Halloween Happenings, Haunts, and Fun: Part II by Terry Ortega
County Pauses
Healthcare Exodus by Nick Welsh
Artist/Mentors Get Their Spotlight at Westmont by Josef Woodard
SNAP Benefits at Risk by Christina
McDermott
Día de los Muertos
Parade Canceled by Ryan P. Cruz
Santa Barbara’s Spooky Local Legends Reveal the Region’s Haunted History by Ryan P. Cruz
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At just eighteen, Paul Signac walked away from architecture school after seeing a Monet exhibition that changed his life. He became a champion of color and, with his friend Georges Seurat, helped develop pointillism, a technique built from tiny, pure dabs of paint that blend in the viewer’s eye. In Mont Saint-Michel, Setting Sun (1897), Signac turned the glow of sunset into a mosaic of orange, pink, and blue that seems to shimmer with movement. By letting color itself carry the emotion and structure of the scene, Signac created a new way of seeing the world. More than a painter, he was a scholar and advocate for art, writing about color harmony and helping to shape the next chapter of Impressionism. This work is now on view at SBMA as part of The Impressionist Revolution: Monet to Matisse from the Dallas Museum of Art.
Dia de los Muertos November 1 & 2
Mario Giacomelli: La Gente, La Terra Through February 15, 2026 Piece by Piece: Collage and Assemblage Through March 22, 2026
Editor in Chief Marianne Partridge Publisher Brandi Rivera
Executive Editor Nick Welsh Senior Editor Tyler Hayden Senior Writer Matt Kettmann
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Arts, Culture, and Community Editor Leslie Dinaberg Calendar Editor Terry Ortega
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News Reporters Ryan P. Cruz, Callie Fausey, Ella Heydenfeldt Senior Arts Writer Josef Woodard Mickey Flacks Fund Fellow Christina McDermott
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the world’s finest classical artists
Spooky Local Legends Reveal Santa Barbara’s Haunted History
Terry Ortega
LOBERO THEATRE
SEASON SPONSOR: ESPERIA FOUNDATION
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2025
Renowned for his “exquisite touch and poetic insight” (The Guardian), Canadian master pianist Louis Lortie presents a special all-Ravel program. This can’t-miss recital celebrates the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth with an unforgettable immersion in his dazzling and colorful piano masterpieces. 7:30 PM · Lobero Theatre RAVEL at 150
Sponsor: Robert Castle
Co-Sponsor: Edward S. DeLoreto Concert Partners: Maureen & Les Shapiro
This week, we’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our sales team: Ariana Hugo. When she started at the Indy, she jumped into meeting her clients, getting weekly ads in, and working on our big issues like Best of Santa Barbara® and our newly added Sandwich Week. Hugo has handled it all with a smile and a true gogetter attitude, ready to take on whatever project comes her way next.
When did you start at the Independent? What made you interested in a sales position? I started at the Independent in June 2025. I was drawn to sales because it allows me to combine creativity and relationship-building two things I’ve always enjoyed! I love connecting with local businesses and helping them find ways to share their story with the community through thoughtful advertising.
What was your position before joining the Indy team? How has it helped you and has it changed your view of sales? Before joining the Independent, I worked as a marketing lead at Berkshire Hathaway, where I managed projects, designed ads for agents, and ran their social media page. That experience taught me how important collaboration, branding, and clear messaging are to effective marketing all skills that translate directly into sales. While I no longer design ads myself, I now coordinate closely with our production team to make sure every client’s vision comes to life.
Read more at Independent.com.
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FRIDAY, JANUARY 23, 2026
Riccardo Muti, Music Director Emeritus for Life
7:30 PM · The Granada Theatre
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 98
STRAVINSKY: Divertimento, arranged from Le Baiser de la Fée (The Fairy’s Kiss) RAVEL: Boléro
Sponsors: Michele Neely Saltoun and Anne Smith Towbes, In honor of the memory of Andre Saltoun and Michael Towbes • Beth Gates Warren & Bob Boghosian • Edward S. DeLoreto • Ellen & Peter Johnson
Co-Sponsors: Elizabeth & Andrew Butcher • Carolyn & Sam Wolcott With support from Edward O. Huntington
We see our success in the lives we help turn around. For us, winning comes from the many futures returned and families made whole. That’s why, from performing over 2,700 heart transplants to the first human bladder transplant, our story is about more than breakthroughs. It’s about all those we help to write more chapters of their own.
On the ballot, Prop 50 is formally called “The Election Rigging Response Act.” We could more accurately call it “The Temporary Emergency Gerrymandering Act.”
If passed, Prop 50 would allow California to bypass the state’s nonpartisan commission that redraws congressional districts’ boundary lines. The commission was approved by voters in a 2008 election and is now mandated by our state’s Constitution.
If Prop 50 is passed, the Governor and Legislature would be allowed to redraw or gerrymander the map, to create five additional congressional districts that would favor Democratic candidates based on party registrations.
Yes, this is political gerrymandering, just as its critics claim. And it sets aside, for five years, the reform-minded nonpartisan commission.
But President Donald Trump has called on Republican governors across the country to redraw their own congressional maps to give him and his MAGA movement in the 2026 midterm elections the seats needed to continue to control Congress. Right now, Republicans enjoy only a precarious threevote advantage in a bitterly divided House of Representatives.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott was the first to answer Trump’s call by redrawing the Lone Star State’s congressional map in what he hopes will add five additional Republican seats. Other Republican-controlled states are following suit.
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom responded by unveiling a competing gerrymandering plan. But unlike Texas where the governor has unilateral authority Newsom needs a vote of the people to set aside the independent commission. Hence, Proposition 50.
True, the five additional Democratic Congressional seats Newsom hopes will result if Prop 50 passes will not be enough to shift the balance of power in the House. Other Democratic states will have to join in. Without the five additional Democratic seats that California could deliver, however, the chances of any success are grimly remote.
But is it worth putting the California nonpartisan commission on hold for five years? The Independent strongly endorsed that reform measure when it was on the ballot in 2008. So, there’s nothing light, flippant, or heedless about our endorsement of Prop 50.
Why now?
It appears to us that the real agenda of this President of the United States and his MAGA movement is to inflame our already divided country, celebrate chaos, destroy our institutions, and stamp out contrary thought. If we don’t agree with him, we don’t belong here.
Right now, Trump enjoys absolute control of the White House, Congress, and the Senate, and with few notable exceptions, he holds absolute sway over the Supreme Court.
France’s absolute monarch Louis XIV’s famous remark, “L’etat, c’est moi,” springs disturbingly to mind. Only the French
could give the sounds of dictatorship a charming ring. But the only ringing we hear from our burgeoning dictator are alarm bells.
When the president and his “secretary of war” convened a gathering of 800 of the nation’s highest-ranking military leaders this month, they warned the officers to be on guard against what they called “the enemy from within.”
Trump suggested that U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., were “dangerous cities” and should be used as “training grounds” for our military. The people living in these American cities are “no different than a foreign enemy, but more difficult in many ways because they don’t wear uniforms.”
No other president, in this century or the last, has been so eager to dispatch American troops U.S. Marines and members of the National Guard to occupy the streets of American cities.
It’s notable that all the mayors of the cities mentioned are Democrats. And it’s notable that all the cities have large populations of non-white residents.
“The enemy from within?”
We share many of the concerns raised by critics of Prop 50. Truly, we sympathize. Today, however, no other credible force exists to check a government so unhinged and unbalanced. We urge a yes vote on Proposition 50. Sometimes, in desperate times, desperate acts are needed. And we believe desperate times are upon us. n
• Earthquakes in California are inevitable, but the damage they cause may be preventable.
• Houses with raised foundations built before 1980 are especially at risk from earthquake damage.
• Strengthen your home and help protect your family with an earthquake retrofit – it can be simple to do and cheaper than you think.
by RYAN P. CRUZ, CALLIE FAUSEY, JACKSON FRIEDMAN, TYLER HAYDEN, ELLA HEYDENFELDT,
by Callie Fausey
Gillnet fishing around the Channel Islands could soon meet its grave. Fishermen can keep their nets in the water for now, but after Assembly Bill 1056 takes effect in 2027, they will only be able to transfer their permit to a single family member. And then it’s the end of the line.
Nearly invisible to fish and reaching a mile long, gillnets are anchored to the sea floor, intended to catch species such as halibut and white sea bass. However, unsuspecting sea lions, sharks, and other animals can get trapped in their clutches. When that happens, if the catch cannot be sold, it is thrown overboard as waste. About half of all gillnet catches are discarded this way, according to conservationists.
Concerned by these casualties, Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) worked with ocean advocates Oceana and Resource Renewal Institute to author AB 1056. “California’s biodiverse underwater ecosystems are world-renowned, and we must do our part to keep it that way,” said Bennett. The Channel Islands, he noted, are one of the last examples of “natural Southern California coastal ecosystems,” and are critical to “community well-being” and the
“multimillion-dollar fishing and tourism industries.”
“AB 1056 provides a fair and just transition to both fishermen and the fisheries affected,” Bennett added.
by Nick Welsh
Last Wednesday evening at a small public gathering in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County Public Health chief Dr. Mouhanad Hammami quietly announced a major policy aboutface and how 7,000 undocumented patients now receiving care at one of the county’s five Public Health clinics would not have to be transferred to other health care providers after all.
At least, for the time being.
The wholesale transfer was first publicly discussed and reluctantly embraced by the county supervisors October 7. Hammami argued forcefully at that meeting that the transfer was necessary to make sure the patients in question could be provided medical care because the Trump White House had issued an edict that no federal health care dollars could be spent on people without proof of citizenship. Agencies not in compliance with this order, Hammami warned the supervisors, were in jeopardy of losing all of their federal funding.
Immigration rights advocates as well as the labor union representing dozens of public health employees who had to be laid
off because of the $8 million drop in revenues the loss of 7,000 patients would trigger vigorously opposed the plan, calling it a premature capitulation to the Trump agenda. They expressed outrage at the lack of prior public outreach supervisors heard about the plan only three days before the October 7 hearing and the term “betrayal” was thrown around with some frequency. At that meeting, the supervisors responded by agreeing to postpone authorizing the layoff notices until November 18.
Persuading the supervisors and, by extension, Hammami to change course so dramatically last week was a coalition of labor unions and immigrant rights advocates who lobbied not just the supervisors themselves but who also managed to enlist California Attorney General Rob Bonta into the matter. Bonta reportedly questioned Supervisor Laura Capps about the proposed patient transfer at a recent fundraising dinner hosted by the Santa Barbara Democratic Party.
While Bonta’s line of questioning has been described as gentle and curious rather than accusatory, he also made it clear that he questioned the wisdom of the supervi-
sors’ direction. After all, he had filed a lawsuit against the White House over this very policy; there’s an injunction currently in place barring the proof of citizenship rule from taking effect. Had the supervisors not changed direction, Santa Barbara would have been the first county in the state to have ordered the transfer of their undocumented patients.
In addition, Jeremy Goldberg, executive director of the Central Coast Labor Council, said a coalition of progressive organizations the Fund for Santa Barbara, 805 UndocuFund, CAUSE, MICOP, and SBCAN had bombarded the supervisors with expert legal opinions indicating that the injunction blocking Trump’s proof of citizenship requirements was considerably stronger than the supervisors initially surmised.
Even the attorneys representing the federal government, Goldberg stated, had acknowledged that much of the necessary administrative spadework for passing such complicated new rules had not been done yet. Even if the injunction were to fall, he said, the county’s public health clinics would have some advance notification to prepare their patients for transfer. n
Detectives have narrowed the timeline in their search for 9-year-old Lompoc girl Melodee Buzzard. Authorities obtained an image of Melodee at a rental car business on October 7 and say there is evidence that she and her mother, Ashlee Buzzard, began a road trip together. Ashlee Buzzard is thought to have driven in a white Chevrolet Malibu from Lompoc to “the Nebraska area” and back, returning to Lompoc on October 10 without Melodee. Law enforcement says Buzzard also drove through Kansas on her return trip. “Detectives are now focused on determining where Melodee was during those three days and where she may be now,” officials said.
Shaun Hertlein (pictured), a former Goleta youth pastor and high school football coach, has pleaded guilty to possessing more than 600 images of child pornography and will be sentenced next month to two years in state prison. Hertlein’s plea deal with prosecutors also carries a lifetime sex offender registration. When detectives served a search warrant on Hertlein’s home in May and before they took him into custody, they located “over 20 loaded, unsecured firearms in the residence,” a Sheriff’s report states. Authorities obtained an emergency protective order to seize the guns, noting his wife feared “retaliation from Shaun” and that church members worried he would “shoot up the church.” Hertlein remains in custody without bail. He will appear in court November 3 for his sentencing.
The body of James “Dingo” Dominguez has been found more than two months after the longtime Santa Barbara resident disappeared in Montana’s Flathead Lake during a training mission for a transatlantic rowing expedition. Dominguez a 58-year-old Marine Corps veteran, endurance athlete, and longtime Santa Barbara local went missing on July 15 after a sudden storm overturned the boat he and his teammates were using to prepare for a November ocean crossing. Two members of the team were rescued and treated for hypothermia. Dingo was pulled away by the water and didn’t resurface.
More than 55,000 people in Santa Barbara County could find themselves short on money to buy food next month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has directed states to withhold SNAP benefits should the federal government shutdown continue to November. That deadline is fast approaching.
SNAP, or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the country’s largest food aid program. Erik Talkin, CEO of the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, said his organization expects a significant increase in demand if SNAP benefits are withheld. He said he wants people to understand who receives these benefits. “The reality is that 40 percent are children, 22 percent are older adults, and 23 percent are younger adults, typically in college,” he explained.
announced that it is fast tracking “upward of $80 million in state support.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with 23 other attorney generals, is suing the USDA over withholding SNAP benefits, saying the agency has billions of dollars in contingency funding to help keep the program going in November.
Talkin said the Foodbank is communicating with Santa Barbara City College and Allan Hancock College to address student needs, and focusing on senior housing to help older adults. DoorDash, he said, has waived delivery fees for November, so the organization can scale up home deliveries for disabled people.
On the state level, Governor Gavin Newsom said he plans to deploy the California National Guard to help food banks distribute food. The governor’s office has
A USDA spokesperson said the contingency money is not legally available to cover benefits and that transferring funding sources would put school meal and infant formula programs at risk. The agency’s website displays a message stating “the well has run dry” and blaming Democratic senators for the imminent loss in funding. Independent of the government shutdown, the Trump Administration’s Big Beautiful Bill cuts SNAP benefits by $186 billion through 2035.
—Christina McDermott
Two policy changes proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) could leave hundreds of people in Santa Barbara County homeless, according to Rob Fredericks, CEO of the City of Santa Barbara’s Housing Authority, and Bob Havlicek, executive director for the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara.
HUD plans to cease benefits for households that include undocumented residents, explained Fredericks, forcing them to make an impossible choice: split up or lose the funding that helps keep them sheltered. In Santa Barbara County, that includes 302 families, most of them with children. “These are families that [are] longstanding community members,” he said. “They’re working families. Their kids go to our schools.”
Since the 1980s, households with undocumented members could still receive federal housing benefits, like Section 8 vouchers, but they were prorated based on the number of documented people living there. If one person in a household of four was undocumented, for example, the home received 75 percent of the full benefits available to it.
HUD is proposing a total ban on so-called
mixed-status households.
HUD also intends to stop funding emergency housing vouchers, which help keep people at risk of homelessness off the streets by getting them a place to live and assisting with rent. Many are fleeing domestic violence or sexual assault. In Santa Barbara County, 349 people, including 104 children, would lose out.
Havlicek said his organization is working to source temporary funding to help families in the short term. But both he and Fredericks said their organizations have no room to absorb the families on emergency vouchers into their regular programs. “This is not just an economic issue,” Havlicek said. “This impacts people’s personal lives directly.”
—Christina McDermott
Two new lawsuits have been filed against Ritz-Carlton Bacara massage therapists for alleged sexual battery against clients. The filings echo a 2022 lawsuit that recently concluded with a large financial settlement, and another similar complaint that was resolved between attorneys before it reached the courts.
Three of the four cases involve the same massage therapist, Jacob Atkinson, who has since been terminated by the Bacara. He now operates a private practice in Goleta. Attempts to reach Atkinson for comment were unsuccessful.
The remaining complaint names a current Bacara masseur, Arnold MartinezLenz, whose personal attorney declined to
comment for this story. Multiple calls and emails made to lawyers and representatives of the Bacara and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company went unreturned. In legal motions, they have denied the allegations.
“For years, I lived with the pain and shame of what happened to me,” one of the plaintiffs told the Independent. “It took a long time before I felt strong enough to come forward. When I finally did, I learned that the hotel had prior knowledge that this therapist had assaulted other women yet he was allowed to continue working. That discovery was devastating.”
Read more at Independent.com.
—Tyler Hayden
Sable Offshore experienced a critical new setback in its ongoing quest to restart oil production off the Gaviota Coast, this time in the form of terse letter signed by California State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant putting the company on notice that it had not repaired all the corroded portions of its damaged pipeline according to the specifications required by his office.
Absent this level of repair, Berlant notified Sable on October 22 that its application to restart the vast oil and gas plant up the coast, its much-storied pipeline, and the three offshore platforms it purchased from Exxon two years ago could not be processed. Sable shot back a quick response the following day informing Berlant he got it wrong: “The OSFM (Office of the State Fire Marshal) conclusions are in error and are inconsistent with numerous discussions between OSFM and Sable.”
The Fire Marshal’s letter is a big deal because no other state agency can approve Sable’s application to restart production. That’s not to say other agencies don’t have a big say. Based on a bill signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Sable will be required to get a development permit from the California Coastal Commission. That law, however, doesn’t go into effect until January 1. For
Sable, this adds an element of urgency to securing Fire Marshal approval before then.
In the meantime, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will hold a second hearing this Tuesday on Sable’s application to transfer the title and permits it bought from Exxon. Last October, supervisors deadlocked 2-2 and the transfer failed for lack of a majority. The likelihood of such a deadlock repeating itself seems slim as Supervisor Joan Hartmann who had recused herself from the prior vote on the grounds that the pipeline came within a short distance of her home in Buellton has now been notified she can vote on this narrow measure.
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Also this coming Tuesday, Sable will be arraigned on criminal charges filed by the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office. These charges involve work done without permit over creeks and streams over which the Central Coast branch of the Regional Water Quality Control District holds jurisdictional sway. In such cases corporations charged with criminal offenses no one from Sable needs to show up in person other than the company’s legal counsel. Bail is not an issue. The only thing likely to happen is for Sable to announce that it’s pleading not guilty to the charges.
—Nick Welsh
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The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara has decided to cancel its annual Día de los Muertos “Calenda” parade this year, with the museum’s Executive Director Dalia Garcia citing concerns over the potential risk of immigration enforcement. Last year, the event attracted nearly 10,000 people to downtown with live music, colorful costumes, and giant papier-mâché puppets.
“Many have reminded us that although ICE raiders may no longer dominate daily headlines, the threat to undocumented families remains very real,” Garcia said.
This is the second version of the bill, and it is less aggressive than its previous iteration. It allows existing gill-netters to continue fishing through their retirement. Although permits will become nontransferable in January 2027, the law includes the exception of a one-time transfer to a single family member. After it has been passed down once, however, it will become nontransferable.
“Even though it’s less aggressive, legislation shouldn’t be used to make fishery management decisions,” Voss said. Participants in the gillnet fishery have dwindled significantly already, he said. As of 2024, there were 91 set gillnet permits managed by the state of California, of which only 34 were active. Further, only a handful of those active permits are producing a significant amount of catch, Voss noted.
That said, the port area of Santa Barbara is the most productive in the state when it comes to white sea bass, producing nearly 46 percent of total commercial landings from 2014 to 2022, according to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.
“Our fishery is abundant,” Voss said. “And a set gillnet is efficient, which is a major
“Policies that criminalize migration, restrict access to essential services, and sow fear continue to endanger lives.” Garcia said that holding such a public celebration without acknowledging the community’s fears could be seen as commodifying indigenous traditions for the sake of aesthetics a gesture that would be “disconnected from the very communities it claims to honor.” She said MCASB staff are hopeful that the annual parade will return in the future, if conditions allow for a “truly safe, inclusive, and a cocreated gathering.” —Ryan P.Cruz
consideration for fishermen. Catching with less effort benefits the overall economic dynamic, with benefits to the broader community, including restaurants.”
Thanks to past fishery management actions to reduce bycatch, gillnet fishermen have long grappled with restrictions in the name of conservation.
Voss pointed to research by UCSB biologists that showed that official estimates of bycatch had not been updated since 2012, and “that current fishing operations do not pose a threat” to protected marine species, “which suggests that current management is sufficient at limiting bycatch” of gillnets, the study states. If there were indeed major impacts, Voss said, “We would definitely want to make adjustments, but that’s definitely not the case.”
Instead of outright killing the fishery, Voss said he would have preferred discussions on limiting fishery capacity, or potentially regulating the nets’ mesh size to further reduce bycatch. “It’s a dangerous precedent to allow the legislature to phase a fishery out of existence, when as a community, we don’t believe that’s justified,” he said. n
After a recent nosedive, Sable Offshore’s stock price was given a 15 percent boost thanks to a social media post from the Trump administration. In May, Sable stock hit a high of $33.02 per share and plummeted to a low of $11.81 by October 17. However, Energy Secretary Chris Wright could be credited with nudging it back up to $12.79 on October 20, following a post on X saying that California Governor Gavin Newsom “is blocking oil production off California’s coast from reaching their own refineries, driving gasoline prices even higher for Californians.”
Joining 50 other campuses statewide, Santa Barbara High School students walked out of class Friday morning and marched down Anapamu Street to advocate for the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act. The legislation would force oil companies to pay for environmental damages attributed to fossil fuel production. Such operations produced more than one billion tons of greenhouse gases in California between 1990 and 2024, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the bill’s sponsors. Advocates say it could raise more than $150 billion to invest in schools, infrastructure, and clean energy
A 270-foot vessel is currently anchored off Santa Barbara’s coast. Named Ocean Protector, the giant barge, located just east of Stearns Wharf, is playing
a temporary but important role in supporting Santa Barbara’s desalination plant. Over four weeks, it will reinforce the intake pumps that deliver water from the ocean to the plant onshore. According to the City of Santa Barbara, crews will be placing 450 tons of protective rock around the pump platforms, making them more resilient to strong currents caused by storms and large tidal changes. The design is expected to last 50 years and will cost the city a little more than $5 million.
Representative Salud Carbajal sent a letter this week to the federal Office of Special Counsel demanding that it investigate what he called “the Trump administration’s apparent illegal use of government resources to promote a partisan political agenda.” Carbajal pointed to a message recently posted to the official Los Padres National Forest website that reads: “The Radical Left Democrats shut down the government. This government website will be updated periodically during the funding lapse for mission critical functions. President Trump has made it clear he wants to keep the government open and support those who feed, fuel, and clothe the American people.” Carbajal argued the messaging is a violation of the Hatch Act, a law designed to ensure that federal workers operate free of political influence or coercion.
In back-to-back announcements, the Santa Barbara Airport confirmed that United Airlines will resume nonstop service to Chicago O’Hare starting April 6, 2026, and Alaska Airlines will reintroduce nonstop flights to San Diego International beginning April 22, 2026. Both routes were attempted during the uncertain COVID travel years of 2021-2022 but were eventually pulled. “Since then, we’ve been working with [the airlines] and encouraging them to consider bringing them back,” said Lauren Gonzalez, SBA’s marketing supervisor. “So, we’re very happy that it’s finally happening.”
Asubstitute teacher at San Marcos High School was removed from campus Friday morning after reading the N-word aloud while leading a classroom reading of Of Mice and Men, despite explicit instructions not to.
The incident took place during first period in Ms. Tia Hannah’s English class. According to Principal Dare Holdren, a student complained to the front office, triggering swift administrative action. “I am grateful that a student reported the incident to the office during the period, so we were able to address it right away,” Holdren said in a message sent to families later that day. Holdren explained that the substitute had been given clear directions in the lesson plan to avoid reading racial slurs aloud and to replace them with appropriate alternatives. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, published in 1937, includes themes of rac-
ism, disability, and sexism, and contains the N-word 16 times. It remains widely taught in American classrooms, but is also a regular fixture on the American Library Association’s list of banned books.
“I am disappointed and upset that this happened, particularly in light of our school and district-wide efforts to address racist language,” Holdren continued. “While the substitute seems to have not intended to cause harm, the impact of the use of the slur was hurtful and traumatic for many of the students in the class.”
York Shingle, president of the Santa Barbara Teachers Association, said that the substitute is not a union member. “I did hear about the incident and am upset that it occurred,” Shingle said. The district has not released the substitute’s name or clarified whether they have been officially dismissed, suspended, or reassigned. —Ella Heydenfeldt
SEIZMICK RIUFT: The rest of whole world may be going to hell in a handbasket, but here in Santa Barbara, we are insisting that our handbasket be aesthetically pleasing in warp, woof, and weave. Admittedly, this can get precious. But it’s the Santa Barbara way I’m not just talking white stucco walls and red tile roofs; it’s more the human scale of our built environment. And that’s a rare accomplishment. Architectural shouting has always been frowned on here.
All that’s changing. New state laws designed to liberate would-be housing developers some affordable, but most not from a lot of the gauntlet of design review rules, and what passes for local control, are now kicking in. And some our city planning commissioners in particular are screaming their heads off about it.
We’d all better listen. Here’s why.
A couple of weeks ago, while searching for a football game, I stumbled onto a televised rerun of the October 9 Planning Commission meeting. The deliberations were over a development project that would radically transform the Paseo Nuevo mall in the heart of downtown.
As developments go, it doesn’t get much more important than this. It’s two square city blocks. It’s our community living room, though increasingly one of those where no one sits unless company calls
My mind was blown by what I saw. It was
an epic cultural shift. We have lost any semblance of control of what gets built, where, how much, and under what constraints in our very own downtown.
Once upon a time, planning commissioners were the city’s philosopher kings, selfappointed know-it-alls who worried over what seemed like trivial things, but it turned out they knew what they were talking about It’s really made a big difference.
On my TV screen, however, the planning commissioners were being sternly schooled by Dan Henschke (SP), an assistant city attorney who told them they were not allowed to talk about what they were talking about. They couldn’t ask questions that anyone in a position of oversight should feel compelled to ask.
What couldn’t they ask? “Is this really a take-it-or-leave-it deal?” “Is it really now or never?” “Do we have any idea what new stores and markets the developers plan to bring?”
“Do we really want to donate a downtown public parking garage to the project?” And lastly, “On what planet does it make sense for City Hall to donate not just the parking lot but two city-owned blocks to a private developer, AllianceBernstein who has assets of nearly $800 billion?”
To her great credit, Planning Commissioner Lesley Wiscomb the personification of smart, sensible, and civil went head-tohead with Henschke, politely telling him to go pound sand. Wiscomb’s quiet intensity gave the moment a genuine sense of revolt, a spirit
embraced by all five commissioners present. Wiscomb worried about giving city-owned land to a private developer. She worried that the new development would be too “exclusive” even for Santa Barbara, that its proposed high-end supermarket and top-drawer shops would gentrify the street. Every single commissioner was similarly troubled
There is much to love about the project: 233 units of market-rate housing. People living downtown. Eighty below-marketrate units way more than the 24 required by law. The potential for new economic life downtown.
But there is much to hate, too. For starters, it is 15 feet higher than the city’s height limit, which was ratified by a vote of the people. There’s the massive donation of public land we will never get back.
But mostly, the planning commission’s biggest beef was everything we still don’t know Which in this case is pretty much everything.
To get 80 units of below-market-rate housing and we still don’t know what that means City Hall will have to destroy Parking Lot 2, located in the shadow of the Canary Hotel. That’s around 185 parking spaces built on the taxpayer dime up in smoke. Does anyone know how many parking spaces currently exist on city streets, in private parking lots, and in our public lots? No, we do not. And if we don’t, how do we know we can afford to give these away?
And don’t forget a new state law to encour-
age new housing that pretty much eliminates all parking requirements for new residential. Do we really need a new Gucci-fied supermarket so high-end it will make Gelson’s look like a 7-Eleven? And do we really need a new gym? Isn’t State Street already awash with popup gyms?
The commissioners were told again by the aforementioned city attorney that they could only comment on its design features and whether it was compatible with the city’s general plan. They retorted, en masse, that since the project’s designs are not yet even half-baked final designs come later it was hard to comment meaningfully
What’s my point? This was the Planning Commission’s last known opportunity to weigh in on the most important planning decision in 40 years. The developers have held only two public open houses, neither of which was well publicized. Either way, they fell way short of the public outreach blitz urged by the City Council earlier this year. Have they ever asked us what we would like? It might be a good question.
What’s my point? Slow it the hell down. If it’s such a great deal, it’ll survive. If not, maybe it wasn’t meant to be.
In case you hadn’t heard, the expression “To hell in a handbasket” refers to what happened to the human head after it was chopped off by a guillotine
Let’s hope that’s not us. — Nick Welsh
I t was eight years ago that Parkinson’s came knocking on our door. This uninvited guest very quickly became the center of our conversations, the subject of our Google searches, and the family secret we didn’t discuss in public.
It took three years after my husband’s diagnosis before he was willing to tell anyone other than our children. I was sworn to secrecy even though, by the look on friends’ faces, they suspected what we weren’t saying. I became a master of suppressed emotion.
Parkinson’s isn’t satisfied with only affecting one member of the family. It wants to control the whole family, and in accomplishing its objective, it always wins. Usually, the spouse becomes the primary caregiver ready or not.
Fortunately, there is a remedy for the loneliness, endless questions, and feeling of being alone on an island of exhaustion, fear, and despair. It is a caregiver support group.
The Parkinson Association of Santa Barbara online caregiver support group meets via Zoom on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m. It has become a lifeline. Until I joined, I had no idea how much I needed it or the significant role the compassionate and knowledgeable facilitators and members would come to have in my life.
Becoming part of this group, finding community and emotional support, has become an unexpected gift of Parkinson’s. I am so grateful I received it. For more information go to mypasb.org or call (805) 683-1326. Judith Kahan Kampmann, S.B.
My father-in-law, a lifelong Republican, attended the October 18 No Kings protest in patriotic red, white, and blue dress and proclaimed his distress about the authoritarianism of this administration. I don’t believe he ever protested against the U.S. government in his life. He supported Trump in 2016.
Sadly, what greeted him (and likely other moderate Republicans) at the rally was a very Democratic Party–centric series of speakers and messages. As a lifelong leftist, I cheered heartily along with the crowd of mostly Democrats; but afterward, I felt that our “indivisible” efforts probably contributed to more division.
I think we can do better. I believe strongly in what Indivisible is doing. But I think people like my father-in-law are the majority of this country. Unless our movement takes into account the socalled “silent majority,” we risk deepening rifts and ultimately losing to the authoritarian takeover.
Our future depends on our uniting as a people and a movement against dictators, naked corruption, racist and pro-Nazi rhetoric, and the unlawful use of power. These are not partisan issues, and they demand the broadest possible coalition.
I recommend that Indivisible invite nonpolitical people to speak who have had enough: business leaders, disaffected Republicans, nonpartisan elected leaders, and real moderates. These people have been marginalized and disenfranchised by toxic political division and angry rhetoric on both sides.
We need to make a bigger tent to bring in friends who we might not have spoken to about politics out of our fear of difference. The problem is that fear.
Chuck Flacks, S.B.
***
I attended my first protests during the ’60s for racial equality and the end of the Vietnam War. History shows that those movements were effective. I have attended many since then, including the No Kings events. It seemed to me that the average age of the people in Alameda Park on Saturday was about 65.
When we oldsters are all dead and gone, today’s younger people will be living in the fascist oligarchy that the people around Trump are creating. More of them need to show up now to prevent that from happening.
David C. Turpin, S.B.
ReadySBC.org/emergency now provides precise information for your address
Stay informed during a crisis with Santa Barbara County’s new emergency zones map.
During emergencies, learn:
• What’s happening in your area: Get information on evacuation orders, shelter-in-place advisories, and what actions you might need to take.
• Where to go for help: Locate open shelters, community resources, and safety instructions nearby.
• How to stay informed: Find current road closures, emergency resources, and safety guidance. The system is available on smartphones, tablets, and computers.
Access the map 24/7 and remember to bookmark it.
with experts, play in the sand and explore how sediment shapes our
(www.scc.ca.gov)
I n your Best Of edition, what about Best President? Trump peace, prosperity, safety, closed borders, cost-cutting waste in government, higher wages by removing illegal labor, low gasoline prices, and so on.
—Craig Murphy, Carpinteria
965-5518; or email: letters@independent.com. Unabridged versions and more letters appear at independent.com/opinions
We are proud to be recognized for our Award-Winning Journalism in the Visit independent.com/2024awards to view the winning entries
Arts & Entertainment Coverage: SBIFF GIVES FIESTA 5 A NEW LEASE ON LIFE by Nick Welsh
Enterprise News Story or Series: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE by Callie Fausey
Fine Arts Writing/Reporting: ART ABOUT LIFE, DEATH, AND CLOWNING by Joe Woodard
Labor Reporting: AFTER NEAR-STRIKE AND HISTORIC TEACHERS’ RAISE, S.B. UNIFIED GRAPPLES WITH TEACHER TURNOVER, A $10M BUDGET SHORTFALL, AND ‘RESIDUAL FRUSTRATION by Callie Fausey
Local Election Coverage: S.B. COUNTY ELECTION UPDATE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE TO CITY HALL by Nick Welsh
Music Writing: THE BRASSCALS BRING HONK TO SANTA BARBARA by Nick Welsh
Photo Story/Essay:
S.B. SOLSTICE PARADE TAKES A FLIGHT OF FANCY UP SANTA BARBARA STREET by Leslie Dinaberg, Photos by Ingrid Bostrom
Print Inside Layout: INDY AWARDS by Xavier Pereyra
Best Newsletter: FULL BELLY FILES by Matt Kettmann
In Depth Reporting: S.B.’S HOSPITALITY GAME-CHANGERS by Matt Kettmann
Investigative Reporting: I HAVE TO LIVE EVERY DAY KNOWING THAT MY INNOCENT CHILD WAS VIOLATED by Callie Fausey
News Photo:
UCSB ACADEMIC WORKERS STRIKE PHOTO by Ingrid Bostrom
Photo Story/Essay: S.B. SEEN: THE ART OF PEDRO DE LA CRUZ by Matt Kettmann
BY CRISTINA GARCIA
Omar Avendaño was wise beyond his years, and I am forever grateful for our 13 years together. During his life’s troubles, he learned to keep going. And I learned from him that life is short; we should plan for the future but not compromise the present, build solid friendships, show and receive love, prepare for death, and live without fear.
Omar was born to Miguel Avendaño and Rita Correa in Santa Ana, California. He was a sibling to Miguel, Alejandra, and Abraham, and Lizbeth.
Rita often shares stories of Omar’s childhood, and I’ve created an endearing picture of Omar as a child: mischievous, curious, empathetic, chatty, independent, adventurous, clever, and inseparable from his cousin Eddie. Rita would receive calls from school four days out of five; Omar was the most talkative person in the room, distracting everybody, yet he knew all the material. This was the first hint at Omar’s genius for multitasking effortlessly.
The family moved from Santa Ana to Mexico, then back to California when Omar was 14. After high school, Omar chose the farthest state college on the map: Humboldt. He made a fast friend of Heriberto Soto Gonzalez when he wore a Mexican jersey to soccer practice, as the place wasn’t very diverse at the time.
In early 2009, his dear father died, prompting Omar to drop out of a fellowship in Health Economics at the University of New Mexico and return to the Inland Empire. The following year proved to be the most difficult of his life: The country was in a deep economic recession, he had recently ended a relationship, and he was uncertain about his path forward. Our conversations about that time helped me understand why Omar loved a good redemption story.
After applying for countless jobs, Omar received a call from Impact, a small startup in Santa Barbara, which hired him in 2010. Soon after, Omar became close friends with coworkers Damian Juarez, Lia Crawford, Fedor Kostritsa, and Vern Rodriguez, who, in particular, made an effort to include Omar outside of work, encouraging him to stay in town and explore Santa Barbara.
The night I met Omar at Palmieri’s in early 2012, I walked away knowing I had met someone special. We talked for hours, our conversation flowing from lighthearted topics to the deep lessons that loss teaches us. Over the next 10 months, we hung out, met each other’s friends, and went to concerts, game nights, happy hours, and hikes. One day, he sent a text admitting that he liked me as more than just a friend. A few weeks later, Vern spotted us being flirty at a bar and called out, “¡Besos!” We kissed, and our love story began.
When our two beautiful daughters, Emilia and Lucia, arrived, our lives felt complete. Omar was a natural dad: He befriended neighbors and helped plan community events, he coached Lucia’s AYSO team, he spent countless afternoons going on bike rides with the girls and answering questions to anyone who asked about whatever new e-bike he was riding, and he was an involved parent at the Orfalea Center and at Adelante.
Early in our relationship, Omar suggested saving aggressively for our retirement home in Guanajuato City. A few years later, luck struck, and we were able to buy our dream home. During the pandemic, we spent months there at a time, raising our daughters as bilingual and bicultural, hosting our favorite people, and filling the walls of our new home with happy memories. Often, I would think how unfair it was to have so much happiness.
Back in Santa Barbara in the summer of 2024, Omar was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Throughout our relationship, we had spoken about death and the importance of enjoying life, but signing his advance directives was so hard. Before being discharged from Cottage Hospital to begin treatment, Omar told me it was okay to have feelings, but we could not spend our days consumed by sadness; our girls needed the best of us for whatever time we had left.
The next 12 months and eight days were a gift. We lived fully and with intention. Friends and family traveled from near and far. We attended weddings of some of the most important people in our lives, received counseling, soaked in love, and created memories for our daughters to cherish.
Our first date was magical: Thai food, a walk at the beach, and a shooting star streaking across the sky after a kiss. A year later, we started planning our life together. On a trip to Paris, I was retracing the steps of Nino chasing Amélie in my favorite film when Omar gently held my face, told me he loved me, and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him. We were married during a perfect spring day, surrounded by family and friends.
Inevitably, Omar’s health declined, and I learned that caring for someone you love unconditionally does not feel like work; it feels like a gift. His army of loyal friends and family surrounded us with love. The evening of August 12, as the Perseids meteor shower lit the sky, Omar died peacefully at home in my arms. n
Will Santa Barbara Lead the Way in Caring for Sexually Exploited Young People?
BY JEFF SHAFFER
In 2005, while sitting in North Star Coffee on State Street and reading Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski, in walked the author himself. As I am apt to make the most of any synchronistic moment, I invited him to join me.
It just so happened that I was on a listening journey into the heart of downtown Santa Barbara, to discover the most urgent cries of the neighborhood. Under the Overpass was Mike’s journey from having no understanding of the issue of homelessness and, by becoming homeless himself for a time, to becoming an advocate for friends on the streets. I remember him saying to me, “If you want to understand the city, you should understand homelessness.”
I joined him, and a few months later some friends and I were at Pershing Park every Wednesday with spaghetti, salad, and bread. I was given the street name “Spaghetti Man,” and the trajectory of my life changed.
My work at the park was primarily with chronically homeless individuals who were deemed “service resistant” at the time. It is our care for this specific population that I have seen radically change from 2005 to 2025, because we combined all our efforts to create better strategies and systems from streets to housing.
Over 20 years, we moved from having no professional case management agencies out on the streets to several agencies now countywide. We developed our local Coordinated Entry System, utilizing consistent federal funding streams for case management. We developed the Vulnerability Index to help assess and assist the most vulnerable into housing first.
The Freedom Warming Centers opened when the county worked with local faith communities and men and women with lived experience. This overnight shelter during rain or very cold temperatures dramatically decreased the number of deaths on the streets among the individuals experiencing homelessness.
The highlight for me? We had the most volunteers ever in the United States coming to work alongside us and the 100,000 Homes Campaign in 2011 to engage in the Point-in-Time Count connected to the Vulnerability Index. We had more than 500 volunteers come out and set the standard for caring for the most vulnerable.
We face a new and similar crisis today and I am hoping once again Santa Barbara will respond with passion, energy, and coordinated resources.
This time, the population crying out to us are the vulnerable children and youth in Santa Barbara who are experiencing commercial sexual exploitation or CSECY. In 2025 alone, Noah’s Anchorage identified 14 youth at high risk and 24 at moderate risk of becoming vulnerable to predators and exploiters. These are youth who rotate between shelter, home, couch surfing, and homelessness and who might be missing school. Exploitation looks like someone initiating
the grooming process, which is a manipulative, multistage tactic used by offenders to build trust with a child and their family for the purpose of sexual abuse and exploitation.
At the same time, we’ve received new data from our Homelessness Management Information System that there are currently 34 unaccompanied youth under the age of 18 in the City of Santa Barbara alone. These numbers do not capture what might be happening countywide.
The District Attorney’s Office, under the leadership of District Attorney John Savrnoch and the Victim Witness Assistance Program Director Megan Rheinschild, is spearheading countywide efforts to tackle human trafficking in all its forms, including the exploitation of young people, with the Human Trafficking Task Force. Kingdom Causes is in the midst of creating a three-year action plan in partnership with countywide government agencies, local businesses, nonprofits, faith communities, and high school and college students to build a sustainable, local continuum of care for children and youth who are at risk or who are confirmed as being exploited.
SAFE Santa Barbara County has brought together initial resources to fund a part-time position at Noah’s Anchorage for a key case manager. This person would be a single point of contact for young people and their families. This is the core position we hope to build around case managers for the most chronic and vulnerable on the streets. Case managers who understand the art and science of working with children and youth will be able to help them navigate the system and find resources, so they are not exploited by others.
You can be a part of the Three-Year Action Plan, which is in development now to be launched in the spring of 2026. We are looking for passionate people to become key stakeholders in energizing and sup porting the plan whether you are a funder, gov ernment official, business owner or employee, faith community member, nonprofit leader, or a student who is captivated by this cause. Let’s eradicate the exploitation of children and youth together. If anyone is interested in learning more, please reach out to me directly at jeff.shaffer@kingdomcauses.org LinkedIn or Facebook!
Jill
Happy Birthday Babe 11/1
Georgina Morin 09/19/1934 – 09/15/2025
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, friend, and teacher on September 15, 2025, in Santa Barbara, California. She lived her life with great energy, purpose, and joy.
Born in Santa Monica, California, to Nina (Dick) Stein and John Dick, Georgina graduated from Newport Beach Union High School and went on to earn her degree with honors from UCLA in 1962. As a child, she spent time living both on a boat in Newport Harbor during WWII and in Essex, where she first dreamed of becoming a teacher—a calling she fulfilled with grace and dedication.
She married Murry Threadgill in 1953, and together they had three children—Rao, Lisa, and Soren. In 1964, she moved to Santa Barbara as a single mother, where she fostered another daughter, Christine, and began teaching at Peabody School. For the next 24 years, she inspired countless students with her love of learning.
In 1974, she married her second husband, Edward Morin, who also had three children—Sharry, Jerry, and Richard.
She and Ed enjoyed traveling, bird-watching, and singing barbershop, being very involved with the Santa
Barbara Channel City Chorus (SBCCC). They were married for 38 years, hosting many family gatherings filled with laughter, song, and love during holidays and celebrations.
Georgina is lovingly remembered by her children and grandchildren—Patricia, Tyler, Alanna, Sherrisa, Shylene, Jessica, and Rachel— and six great-grandchildren. She leaves behind an extended family who adored her deeply. She was golden. Having lived nearly 91 years, she will be remembered for her love of people, music, and nature. In her honor, a memorial tree plaque will be placed near Peabody School, where she devoted so many years to nurturing young minds. Donations in her memory may be made to the Santa Barbara Beautiful Tree Program (sbbeautiful.org) or to the Alzheimer’s Association, as memory loss is one of life’s hardest challenges.
Howard Louis Kraus 11/18/1960 – 10/01/2025
Howard Louis Kraus was laid to rest on Sunday, October 12th in Costa Mesa, CA. He passed away on October 1st surrounded by family and numerous Santa Barbara friends at Cottage Hospital. His body had suffered septic shock. He was so brave about his health issues. He had endured 10 years of dialysis and received good care at The SB Artificial Kidney Center. He was on the list for a kidney transplant. However, his body was battling other health issues while waiting for a kidney. Amazingly, he survived a terrible fall while in Anaheim two years ago. He broke his femur in 3 places. After surgery and months in a rehab center he returned to Santa Barbara. Howard had good medical care in Santa
Barbara. Janet Spagna from the Eastside Neighborhood Clinic treated him with the utmost care and respect.
Howard is survived by his loving siblings, Elaine and Paul Kraus, of Anaheim and his beloved cat. He is survived by his first cousins, Lisa Caras and Debbie Caras Gordon, other loving cousins and a plethora of friends. His smile and his loving heart attracted so many people.
Howard lived in Santa Barbara for the past 47 years. He was a proud participant of Path Point. His current job was working at Path Point. One of his main responsibilities was reaching out to other participants and inviting them to Healthy Living Events. Another honor for Howard was being chosen as a board member for Tri Counties Regional Center. He proudly served a 7-year term from 2015 to 2022. He moved to Santa Barbara from Orange County in 1978 to attend Devereaux. He learned to become more independent and also met many lifelong friends. He worked many different jobs throughout the years. However, his favorite job was being a Travel Trainer. He enjoyed teaching others to ride public transportation. He was a mass transit guru. He was a regular rider of MTD and Amtrak. Howard made friends with bus drivers and almost everyone he met. His best friend was Gary Hollowpeter, a now retired MTD driver. If you were kind to him, he would remember it. His favorite color was purple. He enjoyed listening to country music. Howard loved watching funny movies. He was a real foodie. He enjoyed eating at Renaud's, Farmer Boys, South Coast Deli, and Presto Pasta. He loved chocolate. He loved to laugh. He loved his family. He was very easy to love.
He was the best brother and son. He was the unofficial mayor of Santa Barbara. His presence and kindness is missed by all who knew him.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Howard on Wednesday, December 10th, from 12 to 2pm at the PathPoint office on Laguna.
Carol Beth Gibbens 05/01/1944-10/15/2025
Carol Beth Gibbens of Santa Barbara, California, passed away after an extended illness on October 15, 2025. Carol was known to many for her dedication to her family and friends, love of adventure and travel, and career as a librarian.
The fifth child of Meril and Madge Gibbens, Carol was born on May 1, 1944, in Pueblo, Colorado. She was raised in Durango, Colorado with her five brothers and sisters. Their family was active in the community and attended First Baptist Church. Carol graduated from Durango High School and attended Fort Lewis College where she majored in Southwest Studies.
After graduation from college, Carol relocated to Southern California with her older sister, Roylene, to attend graduate school at the University of Southern California (USC) and remained in California until her death.
Carol earned a Master of Library Science from USC and in 1968 began a lifelong career as a reference librarian at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), retiring in 2003. During her tenure at UCSB, she was instrumental in creating a for credit course on library research strategies and resources. She was also the subject specialist for Anthropology and was on the advisory committees for both the UCSB online cataloging systems as well as the University of California’s systemwide online catalog.
Throughout her life, Carol loved to visit family and friends throughout the United States and strived to attend every important family event for her nieces and nephews. Some of her annual trips were to Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon, and she was the key
family organizer for trips to hike and camp in Needleton, Colorado. She often traveled with stacks of postcards and stamps to send to family and friends. She was always ready for a new adventure and especially enjoyed traveling abroad.
Following her retirement, Carol was particularly passionate and devoted to volunteering for three local nature organizations. She was a weekly volunteer for Carpinteria Seal Watch, which provides information and population data for a local harbor seal rookery during pupping season. She became a docent for the UCSB Sedgwick Reserve, where she became known as the expert on Sedgwick history and gave talks each year. Carol was an avid hiker and belonged to the Santa Ynez Women Hikers for over 20 years. In recent years, she was a key member of the group's hike planning committee, continuing her involvement in the years when she no longer participated in the weekly hikes.
Carol is survived by her brothers, Edwin Gibbens of Aurora, Colorado; Gary Gibbens (Terri) of Victoria Island, British Columbia; and her brother-in-law Patrick Cunningham. She is predeceased by her sisters Ruth Maye Craig and husband Kenneth Craig, Myrna Lee Gibbens, Roylene Gibbens Cunningham, and sister-inlaw Mary Gibbens. She is also survived by her beloved nieces and nephews: Carol Cunningham Hutte, Cindy Cunningham Kazanis, Eileen Cunningham, and Andrew Craig, Meril Craig, Lynn Graff, Ann Slevin, Mary Lynn Gibbens, Charlie Gibbens, Doug Gibbens, Jim Gibbens, Tom Gibbens, Jill Parker, Kirsten Parker, Cal Gibbens, and numerous grand and great grand nieces and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will take place in Santa Barbara, California, in early 2026. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to Los Padres Forest Association (Goleta), UCSB Sedgwick Reserve, or Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara in support of Ridley-Tree Cancer.
Jeanette France 09/01/1942 – 10/20/2025
It is with a heavy heart that we share the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, friend, and wife. After battling cancer, Jeanette passed away on October 20th, 2025 at her home in Santa Barbara with her family by her side.
Jeanette was a natural beauty, receiving many accolades including Miss Teen Fontana, Homecoming Queen, Sigma Chi Sweetheart, etc. - just to name a few. But she was not impressed by any of this and shied away from this kind of attention. What mattered most to her were people. She was literally charisma in human form… she could strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, anyplace…always finding a way to connect making a huge impression. She was truly a social butterfly with so many friends and so many people remembering her even after meeting her just one time. Nobody was like her. Nobody will ever be like her. Her smile was contagious and she was so full of life. She was sunshine in a bottle: energetic, friendly, fun loving and warm. There was never a dull moment in her presence.
Born on September 1st, 1942 in Fontana, California, she was the cherished only child of Freda and Mac McGregor. She often described her childhood as idyllic, where she was showered with love and surrounded by orange groves and mountains. Her happiest childhood memories were spent at her grandmother’s magical old log cabin in the San Bernardino mountains. This was the beginning of her life-long love affair with the mountains and Lake Arrowhead. There is no doubt that this was her happy place; it was a constant source of joy for her throughout her life.
This is where her daughter was born and where she shared so many happy memories with her children, her grandmother, her parents, and so many friends over the years. This is also where she met her husband and where they later shared a second home until the spring of 2025.
Jeanette attended San Diego State University in 1960 where she met the father of her two children, Lisa Dawn Mansfield and Mark Cameron Mansfield. She cherished her children beyond words often referring to them as her biggest and best accomplishment.
In the late 1970’s, Jeanette moved to Santa Barbara to be with the love of her life, Clinton C France. They were married in 1983; this was the beginning of many happy years, the blending of two families and the birth of four grandsons. During her career, Jeanette was a real estate agent in Santa Barbara, where she won several awards. She preferred working with first time home owners, helping them find a home, their own happy place. She was an active member of her book club, staying friends with this group of women, “the chiclets”, even when she was too sick to attend. After retiring, Clint and Jeanette split their time between Santa Barbara and Lake Arrowhead, where they enjoyed their mountain cottage, spending time with friends, barbecuing, boating, and snow skiing. They also took many trips together to Laguna Seca, the Indy 500, Catalina, Carmel, Monterey, Utah, Colorado, Hawaii, Alaska, and the East Coast to see the fall colors. Jeanette also enjoyed traveling with her children, driving all over France with her son and daughter, as well as taking many trips to Seattle, the San Juan’s, the Olympic Peninsula, and most recently to New Orleans. She was always up for a new adventure and was the life of any party.
Jeanette is survived by her husband of 43 years, Clinton C. France, daughter Lisa Mansfield and son-in-law
Carl Rabeler, son Mark Mansfield and daughter-in-law
Marilinda Scarpa Mansfield, step daughter and son-in-law,
Kim and Adam Enticknap , step daughter and son-inlaw Marla and Tim Daglis, as well as four grandsons: Jacob Frontado, Jared Daglis, Justin Daglis, and Zachary Frontado. Jeanette cared so much about her family, always showing up and helping out when it was needed most. She loved her husband and adored her two children, as well her step daughters and grandsons. She fit in perfectly everywhere because she knew how to love and she was loved back. She will always be loved …and so greatly missed. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation on behalf of Jeanette to Ridley Tree Cancer Center, Santa Barbara, CA.
A special thanks to Dr. Kendle, Ridley Tree Cancer Center, the nursing staff at Cottage Hospital and the hospice team at Central Coast who showed up like angels from above.
Dianna Lee Cottriel 09/12/1967-10/16/2025
Dianna Lee Cottriel was born on September 12, 1967 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara to Judith Reed and Dennis Romero. She was born the youngest of four; baby sister to Billy, Terri, and Roxanne. She grew up on Payton Street in Goleta, attending Hollister Elementary, La Colina Jr High, and San Marcos High School. During her lifetime, she worked various jobs including Ronald’s Nugget, the original Habit Burger, PS Medical, Robinson’s May, Mentor Corporation, and Shear Artistry Hair Salon. Growing up, Di loved to be
out and about with friends, dancing at the hottest spots, going to the beach or lake, anything makeup related, and shopping.
In 1988, she used her older sister’s ID to get into Alex’s Cantina in Old Town Goleta, where she caught the attention of a handsome 26 year old, Bill Cottriel. The two hit it off immediately and that starry May night ultimately became the one that changed her life forever.
She quickly learned Bill was a dad, and he quickly learned she was underage at a bar going by her sister’s name. The car seats in the back of his car didn’t scare her off, in fact she took to being a mother-figure in his two kids’ life well. She was a natural at it and helped him take care of both Jenelle and Jeremy in their family home on Old San Marcos Road.
In April 1990, the two wed at the First Congregational Church of Santa Barbara and Rockwood Women’s Club. Celebrating 35 years of marriage this past spring was something she was very proud of.
In October 1991, they welcomed a baby girl, Jessica Nicole. Their newly blended family with the 3 kids was full of camping trips, beach days, soccer practices, and enjoying everyday life together.
Dianna is survived by her eternal soulmate, Bill Cottriel aka ‘My William’, children, Jenelle Cottriel, Jeremy Cottriel (Heather), and Jess Rodriguez (Joel). Dianna’s greatest blessings include her six grandchildren, Kalea, Teigan, Thea, Jaylee, Margot, and Jace. Oh, and we can’t forget her two furry granddoggies, Teddy, and Rebo. She is also survived by her mother, sisters and brothers, numerous nephews and nieces, cousins, aunts and uncles, and a lengthy list of lifetime friends. She is predeceased by her father and oldest brother.
Dianna will always be known for her kind heart, loyalty, generosity, and for her drive to live each day like tomorrow isn’t promised. She took joy in the small, simple moments, and always did things that made her happy without regret. She would never talk you out of buying
the shoes or taking the trip!
For the past 8 months, Di bravely battled a rare cancer that ultimately took her life on October 16, 2025 at Cottage Hospital. She was blessed enough to receive the greatest gift of bedside goodbyes from some of her closest friends and family.
She will be missed so much by all those who were lucky enough to have known her. We will say her name often, relive all the happy times we shared with her, look for signs that she’s near, and allow ourselves to enjoy the things and the people we love most.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to the Sarcoma Foundation of America in her honor.
Gordon Wayne “Scoop” Boswell 11/17/1945 – 09/17/2025
Gordon “Scoop” Boswell, 79, passed peacefully surrounded by family and Loved ones.
Survived by daughter Alurie (Andrew), son Ryland, grandchildren Keith, Chyanne, Faith, Jordan, and bonus family Djar, Trina, and Nina, partner Helen, ex-wife Laurie, siblings Floyd, Shirley, Kathy, and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
Preceded in death by parents Lester and Doris, son Austin, grandson Spencer, and nephew Mark.
Scoop loved family, western life, art, motorcycles, leatherwork, travel & God. Services Nov. 22, 1 PM, Good Shepherd Church, Goleta. In lieu of flowers: justincowboycrisisfund.org
07/29/1952– 10/11/2025
Todd Bowles passed away October 11, 2025 following an 18-month battle with cancer.
A restorative exercise specialist, tennis player, and avid cyclist, he’d often pop over to friends’ homes just to say hello during his daily rides. He spent years teaching tennis, including at La Cumbre Country Club, and particularly enjoyed working with children. He loved to make people laugh and would often put on huge acts of display to get a chuckle out of anyone. A native of New York, he spent 50 years in Santa Barbara and never tired of it. He never lost his sense of humor.
He's survived by his nephews and niece, along with his Santa Barbara family.
05/13/1925 – 10/13/2025
Alvin J. Topping, a beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, passed away peacefully at the age of 100 in Goleta, California. A memorial service will be held in his honor on November 4 at 11:00 AM at Goleta Cemetery.
Born in Seattle, WA, Alvin served his country honorably in the Army during World War II from September 21, 1943, until April 2, 1946, achieving the rank of Corporal. His dedication and service to his country were a source of pride for him and his family.
A passionate boating enthusiast, Alvin was an active member of the Santa Barbara Yacht Club, where he enjoyed many years navigat-
ing the beautiful waters of Santa Barbara.
In addition to his service and hobbies, Alvin was a successful entrepreneur who helped start and co-owned County Lumber Company in Goleta and Santa Barbara, contributing to the local community for many years.
He is survived by his son, Blake Topping, and daughters, Leslie and Gayle Topping. Alvin was a cherished grandfather to four grandchildren and a great-grandfather to nine.
The family finds comfort in knowing that Alvin is now resting with the Lord in peace. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
Maxine Correll Bell was born in Santa Maria, CA on Christmas Day and passed away in Carmel, CA just shy of her 91st birthday.
Maxine was the daughter of Helen and Jimmy Correll and grew up within a pioneer family extending from Orcutt to Cambria. After graduating Santa Maria High School she attended Knapp College of Nursing in Santa Barbara. While a student nurse at Cottage Hospital, she met Cal Poly SLO engineering student Bruce Bell. They married and had two daughters, Julie and Lynn, which eventually resulted in two grandsons, the true highlights of her life.
Maxine’s nursing career included the Visiting Nurse Service of northern Santa Barbara County, the Santa Barbara Visiting Nurse Association, Marian Medical Center, Santa Barbara Urban Indian Health Project, Casa Dorinda and Val Verde. She carried fond memories of traveling throughout the County as a visiting nurse. Her volunteer service included the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Santa Barbara Zoo where she enjoyed interacting with children at the elephant
enclosure.
Maxine was often on the go and did not give a second thought to driving to LA for a day trip or up to the San Francisco Bay Area to visit her grandsons. Farther afield, her journeys included travel throughout North and South America, Europe, Iceland, and even a visit to St. Petersburg, Russia.
In addition to travel, her legacy to her family includes a love of books, theater, museums, music and Disneyland. Equal to the arts was her love of watching sports both in-person and televised. Favorite teams were the Oakland Raiders, Oakland A’s, LA Dodgers, LA Lakers, and a late-in-life interest in the NHL courtesy of a grandson and son-in-law.
Maxine had many wonderful friends and adventures in Santa Barbara where she lived almost 40 years before relocating to the Monterey Peninsula to be closer to her family.
After such a busy life, the cruelty of dementia was heartbreaking to witness. However, in the end Maxine was blessed to live in a loving home with outstanding caregivers and healthcare providers, including her beloved visiting nurses, for whom we are so very grateful."
Sung-in Choe
11/11/1932 – 10/03/2025
Sung-in died peacefully at 92, leaving behind a legacy of courage, joy, and warmth that touched lives across three continents.
Born in Seoul in 1932 during the Japanese occupation, Sung-in was the eldest
daughter of five children and a brilliant student who loved languages and literature. She devoured books in Japanese—Hermann Hesse's Steppenwolf became a lifelong favorite—and as a schoolgirl, she haunted movie theaters, captivated by films like David Lean's Brief Encounter.
In 1953, Sung-in made a bold move that would shape her life: she left Korea for Honolulu, where she studied at the University of Hawaii while working as an au pair. There she met Bill Horton, whom she married in 1955. They moved to the Pacific Northwest before settling in Santa Barbara in 1961, where their daughter Tara was born three years later. Though they divorced in 1970, they remained friends until his death in 2020.
After her divorce, Sung-in earned her BA in Art History from UC Santa Barbara and worked as a library assistant at the university, where she built lasting friendships with colleagues and faculty. In 1974, she made another characteristic leap: she left her secure job to earn her Master of Library Science from Texas Woman's University in Denton, Texas.
Back in Santa Barbara, she worked as a librarian at Santa Barbara City College before landing her dream position at UCSB Library's East Asian Collection. For more than 20 years, she specialized in cataloging Japanese books, her fluency in Korean, Japanese, and English making her invaluable to scholars and students.
A devoted Europhile who traveled to Paris, Milan, and London, Sung-in brought the world to her Mesa neighborhood home through legendary Korean feasts. Her mandu and japchae dinners from the early 1970s through the 1990s drew an eclectic mix of European ex-pats and friends who shared her love of good food, wine, and conversation. Those gatherings were filled with her distinctive, joyful laughter.
Music filled Sung-in's home: Schubert lieder, Beethoven symphonies, Italian opera—especially Madame Butterfly and La Bohème. She adored Luciano Pavarotti, attended concerts
and masterclasses at the Music Academy of the West, and sang soprano with the Santa Barbara Oratorio Chorale for many seasons.
In 1990, she married Carl Harris, a UCSB History professor. They shared a deep love of music, literature, and the arts, and Carl encouraged her interest in politics. Though this marriage also ended in divorce, it was an important chapter in her life.
Sung-in had wonderful style, always elegant in tailored clothes in classic navy, black, or jewel tones. She loved bold colors too—her dining room was painted a daring deep red. Friends often remarked on her radiant energy and grace.
After her granddaughter was born, Sung-in put family first again. In 2006, she left Santa Barbara for Oakland to help with childcare so her daughter could advance her career. Though she missed the beauty and serenity of Santa Barbara, she believed that places matter because of the people in them.
In Oakland, she found new passions in ballroom dancing and Brazilian dance classes at the Berkeley YMCA, inspiring everyone around her with her energy and grace. Friends remembered her fierce independence—she was someone who made things happen, never content to wait for life to come to her.
In her final years, Sungin could be found on the front porch of her Craftsman home, waving and smiling at neighbors—still radiating the warmth and curiosity that had defined her remarkable life.
Sung-in was preceded in death by her parents, three siblings, and two former spouses. She leaves behind her beloved daughter, Tara Choe Horton (Derek McCulloch); her cherished granddaughter, Pearl McCulloch; a sister; extended family; and countless friends whose lives she touched with her boundless zest for living.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the UCSB Library or another meaningful cause.
A private memorial service for family and close friends will be held in Berkeley, CA in January 2026.
by Ryan P. Cruz
Can ghost stories do more than just curdle the blood and quicken the heart? For those who research paranormal experiences firsthand, the stories behind these ghostly apparitions can reveal deeper truths about our county’s history and offer a glimpse into the lives of all of those who lived on the Central Coast for generations before us.
“These stories really help preserve the history of the city,” said Julie Ann Brown, founder of Santa Barbara Ghost Tours. “Researching ghost stories is a way of tying us to the past it’s history and tradition.”
Brown is a Santa Barbara City College professor, storyteller, and ghost tour guide who started sharing her paranormal experiences with the public seven years ago. Her walking tour is a quick trip through Santa Barbara’s complicated history, filled with ghost stories from Chumash to Spanish to Mexican to modern-day California.
Brown’s Santa Barbara Ghost Tour centers around the El Presidio neighborhood, making stops at historic sites such as the Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara Post Office, El Cuartel, and Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens (now the Pickle Room). The area is a hotbed for local paranormal activity, according to Brown, due to its significance to the many groups that have lived there. “The area was sacred to the Chumash. Then it was sacred to the Spanish, the Mexicans, and the Chinese and Japanese,” she said.
During her tours, visitors have reported things they couldn’t explain: seeing friars floating in their brown robes and Spanish soldiers in full armor; hearing the sounds of Chumash chanting and singing; and smelling the strong scent wafting by from phantom horses.
“friendly ghosts,” such as the ghost of a former caretaker of El Presidio, who was said to be so proud of his work that he comes to make sure everything is in order; or the former stagehand of the Lobero, Harry Pideola, who died in the theater and is said to return to make noise or play tricks on staff in the night.
She says Santa Barbara is the “city of happy ghosts,” and a paradise that souls love to visit in this life and the next. But her stories also dig into the region’s darker history of oppression, excess, gambling, and greed.
Some stories are bittersweet, such as the tale of Sister Vincentia Bermudes, whose faded, cracked headstone can be seen in the cemetery behind the Old Mission Santa Barbara along with thousands of Chumash natives, Spanish settlers, and parishioners throughout its history.
Brown retells the story of Sister Vincentia, a novice nun who was sent to live in Santa Barbara with the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, an order of former battlefield nurses easily recognized for their distinctive habit with its wide, white, wing-like headdress. Although she was fatally ill with tuberculosis, Sister Vincentia, who was popular with the Santa Barbara parish, was determined to take her vows before she passed away.
One of Brown’s favorite ghost stories is of Miss Pearl Chase, a seminal figure in Santa Barbara history who, after the disastrous earthquake of 1925, dedicated her life to rebuilding the city in a unified Spanish Colonial aesthetic. A couple who bought Chase’s home at 2012 Anacapa Street some years ago told Brown about a night when the French doors in the kitchen suddenly opened wide and there stood Miss Chase, young and beautiful and smiling. “It freaked them out so much,” Brown said, that they sold the house.
Brown leads her tour groups to a forgotten alleyway behind Jimmy’s Oriental Gardens to a collection of efficiency apartments that used to be the two-story home of owner-founder Jimmy Chung; his wife, Nuey; and their five children.
“We live in an enchanted land, and even our ghosts are enchanted,” Brown said. “Santa Barbara ghosts loved it here during life, and they want to come back.”
Ghost legends survive all over the Central Coast such as Summerland’s history as a spiritualist utopia or at the Big Yellow House, where a playful ghost, Hector, makes appearances but a few lesser-known stories are worth remembering.
One of these is “The Haunted Rock at Santa Barbara,” a ghost story written by V. Forward Russell and published in the 1873 issue of The Overland Monthly magazine in San Francisco. It details the story of “Doña Inocencia” and “Rodrigo De la Guerra,” a pair whose tragic end left their souls restlessly wandering the area shores of Ledbetter Beach and Santa Barbara Harbor.
On Christmas Eve, the whole parish community gathered to watch Sister Vincentia officially take her vows. “Everyone in town loved her, and all she wanted to do was be a real nun,” Brown said.
The alley was vandalized with anti-Asian graffiti in 2020, and when the owners were cleaning the property, they saw a strange “movement” in the alley they couldn’t explain. Brown showed us a grainy security video with what seems to be a transparent, whitish shape floating across the alleyway from the back door of the bar toward the front door of the house. A brief bright spot appears on the screen before the shape is gone.
Russell wrote of traveling to Santa Barbara and being surprised by “the appearance of an old man” whose gaze seemed transfixed on the crumbled remains of a rocky piece of land jutting off the end of current-day Castillo Street. “He was dressed in the Spanish garb,” Russell wrote, “tight breeches, fastened with buttons of silver from the ankle to the loins, a scarf crossed over the bosom, and a black silk kerchief bound about the forehead.”
Sister Vincentia didn’t live through the night, but her story lived on into the 20th century. By then, the Daughters of Charity were running the St. Vincent school and orphanage in a Victorian building still located today on De la Vina Street. One late night, the Mother Superior had a dream of a young nun warning her to sell the property, and when she awoke, she saw the shadow on the wall of what appeared to be a nun wearing the St. Vincent habit. According to legend, she became so convinced it was Sister Vincentia that she sold the building and moved the orphans to a new property, just before the 1925 earthquake seriously damaged the third floor.
Brown said she interpreted the video as Jimmy possibly coming back to visit, perhaps upset at the hateful messages written on a wall behind his beloved bar.
Brown acknowledges the tangled history of the neighborhood, from its time as a Spanish stronghold to the era of Mexican independence and the eventual arrival of Chinese and Japanese working-class immigrants. The area was also known for its many brothels, she said, and underground tunnels used to transport girls, opium, or liquor.
She says the basement tunnels can be home to darker spirits, but in her experience, the city has a way of attracting more
The ghostly man “wore an expression of deep despair and grief,” and told Russell of “troubles [that] are beyond the power of this world.” He revealed his name as Rodrigo de la Guerra and told the story of the tower and castle that once stood above the jagged rocks.
Castle Rock was a fortress that became the home to a Spanish gentleman Don Luis Gonzales and his daughter, Doña Inocencia. Russell describes Doña Inocencia as “a lonely girl” whose mother had passed away when she was very young. She eventually met Rodrigo de la Guerra, the son of a merchant sailor who had arrived to trade with California rancheros along the coast.
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Learn how communication plays a role in making change in our communities
Hear from two Carpinteria City Council members who will share tips for the best ways to get your message across and how they communicate with constituents. They'll speak about their professional journeys, successful communication strategies, and their perspectives on ways to advocate for yourself and others.
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Wed. Nov. 12, 5:30pm
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Rodrigo stayed with the Spanish family, and the two formed a close bond as they grew up together, until Rodrigo was forced to take a job back on the seas with his father. Through all his seafaring adventures, he remained true to Doña Inocencia.
But Doña Inocencia’s father did not approve of his daughter marrying a sea-wandering merchant, so Rodrigo returned to Spain to work with his uncle, vowing that he would come back a rich man and win Inocencia’s hand in marriage.
In Spain, Rodrigo fell ill and was delayed, but he remained committed and sent love letters to Doña Inocencia in California or so he thought. Unbeknownst to Rodrigo, another woman in Inocencia’s household had become infatuated with him, and in jealously, burnt every one of his love letters. When he was back to full health and had inherited a large fortune, he wrote that he was returning, but that letter was also burned by the jealous woman, who forged another letter saying Rodrigo had found a new love in Spain and would never return to California.
Ever since, sailors and fishermen traveling near the area have reported seeing a figure standing above the rocks, and others have seen a woman in white wandering the shoreline near the harbor and Santa Barbara City College, looking to the sea, as if waiting for a ship to bring her lost love back.
Harris Grade Road near Lompoc has its own ghostly history. The eight-mile stretch of curvy mountain road has a reputation for a high rate of car accidents due to the dense fog, hardto-navigate turns, or possibly the presence of a ghostly spirit that drifts along the former state highway route.
When the Spanish took over the land around the current Harris Grade from the Chumash people living there, they converted into ranchos in the 1800s. During the days of stagecoaches and wagons, the treacherous roads that were carved into the wilderness were notorious for sandy soil that snapped wheels and axles like toothpicks. Travelers were often left stranded, their coaches overturned or sent slipping off into deep ravines to serious injury or death.
Even today’s paved mountain roads remain dangerous for late-night drivers caught in the mountain mist. But some drivers have reported a “woman in white” standing in the road, eyes aglow, often forcing cars to swerve at the last second.
There are several legends about this roadside ghost, most of which revolve around the spirit of “Agnes.” One says she is a woman who met her death on the dangerous road some foggy night years ago. Her spirit roams the countryside roads, eager to claim more victims to join her in the lonely afterlife.
any outside factors. “We do a pretty comprehensive interview,” she said when getting a call asking for help from people who believe their home is haunted. “We set out to prove there’s not a ghost that it’s haunted.”
That includes checking the house for rodents, looking for problems with windows or doors, or addressing potential hallucinations resulting from drug abuse or mental health issues. Only after she rules out all other contributing factors does she look to the otherworldly explanations. “If we can absolutely find nothing, and if we can get it to replicate while we’re there, then we may say it’s paranormal,” she said.
As a child in Carpinteria, she would feel the spirit of a small girl playing with her hair. The experiences were constant, and when her family saw and heard other signs of paranormal activity, they soon accepted they were living in a haunted house.
“I grew up with it, so it was very normal to me,” deMoulpied said. “We certainly knew what we were seeing, what we were hearing, what we were feeling in the house. But nobody would believe us.”
As she got older, she began to look into ghosts and hauntings more seriously, and even though she still avoided talking about it at school and work, she began to pursue a side life as a paranormal investigator. “Once you go out and you get a taste of it, you want to go back,” she said.
Over the years, deMoulpied has become more connected to the paranormal, learning how to use dowsing rods, crystals, or lights to communicate with spirits. She says it’s a skill that can be developed, but it requires being open to the unknown. “Everybody has the ability,” deMoulpied said. “But they’re so scared of it, where I’m the kind that welcomes it in.”
Doña Inocencia, having not received any of his letters, fell ill with heartbreak. The forged letter broke her spirit completely and, one night, she “threw herself from the castle tower down to her death on the rocky shore below.”
In the night following her death, Doña Inocencia was laid in the castle tower where priests led the gathered friends and family in prayer. A storm was raging outside, and a sudden gust of wind “swept wildly through the room” setting the drapery ablaze. A white figure, with floating hair and uplifted hands, appeared off in the black distance, and everyone fled the tower. The fire reached a large cache of gunpowder and demolished the structure completely.
On an online forum about that version of the legend, one woman wrote that she saw Agnes while on a date with her boyfriend: “I screamed as he jumped back in our car, and we zoomed right out of Harris Grade; so just keep in mind what they say is true. The whole time, we felt unwanted and out of place, but she didn’t have a face, just the shadow of her. Scary shit.”
In 2012, the legend of Agnes was turned into a book written by late Cabrillo High School English teacher Roderic Schmidt, Agnes of Harris Grade
Schmidt made the story even more horrid. This time, Agnes was driving a car with her infant, when her car broke down. She was killed by another vehicle coming down the road and today, she is still up there “looking for her child,” Schmidt said in an interview about the book. “The story is, she would stop cars coming over Harris Grade and say, ‘Would you help me find my baby.’ ”
Whether or not there is truth to the legend of Agnes, Harris Grade has been home to at least eight fatal accidents over the past two decades, including a November 2024 collision that claimed the lives of two children.
Paranormal investigator Earlene deMoulpied has been researching hauntings and ghost experiences for decades, ever since having her own paranormal experience as a child in her family’s Carpinteria home. She now trains investigators and gives lectures about paranormal activity, most recently at Carpinteria Historical Museum in September.
As a former marriage and family therapist, deMoulpied takes a clinical approach to her investigations, making sure to rule out
She considers the spirits she encounters as people with their own unique personalities, and in some instances, they become friends. “Ghosts were people once,” deMoulpied said. “Treat them with respect.”
In her view, connecting with spirits is not just some show for Halloween, and it’s not something that should be done for entertainment, internet attention, or money. “The really tried and true ones are people who have been doing it for a while,” deMoulpied said. “And they’re in it for the pure joy of doing it and helping people who are really struggling with paranormal activity going on in their home. And that’s where I come from.”
She says sometimes she hears from a family who moves into a new house, and they are quick to ask if she can come in and “get rid of the spirit.” In those cases, deMoulpied explains that “it doesn’t work like that.”
“I didn’t put them there,” deMoulpied said. “So, I can ask them to leave, and I can explain that you care about the house as much as they do. But if they really don’t want to leave, they’re going to be there.”
She often tells her clients to be open-minded about what they are experiencing, and to stay away from assuming that spirits have bad intentions. “You have to look at it from both sides,” deMoulpied said. “If I interviewed them, they would probably be scared of you yelling and screaming at them to leave.”
The Central Coast is a “beacon” for paranormal activity, deMoulpied says. Anywhere with Chumash history, or connection to the ocean and waterways, can attract spiritual activity. In her experience, there are more local ghost sightings than people may realize. “Some businesses don’t want to reveal they have anything,” she said.
She hopes to continue her work in the paranormal field, helping clients understand their own ghost experiences and expanding her own knowledge about whatever it is that happens after this life. “There is some sort of what I call a life after death, or a transition,” deMoulpied said. “When we transition, it’s like becoming eternal.” n
THURSDAY 10/30
10/30-11/2, 11/5:
Rubicon Theatre Presents: Million
Dollar Quartet This show takes place on the night of December 4, 1956, when a twist of fate brought Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together at Sun Studios in Memphis for an unbelievable jam session that features songs such as “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Great Balls of Fire,” and more. The play runs through November 9. Thu.-Fri.: 7pm, Sat. and Wed.: 2pm, 7pm, Sun.: 2pm. Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. $30-$94.50. Call (805) 667-2900. rubicontheatre.org
10/31: An Educating Conversation: Murder at the Old Mission: The Story of Fr. Ferdinand Bergmeyer Fr. Jack Clark Robinson and Fr. Joe Schwab will tell you the story and show you the spot where Franciscan Ferdinand Bergmeyer was shot dead by layman Bernard Henry Gerhard Krusemeyer on February 27, 1896. RSVP is required. 6-8pm. S.B. Mission Archive-Library, 2201 Laguna St. $50. Call (805) 682-4713 x131. tinyurl.com/SBMAL-Talk
11/1: The S.B. Treble Clef Chorus Treasure Sale Find new or nearly new items such as jewelry, dishes, small appliances, scarves, paintings, and more with a couple of carols sung and hot cider. 9am-2pm. Bethany Congregational Church, 556 N. Hope Ave. Free. Email donnac24@gmail.com tinyurl.com/SBTC-Sale
11/1: Free Storytime and Book Signing with Julie Dillemuth Join us for a fall-themed storytime with award-winning area author and PhD geographer Julie Dillemuth, who will read from her brand-new picture book, Camila and the Fall Festival, a story that inspires kids to explore the world around them through maps, imagination, and community. Please RSVP. 10-10:30am. All Booked Up Mobile Bookstore, Dean: a coffee shop, 6100 Hollister Ave., Ste. 1B, Goleta. Free tinyurl.com/Fall-Storytime
11/1: The Robert Cray Band Grammy Award winner Robert Cray will bring his blues, soulful voice, and searing guitar work to the Valley. 7pm. Solvang Theaterfest, 420 Second St. $65-$95. Call (805) 686-1789 x0. solvangtheaterfest.org
11/1: Mission Movie Night: El Encanto Bring your blankets and lawn chairs, and immerse yourself in a night where culture, history, and film come together in a beautiful setting with a screening of this 2021 animated movie about the extraordinary Madrigal family, who live in an enchanted house in Colombia. 6pm. Old Mission S.B., 2201 Laguna St. Free. Call (805) 682-4149. tinyurl.com/Movie-Mission
FARMERS MARKET SCHEDULE
THURSDAY
Carpinteria: 800 block of Linden Ave., 2:30-6:30pm
FRIDAY
Montecito: 1100 and 1200 blocks of Coast Village Rd., 8-11:15am
SATURDAY
Downtown S.B.: Corner of State and Carillo sts., 8am-1pm
SUNDAY
Goleta: Camino Real Marketplace, 10am-2pm
TUESDAY
Old Town S.B.: 500-600 blocks of State St., 3-6:30pm
WEDNESDAY
Solvang: Copenhagen Dr. and 1st St., 2:30-6:00pm
(805) 962-5354 sbfarmersmarket.org
FISHERMAN’S MARKET
SATURDAY
Rain or shine, meet local fishermen on the Harbor’s commercial pier, and buy fresh fish (filleted or whole), live crab, abalone, sea urchins, and more. 117 Harbor Wy., 6-11am. Call (805) 259-7476. cfsb.info/sat
11/1: Healing Justice S.B.: Black Is Beautiful Gala Be part of this powerful celebration of Black/African American beauty, culture, and community that will highlight the richness of Black culture through fashion, art, music, media, and more with live performances, a keynote speaker, a curated auction, and youth and community awards. Formal attire in shades of red requested. 5-9pm. Great Meadow, SBCC West Campus, 721 Cliff Dr. $250. Call (805) 325-8856. hjsb.org/bib-2025
10/30-11/2,11/5:
SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Thu.: Halloween with Calvin Love, Evan Blix, Tiger Lewis, 8:30pm. $15-$18. Ages 21+. Fri.: Heads All Happy Halloween Ball: No Simple Spoonful, Jax Plays Dead, 8:30pm. $15-$20. Ages 21+. Sat.: Surfer Girl - Skydiving Tour with Bikini Trill and Tessellated, 9pm. $23-$27. Ages 21+. Sun: Tomato Theatre Company Fall Choir, Noon-12:45pm. Free. Mon: SBCC Monday Madness Jazz Orchestra, 7pm. $15. Wed: Tony Ybarra’s Vocal Jazz Collective, 5:30. Free-$15. 1221 State St. Call (805) 962-7776. sohosb.com
10/30-11/1: Eos Lounge Thu.: DJ Fuckoff. $6.18. Fri.: Halloween 2025. $24.72. Sat.: Reggaetonlandia Halloween Tour. Free. 500 Anacapa St. 9pm. Ages 21+. Call (805) 564-2410. eoslounge.com
10/30, 11/1: M.Special Brewing Co. (Goleta) Thu.: Halloween Costume Contest, 6-9pm. Sat.: La Dosis Perfecta, 7-9pm. 6860 Cortona Dr., Ste. C, Goleta. Free. Call (805) 968-6500. mspecialbrewco.com
10/30-11/1: Maverick Saloon Fri.: Jimi Nelson. Sat.: Just Dave Band. 3687 Sagunto St., Santa Ynez. 8:3011:30pm. Call (805) 686-4785. Ages 21+. mavericksaloon.com/eventcalendar
10/31: Carhartt Family Wines
Live music and Halloween Party, 5pm. 2939 Grand Ave., Los Olivos. Free. Call (805) 693-5100. carharttfamilywines.com/eventscalendar
10/31-11/2: Lost Chord Guitars Thu.: Chris Stills, Carly Jo Jackson. $25. Fri.: Loc Dawgs & Lockwood. $10. Sat.: Shawn Jones. $15-$20. Sun.: A Songwriter Round: Jonathan Firey, Lois Mahalia, Cynthia Ford. $10. 1576 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang. 8pm. Ages 21+. Call (805) 331-4363. lostchordguitars.com
10/31-11/1: M.Special Brewing Co. (S.B.) Fri.: Desert Apollo. Sat.: Los Lagers. 634 State St. 8-10pm. Free Call (805) 308-0050. mspecialbrewco.com
11/1-11/2: Cold Spring Tavern Sat.: Oddly Straight. Sun.: Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan. 5995 Stagecoach Rd. 1:30-4:30pm. Free. Call (805) 967-0066. coldspringtavern.com
11/1-11/2: Hook’d Bar and Grill Sat.: Out of the Blue, 3-6pm. Sun.: Traveling Hurtados, 1-4pm. 116 Lakeview Dr., Cachuma Lake. Free. Call (805) 350-8351. hookdbarandgrill.com/music-onthe-water
11/1: Institution Ale Company The Free Radicals, 3-6pm. 516 State St. Free. Call (805) 482-3777. tinyurl.com/Institution-Radicals
11/3: The Red Piano Church on Monday: Morganfield Burnett, 7:30pm. 519 State St. $5. Call (805) 358-1439. theredpiano.com BY
SUNDAY 11/2
11/2: American Songbook Today Presents: A Tribute to Irving Berlin
Ten theater performers from S.B. and Ventura counties will sing songs such as, “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Easter Parade,” “White Christmas,” and more, written by one of America’s greatest songwriters, Irving Berlin, with David Watkins to accompany. 7pm. Ojai Underground Exchange, 616 Pearl St., Ojai. $30. Email michaelsongbook@gmail.com. tinyurl.com/IrvingBerlin-Nov2
11/2: Mujeres Makers Market: Día de los Muertos Shop from amazing women of color artisans, vintage curators, and creatives from the Central Coast. 10am-4pm. El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, 123 E. Canon Perdido St. Free Email info@mujeresmakersmarket.com tinyurl.com/MujeresMarket-Nov2
11/2: Inner Vision Multi-Sensory Sound Journey for Blind Fitness Immerse yourself in a multisensory journey designed for individuals with low or no vision in a class that will blend sound healing, breathwork, mindful movement, and guided meditation. Proceeds will benefit Blind Fitness. 1-2:30pm. Power of Your Om, 221 State St., #201. Suggested donation: $10-$35. Call (805) 697-2244.
tinyurl.com/Blind-Fitness
11/3-11/4: MOVE S.B. County: Iluminando La Noche Free Bike Light Distribution: Eastside, S.B., and Westside With the end of daylight savings, mornings and evenings get darker earlier, making safe, visible cycling even more important. Pick up a free, rechargeable bicycle light and have it installed (for cyclists who need them most) and learn safety tips and information about Bici Centro. Mon.: Eastside: N. Milpas and E. Cota sts.; Tue.: S.B.: State St. and E. Ortega sts.; Wed.: Westside: W. Micheltorena and San Andres sts. 4:30pm. Free. Call (805) 845-8955. movesbcounty.org/events
11/3: Underwater Archaeology: Voices from Coaybay The S.B. County Archaeological Society presents retired California State Parks Senior State Archaeologist John W. Foster, MA, who will talk about his underwater study of Manantial de la Aleta, the unique heritage site in the Dominican Republic from 1996-1998 and of a cenote (a water-filled limestone sinkhole) used as an offering site by Taíno ancestors for five centuries. 7-8:30pm. Farrand Auditorium, S.B. Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta del Sol. Free. Call (805) 682-4711. sbnature.org/calendar
TUESDAY 11/4
11/4:
On Fire Talk: Spheres of Injustice: Bruno Perreau: Minority Politics
Today Bruno Perreau, Cynthia L. Reed Professor of French Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Faculty Affiliate at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University, will talk about revitalizing minority politics while making the fight against discrimination beneficial for all and intrasectionality, a new concept and an innovative legal strategy to tackle today’s political challenges. Audience Q&A and a reception will follow. 4-6pm. McCune Conference Rm., 6020 HSSB. Free. Email events@ihc. ucsb.edu. tinyurl.com/SperesOfInjustice
WEDNESDAY 11/5
11/5:
gravity through movement. 7:30pm. The
State St. UCSB Students: $20, GA: $55-$135. Call (805) 893-3535. artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/events
Complete Guide to Halloween Happenings, Haunts, and Fun, Part II
SComplete Guide to Halloween Happenings, Haunts, and Fun, Part II
o many haunts and so much to do that we had to create a Halloween/Día de los Muertos Guide, Part II. Make plans for the last days of the season using S.B’s Complete Guide to Halloween Happenings, Haunts, and Día de los Muertos, Part II.
by Terry Ortega
10/30-10/31: Boccali Ranch Pumpkin Patch Enjoy the country air and choose from a variety of pumpkins and produce, with hayrides on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5pm (no hayride on Halloween). 10am-7pm. Boccali Ranch Pumpkin Patch, 3277 E. Ojai Ave., Ojai. Free; hayrides: $5. Call (805) 669-7077. boccalipumpkins.com
10/30-10/31: Big Wave Dave’s Pumpkin Patch Enjoy kids’ activities and photo ops as you find the perfect pumpkin, from mini to giant, as well as home decor and carving tools. Thu., Mon.-Wed.: 11am-8pm; Fri.-Sun.: 10am-9pm. La Cumbre Plaza (Macy’s parking lot), 3865 State St. Free. Call (805) 218-0282. bigwavedaveschristmastrees.com
10/30-10/31: Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch Pick the perfect pumpkin and enjoy hayrides, farm animals, tractors, educational displays, and the corn maze (closes daily at 6:45pm). Thu.-Fri., Mon.-Wed.: noon-7pm; Sat.-Sun.: 10am-7pm. Lane Farms, 308 S. Walnut Ln. Free. Call (805) 964-3773. lanefarmssb.com
10/30-11/2: Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch Immerse yourself in more than 50 pumpkin varieties, a kids’ corn maze, the 14-acre corn maze, farm-grown popcorn, and kettle corn. 10am-6pm. Solvang Farmer Pumpkin Patch, 1035 Alamo Pintado Rd, Solvang. Free. Call (805) 331-1948. facebook.com/SolvangFarmerPumkinPatch
10/30-10/31: Montecito Country Mart Honor System Pumpkin Patch Pick from organic heirloom pumpkins, then place your cash payment in the white drop box, via the QR code, or, for credit card payment, purchase at the Trading Post. 9am-6pm. Montecito Country Mart, 1016 Coast Village Rd., Montecito. Free montecitocountrymart.com/events
10/30-10/31: Los Olivos Scarecrow Festival Walk around town to see all the scarecrows humorous, most natural, the scariest, and more and then vote for your favorite. Visit the website for locations. Free. losolivosca.com/scarecrowfest
10/30-10/31: Santa Ynez Valley Scarecrow Festival Scarecrows will be displayed around the six townships of Ballard, Buellton, Los Alamos, Santa Ynez, and Solvang with one community to win the Annual Harvest Cup. Visit the website for loca tions and to cast your vote. Free syvscarecrows.com
10/30: SBPAL: Trunk or Treat Join S.B. Parks and Recreation, SBPAL, and the S.B. Youth Council for this family-friendly Halloween event for trick-or-treating and to vote for your favorite decorated trunk during this safe alternative to traditional Halloween trick-or-treating. 5-7:30pm. Spencer Adams Parking Lot, 1235 Chapala St. Free. Call (805) 564-5418. tinyurl.com/SBPAL-Trunk-Treat
10/30: Montecito Family YMCA Trunk or Treat Join for an afternoon of safe, family-friendly Halloween fun such as face painting, music, games, and candy for all trick-or-treaters. Be a part of the trunk or treat by volunteering to decorate your car and hand out goodies! 3-6pm. Montecito Family YMCA, 591 Santa Rosa Ln., Montecito. Free. Call (805) 969-3288. tinyurl.com/Montecito-Trunk-Treat
10/30: Annual BOOcara Halloween Celebration Delight in festive activities such as property-wide trick-or-treating, a movie, a witches’ coven, and a haunted house, with adults invited to indulge in a sophisticated “drink-or-treat” tasting experience, featuring curated seasonal cocktails. 5-7pm. Ritz-Carlton Bacara, S.B., 8301 Hollister Ave. Ages 5+: $35; adults: $65. Call (805) 968-0100 or email rcbacaraspa@ritzcarlton.com. tinyurl.com/Boo-cara2025
10/31: The 15th Annual Old Town Goleta Halloween Candy Crawl Families are invited to explore all the participating businesses in Goleta’s Old Town neighborhood to collect treats and scan QR codes for additional prizes followed by a pizza party at 6:30pm at Toyota of S.B. (5611 Hollister Ave., Goleta). 3-6:30pm. Old Town Goleta. Free. Call (805) 685-2277 or email phebe.m@shopeverytown.com. tinyurl.com/Goleta-Halloween
10/31: Montecito Country Mart Halloween Spectacular Stop by for all-day trick-or treating, a costume contest and a prize for the best one, and a screening of Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. at 6pm. 11am-7pm. Montecito Country Mart, 1016 Coast Village Rd., Montecito. Free. Call (805) 969-9664. tinyurl.com/Halloween-Spectacular
10/31: Trick or Treat at Wood Glen Senior Living Make Halloween special for the residents of Wood Glen Hall, who will be passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. 3:15-4:30pm. Wood Glen Senior Living, 3010 Foothill Rd. Free. Call (805) 687-7771. tinyurl.com/WoodGlenHalloween
11/30-11/1: Solvang Ghost Tour Participate in a hands-on ghost hunting tour with a paranormal investigator, hear tales of the historic Danish village of Solvang, and meet the spirits who may still linger. 8pm. $50; non-believer: $100. Solvang Center, 1637 Copenhagen Dr., Solvang. Call (415) 446-1580 or email info@thehauntghost tours.com. thehauntghosttours.com/solvang
10/31: Calle Real Shopping Center: Goleta the GHOUL-Land Little ghouls can join for trick-ortreating, face painting, bouncy houses, live music, S.B. Bubble fun, and more. 3-6pm. Calle Real Shopping tinyurl.com/GHOUL-Land Center, 5660 Calle Real, Goleta.
10/30: Loubud Wines Halloween Speakeasy Party Wear a costume and bring your friends to this Halloween speakeasy with bottle discounts, raffles, and more! 5-8pm. Loubud Wines, 20 El Paseo. Free. Call (805) 500-8533. loubudwines.com/events
10/30-11/2: Halloween Speakeasy at San Ysidro Ranch
Arrive in your finest vintage or mysterious attire for candlelit corners, smoky jazz, and a menu of spine-tingling cocktails and decadent bites for purchase. 5-11:55pm. San Ysidro Ranch, 900 San Ysidro Lane. Free Call (805) 565-1720. tinyurl.com/Halloween-Speakeasy
10/30-11/2: From Dusk Till Dawn Halloween Pop-Up Enjoy cocktails with a bite (for purchase), haunting decor, and spooky movies. 3pm. Dusk Bar, Drift S.B., 524 State St. Free. Ages 21+. Call (855) 7212658. tinyurl.com/Dusk-PopUp
10/31: S.B. Halloween Zombie Crawl All zombies are invited to visit more than 10 bars and nightclubs with one all-access pass, drink discounts, and free cover. Check in: 7-10pm; crawl: 7pm-2am. Eos Lounge, 500 Anacapa St. Advance: $25; door: $35. Ages 21+. tinyurl.com/Zombie-Crawl-Oct31
10/31: Yoga Soup: All Hallow’s Eve: A Dance Between Worlds Enjoy a different kind of night as two deejays guide you through deep rhythms and the dance floor glows under black light. In the Lounge, pull a tarot card, sip crafted elixirs, and use UV paints and the photo booth. This is an alcohol- and tech-free event. 7-10pm. Yoga Soup, 28 Parker Wy. Advance: $35; door: $45. Ages 18+. Email support@yoga soup.com tinyurl.com/AllHallowsEve-Oct31
Mickey Flacks was a dogged advocate for affordable housing, among other progressive causes, so the Santa Barbara Independent launched the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund soon after she died in 2020 to keep her work alive.
McDermott’s quest is only possible due to the generosity of our readers who have supported the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund. Christina is on the job. We want to keep it that way. Please give generously.
Thanks to her fellowship, our reporter Christina McDermott spends many of her waking hours trying to unravel Santa Barbara’s forbiddingly complex and expensive housing landscape. Christina McDermott To make a contribution visit sbcan.org/journalism_fund y
Rooted in Indigenous and Latinx traditions, Día de los Muertos honors those who have passed with vibrant offerings, meaningful rituals, and joyful community gatherings.
10/30: San Ysidro Ranch Día de los Muertos Enjoy live Spanish guitar and vocals by Tony Ybarra, complimentary sugar skull face-painting, and a live art installation by a featured local artist as you sip signature cocktails featuring Del Maguey’s Día de los Muertos Mezcal. San Ysidro Ranch, 900 San Ysidro Ln., Montecito. $60. Call (805) 565-1720. Ages 21+. tinyurl.com/SanYsidro-DDLM
11/1-11/2: S.B. Museum of Art’s 36th Annual Día de los Muertos El museo honrará la tradición mexicana de recordar a los difuntos con una exposición de altares creados por estudiantes, actividades artísticas gratuitas y mucho más. The museum will honor the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead with a display of altars created by students, free art activities, and more. Noon-4pm. S.B. Museum of Art, 1130 State St. Members, students, teachers: free; GA: $6-$15. Call (805) 963-4364 or email info@sbma.net sbma.net/learn/kidsfamilies/ffd
Read Why You Should Donate and Find all of Christina’s Work below independent.com/mickeyflacksfellow y
11/1: Ortega Park S.B. Día de los Muertos Gather family and friends for activities, food, art, and music. Bring items to honor your loved ones or heroes for family altars. Join the procession from the park to S.B. Junior High School. 4pm. Ortega Park, 604 E. Ortega St. Free tinyurl.com/OrtegaPark-DDLM
11/1: The 10th Annual S.B. Mural Bike Ride All level cyclists are invited to join this family-friendly ride to celebrate and honor S.B. murals, historical landmarks, local Chicano culture, community heritage, and Día de los Muertos. 10am. Ortega Park, 604 E. Ortega St. Free tinyurl.com/Mural-BikeRide
11/2: Fifth Annual Mujeres Makers Market and SBTHP
Día de los Muertos Market & Craft Day Celebra a los que ya no están con actividades para toda la familia, manualidades, espectáculos de baile, un DJ, lotería, un fotomatón, un concurso de catrinas y una ofrenda comunitaria donde puedes poner una foto o un recuerdo. Compra en puestos de mujeres de color, artesanos, coleccionistas vintage y más. Celebrate those who have passed with family-friendly activities, arts and crafts, dance performances, a deejay, Lotería, a photo booth, Catrina Contest, and community ofrenda (altar) where you can place a photo or memento. Shop from vendors featuring women of color, artisans, vintage curators, and more. 10am-4pm. El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park, 123 E. Canon Perdido St. Free. Call (805) 965-0093. sbthp.org/diadelosmuertos
10/31: Canary Hotel Rave to the Grave! Rave-inspired costumes are encouraged for deep house beats from DJ Thee-o, eerie visuals, and a rooftop crowd that knows how to go full rave-ghoul. 7-10pm. Canary Hotel, 31 W. Carillo St. Advance: $20; door: $30. Ages 21+. Call (805) 884-0300. finchandforkrestaurant.com/events
10/31: The Anchor Rose Halloween Party Join for live unplugged music from Out of the Blue; fresh uni shooters, craft cocktails, wine, and more for purchase; and prizes for the top three costumes! 8pm-midnight. The Anchor Rose, 113 Harbor Wy., Ste. 180. Free. Call (805) 770-5069. tinyurl.com/AnchorRose-Halloween
10/31: SOhO Heads All Happy Halloween Ball Guests can expect a night of music from No Simple Spoonful and Jax Plays Dead, costumes, drinks for purchase, and spooky fun! 8:30pm. SOhO Restaurant & Music Club, 1221 State St. $15-$20. Ages 21+. Call (805) 962-7776. sohosb.com
10/31: Carr Winery Presents Halloween Night Join for the spookiest night of the year filled with witches, werewolves, wine, and the bluegrass sounds of the Van Allen Twins Band. Costumes required! 7-10pm. Carr Winery, 414 N. Salsipuedes St. Advance: $35; door: $45. Ages 21+. Call (805) 965-7985. carrwinery.com/events
10/31: Frights & Fractals: A Halloween Festival in Santa Barbara Join for a festival-style music experience (lower-volume spaces that allow for conversations without shouting) with an immersive light show, three deejay sets with an indoor dance floor, fire and LED flow performers, a costume contest, and more. 9pm-2am. 216 E. Gutierrez St. $50. Ages 21+. tinyurl.com/Frights-Fractals
11/1: Haunted Ball at Sunstone Angel or devil? Dress for this year’s theme (Angels & Demons) and dance the night away under the glow of the tasting room chandeliers. 7-10pm. Sunstone Winery, 125 N. Refugio Rd., Santa Ynez. $20-$25. Ages 21+. Call (805) 688-9463 or email info@sunstonewinery.com. sunstonewinery.com/events
11/1: S.B. Halloween Bar
Crawl Come in costume and visit more than 10 bars and nightclubs with one all-access pass that includes drink discount vouchers and free cover. Check in: 7-10pm; crawl: 7pm-2am. Eos Lounge, 500 Anacapa St. Advance: $15; door: $30. Ages 21+. tinyurl.com/HalloweenCrawl-Nov1
11/2: Wraiths & Wine Tasting: Guided Wine + Ghost Hunting Tour will be shown how to use ghost hunting equipment and given an overview of the haunted landscape during a wine tasting before exploring specific points in the Presidio neighborhood that have paranormal phenomena. 5-7pm. Kunin Wines, 831 Santa Barbara St. $105. Email hello@paranormalsb.com. tickettailor.com/events/soltisproductions
Political Commentator and New York Times Columnist
Ezra Klein
Abundance
Tue, Nov 4 / 7:30 PM / Arlington Theatre
“One of the country’s keenest political observers.” Foreign Affairs
Civil Rights Lawyer and Former President of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Reimagining a New American Democracy
Thu, Nov 6 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
“Sherrilyn Ifill is a dazzling intellectual with an uncommon ability to analyze and frame the urgent civil rights issues facing our nation.” – Bryan Stevenson
An Evening with David
Fri, Nov 7 / 7:30 PM / Arlington Theatre
“David Sedaris is an icon of indignation in a world that keeps on irking.” The Guardian (U.K.)
National Book Award-winning Poet
An Evening with
Thu, Nov 13 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
“A captivating storyteller and memoirist... One of our most important contemporary poets.” – Joyce Carol Oates Special
Once upon a time, an incredibly talented group of musicians formed bands together, slept together, took drugs together, and made such iconic music together during the late 1960s and early 1970s that it still resonates today.
Much of this legendary music scene featuring artists such as Joni Mitchell; Jackson Browne; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Carole King; The Byrds; Buffalo Springfield; David Crosby; Neil Young; Poco; James Taylor; the Mamas and the Papas; and Linda Ronstadt took place in the hills above Los Angeles in an area called Laurel Canyon. Now coming to the Lobero on November 13 is Lookout Mountain: The Music of Laurel Canyon, an all-star band and living documentary concert experience celebrating the music of these influential artists.
Esteemed rock photographer Henry Diltz is in the mix, along with musicians Kiki Ebsen, Kipp Lennon, Gary Novak, Andrew Ford, Jeff Pevar, special guest Glen Phillips, and the two men responsible for putting this whole thing together: Steve Postell and James Raymond. How did Lookout Mountain come about?
“I was trying to think of ways that I could play really fun music with my friends and people that I really enjoy making music with, and I started doing a little bit of research about tribute bands and bands that play other people’s music,” said Raymond, whose late father, David Crosby, was an integral part of the Laurel Canyon music scene. There was so much great music from the timeframe between 1968-1972 that Raymond got inspired by that era as a focus. “So, I just called Steve and ran it by him and it just kind of took off from there,” he said.
The beauty of that time period is the quantity of excel-
lent music to pull from. “What’s great is that we could completely change the set list for the next show, and it’d still be great. The reason I was so thrilled at the idea is because it’s music that informed us so much.
… And it’s an opportunity to delve into music that, certainly for me, molded a lot of what I am as a songwriter, for sure,” said Postell, an accomplished musician who has worked with everyone from Crosby to Stephen Stills, James Taylor, Carole King, and The Immediate Family, among many others.
“This is our kickoff show,” said Postell, who is planning to take it out on the road after the Lobero debut. “We’ve got a great team, and business team together with management and marketing, and everyone loves the idea. So, I guess unless James and I do something wrong, we’ll keep doing it.”
“This is kind of our dream team, basically for this endeavor, just because we’ve got such great vocalists and great players, and everybody’s really cool and gets along,” said Raymond. “If we do our jobs and make this a really compelling show, the sky’s the limit as far as taking it out and playing at theaters around the country and things like that.”
When Diltz is available, as he will be for the Lobero show, he’ll do a short talk before each musical set. “It connects the dots a lot,” said Raymond. “He has so much firsthand experience with these people and with that era. He became known as a great photographer, but he was a folk musician. So, when he was at Lookout Mountain, he was already taking pictures of everybody, but he was also sitting around playing with them.”
They will record the Lobero show and use some of those recordings of Diltz when he’s not able to be there live.
Added Postell, “One thing about it that’s interesting to me is, I think James and I are in this position where we are in the middle of the younger people who aren’t as familiar, and the people who made the music that we actually know, and have worked with them. I
think we’re in a very prime position in terms of our era to carry on and show people, you know, present this wonderful music in a really cool way with a lot of the gravitas of having grown up around it. So, it feels very personal to me.”
Any theories on why that was such a creative and prolific period of time in music?
“I think a big component of it was the right place, right time,” said Raymond. “In talking to Crosby about it, it was just kind of a peaceful enclave up away from the madness that was happening just down the street on Sunset and on Hollywood Boulevard, and this was like this idyllic, peaceful nirvana kind of place for these artists. I think it just gave them the right amount of camaraderie and space to create all this great music.
“I think it was kind of accidental, but I think once a little scene kind of formed up there, it attracted more people. And I think the beauty of it was that it never got out of hand and became like a tourist thing. It was very kind of cloistered. But I think it was just the right conditions for this really cool soup of creativity.”
—Leslie Dinaberg
Join the Circle today to get member pre-sale alerts (like Pat Metheny & Branford Marsalis Quartet) and discounts for more up-coming hot events, while supporting jazz, blues, roots music, and enjoying great perks! Join at lobero.org.
THURSDAY FEB 12 Just Announced! On-sale now.
“The Wailin’ Jennys are more than just impeccable bluegrass harmonizers; they’re also terrific bandleaders who give their traditional roots music a sense of real reverence. — NPR
FRIDAY NOV 21
Get ready for a musical experience that’s electric, virtuosic, and straight from the heart. The Django Festival Allstars bring the legendary Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz legacy roaring into the 21st century — and it’s hotter than ever. This all-acoustic ensemble blends old-school swing with fresh energy and contemporary flair.
NOV 18
TUESDAY DEC THURSDAY11
Known as the “American Troubadour,” singer-songwriter Don McLean achieved international fame with hits like “American Pie,” “Vincent’” and “Castles in the Air.” He received the BBC Lifetime Achievement Award, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has released more than 20 studio albums since his debut in 1970.
Exhibitions showcasing professors and teaching artists from a given institution of learning can serve a double-duty function, but observers’ assumptions and predispositions can get tricky. From one perspective, faculty artist forums such as the intriguing current show Lines of Inquiry at Westmont College’s Ridley-Tree Museum of Art can seem like a chance to get a glimpse of what’s behind the curricular curtain of a school.
But to whatever degree the art on display at the museum indicates the feel and focus of the present Westmont Art Department, and how these mentoring artists might impact their students’ art, another presiding agenda is at work here. The exhibition is primarily an overview of a necessarily diversified group of artists in their own right, and each with personal directions, styles, and messages to convey.
Said diversity, also a factor baked into the college’s interest in representing different media within its art faculty, is immediately apparent upon entering the entryway gallery space. On one wall, we find the pleasant photography of Brad Elliott, whose written statement, “I’m never not a photographer,” bears out his practice of capturing slices of found scenery. These include an infrared-like image on a trail, and such local visions as beach-centric takes on a lifeguard station and a distant oil rig. Elsewhere, fire rips and ripples through a hillside in “HELP,” with a fitting rough-focused urgency.
Across the room is the starkly contrasting non-representational mural-like piece “I Cannot Resist Your Joy,” by Nathan Hayden, nearly consuming the wall. It’s a visual dance of geometric black shapes and lines on white, writ large and busy, yet also tinged with a design-savvy gracefulness.
In the main gallery, some of the more alluring and timely work comes from Chris Rupp (also the Museum’s interim director). A U.S. map encircled by a brown, earthy fringe is overlaid with the text “OUR ROOTS ARE IMMIGRANT ROOTS,” and an adjacent piece is essentially a welcome mat with the phrase “Immigrants Welcome” also the work’s title. Rupp is managing to deliver pressing social messaging in a calm-toned, nonconfrontational way. “Peaceful protest” is a relevant idea and term here, through artistic means.
As he writes, “Reaction is a form of care. It is a refusal to remain silent, and an act of resistance. Through this work, I invite others to not only look, but to feel, question, and
perhaps to act.”
Rupp’s peaceable activist spirit contrasts with Scott Anderson’s skilled displays of draftsmanship and design sense. His section of the show reveals the process of illustration and formulation of design, from sketches to the finished, elaborate posters, mostly for Westmont theater productions.
Ryan Ethington burrows into the beauty and power of ocean waves not in the casual surfer art or seascapes, but in semi-abstracted and color-revised acrylic on canvas paintings. “Wave Crest in Slate” captures the spirit, not the detailed reality, of the force literal and poetic of waves.
Body politics and feminist issues are addressed, inventively, in Meagan Stirling’s large “life-size” monoprints via the seven pieces in her “My Flag, My Body” series. Loosely reminiscent
of Yves Klein’s provocative conceptual art deploying nude models slathered in paint to create works on paper, but with a very different expressive intention, Stirling uses her own body to press down on inked surfaces. With this intrinsically personal process and statement, the artist seeks to address “women’s historical erasure and the nation’s obsessive attachment to its flag.”
Another starring role in the room is played by the hardto-categorize artist Nathan Huff (also currently featured in the one-person show Within Wilds, at Sullivan Goss). The notion of “inquiry” is especially pertinent with Huff’s art, and what you see in one show isn’t necessarily what you get in another. With this art batch, the artist presents imagery of the domesticated, backyard nature, sometimes played straight and sometimes nudging into a zone of slight surrealist intent.
A series of subtle, smartly rendered watercolors focuses on flowers, stacked stones, hammers cannily juxtaposed with butterflies, a close-up of a weed whacker in action and a jumbo stone hovering above a fan (“Levitating Mass”). Magic realist airs slip into 3D with “Wash Me,” with an actual snake-like coiled hose poised to undo the damage of a mud-smeared gallery wall.
Lines of reality blur, sneakily, in the huge yet elegant sunflower ode “What do we do now?” a seemingly direct and anomaly-free floral painting, were it not for the startling/ amusing fact that one blossom is on fire. A double-take is in order, visually and perceptually.
Overall, Lines of Inquiry is anything but a linear narrative or artistic coalition, and that’s partly what makes the show sing. Diversity is alive and well in the Westmont Art Department.
—Josef Woodard
Lines of Inquiry is on view at Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art (955 La Paz Rd.) through November 1. See westmont.edu/lines-inquiry.
As the sun’s last light shone over Elings Park, a crowd of families with their curious kids littered the field. The smell of tacos, popcorn, and waffle cones hung in the air leaving just enough eagerness to explore surrounding pop-up booths.
Live band Neon Blonde set the scene with ’80s covers, while sponsors such as Girls Inc., the Santa Barbara Zoo, and the Santa Barbara Public Library mingled beside a fleet of shiny Honda cars.
There was no shortage of community enjoyment at the launch party and public debut of the Wild & Free Film Festival (WAFFF) on October 18 a fitting preview of what’s to come when the festival officially kicks off next month with a three-day celebration of film and the environment.
“I felt that there was a need [for] a film festival that was focused on environment-conscious storytelling, the natural world, but also with a bit of edginess to it,” founder and executive director Gareth Kelly said. “Something that wasn’t going to be afraid to show films that make people push boundaries, ask questions, spark debate and conversation.”
From concept to reality in less than a year, the festival has gathered an impressive coalition, with sponsorship from Santa Barbara Honda and support from partners such as Yardi, UCLA Health, and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians.
But what’s so wild and what’s so free about this film festival?
The answer? Environmentally conscious films, intentionally and meticulously chosen for their insight into human nature and our connection to the natural world.
“When choosing the films, I want to focus on aspects of nature that you aren’t used to seeing, in areas that perhaps you didn’t consider,” Kelly said. “I especially want to connect humans with how we interact with the natural world in an effort to make people think.”
Looking ahead, Kelly hopes WAFFF will grow into a platform for emerging filmmakers, connecting them with mentors, studios, and the ability to create something new. Talks of partnering with Netflix are already underway.
“I’ve always felt that if you can make people feel something about the world we live in, they’re more likely to care about protecting it,” he said. “We’re all part
of the natural world. The stories we tell, the adventures we take, the places we love. They’re all connected.”
I asked Kelly at the launch party if he was stressed. A silly question, in retrospect. Of course he was; how do you make waves in a community that already hosts world-renowned festivals like SBIFF?
“It’s been kind of hard in this first year, just trying to break through the noise among everything else going on in Santa Barbara,” he said. “But it was important to me to bring in other nonprofits because locally we have so many amazing organizations.”
Still, with more than 150 submissions from more than 35 countries, Kelly, a filmmaker himself, has relied on his networking experience to navigate the challenges of organizing a completely new event.
“We’re trying to expand people’s understanding of ‘nature films,’ ” Kelly said. “We’re not preaching to the choir; we’re saying [to] come hang out, have a beer, watch a movie under the stars, and maybe leave thinking differently about the world.”
The success of the launch party and the beloved choice of The Goonies brought people together on that Saturday night. But that was just the launch party.
Next up, WAFFF‘s three-day festival at Camino Real Cinemas in Goleta (November 14-16) will feature more than 25 films, filmmaker Q&As, and stories from around the world.
Opening night will be the Central Coast premiere of Checkpoint Zoo, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, ambitiously blending Hollywood with environmental storytelling. Other highlights include the world premiere of Ellwood Mesa: Beyond the Bluffs, a local documentary exploring conservation on the Central Coast, alongside Her Shark Story and the U.S. premiere of Wildflowers
“I want a film to take your breath away. To make you cry, laugh, angry, or even sad. Whatever it is, I want you to feel,” Kelly said. “Maybe even feel the passion to create films yourself. It’s such an incredible medium for storytelling, and we have to lean into stories that make an impact and get under people’s skin.”
—Izadora Hamm
Tickets and the full festival schedule are available at wildandfreefilm .org.
BY TIANA MOLONY
When Sean McCotter began his first semester at Santa Barbara City College in 2013, he rode his bike every day. Having just moved from Spokane, Washington where snow piles high in the winter and rain is constant he cherished every sunny day he got. “It was such a cool novelty for me,” he recalls, “to be able to continue riding my bike comfortably in December and January, where in Eastern Washington, it’s snow.”
He never expected to move to Santa Barbara much less attend SBCC but once he arrived, it felt like the right place all along. Before the move, McCotter was studying at a community college in Washington when his parents decided to relocate to Santa Barbara for work. During a visit, he toured SBCC and was immediately taken by the campus. He’d seen plenty of community colleges before, he notes, but had “never seen one with a campus as nice as that.”
To see if it was the right fit, he met with some of the counselors and professors during his visit. “It was immediately clear how good of a support network they had,” he shares. “And also how integrated it was there with the UC system, which gives you way more options than what I had available when I was in Washington.”
It was settled. Santa Barbara was his new home, and by extension, so was SBCC. Once enrolled, things began to fall into place. Fortunately, most of his credits from previous colleges transferred, allowing him to fulfill many of his degree requirements.
His interest in engineering began early on; after high school, he started working on guitar
amplifiers to satisfy his passion for music. As he tried to learn more about how these devices worked, he realized he needed a stronger foundation in technical subjects, which ultimately led him to pursue engineering at SBCC. “I always was naturally interested in math and science and stuff,” he shares. But admitted that he had never really applied himself. That is, until he started classes at SBCC.
One of his first big lessons came early on. In his first semester, when he attempted to register for Professor Mike Young’s physics class, he found it to be full. He decided to ask Young about this, telling him that he really needed to get into the class. “Just show up on the first day,” Young told him. “We’ll get you in. And if you do all your homework on time, we’ll definitely get you a spot.” McCotter did just that.
Good thing he did because it was in this class that Young also shared a piece of advice that stuck with McCotter to this day. He taught him the importance of “reading the math,” encouraging him to understand what equations mean rather than just memorizing formulas. “If you actually pay attention to it,” McCotter says, “the equations are actually telling you something.” This approach to learning stuck with him and influenced how he tackled problems both in school and in his career. “I still think about that quite often.”
McCotter also found invaluable support outside the classroom. He frequently visited his math professor, Jamie Campbell, during early morning office hours, sometimes as early as 7 a.m. He would come prepared with homework questions or problems he found interesting or challenging. “The ease of access to resources and assistance and everything was really notable,” he recalls.
These sessions helped him develop a strong problem-solving intuition and a deeper understanding of math skills that have continued to benefit him in both his academic and professional life.
After two years at Santa Barbara City College, McCotter transferred to the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2015 where he graduated in 2018. Studying in a dual-enrollment program there, he was able to begin his master’s coursework during his senior year and earned his graduate degree just a year later.
During his graduate studies, McCotter interned at Lockheed Martin’s Santa Barbara Focal Plane facility. After graduation, he joined Senseeker, a Santa Barbara company specializing in integrated circuit design for sensor arrays, where he has remained ever since, eventually advancing to principal engineer.
The sense of community he experienced at Santa Barbara City College directly influenced the kind of workplace and career path he chose after graduating, favoring smaller, more collaborative settings over larger institutions.“SBCC gave me the resources and the opportunity to test the waters of my target field of study and gave me a solid foundation to build on for the rest of my academic and professional careers,” reflects McCotter. “I’ve retained many of the connections I made at my time there both with fellow students and professors.”
The kids at Vieja Valley Elementary School near Hope Ranch were starstruck when they walked into their auditorium and saw Salva Dut. They had spent the last year reading Dut’s story in the best-selling book A Long Walk to Water and raised more than $5,000 for his charity providing clean drinking water to South Sudan.
Vieja Valley was the lucky school to win Dut’s Iron Giraffe fundraising challenge named after the drill used to dig wells coming out on top over thousands of other schools across the globe and winning the top prize: a visit from Dut himself.
One of the “Lost Boys of Sudan” the roughly 20,000 young boys who fled Sudan in 1987 to escape the civil war Dut resettled in the United States but returned to southern Sudan after his father fell ill from drinking dirty water.
there are people in the world who want to help people that cannot help themselves,”
Dut told the Independent . “And to see people coming together, especially young people, reaching out and showing that this world is going to be passed on to the good people who will take care of it.”
Sixth-grade teachers Alexa Mannion and Amanda Olson led the charge last year, after noticing how moved their students were in response to Dut’s journey and everything he’s accomplished. Through classroom presentations, the coin drive, and a letterwriting campaign, the students raised both awareness and funds to help provide clean water access for villages in South Sudan. The 6th-graders even counted and rolled up all the coins themselves.
by Callie Fausey
Six million people in South Sudan lack access to clean drinking water, according to Dut’s team. Children, especially girls, walk nearly four miles (eight hours) each day for water, often making multiple trips and carrying up to 40 pounds each time.
Dut made it his mission to drill a well and ensure his father’s village had access to clean drinking water. But he didn’t stop there. Building off the experience, he created Water for South Sudan, a nonprofit that creates water points where they are needed most across the country. Since founding the organization in 2003, Dut’s helped drill more than 650 wells to provide water to more than 500,000 people.
“Water is the foundation of everything,” he told the young crowd at Vieja Valley during his presentation on Thursday. “You’d feel terrible if you didn’t have it.”
About 30 percent of the support for Dut’s nonprofit comes from schools, which hold coin drives every year to fundraise for the work while learning about humanitarian struggles occurring across the globe.
“It makes me feel really good to see that
The words “clean energy” crop up frequently, but rarely does it mean two things: truly clean, limitless energy. That is the dream of nuclear fusion, the same process that powers the sun. No emissions, no meltdown risk just efficient, endless power. Science has yet to crack the code on how to harness this power, but a Goleta startup called Blue Laser Fusion may have the technology to make it happen.
The company’s founder, UCSB’s own Professor Shuji Nakamura the Nobel Prize–winning scientist who already changed the world once by inventing white LED is the brains behind the operation.
“Using blue LED technology, we developed a totally new idea to create a new laser power,” Nakamura explained. “For the past 70 years, fusion was never achieved. So this is a big breakthrough. Using our technology, we can generate our own energy continuously.”
In 2022, researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Lab achieved the first controlled “fusion gain” when a laser-induced reaction produces more energy than it takes to trigger it.
It was an incredible scientific milestone,
It’s fusion, not fission it’s safe.”
Put simply, the laser compresses two light hydrogen atoms isotopes until they fuse into helium, releasing energy in the process. “You’ve got to do it like the sun,” Pattison explained. “If you overcome their natural desire not to fuse, that missing mass turns into energy. Einstein’s E=mc², right there.”
“It rallied our whole school together,” Olsen said. “The kids were just beyond themselves when they saw the live drawing and realized they had won the prize. We had to rewatch the drawing three to four times for them to actually register it.”
“I’m just really glad we got to raise a bunch of money, and I’m just grateful for the life we got,” said Viola McBride, whose class pioneered the fundraising effort.
“And since we got this life,” her fellow classmate, Noah Shenoda, chimed in, “we can help other people get a little closer to it.”
by Ella Heydenfeldt
but there was a flip side, according to Morgan Pattison, a special advisor at Blue Laser Fusion, who worked under Nakamura as a graduate student. “It was really a profound demonstration,” he said. “But the laser they’re using can only generate enough energy once per day. To do this for practical electricity generation, you need to do it thousands to millions of times a day.”
That’s where Blue Laser Fusion comes in. The company’s innovations incorporate a high-pulse energy laser with a fusion energy target chamber. In layman’s terms, the laser is the hammer breaking into a tiny pellet of hydrogen isotopes (atoms). The chamber is the anvil, keeping everything contained. The result? Genuinely clean, secure fusion energy. The difference? It’s on demand.
As far as the fear that may arise when one hears the word “nuclear,” that would be misplaced. “There’s no chance of a runaway reaction,” Pattison said. “There’s no uranium involved just hydrogen isotopes.
The startup has received seed funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s INFUSE program, which connects private fusion companies with national labs to accelerate development.
“If this works energy is power, geopolitical power,” Pattison said. “Wherever you are in the world, you’re going to be a buyer or a seller of the technology. This could be bigger than Silicon Valley.”
Fusion energy’s promise isn’t just clean power it’s global independence from oil, gas, and uranium.
So, how close is this to being the power source of Santa Barbara? “There is still a lot of work to be done, a lot of R&D [research and development],” Pattison said. Scientists at Blue Laser Fusion have to scale up continuously until they have the capital and infrastructure to construct a onegigawatt pilot fusion power plant, which, according to their website (bluelaserfusion.com), should be done by 2032.
Once the power plant is up and running, its primary customers will be utilities or government agencies, according to Pattison. “The ultimate customer would be the electricity consumer, just like with any other electrical supply he said.
“The upside is massive trillions of dollars and many environmental benefits,” Pattison stated. ■
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Optimism abounds in Santa Barbara as the 2025-26 UCSB men’s basketball team features a roster that is brimming with talent.
In the modern era of college basketball, player retention is perhaps a bigger indicator of success than recruiting, and the Gauchos return a solid core of key contributors from last season.
“We’re just focused on our process and improving every single day,” said head coach Joe Pasternack. “Our first phase was to retain all of the players from last year’s roster that we could keep, and I thought we did a really good job with that.”
The return of starters Jason Fontenet and Colin Smith is a solid foundation. Fontenet started all 34 games last season, averaging 9.9 points per game. He scored in double figures 18 times and has been named to the All-Big West Preseason Team.
Smith struggled with injuries, but averaged 8.7 points per game and shot 43 percent from threepoint range. With a 6'8" frame and a natural ability to score from all three levels, he is capable of giving opposing defenses fits.
“They can score; they can rebound; they can defend,” said Pasternack. “They are two-way players.”
In addition, returners Koat Keat Tong, Evans Kipruto, and former four-star recruit Zion Sensley all have the ability to thrive in their roles.
The Big West Preseason Coach’s Poll has the Gauchos tabbed to finish second in the conference. Last season, UC Santa Barbara finished 21-13 overall and 11-9 in Big West Conference play.
Transfers Aiden Mahaney (UConn), Miro Little (Utah), Marvin McGhee IV (Cal State Bakersfield), and Hosana Kitenge (University of Louisiana)
Little will join Mahaney in the back-court after gaining two years of Power 4 conference experience at Baylor and then Utah. He was a standout for the Finland national team at the Eurobasket tournament this summer, averaging 5.4 points and 4.6 assists in 20 minutes per game against many of the top players in the world.
Kitenge is a 6'8" grad transfer from the University of Louisiana who averaged 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds last season. If he can provide similar production at UCSB, it will go a long way toward replacing the production of Kenny Pohto, who exhausted his eligibility last season.
Recruiting freshmen is no longer a given for many programs in the transfer portal era, but Pasternack is excited about his 2025 class of Luke Zuffelato, Michael Simcoe, and CJ Shaw.
“We have three buckets the returners, the freshmen, and the transfers,” Pasternack said.
by Victor Bryant
represent an infusion of high-level talent to the program.
Mahaney began his career at St. Mary’s, where he was a two-time First Team All-WCC selection. He then moved on to back-to-back national champion UConn, where he saw action in 34 games.
Most notably, Mahaney has reached the NCAA Tournament three times and has assumed the role of vocal leader. He will have an opportunity to put up big numbers in Pasternack’s guard-friendly system.
“Three straight NCAA Tournaments that’s huge,” said Pasternack of Mahaney. “The experience, the winning, the leadership he adds gives us a boost.”
“The hard part is, you have to meld them, and it takes time. We will use November and December to get to know our team and get ready for conference play.”
Zuffelato is fresh off a standout career at Santa Barbara High School, during which he rewrote the record books and led the Dons to generational wins over powerhouses Sierra Canyon and Mater Dei.
Simcoe was a four-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American Nominee. He was an All-State selection in Arizona in 2024 and 2025.
Shaw was 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year in Nevada, a McDonald’s All-American Nominee and two-time state champion.
The Gauchos will open the season on Tuesday, November 4, against San Francisco State in the Thunderdome. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Once you have kids, whose seasonal calendars orbit inordinately around candy and costumes, it’s easy to forget that Halloween can still be plenty of fun for adults. But then you remember that dress-up parties never stopped happening, and that the creativity around this spookiest of nights only amplified since your October 31 became more about following than swallowing.
As Halloween overtakes Friday night this year, the grown-up fun should be at full tilt. Here are a few options for your adult enjoyment.
Carr Winery’s Pink Monster Rosé: Every ticket to Halloween Night at Carr Winery (414 N. Salsipuedes St.; [805] 965-7985; carrwinery.com) includes a glass of their Pink Monster Rosé, which is a light, crisp rosé made up of all the varietals the winery produces. It’s Carr’s version of Beaujolais nouveau, meaning that it’s a fast release, coming from this fall’s 2025 vintage. “The tradition began back in 2006,” said Jessica Carr. “We only produce a few cases, and each year the wine has a new Halloween-inspired label designed by one of our employees.” As you sip on that, enter the costume contest, listen to the bluegrass of the Van Allen Twins Band, and vie for entrance to the Haunted Wine Cave from 7 to 10 p.m.
Dusk Till Dawn Drinks @ Dusk: Not only is From Dusk Till Dawn probably Quentin Tarantino’s best acting performance ever, it’s also one of the most entertaining vampire flicks ever made in large part because it doesn’t even go vampire until nearly halfway through the film. In an ode to such magnificence, Dusk Bar at the Drift Hotel (524 State St.; [855] 721-2658; @duskbarsb) is again hosting a Dusk Till Dawn–themed cocktail menu all month, featuring drinks like Para Vampiros, a tangy mezcal concoction with shellfish-kissed sangrita; He’s Not Your Brother Anymore, a Oaxacan rum drink with top-shelf curacao; and All Right, Vampire Killers, in which garlic-infused tequila is paired with olive oil, cilantro, vermouth, and oregano.
Final Girl Wines in Solvang: Solvang isn’t just Christmas town anymore. Halloween now rocks the city’s October, and that’s in part thanks to Final Girl Wines (485 Alisal Rd., Ste. 152, Solvang; [805] 350-2758; finalgirlwines.com), whose entire label is an homage to those last-standing baddies in slasher films. There was a Spooky Food Week, an all-ages trick or treat night, and this Halloween, a big haunted house around the corner, not to mention their weekend horror movie nights that go all year long. They’ve just released a lineup of cabernet sauvignon, grenache, and petit verdot with that chainsaw-wieldinglady logo leading the way.
The Grimm Manor @ Miramar: Man, what holiday or themed cocktail affair has The Manor Bar at the Rosewood Miramar Beach (1759 S. Jameson Ln., Montecito; [805] 9008388; rosewoodhotels.com; @themanorbar) not taken advantage of? In this case, it’s The Grimm Manor, in which the bar will team with Boston’s Hecate speakeasy staff to morph into a “shadowy drawing room” full of “fantastical, fairytale-themed cocktails.” Expect surprises, mystery, and vinyl as a soundtrack.
Two Snakes @ Dom’s Taverna: The brand-new Dom’s Taverna (30 E. Victoria St.; [805] 724-4338; domstaverna.com; @domstaverna) isn’t hesitating to get onto the Halloween scene with a themed cocktail called the Two Snakes by mixologist Ben Carey. Featuring both mezcal and reposado tequila plus agave, squid ink, molé foam, and black truffle, it’s gonna look dark and taste dangerous.
Zombie Crawl on State Street: If you really wanna get after it, and do so with like-minded ghosts, goblins, and goons, then the Santa Barbara Zombie Crawl is the place to be. For about $30, you can join a free-flowing mob of revelers from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. enjoying free shots, discounted drinks, and special combos from at least 11 separate establishments. Check-in is at Eos from 7 to 10 p.m., and then you’re free to crawl. See santabarbarazombiecrawl.com. n
• shares personal stories of parents
• highlights kid-related businesses and services
• continues our award-winning coverage of issues that are important to families
• serves as a hub for our annual issues like the Summer Camp Guide
• includes a children/family-focused event calendar
TZSB tells me that the iconic downtown Santa Barbara bar Mel’s Lounge is getting a significant upgrade. The owners longtime locals have spent the past six months overhauling the kitchen and preparing to launch a new food concept called Jalisco Grill, which will operate inside Mel’s. The plan is to keep the Mel’s name while expanding food service dramatically. Until now, the venue has served a limited menu and allowed customers to bring in takeout from neighboring restaurants. That’s about to change. With a fully renovated kitchen and a new chef, Mel’s will soon offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring dishes inspired by Jalisco-style Mexican cooking, known for hearty beef plates and traditional comfort foods.
The owners say they hope to reopen the kitchen for breakfast by the end of this year, though early 2026 is more likely. Unlike many recent downtown additions, the focus will be on affordable, everyday meals, not high-priced brunch fare.
Mel’s, located at 209 West Carrillo Street, has long been a relaxed gathering place known for its L-shaped bar, casual crowd, and open-mic nights for comedy and music. Those events paused during the pandemic but are expected to resume once the restaurant side is running smoothly.
Because Mel’s already holds a full liquor license, the transition is mainly about finishing upgrades and introducing the new chef’s menu. Jalisco Grill will run as a family-friendly diner by day and continue as Mel’s Lounge by night, maintaining its longstanding neighborhood identity.
If all goes as planned, the revamped Mel’s will offer something few downtown bars attempt a full day of service, from morning coffee and breakfast burritos to late-night comedy and cocktails. Visit melsbarandrestaurant.com.
CARPINTERIA KITCHEN CLOSES: Reader Kim D. tells me that Carpinteria Kitchen, the grab-and-go deli and café at 4945 Carpinteria Avenue, has quietly closed as of October 23, 2025. The shop was known for its easy beach-day fare sandwiches, salads, and pre-made dinners along with shelves of gourmet grocery and gift items. Owner Deb Goldman opened the spot in October 2021. It’s not yet clear whether Goldman plans to continue her catering work.
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FORMER HOME OF MAX’S UPDATE: Santa Barbara Sunshine Café at 3514 State Street closed in December 2023 and reopened the same month at 5711 Calle Real in Goleta. The now-vacant uptown property has since changed ownership, and renovations began about six months ago. I spoke to the new owner of the building and was told that renovations are complete and that the space is available for lease. No restaurant tenant is currently in the works, and the prime upper State spot is ready for a variety of business types.
THANKSGIVING AT THE HARBOR RESTAURANT: The Harbor Restaurant on Stearns Wharf will be serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on November 27. The three-course menu costs $79 per person, while the children’s two-course menu (entrée and dessert) costs $33 per child. Sales tax and gratuity not included.
SUSHI BAR 29 THANKSGIVING UPDATE: Sushi Bar 29 at 1134 Chapala Street will be open for both lunch and dinner on Thanksgiving Day, which is a bit unusual in this town. They will be serving their regular menu, so don’t plan on eating turkey here. The holiday business hours are: lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m.; and dinner, 5-8:15 p.m. Dine-in and takeout are available.
by Alice Dehghanzadeh
Rooted in sustainability, community, and seasonality, Santa Barbara has a new gourmet food service that brings chef-crafted, locally sourced meals straight to your door. Local chefs Isa Bourbon and Rachel Hunter’s Bite Club brings a fresh approach to dining, where high-quality meals made with local ingredients meet ecofriendly practices.
Bite Club came into fruition when Bourbon and Hunter joined forces. Having both been private chefs for years Bourbon also used to run Wishbone Well being, a bone broth business they were doing a lot of private sector work.
“We wanted to turn outward toward our community,” Bourbon said. “We were both very excited about supporting a larger number of people versus just one or two families or individuals. That was really exciting to us, and it’s been really fun.”
passionate about eating without the dogma and pressure of diet culture,” Bourbon said. “We have gluten-free options and dairy-free options. We’ll have some vegetarian options, some pescatarian options, but we’re not any specific diet. We want you to feel well-fed and to trust that the food is high-quality and local but also that you’re not going to feel hungry at the end. It’s not about restriction; it’s about feeling abundant.”
Beyond flavor, Bite Club is about connection. Hunter talked about the history of sitting around a table and sharing a meal. For example, she went on, with the family plan, knowing that you already have three meals cooked for you gives the opportunity to create a space for connection.
There are two meal plans offered: an individual plan (“The Me Plan”) bringing one serving in the form of three dinners, three lunches, and a snack for $225 a week, or the family plan (“The We Plan”), which brings four servings per meal for three dinners and a snack for $450 per week.
Every Wednesday, members receive a cooler bag with freshly made meals packed in heat-safe glassware along with reheating instructions. The following week, they leave the containers outside for pickup, and Bite Club switches them out for new meals. This system emphasizes no single-use plastic, keeping sustainability at the forefront of the service.
Menus change weekly and always reflect what’s in season at the local farmers’ markets in Santa Barbara. According to Bourbon and Hunter, one meal looks like a farmers’ market butter squash and spinach lasagna with a side of market salad, and another could look like balsamic basil chicken thighs that are crisped and served with a side of farmers’ market zucchini, red onions, and some end-of-season cherry tomatoes.
“[Hunter] and I are both deeply
Lunch Wednesday-Sunday 11-5
Thursday, Friday, Saturday 5-9
Looking ahead, Hunter and Bourbon hope to grow meaningfully without losing the intimacy of their club. “Restaurants and the food industry can be very militaristic and male-dominated,” Bourbon said. “We want it to feel intuitive, peaceful, and nurturing .We’re not looking to become a huge business. We’re looking to have a high-touch, concierge level of service for a select number of people that are really brought into what we’re providing.”
Hunter added that outside of that, the chefs hope to venture into new additions: newsletters, recipes, and even dinner parties a couple of times a year to bring the club together.
For more information or to sign up for one of the available plans, visit biteclubsb.com. Bite Club is offering Indy readers a special $50 discount off of their first order with the code INDE50.
Notice is hereby given that the City of Santa Barbara will be soliciting proposals from eligible applicants for Fiscal Year 2027 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs.
A mandatory Application Workshop for CDBG Economic Development and Capital applicants will be held November 13, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. In order to apply, a representative of each applicant is required to attend this workshop in its entirety. To register for the workshop, sign up at https://santabarbaracagov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4oiRNVYhSWuf1qT8TYhXsQ . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Attendees of this workshop must be staff that are directly involved in preparing grant submissions.
Applications are due by 4:30 p.m. December 11, 2025. NO EXCEPTIONS. Further information can be obtained online or by contacting the Community Development Programs staff at LDrewes@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
It is the applicant’s responsibility to see that their application is complete and submitted online on or before the stated due date and time. Incomplete applications will NOT be accepted. Acceptance of application does NOT guarantee funding. See all requirements and process details at https://santabarbaraca.gov/services/housing-human-services/cdbg-humanservices
Ciudad De Santa Bárbara Aceptando Propuestas Para Programas De
Por la presente se notifica que la Ciudad de Santa Bárbara solicitará propuestas de solicitantes elegibles para los Programas de Subvenciones en Bloque para el Desarrollo Comunitario (CDBG) del año fiscal 2027.
El 13 de noviembre de 2025 a las 9:30 a.m. se llevará a cabo un taller obligatorio de solicitud para los solicitantes de Desarrollo Económico y Capital de CDBG. Para poder postularse, se requiere que un representante de cada solicitante asista a este taller en su totalidad. Para inscribirse en el taller, regístrese en https://santabarbaracagov.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4oiRNVYhSWuf1qT8TYhXsQ . Después de registrarse, recibirá un correo electrónico de confirmación con información sobre cómo unirse al seminario web. Los asistentes a este taller deben ser personal que esté directamente involucrado en la preparación de las solicitudes de subvenciones.
Las solicitudes deben presentarse antes de las 4:30 p.m. del 11 de diciembre de 2025. SIN EXCEPCIONES. Se puede obtener más información en línea o comunicándose con el personal de Programas de Desarrollo Comunitario en LDrewes@SantaBarbaraCA.gov
Es responsabilidad del solicitante asegurarse de que su solicitud esté completa y se envíe en línea en la fecha y hora de vencimiento indicadas o antes. NO se aceptarán solicitudes incompletas. La aceptación de la solicitud NO garantiza la financiación. Vea todos los requisitos y detalles del proceso en https://santabarbaraca.gov/services/housing-human-services/cdbg-humanservices
Want
to Hear from You!
Share stories of your wedding with the Santa Barbara Independent from how you got together and who proposed, all the way to your big day. Tell us what were your choices for venue, colors, clothes, ceremony, and reception? What worked out, what didn’t, and any and all unexpected events–happy or otherwise.
We are planning the 2026 Santa Barbara Independent Wedding Guide, which will be published in Early 2026. We are looking to celebrate the weddings that have happened in Santa Barbara County.
Send us your story and share your wedding photos to weddings@independent.com. Be sure to let us know how to contact you.
Rob Breszny
(Mar. 21-Apr. 19): On the outskirts of a village in Ghana, a healer gathers plants only when the moon says yes. She speaks the names of each leaf aloud, as if to ask permission, and never picks more than needed. She trusts that each herb has its own wisdom that she can learn from. I invite you to emulate her approach, Aries. Now is a good time to search for resources you need to heal and thrive. The best approach is to be receptive to what life brings you, and approach with reverence and gratitude. Halloween costume suggestion: herbalist, traditional healer, sacred botanist.
(Apr. 20-May 20): A well-cut ship’s sail is not a flat sheet. It has a gentle curve that the sailmaker crafts stitch by stitch so the wind will catch and convert invisible pressure into forward motion. Too taut, and the cloth flaps, wasting energy; too loose, and power dissipates. The miracle lies in geometry tuned to an unseen current. I invite you to be inspired by this approach, Taurus. Build curvature into your plans so that optimism isn’t an afterthought but a structural feature. Calibrate your approaches to natural processes so movement arises from alignment rather than brute effort. Make sure your progress is fueled by what you love and trust. Halloween costume suggestion: Wear a sail.
(May 21-June 20): All of us can benefit from regular phases of purification: periods when we dedicate ourselves to cleansing, shedding, and simplifying. During these intense times of self-healing, we might check our integrity levels to see if they remain high. We can atone for mistakes, scrub away messy karma, and dismantle wasteful habits. Here’s another essential practice: disconnecting ourselves from influences that lower our energy and demean our soul. The coming weeks will be a perfect time to engage in these therapeutic pleasures, Gemini. Halloween costume suggestion: purifier, rejuvenator, cleanser, refiner.
(June 21-July 22): Deep in the Pacific Ocean, male humpback whales sing the longest, slowest, most intricate love songs ever. Their bass tones are loud and strong, sometimes traveling for miles before reaching their intended recipients. The coming weeks will be an excellent time to compose and unleash your own ultimate love songs, Cancerian. Your emotional intelligence is peaking, and your passionate intensity is extra refined and attractive. Meditate on the specific nature of the gifts you want to offer and receive in return. Halloween costume suggestion: singer of love songs.
(July 23-Aug. 22): Between 1680 and 1725, Italy’s Antonio Stradivari and his family made legendary violins that are highly valued today. They selected alpine spruce trees and Balkan maple, seasoned the wood for years, and laid varnish in painstaking layers that produced sublime resonance. Their genius craftsmanship can be summed up as the cumulative magic of meticulousness over time. I recommend their approach to you, Leo. Be in service to the long game. Commune with people, tools, and commitments that age well. Act on the theory that beautiful tone is perfected in layers. Halloween costume suggestion: a fine craftsperson.
(Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Trained women dancers in Rajasthan, India, perform the ancient art of Bhavai. As folk music plays, they balance on the dull edge of a sword and hold up to 20 clay pots on their head. They sway with elegance and artistry, demonstrating an ultimate embodiment of “grace under pressure.” I don’t foresee challenges as demanding as that for you, Virgo. But I suspect you will have the poise and focus to accomplish the metaphorical equivalents of such a feat. Halloween costume suggestion: regal acrobat or nimble dancer.
HOMEWORK:
(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In 1968, researchers at Stanford conducted the “marshmallow test.” Children were offered a single sweet treat immediately. But if they didn’t quickly gobble down the marshmallow, thus postponing their gratification, they were awarded with two candies later. The kids who held out for the double reward didn’t do so by sheer willpower alone. Rather, they found clever ways to distract themselves to make the wait more bearable: making up games, focusing their attention elsewhere, and adjusting their surroundings. I advise you to learn from their approach, Libra. Cultivate forbearance and poise without dimming your passion. Harness small triumphs of willpower into generating big, long-term gains. Diligent, focused effort invested now will almost certainly lead to satisfying outcomes. So please prioritize incremental, systematic grunt work over stunts and adrenaline. Halloween costume trick: carry two marshmallows.
(Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the late 18th century, Balloonomania came to Paris. Large crowds gathered to watch inventors and impresarios send hot air balloons into the sky. Spectators were astonished, fearful, and filled with wonder. Some wept, and some fainted. I suspect you’re due for your own exhilarating lift-off, Scorpio a surge of inspiration that may bewilder a few witnesses but will delight those with open minds. Halloween costume prop: wings.
(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Don’t be too shocked by my unusual list of raw materials that might soon turn out to be valuable: grime, muck, scuzz, scum, slop, bilge, slime, and glop. Amazingly, this stuff may conceal treasures or could be converted into unexpected building materials. So, I dare you to dive in and explore the disguised bounty. Proceed on the assumption that you will find things you can use when you distrust first impressions and probe beneath surfaces. Halloween costume suggestions: sacred janitor, recycling wizard, garbage genius.
(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the tidepools of America’s Pacific Northwest lives the ochre starfish, a keystone species that keeps mussel populations in check. Remove the starfish and the ecosystem collapses into imbalance. Let’s make this creature your power symbol, Capricorn. The visible effect of your presence may not be flashy or vivid, but you will hold a stabilizing role in a group, project, or relationship. Your quiet influence can keep things harmonious. Your gift is not to dominate the scene, but to keep the whole system alive and diverse. Halloween costume suggestion: ochre starfish (tinyurl.com/OchreStarfish).
(Jan. 20-Feb. 18): For hundreds of years, the Blackfoot people of North America built buffalo jumps. These were steep cliffs where herds of bison could be guided and driven over the edge during a hunt. It required elaborate cooperation. Scouts tracked the herd, decoys lured them toward the drop, and prep teams waited below to process the meat, hides, and bones for the whole community’s sustenance. I hope you will engage in smaller versions of this project. Now is an excellent time to initiate, inspire, and foster shared efforts. Make it a high priority to work with allies you trust. Halloween costume suggestions: shepherd, sheep dog, cowboy, vaquero.
(Feb. 19-Mar. 20): In the ancient Greek world, oracles spoke in riddles. This was not because they were coy, but because they understood that truth often arrives obliquely. Directness is overrated when the soul is in motion. Mythic modes of perception don’t obey the laws of logic. In this spirit, Pisces, I invite you to make riddles and ambiguities your allies. A dream, an overheard conversation, or a misheard lyric may contain an enigmatic but pithy code. You should be alert for messages that arrive sideways and upside down. Tilt your head. Read between the flames. You’ll understand when your heart recognizes what your mind can’t name. Halloween costume suggestion: oracle or fortune-teller.
The Frame‑Up seeks full‑time framer with 2‑5 years experience preferred. A background in woodwork, fine carpentry, or craftsmanship is helpful. The framer is needed for the workshop side of the business. Limited customer service interaction is needed. Main tasks include: Reading and interpreting work orders, computerized mat cutting, dry mounting, canvas stretching, glass cutting, wood cutting, precise measuring, joining, fitting, perfecting of fine details. Attention to small details is a must. Other tasks include:
Unpacking and checking in deliveries, organizing and preparing materials, storing art properly, cleaning.
Qualities needed are: tenacity, patience, ability to work alone after training, ability to learn from mistakes and utilize constructive criticism for growth. An eye for design is a plus. Training provided as needed. 30‑40 hours a week depending on the employee’s availability and preference. Days of the week and hours of the day can be flexible. $28/hour Email full resume to Andy at: framing@ theframe‑up.com
This job posting will stay until the position is filled.
PROFESSIONAL
BUSINESS
MANAGER ‑
LABORATORY FOR AGGREGATE
ECONOMICS AND FINANCE (LAEF)
MACROECONOMICS INSTITUTE
Oversees a broad range of administrative operations for the Laboratory for Aggregate Economics and Finance (LAEF). Uses skills as a seasoned, experienced administrative operations professional to manage, plan and administer the operations of LAEF. Exercises discretionary powers to solve managerial and program problems. Performs short and long‑term planning for the organization, including program planning and assessments, budget analysis and control, space planning, and special projects. Serves as a resource to the Director in the planning of LAEF’s activities which includes research programs, workshops, and conferences. Demonstrates good judgment to anticipate needs and select methods and techniques for obtaining solutions. Serves as the visible and primary business representative of LAEF. Reqs: Bachelor’s Degree in related area and / or equivalent experience / training.1‑3 years Relevant experience in: business administration, finance, and/or management; Financial administration experience, including fund accounting; event coordination. Knowledge of financial and accounting concepts, adhering to policies and procedure, and the ability to use discretion and maintain confidentiality. Ability to use sound judgment in responding to issues and concerns Solid communication and interpersonal skills to communicate effectively with all levels of staff verbally and in
writing. Solid organizational skills and ability to multi‑task with demanding timeframes. Working knowledge of common organization‑specific and other computer application programs. Notes:Occasional weekend and evening work hours.Satisfactory criminal history background check. Hiring/Budgeted Salary or Hourly Range: $31.00 to $35.95/hr. Full Salary Range: $31.00 to $50.78/ hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job # 82015.
Under the supervision of the Academic Personnel and Operations Coordinator, the Communications and Special Events Assistant provides administrative support to the Department Chair and Business Officer. Helps develop the Computer Science department’s outreach and communication. Assists in planning and implementing departmental conferences, colloquia and special events including the annual CS Summit and the weekly Theory seminar series. Maintains the department website and social media presence. Reqs: High School Diploma or GED; 1‑3 yrs Clerical experience; Strong administrative and organizational skills; Thorough knowledge of administrative procedures and processes including word processing, spreadsheet and database applications; Excellent verbal and written communication skills, active listening, critical thinking, time management; Thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of writing, grammar, syntax, style and punctuation; Thorough skills to write clear, lively, engaging and compelling copy in a variety of styles appropriate to target audiences and / or the broader public, while ensuring adherence to the location’s message. Notes: Position is funded through 11/30/26 pending further funding; satisfactory criminal history background check. Hiring/Budgeted Salary Range:
$29.35 ‑ $32.91/hr. Full Salary Range:
$29.35 ‑ $42.06/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #81840
LAS VARAS RANCH PROPERTY
The Ranch Hand is responsible for providing unskilled and semi‑skilled physical labor in support of the daily operations of running a working cattle ranch and avocado/lemon orchards.
Duties include; assisting with raising and maintaining crops, operating farm equipment and machinery, assisting with maintaining ranch grounds, and assisting in the care and raising of livestock. Reqs: High School Diploma or equivalent. Notes: Must be able to work some weekends and overtime. Must be able to operate farm machinery and tools. Must be able to drive a tractor and light truck.
Required to hold a valid driver’s license, have a driving record that is in accordance with local policies/procedures, and/or enroll in the California Employer Pull Notice Program. Satisfactory criminal history background check. Hiring/ Budgeted Hourly Range: $21.05/hr. to $25.17/hr. Full Salary Range: $21.05/hr. to $27.23. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #76913
INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Acts as Manager of IV Theaters and Embarcadero Hall, directs all preparation, execution and administrative duties for events and instruction in IV Theaters and Embarcadero Hall (IVEH). Responsible for all operations of IVEH, including instructional support, venue scheduling, student staff hiring and training, and event billing. Supervises the Public Events Manager who assists in daily operations of IVEH. Consults with clients concerning all elements of instructional and event support. Manages all theatrical equipment including training users, maintenance and repair. Occasionally called upon to provide support for other campus events as requested by the Director of Instructional Support. Reqs: Bachelor’s Degree in related area or equivalent experience; 1‑3 years related experience; Experience communicating effectively with customers, volunteers, and co‑workers; Evidence of strong organizational and time management skills; Capable of performing physical tasks, including lifting, carrying, and pushing objects as required. Notes: Varied work schedule frequently includes late afternoons, night, weekend, and holiday hours; satisfactory criminal history background check. Hiring/ Budgeted Salary Range: $33.84 ‑ $37.38/ hr. Full Salary Range: $31.47 ‑ $55.12/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #81965
RESIDENTIAL OPERATIONS
Performs duties in accordance with established standards and instruction, for University owned Residence Halls, Apartments and Dining Facilities. The Sr. Custodian promotes a customer service environment to residents and clients. Assists with the development and maintenance of a work environment which is conducive to meeting the mission of the organization and supports the EEP. Responsible for completing job duties that demonstrate support for the Operations Team. Initiates communication directly with co‑workers and or supervisor to improve and clarify working relationships, identifying problems and concerns, and seeking resolution to work‑related conflicts. Reqs: Working knowledge and experience utilizing the following equipment: vacuums, conventional and high‑speed buffers, extractors, and related custodial equipment desired. Will train on all equipment and chemicals used. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with others as a team. Must have effective communication skills. Ability to interact as a team member with sensitivity towards a multi‑cultural work environment. Notes: May be required to work schedules other than assigned to meet the operational needs of the department. Required to hold a valid driver’s license, have a driving record that is in accordance with local policies and procedures, and/ or enroll in the California Employer Pull Notice Program. Satisfactory criminal history background check. Pay rate/range: $25.74/hr. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #81810
PARKING SERVICES
Enforces University parking regulations by issuing citations and courtesy warnings to vehicles illegally parked. Identifies vehicles to be “booted” and process them according to California Vehicle Code. Keeps current of campus events and their locations. Directs traffic and escort vehicles including semi‑trucks and buses. Informs supervisor of problems as they arise. Provides parking instructions and give directions. Reqs: High School Diploma. Demonstrated exceptional customer service by providing and delivering professional, helpful, high quality service and assistance. Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to collaborate with students, staff, faculty and the general public. Ability to grasp new concepts. Ability to maintain professionalism and composure
under high customer demand and challenging customer interactions. Ability to work as part of a team, maintain a positive attitude and work together to achieve a common goal of providing world class customer service. Excellent written and verbal communication. Notes: Maintain a valid CA driver’s license. Must wear prescribed uniform while on duty. Ability to work outside year round in inclement weather using established foul weather gear provided by the department. Ability to stand and walk for most of each shift and walk an average of 6 to 8 miles daily over hilly terrain, around parked cars in both covered and uncovered parking facilities. Required to hold a valid driver’s license, have a driving record that is in accordance with local policies and procedures, and/ or enroll in the California Employer Pull Notice Program. Satisfactory criminal history background check. Hiring/Budgeted Hourly Range: $25.45 to $26.42/hour. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #81774
Under the general direction of the Director of Residential Operations, this position serves as a member of the Residential Operations Management Team with specific responsibility for the overall housing and campus property. Provides supervision and leadership to a staff of 28 FTE and 10 students. This position provides design leadership and vision of the implementation and management of a comprehensive grounds maintenance and landscape operation for all Housing, Transportation and Parking Services (TPS) parking lots, parking structures, The Club and Guest House, The University Center, Henley Gate, Commencement Green, and other portions of the UCSB campus of approximately 200 acres and 2,870,587 square feet and a budget of $1.5 million. Also responsible for major maintenance programs with budgets of approximately $4 million. Incumbent collaborates with Design, Facilities, Safety Services, Cheadle Center for Biodiversity, the Campus Architect, Campus Sustainability Partners, and other members of the campus community with regard to landscape and environmental concepts, environmental plans, housing and residential development, costs and renewals of the physical and environmental environment, including reinvestments in the permanent landscape, hardscape, trees, and irrigation and storm water drainage infrastructure. Reqs: High School Diploma. 4‑6 years experience in the landscaping industry. 4‑6 years experience in dealing with regulatory agencies, specifically water districts and municipalities. 2 ‑ 4 years of experience with demonstrated leadership and supervisory. Must possess a valid California DPR Qualified Applicator’s License or Certificate Category A, or a California Structural Branch 2 license. Must also maintain licenses through the accumulation of the required Continuing Education Units (CEUs), respective to each license within 1 year. Notes: Required to hold a valid driver’s license, have a driving record that is in accordance with local policies and procedures, and/or enroll in the California Employer Pull Notice Program. Satisfactory criminal history background check. Pay Rate/Range: $113,100 to $124,800/ year. The University of California is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, protected veteran status, or other protected status under state or federal law. Open until filled. Apply online at https://jobs.ucsb.edu Job #82102
SUPPLY PROGRAM Analyst w/ Deckers Outdoor Corp. 100% remote reporting to: Goleta, CA. 10% dom travel req’d. Pay: $82,035/yr. Salary reflects min & max target for new hire salaries for role in Goleta, CA location. Individual pay determined by location & add’l factors, including job related skills, exp & relevant ed or training. To apply: www.deckers.com/ careers (#19443). EOE
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NOTICE OF PUBLIC
HEARING BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF AGING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the California Department of Aging shall conduct a public hearing on the suspension of funds for Public and Service Area 17 Central Coast Commission for Senior Citizens (PSA 17) serving as the Area Agency on Aging on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 1:00 p.m.
PURPOSE:
To gather testimony, opinions, and information from all interested parties, including the general public, about the suspension of grant funds for PSA 17 due to noncompliance with statutory requirements per Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, Section 7429.
DATE: Tuesday, December 2, 2025
TIME: 1:00 p.m.
LOCATION: The Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Central Library, 40 East Anapamu St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
The hearing will also be held via Zoom.
Register to attend virtually at tinyurl.com/ mwyvu7ne or scan the QR code.
ACCOMMODATIONS:
If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate in this event, please contact the CDA Office of Communications at info@aging.ca.gov as soon as possible, but no later than 10 business days before the event. We will do our best to meet requests made after this date.
BY THE ORDER OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT ON AGING, County of Sacramento, State of California, this 29th day of October, 2025.
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1. Former Swedish imports
6. Budhaditya Mukherjee’s instrument
11. Nose around
14. Roman courtyards
15. Steaming
16. “Smoke and Pickles” cookbook author Edward
17. It means a lot
19. Title before “Khan”
20. Cheeses in red wax
21. Places for competition
23. TV’s “Teenage Witch”
26. Molybdenum, e.g.
27. Tartan patterns
28. “Can do”
29. Recurring-theme composition
30. Get up
31. Direct deposit abbr.
34. “Dies ___” (Latin hymn)
35. Ziggy Stardust’s alter ego
36. Actress Delevingne
37. Cable channel whose first aired show was a rerun of “What’s My Line?”
38. Rafael, the “King of Clay”
39. “Air Music” composer Ned
40. Yoga postures
42. Rogers ___ (retractable roof stadium in Toronto)
43. Letter sign-off
45. Placated
46. Part of an intro or a local hero, maybe
47. “Clue” weapon
48. Precious metal, to Mateo
49. It means a great deal
54. ___’wester (waterproof hat)
55. BP acquisition of the late 1990s
56. Atlantic feature
57. 1/6 of a fl. oz.
58. Smallest amount
59. Bring up
1. Pine goop
2. ___ moment’s notice
3. Abbr. at Midway
4. Two-wheeled excursion
5. Got hitched
6. S as in Socrates
7. 401(k) alternatives
8. Pine goop
9. Had a table for one
10. Bum
11. It means the world to me
12. “King Lear” daughter
13. Vintner’s supply
18. Grandmas, to some
22. Radiohead’s former record label
23. Bit of basil
“Zut ___!” 25. It means a bunch
BCCed message 28. “___ a dark and stormy night ...”
Drink dispenser options 32. “___ Jacques” (children’s song)
33. Made docile
35. It may be enhanced by metal umlauts
36. “The Barefoot ___” (Bogart film)
38. “Unicorn of the sea” 39. Buyer’s ploy
41. ___ Tome and Principe 42. Hairdo
43. Pigeon’s perch 44. Peseta replacements
Boopable body part
Franchises with buckets
Mauna ___
“___ was saying ...”
___ Cruces, N.M.
Ophthalmologist’s concern
AMENDED NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: MURIEL E.
BODE No.: 25PR00298
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: MURIEL E. BODE
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: MATTHEW BODE in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.
THE PETITION requests that (name): MATTHEW BODE be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows:
11/13/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: 5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street PO BOX 21107 Santa Barbara, CA 93121‑1107
ANACAPA
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 10/8/2025 by Monica Buenrostro, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Marla A. Pleyte, 3721 Highland Court, Lafayette, CA 94549 831‑331‑8864.
Published: Oct 16, 23, 30 2025.
NOTICE OF PETITION
TO ADMINISTER
ESTATE OF:
VALERIE JUNE ROSS‑
SMITH AKA VALERIE J.
ROSS‑SMITH AKA
VALERIE ROSS‑SMITH
CASE NO. 25PR00503
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the WILL or estate, or both of
VALERIE JUNE ROSS‑
SMITH AKA VALERIE J.
ROSS‑SMITH AKA VALERIE
ROSS‑SMITH.
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by GEOFFREY
ROSS‑SMITH in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA BARBARA.
THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that GEOFFREY ROSS‑SMITH be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 11/20/25 at 9:00AM in Dept. SB 5 located at 1100 ANACAPA ST., SANTA BARBARA, CA 93121
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner MICHAEL K. ELSON, ESQUIRE ‑ SBN 218402 LAW OFFICES OF MICHAEL K. ELSON 16133 VENTURA BOULEVARD, SUITE 700 ENCINO CA 91436 Telephone (818) 763‑8831
BSC 227517 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25 CNS‑3975314# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: JEFFREY A. SHUCK No.: 25PR00520
To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both of: JEFFREY A. SHUCK
A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by: EBBY INIGUEZ in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara.
THE PETITION requests that (name): EBBY INIGUEZ be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.
THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.
THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The Independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.
A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: 12/18/2025 AT 9:00 a.m. Dept: 5 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA, located at 1100 Anacapa Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101. ANACAPA
DIVISION
IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.
IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law.
YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE‑154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code Section 1250. A Request for Special notice form is available from the court clerk. Darrel E. Parker, Executive Officer 10/13/2025 by Monica Buenrostro, Deputy. Attorney for Petitioner: Rebecca S. Koch, Esq; 317 East Carillo Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 805‑963‑8611
Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FBN ABANDONMENT
STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
The following Fictitious Business Name is being abandoned: MORPHY SPENCER CREATIVE STUDIO: 593
Picacho Ln Santa Barbara, CA 93108
The original statement for use of this Fictitious Business Name was filed 10/09/2024 in the County of Santa Barbara. Original File no. FBN 2024‑0002377. The persons or entities abandoning use of this name are as follows: Emma K Spencer (same address) The business was conducted by an A General Partnership. Registrant commenced to tranact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jan 1, 2024 Signed by: EMMA SPENCER/ PARTNER Filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 9/10/25, FBN 2025‑0002123 E73. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in the Office of the County Clerk, Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
The following Fictitious Business Name is being abandoned: ESM
CREATIVE STUDIO: 593 Picacho Ln Santa Barbara, CA 93108 The original statement for use of this Fictitious Business Name was filed 1/16/2024 in the County of Santa Barbara. Original File no. FBN 2024‑0000096. The persons or entities abandoning use of this name are as follows: Emma K Spencer (same address)
The business was conducted by an A General Partnership. Registrant
commenced to tranact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jan 9, 2024 Signed by: EMMA SPENCER/ PARTNER Filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 9/10/25, FBN 2025‑0002122 E73. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in the Office of the County Clerk, Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE MULLET, THE MULLET COCKTAIL BAR, THE MULLET HI‑FI COCKTAIL BAR, THE MULLET HI‑FI BAR 116 Santa Barbara Street, Suite B Santa Barbara CA 93103; Good Beer Company LLC 421 Mountain Drive Santa Barbara, CA 93103 This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 26, 2025. Filed by: PETER BURNHAM/ CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 6, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002308. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CHEESE SHOP SANTA BARBARA: 827 Santa Barbara St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101; Graham Fine Foods, Inc (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 1, 2020. Filed by: MICHAEL GRAHAM/VICE PRESIDENT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 02, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002184. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN 2025‑0002164
The following person(s) is doing business as: TODD HOGAN DESIGN, 1241 EASTBROOK DR LOMPOC, CA 93436, County of SANTA BARBARA.
TIFFANY TODD CONSULTING LLC, 1241 EASTBROOK DR LOMPOC, CA 93436; CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY.
The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on JUL 10, 2025 /s/ TIFFANY TODD, MANAGING
MEMBER
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/16/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3972489#
SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002173
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:
LEADHER CALIFORNIA, 805
TWILIGHT CT, SANTA MARIA, CA 93455 County of SANTA BARBARA
LEADHER CALIFORNIA L.L.C., 805 TWILIGHT CT, SANTA MARIA, CA 93455; CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on AUG 30, 2025. /S CATHRYN SMITH, MANAGING
MEMBER
This statement was filed with the
County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/16/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3972496#
SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002209
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: DOUGH BOYZ, 3020 BUTTONHOOK RD, SOLVANG, CA 93463 County of SANTA BARBARA SBDOUGHBOYZ LLC, 3020 BUTTONHOOK RD, SOLVANG, CA 93463
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not applicable. SBDOUGHBOYZ LLC, S/ DYLAN ROSS. MAANGING MEMBER
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/22/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3961499#
SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002172
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: VALLEY BARBERS, 4920 CARPINTERIA AVE, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013 County of SANTA BARBARA IV CONCIERGE THERAPY LLC, 4764 CARPINTERIA AVENUE, CARPINTERIA, CA 93013; CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on MAR 25, 2025. ANNAMARIE GONZALES, MANAGING MEMBER
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/16/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3972777# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002167
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: LISELLE W PHOTOGRAPHY, 5407 TREE FARM LN UNIT 102, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93111 County of SANTA BARBARA CATHEDRAL OAKS MEDIA LLC, 5407 TREE FARM LN UNIT 102, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93111, CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 10/01/2016. /S/ LISELLE HELENE WILSNAGH, MANAGING MEMBER
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/16/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3972992# SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002229
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: BEARHORN.CO, 650 STODDARD LANE, MONTECITO, CA 93108 County of SANTA BARBARA KSV CAPITAL INC, 1187 COAST VILLAGE RD STE 1‑183, MONTECITO, CA 93108
State of Incorporation: TEXAS
This business is conducted by a Corporation
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not applicable.
KSV CAPITAL INC, S/ DONALD K HALL, PRESIDENT
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/24/2025.
Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3968026# SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002238
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as:
WINN DENTAL IMPLANT AND SEDATION CENTER, 1510 SAN ANDRES ST, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101 County of SANTA BARBARA
WINN DENTAL PRACTICE INC., 1510 SAN ANDRES ST., SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101
This business is conducted by a Corporation
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Mar 01, 2024. S/ Erik Winn, President
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 09/24/2025.
Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30/25
CNS‑3958019#
SANTA BARBARA
INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LEFTWICH ARCHAEOLOGY: 7396 Elmhurst Place, Unit A Goleta, CA 93117; Brent M Leftwich (same address)
This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jun 4, 2020. Filed by: BRENT
LEFTWICH/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 16, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002155.
Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE ESTATE OF JAMES JARVAISE: 2779 Foothill Rd Santa Barbara, CA 93105; Jean R Jarvaise (same address) Anna A Jarvaise (same address) This business is conducted by A General Partnership Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 21, 2025. Filed by: JEAN JARVAISE/PARTNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 29, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002262.
Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MCM PROPERTIES: 4213 State Street, Suite 205 Santa Barbara, CA 93110; Maureen C Martinez (same address) Richard Martinez (same address) This business is conducted by A Married Couple Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Filed by: MAUREEN
MARTINEZ/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 30, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002273.
Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRECISION HAND THERAPY: 351 Hitchcock Way, 220 Santa Barbara, CA 93105; Kate M Silverman (same address) ) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 29, 2025. Filed by: KATE SILVERMAN/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 30, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in
the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E63. FBN Number: 2025‑0002253. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PROPERTY CONNECTION: 4453 Euclid Ave. San Diego, CA 92115; Knoepfli & Associates Inc. PO Box 600745 San Diego, CA 92160 This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on May 18, 2013. Filed by: CHARLES KNOEPFLI/OFFICER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 29, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002259. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DOUD FAMILY PARTNERSHIP: 1284 West Main Street Santa Maria, CA 93458; Joseph E Doud III (same address) Derrick P Doud (same address) Buck Management, LLC (same address) Double D Investments Management, LLC (same address) This business is conducted by A Limited Partnership Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jan 01, 1996. Filed by: JOSEPH E. DOUD III with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 01, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002283. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUNSET MOTEL: 3504 State Street Santa Barbara, CA 93105; Red Thread Ventures Inc. 4053 Foothill Toad Apt F Santa Barbara, CA 93110 This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Filed by: MELANIE TENG/CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 02, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002291. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ALAMO WEST: 1284 West Main Street Santa Maria, CA 93458; Joseph E Doud III (same address) Derrick P Doud (same address) Buck Management, LLC (same address) Double D Investment Management, LLC) This business is conducted by A General Partnership Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on April 15, 1993. Filed by: JOSEPH E. DOUD III/GENERAL PARTNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 02, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002286. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SANTA BARBARA COMMUNITY CHURCH: 1002 Cieneguitas Rd. Santa Barbara, CA 93110; Trinity Baptist Church of Santa Barbara (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Feb 24, 2008. Filed by: DEANA GILMAN/DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 24, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002237. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s)
is/are doing business as: RAY’S
PLUMBING: 555 Coronel Pl Apt I Santa Barbara, CA 93101; Raymond
A Hernandez Aragon (same address)
This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Filed by: RAYMOND
A HERNANDEZ ARAGON/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 6, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E76. FBN Number: 2025‑0002305. Published: Oct 9, 16, 23, 30 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: RARE
WILDER: 485 Caino Laguna Vista Goleta CA 93117; Courtney R Salviolo (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 3, 2025. Filed by: COURTNEY
SALVIOLO/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 10, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002354. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROLLED OATS POTTERY: 339 2nd St. Solvang, CA 93463; Jane K. Schwarzwalter PO Box 144 Santa Ynez, CA 93460‑0144
This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 18, 2025. Filed by: JANE
SCHWARZWALTER/OWNER/ARTIST with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 18, 2025.
This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E76. FBN Number: 2025‑0002193. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BOHM CORP: 7031 Shepard Mesa Rd Carpinteria, CA 93013; Bohm Corp (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jun 17, 2020. Filed by: JON‑RYAN
SCHLOBOHM/CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 3, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002298. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: BALANCING
SB: 5258 Rhoads Ave Santa Barbara, CA 93111; Engmyr Consulting LLC (same address) This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 23, 2025. Filed by: JENNIFER
ENGMYR/MEMBER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 1, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002281. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MORAN
PRECISION: 322 E Micheltorena St. Apt 18 Santa Barbara , CA 93101; Derek Moran (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 30, 2025. Filed by: DEREK MORAN/ PRINCIPAL with the County Clerk
of Santa Barbara County on Sep 30, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002271. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HINCHEE HOMES, MILTON HOUSE, JESSICA HOUSE: 825 N. Kellogg Ave. Santa Barbara , CA 93111; Jessie Hopkins Hinchee Foundation (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Dec 4, 2024. Filed by: LEY WERTZ/SECRETARY with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 10, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002356. Published: Oct 16, 23, 30. Nov 6 2025.
FBN2025‑0002102
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: Fictitious Business Name: NURSES PROJECT
Street Address of Principal Place of Business: 24681 La Plaza, Suite 300 Dana Point CA 92629 County of Principal Place of Business: Orange County Name of Corporation or limited liability company as shown in the Articles of Inc. / Org. / Reg.: CLOVERLANE FOUNDATION, State of Inc./Org/Reg. CA Business Mailing Address: 24681 La Plaza, Suite 300 Dana Point CA 92629 This business is/was conducted by: a corporation. Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on May 19, 2025. BY SIGNING, I DECLARE THAT ALL INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS TRUE AND CORRECT. A registrant who declares as true any material matter pursuant to Section 17913 of the Business and Professions Code that the registrant knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to
exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Signature: Blaine Price Printed Name of Person Signing: BLAINE PRICE Printed Title of Person Signing: Secretary Filed in County Clerk’s Office, County of Santa Barbara on September 08, 2025.
NOTICE ‑ In accordance with subdivision (a) of Section 17920, a Fictitious Name Statement generally expires at the end of five years from the date on which it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Except, as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 17920, where it expires 40 days after any change in the facts set forth in the statement pursuant to Section 17913 other than a change in the residence address of a registered owner. A New Fictitious Business Name Statement must be filed before the expiration. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a Fictitious Business Name in violation of the rights of another under Federal, State, or Common Law. (See Section 14411 et seq., business and professions code). Business Owner is responsible to determine if publication is required. (BPC 17917). Filing is a public record (GC 6250‑6277). JOSEPH E. HOLLAND, County Clerk ‑ Recorder Filing CN118402 CLOVERLANE... Oct 16,23,30, Nov 6, 2025
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. FBN2025‑0002313
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Discovery Home Training, 1503 E Main St, Santa Maria, CA 93458 County of SANTA BARBARA Total Renal Care, Inc., 2000 16th St, Attn JLD/SecGovFin, Denver, CO 80202
This business is conducted by a Corporation
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Total Renal Care, Inc.
S/ STEPHANIE N. BERBERICH, SECRETARY, This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/06/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk
10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13/25
CNS‑3959819#
SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CONNECTIVE TISSUE COACHING AND CONSULTING: 360 Oliver Road Santa Barbara , CA 93109; Kari L O’Driscoll (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Aug 15, 2025. Filed by: KARI O’DRISCOLL/ SOLE PROPRIETOR with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 6, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002311. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002313
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Discovery Home Training, 1503 E Main St, Santa Maria, CA 93458 County of SANTA BARBARA
Total Renal Care, Inc., 2000 16th St, Attn JLD/SecGovFin, Denver, CO 80202
This business is conducted by a Corporation
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Total Renal Care, Inc. S/ STEPHANIE N. BERBERICH, SECRETARY,
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/06/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/23, 10/30, 11/6, 11/13/25
CNS‑3959819# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SANTA BARBARA HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES: 27 W Anapamu Street 454 Santa Barbara , CA 93101; Thomas J Miller (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above
COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Tuesday, November 4, 2025
In the Board of Supervisors’ Hearing Room Fourth Floor 105 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA
The meeting starts at 9:00 a.m.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that On November 4, 2025, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, will conduct the first reading of a draft ordinance amending Chapter 15 of the Santa Barbara County Code. The draft ordinance adopts the 2025 California Fire Code with local amendments. The November 4th meeting will begin at 9 a.m. in the Board Hearing Room, 4th floor, 105 E. Anapamu St., Santa Barbara, CA. The draft ordinance replaces the 2022 California Fire Code, as the enforcement Code in all areas within the Santa Barbara County Fire Protection District, and all other unincorporated areas of the County where the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, is the authority having jurisdiction. Adoption of the 2025 California Fire Code with amendments, will become the Santa Barbara County Fire Code. The Draft Ordinance is available for review on the Santa Barbara County Fire Department website at https://www.sbcfire.com/Public-Notices/.
For current methods of public participation for the meeting of November 4, 2025, please see page two (2) of the posted Agenda. The posted agenda will be available on Thursday prior to the above referenced meeting for a more specific time for this item. However, the order of the agenda may be rearranged, or the item may be continued.
Staff reports and the posted agenda is available on the Thursday prior to the meeting at http://santabarbara.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx under the hearing date or contact the Clerk of the Board at (805) 568-2240 for alternative options.
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors by 4:00 PM on Friday before the Board meeting. For information about these services please contact the Clerk of the Board at (805) 568-2240.
If you challenge this project in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Board of Supervisors prior to the public hearing.
G.C. Section 65009, 6066, and 6062a.
on Sep 17, 2025. Filed by: THOMAS J MILLER/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 25, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002240. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NERY’S SWEETS: 435 W Padre St Apt W25 Santa Barbara , CA 93105; Nereida Corona (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Filed by: NEREIDA CORONA with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 26, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E66. FBN Number: 2025‑0002251. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ECO WONDER WORKSHOP: 25 Arlington Avenue #12 Santa Barbara CA 93101; Jennifer Griffith (same address) This business is conducted by A
An Ordinance Amending Section 35.1, the Santa Barbara County Land Use and Development Code, of Chapter 35, Zoning, of the Santa Barbara County Code by Amending the County Zoning Map for Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 107-150-021 and 107150-022 to Change the Zoning from Highway Commercial (CH) to General Commercial (C-3). Case No. 23RZN-00001
Passed, approved and adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara, State of California, on this 21st day of October 2025, by the following vote:
Ayes: Supervisors Lee, Capps, Hartmann, Nelson and Lavagnino
Noes: None
Absent: None
Abstain: None
MONA MIYASATO
CLERK OF THE BOARD
By: Sheila de la Guerra – Deputy Clerk
NOTE: A complete copy of Ordinance No. 5268 is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and is available for public inspection and copying in that office in accordance with the California Public Records Act, Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Design Review Board Hybrid Public Hearing – In Person and via Zoom Goleta City Hall – Council Chambers 130 Cremona Drive, Suite B Goleta, CA 93117 Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 3:00 P.M.
ATTENTION: The meeting will be held in person and via the Zoom platform.The public may also view the meeting on Goleta Channel 19 and/or online at https://www.cityofgoleta.org/goletameetings
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Design Review Board (DRB) of the City of Goleta will conduct a public hearing for the projects listed below, with the date, time, and location of the DRB public hearing set forth above. The agenda for the hearing, including how to participate virtually in the hearing via a Zoom link, will also be posted on the City website at least 72 hours before the hearing (www.cityofgoleta.org).
For Conceptual/Preliminary/Final Review: Designer Cuts Signage and California Environmental Quality Act 5737 Hollister Ave (APN 071-122-004)
Case No. 25-0049-ZC/25-0042-DRB
Pini Residential Addition and California Environmental Quality Act 7299 Alameda Ave (APN 077-381-001)
Case No. 25-0007-LUP/25-0016-DRB
For Conceptual Review: SBMTD Phase II Renovations and Site Improvements 5353 Overpass Road (APN 071-220-010)
Case No. 25-0009-DP/25-0034-DRB
For Preliminary Review: Hangar 5 Relocation and Quonset Hut Adaptive Re-Use 115 Castilian Drive (APN 073-150-025) Case No. 22-0003-DP/23-0031-DRB
PUBLIC COMMENT: Interested people are encouraged to provide public comments during the public hearing in person or virtually through the Zoom webinar, by following the instructions listed on the Design Review Board meeting agenda. Written comments may be submitted prior to the hearing by emailing the Planning and Environmental Review Department at PERmeetings@cityofgoleta.gov. Written comments will be distributed to the Design Review Board and published on the City’s Meeting and Agenda page.
FOR PROJECT INFORMATION: For further information on the project, contact Mary Chang, at (805) 961-7567 or mchang@cityofgoleta.gov. For inquiries in Spanish, please contact Marcos Martinez at (805) 562-5500 or mmartinez@cityofgoleta.gov. Staff reports and documents will be posted approximately 72 hours before the hearing on the City’s website at www.cityofgoleta.org
In accordance with Gov. Code Section 65103.5, only non-copyrighted plans or plans that the designer has given permission have been published on the City’s website. The full set of plans is available for review at the Planning Counter during counter hours or by contacting the staff member listed for the item 805-961-7543.
Note: If you challenge the nature of the above action in court, you may be limited to only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice or in written correspondence delivered to the City on or before the date of the hearing (Government Code Section 65009(b)(2)).
Note: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need assistance to participate in the hearing, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (805) 961-7505 or cityclerkgroup@cityofgoleta.gov. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the hearing will enable City staff to make reasonable arrangements.
Publish: Santa Barbara Independent 10/30/25
Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 30, 2025. Filed by: JENNIFER GRIFFITH/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 10, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002338. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DRAGONFLY INDUSTRIAL: 14 East Sola Street 2 Santa Barbara , CA 93101‑1685; Anthony L Castelo (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Aug 28, 2025. Filed by:
ANTHONY LOUIS CASTELO/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Sep 4, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002091. Published: Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ADVANCING COLLECTIVE TRANSFORMATION: 621 Chapala St Santa Barbara, CA 93101; Uffizi Order PO Box 217 Santa Barbara, CA 93102 This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant
commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 01, 2025. Filed by: RICH SANDER/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 24, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E4. FBN Number: 2025‑0002454. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No. FBN2025‑0002366
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE , 240 E. HIGHWAY 246 SUITE 300, BUELLTON, CA 93427 County of SANTA BARBARA AMERICAN MEDICAL RESPONSE WEST, 4400 HWY 121 SUITE 700, LEWISVILLE, TX 75056, CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by a Corporation
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on 09/21/2015. /S/ THOMAS A.A. COOK, SECRETARY
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/14/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20/25 CNS‑3977836# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PKX BIO: 3463 State Street Suite 257 Santa Barbara , CA 93105; Bexson Biomedical Inc (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 7, 2025. Filed by: AHMED RAGAB/ CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 14, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E30. FBN Number: 2025‑0002368. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: WHITEWING HEALING ARTS: 303 W Victoria St. Santa Barbara , CA 93101; Sri O Van Der Kroef (same address) This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 4, 2025. Filed by: AHMED RAGAB/ CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 22, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E49. FBN Number: 2025‑0002418. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: H. QUALITY PAINTING: 428 W.
Public Notice
Unmet Transit Needs Listening Sessions
How could bus systems, dial-a-ride, and paratransit services better serve your needs in Santa Barbara County? Join the conversation at our upcoming listening sessions:
Countywide
(Input on services available anywhere in Santa Barbara County)
Buellton
Visit in person any time during the two-hour listening session When: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., December 3, 2025 Where:
• In-person: City of Buellton Council Chambers – 107 W Hwy 246, Buellton, CA 93427.
• Accessible accommodations and Spanish language translation is available by request. Contact SBCAG by November 28, 2025, at (805) 961-8900 or info@sbcag.org
Santa Barbara Visit in person or virtually any time during the two-hour listening session When: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., December 2, 2025 Where:
• In-person: Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG) Wisteria Conference Room – 260 North San Antonio Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110.
• Virtually: Details on how to participate virtually via Zoom will be published on the SBCAG website at www.sbcag.org by November 1.
• Accessible accommodations and Spanish language translation is available by request. Contact SBCAG by November 28, 2025, at (805) 961-8900 or info@ sbcag.org.
City of Santa Maria
(Input on services specific to Santa Maria Regional Transit)
Santa Maria
When: Two sessions: 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on December 4, 2025 Where:
• Santa Maria Public Library Shephard Hall, 1st Floor 421 S. McClelland Street, Santa Maria, CA 93454.
• Accessible accommodations and Spanish and Mixteco translation are accessible upon request at (805) 928-5624 by December 1, 2025.
Can’t Attend? Submit comments by December 15, 2025 through any of these methods:
• Email to info@sbcag.org
• U.S. Postal Service to 260 North San Antonio Road, Suite B, Santa Barbara, CA 93110.
Islay St, Apt #4 Santa Barbara , CA 93101; Victor Garcia 6798 Ojai Ave Ventura, CA 93001 This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 22, 2025. Filed by: VICTOR GARCIA/ OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 14, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E76. FBN Number: 2025‑0002365. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: HONEST PROJECTS LLC: 144 W. Alamar Ave Santa Barbara , CA 93105; Honest Projects LLC (sameaddress) This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 21, 2025. Filed by: PABLO GUTIERREZ/ MEMBER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 20, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E35. FBN Number: 2025‑0002402. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002413
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: Personal Ceramics , 836 ANACAPA ST UNIT 20009, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93102 County of SANTA BARBARA
Dear Harlem World,, LLC, 836 ANACAPA ST UNIT 20009, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93102
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Dear Harlem World,, LLC S/ RANDALL LAMONT PERSON
JR,
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/21/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20/25 CNS‑3953033# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOS GARDENING & LANDSCAPE SERVICES: 95 Tecolote Ave 3 Goleta , CA 93117; Edmar E Santiago (same address) This business is conducted by A LIndividual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 8, 2025. Filed by: EDMAR ESTRADA SANTIAGO/OWNER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 8, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E63. FBN Number: 2025‑0002323. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SOS MADERA‑SPIRITS: 615 San Ricardo Dr Santa Barbara , CA 93111; Baraza Group LLC (same address) This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 19, 2023. Filed by: ADRIAN BARRAZA/ PRESIDENT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 21, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E35. FBN Number: 2025‑0002410. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MY MOBILE
PEDS: 321 North Calle Cesar Chavez Santa Barbara , CA 93103; Kristen Anne Hughes Medical, Professional Corporation (same address) This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on N/A. Filed by: KRISTEN HUGHES/PRESIDENT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 23, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E35. FBN Number: 2025‑0002439. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as:SHINING PRINCE ENTERTAINMENT: 1227 Carpinteria Street Santa Barbara , CA 93103; Shining Prince LLC (same address) This business is conducted by A Limited Liability Company Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jun 27, 2008. Filed by: GEOFFREY P BOSSIERE/MANAGING MEMBER with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 22, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002425. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SANTA BARBARA SEAFOOD COMPANY: 7906 Winchester Cir Goleta, CA 93117; Dylan Root (same address)
This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Oct 3, 2025. Filed by: DYLAN ROOT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 3, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E76. FBN Number: 2025‑0002300. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT
File No. FBN2025‑0002312
The following person(s) is (are) doing business as: ENHANCED PRACTICE
SOLUTIONS , 248 LOS ALAMOS AVE, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93109 County of SANTA BARBARA ENHANCED PRACTICE SOLUTIONS LLC, 248 LOS ALAMOS AVE, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93109, CALIFORNIA
This business is conducted by a limited liability company
The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Not Applicable. /s/ NICHOLAS HEWITT, MANAGING MEMBER
This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on 10/06/2025. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk 10/30, 11/6, 11/13, 11/20/25 CNS‑3978783# SANTA BARBARA INDEPENDENT
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME
STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: NORMA NEGRETE IMMIGRATION: 270 Storke Rd, Suite 3 Goleta, CA 93117; Lefemine Inc PO Box 80237 Goleta, CA 93118 This business is conducted by A Corporation Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Jan 24, 2006. Filed by: NORMA NEGRETE LEFEMINE/CEO with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 24, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002458. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
SANTA BARBARA 1100 Anacapa St Santa Barbara, CA 93101, ANACAPA
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SEAWRIGHT INFLATABLES: 7664 Southcliff Drive Fair Oaks, CA 95628; Anders M Seawright 266 Orange Ave Unit A Goleta, CA 93117 This business is conducted by A Individual Registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on Sep 29, 2025. Filed by: ANDERS SEAWRIGHT with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on Oct 10, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL) by E71. FBN Number: 2025‑0002340. Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
NAME CHANGE
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: ELENA JACINTO JIMENEZ CASE NUMBER: 25CV05985 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: PETITIONER: ELENA JACINTO JIMENEZ A petition has been filed by the above named Petitioner(s) in Santa Barbara Superior Court for decree changing name (s) as follows: PRESENT NAME: MELISSA HERNANDEZ JACINTO PROPOSED NAME: MELISSA
HERNANDEZ JACINTO THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall 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. Notice of Hearing December 3, 2025, 10:00 am, DEPT: 3 , SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA 1100 Anacapa St Santa Barbara, CA 93101, ANACAPA
DIVISION A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published in the Santa Barbara Independent, a newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition. Dated 10/15/2025, JUDGE Thomas P. Anderle of the Superior Court. Published Oct 23, 30. Nov 6, 13 2025.
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: ALEXANDRA MARIE MALESKY CASE NUMBER: 25CV06139 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS:
PETITIONER: ALEXANDRA MARIE
BRIESKE A petition has been filed by the above named Petitioner(s) in Santa Barbara Superior Court for decree changing name (s) as follows: PRESENT NAME: ALEXANDRA
MARIE MALESKY
PROPOSED NAME: ALEXANDRA
MARIE MABARDI
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall 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. Notice of Hearing December 10, 2025, 10:00 am, DEPT: 3 , SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF
DIVISION A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published in the Santa Barbara Independent, a newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition. Dated 10/20/2025, JUDGE Thomas P. Anderle of the Superior Court. Published Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025. IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: SUSUNA CUEVAS ALCOCER CASE NUMBER: 25CV06212 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: PETITIONER: SUSUNA CUEVAS ALCOCER A petition has been filed by the above named Petitioner(s) in Santa Barbara Superior Court for decree changing name (s) as follows: PRESENT NAME: AYLIN CUEVAS CUEVAS
PROPOSED NAME: AYLIN CUEVAS CUEVAS
THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall 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. Notice of Hearing December 10, 2025, 10:00 am, DEPT: 3 , SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA 1100 Anacapa St Santa Barbara, CA 93101, ANACAPA DIVISION A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published in the Santa Barbara Independent, a newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, at least once each week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition. Dated 10/20/2025, JUDGE Thomas P. Anderle of the Superior Court. Published Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: ELIZABETH ROBINSON ATWILL CASE NUMBER: 25CV06072 TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: PETITIONER: ELIZABETH ROBINSON ATWILL A petition has been filed by the above named Petitioner(s) in Santa Barbara Superior Court for decree changing name (s) as follows: PRESENT NAME: ELIZABETH ROBINSON ATWILL PROPOSED NAME: ELISA ROBINSON ATWILL THE COURT ORDERS that all persons interested in this matter shall 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. Notice of Hearing December 5, 2025, 10:00 am, DEPT: 4, SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA 1100 Anacapa St Santa Barbara, CA 93101, ANACAPA DIVISION A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published in the Santa Barbara Independent, a newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county, at least once each week
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTY
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property pursuant to Sections 21700‑ 21716 of the Business and Professions Code, Section 2328 of the CC, Section 535 of the Penal Code and provisions of the Civil Code.
The undersigned will sell at public sale by competitive bidding on the 7th day of November, 2025, 3:00 pm. on the premises where said property has been stored and which are located at Santa Maria Way Self Storage at 2600 Santa Maria Way, Santa Maria, in the County of Santa Barbara, State of California, the following:
BRC, Self Storage of Santa Maria reserves the right to remove any or all units from this sale due to prior settlement. BRC, Self Storage of Santa Maria reserves the right to bid on any or all units in this sale.
Published: October 23, 30 2025. Agent for owners: Epic Group
CITATION FOR PUBLICATION
UNDER WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE SECTION 294
CASE NUMBER: 25JV00303
1. To: Caitlin Leigh Furbush and anyone claiming to be a parent of: Baby Girl Furbush AKA: Ethereal Zeanith Furbush born on: July 21st, 2025 at : Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara, California
2. A hearing will be held on 12/18/2025 located at Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, Branch name; Santa Maria Juvenile Division (time): 01:30
PM court address above (specify address): in Dept.: SMJ 1
All property is sold “AS IS AND WITH ALL FAULTS” and without warranty either expressed or
ALL SALES ARE PAYABLE EITHER BY CASH OR MONEY ORDER ONLY, payable after the sale in full. All property purchased must be removed prior to the close of business the day of the sale. All units purchased will be given a clear bill of sale. This sale is being held pursuant to the provisions of the California Self Storage Act, section 21706 and/or 21700.
Santa Maria Way Self Storage reserves the right to remove any or all units from this
SECTION 7910 of the California Government Code requires each local government agency to determine during each fiscal year the appropriations limit pursuant to Article XIIB of the California Constitution applicable during the following fiscal year. The limit must be adopted at a regularly scheduled meeting or a noticed special meeting, and the documentation used in determining the limit must be made available for public review fifteen days prior to such meeting. Set below, is the methodology to be used to calculate The Fiscal Year 2025‑2026 appropriations limit. The as set forth below will be considered and adopted at the regularly scheduled meeting or noticed special meeting of the Isla Vista Recreation and Parks District Board of Directors.
Appropriations limit for the fiscal year 2024‑2025: $2,626.531
Population change (January 1, 2024
‑ January 1, 2025): 0.52%
Change in California per Capita Personal Income (January 1, 2024 ‑ January 1, 2025)6.44% Fiscal Year 2025‑2026 appropriations limit: $2,880,739
PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE
A public meeting concerning the current plans, development, policies, and capital improvement programs of the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation will be held on‑site and remotely on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 4:00pm. To attend this meeting please email rick@sbbowl. com for meeting instructions by 6pm on Wednesday, November 19th.
3. At the hearing the court will consider the recommendations of the social worker or probation officer.
4. The social worker or probation officer will recommend that your child be freed from your legal custody so that the child may be adopted. If the court follows the recommendation, all your parental rights to the child will be terminated.
5. You have the right to be present at the hearing, to present evidence, and you have the right to be represented by an attorney. if you do not have an attorney and cannot afford to hire one, the court will appoint an attorney for you. 6. If the court terminates your parental rights, the order may be final. 7. The court will proceed with this hearing whether or not you are present.
Attorney: Rachel Van Mullem (SBN 209837) 105 East Anapamu St., Room 201 Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Clerk, by K. Escobar‑Jaskulsky
Date: 10/17/2025
Published: Oct 30. Nov 6, 13, 20 2025.
TRUSTEE NOTICE
NOTICE OF DISPOSITION OF
COLLATERAL To: Harold W. Boggs
Janet E. Boggs 3270 Ridgeview Drive Santa Maria, Ca 93455 WT Capital Lender Services File # 25‑14377‑165
Account # ****14 From: WT Capital Lender Services, a California corporation 7522 North Colonial Avenue, Suite 111 Fresno, California 93711 Phone: 559‑228‑8393
Beneficiary: Community West Bank, a California banking corporation, (f/k/a
Goleta National Bank) 7100 N. Financial Drive, Suite 101 Fresno, Ca
93720 This communication is made in an attempt to collect upon a debt or judgment and any information obtained will be used for that purpose. Community West Bank, a California banking corporation, (f/k/a Goleta National Bank) hereinafter (“Community West Bank” or “CWB”) will sell your mobile home, 1985 Horizon Triple‑wide mobile‑home, which is registered with the Department of Housing and Community Development under the Registration/Serial numbers CAHK01369172700A, CAHK01369172700B, CAHK01369172700C and Label/Insignia numbers CAL306154 and CAL306155, and CAL306156 and Decal No. LAH1834 located at 3270 Ridgeview Drive, Santa Maria, Ca 93455 to the highest qualified bidder in public as follows: Date of Sale: 11/19/2025 Time: 1:00 PM Place: The north door of the main entrance to the County Courthouse, 1100 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara, Ca 93110 Additional collateral included in the sale: Exterior accessories such as steps, porches, awnings, storage sheds, and other personal property located on the mobile home space, which customarily are used by a resident of a mobile home park in the ordinary occupancy of a mobile home on a mobile home space, whether or not such exterior accessories are fixtures or attached to the mobile home; and Any and all accessions, attachments, accessories, replacements of and additions to any of the property described herein (such as tires or batteries attached to a car, a motor attached to a boat, or appliances and fixtures attached to a mobile home) together with all proceeds (including insurance proceeds and refunds of insurance premiums) if any, and sums due from a third party who has damaged or destroyed the Property or from that party’s insurer, whether due to judgment, settlement or other process. The sale is based on the mobile home’s Certificate of title and is for the mobile home only. The sale is not for the leasehold estate upon which the mobile home is presently located. Qualified bidders with an interest in the leasehold estate can contact the mobile home park/community in advance of the
sale. Qualified bidders, other than CWB, bid at the sale with notice that they are purchasing the mobile home only and may be subject to eviction by the mobile home park/community. Such sale is being made by reason of your default on 5/5/2025 under that certain Security Agreement, dated 5/21/2004, between you, as debtor, and Community West Bank, a California banking corporation, as secured party, and pursuant to the rights of the undersigned under said Security Agreement and Section 9610 et seq. of the California Commercial Code The sale will be made without covenant or warranty, expressed or implied, regarding title, encumbrances, possession, quiet enjoyment, or the like. At any time before the sale, you may redeem the collateral in accordance with Section 9623 of the California Uniform Commercial Code anytime before we sell it by paying the full amount you owe (not just the past due payments), including our expenses and fees incurred. Please be advised that if you notify my office within 30 days that all or a part of your obligation to CWB is disputed, then I will mail to
you written verification of the obligation and the amounts owed to CWB. In addition, upon your request within 30 days of receipt of this letter, I will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. You may request an accounting by calling WT Capital Lender Services at (559) 228‑8393. If I do not hear from you within 30 days, I will assume that your debt to CWB is valid. The state Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act require that, except under unusual circumstances, collectors may not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. They may not harass you by using threats of violence or arrest or by using obscene language. Collectors may not use false or misleading statements or call you at work if they know or have reason to know that you may not receive personal calls at work. For the most part, collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt. Collectors may contact another person to confirm your location
or enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may contact the Federal trade Commission at 1‑877‑ FTC‑HELP or www.ftc.gov. The account is due and owing the sum of $28,228.20 plus interest at the contract rate from 10/23/2025, plus any amounts necessary to reimburse WT Capital Lender Services for reasonable foreclosure fees and costs as well as any other sums to which Community West Bank, may be entitled to under the terms of your agreement. To learn the exact amount you must pay, call us at WT Capital Lender Services at (559) 228‑8393. If you want us to explain to you in writing how we have figured the amount that you owe us, you may call us at (559) 228‑8393. Dated: October 17, 2025 WT CAPITAL LENDER SERVICES, a California corporation By: Nate Kucera, Chief Executive Officer, on behalf of Secured Creditor, Community West Bank (IFS# 41329, 10/30/25, 11/07/25)
NOTIFICATION IS HEREBY GIVEN that the opening of the Patterson Point waiting list will be open EFFECTIVE Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 8am. The Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara will be accepting Pre-applications for Patterson Point, a 24 Unit Development located in the City of Santa Barbara. There will be studio units available only. Applications will be accepted online at www.hasbarco.org by going to How Do I?, then Apply Online – Applicant Portal.
These units will be subsidized with Project Based Vouchers, therefore Section 8 income eligibility and regulations will be required for all applicants.
If you are a person living with a disability, or Limited English Proficiency (LEP), or with limited computer access, call 833-433-0333 for additional assistance.
This Public Notice is being published to ensure that individuals and interested groups are fully aware of this action.
The Housing Authority will accept applications for this program regardless of race, color, creed, sex, familial status, national origin, age, handicap, or other protected groups under State, Federal or local equal opportunity laws.
at public sale by competitive bidding on the 7th day of November, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., on the premises where said property has been stored and which are located at Self Storage of Santa Maria, at 1701 N. Carlotti Drive, Santa Maria, in the county of Santa Barbara, State of California , the following:
All property is sold “AS IS AND WITH
of the
All units purchased will be given a clear bill of sale. This sale is being
pursuant to the provisions of the California Self Storage
section 21706 and/or 21700.
AUTORIDAD DE VIVIENDA DEL CONDADO DE SANTA BÁRBARA AVISO PÚBLICO
SE NOTIFICA POR ESTE MEDIO que la apertura de la lista de espera de Patterson Point estará disponible A PARTIR DEL miércoles 12 de noviembre de 2025, a las 8:00 a. m. La Autoridad de Vivienda del Condado de Santa Bárbara aceptará presolicitudes para Patterson Point, un desarrollo de 24 unidades ubicado en la ciudad de Santa Barbara. Solo habrá unidades de estudio disponibles. Las solicitudes se aceptarán en línea en www.hasbarco.org yendo a ¿Cómo lo hago?, luego Solicitud en línea - Portal del Solicitante.
Estas unidades serán subsidiadas con Vales Basados en Proyectos, por lo tanto, se requerirá la elegibilidad de ingresos y las regulaciones de la Sección 8 para todos los solicitantes.
Si usted es una persona que vive con una discapacidad, o con dominio limitado del inglés (LEP), o con acceso limitado a una computadora, llame al 833-433-0333 para obtener asistencia adicional.
Este Aviso Público se publica para garantizar que las personas y los grupos interesados estén plenamente conscientes de esta acción.
La Autoridad de Vivienda aceptará solicitudes para este programa independientemente de su raza, color, credo, sexo, estado familiar, origen nacional, edad, discapacidad u otros grupos protegidos según las leyes de igualdad de oportunidades estatales, federales o locales.
