THE POWER OF MIGHTY 30 July – 6 Aug 2020 Vol 26 Issue 31
SERVING MONTECITO AND SUMMERLAND
The loss of a dog teaches a lesson about humanity, p. 32
NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON’T
A HIKER’S SOLUTION TO THE GRAFFITI THAT MARS OUR LOCAL TRAILS (STORY BEGINS ON PAGE 6)
Touch-ups at Coral Casino
Amid rumors of impending sale, alterations to historic property presented to Montecito Board of Architectural Review, p. 12
Retail Therapy
Montecito’s small business owners send good vibes during COVID crisis, p. 18
City of Angels
A mural brings a community together in Part II of Hattie Beresford’s account on St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, p. 21
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30 July – 6 August 2020
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• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
3
Inside This Issue
5
Editor’s Letter
6
On the Record
Gwyn Lurie looks to Lee E. Ohanian for insight into our Home Alone situation and how we can avoid a sequel Tim Sulger finds a solution to graffiti on trails; Laura Capps runs for Santa Barbara Board of Education re-election
10 Letters to the Editor
A collection of communications from readers Danute Handy, Russell Ruiz, Beverlye Hyman Fead, and Jean von Wittenburg
Tide Chart 11 A Good Sign
Courage is a common thread among signs for the upcoming month
12 Village Beat
Coral Casino to undergo alterations; Montecito Sanitary District project proposed at MBAR; Montecito Community Foundation replaces two signs
14 On Entertainment PHOTOGRAPHY BY: SPENSER BRUCE
Dream. Design. Build. Live.
A roundup of tons of COVID-19 friendly festivals and performances, compliments of our resident entertainment writer Steven Libowitz
18 Our Town
COVID-19 has dampened sales but not the spirits of Montecito’s resilient business owners
20 In Business
What’s percolating inside the walls of Airplant Alchemy? Rebecca Lee Moody reveals a den of horticultural creativity.
21 The Way It Was 412 E. Haley St. #3, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 805.965.9555 | frontdesk@beckercon.com| www.beckerstudiosinc.com @beckerstudios
Can a mural heal life’s discords? Hattie Beresford reports in Part II on St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church.
22 Perspectives by Rinaldo S. Brutoco
A failure of local, state, and federal political leadership explains California’s COVID-19 mess, says Rinaldo Brutoco
The Optimist Daily
What do turmeric and nasal breathing have in common? Find out in our weekly health checkup.
23 Brilliant Thoughts
A Queen must always, in every sense, be watching her step
24 Dear Montecito
Out of destruction and death comes life and rebirth. Musician Clay Rodgers on how the 2018 mudslides changed his career.
27 City News
The Santa Barbara City Council voted to create a community commission to help create a civilian police review system
People of Montecito
Alex Ortiz reflects on his experience working at Renaud’s on Coast Village Road
32 A Mighty Force
The disappearance of Orlando Bloom’s dog teaches a valuable lesson about loss – and what to do in case a pet goes missing
34 Nosh Town
Uneasy about dining outdoors in public? Bring the chef to your home for an intimate social distance gathering.
40 Far Flung Travel
Chuck Graham leads us into the foxhole to discover Vulpes macrotis mutica, aka the San Joaquin kit fox
41 501(c)3 Weekly
The Fish Reef Project could have a legacy that would be on nautical maps and last for hundreds of years
42 Half-Century on the Sea
Condor Express celebrates 50 years watching whales in the Santa Barbara Channel
46 Classified Advertising
Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer everything from summer rentals to estate sales
47 Local Business Directory
Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer
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MONTECITO JOURNAL
“Every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” – Voltaire
30 July – 6 August 2020
Editor’s Letter by Gwyn Lurie CEO and Executive Editor of the Montecito Journal Media Group
Pitch Imperfect
R
emember the movie Home Alone? It’s a fantasy, a comedy, and a horror film wrapped in one. The parents leave for a family vacation and amidst the chaos of preparing to leave, they forget the most important thing… their son. So the kid gets left home alone with no grown-up in charge, no one to tell him what to do, no curfew, no sugar limits, etc. Which is all fun and games until the bad guys show up at his doorstep and there’s no one to protect him. No one to make the big decisions. To guard the door. To call for help. And all the kid’s left with are his wits and the questionable judgment of an adolescent. That’s kind of how I feel these days. With no adult in charge, I’m hiding out in fear of a faceless enemy, with no overarching plan to fight back other than my wits, some cobbled together, constantly changing strategies and a cocktail of pessimism and optimism that changes daily and sometimes hourly, as I wait for help to arrive. Meanwhile, my fate is in the hands of an uncaring, unempathetic, brainless juggernaut that will stop at nothing to advance its own agenda… I’m talking, of course, about COVID-19. No matter what side of this you’re on, mask or anti-mask, that’s a fact. This pandemic has lasted beyond what any of us anticipated and has tested everyone’s psychological endurance. The good folks at Google, people who are pretty darned good at analyzing terabytes of info, told their workers early on they weren’t expected back this calendar year. Now they’ve told their workers they don’t expect to see them physically until, at the earliest, next summer. If that’s Google’s analysis, it’s probably worth at least a (sobering) gander. I’d say things have gotten real, but we left the pier where “real” was docked long ago. Surreal is where we all live now. As if you needed more proof, Americans, grasping at straws for some sense of normalcy, started Major League Baseball’s 145th season last Thursday, with Dr. Fauci throwing out the first pitch. The game featured piped in cheers, cardboard cutouts of fans, and announcers that were off site presumably where they’d be safe from COVID19… and Fauci’s wild throw. Still, all of that I could swallow in the Dali painting that has become our sur-reality.
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Meanwhile, my fate is in the hands of an uncaring, unempathetic, brainless juggernaut that will stop at nothing to advance its own agenda … I’m talking, of course, about COVID-19
What I found more unsettling was you had Fauci appearing for the first time not as an expert or leader but as a celebrity. I know it’s sacrilege to criticize Saint Fauci, but with coronavirus surging to all-time highs in so many states including this one, it seemed like a weird time for the good doctor to be taking a victory lap. Perhaps he was just trying to provide a momentary distraction, but in so doing he only highlighted the fact that nothing is normal. The whole event encapsulated, for me, the U.S. COVID response in a single action. Fauci entered the stadium to high expectations (at least as indicated by the canned applause). But Fauci’s pitch was so far off it bore more resemblance to a pick-off throw. Perhaps that was due to pre-existing conditions – he says he practiced so much that he went into the game sore. He also said he “miscalculated the distance” which seems like something he might have also done with the coronavirus. Maybe we all did. During the game, players violated COVID protocols by spitting like camels and hugging each other after homers. At the end of the game even the charade that life was normal had not been achieved whatsoever, in fact quite the opposite: the Nationals voted to cancel their next series against the Marlins because of their lack of faith in how the pandemic is being handled. July has been an especially cruel month for Florida. It’s been all downhill since Tampa Bay signed Tom Brady in March. The Nats-Yankees Opening Day game underscored what’s becoming an all too familiar process. Pretending things are normal only makes them feel more
EDITORIAL Page 394 30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
5
ON THE RECORD
by Nicholas Schou
Nicholas Schou is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of several books, including Orange Sunshine and Kill the Messenger. If you have tips or stories about Montecito, please email him at newseditor@montecitojournal.net
On the Art of Camouflaging Rocks
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Now you see it
A
fter moving north to Montecito from Long Beach 10 years ago so that his family could be closer to the mountains and the sea at the same time, Tim Sulger began hiking the local canyons above his home near Westmont College. A decade into what has become a near daily routine, the daytime options trader says he’s witnessed the gradual evolution of the front country, including the shattering changes two years ago when many of the canyons were scorched by wildfires and scoured by massive debris flows. “It’s my church,” Sulger says of Montecito’s challenging yet increasingly popular network of trails. “I just love to go up into the mountains at all times of the year and see the changing of the seasons and the views, especially in springtime when the flowers are blooming, the creeks are running, and the waterfalls are happening. It cleanses me.” About five years ago, Sulger noticed that someone, presumably a local teenager, had spray painted his initials on a massive rock face less than a mile from a trailhead. After taking pictures of the graffiti and notifying authorities, he felt compelled to take matters a step further. “I couldn’t believe some kid would feel entitled to go out into nature and spray paint his fancy initials,” he related this week while sitting outside Pierre Lafond with a cell phone full of before-and-after photos of defaced boulders. At first, Sulger says he went to work on the rock with a graffiti removing solution, a rag, and a wire brush.
“A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money.” – W. C. Fields
Tim Sulger next to one of his camouflaged rocks
Unfortunately, the limestone proved too porous and the paint couldn’t simply be scrubbed away. “You just can’t get it off,” he said. “My knuckles were raw from that.” So Sulger says he chipped off a small portion of the rock and took it to a paint shop, where he found three colors that, when combined, might somehow help camouflage the graffiti. “I have a pretty good eye for color, he explains. “I’d spray some color over it, then step back, and could still see it. So then, I’d get another color and dust over it and try to camouflage it until it’s gone. You spray into the wind and dust the rock and feather it on the edges so it disappears.”
ON THE RECORD Page 84 30 July – 6 August 2020
30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
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ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 6)
Now you kind of see it
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According to Sulger, he gradually learned to dapple the rock with spray paint rather than coat it. “If you hold a can of spray paint right up to the rock, people are going to be able to see it,” he says. “So you hold it back and dust across the rock, and it blends it in. I’d use different colors and dust across the rock.” It’s also important to vary the palette. “I knew it couldn’t just be one color,” he elaborated. “It was just too monochrome, so I’d bring in another color, and then another, and then made it thicker in areas, lighter in areas, and darker in areas, and feathered the whole thing so it matches the rock.” Occasionally, fellow hikers would spot Sulger at work and mistake him for a vandal, he says. “People see me with the spray paint and ask me, ‘What are you doing?’ and then they stop and clap and say, ‘Thank you.’ But I’m not doing this for that. I’m doing it because it’s so beautiful up there and some punk is spraying his initials.” Recently, and just down the road from his house, someone painted a whimsical-looking stick-figure Bodhi Tree, which looked great until other would-be artists saw that as an opportunity to decorate the entire surface area with various slogans and other senseless graffiti. So Sulger says he took photos, sent them to city, county, and state officials and even stuck a note in the nearest mailbox in case the property owner wasn’t aware. Then, he matched the wall’s natural color at the paint store and returned to work his magic. “People were driving by and thanking me,” he recalls. “Then this one lady says, ‘Oh, what are you doing, it was so beautiful.’ I just wanted to go stop her and go with her to her house and say, ‘I’d be happy to recreate this for you on your garage door, or front
door, or living room, wherever you want, on your property.’ But it’s just not appropriate to have all this out here on this wall.” Although he didn’t get the chance to have that conversation, Sulger says he proceeded to dapple the wall with a panoply of color until all the offending graffiti was sufficiently camouflaged. Since then, he adds, nobody has complained or tried to re-paint the wall. “If you let graffiti stay there, more people feel like they can add to it and it becomes a problem,” he reasons. “I’ve seen beautiful artwork all over the world, like in Berlin, where you see stuff spray painted on a wall, but it’s done by artists making a political statement. Some of that stuff is beautiful, but there’s a time and a place for everything.” Google “rock camouflage” and you’ll find links to everything from deer blinds to fatigue shorts and fake rocks to hide your keys, but no reference to Sulger’s take on the concept. Without realizing it, and mainly out of a sense of anti-graffiti activism rather than any deliberate creative impulse, it’s possible Sulger has pioneered a new form of outdoor guerrilla art. He’s too humble to admit that, though. “It just popped into my head,” he said. “I tried scrubbing and that didn’t work, so then I figured I could try something with paint.” Yet Sulger does believe his creative solution to graffiti has something to do with the current zeitgeist. “Right now, with COVID, there are a lot of people stuck at home, and they’re riled up and spray painting their slogans everywhere,” he says. One particular location that Sulger says is rife with graffiti is a drainage ditch above his home. But the spot is
ON THE RECORD Page 164 30 July – 6 August 2020
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• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
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Letters to the Editor
If you have something you think Montecito should know about, or wish to respond to something you read in the Journal, we want to hear from you. Please send all such correspondence to: Montecito Journal, Letters to the Editor, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA. 93108. You can also FAX such mail to: (805) 969-6654, or E-mail to letters@montecitojournal.net
Purely Pathetic
D
ue to my lack of wizardry with IT, my missive was printed under Bob Handy byline, my husband of 62 years. We did not mind, but if you reply do not refer to me as Mrs. Handy. Just call me Danute. Now about your missive. Yes, Donald Trump is a misogynist. For confirmation refer to the Access Hollywood tape! It is almost universally agreed that Donald Trump is racist. But that is part of the DNA of the Republican party. It started way back in 1964 with Southern strategy, “law and order” and “state rights” campaigns, references to welfare Queens, Willy Horton ads designed by Lee Atwater. Most Republicans just dog-whistle racism, Donald Trump uses a foghorn. Donald Trump’s speech announcing his candidacy was not exactly what you expect at the bottom of the Statue of Liberty. Bill and Hillary are driving near her hometown. They stop to get some gas, whereupon Hillary recognizes the station attendant as a high school boyfriend. After they drive off, Bill tells her snugly, “See if you’d married him, you’d be working at a gas station.” Hillary smartly replies, “If I’d married him, he’d be President.” OMG, James! Not Benghazi! There have been ten investigations, the last one run by ex-congressman Ted Gowdy. After two years, includ-
ing thirteen-hour interrogation of Hillary she had an ironclad alibi that she was not in Benghazi at that time and did not set the consulate on fire. So exactly which promises did President Trump keep? Name one, besides tax cuts for the very rich. He did not even succeed to feed junk food for kids in schools. Name the period exactly when was America Great that we go back to it! Danute Handy
Ooh, That Smell
My name is prominently featured in the Nicholas Schou article (“Cannabis Under Fire, Part Three”) about cannabis and Carpinteria in the July 23, 2020 edition. I invited Mr. Schou to Carpinteria to show him on the ground that, as far as cannabis odor in Carpinteria goes, most of his previous reporting on the subject was not current and that one of the most explosive claims made by the anti-cannabis activists about odor at the Carpinteria High School being overwhelming and making students and teachers sick is simply not current or credible. I had never met Mr. Schou so when we introduced ourselves at lunch I told him that our discussion was off the record. He quickly agreed and explained that with his vast experience in journalism, he knew what that meant. Obviously he does not. I have been working
with the local media for about 35 years because of my work related to local water. Never has that basic protocol in journalism ever been violated before. During the three years of debate on the County Cannabis Ordinance as it applies to Carpinteria, I have been careful to make clear that I am not an “outspoken cannabis advocate.” I have a teenage daughter at Middle School and I hope she never uses cannabis. I am and have always been a local commercial Ag advocate. In Carpinteria, Ag provides thousands of jobs for residents who would otherwise be in crisis today. It provides a buffer from residential development that would engulf the Carpinteria Valley if the greenhouses went out of business. After all is said and done (and I have thought about it a bit), I am glad the article came out as it did although my name did not need to be used. My two mottos in life are “The Golden Rule” and “Just the facts Ma’am.” Well I proved that one of the most inflammatory claims about cannabis odor in Carpinteria is simply not true. That was worth it. Because I am credible, the first place I took Mr. Schou was on Highway 192 just east of Casitas Pass. In my experience that is one of the worst places around here today for odor. I hope the County does something about that soon because those people are simply making unnecessary trouble and should be gone if they can’t get their act together. I also directed him to Cravens which in the past was very bad. We also parked in the Carpinteria High School parking lot, walked to the tennis courts and into the stadium. Absolutely no cannabis odor and there has not been for two years. I live a city block from the high school. I invited former Congresswoman Lois Capps to take this same tour multiple times during
her campaign. She never responded. Can’t give away the most inflammatory claim in her campaign! In this time of unprecedented attacks from the President on the press and journalists, it is imperative that basic norms of journalistic integrity be strictly adhered to. We know the Montecito Journal is under new ownership and Mr. Schou is new to town. Let’s get better! Thank you, Russell Ruiz
Forgot to Mention…
As the author of this last week’s “A Very Long Distance Engagement,” in doing a couple of drafts, I left out a couple of names that were important to the article, in the final draft I sent. I would like to rectify that. One is Carol Marsch, communications entrepreneur, longtime Montecito resident and one of Marjory Laydon’s closest friends. Carol is an “A” tennis player and has played on all the courts, several teams, and won many tournaments in this area. The other names are Alison and Alain de Cadernet, a London-based TV host and race car driver. They have been frequent visitors to Montecito for many years, when not in London or their other residence in Los Angeles. We were all enjoying Arezzo together during the Joust and will all be there for the gorgeous wedding, whenever that can take place. Beverlye Hyman Fead
Cut it Down
Just a thought. How about limiting the length of the letters submitted as was the case in the past? Recently they have at least doubled (maybe tripled). Thanks and stay well and sane, Jean von Wittenburg •MJ
Montecito Tide Guide
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Day
Low
Thurs, July 30
Hgt High
Hgt Low
Hgt High
Hgt Low
1:48 AM -0.1 8:20 AM
3.5
12:45 PM
2.4
07:17 PM
6.1
Fri, July 31
2:38 AM -0.6 9:14 AM
3.8
01:43 PM
2.4
08:05 PM
6.3
Sat, August 1
3:22 AM -0.9 9:56 AM
4
02:33 PM
2.4
08:50 PM
6.4
Sun, August 2
4:01 AM -1
10:33 AM 4.1
03:17 PM
2.2
09:31 PM
6.4
Mon, August 3
4:38 AM -0.9 11:07 AM 4.2
03:58 PM
2.2
010:09 PM
6.3
Tues, August 4
5:12 AM -0.7 11:39 AM 4.2
04:36 PM
2.1
010:46 PM
6
Wed, August 5
5:44 AM -0.4 12:10 PM 4.2
05:15 PM
2.1
011:21 PM
5.6
Thurs, August 6
6:14 AM -0.1 12:42 PM 4.3
05:55 PM
2.2
011:56 PM
5.2
Fri, August 7
6:44 AM 0.4
06:40 PM
2.2
01:14 PM 4.3
“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake.” – W. C. Fields
Hgt
30 July – 6 August 2020
A Good Sign
REAL ESTATE CHECKLIST
by Jennifer Freed, PhD Jennifer Freed PhD is the best-selling author of USE YOUR PLANETS WISELY and a renowned psychological astrologer and social and emotional education trainer. She is the CCO of Ahasb.org. Jennifer has spent over thirty years consulting clients and businesses worldwide on psychological, spiritual, and educational topics. She can be reached at www.jenniferfreed.com
Celebrating Stacy Pulice
S
tacy Pulice, an EcoWorld ambassador and acclaimed author of Listen to the Children, has steadfastly supported a world committed to the four C’s – care, connection, community, and choice. Stacy brings a radiant joy and intelligence to every endeavor and she lights up the room with her generous heart. The astrology for August is intense. Mars in Aries presses in on our hot buttons. Everyone keeps asking “When will it get better?” The real question is: “What are you willing to do to make things better for everyone?” The quality most needed this month is courage.
Aries
The test for you this month is managing the red-hot anger that comes up in reaction to others. You are called to channel that intensity into acts of valor and selflessness. “Freedom lies in being bold.” – Nelson Mandela
Taurus
Dan Encell
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A GOOD SIGN Page 394
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30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
11
Village Beat
by Kelly Mahan Herrick Kelly has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond. She is also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and is a member of Montecito and Santa Barbara’s top real estate team, Calcagno & Hamilton.
Coral Casino Plans at MBAR
L
ast Thursday, July 23, representatives from the Coral Casino were in front of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review presenting alterations to the private club, which has been closed for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic. While rumors continue to swirl over owner Ty Warner’s ultimate plans for the Coral Casino (as well as the Montecito Club and the Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore, both of which are also closed), Warner is pushing forward with renovations to the Coral Casino, which is classified as a County Historic Landmark. Warner is proposing minor alterations to the club to improve functionality of club amenities and to improve the experience of club members. They include revisions to pool service including adding a passthrough window to separate the pool
12 MONTECITO JOURNAL
service counter and the service kitchen; relocating and expanding the children’s pool and deck shower; relocating and enlarging the jacuzzi spa; adding transparent wind screens and recessed lighting to the Clock Tower Terrace; adding a new sliding track window and door system to the dining room to offer better ventilation and views; and adding an outdoor lounge to an existing roof area space. The proposed renovations do not add any enclosed space to the club, and all features will be compatible with the existing architecture. Because of its Historic Landmark status, the project has already been before the County’s Historic Landmarks Advisory Committee, which had favorable comments and will consider final approval for the project in August. Land Use Consultant Suzanne Elledge says the enhancement plan will not trig-
Alterations to the Coral Casino are in the works, despite rumors that the property maybe sold to international investors
ger any “key issue” criteria outlined in the County of Santa Barbara’s Article II Substantial Conformity Determination Guidelines; meaning the plans are not likely to be a source of community controversy, and the improvements will have no impact on the historic resource and will be largely unnoticed by the general public. “The project will provide an enhanced experience for the Coral Casino making it more appealing to members which in turns make it more likely that the club will continue to generate revenue which can be used to maintain the historic structure,” Elledge wrote in a letter to the MBAR. The history of the exclusive club goes back to 1927, when the Biltmore Hotel was built across the street and then-owner Robert Odell realized the need for additional space for hotel amenities, including a pool. The now-iconic building was designed in 1937 by architect Gardner A. Dailey in the International and Moderne styles of architecture, and in order to offset the cost of its construction, private memberships to the club were sold to members of the community. The property changed significantly over the years, with the addition of a fulltime restaurant, a private event space, a dance pavilion, a fitness center, and more, with some of the alterations not upholding the intent of the original design. Mr. Warner has owned the property since 2000 and has made his own significant improvements,
and in 2002, the site was designated as a County Landmark. Members of MBAR agreed that the plans should be moved along quickly, as all proposed alterations keep with the style of the property. It will be on subsequent MBAR agendas for preliminary and final approvals.
Montecito Sanitary District Latest
The project being proposed at the Montecito Sanitary District campus was also at MBAR last week, for further conceptual review of a new Essential Services Building and associated improvements. Architect Brian Cearnal outlined the project, which includes a new 5,000-sq-ft Essential Services building with a new 17-space parking lot, lighting and landscaping, multiple solar canopies, and a new recycled water treatment system, including a 6-foot high, 185-ft long retaining wall to create a pad, a 60,000 gallon feed water tank, a 1,500-sq-ft water treatment enclosure, a 130,000 gallon recycled water storage tank and a 200-sq-ft pump station, as well as demolition of the existing office building, existing solar canopies, and adjacent parking lot. The proposed project would also validate all existing structures on the parcel. The project is part of the District’s 2004 master plan, which also includ-
VILLAGE BEAT Page 434
The proposed Essential Services Building on the Montecito Sanitary District campus on Channel Drive “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Then quit. There’s no point in being a damn fool about it.” – W. C. Fields
30 July – 6 August 2020
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Kogevinas Luxury Properties 805.450.6233 Nancy@Kogevinas.com DRE: 01209514 BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES CALIFORNIA PROPERTIES | DRE: 01317331 ©2020 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH affiliates LLC. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information.
30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
13
On Entertainment Arts, Lectures, and More
by Steven Libowitz
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Yo-Yo Ma and Austin Mann
lanning for future events in the face of the pandemic continues to be a major challenge for all arts organizations. Some have chosen to sit out the upcoming 2020-21 season (among them Camerata Pacifica) while others are cautiously rejiggering their bookings in hopes of being able to stage socially distanced performances after the first of the year (Opera Santa Barbara, Ensemble Theatre Company). Leave it to the area’s largest arts organization, UCSB Arts & Lectures, to undertake the most ambitious, and, pandemically speaking, ambidextrous approach to the problem. In a new season announced this week, A&L will be premiering “House Calls,” a curated collection of online events digital media from September through January and then pivoting back toward live performances, presenting more than three dozen events live on local stages from February through May. House Calls promises a series of interactive digital events that have yet to be fully confirmed but will include such artists and authors as ukulele master Jake Shimabukuro, Pink Martini’s China Forbes and Thomas Lauderdale, comedian Mike Birbiglia, visionary Carolina Chocolate Drops multi-hyphenate Rhiannon Giddens, singer-songwriters Jason Isbell and Nathaniel Rateliff, and conversations with Pico Iyer featuring writer Cheryl Strayed and novelist Barbara Kingsolver. Details will be announced September 1, which is also when tickets go on sale for a special “fanless” concert on November 12 with Santa Barbara favorites the Danish String Quartet livestreamed from a location in Santa Barbara, with interactive features for local audiences. The season’s live events begin on February 1, with the return of pianist Yuja Wang, an A&L favorite, collaborating with French cellist Gautier Capuçon, before the ambitious schedule calls for some 40 events over the next four months. Among the highlights in dance – which, along with Word of Mouth, Speaking with Pico, and Family Fun, is one of just four series available – are the
ENTERTAINMENT Page 234
THINKING OF SELLING?
RDouglas@bhhscal.com | 805.318.0900 RachaelDouglas.com
(805) 450-2059 | james@jjcsb.net 1230 Coast Village Circle, Montecito
14 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Montecito | Hope Ranch | Santa Barbara | Goleta
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DRE 02024147
30 July – 6 August 2020
Congratulations DANA ZERTUCHE & LORI BOWLES
ON THEIR EXCEPTIONAL SELLER REPRESENTATION OF 115 MIRAMAR AVENUE LISTED AT $4,000,000
DANA ZERTUCHE & LORI BOWLES
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30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
15
ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 8)
Now you don’t
off the road and visible to nobody, so Sulger doesn’t touch the paint. “It’s a whole art fest up there,” he adds jokingly. And all the blue markings on boulders along the trail that are left by surveyors or workers on clearing the trails or building debris nets? Sulger leaves them alone as well. “They remind me of all the hard work that has been done since the debris flow, so to me those markings are an homage to all they did and I’m not going to cover that up.”
Laura Capps Launches Re-Election Bid for County Education Seat In a video clip released July 27, former First District Supervisorial candidate Laura Capps officially announced her re-election campaign for the Santa Barbara Board of Education. In her case, “re-election” is somewhat of a misnomer, as Capps is the first to point out. “We got two new Board members in 2018, but the three of us
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that ran in 2016, nobody ran against us, so we were appointed, much to my disappointment, because I had a campaign ready.” Because elections cost money, if any of the education board races are uncontested, the county doesn’t see the point in paying for them, Capps explains, despite the fact that the board oversees education priorities for 21 schools, including three major high schools, as well as 13,500 children in an area inhabited by at least 120,000 voters. “It’s much preferable to run for office and get elected,” she explains. “I was disappointed not to have a chance to run.” Capps hopes to correct that problem this time around, but so far no contenders have entered the race. There’s still a chance that the conservative-leaning Fair Education Group might mount an insurgent campaign, perhaps drawing on widespread frustration with the district’s previous superintendent, Cary Matsuoka, who abruptly retired in October 2019. The group entered education politics to fight against what it sees as an antiwhite, anti-Christian agenda in the county’s schools, and it opposes such things as the district using funds for implicit bias training for teachers, students, and staff, which accounts for just $260,000 of the county’s roughly $140 million budget. In her tenure as board member during the past four years, Capps has championed renewable energy. “We didn’t have any solar buildings when I took office four years ago,” she recalls, “but now we have some and are projecting to be at 96 percent renewable energy. We will save millions of dollars. Oxnard has already done that, but we are way behind for a community that founded Earth Day.” Capps has also fought to ensure that no student suffers from hunger. “We have the third highest rate of poverty in the state,” she says. “So far, we’ve served almost 500,000 meals since our schools were shut down in March. It’s something I’ve always been committed to and we’ll continue to do that.”
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16 MONTECITO JOURNAL
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“A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.” – Walter Bagehot
Former First District Supervisorial candidate Laura Capps officially announced her re-election campaign for the Santa Barbara Board of Education
As an incumbent, Capps is currently working with other officials to craft a responsible way for the school district to open as many schools as possible to the greatest number of students possible, while still protecting the health of everyone, including students and teachers. “The message has been delivered to us that we need a restart,” she says. “What we experienced in March, April, and May was emergency instruction without any preparation or training. Teachers are going to be getting more support, more instructional training, and continuity.” For example, school officials are hoping that teachers performing online instruction can actually do so from within their own classrooms, where they have all the technology at their disposal and none of the distractions that come with working remotely from home. “Attendance will be taken and teachers will be able to respond to parents within 24 hours about any concerns.” Based on the results of a recent district-wide survey, Capps said, the public is still split on what it wants to happen this fall. “The minority were people who wanted us to fully reopen the schools. Most people favored a hybrid approach, 20 percent wanted a full reopening, and the rest wanted it to be fully remote.” In preparation for reopening, Capps believes outdoor space coverings can help create a solution to expanding beyond the traditional classroom while still keeping instruction on campus – in other words, bring the classroom outside. “I’ve looked into the purchasing of tents,” she says. “During the last pandemic, it turns out that [doing so] allowed a lot of kids to continue to go to school safely. We need to purchase the structures and get them up as soon as possible. Everyone agrees that the best place for kids to be is the classroom.” •MJ 30 July – 6 August 2020
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2662 Sycamore Canyon Rd | Montecito | 5BD/6BA DRE 00978392 | Offered at $9,875,000 John A Sener 805.331.7402
1684 San Leandro Ln | Montecito | 4BD/6BA DRE 01815307 | Offered at $7,995,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600
736 Toro Canyon Rd | Santa Barbara | 4BD/4BA DRE 01236143/01410304 | Offered at $7,500,000 Grubb Campbell Group 805.895.6226
811 Camino Viejo Rd | Santa Barbara | 5BD/7BA DRE 00914713/01335689 | Offered at $7,495,000 Walsh/Clyne 805.259.8808
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30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
17
Our Town
book club and scavenger hunt, a mix of fun and summer learning! Thank you, Montecito, for your love and support of small businesses.”
by Joanne A. Calitri
Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com
Retail Therapy
T
he Montecito Country Mart (MCM), located at 1016 Coast Village Road, is home to 21 boutique shops anchored by the Vons grocery store and Union Bank. MCM owner Jim Rosenfield acquired the mall in 2010, reconstructed its original 1960s façade and added outdoor patios to make it an upscale Montecito shopping destination. “I am so grateful for the support of the Montecito community through these extraordinary times,” Jim said. “The patronage of our customers has, quite literally, allowed us to keep our doors open and our employees employed. Our small shops of independent merchants have made us all proud through their tireless efforts to serve the community. We look forward to seeing, and serving, you all soon.” This week I visited each shop with MCM local rep Kristin Teufel for a photo-op and check-in. The shops are taking precautions as directed for our safety and expressed its gratitude:
Malia Mills:
“We are so damn lucky to have a store in the little bit of paradise that is Montecito – the community is so full of good chi and has been incredibly supportive of our small, sister-owned business. Since reopening we’ve seen so many familiar Malia Mills team of Stella Peters and Isabelle Hughes faces and it’s been beautiful to catch up with everyone, including our neighbors in the mart. We feel totally invigorated – we are stronger together indeed! Onward!”
Pressed Juicery:
Monelle Totah and Jennifer Williams, Hudson Grace:
“We are so thankful for our loyal customers and their support through this crazy time in history. Sunshine and summertime have given us tourists and locals who grab a couple of juices and take them to the beach. Our store is a walkup juice bar, perfect to take some juices or our new frozen vegan ice cream quickly and on the go! We also provide curbside pickup to anyone who requests. Thank you to Montecito for its continuous support, and we are happy to be providing the community a healthy product at an affordCaitlin Donoghue, Pressed Juicery able price.”
Some of the Hudson Grace team: Jennifer Williams, Francie Lufkin, and Medeighnia Westwick
“We are so grateful for the support of the community and for our wonderful team. Hope to see you soon! Thank you, Montecito. We are thrilled to be back, and servicing our clients in the safest way possible. We are grateful for the support of our local community. Stop by to see our newest additions for summer entertaining!”
Rachel Greenspan and Brendan Smith, Bettina: Rachel Greenspan and Brendan Smith, Bettina
Heather Rosenfield and Jenny Belushi, Poppy Marché: Poppy Marché’s Doreen Wilson
“When we opened a little over two years ago as a pop-up, it was just after the debris flow and we immediately fell in love with the strength and camaraderie of the Montecito community. We are honored to be a part of this special community – whether it is popping in for that afternoon candy pick me up or celebrating births and birthdays. We urge our fellow parents to check out Poppy’s
18 MONTECITO JOURNAL
“We are extremely fortunate to be part of such a supportive community. From the day we closed our dining room on March 17 until now, we’ve been so appreciative of the continued patronage of the regulars we’ve gained since opening our doors in 2018. Seeing the friendly faces of our guests (even from car windows and behind masks) has been the source of our motivation to keep going. It’s given us and our team the strength to stay afloat and continue moving forward. For the safety of our staff and guests, we made the tough decision to keep our dining room closed, but we couldn’t be happier that both locals and tourists continue to love and support our pizza.”
“My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn’t pay the bill he gave me six months more.” – Walter Matthau
30 July – 6 August 2020
Tim Sanchez, Montecito Barbers:
Rori Trovato, Rori’s Artisanal Creamery:
“We have absolutely loved serving Montecito since 1966. Our customers have become family and we cannot thank this amazing community enough for their love and support the past 54 years. We love you, Montecito!”
Tim Sanchez, Montecito Barbers
Diane Honaker, Montecito Cleaners: Rori Trovato, owner of Rori’s Artisanal Creamery, and her team
“First I want to thank Montecito and all of SB community for supporting our little store in Montecito Country Mart. This was my very first store and we’ve always had such a loyal following and fan base. Even during the pandemic customers have flocked to us and appreciate all the spacious outdoor dining available at the Mart. We couldn’t be happier being here and through ice cream, give people a little break from these bizarro times we’re living in. Ice cream seems to melt away a whole lot of stress!”
Jan Hendrickson, Read n’ Post: Montecito Cleaners owner Diane Honaker with her team and favorite customer Steve Gumins
“Thank you all for your business and support during this COVID-19 pandemic. We are an essential business and have remained open for your needs. We look forward to coming back strong together! Thank you and stay safe and healthy!”
“Read n’ Post has been in business more than 35 years; it relocated to the Montecito Country Mart in 2012. The store offers a large selection of greeting cards, magazines and gifts, as well as newspapers and books, and houses a US Post Office, where patrons are able to purchase stamps, mail packages, and access other postal services such as certified mail and money orders.
OUR TOWN Page 364
M O N T EC I TO, CALIFORN IA
Location, Location, Location | 1437 South Jameson Lane nce part of the Esther Fiske Hammond “Bonnymede” estate, this approx. 3.27 acre estate site is superbly located on the ocean side of the freeway in Montecito between the Rosewood “Miramar” and Four Seasons “Biltmore” hotels and a short walk to Miramar Beach. Never before built upon and with all utilities on site, this building site is ready to become someone’s new estate. Set behind private gates, this parcel offers privacy, sweeping mountain views. Minutes from shopping, dining and churches, this location offers the very best in Montecito living. Call Greg for a private tour of the property and get ready to build your dream house.
SOUTHJAM ESON.COM
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Offered at $5,575,000
Greg.Tice@sothebyshomes.com 805.886.0121
© Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. Greg Tice DRE: 462018
30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
19
In Business by Rebecca Lee Moody
Airplant Alchemy
At Airplant Alchemy, some plants live nestled in vessels like snail and oyster shells, glass canisters, and bubbles while others are suspended on strings
I
When he moved to the property, Brian Kollenborn said he “arrived with six tons of Spanish moss”
n the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the candy mastermind’s base of operations first appears as a nondescript, smokestacked factory with no obvious hints outside as to what goes on inside. But something does; and passersby want
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to know what. Carpinteria’s Airplant Alchemy is like that. Owned and operated by Brian Kollenborn, a 50-something third generation Californian, the place is a unique and active den of horticultural creativity housed on three acres off Casitas Pass Road. And you’d never know what’s percolating within just by looking at it. Turning off the 192 into the facility’s graveled lot you see a few buildings, some nursery objects here and there, a couple of trucks, and then across from the parking section stands your standard, faded-siding, garden variety greenhouse. No indicators suggesting what’s in there, which is part of the fun. Which has only begun. The day of my visit, the arrow on the large ‘Entrance’ sign pointed to a small ‘Closed’ sign and I couldn’t figure out how to open the metal door. A quick knock-knock led inside to a plant person appearing with a smile and a friendly wave. If you’re into beautiful, a little bit trippy, definitely different scenes living at the intersection of art and nature, get ready for a nice surprise. The door rolls open onto Kollenborn’s fantastical plant kingdom. Oh, there are plants in there, but not just any green things; air plants and more varieties than you ever imagined existed. Clumps of sageyhued curlicued things live clipped along a screened divider; spiky-spined bundles of blush and lavender-leafed specimens lie neatly spaced on low tables; carpets of mist-colored Spanish Moss cover walls and drape down from the ceiling. Some plants live nestled in vessels like snail and oyster shells, glass canisters and bubbles while others are suspended on strings. Visually, as the engagingly strange
plants are arranged, the room has an avant-garde, terrestrial tidepool look, if that’s a thing. A conversation with Kollenborn is fun and educational, full of botanical tales, scientific facts and answers to any plant question you can conjure. What are these things exactly and how do they work? “Air plants are epiphytes,” Kollenborn explained, which is to say they grow on another plant, a tree, a rock, but not in a parasitical way, simply for support. “They’re bromeliads called Tillandsias,” Kollenborn went on. “They grow without needing soil and absorb all they require through their leaves. “They’re native to areas that don’t get a lot of hard frost. Santa Barbara’s climate is perfect for them.” The Bay Area native knows what he grows and embraces, ambitiously, the urge to invent. With his massive collection of tagged plants of various sizes, ages, configurations, and colors, Kollenborn’s cross-pollination projects have led to his becoming one of the largest air plant hybridizers in the United States. “We’ve had over ten thousand specific hybrid crosses that have been successful and we were able to collect the seed from,” he said. “Some of these things are breathtaking.” They really are. Kollenborn’s living-organism-transformational-recipes have created, in addition to the already-existing types of Tillandsias he sells, a stunning range of plants with softly hued pigments in the foliage and flowers that bring to mind the shades of a desert sunset. No newcomer to the exotic plant world, Kollenborn was first introduced to it via his work with orchids while managing the Gazebo Plant Shop, formerly in Montecito’s Upper Village, in the mid-1980s.
“Give me a woman who loves beer and I will conquer the world.” – Wilhelm II
“I’ve been in orchid sales and brokering since then,” he said. “Starting in the ‘90s, I acquired my first pieces of air plants from plant friends. I’d grow them in the trees in my driveway and gave a lot away as Halloween decorations sometimes.” By 2014, his Tillandsia habit had become a serious hobby. “When I moved onto this property,” Kollenborn said, “I arrived with six tons of Spanish moss.” As he led me on a tour through the Airplant Alchemy greenhouses, Kollenborn pointed out unique features, textures, and tendencies of his wonderfully weird collection of plants. The silvery-grey-green Duratii, for instance, has long leathery leaf-arms that extend in the direction it wants to go. “It pulls itself up the tree,” he said, then showed me teeny plants, less than an inch, that he’d raised from seed. “This is two years’ worth of growth,” he said, and the Tectorum, a soft, frosty-white snowball of a plant, is “super fuzzy and fun.” (To be honest, the cutest plant I’ve ever seen.) Easy to care for and fascinating in appearance, Tillandsias don’t need much in order to thrive; only good bright light (not direct sun exposure) and a bath every week or so. Just pop the plant in a bowl of water for five to ten minutes, take it out, flip it over to drain, hang it up to dry and the fella’s good to go. Airplant Alchemy’s retail showroom has only been open to the public since 2019 and once COVID-19 came around the business started moving into online sales, as well. But, the store remains open and “we follow safe practices and COVID-safeguards,” Kollenborn said. To visit the nursery, check the website (airplantalchemy. com) for hours and just stop by. No Golden Ticket required. •MJ 30 July – 6 August 2020
The Way It Was
St. Paul watercolor. Fred Sweeny, A.I.A., painted this watercolor of today’s church (Courtesy Fred Sweeny)
by Hattie Beresford
St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church: Part II
St. Paul’s has been nominated for inclusion on the list of Santa Barbara City historic landmarks and is working toward state and national recognition as well. Organized by architect Robert Ooley, F.A.I.A., a group of volunteers has been gathering historic information about the church to support the nominations; I was lucky enough to be among them. Part I revealed the story of the founding and early years of the church. The following is Part II.
T
he year 1916 began with the women of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church giving a three-day bazaar to benefit the building fund for their new sanctuary. Things were looking up for the church. The membership, which had dwindled to 12 at the time of Rev. Duncan’s arrival in November 1915, had grown to 44 by March. By August 9, the new Carpenter’s Gothic Church building was complete, but there was a problem. The cost, which was initially estimated to be $3,000, was actually $3,500. Before the building would be turned over to them, they needed to raise $500 more. Reverend Duncan made an appeal to “the kind and generous-hearted” public to send donations. And they swiftly and happily complied. On September 1, the Right Reverend Henry Blanton Park, presiding bishop
Ms Beresford is a local historian who has written two Noticias for the Santa Barbara Historical Museum as well as authored two books. One, The Way It Was: Santa Barbara Comes of Age, is a collection of articles written for the Montecito Journal. The other, Celebrating CAMA’s Centennial, is the fascinating story of Santa Barbara’s Community Arts Music Association.
of the California conference of the AME, came to Santa Barbara to deliver a sermon and inaugurate the new building with its new name, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church. All were invited, and indeed, it was no segregated congregation that heard the notable bishop speak. As the years progressed, the church
Matthew Pifer, MD
would become known for its musical programs such as “The Galilean,” a sacred Cantata performed by its choir and other local talent. The church agreed to be used as a polling place in 1917 when Supervisor Sam Stanwood made an urgent request. They hosted the controversial Prince Kaba Rega of Africa who claimed to be a missionary of the AME and wanted funds to bring Christianity to his people. (He was investigated by the FBI, and scorned by Marcus Garvey and other black leaders who believed he was a fraud and a con artist.) Pastors came and went. Revival meetings were hosted. Noted guest preachers took to the pulpit. A fellow-
ship hall and a parsonage were added. Church organizations were created, such as “Buds of Promise,” a children’s organization, the men’s Forum Club, and the literary society. Funerals and weddings, guest preachers, chicken dinners, choir practice, Halloween parties, and Sunday school, all became part of the yearly pageant of the AME. And music, of course, always music.
The Angel Mural
It was music that brought Lilia Tuckerman to St. Paul’s in 1936. Born Lilia McCauley in Minnesota, she
WAY IT WAS Page 284
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• The Voice of the Village •
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Perspectives by Rinaldo S. Brutoco Rinaldo S. Brutoco is the Founding President and CEO of the Santa Barbara-based World Business Academy and a co-founder of JUST Capital. He’s a serial entrepreneur, executive, author, radio host, and futurist who’s published on the role of business in relation to pressing moral, environmental, and social concerns for over 35 years
Why Are We Here?
M
y wife and I have significant comorbidity issues that would be extremely dangerous were we to contract COVID-19. Many of us have been self-quarantined since mid-February with no end in sight. Why are we here? California started way behind New York in experiencing large pandemic infections, only to pass it. Why are we here? Santa Barbara County Supervisor Chairman Gregg Hart laments that we need to get local businesses up and running, but he recognizes it won’t happen until the virus is under control. We had 80 new cases in Santa Barbara county last Thursday. While New York had only 39 deaths and 953 new cases the day I write this, California had 157 deaths and 10,032 new cases. Yes, ten times as many new cases in California as New York. Why are we here? Every other modern Western industrial democracy in Europe, the Pacific, and Asia have gotten COVID-19 under control. The United States continues to be the plague pariah state that isn’t even allowed to fly to Europe. We know we could get the pandemic under control in weeks if we just copy other countries that have already done so. None waited for a vaccine. There is no secret formula – so why are we here? Fortunately, the answer to that question is simple: we’re here because of a failure of local, state, and federal political leadership. In those countries with good political leadership, the virus has been tamed. They are now on their way to safely reopening. In the US we are flailing away with a crisis that deepens every day causing the collapse of hospital systems. In the US, the virus death toll is crossing 150,000, known infections exceed 4,330,000, and structural damage to our economy is deepening. Even a significant majority of Republicans agree that President Trump has “botched” it. It’s a comment on how badly we need federal leadership in order to get to some version of a “new normal.” And, although Mr. Trump has begun to acknowledge the problems created by the mixed messaging on reopening states too quickly, the continued “push” to prematurely reopen schools is as failed a political strategy as holding the Republican Convention in Jacksonville. Fortunately, many states will ignore the Administration even as we mourn the death of a nine-year-old girl in Florida last week and express concern for our teachers, students, and families. Failed attempts to reopen commerce has backfired in every state it was tried, including California. A similar failure will await any school district unwise enough to prematurely send children back to classrooms. In those states with good political leadership, the virus is now coming under control. Governor Cuomo showed us how to do it. Governor Newsom chose to ignore his example either out of personal pride or a terribly flawed political miscalculation. Either way, we went from relatively safe to daily death leader. Unlike Governor Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut who have banded together to require visitors from outside their states to quarantine themselves for 14 days, Governor Newsom has yet to issue an order requiring epicenter residents of Los Angeles to stay at home and quit travelling to Santa Barbara where they have become a major source of new infections. That incompetence on his part is absolutely destructive to vacation communities that are hit with new waves of infected people visiting on weekends as a “get away” from their epicenter of infection. For those who cheer these weekend invasions as a way to get our restaurants and hotels filled, don’t miss the fact that we’ve been forced to roll back to “no inside dining” because we allowed the virus to get out of control, thereby further delaying our return to normal commerce. Here is an inescapable axiom: this virus does not respect politics. It is also an axiom that commerce cannot effectively re-emerge until after the pandemic is brought under control. So, how do we get there? You’ve already heard from every health expert. The answer is simple: 1) Everyone has to wear a face mask. Period; 2) Everyone needs to social distance; 3) Everyone has to maintain personal hygiene; and 4) Everyone should stay at home as much as possible to minimize social “spread.” How long will it take for us to get the virus under control if we follow those four simple rules: only four to eight weeks. We don’t have to wait for a vaccine or a miracle cure, although both would be welcome. We have to be individually responsible for returning society to health, and before we send our children back to school which would be another form of premature
22 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Adding More Turmeric to Your Diet Could Give You an Antiviral Boost
C
urcumin is one of the main compounds that make up the spice turmeric, and it’s known to have many health benefits, from fighting inflammation and easing joint pain to improving mood and supporting brain health. A new study, however, has found that curcumin may have antiviral properties. The study, which was published in the Journal of General Virology, aimed to see whether curcumin could fight against infection by a virus known as TGEV, an alpha-group coronavirus that specifically infects pigs. They found that at high enough doses, the compound was able to kill virus particles before it infected cells. They also found that in some cases the curcumin would integrate with the virus to render it inactive or even alter the metabolism of the threatened cell to prevent the virus from entering. There are many ways to incorporate turmeric into your routine. While supplements are one way, many people enjoy simple solutions like adding golden milk or turmeric tea to their diet. However you decide to incorporate it, be sure to pair turmeric with black pepper to increase its absorption in the gut.
Breathe More Through Your Nose
We all want to strengthen our immunity during the coronavirus pandemic – and while diet and exercise are a big part of that, there is another thing you can do to bolster your defense: nasal breathing. According to breathing expert Brian Mackenzie, “[The nose] is the first line of defense for the immune system.” That’s not to say you should ignore proper guidelines in place to help protect you from bacteria and viruses (like wearing a mask, for instance), but the nose does have its own way of keeping you healthy. Our nasal passages are able to filter bacteria and viruses in the air. We have hair follicles in our nose that are able to filter the air as you inhale, which can block dust and bacteria from reaching your lungs. The mucus itself is also linked to immunity: On every hair in our noses, there’s a mucus coating. The mucus instantaneously launches defense immune cells (TH1 and TH2) whenever it detects bacteria or viruses. While you can breathe out of your mouth occasionally, Mackenzie said at least 80 percent of your day should be through your nose only. Perhaps try and keep your mouth closed through an entire yoga class; notice when you feel the urge to open up and try to strengthen your nasal breathing by pushing through it. Even if you’re not exercising, make it a habit to routinely think to yourself: Do I actually need to breathe through my mouth right now? •MJ reopening that would launch yet another wave of infection. That’s how we get from here to there! Fortunately, the business community is providing some leadership. A number of national chains are requesting face masks be worn in order to shop. And, virtually all of our local businesses are doing the same – try walking into your favorite establishment without a mask and watch how fast you have to retreat. Pierre Lafond leads the way to protect their employees, and all of us customers. Smart move. I notice they are really busy. Good for you. And good for all the restaurants that have begun serving outside and increasing takeout deliveries as a practical way to get some business and protect their customers’ health. These business initiatives are vital and are already having a positive impact. Now, if we could just get our local political leaders to enforce our mask wearing ordinances. You see, it works better and faster if we all wear masks – so let’s get going! Don’t you want this nightmare to end? So, how do we avoid anything like this crisis again? Well, this is our city, our county, our state, and our nation. “We the people” have the collective responsibility to vote as never before in these challenging times to elect better political leadership. So to end this nightmare, and never again ask, “Why are we here?” we have to take personal responsibility to wear masks and vote for effective political leadership. Please remember that when the next election is held about 100 days from now. •MJ
“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” – Will Rogers
30 July – 6 August 2020
ENTERTAINMENT (Continued from page 14)
Santa Barbara of New York-based b-girl Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie performing a new work for seven dancers and four musicians that brings together and remixes street and club dances, plus the return of MacArthur winner Kyle Abraham and his company Abraham.in.Motion, the Joffrey Ballet, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, who will be commemorating the 60th anniversary of their famed work “Revelations” over two nights in April. While the Ailey events aren’t specifically part of UCSB A&L’s response to the ongoing Black Lives Matter and other protests over injustice, the organization is launching a new “The Race to Justice” series, featuring a mix of virtual events and live events that includes presentations by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, author of the bestseller How to Be an Antiracist; veteran activist Sister Helen Prejean; social justice advocate Bryan Stevenson of Just Mercy; attorney and criminal justice reform advocate Brittany Barnett; and author Ta-Nehisi Coates of Between the World and Me, with other events still to be announced. A&L’s culturally-significant Viva el Arte program will also continue. The non-series events outnumber the series offerings and cover a wide spectrum of genres, with highlights including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, 2020 Grammy award winner Ranky Tanky, The Wood Brothers, Alisa Weilerstein playing the complete Bach cello suites, Silkroad Ensemble’s Home Within, the world premiere of Jennifer Koh and Davóne Tines’ Everything That Rises Must Converge, commissioned by UCSB Arts & Lectures, and entrepreneur and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang. “At Arts & Lectures, we entertain, educate, and inspire,” Celesta M. Billeci, A&L’s Miller McCune Executive Director, said in a press release. “Each of those elements has its own urgency in this moment, and I am confident that what we provide to our community is even more meaningful right now. We know that our basic human need to gather together to laugh, learn, and be uplifted means we will gather as soon as we can.” Tickets to live events, and subscriptions, which range from 10-20 percent, went on sale on July 29. Meanwhile, the press release states that A&L is keeping a close eye on health/pandemic developments locally in Santa Barbara and beyond, and will be following all guidelines. For details, and to purchase tickets, visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu.
PAC It In: Advice for Parents of Adult Children
Veteran Santa Barbara resident Barbara Greenleaf founded the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival and served as vice-chancellor at Antioch University. But writing has also been her longtime profession with a particular focus on how the way families behave has changed through time yet have endured for centuries. Now partway through her eighth decade on the planet, Greenleaf most recently published a blog that tackled the issues of her generation who are faced with a changing world regarding their adult children. Her new book, Parents of Adult Children: You Are Not Alone, features a selection of the posts and advice-column-style scenarios, all with the aim of lightening the load Author Barbara Greenleaf’s new book Parents and helping older Americans form of Adult Children: You Are Not Alone tackles better relationships with their thorny intergenerational issues grown children. While the subject receives serious attention, Greenleaf has also approached it with some of the humor revealed in her self-referential book THIS OLD BODY: And 99 Other Reasons to Laugh at Life. For the official online release party, Greenleaf has planned a similarly fun hour of activities including splitscreen conversations, a quiz where scenarios are described and participants choose from three options for handling the situation before Greenleaf reveals what the panel said. The 11 am launch party on Thursday, August 6, also features giveaways, music, balloons in the background, and lots more. Visit www.barbaragreenleaf.com. Greenleaf talked about her approach and some of the surprising secrets over the phone earlier this week.
ENTERTAINMENT Page 264
30 July – 6 August 2020
Brilliant Thoughts by Ashleigh Brilliant Born London, 1933. Mother Canadian. Father a British civil servant. World War II childhood spent mostly in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Berkeley PhD. in American History, 1964. Living in Santa Barbara since 1973. No children. Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots”, now a series of 10,000. Email ashleigh@west.net or visit www.ashleighbrilliant.com
Royal Flesh
I
t seems odd that, after centuries of agitation for equality, so many countries still have social systems in which some “royal” person is considered to be at the top. The word “royal” derives from the French word for king – and, although France no longer has a monarch, many other advanced countries still do. In fact, some of the world’s most prosperous and stable democracies, such as Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and the Netherlands are still theoretically governed by human sovereigns. Then there is that remarkable entity, the “United Kingdom,” where I myself was born, in the reign of King George V. But, before I was old enough to take much of an interest, there was an Edward, and then a sixth George. The latter was particularly appealing, because he and his wife had two daughters – two princesses – not much older than myself. The elder one eventually became Queen Elizabeth II – and, although hardly a monarchist, I was one of the thousands who thronged central London to catch a glimpse of her, in her ornate horse-drawn coach, on the day of her Coronation, June 2, 1953. On that same day, it was announced that the summit of Mount Everest had been reached for the first time. The two triumphant mountaineers were a New Zealander, Edmond Hillary, and a Nepalese, Tenzing Norgay – both subjects of the Queen. To commemorate the latter occasion, I wrote a poem, which was published in the literary magazine of University College, London, where I was then an undergraduate. As you will see from the first two stanzas, however, I lamented that this “conquest” meant a regrettable loss of what had been one of the few remaining Earthly symbols of the gloriously unattainable: EVEREST DEFILED The Goddess of Endeavour lies a-ravished, And virgin snows befouled in Honor’s name – Last of terrestrial glories, lost forever – Everest, I am humbled in thy shame. In darkness now enshrouded lie thy bastions, Forlorn, thy frozen pinnacles look down – Eternity, her sanctuary broken, Broods upon thy desecrated crown. My next encounter with the Queen did not come until 30 years later, when she visited Santa Barbara, where I had already been living for ten years.
• The Voice of the Village •
She and her husband, Prince Phillip, happened to come at a time of very stormy weather, which forced changes of many plans, including that of sailing in the Royal Yacht from Long Beach to Santa Barbara. They had to come instead by air. But the one impression I retained, after watching her arrive to speak at the Courthouse, to a crowd gathered there in the Garden, beneath a multitude of umbrellas, was how carefully the Queen took each step. It made me realize how, even (or perhaps especially) when you’re a Queen, you are constantly moving about, in public, on unfamiliar surfaces. A Queen must always, in every sense, be watching her step. The only other Queen I have had the opportunity to observe in person was the American-born Queen Noor of Jordan, the last wife of King Hussein. It was 1991, and I was on an unusual tour of the Middle East with a group of “EarthStewards” – an organization devoted to such worthy projects as improving international relations by making direct people-to-people contacts. We had flown from New York to Jordan, and were next going to Israel, hoping somehow to ease the enduring tensions between these neighboring countries. This lady, who had already been Queen for 13 years, received our group of 23 in an ornate room in her Palace. There were, however, no seats, not even for Noor herself. So, we all stood in a sort of arc, facing her. What impressed me most was her remarkable poise. Princess Grace of Monaco had already been dead for a decade, but it struck me that those two beautiful American women had both achieved the fairytale status of marrying into foreign royalty. After she spoke to us as a group (very diplomatically, about desiring peace with Israel) there was a question time. I wanted to ask if, after having risen to her current position, she still had any unfulfilled dreams. But I was never called on, and so never got to question a Queen. I myself had other dreams, however – as indicated by the third and final stanza of my Everest poem, quoted above: But if forbidden beauty’s violation Must to the record add, of human crime – If Earth’s most cherished citadel must crumble – Why could not that conquest have been mine? •MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL
23
Dear Montecito by Stella Pierce
Montecito Alumni Write Letters from Life’s Front
A
s I write the introduction for today’s letter, I’m doing something I usually don’t do while I write and edit: listen to music. I’m listening to a funky, young album called The Deep End produced by a composing duo who recorded the whole thing in only two weeks. Today we’re hearing from rising artist, Clay Rodgers. A double major in music and government, Clay boasts a modest résumé including his album The Deep End – released earlier this year – a number of singles (with some locally inspired titles, like my favorite, “Bucket Brigade”), and a second album he is working on currently. I turned on Clay’s tunes at the beginning of my writing session today, pretending that I was doing “research” for this edition. But as it stands, I’ve had to go back and restructure my vignette for Clay several times now, as I found myself distracted by the playful bass and my tapping foot. (There is a reason I don’t usually allow myself to listen to music while I work.) My first encounter of
24 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Clay’s soulful, So-Cal-inspired track was doubly enhanced by his account of how our town put him on the path to create his music. Take it away, Clay.
Dear Montecito,
My name is Clay Rodgers, and I have been blessed to be a resident of our village for most of my life. My childhood was about as good as it gets – I had a nice house, a nice family, and a nice neighborhood, as is the case with most of my peers. My life in Montecito has had an incredible impact on my path into adulthood, not only because of the nature of the town, but also because of a day I’m sure we all remember: January 9, 2018. The mudslides. Everyone has something that makes sense – whether it is math, sports, writing, or art. We all have something that just clicks. For me, that has always been music. For as long as I can remember, and probably before, it has played a massive role in my development and character. Before I could speak, I was singing gibberish and strumming a kid’s tennis racket. As soon as I was able, I was asking my parents year after year for a drum set and lessons. By my senior year in high school, I was playing both drums and piano proficiently and had started experimenting with songwriting. At my Montecito house on Tiburon Bay Lane, I had a near perfect setup. We had a guesthouse where I could set up my drums, and even when I was playing hard, I wouldn’t bother my family or neighbors. I was blessed to have near complete freedom to play whenever I wanted. I had my mind set on becoming a professional drummer, and I practiced for hours every day to reach this goal. However, my blissful little bubble would soon be burst, and my life would take a dramatically different turn than what I had been planning. On the day of the mudslides, only my dad and I were home. At around 3 am, I woke up to my dad screaming my name and walked out of my room to find mud and debris rampaging our house. Luckily, we were able to find safety upstairs and were found by search and rescue workers around noon. Although my family was able to escape relatively unharmed, the memorable casualty of that day was my drums. When we were able to go back and salvage what we could, I found them utterly wrecked. The little guesthouse stood no chance against the unrelenting wall of mud, and all of
Clay Rodgers, with his bass, has just released a new album, The Deep End
my gear was obliterated. This is in no way comparable to the tragedy of the 23 lives lost, but if you are a musician, you’ll know how hard it can be to lose an instrument.
Before I could speak, I
was singing gibberish and
strumming a kid’s tennis racket. As soon as I was able, I was
asking my parents year after
year for a drum set and lessons
We rented a house in Hope Ranch. Many of my peers also affected by the mud lived in hotels (or less) for months, and I’m sure they would have much preferred a house like I had. The support we received from our fellow Montecito residents was incredible. Almost everything, from furniture to meals to bedsheets, was either donated or loaned to us while we got back on our feet. A family friend even let me borrow a drum set. However, this house was not Tiburon Bay. There was no guesthouse I could go and escape to. I set up the drum set in the garage, but even then, I could only play a fraction of the amount I had been able to,
“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.” – Winston Churchill
as it essentially sounded like I was playing in the living room. It wasn’t realistic to expect my parents to put up with that – they were already dealing with a hell storm of legal and insurance issues. I had to find a new area of focus. I took up bass lessons and started using my laptop and some music creation software to teach myself how to write and produce music. After a while, I found I was actually pretty good at it – much better, in fact, than drumming alone. Best of all, when I am working on my computer, I can simply plug my headphones in and not bother anyone. This year, I have just released an album, The Deep End, and am currently working on a second. I am incredibly proud of both of these projects, but neither of them would have been possible without the impact of my life in Montecito. The mudslides were (and still are) a huge tragedy to our town, but it forced me to explore out of my comfort zone into a new world which I would ultimately find much more success in than I ever had before. I am not an overly spiritual or superstitious person, but I like to believe that the soul of Montecito knew that I was meant for a different path. Without its guidance, I would not be able to do the amazing things I can. Out of destruction and death comes life and rebirth. For this, Montecito, I am eternally grateful. Thank you. Clay Rodgers •MJ 30 July – 6 August 2020
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30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
25
ENTERTAINMENT (Continued from page 23)
Q. “You are not alone” is part of the title. Does that mean that parents of adult children think they’re the only ones with these issues? A. One way to look at it is that there’s still a lot of pressure in our society to say everything is great with the kids because parenting is our report card. If the kids aren’t doing all that well, it must mean that we have been crappy parents. So “you are not alone” means that there are lots of other parents who have issues with their adult children. But it can also be taken that we’re in there with you. When I had my blog, people would write in and comment a lot and people could get support. And then, I guess literally too: with so many adult children moving in with their parents, it’s the literal truth that you are not alone. Absolutely, young adults are moving back home in much higher percentages than in decades, which is a huge change. We haven’t had this kind of intergenerational household since World War II when there was a housing shortage. It’s a worldwide phenomenon by the way. And there are so many reasons why people are living at home. Obviously, COVID-19 has had a massive impact in terms of that situation. People are coming home to stay for any number of reasons, including financial if they lost a job, or safety. But on the other hand, I imagine the opposite is also true in that lots of adult children are deliberately not seeing their parents because they don’t want to take the chance of infecting their own mother or father who might be in a more vulnerable state. That’s too new to be in the book but it must be an absolutely fascinating dichotomy. It is interesting. I just interviewed a therapist and she said that in some perverse way, the pandemic is bringing families together because they are Zooming or they’re doing FaceTime, which maybe they hadn’t done before, or they just have more time to spend with each other. I think that they realize that the older people who are isolated are feeling very anxious and very alone. So younger people have more of a role to play than ever. And hopefully many are stepping up. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but what makes you an authority on giving advice for parents of adult children? I’ve been looking at the American family for four decades, starting with my book Children Through the Ages: A History of Childhood and A Handbook for Working Mothers. And then I was a contributing editor at McCall’s Working Mother magazine before writing the blog for three years. So in addition to being a mother of two and grandmother of four, I’ve been in the arena for quite a while. But I’m very glad you asked because I do not hold myself out as an authority. I’m not a therapist and I’m not trained to counsel people. I’m a historian and I am a journalist. The family is my beat, so to speak. And when advice is given in my writing, it’s always from an expert in the field or parents chiming in with their comments.
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How did you compile the articles, the poems, and the other material that you use, either verbatim or referred to in your essays? You know what they say: When all you’ve got is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. I start with the Internet, and I’d look on Amazon to see what books were available. I am particularly fond of that poet, Linda Schwartz, who’s a local poet. She writes about family in such an accessible yet touching way that kind of gets to your heart the way prose cannot. There were a lot of cartoons and songs I found that unfortunately I couldn’t put in this book because of copyright, so those are going in the newsletter I’m putting out every month. It also doesn’t appear that you draw on your own family. Does that mean you didn’t have many of these issues, or is it just something you are curious about? I was just always interested in children and families. I don’t use my situation, but friends would often talk to me about issues, and I think even if you don’t have adult children, it’s an interesting topic. In our society, seniors, if they’re not blind, are ridiculed. Parents and in-laws aren’t venerated for our wisdom, which is very different than things used to be. So the idea was to get this information out there because most writers are younger than I am and write about it from their own generation’s perspective. It’s a big field, but this is written from the parents’ point of view. Also, there is so much advice for parents of young children – it’s an industry. But surprisingly there isn’t much for parents with adult children, and yet we’re going to have our children as adults three times longer than we had them as kids. You have a big chapter on money, which is always a sticky wicket. What are some of the trends you’ve found? Young adults today seem to interpret “Honor thy father and mother” in a very loose way. They don’t feel it’s incumbent upon them to create family togetherness or one big happy family. A trend I’m seeing is young married women taking care of their parents and their husbands taking care of his. And while the divorce rate has stayed steady at 50 percent, what has really climbed is what they call the silver splitters – people of a certain age who get divorced. That has some impact on the young adults moving back home. Another trend is people deciding to skip marriage, as much as a quarter of the millennials. This has so many consequences, especially for parents who are dying to become grandparents who may be left with the grand dog. And yet 40 percent of American babies are born out of wedlock, which to me is so startling. You start off the book with “The Difficult Daughter-in-Law,” which seemed almost like its own subject, and then close it out with “Leaving a Legacy,” which goes way beyond money. Can you say more about each? Much to my shock, the topic of the daughter-in-law was searched on the Internet six times more than all my other articles put together. I was so astounded. I have daughters so I don’t know much first-hand, but there’s so much pain out there that I felt I had to handle it in some depth. Mothers-in-law feel disregarded and disrespected and in some of the worst cases the grandchildren are weaponized. So it’s a huge issue and it alienates the son from his mother. That’s why I kicked off with that topic. Another one of the shocks is that the kids nowadays don’t want your stuff. Those fantasies that grandma’s china and her silver that needs polishing were going to go on generation after generation just isn’t happening, and we have had to detach ourselves from these material things. So now what I’m emphasizing in the book is what you would leave in your “memory box.” One man said he’d leave the baseball glove and the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers World Series program. A woman would leave nice notes that she got from her students when she was a teacher, and another wanted to leave the certificate she won at a contest to be the official taster of Dreyer’s ice cream, and somebody said she’d leave a recording of a bar mitzvah of songs where she wrote the lyrics. It’s become a very personal thing. We’re getting down to values and how we want to be remembered rather than just what’s in the will.
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30 July – 6 August 2020
People of Montecito
City News
by Megan Waldrep
by Jun Starkey
Police Reform En Route?
Santa Barbara City Council looks into forming civilian review board
T
he killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer more than two months ago has shaken a nation that is still dealing with the fallout. Thousands of protesters remain in the streets of Portland in a tense standoff with police and federal agents even as the massive demonstrations against police brutality that swept the nation last month have mostly subsided. Now comes the really difficult work: crafting policy reforms targeting police brutality. Santa Barbara is among cities looking to make sweeping changes to its police department. Spurred by the protests, an idea that was once regarded as practically impossible has gained traction and the City is seriously thinking about creating a civilian review board. “Civilian oversight of police is not a new or novel concept,” said Councilmember Meagan Harmon. “It is tried and tested, and when it’s done effectively, it has proven to have really important benefits for the community.” The Santa Barbara City Council voted 7-0 Tuesday to create a community commission to help create a civilian police review system, plans for which will be later brought to council for a vote. The move was a baby step, but an important first one for the City to begin looking at how the police department does business. In the complex scheme of city governance, creating a civilian review board is among the most difficult pieces of policy that a city can craft. It’s a legal, political, and social matter – three tips of a triangle that can lead in different directions. Councilmembers Alejandra Gutierrez and Harmon will be working with City Attorney Ariel Calonne and City Administrator Paul Casey over the coming weeks to develop a framework for a community commission that would spearhead the civilian review board process, with a focus on creating a diverse and inclusive board. “I think it is imperative that this committee reflect Black, trans, and disabled members of our community, indigenous and formerly incarcerated,” said Councilmember Kristen Sneddon. “And to have gender balance, and not just binary gender, reflected on the board as well.” Many members of the community spoke in support of a review board, but also shared concerns with the possibility of the board not properly representing the community. 30 July – 6 August 2020
“We can no longer have systems that are committed to misunderstanding us and criminalizing our community,” said Simone Ruskamp, a community activist and member of Healing Justice Santa Barbara Collective. “It’s imperative that you listen to what the community is asking for, which is a review board, not a single auditor and not unattached experts.” Assistant City Attorney John Doimas presented a report to councilmembers on Tuesday, which described three possibilities for a potential review board.
Megan Waldrep is a writer for regional and national publications who lives with her fiancé in a 22’ airstream. She writes a weekly blog about being the partner of a commercial fisherman and authors a relationship column under the pen name Elizabeth Rose. Learn more at meganwaldrep.com.
What’s Your Montecito Story? Alex Ortiz
“[Civilian review] is an important step but only one step towards equitable policing,” Harmon said. “It is about the self-determination of those who are most marginalized in our community.” In one scenario, a review-focused system would examine the quality of completed police internal affairs investigations. The individual reviewer or reviewing body wouldn’t have the authority to conduct an independent investigation, but could make recommendations to the department based on original reports, or request further investigation. A second option would have an auditor/monitor-focused system involving analysts looking for patterns in police policies or practices by reviewing data and reporting it to a board or commission. The patterns being examined could range from misconduct and use of force to issues regarding race or gender. The auditor/monitor could also make policy recommendations to the police chief, city administrator, or city council. A hybrid system combines elements of the other civilian review options. According to the staff report written by Doimas, hybrid systems are often the best choice for a city. “[Civilian review] is an important step but only one step towards equitable policing,” Harmon said. “It is about the self-determination of those who are most marginalized in our community.” While it’s too soon to tell where this is headed, with a nation on edge over acts of police brutality, it’s likely that Santa Barbara’s days of internal police reviews are reaching their end. •MJ
“I
’m not really from here. I come from a city called Vallejo. It’s about thirty minutes north of San Francisco. It’s not a nice area; we don’t even have a community college there. Coming down here, it gives me the motivation to work hard. I see people living in this nice area and I want to make my way up there one day. I’m a student and I work part-time here (at Renaud’s). There’s definitely a different crowd in Montecito than in the Bay Area. People come in with their heads held high. And that’s what I strive to be one day.” •MJ
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WAY IT WAS (Continued from page 21)
Parishioners pose in front of St. Paul’s in the late 1940s or early ‘50s (Courtesy UCSB Library Special Research Collections)
grew up Washington, D.C. in a wellto-do family. She and her siblings were cared for by an African American nursemaid and nanny named Barbara Williams, whom they adored. As a young woman, Lilia studied art with several notable artists in the area and took classes at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design of George Washington University. In 1903 she married Wolcott Tuckerman at the fashionable St. John’s church in Washington, D.C., which was reported to have been the smartest function of its kind that had taken place in Washington that season. Wolcott and she had five children, for whom she hired an African American nursemaid named Mary Jane Robinson. About 1920, the Tuckerman family moved to Carpinteria where they purchased a ranch on Cravens Road and named it Arroyo del Paredón. From this peaceful abode, Lydia continued her career
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in art and her work with, and for, people who were blind. Her granddaughter, Roxanne Lapidus Isaacson, tells that Lilia was a very devout woman, who believed that her artistic talent was a God-given gift. “Whenever she sold a painting,” says Roxie, “she would give the proceeds to charity.” Sometime in the mid 1930s, Lilia and her husband attended a service at the St. Paul AME church. As she studied the bare space in the nave behind the choir and listened to the beautiful spirituals resonating throughout the church, she became inspired to paint a mural in honor of her and her children’s loving caretakers. She envisioned a mural of black angels and began work at her ranch house studio. The pastor’s wife, Mary Prioleau-King, is depicted as the central angel. According to her daughter, Anna L. (King) Gonzalez, she posed for the bodies of the other angels, whose faces were those of ladies of the church. Five other members of the church were immortalized on the mural: Dorothy Chapman-Mayer; Sally Smith Walton; Lillian Telfair; Eva Buckner; and Dorothy Forney-Wright. Though Dorothy Forney was not a direct descendent of the incredible and famous Jerry Forney, who came to Santa Barbara in 1874, they may have been kin. Her grandfather had been born on the Forney plantation near Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina. Her grandparents had moved to Fresno, California by 1890, and her father and his siblings moved to Santa Barbara around 1908.
At the unveiling, journalist Litti Pauling wrote, “The painting is simple, reverently done and impressive….” Mary Prioleau-King, the pastor’s wife, is the central angel.
Lilia Tuckerman believed her artistic talent was a God-given gift. She always gave any money she made from sales of her art to charity. For St. Paul AME, she gave a host of angels. (Courtesy Santa Barbara Historical Museum)
ing is simple, reverently done and impressive… All [angels] are in soft deep yellow robes and have wings of soft green that make a simple effective pattern. In gold leaf and black behind each figure is a cross. Decorative symbols of clusters of grapes ornament the panel… It was painted as a loving thought and this love is reflected in
Dorothy Chapman Mayor was still in high school when she posed for one of Tuckerman’s kneeling angels
the work.” The dedication service opened with the processional hymn of “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and moved toward the presentation of the painting by Reverend
WAY IT WAS Page 304
Unveiling the Power of the Angels
The late Litti Paulding, journalist for the News-Press, described the painting at the unveiling and dedication service on January 20, 1938. “The paint-
Grace Ruth Southwick, principal of the public night school, expressed her feelings upon seeing the mural by telling Tuckerman, “The solvent of your genius made us for a few minutes truly ‘brothers.’ It was a deep spiritual experience to believe for a while that God did make of one blood all the nations of the earth, and that even white people could sometimes know it!”
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MONTECITO JOURNAL
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WAY IT WAS (Continued from page 28)
“We dedicate this picture to the healing of life’s discords, and the revealing of the hidden soul of harmony; to the lifting of the depressed and the comforting of the sorrowing; to the humbling of the heart before the eternal mysteries, and the lifting of the soul to abiding beauty and joy by the gospel in infinite love and good will.” – Reverend Ralph R. King
Lillian Telfair’s visage graced a kneeling angel
Ralph R. King who ended his speech as follows: “We dedicate this picture to the healing of life’s discords, and the revealing of the hidden soul of harmony; to the lifting of the depressed and the comforting of the sorrowing; to the humbling of the heart before the eternal mysteries, and the lifting of the soul to abiding beauty and joy by the gospel in infinite love and good will.” The painting had a profound effect on all who saw it. One woman wrote, “I have only seen the cut in the NewsPress, but it fairly staggered me.” The
Reverend Ralph R. King was pastor of St. Paul’s for six years and presided over the dedication service for the Angel Mural (Courtesy of Anna L. Gonzales)
effect was somewhat marred, however, by its coverage by those selfsame papers. In a 1992 article about the church, Mary P. King recalled that the newspapers kept referring to Tuckerman’s colored mammy and referring to the painting as the Mammy Mural. “It was not taken very well,” King said. The insensitive language was somewhat washed away by the response of those who actually saw the painting.
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Grace Ruth Southwick, then principal of the evening high school and later director of adult education for City College, wrote to Tuckerman. “Because my heart is full,” she wrote, “I must write you before I sleep some hint of the gratitude I feel for your gift to us all in Santa Barbara. On my teaching staff are four negro teachers, college graduates, of whom Mr. King is one. So I dimly sense the starved sense of beauty their confinement by us whites to ugly surroundings constantly denies… The solvent of your genius made us for a few minutes truly ‘brothers.’ It was a deep spiritual experience to believe for a while that God did make of one blood all the nations of the earth, and that even white people could sometimes know it! You have given to us a greater gift than to the African church and people in lifting us for a moment to a Mount of Vision where our degrading race-consciousness fell away before the beauty of your own spirit and its incarnation in the painting. For its noble beauty and power and poignancy, I have no words – only a very humble ‘Thank you.’” (Sources: Pastor Jeffery Clark of St. Paul A.M.E. church, contemporary newspaper articles; https://www.amechurch.com/our-church/our-history/; letter from Anna L. (King) Gonzales to Jessica Schley and transcribed by Roxanne Lapidus, Lilia Tuckerman’s granddaughters, plus author’s email communication with Anna. Scrapbook articles and notes belonging to Lilia Tuckerman and passed
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Mary Ethel King and Anna Lynell King (later Gonzales) in 1934. Anna remembers Lilia Tuckerman treated her mother, sister, and her to tickets to a Santa Barbara concert by the famous African American contralto, Marian Anderson. Tuckerman sent a limousine to take them to the concert hall. “What an exciting event in the life of an 8-year-old Black kid whose only contact with white people was in school!” wrote Anna in an email to Jessica Schley, Lilia Tuckerman’s granddaughter, in June 2020. (Courtesy of Anna L. Gonzales)
along by Roxanne; Deceased membership list from St. Paul A.M.E.; ancestry.com resources of censuses, slave schedules, voter registration lists, city directories, etc.; online historic newspaper resources; AME district website; Sanborn and other maps; Santa Barbara News-Press, 1992; Santa Barbara Magazine, Fall 1994, p 132; Dedication Service program, St. Paul African M.E. Church, January 20th, 1938) •MJ
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• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
31
A Mighty Force
by Gretchen Lieff Gretchen is founder and president of the Lutah Maria Riggs Society and Davey’s Voice, both Santa Barbara 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Gretchen sits on the board of the California Water Impact Network and is vice president of the board of the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network.
Missing
T
he anguish never goes away. Missing something or someone, it’s one of the great common denominators. No matter who you are or what you have, such deep loss is irretrievable. Nineteen months ago my beloved border collie dogs, eight-year-old Daisy and her one-year-old puppy companion Diesel, disappeared from my ranch in rural San Luis Obispo County, during a torrential storm. Daisy had always been terrified of thunder. It was likely that Diesel followed her into the hills and the hundreds of thousands of wilderness acres beyond. Endless searches, including hours in the sky in fixed wing planes, turned up nothing. Canvassing vast rural neighborhoods, distributing and stapling flyers to endless phone poles – and nothing. Drones patrolling riverbanks and canyons. Nothing. We visited every vet and Despite a $3,000 reward, Daisy and Diesel were never feed store and pet shop and lonely found trailhead. Nothing. A $3,000 reward couldn’t match the loss that was in my heart. The reward produced endless sightings and disappointment. I’ve tried to forget how many times we went tearing off in response to a kind-hearted call that a black-and-white dog had turned up in a field, behind a building, at a highway rest stop. I think of Daisy and Diesel every day. I long to hold them and reassure them that their mommy is waiting for them to return. So when news of Mighty’s disappearance came, it hit me in the gut. I’d learned a good deal about missing pets by then, about tracking techniques and the quirky behaviors of animals that just want to get home. Earlier this month, the actor Orlando Bloom’s teacup poodle, Mighty, went missing. It was the second day of the dog’s disappearance and we searched everywhere in vain. I know the neighborhood we share well and I’ve come to know all the special places pups are most likely to go. Mid-morning found me down at the park calling for Mighty as my (new) pup went deep into the creek bed where we thought Mighty might have lost himself. And then I heard a whistling, the saddest sound. It was the sound of someone looking for something lost. The whistling continued on and on through the tall eucalyptus. I whistled back and then I called out and I heard a return call and a bicycle came toward me and the man said hello and I said, “Hello Orlando, I’m so sorry.” He thanked me for helping and I suggested he go up a particular lane and he did and I could hear his whistle
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as his bicycle disappeared up and over the ridge and my heart ached for him. The heart of Montecito was with Mighty’s family as we watched the posters go up, everywhere. Word spread through Montecito neighborhoods. Social media was alive with the anguish of Mighty’s disappearance. With the flashing intensity of an AMBER alert, caring people joined the search. Posters went up in English and Spanish, some offering a reward and others with urgent pleas that Mighty needed medication. Two days later, Mighty was still missing and I decided to update my knowledge of lost and missing pets and was reminded that Santa Barbara County Animal Services is the only local entity that takes in our lost or stray animals. It is an The search for Mighty ended in vain after seven important go-to resource: last year days alone they responded to the needs of 6,400 pets. “Every lost animal ends up with us and goes immediately onto our database and website which is refreshed every 20 minutes,” said Michelle Maltun, the community outreach coordinator. “There are lots of steps you can take to help find your lost pet – we recommend you take all of them.” 1. Most animals are found very near their homes. So the first thing you should do is talk to your neighbors to see whether they’ve seen your pet or have taken him in. 2. Go to the website countyofsb.org/phd/animal or just google Santa Barbara County Animal Services and fill out a lost pet report. That report goes to the staff countywide. It also allows them to generate an immediate email to you. 3. Put up flyers everywhere. 4. Social Media; Craigslist, Facebook, NextDoor, Instagram. But the best solution is to microchip your pet. Next week a campaign involving Care4Paws kicks off to get as many local pets as possible microchipped. “Microchipping is the number one thing you can do,” Michelle said. “The microchip can’t fall off like a tag or a collar. Microchips are registered on a national database. Wherever your animal is found, it’s brought to a vet or shelter and scanned.” She added: “If you lose your pet, don’t give up. Keep searching. Keep talking to people, keep getting the word out. Keep checking in with us.” John Sorosky, Camp Canine owner, helped with the search for Mighty. “When you see a wild animal in your neighborhood such as a coyote or bobcat or mountain lion, let your neighbors know, speak up,” he said. “Occasionally there might be a wild animal who is particularly aggressive. That animal can be relocated to a more rural area. Wildlife and domestic pets can live together, with our help.” Somewhere in the middle of it all we hear the news and see joyful pics of the dramatic Santa Barbara Fireman’s rescue of Sophie, a little pup in Isla Vista. Pictures show the adorable off-white two-year-old safe after being stuck in a storm drain underneath Mesa Road, between Los Carneros and Stadium Way. Crews were able to use a firehose line to coax the terrified pup to the arms of the firefighters who carried her up a ladder to the street. Little Sophie, weighing a little more than 10 pounds, had been missing 30 days, two of them in a dark storm drain. Miracles do happen. After seven days, the frantic search was over and Mighty was dead. “I’d just like to sincerely thank the community for all its efforts to aid me in the search for Mighty,” Orlando said in a statement. “From simply allowing me to look through their backyards to coming out with flashlights. It’s reassuring to know and witness the generosity of people even in these unique and uncertain times. Thank you.” Thank you, Orlando… for sharing your humanity. We are all together. And it strikes me – the immense divide – between lost and found. You find yourself on one side or the other. A joyful reunion. Or a lifelong ache. Such is the nature of life. •MJ
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• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
33
NOSH TOWN SB EVENT CO.:
“Some of our salmon is sourced from local fishermen who take their vessels up north and come back with the most incredible selection,” says Chas Escalante, SB Event Co.’s co-founder and chef.
by Claudia Schou
SETTING THE STAGE FOR CUSTOM DINING
Uneasy about dining outdoors in public? Bring the chef to your home for an intimate social distance gathering with loved ones n a recent sunny afternoon, Chas Escalante, SB Event Co.’s co-founder and chef, takes a tape measure in hand to assess spacing for a backyard barbecue at a home perched atop the Riviera. Just a few minutes from the Mission, you can see the Channel Islands in the distance. But what would normally be an easy, al fresco vibe has now taken a backseat to pandemic safety. “When we create a seating chart we try to keep family members together,” Escalante said. “We assign tables according to the number of people in a family, or friends-bubble, and sometimes we split those up too.” These days Escalante’s role is to create ways to bring people together while keeping them a safe distance apart. “Pandemic etiquette is new to all of us,” Escalante said. “Depending on your comfort level you might be able to gather outdoors and keep separated and still have a nice time.” SB Event Co., the business Escalante founded less than a year ago with his wife, Melissa, was born out of the pandemic. Chas and Melissa spent years working in fashion and events hospitality, respectively, before the coronavirus forced their industries into widespread layoffs. Instead of getting comfortable in their sweats and hunkering down with Netflix, the two devised a business plan and launched their own catering venture focusing on customized social distance outdoor dining. (Full disclosure: I worked with Melissa briefly at a local fourstar hotel and have witnessed her event magic.) Taking their cue from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines, the couple make it work by being dynamic, adaptive, and innovative – from customizing menus and social distance floor plans to manning sanitized barbecues and serving meals masked and gloved. There are no buffets; meals are delivered to guests. Compostable plates and utensils, plastic cups, and paper napkins are preferred. Masks, gloves, and hand sanitizer are required accessories for guests. Since the recent government-ordered ban on indoor dining, many local venues have moved service outdoors. For those who feel uneasy dining in public spaces, hiring a catering company to manage your private dinner is a genius option. Escalante said most of his clients have requested small outdoor dinners for up to 10 guests – usually family or friends in co-isolation celebrating a birthday, graduation, or anniversary. After the seating chart is set, the duo then begin working on the menu. All of SB Event Co.’s produce and fresh herbs come from local farmers markets, meats and fish from local vendors. Edible micro flowers come from an orchid farm in Carpinteria. SB Event Co. offers all of the top hits of a backyard barbecue playlist: tri-tip, baby back ribs, pulled pork, brisket, and carnitas. In a recent interview, Escalante laid out the method to his meat madness: “Tri-tip is a beautiful meat that you have to cook perfectly, otherwise you’ll have a dry mess. I trim them and leave enough fat on them but not too much.” Escalante tenderizes his meat with salt rocks and then rubs on a mixture of dark roast coffee, brown sugar, paprika, cayenne pepper, rosemary, and garlic. The meat is smoked with red oak wood at a low temperature for a few hours. “While the meat is smoking, the juice is collected in a pan,” he said. “We dip the meat in au jus before serving.” A classic pairing with his grilled beef is a tomato-rosemary chickpea soup simmered with garlic-infused olive oil. “It marries well with a big piece of rib eye,” he said. Another popular side dish is baked beans and juicy chunks of tri-tip slowly cooked in Escalante’s signature barbecue sauce. Think summer’s All-American version of a classic cassoulet. While Escalante’s barbecue methods can be complex for some dishes, his approach is simple for others. He seasons halibut steaks with salt and pepper and smokes them on wood planks, garnishes them with lemon zest and fresh dill, and calls it a day. Most of the fish dishes are garnished with heirloom tomatoes to add color, he said. Then there’s a grilled salmon dressed in a buttery Champagne cream sauce. Need we say more? “Some of our salmon is sourced from local fishermen who take their vessels up north and come back with the most incredible selection,” he added. “We pan fry the skins or sometimes smoke them.” Escalante’s surf and turf recommendation is smoked oysters and rib eye steak. He adds a touch of savory tarragon butter sauce to each oyster. “It’s one of the best flavors on earth, and a great starter too.” The catering outfit is discovering its niche with gourmet barbecue and novel approach to sauces, dressings, and condiments. Some, such as seasoned butters, can be individually wrapped and refrigerated ahead of time. Others are prepared fresh and stored just a few hours in advance: homemade ketchup, garlic mustard, Champagne mustard and Escalante’s ultimate favorite, spicy mole sauce. “It tastes insane on a burger,” he said. For more information about SB Event Co., call 925-683-1549.
O
34 MONTECITO JOURNAL
All of SB Event Co.’s produce and fresh herbs come from local farmers markets, meats and fish from local vendors.
TASTING NOTES WITH ROSEWOOD MIRAMAR WINE DIRECTOR DANIEL FISH
S
ummer season has us firing up the BBQ and safely enjoying spectacular Santa Barbara weather with family and friends. For your enjoyment, I wanted to share a favorite wine of mine from local Santa Barbara producer Jeff Nelson of Liquid Farm Winery. Jeff has made a name for himself crafting incredible chardonnays from the region and recently began making some wonderful pinot noirs. Liquid Farms 2017 ‘White Hill’ Chardonnay is a lighter style crisp, dry chardonnay to pair with summertime barbecues of grilled white fish and farm fresh summer vegetables. I often recommend this chardonnay to people who say that they don’t love the rich, buttery California style of chardonnay, as the White Hill Chardonnay tastes more like a classic French chablis. It is light to medium bodied with tart citrus fruit, a racy acidity and distinct saline minerality imparted by the ancient marine soils of the Santa Rita Hills appellation. The next time you are grilling, I highly recommend opening a bottle of this chardonnay. You can find this unique wine at your local wine shop, by visiting the tasting room in Los Olivos or stopping in for lunch or dinner at the Rosewood Miramar. •MJ
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• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
35
OUR TOWN (Continued from page 19)
Gary Chau, Mark Wain, and their family of baristas, Caffe Luxxe: Caffe Luxxe and their family of baristas
Read n’ Post Owner Jan Hendrickson and her team
Our team is Eva Bartha, Assistant Manager; John Devereaux, co-owner; and staff members are Wendy Hawksworth, Carol Finston, Donald Faith, Robin Machado, and Jacqueline Terry. We enjoy being a part of Montecito County Mart, with its vibrant atmosphere, courtyard seating, and variety of interesting shops, and we especially appreciate our wonderful customers and friends who keep us smiling – even behind our masks in these unusual times!”
“As a small independent business, we are so thankful for the support from our neighborhood community during these trying times. We feel that we are in the business of people, and not only about coffee, and so we are all better together.”
Montecito Natural Foods: Montecito Natural Foods team Slim Gomez and Matt Mosby
Ron Brand and Matt Albiani, Mate Gallery:
Ron Brand, co-owner of Mate Gallery
“We are so excited for the Mart to be back open! We’ve missed our local friends, and can’t wait to welcome people back into our shop.”
Merci Montecito:
“Grateful to have been part of this wonderful community for over 55 years. We were recently reminded of how amazing our community is when the 93108Fund, supported by the Montecito Association, Coast Village Association and the Montecito Journal, helped workers who had lost income from the fire and debris flow, and then the challenges from the COVID-19 shutdown. We were also proud to be able to stay open during all of these challenges to take care of our customers and first responders. We look forward to another 55 years of keeping people happy and healthy.”
Little Alex’s: Little Alex’s Lynette and Dan Briner and their team
Merci’s Elizabeth Colling
“We are looking forward to a summer of picnics – whether that be in nature or in our own backyards. We’re so grateful for our customers stopping by to see us and taking their favorite items on the go.”
36 MONTECITO JOURNAL
“Little Alex’s has been part of the Montecito community for over 30 years. We have survived recessions, fires, and even a devastating debris flow alongside our community, and we will get through the current COVID-19 pandemic as well, because the Montecito community is special and amazingly resilient. We are blessed to have been part of this community for three decades and want to express how grateful we are to our customers for your support. We are open for dine-outside or take-out. We have abundant outside seating, adhering to the recently updated social distancing protocols, where you can enjoy the beautiful summer days and your meal. So, come on out, we would love to see you!”
“Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t come to yours.” – Yogi Berra
30 July – 6 August 2020
George Pet Shop: George Pet Shop
Team Panino
“So pleased to be able to remain open to take care of our customers and friends, and make sure that all of our dog and cat companions continue to be well-provided for during the pandemic. Montecito has been no stranger to tough times during the past few years; we are immeasurably grateful to be a part of such a resilient community that continues to show us nothing but support and love. With every customer that walks through our door – two- and four-legged alike – our George family grows. Thank you for, in turn, welcoming us into your family.”
Jennifer Walsh, Mesa Produce: Mesa Produce’s Madeline Swenumson Space NK’s Bianca Warnock
Toy Crazy’s Raina Mendonca
“Mesa Produce is excited to bring an outdoor-only market to the Montecito community. Our little satellite stand is stocked with 100 percent local, either organic or pesticide-free produce. Come taste local fresh produce outside.” •MJ
James Perse team of Angela Johnson and Bailey Patterson
Coco Cabana’s Heather Fort
30 July – 6 August 2020
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
37
PUBLIC NOTICE City of Santa Barbara NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Santa Barbara will conduct a Public Hearing on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, during the afternoon session of the meeting which begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, and will be held via teleconference. Council will consider the recommendation from the Historic Landmarks Commission that St. Paul’s AME Church located at 502 Olive Street, APN: 031-221-018, be designated a Landmark. If you challenge the Council's action on the City Landmark Designation decision in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence delivered to the City at, or prior to, the public hearing. You are invited to attend this public hearing and address your verbal comments to the City Council. Written comments are also welcome up to the time of the hearing, and should be addressed to the City Council via the City Clerk’s Office by sending them electronically to Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. In order to promote social distancing and prioritize the public’s health and well-being, the city council currently holds all meetings electronically. As a public health and safety precaution, the council chambers will not be open to the general public. Councilmembers and the public may participate electronically. On Thursday, August 6, 2020, an Agenda with all items to be heard on Tuesday, August 11, 2020, including the staff presentation to Council, will be available online at www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov/CAP. The Agenda includes instructions for participation in the meeting. If you wish to participate in the public hearing, please follow the instructions on the posted Agenda.
ORDINANCE NO. 5953 AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA BARBARA APPROVING A WATER SUPPLY AGREEMENT FOR THE LONG TERM WHOLESALE SUPPLY TO THE MONTECITO WATER DISTRICT OF WATER MADE AVAILABLE FROM THE OPERATION OF THE CHARLES E. MEYER DESALINATION FACILITY The above captioned ordinance was adopted at a regular meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council held on July 21,
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bright Hand Painted Interiors, 644 Windsor Ave, Goleta, CA 93117. Caroline Hambright, 644 Windsor Ave, Goleta, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 22, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Lightscapes by Spark Creative Group, 75 Robin Hill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93117. LBPS Events INC., 75 Robin Hill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 15, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20200001721. Published July 22, 29, August 5, 12, 2020. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: The Lucky
38 MONTECITO JOURNAL
WATERFRONT DIRECTOR TO EXECUTE THE SECOND AMENDMENT TO LEASE AGREEMENT NO. 23,328 WITH MR. AARON PETERSEN ADDING FOUR MONTHS TO THE FIRST FIVE-YEAR OPTION ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2025, AND
MAKING
ALLOWABLE
CERTAIN USES
OF
CLARIFICATIONS THE
LEASED
TO
THE
PREMISES,
COMMENCING UPON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE
The publication of this ordinance is made pursuant to the
The above captioned ordinance was adopted at a regular
provisions of Section 512 of the Santa Barbara City Charter
meeting of the Santa Barbara City Council held on June 16,
as amended, and the original ordinance in its entirety may be
2020.
obtained at the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, Santa Barbara, The publication of this ordinance is made pursuant to the
California.
provisions of Section 512 of the Santa Barbara City Charter
(Seal)
as amended, and the original ordinance in its entirety may be obtained at the City Clerk's Office, City Hall, Santa Barbara,
/s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager
California. (Seal)
ORDINANCE NO. 5953 ) ) COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss. ) CITY OF SANTA BARBARA )
/s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing ordinance
Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20200001801. Published July 29, August 5, 12, 19, 2020.
SANTA BARBARA APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING THE
ENABLING ORDINANCE.
was introduced on June 30, 2020 and adopted by the Council
ORDINANCE NO. 5950 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) ) COUNTY OF SANTA BARBARA ) ss. ) CITY OF SANTA BARBARA )
of the City of Santa Barbara at a meeting held on July 21, I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing
2020, by the following roll call vote: AYES:
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Lena’s Nail Studio, 1482 East Valley Road Suite 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Lena Truong, 101 La Calera Way, Goleta, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 23, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20200001817. Published July 29, August 5, 12, 19, 2020.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
2020.
(SEAL) /s/ Sarah Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager July 21, 2020
ORDINANCE NO. 5950
Councilmembers Eric Friedman, Alejandra Gutierrez, Oscar Gutierrez, Meagan Harmon, Mike Jordan, Kristen W. Sneddon; Mayor Cathy Murillo
NOES:
None
ABSENT:
None
ABSTENTIONS:
None
ordinance was introduced on June 9, 2020, and was adopted by the Council of the City of Santa Barbara at a meeting held on June 16, 2020, by the following roll call vote: AYES:
Councilmembers Eric Friedman, Alejandra Gutierrez, Oscar Gutierrez, Meagan Harmon, Mike Jordan, Kristen W. Sneddon; Mayor Cathy Murillo
NOES:
None
hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Santa Barbara
ABSENT:
None
on July 22, 2020.
ABSTENTIONS:
None
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto set my
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto set my
/s/ Sarah P. Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager
hand and affixed the official seal of the City of Santa Barbara on June 17, 2020.
I HEREBY APPROVE the foregoing ordinance /s/ Sarah P. Gorman, CMC City Clerk Services Manager
on July 22, 2020.
/s/ Cathy Murillo Mayor
I HEREBY APPROVE the foregoing ordinance on June 17, 2020.
Published July 29, 2020 Montecito Journal
Group, 2441 Calle Galicia, Santa Barbara, CA 93109. Noel Lucky, 2441 Calle Galicia, Santa Barbara, CA 93109. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on July 9, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct
/s/ Cathy Murillo Mayor
copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20200001675. Published July 15, 22, 29, August 5, 2020. FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Social Superstars, 827 State
“If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” – Yogi Berra
Published July 29, 2020 Montecito Journal
St., Suite 21, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Derren G Ohanian, 701 Grandview Ave, Ojai, CA 93023. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on June 30, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date
it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2020-0001616. Published July 8, 15, 22, 29, 2020.
30 July – 6 August 2020
A GOOD SIGN (Continued from page 11)
EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5)
abnormal. As Google has presaged, the reality is things are not going to be normal for a good long while. Fauci isn’t going to save us. As in Home Alone, we’re going to have to improvise our own salvation and scratch build our own hope. Probably the sooner we get our heads around that the better. STILL, HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL I know some people think that false hope is better than no hope. But I’m not one of those people. So I reached out to my friend, Montecito resident Lee E. Ohanian, a Professor of Economics at UCLA and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, to see if he had a multi-dimensional plan as opposed to just a cardboard cutout of one. I was glad to hear that Ohanian’s view, one shared by many economists worldwide, provides some reasonable path forward and also involves taking care of society’s most vulnerable. First and foremost, since mortality is low for those under 60 without preexisting conditions, Ohanian recommends getting low risk people back to work with proper precautions. “Policies to return people to work should hold businesses accountable for worker safety… and businesses should be incentivized to provide and take those precautions,” Ohanian says. According to Ohanian, “High-risk workers (those over 60 or who have comorbidities) should be ‘incentivized to take early retirement’ by reducing the age at which a retiree is eligible for benefits.” He also insisted that we need to do a better job of taking care of those in assisted living facilities. In a recent interview with Business Insider, Ohanian and economist Harold Cole, co-authors of New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression, advocate for continuing to support low-income workers, whether they are employed or not. Cole and Ohanian say that businesses should “receive tax incentives based on a low rate of COVID-19 among their workers,” which they say is “similar to experience ratings for employer unemployment contributions.” Ohanian and Cole warn that “Policy makers need to get this right, and get it right now, to avoid a second Great Depression.” Ohanian says that in shutting down the economy again “we could do irreparable damage to some people’s lives that extend beyond economic into mental health, rising suicide rates, etc.” Despite my strong desire to get my own kids back to school, I’ve not felt this is a safe time to do so. But Ohanian believes there are “reasonable work-arounds for reopening schools,” which include “putting young, healthy teachers back in the classrooms with sanitary stations, masks, highly effective hand sanitizers, etc.” Older and otherwise vulnerable teachers, Ohanian says, can teach online and/or work as supplemental tutors. From everything Ohanian understands, it’s good news that this is a virus that does not mutate in bizarre ways, which means it’s relativity easy to target effectively – and thereby develop a vaccine. And he concurs with other experts that we should be “back on track by next spring.” Next spring. That sure seems like a long way off. I take a deep breath and console myself that in Home Alone, the kid ultimately wins. Unlike Home Alone, however, let’s hope this pandemic has no sequels. For as everyone knows, they’re always worse than the original. •MJ
Gemini
You are known for your ideas and your words. Now is the time to do more and talk less. Be your word and do small but important acts everyday to improve the lives of others. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin
Cancer
Come out of your crab shell and stand tall for what you believe in. Let people know what you care about and how much you care. Demonstrate your beliefs in working for causes you cherish. “When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde
Leo
Love takes everything from you but gives you more than you could ever imagine. Do not wait to be loved. Give your love as freely as air and you will breathe more fully. “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” – Lao Tzu
Virgo
There is no more time to get lost in meaningless details. You are needed on the frontlines of social change. Use your discernment to pick the places to be most effective. “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” – Mary Anne Radmacher
Libra
Fairness is an illusion. However we must do what we can to be fair people and stick up for those who are being mistreated. Your unique powers of diplomacy are sorely needed now. “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
Scorpio
You can help others face their worst fears and move forward instead of being frozen. You can help folks express their deepest sorrows and still rise. Make sure others help you to do the same. “Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” – Brene Brown
Sagittarius
You have extraordinary stamina. It is your turn to show others what staying the course looks like. Use your powers of positivity to motivate others to do fabulous things for our community. “No matter how long you train someone to be brave, you never know if they are or not until something real happens.” – Veronica Roth
Capricorn The best little paper in America (Covering the best little community anywhere!) Executive Editor/CEO Gwyn Lurie • Publisher/COO Timothy Lennon Buckley Editor At Large Kelly Mahan Herrick • News and Feature Editor Nicholas Schou Associate Editor Bob Hazard • Copy Editor Lily Buckley Harbin Arts and Entertainment Editor Steven Libowitz
Contributors Scott Craig, Julia Rodgers, Ashleigh Brilliant, Sigrid Toye, Zach Rosen, Kim Crail Gossip Richard Mineards • History Hattie Beresford • Humor Ernie Witham Our Town Joanne A. Calitri Society Lynda Millner • Travel Jerry Dunn • Sportsman Dr. John Burk • Trail Talk Lynn P. Kirst Account Managers Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Casey Champion Bookkeeping Diane Davidson, Christine Merrick • Proofreading Helen Buckley
Aquarius
You are a visionary. This means you can see ahead but not always the middle steps. Let others support you to keep reaching beyond the ordinary. You will get there with lots of helping hands. “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston S. Churchill
Pisces
Design/Production Trent Watanabe Published by Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC PRINTED BY NPCP INC., SANTA BARBARA, CA 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 H, Montecito, CA 93108. How to reach us: Editorial: (805) 565-1860; Sue Brooks: ext. 4; Christine Merrick: ext. 3; Classified: ext. 3; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Letters to Editor: Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA 93108; E-MAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net
30 July – 6 August 2020
You have done enormous work this year. You have accumulated so much wisdom and maturity. People need to hear what you know and be led by your integrity. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
You feel everything more vividly than ever. Do not let the massive suffering deter you from getting up and out for yourself and others. Safety is also an emotional stand. You can support others to do the right thing by showing them empathy and caring. Your job is to take each moment as it comes and make those moments memorable. “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner •MJ
• The Voice of the Village •
MONTECITO JOURNAL
39
Far Flung Travel Fox and Friends
by Chuck Graham
A family of kit foxes is only as strong as its multitude of elaborate dens. Each year a successful kit fox family will have many dens for the various stages of their lives.
The San Joaquin kit fox might be considered the smallest canid on the North American mainland, but its ears give it a distinct survival advantage
T
he ears were a dead giveaway. As the morning sun warmed the grasslands of California’s Central Valley, it was the large, backlit ears of a San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) that caught my eye. Red blood vessels braiding like a red river lit up each of the fox’s ears, allowing the smallest canid on mainland North America to stay cool during the heat of the day. The slender adult male was lounging on the mound of its den, watching intently as I angled my way east of its dwelling. Looking healthy and very alert, its ears are an important physical trait contributing to its survival in an arid habitat, something that continues to shrink as its home ranges succumb to advanced agricultural and urban growth.
About Those Ears
The San Joaquin kit fox might be considered the smallest canid on the North American mainland, but its ears give it a distinct survival advantage. In fact, its hearing is legendary in the fox world. Certainly, they come in handy locating prey, which virtually lives around the fox’s dens. Depending on its geographical location that may include insects, white-footed mice, antelope ground squirrels, giant kangaroo rats, desert cottontails, and ground-nesting birds. “They have the longest ears of the foxes in North America, compared to the red fox and the gray fox,” said Amrita Duggal Agee, fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Ventura, California. “Their hearing is so sensitive that they can hear a kangaroo rat moving underground in its burrow. Big ears
40 MONTECITO JOURNAL
help them hear, but serve another purpose, too. They are loaded with blood vessels that radiate body heat, aiding in regulating body temperature and helping the fox stay cool.” They also rely on their hearing to detect the distress calls of California and antelope ground squirrels, both of them species of prey. They react ultra-quick when one or the other chirps, the kit fox parent jumping to its feet and the pups diving into their den to avoid predation by coyotes or a golden eagle.
Den Life
The mound of the den was void of any vegetation, well-trodden and it possessed at least six entry points. I concealed myself amongst the green ephedra and milkvetch. I was sitting quietly, motionless and low to the ground, 80 feet west of the den. For hours I hoped to capture some interaction between the pups and the pups and their parents. Kit fox litters range from four to seven pups. By mid-afternoon, the more courageous pups peeked their heads out of the den. There was a pair of them that eventually sunned atop the den mound. Twenty minutes later, they were back under and more waiting was required. Several more brief sightings were reaped, but then the dad came out and so did all six pups. Dad was standing watch and the pups were at ease. For 90 minutes before sundown, rambunctious siblings greeted their parent and ran roughshod over one another. A family of kit foxes is only as strong as its multitude of elaborate dens. Each year a successful kit fox family will have many dens for the various stages of their lives. Dens are
primarily used for housing and protection, but there are dens specific to natal and pupping. “Kit foxes will often use multiple dens throughout the year, including during the pupping season,” said Abigail Gwinn, wildlife biologist for California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “This can help them to avoid flea infestations and gives them multiple possible escape routes when fleeing predators.” Kit foxes take over old dens left by ground squirrels, badgers, and coyotes. They elaborate on those, constructing multiple corridors and entry points for their brood.
Shifting Gears
For six weeks I observed and photographed that specific den. One day in the early afternoon all the pups were out with their dad, and then he left them for a different den just 75 feet to the west. All the pups looked on, but they were not ready to follow, that “pupping den” was their comfort zone. A couple hours later the dad emerged, quietly walking uphill to the east on some of the smallest footpads of canids in North America. There was a sudden disturbance and then the dad emerged with a live antelope ground squirrel. He ran straight to the “pupping den” where one pup grabbed the squirrel and dove below followed by its five siblings. It was barely a minute when all the pups were above ground again, each with a portion of the squirrel. The dad once again left for the alternate den site. “Kit foxes may expand on alternate dens,” Gwinn said. “Sometimes they may just want a little peace and quiet away from the pups during the day, which is their usual rest period.” Another week passed and the pups were growing up, becoming more mobile. I returned to the same den, but something had changed. I
“You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” – Yogi Berra
watched a California ground squirrel scamper across the top of the “pupping den.” Two hours and nothing emerged. So, I walked around, up and over a hill. Below was a saddle where I heard the familiar, low, guttural call of an adult kit fox alerting its pups to remain underground. The parent and I saw each other before it slinked beneath. It was late May and still cool in the mornings. I had located the alternate site, sitting in silence in the bushes an hour before sunup. The first rays of sun rested directly on the den and sure enough the two, more mature pups warmed themselves on the saddle. In the late afternoon, three of the pups were out and their dad went hunting. He vanished beyond a ridge, but it wasn’t long before he came sprinting back with another antelope ground squirrel. All three pups lunged for it but only one came away with the entire squirrel, disappearing into the den. The two other pups seemed confused, not knowing where their fresh kill had gone.
Last Bastions
Like so many other wildlife species throughout North America, habitat has been greatly fragmented. The same holds true for the San Joaquin kit fox. They once inhabited the entire San Joaquin Valley south to the upper Cuyama River and Northern Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. “The Carrizo Plain National Monument represents some of the largest minimally disturbed habitat for San Joaquin kit foxes and is an important refuge,” said Gwinn. “However, it is important not to rely on a single location to preserve species, especially given the potential for disease to sweep through populations. Maintaining habitat and corridors throughout their historic range is important for kit fox preservation.” •MJ 30 July – 6 August 2020
The 501c3 Weekly
GOLETA KELP REEF
by Zach Rosen
Project
UCSB
T
he kelp forests found along the Californian coast harbor abundant marine life, reduce ocean acidity, and even help support the plankton so vital for ocean health. While historically the Central Coast has been an area of lush kelp forests, the impact from damming of rivers, repeated droughts during El Niño years, and other environmental factors have led to the slow attrition of the local kelp forests. Kelp needs hard bottom substrates to attach to and oftentimes human systems restrict the natural flow of these materials from the land into the ocean. During a big event like the Montecito mudslides, normally the boulders and debris from this storm would have entered the ocean and become the foundation of the next thousand years of kelp forest reefs. But a thousand years ago there weren’t roads, houses, and other infrastructure to block the path of this material into the ocean. Through the Fish Reef Project Chris Goldblatt is seeking a biogenic solution that, he says, will help “offset the impact that mankind has made on the ocean, and account for a lot of the impact and space usage problems that are coming down the pipe.” The Fish Reef Project designs and installs reef structures that mimic nature and help restore what has been lost. These “marine life enhancement reefs” have been installed around the world and the Fish Reef Project is looking to help replenish the kelp forests of the Central Coast next. While Chris founded the Fish Reef Project in 2012, this work is a culmination of his life at sea. Chris grew up in Malibu which he notes was a modest setting at the time, but was rich in ocean access. He entered the ocean at six years old where he began to learn the joys of fishing and the rich food source the sea provides. Chris spent years as a kid piecing together his dive gear, a much more improvisational task during those times. His first experiences with the abundant sea life of the kelp forests was working on fishing boats as a “pinhead” at the age of nine where he would work for free in exchange for fishing and experience. He started working on an offshore tuna fleet in San Diego at the age of 12 and would continue this work for the next 20 years. During these years, Chris also received a bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University in Fisheries and Business.
Through the Fish Reef Project Chris Goldblatt is seeking a biogenic solution that, he says, will help “offset the impact that mankind has made on the ocean, and account for a lot of the impact and space usage problems that are coming down the pipe” Eventually he ended up getting a boat with one of his buddies where they spent thousands of dives exploring the Santa Monica Bay. Most of what they saw was mud. Chris emphasizes that reefs are quite rare and not as ubiquitous as they seem. Actually for most of the ocean, “the default is mud.” This doesn’t mean the mud is lifeless, but whenever they found any kind of structure during their dives they would discover an underwater oasis bursting from it. It was encountering the “cornucopia of life” that surrounded these physical structures that made Chris realize that “complex hard bottom reef structure is a limiting factor in the overall productivity of the ocean.” This means that if there are more physical structures on the bottom of the ocean, there are more places for life to form. Kelp also clings to these structures and forms the foundation of the complex ecosystem of fish, plankton, lobsters, abalone, and other critters that thrive in these lush forests.
Since founding the Fish Reef Project, Chris and “a small band of true believers,” as he calls them, have been putting in 40-hour work weeks, unpaid, for ten years to bring the project to life. During this time the team of engineers, graphic designers, and construction workers have created and installed a range of sea caves that are of their own unique design. These designs are meant to mimic the size, shape, form, and function of the natural structures and materials found in the ocean. Their shapes are engineered to withstand the intense storms they’ll encounter and the reefs are constructed from natural quarry rock as well as 30 July – 6 August 2020
Reef
1972
The Fish Reef Project
‘A Small Band of True Believers’
Fish
KELP
220 Acre Kelp Forest, Extended Coastline & Thriving Sealife
2020 UCSB NO KEL P
Depleted Kelp Forest, Eroded Coastline & Scarce Sealife The Fish Reef Project helps establish biogenic reefs around the world (photo provided by Fish Reef Project)
special marine concrete. The sea caves have a large flat area for kelp to grow and balance the size and number of cave-like cavities to promote habitation of the large breeder fish, which are key to balancing the ecosystem. By placing these specially designed sea caves in a systematic manner of adequate size and scope, they are able to restore the kelp forests in areas where they have slowly been disappearing. These biogenic reefs don’t just act as an attraction device for sea life, they actually produce an abundance of life that overflows into the surroundings, similar to marine protection areas. And as Chris notes, kelp, per acre, can sequester 60 times more carbon than pine trees. Over the years, the Fish Reef Project has helped rebuild marine ecosystems with their reef installations in areas including Ghana, Papua New Guinea, Jamaica, and Hawaii. These biogenic reefs help restore the local marine life, while also providing a replenishable source of local, sustainable protein and fishing jobs for the neighboring communities. Since 2015 the Fish Reef Project has had a permanent observer seat on the United Nations International Seabed Authority (ISA) where they have been able to provide a voice for different issues. This includes helping introduce language into underwater mineral mining standards that would require reef restoration for these sites. Their most current project is focused on rebuilding the kelp forests along the Central Coast. They previously found a United States Geological Survey map from 1912 that charted the kelp forests in the region. This detailed map showed a thousand foot wide kelp forest running from El Capitan to Rincon Point. Compared to the current levels in the area, the kelp forest is anywhere from 50 to 90 percent gone, between good and bad kelp years. The Goleta Kelp Restoration Project would build off of the existing Goleta pipeline whose quarry rock covering makes a good support for the reef installation. After already completing a successful pilot project, they are aiming to establish a 220-acre kelp forest consisting of 50, 20-foot-by-20-foot quadrants that contain a sea cave or systematically placed mixed quarry rock. Up until this point this project has been largely self-funded with some in-kind and additional modest donations coming in from generous supporters. However, this largescale project will need additional funding, and is looking to raise more than $3 million from a range of like-minded donors. The primary sponsor would even have the kelp forest named after them, a legacy that would be on nautical maps and last for hundreds of years. And of course the impact and legacy the Goleta Kelp Restoration Project would have on the local marine ecosystem could last even longer than that. Chris recently presented on the Fish Reef Project to a Zoom audience as part of the monthly lecture series from the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum. The full lecture will soon be available to view on the museum website where there is already a library of videos from their previous speakers. The museum is offering free monthly Zoom lectures (registration required) on a variety of maritime topics. The next lecture will be on August 20, 2020 and will feature author Corinne Heyning Laverty discussing the history of the Channel Islands through the context of biological surveys and historic images. More information and registration can be found on the museum website (sbmm.org) or through their newsletter. Visit fishreef.org for more information on the Fish Reef Project and its work. •MJ
• The Voice of the Village •
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Half-Century on the Sea by Erin Graffy
Condor Express Celebrates its Roots
Fred Benko and his “first mate” Hiroko Benko were married in 1985 at Orizaba Cove at Santa Cruz Island. She continues today as Commodore and CEO of Condor Express.
Captain Fred Benko, an inspiring and enthusiastic proponent of everything aquatic. He founded SEA Landing 50 years ago and then launched the California whale watching industry in our Santa Barbara Channel.
E
arly on, local legend Fred “Captain Fred” Benko, developed a keen interest in what was in the Santa Barbara Channel: the fish, the birds, the oceanic wildlife. A half century ago, that interest led Fred to buy a sports fishing operation located in the harbor across from the Navy Pier beneath the old John Dory Restaurant (now Brophy Brothers). Captain Fred’s enthusiasm proved infectious and locals and tourists soon lined up to get out on the water with the new charter service he called SEA Landing. SEA (Sports Fishing Expedition Adventures) Landing was a hit and soon Captain Fred had a small fleet of boards to take people out sports fishing or for evening coastal cruises. The operation thrived in no small part because Benko was such a proponent of aquatic adventures and local marine life. Benko soon moved his SEA Landing operation across the harbor just past the boat launching ramp, setting up shop on the rock groin where he took a lease from the city to make improvements. Benko built an office and docks for his dive boats and was renowned for explaining sea life to passengers, showing visitors the art of rock fishing or teaching young and old how to fish for salmon. Forty years ago, with his core business established, he launched a new boat: the Condor, which started as a sport-fishing vessel working the Channel Islands. Benko wanted the Condor to be the perfect fishing boat and he spent nine months building it in a shipyard in San Pedro. For years, the Condor served as a beloved sports fishing excursion boat and a popular party cruiser. Captain Fred Benko, though, was more than a sports fisherman. He was well regarded in the scientific community for his knowledge of sea life in the Santa Barbara Channel, especially of whales. He lectured children and other groups about the dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, sharks and whales: how they fight, play, mate, and other rituals. In the mid ‘80s, Captain Fred could not help noticing something stunning was happening: the great pods of whales that used to migrate through Santa Barbara Channel, but been absent for decades were returning. Some theorize that the whales came back to the channel after seismic oil exploration ceased in local waters. Captain Fred wanted to put the returning whales on center stage. He and his wife, Hiroko, decided they should devote the Condor to whale-watching excursions. Benko sold his Sea Landing lease in order to concentrate less on management and more on marine life. In the process, he launched the industry’s first regular whale watching excursions on the West Coast, and captained the Condor
42 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Today the Condor Express is California’s premier whale watching adventure
to prominence as, arguably, the premier whale-watching boat in the world— one of the few boats to offer year-round whale watching anywhere in the world. Captain Fred wasn’t satisfied, though. He always had an interest in improving the guest experience. He’d also long wanted to build a catamaran. The two interests came together in 2000 when he began the process of designing and constructing the Condor Express. Built in Bellingham, Washington, with a unique hull architecture from New Zealand, the Condor Express was designed exclusively for whale watching in local waters. After two years of exacting work, Benko and his wife Hiroko launched Condor Express in 2002 as the most advanced and innovative whale-watching vessel in the state of California. Specially designed for stability and comfort, the Condor Express features a scenic observation deck ideal for passengers eager to pho-
CONDOR Page 454
“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.” – Zig Ziglar
30 July – 6 August 2020
VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 12)
ed a new maintenance building and laboratory, which have already been built. The new building will replace the existing Essential Services building, which is considered undersized and has issues including mold, termites, asbestos, inadequate insulation, non-compliance with ADA requirements, and a leaking roof. The new building will be built on a different portion of the 6.3-acre campus, in order to abandon the access on Monte Cristo Lane and allow access on Channel Drive. It is estimated the project will cost over $4 million. The project layout on the site allows for 36,000 square feet of space to be utilized for a future water recycling facility, which is also in the works. Preliminary plans for the recycling facility include servicing the Santa Barbara Cemetery, with plans for servicing local golf courses planned for the future. Final design and development plans for a recycled water facility have yet to be finalized. Montecito Water District General Manager Nick Turner, in a letter to MBAR, said MWD continues to collaborate with MSD on a recycled water facility, but that both Districts currently disagree on several aspects of the project’s proposed design and operation. MBAR received many letters in opposition to the project, which has been controversial since its inception. Bob Short, in a letter to MBAR, lamented that in order to pay for the new building, the District began a series of rate increases that makes sanitary service in Montecito more costly than most other locations in California. “We believe our rate payments could be better used to re-line existing older sewer mains, extending sewer mains to reduce septic tank use, enter into a major recycling program with the Montecito Water District, or even enact a rate reduction,” he wrote. Other letters suggest repurposing and remodeling the existing building to meet operational needs. Current MSD board member Woody Barrett, speaking as a rate payer, spoke in opposition to the project, saying that it should not be rushed. “There are numerous things about the project that have not been looked at in great detail. It’s a fairly large site in the Coastal Commission area… I just don’t think that everything that needs to be addressed, has been addressed,” he said. Members of MBAR commented that their purview does not extend past architectural and landscape design. “I want to make sure the Planning Commission receives all of these letters in their packet when the project goes to them,” said MBAR member Claire Gottsdanker. The comments from MBAR were mostly positive, with board members appre30 July – 6 August 2020
ciating the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the new building, and the additional screening that has been added along Channel Drive. Story poles were up on the site earlier this month. Several MBAR members did ask project designers to consider a walkway or sidewalk in front of the property, to increase pedestrian safety in the area. The Board decided to grant conceptual review of the project, sending it on to the Montecito Planning Commission for approval.
approved a plan to give Montecito residents the wood for the signs, with the stipulation that Montecito firemen would make them. The signs initially numbered about 200; 36 of them were damaged or completely destroyed in the 1/9 debris flow, and replaced by the MCF. Since its incorporation in 1966, the Foundation has organized and paid for the construction and maintenance of the signs. All funding comes directly from the Montecito commu-
nity’s gifts to the Foundation, with no support from the County. Denson reports that Foundation funds for signs have been nearly exhausted, and hopes our readers will consider a tax-deductible contribution to the Montecito Community Foundation so that the care and preservation of this unique Montecito tradition will continue. To donate, or for more information, visit www.montecitofoundation.org. •MJ
New Street Signs in Montecito
A street sign at Picacho Lane was replaced last week as part of an ongoing sign maintenance project overseen by the Montecito Community Foundation
Montecito Community Foundation replaced two more street signs last week, on East Valley Road at San Ysidro Road and Picacho Lane. Over 200 signs are maintained by the Montecito Community Foundation, which is supported wholly from the community’s generous monetary gifts. “What sets Montecito apart from so many other communities are the little details that are painstakingly attended to but not always recognized,” said MCF president Mindy Denson. “Nothing represents this more than our handcrafted wooden road signs that you see marking every street and intersection. Our rustic signs have been part of the landscape here for over a hundred years!” This tradition started in 1919 when the post office first offered home mail delivery to Montecito residents. Before home delivery service could happen, every road and lane needed to have a sign and every house had to have a number. In October 1919, the County Board of Supervisors • The Voice of the Village •
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ENTERTAINMENT (Continued from page 26) Focus on Film: Montecito Movie ‘Trail’-ers
Safe, Sound, and Singing
Residents with a love for the outdoors – and isn’t that just about everyone in Montecito – might have a particular interest in the second event in Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s new Film Talk series that features viewings of short films produced locally followed by Q&A sessions with the filmmakers. The 15-minute Trail Heads takes place in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire and subsequent devastating mudslides and debris flow, when two normally opposing trail-using communities – hikers and mountain bike enthusiasts – come together and find common ground to rebuild the affected trails. You can view the short doc – which features comments from Montecito Trails Foundation VP Kevin Snow, among other villagers – on YouTube, and then be on hand when writer-director Dani Rodriguez and producer Christine Meseer join SBIFF programmer Audrey Arn to talk about the doc at 6 pm on Thursday, July 30 by registering at sbiff.org. Info at sbiff.org/filmtalk/ where you can also find links to see last week’s short, Grasshopper for Grandpa, and view the Q&A with Montecito filmmaker Casey McGarry.
Ojai Film Festival Isn’t OFF, Just Online
It’s not nearly as well known as its far more famous cousin of SBIFF, but the Ojai Film Festival has quietly been making a name for itself over the years. And with frustrated moviegoers once again stuck at home sheltering, the OFF endeared itself with a new online film series called Festival Highlights. The streaming screenings launched May 22, and two to three films were released each week over a six-week run. All 16 films are still available for streaming on the festival’s website. To pacify cinephiles as social distancing recommendations remain in effect, the festival has extended the viewing Among the films featured by Ojai Film period through Friday, July 31. Among the highlights is The Vow Festival’s Festival Highlights is the short VICE, from Hiroshima, Susan Strickler’s 2019 starring Jay O. Sanders documentary about Setsuko Thurlow, who devoted her entire life to demanding a nuclear-free world after she survived Hiroshima at age 13, culminating with Thurlow’s acceptance speech at the 2017 Nobel Peace Awards. VICE, a 2018 short directed by Kieron Barry, seems particularly timely at this moment as it’s a dark comedy about a state governor being considered for the VicePresidency who discovers no secret is safe when it comes to vetting potential running mates. Linda Corley and Joel Kaplan’s After Parkland: Healing a Community and a Nation is a nearly hour-long doc about the community channelling its grief following the school shooting through activism, art, and public service in a journey towards restoration and recovery. Eternal Winter, by Hungarian director Attila Szász, takes place in a forced labor camp during World War II, when a young woman meets a charismatic prisoner who helps her survive and then has to choose between returning to her family in a small village or making a new life with him. The Thomas Fire also gets another cinematic treatment at OFF via The Perfect Firestorm, the 2018 doc that features personal stories of survival and healing following the historic wildfire. Visit ojaifilmfestival.com/category/festivalhighlights for descriptions, trailers and links to the full films.
Six-time L.A. Ovation Award-winner David Engel, whose Broadway credits include Putting it Together and La Cage aux Folles, is joined by Larry Raben (Leo Bloom in The Producers on Broadway), Jason Graae (Grand Night for Singing on Broadway/Forbidden Planet at Rubicon), and Leo Daignault (Avenue Q on Broadway) for a 30th anniversary concert celebrating the music of the enduring hit show Forever Plaid in the next installment of Rubicon Theatre’s Safe-Distance Drive-In Theatre Concert Series. The concert is based on the original musical created by Stuart Ross about four loveable nerds from the ‘50s who meet in the high school AV club, rehearse in the basement of the local plumbing supply company and dream of becoming a close-harmony singing group like their idols The Four Freshmen, but are killed in a bus crash on the way to their first live performance. They return to Earth decades later to do the show they never got to in real life in this funny trip down memory lane. Forever Plaid was a part of RTC’s first full season and Ross directed the holiday-themed sequel Plaid Tidings for the company last winter. “Bringing harmony to a discordant world seemed perfect for these troubled times,” said Rubicon Producing Artistic Director Karyl Lynn Burns, who co-created the current ongoing series of live musical performances featuring multiple widescreen projections in the parking lot at the Ventura County Fairgrounds at Seaside Park. The show runs August 3-5. Visit www.rubicontheatre.org or call 805-667-2900 for tickets.
Pollock and Politics
The documentary And She Could Be Next, directed by Grace Lee (left) and Marjan Safinia chronicles the movement of women of color transforming politics from the ground up
Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia join moderator Wendy Eley Jackson for a Zoom discussion of And She Could Be Next, their new groundbreaking twopart documentary series chronicling the defiant movement of women of color who are transforming politics from the ground up. The series follows candidates and organizers across the country, asking whether US democracy can be preserved and made stronger by those most marginalized. Filmed in 2018-19, it centers on those at the heart of the movement behind the so-called New American Majority, including S tacey Abrams, Bushra Amiwala, Maria Elena Durazo, and several others. The discussion takes place at 7 pm on Thursday, July 30, while the episodes are currently airing on PBS and can be streamed for free until August 29 on the official series website, www.andshecouldbenext.com. Visit www.carseywolf.ucsb.edu/pollock to register for the talk.
Scrooge in Summer
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44 MONTECITO JOURNAL
Closer to home – or, rather, actually in your home – is the conclusion of week three of UCSB Theater ’s LAUNCH PAD 2020 Summer Reading Series: New Plays in Process, which ends with a staged reading of THE CRATCHITS (in America), James Still’s A Christmas Carol-inspired story of a contemporary American family also named Cratchit who, Still says cryptically, “shares history with Dickens’ fictive family.” They also have a history of broken relationships, financial issues, and other problems they’re trying to resolve in the tale that includes a wedding. Still most recently contributed four short, Zoom-ready plays to LAUNCH PAD’s Alone, Together festival in June, developed his play Appoggiatura at UCSB before it premiered at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Tune into the free staged reading at 7 pm on Friday, July 31, on Zoom at https://ucsb. zoom.us/j/99608151740. •MJ
“A man in love is incomplete until he has married. Then he’s finished.” – Zsa Zsa Gabor
30 July – 6 August 2020
CONDOR (Continued from page 42)
Whales actually recognize the Condor Express by the sound of its engine and will swim up to greet the boat.
Humpback whales love to show off for the crowd by breaching — leaping out of the water and twisting artfully in the air and landing on their backs.
tograph the magnificent mammals. It also has comfortable indoor seating. Its twin hulls, like a catamaran, provide a smooth ride and the 740-horsepower jet engines can propel the Condor Express up to 40 knots. This capacity cuts the time to get the boat to Santa Cruz Island, one of the prime areas to see the whales out in the channel, from two and a half hours to just 45 minutes. Even better, the Condor Express uses water-jet propulsion so ocean animals can visit up close without being endangered by propellers. When Captain Fred passed away in 2013, Hiroko took the helm of the popular sea- fairing operation. Now celebrating 50 years in business in the Little Fred (here at 10 years old) had a career Santa Barbara Channel, the Condor as a singer and as a salesman before becoming Express continues its extraordinary a sailor. rapport with the whales. Being sentient creatures, the whales trust the ship’s crew and recognize that this boat is not hunting them. Because the whales are relaxed and at ease around the Condor Express never has to chase whales, but can sit quietly and let these great creatures come up to playfully cavort. They will put their nose up to the side of the boat and sometimes dive under the boat and bump it slightly just for fun. The whales clearly love to perform and they do react to the crowd’s approving cheers and applause. The Condor Express has revolutionized whale watching by providing a stable, high-speed viewing platform, enhancing the entire experience for its guests. Its decades-long rapport with whales means the Condor Express is able to offer a guarantee to its guests, some of which come from around the world to Santa Barbara seeking whale sightings. (Condor Express will actually provide a rain check for another cruise on the rare occasion when these fascinating leviathans are not around or in view.) Celebrating 50 years in the local waters, Condor Express is still having a whale of a good time. •MJ 30 July – 6 August 2020
NOW OPEN THROUGH SEPTEMBER
Walk through a beautiful garden while nearly 1,000 live butterflies flutter freely around you. The exhibit features a dazzling variety of butterflies, from local favorites to exotic tropical varieties. Learn about the life cycle and behavior of these spectacular invertebrates while observing them up close.
Reservations required via sbnature.org/tickets
PRESENTED BY: Schipper Construction, Santa Barbara Independent, Voice Magazine, El Latino, Noozhawk, Santa Maria Sun, and Ventura County Reporter.
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