Nina and Ruth

Catch the Comet – There’s a new light in the sky and it may not come back around for another 50,000 years, P.12

‘Miranda’s Victim’ – SBIFF opening film explores the landmark court case that established the Miranda warnings, P.16

Sharing Stories – Two Japanese American internment camp survivors and Westmont music professor share their family stories, P.18

‘Montecito’ Ends – This is it. The final chapters of Montecito by Michael Cox. Don’t miss the thrilling conclusion, P.23

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA

www.montecitojournal.net

NINA AND RUTH

Legendary NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg speaks with Gwyn Lurie about her memoir, inspiring friendship with RBG and the other Justices, and reflections on a historic career (Story starts on page 5)

The Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic brings together polo, people, and helping People

Helping People, page 20

Blue Light in the Night

Bucket Brigade holds an impromptu lighting of the sky to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the 1/9 Debris Flow and the inception of the volunteer organization, page 6

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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Editorial – Gwyn Lurie speaks with Nina Totenberg about her book Dinners with Ruth, RBG, friendships with Justices, and more

Village Beat – The Bucket Brigade lights the night on their fifth anniversary and The Elephant Project’s most recent journey

Montecito Miscellany – A new VC fund, Choral Society soirée, and the Courtyard opens, along with other miscellany

Letters to the Editor – Comments on the County’s Emergency Management, the Swiss Ring Nets, parklets, and environmental policies

Tide Guide

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Our Town – This comet doesn’t come around often so now is your chance to see it

Society Invites – The Annual Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Legacy Awards and its awardees

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On Entertainment – Miranda’s Victim, get together with Jesse Colin Young, and an illuminating performance of dance

Your Westmont – SBIFF’s Sean Pratt, upcoming panel about the incarceration of Japanese Americans, and celebrating the miracle 1971-72 men’s basketball team

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The Giving List – People Helping People and its upcoming Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic – and you can help

Brilliant Thoughts – Take a walk through the history and lore of shoes, horses, and more

Montecito Reads – The finale to Montecito by Michael Cox. Don’t miss this.

Community Voices – Laura Capps writes in about the International Holocaust Remembrance Day Resolution

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Real Estate – The market is still lean, but these homes have plump prices and good marbling

The Optimist Daily – Avatar is helping more than just the Na’Vi; its AI tech is detecting diseases affecting movement

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Calendar of Events – Pink Martini, The Gin Game, and Gypsy Jazz are in town, plus others

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

Editorial

A Seat at the Table

by Gwyn Lurie

Anita Hill never wanted to testify before the Senate Judiciary committee. In fact, despite a stellar academic record, you probably would not know the name Anita Hill if not for veteran NPR Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg. The same way you wouldn’t know the Watergate Hotel, if not for Woodward and Bernstein. How it came to be that Hill overcame her reluctance to testify is just one of the many eye-opening anecdotes in Totenberg’s recently released New York Times best-selling book, Dinners with Ruth

Known by many in D.C. circles for her legendary scoops, Totenberg, whose reporting has focused primarily on the activities and politics of the Supreme Court over five decades, is perhaps most famous for breaking the story and conducting the interview that resulted in Hill, the law professor who accused Justice Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her, in testifying at Thomas’s confirmation hearing.

But Totenberg is not just an “ordinary” tenacious, crusading reporter. In her book, she recounts how even after jumping through flaming hoops to obtain Hill’s FBI affidavit – a prerequisite for Hill agreeing to an interview with Totenberg – Totenberg sat on the Hill interview until she was convinced that both she and Hill understood the enormity of how this would likely resonate in both of their lives. Which it did.

If it hadn’t been for Totenberg’s landmark interview with Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by then Senator Joe Biden, would have succeeded in burying the FBI-obtained evidence of Justice Thomas’s behavior. Apparently, Biden, at that time (and the committee as a whole), never got that sexual harassment was a serious charge. And according to Totenberg, Thomas’s supporters were good with that. “One of Orrin Hatch’s top aides told me, ‘We think Biden did just fine,’” Totenberg writes.

In Dinners with Ruth, Totenberg weaves a story that is equal parts a personal and professional memoir, and tracks a nearly-50-year friendship with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which began decades before Ginsburg ascended to the Supreme Court and grew deeper as each supported the other through the most extreme experiences of their lives. The book explores the rise of two women who began their careers decades before the #MeToo movement, and which exposed the gauntlet of misogynistic landmines women have had to navigate in order to climb the professional ladder in… well… anything. It’s a story of two courageous and indefatigable women whose friendship grew as each pried open doors for themselves; and for the women who would follow in their paths.

The book also explores Totenberg’s insights into the Supreme Court itself, its game and its players, over those same five decades.

But Dinners with Ruth is fundamentally a story about the life-sustaining power of friendship. Totenberg manages to penetrate worlds that are notoriously impassable, like the personal lives of Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress. And she does so, in part, through an institution that today in D.C. amongst political adversaries, verges on extinction – namely, friendship.

But even as the consummate insider, Totenberg remains unrelentingly discreet, not just about her insights into Justice Ginsburg, but about other Supreme Court Justices with whom she built deep friendships, high-ranking politicians, her longtime NPR colleagues, and her own family.

What struck me most about the book was Totenberg’s generosity and fair-mindedness, even towards those of whom she clearly did not think highly; or, more notably, did not think highly of her. A good example being her once tempestuous relationship with Senator Alan Simpson (R., WY) that played out on national television in 1991 in a heated clash on Nightline, and then continued outside ABC News headquarters in a row over Totenberg’s interview with Anita Hill, with Simpson assailing Totenberg’s methods and ethics and accusing the dogged NPR reporter of having “ruined Anita

Editorial Page 114

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

CAMA’S 2022/2023 SEASON

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Dog Training

Unleash your dog’s full potential and your own. Learn from Santa Barbara’s most quali ed dog trainer, Nathan Woods. Training available for dogs of all ages and behavioral issues. There are many packages which are speci cally designed to set dogs and owners up for maximum success.

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Available for dogs 16 weeks and above. This program is exclusive to a limited number of lucky dogs. This is a great way to develop a young dog’s social skills as they learn proper etiquette, and most importantly, how to pace themselves. This will help them avoid many behavioral issues they may encounter in public.

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Village Beat Raising Our Light

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Acommunity-wide event was scheduled on the evening of January 9, 2023, to commemorate the five-year anniversary of the 1/9 Debris Flow; the event was canceled by organizers a few days prior, as Montecito prepared for a significant storm event that would eventually lead to an evacuation of the entire community.

This past weekend, Bucket Brigade founders and volunteers gathered somewhat spontaneously at Montecito Union School to mark not only the five years that have passed since the debris flow that took 23 lives and destroyed nearly 500 homes in Montecito, but the five-year anniversary of the inception of the Bucket Brigade, a volunteer organization that brought together thousands of people who helped victims dig out of the mud following the disaster. Since then, the organization has continued on its mission to helping neighborhoods throughout the county prepare for and recover from natural disasters; just hours before the impromptu ceremony at Montecito Union School, volunteers had been in Orcutt helping residents clean up after flooding damaged many homes earlier this month.

Co-founder Abe Powell tells us the commemoration of the anniversary, which was marked by the switching on of a massive blue klieg light that could be seen throughout Montecito, was especially poignant, as the Brigade had recently lost one of its most dedicated volunteers: Carol Bartoli, who, at 73 years old, rolled up her sleeves in 2018 following the debris flow, and became a face and spokesperson for the organization and their massive cleanup effort, passed away last week. “It’s a huge loss for us,” said Powell, who said Bartoli was a true heroine, and was the winner of the Bucket Brigade’s first Golden Shovel award

in 2018. The award marked Bartoli’s more than 100 days of helping to dig out of the mud after the disaster. Back then, she was described as strong and tireless, and always willing to help when needed. Powell said Bartoli’s resilience and willingness to help made her a true embodiment of the Bucket Brigade’s guiding principles.

The Bucket Brigade was founded by Powell and his wife, Jessica, along with Linda Cole, Thomas Cole, and Josiah Hamilton, and is governed by a board of directors. The nonprofit organization continues multiple humanitarian and resiliency projects, including assistance after recent floods and fires, neighborhood preparedness, Walk Montecito, and the Bucket Brigade Academy, a leadership training program for high school students. To learn more, visit www. sbbucketbrigade.org.

The Elephant Project Continues its Mission

Kristina McKean, founder of the philanthropic toy company The Elephant Project, is proud to share that she has returned from a life-changing, successful journey to Chiang Mai, Thailand. She just completed a visit to the source of her company’s initial inspiration, Elephant Nature Park.

McKean crossed the globe to meet the world-renowned sanctuary’s staff and its impressive herd of ethically rescued elephants, many of whom The Elephant Project has played a role in helping save. By donating 100% of the company’s net sales to global rescue efforts, elephant sanctuaries including Elephant Nature Park, orphanages, and other aligned organizations that are carrying out this powerful shared vision on the ground, McKean and her all-fe-

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”

– Albert Einstein

“I’ve found that most people consistently underestimate their dog’s potential.

Bucket Brigade volunteer Carol Bartoli passed away last week, and was remembered at an impromptu Raise Our Light gathering this past weekend (photo courtesy of Bucket Brigade)

A blue light flooded Montecito skies as Bucket Brigade volunteers commemorated the five-year anniversary of the 1/9 Debris Flow and the inception of the volunteer organization

Montecito Miscellany Making a Claim to Reclaim

Others involved in the new fund, which launched last year with a $45 million budget and focuses on design, use, and reuse, include supermodel Petra Nemcova; Gen. Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe; and Circular Economy pioneer William McDonough.

In 2019, DiCaprio, along with businesswoman and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, co-founded the Earth Alliance in response to the growing climate crisis.

“Consumer supply chains account for 45% of global emissions,” says the fledgling fund backed by the all-star roster. “At the same time climate-friendly apparel and consumer packaged goods provide a $4.5 trillion business opportunity.”

by Richard Mineards

It’s a marriage made on Earth!

Michael Smith, entrepreneurial son of Montecito philanthropist Anne Towbes, has partnered with Oscar superstar Leonardo DiCaprio in Regeneration. VC, an early-stage venture capital fund supercharging consumer-powered climate innovation driven by circular and regenerative principles, which he co-founded. The fund’s vision, according to its literature, is “to empower all consumers in the fight to reclaim our planet.”

“I’m blessed to have Leo as an investor

and strategic advisor to our fund,” says Michael, who has known the 48-year-old actor for 15 years, having met him while working as a much sought-after global DJ.

“I started investing with him into climate-related deals about five years ago and he and his team are incredible partners to us. They have followed on in several of the businesses we invested in.”

As DiCaprio states: “Our vision is to empower all consumers in the fight to reclaim our planet.

“We need forward-thinking approaches that perform measurably better for Earth. It’s time to feel good about purchases and for businesses to meet the challenge.”

Michael, a graduate of Northwestern University and former Venture Fellow at UCSB’s Bren School, is well associated with climate issues have founded Ponvalley, an environmental initiative with philanthropic, research, and impact investing practices, in 2015.

Large figures dealing with even larger figures to help the planet...

A Trio of Stellar Shows

UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures series has been working overtime with three major shows in the last week, two at the Granada and a third at the more intimate Lobero.

Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato ’s EDEN, a call to action to build a paradise for today fertilizing, nourishing, and protecting the pure bliss that is Earth, with a special appearance by the Music Academy’s Sing! children’s chorus singing “Seeds of Hope,” kicked off the trio of entertaining events.

Kansas-born DiDonato, 53, a Grammy nominee for Best Classical Solo Record Album, fused music, movement, and theater in the concert with Il Pomo d’Oro, an early music ensemble conducted by Zefira Valova with Marie Lambert-Le Bihan’s stage direction and creative lighting by John Torres, which took the audience

Michael Smith teams up with Leonardo DiCaprio to help the planet (photo by Priscilla)

EDEN hits the mark (photo by David Bazemore)

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Letters to the Editor Emergency Management Matters

Iread with great interest Gwyn Lurie’s recent editorial Q&A with Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor. As a retired Certified Emergency Manager, with 23 years of experience in County Emergency Management, I find these topics very interesting from both a personal and professional perspective.

I’ll preface my comments by saying that I have an enormous amount of respect for Chief Taylor. He is a seasoned expert in his field, and Montecito Fire is lucky to have him as their executive leader. Furthermore, I have great admiration and utmost respect for all the first responders who put their lives on the line to protect our community. That being said, I found myself both puzzled and frustrated by some of the information provided in the editorial. My observations are made from the perspective as a resident of Santa Barbara; watching the recent storm response unfold on the local news, social media, and reading the editorial. I’ll try to explain in more detail, and in the sincere hope that this is received as thoughtful, informative, and constructive.

Storm Risk Decision Team: According to the editorial, this group apparently consists of representatives from Santa Barbara City, Montecito Fire, County Fire, and the Sheriff’s Office. I’m surprised to see no mention of County Public Works/Flood Control as part of the group. In a significant weather event, Flood Control should be a lead player. County Flood Control consists of personnel who are subject matter experts that best understand the potential danger to the community, the capability of flood channels to manage the runoff, and the geographic areas of concern in case protective measures are necessary.

From an Emergency Management perspective, the Storm Risk Decision Team sounds like a version of a Multiagency Coordination (MAC) Group. MAC Groups are an excellent way to approach an incident that will involve a variety of field response agencies that need to work together. Again, for a significant weather

event, Flood Control needs to be a key member. Additionally, if MACs are used in a large event, it is critical that they work in close partnership with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The EOC also works in conjunction with a Policy Group. It’s important that the Storm Risk Decision Team is working in tandem with EOC Management, and in turn the Operational Area Policy Group. Failing to do so can result in unnecessary redundancy, confusion, and conflicting goals and objectives. Any disconnect in the standard Emergency Management process can lead to errors in management decisions, emergency notifications, and public information messaging. More on EOCs below.

Evacuation Orders: There is a nuance to this topic that appears to have been confused. I respectfully disagree that the local Sheriff is the entity that determines “if an evacuation or protective order is given.” California Penal Code 409.5 gives law enforcement the authority to close an area and enforce evacuation orders. However, in the case of a significant weather event, 409.5 does not give the Sheriff sole authority to determine the boundaries of that area, or whether or not an order should be implemented. Subject matter experts (i.e., Flood Control) determine that need, and the location of any areas to be evacuated. The Sheriff Department’s role is to implement the order. To further clarify, in a wildfire, the Incident Commander (Fire Chief) would determine the area to be evacuated, that information would be communicated to law enforcement, and the Sheriff would then implement enforcement of that order. By the same token, if there was a bomb threat, the Sheriff would determine the extent of the area of evacuation, and also enforce restricted access and evacuation of that area.

EOC Activation: According to the Santa Barbara County Ordinance (Chapter 12), the Director of Emergency Services is the County Executive Officer, and the Director of Emergency Management leads the Office of Emergency Management

(OEM). These executive leaders, in conjunction with the Chair of the Board of Supervisors determine whether or not to activate the Emergency Operations Center. The decision to open or close the EOC is not determined by first responder agencies. Fire departments have a defined field response role to fill during an incident, as do law enforcement agencies. Emergency Managers, however, have a much different role. OEM is an “umbrella” organization with a mission to coordinate, collaborate, and facilitate support for the entire event. The EOC acts very much like the “glue” ensuring that all the various agencies work together in a comprehensive effort to minimize adverse impacts of the significant event. The EOC exists to coordinate a broader county government effort, and support all entities involved: state agencies, county departments, cities, special districts, and non-governmental organizations. Some unique responsibilities of OEM are to establish and staff all the necessary functions of the EOC, and initiate and manage something known as the Action Planning cycle that assists local government in addressing all aspects of the incident in an effective and efficient manner. Important especially during an evacuation order, the EOC coordinates with County Social Services and the American Red Cross to stand up evacuation shelters so citizens ordered to leave their homes have a place to go. The EOC communicates and collaborates with all levels of local school districts impacted by closures or disruptions, and the EOC oversees a comprehensive and accurate Public Information function so that the public and the media stay fully informed with timely and accurate information. The EOC also activates Disaster Service Worker Volunteers, such as large animal evacuation teams, and Ham Radio operators should their assistance be needed. These are just a sampling of the broader responsibilities that fall under OEM and the EOC.

It’s probably obvious that I’m a strong supporter of the Emergency Management discipline. It truly is a complex management mechanism that has had proven success since its formal establishment in California over three decades ago. If empowered and implemented properly, the Emergency Management function can adequately support crisis response agencies,

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE

and at the same time minimize the adverse consequences that come from local disasters. Santa Barbara tends to receive more than its fair share of disasters. The key is to be fully prepared when they happen.

Joe Guzzardi Certified Emergency Manager, Ret. Santa Barbara

A Net Positive

Thank you for Les Firestein’s excellent article on the science and success of the Swiss Ring Nets that worked as hoped for during the recent 18 inches of atmospheric rains. The strategically built and placed nets played an important role in the management, direction, velocity, and power of the recent storm’s debris flow. They provided a brake for our new debris basins to capture the material and create an effective defense system to protect homes, businesses, and lives.

Thank you for also reminding us that those effective and efficient nets were only permitted for five years under an emergency permit, which expires this coming December. It only makes sense for the nets to be made permanent and serve as the “one-two punch” for future rainstorms. Clearly, the best next step is for the County to extend the permits before they expire and expand the existing flood control system to help ensure the protection of our

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

Administration | Jessikah Moran

Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva

Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña

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

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

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

Hill’s life.” Today, Totenberg and Simpson are friends.

I had the opportunity to speak with Nina Totenberg about her must-read tell-justenough book – part personal memoir, part historical non-fiction – in which Totenberg offers us a seat at the table with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her supportive, jovial husband Marty, Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and William Brennan, Lewis Powell, NPR’s Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer, and a whole host of other legendary judicial and political figures with whom Totenberg regularly dined; but on whom she never dined out.

On Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30 pm, Nina Totenberg will speak at the Granada Theatre as part of UCSB Arts & Lectures Series’ Thematic Learning Initiative. Do yourself a favor: read the book. And attend.

Gwyn Lurie (GL): Why did you write this book? Which by the way, I loved.

Nina Totenberg (NT): Well, it wasn’t my idea is the truth. Simon & Schuster and other publishers approached me about writing a book after Ruth died. And I said no to everybody, including Simon & Schuster. I didn’t keep a journal. I probably forgot more stories than I remembered about our friendship, and I didn’t want to write that book anyway. And this wasn’t the first time I’d been asked to write about almost anything I wanted about the Supreme Court, and I always said no because I have a day job... At one point, I ran a list of all my stories at NPR and it was well over 10,000. So just reading them would take too long.

Eventually I agreed to have a Zoom call with the head of Simon & Schuster. And I said what I’d said to everybody before. I don’t want to write a book. It’s too long, it’s too daunting. I have no idea how I would frame it. Forget about it. And he said, Well, I have an idea for a book you should write. And about this time, my husband wandered in and I said, sit down David. And the publisher at Simon & Schuster said, I think you should write a book obviously about Ruth, but about all of your friendships, your female friendships and some of your male friendships too, because you represent, and the women of your generation represent, people who were not by and large trying to crash through a glass ceiling; you were trying to get a foot in the door. And that’s absolutely true.

And I thought that was a pretty good idea, but I still was not the least bit sold, because I couldn’t see how I would do it. But at least it was a tree you could hang things on, so to speak. And I had a whole bunch of other objections...

But the very last and most important reason I didn’t want to write a book is that my husband didn’t want me to write a book because I worked too hard as it is. He works less hard than he used to, and he didn’t want more time snatched away from us. And I literally had my mouth open to say No, and David says, “I think you should write this book.”

GL: Your book deals a lot with the evolution of women in media, and the workplace generally. And the breaking of glass ceilings and the prices paid. We’ve come some distance since F. Lee Bailey called a bench conference and complained to the judge about your attire and how it was distracting the jury.

NT: Really, I think he was teasing me. I think he was just trying to break things up or something because I really didn’t take it then that he meant it seriously.

Editorial Page 364

Our Town

A Comet Occurrence 50,000 Years in the Making

by Joanne A Calitri

Get your popcorn and astronaut ice cream ready for some rare astral entertainment. The famous Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF – at its peak February 1 and 2 – can be viewed at NNE, 23 to 40 degrees above the horizon, from 9 pm to sunrise, with amateur telescopes and possibly your 10x binoculars. The significance of this moment lies in the fact that astrophysicists estimate it is a 50,000-year-old event that carries the history of our solar system – Yes, Carl Sagan fans, the star-stuff from whence we came. Latest views show a bifurcated tail and cosmic dust. On February 10-11, it cruises one degree from planet Mars – the green-blue comet bringing a pop of color to accent the red-gold Mars. View it before it leaves on Valentine’s Day, as its path is predicted to head out of our solar system and into the interstellar.

This ancient comet was first discovered on March 2, 2022, by astronomers Bryce Bolin and Frank Masci using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) survey, labeled “ZTF, obs. code: I41.” They first tracked it as a rocky asteroid. The next night, Japanese astronomer Hirohisa Sato, who studies the orbits and brightness of comets for the Oriental Astronomical Association, viewed its tail and relisted it as a comet (which contains ice and dust that impart the characteristic tail). The ZTF is the latest camera on the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory San Diego, which uses wide-field surveys via 16 CCDs of 6144×6160 pixels each, enabling each exposure to cover an area of 47 square degrees of sky per image. To put that in perspective: 247 times the area of the full moon, or a full scan of the northern visible sky, every three nights.

For more on how to view it, and its legacy data, I sat down with the expert, Dr. Tim Lister of the Las Cumbres Observatory – co-lead of the LOOK project global team on comets and member of the DART Mission team – who helped break down the comet, its photograph, and path, in both technical and general terms for us.

Q. How is the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) taking the comet’s images?

A. Using different stacking methods of multiple images for the final image. The one here was taken with one of the LCO’s one-meter telescopes at Teide Observatory on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain. Note the narrow, faint blueish tail pointing to the right, is the ion tail which always points away from the Sun. There is also a broader fan-shaped yellowish dust tail and the greenish coma around the comet’s nucleus, which is produced by diatomic carbon (C2).

How can backyard astronomers view it?

It is not a completely bright comet, so one needs a completely dark sky area away from city light pollution, and a clear view of the horizon line, as the comet is approximately 40 to 50 degrees above the horizon in the Santa Barbara area. Currently it is up all night because it is a circumpolar object, so look for it an hour or so after sunset.

How fast is it moving and how bright is it?

At its fastest, it is taking two hours to cross an area relative to the size of a full moon. Hollywood likes to depict comets whisking across the sky, but that is not true, they move slowly and are too far away to appear to move quickly. The full moon is a half-degree across. The comet moves 1.5 to 6.5 degrees. Its brightness is as faint as the faintest stars one can see without a telescope. It’s a comet, which is spread out more than a star.

What will it look like?

You almost certainly will not be able to see the green gas color with the naked eye or binoculars, the color only comes out in long exposure photographs, unless it’s a really bright comet. You’ll see a fuzzy patch of light in the sky with the naked eye. The appearance of it is changing rapidly from night to night as it is passing through the orbital plane of the solar system (SS). You will notice changes in its tail edge tilt and direction.

Its legacy data and 50,000-year orbit?

This is a long period comet, that came into the SS from the Oort Planet Clouds. It is not the first time it’s come into our SS. Comets are bodies that are left over from the formation of the SS, they are evidence and traces of what the early solar system was like when the planets et al. formed.

This comet is very elliptical, and its very long orbit takes it out of the SS.

When it first came into view last year, we made a fit as to the positions of it and worked out an orbit, and that made us discover it was on this 50,000-year orbit.

Because it goes out such a long way, it is only loosely connected to the SS, so it does not take much in a change of its speed to make it not attached to our SS.

As it came into our SS it has been disturbed by the gravity of the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, which changed it from a closed 50,000-year orbit to an open orbit, it will not come back again, but that depends on what happens to it over the next months as it heads back out of the SS. If it comes close to other planets, it will change its gravitation force again.

Comets have non-gravitational forces. The effect [heat] of the sunlight on a comet causes the material of it to escape, which acts like a thruster causing the comet to move around. What can happen is the sun can reach a pocket of very volatile material and there will be a big outburst of the comet, it will get brighter or disintegrate, which really changes the orbit. So constant observation is necessary. As David Levy wrote, “Comets are like cats, they have tails and do whatever they want.”

Comets are this pristine leftover material that has generally never been heated up before, so how they are going to act when they come into the SS and get heated up is unpredictable.

Astronomer Tim Lister PhD in the Las Cumbres Observatory telescope room (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

AGENTS:

Society Invites

The Annual Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Legacy Awards

We

by Joanne A Calitri

Society News is pleased to share the 2023 Legacy Award Winners of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH), which were announced at a private Leadership Circles of Giving soirée last week.

The Legacy Awards went to philanthropists Elisabeth and Greg Fowler; Renee Grubb, owner of Village Properties; and ornithology supporter, John O’Brien

In his speech at the awards presentation, SBMNH President and CEO Luke J. Swetland said, “This year’s honorees deserve to be recognized and celebrated for the enormous contributions they’ve made to the work of the Museum. By donating their time, sharing their talents, and offering their expertise, they build on the outstanding work of our staff to connect people to nature for the betterment of both.”

I reached out to the recipients to share their thoughts on being recognized and their role in the growth of the Museum:

The Fowlers, members of the SBMNH for 17 years, write, “It is our honor and pleasure to support and serve the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Greg recalls when he was a boy how he loved spending time running through the woods, pushing the rattlesnake button, and being enthralled by the gallery exhibits. Fast forward, our children also recall the joy of running through the woods, pushing the rattlesnake button, and being enthralled by the gallery exhibits. Elisabeth’s experience serving as volunteer and trustee was wonderfully enriching as well. Our family is full of gratitude to all of the staff and scientists who ensure the high-quality experience for all visitors. Honestly, every time we go to the museum, it is like a homecoming.”

O’Brien has been a member for 35 years, and a docent for over 20 years. With his wife, Marsha MacDonald, they volunteer with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society stewarding partnerships with the SBMNH, and are members of the Mission Creek Legacy Society.

He emailed me and shared, “I was shocked when Luke called me to announce that I had been selected as one of the recipients to receive

the 2023 Legacy Award. I genuinely consider it a great honor to be recognized for my 20 years of volunteering both with the Museum and with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society. As great as it is to be publicly recognized, it is truly not needed since every day I volunteer I am rewarded by my interactions with the visitors, whether that is in the Planetarium with a school group of third graders, or while I have a wild bird of prey on my gloved hand in the backyard. The feedback I receive is reward enough. A quote by Winston Churchill I used during my acceptance speech sums up my belief: ‘We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.’”

Further lauding O’Brien’s work is Ms. Katherine Emery PhD, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Audubon Society: “Santa Barbara Audubon Society, Eyes in the Sky volunteers, Board of Directors, and staff join the Museum in congratulating John on his outstanding service and longstanding commitment. John is a critical leader at the Museum and Audubon Aviary. We are filled with gratitude for all that John does, his knowledge, wit, kindness, and diligence, and for the Museum, for selecting him and the other honorees for this important recognition.”

Grubb is the founder of Village Properties in 1996 with her partner, Ed Edick She has been a member of the SBMNH Board of Trustees since 2010, working with the Master Planning Committee, The Centennial Project, and the Governance Committee. “Receiving the Legacy Award from the Museum of Natural History is such an honor. I served as a Trustee for six years as well as on some exciting committees. Preserving such a treasure for our community gives me so much pleasure,” says Grubb.

Members of the Leadership Circles of Giving play an essential role supporting educational programming, research, exhibits, and collections, and help to keep the Museum experience available to everyone.

The Montecito Journal congratulates all the Legacy recipients and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History for all their programming and dedicated work for our natural world.

411: www.sbnature.org/join/support/ leadership-circles

Brad Willis, John O’Brien, Renee Grubb, Luke Swetland, and Elisabeth Fowler (photo courtesy of the SB Museum of Natural History)

On Entertainment Miranda’s Movie

about it,” recalled Danner, who is also an acting teacher and founder of two premier acting conservatories as well as a coach who has worked privately with Christian Slater, Salma Hayek, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Penelope Cruz, Chris Rock, and several other Hollywood A-listers. “I was really driven to tell the story.”

Danner and Kolber did extensive on-site research in Phoenix, Arizona, where the crime took place. “I walked to the theater where she worked that night, and over to the bus stop where Miranda kidnapped her. I just felt a chill go through my body. I went to the Maricopa Courthouse where he was tried, and there’s a crime museum where he has a very strong presence. Then I drove to the desert to the house where he lived and attacked her, and where he was arrested, and to where Trish lived. It was a very emotional day.”

justice on so many levels,” Danner said. “It’s personal justice, and about the judicial system and even about karmic justice. (We’ll leave the latter a mystery for viewers.) It takes a certain courage to be able to speak the truth and search for justice.”

Miranda’s Victim is the biggest directing project of Danner’s career, and she readily admits she’s had to reach for an extra dollop of courage herself in anticipating the film premiering in front of 2,000 people on SBIFF’s opening night slot at SBIFF.

“I’m acutely aware of how uncomfortable I am,” she said. “But it’s like what I tell my students at my school: Life is about putting yourself in situations that are not comfortable. That’s the only way you grow.”

by Steven Libowitz

Few and far between are folks who are not familiar with the Miranda warnings, the ones that police have to read to criminal suspects that remind them of their right to be represented by an attorney and to refuse to answer questions at all. Far fewer are the people who know anything at all about the actual victim of the Arizona case that led to the famous 1966 Supreme Court decision that transformed the American legal system.

Director Michelle Danner aims to remedy that inequity with Miranda’s Victim, which premieres on February 8 as the opening night film for SBIFF 2023. The movie tells the story of 18-year-old kidnapping and rape survivor Patricia

Weir and her courageous fight to have her attacker, Ernesto Miranda, convicted and jailed more than half a century before the #MeToo movement.

The drama stars Oscar nominees Abigail Breslin and Andy Garcia, multiple award winner Donald Sutherland, plus Kyle MacLachlan, Mireille Enos, Luke Wilson, Ryan Phillippe, and Taryn Manning – nearly all of whom are expected to walk the red carpet and appear on stage at the Arlington.

The movie was written by George Kolber, a New Jersey business leader who is also an author and screenwriter. Danner dove in headfirst when Kolber sent her the script after seeing her previous film The Runner

“I was immediately intrigued, because we all know that line about ‘You have the right to remain silent.’ I never thought

Danner said that virtually everything seen on screen is based on the court transcripts of the case, the appeals, the Supreme Court ruling, and Miranda’s ultimate retrial, even though most of the film was shot in New Jersey, with many locations standing in for the Arizona locales.

The director said she assembled a dream cast for the movie, working with some favorites from earlier efforts as well as actors she sought out for the parts, and finding an unknown to play Miranda.

“What really gets me is acting that does something viscerally to me,” she said. “This cast has been phenomenal. There are no words to describe the experience that I had making the movie with them.”

Weir, who is still alive, is among them, as she was not only consulted to make sure the film wouldn’t retraumatize her but also makes a cameo in the movie as an extra in the wedding scene depicting her own marriage. The bit part illustrates the intent of the film.

“It’s really an extraordinary story about

The 38th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival opens with the world premiere of Miranda’s Victim at 8 pm on Wednesday, February 8. Details and passes at https://sbiff.org.

4Qs: Forever Young with “Get Together” Singer

If Jesse Colin Young never sang another song besides “Get Together,” his place in rock history would be assured. Indeed, the ‘60s feel-good, quasi-protest song is so iconic that FestForums has borrowed it as the title of their tribute concert to the late producers of Woodstock and Newport Folk & Jazz festivals. Young will both open and close the February 2 show at the Lobero that also features many more legacy performers and an award presentation to veteran rock photographer Henry Diltz. The singer-songwriter returns to the venue a week later on February 9 for a full solo show where he’ll be joined for several songs by his youngest daughter Jazzie. Young talked about his biggest song and highlights of his career in a recent phone interview.

Miranda’s Victim premieres at the 38th SBIFF

Your Westmont Pratt Takes Leading Role in Filmmaking

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

The Santa Barbra International Film Festival was a small local event when Sean Pratt began working for it two decades ago. Pratt, SBIFF managing director and Westmont adjunct professor, Roger Durling, SBIFF Executive Director, and their team have grown the festival from one featuring adventure-sport and nature films into one of the top 10 in the country.

“There’s a whole science behind planning festivals,” Pratt says. “There were schedule changes, we started adding all the big tributes, and the quality of films grew as we started attracting more world and U.S. premieres. It’s been great to see all the hard planning payoff into what the festival is today.”

Pratt, a product of Dos Pueblos High School, Brooks Institute, and Antioch University, grew up with a mother who loved watching movies. He has always had a passion for movies, shooting films with his brothers using the family VHS camera

at home. After college, he began managing movie theaters in Santa Barbara. When the SBIFF started, it was an easy transition.

“Everything I’ve ever done has revolved around my number-one passion,” he says.

“I went and got my master’s just so I could teach as a hobby — another passion project.”

Pratt began teaching Westmont’s Introduction to Digital Filmmaking in spring 2020. Not surprisingly, the following year, three Westmont students were accepted to the highly competitive Rosebud Program, which offers a dozen local college students sneak-preview screenings and Q&A sessions with top filmmakers throughout the year.

“Being a nonprofit, the SBIFF has a ton of free educational programs for all ages,” Pratt says. “We never had applicants from Westmont. But once I started there, I got students interested, and we’ve seen a huge jump in applications – and a lot of them have gotten in.”

Westmont launched its film studies minor in 2018 in part to strengthen the college’s presence in the Santa Barbara community and its global initiatives.

“There’s a desire, creative resources, and a lot of talented students at Westmont,” he says. “I love teaching at Westmont with the small classes – having hands-on experiences and working relationships with all of them. I act like a producer as they’re putting together their short films, giving them suggestions on screen plays, props, costumes, and actors. They’re natural filmmakers. They see how to frame a shot. They understand color theory. They understand visual storytelling.”

The SBIFF runs February 8-18. Visit sbiff.org for more information.

Mori to Share About Japanese Internment Camps

A Westmont music professor participates in a community conversation about the incarceration of Japanese Americans

during World War II. Paul Mori, whose grandparents and parents were all incarcerated under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, will speak on a panel with two internment camp survivors, Roke Fukumura, and Hideko Malis, on Saturday, February 4, at 2 pm in the Santa Barbara Public Library’s Faulkner Gallery.

Mori says it’s important to share stories of this traumatic time in the lives of 120,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals who were detained. “I am trying to get stories of my parents’ generation because people didn’t talk about it – there was so much shame associated with the internment,” Mori says. “I think they just wanted to go on with their lives and kind of forget it. When the government treats you like a criminal, and everyone in society treats you like a criminal, you find ways not to talk about it.”

Paul’s father, Joe, who was born and lived his entire life in Santa Barbara, was detained at Gila River, Arizona, and his mother, Kikkie, who was living in Imperial Valley, was taken to Poston, Arizona.

“Normally, when people meet, they would ask where are you from or what do you do for a living,” Mori says. “But it always struck me as a young kid, when my parents would meet anybody who was Japanese American they would always ask

what camp they were in. It was a defining moment in their lives.”

Mori graduated from Westmont in 1977 and returned in 2005 to teach bassoon and conduct the wind ensemble. He also directs Santa Barbara’s Prime Time Band and recently earned the Sue Higman Volunteer of the Year Award for outstanding contributions to the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.

The conversation occurs in conjunction with Opera Santa Barbara’s California premiere of An American Dream by Jack Perla and Jessica Murphy Moo on Saturday, February 18, at 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm at the Lobero Theatre.

Honoring Past Hoops Champions

Westmont celebrates one of its all-time great teams at halftime of the men’s basketball game Saturday, February 4. The 197172 men’s basketball team beat NCAA DI No. 14 Hawaii a day after the death of the Warriors’ head coach Tom Byron following a battle with cancer. The club would go on to win the NAIA DIII Championship and make a run to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship.

No. 5 Westmont women’s basketball will tip off against The Master’s at 2 pm and the men will start at 4 pm. In a halftime ceremony during the men’s contest, several members of the 1971-1972 men’s basketball team will be honored.

Following the conclusion of the men’s game, at approximately 6:30 pm, a postgame reception will take place next door in Winter Hall, featuring a Q&A with members of the 1971-72 team.

All are welcome to attend the game and the postgame reception.

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

SBIFF’s Sean Pratt has brought his infectious love of film to Westmont

Paul Mori shares about the incarceration of Japanese Americans on February 4

The 1971-72 Westmont men’s basketball team

The Giving List Horse Sense: Polo Players Help

People Helping People

of the storms and flooding,” Flores said. “We didn’t have access to Federal or local government dollars, but we were able to put these people into hotels for extended periods of time right away. And it was 100 percent private donations that allowed us to meet that need at a moment’s notice.”

by Steven Libowitz

When the seemingly endless series of atmospheric river rainstorms drenched the area last month, people from Santa Barbara, Lompoc, or Santa Maria whose houses were flooded could find shelter and services at local facilities that are set up for just such emergencies.

Not so much for residents of the Santa Ynez Valley.

“We don’t have a shelter, long-term or

emergency, or any of those types of safety nets here,” explained Erica Jane Flores, Development Director for valley nonprofit People Helping People (PHP). “So if you live and work or go to school on Paradise Road, or in Rancho Oso or anywhere in the Valley, and were displaced by the rain, heading far outside the Valley isn’t really a solution.”

Thankfully, People Helping People was able to instantly step in.

“We had 16 individuals, including four children, who were evacuated or displaced and were essentially homeless as a result

PHP is in its 30th year as the primary human service organization for the Santa Ynez Valley, Los Alamos, and surrounding areas, a time span that has seen the organization mushroom from its founding as a weekly food distribution program created by local community members to address food insecurity to a full-service agency with myriad programs to aid those living on the margins. While providing food continues to be one of PHP’s core programs – including an expanded outdoor food pantry during the pandemic – services have expanded to include the areas of mental wellness, alcohol and drug prevention, healthcare and enrolling in health insurance, housing insecurity and homelessness, with the nonprofit having unified under one roof almost any public assistance residents of the Santa Ynez Valley might need.

That need is larger than people who only know the Santa Ynez Valley for its wineries and acclaimed restaurants might realize. Even as owners of many of those businesses are tremendous supporters of People Helping People, Flores has personally delivered groceries to cooks and waiters of those restaurants.

“We’re a remote area that is heavily dependent on agriculture and tourism,” she said. “The [income] gaps that you find here are great and have only become greater in recent years.”

Fortunately, PHP’s budget has also ballooned from $45,000 in its first year to more than $2.5 million today.

For more than a decade, a sizable portion of those dollars – and all of PHP’s emergency budget, including the funds that housed those 16 people displaced by January’s rainstorms – have come from the Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic. The one-day extravaganza boasts three different polo matches – juniors, women, and a featured match starring accomplished local players and highly-rated polo veterans seen regularly during high-goal season at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club, plus a players’ party, VIP luncheon, silent auction, and more.

The event was the brainchild of Joel Baker, the former coach of the U.S. Olympic polo team who lives locally in the Santa Ynez Valley.

“He’s very active within the polo community, which is really philanthropic,

and had a vision of how polo could become the basis for a real mutually beneficial event,” Flores said. “Having a polo match would elevate and support an important cause, polo and the athletes and horses would be recognized in the philanthropic community, and all of it would elevate the Santa Ynez Valley itself as a wonderful destination.”

The first was held at Baker’s Circle JB Polo Ranch and was an immediate success, drawing more than 600 people. Four years later, the annual SYV Polo Classic’s continued popularity necessitated a move to Piocho Ranch at Happy Canyon Vineyards in Santa Ynez, where the beauty and cache of the family ranch and vineyards continue to make the event more successful every year, drawing attendees from Montecito and Carpinteria as well as the L.A. and Bay areas.

“People love to come to this incredible event that has a backdrop of the truly beautiful valley and as a result they get to learn about and support our mission of people helping people,” Flores said. “Some of them end up moving here, and they call us right up to volunteer. It really is a win-win-win.”

The 2023 event is slated for June 10 and once again will feature Baker and Meghan Gracida, the accomplished polo player who is married to top rated player Memo Gracida, who will also appear in the featured match. Multiple sponsorship opportunities are available in a variety of tiers; information is available online in a full color brochure at www.syvpoloclassic.com. VIP and Wine Club tickets, which offer an elevated experience at the event that has become a highlight of the annual calendar in Santa Ynez Valley, will go on sale soon.

But unlike a typical fancy fundraising banquet or limited seating gala, the classic is not only for the hoi polloi. General admission tickets cost only $25, and children admitted for $15.

“We try to welcome and make sure that there is a price point and experience for everybody where you get to be up close with polo and the horses,” Flores said. “Whether you’re an enthusiast or a first timer, it’s a great day in the valley. And no matter how you participate – as a sponsor, a donor, as a GA attendee, you can feel good that you are empowering and emboldening PHP to realize our mission all year long.”

Santa Ynez Valley People Helping People Erica Jane Flores, Director of Development & Communications (805) 686-0295 www.syvphp.org

The victorious team at the 2018 Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic with players Nacho Figueras, Matt Ladin, T.J. Barrack, and patron Tom Barrack (photo by Lindsey Drewes Photography)

Brian and Shamra Strange, John Kuelbs, and event co-chair Alanna Tarkington at the 2022 Santa Ynez Valley Polo Classic (photo by Priscilla)

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Progress Report

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Hearing begins at 9:00 A.M.

On February 15, 2023, the Montecito Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing and consider the following in order to provide by April 1, 2023, the 2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Progress Report to the Board of Supervisors (Board), Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR), California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), and City of Santa Barbara:

 Receive and file the 2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Progress Report;

 Determine that the Montecito Planning Commission’s actions regarding the 2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Progress Report are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15060(c)(3) and 15378(b)(5); and

 Recommend that the County Planning Commission authorize staff to provide the 2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Progress Report to the Board, Governor’s OPR, HCD, and City of Santa Barbara.

The Montecito Planning Commission hearing begins at 9:00 A.M. The order of items listed on the agenda is subject to change by the Montecito Planning Commission. The staff analysis of the proposal may be viewed at the Planning and Development Department website, located at https://www.countyofsb.org/1647/Montecito-Planning-Commission prior to the hearing. For further information about the project, please contact the planner, Breanna Alamilla, at alamillab@countyofsb.org

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The Montecito Planning Commission provides in-person participation as well as virtual participation until further notice.

The following methods of participation are available to the public.

1. You may observe the live stream of the Montecito Planning Commission meetings on (1) Local Cable Channel 20, (2) online at: https://www.countyofsb.org/1333/CSBTVLivestream; or (3) YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20

2. If you wish to provide public comment, the following methods are available:

 Distribution to the Montecito Planning Commission - Submit your comment via email prior to 12:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Commission hearing. Please submit your comment to the Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Your comment will be placed into the record and distributed appropriately.

 Attend the Meeting In-Person: Individuals are allowed to attend and provide comments at the Montecito Planning Commission meeting in-person. Please note, we are following all local and State guidelines and are no longer requiring face coverings indoors. Please be advised that the Public Health Department is still strongly encouraging County staff and members of the public to mask and social distance themselves in public areas.

 Attend the Meeting by Zoom Webinar - Individuals wishing to provide public comment during the Montecito Planning Commission meeting can do so via Zoom webinar by clicking the below link to register in advance. Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing important information about joining the webinar.

When: February 15, 2023 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Topic: Montecito Planning Commission 02/15/2023

Register in advance for this webinar: https://countyofsb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_72cn1k16R0eR1MENf3gymA

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Brilliant Thoughts

How To Be a Pedestrian

by Ashleigh Brilliant

Until recently, the only way for most people to get to most places was on foot. Horses were too expensive, and trains, planes, and cars didn’t yet exist. “Shanks’ Pony” was a jocular way of referring to walking.

But with the development of modern street-traffic, among the automobiles, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and regular bicycles, there emerged what can only be called a new kind of vehicle – the Pedestrian. As a vehicle, it had many advantages. It was extremely maneuverable. It could stop, start, and turn faster than anything else on the road. Unfortunately, it was also more vulnerable, and special provisions had to be made, to separate it, as much as possible, from all the other forms of traffic. At ground level, there were “crosswalks,” where the only actual protection was in the form of laws requiring other traffic to stop while pedestrians were crossing. Much safer, but much more costly, were underground tunnels and overhead bridges.

But many streets, especially in urban areas, had special pathways, on one or both sides, which were reserved for pedestrians. They were called “sidewalks,” and cars, horses, and even bicycles, were banned from them –although I myself have contrary feelings about the bicycle usage. However, since many houses and other buildings have their own garages or parking areas, cars must be allowed to cross the sidewalks, usually on “driveways,” which creates an additional hazard for pedestrians.

eral public is as a dumping area for small pieces of trash and other debris. This has given rise to our idiomatic use of the term “gutter” to refer to something disdained and repugnant. Thus we have the most sensational kind of journalism being characterized as the “gutter press” and the most wretched type of lifestyle can be described as “living in the gutter.”

Sidewalks have a surprisingly ancient history, going back thousands of years. One well-preserved specimen still to be seen (I have walked on it myself) is in the ruins of the Roman city of Pompeii, destroyed by a volcano in 79 A.D. In the capital city of Rome, pedestrians were so numerous, and vehicular traffic so prolific, dangerous, and noisy, that it was actually banned from the city center at certain times.

But to be an authentic pedestrian, there are two things you usually need: feet and footwear. Concerning feet, it has always seemed strange to me that the part of the body which bears all the weight and has most direct contact with the ground, and which you would therefore expect to be the toughest, is actually one of the most sensitive and tender – the sole.

Feet are also a religious and cultural item. Some groups have taboos about showing the feet. In the Arab world this is a common prejudice, and it explains why it is very hard to find a podiatrist in Saudi Arabia.

Free)

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ID: 871 1708 6211

The Montecito Planning Commission’s rules on hearings and public comment, unless otherwise directed by the Chair, remain applicable to each of the participation methods listed above.

Attendance and participation by the public is invited and encouraged. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Hearing Support Staff (805) 568-2000. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the Hearing Support Staff to make reasonable arrangements.

If you challenge the project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Planning Commission prior to the public hearing.

In the days when there were many horses on the streets, there were numerous on-street “parking places” for them, frequently (especially in wealthier neighborhoods) in the form of a single large carved rock, with a steel ring, to serve as a “hitching post” to which your horse could be tied. In our town, there are still a surprising number of these historical relics, which obviously haven’t been used for many years, but which for some reason have been left in place. It may be just that they’re not in anybody’s way, and would cost too much to remove. But local history is not always so cherished.

Nowadays there are more modern hitching posts – poles and racks for locking bicycles to and charging stations for the batteries of electric vehicles.

Where there are sidewalks, there will also probably be curbs, and where there are curbs, you will inevitably find street gutters, which are mainly intended to carry rainwater to sewer drains. A secondary usage by the gen -

In the lore of shoes, one interesting fact is that our words “sabotage” and “saboteur” derive from the French “sabot,” which was a kind of wooden shoe once worn by many laborers. There are various theories about how, at times of industrial strife, a sabot might have been used to clog machinery, or in some other way, interfere with production.

The best shoe joke I know is attributed to Jack Handey and comes as a piece of wise advice: “Before you criticize a man, first walk a mile in his shoes. Then, when you criticize him, you’ll already be a mile away – and you’ll have his shoes!”

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.

Montecito Reads Until We Meet Again…

by MJ Staff

This marks the final installment of Montecito by Michael Cox. Please see a message from the author following the final chapter. Chapters 51 – 54 are available online at montecitojournal.net and the QR code below.

Montecito

by Michael Cox

Chapter 55

As with her first visit, Agent Randall showed up at my front door unannounced. She was alone this time, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, and driving her own bright red Mini Cooper, not the Bureau’s black Chevy Suburban. I froze, instinctively afraid I had done something wrong.

“At ease, Mr. Crawford,” Agent Randall said. “It’s a Saturday; I’m in jeans. How many more disarming signals can I send?”

“Call me Hollis,” I said, breaking into a smile.

Cricket came to the front door to greet our visitor and invited her inside. Isabel said a sheepish hello; Trip asked her to scribble an FBI badge on his cast.

“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Agent Randall asked.

“Sure,” I said, recognizing that this would not be a family conversation. “Would you like to go to my office?”

“God no,” she said, shaking her head at the thought of my grungy gar-office. “I’m hungry, and I’m buying. Just tell me where we should go.”

Cricket gave wide-eyed Agent Randall a goodbye hug and the two of us climbed into her Mini. I directed her to Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone and my favorite food in town: Mony’s Tacos.

“You’re telling me that the best Mexican food in Santa Barbara is next to a strip club?” Agent Randall asked, perplexed by Mony’s proximity to Santa Barbara’s Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club.

“Just wait,” I said.

We ordered at the counter, took our complimentary, fresh-from-the-fryer tortilla chips, and ventured to the eclectic buffet of salsas where Agent Randall got her first hint that Mony’s was not your average taqueria.

“Pistachio salsa?” she said.

“Just wait,” I repeated.

After a short wait on the sidewalk, we pounced on one of the rare open tables and set upon the chips like a couple of vultures.

“Officially,” Agent Randall said, licking her fingers, “I am not here.”

“Ok.”

“We haven’t spoken,” she continued. “You haven’t seen me.”

“Ok,” I repeated. “It’s nice not to see or speak to you.”

“With that out of the way,” she said, sliding a grainy eight-by-ten photo across the table, “Do you recognize that man?”

I put my hand to my mouth in the manner of a genteel woman about to say oh dear! Of course, I recognized that man. Tall, muscular, aviator sunglasses, dapper navy suit; I saw that man every time my doorbell rang. “That’s Agent Daniel Andrews!”

“I think we’ve established that this man is not an FBI agent,” Agent Randall said.

“Sorry,” I said. “Where was this photo taken?”

“Security camera, Bank Sepah, Paris,” she said. “Your Daniel Andrews is the man who liquidated Cyrus Wimby’s bank account.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Well who is he … really?”

“His name isn’t important,” she said, waving away my question. “He’s a gun for hire. This is the first time he’s associated with Vladimir Petronovski, so we’re backfilling to see what else we might have missed. Regardless, it’s an important lead.”

Our burritos arrived on cue. Agent Randall had followed my lead and ordered adobada with rice, beans, onions, cilantro, and a sprinkle of cheese wrapped in a large flour tortilla and then grilled. She availed herself of a fork and knife for the first bite. “Holy strip club!” she said.

“I know.”

She put the knife and fork down and picked up the burrito with her hands. “The whole time we were hanging out in your spider cave, we could have been eating this?”

“Sorry,” I said with a smile.

“You should be,” she mumbled with a full mouth.

“Can I ask you a question?” I said between bites.

“Shoot,” she said, a speck of rice flying onto the table. “Excuse me.”

I set my burrito down and folded my hands. This question had been bugging me ever since my final visit to Riven Rock and had only grown larger as time passed. “Why did the killers take Cyrus’s body? Why not just leave it?”

Agent Randall continued to chew then took a sip of Diet Coke to wash down the remnants. “It’s a good question,” she began. “This was clearly an execution with a purpose, right?”

I nodded.

“So, the killers wanted to send a message. Sometimes that message is best sent by mutilating the body and putting it on display as a warning to others …” I recoiled.

“… Other times, that warning is unnecessary. Everyone who needs to know, knows. If that is the case, then it is in the killers’ best interest to dispose of the body. After all, even the pros make mistakes.”

“What kind of mistakes?” I asked.

“There could be skin cells, hair, blood, or fingerprints,” she said. “There is situational evidence: did the killer use a knife or a gun? Given the angle of penetration, was the killer left- or right-handed? If we were to recover a weapon, can we trace it? Also, by taking the body, the killers have even

Montecito Reads Page 264

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deprived us of a positive identification of the victim. As you saw, we have plenty of blood, but Cyrus Wimby was not a known criminal; we do not have his DNA on file to match with the crime scene samples.”

“So, you can’t even be certain that was Cyrus’s blood?” I asked.

“Certain?” She shook her head. “No.”

At the look of confusion on my face, she added, “but we’ve seen no evidence to suggest that it was anyone else’s blood. So, for now, we go with what we’ve got.”

In the moment, none of this felt real. I was on the set of a movie, asking about a fictional murder. “Do you usually have a body at the scene?”

She nodded, yes. “Even the pros rarely have the time or luxury of removing the body,” she said. “This rich-assed town of yours – with the monstrous hedges and security gates – might be the best place to commit murder I’ve ever seen. If it were not for the nosey neighbor who called the cops because the Wimbys’ gate was suspiciously open, we might not have discovered the scene for days.”

“So…,” I grimaced at the thought of my next question. “What do you think they did with Cyrus’s body?”

Agent Randall took a big bite of her adobada and began talking with her mouth full. “If there were a murderer’s handbook, it would be best practice to remove the body and then dissolve it in lye heated to three-hundred degrees…,” she paused to take a slurping sip from her Diet Coke, “… that would really be the perfect way to get rid of the body.”

I was sorry I asked. I am not sure why a description of what the killers might have done to the already dead body of Cyrus Wimby bothered me so much, but it haunted my daydreams for weeks to come. More amazing in the moment, Agent Randall kept right on eating.

With three-quarters of her burrito inhaled, she set it down and caught her breath. “Well,” she said, “since I am not here and not speaking with you, how about a few more updates?”

“I was hoping something like that might be on your agenda,” I said.

“Where to begin…,” she said, scratching her chin. “First off, your pals Larry, Curley, and Moe?”

She was referring to Umed, Kai, Noah, and Reuben, I knew. “Yes,” I said. “Are they ok?”

“Who knows?” she said. “The four people you identified by those names and biographies do not exist.”

At this point, I should not have been surprised if Agent Randall sprouted a second head, but I could not help myself from uttering a ridiculous, “That’s impossible.”

Agent Randall rolled her eyes. “Their true identities and loyalties continue to elude us. It’s one of the many TBDs of this case.”

I shook my head. Being reminded of my gullibility stung. How much suffering could have been avoided had I only been less desperate to have a job? “I’m... I’m sorry,” I said.

“Cut out the self-flagellation, Hollis,” Agent Randall said. “You ran with the big boys. There is no shame in getting fooled once. It’s the possibility of getting fooled a second time that has me worried, and that is the reason why I’m breaking protocol to not eat the most fabulous burrito in the world with you.”

My eyes opened wide. The second time?

She nodded at my unspoken concern. “Despite my early optimism, we have not made the progress I had hoped for. These guys are good. They have not yet stumbled.”

My heart rate was soaring. What began as a friendly reunion now felt

ominous. “Am I – is my family – in danger?”

Agent Randall shook her head. “I have to be honest with you, Hollis. You should be dead already.”

I was no doctor, but I suspected Agent Randall might be right there in the fog with me. Either that or this was a cruel joke. I dropped my chin and cocked an eye begging for clarity.

“The unturned stones of Vladimir Petronovski and Cyrus Wimby’s networks do not reveal many living associates,” Agent Randall said. “Including many of those who were once willing parts of the inner circle.”

I swallowed and placed my remaining burrito back on its plate.

“Look,” she said. “They appear to be long gone at this point. This is a small town and folks like Petronovski do not wander around unnoticed. There is every reason to believe that you will never hear from them again.”

My heart rate slowed from chased-by-a-tiger to running-the-forty-yard-dash.

“But do pay attention,” she continued. “Keep your eyes and ears open. If you notice anything remotely suspicious, let us know.” She fished a card from her jeans pocket and slid it across the table. “That’s my cell. Day or night; 24/7.”

I shook my head nervously. “Do we need surveillance? The witness protection program? Should we move or–”

She raised a hand. “Calm down, Hollis. There has been no threat. In the eyes of the FBI, you are not in danger. I am only relaying this message because you are a smart guy who might notice something that the rest of the world misses. I am just asking you to keep that radar tuned and sharp. While I think it is shocking that you are still alive, I also think it is highly unlikely that the bad guys will bother reaching out to you again. You are yesterday’s news; they don’t need you anymore.”

The fact that the bad guys did not need me anymore was little solace from the perspective of me wanting to live a long, torture-free life.

Agent Randall finished her burrito and the remaining chips, running a finger around the pistachio salsa container to siphon out the final drips. I folded my napkin and placed it on the table; I had not eaten a bite since Agent Randall told me to watch out.

“You going to finish that?” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Let me get a to-go box,” she said. “I’ll lop off the end and share it with Agent Quinton. He’s a taco man, but I think this might swing his vote.” I could not help but smile.

Chapter 56

In time, my mind no longer fixated on Cyrus, the blood, Cyrus’s disembodied finger, or the fact that everyone involved with his murder was still roaming free. Instead, when my thoughts wandered back to Riven Rock, I only thought of Genevieve and Priscilla. Were they being treated well? Were they still alive?

I also no longer thought of myself as the cause of the fall of the house of Wimby. Cyrus had brought that on his family. But I wished I could have found a bloodless way to stop him. I did wonder at the eerie timing that brought fake FBI Agent Daniel Andrews and friends to my doorstep at precisely the moment when I was most vulnerable to being fooled. How many pieces had to fall in place for those events to occur in such a narrow, precise window? The odds were staggering, yet it happened.

Most days, I could shelve these thoughts, returning my mental energies to productive endeavors. With Fogbank Consulting now a legitimate business – thanks to Paul – I was busy doing work I loved and collecting actual cash compensation: two revolutionary changes in my life.

One of my most pleasant discoveries was that being an independent contractor instead of an employee was like running a marathon at sixty percent of my actual weight. Without the tedious team meetings, lunches with colleagues, coffee breaks, and annoying office mates – see previous discussion of my residence in the fog – my efficiency was off the charts. I was getting paid more and working less. I was happier. This efficiency opened the door for Fogbank Consulting to add new clients. Why not shoot for the moon, I thought as I targeted Agent Willows and the FBI. True to his word, Agent Willows and I had a meeting scheduled for just after the New Year.

As the calendar rolled to November, Trip was ready to return to Montecito Union School. On his first day back – in what was now our family tradition – we traversed the short distance to MUS on foot, with me pushing the wheelchair. As Isabel, Cricket, Trip, and I scooted up San Ysidro toward the campus, other parents honked in approval.

When we reached campus, I turned to wheel Trip toward his classroom as always, but Cricket pulled my sleeve, directing us toward the school’s central courtyard. I froze. The courtyard was home of the Flag Day ceremony where I first met Cyrus and Genevieve. I did not want to go back there. I pulled; Cricket pulled harder. I reluctantly gave in.

As we spilled from the breezeway into the courtyard, we were met with a sudden chorus of cheers. Welcome back Trip! signs hung from the exterior of the school’s auditorium. A three-deep throng of parents cheered and hooted. Students, led by the Principal and Superintendent, leapt to their feet for a foot-stomping rendition of Queen’s “We Will Rock You”.

Wait a second, I thought naively. I knew that Trip loved that song, but how did they know? Apparently, while I had been busy feeling sorry for myself and judging everyone else, Trip had been making friends.

Isabel took over as Trip’s chauffeur and wheeled him into the mass of clapping, stomping students; soon, he was mobbed.

I am not sure when I began to cry, but by the time I realized that Cricket was squeezing me breathless, I could feel the droplets slaloming down my cheeks to splash on her shoulder. Trip was not the only one to receive a hero’s welcome that day. While students surrounded his wheelchair, parents surrounded Cricket and me, joining in our hug.

The great irony was that I had always believed it was an accomplishment that would give me the necessary sense of worthiness to feel at home in Montecito. How could I have been more wrong? I had accomplished nothing; I had been a party to more destruction than creation and some of the people in this crowd were themselves victims of that destruction. Yet, on that day – surrounded by those who barely knew me and could care less about my professional qualifications or net worth – I finally felt the connection. It had been there all along.

Chapter 57

In winter, those who inhabit gar-offices earn their stripes. Of course, there are plush garage offices in Montecito; those with track lighting, automatic doors, and insulation. But they do not really count. Those deluxe imposters are to gar-offices as glamping is to camping.

That year, Montecito’s winter came early and lingered long. Yes, I recognize that forty-five degrees is hardly winter by most of America’s standards, but when you are working in an uninsulated shed that retains only the air temperature you are trying to avoid – heat in the summer and cold in the winter – forty-five degrees makes for very uncomfortable typing.

Cricket bought me some fingerless gloves and I dug through the attic to find an old wool hat, a scarf, and a space heater. My computer was particularly upset by the frosty conditions, often stalling inexplicably and whining at high volume. Nevertheless, I pressed onward, boosting my internal temperature with coffee, tea, and hot water with lemon, until my bladder burst and/or the air warmed sufficiently to strip off the layers.

As Christmas approached, my first project for CryptoWallet was nearly complete. Working with Clyde through Paul was an absolute joy, and the work showed it. Already the scope of my assignment was expanding. If only we had learned of this professional arrangement sooner. Then again, I am not so sure that the old me would have appreciated what the new me knows. Perhaps this painful, devastating journey was a required prerequisite.

The first semester at Montecito Union Elementary would be over in a few days. After the holiday break, Isabel would begin her final semester of elementary school. After that, junior high, marriage, motherhood, and retirement; God I was getting old.

Trip continued to recover swiftly. He graduated to a walker ahead of schedule, and in the spring, he would have plastic surgery on his partially missing ear. In the meantime, he had begun wearing the costume ears of Spock. Where I would have grown my hair longer and hidden the injury, he chose to magnify it, purposely diffusing any silly second-grade meanness. His proud ownership of this setback was yet another example of Cricket’s resilience in his DNA. Holiday cards were rolling in daily, and thanks to Cricket, we had hundreds to look forward to. Our family card had been mailed out just after Thanksgiving. I had proposed a photo taken on the day of Cricket’s pierto-pier triumph, but Trip wanted the cover shot to record this as the year of his shattered leg. At his request, we staged a hospital room and dressed

as doctors and nurses; we made light just as everyone seemed to desire.

Between Christmas and New Year’s, we would have our annual Holiday Card Oscars dinner party with Paul and Jenny’s family. This family tradition predated our children, but now they were active participants. Of course, there was an Oscar for best card, but there were also ones for best photo and best inscription. Conversely, there were awards for worst card, worst photo, and worst inscription, the latter usually being awarded to a braggadocious, multiple-page letter written in third person. Even from the vantage of the fog, I knew better.

On this particular day, I was working away in the gar-office when Cricket walked in to drop off the day’s mail delivery for my initial review. Her day at Storyteller’s was complete; soon, she would pick up the kids and be mom again. She kissed me on the cheek as I typed then dropped the mail beside my computer.

“Who do you know in Saint-Tropez?” she asked.

I waited for the punch line of the joke.

She pointed to the stack of mail and raised her eyebrows.

“Saint-Tropez? Is that in the Caribbean?” I asked.

She laughed. “Close. It’s in France, and someone there wants to wish you holiday cheer.”

I thanked her distractedly and went back to my work, trying to solve a nettlesome coding problem that had vexed me all morning. After several failed iterations, I took a pee break that had been calling for at least an hour and turned to the mail.

The bills were all in my name, unfortunately, so mail opening was often a gloomy process of tallying the looming account credits. But on this day – December 15th – I also received my paycheck, delivered in the form of an actual paper check since I was a consultant and not an employee. I was grateful for this trivial inconvenience; at least there was something to deposit.

Last in my stack of mail was the card postmarked from Saint-Tropez, which had apparently seceded from the Caribbean and joined the European Union without my knowledge. I took a second to admire the heft and density of the card. This was heavy stock. The kind impossibly expensive wedding invitations were printed on (or so I was told). I slid my pointer finger under the lip of the envelope and ripped. Immediately, a faint aroma sent my mind reeling. I knew that scent, didn’t I? But from where and why? Then it hit me.

It was star jasmine.

My shaking hands rattled the envelope’s jagged lip. With each shake, more wafts of star jasmine emerged. Carefully, I reached into the envelope – as if I were afraid something inside might bite – and pulled out the cream-colored card.

The cardstock was elegantly simple; no monogram or return address, just an embossed navy border. Precise script handwriting covered both sides of the card, but my eyes were magnetically drawn to the front and my name.

Dearest Hollis,

I had hoped to deliver this in person, but – well – I think you know. I am sad that our once fruitful relationship has come to such an ugly end. These things happen in my line of work, but that does not make them any less regrettable.

On the back of this card, you will find the Key Lime Pie recipe you hounded me for so many times. Good luck. Though, I should warn you that no matter how many times you attempt to replicate my pie, you will never succeed. There is one essential ingredient in my Key Lime Pie that it seems you do not possess: loyalty.

Until we meet again...

Chapter 58

When I finished reading the note, the final tumbler of a combination lock deep in the recess of my brain spun into place. The lock’s fence fell, it clicked, and a vault door

Montecito Reads Page 394

And the Oort Cloud…?

Unlike asteroids, which are mostly in the belt between Mars and Jupiter and mostly in the plane of the SS, comets like this one come at us from all directions and angles. In the 1940s, a Dutch astronomer Oort said that for us to get these comets, they must come from outside our SS. Everything out in the Oort Cloud is way out there, and we can only see what’s in them when it comes into our SS, and we won’t have a telescope to view Oort for a number of years. It is about 10 to 20,000 astronomical units out, e.g., the Earth is one astronomical unit out from the Sun, Jupiter is five.

LCO’s monitoring of comets?

I’m a co-lead of the key project on comets for the LCO with thirty astronomers globally across 19 time zones, called the LOOK Project. One of the main goals is to look at the dynamically new comets coming in from the Oort Cloud for the first time, how they behave when they turn on and start becoming active.

We are doing this because the European Space Agency has a mission called the “Comet Interceptor,” which is going to launch in 2029 and do a fly-by of one of these new comets. To build the space craft for the mission we have to have this data.

The LCO’s role is writing software that aggregates new comet discoveries that come in.

We’ve been monitoring this comet every few days since April 2022. We monitor it in two filters, a green filter and a red filter, one filter is sensitive to the gas and the other to the gas and the dust. We are measuring how its brightness and size changes with time.

LCO is part of the AEON (Astronomical Events Observatory Network) and is scheduling the four-meter telescope in Chile, South Africa, and Australia for when this comet heads to the southern hemisphere.

411: https://lco.global

https://in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=20230201_19_101

Community Voices

Standing with Our Jewish Community

by Laura Capps

Last week, the County of Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to honor International Holocaust Memorial Day. This resolution honors the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp.

“This resolution is not just symbolic; it shows solidarity between the Jewish community and other marginalized groups,” shared Jana Zimmer, one of the community members who received the resolution. “I was able to buy my home in Santa Barbara due to my parents surviving Auschwitz.”

The resolution and community members reminded us about the history, facts, and devastation of the Holocaust. The state-sponsored, systemic persecution and the annihilation of European Jewish peoples by Nazi Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. The victims of this devastation included six million Jewish people, including children. Additional victims of the Holocaust included Ashkenazy and Sephardic Jewish communities; Roma peoples, people with disabilities, Polish peoples; LGBTQ+ individuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war, political dissidents, journalists, and judges. All of these groups suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi tyranny.

Supervisor Laura Capps and Joan Hartmann worked with Jewish community members to draft and adopt the resolution. Supervisor Capps shared, “Continued education and understanding of cultural groups are needed across our community. Last month, anti-Semitic flyers were dispersed in my district on the Mesa on the first day of Hanukkah.”

“This was a coordinated effort that occurred and is compounded by the horrific displays of anti-Semitism across the country. I am disheartened, frustrated, and ready to support our community members. I thank the courageous leadership of the Jewish community, in particular Dan Meisel, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Santa Barbara Tri-Counties, for helping us all find ways to do better.”

Meisel has been working regionally to help bring education and understanding not just for Jewish communities but ALL marginalized communities. He believes that we must be educated culturally and has been working with the regional chapter of ADL to provide resources and support. Meisel noted, “Other counties have launched initiatives to address hateful attitudes and incidents. Los Angeles County, for example, created and funded an L.A. vs. Hate campaign that helps community members report hate incidents and connects them with a network of community organizations (including ADL) that support victims and offer preventative programming. Santa Barbara County could consider a similar approach.”

Both Supervisor Capps and Hartmann provided statements that their offices will continue to support and collaborate with our cultural communities with education, understanding, and inclusion.

“It is up to all of us,” Capps stated. “I challenge our community members to stand, reach out in support, and work together to build a region where all can thrive.”

Editor’s Note: After this article was received, more anti-Semitic flyers were distributed in the area. This time through Isla Vista on the morning of Jan. 31. Capps would like to add:

“This is a horrific reminder that anti-Semitism continues to plague our nation. My district continues to be targeted with these anti-Semitic flyers, last month in the Mesa and this week in Isla Vista. It is sad that a national hate group goes to such lengths to attempt to be hurtful and spread awful bigotry. In Santa Barbara County, we do not tolerate hate and discriminatory acts. I stand with the Jewish community and the Jewish students living in Isla Vista, especially today. I encourage you to report any acts of hate to law enforcement.”

“A human being is part of a whole called by us the universe.” – Albert Einstein

Laura Capps is the Second District Supervisor for the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors

Supervisor Joan Hartmann, ADL Board Member Jill Goldworn, Supervisor Laura Capps, and Jana Zimmer accept the International Holocaust Remembrance Day Resolution from the County of Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors (photo courtesy of County of Santa Barbara)

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

Current image of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF (Photo Credit: St Mary’s School Bridgend / Helen Usher / Comet Chasers / Faulkes Telescope Project / Las Cumbres Observatory)

Path of Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF (map from In-The-Sky.org)

BILL WAS WALKING ON A GOLF COURSE WHEN HE EXPERIENCED SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND BECAME VERY FATIGUED. After being referred to Dr. Joseph Aragon, Director of Structural Heart Disease Program at Cottage Heart & Vascular Center, Bill was diagnosed with three separate heart issues over the next year and a half. The Cottage Heart & Vascular Center offered three minimally-invasive treatments, TAVR, Watchman™ and MitraClip™.

“All three procedures were easy on me. I feel better, have more energy and am back to enjoying life,” said Bill.

The Cottage Heart & Vascular Center is nationally recognized for cardiovascular expertise and medical management of complex heart and vascular conditions. Cottage is one of the region’s most experienced heart centers specializing in minimally-invasive treatment.

for

seamlessly through four centuries of music, including a new commission from Oscarwinning composer Rachel Portman.

At the end of the show, the 24th in the series, which kicked off in Brussels, Belgium, a year ago, audience members received a pack of seeds to ensure the EDEN experience grows outside of the concert hall.

Seventy-two hours later the tony musical triumvirate of world-renowned cellist

Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Leonidas Kavakos, and pianist Emanuel Ax played an all-Beethoven program of “Symphony No. 4 in B-flat major, Op. 60” and “Piano Trio in B-flat major, Op. 97.”

A truly exquisite evening.

The following day I was at the Lobero for Ensemble Intercontemporain’s Die Stadt ohne Juden, a 1924 80-minute

silent film reflecting anti-Semitism in Austria and Germany at the time, accompanied by a nine-member group of musicians conducted by Matthias Pintscher with film direction by Hans Karl Breslauer, and a musical score by Olga Neuwirth

Fittingly staged 24 hours after international Holocaust Day, it was a highly nuanced musical creation presciently reflecting the horrors of Nazism to come less than two decades later.

An Evening with the Choral Society

President Todd Aldrich and his wife, Allyson , opened the doors of their Montecito aerie for Santa Barbara Choral Society’s annual Canto Society bash for

more than 30 top donors.

The fun fête was catered by Italian eatery Via Maestra 42 with music from the dynamic duo of Kim Collins on double bass and Debbie Denke on keyboard.

Among the supporters were Dick and Marilyn Mazess, Barbara Burger, Peter and Karen Brill, Steve and Amy Hammer, Steve and Debra Stewart, Erica DiBartolomeo, Kate Rees, Jim and Susan Robbins, veteran conductor Jo Anne Wasserman, John Rodkey, and Ross and Karen Williams.

The singers’ next concert For the

Love of Music, described as “a musical Valentine offering a rich assortment of familiar works and hidden delights,” is at Trinity Episcopal Church on February 18 and 19.

Dunbar Ranch Rental

Carpinteria actor Kevin Costner, 68, is renting out his 160-acre Aspen, Colorado, home for a hefty $36,000 a night.

The Oscar and recent Golden Globe Miscellany Page 344

Jody

Yo-Yo Ma and his trio impress (photo by David Bazemore)

Susan and Jim Robbins with a bouquet gift for Allyson Aldrich (photo by Priscilla)

Todd and Allyson Aldrich, Jo Anne Wasserman, and Adrienne De Guevara (photo by Priscilla)

Kate Rees, Debbie Denke, Kim Collins, Marshall Gorges, and Dick and Marilyn Mazess (photo by Priscilla)

Board members

Dolan Holehouse, Jo Anne Wasserman, Todd Aldrich, Margo Callis, Debra Stewart, and John Rodney (photo by Priscilla)

Welcome to 2726 Cuesta Road, a beloved 1927 Spanish Revival home perched atop the Samarkand Hills with the most desirable views of Santa Barbara. Measured at 3267 sq ft +- this three-bedroom, four-bathroom home even has an elevator to access all three levels. As you enter the wood and iron front door, you will stop in your tracks to pan the breathtaking views of the Santa Ynez mountains, Santa Barbara Mission, out to the Channel Islands. Reach back into Santa Barbara history with this home filled with Spanish architectural sophistication, including carved archways, original tile, wooden floors, extensive wrought-iron fixtures, Juliet balconies, and a private courtyard entrance surrounded by a low stucco perimeter wall. You will be captivated by the outstanding balance between indoor and outdoor living spaces, including a private pool and stone decking remodeled in 2015.

Real Estate

A Scarcity of Abundance

by Mark Ashton Hunt

If you are looking for a significant estate in Montecito and are willing and comfortable paying over $10,000,000 to get it, I would in normal years have 25 or 30 homes to show you, most of them in the $10 to $20 range… million that is. However, in the aftermath of the estate rush that coincided with COVID times from mid-2020 through today, we now see that portion of the market only offering a few estate choices to choose from for those at the top of the Real Estate food chain.

Looking back at the last two years of sales over $10,000,000 in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Montecito’s 93108, we see there were 65 closed sales over $10M between, 1/27/21 to 1/27/23. The lowest price of those 65 sales was a Picacho Lane starter estate at $10M on the dot, and the highest of the past two years in the MLS was $52M for an estate also located on Picacho Lane.

To help show the level of increase in sales in recent years at the estate level, one must see these 65 sales over $10,000,000 in Montecito’s 93108 in just two years as either an anomaly or a new reality. A normal year in Montecito from 2009 to 2019, for example, would average seven or so sales over $10M per year. Again, an average. There would be 25 or 30 properties over $10M on the market at any given time and only seven would sell that year.

Nowadays, estates are changing hands so quickly they are often not even on the market in the first place. Of the 65 sales over the past two years, 22 of them were “off-market” sales, meaning a buyer found a seller through an agent most likely, for a property that was not at that time on the market in the MLS. Many had been on and off the market in recent years, but nonetheless, that is 34% of all sales over $10 million being off-market sales. A huge percentage when compared with the under $10M market’s off-market sales stats.

There are no low ballers finding deals nowadays, not even in the $10M-plus range. The properties are worth their asking price for the most part if you break it down (cost for a lot if you can find one, design, and development and building costs, plus the five years to do it).

There are only 10 homes on the market in the 93108 right now over $10 million to choose from and here are four of them to consider. All the homes featured offer at least 9,000 square feet of living space and all offer views, pool, grounds, privacy, etc…

2692 Sycamore Canyon Road – $15,500,000

Enjoy timeless design and stunning ocean and mountain views from this 2.4-acre Montecito estate in a central location surrounded by other substantial homes on a private lane off Sycamore Canyon Road. The property was designed for today’s lifestyle with indoor and outdoor rooms that flow together for enjoyment and relaxation.

There are seven one-bedroom suites, a guest house with kitchen and bath, a cabana, and bonus room giving options for a multitude of uses all within the 9,700+/- square feet of living space. Drenched in sunlight, the residence lives like a resort with an oversized pool, expansive terraces, patios, fire pit, exquisite gardens, and more all located within the Cold Spring School District.

751 Buena Vista Drive – $18,900,000

History, architecture, and pedigree coalesce at the iconic Casa De Buena Vista. Designed by George Washington Smith in 1930 and with a beautiful Lutah

Maria Riggs addition in 1933, this estate embodies the soul of Montecito. Prestigiously located in the Montecito Union School District and not far from the Upper Village, the elegant, 9,600+ square-foot home is set on two parcels with 4.76± acres of gently rolling grounds, ancient oaks, meandering paths, and views to the sea and the Santa Ynez Mountains.

A long, oak-lined drive leads to the estate, which has preserved much of the original lighting, tiles, windows, and other rare period details. Additional amenities include a north/south tennis court, pool/spa & cabana, grand terraces, pavilions, an attached 2/2 apartment, an ocean-view cottage, an art studio with a kitchen and bath, and two three-car garages.

999 Romero Canyon Road – $19,950,000

With breathtaking ocean views from nearly every room, this exceptional, gated estate sits on a commanding location with over 2.4 acres to enjoy. The home just hit the market for the first time and showcases a world-class remodel utilizing high-end design elements and materials. Inside the grand, 11,000+/- squarefoot home, designer touches include solid oak details and Calacatta marble. State-of-the-art technology includes a Lutron system, smart home functionality, and top-of-the-line security elements. Usable, level grounds make the exterior spaces feel wide-ranging and spacious. The view out over the infinity-edge pool includes the ocean, islands, Stearns Wharf, and coastal sunsets. Additional amenities include a guest house, bocce ball court and lookout terrace, sports court, private hiking trails, and an animal barn. Multiple balconies and terraces, a loggia, and pergola overlook the grounds and all within the Montecito Union School District.

888 Lilac Drive – $33,500,000

Vast ocean views, level grounds, luxe amenities, and timeless design come together at this iconic Montecito property on one of the more important and some would say romantic streets in Montecito. Flexible spaces both inside and out make this an intimate home for two yet can easily accommodate large crowds, with over 13,500 square feet of living space and outdoor social areas. Public areas blend seamlessly and open to the view and lush grounds beyond. There is a main level primary suite and five additional bedrooms. Enjoy the gym, theater, bar, game room, pool, guest house, and five-car garage. There is also solar, a generator, greywater irrigation system, private well, organic vegetable beds, citrus orchards, chicken coops, and secret gardens defining sustainable sensibility and offering an unparalleled slice of paradise. This home is also located within the Montecito Union School District and is surrounded by other significant estates.

MARK ASHTON HUNT

If you would like me to make an appointment for you to view any home for sale in Montecito, or for a current market analysis of your home, please contact me directly.

Call/Text Mark @ 805-698-2174 Mark@Villagesite.com

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

winner’s property has 12 bedrooms and eight bathrooms, with it spread over nearly 6,000 square feet and accommodating up to 27 people.

Known as the Dunbar Ranch, it is described as “the ultimate luxury retreat” and is located just minutes from the jet set ski resort’s downtown.

It even comes with a baseball field and a sledding area.

It’s all downhill from there...

CAMA Kicks Off

CAMA’s first concert of the New Year and its 104th season at the Granada was an absolute cracker!

Chicago’s 132-year-old symphony under renowned Italian maestro Ricardo Muti , which first visited our Eden by the Beach at the Arlington 58 years ago, was in rare form with not a single seat available in the 1,553-capacity auditorium.

The Illinois musicians also visited in 1987 under conductor Sir Georg Solti, who led 999 concerts under his baton, and were back again in 2017 for a third appearance.

Muti, 81, a two-time Grammy Award winner and regular guest conductor

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with the Vienna and Berlin philharmonics, was at the top of his game with two works by Beethoven launching the concert – “Coriolan Overture Op. 62” and “Symphony No.8 in F Major, Op. 93” – and “The Enchanted Lake” by Lyadov and Mussorgsky’s “Pictures from an Exhibition” completing the hugely satisfying performance followed by a post-concert bash for major donors at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, a tiara’s toss down State Street.

The musicians from the Windy City blew us away!

A Saint Remy Courtyard

Social gridlock reigned when the ubiquitous Andrew Firestone and his partner Jess Parker threw an opening bash at their new 122-room State Street hostelry, Courtyard by Marriott, formerly a La Quinta Inn.

After imbibing wine, beer, and specialty cocktails on the roof, guests headed downstairs to Saint Remy, the Cearnal Collective-designed hotel’s new poolside eatery featuring self-taught chef Jeremy Caruso, known as Cruz. The impressive property is being managed by the Azul Hospitality Group from San Diego.

Having spent the month of September in past years splitting myself between rented character properties in Tuscany and Provence, the latter at the charming hamlet of Saint-Étiennedu-Grès, near St. Remy at the base of the Alpilles, when I was gossip on The Joan Rivers Show , I was interested to see what Saint Remy had to offer and wasn’t disappointed.

My trusty shutterbug Pricilla and I tucked into Prosecco poached shrimp and chicken puttanesca accompanied by

Miller Family Reciprocity cabernet from the Paso Highlands with aromas of dark berry, cassis, and black tea, with notes of hibiscus. The list also features wines from Argentina, Spain, and Oregon.

Antonio Morales, general manager, says: “Every meal is uniformly inventive and crafted with the rich history and culture of the coast.

“It brings a new hotspot to the local dining scene for date nights, private parties, and gatherings with friends.”

A nice new addition to the local hotel scene with room rates around $250 a night...

Cosmetics Sales Increase

Cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden should sign up Prince Harry!

Since the Duke of Sussex, 38, revealed the frostbite to his nether regions from an Arctic expedition in his memoir Spare and how he dealt with the problem using Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant, a favorite of his late mother Princess Diana, which retails for $27, sales have shot up 60% compared to last year.

Online searches of the cream have also rocketed by 180%.

The power of princely promotion...

order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep.” – Albert Einstein

Riccardo Muti at the helm of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (photo by Todd Rosenberg)

Ivana and Andrew Firestone (photo by Priscilla)

Robyn and Jess Parker (photo by Priscilla)

Julie and Erik Friedman, Barbara and Charles de L’Arbre, and Barbara and Bill Tomicki (photo by Priscilla)

Ariel Johns, Greta Vanhersecke, and Lindsay Beran with Cruz Caruso (photo by Priscilla)

GL: But you couldn’t even get away with such a joke today.

NT: Right. And that’s one of my problems with the #MeToo Movement is that it really does have no sense of humor, none. And I agree, the line is a very difficult one to set, but it is there, and you don’t want to be in a humorless world where everybody has to be afraid of what they’re going to say all the time. And that’s, I think, where we are a lot today, and it’s too bad. I suppose it’s a place we needed to get to, but I hope at some point we get beyond it.

GL: It’s sort of a double-edged sword. I agree that we’ve lost some of our humor; and when men and women work together, they’re going to have different kinds of relationships than when women work together or when men work together. But where do you think we are today in terms of this non-linear journey of women being empowered in the workplace, and not fearing that moment, as you described, when your boss asks you out and you have that sinking feeling that either I say yes and betray myself, or I say no and offend my boss?

NT: Right. So, I think we’re well beyond that, but I do think that the best of men, not the worst of them, are often afraid of having serious professional relationships with us because they don’t want to be misunderstood, and I think that’s a terrible loss. Obviously, women walk the ladder upward, upward, upward, so they run huge enterprises, certainly in the media world. But for young women, I think they do have to suck it up a little bit. And the workplace is not meant to be your mother. It’s a workplace and you have to treat it that way and work hard and show up. I mean, people ask me all the time – how did you make all these friends? – whether it’s Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer or Ted Olson and Justice Powell. I met them through work. And if you stay home in your hovel, you will never meet people and make friends with them.

GL: You once asked Justice Ginsburg if she’d ever been harassed?

NT: Yes. I asked her and it was at Sundance when the movie RBG was premiering, and I did this interview of her on stage, and we were introduced by Robert Redford. And because the #MeToo Movement had just burst onto the scenes, and I told her I was going to ask her. Because it worked better than springing it on her, in which case she just didn’t answer very well.

So I said, have you ever been sexually harassed? And she said, Well, Nina, nobody of your age or mine has not been sexually harassed, let’s get real here. And I said, can you give us an example? She said, Well, when I was at Cornell, I had to take, I don’t remember

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whether it was chemistry or biology – let’s just say biology for the sake of argument, and she had a full scholarship – and she said, I was very worried about it because it was unlike all my other courses. I had difficulty with it. And so, I went to see the professor to see if there was anything I could do to be sure that I did well on the exam. And he said that he would give me a practice exam. So he gives her this practice exam, and two days later she goes to take the exam and it’s the same exam. And she said, I knew what he wanted So I’m sitting there thinking, what would I have done? I probably would’ve run away and never seen him again. I said, So what did you do? She’s 17 years old at the time. She said, I went to see him. And I said, “How dare you? How dare you?”

[Totenberg shakes her fist to reflect Ginsburg’s indignation.]

“…One of my problems with the #MeToo Movement is that it really does have no sense of humor, none. And I agree, the line is a very difficult one to set, but it is there, and you don’t want to be in a humorless world where everybody has to be afraid of what they’re going to say all the time.”

GL: In your book you refer to “the Old Girls Club at NPR,” and you write a lot about your friendship with Cokie Roberts and Linda Wertheimer. And I love the example of you going to bat for Mara Liasson to get her job. Why do you think that women so often get a bad rap on supporting each other? Do you think it’s justified?

NT: No, I don’t think it’s justified at all. I think that in the years when there were very few women, at least in the workforce, other than the blue collar and pink collar workforce, if you’re talking about professional life, whether it’s lawyers, doctors, physicists, journalists, whatever, there were so few of us. I mean, we were as scarce as hen’s teeth. I think that some women did basically feel there were two versions of this. That’s in every minority group, although we are, I always point out, a majority group, we were just an acute minority.

So that’s one thing. And then, I do think that sometimes women felt that they had to act like they were one of the boys instead of one of the girls. And I think once there got to be a decent number of women in the workforce, that changed. When I came to NPR, every place I ever worked, I was either the only woman or there was one other woman. And when I came to NPR, suddenly there were all these women. Linda [Wertheimer] was there, we then got Cokie [Roberts] hired, Susan Stamberg was there already. I mean, most of the reporters were women for the simple reason they paid so little, no man would’ve worked for that money, but it meant that we had the Old Girls’ Network. We had a coterie of friends and fellow professionals who were experiencing the same things we were, whether it was a husband being impossible, or a child who’s on the phone yelling that she wants to go to Janie’s house. Or you would be dealing with a boss, who was not really sexually harassing any of us because they didn’t dare, I don’t think. Because we were a network, we were the Old Girls’ Network, and you weren’t just going to be taking on me or Cokie or Linda or Susan. You’d be taking all of us on if you did something that stupid.

GL: You broke the Anita Hill story on NPR, which caused you and Professor Hill problems for a long time. But you also changed history in that this was one of the first times discussed how a public figure comported himself privately, became a public discussion as an indication of their professional fitness. But unfortunately, as you write in the book, the truth-seeking role was lost in the shuffle of that process. Given that no one ever questioned the veracity of your story about Hill being harassed by Thomas, why do you think these charges were never resurrected again in any serious way?

NT: Well, I always thought that my story was not just that she alleged that Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her when she worked for him, but that the Judiciary Committee actually knew that, and never really did anything about it and didn’t follow up in any serious way. It got the FBI to interview her and sign an affidavit, and that was the end... Which we saw replicated in the Kavanaugh hearings.

GL: How did you feel watching the Kavanaugh hearings and Professor Ford’s testimony?

firstrepublic.com/CD

NT: I felt like a seer; and the day that Christine Blasey Ford testified, everybody said, Oh, it’s over. And I said on the air, no, it’s not. That’s what people thought in the Thomas hearings, and you haven’t heard his side yet and you haven’t seen what politicians are willing to do in a fight like this. And so, we saw it replicated, and I think it’s been very harmful for Justice Kavanaugh, who I like and generally respect personally.

But because there was no proper investigation and now there’s a documentary that brings forth new evidence and because the Democrats mishandled the allegation to begin with, it could never be explored privately behind closed doors. I mean, if I were God and I were running a judiciary committee hearing and somebody made a really

male team have contributed to the rescue, recovery, and rehabilitation of hundreds of elephants worldwide.

McKean and her daughter embarked on the mission-driven visit on January 6 to connect in person with some of the conservation leaders who are driving these initiatives forward on a global scale. During last month’s visit, they also had the opportunity to meet the beloved Baby Chaba, a rescued baby elephant and the real-world living counterpart to The Elephant Project’s newest SaveUs(TM) collection mini plushie that is accompanied by a booklet at time of purchase. One hundred percent of the net proceeds from Baby Chaba and the book go directly to the Elephant Nature Park so they can help rescue other elephants.

McKean and her daughter were greeted in Chiang Mai by Lek Chailert, an animal rights icon, founder of Elephant Nature Park and the Save Elephant Foundation, and McKean’s personal hero, along with Chailert’s team of conservation and elephant experts. “I’m so appreciative of everything Lek does, because there aren’t many people in the world like her who’ve walked away from comfort to dedicate their entire lives to saving endangered, abused, and majestic animals like these. Beyond the elephants she’s saved, she has also rescued and taken care of over 2,000 cats, 1,000 dogs, monkeys, horses, you name it,” said McKean.

The pair’s visit consisted of a meticulously-designed program to spotlight the important work of ethical sanctuaries like Elephant Nature Park, which follow 100% humane practices when they rescue and care for hundreds of elephants like Baby Chaba (unlike other less ethical institutions that still use chains and aren’t as invested in the elephants’ well-being). In addition to observing the incredible work that Chailert and her team have done, McKean and her daughter were also exposed to the harsh realities of elephants that have not been as lucky as those thriving at the sanctuaries. Witnessing this abuse firsthand served as a painful but powerful reminder of why The Elephant Project is doing the work it does to help bring an end to such cruelty.

The Elephant Project is a female-founded philanthropic toy company that has successfully helped save hundreds of elephants worldwide by donating proceeds from hand-designed stuffed animals to aligned organizations that directly benefit the toys’ real-world counterparts. McKean founded the organization in 2017 after a lingering firsthand encounter with neglected baby elephants in Thailand. One hundred percent of net proceeds from any purchase is donated to trusted organizations that help fight the poaching crisis and provide care to injured, abandoned, orphaned, and abused elephants. To date, Kristina and The Elephant Project have helped aid in the rescue and protection of hundreds of elephants, while fostering numerous orphaned elephants and delighting families the world over with their adorable Kiki, Tembo, and Baby Chaba plushies. To learn more, make a purchase, or initiate a donation, please visit www. theelephantproject.com.

Corrections Issued

Editor’s Note: We got it wrong. Our team takes fact checking very seriously, with multiple sets of eyes on each piece, but unfortunately these things happen. The Montecito Journal would like to issue the following corrections:

Jan. 26, Montecito Journal: In the article, “The MPC Shuffle,” First District Supervisor Das Williams was listed as the “Vice Chair” of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors – he is actually the “Chair” of the SBC Board of Supervisors. Additionally, Susan Keller will be responding in the next MJ to discuss important issues not discussed by either the Board of Supervisors, or this article, concerning the disagreement between herself and the two commissioners.

Jan. 19, Montecito Journal: In the Village Beat segment, “Summerland Beach Remains Closed,” the quoted amount of oil spilled was 200,000 gallons. The amount leaked was 200 gallons – thankfully the leakage was not twice the size of the 1969 oil spill.

In the Editorial, “To Evacuate or Not to Evacuate?”, the County of Santa Barbara was listed as 480,000 square miles. The County size is 3,789 square miles – it is not in fact half the area of the West Coast.

Avatar’s Motion AI Tech Helps Researchers Detect Rare Diseases

Researchers are using motion capture artificial intelligence technology that brings characters to life in films like Avatar to track the onset of diseases that affect movement, according to a recent BBC article.

The new system uses artificial intelligence to analyze body movements and diagnose disorders twice as quickly as the best doctors.

The technology, which has been in development for 10 years, was already evaluated in two different studies on individuals with Friedreich’s ataxia (FA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

Professor Aldo Faisal of Imperial College London, one of the experts who came up with the idea, said it has numerous advantages over traditional techniques of diagnosis.

“Our new approach detects subtle movements that humans can’t pick up on,” he explained. “It has the capability to transform clinical trials as well as improve diagnosis and monitoring for patients.”

It also offers the ability to expedite and reduce the cost of medication studies.

“This is going to attract the pharmaceutical industry to invest in rare diseases,” added Professor Richard Festenstein from the Medical Research Council’s London Institute of Medical Sciences who aided in developing the new tech.

“The main beneficiary from our research is going to be patients because the technology is going to be able to come up with new treatments much more quickly.’’

The system’s key advantage is its advanced, quick prognostic skills.

A team at Imperial College tested it on FA patients and discovered that it could forecast disease progression over a 12-month period in less than half the time it would ordinarily take an industry expert.

Another team at Great Ormond Street Hospital tested it on 21 boys with DMD and discovered that it could anticipate how their movement will be affected six months later far more accurately than a doctor.

At the moment, there is no cure for either FA or DMD, and early detection is critical for disease monitoring. FA affects one out of every 50,000 adults, but 20,000 children are diagnosed worldwide each year with DMD.

By enabling early detection, the new technology can give new hope to patients suffering from debilitating hereditary disorders with no widely available treatments. The earlier a diagnosis is made, the better the prospects those patients have of effectively controlling their diseases.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: T.D Services, 21 Betty Drive, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. Tim A. Deran, 21 Betty Drive, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 27, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0000213. Published February, 1, 8, 15, 22, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Plateful, 205 Oceano Ave, Apt 7, Santa Barbara, CA, 93109. Miriam C Burroughs, 205 Oceano Ave, Apt 7, Santa Barbara, CA, 93109. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 12, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the orig-

PARENTS

inal statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20230000082. Published February, 1, 8, 15, 22, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Ivonne’s Mexican Art Boutique, 420 Old Coast Hwy Unit A, Santa Barbara, CA, 93103. Maria Ivonne Zarate, 420 Old Coast Hwy Unit A, Santa Barbara, CA, 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 23, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20230000161. Published February, 1, 8, 15, 22, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: La Peche Events, 841 San Roque Road, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. Kimberly S. Stone, 841 San Roque Road, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara

County on January 19, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0000146. Published January 25, February, 1, 8, 15, 2023

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS

NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/ are doing business as: ServiceMaster Restoration & Cleaning by Integrity; ServiceMaster by Integrity Construction; Furniture Medic by Cabinet Restorers; ServiceMaster Restoration Services; ServiceMaster Recovery Management, 4893 McGrath St, Ventura, CA, 93003. Sharjo, LLC, 5451 Industrial Way, Benicia, CA 94510. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 12, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0000081. Published January 25, February, 1, 8, 15, 2023

- FIND OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN OUR SCHOOLS. RADICAL SEX ED, GENDER TRAINING, PORNO BOOKS, CRT, ANTI AMERICA TRAINING - FORCED ON 12 YEAR OLDS BY RADICAL SCHOOL BOARDS IN MONTECITO AND SANTA BARBARA

Montecito-based Kristina McKean continues her philanthropic mission to save elephants

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.

2023

The following methods of participation are available to the public.

1. You may observe the live stream of the Montecito Planning Commission meetings on (1) Local Cable Channel 20, (2) online at: https://www.countyofsb.org/1333/CSBTV-Livestream; or (3) YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20

2. If you wish to provide public comment, the following methods are available:

• Distribution to the Montecito Planning Commission - Submit your comment via email prior to 12:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Commission hearing. Please submit your comment to the Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Your comment will be placed into the record and distributed appropriately.

• Attend the Meeting In-Person: Individuals are allowed to attend and provide comments at the Montecito Planning Commission meeting inperson. Please note, we are following all local and State guidelines and are no longer requiring face coverings indoors. Please be advised that the Public Health Department is still strongly encouraging County staff and members of the public to mask and social distance themselves in public areas.

• Attend the Meeting by Zoom Webinar - Individuals wishing to provide public comment during the Montecito Planning Commission meeting can do so via Zoom webinar by clicking the below link to register in advance. Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing important information about joining the webinar.

When: February 15, 2023 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Montecito Planning Commission 02/15/2023

Register in advance for this webinar: https://countyofsb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_72cn1k16R0eR1MENf3gymA

community. Now is the time to start a cooperative conversation to transition the “Swiss Nets” to the County purview.

Mark Mattingly

Parklet Removal

most of them go broke. How about that... ignore nature, potential disaster, and the needs of commerce to have customers access to the market. But as we said above... “Hold on, things are changing.”

The Commission’s rules on hearings and public comment, unless otherwise directed by the Chair, remain applicable to each of the participation methods listed above.

The Montecito Planning Commission hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. The order of items listed on the agenda is subject to change by the Montecito Planning Commission. Anyone interested in this matter is invited to speak in support or in opposition to the projects. Written comments are also welcome. All letters should be addressed to the Montecito Planning Commission, 123 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, California, 93101. Letters, with nine copies, and computer materials, e.g. PowerPoint presentations, should be filed with the secretary of the Planning Commission no later than 12:00 P.M. on the Friday before the Montecito Planning Commission hearing. The decision to accept late materials will be at the discretion of the Montecito Planning Commission. Maps and/or staff analysis of the proposals may be reviewed at https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/hearings/mpc.sbc or by appointment by calling (805) 5682000.

If you challenge the project(s) 16PMC-00000-00023, 14RVP-00000-00005, 22AMD-00000-00003, 22CDH-00000-00010, 22CUP-00000-00008, 22CDP00000-00032, 21LLA-00000-00005, or 21CDH-00000-00040 in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Montecito Planning Commission prior to the public hearing. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this hearing, please contact the Hearing Support Staff (805) 568-2000. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the hearing will enable the Hearing Support Staff to make reasonable arrangements.

22AMD-00000-00003

22CDH-00000-00010

Santa Barbara Cemetery Grading Project 901 Channel Drive

Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 1530 Joe Dargel, Supervising Planner (805) 568-3573 Alia Vosburg, Planner (805) 934-6259

Hearing on the request of Charles McClure, agent for the Santa Barbara Cemetery Association, to consider the following:

a) Case No. 22AMD-00000-00003 for approval of an amendment to the Cemetery’s operating Conditional Use Permit (68-CP-31) to allow installation of 2,358 pre-cast concrete crypts with associated grading (approximately 9,859 cubic yards of cut and 4,066 cubic yards of fill over an area of approximately 1.17 acres and approximately 5,793 cubic yards of export) in compliance with Section 35-172.11.2 of the Article II Coastal Zoning Ordinance, on property zoned 20-R-1;

b) Case No. 22CDH-00000-00010 for approval of a Coastal Development Permit in compliance with Section 35-169 of the Article II Coastal Zoning Ordinance, to allow installation of 2,358 pre-cast concrete crypts with associated grading (approximately 9,859 cubic yards of cut and 4,066 cubic yards of fill over an area of approximately 1.17 acres and approximately 5,793 cubic yards of export) on property zoned 20-R-1; and to determine the project is exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301. The application involves Assessor Parcel Nos. 009-270-001 and 009-270-003, located at 901 Channel Drive, in the Coastal Zone of the Montecito Community Plan Area, First Supervisorial District.

(Continued from 11/16/22)

21CDH-00000-00040

Stimson New Single Family Dwelling

2080 Creekside Road

Addendum to 89-EIR-6 Nicole Lieu, Supervising Planner (805) 884-8068 Willow Brown, Planner (805) 568-2040

Hearing on the request of Brad and Janet Stimson, property owners, to consider Case No. 21CDH-00000-00040, for a Coastal Development Permit in compliance with Article II Section 35-169.4.2 to authorize:

• Construction of a new 5,360-net-square-foot two-story residence, a 1,126-net-square-foot attached garage, covered patios totaling 1,172 square feet, a 617square-foot attached deck, a 254-square-foot second-floor deck, a 775-square-foot pool deck, an 800-square-foot cabana, a 370-square-foot workshop, a 350square-foot pool deck trellis, a 430-square-foot arbor at the sport court, a new pool, and a new driveway with entry gate; and,

• To determine no subsequent Environmental Impact Report or Negative Declaration shall be prepared for the project pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15164.

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. 005-060-026, located at 2080 Creekside Road, in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District.

22CUP-00000-00008

22CDP-00000-00032

Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15303(e)

Clark Sound Wall

1136 Hill Road

Alex Tuttle, Supervising Planner (805) 884-6844 Steve Conner, Planner (805) 568-2081

Hearing on the request of Martha Clark to consider Case Nos. 22CUP-00000-00008 and 22CDP-00000-00032 for a Minor Conditional Use Permit and associated Coastal Development Permit to allow construction of a 12-foot-tall sound wall within interior lot setbacks in compliance with Sections 35-172 and 35-169 of the Article II Coastal Zoning Ordinance, on property zoned Single Family Residential (20-R-1); and to determine the project is exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15303(e). The application involves Assessor Parcel No. 009-351-007, located at 1136 Hill Road, in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District.

21LLA-00000-00005

Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 15305(a)

Knight-Boland Lot Line Adjustment

1690/1696 East Valley Road

Alex Tuttle, Supervising Planner (805) 884-6844 Veronica King, Planner (805) 568-2513

Hearing on the request of Charlie Knight to consider Case No. 21LLA-00000-00005 for approval of a Lot Line Adjustment in compliance with Section 21-90 of County Code Chapter 21 and Section 35.430.110 of the Montecito Land Use and Development Code, to adjust the boundaries between four legal lots consisting of 1.34 acres, 0.08 acres, 0.79 acres, and 0.04 acres, to reconfigure into two lots of 1.26 acres and 0.98 acres, on property located in the OneFamily Residential (2-E-1) Zone; and to determine the project is exempt from the provisions of CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15305(a).The application involves Assessor Parcel Nos. 007-120-094, 007-120-096, and 007-120-097, located at 1690 and 1696 East Valley Road in the Montecito area, First Supervisorial District.

MONTECITO COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RECORDING SECRETARY (568-2000)

Published February 1, 2023

Montecito Journal

Regarding your article about parklet removal, which created a total of seven spaces… I feel the parklet at Renaud’s is unnecessary since there is a patio outside Renaud’s and the parklet is often vacant. I also feel the one at Folded Hills unnecessary since it is not a restaurant, and they have sidewalk space to use for outdoor wine tasting. The one across from Tre Lune could be removed as well since they have an outdoor space next to the new deli that is so much more desirable than sitting on asphalt on the street. These three spaces would add six more spots and benefit retailers as well as restaurants.

Julie Teufel

A Core Change

Daily street reality clearly demonstrates the failed policies of the past 40 years. As the failed anticar groups and politicians continue to throw obscene amounts of your dollars at archaic transportation plans, they boast of “green” and efficient designs. Has anyone looked at the increasing congestion on streets? The economy has barely started to recover to 2018 levels, street capacity and intersections clog up, yet Sacramento beats the war drums of environmentalism.

Far reaching and serious implications have resulted in workers, middle class families, and corporate headquarters fleeing the State. So why is this continuing? It is called narrow viewed refusal to see reality.

So what comes out of City Councils, Board of Supervisors, County Association of Governments, Sacramento? “It will work.” Trust us. We are government and here to help you... sure it will.

Where are the designs for Emergency/Natural disaster? For the Big Government Types, it is lip service. They get away with it because they count on 20- to 30-year spans between Nature Catastrophes.

What is another refrain flowing forth from politicians? “Hold on – things are changing in the past few years.” It takes years of experience for farmers to determine optimal ripeness to harvest crops. It takes even more time for “players” to “time” the stock market and

All you have to do is see what Sacramento has done in transportation planning. The broken High-Speed Choo Choo, intentional forcing energy prices beyond the middle-class capacity, telling you cannot own or park a private auto. It is now beyond plotting to “strong arm” the people to give up cars... through this and taxation, and mileage taxes, while refusing to remove current punishing confiscatory taxes.

Any first-year undergrad freshman will tell you Balkanization of the cities is key to destruction of economies. All you have to do is see how efficient and smooth creation of common ground businesses will float the entire city. Yep float the entire boat and no one drowns.

2022 was unprecedented in terms of terrible price returns. Street narrowing and closing planning using companies like MIG is throwing taxpayer dollars in a sewer. How about that, Santa Barbara hires a company that killed Old Town State Street, starting 40 years (MIG) ago, then hires them again using the same failed concept! SBCAG spends over $26 million on less than one mile of the Obern bike path and boasts about it. Goleta violates the Brown Act, and then votes to spend over $1.0 million to narrow Old Town Hollister and praises they will be adding 25 “new” parking places (yes... $100K per parking spot) and causing congestion on a primary artery. There is much more.

Hey, did you hear the latest? The Earth’s core has desynchronized meaning the core has stopped spinning. Do you think just possibly this is causing the issues of Global Warming alarmism?

Physicists state the core spin will reverse shortly. Will the predicted reversal of the core spin enhance tectonic plate movement and the recent increase in volcanic activity?

So when you see the fantastic advances in engine development, think about the cost returns of billions of dollars spent on questionable projects because they are “green” and the anti’s refuse to acknowledge they just might be wrong. Again, as stated above they have to justify their plotting to “strong arm” the people.

Something to think about.

Scott Wenz, President Cars Are Basic (CAB)

opened. Behind that door, a host of disjointed observations, ideas, memories, and clues lined up into a single, undeniable conclusion: I had severely underestimated Genevieve Wimby.

While I am not socially aware, I have always prided myself on being self-aware. I know my faults and they are many. Acknowledging that, I will admit to a certain level of embedded male chauvinism. I hope – and I think my track record supports – that my male chauvinism is the good kind, to the extent that is not an oxymoron. I have never ever assumed a woman was inherently less talented or capable than me. Exhibit A: I married a woman who I categorically believe is superior to me in every manner that does not involve coding a computer.

However, it is also true that I persistently allow my judgment to be clouded by the stereotype that women – by nature – are less vicious, less conniving, less manipulative, less evil, less bad than their hairy, lumpy, XY chromosome counterparts. For this broad-brushed insensitivity, I apologize. I am a pig.

I had not overlooked Genevieve’s presence at every turn in our winding journey, but I had narrowly cast her as the supporting wife, not the puppeteer. In essence, I had finished a novel without a clear understanding of whose point of view I was witness to. If I had been so unaware as to miss the true protagonist of this story, what did I really know about any of the events of the last year?

No one is eating steak until someone slits that cow’s throat, Genevieve once told me. A wiser man, less blind to the fallibility of his biases, would have understood at that moment who was really in charge. But I missed it along with so much else.

I missed that it was Genevieve, not Cyrus, who organized the dinner parties and cultivated the invite list. She cased the networks at Lotusland, the Montecito Club, the Polo Club, the Valley Club –wherever the rich comfortably congregated – found her marks and lured them to innocent gatherings where Cyrus would work his magical schtick.

I missed that it was Genevieve who wrote Cyrus’s Central California Economic Summit speech and, thus, it was she who came up with the idea of the fictitious ExOh Global Relief Charities. That invention was the evil masterstroke that tipped more than twenty-million dollars into ExOh’s coffers.

I missed the implications of the frantic call from Fiji when it was Genevieve, not Cyrus, who knew which of the eight RemoteToken fobs was needed to access the bank account – the one with the yellow fingernail polish, not the one with red tape.

And I missed the meaning of her mocking rhetorical question: you want to man the helm? As in, you want to be in charge, Cyrus? Perhaps Genevieve had decided that this flavor of confidence scam demanded a man front-and-center? Or perhaps it was simply Cyrus’s turn to be the quarterback of their evil enterprise? Either way, Genevieve was justifiably questioning Cyrus’s facility for the role he was playing.

These were the obvious misses. In time, I was sure I would discover more clues I had blindly walked past or willfully sidestepped.

Other than knowing Genevieve was alive and that I was a duped fool, little else seemed clear. Who sent the fake FBI agents to my house? Who had all the money? Was Cyrus dead? Had Genevieve killed him? Was Vladimir Petronovski a murderer, a partner, an unwitting scapegoat, or some combination of all three?

Maybe when the shock wore off, I would better understand what it meant that Genevieve was alive and well and taunting me from six-thousand miles away. Only one thing seemed for certain: I had eaten my fill of Key Lime Pie. Cricket knocked on the jamb of the open gar-office door, interrupting my reverie. “Why don’t you walk with me to pick up the kids?” she asked, waving a hand in front of her nose. “I think you need some fresh air. Smells like you have a rodent for an officemate.”

I nodded, standing to stretch my back. “New candle,” I groaned. “Rose petals, cedarwood, lavender, and mouse droppings.”

She laughed as I innocently placed Genevieve’s card back in its envelope and the envelope on the top of the teetering stack of notes and materials that compiled my Wimby files. I would tell Cricket about the card, of course, but not right now.

“Shall we?” I said, offering Cricket my arm. She took it, and together we walked from my gar-office into the crisp blue Montecito sun. Our future uncertain; our gratitude unwavering.

Until we meet again, Genevieve. Until we meet again.

This concludes Montecito! We are so happy to have shared this yet-tobe-published story with you, our readers. Please read on for a message from the author, Michael Cox:

Dear Readers,

When my friend Jen Hulford first suggested that she connect me with Gwyn Lurie to discuss the idea of serializing my novel Montecito in the Montecito Journal, I didn’t take the idea seriously. Books aren’t read that way, I internally dismissed. No one will read it. It will be embarrassing. But after collecting a few more rejections from disinterested Literary Agents – and being on the verge of giving up my dream of becoming a writer – I reconsidered. And vibrant force of positivity that she is, Jen graciously introduced me to Gwyn, confident that serializing a novel in the days of binge watching 13 episodes of a television series in one weekend was a can’t miss idea.

The first installment of Montecito hit the press in July of 2022. The initial idea formulated by Gwyn, Tim Buckley, and Zach Rosen was to print the first four chapters, one per week, and then release the rest in online-only format. I was grateful; I was giddy. My dream scenario was that the shine of the first four chapters and the uniqueness of this experiment would provide just enough momentum to keep a few dozen readers following along each week into the distant horizon.

But something unexpected – at least by me – happened. Over the course of those first few weeks, there was an almost audible buzz. People were reading! People not related to me were saying that they liked it!

Nimble in the face of new information, Gwyn, Tim, and Zach ditched the initial plan and kept printing chapters, not quite committing to print the whole novel but willing to keep going until the inevitable drop off reared its head. Twelve chapters? Twenty? Thirty? Readers kept reading, and thus, the Montecito Journal kept printing.

And now – ninety-three-thousand words and fifty-eight chapters later –we have reached the finale.

It has been an absolute thrill to share Montecito with all of you. Readers who noticed the email address in my bio and wrote to let me know you were enjoying the story, brought disproportionate joy to this experience. Seriously, I wanted to leap through the world wide web and hug each of you; a show of affection that would have made Hollis distinctly uncomfortable.

I am deeply indebted to Gwyn Lurie, Tim Buckley, and Zach Rosen, who embraced the unknown and gave this experiment – and me – a chance. And of course, the airplane doesn’t even leave the hangar without Jen Hulford reading my novel, believing in it, and making the introductions that turned an idea into reality. Further down that rabbit hole, the only reason Jen Hulford read my novel in the first place was because my wife, Maggie Catbagan, was beating the bushes to convince her friends to give my work a shot. As Cricket was Hollis’s connection to the social world, Maggie is mine, and I owe her much more than a thank you. If any of you would like to connect with me to ask questions about the story or – as likely – to correct my grammatical errors, please write: mcox@alumni.gsb.stanford.edu. I would love to hear from you. As of now, Montecito is still searching for its knight in shining armor – aka, a Literary Agent – and ultimately a publisher. If any of you have suggestions – or have a Literary Agent friend in search of the next Big Little Lies or the first Montecito – I’m all ears! Hopefully one day, I will have good news to share with those of you who kindly asked where you could buy the book.

But if nothing else ever comes of this serialization beyond what the Montecito Journal has made possible, it will still count as one of the most gratifying experiences of my life. Thank you all for sticking with Hollis to the end; I hope the story made you laugh, shake your head, and – at least once – surprised you.

Sincerely,

Michael Cox

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

Shining a Light on Photography

Santa Barbara Maritime Museum has just opened its latest illuminating exhibit, The Lure of Lighthouses & Dancing Waves , an impressive collection of more than 35 large-scale images and panoramic photographs of waves and lighthouses around the world taken by renowned Emmy Award-winning surfing photographer and videographer

Dan Merkel

“I first met Dan when he joined former world champion surfer Shaun Tomson for an event at the museum and provided a few of his remarkable works for sale,” says museum curator Emily Falke. “I was particularly interested in seeing his U.S. lighthouse works as the museum is home to the Point Conception lens and has a comprehen-

sive exhibit about it, lighthouses, and lighthouse keepers.

“I looked at the panoramic images of Dan’s lighthouses and was mesmerized by how mood provoking the images are.”

The colorful show, which also includes lighthouses in Australia and Portugal, runs through August 27.

New Documentary on the Way

Montecito actor Michael J. Fox says his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis at age 29 drove him to alcoholism and that he had to pop dopamine pills and use props in his left hand to hide the incurable disease.

The Back to the Future star, now 61, is releasing his new documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie on Apple TV+ later this year.

Fox, who debuted it at the Sundance Film Festival last week, rose to fame with his TV roles on Family Ties and later in Back to the Future and Teen Wolf

However, he says none of that mattered as he was struck with the diagnosis at the height of his fame in 1991.

“You think that life’s made of brick and rock,” says Fox. “But it’s not. It’s made of paper and feathers. It’s an illusion.

“I was definitely an alcoholic. But I’ve now gone 30 years without having a drink.”

A Palm Springs Rental

The late Santa Barbara hotelier and Disney actor Fess Parker’s two-bedroom house in Palm Springs is up for sale for $1.975 million.

The one-acre estate in the historic Indian Canyons neighborhood has floor-to-ceiling windows and vast openplan rooms.

The Texan, who died at age 85 in 2010, found fame as frontiersman Davy Crockett in the 1950s. His former eponymous beachfront hostelry is now the Hilton.

The desert property last changed hands in September 2017 with the current owner paying $765,000 and doing major renovation.

New Principal Flutist for the SBS

cathedrals and historic pipe organs of the Iberian country.

Stays in Lisbon and Porto will be supplemented by day trips to the Douro River Valley, Guimarães, Braga, Coimbra, Fátima, Mafra, and the city of castles, Sintra.

To see the full itinerary and costs check out https://emeritiphilharmonic.com.

New Board Members for SBAC

It has been a busy season for the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative, with four new board members joining in recent months.

“We are thrilled that these four dynamic leaders have joined,” says newly appointed president Helene Schneider . “Each brings incredible expertise, connections to the Santa Barbara community, and a wealth of wisdom and energy for growing and sustaining our local art scene.”

The four new members are Sharyn Main, Vanae Rivera, Dug Uyesaka, and Joseph Velasco

Amy Tatum has been chosen out of 150 applicants to be the new principal flutist for the Santa Barbara Symphony.

Tatum, who was one of 70 musicians traveling to our Eden by the Beach for the final auditions, made her debut at the Granada with the “Plains, Trains & Violins” concert last month (Jan).

As a recording artist, the Los Angeles resident can be heard on hundreds of film soundtracks – most recently on the blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water –TV, video games, and popular music.

Tatum has appeared as principal flute in more than 30 performances with L.A. Opera and has performed regularly with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, L.A. Master Chorale, L.A. Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, New West Symphony, and the Long Beach Opera.

She has also appeared as a lecturer and featured artist at Cal Arts University, Gwangju University and Kyungsung University in Korea, and Scripps College.

Organs Abroad

Santa Barbara music critic Daniel Kepl is going further afield!

Dan, who writes for The Voice, is organizing a 12-day tour of Portugal in June, which will focus on visiting the

Main has been involved with the county’s philanthropic and nonprofit sector for nearly four decades, while Rivera is a self-taught artist, as well as owner of Mary Tattoo. Uyesaka, a teacher at Laguna Blanca School, is also a working artist and has been involved with the community arts scene since the ‘70s, while Velasco, a teacher at Santa Barbara High, attended UCSB and started his career in 1991 with the renowned Chicano theater company, El Teatro Campesino, as an intern before becoming a resident director.

In 1994 he co-founded BOXTALES Theatre Company, helping create a hybrid style of physical theater and storytelling which continues to this day.

Sightings

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle lunching at the Stonehouse at the San Ysidro Ranch... Actress Meg Ryan noshing at Brass Bird Coffee in Carpinteria... Singer Katy Perry ’s mother Mary Hudson telling friends she has become Vice President of Adam’s Angels, the homeless charity.

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

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” – Albert Einstein

SBMM Executive Director Greg Gorga, and film maker Brent Sumner (photo by Priscilla)

Angela Antenore, Rick Jeffrey, and Dr. Jamece Brown (photo by Priscilla)

Amy Tatum joins Santa Barbara Symphony as principal flutist

Q. I think I speak for a lot of people of a certain age who hear the first few notes of “Get Together” and have a visceral reaction with time and place. It’s just so iconic. How has your relationship to the song evolved over the years?

A. I will never forget the first time I heard it, when I was just dropped by the Cafe Au Go Go where the Youngbloods were playing regularly, and heard Buzzy Linhart on stage with his bass player and drummer singing “Get Together.” Those words just went through me like a spear. It was like one of those movies about the Bible where the clouds open up and the light comes in. That’s what happened to me. I ran backstage and asked him to write down the lyrics because I had to sing it.

That’s never changed. Every time I sing the first two lines – “Love is but a song we sing / Fear’s the way we die” – it’s just mmmm. No matter where I am, I am blown away by how powerful it is... I still struggle between love and fear every day. And the song is like a voice saying, “This is the way, Jesse.” It is my best friend, my home. When I sing “Get Together” on stage, even if I’m tired, if I’m hoarse or if the audience is not particularly receptive, it takes me away every time. That’s what music’s all about.

In your solo career, you have been considered a pioneer of the genre of Americana, although it wasn’t called that back then. What was the impetus for you to blend all those different kinds of roots music?

It was just what I was listening to, the music I was seeking out. There was blues and country and Cajun, and my use of falsetto which I got from singing along with doo wop records, and all those Folkways Records I’d discovered when the radio got too boring. Everything just came together, mixing all of the influences.

Highway Troubadour , your most recent album, is a solo acoustic record that’s back to the basics of fingerpicking and singing where you revisit songs from your entire catalog, including the Youngbloods’ “Sugar Babe” and an inti -

mate version of “Cast a Stone” from Dreamers. How did that come about? Was it meant as a career retrospective?

Things were just so weird during the pandemic. My wife told me to just pick up my guitar and sing, and she got out her iPhone. She stuck it on the internet, and a lot of people were interested because they were feeling weird and isolated too. We started doing that almost every day. For me it was like returning to [my first solo album] Soul of a City Boy, learning to play solo again and figuring out how to play these songs by myself. When my manager wanted to collect them into a record, I really didn’t know if I wanted to be that naked again. But I let go of trying to get a perfect take and just put a lot of heart into it… I didn’t plan it that way at the time, but it looks like I’m wrapping up my road life after 60 years and the record does complete the circle.

If that’s true, how does it all occur to you now in the rear-view mirror?

What matters to me is being able to contribute to my world. I’m thrilled every time I meet somebody who’s been touched by the music. But I’m not so famous that it becomes a problem. It’s a wonderful place to be because I do get to

contribute and I do get to hear about it, but in a gentle sort of way.

Visit www.lobero.org for tickets and more information.

Dancing to the Keepers of the Flame

Dana Lawton has admitted to being obsessed with the Farallon Islands and the swarthy keepers and families who served as lighthouse keepers there back in the mid-1800s, working the Fresnel lens that warned ships approaching San Francisco to stay away from the fog-shrouded rocky islands.

Fortunately, Lawton is a choreographer who also runs a Bay Area dance company that carries her name, and had an outlet for her fixation, which was originally kindled when she heard Jennifer Kulbeck read aloud “Off the Rope,” one of a set of 13 poems she’d composed about the Farallons as part of her master’s degree.

“The island is such a small and inhospitable place,” said Lawton, who was born and raised in Santa Barbara. “There is no beach, no vegetation. And the fog is so dense that when the children would go out to play, their parents would tether them to boulders so they wouldn’t get blown off the island. Immediately I just saw movement in my head.”

That vision turned into an evening-length work called The Farallonites, which premiered in the Bay Area in the fall and has its third presentation at the Lobero Theatre at 3 and 7 pm on February 4.

Lawton’s choreography is set to Kulbeck’s words adapted from her own poems and music by Kulbrek’s husband, composer Thomas Edler. The trio spent four years fashioning and refining the piece with Dana Lawton Dance’s dozen-member company for the work, whose ages range from 23-75, all with a devotion to authenticity.

“I looked at historical photographs, read logbooks, visited lighthouses across

the country, just immersing myself in this fascinating culture of people who had to do everything themselves and wait six months for the boats to arrive with supplies. They’re like today’s first responders, people who give up their (regular) lives to keep safe people that they’ll never meet,” Lawton said.

Meanwhile Edler plumbed music from the Library of Congress and some of the most popular sheet music from the late 1850s and took some creative license in re-composing and arranging the music to support both the words and the imagery of the dancer’s movement, while inspiration for the period costumes created by one of the dancers came from newspaper photographs of the era, and the set and visual art was designed by Jon Altemus, who has actually visited the Farallons.

“That’s actually part of my goal to get everybody to do their own little research,” Lawton said. “I’d love it if the audience developed their own curiosity about that lighthouse or the time in history.”

But while the Farallons are the specific time and place of the work, the humanity that unfolds is universal, she said.

“The idea of community commitment, tenacity, fortitude transcends beyond the islands. We can see fathers and daughters together, men figuring out how to keep the light lit, the children carrying the water up the hill. It’s about the appreciation of unsung heroes.”

Visit www.lobero.org for tickets and more information.

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

Jesse Colin Young plays at the Lobero on February 2 (photo by Brent Cline)

The Farallonites, playing at the Lobero on February 4, is inspired by the lightkeepers of the small, foggy Bay Area islands

important nasty personal allegation about a nominee, I would have my own investigators, not just the FBI, go out and check up on it. And I would not have a huge hearing. I would want to find out and I would want the other party to be in on the investigation so that you could actually figure out what happened, or to the best of your ability, figure out what happened.

GL: Do you think Kavanaugh should not have been confirmed?

NT: I’ve never said that. I don’t plan to say that.

GL: You just think it should have been fully investigated and looked at honestly.

NT: Yes. And I thought the same thing with the Thomas nomination. There were other witnesses that were not heard, in part because the Democrats didn’t want to prolong it, and in part because I think some of them thought that those witnesses were not fully credible. But if that’s the case, then let’s know that. Let’s not just try to cover it over and have a big fight over it.

GL: Well, politics have never been a gentle sport.

NT: No.

GL: But things feel different now. And you talk about how it’s hard to believe now that there was a time that senators would cross party lines over judicial nominations when they thought a nominee was somehow unqualified to serve. This doesn’t happen today. What are your thoughts on the current confirmation process and what impact do you think it’s having on the court?

NT: It’s totally broken as a process, the confirmation process. The Democrats are now engaging in what Donald Trump perfected, which is to ram through lower court judgeships as quickly as you can, and I actually can’t think of one Biden nominee who’s actually had to withdraw. There were a couple of Trump nominees who became so embarrassing that they had to withdraw. But it’s not good. I mean, I’m a valid person in the mushy middle, and I think there’s a great deal to be said for being in the mushy middle. I’m fine with having people on the extreme right and the extreme left sometimes, but not all the time. And it really is, I think, very damaging to a society to not encourage people to be respectful and somewhat more balanced in their views and not just always assume they’re right.

GL: Historically, a number of Justices have been political surprises, either more or less conservative than expected. Justice Blackmun and Justice Souter are two more recent examples. Is this still possible in today’s more polarized environment?

NT: I think it’s very unlikely, because if you are our president and the opposite party is in control of the Senate, Mitch McConnell has made it so that you have a very hard time getting anybody confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court, period. I mean, in the case of Merrick Garland, who Republicans for years said would’ve been their choice as a democratic nominee, I think they stalled for 10 months, and he never got a hearing... You have the real possibility, if you’re a Republican president with a Democratic Senate, or vice versa, of getting nobody through. And then if you do have control of the Senate, you get what the outer edge of your party prefers as the nominee. And it is possible that people change over time, really change their views, but I think the Federalist Society has perfected the idea of celebrating people who are more and more and more conservative, and I expect similar things to happen on the left.

GL: So what’s happened is what Justice Ginsburg and you agreed would happen if the court was packed, which is that it’s become too politicized – the process, and the court itself. Would you agree with that?

NT: There’s been quite a discussion about this among court members in their public speeches, with the Trump appointees saying, “We’re not hacks.” Amy Coney Barrett famously said that “We’re not hacks.” But because there is no center left on the court and there is a six to three ultra conservative majority, it means that at least half – and often more – of the country doesn’t believe that that six to three majority is doing anything other than reflecting a political view. Now, I think in some cases that is really not true, but it’s very hard to persuade people of that when the court is systematically dismantling a lot of precedents, the most prominent, of course, being Roe v. Wade, but there are others.

GL: And that goes to the whole question of public trust, right?

NT: Right. I think the Chief Justice to some extent does clearly understand that and is trying to sort of keep the court from going off the cliff and losing its credibility, but they don’t need his vote and they are acting without him in some of the most controversial cases, although he joins them in most of them.

GL: Do you think Justice Ginsburg regretted not stepping down when President Obama had hinted that she should consider doing so?

NT: I don’t actually know. I think that she really believed that she could tough it out. I don’t think she ever believed that Donald Trump would become president. That was

clear. And I think that once he was, she felt it was her duty to tough it out and not give him another vacancy. And she came very close. She came within weeks of doing that, but she didn’t make it. She rolled the dice and she lost, and there’s just no question about that. And it is, I think, probably the most serious mark on her otherwise completely stellar service, that she didn’t realize what Obama realized, which is that she couldn’t... She did say to me at one point, quite near the end of her life, she said, “You know I can’t live forever.” But that was in a discussion about what if Trump were reelected? And she said, “I probably can’t live forever.” But Supreme Court Justices have political views, as we see quite clearly, but they really don’t know much about politics. And she thought she knew better than the president knew, and she was wrong.

GL: Do you still enjoy your work given the state of the media and politics today?

NT: I completely enjoy my work. What a great story. The court is tearing up the turf. It’s losing its credibility by doing that in some respects. It’s gratifying the right, and I have a beat that often was not all that interesting to many people, except occasionally. That’s not true anymore. It’s a great story. I’m a reporter and this is a great story. What’s not to like?

GL: On a more personal level, you and Justice Ginsburg shared a lot. You shared great senses of humor, you shared an appreciation for each other’s journeys, but you also shared a Jewish heritage. In a way, you’re the child of a Holocaust survivor. I mean, your father got out of Europe in 1935 because of his art, but you still have lost many relatives. Has that impacted your worldview?

(Totenberg’s father, Roman Totenberg, was a virtuoso violinist and teacher who made his debut as a soloist with the Warsaw Philharmonic at age 11 and performed and taught until his death in his mid 90s.)

NT: Well, I think it has. I know a lot about the history of World War II and I’ve read deeply about it. And I think I had always thought that it couldn’t happen here, and I don’t think that anymore. I am alarmed by the rise of anti-Semitism, along with other kinds of racism and white nationalism. I grew up feeling the Holocaust very personally, and until I was well into my 20s, I would have a recurring nightmare in which the Gestapo came to get me and that I hid. It was always the same. I think I must have started having this dream in college; I ran to the laundry room, and I hid in a washing machine. And in the dream, these soldiers come down and they start opening, bang, bang, bang! And then something happens where their commander says, Come on, we’ve got to go. And they’re about to get to me and I wake up.

So, I’m not a particularly religious person, but this is not something that is antiseptic in any way to me. It is very personal. And it’s not just the massacres at synagogues, it’s the kind of casual anti-Semitic things that are written on overpasses. I never used to see that, and it alarms me. I’m with Joe Biden on this. It’s not the country we are or should want to be.

“Ruth thought that rather than just a right to privacy, it would be better to have been based on the notion of women being guaranteed equal protection of the law and that they would not be treated differently from men under the 14th Amendment when it comes to making decisions about whether to bear a child, whether to have a child.”

GL: You’ve become close with many Supreme Court Justices including Powell, Brennan, Scalia, and of course, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. And while, as you write, getting to know the Justices pierced a veil of secrecy that pervades the place, do you think that these close friendships ever impaired your ability to report objectively or fairly?

NT: No, I don’t think it ever impaired my ability to report fairly, or as objectively as I could anyway, as one is reasonably able to do. And the reason is that I didn’t find out from them secrets from behind the scenes of what was going on in a given case. No Justice would ever tell me that. And if I had asked, that Justice would not have been my friend. But what I did learn from them is who they were, how they got to the beliefs that they had, and what sort of a person they were. Both the background stories and what makes them tick and how and why they got an idea.

I tell a story in the book that I learned from Justice Powell after he’d retired; I would go to lunch with him once every month or two. And I asked him one day why he was such a staunch defender of abortion rights, because it seemed to me kind of contradictory that a man born and raised in the early part of the 20th century and who lived in Richmond, Virginia, would come to what many viewed as a fairly radical view, other than the fact that he had daughters.

And he told me that the story, which I relay in the book, is that when he was a relatively young lawyer, probably in his 30s or early 40s, he had a messenger, a boy, he called

“Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them.” – Albert Einstein

him. And he was a boy, he was 18. And he called him one day at home and he said, Mr. Powell, I’m in trouble. Would you come? And so Powell drove over to what was then the Black section of Richmond and found that his messenger was there with the woman that he lived with who was “an older woman.” She was probably in her early 20s, and she had aborted herself and bled to death. And he ultimately persuaded the local prosecutor not to bring charges against his messenger because, as he put it, the woman made her choice, she did the abortion, and it was a coat hanger abortion. And she was an older woman, and he was under her influence. And then he looked at me and he said, “After that, Nina, I always thought, this is not the business of the government.”

Some would say it’s an almost Libertarian view that this is not the business of the government; but for people who are very strongly opposed to abortion, it didn’t consider the life of the child. But he thought that the damage done was so much more important, and I think it’s fair to say he did not think a fetus was a child yet.

GL: In the epilogue of your book, you say that if Ruth were alive, she would be whitefaced with fury at Justice Alito’s attempt to enlist her nuanced legal writing in a New York University Law Review article 30 years ago to support his argument in the Dobbs decision. Do you think he would’ve dared to do that if she had been alive?

NT: No, and the reason is she would’ve taken his skin off. And I actually thought that reference would be dropped. I ran into one of her former clerks after the Dobbs leak in an airport, and I said, Did you see he’s enlisting your former boss? And he said, Oh, that’ll be gone by the time it comes out. And under normal circumstances, it probably would’ve been, because the liberal members of the court would take such umbrage at it and maybe even Kavanaugh would’ve. But I think it’s fairly clear not who leaked this document but what kind of a person and why, and I think it was somebody who wanted to freeze the status quo at the court and make sure that the Chief Justice did not succeed in getting Kavanaugh to join him in a more modest opinion that would’ve upheld the Mississippi law banning abortions after 15 weeks but left the right to abortion in place, at least for the time being.

GL: Do you have any theories of who the leaker was?

NT: No, I have no idea who it was. I just think it was somebody on the conservative side, and I think that’s the general consensus of those of us who cover the court, that that was the purpose, and it succeeded. I’ve been through many Justice’s papers in the Library of Congress, and you see the progression of an opinion as it goes through the editing process and the collegial process of other members of the court putting their stamp on it. And almost always, the most objectionable things are dropped in order to keep as many people under one tent as they can. But in this case, virtually nothing changed from the February draft to the release of the opinion in June, and that says to me a great deal. The leaker succeeded in freezing the status quo and the normal process of softening the edges a bit just never happened.

GL: You write that you agreed with Justice Ginsburg’s criticism of the ‘72 Roe decision, that it wasn’t necessarily the best case to use to establish abortion rights. And it was a view for which she took a lot of heat, right? Can you explain that?

NT: Yes. Well, Ruth thought that rather than just a right to privacy, it would be better to have been based on the notion of women being guaranteed equal protection of the law, and that they would not be treated differently from men under the 14th Amendment when it comes to making decisions about whether to bear a child, whether to have a child. And I think she felt very strongly that those decisions are very important to women in terms of how they manage their lives.

She had a case at the Supreme Court the same year as Roe, and it was a classic Ruthian approach to a problem – which was, Ginsburg represented a captain of the Air Force who became pregnant, and at the time, the rule was that if a woman became pregnant while serving in the military, she either had to have an abortion and she could have one at a military base, usually overseas, or she would be essentially drummed out of the service. And Ruth’s client loved her life in the military. She had made arrangements to have her child adopted, but she wanted to have the child. She did not want to have an abortion. She felt very strongly about that. And under the rules, she was going to lose her military status. So, Ruth took the case to the Supreme Court, they agreed to hear the case, and the government, I think, this was 1972/3, looked at this and said we’re going to lose this case, and politically it’s going to be terrible too because we’re going to have to say that yes, we give women abortions. So, they offered to allow her to stay in the military, and they took steps to change the policy. So, there was no more case. And Ruth always felt, and I do think she was right about this, that if Roe had been decided at the same time as the other case, you would’ve seen the two sides of the coin. On one side were women who wanted to have an abortion so that they could continue their lives in the way they wished, and on the other side was a woman who wanted to bear a child and keep her job so that she could carry out her life in the way that she wished, including her values of not having an abortion.

GL: Did RBG want the Equal Rights Amendment to be passed?

NT: Oh my God, she was wild about it. She really wanted it to be passed, but she also thought that we couldn’t go back and add on states this late in the game, which is

what some of the women’s movement want to do. But she thought it was the only way to really be sure that women would not lose some of the things that they had gained.

GL: For me, your epilogue was the saddest part of the book, because you wrote about how the court has changed with regard to respect for norms and etiquette and most importantly trust. You write that RBG noted that the whole notion of the country’s independent jury hinges on public trust. And yet, you say that she always remained hopeful. Do you?

NT: I think that’s the best you can hope for today, is to be hopeful that we can return to some sense of civility and comity in our personal lives, among the people we work with, as well as in our institutions. I think the Supreme Court is the last place I thought we would lose that kind of civility, and we clearly did with that leak. And you can see it to this day; they put on a fairly good show, but their impatience with each other is palpable at times.

GL: And Clarence Thomas has said as much, right?

NT: Yeah, he said he didn’t trust anyone anymore. I think it was at the Eleventh Circuit, he said he didn’t trust anyone on the court anymore and that he loved and trusted, even though he disagreed with, Justice Ginsburg and Justice O’Connor, for instance. He didn’t mention any of the current Justices, and he said that he trusted Chief Justice Rehnquist, but he didn’t mention Chief Justice Roberts, who’s been chief for 17 years now and who he served with during all of that time. And I think that tells you a lot about the state of relations at the court.

GL: At the end of chapter nine, you ask, in our current climate, could a Ruth and a Nina, a Nina and a Nino, or a Nina and a Ted, happen today? Could those friendships ever take root and thrive? And what does the answer to that question mean for all of us? So how would you answer that, and what does it mean for all of us?

NT: I think you have to work at it if you’re going to make it happen. I think that in my case or in our cases, it was fairly natural to happen. It wasn’t all that difficult. But I think you have to be willing to put aside preconceptions about people and see if they have a heart and a mind that you will, this sounds a little bit corny, learn to love, even if you disagree with them very heatedly about some things. I mean, I didn’t just love Ruth. I loved Nino. He was a wonderful human being, and he was always incredibly generous to me, and he was hilariously funny. And I sometimes occasionally took him on, and he could take it up to a point, and then I’d back off.

GL: Is there anything you want to say about this book or your journey that you want people to know?

NT: The one thing I would say about sticking to your own kind, is that you will never expand your brain that way. Never. And somebody who can get you to think differently is important to you as a person, to me as a person... What I think is really important is that we all are very confident sometimes in our own views. And we may be right, but on the other hand, you really do have to have a more varied fabric of thinking than just your little pod.

There’s a story which I actually have no idea if I told in this book or not, but Justice Brennan, I was doing a profile of him, which is how I learned this. So at the time, he must have been in his 50s. It was 1956, something like that. It was after Brown v. the Board, and I think it was in Little Rock. The teachers had refused to go to work if they were going to be in mixed-race schools. And the case is called Cooper v. Aaron, and it went to the Supreme Court and he wrote it. And his neighbor was somebody I knew, and Brennan was sitting on his front porch working, and his neighbor was a reporter who’d been in the South covering civil rights stuff. And he went up and he was standing there just shooting the bull with Brennan, and he said it’s very interesting because schools really hate the word desegregated because it’s pejorative. And Brennan thought about it, and so he changed, throughout his opinion, took it out and he put in the word integrated instead.

And I thought it was just such a small but significant thing that he understood that his audience was not just people who agreed, but people who probably very seriously disagreed.

Nina Totenberg will speak at the Granada Theatre on Tuesday, February 7, at 7:30 pm as part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures Series. Free copies of Dinners with Ruth are available now at the UCSB Arts & Lectures Box Office, and at both the Main Branch Santa Barbara Public Library (40 E. Anapamu St.) and the Goleta Valley Library. (500 N. Fairview Ave.) Visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu for tickets and more information.

“The one thing I would say about sticking to your own kind, is that you will never expand your brain that way. Never. And somebody who can get you to think differently is important to you as a person, to me as a person…”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Calendar of Events

by Steven Libowitz

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3

Think Pink – It’s been just shy of 30 years since budding Portland politician Thomas Lauderdale founded the “little orchestra” Pink Martini to provide more beautiful and inclusive musical soundtracks for political fundraisers for causes such as civil rights, affordable housing, the environment, libraries, public broadcasting, education, and parks. A year later, he recruited Harvard classmate China Forbes, and their first co-composed song, “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler),” became an overnight sensation in France, and launched Pink Martini to big cult favorite status. While only one of their dozen CDs has even cracked Billboard’s top 30, its concerts almost invariably sell out in North America and Europe. Including here in our little burg, with the band that features a dozen musicians and pair of singers who can deliver lyrics in 25 languages and perform alongside huge symphony orchestras come to town virtually every year and packs the Arlington, our biggest indoor venue. This time, however, the Martinis march across the street to the Granada, the more gleaming concert hall befitting an evening of elevated international entertainment the band always delivers.

WHEN: 8 pm

WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street

COST: $46-$66

INFO: (805) 899-2222 / www.granadasb.org or (805) 893-3535 / www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

THURSDAY,

1st Thursday – Find love, or maybe just a new piece of art to cherish, in the February edition of downtown’s monthly art-andculture walk. Visual highlights for tonight include the opening of Regenerate, a tandem exhibition of works by the Lynda.com founder turned ceramic sculptor Lynda Weinman and multi-genre painter J. Bradley Greer, at Sullivan Goss (11 E. Anapamu), and the latest collections of contemporary art from four-decade veteran Elizabeth Gordon Gallery (15 W. Gutierrez), where works by America Martin, Sherri Belassen, Stanley Boydston, and many more locally loved artists are on display while patrons can enjoy wine and tasty bites…

Over at Legacy Art (1230 State), local artist Susan Savage’s contemplative exhibition Of Presence and Promise is aimed at directing the viewer’s attention to the meaning of life, so guitarist John Lyle’s soulful original finger-style guitar compositions perfectly complement the pieces, as will tastings from Stolpman winery… On the entertainment/multimedia front, Santa Barbara Historical Museum (136 E. de la Guerra) screens a short film on the saga of the Lobero Golden Eagle, which after being recovered from an 1854 shipwreck graced the stage of the Lobero Opera House for years before disappearing. The film traces its recovery and restoration just in time to celebrate the Lobero Theatre’s 150th anniversary… SBCAST (513 Garden) jumps back in the fray with a showcase from UCSB Media Arts and Technology, the transdisciplinary graduate program that fuses emergent media, computer science, engineering, electronic music, and digital art research, practice, production, and theory… Ensemble Theatre Company at the New Vic (33 W. Victoria) continues to celebrate its 44th season by offering 44 free tickets on a first-come, first-served basis to tonight’s preview performance Selling Kabul, the 2022 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama… Finally for February, The Blue Owl (5 W. Canon Perdido) is presenting a jam session on the first Thursday of each month, hosted by the brilliant guitarist Tony Ybarra and featuring local jazz instrumentalists and vocalists for February.

WHEN: 5-8 pm

WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets

COST: free

INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2

Gin It Up – Actor-director-playwright and famed local radio personality Ed Giron plays one of a pair of elderly residents at a nursing home who is struggling in coming to terms with their own mortality, what they have left behind, and what remains ahead of them in a new production of The Gin Game. Fellow veteran thespian Kathy Marden brought the concept of teaming up for the classic by D.L. Coburn, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1976 debut. A card table for their ongoing game of gin serves as both their dance floor and their battlefield, their shares and conflicts representing those who are dealing with loneliness, isolation, growing older, and wanting to remain relevant. The games –in both literal and figurative meaning – produce a relationship that is at once strategic, tactical, humorous, engaging, and devastatingly raw. Ken Gilbert and E. Bonnie Lewis, the founders of DramaDogs Theater, co-direct.

WHEN: Preview 7:30 tonight, opens 7:30 pm tomorrow, with additional shows at 2 & 7:30 pm Saturday, and 2 pm Sunday

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

COST: $18-$21

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

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5

Museum Free-for-All – The Santa Barbara Museum of Art and Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History are the only two nearby participants in today’s SoCal Museums Free-for-All, in-person for the first time since 2020. But there are some exciting other institutions involved, spanning visual art, cultural heritage, film, natural history, and science. Academy Museum of Motion Pictures from the Oscar producers, The Getty Center and Villa, La Brea Tar Pits & Museum, Skirball Cultural Center, and The Zimmerman Automobile Driving Museum are among the 30-something museums offering free general admission all day. The Free-for-All also serves as a reminder that free visitor days are available year-round at many museums. Visit www.socalmuseums.org/free.

Inside Out With FLIP Fabrique – Canada’s acrobatic and visually arresting cirque troupe FLIP Fabrique explores what it means to be your true self in its latest European-style show Muse. Challenging gender roles, the evening offers a refreshing view of contemporary circus in revealing powerful women, graceful men, and every permutation in between, who accomplish “death-defying acts” and celebrate all that inspires them to go beyond what they ever thought was possible. The performance, which includes feats with apparatuses Chinese pole, diabolo, trapeze, trampoline, and more, and is set to an original score by beatmaker Millimetrik featuring live onstage vocals by Brazilian born-singer Flávia Nascimento. All of which combines to make Muse the latest in Fabrique’s oeuvre of combining breathtaking artistry and athleticism.

WHEN: 7 pm

WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street

COST: $31-$61, Youth $20

INFO: (805) 899-2222 / www.granadasb.org or (805) 893-3535 / www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7

Art Scenes from a Marriage – Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Parallel Stories series takes its title somewhat literally for tonight’s event. Inspired by the artistic collaboration of Ed Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz in SBMA’s current exhibit, Scenes from a Marriage, the evening examines what happens in fiction and life when artist couples work together. Rachel Cusk, author and recent winner of the Femina Prize for a foreign novel, will read from her Mann Booker Prize-nominated novel Second Place, an enigmatic tale that explores the complicated geometry of relationships –freedom and gender, art and suffering, ego and self-sacrifice, illusion and will. Her husband, artist Siemon Scamell-Katz, joins her on stage along with their longtime

“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” – Albert Einstein

Taut Thriller for the Times –Ensemble Theatre Company begins the new year with the California premiere of Selling Kabul, a riveting drama that was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize. The Off-Broadway hit puts a human face on extraordinary and still current global events in a nail-biting story of an Afghan man, Taroon (Rishan Dhamija), a former interpreter for the U.S. military, who is in hiding from the Taliban in his sister Afiya’s (Nitya Vidyasagar) home in Kabul, Afghanistan, on the eve of his son’s birth. He must remain in his sister’s apartment or risk his life to see his child. The tension mounts as he plans his escape with his wife and infant child as Sylvia Khoury’s play traces with shattering precision the human cost of U.S. immigration policy and the legacy of our longest war. The suspense story that unfolds in real time has elements of a Greek tragedy and an espionage thriller, said The New York Times review, which called the play “...As tautly made as a military bed. You could bounce a quarter off it… and then throw yourself down to recover your nerves, which the drama will have absolutely mangled.” Kabul is directed by Nike Doukas who was last seen at ETC as an actor in The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley.

WHEN: Opens 8 pm tonight; continues through February 19

WHERE: New Vic Theater, 33 West Victoria St.

COST: $40-$84

INFO: (805) 965-5400 or www.etcsb.org

friend, award-winning author Andrew Winer, whose novel The Marriage Artist provides a provocative snapshot of contemporary marriage. Together, they’ll dive into such issues as a certain anti-domestic stance, the closeness of comfort and control of our constructed selves, the way we enlist love in our perpetual search for meaning, and what we give up to create art.

WHEN: 5:30 pm

WHERE: SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State Street

COST: $10 general, $5 museum members

INFO: (805) 963-4364 or www.sbma.net

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5

JJ the Gypsy – John Jorgenson

Gypsy Jazz Quintet returns to SOhO to kick off the winter season from SBAcoustic, the locally-run outfit that strives to bring some of the greatest players in acoustic music to the downtown music club. The quintet from multi-instrumentalist and musical chameleon Jorgenson was formed nearly 20 years ago and features Jorgenson (acoustic guitar, bouzouki, clarinet, vocals), Casey Driscoll (jazz violin), Rory Hoffman (guitar/piano/accordion), Simon Planting (bass), and Rick Reed (percussion). While patterned after the dynamic string-driven swing created by Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli in 1930s Paris – Jorgenson has appeared onscreen as Django with stars Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz in the film Head in the Clouds –Jorgenson’s original compositions also draw on elements of Latin, Romanian, classical, rock, and Greek music. That “modernization” hasn’t gotten in the way of adoration from traditionalists, as the quintet is the only American act to ever headline the prestigious Django Reinhardt Memorial Festival in France, and has been featured at other Djangofests in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada. Coming up from SBAcoustic: Flamenco-specialist José Antonio Rodriguez and fingerstyle champion Clive Carroll

WHEN: 7:30 pm

WHERE: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State Street, upstairs in Victoria Court

COST: $39 general, $83 with dinner and priority seating

INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com

BY Sylvia Khoury

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