively. My Midwest grandmother always talked about a silver lining when things didn’t go as expected, and I used to think it was just a superficial coping mechanism said to get though the hardship. The hopeful

positive in the midst of discomfort.

It is that for sure and, well, thank you, Grandma, because I finally know what that expression means in its full and raw sense. There is a silver lining when it comes to humanity suffering.

Love blooms out of tragedy and it’s a strangely beautiful thing.

I know one thing for sure too: we all fell haplessly in love with our firefighters, our first responders, and our police, and the newfound honor and respect they are enjoying is incredible.

I am on just about every Facebook thread regarding the Thomas Fire and the debris flow, and I am inspired and moved beyond measure at the outpouring of love and support of perfect strangers and also of many friends. So many good-hearted souls reaching out to give. The smallest gestures to the grandest. And all rooted in the same motivation: love and heartfelt concern.

This is my big takeaway, and I plan to hang onto it.

As I return home officially for good, cat in tow, wearing my muddy shoes, I will be forever changed by the events of the past two months and so will our little Montecito.

Tracie Snyder Montecito

Axxess to Montecito Our community has been hit hard

the past few months. Many locally owned restaurants, stores, and services are struggling. The businesses in Montecito and Summerland have obviously been hit the hardest. I’ve spent some time over the past weeks visiting with friends and clients on Coast Village Road and listening to their stories. Often with tears in their eyes, they worry how they’re going to keep their doors open. As an owner of a small business myself, I knew I had to do something to help.

Beginning immediately, Axxess is selling gift certificates for businesses in Montecito and Summerland.

Your purchase of a gift certificate provides immediate cash flow for the businesses today, when those businesses need our support most.

These certificates are available to everyone (not just Axxess members), so please tell your friends.

As a “thank you” from the business, most of the certificates include an extra 10 percent or more in value.

We live in one of the best places on Earth, and one pillar of our strength is the resilience of our local business owners. Thank you for helping our neighbors by supporting our “Axxess to Montecito” campaign.

Karim Kaderali Founder & CEO SB Axxess •MJ

Flourishing as Human Beings: The Impact of Practicing Gratitude Jane Wilson, Associate Professor of Education

5:30 p.m., Thursday, February 22, 2018 University Club, 1332 Santa Barbara Street Free and open to the public. For information, call 565-6051.

Even though gratitude is a central pillar of most religions and has been discussed in fields of sociology, ethics, and philosophy for centuries, only recently has it been scientifically studied. A growing body of social science research reveals that gratitude has the power to heal, energize and transform lives. People who consistently engage in practicing gratitude experience a boost in their overall well-being. Daily expressions of gratitude can enhance a person psychologically, socially, spiritually, physically and cognitively. Professor Wilson will summarize the research and identify key practices of gratitude that help people flourish as human beings.

SPONSORED BY THE WESTMONT FOUNDATION 8 – 15 February 2018

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

27

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W

hile retailers across the country enjoyed a very Merry Christmas, retail in Montecito struggled. From hair salons to gift shops to restaurants, business owners watched helplessly as fire and ash led to mandatory evacuations, intolerable air quality and the absence of holiday tourists, all of which put a damper on holiday parties and decimated local shopping.

For some retailers, especially jewelry stores and gift shops, the holiday season can account for 30% of annual sales. According to the National Retail Federation, the average sales volume for Christmas season sales is just under 20% of total retail industry transactions. It is more important than ever to shop locally at the independently owned shops and businesses struggling to survive and thrive in Montecito.

Past editorials have identified and promoted the shops and businesses along Coast Village Road, in the Pierre Lafond complex, the Gunner complex and the antique galleries on Upper San Ysidro Road. However, the heart of the upper village retail lies in the Montecito Village where some 68 boutique shops, restaurants, banks, offices, and businesses have served Montecito for the last 70 years.

Who is C. Norman Borgatello?

Tucked deep into the bowels of the building behind the Wells Fargo Bank, on the north side of the Montecito Village, is the small, difficult-to-find office of the little-known president and CEO of the Montecito Village Valley Improvement Company, C. Norman Borgatello, a man who has helped to shape the character of the upper village business community for the last 25 years.

The Valley Improvement Company is a privately held, family-run business, incorporated 71 years ago as The Montecito Village South (MVS) and North (MVN) shopping centers. The two centers were constructed at two different times by Norm’s father, Charles A. Borgatello. Clayton & Wesley Cook was the construction contractor for the Montecito Village North center that opened in 1947, while J.W. Bailey Construction built Montecito Village South in 1965.

Charles A. Borgatello’s brother, Mario Borgatello, Sr., co-founded the family-owned MarBorg Industries in 1936.

Norm Borgatello originally rented space from his father, running the Montecito Grocery Store. When Charles Borgatello died on July 12, 1993, Norm was faced with a reassessment of real estate values and punishing taxes in an asset-laden but cash-poor business. Nearly wiped out, Norm held on by continuing to follow the same business principles eschewed by his father: hard work, honesty, fairness, and community involvement in a place that both he and his father dearly loved.

What Makes the Montecito Village Center Special?

Norm Borgatello says his mission now is the same as his father’s: to ensure the residents of Montecito don’t have to go downtown to find a hardware store, dine together, enjoy green space, share a local post office, browse a book store, buy groceries, repair a car, or fill up with a tank of full-service gas.

The shopping rules are simple: 1) Provide easy parking; 2) keep the rents low (Norm leased space from his father, and knows how hard it is to earn a dollar); and 3) give tenants a chance to make it big and try to work with people.

28 MONTECITO JOURNAL

OUR VILLAGE Page 304 • The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

Calidore String Quartet

Cameron Carpenter

SUNDAY!

featuring the

Sun, Feb 11 / 3 PM (note special time) Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West $35 / $9 UCSB students

International Touring Organ Mon, Feb 12 / 7 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $35 $19 all students (with valid ID)

A Hahn Hall facility fee will be added to each ticket price

“In a scene crowded with excellent young ensembles, the Calidore String Quartet can assert itself with pride.”

The New York Times The program will include Mendelssohn, Janáček and Beethoven

MONDAY!

A Granada facility fee will be added to each ticket price

“Carpenter means to drag the organ, along with those who would resist changing it, into the 21st century.”

The Wall Street Journal

Up Close & Musical Series sponsored in part by Dr. Bob Weinman

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who You Really Are Tue, Feb 13 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall “Time and again my preconceptions about my country and my species were turned upside-down... Endlessly fascinating.”

– Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature Books will be available for purchase and signing

Event Sponsors: Susan & Craig McCaw For information about a related TLI event visit www.Thematic-Learning.org

Çudamani Gamelan and Dance of Bali Wed, Feb 21 / 8 PM UCSB Campbell Hall Tickets start at $25 $18 UCSB students With traditional Balinese dress, instruments and dance, this 24-member ensemble’s breathtaking, profoundly moving performances weave intricate layers of sound and encompass both new and classical works.

FREE

For information about a related TLI event visit www.Thematic-Learning.org

Tony Kushner and Sarah Vowell The Lincoln Legacy: The Man and His Presidency Tue, Feb 20 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Tickets start at $20 / $10 UCSB students “Among Abraham Lincoln’s many talents was his skill at bringing disparate parties together for the good of all. So it’s him we have to thank for the odd but inspired pairing of Tony Kushner and Sarah Vowell.” Cleveland Plain Dealer Books by both authors will be available for purchase and signing

Event Sponsors: Eva & Yoel Haller For information about a related TLI event visit www.Thematic-Learning.org

Matthew Desmond Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City Thu, Feb 22 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Tickets start at $20 / $10 UCSB students “A deeply humanizing and empathetic book about poverty… It’s influence on housing experts has been enormous.” Slate MacArthur Fellow and Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond has changed the way we look at poverty in America with his massively influential book Evicted. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, the book gives pathos to the idea that eviction is a cause, rather than merely a symptom, of poverty.

Books will be available for purchase and signing

(805) 893-3535 / www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu Corporate Season Sponsor:

8 – 15 February 2018

Granada event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 899-2222 / www.GranadaSB.org

MONTECITO JOURNAL

29

OUR VILLAGE (Continued from page 28)

A Tenant’s View of Montecito Village Joe Cole, attorney-at-law, who has leased office space from Norm Borgatello in Montecito Village North for more than a dozen years, puts it this way: “What’s not to like? Unlike Coast Village Road, or La Cumbre Plaza, or State Street, the upper village has a timeless small town feel where everybody knows everybody. Every morning we start with Danny, who works for Norman, sweeping and cleaning the area, and the day just keeps getting better.

“Norman is very selective in his tenants. He could rent to national chain stores, which pay more, but he prefers locally owned businesses that become the keepers of the neighborhood. Norm could fill the place with Montecito’s venture capitalists, wealth managers, and real estate companies, but he prefers a variety of retail shopkeepers. Norm is old school. He has had tons of offers to sell his company, but he turns down all of them.”

Michael Cooney, another well-known local attorney, philanthropist, and head of the County Planning Commission, with an office above Wells Fargo Bank in the North Village, shares Joe Cole’s enthusiasm for Norm as a landlord and for what the community center means to Montecito.

The Shops of Montecito Village North • Tecolote Book Shop, which first opened in 1925, has served five generations of Montecito book lovers and local writers. In May 2007, longtime owner Margaret Dent retired and sold the business to her manager, Mary Sheldon. Mary turned to financial angel Herb Simon, saving the iconic landmark bookshop with its welcoming “Dutch doors” fronting on the village green.

• Oliver & Espig Gallery of Fine Arts & Jewelry is a treasure trove of rare gemstones, unique jewelry, fine art, and sculptures. Glenn Espig travels the world curating for the unusual and unexpected. His business partner is Norwegian goldsmith Ingerid Ekeland. Stop in and meet the gallery’s art director and manager, Marcia Ribeiro.

• Montecito Village Hardware. Douglas J. Ruiz, the original and only owner, earned his first Montecito dollar on June 14, 1993. Along with his two sons, Ronnie and Mark, the Ruiz family will be celebrating its 25th year next June. This highly popular, locally owned hardware store is known for its inventory and personal service of a kind not found in big-box hardware stores.

• Lilibeth Hair Salon & Makeup Studio. Beth Caplinger, owner and manager, has been in business since 2015 at the present location, featuring hair styling, color, cuts, braids, extensions, waxing, and nail services.

• The U.S. Post Office (93150) branch serves Montecito for general mail delivery, P.O. boxes, stamps, money orders, and package shipments. A neighborhood post office serves as a village hub and generates significant foot traffic for shops in the upper village.

• Glamour House. Ann Picciuto Gehrke, the present owner, bought the business in 2003, specializing in unique, fashionable lingerie and sleepwear. As a former business executive with Raytheon, Ann jokingly says that her career has gone from selling weapons of mass destruction at Raytheon to selling weapons of mass seduction at Glamour House.

• The Stationery Collection. Marika Withers, who worked for retired owners Nancy and Rick Corradini for seven years, purchased the business in January 2013. Founded in 1963 by the original owners Paul and Mary Scott, the Stationery Collection has always offered unusually fine stationery and distinctive gifts.

• Bissell Clinic. Dr. Charles Bissel and his team of specialists offer full-service chiropractic, physical therapy, and rehabilitation services.

• Trésor Jewelry is a destination for fine art collectors and estate jewelry enthusiasts. Owners Jeremy Norris and Paco Buxton moved to the upper village six years ago to focus on appraisals, consignments and estate jewelry sales.

• Imagine. For 17 years, owner Billie Vrtiak has offered gifts, clothing, jewelry, housewares, and artful things. She has created a good place to get lost with some cool merchandise.

• Josephine’s Antiques & Gallery. Josephine Di Loreto has been in business in Montecito since 1979, first as the owner of Montecito Executive Services and for the last 18 years as the owner of Josephine’s Antiques. Her shop is a treasure trove of all things Montecito, known for its collection of antique furnishings, linens, grand pianos, silver accessories, lamps, and art.

• George Meta Jewelry. Owner George Meta has been in business for 24 years offering personal service in antique jewelry and watch repair, artifacts, estate services, and vintage items.

• Montecito Village Grocery. Roxy and Mike Lawlor have been updating and improving the Montecito Village Grocery since their purchase of the venerable store in February 2017. A total store renovation is scheduled for 2018. Says Roxy, “We are family grocery people and are passionate about what we do,” with stores already open in ski towns, Aspen, Colorado, and Big Sky, Montana, under the Roxy’s Market & Café brand.

30 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• Wells Fargo Bank offers a wide range of traditional banking services including checking, online bill paying, direct deposit, notary, in-house brokerage accounts, ATM, personal loans, and student loans.

• Skin Essentials. For 16 years, founder Julie Phillips has specialized in skin care treatments including restorations, peels, facials, and body exfoliation.

• Pane e Vino Trattoria. Affable local owner Pietro Bernardi opened Pane e Vino 1988. A favorite of both locals and visitors for Italian foods and wines, fresh seafood, and organic vegetables, herbs and fruits, Bernardi still cooks all the specials himself. Having come to the U.S. at the age of 17. Pietro (Peter) now owns three homes, plus wine and olive vineyards, in Italy. He also owns a second Pane e Vino Trattoria in San Francisco and Via Vai in Montecito.

• Davis & Taft. Owner Leanne Baker moved to the Upper Village from Summerland 11 years ago to be closer to her customers. She successfully mixes antiques with 20th-century modern design. Furniture is selected for its quality and simplicity.

• ACI Jet. Since August 2014, French businessman and Montecito resident Olivier Leclercq, has partnered with ACI Jet founder Bill Borgsmiller to offer charter jet service worldwide. Want to escape the fire and ash? Charter a private jet to Fiji, Nice, or New York City.

• Bryant & Sons, Ltd. Since 2001, the brother and sister team of Scott and Myla Harwin have run the Montecito branch of this fine custom jeweler headquartered in downtown Santa Barbara. The Harwin team offers elegant jewelry and gifts right here in our neighborhood.

• Dr. Babji Mesipam. Board-certified in internal medicine, 24 years’ experience, Dr. Mesipam is affiliated with Cottage Hospital. He is currently not accepting new patients, Medicare, or Medicaid.

• Pacific Diagnostic Lab. Bloodwork testing.

• Blake Ashley Design, LLC. Interior design studio featuring fine indoor and outdoor fabrics, trim, wallpaper, lighting, custom order furnishings, and window treatments.

• Montecito Executive Services. Nestled in the warmth of Montecito Village for more than 25 years, Mary Ortega and her staff have been offering personal secretarial services such as polished writing projects, mailboxes, packing and shipping, faxes, copies, messenger services, bill paying, and vacation services. Originally started by Josephine Di Loreto, the business was sold to her longtime friend and banker Mary in 2000.

• Sue Aldrich Designs. Interior design firm for bathroom, custom closets, entertainment center, home theater, and 3-D renderings • Sotheby’s International Realty. The East Valley Road office of Sotheby’s is currently under renovation. When remodeled, it will be home to 45 Sotheby’s associates in the upper village market, including Sotheby’s brokers Sandy Stahl and Crystal Clark, who have their own office suite located between the post office and the hardware store.

Automotive Services • Village Automotive Repair has been providing quality auto repair services since 1965. In 1999, Jon McConnell purchased the business and with Josh Gospodnetich (just call him “Josh”) as service manager, offers customer satisfaction and quality personal car care to generations of discriminating Montecito drivers.

• The Village Service Station. New owner Keith Slocum, who built John Price’s Chevron Station on CVR, and who serves as Price’s construction manager on his new multi-use building at Olive Mill and CVR, purchased the station from Jon McConnell at Village Automotive repair. He will keep it locally owned as a full-service and self-service community treasure.

The Shops of Montecito Village South • Village Frame & Gallery. For 52 years, first Meryl Shore, then Richard Bickmore, have preserved a legacy of carefully framed art, antique prints, and hosted plein air painters. Today, Joyce Bickmore serves the neighborhood from this comfortable local shop.

• Giuliana Haute Couture. Fine women’s apparel is featured in this stylish Montecito boutique, owned and managed by Giuliana, wife of Montecito Village jewelry storeowner George Meta.

• Mareva. Owner Eva Zablocki has been offering skin care including professional facials and pretty pampering for the past 24 years at this location by appointment.

• Northern Trust Bank. Wealth management, investment strategies, and private banking under the leadership of Andy Chou, Santa Barbara region president. With the consolidation of the Santa Barbara and Montecito branches, Northern Trust recently expanded its space into the location formerly occupied by Lana Marme, who retired in September 2015 after selling women’s fashions at the same location for 30 years.

• Baroncelli Linen Accessories. For the last 24 years, Cindy Freeman has been serving Montecito customers interested in fine linens. She has retired and sold her business to George Sanders, a 3rd-generation local resident. George is currently

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

remodeling to open with an expanded line of bed linens, candles, and wedding gifts. He also plans to offer local workshops to kids and adults for handmade crafts in early spring.

• Montecito Village Travel. Brothers David and Charles de L’Arbre now own and operate the two Virtuoso travel agencies in Montecito and Santa Barbara started by their father in 1947.

Montecito Village Travel opened in 1972 and now offers a team of seven professional travel advisors to plan and manage travel experiences.

• Dadiana Salon. Since 1996, Diane Meehan and her stylists have offered hair care, manicures, pedicures, and facials using unique cosmetics and beauty supplies.

• Clare Swan is now in her 24th year offering quality luggage, small leather goods, sweaters, linens, scarves, and other clothing with competitive styling and fair pricing. Clare, her cousin Mollie, and Annie offer personal service to make the shop a joy to visit.

• Village Cheese and Wine Shop. For 43 years, John Braid offered meaty sandwiches, party platters, wine and cheese to generations of locals, kids sports teams, and tourists. Two years ago, when John died, his son Patrick Braid took over the deli with the help of Victoria, who had been serving customers for 24 years, and Kelly, a rookie of only 11 years.

• St. Paul Cleaners & Laundry. The husband-and-wife team of Seung Rae Cho and Hyun Lim Park purchased the business from Mr. Hong in 2016. They continue to offer the same friendly, reliable dry cleaning and laundry services they provided as employees.

• Proband Sports. Dr. Don Fareed, M.D., and orthopedic surgeon, has been serving patients with shoulder, elbow, knee, and sports medicine problems for 30 years.

• Via Vai. Pietro Bernardi, the owner of Trattoria Pane e Vino in North Montecito Village, purchased Via Vai in 1994 and has been catering to families and pleasing palates for the last 24 years with great food, outside dining, and casual and friendly service for lunch and dinner.

• Union Bank Montecito. One of four Union Bank locations in Montecito for ATM and online banking. A Private Bank for Union wealth management services is located across East Valley in the old Montecito Fire House.

• Peter Hartmann, D.D.S. Celebrating 14 years of dental service to the Montecito community.

Small business owners are woven into the fabric of this community. They offer a personal touch not found in chain stores or in the Age of Amazon.

Parking is free, and there is something almost sensual in exploring, seeing, touching, and sniffing prior to purchase. My advice to all of you is, this year, spend locally.

•MJ 8 – 15 February 2018

Attorney Trained Realtors®

Olesya Thyne Realtor® / Master’s Degree

International Luxury Estate Specialist Montecito, Hope Ranch Santa Barbara BRE# 01936018

(805) 708-1917

4347 Marina Drive Hope Ranch - $24,900,000 MONTECITO JOURNAL

31

Our Town

by Joanne A. Calitri Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist.

Contact her at: BeatArtist8@aol.com

117th Annual NAMM Show

The re-launched Neumann Vintage U67 tube mic held by marketing manager James Capparelle at NAMM 2018

Legendary music engineer Geoff Emerick and MJ correspondent Joanne A Calitri at NAMM 2018

Fodera Guitars next-gen team at NAMM with their 30th anniversary hand-painted bass

T

he NAMM Show (National Association of Music Merchants) jammed Anaheim January 24-28 with 7,000 music brands, 2,000 exhibiting companies, and 116,000 international attendees cruising the 3-story convention center, its new North building, and outdoor Grand Plaza concert stage. The NAMM University Education Center held 500 seminars at the Anaheim Hilton.

The major coup this year was a three-hour seminar with recording audio engineer legend and four-time Grammy winner, Geoff Emerick, (The Beatles, Cheap Trick, Billy Bob Thornton). Seated next to me in the first row were London’s Sensible Studios directors Jack Freegard and Jeff Allen, friends of Howard Massey, who emceed the presentation. Noted from Emerick’s talk: He started at age 6 listening to music on 78s, at 15 was hired as an intern at EMI through his school; on day two on the job, he was in The Beatles’s first recording session with George Martin and in three years their audio engineer. A pair of brass scissors to cut recording tape and speed control were all they had at the time; for the rest he would, “abuse the audio system” from mic’ing vocals through a Leslie for John Lennon’s “Tomorrow Never Knows” to incorporating McCartney’s homemade tape loops.

He played “Strawberry Fields” pointing out the edit point where it was made from the 2 takes Lennon wanted, “I like the beginning of the first one, and the end of the second one.

Why don’t we just join them together?”

The edit can be found at precisely one

32 MONTECITO JOURNAL

minute into the song, following the words “Let me take you down, ‘cause I’m...” from the first cello note onward, the remake of take 26. “George Martin would always say to The Beatles, ‘We’ll sort it out,’ which meant, I would figure out how to do it.”

The alarm clock heard on “A Day In the Life” was recorded by mistake.

It was to signal to the band the end of a 24-bar orchestral crescendo, but Emerick couldn’t get it off the tape.

“Ironically, the next line Paul sang was ‘got up got out of bed,’ so it worked out”.

The Beatles represented the BBC and Britain, on Our World, the world’s first live television satellite link seen by 400 million people across five continents, on June 25 1967. Lennon wrote “All You Need Is Love” in fewer than three weeks for it. For “Revolution”, Lennon insisted on lying down to record it. Geoff admirably stated, “Lennon and McCartney had perfect pitch when they sang – there was never a need to correct it, as with everyone else.” He ended with a Q & A, signing autographs and photo ops.

Thumbs up to: D’Addario’s guitar string recycle program PLAYBACK, managed by TERRACYCLE, for 1.3 million strings recycled to date!

Alastair Greene for his scorchin’ guitar demos of Seymour Duncan’s new guitar pedal named after our famous restaurant, La Super Rica Fuzz, a hot tamale sound for sure!

Orange Amps is celebrating its 50th anniversary. I met with product rep

James Garza of Santa Barbara formerly with Seymour Duncan, to spec their 2018 amps: a new lightweight 120-watt full sound PPC212V vertical Guitar Cabinet weighing 45 pounds with vintage-voiced frequency response Celestion G12 Neo Creamback 12-inch speakers, an open back and 15-ml birch plywood cabinet [usually 18 ml].

For customers who wanted the Rocker 15 Combo in a head, get the Rocker 15 Terror, which goes from 15 to 0.5 watts, so “bedroom to headroom,” super-flexible and portable with the Orange DNA sound. Also released at NAMM is the Brent Hinds Terror 15-watt, two-channel Tube Head – the world’s first valve Acoustic PreAmp, and a Crush Mini amp with classic Orange tone.

Fender’s Senior Product Development manager Allen Abbassi took time to go over the new electric guitars for 2018: “For the American Original Series, we made it more playable and kept it vintage to allow peeps to experience what it was like to own a guitar in a specific decade. They are lacquer in the cool vintage car colors that Leo borrowed with decade-matched hardware. The fingerboard radius is a flatter 9½”

• The Voice of the Village •

and the frets are higher, so it’s easier to play, bend the string, and give more life to the frets. We put five-way switches on the strats and removed the neck pick-up bass circuit on the teles in this series. The Eric Johnson Stratocaster® designed by Eric has the top belly-cut with all the strat contours and an f-hole for acoustic warmth. It’s an alder-wood top on bottom with chambers on the right and left, and an f-hole over one of the chambers. The Meteora from our Parallel Universe Series is a guitar the owner can customize neck and the pickguard easily with a screwdriver, with Jazzmaster black block inlays on the neck, a butterscotch-black-blonde tele body and pro-tele bridge. The guitars are being launched one per month, starting in February.”

Sabian’s Don’t Hold Back Frequency Reduction Cymbals –what?! Targeting churches, weddings, corporate gigs, small venues, schools, and the like, product rep Mark Love said, “FRX’s are not low-volume, they cut specific high-end frequencies by the cymbal’s decreased mass and critical areas.

Made of professional B20 bronze in 14-inch hats [clear & crisp], 16-inch, 17-inch, and 18-inch Crash [fast shim8 – 15 February 2018

Ernie’s World

by Ernie Witham 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.

Happy Super Bowl to You!

I

SB’s blues guitar pro Alastair Greene with Seymour Duncan

Allen Abbassi Fender electric guitars product developer with their NAMM 2018 launch, the Eric Johnson Stratocaster® and the Meteora

SB’s James Garza National Sales for Orange Amps with their latest models launched at NAMM

mery] and 20-inch and 21-inch Ride [dark] cymbals, are to help drummers in compromising gigs. Priced as expected, sold out at NAMM. D’Angelico Guitars NYC gave away a guitar and tickets to a private concert with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir, who won the 2018 NAMM Music for Life Award. Steve Pisani D’Angelico president unveiled their first solid-body electric guitars at NAMM, the Ludlow, the Bedford, and the Atlantic, in premier and deluxe models, and a Grateful Dead Bedford model, all using Seymour Duncan pickups, on sale in March.

Neumann is reissuing its U67 Tube Microphone in March, price yet to be announced. They claim it’s sonically identical to the original 1960 mic, all hand-made in Germany using the same tube factory. The first 67 lost sales due to its focused midrange response, 8 – 15 February 2018

which didn’t cut high-end vocals when the song industry changed. For this, its 90th year, Neumann is hoping it will boost revenues.

Musicians at NAMM included: Steve Lukather, Michael McDonald, Lindsey Stirling, Sam Moore, Marc Broussard, Butch Walker, Sheléa, Nicko McBrain, Jesse Hughes, Michael Anthony, Misha Mansoor, Keith Shocklee, Alice Cooper, Eric Johnson, Rex Brown, Flavor Flav, Geezer Butler, Hunter Hayes, Dave Kos, Bootsy Collins, Adrian Young, Frank Zummo, Billy Sheehan. and Lin Dong.

The 2018 Les Paul Award to musician Jackson Browne. NAMM 2018 TEC Award to Bruno Mars 24-Magic for Record Production/Album, single track and tour sound production.

The Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award to Bobby “Boomer” Thrasher [Billy Joel]. She Rocks 2018 Awards to Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar, the B52’s Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson.

411: www.namm.org •MJ

love my wife more than I love football. I just want to make that perfectly clear.

I also love the family more than I love football. Another point you need to understand.

Finally, I love family events, such as birthday parties, specifically my wife Pat’s birthday party, more than I love football. That almost goes without saying.

Unfortunately, it turns out my normally-very-considerate wife decided to get born during the Super Bowl!

Well, not actually during the Super Bowl. I mean, who would leave in the middle of the game to go to a hospital and give birth? Especially if the score was close! And at a time when you couldn’t follow the action on your cellphone on the way to the hospital or quickly pick up the action on a giant flat screen in the maternity ward waiting room. Because none of that technology existed yet. My 16-yearold grandson Charlie refers to that (and any time before the year 2000) as the “olden days.”

Well, as it turns out, this year, my wife’s birthday is actually the day after the biggest sporting event of the entire year. “Yay! Monday! We could do brunch then! Perfect.”

Did I mention I grew up in New England? Home of the Patriots! I even have Tom Brady underwear. It would be un-American to not watch the game.

“People have to work and the grandkids are in school on Monday.”

“And they don’t love you enough to take the day off? Tsk tsk.” (Please note, this was a thought, not a verbalization. I’ve learned a few things over the years.)

“I know! How about a night-before birthday thingee, you know, like the night before Christmas, when people open gifts and celebrate the Yule? I think we still have half a carton of eggnog in the back of the fridge from Thanksgiving.”

“The Los Angeles family members can’t make it up until Sunday.”

“We could Skype it!”

This comment was followed by silence. Was she thinking about it? I ran out to my office to get the laptop and the how-to-Skype manual. When I returned, she was on the phone.

“It’s all arranged.”

“Great!”

“Sunday afternoon brunch at Shoreline Park.”

“Bummer. I mean – oh, wow, fun,

Is the laundry ever really done?

but it could be cold.”

“Going to be mid-70s.”

“Windy?”

“Nary a breeze.”

“Fog?” “It’s February. No fog.”

So, I took off my Rob Gronkowski sweat socks and put my can of glare-reducing eye black away. Hm. Maybe brunch wouldn’t take the entire afternoon!

Fast-forward to Sunday: “Well, eat up everyone, before it gets dark.”

“We just got here, Ernie!”

“Frisbee, anyone?”

“Yeah!”

“WooHoo!” “Great, then let’s walk down to the beach and back.” “Fun.” “Count me in.”

“Seriously? Tick tock, folks!”

I developed a plan. If I ate and drank everything while the family was “birthdaying,” then they would all be really hungry and want to leave. I pulled out the first sixpack…

I’m not as young as I used to be.

A dozen sandwiches, couple bags of chips, an entire watermelon, two fruit tarts, and enough beer and wine for, well, a party – no problem when I was in college. Today, I was struggling and hadn’t even finished half of it when everyone returned.

“Where’s all the stuff?” they asked.

I suppressed a belch, then pointed at a couple of seagulls a few picnic tables over. They eyed me suspiciously, but soon everyone was eating and laughing and engaging in spirited conversation.

“Wow (yawn) this sure has been fun.”

“Gee, we haven’t even done cards and gifts yet.”

It’s amazing how long it can take to open an envelope. And another. And another.

Finally, it was time to pack up.

“Who wants the leftover fruit tart?

“We still have some sparkling water.”

“What should we do with the last sandwich?”

“Let’s just leave everything!” I ran for the car. Of course, Pat had the keys.

Was she walking in slow motion?

I jumped out of the car while it was still moving. Ran into the dark house and fumbled around for the remote.

A voice: “Wow! That had to be the best Super Bowl I have ever seen!”

“I agree.”

“Me too.”

“Now, stay tuned for your regular programming. Good night.”

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

33

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 12) ters impacting South Santa Barbara County, we’re thrilled to bring people together to support the local businesses affected. It’s incredibly important for us to offer a grassroots stimulus package to the community where we live and work, ” said Bochsler, branch manager for Guaranteed Rate.

“A cash mob is a fun and exciting way to bring people together,” says associate vice president of Mortgage Lending, Christian Menard, who has been traversing the street garnering participation from business owners.

“We encourage people to bring their friends and families out for a great afternoon with a positive impact.”

Participating retailers from Montecito Country Mart to the east end of Coast Village Road are excited to welcome back shoppers and turn inventory by offering Cash Mob shoppers significant discounts, refreshments, live music, live painting demonstrations, dog treats, and even free dance lessons. According to Sharon Byrne, executive director of the Coast Village Association, Coast Village merchants are excited about the Cash Mob and are rolling out the red carpet to welcome Mob attendees. Allora by Laura is serving champagne, while the Coast Village Walk is serving free wood-fired pizza and

First responders eating dinner at Lucky’s

PHOTO: MIKE ELIASON / SB COUNTY FIRE

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• The Voice of the Village •

hosting live music and free dance lessons.

Most merchants are running steep discounts for the event, up to 70 percent off. Compass is offering wine tastings and free dog treats. The Honor Bar will be giving out warm cookies.

“There will be something for everyone to enjoy!” Byrne said. Even businesses that have not yet reopened are taking part: Montecito Inn, which is expected to open in the next two weeks, will be selling merchandise and gift certificates outside the hotel.

A free raffle will kick off the event, with $2,500 of local gift cards donated by local Cal Fire attorney Alicia Journey, who was personally affected by the slide; she lost her home and her car was washed onto Butterfly Beach.

The Cash Mob will commence in the Montecito Bank & Trust and Sotheby’s parking lot, located at 1106 Coast Village Road, at 2:30 pm. Participants will be encouraged to shop at local businesses along Coast Village Road until 6 pm, and then enjoy a meal at one of the local restaurants. A list of locally owned, participating businesses and eateries will be available prior to the event and will be posted on the Facebook event page “Coast Village Road Cash Mob.” Easy Lift, a local nonprofit, will be offering shuttle services up and down the street to aid those with difficulty walking.

“We think this is a perfect opportunity for our business district to welcome shoppers back into their stores,” said Byrne. Shoppers are encouraged to carpool, given the excess traffic in the area. Organizers tell us that if the event is a success, they will plan another event to benefit the businesses of the upper village.

Also that day, Physical Focus on Hot Springs Road is hosting a free community concert with food and drink donated by local businesses.

“We want to bring a little joy back to our community, because we all need to smile a little!” said owner Michael Allison. Any donations earned at the event will go to local schools. Physical Focus is located at 140 Hot Springs

VILLAGE BEAT Page 494 2/6/18 12:41 PM

8 – 15 February 2018

On Law

by Steven A. Blum Steven A. Blum received a law degree from Yale Law School in 1987 and has practiced real estate litigation, specializing in landslides, over the past 30 years in law firms big and small. He lives in Montecito and his website is www.cal-landslidelaw. com. He is a partner of Blum Collins LLP.

Troubled Waters: Surface Water Law and the Montecito Floods

I

n last week’s issue of The Montecito Journal, I explained that if the facts show a fire, covered by a typical homeowners’ insurance policy, was the “efficient proximate cause” of a later mudslide, then mudslide damage could be covered under a homeowners’ insurance policy.

On January 29, California insurance commissioner Dave Jones adopted the same analysis in a press release that called on all insurers to cover homeowners’ losses from the recent mudslides in our community.

Commissioner Jones stated that “preliminary indications are that the Thomas Fire burned vegetation which would otherwise have absorbed rainfall and held soils in place, which in turn resulted in the mudflows, mudslides, debris flows, or landslides” that ravaged Montecito. “If the evidence shows the Thomas Fire or another peril covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy was the efficient proximate cause of mudflow damage, I expect insurance companies to step up and cover these financial losses.” Commissioner Jones’s pronouncement underscores that affected homeowners should promptly make insurance claims.

I also explained in last week’s article why collective litigation (class action, mass tort) is not designed for mudslide cases, because each property is uniquely situated in relation to the web of hills, creeks, culverts, and roads in Montecito. Impacted homeowners may very well have claims against upstream/upslope or downstream/downslope neighbors, implicating their liability insurance, and this will likely result in conflicts of interest that make collective litigation almost impossible.

Today I will give an overview of surface water law, which governs when a landowner is liable for damage caused by diversion of water to a neighboring parcel of land.

In California, water that is diffused over the surface of the land and resulting from rain, snow, or springs is known as “surface water.”

The mudflows from burn areas are caused by heavy rains on the denuded slopes, and the resulting surface water carries mud and debris downhill. “Surface water” is different from water flowing in a fixed channel (“stream water”), or the extraordinary overflow of rivers or streams 8 – 15 February 2018

(“flood water”).

Three basic rules govern surface water liability in the United States.

The first is the “common enemy” rule, which holds that each landowner has an unqualified right to fend off surface water as he or she sees fit without taking into account the consequences to other landowners, who have the right to protect themselves as best they can. In other words, every landowner for himself or herself. Under this doctrine, any landowner may alter with impunity

commentators and courts in many jurisdictions increasingly condemned the rule for hindering land development. Courts also criticized the civil law rule because of the evidentiary burden it presented. It was no simple matter to determine the course and amount of flow before diversion to determine the extent of the damages.

This brings us to the third rule, the “reasonable use” rule, which governs surface water liability today. In the 1966 case of Keys v. Romley, the California Supreme Court held that every landowner must use reasonable care to avoid injury to adjacent landowners, and a failure to exercise “reasonable care” may create liability for the upper landowner. The lower landowner remains responsible to take “reasonable precautions” to avoid or reduce actual or potential damage.

Unlike the common enemy and civil law rules, the reasonable use rule was not born of ancient Roman

age caused by surface water flows.

Liability for damage caused by either public or private property is determined by a rule of reasonableness peculiar to water law. First, if the upper landowner is reasonable and the lower landowner is unreasonable, the upper landowner prevails.

Second, if the upper landowner is unreasonable and lower landowner is reasonable, the lower landowner prevails. Third, if both the upper and lower landowners are reasonable, but the lower landowner is damaged, the lower landowner prevails.

Courts consider all the relevant circumstances to decide whether a landowner acted reasonably. Reasonable care is a question of fact for a jury or judge acting as the trier of fact and all of the relevant circumstances must be considered, such as amount of harm caused, the foreseeability of resulting harm, the defendant’s purpose or motive, and the amount of injury done to other landowners as com-

“An integrated team of experienced technical experts, including hydrologists, geologists, soils engineers, appraisers, and structural engineers are necessary to successfully litigate a surface water case”

the flow of surface waters to or from adjoining lands.

The cornerstone of the common enemy rule was the ancient property maxim cujus est solum, ejus est usque ad coelum (“Whose is the soil, his it is up to the sky”). The landowner’s absolute dominion over his or her own property gave him or her the right to alter drainage patterns. Resulting damages to neighboring landowners afforded no cause of action. Neighbors could respond only by making improvements or constructing barriers of their own.

The second rule is the “civil law” rule (also called the “natural flow theory”), which is 180 degrees opposite the common enemy rule, and places responsibilities on both the upper and lower landowners to not resist surface water. Based on the ancient maxim aqua currit, et debet curerer, ut solebat es juie naturae (water runs, and it should run, as it is used to run naturally), the civil law rule holds that the lower landowner must accept the surface water that drains onto his or her land (cannot build a dam), but the upper landowner cannot alter the natural system of drainage so as to increase the burden (cannot construct artificial channels that funnel and thereby increase the flow).

Before 1966, California courts followed the civil law rule. However,

law. Rather, it is an American original based on tort law. What constitutes a “reasonable” use is determined caseby-case, not by inflexible property right rules.

In 1994, the California Supreme Court for the first time applied the rule of reasonableness to an inverse condemnation claim in finding a public entity liable, just like a private landowner, for altering drainage and damaging a downstream/downslope property.

This was an important departure from inverse condemnation law governing cases not involving surface water flow. As you may recall from the first article in this series (MJ #24/4, page 22), inverse condemnation describes the case where the government takes or damages private property but fails to pay the owner, who then must sue the government to recover compensation. Any property damage caused by government improvements is compensable under the Constitution, whether foreseeable or not, as long as the property owner demonstrates a cause-and-effect relationship between the public works and the incident giving rise to the property damage. In general, inverse condemnation is a strict liability, not a fault-based doctrine.

But water is different – inverse condemnation becomes a fault-based doctrine when dealing with dam-

I laugh every time I hear millionaires say that money isn’t important

pared with the value of the devices or improvements that caused a change in water flow.

This fact-intensive, case-by-case inquiry further reinforces the uniqueness of each property and each case.

Courts faced with having to make decisions about surface water liability would be impeded by collective litigation, such as class actions, which improperly treats all property owners’ claims as an undifferentiated mass.

The inquiry is also cross-disciplinary and extremely expert-intensive. An integrated team of experienced technical experts, including hydrologists, geologists, soils engineers, appraisers, and structural engineers are necessary to successfully litigate a surface water case.

A final word. A few weeks ago, I read an article about Arbor Day, which celebrates trees. The author told a parable that seems apt for Montecito residents. An ancient Rabbi, Yochanan ben Zekkai, said: “If you have a sapling in your hand and someone tells you the Messiah has arrived, first plant the sapling and then go out to welcome the Messiah.”

This is the third in a series of articles about the law and the Montecito mudslides. You can read the first two articles on montecitojournal.net, Volume 24, Issues 4 and 5, or email me: blum@blumcollins.com.

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

35

NEWLY RELEASED

COMING & GOING (Continued from page 20) Europe during the air war over Serbia.

He has been retired from the military since August 1, 2004, and is currently a VP at Pratt & Whitney, Military Engines division.

To join the Channel City Club or to learn more, go to: www.channelcity club.org or info@channelcityclub.org.

You are also invited to call at (805) 564-6223.

The Genesis Open

ROGER C. DUNHAM, M.D.

THE MEDICAL CHALLENGES OF LIFE WITH THE THREAT OF

APPROACHING MORTALITY STORIES OF REAL PATIENTS

Could not pass up the opportunity to play a round at the fabled Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, so accepted an invitation from the folks presenting the Genesis Open, which runs February 15 to 18, to cover world number 1 golfer Dustin Johnson (D.J.) at a press conference there a couple weeks before he defends his title at this year’s tourney.

So, there we were: ESPN, NBC Sports, Fred Altieri from the Culver City Observer, and about 50 other news gatherers, in the ballroom at the Riviera, to listen to Erwin Raphael from Genesis, along with tournament director Mike Antolini, who introduced D.J. This tournament was formerly called the Los Angeles Open but is currently named for its chief sponsor, Genesis, the car company. If you are a golfer, you should know that William F. Bell,

(from left) Riviera golf partner Fred Altieri, forecaddie Ryan Otey (chef and founder of Blue Steel Catering & Events when not on a golf course), and playing partner Robert Butchko, joined James Buckley (not in photo) for a round at the Riviera

who designed Sandpiper Golf Course, was the son of William P. Bell, construction manager and course architect at Riviera. Mr. Bell Sr. went on to design Torrey Pines with his son, plus a number of great golf courses.

If you are a golfer and have never attended a golf tournament, this is one

Dr. Dunham’s personal involvement with the subjects of his books, ranging from his Jail Ward duties as an intern fresh out of UCLA Medical School to his service as a nuclear reactor operator aboard a submarine and his challenges of 40 years of practicing Internal Medicine, allows an authoritative credibility that holds the reader spellbound. As Dr. Dunham will tell you, these books are not about invented threats to survival, they are not contrived—they tell stories about the very real daily threats faced by human beings in the tumultuous world of medicine and in the battlefields beneath the seas.

“I really like being number one in the world,” says a laughing and relaxed Dustin Johnson during a press conference at the Riviera Country Club, a couple weeks before teeing off to defend his title at the Genesis Open on Thursday, February 15

you might want to consider; it promises to be, as Ed Sullivan may have said, “a really good show.” Among the golfers competing will be not only D.J. but also Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, Matt Kuchar, Xander Schauffele, Alex Noren, and, well, it’s a top-notch field, and Riviera (I attended two years ago) offers some excellent viewing possibilities.

If you’ve never watched up close D.J. or Tiger or Rory (or Justin Thomas, for that matter) smack a ball so powerfully that it cries out in pain before barreling 300-plus yards down a 400yard fairway (nearly four times the

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NING 36 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

distance of a football field), then you are in for a treat.

Want to attend?

It’s not too late. Just go to GenesisOpen.com/tickets. For as little as $17, you can enjoy access to the course and follow your favorite player or find a place to stay put; other, more pricy, options include the opportunity to visit the clubhouse, assemble greenside at the 17th hole, or take a seat at the 9th green and/or 10th tee box, where you can also enjoy a glass of William Hill Estate Chardonnay while you watch. There is also the Genesis Lounge at the par-3 14th hole, promising “soft seating” and “unobstructed views.” If the $17 ticket is enough,

Hyundai’s Genesis compares favorably to Audi, BMW, and Lexus

then join the public at the Grey Goose vodka 19th-hole lounge and patio (as long as you are over 21).

Also on the grounds will be a number of Genesis vehicles to inspect at various locations. Genesis, by the way, is Hyundai’s luxury brand and it is a rather handsome vehicle. I don’t own one, but it’ll probably be my next car, as Genesis compares favorably to Lexus, BMW, and Audi, and at what seems to me a much lower price point.

In any case, attending the Genesis Open in Pacific Palisades and the Riviera Country Club (chosen as one of the competition sites at the 2024 Olympics) would be an excellent way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

•MJ

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37

FRIENDSHIP CENTER’S 19TH ANNUAL

Festival of Hearts

MISCELLANY (Continued from page 18) blends.

“The Margerum estate vineyard in the Los Olivos District AVA has the ideal climate and terroir for Rhone varietal grapes. This wine is now at another level.”

The 2017 M5 white will be released on August 1.

Saturday, February 10, 2018 11:30 to 2:30 pm The Fess Parker

Striking Gold It wasn’t quite the Olympics, but KEYT-TV reporters Mike Klan and Kelsey Gerckens were going for gold at the 68th annual Golden Mike awards in Los Angeles.

The ABC affiliate broadcaster won the coveted trophies at a glittering Radio and Television News Association of Southern California gala at the Universal Hilton, with Kelsey – who won the Amazing Race

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Doug in the vineyard with Gabi and golden retriever Homer

MISCELLANY Page 404

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(from left) Ryder Christ, Candace Guereque, Vicky Nguyen, Tracy Lehr, Kelsey Gerckens, Joe Buttitta, and Mike Klan (photo courtesy John Palminteri)

KEYT reporter-anchor Tracy Lehr picking up her Golden Mike for Best Medical and Science Reporting (photo courtesy Kelsey Gerckens and John Palminteri)

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38 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

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MISCELLANY (Continued from page 38) (from left) Bishop John Taylor, the reverend Michael Bamberger, reverend Melissa McCarthy, Ed Fuentes of Montecito Fire Protection District, and the reverend Aimee EyerDelevett in front of Birnam Wood Country Club following a tour of the devastation of Montecito

U.S. Flood Control extends our deepest condolences to the Montecito Community. As you move through the difficult days and weeks ahead, please let us know if we can be of service.

Congratulations

Bishop John Tayor takes a photo of reverend Aimee Eyer-Delevett in the All Saints Sanctuary during the Diocesan visit. The wreaths of Christmas still hang in the Sanctuary, as it has been closed due to the evacuations.

to Kelly Mahan Herrick

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties is pleased to congratulate Kelly Mahan Herrick and the Calcagno & Hamilton Team on the successful representation of the buyers at 2028B Chapala Street, a free standing condo in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. Sold for $700,000.

and $1 million two years ago with her now husband, KEYT morning news anchor Joe Buttitta – getting the accolade for weather reporting, having won last year for Best Spot News Reporting.

Montecito resident Mike received his award for Best Sports Reporting, also his second consecutive year.

The station also garnered awards for Best Live Coverage for a News Story for photographer Ryder Christ, Best News Story by Vicky Nguyen, and Best Medical and Science Reporting for Tracy Lehr.

The church was spared the worst of the damage, but became a triage center for those injured in the disaster, says parishioner Sheri Benninghoven.

“Hundreds of people descended on the church during the heart of the emergency – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday – seeking medical help and, eventually, evacuation assistance from the California National Guard, which staged operations at All Saints.

“That morning, we had dozens of people trying to get off the 101, so they pulled off at San Ysidro and into the church parking lot. The fire department started bringing the injured and all pulled from the mud to the church.

“A paramedics unit, a neighbor who is an ER doc, and a city fire engine company, as well as the rector, Aimee

Saints Marching in All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal Church played a critical role on the night of the deadly mudslides, I learn.

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• The Voice of the Village •

805 560-0630 8 – 15 February 2018

Eyer-Delevett, her spouse, and three people living on the campus became first responders.

“I think we’re all somewhat in shock.

I think a lot of people did things based on adrenaline. The reaction was stunning and remarkable for everybody.

The community has been hit really, really hard, and we will always think back to that week and no one will ever be the same.”

The church later hosted a Service of Hope and Healing at Trinity Episcopal Church, given All Saints was still officially out of bounds, attended by the bishop of Los Angeles, the Right Reverend John Taylor, and Right Reverend Diane Jardine Bruce, Bishop Suffragan.

Cover to Cover

TV reporter John Palminteri meets his puppet counterpart

Puppets in Paseo event honoring the ubiquitous broadcaster and the ABC affiliate’s industrious team for their coverage of the Thomas Fire and the destructive and deadly aftermath.

A Palminteri puppet was unveiled, complete with John’s signature moustache, that performed live with the energized TV personality.

village back.”

Slowly, but surely.

Life Saver

Rain Strain

Augie Johnson’s bravery highlighted on Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show (photo courtesy Michael Rozman/Warner Bros.)

Author T.C. Boyle captures the moment

Petra Malinova lands major award with first book

Czech children’s author Petra Malinova has won the silver medal in the annual Illumination Book Awards with her first book, Birth of an Angel.

Petra, who works for Montecito art and car collector Michael Hammer, beat out hundreds of other entries in the competition honoring Christian books.

“In a time of Nones, the award medalists offer real connections through personal experience, thoughtful reflections and joy in their faith,” says award director Amy Shamroe.

“Our awards shine a light on the books that enrich and inspire today’s Christians.”

Petra, who has a 2-year-old son, Peter, is a survivor of domestic violence and wrote the stories, charmingly illustrated by Tze-Chiang Lim, to help children in similar difficult situations.

Puppet Master KEYT senior reporter John Palminteri is pulling a few strings!

Puppet Palooza Central threw a 8 – 15 February 2018

Montecito author T.C. Boyle has written a poignant article in The New Yorker about the flash floods and mudslides that beset our rarefied enclave.

The writer, who I have known for more than a decade, moved here 25 years ago “attracted by its beauty and semi-rural ambience.”

T.C, who was stuck in a motel room for 10 days during the Thomas Fire, writes: “I was suffering from disaster fatigue after more than a month of uncertainty and dislocation.

“The rain awoke my wife and me at 3:30 the next morning, an intense hammering rain that seemed to explode all around us. Still, it was only rain. “....As I was later to discover, the concentrated rain – as much as 0.50 of an inch in a single five-minute period, an intensity seen on average just once every 200 years – propelled a debris flow down the slopes of the denuded mountains...

“We were among the lucky ones.

Our house, one of the oldest in the community, sits atop a hill at the bottom of which, to the east, lies the stream bed of Montecito Creek. “...On that night, catastrophically, it jumped its banks and swept to the sea, taking everything in its path... For me, though, its personal, and I want my

Montecito resident Berkeley Augie Johnson shared his story of survival and bravery on fellow Montecitan Ellen DeGeneres’s TV talk show.

Augie helped first responders and firefighters to rescue 2-year-old Ian Benitez from the devastating mudslides after escaping himself.

He recounted how he survived the catastrophe and shared his belief that his deceased son, Nick, guided and compelled him to achieve the rescue.

Despite losing his own home, Augie is determined to help Ian and his father get back on their feet and has currently raised in excess of $10,000 for the family.

Inspired by Augie’s bravery and kindness, the former Oscars host donated $50,000 to Montecito relief efforts in his name, courtesy of Walmart.

Two of a Kind I am saddened to see two of the

world’s greatest performers are being forced to retire because of ill health.

Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond, 78, who I last saw performing at the London Palladium in 1976, is ending his 50th anniversary tour after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

And flamboyant pianist Sir Elton John, 70. whose concerts I have enjoyed in London and New York, is also retiring from touring, a year after he became violently ill from a bacterial infection.

I will always remember his free concert in 1980 on the Great Lawn in Manhattan’s Cental Park in front of 400,000 fans when he dressed as Donald Duck for the occasion.

Two wonderful showmen now off the radar.

Fond Farewell On a personal note, I mark the passing of Santa Barbara lawyer Allan Ghitterman at the age of 94.

I would often see Allan, who specialized in workers compensation law, at the Granada for symphony concerts and always remarked on how robust and hearty he looked for a nonagenarian.

Canadian-born, he was a staunch supporter of Jewish causes and served on several charity boards, including the Foodbank and the AntiDefamation League.

An enormous and charming character.

Sightings: Former U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice at the El Encanto...Singer-songwriter Michael McDonald giving an impromptu performance at the Hyatt to buoy community spirits...Warbler Katy Perry getting a manicure at Lily’s Nails on State Street Pip! Pip! Readers with tips, sightings and amusing items for Richard’s column should email him at richardmin eards@verizon.net or send invitations or other correspondence to the Journal.

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

•MJ

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41

A call to Santa Barbara Residents Open your hearts for the hourly workers of Montecito

The 93108Fund.Org has been established to support local workers and families in Montecito whose daily work lives have been impacted by the devastating Thomas Fire and more recent mudslides. Montecito residents and community members are coming together to provide vital support for these crucial workers who could not work their regular hours due to the closures in Montecito.

To date the 93108Fund has raised $48,740 and distributed over $28,300 to 104 recipients, but we have so much more work to do, with over 450 applications to date. We need your help to reach our goal of $800,000.

Dear 93108Fund, I am writing to thank you for the generous grant I received. I work at Wendy Foster in the upper village and missed 130 hours due to the fire and mudslide. I am so grateful for the help and touched by the support of the community. It is amazing that through such tragedy we are able to overcome it together and emerge stronger. Thank you again to all the donors for making this possible!

Best regards, Dominique Ruiz

Announcing a $10,000 matching grant from Charles and Brynn Crowe with the Kirby Jones Family Foundation.

We encourage all 93108 residents and the Santa Barbara county community to make an impact on the lives of those we rely so much on, daily.

Together, we can help get our community back on its feet.

PLEASE DONATE TODAY AND VISIT US AT www.93108Fund.Org We wish to thank our local contributing partners who have provided their wonderful support:

We wish to thank our local contributing partners who have provided their wonderful support: The Blitzer Family Monica Fried Andrea Greeven-Douzet Nicole Herlihy Nasha Heyman Frank Iaffaldano Holly Krug Monic Fried The Longano Family Bridgett Luther

Matthew Lux John Maienza Peter Melnick Jennifer Perry Ray Russo Brian Sottak Norion Ubechel The Teufel Family Kristin Teufel Jonathan Wimbish

72 Butler Place Jere Lifshitz Elizabeth Yeager Allegra Haddigan Joanne Holden Maureen Evans Christine Denver Al Winsor Cherie Ignatius Paula Ullmann

David Inger Ana Peters Susan Kornspan Alan Griffin Marianne Cotter Karyn Grossman The Jaffe Family Carola Nicholson Den Von Klompenburg Katherine R. Eades

Edward Sanderson Edward Gaspardis Gregg Bigger Gail Arnold Anthony Hornus Anita Bradford Margaret L. Collier Chris Harris Pamela Brinks Justin Mack

The Catalfimo Family Jacob Tell Gregg Wilson Anne Greene Susan Matsumoto Randy Cherkas Becker Family Jann Jaffe Mike Brinkerhoff The Giles Family

Win.Win.Give is the official sponsor of the 93108Fund. Win.Win.Give is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and will be collecting donations and distributing grants directly on behalf of the 93108Fund. The 93108Fund makes all grant decisions based on objective and verifiable information provided by applicants. The fund is managed and administered by local volunteers with proceeds going directly to those in need. Less than 10% of donations will be utilized for administrative support.

This Ad was paid for by the founders of the 93108 Fund.

42 MONTECITO JOURNAL

• The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

EDITORIAL (Continued from page 16)

Other Helping Hands One removal contractor – Matt Boneck – told the story of a police officer from St. Louis, whose first name he thought was Charmaine (last name unknown), who rescued an older couple from the roof of their home on January 9 in the Montecito Oaks neighborhood. Two weeks later, the emergency police officer came back from St. Louis to personally deliver a bouquet of flowers to the stunned couple in Montecito, with a note telling them: “I will never forget you!”

How heartwarming is that?

Matt also told the story of helping Victoria Riskin, well-known Montecito opinion shaper, leader of Human Rights Watch, former board chair of Antioch University, and president of the Writer’s Guild of America West, and her husband, television, film, stage writer, and producer, David Rintels, sift through the mud of their totally destroyed home on hard-hit Randall Road, looking for any signs of their previous life. Miraculously, Matt uncovered a treasured drawing of Henry Fonda, one of many in a priceless collection of lifetime memories for Victoria and David.

Girl Scouts Troop 55504 My wife and I drove down Coast Village Road from Montecito Oaks and spotted members of a Girl Scouts troop, from Vieja Valley Elementary School in Santa Barbara, standing near Giovanni’s Pizza at 1187 CVR. There stood four young Girl Scouts – Chloe Nydan (in pigtails), Anja Fassbind (ball hat), Tayan Dean, and Sofia Sasseen – holding a banner that read: “Cookie Time” The girls were there to join the parade of Montecito residents expected to show up that afternoon and evening for the Coast Village Association’s “Shop Mob” campaign in support of Coast Village Road businesses. The Girl Scouts troop leader proudly noted that “One-hundred percent of the proceeds from our Girl Scouts cookie sales this weekend will be donated to the Montecito Mudslide Disaster Relief Fund” – another heartwarming act of community kindness.

Little Alex’s to the Rescue How can one not want to live in a community where Lynette and Dan Briner,

(from left) Sofia Sasseen, Tayan Dean, Anja Fassbind, Chloe Nydan of Girl Scouts troop 55504, Vieja Valley Elementary School, Santa Barbara

owners of Little Alex’s, a Mexican food fixture in Montecito for almost 30 years, sloshed through the muck to deliver tamales, chile rellenos, chips, and salsa to 85 dazed guests, stranded on the first day of the disaster at the 60-room Montecito Inn, waiting to be evacuated in National Guard trucks?

Lompoc School Students Aid Montecito Mud Victims Montecito resident Ginger Salazar is a mother of four children, member of the Board of Trustees of the Santa Barbara Foundation, former board member of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, and a former student at Lompoc High School, where she received aid from the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation to attend Stanford University, reports that the student government bodies at Lompoc and Cabrillo High schools have raised money for the families of Montecito high-school students who were victims of the mudslide.

Said one Lompoc student, “Even though we know that kids in Montecito are much richer than we are, we still need to show them that we care.” On Wednesday, the principal and student body president of Lompoc High School traveled to Santa Barbara High School to meet with SBHS principal John Becchio and present a check to the SBHS student president.

Talk about heartwarming.

Those are just some of the examples of a village, glued together not by its disastrous mud and debris, but by the simple kindnesses of residents and neighbors, eagerly taking care of one another, sharing the pain, and building a new and better place – together.

•MJ

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43

On Entertainment

by Steven Libowitz

Local Docs Close out SBIFF

S

anta Barbara filmmakers haven’t always been thrilled with the level of exposure for their films at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF), even though there are separate categories for features and shorts as well as short documentaries, and most of the programs get at least one playing in a larger theater.

But this year, the nonfiction auteurs certainly aren’t being given, ahem, short shrift at SBIFF 2018, as the six Santa Barbara Documentary Shorts will screen together Saturday night at the Arlington Theatre as the festival’s Closing Night Film.

It’s not clear that decision was made before or after the Thomas Fire/ Montecito Mudslide twin tragedies.

But it sure seems appropriate to take a sober look at local issues and institutions. One of the films, Out of the Ashes, even delves into Santa Barbara wildfires. And one imagines there will be plenty of nonfiction films in future SBIFFs documenting the unfortunate events, chronicles of the losses, the heroics of firefighters and other first responders and the community’s recovery efforts.

But for now, we have a couple of short docs centered on two of Santa Barbara’s most cherished traditions.

Justin Gunn’s A Solstice in Santa Barbara is a remarkable movie, considering its maker only moved to town last March, never having previously heard of the annual parade. Gunn is a former news reporter and producer in Los Angeles, one of the co-founders of the now-defunct Current TV, so he’s got the cinematic and journalistic chops. More importantly, he’s also a veteran of Burning Man since 1999, so the idea of moveable public art was an instant connection.

“As soon as I heard about Solstice, it sounded like my tribe. I knew I needed to be involved,” Gunn recalled earlier this week. When the workshop opened last spring, he planned on offering his artistic and building expertise. “But then I discovered these incredible characters and saw all the brilliant work.

The filmmaker side of me took over, and I went and got my camera.”

Working basically as “a one-man band,” Gunn imbedded himself at the workshop, interviewed a few key players, and captured the building of floats.

On parade day, he filmed the rollout in the morning, then got into costume, jumped on his rocket and joined the procession. “I shot the parade from within it – a perspective that’s unique.”

The film opens with some of Solstice’s history but largely serves as a first-person perspective on the Santa

44 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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

Barbara tradition. “It mirrors my own experience from when I first got excited to be at the workshop and to the parade itself. I made it as a love letter to the Solstice community.”

Having it play in the spotlight at the Arlington is an unexpected bonus, Gunn said. “Hopefully it will demystify the workshop for those who don’t know about it, and let people get a glimpse of the beauty, the pageantry, and the magic that goes into Solstice.”

Fiesta Festivities A “love letter” to another longstanding local tradition was also the motivation for the latest short film from Montecito-raised Casey McGarry, whose Cascarones represents his third SBIFF entry. But the filmmaker’s take on the confetti-filled eggshells that are ubiquitous during Old Spanish Days has a little more edge, focusing on the Mexican women and families who create the vast majority of the decorated novelties rather than the cascarones’ destination of being smashed over someone’s head.

“Fiesta seems contrived and a bit silly,” McGarry explained. “To me, it’s way cooler if you look at it through the lens of the women who make the cascarones. They’re truly the heart and soul of Fiesta. The culture is what appealed to me.”

The film was three years in the making, before they started shooting, McGarry said, adding that he was influenced by Buena Vista Social Club, an early favorite of his, in employing a Cinema Verite approach. “We tried to cram as much of the story as we could into just 15 minutes. It’s just a snapshot into the lives of the women who make them.”

Like anyone who has taken time to notice, McGarry was amazed at how much work goes into making the cascarones from start to finish. Also impressive is that, after decades, the items still sell largely for 25 cents each.

“As (co-director and narrator) Chris Price says, ‘Where can you get anything else for a quarter?’”

Soul Sounds Devotion to another Santa Barbara staple is also at the root of Soul of the

City, John Klein’s take on the controversy surrounding the renewal of the lease for the East Beach Grill – though given the way things turn out – the restaurant closed at the end of last year – it’s not a celebration. Still, it’s an interesting look at the grill’s longtime owner, and how fans tried to keep it around.

Also screening in the program are Ryan Slattery’s Crossing the Channel, Danielle Cohen’s The Tipping Point, and Out of the Ashes. For ticket information, call 963-0023 or visit www. sbiff.org.

Look Who’s Talking Anthony Giardina’s 2010 play The City of Conversation has proven to be even more prophetic than even he might have imagined. Set in Washington, D.C., during three important periods in recent American politics, the play spans nearly 30 years, from Fall of 1979 to January 2009, and traces the evolution of 1960s-raised Hester Ferris from Georgetown political hostess whose posh dinner parties influence legislation under President Carter to activists against Reagan to the Obama inauguration. Along the way, trying to keep a fracturing family together over the years and newer generations gets pit against defending opposing political views, making for a compelling and moving drama.

Sharon Lawrence, the veteran actress (TV’s NYPD Blue), stars as Hester, with new recent Santa Barbara resident Meredith Baxter (Family Ties) portraying her older sister. Lawrence, who is making her Santa Barbara theatrical debut with the work that plays at Ensemble Theater’s New Vic Theater February 8-25, shared her perspective on the play and its place in our times over the phone last week.

Q. What drew you to the role?

A. I loved the play, but also she’s one of those characters that requires everything of your skill set – concentration, clear diction, stamina. There are so many female roles, and they all have such depth and dimension.

I understand this is a pretty topical play, even if it’s set over a 30-years span.

Yes. The ‘16 election made it even clearer: congressional members don’t compromise. They don’t practice that art anymore. It’s not in fashion. But this play takes place when Georgetown was where many relationships and agreements were formed around dining tables hosted by women like my character. Congressmen got to know each other off the Hill, with a drink and a cigar. This is how women wielded power back then, in softer ways.

But now there’s no compromise at all.

It’s become the platform to just say no.

The play is very well-crafted. It’s about opening your mind.

• The Voice of the Village •

Sharon Lawrence and Meredith Baxter rehearse a scene from Ensemble Theatre Company of Santa Barbara’s upcoming production of The City Of Conversation, by Anthony Giardina, directed by Cameron Watson, and opening Saturday, February 10, at the New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara (photo by David Bazemore)

So, in these divisive times, how are audiences not set against each other?

Well, they might be. But the playwright asks us to look at both sides.

The characters present their arguments so cogently and with respect, which debates had back then. But at some point, loyalty becomes the issue.

Philosophical ideas matter, but loyalty and family are also part of identity.

Where does one give way to the other?

Passion is powerful, but it cost something.

Has there been an impact for you?

There’s an interesting argument that a Senator makes about shifting culture.

It’s a funny gray area that the playwright articulates well. I’m not shifting. But (the play) has allowed me to hear more about the gray area where people live, to hear the other side, and that tradition can be part of identity.

Do you have a preference for film versus TV or the theater?

I don’t mean to be cheeky, but it’s like asking “Do you prefer Chinese or Italian food?” They’re all good!

Fortunately, I don’t have to choose one or the other. But I have to be on stage with a company of people in front of a live audience, because it’s sacred. It takes a little more sacrifice because you give up weekends, and your family and life are put on hold. But it’s one of the rare times that we all come together in one place, agreeing that we’re going to focus on this one event without distractions. It’s a symbiotic relationship that to me is very gratifying. I love being on stage, and I love being in the audience. I have subscriptions to just about every theater in L.A. It feeds me artistically, spiritually, and emotionally.

(Ensemble’s production of The City of Conversation begins previews on Thursday, February 8, opens on Saturday, February 10, and runs through Sunday, February 25, at The New Vic, 33 W. Victoria Street.)

Classical Corner The St. Olaf Choir, the 105-yearold ensemble based at the Norwegian 8 – 15 February 2018

college in Minnesota and currently conducted by Dr. Anton Armstrong, returns to town for a performance at First Presbyterian Church at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 8. As an adjunct of its mission to provide music of the highest quality to lift people’s hearts and spirits, St. Olaf – the pioneering a cappella choir that features 75 mixed voices – is offering free tickets for evacuees and donating half of the net proceeds to Unity Shoppe’s Disaster Resource program. Tickets are $40 general, $10 students. Call (800) 363-5487 or visit www.stolaf.edu.

The Marriage of Figaro If there’s a conflict between town and gown regarding UCSB, it sure doesn’t extend to the area of opera. The city’s professional company, Opera Santa Barbara (OSB), has employed two faculty members – superstar soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and tenor Ben Brecher – more than once in recent years, and now they’re returning the favor as OSB’s general and artistic director Kostis Protopapas is heading to campus to conduct the collegiate production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Voice professors Bayrakdarian (who has performed the classic opera on many of the world’s greatest stages) and Brecher will serve as stage director and music director, respectively, while the cast features many of the UCSB program’s top graduate students including Tyler Reece as Count Almaviva, Julie Davies as Countess Almaviva, Naomi Merer as Susanna, Byron Mayes as Figaro, and Kelly Newberry as Cherubino.

Performances take place 7:30 pm on Thursday and Saturday, February 8 & 10, at Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall. Tickets cost $10 to $20. Call 8932064 or visit www.as.ucsb.edu. OSB, by the way, presents Figaro’s prequel, The Barber of Seville, with Protopapas conducting, at the Granada in early March.

Woodwinds, Strings, and Piano Next up in the Santa Barbara Music Club free Saturday afternoon series are a bevy of musicians playing works for woodwinds, strings, and piano by Samuel Barber, Paul Valjean, Ellen Taffe Zwilich, Ian Clarke, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Albert Franz Doppler. Highlights of the program include Sonos5winds, a local woodwind quintet composed of flutist Andrea DiMaggio, clarinetist Joanne Kim, oboist Trey Farrell, bassoonist Andy Radford, and horn player John Mason, who offer Barber’s Summer Music, Op. 31 (1956) and Valjean’s Dance Suite for Woodwind Quintet (1955). Also of note: Zwilich’s Fantasy for Solo Violin (2014), which was commissioned by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and will be played by Nicole McKenzie. Show time is 3 pm at Faulkner Gallery.

8 – 15 February 2018

Emerging Artists The Calidore String Quartet won the $100,000 Grand-Prize of the inaugural M-Prize International Chamber Music Competition in 2016, claiming the largest prize ever for chamber music in the world. Last year, the Los Angeles-born quartet received the Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award, concurrent with their threeyear residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Now, they’re coming to Montecito.

Hailed as “remarkable for the precision of their expression, their understated but relentless intensity” by the Los Angeles Times and heralded

by Gramophone as “the epitome of confidence and finesse,” the Calidore

make their Santa Barbara debut Sunday afternoon at 3 at Hahn Hall.

The program includes Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, op. 44, no. 1; Janácek’s String Quartet No. 1 (“Kreutzer Sonata”); and Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 9 in C Major, op.

59, no. 3. Tickets are $35. Call 8933535 or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.

UCSB.edu.

CAMA The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment has spent the last three decades reinventing the classical orchestra, choosing to work with several principal artists as opposed to just one conductor/music director, while also performing repertoire

from a variety of eras on period-specific instruments. The London-based ensemble known for its excellence, diversity, and exploration now has three knights among its five principal members, including Sir Simon Rattle.

Their CAMA concert on Tuesday evening at the Granada features Michael Gurevich as concertmaster/director, with violinist Nicola Benedetti serving as co-director and soloist for Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.61, which will follow his Symphony No.4 in B-flat Major, Op.60. Who else would play a composer ’s consecutively composed works in order? Tickets cost $39 to $119. Call 899-2222 or visit www. granadasb.org •MJ

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45

CITY OF SANTA BARBARA NOTICE TO BIDDERS

CITY OF SANTA BARBARA NOTICE INVITING BIDS BID NO. 3901 1.

Bid Acceptance. The City of Santa Barbara (“City”) will accept sealed bids for its HITCHCOCK WAY INTERCEPTOR PROJECT (“Project”), by or before Wednesday March 7, 2018, at 3:00 p.m., at its Purchasing Office, located at 310 E. Ortega Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, at which time and place the bids will be publicly opened and read aloud. Each bidder is responsible for making certain that its Bid Proposal is actually delivered to the Purchasing Office. The receiving time at the Purchasing Office will be the governing time for acceptability of bids. Telegraphic, telephonic, electronic, and facsimile bids will not be accepted.

2.

Mandatory Bidders’ Conference. A bidders’ conference will be held on Tuesday February 20, 2018 at 9:00 a.m., at the following location: David Gebhard Public Meeting Room 630 Garden Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 for the purpose of acquainting all prospective bidders with the Contract Documents and the Worksite. The bidders’ conference is mandatory. A bidder who fails to attend a mandatory bidders’ conference will be disqualified from bidding.

3.

Project Information.

3.1 Location and Description. The Project is located at State Street and Hitchcock Way in Santa Barbara, CA, and is described as follows: The furnishing and installing of 327 LF of 12-inch PVC SDR 35 sewer pipe from an existing 12-inch PVC sewer stub to and existing manhole southerly in Hitchcock Way and new 60” polymer concrete sewer manhole with internal drop.

Work will also be performed at the existing manhole located at the intersection of State Street and Hitchcock Way including reforming the base and channel and lining the manhole.

3.2 Time for Completion. The planned timeframe for commencement and completion of construction of the Project is: 40 WORKING DAYS to complete MILESTONE #1 defined as Bid Schedule ‘A’, Items 1-11. Upon completion of MILESTONE #1, 30 Calendar Days shall commence for concrete curing. Upon completion of the 30 Calendar Day cure period; the Contract allows 5 WORK DAYS to complete MILESTONE #2 defined as Bid Schedule “A”, Item 12 the manhole coating with Warren Environmental epoxy per specifications.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that bids will be received and posted electronically on PlanetBids for: BID NO. 5610 DUE DATE & TIME: February 27, 2018 UNTIL 3:00 P.M. Stearns Wharf Guardrail Project A MANDATORY pre-bid meeting will be held on February 20, 2018 at 10:30 a.m., at Stearns Wharf, located at 219F Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara, CA to discuss the specifications and field conditions. Please be punctual since late arrivals may be excluded from submitting a bid.

Scope of work includes installation of 145 linear feet of new wooden guardrail and installation of 610 linear feet of new cable guardrail on Stearns Wharf.

The City of Santa Barbara is now conducting bid and proposal solicitations online through the PlanetBids System™. Vendors can register for the commodities that they are interested in bidding on using NIGP commodity codes at http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/business/bids/purchasing.asp.

3.3

Engineer’s Estimate. The Engineer’s estimate for construction of this Project is:

$173,000 4.

License and Registration Requirements.

4.1

License. This Project requires a valid California contractor’s license for the following classification(s): A.

4.2 DIR Registration. City will not accept a Bid Proposal from or enter into the Contract with a bidder, without proof that the bidder and its Subcontractors are registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) to perform public work under Labor Code section 1725.5, subject to limited legal exceptions.

5.

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: SantaBarbaraCA.gov/ebidboard. A printed copy of the Contract Documents may be obtained from CyberCopy Shop, located at 504 N. Milpas Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93103, at (805) 884-6155.

6.

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’s issuance of the notice of award of the Contract, the bidder will execute the Contract and submit the payment and performance bonds, insurance certificates and endorsements, and all other documentation required by the Contract Documents.

7.

Prevailing Wage Requirements.

7.1 General. 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.

7.2 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 onehalf.

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

8.

Performance and Payment Bonds. The successful bidder will be required to provide performance and payment bond for 100% of the Contract Price regardless of contract dollar amount.

9.

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

10.

Subcontractor List. Each bidder must submit, with its Bid Proposal, the name, location of the place of business, California contractor license number, DIR registration 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, using the Subcontractor List form included with the Contract Documents.

11.

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

By: Bill Hornung, General Services Manager

Date:

Publication Dates: 1) January 31, 2018 2) February 7, 2018

END OF NOTICE INVITING BIDS

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: The Montecito Candle Company, 446 Old Coast HWY, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Christa Lococo, 446 Old Coast HWY, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa

46 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Barbara County on January 29, 2018. 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)

by Margarita Silva. FBN No. 2018-0000320.

Published

February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2018.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Mission Villa, 321 W Mission St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Dana Newquist, 605 Juan Crespi LN, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

This statement was filed with

• The Voice of the Village •

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

Bids must be submitted on forms supplied by the City of Santa Barbara and in accordance with the specifications, terms and conditions contained therein. Bid packages containing all forms, specifications, terms and conditions may be obtained electronically via PlanetBids.

Bidders are hereby notified that pursuant to provisions of Section 1770, et seq., of the Labor Code of the State of California, the Contractor shall pay its employees the general prevailing rate of wages as determined by the Director of Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). In addition, the Contractor shall be responsible for compliance with the requirements of Section 1777.5 of the California Labor Code relating to apprentice public works contracts. Contractors and Subcontractors must be registered with the DIR pursuant to Labor Code 1725.5. This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the DIR. The City of Santa Barbara requires all contractors to possess either a current valid State of California A-General Engineering “or” B-General Building Contractors License. The company bidding on this must possess one of the above mentioned licenses at the time bids are due and be otherwise deemed qualified to perform the work specified herein. Bids submitted using the license name and number of a subcontractor or other person who is not a principle partner or owner of the company making this bid, will be rejected as being non-responsive.

Bidders are hereby notified that a Payment Bond in the amount of 100% of the bid total for the first/initial year will be required from the successful bidder for bids exceeding $25,000. The bond must be provided with ten (10) calendar days from notice of award and prior to the performance of any work. The bond must be signed by the bidder and a corporate surety, who is authorized to issue bonds in the State of California.

Bidders are hereby notified that a separate Performance Bond in the amount of 100% of the bid total for the first/initial year will be required from the successful bidder for bids exceeding $25,000. The bond must be provided with ten (10) calendar days from notice of award and prior to the performance of any work. The bond must be signed by the bidder and a corporate surety, who is authorized to issue bonds in the State of California.

Bidders are hereby notified that they shall furnish a Bid Guaranty Bond in the form of a money order or a cashier’s certified check, payable to the order of the City, in the amount of 10% of the bid, or by a bond in said amount and payable to said City, signed by the bidder and a corporate surety, who is authorized to issue bonds in the State of California. When submitting a bid via PlanetBids™, the Bid Guaranty Bond must be uploaded as part of your submittal AND the original Bid Guaranty Bond must be received by the bid date and time to be considered responsive.

The City of Santa Barbara affirmatively assures that minority and disadvantaged business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of age (over 40), ancestry, color, mental or physical disability, sex, gender identity and expression, marital status, medical condition (cancer or genetic characteristics), national origin, race, religious belief, or sexual orientation in consideration of award. _________________________________ William Hornung, C.P.M. Published: February 7, 2018 General Services Manager Montecito Journal

8 – 15 February 2018

ORDINANCE NO. 5825

ORDINANCE NO. 5826

AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 5823, THE 2017-2019 MANAGEMENT SALARY PLAN, WITH REGARD TO THE BUDGET MANAGER POSITION.

AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA AMENDING CHAPTER 10.60 OF THE SANTA BARBARA MUNICIPAL CODE BY REVISING SECTION 10.60.015 AND ESTABLISHING A PRIMA FACIE SPEED LIMIT ON CLIFF DRIVE BETWEEN LAS POSITAS ROAD AND THE WESTERLY CITY LIMITS

The above captioned ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council held on January

The above captioned ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council held on January

30, 2018.

The publication of this ordinance is made pursuant to the provisions of Section 512 of the Santa Barbara City Charter as amended, and the original ordinance in its entirety may be obtained at the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, Santa Barbara,

30, 2018.

The publication of this ordinance is made pursuant to the provisions of Section 512 of the Santa Barbara City Charter as amended, and the original ordinance in its entirety may be obtained at the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, Santa Barbara,

California.

California.

(Seal) (Seal)

/s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager

/s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager

ORDINANCE NO. 5825

ORDINANCE NO. 5826

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

) ) COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss. ) CITY OF SANTA BARBARA )

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

) ) COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss. ) CITY OF SANTA BARBARA )

I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance

was introduced January 23, 2018, and was adopted by the

was introduced January 23, 2018, and was adopted by the

Council of the City of Santa Barbara at a meeting held on January 30, 2018, by the following roll call vote: AYES:

Councilmembers Jason Dominguez, Eric Friedman, Gregg Hart, Randy Rowse, Kristen W. Sneddon; Mayor Cathy Murillo

NOES:

None

ABSENT:

None

ABSTENTIONS:

None

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto set my

Council of the City of Santa Barbara at a meeting held on January 30, 2018, by the following roll call vote: AYES:

Councilmembers Jason Dominguez, Eric Friedman, Gregg Hart, Randy Rowse, Kristen W. Sneddon; Mayor Cathy Murillo

NOES:

None

ABSENT:

None

ABSTENTIONS:

None

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto set my

hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Santa Barbara

hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Santa Barbara

on January 31, 2018.

on January 31, 2018.

/s/ Sarah P. Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager

/s/ Sarah P. Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager I HEREBY APPROVE the foregoing ordinance on

January 31, 2018.

January 31, 2018.

/s/ Cathy Murillo Mayor

the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on February 2, 2018.

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

/s/ Cathy Murillo Mayor Published February 7, 2018 Montecito Journal

Published February 7, 2018 Montecito Journal

8 – 15 February 2018

I HEREBY APPROVE the foregoing ordinance on

E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by Christine Potter. FBN No. 2018-0000397.

Published February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2018.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s)

is/are doing business as: Merry Maids of Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, 3130 Skyway Dr. Unit 404, Santa Maria, CA 93455. K W Holding, 416 S Elm St Unit B, Arroyo Grande, CA 93420. This statement was filed with the

County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 30, 2018. 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

I love fruits, except for the ones that take a ridiculous amount of time to eat

E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by Deborah Sanchez. FBN No. 2018-0000330.

Published February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2018.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Candlehill Consulting, 125 East Victoria Street, Suite G, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Trevor Nelson Kasmar, 1721A Laguna Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 24, 2018. 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) by Melissa Mercer. FBN No. 20180000278. Published January 31, February 7, 14, 21, 2018.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Presidio Properties, 2101 Village Lane, Solvang, CA 93463. Kristiann Eleanor Wightman, 2101 Village Lane, Solvang, CA 93463.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 18, 2018.

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) by Christine Potter. FBN No. 2018-

0000198. Published January 24, 31, February 7, 14, 2018.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Tech Doctors, 511 E. Gutierrez Street, STE A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.

Paul Vertsekha, 38 La Calera Way, Goleta, CA 93117.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 16, 2018. 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) by Margarita Silva. FBN No. 20180000163. Published January 24, 31, February 7, 14, 2018.

F I C T I T I O U S B U S I N E S S NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Golden State Taekwondo, 422 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc, CA 93436.

Loyal Gesture, INC, 422 W. Ocean Ave., Lompoc, CA 93436.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 11, 2018. 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) by Connie Tran. FBN No. 20180000132. Published January 17, 24, 31, February 7, 2018.

MONTECITO JOURNAL

47

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 34) Road; the event in Saturday, February 10, from noon to 4 pm.

The following day, on Sunday February 11, a fundraiser will be held at Oreana Winery in the Funk Zone, to benefit people and pets affected by the mudslide. Hosted by Advanced Veterinary Specialists (AVS), the benefit will give attendees to the opportunity to taste Oreana’s wines, enjoy live music, and visit with some of the Search and Rescue dogs that have been so hard at work the past few weeks. Funds will be raised by community donations, a local raffle, and Oreana, and additionally, AVS will match funds raised in a donation of their own to further support recovery efforts. Funds will be used to aid the people and animals affected by the recent fires and mudslides in Santa Barbara and Montecito through the Ellen DeGeneres Montecito Disaster Fund.

“We have all been directly or indirectly affected by the events of the past few months; we knew we needed to do as much as we could to help. By combining a fundraiser with a community-based event, we hope to provide everyone with an opportunity to come together, heal, and raise much-needed funds,” said AVS owner Dr. Andrea Wells.

The fundraiser will take place Sunday, February 11, from noon to 4 pm, at Oreana Winery, 205 Anacapa Street. This event is open to the public and pets are welcome (and encouraged). For more information, or if you own a business that would like to support the event, please contact Jayme Mechur, jayme@junctionmktg.com.

Land Use Committee Meets At this month’s Montecito Association Lane Use Committee meeting, the Committee was given a briefing on the rebuilding of Montecito from Matt Pontes, the County’s director of recovery, as well as representatives from the Planning & Development department. “We are considering this ‘Phase Two’ of the disaster, trying to navigate the rebuilding process,” said Cori Hayman, Land Use Committee chair.

Planning & Development reps presented a power point outlining the pathway that residents will need to follow when rebuilding their properties. P&D is assembling a team of planners to act as liaisons between the community and the County, using lessons learn from the rebuilds after the Painted Cave, Tea, and Jesusita fires. There are 350 properties that are in the process of being assigned to a planner, who will each have a case load between seven and 50 properties, dependent on the scope of damage.

The County has been working on 8 – 15 February 2018

building an interactive map which integrates permit history with specific properties, as well as showing the status of those properties: red-tagged, yellow-tagged, or green-tagged. Redtagged properties are unsafe to occupy due to foundation or stabilization issues, or significant mud intrusion; yellow-tagged properties are allowed limited entry, due to moderate mud or water intrusion into crawlspaces, or isolated damage to structures; green-tagged properties are habitable, with cosmetic damage only to the exterior of the home or property.

Since the disaster, 44 properties have been upgraded from yellow tag to green, with the removal of mud and debris.

Pontes said the County is working hard to determine which properties will not be allowed to be rebuilt on, or whether they should be required to have a greater setback from creeks.

Those determinations are in conjunction with plans for creek bed and bridge repairs, which are being looked at by myriad County staff and stakeholders, and the Army Corp of Engineers. “We have a massive amount of work to do on the ground,” Pontes said.

For those homeowners planning to rebuild, it was announced that “like for like” rebuilds, with the same design, scale, size, and footprint, will not require a planning permit or review from MBAR. When the rebuild is not “like for like,” MBAR review and Land Use Permits and Coastal Development permits will be required. P&D staff is endeavoring to issue those permits in a two-week time period for the replacement of both primary residences and accessory structures.

Also not requiring a permit: the removal of mud and debris; structure removal will be issued an over-thecounter demolition permit. Over-thecounter permits will also be given for replacement for finish materials, electrical, mechanical, or plumbing.

Later this week, the County is rolling out new evacuation maps, based on our new topography and creek channels, and is releasing more information on where accumulated mud and debris can be dumped. (We’ll have that information in next week’s edition.)

The meeting was attended by three members of the board of supervisors: Das Williams, Joan Hartman, and Steve Lavagnino, who said they were trying to find room in the County’s budget to accommodate the recovery efforts.

“This is not just a First District issue,” Supervisor Lavagnino told the audience. “This is as much our problem as yours, and we are owning it.

We are going to do this, one County, together.”

MFPD’s Newest Addition

to use to decorate her “heart.” Sixty other hearts are also up for auction.

“We are very thrilled with having so many hearts for auction,” Morrow said.

The live auction, emceed by Gail Rappaport, features travel, adventure, and luxury packages. All proceeds from the event support Friendship Center’s HEART (Help Elders At Risk Today) Program, subsidizing the cost of adult day services for low-income aging and dependent adults and their families. Tickets are $125 per person, available at www.friendshipcentersb. org.

The event is from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm at 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd.

Sheriff’s Blotter

The newest member of the MFPD family: Luca Gil Nahas, born January 28

While Montecito residents and businesses continue to rebuild following the mudflow event of January 9, the Montecito Fire District, which is credited with saving many lives during the storm event, recently welcomed the newest member of their team.

Luca Gil Nahas – the son of Araceli Gil, District accountant for MFPD, and her husband, Rich Nahas – was born January 28 at 9:54 pm. “We are so excited to welcome a new baby to our close-knit fire family,” said Operations chief Kevin Taylor. Gil, who has been with the District nearly four years, is credited with saving the District hundreds of thousands of dollars annually and implementing new financial plans and programs. She was the 2016 Employee of the Year.

Queen of Hearts Saturday, February 10, marks the Friendship Center’s 19th Annual Festival of Hearts at the Fess Parker.

The festive Valentine luncheon is a popular fundraising event for the adult daycare center, located on Eucalyptus Road in Montecito.

This year’s theme is the Queen of Hearts’ Tea Party, and attendees will enjoy lunch, local wines, musical entertainment provided by Montecito Jazz Project (led by Tom Towle), and a silent and live auction. As always, the silent auction includes beautiful handmade hearts donated from local artists, six of whom are from Montecito. One artist, Ginny Speirs, was unable to reach her studio following the mudslide and told organizers she wouldn’t be able to submit a piece this year. Sharon Morrow, the event’s “heart wrangler,” offered her own studio space and supplies for Speirs

For someone who enjoys novels, I skip over a lot of tweets because they appear too long to read

(Information provided by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department) Thursday, 1 February, 9 pm -– A homeowner in the 200 block of Gould Lane in Montecito heard strange noises coming from a child’s bedroom inside his residence. The homeowner/ victim, a father of two young children, went to search for the source of the noise. Upon entering a hallway between bedrooms, he immediately saw a male suspect dressed in dark clothing. The suspect was standing by the doorway of a room where his young daughter generally naps during the day. The victim shouted at the suspect, who turned and fled back in the bedroom. The suspect jumped out of a window that he had previously broken to force entry to the residence. The suspect was last seen fleeing down an embankment to a wooded area.

Several Sheriff’s deputies that have been providing increased patrols of the Montecito area responded and began to search for the suspect. Within minutes of the initial 911 call, Sheriff’s deputies located a subject matching the description of the suspect fleeing in a vehicle from the immediate area. An enforcement stop was conducted, and 25-year-old Frank James Showell of Lancaster was detained.

Sheriff’s deputies located a second suspect, 29-year-old Donyae Dixon of Los Angeles, hiding in the bushes alongside the roadway. Meanwhile, a Sheriff’s K-9 team tracked the scent from the window of the residence to the patrol car where Dixon was being detained. Both suspects were booked at the Santa Barbara County Jail on burglary and conspiracy charges.

Showell was also charged with false personation. Both were being held on $50,000 bail.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind everyone affected by the recent disasters to keep a watchful eye on their neighborhoods and immediately report all suspicious activity to law enforcement.

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

49

C ALENDAR 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)

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Cumbia Coming – Nicaragua’s first artists ever to be nominated for a Grammy, La Cuneta Son Machín has created a unique style based on popular Nicaraguan folkórico infused with rock, marimba, cumbia, and ska. Comprising a group of friends and cousins – including two sons of the most famous modern Nicaraguan folklorico singer, Carlos Mejía Godoy, whose music served as an unofficial soundtrack to the Sandinistas in the 1970s – the ensemble came together in 2009 when the musicians were inspired to join Managua’s annual Santo Domingo Festival parade as it passed by in the street, leading to what translates roughly (and phonetically) to “The sidewalk sound machine.” Dubbed

by L.A. Weekly as “marimba-soaked hyper-cumbia,” La Cuneta Son Machín is rising above the trend toward DJs rather than live music back home in Nicaragua by incorporating modern rhythms into their sound with lyrics that tell the stories of life in their land. The group features Augusto Mejía and his brother, marimba player Carlos Mejia, their cousin Carlos “Frijol” Guillén as lead vocalist, plus keyboardist César Rodriguez, percussionist Fabio Buitrago, and guitarist Omar Suazo, who are all accomplished artists in jazz, rock, and metal.

The ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara!

Performances – save for a special added appearance at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art from 2 to 3 pm on Sunday – are all followed by receptions with the artists. WHEN: 7 pm today-Sunday WHERE: Isla Vista School,

6875 El Colegio Road (Friday); Guadalupe City Hall, 918 Obispo Street, Guadalupe (Saturday); Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High, 721 East Cota St. (Sunday) COST: free INFO: 884-4087, ext. 7 or www.facebook.com/VivaelArteSB SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10 Colors of Love – Danceformational Productions’s fourth annual Valentine Dance Show continues to expand upon the creative expression and accomplishments of the original back in 2015. Professional dancers and singers share the stage for sensual evening of movement and song, blending their talents into powerful expressions of love and the human experience. As in previous years, the styles of dance include Latin, Salsa, Belly Dance, Burlesque, Samba, Argentine Tango, and even aerial. This year’s featured singers are Meghan Monroe, who will perform jazz and love songs in a style similar to Barbara Streisand, and Eduardo Villa, the operatic tenor who will offer “Nessun Dorma”, the famous aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini’s Turandot. Expect to experience mystery, vivacious energy, tender sensuality, exquisite beauty, infectious passion, and, perhaps, a new sense of aliveness. This year’s net proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Arts Without Limits (AWoL) and the recovery efforts from the Montecito Mudslide. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo, upstairs in the mall COST: $35 in advance, $40 at the door INFO: 963-0408 or www.Center StageTheater.org

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 A New One from Birbigs – Like Spaulding Gray before him, standup comedian Mike Birbiglia has found much more success offering his autobiographical monologues and other first-person stories. The mastermind behind My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, Thank God for Jokes, and the bestselling book Sleepwalk with Me – the latter of which was turned into a film that won the 2012 Audience Award at Sundance – is back with the generically named The New One. Offering the same sort of combination of heart, humor and hilarity – turning his confusion into amusing tales, Birbiglia now spins a 70-minute story embedded with jokes about the transition from being “anti-kid” to actually having one. Along the way, the actor who has appeared on TV shows Orange is the New Black, Inside Amy Schumer, and Girls, plus the films Trainwreck and The Fault in Our Stars, also tells the story of his coach, which also just might have something to do with the main subject. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $30 to $42 INFO: 899-2222/www.granadasb.org or 8933535/www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

50 MONTECITO JOURNAL

EVENTS

by Steven Libowitz

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Crooning at the Chumash – For more than half a century, Engelbert Humperdinck has been crooning his way into the hearts of adoring fans worldwide, who have bought more than 150 million of his records, helping the singer to compile 64 gold and 24 platinum records, plus four Grammy Award nominations, a Golden Globe Award for “Entertainer of the Year” in 1988, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Just last year, Humperdinck’s original label, Decca Records, celebrated his 50th anniversary in show business by releasing a comprehensive “Greatest Hits” package, which promptly became a Top 5 Chart record in his home country of England. His latest album, The Man I Want to Be, is a love letter to his wife of 53 years who is battling Alzheimer’s disease. Released last November, it includes the tracks “I Followed My Heart”, “I’m Glad I Danced With You”, and the title track, plus covers of Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” and Bruno Mars’s “Just the Way You Are”. It’s both this desire to keep up with modern music and his history with such hits as “Release Me”, “After The Lovin”, “The Last Waltz”, “The Way It Used to Be”, “A Man Without Love”, and “Quando, Quando, Quando”, that have made him join an elite group of veterans including Tony Bennett and Burt Bacharach who have crossed over to strike a new chord with the younger generation. Hear half a century of his voice at the Chumash Resort tonight. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 East Hwy. 246, Santa Ynez COST: $45 to $65 INFO: (800) CHUMASH (248-6274) or www.chumashcasino.com

Valentunes – The college a cappella singing movement has already spawned three successful Pitch Perfect movies, so it’s no surprise that UCSB – which got into singing sans instruments long before the films arrived – has several groups simultaneously operating on campus. This special holiday show features performances

by BFOM, InterVals A Cappella, Naked Voices, and VocalMotion – each with its own special makeup (gender, et cetera) or focus. Members of UCSB’s premier improv group, Improvability, host the show, so maybe we’re in for the kind of zingy one-liners provided by the hilarious commentators in the Pitch Perfect movies, though probably not nearly as nasty.

And perhaps also expect a little more romantic emphasis in the repertoire, as the showcase is billed as the perfect way to get in the spirit for Valentine’s Day. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Marjorie Luke Theatre, Santa Barbara Junior High, 721 East Cota St. COST: $20 reserved seating, $10 students and seniors INFO: 963-0761 or www. lobero.org SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Colour Our World – Next year marks the 50th anniversary of Chicago Transit Authority, the self-titled debut album after which they immediately shortened their name to just encompass the city where the “rock ‘n’ roll band with horns” formed.

Thirty-five albums (many of which

• The Voice of the Village •

were named simply with numerals á la the Super Bowl and 23 of which went gold or better) later, the group in still going strong, albeit with some significant personnel changes along the way – though original members Robert Lamm (keyboards, vocals), Lee Loughnane (trumpet), James Pankow (trombone), and Walter Parazaider (saxophones, flute) are still going strong. Their 2018 show features a live rendition of their 1970 album Chicago II in its entirety as the first set of the concert, the full double-album including the hits “25 Or 6 To 4”, “Make Me Smile”, “Wake Up Sunshine”, and “Colour My World,” the number 1 song for weddings and proms for more than 40 years. After intermission, the band returns for “the world’s longest encore,” another full set filled with almost all of their other greatest hits, in total a concert that, we’re told, will be Chicago’s longest show ever. It’s been a big couple of years for the group as Chicago was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, while Pankow and fellow founding members Peter Cetera and Lamm were elected to the Songwriters Hall of Fame just last year.

Tonight’s Santa Barbara date comes in the midst of Chicago’s first Las Vegas residency, consisting of nine shows at The Venetian from February 7-24.

WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. COST: $60.50 to $136 INFO: 963-4408/ www.thearlingtontheatre.com or www. axs.com 8 – 15 February 2018

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12 Digital Desires – A former child prodigy, Cameron Carpenter has two degrees from The Juilliard School, won the 2012 Leonard Bernstein Award, has appeared with many of the great orchestras around the world, and is the first solo organist ever nominated for a Grammy Award for a solo album. He is also the first concert organist in history to prefer the digital organ to the pipe organ and to champion it as the future of the instrument. So much so, that he created International Touring Organ – a monumental cross-genre digital organ built by Marshall & Ogletree to his own design – which employs sampled sounds from many traditional pipe organs, including many of Carpenter’s favorite instruments, from the cathedral to the Wurlitzer. The instrument is helping to redefine the digital organ as an instrument of artistic significance, one that allows the organist to have the same consistency of instrument of, say, a touring violinist performing with a Strad. The entire organ assembles in fewer than three hours and travels in a single large truck with a sound system that is a massive complex of specially sourced sound support and amplification equipment. Carpenter also has the flamboyant persona to match his technical prowess, connecting with audiences and having a ball smashing the stereotypes of organists and organ music.

His repertoire ranges from the complete works of Bach to film scores, his original compositions, and hundreds of transcriptions and arrangements – the largest and most diverse of any organist in history. His 2016 Santa Barbara debut transfixed and entertained the audience; expect a larger crowd for his return engagement tonight at the Granada. (Note: Carpenter will also participate in a Meet-the-Artist conversation on Tuesday, February 13, at 2 pm, at UCSB Elings Hall, Room 1605. Free. Visit www.Thematic-Learning.org for details.) WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: 1214 State Street COST: $35 to $45; students $19 INFO: 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 Valentine’s for Singles – Anyone who isn’t ensconced in a romantic relationship can find the Hallmark-infused holiday particularly stressful. So, if you don’t have a honey to take out to an expensive dinner (not to mention the flowers and candy), a couple of local establishments offer other options. Valentine’s & Boxes, from Santa Barbara Matchmaking, takes over the new Laplace Wine Bar & Shop and aims to help attendees make a new friend or perhaps meet a new Valentine of your own.

Featuring mingling on the outdoor patio, complimentary light bites, and one com-

U P C O M I N G

P E R F O R M A N C E S UCSB ARTS & LECTURES

MIKE BIRBIGLIA FRI FEB 9 8PM UCSB ARTS & LECTURES

CAMERON CARPENTER MON FEB 12 7PM CAMA

ORCHESTRA OF THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT

plimentary beverage for each guest plus optional tarot card readings, the event also serves through its raffle as a fundraiser for ShelterBox, an international disaster relief charity helping those affected by natural and man-made disasters. (8:30 to 9 pm; 205 Santa Barbara Street; $30 to $35; www.facebook. com/events/401873590260352)....

For something more direct, Good Bar at the Goodland Hotel’s Swipe Right party is a more cheeky celebration that features DJ Darla Bea spinning tunes, a special Valentine-themed cocktail, and dancing from 8 pm to midnight.

(5650 Calle Real; free; www.Out postSB.com).

•MJ

TUE FEB 13 8PM SANTA BARBARA SYMPHONY

BERNSTEIN & AMERICANA SAT FEB 17 8PM SUN FEB 18 3PM MOVIES THAT MATTER WITH HAL CONKLIN

HIDDEN FIGURES MON FEB 19 7PM

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13 Garnering from Google – Former Google data scientist and New York Times writer Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has used data from the Internet – particularly Google searches – to get new insights into the human psyche. The Harvardtrained economist has employed info gleaned from searches to measure tendencies and statistics on such hot-button issues as racism, self-induced abortion, depression, child abuse, hateful mobs, the science of humor, sexual preference, anxiety, gender preference and sexual insecurity, among many other topics. His bestselling 2017 book, Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who You Really Are, offers unprecedented peek into people’s psyches, shattering preconceptions about how we behave via evidence compiled through the data. The research reveals that much of what we thought about people is wildly inaccurate because, basically, people lie – to friends, lovers, doctors, surveys, and even themselves. By analyzing the traces of information that people leave on Google, social media, dating, and even pornography sites, Stephens-Davidowitz was able to discover what people truly think, what they really want and what they actually do. The former visiting lecturer at the Wharton School who has a bachelor of arts in philosophy from Stanford shares some of that shocking information in a talk tonight at UCSB. Stephens-Davidowitz will also participate in a Q&A titled “All the World’s a Lab: Analyzing Data to Discover What Customers Want” at 3 pm at the Carrillo Recreation Center ballroom downtown. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: UCSB’s Campbell Hall COST: free INFO: 893-3535 or www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

8 – 15 February 2018

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I can’t understand why there are so many Waffle Houses

MONTECITO JOURNAL

51

Real Estate

by Mark Ashton Hunt Mark and his wife, Sheela Hunt, are real estate agents. His family goes back nearly 100 years in the Santa Barbara area. Mark’s grandparents – Bill and Elsie Hunt – were Santa Barbara real estate brokers for 25 years.

A Montecito 2017 Review

to pack on the “lifestyle” components and amenities. Guesthouse, pool, views, tennis court, et cetera.

Eight sales between $7,000,000 to $10,000,000; these properties ranged from a significant ocean-view contemporary estate to a historic equestrian compound.

Only two sales more than $10,000,000 (well below recent year’s sales activity in this price range).

All homes mentioned are in the Montecito Union School District, the area hit hardest by the recent flooding:

I

t was difficult to approach writing a year-in-review article, when faced with the recent calamitous episodes in Montecito. Then the hills I hiked every week came down onto our fair town the morning of January 9, many of us lost – or know someone who lost –family, friends, co-workers, even their homes and property. My heart goes out to everyone who felt the wrath of the Thomas Fire or the more consequent mud storm.

My family and I live just west of the San Ysidro Ranch and heeded the mandatory evacuation warning, mother-in-law, cats, and all, on January 8. I knew it might be bad, but never could imagine what happened. We are lucky, our house is fine, and there was little or no flooding in the area. This was somewhat astonishing, considering our proximity to the hills above and the roadside seasonal creeks that I thought might be hit harder than they were.

Drought, fire, rain, flood.

I felt it coming over the years as the ground became brittle and broken under my feet as I hiked. More tarantulas, more rattlesnake sightings than ever before, fewer deer sightings, shoes slipping on sandstone that had become, over time, more sand than stone. Hills so dry they cracked in summer, like a desert landscape, from years of drought.

Then the fires came to the eastern part of Montecito, which were the only hills left unburned in recent history, burning everything in their path. Montecito was mostly spared destruction from the Thomas Fire, though 10 homes, mostly in close proximity to the urban/wildland interface, were lost, with the help of favorable winds and the efforts of thousands of firefighters.

The fires went out (leaving heavily debris-stained hills and a small number of lovely homes in ruin), and we returned to our own homes for a week or two of cleaning up ash, celebrating the holidays, and New Year, and we were safe… or so we thought. Until the first rain storm following the fire came, bringing nature’s elements together to disastrous ends.

Here, then, is a look back on 2017 sales: 199 or thereabout residential properties changed hands within the Multiple Listing Services, in the 93108 ZIP code.

This includes outlying areas toward Toro Canyon to the east and some properties closer to the Santa Barbara boundaries to the west. Not all sales were within the Montecito Union or Cold Spring School districts, but all homes included were within the 93108 ZIP code.

The Breakdown: Eight sales less than $1,000,000; these are mostly condos and townhomes.

53 sales between $1,000,000 and $1,999,999; this category includes condos, townhomes, smaller single-family homes, and fixers.

50 changed hands between $2,000,000 and $2,999,999; here we find fixer homes on larger lots, smaller “done” homes, and high-end condos.

53 found new owners between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000; in this price range, owners found substantial properties, some with pools, views, amenities, even a Miramar beachfront home.

25 sales were in the $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 range; this price point really starts

1046 Fairway Road: $885,000 This is a condo that offered 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms near famed Butterfly Beach. The complex is next door to the Music Academy and Mr. Ty Warner’s estate, and includes a swimming pool, spa, and a terrific location on the edge of Montecito heading toward East Beach.

2332 Bella Vista Drive: $3,850,000 This home is all about the ocean views and private setting just one home up, above Bella Vista Drive. This area is just a few blocks above the more densely populated neighborhoods (1 acre +/-) on Lilac and Romero Canyon.

However, this property offers 2.4+ acres with a gated private drive, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms on a single level with sprawling lawns, and a significant view and pool area.

926 Buena Vista Drive: $7,200,000 This sale represents one of the rarely available, large-scale contemporary designed Montecito estates.

Top-of-the-street location on Buena Vista, just below Park Lane, adjacent to $10,000,000 estate streets such as Mariposa Lane and Knollwood Drive.

985 Hot Springs Road: $15,925,000

This is the former estate of actor Jeff Bridges, home of “The Dude,” and boasts 19+ acres with a significant estate home and estate-level amenities. This was the highest-priced sale in 2017 in Montecito.

1046 Fairway Road

52 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Feel free to contact me regarding any Real Estate needs: Mark@Villagesite.com or call/text (805) 698-2174. Please view my website, www.MontecitoBestBuys.com, from which this article is based.

•MJ • The Voice of the Village •

8 – 15 February 2018

SEEN (Continued from page 14)

one of her friends was killed when a bomb was set off in their church.

She noted that her dad always told her, “If someone doesn’t want to sit by you because of the color of your skin, that’s all right as long as they move.”

Condoleezza is currently the Denning professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business; the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson senior Fellow on public policy at the Hoover Institution; and a professor of Political science at Stanford University.

From January 2005 to 2009, Rice served as the 66th secretary of state of the United States, only the second woman and first African-American woman to hold the job. She was also president George W. Bush’s assistant to the president as National Security advisor (the first woman).

She was provost at Stanford being responsible for a $1.5 billion annual budget and the academic program involving 1,400 faculty members and 14,000 students. From 1989 to 1991, she served on president George H.S. Bush’s National Security Staff. She has served as director, senior of Soviet and East European Affairs. In her talk, she commented that she knew Russia’s Vladimir Putin, calling him Putin the Great as in Peter the Great or Alexander the Great, hinting that’s what he thinks of himself.

Rice has authored and co-authored many books such as three best sellers: Democracy: Stories from the Long Road to Freedom, No Higher Honor: A Memory of my Years in Washington, and Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family.

She believes one of our countries problems is our educational system – third graders who can’t read, for instance. She co-founded the Center for a New Generation (CNG) an inno-

Rayna Davis with sponsor Lorna Hedges at the SBMA

United States Post Office.

The museum has raised more than $32 million of the total $50 million goal. This extraordinary progress is partly due to donors, current and sustaining trustees, campaign volunteers, and senior staff members who banded together to meet the Eichholz Inspiration Challenge Match raising a total of $9 million.

Some of the museum members attending the evening festivities were Toni and Al Amortequy, Gwen and Henry Baker, Barbara Ben-Horin, Penny Haberman, Wilson Quarre and Peggy Wiley, and Carolyn and Bob Williams.

The SBMA will have free entrance for the month of February. A good place to stroll.

An Evening with Condoleezza Rice The Arlington Theatre filled with 1,300 folks who came to hear Condoleezza Rice and her opinions and expertise on global affairs, national security, and education. UCSB Arts & Lectures Miller McCune executive director Celesta M. Billeci introduced

A painted portrait from the portrait show at SBMA. Status was shown by the clothes and jewelry the person wore.

the guest speaker and informed the audience that the event sponsors were Ellen and Peter O. Johnson and Loren Booth.

Dr. Rice was born in Birmingham, Alabama, so she has witnessed firsthand the segregation and integration of the south. When she was young,

vative after-school academic enrichment program. They have since merged with the Boys and Girls Club and also expanded to local chapters in Birmingham, Atlanta, and Dallas.

Dr. Rice serves on many boards and was appointed to the NCAA’s College Football Playoff Selection Committee.

She believes the NBA handled the recent brouhaha about “not standing for the national anthem” in the right way. It wasn’t to be allowed. She said, “If you’re going to protest, you need to do it in a way that doesn’t offend people.” This race protest turned into a fuss about saluting the flag and standing for the anthem, instead of race.

Rice’s credits go on and on. She did her whole speech with no visible notes and answered all the Q&A questions in depth.

Condoleezza’s mother was a piano teacher, and she taught her daughter to read music and play before she could actually read. When Condoleezza was 10, she told her mother that she wanted to quit the piano. Her mom said, “You’re not old enough or smart enough to decide that.” Condoleezza went on to study to become a concert pianist but eventually decided she didn’t have the right stuff for that career. She did get to play with the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma at the White House, but as she noted, “It was not because I was the greatest pianist, but because I was National Security advisor.”

According to The New York Times, “Rice as secretary of state in the second Bush term emerged as the single most influential voice shaping foreign policy.”

One of the treasures of our town is UCSB’s Arts & Lecture series. Check out their winter and spring calendar at www.ArtsAndLectures,UCSB.edu or call (805) 893-3535. There’s something for everyone.

•MJ

CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY ON THE GORGEOUS CALIFORNIA COAST WITH AN EXCLUSIVE THREECOURSE MENU AT RODNEY’S GRILL. ENJOY DELICIOUS SEASONAL ENTRÉES AND RICH DESSERTS, AND TOAST TO YOUR ROMANTIC EVENING WITH A COMPLIMENTARY GLASS OF SPARKLING WINE.

8 – 15 February 2018

Nice day planner, you psychopath

TO BOOK YOUR VALENTINE’S DINNER RESERVATION, CALL OUR CONCIERGE DESK AT 8058848535.

MONTECITO JOURNAL

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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 Monday before 2 pm.

We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex • The Voice of the Village •

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