Evacuation Explanation

EVACUATION EXPLANATION

Gwyn Lurie speaks with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor about how decisions around evacuation and emergency response are made. Hint: It takes a team effort. (Interview starts on page 5)

303 MEADOWBROOK DRIVE • MONTECITO

friends and family to enjoy! The Ennisbrook gated community offers a number

two heated pools, three championship tennis courts, pickle ball, gym, private wine lockers, basketball court, BBQ facilities, 50 acres of protected open space and a clubhouse. Conveniently located near world-class beaches, resorts, and fine dining and shopping at Montecito’s coveted Upper & Lower Villages. Montecito Union School District.

Editorial – Gwyn Lurie discusses the most recent storm with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor and what goes into evacuation preparation and emergency response P.6 Village Beat – A recap of the annual Montecito Association meeting and details on the Summerland beach closures P.8 Insurance Concerns – An overview and tips for filing insurance claims in the wake of the recent flooding Tide Guide

Montecito Miscellany – Appreciation for the Wildlife Care Network workers, a symphonic night cap, an interesting rug, and more P.12

Our Town – Governor Gavin Newsom visits the Randall Road Debris Basin along with Congressman Carbajal and others

Comedy’s New Soul – Kimmie Dee brings back No Indoor Voices with a cadre of female comedians and a new locale

Friends in High Places – Two ranchers are isolated from town after the recent storm but thankfully they receive some air support

Brilliant Thoughts – What makes one elected to be popular or is it the popular that are elected?

Montecito Reads – After discovering a gory scene, Hollis figures out what to tell his family while continuing to work with the actual FBI P.24

The Giving List – CAMA has brought world-class performances to the area for over 100 years, including these lesserknown programs P.26

Your Westmont – Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin to speak and a philosophy professor wins a top award

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On Entertainment – Joyce DiDonato discusses EDEN, Castro’s operatic blues, The Patient on Center Stage, and literary happenings

In Passing – The life of David Gilbert Bertrand, businessman and gentleman, is remembered P.36

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Calendar of Events – A rockin’ block workout, Los Lobos plugged and unplugged, playing with Toy Trains, and others P.38

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

To Evacuate or Not to Evacuate?

by Gwyn Lurie

I’m sure I’m not alone in being relieved that our community did not have to be evacuated during the storm this past weekend. Still, I was on pins and needles wondering whether that scary alarm would suddenly come blaring from my phone, informing me it was time to pile my family, my dogs, and a bag of necessities into my car and search for a safer place to wait out the storm. Luckily, it didn’t happen. But I thought, given how much we all dread being told to evacuate, that it might be helpful to ask Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, who was the Incident Commander during the 1/9 Debris Flow, to explain exactly what goes into deciding whether or not an evacuation order will be issued.

Needless to say, I found it a relief (though not a surprise) to learn that there was both hard science and social science behind these critical decisions; not just someone’s gut instinct or a divining rod, or tea leaves. I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

Kevin Taylor (KT): After receiving a whole bunch of input from community members, we know that we missed on messaging for the 1/9 Debris Flow. Because of that, we developed some internal processes so that we wouldn’t miss next time. These have been in place for all of the evacuations that we’ve done since 1/9/2018.

One important piece of this is how we determine whether or not a protective action order is given. There are three types of protective action orders: There is a shelter in place, an evacuation warning, and an evacuation order.

Any time there is a storm of significance, there is a group called the Storm Risk Decision Team that gets together. That group consists of the City of Santa Barbara, Montecito Fire, Carpinteria Fire, County Fire, and the Sheriff’s office. That meeting occurs at two o’clock every day because that’s when we have a very high-resolution weather forecast. It’s facilitated by OEM (Office of Emergency Management), and it opens with a forecaster from the National Weather Service, Los Angeles, giving us the forecast.

After that, a protective action recommendation is given, and then the Sheriff’s office either says yes or no. Because you’ll recall, in Santa Barbara County, the Sheriff’s office is the designated agency in county government code for determining if an evacuation or protective action order is issued. If that occurs, then we talk about how it’s going to be messaged and when it’s going to be messaged, if the EOC is going to be activated, if the incident management team’s going to be activated, and if there’s going to be an incident command post.

ce of Mind.

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

Debris flow inundation map following the January 9, 2018 event by the California Geological Survey (2018)

Village Beat

Montecito Association’s Annual Meeting

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Montecito Association’s Annual Meeting was postponed last week because of the storm and evacuation, instead meeting on Wednesday, January 11. The Board of Directors and attendees were briefed on evacuations and flood damage by Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Commander Brad Welch, and Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi Chief Taylor thanked the Board and the community at large for heeding the evacuation order that was put in place January 9 after it was forecast that 10-12 inches would fall in a 24-hour period, on a watershed that had already received 20 inches in 30 days. “We want you to know how helpful that was and how grateful we are for your help,” he said, adding that the storm pattern was extremely similar to the situation that caused the second debris flow five years after the Coyote Fire. He reported that last week the community suffered a very significant debris-laden flood, but that debris basins and watersheds functioned as they were designed.

All debris basins were completely filled with the exception of Randall Road Debris Basin, which was at 30% capacity after the

storm on January 9. The National Guard is currently working to clear the basins of 500,000 cubic yards of material. Bridges, shallow water crossings, and roads were damaged in Montecito, as well as many residential properties in low-lying areas, which suffered minor floodings. There were no fatalities or injuries reported from the storm.

Chief Taylor clarified the definitions of the verbiage released from emergency officials on Monday, January 9. Shelter in Place means do not leave where you are. An Evacuation Warning means there is an impending issue occurring, and that the community should prepare to evacuate. A warning also gives the opportunity to those with large animals or who have a more difficult time leaving, to evacuate early. An Evacuation Order is not a suggestion, it’s an order. “We are not in the business of forcibly removing people from their homes. Each person in our community has the Fourth Amendment right to their property and we most certainly respect that. That said, we are serious when we issue an evacuation order. That means if you have a problem we will likely not be able to help you,” Taylor said.

Commander Welch reported that 50 personnel from the Sheriff’s Department were assigned to the event, including search and rescue volunteers. There were 12 personnel assigned for overnight security in Montecito during the evacuation. There was one incident on East Valley

Road when a homeowner reported a burglary in progress but Sheriff deputies were unable to apprehend a man and a woman who fled the scene. “It’s still unclear if this couple was looking for shelter, or attempting to burglarize the residence,” said Lieutenant Arnoldi.

Sheriff personnel coordinated dozens of escorts and rescues in Montecito during the evacuation, after going doorto-door to inform residents of the storm. Deputies also staffed multiple road closures in the area.

Over the past weekend, rains kept the

Mindy Denson (right) is back on the Montecito Association Board of Directors, after serving from 2007-2013. Denson will head up the organization’s event committee.

Local realtor Patrice Serrani is newly elected to the Montecito Association Board of Directors

Insurance Concerns

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again

by Jerry Oshinsky and Jan Larson Rockenbach

Once more into the breach, dear friends. Five years ago, our beloved community was targeted by a series of wildfires and mudslides that caused severe damage to our businesses and residents, including loss of life. And now we again find ourselves at the mercy of Mother Nature with rain and mud once more impacting our lives.

Insurance can be a valuable asset in times like these. The last time around, fortunately, the vast majority of insurance companies accepted the Insurance Commissioner’s mandate that they resist the temptation to assert technical defenses to coverage. The coverage picture is murkier today than it was five years ago.

If you or your business have property damage and/or business interruption losses today and need to file a claim, make sure that you cover all bases – including property insurance, flood insurance if you purchased it from FEMA, and if all else fails, an application to the FEMA disaster relief fund.

Consider making the initial assessments discussed here. There are important aspects to the claims preparation process, and key policy provisions affecting the availability of coverage for property damage and/or business interruption losses, that you should take into account throughout the process.

Document the Damage and Loss

- Document physical property damage to both the exterior and interior of your home or business using photographs,

video, and inventories of any lost items (e.g. personal property).

- If included, the business interruption portion of your coverage may contain several specialized types of coverage:

Business Income: Replacement of income that would otherwise have been earned by the business had no loss occurred – generally defined as the net profit or loss before taxes, plus continuing normal operating expenses, including payroll.

Extra Expense: Additional costs in excess of normal operating expenses incurred to continue operations (for example, at a difference location) while damaged property is repaired or replaced.

ance policy, subject to any sublimits for certain coverages and any deductible/ self-insured retention that you may be required to pay “out of pocket” before obtaining insurance proceeds.

Waiting Period: There may be a “waiting period” (e.g. 72 hours) listed for certain business interruption-related coverages that losses must extend beyond in order to be subject to coverage.

Duties in the Event of Loss: These pro-

Both insurance brokers and attorneys can help to guide you through this wilderness.

- Document any business interruption losses to your business using historical business records and sales data to establish lost income evaluations.

- Document any post-loss expenditures incurred immediately following the loss (including mitigation efforts), as well as any subsequent work related to the loss (e.g. repair/replacement estimates, appraisals, etc.).

Identify Potentially Applicable Types of Coverage

Homeowners’ policies are designed to provide coverage for property damage losses caused by covered events, while commercial property policies typically include coverage for both property damage losses and business interruption losses associated with covered events.

- If your copy of your insurance policy(ies) has been lost as a result of the natural disaster, contact your insurance broker for assistance in obtaining another copy.

Contingent Business Interruption: Replacement of lost income and profits resulting from an interruption to the business of a direct or indirect supplier or customer affected by a covered event.

Debris Removal: The costs to clean up the natural disaster-related damage.

Civil Authority: The lost income for a temporary time period during which access to the business location, or the operations of the business, are prohibited by order of a civil authority.

Ingress/Egress: The costs associated with shipments or employees unable to reach the business location due to the natural disaster-related damage.

Service Interruption: The costs related to a power outage in connection with a covered event that prevents normal operations.

Identify Key Coverage Conditions and Limitations

Review your insurance policy(ies) to familiarize yourself with certain coverage conditions and limitations that may affect the availability of coverage for property damage and business interruption losses:

Limits of Liability, Sublimits, and Deductibles/Self-Insured Retentions: The limit of liability is the total amount of coverage available under the insur-

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

Day Low Hgt High Hgt Low Hgt High Hgt Low Hgt

Thurs, Jan 19 12:21 AM 2.5 6:53 AM 6.4 02:22 PM -1.6 09:01 PM 3.6

Fri, Jan 20 1:17 AM 2.3 7:42 AM 6.8 03:05 PM -2.0 09:40 PM 3.8

Sat, Jan 21 2:09 AM 2.0 8:30 AM 7.0 03:47 PM -2.1 010:19 PM 4.0

Sun, Jan 22 3:00 AM 1.8 9:18 AM 7.0 04:28 PM -2.0 010:58 PM 4.2

Mon, Jan 23 3:52 AM 1.7 10:06 AM 6.7 05:09 PM -1.7 011:39 PM 4.4

Tues, Jan 24 4:47 AM 1.6 10:55 AM 6.0 05:49 PM -1.0

Weds, Jan 25 12:22 AM 4.5 5:47 AM 1.6 11:46 AM 5.2 06:29 PM -0.3

Thurs, Jan 26 1:07 AM 4.6 6:57 AM 1.6 12:44 PM 4.2 07:10 PM 0.4

Fri, Jan 27 1:56 AM 4.7 8:22 AM 1.6 02:00 PM 3.3 07:52 PM

JOURNAL newspaper

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

Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick

Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin 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, Gabe Saglie

Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC

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

“Human beings must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.” – Albert Einstein

We understand that all of this can be overwhelming.

visions detail the steps you must take following a loss in order to submit your claim and obtain insurance coverage. Notice of the claim or a proof of loss providing the details of your claim may be required within a relatively short period of time, for example. These time periods can act as a statute of limitations that may bar your claim if it is late, requiring prompt action by you.

Exclusions: The list of exclusions in the insurance policy should be reviewed carefully to determine whether any might apply to preclude or otherwise limit coverage for your loss (e.g. flood or other water damage-related exclusions).

Appraisal and Valuation: These provisions contain information regarding the process and formulas to be used to calculate certain business interruption-related losses, as well as to determine the valuation of property damage-related losses (e.g. repair, replacement, actual cash value, etc.).

Suit Limitation: The time period within which a lawsuit can be brought against the insurer following a claim, if necessary. Note that the time period may be limited.

Prepare and Submit the Claim

Provide notice of your claim under any potentially applicable insurance policies as soon as reasonably possible following

the loss – include your name or your business’ name, address of the insured property, approximate date of loss, and any available initial details or description relating to the loss.

- Other more detailed documentation can be submitted as it becomes available and/or as it is requested by the insurer (e.g. repair/replacement estimates, appraisals, etc.).

- Review your insurance policy to confirm any deadlines for the submission of a more detailed proof of loss for business interruption-related losses, and if necessary, seek agreed-upon extensions from the insurer.

- Maintain records of all communications with the insurer and keep early communications at a high-level to allow time for the claim to be fully evaluated before articulating coverage positions.

We understand that all of this can be overwhelming. Both insurance brokers and attorneys can help to guide you through this wilderness.

To provide further assistance, the authors and a local insurance broker are hosting a public meeting at the Santa Barbara College of Law to discuss your questions and concerns.

Date: Wednesday, January 25 at 7 pm

Address: Santa Barbara College of Law, 20 E. Victoria Street

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Montecito Miscellany

More to Say

by Richard Mineards

As if one memoir Spare isn’t enough, Riven Rock resident Prince Harry has revealed he has enough material to publish a second autobiography having cut almost half the material that had been written in a first draft.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, says he chose to leave out several “bombshells” because he was concerned his father, King Charles, and older brother William, Prince of Wales, would not “ever forgive him.”

The first draft of 800 pages was cut to 400 pages.

“The hard part was taking things out,” admits Harry. “There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know,” he tells London’s Daily Telegraph . “Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”

After the dust has settled, the monarch’s youngest son expressed a hope that he can reconnect with his family even if they don’t particularly like his decision to

share “his truth.”

News that there is enough content for a second book will undoubtedly set off alarm bells at Buckingham Palace with Harry’s recent candid interviews to promote Spare

No word yet if Charles is also writing a tome – Dis-spare!

Care for Wildlife Care Crew

It was all too beastly for words when Gretchen Lieff, vice president of the board for the popular Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network, hosted a boffo bash at her La Lieff tasting room in the Funk Zone for 200 volunteers.

“It’s the least we could do to show our gratitude for the many hours they all put in, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Gretchen of the nonprofit that helps and saves 3,500 to 4,500 animals each year with a $2 million annual budget.

“They are all vital to our work,” says Executive Director Ariana Katovich “They transport the animals, feed them, clean out the cages, man the help line.

They are quite simply invaluable.”

Among those turning out to quaff the wine and sangria and nosh on the empanadas from Buena Onda of Santa Barbara were Mindy Denson, Connie Pearcy, Miles Hartfeld, Sybil Rosen, Julia Parker, Jay Van Meter, David Postada , Liz Holbrook , Suzette Bushway, and Gina Petusky

An Evening Apéritif

Santa Barbara Symphony hosted the third of its seven-part Concert Apéritifs series at the charming Montecito home of Mikki Andina as part of its 70th anniversary season-long fundraiser.

Montecito

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein

Prince Harry has more than enough overmatter for a follow-up memoir

Guests celebrating and showing appreciation for the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Volunteers in front of the La Lieff tasting room (photo by Priscilla)

Julia Parker, Gretchen Lieff, Gina Petusky, Dawn Nelson, and Ariana Katovich (photo by Priscilla)

Indoors at La Lieff tasting room are the admired Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Volunteers (photo by Priscilla)

CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

Our Town

Governor Gavin Newsom Visits the Randall Road Debris Basin

FILHARMONIE

by Joanne A Calitri

Governor Gavin Newsom toured the flood damage statewide on Friday, January 13 and stopped in Montecito in the late afternoon to visit the Randall Road Debris Basin, where over 80 California National Guard were deployed and working around the clock to do environmental remedial improvements that would ensure the safety of the area, and direct any water flow and debris away from residences. This urgency measure came due to the threat of more heavy rainfall expected over the January 14-15 weekend, and containment achieved at the week’s prior rainfall said to be at 17 inches. Newsom also spent time with the Bucket Brigade, who was busy deploying sandbags to the local community, along with other emergency preparedness efforts.

Present at the conference and providing brief statements were Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams; Kelly Hubbard, Director of Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management; Santa Barbara County Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart; Senator Monique Limón, Rep 19th

District for Santa Barbara and Ventura counties; and Congressman Salud Carbajal, who introduced Governor Gavin Newsom. On site were also Montecito Fire Department Fire Chief Kevin Taylor and Mark A. Hartwig, Chief of Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

The Governor lauded the Montecito community, saying: “Thank you for your pride and spirit, thank you for having each other’s back. There is no substitute for that. Thank you to the local leaders, and thanks to the local representatives, Sheriff Brown, and all the men and women in uniform. We want to have a more sustainable mindset; we can’t walk away with patchwork efforts. I’m here to make that commitment to you. We have $8.6 billion of state resources going to infrastructure, to update our systems to the 20th century. I go back to my notes when I was Lieutenant Governor after Gov. Brown [in 2018], this is exactly what they predicted. The question is, are we resilient enough, resourceful enough, to be creative so that we cannot just survive through this new reality? The beauty of California is the ferocity of Mother Nature. California has the population of 21 states combined, and

Photo by Todd Rosenberg Photography

Governor Newsom presenting a press conference at the Randall Road Debris Basin on January 13 (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Salud Carbajal (center) with Kevin Taylor (left) and Mark A. Hartwig (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Comedy’s New Soul

No Indoor Voices Returns with All-Female Comedy Show

by Jeff Wing

“What they want to do with this place is the same vision I have, which is make it a community space!” That’s Kimmie Dee “talking,” which has never been an accurate description of her communication style. Kimmie is Santa Barbara’s longtime standup comedy impresario, a casually foul-mouthed tornado of benevolent energy. Should you suddenly hear a Jersey-inflected blue streak of milea-minute commentary and have trouble locating the source, aim down. You’ll find Kimmie Dee standing right in front of you and a couple feet below your sight line. She will be gesticulating wildly, smiling beatifically, and flinging the F-bomb with a casual cheeriness you may find disorienting.

Until February 27 of last year, Dee was emcee and proprietress of the riotous comedy shows mounted by her aptly titled No Indoor Voices Productions. These were hosted in the cavernous “back room” of the Brasil Arts Cafe on upper State Street in Santa Barbara. On show night, one

could reliably find Kimmie’s 7’ hubby (and local architect) Glenn minding Brasil Arts’ hidden door like a bruiser outside a speakeasy, but with a warm smirk you won’t have seen anywhere else.

Brasil Arts closed its doors early in 2022, and Dee had been on the lookout for a downtown room, someplace with a come-as-you-are-for-a-night-outwith-pals vibe. She envisioned a possible new locus for No Indoor Voices, and a heart-driven safe space/village grotto for Santa Barbarans hungry for community, music, and breathless guffawing.

Enter Stirling and Rose Nix-Bradley, up from Burbank to stir the pot. They have planted in Santa Barbara’s old Velvet Jones space (423 State Street) an embraceable eatery called Soul Bites. As its name suggests, the place is a gastronomic seventh heaven where full frontal fried chicken, collard greens, and unbuttoned comfort may be had without a ponytailed server leaning in to hiss in your ear “Not that fork, you moron!”

Soul Bites’ menu features such fare as Shrimp and Grits with Crab Gravy, Johnny Sticks, Black-Eyed Peas and – yes – Fried

Green Tomatoes; an inadvertent nod to our beloved Montecitan and Alabama native, Fannie Flagg. Stirling and Rose’s place is that culinary sigh of relief Santa Barbara has been waiting for, and its open-hearted proprietors the willing recipients of Kimmie Dee’s pitch when she burst in happily hollering, as she does. Once they’d quickly established a common chemistry, Stirling, Rose, and Kimmie hatched an event. It all unfolded quickly.

“It was an immediate love fest,” Dee says of their inaugural meeting. “These are my people! My vision aligns with theirs – a community artistic safe space for everybody to come and play, and with delicious eats! So I said to Stirling, ‘… what’s happening here on the 21st?’”

No Indoor Voices had been AWOL on State Street for some time, Kimmie doing her level best to keep the flame alive. “We did a soft opening show in November, just to let everybody know that we’re kind of coming back,” Kimmie says. Soul Bites was packed. “This will be our Grand Opening on the 21st. And Soul Bites is just – the absolute perfect spot!”

On January 21, the place will be hopping with overlapping technicolor fun. Music by gospel/blues/jazz combo band Xangie will warm up the room from 6-8 pm, while from 7-9 pm there will be a reception and show with local artist Matt Rodriguez, whose variously playful and penetrating art festoons Soul Bites’ walls. From 8-9 pm, DJ Leah will help the gathered to trip the light fantastic.

Where possibilities become possible

At 9 pm all heck breaks loose as Subhah Agarwal, Max Beasley (“She is young, but such an old soul, oh my g*d,” Dee exults), Claudia Lonow, and comedy grenade Kimmie herself take the stage in Unladylike Lineup. Periods, Politics, Menopause. One can fairly suppose little will be left to the imagination.

Kimmie is smitten with Stirling and Rose Nix-Bradley and their State Street rollout of cuisine they describe as “Down Home Healthy.” Yelp reviews are rhapsodic. Kimmie Dee sees in Stirling and Rose the beginning of a beautiful friendship, and a new downtown epoch.

“We’re all very much in line with appreciating all walks of life and all aspects of art. They are just very supportive and kind and fair and decent! It’s the return of No Indoor Voices!”

For more info, contact Kimmie Dee: (805) 722-5856.

WHEN: Saturday, January 21, 9 pm

WHERE: Soul Bites, 423 State Street COST: $15 online, $20 at the door

INFO: https://nightout.com/events/a/i-mspeaking-an-unladylike-night-of-comedy

Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. A long-time resident of SB, he takes great delight in chronicling the lesser known facets of this gaudy jewel by the sea. Jeff can be reached at jeffwingg@gmail.com.

Lori Murray, SVP Thirty three years of banking on the Central Coast

Friends in High Places

Local Aviators Help Deliver Supplies to the Back Country

by Zach Rosen

With the highway closures after the recent storm, losing access to those major roadways can make one feel isolated and trapped. But for the few living deep in the back country, that sensation can only compound with limited roads to get in and out of the area.

This was the situation that Bryon and Deborah Davis found themselves in when the recent storms had washed out the single road to their Mill Creek Ranch where they live. The ranch is located in the Manzana Canyon area behind the Santa Ynez Mountains. The couple has been living there full-time for 12 years; however, Bryon has a lifetime of experiences with the area since his great-grandfather first moved there in 1880.

With their road awash and unusable for an unforeseen amount of time, Bryon and Deborah felt trapped, not knowing how they were going to get to Santa Ynez, their normal supply town. For both of them, the primary concern was for feeding their pets and livestock, which include one horse, a dog, 22 chickens, and of course, two ravens. The distance from their ranch to Santa Ynez is about eight miles how the crow (or pet raven) flies, however the horse path they take to town is around 40 miles, which is about two hours in their vehicle. Thankfully, help was on the way due to friends in high places.

Around a year ago, the couple had met two local pilots, Doug Cole and Neil Cushman , after flagging down Doug as he was flying over the ranch. Both pilots have small aircraft adapted for short landings and he was able to stop and say hello. The group immediately became fast friends and Bryon and Deborah reached out to them through a satellite connection about their plight. Friends, companies, and other good Samaritans donated supplies – in fact, 1,200 pounds of them – once they heard of the situation.

Doug and Neil’s fixed-wing planes would have trouble landing in the

storm-ridden property, but their friend Seth Hammond, who owns a helicopter, would be able to make the landing without worry. He immediately agreed to help. “I really didn’t catch the drift of the excitement until they called [Monday night] and said we’re gonna push our flight time off an hour because we want you to take the mail in,” says Seth. “All of a sudden it dawned on me that here I was doing the same thing that my father did in 1934.”

Seth’s father, George Hammond of Bonnymede and Hammond’s Beach, was an avid aviator – personal friends with Charles Lindbergh and collaborator on the Spirit of St. Louis – installing an airfield on the Montecito property; he later became friends with the Lester family of San Miguel Island, delivering them mail and supplies from 1934-1941.

While his father was always fixed-wing focused, Seth’s first experience with helicopters was when he was drafted into the Vietnam War, becoming a crew chief and a door gunner on a gunship. Seth later got his helicopter pilot’s license in 1983 and his wife, Tanis, received hers as well. Since then, the two have flown to or through every state in the continental U.S. and five of the Canadian provinces.

From take-off to landing, it was a 17-minute trip from the Santa Ynez airstrip to the Manzana property. Deb and Bryon later commented at how mind-bending it was to hear of this quick trip versus the two-hour trek they’re used to. Seth’s helicopter has a 1,000-pound useful load capacity, which has to include fuel and supplies. They only flew with about an hour’s worth of fuel, wanting to keep the extra weight for the supplies. It took three round trips in the helicopter, bringing them animal feed, personal (and some comfort) food, diesel fuel, backup water, and of course, the mail.

Deborah mentioned that she cried when she first saw the helicopter and when she later thanked one of her friends for donating supplies, they replied, “No, thank you for giving us the opportunity to be generous.” It helps to have both friends around town, and in high places.

Seth Hammond (center) delivering mail and supplies in his helicopter to Deborah and Bryon Davis

Brilliant Thoughts Popularity

by Ashleigh Brilliant

Our society is obsessed with popularity contests of various kinds. There are competitions for being the most beautiful, making the most money, and having a best-selling product. But the most prevalent type of such contention is called an “election,” which, in effect, means being chosen by the most people, usually for an office or position of some responsibility. And ironically, the more important the post, the fewer the qualifications that are officially attached to it. As extreme examples, to secure the position of a licensed barber or manicurist, many jurisdictions require a course of training, and passing an examination. In contrast, to be President of the United States, the only legal requirements specify age and place of birth and residence.

But being chosen has a longer history than just being the preference of a particular electorate. In fact, the Jewish People have a biblical tradition of being chosen by God, although exactly for what purpose remains unclear. Some unkind critic has commented:

everywhere. Obviously, they’re the one I should vote for”?

(When the election was over, I used to collect some of these signs, which were easily removable from the wire hoops that held them in place. The signs were made of cardboard, and the backs were plain white, which could be used for many purposes, especially in my card business. Now, however, they’re made of some kind of stiffened plastic, which is printed on both sides, and have become totally useless to my form of “recycling.” Is this progress?)

But yard signs are only part of what must be a huge election industry offering all kinds of material, such as door-hangers, campaign buttons, potholders, and oven mitts (which latter items are not bio-degradable, and are therefore considered highly collectible). There is even political candy – little chocolate bars with a candidate’s name and message printed on the wrapper. The manufacturers of these items generally have no interest in the outcome of any election. They are in it for the money. And the money is there, because every serious campaign knows that it needs funding, which comes especially from supporters.

As a member of that group, I have never personally been aware of any sense of choice or mission. But unfortunately, the separateness which such a concept engenders has for millennia aroused the animosity of other groups. Hence, the phenomenon known as “anti-Semitism,” which might manifest itself in a “pogrom,” or even a “holocaust.”

But, getting back to elections, one way to get elected is, or has been, to pay the voters, either by direct purchase of their ballot, or by making promises about what you will do for them once you are in office. In England, until the reforms which began in the 1830s, it was, in many districts, standard practice for candidates for seats in Parliament to give out free drinks at the polling places. There were whole constituencies containing very few people, or even in some cases, none at all, which could be controlled by a single landowning family. These were known as “pocket” or “rotten” boroughs.

But nowadays, especially here in the U.S., the way to become popular enough to win elections, starting with local elections for seats on town councils, is by proving that you already are popular. How do you do that? By circulating and distributing yard signs, posters, and other literature, with your name on it, the same way it will appear on the ballot. Do people say to themselves, “This person must be very popular. I see their lawn signs

And the media are well aware of this. Even the local press, at least in my community, headlines its election reporting with emphasis on how much money each competing campaign has raised – which is generally required by law to be made public.

But, apart from winning elections, popularity is also credited with winning hearts romantically. In school and later in life, the best-looking people with the most attractive personalities are most likely to be the most popular and acquire the most desirable mates. This seems to be a law of nature, prevailing, in various forms, throughout the animal kingdom.

I myself have never been very popular in person, but only through my work as an artist and writer. But in that form, I have at least had an outlet for my feelings on this subject, as in this example:

Popularity is no proof of goodness –And goodness is certainly no guarantee of popularity.

waterways full, but no evacuations were issued and no freeway closures occurred. Board housekeeping issues were addressed at the Annual Meeting: there were six vacant seats on the Board, with four directors – Doug Black, Inken Gerlach , Andrea Newquist , and Cheryl Trosky – up for re-election. Two new directors were voted in: returning director Mindy Denson, who served 2007-2013 and has been involved in countless community organizations including the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance, Zoofari Ball, Montecito Community Foundation, and Lobero Theatre Foundation; and Patrice Serrani, a local realtor with Berkshire Hathaway and long-term Montecito resident whose children attended Cold Spring School.

Two directors termed off the Board: Houghton Hyatt, who has been deeply involved in the MA annual events during her two terms, and Chad Chase, who was chair of the Land Use Committee.

The Board re-elected Megan Orloff as President, Doug Black as First Vice President, Robert Kemp as Second Vice President, Andrea Newquist as Secretary, and John Murphy as Treasurer.

During the monthly Board meeting, which was held directly following the Annual Meeting, the Board heard from community reps, including Lieutenant Arnoldi, who reported on crime from the last two months. The crimes in Montecito/Summerland over the last two months include a burglary on East Valley Road; two beached vessels on Butterfly Beach; the overflow of two large oil reserve tanks on Toro Canyon; a downed eucalyptus tree on Channel Drive; tools stolen on Riven Rock; embezzlement on Ortega Ridge; traffic stop for expired registration which turned into a possession of stolen property call on Olive Mill Rd. and Spring Street; disturbance on Whitney Avenue; elderly financial abuse on Danielson; narcotics at Lookout Park; disturbance at Summerland Liquor Store; loud music on Riven Rock; grand theft at Miramar Hotel; DUI at The Nugget in Summerland; drugs at San Ysidro Ranch; attempted elder abuse on Virginia Road; and narcotics overdose at Westmont College.

Unified for the quick response. “It is the community working together at its best to serve our kids,” she said.

Anthony Ranii from Montecito Union School echoed Dr. Alzina’s sentiments, saying he was grateful for the timely communication with local officials during the storm, and the hard work of crews who helped to reopen the freeway on Wednesday, January 11, so school could reopen. “We know from our research that getting the kids back to a routine as fast as possible is really important to lessen the trauma. It brings back all the memories of the first 1/9 event,” he said. He also reported on other news at the school: that the Nature Lab’s Outdoor Learning Pavilion is finished and being utilized as an outdoor classroom, and that the school has added five new security cameras to the existing 18 cameras to keep the kids safe.

The Board then discussed the possibility of returning to in-person meetings this year. Several ideas were discussed, including having hybrid meetings with in-person attendance and an online option, hosting the meetings at other locations than Montecito Community Hall, and other ideas. No formal action was taken.

Check out www.montecitoassociation. org for updated details on future meetings.

Summerland Beach Remains Closed

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.

Dr. Amy Alzina reported that on January 9, students were evacuated from the Cold Spring campus because of the storm. “Five years ago, we made the plan to go to Franklin School if we ever had to evacuate our students. We never thought in a million years we’d have to activate that plan, but sure enough we did,” she said, adding that the event brought back memories for students who lost their classmate, six-year-old Peerawat “Pasta” Sutthithepa on January 9, 2018. Alzina said that all 200 students and 45 staff members were evacuated in 20 minutes. She thanked her teachers, staff, board, and Santa Barbara

Access to Summerland Beach remains closed as officials try and determine the cause of an oil slick in the ocean that appeared after recent storms (photo by Robin Van Tassell)

A mysterious oil slick in the waters off Summerland Beach continues to be closely monitored by multiple agencies, while beach access remains closed to the public. According to Summerland Citizens Association Board President Phyllis Noble, the oil slick, which appeared earlier this month following heavy rains, now appears to be breaking up and no additional sources are being observed.

“Oil on the sand is being scoured

“To raise new questions, new possibilities... require creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” – Albert Einstein

“How odd of God

To choose the Jews.”

Montecito Reads

Chasing Bytes and Bones

by MJ Staff

Wimbys’, Hollis unpacks what he saw and knows with Cricket, and later the FBI. Chapter 47 and 48 are available online at montecitojournal.net and the QR code below.

“You and me both,” I said.

“Hey,” she said, sitting up and pulling my chin to face her directly. “This isn’t your fault either, Hollis.”

“Ok,” I mumbled.

“What are we going to tell …,” she began, pausing for a tonsil-viewing yawn, “… the kids?”

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I mean, I can’t lie to them. Then again, I don’t think I need to burden them with the gruesome details. This will be hard for Trip to understand, especially considering all he’s been through and his friendship with Priscilla. But I don’t want to be one of those parents who assume their kids can’t handle the realities of the world. I’m thinking that maybe—”

Cricket’s first slight snore interrupted my stream of consciousness rambling. I nodded to myself; even this unbelievable story had a time limit. Whatever the right answer, hopefully it would occur to me in the morning.

Chapter 50

I was unable to heed Agent Randall’s warning to get some sleep. In fact, as I laid in the dark, staring at the ceiling, it occurred to me that I might never sleep again. Suffering something between a cocaine high and a tainted trip, I tossed and turned until the first crack of sunlight freed me from the burden of further pretending.

I was in the kitchen making coffee when Isabel and Trip cornered me for an explanation of the previous day’s events.

“The police don’t really know what happened,” I began, choosing my words carefully. “It looks like Mr. Wimby was hurt.”

“Badly?” Isabel asked.

Montecito

by Michael Cox

Chapter 49

By the grace of the Almighty, Isabel and Trip were asleep when I walked in our front door. I did not have the mental strength to explain what I had witnessed to my children; I was still struggling to explain it to myself. I knew that my reprieve would be counted in mere hours but that was better than seconds.

Cricket was of course waiting for me and answering texts from roughly a thousand friends who had heard something and were concerned; Montecito is a small town after all. I kissed her, promised her that I was ok, and begged to stand in a scalding shower for ten minutes before we talked. I have never needed to scrub my skin clean quite so badly. If only I could have scrubbed my eyes too.

Pink from the shower, I climbed into bed. “What have you heard?” I asked.

“No one knows anything,” she said, “other than that something really bad must have happened.”

At first this surprised me, but on further consideration, I realized the reason for the mystery: there had been no ambulances.

“Remember the FBI agent who you joked was a Jehovah’s Witness?” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Well, he wasn’t either of those things.”

She cocked her head and squinted.

“Exactly,” I said.

From that perplexed expression, I began my story. Even the most exotic fantasies from the Montecito rumor mill had paled in comparison to the truth. Cricket’s facial expressions ranged from wide-eyed shock, to sour-lemon disgust. She knew far more truth about the Wimbys than the rest of Montecito, but even for her, the events of the day were impossible to process. The incongruity of it challenged the brain to construct alternate hypotheses, each one wilder than the next.

But maybe …

Do you think …

What if …

Unfortunately, these were impossible wishes; I had seen, and nearly stepped in, the blood of truth.

“What happens now?” she asked as midnight came and went.

“The FBI will be back here tomorrow morning to go through everything,” I said.

She shook her head, “I’m so sorry, Hollis.”

I kissed her forehead. “What in the world do you have to be sorry for?”

She laughed sweetly. “I have no idea,” she admitted, “but I certainly feel sorry.”

I cleared my throat. “Yes,” I said, holding fast to honesty as long as I could.

“What about Priscilla?” Trip asked.

Keep to the script, I reminded myself. “We don’t know for sure, Trip. Priscilla was not there. Her mom was not there either.” This response was technically true even if it was woefully inadequate.

“Where did they go?” Isabel asked.

“We don’t know that either,” I began before breaking my string of technical truths and embracing a lie: “I think they may have just decided to leave Montecito.” I counted this as a white lie that did more good than harm. My kids feared the prospect of kidnapping more than death, and I did not want to inspire nightmares of mothers and children being snatched from gated homes.

“Is Priscilla ok?” Trip asked, his eyes moist.

I bent over his chair and palmed the back of his head. I wanted so badly to assure him that she was fine. That Priscilla and her mom were on some great adventure, having fun, eating cotton candy, seeing the world. But I could not make the words come out. “I hope so, Trip.”

A knock at the front door signaled that my family time was over: 7:15 am; these guys were not joking about bright and early.

Scan here for Chapters 47 & 48

Die Stadt ohne Juden ( The City Without Jews ) Matthias Pintscher, Music Director/Conductor

Sat, Jan 28 / 7 PM / Lobero Theatre (note new venue)

The world’s greatest contemporary ensemble performs a new score to a 1924 silent movie that predicted the horrors of antisemitism.

Pink Martini featuring China Forbes

Fri, Feb 3 / 8 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets going fast! “A

– Thomas Lauderdale, bandleader/pianist Elegant, fun and blessed with flawless musicianship, the globetrotting Pink Martini is a perennial Santa Barbara favorite that guarantees an evening of enchanting international entertainment.

Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour

Christian Sands, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Lakecia Benjamin, Yasushi Nakamura, Clarence Penn

Sun, Jan 29 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

Celebrating 65 years, the illustrious Monterey Jazz Festival sends six of its finest jazz ambassadors – including Grammy-winning vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Kurt Elling – to Santa Barbara as part of its popular touring program.

Cirque FLIP Fabrique

Muse

Sun, Feb 5 / 7 PM

Granada Theatre Canada’s thrilling FLIP Fabrique explores what it means to be your true self in Muse, a refreshing view of contemporary circus that combines breathtaking artistry and athleticism and challenges gender roles.

Kurt Elling

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Co-presented with Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara

“Who are they?” Trip asked.

“They are the guys who will find Priscilla and her mom,” I said. “And I’m going to help them.” Trip broke into a wide smile: his dad the hero! Unfortunately, this only made me feel worse.

I greeted agents Quinton and Randall plus two fresh faces on the front porch and led them back to my gar-office. No one batted an eye at the conditions which made me far less self-conscious. Agents Quinton and Randall brought a folding table from the back of the suburban and a few extra chairs. Suit jackets came off, sleeves were rolled up, and everyone got to the grim task of chasing murderers and thieves.

The work began with a white board: who were the players? I organized them into insiders – a group that included Cyrus and the quartet of Umed, Kai, Noah, and Reuben – agents – principally ExOh’s stockbrokers, CPA, and rubber-stamp lawyers – and outsiders: the company’s investors.

“Have Larry, Curly, and Moe heard the news?” Agent Randall asked, referring to Umed, Kai, Noah, and Reuben.

“I… I don’t know,” I admitted.

“We’re not off to a good start here, Mr. Crawford,” Agent Randall said.

“How did you communicate with them?” Agent Quinton asked, trying a different approach.

“By…,” I cleared my throat, instinctively embarrassed at what I would say next. “By BatSignal.”

Agent Randall tossed her pencil in the air and dropped her head, defeated.

To prove that I was not referring to the actual-yet-fictional Batman, I whipped out my phone, opened the BatSignal app and typed out a message to the team: Have you heard the news?

BatSignal promptly informed me that the accounts of everyone except Cyrus and me had been deleted.

“Interesting,” Agent Randall said. “We’ll put a pin in that and revisit later.”

Agent Quinton shook his head. “This is all well and good, but the most important name is not on your whiteboard, Mr. Crawford. Where does VIP fit into this?”

“VIP?” I asked, the distant chime of familiarity echoing in my head.

“Vladimir Ignat Petronovski,” Agent Randall said. “The worst of your bad guys.”

“VIP,” I repeated, my eyes fixed to the floor. “There was a…,” I began, turning from the table to rifle my trusty manilla folders for the slip of paper that suddenly seemed like a smoking gun. “Back in May,” I continued, “Cyrus came up with this crazy transaction where he had ExOh purchase a fifty percent stake in his wine label. The price was one-million dollars, and I was the one who wired the money.” I found the piece of paper I was looking for and waved it like a flag. “Cyrus told me to wire the money to this bank account in Bermuda: an account for VIP Partners LLC. He said it was his personal account, but now I’m thinking… maybe not.” I handed the paper to Agent Randall. She examined it, then passed it to Agent Quinton; they shared a knowing nod.

“Your friend Cyrus must have been in very deep, Mr. Crawford,” Agent Randall said. “One million dollars typically buys a man a pretty long leash. But in this case, it bought Cyrus Wimby less than five months.”

I shook my head, recalling the moment when Cyrus handed me the

slip of paper instructing me to wire the one million dollars. It happened on the day of our first meeting post Vlad’s ominous visit; the visit that included me riding shotgun in Vlad’s Mercedes. Cyrus had seemed so calm when discussing Vlad, dismissing my obvious skittishness like a parent who laughs away a claim of monsters under the bed. Damn, Cyrus was good, or – at least – he had been good. He had redirected my legitimate questions of him into self-reproach and personal doubt. It was textbook gaslighting, and I was Cyrus’s rube.

“Well,” Agent Quinton said, “now we’ve confirmed what we already believed.” He stood from his folding chair and began ripping chunks of pages from my heavy-duty-stapled dossier on Cyrus. “Let’s go get these guys.”

He passed the subsections of my report around the gar-office, assigning me to work principally with the forensic accountant, Agent Willows, a forty-nine-year-old former CPA who had worked with Irving Picard, recovering the money stolen in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

“Let’s start by inventorying the known financial assets,” Agent Willows suggested. “Is there anything beyond the bank accounts?”

I nodded. “Well, their home here in Montecito is worth at least ten million. On top of that, you’ve got the furniture, artwork, and the three Porsches—”

“Hold it right there,” Agent Willows interrupted. “I’ve already been down that path. None of that is real.”

My forehead accordioned. “Well, of course it’s real. I mean—”

“Sorry,” he interrupted again. “I mean, none of those assets are real assets of Cyrus Wimby. The house was rented fully furnished. The cars are leased.”

My mouth hit the floor. Rented? Leased? Not that there was anything wrong with being a renter – I was one! – or that there was an obligation to notify your guests that they were standing on borrowed property, but this was far more sinister than a simple omission. Like everyone else who had visited the Wimby home, I had complimented the pizza oven – we modeled it on one we saw in Venice – the tapestries – found them at a fantastic bazaar in Morocco – the putting green – I had it shaped like the 14th at Pinehurst – and the pool – it was designed to match my family home on the outskirts of Riyadh. It was all lies made possible by Montecito’s tall-hedge obsession with privacy. Cyrus had approached a blank canvas and filled in his own details. “You’re kidding me,” I finally choked out.

“Cyrus Wimby’s only interest in those assets is the security deposit,” Agent Willows said, “and I think it’s safe to say he is going to forfeit that.”

“Ok, well,” I restarted. “Cyrus has a house in Fiji. I sent a package there this summer. I have the address—”

He shook his head before I finished. “That was a VRBO.”

“Uh…,” I searched my memory for more. “They moved here from Paris. Cyrus told me that they have a house in the 16th arrondissement.”

Agent Willows again shook his head, no.

I stared blankly in my own lap. Cyrus Wimby’s flaunted hard assets were all fakes. Just like his business. Just like his life.

“Let’s focus on the bank accounts then,” Agent Willows said. “Walk me through how you gained access.”

I shook my head to clear it, refocusing on the only assets that remained. As soon as I explained how I used the RemoteToken serial numbers, Agent Willows jumped through five derivatives of questions and explanations to the punchline: “Wait a minute! You hacked their server? That thing is like Fort Knox, and I know because I’ve been to Fort Knox.” For the first time in my life, I felt like a rock star; albeit a very gullible one.

Agent Willows and I started from the top of the funnel, picking apart

SANTA BARBARA

HOPE RANCH MONTECITO

Gwyn Lurie (GL): What variables guide your decision making?

KT: All of our decision-making is guided by six principles: We will ensure public safety. We will evacuate only when necessary. We’ll evacuate only those areas necessary. It’ll be for the shortest time possible. We’ll return people home as soon as possible. And then probably most importantly, we’ll provide the community with clear, timely information, and rationale for the decision.

GL: Why was there a decision not to evacuate this past weekend?

KT: Because this event rose to the level of a weather advisory, not an evacuation. It was relatively mild compared to what we had last Monday. But we committed to the community that if there’s a storm coming, we will keep you informed. And so we want folks to be prepared because in Santa Barbara, front country, south-facing mountains, things change very rapidly.

GL : So, I assume you go into these meetings with an educated opinion about the outcome?

KT: Correct. I have a very intimate relationship with all the forecasters, and so I do my homework. I call them in advance, get the information that we need. We consider the forecast, the status of the debris basins, the status of the nets, and the status of the flood control channel. Specifically, the VARs, also known as choke points. Our staff inspects those every morning when there’s a storm. We get a report from flood control that shows us all of the flood control work that’s going on in the county right now.

GL: Is it correct that your recommendations consider flood control studies and historical documentation to find the most parallel historical situations by which to make your current decisions?

KT : Correct. And this is the scary part. Debris flow science is a very young science as a whole. The body of work is relatively small. The main event that people are studying right now is right in our backyard, the 1/9 event, 2018. There’s really good information about what happens one year and two years after a fire. There isn’t good information about what happens in year three, four, five, or even up until the next fire. That’s why this is the best, most accurate estimate of where catastrophic debris flow will occur in our community. And remember, catastrophic means that house right there gets picked up and washed to the Pacific. That’s the definition of catastrophic.

to the base, there’s less material traveling at a slower velocity.

If you look at our creeks after this last event, there’s been substantial scouring. That means lowering of the drainage. The basins are full. It’s safe to say that the same way it’s scoured down here, it’s scoured higher on the mountain. As that high velocity water goes by, it’s picking up material. Small material this time, no Volkswagen-sized boulders (like five years ago). But it’s still picking up what they described as cobble and small material, that’s what’s sitting in the basins right now. Those nets slow the velocity of that material. Intuitively, I would think that means it would pick up less material until it got to the next one. I don’t remember the exact number, but I think 54 were required to actually be effective.

GL: In a massive event?

KT: Correct. In a 1/9 (2018) type event. Yeah.

GL: But is it safe to say that in a 1/9 type event, no matter how many nets you have on the mountain, the best solution is to get out of the way?

KT : Always. Here’s the challenge with debris flows. In the historical record for Montecito Creek, it shows all of the debris flows and debris-laden floods that have occurred.

GL: Can you describe the difference between debris flow and debris-laden flood?

KT: Debris flow is a wall of mud moving at a velocity that will move property from the pad that it’s built on to the Pacific Ocean, and everyone and everything that’s in it. It’s not a survivable event. A debris-laden flood is water with cobble and other dirt-like material mixed in traveling at very high velocity.

GL: Did that occur last Monday when we had to evacuate?

KT: Yes. The only way to fill a debris basin is to have a debris-laden flood. Here’s what occurred on Monday.

At this point, Chief Taylor shows me a map that is for internal use only, which he describes as a damage assessment dashboard. He explains to me that each of the colored marks on the map that he points to represents where a person entered a data point.

KT: And so as our folks are out there, they enter data points and they take pictures. So if we click on one of these, it’ll actually show a picture of what occurred in that exact area.

The Chief points to a picture on the projected map of a street in Montecito where a bridge was damaged from last Monday’s storm.

You can see here there is a bridge damaged; no follow-up needed. The guardrail’s down, but the bridge is still standing. So that’s a fairly low repair priority.

The reason why I’m showing you that example is, there were many good things that came out of this 1/9 storm. We know that there were 20 inches of rain in the previous 30 days, and we know that in some areas we received 12 inches of rain on the watershed. And we experienced debris-laden flooding, but we did not experience loss of life or significant property damage. That’s a result of the nets, the flood control system, and the basins.

GL: And the regrowth. Would you put that in there?

KT: Last Monday, on 1/9/2023, we evacuated the entire community because there were so many unknowns … We messaged the community over and over again for three years, that if your property is identified as at risk in a storm on the “Interactive Map of Affected Properties” (found here: www.countyofsb.org/196/Maps), please be prepared to leave. And this map is so easy to use. It’s interactive. You just put in your address and it tells you if your house is at risk. That means your parcel is outlined in red. You don’t change that when the disaster strikes, you go back to it. It’s important to be consistent.

Chief Taylor points to a place on the map projected on the screen that shows Montecito Creek. He explains to me how these maps outline the watershed boundary for each creek’s watershed. What this means, according to Chief Taylor, is that the area of the watershed he points to on the map feeds Montecito Creek. These are landslide dams and previous debris flows, what’s called the alluvial fan. The Chief explains that the map reflects the actual flow paths of previous events in recorded history and the way that the creeks have changed as a result of those debris flows.

KT: We’re able to determine, from the LIDAR (laser imaging, detection, and ranging) studies in Montecito Creek, how much material will come off this mountain in a worst-case event.

GL: Can you talk a little about the ring nets and what if any impact they’re having? Particularly the upper net on San Ysidro that is filled with debris.

KT: I can tell you what I was told by Kane Engineering. They described the necessity of a series of nets that catch debris and slow velocity, so that when the debris gets

KT: As compared to 1/9/2018? Yes. But we’re still five years post-event, so we know that material’s going to move. We also know that if the basins hadn’t been there, or the San Ysidro net hadn’t been there, that material would’ve continued through the community. And eventually, because it’s traveling at such high velocity, it probably would’ve come out of the channel and gone somewhere else. History tells us that.

In 1964, and then in 1969, five years post-fire, there was a substantial debris flow, with the exact same total rainfall in 25 days, 6.6 inches (in one 24-hour period in 1969 compared to 12 inches in one 24-hour period on 1/9/2023) and it killed five people, and damaged 100 properties. This is what we suspected could happen. Remember, on the map, red means if you don’t leave, you could die.

Here’s what actually happened. What we know from looking at the damage reports, is that our map is accurate. In other words, no damage occurred in our community in an area that we did not expect it to occur.

GL: That’s great news.

KT: From an emergency manager standpoint, it’s the ultimate validation. So moving forward, we know with absolute certainty that if we think there’s going to be a debris flow, we don’t have to evacuate the whole community. We only have to evacuate those people.

GL: Can you explain though why you still might evacuate the entire community?

KT: Because we also know that if that occurs, the people that are between it, in those three areas, can’t get out. Because we know it takes us 21 days to clear it. Because we did it once. In 2018, it took us 21 days.

So in a case like this, when we’re issuing a protective action order, evacuation warning order, or an evacuation order, we fully staff the fire districts. Sheriff’s office

See map on page 5 or scan this QR code to view the interactive Santa Barbara Disaster Map

by Steven Libowitz

Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, aka CAMA, is deservedly well-known and cherished for its commitment and ability to bring the finest classical musicians from around the world to Santa Barbara, a cultural coup of musical riches that would normally be beyond the means for such a small community.

It helps that it all started more than a century ago, when the newly-formed Civic Music Committee celebrated the end of

World War I by starting an association with Los Angeles Philharmonic, the now estimable symphony orchestra that also started life in 1919. The L.A. Phil still comes to town to perform for CAMA at the Granada (previously the Arlington) every year, and along the way they’ve been joined by nearly all of the greatest orchestras on the planet, whether from the United States (e.g. the New York Philharmonic), Great Britain (London Symphony Orchestra), elsewhere in Europe (Vienna Symphony), and beyond (Shanghai Symphony), the ensembles often led by superstar conduc-

tors and featuring top musicians as soloists.

The next concert in the International Series comes this week, with a concert by the 132-year-old Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti, the famed octogenarian who is ending his 13-year tenure at CSO’s helm at the end of the season. (See this week’s Calendar of Events for details.)

Forty years ago, future CAMA Board Member Stephen Cloud created the Masterseries program, which has been presented by CAMA since 2001 and has brought an astounding slate of recitalists to the Lobero, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, soprano Kiri Te Kanawa, pianist André Watts, violinist Itzhak Perlman, and many more.

Clearly CAMA is delivering on the first half of its mission: to enrich Santa Barbara’s cultural life by bringing live performances from world-renowned classical artists and orchestras of the highest artistic excellence to our community.

But the second part of that mission: to enrich Santa Barbara’s cultural life by providing creative, music-focused education programs for individuals of all ages. It’s not nearly as glamorous, but it’s pretty important to CAMA, Santa Barbara’s oldest arts organization. Music Matters, CAMA’s docent-led music education program, offers audio-visual presentations on the great composers and masterworks of classical music in over a dozen area elementary schools, from grades four to six. CAMA’s Ticket Program for Young Student Musicians provides admission to approximately 30 students per concert to select CAMA performances while its College and University Program does the same for 50-100 students per concert.

Flying even further below the radar is CAMA’s partnership with UCSB’s Music Department, which first took flight in 2018, a few years after flutist Jill Felber became chair of the department and joined the CAMA board. Several UCSB students performed at Trinity Episcopal Church to kick off CAMA’s Centennial Celebration. The following year, CAMA and UCSB decided to co-present Montage – a collage concert that Felber had created a few years earlier to showcase “all that we are at the music department” in just an hour.

“It’s really kind of unusual for a presenting organization like CAMA and our university music department to collaborate,” she said. “It’s been just great, and I’m happy to have started it.”

The pandemic put a pause on Montage for 2020-2022, but the concert is returning as a gift to the community with a new program set for 4 pm on Sunday,

February 26, at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in downtown Santa Barbara.

“We’re thrilled to open up the showcase to communities that wouldn’t normally come to a concert that might cost $150 for a ticket,” Felber said. “It’s a way of giving back to the community, of showing collaboration between a nonprofit organization and the university, and also paying it forward for all the mentors and supporters and faculty members that have been involved in CAMA over the years. It’s just great to show that the faculty are in support of CAMA by offering this free concert.”

February’s Montage will be a fast-paced affair featuring a variety of solo pieces and chamber music ensembles starting with Felber conducting the UCSB Gaucho Flauto flute septet for Ian Clarke’s Within followed by Felber, faculty soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian, and guest harpist Ellie Choate performing Dream: Ancestral Songs of Childhood that features newly-commissioned arrangements of rare songs collected from various regions of Armenia. Two UCSB doctoral students will perform Maurice Ravel’s La Valse for piano four hands followed by the world premiere of Sarah Gibson “Breath’d back, again,” featuring the composer and former UCSB faculty member on piano, and tenor Ben Brecher, the current chair, in a modern take on poems by Thomas Moore.

The all-student Young Artists String Quartet then delivers the final movement of Haydn’s “String Quartet Op. 76,” before the one-hour show closes with Nunes Scholarship Woodwind Quintet playing Luciano Berio’s lighthearted, theatrical Opus Number Zoo

“It’s a lot of different music,” Felber said. “I wanted a real ‘wow’ factor for each of these pieces so that when they’re done, everybody is a bit stunned. It’s a balance of styles and tempo and a blend of students and faculty with multimedia, lighting effects, and some surprises. Call it a musical circus or freak show in 60 minutes.”

Those aren’t expressions you’d normally hear at a CAMA concert, but events like Montage are important for the sustainability of CAMA in that such free community events can help attract younger and non-traditional audiences, Felber said.

“We really need to get younger people, and that was part of the idea of a free family concert downtown. Make it accessible, make it short, make it sweet, make it very intriguing so that it’s tempting for the younger ones to discover and start to love classical music.”

Both Montage and serving on the CAMA board are part of Felber’s way to contribute to CAMA from a place of gratitude at what the nonprofit has brought to the community for more than a century.

“It’s amazing that we can bring these world-class musicians to our small community performing for us in these beautiful venues,” she said. “We’re really spoiled.”

Community Arts Music Association of Santa Barbara, Inc.

Elizabeth Alvarez, Director of Development (805) 966-4324 x104 www.camasb.org

CAMA brings classical musicians from around the world to Santa Barbara, like the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (photo by David Bazemore)

Celebrated violinist Itzhak Perlman’s first appearance with CAMA goes back 50-plus years

Your Westmont

Goodwin Returns to Speak at Breakfast

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

Doris Kearns Goodwin, world-renowned presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, speaks at the 18th annual Westmont President’s Breakfast on Friday, March 10, from 7-9 am in the Grand Ballroom of Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets cost $125 per person and go on sale Friday, February 10, at 9 am at westmont.edu/ breakfast. Seating is limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Goodwin has written seven critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling books, including her most recent, Leadership in Turbulent Times, which examines the lives and leadership skills of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Goodwin won the Pulitzer Prize in history for No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, and she has written bestsellers Wait Till Next Year, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, and The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, adapted into an award-winning, five-part TV miniseries.

Her book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism is a dynamic history of the tumultuous first decade of the Progressive era. Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios acquired the film rights to the book. Spielberg and Goodwin worked together on Lincoln, based in part on

Goodwin’s award-winning Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, which illuminates Lincoln’s political genius.

Since 2020, Goodwin has served as executive producer for the History Channel’s miniseries events Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt Goodwin, who spoke at the President’s Breakfast in 2015, is the first luminary invited to return to speak at the event. Past speakers include the late Gen. Colin Powell, the late David McCullough, Condoleezza Rice, Robert Gates, Walter Isaacson, Thomas Friedman, David Brooks, Gen. Stan McChrystal, Gen. Michael Hayden, Peggy Noonan, Daniel Kahneman, Nancy Koehn, and Michael Lewis.

The Westmont Foundation, local businesses, and individuals sponsor the President’s Breakfast to promote discussion of significant issues. This year’s Lead Sponsor is Bank of the West. Gold Sponsor’s include Davies, the Eiler Family, David and Anna Grotenhuis, In Memory of Jim Haslem, HUB International Insurance Services Inc., La Arcada, Matt Construction, Lindsay and Laurie Parton, Reicker Pfau, Tim and Ashley Snider, and Warren and Mary Lynn Staley. For event sponsorship opportunities, contact Steve Baker, Westmont Associate Vice President for Advancement, at (805) 565-7156.

Professor Wins Prestigious Philosophy Award

David Vander Laan, Westmont professor of philosophy, has won the American Philosophical Association’s 2022 Alvin Plantinga Prize. Coincidentally, the prestigious award honors Vander Laan’s doctoral adviser, one of the most influential

people shaping Christian philosophical thought during the past 50 years.

“To receive a prize named for Plantinga is a tremendous honor,” Vander Laan says. “As his former student and a beneficiary of his work, it’s incredibly meaningful to me.”

The prize, which includes a $10,000 award, recognizes Vander Laan’s forthcoming paper “Satisfaction in the End without End,” to be published in Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion

The paper, which follows up on Vander Laan’s earlier “The Paradox of the End without End” (Faith and Philosophy, 2018), examines the historically popular view that human life is aimed at a single, highest attainable good (the final telos) that quenches all desire. From this standpoint, a life of everlasting growth and progress might seem to be incomplete since it’s forever partial or unsatisfying; the desire for future goods always remains.

“I argue that, on the contrary, everlasting progress need not be subjectively or objectively deficient, and in fact, must be more satisfying than any static good to temporal beings such as ourselves,” Vander Laan says.

He says that Plantinga, who took on important topics like the problem of evil and the rationality of belief in God, brought greater clarity and precision to them than he ever would have expected.

“His work is part of what inspired me to study philosophy in college,” he says.

“Later, I found that he was not only an incisive thinker but also an affable and jovial soul who generously provided help and encouragement to younger philosophers like myself. I’m grateful to him.”

Vander Laan graduated from Calvin University, earned a doctorate at the University of Notre Dame and joined the philosophy faculty at Westmont in 2000. He created Raft & Scupper, a two-player strategy game with a pirate theme.

Montecito

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” – Albert Einstein

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

BY

Sylvia Khoury

Nike Doukas

Doris Kearns Goodwin speaking at the Westmont President’s Breakfast in 2015

David Vander Laan teaching

President Gayle D. Beebe giving Goodwin the Westmont Leadership Award in 2015

David Vander Laan

Oily debris has also washed up on shore at Summerland Beach, which is currently closed to the public (photo by Robin Van Tassell)

up and the surf will dissipate and break up the sheen. Many of the larger dots of oil on the rocks have scoured themselves off. The oil does not appear to be spreading at this point,” she wrote in a newsletter to Summerland residents earlier this week. While the source of the oil remains under investigation with responding agencies having taken samples to analyze, Noble says there is a consensus that it is likely oil that pooled from under a legacy well that was contained until the storm last week.

“It was explained to me that when the wells were capped, it is estimated around

200,000 gallons of oil escaped. This oil was contained under the sand and did not release until potentially now. I was also told more oil is released on a daily basis by natural seepage throughout the channel,” Noble wrote. There are approximately 200+ known abandoned wellheads at Summerland Beach alone.

The United States Coast Guard, Fish & Wildlife, and Air Pollution Control District all have oil response personnel stationed at Lookout Park. This is in addition to County Parks and County Fire, and reps from Heal the Ocean, who are continually monitoring the situation, which, at this point, does not seem to have impacted local wildlife.

Residents and visitors are implored to not try and clear debris on the beach, due to the toxic oily debris that has washed ashore.

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.

Communing with nature through music

by Steven Libowitz

Aweek after California finally emerged from a series of threatening atmospheric river rainstorms, award-winning mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato is bringing her new passion project to town. EDEN is a timely theatrical experience co-commissioned by UCSB Arts & Lectures that explores our connection to nature and its impact on our world adding movement and theater to art songs and other vocal music spanning four centuries. In reviewing the production NPR said, “EDEN beckons humanity back to the garden” and called DiDonato’s voice “truly one of nature’s great wonders: luminous, silken, flexible, full of colors and expressive shadings, always supported by the breath so even the finest threads of tone shine.” Indeed, the recording of the project is nominated for a 2023 Grammy.

In an email interview previewing the January 24 performance of EDEN at the Granada Theatre, DiDonato’s “voice” came through loud and clear. (Edited for space and clarity.)

Q. What prompted you to create a production that puts climate change on the theatrical/art song stage?

A. There is a power in storytelling, and transformation can happen in a concert hall when strangers gather together to experience art. I have had the privilege of singing the notes and words of composers and poets who have turned to nature as their muse, and mining great insight and inspiration from their works. We need to return to the connection to nature, and perhaps most importantly to our inner nature, and to search for our place in this world. The performance is a reminder of how nurturing and caring nature is with us: she has had terrible “headlines” across the planet in recent years, and certainly we are living devastating moments of her destruc-

tion in real time, particularly here on the West Coast. And yet, she continues to also care for us, nourish us, feed us. We must reconcile how we partner with her now.

How did you make the choices of musical selections about nature?

The driving force was this journey about connection and using the majesty and the complexity of nature to find answers. From the outset I knew that we would begin with “The Unanswered Question” of Charles Ives, and all would lead to Mahler’s masterpiece “Ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen,” where the answer seems to arrive very quietly and simply. In between, I wanted a hugely varied and sometimes wild “garden” of music, crossing centuries, language, characters to show quite literally how timeless and universal this human quest is. As a perk, it demonstrates how my career has also spanned such varied music and it’s a joy to be able to travel so far in such a short period of time with the audience.

Perhaps it’s because I’m writing these questions in the lull before the final “atmospheric river” devastating the California coast was due to arrive, but I can’t help but wonder how you can look at this dire climate situation with such optimism?

I certainly don’t have unbridled optimism, because I see as clearly as I can the reality of the world around me and how we don’t seem to be heeding the warnings.

I sing a piece from Mysliveček’s oratorio, “Adam and Eve,” at the end of our first section where the “Angel of Justice” comes down and sends a fiery rebuke to the people threatening to “destroy the seashores, burn the verdant pastures, and spread a plague” among them because they forgot who they are and where they come from. (Talk about relevant!) But my shaky, yet belligerent optimism comes from nature

The event The Arts of the String Quartet featured a Fab Four of musical talent including violinists Ji Young An, a graduate from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, earning her master’s and doctorate degrees at the Herb Alpert School of Music with a full scholarship; Kyle Anthony Gilner, who holds degrees from both the USC Thornton School of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music; Korean violinist Andrew Dae Yun Kwon, who made his Carnegie Hall, New York, solo recital debut at age 10 and plays with the SBS; and cellist Allan Hon, associate principal of the Long Beach Symphony and a substitute cellist for the San Diego and New Haven symphonies. Hon also holds a Master of Musical Art degree from the Yale School of Music, and a Doctor of Music Arts degree from USC’s Thornton School of Music.

The hugely entertaining program included works by Beethoven, Haydn, Ravel, and Mendelssohn.

Among the supporters supporting the cause and listening to maestro Nir Kabaretti ’s narrative were Fred and Nancy Golden, Robert Weinman, Beno Budgor, Dan and Meg Burnham, Xorin Balbes, and Truman Davies.

“I am thankful for all of those who said ‘no’ to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it myself.” – Albert Einstein

A Rug That Really Ties the Room Together

A delightful evening of note...

Former Montecito fashion magnate Terry Pillow is fit to be tied! Terry, a former head honcho with Ralph

Michelle Cox, Eve Bernstein, and Pam Cox (photo by Priscilla)

Kathryn Martin, Kyle Anthony Gilner, Allan Hon, Ji Young An, Andrew Dae Yun Kwon, and Nir Kabaretti (photo by Priscilla)

Committee chairs Nancy Golden and hostess Michele “Mikki” Andina with the String Quartet (photo by Priscilla)

Terry Pillow with his silk tie rug

Joyce DiDonato’s EDEN takes an inspirational yet urging approach to climate change

An

Evening

with Amor Towles

Thu, Feb 2 / 7:30 PM

UCSB Campbell Hall

Through his evocative, absorbing novels including Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow and The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles has become a critical favorite and a popular success.

Nina Totenberg

Dinners with Ruth: The Power of Friendships

Tue, Feb 7 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre

“Outsiders think of Washington as a place of poisonous rivalries, not deep friendships. Nina Totenberg knows differently.”

– Ruth Marcus, editorial page editor, Washington Post

Event Sponsor: Sara Miller McCune

Presented in association with the Santa Barbara County Bar Association and Santa Barbara Women Lawyers

Thu, Feb 23 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

FREE (registration recommended)

“Timely, informative and fascinating.” – Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction

Dr. Ainissa Ramirez promotes a love of exploration, making complex scientific processes both clear and mesmerizing to just about everyone while showcasing the scientific impact of people of color and women whose accomplishments have been hidden.

Presented in association with the UCSB Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Award-winning Materials Scientist and Science Evangelist Ainissa Ramirez

we are dealing with scale, and requested a major disaster declaration from the Biden administration, who responded proactively. The FEMA Director is in California today assessing damages. I know how fatigued you all are, we ask you maintain more vigilance over the weekend, we’ll get through this and get back to the real work that needs to be done to make sure we can get through the next century to enjoy the greatest state God has ever conceived, the State of California.”

( Statement edited for length and clarity, visit Montecitojournal.net for the full video. )

On Environmental issues, the Governor said, “We have a $48 billion Climate Package, and there is no jurisdiction on Mother Earth that is investing more in green growth strategies, no state in America that is long leading that charge to change the way we produce and consume energy, to address the underlying reasons why we had the 6th hottest year in recorded history of this planet, and I’m proud of it – California has no peers in that space. A huge part of that is 30 by 30, which is protecting and preserving 30% of our natural lands, purchasing and acquiring natural lands,

and stacking private philanthropy in that space. But the Green Infrastructure I am speaking about is the one Mother Nature did before we got here, which is Flood Plains, and how we can capture rainwater and storm water; that’s a big part of our broader strategy.”

During the Q&A, I asked Governor Newsom if he could respond to the impact of the fires and floods in Montecito to California Senate Bills SB9 and SB10. He replied, “I’m very mindful how controversial those bills are and how many years we debated the merits, and without going too off on a tangent, I think the issue beyond the issues that bring us here today, which are climate change and Mother Nature’s fury, is affordability. And affordability manifests in many different ways including this acute homeless crisis that we continue to experience, and what we are trying on SB9 and 10 and a series of housing bills is to address the affordability crisis, and build housing at all income levels so we can live together and advance together. And I think it’s incredibly important for the state to not take the accelerator off in terms of some of the new progress we have in terms of trying to clear the hurdles so we can start producing more housing and accommodate more people and reduce the stress we all have in common, and that is the cost of living in California.”

After fielding questions, in closing he said, “What I am most proud of today, at our UCG meeting, all-hands emergency with the FEMA director, all we talked about was equity as the foundation principle on how we see the world and our

responsibility to people.”

Later over the weekend, Congressman Carbajal visited the site again, saying, “We went out last night at 11 pm with community volunteers led by Carmen Muñoz of the Santa Barbara Memorial Veterans building and Adam McKaig from Adam’s Angels – who provided food – to help deliver meals to our California National Guard service members who are working 24/7 clearing the storm debris from the Randall Debris Basin to ensure it continues to work during ensuing storms.”

NOTICE OF PROVISIONAL APPOINTMENT

The Santa Barbara Unified School District Governing Board of Trustees has made a provisional appointment to fill a vacancy left by the resignation effective November 30, 2022 of Trustee Laura Capps. On January 12, 2023, the Board appointed Mr. William Banning to fill the vacancy and serve to the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members, November 2024.

This appointment shall become effective unless a petition calling for a special election with a sufficient number of signatures is filed with the office of the county superintendent of schools within 30 days of the date of the provisional appointment. (Ed. Code 5091)

Posted: January 13, 2023 Published January 18, 2023 Montecito Journal

Then, on late Tuesday night, Santa Barbara County was added to the list of three California counties included in President Biden's Major Disaster Declaration, making these areas eligible for FEMA assistance. Another big push that came from Congressman Carbajal.

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

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein

The National Guard has been working tirelessly to get the Randall Road Debris Basin cleared (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

National Guard taking a break from working 24/7 to get the Randall Road Debris Basin safe (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Congressman Carbajal, Carmen Muñoz, and Adam McKaig stand with servicemembers after delivering them warm meals (photo courtesy of Congressman Carbajal’s office)

Carmen Muñoz and Congressman Carbajal meet with the National Guard to get updates on progress (photo courtesy of Congressman Carbajal’s office)

The National Guard has been working tirelessly to get the Randall Road Debris Basin cleared (photo courtesy of Congressman Carbajal’s office)

Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Coach, and Tommy Bahama, who opened his new bijou bridle leather boutique on Coast Village Road, a tiara’s toss from Tre Lune last month, has a most unusual rug at the entrance to his new Homer Montecito store.

“The story begins 40 years ago when I was a buyer for Neiman Marcus,” explains Terry. “I had a good friend Leon Morrison who was the dress furnishings buyer.

“He left to open a retail store called Tie Coon. Many years later Leon contacted me to see if I had any ties that I didn’t want, of which I had several. I sent approximately 50 ties.

“Leon contributed another 50 and found a weaver that would take each tie apart, remove the lining, then hand roll the silk into two-feet strips, keeping some labels intact. Then, using an antique shuttle loom, wove a beautiful silk throw rug and in 2004 upon the completion of our townhouse in New York’s Greenwich Village, Leon gifted us the stunning rug. It was not only beautiful, but quite practical. Silk is such a durable yarn.”

The rug graces the portal to his new emporium.

“Every time I step on that rug I stop and find a tie that I remember wearing and what occasion I attended. Most of the ties are Polo Ralph Lauren, Hermès, and Armani. Almost every time I step on that rug I recall great memories of my dear friend Leon.”

Ties that bind, indeed...

Dunbar Joins SBEF

After three years as Opera Santa Barbara’s Director of Development, Nina Dunbar is leaving to become Donor

Advisement Officer at the Santa Barbara Education Foundation.

In her new role, Dunbar will be overseeing the organization’s relationship with major donors involving supporting programs that enrich the academic, artistic, and personal development of Santa Barbara Unified School District students.

“Nina has been a terrific team player,” says Kostas Protopapas, Opera Santa Barbara’s Artistic Director. “We will miss her candid, straight-to-the-point approach and sense of humor.”

Weather Delays Award Goer

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner had to miss out on the glamorous Golden Globes award ceremony in Beverly Hills because of the rainstorm and subsequent lockdown.

The Oscar winner, 67, was due to go to the 2023 bold-faced names bash to receive the Best Actor in a Drama Series trophy for the top-rated Paramount series Yellowstone

But the actor’s award was accepted by actress Regina Hall instead.

Costner sent an apology saying he had been impacted by the heavy rains and had to “shelter in place.”

“I’m really sorry to the Golden Globes and the international press,” he wrote. “I hope we’re invited back. Thanks.”

Local Mom Shares Healthy Recipes with Friends

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has released a spread of ultra-healthy recipes as part of her annual Goop detox program.

The 50-year-old lifestyle guru says her five-day program is designed to be “the foundation of our clean cooking for the rest of the year” in a bid to “reset and nourish our bodies.”

Some of the Oscar winner’s more unusual recipes include kelp broth infused with turmeric for breakfast, zucchini noodles with creamy sesame dressing, and crackers fashioned out of arrowroot powder and garnished with a sprinkle of pickled red onion.

All 14 recipes are free of caffeine, alcohol, dairy, gluten, corn, soy, refined sugar, whole rice, and eggs.

Bon appétit!

A Dream Endowment

Opera Santa Barbara has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

The monies will support its next production, Jack Perla and Jessica Murphy Moo’s An American Dream at the Lobero on February 18.

The grant is one of 1,251 grants for art projects awarded totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants.

“Projects such as this one with Opera Santa Barbara strengthen arts and cultural ecosystems, provide equitable opportunities for arts participation and practice, and contribute to the health of our communities and our economy,” says NEA chair Maria Rosario Jackson

New Members on SB Beautiful Board

Santa Barbara Beautiful, which focuses on the built, green, and cultural environment, has elected a new slate of officers for 2023 led by president Kerry Methner, editor and publisher of VOICE magazine for the last 20 years, and a gifted sculptor.

She has been on the board since the early

2000s and was president in 2009 and 2010. Other new board members include Susan Bradley, deputy director of external affairs at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; Marcella Simmons, a realtor with Village Properties; Stephanie Williams, a former advertising executive and board member of the Pearl Chase Society; and Lucrezia DeLeon, an architectural designer and board director for Hillside Housing.

Nina Dunbar leaves Opera Santa Barbara for a role in education

Kerry Methner

Susan Bradley

Marcella Simmons

each transaction and payee, beginning with the Miramar account controlled by me. As the money moved from the U.S. to Hong Kong, we examined each side transaction and the curiously named private corporations receiving payment. The research I had done identifying the owners of the accounts was “helpful,” Willows said – a verbal pat on the head – but he assured me that the FBI could tap resources that would peel the onion all the way back to its bulb.

With each bank – the limbs of a tree – Agent Willows unpacked the nuances for my benefit. It was like listening to the New York Philharmonic live instead of on cheap iPhone earbuds. I was getting a crash course in the art of money laundering, and finally understanding why Cyrus and friends had arranged their labyrinth this way. Agent Willows emphasized two rules in his explanation. First, a bank account with no money in it raises no suspicion. Second, banks and regulators move like sloths: if you move the money fast enough, they do not even see it.

Under that rubric, Cyrus’s setup was perfect. His seven feeder accounts almost never carried balances overnight: check. And when money moved, it sprinted: check. The Zurich account – based in secretive Switzerland where billionaires the world over stored their pocket change – was the perfect place to hide in plain sight. That is, until I found it.

After pruning all the branches of the tree, we finally reached the trunk: the Zurich account. The last time I viewed this account through my CryptoWallet, I was so stunned to see the zero balance that I had not registered where the money had gone. But now, with Agent Willows by my side, the rest of the picture became clear. On the morning that Agents Quinton and Randall appeared at my doorstep, all one-hundred-seventeen-million and change had been wired to an account at Bank Sepah.

“Bank Sepah?” I asked.

Agent Willows nodded. “Iran,” he said, then grabbed his phone to start making calls.

Iran? Before this moment, I would have failed to accurately identify Iran on a globe. Now the name was being thrown around my gar-office as casually as the agents were throwing back coffee. It is embarrassing to admit this, but I felt like I had finally been invited to have lunch at the cool kids’ table.

With Agent Willows calling in global favors, I sat down with Agent Quinton for a full debrief of my meeting with the man I now knew to be Vladimir Petronovski. I managed to keep it a secret that I almost peed myself that day, but I do not think my limited observations shed much light on the FBI’s principal target.

With the FBI’s prodding, we pored over my documents and memories for two days, teasing out the mundane and the potentially significant. My gar-office had never been more alive than in digging into the death of Cyrus Wimby.

Eventually, I had given them everything I had to offer; the remaining gaps would be filled with elbow grease and, more importantly, time. I cannot believe I am saying this, but I did not want them to leave. With the FBI camped out in my gar-office, I could pretend I too was a crimefighter and not an unemployed, ex-CEO of a bankrupt company who – according to the gossip around Montecito – may have played a part in ripping off Montecito’s finest and then murdering my co-conspirator.

Hours before the team packed up for good, Agent Willows got the call he had been waiting for regarding Bank Sepah.

“Is the money still there?” I asked when he hung up.

“Of course not,” he said. “The account was liquidated three days ago.”

“What country?” Agent Randall asked.

“Iran,” I said, in my best duh accent, trying desperately to be part of the team.

“Wrong,” Agent Willows said.

“But you said—” I argued.

“I said it was an Iranian bank but that doesn’t mean all the bank’s branches are in Iran.” He turned to Agent Randall. “Paris,” he said. “Liquidated in gold. Bank Sepah had to call in their reserves at the Banque de France.”

My heart sank. The killers were lost to the winds.

“Specie!” Agent Randall said, excited. “Now we’re cooking!”

My head swiveled back and forth between agents Randall and Willows. “What?” I asked. “Why is converting the money to gold and removing it from the bank a good thing? Haven’t we,” – yes, I said we, so shoot me – “lost the ability to track the money now? They’ve gone underground.”

“Fill your student in, Agent Willows,” Agent Randall said.

Agent Willows smiled. “You are correct, Hollis. Now that the money has been withdrawn, we cannot track it anymore. But you need to remember that electronic currency is global – simultaneously everywhere and nowhere. Knowing the name of the bank the money resides in might help you get the money, but it probably won’t help you get the bad guys.”

“And don’t be mistaken, Mr. Crawford,” Agent Randall said. “I could give two bits about the money. I want the hombres. And now that they have cashed out – in gold no less – they are anchored. Do you think they are carrying one-hundred-seventeen million in gold in their carry-on luggage?”

I shook my head, no.

“You’re a fast learner, Mr. Crawford,” Agent Randall said. “Indeed, they are not. So, the game just changed. No longer are we tracking bits and bytes; now, we are tracking skin and bones. They just left your world, and they entered mine.”

Like I said, I was at the cool kids’ table.

The FBI agents continued packing their things while I made a few thumb drives of everything for them to take on the road to their next horror show. This was not the end, of course, but this was the end of the first phase. And unfortunately, it was the end of my role. The bell had rung; lunch at the cool kids’ table was over.

I walked the group to the Suburban and said my goodbyes, thanking them for all they had taught me and the patience they had shown.

“What’s next for you, Mr. Crawford?” Agent Quinton said from the driver’s side window.

“I’m starting my own consulting shop,” I said, proud that I had a plan and was voicing it.

“Agent Willows?” Agent Randall said. “You think you could use the services of Mr. Crawford here on an ad hoc basis?”

“From time to time,” Agent Willows acknowledged.

“Sounds like we’ll be in touch,” Agent Quinton said, then pulled away.

Tune in next week for more Montecito

can be reached at mcox@alumni.gsb.stanford.edu.

Michael Cox is a 2005 graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a Wall Street refugee. Including Montecito, Michael has written three novels, each in various stages of the path to publication. He

In Passing

Column’s 15th Anniversary

As Montecito Miscellany celebrates its 15th anniversary in this illustrious organ, yours truly had yet another frenetic week given the publication of Prince Harry ’s memoir Spare , which reportedly has to sell 1.7 million copies to break even for New York publishers Penguin-Random House, including the $1 million fee for the ghost writer.

After ITV’s interview following the Anderson Cooper interview for 60 Minutes, I then did a half-hour podcast on Zoom for the U.K.’s top selling Hello magazine with author Andrew Morton, who wrote the worldwide bestseller Diana: Her True Story, and was then interviewed by the Los Angeles Times on the price of living in paradise after last week’s major rainstorm.

And how was your week?

Tatjana Patitz

Remembered

On a personal note, I mark the passing of former supermodel Tatjana Patitz, who moved to Carpinteria from Malibu in 2018, and died at her home aged 56 from breast cancer.

She starred in an historic video for the late George Michael’s hit “Freedom!” alongside fellow supermodels Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell, as well as appearing in other rock videos for Duran Duran’s “Skin Trade” and

obituaries

David Gilbert Bertrand: 3/21/1929 –

10/18/2022

BERTRAND, David Gilbert 3/21/1929 - 10/18/2022

Me.”

During her successful career, which included seven covers of British Vogue and major campaigns for Chanel, Calvin Klein, and Gianni Versace, German-born Tatjana worked with a number of high-profile photographers, notably Peter Lindbergh, whose 1990 U.K. Vogue cover featuring her and a host of other supermodels of the time is considered iconic.

She moved to California from Europe to be closer to nature and her beloved dogs, Matilda and Gatsby.

Tatjana, who dated Heidi Klum’s singer ex, Seal, former 007 Pierce Brosnan, and Nick Kamen, was also a major supporter of Return to Freedom, a charity advocating for wild horses.

“She was always the European sym-

David “Gilbert” Bertrand died suddenly on October 18 at the age of 93, and was actively in charge of his business until his very last day. He was born at St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara to a family with long-standing roots in the community. His great grandmother settled in Santa Barbara in the 19th century. Gilbert grew up in the jovial and charitable home of his maternal grandparents, John and Gabrielle de Ponce. As a child growing up during the Depression, he learned sympathy for those who were struggling to survive from his very compassionate and devoutly Catholic grandmother.

Gilbert’s mother, Henriette Akers, had a life-long career in the jewelry business. For many years she owned Henriette, Inc., a highly respected jewelry store in the Upper Village with a distinguished clientele. After his mother retired, David kept the shop open for several years. Young Gilbert attended what is now the Notre Dame School when it was known as the Dolores School. He later went on to graduate from Stanford with a degree in economics and received a master’s degree from the Sorbonne in literature. Gilbert was fluent in three languages and a lifelong appreciator of fine French cuisine.

Mr. Bertrand was an astute business man, and during a long career with the California Board of Equalization, he saved his money to invest in properties in order to develop them. He was someone who wanted to contribute to his com-

bol of chic like Romy Schneider meets Monica Vitti,” says Vogue editor Anna Wintour, with whom I used to work at New York Magazine in the ‘80s.

Sightings

Controversial and newly married rapper Kanye West dining at the San Ysidro Ranch’s Stonehouse... Oscar winner Kevin Costner noshing at Local... Car collector Dana Newquist sipping a latte at Renaud’s on CVR.

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 22CV04931. To all interested parties: Petitioner Francis Andrew Aguilar filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Frank Andrew Aguilar. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any

person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed December 16, 2022 by Sharon Leyden. Hearing date: February 21, 2023 at 8:30 am in Dept. SM

munity by creating worthy projects. The two buildings at 529 and 559 San Ysidro Road are prime examples of his legacy.

David was known as a gentleman with old-fashioned values and considerable integrity. As a landlord he never arbitrarily raised rent just because he could. Many of his former and current tenants became life-long friends. He earned similar loyalty from all the people who worked for him, and all who knew him are better off for having known him. He is survived by his cousins, Adrienne de Ponce Bates; David de Ponce; Michael de Ponce; and Bryan de Ponce, all of Santa Barbara.

No services are planned. A major portion of his estate will benefit Stanford University, The Notre Dame School, and Visiting Nurses. His ashes will be scattered on the property where he resided for many years in Montecito. He will be missed by all who knew him.

David “Gilbert” Bertrand died suddenly on October 18 at the age of 93, and was actively in charge of his business until his very last day. He was born in St. Francis Hospital in Santa Barbara to a family with longstanding roots in the community. His great grandmother settled in Santa Barbara in the 19th century. Gilbert grew up in the jovial and charitable home of his maternal grandparents, John and Gabrielle de Ponce. As a child growing up during the depression, he learned sympathy for those who were struggling to survive from his very compassionate and devoutly Catholic grandmother.

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

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

2, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published January 4, 11, 18, 25, 2023

ORDER FOR PUBLICATION

Gilbert’s mother, Henriette Akers, had a life-long career in the jewelry business. For many years she owned Henriette, Inc., a highly respected jewelry store in the upper village with a distinguished clientele. After his mother retired, David kept the shop open for several years. Young Gilbert attended what is now The Notre Dame School when it was known as The Delores School. He later went on to graduate from Stanford with a degree in economics, and received a master’s degree from the Sorbonne in literature. Gilbert was fluent in three languages and a life-long appreciator of fine French cuisine.

OF SUMMONS OR CITATION: CASE No. 22CV03792. Notice to Defendant: David Gerrity: You are being sued by Plaintiff: Aiden Hespos Goodman et al. You and the plaintiff must go to court on February 14, 2023 at 9 am in Department 4 of the Superior Court of California, Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara,

Mr. Bertrand was an astute business man, and during a long career with the California

CA 93101. If you do not go to court, you may lose the case. If you lose, the court can order that your wages, money, or property be taken to pay this claim. Bring witnesses, receipts, and any evidence you need to prove your case. Name and address of the court: Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107. Filed December 21, 2022, by Johnny Aviles, Deputy Clerk. Published January 4, 11, 18, 25, 2023

Nick Kamen’s “Tell

Stephanie Williams

Lucrezia DeLeon

Supermodel Tatjana Patitz R.I.P. (photo by Peter Lindbergh, courtesy of Peter Lindbergh Foundation)

herself. At the start of the lockdown, I looked at the flowers breaking through the ground after the winter, completely unaware of viruses and masks and cancellations. The flowers were simply doing what they were born to do. Nature carries on. When I see the faces of the children who join us on this tour (Music Academy’s SING! program participants here) singing with their cheeks turning red and screaming as they come off-stage, “This was the greatest day of my life!” I feel that pure joy and connection and I know that it still can and does exist. Yes, the destruction is real and the forecast is bleak. But we are doomed if we don’t hold on to hope.

Beyond the directness of distribution of seeds to the audience, how do you see the EDEN album and the performances as a call to action?

The very first place change must happen is within ourselves. If we can gain a bit more empathy, foster more compassion, our behavior begins to change. And it can have radical effects. Sometimes the only thing that will bypass the fear and the patterns we so desperately cling to is bold, radical art. It can be a kind of psychic slap that wakes us up from being simply unaware. Classical music can simultaneously soothe and comfort you through its beauty and purity, while completely derailing what you thought was real.

How has the first part of the EDEN tour impacted you and your relationship to music and nature?

It has been the greatest project of my career, without question. We’ve connected with over 800 children, and I’ve seen transformation happen right before my eyes as they feel the power of their voice being heard… There is something quite mystical about how this piece unfolds and how the audience receives it. It’s a different kind of listening that occurs, and I am deeply, profoundly moved by it. So far, this tour has only amplified what I have always known: music is divine, and nature is home.

Castro’s Convertible Approach to the Blues

Over 30 years, 15 albums, and untold thousands of miles on the road, blues guitarist/singer-songwriter Tommy Castro has played everything from horn-fueled R&B to blues-tinged rock ‘n’ roll to Memphis-infused blue-eyed soul. But in

2021, with more time on his hands due to pandemic closures, he decided to step way outside of his comfort zone and create a blues opera, a roots music concept album in the style of The Who’s Tommy “Nobody has ever done that before, and I figured I could just write a story, something based on the Hero’s Journey, which has been the backbone for everything from Homer’s Odyssey to Star Wars to The Alchemist,” Castro explained.

Castro came up with a storyline about a young man set to marry his childhood sweetheart and take over the family farm, but gets bitten by the blues bug instead. He finds a mentor to teach him guitar. He leaves home to seek fame and fortune, and after running into and rising above adversity eventually realizes that what he left behind is the treasure he’s been looking for.

“It’s a little bit about my experiences, but mostly just stories I’ve heard from all the blues guys I’ve met and hung out with over the years,” he said.

Castro brought the concept to the Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge in Nashville.

“Every bullet point that I mentioned became a title for the songs that we wrote together,” he said. “It all just flowed.”

Castro liked what he heard when the album was finished, but wasn’t sure how it would fly with his longtime fans.

“I was a bit nervous because it’s hard enough to write one good solid song, let alone have a dozen stand on their own but also make sense as part of a story,” he explained.

The answer came back loud and clear as

Tommy Castro Presents A Bluesman Came To Town captured 2022 Blues Music Awards for blues band, album, and entertainer of the year, a clean sweep that was tremendous validation for a self-taught blues guy who 30 years ago got signed out of the San Francisco bar scene “way earlier than I was ready.”

Castro and his regular band, the smartly named Painkillers, will play a handful of cuts from the new record but also revisit popular songs and deep cuts from his earlier albums when they return to perform Friday, January 20 for the Santa Barbara Blues Society at Carrillo Recreation Center, which has table seating, rows of chairs, and a spring-loaded big dance floor.

“I know what they like,” he said. “We’ll be playing lots of songs they can dance to. Keep the party going.”

Info and tickets at 805-722-8155 or www.sbblues.org.

‘Patient’ Is a Virtue

she’d finish my line, and I’d finish hers.” Munroe also gets to show off her acting chops as she embodies each of the three characters from well-known plays before we even get to see her as the actress Anna Hughes, who is suffering from psychosis. No one has seen the produced work yet, but Frisch is pretty sure the finished piece will be more than moving.

“Our assistant director was weeping so profusely near the end of a rehearsal that she just handed me the note-taking book and left,” he said. “So we must be doing something right.”

The premiere of The Patient takes place January 19-22 at Center Stage Theater. Visit www.centerstagetheater.org or call 805-963-0408.

Book ‘em: From the Page to the Stage

In her new book How to Stand Up to a Dictator, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa expresses the fear that the world is “in the last two minutes of democracy” and wonders if we’re at the tipping point for democracy, or fascism. Ressa discusses the story of how democracy dies by a thousand cuts and how social media is killing our freedoms at UCSB’s Campbell Hall on January 19.

An age-old artists’ conundrum of the relationship between creativity and madness gets explored anew in a world premiere original play, The Patient, at Center Stage Theater this weekend. Peter Frisch, the veteran theater director, TV producer, and educator, collaborated on the writing with Shay Munroe, an L.A.-based actress and writer (and former student of Frisch’s The Frisch Approach) making her debut as a playwright. The story is about Anna Hughes, a successful New York actress in her 30s who has a breakdown in the middle of a performance on Broadway that launches a month-long bout with dissociative identity disorder where she becomes lost in three of the characters she has played in the past. Her husband, therapist, and mother play important roles as she struggles with reality, with underlying themes of love, loss, belief versus fact and, ultimately, redemption.

Carpinteria’s Chuck Graham, the writer and photographer who has contributed to major national magazines as well as penning travel columns for the Montecito Journal, delivers an illustrated presentation called “Paddling into a Natural Balance” about his adventures hiking and kayaking in the Channel Islands and elsewhere at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, also on January 19.

Chaucer’s Choices

Local author Jana Zimmer, a second-generation Holocaust survivor, talks about Chocolates from Tangier , her new book that weaves together fragments of her family’s history and witness testimony in narrative and collage, on January 19… On January 22, Santa Barbara children’s author Laura VonDracek reads from and discusses Jemma and The Mermaid’s Call, an ecological ethical tale that finds a spunky and spirited mermaid harnessing all of her fellow ocean dwellers to combat a massive island of floating trash.

“I

’m the longtime MJ arts editor and Giving List columnist. After 17 years in my rental cottage downtown I now need to relocate. Ugh! I’m looking for a solo space (cottage, apartment, guest quarters, etc.), locally, with rent in the low $2Ks, available by the end of February-ish. Nonsmoker, no pets, great references. Might you know of something?” Call Steven at (805) 837-7262 or email sml.givinglist@gmail.com .

“It’s a very romantic notion that there has to be a bit of madness – that to create something of value, you have to be a little off,” explained Frisch, who is also directing. “I do believe that an artistic temperament is different from a normal person, which we wanted to explore.”

The collaboration has been remarkably smooth, he said.

“Shay has an extraordinary and special sensibility that matches mine. It was the kind of thing where we’d be writing together and

“Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” – Albert Einstein

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

Tommy Castro performs parts of his most recent blues opera on January 20

Shay Munroe writes and stars in The Patient, coming to Center Stage Theater

fully staffs. Search and rescue fully staffs. And the City fully staffs. Then we have this thing called a rescue task force, which has 30 members; Santa Maria and Lompoc fire departments contribute to that as well. So we have a little over 250 people that are engaged before the storm has arrived. They’re managed by that incident management team. We have them at Earl Warren Showgrounds. They do briefings or whatever else in each community.

GL: You founded the incident management team, correct?

KT: Yes, the Fire Chiefs Association created the incident management team in 2015.

GL: And you were the incident commander of the 1/9 event (in 2018)?

KT: Yes. I was the incident commander of the 1/9 event. The incident management team was staffed on January 7th. Each community becomes a branch; that’s an organizational method that we utilize to ensure that we have clear lines of communication and authority. So we became the Montecito branch.

The Chief shows me another internal map that can’t be published.

KT: This map shows that if there is a problem, these are the properties that need to be searched first. You’ll notice that the red lines up with the red. The yellow is where there’s going to be nuisance flooding. That’s like a foot of mud, low velocity, just spread out. All of the properties are identified by a number that represents their site address. The map is broken up by grids. These are all national search grids in urban search and rescue. So if we had another 1/9 event, and let’s say a USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) unit from L.A. City was coming. On the way in, they might be assigned to a certain location on the grid and they would have this map on their phone.

GL: How many people did you rescue in this latest event?

KT: 50 people.

GL: Compared to how many in 2018?

KT: 900 people. Remember, a rescue is defined as somebody that can’t get themselves out of where they’re at.

In addition to those 250 firefighters, we provide all that equipment including helicopters and Army National Guard high water vehicles. All those things are in place at Earl Warren before the storm comes. When the storm hits, we have people that are responsible for certain areas of the districts.

We have four divisions: We have Cold Spring. Then we have one called North, we have one called South, and we have one called Olive. We divide the district geographically, again for span of control, so there’s somebody by name that’s in charge of each area. We call this our senior leadership; they are responsible for everything that occurs within that geographical boundary.

GL: Who was the incident commander this time?

KT: David Neels (Division Chief, Operations) and Anthony Stornetta (Santa Barbara County Deputy Fire Chief, Operations). That incident management team is hired formally on paper by those jurisdictions that were on the storm impact consideration decision team. And there’s always a Sheriff’s representative.

The incident management team is responsible for all 480,000 square miles of Santa Barbara County. They had issues everywhere this time. Whereas on 1/9/2018 only Montecito had issues. This time, Santa Barbara County had issues everywhere. All the way down to Carpinteria.

GL: I wanted to have this conversation because I want the community to understand all the thinking that goes into making these decisions. And that you also are mindful of the hassle and stress that’s caused by evacuation. That you don’t want to put people through that unnecessarily.

KT: Absolutely. Those six principles that you saw, that’s why each one of those decisions are so intentional. The daily meeting at two o’clock is intentional. That’s when we have the very best forecast from the highest resolution weather model available. There’s an incredible amount of work that goes in before that meeting to evaluate how much rain we’ve had, what the saturation level is, status of the debris basins, status of the creek channels. We collect that data, flood control collects that data. We exchange the data so that everybody’s on the same page.

GL: And then you study the whole thing again in retrospect, correct?

KT : Yes. After the storm, we send out teams from our organization to evaluate the watershed, debris basins, debris nets, and creek channels. They have a twopage inspection report that they complete by 10 am the next day. We then compare that data with the flood control department report. We also evaluate how much rain has fallen in the last 24 hours, 48 hours, seven days, and 30 days. We average the five automated rain gauges above the community. We also do aerial recon either by helicopter or drone to determine if any major movement has occurred high up on the mountain.

We have been doing this since the 1/9/2018 Debris Flow and have a pretty accurate record of how the watershed reacts to both volume and intensity of rainfall.

All of this data is considered in advance of the 2 pm Storm Impact Consideration Team meeting.

Finally, if a protective action is ordered (shelter in place, evacuation warning, evacuation order) we determine if it was necessary after the event. This analysis includes everything above plus the actual storm damage reports.

GL: The 50 people who were rescued, do you know why they did not get out?

KT: We don’t ask. The sheriff is very clear that he respects the Fourth Amendment rights of individuals and that he will not forcefully evacuate somebody from their home.

GL: So, if everyone had left when the order was given, there would have been no rescues.

KT: Correct. Here’s how that works. We asked community members, after 1/9/2018, why did you evacuate? Why didn’t you evacuate? And there’s a lot of scientific data on this from Hurricane Katrina and other disasters. The evacuation peer-reviewed literature is rich. When an evacuation order is issued, if a community member doesn’t understand or doesn’t believe, they validate the information with someone that they trust. The gap in time between when the evacuation order is issued and when they leave, the scientific term for that is milling. Emergency managers try to develop strategies to reduce the amount of milling time. The very best strategy is credibility. If a trusted and credible member of the community says evacuate, there will be no milling. They’ll trust the order.

That’s super easy in a fire, because you can get an evacuation order and look and go, yep, there’s smoke. Here it comes. It’s not so easy in flooding.

GL: So it’s not just that your home might get swept away, it’s get out because you might get stuck in your home for 21 days.

KT: Yes. There are two reasons why we didn’t only evacuate the red areas, we evacuated the entire community last Monday. First, the senior leadership is monitoring the rainfall. All of our units have computers in them, and they’re actually monitoring in real time what’s occurring. And they’re seeing rainfall amounts that are both high intensity, short duration, and saturation. They had seen eight inches of rain since 3 am. Remember, the evacuation order went out around noon. And so they started to see things; the watershed was reacting in ways they had never seen before. And remember, we use the term senior leadership intentionally. They’re very experienced in emergency decision-making. And they said, “Chief, we recommend evacuating the entire fire districts.”

GL: So the watershed reacting in ways that you hadn’t seen before, what does that mean?

KT: It means that they were seeing runoff in areas there’s not normally runoff. They were seeing material in areas where they expected clear water. So they’re going to err on the side of safety because that’s our number one evacuation principle.

When you’re the fire chief, if you have the right people in place and you trust them, you would be a fool... Matter of fact, you would be negligent if you didn’t follow their advice. That’s why you have them there. They’re chosen intentionally. And so of course we evacuated the entire community. But, as I showed you on this map, we really learned a lot. Because we know that if we get 20 inches in 30 days, and then 12 inches in 24 hours, this is how the watershed’s going to respond. That’s where we’re going to have our damage from a debris-laden flood… This event is recorded. We keep a matrix. And all of the events are recorded to help inform our decision-making.

GL: In light of the recent passage of state legislation SB9 and SB10, which allows for more housing and greater population density in areas like Montecito, do you believe this will have an impact on your ability to evacuate our community in times of disaster?

KT: Yes. We have an evacuation study done by a professional traffic engineering firm. And it says that our existing infrastructure, specifically roadways, do not support a very fast evacuation. That’s not such a big deal in this type of an event. But in a wind-driven wildfire, it is a very big deal. If the Tea Fire occurs, we know that we’re going to be challenged to get everybody out from in front of that.

GL: Today?

KT: Yes, as is today. So operationally, we’re reexamining our entire evacuation plan, given the current population, to make it more refined and precise. What we’re shooting for, and Montecito Fire shoots for this in everything, is exceptional, always. Good is not good enough. We always have the hard conversations. Everything that we do, when it’s done, we evaluate whether it was the right thing to do. Including this full community evacuation. We asked, why did we do it? What was the intended outcome? What was the actual outcome? Were there unintended consequences that we didn’t foresee? And then that’s all recorded, so that next time we can move the organization from good to exceptional. And we want to be exceptional, because we serve an exceptional community.

GL: Is there anything else you’d like the community to know?

KT: Yes. If I could ask you to have any slant, while I get the credit for a lot of this, the credit should go to every member of every fire department on the south coast of Santa Barbara. We have this incredibly close relationship that allows us to work together seamlessly, and what comes out the other end of that is all our communities get this really great service.

GL: Thank you for everything you all do.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19

Rock the Block with Fitness – Two blocks of lower State Street in downtown Santa Barbara transform into a Fitness Fest and E-Bike Awareness block party for this month’s Rock the Block party from the Downtown Organization. The free event features a variety of fitness activities, including group workout classes and dance demonstrations, plus appearances by UCSB Athletics, health and wellness exhibitors, face painting, live music, and more. There’s also a full focus on electric bikes, including test rides from vendors, a safety expo, where attendees can learn about the benefits of e-bikes as well as safe riding practices – the need for which will probably occur during the event when teens whiz by through the crowded space. You can also enter to win a free e-bike and other prizes.

WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: 700 and 800 blocks of State COST: free INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/rock-the-block

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

Midtown Art Walk – La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts , Santa Barbara’s newest gallery hub, hosts its first 3rd Friday Art Walk of the new year featuring art openings, talks, live music, a photo booth, community painting, and wine and refreshments spread across its six art spaces and galleries. Highlights include The Arts Fund marking the opening of The Kind of Mother: Coloring Outside the Lines of Motherhood with a reception for participants Hope Ngozi Okere , Meiya Sidney , Vanessa Wallace-Gonzales , Juan D. Mendoza , and Amber “Valley” Evangelista , and Voice Gallery celebrating the new space’s second major exhibit Nudes & New Works for the New Year featuring watercolor, ink, oil, and acrylic paintings, mixed media work, and pieces in onyx, marble, aluminum, and wood created by its more than 30 artists. And don’t miss the Museum of Sensory Movement & Experiences’

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19

CWC-TV: Married to the Mob – It’s been 20 years since The Sopranos ended its ground-breaking six-year saga about a mob boss who is conflicted in his dual roles as head of a nuclear family and as the feared leader of a New Jersey mafia family. In episode 51, which was directed by UCSB alumnus James Hayman, the series’ focus subtly shifts from Tony to his wife Carmela and her evolving relationship with their adult daughter, Meadow. It also involves internal conflict as Meadow’s burgeoning romantic relationship and opportunities contrast with Carmela’s disappointment with her life catalyzed by the sudden departure of her would-be lover Florio. Hayman, whose career as a television producer, director, and cinematographer has produced a DGA nod, as well as two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, join moderato and director Patrice Petro at the Carsey-Wolf Center for a post-screening discussion of the episode and The Sopranos’ enduring legacy… Also at Pollock this week: A screening of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, followed by a panel with professor Gerardo Aldana, who played the role of UN assembly chairperson and served as a consultant on the film’s representation of Mesoamerican cultures, along with UCSB’s Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies colleagues Giovanni Batz and Daina Sanchez, in a discussion of the process of Indigenous worldbuilding and the politics of representation.

WHEN: 7 pm tonight (Sopranos) and January 24 (Wakanda)

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

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

FRIDAY, JANUARY 20

Just Another Band… – Half a century ago, Los Lobos were well on their way to becoming East L.A. legends, but the core four of David Hidalgo (vocals, guitars), Louie Pérez, Jr. (vocals, guitars), Cesar Rosas (vocals, guitars, bass, Hammond B3 organ) and Conrad Lozano (vocals, bass ), who added Steve Berlin (saxes, keyboards) back in 1982, surely never imagined they’d have such sustained success five decades later. The band’s longevity and popularity stems from never having strayed too far or too long from their roots as a band that embodies the idea of America as a cultural melting pot, drawing from a wide mix of styles including son jarocho, norteño, Tejano, folk, country, soul, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll, even when augmenting them with experimental sounds as heard on Kiko, still one of the greatest albums in pop history. With millions of records sold, a slew of Grammy and other awards, and legions of fans around the world, Los Lobos have clearly earned the right to do whatever they want. Presently, that’s heading 100 miles north to a frequent stomping ground in Santa Barbara this weekend where the band will play two distinctly different shows, something they’re not doing anywhere else on the current tour. The boys will bring it amplified tonight, then strip down tomorrow to the acoustic approach they’ve often revisited since their days of being the band at backyard barbecues. Yes, it’s only January, but this pair of concerts might just prove to be a big highlight of 2023.

WHEN: 7:30 pm tonight & tomorrow WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $59-$109 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com

ongoing interactive collection of installations that react to visitors’ movement in various ways.

WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: La Cumbre Plaza, 120 S. Hope St. COST: free INFO: https://lcccasb.com/events

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25

A Farewell to Muti – Riccardo Muti, one of the world’s preeminent conductors, is ending his 13-year tenure with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra this spring, marking the end of an exceptional musical partnership that served as an extraordinary chapter in the CSO’s 132-year history and thrilled audiences in Chicago and around the world. Courtesy of CAMA, Santa Barbara gets to enjoy the last tour of the 81-year-old Muti with the CSO, one of the globe’s most heralded ensembles whose famous sound can be heard on best-selling recordings and annually at more than 150 concerts at Symphony Center in Chicago, as well as summers at the famed Ravinia. Tonight’s program features Beethoven’s Coriolan Overture and “Symphony No.8 in F Major, Op.93”; Anatoly Lyadov’s The Enchanted Lake; and Mussorgsky’s beloved Pictures from an Exhibition. As an added attraction, local musicologist Ben Pringle delivers a pre-concert lecture across the street at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club presented by the CAMA Women’s Board.

WHEN: 7:30 pm (lecture at 6 pm)

WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $36-$156 INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org

Fast & Curious – The lecture series of short talks from UCSB’s Gevirtz School of Education returns for its first in-person event since the pandemic arrived. Tonight’s event features three faculty members, two graduate students, and one postdoctoral fellow giving eight-minute maximum talks about their research or work that is shaping education and applied psychology, specifically discussing ways in which the Gevirtz School is centering its research and service on policy. Topics include “Fever Dreams: The Promise of Multicultural Education

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.” – Albert Einstein

Montecito

Plains, Trains & Violins – Rapid advances in public transportation – trains in particular –fuel the narrative backstory and inspiration for Peter Bernstein’s new arrangement of his famous father Elmer Bernstein’s charming score to the 1950s stop-action animated film, Toccata for Toy Trains. The world concert premiere launches the next themed concert in the Santa Barbara Symphony’s 70th Anniversary season as the maestro Nir Kabaretti has crafted a symphonic journey that speaks to the themes of migration, multiculturalism, and discovery spurred on worldwide by the Industrial Revolution that continue to this day. Elmer Bernstein, who composed the scores for more than 150 major movies including such diverse hit films as The Ten Commandments, The Great Escape, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Ghostbusters, spent many years as a local resident later in his life and collaborated with the Santa Barbara Symphony. His son’s new arrangement of Toy Trains will be followed by violinist Guillermo Figueroa performing Grammy-nominated American composer and former Ojai resident Miguel del Águila’s concerto for violin, El viaje de una vida (The Journey of a Lifetime), that offers its own unique migration story. Figueroa is Principal Conductor of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Lynn Philharmonia, and the Music in the Mountains Festival in Colorado as well as a renowned violinist who has premiered four violin concertos written for him. Rounding out the concert’s message of discovery is the local orchestra’s performance of Dvořák’s New World Symphony, considered one of the greatest musical insights into American multiculturalism ever penned by a visiting foreigner. Fasten your metaphorical seatbelts and bon voyage.

WHEN: 7:30 pm tonight, 3 pm tomorrow

WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $29 & up ($20 for ages 20-29, $10 all students)

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

Imaginaries,” “Psychology in Washington: Connecting Science, Practice, & Policy,” and “Teaching is Easy, Motivating is Hard: Leveraging Career Motivation to Promote Academic Excellence,” plus three more in the Gevirtz partnership with the Santa Barbara Public Library that bridges the town and gown divide and allows the school to connect with a wider audience. Videos of talks from previous evenings can be seen online.

WHEN: 7 pm

WHERE: Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Public Library, 40 E. Anapamu St. COST: free

INFO: (805) 564-5641 or www.SBPLibrary.org or https://education.ucsb.edu

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21

‘Upon a Jagged Maze’ – Artist Ishi Glinsky and AD&A Museum Director Gabriel Ritter lead a free guided tour of Glinsky’s five-month exhibition that closes tomorrow. Upon a Jagged Maze features 25 of Glinsky’s early works, including painting, works on paper, and mixed-media sculpture. Glinsky’s art draws from the traditions of the Tohono O’odham Nation as well as those of various North American Native arts, such as jewelry making, basketry, and weaving, among others, in order to honor Native Americans’ place in history and art movements. Glinsky and Ritter will discuss how the L.A.-based artist’s first museum solo show took shape, the journey that has brought him to this point in his artistic practice, and the many stories that inform the works currently on view.

WHEN: 12 pm

WHERE: UCSB Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UCSB campus, across from the lagoon COST: free

INFO: (805) 893-2951 or www.museum.ucsb.edu

Our Beautiful New Summerland School

Please join us in celebrating the opening of our beautiful new Summerland School!

Saturday, January 28th at 2:00 p.m.

Nuestra Nueva Hermosa Escuela Primaria Summerland

¡Por favor únase a nosotros para celebrar la apertura de nuestra hermosa nueva escuela primaria Summerland! El Sábado, 28 de Enero a las 2:00 p.m.

Full Service SAFE Senior Relocation and Estate Liquidation Services Including: Packing and Unpacking, Estate Sales, Online Auctions and our own Consignment Shop! We are Licensed, Bonded, Liability Insured, Workers Comped, Certified by The National Assoc Of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and The American Society of Estate Liquidators (ASEL).

Glenn Novack, Owner. 805-770-7715

info@movingmissdaisy.com MovingMissDaisy.com

Consignments@MovingMissDaisy.hibid.com

THE CLEARING HOUSE, LLC

RN/COMPANION CARE Experienced.

Skilled Medical Care. And Meal Prep. Errands/Shopping. Transportation to appointments. Kind. Strong Recommendation. JANICE (805)679-3762, for texts

PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY

Stillwell Fitness of Santa Barbara

In Home Personal Training Sessions for 65+, Help with: Strength, Flexibility, Balance, Motivation, and Consistency

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

Want to improve the way you move?

House calls for personalized exercise sessions for those with PARKINSON’s DISEASE and SENIORS. Certified in PD specific exercises (PWR! MovesParkinson’s Wellness Recovery) evidenced-based moves which target the key areas affected by PD.

Josette Fast, Physical Therapist 805-722-8035

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

Elaine (805)708-6113

Christa (805)450-8382

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

TRESOR

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

POSITION WANTED

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Organize receipts for taxes, pay bills, write checks, reservations, scheduling. Confidential. Semi-retired professional. Excellent references. Sandra (805) 636-3089

Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc. Lina 650-281-6492

Garden and floral artist, specializing in roses and vegetable gardens, is seeking a 1-day-a-week position doing garden details and occasional floral arranging. Over 20 years’ experience and excellent local references. Call or text Rose at 805-565-3006

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

YOGA LESSONS

Attention Seniors! 1 on 1 sessions in your home. Improve balance, flexibility, and strength with time tested yoga techniques. Over 25 Years of Experience. Call Yulia – 760-271-7183

PERSONAL/SPECIAL SERVICES

Tell Your Story

How did you get to be where you are today? What were your challenges? What is your Love Story? I can help you tell your story in an unforgettable way – with a book that will live on for many generations. The books I write are as thorough and entertaining as acclaimed biographies you’ve read. I also assist with books you write –planning, editing and publishing. David Wilk Great references. (805) 455-5980 www.BiographyDavidWilk.com

AVAILABLE FOR RENT

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

HOME OFFICE FOR RENT

Peaceful office space w/ private garden entrance. A/C. Private modern bath with new shower; large closet. Ideal for writer, therapist, bodyworker, accountant etc. San Roque area. Fiber optic Wi-Fi. $1400 month (= $46 day) or $75 day. For photos email hendrysdog@gmail.com

FOR SALE

Plot at Santa Barbara Cemetery over looks Country Club. Rich area. $35,000. Block A 176A. Phone 805-681-0441

RENTAL WANTED

Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue Summerland, CA 93067 (805) 969-1944

Donate to the Parrot Pantry! At SB Bird Sanctuary, backyard farmer’s bounty is our birds best bowl of food! The flock goes bananas for your apples, oranges & other homegrown fruits & veggies.

Live pain-free with time-tested techniques. Long-established Montecito healer with 40 years of experience. Complementary phone consultation w/ remote or in-person healing. Please call (805) 701-0363, More information available: drgloriakaye.com

I’m the longtime MJ arts editor and Giving List columnist. After 17 years in my rental cottage I need to relocate and am seeking a studio or 1BR apt., ADU, cottage, etc. in SB or Montecito (but open to Carpinteria to Goleta). Occupancy by

Volunteers

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

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

“Education is not the learning of facts; it’s rather the training of the mind to think.” – Albert Einstein

Dos Pueblos Abalone (4pcs)

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32

25

29

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Lucky’s Salad 25 romaine, shrimp, bacon, green beans, peppers, avocado, roquefort

Charred Rare Tuna Nicoise Salad 42

Caesar Salad 15 w/ grilled chicken breast 27 Seafood Louie 44 two shrimp, 2 oz crab, avocado, egg, romaine, tomato, cucumber

reggiano parmesan, balsamic vinaigrette

Arugula, Radicchio & Belgian Endive Salad 17

roquefort or thousand island dressing

Wedge of Iceberg

• Salads and Other Specialties

26

32 mushroom sauce, french fries

Sliced Filet Mignon Open Faced Sandwich, 6 �oz

bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado

Grilled Chicken Breast Club on a Soft Bun

choice of cheese (burger patty is vegan)

Vegetarian Burger, 5 �oz

choice of cheese

Lucky Burger, 8 �oz

choice of hash browns, fries, mixed greens, Caesar, fruit salad

Sandwiches

20

Mixed Vegetable Frittata w/ Gruyere

22 tortillas, melted cheese, avocado and warm salsa

Huevos Rancheros, two eggs any style

Corned Beef Hash, and two poached eggs

Petit Filet 7 oz Steak, and two eggs any style 55

Home Made Spanish Chorizo Omelet w/ avocado 22

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Omelet 22

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict 27

California Eggs Benedict w/ spinach, tomato, avocado 24

Classic Eggs Benedict w/ julienne ham and hollandaise

choice of hash browns, fries, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad

Eggs and Other Breakfast Dishes

toasted bialy or bagel, cream cheese, olives, tomato & cucumber

Cambridge House Rope Hung Smoked Salmon, ���������������� 29

Waffle w/ fresh berries, whipped cream, maple syrup 16

Brioche French Toast w/ fresh berries and maple syrup 19

Lucky Chili w/ cornbread, cheddar and onions 20 • A La Carte •

French Onion Soup, Gratinée 16 Matzo Ball Soup 16

Burrata Mozzarella (Puglia), basil and ripe tomato 20

Grilled Artichoke with choice of sauce

12 Giant Shrimp Cocktail

Bowl of Chopped Fresh Fruit w/ lime and mint

Fresh Squeezed OJ or Grapefruit Juice 6/8

Morning Starters and Other First Courses