Santa Barbara News-Press: November 26, 2022

coowns the building that

Hayward’s 1890 store at 7 Parker Way.

NEWs-PRE ss sPECIAL REPORT

Landlord joins critics of s tate s treet

By NEIL HARTSTEIN NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

A downtown landlord has joined a small but growing number of Santa Barbara business owners decrying conditions on lower State Street, including homeless people who panhandle, drink alcohol and use illegal drugs.

Vince Wood, co-owner of the building housing Hayward’s 1890, an outdoor furniture store, said his tenant has contended with most of the same

problems facing The Natural Cafe a few blocks up the road.

“The city has really done nothing to improve this area of town,” Mr. Wood told the News-Press. “We still have some problems with (the) homeless doing drugs and sleeping in the alleyways but not to the same degree as the areas a few blocks up State Street.”

Hayward’s 1890 is located at 7 Parker Way. Mr. Wood told the News-Press that the building’s original

Black Friday crowds significantly decline

dutch Garden reopens under new ownership

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

The Dutch Garden, which was shut down in 2020 after 75 years in business on State Street, recently reopened under new ownership.

In August, co-owner Charlie Fredericks explained that the building had been condemned and that renovations and compliance with the county regulations had been a struggle, reported Siteline Santa Barbara. He predicted that the restaurant would open in the next couple of months. The interior looks similar to the original bar stools and window coverings. The patio also has a new bar area.

The restaurant is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on yelp.

“Great news - Dutch Gardens reopened under new ownership this past week! We had lunch

today sitting out in the totally redone patio area. I had the Weisswürst plate and my wife had the pork schnitzel plate. They have added a wonderful selection of beers and wine. Much of the menu and the recipes used pay homage to the original restaurant. German Hot potato salad now has much less vinegar but the rest is the same. Great service at this family run local place,” Eric S. said on Yelp on Wednesday, giving the restaurant a five star rating.

The Dutch Garden is open Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant, located at 4203 State Street, offers takeout and vegetarian options. The eatery does not deliver or take reservations.

email: kzehnder@newspress.com

Early morning Black Friday shopping crowds decreased significantly compared to recent years. Local retail stores experienced early morning crowds of only dozens, while some retailers opted to shut down completely on Black Friday.

The Goleta Best Buy opened at 5 a.m., long before sunrise (6:42 a.m.). Approximately a dozen shoppers were inside before 7 a.m., but the barricades that were erected on Thanksgiving were already put away by workers

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS

Hayward’s 1890 outdoor furniture store is located 7 Parker Way in downtown Santa Barbara, located adjacent to City Lot 12. Before Caltrans built the freeway overcrossing, the site’s address was 315 State St. Vince Wood, the building’s co-owner, said his tenant has experienced most of the same problems as The Natural Cafe.

COURTESY PHOTO

“The city has really done nothing to improve this area of town,” said Vince Wood, who

houses

Vince Wood says his tenant has experienced same problems as The Natural Cafe

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

The Dutch Garden Restaurant on State Street in Santa Barbara recently reopened its doors for the first time since 2020.

By KATHERINE ZEHNDER NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Above, the Home Depot at the Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta is shown on Black Friday. At right, shoppers leave the Goleta Best Buy with a flat screen TV.

Nostradamus’ predictions for 2023

earth.”

Poisonous Putin has already been defeated in the Ukrainian regional capital Kherson, resulting in a humiliating retreat. And now it is believed that by Christmas the Ukrainians will be in a position to retake Crimea, which was stolen from them by Mr. Putin’s regime eight years ago.

lives elsewhere, which is, of course, preferable than being led to their deaths. Those draftees stupid enough to remain in typical Russian passive mode are trained for several days, provided with rusty old weapons and given rations that months or years ago breached their expiration date.

A METEOR STRIKE AND MORE

And that’s not all.

If Nostradamus is correct, a meteorite the size of a whale will slam into our fragile planet and carry with it an alien species of some sort.

ROBERT ERINGER

One of our most popular columns last year dealt with the 2022 predictions of Nostradamus, so we would be remiss not to follow up with the famed French seer’s forecast for the upcoming Year of the Rabbit (Chinese astrology).

To recap: Michel de Nostradame’s prophecies were published in 1555 as “quatrain” poetry based upon what he called “judicial astrology.” His predictions played out through the ensuing centuries, among them the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the assassination of JFK, the moon landing and even 9/11.

So what does 2023 have in store for us all according to Nosty’s 500 year-old visions based on his reading of the stars?

To answer this we shall attempt to decipher the prophecies of Nostradamus in the context of current global events.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT …

… because the name of the game for this coming year is a lot of disaster and calamity.

Nosty is interpreted to have predicted a nuclear war for early 2023 between the United States and Russia that will last for 27 years following “seven months (of) great war, people dead through evil.”

Certainly, the Russia-Ukraine war has cast this ugly specter, not least because Mad Vlad Putin — identified by Nosty as the antichrist (no big surprise) — has run out of options to defend the eastern regions of Ukraine he invaded and illegally annexed.

Here is that quatrain:

“The antichrist very soon annihilates the three, “Twenty-seven years the war will last.

“The unbelievers are dead, captive, exiled.

“With blood, human bodies, water and red hail covering the

Crimea may be Vlad’s final red line (earlier such “red lines” have already been breached) for triggering tactical nuclear weapons. No doubt the targeting by his generals (who, judging by their sheer ineptitude, couldn’t plan a booze-up in a brewery) would (one hopes) take wind direction into account lest radioactive fallout from a nuclear detonation “accidentally” wander into a neighboring NATO country. If that happens, Article 5 is invoked, and NATO is necessarily obliged to raise arms against Russia, a road that conceivably leads to World War III.

Whatever trajectory the Russians believe prudent, wind direction can change, leading us to another Nostradamus prophecy for next year: The depopulation of European countries.

Here is that quatrain: “Within the isles is a very horrible uproar. One will hear only a party of war.”

Of all the 30 NATO-member countries, Mr. Putin and his KGB cronies despise Britain most. (The U.S. comes in a close second.) Which means “uproar in the isles” applies to Blighty.

Nuclear explosions can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

SPIDERS AND LOCUSTS

So let’s move to the major earthquake Nostradamus has forecast for the coming year: A 9.8 quake in the ocean — specifically, the Mariana Trench, in the far western Pacific (between Guam and the Philippines) — from which, he prophesied, giant spiders and locusts would emerge.

But back to putrid Putin for a moment: Supposedly (according to Nostradamus), the Russian despot has put his scientists to work on creating a new kind of soldier — a human-monkey hybrid that can eat anything. This is important because Mr. Putin can barely feed his newly mobilized conscripts.

Indeed, the drafting of raw recruits has become a major headache for Vlad. Young men are bailing from Mother Russia by the tens of thousands to lead

Once these amateur fighters see what they’re up against (not just food poisoning), they are quickly demoralized and a) rebel against their superiors or b) desert or defect, in many cases surrendering pre-battle to their much better trained and armed adversary for whom morale has never been an issue because there is a vast difference between right and wrong.

Here is that Nosty quatrain: “A monkey of fortune with twisted tongue “will come to the sanctuary of the gods.

“He will open the door to heretics

“And raise up the Church militant.”

So just for starters we have nuclear blasts and radiation along with the possibility of World War III, super-duper spiders and locusts, and a meteor carrying potentially infectious cooties.

But now some good news from Nostradamus: Russia’s despot Putin will be assassinated, as plotted by his closest associates. (Predictable, based on Mr. Putin’s dwindling popularity within his own country and that fact that most hits are an inside job, from Jesus of Nazareth’s Judas to Caesar’s “et tu, Brute?”)

Nostradamus also foresaw that U.S. President Joe Biden will suffer from a mystery disease. If he was referring to mythomania or pseudologia fantastical (also known as habitual lying), the French prophet clearly got the

year wrong because, as we all know, Joe’s pathological condition began decades ago. But perhaps Nosty meant dementia.

There’s more.

Perhaps due to the predicted world war and the chaos that results, “The great audacious brawler… will be elected governor of the army.” As in commander-inchief.

Donald Trump in 2024?

Now add economic disaster due to soaring costs: “So high will the bushel of wheat rise that man will be eating his fellow man.”

Cannibalism?

And also social upheaval as the gap widens between social classes: “Dreadful horrors and vengeances.” Revolution?

And this with regard to John Kerry’s climate kookiness: Commencing 2023, no rain for 40 years (“the dry earth will grow more parched”) followed by 40 years of constant rain (“there will be great floods”). Could it be the planet’s immune system trying to get rid of us?— a Kurt Vonnegutism based on humanity’s bad behavior.

If Nostradamus is to be believed (and even if he isn’t), make sure your Christmas this year is the

merriest you’ve ever had because you never know which Christmas may be your last.

And thereafter treasure each and every disaster-free day.

But if disaster strikes?

A martini and a cigar plus that bottle of Opus One you’ve been promising yourself — perfect for New Year’s Eve to kick off the festivities.

WHAT”S NEXT IN UKRAINE?

According to our top-notch intelligence source in Washington D.C., the Russians may be ready to cry uncle in Ukraine. They have apparently put out feelers “for a ceasefire and maybe armistice pending negotiations on final status.” Presumably the deal will be that they’ll withdraw from the newly “annexed” regions but retain Crimea.

So let’s put everything into perspective: It is the arrogance and folly of every generation to believe the end is nigh on their watch.

Robert Eringer is a longtime Montecito author with vast experience in investigative journalism. He welcomes questions or comments at reringer@gmail.

Texas comptroller blasts Biden administration plan advancing

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Department of Labor is finalizing a rule allowing companies to prioritize ESG policies when choosing retirement plans. It’s the last phase of a nearly two-year effort to reverse a Trumpera rule banning the practice.

The department said it was implementing the rule to “remove barriers to plan fiduciaries’ ability to consider climate change and other environmental, social and governance factors when they select investments and exercise shareholder rights.”

Both the chief financial heads of Texas and Florida, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, have taken action against ESG, an environmental, social, governance social credit score system, from being implemented in their states.

After hearing of the DOL’s latest announcement, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said President Joe Biden was “using unelected bureaucrats … to push his radical ESG agenda, undermine the Texas economy and jeopardize our national security and energy independence.

“Even as free market forces begin to erode the ESG fairy tale and expose the intellectual dishonesty and utter lack of transparency in this investment scam, President Biden is using the DOL rulemaking process to double down on policies that put his social agenda above the retirement needs of hard-working Americans.”

The rule, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights,” follows an executive order President Biden issued last May. His order directed the federal government to implement policies “to help safeguard the financial security of America’s families, businesses and workers from climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of U.S. workers and families.”

The rule change “will bolster the resilience of workers’ retirement savings and pensions by removing the artificial impediments –and chilling effect on environmental, social and governance investments – caused by the prior administration’s rules,” Acting Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration Ali Khawar said in

a statement. “A principal idea underlying the proposal is that climate change and other ESG factors can be financially material and when they are, considering them will inevitably lead to better long-term risk-adjusted returns, protecting the retirement savings of America’s workers.”

Tuesday’s notice follows a March 2021 and October 2021 announcement and includes comments received from the public. Once published in the Federal Register, it becomes effective in 60 days.

Mr. Hegar also took issue with the announcement’s timing. He said, “Perhaps hoping no one would notice, two days before Thanksgiving, President Biden’s DOL finalized a rule that reversed rules set by the Trump administration that ensured retirement fund managers lived up to their fiduciary duties by selecting investments based solely on ‘pecuniary factors.’ That meant fund managers placed profits and returns ahead of social agendas and prioritized ensuring participants had the resources needed to support themselves during retirement.”

But once the rule goes into effect, he said, “Fund managers will be free to consider climate change and other ESG factors rather than aiming to deliver the highest possible returns for American retirees. These retirees will see their hard-earned dollars diminish as ESG funds fail to deliver promised returns while simultaneously charging higher fees, even as the value of their remaining dollars purchase less due to inflation.”

Worse still, he adds, “As Biden’s inflation exacerbates food insecurity, threatens our economy and saps the longevity of retirement accounts – while the global energy crisis rages on and our fellow Americans struggle to heat their homes – the president and his out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats remain committed to the same ‘green-new-deal’ agenda that prioritizes ESG fantasies over the needs of hard-working Americans.”

In August, Mr. Hegar directed state agencies to divest from companies that were prioritizing ESG, and particularly boycotting oil and natural gas companies, as part of their portfolio. The list includes 350 individual investment funds and 10 financial companies, including, Blackrock, Inc., BNP Paribas SA,

Credit Suisse Group AG, Danske Bank A/S, Jupiter Fund Management PLC, Nordea Bank ABP, Schroders PLC, Svenska Handelsbanken AB, Swedbank AB, and UBS Group AG.

Not long after, Gov. Greg Abbott told The Center Square during a meeting with energy leaders at the Port of Houston that Hegar’s directive was working. He said some of the companies on Texas’ list were making an effort to get off of it.

The DOL’s ESG directive comes after President Biden has threatened to tax the oil and natural gas industry for not producing enough petroleum or for making too much of a profit when it does. He’s also blamed the industry for rising gas prices, while it’s maintained that rising costs are a direct result of the president’s energy policies.

Despite numerous challenges, Texas continues to lead the U.S. in oil and natural gas production and job growth. And Texas “continues to provide unmatched support for the state economy and our nation’s energy security,” TIPRO president Ed Longanecker argues, adding that “state and federal policies should reflect the need for reliable energy and growing global demand for oil and natural gas.”

Oil & Gas Workers Association Board Member Richard Welch told The Center Square, “The DOL shifting priorities to the globalists’ fantasy of ESG that’s killing the oil and natural gas industry around the world during one of the worst petroleum shortages in history, is borderline criminal.”

The DOL, like the EPA, he says, “is being weaponized against our most valuable asset, oil. We cannot continue on this destructive path and expect stability and security.

“The Texas oil and natural gas industry – and its workers – have pulled more than their weight to alleviate the crisis caused by ESG policies, the ‘green new deal’ rhetoric and the failed Paris Climate Agreement.

“Pushing investment into an unproven and unpredictable market is gambling with hardworking Americans’ future and livelihoods. The Biden Administration is diligently trying to destroy the very foundation of our daily lives for a failed ‘green energy’ policy that isn’t even possible without petroleum.”

the Santa Barbara News-Press, P.O. Box 1359, Santa Barbara, CA 93102. Published daily.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

This portrait of Nostradamus (Michel de Nostredame) was painted by son, César de Nostredame.

retirement funds prioritizing ESG

Glenn Hegar stands firm on state divesting from companies boycotting oil and gas industry

University of California workers set to resume picketing Monday as strike approaches third week

By MADISON HIRNEISEN THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Unionrepresented University of California workers are set to resume picketing across all 10 UC campuses on Monday after a brief break for Thanksgiving as a strike involving thousands of workers could enter its third week.

A strike that started Nov. 14 involving 48,000 United Auto Workers-represented teaching assistants, academic student employees, graduate student researchers, postdoctoral scholars, readers and tutors remained ongoing across all 10 UC campuses as of Friday. Workers took a break from the picket line on Thursday and Friday as campuses closed for the holiday but plan to continue picketing on Monday unless a contract with the UC is negotiated.

The unionized UC workers are demanding increased salaries with annual cost of living adjustments, arguing higher wages are needed to address the rent burden many workers experience. According to UAW member surveys, 92% of graduate workers and 61% of postdoctoral scholars are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their pre-tax income on housing costs.

The UAW is specifically demanding a $54,000 minimum salary for grad workers – a significant increase compared to roughly $24,000 salary provided to the average graduate student worker.

“We are not asking for the world,” Adam Moore, a third year PhD student at UC Davis and graduate student researcher, told The Center Square in an email.

“We are providing essential services that the UC cannot function without – the least they can do is create a workplace that pays fairly, isn’t hostile and is safe.”

In addition to salary increases, workers are demanding free public transit passes, $2,000-amonth childcare reimbursements for workers with children, expanded paid family leave, longer guaranteed appointment lengths to ensure job security and reduced tuition costs for international student workers.

The UC and the UAW have reached tentative agreements on work environment and workplace accessibility issues, but several demands are still under negotiation. In a statement on Wednesday, the UC said the proposals offered by the university to the UAW would “place our graduate students and academic employees at the top of the pay scale across major public universities and on par with top private universities.”

“Though we have reached many tentative agreements with the union, we remain apart on key issues related to tying wages and pay increases to housing costs and tuition remission for nonresident international students,” the UC said in a statement. “To this end, the University continues to call for the UAW to join us in seeking neutral private mediation to help secure a contract.”

As negotiations remain ongoing, workers say they are prepared to continue striking until a fair contract is reached. Jackie Ku, the unit chair for UAW 2865 at UC Irvine, told The Center Square that morale remains high among workers as the strike continues.

“We want a system that is accessible, that is equitable, that is keeping up with the UC ideals, and we’re saying we can’t do that if the UC doesn’t put its money where its mouth is,” Ms. Ku said.

“So we’re going to stay out here, we’re going to keep fighting this fight. We’re going to keep showing the UC that they can’t brush this under the rug.”

If an agreement is not reached over the weekend, the strike will enter its third week on Monday.

as department racked up overtime

By TOM GANTERT and BRETT ROWLAND THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – Amid the pandemic, one city of Berkeley firefighter made gross pay of $702,941 over two years.

That firefighter made $362,940 in 2020 with $213,708 in overtime and then grossed $340,001 with $181,726 in overtime in 2021.

In 2021, 39 Berkeley firefighters made $200,000 or more. The city’s acting fire chief said it is less expensive to use overtime to fill vacancies than hiring additional firefighters.

Spending on public safety in Berkeley has jumped 17% from 2019 to 2021, going from $113 million to $132 million. Public safety accounted for 37% of total city spending in 2021, according to city budget documents. Police overtime also accounted for high salaries. The highest-paid Berkeley employee in 2021 was a police sergeant whose gross pay was $353,259.

The city reported in its 2021 audit that public safety was over budget by $9.5 million in 2021 “due to overspending of Police and Fire overtime budgets. This was related to staffing shortages forcing mandatory overtime, and due to mutual aid requests.”

Berkeley Interim Deputy Fire Chief Keith May said a policy called “minimum staffing,” where fire departments are required to keep staffing at a certain level regardless of the need, played a role in the overtime costs. Chief May said the number of emergency calls and the pandemic contributed to the higher salaries.

“The Department must keep a minimum number of firefighters working 24/7 to meet the ‘normal’ daily demand for service and provide adequate numbers of firefighters available to respond and assemble within nationally recognized response times for

more critical or complex incidents,” Chief May said in an email to The Center Square. “Due to routine use of sick leave and vacation, coupled with attrition, there are often vacancies that need to be filled using overtime. The cost of maintaining enough extra fulltime responders on staff to fill these vacancies would be greater than the amount the City spends to fill these temporary vacancies with overtime.”

Chief May said there are two types of overtime within the fire department: Voluntary and forced overtime.

“When a vacancy exists, firefighters are provided an opportunity to voluntarily sign up for overtime to fill the vacancy,” Chief May said. “When there are no volunteers, responders are forced to work extra hours. In the heart of the pandemic, forced overtime increased substantially. The factors which contributed to cause this included a citywide hiring freeze, pandemic response operations which required extra staffing, and employees that contracted COVID and had to be off work for the required quarantine period.”

By CASEY HARPER THE CENTER SQUARE

(The Center Square) – More than 40% of U.S. small business owners say they couldn’t pay rent on time or in full for the month of November, the highest this year.

The small business network group Alignable released the survey, which found that the hardship varies by industry. A notable 57% of beauty salons said they couldn’t make rent as well as 45% of gyms, 44% of retail and 44% of restaurants.

“Making matters worse, this occurred during a quarter when more money should be coming in and rent delinquency rates should be decreasing,” Alignable said. “But so far this quarter, the opposite has been true.”

This latest report continues a steady increase in businesses that

can’t pay rent this year.

“Last month, rent delinquency rates increased seven percentage points from 30% in September to 37% in October,” Alignable said.

“And now, in November, that rate is another four percentage points higher, reaching a new high across a variety of industries.”

Business owners cite a range of reasons for the difficulty making rent, including higher rent costs and lower revenue. But 60% cite inflation.

“One indicator of the toll inflation is taking on businesses

is a steep drop in the percentage of small businesses that are fully recovered, earning as much if not more than they did monthly prior to COVID,” Alignable said. “The percentage was 24% in October, but dropped to 14% in November -an all-time low.”

Michigan had the highest percentage of small business owners unable to make rent at 51% with New York in second at 49% and Massachusetts third highest at 45%.

The survey queried 6,326 small business owners in November.

The unionized UC workers are demanding increased salaries with annual cost of living adjustments, arguing higher wages are needed to address the rent burden many workers experience.

Berkeley firefighter made $700,000 over two years

In 2021, 39 Berkeley firefighters made $200,000 or more. The city’s acting fire chief said it is less expensive to use overtime to fill vacancies than hiring additional firefighters.

Report: 41% of small businesses can’t pay rent this month

A notable 57% of beauty salons said they couldn’t make rent as well as 45% of gyms, 44% of retail and 44% of restaurants.

The lure of paradise

Editor’s note: Dianne and Brianna Johnson, a mother and daughter real-estate team associated with Village Properties in Santa Barbara County, join the News-Press’ roster of real estate columnists today.

’Tis the season for feeling grateful, and we’re feeling so thankful to live in our beautiful Santa Barbara community.

It’s no surprise that lots of people enjoy living in the Santa Barbara area, and when they come, they stay.

This is quite apparent in our local real estate market numbers from the month of October. Sales numbers are down about a third from this time during the frenzied market of last year, and inventory numbers are down almost 29%!

Many Santa Barbara homeowners just aren’t wanting to give up their little piece of paradise, contributing to the lower sales numbers and higher prices despite national news headlines.

We need to keep in mind that the euphoric real estate markets of the last couple of pandemic years are the outliers, not the norm. During the last half of 2020 and all of 2021, the market was in a virtual sprint, and we all know you cannot sprint forever.

Sometimes you just need to slow down and catch your breath.

All real estate is local! Our local Santa Barbara area market is still moving forward more positively than the national headlines suggest.

Watching and reading the national news, one might think the real estate market is collapsing. It isn’t. It is so important to note that all of the housing market statistics are compared to that frenzied 2021 market.

Looking at the current national statistics, the number of sales this year has decreased, and prices have still been increasing this year, but at a more moderate rate. Nationwide, at one point, inventory of homes for sale was up

REAL ESTATE UPDATE

DIANNE AND BRIANNA JOHNSON

over 40% year over year.

Locally, the latest Santa Barbara numbers show our inventory of homes for sale has actually dropped 28.4% and, consequently, the number of sales has also decreased by 33.5%. Our local prices are up 16.1% over last year at this time.

Speaking of inventory, did you know there are currently only approximately 142 homes and 40 condos currently available all the way from Carpinteria through Goleta in all price ranges? (Fiftyfour of the houses actively for sale are over $5 million!) At 960 homes for sale year-to-date, we are critically below inventory levels of the more normal pre-pandemic years of 2018 (1,385 YTD) and 2019 (1,435 YTD.)

Lack of inventory is definitely the log jam in the system. With so many want-to-be sellers fearful of placing their homes on the market and having nowhere to go, they are holding off and not contributing to the available inventory of homes for sale. This is creating a block in the usual flow of homes for sale.

There are several ways to strategize the marketing and negotiating the sale of a home so these sellers don’t feel “homeless.”

Sellers can offer their home for sale subject to finding a replacement property. They can accept an offer with a rent-back provision that allows them to stay in their property while they continue the search for their next home, and/or they can negotiate a long escrow.

Additionally, active sellers may be wary of accepting an offer contingent on the sale of another property. Oftentimes, they reject that contingency. It would be advantageous to both parties if the home were already in escrow and/ or actively on the market.

The Fed’s attempts to control inflation and deliberately slow the U.S. economy by rapidly raising interest rates, has resulted in “U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage rates increasing by 3.83 percentage points since the end of last year. That’s the biggest year-todate increase in over 50 years,” according to Freddie Mac.

This has certainly affected buyers’ purchasing power and lessened the number of buyers who are able to purchase.

But there are still many buyers out there. While we are currently not seeing many homes with 15 or 20 offers, well-priced homes in good condition are still selling. We are still seeing some multiple offers, but a seller only needs one!

So far in 2022 in our area, 34% of home sales have been all-cash transactions with no mortgages involved.

Many economists are predicting an upcoming recession. Do you realize that in four out of the six last recessions, housing prices actually rose?

We all recall the Great Recession that was actually triggered by faulty lending requirements. Fortunately, the

Uncertain economic times lie ahead; be prepared

The midterm elections were a surprise to many. There was no Red Wave.

The House of Representatives has a small majority for the Republicans. The Senate remains with a small majority for the Democrats. The Biden administration has two years to make a positive difference in a very uncertain economy.

Headwinds remain!

Inflation is top on the list of concerns for the country. Oil remains the biggest part of the inflation picture. Oil doesn’t just represent the price at the pump, but it encompasses the delivery of goods and services, the rubber and tire industry, the asphalt industry, the medical industry and the plastic industry.

The U.S. must do everything possible to bring the price of oil down.

Excessive spending is another big part of the inflation we are now experiencing. For decades the U.S. government has consistently overspent.

The current U.S. debt is over $31 trillion! The official budget deficit is well over $1 trillion! (The government spends over a trillion dollars more than what it brings in!)

Unfunded liabilities (promised to pay someday), largely Social Security and Medicare, represent over $172 trillion! These numbers are not opinions! They are simple math! ‘

We cannot continue down this path. Both sides of the political aisle need to come together with a comprehensive budget. And the time to do this is now!

The war in the Ukraine

continues to drag on. The cost of human lives and treasure is dramatic. A plan to end this conflict is critical. This war has had a significant inflationary effect with the costs involved, especially the increase in spending with no end in sight and the upward pressure on the price of oil.

The southern border continues to have a dramatic effect on our economy. I talked with my good friend, Oscar Leeser, the second-term Democratic Mayor of El Paso, Texas, about the border crisis that he is currently dealing with. Mayor Leeser told me he is frustrated with the lack of a plan by the federal government with the thousands of border crossings the past few years.

While there are many quality people coming across the border with legitimate asylum concerns, there are also criminals, drug dealers and human traffickers as well. Over 701,000 fentanyl deaths took place in 2021, and most of the fentanyl comes across the southern border. This situation takes an economic and a significant emotional toll on all that are affected. A comprehensive plan must be put

in place.

As we approach the end of 2022, China continues to pose supply chain problems. Its GDP — Gross Domestic Product, the monetary value of final goods and services produced in a country in a given period — will soon surpass that of the United States. Our dependence on China’s manufacturing for key components in our technology and other industries is problematic.

Manufacturing independence is extremely important to the health of our economy and an increase in goods produced by U.S. companies by U.S. workers can move us in that direction. Let’s look for a lot more of “Made in the U.S.A.!”

Uncertain times lie ahead, as market volatility raises concern and interest rates continue to climb. As an investor, it is more important now than ever to develop and construct a diversified financial plan of “safe money” assets and noncorrelated investments that are not traded in the public markets, thereby, reducing or eliminating price volatility. Also, an asset class of the highest quality stocks, bonds and alternative investments should be included.

This combination of different types of investments should fit your goals, objectives and risk tolerance levels. Most importantly, you will have developed a plan that fares well through good times and bad.

Stay the course!

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

lending requirements put in place after that debacle have created a much more stable basis for home ownership. Thank goodness, this is not 2008!

Like all markets, real estate is controlled by the laws of supply and demand. Our supply is severely restricted, and Santa Barbara still has huge demand from within and from all around the world. Again, we are blessed to be able to call this sweet place our home.

Wishing you a beautiful holiday season in our little town by the sea.

Dianne and Brianna Johnson are a mother/daughter real estate team with over 45 years of experience in sunny Santa Barbara making it their mission to help clients realize their home dreams. See www. welcomehome-sb.com.

Advertisers, ask about this cost saving program. Call today! 805-564-5230 2022 LOYALTY PROGRAM

Homeowners want to stay in Santa Barbara, contributing to lower sales numbers and higher prices

COURTESY PHOTO

“Our

local

Santa

Barbara

area market is still moving forward more positively than the national headlines suggest,” write columnists Dianne and Briana Johnson, a mother/ daughter real estate team with Village Properties.

TIM TREMBLAY

Farmers can expect high interest rates and higher costs next year

By ZETA CROSS THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Farmers borrow short term money up front every year to pay for inputs and operating expenses. At harvest time when they sell their crops, they pay back their operating notes.

For the first time in 20 years, fast-rising interest rates have doubled the cost of short term operating notes, an impact a lot of farmers have never seen before.

“Farmers who are 40 or 50 years old have run cash flows and budget numbers for years, but they have never experienced the interest rate shock we have now,” said Brad Zwilling, vice president for data analysis with Illinois Farm Business Farm Management. “Those are the rates that have gone way up. Those are the ones that have a big impact.”

Costs in 2022 were higher than in 2021. In 2023, farmers can expect significantly higher price tags for just about everything.

“The big piece is that Increased interest rates have added to the volatility that we have already started seeing in agriculture over the last 3 years,” Mr. Zwilling said.

Run a tighter pencil. Pay down debt where it makes sense. And take a hard look at cash flow, Mr. Zwilling advised.

“Know if you can make money,” he said.

In 2012 and 2013, a lot of farmers had cash and they needed tax deductions. That drove sales of tractors and big ticket equipment. Ten years later, a lot of that equipment is ready to be replaced.

Mr. Zwilling advises farmers to look carefully at their cash flow and discuss purchases with trusted advisers.

“Make sure to have a team and go over the numbers with them,” Mr. Zwilling said. “Even if the team is just the farmer and the lender and the farmer’s spouse, talk to people.”

With all the expected 2023 price hikes, adding payments on a $100,000 tractor at 7% or 8% interest may not make sense, he said.

“Be proactive, not reactive,” Mr. Zwilling advises.

“I know I am going to have to replace this tractor in the next two or three years; how am I going to pay for that?”

Meanwhile, when something is available for a lower price, don’t wait, he said.

“Take advantage of that,” Mr. Zwilling said.

“Whether it is an attractive interest rate or a load of fertilizer at a good price, take advantage of the good deals.”

Illinois Farm Business Farm Management Association is a cooperative educational service program designed to assist farmers with management decision-making and record keeping. FBFM has eight locations across the state.

Nevada Democrats push to hold nation’s first presidential primary

By KATELYNN RICHARDSON THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – Nevada’s Democratic members of Congress issued a statement urging the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to choose Nevada for the first 2024 presidential primary.

The joint statement, issued by U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Sen. Jacky Rosen, Rep. Dina Titus, Rep. Steven Horsford, and Rep. Susie Lee, argued that “securing the Democratic Senate majority” and “delivering presidential victories four cycles in a row” make Nevada the best choice.

Four of the five won tight midterm races against their Republican opponents. Sen. Rosen is up for re-election in 2024. “Nevada is a working class, prolabor state with one of the most diverse populations in the country and a commitment to voting rights that is a model for the nation,”

Since 1972, Iowa has held the DNC’s first presidential primary.

the statement said. “Nevada also includes large metropolitan areas, small towns, 28 Tribal communities, rural areas, and military bases. It is a crucial battleground state that determines control of the White House and Congress, and features highly competitive general election races every cycle and at every level of the ballot.”

“Having Nevada’s multiracial, blue-collar electorate kick off the primary calendar in future cycles will make our entire party stronger, and we’ve proved again in 2022 that there’s simply no other state with a better argument for going first,” the statement continued.

Nevada’s Secretary of Stateelect Cisco Aguilar also weighed in with a Twitter post.

“Nevada is the only state that meets all of the DNC’s criteria for FITN, and our voters should have a say in the future of this nation,” he said Tuesday.

Since 1972, Iowa has held the DNC’s first presidential primary. Controversy ensued after the 2020 Iowa Democratic Caucuses, when technology issues led to delayed reporting of the results and caused some to question the process.

Earlier this year, the DNC approved new criteria for choosing where the first primary would be held. Criteria include diversity, general-election competitiveness, and feasibility.

The DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee will meet December 1 to decide on the official calendar.

-

Moropoulos, Johnson earn major SCFA awards as SBCC football preps for Beach Bowl

By MICHAEL JORGENSON SBCC SPORTS WRITER

After tying the SBCC football singleseason wins record, Craig Moropoulos has been named the SCFA American Pacific Coach of the Year and Alex Johnson was named Offensive Player of the Year, it was announced this week.

The Vaqueros – who host College of the Desert in the 2022 SCFA Beach Bowl Game this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. at La Playa Stadium – earned a total of 18 AllAPL selections, including the two major awards and 10 other First Team honors.

ALL-APL SELECTIONS

Coach of the Year: Craig Moropoulos

Under Craig Moropoulos’ guidance, the Vaqueros improved on an already impressive 2021 campaign with one of the program’s best years ever in 2022. Moropoulos became Santa Barbara’s third head coach since 1955 to reach the nine-win mark, with the Vaqueros entering Saturday’s bowl game with Desert seeking to become the first 10-win team in SBCC’s long history. The Vaqueros won their 300th game on Sept. 10 in a 457 blowout over Orange Coast, the first of five games they handled by at least five touchdowns. They also set team records for single-game points and largest win (86 vs. LA Southwest on Sept. 24), consecutive victories (9) and rushing touchdowns (37) and as of now are shattering the singleseason scoring record averaging 45.5 points per game with 455 total.

“I’m just super proud of the team, the coaches and just the program itself for where it’s gotten to, winning the conference and earning our way into hosting a bowl game. That’s the ultimate thing,” Moropoulos said. “We’re honored to be a part of that group that’s won nine games, and definitely have a positive, upbeat thing right now and we’ll see what happens Saturday.”

Offensive Player of the Year: Alex Johnson - The APL’s Offensive Player of the Year got out to a slow start, but would bounce back to have an incredibly efficient final seven games. Quarterback Alex Johnson started hitting stride in week five of the season, when he completed 10-of-16 (.625) passes for 94 yards and ran in two scores with a season-high 46 rushing yards in a big 30-14 win at Glendale. The signalcaller would finish the year as a dual threat with six rushing touchdowns, while posting a 9-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio over the second half of the season.

Johnson also completed 70 percent of his passes in three of his last five, including going a masterful 8-for-10 for three scores and a season-high 143 yards in a 63-0 win over LA Pierce.

All-APL First Team Offense: Damien Roberts, Donovan Davis, Elian Sunquist, Brandon Smith, Joe Bowman - The Vaquero offensive line made up a good chunk of the All-APL Offensive First Team, with center Damien Roberts being joined by a unanimous 2021 First Team selection in blocker Donovan Davis. Tight end Elian Sundquist joined the runblocking attack that went over 200 yards six times while reeling in six passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Tough and elusive runningback Brandon Smith was the star of the pounding Vaquero run game, as he posted SBCC’s third-highest single-season rushing total ever with 1031 yards (6.6 Y/ R). He led the team with 13 run scores and pulled in an additional one through the air. Over a torrid stretch from Sept. 17Oct. 15, he became the first Vaquero under Moropoulos to go over 100 yards on the ground in four straight games, setting the Vaquero single-game rushing record with 260 on 33 carries in the win at Glendale.

Oregon State transfer Joe Bowman was extremely reliable at place kicker, connecting on a perfect 47-of-47 extra points and going 4-of-5 on 40-yard field goals.

All-APL First Team Defense: Grant Hessler, Amir Brown, Kai Singleton, Terrence Coleman, Kayden Chan Defensive tackle Grant Hessler and linebackers Amir Brown and Kai Singleton represented SBCC’s starting defensive 11 on the All-APL First Team. Hessler led the Vaqueros with six sacks and 9.5 tackles for a loss of 36 yards. Brown’s presence was felt all over the field, as he led the team with 44 tackles. Singleton was credited with 15 tackles, including two for a loss.

All-APL Second Team Offense: Joe Becerra, Anthony Hastings, Chase Wells, Mekhi Norfleet, Cameron Woolsey - Skill players Mekhi Norfleet, Chase Wells and Cameron Woolsey contributed in a number of ways en route to earning All-Conference recognition. As SBCC’s change-up back, Norfleet ran for 441 yards (5.3 Y/R) and was second on the team with six scores on the ground. A 53yard touchdown in SBCC’s regular season finale highlighted his season-high 73-yard rushing day on just four carries.

Wide receiver Chase Wells got out to a fast start with 11 catches for 175 yards and

two touchdowns over the first two games of the season. A consistent contributor throughout the year, he finished as the only SBCC player with more than two receiving touchdowns, totaling five. He paced the team in receiving yards as well with 402.

Woolsey ran in four scores of his own and was a playmaker on special teams as well. He averaged a team-high 11.5 yards per rush thanks to the blocking of fellow Second Team selections offensive linemen Joe Becerra and Anthony Hastings.

All-APL Second Team Defense: Brandon Bowers - Punter Brandon Bowers was named to the Defensive Second Team after playing another crucial part in SBCC’s stellar special team unit. He constantly aided in giving the Vaqueros the field position advantage, averaging 40.5 yards per punt. Bowers placed nearly two-thirds of his punts (20 of 33) inside the opposing 20-yard line and had just six touchbacks with a long of 71 yards.

“We have a lot of guys with talent,” said Moropoulos. “The two most important parts of a successful team are the people up front and a really good special teams. It’s also been the guys who’ve stepped up when people have gotten hurt, and that’s really big. Successful teams do that and that’s what’s really rewarding about this team and why it’s been able to accomplish what it has.”

2022 SCFA BEACH BOWL

The last two meetings between the Vaqueros and College of the Desert happened in back-to-back years, with SBCC first defeating the Roadrunners 4718 at home in 2016 and falling on the road 25-20 in 2017.

“They’re always athletic, they’ve got good skill people, just always talented and always good,” Moropoulos said of his upcoming opponent. “What I’m looking forward to is hopefully seeing us do what we’ve done since our first game. The whole season’s been a combination of all three phases, playing good defense and being really good on offense and on the special teams. It’s a sign of a successful team when you can do those three. It’ll be a great challenge, we’re excited about it and hopefully we can match it and have a great game.”

Michael Jorgenson works in communications/media relations at Santa Barbara City College.

email: sports@newspress.com

Residents, business owners echo concerns voiced by Natural Cafe owner

STATE

address was 315 State St., before Caltrans built the freeway overcrossing.

“The building is part of the old Buick dealership that my grandfather built in the early 1920s. Hayward’s has rented the building for over 10 years,” Mr. Wood told the News-Press.

“The biggest problem with the homeless is their occupancy between the freeway and the building,” he said. “It’s a dangerous and unsanitary condition that Caltrans has had some success addressing lately.”

“We have been lucky in that this lower end of State Street is now encompassed within the Funk Zone and the commercial atmosphere has improved,” Mr. Wood said. “This happened with a little luck and the foresight of individual entrepreneurs in the area.”

Mr. Wood praised Kelly Brown, owner of The Natural Cafe, whose letter to his landlord stating his intention not to renew his lease contained several criticisms of conditions on State Street, including increased number of rats feeding off scraps that fall from the outdoor dining parklets, speeding skateboarders and bicyclists posing safety risks to pedestrians, and homeless people who aggressively panhandle, drink and use drugs in public.

Other restaurateurs and bar owners have joined in some of his complaints, but Mr. Wood is the first landlord/ building owner to go public in the NewsPress and echo some of their concerns.

“I want to thank you for publishing Mr. Brown’s comments about State Street,” he told the News-Press. “I am glad to see he has the guts to tell it like it is. Please pass along my appreciation to him for sticking to his guns and not caving in to his detractors.”

The owner of Hayward’s declined to comment on Mr. Wood’s remarks.

City of Santa Barbara officials note they have programs in place or in the works to trap the rats, separate bikers/ skateboarders from pedestrians, clean the streets and sidewalks (another complaint by Mr. Brown) — and help the homeless get the services and shelter they need.

But Mr. Brown and other business owners say the city’s efforts are simply not enough to take care of these problems, especially the homeless roaming lower State Street. Of most concern are those who aggressively beg passersby for money and/or those who are either mentally ill or under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

Mr. Brown said some homeless people near The Natural Cafe aggressively panhandle, urinate in his planters, lock themselves in his bathroom and bathe or drink alcohol, and use drugs in public.

A nearby restaurant manager said she’s found homeless people sleeping in their outdoor patio and seen evidence that they pee on their fence and use illegal drugs on site.

A bar manager told the News-Press he’s seen homeless people standing naked and shouting at the sky, and he observed others walking around late at night who “look like zombies” straight out of the 1968 film “Night of the Living Dead.”

And now some residents have joined the public outcry, contacting the NewsPress with their own observations of homeless people on State Street.

“A lot of your article just shows how ‘used to it’ the city people have become,” Mike Cregan wrote in an email. “I go down State Street often, and it is very common to hear people shouting at others, doing very strange things, and asking for money. It has become, basically, an open air mental asylum. No amount of happy talk changes that.”

In another email to the News-Press, J. Lasalle wrote, “Consider the horror of our cruise ship visitors …Beautiful SB – the first thing they see are homeless and tweakers.

“May I suggest counters to add up the newly housed and the money spent as the year passes? Can’t get the data? Another reason to push those charged with doing the job.

“ … The more you can keep these issues front and center, the more we’ll get movement from the institutions that need to get the job done. I do understand how difficult it is to get things done. I don’t think that should stop accountability.”

email: nhartstein@newspress.com

Engineering/Technical

data for use in analytics, machine learning, and service integration.

Reference job # & Mail resume to: Attn: Global Talent/DN/P-1, Procore Technologies, Inc., 6309 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, CA 93013. An EOE.

Responders of its intent to award a contract. If the District is unable to successfully negotiate a Contract with the successful Responder which is satisfactory to the District, or if the selected proposer refuses or fails to execute the tendered contract, the District may award the contract to the proposer with the second highest best value score, if deemed in the best interest of the District. If that proposer then refuses or fails to execute the tendered contract, the Board may award the contract to the proposer with the third highest best value score, and so on.

MYERS, Joan Chenoweth

Joan Chenoweth Myers died from a long struggle from Parkinson’s disease October 29, 2022. She was born July 3, 1941 in Santa Monica, California to Wilbur and Mary Louise Chenoweth. Joanie attended the Ojai Valley School through 8th grade, attended Castilleja High School for 3 years then graduated her senior year from Westlake School for girls in Los Angeles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Education at the University of Nebraska. While at Nebraska she was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority and was also named Nebraska Sweetheart. Joanie married J. Roger Myers in 1963 and started her teaching career in San Francisco and later in the Ojai Valley Unified School district where she retired.

she moved to Santa Barbara where she was a resident for over 26 years.

David Myers (Kelley) and Katherine Carruthers

Stores opened early, but huge crowds were not forthcoming

FRIDAY

Continued from Page A1

before that time. This is a far cry from pre-pandemic times, where crowds lined up the night before and isles only served to break up universally frenzied shoppers.

Deals included a 60” Samsung TV at $400 and a 40” Hisense at $100, both $150 off the original price. Despite the early morning lag, crowds increased around mid-morning with around 50-60 customers and buzzing foot traffic.

At Home Depot, shoppers were greeted by a worker offering a flier and a table full of snacks like fruit and grain bars, apples, bananas and bottled water.

Shoppers were a mix of morning regulars, including independent construction workers, carpenters, painters, contractors and home improvement small business owners getting supplies for their ongoing projects, while others were grabbing power tools like table saws, cordless drills and other tools that are discounted for Black Friday weekend. Deals included a Whitlock Fire Pit at $100, originally $229, and a Husky 18V 10” chain saw at $88, originally $119.

Target opened an hour early at 7 a.m., but the morning crowds were the same as ever. Black Friday deals included a 65” TV that was $229.99 after a $400 discount. Christmas trees were also discounted.

Big 5 Sporting Goods opened at 6 a.m. with more than a dozen shoppers. Some shoppers clutched the well-known weekly fullpage Big 5 newspaper ads, the Thanksgiving holiday edition.

The workers inside were kept busy at the cash register, gun counter, shoe section and other departments. Deals included a 24” queen air mattress at $40 and Airtact .177, .22, or .25 caliber break barrel air rifles at $89, both at $70 off the original price.

Outdoor Retailer REI CoOp, has launched an alternative approach to Black Friday, which they are calling the “Opt Outside Movement,” closing all locations on black friday.

“For this Black Friday, and every

Black Friday in the future, the coop will forgo profits and sales at all locations, and instead pay its more than 16,000 employees to enjoy time outside. Since 2015, REI has closed its doors on Black Friday — inviting employees and members to spend time outside rather than shopping.

Over the years, Opt Outside has evolved from a response against consumerism to a movement that has advocated for causes important to the co-op,” REI announced in a press release on October 4th.

“This year will mark the shift of Opt

Outside to an ongoing, permanent, employee benefit … From this year on, all stores, distribution centers, activity centers, call centers and headquarters will close every Black Friday.”

Eric Artz, President and CEO of REI Co-op, said in a press release: “Making Opt Outside an annual observance will serve as a yearly reminder of this commitment to doing the right thing for the co-op community.”

email: kzehnder@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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Rio de Janeiro 79/72/sh 79/72/r Rome 59/41/r 60/42/s Sydney 75/64/pc 83/66/c Tokyo 65/50/r 57/48/s

After Joanie divorced

Joanie is survived by her son

(Thomas) and 5 grandchildren.

A service will be held at All Saints-by-the-Sea in Montecito on December 1, 2022 at 11:00 am to honor her life. Please consider a donation in Joan Myers honor at http://www.mypasb.org/

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

The Big 5 Sporting Goods store at the Five Points Shopping Center in Santa Barbara, also shown below, opened its doors at 6 a.m.

KENNETH SONG / NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

The Best Buy in Goleta opened its doors at 5 a.m. for Black Friday.

Life theArts

‘Imaginary Falls’

Joseph Goldyne’s art in charcoal, ink and oil on display at Sullivan Goss gallery

By MARILYN MCMAHON NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

vapors, sprays and mists of a landscape carved by a powerful waterfall. Still others tiptoe into abstraction,” said Mr. Tessmer.

You

CALENDAR

The calendar appears Mondays through Saturdays in the “Life & the Arts” section. Items are welcome. Email them to Managing Editor Dave Mason at dmason@newspress.com.

SUNDAY

A special adoption event is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m. at Santa Barbara Humane’s campuses at 5399 Overpass Road, Goleta, and 1687 W. Sowell Road, Santa Maria.

DEC. 1 5 to 8 p.m.: The First Thursday Art Walk will present an open-air Holiday Market as well as more than 20 business and gallery venues with live music, art and wine.

7 p.m. Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro will perform his “Christmas in Hawaii” concert at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. Mr. Shimabukuro will play a mix of his signature favorites, holiday classics and selections from his recent “Jake & Friends” album. Tickets for the UCSB Arts & Lectures concert cost $16 to $61. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

7 p.m. Jazz at the Ballroom will present “Holiday ‘In’” at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. Award-winning musicians from across the country will perform a show reminiscent of old Christmas specials with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and other singing greats. Comedian Dan Cronin is hosting this holiday revue, which features bandleader Konrad Paszkduki on the piano. Tickets cost $36 to $56 for general admission and $81 for VIP seats, which include a postshow reception. To purchase, go to lobero.org.

‘I

maginary Falls in Charcoal, Ink and Oil,” a solo exhibition by Joseph Goldyne, is on view through Dec. 26 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara.

“Mr. Goldyne is a well-regarded and widely-collected print maker, but these imaginary waterfalls are all unique works executed with neither press nor plate,” said Jeremy Tessmer, gallery curator and director. “Instead, the plurality of works in the exhibition represent the artist’s first efforts in charcoal presented in context with three paintings in oil and india ink.”

Why charcoal?

The artist himself cites the Morgan Library’s 2019 exhibition of portraits in charcoal by John Singer Sargent, who turned away from oil painting toward charcoal as the medium of choice for his highly-coveted portraits in 1907 when Sargent was 51 years old.

Mr. Goldyne was seduced by the medium’s potential in the works on display.

“All are imagined. Notes the artist, ‘I can assure you that I shall never need to see a waterfall to draw one.’ ”

To contextualize these new works on paper, a pair of tall and slender paintings measuring six feet by 18 inches bookend the show. With drawing and watercolorlike effects achieved by india ink colored with oil washes on the fine weave of a Belgian portrait linen, these new paintings will probably be more familiar to regular watchers of the gallery’s program.

FYI

“Imaginary Falls in Charcoal, Ink and Oil” by Joseph Goldyne is on view through Dec. 26 at Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery, 11 E. Anapamu St. For more information, call 805-7301460 or visit www.sullivangoss.com.

He writes: “There, in 50 portraits of friends and talents, is evidence of what a great gift can make of light and shadow; for aside from having an uncanny sensitivity to just where a line should land and what a line should describe, Sargent summoned what I call graphic ‘weather’ to help him capture his subjects.

“It was this ’weather’ in the form of darks and lights, not mere shading or modeling, but often a churning brew of strokes and erasures (he used little knotted bits of bread as erasers) to bring his heads into brilliant identity.”

This new suite of drawings covers a wide array of compositional approaches to Mr. Goldyne’s ongoing exploration of waterfalls. Over the artist’s 50-year career, he has invested himself in a diverse mixture of themes and images but almost always with a focus on the surface effects of his chosen media and a free-wheeling engagement with the art of the past. For at least the past 14 years, however, he has been absorbed by his imaginary waterfalls.

“In one work, chiaroscuro effects power a shower of white light inside a dimly-lit cavern of the artist’s imagination. Other works use faint shading to suggest the

“These larger works are inspired by both Japanese scroll paintings and the ‘zip’ abstractions of Barnett Newman,” Mr. Tessmer said. “ These heroically scaled falls use their strong verticality to convey the sense of immensity and power that Edmund Burke defined as ‘sublime’ in his 1757 treatise ‘A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful.’ ”

Mr. Goldyne earned his bachelor’s degree in art history from UC Berkeley before completing masters’ degrees at UC San Francisco and Harvard University. He has devoted himself to the art world since his 20s, painting exhibitions for galleries such as Braunstein Quay and John Berggruen and advising the Fine Arts Museums Collections Committee for more than 30 years.

His work is held in the permanent collections of institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Fine Art, Whitney Museum of American Art and Philadelphia Museum of Art, among many others. A catalog raisonné of his print works was published by the Corcoran Museum in 2004 and another catalog raisonné of artist books, portfolios and calligraphic sheets was published by Stanford University Press in 2015.

Mr. Goldyne’s exhibition is shown in tandem with a complimentary solo exhibition for Natalie Arnoldi.

“Both artists have created bodies of work that blur aesthetic categories while remaining conscientiously engaged with the romantic landscape tradition in American art,” said Mr. Tessmer.

email: mmcmahon@newspress.com

7:30 p.m. The Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “A Christmas Carol” with a preview performance at the New Vic, 33. W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. The regular run is Dec. 3-18, during which the curtain will rise at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. There will be additional performances at 7 p.m. Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 4 p.m. Dec. 10. Tickets cost $40-$84. To purchase, go to etcsb. org or call 805-965-5400. Story, B2

DEC. 2

5 to 8 p.m.: A Christmas Tree Lighting & Block Party will take place in the 1300 block of State Street and will include a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus, live music with DJ Darla Bea, performances by the San Marcos High School Band and more.

DEC. 3 2 and 6 p.m. State Street Ballet Academy will perform “Rudolph” at the Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara. For more information, go to lobero.org/events/ rudolph-2022.

7 p.m. Westmont College ensembles will perform during the Westmont Christmas Festival at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. The 18th annual festival will feature the Westmont Orchestra, College Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union. Tickets cost $22. To purchase, go to granadasb.org. 8 p.m. The Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “A Christmas Carol” at the New Vic, 33. W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $40$84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400. Story, B2. 7:30 p.m. The Fall Dance Concert will take place at UCSB Hatlen Theater. The UCSB Dance Company will present new choreography. For more information, see theaterdanceucsb. edu.

DEC. 4

2 and 7 p.m. The Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “A Christmas Carol” with a preview performance at the New Vic, 33. W. Victoria St., Santa Barbara. Tickets cost $40-$84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805965-5400. Story, B2.

3 p.m. Westmont College ensembles will perform during the Westmont Christmas Festival at The

COURTESY IMAGES

“(Joseph) Goldyne is a well-regarded and widely-collected print maker, but these imaginary waterfalls are all unique works executed with neither press nor plate,” said Jeremy Tessmer, Sullivan Goss: An American Gallery curator and director.

ZACH MENDEZ PHOTO

Ensemble Theatre Company will perform “A Christmas Carol,” beginning with a preview performance Dec. 1 at the New Vic in Santa Barbara. Story, B2.

could say this painting is a dream come true Ask the Gold Digger/B2

Ensemble Theater Company to present ‘A Christmas Carol’

SANTA BARBARA —

Ensemble Theatre Company will perform a new take on “A Christmas Carol” Dec. 1-18 at the New Vic, 33 W. Victoria St.

A preview performance will take place there at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The regular run is Dec. 3-18, during which the curtain will rise at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays

and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays. There will be additional performances at 7 p.m. Dec. 4, 7:30 p.m. Dec. 6 and 4 p.m. Dec. 10.

The Ensemble Theatre production was adapted by Patrick Barlow and is directed by Jamie Torcellini.

Mr. Barlow, who wrote the

Broadway and West End hit “The 39 Steps,” has reinterpreted Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” as a comic holiday delight filled with heart and humor, according to Ensemble Theater Company.

Five actors will bring the tale to life.

Mark Capri, who played Henry Higgins in ETC’s production of

“My Fair Lady” and King Arthur in “Camelot,” will star as Scrooge.

Other cast members are Jenna Cardia, Regina Fernandez in her ETC debut, Bo Foxworth and Louis Lotorto.

Tickets cost $40-$84. To purchase, go to etcsb.org or call 805-965-5400.

Forging through the financial crisis of 2022 and beyond

o one’s life is perfect. You do the best you can with each day and hope it all adds up to something good in the end.

It’s only human to have doubts about your own value. We all feel that way at times. Your life means something, even if you don’t think so at the moment.

The last 2.5 years have been a living nightmare. The world seems different and more difficult now than in the pre-COVID years — and it’s not just that this virus won’t go away. Just getting by has become more complicated for many people, especially on a financial level.

For those who live paycheck to paycheck, inflation is making life even harder.

Even if you have a good job that pays well, you realize that your hard work now adds up to less than it did before.

If you own your own home or have a 401K, their loss in value doesn’t exactly put you in a good mood, but you have to learn to deal with it. Eventually, the market will come back better and stronger. This is a rough patch, and you have to wait it out as best as you can.

If you are wallowing in your perceived losses, you may miss the opportunities that are still out there.

I tried for a week to buy the Series I (for “inflation”) savings bonds and could never get the website to work. Too many people were doing the same thing, probably having waited like I did until shortly before the deadline.

Procrastination or just dealing with other stuff may mean that you missed that round too.

These bonds are now paying about 6.5%, which is less than the 9.5% offered earlier. But there’s still an opportunity to make a little extra if you have some savings.

It’s important to keep your focus during this difficult time. If you

are in the stock market, you may be feeling a little better now, but if you have an adjustable-rate mortgage, you may be getting nervous. Interest rates, along with inflation, will stop going up at some point, but you need to be prepared for rate hikes the likes of which we haven’t seen for a couple of decades.

None of this is good for your everyday stress level. Add to this all the other things that are not going well in the world, and you may be wondering what this existence is all about. It’s a fair question at this point in history.

The key is to make the most of your experience. It can be an interesting experience or an uncomfortable one. That is an internal choice, if you don’t let your feelings run you. Do yoga, take walks; spend time with your loved ones. Figure out things to do with your partner that won’t break the budget, volunteer, or do whatever it takes to feel good about your time on this planet.

You have to trust that you have come this far and will continue to thrive with a few adjustments. If you are cutting back because you’re feeling financially squeezed, remember that prices will go down somewhat eventually, but not to where they once were. You have to accept where you are now and adjust accordingly.

We all must continue to move our lives forward. It might cost more, and we might complain about the price of gas forever, but being able to just drive where we need to is a gift. And so is this life.

Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., 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 28 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.

Spanish guitarist to perform at SOhO

SANTA BARBARA —

Considered

Twanguero

7:30 p.m. Dec. 4 at SOhO Restaurant and Music Club, 1221 State St., suite 205, Santa Barbara.

Twanguero is known for his fusion of classical Spanish guitar, flamenco, Latin rhythms, country,

rockabilly, jazz and surf music. His latest album is “Carreteras, Secundarias Vol. II.”

Tickets cost $25 for general admission and $67 for a dinner reservation and priority seating. To purchase, go to www.sohosb. com.

— Dave Mason

to be one of the best guitarists in Spain,

will perform at

— Dave Mason

ZACH MENDEZ PHOTO

“A Christmas Carol” will be performed in December at the New Vic in Santa Barbara.

COURTESY PHOTO

Twanguero will perform Dec. 4 at SOhO.

Diversions

Thought for Today

HOROSCOPE

Horoscope.com

Saturday, November 26, 2022

ARIES — While the holidays traditionally focus on family, this is a great time to focus on your own personal development as the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your expansion zone. This is a great time to explore personal beliefs or travel to your ancestral homeland to get a feel for where you came from and where you’re going.

TAURUS — The year 2022 is coming to an end, but you’re already experiencing the major changes on the horizon as the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your transformation zone. Everything that has been hidden finally becomes clear. Your stubbornness can’t stop this, so accept it with the faith that everything is going to work out.

GEMINI — Fall in love with open arms over the next four weeks once the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday. The sun will be shining in your partnership zone, encouraging you to shift your thinking from “me” to “we.” While things are fun, consider what you can do to make your partnership go the distance.

CANCER — While the new year is still over a month away, you’re getting ready to start your resolutions this month when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your habit zone. This is a great time to start making positive changes to your health and lifestyle with optimism and hope for the future. You got this.

LEO — This week brings an extra boost of creativity and romance when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your pleasure zone. Over the next four weeks you’ll discover that play is the more important part of learning and experiencing the world, so allow yourself to have fun everywhere you go.

VIRGO — As the weather gets colder, you are keeping the home fires burning when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your home zone. This is a great time for exploring family traditions and rituals as we get closer to the holiday season. Creating special moments will be

important to you, LIBRA — You’re full of new ideas and positive energy this week when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your communication zone. As far as your social life is concerned, you’ll be busy attending one event after another. It’s the perfect time to take a short trip to visit some friends.

SCORPIO — Money is on your mind this week when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your value zone. However, instead of spending or hoarding it, consider what you’re saving this money for. Over the next four weeks, it’s time to think about what you truly value and give away to others what you don’t need.

SAGITTARIUS — It’s all about you over the next four weeks, Sagittarius! The sun moves into your sign on Tuesday, making you feel like the main character in the best way possible. You’re shining with optimism, confidence and energy that can really open doors. Don’t be afraid to start something new, especially if it’s an adventure.

CAPRICORN — As the weather gets colder, you’ll feel like a homebody when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your subconscious zone. Over the next four weeks, you’ll be in a reflective mood, feeling private about everything. While it’s easy to get hung up on what hurt you, you’ll need to see the big picture to move on.

AQUARIUS — You’re bursting with energy and big ideas when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your social zone. Over the next four weeks, you’ll have plenty of creative ideas and a desire for independence. This is a good time to think about your hopes and dreams. Take a leap of faith and a windfall might make them all come true.

PISCES — The year 2023 is still over a month away, but you’re thinking about the big picture when the sun enters Sagittarius on Tuesday, moving into your career zone. You’ll be thinking hard about your dreams and what you want to accomplish. Find a mentor who can help put you on the road to success.

DAILY BRIDGE

BY FRANK STEWART Tribune Content Agency

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Simple Saturday columns focus on improving basic technique and logical thinking.

Nobody ever asserted that bridge is an easy game. In many deals, the “par” result (which obtains after the best effort from both sides) occurs because both sides make a mistake.

In today’s deal, West led the six of hearts against 3NT, and declarer played low from dummy. East took the ace and returned the ten. South’s king won, but he lacked a quick entry to dummy to try the diamond finesse. If he led a spade, East would take the ace, and the defense would cash three more hearts.

So, South desperately laid down the ace of diamonds. The king didn’t fall, and he went down two.

ENTRY

Both sides erred. At Trick One, South must dump his king of hearts under East’s ace. Then dummy’s jack will become an entry, and South can pick up the diamonds with a finesse and make an overtrick.

East always beats 3NT if he follows with the ten on the first heart, a play that certainly can’t cost.

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

“One that would have the fruit must climb the tree.”

— Thomas Fuller

Australian aboriginal painting depicts the reality of dreaming

G.H. found a wonderful painting at a thrift store and sent me a photo, and he is such a genius, because he thinks it may look like a dream.

And indeed it does — but not in American or European art, but in a very different culture.

And G.H. wonders if it is a dream painting. In other words, is this painting a message conveyed from an artist about the world of his or her dreams?

It is.

The definition of “dream painting” depends upon what you consider a dream to be, what you consider a dream reality to be and what a painting should portray if it is about a dream.

You see how I loved to think about G.H.’s painting, found in a thrift store for $10.

All these questions are so interesting. Because it turns out various cultures have various ways of defining both “dream” and “art.”

I started my search to help G.H. to find the origin by Googling “dream paintings.” I found an article that was brilliant, but very European-focused, citing the “Debt Dreams Owe to Art in Dreams and Nightmares.” Well, you guessed it, the illustrations of this article were from paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, specifically “The Garden of Earthly Delights” (15th century).

Scholars have said perhaps

CALENDAR

Continued from Page B1

Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. The 18th annual festival will feature the Westmont Orchestra, College Choir, Chamber Singers and Choral Union. Tickets cost $22. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

DEC. 7 4 p.m. The Hoodlum Friends will perform at 4 p.m. at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara. The concert is free. 5 to 7 p.m.: A free candlelight concert

Bosch was envisioning Heaven and/or Hell, or maybe he was just not interested in that literalism. And maybe he understood and could paint the European realistic language of illustration art, and he did that so fantastically, to make us question reality.

But I notice that G.H.’s painting is not European, it is Australian, and specifically aboriginal Australian. For that definition, there is no dividing line between what art Iis and what is true, and what is not in visual imagery.

In certain traditions, art is not thought of as true, or not.

It is thought of as utilitarian, a means to an end. Art therefore is not held up as separate from reality at all, and therefore not associated with the abstraction in literal portrayals (such as European realistic paintings).

But occasionally abstraction is closer to the reality of dreams. In the case of G.H.’s work of aboriginal art, this work is not about the abstraction of dreams, it is about the reality of dreaming each night. And we all do that, and as we know from REM-sleep experiences, dreaming is all time based.

What I love about this is the fact that this painting measures time with dots and that the artist (and many of these aboriginal artists are not listed; we have no authorship) is brilliant at suggesting time and dreams,

series takes place on the steps of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.

DEC. 9 7 p.m. The Grace Fisher Foundation will present “A Winter Music Showcase” at The Granada, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. The fifth annual showcase will feature everyone from the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra to Jackson Gillies, WIll Breman, State Street Ballet Professional Track Dancers, the Westmont Chamber Singers, UCSB Maurice Faulkner Quintet and more. Tickets cost $18 to $60. To purchase, go to granadasb.org.

both.

What I love about this piece is the symbol of dots. Like all punctuation, the dots make sense because they are the timemakers/markers of an experience of a dream. And because this is a dream painting, we sense that the artist is interpreting his or her dream in a narrative (dot after dot, punctuation after punctuation) time-based, narrative experience. The images the person is dreaming about are not painted, but the time sequence of the images is definitely portrayed. What a novel way of marking the way the mind thinks whilst dreaming!

The glory of this painting, which was found for $10 a thrift store, is not the portrayal of

DEC. 11 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The 36th annual Holiday Parade of Lights will feature a full day of activities at the Santa Barbara Harbor, topped with the parade of lights and its theme, “Deck the Hulls.” For more information, go to santabarbaraca.com/ events/36th-annual-holiday-parade-oflights-at-the-harbor.

DEC. 12 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: The Downtown Community Holiday Mixer will take place at the Broad Street Oyster Co., 418 State St. The $25 ticket price includes a drink and appetizers.

realism as we think of it, but the portrayal of another kind of realism, which is the meaning of a personal story, unknown to others, but punctuated.

If you can think of the swirls and the dots as markers along the axis of a dream, you will get my meaning. There are a few major collectors here in Santa Barbara of this art form, which is so very close to abstract European Abstract Expressionism, but so different as well.

These aboriginal dream paintings at their best can be worth six figures. And I would say that the quality of this is so good that if G.H. could research the artist (Sotheby’s in Australia has a branch that can set an auction estimate on this if you contact them), I bet you are looking at $8,000.

So happy to have had the chance to see this wonderful piece! If there is anyone reading this that collects these and can recognize the artist, please get in touch with Elizabethappraisals@gmail. com. I would appreciate it for G.H. who just got lucky and could recognize dreaming in art.

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 present-day constrictions. It’s available at Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

DEC. 14 5 to 7 p.m.: A free candlelight concert series takes place on the steps of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.

DEC. 17 Noon to 3 p.m. The free Big Brass Tuba Christmas Concert will take place in Storke Placita, which is between 722 and 724 State St. and is adjacent to De la Guerra Plaza. The Youth Makers Market will be in the same block.

— Dave Mason

COURTESY PHOTO

Purchased in a thrift store for $10, this aboriginal Australian painting could be worth as much as $8,000.

Contrary to what everyone may believe, the Community Association for the Modoc Preserve is not opposed to Phase II of the Multiuse Path project. We would like to see the project completed without compromising the Modoc Preserve or the trees along Modoc Road.

The reason for this open letter to the Santa Barbara County Public Works Department and the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors is to suggest a Phase II compromise that CAMP will support, without reservation. I encourage county planners and supervisors to act quickly on this option, in light of looming ATP grant allocation deadlines for

the PS&E and ROW milestones (February 2023).

Based on the 2018 original ATP grant application, Santa Barbara County Public Works was awarded the $5.35 million ATP grant based on the following project description: “The project will reduce barriers along the corridor by REPLACING sections of Class II bike lanes with a more safe and attractive separated path, suitable for people of all ages and abilities.”

Had the county strictly adhered to this project description all along, we would not be where we are today, as the Modoc MUP Phase II project would not require trees along Modoc Road to be removed (Alignment A), nor Land Trust approval and an easement onto the Modoc Preserve (Alignment B). Instead, some time after

receiving the ATP grant award, County Public Works changed and expanded the project scope. Instead of REPLACING the existing Class II bike lanes, they decided to AUGMENT and EXPAND the project along Modoc Road to accommodate BOTH the existing Class II bike lanes AND the new Class I multi-use path. This is where the conflict began.

Until this change in project scope was made, Santa Barbara County had the full support of the community, and there was no opposition to the project.

The expanded project scope has had the community in an uproar since learning about it in JuneJuly. Friends and political allies have been torn apart, forcing people to choose between only two

very controversial options:

• Alignment B, Santa Barbara County’s “preferred” option.

This option will require Land Trust approval and La Cumbre Water Co. easements to be granted, which is unlikely given that this project involves heavy construction; concrete/ asphalt roads; retaining walls; soil degradation; certain impact to the wetlands, trees, wildlife and habitat; impact to existing equestrian and pedestrian paths, and changes to drainage and topography on private and legally-protected land (the Modoc Preserve).

• Alignment A.

This option will require up to 48 mature trees to be removed, including 29 much-loved historic Canary Island palms and several protected oaks. This option is extremely unpopular with many in

the community.

Both alignments will require at least 22-plus trees to be removed from this wetlands preserve area, trees that provide screening and privacy to the residents of Hope Ranch, as well as urban habitat and a wildlife corridor for 71-plus bird species, including various types of owls and hawks, as well as bats, foxes, coyotes, snakes, amphibious creatures, Monarch butterflies, bees and other insects.

Neither option protects this rare and unique urban preserve. Neither one feels like the “right thing to do.”

Let us all remember that the goal of this project was originally to “close the gap” between the 4.5 mile Obern Trail and the new Multi-use Path along Los Positas and the east end of Modoc Road

KNOW?

Let’s give thanks for the spirit of giving

This week, Thanksgiving opened the holiday season in America. Did you know the generally accepted start of this holiday was in November 1627? That’s when newly arrived Pilgrims from England on the Mayflower, who had formed the Plymouth Colony, gathered with local Wampanoag Indians to celebrate their first, good harvest in America.

Tragically, as more and more Pilgrims arrived and encroached on Indian lands, war broke out, and many Indians and Pilgrims were killed.

On Nov. 26, 1789, President George Washington proclaimed this date as a day for Thanksgiving and Prayer. In 1870, Congress passed legislation making the last Thursday in November a public Holiday.

Thanksgiving is a holiday in which every American can fully participate. It is a comingtogether time. Family members across the nation travel to their loved ones to celebrate their family connections and the good fortune they have in love and prosperity, at all levels. Regularly, 40-plus million travelers by car and plane gather together for this family holiday.

Part of giving thanks is to the amazing generosity of many Americans.

Did you know that in 2020, Americans donated $471 billion to charities? This was up 5.1% from 2019. Charitable giving increased again in 2021, up to $484.85 billion.

It is reported by the Philanthropy RoundTable that six out of 10 households donate to charity in any given year.

Nonprofit sources estimated that 63% of Americans — 25% of the adult population, volunteer their time, talent and energy toward making a difference.

There are over one million charitable organizations in America. One of them is considered to be among the most efficient and effective in using donations to succor people in need. In 2020, the Salvation Army received $557.3 million in monetary gifts during the Holiday Season, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.

The Salvation Army provides food and shelter and social services to more than 30 million Americans in need through 7,600 shelters. Since the beginning of 2020, they have reached an all-time high of services including 225 million meals, an additional 1.76 million nights of shelter and almost 1 million instances of emotional and spiritual care for individuals in crisis.

Most Americans think Big Tech has too much power, and looking at a recent report from The Intercept showing the extent of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to target disinformation on social media platforms, it’s easy to see why.

Those efforts include a special portal on Facebook by which government employees can report misinformation directly to the social media giant. The social media giant is colluding with the government to limit free speech online.

Yet, somehow, Americans still think more government regulation is the solution — as if DHS and Facebook weren’t close enough already.

In September, the White House renewed its calls for “fundamental reform” to Section 230, which provides limited legal immunity to tech platforms that host thirdparty content. It is only the latest in a series of governmental efforts to rein in Big Tech, including a barrage of antitrust lawsuits from

the Federal Trade Commission to stop or slow big tech mergers.

Increasing government control of technology is the wrong approach.

The problems with Big Tech — online censorship, data privacy, and surveillance, to name a few — are startlingly real. But replacing Big Tech with Big Brother won’t solve them. Good policies would create paths to decentralized technology that address the ills of Big Tech without stifling innovation and without jeopardizing free speech online.

First, lawmakers must resist tech centralization. The government is notoriously bad at innovating. It siphons funds from the private sector and sometimes, after spreading the risk to taxpayers, dumps funds into bad bets like Solyndra, which went bankrupt in 2011 after receiving $535 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Energy just two years prior. The loan program took a $528 million loss. When the government

subsidizes pet technologies, it can distort market signals and encourage mal-investments by the private sector. Just look at wind power. Although wind receives far more in subsidies than other sources of energy, average windpower costs were higher in 2009 than they were in 1994. And even still, the artificially cheap cost of wind power drives stable sources of energy, like oil and gas, out of the market.

This isn’t to say that the government never funds winning technologies — just that it usually does so at greater expense and less innovatively than the private sector. As economist Larry Summers said in the aftermath of Solyndra’s bankruptcy, “gov. is a crappy” venture capitalist.

Even with the best of intentions, legislators can’t be expected to fully understand policies relevant to bitcoin regulation, non-fungible tokens, artificial intelligence, and the innovative and unknown technologies being developed every day. Legislators

inevitably, and understandably, analogize developing and complex technologies to existing regulatory frameworks and stifle the growth of new industries. Handing control of Big Tech to the government will do nothing but entrench the status quo.

That’s assuming the government maintains good intentions. If Big Brother held unprecedented control over the decisions of technology companies, there’d be little stopping the government from pushing political agendas and silencing dissent.

Instead of pushing for more government control of Big Tech, states should embrace pathways to decentralized technologies and protect entrepreneurs experimenting in this space, like Wyoming and Tennessee have done with decentralized autonomous organizations, which use digital assets to represent voting rights in the organization and implement rules that all members follow. Following these rules allow strangers to securely and collectively make decisions for a business without involving a

central authority.

That might sound esoteric — after all, who actually wants to be in business with strangers? But the truth is, there’s no way to know the market. Who knows how many citizens would be interested in avoiding traditional bureaucratic hurdles to business while enjoying the transparency of the public blockchain and collective action to make decisions. DAOs are often used for “investment, charity, fundraising, borrowing, or buying NFTs,” and it’s likely they’ll have applications in the future that have not yet been invented.

Legal recognition of DAOs and other decentralized platforms provides a secure footing for entrepreneurs to build, invest participate in these platforms.

States can also foster innovation by implementing regulatory sandboxes, a legal classification that temporarily waives some regulations so companies have an opportunity to test themselves in the market. Regulatory sandboxes work particularly well for

There are many, many, other worthy charitable organizations unique to America from the Elks to the Shriners Hospitals for children, St. Jude’s, and many others.

Here in Santa Barbara, we have a number of active charitable organizations serving many people who are in need. Among them is the Santa Barbara chapter of The

Editor’s note: Shelly Cobb is a volunteer with the Community Association for the Modoc Preserve.

DID YOU

Bonnie Donovan

Shelly Cobb

James Buckley took a break for Thanksgiving. His column will resume next Saturday.

ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER/NEWS-PRESS

Shelly Cobb, a volunteer with the Community Association for the Modoc Preserve, says CAMP would like to see the proposed Multi-use Path completed along Modoc Road without removing the trees.

Arthur von Wiesenberger Co-Publisher Co-Publisher

Wendy McCaw

Our Thanksgiving transition from pilgrims to pirates

This Thanksgiving weekend, hopefully, more than a few families will give thanks for all that God has done for us and given to us.

This is in accord with our traditional Judeo-Christian faith, heritage and world view to live as one nation under God. That is, giving thanks and worshiping God is considered tantamount to life itself, according to the faith that from God do all blessings flow.

Whereas our nation’s motto is still “In God We Trust,” we have fallen away from that truth in reality. Our nation has become nearly entirely secularized as humanism (having a human-centered world view), narcissism (being self-centered), hedonism (living for the pleasure of self), nihilism (the rejection of moral and religious principles) and materialism (the value of material possessions over spiritual values) have wrought devastation by way of an orgy of self, which has waged war against the spirit and soul of America.

There were two great works written nearly a century ago that speak to the underpinnings of Western Civilization that make for a stable and prosperous society.

First, the British anthropologist from Oxford, J.D. Unwin, studied some 86 societies and civilizations in his book “Sex and Culture.”

Mr. Unwin determined that society and culture either flourished or collapsed by way of sexual mores, which served to either promote or destroy the social, familial, moral and rational foundations of civilization, respectively.

When chastity, life-long monogamy, belief in God,and rational thinking disappeared from society, within three generations the culture collapsed.

Next, Harvard sociologist Carle Zimmerman’s “Family and Civilization” concluded that the monogamous nuclear family construct alone is the cornerstone of advanced civilizations. Mr. Zimmerman listed several signs of societal collapse, which has always followed people divorcing, foregoing marriage in the first place and child rearing altogether, along with numerous forms of debauchery, all of which indicated that as the nuclear family disintegrated, the civilization

collapsed. Let us now consider the British empire, the source of our lineage and a predictor of our fate, which declined shortly after World War 1, having missed similar warnings.

British pastor John Stuart Holden wrote in his book “The Confidence of Faith”, during World War 1, that British society “is marked by flippant folly and vain, empty, and worthless living.”

Because Britain’s national mission in the world (starting in the family.) “was to resist evil, protect the weak and to establish righteousness, that mission could not be accomplished until Britain’s soul was recovered. Nothing but God’s indwelling control can ensure unquenched hope, maintain unfailing inspiration, inspire undimmed faith and create unsullied holiness.”

Ditto for America.

I have likened all this to sailing through life with a broken compass. We no longer understand our calling, nor do we accept our responsibilities, including self-control, required to fulfill our destiny.

In the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies, however, Captain Jack Sparrow possesses what could be considered the modern-day compass. It does not point to true north or to a just cause, instead it points to what Jack wants most. That may work for a pirate’s life, but it spells disaster for the rest of society.

This reminds me of a piece I wrote, “When Prophets Visited Harvard.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Charlton Heston respectively warned America about the coming catastrophe to our society and culture that came by way of forgetting God along with the commensurate duties to God and neighbor, along with the ensuing culture war that served to prevent us from separating truth from falsehood and right from wrong.

Unless we turn this ship around and remember what has been forgotten and agree with Mr. Solzhenitsyn’s plea to “live not by lies,” our impending destination will be far off from that of our pilgrim and puritan forefathers.

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on KZSB AM 1290, the News-Press radio station.

Democrats earmark their way to midterm wins

“As a lobbyist, I thought it only natural and right that my clients should reward those members of Congress who saved them such substantial sums with generous contributions.”

— Jack Abramoff

An earmark is a provision inserted into spending bills that sends funds to a politician’s voting district, circumventing the merit and competitive funding process. The term comes from farmers who cut the ears of their domestic livestock as ways to distinguish them from those in neighboring farms.

In 1991, the term earmark was a pejorative used to describe special interest spending by Congress to benefit them. They lobbied for federal funding to build a state pier in the budget bill to win voter support. This was the first earmark and the first time federal budget money was used to buy votes.

money that is taken away from the rest of the nation. Taxpayers outside that region don’t gain a thing yet they are shouldering the cost of these gratuitous political awards. This is an unorthodox political practice that has been abused for decades by incumbents for only one illegitimate purpose: to buy votes.

Spending has been out of control for decades and these gratuitous awards for darling sons and daughters as well as special interests add millions to the debt. We currently have the largest debt in history relative to U.S. GDP. President Joe Biden’s partisan stimulus bill and his erroneously named Inflation Reduction Act mushroomed our national debt to $31 trillion — the largest debt in the history of our nation.

William Haupt III The author is a Center Square contributor

Earmarks are not based on merits or needs, but go to powerful politicians. Statistics show that more than half of these generous gifts go to politicians with leadership positions. This process is always open to corruption since lobbyists go after high profile people in office to pass earmarks.

“Nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as he spends his own.”

— Milton Friedman

Politicians who secure earmarks for their district benefit disproportionately from federal

A few years ago, a number of lobbyists and lawmakers were convicted for using earmarks for their personal gain. This ended the career of Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio, who admitted that he took bribes from lobbyist Jack Abramoff to secure favors for Indian tribal leaders. Mr. Abramoff also illegally coerced funding for their gambling industry. He was convicted of bribery and sent to federal prison.

“They locked the prison when I arrived. There was no place to hide from media.”

— Jack Abramoff

Earmarks have always been a bone of contention for voters. Those who get something jump for joy while those paying for them cry government waste. They

were banned in 2011 by the House Republicans amid the outcry from the Tea Party movement that demanded financial accountability.

After losing seats in 2016, it’s no coincidence why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resurrected “earmark spending.” And Democrats spent millions on projects for their districts and it bought them power and votes.

“Earmarks don’t increase spending. They just let us spend money how we wish.”

— Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Democrats claim that they reintroduced earmarks to secure votes needed to pass major parts of President Biden’s progressive wish list. They said it was necessary to bypass partisan gridlock standing in their way from spending billions of federal dollars on projects Mr. Biden included in this year’s budget.

Only a fool would believe this!

President Biden destroyed the economy, and the Democrats had to buy midterm votes.

Colin Strother, a Texas-based Democratic consultant, recently said. “Earmarks can easily alter the outcome of elections since freshmen and juniors who cannot pass legislation or add budget riders have the chance to secure multiple, multimillion-dollar projects for their districts with little effort.”

Democrats realize for the past few years voters have grown weary of them using the House floor as a national stage to do anything but govern. After their losses last election, they feared they’d lose the House in the midterms. They are aware voters

Thanksgivings then and now

Thinking about this week’s Thanksgiving celebration stimulated my memories of the 1978 movie “Same Time Next Year,” in which Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn, whose characters were married to others, plan to continue their romance by meeting the “same time every year.”

Through their annual liaisons, we see them try to plan for next year’s romantic encounters as their lives are affected by changing events. Much like the movie, each Thanksgiving always includes the romantic promise of celebrating again “the same time next year” despite changing events.

On Aug. 16, 1620, events were set in motion that resulted in the establishment of Thanksgivings. It was on that date the 102 wouldbe Pilgrims, who traveled from foreign lands, set sail for the Hudson River. Their ship, the Mayflower, which was 80 feet long and 25 feet wide at its widest point, was crowded with 37 crew members and 102 Pilgrims.

After 66 days of sometimes rough seas, on Nov. 9, they anchored in a harbor in the new world. However, it was not the Hudson River. It was further north at the end of Cape Cod at what is now Provincetown.

On Nov. 11, the Pilgrims demonstrated democracy, bypassing the logical choice of the ship’s Capt. Jones and choosing instead the college-educated William Brewster to draw up the Mayflower Compact.

The agreement read, “IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN, We, whose names are underwritten … do enact, constitute and frame, such just and Equal laws … as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony … the eleventh of November … 1620.”

Notice the similarity to the Declaration of Independence in that their powers came from the almighty and all men were equal. Forty-one Pilgrims signed it before a skirmish with natives convinced the Pilgrims to sail away.

The Pilgrims, after arriving at Plymouth Rock in December, decided to spend that winter on the Mayflower. The effect of the lack of food, warmth, ventilation and, undoubtedly, sufficient warm clothing on a drafty ship bouncing in the wind and waves, was disastrous. Forty-five people — men, women and children — perished.

In the spring, the Wampanoag Indians befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to raise vegetables. The Wampanoags,

with no natural immunity to the Pilgrims’ diseases, lost an estimated 90% of their group, leaving them vulnerable to being destroyed by the Narragansetts.

The Pilgrims saved them by giving them weapons. The quote “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” by Alphonso Kerr, comes to mind as we lack the natural immunity to battle COVID-19, only to be saved by the weapons developed in President Donald Trump’s “Warp Speed.”

In 1621, the Pilgrims invited the Wampanoags to celebrate their first harvest with a threeday feast that became the tradition of Thanksgiving, which was described by a participant Edward Winslow in “Mourt’s Relation.”

Much like the movie showed for the characters of Alda and Burstyn, the celebrations over the years reflect the various stages of this country.

In 2021, on the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving: what had changed since 2020?

The short answer is the 2020 election led to the inauguration of President Joe Biden, who began a signing a barrage of executive orders that reversed the abundance of the conditions present at the 2020 Thanksgiving, such as opening our southern border, eliminating our energy independence, greatly increasing

Let’s enjoy a break from politics

With one holiday behind us and a couple more to go, 2022 will rapidly come to a close. I’m sure many of you share the same sentiment, where did it go?

I feel like the last three years didn’t even happen. Our country and the world have endured some crazy times, yet we forge ahead. We also get to enjoy a short window where hopefully politics will take a breather.

I imagine many of you also share the pain of so much suffering we see all around us. So many lives have been lost to senseless murders, drug overdoses, car accidents. And there’s the crazy stuff like the young man driving headlong into the police recruits and ruining the lives of so many before their lives even had a chance to begin.

I’m bringing up the sadness of the world because it’s a terrible reality of life. We feel the pain of the families grieving. But if we didn’t have sadness, we wouldn’t know happiness. We need to continue with our lives, help those we can and work toward improving the world we live in.

I love Christmas. I still get child-like tingles as we get closer to the holiday. I try to milk it for as long as I can. Each year my wife and I put our tree up earlier and earlier because in a blink it’s over.

The Christmas season brings with it broader smiles, happier greetings and a coming together. Something we should all strive to keep going yearround. But alas, once January arrives, we seem to jump back into a normal routine of stress and watch another year begin to flash by. Though news headlines will still be filled with gloom, there are also good heartwarming stories.

Sadly, politics have been tearing this country apart, so much so, marriages have been destroyed because spouses don’t share the same view. Comedians, who spread laughter and smiles, are being canceled because there are those who want to control the jokes.

I’ve written before about my good friend who is as far left as I am right. We play golf, hit the casino occasionally, have lunches and never breathe a word about politics. Neither one of us feels the need to have our political opinions ruin the moment. The point being, we enjoy each other’s company and don’t find it necessary to bring in any tension just to prove which one of us is right. Because the truth is, we’ll never change each other’s mind, and that’s perfectly OK.

Government is necessary to give a country structure. However, the world over, government is what divides a country. And it does so with a vengeance.

If you could magically do away with the agencies that dictate our lives, we’d all be standing around wondering what to do. Then we’d immediately start building another government. And before long we’d be right back where we are today.

Power has a funny way of changing people. There are those who grab it and never want to let go like we’ve seen from so many having spent nearly their entire lives in public office. That happens even on a lesser scale when someone is elevated to management. I’ve witnessed remarkable transformations — and usually not for the better.

I’ve referenced before the CBS show “Survivor” as an example. Strangers are put together in a confined environment. For the first couple days, they’re all excited and lovey-dovey with each

Andy Caldwell

Henry Schulte The author lives in Solvang

Brent E. Zepke

The author lives in Santa Barbara.

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Thanksgiving and Lincoln’s Legacy

Thanksgiving means actual, not contrived, inclusiveness.

President Abraham Lincoln profoundly demonstrates this fundamental point.

On October 3, 1863, the White House issued the Thanksgiving Proclamation, declaring the last Thursday of November to be a “day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” The proclamation also requested “the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore … peace, harmony, and Union.”

Earlier, Lincoln had ordered government offices closed on November 28, 1861 for a day of thanksgiving. Up until the 1863 proclamation, individual states had celebrated days of giving thanks.

Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of the influential Godey’s Lady’s Book, had written to Lincoln in late September of that year pressing for a national day of thanks, a goal she pursued for many years without success.

According to Lincoln’s administrative aide John Nicolay, Secretary of State William H.

Seward signed the document. Lincoln and Seward by then were friends as well as allies.

Unity was an overarching Lincoln theme throughout the Civil War, employed with shrewd calculation and extraordinary political timing. By the fall of 1863, the strategic position of the Union

had taken a welcome turn for the better.

In July, there were two significant victories - the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania and the capture of Vicksburg Mississippi. A sizable Confederate army would never again invade the North, and the great Mississippi

River was now completely in Union control.

During the preceding year, one military development provided Lincoln precious political opportunity. On September 17, 1862, the Army of the Potomac, under General George B. McClellan, defeated General

Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Antietam Creek in Maryland. The victory was technical; Lee’s army withdrew in order. Nonetheless, Union forces occupied the battlefield. This outcome did qualify as a Union military success, desperately welcome.

Lincoln faced extremely serious challenges beyond the Confederacy. General McClellan was popular with rank-and-file soldiers, and nurtured national political ambitions. He was committed to the Union but strongly opposed abolition of slavery. A talented organizer and administrator, he refused to be aggressive in attacking Lee’s army.

McClellan became insubordinate, demanding control over all war policy. Lincoln then fired him. McClellan became the Democratic Party’s 1864 presidential nominee; Lincoln defeated him again.

President Lincoln, finally securing control of the Army, moved quickly to exploit the Antietam victory by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. The executive order of January 1, 1863 freed slaves in the Confederate states. From the fall of 1862, the U.S. government issued a

Veterans deserve our thanks every day

and the Department of Defense to support global tactical operations based on his experience in OIF and OEF. His decorations included the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with service star, and the Air Force Expeditionary Service Medal.

We are the home of the free because of the brave.

Veterans Day is a time for all Americans to pay tribute to the men and women who have chosen to serve the United States of America in uniform at home and abroad.

I have a natural affinity for our military. It was my pleasure to serve alongside them during my national security career — both stateside and overseas, including the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan — and I was honored to receive the call sign “Warrior Goddess” from our special operations forces.

My beloved husband, Christopher N. Quaid, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in 1994.

He was a master space operator. Throughout his career, Chris led efforts to enhance warfighter access to data, services, and technical and operational expertise. He was fond of saying, “We are Ameri-cans, not American’ts!” and accomplished things others considered impossible for the benefit of the mission.

In 2006, while serving on Air Staff at the Pentagon, he volunteered to be trained by the U.S. Navy as an electronic warfare officer, then went to Afghanistan in 2007 to support the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne as an EWO and battlefield airman. The U.S. Army gave Chris the call sign “HALO.”

Upon returning home, he served as a mission director for the National Reconnaissance Office’s entire imagery satellite constellation. Chris also led the creation of joint collaboration cells across the intelligence community

In December 2015, Chris retired from the U.S. Air Force after over 22 years of honorable service.

On his first day of retirement in January 2016, I had to take him to the ER, where we learned he had a life-threatening brain tumor. A few days later, Chris had life-saving emergency brain surgery. He fought valiantly with our daughter Sophia and me by his side on the battlefront that is the military/veteran healthcare system. Ultimately his war-torn body gave out. Chris died in our arms on Dec. 16, 2017.

Sophia and I know that freedom is not free. Chris loved the United States of America and our country’s founding principles. He was willing to give his life for the cause of liberty. Though Chris did not die on the battlefield, he died of a service-connected illness (glioblastoma) after returning home.

Today, veterans suffer from service-connected illnesses, injuries, PTSD and homelessness.

Tragically, we are losing an average of 22 veterans daily to suicide. Those who risked their lives for our freedom deserve the best our country can provide.

May we never forget that we owe our veterans a debt we can never repay. They deserve our thanks every day and our unwavering commitment to ensure they receive the best care and the support they deserve in their time of need. Let us honor their sacrifice by standing united for the cause of liberty for which they risked their lives.

To our veterans and your families, thank you for your service to our country! May God bless you and continue to bless the United States of America, home of the free because of the brave.

Schools should teach critical thinking

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles by Santa Barbara writer Frank Sanitate on reforming education.

‘Most of our formal education is a waste of time” seems like a harsh opening statement, but that is what I want to examine here.

To give you some background on where I’m coming from. I spent the first five years of my career as a high school English and religion teacher. After leaving teaching and another job, I formed my own company to teach management seminars to professionals, which I did for 40 years. The main seminar I taught was Time Management.

So let’s apply a time analysis to schooling. Let’s say that during 16 years of schooling (first grade through college graduation) you spent six hours a day, five days a week, 40 weeks a year in classes, reading or studying. That means you spent 1,152,000 minutes on your education. How many of those

million minutes had the focus: “This is what I want to know. This is what I want to understand”?

I would guess that over a million of these minutes of my education were spent on learning what other people wanted me to know and understand, not what I wanted to know.

This brings me to a fundamental question: What is the purpose of education? Is the purpose of education to have individuals think for themselves or to have them know what other people think?

Obviously, to me, it’s both, but the first purpose is infinitely more important than the second.

How much school time focuses on asking the student: What do you think? What do you think about?

What are you worried about? What are you happy about? What would you like to find out about? What questions do you have about life, politics, religion, your body, love,

relationships, the world or any particular area we are supposed to be studying about? What would you like to ask the author of this book or the teacher?

My answer is a very, very small percent of that time. Why is education like that? Here’s why: In order to pass from subject to subject, grade to grade, one level of education to the next level, students have to be graded or measured. The grades are based on what students can remember about what other people say — the teachers or the professionals whose books or information we have read or listened to. Those who can remember best what the other people have said and can put it down on a test pass.

Our reward system for passing tests is: moving from grade to grade, and graduating with a degree. It rewards those who can remember and feed back what other people have to say. Just as

a side point, at the end of each seminar I taught for 40 years, participants graded me, not the other way around!

Of course, there is great value in learning what other people say. But is it what we should spend 1,152,000 minutes doing? It seems to me the greater percentage of time should be spent focusing on what students think and assisting them in developing their own thinking. Give them time to talk, to ask questions — questions that are meaningful to them personally. What questions do they have about themselves, their inner world of thoughts, feelings, desires, fears, loves, hates, etc.? What questions do they have about the outer world around them as well?

How much time should be spent on inside-out education versus outside-in education? I would be happy with a 50-50 split of our time. How can you teach people to think for themselves unless you get them thinking for themselves? The way things are going now I would be happy with even a 5 – 95 split!

It’s not as if these are new

thoughts. Many schools and teachers already incorporate this purpose in their teaching. A friend who is the head of a middle school told me that they don’t call the teachers “teachers;” they call them “guides.” Just changing the name is a huge leap forward on what a teacher’s function is. I have a strong suspicion that her school is not an exception to the norm.

Good time management starts with being clear about where you are going, what you want, what your goal is. In education, my big question is: What is it that we are dedicating eight or 12 or 16 or 20 years of our children’s lives to? What is your answer?

Santa Barbara writer Frank Sanitate taught high school English for five years over a half-century ago! He has published three books and had a successful seminar business for 40 years, teaching his seminars in every state and province in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Thanksgiving lessons

Thursday, if you ate a nice meal, thank the Pilgrims. They made Thanksgiving possible.

They left the Old World to escape religious persecution. They imagined a new society where everyone worked together and shared everything.

In other words, they dreamed of socialism. Socialism then almost killed them.

As I explain in my weekly video, the Pilgrims attempted collective farming. The whole community decided when and how much to plant, when to harvest and who would do the work.

Gov. William Bradford wrote in his diary that he thought that taking away property and bringing it into a commonwealth would make the Pilgrims “happy and flourishing.”

It didn’t. Soon, there wasn’t enough food. “No supply was heard of,” wrote Bradford. “Neither knew they when they might expect any.”

The problem, Bradford realized, was that no one wanted to work. Everyone relied on others to do the work. Some people pretended to be injured. Others stole food.

The communal system, Bradford wrote, “was found to breed much confusion and discontent and retard much employment.”

Young men complained they had to “spend their time and strength to work for other men’s wives and children without any recompense.”

Strong men thought it was an “injustice” they had to do more than weaker men, without more compensation.

Older men thought that working as much as young men was “indignity and disrespect.” Women who cooked and cleaned “deemed it a kind of slavery.”

The Pilgrims had run into the “tragedy of the commons.” No individual Pilgrim owned crops they grew, so no individual had much incentive to work.

Bradford’s solution: private property.

He assigned every family a parcel of land so they could grow their own corn. “It made all hands very industrious, so

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Editor’s note: Michele R. Weslander Quaid, a Santa Barbara resident who was a congressional candidate in the June primary, felt inspired to write this commentary after the recent Veterans Day service at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.

John Stossel

Please

Arthur I. Cyr

Frank Sanitate

The author lives in Santa Barbara

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Abraham Lincoln

Please see CYR on C4

KENNETH SONG/NEWS-PRESS

“May we never forget that we owe our veterans a debt we can never repay,” Santa Barbara resident Michele R. Wesland Quaid writes in her commentary.

Michele R. Weslander Quaid

The author is a Santa Barbara resident

(Phase I).

Phase II would be non-controversial if County Public Works would simply match the existing Obern Trail and keep the Class I Multi-use Path entirely on Modoc Road.

Please note: The existing Class I Obern Trail Multi-use Path does NOT have Class II bike lanes running on either side of it, and similarly, the Modoc Road Multi-Use Path Phase II was never intended to have Class II bike lanes running alongside it either.

The project description at the very top of the ATP grant application was used to sell the project idea to the community, and to CalTrans, which resulted in both community buy-in, as well as the $5.35 million ATP grant.

The original alignment and project description is preferred by CAMP and by at least 5,600 community members who have signed our petition: https://www.change.org/ SaveModocRoadTrees.

Thus far we have successfully convinced County Public Works to preserve trees on the west end of Modoc Multi-use Path Phase II, on the end closest to the intersection of Modoc Road and the Obern Trail. (Thank you.)

Now, we are are asking the county to design the rest of the Phase II path in the same way — i.e., put both the eastern and western halves of the Modoc Road Multi-use Path Phase II project entirely within the County ROW, as was the original plan. And instead of removing the row of 29 historic Canary Island Palm trees along Modoc Road, we are asking the County to

REPLACE, not AUGMENT, the existing Class II bike lanes so that the Class I Multi-use Path will fit on the existing footprint of Modoc Road, thereby preserving the Canary Island palm trees and the Modoc Preserve for all to enjoy.

By adhering to the original project description, we can all go back to our normal lives and start to repair the bonds that have been broken between community members, our County Public Works department, and our elected leaders.

Simply stated, we want the County to “preserve the Preserve” AND “connect the

gap” by putting the Class 1 Multi-use path all the way up on Modoc Road by replacing the existing Class II bike lanes.

No trees need to be cut down.

We ask the Santa Barbara County to stick to the original project description in the ATP grant application and build Phase II of the Modoc Road Class I MUP, using an existing County right-of-way by replacing the Class II bike lanes with a more safe and attractive separated path, suitable for people of all ages and abilities. Specifically, we note the replacement of the westbound Class II bike lane (north side of Modoc Road) with the path on the same side as the Obern Trail, which will ameliorate the problem of visibility and poor driver yield compliance.

By adapting an existing right-of-way, the county will be able to minimize costs, freeing up resources for improvements in other areas of the transportation system, while maximizing the use of an already established route.

Unless County Public Works and the Board of Supervisors work together to take quick action to change its current direction, the county is headed for legal entanglements with the Land Trust that could lead to delays in obtaining the easements required for Alignment B. Any further delays could cause the county to miss the February 2023 ATP grant allocation deadline, which would derail Phase II of this project.

I respectfully implore County Public Works to consider re-convening the Board of Supervisors to ask their approval on Alignment A with the caveat that the Class II bike lanes would be REPLACED, not AUGMENTED, and all trees along Modoc Road will be spared.

The thrift store is their primary source of income

National Assistance League.

The National Assistance League was first formed by a group of women in Los Angeles in 1919. Another group of women formed the 10th chapter in Santa Barbara in 1948. The league operates in 29 states and has a membership of 24,000-26,000 volunteers devoting 3 million hours a year of their time to serve over 1.5 million people.

The Assistance League of Santa Barbara has approximately 350 members contributing 54,000 hours a year to support and implement 16 different philanthropic programs. Their thrift store, on Veronica Springs Road, is filled with buyers every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Their local mission is to provide hands-on support to improve the lives of local, young children,

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like “free stuff” and hedged their bets they could buy votes with earmarks and keep the House, or at least cut their losses. And that is what they did.

Every member of Speaker Pelosi’s thin Democratic House majority filed earmarks. Of the 57 House Democrats considered at risk of losing their seats during the midterms, every one requested earmarks from the House Appropriations Committee, and only a few lost their seats.

“The American people need somebody who will tell them what’s really happening in Washington.”

– Jack Abramoff

Rep. Cindy Axne, the only incumbent Democrat to secure re-election in Iowa last year, requested $10 million in earmarks. Her requests are spread over 10 projects that include improving child care and upgrading bridges and water systems. Last election, she retained her seat by less than 1%.

Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, who represents a swing district that voted heavily Republican

teens, families, seniors, and people with developmental disabilities. It is a remarkable organization of talented, dedicated and hardworking ladies, all so wellorganized and productive. It is quite amazing how much merchandise goes through that tiny shop every day it is open. But the real work goes on behind the scenes, where hundreds of donations every day have to be received, inspected, categorized, priced for sale and stocked on the shelves for sale.

FYI

For more about the Assistance League of Santa Barbara, see assistanceleaguesb.org.

For more about the Salvation Army, see santabarbara.salvation.army.org.

For information about the Santa Barbara Elks lodge, see www.elks.org.

For details about the Santa Maria Elks Lodge, see www.santamariaelks.org.

clothes to more than 2,000 students a year. Their “Fun in the Sun” philanthropy supports the United Way summer enrichment program for elementary school children by providing summer clothing, swimsuits, and towels and by funding part of the summer literacy program.

source of income and 90% of it goes back into the community. This year, they honored a number of students with scholarships through their Scholarship program. This year they gave $70,000 in scholarships! We cannot cover all their good works here. But we must add that they provide a vital amount of support to people with developmental disabilities in kindness and sensitivity.

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as much more corn was planted than otherwise would have been,” he wrote.

People who had claimed that “weakness and inability” made them unable to work now were eager to work. “Women now went willingly into the field, and took their little ones with them to set corn,” wrote Bradford.

The Pilgrims learned an important lesson about private property.

Unfortunately, people keep repeating the Pilgrims’ mistakes.

Socialism is more popular than capitalism among college students. Many want everything shared, including their student loan debt.

President Joe Biden wants to give them that by forgiving some of their student debt.

Of course, then the debt would become a common, to be repaid by all taxpayers.

That would punish people who had long ago paid off their debt.

It would punish people who studied, worked hard, got jobs and were working to pay off college loans.

It would punish people who went to trade school or no school at all.

Government-granted student loans already create bad incentives:

• People who don’t like or benefit from college are encouraged to take out loans they can’t afford and go to expensive colleges anyway.

• Colleges increase their tuition, knowing that the government will pay what students don’t.

• Forgiving student debt would make all that worse.

Fortunately, Biden’s student loan forgiveness program ran up against legal challenges. I hope it’s dead.

Students should learn from the Pilgrims: Take responsibility for your own debt, work hard to pay it off, and don’t expect the public to fund your bad decisions.

Bottom line: In a common, everybody takes as much as they can. That creates shortages.

Private property creates prosperity.

Every Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for that.

Among their 16 programs are “Operation School Bell”, and “Teen School Bell,” where they provide Backpacks and new

before shifting moderately left last election, requested nearly $242 million in earmarks. The money will be used for projects that would help upgrade Dallas/ Fort Worth International Airport, in his district. He essentially guaranteed his re-election in a swing district that is always for sale to the highest bidder.

Republicans are ideologically opposed to this practice but are not without fault. But their requests were “meek” compared to the Democrats. This is the first year they felt that they needed to offset those that the Democrats had obtained in swing districts where they had to compete this election.

“Government spending is never equally distributed and always a burden on someone.”

— Ron Paul Texas Senate Republican Ted Cruz said, “Earmarks are the gateway drug to excess spending.” Politicians are addicted to spending to buy votes once they are in office.

Earmarks give the career politicians another vehicle to continue their free ride on American taxpayers. They kick the debt can down the road, knowing the more bones they

The most exciting part for the children as they get to choose their own items. We have been told by volunteers how rewarding and uplifting it is to be there to see the children so thrilled to be able to choose.

The thrift store is their primary

This column is part of our Thanksgiving celebration in recognizing and giving thanks for both the public generosity and the dedication of so many people in those organizations who work very hard every year to provide for those of all ages among us, who are less fortunate.

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

abandoned a decade after it was started and is a monument to earmark failures.

Mr. Abramoff told us, “Money is a tool used to buy votes.”

It would punish poor people because student loans are mostly held by the relatively rich.

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.

Let’s enjoy some peace and friendship

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other. But it isn’t long before the back-stabbing knives come out. Some rise to the level of putting themselves in charge, just like our politicians.

politics. Good-natured bantering is fine, but these days it never stops there.

We can spar with each other, voice our differences, but we can all still be friends. The spirit of Christmas knows nothing of politics, and neither does it care.

throw to their voters the longer they’ll remain in office.

We all remember “The Bridge to Nowhere.” U.S. Rep. Don Young obtained funding to build a bridge connecting a small town and an island in his home state of Alaska. The late Republican congressman secured $223 million for the project in 2005 and continued getting money until costs for the bridge grew to $400 million by 2011. The project was

The Magna Carta defined the highest principle of governing as the power that appropriates public funds should not be the same power that spends them. Yet Congress appropriates funding and doles out money to party favorites for their districts. Democrats cut their losses this election by buying votes with taxpayer earmarks. Earmarks are tax dollars used by incumbents to buy votes and keep them in power. Earmarks are simply a legal way to do nothing for your constituents for an entire term in office and buy back their support at election time.

“The earmark favor factory needs to be boarded up and demolished, not turned over to new management that may have a better eye for earmarks with merit.”

— Tom Coburn

This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

Lincoln should have included states in the Union

series of warnings under the Second Confiscation Act, passed by Congress on July 17, 1862.

The legislation confirmed in law Lincoln’s War Powers.

Critics argue Lincoln should have included states in the Union, but that would have been unlawful and unwise. Slavery was still

legal under the Constitution, and ended in law only when sufficient states ratified the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, proclaimed December 18, 1865.

Slavery had strong support in Border States and areas of the North.

By design, the Emancipation Proclamation is a detailed, dry lawyer’s document making the case for removing property, with emphasis on procedure. There

Regulatory sandboxes have been implemented in 10 states for industries such as financial technology, insurance, legal services, and more.

is no reference to fundamental moral concerns expressed elsewhere, especially in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural.

Civil War goals changed from preserving the Union to abolishing slavery.

Abraham Lincoln used specific procedures for transcendent goals, employing astonishing political skill. He provides a worthwhile standard against which to

evaluate political leaders. Give thanks.

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.

True personalities rapidly emerge when they attempt to dictate their authority, and it’s usually the kiss of death. When they realize their time in power is getting shaky, they begin to campaign and buddy up to their constituents. They’re the ones who are usually voted off the island first.

With the elections behind us for now, we can all focus on shopping, vacations and family gatherings — though family gettogethers can be powder kegs if someone insists on talking

It won’t be long before we’re overwhelmed with the next big political battle. The division among us will grow ever wider, and with Donald Trump running again, it will be a rancorous conflict. Politics has always been labeled a blood sport and rightfully so.

Before the bell rings for round 2024, let’s enjoy a few months of political peace and friendship.

What has changed since the same time last year?

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government regulations, hindering the production of baby formula and forcing up the price of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner by 14%, making a $100 dinner in 2020 cost $114 in 2021.

The president’s retreat from Afghanistan was a reminder of the many ways that wars, such as the Revolutionary War, Civil War and events leading to World War II, have impacted the way we celebrate Thanksgivings.

Now in 2022, the question arises: What has changed since “the same time last year?”

Can we, like Mr. Alda and Ms. Burstyn, look forward to rekindling the romantic spirit, with ours being with democracy, at the “same time next year,” i.e., Thanksgiving 2023?

Unfortunately, that romantic spirit may be like, to quote another movie, “Romancing the Stone,” since the Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives can slow the increases in the destructive actions, but only the courts can slow the destruction from executive orders. Inflation will require the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates high.

businesses that don’t fit neatly into an existing regulatory framework or for small innovators with less political and financial capital than Big Tech companies. Regulatory sandboxes are also a useful opportunity to generate data in practice that can guide lawmakers to develop a sensible regulatory framework for the new innovation.

Industry-specific sandboxes have been relatively successful in Florida and North Carolina, although some industries are heavily regulated by the federal government, which limits their success. In 2021 and 2022, Utah and Arizona implemented universal sandboxes that give

opportunities for innovators in every industry to create new products and services that enrich consumers’ lives. 11 participants have graduated from Arizona’s sandboxes, and two more are currently enrolled in its universal sandbox – both using blockchain and decentralized finance.

The power of big tech to censor, violate privacy, and surveil citizens will be best curbed through the private sector’s innovations, not by handing the

government the reins. States can provide certainty and reduce barriers to entry through legal recognition of decentralized technologies and by creating regulatory sandboxes for entrepreneurs to explore.

Sarah Montalbano is the northwest regional leader for Young Voices. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.

President Biden continued spending fueled inflation by, among other things, issuing money to compensate for the economic losses suffered by his government forcing private businesses to close. Sadly, he included in the distributions public employees who never missed a paycheck. He caused the firing of employees who were not vaccinated while not requiring vaccinations for any of the 5.5 million migrants walking into our country who are now being supported by the 180 million payers of federal taxes. A war broke out in Ukraine that has not cost American lives but has cost the taxpayers a great deal of money.

The cost of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner increased a record high of 21% since last year, bringing a dinner that cost $100 in 2020 to $137.94 in 2022.

Thanksgiving 2023 may include many more migrants joining the current 5.5 million and increasing daily, asking “What’s Thanksgiving?”

However, for most Americans, much like Mr. Alda and Ms. Burstyn, hope lives eternal that their romances with each other, and democracy, will be rekindled by the “same time next year.” Time will tell, and until then: Happy Thanksgiving 2022!

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 Non-Lawyers.”

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

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ARTHUR VON WIESENBERGER/NEWS-PRESS Efforts to save the trees have included signs such as this one.

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Sen. Nancy Pelosi