Santa Barbara News-Press: March 18, 2023

Beach Baby Kids Boutique

Children’s store opens in Goleta - A5

Playing with John Williams

SB Symphony members share experiences with iconic composer in advance of concert - B1

next chapter for Los Alamos

As developer plans 59 homes, residents say they want smart, responsible growth

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Los Alamos, a small town in Santa Barbara County, is considered by many to be a real-life version of the fictional Mayberry of “The Andy Griffith Show” of the 1960s.

While many developers look at the wide open spaces as a perfect place to build, many residents are wary of growth for fear of losing the small town charm that many cherish.

Several residents expressed that they aren’t against growth per se, but they want to see smart growth.

“I, like many in town who have been expressing opinions, don’t mind growth. It’s how it grows,”

Los Alamos resident Seth Steiner told the News-Press. “We want to see smart decisions made. It’s unwise decisions that we would like to see not happen over and over. There are so many ways to develop.”

Another Los Alamos resident, Christine Burke, told the NewsPress that she would like her town to grow responsibly.

“Los Alamos isn’t taken care of well infrastructure-wise,” she said. “The center of town floods, and there are homes with water damage. We don’t even have postal service. Everyone pays for a post office box.

“Post office hours have been cut back for the post office, due to lack of staffing and there have been tons of break-ins to the post office as well as mail stolen,” Ms. Burke said. “Schools are at capacity and are unsafe for children. Highway 154 closes during almost every rain.”

A proposed 59-unit development of single-family homes for Los Alamos is planned for the base of Purisima Hills, which Ms. Burke said is in a FEMA flood zone.

“Before we add new residences, we need to be brought up to speed,” she said as she continued to discuss infrastructure needs. “Sixty new homes means a couple hundred more people. It needs to be done responsibly.”

She emphasized that what the community primarily wanted is a new Environmental Impact Report. The current EIR is 18 years old.

However, Ms. Burke said, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors did not call for a new EIR, which was partially due to procedural errors, The planned single-family home project is called Village Square by Legacy Homes.

The floor plans for the homes range in size from 1,850 to 2,559 square feet.

“Each home will have at a minimum a two-car garage. Many will have a three car garage along with driveways to accommodate parking,” Frances Romero, the senior planner for TW Land Planning & Development, LLC working with Legacy Estates, told the News-Press.

“The public streets in this subdivision will be built to county standards, unlike the majority of

public streets in Los Alamos,” Ms. Romero said. “Each street will include two full width travel lanes plus shoulders to accommodate on-street parking that does not

Falcon 9 soars from Vandenberg

SpaceX brings more Starlink satellites into orbit

BY DAVE MASON NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 soared

Friday into a mostly blue sky from Vandenberg Space Base, bringing 52 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.

The rocket took off at 12:26 p.m. from Space Launch Complex (SLC-4E)

As usual, the rocket’s first stage booster returned to Earth and landed on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You off the California coast. This was the eighth launch and landing for this booster.

Friday’s takeoff was SpaceX’s 18th launch of 2023 and 217th mission to date.

Everything went smoothly

from the start. “The team is tracking no issues,” a SpaceX announcer said four minutes before the launch during the broadcast on SpaceX.com. As usual, white puffs came around the sides of the rocket. The announcer explained that was the normal result of cold gas coming into contact with the warmer California air. Another announcer calmly expressed the “10.. 9… 8…,” etc. countdown. Then off it went.

“Go Falcon, go Starlink,” the announcer said, calm but upbeat. The usual flame under the rocket burned brightly as the Falcon 9 soared.

“This is our fifth launch from

interfere with the travel lanes.”

The News-Press addressed the issue of whether all units will be receiving water. “A Service

Please see LOS ALAMOS on A3

UCSB loses March Madness first round game to Baylor

Gauchos end season with most wins in program history

By KRISTEN KELLER UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB men’s basketball team (27-8, 15-5 Big West) made their second March Madness appearance in three seasons, coming in as the No. 14 seed. They took on the No. 3 Baylor University Bears at Ball Arena in Denver in hopes of continuing with their record-breaking season. The Gauchos put their all on the court against the tough Big 12 team, but were not able to come out with the win, dropping the game 76-54 to the Bears.

“I thought in the first half, we really executed our game plan well,” said UCSB Head Coach Joe Pasternack. “We held Baylor to two-of-seven from three. But in the second half, their defense really picked it up as they forced turnovers and then shot 40 percent from three; that really hurt us. But I am really proud of our guys for fighting and battling not just in this game, but all year. We dealt with a lot of adversity and injuries and I couldn’t be more proud of this group of guys.”

The Gauchos finished this season with the most wins in program history, 27, while making their eighth NCAA Tournament. UCSB

finished the sixth season under Pasternack with an overall record of 27-8.

HOW iT HAPPEnEd

The Gauchos were the first team on the board against this tough Baylor team with a two-point jumper from Ajay Mitchell. As expected, the Bears were not going to allow UCSB to run away with this one. Neither team could keep the lead for more than a few minutes as the Gauchos’ well-rounded offense distributed the ball to all players on the court as the team shot at 61.5 percent. With the lead changing 12 times in this first half, it was the Gauchos who were in the lead after the first 20 minutes, topping the Bears 36-35 in the first half.

Once the second half began, Baylor came out even stronger on defense while quickening their pace on offense. Up until the first media timeout of the half, the Gauchos fell behind by four after Baylor made back-to-back shots to take the lead. UCSB did not allow Baylor to run away with the game until late in the second. Multiple Gauchos were in foul trouble as they tried to find an answer for Baylor, who could not seem to miss a shot. By the time the final

buzzer sounded in Ball Arena, Baylor ran away with their lead to win the game with a score of 74-56.

LOOK in G AT THE nUMBER s

• Miles Norris led the team in his last game for the Blue and Gold. He put up 15 points, 10 of which came in the second half. He also grabbed four rebounds while securing a teamhigh two steals and the team’s only block of the game.

• Mitchell was second on the team in points, registering 13 in his first NCAA Tournament appearance. He also dished the ball out the most on offense, recording a team-high four assists.

• Andre Kelly played a big part in the Gauchos’ defense as he grabbed a team-high seven rebounds while also adding on two assists.

Kristen Keller is the associate athletic director for communications and digital strategy at UCSB.

email: sports@newspress.com

Semi-truck’s trailer catches on fire on Highway 101

BY KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The No. 2 lane of Highway 101 was shut down temporarily early Friday morning after the trailer of a semi-truck in Buellton caught on fire.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department received a call about the fire at 3:57 a.m.

Capt. Scott Safechuck, the

department’s public information officer, said the fire was confined to the rear trailer of the OnTrac package delivery truck. He said firefighters kept the fire from reaching packages. There were no injuries, and no one was sent to the hospital.

Capt. Safechuck said the cause of the fire is under investigation. email: kzehnder@newspress.com

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Local residents Brian Adams and Christine Burke stand on Bell Street in Los Alamos on Friday. They’re among residents calling for smart, responsible growth for the town.

Signs opposing the proposed Village Square development are posted on Den Street in Los Alamos.

The story behind spies and The Fourth Man

One of the more curious episodes during my tenure as Prince Albert’s spymaster in Monaco was a Russiabased spy-net we code-named “The Oracle System,” brought to us by a former senior officer of the CIA’s clandestine service who had retired after a 30-plus year career that was capped as a division chief. It was the mid-1990s, and Benedict (not his real name) did as many former CIA veterans do upon departing the agency: Venture into privatesector intelligence and risk analysis firms to utilize their very particular set of skills for corporate clients.

A whole coterie of career senior CIA officers flew the coop through the 1990s amid contentious relationships with Directors

John Deutch, James Woolsey and George Tenet. Morale was almost as low at the CIA during that decade as it was among the Russian special services. The Cold War had supposedly ended, and 9/11 had not yet happened to re-energize the CIA for its new mission: to crush Islamic terrorism (to the exclusion of almost all else).

Meanwhile, under President Boris Yeltsin’s rule (1991-99), the Russian intelligence services were in disarray while a grand sellout was under way in all sectors of the Russian government and commerce, including the nation’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR (successor agency to the KGB’s First Directorate), whose poorly paid officers (yet accustomed to comfortable lifestyles in sophisticated foreign capitals) wanted to cash in along with everyone else.

Benedict said he, through his Russian subcontractors, had managed to open a window into SVR archives. It was a network, he said, controlled by a Russian facilitator who (we deduced) had defected to the USA after many years operating as a double agent for the CIA.

This individual, we were told, ran a network of his own spies still working in Moscow who could gain access to the main intelligence archival registry and view files upon request. These agents could not photocopy any paperwork, we were made to understand, but were permitted to enter a secure facility and take detailed notes, which were then smuggled out of Russia and typed up as a report, often delivered by Benedict himself.

I had first gotten to know Benedict when he assisted former CIA spymaster Clair George and myself with private-sector intelligence work, and he offered the services of his Oracle System for one of our private-sector clients.

Additionally, a couple of years before Prince Albert retained me to be his full-time intelligence adviser in June 2002, we tested this system after the prince expressed concern about a Russian resident of Monaco whose proposal his government was considering for investment into the principality’s football club, ASM.

The report we received (for a hefty fee) was highly detailed, impressive and rang true with what we had already garnered through other sources. As a result, the Russian in question was not allowed to invest in ASM. That said, years later when Prince Albert fell under the spell of Russian President Vladimir Putin and actually allowed this person to become an investor and president of ASM, despite Monaco’s police department noting in their file of his connection to “MAFIA RUSSE.”

Benedict took great care to eliminate any data from his reports that might have identified his network on the basis that the facilitator’s on-site agents in Moscow were running a huge risk by peddling Russian secrets — the penalty for which, if caught, would be execution. Thus, Benny was adamant that his spy-net had to be so strictly protected that If we insisted on knowing more about the veracity of the “intelligence” we received (and we did) he would — Benny was very clear on this point — no longer do business with us.

Because of Benedict’s credentials — and because Clair George knew Benny and vouched for him — we were willing to accept his findings at face value without much scrutiny.

In hindsight, this was a mistake.

First off, Benedict was clearly violating agency rules by creating a commercial relationship with a Russian CIA asset. He should have known better, he did know better, but Benny chose to break the rules and quite probably the law. Maybe he left the CIA with bitterness, or perhaps his character was flawed. It should have raised a red flag.

The problem with operating independently and without a support system (such as the CIA) is that raw intelligence would not go through the arduous process of vetting and validation that is necessary for it to pass muster and be taken seriously. Soon after utilizing The Oracle System for Monaco Intelligence I began to suspect that those involved in the system, starting with Benny himself, were taking advantage of the trust (and much money) provided them. Instead of raiding SVR files (if such a methodology ever truly existed), it was beginning to look as though they were mixing open-source material with fabricated “intelligence.”

And not only that. They also appeared to be selling files, which were paid for by us on an exclusive basis, to third parties.

Benedict, as front man, vehemently rebuffed any doubt or criticism about his spy-net’s reporting. But for us, the jig was up and we moved on to what we considered to be other more reliable sources i.e. intelligence services including the CIA and Britain’s MI6 with whom we forged liaison relationships. New evidence since that time period even more strongly suggests that insatiable greed and laziness — or perhaps something much worse — had been taking place.

Fast-forward 20 years to…

THE FOURTH MAN

This is the title of a nonfiction espionage book published last May by Robert Baer, who served 21 years as a case officer with the CIA’s operations directorate with tours in India, the Middle East and a couple African countries.

The book’s premise: A fourth spy — beyond CIA defector Edward Lee Howard, senior CIA official Aldrich Ames and FBI counterintelligence bigwig Robert Hanssen — existed at a senior level within the CIA.

After Mr. Ames was put away, a special counterintelligence team was assembled in supersecrecy by operations chief Hugh “Ted” Price to account for Russian spy reveals that could not be attributed to the traitorous trio, including the case of Oleg Gordievsky, KGB chief in London, who was outed as a spy in early 1985, summoned home to Moscow and accused of being a double agent. Mr. Gordievsky, however, got spirited back to safety in the UK by a magnificent operation executed by MI6

I am reliably assured (by my own sources, not Mr. Baer’s book) that Mr. Ames was not responsible for betraying Mr. Gordievsky. Thus, I have little doubt that a fourth spy exists based on my own adventures in espionage, to include (but not limited to) this pair of vignettes.

One: When I visited Edward Lee Howard in Moscow, his job as the author of his memoir, “Safe House,” was to answer all of the questions that I, his editor (operating secretly for FBI Counterintelligence), asked of him. Mr. Howard revealed to me that a few years after his defection to Moscow in September 1985, he returned to the U.S., using a fake U.S. passport (supplied by the KGB) in the name of Scott A. Roth. He was homesick and wished to reconnect with his wife, Mary.

Mr. Howard’s first stop, before attempting to contact Mary out West, was Washington, D.C.

The KGB arranged for him to be met on a park bench by an American intelligence official who warned him, based on classified intelligence, that Mary had begun to secretly cooperate with the FBI and that if he tried to contact her, he would most certainly be captured. Mr. Howard went no further and returned to Moscow.

More importantly, Mr. Howard told me that the American intelligence official who met him was neither Aldrich Ames nor Robert Hanssen. Granted, it might have been an illegal or sleeper agent planted in the U.S. by the Russian General Directorate for special programs. I suggested this to Mr. Howard, which produced an

ROBERT ERINGER

amused smirk and this question: “You think the Russians don’t have other spies inside the agency?”

Two: Ed Howard later introduced me to former KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, who wished to publish his own memoirs in the U.S. Again, operating undercover for FBI Counterintelligence, I obliged him and, equipped with a “shopping list” of items our own Russia analysts would want to know, I peppered Mr. Kryuchkov with questions for answers that could conceivably resolve an espionage mystery or two.

Thus, the KGB chairman sat for hours in my room at Hotel Baltschug-Kempinski across the Moskva River from the Kremlin as I quizzed him on a wide spectrum of topics.

Although mostly hesitant, Mr. Kryuchkov did come through occasionally with what his associate (and translator) Col. Igor Prelin called a “silver bullet” (based upon my rationale that his book would need to include new reveals in order to generate publicity for successfully marketing it to a savvy American audience).

My question to Chairman Kryuchkov: Why didn’t the KGB do anything to rescue their valuable mole Rick Ames when they knew he was suspected of selling CIA secrets to the Soviet Union?

It was a trick question. We did not know if the KGB was aware of the Ames investigation. But the otherwise stony-faced bureaucratic apparatchik that he was, Mr. Kryuchkov finally showed some real emotion.

“We knew!” the former chairman blurted. “We wanted to get him out of the U.S.A! We proposed this. It went all the way up to Yeltsin! And Yeltsin says NO! We should have got him out!”’

I could feel the passion and disgust in Mr. Kryuchkov’s voice.

Stunned by this revelation, my natural follow-up question was “Why did Yeltsin say nyet?” Mr. Kryuchkov irritably explained that President Yeltsin believed it would upset the applecart — specifically, the $1.6 billion U.S. aid package promised to him by President Bill Clinton.

The point here is that the KGB knew Mr. Ames was in trouble.

How did they know?

Presumably, a fourth man.

PAUL REDMOND

Robert Baer’s contention: In the form of blatant implication, Mr. Baer points his finger at legendary CIA counterintelligence specialist Paul Redmond, who ran the team that busted Rick Ames and, according to a good source, could easily have sabotaged the investigation if he were so minded, but of course did not.

This has caused a firestorm within Washington D.C.’s intelligence community with most (if not all) of that veiled colony’s heavyweights coming to Mr. Redmond’s defense, although it remains curious (to me, anyway) as to why Mr. Redmond has not filed a defamation lawsuit against author and publisher, Hachette.

A libel action must be brought within one year of the alleged offense, so time is short if one is forthcoming.

That said, after hearing a whisper that lawyers may already be involved, I reached out to Mr. Redmond for comment. He confirmed this, saying, “I have retained counsel and am considering all of my options with respect to Mr. Baer’s false and defamatory book.”

In defense of himself, Mr. Redmond told Lawandcrime. com, “Robert Baer’s book is hogwash, filled with mistakes and misinformation. I have never been a Russian spy.”

I fondly remember through the 1990s regularly spying prickly Paul Redmond in McLean, Virginia, as he hung out by himself in the smoking section of Pulcinella, a restaurant

frequented by CIA officers because of its location just down Chain Bridge Road from their headquarters in Langley. I imagined him to be keeping a watchful eye on Russians who also quietly lunched at Pulcinella to eavesdrop on conversations. (In the evenings Paul would be at my other hangout, Chef Geoff’s in Sutton Place, northwest D.C. Jeez, was he spying on me?)

BENEDICT

Now back to Benedict, who was one of senior CIA officials shortlisted by the agency’s counterintelligence team for the moniker Fourth Man. This was due to a matrix methodology of sorting through hundreds of leads but most significantly a) the scope of time involved for unsolved betrayals and b) access to secrets that resulted in the betrayal of Russian assets.

It is by now clear that Benny was deceitful and untrustworthy, evidenced by his taking with him into the private sector a Russian asset, the facilitator of The Oracle System that purportedly raided SVR archives. This was a definite no-no and betrayal of Agency policy.

Moreover, No. 1, it became crystal clear over time that not only did The Oracle System provide bogus “intelligence” but also inserted into their reports disinformation specifically designed to damage and defame certain parties that had upset certain bigwigs among Russia’s power elite. The need Benny stressed for operational security was partly a smokescreen for deception.

Moreover No. 2, at one juncture, Oracle’s facilitator initiated an attempt to convince us that a Russian mole existed near the top of a Western intelligence service friendly to the U.S. on the assumption that we would notify them. This is a ploy often used by Russian intelligence to gum up the works of adversarial intelligence services by causing unnecessary witch hunts.

In this case, the ploy failed because The Facilitator’s claim could not be validated by the service in question and was quickly and prudently dismissed. (Robert Baer’s fingering of Paul Redmond appears to have its roots in the same source, leaving me to deduce that Mr. Baer got played and Mr. Redmond is the victim of a Russian disinformation campaign to discredit his good name.)

Moreover, No. 3, one of the files we (Monaco Intelligence) requested from SVR archives through Benedict pertained to a U.S. Air Force colonel we suspected of having been recruited in the late 1980s by the KGB (and perhaps even by Vladimir Putin personally) during the period our suspect supervised spy plane surveillance of the Soviet Union from Ramstein Air Base in Germany. As Prince Albert’s emissary, I presented our findings in early 2003 to top brass at the FBI’s National Security Division and, soon after, an investigation was officially opened. I did NOT include material on the suspect colonel provided to us by Benny and his Oracle System because it would likely have hindered the credibility of our otherwise genuine evidence. Yet Benny and his Oracle team were now privy to our investigation and FBI involvement. And, to the best of our knowledge, our suspect colonel has not been seen or heard from since 2005 when he sold his Malibu mansion.

Moreover, No. 4, Benny was the CIA station chief in a European country — pre-Howard and preAmes — when he revealed to the KGB rezidentura (“accidentally,” it is said, after drinking too much vodka at a Russian diplomatic event) the identity of a CIA asset who then had to be relocated to the U.S. for his own protection. Even though the compromised asset’s life had been threatened, Benedict dragged his feet on getting him out quickly, telling the asset, “Hang in there.” The asset’s son told me, “My dad had three CIA handlers, the last of which was (Benedict). He was a liar and a cheat. Strange things started happening after his arrival. Lots of our family possessions were taken by him including four shopping bags filled with chunks of beautiful golden amber and a large part of

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Los Alamos is currently unincorporated

Availability letter has been provided by the Los Alamos Community Services District dated 1/25/23. The Service Availability letter applies to the entire 59-unit map,” Ms. Romero told the News-Press.

The project site is in the southwest corner of Los Alamos in the West of Den Street and south of Coiner Street, according to the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department.

The county discusses the project at countyofsb.org/3714/VillageSquare-Legacy-Estates-TractGrad.

“The map was approved in 2005 and recorded in December 2022. The project is already approved,” Ms. Romero said. Grading for the project will commence once the weather clears and the water table recedes, according to Ms. Romero.

“In addition to $41,477 in traffic mitigation fees, it should be noted that the roads in Los Alamos function at a Level of Service A. The community is only at 51% of the buildout envisioned by the 2011 Los Alamos Community Plan,” said Ms. Romero.

She discussed water and sewage. “Connection fees in the amount $1,216,167 will be paid to the Los Alamos Community Services District that can be used to implement capital projects to benefit the entire community. Regional drainage infrastructure will be built by the Village Square project at a cost of $2.4 million. While the project only needs 15% of the capacity provided by this improvement, the remaining 85% will benefit the Los Alamos community.

“County Flood Control has stated that there is currently no drainage infrastructure on the westside of Los Alamos or in central Los Alamos and that this project addresses the westside of Los Alamos,” Ms. Romero said.

The News-Press asked Ms. Romero about how the development will be made compatible with the rural identity of the town.

“The lots were based on a concept plan in the 1994 Los Alamos Community Plan that was developed by community residents,” she said. “The homes have been designed in a ranch style and size consistent with the surrounding neighborhoods. The project is surrounded by hundreds of acres of agriculturally zoned land to the south and west.”

Mr. Steiner said Los Alamos said residents are sensitive to what happened to Los Olivos, “when wine shops took over the businesses in town. In order to make sure that doesn’t happen, we need to have a say.

“We used to have a fairly

effective say when the Los Alamos Planning Advisory Committee was still in existence,” he said. He said the committee reached answers that influenced what happened in Los Alamos.

“We met when there was a proposed project that could affect most residents,” Mr. Steiner said. “After everyone had their say and both sides were represented, the committee would vote, and it would have weight in deliberations of the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors.”

Los Alamos is currently unincorporated and as such is governed by Santa Barbara County, and Mr. Steiner noted 40 to 50% of the county is unincorporated.

“Incorporation is a big step, but we would be satisfied if we had something akin to a planning advisory committee at no additional cost,” said Mr. Steiner.

Residents talked to the NewsPress about what drew them to Los Alamos.

“Before we moved here, my husband and I came from Los Angeles and spent many weekends here. We love the tight-knit community,” Ms. Burke said. “About four years ago, we purchased a home and lived here part time. When COVID hit, we moved up here full time.”

“After selling my business, I had planned to settle with my wife north of Manhattan,” Mr. Steiner said. “A friend of mine living in Solvang at the time invited us out to California. We came out in 2007, and we were so taken by a home in Los Alamos that we changed plans and moved out here.

“We liked the climate and the small town nature of Los Alamos. The charm, scruffiness, rural nature and the very welcoming,

friendly people. We love the tenor of the place and the fact that there is not much traffic or much traffic on the 101 highway. It was an easy decision.” Los Alamos is represented on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors by 4th District Supervisor Bob Nelson.

“I know and understand the concerns of the neighborhood and Los Alamos, I have been hearing that loud and clear for the last two months,” Supervisor Bob Nelson said at the Feb. 28 Board of Supervisors meeting.

“I have honestly worked hard over the last couple months to find a mechanism to get what you have asked for. I have worked with staff over and over again not just to evaluate the merits of the claims of the developer but to look at other ways that we can improve this project inside of a discretionary process and even outside a discretionary process.

“After going through many, many letters from attorneys and comments, working with staff and county council, I don’t see a mechanism for the board to vote, at least for myself to deny this agreement,” he said. He noted the agreement with the county covers part of the project, but it is not the entire project.

Supervisor Nelson said he would like to explore options for FEMA mitigation grants to complement a flood control project to alleviate residents’ concerns.

Mr. Steiner said residents bought homes in Los Alamos because of the community’s current nature.

“It is not fair to existing residents to change the nature of the town, reducing the value of investment and lifestyle we came here for,” he said. “However, empty lots are asking to be developed wisely with a voice from the townsfolk.”

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Starlink satellites provide internet access to 50 countries

LAUNCH

Continued from Page A1

Vandenberg just this year,” the first announcer said.

One minute into the launch, Falcon 9 was traveling faster than the speed of sound. Around 2 minutes 30 seconds into the launch, the first and second stages separated, and the first stage returned to Earth while the second stage

ERINGER

Continued from Page A2

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Reincarnation and Rescues

carried the Starlink satellites into orbit.

Viewers of the SpaceX telecast were treated to impressive views of the Earth in a split screen showing the first stage’s return and the second stage’s orbit.

Around 7 minutes into the launch, the first stage made its burns to slow its descent. Around 8 minutes, it slowed down to below the speed of sound. The SpaceX.com broadcast

my dad’s Russian icon collection. Antiques suddenly disappeared from around the house.

“Years later my dad explained to me that (Benedict) was essentially shaking him down. (Benedict) acted as though the agency had sent him out to get rich off other people’s sweat. He was also reckless. My dad’s previous handlers were discreet in their dealings with him, but (Benedict) would pull up in our driveway. He was also a drinker, perhaps a functional alcoholic.”

Moreover, No. 5, in July 2002, Edward Lee Howard met the grim reaper in Moscow (he supposedly tripped and broke his neck) after Benedict learned from me about a renewed effort by FBI Counterintelligence — after a five-year hiatus and Bill Clinton’s departure from the White House — to rendition Mr. Howard and repatriate him to American justice. (We could have captured Mr. Howard — after much hard work and planning — on Nov. 5,1995 when he landed in Warsaw, but the plug got pulled at the last moment, presumably by the president.)

Moreover, No. 6 (and perhaps most revealing of all),

gave a dramatic view of the first stage landing, right smack into the inner circle on the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, around 8 minutes 50 seconds into the launch. The crew in the control room cheered.

SpaceX has had a series of Starlink missions, and the satellites are providing internet access for 50 countries.

email: dmason@newspress.com

a former private-sector associate of Benny’s told me about a discussion Benedict initiated in 2005. Benny wanted to know a foolproof way for surreptitiously transferring a substantial amount of money overseas to an account he could access in the U.S.

Finally, a check on my super-duper database reveals that Benedict recently bought a house for almost $2.5 million, most of which was provided by a bank mortgage. Without a job bringing in a very high income, Benny (who is now quite elderly and no longer working) would have needed over $5 million in a bank account to qualify for such a high mortgage. Taking all into account, if a Fourth Man truly exists, Benedict is my prime suspect. I reached out to Robert Baer to ask questions about his book. His response: “My book’s account of the 1990s SUI investigation into the ‘fourth man’ was based on scores of sources, including the people who spoke to me on-the-record. I stand by my reporting.”

The CIA’s Office of Public Affairs had no comment.

The FBI’s National Press Office had no comment. Robert Eringer is a longtime Montecito author with vast experience in investigative journalism. He welcomes questions or comments at reringer@gmail. com.

In Dallas, Laura Stinchfield, The Pet Psychic, talks about reincarnation with Kelly and her Pomeranians. After Kelly rescues Elvis, he passes. She began looking for signs that he might return. Laura explores and explains synchronicity.

In Orlando, Robyn and Robert of CH Lives Matter Rescue explain the challenges of CH (Cerebellar Hypoplasia), a neurological affliction that can affect dogs and cats. Depending upon the severity, it can range from jerky movements and difficulties in walking to the inability to walk at all.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Los Alamos is known for its Mayberry-like, small-town charm. This is the main street, Bell Street, as seen from Ferini Park.

Junior League of Santa Barbara to put on rummage sale

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

The Junior League of Santa Barbara is hosting a rummage sale on March 24 and 25 at the Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo St., Santa Barbara.

The March 24 date is a pre-sale for people who would like to get there before the crowd on March 25, and the ticket is $25 to attend.

The main event will be on March 25, and admission on that date is free.

Art, baby items, furniture, clothing and much more will be on sale.

The host of the event, Junior League of Santa Barbara, is a local nonprofit organization for women. This is the sale’s 85th

Speaker warns audience about TikTok

anniversary. According to Junior League’s website (www.jlsantabarbara. org), its mission is “to promote voluntarism, develop the potential of women, and improve the community through effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.”

The rummage sale will raise money for the league’s current project, S.A.F.E. House Santa Barbara, a residential shelter in Santa Barbara for girls who are survivors of sexual exploitation and sex trafficking.

If you would like to donate your used goods to the Rummage Sale, you can drop off your items today and March 23 at the Carrillo Recreation Center.

email: abahnsen@newspress.com

Liz Wheeler discusses the negative impact of TikTok during a Young America’s Foundation event Friday at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Ms. Wheeler is the host of “The Liz Wheeler Show,” a podcast, and the foundation said on its website (yaf.org) that she is one of the boldest voices of the conservative movement. At Friday’s event, Ms. Wheeler cautioned her audience, made up largely of high school students, against viewing TikTok, which she said promotes negative ideas. She later asked the students what they thought of TikTok, and one girl in the audience said, “I just deleted it.” TikTok is a social media platform owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day

Library offers Family Game Night Packs

SANTA MARIA — Need some ideas on how to keep the kids entertained during this rainy season? The Santa Maria Public Library is offering free Family Game Night Packs for families. Starting today, these packs are available at the libraries in Santa Maria, Orcutt, Los Alamos, Guadalupe, Cuyama and the SMPL To Go Bookmobile. They will be provided while supplies last.

These packs, administered by the state librarian of California, feature supplies and instructions for a Minute-to-Win-It themed game night. One pack provides fun

Butterfly Beach closed for recreational water contact

MONTECITO — A sewage spill has led to the closure of Butterfly Beach to recreational water contact.

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department issued the closure for the beach within one-quarter mile of the storm drain outfall.

The closure is in response to a spill of untreated sewage reaching ocean waters along the shoreline.

Santa Barbara County Environmental Health Services was notified by the Montecito Sanitary District of a broken sewer force main on Channel Drive. The broken pipe is currently being repaired, and no additional sewage is anticipated to be discharged to the storm drain, according to the public health department.

It was estimated that the spill involved a release of approximately 6,650 gallons of sewage.

The Santa Barbara Bagpipe and Drum Corps plays tunes on St. Patrick’s Day outside the Press Room in downtown Santa Barbara. And bagpipers were playing throughout the day across the street at Dargan’s, an Irish restaurant, where a large crowd was entertained by the Foggy Dew Band and the Irish Dancers.

ROLLERI, John A. III

12/09/1947 - 02/27/2023

John A. Rolleri III passed away on February 27, 2023, in Santa Barbara CA surrounded by his loving family. John was born to John and Albina Rolleri on December 9, 1947, in Stockton, CA. He graduated from St. Mary’s High School, where he excelled in athletics. He was a purchasing agent for 35 years and then retired in Santa Barbara.

John was very proud of his Italian heritage. His grandparents immigrated to Stockton, CA from Genova, Italy. His family founded Genova Bakery, a historic landmark, which is still in operation a century later. He loved all things Italian, especially the food. John was a loyal 49ers fan and also enjoyed listening to the Oakland A’s play baseball on the radio. He enjoyed fishing, camping, boating, sunny days at the beach, driving his classic Chevy El Camino, and listening to music.

John will always be remembered as a devoted son and loving father. He is survived by his daughter Lori Rolleri of Stockton, his son Joseph Rolleri of Santa Barbara, his grandchildren Bradley Hoyt and Melissa Hoyt of Stockton, his sister Antoinette McDaniel of Monterey, nieces, nephews, and many cousins.

Funeral services will be private. Memorial tributes may be made to Hospice of Santa Barbara.

BARNARD, Mary Ellen Mary Ellen Barnard passed away peacefully on March 11th at her home in Solvang, California. Born Mary Ellen Leary in Sacramento on December 8, 1934, she was raised at the Leary Ranch on Grand Island in the Sacramento River Delta. Mary Ellen attended grade school and high school in Courtland and later was admitted to Stanford University, where she graduated in 1956 with a degree in History. On a blind date at Stanford, Mary Ellen met a law student, Tom Barnard of Santa Monica, whom she married on September 22, 1956.

In Santa Monica, Mary Ellen and Tom raised their four children and participated in a full life of social activities, tennis, golf and community service with the Santa Monica Rotary and Breakfast Clubs, the Teen Tennis Program, and many other charitable organizations.

In 1983, Mary Ellen and Tom moved to La Querencia Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley. Mary Ellen volunteered with the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum and the Alisal Golf Club, and was a founding member of the local YMCA. Mary Ellen was an avid cook and entertainer and would host gatherings with proceeds supporting the local hospital, YMCA and Rotary Club. She was honored twice as a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. Mary Ellen enjoyed playing tennis, golf, bridge and dominos, gardening, hiking with the Santa Ynez Valley Women’s Hiking group, and traveling with family, friends and the People to People Ambassadors program. In her later years, Mary Ellen became an avid student of art and painted many beautiful watercolor landscape scenes of her travels throughout California and the West. Mary Ellen loved attending and supporting theater and symphony, and was a big fan of the Solvang Theaterfest and her family members’ symphonic performances.

Mary Ellen is survived by her children and their spouses Eileen (Graydon), Mark (Jodi), Kathryn (Ken) and Tom (Marianne); her grandchildren Addie, Chas, Katy, Sydney, Gabrielle, Nicolette, Grace, and Joshua; her two great-grandchildren Aleph and Enso; her brothers Dennis and Michael Leary; and her in-laws John, Ginger and Dick Barnard. Mary Ellen is preceded in death by her husband of 47 years Tom Barnard, her later companion Jim McGuire, her parents Dennis W. and Marie Leary, and her sister Margaret Gualco.

The family would like to thank Mary Ellen’s exceptional team of caregivers who lovingly cared for Mary Ellen in her final years of life.

A Funeral service will be held at 2pm on Saturday, March 25th, at the Loper Funeral Chapel (2465 Baseline Ave, Solvang, CA 93463).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Santa Ynez Valley Historical Museum, the Stuart C. Gildred Family YMCA or your favorite charity. Loper Funeral Chapel, Directors

ALLEN, Garret James

Garret

“Gary” James Allen was born in Santa Barbara, California on September 19, 1969, to Mark L. Allen and Sandra J. Allen. Gary passed away suddenly in his sleep on March 7, 2023. He attended Hope Elementary School, La Colina Junior High School, and graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1988. Gary was a proud member of the A Capella Choir at SBHS and had a lifelong passion for music. He toured as a member of the crew for his childhood friends’ band, “Toad the Wet Sprocket.” Gary studied at Santa Barbara City College and then finished up his education in Miami, Florida with a degree in Dental Technology.

After returning to Santa Barbara, Gary married his high school girlfriend, Darla Kimbrough. They traveled the world together and then settled in Seattle, Washington for 10 years. They were avid U2 fans and attended their concerts around the world. They returned to Santa Barbara where their twin sons Joshua and Jeremiah were born. His wife, Darla, predeceased Gary.

Gary was a devout Christian. He loved surfing and enjoyed writing and playing Christian music. Gary was a loyal friend and family member. His cheerful smile and tender ways will be missed by all. He is survived by his twin sons, his parents Mark and Sandra Allen, sisters Karen Allen, Reta Tafelski and her husband Mark Tafelski, his stepmother Trudy Allen, stepsister Karen Cartwright, and stepbrother Gene Cartwright and many loving aunts, uncle, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. Donations in Gary’s name may be made to the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission. A memorial service will be held at Emanual Lutheran Church 3721 Modoc Rd, Santa Barbara, CA on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at 11:00 AM for family and friends.

Obituary notices are published daily in the Santa Barbara News-Press and also appear on our website www.newspress.com

To place an obituary, please email the text and photo(s) to obits@newspress.com or fax text only (no photos) to (805) 966-1421. Please include your name, address, contact phone number and the date(s) you would like the obituary to be published. Photos should be in jpeg format with at least 200 dpi. If a digital photo is not available, a picture may be brought into our office for scanning. We will lay out the obituary using our standard format. A formatted proof of the obituary and the cost will be emailed back for review and approval.

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on Tuesdays; Friday’s edition deadlines at 10a.m. on Wednesdays (Pacific Time). Free Death Notices must be directly emailed by the mortuary to our newsroom at news@newspress.com. The News-Press cannot accept Death Notices from individuals.

for a family of four.

This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act. For more information, contact the library’s Youth Services at 805-925-0994, ext. 8564.

email: abahnsen@newspress.com

The affected area has been posted with signs warning the public to avoid contact with the water until sample results indicate the water is safe for recreational use. Contact with sewage-contaminated water increases the risk for conditions such as rashes, fever, chills, ear infections, vomiting and diarrhea.

For more information, visit www.sbprojectcleanwater.org.

— Katherine Zehnder

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

These packs, administered by the state librarian of California, feature supplies and instructions for a Minute-to-Win-It themed game night.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Children’s store opens in Goleta

By ANNIKA BAHNSEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT

Trudi Lopez and Andrea Hertz have been longtime friends and Santa Barbara residents.

Recently, they had a dream to create a kids boutique in Goleta, and now, a few months after that dream started, Beach Baby Kids Boutique was born.

It’s at 270 Storke Road, Suite A, and they sell everything from sun glasses and boots to clothing at the Storke Plaza store.

The store opened on Nov. 1 and has been a success since its soft launch.

Ms. Lopez, who co-owns the

store with Ms. Hertz, commented on starting the business.

“Andrea and I have been friends and business associates for a few years, and whenever we got together, we were constantly saying to each other, how much we needed to collaborate on something together. Since we both loved kids and had businesses that appealed to families, and we both lived in north Goleta, it just seemed right.”

Ms. Lopez and Ms. Hertz are known as powerful forces in the Santa Barbara business community. Other than this collaboration, Ms. Lopez is the owner of Beach Baby Nannies,

and Ms. Hertz owns Hello Baby Ultrasound, Mesa Magazine and Goleta Neighbors.

“We both are business ladies,” said Ms. Lopez. “We know how to start a business, and together we make a fabulous and creative team. Andrea and I are work wives and have each other’s back. We are 50/50 in everything and

Please see STORE on A7

Businesses invited to participate in National Library Week

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

As part of a campaign celebrating National Library

Week, the Santa Barbara Public Library is inviting local businesses to show their support for libraries by offering a special promotion to customers who show their library card when making a purchase.

Promotions could include a percent off the total purchase, a percent of purchase offered as a donation to the Santa Barbara

Public Library Foundation and a special offering or discount (i.e., a literary-themed cocktail or a cookie decorated as a book).

Promotions could be offered all week or just on one specific date during the week.

In addition to showing support for the library, by participating in the promotion businesses will receive:

• Recognition on the library’s website and on a poster in each Santa Barbara Public Library location.

• A feature in the newsletter

with 40,000 subscribers of almost exclusively local residents who frequent downtown and Milpas Street.

• A feature on social media promoting your business.

• A custom sign to display in your business showcasing your promotion and support of SBPL.

All Santa Barbara and Montecito businesses are invited to participate. To do so, contact Kacey Drescher at 805-897-1909 by April 7 to complete a survey. email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

Life insurance has its advantages

Life insurance! Just the mention of it brings preconceived ideas to mind!

Back in the ’80s, used car salesmen and life insurance salesmen were considered to be “two peas in a pod!” Just the mention of life insurance sent people scurrying!

The old “whole life” policies were expensive, and the cash value in the policy never gave much of a return. “Term insurance” was also expensive, and the underwriting process was cumbersome at best.

My, how things have changed!

Today life insurance is one of the most important tools we have to ensure that financial goals and objectives are met. Life insurance can play an important part in providing a death benefit for a variety of reasons.

There are two main types of life insurance policies; term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

estate-planning strategy. Policyholders can name their beneficiaries and ensure that their loved ones are taken care of after their death. Additionally, life insurance can be used to provide a source of income for a surviving spouse or children.

TIM TREMBLAY INVESTMENTS

Term insurance provides coverage for a specific period, usually between one to 30 years, and pays a death benefit if the policy holder dies during that period.

On the other hand, permanent life insurance provides coverage for the policy holder’s entire life, and the death benefit is paid out whenever the policy holder dies. The cash value in the permanent life policy can now work in a variety of ways and can be designed to fit the goals and objectives of the policy holder. The return for the cash value can be determined by a “fixed interest rate” return, a “variable” or “stock and bond managed” approach, or a “fixed-indexed” approach.

Many life insurance policies now offer health enhancement benefits that promote healthy living. Policyholders can earn discounts on their premiums, or cash can be added to the value of the policy by participating in wellness programs or achieving specific health goals, such as quitting smoking or losing weight. These benefits not only help policyholders save money on their premiums, but they do much more. Healthy living habits will add cash to the investment portion, provide gift cards and discounts for travel expenses and more.

Exercise and healthy eating are important aspects of these “health enhancement policies,” which encourage policyholders to live a healthier lifestyle!

Life insurance can be an important part of an

A “second-to-die” policy is a valuable estate planning tool that will have a much more reasonable premium than a “one-life” policy and will provide a way to pay estate taxes. Through a “minimal death benefit policy,” a plan for safe, tax-free income can be added to a financial plan. Life insurance can be purchased individually by a person for themselves or by a company for their employees. Employer-sponsored life insurance policies can provide coverage at a lower cost than individual policies, and the premiums may be paid for by the employer. Group life insurance policies may also offer higher coverage limits than individual policies. Many life insurance policies now offer long-term care benefits that provide coverage for nursing home care or in-home care. These benefits can be added as a rider to a life insurance policy or purchased as a separate policy. This type of coverage can help ease the financial burden of long-term care for policyholders and their loved ones.

The evolution of life insurance policies has allowed them to provide more benefits and options for policyholders.

While the primary purpose of life insurance remains to provide financial protection for loved ones after a policyholder’s death, additional benefits such as health enhancement, estate planning and long-term care can provide added peace of mind and financial security for policyholders and their families. Today life insurance really should be considered another “asset class.”

The next time you hear from a life insurance salesman, don’t scurry away! He could have some very valuable information for you, your family and loved ones!

And remember, stay the course!

Tim Tremblay is president of Tremblay Financial Services in Santa Barbara (www.tremblayfinancial. com).

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Trudi Lopez and Andrea Hertz started Beach Baby Kids Boutique, which opened in November in Goleta.

Beach Baby Kids Boutique offers boots in various colors.

Marjorie Luke Theatre

UCSB men’s tennis comes back to earn second top-75 win of the week

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

Phillip Jordan caped off a comeback victory for the UCSB men’s tennis team Thursday afternoon, picking up the Gauchos’ second top-75 win on the week and their fifth consecutive win overall.

HOW IT HAPPENED

UCSB fell just short of picking up the doubles point after dropping a tiebreaker on court one. Indiana struck first before UCSB evened up the score, collecting the first tiebreaker of doubles play. On court three Gianluca Brunkow and Lucca Liu defeated their opponents 7-6 (7-4). On court one Phillip Jordan and Kai Brady fell just short of

collecting the double point for the Gauchos losing their set 7-6 (7-5) for the second tiebreaker in doubles play.

The Gauchos came back and in singles play collected three quick points to take a 3-1 lead. Luka Mrsic won in straight sets 6-3 and 6-1 on court five, while Pablo Masjuan also collected a straight set victory on court two 6-3 and 6-2. Kai Brady put the Gauchos up 3-1 after a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court six. Phillip Jordan would clinch the match for Santa Barbara with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 victory on court one.

Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB.

email: sports@newspress.com

UCSB men’s volleyball falls to UC Irvine

By ERIC BOOSE UCSB SPORTS

The UCSB men’s volleyball team (5-12, 1-3 Big West) nearly upset No. 6 UC Irvine (13-6, 3-0 Big West) at Rob Gym Thursday night, taking the first two sets before ultimately falling, 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 11-25, 11-15).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The first set saw an intense back and forth, but the Gauchos found their momentum on their hitting as Nick Amoruso entered the game after Owen Birg came off due to an injury. The two teams kept the game tied until UCSB pulled away with a kill by Amoruso and a strong block from the front row to end the set,

25-23.

The next frame was no less exciting, filled with a couple of contentious calls and Irvine coming back in the latter half, but five straight kills from Ryan Wilcox extended the Gauchos lead again, and a service ace from the Honolulu native ended the second frame in UCSB’s favor.

Sets three and four saw the Anteaters’ offensive come alive as the Gauchos struggled defensively to make the necessary plays to respond as UC Irvine forced a fifth set. While Santa Barbara was hungry for the win, the Anteaters’ hits proved to be too much for the Gauchos’ back row and unable to overcome Irvine’s four-point lead in the final frame.

ON THE STAT SHEET

• Nick Amoruso led the Gauchos with his impressive performance, reaching a season-high 17 kills, 10 digs, and totaling 18 points for the night.

• Jack Walmer also had a double-double performance after tying his season-high 12 digs and racking up 39 assists.

• For the fourth game in a row, Ryan Wilcox reached double-digit kills with 11 and also collected six digs and a total of 12 points.

• Dayne Chalmers also contributed to the scoring with 10 kills, nine digs and 11 total points.

Eric Boose is assistant director of athletic communications at UCSB. email: sports@newspress.com

Westmont

men’s tennis resumes season with win over Sewanee

By JACOB NORLING WESTMONT SPORTS WRITER

After a 12 day hiatus Westmont Men’s Tennis (55) returned to action on Thursday in Santa Barbara when they hosted NCAA Div. III Sewanee (6-3). In the first ever meeting between the two, the Warriors bested the Tigers, the 22nd-ranked team in Div. III, by a score of 5-2. The Warriors came out with their foot on the gas in doubles, setting the tone for what proved to be an exciting match. With the first clinch of the day Ethan Ha and Logan Thompson defeated G.T. Alexander Liam Selvido 6-1 on one, and to secure the doubles point, Benny Saito and Owen Vander Ark bested Hugh Graham and Liam Baer by the same score on two.

“On paper, this was a team who was favored to beat us,” admitted Westmont head coach Mark Basham. “I’m super happy with the way we started in doubles today. We took care of business on one and two and had great energy, and I was also happy with the way number three battled.

“Doubles really set the tone, we carried it over big time.”

In singles Thompson was the first Warrior to push the club closer to clinch, as he defeated Alexander 6-4, 4-1 on one. Following Thompson’s result, Cody Ray Emery pulled Westmont within one point of victory after he defeated Selvido 6-3, 6-3, on court two. The Tigers got their first point of the match on court three, where Matt Barnett out-lasted Vander Ark 6-3, 7-6 (5), but the Warriors would not surrender another point before clinching the match.

Doing the honors once again was none other than Ha, who defeated Jax Harbour 7-6 (1), 6-3. Following their clinch on three the sides played the match all the way through, with the day coming to an end on six after Saito won a tiebreaker in the final set.

“Logan got it done on one, really taking control when he won that close first set,” reflected Basham. “Cody Ray did a great job putting us up on two, which was awesome. Collectively, the guys were playing more aggressively today.

“The guys were playing more to win, stepping in and using their legs better. I loved that Benny won his match serving a volley. It was super to see Ethan clinch again as well.”

The Warriors now turn their attention to GSAC play where the club will host two conference rivals this weekend. On Friday at 1:00 p.m., the Warriors host Menlo, and on Saturday at 10:00 a.m., Westmont hosts Jessup.

“It’s nice to get back to .500,” noted Basham, “and we’ve had some good wins along the way. We’re looking forward to getting ready first for tomorrow, and then Saturday.”

Jacob Norling is the sports information assistant at Westmont College.

email: sports@newspress.com

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Warriors split with Santa Paula in track and field

Carpinteria track and field had a hard-fought meet against Santa Paula, tieing 1-1. The girls won 65-62 and the boys lost 34-91.

For the girls, Ainslee Alexander led the way with wins in the long jump, triple jump, shot put, and the 100-meter hurdles. Melanie Avalos won her first varsity competition with an 80-8 personal record in the discus.

Emily Ehlers was another winner for the Warriors in the 100 meters, coming in at 13.96 seconds.

Hugo Alvarado was the only individual winner for the boys. He won the 1600 meters with a seasonal best time of 5:05.23.

The Warriors will compete next in the San Marcos Tri-City relays on Saturday.

Bishop boys volleyball sweeps Cate

The Cardinals boys volleyball team played Cate on March 16 at home. They swept the Rams with scores of 25-12, 25-21, and 25-20. The Cardinals improve to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league.

Liam Flood led the team, recording 15 kills and five aces. Braylon Katers also added to the win with nine kills and two aces.

“With tough serving and a transition offense, I thought our guys executed really well tonight. That level of play will keep us in contention this weekend at the Dos Pueblos Invitational,” said Head Coach Dillan Bennett.

Like mentioned above, alongside other Santa Barbara teams, the Cardinals will head to UCSB to play in the Dos Pueblos Invitational this weekend.

Santa Ynez falls to Dos Pueblos in beach volleyball

Santa Ynez was swept in a non-league match 3-0 against Dos Pueblos.

Kaki Allen and Gianna Pecile lost with scores of 21-11 and 21-7. Sadie Lishman and Hannah Allen also lost with scores of 21-9 and 23-21. Cailin Glover and Arelie Perez put up a fight with their opponents, taking them to three sets. They ended up losing with scores of 21-19, 19-21, and 15-7.

“We needed to control the ball better and limit our errors. We have work to do with our new lineup, however the girls are making good progress,” said Head Coach Melissa Rogers.

The Pirates will play against Arroyo Grande on March 21.

San Marcos beats Dos Pueblos in boys tennis

The Royals boys tennis team defeated Dos Pueblos 13-5.

Jed Greenwald led the Royals in the singles, sweeping Dos Pueblos. Joey and Charlie Friedman continued their winning streak, defeating all three Dos Pueblos doubles teams. Shea Suzuki and Kyle Shaffer also added to the decisive defeat with two wins. Nathan Shaffer and Henry Challen took down Dos Pueblos’ doubles team.

The Royals will play against Rio Mesa on March 20.

Store partners with some local moms who make homemade goods

families.

and enjoy the store themselves!”

love this community with all our hearts.”

They also have a strong “cando” attitude when it comes to their business.

“Building this store and getting everything ready like our building signs, buying merchandise, is a step-by step process, but together Andrea and I are hustlers,” Ms. Lopez said. “We get things done and don’t sweat over something that doesn’t work out. We stay positive and move forward.”

Something that the owners pride themselves on is their prices. Santa Barbara residents know that things aren’t cheap right now, so having a store like this could be a relief to many

“We are really trying hard to maintain a good price point where things are affordable to our surrounding community,” Ms. Lopez commented.

They also want to make sure the atmosphere of the store is warm and welcoming. Ms. Lopez explained, “We are the store around the corner where you can sit outside on our wood chairs and enjoy your coffee, or wait for your spouse and kids in the store, or even go inside and play in our magical kid friendly toy area.”

Something unique about the merchandise they sell is where they source from.

“We partner with a few moms who make homemade goods and sell them in our store,” said Ms. Lopez. “When they come in to restock their items, they bring their own kids who love to play

When thinking of their future, Ms. Lopez said they are “hoping to be here long-term.”

She said achieving that means listening to their customers and learning the brands and merchandise they’re seeking.

And Ms. Lopez and Ms. Hertz have been grateful for the support from the community.

“The feedback from our community has been overflowing with love and support, and it’s so incredibly heartwarming to hear and see,” Ms. Lopez said.

“It feels nice to provide more options to parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and kids, who come in excited to see something different than what Target or Costco is selling. It means people have options.”

email: abahnsen@newspress.com

ROUNDUP

Continued from Page A6

San Marcos defeats Santa Ynez in boys golf

The Royals boys golf team beat Santa Ynez 382-430 at the Sandpiper Course this past week.

Shams Jahangir-Arshad finished a medalist in the match with seven birdies, to finish with a 68, four under par. Leo Metzger had three birdies, to finish two under par, with a final score of 70.

The Royals improved to an overall record of 4-0. They will play Santa Ynez again at the Alisal course on March 21.

Bishop boys tennis ties Hueneme

The Cardinals and Hueneme had a tough battle that ended in a tie. It was 9-9 in sets and 67-67 in games won. This was a non-league match so the tiebreaker was not played.

The Cardinals could not field a dull team so they ended up forfeiting three sets and the third singles

match.

Aaron Bush swept in the No. 1 singles spot, dominating his opponents 6-2, 6-0 and 6-0. Max Schwartz and Agustin Gaona were successful in the top doubles spot, winning their matches 7-6, 6-0 and 6-0.

“I feel like we were very proactive today as far as setting the tone. We competed well and everybody was aware about every game,” explained Head Coach Pete Kirkwood.

The Cardinals play St. Bonaventure next in their Tri Valley League opener on March 21.

Warriors is defeated by Arroyo Grande in boys tennis

Santa Ynez fell to Arroyo Grande in boys tennis 36. Their wins came from Bryce Wilczak and Tyler Rose in the singles spot. Wilczak had a score of 6-4 and 6-1, Rose had a score of 6-2 and 6-3. In the doubles matches, the only win came from Wilczak and Cooper Haws. They defeated their opponent 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, and 10-5 in the tiebreaker.

The Pirates play Orcutt Academy on March 21.

— Compiled by Annika Bahnsen

Life theArts

Playing music with John Williams

CALENDAR

COURTESY PHOTO

By

Jessica Guideri was playing the violin with an orchestra on a Sony Studios recording stage when none other than Indiana Jones stopped by.

Harrison Ford visited the Culver City sound stage, and Ms. Guideri, who grew up with “Indiana Jones” and “Star Wars,” went up to the movie star — aka Indiana Jones, aka Han Solo — during a break. She persuaded him to pose with her for a photo.

It was part of the thrill that Ms. Guideri felt that day as she played in an orchestra conducted by none other than John Williams.

Yes, the John Williams, the iconic composer behind the music of “Indiana Jones,” “Star Wars,” “E.T.” and more. And tonight and Sunday, Ms. Guideri, the concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony, will perform the violin solo from Mr. Williams’ theme for “Schindler’s list.”

“I’m excited about doing that,”

Ms. Guideri told the News-Press.

“It’s a great piece!”

Ms. Guideri and six other Santa Barbara Symphony members have played in orchestras conducted by Mr. Williams, and they will be there this weekend when the entire orchestra devotes its concert

to “John Williams: A Cinematic Celebration.”

Guest conductor Rei Hotoda will lead the orchestra during the concerts at 7:30 tonight and 3 p.m Sunday at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. There won’t be any movie clips or stills up on a screen. There’s no need for that. If fans hear a John Williams theme, they know instantly they’re hearing the themes of “Superman,” “Jurassic Park” and “Star Wars,” etc.

Mr. Williams, who also wrote the theme for “Jaws,” is the composer whom Steven Spielberg has turned to frequently, for everything from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to “Lincoln.”

Ms. Guideri and Jon Lewis, the symphony’s principal trumpeter, have played with Mr. Williams for orchestral soundtracks for the last three “Star Wars” movies (episodes seven, eight and nine) and the new “Indiana Jones” movie coming out on June 30.

“When you show up at a John Williams session, everybody is really on their A game,” Mr. Lewis, 63, told the News-Press. “When I say everybody is on their A game, they have to be. He writes with such intricacy and complexity. From the very first time you read it to the very last time you play it, it has to be perfect. You play it exactly as he wrote it, every time.

“The level of playing with John is the highest that I have noted,” said Mr. Lewis, who, like Ms. Guideri, lives in Los Angeles.

Ms. Guideri remembers playing for the first time with the orchestra that Mr. Williams led on “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

There they were, in the Sony Studios recording stage that Mr. Williams likes to use in Culver City. It’s an iconic stage, known for its great acoustics and for being the place where an orchestra recorded the score for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).

And there he was, Mr. Williams at the conductor’s stand.

“It was just incredibly exciting,” Ms. Guideri said about playing the violin that day. “The buzz in the room was palpable.” She said she teared up that day.

“It was so beautiful to hear Princess Leia’s theme, to be played for the actual movie. It was so cool,” said Ms. Guideri, a New York City native who earned her bachelor’s and master’s in music at The Juilliard School. “We’ve all played the theme of ‘Star Wars’ for pops concert after pops concert, but to actually play it for the actual movie was an exhilarating experience.

“I probably saw ‘Return of the Jedi’ eight times in the movie theater when I was a little kid. I was a big fan,” Ms. Guideri said. She stressed she enjoys the

experience of playing in an orchestra led by Mr. Williams.

“I loved that he calls the orchestra, ‘friend.’ He says, “OK now, friend.’ You feel like everyone’s making music together,” Ms. Guideri said. “We’re all on a team producing this great piece of art.

“It’s really lovely when there’s this feeling of team work,” Ms. Guideri said. “I feel like he creates that during his sessions.”

She noted actors in “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” movies like to visit the recording stage when Mr. Williams is conducting the orchestra.

“I approached Harrison Ford in the middle of the break and asked him for a picture,” Ms. Guideri said. “He turned into Indiana Jones and said, ‘OK, get over here for a picture.’ It was so great.”

Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the last three “Star Wars” movies, also visited the recording stage, and Ms. Guideri recalled that Luke Skywalker himself — movie star Mark Hamill — also dropped by. “I was able to get a picture with him.”

When asked about the violin parts in Mr. Williams’ music, Ms. Guideri said, “Let’s put it this way. When you get called for a John Williams session, you try your best not to miss it. It’s just gorgeous music. He writes fantastic music.”

She added that Mr. Williams’

music is “spot on” for adventures by Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones.

Speaking of the latter, Ms. Guideri watched when James Mangold — the director of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” coming out in June — came by the recording stage to discuss making changes in the music with Mr. Williams.

“Most of the time, directors make their comments to the composer behind the scenes. But in this case, the director was not shy about coming and telling all of us about it,” Ms. Guideri said. “It was interesting to see how John changed the music to accommodate the director’s request.”

She noted musicians are very respectful and quiet when Mr. Williams leads the recording sessions. “There’s always a buzz that maybe doesn’t exist on other sessions.

“For some composers and conductors, it takes a long time to figure out what’s not working,” she said. “He knows when something is not working and where it is in the orchestra and how to fix it. Things move really quickly.”

Mr. Lewis,

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Please email them a full week before the event to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

TODAY

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. “Entangled:

Responding to Environmental Crisis,” runs through March 25 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The museum is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. For more information, call 805-565-6162 or visit westmont.edu/museum.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Storytelling:

Native People Through the Lens of Edward S. Curtis” is on display through April 30 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol, Santa Barbara. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Mondays. For more information, visit sbnature. org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. “Interlopings: Colors in the Warp and Weft of Ecological Entanglements” is an exhibit that runs through March 12 at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, 1212 Mission Canyon Road, Santa Barbara. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The exhibit features weavings dyed with pigments from non-native plants on Santa Cruz Island. The weavings were created by artists Helen Svensson and Lisa Jevbratt. For more information, see sbbotanicgarden.org.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Coast artist and London native Annie Hoffman’s exhibit “Seeing Ourselves in Colour” will be displayed through Feb. 28 at Gallery Los Olivos, 2920 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. For more information, visit anniehoffmann. com.

10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “SURREAL

WOMEN: Surrealist Art by American Women” is on display through April 24 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. For more information, www. sullivangoss.com.

Noon to 5 p.m. “Clarence Mattei: Portrait of a Community” is on view now through May at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, which is located in downtown Santa Barbara at 136 E. De la Guerra St. Admission is free. Hours are currently from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays and from noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays. For more information, visit www.sbhistorical. org.

7:30 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform “John Williams: A Cinematic Celebration” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to granadasb.org. For more information, visit www. thesymphony.org or call 805-8989386.

MARCH 19

3 p.m. The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform John Williams: A Cinematic Celebration” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to granadasb.org. For more information, visit www. thesymphony.org or call 805-8989386.

MARCH 20

7 p.m. The Glenn Miller Orchestra will perform at The Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High School. 720 E. Cota St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $30 to $54. To purchase, go to luketheatre.org/event/glennmiller-orchestra-concert.

MARCH 23

7:30 p.m. Opera Santa Barbara’s Chrisman Studio Artists will perform “The Light in the Piazza,” an acclaimed musical by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, March 23-26 at Center Stage Theater,

Opera Santa Barbara will perform its fi rst Broadway musical, “The Light in the Piazza,” March 23-26 at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. Please see

on B4

Managing Editor Dave Mason dmason@newspress.com

SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2023

a Gainesville, Fla. native who earned his bachelor’s in trumpet performance in 1981 at

Santa Barbara Symphony members share their experience with the iconic composer in advance of tonight’s and Sunday’s concerts

DAVE MASON

NEWS-PRESS MANAGING EDITOR

At left, Jessica Guideri, the concertmaster of the Santa Barbara Symphony, will perform the violin solo from “Schindler’s List” during this weekend’s concerts dedicated to the music of John Williams. She has played in orchestras conducted by Mr. Williams for movie soundtrack recordings. Center, “When you show up at a John Williams session, everybody is really on their A game,” said Jon Lewis, principal trumpeter for both the Santa Barbara Symphony and Mr. Williams’ orchestra for movie soundtracks. At right, Rei Hotoda is the guest conductor for this weekend’s Santa Barbara Symphony concerts. She is known for her work as music director of the Fresno Philharmonic since 2017.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Composer John Williams is known for iconic music for movies varying from “Star Wars” to “Jurassic Park.”

When you accidently make the choice to move on

Have you ever really “stepped in it,” as they say? Many of us have had the experience of accidently-on-purpose blowing up our world.

The truth is that it is only a part of our world, even though at the moment it can seem like total planetary destruction. It’s possible to impose numerous emotional gyrations on yourself before entering into a state of acceptance, and you will.

First of all, don’t beat yourself up. When you realize you may have made the biggest mistake of their life, the obvious first thought is “How could I?” But understand that there was something driving you, and it probably wasn’t something negative.

We all have our boundaries and limits, and when they are crossed or you feel burnt-out, it’s not totally abnormal to do something to get out of the situation, even

if doing it includes some selfsabotage.

That being said, maybe, just maybe, you did the right thing.

In fact, burning bridges may be the first important step in a different and better direction. If you look at it that way, the transition you are going through will be much easier. It helps when you have something to look forward to, especially when you are in the muck trying to make your life better.

Of course, it will be hard to take a positive view at the start, because you are still grieving for what you left behind. But if you were feeling less-than for any reason, it is best to move on.

An old friend used to say, “Never do anything just for money.” These days, that philosophy may be hard to live

by, but you have to try to get something more from life and from your work than just money and what you can buy with it. Having good self-esteem is key to feeling good about life.

Look, if you’re feeling like Howard Beale in the 1976 movie“Network” — and you’re as mad as hell and not going to take this anymore — you probably should throw the TV out the window and find something that doesn’t make you feel like you aren’t enough.

You will find it, but only if you look, so don’t let yourself fall into depression. That’s a deep dive, and you have to “just keep swimming” as Dory says in “Finding Nemo.”

I have been there, as has everyone else I know who is

successful, and all of us have used these difficult moments to make our lives better, because we chose not to let them make things worse. Yes, there will be bad times, but that is to be expected. You are an emotional being and this is an emotional situation. If you were not a person who listened to their feelings, you would not have made the choices you’ve made. Trust that a new door will open. You still have a lot going for you, so keep on knocking.

Dr. Barton Goldsmith is an award-winning psychotherapist and humanitarian. He is also a columnist, the author of eight books, and a blogger for PsychologyToday.com with more than 34 million readers. He is available for video consults worldwide, reach him at barton@ bartongoldsmith.com. His column appears Saturdays and Mondays in the News-Press.

Santa Maria High School Alumnus Addresses AVID Students

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Santa Maria High School

alumnus Jorge Camacho-Zepeda

this week motivated Advancement Via Individual Determination students in Karen Draper and Rick Hebert’s classes with the message

“Your pathway to success is not always your first pathway.”

During Monday’s talk, Mr. Camacho-Zepeda described himself as a non-traditional student who initially entered a technical school to pursue an automotive career. His story details a personal journey to the successful family custody mediator that he is today.

Mr. Camacho-Zepeda, one of Mrs. Draper’s former students, came from a low-income family, started working at 11 and grew

SYMPHONY

Continued from Page B1

the University of Kansas, started playing with Mr. Williams in 1991. The first time he played in Mr. Williams’ orchestra was for the movie “Hook,” and he was the principal trumpeter for the last three “Star Wars” movies.

He noted that Mr. Williams’ music is good for brass sections, pointing to the dramatic high C on the trumpet that starts the iconic “Star Wars” theme.

“Some of my favorites include the music for ‘Patriot’ and ‘War of the Worlds,’” Mr. Lewis said. “ ‘Patriot’ really stands out to me

AROUND THE

AS

03/18/2023

up in an abusive household. His description of his childhood on the verge of adulthood also hit home with a lot of students as he described himself as a “cholo, lost in disfunction.” He also labeled himself a “lost” high school student who was told he would end up in jail or dead in the future. But Mr. Camacho-Zepeda never lost sight of his goal, despite several setbacks along the way. He ended up attending Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria with the idea of pursuing mechanical engineering and working full time.

Part of his general education classes included some social sciences course work, which ended up being the beginning of a healing pathway for him as he discovered and developed his organizational leadership skills, took psychology and sociology, and later graduated

for its all-encompassing, thematic music, tension. It’s just amazing. That still remains one of my favorite scores, and of course, ‘Star Wars’ is amazing to play on.”

In addition to Mr. Lewis and Ms. Guideri, other Santa Barbara Symphony members who have played with Mr. Williams are Erik Rynearson, principal viola; Trevor Handy, principal cello; Lara Wickes, principal oboe; Don Foster, principal clarinet; and Teag Reaves, principal horn.

Mr. Williams, 91, sat in the Dolby Theater in Hollywood Sunday to learn whether he would win an Oscar for his music to “The Fabelmans,” directed by Mr. Spielberg and based on

from Brandman University in 2019. He also explained how this pathway led him to the career he absolutely loves, a court mediator. Presently, he is working on becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist. “A lot of students related to some of the home situations he described,’’student Suleima Martinez-Espinoza said in a news release. “He was the best speaker in AVID that we have had as he described what so many of us have come from. His story was encouraging.”

Student Alyssa Vazquez Valenzuela said: “I felt an emotional connection with his message.”

“I could relate to him more than any other speaker we have had,’’ student Rene Lopez said, email: kzehnder@newspress.com

the director’s life. Mr. Williams didn’t win, but he’s no stranger to Oscars. He has won five Oscars and earned 52 Oscar nominations. email: dmason@newspress.com

FYI

The Santa Barbara Symphony will perform “John Williams: A Cinematic Celebration” at 7:30 p.m. March 18 and 3 p.m. March 19 at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $35 to $175. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

For more information, call 805-8989386 or visit www.thesymphony.org.

Italian Pottery Outlet celebrates 40 years in business

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

In celebration of their 40 years operating in Santa Barbara, the Italian Pottery Outlet will have an open house with live music on April 1 at its downtown location at 929 State St. Antipasti and prosecco will be served to the public. To add to the occasion, the IPO is offering a 25% storewide sale and a gift-withpurchase giveaway.

“We’re really thrilled to achieve this milestone — to work together as a family and accomplish something lasting,” said Julie Spalluto, who is a daughter, sister and partner in the company.

Ms. Spalluto’s parents, Ben and Carol Spalluto, started importing together in the Los Angeles area before they retired to Santa Barbara. Mr. Spalluto, a native of Castellana Grotte, Italy, came to the United States in the 1950s, and married Carol, a Santa Barbara native.

They found that they both shared a love for fine Italian ceramics. It was their dream to bring these high-quality, handmade, hand-decorated ceramics to the attention of the U.S. market. These gems are made in the smaller Italian factories by artisans and their families.

In the following years, while learning the retail market and

finding suppliers in Italy, they hoped that their children could be involved sometime in the future. In 1996, daughter Julie joined the business, followed soon after by her sister, Adele. A few years later their son, Joe, also joined the business, which began as Arte D’Italia Imports, a wholesale operation, which was originally located in Tujunga. When the family moved to Santa Barbara, the business was located on Helena Avenue near Stearns Wharf and renamed Italian Pottery Outlet. In 2008, it was relocated to State Street in the downtown shopping district. The IPO website, www.italianpottery. com, was launched in 1998 and has helped reach an audience far beyond Santa Barbara. The Spalluto family scours the Italian countryside each year for the most interesting designs and patterns. A huge selection of traditional pottery from Umbria and Tuscany, as well as new and exciting patterns from regions all over Italy are available in their downtown store. These ceramics are made in small workshops where artisans and their families produce individual works of art using techniques handed down from generation to generation. email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

‘Red’ opens at Ojai Art Center Theater

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

John Logan’s critically acclaimed play, “Red,” a searing portrait of the 20th century’s most influential abstract expressionist painter, Mark Rothko, opened this weekend for a four-week run at the Ojai Art Center Theater, 113 S. Montgomery St. in Ojai.

Tickets are $24.

To purchase, go to ojaiact.org.

The production stars Brian Robert Harris as Rothko and Remy Muloway as his assistant, Ken. The play is co-directed by Aileen-Marie Scott and David Henderson.

FYI

stripped the stage down to the walls to create Mr. Rothko’s studio, housed in the gym of a youth betterment association built in the 1880s in New York’s Bowery district.

Ojai artist and illustrator Bianca Rice created the trompe l’oeil walls and windows. For a set that looks like a big empty space, there have been a lot of creative people working on it.

“Red” has opened for a four-week run at the Ojai Art Theater, For more information, go to ojaiact. org call 805-640-8797.

The “not really Rothko” paintings that the actors work with during the play were created by Ojai Studio artists Gayel Childress and Pamela Grau and Ventura artists Otis Bradley and Judy Merrill.

“Red” is an intense two-man drama played over two years in Mr. Rothko’s New York City studio, where he works feverishly with his assistant to complete the biggest commission in the history of modern art.

When his assistant challenges his ambition, Mr. Rothko is faced with the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also be his undoing.

For the set, designer-actordirector-artist Taylor Kasch

Co-director Aileen-Marie Scott selected which Rothko paintings to copy to best illuminate the artist’s interior struggle between red and black.

The traditional opening gala was postponed and will be replaced with a 1950s themed “Cocktails and Conversation” gathering with a date to be announced.

email: mmcmahon@newspress. com

HEARD

DINNER TABLE BY JOHN-CLARKE LEVIN / EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

COURTESY PHOTO

The Italian Pottery Outlet plans an open house April 1 to celebrate its 40 years of business in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTO

Karen Draper welcomes one of her former students, Santa Maria High School alumnus Jorge Camacho-Zepeda, back to the school. Mr. CamanchoZepeda addressed students in the AVID program.

COURTESY PHOTO

Jessica Guideri got Harrison Ford, star of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” to pose with her during a break in recording the score at Sony Studios in Culver City.

Thought for Today

“If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.”

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Saturday, March 18, 2023

ARIES — Money matters might require your attention today, Aries. Concerns involving the home are on your mind. You may need to work on the household accounts or balance the records of a home business. You may put in more time than necessary. Don’t assume the worst! All should be basically well, so you probably could just balance the accounts and move on.

TAURUS — Deep thought that occupies your time today could lead to some fascinating conversations with a close friend or partner, Taurus. Lots of deas and useful information could be discussed and lead to new projects, perhaps involving writing or teaching. You will want to research every possible contingency before making definite plans, so get busy.

GEMINI — Today your imagination is likely to be flying high, Gemini, drawing on past images and events that you may have forgotten. You may wonder about the commercial potential of your thoughts. A conversation with a friend who knows this subject could prove enlightening.

CANCER — A friend could put forth some ideas regarding incorporating the arts into a business enterprise, Cancer. A lot of discussion could result, though it’s unlikely that any final decisions will be made now. More ideas should come over the next few days. Some intense research on your end should shed some light on the workability of the project. Go to it!

LEO — Imagination and insights definitely advance a project today, Leo. Discussions, perhaps involving money, spur you and your collaborators on to new innovative projects that might prove to be of great benefit to all. Don’t let your inspiration stop there. Let the ideas and images spur you on toward new enterprises and horizons.

VIRGO — Friends who have been traveling or live far away could bring some interesting news your way that hasn’t yet broken in your area, Virgo. This might make you curious to do some research on the subject. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt until you determine the facts for yourself. Things can

By FRANK STEWART

Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, March 18, 2023

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.

One of the world’s top players is a nobleman from a small European principality, Count Yurtrix. Though not well known beyond his area, he’s a capable declarer who never boots an easy contract.

The Count was declarer at today’s four hearts, and West led the jack of clubs. The Count always counts winners and losers before he touches a card. He saw four losers: a spade, the ace of trumps, a diamond (if the finesse lost) and a club. But declarer could set up dummy’s jack of diamonds as a winner for a club discard.

CLUB LOSER

The Count won the first club with the ace and continued with the A-Q of diamonds. West won and led another club, but declarer won in dummy and pitched his club loser on the jack of diamonds. The contract was safe. Players would do well to emulate Count Yurtrix. Count your winners (generally, at notrump) and losers (generally, at a high-level suit contract) to help plan your play.

DAILY QUESTION

You hold: Q 7 6 Q 8 7 6 5 A Q A 6 4. Your partner opens one diamond, you respond one heart

get garbled in translation when you hear things second or third hand.

LIBRA — Today you might give some thought to career matters, Libra. You’re probably trying to brainstorm ingenious ways to advance professionally and increase your income. A number of different options might present themselves, some workable, some not. It might not be easy to put them into action, but keep trying.

SCORPIO —Your partner may return from a journey today, Scorpio, and a deep conversation could follow. Your friend will share stories of the trip, which could lead to talk about the relationship’s future. Nothing is apt to be decided. The discussion is more likely to focus on generalities than specifics.

SAGITTARIUS — Today you may feel a little out of sorts, Sagittarius, but your creative energies are likely to flow freely. Inspiration could come from deep within you. You’re probably more focused than usual, and therefore can spend considerable time working on a task or project without getting restless. Give free rein to your ideas.

CAPRICORN — The survival of a partnership could depend on some open and honest communication today, Capricorn. Conflicting issues may be simmering and need to be aired in a sensitive and caring way. It’s vital to express the affection you feel for your partner and the importance of this partnership to you.

AQUARIUS — A book, letter, or other important piece of paperwork that was misplaced might finally be found today, Aquarius. This is important, as it may relate to financial concerns or a creative project that you’ve been working on. The information it contains should motivate you to move ahead and put this matter to rest.

PISCES — Discussions with close friends could lead to ideas for creative projects of some kind, Pisces. Although the projects themselves may center on writing, music, drama, graphics, or teaching, today’s brainstorming is likely to center more on business and marketing than artistic matters. Nonetheless, you could walk away feeling inspired and motivated.

SUDOKU

CODEWORD PUZZLE

INSTRUCTIONS

Fill in the grid so every row, every column and every 3-by-3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9. that means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box.

Sudoku puzzles appear on the Diversions page Monday-Saturday and on the crossword solutions page in Sunday’s Life section.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Answers to previous CODEWORD

How to play Codeword

Codeword is a fun game with simple rules, and a great way to test your knowledge of the English language. Every number in the codeword grid is ‘code’ for a letter of the alphabet. Thus, the number 2 may correspond to the letter L, for instance. All puzzles come with a few letters to start. Your first move should be to enter these letters in the puzzle grid. If the letter S is in the box at the bottom of the page underneath the number 2, your first move should be to find all cells numbered 2 in the grid and enter the letter S. Cross the letter S off the list at the bottom of the grid.

Remember that at the end you should have a different letter of the alphabet in each of the numbered boxes 1- 26, and a word in English in each of the horizontal and vertical runs on the codeword grid.

PUZZLE

and he bids one spade. What do you say?

ANSWER: Partner’s hand is not well defined. He may have 12 points or 18, balanced or unbalanced. You have a club stopper and could bid 3NT, but it’s better to let him continue to describe his hand. Bid two clubs, a forcing “fourth-suit” call. If partner holds A K J 2, 10 4, K 8 6 5 4, Q 3, he should be declarer at notrump.

dealer

vulnerable

— Andy Rooney

Tea caddies are connected with British history

Idon’t know if it was my love of tea that I inherited from my Southern grandmother Ruth Sophia, or her family’s love of tea. (Aunt Kathleen and the elder Aunt Sylvia drank tea all day long in old St. Louis).

But I have been fascinated by British tea and, in fact, achieved a love affair in England for three years, after which I actually married a Scot.

I still drink my tea with milk.

And I have a collection of British tea caddies and brass and bronze tea scoops.

Speculation exists amongst scholars that the history of Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries could not have been the same without the tea ( and the shadow side of the tea trade, the opiate) trade, and all the colonial interests and taxes involved.

I do know that the history of the shape of the tea caddie would have been quite different if not for the great expense of tea in the early 18th century. Tea caddies were usually handled, so the owner of the tea leaves could take them with her. They were also lockable and made of precious veneers and marquetry and sometimes edged in ivory and sterling.

Usually, they were divided into interior compartments, smaller than your fist. Tea was precious, until the mid-18th century, when the black market began to smuggle it over from China.

Tea was known to Holland and Portugal about 50 years before it was discovered by the court of King Charles II, whose wife was

Portuguese. She brought it to England in the late 17th century.

It was so valuable that a pause in the day was religiously followed to brew tea and to drink it with loads of sugar.

Men of the world drank tea in coffee shops, where it was hugely expensive, and ladies bought leaves in small apothecaries.

The tea trade was bound with the opium trade. The name “caddie” is in reference to the Malaysian word for 3/5 of a kilo: “kati.” Tea was exported in bottles of glass and jars of metal and shipped in straw in ballasts of vessels, until gentlemen cabinet makers in Britain began to create mahogany boxes with one, two or three compartments in which to house the glass or metal containers.

Soon the boxes were made with their own containers and compartments and began to be showy and expensive, and they were part of the tea ceremony.

Bakery takes Easter bakery pre-orders

Bob’s Well Bread Bakery, the bakery and restaurant in Los Alamos and Ballard, has announced its annual pre-order for the Easter holiday on April 9. Featured are Bob’s Easter Panettone and Hot Cross Buns. Pre-orders are available now through the end of the day April 3 and can be picked up April 8 and April 9 during operating hours. The holiday specials will be offered on a first-come, firstserved basis as supply lasts.

Pricing for the Easter Panettone is $35, and Hot Cross Buns are

offered at $21 per dozen or $2 each. Bob’s Well Bread will be open on Easter Sunday for pickup or dining in. Pickup hours are from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 550 Bell St. in Los Alamos and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 2449 Baseline Ave. in Ballard. The kitchen serves the café menu until 3 p.m. at both locations. All pre-orders can be emailed to info@bobswellbread.com. For more information, visit www.bobswellbread.com.

— Marilyn McMahon

I learned that the simpler folk had tea caddies with two compartments, one for tea and one for sugar, lined with a tin lead alloy called “tea pewter” unless they had their own containers inside.

The wealthiest families had triple caddies, with the center having a tea bowl for mixing the different leaves on either side in a custom blend. If the tea was unblended, the glass jar was used for sugar. Political unrest over the price of tea continued to dog the politics of Britain, until the first half of the 19th century. That’s when the country became wealthier in general and more populated, the middle class was rising, and the world of fine design was of interest to all Britons because of the architectural styles of Prince Regent George IV (who died in 1830, but whose influence was felt throughout the century).

Medical improvements

contributed to the increase of the British population to 18 million — double from 50 years previously.

Trade was an opportunity to all and not just the aristocracy. Cass structures became polarized even as the middle class grew stronger, and with that every man wanted to drink tea like the upper classes did.

In 1833, Britain withdrew the monopoly of the East India Co. to import tea, reducing prices and forming new trade partners for tea with the merchants of India in 1839.

Indian tea was less expensive than Chinese tea, and the middle classes craved those little tea caddies. They hired carpenters to design them in plain wood accented with gorgeous veneers, for which process a machine was invented in the 1820s.

By the 1840s, New Zealand was added to the list of countries exporting lumber to England along with the Far East, the Islands, Africa and the Americas. Because the veneers of the day were thicker than the veneers we now use, the edges of the caddies had to be “waterproofed” with a band of metal or herringbone inlay. Thus, the reasonably priced, veneered tea caddie with a decorative surface was born and even today is ubiquitous in the antique market. I would put the value of the box at $100. It’s definitely a middleclass 19th-century version.

Dr. Elizabeth Stewart’s “Ask the Gold Digger” column appears Saturdays in the News-Press. Written after her father’s COVID-19 diagnosis, Dr. Stewart’s book “My Darlin’ Quarantine: Intimate Connections Created in Chaos” is a humorous collection of five “what-if” short stories that end in personal triumphs over presentday constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Bob’s Well Bread Bakery is offering Bob’s Easter Panettone and Hot Cross Buns during its pre-orders for Easter.

Shelters seek homes for pets

Local animal shelters and their nonprofit partners are looking for homes for pets.

For more information, go to these websites:

• Animal Services-Lompoc, countyofsb.org/phd/animal/home. sbc.

• Animal Shelter Assistance Program in Goleta, asapcats.org. ASAP is kitty corner to Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

• Bunnies Urgently Needing Shelter in Goleta, bunssb.org.

BUNS is based at Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

• Companion Animal Placement Assistance, lompoccapa.org and facebook. com/capaoflompoc. CAPA works regularly with Animal ServicesLompoc.

• K-9 Placement & Assistance League, k-9pals.org. K-9 PALS works regularly with Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

CALENDAR

Continued from Page B1

upstairs at Paseo Nuevo, in Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to centerstagetheater.org. An artist reception will follow the March 23 performance.

MARCH 24

7:30 p.m. Opera Santa Barbara’s Chrisman Studio Artists will perform “The Light in the Piazza,” an acclaimed musical by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo, in Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to centerstagetheater.org.

MARCH 25

1 to 3 p.m.: “Holly Hungett: Natural Interpretations” will open with a reception with the artist at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara’s gallery, 229 E. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The exhibit will run

• Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation, sbcanimalcare. org. (The foundation works regularly with the Santa Maria Animal Center.)

• Santa Barbara County Animal Services in Goleta: countyofsb. org/phd/animal/home.sbc.

• Santa Barbara Humane (with campuses in Goleta and Santa Maria), sbhumane.org.

• Santa Maria Animal Center, countyofsb.org/phd/animal/home. sbc. The center is part of Santa Barbara County Animal Services.

• Santa Ynez Valley Humane Society/DAWG in Buellton, syvhumane.org.

• Shadow’s Fund (a pet sanctuary in Lompoc), shadowsfund.org.

• Volunteers for Inter-Valley Animals in Lompoc: vivashelter. org.

— Dave Mason

through May 20. The gallery is open 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays and weekdays by appointment. For more information, call the foundation at 805-965-6307 or go to www.afsb.org.

4 p.m. Actor Max McLean will perform “C.S. Lewis on Stage: Further Up & Further In” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to granadasb.org.

7:30 p.m. Opera Santa Barbara’s Chrisman Studio Artists will perform “The Light in the Piazza,” an acclaimed musical by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to centerstagetheater.org.

MARCH 26

2:30 p.m. Opera Santa Barbara’s Chrisman Studio Artists will perform “The Light in the Piazza,” an acclaimed musical by Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas, at Center Stage Theater, upstairs at Paseo Nuevo in Santa Barbara. To purchase tickets, go to centerstagetheater.org.

— Dave Mason

The classic tea caddie in the foreground is valued at $100.

ANDY CALDWELL: Goleta Valley remains South County’s stepchild/ C2

DID YOU KNOW?

Bonnie Donovan

Chinese steal U.S. technology

In last week’s column, we warned of the Chinese government’s infiltration of America.

The day after we released the column, we received a report on how, through espionage in American companies, the Chinese military had been able to produce their fifth generation of a fighter plane. This is the Chinese J20, built by copying the technologies in the U.S. F-22 Raptor. It is significant to know that America has never sold F-22 raptors to any other country.

The Chinese theft of American secret technology occurred here in America.

The main designers and manufacturers of the F-22 Raptor were Lockheed Martin and Boeing, with hundreds of sub-component suppliers.

China concentrated for 10 years on stealing the technologies in the F-22, and they were astoundingly successful. By doing so, they have been able to narrow the technology gap between America and China by 10 to 15 years.

SVB: More government, less reality

President Ronald Reagan once said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

Shock waves are rippling through the country after the announcement of the second largest bank failure in the country’s history last week: Silicon Valley Bank.

This came just 15 years after the largest bank failure in the country’s history: Washington Mutual.

Research shows that the great collapse in 2008, one casualty of which was Washington Mutual, was one more example of the damage done by excessive government.

Then standards for issuing mortgages deteriorated as a result of pressure from government entities Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on lenders to meet affordable housing goals. More and more substandard loans were issued, all taking place under the illusion of government

protection, until the house of cards came down.

After the total collapse, originating in government policy designed to allegedly make our lives better, the Dodd-Frank Act was passed, now with some 8,000 pages of regulations to supposedly strengthen America’s financial system.

Time and again, a crisis caused by the government is supposedly solved by creating even more government.

So now, with the Dodd-Frank Act in place, passed under the pretense of “solving” the problems of instability in our financial system, here we are again.

I make no claims as any kind of expert in finance. But reading through articles by those who are, the amazing story that emerges behind Silicon Valley Bank is its violation of principles that any undergraduate student in business learns. That is, banks make a profit by lending, investing at higher rates of interest than they pay on deposits.

So, managing interest rate risk is

Finance 101. Yet mismanagement of risk — the bank ignoring huge problems they would have if interest rates increased — is what brought it down.

How can it be that people who are allegedly smart do things that are incredibly stupid?

I attribute it to a detachment from reality. Detachment from reality is a direct symptom of a lot of government and politicization of our lives. After the 2008 crisis, there were major government bailouts.

This builds into the mentality of a culture that if you are big enough, the government will not let you fail. And if you believe the government will not let you fail, that government is your friend, you tend to do stupid, irresponsible things.

On top of this, when the government passes laws like DoddFrank, it builds an attitude in the culture that the problem has been

solved — in this case, that the regulatory system was put in place under which banks won’t fail. As our culture becomes more deeply mired in a sense that our lives get better with more government and politics, more and more business people become detached from reality. In this case, over recent years, “woke” culture has become rooted more and more deeply in business, particularly high-tech companies, a major customer base of Silicon Valley Bank. Woke and ESG investment guidelines — environmental, social and governance — seems to have captured more attention at Silicon Valley Bank than the risk management essential to running their business.

The proxy statement of the bank, writes Wall Street Journal columnist Andy Kessler, notes that the board is “45% women” and

there is “1 black ... 1 LGBTQ+ ... and 2 veterans.”

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy notes that SVB announced in 2022 committing $5 billion in “sustainable finance and carbon neutral operations to support a healthier planet.”

Worth adding to the picture is that the interest rate increases that SVB did not anticipate resulted from the inflation generated by trillions of dollars of government spending during COVID.

Now, fellow citizens, hold on to your wallets as our government bails out SVB, despite Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen saying it won’t happen.

The only good news is it increases prospects for a Republican victory in 2024.

Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show “Cure America with Star Parker.” To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators. com.

Copyright 2023 by Creators.com.

e Stasi comes to Stanford University

If you have never seen “The Lives of Others” — a 2006 German film that won a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, you should try to obtain a copy.

None other than National Review founder, the late William F. Buckley, wrote in his nationally syndicated column that “The Lives of Others” was possibly the best movie he ever saw.

The film is set appropriately enough in George Orwell’s favorite year, 1984, in East Berlin. Directed by first-time director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the movie was about life under what had become a surveillance state in East Germany under Soviet Communist rule. It’s a cautionary tale for those of us in the U.S. as 17 different “intelligence” agencies (and probably even more that function under the radar and that escape any kind of congressional scrutiny) operate within the United States, and whose putative mission is “protecting homeland

security.”

We are in danger of falling into the same trap East German citizens found themselves living in before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

The Ministry for State Security (Stasi) was the name of the East German secret police in charge of monitoring the movements of its citizens.

All its citizens.

All the time.

Listening in on private conversations were everyday affairs for Stasi officers and were important methods of gathering “intelligence.”

Even more important was the wide web of civilian snoops who’d regularly report on friends, neighbors, strangers and/or acquaintances.

Because so many fellow residents regularly reported to Stasi, it had become nearly impossible to ascertain who was a friend and who was not. Everyone and anyone could be an informant. Even one’s

“best friend” or lover could be a collaborator. Political opinions voiced during private conversations were offered cautiously if at all, in fear that someone may be listening … and reporting. Turns out also that one could not be too cautious, for as soon as someone — anyone — hinted that you may harbor conspiratorial or antiregime thoughts, Stasi was on it. Every room in your apartment could and would be bugged, including your bathroom, your bedroom, even your outdoor patio if you were lucky enough to have one.

The plot of “The Lives of Others” revolves around an internationally renowned playwright named Georg Dreyman, who publicly avows his solidly communist views but who secretly despises everything about the East German government. He has been communicating with

Western sympathizers hoping to expose the evils of communism. Unbeknownst to him, his apartment has come under surveillance by members of a Stasi team who’ve set themselves up in the top floor of his apartment building and are conducting around-the-clock listening details. The writer’s girlfriend has been compromised by a relationship with the high-ranking East German minister of culture, the man who has ordered the initial surveillance.

THE PLOT THICKENS

After a friend who had been betrayed and blacklisted by those he believed were friends commits suicide, his death is not reported as such, and Dreyman publishes an anonymous article in Der Spiegel, a West German weekly. The article accuses East Germany of hiding statistics on the country’s startlingly high suicide rates. Embarrassed by the article, the Ministry of Culture is determined to track down and punish the author.

East German law requires every typewriter to be registered, but after Stasi receives a copy of the manuscript, it is unable to determine its source and could not match the typeface to any of its registered devices. Dreyman wrote his article on a secretly supplied typewriter from Der Spiegel designed to escape detection.

Dreyman, of course, has to hide his typewriter and does so — under a floorboard in an interior doorway of his apartment — and the only other person who knew its whereabouts was his compromised girlfriend.

I won’t reveal any more of the movie’s plot, but I did want to compare life under Stasi to life as a student at Stanford University.

Along with more “administrators” than it knows what to do with, the campus features an Anonymous Bias Reporting System, under which students are advised as freshmen that they could and should

On the subject of new technology, Did You Know? was exposed to the power of a combination of artificial intelligence technology, coupled with many drones. We learned how this combination can replace human efforts for both good and evil.

A.I. and drone technologies are developing fast. While not feasible today, imagine the day when four large container ships — with legitimate papers and controlled by artificial intelligence — are cruising hundreds of miles apart outside American territorial waters, along the American Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

At 2 a.m., the doors of their containers open. From each ship, hundreds of A.I.-controlled drones rise and fly over all the major East Coast and West Coast cities. Boston, New York, Washington, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego. What will the drones deliver to the millions of people living there?

Multiple balloons can fly, undetected, across American airspace. How about four ships in two pairs, hundreds of miles apart on two oceans, hidden among hundreds of others?

On another matter, a reader of Did You Know? dropped off a copy of 46 pages of highly detailed, questions that are very intrusive of personal privacy, called “The American Community Survey,” they received in the mail.

It is conducted by the Census Bureau and is mandated by your U.S. government that the recipients are, by law, required to respond.

Did You Know? does not know the full use to which the collected information will be put. It might well be a test for including these questions in future, full census surveys.

Not only are recipients required to reveal the most private details of their personal lives, but they are also required to identify themselves by name. Failure to complete and return the survey or to provide inaccurate answers will result in heavy fines.

This is not a census survey, in that it has been sent only to 3 million households, out of 123.6 million in America, but it is already here in Santa Barbara.

Hope that you do not receive one.

This survey is designed not only to identify you but also to probe into every aspect of your life and your resident family’s life. Your life histories, your employment, and your complete financial situation are all included, and more. If this is a test for a complete

Wendy McCaw Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

GUEST OPINION

Legislators introduce bills to expand state control

When will ridiculous government mandates and requirements end?

When will Californians stop forcing their beliefs/ faith/ideology on others?

Shame on the California Legislature Women’s Caucus for introducing 12 of 15 bills to expand state control that include no exemptions for local governments, school boards, private employers or residents.

Please make time to oppose two newly introduced bills:

1) Assembly Bill 598 (sponsored by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland) requires all California public school districts to survey all seventh through 12th graders under the California Healthy Kids Survey and requires student participation! This is unlawful!

Surveying students is not the role of schools. Requiring student participation is a violation of their constitutional rights, the California Education Code, student and parent rights to privacy, and freedom of participation while captive on campus.

Schools must stick to academics, vocational training and instruction.

We must demand local control of our public school districts by our elected trustees. Push back.

2) Assembly Bill 1432 requires all insurance coverage in California to cover gender affirming care, abortions. California employers and California residents must demand the right to have options in insurance coverage or no coverage. This is another example of overreach.

I write as a lifelong advocate of medical autonomy, privacy, freedom of individual choice, and not wanting to pay for the choices of others. As a local Planned Parenthood director in the 1980s, I advocated for teen opportunities to learn from qualified medical instructors to get questions answered. The religious community supported my efforts.

Goleta Valley: South County’s stepchild

The California Department of Housing and Community Development, since 1969, has required a California Regional Housing Needs Allocation, which requires that all local governments (cities and counties) adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community, including the requirement to build affordable housing.

California’s local governments then adopt housing plans as part of their general plan to show how the jurisdiction will meet local housing needs.

However, it wasn’t until 2019, when Assembly Bill 101 was enacted, that the state put teeth into all the above.

Before 2019, communities like the city and county of Santa Barbara, especially Montecito, considered the housing requirements “advisory,” as they had no intentions whatsoever of complying with RHNA.

However, via AB 101, the state threatened to take authority over local planning functions to ensure the housing gets permitted while simultaneously threatening to fine the bejesus out of jurisdictions for every month they stall (upward of $100,000 a month).

Previously, whatever affordable housing was built in no-growth communities like the South County came at the expense of developers and their clients. The way the system worked is that the developers either had to build x number of affordable units as part of their projects or pay an in-lieu fee that would be used to build affordable units elsewhere. Then the jurisdiction would have a lottery to give away the affordable unit to some lucky person, including someone who may have just arrived here, with the caveat that the winner couldn’t sell or rent out the unit for the next 30 years or so.

Many jurisdictions, including the city and county of Santa Barbara, also threw all sorts of roadblocks in front of developers, including exorbitant fees, conditions of approval, inordinate time delays in the permitting project and severe limitations on how many units could be built.

Letter to the president

Dear President Biden, I am obligated to call you president out of respect for the office, though in my heart I don’t feel your actions warrant the title.

Do you remember when you won the election by 83-plus million votes, more than your former boss, Barack Hussein Obama? President Obama ran a powerful campaign and drew large crowds of tens of thousands and won nearly 70 million votes, the highest number in American history up to that point.

I’m curious if you know how you won by such a wide margin running your campaign from your basement. And on the very few occasions when you did venture out for a “rally,” you only managed to muster a few dozen supporters.

Quite typically, a piece of land that could easily accommodate dozens of homes was downgraded in scope to a handful of homes while the rest of the property was forced into some type of conservation easement meaning the rest of the property could not be developed in perpetuity. Rancho San Marcos and Ellwood Shores are but two examples of this status quo approach to prevent housing from being built on the South Coast.

Now that the state mandate with teeth has kicked in, Santa Barbara County is doing what it has always done when it is in a pinch. Dump the housing into the Goleta Valley in much the same manner as the city of Santa Barbara located its airport in the valley, by hook and crook.

One would think that the residents and city officials of the “Good Land” would wake up and realize that “with friends like that, who needs enemies?”

What about Montecito?

Well, both the city and county of Santa Barbara have always pandered to the elites in Montecito by way of the Montecito Growth Management Ordinance, which conveniently declared that growth in Montecito was a threat to public health and safety, albeit county Supervisor Das Williams may have been shamed into approving at least one project in Montecito this time around.

What’s worse? It was always left to Ventura County, Lompoc and Santa Maria to bear the brunt and the impacts of growth, commuters be damned. Hence, Ventura, Lompoc and Santa Maria have built their fair share of housing, including family housing, which has been to the advantage of their economy and quality of life.

The same cannot be said about the South County, in general, which will now end up with extremely highdensity neighborhoods, including high rises that have always been anathema, because the failure to plan is always a plan to fail.

I understand and support the need for every resident to have access to reproductive medical information and care.

As a gerontologist, I worked years for the right to Death with Dignity, end-of-life care; for each person’s needs and written wishes to be honored; and for no licensed medical professional to be mandated or coerced to provide medical intervention.

I do not support government overreach, dictates, mandates, control or violations of constitutional rights. Dogma from both the right and left certainly fuels voter registration of No Party Preference locals and is divisive.

I encourage tolerance.

Please note: Assembly Bills 352, 793 and1194 address in some form the California Privacy Rights Act protections of electronic, digital data sharing of medical records and/or internet searches.

Here is a list of 25 bills being considered in the Legislature and their sponsors.

• AB 90 (Petrie-Norris): Improves access to longacting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) for those seeking abortion services.

• AB 254 (Bauer-Kahan) Adds CMIA/HIPAA protections for data collected by menstrual, fertility, and sexual health apps and websites.

• AB 352 (Bauer-Kahan) Enhances privacy protections for medical records related to abortion, pregnancy loss, and other sensitive services through electronic health record sharing and health information exchanges.

• AB 571 (Petrie-Norris) Ensures that medical malpractice insurance includes coverage for comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care.

• AB 576 (Weber) Aligns Medi-Cal coverage of medication abortion with evidence-based clinical guidelines.

• AB 598 (Wicks) Requires school districts to participate in the California Healthy Kids Survey and include a module on sexual and reproductive health care as one of the core survey modules.

• AB 710 (Schiavo) Launches a public information campaign to provide women with accurate information regarding access to abortion care at crisis pregnancy centers.

• AB 793 (Bonta) Provides privacy protections for digital data related to patients accessing abortion services in California.

• AB 1194 (Carrillo) Ensures that California Privacy Rights Act protections always extend to accessing, procuring, or searching for services regarding contraception, pregnancy care, and perinatal care, including abortion services.

• AB 1432 (Carrillo) Requires every health insurance policy or certificate that is issued, or delivered to a resident of California, regardless of the situs of the contract, to comply with California laws that require coverage of abortion services and gender-affirming care.

• AB 1481 (Boerner-Horvath) Clarifies Presumptive Eligibility for Pregnant Individuals (currently called PE4PW) coverage policies and ensures PE4PW patients can access abortion services regardless of other health coverage.

• AB 1646 (Nguyen) Expands access to abortion and gender-affirming care by allowing out-of-state medical school graduates to practice in California for up 90 days.

• AB 1707 (Pacheco) Provider Protections.

• SB 36 (Skinner) Strengthens safe haven protections by making it illegal for bail agents or bounty hunters to apprehend people in California and protect access to public benefits.

• SB 345 (Skinner) Provides legal protections for medication abortions and gender-affirming care.

• SB 385 (Atkins) Seeks to extend many of the updated training rules from SB 1375 last year to additional providers (i.e. physician assistants, etc.)

• SB 487 (Atkins) Provides additional safeguards for California abortion providers and other entities and individuals that serve and support abortion patients that reside in states with hostile abortion laws.

Destroy the Mexican drug cartels

The tragic killing of two U.S. citizens last week in the border town of Matamoros, Mexico, should, in a just world, refocus American attention on the glaring problem of transnational drug cartels’ de facto control of large swaths of our perilously porous southern border.

That the two Americans killed may have been mistaken by warring cartel clans for Haitian drug smugglers, as The Dallas Morning News reported, hardly ameliorates the awful situation or lessens our imperative to recalibrate attention away from faraway proxy wars of dubious national interest, and toward the very monsters in our own backyard, who run the Western hemisphere’s worst human trafficking rings and flood the U.S. interior with the most lethal drugs known to man.

It is not an exaggeration to say that the U.S.-Mexico border, at this point, is one of the most chaotic, over-trafficked and outright dangerous borders in the world. Vicious cartels, such as Sinaloa and Jalisco, engage in gang shootouts in outlaw fashion, with nary a Mexican law enforcement agent in sight — and even those in sight are more likely than not to be bribed, and in the cartels’ pockets. Human trafficking rings, often working hand in hand with the cartels and opportunistic “coyotes” who promise to smuggle vulnerable migrants into the U.S., parade hordes of Central American and Caribbean migrants

through the Mexican interior and right up to the border. The humanitarian conditions on these migrant “caravans” are typically abysmal. Drugs are rampant, children are exploited and far too many women are raped.

Drugs flow across the border like never before. The U.S. drug overdose crisis, which is primarily a fentanyl crisis, is nearly exclusively a phenomenon of the cartels. Drug overdose deaths in America last year reached an unconscionable 106,000-plus or more than 290 daily. That is the functional equivalent of a mid-size commercial airliner falling out of the sky each day. And here, as is the case with fentanyl, those proverbial airliners falling out of the sky would be predominantly packed with those under the age of 35. This tragedy is America’s single greatest humanitarian failing, at the present time.

It is also de facto chemical warfare waged against the United States by the criminal drug cartels that operate on our southern border. And the Mexican government, which especially in the northern part of the country nearest the border resembles a failed and deeply corrupt narcostate, is both unwilling and powerless to put a stop to it.

The situation at the border, overall, is nothing less than deplorable. Ranchers in southern Arizona can hear gunshots and spot cartel thugs strategically perched in the desert hills a few hundred yards

away. Hospitals as far apart as Brownsville, Texas, and Yuma, Ariz., are completely overwhelmed and unable to provide medical care for the law-abiding U.S. citizens who live there. And as we were reminded last week, American citizens are being killed.

It is a disaster. And such a disaster — especially one in our own backyard — requires a clear, unambiguous response from the putative greatest nation on Earth.

As this column noted recently, one straightforward and potentially highly effective policy the Biden administration should announce would be to designate the leading drug cartels as State Department-recognized Foreign Terrorist Organizations. Doing this would allow the U.S. government to use various means to financially suffocate the cartels and deprive them of their funding sources. It would also aid law enforcement.

Democrats’ typical response is that such a formal designation would complicate diplomatic relations with Mexico, but that barely passes the laugh test.

Mexico has just as much — if not more — of an interest in cracking down on the cartels as the U.S., but it cannot publicly say so, let alone act upon that interest, due to the cartels’ successful bribery and corruption of the all-too-venal Mexican government.

Crucially, a formal Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for the leading cartels, such as Sinaloa and Jalisco, would also permit the U.S. to go even further.

Consider the fact that, as

When you were sworn into office, and even sooner during your limited periods of public appearances, you promised you’d bring the country together. I’m wondering, do you think you accomplished that campaign promise? After all, there were another 73 million who didn’t vote for you. They had no choice but to hold you to your word and give you that chance to close the divide. Do you think you united the nation? The word on the street is that we’re more divided than ever.

I’m also curious if you’re aware how badly you have jeopardized the security of the nation you had sworn to protect. Actually, it’s about the only thing required of your job.

Are you aware the people in your administration did away with the southern border right after you were elected? Has anyone filled you in on that fact? Have they told you that since you took office, hundreds of thousands of American citizens under your watch have died of fentanyl as a direct result of the open border?

Last year you paid a cursory visit to El Paso to see for yourself. Sadly, you were robbed of the true picture since the town was sterilized before your arrival, and you were led to a spot on the border with no activity. If you want to see the real picture, I’ll be happy to drive you down there, but you have to pay for the gas.

Your own son is a victim of drug and alcohol abuse. I would think you would have a great deal of compassion for those families dealing with the same serious problem and want to help prevent more deaths from occurring. Those on your side of the fence love to blame the user. Do you blame your son?

A poor woman lost her two sons on the same day to fentanyl. Your retort was to blame former President Donald Trump. Real leaders man up, and it’s not toxic masculinity. It’s called being a man.

Are you aware that your massive spending made everything cost tons more and people are barely getting by because of it? I understand you were surprised one time how much a hamburger cost. And that was two years ago.

Under your leadership because you put the kibosh on oil, the cost of gas soared to heights never seen before.

Next time you get in the “Beast,” stop at a station and fill it up yourself. The prices are now down from the highs, but you’ll still get a first-hand understanding how much fuel cuts into the cost of living for the average American.

If you really want to see how bad, fill up in California.

One of those massive spending programs you gave your John Hancock to was supposed to fix the roads, but did you know it wasn’t going to do that at all? You stood at a podium and were pleased how the money was going to really improve our infrastructure.

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell

Andy Caldwell

Henry Schulte The author lives in Solvang

Josh Hammer

COURTESY PHOTO

Denice Spangler Adams

The author lives in Montecito

COURTESY PHOTO

Montecito resident Denice Spangler Adams is concerned about government outreach in some of the legislation being endorsed by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus.

Silicon Valley Bank’s problems begin with government spending

The words “Silicon Valley Bank” has been thrust at the start of stories by pundits on virtually all news outlets since March 10. While that is interesting, the words that follow rang the bell at the top of a “fascination” scale. Here is how I see the events.

Based in Santa Clara, Silicon Valley Bank popped up on my radar under the symbol it trades under on the stock market, SLVB, a couple of years ago as I searched for a great bank in which to “takea-position” for investment purposes. I liked that as a regional bank, it was not subject to the strict restrictions imposed by the Dodd-Frank law passed under the Obama-Biden term. I liked that it served the best growth area I had ever seen: Silicon Valley, or as my manager at Smith Barney used to say, “the peninsula.” It’s not a peninsula, but no one corrects someone from Chicago.

I invested, SLVB performed, and we both flourished.

After the 2020 election escorted in what would become the “Biden economy,” the new theme of “runaway inflation” entered my investment model, and I “bid my adieu” to SLVB. To quote Satchel Paige: “Don’t look back; someone may be gaining.”

Until March 9 when it imploded.

In summer 2021, I had watched the potential problems begin building when it became obvious that inflation was building by the Pelosi-Schumer team, sending trillions of dollars to the Biden team through legislation. That increased inflation, which is too much money chasing too few goods. The obvious remedy was for the Pelosi-Schumer team to reduce the money they were sending to the Biden team, and for the latter team to spend less. But politically this was unpopular, so it did not happen.

The venture capitalist, who tended to be very bright, saw that making money in the Biden economy would not happen, so they put all the money they made under the previous president into Silicon Valley Bank.

How much money?

Estimates are that their deposits

grew from $60 billion to $200 billion almost overnight. Prudent rules provided that Silicon Valley Bank invest in U.S. treasury bonds. The bank did so at that period’s interest rate of 1.7%.

In September 2021, the Biden team had spent so much that there were indications that the head

of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, should raise interest rates. But President Biden threatened to not reappoint him if he did. So he did not.

The Fed took no action until after President Biden re-appointed Chairman Powell in January 2022. The Fed’s rates action have

such a huge impact on financial markets that they rarely are raised more that 0.25 of one percentage point, which to avoid fractions is expressed in “basis” points, so 0.25 is 25 basis points. The Feds traditionally wait six months before another change as this is generally how long it takes for the effects of rate changes to travel throughout the financial market.

Waiting is a great idea, but as the president — living up to my nickname of the president who “walks softly and carries a big checkbook” — eliminated the benefit of waiting until the impact of a rate change works its way through the financial system. He spent money so fast that there became a serious risk of a market crash as rates were raised from the 1.4% under Trump to higher than 8%.

Chairman Powell could have afforded to wait the six months in-between, but took the unprecedented steps of raising rates eight times by 25, 50, 75, 75, 75, 75, 50, 25 basis points in 2022.

Did it stop inflation?

No, raising interest rates cannot stop inflation unless the president also slows his spending. Did it slow down?

No, the rate increases had a similar effect as shooting a charging grizzly bear with a pistol. It stimulated him to increase his actions.

As 2022 closed, Pelosi-Schumer “exited left,” to use a term befitting their acts, after repeatedly gifting the president with more money. The situation was that Chairman Powell’s goal for inflation was 2%. Inflation was 6.5%.

As 2023 began, the Biden team tried to explain away inflation still increasing in a variety of ways while spending more.

March arrived, and Biden proposed a budget to spend even more, which caused venture capitalists to withdraw their money from banks in order to invest it elsewhere for a greater return. Their money was in Silicon Valley Bank.

SLVB, to raise the cash for the withdrawals, had to sell the treasuries that were paying 1.7% into a market, where newer

SVB board, executives became greedy

Wait! More bank closures and failures?

My wife Terre told me this morning (March 14) that the bank of Montecito was closing today because of the storm and possible floods heading our way. We both said: “Oh, no! Are they insolvent too?” But — whew — just an atmospheric river event, not insolvency!

However, the creepy news is that the Silicon Valley Bank and other banks just crashed because of a “liquidity crisis.” But wait!

Didn’t we just have the big Crash of 2008? But wait! Didn’t we have a big crash in 1929, followed by the Great Depression?

But wait. Didn’t we solve the banking crisis situation with the Dodd-Frank bill passed after the 2008 crash? That law would have prevented this crash. However, mysteriously, that law was repealed.

Before I get to why, I also want to mention that the bank board and executives of Silicon Valley Bank also gave themselves a

Better flying

Your flight is delayed? Blame your government. OK, it’s not always the government’s fault. Sometimes it’s weather or mechanical problems. But often we suffer horrible flight delays because politicians won’t relinquish power. In January, flights were grounded when the government’s “Notice to Air Missions” system broke down. That was just the latest incident. America rightly prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation. But it’s the private sector that innovates. Government rarely does.

Asked if America’s air traffic control system is out of date, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paused a long time before answering, “The system is continuously being upgraded.”

But the government’s been “upgrading” air traffic control for decades, promising to switch to a “NextGen” system that uses satellite navigation. Implementation keeps being postponed. Now the Federal Aviation Administration won’t even say when NextGen might be done.

Air traffic control is still a lot like it was in the 1960s. Controllers use paper strips to track flights. Instead of using computers, they move paper around manually.

“This is your government at work,” says Diana FurchtgottRoth in my latest video. Ms. Furchtgott-Roth worked for the Transportation Department during the Trump administration.

I yell at her. “Air traffic control was in your department. You could have fixed it. You should have fixed it!” She smiles and explains that although she had control of $1 billion, she wasn’t allowed to move those funds to where they were needed.

fecal-matter-load of bonuses when they knew the bank had crashed, but just before the adults in the government took over and guaranteed the depositors’ money. Just like what happened in 2008. I am getting to the part about why all this happened, but first we have to discuss why some people say they “hate big government.”

I am sure some of the depositors in those banks “hated big government,” but they will have no problem accepting the deposits that the government protected for them!

Many politicians ran on the “hate big government” campaign slogan — to get elected to that government!

So, now to the question of why these crashes keep happening and will keep happening. The DoddFrank bill, made law in 2010, was repealed in 2018 because the Republican president and Congress decided to repeal it.

This is not an article to trash Republicans. It is meant, however, to question the people who own banks and the executives who run them — and, specifically, those who got the bonuses. Those owners, executives and other rich people will always fund and vote for those who will protect their money. They fund elections of those who run on “hate big government” and “tax breaks for the rich” platforms. But they are those who, when elected, clearly love the part of “big government” that gives them their salary, status, and capacity to pass laws that serve the rich. Does all this connect? If not, what is your explanation of the repeal and this crash?

This leads to a deeper level of question: Why does it seem that people with a lot of money are so interested in protecting it and getting more? The only thing I can figure is that — bluntly — they don’t have a life. They don’t see any purpose to life other than: “If

I can only double my money, then I will be happy!”

Maybe more accurately for some, the attitude is: “Don’t touch my money, and then maybe I will think about a world that works for everyone. If not, maybe my kids will do it with the money and values I will have left them.” If all of this sounds naïve to you, please tell me your thoughts. To what end or purpose do we accumulate? Why is “more” often the only answer to life? I wrote an article recently about the man who died with 2.3 billion screwdrivers. Why would somebody want to accumulate that many screwdrivers? Or more to the point, why do people who are going to die want to accumulate more and more money?

I can’t think of any reason other than this: We want to avoid death and the thought of death. The game we invented in order to avoid the reality of death is called: Accumulation. Games are made up, invented. They are based on a pretense, for example, that getting a ball through a hoop more times than the other team does, is very

important. It is!

Or so it seems at the moment — not only to the team playing but to millions of “supporters”! Those who are good at hoops, by the way, make a lot of money as well!

The pretense that money is what is important in the big game of life-and-death is why big money flows to the election campaigns of politicians who protect the game. Some politicians also like to accumulate a lot of it themselves!

To summarize: We play the game of doubling “our” money as many times as we can, to avoid realizing that we are not going to be here forever. We pretend that life is about: “more.” Money is the scorecard.

That’s my simple explanation of why we will continue to have bank crashes. What’s yours? What’s in your personal, deep-pocket wallet?

Frank Sanitate taught high school English for five years over a halfcentury ago! He has published three books and had a successful seminar business for 40 years. You can reach Mr. Sanitate through voices@newspress.com.

The nuclear genie and averting Armageddon

‘Disarmament … is a continuing imperative.”

That public statement is not from an ideologue on the left, but rather President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address. He delivered the address to the nation early in 1961, while preparing to leave office.

President Joe Biden raised arms control to a top policy priority, but that is now unraveling.

In January 2021, the New START Treaty with Russia was extended for five years. The agreement, which was about to expire, limits nuclear warheads on each side to 1550, plus limitations on missiles and bombers. However, last November, talks

on inspections were suddenly suspended. Russia has announced the treaty is now in jeopardy. In January, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rablov denounced U.S. efforts to impose “strategic defeat” on Moscow in Ukraine.

The Trump administration experienced frustrations in arms control. Initial emphasis on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program was unsuccessful.

In August 2019, the administration withdrew from the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, complaining of violations by Russia.

The Obama administration emphasized nuclear arms summits involving large numbers of nations and international organizations.

The 2016 summit in Washington, D.C., concluded with a formal

statement underscoring nuclear weapons control.

Unfortunately, Russia did not participate. That reflected strained relations with the U.S. and other nations following annexation of Crimea.

Nonetheless, the major conference reinforced the important, tangible U.N. framework to coordinate national efforts. The first nuclear arms summit took place in 2010 in Washington,D.C.

In 1986, during a summit meeting in Iceland, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan surprised their staffs as well as the world by pledging the abolition of all nuclear weapons. That utopian vision fostered a practical result: the INF Treaty sign in 1987. Reductions are desirable, but efforts to outlaw all nuclear weapons are fundamentally

flawed. Destroying all known nuclear weapons would provide a decisive advantage to any power that decided — openly or secretly — to hold back even a few. Verification remains vexing.

Another benchmark in the history of nuclear weapons, arms control and the Cold War occurred in 1972 when the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks led to treaties between the U.S. and the Soviet Union limiting missile systems.

A second round of negotiations resulted in a follow-on agreement in 1979, but the U.S. Senate did not ratify the treaty, in reaction to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that year.

After the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 concluded when the Soviet Union withdrew nuclear weapons from the island, President John F. Kennedy’s political

Government managers must fund projects pushed by politicians, like “Justice40,” meant to fix “underinvestment in disadvantaged communities.” “Sounds like they mean well,” I say. “It sounds a lot better to talk about social justice,” answers Ms. Furchtgott-Roth. “Nuts and bolts like computer hardware for air traffic control get left

Your opinions are valuable contributions to these pages. We welcome a variety of views.

Letters must be exclusive to the News-Press. In most cases, first priority for immediate publication goes to those submitted by 6 p.m. Tuesdays.

We encourage brevity, and shorter letters have a better chance of being printed immediately.

We edit all submissions for length, clarity and professional standards.

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John

Brent E. Zepke

The author lives in Santa Barbara.

Frank Sanitate

The author lives in Santa Barbara

MINH NGUYEN/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

News-Press columnist Brent E. Zepke writes Silicon Valley Bank was a victim when excessive government spending ultimately led to a rapid succession of interest rate increases.

Please see ZEPKE on C4

Arthur I, Cyr

census, the government could have all the information necessary to set up a social credit system to control individual behavior, similar to that now in place in China.

Did You Know? was also forwarded Pepperdine University’s new promotional video that the Malibu school released at its recent 25th anniversary. It features Ronald Reagan in 1976 when he was asked to write a letter to be opened in 100 years. Check out the promotional video, “Shaping the World for the Next 100 Years,” on Pepperdine’s YouTube channel — youtube.com/watch?v=P5tCYePzOz

A&feature=youtu.be.

I invite you to take a few minutes (just three!) to watch the video, which begins with a familiar voice.

This brief video is based on one of Mr. Reagan’s most popular radio addresses from September 1976. Pepperdine first learned about this text by reading Mr. Reagan’s words in “In His Own Hand” — a book co-edited by one of the university’s newest faculty members, Dr. Kiron Skinner.

President Reagan was asked to write a letter to be put into a time capsule to be opened in 2076 in Los Angeles. He was asked to mention in the letter some of the most serious problems confronting the United States in 1976.

What he wrote in 1976 (47 years ago) could be today. Below are parts of what he said.

“Think about it for a minute.

“What do you put in a letter that’s going to be read 100 years from now — in the year 2076? The people who will read it ‘will be living in the world we helped to shape.’

“Will they read the letter with gratitude in their hearts for what we did, or will they be bitter because the heritage we left them was one of human misery?”

“The greatest problem the United States faced in 1976 was the choice between continuing the policies of the last 40 years that have led to bigger and bigger government, less and less liberty, redistribution of earnings through confiscatory taxation, or trying to get back on the original course set for us by the Founding Fathers. “Will we choose fiscal responsibility, limited government and freedom of choice for all our people? Or will we let an irresponsible Congress set us on the road our English cousins have already taken? The road to economic ruin and state control of

our very lives?”

“On the international scene, two great superpowers face each other with nuclear missiles at the ready — poised to bring Armageddon to the world.”

“Those who read my letter will know whether those missiles were fired or not. Either they will be surrounded by the same beauty we know, or they will wonder sadly what it was like when the world was still beautiful.”

“If we here today meet the challenge confronting us, those who open that time capsule 100 years from now will do so in peace, prosperity and the ultimate

March 10 brought a feeding frenzy

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treasuries had incrementally increased to 4.2%.

Would you buy a note paying 1.7% when others pay 4.2%?

Neither would anyone else, so they sold them at a huge loss.

March 10 brought a feeding frenzy as the media attacked everyone at Silicon Valley Bank.

The Department of Justice and the Securities Exchange Commission may find an “insider trader” to blame.

My counsel is that if they do, listen for them to avoid connecting those actions to the cause of the crash. They are not connected. Their actions were an “effect,” but what employee of the government would be foolish enough to identify the actual cause as being the actions of the president?

The cause was the BidenPelosi-Schumer spending that forced Mr. Powell to raise interest rates much too quickly in order to save our economy, which caught prudent banks, like

those at Silicon Valley Bank, off guard.

Political interest may prevent challenging the administration on why they think Silicon Valley Bank would be the only bank caught this way, particularly after the Obama-Biden team changed the rules to force banks to syndicate their risks? Who lost the money that disappeared from the system? When listening to the Biden administration and mainstream media, investors would be well served to remember, “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.”

Brent E. Zepke is an attorney, arbitrator and author who lives in Santa Barbara. His website is OneheartTwoLivescom.wordpress. com. Formerly, he taught law and business at six universities and numerous professional conferences. He is the author of six books: “One Heart-Two Lives,” “Legal Guide to Human Resources,” “Business Statistics,” “Labor Law,” “Products and the Consumer” and “Law for NonLawyers.”

in personal freedom.

“If we don’t keep our rendezvous with destiny, the letter probably will never be read — because they will live in the world we left them, a world in which no one is allowed to read of individual liberty or freedom of choice.”

“Will we choose fiscal responsibility, limited government, and freedom of choice for all our people?”

Bonnie Donovan writes the “Did You Know?” column in conjunction with a bipartisan group of local citizens. It appears Saturdays in the Voices section.

It is now time for another ‘Punitive Expedition’

Continued from Page C2

recently as 2021, 625 U.S. citizens were abducted in Mexico. Far too many did not come home, as their families failed to pay ransom and the abductees were thus killed.

If an Islamic jihadist outfit were responsible for such atrocities on this scale, on an annual basis, Congress would pass a bipartisan authorization to use military force and the U.S. would not hesitate to declare all-out war.

After 9/11, the U.S. waged war upon al-Qaeda. But for some reason, with hundreds of citizen kidnappings, far too many murders and an unfathomable number of Americans now dropping dead from cartel-

supplied fentanyl poison, bipartisan elites cite concerns about diplomatic niceties and say our hands are tied.

Nonsense. Our hands are not tied.

There is even some precedent. From 1910 to 1919, the Mexican Border War unfolded in a series of military engagements along the border. After Pancho Villa’s infamous attack on Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, decorated U.S. Army General John J. Pershing launched the “Punitive Expedition” (or the “Pancho Villa Expedition”) into northern Mexico. It was only partially successful, but the U.S. Army did manage to kill Villa’s two top lieutenants.

It is now time for another “Punitive Expedition” into

northern Mexico. With cartel violence, drug peddling and the sheer invasion of illegal aliens at the border the worst they have ever been, the U.S. has little choice but to affirmatively act.

We should first seek to obtain the Mexican government’s permission to engage in a limited operation to hunt down and kill top cartel leaders, but this is one such mission where America must go alone if need be. The direct effect on virtually all facets of American life is far too galling for this to go on much longer. It is time to rain hell on the cartels, stopping their illegal alien smuggling, fentanyl-peddling chemical warfare, thuggery, brutality and corruption once and for all.

The American ruling class

would currently have us believe that “democracy,” and the fate of the Western world more generally, is somehow now on the line in the hinterlands of eastern Ukraine. Suffice it to say that is not the case. But what is the case is that an increasingly failed, corrupt narco-state on our southern border refuses to do anything about some of the world’s most vicious transnational criminal rings, which also happen to control large swaths of the border. It is past time to focus in earnest on extirpating America’s massive problem south of the border.

To find out more about Josh Hammer and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. Copyright 2022 by Creators.com.

Dear Mr. President: Do you watch the news?

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And you believed it.

Apparently, it was going toward windmills and solar panels and a whole bunch of other places unknown. Have you seen any bridge or road repairs using that money? Certainly not the railroad tracks. If you get a chance, please let me know where. Just curious.

Speaking of railroad tracks, were you aware there was a bad train wreck in a small town in your country? Maybe not, you were in Ukraine worrying about its border. Apparently, East Palestine, Ohio, didn’t vote for you so I’m wondering if your people ignored American citizens out of revenge. I certainly hope that’s not the case.

However, I do wonder if the train wreck occurred on, say, Martha’s Vineyard (who hate illegals, by the way), whether you

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report any perceived incidence of bias, prejudice, hate speech, intolerance, or other anti-social speech or behavior they witness or are privy to.

Recently, Federal Appellate Judge Kyle Duncan (a Trump appointee) had been invited by a branch of the Heritage Foundation to speak to students at Stanford Law School. His subject: “Guns, COVID Mandates and Twitter.” For his troubles, he was shouted down, denounced as “scum” by various peace-loving law students and then castigated by Tirien Steinbach, Stanford associate dean of Diversity! Equity! and Inclusion! for the “harm” his work had caused.

After delivering a six-minute tirade, Ms. Steinbach invited any

would have been on top of it. That is, of course, if you knew about it.

And yes, I’m aware, Martha’s Vineyard doesn’t have trains, but you get the point, I think.

When you go about your daily routine, I wonder if you look out the window of that big White House you’re hanging out in and tell yourself how great a job you’re doing. Or do you question just what the hell are you doing?

There are some 350 million people under your feet who are very concerned for the future of their country. Do you feel you’ve strengthened or weakened the country? Do you feel good about the possibility that by sticking with Ukraine, you may end up killing all the people counting on you? Are you comfortable with that? Since you’re already of later years, maybe you’re telling yourself you’ve led an easy life living off the taxpayers, so what do you care?

When you snuggle in bed at

students “who felt threatened” by the judge’s presence and/or his undelivered statements, to leave if they wanted. On cue, many did just that. On its website, Stanford claims its bias reporting system is meant “to address incidents where a community member experiences harm because of who they are and how they show up in the world.” A caller reporting any such “incident” is not required to identify himself or herself, and no evidence is required to lodge a complaint.

A “Protected Identity Harm Incident” claim can be made about any “conduct or incident that adversely and unfairly targets an individual or group on the basis of one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics: race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, viability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or

night after some milk and honey, are you aware there are over 600,000, probably more, sleeping on a sidewalk? Does that give you a restless snooze? Or are you mentally working on a national solution to figure out what’s wrong in all the Democratic-controlled cities and states overflowing with thousands of human beings turning our once great cities into slums? Has your driver ever taken you through some of these massive homeless camps?

Maybe you can take some of those billions going to Ukraine and toss some of that cash to Americans. With accountability, of course. Not like Ukraine. Mr. President, it’s my understanding you presently intend to run for re-election. This time you will have to work at keeping your demanding job. You won’t be able to campaign in hiding. Now you have a track record of how well you’ve taken care of the country.

expression, veteran status, marital status or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.”

The Stanford bias reporting system has been in place for two years. The company that designed the program — Maxient — boasts that more than 1,300 other colleges and universities have signed up with the system.

In the 2021-22 school year, 457 “acts of intolerance or hate” involving “gestures, taunts, mockery, unwanted jokes or teasing and derogatory or disparaging comments of a biased nature” were reported within the UC system alone.

The good news is that colleges in Michigan, Texas and Florida have dismantled similar programs after a series of successful lawsuits successfully challenged their constitutionality. Any high school student or parent should be aware that

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behind.”

Computer hardware isn’t left behind in Canada. They got rid of “flight control with paper strips” years ago. That’s because Canada turned air traffic control over to a private company. They switched to an electronic system.

It’s not just Canada that did it. Dozens of countries have privatized or partially privatized air traffic control.

Computer screens have replaced not-always-clear windows in many air traffic control centers. Controllers don’t use binoculars anymore because high-definition cameras let them see much more, especially at night.

profit companies will cut corners and make flying less safe!” But this is nonsense. That GAO study found that safety stayed the same or improved in countries that privatized.

Also, “For-profit companies actually run the airlines!” Ms. Furchtgott-Roth points out. The airlines get FAA supervision, but the main reason planes don’t crash is because the private companies don’t want to destroy their business by killing their customers.

There hasn’t been a commercial airline crash in 14 years.

By contrast, government-run airlines do crash. Aeroflot (the Soviet airline) killed thousands of people.

I would like to suggest you review everything you accomplished and begin your campaign platform based upon those achievements. The upside is you likely won’t need to read or remember anything because all the things you’ve accomplished, you don’t want anyone to know. I will conclude my letter with the hopes you get a chance to ask some of these questions regarding your performance from those who are guiding you. Tell them you have some concerns about the welfare of the nation and demand to know the truth. They might tell you: “You can’t handle the truth.”

But you stomp your foot and remind them you’re the commander-in-chief and the one in charge. Be prepared to hear some chuckling.

Henry Schulte welcomes questions or comments at hschulteopinions@ gmail.com.

programs encouraging students to secretly inform on fellow students and professors are in place in many colleges and universities throughout the U.S., particularly in the Ivy League, where free speech goes to die.

Until all and any such “bias reporting systems” are dismantled and thrown on the ash heap of history, potential college students should analyze and reconsider — if required — where to spend their money on those most important years of their lives. It certainly should not be in an institution that encourages such activity.

James Buckley is a longtime Montecito resident. He welcomes questions or comments at jimb@ substack.com. Readers are invited to visit jimb.substack.com, where Jim’s Journals are on file. He also invites people to subscribe to Jim’s Journal.

A Government Accountability Office study found that in countries that privatized, there are fewer delays and costs are lower.

So why doesn’t America privatize?

Because our politicians get money from labor unions, who “advocate for keeping the same people in the same jobs,” says Ms. Furchtgott-Roth.

Another opponent is the private plane lobby. Under our current system, Congress makes sure that the big airlines, which you fly, subsidize private flights’ air traffic fees.

“If they have private planes,” says Ms. Furchtgott-Roth, “they should be able to pay their fair share.”

Yes. Today’s pricing amounts to welfare for rich people.

A third obstacle is fear. “For-

“What ensures high quality is competition,” says Ms. FurchtgottRoth. There wasn’t any competition in the Soviet Union. And there isn’t any at the FAA. Today, computers controlling air traffic in other countries keep getting better. In America, privatization would reduce delays and make flying even safer.

But our arrogant politicians won’t allow it. They insist the government run things. Since governments rarely innovate, you must sit at the airport and wait.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Mr. Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

Copyright 2022 BY JFS Productions Inc.

Commitment to arms control is firmly established

CYR

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standing rose considerably.

During the Christmas season, J.F.K. held a televised discussion with network correspondents. He gave emphasis to a world soon to contain a number of nuclear powers.

In fact, proliferation has moved much more slowly than anticipated at the time.

Various nuclear-capable nations, including our close ally Canada, have decided that any conceivable benefits are simply not worth the expense and risks.

Additionally, the International Atomic Energy Agency, an initiative of President Eisenhower, facilitates peaceful nuclear energy and provides a long-term drag on military pressures to get the Bomb. Ike, always comprehensive in vision,

also achieved demilitarization of Antarctica. International commitment to arms control is firmly established. Russia today clearly is on the defensive. Military threats are not only external. President Eisenhower closed his farewell address by warning of the dangers inherent in our massive arms establishment, which he termed “the military-industrial complex.”

To learn more, read Arthur Larson’s “Eisenhower: The President Nobody Knew.” Arthur I. Cyr is author of “After the Cold War - American Foreign Policy, Europe and Asia” (NYU Press and Palgrave/Macmillan). He is also the director of the Clausen Center at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisc., and a Clausen Distinguished Professor. He welcomes questions and comments at acyr@carthage.edu.

COURTESY PHOTO