Montecito at the Movies by Montecito Journal

JOURNAL

Bear Cares – The Maritime Museum’s new

photography exhibit captures the majestic polar bear in its natural habitat, P.16

The Giving List

Vino for Valentine’s – These memorable meals at local hot spots and luscious wines are just in time for Valentine’s Day, P.32

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA 8 – 15 FEB 2024 | VOL 30 ISS 6 | www.montecitojournal.net

The Santa Barbara Symphony plays to its own tune, page 34

MONTECITO AT THE MOVIES The Queen and horse whisperer Monty Roberts bond over their past… a beloved orange tabby that bonds with a whole neighborhood… The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is in full swing, and these movies tie in to Montecito. Plus favorite picks from SBIFF Program Director Claudia Puig (Story starts on page 5)

Local, Vocal Support

Carp Community Cares

Supportive letters and lots of “off the record” messages were sent to the MJ after last week’s editorial expressing the need for a new 1st District Supervisor, page 10

Over 500 residents, an overflow tent, and countless comments… The community of Carpinteria showed up in full force to resist the Carp Bluffs resort proposal, page 12

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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– SBIFF is reeling and here 5 Oaren Entertainment some flicks from Montecito movie makers,

Program Director Claudia Puig’s picks, and more

Mind – Looking at the factors In Passing – Remembering the life of Lillian 18 Aandn Independent 36 policies that make rich countries rich and Lovelace – wife, mother and gracious philanthropist poor countries poor

6 or James Whitmore eaten by a giant ant? Oh yeah, 22 Never noticed the guy. At least he’s getting Beings & Doings – Streisand and Redford cooing,

Ernie’s World – Wait, who’s world? Ernie?

tough choice.

better known on Zoom meetings.

8 Jubilee, the vocal versatility of Renée Fleming, and 24 evolution at odds with one another? Montecito Miscellany – Friendship Center’s Silver more miscellany

10 Lee, thoughts on the La Posada project, road L etters to the Editor – Support for Roy construction noise, and State Street Tide Guide

Town – The ARB Carp Bluffs meeting, 12 OArturMatters Lecture with Joan Kee, and session

Robert’s Big Questions – Are altruism and

of adventure (and song)

The Montecito Health Coach – New columnist 38 Deann Zampelli, introduces herself, and the concept of healthy aging

pairings will warm your palate and heart

Appraisals – A terra cotta bust reveals ocal News – The Montecito Association meets 28 Ethelizabeth’s 44 Lregarding history of a female artist ahead of her time the debris nets, the YMCA renovation our Westmont – The college hosts top teen 29 Y‘mathletes’ and two alums computer skills in Kenya

Invites – It’s smiles and support at 14 Stheociety 25th Festival of Hearts fundraiser for the

Barbara by the Glass – Love is in the air 32 S–anta and the glass – with these Valentine’s Day sips at some of the area’s most popular spots

ICE BEAR’ – A new exhibit at the Santa Giving List – With sweeping programming 16 ‘Barbara 34 Tandhe endless Maritime Museum takes visitors to the educational outreach, the Santa

occur – leading to early detection and treatment

Thoughts – In the land of Jordan, Petite Wine Traveler – With the recent rains 25 Briverrilliant and border crossings have their own sense 41 and ongoing winter weather, these pinot noir

highlights from the NAMM show

Friendship Center

The Optimist Daily – Recent research reveals a MRI 37 ‘signature’ that indicates dementia before symptoms

Arctic and up close to the majestic polar bears

Barbara Symphony is truly this town’s own

Montecito JOURNAL

“The cost of liberty is less than the price of repression.” – W.E.B. Du Bois

plan, and other local topics

Calendar of Events – Blue Notes on stage, 48 Engelbert Humperdinck’s finale, The Immediate Family, and more

50 Cadslassifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ini Meta Crossword Puzzles 51 MLocal Business Directory

8 – 15 February 2024

On Entertainment Montecito Filmmaker, the Monarch and Monty by Steven Libowitz

onty Roberts is the Salinas-bred cowboy who spent years trying to turn the equestrian community from “breaking” horses through violence to instead gaining their confidence through trust and gentility. The story of the owner of the decades-long Flag is Up Farms in Solvang and his ability to train horses through his kinder method isn’t a new one. Roberts himself documented it in the bestseller called The Man Who Listens to Horses. His long relationship with Queen Elizabeth II of England – who after a period of skepticism hired Roberts to work with her own stable of horses for decades – is also not a new one. But the extent of their friendship and the surprising intimacy they shared over their affection for trust-based partnerships with their animals is now being revealed via a documentary from part-time Montecito-based filmmaker Andrea Nevins. The Cowboy and the Queen will screen at The Cowboy and The Queen, which makes SBIFF on February 11 & 12 (courtesy photo) its West Coast premiere at SBIFF on February 11 & 12, is full of archival footage Nevins unearthed in Roberts’ garage as well as newspaper clipping and lots of reminiscing from the still spry Roberts – who turned 88 last May. The film covers a lot of history but often feels like a fireside chat. “I wanted to tell Monty’s story about how he came to this gentle method, who he is as a person, what his struggle was to get people to understand that you didn’t have to hit horses, and how it was a female monarch – whose family came from colonialism – who embraced him,” Nevins said. “These two people came together, looking eye to eye about something quite the opposite. Monty explained why he thought the queen was so ready to hear his approach, and I don’t think it’s a story that she’s told anybody. It’s only Monty that can talk about the relationship.” Roberts’ violent rearing is also a part of the film, and sets the tone for how he wanted a different way to interact with animals and people. The cowboy has extended his method for connecting with horses to improving interpersonal relationships with other humans, which Nevins also documents in the film. “So much of our world right now is about that kind of violence, that force makes right,” she said. “But there is a different language, a more peaceful communication that we can be speaking and we can learn from this extraordinary relationship that Monty has with horses and that the Queen had with Monty.”

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More Montecito at the Movies: Meow Mix Normally, an intruder who invades more than one Montecito home would spark a response from sheriffs faster than I can finish typing this sentence, not to mention a cover story in the Montecito Journal. But a particular four-legged visitor not only took up residence in a few different private venues in the village, she was welcomed with open arms. That’s the tale (tail?) covered by Montecito Nine Lives screens Feb. 13 & 16 as part of the Santa filmmaker Jessie Davidson, a Cold Spring Barbara Documentary Shorts (courtesy photo) School graduate, whose nine-minute short, Nine Lives, captures how the orange tabby that was brought to town by her childhood friend Daniel DeVorzon made itself the adopted pet of several families of the neighborhood.

8 – 15 February 2024

On Entertainment Page 364 364

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Montecito JOURNAL

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Beings & Doings

The Words Get Stuck in my Throat by Jeff Wing

ontecito is a movie town in many respects, and that is a marvelous thing. Yes, I’m a cinephile! My creative hero has long been the director/auteur – an art rebel with the heart, spine and creative ballast to swim upstream in pursuit of a singularly iconoclastic vision. David Lean, Truffaut, Campion, Bogdanovich, Welles, Ephron, Gerwig, Coppola, Scorsese, Parks, Lee – yes, these earnest might-have-beens also have something to offer the odd filmgoer interested in “plots,” “scripts,” and other throwaway cinematic arcana. But we’re talking auteur, people. Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif on desert horseback yelling “Let’s go get ‘em!” or whatever; mildly diverting. A hurriedly concocted, rubberized monster breaking out of the lab to terrorize the ineptly filmed, scrubby hills of outer Los Angeles? Gimme gimme! We’re talking Beast with a Million Eyes, Night of the Blood Beast, Beast in the Cellar – it is a genre that depends for its success on our childlike interest in beasts. But look – do you want Streisand delicately brushing aside a lock of Redford’s impossibly golden hair in a poignant gesture of farewell, or a giant leech emerging from the swampy shadows, croaking and waddling and easily escapable if the heroine would but turn and walk briskly away? Thought so.

Budget Schmudget You see, the true auteur is dedicated to a very particular genre, one

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The saying “quit while you’re a head” found its raison d’être in this classic film (courtesy photo)

Montecito JOURNAL

“In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.” – Thurgood Marshall

This film did for picnics what Jaws did for a day at the beach (courtesy photo)

that teems with sloppily constructed horrors that wouldn’t frighten a seven-year-old. These brilliant œuvres d’art typically emerge from rancorous meetings that conclude with the director hollering some angrier, more adult variation of “budget schmudget!” That’s right; take away the Machiavellian purse strings of the controlling Hollywood Dream Machine™ and what do you get? Unfettered genius! Robert Gaffney’s Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (whose title almost suggests the May-December frolic of a Doris Day/Rock Hudson vehicle), Herschell Gordon Lewis’ The Wizard of Gore, Arch Hall’s Eegah! Or how’s about Atom Age Vampire, or the picnic-ruining Basket Case, whose antagonist is a … um … well, watch the movie and you tell me. These unsung fear-jerkers have long since made their collective mark in the cultural weldüngschpetzl — a Freudian-sounding term I’ve only just coined. Oh, but maybe you’re too good for movies that so strikingly affect the Beings & Doings Page 394 394

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Montecito JOURNAL

Montecito Miscellany A Seaside Silver Jubilee by Richard Mineards

ontecito’s Friendship Center, founded in 1976 and now with a satellite location in Goleta, marked the Silver Jubilee of its annual Festival of Hearts with a seaside elegance-themed lunch at the Rosewood Miramar for 230 guests. The lunch raised around $75,000 for the nonprofit, which offers supervised and engaging activities for adults living with dementia and cognitive decline. As well as featuring a silent auction of hearts designed by the likes of Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, supermodel entrepreneur Kathy Ireland, and Voice magazine publisher Kerry Methner, emcee David Moorman auctioned off six gift packages. The Montecito luxe lot included a night’s stay at billionaire Rick Caruso’s tony hostelry for $2,000, a jetsetter package including two roundtrip tickets on United Airlines, a Parker Clay tote bag for $5,000, and a night’s stay at The Inn at Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos for $800. Two guest speakers were Shianne

Montecito JOURNAL

Board President Dr. Cynder Sinclair and emcee David Moorman (photo by Monie de Wit)

Shianne Motter shared the story of her father (photo by Monie de Wit)

Motter, who at 24 acted as caregiver for her late father Glen, who died at the age of 73 in 2020; and Robert Antonini, 98, who has been attending the Friendship Center since 2018. Motter described the Friendship Center as “a special place between Heaven and Earth”. Among the guests putting naughty into

nautical with their sailor stripes and maritime attire were Arlene Larsen, councilmember Oscar Gutierrez, popular DJ Darla Bea – a vision in purple and a striking matching hairdo – Sue Adams, Thomas and Nancy Crawford, Sintija Kemezys Felder, Bill and Jocelyne Meeker, Katina Zaninovich, Heidi Holly, and Cynder Sinclair.

Heading Home Prince Harry is flying home to London to be with his father King

Miscellany Page 464 464

Kathryn Westland and “Sir Robert” Robert Antonini (photo by Monie de Wit)

8 – 15 February 2024

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Montecito JOURNAL

What is to be Gained

ear Editor [Gwyn Lurie], You wrote, “And I say, what do we have to lose by giving him [Roy Lee] a chance to prove it? Seems not much.” (Montecito Journal, Feb. 1-8, 2024) It’s not a chance of losing anything. It’s a chance to gain a lot by electing Roy Lee 1st District County Supervisor! As a Carpinteria city councilmember Roy has shown that he is open and honest. He has demonstrated that he truly cares about the people and the community he serves. He listens to his constituents. He is thoughtful and is concerned about protecting the qualities that make the 1st District a great place to live and work. He has a strong vision of how to do just that. With Roy Lee as County Supervisor we gain a representative whom we can respect, and he will respect us. Please vote for Roy Lee for First District Supervisor and gain a great new County representative! Sheila Lodge Mayor, City of Santa Barbara, 1981-1993

Irreplaceable Storm Damage

to create a compelling argument to encourage all community members to take this week’s storm seriously. I think what would have been even more compelling is to NOT focus on property damage but remind us all that 23 community members died in the Jan 9, 2018, storm. Over 150 community members were injured and over 1,000 rescues occurred over a 24-hour period. Our first responders saw trauma that will stay with them for far too long. It is about human life and safety. Property can be repaired or replaced. Family members or neighbors cannot. It is a similar concern I had in November when I learned that our county supervisors could not come to an agreement to keep the safety nets on the mountain to catch deadly boulders and debris. Now – with what was being predicted as the worst storm in Santa Barbara history and more on the horizon – we are net free. I hope all community members vote in upcoming elections for those candidates who take our safety as paramount. For important initiatives regarding prudent safety precautions, we can always find the money – but we can’t bring back those lost. Kim Cantin

The Meaning of La Posada

Listening to the community update by the sheriff in advance of the storm on Feb. 3, 2024 – I heard him say “on Jan 9, 2023, there was $80 million in property damage.” I sensed he shared this data point to aim

Much of the national and world news is daunting and hard to watch. Locally, there is much to be hopeful about in 2024 thanks to the ways our community comes together to tackle hard challenges. Earlier last month,

YOUR LETTERS MATTER! The Montecito Journal thrives with community input… Have thoughts on a local issue? Comments on one of our articles? Contact us at letters@montecitojournal.net

dozens of people gathered to break ground on La Posada, an innovative solution to our homelessness crisis. The project will provide shelter, substance abuse and mental health counseling, intensive case management, food and health care to over 80 people currently living in the encampments between the freeway and Hollister Ave. It’s a proven partnership between Dignity Moves, Good Samaritan, the County, and committed local philanthropists. On behalf of the County’s Second District where the project is housed, our sincerest thanks to the many ardent supporters of this project, including Sara Miller McCune, for your tremendous generosity in making the project a reality. Fittingly, “La Posada” means shelter in Spanish. To me, La Posada means much more than that. First it means land: the land that the County is donating that allows the project to be financially feasible. The location was chosen because it is near where we know 60-90 people currently live unsafely in encampments. Second it means dignity: the program works because the residents are offered the dignity of what most of us take for granted – their own space with four walls, a door that locks, and a place to store their belongings. It also means help because of compassionate one-on-one services that residents must utilize. And lastly it means hope for the lifeline it will provide to our neighbors in need. In 2024, I’m focusing on the spirit of La Posada – the ways we can make our community stronger and safer for us all. Supervisor Laura Capps

successor Das Williams, unfortunately, has been a total failure, but Das has been propped up by the local Democratic Party machine. Das has failed to exhibit leadership on so many issues, except for championing the cannabis industry in Carpinteria which has created grossly unacceptable impacts on the local community with its air quality impacts, while doing nothing to improve his promised financial benefits for schools. His efforts have also failed to reign in the illegal cannabis growers who continue to pay no taxes. Das has also, despite numerous and repeated pleas for help, done nothing to correct the totally backlogged County Planning Department. I have a special love for Carpinteria, which was our home for 35 years. It is a community of neighbors who care about each other and their community. I saw this firsthand when I negotiated the purchase of the Carpinteria Bluffs on behalf of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County many years ago and saw the community step up to raise pennies and dollars at the supermarket while local residents contributed beyond their capacity to Save the Bluffs. That spirit has continued with the preservation of additional lands at the Bluffs and the restoration of the Carpinteria Marsh. I believe that Roy Lee represents that spirit

JOURNAL

Letters to the Editor

Executive Editor/CEO | G wyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen, zach@montecitojournal.net MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña Administration | Jessikah Fechner Administrative Assistant | Kassidy Craner VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Bryce Eller

Representing the Spirit of the Carp Community

I deeply appreciate your editorial in the February 1 issue of the Montecito Journal. During my 35-year law career in Santa Barbara, I was a friend and supporter of Supervisor Salud Carbajal, who (as you said) was a true civil servant focused on the needs of his constituents. I still remain in contact with Salud and support him as a member of Congress. His hand-picked

Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin Proofreading | Helen Buckley Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz Contributors | Scott Craig, Ashleigh Brilliant, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Chuck Graham, Stella Haffner, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Jamie Knee, Elizabeth Stewart, Amélie Dieux, Houghton Hyatt, Jeff Wing Gossip | Richard Mineards History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE Day

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“Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us.” – Susan L. Taylor

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

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8 – 15 February 2024

of community service that Das Williams totally lacks. My hope is that he can survive the primary so that he can organize a true challenge to Das’ non-leadership in the general election and lead the First District going forward. David H. Anderson

The State of State Dear Mr. Mayor and City Council members, As a long-time resident of Santa Barbara, I am very concerned as to the direction our once beautiful city is taking. The downtown area is currently reminiscent of Fresno or Oxnard. A bunch of horrendous industrial barricades, shoddy planter boxes, temporary cheap outside structures for eateries, a no car zone for the entire main area of downtown but leaving plenty of room for reckless bicyclists, and skateboarders running people over, making myself and many of my friends shake our heads in disbelief. Our wonderful State Street, once the Champs-Élysées of Santa Barbara, has been turned into a seedy downtown, full of empty stores, thrift and dime shops, homeless people, alcoholics and drug users, ugly structures, new modern buildings which are destroying the wellplanned architecture of this city. Our city fathers would turn around in their graves if they saw what is happening here.

Do you think that Paris would allow their most prestigious avenue to be filled with low quality venues? Why is Santa Barbara, the American Riviera, allowing such deterioration in their once gorgeous downtown? Please let us know how we can help turn this horrible situation around. We are afraid that in another five years, this city will be lost forever and will never be able to regain the elegance and beauty it was once known for. Sincerely, Mia Voehl

Road Work Zones & Homes Continuous loud, obnoxious noise. Work lights that blazed up and down Olive Mill. Incessant flashing yellow lights. Beeping and rumbling trucks. Loud, literally ground-shaking work. We did not get much sleep last night. What in God’s name was going on? And why weren’t we informed? You have my email address. So do most people on this message. Did no one think it might be reasonable to give us a warning this major, intrusive work was going to happen? At night? We can’t be the only neighbors who consider this unacceptable. Will this be repeated tonight? Will someone reimburse us for a hotel room far, far away? Or at least supply us some ear plugs? RR

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Montecito JOURNAL

Our Town

ARB Public Meeting on Carpinteria Bluffs Resort Carpinteria ARB reviewing the Carp Bluffs resort proposal January 25 (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

by Joanne A Calitri

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ver 500 people showed up #CarpStrong at the first public Architectural Review Board (ARB) meeting on the resort proposal for the Carp Bluffs, held at the Carpinteria City Council Chambers on January 25. The chambers overflowed to the hallways, lobby, and outdoor tent with a live feed. Others watched it remotely. The attendees stayed the course of the 4.5-hour meeting, regardless of their cars being towed and fined due to parking issues. They wore green t-shirts and carried signs against the project. The meeting was led by the ARB Board Chair Brad Stein, with board members Vice Chair Amy Blakemore, Richard E. Johnson, Richard Little, and Patrick O’Connor. Stein asked for everyone to be polite to each other knowing how heated this is. The meeting started with the ARB’s staff’s PowerPoint of the project from the plans architect developer Matthew Goodwin of Carp Bluffs, LLC., provided. ARB posed questions to clarify issues. Goodwin presented his proposal and had Ken Trigueiro from People’s Self Help-Housing (PSHH) speak to support the 41 apartments in the project. Public comments were heard (2.5hours) and tallied by Stein. ARB read their comments and concerns. ARB voted unanimously to not recommend advancing the current development proposal and to continue the decision in order to allow Goodwin to come into compliance with the city’s General Plan and ARB concerns. Public comments cited the resort goes against the General Plan and Local Coastal Plan for Carpinteria, that Goodwin’s development would not provide any benefit for the residents, issues of tree removal, disruptive outdoor lighting, parking, fencing, and natural habitat and wildlife from the land to the ocean would be destroyed. Chumash Elder Ernestine Ygnacio-De Soto, “Walk softly over this land because our ancestors sleep here. The Spirit of the Land speaks, so do the children and the public.” And Chumash Elder Julie Tumamait-Stenslie said, “There is a lot of greenwashing going on here, and when we look at our homeland of 19,000 years, we know we’ve always been here. I’ve worked with the City of Carpinteria 40 years, what I see with the development is they have done a lot of work, it’s beautiful, but not there [the bluffs]. The children who spoke tonight are our future. We always have to come here and fight for the protection of our Chumash material world in that place. For 25 years we have been praying for the preservation of these lands. We just cannot allow this constant scene of saying that lands that are empty have to have something done on them. Please rethink what we are doing here. It can be done somewhere else, Our Town Page 204 204

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The bluffs resort ARB meeting extended to the outside area of the City Council Chambers to accommodate the public (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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8 – 15 February 2024

CELEBRATE LOVE ALONG THE AMERICAN RIVIERA

VALENTINE’S DAY WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14TH

Rekindle the romance this Valentine’s Day with an intimate dinner at The Revere Room. Along with a la carte offerings, the Chefs have prepared an exquisite four-course pre-fixed menu with available wine pairings to make for a memorable meal.

We invite our guests to embark on a culinary journey with the Chef’s Tasting Menu, an eight-course menu plus wine pairings, a complimentary champagne greet, and a curated departure amenity for each guest in your party to make for an unforgettable dining experience.

Inspired by the Ama Divers of the Ise-Shima region of Japan, whose love for this 2,000year-old ancient craft paved the way for today’s modern techniques, the Chefs of AMA Sushi are pleased to present a specialized Omakase Menu for all dining guests.

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

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$275 per person

Dining Room: $185 per person Omakase Bar: $225 per person

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8 – 15 February 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Society Invites

Marti and Gil Garcia with Cynder Sinclair (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

25th Annual Festival of Hearts Fundraiser by Joanne A Calitri

he Friendship Center (FC) of Montecito celebrated the silver anniversary of its beloved “Festival of Hearts” fundraiser on Saturday, February 3, at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito ballroom and outdoor patio. Nods to the event co-chairs FC Board member Kathy Marden and FC Board VP Sue Adams, with their committee Nathan Bero, Marianne M. Cherkas, Erica Fichter, Pat Forgey, Greta Liedke, Shianne Motter, and Monica Vidger-Trent. The event was at capacity with guests a-buzzing around the auction item tables holding heart-themed art works by local artists, along with merch experiences like the Santa Barbara Golf Club, Evolutions Med Spa, and a luxe stay at the Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito. Seen at the event were Marti and Gil Garcia, Zaria Ortiz, Jeanne West, David Mares, Lynn Whitaker, Martha

Heidi Holly and Kathryn Westland (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Gebhardt, Maria Porter, Pamela Dillman Haskell and Chris Haskell, the former Executive Director of the FC Heidi Holly, Leigh Cashman, Montecito Compass Realtor Stephanie Petlow with her sister and Board President of the Goleta Valley Historical Society Paula

M. Botiani, Easter Moorman, and SB City Councilperson Oscar Gutierrez with girlfriend DJ Darla Bee. Guest emcee, David Moorman started off the program by acknowledging the work of the Friendship Center. “Thank you for coming today to support the benefits it provides the aging members of our community. As a proud Navy veteran myself, I wish to acknowledge all the military veterans present in attendance. Know that your donations go to the Friendship Center’s programming for all, as no one is turned away.” Next, FC Board President Dr. Cynder Sinclair – fresh in from a week skiing – welcomed the guests saying. “Thank you all for coming and supporting the Friendship Center’s commitment to providing dignified care for those in need. Let’s acknowledge our supporters of the Friendship Center, its caregivers, volunteers, donors, and partners. Thanks to

the ‘First Mate Sponsors’: CenCal Heath, William and Jocelyne Meeker, and Katina Zaninovich; and the Captains of Carez: Thomas and Nancy Crawford, and Sintija Kemezys Felder.” Cynder Sinclair was followed by FC Executive Director Kathryn Westland, who said, “I love the Friendship Center, the community at large. Those who do not have a place to go can come to the Friendship Center. Thank you for being here and enjoying our work.” Westland introduced guest speaker and caregiver Shianne Motter, who works at SB Travel and attended Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Montecito. She shared her experience of having been, at age 24, the primary caregiver for her father with dementia, and how FC helped not only her father but also herself. She said, “We are all saying

Society Page 314 314

AT AGE 95, ANNETTE EXPERIENCED SHORTNESS OF BREATH AND BEGAN HAVING HEART PALPITATIONS. Her

After TAVR, I immediately felt great. Annette, TAVR Patient

physician referred her to the Cottage Heart & Vascular Center, where she was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis by Dr. Michael Shenoda. Annette had a minimally invasive aortic valve replacement, a heart procedure known as TAVR – which stands for transcatheter aortic valve replacement. Annette is now 98 and continues to have great heart health.

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

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14 Montecito JOURNAL

PUT YOUR HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

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8 – 15 February 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

‘ICE BEAR’

Ralph Clevenger taking a look at his work (photo by Sigrid Toye)

Cool New Exhibit Comes to the SB Maritime Museum

Polar bears are the focus of the Maritime Museum’s newest exhibit (photo by Ralph Clevenger)

by Sigrid Toye

here is something very exciting happening at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum! Of course, there are always exciting things going on at SBMM, however this is something very special to be enjoyed (and loved!) by the entire family. Having opened on Wednesday, February 8th, the Maritime Museum’s new exhibit, ICE BEAR, puts on display a spectacular series of enlarged

color photographs of polar bears and the challenging environment in which they live. Captured by photographic artist and environmentalist Ralph Clevenger, these images literally transport the viewer into the experience of these majestic animals who live in one of nature’s most vulnerable environments. The phases of their lives and their struggle to survive are brought to life through his lens. A polar bear stranded on melting sea ice is often the image used as a symbol of rapidly changing climate. Climate

change and the loss of sea ice habitat is the greatest present threat to the ice bear population. The impact of fast-moving environmental changes are felt first – and worst – in the Arctic. Polar bears rely on thick sea ice to hunt and store energy for the summer and autumn when food can be scarce. In today’s environment sea ice melts earlier in spring and forms later in autumn in the bears’ southern ranges. The shortened winter months limit their ability to store needed sustenance for the warmer months. For every week the sea ice declines the bears come ashore roughly 22 pounds lighter and in less stable condition. Today, there are currently 26,000 polar bears living in the wild. The Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada – where Clevenger’s images were captured – lies near the southern limit of where polar bears can live year-round and is one

of the biggest polar bear denning (shelter) areas in the world. As temperatures drop and Hudson Bay begins to freeze, increasing numbers of bears move toward the coast and congregate along the shores of the bay, waiting until they can journey onto sea ice to begin feeding again. “Polar bears are in danger of going extinct in much of their range due to the warming arctic and were the first vertebrate species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act as ‘threatened’ due to predicted climate change,” explained Clevenger in describing the purpose of his images. “This was a big reason I wanted to see wild polar bears in their natural habitat.” Ralph Clevenger’s interest in the sea began on the coast of North Africa where he grew up. He began diving in the

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8 – 15 February 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

An Independent Mind Rich Land, Poor Land

Public Presentation

Please Join Us

Thursday, March 7, 2024 5:30 - 6:30 pm Wolf Education & Training Center 529 West Junipero Street, Santa Barbara Please RSVP to Danielle Cassidy by March 1 (805) 681-7528 or dcassidy@sansumclinic.org.

by Jeffrey Harding

here was a popular book a few years back, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki which gave some very good advice about financial health and wealth. It was a catchy title, so I came up with something similar: Rich Country, Poor Country. I’m going to examine why some countries are rich and some are poor. I’m going to use Latin America as my model. But first I need to show who’s who so you can see which countries are rich and how rich and which are poor and how poor. There are two ways to show this. One is by comparing gross domestic product (GDP), the measure of how much an economy produces. The other, which is more significant, is how much each household spends, a measure of personal wealth. These 2022 numbers are given to you per capita, so you can see it from a consumer’s point of view. My sources are the World Bank and The Federal Reserve.

Reservations required.

Nathalie McDowell Johnson MD, FACS Senior Medical Director Legacy Cancer Institute, Portland, Oregon

Speaking on:

Breasts and the Surgeon: From Antiquity to Infinity

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18 Montecito JOURNAL

Title Sponsor

Can you guess which countries’ citizens are risking everything by walking to our border? You can also see how powerful an economic producer of wealth is the USA. Why are some countries poor? It’s not about natural resources or the lack thereof that makes a country rich or poor. Hong Kong and Switzerland don’t have any, yet they managed to get to the top. It’s not about education systems, or pension systems because a lot of poor countries have natural resources, a minimal education system, or even a pension system (as wobbly as they may be). What poor countries lack are the right ideas about how things really work. Poverty was the norm since we evolved as homo sapiens. For millennia other systems failed and failed. There is only one economic system that has ever worked to bring people out of poverty and that is capitalism. If you look at world history through an economic lens you will see economic output (GDP) hovering just above zero until around 1820. By the 1820s, in countries that had embraced capitalism, economic growth took off like a rocket; literally the graph looks like a hockey stick. Commensurate with growth came another hockey stick: worldwide longevity went from about 32 years in the mid-1800s to our present 70-80 years. It was the wealth generated by capitalism that funded the improvements that brought that result. Despite a world of exemplars of success, we still have poor countries. The formula of

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.” – Desmond Tutu

An Independent Mind Page 394 394

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Montecito JOURNAL

Our Town (Continued from 12 12)) Matthew Goodwin presents his resort plans for the Carpinteria Bluffs to the ARB and public (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

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infrastructure that needs rebuilding, but not on our sacred coastal lands. Thank you.” ARB Board comments started with O’Connor, saying, “To me this is an incomplete proposal. The seals and Chumash are not addressed at all in the developer’s proposal. There are issues of safety on Carp Ave. What is the plan for the southern 4.13 acres? I vote that the ARB not advance this project from preliminary to final.” Little said he’s never seen affordable housing with 10-foot ceilings, “The bigger question is: why here and why now? Maybe you should buy the Motel Six on Carp. Ave and redo that.” Johnson said, “We, as well as all you guys understand the need, desire and love of open space. We have a planning issue here that it’s not allowed to just be open and stay that way for the rest of its life or our lives. So, we have to make a deal and what’s the best deal we can make.” Blakemore said, “The first five pages of the landscape plans are completely illegible, nobody even checked them. There is a sign from your team nailed to one of the sycamore trees. Organic farming next to the hotel is not going to work. It’s a pretty picture, logistically it’s not been thought out. I cannot support a project that has 47,000 cubic yards of grading.” Stein commented, “Issue number one from me is that this project is not compatible with that neighborhood. It does not conform to the Carpinteria standards we have had under the projects here. Right now, emphatically, where I’m sitting, I would never support this. We’re not trying to make this into something else, we are Carpinteria, and you really didn’t look at it. The trees you plan to remove have been here longer than any of us, they are iconic. Parking is an issue for your project from the housing to the event center, if you were sincere about being part of the city, parking would be part of it. Putting a path across the RR track, you are really opening yourself up to liability, someone getting hit. Live feed camera at the Seal Rookery?” 411: Visit the following website to view the meeting: https://carpinteria.granicus.com/player/clip/1378?view_ id=2&redirect=true&h=7e98cd0455fa689fdaa1aa919d17c441

Black History Month: Art Matters Lecture with Joan Kee Starting off Black History Month I attended the lecture by Joan Kee PhD, JD on “The Geometries of Afro Asia: Art beyond Solidarity,” on Friday, February 2, the Art Matters series at SB Museum of Art. Kee is a Professor of Art History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The lecture title, the same as her new book (University of California Press, 2023), was the structure for the engaging lecture. Kee postulates that art challenges the global majority view of the world. Raising both questions and the bar on one’s perceptions, the art and relationIsabel Wendt, President, SBMA Women’s Board ships formed between Black and Asian and Art Matters guest speaker Joan Kee (photo by artists at critical historical moments Joanne A Calitri) bring us more information than political leaders and the media. Starting with how Afro Asia is geographically understood, she compared three world maps: the Asian African Conference, Bandung, Indonesia 1955 map, the Brandt Line North-South 1980 map, and the AuthaGraph map by Hajime Narukawa 1999/2015. Narukawa took the globe spherical view and realigned it via geometry. The map keeps the sizes of all continents and oceans while it reduces the distortions of their shapes Our Town Page 304 304

20 Montecito JOURNAL

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” – Nelson Mandela

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Montecito JOURNAL

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Call for more information!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

“Say, don’t you write for the Montecito Journal?” Beaming: “Yes I do!” “I knew it. You write all that social gossip stuff about the locally rich and famous.” “Ah no, that’s Richard Mineards. I write...” “Entertainment. Of course. Love your theater coverage and the quips on local musicians.” “Ah, no, that’s Steve Libowitz.” “History?” Ah. no, that’s Hattie Beresford.” “Huh. Oh, I know, duh, you write all those obituary pages!” “No, that’s the Independent. Different paper. I write Ernie’s World.” “You sure?” All these memories came flooding back recently when I heard the song “Mister Cellophane” performed at Center Stage theater by the Selah Dance Collective. It was haunting. “So, you do go to all those theater events and write reviews for the Montecito Journal. I knew it!” “No, I was there because my daughterin-law Ashley was one of the performers.” “How’d she do?” “She was amazing. They all were.” “Reviewer. Reviewer. Reviewer.” Sigh. Anyway, the lyrics sum up my life somedays: “Mister Cellophane, should have been my name, ‘cause you look right through me, walk right by me, and never know I’m there.’” I had Alexa play it for the third time. It made me want to dance, so after dipping, shuffling and falling several times, I worked up a sweat and decided to take a shower. My wife was watching some weird show on her computer as I undressed and told her about my day. Suddenly, there was applause coming from her computer and the actors seemed like they were looking at me. “It’s my Zoom yoga class,” Pat said. “Might as well take a bow.” I ran from the room. In the background I heard someone ask Pat: “Who was that unmasked man?” “No idea,” Pat said.

- Mother Teresa

22 Montecito JOURNAL

“Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not themselves, those who work hard and play hard.” – Colin Powell

Ernie Witham has been writing humor for more than 25 years. He is the author of three humor books and is the humor workshop leader at the prestigious Santa Barbara Writers Conference.

8 – 15 February 2024

FROM THE GROUND UP Over the years, civil disobedience has played a key role in bringing about change in our society. Its success has been proven over and over again. Henry David Thoreau, Susan B Anthony, Rosa Parks, Eugene Debs, Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Cameron Kasky and their followers have demonstrated that marches, sit-ins, and strikes are crucial elements in the effort to oppose oppressive policies and improve fairness and justice in society. We hope that our film, From The Ground Up helps to rekindle that spirit in these tumultuous times. View the trailer here >>>>>>>> 8 – 15 February 2024

www.film-fromthegroundup.com Montecito JOURNAL

Robert’s Big Questions Altruism, Evolution and Religion? by Robert Bernstein

Happy Valentine’s Day

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ack in July 2006 I watched a BookTV interview with Francis Collins, talking about his book The Language of God. At the time, Collins was Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute; the massive government project to map the human genome, initiated by President Clinton. Privately funded projects actually reached much of the goal first, though not entirely. Collins said that as a biologist he was not especially religious and that he firmly believed in evolution. But one day he had an epiphany: Evolution could not account for altruism. People who sacrificed for the good of others would be eliminated from the gene pool in favor of those who are selfish. At that moment I had an epiphany: The director of one of the largest publicly funded research projects in history… had never heard of “Google”! A simple Google search at the time for “altruism” and “evolution” would have revealed millions of hits! I was reminded of this recently while listening to an interview by Skeptics Society Executive Director Michael Shermer with Chris Anderson, who is CEO of TED Talks. TED Talks are a forum for leading minds in Technology, Entertainment and Design. Their slogan: “Ideas Worth Spreading.” To attend a TED talk, you have to be personally invited. And you then have to pay tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege of attending. Or, you can watch them free online! How is that possible? Anderson was born to British parents living in Pakistan. His father was an eye surgeon and evangelical Christian. Anderson never questioned his belief in God, because he needed that to explain altruism. Until, apparently, he discovered Google and realized there were other explanations! Anderson evangelizes his discovery in his new book Infectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading. It turns out there are many ways that evolution favors altruism. In 2009 neuroscientist Sam Harris issued his commentary “The Strange Case of Francis Collins,” which is free online. Collins claimed that humans uniquely obey “moral law.” Harris wrote, “While no other species can match us for altruism, none can match us for sadistic cruelty either.” Harris went on: “What if mice showed greater distress at the suffering of familiar mice than unfamiliar ones? (They do.) What if monkeys will starve themselves

“One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.” – James Earl Jones

to prevent their cage-mates from receiving painful shocks? (They will.)” Such religious exceptionalist nonsense leads to our obsessing over a few human cells in a Petri dish (obstructing stem cell research) or uterus (absurd abortion bans) – while happily eating factory farmed animals suffering horrific cruelty. So, how did altruism evolve? One might ask how we evolved to write poetry or send rockets to the moon. These are secondary effects of evolving other valuable traits. Helping others often takes little away from ourselves. Living in a community, there is a mutual benefit of altruism, benefiting all genes in that community. “Free riders” (see my recent article) may even be kicked out of the community. Meaning, if you are not altruistic, you may die. In small communities, many neighbors are also relatives, as my wife experienced growing up with hundreds of relatives in the area. Helping your community is a form of evolutionary “kin selection.” Harris noted that Collins uniquely picked the Christian sect of “a Methodist minister who lived down the street.” Collins didn’t bother to investigate other world religions. At the time, Collins was up for nomination to head up the $30 billion a year budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He got the nomination. Do you think that would have happened if Collins had picked evangelical Islam or Hinduism instead? Some claim that to be truly altruistic, an action has to be anonymous. It can’t be about virtue signaling to boost your ego and reputation. But Sam Harris points out that public acts of altruism can inspire your friends to altruism. Magnifying your altruistic act. When I donate blood, I feel good about directly helping others. When I donate to “Health Care for All” I feel good about helping others in the long run. Does that make me selfish? I don’t think so. I am just fulfilling my evolutionary destiny!

Robert Bernstein holds degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UCSB. His passion to understand the Big Questions of life, the universe and to be a good citizen of the planet. Visit facebook. com/questionbig

8 – 15 February 2024

Brilliant Thoughts Crossing Over by Ashleigh Brilliant

he River Jordan is celebrated in many “spiritual” songs. Most of us have heard lines like:

Jordan river blessed but cold – Chills the body, but not the soul. “Crossing Jordan” has long been seen as a metaphor for going to Heaven. It all goes back to the Biblical account of that River having to be crossed by the Children of Israel (after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness) before they could enter the Promised Land. Of course, there is still – and always has been – a real Jordan River. Today it separates part of Israel from the country of Jordan (which used to be called TransJordan.) And I personally have both pleasant and unpleasant memories of my own crossings of that river. On the first occasion (in 1953), I was with a group of Jewish students spending a summer in Israel. When we visited the Sea of Galilee (which Israelis call Lake Kinneret) two of us decided to explore the area from which the Jordan flowed south. What we found was that, where it “began,” the river was only a few meters wide, and easy to swim across, which we did. In those days, the water was still quite clear, and good for swimming. On a subsequent visit, some 30 years later, I was dismayed to see how polluted that whole area had become – with the shore of the Lake lined with washed-up litter. That second visit was with a non-sectarian organization called “Earthstewards,” which was dedicated to international peace-making, and our purpose at that time was to help improve the relations between Israel and her Arab neighbors by

having overnight stays at homes on both sides of the border. We started by flying directly from the U.S. to Amman, capital city of the Kingdom of Jordan. There, in the Royal Palace our group of 12 had a “private audience” with the Queen, whose name was Noor – an attractive young woman who had actually grown up in America. She spoke to us about Jordan’s desire to be at peace with all other countries. Then, before we were dismissed, her husband King Hussein (who was much shorter) came in with a smile and made a few friendly remarks. After overnights with local families, we spent the next day visiting Jordan’s biggest tourist attraction – the ancient city of Petra, with fantastic buildings carved out of solid rock. But from there my River Jordan crossing – on a bridge to Israel – turned out to be far from holy. At the Israeli checkpoint there was a customs inspection, which I expected would be a mere formality since I had only a backpack. But it was found to contain contraband, which was seized and confiscated! What illicit substance was I attempting to smuggle into Israel?... a few beautiful apples, which I had brought all the way from California to eat on the journey. When I protested, I was reminded that America also had customs officers similarly trained to prevent fruit (and potential fruit diseases) from being imported. But the thought of “going over Jordan” came back to me some time later, in a very different setting – the foothills of the Himalayas. I was with a group of American tourists visiting Nepal, and one night our destination was a hotel, where we were very eager to dine and rest after a long, uncomfortable day of bus travel. But to our dismay, we found

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that the hotel was on an island in a lake – and the only way to reach it was by means of a “ferry” consisting of a very primitive wooden raft. On this dubious vessel, upon which we were all crowded with our luggage, there wasn’t even a railing to protect anyone from falling into the water. There was no motor, and the only propulsion was in the form of one ferryman pulling on a rope, which was attached to either shore. This form of transportation would surely never have passed any safety inspection in our comfortable Western world. But here I did something which, happily, lifted everybody’s spirits. I started singing that Jordan-crossing spiritual about rowing the boat ashore, which several others knew, and joined in on. One member of our group was a rather large lady, who listened to the song, but didn’t

8 – 15 February 2024

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“Jordan river deep and wide – Milk and honey on the other side.” “Milk and honey!” she said – “Is that all?” Ashleigh Brilliant born England 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, to the Montecito Journal in 2016. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. email: ashleigh@west. net. web: www.ash leighbrilliant.com.

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join in. I’ll never forget her comment after we sang the verse that says:

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Feb 12 Therapist and Educator

Resmaa Menakem

Setting a Course for Healing Historical and Racialized Trauma Mon, Feb 12 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall $20 / FREE for UCSB students “[Menakem] activates the wisdom of elders, and very new science, about how all of us carry in our bodies the history and traumas behind everything we collapse into the word ‘race.’” – Krista Tippett, On Being Known for his New York Times bestseller My Grandmother’s Hands and his Guerrilla Muse podcast, cultural trauma navigator Resmaa Menakem is the challenging yet compassionate coach we all need in this time of racial reckoning and near-global dysregulation.

Feb 23

Launching UCSB’s Campus Decarbonization Study Project as Part of the Task Force for a Fossil-free UC

Climatologist and Geophysicist

Michael E. Mann

Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons From Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis Fri, Feb 23 / 7:30 PM UCSB Campbell Hall / FREE (registration recommended) “[Mann] shows us how we can take the bold steps we must alltake together to win the battle to save this planet.” – Greta Thunberg

Apr 3 Economist and Former U.S. Secretary of Labor

Robert B. Reich

What Really Happened to the American Dream? (And How Can it be Restored?) Wed, Apr 3 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall / Tickets start at $20 FREE for UCSB students (registration required; limited availability) “One of the 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the 20th century.” Time magazine Robert B. Reich examines widening inequalities of income, wealth and political power, and expertly shows how restoring equal opportunity is critical for all Americans.

(805) 893-3535 Granada | www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 899-2222 | www.GranadaSB.org

26 Montecito JOURNAL

8 – 15 February 2024

Abraham Verghese

Feb 21

in Conversation with Pico Iyer

Wed, Feb 21 / 7:30 PM Arlington Theatre (note new venue) Tickets start at $25 / $10 UCSB students “Like Chekhov, Verghese is a doctor and is as authoritative about the workings of the human heart as he is of the human body.” The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) The acclaimed author of New York Times bestselling novels The Covenant of Water and Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese is a prominent voice in medicine and a recipient of the National Humanities Medal.

Speaking with Pico Series Sponsors: Martha Gabbert, Siri & Bob Marshall, and Laura & Kevin O’Connor

Feb 25

Leila Josefowicz, violin John Novacek, piano

Sun, Feb 25 / 4 PM (note special time) UCSB Campbell Hall Tickets start at $25 / $15 UCSB students

“Josefowicz is magnificent… whether negotiating ferocious technical challenges or playing with gentle lyrical wonder.” The Strad (U.K.)

Program Debussy: Violin Sonata in G Minor, L. 140 Szymanowski: Mythes, op. 30 Erkki-Sven Tüür: Conversio for Violin and Piano Stravinsky: Divertimento from Le Baiser de la fée

Event Sponsor: Luci & Rich Janssen Celebrating 32 Years in Santa Barbara

Two Nights! Two Amazing Programs!

Hael Somma, Chamonix, photo by Antoine Mesnage

Feb 27 & 28

Tue, Feb 27 & Wed, Feb 28 / 7:30 PM / Arlington Theatre $18 / $14 UCSB students and youth (18 & under) An Arlington facility fee will be added to each ticket price

Curated and hosted by Roman Baratiak, A&L Associate Director Emeritus

Major Local Sponsor: Justin Brooks Fisher Foundation The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour is presented by Banff & Lake Louise Tourism and Rab and is sponsored by Buff, Oboz, YETI, Kicking Horse Coffee, World Expeditions, The Lake Louise Ski Resort & Summer Gondola, Lowe Alpine, and Happy Yak

(805) 893-3535 | www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu Arlington event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 963-4408 | 8 – 15 February 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Elizabeth’s Appraisals Bust of Vigée Le Brun by Elizabeth Stewart

M sends me a photo of a terra cotta bust (at 30” tall) of a gorgeous young French female of the late 18th century. Her beauty is classic even today: flowing hair, effortless smile, full cheeks, upturned almond shaped eyes, a heart-shaped face. Madame Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842) was not only one of the most beautiful women of her time, but she was Europe’s most celebrated oil portrait artist. If the bust is original to 1783, it is worth $40,000, if it is a 19th century reproduction, $4,000. This image of Vigée Le Brun was created by the most notable sculptor of the time for portrait busts, Augustin Pajou (1730-1809). A portrait bust in clay was ‘la haute mode’ of the late 18th century, and many noble personages were depicted in clay as a bust on a marble stand – most notable Madame du Barry and Marie-Antoinette, also created by this celebrated sculptor. Vigée Le Brun was 28 when she sat for this bust, created by Pajou to commemorate her admission into the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1783 – one of only five female artists that had been allowed to become an ‘academician’ during the course of 50 years of French painting, which meant that she could show her work at the Salons and Galleries of late 18th century France.

Bust of the indomitable Vigée Le Brun

Because she was both beautiful – and rare – as a female portrait artist, she garnered the attention of MarieAntoinette, entering French high society. In the 1780s she became personal portrait painter to Marie-Antoinette and the Queen’s close confidant. Not only was Vigée Le Brun well connected, she was well respected. The head of the British Royal Academy, Joshua Reynolds, called Vigée Le Brun one of

the greatest portrait painters of all time. Although not recognized until the 20th century, Vigée Le Brun was the most important portrait painter of the Ancien Régime – in her career she painted 660 notable personages. Her most notable works are portraits of herself and her daughter, Julie (nicknamed “Brunette”). The mother-daughter saga of how and why Vigée Le Brun documented Julie in her paintings is remarkable. For example, in 1787, Vigée Le Brun caused a scandal at the Royal Academy, contravening all portraiture conventions by painting a portrait of herself with a broad smile – showing teeth! And her three-year-old daughter, smiling too! A toothy smile was considered scandalous in art, and a mother-daughter image was also not “high” art. In 1787, Vigée submitted three portraits of her daughter to the French Royal Academy. One, a poignant Julie Le Brun as Flora, portrayed Julie as the Goddess of Flowers – the same mythological creature who will soon (against the mother’s wishes) be abducted by Zephyr and lost. If Vigée was foreseeing the future, she picked the right goddess: Julie married against her mother’s wishes shortly thereafter, and parted company with her mother. Vigée Le Brun was herself a force to be reckoned with from an early age. Her mother insisted that she be wed at age 20; but she had been painting portraits and earning her own money since she was 13. So why marry? She did marry an older man (an art dealer!) who enjoyed gambling and other women: the marriage was not successful (and she kept her maiden name). She asked for a divorce after 15 years of marriage; she demanded her parent’s money – her

bride dowry – back (unheard of ) and remained single. She lived and worked in revolutionary France. A celebrity artist who painted titled individuals in the early 1780s was thought to be on the ‘side’ of the monarchy, and Vigée Le Brun was pursued in 1789 by angry mobs. She escaped France with her daughter and nanny to Italy dressed in shabby clothing travelling in an old cart. She quicky became the darling of any city she visited in Europe: Vigée Le Brun painted the great crowned heads of Europe for 12 years as an émigrée. While painting in Venice in 1793, France came to call on her again. Napoleon Bonaparte captured Venice and all Venetian bank assets, including Vigée Le Brun’s money. In spite of a tumultuous existence, she lived a long life, returning to France to author books on her art and techniques. A remarkable artist who was ahead of her time as both a painter and a woman, she had to wait for contemporary recognition until 1982 when her first retrospective was held at the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, followed by her International Retrospective at the MET in 2016.

Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is a veteran appraiser of fine art, furniture, glass, and other collectibles, and a cert. member of the AAA and an accr. member of the ASA. Please send any objects to be appraised to Elizabethappraisals@ gmail.com

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8 – 15 February 2024

Your Westmont

Nominations Now Open

Teen Mathematics Contest Turns 35

Scan here to nominate and learn more!

or visit SBFoundation.org/PYNominations

Nominations Close February 23

Top high school “mathletes” will compete Feb. 10 (courtesy photo)

by Scott Craig

estmont’s 35th annual Mathematics Field Day features students from nine regional high schools in a friendly competition Saturday, Feb. 10, in Winter Hall at 1 pm. Alphan Altinok, a senior data scientist at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, will speak about “Mathematics of Artificial Intelligence” at the awards banquet at 5:30 pm in the Global Leadership Center. The event, directed by Westmont mathematics professor Anna Aboud, features student teams from Carpinteria, Cate, Dos Pueblos, La Canada, Laguna Blanca, Oaks Christian School, San Marcos, Santa Barbara and Thacher high schools. The event includes college bowls with buzzers, written exams, and Chalk Talks with student presentations. This year the Chalk Talk, a 10-12-minute presentation, is about figurate numbers, which are numbers that can be represented by a regular geometrical arrangement of equally spaced points.

GLADly Teaching Technical Skills for Life On a rural farm in Kenya in a series of mud buildings — known as the Shire and resembling a small Hobbiton — youth from the Nairobi slums learn to program software. For 10 weeks, they live in clean rooms with water, electricity, and comfortable beds as they study computers and the beautiful natural environment. Ben and Alicia Burns Eastvold (’01 and ’04, respectively) launched this pilot project for GLAD Technology in summer 2023 to equip Kenyans for careers in software and web development. It extends GLAD’s work in the Sacramento area that helps refugees and other disadvantaged communities gain technical skills and find jobs. 8 – 15 February 2024

“We seek to make technology education and training more equitable,” Ben says. “We host introductory coding classes, a three-month career-oriented web development boot camp, and workshops on resumé writing and interviewing skills. We’re building a community of learners and professionals who support and encourage each other.” Ben worked in education and technology at a private school in Sacramento before seeking a change and a way to give back. He and Alicia knew people running a youth mentorship program in Kenya, and they took their two daughters there in 2019 to teach Kenyans about computers. But the pandemic cut their time short. Back home, Ben worked for Bread of Life, a spiritual direction center, before he and Alicia founded GLAD in 2022. The initials stand for giving, learning and development; the nonprofit’s three key functions. “Being in Kenya and closer to the needs changes you,” Ben says. “It brings more empathy and understanding as you hear the stories and understand the need. You can’t look at your life in the same way.” “There’s no safety net in Kenya,” Alicia says. “Young adults want to support their parents and families, but the lack of education, computers and job opportunities hampers them.” “When we advertised in Kenya, we

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The Eastvold family in Kenya (courtesy photo)

Montecito JOURNAL

NAMM 2024 Part II: Top Four Education Tracks

Our Town (Continued from 20 20))

Here are some highlighted talks from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show that recently took place. Joan Kee discusses the importance of Alan Copeland’s photograph of Kathleen Cleaver and its Chinese poster supporting Black Americans (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

like a Dymaxion map does and can be tiled in any direction without seams. The map projection tries to reflect an infinite perspective of the world. Kee stated, “Geography itself is unfixed. Asia and Africa used to be depicted to the public as uninhabitable and places to be conquered, yet the art shows us differently. Artists were joined by an interest to learn about other parts of the world, and defined set cultural interconnections. Artwork is allowed to exceed what politics says we can’t.” She presented selected art works from the 1600s through 2013 for their historical juxtaposition with world events. The art highlighted a range of diverse intermingling of cultural, social, and political situations of Afro Asian peoples. Most famously impactful is the 1968 photograph of Kathleen Cleaver, at the Black Panther Party office San Francisco, CA, standing in front of a Chinese poster by Cao Youcheng whose title is, “Firmly Support US Black People’s Just Struggle against Racial Discrimination”. The photo was taken by Alan Copeland. Here, one notes the Chinese statement that the Black struggle is a global struggle. Other works discussed were Jaspar Beckx, Dom Miguel de Castro, c. 1643; Archita Ricci, Portrait of Hasekura Tsunenaga, c.1615; William H. Johnson, For India and China, c. 1944-1945; Marc Riboud, photos of wife Barbara Chase-Riboud in Mongolia; Chinese artists Biduan Wu and Shangyi Jin’s Chairman Mao Standing with People of Asia, Africa and Latin America, c. 1961; and Howardena Pindell’s, Autobiography: East/West (Gardens), c. 1963. In concluding the lecture, Kee showed a clip from the 2013 Studio CAMP film titled, From Gulf to Gulf. She then fielded questions from the audience, and suggested that additional artists to study on Afro Asian art are Alexandre Keto who inspires students to explore their African Roots, and Kandis Williams on contemporary critical theory including racial-nationalism, authority, and eroticism. Kee shared her next book is on emojis, “I just have to do it.” She has been submitting a request for a kimchi emoji with Unicode annually for nine years and will continue till it is accepted. She is also working on a script for a six-episode TV series on MoMA. Kee is a contributing editor at Artforum, an editor at large for the Brooklyn Rail, and on the advisory boards of Art History, the Oxford Art Journal, Modernism/modernity, and Art Margins. Generous support for Art Matters is provided by the SBMA Women’s Board. 411: www.sbma.net/learn/adultprograms/artmatters

30 Montecito JOURNAL

In Conversation with The Immediate Family

The Immediate Family is a super group of famed session musicians Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Steve Postell. Their work includes James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Keith Richards, Carole King, Stevie Nicks, Don Henley, Billy Joel, David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, Phil Collins, film, live theatre, and countless other credits. Also on the panel was filmmaker Denny Tedesco (director of The Wrecking Crew film) who directed the new documentary on them, release date February. I interviewed Tedesco on The Wrecking Crew film, which he presented at the Alcazar in 2014. This second group of session musicians follows suit. With the presentation, clips from The Immediate Family film were shown and a few songs off their new LP, “Skin in The Game.” Forbes’ music editor Steve Baltin moderated the session. Points of interest: Skylar credited the late Lisa Roy of Rock & Roy Entertainment, for the band getting together and doing the documentary with Tedesco. The musicians all said they were happy to be doing session work together for 50 years and it is like a family and they refused to talk about the pranks they have done. They just thought about their present and future music work, and the film made them really look back on their careers; it was natural for them to be a band at this point. Postell talked about getting David Crosby to comment on the film; Tedesco commented that all the people asked to talk about these artists for the film were on board in one phone call because of the love they had for them. The audience Q&A provided the band the opportunity to talk about musicianship. They advised if one wants to be a musician, in addition to practicing, going out to listen to other musicians, playing with other musicians and having “skin in the game,” not sitting at home alone making music by yourself and a computer. The band is performing February 14 at the Lobero Theatre.

Keeping up with Innovation: Who Should Control the Right to Remix?

The astute panel was Tony Berman, Berman Entertainment Technology Law; Kenji Nakai, mixer/recording engineer/producer/engineer (L.A.); Bob Clearmountain, mixer (Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Grammy awarded); Ryan Ulyate (Tom Petty, George Harrison); Chris Lord-Alge, five-time Grammy-award winning American mix engineer; and artist Stanley Jordan. It was moderated by Heather Rafter, attorney. Clearmountain explained this session was prompted when the album, Sports by Huey Lewis and the News – which he mixed in the ‘80s – was remixed for Atmos by Universal Music in 2023. The issue was the band did not really know what Atmos was. He ended up remixing two full albums for no pay to correct all the mistakes Universal made paying someone from Atmos. He said, “If the label owns the masters, can they do whatever they want? No matter what the law and contract says, I think it’s unethical. The label should not be doing it without the artist, producer, and the mixer.” Lord-Alge agreed adding, “The subject is remixing, and the artists have no rights because they signed their work to the label. I want every artist to pull away from the labels and streamers, for artists to own their own masters, and redo those contracts. The artist needs to approve of anything that has to do with their song, their master,

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali

8 – 15 February 2024

their record. Apple needed content so they funneled money to the labels to get it.” They discussed The Beatles remix using AI to pull John Lennon’s voice for the reissue of “Now and Then” as an allowable use of AI to make an authentic Beatles song with the original band members. Jordan said he was never told about a song remix that dropped out a full guitar part, until he heard it in Canada, saying, “What an artist creates is sacred and they need to take care of it.” Berman reviewed artist contracts to include “Protective Licensing Provisions” for unapproved use of AI, Derivative Works and Marketing Restrictions. Other recommendations were to join the Human Artistry Campaign against AI, and have NAMM lobby for artists’ contracts.

Society (Continued from 14 14))

Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association Vinyl Record Manufacturers Association (VRMA) session detailed info on cutting and recording for vinyl. VRMA is a professional trade association of independent businesses committed to the craft of vinyl record manufacturing with members in the vinyl biz from Oxnard, CA, to the U.K. The sale of Vinyl Records has seen continual growth year-over-year for the past 17 years. The year 2022 was the first time in over 30 years that vinyl record sales surpassed the sale of CDs. Luminate’s 2023 mid-year report showed a 21.7% increase in vinyl sales in the United States. The panel explained how vinyl records are made, and how to record music for vinyl.

Amp Up Your Music Artist Rights Session panel: Tony Berman, Kenji Nakai, Bob Clearmountain, Ryan Ulyate, Heather Rafter, Chris Lord-Alge, and Stanley Jordan (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Lynn Whitaker, Martha Gebhardt, Heidi Holly, and Maria Porter (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Zaria Ortiz, Jeanne West, and David Mares (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

there is no place like the Friendship Center, which is why there should be more of them.” After Motter, a video interview was shown with Sir Robert Antonini, a 97-year young member of the Friendship Center with Sinclair. He is a WWII veteran and has no local family members. He said, “I just like to go to Friendship Center to be with people, it is a great outlet for people my age. To go where people appreciate you. There are lots of activities that keep you young. I like bingo because you have to search for the numbers, and there is dancing, classes on different things, singing and bike rides. Thank God it’s there.” From there Moorman led the live auction and the ask, raising approximately

$20k. If you missed the event and wish to donate, check the 411. 411: www.friendshipcentersb.org/

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

Amp Up Your Music session was a panel of industry experts weighing in on presenting and promoting your finished album. It was moderated by studioexpresso’s Claris Sayadian-Dodge and Brad Lunde of the TransAudio Group. Speakers were Brent Fischer (Beyoncé, Elvis Costello), Ian Charbonneau (Eric Clapton, Neil Young), and Ryan Ulyate (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers). Advice was given on how to prepare and create their brand, create opportunities to grow markets and a fan base, performing in settings from clubs to stadiums, interfacing with fans and audiences, staying healthy on the road, and band rehearsing tips. The panel shared their relatable work stories as examples of strategies that did and did not work, including Ulyate’s newly-released Grammy-nominated album titled, ACT3. Fischer provided while touring to find out where the locals buy basic needs, don’t use the hotel, don’t use fast food, be prepared for sound-check before the show, take care of yourself don’t leave it to your promoter, and be well rested and well-fed so it does not affect your performance. 411: www.namm.org/thenammshow

Filmmaker Denny Tedesco and The Immediate Family Band: Danny Kortchmar, Steve Postell, Russ Kunkel, and Leland Sklar [missing Waddy Wachtel] (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

8 – 15 February 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

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blurted out the word “seductive” to my wife recently, though I was actually describing a wine we were sharing. The 2014 Pas de Deux ($65 at kukkulawine.com) from the Kukkula winery in Paso Robles’s Adelaida District is a 50-50 blend of syrah and grenache, a combination I love. This bottling was extra special, though, for its curves, its fleshiness and its voluptuousness. The age – 10 years – has a lot to do with it. My wife, though momentarily disappointed that the remark wasn’t directed at her, acquiesced. And when I followed up with winemaker Kevin Jussila, he agreed with me, too! Compared to when it was released seven years ago, the wine “feels more seductive, and rounder” now, he says, “with perhaps a stronger sense of its earthiness intertwined with the opulent fruit.” Jussila says the vintage year plays a role here, too – adding that the 2014 vintage “was a harvest that created a riper feel to both

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The seductive Kukkula 2014 Pas de Deux

“One thing is clear to me: We, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.” – Barbara Jordan

varietals, so the fruit on both really stand out.” But to me, this wine – with its leather aromas and jammy flavors – is a delicious reminder of how aging a quality wine in bottle can elevate it and even give it sex appeal. Or maybe I just have Valentine’s Day on the mind. The team at Lucas & Lewellen Vineyards in Solvang are thinking about Cupid, too. They sent out an email last week spotlighting their Sweetheart’s Syrah ($36, though discounted to just $20 through Valentine’s Day atllwine.com), a wine they tout for “anyone who craves a rich, dark, gorgeous red with all the seductive power of its romantic Rhone heritage.” There’s that word again. So, with the year’s most romantic night right around the corner, I thought I’d reach out to a few friends who drink wine for a living to weigh in. I asked them – what do you think makes a wine sexy and alluring? And which wine would be the perfect pour between lovers on Valentine’s Day?

The Ritz-Carlton Bacara Santa Barbara “In the realm of romantic dinners, wine transcends its role as a mere libation – it orchestrates a shared moment, whisking each individual to poignant memories,” muses Raman Sood, Bacara’s new Director of Food and Beverage. “The ideal wine, with its aromatic allure and nuanced palate, becomes the enchanting companion, enhancing not only the culinary delight but also the bond with cherished company, etching everlasting memories on the canvas of a perfect Valentine’s evening.” His Valentine’s pick off the Bacara wine list is the Story of Soil Gold Coast Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir ($55), which he eloquently touts as “a testament to winemaker Jessica Gasca’s devotion.” The wine “whispers notes of raspberry and delicate rose petals,” he continues, and “its character is defined by a sturdy backbone of structure and invigorating acidity.” Bacara’s ocean view Angel Oak restaurant is offering a specially curated prix fixe dinner menu ($140) for Valentine’s night, complete with live music and surprises. Got kids? They’re making date night happen with a Ritz Kids Valentine’s Bash ($75) – dinner and a movie – for children ages 4 to 12, from 5-8 pm that night. Check out bacararesort.com

8 – 15 February 2024

Kimpton Canary Hotel

“It’s the story behind the label that makes a wine sexy to me,” admits Christine Tran, the Director of Food and Beverage at the Kimpton Canary’s Finch & Fork Restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara. “Every wine has a story to tell, whether it’s the producer, the winemaker, the vineyard, the soil, the vintage – each bottle is unique in itself. And to share those stories with a loved one is what makes moments like Valentine’s Day unforgettable.” Found on the restaurant’s wine list, she calls Flying Goat Cellars’ Goat Bubbles Brut Cuvée ($25/glass) the “perfect bottle to pop for Valentine’s Day.” Made by Norm Yost, a sparkling wine pioneer in Santa Barbara County, with a destination tasting room in Lompoc, it’s produced in the traditional methode champenoise style. “These beautiful bubbles will take you to another world,” says Tran, “inspired by hints of lemon zest, white peaches, golden pears, and French brioche.” Finch & Fork is featuring a threecourse “Wild About You” prix fixe menu ($110) on Valentine’s Day, with dishes like Eggplant Parmesan and Striped Seabass, and Crispy Cinnamon Churros, Salted Chocolate Tart and Central Coast Olive Oil Cake for dessert. See the options at finchandforkrestaurant.com

San Ysidro Ranch “The ideal wine for a romantic meal serves as the final puzzle piece that complements the flavors of the food, enhances the atmosphere, and resonates with your companion,” insists Tristan Pitre, the Wine Collections and Restaurants Manager at the San Ysidro Ranch. “Wine holds sentimental value; recall the beverage from your first date, wedding night, or that special vacation in Paris, and seek out those bottles for a nostalgic sip down memory lane.” Picked from the resort’s award-winning underground cellar, Pitre chooses bubbles from Matthias Pippig, the man behind the cultish Sanguis label whose “recent foray into sparkling wines produced in the Columbia Gorge have been some of the most compelling wines I have tasted in the past year.” A bottling named Still Waters, which is available in the marketplace through allocation (at themissoulaflood.com) – “achieves a delightful dryness, coupled with richness and texture, rendering it a versatile companion for a wide array of dishes.” The Ranch’s Stonehouse Restaurant is presenting a four-course dining experience on Valentine’s night ($260, plus $150 for wine pairings), with entrée options like Truffle Honey-Glazed Duck Breast and Petite Center-Cut Filet Mignon, flambéed tableside. If you don’t want to leave after dessert, the Romance at the Ranch Package ($5,000) sets you up with accommodations, a four8 – 15 February 2024

course candlelit dinner and several romantic extras; couples also get to pick an activity, like horseback riding or couples’ massage. Go to www.sanysidroranch.com

El Encanto, A Belmond Hotel “The attraction of a wine all starts at its color,” suggests Wayne Duprey, the Food & Beverage Director at Santa Barbara’s El Encanto, but “the aromas and the acidity is what makes it really sexy. Aromas are seductive, and when people are dialed in, they smell a lot more than fruit and alcohol. [And] acidity in wine sets off your saliva glands and can really get you feeling all warm inside.” Duprey touts Dreamcôte’s 2022 Carbonic “Whole Berry” Pinot Noir ($34) as a “perfect” Valentine’s Day wine. The handwork of winemaker Brit Zotovich; “the color is just right,” he says. “This is a skin-contact pinot noir where you can almost taste the leaves and stems, making it a gorgeous food pairing for almost anything. It has seductive aromas and that teasing acidity that I’m always looking for.” On February 14, the hotel’s main eatery, The Dining Room, offers a six-course Tasting Menu with items like Filet Mignon, served with a Medjool date parsnip purée, and California Abalone. That night only, there’s also a prix fixe, plant-based Vegan Menu. And on the days surrounding Valentine’s Day, from February 9-17, the culinary team is offering a three-course, prix fixe Romance Week Menu with various limited-time offerings. Pricing for all these meal experiences is $225 and includes bubbles on arrival.

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Montecito JOURNAL

The Giving List

Santa Barbara Symphony by Steven Libowitz

or the Santa Barbara Symphony, the 2023-24 season expresses a number of the outreach efforts in its mission: to enrich residents’ lives by producing and presenting the highest quality musical experiences, performed with artistic excellence and accessible to the entire community – as well as inspire a passion for symphonic music in the next generation of audience members, musicians, and funders. The symphony has been not only continuing but enhancing its tradition of collaborating with fellow arts organizations in town to create unique experiences for concert-goers while serving as a resource to its colleagues. Most significantly, the ensemble dipped deeply into the rock and roll canon by collaborating with the much beloved, Montecito-based classic rock band, Doublewide Kings, for an evening of the music of Van Morrison. The sold-out tribute concert – which featured the five-piece Kings backed by a chamber orchestra-sized ensemble conducted by

The Santa Barbara Symphony exalts the classics while leaving room for modernity and innovation (photo by Zach Mendez)

the symphony’s charismatic maestro Nir Kabaretti, and augmented by additional musicians and singers – was the first of its kind in Santa Barbara, and the audience roared with approval of the energy of the

band and the original orchestrations producing both big and subtle sounds. The New Year’s Eve concert brought a similar ethos to the stage of the Granada, with conductor and host Andrew Lipke – former longtime lead guitarist of a Led Zeppelin cover band – leading the orchestra in a clever thematic celebration about the passing of time with a set of pop, rock and Broadway classics. The festive evening also found Lipke trading the conductor’s baton for his guitar to play songs by Pink Floyd and a couple of his own creations. (The Symphony will have a big task topping that next December 31.) Back on the official season, the Symphony also found favor with fans of pop through a week-long artist residency with the innovative Grammy Award-winning string trio Time for Three, who played a spellbinding set in the intimate space of the Presidio Chapel in an evening hosted by the event’s sponsors, after which the engagement culminated in a pair of ambitious and well-received concerts at the Granada. Something similar is planned for May’s season-ending program boasting the prestigious pianist’s Marcus Roberts Trio, who will perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in a centennial celebration of the classic crossover composition. In another off-season endeavor, the Symphony was hired by State Street Ballet to perform the score for the company’s

first-ever production of Giselle in the fall. SSB’s spirit-filled romantic tale of innocent love, betrayal and ultimate redemption was infinitely improved by having live accompaniment by the orchestra vs. a typical presentation that features recorded music. Also in October, the Kabaretti-conducted Symphony partnered with four different local choral groups – Santa Barbara Choral Society, Santa Barbara City College’s Quire of Voyces, Westmont College Choir, and Adelfos Ensemble – to perform a program anchored by Beethoven’s beloved 9th symphony, with “Ode to Joy” ringing out in the Granada in magnificent splendor. In yet another very well received vocal venture this month, the Symphony featured soloists from Opera Santa Barbara, another of the Granada’s resident companies, to deliver selections from some of the most thrilling moments of grand opera by Verdi, Rossini, Puccini, Wagner, and others. Still to come in March: the Symphony’s nod to the glamor and nostalgia of Hollywood’s Golden Age via live performances of songs and soundtracks from Oscar-winning movies synchronized to the screening of the classic scenes on the Granada’s giant screen in tribute to Gone with the Wind, An American in Paris, The Wizard of Oz, and others.

The Giving List Page 424 424

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On Entertainment (Continued from 5) Known as Snowpea, Alice, Daisy, and Butterscotch Swirl, the cat is undoubtedly the star of the show, although we spend time in the film with a lot of familiar faces who each adore the feline. Nine Lives screens Feb. 13 & 16 as part of the Santa Barbara Documentary Shorts. Meanwhile, kitties of a different stripe (and with film titles just one letter apart) are featured in other documentary shorts programs at this year’s SBIFF. Save the Cat (Feb. 11 & 12) chronicles a group of strangers from around the world banding together to help a Ukrainian refugee family reunite with their cat; while Savi the Cat (Feb. 9 & 10) is a different sort of disruptor who wreaks humorous havoc on a couple’s home. These films will be shown as part of SBIFF’s Comic Shorts program.

New Names on the Marquee Late additions to the schedule include Annette Bening, who leapfrogged Barbie’s Margot Robbie to grab a Best Actress nod for Nyad, and also grabbed the last spot in SBIFF’s tributes. Bening will be profiled with the fest’s inaugural Arlington Award on February 16. Rounding out the panel participants, representatives of all 10 Oscar-nominated movies will populate the Producers Panel on February 10, while seven of the 10 screenwriting hopefuls will share insights about their approach at the Writers Panel, now held at night on February 12. Five more Academy-recognized artists discuss their craft at the Women’s Panel on February 17. Meanwhile, as expected, three musicians who will get SBIFF’s Artisan Award on February 11 claimed Grammys last weekend: Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas for penning Barbie’s “What Was I Made For?” and Oppenheimer composer Ludwig Göransson.

Puig’s Picks at SBIFF SBIFF Program Director Claudia Puig shared a few of her favorite films that will be unspooling over the next 10 days at the festival: Madu – I adore this movie with all my heart. It’s a documentary about a 12-yearold Nigerian kid who wants to be a ballet dancer, but there is no ballet in Nigeria. So he teaches himself, makes a video which goes viral, and is seen by a very prestigious school in England, who offers him a scholarship. There are so many highs and lows in the story it almost feels like a fiction film. It spans the spectrum of human experience – your heart is warmed, but there’s also some very difficult moments. (Played opening night but will likely have an additional screening.) That They May Face the Rising Sun – It’s an Irish film set in a rural lakeside community in the 1980s and it’s just beautiful. The acting is masterful, and the cinematography is striking. Suze – Every festival struggles with finding great comedies, because most submissions have darker and more substantial subjects. It’s also incredibly hard to make a movie that’s consistently funny for 90 minutes, but the good ones definitely resonate with an audience. Suze is really funny and very relatable. It’s about a single mom whose only daughter leaves for college, and somehow she gets stuck taking care of her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, whom she can’t stand. On Entertainment Page 434 434

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In Passing

Lillian Pierson Lovelace: September 9, 1927 – January 16, 2024

illian Pierson Lovelace, 96, wife, mother, and gracious philanthropist, died at her home in Montecito on Tuesday, January 16, her family announced. Born September 9, 1927, in Los Angeles, CA, Lillian Claire Pierson grew up in Santa Monica, the youngest child of George Mercer Pierson and Rena Waltz Pierson. She attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, from 1946-48, and then UCLA, studying psychology. In 1950, she married Jon B. Lovelace, who would go on to become Chairman of Capital Research and Management in 1964. The couple had four children, moving to Whittier, CA, in 1956 and Montecito in 1972. Her husband died in 2011. Lillian was involved with multiple organizations, starting with the League of Women Voters, of whose Whittier chapter she was The legacy of Lillian Lovelace lives on president from 1968-72. In the Los Angeles area, she actively supported the Museum of Contemporary Arts, of which she was a charter founder, Idyllwild Arts Foundation, the Los Angeles Master Chorale (whose director Grant Gershon called her “a legend”), and many individual artists and causes. In her early 60s, Lillian returned to Antioch (its Santa Barbara university campus), graduating in 1989. As a pivotal board member, Lillian used her quiet diplomatic skills to help facilitate the new structure between the university and the college. Lillian played an important role in many organizations in Santa Barbara, including UCSB Foundation, Foundation for SBCC, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Lobero Theatre, Granada Theatre, Ensemble Theater, Camerata Pacifica, Casa Serena, New Beginnings, Santa Barbara Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and Cottage Hospital. Lillian long retained a residence in Los Angeles. Her home, however, was in Montecito where there was a garden the Lovelaces built – full of native and drought-resistant plants, and with a legendary freeform pool designed to resemble a natural outcropping that one scholar called “unquestionably among the finest examples of western garden art of the late twentieth century.” Lillian also long supported the iconic 26-acre La Casa de Maria retreat center, and as late as 2023 attended meetings about the continuing rebuild project following the Montecito mudslides. “If you pass an institution making a difference and see a donor plaque with the listing ‘anonymous,’ chances are it was Lillian and Jon,” said Dr. Kurt Ransohoff, Sansum Clinic CEO and Chief Medical Officer. While preferring anonymity, in recent years Lillian, finally convinced that listing her name could empower others to donate, began to allow it – as with the Sansum Clinic’s Lovelace Fund for Medical Excellence and Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center at UCLA. Lillian Pierson Lovelace is survived by her four children, Carey, Jim, Jeff, and Rob; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A public memorial will be held in Los Angeles at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of the many organizations that Lillian so dearly loved.

“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou

8 – 15 February 2024

Your Westmont (Continued from 29 29))

Ben teaches computer skills to GLAD students (courtesy photo)

received 250 applications for 16 spots,” Ben says. “The need is overwhelming. People told us nothing like this exists in the country.” Drawing on their Westmont experience, the couple established a residential program where students learn and live together. “We wanted to provide a connected, holistic experience and be sensitive to the power dynamic,” Ben says. “We seek to create mutual relationships, since giving is a two-way street. We emphasize collaborative learning.” “We envisioned a boot camp based in the liberal arts that teaches critical thinking and adaptability,” Alicia says. In a community-based learning environment, we provide employable skills and give our students a hope for a better future. “The students needed to go further

than we could take them in 10 weeks. We challenged them to find ways to spend 20 hours a week studying for 12 more weeks. Could they get access to a computer or a cyber café? Could rural students overcome the lack of electricity? All 16 students found ways to continue, and Ben teaches sessions once a week.” Ben and Alicia met after graduating, he with a degree in computer science and she with majors in music and religious studies. Drawn to the analytical side of things, Alicia has worked as a nonprofit accountant and controller, skills she now uses for GLAD. The nonprofit focuses on both community and personal development. The couple also seek to develop GLAD and add full-time staff to serve more people, especially in Kenya. “I want to grow it bigger than myself so it’s not dependent on me,” Ben says.

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

How a Pioneering MRI ‘Signature’ Predicts Dementia Years Before Symptoms Develop

n a major step toward predicting dementia before its debilitating symptoms appear, researchers revealed an MRI ‘signature’ that could act as a warning, pinpointing the risk of getting the disease five to 10 years in advance. This unique biomarker not only offers early detection but also opens the door to treatment therapies that could potentially slow the evolution of this widespread ailment. Dementia, a silent disease that is becoming more prevalent as the world’s population ages, has prompted researchers to look for early detection methods. Researchers are examining the complex realm of brain MRIs, comparing scans from people with and without dementia. The goal is to discover a distinct ‘signature’ that could signal the danger of dementia long before symptoms appear. Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, in collaboration with UC Davis and Boston University, conducted a thorough investigation. They analyzed hundreds of brain MRIs to find a reliable dementia biomarker that could be applied to huge populations, providing hope for early detection and focused treatments. The researchers investigated the brain’s complexity, namely the thickness of gray matter in the cortex. The outer layer of the brain, which is rich in gray matter, is a mosaic of functional areas that control memory, reasoning, senses, and language. The findings revealed a consistent pattern: bigger ribbons were associated with a lower incidence of dementia, whereas thinner ribbons indicated a higher risk. Importantly, these insights transcended demographic distinctions. Whether in the ethnically varied California group or the primarily non-Hispanic white Massachusetts cohort, the relationship between cortical thickness and dementia risk was consistent. A potential universal application raises hopes for a uniform method of dementia prediction. Surprisingly, the researchers observed that cortical thickness was not genetically determined. This independence from genetic determinants allows modifiable factors such as nutrition and exercise to have a favorable impact on brain health. It represents a ray of optimism, implying that lifestyle changes may play an important role in lowering dementia risk. MRI’s simplicity and non-invasiveness make it a promising tool for predicting dementia. Claudia Satizabal, the study’s principal author, anticipates that “a person’s gray matter thickness might be analyzed as a percentile of the thickness of healthy people for that age.” This non-invasive metric has the potential to transform routine clinical practice. Want more positive news? Sign up for our daily newsletter on optimistdaily.com and start your day off right.

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There are bubbles on the mind of Rasmus Marquart, the Beverage Manager at Mattei’s; the luxe, recently-reimagined Auberge resort in Los Olivos. “A wellmade sparkling wine gives layers to explore and dream away to somewhere magical,” he says, and it “will be memorable when shared at the right place, with the right person, at the right time. At the same time, looking at the bubbles slowly rising in the glass is tremendously sexy and seductive.” Marquart features several regional bubblies on the Mattei’s list, and he specifically recommends the 2015 Sandhi Sta. Rita Hills Blanc de Blancs ($65) and the 2017 Pence Sta. Rita Hills Blanc

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de Blancs ($72), both chardonnay-based sparklers, for romantic sipping. Set in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley, Mattei’s has a special prix fixe Valentine’s night menu ($125, plus $65 for wine pairings) in addition to its regular offerings; the Tavern’s nightly dinner selections include faves like Duck Confit, Pork Chop & Beans and wood-fired Wagyu Bone-in Tomahawk. Beyond V-Day, look for their monthly wine experiences; on February 27th and 28th, several events will feature Staglin Vineyard from Napa Valley. More info at matteistavern.com

Cheers!

Gabe Saglie has been covering the Santa Barbara wine scene for more than 15 years through columns, TV, and radio. He’s a senior editor with Travelzoo and is a leading expert on travel deals, tips, and trends.

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Healthy Aging: What is it and what does it mean to you? by Deann Zampelli

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The Montecito Health Coach

hen my daughter was in kindergarten, she came home distraught because her teacher wanted all the students to share what they wanted to be when they grew up. She looked up at me with tear-filled eyes and said, “Mommy, I am only 5. How am I supposed to know that?” Exactly. At 5, or 55 why should we ever have to decide to “be” just one thing? I have unintentionally lived this philosophy, enjoying each stage of my life in different ways. After working in the entertainment industry for many years, I found my passion in the nonprofit world as a director for a charity that helped seriously and terminally ill children. Then, after my mother died of breast cancer, I needed something lighter to distract me from my grief, so a friend and I merged our love of animals with our love of fashion and created PuchiBag – handbags to carry little dogs – which became known for the pink bag in Legally Blonde. Ten years and 1,000 retail placements later, I took time off to have my children and sold my half of the business to her. However, when my kids were 3 and 5 years old, I realized that my brain needed a bit more stimulation, so I went back to school and got my master’s in clinical psychology. And while I enjoyed working with my clients, who were low-income seniors, I always felt that something was missing in the way I was able or allowed to help them. It wasn’t until I found the program at Duke Integrative Medicine and became a health coach that I realized what that missing piece was. I wanted to help them with their nutrition, sleep habits, stress management, exercise and so much more. At Montecito Coaching & Nutrition I help my clients to be the experts; on who they are and where they want to be while incorporating all these things. While my focus is on healthy aging, I have clients of all ages working on everything from cleaning up their diet to navigating life’s transitions such as bereavement, menopause, and empty nest syndrome. Healthy aging can have many different meanings. To me, it is continuing to challenge my brain by learning new things. It means getting my master’s degree as a mother with young children, starting a new career in mid-life, and not seeing limitations, but opportunities. And never viewing my age as a stop sign. Or even a yield. Denial is a very powerful antioxidant. And I don’t mean “denial” in the “I am really only 35” kind of way, but more in that I don’t walk around feeling my age one way or another. If someone were to ask me how old “I felt” – it might be 38, 45 or 24 depending on the day you catch me. (When I had COVID, I would have said 104.) For you, healthy aging might mean something completely different; being able to trek through Patagonia; total independence, never retiring, full mobility, freedom to make your own schedule, being medication-free or running on the beach with your dogs. The Japanese have a great word that seems to be a big piece of the healthy aging puzzle – ikigai – your reason for being. Your passion. What makes you get up in the morning. More and more studies are showing that it could be one of the biggest indicators of longevity. Do you feel needed each day? Are you stimulated? Would someone notice if you didn’t show up? The Blue Zones are getting more and more traction since the first publication of Dan Buettner’s groundbreaking book in 2008. It is a Netflix series, a cookbook, a lifestyle guide and even a home food delivery service. It isn’t a big surprise why this movement gained such traction and captured the imagination of aspiring centenarians worldwide. We all want to know what the secret is. To long life. To vitality. To living better. To being Trained at Duke Integrative Medicine, Deann has healthier. So we keep reading. We a broad range of clients working on everything from keep watching. We keep learning. weight loss to improving their ultra-marathon pace. Aging is a gift, after all. Healthy She also has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and aging is a choice. has been a resident of Montecito since 2006.

“One important key to success is self–confidence. An important key to self–confidence is preparation.” – Arthur Ashe

8 – 15 February 2024

Beings & Doings (Continued from 6)

When fleeing horrific Body Snatchers, dress is “cocktail casual” (courtesy photo)

weldüngschpetzl. You want the traditionalist big shots; your Eastwoods and Lancasters and Newmans and Monroes, gazing meaningfully at each other and remembering their lines. Ho hum! Well – as it happens, many of today’s Hollywood legends and show biz asterisks got their start in the papier-mâché-and-zippers monster movie biz. Before Sergio Leone aggrandized Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name, Clint was that Fighter Pilot with No Name, pouring hot lead into a tarantula the size of Milwaukee. The movie? Tarantula (pick up the pace here, people). Future game show smarm-charmer Bert Convy got lethally cracked with a frying pan and turned into a statue in horror-spendthrift Roger Corman’s Bucket of Blood. Before his four-decade stage-run as folksy American humorist Will Rogers, James Whitmore earned his screaming thespian stripes in the

8 – 15 February 2024

An Independent Mind (Continued from 18 18)) jaws of a wooden-looking giant ant in Them. Writers and directors? Exalted Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne got his start scribing for such Corman fare as Creature from the Haunted Sea. Francis Ford Coppola was a UCLA grad looking for movie work when self-same budget horror maestro Roger Corman took him on as an assistant. A decade later, Corman’s kind gesture brought us Coppola’s The Godfather. What insufferable snobbery to venerate James Dean weeping on Raymond Massey’s unyielding shoulder in East of Eden and ignore the fine work of Jason Evers dialoging with his girlfriend’s cantankerous severed head in The Brain that Wouldn’t Die. And what about Donald Pleasence being eaten by that gigantic white corpuscle in Fantastic Voyage? One can forgive a more generous production budget when it pays for a house-sized, madly-devouring white corpuscle.

“Madness!” Okay, okay, okay, okay: we all love the mesmerizing Oscar collage, the plangent five minute pastiche of classic, breath-deepening movie moments we’ve all taken into our hearts, and which bracingly stir us to tears – Sir Alec Guinness collapsing atop the detonator at the end of Bridge On the River Kwai (“Madness!”); Newman and Redford’s guns blazing in freeze frame as the camera ratchets back to capture the scale of Butch and Sundance’s denouement — Bacharach’s haunting “Where There’s a Heartache” timidly arriving with funerary flowers and wrapping the film in salving gauze. The history of cinema is the history of the human heart, writ 40 feet tall on the silver screen to our common exaltation.

Beings & Doings Page 424 424

success is no secret: Freedom. Free markets, free trade, stable currency, the right to private property, freedom to act and pursue one’s “happiness”, a just government, and the rule of just laws. Basically, it’s freedom from government’s excesses and interference into our affairs. You don’t see this formula for success being employed in Latin America which has been plagued by Marxismo, Socialismo, and Fascismo. These systems represent a triumph of rhetoric over policy. Socialism failed spectacularly, resulting in poverty, corruption, and dictatorships of various stripes. Venezuela is an example of a fairly prosperous country (by Latin American standards), blessed with oil, which now is one of the poorest. So poor in fact, it won’t divulge its economic data. Socialist poster boy Hugo Chávez and his jack-booted gangs achieved that. They nationalized everything and the country fell apart as Chávez grabbed more and more power. Millions left. Today people are scrounging for food. Argentina has an interesting but sad history. At the turn of the 1900s, it was one of the world’s wealthiest nations. Then, in 1946, along came Juan Perón, a populist, socialist-fascist strongman who started rearranging the economy by nationalizing industries, regulating the economy (inspired by FDR’s New Deal), empowering labor unions, erecting tariffs and currency controls, and raising taxes. Then he spent and spent to satisfy his base. It didn’t work and the economy has been in a steady decline ever since. Succeeded by mostly socialists, it has gone broke many times. As of the Argentine presidential election last November, inflation was at 143%, people were abandoning the peso for the U.S. dollar, taxes were among the highest in Latin America, meat was scarce, unions kept striking, and 40% of its 46 million people lived in poverty. Then something of a miracle happened: they elected a charismatic free-market libertarian, a pro-capitalist intellectual, as president. In his campaign he promised to change things by freeing up one of the most heavily regulated economies in the world. President Javier Milei has already started deregulating the economy, selling off state businesses, closing bureaucracies, and much more. He plans to dollarize the currency since the central bank is broke and no one wants the peso anyway. He has a very difficult task that will take time to work. It will be interesting to see how this will play out. If successful, Argentina will be on the road to recovery. He faces strong opposition from entrenched authoritarian institutions (unions and the military) with a stake in the present system that has rewarded them at the expense of Jeffrey Harding is a real its citizens. Milei believes he has estate investor and long-time the support of the people who resident of Montecito. He voted him in and he promises previously published a popular to keep moving forward. If he financial blog, The Daily succeeds it will be a beacon of Capitalist. He is a light for other Latin American retired SBCC countries and an object lesson for adjunct professor. government planners worldwide. Wish him luck.

Montecito JOURNAL

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

Ice Bear (Continued from 16 16))

Bids open at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, February 28, 2024 for: STORM DAMAGE REPAIR DRUM CANYON MP. 6.8 COUNTY PROJECT NO. 23STM2-3K01 IN THE 3RD SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT COUNTY PROJECT No. 23STM2-3K01, FEDERAL AID PROJECT No. 721361 General project work description: Construct soldier pile wall to retain roadway structures The Plans, Specifications, and Bid Book are available at https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874. The Contractor must have either a Class A license or any combination of the following Class C licenses which constitutes a majority of the work: C8, C12, C51, C31 The DBE Contract Goal is 11%. For the Federal Training Program, the number of trainees or apprentices is 0. Submit sealed bids to the web address below. Bids will be opened available at the web address below immediately following the submittal deadline. PlanetBids https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874 Complete the project work within 30 Workings Days. The estimated cost of the project is $ 342,000 A mandatory pre-bid meeting is scheduled for this project on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, at 9:00 AM at project site: 34.716649, -120.274816. This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). A contractor or subcontractor shall not be qualified to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, subject to the requirements of PCC Section 4104, or engage in the performance of any contract for public work, as defined in this chapter, unless currently registered and qualified to perform public work pursuant to Labor Code (LAB) Section 1725.5. It is not a violation of this section for an unregistered contractor to submit a bid that is authorized by Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 7029.1 or by PCC Section 10164 or 20103.5 provided the contractor is registered to perform public work pursuant to LAB Section 1725.5 at the time the contract is awarded. Prevailing wages are required on this Contract. The Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations determines the general prevailing wage rates. Obtain the wage rates at the DIR website https://www.dir.ca.gov/. The federal minimum wage rates for this Contract as determined by the United States Secretary of Labor are available at https://www.wdol.gov/. Copies are also available at the office of the Department of Public Works – Engineering Division, 123 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. If the minimum wage rates as determined by the United States Secretary of Labor differs from the general prevailing wage rates determined by the Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations for similar classifications of labor, the Contractor and subcontractors must not pay less than the higher wage rate. The Department does not accept lower State wage rates not specifically included in the federal minimum wage determinations. This includes helper, or other classifications based on hours of experience, or any other classification not appearing in the federal wage determinations. Where federal wage determinations do not contain the State wage rate determination otherwise available for use by the Contractor and subcontractors, the Contractor and subcontractors must not pay less than the federal minimum wage rate that most closely approximates the duties of the employees in question. Inquiries or questions based on alleged patent ambiguity of the plans, specifications, or estimate must be submitted as a bidder inquiry by 2:00 PM on 02/23/2024. Submittals after this date will not be addressed. Questions pertaining to this Project prior to Award of the Contract must be submitted via PlanetBids Q&A tab. Bidders (Plan Holders of Record) will be notified by electronic mail if addendums are issued. The addendums, if issued, will only be available on the County PlanetBids website, https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874 By order of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara this project was authorized to be advertised on 01/09/2023. Scott D. McGolpin Director of Public Works Published February 7 & 14, 2024 Montecito Journal

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: River Road Properties, 3993 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Mark A Corliss, 3993 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 30, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2024-0000240. Published February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as:

SB Heat Pumps, 3905 State Street, Suite 7-128, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Musette D Profant, 3905 State Street, Suite 7-128, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 27, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002914. Published January 31, February 7, 14, 21, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Clementine Carter INC., 388 Bell Street, Los Alamos, CA, 93440.

40 Montecito JOURNAL

Clementine Carter INC., PO Box 334, Los Alamos, CA 94330. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 16, 2024. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2024-0000091. Published January 24, 31, February 7, 14, 2024 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 24CV00077. To all interested parties: Petitioner Elizabeth Rose Good filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Rose

Good Tubic. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed January 26, 2024 by Terri Chavez. Hearing date: March 13, 2024 at 10 am in Dept. 3, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published February 7, 14, 21, 28, 2024

The series of photographs were taken from a Tundra Buggy (photo by Ralph Clevenger)

waters of the Mediterranean Sea at the age of seven with his father. In the 1960s, he was strongly influenced by Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s films on the underwater world and decided early on to become a marine biologist. Clevenger eventually went on to study zoology and worked for the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego as a diver/aquarist before attending Brooks Institute of Photography. Now based in Santa Barbara, Clevenger was a senior faculty member at Brooks Institute for 33 years, teaching courses in natural history and underwater photography, among other professional photo and video courses. He is now retired from his commercial photography vocation, but his images continue to express his dedication to environmental and social issues. Print and digital publication credits include Audubon, a variety of National Geographic publications, Smithsonian Books, Sierra Club Books, and many other national and international publications. Watching Curator and Director of Collections Emily Falke and her team mount the ICE BEAR exhibit, it was obvious that an important environmental issue affecting all life on the planet was being highlighted at the Maritime Museum. “When I saw the video Ralph Clevenger filmed from the inside of a Tundra Buggy to capture the behavior of the wild and not-sofriendly polar bears interacting in their daily lives, I was fascinated,” Falke shared. “Classified as Marine Mammals

because they spend so much time on ice, it was a natural fit for us – but most importantly it illustrates how the polar bear’s dependency on ice makes them especially vulnerable to the climate changes we are now experiencing.” Looking into the eyes of the polar bears, seeing the interaction between a protective mother bear and her cubs sent a message more potent than any words can describe. “There is something so majestic and captivating about these creatures,” exclaimed Collections Manager Lydia Rao. “Ralph’s photographs transport the viewer, providing an intimate glimpse into how these animals live and survive in their natural habitat. Subject to some of the most extreme living conditions, these bears have adapted against all odds.” A true vision of adaptation and the will to survive. ICE BEAR is an exhibit for young and old alike, a visual adventure not to be missed. The exhibit will be on view beginning on February 8th ending May 31, 2024. View Ralph Clevenger’s photographs at ralphclevenger.com and/or instagram.com/ralphwildshot. Learn more about visiting the museum at sbmm.org or by calling (805) 962-8404.

Sigrid Toye is an Educational and Behavior Therapist with a PhD in Clinical Psychology, a freelance writer, and a storyteller. She loves all things creative, including her two (adult) artist children.

ICE BEAR will be on display until May 31st (photo by Ralph Clevenger)

“Greatness can be captured in one word: lifestyle. Life is God’s gift to you, style is what you make of it.” – Mae Jemison

8 – 15 February 2024

Petite Wine Traveler

Crafting Red Wines and Sipping Santa Barbara’s Pinot Noir

s winter sweeps into Santa Barbara, its crisp touch ignites an irresistible craving for soul warming meals, and the perfect wines to match. Embracing hearty pastas, savory stews, and dishes that stick to your ribs, this season demands the company of bold, full-bodied red wines. Many of us savor the richness of red wine, understanding its ability to transform an ordinary meal into something extraordinary. But have you ever wondered about the intricate process behind crafting this delectable elixir? Let’s step into the vibrant world of red wine – a blend of ancient traditions and modern innovation, where the vineyard becomes a grand stage for grapes, yeast, and expertise to converge and craft this beverage of delight. Picture grape picking as the harvest festival of the vineyard, happening during the transition from summer to fall. It’s a meticulous affair, selecting grapes that shift from green to deep hues of red or blue-black during veraison, signifying the onset of ripening. Whether it’s hand-picked or done with the precision of machines, each grape is chosen for its promise of flavor. At the winery, it’s a meticulous sorting process akin to selecting the finest ingredients for a gourmet dish. Grapes undergo a mesmerizing transformation through a de-stemmer/crusher, extracting the coveted free-run juice. Next, those harvested grapes are all set for the following stage: fermentation. Here’s where the magic begins. The resulting “must”, a blend of juice, skins, and seeds, takes a plunge into treatments like cold soaking. This isn’t just about color and flavor extraction; it’s the moment where red wines unlock their vibrant hues, lively flavors, and luscious textures through an intimate tango with grape skins during fermentation. Fermentation is the heartbeat of the process, kickstarted by natural or commercial yeast. Regular stirring is like a passionate dance, ensuring the skins and juice unite seamlessly. When it’s time, the pressing separates the skins and seeds, leaving behind the liquid gold – your future red wine. But the story doesn’t end there. Red wines aren’t just made, they’re matured like a fine artist refining their masterpiece. It’s the aging process in oak barrels or vats that adds that extra flair. This aging, lasting from months to years, involves an 8 – 15 February 2024

❤ ❤

Love❤Soup

by Jamie Knee

Dave and Joan Szkutak, owners of Samsara Wine serve up a hearty pinot noir

intriguing twist – malolactic fermentation. Here, the wine’s tart malic acid evolves into a creamy lactic acid, a transformation that infuses aromas, flavors, and textures, especially when aged in oak barrels. However, the traditional path of aging in oak isn’t the only avenue for innovation. Enter some winemakers who’ve dared to take a different route, using stainless steel for aging. This departure from tradition imparts its own unique signature to the wine. Stainless steel offers a pristine environment, preserving the grape’s purity and allowing its natural essence to shine through. The result? A red wine with a more pronounced focus on the fruit, retaining its vibrant acidity and delicate nuances, free from the influence of oak. The refining touches during maturation – racking, fining, and filtering are akin to a painter perfecting their canvas, refining taste and appearance. And finally, the assembly, the blending of wines from different barrels to create complexity and balance. Filtration, sulfur dioxide adjustments, and bottling mark the finale of this captivating journey, a red wine ready to grace your table, each bottle a testament to the artistry and passion that went into its creation. In Santa Barbara’s Wine Country, boasting seven distinct AVAs, a cornucopia of red wine varieties awaits, but it’s our pinot noir that claims the spotlight. Its vibrant acidity, nuanced fruitiness, and soft tannins make it an exceptional partner for diverse culinary experiences. Despite the absence of freezing temperatures, the occasional cool evenings in this paradise we call home are perfect for

Petite Wine Traveler Page 444 444

Our soups aren’t just organic, they’re filled with love. Mediterranean SoupMeals

Butternut Squash Chicken & Rice Cowgirl Chili Detox Cabbage Greens & Grains

Gourmet Broccoli Mushroom & Kale Romanesco Broccoli Roasted Zucchini Rustic Split Pea

Complete menu at:

OrganicSoupKitchen.org Montecito JOURNAL

The Giving List (Continued from 34 34))

Beings & Doings (Continued from 39 39))

ON THE SIDE Sticks and Stones

n item written by Maria Churchill in the old Montecito Life publication [dated October 5, 1989] makes mention of a handful of nicknames then making the local rounds. Apparently, a home on Channel Drive had been formerly owned by a fellow named Carbon Petroleum Dubbs. The writer offers the tidbit that the unfortunate Mr. Dubbs’ father had been a research chemist with the oil industry. Like that’s a reasonable explanation. And when the Montecito Country Club was first built, jeering local wags were known to call the annoyingly church-like edifice St. Golfus-by-the-Sea. Ouch?

Through educational outreach, youth ensembles and more, the Symphony is helping draw in the next generation of orchestral admirers (courtesy photo)

“We’re thrilled that audiences are getting a chance to experience the versatility of our esteemed Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti, who has long been known internationally as a ballet, opera and orchestra conductor,” said Kathryn R. Martin, the Symphony’s President & CEO, who has helped to shepherd the organization since joining less than four years ago in May 2020. “Santa Barbara is both benefiting from and leveraging his wide-ranging love for good music of all kinds. And classical music aficionados and fans are discovering the extraordinary artistic caliber and versatility of the Santa Barbara Symphony musicians, who absolutely love performing with each other.” To be sure, the Symphony is by no means abandoning traditional classical music programming. This month’s concerts, moved to the Lobero due to the water damage at the Granada, feature a strings-forward romantic program for Valentine’s week with Elgar’s “Serenade for Strings,” Dvořák’s “Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor” and expressive Beethoven’s 7th, while April’s Titans of Sound program sandwiches Wlad Marhulets’ “Concerto for Klezmer Clarinet” with a Mozart overture and Mahler’s “Symphony No. 1.” Nor has the ensemble’s forward-thinking programming diminished its commitment to education. Indeed, the symphony is enjoying the largest enrollment in the three youth ensembles since before the pandemic, as even more students in elementary school through high school are learning collaboration, leadership, and musicianship with the only program in the region that is tied to a professional symphony orchestra. The curriculum includes attending the professional Symphony concerts at the Granada, participating in masterclasses, workshops and

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behind the scenes activities, both serving the community and setting the table for future subscribers. Meanwhile, third grade students throughout Santa Barbara County are being introduced to orchestral instruments through the Symphony’s free Music Van program that visits classrooms from Carpinteria to Santa Maria. “With more subscribers than before the pandemic and more first-time attendees than ever in our history, it’s clear that the community is finding the Symphony through many different paths and points of entry,” Martin said. “That was our intention for the last couple of seasons. This is Santa Barbara’s Symphony – it’s for everyone.” But all of this takes significant funding, as ticket sales only cover a small percentage of the costs. As a $3.8 million nonprofit, year-round support is what makes such impact possible. There are many ways to contribute, with details available on the organization’s comprehensive website, www.thesymphony.org. “With the support of donors, we are creating impact by bucking national trends, creating predictability during uncertainty,” Martin said. “The relationship between the musicians and management creates an abundance of unique possibilities that benefit the community. We’re very grateful to have multiyear commitments of support and investment from the community. Santa Barbara has something very unique here. The Symphony is, at its core, a generator and incubator of artistic experiences that create moments of awe, connection, and belonging. The momentum is building.” Santa Barbara Symphony https://thesymphony.org info@thesymphony.org (805) 898-9386

Following the failure of Plan 8, the outer space folk ramped the effort up with vampires and zombies. And Lyle Talbot. (courtesy photo)

Yes; like every other emotional wreck in Moviedom, I go completely to pieces at Fonda’s heart-seizing goodbye speech to Ma in The Grapes of Wrath. “I’ll be all around in the dark. I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry and they know supper’s ready…” [Oh good grief, here I go]. But why not follow that up with Peter Cushing having the bones sucked out of his arm by irradiated, snake-headed tortoises in Island of Terror? Now there was some acting! “It’s got me! Cut off my hand! CUT OFF MY HAND!” *sigh* And who can forget actress Kipp Hamilton’s doomed cruise ship gig in The War of the Gargantuas, her act interrupted by screaming bedlam when – yeah, a Gargantua – rises from the sea and wrecks the mood? Her song? A macabre, strangely catchy little number called “The Words Get Stuck in My Throat”; written for this Japanese monster movie and later immortalized by an amused Devo. I’m sure we can all agree on this: the most memorable movies are those where the hideous creature’s zipper is as plain as day, and the script seems to have been typed out during a bathroom break on set. Jack Nicholson petulantly ordering his chicken sandwich in Five Easy Pieces (“hold the chicken…”) is, of course, immortal. But so is the insulting remonstration from the balding alien in Plan 9 From Outer Space. “You see! You see! Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!” And then the Earth hunk punches him. Save me a seat.

“Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Bores No More

t seems Montecito in the ‘50s was blessed with a local scandal rag called The Montecito Ledger – a publication decried by the later Montecito Life as highlighting how powerfully boring was the Eisenhowerera Montecito. Columns such as “Montecito Merry Go Round” and “Beaus and Belles” did not wow, and were in fact stuffed with “…bland items not unlike the social notes from any small town paper in Iowa or Indiana...” Eeew! But columnist Bill Dillingham did occasionally electrify, headlining one of his travel pieces “Czechs Go Wild for Bubble Gum!” In case you were wondering.

Jeff Wing is a journalist, raconteur, autodidact, and polysyllable enthusiast. He has been writing about Montecito and environs since before some people were born. He can be reached at jeff@ montecitojournal.net

8 – 15 February 2024

On Entertainment (Continued from 36 36)) Fresh Kills – Actress Jennifer Esposito’s (NCIS, Blue Bloods) first time behind the camera. It’s a mafioso family – like The Sopranos – but focusing on the females, the experiences of the mother and the daughters. Viselka – Three generations of Ukrainian Americans who have run a Ukrainian restaurant in New York for 70 years, but aren’t sure if the youngest is going to take over – and meanwhile there’s the war. It’s narrated by David Duchovny, who grew up in the neighborhood. Diving Into the Darkness – It’s about the world’s premier underwater cave diver, Jill Heinerth, and it’s amazing. You feel like you’re going into these caves and on her journey with her. Another Happy Day – It’s in the unique genre of a postpartum depression comedy. Carrie Coon stars as a woman who is not taking well to motherhood. It’s not just for women, because everybody is dealing with all kinds of things, and it’s very, very funny. All You Hear is Noise – A profile of four Special Olympics World Games athletes with intellectual disabilities that made me think of Spelling Bee, because the film makers manage to pick the winners, and it’s just fascinating to watch their journeys and what happens afterward, when they have to readjust to life back home. On Earth as in Heaven – My favorite drama this year. It’s about a young girl who escapes a religious cult in Canada and ends up having to adjust to life in a regular civilization after living a very cloistered life. It’s really, really well acted. Think Handmaid’s Tale meets Women Talking.

Short Cuts: Notes on Some SBIFF Films Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea is filmmaker Joe Wein’s world premiere documentary based on Steven Callahan’s bestselling 1986 novel of the same name – chronicling how he survived more than two months in a raft on the Atlantic. Found 8mm footage, original stills from the time of the voyage, original artifacts, and Callahan’s first-person re-creation illustrate a step-by-step, day-by-day approach, a surprisingly easy-going take of his harrowing and life-altering adventure. The film features an original score by Patrick Stump, lead vocalist of Fall Out Boy… Giants Rising is a gorgeously shot doc about America’s tallest trees, with the perspective that the redwoods have a lot to teach us… Taking Back the Groove is a 30-minute short featuring disco legend Richie Weeks (“Rock Your World”), a Bronx-born star of the NYC scene who underwent trials, tribulations and successes; executive produced by Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan… Strangely, this year doesn’t have any feature-length documentaries about musicians, but two different comedians are subjects at SBIFF, including the late, great Andy Kaufman (Thank You Very Much) and Shari Lewis, the ahead-of-her-time ventriloquist and children’s entertainer (Shari and Lamb Chop). Both are well worth seeing. Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Sing 2) makes her directorial debut with, wait for it, First Time Female Director; a feature she also wrote, produced and starred in, with cameos by Megan Mullally, Amy Poehler, Andy Richter and many others. See it on the big screen before it debuts on The Roku Channel.

Beatles, Eubanks and You Programming an event during SBIFF can be an iffy affair, but booking The Beatles would seem to stand a pretty good chance of success. The Fab Four of course aren’t showing up, but the producers of 60 Years of Beatlemania! have come up with the next best thing. Make that “things”, plural. The February 9 date at the Marjorie Luke Theatre is the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ American debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, when nearly 75 million people tuned in across the land. The entire hour-long black and white show will be screened complete with commercials, but not before the event’s presenters, Peter Bie and Dennis Mitchell, kick things off sharing Fab Four facts, personal stories from Beatles fans who have had face-to-face encounters with the group, and rarely seen clips of the band. Next up is Bob Eubanks, famous as the former 50-year on-and-off host of TV’s The Newlywed Game and three decades hosting the Rose Parade, who was also a longtime concert promoter. It turns out that Eubanks was solely responsible for bringing the Beatles to Southern California when no other promoter was willing to meet their guarantee. Eubanks, who was also working as a DJ at KRLA at the time, produced and 8 – 15 February 2024

financed Beatles concerts in Los Angeles all three years that the band toured America: the Hollywood Bowl shows in ‘64 and ‘65 and the ‘66 Dodger Stadium concert. “You feel the energy of the audience,” recalled Eubanks, explaining why he took out a $2,500 loan against his house to pay for the concert in 1964. “I could tell there was something really different going on here. And even today, 60 years later, you can’t think of another act that has that kind of popularity.” Eubanks, who tours his own nostalgia show 60 Years of Beatlemania! at the called Backstage with the Beatles, will share fasciMarjorie Luke Theatre celebrates nating and often funny seldom-heard stories about the 60th anniversary of the Beatles’ his experiences with the Beatles, their manager American debut on The Ed Sullivan Brian Epstein, and the screaming throngs of fans Show (courtesy photo) who fairly drowned out the band at the concerts. “There are so many stories, and I’m learning new things about them all the time.” After the Sullivan screening, local favorites Bobby, Fin & Dave – which features two of the members of Santa Barbara’s longtime pop band The Tearaways, who have played Beatleweek in Liverpool for the last 20 years – close out the show with 60 Minutes of Beatlemania songs, delivering acoustic renditions of the classics. Visit https://luketheatre.org/event/60-years-of-beatlemania for your ticket to ride.

Future Fests: Forum and Writers Santa Barbara-based FestForums hosts its seventh iteration on February 15-17, moving again this year – from the Music Academy to the Mar Monte oceanfront resort. The convention is a business-to-business gathering of festival producers, organizers, and industry leaders representing a wide variety of offerings – Coachella, SXSW, Sundance, Burning Man, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Woodstock, Austin City Limits, Vans Warped Tour, Tribeca Film Festival, Glastonbury, Toronto Film Festival have been past participants – there to network, learn or brush up on skills, and collaborate; not to mention party down. The weekend features panels, exhibitors, awards, concerts and parties in a relaxing, convivial environment just steps from the ocean. But unlike most previous years, there are no one-shot public events, so you’ll have to pony up for a pass to partake of performers and guests including Alicia Silverstone and Dane Cook honoring director Marty Callner; and Skip Martin of Kool & the Gang, The Dazz Band, Beastie Boys’ DJ Mix Master Mike, Johnny Irion, and local heroes Spencer the Gardener, DJ Darla Bea and The Tribe. Visit https://festforums.com for info and passes. The workshops, panels, seminars and guest speakers for the 2024 Santa Barbara Writers Conference have been announced for the June 9-14 event, also at the Mar Monte. Writers of all experience are welcome to immerse themselves at whatever level suits them, to improve their craft and make lifelong connections, much like Montecito’s own Fannie Flagg did here decades ago. You can catch the keynote addresses as a guest for just $15, or dive deeper via passes that range from $199Steven Libowitz has covered $899. But one lucky winner can get in a plethora of topics for the for free via composing a short essay (100 Journal since 1997, and now words max) on what you like about leads our extensive arts and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference entertainment coverage (or for newbies, hope to experience). Deadline to submit at info@sbwriters. com is Feb. 8, so no chance to agonize over re-editing your entry. Visit www. sbwriters.com for all things SBWC. SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH MONTECITO MONTECITO MONTECITO

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Petite Wine Traveler (Continued from 41 41)) enjoying these delightful pairings, especially when the ambiance calls for crackling fires in our hearths. Here are a few of Santa Barbara’s esteemed pinot noirs, perfectly paired with exquisite dishes that elevate their flavors.

dark blackberry, crème brûlée, and subtle vanilla, perfectly complementing grilled salmon. The wine’s richness harmonizes with the delicate fish, enhancing its flavor profile and resulting in a beautifully balanced culinary experience that delights the palate.

Samsara Vineyard Pinot Noir 2019: Bursting with sweet and sour blackberries, dark cherry, sage, and cola, this pinot noir finds its ideal match in a rich wild mushroom risotto. The earthy flavors of the mushrooms intertwine seamlessly with the wine’s complexity, while the creamy risotto enhances its velvety texture.

Bien Nacido Estate Pinot Noir 2020: Plum, black figs, and brown spice notes characterize this plush wine, harmonizing exquisitely with roasted winter squash featuring sage brown butter and toasted hazelnuts. The nutty richness of the dish complements the wine’s fruity notes, resulting in a harmonious blend of textures and flavors that elevate both the wine and the dish.

(see image on page 41) The Hilt Pinot Noir 2019: Vibrant notes of cherry, violets, cloves, and a hint of white pepper define this spirited pinot noir, making it a perfect companion to a hearty white bean stew. The stew’s robust flavors complement the wine’s depth, resulting in a comforting, flavor-packed experience.

Local News

Montecito Association Land Use February 6 Meeting

The Montecito YMCA plans presented at the Montecito Association Land meeting (photo courtesy of DesignARC)

by Joanne A Calitri The refined pinot noir from The Hilt

The dark fruit-forward pinot noir from Bien Nacido

Fiddlehead Cellars Lollapalooza Pinot Noir 2010: Boasting vibrant flavors of

Kathy Joseph, owner and winemaker at Fiddlehead Cellars, holds up her elegant pinot noir

44 Montecito JOURNAL

CVIA District Director; Geoffrey Slaff, and Richard Wax Montecito resident. Prior meetings’ minutes were approved. There were no additional public comment items. Babbitt moved to the four Conference Agenda items starting with the Debris Nets. McElroy spoke to the situation and fielded questions. He explained, “The nets were taken down in November 2023. We had no path forward we could sustain financially, and we made the decision, regretfully, to pull the nets. The nets have a minimum of 12 to 14 anchors that are drilled into the rock up to 28 feet deep. Because we were in an ongoing discussion with the 1st District on what they want for the nets, we wanted SBC and the community to have the opportunity to move forward. So the anchors and the anchor loops are still there for future use if necessary. The nets are at Geobrugg’s yard in New Mexico, separated and marked by net. We’ve been trying to give it to the county for five years. All nets are on private land. The impact for public agencies to take over is the issue of permitting process, because of the nature of creeks they were put in. We have permits from SBC Regional Water Quality Control Board, Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, the National Marine Fisheries, and California Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Expired permits are the SBC Regional Water Quality Control Board. We have insurance with the landowners at Buena

As a pescatarian, these curated pairings with Santa Barbara’s esteemed pinot noir are my go-to choices during the winter season. However, pinot noir pairs just as brilliantly with heartier meat dishes, such as a savory herb-crusted pork tenderloin or a classic coq au vin. As winter wraps its arms around us, let the complex flavors of pinot noir and the culinary symphony of these pairings bring warmth and joy to your table, creating moments worth savoring in Santa Barbara Wine Country’s paradise.

Jamie Knee is a global wine communicator and travel writer, has hosted 100+ winemaker interviews, international wine judge, and holds multiple wine, sommelier, and educator certifications.

he Montecito Association (MA) held its Land Use monthly meeting February 6 via Zoom. Key issues on the table were pedestrian paths, YMCA Update, the Debris Nets and a Montecito resident’s creek issues with neighbor. MA Chair Bill Babbitt called the meeting to order. Present were Pat McElroy, Executive Director for The Project for Resilient Communities; Gary Smart, Traffic Engineer SB County; Mostafa Estaji, SBC Public Works; Chris Sneddon, Deputy Director Transportation SB County; Darcel Elliott, Chief of Staff for Santa Barbara County First District Supervisor Das Williams; Carpinteria Police Chief Lt. Ugo Peter “Butch” Arnoldi; Kevin Dumain, Sr. Project Architect DesignARC; William M. Macfadyen, MA Treasurer, Noozhawk founder, and publisher; Margo Byrne, CEO and President Channel Islands YMCA; David Neels, Montecito Fire Chief; Diane Dostalek, Caltrans, District 5, San Luis Obispo; Douglas Black, MA Board President; Houghton Hyatt, MA Executive Director; Jack Overall, MA Transportation Committee; Joseph M. Pennino, MA District 1 Land Use Committee; Janet Casey, MA Office Coordinator; Mike Evans, Channel Islands YMCA; Thorn Robertson,

“The need for change bulldozed a road down the center of my mind.” – Maya Angelou

8 – 15 February 2024

Mcfadden will also contact Wax. Houghton updated on the Biltmore – they are getting a new GM coming from the Four Season Santa Fe who will be here on February 26. She plans to have him at the March MA meeting. Babbitt talked about the short-term rental markets in Palm Springs relative to Montecito, where they have forty percent of the homes as short-term rentals. Elliott said Palm Springs is a charter city and has more freedom to do things. Beverly Hills strong judge issued a hold on all building permits to raise awareness of affordable housing. Babbitt requested committee suggestions for the priority list to work on. 411: www.montecitoassociation.org

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Richard Wax talked about the damages he incurred on his property at 1240 East Valley Road and showed photos and videos. He said, “Montecito Creek runs through my property. I own both sides of the creek. There are water and mud damages to my property in 2023 and this past week, and the main cause is due to a neighbor who built a concrete boulder wall and masonry wall on their border of the creek. Fish and Wildlife told the neighbor to cease and desist. Fish and Wildlife are on top of the situation, but it’s been a year. The problem is, I need an emergency permit to do work in the creek. The water deflected to my property, my whole backyard, destroyed the pool, courtyard, mud inside the house, costing over $800K of damage. The neighbor’s stone masonry wall and concrete with boulders, was done without permits. Not litigating with the neighbor but preparing to. I have no insurance so it’s out of my pocket. I dealt with SBC Flood Control, Building Enforcement and Environmental, but no one from the county has helped, saying they do not have the authority to do anything, it’s up to Fish and Wildlife. We reached out Das Williams and never heard back. Just purchased my house in 2018.” Babbitt said the MA will discuss and find out how they can be supportive. Elliott and

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2029 there is no interest to use them, we need to pull out the loops from the anchors.” He referred people to their website on the SBC history of debris flows – 43 events since 1820. Website: https://www. tprcsb.org/ Next item was the Pedestrian Paths: Slaff said he will provide updates next month. The issues are the installation of paths down San Leandro Lane and Santa Rosa Lane funded by local community members. Discussions are in the early stages, along with a private meeting to hear all sides on the issue. Sneddon said that SBC Public Works (PW) partners with the Bucket Brigade to put pedestrian paths around the community. In Montecito, at San Leandro and Santa Rosa the issue is there is not a lot of right-of-way. The Bucket Brigade is working with homeowners on the issues and to report to PW. The YMCA renovation plan was presented by Byrne and Dumain. They explained they made the adjustments requested and are in a better place than a year ago. They want an exemption for streetlights along the Y’s side of San Ysidro, and to talk about the pathways SB County is putting in. The last agency for clearance is Transportation through Public Works, then they can go to the Montecito Planning Association. They met with Sneddon and reached a consensus more consistent with the neighbors’ wishes. Issues of transportation being resolved include the paths, streetlights, utilities that deviate from the standard way of doing it via SBC requirements. They are waiting for PW to come back with their review.

Montecito JOURNAL

Vista, Cold Spring, and San Ysidro roads till January 2029, and SBC also insured us, and our policy is $40 million.” Barrett asked about a neighborhood group who reached out about the nets. McElroy said, “It would be the people that live below Buena Vista Canyon as the SBC has plans to put in a debris basin there, as it is the only canyon impacted that does not have one. Romero, Cold Spring, and Randall roads have debris basins. He deferred to Public Works members present. It was all private money that paid for the nets. The SBC put up a performance bond that is still in place. We’ve been applying for grants; we are 54 weeks into dealing with FEMA who affirmed we are an obligated project now. We have a grant from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to assist us with the removal of the nets and debris. It was a funding issue moving forward. As a small nonprofit we would be on the hook for cleaning out the nets and would have to go to the public to raise the money. We had six nets, got FEMA to clean out one costing over $1M. This is an endangered species habitat, so we have a responsibility in our permits to clean the nets out. Financially would not be able to do it, and potentially it could create some environmental damage. So, the only path we had was to pull the nets. We need advocacy, and for people to support SBC Flood Control – who don’t have the money they need to do what they want to do. The anchors do not require maintenance. My perception is if another group sprung up or if SBC wants to use the anchors, we have to talk to the three landowners. If by

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Tea Time at El Encanto – Take an afternoon to enjoy Resolutions Resolve – Many have New Year’s some vibrant teas and tasty snacks at El Encanto, P.14 resolutions, but how do you actually keep them?, P.24

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THE OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORMS ARE DESTINED FOR DECOMMISSIONING. SOME WANT THEM COMPLETELY REMOVED. OTHERS WANT THEM CONVERTED TO ARTIFICIAL REEFS. BUT WHAT DO THE STUDIES SAY ABOUT THE LIFE TEEMING UNDERNEATH? (STORY STARTS ON PAGE 5)

Market Recap

Plunge into 2024

With 2023 behind us and sales volume at an all-time low, here’s the breakdown of last year’s real estate market, page 6

The New Year is here, and this group is jumping right into it with the 8th Annual Polar Dip, page 12

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Miscellany (Continued from 8) Charles III, 75, in the wake of His Majesty’s cancer diagnosis. The Duke of Sussex, 35, left for Windsor Castle on Monday and has already spoken to the monarch following his diagnosis, according to the New York Post’s Page Six. Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Archie and Lilibet, will not be heading to the U.K. Having known Charles in the ‘70s when he was Prince of Wales, I wish him the very best.

Around the World with Renée Singer Renée Fleming, who has performed at the world’s greatest opera

Prince Harry winging to London after his father’s cancer diagnosis (photo courtesy of Carfax2derivative work: Surtsicna via Wikimedia Commons)

Lunch hosts Audrey and Tim Fisher with Renée Fleming (center) (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

Peter O. and Ellen Johnson at the luncheon with Renée Fleming in the center (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

houses and concert halls, was at the top of her game when she made her second appearance as part of UCSB’s Arts & Lectures series at the Arlington, after the performance was switched from the Granada following the sprinkler disaster. Fleming, who became the first classical artist to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl in 2014, devoted the first half of the 90-minute program to a focus on the environment with wonderful National Geographic film footage, accompanied by pianist Howard Watkins, also an assistant conductor at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The repertoire included Burt Bacharach’s “What the World Needs Now,” and works from Fauré, Grieg, and Puccini’s “O mio babbino caro” from

Renée Fleming focused the first half of her performance on the environment (photo by David Bazemore)

46 Montecito JOURNAL

“The price of hating other human beings is loving oneself less.” – Eldridge Cleaver

Gianni Schicchi, familiar to many from the 1985 Merchant Ivory film Room with a View with Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter. Fleming wrapped the show with Leonard Cohen’s rousing 1984 anthem “Hallelujah.’ The following day I was at the magnificent Montecito aerie of Tim and Audrey Fisher – who were major concert sponsors with Sara Miller McCune – for a lunch for Fleming with guests including Nancybell Coe, Roger and Robin Himovitz, Dorothy Largay, and Bruce and Susan Worster.

Far Fung Fun The week kicked off with another UCSB Arts & Lectures concert at the

Zlatomir Fung and Benjamin Hochman at Hahn Hall (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

8 – 15 February 2024

Ensemble Theatre’s latest show is a truly thought-provoking production (photo courtesy of Hershey Felder Presents)

Music Academy’s Hahn Hall with cellist Zlatomir Fung and pianist Benjamin Hochman with a mixed program featuring works by Britten, Schumann, Tsintsadze, and Marshall Estrin, a longtime collaborator of Fung’s. Estrin’s composition “Cinematheque” was based on the creative pair’s mutual love of film, with particular favorites including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Annie Hall, and Moonlight. Fung really put the fun into his name...

The Moving ‘Willesden Lane’ Ensemble Theatre Company’s latest New Vic production The Pianist of Willesden Lane, a true story about a young Jewish musician navigating the Nazi regime in Vienna and London during the Blitzkrieg, is a truly thought-provoking show. Told by Mona Golabek, a world-renowned Grammy nominated pianist and the daughter of Lisa Jura – a pianist who, at age 14, was separated from everything and everyone she knew and loved – is a riveting story of World War II survival, based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane – Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love and Survival by Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen. The stage production is directed by Hershey Felder, a former scholar-in-residence at Harvard University’s Department of Music now working in Florence, Italy. Golabek brings her mother’s extraordinary tale of survival and triumph admirably to the stage, featuring live performances of classics by Chopin, Debussy, 8 – 15 February 2024

Bach, Rachmaninoff, and Beethoven. It is a deeply moving story infused with hope and the life-affirming power of music. A truly affecting tour de force. It runs through Feb. 18.

were raised to think expressing anger is not ladylike and not something we should do.”

Finding Faith

King Charles, 75, will abdicate the British throne in favor of his oldest son, Prince William, 41, in 10 years, according to Princess Diana’s longtime butler Paul Burrell. “I think this is a 10-year plan,” stated Burrell, who says the monarch is “buying time” before giving up his titular role. “The Queen would never have done this because she came from a different generation with her entire life being molded around her being a monarch. But the King will know exactly what to do and take a page from Prince Philip’s book and say, “I’ve done enough and want to do things he wants to do.” Burrell’s prediction comes just weeks after Denmark’s royal family took a similar action with Queen Margrethe II, 83, announcing her abdication in the New Year with the former sovereign stepping down on January 14 in favor of her son Crown Prince Frederik, 55, taking the reins.

Montecito actor Billy Baldwin and singer wife Chynna Phillips have candidly laid bare their marital issues in a frank YouTube video that has the dynamic duo opening up about about her newfound Christian faith that has caused a serious “rupture” in their relationship. In an unflinchingly honest on-screen discussion, Chynna and Billy opened up about the former socialite’s dedication to Christ becoming a “glaring issue” that has left her actor spouse questioning whether they are going “to make it in the long run.” Chynna, 55, and Billy, 60, who wed in 1995 and have three children together, opened up about their relationship woes in an entirely frank video shared on her faith-based channel, California Preachin’. In the clip, Chynna – who converted to Christianity in 2022 – and her husband of 28 years openly explained how their different views on God had become a “systemic problem” in their romance. “You see your life and the world through a very different lens,” says Chynna. “Sometimes that tends to cause ruptures and little chasms in our relationship, and we are trying our best to navigate those differences. “It has been a glaring issue for a while because (religion) has sort of overtaken my life in many ways. It has perhaps even made you question whether you and I can really make it in the long run.” I wish them well...

Farewell Block Long serving Santa Barbara Zoo President and CEO Rich Block is retiring in January after 27 years leading the 30-acre menagerie through the most transformative period in its history. Rich is the zoo’s second director succeeding the late Ted McToldridge, who retired in 1997. The zoo’s board of directors has formed a transition committee, and a rigorous national search has now begun.

Local Couple’s Cyber Crusade Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are on a cyber crusade. The tony twosome have released a video urging social media companies to

Empty Throne Syndrome

Rich Block retiring after nearly three decades as head of Santa Barbara Zoo (courtesy photo)

reduce the amount of harmful content children see online. The Riven Rock residents issued the video on their Archewell website after their appearance at a World Mental Health Day discussion in New York in October last year. It follows a U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child safety in Washington, D.C. last week – and saw politicians warn social media giants: “You have blood on your hands!” “We need to get out of this idea that young kids have something wrong with them,” says the Duke of Sussex. “No, it’s the world that we’re allowing to be created around them. “Please stop sending children content that you wouldn’t want you own children to see.”

Batter Up Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has listed many bizarre fads over the years, from jade eggs to bee venom therapy. And now the Oscar winner is lauding the health benefits of releasing anger – by hitting things with a plastic bat. Paltrow, 51, has revealed she has a “coach” who helps her express feelings of distress. “I was always bad at expressing anger,” she says. “I’m still not great at it, but it’s an important part of my mental health to release anger in a healthy way.” In an Instagram post, the Goop founder reveals her coach suggested she get a plastic bat from Amazon and “sometimes when I feel struck with anger I just hit stuff with it.” “Developing a way to release anger is important, especially for women who

Puppy Love Oscar winner Kevin Costner has announced a new addition to his family – an adorable Labrador puppy after his acrimonious divorce from Christine Baumgartner. The Carpinteria resident, 66, took to social media to reveal he is “really in love” with the cuddly canine. “Newest addition to the family,” Kevin captioned a series pf photos showing off the new pet to his 1.2 million followers. “I’m already in love with this special guy!”

Sightings Kevin Costner and son Hayes, 14, at the Rincon Classic... Gwyneth Paltrow at the Giorgio Armani show at Paris Fashion Week... Actor-comedian Kevin Hart and actress Amy Adams at the RitzCarlton Bacara. Pip! Pip!

From musings on the Royals to celebrity real estate deals, Richard Mineards is our man on the society scene and has been for more than 15 years

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9

by Steven Libowitz FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Troubadour Tragedy – Verdi’s Il trovatore is one of the relatively rare operas that was one of its composer’s most successful productions during his lifetime, and remains a great favorite of opera lovers all over the world. A gripping tale of superstition, revenge and ill-fated love in medieval Spain, the opera springs from historical events that provide the setting: the conflict that followed the death of King Martin of Aragon in 1410 and the appointment of Ferdinand of Castille as King of Aragon. Implausible or not, the dark story combines with some of Verdi’s most passionate melodies – including the famous “Anvil Chorus” – to make Il trovatore the quintessential Italian romantic opera. Seeing it in the intimacy of the Lobero only adds to the emotions. Opera Santa Barbara’s powerhouse cast features several company alumni, including tenor Harold Meers (Il tabarro, 2021; Carmen, 2016), soprano Karin Wolverton (Eugene Onegin, 2019), baritone Timothy Mix (Das Rheingold, 2021) and bass Andrew Potter (Don Pasquale, 2021), along with mezzo soprano Deborah Nansteel who is making her OSB debut. Chuck Hudson stage directs the new production designed by Steven Kemp, while artist director Kostis Protopapas conducts the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra and Chorus. WHEN: 7:30 pm tonight, 2:30 pm tomorrow WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $39-$159 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com

Managing “Monkey Mind” @ Trinity – Yungchen Lhamo wanted to be a nun, even after a Tibetan lama gave her a name that translates to “Goddess of Melody.” But after making the month-long 1,200-mile journey on foot across the Himalayas to Dharamsala in India to pursue her Buddhist practice in 1989, the 14th Dalai Lama encouraged her to use her unique voice to promote Tibetan culture around the world. After Yungchen moved to Australia, her first album, Tibetan Prayer, won Australia’s equivalent of a Grammy in 1995, leading to her signing with Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label. Her Real World recordings have included collaborations with Annie Lennox, Joy Askew, Natalie Merchant, Billy Corgan, and many others. Yungchen has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall and the Louvre, to the Vatican, Sydney Opera House, and Moscow’s International Performing Arts Center. Her One Drop of Kindness Foundation supports Tibet as well as projects in the USA and elsewhere. After a long recording hiatus, in 2023 Yungchen released her seventh album, which is named after her foundation. That album adds world music touches with didgeridoo, Indian violin, the Turkish cümbüs-oud and the Armenian duduk-oboe augmenting piano, flute, drums and electric guitar. Tonight’s meditative concert is part of her West Coast “Monkey Mind” Tour, meant to heal and open hearts, build communities, provide a universal language and bring cultures together. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State St. COST: $25 INFO: https://linktr.ee/yungchenla

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10 Enter the Dragon – Welcome the first day of the Dragon Year with the Santa Barbara Chinese Association’s New Year Celebration. The joyful and entertaining evening, created in collaboration with Pacific Pearl Music Association of Thousand Oaks, encompasses myriad performances. These include dazzling traditional dance by award winning professionals, folk music ensembles, and traditional instruments groups featuring the Erhu and many others – along with martial arts demonstrations, colorful costumes, and more. It’s a rare opportunity in town to immerse yourself in Chinese culture, surrounded by the warmth and joy of the Santa Barbara community. Visit www.SBCAA for more information about the THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8 Back in Blue – Blue Note Records, perhaps the most revered label in jazz, celebrates 85 years of producing and releasing some of the greatest jazz records in the canon by putting a distinguished quintet of its artists on tour. Pianist Gerald Clayton – son of bass great John (Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) and former music director of the Monterey Jazz Festival on Tour – has organized a new ensemble to express the heart and soul of Blue Note-style jazz. Adding their take to the style that the New York Times described as entering “a smoky room with a horn player blowing fiercely over a strolling standup bass”, are four young lions who have joined the label within the last five years – Immanuel Wilkins, Joel Ross, Kendrick Scott, and Matt Brewer – who together refresh the bop idiom with contemporary harmonies and irresistible rhythms. Get ready to swing and bop, Campbell Hall. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall COST: $20-$50 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

48 Montecito JOURNAL

event and the organization. WHEN: 7-9 pm WHERE: Marjorie Luke Theatre, Santa Barbara Junior High, 721 East Cota St. COST: $35 INFO: www.SBCAA.com SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11 Ireland in Santa Barbara – The Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara have come together to collaborate on Janna Ireland: True Story Index, a joint exhibition that represents the largest presentation of the photographer’s work to date. Ireland’s work is primarily concerned with the interconnected themes of family and home as well as the expression of Black identity in American culture. In 2016, Ireland began photographing structures designed by legendary Black architect Paul R. Williams. Both of these aspects of Ireland’s art will be interwoven in each of the two venues’ presentations, which will include newly commissioned works and works from various collections. The exhibition is a mid-career survey that has been curated by Charles Wylie, SBMA Curator of Photography and New Media, and Frederick Janka, MCASB. The official artist’s Opening Reception takes place February 25 at MCASB. WHEN: February 11 - June 2 WHERE: SBMA, 1130 State St. & MCASB, 653 Paseo Nuevo COST: free with regular admission at SBMA, free at MCASB INFO: (805) 963-4364/https://www.sbma.net or (805) 966-5373/https://www.mcasantabarbara.org Sumptuous Sunday Jazz – Santa Barbara-raised drummer Kevin Winard has long been a first call musician here in town and has also traveled the world with such musical luminaries such as Sérgio Mendes, Doc Severinsen, the Captain and Tennille and singers Jack Jones, Vic Damone, Paul Anka, and many others. Also a bandleader, singer and SBCC instructor, Winard has put together a new group called Who Dat Dere? The group features the Ojai-bred multi-Grammy and Golden Globe winning saxophonist Jacob Scesney, bassist Santino Tafarella and

“In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.” – Alice Walker

8 – 15 February 2024

ON STAGE FEBRUARY 1-18

Pianist The

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9 End of the Road for Engelbert – The British pop singer Engelbert Humperdinck, a Vegas favorite whose extensive catalog of popular hits includes “Release Me” and “A Man Without Love,” has joined the list of living legends who are winding down long careers, or at least the touring portion. Humperdinck’s “The Last Waltz, Farewell Tour,” slated to play the Chumash’s Samala Showroom tonight, caps off a career of more than six decades, during which the singer has sold more than 140 million records, including 65 gold albums, 35 platinum albums, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe award, and stars on the Hollywood and Las Vegas Walk of Fame. Humperdinck has recorded everything from romantic ballads to movie theme songs, disco to rock and even gave gospel a go. His unique voice and charm have captivated millions of fans around the globe for 65 years, ever since his debut single, “Crazy Bells,” was released in 1959. In 1967, Humperdinck reached international prominence with “Release Me,” which soared to No. 1 on the UK singles chart, then scored more major hits in rapid succession, including “There Goes My Everything” and “The Last Waltz” (1967), “Am I That Easy to Forget” (1968) and “A Man Without Love” (1968). Two of his singles were among the best-selling of the 1960s in the United Kingdom. In more recent years, Humperdinck struck a chord with the younger generation, causing his social media presence and YouTube music videos to skyrocket in the millions of views while several of his songs showed up on movie and TV soundtracks. Humperdinck will likely limit the set list to greatest hits and other favorites as he bids adieu to the road. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: 3400 East Highway 246, Santa Ynez COST: $39-$69 INFO: (800) CHUMASH (248-6274) or www.chumashcasino.com

guest guitarist Pat Kelley whose c.v. includes working with Chick Corea, Natalie Cole, Hubert Laws, and Dave Brubeck among many others. Kelley has also served on the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music faculty for decades. Expect enlightened and lively music in the monthly Santa Barbara Jazz Society show. WHEN: 1-4 pm (free dance lesson at 7:30 pm) WHERE: SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State Street COST: $10-$25 INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com

of Willesden Lane

Based on the book The Children of Willesden Lane: Beyond the Kindertransport: A Memoir of Music, Love, and Survival by

MONA GOLABEK and LEE COHEN Directed by HERSHEY FELDER

“Told with exquisite beauty and breathtakingly simple benevolence...” LA BACKSTAGE

Tickets starting @ $40! SANTA BARBARA’S PROFESSIONAL THEATRE COMPANY

etcsb.org 805.965.5400

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14 Immediate-ly Sold Out – It’s been enormously gratifying to witness the ascension of The Immediate Family – composed of some of the most recorded, respected and sought-after session/touring players in pop and rock music of the last half century – as a seriously successful band in its own right. You can certainly call them a supergroup, as Danny Kortchmar (guitar), Waddy Wachtel (guitar), Russ Kunkel (drums), Leland Sklar (bass), and Steve Postell (guitar) have collectively (and often together) collaborated with James Taylor, Carole King, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Keith Richards, Warren Zevon, Neil Young, and David Crosby, among other Hall of Fame and icons of the industry. But most folks had probably never heard of any of them before they made their debut album as The Immediate Family a few years ago. Tonight’s Lobero concert, their third at the theater, celebrates both the release of their sophomore studio album, Skin in the Game and The Immediate Family documentary that chronicles their history. If you can scare up some tickets, and value your hearing, make sure to bring air plugs as Mojo Magazine was dead on in its assessment: “It’s pure rock ‘n’ roll by a band of assassins who aim to groove and never miss their target.” WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $40-$106 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.com 8 – 15 February 2024

SCORE BIG WITH OUR PIZZA MUFFINS FOR SUPERBOWL

(820) 217 8132

www.italianmufﬁns.com

Montecito JOURNAL

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING (805) 565-1860 ESTATE/SENIOR SERVICES MOVING MISS DAISY

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

PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY Stillwell Fitness of Santa Barbara In Home Personal Training Sessions for 65+ Help with: Strength, Flexibility, Balance Motivation, and Consistency John Stillwell, CPT, Specialist in Senior Fitness 805-705-2014 StillwellFitness.com

GOT OSTEOPOROSIS? WE CAN HELP At OsteoStrong our proven non-drug protocol takes just ten minutes once a week to improve your bone density and aid in more energy, strength, balance and agility. Please call for a complimentary session! Call Now (805) 453-6086 KNIFE SHARPENING SERVICE EDC Mobile Sharpening is a locally owned and operated in Santa Barbara. We specialize in (No-Entry) House Calls, Businesses and Special Events. Call 805-696-0525 to schedule an appointment AVAILABLE FOR RENT Photo Booth Rentals for any event or occasion www.TruMusicLighting.com Call or text Moi (805) 403-6275 Charming 2 bedroom mountain view Craftsman home in the heart of Santa Barbara near Mission, Downtown and SB Bowl. $5650/mo. Available mid-February. Nancy 310 985-2278.

MENTAL HEALTH & WELL-BEING Michael Bolton, MD Harvard-Trained Board Certified Psychiatrist Specializing in Adult ADHD BecomeYourAuthenticSelf. Com REVERSE MORTGAGES ATTENTION SENIORS!!! IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE RIGHT FOR YOU? • Access the equity in your home today • No monthly mortgage payments • You retain title to your home • Lump sum or monthly distributions • All inquiries are strictly confidential Gayle Nagy 805-448-9224 Gayle@dmfsb.com NMLS # 251258 / Company NMLS # 12007 Direct Mortgage Funding Santa Barbara Equal Housing Lender Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act

50 Montecito JOURNAL

We buy Classic Cars Running or not. Foreign/Domestic Chevy/Ford/Porsche/Mercedes/Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website – Avantiauto.group AVAILABLE CAREGIVER

Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc. Lina 805-940-6888 In home health care, 30yrs exp. excellent refs. Licensed & finger printed. Liz 805-807-9555

PAINTING SERVICE Transform your home into a masterpiece with Casa Real Painting! Call Cesar Real at (805) 570-1055 or email casarealpainting@gmail.com for a free estimate today. Let us show you how we can transform your space with color and creativity! Your Space, Your Color, Your Creation!

PERSONAL SERVICES Tell Your Story How did you get to be where you are today? What were your challenges? What is your Love Story? I can help you tell your story in an unforgettable way – with a book that will live on for many generations. The books I write are as thorough and entertaining as acclaimed biographies you’ve read. I also assist with books you write – planning, editing and publishing. David Wilk Great references. (805) 455-5980 www.BiographyDavidWilk.com Ref. MJ 1-10 Ivan. I do Iridology, Dakini + Egyption Astro. Readings; Cert. Hatha Yoga + Prana Yama Classes; I do Rebirthing. Ref N.Y.T. 1-9-24 Often at Pierre Lafond 805-883-8630 iamsoneone4841@gmail.com

Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate. POSITION WANTED

ELECTRICIAN Montecito Electric Repairs and Inspections Licensed C10485353 805-969-1575

Exclusive opportunity Superb “ocean view” internment sight. Contact: 4589west@gmail.com

I CARE! Caregiver, Companion, Gourmet Cook. 15 yrs of experience. Responsible. Excl Refs. Please email Juliette at: caringsoul301@gmail.com

TILE SETTING

Riviera – 1 Bedroom. Duplex + Office. Bright, Hardwood Floors. Ocean View. Quiet. No Pets. $3,400 + Utility Fees. 310-795-3867

FOR SALE

AUTOMOBILES WANTED

US/Kiwi/Brit Estate Manager available to run your estate. Celebrity references. Please call 805.280.6515

AVAILABLE PRIVATE DRIVER & SECURITY Theo Iliadis Professional Private Driver & Private Security Excellent Referrals: Mrs. Valerie Hoffman (626) 660-6490 Valerie.foster@verizon.net Nick Vasels, Attorney at Law (949) 413-0888 nickvasels@gmail.com Christina Karagias Lucky Boy Hamburgers, Inc. (626) 437-3167 Languages: English & Greek No Smoking, No Drinking, & Loyal Available any distance, anytime! 12400 Ventura Blvd Studio City, CA 91604 818-918-8486 DONATIONS NEEDED Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue Summerland, CA 93067 (805) 969-1944

$10 MINIMUM TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

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

It’s simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email Classified Ad to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860. All ads must be finalized by Friday at 2pm the week prior to printing. We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge)

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

“There are two ways of exerting one’s strength: one is pushing down, the other is pulling up.” – Booker T. Washington

8 – 15 February 2024

Mini Meta

Last Week’s Solution:

By Pete Muller & Frank Longo For each of the first five mini crosswords, one of the entries also serves as part of a five-word meta clue. The answer to the meta is a word or phrase (six letters or longer) hidden within the sixth mini crossword. The hidden meta answer starts in one of the squares and snakes through the grid vertically and horizontally from there (no diagonals!) without revisiting any squares. PUZZLE #1 1

T O O L J E R R Y A L G A E I C A N L O N G

C U L T I S E R E N EWA T E D I C T S K A

MG S A F O U L N O V A E D R I V E E A T

M A E F I E L D A C T E D H E A V Y D E L E

WR E A K H A V O C A R E N A L I N E R E N T

WR A T H R A M B O A V I O N P E N N E S L O E S

LONG

TRACK

AND

FIELD

EVENT

MARATHON

PUZZLE #3

PUZZLE #2 3

7 8

Across 1 Chakotay's title on "Star Trek: Voyager": Abbr. 4 "Kiss Me ___ the Phone" (2009 hit for Soulja Boy Tell 'Em) 5 ___ Heights (region northeast of the Sea of Galilee) 6 Tapestry-making devices 7 First first-class seat, maybe

Down 1 "Nomadland" director Zhao 2 "Nomadland," e.g. 3 What baseball's Ronald Acuña Jr. was the 2023 leader in 4 Any of the Teen Titans, say 5 Day-___ colors

1 5

8 9

Across 1 Sound of a belt 4 Structure beneath the sclera and cornea 6 What dieting might decrease 8 Posterior pelvic bones 9 2023 Netflix biopic starring Annette Bening as a swimmer

Down 1 Do some email scamming 2 Book page opposite a verso 3 Talks a blue streak 4 See 1-Across 5 Sub side, maybe

Across 1 "I heard ___" 5 Movements for Moana, maybe 6 Things for which the stakes are low? 7 What the Portuguese word "com" means 8 "___ I hear"

PUZZLE #5

Down 1 Program interrupters 2 Like cranes and stilts 3 See 7-Down 5 Grooming brand since 1977 7 With 3-Down, showed leniency

Across 1 With 4-Down, use a crowbar to remove, say 4 Milo of many movies 6 Switch-switching action 7 Chooses to take nothing in 8 Lead-in to "cares" or "knows"

PUZZLE #4 1

META PUZZLE 5

Across 1 Mane who is featured on Rae Sremmurd's "Black Beatles" 6 Oscar of the Oscar-nominated "Dune" 7 Word after beach or gym 8 Expressed, as a farewell 9 Adept at calculating?

Down 1 Gender-neutral possessive 2 Goes looking for 3 E'en if 4 Grad students working as instructors, perhaps 6 Faced leader?

Down 1 Barry, Maurice, and Robin of pop 2 Garden-variety 3 With 4-Down, it may hang next to an ornament 4 See 3-Down 5 Super-standoffish

Across 1 Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason 5 Opposite of joie de vivre 6 Wanders about the web 7 Opposite of kosher 8 What many bark beetles blemish

Down 1 Small ridge along the edge of a coin or button 2 Against a thing rather than a person, legally 3 Mishits, as a golf shot 4 Bad-mouth 5 Dirección from Guadalajara to Guanajuato

LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

SB-LAX $ 39

dimarcogallery.com Prints Notes Totes

...and more Order greeting cards and add your own greetings

OEACH WAY

SUV $450 -----

PRIVILEGE

(805) 280 5159 TCP 32411-A

TRANSPORTATION

Andrea Dominic, R.Ph. Emily McPherson, Pharm.D. Paul Yered, R.Ph. 1498 East Valley Road Montecito, CA 93108

Phone: 805-969-2284 Fax: 805-565-3174

Compounding Pharmacy & Boutique

STEVEN BROOKS JEWELERS Estate & Insurance Appraisals Graduate Gemologist G.I.A Estate Jewelry & Custom Designs Jewelry Buyer stevenbrooksjewelers.com 805-455-1070

8 – 15 February 2024

She’s Already In You Professional Coaching for Women Relationships Leadership Purpose GABRIELLATAYLOR.COM

Montecito JOURNAL

LUCKY’S

steaks / chops / seafood . . . and brunch • Morning Starters and Other First Courses • Fresh Squeezed OJ or Grapefruit Juice � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 8/10

• Sandwiches •

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

Vegetarian Burger, 5 oz� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22 choice of cheese (burger patty is vegan)

Grilled Artichoke with choice of sauce � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16

Lucky Burger, 8 oz�, � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 28 choice of cheese

Bowl of Chopped Fresh Fruit w/ lime and mint � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 12 Giant Shrimp Cocktail � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 36

Burrata Mozzarella (Puglia), basil and ripe tomato� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22 French Onion Soup, Gratinée � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17 Matzo Ball Soup � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17 Lucky Chili w/ cornbread, cheddar and onions � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22

• A La Carte • Brioche French Toast w/ fresh berries and maple syrup � � � � � � � � � � � 19 Waffle w/ fresh berries, whipped cream, maple syrup � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16 Cambridge House Rope Hung Smoked Salmon, � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29 toasted bialy or bagel, cream cheese, olives, tomato & cucumber

• Eggs and Other Breakfast Dishes • choice of hash browns, fries, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad Classic Eggs Benedict w/ julienne ham and hollandaise � � � � � � � � � 26 California Eggs Benedict w/ spinach, tomato, avocado � � � � � � � � � � 24 Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 28 Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Omelet � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22 Home Made Spanish Chorizo Omelet w/ avocado � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22 Petit Filet 7 oz� Steak, and two eggs any style � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 59 Corned Beef Hash, and two poached eggs � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 26

Grilled Chicken Breast Club on a Soft Bun� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 28 bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado Sliced Filet Mignon Open Faced Sandwich, 6 oz� � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 32 mushroom sauce, french fries Pastrami Reuben � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 26 sauerkraut and gruyere on rye

• Salads and Other Specialties • Wedge of Iceberg � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 18 roquefort or thousand island dressing Arugula, Radicchio & Belgian Endive Salad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 17 reggiano parmesan, balsamic vinaigrette Caesar Salad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 16 w/ grilled chicken breast � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 31 Seafood Louie � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 47 two shrimp, 2 oz� crab, avocado, egg, romaine, tomato, cucumber Charred Rare Tuna Nicoise Salad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 42 Lucky’s Salad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 25 romaine, shrimp, bacon, green beans, peppers, avocado, roquefort Cobb Salad tossed with Roquefort dressing � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 29 Chopped Salad � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 25 arugula, radicchio, shrimp, prosciutto, cannellini beans, onions Sliced Steak Salad, 6 oz�, � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 32 arugula, radicchio, belgian endive and sauteéd onion Dos Pueblos Abalone (4pcs) � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 40

Mixed Vegetable Frittata w/ Gruyere � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22

Jimmy the Greek Salad with Feta � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 20

Huevos Rancheros, two eggs any style � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � 22 tortillas, melted cheese, avocado and warm salsa

join us for brunch saturday and sunday 9AM-2:30PM and for lunch fridays 11AM-2:30PM reservations via OpenTable or by phone 805-565-7540 1279 Coast Village Road, Montecito