Village Walk Remodel

The ‘WORD’ – Makenna Gaeta speaks about editing and writing for UCSB’s art and culture magazine, P.27

The Gatehouse – Bien Nacido Vineyard officially opens to the public with their new tasting room that features stunning views and lush vintages, P.28

The Climb – Ninette Paloma blends styles and musical themes in her new evening-length aerial dance work, La Escalada, P.30

The Mansion – Visit oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny’s opulent mansion that fuses French Châteauesque, Moorish, and California Mission designs, P.36

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA

www.montecitojournal.net

VILLAGE WALK REMODEL

Coast Village Walk is seeking to remodel the space. The scope of work has been put in front of the Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review. See what they think inside (Story starts on page 6)

The Railroad Police

Union Pacific plans to clear out encampments and debris around the tracks; the railroad police visit and the Hands Across Montecito team are there to meet with them, page 5

SB’s Brasserie

The Black Sheep has moved location and added a new look, but is still bringing the Californian-French fusion that originally earned them their cult following, page 16

The Rona Barrett Foundation is filling Harry’s House with dignified housing for seniors, page 24

Dream. Design. Build. Vacation.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Hands Across Montecito – Union Pacific plans to do a South County cleanout and the Hands team meets with them

Village Beat – Coast Village Walk seeks a remodel, the Coast Village Improvement Association meets and greets the neighbors, and other updates from around town

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Montecito Miscellany – Opera SB’s gala, SBCC’s Spring Forward!, a MOXI soirée, and more miscellany

Letters to the Editor – A Casa Dorinda resident writes about roofing and noise issues at her home, and a reader airs the need for carbon scrubbers in cannabis operations

Tide Guide

The Optimist Daily – Pets need food too and the Animal Food Bank Support U.K. is helping deliver it

Our Town – The Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UCSB has a new Assistant Director, Orianna Cacchione, and Laguna Blanca’s new Lower Head of School, Brooke Green

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Society Invites – The MUS Foundation annual foundation gala was one successful Una Notte in Toscana

Black Sheep – The SB Brasserie has changed location but still brings the same dashing dishes and amiable ambiance

Brilliant Thoughts – The business of doing business is not for everyone, especially Ashleigh; thankfully these two special women helped him along the way Robert’s Big Questions – Is using the phone while in the car really considered more safe than drinking and driving?

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Your Westmont – Westmont baseball is headed to the World Series and energizing the youth ministry with YALL

The Giving List – The Rona Barrett Foundation provides affordable and dignified housing and care for seniors with Harry’s House as its newest base of support

Dear Montecito – A chat with Makenna Gaeta, co-editor-in-chief of UCSB’s student-driven arts-focused WORD Magazine

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Santa Barbara by the Glass – The muchanticipated Bien Nacido vineyard and tasting room, The Gatehouse, opens to the public

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On Entertainment – A climb through aerial, a trial of biblical proportions, the return of the chalk, and more

Curious Traveler – The illustrious mansion of oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny in the second part of this series exploring L.A. in three great homes

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Calendar of Events – Adderley School turns 30 with a star-studded bash, Butterflies Alive! arrives, the Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation Memorial Day ceremony, and more

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

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Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles

Local Business Directory – Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer

Photography: @iheartcreativephoto

Hands Across Montecito

Union Pacific Railroad Police Visit Montecito

by Sharon Byrne

Igot a bit of a surprise call last Thursday from Agent [UP] Railroad Police. We’d been notified by the County’s encampment response team that UP was coming to do a South County cleanout sometime in April –outreach teams should work to clear inhabitants of camps so that Union Pacific could remove all remaining trash and abandoned camps. April came and went, though, with no sign of Union Pacific.

Montecito contains both the 101 and railroad lines, so the Hands Across Montecito team is constantly navigating jurisdictional boundaries. Most camps are just inside the city limits, west of the cemetery. We often do outreach in that area, but the City of Santa Barbara has outreach teams that should be working it. We’re always working in the Caltrans right-of-way, along the UP lines. Sheriffs and Montecito Fire accompany us, and we really appreciate the support of our public safety partners, as we’ve been unable to engage SBPD or Santa Barbara City Fire. MFPD and Sheriffs cross outside their jurisdiction into Santa Barbara at Channel Dr. when we head towards the Bird Refuge. The frequent fires at the Hot Springs exit are within City of Santa Barbara city limits, though on Caltrans land. Caltrans has been stepping up their camp-clear ing programs since the pandemic. They’ve also been fencing off their land to prevent

Citynet, Deputy Calderon, Andrew, and the Union Pacific police walk ing along the tracks near the cemetery

(Courtesy photo)

Melissa from CityNet following Billy from Montecito Fire and Union Pacific into a camp

(Courtesy photo)

Village Beat

Coast Village Walk Seeks Remodel

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

The retail center located at 1046 Coast Village Road, also known as Coast Village Walk, is proposed to be remodeled with expanded sidewalks and patio areas, which will entail the removal of 11 parking spaces.

The project, which is in the City of Santa Barbara’s jurisdiction, was at the Santa Barbara Architectural Board of Review this week for conceptual review. The scope of work includes four new trellis extensions off the existing structure, new signage, four new outdoor seating areas, a water feature and stairs at the lower level terrace, new stone terraced retaining walls to provide screening at seating areas from the parking lot, four new long-term bike parking spaces, and associated ADA upgrades.

According to a parking analysis provided with the project renderings, the site, with its existing tenants, is required to provide 74 parking spots. Currently, there are 86 spots; there will be 75 once the project is complete. The two ADA parking spots currently nearest the building will remain as part of the project.

Initial comments from the ABR were positive, with board members noting that the project is in line with what exists currently on site. The next step will be working with the Staff Hearing Officer to determine project compatibility.

The proposed improvements are making good on a promise owner Deborah Longo mentioned when she purchased the property in 2014: That she would enhance and add value to the property, which she called “one of the true gems of Montecito.” The property was purchased for $14.5M.

The center is anchored by Starbucks, and includes tenants Vons Pharmacy, Santa Barbara Running, StretchLab, Quest Diagnostics, Occhiali Fine Eyewear, Ready Set Confetti, Blenders in the Grass, Sakana, Juniper, and will soon be home to Drybar, Montecito. Coast Village Walk is located at 1046 Coast Village Road.

Coast Village Improvement Association Meet & Greet

Coast Village Improvement Association (formerly the Coast Village Association) held a Meet & Greet at Local Montecito earlier this month, to kick off the new Association’s Interim Board and meet the property owners, merchants, and residents in the Coast Village District. More than 40 people gathered for nibbles and drinks to mingle with their neighbors.

In attendance were Santa Barbara Fire Division Chief of Operations Brian Federmann, and Fire Marshal Ryan DiGuilio, who represented the Santa Barbara Fire Department. Other attendees included the interim Board of Directors, and over 30 constituents from Coast Village Road.

Coast Village Association was officially dissolved back in October 2022 to accommodate forming a 501(c)3 and creating a newly constituted Board of Directors, which could be as many as 15 people, 2/3 of which will be required to be property owners. The change followed the Santa Barbara City Council’s vote to establish and form the Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea that has been in the works since November 2020. The majority of Coast Village Road property owners voted in support of the CBID, which will allow local control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures, filling the gaps in service from the

A rendering of the proposed improvements at Coast Village Walk (Courtesy of Sherry & Associates Architects)

Montecito Miscellany A Sweet Night for Opera

Among those dancing the night away to the Jon Harris Quintet with vocalist Gina Saputo were Gretchen Lieff and Miles Hartfeld, Mary Dorra, Todd Aldrich, Richard and Marilyn Mazess, George Konstantinow, Lynn Kirst, Maria McCall, Robert Ooley, Anne Towbes, Beno and Kandy Budgor, Fred and Nancy Golden, Nir and Gaja Kabaretti, Frank and Marika Tabar, Arthur Swalley, John and Hazel Blankenship, Palmer and Susan Jackson, Rick Oshay and Teresa Kuskey Nowak, Joan Rutkowski, Robert Weinman, Barbara Burger, Simon Williams, and Marilyn Gilbert Clearly all in the right aria....

SBCC Moving Forward

by Richard Mineards

It was an evening of high note, not to mention many in between, when Opera Santa Barbara hosted a captivating La Dolce Vita, A Night of Puccini gala at the Montecito Club with a sell-out crowd of 180 raising more than $200,000 for the popular organization.

The fun fête, co-chaired by Karen Knight and Carol Vernon, was emceed

by Italian concert pianist Jacopo Giacopuzzi, with soprano Janet Szepei Todd and tenor Xavier Prado, accompanied by Tim Accurso on piano, providing entertainment during the threecourse dinner with a selection of works from La Boheme, Tosca, Turandot, and Madama Butterfly, among others.

OSB’s artistic director Kostis Protopapas conducted a Stand Up for Opera fund raiser, which added another $120,000 to the coffers.

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After days of May gray, the sun shone brightly when Santa Barbara City College Foundation hosted its 4th annual Spring Forward! gala on the campus’s Great Meadow with 320 guests raising around $450,000 for general funds. Chief Executive Officer Geoff Green welcomed the supportive crowd of staff, faculty, college trustees and volunteers, and auctioned off a number of attractive lots including Cocktails with a View –

Miscellany Page 354

Opera Santa Barbara staff Kostis Protopapas, Tim Accurso, Helena Kuukka, Amy Marshall, Laura Teague, Jessica Hetrick, and Christina Ramsey (photo by Zach Mendez)

Kathryn and Peter Martin, Teresa Kuskey Nowak, and Nir Kabaretti (photo by Rick Oshay)

Rodney Baker and Robert Ooley (photo by Zach Mendez)

LETTERS & VIEWS

Letters to the Editor

Life in Casa

When I moved to Casa Dorinda on January 1, 2009, after being on the waitlist for five years, it was the height of the 2008 financial disaster which cost me a $300,000 loss on the sale of my house. I had friends from the Music Academy of the West here, and the first four years were everything I knew and expected – but the next 10 years have been nothing but noise and power tools blaring as four apartments below me and five apartments around me were torn asunder. Recently, four days of power tools have greeted me in the mornings (of course), while this fifth resident had shelves drilled into the longest living room wall. Meanwhile my tinnitus is far worse than when I moved here – but the worst was yet to come.

This January 13th, the Martin Luther King holiday, I entered my bedroom to find water dripping from the ceiling fire extinguisher. Being a three-day weekend, I put a roasting pan below and mopped the carpeting as best as I could.

On January 19th, the painter came and determined the leak came from the upper ceiling fire sprinkler and slanted down through the lower sprinkler.

We then went to the living room and

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Premier Roofing, 4888 Kodiak Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. Tony Haro, 4888 Kodiak Ave, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County

Follow the Scrubber Science

on the wall just below the beam, the paint had bubbled up from leakage. This caused blistering for approximately five and a half feet from the upper slope, but in this case didn’t affect the ceiling.

On February 19th, with a three-day forecast of no rain, Casa Dorinda sent roofers – who in the course of their work found the roof was so rotten that the man’s foot not only went through the roof, but through my ceiling as well.

I informed the Director of Operations, who is new on the job, that this was sloppy work because a new roof had been installed exactly three years prior (last September 2022). To which he replied, “They only did the flat roof, not the slanted portions.” This was negligence on the part of either the roofers or Casa Dorinda. To this day, only my roof and that of my neighbor to the right of me have been reroofed, while the rest of the building remains unfinished.

These are only the highlights of life in Casa Dorinda. Anyone who buys into lifetime care needs to realize that what they buy into today will not necessarily be what they end up with in four to five years.

Renée Templeraud, Casa Dorinda Resident

Last week, we were disappointed to discover that Santa Barbara County approved the permits for Santa Barbara’s most flagrant rule-breaking cannabis operator. Island Breeze Farms was approved this past week, despite the fact that it is the first and only cannabis operator being sued by the county for public nuisance.

The permit also includes provisions for ineffective vapor misting as the only method of odor prevention. This technology is a masking agent that covers up odors and has been the source of concern and complaints from many in the Carpinteria community. Carbon scrubbers, on the other hand, eliminate odors from the air inside the greenhouse. After months of intense scientific study with SCS Engineers of Santa Maria, the Coalition found that carbon scrubbers are 84% effective in eliminating cannabis odors. They work. It’s as simple as that.

The flagrant dismissal of superior odor abatement technologies makes it clear that decision-makers at the County are simply ignoring the science. Carbon scrubbers have proven to be successful in eliminating odors and should be a requirement for greenhouse cannabis operations across the county. We are extremely discon -

tented to see the approval of such a bad operation.

We hope that when this particular grower appears before the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors, we see justice served on a cannabis operation that flagrantly ignores the law. Furthermore, we hope to see carbon scrubbers required for all Carpinteria cannabis. Anything less is our local government’s failure to stop a very preventable public nuisance.

Lionel Neff

Board Member, Santa Barbara Coalition for Responsible Cannabis

on May 16, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0001279.

Published May 24,

31, June 7, 14, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: SPLURGEVINTAGE, 127 1st St, Solvang, CA 93463. Susan A Otten, 127 1st St, Solvang, CA 93463. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara Coun-

ty on May 5, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20230001188. Published May 10, 17, 24, 31, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Heritage Medical Transportation, 915 La Paz Rd, Montecito, CA 93108. Yohannes Denu, 915 La Paz Rd, Montecito, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County

on April 25, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0001072. Published May 3, 10, 17, 24

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

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Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net

President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net

VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net

Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net

Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe

Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña

Administration | Jessikah Fechner

Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva

Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Nadel, Bryce Eller, Bob Levitt

Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick

Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin, Jeff Wing

Proofreading | Helen Buckley

Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz

Contributors | Scott Craig, Ashleigh Brilliant, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Chuck Graham, Stella Haffner, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Sharon Byrne, Robert Bernstein, Christina Favuzzi, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye

Gossip | Richard Mineards

History | Hattie Beresford

Humor | Ernie Witham

Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri

Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook

Food & Wine | Claudia Schou, Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie

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Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108.

How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

Ensuring no pet goes hungry: The rise of pet food banks in the U.K.

Pete Dolan, a cat owner, recalls the tremendous help he received from Animal Food Bank Support U.K., a Facebook organization that coordinates volunteer community support workers who supply free pet food to individuals in need, referring to everyone involved as “Angels without wings.”

Dolan, who was struggling to make ends meet, received much-needed pet food for his cats, Frankie and Charlie, thanks to the group’s altruistic efforts.

Anita Arthur, a volunteer at Geordie Bullies Springboard Rescue, founded Animal Food Bank Support U.K. in December 2022. It is one of over 160 pet food banks in the U.K., most of which are run by volunteers and funded by donations. With over 1,600 members, this humane network continues to grow, demonstrating the number of people and businesses committed to ensuring that no pets go hungry.

Pet ownership in the U.K. increased during the pandemic, with an estimated 3.2 million new homes embracing animal companions. However, the high expense of living created considerable difficulties for many pet owners.

Helen MacAffer, co-founder of the Isle of Man’s Pet Food Pantry, saw the growing prices of pet food and wanted to help. MacAffer and her companion Marie Williams, who both work full-time, gather and transport pet food from all around the island. Their efforts have already aided more than 35 families and several charities, having a far-reaching positive influence. MacAffer emphasizes the good effects of pet ownership on mental health, particularly during difficult circumstances.

Blue Cross launched a coordinated nationwide response in response to the acute need for assistance. The group includes 13 places where pet food contributions are directly provided to the public, as well as an additional 50 locations where consumers can contribute food, including over 200 Pets at Home stores. Blue Cross media officer Emma Sword tells pet owners that extensive help is accessible, from psychiatric and behavioral treatments to their network of pet food banks. The group encourages anyone who is having difficulty caring for their pet to seek help as soon as possible.

Thousands of pet owners in the U.K. continue to rely on the unshakable dedication of volunteers and the compassion of strangers in the middle of the ongoing cost-ofliving crisis. Their combined efforts ensure that beloved pets remain with their owners during tough times.

“Santa

-Santa Barbara Resident

Our Town

Orianna Cacchione:

New Assistant Director at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum UCSB

by Joanne A Calitri

T

Our interview on Wednesday May 17, was at the museum, during the MFA students’ grad show installation. Cacchione was upbeat as we walked to her office, which had her desk with computer, two chairs, and blank white walls. As we sat down, she opened her laptop and shared, “I haven’t put up art as yet and my computer isn’t set up…I literally am just arriving this week!” We laughed and got down to talking art, her vision for the museum, and a few spoiler alerts:

Q. What value add from your curating and researching Asian art are you bringing to the AD&A?

A. My background in working with contemporary artists from Asia has given me a different point of view from which to think about contemporary art — one that I hope has given me a more expansive and sometimes critical framework and perspective with which to approach my work. My academic research considered how so-called Western art history circulated around the world and how Chinese artists responded to it. This research has helped me think about the artists that have been excluded from or overlooked in more conventional art histories and what has caused this. I have always tried to bring that perspective into my curatorial work, working with artists who are not as well known in the United States as they are elsewhere or should be.

he Art, Design & Architecture [AD&A] Museum at UCSB’s newest acquisition is the hire of Orianna Cacchione, PhD, as its Assistant Director. Filling a long vacant position, she brings new perspectives, background, and for certain, relief, to its Executive Director Gabe Ritter, PhD.AD&A Museum Assistant Director Orianna Cacchione, PhD, with Katherine of the eka.gren art collab and their art titled, Hidden in the Breadbasket, 2023 (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

In the past two years, I’ve been thinking a lot about the networks, exchanges, connections and affinities of artists, artworks and ideas between the Americas and Asia. For me, the Art, Design & Architecture at the University of California, Santa Barbara is a perfect place to continue this Transpacific research. Moreover, this work dovetails well with the program that the AD&A’s Director, Gabriel Ritter, has been developing for the Museum. Gabe has been focused not only on thinking about what it means to be an art museum on a university campus but also what it means to be an art museum in this region — who are the publics that we serve, how can we better reflect their lives and experiences, and how can our work spark inspiration, creativity, and engagement. With this in mind, the exhibitions that the Museum has organized in the last two years have been really ambitious and inventive, often giving an artist their first exhibition at an art museum. I’m beyond excited to partner with Gabe and the Museum’s

Our Town Page 204

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Society Invites

Montecito Union School Foundation Annual Gala

by Joanne A Calitri

The Montecito Union School Foundation (MUSF) held its annual fundraiser gala on Saturday, May 20 at the Montecito estate of Blaine and Valerie Lando. The event was sold out at over 200 guests, with sponsors also donating tables to MUS staff and teachers to attend the gala. Everyone was upbeat in their morethan-Sunday-best, with mostly floral midi-dresses and heels accompanied by gents in suits. We were welcomed at the reception with roses, VIP bracelets, and a classic Anine Bing tote complete with AB sunglasses, perfume, and goodies – donated by Bing who is a Montecito Union School mom.

The lavish evening, themed Una Notte in Toscana, had a VIP Lounge with Grecian columns and drapes framing leather chairs. Adjacent to the outdoor fireplace, the bar served specialty cocktails named after the MUS Superintendent, Principal, and Vice Principal – the Ranii ‘Rita, The Bruski, and The Ito Mojito respectively. The Silent Auction tables lined the back hedge row area and had immeasurably handsome gifts – including spa days and treatments at the Montecito Med Spa, tennis camps, surf lessons, tutoring sessions, San Ysidro Ranch Sunday Brunch, Rosewood Miramar Resort dinners, fine wines, a vacay at the North Shore of Kauai, dinner at Mattei’s Tavern Restaurant Los Olivos, and tickets to the final day of the U.S. Open on June 19.

The event was headed by co-chairs Amanda Lee and Cate Stoll who shared, “This year we are very excited to be bringing back a full-scale event – our first seated dinner gala since before Covid! We are gathering at the beautiful home of the Lando Family, who have two children at the school. We are thrilled to be able to come together as a school and a community to raise necessary funds for Montecito Union School’s many amazing extra programs that make it so special. Our funding goal is $200,000 and we walked into the gala this evening with $110,000 thanks to our ticket holders and wonderful generous sponsors! We also thank our spouses Travis Lee and Matt Stoll – who were real troopers putting up with all of the time we spent planning!”

Noted guests – top tier donor and Rosewood Miramar Beach Senior VP of Hospitality Philipp Posch with wife Calle Combes Posch; and Buck Joffrey, Philippe and Jennifer d’Offay, Diana and Tod Spieker, Angela and David Loya, RN of Montecito Med Spa Karen Neary, MUS Principal Dr. Nick Bruski and wife Amanda, Vice Principal Rusty

“How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” — Maya Angelou

MUS Foundation Gala co-chairs Amanda Lee and Cate Stoll (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

MUS Foundation President Tara Ferguson and Sponsorship Chair Cathy Bunnin (photo by Amanda Lee)

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Black Sheep Local Favorite Brings New Flavors in SB Brasserie

by Zach Rosen

I, like many, was heartbroken when it was announced that the Black Sheep Restaurant was up for sale in 2020. Local foodies mourned the idea of losing another beloved downtown restaurant. Even if the establishment lived on under new ownership, it would not have been the same. For me, their white marinated anchovy crostini exemplified the Black Sheep style – the small dish was simple, elegant, and impactful in a single bite. Walking by Black Sheep, you’d often see Co-owner and GM, Ruben Perez, through the window, standing tableside and talking to guests. His dad, Robert Perez, was the head chef. It was not just the delectable dishes that earned them a cult following – it was the familial charm. Thankfully, the restaurant ultimately did not sell, and Ruben along with his new business partner, Chef Jake Reimer, have brought back the restaurant with a new look and location, but with the same feel and similar meals, that made it so popular in the first place.

In 2020, Ruben had been working years of 16+ hour days and didn’t feel like he

had enough energy for his family (plus his dad was looking to retire at some point) –add in a dash of Covid burnout – Ruben was ready for the next chapter of his life. As he put up the restaurant for sale, looking towards what’s next and facing the unemployment line, the idea of leaving it behind made him sad. Fortunately, he crossed paths with Chef Jake and the two hit it off with similar styles, sentiments, and shared eyes on a new location: 18 E. Cota St.

From the long-established Mousse Odile that inhabited the place for two decades to the more recent Rascal’s Vegan pop up, the site at 18 E. Cota St. has long drawn in restaurateurs and their dreams with its unique stairwell leading to a second-floor outcrop, or the cozy back patio. The location has been one of Ruben and Jake’s favorite spots at different times in their careers, and when they ended up getting their hands on the space, “the rest just kind of filled itself out.”

While there were a few ideas drifting about, Ruben states, “I listened to what people were saying and at this point we’re just wearing Black Sheep as a badge of honor. Jake calls it a ‘cult-like following,’ which is pretty awesome. We have such an amazing local clientele that follows us and we’re so grateful for that.

Black Sheep Page 184

When we were looking for a bank to finance building our hotel, American Riviera stepped up for us. —HARRY & GRACE KAZALI, LA PLAYA INN

Ricotta Cavatelli (left) and Choucroute (photo by @ explorethe805)

The Black Sheep has a new look but serves familiar flavors (photo by @explorethe805)

So we decided to keep the Black Sheep tradition going and just rebranded it as the modern French Brasserie.” Ruben and Jake took inspiration from the “glory days” of the French-themed Mousse Odile and wanted to restore the space as a “neighborhood gem.”

There’s certainly some similarities between the old menu and new one, says Ruben. Although the white anchovy crostinis aren’t currently on the menu, there are some familiar favorites still there. “The soul and the love that we put into every dish is a big carryover for us. We had to keep the bone marrow bruschetta because that was one of our most popular dishes – very unique and super tasty. But our Coq au Vin is mouthwatering; organic chicken in a red wine sauce that’s braised for four and a half to five hours – super tender with the bacon, Cipollini onions, turnips and carrots. It’s just a super savory dish.” Chef Jake – who has worked over 30 years at spots like Wine Cask, Miro at the Bacara, and Maravilla at Ojai Valley Inn – puts his own spin on the menu too, with Ruben noting that Chef Jake brings his own twist on duck confit. Ultimately though: “We just wanna cook food and make people happy. I mean, that’s our bottom line. It’s pretty simple for us,” says Ruben.

The Tasting Menu is the best way to experience all that Black Sheep offers. Served family style and at $65 a person, this option takes guests on a nine-dish journey over four courses. The offerings will change over seasons and whatever specialties they have

in store on a particular evening.

Our own tasting trek began with an amuse-bouche of cauliflower soup. Presented in an espresso cup, the smooth soup brought wisps of curry and a subtle snap of apple that served as the perfect pick-me-up for what culinary adventures lay ahead. From there it was a rush of plates and flavor as we traveled through dishes like a fresh, enticing bright beet salad, to a 48-hour beef short rib that fell off the bone, or rather, slumped off in a similar fashion to our own posture as we neared the nine-dish finishing line.

One of the most gripping dishes was a scallop crudo that brought the crisp bite of ocean wave break to the plate. The delicate fish sat atop a sea of lime green emulsion – adding both a swath of color and the snap of spring peas and green garlic – with the crunch of a hearts of palm, radish, and sea bean salad contrasting the crudo’s silky texture. The other standout dish was the Hand Rolled Ricotta Cavatelli. Delicate pillows of pasta rested on a soothing white port sauce with foothill mushrooms tucked in and a dreamy dollop of nettle pistou to awaken the other flavors.

Their Apero daily special – an early dinner prix fixe deal that runs from 5 to 6 pm everyday – is another enjoyable option to taste a range of their specialties. The special offers three courses for $39 and includes 30% off any alcohol.

Whether it is the full Tasting Menu experience or just stopping off for a quick ramen, there’s comfort in both the food and knowing that Black Sheep is still here.

MONDAY, MAY 29, 2023 • 11:00 AM - NOON

Santa Barbara Cemetery, 901 Channel Dr, Santa Barbara Veterans, their families, and the community are welcome to join us at the Santa Barbara Cemetery for a free one-hour ceremony as we remember those who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country. The ceremony will include a patriotic program featuring: Santa Barbara Choral Society • The Prime Time Band • Gold Coast Pipe & Drum Band Seating and free parking will be provided.

Speakers: Colonel Robert Long, Commander of Space Launch Delta 30 and Western Launch and Test Range, Vandenberg Space Force Base LT Christia Sandstedt, CGC, USCGC Blackfin

Dessert is also on the menu at Black Sheep (photo by @explorethe805)

Zach Rosen is the Managing Editor of the Montecito Journal. He also enjoys working with beer, art, and life.

TO: The Santa Barbara Humane Board of Directors

FROM: Santa Barbara County Animal Lovers

With such a great need to help animals, we wonder why Santa Barbara Humane does so much less than it could with its extensive resources. And we urge our community’s animal-loving donors to carefully consider which local organizations to support, ensuring that their contributions truly help animals in need.

The Numbers:

Santa Barbara County’s two municipal shelters take in about 6,000 animals annually. By contrast, Santa Barbara Humane’s two shelters take in only 1,700 animals. And that’s only dogs and cats. You choose to not care for any other species, not even rabbits or guinea pigs. You used to handle larger animals, such as horses, but don’t anymore. You even stopped participating in emergency response to the disasters that increasingly threaten our community, despite having space and resources.

Here’s how you compare to Woods Humane Society in San Luis Obispo County:

Woods HS: 2,611 animals taken care of in 2021 –50% more than you did.

• Woods HS: 2,462 dogs and cats adopted out, compared to your 1,666 animals in 2022.

• Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG, a small shelter, nearly 700 animals cared for. It’s a shame to see your unused cages and kennels when animals could be saved by using those resources and while other shelters are maxing out to do so.

The Money:

• Your most recent form 990 tax statement shows nearly $50 MILLION in assets.

• Woods HS has roughly $14,000,000, less than a third of that.

Yet, you charge more for “low-cost” spays and neuters than Woods HS, and far more than C.A.R.E.4Paws, a much smaller organization without any endowment. Meanwhile, over a dozen underpaid employees were so unhappy with your poor animal care that they quit and went to the media in 2022 hoping that a news story would change your practices. It sadly did not.

Spays/neuters/vet care:

• Woods HS performed nearly 500 MORE surgeries in a 12-month period than you did, while charging less.

• Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG, with its tiny clinic, did 700 spays and neuters.

• In 2022, C.A.R.E.4Paws provided more than 2,300 FREE spays and neuters in its mobile clinics, plus helping thousands of pets with medical care and vaccine clinics. Surely you can do better, with so many vets and technicians on your payroll?

Resources for pets and families:

C.A.R.E.4Paws distributes several tons of pet food per week to needy families, in collaboration with other smaller nonprofits such as Companion Animal Placement Assistance (CAPA) in Lompoc, Animal Shelter Assistance Program (ASAP), Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter (BUNS), K-9 PALS and Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation. Woods HS in SLO County also hosts a pet food pantry.

You used to host a pet pantry in Santa Maria but closed it when the pandemic started, of all times to cut the support! The food donations you now receive from the community are passed on to Santa Barbara County Animal Services’ food pantry.

Your “Resources for Pet Owners” page offers advice about how to brush your pet’s teeth, and the danger of retractable leashes (!) but no actual resources –no food, materials, or other essentials to help keep pets from being surrendered by struggling families. (The image above is from your website.)

With so much money, and so few programs, how do you justify competing for limited grant dollars against smaller, hardworking animal welfare groups that are stretched thin helping keep pets in their homes? Many funders think you are part of the national humane society, but you are a wealthy local nonprofit with no ties to other organizations, and you are not using your resources to advance animal welfare more broadly. You take money from Rotary Clubs, appeal to the community for funding through mass mailing, and apply for funding from local foundations, all while you sit on a growing endowment.

Your website lists your mission as being a champion for animals and the people who love them, and your vision as creating a happy, healthy community for all animals. Don’t you think it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, or at least stop taking funding from organizations that actually practice what you only preach?

Curator of the Architecture and Design Collection, Silvia Perea, to continue to develop this program and to broaden how we understand the region. And this is where my research about Transpacific networks and exchanges can really come in.

Q. Let’s expound on student engagement…

A. For a lot of students at UCSB, coming to the AD&A Museum might be the first time they have ever set foot into an art museum. We are trying to make the Museum a place where all students feel welcome and that connects to their lives. Because of this, we are focusing on how we engage students and how we can encourage students to get excited about art in both the exhibitions we organize, and the ways the Museum is integrated into broader pedagogical structures at the University.

Recently our exhibition program has showcased artworks, themes, and artists that better reflect our students’ identities and experiences. We’ve been organizing exhibitions with Indigenous, Latin American, and Asian American artists to better reflect the student body here on campus but also because these communities have often been excluded from the types of stories one sees in art museums throughout the United States. This is definitely something that has been changing, and I’m really proud of the AD&A Museum for being part of that change.

I think in the past many university art museums have been closely tied with art and art history students, but we’re focused on stretching out across campus to also work with other departments from literature or history to perhaps more unexpected departments like the sciences or engineering. We want students and faculty to see the Museum as a resource for their scholastic work, like the library, a place to spend time with friends, engage with art, but also do research.

I’m also excited to develop programming that helps students find “points” into the artwork. Often people see an artwork and think that it is hard to penetrate or understand. We’ve been talking about hosting more lectures by artists and scholars and organizing student-led tours of our exhibitions to make the Museum more accessible.

Q. What is the coolest thing about your new position at UCSB?

A. Everything is! Coming from Chicago, everything feels so new. I was previously a curator at the Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, and I became committed to working at university art museums during my time there. University art museums are small, nimble and responsive; they are free and open to all; and they are sites of experimentation, testing the limits of what a museum can be. The University of Chicago was a private institution and I’m really excited to explore what it means to have a museum at a public university, how we can build an ambitious exhibition and engagement program for our students here and our communities throughout the region.

Q. Do you have a personal collection?

A. Yes, although a modest one. Growing up in Erie, PA, many of my parents’ closest friends were artists and our house was filled with their work. And so I tend to collect as locally as possible. Incidentally, the artworks in my collection create a map of sorts, tracing the different places I’ve lived from Erie to Beijing, China, and most recently Chicago.

Q. What artworks are you planning to have in your office?

A. I want the artworks in my office to be responsive to and reflective of the AD&A Museum’s collection and exhibition program. We just opened Chaotic Good, the 2023 MFA thesis exhibition, so I want to focus more on highlighting the Museum’s collection. For now, I’m thinking about showcasing artworks by women, including Clare Rojas, Hung Liu, and Judy Chicago.

Q. Spoiler alerts for the readers regarding upcoming events, talks, and exhibitions at the AD&A?

A. The exhibitions that the Museum has coming up in the next two years are going to be exceptional. In the Fall, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Museum’s renowned Architecture and Design Collection, and my colleague Silvia Perea will be curating the first exhibition to highlight the career of pioneering architect, Helena Arahuete. We are also opening an exhibition curated by UCSB PhD students, Sylvia Faichney and Graham Feyl – Please Come In – that features objects from the Museum’s permanent collection. And in 2024, we will feature a major retrospective of Keith Puccinelli’s art and design work curated by Meg Linton. The exhibition recognizes the influence Keith’s practice has had on the region, and I’m really excited to have the opportunity to learn more about Santa Barbara’s rich art scene.

Prior to AD&A, Cacchione was the Curator of Global Contemporary Art at the Smart Museum of Art and a lecturer in the Department of Art History at University of Chicago for six years. There she curated and co-curated key exhibitions – Monochrome Multitudes, The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China; Samson Young: Silver Moon or Golden Star, Which Will You Buy of Me? – the first solo exhibition of the Hong Kong-based sound artist in the United States – and Tang Chang: The Painting

Brilliant Thoughts My Business Career

by Ashleigh Brilliant

Two women greatly affected my life in the world of business: my mother and my wife.

From age five to seven, I lived in my mother’s hometown of Toronto, Canada. There, her father and several other of my relatives were in what was called the “second-hand” business. Their merchandise was mostly used goods. They had a whole string of shops along one downtown street, where my mother and I were frequent visitors.

And my mother was so attuned to this environment, that, to give me a start in it, she once sent me out to stand on a nearby street corner with a display of shoelaces in a little shoulder-tray she made for me. That incident is locked in my memory. But I wasn’t very enthusiastic about selling, and certainly not very successful. The experiment was never repeated.

But that wasn’t the end of my mother’s attempts at foisting a business role upon me. The next occasion came many years later, when I was a graduate student at Berkeley, studying for a Ph.D. in History. My parents were still in England, but they knew how hard it was for me financially just to cover ordinary expenses. What used to be called second-hand stores were now, especially in upscale areas like Berkeley, said to be dealing in “antiques.” At that time, it was very hard legally to send money from England. But my mother had the idea of sending me genuine antiques that I could sell to dealers for cash.

For some reason, one particular type of item then much in demand was antique snuffboxes. I had little knowledge of snuff (powdered tobacco), or interest in the boxes people once carried it around in. But I was willing to give this new possible source of income a try. So, I began receiving in the mail packages of ornate little boxes from England. At first I had several local antique dealers very interested. Haggling was distasteful to me, so I just accepted whatever I was offered. But before long, I had glutted the local snuffbox market. Some forays further afield failed to justify the extra trouble, and I soon got out of the whole business. Sadly, this was very disappointing to my parents, after all their efforts buying, packing, and shipping the goods.

Now my wife, Dorothy, comes upon the scene. It was in the early days of our relationship that I discovered that I could make a living just by writing and illustrating my own creations and selling them on postcards. But Dorothy was horrified to see the very casual way I kept accounts and paid my taxes. I believed in simplifying everything, to take as little of my time and money as possible. But she came from a very conventional background, and to her this was simply not the way things were done. The first thing we had to do was officially go into business – which meant getting a business license, which required making an application, forming a Company, and even placing a formal announcement in a local paper. Even if you were just one person, there was a classification for your company as a “Sole Proprietorship.”

But to me, the worst part of this whole process was going to be the way my taxes got paid. Instead of a small single piece of paper, with just a few spaces to fill, there would now be a larger, much more complicated, form – the sort of bureaucratic jungle I had always sought to avoid. When I refused to go down that road, Dorothy – somewhat to my surprise – said that she was perfectly willing to do it for me. I said “Fine!” and withdrew altogether from that part of the business. She took it all over from me – the finance, the accounting, and the taxes. And for the next 50 years, for the entire duration of our marriage, she kept it all going. My part of the enterprise was the creative part. I had no responsibility in her area, but I also had no control.

She not only did the taxes but seemed to enjoy doing them. That doesn’t mean she was good at it, or at any other part of managing my finances. It all seemed to take her endless time. But we had a business, and she kept it going. She secured an accountant and hired an employee – one faithful person who was with us for 30 years. And that was my business career.

Robert’s Big Questions

Hands Free Phone Driving = Drunk Driving?

by Robert Bernstein

“Don’t Drink and Drive: You might hit a bump and spill your beer.” This bumper sticker is a perfect microcosm of our ape brain absurdity.

The same absurdity of using phones while driving. When a friend first told me about a new law banning texting while driving, I thought it was a joke. “Are they going to outlaw cello playing while driving next?!”

Can someone really be that stupid that they think it is okay to poke on a tiny screen while piloting thousands of pounds of metal and glass hurtling at highway speeds? Silly me. I had no idea that millions of my fellow hairless apes think it is okay. Good thing we don’t have millions of cello players, or we might have that driving hazard, too.

It is painful even to have to ask, but exactly why is using a phone while driving so dangerous? Here is a hint: It is a bit like asking if the danger of drinking and driving is that you are trying not to spill your beer.

The most obvious issue is the distraction of holding something in your hand. This would be a similar issue if you were holding French fries in your hand. Except it is not.

It is more like the reason drinking while driving is bad: The alcohol impairs your reaction time and your judgment. Talking on a phone while driving has about the same reaction time and judgment impairment as the 0.08 blood alcohol legal limit.

The issue is called “cognitive load.” It is as if you are trying to solve a crossword puzzle while you are trying to drive. It ties up brain resources needed for driving. It makes zero difference whether your phone conversation is handheld or hands free. Just as it would make zero difference if your crossword puzzle is in your hand or fixed to the car.

You are trying to switch tasks between two mental spaces. In the time it takes to switch tasks, you may have covered half a football field.

One thing is actually worse about hands free phone use: No one can see that your attention is diverted.

inexperience increases the risk of diverted attention.

How can it be that talking to a passenger in the car is less risky than talking on the phone? Because the passenger is in the car with you. Your mind is still focused on where you are. Talking on the phone, your mind is focused on a distant place where the other person is located.

An adult passenger is also usually able to see what is happening on the road, too. If a danger comes up, they will understand your need to stop talking and devote your attention to the road. Not so with the person on the phone.

How do we know these things? Studies of distracted driving go back to a 1963 study by the Federal Bureau of Public Roads. Researcher John Senders drove in midday traffic on I-495 in Massachusetts… with a mask that would randomly block his vision!

Cell phones were introduced on a commercial scale in 1983. By the mid 1990s they were widespread.

A review article in 2018 looked at 106 experiments going back to 1991. The evidence was clear: Using a phone while driving is an unacceptable risk. And it does not matter if it is hands free or handheld.

The studies showed that a driver impaired by phone use is in the same position as one impaired by alcohol: They do not know how impaired they are. So, they make little or no compensation for their impairment. For example, they could increase their following distance from the car ahead. But they don’t. This is called a lack of “meta-awareness.”

One larger issue I find worrisome: This information has been known for decades. Yet most states pretend that hands-free phone use is okay. Perhaps the law is about what is profitable for the telecommunications industry? And what is politically acceptable? Rather than based on actual risk? Perhaps we need a new grassroots movement to end this carnage, equivalent to the one against drunk driving?

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: ashleigh@west.net. web: www.ash leighbrilliant.com.

What about listening to the radio or having a conversation with someone in the car? Those do have a measurable effect on diverting attention from driving. But an acceptable risk for an experienced driver. Young drivers in California are not allowed to carry passengers, in part because their

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

“Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours.” — Wallace Bruce

Your Westmont Baseball Heads to World Series

culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, headlined the event earlier this year in the Global Leadership Center.

Argue’s keynote address examined the social, spiritual, and professional dimensions of young adults’ lives. “I was particularly struck by Steve’s description of young adulthood as a period of transitions, and I look forward to more conversation about how the church can better partner with young adults in this period of life,” says Christen Foell, co-director of YALL.

Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded Westmont a $1.5 million grant, the largest in college history, to establish YALL, a multi-year learning community housed in the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts. The generous award funds training and ongoing support for churches that want to engage young adults creatively.

by Scott Craig

Westmont baseball (43-8), the sixth ranked team in the NAIA, returns this week to the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. The Warriors earned a berth in the 10-team, double-elimination tournament by defeating No. 13 Benedictine Mesa of Arizona (44-14) 10-1 in the final game of the Santa Barbara Opening Round Tournament on May 18 at Westmont’s Carr Field.

The Warriors battle Cumberlands (Ky.) on Friday, May 26, to begin the double-elimination national tournament in Idaho.

Westmont baseball is coming off of a record-breaking regular season winning the Golden State Athletic Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championship. This will be the Warriors’ final trip to the World Series in Idaho as next season Westmont athletics begins competition in NCAA DII’s PacWest Conference.

Program Aims to Energize Young Adult Ministry

Westmont kicked off its new Young Adult Leadership Lab (YALL), which supports the spiritual lives of young adults in their 20s, with 100 local clergy members and lay leaders at a day-long seminar held on campus. Steve Argue, applied research strategist for the Fuller Youth Institute and associate professor of youth, family and

Lilly Endowment’s Young Adult Initiative, which funds YALL, launched in 2016 to deepen the religious lives of young adults (ages 23-29) and to engage them more fully in the life of Christian congregations. The initiative responds to widespread and urgent concerns about the increasing absence of young people from Christian churches and helps congregations design and test new approaches for reaching those audiences and nurturing their religious lives.

“It’s critical that our young alums remain active in their churches and young adult ministries,” says Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe. “We’re grateful for Lilly Endowment’s support of this crucial project that will assist churches as

Young alums

Grace Hayashi (’13), Nate Evans (’16), Brianna Newport (’20), and DJ Johnsen (’15) shared about their journeys of faith after college (photo by Brad Elliott)

they innovatively engage young adults in their communities.”

Christian Hoeckley, executive director of the Gaede Institute, says Westmont professors intimately know the ups and downs, joys and frustrations of students’ spiritual journeys. “What if we could stay with them and their friends, at least indirectly, for the decade after college?” Hoeckley asks. “So much of students’ faith development at Westmont happens in deep relationship with their intellectual development – and that doesn’t quit at graduation.”

“Old approaches to young adult ministry that try to get people into church and on committees aren’t working,” Foell says. “This project is about experimentation. We’ll support congregations and their young adults as they take risks, try new things and see what sticks.”

The Gaede Institute, which now oversees four Lilly Endowment-supported initiatives, plans to gather 16 California congregations that are ready to experiment with innovative ministry with young adults. It will launch its first three-year YALL learning community in May 2023 and a second cohort in late spring 2024.

“This inaugural year is an opportunity for participating church teams and congregations to listen to the voices of young adults as they reflect on their stories of faith and lives in the church,” Foell says. “Churches will explore their congregational and community contexts as they prepare to experiment with new opportunities for shared ministry with young adults.”

Westmont baseball celebrates its Opening Round Championship (photo by Bob Quackenbush)

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

The Giving List

Rona Barrett Foundation

With Barrett harnessing her prominence and tireless drive in service of others, the foundation acquired a parcel of land in the valley and five years ago opened its first facility, The Golden Inn & Village – a safe haven featuring 60 small apartments for low-income seniors that includes wellness services. Last year, the foundation broke ground on a second such facility, called Harry’s House in honor of her father. The two-story building mirrors the adjacent Golden Inn and Village style with farmhouse-inspired architecture, porches, and outdoor courtyards.

Harry’s House consists of 60 studio apartments with limited kitchen facilities but additional care services to meet the needs of its anticipated residents, many of whom might have mobility needs, Morris said.

by Steven Libowitz

Rona Barrett is most famous for her long career as a pioneering journalist, columnist, broadcaster, and producer who covered the entertainment industry for decades. The trailblazer interviewed a huge swath of superstars, including Raquel Welch and Tom Cruise, broke countless stories from the world of Hollywood, and became the public’s trusted insider – documenting the careers and lives of stars of stage, screen, music, and TV.

But Barrett herself happily shares that the work she’s doing now for seniors in the Santa Ynez Valley and beyond is the most important thing she’s ever done. That’s because after she left Hollywood for Santa Ynez and cared for her father in his final years, she realized that not all seniors have the means to live out their days in comfort. With the “Baby Boomer” generation continuing to age and live longer, often without much of a financial safety net, there weren’t going to be enough resources available to support this senior population.

So 20 years ago, after having retired from the industry and moved to Santa Ynez where Barrett was making gourmet food products like applesauce, cookies, and cheese with lavender, she created The Rona Barrett Foundation. The nonprofit organization was founded to provide affordable and dignified housing and care for seniors over 62 years old, the fastest-growing population on the planet.

“Rona saw that early on, and decided to do something about it,” said Tony Morris, the foundation’s Executive Director. “She really wants to make a difference.”

“Harry actually lived with Rona in his final years, and she noticed that he had developed Alzheimer’s, so she basically was his caregiver up until his passing,” he said. “The idea is for Harry’s House to be for a senior who requires more types of programs than at the Golden Inn but still wants a level of independent, dignified living. There’s a special package for residents with a full meal program, transportation services, housekeeping, internet and cable TV all provided.”

The facility is expected to open in late summer, and the deadline for applications for residency that were originally to have closed last week have been extended until August 31. Morris said he wanted to make sure all who might be interested and would qualify know about the opportunity, including those who might already be on the waiting list at the Golden Inn.

Potential residents are invited to apply at www.hasbarco.org/whats-new-view?id=146

Concurrently, as construction continues, the Rona Barrett Foundation is also in the midst of its continued efforts and fundraising, still making headway towards its target of $20 million to create an endowment to cover all programming and services in the future, giving their increasing total number of residents security in the years ahead.

“We provide everything ranging from a meal program to fitness classes, a hair salon, field trips, and gardening classes, sewing classes, art classes, what have you,” Morris said. “It’s a full range of activities to let our seniors age in place with dignity and independence. Everything is provided at no charge to the residents.”

For the second year, that effort is being augmented by a charming and appropriately-themed fundraiser called the Mom & Pop Giving Opp, which began on Mother’s Day and continues through Father’s Day on June 18. It’s a chance to honor and remember parents, other older family members, and parent-figures who may have required care in their golden years by giving back through the organization that supports seniors in their time of need. All proceeds go to the Rona Barrett Foundation’s programs and wellness services at the affordable housing sites.

Visit https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=E168045&id=50 to participate.

“The campaign was very successful and people loved it last year,” Morris said. “So we wanted to bring it back again.”

Other ways to help include purchasing Barrett’s latest book, Rona Barrett’s Gray Matters, where she shares many anecdotes and stories about aging, as proceeds also benefit the foundation. With the pandemic receding and Harry’s House soon to open, the foundation also has opportunities for volunteers who may want to donate their time and talents.

Everything makes a powerful impact on the lives of seniors who need it most, helping spend their golden years with security, safety, and dignity.

The Rona Barrett Foundation Tony Morris, Executive Director (805) 688-8887

Harry’s House is nearing completion (Courtesy photo)

Rona Barrett with Tony Morris at the groundbreaking ceremony (Courtesy photo)

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that Is Painted with Poetry Is Profoundly Beautiful, the first solo presentation of the pioneering abstract artist’s work outside of Thailand. Cacchione holds a PhD in Art History, Theory, and Criticism from UC San Diego, and has presented her research at the Hammer Museum, Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, OCAT Xi’an, the Asia Society Hong Kong, the College Art Association, Freie University, Academia Sinica, the Association of Asian Studies, and the World History Association.

411: www.museum.ucsb.edu

Brooke Green New Head of Laguna Blanca Lower School

Q. What is the pedagogy at Laguna and are you leading changes in it?

A. The pedagogy at Laguna Blanca School reflects a balance between academic rigor and interdisciplinary enrichment. The value that the Laguna Blanca education places on art, music, science, robotics, athletics, and language is truly what sets it apart. I have often heard parents and visitors describe the Lower School as “magical.” I think the magic is in seeing how the students are nurtured in a way to try new things and to take risks. Within a nurturing environment, students take flight in discovering new strengths and passions.

The teachers at Laguna Blanca have developed signature programs and project-based learning experiences where students can apply their learning through immersive experiences that reach into the community, such as the fourth grade Citizenship Breakfast and the TEDx program at the Upper School. Through these signature programs, I have observed how engaging with the community builds important life skills, empathy and awareness, and the ability to reflect, problem-solve, and serve others. As I think about the future of the school, I will continue to encourage faculty to continue innovating and developing new programs with tie-ins to the greater Santa Barbara community.

Q. Your teaching direction is said to “implement goal setting and a growth mindset in elementary age students” – how is that accomplished?

A. Learning how to set goals and engage in challenges are critical life skills that I have observed every teacher at Laguna Blanca Lower School weave throughout their lessons and educational fabric. With elementary age students, this is accomplished by creating a safe and nurturing classroom environment, balanced with ample opportunity to take risks and be challenged through an individualized educational experience. This is achieved through ongoing community-building and really knowing and understanding our students.

Laguna Blanca School has announced that Brooke Green M.Ed. will be taking on the role of Head of the Lower School Montecito commencing July 1, 2023. Green is an alumnus of Laguna Blanca School 1997, has been the Lower School’s third grade instructor and their Learning Specialist grades two through four since 2013; and taught grades K through six at other schools since 2008. A former triathlete who grew up in Montecito and attended Montecito Union School, she holds an M.Ed. in Special Ed and a BA in Universal Design from UC San Diego.

We sat down for an interview to take a closer look at the pedagogy she brings to the position, and her passion for teaching.

Q. Let’s start with your appointment to Head of School…

A. I’ve been teaching elementary school for 15 years and absolutely love teaching. I wasn’t actively seeking an administrative position, but when it was clear that a position was going to become available, I was encouraged by a number of my colleagues and school parents to apply for the Head of Lower School. The more that I thought about the position, the more it appealed to me. The Head of Lower School position would offer me an opportunity to share many of the lessons that I learned in my career with the faculty and to give back to the children, and to Laguna Blanca community, in new ways that I’d never even considered.

Q. As the new Head of School, what is your primary mission, and how will it be carried out?

A. My primary mission is to uphold Laguna Blanca School’s tradition of excellence and to help each and every student to excel in their academic and social-emotional learning. This means continually reviewing our educational programs, building upon our methods of supporting and evaluating student success, and strengthening our connections and relationships within the community.

I think it’s also important as a parent, teacher, and leader to model goal setting and growth mindset by openly discussing goals, setbacks, and next steps. There is a huge value in allowing children to see that the feelings they have around setbacks are normal; and then giving them guidance through example in how to problem-solve and re-engage in a challenge. I often share with my students my own process of getting over my fear of public speaking and my goal-setting process in competitive swimming. Importantly, children need to know that setbacks are an important part of growing and improving. The students at Laguna Blanca School develop problem-solving skills and build confidence as they learn how to work through challenges in pursuit of their goals.

Q. A word from you about your colleague Anna Alldredge, the Interim Head of Lower School, now promoted to Head the Upper School.

A. I can’t say enough about Anna’s excellent work as the Interim Head of Lower School. I respect and admire her immensely, as does our entire school community. She is very organized, is an eloquent public speaker, and has a clear vision and passion for curricular design. I believe her strengths around innovation and learning have helped drive our educational trajectory and will keep our school at the forefront of curricular development. Additionally, having had the experience of working across divisions, Anna will certainly support the cohesive vision of our EK – 12 program.

Q. As a former triathlete, what is your daily PE to stay fit and healthy?

A. I haven’t competed in a triathlon in a few years due to a knee injury. Inspired by my daughter who swims for Santa Barbara Swim Club, I began swimming competitively in 2017. I quickly took to the sport and now train six days a week. I relish the opportunity to set personal goals and then set new ones when I achieve those goals. I have found this process highly rewarding, and in 2019 I won Masters National Championship titles in two backstroke events. I enjoy how the team members support and encourage each other, and I currently serve on the Board of Directors for Santa Barbara Masters Swimming.

The MJ congratulates Brooke Green in her new position at Laguna Blanca Lower School!

Brooke Green is appointed the new Head of the Laguna Blanca Lower School (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Dear Montecito ‘WORD Magazine’

by Stella Haffner

This week I am joined by the co-editor of UCSB’s WORD Magazine, Makenna Gaeta. As a junior studying Communications and Journalism, Makenna reflects on her transition into a leadership role at WORD and what it means to be in creative control.

Q. What is WORD Magazine?

A. WORD is a completely student-run arts and culture publication. We cover UCSB campus life, but we also cover happenings in Isla Vista and the college town. We do all kinds of commentary and think pieces, but we also do some hard news.

Q. As one of the co-editors, how do you find and choose the stories that WORD covers?

A. We have a list of pitches at the beginning of the quarter. Every writer will pitch two stories, a soft pitch for a think piece and a hard pitch for a feature. As editors we then choose one of the two, depending on which one we like more and what we need to balance out the issue. A lot of the time we have certain stories we want in the publication, and if we aren’t sold on someone’s pitches we’ll assign them a story.

In terms of content, I personally try to make it a good balance between feature stuff – Munger Hall, cliff erosion, things that are really pressing in the community – and arts and culture. It is a quarterly publication, so we need to make sure what we cover is relevant when it comes out. For instance, if we do breaking stuff it has to be from a feature point of view where it’s topical in three months or so.

Q. What was it like transitioning from a writer to an editor?

A. I think the most awkward part about transitioning into a role where you have to hold other people accountable and be responsible for them is essentially that these were your peers a month ago. All of a sudden, you’re their boss.

When I first started as editor, I would get frustrated because I felt like no one was listening to deadlines. I felt as though they respected the old editor more and that I’m just this new person – I don’t know what I’m doing – but then I just started acting like I was the expert. I know what it’s like being a writer, and I can empathize with that.

I would say the biggest thing I’ve learned is to instill a level of mutual respect and compassion for one another. Really make it visible how passionate you are about what you’re doing and how seriously you take it. People really emulate that and respect that.

Q. What have you learned as an editor?

A. I have learned a lot about confidence in general. I didn’t realize how much public speaking you do, but often you’re basically leading an entire lesson. You have to be comfortable speaking to people all the time – intimately and in a group setting. But being an editor in general has honed a lot of self-confidence, knowing that I can create something amazing with the help of a lot of different people.

My whole life, I’ve hated group work – I think everyone does. I felt as though I’d do all the work, and I couldn’t rely on anyone else. But working at the magazine is all about relying on other people. If the art isn’t in, the writing can’t go on, and if the writing isn’t in, the art can’t go on. It’s about trusting people, which is what’s given me more confidence working in a team. I used to hate it. Now I feel like it’s one of the best parts of WORD.

Q. Based on your experience, how do you know a pitch is right for the publication?

A. I think the vibe for all WORD magazines is “go with the flow.” We have all kinds of surf and band pieces, different staples that people associate with Isla Vista. I feel in general like it’s more of a conversational magazine, you’re not going to be reading something super dense. It’s more about letting a bunch of different people use it as a creative outlet, then we all work together to make something cohesive that will honor people’s creativity.

A lot of the time we get art pitches that are really personal, like self-care graphics. You wonder: “Does this belong in the magazine?” And I say: If people can relate to it and if we can find a way to make it look professional, then put it in the magazine! A lot of it is just about being creative. We try to go in without a set theme or vision because I feel as though that emerges from the pitches we get and as the editors we mold it from there.

Q. What else do people need to know about WORD?

A. I think the biggest thing is that anyone can join. If you think that you can’t write or you think your art isn’t that good, if you spend a quarter really honing that skill and working on it with a bunch of different people who know what they’re doing, it is worthy of being in a publication. As long as there is space in the class, anyone can join regardless of skill.

Check out previous issues of WORD online at: https://ivarts.ihc.ucsb.edu/word-magazine

From left: Lucy Holley, art director; Makenna Gaeta, co-editor-in-chief; Isabel Cruz, co-editor-in-chief; and Dylan Delaney, art director (Courtesy photo)

Editors Makenna Gaeta (left) and Isabel Cruz (Courtesy photo)

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

Santa Barbara by the Glass New Access:

Bien Nacido Vineyard Welcomes Guests for First Time

of Bien Nacido,” Nicholas Miller tells me during the MJ ’s preview of The Gatehouse earlier this month. He and brother Marshall, sons of Steve Miller, represent the new generation at the helm of Santa Barbara-based Miller Wine Company, whose portfolio, among other vineyards and various wine brands, includes Bien Nacido. Inside that adobe is a testament to the vineyard’s wide, impressive designation – a wall featuring dozens of bottles from the many producers who source Bien Nacido fruit, including Au Bon Climat, Daou, Qupe, Epiphany, and Paul Lato.

If the adobe honors Bien Nacido’s past, then the Gatehouse marks its future. It’s a sleek and airy visitor center, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows that open into an expansive courtyard, with tables both inside and out. With vineyard and mountain views that stretch as far as the eye can see, the Gatehouse has the feel of blending into the lush terrain, while providing visitors with an elegant and cozy spot to pause and sip. A large, stylish bar anchors the downstairs lounge, while an upstairs room is available for private events. The small parking lot features EV chargers.

Tasting appointments are required, and guests can choose from a variety of experiences. The Estate Tasting Flight ($45) gets you sipping on Bien’s Nacido’s estate wines. Under the direction of winemaker Anthony Avila, the eponymous brand earmarks enough of its own fruit to produce about 2500 cases a year – sumptuous pinots and chardonnays, of course, but a few Rhône superstars, too. The wines are made inside a state-of-the-art facility built in 2011, repurposed from an old dairy farm.

by Gabe Saglie

The newest wine tasting destination in Santa Barbara County is, actually, 50 years in the making.

The Gatehouse at Bien Nacido Vineyard officially opens to the public this Memorial Day weekend. It’s a brand-new structure – two-stories, plenty of indoor and outdoor spaces, sustainably built from the ground up – located right at the entrance of the sprawling estate. Among its most significant distinctions? The fact that it’s welcoming guests – for the first time ever – right onto the grounds of what is one of the most revered vineyards in the world.

Bien Nacido’s fairy tale story stretches back to 1973, when brothers Steve and Bob Miller planted 300 acres of pinot noir and chardonnay on a Santa Maria Valley plot that they’d purchased a few years earlier. They were cultivating a historic site – an 1830s Spanish land grant that had been in the hands of only two other families before the Millers acquired it. A remarkable terroir, combined with decades of careful stewardship, including organic farming techniques, have made the wine grapes grown here uber sought-after. In fact, Bien Nacido is the most designated vineyard in the world, meaning more producers source grapes here, and spotlight the vineyard on their labels, than any other grape source.

An adobe still sits on the heart of the estate, built in 1857. “It’s the spiritual home

During our preview visit, I sat down to an al fresco lunch with the Bien Nacido team, including Avila and Miller, and tasted through a few of the estate selections. The 2020 Chardonnay ($50) is grown on the estate’s windswept easternmost bench, vines planted on their own roots back in 1973; it’s rich and sophisticated, with citrus and tropical notes and a refreshing acidity. The 2020 Pinot Noir ($75) is made with grapes from five different sections of Bien Nacido – a true snapshot of the vineyard’s potential – and features a supple mouthfeel and lots of delicious dark berry flavors. The 2020 Syrah ($75) grows in a sunny, breezy section of the vineyard known as Block Z, the most sought-after

The Gatehouse at Bien Nacido opens this weekend (photo by Silas Fallstich Photography)

The Gatehouse features large floor-to-ceiling windows that open, revealing expansive vineyard and mountain views (photo by Silas Fallstich Photography)

SB by the Glass Page 404

On Entertainment

Climbing Out of Isolation, Aerial Dance Company Flies Again

BY THERESA REBECK

by Steven Libowitz

Credit Covid as an uninvited collaborator for Ninette Paloma in creating her new evening-length aerial dance work making its debut this weekend. That’s because La Escalada (The Climb) grew out of both the restrictions and the sense of isolation engendered by the pandemic – as well as Paloma’s Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance’s new downtown digs on the corner of De La Guerra Street and the interim plaza they moved into during the shutdown.

For Paloma, aerial dance has always represented more than a beautiful art form full of power and grace, with the floor-to-air principle and the concept of flight serving as a metaphor for the human condition. So when the pandemic protocols had restricted classes and rehearsals to as few as one or two dancers at a time, the choreographer let her imagination flow from her inner world.

“There were four of my company dancers in this really intimate setting and we just played with how it feels to come out from something like this,” Paloma explained. “Emerging from the pandemic was the same feeling as when you start a new piece, that initial climb to get you going. That’s how it felt for us to start to create these pieces, like a vertical climb that was both intimidating and exciting as we explored this new territory.”

Paloma said the entire production was born out of that approach over the summer last year, working through the pieces one apparatus at a time in the new space, a much more public venue than its former home in an industrial space near the Funk Zone, with the De La Guerra place also housing Paloma’s new American Riviera Magazine and special public arts evenings.

“We’d had the intimacy of one-on-one, being separated by masks and really cautious about how we move together in this new space,” she said. “Out of that sense of caution and not knowing what was going to happen in the future, we ended up creating really vulnerable work… It wasn’t about grandiose ideas anymore, it was just about being able to lift yourself up one arm at a time.”

Paloma said La Escalada is divided into three acts, each geared toward a specific apparatus – ropes, metals, and fabrics – which she called an “aerial dance abstraction.”

“It is distilled down to the bare bones to get to the essence of what this apparatus

La Escalada comes to the Lobero on Sunday, May 28 (photo by Ninette Paloma)

The show is structured into three acts, each with their own focus on aerial devices and musical themes (photo by Onno Sweep)

Ito and wife Rebecca, and Superintendent Anthony Ranii, at whose table I was seated alongside MUS teachers and their spouses. Lauds to Silent Auction Chairs Alexis Courson and Maggie Herlihy, along with Sponsorship Chair Cathy Bunnin

Emcee Andrew Firestone, talked about raising his own kids and learning, “…We need to provide two things – have them be curious and ask questions, and have them be empathetic to the world around them.” With that, he began the live auction of 10 items from a vacay in Fiji to dinner made by our Montecito Fire Fighters, a Depeche Mode full-on VIP package and concert with signed electric guitar, MUS Principal of the Day for two students, and the naming of the new MUS goat and its barn. Following that 20-minute feat, he did the Ask donations starting at $10,000 to support the MUS teachers, a $5000 STEAM program, $2500 for class supplies, $1000 for end-of-year grads events, and $500-and-less donations – till all paddles had an opportunity to make their contributions. With this, the co-chairs estimated another $150,000 was raised.

Ranii thanked the guests, sponsors, and Firestone, “Andrew has three things he has to say every year – how handsome Nick is, how not I am, and how we can raise funds for MUS! MUS is a partnership, and you helped build our track, playgrounds, Nature Lab, and more. Thank you all!”

The event concluded with dancing at the gala and later at the Rosewood Miramar Beach After-Party. Society kudos to the Luca Ellis quartet during cocktail hour for crooning jazz standards, and lusciousness all around from Duo Events SB.

Corporate and Family Sponsors were many, and included Montecito Wellness Clinic, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services/Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, Riskin Partners Estate Group, Montecito Med Spa, Bunnin SB, American Riviera Bank, Ferris Orthodontic Group, Hazelwood Moving & Storage, Stad Family, Osley Family, Calcagno & Hamilton Estate Group, Sunset Management Services, Gore Family, Litchfield Builders, Robertson Partners, LaBarge, Lopez-Hollis Family, Haan Family, and Hyatt Family.

Founded in 2018, the MUSF provides

Montecito

“I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

—Nathan Hale

Philipp and Calle Posch with Karen Neary (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Rebecca and Rusty Ito, Anthony Ranii, and Nick and Amanda Bruski (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Amanda Lee, Cate Stoll, Maggie Herlihy, and Alexis Courson (photo by Amanda Lee)

funds for enrichment and extracurricular school programs such as Art at Lunch, Running Club, Poetry-in-Residence, African drumming with Sowah, the school play, STEAM program, the Nature Lab grants, funds for support of teachers’ classroom improvements and materials, and books for the MUS library.

411: https://www.musfoundation.com

SPRING INTO SUMMER SALE!

Emcee Andrew Firestone with MUS Foundation gala hosts Valerie and Blaine Lando (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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

does, how your body moves when you’re climbing a rope versus when you’re spinning on a metal lyra, or gliding around on an ethereal fabric.”

Each piece also has its own soundtrack – percussive sounds for the rhythmic movements on the ropes, mysteries and the avant-garde to mirror the way trapezes and lyra spin, and charming piano and strings to evoke the romance of fabrics.

“You will truly feel a sense of going through this journey with us, and experience these different aspects of what aerial dance is all about in its essence,” Paloma said.

Teenagers in the youth apprentice program at Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance – the area’s original aerial dance studio, now celebrating its 17th year – are also contributing two works to the program, fitting the final puzzle pieces together, Paloma said.

“It’s almost magical to work with one set of dancers knowing that I’m linking it to another,” she said. “I’ve been taking cues from what life is like right now, where we couldn’t go that straight path but had to weave carefully around before we got to that end result. The unification in the final program is exactly what I had envisioned. It’s beautiful. It’s really straightforward and vulnerable and authentic in the way the people move because we got through it, we’re on the other side. But we don’t feel bold or pompous. We’re not puffed up like peacocks – we feel a true sense of relief.”

Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance presents La Escalada at 7 pm on Sunday, May 28, at the Lobero Theatre. Call (805) 963-0761 or visit www.lobero.com.

Trial by Theater

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot runs May 25-June 4 at UCSB’s Performing

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot runs May 25-June 4 at UCSB’s Performing Arts Theater. Call (805) 893-2064 or visit www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.

In a rare double dip, the UCSB Department of Theater/Dance has a second show running simultaneously during the last weekend in May, an adaptation of Chekhov’s Three Sisters by Libby Appel, from the first year acting students at UCSB’s three-year old BFA Acting Program. Director Annie Torsiglieri shepherded the in-depth creative exploration which featured the students spending more than 100 hours analyzing the work. The result will be shown on stage as part of the Acting Up Front performance program (May 25-27) in UCSB’s Movement Studio, Theater/Dance West Room 1507. Admission is free. Call (805) 893-2064 or visit www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.

I Madonnari meets Michelangelo at the Mission

The ephemeral meets the everlasting in the world of arts at the Old Mission Santa Barbara this Memorial Day weekend. I Madonnari – the annual chalk drawing that turns the pavement in front of the Santa Barbara Mission into a huge series of asphalt canvases for artists of all ages – celebrates its 37th edition this May 27-29. The beloved event’s street paintings range from the classical and religious to original images in Pop Art and portraits. All are invited to watch the artists at work, seeing the paintings progress from concept to completion over several back-breaking, knee-nagging hours.

As always, local bands will provide a nearly non-stop musical soundtrack, while the authentic Italian market on the Mission lawn is also making a comeback. The festival encompasses chalk drawings as performance art, as they all fade over time due to wind, moisture, and footsteps. The focus on the creative process rather than the product mirrors the mission of the Children’s Creative Project, a nonprofit arts education program of the Santa Barbara County Education Office; the fest’s beneficiary.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, the allegorical play by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis (Between Riverside and Crazy), already turns typical storytelling on its ear as it involves a courtroom trial over the ultimate fate of perhaps the most famous sinner in the story of the Bible. To examine existing understandings of heaven, hell, purgatory, guilt, and forgiveness, the play employs flashbacks to Judas’ imagined childhood and testimony from such non-believers and followers as Mother Teresa, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene, Sigmund Freud, and Satan – but is also as funny as it is thought-provoking.

Now add in a production featuring UCSB student actors and guest director Kendra Ware, a Los Angeles-based multidisciplinary artist who favors experimental approaches and examinations of race, gender, cultural politics, and individual identity. Audiences are in for quite a wild ride.

“I really liked the idea of exploring Judas’ relationship with Jesus as a classic way of dealing with redemption and forgiveness, and using the Biblical character to consider whether he is in a Hell of his own making, and who is the ultimate betrayer in our world or society,” explained Ware, who sets the action in a derelict pool hall in a post-apocalyptic world that still references our time and place. “It reflects how I feel about our crumbling justice system. I started playing around with the ideas of the deepest levels of Hell in Dante’s Inferno, and the play’s reference to whether it’s purgatory or a place called hope, and the allegorical elements of what the author wrote; references to his own life.”

Ware said that while she had the students do research into their characters and engage in “share and tell” with the other members of the cast, she also employed a variety of theatrical tricks to overcome the fact that the actors are all in their late teens or early 20s.

“These characters can’t all be of a unilateral age, so we played around with accents, speech patterns, costumes and physicalities,” she said.

The piece itself is obviously very serious and heady, Ware said, with themes about where people and things go when they die, and how forgiveness works.

“Everybody else can forgive you, but if you don’t forgive yourself, does it matter? If you’re still immersed in guilt or whatever you’re carrying around, you stay ensconced in that constant state of pain.”

Fortunately, The Last Days is also, pardon me, devilishly funny.

“It’s the irreverent mixed with the reverent, which I love to work with,” Ware said. “The piece already has a lot of experimental qualities, but I played around even more with race and gender, added extra tropes. I have definitely taken an absurdist approach.”

Meanwhile, inside the Mission, a special exhibition recreates perhaps the most famous and beloved artwork of all time: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. The astonishing ceiling paintings from Rome have been reproduced nearly life sized using licensed high-definition photos and a special printing technique that emulates the look and feel of the original paintings. With the more accessible perspective, visitors can see every detail, every brush stroke, and every color of the artist’s 34 frescoes via the innovative and unique interpretation of Michelangelo’s timeless masterpiece.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel - The Exhibition, which takes place in an area of the Mission not normally open to the public, runs May 26-September 4 – lasting long after the chalk drawings out front will have faded into memory.

Visit https://ccp.sbceo.org/i-madonnari and www.santabarbaramission.org/sistinechapel-omsb.

Write On

The Mission Poetry Series closes out its current season, which was curated by 2022-23 Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emma Trelles, with an event simply titled “Three Poets in Spring.” The free event offers readings and a meet and greet with the poets Catherine Esposito Prescott, Gabriel Ibarra, and Florencia Milito at 1 pm on Saturday, May 27, at the downtown public library’s Faulkner Gallery. Visit www. facebook.com/missionpoetryseries…. Meanwhile Melinda Palacio, the newly-installed 2023-24 Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, will appear at next week’s June 1st First Thursday event with California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick

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

“We take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”

—Cynthia Ozick

Arts Theater (photo by Jeff Liang)

I Madonnari celebrates its 37th anniversary this May 27-29 (photo by Meredith Ventura)

donated by Seasons Catering and the college, using its sports press box as the venue for 24 invitees; a private event catered by the talented students of the college’s School of Culinary Arts under chef Roberto Lopez Carrillo with wine donated by the Potek Winery; a week-

end getaway to Manhattan with four Broadway show tickets; and a Santa Barbara Film Festival staycation with platinum passes to the 11-day event, restaurant gift cards, and two nights at the newly opened Courtyard by Marriott. The foundation provides around $5

representatives:

Andrianina

Rajaosera, Libby

Wilmer, Chernor

Diallo, Allegra

Kabukapua

Kalombo,

Indigenous Multimedia Artist Nicholas Galanin

Let Them Enter Dancing and Showing Their Faces

Wed, May 31 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

FREE (registration recommended)

“Expansive, embracing and grappling with many facets and complexities of what it means to be Native American today.” The Art Newspaper

Multidisciplinary artist Nicholas Galanin, who is of Tlingit and Unanga descent and a citizen of Alaska’s Sitka Tribe, explores conceptions and misconceptions surrounding Indigenous identity.

Justice for All Lead Sponsors:

Marcy Carsey, Connie Frank & Evan Thompson, Eva & Yoel Haller, Dick Wolf, and Zegar Family Foundation

million annually for the SBCC Promise, student success programs, scholarships, book grants, and emergency funds as they prepare for careers, transfer to fouryear universities, and pursue lifelong learning goals.

Supporters included Mayor Randy Rowse, Congressman Salud Carbajal, Steve and Amber Ortiz, Fred Kass, Gregg

Hart, Monique Limón, Rinaldo and Lalla Brutoco, Todd Aldrich, Nina Dunbar, David Selberg, Frank Schipper, Frank and Marika Tabar, Das Williams, Peter and Kathryn Martin, David and Easter Moorman, Karl and Nancy Hutterer, and Barry and Norris Goss

A Fundraiser with Moxie

Inclement weather and a time change marked The Power of MOXI brunch for 100 guests at the Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, which has welcomed more than 790,000 visitors since opening in 2017, just a tiara’s toss or two from Stearns Wharf.

Normally the event, which raised more than $40,000 for the institution’s education programs, has been a lunch, but moving it to an earlier hour was considered Miscellany Page 374

SBCC Associated Student Government

and Emma Safahi (photo by Nell Campbell)

Laurie Ashton, Carola Nicholson, Jim Youngson, Michelle Lee Pickett, J.D. (photo by Nell Campbell)

Geoff Green with Congressman Salud Carbajal (photo by Nell Campbell)

Sarah Gower, Lauren Bryson, Marisa Parker, Kasey Lundquist Reiter, Lindsey Wilde, and Nanette Nevins (photo by J North Productions)

Curious Traveler

Los Angeles in Three Great

Part 2

New Mexico Territory searching unsuccessfully for gold, and in 1891 ended up in Los Angeles flat broke. He lived downtown in a boarding house with an unhappy wife, an ill young daughter who soon died, and overdue bills he couldn’t pay.

Then one day he happened to see a passing wagon loaded with an oozing black substance. The driver said it was brea, or tar, that came from an empty lot west of downtown and was used for fuel. Intrigued, Doheny borrowed money to lease three lots nearby and dug down 150 feet with nothing but a pick and shovel. Then he sharpened a tree trunk, used it for a drill – and in another 50 feet struck oil. His was the city’s first successful well, opening up the Los Angeles City Oil Field, an unregulated circus of speculation with hundreds of wells and operators, soon producing half of the state’s petroleum.

Now prosperous, Doheny would later soar into the stratosphere of wealth. In Mexico, his company drilled the world’s most productive oil well. It spewed black gold 598 feet in the air when it hit, making a noise heard 16 miles away. Over time it yielded 57 million barrels of oil, making Doheny richer than John D. Rockefeller, with more than $100 million.

Along the way in 1900, a sweet thing happened. The now-divorced Doheny often telephoned New York to raise money for his enterprises, placing calls through a central operator named Estelle. Doheny found himself charmed by the sound of her voice on the phone. They met – and soon married.

The couple moved to Chester Place, one of the first gated communities in Los Angeles, off West Adams Boulevard near USC. They paid $120,000 cash for a 22-room mansion designed by architects Sumner P. Hunt and Theodore Eisen in a potpourri of styles: French Châteauesque, Moorish, California Mission, and simply over-the-top. The Dohenys would expand the house to 24,536 square feet over the next 58 years.

by Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr.

“Los Angeles in Three Great Houses” continues from last week. This week’s installment looks at the house of a man for whom the California dream came true:

The Doheny Mansion

He had been a drifter, mule driver, fruit packer, and failed prospector – not the résumé you’d expect for the future richest man in America.

The son of an Irish immigrant, Edward L. Doheny grew up in Wisconsin, wandered

Here Estelle raised Doheny’s son, Ned, from his first marriage. But when House Beautiful magazine ran a story about the mansion, tourists began appearing on the lawn and knocking on the door. Doheny quietly bought up the other thirteen properties in Chester Place, assuring his family’s privacy.

With water brought by canal from the Los Angeles River, the Dohenys created vast gardens of trees and flowering plants, employing 17 full-time gardeners. To entertain Los Angeles society with elegant dances and dinners, they added the Pompeian Room, with a mosaic floor of Italian marble and a huge dome made by Louis Comfort Tiffany from 2,836 pieces of iridescent glass.

In the midst of this opulence, tragedy struck the family. Edward was implicated (although never convicted) in the political bribery scandal called Teapot Dome, badly damaging his reputation. His son Ned died in a murder-suicide. Broken, Edward Doheny died a reclusive invalid at age 69 in 1935.

Estelle continued living at 8 Chester Place until her death in 1958. The household staff included three cooks, a kitchen maid, a server, a parlor maid, two second maids, a laundress, a seamstress, a cleaning woman, two housemaids, three chauffeurs, and several secretaries. Known for her generosity, she often helped them with bills or financial hardships, and also gave bountifully for the public good: libraries, schools, a state beach, a world-renowned eye foundation, and more. In a final act of generosity, Estelle Doheny bequeathed all the properties in Chester Place to the city’s Catholic diocese, and today it is a campus of Mount St. Mary’s University.

In many ways the California Dream came true for the Dohenys, and they were gracious enough to pass along their good fortune.

Visiting:

Doheny Mansion: Mount St. Mary’s University, 10 Chester Place, 310-954-4000 for tour information

Montecito

“America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels.”

—Claudia Pemberton

Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr. worked with the National Geographic Society for 35 years. The author of 11 books and 600+ magazine and newspaper pieces, he has won three Lowell Thomas Awards, the “Oscars” of the field, from the Society of American Travel Writers. His “Curious Traveler” column in the Montecito Journal received the SATW gold medal.

The Pompeian Room has a mosaic floor of Italian marble and a huge dome made by Louis Comfort Tiffany from 2,836 pieces of iridescent glass (photo by Graham Dunn)

The Doheny Mansion pulls from French Châteauesque, Moorish, and California Mission design (photo by Graham Dunn)

more convenient for supporters.

And an unusually heavy, not to mention chilly, marine layer meant the brunch, co-chaired by Jamie Nash and Amber Kaplan, was moved at the last minute from the museum’s expansive rooftop to

MOXI Board Members: Board President Andy Winchester, Alixe Mattingly, Jamie Nash (event chair), Kelly Almeroth, Robin Gose, Amber Kaplan (event chair), and Graham Bell (photo by J North

the second floor with president and CEO Robin Gose welcoming guests.

Melissa Wilder, director of academic innovation at the Riviera Ridge School and author of the award-winning film Stay Wild, warned that with “the world’s needs getting wider” schools have to ready children for jobs “not yet created.” But added: “A child’s brain and imagination still matters!”

Other speakers included MOXI Camps and Outreach Manager Damaris Osuna, and museum board member Kelly Almeroth, with guests including Mayor Randy Rowse, the ubiquitous Geoff Green of the SBCC Foundation, Nick Weiser, Jill Levinson, Alixe Mattingly, David and Stefanie Jackson, Jennifer Zacharias, Chris Broderick, Andy and Jill Winchester, and Nanette Nevins

Riding for the Heart

Hearts Therapeutic Equestrian Center galloped off with nearly $100,000 when it hosted a barn dance for 175 supporters at the Carriage & Western Museum.

The horsey hoedown, chaired by Carol Kallman, had Dena Davis as speaker, who gave a moving testimony about her 17-year-old son Benjamin, who suffers from a genetic syndrome that severely impacts his mobility.

But in the past seven years since starting horse riding therapy, he has seen dramatic improvement.

Among the supporters dancing the night away to the band Caught Red Handed were Randy Fox and Terry Bartlett, Mike and Debbie Bruce, Luis and Carol Fondevila, Michael Conner and Marie Profant, Paul and Carolyn Aijian, and John and Denise Valenti

Block Party with a Twist

Astoundingly it was 63 years ago that America and the world learned Miscellany Page 424

Productions)

Mayor Randy Rowse and MOXI President/CEO Robin Gose (photo by J North Productions)

Event chair Carol Kallman with Honorary Committee members Andrew Wilson, Lynn Kirst, and Thomas Bateman (photo by Don Barthelmess)

Bar sponsors Kris and Brian Kittle of Kittle Motorsports, with Saddle Sponsor Sandy Lovett and Honorary Committee member Jim Thomas (photo by Lynn Kirst)

Kathy Mills, board member Barret Reed, Patty Moore, board Vice Chairman Bob Manning, and Kim Olson (photo by Lynn Kirst)

spot by third-party producers; the wine is fleshy and flavorous.

Other experiences include the Burgundy Tasting Flight ($60) and the Rhône Tasting Flight ($60), which feature wines from both the Bien Nacido label as well as the brand’s Black Label Collection, which feature premium wines grown on specific vines and blocks that garner special acclaim for the quality fruit they produce. Usually reserved for purchase by Bien Nacido wine club members – and seeing an annual production of only about 100 cases – these wines carry catchy titles, like “The Captain” Pinot Noir and the “XO” Syrah, both grown on Bien Nacido, and the “Belle of the Ball” Chardonnay, grown on its sister vineyard, Solomon Hills, located about eight miles away. Our lunch group tastes the 2020 Bien Nacido “Succession,” a GSM blend – about a third each of grenache, syrah and mourvèdre – that oozes blue fruit notes, exotic spice aromas and silky tannins.

The top-tier experience is the Private Tour and Tasting ($150), available for groups of up to five, which includes a guided tasting and a behind-the-scenes tour of the winery and the vineyard, which is now planted to more than 800 acres of grapes, all aboard the estate’s brand-new electric ATV. For more information, go to biennacidoestate.com.

With The Gatehouse now open, Bien Nacido has moved out of the tasting room it occupied for more than seven years in Los Olivos. The “optic” label has taken that over as a pop-up tasting location through the summer (maybe longer), featuring wines made by Joey Tensley with fruit sourced from all three Miller Family vineyards –Bien Nacido and Solomon Hills, both in the Santa Maria Valley, and French Camp Vineyard in Paso Robles. Check out optikwines.com.

“I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism.” —Bob Riley

Clean and sleek, the interior of The Gatehouse features a wine bar and several tables (photo by Silas Fallstich Photography)

Winemaker Anthony Avila, MJ wine writer Gabe Saglie, senior marketing director Tommy Gaeta and owner Nicholas Miller

Gabe Saglie has been covering the Santa Barbara wine scene for more than 15 years through columns, TV, and radio. He’s a senior editor with Travelzoo and is a leading expert on travel deals, tips, and trends.

City of Santa Barbara, which governs Coast Village Road. The CBID will be funded by property owners as an additional tax assessment.

The new Executive Director Beth Sullivan , is working to build what she calls a “community feeling on the street that fuels collaboration to chart the course for Coast Village.” The Association will aim to achieve a balance between preserving the past and embracing the present, while determining the possibilities for the future.

Trey Pinner , a property owner on Coast Village Road and longtime CVA Vice President, is acting as the Interim Board President.

For more information, visit www. coastvillageroad.com.

Annual All School Track Meet

On Friday, May 19, Roosevelt School, Peabody Charter, Montecito Union, Roosevelt, Adams, Cleveland, Washington, Harding, Monroe, Franklin, McKinley and Cold Spring School participated in the tenth annual All Santa Barbara and Montecito Schools Track and Field Meet at Westmont College.

Students in grades fourth through sixth competed in 11 different events that included everything from the high jump to the 800-meter run. Medals were given to first, second, and third place finishers in each event. The meet champion was Peabody, followed by Montecito Union, Roosevelt, Harding, and a tie for fifth between Cold Spring and Adams.

Westmont College Track and Field Coach, Russell Smelley, and Cold Spring School District Superintendent, Dr. Amy Alzina, started the meet ten years ago when Dr. Alzina was an administrator in the Santa Barbara Unified School District. It was created as an effort to expose students to the sport of Track and Field and a college environment, while creating an opportunity for students from neighborhood schools to connect before they move onto Jr. High School.

“I’m deeply grateful to all the schools that participated in the Track and Field Meet. Coach Russell and I created this meet to give every child an opportunity to experience a new sport and a college experience. This meet is truly about closing the opportunity gap! The meet would not be possible without the partnership from Westmont College, Coach Russell, and his student athletes that volunteered as timers and field event recorders. The students enjoyed the friendly competition, but I think they enjoyed eating lunch in the Westmont Dining Commons just as much! At the end of the day, everyone left with lots of smiles!” said Dr. Alzina.

Roundabout Partially Open

A new traffic pattern was in effect last week at the intersection of Olive Mill Road, Coast Village Road, North Jameson Lane, and Highway 101, marking a significant turning point in the construction of the Olive Mill Roundabout. On Wednesday, May 17, the roundabout was opened partially to traffic, while construction work continues on the northwest and northeast corners of the intersection.

While many drivers are eager for the traffic issues at the intersection and down Coast Village Road to improve, Caltrans announced last week that the construction of Highway 101 through Montecito will begin mid-June, with a meeting to review construction staging scheduled for Thursday, June 1, at 4 pm at Montecito Inn, 1295 Coast Village Road. We’ll have more about the staging as the beginning of construction commences.

This is the final segment of the 101 widening project, and is funded by Federal, State, and local Measure A transportation funds. This project will add a new peak-period carpool lane in each direction from the Romero Creek Bridge north to Olive Mill Road along with new on- and off-ramps. There will also be northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes (lanes connecting on-ramps and off-ramps to improve merging) between San Ysidro and Olive Mill roads. New bridges will be built over Romero, San Ysidro, and Oak creeks.

For more information, visit www.sbroads.com.

Tennis Courts Under Repair

A reader recently reported that the tennis courts at Manning Park have been locked by the County, with promise of renovation, which is long overdue. No word yet from the County Parks Department on the scope of the work or the estimated time for completion.

Coast Village Improvement Association Executive Director Beth Sullivan and Interim President

Trey Pinner at a Meet & Greet earlier this month

(Courtesy photo)

Holden Pak, Maya D’Amour, and Ellse Orwig enjoying the dessert in the Westmont College Dining Commons (Courtesy photo)

An aerial view of the Olive Mill roundabout as drivers traverse the roundabout for the first time (Courtesy photo)

The tennis courts at Manning Park are closed for repair (Courtesy photo)

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.

how to do The Twist, as performed by a fresh-faced 17-year-old Ernest Evans , known to his millions of fans as Chubby Checker

In the last six decades the Twist has been continually in and out of the charts and at the weekend, as part of the historic Lobero Theatre’s 150th anniversary celebrations, Chubby, now an energized 81-year-old, was part of a free community block party on the theater’s Lovelace Esplanade with local singer Glen Phillips and Spencer the Gardener , and the ever-colorful La Boheme Dancers founded by Teresa Kuskey Nowak

And thanks to local real estate mogul Earl Minnis for putting the fun event together after meeting Chubby through KLITE radio host Catherine Remak, who is also an executive with CADA, the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. Truly a mad social whirl...

Speaking on Behalf of Mental Health

to 18 from AHA! Santa Barbara about how mental well-being is affected by societal pressures and social media in the digital age.

Commenting on the visit on their Archewell Foundation site, the Sussexes said they’d gained fresh insight into “this generation’s experiences with social media and societal pressures, and how it affects mental wellbeing.”

AHA! – Attitude, Harmony, Achievement – since its founding in 1999 has helped more than 20,000 teens and youth care providers.

Osmo in the CAMA Cosmo

CAMA, Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, left one of its best for last when Philadelphia’s Curtis Symphony Orchestra under Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä , former maestro of the Minnesota and Seoul Philharmonic orchestras, performed the penultimate show of its 104th international series season at the Granada with Russian pianist Yefim Bronfman playing Schumann’s “Concerto in A minor.”

Bronfman, who studied at Juilliard in New York, the Marlboro School of Music and the 103-year-old Curtis Institute of Music, received a standing ovation, which led to an encore of Chopin’s “Étude No. 12 in C minor.”

A rousing work “Awakening Lion” by female composer Dai Wei, which was commissioned especially for the orchestra’s tour, kicked off the concert in splendid style evoking a Cantonese traditional dance with unpitched percussions such as Chinese bass drums, cymbals, and gongs.

Prince Harry and his actress wife Meghan Markle are marking Mental Health Awareness month.

The Riven Rock twosome visited with a local youth group for an hour in ‘candid conversion’ with teenagers aged 14

The highly entertaining show concluded with Rimsky-Korsakov’s colorful “Scheherazade,” which led to even more encores with the orchestra, made up of 100 young master musicians –only five percent of applicants who apply get accepted – playing Prokofiev’s “March,” a suite from The Love of Three Oranges , and Brahms’ “Hungarian Dance in E minor.”

A glorious evening...

Fox Says Farewell to ETC

Jonathan Fox, artistic director of the Ensemble Theatre Company for the last

“There is nothing nobler than risking your life for your country.”

—Nick Lampson

Chubby Checker played to a full audience at the Lobero’s block party (photo by Priscilla)

Chubby Checker twisting and singing on stage (photo by Priscilla)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently discussed mental health at AHA!

Yefim Bronfman played Schumann in this impressive evening (photo by Frank Stewart)

Jonathan Fox moves on after 17 years with ETC (photo by Mehosh Dziadzio)

Earl Minnis (center right) helped put the event together after meeting Chubby through KLITE radio host Catherine Remak (photo by Gilbert Cruz)

The Curtis Symphony Orchestra (photo courtesy of Curtis Symphony Orchestra)

Conductor Osmo Vänskä (photo by Joel Larson)

17 years, is moving to newer pastures. Jonathan, who I’ve known since moving to our Eden by the Beach in 2007 when the company performed at the rustic Alhecama Theatre, directs his latest and last play Seared at the New Vic, the final production of ETC’s 44th season next month.

“We are grateful for Jonathan’s dedication to his craft and the notable reputation he has built for the organization’s quality presentations and striking interpretations,” says Simon Williams , ETC board president. “He will be greatly missed.”

As to Jonathan, he says: “The time is ripe for a new chapter. I’m extremely proud of all we accomplished during my 17-year tenure.”

Managing director Scott DeVine will temporarily serve as the company’s executive director, overseeing operations and artistic functions.

Presidential Nuptials

President Ronald Reagan’s school principal granddaughter Ashley, 40, married her police officer beau, Joe Dunster, 44, in an intimate ceremony at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel before a reception at the nearby Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara.

During the reception, the newlyweds were surrounded by photos of America’s 40th president and memorabilia, which included a Jeep with the ‘Gipper’ license plates.

It was an all-family affair, with the duties of best man carried out by the groom’s son, Colt, 7, and the bride’s brother, Cameron, as groomsman. Ashley and Cameron are the only grandchildren of President Reagan. Their father Michael, who I used to meet on occasion at the Fox News studios in Los Angeles, is the former statesman’s oldest son.

New Film on the ‘Horizon’

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner compares his upcoming movie Horizon to his signature Oscar-winning motion picture Dancing with Wolves

In a new Instagram post, Costner, 68, shared a shot of a director’s chair bearing the name of the project which he’s starring in and directing alongside Robert Legato

“I never felt this way about a movie since we were making Dancing with Wolves,” he said, referring to his 1990 classic.

Costner headlines an ensemble cast of 170 characters in Horizon , which documents the American West amid expansion before and after the Civil War.

The project, which also star Sienna Miller, Giovanni Ribisi, Luke Wilson, and Sam Worthington, is his first directorial job in two decades.

His last time at the helm was the 2003 Western drama Open Range.

Celebration of Life and Expenditures

Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and lying in state in September cost the U.K. taxpayer nearly $200 million, according to the country’s treasury.

After the long-reigning monarch’s death, the country entered ten days of national mourning, which concluded with her state funeral at London’s Westminster Abbey.

During that time the sovereign’s coffin lay at rest at Edinburgh Cathedral in Scotland before being moved to London’s Westminster Hall where an estimated 250,000 people queued for hours to pay their respects during the lying-in-state.

The Home Office, which has responsibility for policing and national security, accounted for a major slice of the total, with costs of around $91.5 million. Worth every penny...

A Solid Foundation

The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara has awarded college scholarships totaling nearly $7.2 million to 1,864 county students for the 2023-24 academic year.

Of the $7,190,758 awarded this year, $3,523,780 will help support students in north county communities, and $3,666,478 will assist students in south county locales.

Scholarships can be used for college, graduate, and vocational studies, including law and medical school.

“The foundation remains an invaluable resource for young people and their families in our community,” says Mary Dwyer, interim president.

The organization has awarded more than $140 million to more than 60,000 students since its founding in 1962.

Sightings

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle noshing at Sushi Bar Montecito with actress Cameron Diaz and her husband Benji Madden...Former supermodel Cheryl Tiegs getting her hair done at Halo and Horns on CVR...Former Happy Days actor Anson Williams tying the knot with Sharon McHarry at a private residence in Ojai.

Pip! Pip!

Hands Across Montecito (Continued from 5)

Fire, Andrew with Earthcomb, Beth Sullivan from the Coast Village Improvement Association, and Andrea Hein, a founding member of the Hands Across Montecito project.

We went through the Butterfly Lane tunnel, and down to a huge camp before the Olive Mill exit sign. Though we were early, the inhabitants had already left the camp. It is in the Caltrans’ right-of-way, so won’t be Union Pacific’s responsibility.

The Hands team learned some great info from the UP Police:

1. Railroad property is private property. Public property, like Caltrans’ right-of-way, requires a 72-hour posting period. Union Pacific does not have to adhere to that window. They can order someone to leave the same day.

2. Every railroad crossing has an identifier and phone number to call if you spot a hazard or camp nearby. That identifier gives Union Pacific the precise location.

3. Union Pacific has thousands of miles of railroad tracks. Keeping them clear of camps is massive and very expensive. This is why we don’t see them often.

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 15 years

Andrea had to leave the team early, and headed back to the Butterfly Lane tunnel. Unfortunately, she ran into one of the camp inhabitants, a very hostile veteran we encountered in January, who is on Caltrans’ land and refuses to leave. He accosted her verbally. Deputy Calderon noticed, and he and Agent Cona headed back to intervene and assist Andrea. This is but one reason we always take a sheriff’s deputy with us on outreach. We spoke to Agent Potter Tuesday morning, when UP hoped to be in Montecito. We helped scout locations where they could place equipment close to their property for clearing. They were just coming into the top-end of Santa Barbara, but he’d served notice at a camp across from the cemetery, and the entire camp was gone as of today. They won’t be clearing the camps in the Caltrans’ right-of-way, so we’re in conversation with Caltrans as to how to do that.

The Hands team really appreciated meeting the UP Railroad Police, and taking them through our area, to see our unique challenges.

Sharon Byrne is the Executive Director of the Montecito Association

Deputy Calderon and Billy from MFPD inspect a camp against the freeway for fire hazards (Courtesy photo)

This is in the Caltrans’ right-ofway. Billy checks a camp for fire hazards. (Courtesy photo)

Andrew talking with the team. The fence behind Andrew is the beginning of Caltrans’ property. Most campsites in Montecito are found within that fence line. (Courtesy photo)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

SATURDAY, MAY 27

Adderley at 30 – James Corden, the Tony, BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning multi-hyphenate entertainer, emcees “The Adderley School: Celebrating 30 years,” a star-student benefit event to honor one of America’s most prominent children’s musical theater programs. Corden, the longtime host of The Late Late Show, is also the parent of an Adderley student, and nearly all of those co-hosting are either parents or former students of the school that has locations in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. Co-hosts include Ben Platt, an Adderley alum whose Broadway run in Dear Evan Hansen earned him Tony, Grammy and Emmy awards; Jack Dylan Grazer, teen star of Shazam! and It, and another Adderley alum; and Tony and Peabody Award-winning producer Debra Martin Chase, a long time Adderley supporter. Montecito’s own singer-songwriter superstar Kenny Loggins will reunite with Adderley students in a special encore performance of Footloose, the 2019 concert collaboration with local Adderley students. The musical revue covers excerpts from Cabaret, Pippin, Chicago, Into the Woods, West Side Story and other beloved Adderley Conservatory shows, reuniting alumni on stage alongside industry luminaries who have supported and inspired them. The show provides a glimpse into the transformative power of early musical theater education. The event is a fundraiser for the new nonprofit Adderley School Foundation aimed at carrying the school’s legacy forward. (That future arrives Sunday when current Santa Barbara Adderley School students star in Cabaret at Center Stage Theater, with founder Janet Adderley directing and co-direction and choreography by Sabrina Harper.)

WHEN: 7 pm

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

COST: $50 general, $25 students; $125-$1,000 Premiere & VIP tickets

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

SUNDAY, MAY 28

Deadline for Dudamel – Gustavo Dudamel, the fiery Music and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 2009, will be decamping SoCal in September 2026 to assume leadership of the New York Philharmonic. With that deadline in mind, tonight is surely one of the final chances to catch the charismatic conductor on the podium at the Granada, in the LA Phil’s annual appearance under CAMA’s auspices, which also closes the 2023-24 International Series season. The dynamic Dudamel wields the baton for Beethoven’s high-spirited “Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op.92,” plus two world premieres of works by noted American composers commissioned by the orchestra. Ellen Reid’s “West Coast Sky Eternal” for string orchestra, which opens the concert, is part

ENDING THIS WEEK

‘Disappearing Act’ is … Disappearing – Peter Fox’s 2019 drama is full of some magical thinking as well as actual prestidigitation, as Disappearing Act is the story of an aspiring young magician who is still trying to find himself. Encounters with a beautiful woman who lives behind her own wall of secrets provides possibilities, but he gets his true answers when a stranger from his distant past shows up. The secrets of the three people are slowly and surprisingly revealed, along with some riveting sleight-of-hand. Max Budroe and Emily Vallance star as the young lovers with veteran Ojai actor Buddy Wilds as the unexpected guest. The playwright directs the Ojai Art Center Theater production. This weekend also marks the organization’s 46th Annual Art in the Park in the adjacent Libbey Park, while Peter Fox’s work as a visual artist is also on display in the OAC’s Front Showcase and Beato showcase through June.

WHEN: 7:30 pm Friday & Saturday, 2 pm Sunday

WHERE: Ojai Art Center, 113 S. Montgomery Street, Ojai

COST: $24 general, $20 seniors

INFO: (805) 640-8797 or https://ojaiact.org

THURSDAY, MAY 25

Full Circle for ‘Full Circle’ – Following a European tour, UCSB Dance Company heads downtown to take a fresh look at its intriguing late winter show that premiered in March on campus. The program features seven works by exclusively female choreographers, each with circular ties to the university department over a wide span of years, performed by the current company composed only of women. Three newly-commissioned works are juxtaposed with four re-mounted pieces. The choreographers include longtime UCSB faculty artists Christina McCarthy and Nancy Colahan; three more recent graduates of the department in Danah Bella – who now chairs the dance program at John Hopkins along with the still-local Weslie Ching – Amanda Tran, and Gianna Burright; and Madison Olandt, an L.A.-based non-alumni who was a guest choreographer only last season and returned to create a new work called Luna sparked by the concept of the divine feminine. WHEN: 7:30 pm tonight & tomorrow

WHERE: Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo, at the intersection of Chapala and De la Guerra streets

COST: $23 general, $20 seniors, $16 students

INFO: (805) 963-0408 or www.centerstagetheater.org

of her Soundwalk Los Angeles project, while Gabriella Smith’s Lost Coast – inspired by her reflections on climate change-related devastation in California and elsewhere – is a reimagining of a series of pieces as a concerto for cello and orchestra. Gabriel Cabezas, who recorded the 2021 album, serves as soloist in Smith’s centerpiece work.

WHEN: 4 pm

WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street

COST: $36-$156

INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org

MONDAY, MAY 29

An Hour to Remember – Pierre Claeyssens Veterans Foundation invites everyone to join them in honoring the men and women in uniform who have proudly served their country in our military. The one-hour open-air ceremony at the Santa Barbara Cemetery features presentations and performances by the UCSB ROTC Color Guard, Gold Coast Pipe & Drum Band, as well as David Gonzalez and the Santa Barbara Choral Society and The Prime Time Band, covering a variety of genres with purely patriotic and/or American themes. Guest speakers for 2023’s event include Colonel Robert Long, Commander of Space Launch Delta 30 and Western Launch and Test Range at Vandenberg Space Force Base; and LTJG Christia Sandstedt, CGC, USCGC Blackfin. The ceremony concludes skyward with a stirring flyover by The Condor Squadron. Admission is free and ample seating is available. WHEN: 11 am

WHERE: Santa Barbara Cemetery (near the main flagpole), 901 Channel Drive COST: free

INFO: (805) 259-4394 or www.pcvf.org/memorial-day-ceremony

WEDNESDAY, MAY 31

Shower the People – Has there ever been a singer-songwriter more elegant, egalitarian, and estimable than James Taylor? It’s been 52 years since “Fire and Rain” heralded the arrival of Taylor as the embodiment of the singer-songwriter era. The six-time Grammy Award winner and 2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is one of the best-selling artists of all time (100 million records and counting). While his warm baritone may no longer hit the high notes with perfect pitch, Taylor and his songs are somehow both personal and universal and still seem timeless – like they’ve always been a part of life and always will be. Who could ask for anything more? And there’s no better place than the Santa Barbara Bowl to bask in the blanket-like warmth of such hits as “Something in the Way She Moves,” “Mexico,” “Shower the People,” “Your Smiling Face,” “Carolina in My Mind,” “Sweet Baby

Montecito

“May we never forget our fallen comrades. Freedom isn’t free.” – Sgt. Major Bill Paxton

Butterflies Alive! Arrives –

The extremely popular exhibit featuring a dazzling variety of the colorful insects alights once again at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for summertime strolls. A wide swath of butterflies, from local favorites to exotic tropical species, return to the Sprague Butterfly Pavilion in the annual Memorial Day to Labor Day experience for visitors and locals alike. Guests get to walk through a beautiful garden while nearly 1,000 live butterflies flutter freely around them, sometimes even landing on your shoulders or hands as well as the flowers and other vegetation. Last year’s new species included the Blue Morpho, Giant Owl, Tiger Longwing and Blue-frosted Banner, joining such fan favorites as the Malachite, Julia Longwing, Gulf Fritillary, Common Buckeye, Eastern Giant Swallowtail, and ever-popular Monarch. The exhibit also features informative displays and kiosks for the curious to learn more about the almost cuddly critters.

WHEN: 10 am-5 pm Wednesday-Monday

WHERE: 2559 Puesta Del Sol Rd.

COST: Included with regular museum admission ($14-$19)

INFO: (805) 682-4711 or www.sbnature.org

James,” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” and “You Can Close Your Eyes.”

WHEN: 7 pm

WHERE: 1122 N. Milpas St.

COST: $74.50-$190.50

INFO: (805) 962-7411 or www.sbbowl.com

Galanin’s Steely Presence – In the six weeks since multimedia artist Nicholas Galanin’s April 19 presentation was postponed, the artist – whose body of work includes sculpture, installation, video, performance and new media – has opened a new exhibit in Brooklyn that encapsulates much of his ethos. LAND’s 30-foot sculpture is built of the same material used by the U.S.-Mexico border wall –corten steel – and is likewise exactly as tall as that barrier – brilliantly juxtaposing Pop Art via its mirroring of Robert Indiana’s famous “LOVE” image of the early sixties, with the brutal legacy of colonization. In today’s presentation, Let Them Enter Dancing and Showing Their Faces, Galanin, who is of Tlingit and Unangax descent, and a citizen of Alaska’s Sitka Tribe, will show how he employs materials and processes that expand dialogue on Indigenous artistic production, and how culture can be carried.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: Campbell Hall

COST: free

INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

TUESDAY, MAY 30

Adelfos and the ‘New Math’ – The Adelfos Ensemble might be a little bit numerically challenged with its “Two Masses for Three Anniversaries” program this evening. But there’s no doubting the vocal group’s ability to immerse listeners in the timeless beauty of choral music through harmonies that resonate with the soul.

The concert actually features four works in William Byrd’s Mass for Four Voices and Frank Martin’s modern Mass for Double Choir, plus Byrd’s “Alleluia, Ascendit Deus” and Maurice Duruflé’s “Ubi Caritas.” The three anniversaries? Byrd’s death in 1623, the premiere of Martin’s mass in 1953, and artistic director Temmo Korisheli’s 15th anniversary as Adelfos Ensemble’s leader, including shepherding Adelfos’ transition from a men’s a cappella chorus to a mixed voice choral ensemble in 2010.

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State Street

COST: $20 general, $15 students/seniors

INFO: https://adelfosensemble.org

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You retain title to your home

Contact me for more information

All inquiries are strictly confidential Gayle Nagy 805-448-9224

Gayle@dmfsb.com

NMLS # 251258 / Company

NMLS # 12007

Direct Mortgage Funding

Santa Barbara

GOT OSTEOPOROSIS?WE CAN HELP

At OsteoStrong our proven non-drug protocol takes just ten minutes once a week to improve your bone density and aid in more energy, strength, balance and agility. Please call for a complimentary session! Call Now(805) 453-6086

HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

Are you enrolled in the right Health Insurance Plan? When it comes to Medicare-related plans, one size does not fit all. I’m here to help you find a health insurance plan that fits your needs and budget. Call me for a free needs assessment at 818.802.2557. email: marcelloinlax@gmail.com. Marcello Ibanez. Licensed Health Insurance Agent. NPN # 18295646.CA Lic. # 0L51847.

TUTORING SERVICE

Need help with your homework? Having trouble in Computer Science, Spanish or Math? Math (Elementary school to College Algebra), Spanish conversation. Software consultant since 2000 for Truven Health Analytics, an IBM company in Santa Barbara, CA. Proud parent of graduate students of Laguna Blanca, CATE School, Stanford University. Jesús Álvarez | 805-453-5516 mytutor29@hotmail.com

CASH FOR WATCHES!

Cash For Watches! Call 805-331-8562 model and price wanted.

Equal Housing Lender, Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act

AVAILABLE FOR RENT

Montecito, Santa Barbara, Ca

Furnished home for rent $30,000.00 per mo. with a 5yr. lease4bd+4ba, nanny quarters, & guest hse + pool Bob 310-472-0870

Luxury Montecito Oceanview condo. 2 bedroom 2.5 bath Bonnymede walking distance to Butterfly Beach, The Biltmore, Coral Casino, Rosewood Miramar Beach and all the shops, dining amenities that Coast Village Road has to offer. Pool, spa, tennis court. Short/Long Term Lease. Text 805-276-9292 Furnished $10,500 Monthly.

Montecito Oceanview Furnished Apartment. Walking distance Rosewood. 2 bedroom + 2 bath furnished. Short/Long Lease considered. $7,500 includes utilities & parking. Text (805)276-9292

REAL ESTATE WANTED TO BUY

Local Fixer Upper Wanted!!

Priv. Pty. wants rough single home or up to 4 units NOW! via lease @ option or seller will finan. Great credit! No Agents 805-455-1420

ITEMS FOR SALE

Desk for sale 75”x30”x30”h gray wash

“Livingston” desk from Pottery Barn, Excellent condition, like new $1500.00 (650)743-5919 please leave message w/ number

ESTATE SALE

Fabulous antiques from around the world, furniture, Art, Clock collection, china, rugs, kitchen ware, books, tools etc. 741 Rosarita lane, by Natural History Museum, May 27+28 9-3 Cash & Venmo

BURIAL PLOT FOR SALE

Santa Barbara Cemetery-3 Plots! Rare opportunity to purchase Interment Rights for up to 3 side-by-side grave sites in the Vista De La Cumbre Block A; plots 241, 242, and/or 243. Beautiful area overlooking the Montecito Club. $15,000/plot; price negotiable. Remaining plots at cemetery are selling for $40,000 each! Transfer fee of $500/plot to be paid by new owner. The 1979 Certificate of Ownership allows for private transfer of rights through the cemetery. Contact Shirley at JTSTNH@myfairpoint.net

AUTOMOBILES WANTED

We buy Classic Cars Running or not. Foreign/Domestic, Porsche/Mercedes Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website - Avantiauto.group

KNIFE SHARPENING SERVICES

EDC Mobile Sharpening is a locally owned and operated in Santa Barbara. We specialize in (No-Entry) House Calls, Businesses and Special Events. Call 805-696-0525 to schedule an appointment.

TILE RESTORATION

Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate.

For sale!!

Priceless Lao tzu 7’x4’ Brian805smith@gmail.com

$10 MINIMUM TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

It’s Simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per week/issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email text to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860 and we will respond with a cost. Deadline for inclusion is Friday before 2 pm.

We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge)

MiniMeta

ByPeteMuller&FrankLongo

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