Ghost Village is Happening!

DRIVE

MONTECITO

to an inviting covered stone patio with dramatic views. The luxurious primary suite enjoys the walk-in closet of

large chef’s island with a built-in

with ocean views and a spa-like ensuite bathroom. Once outside, an enchanting garden oasis features a variety of fruit trees, flower gardens, tiered lawns, loggias and patios, pool and spa, and a pool cabana for friends and family to enjoy! The Ennisbrook gated community offers a number of amenities: two heated pools, three championship tennis courts, pickle ball, gym, private wine lockers, basketball court, BBQ facilities, 50 acres of protected open space and a clubhouse. Conveniently located near world-class beaches, resorts, and fine dining and shopping at Montecito’s coveted Upper & Lower Villages. Montecito Union School District.

a

ach Y E a r D an S p E n D S O v E r $250,000 I n M ark E t I n g a n D a Dv E rt I SI n g !

Reel

The

Local

Rock

by Gwyn Lurie

There were many COVID casualties, beyond the loss of precious life. Like cer emony. So many of us were forced to say goodbye to loved ones without the spiritual and emotional closure that comes with gathering closely with commu nity to celebrate the lives that were lost.

One such loss that hit hard here was the passing of local resident Alan Kozlowski on September 17th, 2020. Alan was a spiritual man with a huge heart which he brought to his craft whether it be photography, cinematography, or music. A renowned pho tographer, filmmaker, flamenco guitarist, and just general aficionado, Alan’s passion was most purely expressed through his many talents, which he often used in service of his devotion to Buddhism and the people and culture of Tibet.

But talent alone is not what distinguished Alan. That lay in his unique ability to bring people together in a way that inspired others to realize the promise of their own potential. Leadership can be defined in different ways. Alan’s came from the recogni tion that he was not in charge – the creative process was his master, and if one listened and paid attention, magic would follow.

Never was that more apparent than this past Saturday afternoon in the backyard of local residents Teran and Rand Rosenberg, where more than 350 community members gathered to listen to a live concert by rock legends Jackson Browne, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Steve Postell, Elliot Easton, actor/musician Jeff Bridges, and close friends and musicians Chris Pelonis, Greg Leisz, Mai Leisz, and Scott Bernard – all of whom Alan counted among his nearest and dearest friends. It was a music-fest that in many ways emulated Alan’s legendary late-night parties in his downtown loft after Lobero concerts when any one of these superstars might show up to jam all night. It was the magic of Alan that created these musical feasts. The loft he built was filled with music and love. He inspired new generations of artists with his generosity of spirit. Alan aspired to always leave a situation with more than was there before he arrived. And so, he did.

This concert was lovingly put together in honor of Kozlowski, not only to celebrate his life and all the goodness it wrought, but to raise money, fittingly, for Human Rights Watch’s work (which Alan supported), to fight Human Rights abuses in China and Tibet. The event was organized by Rand Rosenberg, Bobby Shand, Steve Postell, and myself, in cooperation with Human Rights Watch Santa Barbara Director Lis Leader and Manager Amanda Kelley, and Kozlowski life-long friends and fellow artists: Jackson Browne, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, Steve Postell, and Jeff Bridges. It was filmed by long time Kozlowski friend and the notable local filmmaker, Harry Rabin

None of this could have happened without the generous underwriting support of local organizations, individuals, and businesses: Montecito Bank & Trust, Santa Barbara City College, Deckers Outdoor Corporation, Revitalash Cosmetics, Tom Parker, as well as in-kind contributions from Babcock Winery, Tudor Wines, Ysidro Sake, and the Rosewood Miramar Hotel.

On pages 40 and 41 are some photo graphs that could only capture a piece of Alan’s beautiful soul that was clearly present at Saturday’s event thrown in his honor, when once again our dear friend left a situation with more than was there before he arrived.

Music lovers gathered in support of Alan Kozlowski and the Humans Rights Watch at the house of Teran and Rand Rosenberg

Gwyn Lurie is CEO and Executive Editor of the Montecito Journal Media Group

Village Beat

Ghost Village Road

Ghost Village has become a commu nity-driven annual event and business es have expressed their plans to par ticipate this year

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Debris Basin in Montecito. This project dates back to the Thomas Fire and 1/9 Debris Flow when community members expressed support for a new debris basin. The project was approved in August 2020, and construction on the $21.3 million project – the largest debris basin in Montecito – began in May 2021.

Stakeholders, neighbors, relatives of those killed in the debris flow, and former homeowners on Randall Road gathered to hear the short ceremony, which included speakers Congressman Salud Carbajal, First District Supervisor Das Williams, California Department of Water Resources Get the costumed crew together this 31st for Ghost Village Road, the popular Halloween event that has grown over the last 25 years

families will be trick-or-treating.”

Despite

from mul tiple media sources, word on the street is that Ghost Village Road, Coast Village Road’s popular trick-ortreating event, is happening this year, from 3-6 pm on Monday, October 31. Historically the event draws roughly 2,000 costumed kids, parents, and pets each year. Many of the Lower Village’s business owners report they will take part in the festivities, passing out candy and other treats to trick-or-treaters, despite clear organization of the event, which has been happening for 25 years.

The event began back in 1996 and was organized by the then-CVBA – Coast Village Business Association – which disbanded a decade ago only to be replaced by the CVA – Coast Village Association – which disbanded earlier this month while the orga nization transitions to the Coast Village Improvement Association. The new orga nization will be in charge of improving the road thanks to the Business Improvement District that was approved earlier this year. An official statement from the former CVA: “We believe Ghost Village Road will be happening this year. The event happens organically and is not sponsored or hosted by the Coast Village Association. We imagine businesses will be handing out candy and

The event has taken on a life of its own, with various business owners contributing to the tradition each year. Safety is the number one priority during the event, and drivers are urged to use care when driving in the area. The event is from 3 pm to 6 pm, on Monday, October 31.

Randall Road Debris Basin Ribbon-Cutting

It was a morning nearly five years in the making: on Monday, October 24, government officials, staff, contrac tors, and community partners celebrated the completion of the Randall Road

The Randall Road Debris Basin was built where seven homes were destroyed or damaged during the 1/9 Debris Flow; the massive project was built in a record five-year span

JOIN

Enjoy a crafted 4-course pre-fixed dinner featuring locally sourced ingredients thoughtfully crafted for the occasion.

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Children 4 to 12 Years $55

Limited à la carte menu also available.

A prix-fixe menu featuring Chef Massimo’s holiday classics, including seasonal ingredients harvested by local farmers.

11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Adults $125

Children 4 to 12 Years $55

Prices exclude tax and gratuity. Complimentary for children 4 and under.

Honor traditions with a memorable Thanksgiving gathering on the coast featuring holiday classics accompanied by festive activities for children.

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Buffet available from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Adults $165

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CHANDELIER BALLROOM

Letters to the Editor

Appealing Santa Claus Cannabis

Iwill not be able to attend the Santa Claus cannabis retail store appeal hearing on November 1, 2022, how ever I would like to convey my oppo sition to its approval and impending existence in this message.

Three things you should know about me before I address my reasons for concern:

My family has lived, worked, and played in Santa Barbara and Carpinteria for five generations. I went to Santa Barbara Junior High, SBHS, and UCSB and owned/ operated a restaurant in Isla Vista. I have spent more time on Santa Claus Lane and Padaro Lane than most people you will hear from regarding this matter. Santa Claus and Padaro will always be the most special place in the world to me.

I voted for Prop. 64 six years ago because I believed, and still do, that the growth, consumption, and sale of cannabis should be state (and federally) legal assuming that appropriate measures and guidelines are followed by our elected leaders.

I am a registered Independent voter. I do not have a political agenda on this matter. This is about right and wrong.

Das Williams’ promise to deny a proj ect in a location that did not provide com munity benefit has not been kept, to the point where any educated person has to ask themselves these questions: “Is this fraud ulent?” “This truly can’t be about adding jobs, right?” “Cannabis users can’t drive a couple miles north on the 101 Freeway to one of the many retail locations in Santa Barbara?” “Or have it delivered to their home by one of the many operators that does so?” It seems like our Governor lis tened to our complaints about Williams, so much so that he appointed Meagan Harmon to the Coastal Commission, rather than Williams.

I truly don’t understand how the addi tion of a Cannabis retail store on Santa Claus Lane is “necessary” for our commu nity. Further, I would be voicing my dis

approval of a proposed liquor/convenience store in this location, let alone a cannabis store, for all the reasons you would expect, but above all – it’s not necessary and will be a detriment to our community.

Lastly, and nostalgically, I still remember “Toyland,” and of course the Santa Claus sculpture, as well as the seafood market with tanks of lobster and crabs because it was a fun and safe place for my grandmother and mother to take me as a child. Since, I was thrilled to see the transformation of the Padaro Grill by one of our prominent/ local restaurateurs that is such a big draw for families, especially in the summer. I know the A-Frame Surf Shop owners well; they have done a phenomenal job bringing our youth to the beach via surf camps and competitions. My family regularly eats at the Garden Market and my wife and I have even bought furniture from Coast Supply Co. This stretch of coastal land needs to be preserved and managed properly for the benefit of our kids and future generations.

PLEASE APPEAL THIS DECISION.

Grant B. Robertson

Vote Rosanne for a New Voice

We need a more inclusive, diverse board of education. I was extremely excit ed when I saw Rosanne Crawford was running for SBCBOE. I have followed Rosanne for many years, and I am always impressed with her ideas and verve. The County board has been working in an ivory tower of respectable establishment members largely appointed by the pre vious Superintendent during his long tenure. What is the record that these respectable people have to run on, when more than half of the students in the district are performing below grade level in English and only 30% can do math.

One-party rule is dangerous. Even if you’re part of that party, one-party ruling

over decades is a bad thing, which leads to stagnation and even corruption. All board members benefit when they have to justify their positions to those who would raise questions or an alternative point of view. Otherwise, boards just become an “echo chamber.” Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Personally, I’m tired of the same people and the same pol iticians and the same establishment non profits doing the same thing over and over again with no accountability for outcomes. I want a parent-grandparent-volunteer on that board, someone who is focused on the nuts-and-bolts issues, not making the right soundbites, which ring like a tin bell. She has both vision and critical thinking skills. She will bring perspective from the outside of a grandparent, a parent, someone who has worked with the school district – but not for the school district –for three decades of volunteering in the classroom and as a voice of the public in the boardrooms. Our boards need to be more inclusive, with diverse points of view and perspective to make wise decisions. Rosanne is going to focus on literacy. She has my vote.

I know from the many pieces you’ve written over the years that you’re doing it for all the right reasons… to ask the hard questions and to improve literacy in our County education system. Thank you, Rosanne, for running.

Peggy Wilson

Where Did Santa Claus Go?

At the September 7 County Planning Commission meeting, a gentleman got up claiming to represent everybody in the Las Canchas Homeowners’ Association… I think what I found particularly interest ing about his comments is that he began them by lamenting the fact that Santa Claus is no longer on a rooftop on Santa Claus Lane (SCL).

It’s worth pointing out for those who may or may not be aware that it was Dr. Steve Kent, the appellant of the Roots Carpinteria project, and his lawyer Jana Zimmer who bullied the County into ridding Santa Claus Lane of Santa

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

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Thurs, Oct 27 4:25 AM 2.0 10:47 AM 6.4 05:58 PM -0.5

Fri, Oct 28 12:25 AM 3.7 4:56 AM 2.4 11:25 AM 6.3 06:55 PM -0.4

Sat, Oct 29 1:40 AM 3.4 5:31 AM 2.8 12:10 PM 6.0 08:04 PM -0.2

Sun, Oct 30 3:28 AM 3.3 6:20 AM 3.3 01:11 PM 5.5 09:24 PM 0.0

Mon, Oct 31 5:20 AM 3.6 8:13 AM 3.6 02:37 PM 5.1 010:43 PM 0.0

Tues, Nov 1 6:17 AM 4.0 10:39 AM 3.4 04:19 PM 4.9 011:47 PM -0.1

Weds, Nov 2 6:53 AM 4.5 12:08 PM 2.7 05:46 PM 4.9

Thurs, Nov 3 12:39 AM 0.0 7:25 AM 4.9 01:09 PM 2.0 06:54 PM 4.9

Fri, Nov 4 1:21 AM 0.1

Claus. This was done over the objec tions of many longtime residents of the Carpinteria Valley. Including many peo ple who feel the same way the gentle man from Las Canchas Homeowners Association feels.

Dr. Kent and his lawyer forced the removal of Santa Claus because they didn’t think Santa was compatible with Dr. Kent’s business interests. Apparently, a lot of things aren’t “compatible” with Dr. Kent’s business interests.

Indeed, as the landlord of numerous properties on Santa Claus Lane, Dr. Kent felt it was his prerogative to remove Santa from Santa Claus Lane. With the assistance of his lawyer, they took it upon themselves to rid Santa Claus Lane of Santa Claus. They did this irrespective of how others might have felt about it.

It’s ironic, to say the least, especial ly since the speaker at the Planning Commission hearing said that having

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Santa Claus on Santa Claus Lane made Santa Claus Lane a “wonderful spot for kids.” Apparently, Dr. Kent and his law yer disagreed with such sentimentality. Dr. Kent didn’t want Santa Claus Lane to be a “wonderful spot for kids,” as much as he wanted it to be a wonderful spot to collect his expensive rents on just another hustling and bustling commercial retail corridor, where the almighty dollar takes precedence over everything else, includ ing maintaining SCL as a family-friendly area for families in the Carpinteria Valley.

And now that Dr. Kent has something else to be relentlessly against, a business that he neither rents to nor has a financial stake in, he’s found a new shiny object to be against. In this case, Roots, and the democratic process itself. Before, it was just a laser focus on business and the bottom line on a ledger sheet.

Santa Claus Lane isn’t Dr. Kent’s per sonal economic domain to do with as he chooses. SCL belongs to all the people, including those who also own property there and pay substantial property taxes in Santa Barbara County. And it also belongs to those who voted overwhelm ingly to legalize cannabis for medicinal and recreational use in California. When does that inconvenient fact receive the attention it deserves?

The Roots Carpinteria retail cannabis facility will be an example of operational excellence. It will serve the health and wellness needs of tens of thousands of people in this area of the County while making sure adults have access to legal, safe, tested, taxed, and ethically sourced high-quality cannabis flowers and canna bis-infused edibles that are proving every day a safe, highly regulated alternative for the pharmacological powders that kill thousands of people every year in America.

So, the message to Doctor Kent and his lawyer should be simple; you’ve made a fortune on Santa Claus Lane, and at a cost to the family vibe that once defined this quaint beach lane. It is time to allow others to pursue their goals and their dreams as you did many years before and as you continue to do even to this day.

Thanks to voters, cannabis is legal in California. And cannabis retail store fronts are a legal and principally per mitted use on Santa Claus Lane. Let’s get about it by supporting the Board of Supervisors’ denial of Dr. Kent and his lawyer’s frivolous appeal.

Joe Armendariz is the Director of Government Affairs for Armendariz Partners. He is a former two-term member of the Carpinteria City Council and the former Executive Director of the Santa Barbara County Taxpayers Association, and Santa Barbara Technology and Industry Association. He can be reached at (805) 990-2494.

A Letter from Rosanne Crawford

The upcoming election offers an unprecedented choice of school board candidates this year.

Candidates and voters are well aware of the problems in our public schools. Poor literacy outcomes are at the top of the list for most, particularly for students leav ing secondary schools without adequate English and math skills, limiting their opportunity to enter the job market or higher education.

As a candidate for the County Board of Education, I offer choice and fresh ideas. My opponent, the incumbent Marybeth Carty was provisionally appointed in 2013.

Voters are looking for change and choice because the status quo is not working. Teachers and parents want a voice at the table. With the multifaceted problems, the common denominator is Literacy – it’s the great equalizer.

I am the candidate that will reach across the aisle and include teachers and parents to be a part of the solution. I will be accessible and will listen.

The County Board of Education is over 20 Districts with specific functions to serve the needs of the local school districts by providing administrative, cur riculum, and instructional services.

One of them is helping our districts build and implement equitable, excellent instructional programs for all students in their local contexts. Between the schools, there is a lack of consistency. The big gest problem I believe is the practice of tracking of non-English speakers at the elementary level. Currently, if a child speaks both English and Spanish, or Spanish only, they are placed in a differ ent class than English-speaking students. By the end of elementary, many are so far behind in English, they can’t pass the English Proficiency test. As an end result, they continue to be tracked into different classes in high school. Many of them finish school with poor English and math skills with few opportunities.

The County Education Office has many support programs, however, and for example, they could build a stellar lit eracy program model; the school districts that are struggling in these areas could benefit from encouraging some unifor mity for providing better outcomes.

As a result of this weakness and lack of parent satisfaction in our schools, we continue to have declining enrollment with students lost to private, charter, and homeschooling because of the lack of quality education.

Focusing on “values and politics” in schools and emphasizing differences has led to divisiveness with an increase in anxiety problems being seen in younger children.

Let’s get back to the basics and focus on English, Math, Science, and providing career pathways and training for students who are not college-bound. Students need engagement and options to succeed in their school journey or some of them end up in juvenile court schools, which the County Office oversees. Public edu cation is not free; costs run about 23,000 taxpayer’s dollars annually per student. We need to do better.

“Santa Barbara Design and Build was fabulous. Don and his crew were the BEST from day one. He was honest, timely, flexible, artistic, patient and skilled. They understood my vision and built my dream home”.

Barbara Resident

Montecito Miscellany

in the

by Richard Mineards

St. Francis Courtyard at Old Mission Santa Barbara hosted the

and Jeans edition of the annual Mission

with 150 sold-out guests helping raise around $100,000 towards the historic institu tion’s archive-library and the conserva tion of the historic buildings and gardens that date back to 1786.

The fun fest, chaired by Donna Reeves, launched with welcomes from executive director Monica Orozco and Santa Barbara parish pastor Dan Lackie, and musical entertainment from OutOfTheBlue.

Fun loving Franciscan friar Larry Gosselin conducted the live auction, which included a private bell tower tour, a sushi chef at-home dinner for a party of eight, and a limited-edition Fritz Olenberger print.

Among the supporters noshing on Pure Joy Catering’s fire-grilled chicken and medium rare tri-tip were singer Katy Perry’s parents, Keith and Mary Hudson, Maitland Ward, Adam McKaig, Janet Garufis, Roger and Debby Aceves, Jim

Music, friars, and supporters came in their best Gems and Jeans for the event (photo by Priscilla)

and Marcia Wolfe, Dacia Harwood, Fritz and Gretchen Olenberger, and Mike and Debbie Stoker.

A gem of a night...

An Artful Evening

Globetrotting accountant Frank McGinity opened the gates of his charming Riven Rock estate, just a tiara’s toss from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for An Artful Affair for 120

Janet Garufis, Dr. Randy Howard, and Marcia Wolf being served up some tritip and festive fare (photo by Priscilla)

Revelers of the Mission Moonlight event joined togeth er to help raise around $100,000 for the grounds (photo by Priscilla)

Friars joined the fray of the fun night (photo by Priscilla)

I am a parent and grandparent and an educational advocate of 30 years who left my professional career to be that PTA mom in the classroom.

For more on my diverse background please visit rc4schools.com

I hope to earn your vote on or before November 8th.

Rosanne Crawford

Reelect Marybeth Carty: A Renowned, Effective, and Experienced Community Leader

In today’s super-charged political climate, I strongly support leaders in public life who model the proverb, “Be modest in speech but excel in action.”

This defines Marybeth Carty’s style and is the underpinning for her amazing track record in education, nonprofits, philanthropy, and business.

Marybeth is a quiet, effective leader, a ‘go-to person’ in a variety of venues, helping to solve difficult issues, leading public service campaigns, or working on community problems. Her calm, low key, and skilled style is in stark con trast to the sad display of yelling, name calling, and disparaging comments in today’s public discourse.

A passionate believer in public educa tion as the bedrock of our democracy, Marybeth is committed to defending, supporting, and strengthening public edu cation. In Marybeth’s own words, “Public education is the cornerstone of democra cy. It is the birthright of American citizens to receive a free K-12 education, but it is the responsibility of elected school board officials to ensure that schools in their communities are prepared to meet the diverse needs of all students. The right to a fair education for all students is a deep ly-rooted core value that I hold dearly and work toward daily.”

In a recent debate, Marybeth answered important, difficult, and politically charged questions. No dodging, just calm and honest answers, based on what chil dren need and how they learn. An exam ple of a great communicator and teacher.

Colleagues of Marybeth use powerful words that paint a vivid picture of her integrity, passion, wisdom, effectiveness, and how she “always takes the high road and tells the truth.” The quotes, strong and telling, can be viewed in Marybeth’s webpage marybethcarty.net.

Experience matters. Marybeth’s experience and accomplishments in education, board governance, non profit management, and philanthro py have been broadly recognized throughout the community. A few examples include: Hero of Hospice Award, Fighting Back Mentor of the Year, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria Woman of Inspiration, Carpinteria’s Woman of the Year, and Pacific Coast Times Top 50 Women in Business.

Marybeth Carty is exactly the type of person we need in elected positions in these divisive times. She is a living example of the proverb, “Be modest in speech but excel in action.”

She also understands firsthand that effective leadership is about making everyone else better. Please vote for Marybeth Carty, SB County Board of Education, District 1.

Bill Cirone, Retired, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools

Bear Scare

Carlos, The Bear, turned on the heater to his den for the first time in a while, “Brrr,” he growled. Saying to himself, “Fall has arrived!” He looked out his win dow at the colorful Sycamore trees and growing darkness and remembered many Octobers ago, a Halloween costume that was so scary, it almost cost him his life.

Always the creative bear, as a cub Carlos eschewed the usual ghost, were wolf, or pumpkin costumes, preferring to go as something more contemporary, and fitting with the times. No, he would dress himself as something so fearful that every animal would be frightened of him.

As he settled into his lazy bear chair, Carlos reminisced:

He had just started out at dusk, heading to fox’s den for treats as he rounded a bend in the trail obscured by a boulder. When he popped out from behind the rock, Connie Cougar saw him and pounced, knocking Carlos to the ground. Carlos growled at Connie, “No, Connie, it’s me Carlos!” Connie stopped, puzzled, and looked down at her prey, and realized that she had attacked a friend.

“Good Grief, Carlos! You had me going there, great costume!” said Connie.

And with that, Carlos went home, costume in his candy bag, as he counted his lucky stars and swore an oath to never dress as a real-estate developer, ever again!

Michael Edwards

Not a Fan of Our Recommendations

Your recommendations for the upcom ing election have me feeling sad, unappre ciated, and betrayed. Whether local, state, or federal, it seems each of your choices promote larger government at the expense of working taxpayers for the benefit of government employees and their political operatives. Ostensibly the beneficiary of larger government programs is disadvan taged people. This rarely happens as the ranks of the disadvantaged continue to grow. Meanwhile working people see their taxes grow while government employees get cost of living pay increases each year with guaranteed early retirement pensions. It’s sad to be promised one thing while a

Montecito Reads

Hidden Keys and Domestic Worries

by MJ Staff

This

in this

HAPPENED HERE.” After a

“tales

call from

rushes home from Hermosa Beach to Montecito. Chapter 28 is available

at montecitojournal.net and the QR code below.

Montecito

by Michael Cox

Chapter

I called Cyrus as soon as I had navigated onto Interstate 405 and was officially en route. “I’ll be there in two hours,” I told him, feeling con fident that this answer would satisfy him.

“Go straight to my house,” he barked. “Call me when you get to the gate.”

I drove recklessly, weaving in and out, crossing three lanes at a time, hitting ninety miles per hour for stretches. I had not driven like that since before Isabel was born; since before I had something to lose. By the time I cleared the tri-cities of Camarillo, Oxnard, and Ventura, I knew I would beat the herculean two hours I had estimated for the drive. In a perverted manner, my heart was pumping as if I had accom plished something. Something like swimming two miles in the open ocean? What a joke.

Montecito Reads Page 324

Scan here for Chapters 27 & 28

Our Town

Profs at the Pub

by Joanne A Calitri

UCSB’s Computational Mate Choice Lab Head Dan ConroyBeam PhD presented his research on mating choices and their success rate on Wednesday, October 19, at M. Special Brewing Company on State Street. The sold-out event was the official in-person restart to the monthly UCSB Alumni Department’s Profs at the Pub series, and was the perfect topic of our times – what choices do we make in selecting a partner, would they also select us, and would the coupled-ups still select each other if other potentials were available?

Conroy-Beam and his grad students are coming up with the empirical pertinent data. He began the presentation defending his research “and your tax dollars for me to do it at UCSB,” by pointing out qual ity partnerships lead to better physical, mental, and financial health. Where one lives, works, and finds support systems is based in mating choices. Biological evolution incorporates the psychologies of selecting mates to reproduce and con tinue gene pools. Mating elements are in our songs, plays, films, and affect poli

tics and wars. Budgeting one’s resourc es determines the percentage of mate selection available. He further postulates, “The largest percentage of internet usage is on mating/dating websites and porn.”

Key points from his presentation:

Using computer models, the Computational Mate Choice Lab simu lates dating markets populated with ava tars with the attributes and preferences of real-life couples. To get the data, they use national sampling pools’ responses to

online questionnaires. The data is partner trait preferences, the traits the person filling out the questionnaire has, and how many of those traits are the same traits they are looking for in a partner.

Each person’s data gets one avatar and all the bots in the sampling pool are placed in a mating market. Then they test the bots with algorithms to find out what percentage of the bots select each other again, or prefer another bot. One method of analyzing the data used is Euclidean mate value estimation. To understand how it works, he gave the example: if everyone attending the event tonight were identi fied by extrovert (outgoing) or introvert (shy, smiling, and not smiling), and were seated in a section of the room by that identity, would each person be the closest distance to their partner or someone else?

Caveats of his research that may sur prise you:

– people are rational in what they want, and it usually does not change over time – if more people find you desirable, your list of what you want increases also – the results of his data show that 40% will choose each other again, and 60% will select someone else to partner with – the 40% have overall better relation ships and are happier – his lab has not shared the results with the people in the study – his research findings generally apply across sexual preferences – political preference is not as hard a

rule as people think it is

Future goals of his research include test ing single people who want a relationship – in order to help people have happier relationships. His grad students are study ing variations of the theme, such as poly amorous relationships, romantic jealousy, romantic love, and evolution models.

I couldn’t help but wonder what Helen Fisher PhD, a research professor and member of the Center for Human Evolution Studies in the Department of Anthropology at Rutgers University, who hallmarked research on why we love with MRI brain scans in 2014, would say. Could she add her research to the data?

Attendees included Ceylan Ozkan RN MSN, recently appointed Director of Quality at SB Neighborhood Clinics and Conroy-Beam’s partner; fellow profes sors; students; and locals. Full reports of his findings are on his website.

Conroy-Beam has a B.S. psychology and Ph.D. in Individual Differences and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin. He joined the UCSB faculty in 2016 and is the 2022-2023 recipient of the Harold J Plous Award, given to Assistant Professors who have demonstrated outstanding performance or promise of performance as measured by intellectual and creative contributions to the college community.

411: danconroybeam.com alumni.ucsb.edu/profs-at-the-pub

Dan Conroy-Beam with his wife, Ceylan Ozkan, at his presentation for Profs at the Pub UCSB alum ni series (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

United Nations Association of Santa Barbara Awards 2022 Peace Prize to ShelterBox USA

by Sharon Byrne

On Monday, October 24, International United Nations Day, a huge crowd descended on Pascucci on State Street for the award ing of the 6th Annual United Nations Association (UNA) Santa Barbara Peace Prize. Created in 2017 by the United Nations of Santa Barbara, the Prize is awarded to individuals or organizations to recognize their work in creating peace in the world, providing humanitarian assistance, or furthering the cause of human rights.

This year, the United Nations Association selected ShelterBox USA as the Santa Barbara Peace Prize recipient for their outstanding work in provid ing disaster relief shelter and supplies globally. ShelterBox USA is headquar tered right next door to Montecito, on Innovation Place. The organiza tion was started more than 20 years ago, by Rotarians, after a major earth quake. ShelterBox became Rotary’s official project partner in disaster relief around the world. The United Nations also has a long history with Rotary. They were invited to the San Francisco Conference in 1945, as part of a U.S.

delegation of consultants, to form the United Nations. Today, Rotary holds the highest consultative status of a nongovernmental organization at the United Nations.

The UNA of Santa Barbara brings the work of the United Nations to the community, and the community’s con cerns to the U.N. Our local chapter has worked on multiple issues of concern locally and globally, such as human traf ficking, women’s rights, youth violence, climate change, and refugees. We select ed ShelterBox as the 2022 Peace Prize recipient because of their commitment to providing immediate shelter and aid following disasters. In her acceptance speech, President Kerri Murray noted that ShelterBox USA is now engaged in providing immediate shelter in conflict zones globally, notably Ukraine, along with disasters such as the flooding in Pakistan, and 75% of ShelterBox USA recipients are women and children.

Each big green ShelterBox contains many items immediately necessary for survival after a conflict or disaster event, such as a large tent, thermal blankets, solar-powered lights, home repair tools, cooking sets, hygiene kits, and water filters. Some refugees and

disaster survivors may find themselves in a ShelterBox for a year or more, depending on the circumstances. Boxes are ferried to disaster or conflict zones by specially trained volunteers, who can carry these boxes on their backs up mountainsides or through difficult terrain. They are literally delivering homes to survivors of disaster or con flict, and the tents have housed 10 or more people for extended lengths of time. The entire box can be funded by a $1,000 donation, on their website shelterboxusa.org.

The 2022 UNA Santa Barbara Peace Prize award was a sold-out event, with Leslie Zemeckis, Kerrilee Gore, John Glanville, and John McGovern in attendance. Santa Barbara City Councilmember Kristen Sneddon presented the Peace Prize award to ShelterBox USA, on behalf of the United Nations Association. Congressman Carbajal delivered a certificate of rec ognition for winning the Santa Barbara Peace Prize.

Sharon Byrne is the President of the United Nations Association of Santa Barbara

ShelterBox received this year’s Santa Barbara Peace Prize from the United Nations Association

ShelterBox

President Kerri Murray accepting the award

Reach

Ralph Waterhouse and Gretchen Lieff alongside 1928 Pierce-Arrow cabriolet owners Dana and Andrea Newquist (photo by Priscilla)

guests organized by the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Five local plein air artists – Ralph Waterhouse, Derek Harrison, Annie Hoffman , Ray Hunter , and Ann Sanders – and their works were featured and sold, while attendees noshed on scrumptious fare catered by the Santa Barbara Club and quaffed wine and champagne provided by La Lieff Wines and Albert Bichot Champagne Mandois. Foundation trustee John Doordan emceed the boffo bash with Frank pro viding a brief history of his residence, for merly the home of Stanley McCormick, whose family, founders of the International Harvester Company, originally owned the 84-acre Riven Rock estate.

A quick draw landscape on-site by gal lery owner Waterhouse was snapped up for nearly $1,000, while Dana Newquist exhibited his magnificent 1928 PierceArrow cabriolet, which was formerly owned by film magnate Leo B. Mayer of MGM.

Among the guests, including mem

Keith Moore, Maria McCall, Katherine Murray-Morse, John Doordan, and Frank McGinity (photo by Priscilla)

From left: Jill Nida, Gary Simpson, Robert Luria, Suzi Schomer, and Frank McGinity (photo by Priscilla)

bers of Montecito Bank & Trust’s M travel and enrichment club, were Keith Moore , Maria McCall , Katherine Murray-Morse , Michelle Profant , Brendon Twigden, Dirk Brandts, Jane Copelan, Hiroko Benko, Amy Lamb, Gretchen Lieff, Robert Luria, Diane Waterhouse, Rick Oshay, and Teresa Kuskey Nowak

New Series in the Works

Five months after her long running TV talk show ended, Ellen DeGeneres is planning a comeback with About Time for Yourself... With Ellen streaming on YouTube.

The Montecito resident, 64, is shooting the new series at her home “sharing her attempts to try new things and make a little me time” in her own very Ellen way. The new show will be released weekly, with the first installment scheduled this week.

Artists Ann Sanders, Derek Harrison, Annie Hoffman, and Ray Hunter (photo by Priscilla)

Celebratethe Miramar Holidays at

Miramar is bringing the spirit of the season to Montecito this year. Enjoy the holidays at the resort with mouth-watering menus, awe-inspiring entertainment, and beautifully bespoke experiences. And—in true Miramar manner—each holiday celebration features spectacular service and impeccable attention to detail at every turn. Don’t miss the magic of Miramar, from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.

anksgiving

Kick off the holiday season and gather in gratitude like never before. You’re invited to give thanks around every table at Miramar. Join us for brunches, dinners, music, and more at all of your favorite Miramar restaurants and bars.

Christmas Eve

Count down to Christmas at Miramar. Dig into Seven Fish dinners on the coastline at Caruso’s, revel in the music of carolers in the Living Room, and delight in snowfall on the Great Lawn. Here’s to making this your most memorable Christmas Eve yet.

Christmas Day

Unwrap the magic of Christmas morning at Miramar. Delight in a delicious brunch of festive favorites and whimsical touches for a holiday celebration that your family will cherish for years to come.

New Year’s Eve

A night of unmatched elegance awaits at Miramar, the place to be on New Year’s Eve. Join us for an unforgettable evening where the ordinary is escaped and the extraordinary is embraced, including an oceanfront champagne dinner at Caruso’s, a gala hosted in the Chandelier Ballroom, and showstopping performances in The Manor Bar, culminating in a truly magical midnight toast.

New Year’s Day

JAN

Get ready to raise a glass to 2023 along the Central Coast. Miramar is offering a festive lineup of brunches, lunches, can’t-miss cocktails, and dinners, sure to make New Year’s Day memorably special. Cheers to starting the year in style.

To explore all of our holiday happenings, please visit us at: @rosewoodmiramarbeach www.rosewoodmiramarbeach.com facebook.com/RosewoodMiramarBeach/ email miramar@rosewoodhotels.com 805-900-8388

Society Invites

Montecitans Host Suffolk University Alumni Reception

by Joanne A Calitri

Christine Garvey, Juris Doctor and Trustee of Suffolk University, and Susan Cappiello J.D. co-host ed the Southern California Suffolk University Alumni Reception with its president Marisa Kelly at the Jonathan Club Los Angles on September 29. The elegant event brought out over 30 alum ni, mainly from its Law School and the Sawyer Business School undergrad and grad programs, including myself, an MPA graduate.

Margaret Arnold, PhD and Suffolk University Presidential Spouse, and Jonathan McTague , Director of Advanced Engagement, greeted the guests with name tags, Suffolk University school pins, and other school merch. Arnold left her position as Associate Provost of Academic Programs and Dean of Graduate Studies at Wentworth Institute of Technology to make a collec tive commitment to Suffolk University with Kelly. She currently works with the Office of Advancement and the Athletics Department.

Following cocktails and networking, we gathered for the program. Garvey welcomed everyone and introduced Kelly, who talked about the university’s achievements and thanked the alum ni for their support of the school and mentoring of students in the field. “Our 88,000-member alumni community con tinue to be committed to supporting Suffolk’s mission of access and opportu nity, particularly with their willingness to

provide opportunities for students of all backgrounds and socioeconomic groups,” Kelly added.

Some of her speech highlights:

– Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School has risen 25 places in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of Best Undergraduate Business Schools.

Over the past four years, the Business

School has climbed nearly 100 spots, from 312 to 219, making it one of the fast est-rising business schools in the nation.

– Suffolk Law Dean Andrew Perlman recently shared the Law School’s remark able success, Suffolk Law’s applications have increased 48% in three years, while applications nationally were up only 1% in the same period. Suffolk Law’s two most recent entering classes had the strongest academic credentials in 11 years. The Law School’s overall ranking leapt 45 spots in seven years, the fourth fastest rise of any law school in the coun try during that period.

In its recently released 2023 Best Colleges edition, U.S. News ranked Suffolk University 95th among its Best National Universities for social mobility, defined as helping students climb the socioeconomic ladder.

98% of 2021 graduates are either employed or in grad school, based on surveys and other efforts to track their success.

In sum, Cappiello shared, “My Dad, Michael Cappiello, always attributed his success as an attorney to Suffolk’s program(s) that prioritized minorities, immigrants, women, and others that were unable to attend Law School because of their necessary work schedules, and appreciation for Suffolk Law School’s night program. In gratitude, he donated a classroom. Christine and I would like to say as co-hosts it is so wonderful to see the large turnout of Suffolk alums. Five percent of Suffolk students come from California and with new programs sup ported by President Kelly, the California contingency will continue to grow!”

Attendees included Matthew T. Howard, Managing Director Compliance JP Morgan Chase & Co, and Joy Milan, Assistant VP Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. The school holds alumni events in L.A., San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., NYC, and Madrid.

Garvey specializes in corporate real estate and serves on the boards of Montecito Bank & Trust, Healthcare Properties, Toll Bros., and Sansum Clinic, prior to being the global head for corporate real estate for Deutsche Bank and Cisco Systems. Cappiello, living in the Santa Barara riviera area, practiced law for 40 years before retiring.

411: suffolk.edu facebook.com/suffolkalumni

Joanne A. Calitri is a profes sional international photogra pher and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com

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Suffolk University President Marisa Kelly addresses guests at the L.A. alumni event (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Christine Garvey welcomes the Suffolk University alumni with Susan Cappiello (photo courtesy of Suffolk University)

Groups gathered in Godric Grove to cel ebrate Elings Park meeting its endow ment campaign goal (photo by Priscilla)

was unfortunately unable to attend the sunset soirée for supporters in Godric Grove, named after benefactor Marcia Constance’s first husband.

The park’s two largest restroom areas that serve the athletic fields have also been renovated and the water well is functioning again, with phase one of the Las Positas Tennis Center – renovation of the restrooms – just breaking ground.

EPIC! has also established a capital maintenance improvement fund as an endowment to protect donors’ long-term capital investments.

An Epic Time in the Grove

EPIC!, the $10 million capital and endowment campaign for the restoration of 230-acre Elings Park, is well on its way to meeting its goal, says executive direc tor Dean Noble.

After almost 50 years of active use, the popular leisure area built on a city tip needs a number of “essential updates” to help keep it healthy, safe, and relevant for the future.

Since 2019 EPIC! has raised $6.2 million and all the roadways have been repaired and resurfaced, says Lauren Katz, co-chair, with Bruce Giffin, who

Thoughts on Previous Employment

Former actress Meghan Markle, who used to be a briefcase girl for 34 episodes of the NBC Howie Mandel-hosted TV show, Deal or No Deal, between 2006 and

2007, seems to have opened a hornet’s nest of opprobrium after claiming she quit the show because she was “objectified,” forced to have a spray tan, and wear a pad ded bra that left her reduced to “a bimbo.”

The Riven Rock-based Duchess of Sussex in her latest Spotify podcast with Miscellany Page 264

Matthew Morphy, Dean Noble, Holly Pieretti, and Lauren Katz stand in front of present and future displays of Elings (photo by Priscilla)

Mike Jordan, Marcia Constance, and Dean Noble (photo by Priscilla)

Board members, supporters, and the community came together to celebrate the suc cess of the EPIC! Campaign (photo by Priscilla)

different

fail in the private sector and their success is marked with higher taxes. Our elected politicians do not appreciate the effort. And so, they deny their political failure and betray us, the working taxpayer. One example: $6 trillion in emergency COVID spending resulted in $100’s of billions of fraud. The money is lost and the taxpayer is handed the bill for government ineptitude. I feel sad and betrayed.

Peter Hunt

Efi Banales Really Knows the Students

Efi Banales is exactly what the SBUSD needs right now in an elected leader. Here’s why:

Educational Commitment – “It’s a crime, that our Spanish-speaking stu dents are testing at the 4th-grade level,” she said in a recent online interview. She correctly understands how English as a Second Language (ESL) tracking is tragically creating a two-tiered system that isolates Spanish-home speakers and is holding kids back. Her work at La Cumbre Junior High afterschool home work program with parents and students is a model for what truly works.

Hiring Skills – One of the most import ant roles of an SBUSD board is vetting and recommending future principals. Efi is one who has served for years at the right hand of multiple principals, and she has an eagle eye for the difference between a good principal and a bad principal.

Student Connection – As a 28-year employee for SBUSD, from 1989-2021, at four schools – Franklin, Washington, Santa Barbara Community Academy, and La Cumbre Junior High – she has known literally thousands of students from the Eastside and Westside by name, she knows their stories.

Local Connection – She knows the com munity and has lived on Santa Barbara’s Eastside for more than three decades. She is a distinguished and respected member of the community.

Quiet Courage – The majority of stu dents in Santa Barbara are Latino, and

Efi is unafraid to be a voice for this unique and special parent communi ty. She’s not afraid to “make waves” as many immigrant parents are, and she is passionate about getting Latino parents involved in their student’s education.

Harold Crawford

Stop The Buck

The buck stops with the board. The incumbents at SBUSD must be held accountable for their voting record.

Vote for Phebe Mansur, a proven and respected public servant from Goleta for SBUSD District 4, and Efi Banales, a retired veteran educator, for SBUSD District 1. One reason to vote for Phebe and Efi is that they both support the “Heart” sex ed curriculum, in contrast to all of their opponents. The “Heart” curriculum starts out with a “parent interview” by the student about the par ents’ values and is very sensitive and age appropriate. As opposed to the highly graphic and controversial “Teen Talk.”

A weak “rubber stamp” board has cre ated a crisis of lost learning during the pandemic, a crisis of mental health, ero sion of classroom discipline, exponential rise in reported “thoughts of suicide,” the controversial and dangerous firing of the Safety Resource Officer at San Marcos High School, and a dramatic rise in race-related student incidents.

Perhaps most of all, the misguided “Leveling up” which eviscerates the ded icated honors and GATE programs, the pride of our district, which were built up over decades. This was the last straw for teacher morale and for many parents, who have pulled their children out of the public schools in increasing numbers.

The current Superintendent has a heavy handed, top down, leadership style and is out to “change the world.”

She has made the job of teachers nearly impossible.

If you think improvement must be made in school safety, literacy, vocational educational opportunities, teacher and administrative morale, and you want to see age-appropriate sex ed and dedicated

honors classes in our secondary schools, vote for the two candidates who have your values and the steel character to hold the current Superintendent accountable.

Michelle Martinez

What a Mess

L.A. is in crisis mode. The latest news is that there are three members of the city council that are either racist or out of touch or both. With about 70,000 people without a home and encampments all over the city, it’s a wonder a person with four billion dollars would want the job of mayor. The pay for the mayor sits at about $300K a year.

Rick Caruso has pledged to do it for a dollar. That is $300K right to the bottom line.

The city has pledged three billion dol lars over the next five years to address the homeless problem. Money is the seed to making a dent in this crisis. Equally, it is how and who controls how the money is spent.

That’s where Rick enters the picture. Rick knows how and to who this money should go to. His big advantage over Karen Bass, as well as most politicians and most other people for that matter, is how he makes everyone accountable.

If you are not beholden to groups who gave you money to get in office, you hold a huge advantage. The only minor issue with Mr. Miramar is he is running as a Democrat after being a lifelong Republican. Sure that is a red flag.

Thankfully mayors in general take a nonpartisan view on local matters. Therefore, thank you Mr. Caruso for taking on this challenge.

Just a reminder – the beaches are for public use.

Steve Marko

Against the Minimum Wage Increase

I applaud Bob Hazard’s recent arti cle, “Calif. Scheming: Fast Food Folly Unfrocked,” and want to amplify some of his points. Among economists there is little debate about the effects of min imum wages and study after study finds

that raising the minimum wage has a direct negative employment effect on low-skilled as well as young workers. There is no doubt that raising the min imum wages for fast food workers will increase unemployment among the least skilled whereas higher-skilled and union workers will benefit. And those business es that produce substitutes for workers will also benefit – self-checkout, scan ners, robotics, etc.

But the real reason for Gov. Newsom signing this bill is not about raising wages for low-income workers, it is about gov ernment control. The law forms a new regulatory committee that will pass judg ment not just on wages, but on benefits packages, vacations, hours leave policies. It will start with the large companies and progress to the small businesses. He, and others, want to substitute the judgement of government appointees and union rep resentatives for the judgment of business owners, the very people who are on the ground conducting the business. This type of intervention seeks to replace the productive engine of free enterprise with the inefficient process of governance by committee. It aligns the politicians and government employees with the employ ees of private unions, and we all know that leads to more costs and fat pensions with taxpayers picking up the tab. No wonder business owners and wealthy individuals, the people who pay 80% of the state’s intake of tax dollars, are exiting this state at records levels.

The ruling party of California wants to control everything from how much one pays their own workers to banning gas stoves in your homes or chainsaws on your ranch. Compulsory government control is ever-increasing in this state due to the elimination of the checks and balances of a two-party system. The Democrat Party no longer needs to compromise when it comes to private enterprise versus social engineering, or raising fees and taxes versus more retrained fiscally responsible policies. As Mr. Hazard said, such wage and work regulation should “send chills to both thoughtful liberals and conservatives alike” and “will voters care enough to do something about it?” Will they indeed.

J.W. Burk

Miscellany (Continued from

Paris Hilton says she was grateful for the work and the money as she tried to succeed as an actress.

But, she adds, she “disliked” how it made her feel “because I didn’t like feel ing forced to be all looks.”

Markle says she wants her daughter with Prince Harry, Lilibet, to be valued for her mind, rather than “beauty not brains,” as she was on the TV game show.

But other briefcase hostesses from the popular show have come forward saying they certainly aren’t bimbos but were chosen for the roles for their effer vescent personalities.

They also deny they were forced to wear padded bras and have spray tans to look camera-ready.

Stay tuned...

Back in the Chamber

than 70 leading orchestras worldwide, and Juilliard School graduate Arron, in his Santa Barbara debut, a regular at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and Avery Fisher halls.

Chung, whose husband is the featured performer at the Granada next month for the Santa Barbara Symphony, last performed in our Eden by the Beach 11 years ago to the day of her return perfor mance, with Ohyama conducting her in Mozart’s “Piano Concerto No. 23.”

Camerata Pacifica Packs a Punch

After an almost three-year hiatus, Santa Barbara’s renowned music director Heiichiro Ohyama flew in from Japan to return to the Lobero for an evening by an artfully created ensemble in the Chamber Music Project’s season premiere.

Ohyama, who led the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra for 35 years until it played its final concert in 2017 after 38 seasons, handpicked three classical music luminaries: violinist Benjamin Beilman, pianist Lucille Chung, and cellist Edward Arron performed selected works by Fauré and Dvořák.

“The Lobero’s Chamber Music Project carries on the tradition of camaraderies and excellence that first began in 1977,” says executive director David Asbell “It was created in 2020 to continue the tradition established by Maestro Ohyama to provide distinctive annu al performances featuring the classical music world’s most talented soloists. Post-pandemic, that legacy continues.”

Beilman, who flew in from Korea for the show, performs regularly at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Louvre in Paris, with Chung – wife of pianist Alessio Bax, who often tours with violinist Joshua Bell – producing 15 albums and performing with more

Adrian Spence’s Camerata Pacifica, which is celebrating its 33rd season, put on a doozy of a show at the Music Academy’s Hahn Hall.

Yura Lee, a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, mes merized on both violin and viola with her frenzied renditions of Kodály’s “Sonata for Solo Cello in B Minor,” special ly arranged for Lee’s viola, and Biber’s “Passacaglia in G Minor for Solo Violin.”

Wrapping the hugely entertaining show was a duet of Chopin’s “Cello Sonata in G Minor” with Korean-American Soyeon Kate Lee on piano and Avery Fisher Career Grant winner Jonathan Swensen on cello.

The tony triumvirate can’t come back soon enough...

A Cat-tacular Performance

I first saw Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats at the New London Theatre in the 1980s, which ran for 21 years until it closed in 2002 after an amazing 8,949 performances.

The show, based on a 1939 poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot, tells the story of one magical night when a tribe of felines, including Grizabella, Mr. Mistoffelees, Old Deuteronomy, and Bustopher Jones, gather for an annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn.

The newest production, staged by the

Pianist Lucille Chung joined Heiichiro Ohyama’s return to the Chamber Music Project (photo by Priscilla)

Camerata Pacifica burns with talent

Brilliant Thoughts

Patriotism

by Ashleigh Brilliant

“Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land!”

My mother would often quote those lines – although, ironically, I am not sure now just which “native land” she could have been referring to. The lines are part of a much longer poem by Sir Walter Scott (1781-1832), who actually was a Scot, and who was writing here, very passionately, about his own native land. But for my mother herself, her native land was Canada. She was born and grew up in Toronto, but her parents had emigrated from England. On a visit back there, she met and eventually mar ried my father, who was a British Civil Servant, which I suppose made her legally British. They settled in London, where I was born in 1933, so that makes me British.

I don’t know if your “native land” has to be the place where you were born, or the one that you feel most kinship with, or most loyalty to. My whole family, on both sides, was Jewish – and, while Israel did not become a State until 1948, Jews, although scat tered all over the world, have always had a special feeling about that Middle East region. At the conclusion of the Passover Seder, there has traditionally always been a sort of toast expressing the hope: “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

But is that what “patriotism” is all about? What about “nationalism”? What makes a nation? It’s not nec essarily Geography, and certainly not language or border-lines, although those factors can enter into it. The best answer I have heard was given by one of my History Professors at the University of London, who happened to be Dutch – and I remember that, accompanying the verbal definition, he would make expressive hand motions. His view was that a nation was a people, who had two strong feelings – that they belonged together, and that they were significant ly different from other peoples.

But I have also used the word “State,” in referring to Israel. What is a state, and is it something about which we can be patriotic? I live in a State (called California) which is just one of a large group (this one, of 50) called a Federation. They claim to be “United,” – in fact, that is part of their group name – yet each one has its own Secretary of State, and the Federation, as a whole, has one too. You can live in this federal community without being a full-fledged member of it. The dis tinction is called “citizenship,” and only

citizens have the right to vote.

Then there’s the concept of “Country.” The term “My Country” seems to have more emotional power than “My Land,” “Nation,” or “State.”

One major factor historically has been the condition called “War.” When it comes to actual conflict, people seem to prefer the idea that they are fighting for their Country, rather than for any other of those other terms. But it is political entities like States which have traditionally assumed the power to declare war on each other. However, the declaring of war seems to have gone out of fashion in recent years –which also makes it more difficult to establish just when the “war” is over, and a condition of “peace” prevails.

And there are symbols associated with patriotism. Of these, the most power ful is some kind of emblem-bearing banner, called a “flag.” And for each group with a particular sense of alle giance, it is not just “a” flag, but “our” flag, or, even more poignantly, “the” flag. The “national anthem” where I live, is all about a flag in peril, and the importance of its remaining aloft and visible.

So we come back to the idea of being a Patriot. The word itself derives from the Latin for “father” – hence “Fatherland,” which seems to be more acceptable to Germans, while “Motherland,” for some reason, appeals more to Russians. But I hope I’ve now made it clear just how complicated it can be to decide where, and to what or whom, your loyalties lie. I haven’t even mentioned “home” and “family” although these are probably at the back of anybody’s patriotic thoughts.

My own thoughts on this subject, as you might expect, have tended to be on the cynical side. But here, for what they’re worth, are two of my epigram matic offerings:

“If only it were always my patriotic duty to have unlimited pleasure.”

“The national flag always makes an excellent blindfold.”

Robert’s Big Questions

What Is an Animal Lover?

by Robert Bernstein

Some topics are still taboo to dis cuss and this may be one. Are you an “animal lover”? What does that mean to you? If you say you don’t like dogs, people are quick to ask if you like cats. Are those the only choices?

There are 10-30 million species of animals on Earth. The exact number is unknown. When you “love animals” are you thinking about insects? Most animals on Earth are insects. Maybe you are thinking of vertebrates. Do you love snakes? There are many more species of reptile than mammal.

Maybe you just care about warm-blood ed birds and mammals? What about rats? Maybe it is just the “cute” animals that you love?

The Endangered Species Act protects all species, fortunately. Even those that are not cute or cuddly.

In 2005, the National Park Service began eradication of feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island to prevent extinction of native species. One of my friends astonished me by saying she would rather let a species go extinct than to kill even one animal. Even though she is not a vegetarian.

The former girlfriend of a close friend was a vocal vegetarian. But she had a large dog and bought whole chickens at the supermarket to feed her dog.

UCLA geography professor Gregory Okin found that cats and dogs are respon sible for 25 to 30 percent of the environ mental impact of meat consumption in the United States. Professors Robert and Brenda Vale at Victoria University in New Zealand estimate that the ecological footprint of a medium-sized dog is great er than that of an SUV.

Dog walking in wildlife areas causes over one-third reduction in bird diversity and numbers according to Australian research ers Peter Banks and Jessica Bryant. Even if the dog is leashed. And on our local trails and beaches most dogs are not even leashed. I have been forced to give up hik ing alone because of too many frightening encounters with unleashed dogs with no owner in sight. I can only imagine the ter ror induced on animals far smaller than me.

over a billion birds and about ten billion mammals per year in the U.S., according to a 2013 Nature Communications article.

The Endangered Species Act protects all species, fortunately. Even

those that are not cute or cuddly.

Many animal species only exist because humans raise them. Domestic sheep must be sheared or they can die. Is it ethically better for pigs and cows to be raised for meat than for them not to exist? I have talked to vegetarians who refuse to have a conversation about raising food animals more humanely. One said this was like asking if the Nazis should have made their death camps more humane. Really?

Factory farming is so cruel and brutal that agribusiness has successfully passed laws forbidding any photos or videos to be released showing these conditions. Yet there is relatively little organizing to change these conditions, compared to the huge concern about how dogs and cats are treated.

“Animal rights” organization PETA opposes any breeding of animals as pets and opposes the concept of “pet.” In their ideal world such a relationship would not exist.

So, what is the answer? Sometimes the best answer is to start by asking questions. What does it mean to “love animals”? Is the concern for the animals or for our own needs? Many people find comfort having a pet. But much of the psychological benefit comes from having something that depends on you. Much of this benefit can come from having a goldfish or even a garden of plants.

Everything we do has an environmental impact. Just as with a household budget, we can make priorities. Perhaps it is worth considering how much we love the animal in our possession in comparison to the vast universe of animals that are just needing a sustainable habitat and planet to live on? And that maybe the domestic animals we love are having a negative impact on the animals we rarely think about?

Ashleigh Brilliant born England 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, to the Montecito Journal in 2016. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. email: ash leigh@west.net. web: www.ash leighbril liant.com.

A single dog chase can keep snowy plo vers from breeding for an entire season, according to the caretakers at Coal Oil Point Reserve. No amount of signs or education of dog owners could stop these chases. These “animal lovers” are only thinking of the “freedom” of their dogs to run loose. Only constant presence of volunteers, organized by Audubon, has protected the plovers.

Activists have rallied to stop windmill projects, claiming harm to birds. Properly designed and sited windmills have mini mal harm to birds. But domestic cats kill

Robert Bernstein holds degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UCSB. Passion to understand the Big Questions of life, the universe and to be a good citizen of the planet. Visit facebook.com/ questionbig

by Steven Libowitz

To get a clear picture of what the World Business Academy does, it’s a good idea to zoom out far above the Santa Barbara nonprofit’s home base – maybe to around 30,000 feet, suggests founder and president Rinaldo Brutoco

“With the exception of Direct Relief International, which is a massive charity

that’s based here, we might be the biggest nonprofit that’s much better known out side the state and even beyond the United States than we are in Santa Barbara,” he says of the think tank he founded back in 1986 in Silicon Valley before he moved operations to our little burg a quar ter-century ago. “We have an enormous reputation globally, but not everybody here knows who we are.”

Indeed, true to its name, World Business Academy is a think tank and

action incubator that explores the role of business in relation to critical moral, environmental, and social issues of our time in service of its mission to combat climate change and expand corporate consciousnesses around the globe.

“We are looking at the biggest ques tions that are facing human civilization’s ability to survive, and of course that’s climate change,” says Brutoco.

WBA has authored numerous white papers on the issue, including ones on nuclear energy, and another that proves how release of methane from the oceans and the permafrost is by far a bigger problem than CO2, he said.

“The head researcher for NASA said it was completely flawless in terms of its accuracy.”

WBA’s work on fuel cell-assisted microg rids sparked a great deal of interest around the globe, as has its related understanding of the necessity of a transition to hydrogen as the best source of clean energy.

“We’ve been writing about direct air capture (DAC) forever,” Brutoco says. “We’ve been talking about replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen and the hydrogen economy since my first book on the subject, which was published in 2007. And now we are looking at the hydrogen economy breaking out and replacing fos sil fuels on an urgent basis.”

WBA helped France develop the French Hydrogen Consortium at the request of President Macron, bringing together the country’s largest oil company, its largest bank, and the biggest aviation company.

“This little organization in Santa Barbara is helping design the hydrogen diversion program for France,” Brutoco said. “We were asked to do an analysis by the German finance minister of how to more rapidly accelerate the conversion of hydrogen in Germany because of the Ukraine crisis. We work with a number of companies and countries all over the world.”

But we can zoom back in again as well, because WBA also lends its expertise locally in California when asked to help out with problems in its own backyard, including the South Coast counties. The organization recently helped to close the last two peaker plants in Santa Barbara and Oxnard, successfully leading the charge to handle the legal work when locals weren’t able to afford to retain

counsel on their own.

“We’re happy to get involved when it’s something important that requires our level of sophistication,” Brutoco said.

“Global or local, it’s all part of WBA’s ethos of using its think tank side to come up with creative solutions, and then decide the strategy to do it using its busi ness capabilities,” he said.

“Our job is to get the business com munity to think about how it can be responsible for the whole society,” explained Brutoco, an accomplished entrepreneur, onetime merchant bank er, business executive, and author. “If a white paper or book does it, we can walk away. Or if we have to get something started, we can do that, too.”

Such was the case with JUST Capital, an organization that advises business executives to make sustainability a pri ority in their decision making, in which Brutoco and WBA incubated in conjunc tion with other leading global thinkers including Deepak Chopra and billion aire hedge fund manager and conserva tionist Paul Tudor Jones II. “You get the business community on board, or nothing positive is going to happen,” he said. “Business is still the most powerful institution on the planet.”

Relocating WBA to Santa Barbara was no accident, Brutoco said.

“I like the fact that we have the highest per capita giving rate of any city in the country,” he said. “I like the quality of the people who choose to live here who’ve made money somewhere else and come here to retire or just enjoy life here and do good work as philanthropists.”

But just because World Business Academy has an enormous global pres ence and sizable support from the biggest donors in town, don’t think smaller gifts don’t have an impact on the nonprofit and its founder.

“A $50 contribution matters a lot to us because it means they’re listening and they care,” Brutoco said. “It means they’re involved in this kind of quality thinking that leads to solutions. We want to encourage people playing at whatever level they can.”

World Business Academy worldbusiness.org (805) 892-4600

Rinaldo Brutoco moderates a panel on Housing Solutions for Santa Barbara in 2019

World Business Academy CEO Rinaldo Brutoco sits down with Deepak Chopra to discuss clean ener gy solutions at the Arlington Theatre in 2014

Scott StarrOtto W. Laula IN PASSING

by Tom Moore

This is a photograph of Otto Laula on his BMW motorcycle, Glen, and his beloved daughter Jessani, now the mother of four won derful, grown children.

Jessani’s mother Sue was killed in a tragic landslide on Mount Shasta 46 years ago, and since that time Otto has been a devoted single parent to his daughter. The bond and deep affection between them has always been unmistakable, as Otto remained constantly involved in the lives of Jessani and her family.

I recently told them both that I thought I had witnessed their relationship grow even deeper. Sadly, this change was occa sioned, over the past eleven weeks, by Otto learning that he had advanced can cer, leading to his death on October 12. Otto had a large network of family and friends, all of whom really loved him. Though most of us knew what was about to happen, it can’t soften the blow of him being gone from our lives.

Otto was a remarkable individual, possessed of an acute intellect and a buoyant sense of humor. His pursuits in life were many, and eclectic. My own relationship with Otto derived from a 30-plus year partnership in a publishing enterprise we called The Woodie Press, named for his grandmother, Eva Wood, also known as Grandma Woodie. Our logo featured her on this same motor cycle in a stylish dress hat, skirt, white heels, and Otto’s letterman’s jacket.

Otto and I were brought together by his sister Molly, who introduced us when she learned of our shared fascination with neighborhood grocery stores, the subject of our first calendar in 1976. Over the next thirty years, we went on to create unique and quirky calendars, as well as postcards and posters. One of our posters was a four-part photo series, featuring Otto, on how to manifest a refrigerator, spoofing the New Age. In more recent years, we saw each other pretty regularly, mostly in the context of his 25-year affiliation with Café del Sol, working as a bartender. As a non-drinker, this was the most time I had ever spent in a bar. It wasn’t Cheers, but it was a pretty fair approximation, with a cast of colorful regulars, some of whom also became good friends.

But there’s so much more to this beauti ful, compassionate, intelligent man. Otto was educated at Duke University and earned a degree in law from the University of Michigan. Out of law school, Otto worked in Vista, started by Robert Kennedy, and often characterized as the domestic version of the Peace Corps. He worked with the Navajo in Arizona, where

he met people who became friends for life, many of them also finding their way to Santa Barbara. But again, so much more.

Otto also taught a college English class for a friend in the east who took a leave of absence, as well as an adult education class in Santa Barbara. In addition, he spent time as a long-haul trucker, driving semis coast to coast, a Santa Barbara cab driver, a real estate salesman working with Eric Lyons and Joe Ambriz, later getting his own bro ker’s license, a tutor, a member of the California bar, the first manager of the Santa Barbara Recycling Center, and a bartender at the Café del Sol.

During the 11 weeks between Otto’s diagnosis and his passing, he was cared for by a devoted team of his daughter Jessani, his sister Molly, and his partner of eight years Patsy Evans. Throughout this time, Jessani kept an expanded cir cle of loving friends in touch through a remarkable collection of frequent text messages about Otto’s condition. They could be heart wrenching, but they were also very touching, and often equally funny. They gave me a greater sense of my already high level of appreciation for the love that existed between these two. I also learned some things Otto had never mentioned. I’ll share just one. Jessani described going out in the car with Otto one evening, stopping first at Spudnuts Doughnuts, picking up all the leftover pastries from the day. Their next stop was Casa Esperanza Homeless Shelter to deliver their bounty to an enthusiastic welcome for “The Doughnut Man.” Leave it to Otto. Without oversimplify ing, I think Otto’s life is an impressive manifestation of the spirit of the Sixties, and the vision shared by so many about how we could make this a more just, joyful, and compassionate world.

Indeed, Joy was the name Otto and Sue gave their daughter as a middle name.

by Michael Brooke

Scott Starr was not only an amaz ing photographer, he was also a truly generous person. Back in 1997, when I was working on my history of skateboarding book, I put an announcement in Transworld Skateboarding Business magazine asking for photos. The only photographer to contact me was Scott. He seemed to have a deep understanding of the project I’d undertaken and knew that I needed help from someone inside the industry. Scott provided a number of photos for the book including one that made the cover. The photo of Roger Muller is one of the most famous and reproduced in all of skateboarding. I’ll never forget Scott’s kindness and open ness to assist me.

Over the course of two decades, Scott and I remained in contact. He was always working on unique projects that related to skateboarding, snowboard ing, surfing, and of course, the world of Freestyle Frisbee. I was always astound ed at how he was able to unearth some truly incredible artifacts from the world of action sports. You can find a number of hidden gems of his on YouTube. He had what I would call a “friendly inten sity” when it came to finding material. I could never quite figure out exactly how he found extremely obscure ads, photos, or films. Whatever means he used, I am sure he did it in ways which would make any anthropologist or detective proud!

Scott also shot the cover for my first magazine – International Longboarder Magazine. The cover features a young surfer riding on a longboard who is fresh out of the water. It caused quite a sensation when it hit in 2000 and I was thrilled that his photo was able to capture the pure joy riding a longboard.

When it came time to launch my second magazine, Concrete Wave , I approached Scott once again for help. As he had done before, Scott dug up some wonderful photos that captured the spirit of what I was trying to accomplish and his work once again graced the cover of the first issue.

Although Scott was born in Louisiana, he looked and sounded like the quint essential Southern Californian. His laid-back style coupled with his dirty blonde hair and golden tan just exuded West Coast.

My last memory of Scott is when we met up in Santa Barbara just by chance. As my son and I were checking into a hotel, the front desk clerk spotted the words “concrete wave” on my jacket. He asked if I knew about a book with the same name because the person who shot the cover was his godfather. Talk about a coin cidence! Within 45 minutes, Scott joined us, and we spent a few hours talking about the past and his future plans.

One of

Scott died at the age of 61 (one day after his birthday). I’ll never forget his kindness and his significant contribution to capturing the soul and pure joy found in board sports and Freestyle Frisbee.

Otto on his BMW motorcycle, Glen, with his daughter Jessani

The cover of Concrete Wave that Scott Starr pho tographed

I pulled up to the Wimbys’ twelve-foot gate and grabbed my phone. But in a rare moment of keeping my priorities straight, I texted Paul: Hey Paul. Are you guys good?

Hey Hollis, he wrote. We are good. She did it!! Forty-two, thirty-one!! Top female finisher and sixth place overall!!

Joy and shame overwhelmed me. Cricket had done it. She had set her mind to a phenomenal feat and achieved it. Meanwhile I had deserted her at her moment of triumph. Tears welled in my eyes as my Subaru’s engine ran and my bladder pleaded for relief. What was I doing? God help me, Cyrus’s sudden emergency had better be worth what I had sacrificed.

Amazing, I wrote back. Please give her a hug from me.

I will, he replied. I hope the work emergency gets solved.

He did not say any more, and he did not need to. We both knew that I was in a boatload of domestic trouble. Thank you. Drive safe, I typed, then opened my phone app and dialed Cyrus again.

“You there?” he answered.

“Yes.”

He gave me the new gate code; ever since Vlad’s surprise visit, I had been buzzed onto the estate without being privy to the access code. I parked my car while he stayed on the line. “How do I get into the house?”

“There’s a hide-a-key in the garden behind the pizza oven,” he said. “Looks like a pile of dog shit.”

Fitting, I thought, trudging to the back of the house. I found the fake pile of poop and extricated the key. “Got it.”

“Go to the door closest to the pool,” he said. “It is also the closest to the security system. As soon as you enter, go straight to the pantry beside the kitchen. There is a touchscreen in there that will be flashing. I’ll give you the codes when you’re in front of it.”

I did as instructed but felt queasy as INTRUDER ALERT! flashed on the touchpad, even though I knew exactly who the intruder was. “I’m here.”

He gave me one set of codes which I entered. On completion, a second screen flashed, requiring more codes. Then a third. A countdown timer blinked in the upper corner the entire time, making me feel like I was dif fusing a bomb. “It’s off,” I said when the final code was received, and the touchscreen returned to a soothing color of blue.

“Go to my office,” he said.

Again, I followed instructions as my heart raced. It took a minute to wind through the estate, reaching his walnut paneled office with its views of the swimming pool and a distant glimpse of the putting green. “I’m at your desk,” I said, slightly out of breath.

“Go to the weeping fig in the corner of the room,” he said. “Just behind the trunk, there is a set of three keys. Grab them.”

Three soiled keys in hand, I said, “Done.”

“The gold one goes to the lower left drawer of my desk. Open it.”

I moved to his desk, nestled my cell between my shoulder and ear, and opened the drawer.

“Stop wedging the phone to your ear and put it on speaker, Hollis.”

I pressed speaker and held the phone in front of my face, looking at it as if it had sprouted horns. How did Cyrus know how I was holding my phone?

As if reading my mind, Cyrus said, “Yes. I’m watching you.”

My head swiveled until I saw the blinking red light from the corner behind the weeping fig.

“Found me,” Cyrus said.

My spine tingled.

“In the back of the drawer, behind the file folders, there are seven–” he stopped cold, the sound of muffled angry voices, one of which was his. “Fine,” he grunted, returning to the phone. “Eight – not seven – eight RemoteToken fobs. Do you see them?”

I did indeed see them. RemoteToken fobs looked like keyless entry car “keys,” with small screens that displayed six-digit numbers. The numbers were like exploding passwords considered by many to be the most secure passwords outside of fingerprints.

These fobs were also ancient technology, replaced by actual fingerprints, face recognition, and two-factor authentication. I knew of them because I was a tech geek, but my kids would never see one of these fobs in their lifetime. For Cyrus to have one fob was unique; to have seven – scratch that – eight of them was downright bizarre.

I picked up the tokens one by one, counting out all eight. Each was marked distinctly with either colored tape or fingernail polish. “I’ve got them,” I declared.

“Find the one with the red tape–”

“No, you fucking idiot!” I heard in the background; the idiot part barely muffled as Cyrus again tried to smother his phone, this time less success fully. Without question, the screamer was Genevieve.

After a few more seconds of heated exchange, Cyrus returned, faking calm. “The one with the yellow fingernail polish, I should have said, not the one with red tape.”

“It’s right here,” I said, holding it up to the weeping fig as proof.

“Good,” he said. “It’s got a countdown indicator on the screen. Beside the numbers are six little bars, each one representing five seconds. Let me know when all six bars are showing.”

I did not stop him from explaining how the RemoteToken worked, but I already knew. I knew more about RemoteTokens than Cyrus knew about China and Free Trade Zones and Saudi Arabian oil, but something cautioned me to hold my tongue for the moment. “Almost there,” I said, waiting ten more seconds, then, “ok, all six bars are showing.”

“Read me the number,” he said.

I did.

I could hear the clicking of his keyboard.

“Ok, I’m in,” he said to me, then repeated, “I’m in,” louder, but directed away from his phone, presumably toward Genevieve. She said something in reply. I could not make it out, but it did not sound nice.

“Are we good?” I asked. “Is that all you needed?” Please say no, I prayed. Surely Cyrus did not demand that I desert my family, hours from home, breaking every California Highway Patrol code to get to his house ASAP to read six digits off a RemoteToken fob. And for what? Why was this so ASAP important? Why did he desperately need access to whatever server or system or bank or… bank?

I heard light keyboard clicking on the other end of the line. “Is that all you needed?” I repeated. Please say no; please say no.

“That’s it.”

I set the fob down on his desk and buried my head in my hands.

“I am still watching,” he said through my phone’s speaker.

I sat up like a scolded child.

“There is one more thing,” he said. “I am about to BatSignal you our address in Fiji. I want you to take those eight RemoteTokens and FedEx them to me. In the same drawer where you found the fobs, I have FedEx envelopes and shipping forms that already have my billing info entered. Fill in our address and take the envelope directly to FedEx. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Go straight to the FedEx store, and—”

“It’s Sunday, Cyrus. The FedEx store is closed on Sunday.”

“Don’t interrupt me, Hollis! If the store is closed, there is a drop box on Coast Village Road, just past Jeannine’s Bakery. I want you to take your phone and make a little movie of yourself dropping those fobs into the addressed sealed envelope and feeding it into the drop box. I want that video delivered to me by BatSignal in fifteen minutes. Do you understand?”

I turned to look at the weeping fig, my face wrinkled in shock.

“Do you understand?” he repeated.

I nodded but said nothing.

“Good,” he said. “Fifteen minutes. Arm the security system on your way out.”

I returned to the-forehead in palms pose, still sitting in Cyrus’s desk chair.

“You should get going,” my phone cracked. “And don’t forget; I’ll be watching.”

With that eerie warning, he hung up.

Chapter 30

With the understanding of a Saint, Cricket forgave my bailing on her in her moment of triumph. At least her mouth said it; her eyes begged to differ. They were the eyes of a gagged hostage, filled with rage, fear, and bewilderment. Each time I tried to discuss the situa tion – Cyrus’s call, his demands, the cost of saying no – she cut me off before I could explain. “It’s ok. I understand,” she would repeat, and then walk away.

This graciousness was the opposite of what I wanted. I wanted her to yell at me. I wanted tears and spittle. I wanted her to unleash hell on me. I deserved it in so many ways. For missing her pier-to-pier triumph. For side-stepping her attempts to discuss the Wimbys. For sinking so low professionally, that the phrase bet the farm had liter al application. And perhaps worse of all, for hiding my discovery of Cyrus’s RemoteTokens.

“‘Tis the night—the night of the grave’s delight, and the warlocks are at their play.” – Cleveland Coxe

With regard to this latest crime against my better half, the truth was, I did not yet know what the RemoteTokens meant or signified. Until I did, I wanted to keep their existence a secret. As demanded, I had sent the fobs along to Fiji in a bubble wrapped mailer. Physically they were gone, but I retained their electronic footprints. And with them, I was certain that I could figure out exactly what I was doing with Cyrus Wimby. Was I build ing a business? Was I handling critical tasks? Was I furthering legitimate ends? Or… was I not?

Once I understood, I would tell Cricket everything. We would either laugh about the silly misunderstandings or plot our family’s next pivot; a pivot that could well involve shoehorning all of us into the spare bedroom of Cricket’s parents’ house.

To formally apologize for my Hermosa Beach desertion – and in cele bration of Cricket’s personal record – Paul and Jenny’s family joined ours for a backyard barbecue. It was my idea, and I was solely responsible for pulling it off. Normally, Cricket would take some of the load off, but she seemed fine letting me perform this small act of contrition without her helping hand.

The meal was my poor impersonation of Ina Garten; my go-to cook books whenever I was the family chef. That night I was grilling Ina’s Asian salmon and baking her roasted broccoli. I still had a few bottles of com plimentary Entre Nous – was I going to receive a W-2 for wine as wages? – and I opened them all. With some accompanying coconut-infused rice, this was my cannot-miss meal; even Isabel, my picky eater, always cleaned her plate on the nights of this lineup.

On entry, the kids ran off to play, leaving the four adults to pre tend there was no eight-hundred-pound gorilla defecating in the kitchen corner. I poured everyone a glass of wine and raised a toast to Cricket. With a few sips of lubrication, the gorilla shrunk to six-hundred pounds.

As men are wont to do, Paul followed me onto the patio to watch me grill the salmon. I was a stickler for grilling the right way: over charcoal in an original Weber grill. As a technology geek, I was a leading-edge adopter of gadgets and form-factors that promised efficiency. But when it came to grilling, I was a card-carrying caveman.

This time alone with Paul also gave me a chance to properly congratulate him on what amounted to a massive – but not unexpected – gut punch for me. The front page of the Santa Barbara Independent had relayed the news that morning: “Local Startup CryptoWallet Raises Fifty Million.” I had known, from the day I packed my cardboard box, that CryptoWallet was destined for success, but reading about Clyde Bostich – the man who fired me because I complained too much – and his metaphorical victory lap ripped the scab right off my wound. That said, Paul was still my friend –one of few – and I was genuinely happy for him even if I was jealous as hell.

“Congratulations on the equity raise,” I said to Paul as I lifted the char coal chimney. “Wow. Fifty million dollars.”

He cringed. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Sorry? Cut it out!” I said. “I can’t be your friend if you’re going to pity me.”

“Not pity,” he said. “It just felt like talking about it was rubbing salt in the wound.”

I slid the grill grate in place and closed the lid. “Not at all,” I said. “I’m happy for you and happy for the company. Maybe not so much happy for Clyde, but – hey – two out of three isn’t bad.”

Paul seemed relieved that I was not jealous or at least camouflaging it well. This was not easy for me as I was generally an open book with my emotions. Time again, this had gotten me in trouble. I could not hide disgust, disappointment, or disdain, and any attempts to backtrack were fruitless. But if I was ever going to have a poker face this was the moment.

“So, what’s the plan for the fifty million?” I asked.

Paul smiled. “The usual. New office furniture. A bigger marketing bud get. Expanding the sales team. Raises…”

I nodded, willing away judgment from my face.

“That’s terrific,” I said. “Just curious, but what about the security stuff? Has Clyde earmarked any of the money toward tightening up?”

Paul shook his head, no. “What can I say? It’s not at the top of Clyde’s to-do list at the moment.”

“Understood,” I said. “Clearly he and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on that.”

“Now there’s an understatement,” Paul laughed.

I joined Paul’s laugh, trying to keep the mood featherweight. “Even the issue with the tokens?” I pressed. “He didn’t deem that one a priority?”

“Tokens? The fob thingies?” Paul asked.

“Yeah,” I said. “You know; the random number generators for those oldschool bank accounts.” My heart was thumping in my ears as my blood

pressure skyrocketed. I was a down-on-his-luck pirate who had stumbled on a treasure map. Before I trudged off into the jungle, I needed to under stand if the local tribesman were friendly or cannibals.

“Right,” Paul said. “Nah, we haven’t dealt with that yet. I think we only have a handful of those on the system.”

“Sure,” I said, nodding, “makes sense.”

“Nobody knows about it but you, anyway,” Paul said, slapping me on the back as I lifted the lid to place the salmon filets down for three minutes of intense heat.

My heart bounded into cardio territory at his words; it was exactly what I needed to hear. CryptoWallet had washed their hands of me and done nothing to fix the problems that I had been fired for complaining about. Deep breaths, I told myself. I chuckled nervously and threw myself under the bus as cover. “That’s me,” I said. “Chief of Worry. Head of Non-Issues.”

At one point, Paul asked about ExOh, and I replied only that I was keep ing very busy, then let it drop. There was no need to elaborate.

I flipped the salmon filets once, and after another three minutes, moved them to the outer edges of the grill’s surface, keeping the lid off. In another nine minutes, they would be done and set aside to rest under a final coat of marinade. The kitchen beeper went off and I rescued the broccoli from the oven, tossing it with lemon juice, lemon zest, toasted pine nuts, and parmesan: perfect. I poured myself another glass of wine and threw away the first bottle empty, feeling a purposeful tingle.

I do not know if the Gorilla shrunk all the way down to a Spider Monkey, or if I just got tipsy enough to believe that everyone had a won derful, carefree evening. I do know that the plates were licked and that by the time everyone had their vanilla gelato – Montecito’s very own Scoops – and berries, I heard several groans suggesting overconsumption. As far as I was concerned, those groans signaled success.

When we said our goodbyes, Jenny gave me a hug; another good sign. In my experience, the forgiveness of a wife’s best friend is often the hardest to win.

Cricket tried to help with the dishes, but I thanked her and sent her away. I tasked Isabel with Trip duty and she welcomed the assignment. She had been suggesting that she would like to start babysitting for neighbors next year, so Trip served as both a guinea pig and an audition. She did good, helping Trip brush his teeth and dress for bed, then completing her daily reading requirement with a chapter of Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, read to Trip as he snuggled with Charlie, his dog-headed security blanked.

Meanwhile, I stuffed the dishwasher and hand-washed what remained. With soap suds up to my elbows, I haphazardly scrubbed and rinsed, con sidering what Paul had said and how I would use it. His words – nobody knows about it but you, anyway – repeating in my head like the refrain to a lullaby.

Michael Cox is a 2005 graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Wall Street refugee. Including Montecito, Michael has written three novels, each in various stages of the path to publication. He can be reached at mcox@alumni.gsb.stanford.edu.

Tune in next week for more Montecito

SANTA BARBARA

HOPE RANCH

MONTECITO

On Entertainment Molly’s Game is Great Music

by Steven Libowitz

Palo Alto-raised, Boston-trained, Nashville-based guitarist/singer-song writer Molly Tuttle inspires critics to manufacture metaphors to describe her dexterity on an acoustic six-string guitar –“her fingers are like 10 Olympic athletes” or “she could pick your pocket without breaking stride.” That’s not surprising since after years of participating in bluegrass jams all over Northern California, Tuttle broke through the bluegrass glass ceiling at 24 to become the first woman to win the International Bluegrass Music Association’s guitar player of the year award, in both 2017 and 2018, no less.

But her first two albums were more roots-pop oriented, one even consisting entirely of covers, compelling, nonethe less. Then Tuttle released Crooked Tree last spring, co-writing all of the songs in unmistakable bluegrass styles and break ing out a new band of young bluegrass wizards, augmented by such contempo raries and heroes as Billy Strings and Jerry Douglas, who co-produced.

“The pandemic was the right time in

my life for this record,” Tuttle explained in a phone interview. “It was comforting to me to write those bluegrass sounds and get back to that music I grew up with, because it’s so community oriented. It felt like coming home. I just started thinking about bluegrass all the time.”

The album’s universally strong songs spring from her life, but also address

SALE

more modern themes than traditional bluegrass, which has led some to label her as a feminist musician.

“I’m a woman so people will say that, but I’m writing about things from my life that I feel passionate about,” Tuttle said. “There were a lot of times at Berklee where I was like the only woman in a guitar class or in a jam when I was younger, and it’s so easy to get written off more than a guy would. There’s this feeling of having to prove yourself.”

Mission accomplished.

“Crooked Tree,” the title song – sprang from feeling different, dating back to her struggle with alopecia long before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock – has solidified Tuttle’s place on the Americana music map, and drawn rabid fans to her concerts, including last January at SOhO, where the audience whooped and hollered for every instrumental solo and keyed into the vocal harmonies.

Tuttle will still be supporting Crooked Tree when she plays the much larger Lobero on November 3. But don’t expect every new record to be bluegrass bliss.

“It’s a huge part of who I am, but I like to follow wherever the creativity is going, and let my songwriting dictate the path.”

Back at the Haunted Pumpkin Patch

The Pumpkin Queen is in need of your assistance again. It seems that scoundrel Louie D’Ville is now scheming with the

despicable Chuck Bunger to turn all of Isla Vista into parking lots, strip malls, and high rises.

Yes, with October coming to a close, IV Recreation & Park District and Lucidity Festival’s Halloween Haunted Pumpkin Patch is back in action, resurrecting and upgrading the family-friendly installations full of Lucidity’s signature light projection, costumed characters, aerial acrobatics, and bamboo sculptures that thrilled thousands in its debut in 2021. Only this year’s immersive theatrical experience with a vari ety of unique environments that weave a homespun tale is moving to Anisq’Oyo’ Park in the heart of IV, with the belief that elevating the arts with an expanded festival as an alternative Halloween event can com pete head-on with the partying that still takes over Del Playa just a few blocks away. Including, this year, on Halloween night itself, because that day actually marks the 50th anniversary of IVRPD.

“We get a lot of stigma, but we have a beloved multi-generational commu nity that should be able to safely cele brate Halloween together,” said IVRPD General Manager Kimberly Kiefer, who grew up in Montecito, explaining the concept behind crafting the Haunted Pumpkin Patch experience with Lucidity and the Environment Makers.

The event has grown into a full fes tival, complete with film screenings,

Student

Molly Tuttle will play the Lobero on November 3

(photo by Chelsea Rochelle)

Soweto

Montecito Moms

Jeanette Petrus Le Renard: Baby Steps

by Dalina Michaels

Jeanette Petrus Le Renard gets to play every day with her clients, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I work with babies on their level – and their parents as well. My goal is to meet them where they are and help them get where they need to be!”

As a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in early intervention, Le Renard is helping the parents as much as the babies. “My clients are between one month and three years old. My job is to help identify developmental delays and work with a team to address them.”

What makes her job even more special is the way she meets families – wherever they are. “We don’t work in a sterile office environment. We want the kids to feel comfortable, so I see them in their natural settings. Sometimes I meet a family at the park, or the beach, or just in their living room. The more natural and comfortable the setting, the easier it is to blend the physical therapy into their daily routines.”

Le Renard recently got her doctorate in physical therapy in pediatric science, but she is not the only doctor in her house. Her husband, Christophe, is the Chief Medical Information Officer for Cottage Health and works part-time as a pediatric hospital ist. They have two kids who attend Riviera Ridge, Charlie (13) and Alex (10).

“I love working with families as it is really the parents and caregivers who know their kids best and who can help make the most progress.”

Le Renard shares, “During a typical workday, I may be at a quiet family

home coaching parents on tummy time for a three-month-old. Later, I will be at a preschool teaching a caregiver how to encourage a one-year-old to take steps, and then we will be at the beach running in and out of the water on the uneven sand with an almost three-year-old. Lots of purposeful play and setting up of the environment to help children develop the skills they need to move.”

Le Renard says that she hopes to teach parents different skills and give them tools so they can incorporate physical therapy in a way that makes sense in their daily lives. “One time, we were trying to do tummy time on the floor to work on

strengthening the baby’s muscles. The baby didn’t want to let go of her dad, so we practiced tummy time on his chest. That way, she got to be close to the father while also getting in the therapy needed to strengthen the neck and arms.”

Le Renard also knows that parents are the best advocates for their kids. “We have so many resources in this town, but often parents don’t know what is out there. I always say it helps to be a squeaky wheel –but a nice one! You can reach out to your doctor or Tri-Counties Regional Center to advocate for your child if you think there is something more that needs to be done.”

Her path into physical therapy for infants has come full circle. “At the beginning of my career, I worked with all age groups and in many different settings. While I enjoyed it all, nothing quite compares to watching a child grow, learn, and thrive. I truly believe in early intervention and have seen it change the lives of so many children and families.”

One of the biggest challenges is identi fying children in need of early interven tion services and hoping they get referred to professionals as early as possible. The earlier a child can begin receiving ser vices, the better the outcomes.

Le Renard offers her advice: “If a parent or caregiver is concerned about the development of a child, they should mention it to their pediatrician, who can make a referral to Tri-Counties Regional Center. Evaluations and services are at no cost if a child qualifies.

She also has a good reminder for par ents with kids of any age. “I had a twoyear-old one time who was just waking up from a nap when I came to work with her. She was fussy and it was obvious she needed to eat and take a minute. I have found if you can give kids that balance –they will be more willing and engaging, rather than trying to rush them to doing something they aren’t ready for.”

So, at the end of a long week, what is Le Renard’s favorite way to wind down?

“I love when my husband barbecues. My dream day would be to watch our kids play sports, then grab fresh fish from the pier or Santa Barbara Fish Market and cook it up on the grill!”

Because most of her work is with referrals, Le Renard says the best way for parents to reach her is via the Child Development Network www.childdev network.org or call (805) 350-2086.

Dalina Michaels former television news producer and writer. She is a Montecito native and graduated Westmont College with a degree in Communication Studies and Theatre Arts.

Jeanette Petrus Le Renard is a pediatric physical therapist who specializes in early intervention with babies with developmental delays

Le Renard and her family taking some time off

This year’s Halloween Haunted Pumpkin Patch has a new story and expanded location in IV’s Anisq’Oyo’ Park

carnival games and activities, two silent disco nights, a Ferris Wheel, Día de Los Muertos altars, a costume contest, and a live Thriller flash mob performance by World Dance for Humanity. What’s also changed is how the Pumpkin Queen’s story unfolds.

While the tale is still a sequel, visitors will have a lot more choices, as rather than being led by a guide through a lin ear experience, they can enter the park through five different points, and visit the stations in any order, creating their own sequence by who they choose to interact with.

“We still need them to step up into their superhero selves and support the Guardians of Green (aka IVRPD),” said Lucidity Co-founder Jonah Haas, who once again created the scripts for the characters, although this year’s event will have more improvised interactions. “You get your passport stamped at each loca tion, which is how we facilitate moving people through the space so they get all the different pieces of the story.”

Those who complete the circuit not only earn a free pumpkin, but also qual ify for Monday night’s costume contest with a $1,000 prize.

But just dropping in is fine, too,

Haas said.

“We’ve really designed this event so that the people who want to do the gami fied element of the immersive experience, and learn the story, get their passport, and participate in the costume contest have that opportunity. But if you just want to come out to the park and have a good time, ride the Ferris Wheel, that’s great too. It’s safe, it’s fun, and, just like Lucidity, it’s for everyone.”

Halloween Haunted Pumpkin Patch runs 7-11 pm October 29-31 at Anisq’Oyo’ Park. Visit facebook.com/ events/1071817036815896 for more information.

Halloween Happenings

Carpinteria’s Alcazar Theatre hosts two screenings on October 29 at 7 pm and midnight of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, complete with costumes and all the popcorn-tossing antics… World Dance for Humanity winds up its performances of Thriller all over town with its annual “Thrill the World” show as part of the global dance phenomenon. The 1-3 pm event on October 29 also features a dance party, all in celebration of the 40th anni versary of the release of Michael Jackson’s 1982 record that remains the best-selling album of all time… Saturday afternoon at 3 pm launches Paseo Nuevo’s Monster Mash Dance Party with a DJ in center court for a costume dance party (prizes will be handed out randomly) and trickor-treating throughout Paseo Nuevo stores and at downtown businesses, while SOhO’s annual Halloween Bash with the Molly Ringwald Project takes place that night… The Santa Barbara Zoo winds up the second weekend of its annual Boo at the Zoo event, October 28-30.

‘In the Heights’

Lin-Manuel Miranda ’s In the Heights , the 2008 multiple Tony Award-winning musical that presaged Miranda’s even more astounding suc cess with Hamilton , has been seen in town several times, including a PCPA production in 2016, Santa Barbara High two years later, and, in the 2021 film adaptation, just two months ago at the Sunken Gardens.

But never quite like Rubicon Theatre’s upcoming version of the heartfelt, hope ful, high-energy musical chronicling the On Entertainment Page 444

(DWR) Manager Salomon Miranda, Public Works Director Scott McGolpin, and County Public Works Deputy Director Walter Rubalcava. Director McGolpin thanked staff, the project’s contractor, V. Lopez Jr. and Sons, and the community for working on a project that will improve safety for the residents of Montecito and the traveling public. “Our Public Works team takes pride in this project that will reduce poten tial flooding and debris flow impacts at Highway 192 and downstream infra structure and properties.”

As a former County Supervisor and the region’s federal representative, Carbajal said it was a privilege to work with various agencies and the community to improve regional resiliency. “As we approach the fifth anniversary of those events, I am proud to stand with the County’s public servants and first responders to remem ber those that lost their lives and their livelihoods. By completing projects that will save lives in the face of worsening climate disasters, we honor those affected by the debris flow and help build a more resilient community.”

“This is a great accomplishment, but we are not done working on your behalf. We need to always be getting better, both in our infrastructure and fire service. We know we have a longterm generational project between here and the ocean to ensure this commu

nity is safer. Through this work, we can ensure that future disasters are less likely to be severe and less likely to have such a terrifying loss of life,” Supervisor Williams said, also thanking the rest of the Board of Supervisors for taking a chance on this project, which required acquiring seven properties on Randall Road and one on East Valley Road. Curtis Skene, the Montecito resident who conceived of the idea of the basin and was the driving force in the effort to develop it with the County and State, was also in attendance, as were former Flood Control managers Tom Fayram and John Frye, who were instrumental in bringing the basin to fruition.

Future plans for the area surrounding the basin include walking paths for community members, and potentially a formal memorial for the 23 lives lost on January 9, 2018, in the debris flow.

It was noted that Monday’s event kicked off California Flood Preparedness Week. California Flood Preparedness Week began in 2012 with a single event in Sacramento County and is now in its eleventh year. DWR sup ports events across the state, working with federal, state, and local agencies to inform Californians about flood risk and preparedness. Miranda highlighted the importance of preparing for poten

The newest rendition of LinManuel Miranda’s In the Heights comes to Rubicon on October 26

The event has expanded into a full festival with film screenings, carnival games, silent disco, a Ferris wheel, and more

Community leaders, stakeholders, and those instrumental in securing the funds to build the debris basin gathered for a ribbon-cutting on Monday morning

Travel Buzz

A Sonoma Sojourn to Healdsburg and the Marvelous Montage

by Leslie A. Westbrook

My fall trip to Northern California wine country was designed to spend a few nights during the tail end of harvest season in Sonoma. This included checking out the recently opened Montage Healdsburg resort, a stunning and tranquil retreat set on 258 acres of heritage oak forest, also dot ted with manzanita and madrone trees. Vineyards have been planted on property (and an acorn planted for any oak tree removed for the resort project), 60-plus private homes are being built (mostly sec ond or third homes) and lots are for sale, but it was the hotel’s woodsy location, just two and a half miles from the town square, that makes Montage a perfect base for Sonoma wine country exploring.

Checking In with Style

Upon check-in, the most gracious and beautiful Yanet greeted me with a com plimentary glass of excellent, light, and crisp Sonoma/Russian River Valley 2020 Chardonnay from LIOCO vineyards (they have a tasting room in town). An equally sweet “bell-woman” – one of two on staff – whisked me and my traveling companion off in a golf cart to one of the 130 beautifully designed and handsomely appointed tree-top view rooms in pods tucked into the forest and built on stilts. Decorated in neutral tones and natural materials, the spacious room was designed to emphasize the focus on the trees out side the massive sliding glass doors that open onto the equally spacious deck with a firepit and plenty of seating. Stargazing at night is de rigueur and there are even weather-dependent stargazing events on property, and other onsite options/activ ities including a terrific play area and family pool for those traveling with kids. We dropped our bags, jumped into our bathing suits, and immediately hit the

“adults only” zero edge pool and jacuzzi. Returning to our room, it was warm enough to enjoy the outdoor shower before dressing for dinner at the resort’s Hazel Hill. The indoor/outdoor dining venue features tranquil views across the vineyards planted by current Sonoma uber winemaker star Jesse Katz. Mount Saint Helena in the distance turning lav ender-pink at sunset was an added treat as a terrific jazz duo of guitar/stand-up bass provided a perfect sound backdrop. The feeling is casual, but the service (not only in the restaurant but throughout the property) is exemplary and guests are treated like royalty.

Food as Art

Dinner at Montage Healdsburg’s Hazel Hill was as delicious as it was visually exciting. Napa and Sonoma wine country chefs all need to be at the top of their game, and Chef Jason Pringle and Chef de Cuisine Thomas Mendel are food art ists, par excellence. There’s even an open kitchen with counter seating if you want to watch the chefs in action.

We began our culinary adventure with a beautiful array of four different varieties of succulent raw oysters served with a Bloody Mary mignonette, cocktail sauce, and Chef JP’s hot sauce. While I usually try wines of the region, I couldn’t resist the Huber Grüner Veltliner from Austria, which was perfection with the bivalves. I also tried Sonoma’s Arbe Garbe Malvasia Bianca and Tocai Friulano, but must admit I preferred the Austrian wine that evening. The wine list is stellar and you may have a hard time choosing what to pair with your meal.

Stick with me here, because although cer tain offerings may sound strange, everything worked harmoniously – from the salmon topped with a sliver of crisp pumpernickel bread to a dessert named “peas and carrots.”

The rooms offer spectacular views of the surroundings (photo by Christian Horan)

Rock ‘N Roll Heaven

Montecito

“Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us.” – Tim Burton

Rand Rosenberg and Bobby Shand

Susan Shand, Michael McDonald, Lis Leader, and Bobby Shand

Roxie and Randy Solakian, Fabienne Guerin, Pamela Massey, and Jim Longo

Jeff Bridges and Rand Rosenberg

Jackson Brown, Jeff Bridges, Steve Postell, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, and Elliot Easton

Jeff and Susan Bridges with hosts Rand and Teran Rosenberg

D.C. McGuire, Annie Goeke, and Amanda Kelley

Susan Shand, Noa Lurie-Firestein, and Paul and Sally Harvey

Kenny Loggins, Lisa Hawkins, and Steve Postell

Filmmaker Harry Rabin was there to record the event

Rita Moya and Graciela Montgomery (Co-Chairs of HRW) with Gary and Jeanne Newman

Geoff Green, Laura Capps, and Hilda Maldonado

Rand and Teran Rosenberg

Andrew Ungerleider and Sue Glumac

Concert Finale

HRW China Director Sophie Richardson with Brad Adams, Osborne Richardson, and Ron Pulice

Ron and Stacy Pulice

Jesse Rosenberg and Melissa Mose

Chris Pelonis, Greg and Mai Leisz, Jackson Browne, Jeff Bridges, Bobby Shand, Gwyn Lurie, Steve Postell, Rand Rosenberg, Kenny Loggins, Michael McDonald, and Elliot Easton

Seth and Monica Epstein

highlight of our meal was a shared starter of house-made pappardelle with black truffles shaved tableside (present ed in a temperature-controlled humi dor). But the castellano olive bread from Goguette Bread bakery in Santa Rosa served alongside duck fat butter with fen nel oil and fennel pollen was not only to die for, but more than likely contributed to my post-trip weight gain!

had a hard time choosing an entrée between the Alaskan halibut with grapes, chanterelle mushrooms, and sauce Veronique or the Liberty Farms Duck Breast which would have been an excuse to switch to red

vino – maybe the Cornell Vineyards cab? But I stayed the white wine course.

“I’ve eaten salmon so much,” my din ing companion, who also chose a fish entrée, raved, “but never like this!”

There’s always room for dessert. My friend chose the “peas and carrots” – a sourdough carrot cake with a white chocolate pea mousse – and gobbled it down like there was no tomorrow. What a clever way to con children into eating vegetables, I thought to myself. I asked if there was anything with dark chocolate not on the menu and was not disappointed by a rich, gold-flecked choc olate crémeux dessert. All in all, a superb

and memorable dinner presented and served with casual professionalism.

The next day was a lazy one, some time by the pool and a highly anticipated massage in the small spa did not disap point. Brandy kneaded my muscles into bliss and I floated back to my room for another outdoor shower and relaxation time to watch the changing light on the madrone tree tops outside the room deck. There are plenty of ways to work off the calories – hiking trails, e-bikes to rent, archery, and other activities manned by Daniel, the awesome recreation man ager. I was lucky to be at the resort the first night Jupiter aligned in the sky since 1963 for stargazing through the lens of a strong telescope. Daniel set the eye piece so I could see not only Jupiter, but three moons around it. It was a perfect ending to an awesome retreat.

While the rates are not for the faint of heart— and I did take issue with the music played poolside and some limit ed noise from my nextdoor neighbor’s room, Montage delivers an almost perfect experience, mostly thanks to the setting, stellar staff, and fine cooking that also includes delicious hearty breakfast choic es including eggs benedict with locally cured bacon or ham that’s enough for

two meals, gorgeous and tasty avocado toast, and more. The hotel’s concierges, Annie and Scott, can also be counted on for excellent recommendations for win eries to visit as well as “up and coming” restaurants and more, off property. Would I return? In a New York sec ond! Montage showcases not only some of what’s really best and beautiful about California wine country, but it’s done with style, panache, and tremendous human Golden State warmth in a gor geous setting.

Montage Healdsburg, 100 Montage Way, Healdsburg, CA 95448 montagehotels.com (707) 979-9000

Leslie A. Westbrook is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer and journalist who loves exploring the globe. A 3rd generation Californian., Leslie also assists clients sell fine art, antiques, and collectibles via auction.

lesliewestbrook.com

The pool is one of the many reasons to return to Montage (photo by Christian Horan)

The resort restaurant, Hazel Hill, delivered elegance in a meal (photo by Christian Horan)

Dear Montecito

In Conversation with ASL Advocate

Leah Martin

by Stella Haffner

a kid, Leah Martin was a strong student and good friend. She enjoyed theater and all things media. But her landscape began to shift when she was diagnosed with ReverseSlope Hearing Loss.

Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss is a degen erative disorder that causes a person to progressively lose their hearing, starting with lower tones. By 15 years old, Leah was entering high school with hearing aids and the activities she had previously enjoyed began to slip away from her.

“Socially, things were just a little bit dif ferent,” says Leah. “I did theater at Santa Barbara High School. I loved it. But I just slowly started to lose my sense of tune. I used to be so on pitch. And now the other kids were just not very nice.”

As Leah’s condition progressed, the school environment became challenging in more ways than one. Even when dis ability accommodations were available, they weren’t always accessible.

“Teachers don’t always know how to do things like turn on captions on videos. I am always having to remind people. Last semester, I had to remind my teacher almost every day, and it just made me feel so annoying. I don’t want to disrupt every one else’s class.”

While Reverse-Slope Hearing Loss is rare, a significant proportion of the American population is deaf or hard of hearing. According to the National Institutes of Health, two to three out of every 1,000 babies are born with hearing loss while 14% of the total USA popula tion is hearing impaired. Yet students like

Leah are still made to feel bad when they ask for necessary accommodations.

By the time she arrived at college, Leah knew she was being held back by traditional, hearing-centric education and decided it was time to tackle something that was long overdue: an introduction to American Sign Language (ASL). Although no ASL classes were offered at her univer sity, the College of Charleston, Leah saw her graduate foreign language requirement as the perfect opportunity to start this new and increasingly needed skill.

“I was losing my hearing,” Leah says. “I know a lot of basic signs, but at this point it’s not even about wanting to learn ASL. I need to know ASL.”

Leah did some research and signed up for a class at Santa Barbara City College. But when she returned to the College of Charleston to register her foreign language credits, Leah was told that ASL wasn’t recognized. While the university was kind

enough to waive her foreign language requirement in light of her disability, Leah knew this was an issue that deserved more attention. Why wouldn’t an ASL class count towards learning a new language?

Ready to tackle the administration head on, Leah presented the issue to the Dean of Language. There she learned that there was a history of students at College of Charleston advocating for ASL classes; attempts that had ground to a halt. Now, even more deter mined to push the issue forward, Leah and the Dean of Language arranged their first presentation with the faculty.

“I definitely found myself in a teacher role,” says Leah. “I needed to understand what myths I had to uncover and also show the faculty that this is a business opportuni ty. Students want to be taught ASL.”

Between meetings with faculty, Leah was busy sending out surveys to the stu dent body and acting as an ASL ambas sador to the language department. To progress, she had to fight hard against the myths and misconceptions surrounding sign language.

“People think that ASL is just English with hand gestures. But it’s not. The gram mar is different. There are words in ASL that have no direct translations. Not all English-signing people even use ASL; they have an entirely different dialect in the U.K.,” says Leah.

Gradually, Leah was able to show the faculty that ASL not only exists in its own right as a language but also as an American subculture. Illustrating this important truth was a big win for dis ability advocacy at College of Charleston, and Leah attributes her success to having a balanced attitude.

“I think that approaching this situation with kindness and patience while simulta neously staying headstrong, being assertive – but not coming off as aggressive or angry – is what it took for me. On the inside, I’m angry. So this was a skill I had to learn because no one is going to want to work

with you if you’re angry. You have to learn to be patient and educational.”

Thanks to Leah’s efforts, the initiative to introduce ASL classes to the College of Charleston is now a healthy campaign. Upon her graduation, she was recognized for her unselfish contributions to life at College of Charleston and awarded her degree in marketing with special honors.

With this victory and a bachelor’s diplo ma in hand, Leah is starting a new chapter in Seattle, Washington, where she has been hired as an account manager for Amazon. Excited to be in this new posi tion, Leah says that she looks forward to using what she learned while lobbying at the College of Charleston to improve the experience of hard of hearing customers and workers at Amazon.

From the shores of Scotland, Stella Haffner keeps her connection to her home in Montecito by bringing grads of local schools to the pages of the Montecito Journal

Leah Martin advocated and succeeded in intro ducing American Sign Language classes to the College of Charleston

Scan the QR code to see Leah’s educational slide deck about American Sign Language

joys, sorrows, hardships, and triumphs of New York’s Washington Heights neighborhood. The show is not only directed by Luis Salgado – who was the Latin Assistant Choreographer and cast member for the original show on Broadway, and later directed and cho reographed the award-winning U.S. Spanish-language premiere – it also echoes the message of the musical by engaging deeply with the local Ventura community. Over the summer there were free dance and vocal workshops for area residents interested in audi tioning for the show; 85 showed up and three eventually ended up getting cast in RTC’s production. And over the last two weeks, the diverse 21-member cast put on in-school assemblies and classroom workshops in Ventura and Oxnard, reaching nearly 5,000 students. In the Heights performs at the Rubicon from October 26-November 13. Call (805) 667-2900 or visit rubicontheatre.org.

Classical Corner: West mont Fall Choral Festival

High school choirs from across the Southern California region join the Westmont College Choir and Choral Union to share an off-campus concert of vocal music from an array of differ ent musical traditions. The high school choirs, who have received coaching from Westmont’s music faculty, get a chance to shine individually as well as part of the larger ensemble, while the college’s choir will be featuring Japanese composer Koh Matsushita’s “O Lux Beata Trinitas” to set the tone for its season that culminates in the college’s continuing choral director Daniel Gee leading the Westmont Choir on a tour of Japan next May. Show time is 6 pm Friday, October 28, at Hahn Hall at the Music Academy. Free admission. Info at (805) 565-6051 or westmont.edu.

Youth Will Be Served

The Santa Barbara Symphony’s fall youth performance festival presents all three of its ensembles in concert over the weekend, highlighting the educational and community efforts of the only music education program in the region tied to a professional symphony orchestra. The Camerata (beginning) Ensemble and Philharmonia (intermediate) Orchestra perform Saturday afternoon October 29 at First Presbyterian Church, while the more advanced 50-member strong Santa Barbara Youth Symphony plays the Lobero the next day. Sunday’s first concert of the season was intentionally designed to welcome newcomers as each composition highlights a different section of the orchestra with repertoire that spans from early Baroque period to present day music, the latter represented in the closing selection from living composer Richard Meyer. Meyer was the ensemble’s new conductor-director Daniel Gee’s (yes, it’s

Westmont’s choral chair doing double duty) first music teacher in elementa ry school. Both concerts take place at 3 pm and feature free admission. Visit TheSymphony.org.

Focus on Film: SBJFF Checks into New Vic

The annual Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival kicks off at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, November 2, with an open ing reception onstage at The New Vic Theatre downtown. Toast the return of the five-day event boasting films that span from documentaries and dramas to romantic comedies from around the world, plus guest speakers, morning coffee-and-bagels meetups, and more. Stick around for the 7 pm screening of Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Song, a Journey, the highly praised 2022 doc umentary likely to earn an Oscar nod, which will be introduced with a teach ing from Rabbi Mordecai Finley, the late singer-songwriter’s spiritual advisor. Visit sbjewishfilmfestival.org for details and festival passes or tickets, including info on how to get free admission to tonight’s film.

SBIFF CS Screenings of Note

Saturday morning’s showing of Till, the profoundly emotional and cine matic film about the relentless pursuit of justice for Emmett Till, is the next Cinema Society screening non-sub scribers can buy tickets to in advance.

Writer-director Chinonye Chukwu does a Q&A following the screening of the highly-praised movie about the teen who was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi back in 1955. Also on Cinema Society’s dense autumn schedule in the next 10 days: Sr. with producer Susan Downey (Oct. 29); Nanny with writer-director Nikyatu Jusu and actress Anna Diop (5:30 pm Oct. 30; free); Top Gun: Maverick with director Joseph Kosinski (Nov. 5); and The Women King with director Gina Prince-Bythewood and actress Thuso Mbedu (Nov. 6). The latter two are pre dicted to get nominated for best picture by the Oscar experts at Gold Derby. For info on advance reservations or rush tickets, visit sbiff.org.

Ernie’s World Rock of Ages

by Ernie Witham

It was raining now and blustery. The temperature, which had been hovering around nippy, was heading toward less romantic sounding terms like “freezing my tuchus off.”

“According to legend,” our guide was saying at a volume that came with weath er-related experience, “the Rock originat ed in a high mountain located around 20 miles north of here called Devil’s Bit.”

I looked at where she was pointing, but all I could see was a bunch of future, ultra-warm, wool sweaters mill ing about, baa-ing occasionally, while munching on grass so green it looked like it had been Photoshopped.

“It is said that the Rock ended up here when St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, banished Satan from a cave. In a fury, Satan took a bite from the mountain and spat it out at our current location, which is today known as the Rock of Cashel.”

Wow, talk about an angry tenant. “Shh,” my wife whispered. At least I think it was Pat. Everyone had their hoods up and were huddled together like arctic pen guins, as we stood upon the rocky cliff face that rose about 200 feet in the air.

Our rental car – with its missing hub cap – was parked at the bottom of that 200-foot-high cliff. The left front wheel had lost an argument with a curb shortly after we picked it up at Dublin Airport. We heard you could not rent a car in Ireland if you were over 65. I was okay with that as I was nervous about driving on the left side of the road.

So, when we got to the rental counter, I fully expected them to say, “you are like way too old!” Instead, the friendly gen tleman handed me 18 pages of forms to sign, one of which no doubt talked about losing stuff.

I was doing great on the M5 motor

way heading south. Getting the hang of it, being international, ungritting my teeth. Then the GPS took us off toward a small village. “Look out for that curb!” Pat yelled, a bit too late. “Look out for the wall!” she yelled a few seconds later. Somehow, I missed that one or the car might be lying in...

“...ruins today,” our guide was saying as she pointed behind her. “The castle was originally built in the fifth century, though the structures you see here today are mostly from the twelfth and thir teenth centuries.” I took a shaky photo, then upped my camera speed to compen sate for the shivering.

Apparently, Saint Patrick traveled to Cashel in about 450 AD to baptize the King of Munster, King Aengus, convert ing him to Christianity. Unfortunately, when Patrick was ending his ceremony, he thrust his sharply pointed crozier into the ground, but missed slightly, thrusting it into King Aengus’ foot. So much for thy rod and thy staff shall comfort thee.

“Shh,” Pat – or someone in a gray raincoat – said again, as we walked around the castle ruins toward the ancient graveyard.

“The rock of Cashel was the tradi tional seat of the Kings of Munster until the Norman invasion in the elev enth century, then the Bishops took over, turning it into a cathedral until the sack of 1647 by Oliver Cromwell’s men, who turned it into rubble.” Turns out, Cromwell is not a popular figure in Irish history.

Still, today you can visit the pictur esque remains of the castle, see the round tower from 1100, visit Cormac’s Chapel, see the ancient Celtic cross, and wander through the graveyard.

“Over here,” the guide continued cheerily, raising her voice a bit to be heard over our chattering teeth and a sound I thought might be thunder, “is

Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The follow ing person(s) is/are doing busi ness as: Cheddar Photo Booths, 37 Dearborn Pl. #79, Goleta, CA 93117. Michael A Mendoza, 37 Dearborn Pl. #79, Goleta, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on September 30, 2022. This statement ex pires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certi fy that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002441. Published Octo ber 26, November 2, 9, 16, 2022

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bara, CA 93105. Seana M Sears, 2729 Puesta Del Sol, Santa Bar bara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oc tober 14, 2022. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certi fy that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002543. Published Octo ber 26, November 2, 9, 16, 2022

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Golden Estate Management, 4810 Sawyer Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. Robert P Herman, 4810 Sawyer Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on September 27,

2022. 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. Hol land, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002392. Published Oc tober 12, 19, 26, November 2, 2022

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The follow ing person(s) is/are doing busi ness as: Farm to Fork Social Club Catering, 480 Toro Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Joseph W Cordero, 480 Toro Canyon Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep tember 30, 2022. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certi fy that this is a correct copy of

“Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves.” – Elvis Duran

Scully’s Cross, one of the largest and most famous crosses at Cashel. It was constructed in 1867 to commemorate Denys Scully, a prominent leader in the cause of Catholic Emancipation.”

I took a photo. “Unfortunately, the cross was destroyed by a massive bolt of lightning in 1976 which struck a metal rod running the length of the cross.” We all looked up at the dark gray skies. “Thank you. That con cludes the tour.”

Pat and I trudged downhill to the car. “I think I’ll tell the car rental place the front hubcap was struck by lightning.

Whataya think?”

“Another myth is born,” said Pat.

The Riskin Partners Estate Group – founding member Rebecca Riskin lost her life during the tragic events of January 9, 2018 – gathered near a memorial in her honor near the Randall Road Debris Basin. Also pictured are retired Flood Control managers Tom Fayram and John Frye.

new head of Flood Control, thanked the community, contractors, and local, state, and federal governments that helped see the project to com pletion. “After the next flood event or wildfire that occurs, the hope is that when the debris comes down that mountain, more of that debris will be captured here, helping to pro tect the community, the neighbor hoods, and the network of roadways down below.”

The project was funded by a FEMA $13.5 million Hazard Mitigation Program Grant and a State $4.5 Community Development Block Grant. For more information on Flood Preparedness Week, visit water.ca.gov. For local resources on flood preparedness, visit countyofsb.org/ pwd/floodprep.

Ernie Witham has been writing humor for more than 25 years. He is the author of three humor books and is the humor workshop leader at the prestigious Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

tial flooding. “Even though California is entering the fourth year of an extreme drought and conservation is as import ant as ever, we must remember that flooding can happen at any time, even during drought years.”

With the Randall Road Debris Basin now complete, Rubalcava, the

Kelly Mahan Herrick, also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond.

The Rock of Cashel in Ireland can be seen just past the cold and right before the impending storm

3.

4.

This

Concrete

May

2023.

(restroom building is fabricated and

at the restroom building and the repair

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING ON A PROPOSED ORDINANCE ADOPTING BY REFERENCE THE STATE BUILDING STANDARDS CODES WITH LOCAL AMENDMENTS

385 San Ysidro Road,

Notice is hereby given that a public hearing on the matter of the proposed ordinance of the Council of the City of Santa Barbara amending Santa Barbara Municipal Code Chapters 22.04; and 8.04 adopting by reference the 2022 California Building Code, Volumes 1 and 2; 2022 California Residential Code; 2022 California Electrical Code; 2022 California Mechanical Code; 2022 California Plumbing Code; 2022 California Energy Code; 2022 California Historical Buildings Code; 2022 California Existing Buildings Code; 2022 California Green Building Standards Code; 2022 California Fire Code, 2022 California Referenced Standards Code; and the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code; adopting local revisions to those codes; and repealing Ordinance Number 5919 and 5779 will be held in Council Chambers, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California on November 15, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., at which time evidence will be taken and interested persons will be heard by the Santa Barbara City Council

9.

10.

Contractor shall post a copy of these rates at the job site. ALL PROJECTS OVER $1,000 ARE SUBJECT TO PREVAILING WAGE MONITORING AND ENFORCEMENT BY THE LABOR COMMISSIONER.

It shall be mandatory upon the contractor to whom the contract is awarded (CONTRACTOR), and upon any SUBCONTRACTOR, to pay not less than the specified rates to all workers employed by them in the execution of the contract.

11. A Payment Bond for contracts over $25,000 and a Performance Bond for all contracts will be required prior to commencement of work. These bonds shall be in the amounts and form called for in the Contract Documents.

12. Pursuant to the provisions of Public Contract Code Section 22300, CONTRACTOR may substitute certain securities for any funds withheld by OWNER to ensure CONTRACTOR’s performance under the contract. At the request and expense of CONTRACTOR, securities equivalent to any amount withheld shall be deposited, at the discretion of OWNER, with either OWNER or a state or federally chartered bank as the escrow agent, who shall then pay any funds otherwise subject to retention to CONTRACTOR. Upon satisfactory completion of the contract, the securities shall be returned to CONTRACTOR.

Securities eligible for investment shall include those listed in Government Code Section 16430, bank and savings and loan certificates of deposit, interest bearing demand deposit accounts, standby letters of credit, or any other security mutually agreed to by CONTRACTOR and OWNER. CONTRACTOR shall be the beneficial owner of any securities substituted for funds withheld and shall receive any interest on them. The escrow agreement shall be in the form indicated in the Contract Documents.

13. To bid on or perform the work stated in this Notice, CONTRACTOR must possess a valid and active contractor's license of the following classification(s) C-8 No CONTRACTOR or subcontractor shall be qualified to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal subject to the requirements of § 4104 of the Public Contract Code, for a public works project (submitted on or after March 1, 2015) unless currently registered with the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) and qualified to perform public work pursuant to Labor Code § 1725.5 No CONTRACTOR or subcontractor may be awarded a contract for public work on a public works project (awarded after April 1, 2015) unless registered with the DIR. DIR’s web registration portal is: www.dir.ca.gov/Public Works/Contractors.html

14. CONTRACTOR and all subcontractors must furnish electronic certified payroll records (eCPR) to the Labor Commissioner monthly in PDF format. Registration at www.dir.ca.gov/Public Works/Certified Payroll Reporting.html is required to use the eCPR system.

The following notice is given as required by Labor Code Section 1771.5(b)(1): CONTRACTOR and any subcontractors are required to review and comply with the provisions of the California Labor Code, Part 7, Chapter 1, beginning with Section 1720, as more fully discussed in the Contract Documents. These sections contain specific requirements concerning, for example, determination and payment of prevailing wages, retention, inspection, and auditing payroll records, use of apprentices, payment of overtime compensation, securing workers’ compensation insurance, and various criminal penalties or fines which may be imposed for violations of the requirements of the chapter. Submission of a bid constitutes CONTRACTOR’s representation that CONTRACTOR has thoroughly reviewed these requirements.

15 OWNER will retain 5% of the amount of any progress payments.

16 This Project does not require prequalification pursuant to AB 1565 of all general contractors and all mechanical, electrical and plumbing subcontractors

17. BID PACKET will be provided at the job walk to attendees.

Advertisement Dates: October 27, November 3, 10, 2022 weekly editions.

the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002437. Published Octo ber 12, 19, 26, November 2, 2022

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The fol lowing person(s) is/are doing business as: Tierra Costa, 2030 Edison Street, Santa Ynez, CA 93460. TC Landscaping Ser vices, LLC, 1883 West Royal Hunte Drive, Cedar City, UT, 84720. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on September 28, 2022. This statement ex

pires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, Coun ty Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20220002408. Published October 12, 19, 26, November 2, 2022

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The follow ing person(s) is/are doing busi ness as: Solar-Link, 27 West Anapamu Street, #454, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Evolution Sustainable Industries, Incor porated, 27 West Anapamu

Street, #454, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on September 16, 2022. This statement ex pires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Hol land, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002309. Published October 5, 12, 19, 26, 2022

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The follow ing person(s) is/are doing busi

ness as: Solar-Link; Solar-Link Crowd Funding; Solar Farmers of America; Solar Scouts; Fan Funded, 27 West Anapamu Street, #454, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Evolution Sustain able Industries, Incorporated, 27 West Anapamu Street, #454, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barba ra County on September 16, 2022. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the Coun ty Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in

Notice is further given that copies of the 2022 California Building Code, Volumes 1 and 2; 2022 California Residential Code; 2022 California Electrical Code; 2022 California Mechanical Code; 2022 California Plumbing Code; 2022 California Energy Code; 2022 California Historical Buildings Code; 2022 California Existing Buildings Code; 2022 California Green Building Standards Code; 2022 California Fire Code, 2022 California Referenced Standards Code; and the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code, and the proposed local amendments to those codes being considered for adoption are on file with the Office of the City Clerk of the City of Santa Barbara, City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California, and are open for public inspection.

The proposed ordinance will adopt the aforementioned state building standards codes and will adopt local amendments to these state wide codes based on local geological, topographical, and climatic conditions and local administrative procedures for the implementation of said codes.

Written comments may be sent to the City Clerk of the City of Santa Barbara at the above address or clerk@santabarbaraca.gov

For further information, please contact Tina Dye, Santa Barbara Community Development Department, Building and Safety Division, (805) 564 5553

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need auxiliary aids or special assistance to gain access to, comment at, or participate in this meeting, please contact the City Administrator’s Office at 805 564 5305. If possible, notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the City to make reasonable arrangements in most cases. Specialized services, such as sign language interpretation or documents in Braille, may require additional lead time to arrange.

(SEAL)

/s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager October

Published

my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2022-0002309. Published October 5, 12, 19, 26, 2022

NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF BULK SALE (UCC Sec. 6105) Escrow No. 36736-AU

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a bulk sale is about to be made.

The name(s) and business ad dress(es) of the seller(s) are:

RINCON ENGINEERING CORPO RATION, A CALIFORNIA COR PORATION, 6325 CARPINTERIA AVE, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013

Doing business as: RIN CON ENGINEERING

All other business name(s) and

address(es) used by the seller(s) within the past three years, as stated by the seller(s), is/are: P.O. BOX 87, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013

The location in California of the chief executive of fice of the Seller is: SAME

The name(s) and business ad dress of the buyer(s) are: RIN CON ENGINEERING TECH NOLOGIES, A CALIFORNIA CORPORATION, 6325 CARPINTE RIA AVE, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013

The assets being sold are gen erally described as: THE BUSI NESS, GOODWILL, FIXTURES, FURNITURE, AND FURNISH INGS, EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES,

Virginia Alvarez 805 969 3249 x

1. Bid Submission. The City of Santa Barbara (“City”) will accept electronic bids for its FY2022 B PAVEMENT MAINTENANCE (OVERLAY) Project (“Project”), by or before November 10, 2022, at 3:00pm., through its PlanetBids portal. Bidders must be registered on the City of Santa Barbara’s PlanetBids portal in order to submit a Bid proposal and to receive addendum notifications. Each bidder is responsible for making certain that its Bid Proposal is actually submitted/uploaded with sufficient time to be received by PlanetBids prior to the bid opening date and time. Large files may take more time to be submitted/uploaded to PlanetBids, so plan accordingly. The receiving time on the PlanetBids server will be the governing time for acceptability of bids. Telegraphic, telephonic, hardcopy, and facsimile bids will not be accepted.

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

2. Project Information.

2.1 Location and Description. The Project is located at various streets throughout the City, and is described as follows:

Repair various streets, as shown on the Project Location Map, by performing asphalt dig outs to repair failed areas; tree root pruning and concrete curb and gutter replacement; sidewalk removal and replacement; asphalt; reconstruction of existing non compliant curb ramps; construct new curb ramps; traffic striping and markings; relocate and protect existing signs and roadway name stamps; perform traffic control, notifications, and postings, complete and in place.

2.2 Time for Completion. The Project must be completed within two hundred twenty five (225) working days from the start date set forth in the Notice to Proceed. City anticipates that the Work will begin on or about Januar y 2, 2023, but the anticipated start date is provided solely for convenience and is neither certain nor binding.

2.3 Estimated Cost. The estimated construction cost is $9,500,000.

3. License and Registration Requirements.

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

3.2 DIR Registration. City may not accept a Bid Proposal from or enter into the Contract with a bidder, without proof that the bidder is registered with the California Department of Industrial Relations (“DIR”) to perform public work pursuant to Labor Code § 1725.5, subject to limited legal exceptions.

4. Contract Documents. The plans, specifications, bid forms and contract documents for the Project, and any addenda thereto (“Contract Documents”) may be downloaded from City’s website at: http://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=29959 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.

5. Bid Security. The Bid Proposal must be accompanied by bid security of 5% 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 th e State of California on the Bid Bond form included with the Contract Documents. The bid security must guarantee that within ten days after City issues the Notice of Award, the successful bidder will execute the Contract and submit the payment and performance bonds, insurance certificates and endorsements, and any other submittals required by the Contract Documents and as specified in the Notice of Award.

6. Prevailing Wage Requirements.

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

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

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

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

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

9. Subcontractor List. Each Subcontractor must be registered with the DIR to perform work on public projects. Each bidder must submit a completed Subcontractor List form with its Bid Proposal, including 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 price) 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

10.

By:

Publication

TOOLS, LEASEHOLD IMPROVE MENTS, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, WEBSITE, LIST OF CUSTOM ERS, TRADE NAMES, SIGN, ALL TRANSFERRABLE PERMITS, FRANCHISES, LEASES, CUSTOM ER DEPOSITS, AND SALEABLE MERCHANDISE FOR RESALE, STOCK IN TRADE, AND WORK IN PROCESS ON HAND and are located at: 6325 CARPINTERIA AVE, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013

The bulk sale is intended to be consummated at the office of: ESCROW MATTERS INC, 20300 VENTURA BLVD, #325, WOODLAND HILLS, CA 91364 and the anticipated date of the sale is NOVEMBER 15, 2022

The bulk sale is subject to Cal ifornia Uniform Commercial Code Section 6106.2. The per son with whom claims may be filed is: ALEXANDRA ULLMAN

C/O ESCROW MATTERS INC, 20300 VENTURA BLVD, #325, WOODLAND HILLS, CA 91364 and the last date for filing claims by any creditor shall be NO VEMBER 14, 2022 which is the business day before the antici pated sale date specified above.

Dated: OCTOBER 24, 2022

RINCON ENGINEERING TECH NOLOGIES, A CALIFOR NIA CORPORATION, Buyer(s)

of the

1240399-PP MONTECITO JOUR NAL. Published: 10/27/22

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 22CV03910. To all interested parties: Petitioner Sharon Lynn Alexander-Weir filed a petition with Superior Court of Califor nia, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Sharyn Lynn Alexander-Weir

ORDINANCE NO. 6087

AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE BY ADDING CHAPTER 2.09 TO ASSIGN ADDITIONAL CIVILIAN POLICE OVERSIGHT DUTIES TO THE BOARD OF FIRE AND POLICE COMMISSIONERS

The above captioned ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council held on October 18, 2022.

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.

(Seal)

/s/ Sarah Gorman, MMC City Clerk Services Manager

ORDINANCE NO. 6087

STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) )

COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss. )

CITY OF SANTA BARBARA )

I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance was introduced on October 11, 2022 and adopted by the Council of the City of Santa Barbara at a meeting held on October 18, 2022 by the following roll call vote:

AYES: Councilmembers Eric Friedman, Oscar Gutierrez, Meagan Harmon, Mike Jordan, Kristen W. Sneddon, Mayor Randy Rowse

NOES: None

ABSENT: Alejandra Gutierrez

ABSTENTIONS: None

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Santa Barbara on October 19, 2022.

/s/ Sarah Gorman, MMC City Clerk Services Manager

I HEREBY APPROVE the foregoing ordinance on October 19, 2022.

/s/ Randy Rowse Mayor

Published October 26, 2022 Montecito Journal

The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be grant ed. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the ob jection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to

be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed October 19, 2022 by Narzralli Baksh. Hearing date: December 9, 2022 at 10 am in Dept. 4, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barba ra, CA 93101. Published Octo ber 26, November 2, 9, 16, 2022

Stories Matter

Crunchy Fall Reads

by Leslie Zemeckis

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks takes an ingenious idea – the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping as seen through the eyes of the woman in charge – and turns it into a compelling book. Betty Gow is the nanny who comes under intense scrutiny after the baby is taken in 1932, a crime that shocked the world. Fredericks brings humanity to everyone involved, reminding us they were not just a news story but real people.

As a dance mom and supporter of our local ballet company, Meg Howrey’s They’re Going to Love You was a delight. Carlisle’s par ents were divorced when she was young. She lived with her mother and only occasionally visited her father Robert and his partner James in NYC. Now her father is dying, and she must decide if she will visit and confront the past (and the possible mistake she made). An emotional story written beautifully by a former ballerina.

It’s the top of the heap for Gilded Mountain by Kate Manning. Set in the early 1900s in a mining camp high in the Colorado mountains where weather, long hours below ground in dan gerous conditions and with hardships unimag inable, make each day almost unendurable. Young Sylvie finds a job one summer working for the owner of the mining company, living at the manor home with a handsome son and eccentric French wife. It is a world far away from her fami ly in the camp. With the job finished, Sylvie finds employment with the local newspaper run by a feisty woman accused of being “red” because she is the only one willing to speak out about the harsh conditions and injustice, encour aging the miners to organize. There is romance, betrayal, and greed all leading to a cli mactic ending for Sylvie and the mining camp. Could not put this down. An epic story.

As a classic car owner and a frequent attendee of Montecito’s Coffee & Cars in Manning Park, I loved A Matter of Happiness by Tori Whitaker. When Melanie inherits her great aunt Violet’s Jordan MX (thought to be a “woman’s” car in 1923) tucked inside a secret compartment is Violet’s journal. Alternating stories, centered around the car and a woman’s choices, freedom, and independence in two dif ferent eras, is a race to a mostly happy ending.

Lisa Unger fans will be thrilled with her 20th and latest novel, Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six . A much-needed vacay goes horribly wrong when three couples rent a cabin in the woods as a storm barrels its way to them, and one of the six goes missing. As always, Unger writes a taunt and complex, revenge-driven tale.

and I

Abit scholarly, but I enjoyed Egypt’s Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth by John Darnell and Colleen Darnell. The pair bring to life the parents of Tutankhamun, Akhenaten, and Nefertiti, both their myths and their day-to-day lives.

A couple bios to add to your pile: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man: A Memoir by Paul Newman and Martha Graham: When Dance Became Modern by Neil Baldwin

Leslie Zemeckis is an award-winning documentarian, best-selling author, and actor. The creator of “Stories Matter,” professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers, co-sponsored by SBIFF.

American Theatre Guild at the Granada, is a less dark show compared to the orig inal with John Napier of Les Misérables fame organizing new junkyard scenery and costume design, new laser lighting by Natasha Katz from Aladdin, and new energized choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler with a live orchestra.

“Memory,” which won seven Tony awards, was one of the production highlights.

A purr-fect evening....

Rose Proposal Redux

Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker re-enacted their rose-laden wed ding proposal 12 months to the day it hap pened at the Rosewood Miramar Beach.

The reprise was part of a documen tary being made of Barker’s day job as drummer with the band Blink-182 and for an upcoming episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Hotel security guards in suits and ties stood in the ocean keeping paparazzi in line...

More recently, the couple snapped up the Carpinteria beach house formerly owned by TV talk show host Conan O’Brien. The 2,100 square foot home has two bedrooms and also a two-bed room guest house. O’Brien bought the property in 2015 for $8 million.

Local Mom Wants Teen Son to Eat Vitamins

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow, 50, admits she has hard time convincing her 16-year-old son Moses to take her wellness advice.

“He, like, barely will let me give him a vitamin,” says the Goop founder. “So it’s also about knowing when to relent and, like, give him his space.”

The Oscar winner says her son is a bit more open to doing workouts with her, including going on walks together.

“He likes skateboarding too,” she told E! News. “Often times we’ll walk and he’ll skate next to me. That’s fun.”

Corinna Gordon Remembered

News & Events Roundup

A Global Dance Event for Halloween... and Humanity

“Thrill the World” is a glob al event that happens each year on the Saturday before Halloween, when thousands of enthusias tic zombies gather to perform “Thriller” – unleashing their inner zombie for fun and for charity. From Arizona to West Virginia, Austria to Taiwan, people of all ages will rise from the undead at the same moment in time, on October 29, casting away inhibitions to create a Spooktacular community experience.

On a deeply personal note, I remem ber a good friend and fellow Brit Corinna Gordon, who succumbed to cancer after a long and valiant battle.

Corinna studied art and became a suc cessful watercolor painter, but real success came as an interior decorator working for the likes of Kirk and Anne Douglas, and Bob and Marlene Veloz – their East Valley Road estate was later sold to TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey

She was also a good friend of the late singer Olivia Newton-John , actress Jane Seymour, and Lord Julian Fellowes, the Oscar winning writer of Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age

Corinna was unfailingly witty and would send the sauciest and amusing emails on a regular basis. Later in life, after studying at City College, she also became a successful jewelry designer.

When I last spoke to her at a Dream Foundation lunch at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, she told me: “I am at peace!

Sightings

Meghan Markle checking out the San Ysidro Ranch... Singer Ariana Grande shopping at Peregrine Galleries on CVR... Today show co-host Jenna Bush Hager at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara

Pip! Pip! Be safe, wear a mask when necessary, and get vaccinated.

Santa Barbara is home to a particularly dedicated group of zombies organized by World Dance for Humanity, a nonprofit that turns dance into humanitarian aid. All funds raised from Thriller event spon sors, donors, and participants benefit the WD4H Rwanda Education Fund giving hope to children of genocide survivors, and also the Westside Boys & Girls Club where World Dancers provide afterschool tutoring.

In the two weeks leading up to Halloween, World Dance Zombies will appear on State Street, on Stearns Wharf, the Funk Zone, Paseo Nuevo, Camino Real Marketplace, and the Zoo! They’ll go anywhere and dance ‘til they drop – for fun, for community spirit, and to help those in need. All it takes is... the will to Thrill!

Through the dance classes and Thriller, World Dance for Humanity’s founder, Janet Reineck, PhD – an anthropologist, aid worker, and dancer – has found a way to give people a fulfilling, unifying experience through dance, while making a difference in the world through grass roots humanitarian aid projects.

Thrill the World Event will take place on Saturday, October 29 at the Santa Barbara Courthouse Sunken Garden; Costume Dance Party 1pm, Thriller performance 2pm; Free and open to all ages. Visit thrilltheworld. com or worlddanceforhumanity.org/ thriller2022 for more information.

The Haunting of Ortega Ridge

encountering the spirits of the three nuns, also known as Las Tres Hermanas. Their spirits appear dressed in habits, holding their hands in prayer, and walking side by side along the street. Some drivers describe them as having bright blue eyes that fol low traffic as it passes. Most document ed appearances happen at night, though some motorists claim to have felt ghostly presences during daylight hours.

This was originally published as part of Automoblog’s “Six Haunted Roads to Drive this October” post. Visit automoblog. net/six-haunted-roads-to-drive-this-october for more haunted roads throughout the U.S.

Rosewood’s PlaceMaker Kendall Conrad Hosting Tablescaping Demo

Rosewood Miramar Beach, one of California’s most luxurious seaside resorts, is thrilled to announce an entertaining masterclass in partnership with Kendall Conrad, the designer and Santa Barbara native and resident, who also serves as the property’s official PlaceMaker.

From musings on the Royals to celebrity real estate deals, Richard Mineards is our man on the society scene and has been for more than a decade

The winding road that leads into the Santa Ynez Mountains of Southern California’s Santa Barbara County is the site of a legendary triple murder. In the early 1900s, three nuns left the Santa Barbara Mission, intending to preach Christianity to the nearby Chumash Native Americans. Before they could reach the Chumash village, bandits ambushed, tortured, and murdered the sisters on Ortega Ridge Road.

There are many reports of drivers

Just in time to help participants prepare for the holiday season, this entertaining masterclass offers guests and visitors to the resort the chance to learn all the tricks and tips for throwing a perfectly curated event from Kendall herself. Known for her sustainable and effortless chic acces sory designs, Kendall is also an accom plished hostess with an eye for curating simply stylish get togethers. Serving as the property’s PlaceMaker, Kendall is pleased to offer this latest installment of expertly crafted experiences for visitors and guests of Rosewood Miramar Beach.

Taking place on Thursday, October 27, from 6 to 8 pm, this intimate event will feature a “tablescaping” demonstration led by Kendall, who will also be on hand to answer participant questions and facilitate what is sure to be an interesting discussion

“We have had our summer

eves!” – Humbert Wolfe

Max Craven as Mungojerrie and Kelly Donah as Rumpleteazer (photo by Matthew Murphy)

Corinna Gordon R.I.P.

by MJ Staff

Reel Fun

‘Decision to Leave’ at the Riviera

by Christopher Matteo Connor

“You need murder and violence in order to be happy.”

That cutting line, said by a wife to her depressed detective hus band cleverly describes the protagonist of Park Chan-wook’s new film, Decision to Leave, and at the same time, Park Chanwook himself. Or does it?

The “South Korean provocateur” is well known for his violent graphic films, but is that all he’s capable of? Decision to Leave surely suggests not! The remark is tongue in cheek. A way for Park to pro claim “Hey, I’m more than just blood, guts, and violence! I can be happy with a twisted love story, too!”

And he’s right. As if his last feature, The Handmaiden, wasn’t lush enough, Park proves that he can make an intricate, engag ing, dark romance with little of the brutali ty that has defined much of his career. And it’s paid off, already racking up a nice list of awards, including Best Director at Cannes.

The film follows a homicide detective (played by Park Hae-il) who is tasked to solve a mysterious death, one which may lead to murder. The only problem? He begins to fall for the widow (played by Tang Wei) who just also happens to be the prime suspect. Don’t you hate when that happens?

If you like noirs, but with a twist on the rough around the edges detective and plotting femme fatale, if you like romance laced with murder and mystery,

or if you’re already a fan of Park, you will likely enjoy this. But don’t take my word for it. Don’t even take Cannes’. Enjoy your own trip to The Riviera to see Decision to Leave starting on October 28. See? We’ve made the decision to leave to the movies very easy for you!

Meet Dr. Wade: Writer of Thousands of Wikipedia Pages for Women Scientists

D r.Jessica Wade is a British physicist who is dedicating her career to creating over 1,600 Wikipedia pages for illustrious but under-appreciated scientists.

Dr. Wade, who studied Raman spectroscopy at Imperial College London’s Blackett Laboratory, discovered several years ago that only 20 percent of Wikipedia biography pages were about famous women. While other issues, such as wage disparities, will necessitate larger-scale solutions, Dr. Wade began by changing what she could with simple keystrokes. Dr. Wade started creating pages for impressive women and people of color in STEM in 2017 with Dr. Kim Cobb, an American climate scientist.

Dr. Wade has created over 1,600 pages since 2017. Highlights include Dr. Ijeoma Uchegbu, a Nigerian-British nanotechnology pioneer, and Dr. (and Dame) Sarah Gilbert, an Oxford vaccinologist who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine and has an honorary Barbie in her likeness.

On top of her own research, Dr. Wade dedicated her career to advancing women in STEM. Adding Wikipedia pages is an important step toward righting past wrongs, specifically the work of female scientists that has historically been overlooked.

“The process is finding people first – usually it’s an award holder, someone who’s been given a fellowship, someone who’s published a really great paper, or somebody who’s done a recent really good talk,” Dr. Wade explained to The New York Times in 2019. “Every morning, I go on Twitter and I’ll look.”

When she finds a candidate, she compares their credentials to Wikipedia’s nota bility criteria. If they reach the page creation level, she researches their career to write a biography. For many women, this may entail looking for work published under their maiden names. Dr. Wade is also working to make use of “mass editing sessions” (edit-a-thons), which are focused on revising existing pages.

Christopher Matteo Connor is a writer and filmmak er. When he isn’t writing, watching movies, and work ing on projects, you can be sure he’s somewhere enjoying a big slice of vegan pizza.

on the topic of celebrating together. The event will feature products and items from The Well Summerland to help attendees curate their ideal “tablescape.” Included in the event will also be light bites and drink pairings, featuring Kendall’s own signature cocktail, all served by the resort’s award-winning culinary team.

Taking place from 12 to 5 pm on the same day, October 27, Kendall Conrad will also be hosting a trunk show on the property open to the public. Here visitors will have the chance to shop items from Kendall’s Fall/Winter 2022 collection, which includes a selection of new bag styles in autumnal colors ranging from mini options to oversized weekenders. The handpicked selection will include styles in rich suedes, nubuck, and napa leather, and will all be available along side many of Kendall’s new sculptural jewelry offerings, which include pieces made from hand-polished solid brass, gold plated brass, and sterling silver.

Tickets for the event are $50. For more information, please visit rosewoodhotels. com/en/miramar-beach-montecito/ experiences/calendar/entertaining-withkendall-conrad

Cate Hosts U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink

Cate School held their annual Fall Family Weekend event for students and their families on October 20 through 23. Saturday’s program featured Keynote Speaker Bridget Brink, the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and parent to Cate Student Jack Higgins (’23).

Brink began with an acknowledgement of a Ukraine family in attendance. She talked about her role, her views on the importance of education, and the impact the current Ukraine-Russian conflict has on the world at large.

Brink in sum shared, “Here is where Cate, and educational institutions like it, are key to helping you develop the values, skills, and self-confidence to enter the fray in the never-ending effort to shape this world in which we all live. Whether you do this in government, business, or the arts, there are many ways to advance our shared values and be part of something larger than your self. If you remember one thing of what

She explained to the Times how she and her “heroic friend,” Maryam Zaringhalam, a science communicator and policy fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, had organized edit-a-thons around the world. “In general, most people think making the internet better – particularly the content people see and use in education – is a good thing.”

To these impressive scientists, their efforts are worth it, even if only a few people read each page. The effect of more visible female scientists cannot be understated as they may help make more young girls aware of the wide breadth of possibilities there are for their futures.

Summerland Citizen’s Association Board of Directors Report

I say today, remember this: every single one of you has the power to affect your life and those around you, to shape events and the future, to have an impact on our world.”

Summerland Citizens Association BOD (SCABOD) is happy to report that on October 24, CalTrans successfully hit their target date for opening the Evans 101 Northbound onramp. During onramp closure, MTD was forced to make adjust ments for the Line 20 bus in Summerland, which meant additional efforts had to be made by the passengers. Some of the workers at CalTrans reported to the SCABOD that Summerland is the most friendly and supportive community they have ever worked in for over 20 years. Examples of the collaboration include CalTrans working with the SCA volun teers and donors to remove the sandstone boulders and landscaping that were pains takingly carried and planted one piece at a time by resident Sonya Harris to the Ortega Hill trailhead. The BOD thanks Summerland residents and businesses, CalTrans, the MTD, and the Montecito Journal for reporting on Sonya Harris.

[Ref: Vol. 28, Iss. 29; July 21, 2022]

Decision to Leave plays at The Riviera starting October 28

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and Cate School parent Bridget Brink was the keynote speaker at the school’s Fall Family Weekend (photo courtesy of Cate School)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27

Rock the Block – If the pandemic provided anything popular for locals, one contri bution would have to be the State Street Promenade, or at least the ability to easily create community events on the Santa Barbara thoroughfare. The Downtown Orga nization has taken the cue, organizing a series of themed seasonal block parties highlighting the best of Santa Barbara to take place through early summer. First up is today’s Rock the Block Harvest Fest, boasting a wide array of family-orient ed offerings. People can partake of a variety of games, including playing a game of G-H-O-S-T (otherwise known as H-O-R-S-E) with the UCSB Men and Women’s Basketball teams, stuff themselves at the Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest, perusing or borrowing a scary book, or not-so-scary ones, provided by the Santa Barbara Public Library mobile van, and see the announcement of the winning teams from the Best Of Scavenger Hunt. A community table running along the center of State Street will be available for eating take-out from local restaurants, connecting with other members of the community, or just catching a breather, while The Cover Alls, La Boheme dancers, and World Dance for Humanity will perform Hallow een-themed dance sets and music. As with the monthly Promenade Market, local vendors will also be on site for shoppers. Families and even furry friends can dress in their Halloween best for a chance to win gifts and prizes from local businesses. A harvest and Halloween-themed photo zone will also be on site with props for taking snapshots. Future Rock the Block themes include Friendsgiving on Novem ber 17, Winter Wonderland on December 2, Fitness Fest on January 19, I Love Santa Barbara on February 23, Spring Fest on March 16, and Summer Fun on June 15.

WHEN: 5-8 pm

WHERE: 700 & 800 blocks of State Street

COST: free INFO: (805) 962-2098 or downtownsb.org/events/rock-the-block

28

Duhon Redux – It was less than a year ago that New Orleans singer-songwriter Andrew Duhon performed at the Lobero Theatre, freshly out of the theater’s full reopening following the COVID closures. While it’s been nearly a decade since the release of his Grammy-nominated album The Moorings, Duhon is worth repeated listenings, if just for his ability to craft songs that come off as three-minute novels, earning him comparisons to John Prine and Jim Croce. Fortunately, there’s also a new album, Emerald Blue, inspired by (and named for) the two years Duhon decamped in the Pacific Northwest, drawn from the 40-plus songs he wrote and shared as part of his Quarantine Song video series, or on his Patreon site. The album has been described as a probing appreciation of the dailiness of life, a note-taking exercise in living, receiving ac claim from critics and industry types alike, with the former president of Rykodisc calling it “genius… unbelievably great.” On the live front, having toured solo for much of his career, Duhon has been able to retain the element of a troubadour ushering in modern-day folklore, even as he fronts a trio that adds upright bass, drums, and three-part harmonies to his songs. Opening the show is singer-song writer Haley Johnsen, who, not coincidentally, hails from Portland, Oregon, and has been praised for her soaring vocals and introspective lyricism in songs that are a mixture of the anthemic and melancholic.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.

COST: $41-$81

INFO: (805) 963-0761 or lobero.com

FRIDAY, OCTOBER

Ominous Oceanic Adventures – Water & Light, Sullivan Goss’ first solo ex hibition for Natalie Arnoldi, consists of nine paintings of sharks, jellyfish, icebergs, huge waves, and lightning strikes on the water. But fear not – as a doctoral candidate in marine biology at Stanford University, Arnoldi brings an unusually strong biographical connec tion to her romantic, tonalist images of oceanic life at the beginning of the third millennium, with intimations of a deep time perspective operating, ahem, beneath the surface, partly as a reminder of humanity’s relatively recent arrival on the evolutionary scene. The new exhibition will be shown in tandem with a complimentary solo show from Joseph Goldyne, the veteran artist’s third solo exhibition at the gal lery. Titled Imaginary Falls in Charcoal, Ink & Oil, the show represents a shift for the well regarded and widely-collected print maker as the imaginary waterfalls are executed with neither press nor plate, instead serving as the product of his first efforts in charcoal presented in context with three paintings in oil and India ink. The connection is that both artists hover be tween abstraction and masterful realism, creating bodies of work that blur aesthetic categories while remaining conscientiously engaged with the Romantic landscape tradition in American art.

WHEN: Today through December 26 (opening reception at 1st Thursday, November 3)

WHERE: 11 East Anapamu St. COST: free INFO: (805) 730-1460 or sullivangoss.com

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30

Oskar-Meisel Winner – Congregation B’nai B’rith (CBB) of Santa Barbara will honor the life and legacy of Judy Meisel, the late Holocaust survivor who became a beloved educator, civil rights activist, and tireless advocate for tolerance and acceptance, speaking out against hatred to student and community groups in the region and nationally, when it presents “Never Forget: An Afternoon of Music, Art and Stories” with musician Lee Oskar. The free 90-minute program will feature original compositions from Oskar, Meisel’s nephew, from his critically acclaimed new album Never Forget, along with a collection of original portraits inspired by his family’s history of devastating loss and survival through the Holocaust, and an interactive discussion moderated by CBB Cantor Mark Childs. Meisel’s story is in cluded in Portraits of Survival – Life Journeys During the Holocaust and Beyond, a permanent exhibit at the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara, while her life story was also chronicled in a book and subsequent documentary film, Tak for Alt: Survival of a Human Spirit. Oskar is known as a founding member and 24-year role as co-composer and lead harmonica player of the funk-jazz band War, whose enduring hits include “Low Rider,” “Spill the Wine,” “Cisco Kid,” “The World is a Ghetto,” and “Why Can’t Be Friends.” As with his aunt’s efforts docu mented in media, Oskar, who is also a visual artist and harmonica manufacturer, made the album to meet his deep-seated need to a create a musical memoir to all who have suffered from the Holocaust and other atrocities against humankind around the world.

WHEN: 4-6 pm

WHERE: Congregation B’nai B’rith, 1000 San Antonio Creek Road

free (reservations required)

INFO: cbbsb.org/news-events/special-presentation-never-forget-by-lee-oskar

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

Barlow’s Music in Motion – An internationally recognized pioneer of electro acoustic, computer and interdisciplinary music, Clarence Barlow has created exquisite algorithmic compositions for traditional instruments and electronic de vices since the 1970s. As longtime professor and head of composition in UCSB’s

Montecito

“It’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” – Sheriff Leigh Brackett

Fields of Funk – The second annual Halloween-themed 10hour extravaganza located, appropriately, on the ball fields at the expansive Elings Park, promises to be an even bigger and more boister ous bash than last year’s inaugural event from Park Social. The utopian day-intonight festival features live performances from London duo Frank Moody and DJs Channel Tres, Never Dull, Flamingosis, and Drama featuring vocalist Via Rosa – each fortified with funk while branching into everything from house music, hip-hop, techno, old school soul, and even jazz – plus food trucks, clothing vendors, art installations, a full bar, silent disco, and a roller skate rink. Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets to the park on the hill above the ocean and Mesa and enjoy the day grooving on the field surrounded by the breeze. Costumes are encouraged but make sure to read the rules in the Festival Guidelines to avoid any snafus at the gate.

WHEN: Noon to 10 pm

WHERE: Elings Park, 1298 Las Positas Road

COST: $60-$120

INFO: (805) 569-5611or visit elingspark.org/events/fields-of-funk-2 or field soffunk.ticketsauce.com/e/fields-of-funk-22/tickets

Music Department, Barlow’s compositional technique has also been adapted to a number of experimental films that he made beginning in 1988. The six films presented as part of tonight’s program – Uccelli Ungheresi (1988), Kuri Suti Bekar (1998), Estudio Siete (1995/2015), )ertur( (2015), Evanescent Evidence (2021), and Zero Crossing (2001) – illustrate his technique through visual media as Barlow’s compositional address to visual representation extends our understanding of his own unique compositional approach to tonality and metricism. Barlow joins moderator Peter Bloom (UCSB’s Film and Media Studies) for a post-screening discussion of his work on film.

WHEN: 7 pm

WHERE: Pollock Theater, UCSB campus COST: free (reservations recommended)

INFO: (805) 893-5903 or carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock

Sounds From Soweto to USA Soul – The three-time Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir is beloved the world over for its ensemble flair and indomitable spirit not to mention its thrilling and transcendent harmonies. On its current tour, the choir goes truly global with its new program, “HOPE: It’s Been a Long Time Coming,” as the South African freedom singers deliver South Af rican gospel and spirituals in a variety of languages, including songs that in spired the country’s Freedom Movement and Rainbow Nation, before diving into soul classics from the American Civil Rights Movement boasting exuber ant and heartfelt renditions of songs made famous by Billie Holiday, James Brown, Otis Redding, Curtis Mayfield, and Aretha Franklin, among others. It’s the kind of work from the 17 transcendent voices plus driving percussion section that had JazzTimes praise the Soweto Gospel Choir as “Nothing less than an international treasure.”

WHEN: 8 pm

WHERE: Campbell Hall, UCSB campus COST: $30-$45

INFO: (805) 893-3535 ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

Patagonia photo: Mcintyre

Insured, Workers Comped, Certified by The Na tional Assoc Of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and The American Society of Estate Liquidators (ASEL).

Glenn Novack, Owner. 805-770-7715 info@movingmissdaisy.com

MovingMissDaisy.com

Consignments@MovingMissDaisy. hibid.com

THE CLEARING HOUSE, LLC

Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc.

Lina 650-281-6492

Trusted experienced live in – caregiver Background checked, excellent refer ences, vaccinated, UCLA Grad. Cheri - 760-898-2732

POSITION AVAILABLE

Assistant required to assist executive. Handle business correspondence, In surance claims, etc. Computers literacy and typing ability necessary.

Tony 805-969-6687

Hair Professionals. Licensed. Accepted at Red Studio Owned by Leora Gaspar. Moved from Montecito to 3609 State Street. Chairs Available. If interested, please call Kelly at 310-985-7100

PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY

Stillwell Fitness of Santa Barbara In Home Personal Training Ses sions for 65+ Help with: Strength, Flexibility, Balance, Motivation, and Consistency

John Stillwell, CPT, Specialist in Senior Fitness 805-705-2014 StillwellFitness.com

specific exercises (PWR! MovesParkinson’s Wellness Recovery)-evi denced-based moves which target the key areas affected by PD. Josette Fast, Physical Therapist 805-722-8035

WRITING SERVICES

THE MOST SPLENDID GIFT Honor your spouse or your parents with the ultimate expression of love and admiration. I will work with your special person to research, write and publish a stirring biography or auto biography. The published book will be professional, impressive, thorough and entertaining. Give this as a holiday present this year and we’ll have the book finished by next December. David Wilk (805) 455-5980. Great references. www.BiographyDavidWilk.com

FOR SALE

Santa Barbara Cemetery upper hillside Companion Plot grave site for 2 persons overlooking Montecito Country Club and mountains. Lot 113 located in Central Block B. Telephone 309-368-0224

LOOKING FOR A MIRACLE

VEHICLE WANTED

Greetings Folks, do you have an old but reliable car I could buy?

A series of misfortunes has put the brakes on my life, but at 58, my en gine is still revving and I’m in ‘start’ position waiting for the flag! Don’t mind if it’s been around the tracks a few times! Just needs to make it to BAJA and back to do some humani tarian work!

Rosalee (805)636-0335

AUTOMOBILES WANTED

We buy Classic Cars Running or not.

Porsche/Mercedes

We come to you.

Call Steven - 805-699-0684

DONATIONS NEEDED

Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue

Summerland CA 93067 (805) 969-1944

Donate to the Parrot Pantry!

Recognized as the area’s Premier Estate Liquidators - Experts in the Santa Barbara Market! We are Skilled Professionals with Years of Experience in Downsizing and Estate Sales. Personalized service. Insured. Call for a complimentary consultation.

Elaine (805)708-6113

Christa (805)450-8382

Email: theclearinghouseSB@cox.net Website: www.theclearinghouseSB.com

TRESOR

We Buy, Sell and Broker Important Estate Jewelry. Located in the upper village of Montecito. Graduate Gemologists with 30 years of experience. We do free evaluations and private consultation. 1470 East Valley Rd Suite V. 805 969-0888

POSITION WANTED

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Organize re ceipts for taxes, pay bills, write checks, reservations, scheduling. Confidential. Semi-retired professional. Excellent references.

Sandra (805) 636-3089

Professional married couple who are getting ready to retire from 37 years in health services, are looking for a possible miracle. Would you or do you know any one who would sell us a house consider ably below market value? We just can’t afford market prices and our greatest wish is to stay in the community we love and have served instead of being forced to make the choice to leave the area. Please call Mark at 820 587 4314.

AVAILABLE FOR RENT

Montecito, Santa Barbara, Ca Furnished home for rent $30,000.00 per mo. with a 5yr. lease 4bd+4ba, nanny quarters, & guest hse + pool Bob 310-472-0870

RENTAL WANTED

Stable, respected, professional female working in Montecito seeking a one bedroom/studio rental in Monteci to-Summerland-Carp. Credit score over 800, Phenomenal References. call/text: 805-570-6789

At SB Bird Sanctuary, backyard farm er’s bounty is our birds best bowl of food! The flock goes bananas for your apples, oranges & other homegrown fruits & veggies.

Volunteers

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

“Something wicked this way comes.” – William Shakespeare

K-9

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED