Final Passage – A dream, a warning, and a race against time – Creek flees by sea with a secret the law is closing in on for the final serialized chapter of Last Light, P.5
Soul of Janis – With uncanny voice and hard-earned nuance, Mary Bridget Davies inhabits Janis Joplin beyond imitation, finding the woman behind the legend, P.16
Santa Barbara turns the page on its inaugural literary festival… Prepare for a weekend of books, banter, and brilliant minds that will turn Santa Barbara into a buzzing hub of storytelling and serendipity
(STORY STARTS ON P.11)
What began as a single clinic visit evolves into a landmark family donation to the SB Neighborhood Clinic’s new facility, page 18
A photo collage of last week’s Beyond the Canvas event that brought throngs of art enthusiasts to Coast Village Road, page 24
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5 Montecito Reads – Following Norman’s advisory interpretation of his dream, Creek hops a boat one step ahead of the law swarming his property –finally in possession of doomed Pony’s head
6
Beings and Doings – In 1972 a cabaret-hippie from Amsterdam wrote a transcendent pop song that shouts the zeitgeist of a nation that, by all rights, should be underwater. 8 Montecito Miscellany – A heartfelt farewell for Ray Winn and the Red Ferrari accordion tours Italy with the SB Symphony
News Bytes – SB Education Foundation turns 40, Elings’ “Swing for the Million” campaign, Mother’s Day for the furbabies, and other tidbits
Letters to the Editor – Readers write in on a poison free Montecito and thoughts on Iran Tide Guide
SB Literary Fest – The inaugural event takes place across genres and downtown Santa Barbara with renowned authors, workshops, and more
Our Town – Casa del Herrero invites the neighbors over and a scientific breakthrough for Las Cumbres Observatory
14 The Society Edit – It was all things ocean at the 25th anniversary of SB Channelkeeper and its annual Blue Water Ball fundraiser
16 On Entertainment – The stages will be jamming with ETC’s A Night with Janis Joplin, and Steven interrogates the great (SOhObound) Marshall Crenshaw
18
Patient to Partner – How a visit to the SB Neighborhood Clinic decades ago led to the Wyatt family’s momentous donation
20 NeuroField – What began as a father helping his son, evolved into a cutting-edge treatment for nearly any issue with a neurological component
22 The Spoken Word – UCSB lectures cover the past, future, and everything in between, plus poetry month happenings and the SB Writers Conference
24 Beyond the Canvas – A photo collage of the crowds, art, and fun that took place on Coast Village Road last week
26 Your Westmont – Global affairs specialist keynotes women’s luncheon, Spring Sing goes ‘Classic,’ and provost featured at Good Friday breakfast
28 Stories Matter – Blue people, cowboy detectives, and multigenerational mystics all visit the pages of this month’s book selections
30
Elizabeth’s Appraisals – An unknown anamorphic painting takes inspiration from Dalí and the artists that inspired Dalí’s own style
31
The Giving List – The path to a more present, calm, and caring community begins with a Kind Mind Sheriff’s Blotter
38
An Independent Mind – With his mind meandering, Jeffrey talks about the two topics that won’t leave Robert’s Big Questions – What is the rationale behind Objectivism? Where does it differ from Humanism?
44
Calendar of Events – 1st Thursday happenings, sculptural poetry, a Schubert sandwich, postcataclysm Lahaina, Davis and Coltrane on a pedestal, and the great Richard Thompson
46
Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads
47 Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles Local Business Directory
Every now and then, a story comes along that refuses to stay put. It lingers on your nightstand. It sneaks into conversation. For us, Last Light in Paradise is one of those stories, and we’re delighted to let it loose, one chapter at a time, in the pages of the Montecito Journal. Well, at least the first ten chapters for the time being – then you can purchase the book at one of our local beloved bookstores (Chaucer’s, Tecolote, and Godmothers) or from the QR code below.
This book marks a first for us… Last Light in Paradise is the inaugural book published by MJ Media Group. Yes, we’re dipping a toe – perhaps a barefoot run – into the world of book publishing, guided entirely by our belief in a novel that is as cinematic as it is soulful, as local as it is timeless.
Set against the luminous backdrop of 1930s Santa Barbara, this is a tale of love and loss, mystery and reckoning, populated by unforgettable characters and infused with the kind of atmosphere that feels both dreamlike and deeply true. We invite you to settle in, turn the page, and join us at the edge of paradise… just as the light begins to change.
Scan here for Chapters 1 - 9
by Michael C. Armour
Chapter 10: Part 2
He looked a last time at the rising sun as it bled through the trees. Then, he closed his eyes and went to sleep and fell directly into the dream. He tried to be still. He felt disoriented and tried to remember why he was here. He knew he was standing at the place where they said the great king was buried. A special mound formed in the middle of the south sloping field of his property. How did he know this? Had he taken his stepmother’s “Witches Weed,” also called the Moonflower – that delicate balance of just enough hallucinogen to meet your animal spirit? He remembered thinking that he could fly, if he chose to, and that he was waiting for something. He studied the trees off to his right, a small grouping of eucalyptus, their shed bark-rolls papering the split trunks and ground below. He saw a coyote passing among the trees. It was carrying something in its mouth, a large shaggy ball. Creek ran to get a better view, moving only when the animal vanished behind tree trunks. He felt as though he could move as fast as a puma, all spring and haunch and retractable claws.
The coyote turned and moved toward the mound, and Creek saw what the animal carried: it was a head, the head of a man with long, black hair. He sensed that the coyote carried it not as prize, but as vessel, and he watched it move toward the grave of the ancestors, to the grave of kings. It was Pony’s head. But the coyote locked in mid-step, still as an egret, sensing men in the woods. The animal lay the head on the ground and slipped away in the tall grass, swift and fleeting as vapor.
After he awoke, Creek knelt above his stepmother’s grave and said some words. Then, he drove to the reservation and told Norman about his dream. Norman listened as if with his whole body, and when Creek was finished the old man stared into the morning until Creek knew he had found something.
Norman said, “Your stepmother was telling you about the Western Gate. The path a Chumash has to travel to take his soul home.”
“Thought that was up by Point Conception. Or down near Los Angeles. Thought that was a myth.”
“I think your mother knows more than you do.”
Montecito Reads Page 374
by Jeff Wing
In the iconic Weimar swan-song movie Cabaret, liberal-democratic 1933 Deutschland throws itself a final champagne-soaked party before the Nazis come in and churlishly stomp the balloons with their jackboots. In one of the film’s most famous scenes, a satin-draped Liza Minnelli delivers, from the stage of a nightclub, a vivid 11th-hour lecture on the evils of sitting alone in a room. She waves her arms around, Minnelli-like, shakes her cropped Minnelli hair and using her weird guttural Minnelli vibrato to great effect, preaches hedonism to the martini-quaffing sophisticates at their tables, a doomed pre-war demimonde who seem not to need the lesson. What good is sitting alone in your room? She asks them. Life is a Cabaret!
It’s a chastening song, particularly for those of us who favor sitting alone in a room. But the point is well taken.
Life is happening out there. Get out of the house! For some that’s easier said than done. Some are trapped behind plate glass, figuratively and otherwise,
straining for a glimmer of what the rest of us take for absolute granted. We may all be stardust (CSNY ca. 1968) but that fact is not always manifest. We don’t all feel acquainted with the indefinable stuff that pours into the evening boulevards. We don’t all feel the sparkle. To some, the Aurora Borealis is an enormous mildew-stiffened shower curtain. The complicated world is cluttered with half empty glasses.
Enter Shaffy. In 1933, the last year of the Weimar fest (and the last year for quite a little while that fishnet stockings would figure in Berlin nightlife), a future lovable shaggy-dog Dutch troubadour with the unlikely name of Ramses Shaffy was born in the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine.
If the shaggy Dutch-French singer was not born under a lucky star, the winking empyrean vault would make later reparations. Ramses’ Egyptian diplomat dad would ditch the fam before his birth (they would meet for the first time in the ‘80s), and his PolishRussian countess mother would raise him in Cannes. On contracting tuberculosis, and in clear cahoots with the Fates, his mother would then pack him off to Holland.
This wounded high-school dropout’s self-discovery and reinvention as a young artist in the candlelit clubs and grottoes of Amsterdam, his rise as a beloved truth-telling cabaret figure in his own right, the boozy brawls and chemical gauntlet that would nearly kill him, his nationally beloved artistic partnership with Liesbeth List (their Shaffy Cantata is a completely strange, heart-elevating, and wordless choral pop tart that’ll have you hopping like a mosher) – these are the subjects of a lengthier essay. If you can imagine.
THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2026
FROM 5 PM TO 9 PM AT THE SANTA BARBARA CLUB
Emcee
Gwyn Lurie, CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Montecito Journal Media Group
Special Keynote Remarks by Angel Martinez, Former CEO, Deckers Brands
Join us for SBEF’s 40th Celebration, a
evening recognizing four decades of commitment to public education in Santa Barbara. Please RSVP by Friday, April 13, 2026. To RSVP online, visit the QR code or www.sbefoundation.org.
by Richard Mineards & Friends
Birnam Wood Golf Club glowed in soft coastal light as friends and family gathered to honor Ray Winn, a man whose warmth, wit, and wisdom wove through every room he entered. Guests flew in from across the country and Europe, including Mike and Claudia Weber from Pennsylvania, attorney Carl Kolb from Texas, Montecito Journal founder Jim Buckley from Utah, Dr. Dennis Horvath from Florida, and Reinhold and Reimar Burchhardt from Germany, and our former D.A. Joyce Dudley, who flew in from Colorado – a testament to a life widely and wonderfully lived.
Peter Kavoian , Ray’s partner of 38 years, and Mary and Bob Gates graciously welcomed family and special friends Cynthia and Eric Spivey, Marlene Veloz, Peg Finefrock, Nancy Gregory , Alex and Bob Nourse , Annette and Richard Caleel, Suzette Chafey , Hiroko Benko , Anne Towbes , Melissa Dvorak , Nancy Kimsey, Morrie Jurkowitz, Patricia
Griffin, Beth Wood, Wendy McCaw, Arthur von Wiesenberger , Val and Bob Montgomery, Robin and Bob Fell, Monica and Jim Carder, Marcia Constance, Kate Packer, Dilling Yang and UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang, forming a constellation of cherished companions that sparkled with friendship and far-reaching connections.
Pastor Randall Day opened with a prayer, offering words that rippled like gentle waves: “Grief, by definition,
means that love persists. So as we gather today – we know that Love Persists.”
Peter Kavoian shared about Ray’s remarkable life: “He was a true Renaissance Man.” Mary Gates reflected, “Curiosity isn’t something you outgrow, it’s something you live by,” while Bob Gates added, “The breadth of what Ray did in his life was stunning. I feel honored to have known him.” Eric Spivey noted, “Ray and Peter’s relationship was a testament to what a wonderful relationship looks like.”
Ray’s grandson Zach gave a tender tableau, observing, “We all gained perspective every time we interacted with him,” followed by touching remembrances and readings from Ray’s daughter, Lisa Winn. Music mingled magically with memories, sung by Micaela McCall of American Idol, Will Breman of The Voice, with pianist Jacopo Giacopuzzi adding melodic magic, while Ray’s devoted physicians and nurses – including Dr. Tom
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by MJ Staff
The Santa Barbara Education Foundation (SBEF) will mark a major milestone with its 40th Celebration: Strong Roots Supporting Bright Futures on April 23, bringing together community leaders, educators, and supporters to honor four decades of investment in public education. The evening will feature a hosted reception, plated dinner, live music by SBUSD students and alumni, and a live auction, along with a program highlighting SBEF’s impact on nearly 12,000 students across 21 schools.
Montecito Journal’s Gwyn Lurie will serve as emcee, with Angel Martinez, former CEO of Deckers, as keynote speaker. Proceeds from the event will support SBEF’s ongoing mission to inspire and invest in student success.
411: https://sbefoundation.org/40th-celebration
Mark your calendars for the Community Environmental Council’s 2026 Green Gala on Saturday, September 19, from 4 to 10 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. The annual celebration will bring together more than 250 community leaders, philanthropists, and climate advocates for an evening focused on advancing local climate solutions.
This year’s theme, “Rooted in Hope,” highlights resilience, community connection, and the power of local action to drive meaningful environmental progress. Guests can look forward to an inspiring night dedicated to supporting climate initiatives across the region.
Additional event details, ticketing, and sponsorship opportunities will be announced soon.
411: https://cecsb.org/green-gala
The Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE) returns May 11-17, 2026, with tickets now on sale for its sixth annual countywide celebration of food, wine, and hospitality. Presented in partnership with The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, the weeklong event brings together local chefs, farmers, vintners, and artisans to showcase the flavors of the Central Coast.
The diverse lineup includes immersive farm tours, hands-on cooking classes, exclusive wine tastings, and curated dining experiences across Santa Barbara County. Signature events include the Grand Wine Tasting at El Presidio, featuring more than 40 wineries, along with interactive programs like vineyard hikes, family-friendly cooking classes, and chef-led dinners.
Designed for both locals and visitors, SBCE highlights the region’s vibrant culinary ecosystem while encouraging exploration and connection. A portion of
News Bytes Page 404
Ihave a pair of nesting kestrels in my yard. Because the kestrels need lots of mice and voles to feed their young, I realize how easily they can be harmed if my neighbors put out rodent poison. On my walk yesterday a woman asked me if I had seen the sick coyote which is close to hairless because of poisons.
All poisons, whether it is herbicide, pesticide, or rodenticide, move through the food chain harming creatures. A single treated lawn or poisoned mouse can silently wipe out an entire nest of young birds.
Please, let’s protect wildlife by avoiding the use of toxic chemicals, so we can all thrive in a cleaner, safer environment.
Nancy Hill, Summerland
Jeffrey Harding’s articles about Iran are spot on, while a recent “L to E” accepts the mythology that Barack Obama contained Iran’s nuclear bomb ambitions until Donald Trump screwed it up. But he is not the only one. Iranian deception was naïvely trusted by our past leaders and by international inspectors.
Before being exposed in 2002, Iran’s secret nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak were pursuing a bomb via uranium and plutonium, and testing its design for a nuclear implosion device, all in violation of its Nuclear NonProliferation Treaty obligations. Iran denied all this, espousing their pursuit of clean nuclear energy. Adding to the naivety & confusion, in 2007 a U.S. national intelligence estimate reported, with high confidence, that Iran had ceased its organized effort to develop nuclear bombs. This report
was a gift to the Ayatollah, ceasing any interference from Israel or U.S. Only later did we learn this report was erroneous. The Iranians had removed secret nuclear documents while dispersing its nuclear bomb ambitions out of Tehran, concealing archives and using university dual purpose research to create civilian plausibility.
In 2009 the U.S. learned Iran had been building a facility deep under a mountain near Qom, designed to enrich uranium to weapons-grade. Again, Iran claimed its purpose was peaceful, but then why bury it and not tell inspectors until the U.S. was onto it? (This became the Fordow facility that the U.S. bombed in June 2025 with special earth-penetrating bombs.) Enter Mr. Obama, who made a nuclear deal with Iran a top priority. The talks dragged on for years, as Iran pressed forward with enrichment. Iran finally agreed to a deal in late 2015 after a series of U.S.
Letters Page 314
Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net
President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net
Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net
MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor
Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe
Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña
Administrative Assistant | Jessica Shafran VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net
Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Joe DeMello
Features | Jeff Wing
Proofreading | Helen Buckley
Contributors | Scott Craig, Chuck Graham, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Elizabeth Stewart, Leana Orsua, Jeffrey Harding, Houghton Hyatt
Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz
Gossip | Richard Mineards
History | Hattie Beresford
Humor | Ernie Witham
Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri
Health/Wellness | Ann Brode, Deann Zampelli
Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook
Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee
Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC
Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary)
expert edifiers at
by Zach Rosen
It’s not hard to see why writers end up in Santa Barbara. Sure, the weather helps, but it’s more than that. There’s space to think here, and a kind of quiet that doesn’t feel isolating. Montecito, in particular, has long been home to a number of well-known writers (see Steven Gilbar’s mini tome), while downtown Santa Barbara offers its own everyday version of that creative life – cafés, a touch of beach, and the steady rhythm of people working things out on the page.
The Santa Barbara Literary Festival (May 2-3) takes that existing energy and gathers it in one place. It was founded by Leslie Zemeckis and Lorissa Rinehart, both of whom have spent years working in and around storytelling. Zemeckis is a bestselling author, MJ contributor, and documentarian known for uncovering overlooked histories. Rinehart is a historian and author with a strong background in research and public programming. Their festival reflects both perspectives – thoughtful, wide-ranging, and open to anyone willing to listen.
At its core, the festival is a two-day event, but it doesn’t feel rigid. There’s a schedule, of course, with panels, conversations, and keynote talks, but the experience is meant to be flexible. You can plan your day carefully or move between sessions based on what catches your attention.
The programming reflects that approach. There are conversations with bestselling authors, panels on crime writing and memoir, discussions that move into journalism and film, and even events that connect storytelling to food and culture. You might come to hear a favorite writer speak and end up sitting in on a completely different conversation that pulls you in just as much.
That range is intentional. The festival isn’t just for writers or people in publishing. It’s built for readers, and even for those who don’t think of themselves as either writers or readers. As Zemeckis has said, the idea is simple: if you’ve ever been interested in where a story comes from, there’s something here for you.
There’s also a sense that the event is meant to be experienced, not just attended. Conversations spill over into the spaces between sessions. People linger, compare notes, and follow threads from one talk to the next. It feels less like a formal conference and more like a gathering that happens to be centered around books.
One of the most appealing aspects of the Santa Barbara Literary Festival is how it uses the city itself. Instead of convening everything in a single venue (think drab hotel conference room adorned with industrial size drip coffee carafe), the festival is spread across downtown.
Events take place at the Lobero Theatre, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Unitarian Society, the Canary Hotel, the Alhecama Theatre, the Karpeles Museum, and smaller spots like the Courthouse Distillery and Roy Restaurant. Each space brings a different feel, which changes the tone of the various conversations in subtle ways.
This setup does more than just add variety. It keeps the festival connected to its surroundings. Attendees move from one location to another on foot, passing through the city as they go. For visitors, it’s a way to experience Santa Barbara beyond a single address. For locals, it adds a sense of purpose to places they already know well.
There’s also something fitting about it. Books aren’t tied to one place. They’re read in pieces, in motion, wherever there’s a moment to pause. The festival mirrors that. You pick up an idea in one room, carry it with you down the street, and return to it later in a different setting.
Saturday is where it all opens up, with a mix of conversations that show just how wide the festival really is.
One of the highlights is a discussion with bestselling author Ann Liang, whose work blends romance and fantasy in ways that have found a strong audience among younger readers. She will be speaking with Morgann Book, one of the world’s most influential BookTok creators, touching on character, structure, and how stories evolve once they reach readers, especially in online communities.
Other panels take a different approach. “Against Erasure,” featuring journalist Josie Cox and co-founder Lorissa Rinehart, looks at how women’s stories have been overlooked or distorted and what it takes to bring them back into focus.
The culinary panel offers something else entirely. Set at the Pico Adobe, it brings together food writers and artisans to talk about how memory and culture are carried through food. It’s the kind of
Lit Festival Page 364
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by Joanne A. Calitri
Casa del Herrero hosted a neighborhood gathering on March 10 to highlight progress on its Save America’s Treasures Grant preservation project.
Leading the event were Natalie Sanderson, executive director and Head of Curation, and Elizabeth Esrey , President of the Board of Trustees, who also serves on the Save America’s Treasures Ad Hoc Committee.
Casa del Herrero invited 67 neighbors to its grounds to learn more about the restoration project. Approximately 20 neighbors attended and were given a tour of the progress. Introductions were made to key members of the organization, including Esrey, Sanderson, and committee members Miles Hartfeld, Elizabeth Storm McGovern, and Isabel and Paul Wendt Esrey addressed the group, sharing, “As volunteers, we work closely with Dr. Natalie Sanderson, our exceptional executive director and Head of Curation. Natalie, in turn, collaborates with our extraordinary tile conservator, Susie Anders, and contractor Juan Lopez to ensure that our beloved Casa is
restored with the care, expertise, and respect it deserves.”
Sanderson followed with remarks:
“Thank you for allowing us to share updates on our preservation efforts through the National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund for our Save America’s Treasures Grant. We’re committed to being responsible stewards of our community and are grateful for the opportunity to share our progress. We’re proud to have received this historic preservation grant from the National Park Service, in partnership with the California Missions Foundation. We were the only organization in California to receive this prestigious, competitive grant, a testament to Casa del Herrero’s commitment to historic preservation.
“We received the full award of $750,000 and have been actively fundraising for matching funds; I’m pleased to share that we are more than halfway there. These funds are being used to restore historic masonry, horticultural spaces, and conserve beautifully handmade historic tiles across this National Historic Landmark.
“Today we are highlighting the restoration of the Eastern Exedra, an outdoor enclosure with a muraled tile backdrop
for a fountain and tiled benches, designed by architect Lutah Maria Riggs. Born in Toledo, Ohio, in 1896, she later moved to Santa Barbara, studied at UC Berkeley, and became the first licensed female architect in Santa Barbara. She worked closely with George Washington Smith and continued many of his projects after his passing in 1930, maintaining a successful practice throughout her life (1896–1984). We are fortunate to have her original drawings and plans for this space.
“I’m grateful to be working with contractor Juan Lopez, president of Santa Barbara Quality Masonry Inc., and conservator Susie Anders, owner of Anders Art Conservation. Their expertise has restored the Eastern Exedra to its original beauty.”
Supporters of Casa del Herrero include David and Lyn Anderson, Susan and Riley Bechtel, Heather and Chris Biles, Laura and John Bridley, Ella and Scott Brittingham, the California Missions Foundation, Stephen and Karen Clark, the Demourkas Foundation, Guillermo Nicolas, J. Scott Francis and Susan Gordon, Kyle Irwin, the Ann Jackson Family Foundation, Jennifer Kelly, the Harold McAlister Family Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, the Hutton Parker Foundation, Alison and Geoff Rusack, Meghan and Bob Stoll, and the Alice Tweed Tuohy Foundation.
411: www.casadelherrero.com
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Stardate 79659.4
Hold on to your ears, Spock!* Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) Astrophysicist Andy Howell, PhD, head of the supernova research group, and his fifth-year UCSB graduate student Joseph Farah are part of an international research team featured on the cover of Nature (Volume 651, Issue 8105, March 12, 2026) for their discovery of “chirp” activity in a superluminous supernova
Tue, Apr 7 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
FREE
Wed,
by Joanne A. Calitri
Santa Barbara Channelkeeper (SBCK) celebrated its 25th anniversary at its annual Blue Water Ball fundraiser, held March 14 at the Cabrillo Pavilion in Santa Barbara.
SB Channelkeeper, formerly the Environmental Defense Center (1999), is an independent conservation organization that describes itself as a “science-based environmental advocacy, education, fieldwork, community engagement, and enforcement” organization dedicated to protecting the Santa Barbara Channel and its watersheds. Its mission is centered on clean water, healthy habitats, and thriving communities through programs focused on water quality monitoring, pollution prevention, education, and environmental advocacy.
Ted Morton, executive director of SB Channelkeeper, explains, “For 25 years, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper has served
as a vigilant defender of our coast. The commitment of our staff, volunteers, partners, and community members who believe in the importance of a healthy and resilient ocean and coastline has led to significant achievements for clean water and the environment.”
The evening began with a reception for guests, board members, and staff.
Emcee Geoff Green announced that Keynote Speaker Jane Lubchenco , PhD, was unable to attend and that Assemblymember Gregg Hart would appear in her stead, prompting some disappointment among attendees.
The event also featured a silent auction of art and raffle prizes, with live music performed by Tony Ybarra I first met with Mia Lopez, representing the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, who introduced me to Indigenous artist John Khus. One of Khus’s oil paintings, titled Like Water, was included in the event’s auction, which featured works by 14 local artists centered on the theme of water. After
catching up, I photographed them. From there, I met with Communications Director Laura Sanchez to photograph Morton alongside SB Channelkeeper Board President Jeff Phillips, Tim Robinson, and Mike Brown. I also connected with Event Chair and SBCK Board Vice President Kathy Rogers, who shared, “We are constantly facing new challenges to the health of our ocean and its watersheds.
We hope to secure the resources needed to address these threats and protect the critical marine ecosystems that are deeply connected to our lives and our future.” Rogers’ event committee included Mimi deGruy, Kim Bluitt, Nancy Kogevinas, and Sarah Preston
Attendees included Randall T. Moon, Sarah Sikich, José Castro-Sotomayor,
Society Edit Page 334
The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) invites you to join us at the 2026 Amethyst Ball: Luminaria: Illuminating the Path Towards Hope and Recovery, on Saturday, April 11 at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
This signature event celebrates hope, healing, and community while raising crucial funds for CADA’s prevention, education, and treatment programs for individuals, youth and families a ected by substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders. Guests will enjoy gourmet dining, fine wine pairings, inspiring stories of recovery, exclusive live and silent auctions, and a headline performance by the legendary American Vinyl All Star Band. Limited tickets and sponsorships are available - reserve your seat for this special event and help illuminate the path to recovery: https://cadaamethystball.org/
by Steven Libowitz
Mary Bridget Davies was just a teenager when she realized that her singing voice sounded a lot like that of Janis Joplin, the iconic rock singer who quickly shot to fame in the late 1960s before her accidental death from an overdose at 27.
“My normal singing voice is pretty darn clean in comparison,” Davies recalled this week. “But I thought it was great. I’ve always had a soulful voice, and a lot of people thought my tone was a lot like hers.”
But, really, Davies wondered at the time: “When am I ever going to use that?”
Fast-forward some 30 years, and Davies can look back on a majority of the last two decades that she’s spent performing Joplin’s material in a variety of settings. Most notable, and again currently, is her turn as the star of A Night with Janis Joplin, which gets its Santa Barbara debut at Ensemble Theatre Company, which plays April 4-26 at the New Vic.
Davies’ first opportunity to gear up for playing Joplin came via a previous off-Broadway show called Love, Janis, followed by a six-year stint touring on and
off with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Joplin’s first band. But nothing has resonated as deeply for Davies as A Night With…, which earned her a Tony nomination in 2004 and has been the vehicle of her ever more enthusiastic emergence ever since – save for a few years during the pandemic.
The musical, which finds Davies almost channeling Joplin on such hits as “Piece of My Heart,” “Summertime,” “Me and Bobby McGee,” “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder),” “Down on Me,” and “Mercedes Benz,” truly brings out the grit in her voice, its tonal resemblance to the late singer’s uncanny.
“I know how important she is to people,” Davies said. “She’s as much of an icon for some people as Elvis. You have to get as close as possible without it being an impersonation that’s corny or insincere.”
Davies has done her homework consistently over the years, devouring Joplin’s recordings, diving into books about the singer and even becoming friends with Joplin’s siblings, including narrating the audio version of Love, Janice, at the request of the author, Joplin’s sister Laura
“It’s not an ego thing for me,” she said. “Her story always resonated with me, and it’s like I’ve been tasked to carry her mantle, because otherwise why do I sound like that? I ask myself those questions all the time. I’m always a student of hers finding ways to go deeper.”
Davies says she takes care to inhabit the character from within, finding the pain and passion as well as the joy exhibited by Joplin.
“Playing Janis gives me a chance to process my own trauma on stage through song and latch on to the intention behind it,” she said. “She could just wail and howl with her instrument, really make you feel it. And you believed it because it was true. So what I’m doing is processing my emotions and plugging them into her as a conduit, which is what gives it authenticity.”
Whatever her method, it’s surely working. Reviews about the show – which has a live band and four backup singers who also portray major influences in Janis’ life including Etta James, Nina Simone, Bessie Smith, and Odetta – have been rapturous everywhere Davies does the show. Which remains true even as the actress-singer refines her approach with each new production.
“When I first started, it was all about power,” she said. “The fire and energy and anger and all that raucousness only. I was in overdrive focusing on that. But she was more than that. After stepping away from the show for a few years I’m able to give it a lot more nuance and grace to show her more vulnerable parts. She wasn’t just
by Zach Rosen
More than three decades ago, Geof Wyatt found himself in need of medical care without a clear way to get it. He didn’t have a doctor and needed tests, and someone suggested he try Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics (SBNC). What he encountered there stayed with him long after the visit itself. It wasn’t only that he received care, but the way that care was delivered – with a sense of dignity and respect that left an impression.
That experience, quiet and unremarkable at the time, has come to shape something much larger. The Wyatt family’s recent $5 million gift to SBNC reflects not just generosity, but a long memory of what it means to be supported by a community when it matters most.
“I believe that access to healthcare should be a recognized human right, not just a privilege based on your resources. Healthy, well cared for people are a critical component of a healthy and vibrant community.”
– Crystal Wyatt
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics has, for decades, been part of the city’s underlying structure in ways that are often felt more than seen. Established to provide accessible
healthcare regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, it has grown into a network serving more than 18,000 people each year, many of whom might otherwise go without care. The organization reaches across neighborhoods, offering medical, dental, and behavioral health services to a population that reflects the full spectrum of Santa Barbara itself. Its work has always been rooted in proximity. These are clinics that exist within the community, not at a distance from it, and that distinction shapes everything; from how patients arrive to how they are treated once they walk through the door. Over time, SBNC has expanded its reach, adding locations and services, but the core idea has remained unchanged. It is meant to be a place where people can go without hesitation, where care is available and familiar rather than intimidating or out of reach.
The Wyatt family – Geof & Laura, Monica & Mark, Cliff & Crystal – and their connection to Santa Barbara carries its own sense of continuity. Four of the six family members involved in the donation grew up locally, shaped by the schools, institutions, and culture that define the area. Their family business, Wyatt Technology, started by their father, was built gradually over decades, beginning with modest means and growing through persistence and collaboration into something substantial.
There is a natural alignment between those two stories. SBNC represents a community effort sustained over time, while the Wyatt family reflects what can grow from within that same environment. When the opportunity arose to engage more directly with the clinics, it felt less like a new direction and more like an extension of something already understood.
“Growing up in Santa Barbara there were family foundation names that always inspired me. Michael Towbes, Sarah Miller McCune, Lady Ridley-Tree, the Jackson Family, the Mosher Family and more recently the Zegar Family. They all demonstrated the power of investing in our community. I was inspired by these donors who led by example and it motivates me to follow their lead to strengthen our community.”
– Geof Wyatt
That understanding deepened when the family began to look more closely at SBNC’s work, particularly on the Westside, where a new facility is now taking shape. The existing clinic, housed in what was once a small residential structure, has long operated beyond its intended capacity. Rooms have been adapted and repurposed, and the staff has made the most of every available inch, but the limitations are evident.
The new building represents a significant shift. Planned as a three-story, integrated facility, it will bring medical, dental, and behavioral health services together in one place. When it opens, it is expected to serve more than 8,300 patients each year at that site alone, while increasing SBNC’s overall capacity by a substantial margin.
$235 million 17 Buildings 733,000+ square feet
Majestic Asset Management sold the “Tech Park @ Goleta” portfolio to Praelium Commercial Real Estate, with Hayes Commercial Group representing the transaction.
Representing
by Zach Rosen
NeuroField is not an easy thing to explain in a sentence. It blends neuroscience, clinical therapy, and a suite of technologies designed to read and influence the brain in real time. But behind the complexity is a clear goal: to understand how the brain is functioning, and then help it function better.
At its core, NeuroField starts with measurement. Using electroencephalography (EEG) and event-related potentials (ERP), clinicians map brain activity, identifying where patterns are inefficient, dysregulated, or simply out of balance. That data becomes the foundation for treatment.
From there, the process becomes highly individualized. “We look at your brain waves and say, this is why you’re feeling the way you’re feeling,” explains Dr. Nicholas Dogris, CEO of NeuroField. “Then we create a stimulation protocol to address that.”
The term they use – multimodal neurostimulation – captures the range of tools involved. Rather than relying on a single
method, NeuroField combines several: cranial electrical stimulation, electromagnetic fields, and photobiomodulation. Each can be adjusted in frequency and intensity, allowing clinicians to tailor treatment to the individual rather than the diagnosis. For patients, the experience is often compared to physical therapy. The brain, like the body, responds to repetition. Over a series of sessions – typically 20 to 30 – the goal is to interrupt inefficient patterns and reinforce more stable ones. The changes are gradual, but cumulative. That approach allows NeuroField to work across a wide spectrum of concerns. In practice, the clinic sees patients dealing with anxiety, depression, PTSD, addiction, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, and age-related cognitive decline. The common thread is not the diagnosis itself, but whether the issue has a neurological component.
“If it’s neurological in origin, we can address it,” says Dr. Tiff Thompson, a clinical neuroscientist, and Founder and CEO of NeuroField Neurotherapy. It also offers a different lens on treatment. Medications often manage symptoms. NeuroField is designed to change the patterns producing them. For some patients, that means working alongside existing treatments. For others, it becomes an alternative.
The company’s recent FDA clearance for its Genesis Sleep device – a cranial electrical stimulator used to treat insomnia – marks a significant step in that direction. The device went through multiple iterations over nearly a decade before receiving approval, underscoring both the technical and regulatory hurdles involved. Still, the origins of NeuroField are less technical than personal.
In 2002, Dr. Dogris’s son was born prematurely with a hypoxic brain injury, the result of oxygen deprivation at birth. At the time, neurofeedback required
NeuroField Page 354
U.S. Premiere of New David Lang Commission
Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls’ Choir
Charlotte Rowan, Conductor
Fri, Apr 10 / 7 PM / Granada Theatre
“One of the finest piano players to emerge in decades.” All About Jazz
“They could be grounded in their tone or mystical. They allowed time to stand still, and they could assume the pose of excitingly aggressive rockers. They did it all.” – Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times on DSQ
This rare collaboration features a stirring program that weaves Nordic folk songs with shimmering contemporary works by David Lang, Caroline Shaw, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and more.
“Hull is as good a songwriter as a mandolin player, and could give Bill Monroe a run for his money on the latter.” Isthmus
Celebrating Two Jazz Giants Emmet Cohen Quintet
Miles and Coltrane at 100 Sun, Apr 12 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
Seven-time International Bluegrass Music Association Mandolin Player of the Year
Sierra Hull
Thu, Apr 16 / 8 PM UCSB Campbell Hall
Savor house-made pastries, bright mimosas, and beautifully crafted dishes. Settle in for a relaxed, welcoming morning on Coast Village Road where good food meets even better company. 1209
by Steven Libowitz
Whether by accident or design, UCSB Arts & Lectures has dedicated the first three Tuesdays in April to focusing on the L-word part of its name, with the dates offering discussions of some of the most pressing issues of the day. First up is Ibram X. Kendi, one of the world’s leading scholars of racism and discriminatory policy. The author of Stamped from the Beginning was the youngest winner of the National Book Award for Nonfiction and has been named a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellow. His new book Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age traces how “great replacement theory” moved from the margins to a dominant force in global authoritarianism, showing how it erodes democratic norms and outlining how we can confront it and strengthen democracy. His Justice for All talk at Campbell Hall on April 7 offers a clear path for understanding the origins of this threat, and for resisting it. Free copies of the new book will be distributed at the event.
The more prolific author Masha Gessen is also a National Book Award recipient for The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. Gessen’s book is also an incisive observer of democracy, with a current focus on how autocracies turn vulnerable groups into the “other.” She has traced this tactic in Putin’s Russia, which led her to flee to the U.S. a decade ago, where she’s now drawing a clear throughline to similar currents here. As contemporary autocrats promise a return to an imaginary, safer past, Gessen argues in Politics of the Past, Politics of the Future (and at her April 14 talk at Campbell) that the antidote to the politics of the past is an inspiring politics of the future.
Rounding out the timely trio is Bill McKibben , the pioneering climate journalist and environmental activist whose voluminous work over the decades includes launching Third Act, a group and campaign for climate change activists aged over 60, and, most recently, co-founding No Kings, the organization behind last weekend’s massive protest against President Trump and authoritarianism that drew thousands to Alameda Park and millions across the nation. In his 2025 book, Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization and April 21 talk, McKibben blends hard science with compelling storytelling and seasoned advocacy in laying out a hopeful and more equitable path forward driven – in solar power – by the cheapest energy in history.
Breaking the Tuesday timeline, David Miliband comes to Campbell Hall on April 22 to carry on a Justice for All conversation titled “New World Disorder: A Humanitarian Perspective.” The former U.K. foreign secretary who is now president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee, Miliband directs humanitarian relief and refugee assistance across more than 40 crisis zones, bringing aid to millions each year. The son of refugees and author of Rescue: Refugees and the Political Crisis of Our Time, offers compelling perspectives on leadership, displacement, and our shared responsibility in a turbulent world both in opening remarks and in a conversation with former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, co-host of Pod Save the World.
Richard Falk will present this year’s Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future from Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, the Santa Barbara-based international organization working to end the threat posed by nuclear weapons. Falk, widely considered to be one of the world’s foremost experts on international law, served as a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories for six years. His writing and other contributions on nuclear abolition, human rights, and global governance have shaped international debate for decades. In the free April 7 talk at the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall, Falk will address the legal and moral limits of power in an age of conflict, chaos, nuclear weapons, and global instability. His comments are particularly potent in the wake of the ongoing attacks by the U.S. and Israel on
Spoken Word Page 364
by Beth Sullivan
On March 26th, Coast Village Association presented the first Spring event of the year ~ Beyond the Canvas.
I keep writing about Beyond the Canvas, trying to capture its essence. But this year, something felt different. The experience spoke for itself. What unfolds along Coast Village Road isn’t simply an art walk – it’s a collective celebration of creativity across disciplines, brought to life by the people who shape our community.
I know firsthand that art isn’t limited to the stroke of a brush or the frame of a canvas. I was raised in the
performing arts, and my father was an artist. Beyond the Canvas is built on a simple idea: to showcase the simple fact that creativity extends beyond the traditional canvas and is meant to be enjoyed in connection with those around us.
When discussing the idea with our merchants on Coast Village Road, it made sense to create a unique event to present fine artists and photographers, but also performing artists, musicians, stylists, fashion and jewelry designers, and those creators whose work inspires and delights. That’s what our mix of businesses is all about.
One of the biggest takeaways for me this year was seeing the continued growth in participation and engagement. More businesses opened their doors, more artists took part, and with each event we notice an increase in guests bringing new friends along. That consistency is shaping Beyond the Canvas into an established part of the Coast Village calendar.
Growing up surrounded by performance and creativity, I learned that true expression isn’t confined to a studio or stage. Watching guests as they encountered a rich collection of arts woven into a living experience – this was a true pleasure. Thank you to everyone who came
out and participated ~ you are the heart of this community. The success of Coast Village events is directly tied to the people who show up – those who engage, step into businesses, and take the time to experience what’s being shared. Stay tuned for our next experience on Coast Village Road. Follow along through our email blasts, Instagram, and website for our next event. You can reach me at Beth@CoastVillageRoad.com
by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott
The Westmont Women’s Leadership Luncheon, an inspiring community event dedicated to educating, enriching and empowering women, features Keynote Speaker Anja Manuel, renowned author, former diplomat and trusted advisor to Fortune 50 companies, on Friday, April 24, from 12-1:30 pm, with check-in beginning at 11:30 am, at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Purchase tickets, which cost $200 per person, at westmont. edu/leadership-luncheon.
Manuel will share her insights on global affairs and reflections from her own fascinating career journey to inspire emerging female leaders at Westmont.
The luncheon will also celebrate this year’s recipients of the prestigious Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree Spirit of Santa Barbara Award, Yvette Birch Giller and Sue Birch, for their extraordinary contributions to the community through their work with the Mosher Foundation. Sue, who has spent her career in education, has served on the boards of Laguna Blanca School, Marymount of Santa Barbara, All Saints Parish School, the Nonprofit Support Center, Opera Santa Barbara, Storyteller Children’s Center, Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute and Ridley-Tree Cancer Center. Yvette, the president and CEO of the Mosher Foundation, serves on boards of the Santa Barbara Zoo, Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, Storyteller Children’s Center, the Organic Soup Kitchen and Rooted Santa Barbara.
“It’s a pleasure to live in Santa Barbara where so many believe in the powerful contributions Westmont women students will make as leaders in our society,” said Sherry Nasseri, chair of the Westmont Women’s Leadership Council, which sponsors the luncheon.
“We look forward to another exceptional gathering this year.”
This highly anticipated annual gathering brings together local community leaders, professionals, and alumni for an afternoon of connection, inspiration, and purpose. Proceeds from the luncheon directly support Westmont’s female students, providing vital financial resources as they pursue academic and vocational preparation for lives of impact.
Manuel co-founded and is principal of Rice, Hadley, Gates and Manuel LLC, a strategic consulting firm that helps U.S. companies navigate international markets. The firm includes Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state; Stephen Hadley, former national security adviser; and Robert Gates, former secretary
of defense. Manuel graduated from both Stanford University and Harvard Law School and wrote the book This Brave New World: India, China, and the United States. She serves as the executive director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum, a premier bipartisan forum on foreign policy in the U.S. Since 2017, the luncheon has continued a legacy of powerful messages and meaningful engagement. Past speakers include Kathy Ireland, Tamika Catchings, and Henrietta Holsman Fore, whose words have encouraged women students to step boldly into leadership and service.
The generosity of sponsors of at all levels supports the event, including Platinum sponsor Mary Barbour; Gold sponsors Anna Grotenhuis, Anonymous, and The Hugh E. and Marjorie S. Petersen Foundation; and numerous Silver, Bronze, Table and Gift Bag sponsors.
It was a night full of laughs and surprises at the Santa Barbara Bowl as Westmont celebrated its 65th year of Spring Sing, where students from each residence hall produce musical skits to compete for prizes and bragging rights. Spring Sing, the longest running Westmont tradition, involves hundreds of students who use song, dance and faculty/staff appearances to tell a comedic story about this year’s theme, “That’s Classic!”
In the end, the six judges selected the Global Leadership Center’s Top Gun spoof, ‘We Haven’t Peaked Yet,’ as the overall winner. The production featured a cameo by Stu Cleek, vice president for student life.”
Westmont Page 344
“Last Light in Paradise is drop-dead perfect. In all my years of investigating for the United States and the President–this is the kind of novel you go to for truth, heart, and the deep pleasure of a master storyteller.”
– Richard C. LaMagna
Former Director of Counternarcotics White House National Security Council and former Deputy Chief of Intelligence DEA HQ
– Fannie Flagg
Now available at Chaucer’s Books, Tecolote Book Shop and Godmothers
‘The
Mountains We Call Home’
by Leslie Zemeckis
inaugural Santa Barbara Literary Festival. Many of the authors have new books dropping this month and next. Among them is NY Times bestseller Kim Michele Richardson, who is one of our keynote speakers. Her latest is The Mountains We Call Home, a companion to her Book Woman of Troublesome Creek stories that is yet a standalone volume in its own right. Set in Kentucky in the 1950s, Cussy Mary Lovett is one of the Fugates, known as the “blue” people, a true hereditary blood disorder that causes the skin to turn blue. At one time a person with this condition was labeled a person “of color.” In The Mountains, when Cussy and her white husband marry, are arrested and jailed for miscegenation; having an interracial marriage. Richardson is a masterful storyteller, and this is a powerful story of resilience and incarceration.
ast Light in Paradise is a noirish page turner set in 1930s Santa
Barbara, involving a loner cowboy detective by the name of Creek, and a reclusive heiress, below whose pink clifftop palace a decapitated body is found. When a big Hollywood production comes to town, folks are excited for the opportunities. The Depression has hit hard and jobs are scarce. Investigating the death, Creek threatens to disrupt ruthless moguls set on turning Santa Barbara into the next movie factory. The book has some of the very best dialogue I have ever read (think Raymond Chandler), and author Michael C. Armour paints a gorgeous story with the prose as sweeping as the Santa Barbara vistas. I hope he returns with another.
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser is a clever retelling of the Cinderella
story, told from the point of view of the “evil” stepmother. When Etheldreda finds herself widowed for a second time and living in a crumbling mansion, she must seek appropriate husbands for her two daughters and stepdaughter. That is when the local prince comes calling. Lady Tremaine is about a mother’s deep love for her children, the sacrifices she makes and all she will do to protect her girls living in a man’s world; or in their case, a prince’s world. It is a bold, carefully crafted reimagining of the fairytale that will have you rooting for the stepmother.
To know me is to know I love all things Russian and French. In Olesya Salnikova Gilmore ’s latest, The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru , Princess Olga and her brother travel to Paris in the 1920s, visiting a tea shop were illegal seances – conducted by an old Russian émigré Baba and her aura-reading granddaughter Zina – are covertly performed after hours. When Zina accidentally summons a vengeful spirit, she uncovers a mystery involving a murdered Grand Duke and her own murdered mama. Very atmospheric and lush.
‘See You on the Other Side’
See You on the Other Side is Jay McInerney ’s return to his RussellCorinne tetralogy examining the marriage of the long-wed pair. It is now 40 years on, and the couple have survived children, health scares and infidelity...when Covid suddenly descends. I wasn’t sure I was ready for a book on the pandemic, but that is merely a backdrop, with a disbelieving Manhattan reeling with the new virus. This is funny, sad, excellent, and brilliant as McInerney captures moments in time in a city he so obviously loves, and possibly hates.
‘Sweetbitter Song’
Sweetbitter Song is the story of a slave girl, Melantho, handmaiden to the beautiful princess Penelope. In this retelling of the Odyssey, author Rosie Hewlett writes a powerful story of love and the dynamic between master and slave.
Leslie Zemeckis is an awardwinning documentarian, bestselling author, and actor. The creator of “Stories Matter,” co-sponsored by SBIFF, and the co-founder of the Santa Barbara Literary Festival.
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by Elizabeth Stewart
DDsends me this strange portrait of a male face in profile composed of writhing nude bodies, and I KNEW I had seen this technique before: a mélange of nude women arranged to form a head, a skull, a profile: WHERE had I seen this? I had seen it in the work of Salvador Dalí of course, specifically his In Voluptas Mors (Voluptuous Death), a photo collaboration between Dalí and Philippe Halsman. In that work, naked female figures in a group were stacked and arranged to form a skull with orbital openings, nose, and teeth. Dalí and Halsman met in 1941 and collaborated for 30 years: Voluptuous Death shows Dalí at the front of the composed photo, in top hat and tails, a circus ringmaster gesturing towards the death-head of full-sized female bodies. Dalí painted this style of bodies IN bodies, such as The Face of War, the eyes and mouth of skulls full of skulls like so many marbles. Marvelous, in a style called both surrealist and anamorphic. DD’s work is signed by an artist who I cannot find, so the artist may have been an amateur that happened to discover this anamorphic style. I wonder if he had experienced the paintings of Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593), who not only composed portrait faces from naked bodies, but portraits from fruits and flowers, plants, vegetables, books, animals, and sea creatures.
Considered the first surrealist before the term was even known, Arcimboldo was born into the 16th century when the oddities of nature were celebrated and collected in macabre ways by the very wealthy. Bones, shells, fossils, heads, teeth, and skulls entered into personal Cabinets of Wonder. Likewise, the
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painter Arcimboldo painted his fanciful and frightening images as “scherzi” –diversions, or “capriccio” – for caprices, for jokes and laughs, for amusement at the strangeness of the world. Five hundred years later, DD’s painting might have been created because the artist had a strange way of seeing a man’s face: through female nudes.
Feminist critics have pointed out that even though men do not inhabit the female body, men have nonetheless exerted control over the female body’s representation throughout cultural history: think of works by Michelangelo, da Vinci, Rubens, Goya, Picasso, Dalí, and Arcimboldo, and now DD’s artist!
Similarly, a painter in the 19th century, Filippo Balbi (1806-1890) created heads of males composed of nude figures: Head of a Man Composed of Nude Figures Wrestling
Arcimboldo was an inspiration to Dalí and other surrealists and, like Dalí, Arcimboldo worked in cycles: he did portrait representation of the four seasons, the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), and what looks to me like insulting caricatures of royal and court patrons – such as Rudolf the 2nd and his officers – comprised in images of fruit,
in naked bodies, in fish. He created visual feasts, reimagining heads as edible arrangements of food for royal patrons. This is the tradition whence DD’s portrait originates.
X rays of the canvases of Arcimboldo from the 16th century show that he painted his subjects upside down, using the objectifying still life technique before its time. He was drawn to the curiosities and grotesqueries of nature and had a customer base that laughed along with him.
If you like Surrealism I suggest you fly to Paris, where on Avenue Hoche on March 26, Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr are holding an all-surrealism auction, and in fact the most expensive photo ever sold ($12m, having been shown at the Met in a show called When Objects Dream, 2022) is a surreal 1924 photo Le Violon d’Ingres by Man Ray. Ray transformed a woman into a thing, namely into a violin. This was his photo of the jazz singer Alice Prin, or “Kiki of Montparnasse” (the bohemian neighborhood of Paris in the 1920s). He photographed her from behind, wearing nothing but a turban, and upon her back he painted two black f-holes of the kind you see on a violin. She was “hollowed out” to be played, as it were!
At the website Postcard Guy, DD might (for $40) purchase a 1910 postcard called L’Eunuque where, for a private gentleman’s delectation, he might in 1910 have owned a postcard of a man’s face composed of naked women. Another face composed of naked people was created recently to promote an Australian TV show called “Who Do You Think You Are?”
The relationship of bodies to faces is integral to how we think about being human, as we see by DD’s unique and macabre portrait. The value is unknown.
Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is a veteran appraiser of fine art, furniture, glass, and other collectibles, and a cert. member of the AAA and an accr. member of the ASA. Please send any objects to be appraised to Elizabethappraisals@ gmail.com
by Steven Libowitz
In a day and age where children not only have an exponentially expanded array of electronic methods of distraction compared to less than a generation ago, but are also confronted by a country and world in conflict and torn by divisiveness, the need for mindfulness and meditative practices has never been greater.
That was the thought process behind the creation barely five years ago of Kind Mind, the Santa Barbara nonprofit co-founded by Vivian Valentin, PhD, then a neuroscience researcher and practicing therapist, who today serves as Kind Mind executive director.
Trained by Mindful Heart Programs –the local umbrella organization founded by psychotherapist/meditation teacher Radhule Weininger and her husband, palliative care physician and author Michael Kearney – Valentin and her team came up with a student-and-teacher supportive program. They would deliver to local schools practical instruction and hands-on skills to co-create calm, productive, mindful student bodies, and classrooms.
Their work derives from evidence-based research whose findings on “perseverence” are unambiguous; self-aware individuals who practice mindfulness are more capable of staying present, calm, and focused in the face of challenges and uncertainty.
A pilot initiative at Santa Barbara Community Academy has mushroomed into programs throughout Santa Barbara Unified and beyond. These programs take place both during and after school, and have taught self-awareness skills to thousands of elementary through high school students with spectacular results including enhanced focus and attention, improvements in empathy and compassion, as well as resiliency, decreased reactivity, and a reduction in stress.
Kind Mind has also launched partnerships with other local nonprofits
Kind Mind has developed mindfulness programs both in-and after-school through Santa Barbara Unified and beyond
(courtesy photo)
such as FoodBank of SB County and Santa Barbara Museum of Art to foster mindful connection within a specific field. Now Kind Mind is seeking to broaden its reach, both by holding trainings in nature and by drawing in the broader community.
“The underlying theme is to get as many community members as possible out into nature so they can drop into that sacred inner being, the inner knowing that comes from the natural world,” Valentin said. “The goal is to find a way for people to shift their mindset to a more healthy and flourishing one.”
The most important effort in that direction involves chiefly high school students in an Earth Guardian internship. The program feeds into the graduation requirement for volunteer hours.
“The idea is to start with nature first so that they can learn mindfulness and even meditation through nature,” Valentin said. “It’s an approach that is more accessible, especially for young people. And it’s tied into environmental stewardship, which is also incredibly important right now. The idea is to ignite people’s passion for being in nature and connecting with nature.”
The concept of the internship is to create a ripple effect where participants hone their own experiences and expand on the skills they learn, then bring them back to their own families and the community at large.
“It’s very relevant to the school program because we want to engage and ignite the youth so they can become part of this movement,” Valentin said. “Then if they want to, they can become ambassadors for their peers and even younger kids in a way that benefits the schools, too.
It also ripples upwards into organizations that may employ participants in the future. These students – prospective climate and sustainability workers – can take what they learn about facilitating the connection to nature and leverage those experiences in professional settings.
Giving List Page 354
concessions. The Obama team allowed enrichment and let Iran keep the infrastructure that could be used to reach weapons-grade when Iran felt the time was right. In the deal’s first week, Iran received $30 billion in sanctions relief helping fund their missile program.
Mr. Trump quit the deal in 2018 and escalated sanctions on Iran. Then President Biden made it his goal to redo the Obama deal and stopped enforcing oil sanctions. Iran only accelerated its uranium enrichment to the doorstep of weapons-grade. It also hid nuclear material and missile development and repeatedly lied to inspectors.
On October 7, 2023, Iran’s proxies started a regional war by massacring Israelis, taking hostages, raining down rockets, and attacking global shipping. Israel fought back, and Iran for the first
time attacked Israel directly with missiles. The U.S. first joined in defense, and then under Mr. Trump joined to attack the nuclear facilities last June.
Mr. Trump gave Iran every chance to dismantle its nuclear program and reach a deal. But Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted on keeping the capabilities to pursue a bomb. He put that above everything. Critics of Mr. Trump’s bombing campaign now say it will motivate Iran to pursue nuclear weapons in earnest. But that’s what it has been doing for years.
No one knows how this war will evolve. But one thing is certain; since June 2025, the nuclear designs of a fanatical, anti-American, anti-Israel regime have been set back years and that is a service to the world.
J.W. Burk
Under the Influence / North Jameson Lane
Tuesday, March 17, at 08:10 hours
A male subject was contacted as a result of a call for service and found to be in possession of a stolen Trader Joe’s shopping cart. The subject was also determined to be under the influence of drugs in a public place without the ability to care for himself. He was arrested and booked at the Santa Barbara County South Branch Jail.
Restraining Order Violation / 2000 block Packing House Road
Wednesday, March 18, at 12:50 hours
The victim reported that a subject from a prior incident had attempted to reach out to her via phone call and was in violation of an active No Contact restraining order. An offense report was authored.
Trespassing / Coral Casino, Montecito
Friday, March 20, at 22:29 hours
Deputies responded to a call about a subject who had unlawfully accessed the Coral Casino through an employee entrance, stripped down to his underwear, and entered the pool to swim. The subject refused the security guard’s order to leave and told the security guard to call the sheriff. Upon deputies’ arrival, the subject refused the deputies’ order to exit the pool. The subject said he didn’t care about a short term incarceration or a few days in jail, challenging deputies to fight him, and splashing water on the deputies. The subject also offered one of the deputies oral sex in return for letting him go. Four hours later, after much negotiation, the subject exited the pool and was arrested without further incident.
LUNCH: Mon-Sat 11:30AM-2PM | DINNER: 7 nights from 5PM
Pearl, the girl from the album cover, but a much more well-rounded person, which I can now play because I’m completely comfortable with my own awkwardness and vulnerability.
“I always felt like I was born at the wrong time. But the older I get while still doing this role, I feel more and more like this is my chance.”
Opening night on Saturday, April 4, is immediately followed by a festive postshow wine and hors d’oeuvres reception with the artists, including, of course Davies and co-director Brian McDonald… Wednesday evening performances on April 8, 15, and 22 are preceded by a half-hour talk by dramaturg Ward LeHardy, who will flesh out the nuances behind the musical in The New Vic courtyard at 6:45 pm… Cocktail night begins with a 7:15 pm mix and mingle while enjoying a complimentary show-themed libation in the courtyard on Friday, April 10… The regular Pride Night pops up at 6:45 pm on Thursday, April 16, when theatergoers can sip a free show-themed cocktail while cavorting in a spirit of camaraderie and celebration in the courtyard… Talkback Night takes place on Thursday, April 16, when all patrons are invited to join the cast for an informal 20-30-minute Q&A about the show after the curtain comes down… ETC’s Actors Unscripted event – new this season – lets theatergoers join cast members for a special one-hour Q&A session where they reveal more about their thoughts and lives as actors in relation to Janis The free event requires reservations and takes place at 10 am on Saturday, April 18… The Tea Talk prior to the matinee on Saturday, April 25, is a chance to enjoy tea and pastries as well as conversation with a special guest speaker who will share inspiring stories and valuable insights into the contributions of women in rock music, one of the themes of the show.
Admission to all of the special events is free for ticketholders. Visit www.etcsb.org.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect pop debut than Marshall Crenshaw’s self-titled 1982 album, which was chock full of indelible hooks and riffs, a sound and a quirky approach to storytelling that were both fresh and classic at the same time. Forty-four years and a dozen albums later, after nearly half a century since Crenshaw’s first big show biz gig touring as John Lennon in Beatlemania, the Grammy and Golden Globe-nominated Detroit native who has lived in New York since the early 1980s is still at it.
We caught up with the 72-year-old singer-songwriter-guitarist in advance of his show at SOhO on Wednesday, April 8, when James Mastro, the singer-songwriter leader of the seminal power-pop 1980s band The Bongos, opens.
Q. I want to ask you about the early days, when you recorded your own version of “Someday, Someway” even after Robert Gordon had covered it. I actually saw him perform at the Lonestar Cafe down in the Village back then. But hearing yours – when the great WNEW-FM DJ Meg Griffin started playing it on the air – gave the song a lot more depth.
A. When he put that record out, she was the first to jump on it, which helped it get embraced by New York Rock Radio. That was a life changer for me. I put out my own album on a local label, and my promo guy took it to Meg Griffin and said, “You liked ‘Someday, Someway,’ so check this out.” She started playing my single (“Something’s Gonna Happen”) so I had two songs on WNEW getting played all day long every day. We were already starting to develop momentum and that really blew everything up for us in New York. It was a real catalyst for my career.
Those were both such great rockabilly records, which lead to you being compared to Buddy Holly, who you actually ended up portraying in La Bamba a few years later. That style has underpinned your music more or less ever since. What was the draw?
I grew up with rock and roll from the mid to late ‘50s. That was the first stuff I really heard that I just loved. So when I was starting to create my own
thing, I’d already re-embraced all that music from my childhood. But I wasn’t locked into it. I was also really interested in the New York scene and was like an omnivore, listening to whatever was in the air and on the radio, including urban stations and Caribbean music. It all got thrown into the mix.
You’ve had that ability where the melody, guitar hooks, rhythms and sound all come together to make the words almost not matter, although they’re great also. I know you write the music first and I’m wondering what led to that process?
The starting point is always the groove. I’m really grateful that I have a good sense of rhythm and a good sense of time. Drummers talk to me about it. They say, “Man, I’ve been wanting to play with you because of that right hand.” I love that because that’s where the songs come from. When I like something of mine, it’s because it feels good. That’s Square One, and then I just build it up from there, wherever it goes.
I’d always imagined with early titles like “Cynical Girl,” “Brand New Lover,” “Whenever You’re on My Mind” that the lyrics influenced the music. Do you know what you’re writing about, the subject matter early on?
No, I never know what the words are going to be at first. I got to figure that out later on in order [to be unconstrained] in getting the music together first. I’m just trying to get the words on the page and have them fit the melody and the music. I’m just trying to create something that works in totality.
That blows me away when I think of “Cynical Girl” and that first verse of “I hate TV. There’s gotta be somebody other than me who’s ready to write it off immediately.” Was that true at the time, or did it just fit?
No, I meant that. It’s kind of like a tongue-in-cheek song, but it was like a slap at mass culture. Even back then, I thought it’s really just designed to program you. I was right about that.
I also still love “You’re My Favorite Waste of Time,” another one of those with some irony. That phrase has entered the lexicon.
That’s the only time where I ever got a title first when I was writing a song. It hit me and I just said, “Oh, okay. Well, let’s take it from there.” … All these songs that you’re naming are ones that I wrote 40 plus years ago. I’ve never stopped. I have a really good catalog.
Well, I have to apologize as I’m probably one of your worst nightmares in that I was such a big fan in the ‘80s but haven’t heard a lot of your more recent music, although I know there’s only been one entirely new album in more than 10 years. But the tour is part of the “40-plus Years…” dates, and you did re-claim ownership of your U.S. copyrights for those albums and put out the first two again recently.
That’s true, but the one I did last year was a compilation album of stuff from 2012-2016. It was my favorite album of mine. But I always like whatever my newest thing is best. I always think I really blew it with all those other records, but now I finally got it right with this one. The new one that’s coming out later this month is called The Bootleg Sounds of Marshall Crenshaw, 1984 to 1987. I went through all my tapes and it was really illuminating, and it was fun to discover. Now that it’s coming out, it’s my best one.
What do you think is the through line from the stuff way back in the beginning to what you’re doing today?
It’s just myself. I drag it out of myself, whatever it is. And it represents my life experience at the time.
Maybe because I’m getting on in years, I always want to know: Did you think you’d still be out rocking at 72? How is it to still be performing a lot of your great pop songs that you wrote in your 20s and early 30s?
Society Edit (Continued from 14)
Alex Katz, Diane Evans, Tom Farr, Tara Brown, David Phillips, Steve Gaines, Peggy Lubchenco, Robert Warner, Isabel Downs, Will Shafroth, Peter Schuyler, and Lisa Stratton; SBCK Founding Board
Member Mike Brown; former SBCK Board President Mike Wondolowski; Holly Sherwin; SBCK Board Member Ben Bhutani Goedert, Leslie Bhutani, and her daughter Lane; and Terry Kleid with partner Mike Cutcliff
Throughout the evening, video screens displayed images highlighting SB Channelkeeper’s program work.
Lopez opened the formal program with a Chumash blessing centered on the theme of “when we all spoke the same language,” singing in her native language and offering an English translation. Hart followed with remarks on ocean health, legislation surrounding offshore drilling, and the upcoming California Ocean Summit.
Stapelmann, Rebecca Vega Thurber, Mike and Diane Wondolowski, and Holly, Lanny, and Alec Sherwin. Green led the auction and paddle raise. The event raised approximately $190,000, surpassing its $180,000 goal. SB Channelkeeper extended thanks to event sponsors including the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Foundation, Montecito Bank & Trust, Open Water, Santa Barbara Adventure Company, Wild & Free Film Festival, and individual supporters. 411: www.sbck.org
her at: artraks@ yahoo.com
Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage
Actually, it feels good. Number one, I want to push back against aging. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to get plastic surgery or anything. I embrace life and try to take good care of myself and address it and work at it. So I do that. Going out on the road sharpens my mind and the physical labor part of it is good for me too. With the artistic part, I’ve always been on a learning curve all my life. Sometimes it’s a slow learning curve. But what I’m saying is I feel like I get better all the time.
Morton concluded the program, saying, “Environmental challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming. Channelkeeper strives to connect people to possibility. Pollution, climate change, habitat loss, offshore drilling – these are complex issues. When we unite with purpose and persistence, we create progress, especially in a community so committed to protecting the ocean and coast. Thank you for your generous support. It strengthens our ability to connect people with nature, science with action, and ideas with policy – for a better future.”
The SBCK Honorary Committee included Michael Brown and Laura Malakoff, Laura Capps, Jon Clark, Nancy Even and Joel Ohlgren, Steven Gaines and Peggy Lubchenco, Nels and Katharine Gerhardt , Terry Kleid, Morgan Maassen, Mercedes Millington and Susan Torrey, Gail Osherenko and Oran Young, Lakey Peterson, Julie Ringler and Richard Powell, Tim and Talli Robinson, Judy
known as SN 2024afav.
LCO reports that the team’s published paper is considered a breakthrough for two key reasons:
- First “chirp” observed in a supernova, identifying a new class of phenomena in exploding stars.
- Confirmation of the magnetar model, providing the first unambiguous evidence that highly magnetized neutron stars power superluminous supernovae.
According to Nature, “Superluminous supernovae are at least ten times brighter than their regular counterparts, but astronomers have remained uncertain about what powers them. In this issue, Joseph Farah and colleagues confirm that magnetars – highly magnetized neutron stars formed by a supernova –drive these explosions.” The study analyzed light emitted by a supernova more than a billion light-years from Earth and determined that a rapidly rotating magnetar at its center deposits massive energy into the ejecta, producing the superluminous glow. A disk of accreting matter surrounding the magnetar “wobbles” due to an effect predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity, causing fluctuations in brightness observed from Earth. Let’s dive in…
SN 2024afav, approximately one billion light-years away, has been monitored for 200 days since its discovery by ATLAS in December 2024. Observation parameters were adjusted in real time to capture subtle variations in brightness during the supernova’s evolution.
Farah explains, “This is a major victory for LCO. The uniquely pristine and high-cadence data allowed us to predict future bumps and dynamically adjust the campaign to test those predictions in real time. When they proved accurate, we knew we were observing something extraordinary. We tested several ideas, including Newtonian effects and magnetically driven precession, but only LenseThirring precession matched the timing perfectly. This is the first time general
relativity has been required to describe the mechanics of a supernova. It’s the most exciting work I’ve ever been part of.”
Howell adds, “I was part of the discovery of superluminous supernovae nearly 20 years ago, and initially we didn’t understand them. The magnetar model explained the energy but not the variability. Now Joseph has found the missing link, connecting those variations to the magnetar model through general relativity. It’s incredibly elegant.”
Farah expects many more “chirping” supernovae to be discovered as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile comes online, generating vast amounts of data each night over its ten-year survey.
Nature is a British weekly international scientific journal first published in 1869, dedicated to publishing peer-reviewed scientific research.
*[In 2387, Spock piloted the Jellyfish equipped with red matter to create a black hole intended to stop a supernova that destroyed Romulus, resulting in an alternate timeline.]
411: https://tinyurl.com/LCO-Magnetar www.nature.com/nature/volumes/651/ issues/8105
“Nothing is more classic than Top Gun, and the GLC students put together an incredibly cohesive and hilarious storyline complete with flight suits, military caps and aviator sunglasses,” said Addie Oswald, admissions counselor and a Spring Sing judge.
The first-year student residence halls had a strong showing with Emerson Hall’s performance of “Emerson Night Live” scoring well with the judges. “They showed up,” Oswald said. “The freshmen of Emerson were a small but mighty group that really brought enthusiasm to the stage.”
which cost $70 each, may be purchased at ciymca.org.
The inspirational event features a morning of music and community fellowship to honor the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Denu, who joined Westmont in 2022, is a two-time Fulbright scholar and ordained minister who previously served as interim director at the District Church in Washington, D.C.
Established in 1887, the Channel Islands YMCA has seven branches serving more than 57,000 people each year in Santa Barbara and Ventura. The YMCA recently opened the Mission House, a new transitional home in Santa Barbara, offering young adults experiencing homelessness a place to rebuild and gain independence.
A fan favorite side act included campus photographer Brad Elliott, who has served as Spring Sing technical director for more than four decades, singing “Just A Song on My Guitar” to the melody of the Beatles classic “Blackbird.” He was continually interrupted by a stream of rockers wanting to play up-tempo songs by The Who or the Doobie Brothers, including staff members Doug Conrad, campus pastor Scott Lisea and Caleb Marll, as well as professors Jesse Covington and Steve Julio on cowbell.
Kim Denu, Westmont provost and dean of faculty, serves as the keynote speaker for the annual Santa Barbara Family YMCA Good Friday Breakfast, “Keeping Hope Alive,” on April 3 beginning at 7:30 am at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort. Tickets,
active participation, making it impractical for infants. Waiting years to begin treatment wasn’t an option.
“I had to find a solution for my child and his future,” Dogris says.
He began exploring ways to stimulate the brain directly. Existing options, like transcranial magnetic stimulation, were effective but too aggressive for a newborn. What he couldn’t find was a lower-intensity approach – something that could gently encourage the brain to change.
So he began building one.
Without a background in engineering, Dogris partnered with a radio frequency engineer he met by chance. Within weeks, they had a working prototype. Within months, early users were reporting meaningful changes. What began as a personal project expanded into something larger.
By 2008, NeuroField was formally established. Over the years, the system evolved to include EEG measurement, and software capable of analyzing brain data in real time. Today, NeuroField operates through three entities NeuroField, which develops the hardware and software; NeuroField Neurotherapy, the Santa Barbara clinic where patients are treated; and the School of Neurotherapy, which trains clinicians in neuroscience concepts and technologies.
One of the defining features of the NeuroField platform is that it has both measurement/assessment and treatment hardware and software. The stimulation modalities are personalized to the individual’s brain data, meaning that every person who enters the clinic receives a protocol unique to their needs. More recently, the addition of AI-assisted analysis has helped streamline that process, generating treatment protocols based on large datasets and clinical rules.
For Dr. Thompson, that analytical layer is central. With a background in neurodiagnostics and EEG interpretation, she emphasizes that the technology only works when paired with careful analysis.
“What we’re doing is computational neuroanalysis, applied clinically,” she says.
That distinction matters in a field that has, at times, struggled with consistency. NeuroField positions itself firmly on the side of data-driven care, using measurable brain activity to guide decisions rather than relying on generalized protocols.
For patients, that often changes how they understand their own experience. Instead of describing symptoms alone, they can see how those symptoms show up in brain activity – where something is overactive, underactive, or poorly coordinated.
“The data doesn’t lie,” Dogris says.
Naturally terms like “brain stimulation” or “EMF” may raise some eyebrows. NeuroField addresses this directly. Dogris notes the EMF difference between, say, a cellphone – which has high intensity ‘block’ waves – and the technology NeuroField uses. “The EMF we’re creating is synonymous to what comes out of the earth … it’s ‘sinusoidal,’ and it’s very low intensity.”
The electromagnetic fields used in treatment are low intensity and designed to gently stimulate neurons, not override them. The effect is closer to encouraging the brain than forcing it.
That distinction is important. When neurons are lightly stimulated, they draw in more resources – blood flow, oxygen, and energy – which supports repair and growth over time. The process builds with repetition.
The work is also often collaborative. In cases involving trauma, patients may combine NeuroField with psychotherapy, allowing emotional processing to happen alongside neurological change. In other cases, patients arrive after years of therapy with limited progress, finding that addressing the brain directly shifts something that hadn’t moved before.
There is also a growing group of patients who come in without a specific diagnosis. They’re looking for sharper focus, better memory, or more consistent energy. In that sense, NeuroField extends beyond treatment into performance and optimization.
Locally, the story remains rooted in Santa Barbara. NeuroField is still a family-run operation, with Dogris and Thompson working side by side in their clinic while training clinicians around the world.
What began as a search for a solution has grown into a system used internationally, supported by FDA-cleared technology and ongoing research. But the motivation behind it hasn’t shifted much.
It started with a parent trying to help his child – and continues as an effort to understand the brain well enough to help others do the same.
Visit www.neurofieldneurotherapy.com for more information
“Elementary school children are the most important segment, but we really would love to create a situation where we have all different age groups learning this and then coming back to mentor each other. Peer-to-peer interactions reinforce all the learnings that they’ve had in terms of nature connection and the benefits of mindfulness and compassion. Eventually, it can become not just an esoteric thing that a few people do, but the norm; mental hygiene demystified that can move into all kinds of locations. It’s very possible to wave it into all kinds of different activities.”
Time in nature is the antidote to the worrying hyper-focus on technology, which is growing even stronger with the advent of AI, said Valentin, who is co-coordinating the Earth Guardian internship with Andrew Smyth
“There’s a way of listening to the land that informs us how, as humans, we really belong, and what our role is in terms of reciprocity and giving back and taking care. It’s getting lost in our culture, but we have amazing innate capacities that come from being close to nature. It drops you right away into that calm and alert way of being, sets you up for a meditative experience.”
Kind Mind is also putting together a free one-day Educators in the Garden experience to share what they bring to the schools with all local educators. The May 23 event offers participants an opportunity to ground and revitalize with nature-enhanced mindfulness
Kind Mind has also launched partnerships with other local nonprofits such as FoodBank (courtesy photo)
practices amid a cohort of fellow educators. The goal? Revitalizing teachers’ passion and purpose, and possibly bringing nature experiences to their own students.
“I’m really passionate about helping educators because they’re with the kids every day, so the impact really gets passed along,” Valentin said. “If they can find that peace within and they know how to drop in, they can also help the kids to do that. Teachers just have so much put on them these days and they’re burning out. So I’m really happy to support them this way.”
A four-day Healing Through Nature Connection retreat slated for April 30 to May 3 is designed for anyone interested in an experiential immersion training to deepen mindfulness practices and improve well-being; improving more extensive nature-based approaches in order to counter our fast-paced, screen-centered world.
Whatever the program, Kind Mind’s mission all comes down to the same concept.
“Everything we’re doing is about coming into a setting, a place of learning; and finding ways to infuse learning with mindfulness and self-awareness practices,” Valentin said. “Wherever the place, whether schools, a garden, a museum or anywhere, we find ways to tailor the programming to meet the audience.”
Visit www.kindmindsantabarbara.org for more informatio
event that draws in people from outside the usual literary crowd and still feels completely at home within the festival.
There’s also a strong lineup of children’s programming, with read-alongs and interactive sessions that keep things lively. It adds a different energy to the day and keeps the event from feeling too formal.
Few stories have had the staying power of Back to the Future, and the legendary screenwriter-producer Bob Gale probably knows why. In what will certainly be a sellout event, he will offer a closer look at how the film was written, what went into shaping its characters, and how a story like that continues to evolve without losing what made it work in the first place.
On Sunday, the range of events keep pace. The “Daring Women” panel brings together authors and leaders who have pushed through resistance and built something meaningful, offering a look at resilience in different forms. Memoir-focused discussions explore how personal stories can shape a broader understanding of identity and experience.
There are also panels that move beyond traditional literary topics. Conversations on screenwriting bring in voices from television and film, while environmental journalism panels look at how reporting can shape public awareness and action.
At the same time, the festival keeps its sense of range. There are sessions on middle grade fiction and crime writing, along with more family-friendly events that keep younger audiences engaged.
One of Sunday’s most anticipated panels centers on romantasy, the genre that’s been quietly taking over bestseller lists. Blending romance with fantasy, it has found a particularly strong audience among younger readers. The panel brings together authors who are shaping that space right now, offering a look at how these stories are built and why they resonate so widely.
The keynote speakers anchor the weekend and offer a chance to step back and hear directly from writers whose work has reached wide audiences.
Walter Mosley, with a career that spans decades, brings a deep perspective on storytelling and the lives his work explores. Kim Michele Richardson, joining virtually, speaks to themes shaped by her own experiences, often returning to ideas of literacy and access.
On Sunday, Chris Whitaker and Steven Rowley take the stage with conversations that focus more on the emotional side of storytelling – how characters are built, how tone is shaped, and how humor and grief often sit side by side.
Alongside the keynotes, the workshops offer something more hands-on. Some focus on the basics – how to start a book, how to structure a story – while others look at more specific aspects of writing, like pacing, multiple points of view, and working across genres. There are also sessions that address the practical side of writing today, including marketing, branding, and navigating the publishing landscape. For many attendees, that mix of inspiration and practicality is part of what makes the festival worthwhile.
What stands out about the Santa Barbara Literary Festival is how easily it fits into its surroundings. You can move through it in different ways. Follow a schedule, or don’t. Spend the day in conversations, or step outside and reset between sessions. The flexibility is part of the appeal.
Santa Barbara has always had a strong literary presence, even if it hasn’t always been front and center. This festival brings it into view for a weekend, then lets it settle back into the everyday rhythm of the town.
And in that sense, it feels right at home. For tickets and more information visit www. santabarbaraliteraryfestival.org. All panels and keynotes free to first responders.
Iran, the expiration of the last remaining arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia, and threats of nuclear testing resumption.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/MAW-Falk-Lecture
In a month of public speaking rife with angst and anxiety-producing subject matter, it’s good to know that April is also National Poetry Month, a celebration which many of our local poets are well versed with. (Yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition. Poets do it!)
Among this year’s highlights are Poetry Night at Chaucer’s Books on April 9, featuring Rich Ferguson, a Pushcart Prizenominee whose Somewhere, a Playground is a lyrical meditation on grief and survival, simultaneous with being an upbeat collection evincing resilience, defiance and hope; Kathleen Florence, whose Prayers With a Side of Cash reframes the classic American road trip with a series of poems that witness a country in flux; Stephanie Barbé Hammer, whose recent mini-collection City Slicker boasts city/country poems in mostly free verse; and Melinda Palacio, Santa Barbara’s 10th Poet Laureate, whose How Fire Is a Story, Waiting creates images that are at once heartbreaking and humorous.
The 12th annual Spirits in the Air: Potent Potable Poetry, April 15 at The Good Lion, begins with a “poetic happy hour” followed by poetry readings from locals Clayton E. Clark, Justin Graham Hoops, Rebecca Horrigan, Amy Michelson, Diana Raab, Linda Saccoccio, Jason Scrymgeour, David Starkey, and George Yatchisin, the current Poet Laureate and the evening’s host. Mason Granger, Poet-in-Residence at USC’s Schwarzenegger Institute, will participate as part of his 30 Days & 30
Mics spoken word poetry activations across California in April. As always, the Good Lion will feature special poetry-themed cocktails for the event.
Palacio and Scott Green of California State Parks are the hosts for an evening of music and poetry at the Presidio State Park downtown on April 17, when they’ll be joined by poets including Hammer, Yatchisin, Lori Anaya, Takunda Chikowero , Jen Cheng , Emma Trelles, among others, as well as the Gruntled and the Ladies Social Strumming Club.
Yatchisin will join UCSB Professor Emerita Shirley Geok-lin Lim in hosting Community Poetry Readings with UCSB Reads & Goleta Valley Library on April 22 at the UCSB Library, which features several other participants reading selected poems, some by other writers.
Back at UCSB Campbell, Martín Espada, winner of the 2021 National Book Award and a defining voice in American poetry, shares his work on April 29, a rebooking of a date earlier in the season. His verse confronts injustice with lyrical power, celebrating the dignity of working people and illuminating issues of inequality, labor and immigration.
Visit https://sbpoetry.net/home for more details and other events
April also marks the publication of Yatchisin’s A Feast for Santa Barbara: Poets Celebrate Food & Drink, the latest book from the current Poet Laureate from Gunpowder Press. The anthology collects contributions from over 100 Santa Barbara–area poets – including all of the living previous occupants of Yatchisin’s position and many previously unpublished poets of all ages – on the theme of food, cooking, dining and drinking in the local community, touching on famous places (Brophy Bros.) and the much more obscure. We imagine we’ll hear some of them read aloud at the Good Lion on Tax Day.
The Santa Barbara Writers Conference is back in all its full glory for a 52nd annual event after an unexpected one-year hiatus in 2025. The weeklong gathering of writers, authors, workshop leaders and others takes place June 21-26, and, as always, there will be a nightly speaker series open to the public. This year scribes sharing their thoughts include SBWC’s own Monte Schulz, plus Kerri Schlottman, Jess Walter, Rachel Howzell Hall, and Adriana Trigiani, all authors of bestsellers and award winners.
Visit www.sbwriters.com for full conference details, registration and more.
Creek had heard of the Western Gate, a long-ago place up the coast where the dead had once been buried. It was not on his land. Wittingly or unwittingly, some “coyote” might have wished to help Pony die properly as recompense for how some bad people had done otherwise. Creek would listen to his mother. He would listen to Norman’s interpretation. He had returned to his ranch, stacked the rakes, machetes, and shovels, to be ready as Norman had ordered, even though his rational thinking found it to be a foolishness. His father, he thought, was merely playing the know-it-all mystic. Then again, Norman was rarely wrong about trouble coming.
It was as if there were four distinct countries within the famed haven of Santa Barbara. The first belonged to the dreamy estates and villas and occasional ranches of the very rich. Most of the land lay in this country. The second belonged to the Mexicans, poor whites, Indians, and Chinese who worked for the rich and lived in cobbled rooms and presto-board shanties on backstreets, like Salinas and Salsipuedes, or tucked into bamboo groves by the creeks. The third country belonged to everyone else, and these lived slightly higher up the fancy chain in adobes or Craftsman bungalows with a postage stamp lawn, some trees, and a car. They sold things to the rich and to each other, owned businesses and services, and they filled the wide divide between the other two countries.
And then there was the sea, the fourth country.
The big cove that was Santa Barbara faced south. The ocean moved down the coast from the Aleutians, mingled with waters driven across from Japan, and was then tempered by warm currents that flowed up from Mexico. After traveling thousands of miles, the big seas hit a chain of islands off the Santa Barbara coast, broke the swells into beautiful waves, and left the bays and beaches of the mainland gorgeous and florid as tropical resorts.
The sea country could be every color; it could be warm or cold, calm or lethal, foggy or sunny, windy or still. It drove forces of weather that shaped land and vegetation all the way to the hot basins of Sacramento and Bakersfield. And it fed the rich, the middle, and the poor countries from things that lived within it.
Atop it, within it, or beside it were the only places Creek felt to be holy in this world. He stood at the rail of the boat at sea feeling at peace as he studied the mainland and the diminishing scale of the search party trawling his land for a severed head. Only minutes ahead of a frame-up, Creek was escaping into the fourth country. A blessing he owed to a dream.
He looked over at the square wooden box with the hinged top he had placed out of view on the stern deck. It was a beautiful box, two feet wide, the words Motocicletta Agusta playfully painted on the sides. Creek thought it a proper vessel for the final passage of a man going home.
Six Indians and four Mexicans, packed like a circus troupe in the back of a fruit truck, had come with Norman. They had fanned out with rakes and sticks and walked his land, from high ground to the shore. It was an odd sight and a solemn one, the soft rasp of dry, beaten oat grass being the sole morning sound as each man looked to the earth for a severed head.
Two men found it beneath a dislodged yucca plant in a shallow hole that had been quickly dug and loosely filled. It was a fresh grave made by guilty men, planted a few dozen yards from Creek’s front field above the sea. It was conspicuously centered within his view of the ocean, beneath the dislodged yucca, which remained the sole object on that stubby meadow. Norman told him to put Vaseline on a cloth and wrap the head in it, to curb the smell, protect the cuts, and honor poor Pony.
Norman had urged him to catch the cattle boat before the charade of fools came to arrest him. Creek had packed the head and made it to the dock as the boat slowed for boarding. Harvey had them a mile out when Creek saw the first of the six police cars come over the horizon. He knew they would have a warrant to search and some dogs. And he knew they wouldn’t find what they had been told, anonymously, they would find. Thanks to a dream and a father who believed in its purpose.
As Creek looked back at the mainland, his eyes fell inevitably upon the light cliffs and the pink mansion and the tall trees around it. He thought about her and how brilliant and alive she had seemed when she took her horse into the shallows, her smile as wide as a saucer and her eyes bright, alive, and real. And then, her eyes cold and accusatory and sore, as she
saw that he could not deny the litany of his actions.
It irked him that Diamond would be at her place today. He knew Diamond would get the villa eventually. She would say no, never, repeatedly and harshly. But in the end, he would offer her something so enticing or threatening that she would soften on the “never” part and then, one day, just sell it to him.
Creek wondered what the offer would be and how long it would take for the “never” to become, “Sure, what the hell.”
Then again, maybe it was all another way. Maybe she did know something about the Indian. Her estate man had flinched at the mention of the gimp. And, the damn body lay smack-dab at her doorstep.
And that’s it! But not quite… This ends our serialization of Last Light in Paradise. If you like what you’ve read and want to finish the tale, then buy a copy at Godmothers, Chaucer’s, or Tecolote!
Michael C. Armour is author and original artist of bestselling Smithsonian children’s books Orca Song and Puma Range, and has been an award-winning writer/director for CBS documentaries, and many print and TV commercials for Honda and other companies. He comes from three generations of ranching, has been a horseman and motorcyclist most of his life, and has worked for years with released inmates under the direction of the Santa Barbara Superior Court and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office.
Scan the QR code to purchase the full book online, or pick one up at your local bookstore: Tecolote in Montecito, Godmothers in Summerland, or Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.
by Jeffrey Harding
The mind of your Independent Mind columnist has been adrift this week. Too much going on to take it all in. So, I am going to report on two things I can’t get out of my head.
The City of Santa Barbara ignored my generous offer of help on the issue of rent control. In my MJ article of February 19, 2025 (“Santa Barbara City Council’s Magical Thinking”) I offered to conduct a study of the economic effects of a rent control ordinance. For free. I cited my long experience in real estate and knowledge of economics.
I waited by the proverbial phone for a call from the City but it never happened. What did happen was that they hired another consultant, RSG, to advise the City on how to implement a rent control ordinance. RSG will provide a report with lots of data and colorful charts about the rental market here, with recommendations on what the ordinance needs to survive legal challenges. RSG are advocates of rent control and they are advising them on how to do it, not analyzing whether or not should they do it. The Progressive majority of Council members have already made up their minds. RSG gets $65,000 for their efforts.
The “magical thinking” part of my article was the Council’s majority Progressive members’ belief that by simply passing a rent control ordinance, rent control will magically work out for tenants despite massive evidence to the contrary. It’s not simple. RSG advised Concord, California, on their bureaucratically dense 31-pagelong rent control ordinance.
We are now a month into the war against Iran. Things haven’t gone according to plan. The plan, as far as we can tell, was to knock out Iran’s leaders, destroy much of their military infrastructure, and bring about a new, perhaps secular, regime. Ergo, peace in the Middle East. These are worthy goals. A peaceful, open, secular Iran would change the entire dynamic in the Middle East for the better. Iran’s ayatollahs had different ideas.
Israel has killed most of Iran’s visible leadership. I hate to use the term “whack-a-mole” when you are killing people, but it’s a pretty good metaphor
for what’s been happening. I am sure new leadership has emerged in Iran, but who and where is a secret, for fear they will be killed.
We have destroyed much of their military infrastructure, but apparently not all of it. Our and Israel’s intelligence underestimated their supplies of missiles and drones because, despite a diminishment in Iran’s attacks, they do keep coming. Iran implemented their Mosaic strategy by distributing its forces around the county and giving some authority to local commanders to act independently. They saw us coming and planned an effective strategy for it.
Iran also went on the offensive, a political and military one. By attacking their Arab neighbors, they have done two things with political ramifications. Since they now see the danger of living close to Iran, the neighbors have drawn closer to the U.S. for protection. But, while the Arab neighbors are forced to seek our protection, they have been dragged into a war they didn’t want. These things benefit Iran in the short-term.
By closing the Straits of Hormuz, they have attacked the economies of their oil producing Arab neighbors and their customers around the world. Another semi-smart political move as it puts pressure on us to do something about it.
It’s a mess. As I said in my previous articles, I think defanging Iran and its nuclear ambitions are necessary for peace in the Middle East, if not the world. The “mess” part of the situation puts pressure on President Trump to solve the mess I believe he didn’t anticipate when he sent in the bombers. I still question Trump’s ability to emerge from the mess with a positive outcome.
I doubt we can re-open the Straits of Hormuz by military force. They have mobile launchers 200 miles away that can block traffic. The only realistic solution is negotiation.
Unless they have secret facilities, we have temporarily destroyed their nuclear weapons program. Ask yourself why they are even refining uranium if not for nuclear purposes. According to the head of the U.N.’s atomic energy agency (IAEA) we have about three years to figure out a permanent solution before they are up and running again.
One scenario of the end of this war is that Trump will “negotiate” and declare victory. Iran will open the Straits, the replacement regime will emerge, and we will leave Iran to pick up the pieces. Until Iran’s theocratic dictatorship is gone, nothing much will change. This could be the legacy of the Trump Administration.
by Robert Bernstein
AHumanist Society talk by podcaster Charlie Painter on Ayn Rand’s libertarian Objectivism offered an illuminating opportunity. Mostly to see where this “rational” philosophy is irrational.
Ayn Rand expressed her philosophy in the title of her 1964 book The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism . As a student at MIT, I was immersed in Objectivism as the Objectivist Club published a newspaper called Ergo . (Which most of us called “Ego.”)
Jimmy Carter wanted to build the MX Missile project in the Western desert then, widely seen as imposing an unacceptable cost to the environment. Ergo blissfully opined that “cost to the environment” is a meaningless term. The environment only has value to the extent that it generates profits for humans. To me, this was a “reductio ad absurdum” proof that Objectivism was absurd.
Still, I was open to hearing Painter’s talk. Objectivism, like Humanism, values reason, rejects mysticism, and celebrates human potential. But Humanism also values global responsibility, environmental stewardship, humility, altruism, science investment, and good public services.
Objectivism is unable to solve or even acknowledge collective problems. Notably, the Climate Crisis. Painter agreed with Ergo that the environment has no rights. I noted that Florida might go underwater, affecting humans. Painter dismissed that as “down the road,” therefore imposing no moral claim on individuals. But if our actions collectively contribute to harm, can we really claim no responsibility?
Painter also said other species have no rights. I noted that we are close to creating Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) that may feel the same way about us. He dismissed that as “far off.” So, we have no responsibility even to our future selves?
Rand published her first Objectivist novel (Fountainhead) in 1943. I asked Painter if there is even one example of even one town in the world that operates on Objectivist principles. Objectivism demands pure capitalism with no regulation and no public investments. He admitted that no one has actually made “pure” capitalism work.
I asked Painter if he believed there should be public schools. He replied, “Public education is a violation of human rights.” The only Objectivist role of government is to provide police, courts, and national defense.
Painter said that government should not pick winners. But governments always choose winners. Taiwan invested in semiconductors while the U.S. invested in obsolete industries. For the past hundred years we invested tens of trillions of dollars in subsidizing private motor vehicle use. The rest of the world invested in public transit.
Hence it can take me three hours to get to L.A., whereas we experienced a transit time of 45 minutes for a similar trip on high-speed rail in Japan.
I noted that most vaccines would not exist without government. Government funds the research, as Obama did with mRNA vaccines. When COVID hit, manufacturers just had to plug in the COVID information and produce the mRNA vaccine at scale.
Private companies profited from the vaccines only because government bought the vaccines for public distribution. And government provided insurance in case people were injured by the vaccine. One of many cases of public funding and privatized profits.
The same is true for Elon Musk’s profits from NASA contracts.
Objectivism claims to be logically provable from obvious axioms like Aristotle’s Law of identity “A=A.” Kind of a leap from that to abolishing public health and public transit?
Painter invoked the Objectivist axiom that “Physical force must be banished from human relationships.” Again, due to the interconnected nature of our world, perhaps “physical force” and “violence” need to be understood in a broader context? We already have mass migrations and wars due to fossil fuel dependence and climate change.
Asked about empathy, Painter asked if he should have empathy for: People who are trying to bomb me? Communists? Those trying to take my property?
I noted that concentration of wealth in the Gilded Age led to people throwing bombs, talk of taking property, and interest in Communism as a solution. Roosevelt’s New Deal was not just about compassion. It was about rescuing capitalism from its own contradictions.
Painter’s talk was valuable for me: It deepened my appreciation for Humanism.
In 1972 Shaffy would pen a song of such throat-cramping emotional uplift it would define him forevermore; a crazy diamond called ‘Zing, Vecht, Huil, Bid, Lach, Werk, en Bewonder!’ The tune is an evergreen Dutch classic whose theme and melody and “sing it from the rooftops!” message are transcendent. I have long carried the song like a talisman. Its exhortation is piercing.
The tune unfolds like a supernova on slow boil. By the end it’s throwing off whatever penetrating rays a supernova throws off. The first time I heard it, my sketchy command of Dutch gave me pause. Could this guy really be singing what it sounded like he was singing? Is it rational to yell something like that in a pop song? The title is the chorus – a command delivered in a fever of joy. First, though, the verses tenderly catalog the various shades of remove that define the ‘quietly desperate,’ as Thoreau would say.
‘For the one in the corner, behind glass, for the one with the slammed shut
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MINDYROAD, 2214 CHANNING WAY, Santa Barbara, CA 93109. BROOKLYN WEST LABS LLC, PO BOX 50035, Santa Barbara, CA 93150. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 25, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000801. Published April 2, 9, 16, 23, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ROSEBOPS FLORAL, 602 LITCHFIELD LANE, Santa Barbara, CA 931091228. JESSICA M PERSHE, 602 LITCHFIELD LANE, Santa Barbara, CA 93109-1228. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 24, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000789. Published April 2, 9, 16, 23, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: AMADOR PAELLA, 25 S. SALI-
windows, for the one who thought he was alone; you must know this now; we are all together.’
‘For the ones with the firmly shut books, for the ones with the soon-forgotten names, for the ones who seek in vain; you must know this now; we are all together!’
The band America tried this sort of outreach with Dan Peek’s pleasant but
NAS ST, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. OCEAN RESTAURANTS LLC, 25 S. SALINAS ST., Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 30, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000841. Published April 2, 9, 16, 23, 2026
ORDER FOR PUBLICATION OF SUMMONS OR CITATION: CASE No. 25CV06248. Notice to Defendant: DAVID R. GAMPERL, an Individual; VINCI I LLC, an Illinois Limited Liability Company; and DOES 1-10, Inclusive: You are being sued by Plaintiff: ANDREW WOODWARD. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons is served on you to file a written response at the Superior Court of California, Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default. If you lose, the court can order that your wages, money, or property be taken to pay this claim. Bring witnesses, receipts, and any evidence you need to prove your case. Name and address of the court: Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107. Filed January 22, 2026 by Terri Chavez, Deputy Clerk. Published March 26, April 2, 9, 16, 2026
fairly limp tune ‘This is for All the Lonely People.’ Their advice? ‘Don’t give up until you reach for the silver cup and ride that highway in the sky.’ Uh… thanks America. It always sounded to my teenage ears a little iffy. So I have to reach for this thing, this silver cup? And then, I guess… die trying? What… do I fall off the chair or something? I don’t want the Highway in the Sky yet! Just give me the freaking silver cup!
Shaffy’s remedy is more declarative, and in the mesmerizing live performance
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as:
THE GIVING LIST, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. MONTECITO JOURNAL
MEDIA GROUP, LLC, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on March 16, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000658. Published March 19, 26, April 2, 9, 2026
ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 25CV07616. To all interested parties: Petitioner BENJAMIN PARKER filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to BENJAMIN VALENTIN PARKER. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection
is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed February 24, 2026 by Terri Chavez. Hearing date: April 17, 2026 at 10 am in Dept. 4, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published March 12, 19, 26, and April 2, 2026
AMENDED PLANTIFF’S CLAIM AND ORDER TO GO TO SMALL CLAIMS: CASE No. 25CV06178. Notice to Defendant: John Coons: You are being sued by Plaintiff: Danielle Loveall in the amount of $12,500.00. You and the plaintiff must go to court on April 6, 2026 at 9 am in Department 3 of the Superior Court of California, Santa
video of the song has the added benefit of being shouted though an unrehearsed smile of solidarity.
Sing! Fight! Weep! Pray! Laugh! Work! Marvel!
These are the basic food groups of Human Life on Earth, shouted as a joyous assurance – and just incidentally a tidy summation of the Dutch national character as I’ve come to know it. Hoo boy.
Beings & Doings Page 404
Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. If you do not go to court, you may lose the case. If you lose, the court can order that your wages, money, or property be taken to pay this claim. Bring witnesses, receipts, and any evidence you need to prove your case. Name and address of the court: Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107. Filed March 6, 2026 by Sarah Sisto, Deputy Clerk. Published March 12, 19, 26, and April 2, 2026
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following
person(s) is/are doing business as: ANCORA OSTERIA, 1483 EAST VALLEY ROAD, SUITE 20, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108. EAST VALLEY FOUR INC, PO BOX 5841, MONTECITO, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on February 26, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0000501. Published March 12, 19, 26, and April 2, 2026
MONTECITO SANITARY DISTRICT PUBLIC NOTICE
Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Montecito Sanitary District shall conduct a public hearing at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at its Board Room located at 1042 Monte Cristo Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93108 as well as via Zoom Meetings; meeting ID 861 1897 5917, to consider the adoption of Ordinance No. 26 of the governing board of the Montecito Sanitary District increasing the compensation of Directors of the Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 6489.
The public may attend and comment by calling 1-669-900-6833 and entering Meeting ID 861 1897 5917 or by visiting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86118975917
Copies of the text of the proposed ordinance are on file with the clerk of the District Board and are available for public inspection at the Districts’ offices. See https://www.montsan.org/
Montecito Journal, March 26 and April 2, 2026
proceeds will benefit local nonprofits supporting the area’s food system, ensuring the celebration continues to give back to the community. 411: https://sbce.events
Elings Park is calling on the community to step up to the plate with its new “Swing for the Million!” campaign, aimed at renovating the Castagnola Softball Complex. A generous donor has pledged $1 million toward the $1.2 million project, contingent on Elings Park raising the remaining $200,000 by May 1.
The planned upgrades include laser leveling, improved irrigation systems, soil enhancements, and new warning tracks – transformations designed to create safer, higher-quality playing fields for the thousands of youth and adult athletes who use the complex each year. Construction is scheduled for summer, with completion expected by October.
Park leaders are rallying support through community outreach, on-site fundraising displays, and a dedicated donation campaign. Calling the gift a “game-changing opportunity,” organizers are encouraging residents, teams, and supporters to help secure the final funding and ensure Elings Park remains a premier destination for recreation in Santa Barbara. 411: https://tinyurl.com/Elings-Swing-Donate
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History welcomed 210 guests to its soldout 26th Annual Mission Creek Gala, “Revealing the Colors of Nature,” raising an impressive $741,000 to support education and science programs. The immersive evening saw the transformation of Fleischmann Auditorium thanks to large-scale nature imagery, dynamic lighting, and vividly colored installations inspired by the natural world.
Guests enjoyed a lively reception, interactive exhibits led by student interns, and a seasonal four-course dinner that mirrored the evening’s color themes. The program featured insights from museum scientists and a moving presentation from a student in the Quasars to Sea Stars program, highlighting the impact of the Museum’s outreach. A standout moment came during the fundraising appeal, which generated
Beings & Doings (Continued from 39)
The Dutch have perfected what I call “artful satisfaction with the quotidian.” The word is gezelligheid, which any translation gizmo will present as the English word “coziness.” That doesn’t quite capture the simple, daily, at-rest glory of the word. The Dutch are also guileless with their friendship, back-slapping to absolute strangers, and happily, irremovably tangled in the threads of daily existence. Oh, and all those tulips! None of the spokes on the Wheel of Life are lost on the Dutch. And I have never seen a performer put a song and message across as wholly and triumphantly as Ramses Shaffy does this one. I include a possibly annoying link to the vid at the bottom of this treatise. At around 2:40 you can glimpse the power; he is reaching an inner crescendo on the last verse, barely containing himself.
As Shaffy’s exultation increases, the middle backup singer in particular looks at him worriedly, or is just possibly in thrall to his carbonated, toothy unprofessionalism. “This is a job, dude. What’s all this?” Shaffy is alight. He wheels on the studio orchestra and you see his bony back exhorting them
$386,000 on the spot. Proceeds will support programs serving more than 10,000 schoolchildren annually, continuing the Gala’s long-standing role in advancing science education across the region.
- Summer nature camps for kids feature outer space, the ocean, creatures of the Pleistocene age, chaparral mammals, and bugs! Register early online.
- Internships for teenagers is open for learning about science from scientists
- Storytime for kids in the museum’s backyard
- Spring birding classes with Rebecca Coulter starts April 6 411: www.sbnature.org
The Carpinteria Community Association will host its 67th Annual Community Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 18, at Girls Inc. of Carpinteria, continuing a tradition that began in 1958. The evening celebrates local residents, businesses, and volunteers for their contributions to the Carpinteria Valley. Honors include Merit Awards, Educators of the Year, and recognition of outstanding local businesses. The event will also spotlight Junior Carpinterian of the Year finalists, honoring high school seniors for leadership and community involvement. The night concludes with the announcement of the Carpinterian of the Year. Dinner will be provided by Events by Rincon. 411: carpca.org
Citizens for the Carpinteria Bluffs is monitoring the latest development proposed by Sortis Holdings, who is financing a new development at the same parcel previously denied for development. In their effort to win local support for 191 luxury homes proposed for the Tee Time bluffs parcel, Sortis Holdings is convening a public forum Thursday, April 9, 6pm at the Carpinteria Community Church. Details of the project posted on the Citizens for the Carp Bluffs website, “A Housing Development with 191 luxury homes has been proposed on the 27.5-acre Bluffs 1 parcel where Tee Time driving range and an organic farm operate today: 97 Standalone Homes – 5 bedroom, 3,500 square feet, 94 Townhomes as triplexes – 3-4 bedroom, 1,800 square feet plus 2-car garages for every unit, 500,000 square feet of new buildings (about 9 football fields). No public plans available for viewing.” 411: https://carpinteriabluffs.org
with the message. “Marvel! MARVEL! He’s beside himself. It’s a strange and moving thing to see.
In later life Ramses Shaffy’s incandescence would dim, as seems to be inevitable in these cases. He would succumb to drink again in his late-middle age, then very publicly be swept up in a kind of cocktail-enhanced Alzheimer’s called Korsakoff’s Syndrome, making addled public appearances and eventually living in a sort of convalescent group home; the outer flame apparently snuffed by the most mortal and ordinary poisons. He would finally manage to throw off the demon booze in his final years and then would be stricken with cancer. The thanks he got.
But heilige coe! When he shouts out his message – and he is still shouting it out – the flame isn’t sputtering, nor will it. Who would dare write a song chorus like this? “Sing! Fight! Weep! Pray! Laugh! Work! Marvel!”
An orphan who found the goods. Shaffy’s litany should be in the Dutch National Charter – and very nearly is.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/VECHTENBEWONDER to see why
Pet lovers are invited to celebrate Mother’s Day with a playful twist at the Furbaby Sidewalk Stroll & Costume Parade on May 10 in Old Town Orcutt, benefiting the Santa Barbara County Animal Care Foundation. The free, family-friendly event kicks off at Blast 825 Stockyard, where participants can dress up alongside their dogs, cats, or other beloved companions before strolling through the historic district. Along the route, attendees will collect stamps on a “paws-port” passport for a chance to win prizes, while enjoying visits with local merchants. The afternoon culminates in a lively celebration featuring live music, raffle drawings, adoptable animals, and a festive costume contest with categories like Best Mom & Furbaby Duo and Most Creative. Proceeds support critical programs including medical care, foster services, and adoptions, helping local animals find loving homes.
411: www.sbcanimalcare.org
- Chumash Earth Day, Saturday, April 18: The theme for this year’s event is “Life Grows Where Water Flows,” a free community celebration.
411: https://syceo.org/earthday
- Santa Ynez Chumash Museum & Cultural Center 1st Anniversary, Friday, May 15, featuring the brand-new guided audio tour and the unveiling of a new temporary exhibit. The evening will be complete with a special lecture by the exhibit’s artist, and an inside look at the creation of this extraordinary new display. Tickets required. 411: www.sychumashmuseum.org
April 15 deadline for Artists, Vendors, Volunteers to apply for the 2026 “Love for The People” Juneteenth Celebration takes place on Friday, June 19, at Plaza Del Mar in Santa Barbara.
411: https://juneteenthsb.org
Jones, Dr. Babji Mesipam, Dr. Dennis Horvath, and Dr. Steven Gundry –stood in quiet, caring tribute. In the hushed closing moments, Peter Kavoian shared the words Ray often spoke to him in life: “Peter, wherever you are, wherever you may be, that is my home,” and “I’ll be here at home, waiting for you.” And in the most poignant, tear-stirring farewell, Peter recalled Ray’s last words, “You are my hero.” It was a tender testament to a bond that neither time, distance, nor even death could ever diminish.
Ray Winn will be remembered as brilliant, benevolent, and boundlessly creative – leaving a legacy that sparkles as brightly as his spirit.
by Lisa Duncan
If Montecito society has a guilty pleasure, it’s clearly the “Red Hot Ferrari” – no, not the car, though there were plenty of those – but the Red Ferrari accordion, gleaming like a cherry-red speed machine. In the bustling Granada Theatre foyer Saturday, tables were dotted with accordions, daring guests to squeeze, press, and play. Naturally, they did, revving bellows with all the flair of a Sunday drive through Tuscany. Fingers danced lightly over keys, laughter bounced off the walls, and one could almost hear the instruments purr: “Careful, darling; I bite.”
Kathryn Martin, Mark Whitehurst, and Kerry Methner were caught mid-scale, bellows in full flirtation, making it clear that in Montecito some mischief is measured in decibels – and in how audaciously one can pose while squeezing an accordion. Meanwhile, the evening’s music, part of an Italian program for the Santa Barbara Symphony, was inspired by the sultry scarlet muse that set the concerto ablaze.
Liz and Jim Mooy , Dr. Bob Weinman , Gretchen Lieff , George Quirin , Janet Garufis , Erik and Angelique Davis, Jim Garcia, Stephen
and Libby Erickson, and Todd and Allyson Aldrich were also in attendance, adding to the evening’s stylish living diorama of Montecito society.
Inside, the orchestra, under the assured baton of conductor Nir Kabaretti, delivered a polished parade of Italian-inspired gems. But the evening’s undeniable star was the North American premiere of a brand-new concerto by Italian composer Cristian Carrara, music inspired by what Carrara saw as the speed and crafted complexity common to both the accordion and the iconic Italian performance car. The labyrinthine piece was performed with passion and finesse by accordion virtuoso Hanzhi Wang
Far from pedestrian, this scarlet muse hails from Castelfidardo, Italy’s storied cradle of accordion craftsmanship. Every reed, bellows, and gleaming detail is hand-finished with obsessive care, giving it a voice as seductive as its sleek lacquer. Bold, glamorous, and unapologetically showy, it commands attention – and Wang’s performance made it irresistible.
The composition flirted and frolicked. The accordion purred, sighed, and soared while the orchestra responded – strings sumptuous, woodwinds coy, brass teasing. By intermission, chatter
shifted from cocktail gossip to musical lust, with more than a few patrons imagining this showstopper in private salons.
The finale ended with a flamboyant flourish, prompting a standing ovation as swift and spirited as it was inevitable.
Bella Italia was Montecito at its urbane best: cultured, witty, and just a little rakish. And the Red Ferrari accordion?
A glamorous muse sure to steal hearts – and command attention – for many soirées to come.
by Lisa Duncan
“ You will remember this novel–its hero and characters and scenes–for a long time. A big-hearted story of desperation and courage, crime and redemption, love and loss–it is as entertaining as it is moving. ” –Fannie Flagg Author of
What that means in practice is that more people will be able to receive care without delay or complication. Patients who might otherwise be turned away will have a place to go. Services that are currently fragmented across locations will be coordinated more effectively, making the experience simpler and more consistent.
Dental care, in particular, highlights the urgency of that expansion. It is one of the most difficult services for many people to access, especially those without insurance, and the demand often exceeds what existing facilities can handle. The new clinic is designed to address that gap, offering expanded capacity that reflects the reality of need in the community.
The path that led the Wyatt family to this moment began, in a sense, with a reintroduction.
“We were deeply impressed by the clinic’s dedicated staff and doctors, who lead with compassion and treat every patient – from young children to seniors – with genuine kindness and respect. Everyone who walks through their doors is welcomed with dignity and a steadfast commitment to highquality medical care. Our entire family is honored to support the SBNC!”
– Monica Wyatt
About a year ago, they attended a small gathering at the home of Sybil Rosen, where SBNC’s leadership spoke about the organization’s mission and the plans for the new Westside facility. It was not a large event, but it provided an opportunity to hear directly from those involved and to understand the scope of what was being proposed.
That initial exposure led to a series of visits and conversations. Members of the family toured the clinics, met with staff, and spent time learning how the organization operates on a daily basis. What stood out was not only the scale of the work being done, but the conditions under which it was happening. The clinics were busy, often
crowded, and clearly in need of more space, yet the level of care remained consistent.
As more members of the family became involved, the sense of shared purpose grew. What began with a small group expanded to include all six, and the decision to move forward was reached collectively.
Sybil Rosen, who had helped initiate that first introduction, passed away before the gift was finalized, but her role in bringing the family into closer contact with SBNC remained central to how the process unfolded.
When the time came to make a decision, the motivations varied slightly from person to person, but they converged in a meaningful way.
For some, the defining factor was the belief that healthcare should be accessible to everyone, regardless of financial circumstances. For others, it was the experience of seeing how patients were treated, with a level of care and respect that did not depend on their background or situation.
For Geof Wyatt, there was also the memory of his own experience many years earlier, when the clinic had provided care at a moment when options were limited. That sense of continuity carried weight, connecting past and present in a way that made the decision feel both personal and practical.
The resulting gift, totaling $5 million, stands as the largest contribution from an individual family in SBNC’s history and will help support the completion of the new facility, which will bear the Wyatt family name.
At the same time, the family has been careful to view their role as part of a larger effort rather than the defining one. The project itself involves many contributors, and its success depends on a broad base of support that extends well beyond any single donation.
Even as the building rises, it is clear that the work surrounding it will continue. The need for accessible healthcare does not diminish once construction is complete, and the ongoing operation of the clinic will require sustained support in the years ahead.
That reality is understood not as a limitation, but as an inherent part of what SBNC represents. It is an organization that has always relied on the collective strength of the community, adapting and growing in response to changing needs.
The Wyatt family’s contribution reflects that same principle. It is an act of giving that grows out of experience, shaped by a long relationship with the place in which it is rooted.
What began as a single visit many years ago has become something far more enduring, a reminder that the connections formed within a community can extend across decades and – when the time is right – show up anew in ways that strengthen it for the future.
by Steven Libowitz
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
Getting Frank with Donavon – Surfer turned singer-songwriter Donavon Frankenreiter has been traveling the globe for more than two decades, shifting from professional surfer to singer-songwriter similar to his friend and colleague Jack Johnson. The SoCal native is no stranger to Santa Barbara bringing his blend of laid-back grooves, philosophical lyrics and sun-soaked soulful singing at SOhO and, more recently, theaters. His current Ask Me
THURSDAY, APRIL 2
1st Thursday: Spoon-ing in Spring – Dig in at domecíl (1223 State) where 250 hand-carved spoons created by Carpinteria artist Ray Gabaldon will make up the extraordinary installation along a 30-foot gallery wall. Gabaldon has spent the last three years putting together his collection hauntingly called “The Missing,” hangable driftwood sculptures that have been fashioned from driftwood found on beach walks in the wake of the Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flow. Inspired by faces he saw in the pieces that had washed ashore, Gabaldon wanted to create spiritual sculptures that moved beyond simple artwork. Now, he’s applied that principle to the Spoon Wall, with each wood utensil serving as sculptural poetry, revealing rhythm, scale, and meticulous carving craft… A block away, Art & Soul (1323 State) also has a solo exhibition with a spiritual sense in PENTIMENTO: Layered Meanings Brought to Life, where Michael Vilkin explores the concept of “pentimento”– the reappearance of earlier layers in a painting as time reveals what was once hidden, hinting at inner narratives beneath outward appearances… Tracing Santa Barbara history through select covers of the Santa Barbara Independent, the new exhibit at the Public Library (40 E. Anapamu) explores four decades of the city via images that capture iconic moments and traces how Santa Barbara has evolved… Soul Sucker (814 State, Suite 38) hosts Clay Day, with SampleHAUS exhibiting hand-built ceramic plants and flower bud vases, live wheel-thrown pieces demonstrated by Personal Ceramics being auctioned off… In the performing arts arena, Granada Theatre (1214 State) once again hosts an evening of live music from The Granada Jazz Exchange, free tastes of local wines and refreshments, and an opportunity to check out the venue when there’s no stage show… Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State) also has an extended musical offering, as Opera Santa Barbara performs arias, opera and other favorites in the galleries for a full hour… Film lovers can not only get inside the new SBIFF Film Center (916 State) for free, but also see Montecito-raised Rhys Zemeckis’s narrative 13-minute short Nuns With Guns, which premiered at SBIFF in February, screening four times… Get into participatory art on the 1100 Block of State, where you can get a preview of next weekend’s Santa Barbara Kite Festival and get guidance from staff about coloring a standard kite (provided free) or building your own to bring to the 40th annual festival at SBCC on April 12.
WHEN: 5-8 pm
WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets
COST: free
INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
Lahaina in Film and Forum – The Lobero Theatre hosts a screening of the new documentary Lahaina: Voices of Change, which captures deeply personal stories from community leaders, cultural practitioners and Lahaina residents as they navigate recovery, healing and renewal in the aftermath of the devastating 2023 wildfires. A live panel discussion follows the screening as Maui community leaders and advocates actively engaged in the recovery and restoration of Lahaina are joined by local first responders and disaster specialists to share firsthand perspectives on community-led recovery, cultural restoration, and the importance of Mālama 'Āina and caring for one another as Lahaina moves forward. Proceeds from the evening benefit ongoing grassroots recovery efforts serving families in Lahaina and Hawai'i.
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
COST: $45 & $60 ($150 VIP tickets includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres)
INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org
Anything Tour is his most intimate and interactive yet, as Frankenreiter invites the audience to be part of the show via their posing questions to him, requesting songs, and even, possibly, coming up on stage to share in the singing or jamming. Between songs in a setlist shaped by the crowd, Frankenreiter will share personal stories from his life on the road, his journey through music, and the inspirations behind his most beloved tracks, exhibiting the authenticity at the core of his artistry.
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
COST: $40 & $50 ($100 VIP tickets includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres)
INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org
THURSDAY, APRIL 2-SATURDAY, APRIL 4
Mariposa to the Max – The Music Academy/New York Philharmonic partnership returns via a two-day, two-concert pair of performances with the NY Phil’s String Quartet. The fearsome foursome brings its signature precision, passion and power to the cozy confines of Hahn Hall boasting a pair of Music Academy alumni-teaching artist in violist Cynthia Phelps (‘79) and violinist Frank Huang (‘98, ‘99) along with violinist Qianqian Li and cellist Carter Brey. Tonight’s program features Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet No. 3 in D Major, Op. 44, No. 1,” sandwiched by two from Schubert in “No. 12 in C Minor, ‘Quartettsatz,’” and “No. 15 in G Major, D. 887.” Evening Two adds another Music Academy alum to the Philharmonic String Quartet in 2026 Grammy nominated pianist Han Chen (‘15) in his return to Hahn Hall for chamber music program evening. The program includes Mozart’s “Duo No. 1 for Violin and Viola in G Major, K. 423,” Dohnányi’s “Serenade for String Trio in C Major, Op. 10,” and Brahms’ “Piano Quintet in F Minor, Op. 34.” Not enough? The bonus on Saturday morning is a masterclass led by Chen where the pianist mentors several local student piano players, hand-selected to represent the next generation of solo artists.
WHEN: 7:30 pm Thursday & Friday (Pre-concert reception at 6:30 pm); 10 am Saturday
The Real King Richard – Will Smith may have portrayed the father of Venus and Serena Williams as King Richard in the 2021 film – which will evermore be associated with seeing Smith awarded the Oscar after slapping host Chris Rock on stage – the actor’s last time attending the Academy Awards. But the true King Richard of our times is Richard Thompson, an actual Brit whose mastery of both acoustic and electric guitar, sensational songwriting and outsized influence on folk-rock music cannot be overstated. I’m not sure if Thompson holds the record for most appearances at the Lobero, but he’ll add to that total tonight when one of his favorite venues and one of our favorite artists meet again. After co-founding (as a teenager) the groundbreaking group Fairport Convention, which revolutionized British Folk Rock in the 1960s-70s, Thompson next had an unceasingly creative partnership with his ex-wife Linda that resulted in some of the most critically revered records of the 1980s (Shoot Out the Lights). Thompson has now spent most of the last four decades as a highly successful solo artist. It wasn’t hyperbole when the Los Angeles Times called him “the finest rock songwriter after Dylan and the best electric guitarist since Hendrix.” No wonder legendary songwriters Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., Bonnie Raitt, David Byrne, Don Henley, and Los Lobos are among the artists who have covered his songs. And that’s not even taking into account his cheeky onstage wit, both in stage patter and song. In his first local performance in more than six years, Thompson teams up with his newish third wife, Zara Phillips, the singer-songwriter who will both open the show and sing harmony in his set.
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St.
COST: $55 & $65 ($115 VIP tickets includes premier seating and a pre-show reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres)
INFO: (805) 963-0761 or www.lobero.org
WHERE: Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West campus, 1070 Fairway Road
COST: $65-$80 ($10 masterclass)
INFO: (805) 969-8787 or www.musicacademy.org
TUESDAY, APRIL 7-WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8
Bowl Beckons – The Santa Barbara Bowl, the city’s world famous amphitheater in the heart of town at the base of the Riviera, rings in a new
season with a pair of concerts by Disclosure. The electronic music duo played the venerable venue barely six months ago and are launching their spring tour 2026 with the two dates. The DJ known as JADALAREIGN opens on Tuesday, with Todd Edwards playing Wednesday. The classic rock heroes begin to roll in on April 15, when David Bryne brings his latest lineup to the legendary venue, with James Taylor (May 6), Bob Dylan with Lucinda Williams (June 17), Santana (September 12 & 13), Earth Wind & Fire (September 18), and Alabama Shakes (September 24) among the summer highlights.
WHEN: 7 pm
WHERE: SB Bowl, 1122 N. Milpas St. COST: $51.50-$105.50
INFO: (805) 962-7411 or www.sbbowl.com
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8 & SUNDAY, APRIL 12
Tribute to Two Times Two – UCSB A&L didn’t plan to book two different concerts that pay tribute in the 100th birthday year of jazz greats Miles Davis and John Coltrane. But the torrential rains in January jinxed the original date for trumpeter Terence Blanchard and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane to this Wednesday, just four days before pianist Emmet Cohen’s all-star quintet also celebrates the centennial of the jazz geniuses Davis & Coltrane. Both the venues, and the approach, will vary.
WHEN: 7:30 pm April 8, 7 pm April 12
WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street & Campbell Hall, UCSB campus
COST: $50-$95 April 8, $33-$53 April 12
INFO: (805) 899-2222/www.granadasb.org (805) 893-3535/https:// artsandlectures.ucsb.edu
This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and entertainment events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next seven days or so. It is by no means comprehensive. Please also see my feature stories elsewhere in this issue for more events. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, please submit information – including hi-res photos –by 12 noon Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Email: slibowitz@yahoo.com.
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