Issuu

JOURNAL

15 – 22 OCT 2026 | VOL 32 ISS 42 www.montecitojournal.net

Voice of theV illage

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA

Bond Voyage – With rent increases capped and operating costs climbing, SB apartment owners face a new financial equation that may favor empty units, P.11

Waste Not, Want Art – One person’s ocean trash becomes another’s artistic statement as CSUCI students transform marine pollution into artworks, P.12

The Giving List It’s Ice in Paradise, page 34

Take Heart – Your friend’s heart attack doesn’t increase your risk, though it might inspire you to finally take stock of your own cardiovascular health, P.20

Friendly Reminder During National Friends of Libraries Week, Montecito celebrates the volunteers who saved a historic building, moved a library, and kept its shelves stocked (Story starts on page 6).

Trick or Trés Chic Get dressed to kill as Ghost Village Road celebrates 30 years of Halloween hijinks along with spooky festivities at San Ysidro Ranch and Country Mart, page 14

In Living Color

Grids, geometry, and glorious splashes of color collide as Julie Anderson Mathias brings her oversized paintings to Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery, page 28

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

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he Society Edit – Montecito prepares for An Independent Mind – An analysis of 36 the INSIDE THIS ISSUE 14 THalloween with Ghost Village Road and San midterms explores polling uncertainty,

Voice of the Village – MSD candidates Floyd A Wicks, Chris Francis, and Woody Barrett argue for regional wastewater treatment instead of rebuilding the existing plant

Friends – During National Friends 6 of Montecito’s Libraries Week, Montecito celebrates the

volunteers whose dedication has kept its historic library thriving for generations

Montecito Moments – ETC opens its season with 8 Buyer & Cellar, Lotusland celebrates exceptional

plants, and Rally4Kids takes fundraising on the road

ommunity Voices – Supervisor Laura Capps C shares her experiences with Kristen Sneddon and why she believes in Sneddon as mayor Letters to the Editor – Rock Rockenbach on the Montecito Sanitary District and other thoughts on the upcoming election Tide Guide eal Estate News – The new rent control R ordinance could reshape apartment values, operating income, and investment decisions for owners of roughly 13,000 rental units

Ysidro Ranch festivities, while the Rescue Mission honors Kathleen Baushke

On Entertainment – Ingrid Michaelson revisits 16 the songs that made her famous, Camerata Pacifica looks toward its 37th season, and Jurassic Park returns outdoors

Your Westmont – The president publishes a 18 new book on leadership and the liberal arts,

college awarded character formation grant, and kickoff celebrates Sacred Stories

20 27

Montecito JOURNAL

lizabeth’s Appraisals – A ceremonial doll E from the Ndebele people offers a fascinating look at courtship and ancestral symbolism

Julie ‘In Studio’ – Julie Anderson Mathias 28 trades architectural blueprints for colorful

Our Town – A new Carpinteria exhibition turns 34 12 ocean trash into artwork that raises awareness of marine pollution

eart of the Matter – A friend’s heart attack H can be alarming, but understanding your own cardiovascular risk factors is the first step toward prevention

canvases, bringing decades of experimentation to Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery

he Giving List – Ice in Paradise celebrates its T 10th anniversary, bringing skating and winter sports to SB while keeping programs affordable through community support “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.” – Bob Dylan

proposed voter payments, Russian oil sanctions, and the possibility of congressional investigations

Meeting at MA – As the county considers 38 streamlining permits, the MA raises concerns

about protecting neighborhood character and residents’ voices

41 Cfasturator’s Choice – This tiger beetle is cheetah News Bytes – Chabad Montecito’s events, mini 43 dino-ramas in the museum, help save Naples, and other tidbits Sheriff ’s Blotter

Calendar of Events – Broadway star 44 Bernadette Peters, a Beatles orchestral tribute, Duck Pond on stage, and more in a week of music, magic, and comedy

Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified 46 ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales

ini Meta Crossword Puzzles 47 MLocal Business Directory – Smart business

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15 – 22 October 2026

A Voice of the Village Down the Drain in Montecito by Floyd Wicks, Chris Francis, and Woody Barrett

ost Montecito residents flush their toilet, take a shower, wash dirty clothes, turn on the dishwasher, brush their teeth, or eat at a local restaurant, and don’t know (or care) what happens to their wastewater. Elections for the Board of Directors of the Montecito Sanitary District (MSD) are normally a “big snooze” for Montecito voters. Well, not this year! Why is this year different? Five candidates are running for three seats on the MSD Board with 180-degree opposing platforms that will affect wastewater management in Montecito for at least the next 50 years. This year, your vote has consequences.

What is the Best Wastewater Plan for Montecito? The team of Wicks-Francis-Barrett is committed to a common-sense solution to close the current Montecito sewer treatment plant and send Montecito’s wastewater to Santa Barbara for regional treatment at a greatly reduced cost. Make MSD a wastewater collection system, not a treatment plant. Connect Montecito Sanitary’s site to Santa Barbara’s El Estero Resource Center through a regional pipeline that is already half-built. All that is needed is a short, one-mile pipe, to be built on a City right-of-way, to complete the connection.

Environmental Responsibility Best of all, by sending its wastewater to Santa Barbara for treatment, Montecito eliminates its current short and shallow discharge pipe that now dumps an average of 600,000 gallons of secondary-treated wastewater each day off Butterfly Beach, where the outflow spreads to nearby Butterfly Beach, Hammond’s Beach, and Miramar Beach. Now is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to eliminate Montecito beach wastewater pollution, forever. Gone will be a threat to Montecito beach walkers (and their dogs), waders, surfers, kayakers, swimmers, sunbathers, tidewater pool explorers, and shell collectors. For years, Heal the Ocean (HTO) has held a firm position opposing Montecito Sanitary District’s ocean discharge of treated effluent into shallow water close to shore. HTO specifically targeted the MSD short (1,480-foot) and shallow (22 to 23 feet of water) discharge pipe off Butterfly Beach in a major study. HTO commissioned research proving that discharging treated sewage into close-toshore zones creates dangers for swimmers and surfers due to inadequate dilution and the proximity to the surf zone. Operating at a shallow depth close to the swim line prevents proper dilution and allows wastewater effluent to travel back toward the beach. California Channelkeepers goes even further than HTO: “Our wastewater treatment facilities release sewage into the ocean along California’s sensitive coastline. The

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Voice of Village Page 424 424

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Montecito’s Friends

A Legacy of Keeping the Library Thriving: Celebrating National Friends of Libraries Week, October 18-24

In 1900 a new Montecito Hall was constructed on the south side of East Valley Road (photo courtesy of Montecito Association History Committee)

by Jace Turner

providing funds for furnishings, children’s reference books, and other essentials. As the collection grew and demand increased, the library moved to larger quarters at Studio 43 in Montecito Village in 1968 and eventually opened six days a week. Meanwhile, the possibility of returning to Montecito Hall was taking shape. By the late 1970s, the future of Montecito Hall was uncertain. The aging building needed attention, and residents debated whether to replace it or renovate the historic structure. In spring 1979, the County Board of Supervisors set a formidable fundraising challenge: to secure $160,000 in County funding, the Friends needed to raise $100,000 in just three months. The Friends responded with remarkable determination, contributing the first $20,000 themselves before rallying neighbors, families, and local businesses. By July, they had raised nearly the entire goal, making the renovation possible. The library was scheduled to return to its historic home in October 1980. But one small, yet important detail had been overlooked: no money had been set aside to move the books and equipment. Beloved librarian Georgia Young stepped in, rallying Westmont students, off-duty firefighters, Friends members, and other volunteers to carry the collection across the street. The community quite literally carried its library into its next chapter. That spirit of service was also embodied by Judge William Reppy, a founding member of the Friends’ board, longtime volunteer, and devoted patron. The

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library is more than books and shelves. It’s a place where neighbors meet, children discover new worlds, and people of all ages find opportunities to learn and connect. Keeping a library thriving, however, takes more than librarians and a good collection. It takes a community that believes in what a library can be. For more than six decades, the Friends of the Montecito Library (FOML) has helped make that possible. During National Friends of Libraries Week, October 18-24, we celebrate the people whose generosity, determination, and volunteer spirit have helped shape our library’s history and secure its future. The story begins in the late 1890s, when Montecito residents formed the Montecito Hall and Library Association to establish a gathering place for a community spread across farms, orchards, and large estates. The hall opened in 1900, hosting dances, early film screenings, Boy Scout activities, and Montecito’s first library. The first librarian, Mary A. Spring, carried books from her home on East Valley Road and opened the library one afternoon a week. She continued for years, even as local newspapers appealed for more books. It was an early example of a tradition that continues today: Montecito residents pitching in to make library service possible. By 1960, the library needed more space and moved across the street into Montecito Village. The Friends began appearing in local newspaper accounts, “The wind is rising! We must try to live.” – Paul Valéry

Friends Page 364 364

15 – 22 October 2026

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Montecito Moments Streisand’s Malibu Mall by Lisa Duncan

nly in Malibu could the truth sound more theatrical than the fiction. Beneath a barn on Barbra Streisand’s Malibu estate really is a private shopping street, complete with cobblestones, an antique shop, doll shop, gift shop, vintage clothing boutique, and even a sweet

shop. The catch? Nothing is actually for sale. Streisand already owns everything. Playwright Jonathan Tolins discovered the extraordinary setup in Streisand’s 2010 book, My Passion for Design, and joked that he wanted to meet “the guy who works down there.” No such employee existed, so Tolins invented one – and Buyer & Cellar was born. Opening Ensemble Theatre Company’s season at the New Vic, the

A star is framed in Barbra’s Basement Mall (photo by Loren Haar)

one-man comedy stars Brian McDonald as Alex, a struggling L.A. actor hired to staff Barbra’s mall – along with an entire cast of characters, Barbra included. Director Jamie Torcellini and McDonald have history together, having shared the stage in A Tuna Christmas. Jamie writes that the pair “finish each other’s sentences” – chemistry well suited to a show that moves quickly between fantasy, celebrity, loneliness, and connection. Artistic Director Scott DeVine chose it to launch ETC’s new season, California: Here and Now, noting that it seemed fitting to begin “in Malibu, one floor below ground, in a shopping mall with exactly one customer.” Among the Visionary Producers are Cheryl Goldberg, The John C. Mithun Foundation, Dana White, and Geof and Laura Wyatt. Also sponsoring are Kathy Weber, Montecito Bank & Trust, Dan and Donna Hone, Gary Justice, and Terry Bickmore. It’s a delicious premise rooted in a wonderfully real piece of California eccentricity: a private mall beneath a barn, a fictional clerk behind the counter, and one very famous customer who already owns the merchandise. Only in Malibu. For the rest of us, only this month at the New Vic.

Brian McDonald steals the stage for Streisand at the New Vic Theatre (photo by Loren Haar)

Buyer & Cellar plays at ETC’s New Vic until October 25 (photo by Loren Haar)

Moments Page 304 304

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Community Voice

Letters to the Editor

Kristen: A Mayor Who Will Protect the Character of the City We Love While Planning for the Future

Asking for Facts on MSD

anta Barbara needs a mayor who understands what it takes to both protect the character of Santa Barbara while planning for its future. Santa Barbara needs a mayor whose strong work on wildfire protection has earned her the coveted endorsement of the Santa Barbara City Firefighters Association; a scientist who champions sustainability and is endorsed by the Sierra Club; an advocate for our most vulnerable neighbors; and a leader willing to tackle the difficult but necessary work of addressing our housing crisis. Santa Barbara needs a mayor who can meet this moment in history by transforming the energy, determination, civic engagement – and even the despair – that so many in our community are feeling due to national politics into meaningful action here at home. Santa Barbara needs a mayor who has successfully spent nine years advocating for her City Council district, including the Coast Village Road area, and has deep ties to our community. That mayor is Kristen Sneddon. I respect Kristen’s opponents and count them among my friends and trusted colleagues. But Kristen has consistently demonstrated a willingness to stand up when federal policies conflict with our local values, including speaking out against ICE practices that threaten the safety and dignity of our immigrant neighbors. That leadership matters. Kristen has earned the trust of those who have galvanized our community during this challenging time in history. Kristen combines a scientist’s understanding of climate and sustainability with a commitment to protecting our neighborhoods while confronting our housing crisis. She isn’t funded by developers. She has challenged a housing system that leaves too many families struggling to get by, too many workers facing long commutes, and too many people living in their cars – including a growing number of older women. When problems seem intractable, it’s tempting to retreat or accept the status quo. Santa Barbara can’t afford either. We need the courage to keep moving forward, and a mayor with the experience, conviction, and determination to lead. Kristen Sneddon is ready to lead Santa Barbara. I hope you’ll join me in sup porting her for mayor.

LEGAL NOTICE PUBLICATION

If you have a legal notice that needs publishing, we can help! Email your submission to legals@montecitojournal.net for more info and rates.

JOURNAL

by Laura Capps

was saddened and concerned to receive the mailer from Montecito Sanitary District slate candidates Barrett, Francis, and Wicks. After reading it, I keep coming back to a phrase that has been on my campaign materials since the beginning: the facts matter. I mean that literally, not simply as a campaign slogan. The brochure describes “the opposition’s plan.” As one of their opponents, I was surprised to read this because neither John Murphy nor I has advocated rebuilding in Montecito, and neither of us has opposed connecting to Santa Barbara. What we are on record doing is asking for the facts. We have said publicly that both options carry real advantages and real risks, and we are pressing for the analysis necessary to assess them. Mr. Barrett requested the study that is underway but now seems to have decided the path without the results of the study he voted for. The mailer contains other statements that do not accurately describe the record. It says MSD’s discharge goes onto Butterfly Beach; the outfall discharges approximately 1,500 feet offshore. It calls the Southland agreement “no-bid”; the District received competing proposals, the agreement is for analysis and preliminary project development rather than a final construction contract, and Mr. Barrett himself voted to approve it. It describes our effluent as “partially treated”; it receives secondary treatment and disinfection under a stringent state-issued discharge permit. It also describes a mandatory compounded rate increase of 14% every year. That is incorrect. Each year, the Board determines the rate, which can be lowered, left unchanged, or increased by up to, but not more than, 14%. The authorized maximum is not a requirement to impose the maximum. Mr. Barrett also voted to approve the rate study and this year’s rate increase. The condition of the plant is the most urgent problem this District faces. Critical systems are at or past the end of their useful lives, and that has to be addressed now. But stabilization and the treatment decision cannot be separated, because what you build depends on where you are going. The decision about where Montecito’s wastewater will be treated will outlast everyone currently serving on the Board. Montecito will live with its consequences for decades. A decision of that size newspaper must rest on what the engineering shows, Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie what the alternatives actually cost, and what gwyn@montecitojournal.net each path commits us to – not on what is President/COO | Tim Buckley convenient to believe or what we decided tim@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen before we looked. zach@montecitojournal.net That is why John Murphy and I have MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Connor not yet selected a long-term treatment Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña option. The analysis is unfinished. We Director of Operations | Jessica Shafran intend to make that decision based on VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood the facts, rather than guess or force the leanne@montecitojournal.net Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, analysis to fit a predetermined outcome. Elizabeth Scott, Joe DeMello, Thomas Mock Connection to Santa Barbara would itself require substantial investment. The Features | Jeff Wing Proofreading | Helen Buckley facilities discussed publicly include a lift

Letters Page 394 394

Contributors | Scott Craig, Chuck Graham, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Elizabeth Stewart, Leana Orsua, Jeffrey Harding, Houghton Hyatt

Montecito Tide Guide Day

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Thurs, Oct 15 2:16 AM Fri, Oct 16 12:50 AM Sat, Oct 17 02:03 PM Sun, Oct 18 7:20 AM Mon, Oct 19 7:17 AM Tues, Oct 20 12:33 AM 0.7 7:28 AM Wed, Oct 21 1:06 AM 0.6 7:42 AM Thurs, Oct 22 1:34 AM 0.7 7:58 AM Fri, Oct 23 02:00 PM 0.8 08:18 PM

3.3 4.8 4.5 3.8 4.0 4.2 4.5 4.9 5.3

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3.1 12:05 PM 5.1 08:17 PM 0.9 0.9 3.6 03:46 PM 4.3 11:51 PM 3.2 05:12 PM 4.4 2.7 06:14 PM 4.5 2.1 07:05 PM 4.6 1.5 07:51 PM 4.6 0.8 08:36 PM 4.6

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“It’s the wind and the rain, O God, the cold wind and the rain.” – Robert Frost

Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz Gossip | Richard Mineards, Lisa Duncan History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri Health/Wellness | Ann Brode, Deann Zampelli Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108.

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How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

15 – 22 October 2026

Real Estate News

Your Apartment Building Just Became a Bond by Jack Gilbert

Santa Barbara’s new rent law caps the coupon on 13,000 apartments at about 2%. What that does to income, value, and exit, why it may not be the last word, and how to keep up.

n January 1, roughly 13,000 Santa Barbara apartments start behaving like bonds. The coupon is capped at about 2.1% a year, in an economy running 3.6% inflation, and the issuer, which is you, still owns the roof, the insurance bill, and the property tax. A bond like that trades at a discount. So will these buildings. On October 6, by a single vote, the City Council adopted the 35-page ordinance that makes it so. Unless a referendum petition qualifies first, it takes effect November 5, and its rent limits begin January 1. Here is the term sheet.

The Fine Print Coverage: Rental units in the city with a certificate of occupancy issued before February 1, 1995. State law exempts newer buildings and most single-family homes and condominiums; the City added a short list of others, such as Section 8 units at or below the Housing Authority’s payment standard.

References Available (lots of them!)

Owner-occupied duplexes are covered. “Year built” is only a clue: a unit added in 2019 behind a 1962 duplex is generally exempt, while the duplex is not. Coupon: One increase every 12 months: 60% of the April-to-April change in California’s consumer price index, capped at 3% and floored at zero. An increase not taken in its year expires. The first one works out to about 2.1%. State law, by comparison, allows up to 8.6% this year on many rentals outside the city.

Dan Encell

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Freeze: Covered rents stay at their December 16, 2025, levels through December 31. Reset: When a tenant leaves voluntarily, rent resets to market. Turnover is now the most valuable line in the pro forma. Registration: Nearly every rental unit in the city must register, exempt or not, starting as early as April 1, 2027, with the fee set in December. That includes the Coast Village Road strip, which sits inside city limits despite its Montecito address. Governance: A seven-member Rent Stabilization Board, at least four of them tenants, approves the regulations and hears appeals.

Pricing the Bond I underwrite apartment buildings for a living, which makes me the person at the dinner party who brings up cap rates. Here is the arithmetic.

Real Estate Page 224 224

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Our Town

California State University Channel Islands Marine Debris Exhibit by Joanne A Calitri

en students at the California State University at Channel Islands (CSUCI) are exhibiting their “marine debris turned art” exhibit titled Current Findings at the Chrisman California Islands Center, Carpinteria. The exhibit is curated by Matt Furmanski, CSUCI professor of art. The exhibit opening was held on Friday, October 9, and attended by over 50 people, including the exhibiting students, Furmanski, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation (SCIF) Taylor Viens, representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the National Park Service. I asked Furmanski for his statement on the timeliness of this exhibit and he replied, “This exhibition feels especially vital right now because climate change, plastic pollution, and the health of our oceans are not distant or abstract concerns, they are unfolding along our own coastline. Through support from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, this project brings together scientific research, environmental stewardship, education, and art. The debris collected on the Channel Islands becomes data that helps us understand the problem, but when artists transform those same materials into artwork, the research becomes tangible and emotionally accessible to a much broader public. Art can communicate what numbers alone sometimes cannot. These works ask us to consider the full life of the objects we use, where they travel after we discard them, and how our everyday choices affect even remote and protected places. The exhibition turns evidence of pollution into a catalyst for awareness, conversation, and, hopefully, meaningful change.”

You’re Invited

4TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Taylor Viens with his wife, Emma, and the Current Findings exhibit (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Since 2016, the Santa Rosa Island Research Station (SRIRS) managed by CSUCI, has removed and cataloged over 21,000 pounds of marine debris from Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands. The exhibit biggie is the massive amount of mylar balloons in the ocean, you know the ones purchased for birthdays and celebrations. The hope is that these mylar balloons will be no longer be sold. Other items used for the art were scuba tanks, rope materials, fishing lines, foam, and Styrofoam. I met with Viens at the opening. In our conversation, he emphasized the importance of the debris collection and of this exhibit to raise awareness of the debris that is affecting the natural ecosystems on and offshore: “The multi-media artworks on display communicate the importance of keeping the beaches of the Northern Channel Islands free of debris to restore the critical intertidal and near shore ecosystems of the islands that include nesting grounds for snowy plovers, richly diverse tidepools, kelp forests, and sea lion rookeries.” He shared that the exhibit is funded by a federal grant, and is a collaboration between the National Park Service, the NOAA, The Nature Conservancy, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, and the Chrisman California Islands Center. Viens, a summa cum laude grad of NYU, was appointed as executive director of the SCIF this year, following the retirement of its founder of 40 years of service, Marla Daily. Viens’ work includes being a SCUBA diver for the National Park Service’s “Channel Islands Live,” and as a volunteer with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Farallon Islands), United States Navy (San Clemente Island), Channel Islands Restoration (Board Member), Sunflower Star Laboratory (Communications Committee), California Institute of Environmental Studies, Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute, The Nature Conservancy, and California State University Channel Islands. Nod to Val-MAR Records DJ for spinning tunes to keep the exhibit dancing.

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12 Montecito JOURNAL

“The winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” – Edward Gibbon

15 – 22 October 2026

Kathy, Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital

Generations of

For 20 years, Kathy has been a calming presence in the ER – the person patients trust during their most difficult times – and the team member the next generation of caregivers turn to so they can learn from the best.

Imagine what we’ll do next.

15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

The Society Edit Happy R’October Loves! by Joanne A Calitri

et your practical magic attire ready for the Hallow’s Eve celebrations throughout Montecito! Here it is “chic” to don any range of your alternate persona without #FOMO on any runway showstoppers. Fashion is totally and uniquely yours – what a concept! Society’s recommendations range from the San Ysidro Ranch’s Speakeasy, the 30th Annual Ghost Village Road, and of course the Montecito Country Mart’s events. Toast to your favorite masked BFFs and BBFs at the San Ysidro Ranch’s Speakeasy on October 26-31, scheduled to be open during “Dracula’s hours.” Ty Warner has his team preparing specialty cocktails paired with “bites that bite.” The San Ysidro Ranch also has their celebration of Día de los Muertos at the Speakeasy on Friday, October 30. On that occasion there will be live music, mezcal, and traditional sugar skull face painting. As this is a cozy spot, do get your reservations early! 411: www.sanysidroranch.com/dining/ the-speakeasy

Celebrate the spooky season at San Ysidro Ranch (courtesy photo)

It’s the 30th anniversary of Ghost Village Road! (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

On October 31, the ever-faithful businesses along Coast Village Road once again will show up, in costume and handing out treats to over 2,000 kids, parents, dogs, and friends for the 30th year in a row to celebrate Ghost Village Road (GVR). The event draws kids and families from Goleta through Malibu. Truly, everyone knows the best place to celebrate the tradition. The history of this event is brilliantly written about in two realtor blog posts this month, with similar facts

Nobody had to write a grant proposal to keep Ghost Village Road alive for three decades.” Adding the same history is Berkshire Hathaway Team Shotwell in their October 1 blog. Let us laud loudly all the CVR businesses for their continued community support, goodwill, and keeping a time-honored tradition floating. The most favored decorated businesses include Richie’s Barber Shop, with peeps lined up to enter down the street. The shop has a themed backdrop for photo ops that matches the barbershop team’s costumes, a DJ spinning tunes, and treats. Also up there is Berkshire Hathaway,

and sentiments. The brief from Village Properties’ Crawford Speier Group explains, “Coast Village Road has closed itself, in practice if not on paper, to strolling costumed kids every October 31 since 1996. No city permit does that. No single organization owns the calendar date. The tradition known as Ghost Village Road survives on nothing more than merchants agreeing, year after year, to keep candy behind the counter and their doors open. Ghost Village Road began as a project of the old Coast Village Business Association, the predecessor to today’s Coast Village Association. The CVA still exists, and it still gives the event a nod on its calendar, but the organization does not run it.

Society Edit Page 414 414

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• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

MORE THAN A PLACE TO LIVE, IT’S A PLACE TO COME ALIVE.

On Entertainment

Investigating Ingrid: The Way She Is by Steven Libowitz

ost pop bands choose names that are merely drawn from their latest album to describe a series of live shows. For Ingrid Michaelson, Cozy Fall Trio Tour is not only descriptive, but also evokes the same sort of warm and playful feeling the singer-songwriter has exuded over her 20 plus-year career, one characterized by indelible melodies as the soundscape for her largely uncomplicated but decidedly heartfelt storytelling. The result has been several gold and platinum hits, including “The Way I Am,” “Girls Chase Boys,” and “You and I” before Michaelson recently lent her talents to creating the score for the musical stage version of The Notebook. We caught up with the singer-songwriter on the eve of Cozy’s first show last weekend in advance of her concert with Allie Moss and Hannah Winkler at the Lobero on Friday, October 16, her first time performing in town in almost a dozen years. Q. I’m one of those people who think “The Way I Am” is a perfect little song. Sometimes I get in the mood and play it a few times in a row, especially when it makes me cry. My question is, did you realize how powerful this thing was when you wrote it all those years ago? A. No, no, when I wrote it in my bedroom at my parents’ house. I put the lyrics down on paper, but I didn’t record the melody because I still had a flip phone and my recorder wasn’t handy. I thought, I’ll remember it because it’s a really catchy melody. The next day I was revisiting it, and I couldn’t make the lyrics make sense because I forgot the melody… But the next morning, I woke up singing it. But I really didn’t know what I had. Back then, I would play it at the local coffee shop, and this one guy was always coming to see me. He said the Rogaine line is not good. You should change that line. I thought, what am I supposed to say, “I’ll buy you hats.” Like, I really did think about it because he was one of 10 people who came to all my shows. Turns out that it’s probably the line that hooked into everybody’s brain. But I had no clue. You usually don’t know.

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Yikes. Sorry to have hit a nerve… I also like the dichotomy of the dark subjects given such pretty melodies most of the time. Right. Me too. I have a song called “Be Okay” that if you just read the words, it’s very, very sad. But the melody is so upbeat that everybody thinks it’s a happy song… I like to shroud grief and sorrow in a happy melody. It’s kind of who I am. A sad girl who writes songs. I’m a melancholy person who maybe doesn’t mask but puts on a show to get through life and make people smile. I have the ability to find the positive in things

Ingrid Michaelson plays at the Lobero Theatre on October 16 (courtesy photo)

THE FOUNTAIN OF

Which leads into my next question about your ability to write with a very simple and conversational style about any subject, but they get deep because of the turns of phrase, or how you sing them. Are you aiming to be simple? Is it a struggle? Or just how they come out? I’m just a simple girl. In fact, most of the criticism of my work comes from it being too simple. It’s like the albatross that people might misunderstand my simplicity for frivolousness. The truth is, I like to say things simply, but in a way that maybe you’ve never heard before. Maybe the phrasing is a little bit lopsided or inside out, which makes the sentiment hit in a different way… I’ve never been over expository or verbose. It’s just not in my nature. I still get defensive about it because I think that my writing is beautiful and I’m very proud of it and I wouldn’t change it. But it is a sore spot for me.

Entertainment Page 324 324 “The wind is us, it gathers and remembers all our voices.” – Truman Capote

15 – 22 October 2026

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Your Westmont

release builds on themes explored in his recent works, including The Crucibles That Shape Us: Navigating the Defining Challenges of Leadership (2024), which examines how life’s greatest trials refine personal character, and The Shaping of an Effective Leader: Eight Formative Principles of Leadership (2011), an enduring guide to values-based management.

New Book Examines ‘Leadership and the Liberal Arts’ by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

hat kind of education prepares graduates not just for a first job, but for a lifetime of meaningful leadership? A compelling new book, Leadership and the Liberal Arts: An Education to Last a Lifetime, edited by Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe, makes the case for the enduring power of the Christian liberal arts. The 288-page volume, published this week by InterVarsity Press, gathers insights from Beebe and more than a dozen current and former Westmont faculty, administrators, and alumni, demonstrating how intellectual discovery, moral formation, and spiritual growth cultivate leaders equipped to navigate society’s most complex challenges. “At a time when society faces increasingly complex challenges, we need leaders whose education extends beyond technical expertise to encompass wisdom, character, and a sense of calling,” Beebe

THE

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says. “A flourishing society depends on effective leadership, and a quality education is essential to forming leaders. In this volume, we demonstrate how the Christian intellectual tradition unites learning with a higher purpose: moral development, vocational preparation, and a deeper knowledge of God.” Westmont will celebrate the book’s release with a special Homecoming presentation featuring President Beebe and most of the contributing authors on Friday, October 16, from 2 to 3 pm in the Global Leadership Center. Beebe and his colleagues will explore the book’s central themes and consider the future of faith-based higher education. Each attendee will receive a complimentary copy. Chapter topics range from the role of Scripture, theology, and history in higher education to the intersection of modern capitalism, artificial intelligence, and campus life. Contributing authors include Tremper Longman III, Telford Work, Helen Rhee, James E.

Grant Helps Ground Education in Character Westmont has received a $457,745 grant to expand its efforts to integrate intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation directly into classroom instruction and campus culture. Administered through the Educating Character Initiative, a project of the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University, which aims to catalyze a national movement placing virtue and character at the center of higher education. The 2026 Educating Character Initiative Institutional Impact Grants support 44 projects directly impacting 49 institutions nationwide. “While holistic flourishing and character formation has been an implicit part of Westmont’s culture, it has often been seen as occurring primarily outside the classroom and curricular requirements,”

Leadership and the Liberal Arts: An Education to Last a Lifetime, edited by Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe (courtesy photo)

Taylor (‘78), Russell W. Howell, Jeff Schloss, Jesse Covington, Daniel Gee (‘13), Rick Ifland (‘83), Reed Sheard, Valentina Costarelli (‘23), Kim BattleWalters Denu, Edee Schulze, and Steve L. Porter. An active scholar and experienced leader, Beebe has written or edited more than 10 books on executive leadership and spiritual growth. His newest

Westmont Page 374 374

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15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Heart of the Matter

Do I Actually Know My Cardiovascular Risk? Start With the Basics.

by Vishal Goyal, MD

You should know your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. You should know whether heart attacks or strokes occurred unusually early in your family. And you should be honest with yourself about smoking, exercise, weight, sleep, and diet. You cannot tell how healthy someone’s arteries are simply by looking at them. People can be thin, active, and asymptomatic and still have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or significant coronary plaque. Feeling well is reassuring. It is not a cardiovascular screening test.

My Friend Had a Heart Attack. What Does That Mean for Me?

or readers I haven’t met, I’m Vishal Goyal, a board-certified cardiologist who has practiced in Santa Barbara for the past decade. I spent much of that time in traditional cardiology practice and served as medical director of Cottage Cardiology; this year, I opened Riviera Cardiology Concierge. What I have always enjoyed most about cardiology is not simply diagnosing or treating heart disease, but helping people understand what their symptoms, numbers, and tests actually mean. That is what I hope to do in this column: take the questions I hear from patients every day and answer them in plain English – what matters, what doesn’t, and what might actually change what we do. One of those questions comes up surprisingly often. A patient comes to see me because a friend, neighbor, or colleague just had a heart attack. “He’s my age.” “He did the steps at City College every weekend.” “He looked completely healthy.” And then comes the real question: “Could that happen to me?” The short answer is yes. Heart disease can affect people who look healthy and feel well. But your friend having a heart attack does not suddenly increase your own risk. What it often does is something equally important: it gets your attention.

Start With Your Own Risk, Not Your Friend’s

When someone close to us develops heart disease, there is a natural tendency to compare ourselves with that person. He exercised more than I do. She ate better than I do. His cholesterol was supposedly normal. She never smoked. But cardiovascular risk is not determined by any single characteristic. Age matters. So do blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking, kidney disease, physical activity, and genetics. Family history is particularly important when heart disease occurs prematurely in a parent or sibling. Your friend’s heart attack is emotional, but your own risk factors are medical. So rather than immediately asking, “What test should I get?” start with a more basic question:

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20 Montecito JOURNAL

Heart disease can affect people who look healthy and feel well. Do You Need a Heart Scan? If someone has no symptoms and is clearly at low risk, ordering every available cardiac test rarely helps. The more interesting situation is the person in between – someone whose risk is uncertain and for whom additional information might actually change a decision. In those cases, a coronary artery calcium scan can sometimes be useful. It is a quick CT scan that looks for calcified plaque in the coronary arteries and can help clarify how aggressively risk factors such as cholesterol should be treated. A test should answer a question, not simply provide more information.

What About More Advanced Blood Tests? Two additional tests can sometimes refine risk: lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), an inherited risk factor that current guidelines recommend checking at least once in adulthood, and apolipoprotein B, or apoB, which reflects the number of cholesterol-carrying particles in the blood. In selected people, these tests can reveal cardiovascular risk that an LDL cholesterol number alone may not fully capture. But they supplement the basics rather than replace them.

Don’t Ignore Symptoms There is one situation where this conversation changes completely. If your friend’s heart attack suddenly has you noticing chest pressure, shortness of breath, or discomfort in the chest, arm, back, neck, or jaw – particularly with exertion – do not simply schedule a preventive checkup. I have seen patients ignore symptoms while hiking up Jesusita or to Inspiration Point because they did not want to worry a friend or partner – or admit it could be their heart. New or concerning symptoms need prompt medical evaluation. Persistent chest pressure or pain, especially with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, or lightheadedness, warrants calling 911. Prevention is important. Recognizing an emergency is more important.

Use the Wake-Up Call A friend’s heart attack can be frightening, particularly when that friend seemed healthy. But fear by itself is not very useful. Use it as an opportunity to take inventory. Know your blood pressure. Check your cholesterol and blood sugar. Understand your family history. Exercise. Don’t Vishal Goyal, MD, FACC is smoke. And talk with your physician a board-certified cardiologist about whether your individual risk warand founder of Riviera rants additional testing or treatment. Cardiology Concierge in Santa The goal is to understand the risks you Barbara. His practice focuses have, identify the ones you can change, on personalized cardiovascular and do something about them while you care, prevention, and helping still feel well. patients make sense of A friend’s heart attack is a tragedy. complex heart-health Sometimes it is also a reminder not to decisions. wait for your own.

“There is no favorable wind for the sailor who doesn’t know where to go.” – Seneca

15 – 22 October 2026

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• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Real Estate (Continued from 11 11))

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22 Montecito JOURNAL

When Empty Beats Occupied

Start with yield. Older Santa Barbara buildings have recently traded at cap rates around 5%, below the 5.2% a 10-year Treasury pays, with apartment loans pricing near 7%. Investors accept a below-Treasury yield and negative leverage largely because they expect income to grow. Now grow it. Over the past 10 years, the cost of running an older Santa Barbara building rose about 48%. Insurance nearly doubled, and electricity more than doubled. Had this formula been in place, rents could have risen only about 22%. Looking ahead, if rents rise 2.1% a year while costs keep rising 4%, a typical building’s net income grows about 1% a year. After inflation, that is a loss of roughly 2.5% a year, before a single roof is replaced. Then price it. Investors pay for growth, so less growth means a lower price. When St. Paul, Minnesota, capped rents in 2021, property values fell about 5% within months, and even homes the law did not cover lost value. Not every covered building will lose value; land, location and turnover all matter. But every covered building now needs different math.

“The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry.” – Aldo Leopold

Here is the strangest result. Because rent resets to market only when a unit turns over, an empty apartment is now worth more than an occupied one. Say a long-term tenant pays $800 a month below market. That is $9,600 a year of loss-to-lease; capitalized at 5%, it is roughly $190,000 of value per unit, unlocked only when the tenant leaves. Vacant buildings will command a premium, and the incentives point toward turnover rather than stability. San Francisco and Los Angeles, where this math has run for decades, now regulate tenant buyouts. Somewhere along the way, this stopped being a housing debate and became something closer to class war: tenants against landlords, settled 4–3 vote after 4–3 vote. The sharper divide may be between tenants who already hold a covered lease and everyone still looking for one. In St. Paul, researchers found that higher-income renters gained the most.

Real Estate Page 354 354 15 – 22 October 2026

Vote Nov. 3 to elect Vote V o t e N Nov. o v . 3 to t o elect e l e c t Floyd Wicks, Chris Francis Floyd Wicks, Wicks, Chris Chris Francis Francis Floyd & Woody Barrett to the Woody Barrett Barrett to to the the & Woody Montecito Sanitary Board Montecito Sanitary Sanitary Board Board Montecito

Four-year term, Water Resources Consultant Four-year term, Water Floyd Wicks has spent his career running water andResources wastewaterConsultant systems, Wicks has spent his career waterHe and wastewater FloydMontecito and voters have electedrunning him before. knows what a systems, capital and Montecito voters have elected him before. He knows what a capital program should cost, and he knows you do not build a new plant when a program should cost, and he knows you do not build a new plant when a larger, more efficient regional plant already exists next door. larger, more efficient regional plant already exists next door.

Floyd Wicks

Chris Francis

Four-year term, Four-year term, Financial Consultant Chris Francis has spent his career reading contracts Financial and pricingConsultant risk. He Chris Francis has spent his career reading contracts and pricing risk. He looks at this decision the way a ratepayer does, and he does not believe a looks at this decision the way a ratepayer does, and he does not believe a district commitment in in district of of roughly roughly 3,100 3,100households householdsshould shouldsign signthe thelargest largest commitment its withoutcompetitive competitivebids. bids. its history history without

Woody Barrett

Two-year term, Two-year term, Director Director Woody Barrett has served on the MSD Board for eight years, elected byby Woody Barrett has served on the MSD Board for eight years, elected Montecito Montecito voters. voters. He He has has asked asked the the hard hard questions questionsabout aboutspending spending priorities, including includingvoting votingagainst againstaabudget budgethe hebelieved believedspent spent money priorities, money in in thethe wrong order. order. wrong Paid for by Woody Barrett, Chris Francis & Floyd Wicks for Montecito Sanitary District 2026

15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

The T he W Wi Wicks, icks, Francis, Francis, Barrett Barrett P Plan lan Close the current MSD sewer treatment plant. Send Montecito’s wastewater to Santa Barbara for regional treatment at a reduced cost. Make MSD a wastewater collection system, not a treatment plant. Connect Montecito Sanitary to Santa Barbara’s El Estero Resource Center through a regional pipeline that will be put out to bid and awarded to the lowest bid contractor. Completely eliminate the current effluent outfall pipe which now dumps 600,000 gallons of partially-treated wastewater each day near Butterfly Beach. This health and safety hazard has alarmed the environmental community for the last 60 years. Get rid of this environmental stain. Improve community health and safety; Responsibly protect the environment; and reduce costs for Montecito ratepayers. Montecito’s wastewater could be recycled immediately, along with City wastewater, for irrigation uses. Closing the current MSD treatment plant would benefit the natural environment for the adjacent environmentally-conscious Music Academy of the West and nearby residents. Santa Barbara treats approximately 6 million gallons of wastewater each day---more than 10 times MSD’s volume---at approximately 1/2 of the comparable cost per gallon due to economies of scale and other efficiencies, such as a highly-effective methane gas recovery and a cogeneration system that offsets over about half of the plant’s total electrical needs.

A Clean Butterfly Beach with outfall ELIMINATED under the Wicks, Francis, Barrett Plan

Paid for by Woody Barrett, Chris Francis & Floyd Wicks for Montecito Sanitary District 2026

24 Montecito JOURNAL

15 – 22 October 2026

The T he O Opposition’s pposition’s Plan Plan Design, permit and rebuild the existing 65-year-old MSD wastewater plant for a cost estimated at between $50 million to $100 million with no new benefits; same toxic outfall pipe; same plant location; no recycling capability. The opposition has no recycling plan, nor any plan to extend the short, shallow outfall further into the ocean. Sign a no-bid contract to design and rebuild a new MSD treatment plant, at an unknown cost, with unknown design specifications and an unknown timeline. Continue to discharge 600,000 gallons of wastewater each day near Butterfly Beach through an inadequate, deficient and abbreviated 65-year-old Santa Barbara Channel outfall pipe. Continue to treat MSD wastewater to a level below the standard required to irrigate grass and at a higher cost. A rebuilt MSD treatment plant would still emit foul odors, reduce air quality, retain marine discharge of wastewater and continue the same operational noise pollution. Montecito currently has the highest wastewater treatment rates on the South Coast. Passage by MSD of a mandatory compounded rate increase of 14% per year over the next 5-years to rebuild its current treatment plant only widens that gap. Why take the rebuild route when the regional route offers greater benefits at a lower cost?

Their plan keeps the Butterfly Beach outfall in place.

Source: Heal the Ocean’s map showing the wastewater discharge currently released just off of Butterfly Beach Paid for by Woody Barrett, Chris Francis & Floyd Wicks for Montecito Sanitary District 2026

15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

environment; risk the health and safety of our community; and refuse to treat wastewater at he lowest cost. The T Th e choice could not be clearer!

Wicks, Francis and Barrett are running as a team. A vote for them is a vote for a common-sense solution for wastewater treatment that puts MSD customers first. The common-sense Wicks-Francis-Barrett program is to shut down the current Montecito Sanitary Plant with its environmentally challenging outfall that now dumps secondary wastewater onto beautiful Butterfly Beach. They propose completing a regional pipeline to send 100% of Montecito’s wastewater to Santa Barbara’s El Estero Resource Center for treatment, where it can be efficiently processed in an environmentally- responsible and cost-friendly manner.

Our plan connects t Montecito’s ts M ntecito’s Mo ’ ’s system sys sy ystem to Santa S nta Sa t Barbara, ta Barb r ara rb r , saving ra ratepayers r tep ra e ay ep aye yers r millions and stopping stop opp op pping the outfall outf tfa tf fall at Butterfly Butterf rfl rf fly ly Beach

Or, voters could support our opposition’s plan: For an unknown price, rebuild the aged MSD Wastewater Treatment Plant without putting it out to a competitive bid. The opposition plan will continue to discharge MSD wastewater near Butterfly Beach; fail to protect the Montecito environment; risk the health and safety of our community; and refuse to treat wastewater at the lowest cost.

SCAN TO LEARN MORE >>> www.montecitocleanwater.com

Paid for by Woody Barrett, Chris Francis & Floyd Wicks for Montecito Sanitary District 2026 Paid for by Woody Barrett, Chris Francis & Floyd Wicks for Montecito Sanitary District 2026

26 Montecito JOURNAL

15 – 22 October 2026

Elizabeth’s Appraisals

Symbolic Dolls and Life’s Dreams by Elizabeth Stewart

ertain times in my life I receive calls to appraise a certain type of object. In the last three weeks, I have had two calls for two major doll collections of hundreds of dolls each. Those who read my articles know I am frightened of dolls, and when I attend an appraisal of a doll collection and see all those lifeless faces and immobile eyes on folding tables, I dream about dolls for a night or two. A doll in a dream blends tenderness, family heirloom thoughts, and strangeness all at once. In some cases, such as the doll collected by EE from South Africa, there is a difference between a doll as a toy and a doll as a sacred object, which this is. EE has a doll from the Ndebele people, a prominent Bantu-speaking ethnic group in South Africa, located in the area between Zimbabwe and South Africa, a division of the Nguni peoples in historic times, such as the Zulu and the Xhosa, who settled in the Transvaal in the 16th and 17th century. The Ndebele formed in the migration in the 19th century to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The people are patriarchal, centered around family homesteads called kraals, and specialize in cattle herding and maize farming. One of the ancestral traditions of the women of the tribe is the creation of these beautiful abstract dolls that represent certain important moments in female lives, such as an initiation doll, a bride doll (draped with beads over her face), or a sangoma doll (a doll which represents a diviner with her contact to ancestral spirits: she is a protector of society, therefore allowed to have firm opinions and judgments), or a modern creation: a Rasta doll. EE’s doll is a ceremonial sangoma doll who herself indicates the desire for marriage and is used in courtship rituals: a suitor would place this doll on the threshold of his intended’s family hut, indicating his intention to propose marriage. These ceremonial dolls are grown women with round, individual sculpted breasts with beadwork. On the DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum site, I read that a similar Ndebele doll is the “Linga Koba” female doll, the “long-tears doll,” given to a middle-aged mother after her teenage son’s initiation rite as he becomes a man. Dolls created by the Ndebele are all one of a kind. I found some beautiful comparable sales on the websites of Indigo Arts Gallery in Philadelphia and DeeBeeGee’s Virtual Black Doll Museum. 15 – 22 October 2026

The ceremonial sangoma doll from the Ndebele people

This is the ceremonial doll which likely figured in many a girl’s dream throughout Ndebele culture; a doll which preordained marriage and was kept in the house to encourage fertility. A sense of permanence is implied by the sheer size of the doll at 45 inches tall; a handcrafted sculptural work of art with detailed fiber and beadwork ornamentation, handcrafted by Ndebele women only. The tall, conical-shaped doll with a round, ball-shaped head marked an initiation into marriage through courtship. She is constructed of a rigid core wrapped in plant fiber, ornamented with geometric seed beads, making up hair, necklaces, and fringes. The implied costume represents her status and holds meaning: you will notice she has breasts but no feet!

Interestingly, her face has a division line down the middle where you might expect a nose to be, and her neck is long and often ornamented by those copper and brass neck rings worn by tribeswomen to stretch their necks, as a long neck is a sign of beauty. EE collected this in the area formerly known as Zulu territory in South Africa, and EE also brought back a beaded, intricate bride or wedding apron created upon sheepskin, worked with glass beads in an abstract design. Back to my dream of this doll: it triggered childhood memories of visiting the Seminole Nation when I was a kid and collecting a lady doll in the 1970s made of cloth and beadwork. It has also stirred some adult anxieties related to control, outward appearances, and becoming older. A ceremonial doll who is a grown female figure is a doll that is “watched” by girls as a role model in the performance of a role – in this case, through courtship and marriage – which should be approached slowly and with dignity. A doll such as this holds a secret, is a mask, presents an ideal, and as a ritual object is on “display,” used in storytelling, as education, as an emblem of continuity and the dignity of one’s female ancestors. The doll is a 20th century version of an ancient craft and is valued at $500.

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

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Montecito JOURNAL

Julie ‘In Studio’

The Art of Making a Splash by Zach Rosen

ulie Anderson Mathias has spent much of her life thinking about how things fit together. Buildings. Rooms. Geometric grids. Colors. Occasionally, very large paintings that don’t fit through doors. The Chicago-based artist began her career in interior architecture, where precision was paramount and measurements generally had the good manners to stay put. Painting, however, offered an entirely different proposition. Here, a drop of red might have an unexpected encounter with blue. A carefully constructed grid might disappear beneath a wash of color. And a canvas that began as an exercise in geometry might end up resembling something closer to a particularly exuberant weather system. Her latest exhibition, In Studio, brings this collision of calculation and creativity to Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery in downtown Santa Barbara, where her large-scale abstract paintings are on display through November 8. And for Julie, color is always the main character. “Color is always the subject matter of my work,” she says. “No matter who we are or where we live, we make color decisions every day. That is part of the art of being human.”

Building a Colorful Career Long before Julie was splashing paint across enormous canvases, she was building miniature houses from balsa wood and constructing forts in the woods near her childhood home outside Chicago. That fascination with building led her to Syracuse University, where she studied interior architecture and discovered the work of Abstract Expressionists and Color Field painters, particularly Morris

Julie in front of Perseids at Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery (courtesy photo)

Louis and Helen Frankenthaler. Their paintings made an impression. Architecture, however, paid the bills. Julie eventually landed her dream job at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the celebrated architectural firm, where she developed an appreciation for grids, scale, and proportion. Many of those lessons, and even some of the same tools, eventually found their way into her paintings. “Even today I often have grids under my paintings,” she explains. Her career also took a rather sizable detour through mural work. After graduating during the Vietnam War, when architecture jobs were scarce, Julie returned home and began painting the sides of buildings. Some murals stretched 60 feet across and 30 feet high. Armed with scaffolding and a system of grids, she learned to translate her designs onto enormous surfaces. It was an education in thinking big. And Julie has been thinking big ever since. “I prefer bold, larger pieces,” she says. “I don’t get tired of them.” In fact, one painting in her dining room has become something of a permanent installation. “I couldn’t get it out if I wanted because it won’t fit through the doors,” she laughs.

Making a Splash

Dew Drops 2, 78”x78”, on display now (courtesy photo)

28 Montecito JOURNAL

For all her architectural discipline, Julie is happy to let her paintings misbehave. Her Dewdrops series begins with a grid constructed from lightweight string (maybe even dental floss). She places droplets of color across the raw canvas, carefully considering which hues

will complement each other and which might become unpleasant neighbors. Then comes the water. The droplets spread, mingle, and form little rivers of color. Some behave as expected. Others apparently find their own path. Julie delights in watching the paint soak into the raw canvas, a technique inspired by the Color Field painters she admired in college. She prefers crystal-clear, cheerful hues. Gray is welcome. Brown, not so much. “I love gray when things go gray. I’m happy. When things go brown, not so,” she laughs, although she admits that some people, including her son, prefer those earthier results. Behind the colorful exuberance is considerable experimentation. Julie tests combinations on smaller canvases, studying how neighboring hues create depth and dimension. She once produced ten paintings using the same red, yellow, and blue, discovering just how differently those colors could interact. Of course, knowing when to stop is another matter. One favorite, Snow Moon, uses negative space and restrained gestures to create its composition. Another, Shimmering Gold, was so beloved that Julie practically had to convince herself to send it to California. She eventually relented. Santa Barbara can consider itself fortunate.

See Horizon Detail, 78”x78”, and more through November 8 (courtesy photo)

Julian Leprieur, whose attention to detail impressed her from the beginning. The invitation to exhibit came after the couple encountered her work through art fairs, where Julie had discovered an enthusiastic audience for her colorful abstractions. She admires California’s artistic spirit and its history of experimentation, making Santa Barbara a particularly welcome destination.

An Invitation to Color For Julie, the exhibition is ultimately an invitation to peruse and perhaps leave with a few creative ambitions of one’s own. She hopes families will wander in, that children will examine the miniature models, and that maybe even some of the mini-artists-to-be might go home inspired to make something. There is no need to understand abstract painting, know the difference between a Morris Louis and a Frankenthaler, or possess a wall large enough to accommodate one of her enormous canvases. Just come in and enjoy the color. After all, Julie remembers the excitement of first encountering paintings that made her want to pick up a brush herself. Now, with In Studio, she has an opportunity to return the favor. And if a few visitors leave inspired to build a miniature house, experiment with a splash of paint, or simply reconsider their relationship with brown, all the better. In Studio by Julie Anderson Mathias is on view through November 8 at Seimandi & Leprieur Gallery, 33 West Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara. More information at www.seimandileprieur.com.

A Studio in Miniature The exhibition’s title, In Studio, refers to something beyond the finished paintings. Julie has spent years photographing works in progress, collecting images of her tools, and documenting the experiments that eventually become finished compositions. When she began sharing these behind-the-scenes glimpses at art fairs, visitors were fascinated. So she brought the studio experience into the gallery. Alongside the paintings are a slideshow of her process and miniature models she constructed to plan the exhibition. Yes, miniature models. Before shipping her oversized canvases west, Julie built a scaled-down version of the gallery to study how the paintings would interact across the room. She even included tiny wooden figures, although one particularly stubborn fellow refused to sit down and read his newspaper. Fortunately, gallery co-owner Julian Leprieur helped solve the miniature engineering predicament. The whole exercise is delightfully characteristic of Julie, an artist who moves between architectural calculations and playful experimentation without missing a beat. It also speaks to her affection for gallery owners Fanny Seimandi and

“There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind.” – Annie Dillard

Zach Rosen is the Managing Editor of the Montecito Journal. He also enjoys working with beer, art, and life.

15 – 22 October 2026

J O I N U S F O R A N I N AU G U R A L

I N V I TAT I O N A L CONCOURS NOVEMBER 7-8, 2026 S A N TA B A R B A R A P O LO & R A CQ UE T C L U B BENEFITING SANTA BARBARA CITY COLLEGE AUTOMOTIVE PROGRAM AND LOCAL YOUTH CHARITIES T I C K E T S A N D S P O N S O R S H I P S N O W AVA I L A B L E L R @ S B I N V I TAT I O N A L . O R G | S B I N V I TAT I O N A L . O R G 15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Moments (Continued from 8)

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30 Montecito JOURNAL

Katie Szopa and Adam Graham of Arroyo Seco Construction (photo by Monie Photography)

Rare and Refined

Montecito’s plant people came out in force for Lotusland’s Exceptional Plants Auction, where collectors, growers, designers, and garden devotees spent the afternoon bidding on more than 200 rare and remarkable specimens, comparing favorites and talking shop beneath the garden’s famously exotic canopy. The savvy sale ranged from collector treasures to drought-tolerant and climate-resilient plants suited to Santa Barbara gardens. Among the fragrant standouts, orchid expert Daniel Geiger presented a substantial vanilla planifolia – the orchid that produces vanilla – while the Martha Stewart™ Rose tempted guests with pink-apricot blooms scented with bergamot, honeysuckle, and lemon verbena.

“The wind is never for the sailor who knows not to what port he is bound.” – Michel de Montaigne

The horticultural roll call was equally impressive. Kathy Musial and Dylan Hannon of The Huntington mingled with landscape architect Scott Shrader, Jeff Moore of Solana Succulents, Tom Cole of Cold Spring Aloes, and Julian Duval, retired president and CEO of San Diego Botanic Garden. Behind the scenes, a committee of seasoned plant experts helped cultivate the event, including Cristi Walden of Sea Crest Nursery, Robert Bett of PlantHaven, Randy Baldwin, Mike Tully of Terra Sol Garden Center, and Jeff Chemnick of Aloes in Wonderland, working alongside Lotusland’s Paul Mills and Anna Bower. Familiar Montecito faces included Master Rosarian and former Board President Dan Bifano, Lifetime Honorary Trustee Connie Flowers Pearcy, Lynn Cunningham Brown, former Trustee Rachael Douglas, and Trustee Stephen Schaible. Adam Graham of Arroyo Seco Construction joined the crowd; the company served as Presenting Sponsor, with Curator Sponsors the Bousa Family and the Wood-Claeyssens Foundation. Proceeds supported Lotusland’s living collections and its work in conservation, propagation, and sustainable horticulture. And no one left entirely empty-handed: PlantHaven sent every guest home with a plant of their own – proof that at Lotusland, taking home something green and refined is practically part of the dress code.

Driven to Give “Every mile was in service of the kids,” said Ray Link, chairman of Rally4Kids, as the signature fundraiser for United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County shifted into high gear for its most successful year yet. On October 9, drivers departed Carpinteria for a 225-mile adventure through Ojai, the backcountry and high desert, deliberately avoiding Highway 101. Stops included the Santa Barbara Pistachio Company, the historic Fox Theatre for the cheeky “Talent in Taft”

Moments Page 384 384

15 – 22 October 2026

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SAPPHIRE Zegar Family Foundation

PLATINUM Susie and Riley Bechtel Sarah and Roger Chrisman Cheryl Goldberg Audrey Hillman Fisher Foundation Ann Jackson Family Foundation Morrie Jurkowitz

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Kate and Brooks Firestone JJS Advisory Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation Jamie Maguire Joan Rutkowski Santa Barbara Bowl Schiele Family Foundation Anne Smith Towbes

SILVER Will and Deirdre Arntz Susan and Gary Gulbransen The Kellogg Organization, Inc. Charles and Betsy Newman R&R SEI Institutional Group Sharol and Wayne Siemens Alison Wrigley and Geoffrey Claflin Rusack

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Thank you to Pence Vineyards for the incredible wines!

15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

JONATHAN TOLINS

DIRECTED BY

JAMIE TORCELLINI

STARRING

BRIAN McDONALD

OCTOBER 7-25

Entertainment (Continued from 16 16)) even though I’m a sad girl. My songs are indicative that there’s always a little ray of hope and sunshine. Do these years of writing about your life and sharing the songs with audiences help you to maybe understand yourself and the ideas of love and loss? Or does it still seem as complicated, mysterious, and unapproachable as ever? It’s probably a little bit of both. There’s something about people relating to your music that helps you feel like you’re not alone in the world because other people are feeling the exact same things. It allows you to commiserate, feel things together. But it doesn’t stop pain. It doesn’t stop grief…

Do songs that you wrote a while ago resonate differently now? Everything is always about learning and growing and changing and transitioning, you know. Or at least for me. So a song today that I wrote 15 years ago is completely coming from a different place today. I’ve healed and I’ve reopened the wound with listeners. But there are only two songs I don’t sing anymore because they’re about my mother, and I don’t want to go there. Otherwise, it’s just about the journey and the communal element of art – the digestion of art together as a group so you feel less alone.

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That’s a great turn of phrase right there. See. I can be deep. How was the experience of composing the score for the Broadway musical adaptation of The Notebook in terms of what we’ve been talking about? You’re not expressing your own stories, emotions, and feelings, but instead inhabiting a character? Did doing that let you in some way access more of yourself? Actually it wasn’t vastly different. I like to write about internal moments, what’s happening in the person’s head, which I did a lot in the show. They tend to be pretty similar to writing a pop song because, yes you have to drive the plot forward, but you can get really emotional… I lost my mom in 2014, and my dad in 2017, right when I started working on The Notebook. I even lifted some of the lines from things my dad said, but because it wasn’t my story it gave me a cloak of invisibility to spill my guts, my grief, and my joy into the songs. Then I get to watch other people sing them. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. This is your first tour in a number of years. What are you looking forward to? I wanted to see what it was like to come back to performing, see if I like it and if I am good at it. So it’s a bit of an experiment. I like smaller formats, so this is a good first step. Allie and Hannah are my best friends, and we have a great time on stage. They’re both great singer-songwriters and they’ll be performing a couple of songs each in the middle of the show. I think the audience is going to enjoy it. And you get a little break from me.

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32 Montecito JOURNAL

THE

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Camerata Pacifica, the Santa Barbara-based chamber music collective founded more than 35 years ago by Artistic Director Adrian Spence, had a pretty terrific off-season this summer. Cam Pac was named 2026 Ensemble of the Year by Chamber Music America in recognition of its considerable history of commissioning new works and creating innovative programs. “I was really touched when I received the news because it’s voted on by our peers,” said Spence, who is still at the organization’s helm. “It’s recognition of the community that’s built up around Camerata, the musicians, the audience members, and everybody who supports us.” Now, attention turns to the ensemble’s 37th season, which begins with Rachmaninoff ’s “Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op. 22” and Franz Schubert’s “Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, D. 898,” which Spence called “one of the more straightforward programs for us.” There’s a reason for that. “The subject for the Rachmaninoff variations is a little sober reminder of where we are in the world right now,” he said of the performance that closes out its four-concert run at Hahn Hall on October 15. “Eventually, Rachmaninoff moves us forward into a sense of optimism and joy. The Schubert is an awareness of the time we’re in, surrounded by buoyant optimism and joy.” That kind of goes for the full season, which boasts seven more programs through May 2027. “It’s not even a political comment to say that this is a very challenging time to be on the planet,” Spence said. “I hope my programming through this season

Entertainment Page 404 404 “The same wind blows on us all.” – Jim Rohn

15 – 22 October 2026

We know that women and girls are the most powerful drivers of change on this planet. In a moment marked by the rapid rise of authoritarianism, a fracturing of our social fabric, and a iferce rollback of rights across the globe, we have the opportunity this fall to ensure that power is relfected in our civic life. As we navigate the complexities of this election season, we are gathering to discuss the most powerful lever we have: our voice and our vote. Join us to move beyond reaction and into the work of building a more lasting equal future. Join Gwyn Lurie for a conversation with Kathy Spillar, Executive Director at Feminist Majority, and Zakiya Thomas, President & CEO at the ERA Coalition for an essential conversation on the stakes of this moment.

The Giving List Women

15 – 22 October 2026

Feminist Majority

• Voice of theVillage •

EVENT DETAILS DATE

Thursday, October 22nd, 2026 TIME

4:00 PM PT FORMAT

Virtual

SCAN TO REGISTER

ERA Coalition

Montecito JOURNAL

The Giving List Ice in Paradise by Steven Libowitz

anta Barbara enjoys a wonderful Mediterranean climate, where temperatures rarely drop below freezing, an average of less than twice a year even in the middle of the night in the dead of winter. While the mountains get a bit colder and can sport a dusting of snow a few times each winter, there’s nothing that cold sustained ever near the coast. Great for beach volleyball. Not so much for ice skating. Which is why almost 20 years ago, Jack Norqual, a dedicated hockey fan who lives at Ennisbrook in Montecito, had the idea of building the region’s first indoor ice-skating facility. Ice in Paradise, which celebrated its 10th anniversary just last weekend, was part of the deal (with Girsh Park) to allow for the development of Camino Real Marketplace, home of Costco, Home Depot, and much more. It was perfect timing, as the only similar facility remotely near Santa Barbara, Channel Islands Ice Center in Oxnard, closed a few months before Ice in Paradise opened. The community has embraced the skating haven ever since. As its mission statement says, Ice in Paradise provides a wide variety of recreational ice-skating programs in a stateof-the-art facility for all members of our community to enjoy in a safe, friendly, and fun environment, all at affordable prices. “It’s really something fantastic that’s different to do beyond the beach or going for a hike,” said Martha Donelan, Ice in Paradise’s development director. “Ice skating is great exercise, it’s social, and it’s a lot of fun.” Ice in Paradise – which has two different rinks known as slates – has a wide array of programs, including its very popular Learn to Skate offerings, where Professional Level Coaching Staff train

enrollees in four age groups (tots, youth, teens, and adults) through a progressive series of sessions from absolute beginners to competitive freestyle skating including jumps, spins, and choreography. “I’m willing to bet that a large variety of people in the community have never put on a pair of skates,” Donelan said. “But that’s not a barrier at all. We can teach you. Everyone has to start somewhere, and you can get pretty far pretty quickly if you want to.” Pretty effectively, too. Donelan said two of its rink-trained freestyle skaters are currently competing nationally. “And some of our adult women hockey players had never been on skates until three years ago and now they’re playing hockey.” Hockey is a big part of Ice in Paradise, with a variety of classes, teams, leagues, and pick-up games. But Ice in Paradise also hosts multiple versions of just about any sport that can take place on frozen water, from curling and broomball (where players wearing special rubber-soled shoes instead of ice skates use a broom-shaped stick to hit a ball into the opponent’s net) and even sled hockey, also known as para ice hockey, an adapted version designed for athletes with lower-body disabilities. In all of the hockey varieties, safety comes first. “There’s no checking in any of our leagues or games,” Donelan said. “So if you are thinking it would be cool to play hockey, but don’t want to get hit, no need to worry. You’re not going to.” There are special weekly offerings in the open skates that include college nights with different themes, Parents Night Out, and several others, including a coffee club that meets every Tuesday morning while kids are in school to socialize and skate. “We’re a real community resource,” Donelan said. You don’t even have to be a participant to enjoy Ice in Paradise. There are

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Ice in Paradise operating as a nonprofit allows the rink to offer its services and clubs at a price approachable to all (courtesy photo)

“The reason we are a nonprofit is because the business model makes better sense that way. Ice sports can be prohibitively expensive and rinks have a lot of built-in costs. So we intentionally keep our program fees as low as we can to help keep it more accessible to as many people as possible.” Meaning, in order to survive, Ice in Paradise relies on grants or donations. Donelan said two current capital projects include fixing a few leaks in the roof before the rainy season, which is expected to be heavy in this El Niño winter. Also, the rubber flooring that lets skaters traverse the facility without having to take off their skates needs replacing. Other ways to support Ice in Paradise include sponsoring a brick for the Donor Garden, an outdoor plaza similar to the recently completely and widely praised Michael Towbes Plaza at the downtown public library. With winter on the way, Ice in Paradise is open to all.

occasional ice shows, and lots of opportunities to simply watch someone skate for free, including the UCSB college men’s hockey team, which opens its season on Friday, October 16. The rare event that does charge for admission includes Ice in Paradise’s annual Holiday on Ice Show, with the two shows on December 12 carrying a holiday movie theme. Also, the brand-new Santa Barbara Islanders semi-professional hockey team makes its debut in the Mountain Hockey League – the “Senior A” fullcheck ice hockey league – with two home games against the Las Vegas Southwest Outcasts on October 23-24. “It’s the first time there’s been professional hockey at any level in Santa Barbara,” Donelan said. There’s something else that people probably don’t know about Ice in Paradise – that it operates a fully-certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Which is how they’re able to meet that part of the mission that mentions affordable prices, Donelan said.

Visit www.iceinparadise.org

GREEN FILM SERIES Featuring a special Q&A with the filmmaker and scientists

Sunday, October 25th - 4:00pm Tickets at www.LukeTheatre.org

34 Montecito JOURNAL

“The wind is a very difficult sound to get. It’s always changing.” – Ennio Morricone

15 – 22 October 2026

Real Estate (Continued from 22 22))

The Safety Valve

The state and federal constitutions guarantee owners a fair return. Santa Barbara’s version presumes a building’s 2025 net operating income was fair and lets it keep pace with the full rate of inflation, which on paper is more workable than many California ordinances. In practice, it is a hearing, not a formula. By the City’s estimate, each petition will cost about $27,000 to process, before the owner has paid an accountant or attorney a dime. Santa Monica, with more than 27,000 controlled units, received zero landlord increase petitions in 2023 and again in 2024. Los Angeles County has approved one of 63 fair-return applications since 2020. Nor is the City sure what it adopted. Its own consultant told the Council there is “no actual legal definition of fair return,” and in September one of the two councilmembers who first proposed the ordinance said, “I thought it was a formula.” This summer I asked the City Attorney’s office to check whether the fair-return calculator I built reads the formula correctly.

The office declined “to review or opine on” it, citing neutrality. My read: City Hall has not yet worked out what its own standard means. The City wrote this formula. Owners, and the new rent board, should hold the City to it. The lesson: your 2025 books are now the most important financial documents you have.

Not the Last Word Rent control is not arriving alone. In March, facing a projected $14.6 million deficit, the City Council steered staff toward a November ballot measure that would have added $9.50 per $1,000 to the transfer tax on sales over $3 million, taking the combined rate from $1.10 to $10.60. On a $5 million apartment building, the tax at closing would rise from $5,500 to $53,000, and nearly half of the Santa Barbara apartment sales we have tracked since January 2025 cleared that threshold. Staff also modeled a top tier of $60 per $1,000, a 6% tax, on sales over $6 million.

Councilmember Meagan Harmon said that option was “where I personally would be leaning”; Councilmember Wendy Santamaria called it “a scary number” but worth taking to the community. Both opposed exempting apartment buildings. In April, staff recommended dropping the measure for this year, citing uncertain polling and a pending statewide measure, and closed most of the gap with cuts described as mostly temporary, leaving a budget the City Administrator called “precariously in balance.” Los Angeles passed its version, Measure ULA, in 2022. Statewide, the November 3 ballot carries Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California’s billionaires, and Proposition 3, which would make the state’s top income-tax rates permanent. You can be for or against any of these. Read together, they describe a direction: income capped while you hold, taxed when you sell, and wealth asked to carry more of the public budget. Underwrite accordingly.

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1. Confirm your certificate-of-occupancy date. 2. Close your 2025 books carefully. 3. Re-run your pro forma at a 2.1% coupon, with your real turnover. 4. Watch December 15, when the registry fee study comes back. 5. Get updates at SBRSO.com, and talk to counsel before serving any 2027 rent increase. Every bond comes with a prospectus. This one runs 35 pages. Read the parts that apply to you before they apply to you.

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15 – 22 October 2026

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Friends (Continued from 6) Reppy Room, named in his honor, recognizes Judge Reppy’s decades of dedication and reminds us that a library’s legacy is built by people as much as by books or buildings. The Friends have also helped preserve Montecito’s artistic character. A painting, Dead Live Oaks, by Douglass Parshall, son of noted local artist DeWitt Parshall, was donated to the Friends when Santa Barbara Bank & Trust opened a Montecito Village branch in the 1980s. It still hangs in the Reppy Room. More recently, a painting of the library by beloved local artist Jeremy Harper joined the collection through a Friends board member. In 1986, the Friends donated $21,000 for computers, making the Montecito Library the first library in the Black Gold Cooperative to go online and broadening patrons’ access to information and resources. Since then, the Friends have continued advocating for library services when budget cuts threatened operating hours and book budgets.

Today, their support helps sustain the library’s book budget and operating hours, as well as free programs ranging from the children’s Summer Reading Program to the ever-popular Mah Jongg beginner lessons and open-play sessions. These contributions help keep the library welcoming, accessible, and responsive to the community it serves. As a librarian, I see every day that a library’s greatest contributions can’t always be counted in books borrowed or programs attended. They’re also found in the connections made, the curiosity encouraged, and the knowledge that there’s a place in the community for everyone. For generations, the Friends of the Montecito Library has helped make all of this possible. During this special week, we thank them for their generosity, their advocacy, and their enduring belief that our library is worth investing in. After all, even a great library needs a little help from its Friends.

One of Montecito Library’s two temporary locations in Montecito Village (photo courtesy of the Edson Smith Collection, Santa Barbara Public Library)

The Sanborn fire insurance map depicts the structures and business that stood on East Valley Road in 1918 (photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

36 Montecito JOURNAL

An Independent Mind

Will Russian Oil Tip the Midterms to the GOP? by Jeffrey Harding

China, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba. NATO is re-arming in response to Russian threats and “adventurism.”

he midterm elections are proof that we are still a democratic constitutional republic. President Trump is afraid that our free and fair election process will actually work and deprive him of control of Congress. If Republicans retain control over the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump will praise the electoral process as being fair and he will claim it is a mandate for his policies. If the Democrats take just one Congressional house, he will claim massive fraud and unleash the Justice Department to go after the states and districts that went Democratic. Trump has reason to be afraid of losing one or both Congressional houses. The polls are saying that the Democrats have a more than better chance of winning the House and a “maybe” for the Senate. As we know polls have been wrong. The classic case was Nate Silver’s 71% projection for a Hillary Clinton win in 2016. Trump lost the popular vote (48% to 46%) but won the Electoral College by 56%. I have been warning about the fallibility of polls, but now, being close to the election, it looks bad for the Republicans. Apparently, Trump agrees with my assessment because he is taking desperate measures to win over voters. He is attempting to bribe voters with cash gifts. He has promised a $5,000 “gift” to every adult citizen if the GOP controls both houses. With 245,275,126 adult citizens that would cost $1.23 trillion. As former Republican leader Everett Dirksen said, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.” He’s also proposing a $100 “rebate” to 2.8 million eligible Medicare beneficiaries and a $500 refund for Affordable Care Act costs that would benefit about 1 million insurance purchasers under the Act. His most egregious election tactic is his “deal” with Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin to buy diesel fuel from the Russians. No one knows if this is real or a fantasy of the president. At the time of writing this article he also says Ukraine and Russia agreed to stop bombing each other’s energy infrastructure. The news says otherwise. Trump’s quasi-support of Russia and Putin is a dangerous move. It jeopardizes world stability and order. We have labeled Russia a “foreign adversary,” and we have leveled heavy sanctions against it. Putin’s fellow “foreign adversaries” are

“The wind shows us how close to the edge we are.” – Joan Didion

The egregious part of the diesel deal is that it in effect abandons our support of Ukraine in the war with Russia. The egregious part of the diesel deal is that it in effect abandons our support of Ukraine in the war with Russia. Trump flip-flops back and forth about Ukraine and Russia in this conflict and constantly lies about it and somehow blames Ukraine for starting it. Legally we can’t buy Russian oil. Congress imposed a ban on importing Russian oil in 2017 (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act – CAATSA). It would require Congressional approval to suspend the ban. Any attempt to go around the requirements and buy their diesel fuel would give grounds for impeachment should the Democrats win Congress. There is an upside to this. And that is that even Trump understands that our elections are free and fair. Otherwise he would not appear so desperate to buy voters’ votes. I don’t believe his pandering will work for him. Nor do I think Elon Musk’s reported $366 million he will spend in support of Republican candidates will turn the tide. The result of a Democratic win will be lawsuit after lawsuit for the rest of Trump’s term. Add to that Congressional investigations of Trump’s dealings and his family’s dealings. The Supreme Court will be very busy. There will also be legislative gridlock. There will be turmoil in his administration and cabinet with members getting out while they can. It will be a boon for lawyers. Trump will be a lame duck until the end. This will be a very consequential election.

Jeffrey Harding is a real estate investor and long-time resident of Montecito. He previously published a popular financial blog, The Daily Capitalist. He is a retired SBCC adjunct professor.

15 – 22 October 2026

Westmont (Continued from 18 18))

Westmont chapel

The Keith Center crowd shares ‘Sacred Stories’ President Gayle D. Beebe, Director Laura Turner, Program Director Micaela Fernandez, and Assistant Director Hannah Martin

says Eileen McQuade, Westmont vice provost. “With the emergence of a more robust model of approaching education with a focus on intellectual virtues, we believe it’s time for Westmont to explicitly name and integrate the value of intellectual, moral, and spiritual character education both inside and outside the classroom.” Steve L. Porter, senior research fellow and executive director of Westmont’s Martin Institute, emphasizes the project’s broad vision for campus life. “Our goal is to intentionally weave intellectual, moral, and spiritual formation into every facet of campus life,” Porter says. “We want to equip students not just with academic knowledge but with the Christian virtues needed to live lives of faithful service and leadership in the world.” Co-directed by Westmont’s Martin Institute and the Provost’s Office, the three-year Enculturing Character Project will design and launch a required firstyear seminar, Primatum, that explores what constitutes a good life. The curriculum frames a student’s four-year college journey as the start of lifelong character development, integrating academic study with personal growth. To support the core curriculum, the college will map out a visual Roadmap for Formation to guide students through opportunities for formation ranging from residence life and chapel programs to career services and mentoring. Recognizing the vital role professors play in shaping student lives, Westmont launches the Character Formation Fellows Program. Each year, the college will select six faculty members from across the humanities, social sciences, 15 – 22 October 2026

and natural sciences, who will attend dedicated retreats, participate in monthly roundtables, receive mentorship from spiritual directors, and integrate character-focused pedagogy into their courses. Visiting scholars of character education will also lead campus workshops and Thursday Faculty Forums to broaden campuswide participation. In addition, Westmont will convene leading thinkers from 10 Western Christian colleges and universities, including Pepperdine University, Whitworth University, and Seattle Pacific University, for annual two-day symposia. These gatherings will evaluate current theories, practices, and assessments in the formation of Christian virtue. Following each symposium, Westmont researchers will publish digests to serve as practical guidebooks for educators nationwide. “It’s exciting to see so many institutions developing projects focused on character rooted in their own identities and missions,” says Jennifer Rothschild, director of the Educating Character Initiative. “We have so much to learn from these projects.” Through these combined efforts, Westmont aims to equip thoughtful scholars and faithful leaders who serve the common good long after graduation.

at Westmont Downtown | Keith Center to connect over charcuterie and view featured artwork by young alumnus Diego Castañeda (’26). “We’ll use stories and storytelling as a way to bring people, churches, and nonprofits together, as well as different Westmont departments, and really emphasize hearing from young adults who have such stories of wrestling with important life questions,” said Laura Turner, who directs the project. Aaron Sizer, who directs the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, emphasized the collaborative and exploratory vision behind the initiative. “The project is designed to explore the vocational stories of young adults in our community, and especially the ways that those stories interact with nonprofit organizations in town and Christian congregations in town,” he said. “This crowd is much of what we might hope for in this program – that it would be a meeting place for people from Westmont, local congregations, nonprofits, and Westmont alumni who are doing good and important things in town.” Looking ahead to the project’s conclusion in 2030, Turner envisions a lasting

Crowd Celebrates Kickoff of Sacred Stories An energetic crowd of more than 100 gathered for the October 1 public kickoff of the Sacred Stories Project, a fiveyear initiative, that aims to create spaces for young adults in their 20s to share and celebrate stories of faith, vocation, and identity. Guests gathered outdoors

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legacy built on shared human experience. “Each year we’ll partner with a different church, nonprofit, and Westmont academic department,” she says. “My hope is visually we will have a mosaic of all the differences coming together in ways that people have found themselves longing for God, longing for community, and longing to understand their lives – thickening the fabric of community and relationships here.” Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded a nearly $5 million grant for the college’s Sacred Stories Project, one of 60 U.S. organizations that received grants through the endowment’s National Storytelling Initiative on Christian Faith and Life.

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

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Montecito JOURNAL

Moments (Continued from 30 30)) challenge, and Morro Rock before a rooftop lunch at Hotel Cerro in San Luis Obispo. The new destination format let motorists savor the scenery Friday, then trade driving gloves for gala attire Saturday at the Grand Tour Gala: An Evening Around the World, held on SBCC’s Great Meadow. Committee members Monte and Maria Wilson, John Demboski, Angel Martinez, David Williams, and Ray Link were among the familiar faces, along with Dr. Angel Iscovich, Nick Gianis, Jim Crook, and UBGC CEO Melinda Cabrera. ElectriCirque entertainers performed aerial artistry, Ojai O’Daiko drummers supplied a rousing welcome, and guests enjoyed a culinary journey through Italy, Japan, and Germany. No passport required! Taking home top honors were Greg Woo and Lee Hsieh, the 2026 Rally4Kids champions, proving that driving for a good cause can also be a winning proposition. Then auctioneer Andrew Firestone took the microphone. Paddles shot up, the fundraising thermometer maxed out, and guests kept giving beyond the evening’s goal. Families pay just $50 annually for after-school programming that costs approximately $2,500 per child. Donors bridge the difference, supporting academics, mentorship, athletics, arts, and Camp Whittier. And while the engines made plenty

of noise, it was Santa Barbara’s generosity that truly moved the needle.

Help Preserve Montecito’s Voice in Planning Decisions by Houghton Hyatt

M Nick Gianis, Jim Crook, and Melinda Cabrera at the Grand Tour Gala (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

2026 Rally4Kids winners Greg Woo and Lee Hsieh celebrate their victory (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

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Dr. Angel Iscovich and Angel Martinez (photo by Isaac Hernandez)

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ontecito’s semi-rural character did not happen by accident. It reflects decades of thoughtful planning, architectural review, and community participation. As Santa Barbara County considers changes to its permitting process, residents have an opportunity to speak up for the protections that have helped shape the community we call home. Following the October 7 hearing, the Montecito Planning Commission was granted additional time to discuss the proposals and hear from the community. We appreciate that opportunity. The next special hearing is Monday, October 19, at 1 pm, and written comments are due Wednesday, October 14, at noon. The County’s proposed amendments are intended to streamline permitting for certain residential and commercial projects. Making that process more efficient and predictable is a reasonable goal. Applicants deserve clear requirements, coordinated review, and timely decisions. Our concern is how that efficiency is achieved. Proposals that expand exemptions from architectural review or reduce public notice and neighbors’ ability to appeal could weaken protections that are particularly important in Montecito. The Montecito Board of Architectural Review and the Montecito Planning Commission serve essential roles in evaluating development. Guided by the Montecito Community Plan and applicable planning codes, these bodies help ensure that projects respect their surroundings and preserve the community’s semi-rural character. Their work involves more than checking a building’s height or distance from a property line. Scale, placement, landscaping, privacy, and the relationship between a project and neighboring properties all contribute to whether development fits a neighborhood. A project can satisfy basic zoning requirements and still raise meaningful questions about compatibility. Architectural review provides a forum for examining those questions before construction begins. It can help identify changes that improve a project for both the applicant and the surrounding neighborhood. Public notice serves an equally important purpose. Residents cannot participate in a decision they do not know is being considered. Notice gives neighbors an opportunity to understand a proposal, ask questions, and share information about local conditions that may otherwise be overlooked. Appeal rights provide another safeguard: an opportunity to seek further review when significant concerns remain unresolved. Preserving a meaningful avenue for review helps maintain confidence in the planning process. These protections also matter over time. Individual projects may appear modest when considered separately, but repeated additions and multiple projects can collectively change the scale and character of a neighborhood. Any revised permitting process should address those cumulative effects. The Montecito Association supports improvements that make permitting work better while retaining meaningful architectural oversight and public participation. Clearer application requirements, better coordination, and improved processing offer ways to pursue efficiency while honoring the Montecito Community Plan. Now that additional discussion time has been granted, the community should use it. We encourage residents to explain what these protections mean to them and offer specific examples from their neighborhoods. Personal observations can help the Commission understand the practical consequences of changing the rules. Please submit written comments by noon on October 14 and attend the October 19 special hearing if you can. Consult the County’s updated hearing agenda for the hearing location, remote participation options, and comment submission instructions. Montecito’s future deserves an engaged community. Your participation can help ensure that a more efficient permitting process continues to respect the character, landscape, and neighborhoods that make Montecito special. For community updates and information, visit montecitoassociation. org. If you are not yet a member of the Montecito Association, we would Houghton Hyatt is the Executive Director of the love to have you join. Montecito Association

“O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

15 – 22 October 2026

Letters (Continued from 10 10)) station, twin force mains, electrical improvements, equalization basins, and odor control. The mailer does not account for those substantial investments. Those costs must be established and weighed against any treatment savings before anyone can responsibly promise a lower bill. These are not simply differences of opinion. They are descriptions of the District’s facilities and actions that voters can check against the public record. A campaign piece is a small thing next to a decision lasting decades. But for many voters, it is their principal opportunity to assess how a candidate handles information. Three candidates put their names on this mailer. They are accountable for its accuracy. Trust, competence, and integrity rest on a willingness to say what is true even when it does not help one’s argument. I would rather lose an election than win one by misrepresenting the facts. Richard “Rock” Rockenbach II, Candidate, Montecito Sanitary District Board

Kudos to Kristen When Kristen Sneddon came to meet my Mesa neighbors, to talk about the issues facing Santa Barbara and her mayoral run, she presented a confident view of Santa Barbara and what the City Council has already accomplished in a full recovery from COVID. Hers is a future forward point of view. While some are wringing their hands with a desire to return to the past, she informed us about how much is going to change on State Street (for the better) and how those changes are going to ensure renewed vitality to State Street. The Music Academy of the West is expanding from its historic Montecito campus into downtown Santa Barbara with a new music education center named The Muse, scheduled to open in 2028. Yardi Corporation will be relocating roughly 600 employees from its previous Old Town Goleta offices into the three-story State Street property that was formerly Macy’s. Westmont College houses its Grotenhuis Nursing program and the nearby Keith Center downtown. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) officially opened the McHurley Film Center, a five plex. UCSB’s development on Haley (off State Street) provides workforce and employee housing options in downtown Santa Barbara. These are all exciting changes that will support economic development downtown. Existing and new businesses will need to meet the needs of hundreds of employees

and residents as well as tourists. Kudos to Kristen Sneddon for taking a leadership role in seizing opportunities to forge collaborative partnerships. Sneddon knows how to ensure that Santa Barbara has a sustainable infrastructure, one that includes environmental, social, and economic dimensions. Given that El Niño threatens to bring an increased likelihood of above-average rainfall, flooding, and storm hazards, don’t we want a climate scientist leading the city? Kristen Sneddon has my vote! Lois Phillips, PhD, Communications Consultant, Author

Let Landlords Speak In the recent mayoral candidate forum moderated by Bob Kupiec, AIA Santa Barbara, and Barry Taugher, Coastal Housing Coalition, when asked why voters should vote for her, Kristen Sneddon stated that she “brings the balance.” Well, if you are a housing provider in Santa Barbara, you know very well how she lied to the mom-and-pop small landlords with her fair and balanced approach. If her Rent Stabilization Ordinance was fair and balanced, there wouldn’t be a referendum building to put the RSO to the ballot. Landlords have been shut out of the conversation, the rental registry board is stacked against them, and the fees are unknown and surely growing from the $154 annual fee per unit that was originally advertised. Kristen Sneddon voted against allowing the residents of Santa Barbara to vote on this controversial issue because she said it was too complicated for voters to understand. A vote for Eric Friedman is a vote for democracy. Michele Carbone

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15 – 22 October 2026

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Montecito JOURNAL

Entertainment (Continued from 32 32))

Camerata will also debut Howard Frazin’s new work for a mixed sextet, titled “The Distant Chirping of Birds,” a more traditional piece by request of its sponsor. Also new this season is the appointment of two principal players in violist Che-Yen Chen and flutist Sébastian Jacot, the latter of whom Spence – who held the flute chair for a sizeable chunk of Camerata history – called the producer of “the most sensational flute playing I’ve heard ever, anytime, anywhere.” April’s harp-centric program is another highlight of the season, featuring both the Camerata Pacifica debuts of guest artists Emmanuel Ceysson (LA Philharmonic’s Principal) and Cristina Montes Mateo (Valencia Opera House Principal and Royal Harpist to the King and Queen of Spain). The ensemble’s season winds up a month later with a program Spence said serves as another statement bookend to the first two concerts. “It has an early Beethoven piano sonata, an American piece and a Russian piece. Everybody can take whatever inferences they want out of that. You can draw your own conclusion.” Message received. Visit https://cameratapacifica.org

Focus on Film: Short Cuts Camerata Pacifica prepares for its 37th season (courtesy photo)

both acknowledges that, but also touches it in this sense of optimism and hope. Throughout history, classical music has been aspirational. It points us to a representation of the best we can be. That’s a helpful message in this time.” Case in point: November’s concert, which includes the world premieres of two new commissions for Cam Pac this season in Iranian American Composer Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s “The Innocence of Life” sandwiched between Missy Mazzoli’s “Vespers for Violin” and Mozart’s gorgeous “Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat Major, K. 452.” “Putting music by a 30-year-old female Iranian musician on concert stages in the Western world, that’s a statement by itself,” Spence said. “Contemporary history has made it even more notable.”

PUBLIC NOTICE Invitation to Bid No. 2026-002 Repairs and Waterproofing for Deck and Stairway Leaks Fire Station 92 The Montecito Fire Protection District hereby invites the submission of sealed bids for: ITB# 2026-002 – Repairs and Waterproofing for Deck and Stairway Leaks Bid Opening – Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 2:15 p.m. in the conference room at Montecito Fire Station 91, 595 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara. ITB documents may be viewed on the Montecito Fire Protection District (MFPD) website at www.montecitofire.com, or a copy may be secured from MFPD at 595 San Ysidro Road, Santa Barbara, CA, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Responses must be sealed, clearly marked “Station 92 -Repairs and Waterproofing for Deck and Stairway Leaks” and returned to: Montecito Fire Protection District Attn: Ben Hauser, Battalion Chief 595 San Ysidro Road Santa Barbara, CA 93108 Bids will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. on November 5, 2026. Bids received after this time will be returned unopened. Faxed bids will not be accepted. Montecito Journal // Published October 15 & 22, 2026

40 Montecito JOURNAL

The Wild & Free Film Festival once again previews its November fest with a special outdoor screening at Elings Park. The original Jurassic Park will show on a massive 50-foot screen on October 16 as part of a family-friendly event with live music, food trucks, beer and wine, an all-ages costume contest, and an interactive Nonprofit Adventure Village. Visit www.wildandfreefilm.org Juke Box Hero, twice named a finalist for the Sundance Feature Film Lab for its screenplay, will be shown in its finished feature form at the Ojai Underground (616 Pearl St.) on October 17 in a homecoming for filmmaker Q&A about the film and its journey with co-writer, director, actor, and producer Sherrie Richman, a Nordhoff High School grad. The story of an unlikely relationship between an ambitious rock musician and a compassionate nursing-home caregiver stars Jade Tailor and Brendan Sexton III.

Visit https://ojaiundergroundexchangetickets.square.site/all-events

UCSB Carsey-Wolf Center’s new season continues with Reality TV: Confessions from the Inside on Saturday afternoon, October 17, when a panel brings together producers and personalities from some of television’s most popular reality shows for a candid, behind-the-scenes conversation. Moderator Hunter Hargraves of CSU Fullerton will be joined by Sol Dean of Love Island USA; Jeff Jenkins, producer of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives; RuPaul’s Drag Race co-executive producer John Polly; and J. D. Roth, executive producer of The Biggest Loser.

Visit www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock

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15 – 22 October 2026

Society Edit (Continued from 14 14)) Village Properties, the huge Hollywood animated creature display by Merrill Lynch Bank of America Corp, and the team at Lucky’s! There are impromptu bands, flash mobs, and peeps who like to prowl the event as well. And of course, props to the Montecito Fire Department, the SBC Sheriff ’s Department, and SB Police Department for being there and keeping it safe for everyone. Bookmarking the Ghost Village Road event, the Montecito Country Mart adds their annual Costume Contest for the kids, and shops will have treats. Everyone who enters the Costume Contest receives a big orange balloon and trick-or-treat bags! There is a Pumpkin Patch, with lots of pumpkins to select from, all on the honor system to pay. Drop payment in the cash box next to it or simply pay with your smartphone using the posted QR code. So my Loves, make your reservations now for happy hour, dining, and drinks at your favorite spots on Coast Village Road and the San Ysidro Ranch so you can relax after a few hours of trick or treating with the kiddos! Try to find me at Ghost Village this year, I’ll be there with my camera as always!

SB Rescue Mission’s 25th Bayou Funding Event Honors Kathleen Baushke

The Santa Barbara Rescue Mission (SBRM) held its 25th Annual Bayou Funding Event outside on the Grand Lawn at the Sandpiper Golf Club, a Ty Warner property, on Saturday, October 3. The theme of tropical islands had guests with lovely sunhats and colorful, cool outfits for both fashion and for the 80-degree temperature. Event Co-chairs were Pamela Dillman Haskell and Nancy Melekian, who are members of the SBRM Women’s Auxiliary, the group who leads the event annually. Joining them to create this year’s event were SBRM Women’s Auxiliary President Cindy Anderson and Decorations Chair Dianne Davis. The Silent Auction at this event is always a big hit, and this year took place over two hours. Betting for prized items and experiences went right down to the

last second, with guests bidding via their smartphones. The Silent Auction coordinators were Terry Foil, Alice Birch, and Katie Pointer. SB Rescue Mission President Rolf Geyling, and his Board of Directors Chair Kiah Jordan, share, “Together, we are not only transforming the lives of individuals, but we’re also changing and saving entire families. Generations from now, people will be living in hope and freedom because of the Mission and our donors who make it possible.” Programming included welcome remarks, lots of blessings, a tribute to this year’s honoree, and an introspection by a SBRM Program Graduate, Sarah Ringler, who shared her journey prior to and during her time in the program, along with the personal benefits and achievements she realized. Rob Fredericks paid homage in his tribute to this year’s Léni Fé Bland Honoree, Kathleen Baushke, the executive director of Transition House. Baushke has a long history with nonprofits, serving as board president of St. Francis Foundation, the Second Story Associates board, the Storyteller Children’s Center advisory board, and on the grant selection committee for the Hutton Parker Foundation. She was named a 2020 Congressional Woman of the Year for California’s 24th District by Representative Salud Carbajal. The funds raised at this event allow the Rescue Mission to offer a successful 12-month residential drug and alcohol treatment program and provide emergency and transitional services for homeless guests. Last year, the Bayou event raised over $750,000 to assist people seeking shelter and recovery from drug and alcohol addiction. The Mission has helped over 1,000 people achieve recovery in the last 29 years. SB Rescue Mission Women’s Auxiliary members include Susan Hughes, Leanne Patterson, and Barb Biehl, Board Vice Chair Sarah Douglas, Treasurer Tom Rodgers, Secretary John Ross, and board members Erin Barr, Chris Call, Joe Foster, Patti Hunter, Karen McLean, Barney Melekian, Garth Nobis, John Ortberg, and Tim Reinauer, plus the many friends and families of the SBRM.

Mayor Randy Rowse and Janet Rowse, SBRM President Rolf Geyling, Honoree Kathleen Baushke, and Rob and Shannon Fredericks (photo by Dale Weber)

As fans of this annual event remember when it took place by the beach at Rancho Dos Pueblos, there were a pair of llamas and other tropical animals for people to “get to know” close up. This year there were parrots from Jamie

McLeod’s Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary and Menagerie, and catering was by Solera & Co. 411: https://sbrm.org

That’s a rap till next week! XxJAC

Curator’s Choice A Cheetah with Six Legs

his unassuming Omus californicus tiger beetle is a fearsome hunter, provided you are ant sized. Tiger beetles are some of the top insect predators. As the world’s fastest insects, they’re actually a lot more like cheetahs than tigers. They hunt by running extremely fast across the ground, charging at prey with their mandibles open. They need open ground without a lot of vegetation to hunt by charging around: places like sand dunes, mudflats, and sandbars. These habitats tend to be patchy and naturally ephemeral, so tiger beetle species are patchily distributed. Many are rare and under-researched. This specimen is one of the insects preserved by Schlinger Chair of Entomology Alex Harman, PhD, at Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Dr. Harman just published research on light attraction in North American tiger beetles, information which could help efforts to estimate the size of rare and hard-to-find populations.

The Omus californicus tiger beetle (photo by Alex Harman) SB Rescue Mission Women’s Auxiliary (photo by Dale Weber)

15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Voice of Village (Continued from 5) most powerful thing that the State of California could do to keep our ocean healthy is to reduce pollution associated with sewer discharges to the ocean.” The Sierra Club strongly advocates for the elimination or upgrade of short and shallow wastewater outfalls to protect coastal water quality, public health, and marine ecosystems. “Treated sewage can carry high levels of pathogens like E. Coli and Enterococcus, which cause beach closures, respiratory distress, and skin rashes for swimmers. Standard treatment plants are not designed to filter out industrial heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, or ‘forever chemicals’ like PFAS. When dumped into shallow waters, these toxins rapidly accumulate in local marine life.” The time is now to get rid of this environmental stain on a Montecito community that prides itself on its clean air, clean water, and clean beaches.

What Is Our Opponents’ Plan? At the urgent request of the incumbent MSD general manager, our two appointed, not elected, opponents, favor a plan to design, permit, and rebuild the aged 65-year-old MSD wastewater plant at a rebuild cost estimated at between $50 million to $100 million, with no new benefits. Same treatment level; same outfall pipe; same plant location; same GM; no recycling capability. The opposition has no plan to extend the short, shallow outfall pipe further into the ocean, or better yet, get rid of it, forever.

Cost of Rebuilding Montecito’s Aged Treatment Plant The cost of building, upgrading, or rebuilding wastewater and sanitary treatment plants across California has skyrocketed in recent years. Construction costs for California infrastructure projects are currently running 40% to 60% higher than the national average. This surge is driven by a combination of aging infrastructure, strict state environmental regulations, and macroeconomic inflation. Municipalities across the state are seeing unprecedented price tags for essential upgrades. For example, the cost of rebuilding the Carpinteria Sanitary Plant, scheduled to open in 2029 with a capability to recycle wastewater, is pegged at $90.7 million.

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42 Montecito JOURNAL

Construction costs are estimated at $73.3 million and Planning and Permitting costs at $17.4 million. The cost for Ventura’s wastewater program, VenturaWaterPure, has risen past $370 million and approaches $500 million across its updated components. A new, safer, ocean-outfall discharge pipe alone, estimated at $143 million, came in at $197 million.

If MSD Rebuilds its Current Aging Sewer Treatment Plant, What Can Ratepayers Expect? High Upfront Capital Expenditure (CAPEX): Rebuilding the Montecito Sanitary treatment plant requires a massive initial capital investment for purification units, plumbing infrastructure and permitting, requiring substantial increases in sanitary rates, new bonds, or loans and/or larger debt. Ongoing Operating Expenses (OPEX): Running costs for a rebuilt plant would still include high electricity consumption, replacement membranes, chemical treatments (chlorine, coagulants), routine maintenance, and certified operator salaries. MSD serves 3,185 customers. The City of Santa Barbara treatment plant serves 27,000 customers; together, both could serve 30,000 customers, spreading costs over more customers, potentially lowering rates in both Santa Barbara and Montecito.

Why Is the Regional Consolidation Plan the Best Plan for Montecito? 1. The Santa Barbara El Estero Resource Center treats approximately six million gallons of wastewater each day – more than 10 times MSD’s volume – at half of the comparable cost per gallon in Montecito due to economies of scale and other efficiencies, such as a highly-effective methane gas recovery and a cogeneration system that offsets half of the El Estero plant’s total electrical needs. 2. Lower Rates, Less Risk: Montecito has traditionally had the highest wastewater treatment rates on the South Coast. The MSD Board decision to pass an upfront five-year, compounded increase of 14% each year to rebuild its current treatment plant only widens that gap. 3. Cost Efficiency: Consolidating aging, small wastewater treatment plants into a regional footprint reduces duplicated overhead and is historically more cost-effective long-term than funding multiple separate small-plant upgrades, according to State officials. 4. State of California Preference for Regional Consolidation: The State of California strongly prefers, and actively facilitates, the regional consolidation of outdated, smaller wastewater systems into larger regional treatment plants, based on long-term structural, economic, and environmental benefits. 5. Resource Sustainability: Larger regional utility structures streamline policy choices and enjoy more unified operations, making it easier to receive federal and state grants and to recruit specialized workforce talent. 6. Environmental & Health Protections: Smaller, older, and deteriorating treatment systems are disproportionately responsible for water quality violations. Forcing connections to larger facilities prevents untreated waste from infiltrating groundwater and contaminating beaches or surface water channels. 7. State Financial Support: To help local jurisdictions navigate and fund regional consolidation with physical integrations, the State provides access to specialized financing programs, including zero-interest loans and planning grants via the State Water Board’s Division of Financial Assistance. 8. Wastewater Recycling: The El Estero Water Resource Center in Santa Barbara treats some 2.5 million gallons per day of its 6 million gallons per day of treated wastewater for local landscape irrigation. Rather than dumping its treated wastewater into an ocean outfall, the City recycles 42% of its wastewater to non-potable irrigation water, which is purchased by more than 100 customers, including public parks, school grounds, the Santa Barbara Zoo, golf courses, and homeowners associations. The City’s recycled irrigation water can also be used selectively for commercial toilet flushing, dust control, and sidewalk cleaning. The rebuild plant plan for MSD will have no affordable recycling capability and no recycled water delivery system, known in the industry as purple pipe. Negotiations with the City of Santa Barbara could offer a recycling capability for Montecito, as an additional option. 9. Neighborhood Concerns. The current Montecito treatment plant sits on a 6.3-acre Montecito site, adjacent to the bucolic Music Academy of the West, and to homes along Monte Christo Lane. The treatment plant, with its open sludge tanks, is within sniffing distance of ultra-expensive homes along Channel Drive, Hill Road, Fairway Road, and Butterfly Lane. If it stays, who wants years of construction noise and traffic delays to rebuild it? If you close it, who will miss it? 10. Why take the rebuild route when the regional treatment solution offers greater environmental benefits at less cost? What’s not to like?

“The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees.” – Alfred Noyes

15 – 22 October 2026

News Bytes

Chabad of Montecito October Events by MJ Staff

ctober 25, 2 pm: Mega Challah Bake at the Louise Lowry Davis Center 411: www.sbchabad.org

MCM’s 1st Annual Pie Baking Contest This October 17, bring your pies to contest judges Nick Barainca, co-owner and Chef at Merci; Field & Fort Chef Austin Moore; and Felix Torricer from Miette Patisserie. Pie drop off time is 11 am, and winners will be announced at 12:30 pm. All homemade pies only to be submitted with categories for adults and kids. First prize takes home $100, with gift cards for second and third place. Pie baking demo by Nancy Kajiyama at Miette.

The afternoon will feature a message from Adrien Frier, Consul General of France in Los Angeles, and a recorded presentation by a former Chanel designer in Paris. Guests can also explore a photography exhibition alongside archival Chanel patterns and materials dating from the 1930s through the 1960s. Adding to the French flair, the event includes champagne and afternoon tea with pastries by acclaimed pâtissier Yannick Dumonceau, including Gabrielle Chanel’s favorite dessert. The celebration highlights the museum’s mission to preserve the artistry and craftsmanship of haute couture.

411: www.couturepatternmuseum.com

Land Trust Moves to Save Naples The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County has announced plans to acquire the 1,000-plus-acre Santa Barbara Ranch, commonly known as Naples, potentially ending nearly 140 years of land-use disputes along the Gaviota Coast. Partnering with the Wild America Fund, the Land Trust is entering escrow and launching a fundraising campaign with $16 million remaining to raise. The purchase could close as early as December 2026, permanently protecting one of Southern California’s remaining stretches of undeveloped coastline. Following acquisition, the Land Trust plans a two-year assessment to develop conservation strategies and explore opportunities for public access, including trails and recreation.

411: www.montecitocountrymart.com/events

411: sblandtrust.org/savenaplescampaign

Friday Night Movies at Montecito Country Mart

MLK Poetry & Essay Contest Submissions

Free, and in the center courtyard, starting at 6 pm. Food and beverages to go. 10/16 – Finding Nemo 10/23 – Finding Dory

10/30 – Coco

Carpinteria Receives Grant for Library and Pool The City of Carpinteria reports it has received a $4.4 million state funding package to strengthen core public infrastructure. Championed by State Senator Monique Limón and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the one-time state investment delivers $3.3 million for essential safety and operational repairs at the Carpinteria Community Pool, alongside $1.1 million for accessibility and facility upgrades at the Carpinteria Community Library.

SBMNH Mini-Dinorama Exhibit Dinorama: Miniatures Through the Mesozoic opens October 17 in the Sprague Pavilion at the SB Museum of Natural History. The exhibit is curated by three paleontologists – Dibblee Curator of Earth Science Jonathan Hoffman PhD, Fossil Preparator Ben Rotenberg MA, and Chair of Anthropology John Johnson.

411: www.sbnature.org

‘Chanel in Vogue’ Comes to Santa Barbara The Couture Pattern Museum is bringing a touch of Parisian elegance to Santa Barbara with the exclusive West Coast premiere of Chanel in Vogue, an international fashion and cultural salon celebrating the publication of the two-volume book. Authors and fashion historians Rebecca C. Tuite and Susanna Brown will lead a lecture and Q&A exploring Chanel’s evolution through the pages of Vogue from 1913 to today. www.m

ontec

Wake up to a good cup of news!

SCAN ME!

15 – 22 October 2026

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The Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara is proud to present the 2027 Essay and Poetry Awards Program. This annual initiative invites students to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through original essays and poems that reflect his timeless values. The theme for this year’s application is a quote from The Wisdom of Martin Luther King Jr. (Ayres, 1993): “It is not possible to be in favor of justice for some people and not be in favor of justice for all people.” Entries must be a single essay of 1,000 words or less. Poetry entries must be 50 lines or less. Maximum of two essays and/or poem entries per person. All entries MUST include student’s name, grade level, and poem/essay title.

411: https://mlksb.org/essay-poetry-program

M SHERIFF’S BLOTTER Theft / 600 block El Bosque Road Sunday, September 27, at 14:27 hours Unknown suspects stole a package containing diamond earrings from the victim’s front porch. Warrant / 800 block East Mountain Drive Monday, September 28, at 02:01 hours During a traffic stop the suspect was found to have an active county warrant. Subsequently, the subject was arrested and transported to SBJ. Assault and Battery / 1100 block Mesa Road Wednesday, September 30, at 20:11 hours Deputies were contacted by subject alleging that the victim had used a “Taser” on her. After further investigation, it was revealed the subject grabbed a stun gun during a verbal argument, and the victim attempted to remove it from her. During the struggle, the subject bit and scratched the victim and was therefore determined to be the dominant aggressor before being placed under arrest for PC 273.5.

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Assault and Battery / 1200 block Lomita Lane Saturday, October 03, at 23:23 hours Subject was arrested after the victim reported that subject threw a phone at them, pushed and ripped their shirt which caused visible redness on the victim’s chest area. However, subject claimed that she was pushed by the victim and that she had fallen. No visible injuries were seen on subject. The victim did not desire an Emergency Protective Order (EPO) but was left with victim resources.

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15

by Steven Libowitz SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 GauchoFest – Due to a move from spring to fall, it’s been 18 months since the last All Gaucho Reunion, UCSB’s long weekend for grads and others to return to campus as well as down for dozens of events that range from food fests to competitions, morning coffee catch-ups to late-night after-parties. But it’s only the second year that GauchoFest, a big community concert celebration, has been part of the festivities. The family-friendly fest fully open to the general public features live music from band with deep UCSB ties, headlined by ALO, led by three high-achieving alums in Zach Gill (’97), Dan Lebowitz (’98), and Steve Adams (‘99), along with Ezra Lipp, return to the campus where the group was birthed as Animal Liberation Orchestra. Also on the bill: Del Playa dance faves Munkafust, the homegrown Gauchos Whatever Forever, Bren School-birthed bluegrass band Salty Strings, and DJ Darla Bea, the ubiquitous playlist creator who was part of the 2003 class at UCSB. Food trucks, beer and wine for those over 21, games, photo ops, a kids’ zone, and special reunion mini-events round out the day. WHEN: 1-6 pm WHERE: UCSB Commencement Green (adjacent to the UCSB Event Center) COST: $25 & $45 ($5 kids 12 and under) INFO: (805) 893-8416 or www.alumni.ucsb.edu/events/all-gaucho-reunion/gauchofest Tribe Tribute to Fab Four and More – L.A.-based musical collaborative teams up with the Santa Barbara Folk Orchestra and literally dozens of special guests to rock the Arlington in an “Orchestrated Tribute to The Beatles… Hits of the THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15

Soaring Sondheim and So Much More – In her half-century career, Bernadette Peters has won plaudits for her appearances across multiple media, including movies, TV shows, and, most notably, Broadway musicals. Tonight, fans get a chance to see more of her personality without the distraction of an evening-length plot to follow, as the singer-actress performs a plethora of songs, largely drawn from her own favorite shows. The three-time Tony winner will share selections from Hello Dolly!’s Jerry Herman, Rodgers & Hammerstein (including “There Is Nothing Like a Dame” and “It Might as Well Be Spring”), and, of course, Stephen Sondheim, including “No One Is Alone” and “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods, “Losing My Mind” from Follies, and several others. In the cabaret-style concert, Peters also puts her popular spin on several songs from Broadway favorites that she didn’t actually appear in, plus surprises from other media. Peters draws on her acting chops to offer setups, often transforming into the song’s character, and shifts between belting out boldly and softening for the quieter songs, all backed by a compact trio. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street COST: $55-$135 INFO: (805) 899-2222/www.granadasb.org or (805) 893-3535/https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

44 Montecito JOURNAL

Whole New ‘Boo’ – Boo at the Zoo, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s annual pre-Halloween festivities that originally featured merely a trick-or-treating trail for kids, is back and bigger than ever this year. The event expands to offer for the first time daytime themed activities every day from 10 am to 3 pm from October 16-31, featuring a Halloween-themed scavenger hunt with a prize, daily costume contests and parades, Halloween story time with the Zoo’s performance team, a candy station, and hay maze – all included with regular Zoo admission. The traditional evening Boo at the Zoo takes place 5-8 pm from October 23-25, once again boasting three nights of family Halloween fun featuring safe, traffic-free trick-or-treating; a costume contest; DJ and dance floor; animal encounters; bounce houses and inflatable slides; train rides; photo booth; rock wall; kids’ hay maze; spooky stories; s’mores by the campfire, among other activities. and more. Also making its debut for 2026 is a special Adult Night slated for 6-10 pm on October 22 in a Halloween celebration designed exclusively for guests 21-plus. Most of the family activities save for trick-or-treating and bounce houses will also be offered, along with complimentary beer and wine tastings, available cocktails – and a dearth of screaming tots and teens. WHEN: October 16–31 WHERE: SB Zoo, 500 Niños Drive COST: Evening Boo $23-$38; Adult night $23-$38 INFO: (805) 962-5339 or www.sbzoo.org/event ‘60s.” Orchestrated arrangements of nearly all of the songs from The Beatles albums Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour – with several songs sung by guests who aren’t typically part of the collective – serves as only part of what should be a mighty, memorable evening. The concert kicks off with the first local concert from ‘60s psychedelic wonders Strawberry Alarm Clock, and then also veers into a number of ‘60s pop hits from the Jay & the Americans (“This Magic Moment”), Ron Dante of The Archies (“Sugar, Sugar”), original voice of The Buckinghams Dennis Tufano (“Kind of a Drag”), Tom Garrett of The Classics IV (“Spooky”), and Darren Dowler of Paul Revere & the Raiders (“Kicks”), among others. Proceeds benefit local nonprofits Adam’s Angels and Santa Barbara Humane. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St. COST: $65-$150 INFO: (805) 963-4408/www.thearlingtontheatre.com/www.axs.com venues/2330 or https://rockcellarproductions.com/orchestrated-beatles Lucy on the Stage with Sequins – Canadian-born comedian, magician, and variety artist Carisa Hendrix is far better known over the last few years via her alter ego Lucy Darling, the character she created based on her affinity for the bon vivants of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Lucy is a glamorous 1940s socialite with a sharp sense of humor, a charming cocktail enthusiast partially inspired

“The wind is a horse: hear how he runs through the sea, through the sky.” – Pablo Neruda

15 – 22 October 2026

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18

‘Duck Pond’: Feathers Will Fly – Circa – the Aussie troupe that has performed in front of more than two million people in touring over 45 countries in the last 22 years – are known for redefining the art form of circus by using physicality to push boundaries, blending movement, dance, and theater into circus. Circa’s Duck Pond is an exuberant take on Swan Lake, re-imagining the world’s most romantic ballet as a circus spectacular mash-up with the Hans Christian Andersen story of The Ugly Duckling. Shot through with cheeky humor and a thoroughly contemporary energy, the show combines ballet’s tutus, pointe shoes, and graceful movements with sumptuous aerials, jaw-dropping acrobatics, and quirky touches like a sequined duck army and burlesque black swan. The result is an exhilarating and family-friendly show that keeps the heart of the tales of identity and finding your true self as the ultimate theme. WHEN: 4 pm WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State St. COST: $45-$75 INFO: (805) 899-2222/www.granadasb.org or (805) 893-3535/https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

by Dorothy Parker who combines all of Hendrix’s talents into a touring stage show that has sustained its creator on the road for several years. A regular performer at Hollywood’s The Magic Castle, Hendrix, performing as Lucy Darling, the Mistress of Magic, was crowned Stage Magician of the Year two consecutive years. Her new touring show, “All That and More,” featuring her “razor-sharp wit, unquestionable advice, and inconceivable magic,” is joined by The Great Kaplan, a modern-day vaudevillian master with an infinite assortment of unique skills, coupled with impeccable comedic timing, serving as Lucy’s foil. WHEN: 5 & 8:30 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $45-$150 INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21 Assad & Assad – Legendary Brazilian guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad has frequently performed in town in a variety of settings, often with his younger brother Odair in the celebrated Assad Brothers guitar duo. This time it’s a younger family member sharing the stage: Sergio’s daughter Clarice Assad, a pianist, vocalist, and Grammy-nominated composer in her own right who has earned acclaim for genre-crossing work blending classical, jazz, and Brazilian traditions. Together, they’ll reimagine beloved Brazilian songs and play original works filled with intimacy, virtuosity, and the familiar deep familial connection. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall, 574 Mesa Rd., UCSB campus COST: $15-$50 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu

Teflon Comedy – Don’t blame me. I didn’t come up with the title of this show featuring stand-ups from Santa Barbara and beyond that claims it’s all “nonschtick.” (Doesn’t that pun already mean disqualification!?) David Conolly, who headlines in clubs and theaters all over the place, will be joined by L.A. headliner Natalia Lazarus, and local actor-singer-comedian Deborah Bertling, storyteller Mark Bessey, and actor and writer Tom Waters. Ed Giron will emcee and offer a “non-routine routine” of his own. Extra bonus: you can actually eat dinner at this event, unlike the typical comedy club (but please no spit takes). Will it be funny? Who knows? Comedy can be capricious. But I think so, although that opinion may not necessarily be the official point of view of this publication. But hey, it should be. (Apologies to Giron’s KZSB “Our Town” briefs.) WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: SOhO, 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $20 INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21

‘Undercurrent’ & the Creek – Sarah Jarosz quietly claimed her place on the singer-songwriter/contemporary music scene with her debut album back in 2009, when she introduced her warmly expressive voice, multi-instrumental mastery, and literary songwriting to an eager audience. But it was seven years later with the release of Undercurrent that Jarosz’s blend of Texas-born bluegrass roots and New England Conservatory of Music-trained improvisation skills reached new heights, including a still-memorable performance that summer at the Live Oak Music Festival when it was still held in the hills above town. Jarosz, a six-time Grammy winner who is also one-third of I’m With Her, the trio with fellow folkbased singer-songwriters Sara Watkins and Aoife O’Donovan, is on tour dubbed “10 Years of Undercurrent,” celebrating the album’s achievements and much more, with Sara’s brother and co-Nickel Creek founder Sean Watkins as special guest. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. COST: $45 & $60 ($110 premium tickets includes preferred seating and a pre-show reception with complimentary drinks and light bites) INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org

NOTE TO READERS This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and entertainment events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next seven days or so. It is by no means comprehensive. Please also see my feature stories elsewhere in this issue for more events. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, please submit information – including hi-res photos – by 12 noon Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Email: slibowitz@yahoo.com. 15 – 22 October 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

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Please call 805.453.6280 ELECTRICIAN Montecito Electric Repairs and Inspections Licensed C10485353 805-969-1575 CARPET CLEANING Carpet Cleaning Since 1978 (805) 963-5304 Rafael Mendez Cell: 689-8397 or 963-3117 PIANO LESSONS Openings now available for Children & Adults. Piano Lessons in our Studio or your Home. Call or Text Kary Kramer (805) 453-3481 CASA HAULING Storage, sheds, garages & attic clean outs Licensed and insured Call (805) 963-6909 HEALTH CARE PROVIDER Acupuncture and Massage for pain management and comfort care, digestion, and sleep specialist for in-home or in-office. Experience with paraplegic and palliative care, special needs. Licensed primary care provider for 14 years. Kristen Swegles LAc., MTCM, CMP Kristenswegles@gmail.com (805) 729-5270

46 Montecito JOURNAL

AUTOMOBILES WANTED We Buy Classic Cars Running or Not. Foreign/Domestic Chevy/Ford/Porsche/Mercedes/Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website - Avantiauto.group

Coastal Home & Pet Care CoastalHomeandPetCare.com Monika 805.689.8078

ART LESSONS Mentorship in painting and drawing, practice and theory. Small group, individual guidance. All levels accepted. 805-886-6513 www.valorifussell.com

DONATIONS NEEDED Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2430 Lillie Avenue Summerland, CA 93067 (805) 969-1944

REVERSE MORTGAGE SERVICES Reverse Mortgage Questions? Talk to an Expert! All Inquiries Strictly Confidential

TILE SETTING Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate. PET/ HOUSE SITTING Do you need to get away for a weekend, week or more? I will house sit and take care of your pets, plants & mail. I have refs if needed. Call me or text me. Christine (805) 452-2385 PET CARE & HOUSE SITTING Professional, dependable pet lover available for pet sitting, dog walking & house sitting. Flexible schedule, great rates & references available. Call or text: (312) 315-5035

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

GAYLE NAGY – NMLS 251258 805.448.9224 gnagy@gemcorp.com Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CA Residential Mortgage Lending Act. 3625 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 258 Westlake Village, CA 91362 NMLS 2427

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

EXPERT ADU GUIDANCE

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Expedite ADU Process FREE CONSULTATION SB & Montecito Michael Humphrey (805) 570-3333

“Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.” – Christina Rossetti

K-9 PALS need volunteers to be foster parents for our dogs while they are waiting for their forever homes. For more information info@k-9pals.org or 805-570-0415.

15 – 22 October 2026

Last Week’s Solution:

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

T R I S C H I N O L O V E U A L E R T P E R T H

D R O P S D E D E E A S I A N Y O U R D M S

T R Y C R E E D H A N D S O V E R C I T Y

I C H B L A N C M I N E O F O A M F I R E

A L L E Y R E E V E E D G E S S T U N O O P S

A F I E L R O Y S L E W S T O T A L E T S

RIVER

DROPS

OVER

CLIFF

EDGES

WATERFALLS

PUZZLE #3

PUZZLE #2

4 5

Across 1 Sound a muzzle may muffle 4 TV mother of Stewie, Meg, and Chris 6 Setting of many life-changing decisions 7 "Friends Like ___" (2026 Hulu docuseries) 8 A diatribe deliverer might announce when it's "on" and "off"

Down 1 Parting of the Pacific? 2 Where Joan of Arc was tried in 6-Across 3 Like the track "Ameriican Requiem" on Beyoncé's album "Cowboy Carter" 5 Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr. 6 Word in the name of many a hosp.

Across 1 Wordless admonition in a movie theater 4 Movie-rating org. whose initialism lost its last letter in 2019 5 Pope before Benedict III 6 TikToker Alix of "Get Ready With Me" fame 7 Secondary TikTok accounts, for short

Down 1 Common dog name that's another common dog name without its fourth letter 2 Rains hard? 3 Partake of, as a 4-Down 4 It might include two sides 5 Michele of the 2025 Broadway revival of "Chess"

7 9

Across 1 Base coaches?: Abbr. 5 Was audibly impressed, perhaps 7 New York university or its location 8 See 3-Down 9 Occasions to spike balls, in brief

Down 1 You may be running on them if you're sleep-deprived 2 Hoops Hall of Famer Thomas 3 Landscape painting subject 4 No more 6 No more

Down 1 Music that's hard to dance to but easy to dig 2 Zelníčková who married Donald 3 Legacy code? 5 Optimal amts. of iron, e.g. 6 Letters on L'Homme cologne packages

1 6

Across 1 With 7-Across, their members are often swingers 4 Word before a time interval on a prescription label 7 See 1-Across 8 Basketball star nicknamed "The Diesel" 9 An alley-oop is a flashy one

META PUZZLE

Across 1 Number of times 2-Down made the All-NBA Team 5 Not abstinent, in a way 7 Bungle 8 Worm or moth chaser? 9 Something a window shopper might be looking for?

PUZZLE #5

PUZZLE #4 1

Down 1 It may contain savory letters 2 Insinuated 3 With 8-Across, like some candidates and checks 4 Some nonbotanical branches 6 Paragon of plainness or clarity

Across 1 Decision that isn’t counted, for short? 4 Heavy metal instruments, say 6 One who doesn't write right even when writing correctly? 7 Already claimed 8 It can be glassy or icy

Down 1 Put ice on, say 2 Creator of the protagonists K. and Josef K. 3 Blender brand 4 They might be listed along with clubs 5 Last word of a song sung on New Year's Eve

LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY Residential & Business Professional telephone & gate Phone opener Systems service 805-217-8457

CorporateTelecom@Rocketmail.com opener

Santa Barbara Estate Management

Joe Boudre

*Nortel/Norstar, Panasonic & all others *Telephone, line & gate connections *Installation, troubleshooting & repair *Licensed & Insured with 25+ years experience

www.santabarbaraestate.management

WARRIOR TAXI CO.

For all your 2027 Medicare Insurance options

Professional telephone & gate opener service

(805) 319-5364

City of Santa Barbara Business License # 984709

LAX • Airport Runs Special Events 4

License # 0773817

urs of th Ho e

24 7

y da

7 Da

(805) 896-0443 (805) 680-8088

24 Hr. Service www.warriortaxi.com Santa Barbara Top Personal Taxi Service ee

Mini Meta

t of th e w

Bilingual Staff

Denise Richter

(805) 683-3636 3412 State St., Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Andrea Dominic RPh Sherry Saffarnia, PharmD Thomas Johnsonbough RPh. 1498 East Valley Road Montecito, CA 93108

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

Compounding Pharmacy & Boutique

WE BUY BOOKS Historical Paintings Vintage Posters Original Prints

805-962-4606

info@losthorizonbooks.com

LOST HORIZON BOOKSTORE now in Montecito, 539 San Ysidro Road

ANDSCAPE

Nuh Kimbwala

REATORS

Certified Travel Associate-CTA

Montecito, Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez

EDUARDO RODRIGUEZ (805) 617-6683 EDUARDO@LANDSCAPE-CREATORS.COM IRRIGATION INSTALLS

HARDSCAPE INSTALLS

PLANTING INSTALLS

LIGHTING INSTALLS

LICENSED LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR: #1129976

15 – 22 October 2026

LAWN CARE SERVICE

Santa Barbara Branch 3712 State ST, Santa Barbara, CA 93105 805-898-2808 Direct kimbwala.nuh@ace.aaa.com www.nuhluxurytravel.com @nuhluxurytravel

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble

Sun, Oct 18 / 4 PM / Granada Theatre ★★★★ “Graceful aerial solos. Jaw dropping lifts. Superhuman balances. Swan Lake as you’ve never seen it before.” The Times (U.K.)

See Akram Khan Company in its Final International Tour

Akram Khan Company Thikra: Night of Remembering

Wed, Oct 21 / 7:30 PM / Campbell Hall

By Akram Khan and Manal AlDowayan

Tue, Oct 20 (note new date) / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre “One of the most influential choreographers of his generation.” The Guardian (U.K.)

Visit our website to view the full 2026-2027 lineup

Clarice & Sérgio Assad Legendary Brazilian guitarist and composer Sérgio Assad joins his daughter, the pianist, vocalist and Grammynominated composer Clarice Assad, for an evening showcasing the warmth, rhythmic vitality and rich musical inheritance of one of Brazil’s great artistic families.

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