Carpinteria Magazine • Summer 2018

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It didn’t go as planned – but went the way it was supposed to happen.

– Jenny Schatzle, Hope and Haven’s mother

Turn fear into faith Choose perfect names – Hope and Haven Learn twin parenting skills from nurses Realize that miracles often come in the most unexpected ways CCMC cares for over 14,000 children a year in our Acute Pediatrics Unit, Neonatal and Pediatric ICUs, the emergency department, pediatric trauma center, and eight specialized outpatient clinics.

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Jenny Schatzle’s pregnancy was going flawlessly until her water broke two months early. Her twin girls were born at 30 weeks and weighed less than three pounds. They were rushed to the neonatal ICU at Cottage where they spent seven weeks under expert care.

Today, they are growing strong and thriving.

Our NICU is proud to celebrate its 30 year anniversary.

Visit cottagechildrens.org to learn more about our specialists and services offered.

Dreams Made Real.

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gary goldberg Realtor | Broker | Attorney

Carpinteria • Montecito • Hope Ranch • Goleta

gary goldberg, Owner & Broker 1086 Coast Village Road Santa Barbara, California 93108

805.455.8910 | BRE #: 01172139 www.garygoldberg.net Email: gary@coastalrealty.com

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Whether you’re buying, selling or vacationing in the Carpinteria or Santa Barbara area, Gary Goldberg will provide you with in-depth assistance for all your real estate needs.

Locally owned and operated, Gary’s brokerage, Coastal Properties, has been assisting sellers, buyers and vacationers for 22 years. His team of experienced and knowledgeable agents specialize in all aspects of real estate, including residential, commercial, land development, property management, long and short term leasing, and vacation rentals.

We invite you to stop in to our office and experience the friendly, professional and confidential service Coastal Properties provides.

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“They’ve done some great things for us, especially the last couple years where we’ve pretty much doubled our space.

We’ve had loans from them to help with our expansion and it’s been a great experience.”

- Paul Wright Founder, Island Brewing Company The Central Coast may seem laid back, but when it’s time to work, no one works harder.

That includes the bank that’s grown up here.

Personal & Business Banking SANTA Y

Digital Banking

Z NE

Business & Residential Lending

VAL

W Y NE S LE

For over 40 years, Montecito Bank & Trust has offered customized lending, banking and investing, for all businesses – big and small.

BEST OF THE VALLEY 2017 SINCE 1925

How can we help you grow?

2013 – 2017

2014 – 2017

2014 – 2017

2017 Bank of the Year - Western Independent Bankers A Top Mortgage Lender 2017 - Santa Barbara Independent

montecito.bank • (805) 963-7511 Solvang • Goleta • Santa Barbara • Montecito Carpinteria • Ventura • Camarillo • Westlake Village AD_Carp Mag_Paul_042018.indd 2 CarpMag_Summer 2018.indd 2

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- IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SERVICE CARPINTERIA | MONTECITO | SANTA BARBARA

LORI CL ARIDGE BOWLES 805.452.3884

ding

· lori @ montecito.associates

DANA ZERTUCHE

805.403.5520

· dana@montecito.associates

www.MONTECITO.associates

nt

Accomplished and experienced, these real estate agents work hard to maintain constant and clear communication. With shared enthusiasm for having clients feel good about the end results, a single purpose guides them each day – keep clients informed. Their neighborhood knowledge comes from many years of living in Santa Barbara and representing Santa Barbara properties.

Recognition has been given to Lori and Dana with awards for distinctive and creative advertising. In addition to their impressive 2017 sales performance, they both were awarded the Coldwell Banker International President’s Circle Award. This exceptional achievement ranked them among the top Coldwell Banker independent sales professionals worldwide. Their market knowledge, industry experience and dedication to their clients have elevated their business to this elite level, and will continue to yield rewards in the future.

Lori and Dana are very passionate about their work and take pleasure in working in this community with its rich cultural heritage and active sports, art, music and theater venues.

Dedicated. Professional. Skilled Negotiators. Excellence in Advertising.

THIS IS MONTECITO.ASSOCIATES

Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. \CalRE#01961570 CalRE#01465425

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SEVERE DROUGHT CONTINUES, SAVE WATER! Mandatory Water Conservation for the Carpinteria Valley

Abnormally Dry

Severe Drought

Moderate

Drought

Extreme Drought

• Outdoor Watering no more than 2 days per week.

• Allowable Watering Times: • Fixed System: Between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m.

• Manual Irrigation: Between 4 p.m. and 10 a.m.

• None during or 48 hours after measurable rainfall.

• Garden hoses must be equipped with a shut-off nozzle when in use.

• No irrigation run-off.

• No washing of hard outdoor surfaces.

• No car washing without a bucket and hose equipped with a shut-off nozzle.

• Restaurants shall serve drinking water only upon request.

Visit CVWD.net for Drought Condition Regulations, water saving ideas and rebate information.

U.S. Drought Monitor Map, 4/12/18. For current U.S. Drought Map conditions, visit http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/

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Catering for all Occasions Best Bagels Since 1996 • Beautiful Salads • Gourmet Sandwiches Grand Parties • Hors D’oeuvres • Social & Corporate Catering 5050 Carpinteria Avenue • To Go 805.566.1558 • Bistro Dining 6:30am-3pm Weekends 7am-3pm 53 S. Milpas St. • 805.564.4331 • Mon-Fri 6am-4pm Weekends 7am-3pm

Catering 805.319.0155 • bagelnet.com

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dca

DYLAN CHAPPELL A R C H I T E C T S 550 MAPLE ST. SUITE A CARPINTERIA 93013 805.205.4760 dylanchappell.com

CARPINTERIA VALLEY WOODWORKS 5195 EIGHTH ST. CARPINTERIA 93013 805.684.0717 coastwood works.com

Working together locally

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I don’t just see a customer.

I see you.

Richard Campos, Agent Insurance Lic#: 0A95703 5565 Carpinteria Ave, Ste 24 Carpinteria, CA 93013 Bus: 805-566-6652

While other insurance companies just see a customer, I see a neighbor in my community. I’m here to get to know who you really are so I can help life go right.

LET’S TALK TODAY.

1706838

State Farm, Bloomington, IL

Buying or selling a home with us is like a walk on the beach!

Seascape Realty Shirley Kimberlin

Terry Stain

Nancy Branigan

Leah Dabney

Stephen Joyce

Betty Lloyd

Sylvia's vast experience and innovative marketing strategies help Sellers get the highest possible price in the shortest possible time.

Seascape Realty View our properties Is Proud Tofor Welcome sale at Look4Seascape Realty.com Sylvia Miller

Sylvia Miller (805) 448-8882

And, her complete representation for Buyers can help you realize the perfect home to meet your needs.

Betsy Ortiz

Sarah Aresco Smith

Sylvia's reputation for outstanding customer service makes her -

Diana Porter

THE RIGHT REALTOR® FOR YOU TM

4915-C Carpinteria Ave. • 805.684.4161

www.santabarbaraconnection.com - sylvia@sanbarb.com

BRE Lic#: 00558548

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“the perfect place to stay...”

Enjoy a wealth of activities … the “World’s Safest Beach” is right outside your door! Downtown is only a short, pleasant stroll.

Oceanfront Two Bedroom Condos with Patio or Balcony • Elevator • BBQ Deck • Laundry • Free WiFi • Privacy • Views • Gated Secure Parking 4975 SanDyLanD ROaD • CaRPinTERia, Ca 93013

Vacation Rentals 805-684-3570 800-964-8540

www.carpinteriashores.com info@carpinteriashores.com Weekly & Monthly Rentals

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New Menu! New Chef! Creator of Carpinteria’s Best Burrito

Mi Fiesta Market & Authentic Mexican Grill Craft Beer • Vape Pens & Juices Patio Seating or To-Go • Fish Tacos • Burritos Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner • Catering

805-684-2235 • 4502 Carpinteria Ave, Carpinteria SUMMER2018 11 Market hours 7am -11pm Daily • Deli hours 7am-9 pm Daily CarpMag_Summer 2018.indd 11

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Fine Body Products, Candles, Robes, Loungewear, Jewelry and Purses Unique Gifts From Over Twenty Countries featuring: Kai, Crabtree & Evelyn, Votivo, Pre De Provence and much more

910 A Linden Avenue Downtown Carpinteria

805.684.6695

Summer Hours DAILY 10am-5pm

Writing YOur WOrds With MY pen

Amy Marie Orozco 805.284.2622 www.amymarieorozco.com

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SEAFOOD STEAKS COCKTAILS

Simply. Great.

Reservations

805.684.6666 | SlysOnline.com 686 LINDEN AVENUE

In Downtown Carpinteria, corner of Linden & 7th Just blocks from the “World’s Safest Beach” Open 7 Days

Happy Hour 4-6

Brunch Weekends 9-2:30

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Lounge Menu 3-5 Dinner from 5

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LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE O C E A N

•

L U X U R Y

•

R A N C H

Carpinteria’s most celebrated Real Estate Advocate for both Buyers and Sellers.

Call Yo and Ask her why!

Y O L A N D A VA N W I N G E R D E N

805.570.4965 Yolanda@AskYo.com

BRE: 01308141

SPARK45 Fitness and Physical Therapy 466O Carpinteria Avenue • 8O5.275.3OOO www.spark45.com Offering the patented Megaformer workout, Lagree Fitness, indoor cycling and Physical Therapy.

SPARK 45 provides clients with a welcoming beautiful environment both for fitness & physical therapy in their studio of just over 22OO ft.

New Client Specials: 30 Day Megaformer Pass: $99 3-Class Pack: $45 1st class: $5 We accept most major health insurances.

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CARPiNTERiA

FiRST FRiDAY January 5 February 2 March 2 April 6 May 4 June 1 July 6

2018

Celebrate the New Year August 3 Art & Art-niture in Carpinteria September 7 Chalk the Walk/ Where the Heart Is Celebrate Education Think Green October 5, 6, 7 California Avocado Festival Carpinteria In Bloom November 2 Fall Harvest Celebrate Art Artist Studio Tour December 7 Light Up the Season Sounds of Summer LIVE MUSIC • MERCHANT PROMOTIONS Surf ’s Up America Sunrise to Sunset the Beautiful Check First Friday ad in Coastal View News for more information.

carpinteria.ca.us • carpinteriachamber.org 16 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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DEbbiE MuRphy

Broker/Property Manager/Notary Sales • Property Management • Vacation Rentals

DRE #00580025

www.murphykingrealestate.com 805.689.9696 or 805.684.4101 • 5441 Carpinteria Ave. Carpinteria, CA 93013

TM

Classic & Delicious since 1961

5205 Carpinteria Ave • 684–3602 SUMMER2018 17

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DESIGN PRINT BIND DELIVER

805-684-0013 rockprint.com …EXCELLENT, BEAUTIFUL, AND FANTASTIC…ON TIME, AS PROMISED

4850A Carpinteria Avenue Carpinteria, CA 93013

INSPIRATION COMES FROM MANY PLACES. THE PRINTING COMES FROM US. DIGITAL PRINTING OFFSET PRINTING LETTERPRESS BOOKLETS FOLDING BUSINESS CARDS POSTERS • FLYERS Mention this ad for 10% off your first order.

Applies to first time customers only.

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CARP Summer2018

features 44 THE THOMAS FIRE

Carpinteria Magazine remembers the fire.

48 C HERIMOYAS A CARPINTERIA DEL IC A C Y

The temptation of exotic fruit. The cherimoya earns its reputation as a needy, delicate crop, and boy, is she ever worth it. Succulent, sweet, and, thankfully, not at all forbidden.

57 WORLD’S BEST CAMPING BEACH Fifty years and counting for some campers–that’s a decadeslong tradition of camping at Carpinteria State Beach, and for three families, there’s no plan to change the family vacation.

66 THE W RIGHT STUFF

Paul Wright was working at an insurance company in a dense metropolitan area when he took the plunge to turn his dream job into reality. Today, with a pint glass in hand, he toasts the sunset view from his brewery and tasting room.

48 57

73 ART IN THE AB STRACT

Meet three abstract artists who are connecting global art currents with local tidepools and topography.

79 ENERGY ENHANC ERS MIND, B ODY, SPACE

Is taking two aspirins and calling your doctor in the morning not doing it for you any longer? Maybe some qigong, homeopathic medicine, and feng shui is the prescription you need.

88 TURNING OV ER A NEW L EA F C ANNAB IS TAKES RO O T I N THE C ARPINTERIA V A L L EY

It’s history in the making as deep-seeded farms try to make sense of the legality of cannabis in California while the county tries to catch up with ordinances and regulations. What’s the future of this very green industry?

94 SUMMER DESSERTS ON THE MENU

Build your dessert menu on the season’s bounty by starting with figs, lemons, and nectarines. Sit back and enjoy the sweet tastes of summer.

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P

Locally owned since 1979

CLEANING & RESTORATION 8O5-687-9898

24 HOUR EMERGENCY SERVICE

General Contractors License #9824O5

Carpet / Rug Cleaning Water • Fire • Mold Temp Power/Generators

www.Hirecastros.com SUMMER2018 21

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MAG departments

79 88

24

FROM T HE PU BLISHER

28

CHAT T E RBOX

37

CARPE DIE M

54

WILD IN CARPINTERIA

64

CARPINTERIA CAMPERS GUIDE

77

ART & COLLE CT IBLES

84

PHOT O E SSAY: LIL’ P L ANE T S

98

RE COMME NDE D E ATS RE ST AU RANT GU IDE

101

SUMMER READ: AN EXCERPT FROM “FINAL NOTICE” BY VAN FLEISHER

104

RE AL E ST AT E RE VIE W

110

CONT RIBU T ORS

112

FINAL FRAME ON T H E COVE R BEAUTY

FROM THE

ASHES Photographer Chuck Graham surveys Carpinteria Valley springing to life after the Thomas Fire.

Photo by Chuck Graham

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Strength in community

CARPINTERIA MAGAZINE SUMMER2018

Welcome to the 24th issue of Carpinteria Magazine. It feels great to type those words. As a community, we went through a lot together since our winter issue. Thanks to you—faithful readers and loyal advertisers—we have another publication filled with stories and photos of the amazing people of the Carpinteria Valley, in spite of all the hurdles Mother Nature threw our way.

Eleven years ago, we started the journey of publishing Carpinteria Magazine. Since then, our town has changed.

There’s the freeway widening, growing pains, devastating natural disasters, and when California voters approved the legalization of marijuana in 2016, that really changed the KARLSSON agricultural landscape of the valley. Is cannabis going to be Carpinteria’s number one crop? Some neighbors are betting their farms on it. Read about that on page 88.

We take a look at a far more exotic crop, the cherimoya, on page 48. This delicate fruit is hands-on, labor intensive, but we understand the work is worth it. “Delicious!” is the consensus on its taste. Want to eat some more? Pascale Beale serves up three recipes of Sweet Tastes of Summer on page 94.

Summer is the perfect time for, well, for just about anything. It is particularly perfect for making and keeping family traditions. Meet three families who have made camping in Carpinteria a cherished time to gather and strengthen ties. The memories start on page 57.

Still feel the need to give thanks to those who helped during the recent disasters but don’t know to whom or how or where? In our Carpe Diem feature, we have six everyday Carpinterians who volunteered to make life safer, easier, and better for all of us during that terrible time. Their stories start on page 37.

Need some inspiration? You’ll want to turn to page 66 and get the back story on how Paul Wright turned his dream of leaving his insurance job into a reality of full-time beer making. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t all sweet dreams.

I don’t want to give away any more reading surprises, so I’ll let you start turning pages. I can’t help saying, though, be sure to check out the fiction excerpt on page 101.

Enjoy every page and appreciate every day. That’s a lesson we learned well when putting this issue together. And watch for our winter issue in November.

EDITOR Amy Marie Orozco PRODUCTION & DESIGN Kristyn Whittenton WRITERS Pascale Beale Christian Beamish Lea Boyd Peter Dugré Chuck Graham Debra Herrick Alonzo Orozco Amy Marie Orozco Kathleen Reddington PHOTOGRAPHERS Joshua Curry Glenn Dubock Chuck Graham Robin Karlsson Michael Kwiecinski CONTRIBUTORS Haight, Nieto and Smith families Joel Conroy Van Fleisher PRODUCTION SUPPORT Rockwell Printing SALES Dan Terry dan@coastalview.com (805) 684-4428 ON THE WEB

Michael VanStry, Publisher

RMG Ventures, LLC Michael VanStry, President • Gary L. Dobbins, Vice President 4856 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria, California 93013 Tel: (805) 684-4428 Email: info@carpinteriamagazine.com

CarpinteriaMagazine.com Facebook

All articles, photographs and artwork appearing in this publication are the copyrighted intellectual property of RMG Ventures, LLC. RMG Ventures, LLC aggressively protects its intellectual property rights. No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form without the express written permission of the publisher. ©2018 RMG Ventures, LLC.

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where shelter and nature converge

3823 Santa Claus Lane • Carpinteria • 805-684-0300 • porchsb.com SUMMER2018 25

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The Carpinteria Arts Center: coming soon!

La s t w i n t e r w a s c h a l l e n g i n g fo r o u r community, but at the Carpinteria Arts Center we learned that the arts are a healing force. With construction underway, we are poised to become one of the best smalltown arts centers around, celebrating visual art, music, dance, poetry, crafts, photography, and more. Thank you to all who have contributed to make this dream a reality.

Come discover your creative passion among our many offerings for all ages! Visit carpinteriaartscenter.org for information about upcoming workshops, programs, and events, or call us for information on how to get involved.

865 Linden Avenue • 8O5.684.7789 • carpinteriaar tscenter.org

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LAGUNA BLANCA SCHOOL

BE INSPIRED. THERE IS STILL TIME TO APPLY FOR THE 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR. VISIT LAGUNABLANCA.ORG TO SCHEDULE A TOUR.

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Chatterbox ’Tis the Season

For several Carpinteria causes, Christmas 2017 arrived early, nearly six months early. During a week in July, The Food Liaison converted its kitchen into a fundraising factory and donated 50 percent of lunch counter sales and 100 percent of tips to five separate programs or individuals in need. A total of $36,311 was raised in the event aptly named Christmas in July.

Spearheading the fundraiser was Jason Rodriguez, who owns The Food Liaison with his wife and head chef Nirasha. Jason, a roll up your sleeves and get it done kind of guy, concocted the fundraising plan with two objectives in mind: 1) to rally the community to give in a way that delivers quintuple-digit dollar amounts, and 2) to honor the memory of recently deceased Michael Towbes, founder of Montecito Bank & Trust and generous Santa Barbara area philanthropist.

The pair has grown a small catering and private cheffing company operating out of a home kitchen into a bustling Shepard Place Shops restaurant and massive catering business that feeds hundreds of corporate clients daily.

Jason and Nirasha commit themselves not just to business growth but also to improving the community that has fueled their rocket to success. They donate to local causes regularly, and with Christmas in July, Jason injected steroids into their community giving.

During the 2017 event, The Food Liaison’s lunch counter swarmed with customers hungry for good food and to support a good cause. Jason, who emphasizes the event’s awareness-raising potential, used the restaurant’s three flat screen TVs to display slideshows from each of the beneficiaries: Plaza Playhouse Theater (now the Alcazar Theatre), Carpinteria Arts Center, Forrest Holt (a local boy with a life-threatening kidney condition), Franklin Trail, Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, and Howard School. Each day, raffle tickets were sold for a drawing of high-end prizes.

Christmas in July 2017 infused mega funds into its causes, but when the 2018 event appeared on the horizon, Jason found himself struggling with whom to select for the funds. He couldn’t ignore the devastating impact of

Karlsson

the Thomas Fire and Jan. 9 debris flow. Winter and spring had seen fundraisers for victims and their families, and Jason felt ill-equipped to single out worthy beneficiaries.

Then he discovered the right fit: the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation. Dogs from NDSDF played a crucial role in the rescue and recovery of Montecito debris flow victims, and a portion of the Santa Paula facility burned in the fire.

Deciding where to direct Christmas in July funds has reignited Jason’s passion for the event. “I said last year that I really wanted to go big,” he says. “This year I want to go even bigger.”

– lea Boyd

° ° °

Kindness Joins the Club

“My favorite quote is Gandhi’s, ‘be the change you wish to see in the world,’” says Jessica Clark. Shadowing

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Gandhi’s footsteps, she founded Club Kind in 2009 to help fill the benevolent gap for those who don’t have a local network of family and friends.

“When my husband Eric Pintard died in 2004, there was a huge outpouring of generous, compassionate, emotional, and financial support. Everyone was there for me, my family, his family, the whole community helped me heal. I was born and raised in Carpinteria, but not everyone has deep ties with family and community. I was very fortunate to have so much support.”

It’s not always about the money. They give what they can. “Sometimes we collect a few hundred dollars. Our biggest collection was $2,500. It’s the little things that take you down and hurt the most. Our goal is to provide a lifeline to help get through the struggle and let someone know we care,” she notes.

As many as 40 people gather for Club Kind meetings, according to the restauranteur. “There’s a lot of laughter, amazing food, and often some tears before we go home.

I always feel great when I leave. A heartfelt joy comes over me knowing we are making a difference in someone’s life.”

The perfect lunch destination to sit, sip, and eat... or take back to the beach.

Local and Organic Lunch Offerings, Handcrafted Pastries, Soups, Grab-n-Go Dinners, Gourmet Salad Bar, Craft Beer and Wine.

Catering for Clients Corporate and Private.

Club Kind meets once every couple of months at various venues, including Corktree Cellars (Clark’s downtown restaurant) as well as Porch, Island Brewing Company, and members’ homes. It’s a very casual grassroots movement of mostly women from ages 20 to 80. Everyone brings food and an idea of someone who could use some kindness. They drink a little wine, pass the donation box, and cooperatively decide where to do the most good.

A family who lost everything in the Thomas Fire

Cooking Classes and Pop-up Dinners.

Counter open Mon-Fri 11am-3pm TheFoodLiaison.com 1033 Casitas Pass Road Carpinteria 805.200.3030

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Chatterbox received a $500 gift card. A woman, who evacuated and had her belongings stolen from her car, received $300.

A newly widowed mother and her daughter were the recipients of a spa day. When the homeless man Richard’s art supplies were stolen, Club Kind replaced them, adding a new backpack. Trees to commemorate loved ones, airline tickets to reunite a mother and a daughter, and car repairs for a working college student have been purchased.

In the future, Clark would like to see a Club Kind in every city. She encourages people to realize it doesn’t take a huge act to change someone’s life.

“It’s really about letting people know someone is on their side,” sums up Clark. “There will always be trouble and tragedy. We can never put all the pieces back together again, with Club Kind we try to provide the small threads to hold together what’s there and provide hope for a better tomorrow.”

for $1,000 and is committed to doing the same the next time the fund reaches $500.

“I grew up around books,” says Smirnova. Her mother brought home armfuls of literature for her word-hungry child who had little access to television and other diversions.

Patty Manuras, former Cate School librarian and longtime member and leader within the Friends of the Library organization, recently started donating her clothing to the fund. “I think the name says it all, Twice as Nice,” she reflects. Her garments will get a new life in someone else’s closet, and Carpinteria Library will benefit from a much-needed infusion of funds.

– Kathleen Reddington

° ° °

Turning Clothing into Reading Material

Gaby Edwards climbs the stairs to Twice as Nice with 13 skirts draped over her arm. There’s the flouncy one she wore to a niece’s wedding, the black suede she found for an unbelievable bargain, and several in neutral tones from her years as an English teacher at Cate School.

She hands the skirts to boutique owner Jana Smirnova, who will transform them into library books and hours of operation at the Carpinteria Branch Library.

The typical system at Twice is Nice works like this: ladies bring in their gently used clothing and accessories, Smirnova prices and displays them, and when the garments sell, the client gets 40 percent of the retail price in cash or store credit.

But a few years ago, Smirnova agreed to create an account to collect the proceeds of Edwards’ recycled garments. Edwards asked Smirnova to donate her Twice as Nice piggybank to the Friends of the Carpinteria Library when it reached $500. As the months went by, Edwards inspired other friends and library supporters to drop off their clothing to be earmarked for the special fund.

The account hit $500 last November. Smirnova, the daughter of a 55-year librarian, honored the agreement and beyond. She matched the amount and wrote a check

Boyd

The beleaguered local library has managed to keep its shelves stocked and doors open six days a week despite a maelstrom of fiscal challenges. State funding for libraries took a dive years ago, and the cash-strapped county hasn’t filled the gap. Meanwhile, costs keep rising, and the Central Library System has reduced its financial support for the branches it oversees.

Edwards, current chair of the Friends board of directors, lamented the library’s situation—“and it’s only going to become more difficult,” she says. The library faces a $147,000 shortfall next year.

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PET FOOD & SUPPLIES • GROOMING • HAY & FEED

IT’S MY FAVORITE STORE!

890 CACTUS LANE • 805-684-9988 (next to Smart & Final)

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Chatterbox Edwards knows her 13 skirts won’t fix the broken funding system for the Carpinteria Branch Library, but she also recognizes that the little things add up. She encourages others to box or bag their gently used clothing and accessories and drop them off at Twice as Nice, 957 Maple Ave., for the Friends of the Library fund.

– Lea Boyd

math,”he says.

Writing is not new to Smith. He has authored books on math history, math finance, and math statistics. His most popular book is “Agnesi to Zeno: Over 100 Vignettes from the History of Mathematics.” Agnessi (1718 – 1799) is a well-known Italian female mathematician, and Zeno (495 BCE – c. 430 BCE) hails from ancient Greece.

° ° °

Do the Math, It’s Fun!

Sanderson Smith recently wrote four books in four months, and it doesn’t seem like he’s stopping anytime soon. These are not beach-read or historical fiction books.

His pages are devoted to fostering a love for mathematics in children – or in anyone, really.

“I call them booklets. A friend in Michigan wanted help for her grandkids in math,” says the retired Cate School math teacher. “I’m not attempting to make any money from them. They are entirely public domain.

I simply enjoy putting things like these together.”

In clear language, the books show math applications to everyday life, share tidbits, and tell backstories from the numbers world. Math Activity 48 from “Fifty Ways to Help Children Engage in Mathematics on a Daily Basis” suggests, “Introduce child to the parabola, an amazing figure that, while not usually visible, plays an important part in our lives.” Illustrations of a football pass, basketball shot, McDonald’s golden arches, and the beam of car headlights are given, and then the definition: “A parabola is determined by a line (directrix) and a point (focus) not on the line. The parabola is the set of points that are equidistant from the line and the point.” In “Mathematical Activities for Family and Friends” there’s a Famous People Who Were Outstanding Mathematicians section. (Spoiler alert: Lewis Carroll and Napoleon Bonaparte.)

Want to understand the Electoral College or Ponzi Schemes? Those are laid out in “Get Kids to Talk Math.” “Patriotic U.S.A. Word Games and Activities for Family and Friends” plays with presidential trivia and state capitals.

Smith learned to appreciate numbers as a freshman at Amherst, where he struggled with classes and earned a bachelor ’s in mathematics. “I struggled less in

Struggles aside, he earned a master ’s in math from State University New York, Buffalo, a master ’s in math education from UCSB, and a Doctor of Education from Oklahoma State University. His career includes 40 years at Cate, where he developed Advanced Placement programs including AP statistics, and 13 years part-time at Santa Barbara City College. He’s received many prestigious accolades and awards: the California Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and elected president of the national mathematics organization CPAM (Council of Presidential Awardees in Mathematics). He taught in England and Tasmania and participated in seminars in Russia, China, Canada, and the United States.

To receive a copy of the booklets, email carpmathbooklets@gmail.com. ♦ – amy orozco

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C ar Pe Di e m

Doers, Believers,

Thinkers &

Dreamers Port ra i t s by jos h ua Curry Carpinteria is an easy place to seize the day. The weather is usually in our favor, the natural surroundings gorgeous, and, for the most part, there are enough residents to support whatever one may want to pursue. (For the most part.) But what about when the tide turns? When an out of control fire covers the area and black smoke darkens the sky? When a debris flow launches a surprise attack? Carpe diem ‌ uh, maybe not so much. Except for a few. The Thomas Fire and January’s debris/mud flows saw a number of our friends, family, and neighbors seize the day to make us and our place on the planet safe. Turn the page to see the spotlight we shined on some of those who helped during the dark. Those who Carpe Diem.

Photo by Ch U Ck GRah aM

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C arpe Di e m

The Calm in the Storm By a l on z o oroz C o

Having lived in Carpinteria for over four decades, Candi Burquez looks to be a lifer. The daughter of Chuck and Suzy Kelsey, both Carpinteria High School alumni, the longtime local moved into town when she was just 3. Other than the two years in her early 20s when she attended college in a small town in Massachusetts, Burquez always has been attached here. “You don’t appreciate living in Carpinteria until you move away,” says Burquez, who returned home because of the harsh East Coast winters.

The Kelsey family was always into sports with Chuck and brother Chris each having stints announcing Warriors football games. Suzy worked as the school’s Athletic Secretary for some 20 years. Burquez earned seven varsity letters participating in cross country, basketball, and track and field at CHS, and she still maintains an active lifestyle. “I exercise pretty much every day. I did track at Carp High … I’ve just always exercised ever since,” says the Class of ’85 graduate.

When choosing a career, Burquez picked a field that went hand-in-hand with what she felt comfortable. “I was always good at math,” says Burquez, who studied accounting at Fitchburg State University. And, much like her time spent on the basketball court and at the stadium in high school, she entered the fast track into a new career.

“I worked for a corporation back East called Fiskars Electronics, and they ended up hiring me as their accounts payable person when I was 21. I ended up running their accounts payable department,” she explains.

However, Burquez still longed for the sunny days back home. “It would snow,” she recalls of the early days of her career. “I swore if I ever moved back here, I would never join a gym. This is my gym outside,” says Burquez. At age 23, she did make it home and landed a position at Craig Meister Accounting (now Meister & Nunes) behind Jack’s Bagels and still works there today. She married Wally Burquez, a retired fire captain, and together they raised two sons: Alec, the older, a junior at Cal State University Channel Islands and Daniel, who is participating in track and field at Ventura College.

When Disaster struCk the Burquez family came away unscathed from the thomas Fire and January’s debris/mud flows. they had a good view of the event(s), of the flames in particular. Candi Burquez recalls husband Wally, with his vast background in emergencies and catastrophes, keeping her calm. “he would explain the back fires and wind direction.” she says, assuring her that they would be ok. Candi didn’t see that calmness in the community. so, she decided to share her husband’s knowledge on Facebook, specifically Carp swap. her posts became very popular, and her followers would inquire when her next informational post would go viral. Candi was recognized at the Chamber of Commerce Community awards Banquet for her heroism during the thomas Fire and mud/debris flow disasters.

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Have Truck, Will Help

By A m y OrO z cO

At the age of 19 or 20, while taking general education courses at Santa Barbara City College, Ruben Clark fell in love. “One day I walked past an auto class and peeked in,” Clark recalls. “And that was it. Instant love.” And from that fateful moment, Ruben Clark Auto was conceived.

“I had no idea what I wanted to do. I passed the auto shop and thought, ‘this is for me.’ I had great teachers, too,” says the Bishop Diego and Mount Carmel alumnus who grew up in Carpinteria spending more time playing sports than tinkering in the automotive world. Childhood included his father, Dr. Eduardo Clark at Carpinteria’s Sansum Clinic, taking the family on camping trips to Mexico. “I fell in love with the Baja 1000,” the younger Clark recalls love at first sight with the off-road race in Baja California. After finishing the automotive program at SBCC, Clark tooled for six years at J & S East Valley Garage in Montecito. Then, about six years ago, he heard about a space that had become available in Carpinteria.

Housed on the west end of Carpinteria Avenue, the

900-square-foot shop specializes in off-road fabrication and provides general auto repair: oil changes, brakes, and tune-ups. “Smallest shop in town that I know,” Clark sums up the one-man show that operates from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. “I absolutely love it.”

Camping and off-roading remain a part of his family life with his wife, Alyssa, who is a dancer, traveling along. Destinations include Hungry Valley, Castaic, and Ocotillo Wells. They own three vehicles: his 2001 Dodge Ram Diesel truck, her Toyota Corolla, and a project-inthe-works 2009 GMC Sierra truck.

Carpinterians make up the bulk of the customer base with some out-of-towners and visitors rounding out the mix. The business participates in community events like parades and the Rods and Roses car show, and Clark is a member of industry-related groups and clubs.

“Never in a million years I thought I’d own my own shop. I was given the opportunity, and I went for it,” he says. “I love Carp. I love my hometown.”

When DisAster struck ruben clark remembers getting ready for bed when he saw the glow of the fire in the distance. he set his alarm for every hour to check the status from his Ventura bedroom, a half-mile from the blaze. After ensuring the safety of his mother, who lives near telegraph road, he thought, “there are probably friends who need help.” he posted the availability of his 2001 Dodge ram Diesel truck on instagram and Facebook. calls came into move beds, tow trailers, and to relocate a tiny house project from rincon hill to carpinteria community church. At least eight people from as far away as Pismo volunteered their services, too. clark’s auto shop remained closed during the fire, and he continued to help until his sister’s death later in December.

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C arpe Di e m

T h e informa Tio n man

By Ch ristian Beam i s h Jim Sirianni’s resonant voice makes him a natural for radio, and with a background in theater he has “presence” with his words alone. Working for Rincon Broadcasting in a variety of roles is a perfect fit for Sirianni, who anchors the news and covers weather for KTMS AM 990 and covers urgent and breaking news as needed on K-LITE 101.7 and KTYD 99.9.

Working in radio since 1999, Sirianni says that providing news and keeping people updated has become part of who he is. “It’s my job,” he says, “it’s what I like doing—bringing information to people.” After some years in Los Angeles pursuing acting work (Sirianni laughs at the cliché of it) he returned to Carpinteria where he was born, to help his mother after his father passed away. (His grandfather was John Imbach, a well-loved pastor in the community.) A position was available at K-LITE, and he started out operating the control board, turning microphones on and off, counting down between segments, and monitoring the flow of shows.

Sirianni’s transition to the other side of the microphone

was a gradual one, he says, his first job at the station a “toe in the door.” He worked part time on morning programming, taking on more responsibilities, and is now a regular news anchor in addition to hosting a publicaffairs talk show, “In the Public Interest.”

But the Thomas Fire was new territory for the radio man. The fire was different from any of the other fires he’d covered in more the 15 years of broadcasting. “It was unusual… more exhausting, the fire kept going and going, and affected me personally. My family had to evacuate because of the air quality, so it was difficult covering the fire while having to make sure everyone had a place to go.” Then, of course, the rain event on Jan. 9 that seems cruel in its focused downpour on the most vulnerable burn-scar areas produced another disaster that people here will remember for the rest of their lives. “It wears you out after,” Sirianni admits.

“Radio has changed a lot,” Sirianni says, referring to the influence of Internet platforms, “but radio is one medium that is free to the consumer. As long as transmitters are up and running, people can get information.”

When Disaster struCk Jim sirianni’s consistent posting on Facebook throughout the thomas Fire and the debris flow disasters made the Carpinteria native’s contributions to his community invaluable. Broadcasting daily, sirianni kept his listeners updated with information from county and state officials on the progress and specifics of the thomas Fire. When the workday ended, he then posted on his Facebook page what he’d gleaned through the radio station. as the fire reached the front range of the santa ynez mountains and threatened Carpinteria, sirianni’s updates became some of the most specific information available for area residents. When events like the thomas Fire and subsequent debris flow happen, sirianni says it’s “all news all the time”—even if that means one month of fire, and weeks and weeks of debris flow recovery.

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The SilenT h e ro

By Ch ristian Beamish Jo Black uses Hurricane Katrina as an example of how the needs of the disabled can get overlooked in a disaster situation. “There were people evacuated to Superdome who were in wheelchairs and they didn’t have wheelchairs!” she says of some work she did for an agency that looked at how people with disabilities were treated in New Orleans. But with the Thomas Fire, there was better information than there had been in previous fires, a “sense of being more sensitive to people with disabilities.”

Black comes by her concerns naturally, having been the director of the Independent Living Resource Center in Santa Barbara for 25 years prior to her retirement in 2014.

“I’m really only a symbol of what’s going on out there,” Black says of a generally-growing public awareness and support for people with disabilities.

Beginning her journey by learning sign language in the summer of 1979—motivated in large part, she says with a laugh, because she was a “bored housewife”— Black studied at Santa Barbara City College for a summer, then at Cal State Northridge, commuting from her home in Carpinteria. She became fascinated with crossing the communication barrier between deaf and hearingimpaired people and those with hearing. “I’ve done a lot of things signing,” Black relates. “Church activities, county and city meetings, board meetings, working with students at SBCC and UCSB…” She says working in American Sign Language is “like being a telephone, but not that robotic—being a tool for communication.”

The person watching the signer has to get the inflection and tone of what’s being said, Black explains.

“The interpreter is supposed to mirror the emphasis of the speaker.” Walking a line between being invisible as an individual in order to accurately portray the nuances of the speaker ’s words, and also being able to deliver inflection and emphasis, is the art of sign-language interpretation.

With almost 40 years of practice, Black is just such an artist, and it does not take an expert—or even much understanding of signing—to see her great skill and knowledge, providing an essential service to people in need. For her, it is about the provision of access for those with communication barriers.

When Disaster struCk as the thomas Fire ate up acres from Ojai and down to rincon mountain, then jumped highway 150 and burned across the Carpinteria backcountry, creeping towards montecito and santa Barbara, daily televised press conferences were held with representatives from all the agencies involved in confronting the unprecedented blaze. While officials came and went from the podium, Jo Black was the one remaining figure on stage. she is a a woman of poise, a comforting presence, signing for hearing-impaired viewers. “i’m certainly not the only one,” Black is quick to say of her contribution. “i was happy to do it, and the county had more full-access (accommodations for disabled people) this time,” she adds, pointing out that providing signing for important public events has been an evolving process. “i was just putting out the information as fast as i could go.”

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C arpe Di e m

Volunteering: It’s in his DNA

By K a t h l e e n r eDDi n gt on “Ever since I can remember there’ve been stories told around the family table about Carpinteria politics and how important it is to serve and help people,” says Dale Olivas, whose call to community service came as a child when he walked Linden Avenue downtown with his Uncle Olly. “I liked being a kid with him. He was on the first Carpinteria City Council.” Longtime Carpinterians may remember Olly Olivas as the Carpinteria Herald photographer who took all the photos for the 30th Anniversary issue published in 1960.

An ever-ready champion in times of disaster Dale has earned numerous local hero accolades. He currently serves on the Carpinteria Tree Board, is a Certified CERT member and trainer, and received a 2017 City of Carpinteria Volunteer Merit Award from the Chamber of Commerce. Congressman Salud Carbajal, State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, and State Representative Monique Limon honored him for his outstanding and invaluable service to the community. His numerous national, state and local certifications, commendations, thousands of hours of course work, and qualifications complement his years of training in disaster management, crisis intervention, and emergency services.

Dale was recently hired as a Mental Wellness Center outreach worker for California HOPE 805 (Helping Outreach Possibilities Empowerment) to promote mental wellness and inform the community of services available in emergency situations and when disasters strike. “It’s the first time I’ve been paid for what I love to do, help people in times of crisis. It’s a great job,” he notes.

Dale thinks his uncle’s death in 2014 may have made him more civic-minded. It’s also getting older and feeling his deep attachment to the community. A self-described “fifth-generation Carpinterian through and through,” he is considering running for office in the future. “Mostly, I am committed to Carpinteria whether through volunteering or public service. Everything I’ve done is because I love this town. It’s my home,” he adds.

When Disaster struCK Dale olivas volunteered tirelessly during the thomas Fire and the following mudslides and debris flows. mid-morning on Dec. 6, with the air smelly brown, thick with soot and ash, the city emergency services coordinator asked him to pick up 3mn95 masks from Direct relief international and distribute them at Casitas plaza.

“When i arrived, 200 people were waiting. We gave 36,000 breathing masks in eight days,” says olivas. he recruited volunteers on the spot. “they showed up, stood for long hours distributing masks, so their friends and neighbors could breathe. they gave a damn. i saw Carpinteria strong. it touched my heart,” he says with big tears forming in his dark eyes. he helped with traffic control, until authorities arrived, after the southbound on-ramp at Bailard was re-opened, creating a traffic mess and a dangerous situation, and the day before the slides he was called to fill sandbags and give them out at city hall. “i don’t know how many we filled but it felt like a thousand at the end of the day,” he joked.

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Water Man

By Alonzo o roz co Born and raised in Carpinteria, Matt Organista always had an affinity for water. He started as a Junior Lifeguard, participating each summer in the program for boys and girls run by the City of Carpinteria. Later, when attending Carpinteria High School, he would take his love for the water to the pool, where he competed in both swimming and water polo for the Warriors.

Today, Organista coaches the same sports he once played, having been put at the helm of the CHS boys swim and water polo teams. Recently, he took another post, being hired as the Aquatics Coordinator for the Carpinteria Tritons Aquatics Club and also has been put in charge of the Junior Lifeguard program for this summer. Through the spirit of competition, he developed a dual-passion to complement his water activities. “My cousin Shaun [Organista] and I were good rivals. He’s a year younger than me and was always a better runner,” the swim coach recalls footraces growing up. The two are like brothers now.

Later he became fascinated with the physical challenge of the triathlon and ran cross country at Santa Barbara City

College and Westmont College to help in his training.

The hard work led to a career as a professional triathlete.

Along the way, he met Sarah Skipper, also a professional athlete and who heads the Santa Barbara Track Youth Club, while working as an assistant coach for Carpinteria High School track and field. The two married in 2016, and then balancing coaching and the travel demands of a triathlete became burdensome for Organista. With the arrival of daughter Eden Mae Organista, he decided to put his triathlon touring on the back burner, choosing to race as an elite amateur on Team Every Man Jack.

Because of their modest coaching incomes, the young couple made their home a small one. “We wanted to keep doing what we were doing [coaching], so we built a Tiny House,” he explains.

The house escaped danger in the Thomas Fire. (His uncle, Mike Organista, unfortunately lost his Rincon Mountain home.) “I’m super thankful for the firefighters. There were two kids, 18 and 19 years old, [from the Vandenberg Fire Department] who took a bulldozer straight into the flames after 12 hours of cutting fire breaks with other seasoned bulldozer drivers,” recalls Organista, who was honored for heroism at the Chamber of Commerce Community Awards Banquet. ♦

When DisAster struck With the recent thomas Fire, Matt organista found an immediate need being unfilled. “i saw the flames on the side of the freeway, near seacliff … and thought, oh my gosh, the flames are right here,” he recalls. so, he and his friends, on their way to Ventura, started filming the event from their vehicle. “the news wasn’t talking about it, so nobody would say what the fire was doing,” explains organista. he continued covering the fire in an on-scene reporter fashion, posting approximately 60 videos over 10 days on Facebook.

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Ph o t o J o urn a l

The Thomas Fire • December 2017 R obI N kAR l S S o N

City Beach

Along the Franklin Trail.

ChUCk GRAh AM



before, during, and after

D UboC k.C o M

Bench on Franklin Trail



GR Ah AM ph o t oS

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

DU bo ck.coM



Linden Avenue

GR Ah AM

DUbock.coM

Franklin Trail

G R A hA M

From the 8th Street side of Carpinteria Middle School.



DU boc k.c oM p h ot oS

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Team cherimoya: from left, Raul Lopez, Luis Ortiz, Remedios Lopez, and Adan Lopez.

Cherimoyas a Carpinteria delicacy C

B y Peter Dugré Ph otos By Joshua Curry

herimoyas earn their reputation of being needy, delicate fruits every year. Winter 2017-2018, prime harvest season, demonstrated just how temperamental these exotic fruits can be. Even orchards unscathed by the flames of the Thomas Fire saw over half of their fruit tarnished. The cherimoyas choked on the smoke and fell to the ground. Growers and packers scrambled to salvage what could be harvested and sent to market but saw much of the intensive work required to grow cherimoyas go to waste. Approximately 80 percent of the U.S. cherimoya crop is grown locally, so for those in the business, it was hard to meet demand, and at times prices shot up to nearly $15 for a single large cherimoya.

Peter Nichols, who packs cherimoyas and other rare delicacies at Santa Barbara Exotics on Via Real, saw his personal crop and those of the other ranchers in the area plummet. Overall, there was a 40 percent reduction of fruit processed at his packing house, which in an average year packs over 250,000 pounds. He and his family are not new to the game. “That’s agriculture. It fluctuates,” he reasons.

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Rogelio Jimenez manages four cherimoya orchards.

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The fruit of a laborious process.

Jimenez mulches a cherimoya grove.

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Peter Nichols of Santa Barbara Exotics.

Cherimoyas look like pale-green hand grenades but lack the structural integrity usually bestowed upon oblong objects marked with an angular turtle-shell pattern. Once they hit the ground, they’re toast, and the laborious enterprise of getting them from bud, to flower, to fruit, to market explains why their price point often hovers around $10 a pound. They must be hand-pollinated using a miniature paintbrush to collect pollen from the male stage of the flower, and then during a short window, the pollen is applied to each female flower. It’s much more technical a process than what is required for Carpinteria’s other favorite fruit, the avocado.

Rogelio Jimenez manages four local cherimoya orchards and has handled up to 10 properties in any given year since he became a private cherimoya farm manager in 2000. Jimenez, who formerly worked for Nichols’ family’s exotic fruits business California Tropics, knows his way around a cherimoya orchard.

He and his crew prune trees in batches in order to induce flowering at different times over the spring and summer. When hot days arrive, trees pruned earliest will begin to flower, and crews of up to a dozen workers swarm like bees to induce reproduction. To vary and control fruit sizes, they pollinate only a portion of flowers on each tree.

When the fruit begins to ripen, any time between November and late spring — in batches due to the systematic pruning — Jimenez picks and packs it on site. His Citlaly’s Produce l a b e l i s s o u g h t a f t e r a t L o s A n g e l e s f ru i t wholesale markets.

“I know how delicate they are,” says Rogelio through a translator. “We have to pick and handle with care. They’re so sensitive.”

Pollination by hand is part of the required TLC for the exotic cherimoya.

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Gathering cherimoyas before they fall to the ground.

Nichols’ packing house handles about 60 percent of the cherimoyas grown in Carpinteria Valley, a portion of which comes from his own property in Gobernador Canyon. He was hit hard by the fire, losing a large part of his harvest last year. He battled the blaze, hose in hand, until the fire burned through the irrigation line and the water ceased to flow.

Much of the fruit handled by Santa Barbara Exotics ends up in high-end markets like Gelson’s or Whole Foods.

It takes several sets of eyes from quality-control employees to feed the fruit through an automated sorting machine and separate those that can’t be sent to retailers or wholesale markets. Blemished cherimoyas won’t make it out of the warehouse, but the good ones could end up anywhere in the United States.

Nichols and his siblings essentially created the domestic cherimoya market. When the cinnamon fungus ravaged much of the local avocado crop in 1980, it left room for ranchers to explore new agricultural ventures like cherimoyas. Peter jokes, “The one thing I learned in college was supply and demand. There was no [cherimoya] supply.”

Never mind supply, there was no cherimoya demand in 1980 either. California Tropics sold cherimoya trees to avocado ranchers affected by the fungus and bought the fruit back to deliver it to market at harvest time. As director of marketing and sales, Nichols attended trade shows all over the country to promote the fruit and build a market. ♦

The fragile fruit is packed with care.

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Wild in Carpinteria:

The BoBCaT

By Ch uCk Gra h a m

O

n an early morning trail run up Romero Canyon, steady drizzle compacted the winding sandstone route. I was running downhill, long strides rounding a blind turn, and unbeknownst to me a large bobcat was trotting uphill toward me in the opposite direction. As we rounded that sharp hairpin turn we nearly collided beneath a low-hanging ceiling of dewy, gray overcast. I proceeded to slip and slide in the slick mud landing with a thud on my rear end; the equally surprised bobcat bounded upward, two impressive leaps into the chaparral-choked hillside and it easily vanished.

However, during that brief encounter there was no denying those piercing yellow eyes with round, black pupils and wispy, black-tipped ear tufts pointing skyward. Its striking facial markings were enhanced by its wide ruffs of extended hair beneath

its ears as it wove through nearly impenetrable manzanita and oak woodlands.

As elusive as bobcats are, they are widely distributed throughout North America between southern Canada all the way into deep Mexico.

There’s a healthy population of them in Carpinteria’s foothills, the Los Padres National Forest, and beyond.

Bobcats are stealthy predators with the ability to adapt to a throng of habitats, while utilizing the quiet hours of the day, typically three hours before dawn and three hours after sunset.

In Carpinteria one is more apt to see bobcat tracks—four toes without claw marks, due to their retractable claws. Keep a keen eye out for bobcats strategically positioned at the edge of thickets and dense brush taking full advantage of those quiet hours constantly searching for brush rabbits and other wildlife. ♦

did you know?  Bobcats get their name from their black-tipped, stubby tails.  Their hind legs are longer than their forelegs.  They are solitary, like most cats.  Bobcats live roughly for 7 years, rarely surviving for 10 years.  Mothers raise their cubs alone.  They can go long stretches without food but make up for it when food is readily available.

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W

rld’s Best

Camping Beach

C

amping in Carpinteria is a time-honored tradition for some families, and the yearly calendar revolves around that second week of a summer month or a school break. While families have varying camping activities, many share distinctly Carpinteria experiences, such as a burger at The Spot, a hand-dipped cone at Fosters Freeze, and candy shopping at Robitaille’s.

Getting a campsite holds memories too. “You could write a book on getting reservations,” recalls Helen Smith, longtime camper.

Back in the day, there were no reservations. It was a first come, first served system. There are tales of fathers sneaking in at night or hiding in the bushes to snatch the perfect place to pitch a tent. Then, “computerized reservations” required a trip to a Ticketron outlet. If lucky, you wouldn’t have to compete with long lines for concert tickets.

“We’d leave the camper in the parking lot at Albertsons. I’d bring my chair to the ranger station at midnight to wait for a spot,” recalls Richard Haight. His daughter, Staci Jefferson, remembers waking up early in Simi Valley so Haight could stand in line for the coveted beach row.

“My parents would send in a postcard with three dates they wanted.

Carpinteria would send back the approved date,” says Jefferson.

What may have started as a one-off week at the beach has developed, for many, into a decades long, multi-generational commitment to strengthening family ties. The Nieto family counts five generations at their group site, according to Mindy Nieto. “First, my father ’s parents.

Second, their offspring which includes my father and his siblings.

Third, the offsprings’ children [which includes Mindy]. Fourth, their offspring’s children’s children. Fifth, their offspring’s children’s children’s children,” she clarifies.

Though reservations can still prove confounding and there’s a lot more concrete than there used to be, the campground continues to be filled with making memories under the sun and in the sand.

“It’s still all about families enjoying themselves,” says Julie Smith, Helen’s daughter-in-law. “I hope our kids carry it on.”

Turn the page to read more on some of Carpinteria’s camping families.

-Amy Orozco TOP, Larry Smith Jr. circa early 1970s.

MIDDLE, five generations of campers: matriarch Felicitas Nieto, front.

Standing from left, Felicitas' daughter, Sarah Terrazas; Sarah’s daughter, Gilda Barron; Gilda’s younger son, Jason Barron and his daughter, Hailee. 2017.

Bottom, visiting friends are Bob and Barbara Brunn, right, with children and Barbara's sister, Pat Clewey on left, and her daughter.

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The Smith Family Over 50 years ago, the then-San Fernando Valley based Smith family heard about the World’s Safest Beach from family friends from Northern California. “They were camping there, called us and said ‘come and visit’ and we did,” says Helen Smith. And she, husband Larry, and their four boys, now with their children and own families, have been coming ever since. The Smith family neighbors, the Creviers, were part of the tradition, too, until a couple of summers ago, Helen notes. “It’s a real important part of our lives,” says Helen. “A focal point for the family.”

The Smith Family, summer 2017.

Hello Carpinteria!

Camping STyle

Tent, trailer, and RV. Last summer the family had three spaces. Additionally, some of the kids rented a home that sleeps 10, and Helen’s sister rented a condo.

Summer softball.

Back, Mike Anctil and Helen Smith. Front, Sean and Kyle McBride with unidentified friend in the 1990s.

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traditions

At least one big dinner with everyone helping.

The family with the best campsite hosts.

One day, the girls go to Santa Barbara for lunch and shopping and the boys go to Ojai for golfing.

Kids walking and/or riding bikes into town.

on the Calendar

Greg Smith with youngest son, Alex, and nieces Katie and JoHanna Smith. 1998.

One week in summer.

speCial MeMories Lemon packing house fire.

Going to Chuy’s (when going out to a restaurant was a big deal).

Buying a Carpinteria Beautiful plaque for Helen as a Christmas gift.

Lemon packinghouse fire, August 1978.

Checking on teaching jobs using the no-longer-there campground pay phone while on summer vacation.

“That phone was a lifeline.”

Greg and Shellie McBride with Julie and Greg Smith.

A cool day at the beach. 1970s.

Changes in Carpinteria

The town is a little more upscale.

There used to be open camping fields and the price was $7 a night.

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The Nieto family, summer 2017.

KARLSSO N

The Nieto Family On the recommendation of a ranger at Lake Casitas, where they had planned to camp, Richard and Lupe Zubiate drove their packed 1964 Chevy station wagon, including daughter Lisa, niece Irene, and nephew Raymond in the back, to Carpinteria’s campground. That was 1971, and with the exception of a year at McGrath due to bathroom renovations, the Nieto family has camped here every year since. The original group of five peaked at 75 members sitting down for a family dinner one year, but now the extended family group consisting of five generations averages about 30.

KAR L S S ON

Mindy Nieto, left, and Lisa Zubiate Baker.

KAR L S S ON

CAMPING STYLE

A tent and sleeping on the ground has evolved into a catalog of camping equipment: some RVs, air mattresses, cots…

Nolan Bateman carries on the tradition.

KAR L S S ON

CHANGES IN CARPINTERIA? Miss The Zone (site of present day Sly’s), Mr. Firewood, and the Hot Dog Man.

ON THE CALENDAR A week in August.

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Linda Rynasko & Raymond Terrazas wedding.

SPECIAL MEMORIES

In addition to a family wedding, there’s been a baby shower and numerous birthday parties at the campground.

Sharing in a few family members’ last wishes to be part of the family trip to Carpinteria.

Rosemary Ortiz’ ashes continue to make the trip each year.

Dedicating a brick paver near the Tomol Interpretive Play Area to Hermelinda Nieto after she passed.

KARLSSON

Ricky Zubiate, in blue, and Remy Barron, in orange, surrounded by uncles and cousins.

TRADITIONS

Potluck night with cousin Gilda’s Chinese Chicken Salad, Aunt Lupe’s Taquitos, cousin Ricky’s BBQ, Aunt Sara’s Spanish Rice, and Aunt Lupe’s Jell-O Dessert, among other dishes.

Rock painting, softball games, and a horseshoe tournament (there’s a trophy).

Trips to Island Brewing replaced trips to nowgone Moondoggies.

From left, Stephanie Zubiate, Cynthia Nieto Alvarez, Mindy Nieto, and Gina Nieto.

Walking the Bluffs, tide pooling, and daily swims to the platforms.

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Ben, Staci, Juliet, and Katie Jefferson with dog Sammie.

KARl SSoN

The Haight Family Harold and Laura Haight decided to switch from condo vacations to camping in the early- to mid-1960s, when their son, Rick, was about 10. The family vacation destination remained Carpinteria, and Rick remembers first bringing his new wife, Sheri, to the World’s Safest Beach in a Pinto. They continued the camping tradition with their daughters, Staci and Shannon. With some skipped years along the way, Staci has kept the beach getaway custom alive, now bringing her husband, Ben Jefferson, and her two daughters.

Ben, Katie, Juliet, and Staci Jefferson.

KARl SSoN

Camping sTyle Camper and/or trailer.

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Changes in Carpinteria

The beach is not nearly as clean as it once was – ever since the state took over.

Don’t see as many lifeguards as years past.

mark the Calendar

Every spring and summer break for the Jefferson family.

The Haights camp as often as they can.

Carp

Beach

They started the tradition in the 1960s.

Laura and Harold Haight with dog Shootzie.

Camping traditions

Learning to ride a bike. Bike riding.

Teaching daughters to bike ride. And more bike riding.

Getting pennies to place on the train tracks so they could be squished.

Staci building sandcastles with a friend.

Staci Jefferson, Dean Penn, and Eric Mays around the campfire.

Junior Ranger Program

speCial memories

Riding bikes to Thrifty for nickel ice cream cones.

Campfire and s’mores.

Sheri’s brother, Larry, visiting and sleeping in his pitched tent along the back row. Around 3 a.m., a train comes, and he thought it was headed straight for him.

When Bridgette, a sheltie mix, got attacked by a St. Bernard. The family packed up and went straight to their vet in Simi. ♦

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Paul Wright, from insurance underwriter to brew master.

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The

Wright Stuff S t ory by L e a boyd Ph ot oS by M i ch a e L K w i e ci n S K i He’d blown it.

The house in Marin was sold. The 401Ks cashed out. The stable, six-figure job quit. The cards in his wallet maxed out. The credit shot. And now, his back aches and sleep escapes him on a couch in an industrial building where the only other warm body is a kettle of hops on its way to becoming the beer that has most certainly robbed him of everything he spent the last 30 years working for.

The year is 2001, and Paul Wright, owner of young Island Brewing Company, still has many nights of sleep-slaying worries ahead of him. But, as many who live on the Central Coast realize, Wright had not blown it.

In many ways, the Paul Wright that Carpinteria knows—so highly involved in the community that the Chamber of Commerce named him 2016 Carpinterian of the Year—didn’t exist before IBC. The former Wright commuted an hour in each direction to his job at an insurance company in San Francisco’s Financial District. His closet was full of suits and ties, and though his job funded college degrees for his three daughters, it didn’t afford him time for community involvement, and “it was difficult to get too excited about,” he says.

Before Island Brewing Company. Paul and Cheryl Wright with daughters, from left, Laurie, Lani, and Jennifer.

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The manifestation of a dream.

Wright participated in all aspects of his brewery.

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Beer brewing enters the story around 1990 via a package under the Christmas tree to Paul from his wife Cheryl. The home brew kit was “as simple as possible,” Paul says, a tin can and some syrup containing hops. He added water and yeast, and two weeks later he had beer. No, it wasn’t spectacular, but “the neighbor guys liked it.”

Soon, he’d graduated from simple home brew kits to more complex DIY systems. He frequented a home brew shop and started reading everything he could find on the how and why of beer brewing. He joined a home brewing club and tasted other brewers’ products for a year before brewing his own all grain first batch.

Though he still crossed the Golden Gate Bridge every morning to log his eight hours behind a desk, more and more his heart and mind were in his garage adjusting the grain or reducing the boil time or adding more yeast to improve his next batch of pale ale. His beers started winning contests. He became president of his brew club and took a night job at Marin Brewing Company, often shepherding a batch through to the wee hours, catching a sliver of sleep at home and then rising with the sun to get to work at 9 a.m.

By 2000, Paul and Cheryl were ready to abandon the conventional and pick up the dream. They cashed out their Bay Area life and leased 1,800 square feet in Carpinteria, a town near two of their daughters where the rent was cheaper than Santa Barbara and the closest thing to a microbrewery was the beer on tap at Moondoggies.

Firestone and Santa Barbara Brewing Company were the only microbreweries in the Santa Barbara and Ventura areas then. Competition may have been scarce but so was demand. The Central Coast hadn’t discovered its appetite for craft beer.

“It was very, very slow—very slow,” remembers Paul.

Then 9/11 hit, after which people stayed close to home and the restaurant business “screeched to a halt.”

Turning back wasn’t an option, nor was it true to Paul’s character. He persevered, doing it all—brewing the beer, cleaning the kegs, making the sales, and loading the kegs into his van to deliver them.

Paul worked hard, and smart. He bought a bargainpriced bottler, then made a labeler out of the wood in which it was shipped. And when he wasn’t making or selling beer, he was giving back to the community, becoming deeply involved in groups like Faith Lutheran Church, the Rotary Club of Carpinteria, and the Carpinteria Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The story ends predictably—in hard won success.

Paul’s daughter Laurie Matthews and her husband Mark came on board. They helped grow the business and make the 2005 move from the Carpinteria Avenue location to the 6th Street tasting room and brewery. Now IBC has 26 employees and over 200 accounts between the Santa Barbara coast and Ventura.

Paul no longer loses sleep about following his dream.

When he stands on the patio of his bustling tasting room with a pint of Jubilee in hand, there’s no room for regret in that view of the sunset over the Pacific. ♦

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World series of beer

Now a fixture of summertime fun, the Surf ‘n’ Suds Beer Festival was busy organizing the 2017 gathering when Trés Cervezerías XPA, a collaboration beer project involving Carpinteria’s Island Brewing Company, Rincon Brewery, and brewLab, was born.

“We actually came up with the idea to celebrate our fifth anniversary of Surf ’n’ Suds. And because the three local breweries have never done a collaboration beer together, we thought it would be the perfect opportunity,” says Andres Nuño, partner in En Fuego Enterprises, Inc., Surf ‘n’ Suds Beer Festival organizing company.

Brainstorming produced the idea of having a festival beer; fleshing out that idea led to a series of collaboration beers. The series will be called Trés Cervezerías but the style of the beer will change from year to year.

Last year was Trés Cervezerías XPA, a light American pale ale and the perfect antidote for the festival’s afternoon August sun. There was a bit of a kick in the hoppy bite but not too much. The second series will be a Märzen (a lager whose roots are in Bavaria) for the Ventura Surf ’n’ Suds event, scheduled for May 19, and the collaborating breweries are Topa Topa, Poseidon, and Ventura Coast Brewing Co. “In Carpinteria we were able to have the beer at all three breweries and Rincon and Island Brew sold six-packs,” notes Nuño.

“But in Ventura, only Ventura Coast Brewing Company will have it on tap.”

Nuño is looking forward to sharing the Trés Cervezerías series with the beer community and raises his glass to the all the brewers who came up with what he calls the best invention ever: Trés Cervezerías.

The next Surf ‘n’ Suds Beer Festival in Carpinteria will be held on Aug. 11. For more information, visit surfbeerfest.com. ♦ – Amy Orozco

P h ot o by S UR f ’ N’ S U d S

From left, brewLab co-owner/brewer Steve Jarmie, Island Brewing Co. head brewer Ryan Morrill, and Rincon Brewery brewmaster/co-founder Shaun Crowley collaborate on last year’s Trés Cervezerías XPA.

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Art in the

AbstrAct S t ori e S by De bra H e rri ck Port ra i t S by r obi n k a rl S S on C a r p int e r ia ma y b e a sma ll t o w n, b u t it ’ s ho me t o a b ig ar ts e nc la v e . While w o rk ing in p a ra dise, a sma ll set o f a b st ra c t a r ti s ts t hr iv e s in C a rp int eria ’ s a rt sc ene, c o nnec t ing glo b a l a rt c u rrents wit h loc a l t ide p o o ls a nd t o p o gra p hy. Co mp o sing in v isual m od e s u niq u e t o t heir p erso na l insp ira t io n a nd int ro sp ec t i on, t hr e e a r t is t s, Birgit t e I b sen, Asa ndra , a nd Bet h S c hmo hr, hel p p u t C a r p in t eria o n t he ma p in t erms o f a b st ra c t a rt .

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After the Rain, acrylic on wood panel, 29” x 29,” by Asandra.

On page 73, left: The Space Between 7, mixed media, 12” x 12,” by Asandra.

AsAndrA.

Inspired by the Southern California landscape, Asandra’s abstract explorations of topography, light, and color are bright and exuberant.

She studied at Parsons School of Design in New York City, and the graphic arts background informs her work in her Carpinteria studio. To achieve bold geometric shapes with a layered luminous effect, Asandra utilizes a unique stamping process that she invented which blends principles of painting with printing techniques. Symbols, architectural forms, and evocative shapes are carved into stamps and printed on wood panels, handcrafted by a local carpenter. Asandra looks to nature to find variation in forms, creating dynamic imagery, both symbolic and decorative. Her stamps are her vocabulary. In reproducing images by reusing stamps throughout her oeuvre, Asandra creates a visual language that can be manipulated and changes constantly. Decoding the layers of vibrant forms can be perplexing. “The pleasure is in its puzzle,” acknowledges Asandra, “it’s a mystery.” www.asandra.com 74 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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Swept Away, mixed media, 36” x 36,” by Beth Schmohr.

On page 73, center: Gin & Tonic, acrylic, 30” x 30,” by Beth Schmohr.

Beth Schmohr.

An abstract artist working in acrylic and mixed media, Coloradanturned-Californian Beth Schmohr, seeks to evoke the sensuality and beauty of the mountains, the gardens, the ocean, and life. A Carpinteriabased artist, Schmohr’s signature technique employs dripping, brushing, layering and splattering—a process that she calls “Splattered Fate.”

Schmohr’s paintings have an organic quality, with daubs and lines dancing across the canvas like veins and scars, while rich musical swabs of color billow in the background. Inspired by her love of the natural landscape, Schmohr summons her intuition and innermost thoughts while painting to “bring forward the fate of the piece.” And as she says, “It’s never just about one thing. I work intuitively going to the canvas with brush in hand and a memory or vision. My art captures the emotion, the action, and blends and fuses it into a piece with color, beginning and ending.” www.bethschmohr.com SUMMER2018 75

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Always Evolving, acrylic, 25” x 37,” by Birgitte Ibsen.

On page 73, right: Champagne, acrylic on canvas, 36” x 28,” by Birgitte Ibsen.

Birgitte iBsen.

Originally from Copenhagen, Denmark, self-taught artist Birgitte Ibsen arrived to the Santa Barbara area in 1981. Today, Ibsen lives and works in Carpinteria. After surviving a life-changing illness, the classically trained musician and mezzo-soprano, turned to painting as an avenue for expression without limits. Ibsen’s abstract paintings achieve balance through broad and vivid strokes. The acrylic paintings are textured with wisps and peaks of paint, a technique that Ibsen uses to evoke a sense of movement, dancing, and whimsy. Rarely looking outward to imitate natural or social forms, Ibsen’s work is almost exclusively compelled by expressions of emotions and imagination, materializing forms conjured in her mind’s eye. A colorist in the paint industry, Ibsen’s father raised her with a sophisticated appreciation for shades, tones, and tints. Ibsen’s palette is sometimes bright, but often dark and muddied. “Art can be dark but it doesn’t have to be depressing,” remarks Ibsen, “it’s me on the canvas in all of my weird moves. It’s freedom.” www.ibsenarts.com ♦ 76 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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PADARO LANE

SANTA CLAUS LANE

Art & Collectibles

TRA

IN P

LAT

FOR

M

Records Posters Vinyl Wall Art Themed Apparel & More!

5285 Carpinteria Avenue 805-318-55O6 Open daily at 10am

Open Daily! 771 Linden Ave. SUMMER2018 77

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Discover Carpinteria’s Rich & Colorful Past at the

Carpinteria Valley MuseuM of History Featured Exhibits: Native American Chumash • Summerland Spanish & Mexican Ranchos • World War I Carpinteria Pioneers • Victorian Homes Agriculture & Tools • 19th Century School House

684.3112

956 Maple Avenue Carpinteria

Exhibits Hours: Tues.-Sat. 1-4 p.m. carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org 78 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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Energy Enhancers Mind, Body, Space S T o Ri e S By CH RiS T i An Be A M iS H P H o T o S By M i CH A e l K w i e Ci n S K i Practiced for 5,000 years, the Chinese arts of Qigong and Feng Shui deal with the movement of energy in our bodies and living/work spaces, respectively. Homeopathy, a more recent discipline historically speaking, also seeks balance, applying remedies derived from dilutions of herbs and/or many other natural substances to stimulate the body’s healing response.

Jessica Kolbe teaches Qigong classes in Carpinteria and on her local SBTV show, Raufa Magid offers Feng Shui consultations out of her studio in Summerland, and Topaz Jan Abbott practices homeopathy from her office in the Carpinteria foothills.

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Jessica Kolbe: Qigong Jessica Kolbe has a calm, clear-eyed presence, and it’s plain to see that she lives an integrated life—her interests and work-energies align and center on Qigong. Describing the beneficial aspects of her practice, Kolbe says, “Qigong has been and continues to be the foundation of the Chinese health care system. Eighty-five percent of stress-related diseases are preventable. If U.S. citizens practiced Qigong, it is estimated that we could save $3 trillion in health care cost a year.”

Having not fallen sick with a cold or flu for over 12 years, Kolbe’s own history supports her. “‘Qi,’ means life force,” she explains, “and ‘gong’ is to cultivate.” She leads classes in town, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. Her class at the Carpinteria Woman’s Club is indeed a life-force cultivator, as students go through a gentle series of movements. Rubbing knees vigorously, stimulating glands by lightly thumping fingers on one’s skull, moving an imaginary ball of energy diagonally across the body—the experience of Qigong is of an accumulating sense of well-being, like morning sun streaming into a room.

Kolbe has practiced Qigong and Tai Chi since 1997, when she took her first class. She’d run windsurfing companies in France and California and was then doing high-end interior design and experiencing a lot of stress. “I found peace,” she said of her ongoing practice, “peace of mind, forgiveness, trust, joy, surprise.” One class led to others, and she now teaches for the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi and leads regular study trips to China to study with a master there. Her knowledge steadily deepens. www.qigongsb.com 80 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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Raufa Magid: Feng Shui One does not have to be an expert in Feng Shui to recognize that rooms can have energy, like Raufa Magid’s Summerland studio where there is an open pathway leading through and a beloved photograph in the far corner, anchored by crystals and a beautiful orchid. A simple table was placed just back-of-center on the wood floor of the small living room, and the effect was of a Zen monastery: intentional, functional, balanced.

Magid began working in Feng Shui in Sedona, Arizona, 22 years ago. She has been a Feng Shui consultant for the Miiamo spa in the Enchantment Resort and taught six workshops a year when she lived there. When some close friends moved to Santa Barbara, Magid decided to return to California. Describing the way that the mountains orient to the sea, she says it’s no mistake that wealth has accumulated in this area.

“The principle of Feng Shui is balanced energy,” Magid says, “the literal meaning is wind and water.” When asked if she has seen tangible effects of Feng Shui in the lives of her clients, Magid offers an example of a business that would not sell. With attention given to the “helpful corner” of the building (homes or businesses have corners that correspond to health, wealth, love, and the like) a deal went through. “I don’t want to sound too ‘woo-woo,’” Magid says with a smile, adding, “when I walk into a room, I’m looking for the principles, looking for tweaks and adjustments.” www.raufa-fengshui.com SUMMER2018 81

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Topaz Jan Abbott: Homeopathy To hear Topaz Jan Abbott speak of her 35 years of experience in homeopathy is to realize that “cures” can come from seemingly unorthodox corners. In the draw of her Yorkshire accent, Abbott describes difficulties she had as a young woman—family problems that had gotten into her psyche and caused her troubles no physician could seem to fix.

A friend in Cornwall suggested she see a homeopath in the next town.

“I thought it was rubbish, to be honest,” she says of her experience. The homeopath had asked all kinds of seemingly irrelevant questions: what kinds of food did she like?

Did she feel warm or cold? Based on her answers, the man provided her with two small pills he’d pulled from a cabinet. She put them in her knapsack and promptly forgot about them. Later, her symptoms unabated— panic, anxiety—she found the treatment she’d been given and then slowly, over the course of weeks was “able to recognize” herself again.

The experience was profound enough to send her to a four-year homeopathy program in Devon, England, where she learned how to select the exact remedy for the person and how to match it to their unique symptom picture and constitution. “Like treats like,” is the mantra of the homeopath.

Soon afterward, she moved to California where she has practiced since 1990. Now in Carpinteria, Abbott is semi-retired, pursuing music and songwriting and still consulting with clients across the country and internationally. While the FDA cautions against homeopathy as an alternative to recognized professional medical attention, Abbott points out that the cures she offers cannot do any harm. healthnow4you@ me.com ♦ 82 CARPINTERIAMAGAZINE.com

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come create your own product at our scent bar, shop organic bath & body care, travel items & more!

HOURS: Mon - fri 10:30-5:30 saturday 12:00-5:30

StretCh, Strengthen & rebAlAnCe your body & mind

4943 Carpinteria Ave., Suite A santepilates.com • 805.220.6800

4193 carpinteria ave #6

grapeseedco.com

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Lil’ Planets

By Joel Con roy

P ho tog rapher Joel Conroy be ga n ph o to gr a ph i n g h i s s i gn a tur e lil’ P la net s st yl e i n 2011. Usi ng a pr o f e s s i o n a l S o n y mi r r o r l e s s ca me r a , h e sho o ts hi s i mag es wi t h a “n od al ni n ja ” pa n o r a mi c tr i po d h e a d . e a ch ima ge consi st s of over 20 separ a te ph o to gr a ph s . T h e y a r e s ti tch e d to gether i nt o 360-d eg ree panorami c pi ctur e s us i n g th e s o f tw a r e P tG ui . www.lilpl anet s.com, @ l i l pl anet s on I n s ta gr a m.

Self-portrait using a “MiSphere” 360 camera.

Avofest.

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Carpinteria State Beach.

Carpinteria Tree.

The Spot.

The Bluffs.

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Carpinteria State Park.

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Sly’s.

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Turning

oVer a

new Leaf

Cannabis takes root in the Carpinteria Valley

The farm Autumn Brands, which is 50 percent womenowned, grows cannabis in the Carpinteria Valley.

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T

Story b y Amy o roz co PhotoS b y JoS h uA curry

he history of agriculture in the Carpinteria Valley is a story with rotating crops as the main character.

Lima beans and walnuts went the way of the lemon, which made room for the avocado, that bloomed into cut flowers. Today, many farmers are writing a new chapter with growing and harvesting the bud of the cannabis flower.

In 2016 after California voters approved Proposition 64, making adult recreational marijuana use legal, the state released its rules for state licensing, and local governments have been scrambling to catch up with their own ordinances and controls. This lag of governance has created a vast amount of confusion in the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County, such as the agricultural zones in the Carpinteria Valley. Because, after all, is one breaking the law if there’s not a law to be broken? (And to be sure, as any grower in the area will tell you, Santa Barbara County has more than enough agriculture-related rules and regulations.)

“If you don’t like uncontrolled marijuana, you should be for the permitting ordinance. Marijuana is here to stay.

The choice is for it to be controlled or uncontrolled,” says Das Williams, 1st District Supervisor for the County of Santa Barbara. He thinks being pro or con cannabis is irrelevant to the situation and views his job as a mess to clean up, not to mediate an ideological debate.

Though cannabis is legal — and strictly regulated — in California, it’s illegal when it comes to federal laws.

Because banks are federally regulated, many refuse to do business with cannabis-related businesses. This is one reason farmers are reluctant to go on record or be quoted. There are tales of severed banking relationships or foreclosures. Because it’s next to impossible to get a bank loan – mortgage, capital improvement, or otherwise – for a cannabis startup (or established business) there are wannabe cultivators leasing properly zoned space from landowners.

Advocates are working to change the federal status of cannabis as a Schedule 1 drug, which puts it in the same class as heroin, cocaine, and LSD. A Schedule 1 drug is considered not to have any medicinal value or use.

The banking challenge isn’t relegated to growers, researchers, or retailers. In its ordinance, the Board of Supervisors retains the authority to prohibit cannabis activities should the County Treasurer be unable to open an account with a suitable financial institution to deposit cannabis-related tax revenue. As of press time, Santa Barbara County had yet to formalize a banking relationship.

LEFT, Some Carpinteria farmers have made room for cannabis in addition to traditional crops such as cut flowers in their greenhouses.

A Carpinteria grown cannabis plant.

Bio-control in full action. A balancing act of parasitized aphids, aphidius colemani, and lacewing larvae. Zero pesticides are used.

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An indoor or mixed light cannabis cultivation.

5/3/18 10:14 AM

The Board of Supervisors approved a Cannabis Business License Ordinance in spring. The ordinance does not allow outdoor cannabis cultivation and puts a cap of 186 acres of indoor or mixed light cannabis cultivation in the Carpinteria Agricultural Overlay District. All cannabis operations in the Coastal Zone are contingent on Coastal Commission certification, which one optimistic farmer, who requests no attribution, thinks may happen in July.

Permits are on a first come, first served basis. An annual state license is separately needed for growing, testing, manufacturing, and retail operations as well as annual license(s) on the county level. According to county officials, something of this magnitude won’t have everything right; that’s why a yearly review is built into the ordinance.

According to supervisor Williams, when the Santa Barbara County registry opened in June 2017, 51 operations from the Carpinteria Valley signed on, 30 of those growers have applied for state permits. Reasons for this are guessed to be some grows are outdoor operations, and some because the market price of cannabis has gone down since legalization.

Both the state and federal governments already highly regulate cannabis activities. On the state level requirements include security plans, track and trace of product, and consumer protections such as no pesticides. The county’s Cannabis Business License Ordinance requires site inspections from various county departments, such as fire, law enforcement, and planning and development. Permit and license related expenses are paid by the applicants.

In California’s Statewide Direct Primary Election on June 5, local voters will decide yea or nay on a general tax rate, 1 to 6 percent, on cannabis operations in the unincorporated parts of the county. A simple majority is needed for approval.

Estimates as high as $25 million are predicted for the county coffer. The first $1.75 million of tax revenue is planned for enforcement and prosecution of illegal cannabis operations.

Due to the Thomas Fire and Jan. 9 debris flows, the county The plant.

Myth vs. Fact Myth: Increased vehicle traffic to and from cannabis farms will harm roads and add emissions to the atmosphere.

Fact: Cannabis production requires fewer and smaller vehicles because the plant is not transported, only the bud is. Traditional flower farming requires large, refrigerated trucks to ship and preserve the product.

Myth: Cannabis nurseries in Carpinteria Valley are all operated by out-of-towners who flooded the area in a Green Rush just to make money.

Fact: Because international competition has made growing cut flowers more difficult, a number of deep-seeded local farmers converted portions of greenhouses to cannabis.

They continue to operate their family farms as they have for generations.

Myth: Cannabis farms are vulnerable to criminal elements that are holdovers from the days of illicit trade.

Fact: While all businesses are at risk to some crime (thousands of pounds of avocados are stolen annually), Carpinteria cannabis greenhouses have addressed security concerns with fencing and cameras.

Myth: Odor control systems installed in some greenhouses mask the odor with harmful chemicals.

Fact: Compliant greenhouse growers typically use vaporphase odor control systems. This system emits a thin vapor that neutralizes, not masks, natural cannabis terpene compounds released by flowering plants. The vapor passed strict environmental tests published in the county ordinance environmental impact report.

Myth: Santa Barbara County’s ordinance has turned the county into cannabis central for growers. The number of licenses proves that.

Fact: True, Santa Barbara County has more licenses than any other county. That does not accurately reflect activity overall, rather it shows that the county is the most compliant, as most growers need a variety of licenses on state and local levels.

The harvest.

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Commercial cannabis grown in the unincorporated areas of Santa Barbara County. budget is deep in the red. Officials see the cannabis tax as a way to put the budget in the black.

What some call missing the revenue boat, the City of Carpinteria City Council unanimously voted in April to extend a moratorium on commercial cannabis for another year. Unless lifted earlier, the moratorium will expire on May 8, 2019. The ban includes research and development of medicinal uses, testing laboratories, delivery of both medical and adult use cannabis unless by a primary caregiver to a qualified patient, as well as dispensaries and retail businesses. The moratorium cannot be renewed for a third year because city policies will not be allowed to overrule state provisions for more than two years.

“Trying to create government where there was none is a big thing,” says Mollie Culver, a consultant with the trade organization Cannabis Business Council of Santa Barbara County, an education and advocacy group for cannabis farmers and business owners. “They [farmers]

want to be good neighbors and address nuisances.”

If there’s one thing that most agree on, it is the odor nuisance. Thanks to a vocal and action-oriented group, controlling the stench was an issue that couldn’t wait.

Enacted measures have resulted in “more than half of the grows in the Carpinteria Valley having installed odor control measures,” supervisor Williams estimates, with more to follow suit if they’d like to remain legally compliant.

Nowadays, the sometimes skunk-like smell wafting through neighborhoods is most likely from an illegal operation allege some compliant farmers. Also, because the cannabis is pure and organically grown, there will always be a trace of smell, notes one grower who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Think of the beautiful rose with no fragrance or the perfectly shaped melon with no taste. It’s the opposite of those. The objective is to contain the smell. Lastly, a skunk-like smell in the Carpinteria Valley could very well be, well, a skunk. ♦ SUMMER2018 93

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Summer Desserts on the menu

By Pa s ca l e Be a l e

T

here are few things I like better than strolling through a summertime market. I like to get there early, the sun not yet too hot, the morning breeze gentle and warm.

I take my time; somehow the summer market days are more languid and easygoing. I chat with farmers, run into friends, talk about weekend plans, and then start shopping, tempted by heaps of juicy, ripe summer fruit, and vegetables. It’s so, so easy to get carried away. I often arrive home with baskets full of fragrant peaches, nectarines, plums, and pluots, and let’s not forget those luscious plump figs too!

Then, of course, it’s a question of what to do with them all? I’ll make jams, preserves, and ice cream, but really my favorite thing to do is to cook up a feast for friends. With glorious summer weather and warm evenings, I often have impromptu dinners in the garden, or perhaps take a picnic up to a winery. Either way, these festivities call for a sweet treat at the end of the meal, and this usually means a dessert that showcases all this summer bounty.

I like desserts that are easy and quick to make, that can also be made in advance and multiply for crowds. All three of these desserts fit the bill. Bon Appetit!

Fig & Lemon Verbena Pots de Crème This resembles more of a lemon posset than a classic pot de crème, but I love the fact that there are no eggs and no baking. The crème is perfumed with lemon verbena and filled with fresh figs.

It’s fragrant, rich and sensuous.

Serves 8 people

2 ½ cu P s cream —

do not u se u l tra-Pasteu rized whic h wil l c au se the Pots de c rème to seParate

5 oz (2 / 3 cu P) su gar 5 -6 lemon v erB ena leav es 1 / 3 cu P lemon ju i ce z est of 2 lemons 1 6 fi gs — ch oP P ed 3 taB lesP oons lemon ju i ce 1 taB lesP oon mi ld h oney 8 fi gs — sP li t i n h alf to th e stem Pour the cream, sugar and lemon verbena leaves into a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Add the 1/3 cup lemon juice and zest and stir to combine well. The cream will begin to thicken.

Divide the chopped figs among 8 ramekins or small glasses. Fill with the cream and refrigerate for 2 hours.

In a small saucepan, warm the 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and the honey. Mix well. Place the 8 remaining split figs into a small bowl and drizzle with the lemonhoney mixture. Make sure each fig is well coated.

When the pots de crème have set, carefully place one of the syrup-covered split figs on top of each ramekin.

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Photo: Media 27

Caramelized NeCtariNes with a lemoN syllabub i recently taught a class in which we made a lemon syllabub. Don’t you love that word? syllabub – sounds like something that came out of a Dickens novel or a Jane Austen book perhaps. this is a whipped cream concoction that has a touch of wine and sugar in it. it’s pretty much the perfect match for any fruit. Most of all it’s easy to make and utterly delicious.

Serves 8 people

mixture until it barely forms soft peaks. Do not over beat.

Add the chilled wine-lemon mixture gradually to the cream, whisking continuously, until it forms soft peaks. Refrigerate the syllabub until you are ready to serve the dessert.

FoR the syllAbub:

1 teasp oon v ani lla p aste

½ cup sweet white wine or other dessert wine 5 o z ( 3/ 4 c up ) s uga r z e s t a n d j ui c e o f 1 l em o n 2 cu ps h ea vy wh i p p i n g c r ea m chill a bowl in the fridge until it is very cold. in a separate bowl, combine the wine, sugar, lemon zest, and juice, and stir to dissolve. Refrigerate this mixture for at least 30 minutes.

Pour the cream into the chilled bowl and whisk the

FoR the nectARines:

8 nectari nes — h alv ed, p i tted, and slice d 2 tables p oons bu tter 1 oz su gar

Place the nectarine slices into a large bowl. set aside.

Warm the butter, sugar, and vanilla paste in a small saucepan over low heat. When the sugar has dissolved, pour the mixture over the nectarines and toss to coat. heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. cook the nectarine slices for 3-4 minutes, turning them occasionally, until just browned and starting to render their juice. Divide the nectarine slices and pan juices among eight serving bowls or jars. spoon some of the syllabub on top. serve immediately.

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Plum Soufflé Cake Please don’t let the name of this cake scare you. It is not really a soufflé. It just rises like one — although perhaps not quite as much — and then slowly sinks as it cools. The result is a moist cake with sweet plum pieces dotted throughout.

Serves 8-10 people

8 o z b ut t er , p l us a l i t t l e b ut ter for the cake pan 7 o z ( 1 c up ) s uga r ½ te as p o o n b a k i n g p o wd er 6 o z ( 1 1 / 3 c up ) fl o ur 2 o z ( 2 / 3 c up ) a l m o n d mea l 3- 4 l a r ge p l ums — c h o p p ed i n t o ¼ i n c h p i eces 4 e g g y o l k s — l i gh t l y b ea ten 6 e g g w h i t es ¼ c up p l um j a m p o w d er ed s ug a r fo r d us t i ng Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 9-inch cake pan with a removable bottom.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the sugar over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved.

Whisk in the baking powder, flour and almond meal until fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

Add the chopped plums and egg yolks. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Beat the egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

Carefully fold half the egg whites into the cake batter. Once fully incorporated carefully fold in the remaining whites.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 35 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the cake onto a rack and let cool completely.

Remove from the pan and place on a serving platter or cake stand.

Heat the plum jam in a small saucepan until it is syrupy. Brush the top of the cake with the plum jam. When the cake has cooled completely, dust it with powdered sugar. ♦ Photo: Media 27

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Recommended J a Ck’S B iS T R o

Healthy California Cuisine. Enjoy freshly baked bagels with whipped cream cheeses. Breakfast, lunch, and beyond!

Must Try: Blackstone Benedict: w/avo, bacon, tomato 5050 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-566-1558 • bagelnet.com

s t a E

If you’re looking for anything from a snack to a nice dinner out with friends or family, try some of Carpinteria’s favorite local restaurants.

y o y uM yu M

T he Pal MS

Ch o Co l a T S du Cal i BRe SSan

Rey nal do’ S Bak eRy

T h e S h o a l S R e S T a u RanT

RoBiT ai l l e’ S F i ne Cand ie S

da n n y’S de l i

Si aM e l ePhanT T hai Re S TauR anT

delgado’S MexiCan ReSTauRanT

Sl y ’ S ReST au RanT

FoSTeRS FReeze

unC l e C hen ReST auRanT

giovanni’S Pizza CaRPinTeRia

zook eR S R eST au RanT

10 rotating flavors of frozen yogurt with dairy free, low fat, and no sugar added options. Finish your desert with any the 30 fresh toppings or sauces!

Must Try: Cookies & Cream yogurt and tostilocos 1005 Casitas Pass Rd., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-566-5929

“Tempting your taste buds” with confectionery delights expressing a true joie de vivre!

Must Try: French Bisous: Dark and milk chocolate ganache flavored with tangerine liquor.

4193 Carpinteria Ave., Ste 4, Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-6900 • chococalibressan.com

Fresh seafood selections, steaks, rack of lamb, pasta and many housemade desserts, cocktails, craft beers and fine wines.

Must Try: The Banana Reef 6602 Old Pacific Coast Hwy, Ventura, CA 93001 805-652-1381 • cliffhouseinn.com/shoals.htm

Danny’s Deli has been serving Carpinteria for 32 years with Tri-Tip, Turkey and Roast Beef all cooked on site.

Must Try: Famous Tri-Tip Sandwich 4890 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-2711

Carpinteria’s Classic Mexican Restaurant since 1965, family-run restaurant offering enchiladas, fajitas & other Mexican eats, plus cocktails.

Must Try: Traditional Burrito 4401 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-4822 • delgadoscarp.com

Locally owned branch of a longtime Californiabased fast-food chain serving traditional burgers & delicious soft-serve ice cream.

Must-Try: Chocolate Dipped Soft Serve 5205 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-3602

Specialty pizzas (meat & veggie), pastas, calzones, sandwiches & games in a casual, sit-down space, delivery or to go.

Must Try: Giovanni’s Original Lasagna 5003 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-8288 • giovanniscarp.com

Mouth-watering steak and seafood you can cook yourself, delicious salad bar with to die for croutons! And live music on the weekends!

Must Try: Filet Mignon dinner 701 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-3811 • thepalmscarpinteria.com

Mexican & European Bakery. Handmade, traditional Mexican fare to the finest quality wedding cakes & desserts.

Must Try: Chile Verde Pork, Eggs & Cheese.

895 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-4981 • reynaldosbakery.com

Unique handmade candies, sugar free candies, and gigantic selection of packaged candy have been pleasing Santa Barbara County for over 40 years!

Must Try: Presidential Mints 900 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-9340 • robitaillescandies.com

With it’s reputation of authenticity and excellence, Siam Elephant stays true to the culinary culture and influences of Thailand.

Must Try: Pad Thai 509 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-2391 • siamelephantusa.com

Sly’s is known for great food, with an emphasis on farmers market and local produce, great cocktails and great times in Carpinteria.

Must Try: Dover Sole Meunière 686 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-6666 • slysonline.com

Since 1991, Uncle Chen has been proud to serve local produce from the farmers market and homemade recipes.

Must Try: Casitas Green 1025 Casitas Pass Rd., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-566-3334

Local organic produce, fresh fish, and sustainably raised meats. The “FARM TO TABLE” approach ensures the freshest, food in town.

Must Try: Bacon wrapped, Filet Mignon 5404 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-8893 • zookersrestaurant.com

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B e a ch L iq u o r

Best known for their award wining burritos, Beach Liquor has a vast array of snacks, drinks and adult beverages as well as a full Mexican Grill.

Must Try: Any of the burritos or tortas 794 Linden Ave, Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-2919

T h e F o o d L ia i son

Catering. Counter. Classes. Utilizing local, organic ingredients. Daily rotating entrees, soups and deserts, seasonal menus and gourmet salad bar.

Must Try: Avocado Meets Toast 1033 Casitas Pass Rd., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-200-3030

ih o P

Long-standing chain serving a wide variety of pancakes & other American breakfast & diner fare.

Must Try: Pancakes of course 1114 Casitas Pass Rd., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-566-4926

The sPoT

Just steps from the beach, The Spot is a classic hamburger stand serving up delicious American and Mexican food at affordable prices!

Must Try: Famous Chili Cheese Fries 389 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-6311

L u cky L L a M a

Quaint, local shop with a patio, offering coffee, espresso, treats & acai bowls in a comfortable atmosphere.

Must Try: Moon Bowl 5100 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-6311

P a ciF ic h e a L T h F oods

Pacific Health Foods serves the best smoothies in Carpinteria. Also fresh juices, organic baked goods, sandwiches, acai bowls, coffee & tea.

Must Try: Scarlet Begonia Juice 944 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA, 93013 805-684-2115

M i F ie s T a M a rk eT & deLi

Delicious Mexican grill at an affordable price.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner all day. Grab some sides from the market and take it anywhere!

Must Try: Asada Burrito 4502 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-684-2235

T h e W o r ke r Bee caFĂŠ

Cozy American daytime cafe for omelets, sandwiches & old-school shakes, plus a petfriendly patio. Now serving dinner too.

Must Try: Corned Beef Hash 973 Linden Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013 Phone: (805) 745-1828

T h e J u ice r a nc h

Artisan Handcrafted, 100% organic, coldpressed juices, cleanses, vegan fare and wellness shots.

Must Try: Vegan Cesar Salad 4185 Carpinteria Ave #4-5, Carpinteria, CA 93013 805-220-6993

MECHANICS YOU CAN TRUST Call for speedy service

684-1212

516 Palm Ave • Carpinteria FREE PICKUP & DELIVERY SUMMER2018 99

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One Company.

Three Storytellers.

t Daily Updates

t Every Thursday

t Summer & Winter

SHIRLEY KIMBERLIN Everything I list turns to SOLD! 805-886-0228 skimberlin@aol.com

Coastal View News

This week’s listings on the back page

CARPINTERIA

Vol. 23, No. 44

July 27 - August 2, 2017

School district welcomes new supe

4

CARPINTERIA MAGAZINE

coastalview.com

SUMMER2018

Viva La Fiesta!

MARCO MEDINA

With her fiery Flamenco dancing and dazzling smile, this year ’s Spirit of Fiesta Norma Escarcega captivates the participants of the Friends of the Library’s Fiesta event. This event was held last Saturday, July 22 at Seaside Park and is an annual precursor for Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Days celebration, held from Aug. 2 to 6. Escarcega will also wow the crowds at this Sunday’s unofficial kickoff to Fiesta, La Recepción del Presidente. As the 2017 Spirit of Fiesta, Escarcega is an embodiment of the charm of Old Spanish Days through her stunning dancing and character.

“Fools” makes crowd LOL

11

Garden column goes on the road

16

Fur balls learn the ropes

26

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It’s all about you, Carpinteria!

Published with Pride in Carpinteria by

RMG VENTURES, LLC

Media Planning

Serving the Community and Businesses Since 1994

t

Copywriting

t

Graphic Design

t

Photography

t

Special Projects

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S um m e r re a d

FINAL NOTICE B y Va n F l e iS h e r

What would you do if you knew, for certain, that you had 10 days to live? If you wore a health/sport watch that monitored your blood chemistry in order to predict your death?

Set in the near future, Van Fleisher’s novel, “Final Notice,” tells the stories of several people and their different reactions to receiving their final notice. Here is an excerpt.

CHAPTER 4 - VITALTECH Quincy, Massachusetts. Vijay Patel was one of those people who might be described by others as someone whose brain was too big for their head. He came to the USA from Mumbai, India, to study advanced mathematics at MIT. As he was completing his PhD in Spectral Graph Theory, Numerical Linear Algebra and Machine Learning, he became interested in medicine and enrolled at Harvard Medical School. Upon graduation, “Dr. Dr. Patel”, as he could legitimately be called, entered the field of Internal Medicine. And for most people, that would be more than enough.

But Vijay was also an athlete, regularly qualifying and running in the Boston Marathon with times that placed him amongst the top 15% of finishers. He might have been even better except for the fact that there are only 24 hours in a day, and even Vijay hadn’t been able to alter that formula, having already reduced his ‘borderline minimum’ of required sleep.

Possessing a strong techie streak along with his fiercely competitive nature, he was on a constant search for training aids and devices that would help him improve his fitness and athletic performance. This search, combined with his background in mathematics and medicine, led him into the research and development of a new monitoring device that would do much more than the current generation of

“sport watches.” And now he was on the cusp of something very big.

Initially, Vijay and a small team had developed a new proprietary form of non-invasive optical blood measurement and analysis which went far beyond any current devices available – measuring and analyzing hemoglobin, pulse- rate, oximetry, and other chemical concentrations. In layman’s terms, he had developed a sports watch that could measure, analyze, diagnose and even predict complex health issues.

The commercial value of his creation was potentially enormous, and he was now being guided, behind the scenes, by one of the top underwriting companies and one of the top private equity companies in the world, on a path that was expected to lead to one of the largest IPOs in recent years.

Technically, the device was a dream.

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Accurate, consistent, easy to use and understand, and relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. It was so far ahead of anything else available that the biggest questions were centered on marketing, pricing and the rollout of upgrades and new features. Their private equity backer had assembled a team of top technology marketers with deep experience in companies such as Apple, Samsung, Fitbit and others, along with clinical advisors from some of the foremost medical centers in the country. And the legal considerations, given the clinical capability and features of the device, had required a large team of lawyers. Vijay had managed to develop the prototype at a modest cost, which he funded himself. But when he realized the enormous amount of work (and millions of dollars in costs) required to actually launch a product of this type – even before production and promotion – he knew that he would need outside assistance. The thought pained him, as that also meant losing some control, but he didn’t fully realize how much of an understatement that was.

Based on a number of focus groups and research, the team wanted to include as many features as possible to price the device at a significant premium while attracting optimum demand. But throwing too much in at the start might complicate the offering. On one hand, saving features for subsequent roll-outs offered the possibility of upgrade pricing. On the other hand, it also increased the potential for competing products. As smart and educated as Vijay was, this was a very different world for him.

One area of fierce debate amongst the disparate team members was the initial inclusion of a revolutionary and controversial capability: that of predicting death, based on the highly sophisticated monitoring, analysis and diagnostic capability of the device. Infinitesimally small changes and trends detected in the blood were instantly

analyzed, and when the analysis showed an irreversible trend, a “Final Notice” could be issued, advising the user of certain death within a ‘user selected’ number of days. The marketers seized upon this capability, actually a by-product of the device’s processing ability, as a powerful feature. The arguments centered on whether or not to include it and, if included, how much advance time – in days or weeks – should the Final Notice provide. Longer periods would have less accuracy, but shorter periods contained more shock value and would not afford the user time to get his or her affairs in order. In fact, a complementary add-on product was being discussed that would catalog, notify and even execute orders to help next of kin cope. Users could program their watch to ready and update any requests or required actions as soon as they received their Final Notice; and the device would put everything into motion when it determined that death had occurred.

The clinical and legal advisors were much more reluctant to include the Final Notice option, but the marketers cited the very high desirability aspect, as demonstrated in the focus groups. The focus group findings were so enthusiastic and the process so thorough, that the clinicians’ and lawyers’ arguments were difficult to sustain. Vijay was torn between the two arguments but Konig, Konig & Litt, their private equity backer, believed that its inclusion created a huge advantage over other similar products; and given the sheer market size in the USA alone, this would be a blockbuster launch. The money spoke, and it was decided to include the Final Notice option.

The team had decided to go with an older age, alpha test group on the basis that they would have more medical issues, therefore testing the product’s capability more comprehensively. A secondary consideration was that the older group would be less tech-savvy, therefore better testing the watch’s user interface and friendliness. The range of the Final Notice feature could be set between 1-30 days, but it was decided, for simplicity and better comparison, to ‘hard set’ the alpha test Notice periods to one week. An earlier prototype, called the VT1, incorporated an emergency Notice that would alert users to call 911 as soon as possible in the event of an urgent life-threatening physiological event. The new model had the capability to automatically call 911 and others if authorized by the user, such as children and close relatives. That would enable faster first responder attendance as the cell phone’s location could be easily traced. Because of concerns for potential bugs and mistakes, however, the automatic 911 call was not activated on the alpha test users’ devices.

One hundred participants between the ages of 65 and 90 were chosen from around the country, with the help of clinical team members interacting with cooperating physicians. None of the participants had been diagnosed with terminal diseases or clinical depression, and all were in relatively good health, given their ages. Although it was never cited as a reason for the high age upper limit, most of the team hoped that the Final Notice feature would be tested. They were sensitive,

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however, not to seem too enthusiastic in that hope when explaining the 90-year upper age limit.

In the meantime, production plans and supply-chain elements were developed and a manufacturing/assembling facility in India was selected, due to Vijay’s insistence.

Preliminary marketing material, packaging and customer service plans were also created. In addition to field-testing, ongoing market research was being carried out to help peg the base price level of the device, to be known as the VitalTech2 or VT2, the flagship and launch product of VitalTech Industries. Assuming a good result from the alpha testing and high margin potential based on market research, the underwriters, Credit Suisse, would begin to execute and hype the blockbuster IPO. *** J. Edward Konig was a self-made man, if you discounted his privileged start in life. The only son of a New York banking titan, J. Edward, or Mr. Konig, as he preferred to be called – the ‘J’ had supplanted his first name Jacobson, which came from an old ancestor whom no one could quite remember – had attended New York City’s best schools. He fit in well with his classmates, whose parents included movers and shakers from around the world: businessmen, politicians, athletes, entertainers, and plain “old money.”

He graduated from Harvard Law School, although not with academic distinction, followed by a stint at arguably the top New York corporate law firm of Pearson, Spector & Litt. Although his intellect and knowledge of corporate law was acknowledged, he had a reputation for cutting corners and turning a blind eye from time to time. He was also lazy and resented the hours he needed to work in order to move up through the ranks. And so, after three years, he launched the private equity firm of KKL, Konig, Konig & Litt, having enticed his former Harvard classmate Lawrence Litt, son of Louis Litt (senior partner at Pearson, Spector & Litt), to join him. The other Konig was simply his name again, which he explained as an effort to make the firm sound larger and more substantial. The truth is, it was his ego ... and his need to make sure Lawrence knew that he was actually not second in command.

Thanks to J. Edward’s father’s deep connections in the financial world, KKL was able to build a significant fund to rocket to the top of the PE world. They became the rock stars of private equity at a very propitious time in the economic cycle. They had backed a couple of billion-dollar-plus social media start-ups; and the profits from the IPO made J. Edward’s titan father’s efforts look paltry by comparison. As luck would have it, the VitalTech launch fell into his lap via a new employee, Jennifer Andrews.

Jennifer had joined KKL when both J. Edward and Lawrence realized that they would have to get off their butts and hustle business. This recognition, however, didn’t make them get off their butts and hustle. Instead, they decided to hire a business development executive. The executive search

firm put together a very short list (at KKL’s request – they wanted to keep it simple) of qualified candidates. As seemed to be typical for the KKL principals, their luck continued when they hired the first candidate presented.

Why bother to waste time when she seemed to fit the bill? Jennifer was smart, independent, a problem solver, highly organized, personable, high-energy, had financial know-how and possessed an ability for process-oriented thinking. That was what the search firm summary said, but J. Edward and Lawrence, coming from an antiquated, somewhat primitive mindset, looked no further than the photo and thought ... “She’s drop-dead gorgeous.”

Jennifer Andrews had attended Stanford for her undergraduate degree in finance and Harvard for an MBA. She had been drawn to the excitement of the PE industry and had been a serious rainmaker at two smaller PE firms.

Now she wanted to compete at the top. She quickly realized that finding mega-deals would be a lot harder than hooking the big and medium-size ones she had previously brought in for her other firms. However, J. Edward and Lawrence did have a significant contact base that she was able to loosen from the recesses of their memories and, armed with their endorsement, she set out to shake the branches.

At Stanford, she had been a very competent athlete, setting a number of distance records for the Cardinal Track & Field team, and almost qualifying for the US Olympic team. Since leaving school, she had found the time to train and perform well at marathons and other distance races around the country, and it was at the Boston Marathon that she had met Vijay Patel.

In their own ways, they both stood out in crowds.

Vijay was very tall and well-muscled, like a lithe wide receiver, with a full head of rich dark hair, honey-hued skin, deep dark eyes, and a smile that would make an orthodontist proud, had there been one. Think tall, dark and handsome. Jennifer was his blond, light-eyed counterpart: tall and extremely fit, along with a matching – although in her case, orthodontist-assisted – smile. Think California girl, plus the powerful intellect that shone from her earnest grey eyes.

Their after-race encounter had led to conversation and dinner, which they wisely postponed until the following day. (Even well-conditioned athletes sleep early and well after a two- to three-hour competitive run.) During dinner, Vijay led the way with personal history discovery, and when he heard that Jennifer was with a private equity firm, he almost believed that the gods, all 33 of them, had conspired to bring the two of them together. As he explained what he and his team had been working on, it wasn’t her finely honed business development instincts but her sincere interest in the product that grabbed his attention. Vijay didn’t even realize that KKL was the hottest PE firm in the country at the moment. All he cared about that evening was that this might in some way bind him and this amazing young woman together. He needn’t have worried. ♦ SUMMER2018 103

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

Let Jon-Ryan and Kirk help guide you home Privileged to sell Carpinteria Real Estate

5280 Ogan Road $1,050,000 Sold Price 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,444 Sq Ft

4932 7th Street $1,085,000 Sold Price 2 Bed | 2 Bath | 2 Units

1350 Limu Street $781,000 Sold Price 3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,170 Sf

3134 Serena Avenue $1,995,000 Sold Price 4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,560 Sq Ft

schlobohm-hodson.com

CarpMag_Summer 2018.indd 104

Jon-Ryan Schlobohm

Kirk G. Hodson

DRE 01876237

DRE 01908650

— Broker Associate 805.450.3307 jr@jon-ryan.com

— Realtor® 805.886.6527 kirk@kirkhodson.com

5/3/18 10:26 AM

BUYING OR SELLING

GARY GOLDBERG Realtor | Broker | Attorney (805) 455-8910 | BRE: 01172139 1086 Coast Village Road Santa Barbara, California 93108

www.garygoldberg.net gary@coastalrealty.com

WHETHER YOU ARE BUYING OR SELLING IN THE CARPINTERIA, SANTA BARBARA OR MONTECITO AREA, I PROVIDE IN-DEPTH ASSISTANCE FOR ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS.

SOLD

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CarpMag_Summer 2018.indd 105

REAL ESTATE REV I EW

REAL ESTATE SALES

5/3/18 10:26 AM

REAL ESTATE REV I EW

Your Local Real Estate Market Expert

840 Concha Loma Drive, Carpinteria · $1,299,999

Joe Wyban

(805) 570-2445 JosephWyban@gmail.com

Each Office Is Independently Owned and Operated. CalDRE: 01928270

602 Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara · $1,499,999

LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE O C E A N SANTA BARBARA MESA

144 LAS ONDAS, LISTED AT $2,200,000

•

L U X U R Y

•

R A N C H

JUST SOLD!

6701 RINCON ROAD, CARPINTERIA

Y O L A N D A VA N W I N G E R D E N

805.570.4965 Yolanda@AskYo.com

BRE: 01308141

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

WHEN EVERY DETAIL IS

perfect...

MON T ECITO G AR DEN ESTATE

5 Bedrooms / 7 Bathrooms / 1.04 Acres / Listed at $7,900,000 DA NA ZE RT U CH E

LORI C L AR IDGE BOWLE S

805.452.3884

805.403.5520

Lori@MONTECITO.ASSOCIATES

Dana@MONTECITO.ASSOCIATES

www.MONTECITO.associates The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the in-formation is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage are independent contractor agents and are not employees of the Company. ©2018 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. All Rights Reserved. CalRE#01961570 CalRE#01465425

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

7050 Gobernador Canyon

Alluring property offering a 2/2 Mid Century Ranch home with Ocean & Mountain views. Gorgeous ocean view 5 acres perfect for horses or farming. Two water sources a shared well & a water meter.

Offered at $1,995,000

316 Ash Ave.

California Beach Cottage reminisce of long ago days!

This home will delight! Two cozy bedrooms with one bath. Enjoy a view deck for alfresco dining and a lush garden. Located in a sought after area, one block to the beach and across the Estuary.

Offered at $1,495,000

Realtor Associate BRE# 1080272

Cell: (805) 886-3838 carolynwood@cox.net www.Sothebyshomes.com www.santabarbara-realtor.com 1482 East Valley Road • Montecito, CA 93108

Successfully Serving Carpinteria Real Estate for 25 years

Looking to vacation in Carpinteria?

Fantastic, fully stocked, 3 bedroom, 2 bath roomy condo with large front yard and private hot-tub area. This condo is perfect for a large family. It is walking distance to the beach and downtown Carpinteria.

1 block to the beach. This large, upscale vacation home is in the desirable beach area of Carpinteria. The home has 3 bedrooms, 3 full baths, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, fireplace and garage. Plus, 3 outdoor seating areas for entertaining.

The Beachcomber is located right across the street from Carpinteria Beach, where you can swim or just relax. At night you can enjoy the beautiful sunsets. The downstairs apartments with patios are available for weekly rentals.

805.684.4101 5441 Carpinteria Ave. Carpinteria, CA 93013

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REAL ESTATE REV I EW

Seascape Realty Buying or selling a home with us is like a walk on the beach!

SolD! DeligHtFul BungAlow Built in 1900. . .

Inviting front porch leads to a light and bright “beach house” with pine floors, a cozy fireplace, two bedrooms and one bath. The beautiful back yard is completely enclosed for privacy and entertaining. One-car garage. In a great location on the beach side of Carpinteria Avenue near downtown shops, restaurants and more. oFFeReD At $959,000 Please call Shirley Kimberlin at 805-886-0228

enjoY coAStAl living in this charming 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home in a favorite neighborhood, Board and batten wainscoting, attractive hardwood floors, and convenient kitchen with granite counters. On a 1/4 + acre parcel with lush gardens and fruit trees. The large open patio is a perfect spot to enjoy outdoor entertaining. The Ocean is just a short stroll away! oFFeReD At $1,699,000 Please call Shirley Kimberlin, 805-886-0228

locAteD on A DeSiRABle AReA Monte Cristo Lane in MONTECITO! First time on the market, offered at $2,249,000. Three bedrooms, plus two full baths, 5 minute walk to Butterfly Beach & Biltmore Hotel. oFFeReD At $2,249,000 Please call Diana Porter at 805-637-9690

gReAt locAtion AcRoSS tHe StReet FRoM tHe “woRlD’S SAFeSt BeAcH… Two bedrooms, two baths. Private deck off the living room. Perfect beach retreat for a vacation home or full time enjoyment. Also an excellent rental investment. Amenities include: Two pools, hot tub, clubhouse, gated parking, and on-site management. Stroll to the nearby Nature Park Preserve and downtown Carpinteria. oFFeReD At $729,000 Please call Shirley Kimberlin 805-886-0228

SolD! You will love it…Upscale, head-to-toe quality remodel. Desirable ocean-side of freeway location. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, free flowing floor plan with almost 1700 sq. ft. Enjoy estuary, island & mountain views and 2 private patios. Easy walk to beach! oFFeReD At $739,000 Please call Sylvia Miller at 805-448-8882 or email at sylvia@sanbarb.com

Explore Our BEACHSIDE VACATION RENTALS SeascapeVacation.com

4915-C Carpinteria Ave. Carpinteria • 805.684.4161 SUMMER2018 109

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CONTRIBUTORS 1

2

3

5

1

6

7

WHO IS YOUR INNER ARTIST?

CAMPGROUND OR HOTEL ROOM?

FANTASY JOB?

BEST SUMMER SWEET TREAT?

THOMAS FIRE: STAYED OR EVACUATED?

WHAT INSTRUMENT DO YOU PLAY?

Vincent Van Gogh

Hotel

Travel writer

Berry and stone fruit pavlova

Stayed and fed evacuees

A little piano, but very rusty

info@ pascaleskitchen. com

Toots Hibbert

Depends where

Editor, Coastal View News

Pilsner

Got my children out of the smoke, came back a few times to check on things.

A 5’7” Twin Fin

c.f.beamish@ gmail.com

Lea Boyd

Andy Goldsworthy

Campground

Ice cream taster

Strawberry granita

Evacuated

Air guitar

leaboyd@ yahoo.com

Joshua Curry

Micheal McKenna

Campground

Photographer

Mango smoothie

Stayed

Acoustic guitar

joshua@ joshuacurryphoto .com

David Powdrell

Room service!

Seaside Shuttle driver

Kiss from my wife

Evacuated

Ukulele

dubock.com

Beck

Happy camper

Darth Vader at Disney

Strawberries and fresh whipped cream

Still resettling

Ukulele poorly

pbdugre@ gmail.com

Bob Dylan

Hotel room close to nature

Professional wine taster

Ice cream

Evacuated

Cajon

van.fleisher@ gmail.com

Pascale Beale writer

2

Christian Beamish writer

3

4

CONTACT

writer

4

photographer

5

Glenn Dubock

photographer

6

Peter Dugré writer

7

Van Fleisher writer

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8

9

12

10

13

8

Chuck Graham

photographer

9

Debra Herrick

11

15

14

WHO IS YOUR INNER ARTIST?

CAMPGROUND OR HOTEL ROOM?

FANTASY JOB?

BEST SUMMER SWEET TREAT?

THOMAS FIRE: STAYED OR EVACUATED?

WHAT INSTRUMENT DO YOU PLAY?

CONTACT

I don’t have an inner artist.

If I have to, then a campground

I’m living my fantasy job

Watermelon

Stayed

Air guitar

info@chuck graham photo.com

Joni Mitchell

Hotel room

Potter

Lemonade

Evacuated

Viola

editor@ coastalview.com

Ansel Adams

Hotel room

Grandma

Milkshake from Fosters Freeze

Stayed

The radio

robin@ coastalview .com

Gustave Corbet

Campground

Photographer / Meditation teacher in Bali

Anything double dip dark chocolate chip

Evacuated

Bongo drums

instagram @ WonderTribe

Jose Clemente Orozco

Hotel room

NFL owner

Frozen yogurt

Stayed

Used to dabble in the clarinet

OrozcoAlonzo@ outlook.com

Dave Berg

Glamping

Zinfanel consultant

Slurpee-like margarita

Stayed

My voice

amymarie@ amymarie orozco.com

Sophia Loren

Hotel room

Lottery winner, then an environmental philanthropist

Garden raspberry granita Siciliana with dark chocolate drizzle

Stayed, then evacuated for one sleepless night

I enjoy singing

reddington4@ verizon.net

Hummm…

Hotel room with a nature view

Special effectsmovie makeup artist

Freshly picked strawberries dipped in chocolate

Stayed

Paco, my ukulele

kris@coastalview .com

writer

10

Robin Karlsson

photographer

11

Michael Kwiecinski photographer

12

Alonzo Orozco writer

13

Amy Orozco

editor/writer

14

Kathleen Reddington writer

15

Kristyn Whittenton designer

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Final Frame

Th is i s w h a T ch a m pi on s l ook l i k e The 2017-18 Carpinteria High School soccer team brought home the first—the first ever of any sport at CHS–CIF State SoCal Regional Division V Championship title on March 10 when, on the soaking wet turf of Carpinteria Valley Memorial Stadium, the Warriors beat Rubidoux of Riverside, 4-2. The team made a spectacular comeback after being sidelined for most of December and January because of the Thomas Fire and Jan. 9 floods, which not only closed schools but paralyzed the area.

The team: Alberto Arroyo, Gabriel Barajas, Issac Benitez, Christian Estrada, Christian Flores, Luis Garcia, Juan Gomez, Adrian Gonzalez, Vincent

Gonzalez, Abel Gutierrez, Saul Hernandez, Jose Jimenez, Mario Jimenez, Edgar Mendoza, Solomon Nahooikaika, Luke Nahooikaika, Angel Orozco, Cesar Perez, Diego Perez, Alex Ramirez, and Marco Villarreal. Team manager: Marco Alcala. Assistant coaches: Jerry Rodriguez, Ryan Warner, and Efrain Alvarez. Head coach: Leonardo Quintero. ♦

pho T o b y a lonz o oroz co

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Let Jon-Ryan and Kirk help guide you home Privileged to sell Carpinteria Real Estate

schlobohm-hodson.com

CarpMag_Summer 2018.indd 1

Jon-Ryan Schlobohm

Kirk G. Hodson

DRE 01876237

DRE 01908650

— Broker Associate 805.450.3307 jr@jon-ryan.com

— Realtor® 805.886.6527 kirk@kirkhodson.com

5/3/18 8:50 AM

A family owned nurser y in Carpinteria since 1978 Phalaenopsis Cymbidiums Tillandsias Succulents Foliage Plants Arrangements Pots, Baskets, Tins

Inspiration grown locally VISIT THE RETAIL SHOWROOM

M o n d a y- Fr i d a y 9 - 4 : 3 0 • S a t u r d a y 1 0 - 4 • 3 5 0 4 V i a Re a l • C a r p i n t e r i a • C A 9 3 0 1 3 w e s t e r l a y o r c h i d s. c o m • 8 0 5 . 6 8 4 . 5 4 1 1

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