A Glimpse into the Future?

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A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE? Homelessness can be a divisive issue, but a city-led 120-day cleanup and projects such as the village that will be built on Garden Street with rooms like the one seen here, are giving many hope that much-needed progress is being made. (STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 5)

A rendering of a single room in a new downtown village planned on government-owned land off Garden Street that could house up to 35 homeless people

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Cover Story – Is Santa Barbara finally making progress with homelessness? The latest 120-day clean-up seems to be showing a significant move forward.

State Street Scribe – With travel now an option, a wake-up call upon a European arrival Independent Mind – Here’s how not to fix homelessness in Santa Barbara

Real Estate Snapshot – 2021 has brought about incredible growth in the real estate market, but is it here to stay?

The Boroughs: An Introduction – The buzz is electric around town, with plenty of events returning, so take a look at our second edition of The Boroughs The Boroughs: East Side – The Santa Barbara Triathlon is set to return to the beaches, roads, and waters of the South Coast The Boroughs: Funk Zone – It’s time to go abroad with Gitler &___, as well as learn a bit more about Tom Sanford The Boroughs: The Mesa – In this episode of Buying Paradise, Michael Phillips finds gems just moments away from the park, ocean The Boroughs: San Roque – LCCCA’s launch was stunted by the pandemic, but the arts outlet still maintains its mission The Boroughs: State Street – A 20-year-old’s fashion company comes to life as a popup store downtown The Boroughs: Oak Park – Kidney stones are no joke, and the rising temperatures of summertime can create opportunity to get them The Boroughs: West Side – The name says it all, a visit to Odd Animal Corals & Critters is perfect for the, well, odd SYV Snapshot – 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of Sta. Rita Hills receiving its AVA status, and it is time to celebrate with Wine and Fire What’s Hanging – Just how bad was 2020 for the local arts community? Let’s just say only one company found a way to break even.

Man About Town – He’s been keeping to himself, fearful of his health, but Mark Leisuré ventured out and loved what he found Beer Guy – Wylde Works is known in the area for its raw honey and meads and other fermented honey libations Bud Guy –Wellfounded Botanicals was a product of Sara Rotman’s search for her own health Fortnight – From La Fiesta Pequeña to movies at the drive-in, a look at what the month has in store I Heart SB – The wedding? It didn’t go according to plan, which made it all the more perfect.

Publisher/COO • Tim Buckley Design/Production • Trent Watanabe Deputy Editor • Nick Masuda Features Editor • Zach Rosen Copy Editor • Lily Buckley Harbin Graphic Design • Esperanza Carmona Columnists Man About Town • Mark Leisuré | To Be Determined • Briana Westmacott SB Foodie • Gabe Saglie | On Art • Margaret Landreau Independent Mind • Jeff Harding | State Street Scribe • Jeff Wing The Bud/Beer Guy • Zach Rosen | Fortnight • Steven Libowitz SYV Snapshot • Eva Van Proyen | I Heart SB • Elizabeth Rose Real Estate Snapshot • Kelly Mahan Herrick | What’s Hanging • Ted Mills Advertising/Sales Tanis Nelson • 805.689.0304 • tanis@santabarbarasentinel.com Casey Champion • 805.695.1501 • casey@montecitojournal.net Sue Brooks • 805.455.9166 • sue@santabarbarasentinel.com Published by the Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC Printed by NPCP INC., Santa Barbara, Ca. Santa Barbara Sentinel is compiled once per month 1206 COAST VILLAGE CIRCLE, #G, MONTECITO, CA. 93108 HOW TO REACH US: 805.565.1860 EMAIL: nick@montecitojournal.net

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SANTA BARBARA FINALLY GETTING SOME TRACTION WITH ITS HOMELESS POPULATION

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BY ZACH ROSEN & NICK MASUDA

Amid a 120-day cleanup of homeless encampments, the question becomes: What happens on Day 121?

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ou might not have noticed Joe — or maybe you did but kept your eyes on the road in front of you.

Joe, a senior citizen, would panhandle at numerous off-ramps around Santa Barbara, spending 16 years sleeping on the streets, looking for aid while managing severe pain.

Official help? He had a hard time trusting it. Hope? “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Yet, City Net didn’t relent.

A City Net case manager visited with Joe 14 times on the streets, all in an attempt to overcome his distrust of service providers, as well as police presence.

The organization prides itself on street-level outreach, going to where the help is needed, not expecting that people will come to them.

It was finally Joe’s turn to relent.

The consistency of visits managed to establish some semblance of trust, allowing him to be outfitted with the necessary paperwork and receive the medical attention Homeless encampments around the city are becoming less and less common during the 120-day cleanup he needed in order to get on a path to be rehoused — with Joe’s case manager The result? An 83.3% decrease in his need for emergency room visits, as well as submitting the needed info for Joe to access housing resources through Santa a 99.8% dip in number of contacts with police, dropping from 951 since 2014 to Barbara County’s Continuum of Care. two after being housed.

In total, it took 13 months to land Joe in a senior living facility, with bridge “This is where the disconnect is when it comes to the community understanding housing offered in the interim. It took 14 agencies to collaborate on Joe’s journey to ...continued p.22 permanent housing — an effort that included more than 168 interactions with Joe.

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STATE STREET SCRIBE

International travel has reopened, also opening eyes to the pandemic’s impact worldwide

by Jeff Wing

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

Running Free at Terminal B

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he sparsely populated but energized International Terminal at LAX is an embraceable symbol of the reawakening world. Neither as devoid of life as a Charlton Heston zombie apocalypse, nor as thronged as in pre-COVID days of innocence and joy — when “viral” meant a dog pushing a lawnmower and conspiracy talk leaned to the now-lovable Lizard Men of Alpha Draconis — the Tom Bradley International Terminal is today an unlikely teddy bear. This despite the 6,000 or so nervous flier miles that await my family and me aboard the unreasonably buoyant 400-ton flight KLM602 to the Netherlands. The accursed Wright Brothers’ assurance that a forward-lunging airplane “doesn’t have time to fall” is cold comfort in the hour before climbing into the gargantuan riveted whale and buckling our decorative little seat belts.

Another story.

The much-ballyhooed return to “normalcy” is in touching evidence here at Terminal B. Strangers silently greet each other with arched eyebrows and crinkled eyes; the communal, smiling embrace of the surgically

masked. If you’ve seen Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, you’ll recognize the indescribable vibe. When the apologetic aliens release several centuries’ worth of extraterrestrial kidnap victims, the bewildered abductees in their various period costumes materialize from blinding flying saucer light to plant their feet again on dowdy old Mother Earth, all of them wearing the slight, bewildered grins of folks who can’t quite put twoand-two together but like what they see. So, it is at LAX today.

The delighted Clawing Back to Normal reintroduces to our proscribed lives all the daily magic we previously took for granted; unremarked minutiae to which we’re now madly endeared.

Normal never looked so voluptuous.

While I stand guard over our luggage, my family fans out to the four corners of the airport in search of overpriced, flavorless airport food and return with a tongue-numbing cornucopia of colorfully wrapped caloric jetsam.

The $10 breakfast sandwich they bring me is gratingly small — demure as a swollen communion wafer. I nearly laugh before washing it down with

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a sip of water. My grown “kids” have every adult right to fill a gaudy bag with candy and chips from some damnable airport shop, and I’m thankful for the occasion to watch them consume this junk in the company of my visibly giddy Terminal B community. The sense of resumption is palpable.

Yes, our destination country is undergoing a troubling and unforeseen spike in COVID infections — but we shall wield our vaccination cards as we would cloves of garlic in Castle Dracula — wincing, with arms outstretched.

What virus would mess with an immune system that has its own driver’s license?

And anyway, the whole affair is an act of faith. Yes, there is a killing virus in the world; there are many of them, actually. COVID-19 has circled the globe in a fever of self-replication, as living things do if given half a chance.

If we as individuals are not personally surrounded by the intubated, we either are or are not persuaded that anything at all is afoot. And because institutions, as a long matter of record, tell half-truths when it serves them — absolutely all the time, in other words

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— a certain proportion of us will see every emergency announcement in the public square as one or another degree of diabolical, deep-state mischief designed to strip us of something.

Freedom, I guess?

These machinations are ascribed to a government that, to date, can’t balance a checkbook. Must we fear — and hurl all our moral strength against — a nemesis incapable of tying its shoes? If that’s your inclination, have at it. The cabal’s grasping after our precious freedoms will be foiled as soon as the morons stand and give chase. If there is a pawrubbing Deep State with the actual wherewithal to conquer and enslave us, we’re right to ask that these Trilateral Commissioners first fix the roof and see to the plumbing. However secretive, evil, and frighteningly lizard-like they are, they’ve yet to demonstrate a gardenvariety competence. Are these dunces capable of breaking you down and jailing your spirit? Get a bigger spirit.

Our gigantic airplane drifts down like a monstrous feather and exits a summery smattering of clouds, pterodactyl shadow sweeping across green lowlands to capture the bored attention of Dutch cows who fleetingly glance up. My in-laws greet us at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport with an outlandish cloth banner of welcome, and there are tears all around as my wife falls into the arms of her sibs.

Forty-five minutes later we pull up to the house where Judie was born. Her mom — my dear, indomitable motherin-law — has survived Nazis, the spiriting away to America of her baby girl, and a badly overmatched virus from h*ll. The enforced separation is over. Mother and daughter wrap their arms around each other and hang on.

Throw back the curtains and pour the coffee. We’re free.

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An Independent Mind

by Jeff Harding

Jeff Harding is a real estate investor and a writer on economics and finance. He is the former publisher of the Daily Capitalist, a popular economics blog. He is also an adjunct professor at SBCC. He blogs at anIndependentMind.com

How To Not Fix Homelessness

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o use a well-worn phrase, the homeless (“unhoused,” “unsheltered,” “houseless”) are a blight on our fair city. It’s not that we don’t have sympathy for these folks, but when they are met on the street most of us steer wide of them. I’m not insensitive to the homeless, but from what I’ve seen on State Street and other city environs, I don’t think my assessment is unfair. Most people I talk to are of two minds on the subject. One part is sympathetic to their plight. The other part is that they blame them for their plight.

Santa Barbara isn’t alone. Just about every nice place on the West Coast has a homelessness problem. Each city deals with it in a different way. Most think they are “solving” the problem, but like us, it doesn’t go away.

The problem with a “solution” is that it really isn’t solvable. The best that can be done is to chip away at it and hope for the best. I say this after reviewing the homelessness programs of our city and the various support groups dedicated to serving the needs of the homeless.

Every year the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) runs a homeless count in every community in America. The 2021 results are not out yet, but here’s 2020 vs. 2019: My guess is that these numbers increased in 2021. The South Coast has about 1,300 homeless Carpinteria 39 21 individuals. The city says 43% Summerland 8 8 live in cars which means about 740 are living on the streets or Montecito 6 6 are in and out of shelters. A lot Santa Barbara 914 887 of numbers are thrown around, so Goleta 166 119 an exact count is difficult to pin Isla Vista 69 33 down. Homeless people tend to Unincorporated 90 n/a come and go.

Who are these people?

According to UCLA’s California Policy Lab, 75% of the homeless suffer from serious illnesses, or mental health issues, or addiction. Often, it’s all three.

Mortality rates are three times greater for the homeless.

We are not talking about the single mom with kids who lost her job and is living in her car. She wants help and gets it. She is not panhandling, drunk, and sleeping on the sidewalk. The problem is mostly men who fit into the 75% category.

How do you deal with the problem?

You can’t lock them up for being homeless, mentally ill, or spaced out. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that most vagrancy laws are unconstitutional. You can move them off the sidewalks (see my article in the July 2021 Santa Barbara Sentinel issue). This will help the public’s use of civic spaces, but these aren’t “solutions.”

It’s not that there aren’t programs available to the homeless. There are many organizations, private and public, that are dedicated to helping them.

Here are just a few: City Net Santa Barbara Probation Department Dignity Moves Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics Good Samaritan Shelter Santa Barbara Rescue Mission PATH People’s Justice Project Santa Barbara Street Doctors Cottage Health Project Roomkey Santa Barbara County Community Services Santa Barbara ACT Santa Barbara County Public Health Department Santa Barbara Police Department Santa Barbara County Behavioral Wellness Department

Area

2020 2019

Each of these organizations has programs to help rehabilitate homeless people.

There are many more that aren’t on the list. Funding comes from a variety of sources: federal, state and local governments, and private donors. They are sincere and dedicated. They point to their successes in getting the homeless sheltered, arranging medical care, counseling for addiction and mental health. Some believe they can end homelessness.

It’s a frustrating, difficult task. City Net, one of the main providers of services under contract with the city, presents the case of senior citizen “Joe,” a veteran, sleeping rough for 16 years, addicted to pain medication, and disabled. To get him housed it took 13 months, 14 agencies, and 168 “interactions.” His “contacts with police” went from 951 to two. A success.

Joe is not atypical. It is very difficult to get people like Joe off the street because of addiction, mental illness, or both. It takes time, patience, and money. Each client of these service providers has a staff of counselors and case workers to guide them through the process. Much of the money comes from the state and federal government. Unfortunately, many of the programs started during the pandemic are terming out.

One of the problems is that the more permissive local governments are, the more it attracts the homeless. Cities such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles find that a large percentage of their homeless population migrated there because of lax camping, panhandling, and theft laws, plus an abundance of services and funding.

Reformers point to Houston as an example of what to do. They, unlike Santa Barbara, vigorously enforce anti-camping laws. They prosecute those who commit crimes, small and large. They have a campaign to discourage folks from giving panhandlers money. But they also have funded housing and shelters for the homeless. They lobbied for permanent funding from the State for homeless rehabilitation services (mental health and addiction counseling, health care, job training, etc.). The result is that over eight years their homeless population declined by 54% (as of 2019 data).

It’s not rocket science. You enforce laws against camping, public drinking, illegal drug use, urination, and defecation. You keep them off State Street and Milpas (enforce the no-sit, no-lie, no-sleep ordinance). You enforce existing theft and violent criminal behavior laws. And you make shelters available to those who will agree to go through social service programs. It’s not easy as witnessed by the struggle with Joe. The lack of shelter is the problem.

The City has rented the Rose Garden Inn motel on Upper State Street for four months to house 50 homeless folks. There are only 35 rooms. It includes meals, transportation, on-site management, and security services. No drugs, no drinking, no sleepovers, no fighting. It’s a tough job but clients will be exposed to all the social services that are available. The city pledged at least $1.6 million to fund it. The money will come from Measure C funds (the 1% additional sales tax revenue that was supposed to go for infrastructure). Measure C funds are not restricted, and the City has discretion in spending it. But four months is not a solution. What do you do with these folks when they are turned out of the motel?

They say it’s a start.

It’s as if the City just woke up and decided to do something about the problem. They are cleaning out campsites using the fire danger as a cover.

Yet they still are not vigorously enforcing the other laws that encourage homelessness. I checked out the motel’s website and they say they are booked from July 5 to November 1. It might be just a coincidence, but there are elections on November 2.

Here is what it comes down to: We can’t “solve” homelessness. There will always be the homeless — folks who don’t want to be saved, who want to live without restrictions on their habits, and find living rough in beautiful Santa Barbara to be acceptable. The best you can do is try. And chipping away at the problem costs money. Lots of money.

It seems that if you crack down hard on the homeless and do nothing else, you will just fill up the jails, and they will end up back on the streets. If you just provide housing and counseling and do nothing else, you will only attract more homeless and run out of funding. You need both.

It takes money. But are taxpayers willing to pay for it? Will our senators and congressmembers fight to appropriate the many millions it will take to fund programs and provide housing? Will Santa Barbara’s many charitable organizations step up and help fund these programs? Are our councilmembers willing to enforce the laws?

If these questions aren’t answered in the positive, then nothing will change.

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REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT Kelly is a licensed realtor with the Calcagno & Hamilton team and Berkshire Hathaway. She can be reached at Kelly@homesinsantabar bara.com or at (805) 565-4000.

Mid-Year Santa Barbara Market Update

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he Santa Barbara County real estate market continues to be a strong seller’s market, with 823 homes sold in the South County (which includes Carpinteria to Goleta, and includes Montecito and Hope Ranch) the first half of the year, which is a 54% increase over last year. In a pre-pandemic year, that number would hover between 530-550. As we close out July, we are seeing an increase in inventory and a slight cool down in the market… buyer hesitancy is increasing while sellers seem more eager to list their homes. It remains to be seen if the cool down will continue, or if the new surge in COVID-19 cases, as well as new mask guidance from the CDC, will cause buyers once again to flock to our area.

To put things in perspective, let’s look at one of the key markers that indicates the heat of the market: a number called days on market, or DOM. For sales that closed in July 2020, the average number of days on the market was about 64. This year in July, that number is 21. So far we’ve seen the sale of 112 homes and PUDs in July, compared to 2020’s 106. Out of the 823 homes that have sold so far this year, 124 of them sold either within the first day on the market, or were sold before they actually came to market.

Last year’s inventory was scooped up by buyers — many of whom were from out of town — who were new to our market. This combined with a staggering lack of inventory in the last year caused the sale of many listings that had been on the market for several months, if not years. Now, that inventory is gone, so new listings are moving fast.

LOW SUPPLY & HIGH DEMAND The number of active listings remains low, which was a factor even before the pandemic began in March 2020. As of press time there are 157 active listings (homes, condos, and PUDs) in South Santa Barbara County, with 77 additional listings in escrow. Last year at this time we had around 285 active listings for buyers to choose from. Last year we also had over 25 “coming soon” listings at the mid-year mark, which is a way for sellers and agents to let other agents know that a property is going to hit the market soon, without being syndicated to websites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, etc. Right now there are currently four coming soon listings in Santa Barbara, which tells me that sellers know their properties are going to sell, most likely with multiple offers, and there is no need to test the waters by placing it in the “coming soon” category of the MLS. We are down roughly 55% in inventory from a normal summer selling season in the Santa Barbara area, which explains why and how our median and average sales price has increased significantly over the past year.

SALES PRICES UP SIGNIFICANTLY The median sales price in the South County is currently $1,995,000, compared to mid $1.2 million for the previous four years. The median sales price is higher than the median list price ($1,925,000) for the first time ever, which confirms what we already knew: that most homes are selling for well above their asking price, thanks to multiple buyers bidding on the same property. Active listings YTD are up over last year (884 versus 806), and new listings are also up (840 versus 775).

If you omit Hope Ranch and Montecito from the data, the median sales price at the mid-year mark is $1,560,000, compared to $1,140,000 a year ago. The average

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A five-bedroom, nine-bathroom home on Channel Drive sold for $31M in March, after years of being on and off the market (listed by Phyllis Noble of Berkshire Hathaway)

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

A home on Laguna Street in Santa Barbara sold in two days in February, $60K over asking (listed by Calcagno & Hamilton Partners of Berkshire Hathaway)

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sold price without Hope Ranch and Montecito is $1,945,225, which is an all-time high. This is due to several big sales on Sand Point in Carpinteria ($23 million and $12.75 million), and a notable $12.5 million sale in Hollister Ranch. There were also two significant sales on the Mesa: a four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom new construction on Shoreline for $8.855 million and a four-bedroom, twobathroom home on Edgewater Way for $6.2 million. Inland, we saw three sales on the Riviera between $4.9 million and $6 million, a Mission Canyon estate for $4.7 million, and a ranch in Goleta for $4.7 million.

The higher-end market is extremely hot, with 25 sales in Santa Barbara proper over the $4 million mark by mid-year, and five additional sales over $4 million in July alone. Compare this to just five sales in Santa Barbara proper over $4 million from January through July last year. These numbers are truly staggering in the high end segment.

The remarkable news about the highest end of the market (more than $10 million), is that the average days on market was just 119 days. Half of the homes that sold in this segment were on the market two months or less, which is just incredible. Also notable: we saw the $45 million sale of a home on Fernald Point, which was sold in a quiet, off-market deal. We also saw the sale of 1104 Channel Drive, which was on and off the market for many years before selling for $31 million in March.

CONDO SALES & PRICES WAY UP The condo market is just as hot. The number of condo sales in the South County as a whole are up 79%, with 260 units sold by mid-year compared to 145 in 2020.

Active listings, new listings, median list and sales prices, average sales prices, and of course, total sold volume, are also up significantly. The median sales price for condos is now $797,000, compared to $681,000 this time last year. Again, the median list price is lower than the median sales price, reflecting the multiple offer situation on the majority of new listings.

The number of days on market in the condo segment is, not surprisingly, down from previous years. The average time on market last year was 38 days, compared to 16 days this year.

GOLETA A fully remodeled home in San Antonio Creek closed in June after only three days on the market. It closed $200K over asking, and was an all-cash deal at $4,050,000. (Listed by Erin Beck and Karen Spechler of Berkshire Hathaway)

The market in Goleta is extremely competitive so far this year, with young families seeking to enter the market at both entry level segments and higher end segments.

The average sale price in Goleta year-to-date is just under $1.2 million, compared to $1,020,000 last year at this time. There have been 317 total sales so far this year in Goleta, compared to 208 in the same time period of 2020.

One staggering statistic in Goleta: the number of higher end sales is through the roof this year. Last year by the end of July, there had been 11 sales of more than ...continued p.31

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WELCOME TO THE BOROUGHS YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS. YOUR STORIES. A CITY BOUNTIFUL

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ith COVID freedom has come a return of hugging friends — or maybe strangers — and gathering at breathtaking art exhibits. Or maybe you’ve celebrated by buying a ticket to a comedy show at the Santa Barbara Bowl, a nice treat for anyone that participates in the Santa Barbara Triathlon at the end of August — other than that walk up the hill, that’s a track meet in and of itself.

For the next eight pages, the Boroughs are chockful of possibilities, just like 20-year-old Athena Wang saw with her recent opening of Watermelon Apparel at Paseo Nuevo.

And movement isn’t just happening downtown, as the West Side has embraced the weird with the opening of Odd Animals Corals & Critters — a product of the “Odd Animals,” or Ryan Hughes,

Sergio Castaneda, and Nicholas Juarez.

With all this business growth, the real estate market is even hotter, with 2021 bringing about record-shattering numbers — and we provide not only the numbers, but also how to shop for new digs along the Mesa.

And with all this hustle and bustle, we’d be remiss not to check in with our friends at Sansum, with Dr. Ron Golan offering tips on how to avoid getting kidney stones during the hot summer months that can bring about dehydration. Oh, and he also explains why you need to avoid spinach. Don’t hurt the messenger, please.

We are invested in our neighborhoods, so feel free to give us a shout if you see a story we should be telling!

— Nick Masuda

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2 THE EAST SIDE THE BOROUGHS: BY NICK MASUDA

SANTA BARBARA TRIATHLON RETURNS FOR 40TH ANNIVERSARY The Santa Barbara Triathlon returns on August 28

What if the plug has to be pulled?

We told them, if they wanted to wait and be more certain, you’re not going to get penalized (financially), but if you sign up now, I’m going to share the risk with you.

And if the City or the County say we’re a no go, I’ll refund you.

How much do you pay attention to current COVID news?

Every day, every single day. Whether it’s just the local news or the national news.

Yes, I’m a little bit alarmed by the Delta variant and by the increased cases. If there are restrictions placed on us by the City or County, of course we’re going to comply.

Because the safety of the athletes and the community is of course paramount. And I do hope, whether it’s in Santa Barbara or anywhere else, that the unvaccinated population during this time with this variant, is smart and responsible and caring enough to wear a mask, so that they don’t affect the rest of the community.

E

lizabeth Rodrigues understands the angst of what amateur athletes around the world have felt for the past 18 months — particularly those who would partake in a triathlon that tests every aspect of an athlete’s will.

Working out in the garage just isn’t the same.

So, forgive her if she’s a bit energetic about the return of the Santa Barbara Triathlon on August 28. The race has been a fixture of summers at East Beach, attracting crowds and well-wishers as participants brave the Pacific Ocean, a long run, and a bike ride that provides a mesmerizing view of Santa Barbara.

Alongside her husband, Gerry, she has taken over as the race’s owner and director, leaving her to play the role of marketer, event organizer, and political handler — all to make sure that August 28 can happen.

We caught up with Rodrigues, a prior participant in the race, just as she cut the event down to one, action-packed day:

It was a rough year for athletes, do you think registering for a race brings hope?

It’s really an extraordinary feeling. I’ve been up at (Nite Moves) and I wish I could take the feeling from the beach and bottle it up and sell it. It is just it’s such a mix of emotion: it’s relief, it’s joy, it’s excitement. It’s exhaustion at the end of a mile swim in a cold ocean. It’s elation of being able to not only see people but hug them. It’s a sense of safety that has come back over this community.

Do you feel a bit of extra pressure to make sure the triathlon is organized perfectly?

When you layer in the sense of joy, safety, and excitement that people are getting back to doing what they loved and missed, this just amps up this event to another level. I also feel though that it amps up a sense of responsibility in me to deliver on that. That this is what’s driving a lot of people to come back out.

For more information on the Santa Barbara Triathlon, visit santabarbaratriathlon. com.

The triathlon has been cut to one day

Q. What did it take to get to this point? What obstacles did you face?

A. Oh my gosh, it’s very reticent to use this expression because I am a stepparent, but I suspect this is what giving birth is like. It’s been a lot of stops and starts. It’s been a lot of emotional ups and downs, you know, “We’re going; we’re not going; we’re going; we’re not going.” The City and the County have driven a lot of the process in terms of the permits. When we came into the new year, we have all lived this life, so we all know what the world looked like in January and February. And that’s a difficult timeline to start planning the race, with registration opening at the same time permit process begins. And, at that point, we had a very low degree of confidence that we need to be racing.

Why not take a chance and start registering anyways?

You know the temperament in the athletes’ space, the feeling that they’ve been burned signing up for races, and so we made the conscious decision to wait to open registration. I couldn’t sleep at night knowing I was taking money when I had no confidence we were having a race.

When did things turn the corner toward a race being planned?

In early April, when Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation opened for permits. That gave us some relief and helped us really think we were going to have a live event — everything was starting to look brighter with COVID numbers going down, while vaccine rates were going up. So, we made a video to the athletes and told them: Here’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to open registration. We have a high degree of confidence we are racing, but we’re not certain yet, we don’t know what this world is going to look like as we come out of this pandemic. We know that there’s going to be restrictions on how many people we can put in the race, there were just too many uncertainties, so we said, “If you sign up for the race now, we’re going to keep fixed pricing, all year we’re not going to increase the price.” Usually, (the price increases) as you get closer to the race which is typical pricing model.

THE HAPPENING. . .

ART | TECH NIGHTS

When: Thursday, August 5 & 12, 5:30 pm - 7 pm Location: Community Arts Workshop (CAW), 631 Garden St Connect: www.westmont.edu/art-tech-nights Cost: Free Description: Hosted by Westmont’s CATLab and Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, visit these two Thursday evening networking events with art, tech, and business students, staff, and professionals. Each event includes live music, snacks, and two 20-minute guest talks from a distinguished business and art professional.

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3 THE FUNK ZONE A THE BOROUGHS: BY ZACH ROSEN

GOING ABROAD WITH GITLER & ___

fter so many have been isolated in our homes for the past year and a half, quite a few of us are feeling like we need some time away from home. That was just the feeling that Avi Gitler of Gitler &_____ in New York City had coming out of the pandemic. He had previously met REH GraySpace Art Gallery owner and painter Ruth Ellen Hoag in New York through a mutual friend. Ruth had similar sentiments of wanting some fresh air and will be taking the summer to paint and go back to New Sunset Recess, 2021, by Amanda Marrè Brown York where she is originally from. She asked Avi if he’d be interested in taking over the Funk Zone gallery in her absence.

When Avi was concurrently offered a residency with GONE Gallery, he started packing his bags for a two-month stay on the West Coast. Avi had not been to the area much, but after hearing more about the art scene here he wanted to bring in something that melds with the local style while also being something that the community may not be familiar with. Each of the artists he is presenting has never been publicly exhibited in the area.

The result was seven exhibiting artists split between July and August. For July, there are three shows spread throughout the gallery. In the first room is a show co-hosted between artists Tom Sanford and Rebecca Morgan. Their work has a cohesive, caricature-like style of painting, amplifying the colors and content into a cartoonish revelry of their subjects. While their style has similarities, both artists come from much different areas which is apparent in their work — an intentional contrast by Avi. Tom is based out of New York and paints urban themes, personalities, and celebrity figures, while Rebecca is originally from Pennsylvania and focuses on the rural culture and characters of Appalachia. Both artists have a distinct sense of humor in their work. After Party by Rebecca depicts a disembodied head laying in a bed of daisies as a bird feasts upon the refuse from last night’s celebration splattered across the scene.

The second July show highlights the recent works by Amanda Marrè Brown in her series “Gloaming in Wyoming.” She painted these works during a four-week artist residency in Wyoming where she studied the changing light and weather of the surrounding scenery. Although painted elsewhere, the simplified lines and flattened forms almost remove them from location, allowing the viewer to focus on the shading and defining lines that can be found on any horizon. The back area hosts the last featured artist, Damien Hoar De Galvan, and his series of mixed-media sculptural works. These intricate wood assemblages are composed of many pieces of scrap wood puzzled together to create the final form. The July exhibits are currently up in GraySpace Gallery and will run until August 1.

The August exhibits will have an opening reception at GraySpace Gallery on Saturday, August 7, from 5 to 8 pm. There will be five featured artists between four different shows. Once again there will be a co-hosted show featuring two artists with a connected theme. George Boorujy and Rachel Ostrow are both painters based out of Brooklyn and collectively their work draws the viewer both inward and outward.

George’s paintings have an ornithological theme done in a hyper realistic style that has been internationally commissioned and revered. Rachel produces abstract oil paints that seem to flutter and float on the canvas in a mesmerizing maze of colors and textures that evoke memories and one’s imagination while gazing at the stars.

One of the other solo shows is by Esteban Ocampo-Giraldo, an artist based out of Colombia. Part of the goal of his work is to help remove the negative stereotypes about his country, drawing attention to its landscapes, activities, and everyday objects.

He will be displaying some of his landscape paintings that are either painted completely from memory, or sometimes reference real places. These scenic reflections celebrate the beauty of the land and how the artist remembers and views it. The next artist, Sean Lotman, is originally from Northern California and attended UCSB, but now lives in Japan. His range of ethereal composite photographs are produced in a darkroom above his wife’s soba shop that dates back to 1477 AD. There will also be a series of paintings exhibited by Spanish artist Juan de la Rica that feature his distinctive bold colors and semi-flattened perspective portraying an array of whimsical sites and still

lifes. In August, the Florida-based artists Boy Kong and Kirza Lopez will be doing an artist residency in town, with their work to be displayed mid-month.

Visit grayspaceart.com and gitlerand.com for more information on the artists and exhibits.

CREATIVE CHARACTERS AN ODE TO POP CULTURE Tom Sanford for Cottrell Brewing Co.

T

om Sanford is one of the featured artists from the visiting gallery, Gitler&__, that is presenting a series of shows at REH GraySpace Art in the Funk Zone. His gripping range of acrylic paintings are done with a colorful animated style reminiscent of Mad Magazine that pulls from his childhood love for comic books. He learned to draw as a kid by copying the illustrations of his favorite Marvel characters and comics. Many of his paintings reference historical events and famous artworks, incorporating pop art and celebrity elements into them.

His earlier work had a pokier, more satirical feel, such as a meditative Steve Jobs holding a bitten apple, but about 10 years ago, he decided that he no longer wanted to bring such a critical edge to his work. Tom feels that American pop culture is one of the country’s greatest exports, choosing to focus only on the celebrities whose personality and career he reveres. In the current show at GraySpace, there are several works celebrating African American icons such as Spike Lee and Patrick Ewing. The figures sit front and center with vivid radial lines and gold leafing portraying them in a Saint-like fashion.

Besides his portraiture and figurative work, Tom also paints a range of still lifes, and of note is his series of beer-themed paintings, including commissioned work for several breweries that also got him lifetime access to beer fridges there. He had previously hosted a show, 99 Bottles of Beer, for Gitler&__ where he painted the different beers that friends and visitors brought him. Two of his beer-themed paintings can be seen in the GraySpace show. Ballantine Can highlights the iconic emerald green beer can and also pays homage to his father’s favorite beer in college.

Nothing pairs with a beer like a burger, and a still life of one sits next to the painted brew in the gallery. In the front room of GraySpace is Tom’s most recent work, a selfportrait titled Portrait of the artist at the end of the decade (2020). In it one can see a distressed Tom looking in need of a beer after this past year.

THE HAPPENING. . .

ZOOFARI BALL XXXV

Location: Santa Barbara Zoo, 500 Niños Drive Connect: www.sbzoo.org/event/zoofari-ball-xxxv Cost: $350 per person Description: Wear your weekend best and join the animals at this elegant event. Reconnect with old friends and new while dining and drinking on the scenic hilltop of our beloved zoo. Tickets usually sell out early so make sure to purchase ahead of time.

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4 THE MESA

THE BOROUGHS: BY MICHAEL PHILLIPS

BUYING PARADISE: FINDING GEMS JUST MOMENTS AWAY FROM THE PARK, OCEAN

The property at 1560 La Vista del Oceano has been sold, according to the MLS

The property at Las Ondas does not have ocean views yet is close to Shoreline Park and is craftsman in style as opposed to a more contemporary style.

S

anta Barbara has had many personalities in its long-storied past. From the large, successful native American Chumash community ten thousand years ago to the Spanish and Mexican eras in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to the present, world-renowned destination resort, people have continuously been drawn to this spectacular place on California’s South Coast.

Unfortunately for newcomers seeking a piece of paradise, there has never been quite enough housing to meet demand. And since the pandemic, with the consequent shift towards remote and hybrid employment, Santa Barbara, with its exceptional lifestyle opportunities, has never been more in demand, resulting in the fewest homes for sale and the highest prices in memory.

As Exclusive Buyers Agents, never representing Sellers, we spend a lot of time looking at neighborhoods. To win the best properties today, Buyers must be prepared to move quickly and confidently and choosing a neighborhood is essential. Today we look at the Mesa neighborhood west of downtown.

Cabrillo Boulevard runs along the city’s waterfront. Drive west and up the hill to the Mesa. Immediately on your left is Shoreline Park, 15 acres of open space along the ocean enjoying perhaps the best island views in the city.

The Chumash had two villages here, one at Hendry’s Beach to the west and one overlooking the iconic Castle Rock now gone, and what is now the Harbor area.

Charles Peter Low, a clipper ship captain, became a major landowner in 1870 at what is now much of Shoreline Park. He engaged prominent architect Peter Barber to design his Victorian Home at Marina and Cliff drive. In the late 1940s, Low’s land became Mesa Terrace, the first housing development on the Mesa and today a highly sought-after location.

The Mesa is bordered by Santa Barbara City College on the east, Hendry’s Beach to the west, Carrillo Street to the north, and the ocean to the south. Arriving from the Harbor area, you are immediately aware of the flat, elevated geography and a unique microclimate-warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.

Highly regarded Washington and Monroe elementary schools serve the Mesa and you can ride a bike to SBCC, the best city college in the state. The homes were built largely post-war, typically three bedrooms in varied architectural styles from cottage to ranch to mid-century modern to neo-colonial Spanish. The Mesa limits homes to two stories in height and most are on 6,000 sq ft lots, many in walking distance to the beach.

With the much loved 70-acre Douglas Preserve, Hendry’s Beach, and the uberpopular Beach House restaurant, up-scale grocery store Lazy Acres, and Mesa Verde restaurant serving exceptional vegetarian food, it is easy to live on the Mesa.

Buying a home here today is another matter. For the period January 1, 2020, to July 15, 2020, there were 37 sales, with 24 under $1.5 million. Move ahead a year and sales leapt to 67, yet with just three under $1.5 million. Today, there are five homes for sale, and all are between $2.25 million and $2.995 million.

Should one want to build anew with a Marine Terrace location and great views, just a half-block from Shoreline Park there is a house on Del Oro Avenue that looks like a tear down candidate; at 1,450 square feet and priced at $2.25 million, nothing else would make sense. That seems like a big number for a small older house on a 0.14-acre lot, yet last year an 838 square-footer on 0.13 acres in the 1200 block of Shoreline sold in five days for $2.85 million, $450,000 above asking price.

Should one not want to build anew given the current, unusually high cost of building materials, consider 144 Las Ondas in Marine Terrace, just one-and-a-half blocks from Shoreline Park.

This 2,150-square-foot, three-bedroom, three-bathroom craftsman (whether built new or completely rebuilt in 2007 is unclear) has wonderful craftsman design details including teak millwork throughout. Two en-suite bedrooms are on the first level, and an additional en- suite bedroom and office are on the second level. This is a turnkey, well-maintained property with high-end appliances and an architecturally designed, low-maintenance landscape that should be seriously considered at $2.995 million.

Just above Cliff Drive near Santa Cruz Boulevard on La Vista Del Oceano is a 2,189-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom home on .34 acres with a similar floor plan to Las Ondas and appears to be in top condition. Also priced at $2.995 million, this home has high-beamed ceilings, a contemporary feel, and enjoys an unobstructed view of the ocean.

Creating a winning offer in this market is difficult. With so few homes on the market, sellers are reluctant to negotiate.

Both Las Ondas and La Vista Del Oceano have been well-maintained and although a professional home inspection is always required, it looks like there isn’t going to be a lot to negotiate as to condition. Last year, three homes sold close to $2.995 million — all were three-bedroom, three-bath with similar square footage to Las Ondas and La Vista Del Oceano and had big ocean views from above Cliff Drive. Las Ondas does not have ocean views yet is close to Shoreline Park and is craftsman in style as opposed to a more contemporary style. If the Mesa is for you and you must buy now, these homes should be considered.

THE HAPPENING. . .

DON CARLOS LIVE AT “EVENINGS AT ELINGS”

When: Friday, September 17, 5 pm - 10 pm Location: Elings Park, 1298 Las Positas Rd Connect: https://nightout.com/events/don-carlos-at-eveningsat-elings/tickets Cost: $30; kids under 12 free Description: Enjoy an evening at Elings listening to the classic reggae stylings of Don Carlos and opening acts by local Cornerstone Reggae and DJ Marco.

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6 SAN ROQUE THE BOROUGHS: BY NICK MASUDA

LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN: LCCCA’S LAUNCH WAS STUNTED, BUT MISSION REMAINS THE SAME

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A group of 24 artists utilize the LCCCA space at La Cumbre Plaza

ike Cregan will be the first to admit that there have been sleepless nights over the past 15 months; that’s what happens when one’s big idea is launched just prior to a global pandemic.

Built on the concept of bringing together various artistic communities in one place, lockdowns and health protocols aren’t the easiest obstacles to deal with either.

But the La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts has persevered, and Cregan, the founder, can now focus on his initial goal: To bring an artistic vibrance to La Cumbre Plaza, a location that has struggled to keep their storefronts filled in recent years.

“We made it, and that’s truly a reflection of the artists staying committed to the concept of this shared workspace, where they can inspire each other while also showcasing their work,” Cregan said.

“And we hope that brings more innovators to the storefronts next to us.”

Cregan’s idea of renting a space in La Cumbre was borne from his 2019 experience in New York City, where he didn’t see many empty storefronts, with art galleries and pop-ups commonplace, creating a unique and diverse experience for passersby.

“When I was at La Cumbre, it was somewhat of a ghost town. I didn’t remember that in Midtown Manhattan, so I started thinking about why that was,” Cregan said.

“They had a lot of art galleries and that got me thinking, ‘maybe that is something that can help here.’”

So, he approached La Cumbre management, and they were quite interested, leading to Cregan inking a one-year lease.

They asked if Cregan knew of any artists, and he concurred, although in reality he was going to have to do some quick homework to fulfill that side of the deal.

That came in the form of 24 artists at the outset, with their new artistic home cozied up next to Tiffany & Co. in the mall.

The lineup of local artists includes a who’s-who of talent along the South Coast, including Lyz Rothman, Brian Woolford, Kenji Fukudome, Mary Dee Thompson, Zami Marx, Marlyn Daggett, Judith Villa, Felice Willat, Rebecca Marder, Marie Arnold, Jim McAninch, Byron Blanco, Michael Mead, Daniel Landman, Pali Szilvassy, Bill Bachino, Angela Beguhl, Erin Wapple, Juan Trejo, Bo von Hohenlohe, Gregory Beeman, Diane Stevenett, and Steven Richardson.

To attract this group, Cregan was told he was taking a risk, that artists usually stick to themselves.

But Cregan has enjoyed the opposite outcome with the LCCCA. “These people have become like family; we got through this together,” Cregan said. “We can’t wait to hold events together, show off each other’s work. It’s why we created the center.”

The work isn’t limited to traditional painting, as it is open to dance, music, drama and the culinary arts — basically, if you have an idea and need to explore it, the LCCCA prides itself on being an inclusive outlet.

There are many different forms of art on display at the La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts

“We want to have more than just paintings and sculptures involved,” Cregan said. “And we were on that path before the pandemic hit.”

Events are being planned for this summer, with Cregan taking the cautious approach as the county reopens in full.

When LCCCA initially opened, more than 700 people were in attendance for Opening Night.

He hopes that the demand might even be higher this time around, where Opening Night 2.0 can bring about the change Cregan envisions.

“I truly believe we can make an impact, and it’s exciting to get this thing going again,” Cregan said.

For more information on the gallery or to learn more about future opportunities to interact with the The LCCCA hopes that its artistic presence will inspire others to rent a storefront at La Cumbre Plaza artists, visit lcccasb.com.

GOING INTERACTIVE

T

he LCCCA isn’t the only interactive opportunity at La Cumbre, with the Museum of Sensory & Movement Experiences joining the fray.

Opening in the heart of the pandemic, the museum was conceptualized and executed upon in just more than a half a year.

Its goal is to attract young adults and teens, although the experience can be for anyone.

The interactivity is created through projectors and video cameras that hang from the rafters, allowing visitors to move about and spark their creativity.

The pieces are mostly a reflection of local artists.

To learn more about MSME, visit seehearmove.com.

THE HAPPENING. . .

GEM FAIRE

When: August 13 - 15 (Friday 12 pm - 5 pm, Saturday 10 am - 6 pm, Sunday 10 am - 5 pm) Location: Earl Warren Showgrounds, 3400 Calle Real Connect: https://gemfaire.com Cost: $7 Description: The longstanding event at Earl Warren is back.

From one of the country’s largest traveling gem, jewelry, and bead shows, peruse the many vendors and find something special for that special someone or just for yourself.

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THE BOROUGHS: BY ZACH ROSEN

1 STATE STREET

20-YEAR-OLD’S FASHION COMPANY COMES TO LIFE AS A POP-UP STORE DOWNTOWN

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rom daydreaming in lecture to launching her own store in downtown Santa Barbara, Athena Wang is the queen of taking risks.

The 20-year-old UCSB student is the face behind Watermelon Apparel, a lifestyle apparel brand.

Watermelon Apparel promotes comfortability, trendiness, and affordability. It began solely online but shifted into the physical realm with its opening on July 17.

Its products consist primarily of casual oversized sweatshirts and t-shirts, while the “Watermelon Weekend” line caters to those seeking fun pieces to go out in.

So, why “watermelon”? Wang has plenty of answers.

First and foremost, it’s linked to her father. He grew up poor and food insecure, scavenging and selling anything in order to get Athena Wang puts the finishing touches on her bright pink wall a meal. When he told his daughter he would sell watermelons, the image stuck. It became a constant reminder of him and his hard work.

Watermelon is also relevant to her California-inspired theme. The juicy fruit is a summer staple, pairing perfectly with the beachy feel of the Golden State. Not to mention, it’s another company named after a fruit.

“Apple is doing well and Lululemon is doing well, so there’s something with fruit going on out there,” laughed Wang. “I don’t know what, but I’m really superstitious.”

Through comfortability, Wang’s brand seeks to promote body positivity. Like many teens growing up in a world dominated by social media, Wang has had her fair share of body-image struggles. Despite consistently staying active and eating healthy, her body did not reflect that of Instagram models flooding her feed.

For two years she blamed herself, thinking maybe she didn’t work out hard enough or eat clean enough. Stressed about college applications and new steps forward, the comfort of oversized sweats and shirts called her name. It wasn’t until she sought comfort and placed less focus on appearance (no longer spending 30 minutes at the crack of dawn picking out an outfit) that she gained her confidence back. She could breathe easier, and let her extrovert personality take over. She became aware of society’s beauty standards, and how damaging they can be.

“I realized when I talk, I feel more confident wearing oversized comfy clothes because my air flows better and I’m not sucking in, I’m just being myself and enjoying the space,” said Wang.

Wang says the fashion industry perpetuates “skinny” culture and still lacks inclusivity, and she wanted to help change this. Her brand focuses on bright colors and comfortable pieces that anyone can feel good in, no matter their shape or size.

From the start, Wang didn’t have a game plan. Instead, she hopped on the train and let it take her. An Economics major with no background in design, she pulled up Adobe Illustrator and taught herself what she needed to know. Her friends offered to model pieces for her, and soon enough her online business was up and running at the start of the pandemic.

The concept of a physical store came just two months ago, stemming from a business strategy lecture she was virtually attending. Immediately upon leaving the Zoom call, she started doing research and reached out to a couple real estate agents.

Within a week she signed a lease.

“I didn’t know anything about running a store, but I just thought this is a good opportunity for me to go for it,” said Wang.

Just days before Watermelon Apparel’s opening, Wang’s bubbly and energetic spirit radiates through the distant Zoom camera. She mentions how excited she is to

meet her customers face to face to get their feedback. Seeing the store come to life motivates her further.

“I pass by it every day and see the wall we painted to pink and it’s a constant reminder of what I’ve accomplished and how much I was supported by my friends and family,” said Wang.

Wang plans to have Watermelon Apparel as a pop-up for the rest of summer and potentially bring it back next summer. Of course, if it takes off, she may think about opening a permanent standing store with employees.

Wang has run the business solo, but not without gratitude for those offering help. Her father’s room once covered in Chinese calligraphy now stores her inventory, friends have picked up paint Athena Wang, 20, opened Watermelon Apparel as a popbrushes to complete the bright pink up in Paseo Nuevo colored walls of the store, and even mall employees have kept an eye out and alerted her when part of her display was stolen.

“When you see an opportunity, go for it. You don’t have to be prepared. When you are prepared for something then it might be too late, someone might have taken it already.”

— Athena Wang “Even though it seems like I’m doing it by myself, I was never alone during the process,” said Wang.

Starting the business has taught Wang valuable lessons, including never limiting her own potential or giving herself a label. From the support given to her throughout this experience, she learned she’s never alone — her friends and family will be there if she gets stuck.

Most of all, the experience has taught her to take a chance.

“When you see an opportunity, go for it. You don’t have to be prepared,” said Wang. “When you are prepared for something then it might be too late, someone might have taken it already.”

Find products and information at watermelon-apparel.com.

THE HAPPENING. . .

EXHIBIT: UNENDING

When: Sunday, August 21 - September 12 Location: Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara Connect: www.mcasantabarbara.org/exhibition/unending Cost: Free Description: An exhibition showcasing the cumulative work of UCSB’s MFA 2021 graduating class. The presented work will explore the themes, emotions, and ideas that have come out of the past year, both in the program and the world.

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5 OAK PARK THE BOROUGHS: BY NICK MASUDA

SUMMER OF STONES: HOW HEAT & DIET IMPACT COMBATING KIDNEY STONES

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uickly look around your workplace — or your morning Zoom call — and there’s likely 10 people. One of those folks will get a kidney stone at some point in their lives, according to researchers.

And that number is seemingly growing, with the rate in the United States shifting from 3.8% in the late 1970s to nearly 10% in 2013-14.

That’s staggering, and there is a newer factor at play.

The heat. Yes, mainly in summertime, but also as average temperatures rise across all seasons. According to Dr. Ron Sansum Clinic Urologist Dr. Ron Golan Golan, a urologist at Sansum Clinic, the domino effect is a problem with hydration — a primary cause of kidney stone formation.

“People forget to drink, or they drink the wrong things,” Golan said.

And for those that believe that this is a male-only problem, Golan cautions making that assumption, as data shows that cases are increasing with both women and children.

Golan sat down to talk with the Sentinel, discussing an array of insights on how to combat kidney stones, as well as dietary suggestions that might prove fruitful for many.

Q. Hydration sounds key, but what about overall diet?

A. Diet is really important when you talk about kidney stones and obviously that changes necessarily from one month to the next or one season to the next, but it can, for example in the summer. You’re eating less calcium. Dairy products, for example, can help mitigate risk for stones, but only after several months, it’s not an immediate effect. But it’s the kind of thing that some sort of episode of dehydration, down the road that can be enough to precipitate a stone and then that stone grows with combination of poor diet, hydration, and, two months later, it can manifest as a symptomatic stone.

OK, are there foods that we should avoid?

Some of the big culprits are spinach, chocolate, nuts, almond milk, soy milk, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. And the challenge is that it’s hard to eliminate these things, so it’s important to have awareness of reducing high oxalates and to balance it with adequate calcium. For example, if you’re going to eat a spinach salad, sprinkling calcium on it, like cheese, helps balance it out. Or you can switch spinach to romaine.

What about liquids, what’s best to drink?

Water is always best. If you wanted to do like fruit-infused water, that’s probably the next best. Sparkling, not sparkling, it doesn’t matter. Next would be calciumfortified orange juice, as it gives you dietary calcium and volume from that so that’s helpful. In general, it’s a good practice to recommend against sodas, but among the sodas, the dark ones are worse than the clear ones or orange ones. And the reason for that is clear, like Sprite, usually have citric acid, and that can help prevent stones.

I would never recommend soda for someone, but they’re like, “Man, I’ve got to have a soda,” I would say probably a clear soda with low or no sugar, if possible.

What about tea or coffee, aren’t they normally good for the body?

Yes, coffee is fine. If people put a little milk in their coffee every day, that’s calcium and a good thing. As for tea, the risk factor comes in large quantities. A cup or two a day likely isn’t a problem, but people drink like a gallon of sweet tea a day.

Does geography matter when it comes to kidney stones?

The southeastern U.S. is known as the “Stone Belt,” and I think it was a combination of diet. and that there’s high tea consumption. But there is also an evolving stone belt, and it’s spreading towards the west and up north. The prediction models for who’s going to be encompassed in the stone belt, it looks like more of the U.S. and the world will be included. As temperatures rise, it’s going to put more in the stone belt.

“ Some of the big culprits are spinach, chocolate, nuts, almond milk, soy milk, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. And the challenge is that it’s hard to eliminate these things, so it’s important to have awareness of reducing high oxalates and to balance it with adequate calcium.”

— Dr. Ron Golan How do I know that I have kidney stones?

For most people it’ll kind of hit them literally out of the blue, it is just sudden onset. They’ll have back pain, abdominal pain, groin pain. Sometimes blood in the urine, sometimes nausea and vomiting. In those situations, the safest thing is to get evaluated in the ER or urgent care.

Can it be hereditary?

Just because someone has a parent or sibling who has it, doesn’t mean that they necessarily have it, but oftentimes you do see an association with that.

What dangers are associated with kidney stones?

When the stone itself drops into the kidney, that’s when there is a problem. When it drops into the ureter, that’s the tube that drains the kidney, that can cause an obstruction of your kidney, and that’s when the problems start.

Can you wait to treat kidney stones?

Absolutely and that’s always an option for non-obstructing stones. You can just do surveillance, doing an ultrasound intermittently just to evaluate for growth or migration, periodically checking kidney function. The risks of doing nothing is that it can cause stone growth, infection, and irreversible renal function. So, everything has risks including observation, but that’s a totally viable option for many people.

What about those folks that are lactose intolerant or allergic to dairy, where can they find more calcium?

That’s a great question; it impacts a lot of people, even I’m always looking for ways to add calcium to my diet. There are plenty of good, calcium fortified items such as chickpeas, broccoli, and kale. It’s funny, spinach isn’t good, but kale is. Don’t ask me why. There are some fortified milks that can also work.

Should people utilize calcium pills?

In general, dietary is preferred to supplemental unless it’s medically indicated, and that’s something that would warrant a discussion with your doctor, particularly taking pills for calcium or vitamin D.

THE HAPPENING. . .

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JULIA!

When: Sunday, August 15, 11 am Location: Zoom Connect: https://sbce.events Cost: Free Description: Celebrate the 109th birthday of Julia Child with this online panel discussion hosted by the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience and featuring guest speakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West from the upcoming documentary on the life and influence of this iconic local.

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THE BOROUGHS: BY ZACH ROSEN

KEEPING ODD ANIMALS

he pets we keep are an extension of our personalities. Dog people are often distinct personality types from cat people and when you get into reptiles, fish, and other exotic pets, it says even more about the owner.

At Odd Animal Corals & Critters, unique pets are their business. Odd Animals was opened by fellow coral reef enthusiasts, or “reefers” as they call themselves, Ryan Hughes, Sergio Castaneda, and Nicholas Juarez. I recently met with Ryan at their store to talk about coral Soft coral like these Zoanthids generally have simple upkeep and are better for beginners keeping and Odd Animals.

Ryan originally got into coral as a soothing hobby as an aside to his work in elderly care, which often comes with an emotional toll. His passion grew from there, growing his collection and even starting a coral blog. The three of them met at a pet store down in Ventura that sells coral and soon became fast friends. They were all searching for a project that could bring a little peace of mind during these times, and when Ryan found a lead on an affordable spot in the front of a building, they jumped on the opportunity, moving into the space at the beginning of this year.

Odd Animals is in a warehouse off Bath and Carrillo streets. Boats sit out front, and surfboards line the hallways of the building, making a fitting environment for the coral shop. There is a large flat aquarium in the center of the store with tanks and terrariums adorning shelves and stands around the room. As we begin to talk, Ryan flips on a sprawling overhead light and says we’re “going blue,” filling the room with a deep azure hue. The light essentially acts as a steroid, pumping up the blue wavelengths, which is what normally reaches coral through the water. Ryan puts a pair of glasses on me that filters out the orange spectra, the contrasting color to blue, and the tank takes on a new light. The coral glowing like some animated aquatic psychedelic poster.

The world of coral is mostly differentiated between the hard corals that contain a calcium carbonate exoskeleton and the soft corals that do not. Within the hard, or stony, coral category, they can be further split between Small Polyp Stony (SPS) and Large Polyp Stony (LPS) coral. LPS coral are composed of a large single polyp (think of it as the coral’s “body”), or sometimes several polyps, and have an inflatable body that flutters and sways in the flowing water. SPS corals are the more traditionally recognized type and have rigid structures covered in a microcosm of thousands of tiny polyps.

Odd Animals carries a wide variety of SPS, LPS, and soft coral (or “softies” as reefers call them). In addition to water flow, the actual chemistry of the water is important, and each coral type requires their own specific water conditions. The LPS and SPS are grown in the central tank while the softies are kept in their own smaller tank. Besides monitoring the salinity of the water, several other water characteristics including alkalinity, calcium, nitrates, phosphates, and magnesium, must be monitored to maintain hard coral. The water alkalinity, or buffering capacity, acts as “gasoline” for the coral, allowing them to convert calcium into its skeleton and process the nitrates and phosphates which often get expressed as color. Magnesium is basically a carrier salt that assists these processes. Soft corals do not have calcium carbonate skeletons so have simpler nutrient requirements. This naturally makes them a little better for beginners. Besides the occasional phosphate adjustment, Ryan recommends changing the water of a soft coral tank about every two weeks to keep the water clean.

On the wall of the shop is a whiteboard that tracks their daily additives and allows them to maintain the proper water chemistry. Several 55-gallon drums sit in the corner, forming their hand-built Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Deionizer (DI) water processing system that strips away all of the extraneous biomass, compounds, and ions found in tap water. This allows them to rebuild the water chemistry to the appropriate amounts for the various tanks. For such a large tank, they use pharmaceutical grade additives for their water adjustments and the math of how much to add can get complicated.

Thankfully there are online calculators that simplify this process. For smaller hobbyist

Ryan at Odd Animals is happy to answer your questions

tanks however, there are commercial additives that have more direct instructions.

Ryan mentions that bacteria is often one of the most overlooked issues and there are a variety of solutions when this becomes an issue. Their large aquarium has a separate smaller tank below it where the water is fed through algae that helps process excess nitrates and phosphates. There are also several resident fish that keep the coral company and provide their own cleanup benefits for the tank. With coral, it really is dependent on the tank size and setup and each little habitat will have its own specific upkeep requirements. Oftentimes beginners will want a smaller tank, but Ryan notes that larger tanks are more resilient and any issues that do arise are easier to address because of the greater volume of water.

Most of Odd Animals’ offerings are between $25-$60 however corals can go from ten to hundreds of dollars depending on their scarcity, size, and type. Of course, once purchased, the food and upkeep for coral is inexpensive with lights and electricity often being the priciest component. Ryan has always been into animals, including falconry, where he used to help take care of Ivan the Red-tailed Hawk at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum. Eventually he hopes to help set up coral enclosures for local museums. In the shop, they have several other fun pets for sale including a range of vibrantly colored tree frogs and a selection of tarantulas. Despite their creepy-crawly reputation, tarantulas make wonderful pets. They are easy to take care of and come in their own dazzling display of colors.

The shop has been doing well since opening and they are already looking to expand into a new space. Although appointments are recommended, Ryan adds that people can always feel free to drop in with questions. Visiting children have a blast looking at the vibrant tanks and learning about sea life and other odd animals.

Visit oddanimalcorals.com for more information on store hours and inventory.

THE HAPPENING. . .

SIPPING ON THE SEA 2021 TOPA TOPA BREWING CO

When: August 19, 2021, 6 pm - 8 pm Location: Santa Barbara Sailing Center/Double Dolphin Cruises, Marina 4 - Boat Launch Docks 302 W. Cabrillo Connect: https://sbsail.com/sipping-on-the-sea-2021 Cost: $75 Description: For this monthly event, spend the sunset exploring the hoppy brews from Topa Topa with a tasting and talk from their staff.

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SYVSNAPSHOT

by Eva Van Prooyen Keeping a finger on the pulse of the Santa Ynez Valley: what to eat, where to go, who to meet, and what to drink. Pretty much everything and anything situated between the Santa Ynez and San Rafael Mountains that could tickle one’s interest.

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY STA. RITA HILLS!

SANFORD & BENEDICT VINEYARD TASTING AT SANFORD & BENEDICT BARN ocusing on the first vineyard planted in 1971 by Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict in what would eventually become the Sta. Rita Hills, taste wines of multiple vintages from multiple wineries that source fruit from this hallowed ground. Casual walk-around tasting with plenty of opportunities to chat with the winemakers that produce Sanford & Benedict Pinot Noir.

Due to limited parking, shuttle busses will leave from three Lompoc Hotels to transport guests back and forth. Full of Life Flatbread will be preparing firegrilled flatbreads for your enjoyment. Participating wineries include: Barden, Dragonette, Hitching Post Wines, Ken Brown Wines, Liquid Farm, Longoria Wines, and Sanford Winery.

WHEN: Thursday, August 12 from 5 to 7 pm COST: $90 per person (price includes shuttle fee)

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THE HISTORY OF SPARKLING WINES IN THE STA. RITA HILLS tart your morning off with bubbles! A comprehensive look at how sparkling wines got their start in the region and their evolution over the years. Why is Sta. Rita Hills an obvious location to grow sparkling wines? How does it compare to other regions and why are so many producers adding sparklers to their lineup? A one-hour discussion with winemakers followed by a table tasting where you can roam Montemar’s beautiful back garden tasting bubbles from participating wineries. The moderator is Adam Lee and participating wineries and winemakers include Flying Goat Cellars, Norm Yost; Kessler-Haak, Dan Kessler; Pali Wine Co., Aaron Walker; Sanford Winery, Laura Roach; Spear Vineyards and Winery; and Strange Family Vineyards.

WHEN: Friday, August 13 from 9:30 am to 12 pm WHERE: Montemar Winery, 1501 E Chestnut Ct, Suite E, Lompoc COST: $75 per person

S Learn more about Wine and Fire events at staritahills.com

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021 marks the 20th anniversary of Sta. Rita Hills receiving its AVA (American Viticultural Area) status, and it is time to celebrate with Wine and Fire — an extra-long weekend of wine events. In addition to a grand tasting and a tasting room passport, a series of educational events are planned over four days from August 12 through 15. The event will pay tribute to the original vineyard, Sanford & Benedict, as well as honor the founding pioneers of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, and the region.

Sta. Rita Hills is part of the larger Santa Ynez Valley AVA, located between the towns of Lompoc and Buellton with the Purisima Hills to the north and the Santa Rosa Hills to the south. The hills run east to west, which allows cool ocean breezes from the nearby Pacific Ocean to enter the valley creating a cool microclimate.

“For me, the nexus between the appellation and ocean — the proximity of the area’s orientation opening due west into the sea — is paramount. Our soils are all marine based — largely sand and fossilized plankton. It’s a very stark oceanic landscape which serves as a great template for chardonnay and pinot noir,” says Greg Brewer, founder and winemaker of Brewer~Clifton and Diatom wines, adding, “I’m fortunate to be surrounded by like-minded colleagues, beautiful people, giving this area recognition.” That like-minded group calls themselves the Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance, they formed in 1997 to unify growers and winemakers in the western Santa Ynez Valley for the purpose of developing their own American Viticulture Area and promote the wine growing region — AVA status was granted by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Regulation Division in 2001.

Sanford & Benedict Vineyard and Lafond Vineyards are two of the initial pioneering vineyards in “The Hills.”

“Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, 135 acres, was planted in 1971 by Richard Sanford and Michael Benedict. Through research and development, they determined what wine grape varieties were best suited for the area. Earthy soils, containing large deposits of limestone and diatomaceous earth, to sandy loam, coupled with daily ocean winds tunneling up the transverse valley from Point Conception created the perfect environment to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay,” explains Barbara Satterfield, executive director for Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance. “Lafond Vineyards and Winery followed suit in 1972 but it was not until the early ‘eighties that additional plantings ensued.”

Over the next 20 years approximately 1,100 acres were planted, predominantly to pinot noir and chardonnay, with the wines being lauded as some of the best cool climate wines in the world. Currently the Sta. Rita Hills is planted to just under 4,000 acres and is a premier growing region worldwide.

As for why the event is called “Wine and Fire,” Barbara says, “I have heard a few different accounts of how the name came to be. One being that the event is focused on food and wine, and the method of cooking with fire over oak wood barbecue is one of the traditions of the area and a focus of the first event. We have at least three local barbecue chefs at our grand tasting so folks can get a taste of our local specialties.”

Over the four-day celebration, wine lovers are encouraged to make plans to visit wineries and tasting rooms. Ticket sales are limited and range in cost from $20 to $395.

Here is the lineup:

DINNER HONORING THE PIONEERS OF THE SRH LA PAULÉE his event is also known as the Wine and Fire “Barn Party” and guests will gather at the Alma Rosa vineyard for a La Paulée style tasting and dinner. (La Paulée is a “convivial Burgundian fête” showcasing the diversity of the region.) A sparkling wine reception begins at 5 pm followed by a program to honor SRH Pioneer winemakers. After the program guests will enjoy an oak-grilled buffet dinner prepared by Anthony Endy and The Alisal Guest Ranch staff. Bring those SRH bottles you’ve been waiting to open, share wines with your tablemates and friends, and toast 20 years of the Sta. Rita Hills La Paulée style. Master of Ceremonies is Wes Hagen and honorees include Bryan Babcock, Babcock Winery; Greg Brewer, Brewer-Clifton; Ken Brown, Ken Brown Wines; Kathy Joseph, Fiddlehead Cellars; Rick Longoria, Longoria Wines; Bruce McGuire, Lafond Winery; and Richard Sanford, Alma Rosa.

WHEN: Friday, August 13 from 5 to 8:30pm WHERE: Alma Rosa Vineyard, 7250 Santa Rosa Rd in Buellton COST: $140 per person

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TIME IN A BOTTLE he moment has arrived to see just how age-worthy wines from the Sta. Rita Hills can be. Join the panel of winemakers to taste older vintages and discover the aging attributes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from this “very cool” AVA. The moderator is Wes Hagen and with panelists including Brewer-Clifton, Gregory Brewer; Hitching Post Wines, Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini; Dragonette Cellars, Brandon Sparks Gillis; Longoria Wines, Rick Longoria; and Seagrape, Karen Steinwachs.

WHEN: Saturday, August 14 from 9:30 am to 12 pm WHERE: Spear Vineyards and Winery, 6700 CA-246 in Lompoc COST: $75 per person

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GRAND TASTING AT LA PURISIMA MISSION njoy a magical evening under the oaks at La Purisima Mission sipping fine Sta. Rita Hills wines, snacking on tasty treats, and mingling with smiling faces. Sta. Rita Hills Winegrowers Alliance members and chefs are excited to welcome guests to their favorite tasting event of the year, capping off the anniversary weekend.

WHEN: Saturday, August 14 from 5 pm to 7:30 pm WHERE: La Purisima Mission 2295 Purisima Rd in Lompoc COST: $100 per person INFO: For more information or to purchase tickets for all Wine and Fire events, visit www.staritahills.com

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...continued from p.5

what it takes to house those in need,” said Mike Jordan, the District 2 representative on Santa Barbara City Council.

“You can’t just put people in a home.

There is trust to be earned on both ends.”

Jordan’s district was the impetus to a current 120-day clean-up project impacting the homeless, with encampments around the city being cleared out, with a room at the Rose Garden Inn being offered. The invitation is inclusive of any treatment — mental or physical — that might be needed.

It came on the heels of May’s Loma Fire, where the damage on TV Hill was limited to nine acres — with officials indicating that it could have been much worse if the wind had shifted directions.

“We had to look at everything, what we could do to prevent fires like that from happening again,” Jordan said.

“The clean-up was necessary, and it also gave us a chance to start the re-housing process with dozens of willing folks.”

At a cost of $1.6 million, the cleanup raised eyebrows and a chorus of complaints from the community.

“I hear that people want the homeless gone all the time, but when we do something about it, we are asked why we are spending that type of money on homelessness,” said Meagan Harmon, the District 6 representative on Santa Barbara City Council. “To create change, it costs money.”

Jordan went a step further — this moment isn’t defined by a dollar figure, but instead in the investment in a process expected to produce significant progress.

“They predict we’re going to see 10s of percentages of a gain in success of people staying, not walking away, and moving on to the next step (of attaining permanent housing),” Jordan said.

Yet, there is a simple but complex question still to be answered: What happens on Day 121?

QUICK FIX VS. SUSTAINABILITY ith an estimated 1,300 homeless people in Santa Barbara County, renting rooms at one hotel for just under four months isn’t the “silver bullet,” as Harmon calls it.

But the initial response to the opportunity has given both local politicians and outreach agencies some much-needed hope. Nearly 20 people took the city up on the offer on the first day, while 39 have taken advantage since the program kicked off.

“Having a safe door to live behind, with your own bathroom, that’s a big deal,” said Jeff Shaffer, the director of initiatives at the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation

W

Dignity Moves has offered this rendering for how the homes could look on Garden Street, with up to 35 units being available by fall

(SBACT), an organization that is receiving praise for its “middle-man” role in organizing outreach groups to create a unified effort.

“The relationships that were already developed with people from those encampments created a chemistry that is allowing this pilot to be successful. That rapport they’ve established that helped these people choose a hotel room over the streets, I cannot over highlight how difficult it is to do that kind of outreach.

It’s quite a heavy lift.”

So, now the question is: How does the county or city of Santa Barbara replicate this success? What does sustainability look like?

“A lot of the people who are complaining the most about homelessness are also complaining loudly about the solutions. I don’t know how the city’s supposed to win on that.”

— Das Williams Shaffer, Jordan, and Harmon all pointed to a county-led project set to break ground on Garden Street that is a showcase for what permanency can look like — in Santa Barbara and elsewhere.

Dignity Moves, a private nonprofit that believes “our streets cannot be the waiting room” to interim supportive housing, will be building a homeless village of up to 35 tiny, prefabricated housing units on government-owned property, which will be ready for use as early as this fall.

Don’t worry — the aesthetics will fit right in to Santa Barbara’s architectural motif.

With the prefabrication, the village will come at a fraction of the cost of normal construction.

“If they’re successful, that means there’s going to be a lot more people in bridge housing being prepared for housing — as we develop more housing opportunities,” Shaffer said. “That’s a win-win for everyone.”

For Das Williams, Santa Barbara County’s First District Supervisor, long-term solutions such as the Dignity Project are paramount, as he has been outspoken about the need for permanent supportive housing, taking temporary fixes and making them longstanding — even if the price tag looks at first a bit higher than expected.

“All I need is parking lots and communities that are willing to have these facilities,” Williams said. “We’ve done a lot of permanent solutions at the county, but we need to do more. We’ll pay going rates for those lots, we just need people to be willing to let us use them.

“We’ve had a hard time finding people ready to take our money.”

Williams isn’t alone in the idea of buying property to aid the homeless, as Jordan says that the success that the current 120-day project is seeing has him wondering if the city shouldn’t also be looking at property to purchase — something they’ve explored in the past.

“It’s definitely on my list, I’m really pushing people hard right now for what happens on Day 121,” Jordan said. “We don’t want folks right back out on the street.”

WHAT’S ALREADY WORKING? s short- and long-term options are debated and brought to life, there are also more than a dozen successful local outreach programs which have been aiding the homeless for years.

The New Beginnings Counseling Center services largely center around two main programs: the Safe Parking Program and Supportive Services for Veteran Families Program (SSVF).

“That [SSVF] is a VA-funded and

A

foundation-funded initiative that works to prevent veterans from becoming homeless and/or to help them transition into housing,” said Kristine Schwarz, the organization’s executive director.

New Beginnings operates the program countywide, with about 60% of their clients coming from North County and the remainder being served in Mid and South County. The SSVF program began in 2016 and assists between 250 and 300 veterans each year. New Beginnings served higher than average numbers this past fiscal year, with the SSVF assisting 372 individuals, with 87 of them housed and graduated from the program. Of those served, 151 fell under what is called “light touch case management,” requiring only minimal assistance, with the others being provided more long-term support.

The SPP has expanded over the past couple of years, with HUD indicating that people who are the most vulnerable should be prioritized. This allowed the organization to focus on overnight shelter for those who live in their vehicle, something it has done in both the South County and soon in Lompoc.

“We also work during the day to provide case management, housing navigation, and housing retention case management to help people find housing and to remain in their housing,” Schwarz explained.

The program currently offers 156 parking spots spread between 26 parking lots. In the last year, the Safe Parking Program has served 464 people and helped house 85. The program has been incredibly successful with it being studied and replicated by other organizations and cities. Between the two programs, New Beginnings has contributed nearly $1.25 million in direct financial support this last year.

The transition into permanent housing takes a concerted and multipronged effort.

“There are multiple components.

Community agencies not only have to work with each other, but we need to work with landlords and property managers to transition people in the house,” Schwarz said.

New Beginnings coordinates with these different members to ensure that not just the tenant but everyone involved has a good understanding of expectations.

“There are many people who have lost their housing for many different reasons and are working with property managers and landlords to forgive a history of insufficient income, or maybe an eviction or bad debt, especially due to COVID and job loss,” Schwarz said.

“It is essential to that one component where we all work together, right?”

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New Beginnings Counseling Center’s Safe Parking Program prioritizes shelter for those living out of their vehicle

PATH has been aiding in cleanups every third Saturday

Over the past 18 months or so of the pandemic, New Beginnings and many of the organizations had to adapt their programs and experiment with new techniques, such as the motel room rentals. The ability to place program participants in motel rooms allowed them a temporary spot where New Beginnings could further assist them.

This period also provided some important lessons for the organization.

“Well, I think we learned what community resources we need to shore up, in terms of how to respond to any future similar issues,” Schwarz said.

Schwarz sees the issue of homelessness as not just something to be solved by the individual it affects, but rather as part of a larger communal conversation.

“The collective health and safety of our community is at issue here. Everybody has had a really difficult time in the last year and half in a different way,” Schwarz concludes. “One of the consequences of COVID is that homelessness has increased, and mental illness has been exacerbated, and people’s coping mechanisms have been diminished. So, either we all work together to muddle our way through this — or we’re not going to see positive outcomes for any of us.”

“This is where the disconnect is when it comes to the community understanding what it takes to house those in need. You can’t just put people in a home. There is trust to be earned on both ends.”

— Mike Jordan

someone housed.”

Bowlin also cautions volunteers about making assumptions about why someone might be homeless and cautions that conclusions can quite often be wrong.

“There’s many layers to why someone might be experiencing homelessness.

It is not just one thing. Individuals are either working through some trauma, or something that has led them to being homeless,” Bowlin said. “We hope that this is just a blip on the screen to them.

When you put a label on someone, that kind of puts them in a box.”

PATH is also active with the city’s 120-day cleanup, with its Step Up Program aiding in tackling excess trash in a specific neighborhood every third Saturday from 9 am to noon.

“We’re just trying to build that program more and more because we think it’s very important to really get out there and make sure that we help be a part of the solution to some of the trash that we’ve been seeing in our neighborhood lately,” Bowlin said.

And while fiscal funding is always ideal, Bowlin also admits that donations can come in many different forms, even down to household items such as hygiene kits — allowing PATH to spruce up a home as it helps an individual or family move into a new house.

The organization is much more than just finding housing, as it also operates the PATH Cooks Program, which makes about 300 meals per day.

The volunteers that help this program function also get a first-hand look at how case workers aid the families in need.

“Our volunteers always learn while they’re here that there is not just one solution to getting someone into permanent supportive housing,” Bowlin said. “It takes our case management sometimes a lot of different tries and a lot of different methods [in order to get]

A MATTER OF COMMUNITY WILL oth Das Williams and Mike Jordan pointed to the concept of a trio of “wills” that need to align for Santa Barbara to move forward with any plan, much less one as polarizing as strategies for dealing with homelessness.

Those “wills” come in the form of financial, political, and community.

As the self-admitted “man on the fence” with most issues, Jordan says that his cup has turned from half-empty to half-full when it comes to combating homelessness, mostly due to the work of both the city staff and organizations such as SBACT. “I’ve watched this for forever it seems, where everybody was just kind of doing what they wanted to, no one was herding the cats and giving us focus and direction,” Jordan said. “And that has significantly changed recently. I have hope.”

FINDING A PATH eople Assisting The Homeless, or PATH, has been around the proverbial block, established in the 1980s and having a front-row seat to witness plan after plan from the area’s government bodies either fail or be pushed aside over time.

As one of the largest nonprofit organizations in California helping individuals, veterans, and families obtain permanent housing, PATH has found its own, well, path.

“We work on the housing-first model that most of the agencies work on.

That basically, if you don’t have a solid ground, then how can you make these

P

life-changing decisions and get into your own home?” said John Bowlin, PATH’s director of philanthropy and community affairs.

“There’s many tiers to how to solve homelessness, but I think the biggest one is more services. So that means more funding, whether it is public or private funding, so we can help serve more individuals that are experiencing homelessness.”

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And while Santa Barbara City Council has plenty of distractions nowadays, both Jordan and Meagan Harmon believe that the political alignment on how to move forward is on solid ground.

“I have to believe that we can find solutions,” Harmon said. “And I feel like we are.”

Williams even extended his hand across the aisle, offering kudos to city council as it braves criticism for putting forth a plan.

“Santa Barbara should feel very lucky to have a solutions-oriented council,” Williams said. “Other places, sometimes we have to create solutions over the objection of a city council. Here, they are creating solutions in partnership with others.”

Williams says it is also a fiscally responsible time to set up solutions that keep the South Coast ahead of the curve when it comes to serving the unhoused, pointing to both the city and county making significant investments in infrastructure.

“The money is there, more than ever before,” said Williams, who also pointed to the county utilizing hotels over the past 15 months to aid the homeless during the pandemic.

But it’s the community will that continues to be an obstacle, with neighborhoods wanting solutions, but not wanting them to impact their portion of the community, according to all three politicians.

And, in that, the political alignment and excess funds can ultimately mean very little. In many ways, it’s an all-ornothing situation.

“A lot of the people who are complaining the most about homelessness are also complaining loudly about the solutions,” Williams said. “I don’t know how the city’s supposed to win on that.”

Joe might have provided that blueprint: time, patience, and, most importantly, trust.

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WHAT’SHANGING? with Ted Mills Ted Mills is a local writer, filmmaker, artist, and podcaster on the arts. You can listen to him at www.funkzonepodcast.com. He currently has a seismically dubious stack of books by his bed. Have an upcoming show you’d like us to know about? Please email: tedmills@gmail.com

2020 PROMPTS NEW VISION OF SANTA BARBARA ARTS COMMUNITY

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erforming arts and the arts nonprofit sector of Santa Barbara took a huge hit in 2020, as COVID performed a scorched earth campaign across an already tenuous industry. Santa Barbara loves its art and its artists, but it has often suffered from the silo’ing of audiences and funding.

Philanthropists love having their names on new buildings — not so much the annual grind of the capital campaign. During the lockdown, the arts attempted in various ways to join the Zoom revolution happening in offices everywhere, though how enthusiastic audiences were for logging back on after a day at the office remains to be seen. We in Santa Barbara coped, and we watched some places disappear, and we thought of a day sometime in the future where the sound of a candy wrapper would be the worst thing to happen during a packed audience somewhere.

The Sentinel asked a selection of nonprofits their thoughts on the plague year that we can’t seem to shake, and what the new normal might be.

First off, we wondered whether 2020 had led to a rethink of a nonprofits’ core mission. For the most part, nonprofits chose to stay the same, as mission statements are usually very open, very flexible things. Dacia Harwood, deputy director at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, said they had altered their statement. It now reads to “inspire meaningful connections to Santa Barbara history,” which it turns out they did with increased online access to materials and lectures.

“We had over 5,000 participants,” Harwood said.

Jamie Dufek at the Arts Fund Santa Barbara added: “We made the determination that the mission of the Arts Fund was needed now more than ever; as individuals had to isolate, kids were kept home with limited educational and creative resources, and other community art outlets were forced to close.”

Again, this meant moving their mentorships online — but they were already doing

so. Unrelated to COVID woes, the Arts Fund’s Funk Zone gallery closed months before the pandemic. It was good timing. And now they have just opened a new gallery location in the heart of downtown, in the former site of Sur la Table. (The retail outlet, like many along State, closed due to COVID.) There is now more foot traffic than ever, according to Dufek.

But the issue on all nonprofit minds is money. While some rely on ticket sales, others rely on fundraising events and grants. Those gala productions were once a mainstay of the social scene — overnight they were cancelled and vanished. Most nonprofits inevitably lost money over the 15 months: The Museum of Natural History lost $1.1 million, its sister Sea Center lost $350,000; the Historical Museum lost $300,000 in events revenue; MOXI did not specify an amount but said, “In a typical year we earn over $1 million from general admissions and memberships”; the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation gave no amount, but noted for the first time they had to fundraise just for operating expenses; the Arts Fund declined to say. The only nonprofit that came out on top was the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative: “Amazingly we kind of broke even,” Casey Caldwell said. Its advantage was in the virtually free rent donated by the city, their flexibility in remaining open somewhat, and Caldwell taking a pay cut to three-quarters of his salary. (He is their only paid employee.)

In fact, those locked into and based around a singular venue (the SB Bowl; museums) found lockdown painful. Caldwell’s Community Arts Workshop — essentially a remodeled collection of warehouse/industrial space — was able to adapt, with its high ceilings and the ability to open to the fresh air. The various arts groups that use the space adapted readily. The Santa Barbara Centre for Aerial Dance simply dropped class capacity numbers and were able to keep teaching. Several photographers used the space as large studios. And The Lights Up Theatre Company painted one wall of the workshop as a greenscreen and filmed a performance of Man of La Mancha in the open air. Others, like the Arts Fund, transitioned to online mentorship programs, which allowed young adults to attend county-wide. For parents with teens, location often dictated what a child could attend. Not so online.

The lockdown also gave nonprofits a chance to turn to projects that had been on the back burner. Long overdue maintenance and repairs were finished. The SB Bowl was able to reinforce a retaining wall and add a new plaza-type area, expand solar panel arrays, and invest in several local youth performing arts organizations, according to the Bowl’s Executive Director Rick Boller.

Harwood at the Historical Museum replied, “We actually had a capital project funded and scheduled in the spring of 2020, the installation of compact storage in two of our Vault areas. We also added HVAC in the same wing of our underground space. Both were to further protect the Museum’s collection of historic clothing and textiles along with thousands of artifacts in our Decorative Arts collection. The time allowed us to focus on real organization and documentation of the objects. Additionally, we really focused on making as much of our history available online — we greatly improved access to our archive, publications, etc.”

Local authorities up through federal all received high marks from the nonprofits in this article. There were lots of webinars and Zoom meetings, and changing information was just part of the ever-evolving situation. The Natural History Museum did call some of the information “confusing” so decided to just keep a conservative approach to a number of re-openings. The Arts Fund noted, “The one area that we believe the city could have been stronger was in the area of economic relief for more industries that were deeply impacted by the city’s restrictions, such as the arts industry.”

Now all eyes are on the future, and all fingers are crossed. Can we will normality into existence or will the Delta variant mean another lockdown? The SB Bowl has posted several upcoming concerts for the summer and fall but has had to cancel some already.

Currently, Chelsea Handler’s stand-up gig is still set for August 21. Ensemble Theatre Company is set to reopen in October. For large spaces, a high vaccination rate has made things feel a bit normal.

But what is the Santa Barbara that we’ll be returning to?

“Santa Barbara is an incredibly resilient community following fires, floods, droughts, and now the pandemic,” said Harwood. “I’m proud of how creative the community (and especially businessowners) have been in order to survive. (However) we’ve seen an influx of new residents from Southern and Northern California now that people can more easily work remotely, so housing is even more scarce and expensive than it was before.”

“I think Santa Barbara and its residents are emerging with a renewed gratitude for the little things and, most importantly, for being able to share moments with others,” said MOXI’s Martha Swanson.

Harwood’s Historical Museum has already hosted a “History Happy Hour” talk in the courtyard. “The small crowd was so wonderful and enthusiastic to be back out enjoying a beautiful night, gorgeous weather, and just a little more space around them.”

The Arts Fund’s Dufek said it’s still too early to tell how Santa Barbara has changed.

“But what we are certain of is that the arts are more important and needed as ever and we are really excited for us to re-emerge ‘in-person’ in the community.”

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with Mark Léisuré

Mark spends much of his time wandering Santa Barbara and environs, enjoying the simple things that come his way.

A show here, a benefit there, he is generally out and about and typically has a good time. He says that he writes “when he feels the urge” and doesn’t want his identity known for fear of an experience that is “less than authentic.” So he remains at large, roaming the town, having fun. Be warned.

Fear Turns into Needed Hope

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’m going to reveal something right here you may not know about me: I’m a 6 on the Enneagram, the ancient personality typing system that dates back before Christianity, which is at the heart of the fear-based triad of types. So as scary as the idea of catching COVID was, the lockdown worked for me, because it took any question of gauging safety out of my hands, for the most part. Sure, I walked on streets and trails, but often even wore a mask and kept some distance, and mostly my partner in isolation and I chose to have food delivered for several months. On those rare times I went into a grocery store, I wore one of those industrial respirators, so I was pretty convinced I was safe.

Now with reopening, I must balance FOMO (the famous acronym meaning “Fear of Missing Out”) with FFMOS, my own term for Fear for My Own Safety.

Usually, I’ve come down on the side of the latter, eschewing opportunities to catch live events if they’re not outdoors in the open air. In other words, the Man About Town these days is More About Trepidation.

I’m sharing all this by way of explaining why I didn’t catch the Brian Wilson tribute at the Lobero, or SBCC Theatre Group’s much-heralded musical revue that celebrated a return to live performances at the Garvin, or Opera Santa Barbara’s truncated first foray into Wagner at the Lobero, or anything at the Music Academy of the West on campus or at the Granada until late July.

What I did see, however, was an absolutely stirring show called Come Together, a Beatles tribute performed by six young singers— Daniel Brackett, Cassidy Broderick, Ben Catch, Hunter Hawkins, McKenna Gemberling, and Emerson Steady — who are mostly

associated with Ensemble Theatre’s education programs or other local theater groups that connect them to ETC’s Director of Education and Outreach Brian McDonald, who put together the event. That’s because it took place at Godric Grove, the intimate natural amphitheater high atop Elings Park, where the singers and a crack local band fronted by keyboardist Brian Mann delivered one of the more inspiring trips through the Beatles’ catalog I’d ever witnessed.

The generous 20-song set was hosted

by Ivor Davis, the local journalist who had covered every concert of the Beatles’ first tour of America in 1964 (and wrote a book about it seven years ago for the 50th anniversary).

But it was the concert itself that was a riveting reminder of the power of both live music and community, as each young singer had at least one chance to solo, many songs were performed as an ensemble and all were delivered with the kind of dedication — not to mention vocal chops — that makes one’s heart soar.

Having the three young ladies sing “Can’t Buy Me Love” proved a great twist on the classic song, the theme of which prompted Davis to quip: “You live in Santa Barbara — did you really

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think money can’t buy you love?”

Hawkins’ lead vocals and dance moves on “I Want to Hold Your Hand” earned a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd. Brackett’s vocal acrobatics paired with the guitarist solo during the coda of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” elicited much-deserved whoops and hollers.

By the time 15-year-old Broderick offered a sweet, powerful-yet-vulnerable take on an acoustic version of “Across the Universe,” my heart was filled with a sense of hope — for the world, for all of us, for the magic of music — that was almost brought tears to my eyes. I’m getting chills just recalling the precious moments of the precocious singer.

Or maybe it was the setting as well as the songs that created the stirring feeling at Godric Grove on a beautiful Santa Barbara summer’s day, where you can look beyond the stage to see downtown, the harbor, the ocean, and mountains.

Gratitude just flooded my heart in a way it hadn’t during all those days, weeks, and months at home. And knowing the money raised by the benefit aids ETC in keeping such programs going, providing talented youngsters with a place to channel and follow their dreams in pursuing musical theater. Not too bad a way to emerge from isolation.

We give thanks as God the Father continues to be with us and sustain us through this time and longs to draw us closer in faith and trust in His eternal promises through the death and resurrection of the Son of God, Jesus the Christ, through the power of God the Holy Spirit.

We welcome you to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 9:30 am.

Check our website for other opportunities for Bible study and prayer.

3721 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805-687-3734 email: info@EmanuelLutheranSB.org EmanuelLutheranSB.org

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by Zach Rosen

A Wylde Ride Through Life

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ike a meandering bee, life doesn’t always take a straight path. For Dylan Wylde of Wylde Works, his indirect path is intended, spending his life not just stopping and smelling the flowers, but also collect their pollen.

Open since 2010, Wylde Works is known in the area for its raw honey and meads and other fermented honey libations.

Dylan’s beekeeping journey began when he was turning 30 and questioning the life he had lived up to that point.

Taking inspiration from his father, Dylan decided he wanted to take on a big, new project each year for the next 30 years.

He began as a playwright, producing an off-Broadway play that traveled to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.

He wanted to do something radically different for the next year and settled on agriculture.

It was while at a beekeeping convention in San Diego that he got drawn into the craft. Attendees were a little guarded, so he mentioned he had some beehives to loosen them up, despite not having any. Someone there offered him a small pollination contract and he quickly had to get some bees, collecting about 20 beehives from people’s yards and the surrounding areas.

Over the years he began to build his colony and produce honey, starting off with the wholesale market before

expanding into the local farmers’ markets. With so much honey on hand, he decided to make a batch of mead with his homebrewer friend. That first late night of tasting their mead was filled with singing and laughter, and Dylan was enamored with both the beverage and moment that they had created. He soon traveled to Europe and began to learn from the mead makers over there, gravitating towards the less sweet meads of France.

Taking inspiration from his father, Dylan decided he wanted to take on a big, new project each year for the next 30 years.

Wylde Works offers a range of hard jun kombuchas and sparkling meads

Today, Wylde Works’ selection of raw honey and fermented honey drinks can be found regularly at the farmers’ market and store shelves around town. Dylan’s artistic background is still apparent with unique poems by him decorating each can and label art designed by his wife, Sydney, an artist, sculptor, and

SPECIALIZING IN ROLEX • CARTIER • TAG HEUER 30 YEARS EXTERIENCE • ALL BRANDS

musician, among other creative talents.

With their farmers’ market booth across from so many open vacancies on State Street, Dylan and Sydney got the idea that they may be able to open up a tasting room that could bring the kind of creative communal experience that they would like to enjoy. It has been an arduous process, but the tasting room is set to soon open.

The Wylde Works Tasting Room is located at 609 State Street, next door to Night Lizard Brewing Company. As of now, they are only permitted to serve on the parklet, however they hope to soon get the final approvals to finish the tasting room. The large brick walled space will get a warm, wooden seated section along with some equipment for production in the back. There are beehive boxes dotted throughout the space and lining the parklet, forming furniture in the cozy drinking spot. The parklet is open for service from Tuesday to Sunday (3 pm 8 pm) with Friday and Saturdays often staying open a little later.

The tasting room offers an array of Dylan’s distinctly flavored honeybased brews. There will always be his two core sparkling meads as well as a seasonal selection, such as the current Mocha Mead. The Honeycraft: Dry Hopped Mead has a distinct gooseberry tartness from the Nelson Sauvin hops with a refreshing accent of honey.

The Honeycraft: Special Dark is his other mainstay and is brewed with caramelized sugar. It has flavors of turbinado and toast yet is still light and drinkable. Honey wines have a more potent alcohol content and Dylan wanted these flagship brews to be more quaffable and lighter impacting. In addition to three hard (6.5% ABV) jun kombuchas, Dylan is also currently serving his three regular (1% ABV) jun kombuchas: Mugwort, Tulsi, and Ginger & Turmeric. Of course, he has several special projects in the works that may show up soon at the tasting room.

With both Dylan and Sydney’s artistic backgrounds, they hope to make the tasting room a hub of creativity. From theater, poetry readings, and talks to art shows and live sculpting and painting classes, they plan to make the space a vibrant cultural experience. Dylan is already lining up an eclectic mix of live musicians to start seeding the culture of the tasting room. On Thursday nights from 4 pm - 8 pm, Ben Betts will be playing his solo show of covers and original tunes in the exotic twang of steel drums and guitar. Swing by the parklet to listen along while sipping on some sparkling honey mead in the summer sun.

For Dylan, this scene is just the next big journey on his wild ride through life.

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THEBUDGUY A WELLFOUNDED FARM

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ver the years, cannabis has become acknowledged for its medicinal properties. Both of the common cannabinoids found in the plant, THC and CBD, are widely recognized for their anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving qualities, among other health benefits. For Sara Rotman of Wellfounded Botanicals, the health benefits of cannabis were truly life changing and she has put her own healing and professional experience into each one of Wellfounded Botanicals’ offerings.

Originally Sara was working in the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries for 25 years with an agency in New York and an office in Los Angeles as a revered creative director for such luxury brands as Vera Wang, Campari, and Tori Burch. Sara would play polo in the Central Coast area and in 2014 she bought a 63-acre farm in Buellton as a retreat for the horses and herself.

Within three weeks of purchasing the farm, Sara found herself in the hospital for full renal failure. It turned out to be Crohn’s disease that had gone misdiagnosed for years and the

by Zach Rosen

Sara Rotman of Wellfounded Botanicals captured her own healing journey in each one of her products

inflammation had gotten so severe that she spent the next few weeks being fed from a tube. They also pumped her full of morphine to help with the pain. The child of a teaching doctor, Sara began to pursue the best treatments but many of the pharmaceuticals had their own

complications, including the complete shutdown of her immune system that led to a myriad of other maladies.

Unable to work and running out of solutions from western medicine, Sara began to focus on the farm, growing all her own food so that she could control what went into it. She began to take a holistic approach towards food, raising livestock and incorporating sustainable and organic farming practices. Sara notes that in retrospect, the farm was in as bad of shape as she was. As she worked to restore her own health, the land was restored as well. Nate Ryan, her husband and all-time supporter, had been doing his own research and suggested trying cannabis. Sara did not have anything against cannabis, but had also never really enjoyed it, finding the effects at odds with her fast-paced New York personality. He explained to her that cannabis didn’t just have to be smoked and there were tinctures and edibles as well. They went to get a medical prescription and began to try different cannabis tinctures. For her it was almost a miracle. She immediately experienced pain reduction and eventually began to see it help her inflammation.

Of course, cannabis products weren’t being as strictly regulated as they are today and many of the tinctures were

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Wellfounded Botanicals offers three main tinctures, depending on the desired effect

unreliable, if not simply unsafe, with some using harmful ingredients. Just as with her food, Sara wanted to be able to control what went into her tinctures and decided to grow her own cannabis.

It took her longer than expected but after getting through the many layers of regulations and permits, she was able to acquire the appropriate licenses.

Today, the farm has 22 licensed acres of outdoor cultivation, making it the largest independently owned female and Latinx-owned cannabis farm in ...continued p.31

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30 JUL – 23 AUG

by Steven Libowitz

JUL 31 - AUG 14 More MAW

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ust two weeks remain in the Music Academy of the West’s remarkable return to live music for the 2021 Summer Festival. But there’s still time to catch just about everything MAW offers, including five different events at the Granada consisting of three concerts by the fellows-powered Academy Chamber Orchestra (conducted by Larry Rachleff filling in for an injured Michael Tilson Thomas on July 31, and Marin Alsop for afternoon and evening performances on August 7), and two fellows competitions (duos on August 4, vocalists on August 6).

On the Miraflores campus in Montecito, there are still 10 master classes on the schedule, plus a Mosher Guest Artist Recital with pianist Conrad Tao (August 3) and an X2 recital pairing fellows with faculty (August 5), not to mention the live streaming Fast Pitch Awards competition where viewers can influence the outcome with the votes (August 2).

The final week’s virtual offerings include Innovation Institute Highlights (August 8), the Sing! Children’s Chorus (August 12), the Digital Challenge Competition (August 13), and Miraflores: Cinematic Opera, MAW’s typical operatic arias and scenes event that moved to an inventive film format.

INFO: (805) 8787 or www.musicacademy.org

WEDNESDAY, AUG 4 Viva la Fiesta!

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es, Santa Barbara’s most popular and historic cultural festival is back and boasting a shockingly full schedule given the short organizing window. Many of the traditional events that have made Old Spanish Days a favorite for nearly a century are happening, including Fiesta Pequeña, which returns to its traditional Fiesta opening role with a plethora of

music and dancing staged on the steps of the historic Old Mission Santa Barbara tonight. Las Noches de Ronda will also return to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Sunken Gardens nightly from August 5-7 when folks get all Fiesta festive for two-plus hours of similar entertainment from area dance studios and singers as well as visiting artists all perform to a throng of spectators enjoying more picnicking, partying, and relaxing in lawn chairs under the stars in one of Santa Barbara’s most stunning locations. Tardes de Ronda will be held on Saturday afternoon, August 7. The Arts and Crafts Show on August 7-8 along Cabrillo Boulevard will happen, as will the Fiesta Stock Horse Show on August 6-8 at Earl Warren Showgrounds (but no PRCA rodeo this year). Even Dignatarios at the Zoo — that decadent diversion of dining, dancing, and indulging in free drinks more commonly known as DIGs — is fit for a Fiesta return on August 5.

Viva!

WHEN: August 5-8 WHERE: Various venues COST: Free (save for DIGs) INFO: (805) 962-8101 or www.sbfiesta.org

THURSDAY, AUG 5 1st Thursday Fires Up

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he Downtown Organization has decided to re-launch the popular monthly art-and-culture stroll session for the first time in 17 months as the galleries and other gathering places on lower State Street are desperate to bring back the flock of folks who mix and mingle and sometimes even buy something. Participating galleries and art-related venues can once again

Tell us all about your art opening, performance, dance party, book signing, sale of something we can’t live without, or event of any other kind by emailing fortnight@santabarbarasentinel.com. If our readers can go to it, look at it, eat it, or buy it, we want to know about it and will consider it for inclusion here.

Special consideration will be given to interesting, exploratory, unfamiliar, and unusual items. We give calendar preference to those who take the time to submit a picture along with their listing.

unleash their creative ways to capture visitors’ attention with visual and performing arts activities as many locations time art openings and artists receptions for the event, and/or offer live music, lectures, wine tastings, and hands-on activities for the thrilling three-hour window. Among the participating locations for today’s reentry launch: new partner the Thomas Reynolds Gallery (1331 State St.), which was still up in San Francisco before the pandemic as the fine art gallery just relocated a few months ago to town where it will present a rotating exhibition of California art and artists, including watercolors by Gary Bukovnik presently. Also new: Elsie’s Tavern (117 West de la Guerra St.), which displays a collection of paintings from local artist Andrew Leonard (aka Digital Sunsets) in his first solo show in Santa Barbara, accompanied by a live DJ set by Val-Mar Records, and Idyll Mercantile (703 Chapala St.) boasting live music, beverages, art, and plants for your shopping, dancing, and drinking pleasure. The three newbies join such 1st Thursday veterans as 10 West, Gallery 113, Sullivan Goss, Faulkner Gallery, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art – 20 in all, including entertainment. And fresh air is always just steps away!

WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets COST: Free INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1stthursday

THURSDAY, AUG 5 & 12 Movies Under the Stars in Your Cars

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aybe UCSB Arts & Lectures’ super fun series of free movies out at the West Wind Drive-In seems like the perfect balance between reopening to entertainment and staying COVID cautious now that the Delta variant is swooping in — at least for the unvaccinated. And what better place than the revitalized drive-in to dive into “Be Excellent & Party On,” the Throwback Thursday theme for this year’s series of popular movies from the 1980s and 1990s. Just two more weeks remain for you to steer your jalopy (or Tesla as the case may be) over to Goleta,

starting August 4 with Rush Hour, the hilarious 1998 action-comedy in which cultures clash and tempers flare as two cops from different worlds — Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), the pride of the Royal Hong Kong Police, and Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), the LAPD’s worst nightmare as a cocky, loud-mouthed officer who prefers to work alone — quickly discover the one thing they do have in common: they can’t stand each other. But with time running out to rescue a cop’s kidnapped daughter, they join forces to catch the criminals, mixing punches with punchlines.

August 12 closes out the season with a most delightfully inane double feature of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, in which two teenage slackers in danger of flunking history are about to get a lesson they’ll never forget, thanks to a guardian angel from the future and a time-traveling phone booth (hey, we did say inane, didn’t we?) followed by Wayne’s World, the spinoff from a longrunning Saturday Night Live skit which find Wayne and Garth forced to discover the road to the big time is a gnarly one, fraught with danger, temptation — and ragin’ party opportunities — when their public access TV show goes prime time. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Arrive early for food trucks, concessions, and entertainment.

WHEN: 8:30 pm (Gates open at 7 pm) WHERE: West Wind Drive-In, 907 S Kellogg Ave., Goleta COST: Free INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/ Films.aspx

AUG 7, 22 & 28 Over in Ojai

I

t’s no surprise that Ojai’s Libbey Bowl sprung back into post-pandemic action well before our own jewel of an outdoor amphitheater launched back into live music. The Ojai under-thestars theater is but a fraction of the size

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and is able to book bands that don’t actually have to be on a mega-tour to make sense. Still, Libbey is one of the more charming places to take in a night of music, what with the beautiful park setting (birds often join in on the quieter songs) and the Hollywood Bowl-style seating in a much more intimate space.

Little River Band — the late 1970s vocal band that had a seven-year run of hits including “Reminiscing,” “It’s A Long Way There,” “Help Is On Its Way,” “Happy Anniversary, “Lady,” “Cool Change,” and several others — alights at Libbey on August 7. Three Yacht Rock Legends — Ambrosia (“Holdin’ On To Yesterday,” “How Much I Feel,” “Biggest Part Of Me,” and “You’re The Only Woman”), John Ford Coley (“Nights Are Forever,” “Love Is The Answer,” “I’d Really Love To See You Tonight”), and Peter Beckett of Player (“Baby Come Back,” “This Time I’m In It For Love,” “How Long”) — join forces to sing you into submission on August 22. Santa Barbara’s very own prog-rock hero Alan Parsons brings his Live Project to Libbey on August 28.

WHEN: All shows start at 6 pm WHERE: 210 S. Signal St., Ojai COST: Varies INFO: (888) 645-5006 or https://libbeybowl.org

FRIDAY, AUG 20

AUG 21 & 27

T

fter having to once again postpone or cancel a series of shows due to the ongoing pandemic and its effect on touring acts, Santa Barbara’s biggest, brightest, most bountiful and beautiful venue is roaring back to life for its first live concerts in nearly two years.

Getting the place going again, perhaps appropriately given the absurdity of the whole COVID fiasco, are a pair of comedians who are hoping everyone is more than in a mood to laugh again.

Chelsea Handler, the stand-up who is also a wildly successful TV talk show host, best-selling author, and documentary series star, is ready to talk about today’s biggest topics in her show on August 21, something she’s always embraced, perhaps never so prophetically as in her pre-pandemic 2019 No. 1 New York Times bestseller Life Will Be the Death of Me... Six days later, Jo Koy, perhaps not coincidentally one of Handler’s fave raves as he appeared on more than 140 episodes of Chelsea Lately as a season regular roundtable guest, takes her place at the microphone on the Bowl’s big stage. The comedian, who pulls inspiration from his family, specifically his son, sells out arenas and theaters

Evenings at Elings

he nonprofit park’s first familyfriendly reggae show with Pato Banton was a big hit last month, and now it’s a series of reggae concerts intended to bring reggae greats back to Santa Barbara. Tonight’s second show features Grammy Award-winning reggae legend Mykal Rose who joined Black Uhuru in 1977 and led the band to international success in the early 1980s serving as both songwriter and singer up through the Grammy-winning album, Anthem.

Since then, he’s mostly led a solo career, although he returns to Black Uhuru periodically. Opening the show are local Santa Barbara reggae band King Zero and DJ Marco. Audiences are invited to bring blankets, lawn chairs, and even your own food, although food vendors and beer and wine will be available for purchase on site at the wide-open field with beautiful surroundings and plenty of space to social distance if desire.

WHEN: 5-10 pm WHERE: Elings Park, 1298 Las Positas Rd. COST: $25 general, kids 12 and under free INFO: (805) 569-5611 or www.elingspark.org

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across the world, and in 2018 was given the prestigious “Stand-Up Comedian of the Year” award at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. He has had four highly rated and successful comedy specials on Comedy Central and Netflix, landed albums on the top of the Billboard Charts, and can also be heard on his weekly podcast, “The Koy Pond with Jo Koy.” WHEN: Both shows 7:30 pm WHERE: 1122 N. Milpas St. COST: $45-$95 (Handler); $45-$105 (Koy) INFO: (805) 962-4711 or www.sbbowl.com

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W W W. S A N TA B A R B A R A S E N T I N E L .CO M

I Heart SB

By Elizabeth Rose Since 2015, I Heart SB has followed Elizabeth Rose through dating in Santa Barbara and falling in love, a long-distance relationship, living on a 34’ sailboat then sailing from Washington to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The couple is now engaged, back on dry land, living in an Airstream in Carpinteria. Comments welcome at ihearterose@ gmail.com. For more stories, visit www.ihearterose.com.

ABOUT THE WEDDING…

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18+ only

two santa barbara locations

4135 State St. 805-967-8282 The

Adult Store 405 State St. 805-965-9363

ur wedding was nothing that I expected and more than I could have hoped for: Jason and I were married in front of close family on a Wednesday, with a small reception on Saturday. And if I had to choose one moment to sum up the week, it was the time I snuck out of our party to be alone.

It rained like a mo’ on our reception day; a thunder and lightning storm so tremendous, it could only happen in the South. Our venue was a dock house in Charleston, South Carolina, my hometown, on a small island near an old seafood restaurant weathered from hurricanes past. The vibe is laid-back and unpretentious, a quintessential Lowcountry spot – the restaurant’s tagline is, “People either like it, or they don’t.” I dreamed of dancing in the dock house with Jason for months with a blur of family and friends surrounding us and the marsh outstretched beyond. Of course, the pandemic happened, and we canceled the reception. Though, as restrictions lifted, it seemed a small party could take place.

But it didn’t turn out like my Pinterest board. As Jason and I pulled up with a van full of slightly buzzed best friends, the sky opened up. I zipped my raincoat, checked my makeup in the rearview mirror, and stroked my perfectly curled hair. “F*ck it,” I said, slipping on a trucker hat. I leaned over and kissed Jason on the lips. “I’ll meet y’all inside.”

Leaping over puddles and piles of oyster shells in silver sequin pants, I neared the dock house, ready to have my mind blown by the transformation. But when I entered, I saw nothing but an empty room. My heart dropped, and I wondered if I had the date wrong. Just then, thunder cracked, snapping me back to the moment, and I raced towards a private space under the restaurant where the food would be, locked eyes with Amy, my wedding planner, and threw up my hands as if to say, “What’s going on?”

“There’s a full moon and a king tide tonight, which means we’ll get flooded out of the dock house,” she said. “Everything is set up in the other room, and guests are already having cocktails and a good time.”

I blinked, processing what she just said, but only one thing came to mind: F*ck it. I thanked Amy for not telling me earlier — I couldn’t have handled the stress. “That’s why I’m here,” she said, brushing her hand through the air. “You didn’t need to know.”

In a cinderblock room with screened windows covered halfway up the frame with plastic lining to keep the rain from blowing in, we danced our first dance, clinked our kombucha-filled champagne coupes to my sister’s speech (Jason and I don’t drink), and cut the poundcake I begged my mom to make. The cake topper was a Day of the Dead couple we found in Ensenada, Mexico, a few years ago while filing paperwork to sell our sailboat. String lights, palmetto roses, and fresh flowers softened the space, along with beaming faces of family and friends meeting each other for the first time over shucked oysters, Lowcountry Boil, and cold beer.

Then, we danced. As ‘90s rap pulsated the room, I unplugged the lights, so the strobes lights from the DJ booth lit the party. An hour later, sweating and searching for water, I slipped on my raincoat to take a breather and found myself heading to the dock house. Two friends were smoking near the covered entrance, and after chatting for a bit, I excused myself to go in.

Lightning brightened the room as I entered, and the tin roof amplified the raindrops into a soothing roar. I pulled a folding chair to the middle of the room, turned towards the party, and watched the colorful lights bounced off the plastic-covered windows with loved ones inside. Then, I turned my gaze toward the window to the marsh outstretched beyond. A Southern storm is a blessing, ancestral magic, they say, how the spirits of the Lowcountry make their presence known. And at that moment, I felt them. I lifted my head to the sky with eyes closed and inhaled the air, both salty-sweet from the earthy marsh, crisp rain, and the old wooden dock. “Thank you, God,” I said, choking out a prayer only audible to me, tears of gratitude trickling down my face as I wiped them from my cheeks.

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$2 million. This year, there have been 38 sales of more than $2 million! This is unprecedented in Goleta, and is attributed to many sales in San Antonio Creek, as well as one large $12 million sale in Hollister Ranch.

MONTECITO Montecito’s Villa Bencistà sold in April after 167 days on the market. The 12,000-square-foot home sold for $16.2 million, with a list price of $16.9 million. (Listed by Dusty Baker of Sotheby’s).

The real estate market in Montecito continues to exceed any and all expectations, creating records in both prices and number of sales. The first six months of the year have been incredibly active, with 180 homes in the MUS and Cold Spring School districts closing since January 1. This is significantly more than we saw last year, when 116 homes traded hands in the same time period.

Looking at the mid-year data, the average sales price in Montecito is just more than $7 million. The median sales price is $5.3 million. Last year, the average was around $4 million, with the median at $3.8 million. This is due in large part to the staggering number of sales of homes at more than $10 million: a whopping 22 sales in the first six months of the year. Last year, there was one home that sold above $10 million in the same time frame.

The first half of the year we saw the sale of 27 condos in Montecito, ranging in price from $849,000 to $4.77 million. Average number of days on market for these sales is 50 days. Last year, the average number of days for the 15 condo sales that took place the first half of the year was 158 days. It’s safe to say that the luxury condo market in Montecito is as strong as ever. This is indicative of many out-of-town buyers scooping up second (or third) homes that are relatively low maintenance; a place to escape near the beach in beautiful Montecito.

SANTA YNEZ VALLEY A five-bedroom, three-bathroom home on Valley Dairy Road is currently the only home for sale in Buellton’s Sycamore Ranch neighborhood, listed for $995,000 (Listed

by Calcagno & Hamilton Partners of Berkshire Hathaway).

Areas of the Santa Ynez Valley — which includes Santa Ynez, Los Olivos, Solvang, and Buellton — saw the sale of 170 homes, condos, and PUDs in the first half of the year, ranging in price from a two-bedroom, two-bath condo in downtown Solvang for $300,000 to a $7.7 million estate on 18 acres in Santa Ynez. In 2020, there were 114 sales in the same time frame.

Like the rest of the county, and in most areas of the nation, homes are selling much quicker than in years past. This year, the average number of days on the market was 52, compared to 113 days last year. Many of the buyers in the Valley are migrating from Santa Barbara and Goleta, where the increase in median sales price has priced many entry level buyers out of the market. We are also seeing L.A. and Bay Area buyers, seeking refuge on large ranches and estates, both for primary and secondary residences.

We’ve seen a strong turnover in condos in the valley, including at Vineyard Village, Juliette Walk, Mission Oaks, and in several other, smaller HOAs. 21 condos in the Valley have sold this year, ranging in price from $300,000 to $825,000. Last year

the state. Sara also helped found the North County Farmers Guild and is dedicated to promoting sustainable farming practices in the community.

Wellfounded Botanicals’ core product is centered around three tinctures, each with their own purpose. Relief Tincture 1:1 contains equal parts CBD to THC, approximately 600 mg of each per bottle, and brings a balanced sense of brain and body effects. The Restore Tincture 20:1 (1000 mg CBD to 50 mg THC per bottle) provides a more therapeutic experience with a focus on the anti-inflammatory, calming,

their distinctive pomegranate aromatics with meadowfoam seed, safflower, and sesame seed oils. The Face Oil incorporates green tea, chamomile, seaweed, olive, and passion fruit oil into the soothing and hydrating blend.

The Wellfounded Botanicals line of products all come in elegant, sleek packages with a refined look that reveals Sara’s extensive experience in product design. Whether it is one of these tinctures or calming topicals, one can benefit from both the health effects of cannabis and Sara’s passion for quality.

Autumn Brands recently introduced their own tinctures made without

Unable to work and running out of solutions from western medicine, she began to focus on the farm, growing all her own food so that she could control what went into it. and pain reducing effects of CBD. The Relax Tincture 1:5 (200mg CBD to 1000mg THC per bottle) has a heavier feel with stronger pain relief and sleep-inducing qualities of this blend. The tinctures all contain no additives, using safflower oil as the carrier oil and a dash of pomegranate oil to impart a gentle flavor of this distinctive fruit. The three genres are also offered in capsule form for those looking for a more controllable dosage.

Sara has also been working on a range of health and beauty products including a CBD-infused perfume, topical Relief Body Balm and a body oil that blends

any additives and using MCT oil as a carrier. Their Thrive Elixir with a 1:2 ratio (300 mg THC per bottle) is more day-oriented while the more potent Warrior Elixir blends equal parts THC (1000 mg per bottle) and the non-psychoactive cannabinoid acid, THCa. Autumn Brands is now offering a Nourishing Muscle + Joint Salve as well. The topical cream has a gentle cooling quality and a refreshing hint of lavender in the aroma.

Both Wellfounded Botanicals and Autumn Brands tinctures can be found around town at local dispensaries. Find more information at wellfounded. com.

at this time we had 16 sales of condos by the mid-year mark. We’ve seen investors flocking to the valley’s condo developments, as the rental vacancy rate is at less than .5%. Because of this, and the increased rental prices, there are many properties that offer investors a solid return.

The market in the Valley has shown a slight cool down in the last few weeks, with listing agents reporting fewer offers and longer days on market for new listings.

This could very well be buyer fatigue at play; many buyers are getting frustrated with being outbid in the Valley and beyond, and have decided to pause their home search. That being said, properties that are priced accurately are moving quickly.

MY PREDICTIONS FOR Q3 As we head into fall, I predict that we will see more inventory come on the market, as sellers continue to feel the “frenzy” that buyers have been feeling for the last year. This will cause sales prices to stabilize, although I do not expect that we will see a huge drop in prices.

We are already seeing some buyers pause the brakes, with fewer offers being received on well-priced listings. We are also seeing, for the first time in months, a handful of price reductions hit the MLS. This is the perfect opportunity for buyers who have been contemplating getting in the market to make their move; an imperative start is to get pre-qualified with a local lender and to retain the services of a well-connected realtor who knows the nuances of the local market.

Sellers should be advised that even though there is a boost in inventory, it is still a great time to sell. It’s more important than ever to price your home according to what’s happening in the market the very day you list your home. A local realtor can help guide you along the way.

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SANTA BARBARA BRANCH HomeStyle® is a registered trademark of Fannie Mae. Branch NMLS #1563673 State Street, Suite 310194 Wood Homebridge Financial Services, Inc.; Corporate NMLS ID #65213700 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org); Homebridge Financial Avenue Services, South, 9th Inc.;Floor, Corporate Iselin, NMLS NJ 08830; ID #6521 (866)(www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) 933-6342. Licensed by the Dep the CA Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Branch Address: 3780 State Barbara, Street, SuiteCalifornia C, Santathe Barbara, CA Residential CA 93105; Mortgage Branch NMLS# Lending1563673.

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