BRICKS & MORTAR ARE OLD SCHOOL FOR NOW

MJ VISUAL ARTS CONTEST 14 - 21 May 2020 Vol 26 Issue 20

SERVING MONTECITO AND SUMMERLAND

Quarantine getting you down?

Enter our visual arts contest and win prizes, details p. 32

BRICKS & MORTAR ARE OLD SCHOOL FOR NOW

Village Beat

Virtual Cash Mob exceeds expectations, bringing in $240k for local businesses and employees, p. 7

(STORY BEGINS ON P. 10)

Unsolitary Confinement

A veteran of working at home shares field tested advice and observations on family quarantine, p. 12

Into the Lion’s Den

Local Legend: SBHS Theatre Director Otto Layman retires, p. 16

Brandon Ristaino and Misty Orman were set on opening their fourth project when the pandemic hit, p. 8

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14 – 21 May 2020

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5 Editorial The lost art of engaging and talking to one’s adversary 6 Montecito Miscellany Eva Haller celebrates 90th birthday, Santa Barbara Symphony goes online, and more 7 Village Beat Cash Mob a success, Crane hosts benefit online, and Montecito Association updates 8 Making the Good Lion Roar Again Brandon Ristaino and Misty Orman offer to-go cocktail kits while their bars remain closed 10 On the Record

How local schools are dealing with fallout from COVID 11 Letters to the Editor A collection of communication from readers Sharon Kantanen, Linda Beuret, Carolee Krieger, Lee Kirch, Cotty Chubb, John H. Steed, Frank McGinity, Bill Dalziel, and Robert L. Roebuck 12 Sheltering in Place

Field tested advice and observations regarding unsolitary confinement 13 In Passing

Carter Willis Hines (July 24, 1941-May 1, 2020) 14 Seen Around Town Stuff you didn’t know about Montecito’s national historic landmark Casa del Herrero 16 Local Legends Otto Layman’s final curtain as theater director at SBHS 18 Summerland Buzz Rusty’s Pizza opens in Summerland at long last; Field + Fort reopens for pick up 20 The Montecito Pivot Local businesses pivot to accommodate the stay-at-home order 24 For Goodness’ Sake Strategies to help your favorite nonprofit cope during COVID 25 Perspectives

Will states have more power in a post-pandemic America?

The Optimist Daily

How one school in Santa Barbara is mastering online learning 27 Brilliant Thoughts

Ashleigh Brilliant is here to change your life

Robert’s Big Questions The author questions whether a “return to normal” is really the best thing 32 Spirituality Matters Santa Barbara Yoga Fest; Nick Meador hosts virtual workshops; spiritual events calendar 34 Behind the Vine

Photographers capture moments from quarantine 42 Our Town Builder Rick Caruso deeply involved with COVID recovery at the national, state, and local levels 46 On Entertainment Center Stage Theater presents Digital Arts Festival; Tales From The Tavern moves online 51 A Life to Remember It’s important to tell those we love how much they mean to us – don’t wait 53 Around Town The Wildling Museum of Art & Nature in Solvang soldiers on despite obstacles 54 Classified Advertising 55 Local Business Directory

“If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you.” – Billy Wilder

14 – 21 May 2020

Editorial

by Gwyn Lurie

A Thing or Not a Thing, That is the Question

R

ecently and apparently out of nowhere, one of my daughters got “blocked” by one of her closest “friends.” For those of you who don’t have screenagers and are missing out on a front row seat to millennial and Gen Z social mores, “blocking” is the Boomer equivalent of “unfriending” on Facebook. It’s what a “friend” does to you on Snapchat and other forms of social media when you do something that (even mildly) bothers them, or worse, is merely the result of the random ruling of a clique. I could tell my daughter was upset by this, even more so confused, because she got blocked by one of her closest friends with whom she was inseparable. Until suddenly, and inexplicably, they were not.

Sensing her consternation over the surprising turn of events (though certainly not uncommon in the social landscape of today’s youth) I made a suggestion that I thought was quite reasonable: “Why don’t you just call her and talk to her?” I asked. My daughter looked at me like I had suggested she take off her clothes and run naked through the boy’s locker room. “Mom,” she said, with all the indignance and umbrage she could muster, “that’s not a thing.” Gen Z thought bubble: “Okay, Boomer. You’re an idiot.”

So, apparently, in 2020, looking someone in the eye and talking through a problem is “not a thing.”

I love and respect my children. And I adore most of their friends. But I also fear that we are raising a generation of emotional cowards. That their dependence on social media as the primary form of interpersonal communication, now more than ever, is depriving them of the opportunities to develop the social skills that allow us to have healthy, deep, and durable interpersonal relationships. And the courage to take responsibility for their words or actions.

The tools to work out problems. To respect different perspectives and ways of communicating. The courage to engage in communication that creates opportunities for intimacy. The chance to experience how relationships can strengthen when they are battle tested. How, when we invest in them, relationships can actually become stronger in the broken places. Challenging stuff even for those of us who grew up having eye contact.

My older daughter and her girlfriends regularly receive texts from boys the contents of which are often stunningly offensive to me. Things are said and invitations made in quickly disappearing messages that, in a million years, would not/could not be said while looking someone in the eye.

And what about these kids who send crude electronic invitations? Are they actual friends? Our kids, who have a handful of very close actual friends, have the illusion of having thousands of friends, or “followers” – a word that has come into its own with the advent of social media. When I was growing up, calling my friends “followers” would not have been a compliment but rather would have evoked Jonestown. I think the sheer numbers of followers our kids have creates an illusion of many friendships when we all know what actually makes friends valuable is quality not quantity.

Why am I bringing all of this up?

Recently someone in our community wrote an Op Ed taking a strong position on a controversial local issue. I personally happened to think the writer made a number of good points though some disagreed, of course. What I found disappointing was not the passionate debate or disagreement that resulted, but rather that one community member (who has known the writer for years) took offense at the writer’s perspective and thus declared that she would “unfriend” him on Facebook.

I’m not personally a big Facebook user, though at one point I did appreciate the function it served to reconnect me to a wider group of friends. But over time I found the platform to be more of a time suck than a value and eventually I didn’t appreciate the confusing and sometimes destructive role it began to play in our country’s political discourse. But I digress.

Here are my questions: If someone unfriends you because they object to a position you’ve taken, were they ever actually a “friend”? And if we only “friend” those who share our own points of view, aren’t we asking to live in a world where we are only ever looking at infinite reflections of ourselves? The selfie-ization of Life? Most importantly, isn’t that what got us into this cauldron of mutual intolerance in the first place?

So here we are, at home, socially distancing. Much like my teenage daughters who, in many ways, have been doing this for much of their adolescence,

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EDITORIAL Page 324 14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Monte ito Miscellany

by Richard Mineards

Richard covered the Royal Family for Britain’s Daily Mirror and Daily Mail, and was an editor on New York Magazine. He was also a national anchor on CBS, a commentator on ABC Network News, gossip on The Joan Rivers Show and Geraldo Rivera, host on E! TV, a correspondent on the syndicated show Extra, a commentator on the KTLA Morning News and Entertainment Tonight. He moved to Montecito 13 years ago.

Drive-by Birthday Bash Next Time, Have a Plan Emotions Can Spread Like a Virus Before crisis hits, it is important to have an updated financial plan to help dictate your moves. Do not let emotions disrupt your progress towards goals by making short term decisions.

Next time have the peace of mind a plan can provide by having cash reserves, carefully thought out investment plans and be ready for opportunity.

Call me today to get started on your financial plan.

Christopher T. Gallo, CFP®, CIMA® Vice President-Wealth Management CPWA® Portfolio Manager 805-730-3425 christopher.t.gallo@ubs.com

Christopher Gallo UBS Financial Services Inc. 222 East Carrillo Street Suite 106 Santa Barbara, CA 93101-7146 805-730-3425 800-262-4774

Friends waiting for Eva in the Casa Dorinda parking lot included Harry and Judi Weisbart, Kathy Eldon, Ron and Ingrid Bohem, John and Mary Romo, Marilyn Tam and Kevin, Ann Daniel, to name just a few (photo by Judi Weisbart)

H

ungarian-American philanthropist Eva Haller celebrated her 90th birthday at Casa Dorinda at the weekend with a “drive by” party.

Eva, a trustee of UCSB, co-found-

er and president of the Campaign Communications Institute of America, Visiting Professor of Glasgow Caledonian University, and the 2014

MISCELLANY Page 404

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14 – 21 May 2020

Village Beat

by Kelly Mahan Herrick

Kelly has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond. She is also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, and is a member of Montecito and Santa Barbara’s top real estate team, Calcagno & Hamilton.

Cash Mob Exceeds Expectations

I

t was the little idea that could: born out of a mid-April brainstorming session – via Zoom – with Montecito business owners, stakeholders, and MJ CEO Gwyn Lurie and COO Tim Buckley. The overarching question from all: “What can we do?” Do to survive, do to help, do to show some love to the local businesses that make Montecito, Montecito?

Piggybacking on an idea that came to fruition following the 1/9 debris flow, the “Cash Mob,” originally orchestrated by local mortgage broker Jeff Bochsler and then-executive director of the Coast Village Association Sharon Byrne, an idea was had to hold another “Cash Mob,” but this time, for obvious reasons, make it virtual. Immediately a large team of people went to work to make it happen, including Lurie and Buckley, and reps from the Coast Village Association: board president

Maison K

Clare Swan

Bob Ludwick, board administrator Jason Copus, social media guru Rachel Rock, and board members Kevin Frank, and myself; Montecito

Association executive director Sharon Byrne; and upper village mainstay Sandy Stahl. A quick partnership was born with the 93108Fund founder Ron Blitzer, who assembled his own team of people to build the web infrastructure, most notably Eric DelaBarre, who put in countless hours to perfect the site. Innumerable details – legal, logistical, and more – had to be ironed out before launching on May Day,

May 1. We enlisted multiple media outlets to help us get the word out, hoping that the virtual event, which was originally planned for just three days, would be a success.

The morning of May 1, we all sat by our computers with bated breath, waiting for that first sale. Click by click the sales came in, from $50, to

VILLAGE BEAT Page 484

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Text #COVID to (805) 681-7500 for immediate information about COVID-19 symptoms, Telehealth appointments, and more.

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Working together to get our community through this challenging time.

14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

SANSUMCLINIC.ORG 1 (800) 4 SANSUM

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Making the Good Lion Roar Again

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While we socially distance, the only way to get through this is TOGETHER as a community. It’s really important to support your favorite local businesses. We rely on you!

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We all need to do our part to keep our community going strong and make sure that your favorites stores CAN open back up.

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hen Brandon Ristaino and his partner and wife Misty Orman started The Good Lion bar on State Street, no one believed there was a market in Santa Barbara for a stand-alone drinkery featuring the fine art of mixology. Five years later with three local establishments, including Test Pilot in the Funk Zone and Shaker Mill on Lower State Street, and another venue soon to open in Ventura, the owners of Good Lion Hospitality have made their mark on the restaurant and bar culture of Santa Barbara. Their personally trained mixologists prepare some of the most creative cocktails in town and are well-versed in the palate-pleasing, ever-changing culinary ingredients that farm to table require. They have developed a loyal following.

No one with the exception of Sherry Villanueva and Acme Hospitality has entered the competitive restaurant and bar scene on a tear like Brandon and Misty. Good Lion has developed a business designed with the fewest moving parts, compact, independent with discrete units devised to be profitable within a month of opening and to survive, maybe even a pandemic.

“Not that we would ever have predicted what’s happening now, but each venue is small, compartmentalized, and lean,” Brandon explains. “There’s a lot less risk involved in each one of them. We’re finding at times like this, the Thomas Fire, or whatever crazy thing might happen, we don’t have a huge amount of fixed costs to ride through.”

The Biggest Crowd Sourcing Endeavor in Human History Brandon and Misty are exactly the kind of businesspeople Montecito and the City of Santa Barbara must support in order to invent the bar and hospitality business of tomorrow and lead us into that future. “Reopenomics” is an enormous world-wide thought experiment that people locally and the world over are analyzing and deciphering, perhaps the biggest crowd sourcing endeavor in human history, designed to solve our social un-easing. Good ideas are being hatched as far away as Latvia, Stockholm, and in New York City simultaneously. Smart minds in Montecito and Santa Barbara are every bit as likely to make a breakthrough. If anyone can solve the problems posed by a cocktail bar designed around six feet of separation, it’s the two creative and resourceful owners of Good Lion Hospitality, but it will certainly take more than a zest of lemon and a twig of rosemary to make it work.

Having spent 22 years in the bar business in Los Angeles, Brandon was considerably ahead of the curve when he began using fresh ingredients and alluring blends of fresh juices before others got on the bandwagon. Those years gave him a lot of time to think about re-engineering the business from the bottom up.

Upon reaching Santa Barbara, Brandon and Misty envisioned the kind of

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ON THE RECORD

Nicholas Schou

Nicholas Schou is an award-winning investigative journalist and author of several books, including Orange Sunshine and Kill the Messenger. If you have tips or stories about Montecito, please email him at newseditor@montecitojournal.net

‘A Time of Innovation’: Santa Barbara-area Schools Wade into the Uncharted Territory of ‘Remote Learning’ Checking in for school

The eyes have it

O

n Friday, March 13, yes Friday the 13th, all schools in California, public and private, closed their doors for the foreseeable future. Then Santa Barbara, like much of the rest of the state, had at most a single week to switch to an entirely new, online model of education, by now known to most as “remote learning.”

In deference to COVID, schools must now find ways to pay for more technological resources, as well as enhanced on-campus anti-viral and public health measures. A problem that will no doubt be compounded by the fact that, due to the pandemic, California is potentially facing a $54 billion deficit. Which will mean cuts to public education, which as of March 13, received about 40 percent of the state’s budget.

While the question about future school funding can’t be overemphasized, it is by no means the only question about remote learning demanding to be answered. Such as: • Does remote learning really work?

• Can it actually replace in-person classroom instruction?

• What does research say about the efficacy of remote learning and its impact on students?

Harvard University’s 52-year-old education research program, Project Zero, which works with schools, museums, businesses, and organizations across the world, aims to answer these questions by exploring issues of understanding, thinking, creativity, and the development of human potential.

“We have reached a point in the

10 MONTECITO JOURNAL

learning sciences where we recognize that learning is very much a social endeavor in which our interactions, discussions, questions, and explorations occur in the context of others,” said Ron Ritchhart, a Project Zero professor. “This is true of all age groups. Good teachers recognize this and seek to foster it whether in class or at a distance. The challenge is in our current circumstances how to do that.”

According to Ritchhart, a group of physics and statistics professors at Harvard have developed a free online platform called Perusall that helps students more easily interact with content such as textbooks, articles or papers, as well as communicate with other students, so they can more actively discuss material online.

“Some online platforms, apps, and services do this better than others,” he says. “But simple delivery of content is not what produces learning. It is the interaction with the content that matters.”

However it is still too early to know how remote learning will impact education in a post-coronavirus world, Ritchhart explained.

“Just as we don’t know how COVID19 will affect the economy, our politics, or our long-term health, it is too early to know the effects it will have on students’ learning,” he said.

Because students have only been out of the classroom for several weeks this spring, and because the semester is less academically heavy than other semesters, Ritchhart doesn’t think the consequences of COVID-19 thus far pose a long-term

risk to a child’s education.

However, if remote learning continues into next year, Ritchhart predicts much more profound and potentially negative implications for students, regardless of age.

“Can people learn online?” he asks. “Yes, certainly. The challenge for schools is how to keep children connected to each other and to their teachers. This is especially important for young learners, but it’s important to all.”

After nearly two months of full-time remote learning in place of face-toface classroom education, local educators and others are in a position to answer some of the inevitable questions that arise from this unexpected teaching experiment.

• Are our children falling behind academically as a result of remote learning?

• Is the COVID-19 crisis simply exacerbating problems that already existed in our public education system?

• What are both public and private educators doing to make remote learning as positive an experience as possible for every student, regardless of socio-economic status or learning abilities?

• Does remote learning really work?

And if so, what long-term changes can we expect for our children’s educational future?

Here is how our local educators are attempting to answer these critical questions, while also readying themselves for the “new normal.”

Change is Now

In 2005, Rob Hereford was the head of upper school at a private campus in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit.

“We evacuated to Houston,” he recalls. “We didn’t have Zoom or anything like that back then. Even texting was a new thing, and there was just no online platform for learn-

“As a child my family’s menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.” – Buddy Hackett

ing whatsoever.”

It took Hereford and his colleagues three weeks to come up with a solution.

“Until then, the kids had nothing,” he said.

On March 11, 2020, Hereford, now head of school of Montecito’s Laguna Blanca School, held a meeting with Laguna Blanca’s advisory board. He told its members that, while all schools were likely to shut down any day, he hoped that because of the prestigious private school’s relatively small student population – just 350 kids – Laguna Blanca might at least remain open until the following Friday.

“I thought we could get through seven days of school,” Hereford recalls. “But everything changed so much over the weekend. Suddenly, we were closing on Monday.”

Because Laguna Blanca teaches students from early kindergarten all the way to 12th grade on two separate campuses, the school faced some unique challenges.

“Developmentally, it hit us in different ways,” Hereford says. “Kids at the youngest level up to fourth grade really require so much more of a family commitment to this remote-learning exercise.”

As the parent of a fourth-grader, Hereford has learned firsthand how challenging it is for parents of young children to pivot essentially overnight to remote, computer-assisted learning.

“It’s a huge learning curve for both parents and teachers,” he said.

“Now, several weeks in, we’ve gotten a decent routine, and while it’s still demanding of parents, our students and teachers have figured out how to make this work as well as we can.”

For middle school students attending Laguna Blanca, Hereford continued, teachers and administrators quickly realized that the daily schedule of classes was simply too long to

ON THE RECORD Page 134 14 – 21 May 2020

LETTERS

TO THE EDITOR

If you have something you think Montecito should know about, or wish to respond to something you read in the Journal, we want to hear from you. Please send all such correspondence to: Montecito Journal, Letters to the Editor, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite H, Montecito, CA. 93108. You can also FAX such mail to: (805) 969-6654, or E-mail to letters@montecitojournal.net

More Gretchen, Please

L

ast week’s article “A Man and His Dog” (by Gretchen Lieff) touched me – as so many of your articles do.

I know I speak for many when I say we’d love to be able to follow more of Gretchen’s musings – and adventures – in your Journal.

Sincerely Sharon Kantanen

Free to Stay Safe

In response to the letter last week from Cheryl Trosky and others complaining of the current lockdown.

Have they read any of the stories of NYC? The first-person reports of doctors and nurses working 18 hours a day and having 5-7 patients per day die of the virus? California is about two weeks behind in infections from the east and we have had lower rates because we had the time to close down and socially isolate.

Opening up too early could cause a resurgence in infections. Sweden and Korea have stopped infection increase because their citizens are accustomed to following strict orders for the greater good. Americans are independent and pride themselves on acting independently, good in some cases, bad in a pandemic.

Yes, Das Williams, and other duly elected politicians, our democratically elected governor, do have the right to tell us what to do. They are elected to make laws that benefit the most people. That is how a democracy runs.

You may want to be free and chance getting the virus, I want to be free to not be infected by you or others.

Linda Beuret, RN Montecito

Love for Non-Human Friends

What a wonderful, moving piece by Gretchen Lieff in the recent MJ on the importance during this difficult time to savor the unconditional love of our special non-human friends. I could not do the important water work she shares with me without my oasis of unconditional love from all the wonderful creatures I share this ohana with. Not just dogs... but cats, birds, turtles, and even fish. There is so much love out there from all around us if we only look, listen, and give back. Thank you, Gretchen.

Carolee Krieger Montecito 14 – 21 May 2020

Sharon Byrne for Mayor

I hereby nominate as Honorary Mayor of Montecito Sharon Byrne, the Executive Director of the Montecito Association.

Sharon has been a voice of reason, a voice of calm, offering a touch of humor and certainly empathy, not only thru our current crisis, but has also stood by us thru other disasters affecting our small community. The concise information Sharon is providing us with is the most logical and informative being offered.

She is tackling our community issues with abandon. Her reporting is logical. Her response to individual issues has proven to be unbiased and more than helpful. On and on – this woman is a champion. We are so fortunate to have her in our community – fighting for us at every level.

Let us join together as a community and honor Sharon with what she deserves – special recognition and appreciation from us all. At the very least – a Key to our great Village? She has my vote! Mayor Sharon – I like it.

She deserves it.

Lee Kirch Montecito

Specializing in Fine Homes • Concept to Completion • Exceptional Home Design • Board of Architectural Reviews • All Phases of Construction Entitlement

Comparing Tragedies

Cheryl Trosky presents us with a dilemma in her letter published in the recent MJ (issue 26/19). Should we grieve more for her tragic circumstance (she “felt absolutely no joy in [her recent shopping] experience”) or the more than 80,000 deaths attributable to a powerfully contagious and often fatal viral infection?

(And that’s 80,000 without counting the uncountable thousands of “excess deaths” attributable to COVID-19 but untested for it.)

Ms Trosky blames “our politicians” and “our government,” which is reasonable. After all, the President, who is fond of identifying the Federal government as embodied in himself alone, oversaw the dismantling of the NSC’s pandemic task force in 2018, refused to read or comprehend the multiple warnings given to him in January’s Presidential Daily Briefings by our intelligence agencies, refused to prepare American industry for the need to produce PPE for our health workers and

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LETTERS Page 304 • The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

11

STAY STRONG SANTA BARBARA. WE’RE HERE FOR YOU.

Sheltering in Place

with Les Firestein

Les Firestein has been writing and building since his teens. As a writer Les ran some notable and notorious TV shows (In Living Color) and before that wrote for national newspapers and was the editor of The National Lampoon. Les will occasionally write about architecture and design for the Journal because he cares deeply about it. Until recently Les was a charisma coach for Mike Bloomberg.

Unsolitary Confinement and Other Considerations in the Age of Coronavirus

The writer, a veteran of working from home, shares field tested advice and observations regarding unsolitary confinement.

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12 MONTECITO JOURNAL

ou’ve gotta give it up for humans. With the exception of the Dark Ages, we’re always trying to figure out better ways to nest and adapt those nests to what life throws at us. But how we shelter has never had to absorb so much change… or so much stuff… so quickly as now. Our homes are bulging with Costco stockpiles and bursting with humanity and desperately trying to morph fast enough in response to the coronavirus pandemic. How we live in our homes and what we’re stuffing into them says much about how our species adapts… and how it doesn’t.

When it comes to what’s driving the rearrangement of our shelter, I feel like it’s not so much the fear of contracting COVID as it is the fear of unsolitary confinement. When we tied the knot we all assumed that the knot would not be glued in place and the bonds of marriage were metaphorical rather than actual. All our vows said stuff about “sickness and in health” but no one’s marriage vows said squat about togetherness 24/7/365. Not to mention the two of you never leaving the house. Like ever.

And so it was that the internet lit up last week when the actress Jada Pinkett Smith said that lockdown has taught her she “doesn’t really know (her husband) Will Smith at all” and that right now, despite 20 years of

“My favorite machine at the gym is the vending machine.” – Caroline Rhea

marriage, they’re “just trying to build a friendship.”

Within the same interview (actually it was kind of the interview version of a selfie) Ms Pinkett Smith referred to the popular meme “You can’t spell divorce without COVID.” Turns out long-term marrieds like the Smiths are finding it hard to cohabitate, even in 20,000 square feet, so folks are trying to modify their homes not just to save their marriages, but provide separation between Tik-Toks and Zoomers, Twitterati and Boomers.

I guess the one place we DO want social distancing is inside the home.

Don’t look for Jada Pinkett in a “tiny home” anytime soon.

Last I checked, there is no ‘ohm’ in home.

For me and my wife it’s actually not that bad. Not because we’ve figured out the keys to a successful marriage.

It’s just that as two writers, sometimes with the added burden of co-working, we’re used to seeing too much of each other and have pleasantly moved on to mutual Stockholm syndrome.

The big difference for us in the pan-

SHELTERING Page 384 14 – 21 May 2020

In Passing

ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 10)

Carter Willis Hines: July 24, 1941 - May 1, 2020

C

Study buddies

be effective.

“What we realized we were doing was gluing kids to their screens for eight hours a day and on top of that having them do homework, which was largely onscreen as well,” Hereford said.

In response the school limited class time to three hours a day, leaving afternoons open for students to either get help with classwork or homework or simply go outside and get some exercise or fresh air.

Upper school students included a lot of anxious juniors and their parents worried about college applications, as well as seniors who missed being around each other and felt like they were missing out on being able to celebrate their graduation around actual people.

“All that is gone now,” says Hereford. “We can try to recreate it in Zoom meetings, but it’s not the same as face-to-face, and frankly it’s exhausting to do.”

Hereford hopes that weather might help allow Laguna Blanca to re-open next fall, despite whatever social-distancing guidelines are still in place.

“One of the great things is we can move class outside,” he explains.

“Ninety-five percent of days when the weather is good, we can move out into the quad or the field. We only have eighty kids in the lower campus and can try to spread them out.”

Yet Hereford admits he still has no idea what next year will look like.

“I’ve got a running list of questions I have to answer before we open school,” he says. “And that list is growing.”

Although his intention is to reopen as soon as possible, Hereford is prepared for the possibility that remote learning will continue after the summer.

“It’s possible we will be in and 14 – 21 May 2020

out of this remote-learning model next year depending on how testing goes,” he says. “We will need to be ready to flip a switch.”

Outdoor No More

Unlike other local schools struggling with how to adapt to remote learning, the Santa Barbara Middle School (SBMS) has a unique challenge because its curriculum leans so heavily on outdoor group activities, especially for graduating 9th graders. That’s not a typo: SBMS is one of the few remaining middle schools that prepare matriculating students for sophomore year of high school by providing them with a rigorous outdoor education program which lasts three weeks and includes surfing, kayaking, biking, and climbing mountains.

“We keep our ninth graders so they leave the school with some leadership experience,” says Brian McWilliams, head of school, who also teaches World History to 9th graders. “We don’t farm it out but do it all internally,” he says. “Eighty to ninety percent of the faculty does this, including me.”

The school’s major outdoor event each year is the so-called Rite of the Wheels, which involves a long-distance bike trek, whether in the Pacific Northwest, Marin County, or in the Arizona desert. Needless to say, neither that expedition nor the rest of the school’s outdoor curriculum is happening this year. “Thank god we at least had the beginning of the school year,” McWiliams says, “but we really miss this opportunity.”

Although the school has stuck with the letter grade system, it has relaxed the curriculum to three onehour classes per day so as not to exhaust students with screen time.

“It’s working out pretty well,” says

arter Willis Hines, 78, passed away Friday evening, May 1, 2020, at his Montecito home with his beloved wife, Victoria, at his side.

Carter’s sudden death from a heart attack followed a prolonged illness of several years.

Carter was born in Long Beach, California to Martha and William Hines. In the fourth grade he and his mother moved to Santa Barbara where he became a well-known and muchloved figure in this community for his entire life.

Carter attended Jefferson School, Santa Barbara High School (class of 1959), and immediately after graduation he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Hawaii for two years where he served as the Company Commander’s driver.

He returned to Santa Barbara and attended Santa Barbara City College and later Long Beach State. He enjoyed playing football as a SBHS Don and also at SB City College where he made lifelong enduring friendships.

After college, Carter started his lifelong business, Carter Hines Drapery, which flourished for the next 55 years.

He loved working with his clients and making their homes more beautiful.

He will be best remembered for his exceptional customer service and special window coverings, a tradition to be carried on by his wife, Victoria.

Carter was loved by everyone. His friends relished visiting him tending bar at The Nugget in Summerland for their favorite cocktails! He was part of a special friends group (The Breakfast Club) who met every morning for breakfast at the San Ysidro Pharmacy. Carter played tennis with the Montecito Tennis Mafia for years, was a longtime member of Birnam Wood, and especially enjoyed all the years he spent as a member of The Coral Casino... working out, walking around the pool, and socializing with his numerous friends and acquaintances at Tydes.

He met the love of his life, Victoria, McWilliams. “We have academics but also fun, goofy things,” like the school’s celebrated Carpe Diem Bucket List.

“The whole theme of the school is carpe diem,” he adds. “We encourage our kids to go outside and do something, whatever it is. It’s on them to select something.”

According to McWilliams, remote learning must be equally effective for both well-endowed private schools and budget-challenged public schools.

“Seventy percent of our kids go on to public schools, so we have to make

• The Voice of the Village •

at the Pioneer Saloon in Sun Valley, Idaho. They were together for 40 years, during which time they traveled the world together, returning to Sun Valley many times, ocean cruising to Tahiti, skiing in Europe, and flying yearly to their favorite vacation spot at the Mauna Kea Hotel in Hawaii.

He looked forward to his guy trips to Cabo, Cuba, and Costa Rica with his many wild-haired buddies.

Carter had an abiding passion for fun and revelry. Known as “Mad Dog” and “Dukie” to his dearest friends, he never had an unkind word for anyone. His zest for life also endeared him to his Brazilian Familia. He was most fond of telling outrageous stories and regaling friends with his unbridled charm and mischievous nature.

We will miss him madly.

Carter is survived by his wife Victoria, his three children from his first marriage to Gale Gill, Darrin, Damon, Danielle, and son-in-law Jim McKechnie and two grandchildren, Drake Carter (15) and Kendall (12).

The family would like to express their deep appreciation for the compassionate care by Dr. Babji Mesipam, Dr. Jeffrey Kupperman, and Dr. Harris Gelberg.

May Carter rest in peace and his spirit soar above his beloved Santa Barbara home and linger in the hearts and minds of his many cherished friends forever.

We look forward to a Celebration of Carter’s Life later this summer!

Meanwhile, please toast Carter, who loved life and all his friends!

•MJ this work for public schools, too,” he argues. “You should be able to get good writing, reading, and discussion without this arms race of homework.

The question we need to ask ourselves is how do we light these kids up, even if it’s through a darn computer.”

Despite the loss of the school’s outdoor learning program, McWilliams says he feels lucky compared to other local educators. “Where we are lucky is we are small and can be nimble and

ON THE RECORD Page 444 MONTECITO JOURNAL

13

Seen Around Town

Casa del Herrero Loggia in the distance (photo by Matt Walla)

by Lynda Millner

A National Historic Landmark

S

anta Barbara has five National Historic Landmarks – the Courthouse, the Mission, the Raphael Gonzales Adobe, the Santa Barbara Club, and Casa del Herrero.

The Casa is a great tourist attraction and I have been lucky enough to be a docent there for twenty years. I would like to tell you about the origins of the estate based on an article that Medora Bass, the daughter of the owners, Carrie and George Steedman, wrote for a garden magazine, The American Woman’s Garden.

According to Medora the eleven-acre site was an old Spanish land grant, halfway between the mountains and the sea. “My mother was concerned

14 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Ms Millner is the author of The Magic Makeover, Tricks for Looking Thinner, Younger and More Confident – Instantly. If you have an event that belongs in this column, you are invited to call Lynda at 969-6164.

because the garden would slope downhill instead of uphill as a proper garden should. Casa del Herrero means the House of the Blacksmith.

Our place got its name because manufacturing metal products was my father’s business in St. Louis, Missouri and he jokingly referred to himself as a blacksmith.”

Medora loved the house and gardens and inherited it from her folks.

Her sister Catherine didn’t care about it and continued to live back east.

Medora’s folks, Carrie and George Steedman, had come to Santa Barbara with his diabetic brother to get insulin from Dr. Sansum, the only insulin in the United States at the time. They fell in love with Santa Barbara and bought the property in Montecito at 1387 East Valley Road in the early ‘20s to build a second home. They moved in in 1925, the day of the earthquake because there was no damage to their house. By 1930 they had moved from St. Louis to Santa Barbara full time.

Mr. Steedman had heart trouble and retired here.

As Medora said, her perfectionist father began the house and gardens in 1922 and wanted them both to be purely Spanish. In connection with the garden she remembered the names of Ralph Stevens, Peter Riedel, and Lockwood de Forest and over and over the name of the architect George Washington Smith. Her father worked constantly on the blueprints. He made a trip to Spain accompanied by Arthur Byne and his wife Mildred Stapley who knew all about Spanish gardens and antiques. It only took Steedman five weeks to gather everything he needed from Spain: a fifteenth-century ceiling from a monastery, Moorish doors, furniture, tapestries, tiles, grilles, flower pots, and wrought iron gates. He photographed and made sketches in Seville, Granada, Ronda, and Majorca. Then he incorporated all this with his plans. All of these ancient things remain in the house today for our enjoyment.

According to Medora, “The gardens went through many changes; the sound of the tile setters’ hammers was almost constant even after we moved in during the summer of the earthquake. If a pergola was to be added

Casa del Herrero (photo by Matt Walla)

Original Banksia Alba Rose in the side garden (photo by Matt Walla)

or a tree moved, a mock-up was built to ensure that the perspective and the proportions satisfied my mother and father. The project was my father’s dream, but he always respected my mother’s advice.”

The Steedmans spent the next 20 years developing the house and gardens. Medora said her father had so many ideas that he had apprentices working full time with him in his well equipped shop. We still have the aluminum garden furniture, unusual for the time when garden furniture

“All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.” – Casey Stengel

was wicker. Dad also made lion finials for the terrace railings. Silversmithing then became his main hobby after the garden. In eleven years Steedman smithed over 100 silver pieces, especially his sculptured vases for Carrie’s camellias inscribed “To hold God’s gifts for your delight.”

Medora’s father died in 1940 and her mother was devastated. Medora thought gardening restored her mom to her cheerful, gracious self. Carrie

SEEN Page 284 14 – 21 May 2020

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team@ RiskinPartners.com • The Voice of the Village •

license #01954177 MONTECITO JOURNAL

15

Local Legends

GOT FRUIT?

by Steven Libowitz

YOUR BACKYARD CAN HELP FEED HUNGRY FAMILIES IN SANTA BARBARA Please HELP by Donating your extra Fruit!

It’s fun and feels great to contribute.

Self-curbside drop-off to the Unity Shoppe is, M-F 9:30 - 11:00 am & 1:00 - 5:00 pm Located at 110 Sola Street in S.B. OR, WE WILL PROVIDE THE PICK UP & DELIVERY To the Unity Shoppe when your produce is bagged or boxed.

“Spirituality Matters” highlights two or three Santa Barbara area spiritual gatherings. Unusual themes and events with that something extra, especially newer ones looking for a boost in attendance, receive special attention. For consideration for inclusion in this column, email slibowitz@yahoo.com.

Layman Leaves a Lasting Legacy After 24 Years at SBHS Theater Helm

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16 MONTECITO JOURNAL

I

Otto Layman celebrates closing night, Big Fish 2014

f things were different, if the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 hadn’t turned into a global pandemic shutting down almost everything across the world, this would have been a weekend of wonder for Otto Layman. The theater director had planned a big blowout of a show to serve as his crowning achievement in a career that spanned just shy of a quarter-century at Santa Barbara High School. Bells would be ringing, and not just to herald the final production of Layman’s distinguished decades, but also because that show that would have opened on campus on Friday night was the musical version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, complete with a set, as with nearly all of Layman’s shows, that would rival most anything this side of Broadway, including a working bell tower for Quasimodo to operate.

As it is, of course, there will be no final show. The school is shuttered, the students all practicing remote learning via Zoom while sheltering in place, unable to gather in person because of social distancing. There are no long days and evenings of rehearsals, no jitters about opening night, and no moments anticipating the final curtain on the last night, when Layman and his remarkable staff would have bid farewell to this year’s graduating seniors with certificates and smiles, and lowered the curtain on his career.

But even if the light will never go up for Notre Dame, the sun is still setting on Layman’s SBHS career. Which makes it a poignant moment to pause and reflect on such accomplishments as rescuing a program in shambles and turning it into the most respected public high school theater in the area, one that has produced exclusively musicals in the past decade-

“He who laughs last didn’t get the joke.” – Charles de Gaulle

plus. It’s a legacy that boasts serving as the first high school in the country to mount student productions of Spamalot, Bullets Over Broadway, and Head over Heels, and one of the few to produce Chicago without any cuts. It includes shaping the pre-professional careers of three musical theater kids from Montecito – Evan Hughes, Jana McIntyre, and Geoff Hahn – who have gone on to rewarding careers in opera, and so many more too numerous to list.

“I’ve never been bored a day in my life. If you have a rich interior life like I do, that’s kind of impossible.”

But as much as Layman is leaving behind mentorships and magnificent musicals, he’s also taking with him moments of connection and ongoing relationships with his students, their families, and the communities that have no end date.

Layman looked back at his years at SBHS – which began after he earned a masters in education at UCSB following years as an actor and writer with the Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara in its early days – over the phone during a break from cleaning out his office at the Anapamu Street campus.

“I’ve been going through twenty-five years of ghosts,” he said, staring at the now-bare walls that once displayed posters from his 50-plus productions.

“I’m still waking up at three in the

LEGENDS Page 364 14 – 21 May 2020

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14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

17

Summerland Buzz

by Leslie A. Westbrook A third-generation Californian, Leslie, currently resides in Carpinteria but called Summerland home for 30 years. The award-winning writer assists clients sell fine art, antiques and collectibles at auction houses around the globe. She can be reached at LeslieAWestbrook@gmail.com or www.auctionliaison.com

The Scoop from Rusty’s Pizza CEO Tyler Duncan

I

t may be the longest, most anticipated pizza parlor opening in Summerland history: five years in the making. At long last Rusty’s Pizza is finally open in Summerland at the former Stacky’s Seaside spot on Lillie Avenue.

The day I spoke with Tyler Duncan, CEO of the family business launched by his parents in Isla Vista in 1969 – just a few years before he was a twinkle in his daddy’s eye – Duncan had just received news from the Health Department.

“Almost five years to the day!”

Duncan said, over a phone conversation in the time of COVID, “and they just signed off!”

We spoke about pizzas (including his favorites), food delivery logistics, what foods travel well and which don’t (pizza is perfect delivery food) among other things, in the midst of a pandemic.

Rusty’s Pizza opens in Summerland – after a five-year wait (photo by Leslie A. Westbrook)

Rusty’s Pizza CEO Tyler Duncan

Sorry Summerland, don’t expect balloons, fireworks, pizza samples, a brass band and more for a big opening shindig. Some kind of celebration will hopefully take place later – when we can all gather again. However, the doors opened and the first Summerland delivery trucks rolled on Cinco de Mayo, so Duncan and the 9th store in the Santa Barbara chain made

Matthew Pifer, MD

its target opening date.

“It’s an opportunity to do a soft opening, get used to the store and make sure everything is working properly from a staffing and operational perspective and clicking like it should,” said the CEO, who eats pizza two to three times a week. Although difficult to choose his favorite, he cited the pepperoni, olive, and pineapple combo for its sweet and salty flavors, as well as the fairly new Chile Verde pizza, a “not too spicy” green sauce pizza with marinated pulled pork.

“What took so long to open?” I asked.

“It’s very difficult to find anything for lease in Summerland that is a conforming restaurant. We bought

Stacky’s, kept it open for a year and tried to run it as Stacky’s while we went through the permitting process, but it just didn’t work,” he said. “We used to have a small shop in the Vons Shopping Center in Montecito. We were trying to find the right spot to service Montecito, Summerland, and part of Carpinteria.”

Summerland fare is the same as all Rusty’s Pizza menus – the company just celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year. Although the Summerland space is too tiny for Rusty’s popular salad bar, they will deliver premade salads. In addition to pizzas, hot wings, salads, and even gelato,

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Montecito Urban Farmhouse 705 Oak Grove Drive $6,495,000 5 Bed | 7 Bath | ±6,707 Sq Ft Set amongst mature Oak trees, this private and gated .97 acres sits a beautiful Montecito urban farmhouse estate. Completely renovated and reimagined in 2016, this home offers comfortable sophistication with an ideal floor plan that will appeal to a variety of buyers. The home features 3 large bedroom suites, all with French doors to enjoy beautiful patios and garden setting.

The master suite has dual closets and a luxurious master bath. An additional 2 rooms in the main house provide versatility to use as bedrooms, offices, or a home gym. Formal dining room and gourmet kitchen will inspire great meals, whether you cook at home or order in. Walls of French doors open upon the generous wrap-around veranda and to the resort like pool with spa. Entertaining patio features a gourmet outdoor kitchen, fire pit, and grand mountain views. A charming converted barn now offers two additional guest suites situated for privacy.

Sophisticated Downtown Condo 18 W Victoria St, Unit 215 $1,995,000 1 Bed | 1.5 Bath | ±1,414 Sq Ft Located in the heart of Santa Barbara is Alma Del Pueblo, a premiere luxury residential development. This particular unit has spectacular views of our American Riviera, iconic red tile rooftops, The Arlington and Granada theaters. With an exquisite Master suite, gourmet kitchen and entertaining areas, it is the perfect pied-à-terre. Set adjacent to the Public Market and all that downtown has to offer, this versatile space has tremendous natural light, generous ceiling height and an open floor plan with French doors opening to a private patio and breathtaking mountain views. No common walls and no one above you, this unit lives like a freestanding home. The excellent location within the development is close to the elevator, stairs, main entrance and club area. Assigned parking with gated access, ample secure storage and guest rooms available for owners to reserve are just a few of the amenities Alma Del Pueblo has to offer.

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Compass is a real estate broker licensed by the State of California and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. License number 01991628. All material presented herein is intended for informational purposes only. Information is compiled from sources deemed reliable but is subject to errors, omissions, changes in price, condition, sale or withdrawal without notice. No statement is made as to the accuracy of any description. All measurements and square footages are approximate. This is not intended to solicit property already listed. Nothing herein shall be construed as legal, accounting or other professional advice outside the realm of real estate brokerage.

14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

19

Montecito Pivot

by Megan Waldrep

Imagine Artful Things, Inc.

“B

efore we got our website up and running, customers were calling and asking if they could do a virtual shopping tour. It was amazing,” Billie Vrtiak, owner of the Imagine Artful Things boutique in the Upper Village said.

“We’ve also received emails from numerous customers saying they’re thinking about us and how much they miss shopping at Imagine and are looking forward to being back in the store. It has been really inspiring.” In one month, Imagine went from no web presence to a “window shoppable” website that debuted on April 27. “To keep our personal cus-

Imagine Artful Things, Inc. 1470 East Valley Road (805) 695-0220 info@imaginartfulthings.com www.imagineartfulthings.com

tomer contact, we chose not to sell on-line but rather showcase selected items,” Billie said. “The shopper can then create a cart and call or email the store directly with their selections.

We are offering both curbside service and free local delivery.” Free shipping is available for orders over two hundred dollars.

Hop on the website to discover playful pieces such as giant hamburger and corn stools, food candles emulating Italian cuisine such as wheeled cheese and a plate of homemade spaghetti, or a Chinese checker table that could double as a place to set a cock-

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tail. Curated scarves, patterned socks, and lightweight summer ensembles are up for grabs as well as a collection of twisted iron candleholders to perk up the dinner table. “I don’t think I can name any one item that is the most (popular), but the most exciting thing is that our wonderful community has been so supportive,” Billie said. “We are surrounded by terrific people for whom we are profoundly grateful.”

Shopping on Bree’osh Artisan Bakery’s online store is comparable to gazing through the glass case at the café. Baked delicacies such as a ham and cheese, pain au chocolat, almond, and plain croissants are ready both for online orders and pick-ups. And while you’re at it, add the Kouign Amann to your virtual cart. It’s a traditional pastry from Brittany, France, “made with brioche dough laminated with brown sugar (and) baked in a buttered, sugared mold until caramelization.” You sold yet?

We can thank owners Pierre and Nelly Henry for Bree’Osh. The French couple nestled in Montecito after years of scouting the perfect spot.

With them, they brought their love of butter – Pierre is from Brittany, France which is famous for its butter, buckwheat crepes, shortbread cookies known as Le Sablé Breton, and the aforementioned sweet and buttery brioche Le Kouign Amann. Pierre is a banker-turned-baker (he dropped the “n”) as well as pastry chef who studied at Ferrandi, the school for culinary arts in Paris and trained under notable names in the industry including one-star Michelin chef, Cyril Lignac.

Pierre and Nelly, along with their dedicated staff, bake daily while trading jokes and smiles, keeping the mood of the café as light as their coveted croissants.

Hours have varied during quarantine, with the bakery now opening at seven in the morning until noon. Post-quarantine, a few things to look forward to are hands-on classes

Order boxes of pastries, like the mini-croissant box that offers three mini plain, chocolate, and almond croissants per person

from the masters themselves. In the past, they’ve taught the art of making homemade baguettes, quiche, brioche, and croissants that are “too pretty to eat… until you taste one, that is!”

Can’t wait? Make sure to pre-order the bread and sourdough kit, which includes organic flour mix, yeast, and sourdough starter to make a traditional loaf at home with your fellow hunker downers.

Bree’Osh Artisan Bakery 1150 Coast Village Road E (805) 969-2500 www.breeosh.com

•MJ

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14 – 21 May 2020

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14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

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MONTECITO JOURNAL

21

SUMMERLAND (Continued from page 18)

Rusty’s recently added bottles and half bottles of regional wines from Brander, Fess Parker, Rabble Rose, J. Lohr, Kunin Syrah, and 805 beer.

In homage to Stacky’s popular boatshaped patio, a new patio that wraps around to the left of the building promises to be a great spot to dine under shady umbrellas during the summer, with social distancing or whatever precautions are in place as California works through new dining out regulations in the time of COVD-19.

Tyler, who was born (in 1973) and raised in Santa Barbara, noted that the company realized that Summerland was a vibrant, interesting corridor for folks coming to and from Santa Barbara from Ventura and Oxnard.

“We love Summerland’s history, antique, fun feel… and the great beach during summer that is thriving. It’s like a mini Cabrillo Boulevard!” noted Duncan.

Not one to toot the company’s own horn, Rusty’s has a long history of generously helping out neighbors (as well as the Santa Barbara Zoo) and has recently been reaching out with free pizzas to local heroes like Abe Powell and The Bucket Brigade mask makers (sounds like the name of a band, eh?), the S.B.P.D., and hospital workers.

Rusty’s has been able to keep 99% of their staff working during this time – some with reduced hours – and Duncan noted that if you think you are seeing more Rusty’s Pizza delivery cars on the road, it’s only because, well, there is less traffic on the road!

Safely Delivering and Distancing

Rusty’s Pizza started delivering with a “no-contact delivery” option and everyone wears masks and gloves. In order to add a tip to your driver when you order, they had to retool all their software.

“What’s more important,” said the CEO, “is how the food is handled.

The driver has an empty box wrapped in plastic and sets the pizza down at the door on a buffer box. They back away 6 feet, you grab the food and then we leave.”

Although they’ve lost onsite din-

White balloons celebrate the partial re-opening of Field + Fort for pick up (photo Leslie A. Westbrook)

Duncan the Dinosaur will hopefully visit the new Rusty’s Pizza in Summerland soon (photo by Tony Lunda)

ing business inside the pizza parlors and use of their popular event/party rooms, all high-touch surfaces are being wiped down more than usual and workers in the restaurants are “all gloved and masked up. I’m really proud of everybody and their mindful attention,” said Duncan. “We’re doing everything we can to be here for the community and making everything as safe as we can.”

In case you wondered who “Rusty” is, the name was inherited from the first restaurant space called “Rusty’s Roast Beef” that Tyler’s dad Joe Duncan opened in Isla Vista in 1969.

Joe and his wife, Carol (who was honored last year with The Spirit of Entrepreneurship’s “Rock Star: Lifetime Achievement Award” from Women’s Economic Ventures), didn’t have much money to buy a new sign, so they cut off the “roast beef” part of the sign and replaced it with “Pizza.”

The rest, as they say, is pizza history.

“Pizza is the world’s most deliverable food,” said Tyler. “It’s easy to deliver a pizza and it’s been done since the 1980s. The product itself holds well – hot bags help keep it hot and special boxes with air vents keep it from getting soggy. Personally, I don’t think other foods, except for Chinese or Thai, deliver as well.”

Hamburgers, he notes, not so much.

For those isolated at home alone, there are individual sized pizzas.

Personally, I love leftover pizza for breakfast and often crack an egg on top and put it under the broiler.

I ordered one of the boss’s favorites

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from the just opened venue, it arrived promptly and I can vouch for the tasty Chile Verde pizza. Order thin crust – or even extra thin if you like your pizza crust crunchy. It paired quite nicely with a wee half bottle of Fred Brander’s 2018 Sauvignon Blanc.

“When things are slightly normal,” Duncan concluded, “we’ll have a big celebration!”

Hopefully, with an appearance by Rusty’s popular mascot, Duncan the Dinosaur.

We can hardly wait.

To order, call (805) 564-1111. Online menu at www.rustyspizza.com.

Good Pick Up Food News!

Field + Fort was scrambling last Friday for their partial reopening of coffee, baked goods, and retail for curbside pick-up followed by their Tuesday roll-out for take-out off the regular menu and a few additions from Chef Austin Moore.

Co-owner Susie Bechtel wrote with the good news.

“Per the Governor’s order, we are only open for takeout and curbside pick-up from the café and retail. The café is serving coffee/beverages, pastries, bread, and baked goods (cookies, cake, scones) and our café menu has been expanded with many favorites back on the menu, as well as a few new seasonal items,” Susie reported.

“We will be increasing our Instagram postings and will be building out our website design in the coming weeks to better assist our socially-distanced customers. Our retail staff are happy to assist in person or by phone.”

Chef Austin’s new menu additions

22 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Order online for items in the café (https://field-fort.square.site), call (805770-7897), or order upon arrival. Field + Fort is back to their previous schedule of 9 am-5 pm, Monday-Sunday. If at any point that changes, notices will be posted on the website landing page, Instagram (@fieldandfort) and at the shop.

For the Montecito Monday Night Regulars & Others

The Nugget will be re-opening for delivery and take-out in about a week, including your favorite libations from the bar (for 21 and over).

We will keep you posted in the Buzz.

•MJ

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include a breakfast sandwich (fried eggs, bacon jam, braised greens, and cheddar); burrata toast with tomato jam, balsamic, and basil; a vegetarian/vegan sandwich option of roasted asparagus, beet hummus, romesco, and arugula on levain, and a seasonal daily soup.

The team remains focused on the health and safety of all employees, their families, and the community as their highest priority and will strictly follow all guidelines provided by Santa Barbara County’s Public Health Department, as well as the CDC and CA OSHA. “Though we know we won’t be returning to anything ‘normal’ anytime soon, we do very much look forward to reconnecting safely with our many devoted customers, and hope that we can provide a little respite from these uncertain times,” Susie concluded.

A little respite in Summerland will be most welcome.

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14 – 21 May 2020

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14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

23

For Goodness’ Sake

by Ken Saxon Ken Saxon’s second act – following his business career – has been building a leadership network to empower, elevate, and connect Santa Barbara County’s nonprofit leaders. He enjoys the opportunity to engage in civic life and leadership locally, especially through the nonprofit leadership organization he founded, Leading From Within.

How Nonprofits Can Outlast the Coming Downturn

T

he financial fuel that makes nonprofits go – from earned income, government funding, private donors, and foundations – will be suppressed for months and maybe several years. Meanwhile front-line organizations are facing more need than ever, with so many people out of work. If you’re someone who cares deeply for one or more nonprofit organizations and their mission, you’re needed now more than ever. It’s crunch time.

Santa Barbara is a place that cares about causes. Most people I know here support at least one local charitable organization in an ongoing way – serving on boards, volunteering, attending events, donating. It may sound cliché to say “when you give, you get,” but that has certainly been the case for me.

My involvement here with nonprofits has provided me with a strong sense of purpose, and many of my closest friends are people I’ve met doing charitable work.

Nonprofit organizations are an inextricable part of the civic culture here. And to be honest, I’m nervous about this particular COVID-19 crisis and how it will affect them. No one was prepared for a disruption of this nature and scale, and even a couple months in, we still lack basic visibility into the future. How long and deep will the downturn be? When will we get to some sort of new normal, and what will new normal look like? When will social distancing end? We don’t

know. In a situation like this, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. And overwhelm can lead to panic or paralysis and to bad decisions.

I’ve been reflecting on how we can help our favorite nonprofits make it through this massive disruption. Truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to that question. Some front-line organizations are busier than ever. Others are changing over to remote work and determining what they can sustain of the rest of their activities. And some may be forced into hibernation, hopeful to re-emerge when they can.

Different situations will require different strategies. But no matter which category your favorite nonprofit falls into, they need your love.

This is a good time to remember that nonprofits tend to be resilient. When the Great Recession of 2008-2009 hit, I was serving on several local nonprofit and foundation boards. I remember being surprised how very few local agencies actually disappeared during that really scary economic downturn.

Most managed their way through that crisis, albeit along the way making difficult decisions about staffing, compensation and/or programs. And since that time, most of those organizations have grown well beyond where they were before the crisis. It helps me to remember that.

So, what can you do to help your favorite nonprofit make it to the other side of this pandemic? If you’re a

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donor and have capacity, consider stretching to donate at a higher level in 2020, when it will be needed most.

Your contribution can help sustain your chosen organization through a time of great uncertainty. Ask the Executive Director other ways you can help. If you’re a board member, it’s time to lean in. Show up, actively engage in deliberations, and offer to serve as a sounding board. Decisions made now will have an enormous impact on how the organization makes it through the coming downturn.

“What can you do to help your favorite nonprofit make it to the other side of this pandemic? If you’re a donor and have capacity, consider stretching to donate at a higher level in 2020, when it will be needed most.”

As you think through how to help your favorite nonprofit through this time of global crisis, I want to share five characteristics I’ve seen in the most resilient organizations. This list may help you think into where you can be useful, as well as what discussions should be on the table right now.

Prepared – When you have little visibility on the future, you need to plan for multiple scenarios. I’d recommend all nonprofits reforecast their budget given what they know now, and also look at their revenues and expenses under different scenarios – including a worst case. Having had these discussions, an organization’s leadership will be better able to respond quickly to changing conditions. Scenario planning is no fun, but the alternative is sticking your head in the sand, which can be fatal in a crisis.

Focused – Looking back to the Great Recession, the organizations I saw nav-

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Flexible – An extended crisis like this is a time for organizations to hold their existing budget and strategic and operational plans very lightly, and to be open to changing almost everything. Especially when one lacks visibility of what’s ahead, leaders need to be nimble. The one thing nonprofits should hold tightly to is their mission statement, which will prevent them from straying too far just to survive.

“Mission creep” can cause nonprofits big problems in the long term.

Communicative – In this time when nonprofits are being forced to adapt so much, it’s crucial to take the time to bring people along – staff, volunteers, board, donors, partners. One cannot overcommunicate at a time like this.

A crisis is also a new opportunity to frame the critical nature of an organization’s work, to get its message out, and even to reach new audiences.

Collaborative – In recent weeks, I’ve heard so many terrific stories about organizations that have begun collaborating or communicating regularly.

That’s another gift of crisis, when the limits of what individual nonprofits can do are self-evident – thus agencies have no choice but to partner in order to meet the needs of their constituents.

One thing we know is that there will be a time after this crisis. And the needs that our local nonprofit organizations exist to meet will still be there. They may be even greater. As our nonprofits keep one eye focused on today’s needs and another eye trained on the future, they need their supporters more than ever. Yes, it’s crunch time.

•MJ

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igate it best got very focused on what they did that was most critical, and they were willing to let go (temporarily or permanently) of other programs.

This may be a time for a nonprofit to consider putting some of their core, long-time services on hiatus. On the other side of the crisis, they can reflect anew on how those services fit their vision as they rebuild.

14 – 21 May 2020

Perspectives

by Rinaldo S. Brutoco Rinaldo S. Brutoco is the Founding President and CEO of the Santa Barbara-based World Business Academy and a co-founder of JUST Capital.

He’s a serial entrepreneur, executive, author, radio host, and futurist who’s published on the role of business in relation to pressing moral, environmental, and social concerns for over 35 years

Innovating Learning and Hacking Disease

New Federalism in a Post-COVID World Part IV

W

e began by examining the growing power of the Federal government, and particularly the executive Branch (the President). We traced the rise of Federal power, for better or worse, from the Articles of Confederation, through the U.S. Constitution, and through World War I up until today with the respective actions of states and the Federal government to the COVID-19 pandemic. We then examined those times when Federalism performed at its best (e.g. Roosevelt’s handling of the Great Depression and World War II), and how badly it has failed us with the coronavirus that has now claimed over 80,000 lives, a toll that rises daily. Last week we rounded out our observations by tracing the Civil War’s long-term impacts and the failure of the Federal government to obtain the Confederacy’s surrender, through the “States’ Rights” controversies in the 20th century and the resultant reverberations of the current “culture war” over time to the present.

So here we are in 2020 living in a badly divided “nation” of “red” states and “blue” states, rather than the United States. Where does this end and how?

The Trump Administration has taken the position that it was not “responsible” for preventing the coronavirus pandemic, nor for bringing the pandemic to an end, either domestically or abroad as was done so successfully with the Ebola virus and with SARS. The administration does not accept culpability for springing to action more quickly or with fewer dead Americans. They told the governors that they were “on their own.”

The states have responded aggressively to protect the lives of their people and the integrity of their local medical institutions. Like Governor Cuomo in New York State (the original epicenter that has now flattened its pandemic curves), many governors have scrambled effectively to marshal their scarce resources to keep medical facilities from being overrun, and to keep their medical workers safe in the absence of adequate testing and personal protective gear with considerable success – Washington, California, Oregon, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Ohio to name a few states. States have also formed “compacts” amongst themselves achieving some success with coordinated regional responses.

14 – 21 May 2020

Compacts are multistate agreements between two or more states, which most often in U.S. history were organized around a common challenge. In the present moment the challenge is to bring about a quicker, safer end to the pandemic in the absence of federal support for procuring and distributing Personal Protective Equipment and test kits; the absence of binding national standards on “sheltering in place”; the absence of FDA coordination of multiple suppliers of potential serum antibody tests; and the failure to properly and aggressively use the Defense Production Act of 1950 to mobilize American industrial capacity to remedy all the supply chain disruptions.

To the contrary, the Federal government has pitted one state against each other and against FEMA itself in the procurement of test kits, creating price gouging by suppliers and radical responses by governors who have seen their supplies delivered to FEMA even after contracts are signed in a “Wild West” style bidding contest. Governor Hogan of Maryland arranged through his Korean wife to purchase a plane load of tests from South Korea and chartered a jet to have it secretly land at Baltimore International Airport, protected by Maryland National Guard soldiers, rather than Dulles so he could avoid having the Federal government seize the tests when they arrived. The remainder of that shipment is hidden and guarded from the national government to this day.

Currently there are three major regional state consortiums (informal compacts impacting 170 million Americans) that could become formal compacts if and when the states participating in them formalize these compacts by adopting mutually binding legislative action. These are: 1) The Western Compact, uniting California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington; 2) The Eastern Compact uniting New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts; 3) and The Central Region Compact uniting Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Compacts were widely used for many purposes by the original 13 Colonies prior to the Revolutionary War. The Articles of Confederation restricted such associations but the attempt to do so was partially watered down in the

L

How one school in California is mastering online learning. ast week, The Optimist Daily online took an in-depth look at how our education systems will be transformed post-coronavirus. Today, we are checking out the Anacapa School, a school in Santa Barbara that is achieving high success rates with their approach to online learning.

At a time where parents are becoming more frustrated with the way online learning is being handled by schools, the Anacapa School is finding success by allowing students to explore their passions with guidance from dedicated teachers. For virtual learning, this involves real-time group collaboration in math class and science projects such as documenting ecosystems around their homes.

The head of the school, Dylan Minor, says the success is in large part due to the students’ positive attitudes and resilient spirits regarding their education.

Even facing the possibility of meeting via Google Hangouts until next fall, the students are enthusiastic about coming to class each day.

There is a multitude of ways to adapt online learning to work for different age groups. Looking at schools that are managing to successfully run virtual classrooms is a great way to gain insights and inspiration for how to become better online teachers and administrators.

Researchers discover microbe that completely stops malaria.

A team of researchers in Kenya and the UK says they have discovered a microbe that completely protects mosquitoes from being infected with malaria, which researchers say has “enormous potential” to control the disease.

Malaria is spread by the bite of infected mosquitoes, so protecting them could in turn protect people.

The malaria-blocking bug, Microsporidia MB, was discovered by studying mosquitoes on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kenya. It lives in the gut and genitals of the insects. The researchers could not find a single mosquito carrying the Microsporidia microbe that was harboring the malaria parasite. Lab experiments confirmed the microbe gave the mosquitoes protection.

While huge progress has been made in tackling malaria through the use of bed nets and spraying homes with insecticide, anti malaria efforts had stalled in recent years. Scientists need to understand how the microbe spreads, so they plan to perform more tests in Kenya. These approaches are relatively uncontroversial as the microbial species is already found in wild mosquitoes and is not introducing something new. It also would not kill the mosquitoes, so such a study would not have an impact on ecosystems that are dependent on them as food.

•MJ U.S. Constitution as Article 1, Section 10, Clause III which read “No state shall, without the consent of Congress enter into any agreement or compact with another state.” Even such an apparently definitive statement was not the final word as the Founding Fathers were primarily concerned with individual states setting up their own armies or “state departments,” but most matters were believed to be best dealt with at the state level. A series of cases broadened the states authority making it easier to create domestic Compacts for a wide variety of regional solutions until the supreme Court in 1893 decided Virginia v. Tennessee.

That case held that the “consent” of Congress could be express or implied, and that the failure of Congress to object was deemed consent.

There are many matters upon which different states may agree that would concern the United States. In fact, the passage of time itself would suffice as “consent” if Congress failed to reject the Compact (which raises the legitimate question: Is one House of

• The Voice of the Village •

Congress sufficient for consent, and the equally obvious, if both Houses don’t agree to reject, is there still ipso facto implied consent?).

The coronavirus has catalyzed powerful regional Consortiums/Compacts into existence that collectively represent almost 60 percent of US GDP. What other alliances will arise in the post-coronavirus world where arrangements will be sought between states to accomplish objectives that a self-emasculated Federal government will not tackle? Short of setting up a “State Department” or creating an army for foreign deployment (as opposed to a National Guard which is totally permissible), it appears that the states could, and probably should, begin managing far more of their daily affairs amongst themselves. Almost certainly the Federal government, particularly the Executive branch, will reduce itself in scope and in power.

Equally certain, a new balance of Federal and state power will emerge from the post covid-19 world. What will that look like? Stay tuned… •MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

25

GOOD LION (Continued from page 8)

big city bar that didn’t exist here, targeted the kind of demographic that wasn’t served, hired the kind of employee that wasn’t fully appreciated, and proceeded to make their mark.

“I remember a lady telling me on our third day that we were awfully young, and to be prepared to last only a few months,” Misty recalls. “I thought that was a strange thing to say to someone who just opened their dream bar in their dream city. But a lot of people told us there just wasn’t a lot of young The Good Lion will roar again blood here, it was an old town. Now we’re looking at the tech companies, and our three bars all in five years.”

The couple managed to strategically snag a prime piece of real estate next to the Granada Theatre that will always be valuable, even if the rest of State Street doesn’t get its act together. Their other locations are also prime, especially Test Pilot at the site of the bar formerly known as Reds, which had been a vastly under-utilized property in the heart of the economically exploding Funk Zone.

Converting Baristas to Mixologists

Brandon is a tall, poised, soft-spoken man with a perfectly groomed beard.

He’s prone to incremental innovations that are the hallmark of his business.

One insight he had that proved immediately useful was that great baristas could make great bartenders. It didn’t take long after placing a poster offering Mixology Courses in the windows of The Good Lion before opening to tap into the wealth of talent in the thriving espresso bars and cafés of Santa Barbara. He managed to do so while continuing to work cooperatively and have great relations with Dune Roasters, Handlebar Coffee, and Low Pigeon on Haley.

The synergies in skills and timing between pulling a great espresso shot and blending the perfect mix of frothed almond milk and shaking up a Tequila Negroni were considerable, right down to the same honest and friendly customer relations and flawless presentation. Importantly, his employees represented the demographic he was looking to attract. In the meantime, he developed new concepts in drink production and fresh juicing to the point where Good Lion was about to launch a new juice distribution business when covidization imploded the economy.

Good Lion’s Secret Weapon

Brandon always had an additional asset as he developed concepts for a neo-classic cocktail bar, the secret weapon in launching his business: his wife, Misty. Misty Orman is singular in so many ways it’s hard to know where to start. Vivacious is the word that first comes to mind. What do you say about an avowed Southern Belle from Garland, Texas whose entertainment career spans hand modeling for Bratz and Barbie to Buzz Lightyear? Yes, she’s the hand in all those toy commercials that makes those playsets come to life. Then there’s a number of acting gigs in television series like Boston Public and the campy latenight cult film Zombie Campout.

But those credits, while colorful, distract from her intellect and understanding of the customer’s cocktail experience. Misty is the Khaleesi of Santa Barbara bar design. She’s expert in assessing the nuances that people look for when entering an establishment, especially the underserved women who enjoy going to bars.

“A lot of bars and breweries are built towards men. Women are a little different. I always want things that inspire women to come in, cozy custom-made seating that feels authentic and true,” she explains. “Today it’s all about Instagram and having different areas where they’ll want to stand with their girlfriends and take photos, whether it’s cool wallpaper, bright plants, it’s all very visual. Even older ladies in their sixties and seventies come in. It’s awesome when there’s a hipster group in one section, then right next to them a group of women having cocktails in their sixties.”

Misty and Brandon are an essential team, a collaboration of focused individuals who seem to be playing a secret game, pushing each other to refine and problem solve in ways that other bars and bartenders just improvise. You have a sense talking to them that they are highly entertained by their lives, their challenges, and are deeply rooted in their loyalty and caring for each other.

It’s a good thing they’ve got all that going for them because they’ll have to up their game another couple of notches to match the challenges ahead.

Reinventing the bar in the age of COVID is far tougher than making a Fatwashed Del Maguey Mezcal with an orange zest.

26 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Misty Orman on set with her magic hands making toys come to life

The Challenge of the New Normal

What is a bar but a place where you mingle shoulder to shoulder and chat each other up while sharing libations? No one ever brags about going to an empty bar, it’s a failed enterprise.

There are a lot of contradictions to square in creating a new version. Since the closures, Brandon and Misty have been working solid 10- to 15-hour days, nonstop with bankers, lawyers, investors, accountants, and bookkeepers wrapping their heads around the various stimulus packages, familiarizing themselves with new legislation, working with their employees, and developing a new plan to find a way to keep alive the business they had so successfully developed against all odds.

Everything at Risk

Everything they had built, all their savings and investments in the business were at risk.

“Most folks in our industry are on what they call ‘terms.’ Meaning 28 days after we purchase alcohol, we pay for it. So, we knew we had four weeks of heavy alcohol bills coming at us with no revenue, and of course, labor, payroll, all the taxes and sales tax and rent, all these big bills coming in. That was incredibly intense.”

One concern was how some of the property owners were behaving. They’ve offered abatements but not forgiveness. Some on the landlord side expect the business tenants to carry the shutdown alone.

“We understand that property owners are not endlessly wealthy,” Brandon adds. He has been on both sides of the landlord tenant equation. “Landlords can’t take this all on themselves, but it should be a partnership and taking on a portion of this pain, each on the tenant and the landlord side, is our view.”

Instantly with the shutdown, Brandon has obligations he would not have had otherwise.

“We were debt free on March 14 of this year. We had no debt anywhere. Now we’ve taken on the PPP loans and any rent we’ve abated.”

Additionally, the couple were in the middle of opening a new bar in downtown Ventura in the Bank of Italy building on Oak and Main. They were already past the point of no return.

“It’s just a gorgeous building,” Brandon remarked. “We had been looking around there because everything that we saw in Santa Barbara, we see in Ventura now. We’re going through the process. We were about to submit for plan check, which is a much faster process in Ventura than Santa Barbara, I mean way faster and less headaches.”

This is the litany heard countless times. Ventura and San Luis Obispo are far faster and more competitive than Santa Barbara.

His Forecast of the Future

“I’m probably in the tiny minority, but I believe at some point between twelve and eighteen months from now, the bar of the future will be the bar it was two months ago,” Brandon reflects. “It’s going to take a vaccine and a lot of things to get back to that point.”

We take the contemporary bar for granted, but in fact an earlier pandemic, the Bubonic Plague, actually gave rise to first pubs and taverns. Until that time women home-brewed beer, because the water was not safe to drink. After the

“Political correctness is tyranny with manners.” – Charlton Heston

GOOD LION Page 454

14 – 21 May 2020

Robert’s Big Questions

Brilliant Thoughts

by Ashleigh Brilliant

by Robert Bernstein

Born London, 1933. Mother Canadian. Father a British civil servant. World War II childhood spent mostly in Toronto and Washington, D.C. Berkeley PhD. in American History, 1964. Living in Santa Barbara since 1973. No children.

Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots”, now a series of 10,000.

Email ashleigh@west.net or visit www.ashleighbrilliant.com

All Hell

W

arning: I am (in all likelihood) about to change your life. Not in any big significant way, but in the same slight, but probably permanent, way that mine was changed when, not long ago, I made the discovery which I am going to share with you here.

First, a little background: Somehow, I had managed to live to an advanced age without ever reading “Paradise Lost.”

Of course, I knew that John Milton is supposed to be one of the greatest English poets, and that “Paradise Lost” is supposed to be his greatest work. I knew that he was blind when he wrote it, and that he had to dictate it to his three daughters. But exposure many years ago at school to some of his other work had been more than enough for me. Nevertheless, I recently decided to give it a try.

It turns out to be a phenomenally long epic (275 pages in my edition), giving Milton’s version of the Biblical story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. There is no rhyme (it is in blank verse), far too little punctuation, and the entire format is so dense that, if you lose your place, you’re in real trouble.

But one thing encouraged me to keep on wading through this mass of verbiage – the thought that, since it is such a famous work, there must be, buried in it, many expressions which, as with Shakespeare, are so often quoted that they have become part of our language.

You have probably heard about the lady, who, after attending a performance of Hamlet for the first time, complained that it was “just a lot of old quotations strung together.” So, I naturally expected to be able to make some similar observation about “Paradise Lost.”

But I have to report that, in this whole saga, I have found only one passage which the world in general might recognize. But that singular find has impressed me so much that I felt I had to tell you about it.

The one (and possibly only) original piece of “Paradise Lost” which you and I would immediately acknowledge to be familiar in everyday speech is to be found on line 918 of Book IV. It consists of just four one-syllable words: “ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE” How do I know that this originated in “Paradise Lost,” and wasn’t said by somebody else maybe centuries earlier? Well, you needn’t take my word 14 – 21 May 2020

Degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UC Santa Barbara. Career in designing atomic-resolution microscopes. Childhood spent in Europe and the East of the US. Passion to understand the Big Questions of life and the universe. Duty to be a good citizen of the planet.

for it. After making this stupendous discovery, I of course rushed to consult my online reference works, and soon found the Milton origin confirmed by one and all.

But what seems most remarkable to me is the fact that Milton used those words in a very special way, which has nothing to do with the way they are commonly used today. They are part of one of many lengthy dialogues in the book, this one between Satan and the Angel Gabriel, after Satan has escaped from the nether regions, to which he was supposed to have been confined, and has been caught attempting to sneak into the Garden of Eden. Gabriel wants to know why Satan escaped by himself, rather than at the head of all his infernal followers. He therefore asks: “But wherefore thou alone?

Wherefore with thee came not all Hell broke loose?” (“Wherefore,” here, means “why” – as you know from Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet’s “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” means “Why must you have that name [i.e. belong to that family]?”)

“Poor Milton would no doubt be aghast at the way we’ve removed his expression from all its context, and bandy it about today.”

So, you see that a funny thing happened to those four words on their way into colloquial speech. Milton was using them in a quite literal sense. His “broke loose” was a descriptive adjective, not the powerful verb we’ve long assumed it to be. If he’d been writing prose rather than poetry, he would probably have said “broken loose” – which of course would have completely spoiled our usage today. Poor Milton would no doubt be aghast at the way we’ve removed his expression from all its context, and bandy it about today.

I will bet whatever you like that hardly anyone who today says, “that’s when all hell broke loose,” realizes that they are quoting Milton. But from now on, you will know – and it’s such an odd piece of information that you may never forget it. So, to that extent (and I hope for better rather than for worse) I will here and now take credit for having changed your life.

•MJ

What is Normal?

A

s I write this article, people are asking for a return to “normal.” Is that what we really

want?

Is it “normal” that tens of millions of Americans have no access to healthcare? That millions of Americans are homeless? That 11 million children in the U.S. literally do not know where their next meal is coming from?

Is it “normal” that humans are disrupting the climate in a catastrophic manner and that we go about business as usual?

At age 15, climate activist Greta Thunberg said in a TEDx talk, “I think in many ways we autistic are the normal ones and the rest of the people are pretty strange – especially when it comes to the sustainability crisis.”

Her comment warmed me to the core as I have always felt the same way.

In some way, it is not our fault. Our perceptual systems are mostly set up only to detect change. We are largely blind to what is unchanging in our environment.

The corporate media accentuates this effect on a grand scale. Single tragedies are magnified while gross ongoing injustices receive no coverage.

A few years ago there was a small conference in Santa Barbara where top news editors explained how they cover the news. I pointed out that news coverage is “event driven” rather than driven by what is important. I asked if that could change.

A top New York Times editor chose to answer my question. He said that this question came up at one of their staff meetings. Someone offered this solution: Let’s have a feature once a month called “Still True.” They would allocate space to a problem that is large, but creates no specific events. For example, “Still True That Three Million Americans are Homeless.”

I smiled approvingly. Once a month is not much, but still better than nothing.

He smiled back at me. Then snapped back, “I killed it. It was a dumb idea.”

He saw the shock on my face and said, “You can’t make people eat broccoli.”

Wow. This was as good as it gets. A top New York Times editor thinks it is a dumb idea to cover what is important.

The result? “GoFundMe” campaigns replace good public policy. The leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S.?

Medical bills. No other country in the world has this. As a child I lived in a civilized country where we could walk

• The Voice of the Village •

to the family doctor and there were never any bills at all.

Do we really want things to return to “normal”? Senator Bernie Sanders first ran for president in 2016 on a 12-point platform of issues that all poll at more than 60% across the political spectrum. Including true universal healthcare. The pundits declared his views as “out of the mainstream.” Yet one debate moderator took the time to look at his policy positions. He said, “You call yourself a socialist. But your positions are more conservative than (Republican) President Eisenhower’s.”

Bernie replied, “You got me there!”

How do ideas get to be “normal”? When President Roosevelt proposed putting millions of unemployed Americans to work building needed infrastructure, his idea was vigorously opposed by the corporate powers. When it was seen as a brilliant success, it became so normal that Eisenhower indeed proposed massive public works projects of his own. Notably, the Interstate Highway System. Eisenhower also proposed a universal healthcare system similar to Obamacare.

When Reagan first tried running on a platform of tearing down such government investment in his 1976 presidential campaign, he was considered a fringe candidate. Not at all normal. But he was able to win in 1980 by recruiting a huge untapped part of the population that had never voted before: devout fundamentalist Christians who believed we were living in the End of Times. Are those views normal?

With fundamentalist support, Reagan was able to dismantle decades of accepted public policy. Ever since, it has been considered “normal” for swaths of people to be left to scramble for basic needs. Corporations sponsor candidates who turn around and use government to serve their needs rather than the public interest.

This “normal” situation of legalized bribery is at the root of all our “normal” problems. What got us into the coronavirus crisis? A “normal” system that rewards short-term corporate profits over long-term public investment. How about if we go beyond universal healthcare and demand a public agency to create medicines? Based on medical efficacy and need rather than on the private profits of Big Pharma?

Why don’t we envision and demand a NEW normal?

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

27

SEEN (Continued from page 14)

The star fountain in the back garden (photo by Matt Walla)

Steedman became quite the horticulturist and was president of the Santa Barbara Garden Club, winning many prizes in flower shows. Roses and camellias were her favorite. One of her dad’s last projects was to set up a dark room to photograph his wife’s flower arrangements before they went into the house because he hated to have such beauty be so fleeting.

Medora’s mother died in 1963 and before she and her husband could move here her mom’s loyal gardener and horticulturist Joe Acquistapace

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took care of the property. He was here for 50 years and trained Ildo Marra (son of one of the old gardeners). As Medora said, “I always feel that the garden has only been loaned to me and that it really belongs to those who created and nurtured it. I have the joy of getting most of my exercise in it now that I have given up tennis and I have inherited my mother’s tasks in the rose garden.”

Medora said the courtyard with its Spanish tiled pool and black and white pebbled pavement is similar to that of the Patio de la Reja in the Alhambra. I think the Saint Francis statue and the Satyr Bacchus staring at each other among the camellias is someone’s idea of humor. Saint Francis was a rich playboy who imbibed too much before he got religion and became a saint. The large exedra was made out of cardboard first to try it all over the garden choosing the perfect site for the tiled bench. Medora had many white flowers in the blue and white garden in memory of her parents who often enjoyed the garden in the moonlight.

Medora’s father especially liked the medieval look of the fan shaped garden of tree roses. Medora reminisced, “A bench with a view of the ocean and the islands through the south archway is one of my favorite spots in the late afternoon. I have reached an age now when all I collect are sunsets.”

There is a gothic birdhouse/sundial that her father made which says, “Use well thy time/ Fast fly my hours/

The Casa’s orchard (photo by Matt Walla)

Good works live on.” There used to be two white doves, but today there are no tenants. One of the favorite trees that visitors like are the dragon trees which seem to date from the time of the dinosaurs. Originally from the Canary Islands, the sap is blood red and used by the Egyptians for their mummy recipe and perhaps by Stradivarius on his red violin.

There is a whole orchard of citrus and other fruit trees which were helped along by the eight gardeners and Depression-era projects done by jobless men. The drainage of the clay soil was poor and orange trees don’t

Amelia Kramer-Pollard, AuD, CCC-A Doctor of Audiology, AU 3108

(805) 869-1277 hearingsb.com

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28 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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like wet feet so they dug trenches and laid pipes to drain each tree. They also built compost bins and garbage pits. They practiced organic gardening years before it became popular.

At age 73 Medora wrote, “I wonder if I am realistic in hoping that someone in the family will be able to afford to keep up Casa del Herrero. And I worry that I am neglecting my reading and work in the population and family planning. But then I remember the old Chinese proverb that ends ‘if you want to be happy for life, plant a garden.’”

I think Medora would be pleased with the stewardship of the Casa since it is a protected foundation, dedicated to the preservation of all she held dear with the door open for the public to see and admire what her parents created. The Casa still has relatives on the board who recall what it was like when they would come to visit grandma and grandpa and they tell us anecdotes of those times. When the pandemic is over, the casa will be open for 90-minute docent led tours.

Just call 805.565.5653.

•MJ 14 – 21 May 2020

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MONTECITO & SANTA BARBARA BROKERAGES | SIR.COM © Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. All rights reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark. This material is based upon information which we consider reliable but because it has been supplied by third parties, we cannot represent that it is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. This offering is subject to errors, omissions, changes including price or withdrawal without notice. If your property is listed with a real estate broker, please disregard. It is not our intention to solicit the offerings of other real estate brokers. We are happy to work with them and cooperate fully. Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Real estate agents affiliated with Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. are independent contractor sales associates and are not employees of Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity. DRE License Numbers for All Featured Agents: Kristi Curtis: 2012866 | Dusty Baker: 1908615 | Maureen McDermut: 1175027 | Sandy Stahl: 1040095 | Vivienne Leebosh: 01229350 | Caroline Santandrea: 01349311 | Harry Kolb: 00714226 | Joe McCorkell: 2051326 | Frank Abatemarco: 1320375 | Robert Heckes: 01723319 | Marie Larkin: 523795 | Linda Borkowski: 1970135

14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

29

LETTERS (Continued from page 11) first responders, muzzled the CDC, fired those who spoke out about the dangers, and dithered, lied and downplayed from the first until now.

But I don’t think that’s the politician she means.

She lifts a story from Fox News that an executive with WHO praised Sweden’s careless freedom from lockdown without noting the praise was for effective testing (which we have never had and don’t have yet), not the result — Sweden’s deaths per 100,000 ratio is nearly half again larger than in the U.S., four times greater than in Norway right next door or in Germany, and four times greater than California’s.

How dare California’s government try to protect its people from fevered death and, what’s worse, do a reasonably good job at it? How dare Supervisor Williams “take away [her] privileges,” her “right to live as free people” (and to infect whomever those free people might breathe on)?

There’s a lot to mourn here, admittedly, loss of work, loss of health care, and many deaths, of nurses and doctors, of delivery people, grocery workers, meat plant workers, folks in nursing homes and elder care aides, prisoners and guards, and among all their families. By contrast, Ms Trosky’s loss of shopping joy weighs not half so heavy on the scale.

Cotty Chubb Montecito

End the Madness

So let me see if I’ve got this straight – the GOP’s response to the tragic deaths of tens of thousands of Americans and the unprecedented economic carnage caused by this Administration’s failure to promptly heed the warnings and advice of the world’s leading infectious disease experts vis-a-vis the coronavirus pandemic and to take measures that other countries – e.g., South Korea, Germany, New Zealand, etc. – took to contain it and limit loss of life and economic damage is to ignore the warnings and advice of the world’s leading climate scientists visa-vis the threat of climate change and take prompt action to address it?

The full extent of the economic and human tragedy wrought by the Administration’s unconscionable delay and failure of leadership in dealing with COVID-19 won’t be known for some time, but there is no question that huge investments of public funds will be required to ameliorate the damage. We have a choice – we can allow the GOP (in thrall to fossil fuel interests) to ignore the advice of climate scientists and expend vast sums in a futile attempt to preserve a 20th Century economy powered by fossil fuels, exacerbating the damage climate change will cause at the expense of the health and long-term prosperity of the

30 MONTECITO JOURNAL

vast majority of Americans, or we can invest in a just transition toward a 21st Century economy powered by clean energy and create millions of good jobs, ameliorating the damage of climate change in the process. I only hope that Joe Biden, Democratic leaders in Congress, and the voices of qualified scientists and responsible media are up to the challenge of articulating this choice, and that American voters end this madness in November.

John H. Steed Toro Canyon

Finding God

The article by Ashleigh Brilliant “Dear God” is somewhat off track.

First of all, he doesn’t give any good support for his thesis that there is no God. Second, he doesn’t seem to be very happy. No kids or grandkids and a very negative perception of the world.

Suggest he convert to Christianity where he would have a much more rewarding and fulfilling life.

Frank McGinity Montecito

News from Rosetta’s Pond

Dialogue overheard on Coast Village Road, from a COVID-19 taxi driver.

“Hey! You rolling up ur window at me?”

“Hey! Who r u? Keeping me away from you?”

“Hey! You ignoring me?”

Bill Dalziel Montecito

Water Woes

Montecito Water District customers recently received in the mail a “Notice Of Public Hearing On Proposed Water Rate Increase”. The proposed rates are in addition to the supposedly temporary Water Supply Emergency (WSE) rate increase enacted during the recent drought. The water usage charge was increased 64% at that time and remains in place to this day.

Using the existing WSE rates as the base, the District is proposing changes. For example, a residential customer using 23 hundred cubic feet per month would see their monthly bill increase by $13.72. Not bad. However if the proposed increase is compared to pre drought rates, the monthly bill increases $93.07. Ouch!

The District states that the rate increase is needed to address several water supply challenges. Possible solutions to these challenges are examined in the “Future Water Demand and Water Supply Options Report 2020 Update” prepared by Dr. Bachman.

The District’s preferred solution is to execute a Water Supply Agreement with the City of Santa Barbara backed

by its desalination facility. This is a reliable source of additional water.

Unfortunately it is the most expensive, at over $4 million per year with a 50 year contract term. Also it is inflexible because it requires the District to pay for water even during years when it is not needed, which is most years.

For instance, this year the District has over 2,000 acre feet of State Water Project (SWP) water entitlement available for delivery. However the District has elected to not have it delivered.

Other Santa Barbara County water agencies have decided not to receive the SWP water. Why? Because sufficient rainwater has been delivered free to the Santa Ynez River watershed reservoirs (Cachuma, Gibraltar, Jameson) to meet all water demands for South Coast water agencies. If the WSA was in effect today the District would be forced to pay over $4 million a year for water it does not need!

In addition, even though an extremely large amount (85%) of District water goes for exterior use, the District continues to resist implementing an effective water conservation program. Financial incentives for customers to reduce exterior water consumption have proven to be effective by water agencies throughout California. Instead the District proposes a WSA which will provide extremely expensive water for exterior use.

This water is considered valuable by a small number of large water users that needed to reduce their landscape FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bob’s Central Vacuum, 1308 San Rafael Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93109. Michael E. Purdy, 1308 San Rafael Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93109. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 29, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001070.

Published May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: GW Wallcoverings, 346 Hot Springs Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

Glenn Walter, 346 Hot Springs Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 29, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed

by Brenda Aguilera. FBN No. 2020-0001086.

Published May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Rothdeutsch & Associates Professional Fiduciary Services; SBGoats. com, 782 Acacia Walk Apt. G, Goleta, CA 93117. Khristine Sharon Rothdeutsch, 782 Acacia Walk Apt. G, Goleta, CA 93117. Scott Andrew Rothdeutsch, 782 Acacia Walk Apt. G, Goleta, CA 93117.

This statement was filed with

the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 29, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office.

Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001072. Published May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Niche Enterprises, 4040 Primavera Rd. #5, Santa Barbara, CA 93110. Jason Erwin, 5068 San Lorenzo Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93111.

Brian Langlo, 410 W. Canon Perdido St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 24, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001042.

Published May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Eudaimon Wealth Management, 144 San Rafael Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93109. Steve Daniels, 144 San Rafael Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93109. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 23, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001030.

Published May 13, 20, 27, June 3, 2020.

“When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. I’m beginning to believe it.” – Clarence Darrow

irrigation in the last severe drought.

I agree that their needs should be addressed but by using a different, significantly less expensive, solution.

As mentioned in the Bachman report, future water supply reliability could be enhanced by increasing participation in water banks “in Central or Antelope Valley similar to existing Semitropic capacities”. (Semitropic is a groundwater bank in which the District already participates to a limited extent). Also, supplemental water could be purchased “on a long term contract or spot market”. Note: Groundwater banks are effective and economical because the District would pay for the water once and then store it until it is needed. It would then be delivered via the SWP system to the District. This is a significant contrast with the WSA which requires continuous payment regardless of need.

Additional groundwater banking coupled with an environmentally responsible and effective water conservation program would provide a reliable, economical solution to meet future District water supply needs. It would eliminate the need for a rate increase and provide an opportunity to return to rates that existed prior to the WSE surcharge. I anticipate that the District will embrace this solution when pigs learn to fly.

Robert L. Roebuck MWD customer for 37 years Retired MWD General Manager and City Water Resources Manager •MJ FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Mission Canyon Mind Body & Soul, 2600 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Brigitta T Wissmann, 2600 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 24, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001038.

Published May 6, 13, 20, 27, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: The Bookstore at the Vedanta Temple, 925 Ladera Lane, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Vedanta Society of Southern California, 1946 Vedanta Place, Los Angeles, CA 90068. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 29, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0001075.

Published May 6, 13, 20, 27, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Bam Playing Cards, 1914 Emerson Ave. Apt A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. Mackenzie Fixler, 1914 Emerson Ave. Apt A, Santa Barbara, CA 93103.

This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 16,

2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 20200000978. Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 20, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Little Alex’s, 1024 A Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108.

Doxa Chara Inc., 1024 A Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 20, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by Brenda Aguilera. FBN No. 2020-0000993. Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 2020.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CinemaCamera, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105.

Peter Fremont Mahar, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Sara Jane Mahar, 3011 Paseo Del Refugio, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 1, 2020. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL), filed by John Beck. FBN No. 2020-0000901.

Published April 22, 29, May 6, 13, 2020.

14 – 21 May 2020

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Inventory Checks. An individual collection of Story content on Instagram and Facebook, with the intent to capture the essence of a property and make it shine in the best light.

Featured Property In-feed Post We highlight properties regularly on the VP social channels using professional photography from the listings on the MLS. We describe the property in the caption and provide links to the property’s page on the Village Properties website.

DIGITAL E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS | Single-Property, New Listings and Featured Video Tours Campaigns

DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS | Monthly VP Newsletters + Market Reports

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Village Properties regularly creates and sends out email campaigns to our subscribers. Single property, new listings and featured video tours email campaigns are an effective and agile advertising tool that can communicate to a large audience on short notice.

Every month, Village features unique properties in it’s newsletter. With its large mailing list, our newsletter gets mailed out to thousands of people most of which are well respected, high-profile people with strong business and philanthropic ties to Santa Barbara and other large metropolitan areas.

Be present 24/7 and get more home buyer leads with QR Codes. All a potential buyer has to do is use their mobile device to scan the QR code on the sign or flyer that redirects them to a landing page on Villagesite.com and explains all the features and details of the property along with the agent’s contact information.

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14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

31

EDITORIAL (Continued from page 5)

we are now, due to this pandemic, conducting most of our social and interpersonal interactions on a screen. We’re existing in a universe where we can “unfriend,” “block,” or simply “mute” one another with the swipe of a finger.

So, there’s not even the possibility of sitting across the table and hashing things out. No need to even hear the pesky opinions of the ignoramuses who disagree with us. Just “unfriend” them. “Block” them. “Mute” them. It’s so much easier than engaging.

In college I majored in history. One of the figures I found particularly intriguing was a man named Henry Clay, a statesman who represented Kentucky in both the House and in the Senate. Over his long career Clay served as the Speaker of the House, the Secretary of State, and unsuccessfully ran for the office of President five times. Nevertheless, Clay had a lengthy and storied political career, running each of the major political parties at the time, including the Whig Party.

Clay is referred to in history as “The Great Compromiser,” because he was responsible for several major compromises between the Northern and the Southern states over the issue of slavery that likely helped delay the Civil War by 40 years. Clay inherited slaves himself but freed them as he gained both power and empathy. (Of little comfort, I suspect, to those enslaved for 40 more years.)

Clay also negotiated the treaty with Britain that ended the War of 1812 and negotiated the Missouri Compromise. Whatever you think of his politics, at his core Clay was a nationalist, devoted to the economic development and political integration of the United States. And Clay was unsurpassed in the art of bringing people together to talk, often in the interest of moderation and most importantly, moving things forward (like the end of slavery) while avoiding war. And certainly, these were not easy conversations.

I look around at our country and our local community and the daunting challenges we face. And I look at all the deep divisions and digging in over the many possible paths to an uncertain future. And I wonder, where is our Henry Clay, our Great Compromiser? Is that no longer even possible? Have we lost the great art of compromise? Or perhaps, as my daughter insists, that is no longer a thing? •MJ

Laughing Matters

D

id you hear the one about the farmer?

He was outstanding in his field.

Send us your best joke, we’ll decide if it’s funny. We can only print what we can print, so don’t blame us. Please send “jokes” to letters@montecitojournal.net

MONTECITO JOURNAL’S VISUAL ARTS CONTEST:

T

his time we have decided to do something a little different. We have received many photographs and other artistic reflections on the time of corona. So, this week we ask that you submit a piece of visual art that captures a moment of this moment: a photograph, a drawing, a picture or a painting, or anything else visual image fit to print.

We can’t wait to see what we get.

Send your image by Sunday, May 24 to: letters@montecitojournal.net.

We will publish the winning image and award the winning artist with a $125 gift certificate to a local restaurant of our choice for take-out food.

32 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Spirituality Matters

by Steven Libowitz “Spirituality Matters” highlights two or three Santa Barbara area spiritual gatherings. Unusual themes and events with that something extra, especially newer ones looking for a boost in attendance, receive special attention. For consideration for inclusion in this column, email slibowitz@yahoo.com.

Santa Barbara Yoga Fest Feeds your Soul… and the Hungry

E

njoy a full day of yoga with a wide swath of Santa Barbara County yoga teachers from Carpinteria to Santa Maria – including many of your favorites and lots of chances to practice with someone new – in a special participatory benefit to raise money for the Santa Barbara County Foodbank, whose goal is “moving the community from hunger to health.” The classes are offered on a donation basis – just $25 gets you admission into any or all of the sessions – with 100% of the proceeds going to the Foodbank, which has put forth an extraordinary effort to make sure everyone in the community is taken care of at this time of unprecedented need.

All of Santa Barbara’s major yoga studios – Santa Barbara Yoga Center, Yoga Soup, and Divinitree – are joined by a handful of other more specialized ones in participating in offering simultaneous half-hour yoga sessions from 9 am to 5 pm on Sunday, May 17.

Each studio is conducting their own registration and producing a schedule of events, with the total sessions numbering just shy of 60. Included are all variations of the practices, including Yin Yoga with Live Guitar, meditation, sound immersions, glow yoga, kids’ classes, Baptiste power yoga, acro yoga, and even aerials.

Santa Barbara Yoga Center, which is hosting the undertaking, has created a full schedule of events at www.santabarbarayogacenter.com/ sb-yoga-fest-2020, which also features links for each of the studio’s offerings, or visit the event page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ events/670648956851030.

Soul Lift Cacao

Nick Meador, a Bay Area-based transformational life coach, holistic event producer, and mindful entrepreneur, is familiar to local seekers through his participatory workshops at the Lucidity Festival at Live Oak Campground each spring. Meador is also the founder of Soul Lift Cacao, which markets organic ceremonial cacao – the natural, unprocessed form of chocolate grown in tropical regions around the world – sourced from family farms and collectives in Guatemala, and he also conducts regular cacao ceremonies. While today cacao is considered a superfood, ancient civilizations

“They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.” – Clint Eastwood

used cacao for introspective and celebratory purposes, calling it the “Food of the Gods” and even trading it like currency. This mysterious “plant medicine” side of cacao offers the potential to put you more in touch with your body and your soul. Meador’s weekly ceremonies have moved online but still serve as an opportunity to connect with our bodies and our souls in a secure container. The gatherings take place every Thursday at 4 pm over Zoom. The ceremonies are by donation but you can register for free at https:// www.soulliftcacao.com/cacao-ceremony-online. Meador has also created a four-week group program called “Get Your Life Together with Cacao” that runs May 16-June 6, aiming to channel the ability of cacao to bring insights that help people get clearer about their life purpose, as well as support the focus and motivation to take consistent action and make that purpose a reality.

Meador combines cacao with embodiment practices to de-armor the nervous system (breathwork, trauma release, energetic movement, etc.), and interactive practices to re-pattern communication, beliefs, and identity. The program includes a pound of ceremonial cacao, four weekly experiential cacao journeys via Zoom video with recordings available for later viewing, a private Facebook group for participants, and a private integration call with Meador.

Learn more about both offerings online at www.soulliftcacao.com.

Spiritual Events Calendar

Thursday, May 14 Daily Dharma – Bodhi Path Santa Barbara resident teacher Dawa Tarchin Phillips, a master dharma teacher and well-known mindfulness and meditation expert, leads a 30-minute live practice session every weekday where participants meditate, build connections, share reflections, get answers to questions, and nurture the practice together online during COVID19. (2-3:30 pm Monday-Friday; www.

BPSBonline.com.)

Moving Meditation – Sheng Zhen Meditation is a practice of moving meditation that quiets the mind, opens the heart and creates a more healthy body. The practice is highly accessible, even for people who are convinced they can’t sit still, stop thinking, or meditate 14 – 21 May 2020

for a moment. Through graceful movements, the body lulls the mind into a state of contented relaxation. (5-6 pm every Monday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday; donation-based; register at www.meetup.com/Sheng-ZhenMeditation-of-Santa-Barbara.)

Dream Tending Webinar – Stephen Aizenstat, Ph.D., M.F.T., Chancellor and Founding President of Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, conducts a live webinar in Dream Tending, the technique he has studied and developed over his 40-year career.

He’ll offer an academically tested tool to help manage anxiety and curb sleepless nights, just in time for coping with the COVID-19 crisis and its economic fallout. Aizenstat’s method uses the healing power of dreams to help people stay calm and collected during times of isolation and uncertainty, to maintain composure and performance while working from home, and to sleep well and wake up feeling rested and ready to tackle the day. Register and view an introductory video online at https://webinar.dreamtending.com/ webinar-registration1587149304040.

(12-1:30 pm; free.)

Half Moon 1 – Hour Meditation – In the Thai forest tradition of Theravada Buddhism, the weekly phases of the moon are considered holy days (or ‘wan phra’) and thus typically set aside as days of intensified focus on one’s practice. It is in that spirit that the Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup invites all to sit together for one hour of meditation that begins and ends with brief opening and closing remarks. (7-8 pm; register at www. meetup.com/Santa-Barbara-BuddhistMeditation.)

Stay home and meditate with Mahakankala Buddhist Center: When Our Mind Is Governed by Compassion It Is Always at Peace – This meditation class series explores ways of thinking about other people that will uplift our minds. By carrying these ideas into our daily life, we can maintain a light, joyful attitude towards others, whatever life throws our way. Guided

by Buddha’s Lojong teachings, participants learn how to identify obstacles in our mind that lead us away from peace — and how to dissolve these inner obstacles by improving our capacity to love others. Each class begins with a guided breathing meditation and culminates with a second meditation based upon the evening’s topic, with visiting Kadampa teacher Bob Day. (6:30-7:30 pm weekly; $10 suggested donation; register at https://medita tioninsantabarbara.org/how-to-signup-for-online-classes.)

Mindfulness and Compassion – Renee Golan, a former student of Shinzen Young who spent six months in intense mindfulness training and 14 – 21 May 2020

facilitation at the Center for Mindful Learning, also teaches mindfulness to teachers and children in public schools. The weekly sessions are meant to assist others in achieving the deep awareness, awakening and peace that comes through mindfulness meditation. (7 pm; free; https://zoom. us/j/5612731921.)

Friday, May 15 Being with Grief and Uncertainty – Alexis Slutzky, MFT, a mentor, educator, guide, and facilitator whose work supports cultural restoration through listening and mindfulness practices, nature connection, grief tending, dream work and community ritual, offers a weekly gathering online during the pandemic (9-10 am; free; https://zoom.us/j/5612731921.)

Tea Time With the Monks – Brew a cup of your favorite tea and “meet” Courtney and the members of the Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation virtually in the American Buddhist Meditation Temple’s tea house. Ajahn Khamjan and the monks of ABMT will be making tea and chatting with the group about whatever comes up. (5-6:30 pm; register at www.meetup.com/SantaBarbara-Buddhist-Meditation.)

Saturday, May 16 Meditation for Beginners: Isha Kriya – This free online webinar from the Inner Engineering Meetup features a one-hour session where participants will learn Isha Kriya, a simple 12-18-minute practice to help you to become meditative effortlessly and attain more health, clarity, and joy. Isha Kriya does not require any previous experience with meditation and can be done sitting in a chair. Designed by Sadhguru, a realized yogi and a foremost authority in the field of yoga, the Isha Kriya sessions will be conducted by a trained instructor, after which ongoing online support will also be available. Ages 12+ can attend. (1-2 pm weekly; www.innerengineering.com/ page/minute-for-wellbeing.)

Sunday, May 17 Stay Home and Meditate with Mahakankala Buddhist Center: Meditation for World Peace – “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible,” says Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, the source for these weekly gatherings for prayer and meditation that transcend passive action to serve as a force for change in our shared world. Each class consists of a guided breathing meditation, a short teaching on the practice of wisdom and compassion, and prayers (in English) to the Buddha of Compassion. Open to everyone. (10:30-11:45 am weekly; $5-10 suggested donation; register at https://meditationinsantabarbara. org/how-to-sign-up-for-online-class es.)

Mindfulness, Compassion, and Nature-Connection – Santa Barbara meditation teacher and clinical psychologist Radhule Weininger, Ph.D. teams with her husband Michael Kearney, the author of The Nest in The Stream: Lessons From Nature on Being with Pain, which offers an ecological model of self-care and resilience that awakens the desire to act for the welfare of all beings. (10 am weekly; free; https://zoom.us/j/5612731921.)

Open Tending – The Santa Barbara men’s group known as the Firetenders has migrated to Zoom for a series of gatherings with “brothers” from around the country for its Open Tending sessions. Each week a facilitator leads the group on a different topic (last week it was “Embracing All of Our Parts”: A Journey of Radical Inclusion and Letting Go) as a way to cultivate healthy masculinity and real connection in the world by meeting with other men that are committed to practicing integrity, brotherhood, true power, compassion, and embodied presence. The Firetenders hold an empowered container for men to show up as themselves, explore what is really important and what needs attention most in their lives. Through guided group processes, embodied exercises and live engagement with expert facilitators, you can expect to find ways to stay aligned to your purpose during these uncertain times. The current nine-week series began May 3, but men are invited to attend on a drop-in basis. (5-6:30 pm through June 28; $10; www.firetenders.org).

Monday, May 18 Restoring Resourcefulness –The Ojai-based Hendricks Institute’s Foundation for Conscious Loving’s five-week online series to discover and personally learn the skills from its Restoring Resourcefulness program comes to a close this afternoon, but it’s not too late to join. The series was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to come together to generate a global shift in our capacity to face and resolve challenges through creative collaboration. The faculty are teaching six essential skills that settle the nervous system, dispel the fear trance and expand the ability to integrate rapid change, including Presencing, Whole Body Listening, Breathing and Matching, implementing “Fear Melters,” and more. Each online class includes participatory whole group and partner activities to facilitate whole-body learning. Catch up by viewing the class recordings. (4 pm; free; (https://foundationforconsciousliving.org).

Double Dose of Meditation – Anahita Holden and Hattie Bluestone conduct a brief (12-12:30 pm) session in Mindful Self-compassion before men-

• The Voice of the Village •

tor Radhule Weininger offers a longer (7-8:15 pm) “Cultivating Emotional Balance through Mindfulness” session. (Weekly; free; https://zoom. us/j/5612731921.)

Tuesday, May 19 Tuesday Night Mindfulness Group – The one-hour meditation program from Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation Meetup includes a dharma talk, sitting meditation, and the opportunity to practice other mindfulness-building activities. (7-8 pm weekly; www.meetup.com/Santa-BarbaraBuddhist-Meditation.)

Meditation and Trauma – Stacy Zumbroigel, MA, a student of Jack Kornfield who has been practicing since 1989, did the DPP training at Spirit Rock, lived in India for six months in a Tibetan Indian monastery, and gives a yearly family mindfulness retreat at Tara Mandala, Colorado, leads a session geared toward COVID19 and other fear-inducing events.

(7 pm weekly; free; https://zoom. us/j/5612731921.)

Wednesday, May 20 Stay Home and Meditate with Mahakankala Buddhist Center: “Accessing the Peace Within Us” – When the otherwise incessant flow of our distracting or turbulent thoughts subsides, calmed through concentrating on the breath, our mind becomes unusually lucid and clear, and we can experience our own inner peace.

Resident teacher Kadam Keli Vaughan teaches and guides meditation to help us remain with this state of mental calm. (6:30-7:30 pm weekly; $10 suggested donation; register at https:// meditationinsantabarbara.org/howto-sign-up-for-online-classes.)

Mindfulness, Compassion and Zen – Renzi Zen monk Soken Danjo (Danjo San), who lives in a monastery near Hiroshima, Japan, co-teaches annually with Radhule Weininger in the Heart of Mindfulness Meditation Retreat.

They team up again for this weekly session to cap off the offerings collectively known as “Meditation in the Time of Coronavirus”. (7 pm weekly; free; https://zoom.us/j/5612731921).

Presentation: Exploring Alaska – Santa Barbara Buddhist Meditation founder Courtney Purcell shares stories and visuals from his world travels in pursuit of his spiritual path.

Tonight’s destiny: coastal Alaska, where he spent 3.5 months wandering the mountains, unaware at the time that the experience would be a turning point in his spiritual journey, one that would point directly toward a life dedicated to fully developing the Buddhist path. (6:30–8 pm; register at www. meetup.com/Santa-Barbara-BuddhistMeditation.)

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

33

Behind the Vine

by Hana-Lee Sedgwick Hana-Lee Sedgwick is a writer, wine consultant and lover of all things wine and food. As a Certified Specialist of Wine and Sommelier, she loves to explore the world of wine in and around her hometown of Santa Barbara. When not trying new wines or traveling, she can be found practicing yoga, cooking, entertaining and enjoying the outdoors. Visit her popular blog, Wander & Wine, for wine tips, tasting notes and adventures in wine and travel: wanderandwine.com

Photographers Capturing This Moment in History

D

uring these times of uncertainty, it’s safe to say we are all missing a human connection with those in our community. Though we are technically “all in this together,” self-isolating at home tends to feel, well, rather isolated. It’s no wonder why “The Front Steps Project” – an idea hatched by two photographers on the East Coast to highlight faces in the community from the safety of their front steps – has launched into a nationwide movement. Looking to document this unusual time in our history, several local photographers have started their own iterations of the Front Steps Project here in Santa Barbara, and have created a welcome sense of solidarity in the process.

While some Santa Barbara photographers have followed The Front Steps Project’s model of raising money to support local organizations, others are using it as a creative outlet.

Regardless of the driving cause, all the founders and participants agree that the main goal is to lift people’s spirits during this unprecedented crisis.

“While everyone is hunkered indoors, I thought capturing photos would be a nice way to cheer people up and give them a memento to remember these strange times by,” says Blake Bronstad of Blake Bronstad Photography, who embarked on a limited series of what he calls “porchtraits” in Santa Barbara.

Since starting a few weeks ago, he’s taken roughly 22 porchtraits free of charge for both friends and strangers.

Similarly, Nicole Berry and Sophia Taylor, the creative duo behind the photography and styling business Gold vs Black, launched their front steps project to support friends and family during these times and give back to the community in a meaningful way. “We asked ourselves, how can we keep our creativity going in a useful way right now? How can we make people smile?” explains Nicole, who shares that they’ve taken over 30 portraits of family, friends, and strangers throughout Santa Barbara, Ojai, and Ventura, and plan to do so as long as there is interest. “We’re all starved for human connection right now and this project has put us in a unique position as photographers to capture this moment and open that door to see people,” says Sophia, who shares that the majority of their

34 MONTECITO JOURNAL

(photo by Rebecca Farmer)

(photo by Blake Bronstad)

(photo by Aurielle Whitmore

(photo Jonas Jungblut)

requested $20 minimum donation goes to the Santa Barbara Foodbank.

Adds Nicole, “We’re passionate about helping people create a sense of normalcy and humanity during this time and giving back to our community, but this experience has given back to us tenfold.”

Also choosing to support the Santa Barbara Foodbank is family and birth photographer Aurielle Whitmore of Aurielle Photography, who was drawn to the humanitarian aspect of The Front Steps Project. “I loved the idea of giving back during these times,” explains Aurielle. “I was also really empathizing with those missing out on maternity photos and the families bringing home new babies, which can already feel so isolating in those first weeks, so I wanted to help people feel less isolated while documenting a piece of this history.” After taking the portraits of 77 families spanning

(photo by Gold vs Black)

between Buellton and Ojai over the course of two weekends, Aurielle is thrilled to have raised over $2,300 for the Foodbank. “It was exhausting, but really rewarding, and fun to meet new families and get to know other folks in the community.”

After COVID-19 “turned life upside down” as she puts it, Rebecca Farmer of Rebecca Farmer Photography found the “urge to do something meaningful” after being encouraged by her photographer husband, Jonas

“Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else’s can shorten it.” – Cullen Hightower

Jungblut. “My husband, Jonas, who is also a freelance photographer, really inspired me to do some sort of personal project during this time [that would] keep me busy while also bringing in a little income. He started his own personal project doing virtual portraits via Facetime [and was] spending hours each day connecting with people from all over the world.”

Watching him capture virtual portraits and fulfill the innate need for human connection is what she says prompted her to start capturing images of local families in quarantine. “Documenting families as they are on their porches or yards has brought so much joy to everyone. I love doing these shoots because they feel real and raw. This is a global pandemic, but it feels so isolating and Ionely... if these shoots can bring a little joy then I have done my job.”

Though challenging, this period of isolation has brought neighbors, friends, and even strangers together in a new and different way and proven that though we are apart, we are still very much connected as a community.

“This is truly an historic moment in time,” adds Rebecca, “and one day we can look back on these photos and remember all we have learned and how far we have come together.” •MJ 14 – 21 May 2020

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14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

35

LEGENDS (Continued from page 16)

Urinetown, The Musical, “Don’t Be the Bunny” Fall 2017

Cast of In the Heights, Fall 2018

morning because that’s what I do when I’m directing a show. I solve problems in my sleep. But I don’t have much to be anxious about now.”

Except leaving. Because even as we talked in his nearly empty office, the verbs were all present tense, as if nothing was actually going to be different.

Q. What stands out most from when you first started at SBHS? A. The theater program had really gotten kind of grim, nobody was going to the shows, the place physically was run down and the teacher in charge had quit that summer. So they gave me free rein to design it as a real theater, with professional designers and choreographers, and to just really push the envelope. We created a program almost from whole cloth.

Because there were very few students left, but the ones that were here were a core group of 15 kids who clung to it.

It was great to discover the program together.

The orchestra had changed direction to jazz bands, so there was no orchestra to do a musical. So I was able to use the people I knew in the community to come in and create it.

I had never directed a musical before I came here, so Christina McCarthy and John Douglas and John Nathan helped us to make the switch.

How were you able to do things that many people, myself included, considered some of the best musicals in town, save for maybe the Broadway touring shows?

We treat the students like actors, we don’t treat them like kids. We’ve done material that a lot of people feel might be beyond them because there’s an instinct to shield kids from the world, but we think you should confront it.

And while there is ego in theater, of course, our philosophy was that your job is to serve the production, do your part in the show and your job as an actor is to make other people look good, not yourself.

36 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Set of Hair. Designed and directed by Otto Layman, Spring 2016.

Plus, we had such a freedom to create here that it attracted those professionals who can’t do that in the real world. That’s how we got John Nathan, because they don’t do musicals at UCSB, and he brought the jazz ensemble. I kept meeting other people who liked what we were doing, and that helped us build the stagecraft program here, which I think is the best in town. Christina’s philosophy for choreography for the stage really meshed with mine. She taught me the function of dance in a musical. It just kept growing.

Beyond the high technical level, it also seemed like most of your shows had that true ensemble feeling where it wasn’t just the stars who did a great job. How did you develop that?

I think there can be too much emphasis on technique in high school.

There’s a sort of school (of thought) – not unique to Santa Barbara – where theater ends up becoming kind of presentational, with everything being played out to the audience and you forget about the people on stage with you. I much prefer a kind of authentic, raw, organic performance from a kid. I think students respond to that.

“For me to be a parent to hundreds of kids over the years has been an overwhelming emotional experience. Outside of the shows we do and the cool stuff we make, being able to spend every day with this family of kids who trust you, fight with you, cry with you, yell at you… It feels like I created a place where people can express their love and commitment.”

If you give them room to be fierce and bold, they will take it. I think we scare parents sometimes, but on the other hand it’s been… Well, parents send their kids here because of the community that we build. It’s been heartening to me to see that they still have a Facebook group for the theater family that’s been going for 20 years.

Let’s rewind through the videotape, sort of “This is Your Life” style. What are some of the things that stand out: particular shows, people, audience response, controversy?

I remember the first time – and it still happens to me every show – when we let people in for that first preview and I felt we weren’t quite done or ready to open. I never went out front before a show because I always had the feel-

“If you can’t live without me, why aren’t you dead already?” – Cynthia Heimel

ing that nobody would be out there in the hallway to see it. No matter how many shows we do, I always still have that feeling.

It was thrilling to have my child (Sable Layman, who played the part of Roxy in Chicago as a sophomore) in the program here. I think about her running up and down the ramps outside. I used to bring her to class all the way back when she was six months old. We’d set up the baby stuff on stage and she’d be there all the time while we were working. Now she’s about to graduate from UC Berkeley and become a theater teacher in San Francisco, which warms my heart.

I’m in my empty office right now.

But I still feel that energy from having students in here every day. I loved the noise level. So I loved the remarkable 14 – 21 May 2020

Kenny Loggins performs “Footloose” with the cast of Footloose, closing night 2009

Otto and wife, Mary Layman. The best reason to retire.

new ones coming in. I created something really great to work with. Plus the Parents’ Foundation is just amazing – we have to raise all the money, and that’s about $50,000-$75,000 a year. We pay for our musicians, and double musical rights. But the parents have always been enthusiastic about all of it, here every night, doing ticket sales, concessions, and fundraising.

They’re a remarkable group. It makes a huge difference when the parents buy into it.

Otto and Sable Layman at a rehearsal of On The Razzle in 1999

talent and being able to explore and build things with students here.

Another highlight is when we were invited to perform Hair at a festival in Scotland.

A turning point came when I met Jeff Barry and he enrolled his twins Jessica and Clayton here. That really changed our direction coming right after Scotland. After that, we only did two more straight plays: Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, which were my adaptations. We finally had the boys to do musicals full time, that era that also had Jordan Lemmond, and Emilio Madrid, who made it cool for boys to want to be in theater and do musicals. They were part of a steady dream of big actors and singers, many of whom are now out there working.

But for me, it’s not the kids working in the business. I’d say 99 percent of the kids who were in theater here aren’t involved in that world anymore. But they learned how to be bold, and quick on their feet, and they care about other people. I hope we 14 – 21 May 2020

made a great family for them, and that I leave this place better than I found it.

There were some other very cool things. We did a lot of stuff here after I learned that you don’t ask – you just do it. We made it rain on stage for Singing in the Rain when we had a 500-gallon water tank in the basement that we pumped up into the fly (rigging above the stage). For Bullets Over Broadway we built the Gowanus Canal and had actors plunge into it.

That was part of not only producing great shows, but teaching that the only limits are the ones you impose on yourself.

I’m pausing here because I’m tearing up a bit. Sorry to be so emotional. I just love the idea of not only training actors but shaping better people.

Yeah, it’s been emotional for me too.

There’s really no good time to leave.

How can I say, you’re the last freshman class I’ll ever have? But I am leaving behind 20 great talents for whomever is next, not even counting the

What do you consider to be your legacy in high school theater in Santa Barbara?

I think that we succeeded in finding an academic respect for the theater that can be elusive because it’s usually considered an elective or a fluffy course. But the community and the school and the district realized these kids actually work harder than any other non-theater students, including athletes. They’re taking AP classes and they’re also here in the theater a minimum of 15 hours a week during a show. A semester is a total of 90 hours of class time, by the time we close, a kid in the musical has done 220 hours, more than double. And that’s why I think, when I look back, that we’ve left a body of work that when people see what we’ve done, they say I can’t believe this is high school theater.

What resonates most for you right now in this moment as you consider what you accomplished? Perhaps, even, what you are most proud of?

(Pauses for several moments.) I’m going to get personal because you’ve been vulnerable too. I grew up in a divorced family, and I didn’t really

• The Voice of the Village •

have a father. I saw my biological dad three times in the last 40 years of his life. So for me to be a parent to hundreds of kids over the years has been an overwhelming emotional experience. Outside of the shows we do and the cool stuff that we make, being able to spend every day with this family of kids who trust you, fight with you, cry with you, yell at you… It feels like I created a place where people can express their love and commitment.

That’s really what I take away, the personal relationships that have that parental flavor.

What is in your future? Complete retirement? Some other projects?

Well mostly (when the pandemic recedes) I’ll start by chasing my wife around the world because we’re big travelers. We had planned a big bicycling trip in Croatia for this summer, and we’ll do that once my (injured) knee is better. Also, I was originally a writer, and I still write. So I’ll have more time to be more creative. But I don’t think I’ll direct. When I walk away, I’m done. I can’t imagine directing a show at somebody else’s space with their rules. I may still design for here, but I don’t want to interfere or cast a shadow on whomever comes after me. So my presence will be scarce. In fact, I look forward to going and seeing shows just by watching them, not thinking about how I would direct it, or counting the number of musical instruments.

Beyond that, I’m not sure what the next chapter of my life is. But I’ve never been bored a day in my life. If you have a rich interior life like I do, that’s kind of impossible.

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

37

SHELTERING (Continued from page 12)

demic is not that we now spend all our time together, but that you do too.

The world has normalized our unsolitary confinement.

Similarly, because I’m a writer, I don’t relate to people’s claims of quarantine boredom. Because writers lead such internal, solitary lives, I’m a black belt when it comes to filling the hours with meaningless, self-improvised diversions. Like thanks to “live tracking updates,” I can order anything online and watch its progress from anywhere in the world… to my front door. Woo-hoo! It’s like a lame Netflix series crafted just for me.

Thanks, Jeff Bezos!

And while I never understood the desire to live-track our parcels like they’re returning POWs or Lindbergh returning from Paris, now that we’re sheltering in place I’m grateful for the added entertainment. Sometimes I’ll order multiples of the same item from different vendors and “race” them. Or to mix it up, one can order multiples of the same thing with different shipping methods and race the delivery services. Spoiler alert: USPS is rarely in the winner’s circle.

Another fun diversion is to study the “Movers and Shakers” list on Amazon, i.e. what’s trending. As a student of human behavior, and as one who’s always trying to stay a step ahead in the stocking of the COVID bomb shelter I call home, I’m always interested in what’s selling in the pandemic... and, more importantly, I love to posit what these choices say about our species.

The eminent psychologist Abraham Maslow famously created a “hierarchy of needs” pyramid that illustrates the fundamental thirsts humans are trying to quell, along with the urgency of each. At the bottom of the pyramid are Man’s most un-optional needs: air, water, and sleep. Then as one climbs the pyramid, things become more desired but less needed. So halfway up the pyramid are things like “human connection,” a “sense of belonging,” wifi signal, and love.

Then at the very top of the pyramid is “transcendence,” which is akin to Buddhism’s Nirvana.

UnNatural Selection

In the COVID crisis, however, it seems apparent that joining the base of Maslow’s pyramid, right alongside Man’s need for oxygen and shelter, is Man’s (and even moreso, Woman’s) unquench-able thirst for toilet paper and paper towels. The thing I have yet to see discussed, including by myself in an earlier piece on bidets, is why toilet paper of all things has struck such a nerve. Why not hoard something endlessly useful – like gaffer’s tape?

And why, nearly two months into quarantine, are TP and paper towels

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still in such scarce supply?

Here’s the weird thing I found out. Our TP obsession… or at least our fixation with the hygiene of our nethers, not only makes complete sense… it is in fact a key ingredient of Humankind’s evolutionary success.

Turns out, we may be the only species with fatty buttocks protecting a concealed aperture for waste. The design genius of our entire backside is this: buttocks have the ability to store fat (aka fuel) which allowed hominids to venture further out on to the savanna, and last longer and forage further whilst hunting. But you can’t just have offense without defense. What the recessed anus provided was an ability to conceal the scent of human so that we would not and could not be tracked by better carnivores, like jaguars, wolves, and saber-toothed tigers. Which is good to keep in mind the next time you call someone an A-hole. The A-hole being a critical lynchpin of humanity. From a design perspective, “A-hole” is kind of a compliment.

Our desire to clean ourselves and be scentless – though there are better ways to do it (see my earlier bidet piece) comes from somewhere deep in our amphibious/reptilian brains and is likely related to not just our success but dominance as a species. It’s good to know we’re not just lemmings; our insane TP hoarding is based on something of great evolutionary value.

Paper towels, on the other hand,

not so much. Paper towels have only existed for a little more than 100 years, and they’re hardly helping us hide from apex predators. Before paper towels, Civilization got along just fine with cloth towels, mops, sponges, and rags. So what’s the drive behind stockpiling paper towels?

I never understood the desire to live track our parcels like they’re returning POWs or Lindbergh returning from Paris.

My theory is it’s biblical, i.e. we’re living in a time of plague so, as with the original plagues, people are naturally expecting a flood. Okay, so even if today is the Book of Genesis redux, Super absorbent Bounty is good but it’s not THAT good. It’s not going to absorb melting ice caps or rising sea levels.

Other quarantine big sellers Maslow might find interesting are guns, alcohol, beard trimmers, and hair dye. All of which I guess make complete sense.

Except if your hair is only being seen on Zoom, shouldn’t there be just a nearby Zoom icon or app with which to color it?

Home gym and wellness equipment are other big sellers in the age of home quarantine. The wellness stuff I can’t

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – Dalai Lama

get behind because isn’t the presence of your entire family pretty much the antidote to mindfulness and meditation? Last I checked there is no “ohm” in home.

Co-rona, Co-vid, and Co-habitation

Three months ago, people used to say they wanted less time at work and more time with family. The time it took to cure people of that notion was not even six weeks of quarantine. So if we’re updating the Maslow pyramid, clearly another strong desire people have, along with “connection,” is their almost equal desire for disconnection, also known as solitude.

This desire for privacy, and hence private rooms, has been an interesting journey in architecture.

In agrarian, pre-Victorian society, there was very little separation between family members inside the home. This was practical and had to do with the naturally protective value of huddling together as well as the inherent efficiencies of warming air and water, with only crude plumbing, and without central air or heat or furnaces.

As the western world became less agrarian, Victorian culture fostered the birth of the “closed” living plan, where one travelled through halls rather than someone else’s room to reach a destination. Victorian homes were generally dark with so many walls partitioning the natural light 14 – 21 May 2020

Post dinner, the “open floor plan” allowed for division of labor along TRADITIONAL gender lines

– but the overriding Victorian desire was for everyone and even every activity to have its own room (like the fainting room, parlor room, and the larder). This highly segmented style of architecture struck a nerve and lasted about 65 years. Many people. Small rooms. Many doors. Kind of makes you jealous right about now, right?

It shouldn’t surprise you the “door slamming farce” originated during this era. Because every Victorian home seems to have about 100 doors.

When the Great Depression came, homes once again got flooded with people, not just the nuclear family but extended family and sometimes boarders as well. Of necessity, privacy took a back seat to the economies of scale. In the span of 100 years the

home had gone from a few large, pragmatic rooms with family huddled. To many rooms but with much separation. Then to many rooms, dark, and crammed with people.

The economy didn’t get going again until the end of WWII which gave birth to the open floor plan, which also got a boost from new building materials previously unavailable to the consumer, i.e. long steel beams (previously war rationed) which allowed for grandiose ceiling spans (without the need for multiple load bearing walls) and helped give birth to the “open” floor plan, which exploded with Philip Johnson’s alarming (at the time) Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1949, which made the cover of Life Magazine. As a light and

airy relief from the doom and gloom of World War Two, the open floor plan allowed you to visually take in most of your empire at once, and see everyone, and all your cool stuff, at the same time. Little did people know when the open floor plan took off that it’s a little like not having eyelids.

Since then, and till now, the open floor plan architectural style has enjoyed an unprecedented 70-year run, because there was prestige in creating wide open interior spaces, and just as important, prestige in showing you could keep tidy these wide open expanses. It implied staff. And if not a staff, then at least a very devoted and obedient house spouse. Yes, with the open floor plan, lucky Mom got to prep meals and watch the kids – two jobs for the price of none!

The open floor plan is like models appearing on Instagram with no makeup. Presumably to show modesty, but with an implied boast “I naturally have no flaws whatsoever.”

Of course the greatest implied boast of the open floor plan is not so much the status symbol of a house that is always clean. It’s a family that you always want to see. Can you imagine?

Unfortunately in the Age of the Coronavirus, the Family That Is Always There, which sounds like the title of a ‘50s horror movie or a Tale From the Crypt, has overstayed its

welcome. Turns out we’d all, if we had the money, like to live like Mr. and Mrs. President and their son, who each occupied their own floor in Trump Tower. Come on, you’ve fantasized about it.

The major trends of our world cannot help but manifest in our habitats.

We always try to adapt our nests to prevailing conditions, be they natural, cultural, and sometimes imagined (cold war bomb shelters, for example).

Today as we try to adapt our interiors to the horrific condition that is exterior, it’s good to keep in mind “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

I’m reminded of a story that is particularly apt, told to me by the writer Rob Ulin. Rob was buying a house in Santa Monica that had just come on the market under bizarre circumstances. The previous owner was a legit survivalist who had built himself a full-on survivalist’s bunker. The problem was when the survivalist went to check the levels in his propane tanks, he blew himself up in the process.

Thus the bomb shelter did in fact serve its intended purpose. Only it protected the environment from the survivalist rather than the other way around.

Which just goes to show. Man plans, and God says “Ha.” Except when she says “Kaboom.”

•MJ

HOME EVER H OM E IS I S WHERE W H ERE THE T H E HEART H EA RT IIS. S. NOW N O W MORE M ORE TTHAN H A N EVER M A Y YOUR YOU R HOME H OM E BE R SA N CT U A RY. MAY BE YOU YOUR SANCTUARY.

14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

39

MISCELLANY (Continued from page 6) Yoel and Eva Haller (photo by Judi Weisbart)

Magnusson Fellow, who escaped the Nazis during World War II, was accompanied by her physician husband of 33 years, Yoel, as friends with posters and honking car horns marked the big day during the pandemic.

“It wasn’t exactly what was planned for the occasion but, given the limitations, the best anyone could do in the circumstances,” said Judi Weisbart, who attended the bash with her husband, Harry.

Flip It Montecito TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who earlier this year bought an historic Tudor-style home, The Porter House, built from a pair of English barns dating to the 1700s, has put the Miramar Avenue property on the market for $6.9 million.

The two-bedroom, two-bathroom 5,500 sq. ft. house on 1.35 acres, was bought by the multi Emmy winner and her actress wife, Portia de Rossi, four months ago for $3.6 million, but has undergone extensive renovations with a new kitchen and bathrooms.

There is also an octagonal study with 28-pane casement windows.

Riskin Partners in Montecito is dealing with the sale.

Farewell, Oliver’s

a private airstrip and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, was listed for sale for $75 million several years ago.

In July, 2019, the island was valued at $56,747,000.

E-mails to McCaw went without response. Stay tuned...

Friends in High Places Former TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey, Montecito’s most famous resident, has had a pivotal role in the move by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Canada to Los Angeles.

Prince Harry, 35, and former actress wife Meghan Markle, 38, are now living in an $18 million eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom Tuscan-style home on 22 acres in the oh-so exclusive Beverly Ridge Estates gated community, and also has its own security team.

The mega Beverly Hills property is owned by Tyler Perry, 50, actor, writer and director friend of Oprah’s, who has been listed by Forbes as the highest paid man in entertainment, raking in more than $130 million annually.

The tony twosome were flown to Los Angeles in Perry’s $150 million Embraer E190 jet, according to reports, and are now a short drive from Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who visited Oprah’s East Valley Road

Marilyn Gilbert sang opera from her car while people honked, yelled, and sang out of their car windows as Eva beamed with joy (photo by Judi Weisbart)

Oliver’s on CVR sold?

Following the drive-by party was a Zoom call from friends from all over the world. Special appearances were made by Jane Goodall, Christiane Amanpour, and others, plus live performances by Joyce DiDonato, Monica Yunus, and Camille Zamora. (photo by Judi Weisbart)

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Oliver’s, the Coast Village Road vegetarian restaurant that took five years to transform from the old Peabody’s space under owner cell phone billionaire Craig McCaw, 70, has been sold, says my mole with the martini.

McCaw, who has moved back to Seattle, has been divesting himself of his properties in our rarefied enclave, including his estate on Park Lane and his beach house.

He is currently working on developing his 780 acre James Island near Vancouver, British Columbia, which he bought in 1994 for $19 million, with Arizona-based housing developer, the Discovery Land Company, into around 100 building sites of two to five acres.

The island, which currently features a 4,500 sq. ft. house, six guest homes,

“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Dale Carnegie

estate last year, and celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, Cameron Diaz and Katy Perry.

Last week the couple, who have dumped royal duties, were filmed at the house, which would rent for $200,000 a month, according to real estate professionals, celebrating the first birthday of their son Archie, with Meghan reading Duck! Rabbit! for Save the Children’s Save With Stories campaign, with the book featuring an Archie’s Book Club sticker clearly on the cover.

Now a resurfaced video has revealed how Oprah, 66, who attended the duo’s wedding at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, two years ago, often gifts friends’ children with a set of “100 essential stories” featuring her personalized stickers.

14 – 21 May 2020

Having covered the Royal Family since 1974, it is to be hoped the royal couple do not become the new version of the late Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Online Opus

Symphony maestro Nir Kabaretti

Santa Barbara Symphony’s Music Education Center is now offering virtual programming through the orchestra’s Youth Ensembles programming and the private lessons Scholarship Program.

The center continues to retain and employ a teaching staff of 12 local professional musicians and two conductors to lead classes and lessons.

Each year the center impacts more than 10,000 students throughout Santa Barbara County.

“Under the direction of Kristine Pacheco the symphony is leveraging the collective talents of the incredible teaching staff to sustain and strengthen the bonds with our students and

families through an investment in and use of technology,” says symphony music director Nir Kabaretti.

Social Distance Drinking Carpinteria twosome Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have obviously got a hit with their new Quarantine Wine, which I wrote about in this illustrious organ last month.

“We thought, let’s play if safe and we bought 2,000 cases,” Kutcher, 42, told the Tonight Show At Home edition. “In eight hours, we sold all 2,000 cases. We were shocked.”

The dynamic duo only did one video on social media to promote the pinot noir from Nocking Point Wines in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, with all proceeds split evenly between five chosen charities – Flexport, Direct Relief, America’s Food Fund, Give Directly, and the Frontline Responders Fund.

“It blew our minds,” adds Kutcher, and the couple scrambled to procure more wine to meet demand.

They’ve raised $1 million so far and want people “to keep giving knowing it’s going to the right places.”

The wine sells for $50 for two bottles, which have a unique blank white label. If you care to join in the quaffing, go to OfficialQuarantineWine. com.

Stranger than Fiction Former Montecito resident Paul Hogan helped put his native Australia on the map with his “shrimp on the barbie” TV adverts and co-wrote and starred in the 1986 box office hit film Crocodile Dundee.

But as the actor, who used to live on Parra Grande Lane, prepares to

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14 – 21 May 2020

release his autobiography, The Tap Dancing Knife Thrower, in November, he has admitted to feeling he doesn’t deserve his fame or wealth.

The 80-year-old says he often expects people to say: “What are you doing here? You’re just a bloody rigger,” a reference to one of his early jobs on the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

Hogan says it’s about time he took a trip down memory lane.

“Now that I’ve moved firmly into the fourth quarter it’s about time I shared the stories behind the headlines and movie posters. Because, more often than not in my life, fact has been funnier and stranger than fiction.”

Not Loafing Around Vogue supermodel Gigi Hadid has always made a lot of dough, but now the former Montecito Union School student is making it for real during the coronavirus lockdown.

Gigi, 25, who is expecting a daughter with British singer Zayn Malik, has proven to be quite the quarantine chef at her family’s farm in Pennsylvania with impressive examples of her homemade no-knead focaccia bread.

“A quarantine goal of mine was to start making bread,” she told her 53.7 million Instagram followers, before saying the process was “worth the wait.”

On a Roll Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry, 35, has been getting most creative with the new virtual episodes of ABC’s American Idol, where the judges and contestants have been participating by webcam.

On the first show, attempting to be “as safe as possible” during the broadcast, she appeared on screen as a giant bottle of hand sanitizer.

Then last week the former Dos Pueblos High student was filmed at home wearing a giant toilet roll.

“Just wanted to make sure everybody has enough toilet paper at their homes,” Katy told host Ryan Seacrest, 45, and fellow judges Lionel Richie, 70, and Luke Bryan, 43.

Seacrest asked: “What ply are you?” as she paraded in the in-demand commode commodity.

Ever the joker…

Au Naturel Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow always puts on quite a glamorous show on Hollywood’s red carpet, but the Oscar winner, 47, says she actually prefers to go makeup free.

“I’ve never been a makeup person really,” she tells the Beautiful issue of People. “I always love not wearing makeup. For me, makeup has always meant I’m going to work.

“I went to an all-girls school and we didn’t wear makeup. We weren’t dressing up for anyone. All through junior high and high school makeup

• The Voice of the Village •

never became part of my routine. And I think part of that is because I was always a bit of a tomboy. I like the feeling of having clean skin.”

Pores for thought...

Being Blunt My item on the wit of the late British playwright Noel Coward prompted a response from an old friend, former Fleet Street columnist turned successful celebrity book author Sean Smith.

He recounts the time Coward went to an unimpressive first night of a new play in London’s West End starring friend Gertrude Lawrence.

Afterwards he was asked what he thought of the production. “My dear Gertie, fantastic… isn’t the word,” he replied.

Rest in Peace

Carter Hines R.I.P.

On a personal note, I mark the passing of longtime Montecito resident Carter Hines at the age of 78.

Carter, who was stationed in the Army in Hawaii, attended City College and Long Beach State, before starting his 55-year-old business, Carter Hines Drapery, which will be continued by his widow, Victoria.

A member of the Montecito Tennis Mafia for many years, as well as the Coral Casino and Birnam Wood, he is particularly remembered as an affable bartender at The Nugget in Summerland on locals night.

Sightings have been suspended during the coronavirus, given the social distancing edict from California governor Gavin Newsom.

They will return when the restrictions have been lifted.

Pip! Pip! - and be safe Readers with tips, sightings and amusing items for Richard’s column should e-mail him at richardmin eards@verizon.net or send invitations or other correspondence to the Journal.

To reach Priscilla, e-mail her at pris cilla@santabarbaraseen.com or call 805-969-3301.

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

41

Our Town

by Joanne A. Calitri

Joanne is a professional international photographer and journalist.

Contact her at: artraks@yahoo.com

Rick Caruso on Trump & Newsom Economic Recovery Committees

R

ick Caruso, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Caruso, owner/developer of Montecito’s luxury resort The Rosewood Miramar Beach, and philanthropist, was appointed on April 14 to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups Task Force Committee, a task force created to combat the economic impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Days later, on April 17, he was appointed to Governor Newsom’s Business & Jobs Recovery Task Force, with business and civic leader Tom Steyer as its Chief Advisor and co-chaired by Governor Newsom’s Chief of Staff Ann O’Leary. Newsom’s task force brings together Californians from a diverse range of the state’s economy to develop recommendations for a plan that works for all Californians, with a focus on the regions and communities hardest hit economically by the pandemic.

Caruso brings a rich education and background to these positions. He was president of the Los Angeles Police Commission, a member of the Board of Water and Power Commissioners, and is Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University of Southern California. Mr. Caruso holds a B.S. from USC and a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1983 as a Margaret Martin Block Scholar. In 1991, he launched the Caruso Family

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Foundation to help students at risk from early childhood through college.

Since late March, the Foundation is currently doing work in Montecito and the Los Angeles area to help locals during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Mr. Caruso recently took time from his busy schedule for an e-interview with me about his work with both President Trump and Governor Newsom: Q. Who is on President Trump’s economic revival committee with you?

A. The Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups include over 100 business leaders throughout a vast array of industries from agriculture, financial services, real estate, food & beverage to technology and manufacturing. The group also includes leaders from unions, professional sports, think tanks, and more. The list of executives and thought leaders include Apple’s Tim Cook, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. (See the 411 for link.)

Are you leading any of the task forces on President Trump’s committee?

The White House’s newly formed economic advisory group is divided by industry so I am working with my peers in the real estate industry group.

What are the main goals of President Trump’s economic revival committee, and in your advisement, which goals can be accomplished and how?

1. This council is a group of bipartisan American leaders who have been tasked with helping the White House chart a course for reopening the economy while ensuring the health and safety of the general public. The steps initially taken – the sequence of protection, emergency funding, and recovery – was essential to keep our populations safe. We must now refocus our efforts on recovery, especially in areas with fewer resources.

2. I believe this crisis is not one that government can solve alone. This requires the will and participation of both private and public sectors through business, the medical community and beyond in order to reopen the economy in a safe and strategic way. We must unify our efforts in a common goal against a shared adversary.

Rick Caruso, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Caruso, at his Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito

3. We also need to preserve our economy – and the way to do this is through protecting small businesses.

In our country, small businesses make up millions of people’s livelihoods and they have been most acutely affected by this crisis. The revival of small business retailers needs to be the “ground zero” of our economic regrowth after COVID-19.

Who is on Governor Newsom’s Business & Jobs Recovery Task Force with you?

Governor Newsom’s Business & Jobs Recovery Task Force includes Apple’s Tim Cook, Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative’s Priscilla Chan, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Walt Disney Chairman Bob Iger, and Netflix’s Ted Sarandos.

Is Governor Newsom’s Business & Jobs Recovery Council divided into various business sector task forces and which one(s) are you involved with?

Groups are not sub-divided by industry (at the state level).

Outline the main goals of Governor Newsom’s Business & Jobs Recovery Council, and in your advisement, which goals can be accomplished and how?

1. Millions of Californians are out

“Education is learning what you didn’t even know you didn’t know.” – Daniel J. Boorstin

of jobs right now. The toll on our economy, mental health and our communities are equal in magnitude to the virus’ threat to our health and safety. In the coming months, our goal is to bring intelligence from a broad spectrum of industry leaders throughout the public and private sectors to help develop actionable recovery recommendations that take into account those communities hardest hit by this pandemic. Our hope is to leverage the task force’s expertise to help rebuild California and provide a model for the rest of the country.

2. Our work on the task force is just beginning, but what I can share with you is my personal perspective on how and where we need to focus. This will be the same perspective I will share on a national level as well with our state, county, and local officials.

3. We need to focus on small business owners for two primary reasons: 1 – they are the most vulnerable when it comes to surviving these economic conditions, and 2 – they are vital to the American economy. Being able to provide small businesses a “head start” program will allow municipalities to monitor the virus more successfully by “following the data,” and help us 14 – 21 May 2020

re-open the economy slowly while taking great care to protect the health of the general public.

What businesses locally, and in California, are best suited for moving the country forward toward economic success and what do they need to do it?

We need to keep our focus on small businesses because they are what make up the connective tissue in our communities. One of the things we’ve learned is that isolation is not a great way to live. We want to be out, but we’re going to choose places that enrich us, because we’ve just had weeks or months of being inside. We may be more selective with our time, but I already see how communities are supporting their local businesses now. They are buying from sources that have greater impact, they are ordering take-out from local restaurants more frequently and I’ve seen some pretty amazing fundraisers to support people who have experienced loss of business. It’s a fundamental part of the American spirit – it’s in our DNA, it’s who we are – we will be drawn to supporting and championing the individuals who represent the American dream. I hope our policies guide this and help small businesses get back on their feet again.

What is the timeline in your profession-

al opinion at this point, and what factors will change that timeline?

A phased timeline needs to be developed in conjunction with medical experts. These phases will impact different cities and municipalities at different times depending on the diminished numbers of the virus outbreak in a given area as well as whether or not the healthcare system can accommodate the current load of patients. I am a firm believer that we can open the economy in a methodical way that is wholly dependent on data.

Bringing this to Montecito, your business the Rosewood Miramar Beach and other businesses in the area, what is your overview and suggestions for the health of our local economy?

My recommendations for the national and state officials also apply to my businesses. We are preparing to usher in a new era of hospitality. I think right now is the time to innovate and we are working hard to determine what best practices are across all industries and vetting those with health organizations and medical professionals. We want our guests, employees, and tenants to know when we re-open that their health and safety are our top priority. We’re in touch with top epidemiologists for their recommendations. We’re in touch with our guests and employees to under-

stand their concerns. We are taking a 360 approach to this. The Rosewood Miramar Beach Montecito has a tentative date to reopen May 21, 2020. Our team is diligently working on new initiatives as they relate to the health and safety of our guest experience on property.

And the Caruso Family Foundation’s assistance during the lockdown?

The Miramar Food Truck has been serving the Montecito community throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Launched in late March, the #MiramarOnTheMove initiative has visited several locations throughout Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties, providing frontline workers and first responders with complimentary hot meals. To date, #MiramarOnTheMove has served over 12,000 meals to essential workers and those in need. Most recently, the food truck visited Los Angeles to provide 600 meals to the Weingart Center, a Skid Row based nonprofit agency that provides homeless individuals with the basic skills necessary to stabilize their lives, secure income, and find permanent housing. In an effort to support our local community, we are also redoubling our efforts with Para Los Niños and Operation Progress so they do not go hungry during this critical time. Because of

Getting Through This, Together.

need, we’ve also made a commitment to Meals on Wheels. We’re supporting LAFD through funding PP&E so they can set up mobile testing stations throughout our city. We have also worked with our tenants at multiple properties to provide meals for first responders. It’s been a joy to see how we have come together to serve our most vulnerable populations.

Anything else our readers should know and how can they be involved?

Have faith and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. This crisis will end and when it does, I know we will emerge with a new perspective, a deeper appreciation for human connection and human contact. I know, in the end, we will retreat some from our digital lives so that we can spend more time with one another, face to face. And that will be a beautiful thing.

•MJ 411: www.rosewoodhotels.com/ en/miramar-beach-montecito www.caruso.com w w w. w h i t e h o u s e . g o v / b r i e f i n g s - s t a t e m e n t s / p re s i d e n t - d o n ald-j-trump-announces-great-amer ican-economic-revival-indus try-groups/ www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/ uploads/2020/05/Governors-TaskForce-on-BusinessJobs-Recovery.pdf

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— Carlos Luna, Owner at Los Agaves, right, with brother and co-owner Christian 14 – 21 May 2020

• The Voice of the Village •

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43

ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 13)

flexible,” he explains. “We expect to start on campus next year and have a regular program, but we might scale back some of our trips, and maybe delay our full-contact sports until we know more. But we are small and we can close campus for a week and get everyone tested and do contact tracing and get back in the classroom more quickly than larger schools.

There are a lot of silver linings here,” McWilliams concludes. “I almost feel guilty because some people are really hurting. Even though one-third of our kids are on financial aid, we are so lucky compared to just about everybody.”

Time Zones Matter

Founded in 1910, Carpinteria’s exclusive Cate School has just 292 students, about 80 percent of whom board on campus throughout the school year. Although the school’s average class size is tiny, the student population, which hails from 19 different countries and no less than 30 states around the country, couldn’t be more diverse.

While the COVID-19 outbreak came suddenly, according to Charlotte Brownlee, Cate School’s director of admissions and enrollment, the timing couldn’t have been better.

“Our Spring Break was earlier than a lot of other schools,” Brownlee said.

“We sent kids home on February 27 for a two-week break. Late in the first week, we realized that we may not be able to bring our kids back.”

According to Brownlee, Cate used the extra vacation week to come up with a remote learning plan that would be ready to implement within days. One of the first things the school realized was how challenging it would be to simultaneously pull together students from all over the world into an online classroom.

“Time zones are definitely our biggest challenge,” says Brownlee. “We have kids in twelve different time zones from Africa and Asia to Alaska, just all over the place.”

To accommodate as many students as possible, Cate has rescheduled certain classes for the evenings so that students halfway around the globe can participate.

“We have kids from a variety of economic backgrounds, so we also helped some kids get access to Wi-Fi,” adds Brownlee. “By and large we have the kids hooked into our program.”

Because Cate is only for students between 9th and 12th grades, it doesn’t face the same remote learning challenges that schools with younger students must grapple with.

“We are lucky because high school kids can be independent learners,” Brownlee says.

Juniors recently participated in a

44 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Zoom-based college application exercise where each student was handed four college applications with the task of accepting one application, denying another, and wait-listing the remaining two.

“We had two actual college admissions officers on the Zoom call with them and they walked all the kids through how they would have done it,” she says.

Brownlee is optimistic that Cate will be able to return to a normal school year this fall.

“Obviously our primary goal is the health and well-being of our students and faculty,” she says. “But the next most important goal is to determine how we can accomplish as much learning as possible, and face-to-face learning is still the best way to do that. Of course, we hope to reopen, but we’re looking at a variety of scenarios.”

Small Scale Success

Like the nearby Montecito Union School, Cold Spring School is a oneschool district located in an extremely wealthy demographic area. And with just 169 students, it has the added benefit of being small. “One of the benefits of being a small school district is that we were able to easily pivot over the weekend,” says Amy Alzina, Cold Spring’s principal and superintendent. “Some schools lost as much as a week or a month, but we were able to move in a much more efficient way.”

It didn’t hurt that Cold Spring had already begun gradually investing in technology. “When I came to Cold Spring, the technology was outdated,” Alzina says, adding that she worked with the school’s educational foundation to create a lease-to-own program that funded half the cost of each student’s electronical device.

As a principal of a small school, Alzina is intimately involved in the new, remote-learning based curriculum. “All the students Zoom on to me at 8:25 am, so I can keep everyone accountable,” she explains. “We sing happy birthday to kids, highlight students, and I do a fun, ‘80s-style workout. This is where I tell my colleagues to ditch the tie and have fun. You are a cheerleader, you can have fun, and success builds success.”

Creating a fun yet structured online routine is the key to successful remote learning for young students, argues Alzina. “After meeting with me, the kids get on Zoom with their teacher, who keeps them on until lunch. After that, our specialist teachers come in with art, drama, and other project-based learning.”

Every Friday, parents drop by to pick up packages of art supplies, worksheets, and even garden plan-

We’re going to need a bigger table

ners which include a small bag of soil and a plant. According to Alzina, Cold Spring School’s instructional assistants have helped families resolve technological issues at their homes and established Zoom chatrooms to provide further aid. “We do home visits,” she adds. “We had a family with a broken screen, and we fixed the screen. We are making sure we follow up with every kid. We have not only one hundred percent attendance, we have one hundred percent work completion.”

Beyond Zoom

Along with Cold Spring School, the Montecito Union School (MUS) is extremely fortunate to have a student body ranked among the most privileged in California, if not the United States. Because of this, MUS has an educational foundation that, among other things, has raised enough cash to send administrators and teachers to Harvard University’s Project Zero, a summer training session which provides them with the latest and most innovative educational training.

Despite all this, Anthony Ranii, MUS’s principal and superintendent, says he never imagined Zoom being used as an educational tool. Besides video chats with contractors and architects, he had never utilized video conferencing software in his professional life. But in the hours and days after California’s schools were ordered to close, Ranii moved quickly to create a Zoom-based remote-learning curriculum. “It was not unknown,” he says of the software, “but we had never thought of the whole concept of using it for instruction.”

In the meantime, Ranii sent parents a guide to online educational resources to help them keep kids on track with their homework. As remote learning sank in, Ranii says the school began to adapt to what

“It is a scientific fact that your body will not absorb cholesterol if you take it from another person’s plate.” – Dave Barry

worked and what didn’t. “We have gone through three iterations thanks to feedback from staff as well as a survey that went to parents,” he says. Now, students are in Zoom classrooms from 9 am-noon, Monday through Thursday, and 9-10 am on Friday. “We pair that with independent learning,” Ranii continues. “All our kids are doing things outside of Zoom, whether it’s as simple as reading a book, working on math, and our youngest kids are using a program called See-Saw that they can upload to their class account and get comments from teachers.”

For younger children, nothing can replace face-to-face interactions in the classroom. “There is no way distance learning is going to be as effective for them as in-person learning,” Ranii says. “It’s an unreasonable expectation, because part of what you are supposed to learn in those grades is the ability to work in a group on a project together over several weeks.

All those things are possible in the digital world, but for little kids, it’s a lot harder.”

The inherent challenge of providing good early childhood education via Zoom is only magnified thanks to socio-economic inequalities. “When I look at California and the nation, this pandemic is exacerbating the haves and the have-nots,” he says.

“Everyone in Montecito Union School has their own device and Wi-Fi at home and parents that are computer literate and reading and writing literate and are supporting their kids amazingly well.

That said, Ranii worries about the fate of other public schools in the Santa Barbara area that aren’t so fortunate. “There are plenty of parents working low-paying jobs, and some of these kids aren’t getting what they need,” he says. “And that divide will continue to grow.”

ON THE RECORD Page 524 14 – 21 May 2020

GOOD LION (Continued from page 26)

Black Death some of the women who made beer at home became full-time brewers and their houses became a “public house” where anyone could go buy a beer and socialize. After the fear and devastation of the plague, the pent-up desire to socialize exploded.

The behavior of the human species is changed by disease. Like all animals, changes in the environment, diseases, natural events, change where we live, what we do, and how we do it. Our history is simply not independent of the natural world. Nothing proves this more than the current coronavirus pandemic.

The Next 18 Months

Brandon believes that for the next 18 months they’ll be functioning near 50% capacity. Because his bars are lean and small, he believes they’ll still be attractive and potentially profitable.

“Our projects were built to feel cool and comfy even if there’s only ten people in the bar,” Brandon remarks. “Our playlists are probably going to change to music that feels right with so few people. We have to think what is going to be cool during this time.”

Spilling Out into the Streets

Around the world cities are finding ways for bars and restaurants to spill out into the streets, where contagion should have a harder time. While European countries have had open air plazas and cafés since the 1700s, North America has never fully absorbed the tradition, perhaps due to our Puritanical forefathers.

Who knows what evolution drove Europe to open its streets, but it’s an easy fall back in cities from Riga, Latvia to Stockholm, Sweden.

Here, in Santa Barbara, despite a popular groundswell of community support, it’s been like pulling teeth to get our city government to open the streets to accommodate the natural environment, even when it’s good for commerce, even when it allows people to maintain the integrity of social distancing in one of the most gorgeous natural settings in the world, even when it creates joy. If Santa Barbara businesses could integrate the outdoors with architectural integrity and urban planning, it would be a permanent attraction for the city.

Hopefully the Mayor’s Task force will propose exactly this important new direction, after all open plaza dining is very much in keeping with the founding aesthetic of Spanish Colonial design.

“I’m going through that exact thing in the Hamptons right now, literally having this conversation,” Eric Lemonides remarked. He is the owner of Almond in Bridgehampton, arguably the most successful restaurant on the East End of Long Island. He had opened a new establishment in Palm Beach just as the economy went covidtose. “I’m trying really hard to re-envision the side area by the road, which doesn’t get going except on Friday nights when it becomes a madhouse inside.”

It’s no coincidence that restaurateurs and bar owners the world over are considering the same issues and potential solutions.

In Manhattan, talking to a NYC City planner summoned up the same concepts, street closings to enhance social love while at the same time honoring social distancing.

“I can see closing between 14th Street and 23rd Street, just to see what happens,” the planner remarked. “Let people come out, keep their masks on until they sit down at a table six feet away from the next. String up a bunch of lights and music, everyone would have a blast.”

Palm Beach, Manhattan, Bridgehampton, Montecito, Santa Barbara all have the luxury to truly experiment with new business models that could serve their economies for the future. It’s not like Europe hasn’t been doing so for the past 300 years, attracting tourists by the thousands.

Testing is Still a Thing

Let’s not pretend it’s not. The cost of testing 90,000 people, the approximate population of Santa Barbara, is not vast. Foundations in Santa Barbara have made greater investments in the community. Perhaps the city’s greatest fear is finding out the truth of testing. At some point, we have to know. Similarly, ratings of eateries and bars for COVID compliance would be a great public benefit. Everyone could feel reassured walking into a bar or restaurant that has been tested. Why shouldn’t Santa Barbara be a leader in this regard? It might help support our hospitals and medical community as they suffer financial losses having converted from profitable elective surgery to COVID treatment and profit businesses.

Why not develop a state-of-the-art testing and verification system? Between UCSB and Cottage and Sansum it certainly seems possible. At some point there will be industrial COVID experts with all the protocols and multiple testing procedures to assure that businesses are safe. It will be a highly profitable service.

14 – 21 May 2020

Hand model Misty Orman on the miniature set for a recent toy commercial

Who Are Cities For?

It has become the prevailing contradiction of Santa Barbara’s City government that while City Administrators bemoan the Governor’s regulations and prevaricate about their inability to change their own process, they fail to understand who cities are for.

No one in fact appreciates the police, the fire department, the water authority, or department of sanitation more than business. They need that support to thrive. But in times like these, businesses are the savior of a city. City coffers will not refill without the work of businesses who have to risk it all to serve their customers. Tourism will not return because a well-meaning Mayor patrols local beaches or a City Administrator teaches civic lessons or because the City strikes a highly questionable partnership with a failing shopping mall, a relic of the past, like Paseo Nuevo.

These times call for the kind of thinking that combines the meticulous problem-solving approach and innovation The Good Lion folks brought to town. You can be sure Eric Lemonides, owner/operator of Almond Brandon and Misty would have a lot Bridgehampton, one of the most successful of thoughts if they didn’t have their restaurants in the Hamptons shoulders to the wall figuring out how to save their businesses and get their employees working.

Economic Recovery is Competitive

Santa Barbara is no longer sitting in the catbird seat. Recovery is a competitive business. Cities don’t last without innovation. Ventura and San Luis Obispo have been working for decades to compete for business. Being a beautiful, attractive, architectural wonder by the sea, isn’t enough in “Survivor: the City Edition.” Santa Barbara has coasted on its good looks for too long. If the alarms aren’t ringing in City Hall right now, it’s time for an intervention. City leaders should take a cue from The Good Lion.

“Frankly we’re feeling optimistic. We love this community. We moved here for a reason. We think that the city is going to bounce back,” Brandon reflected.

“This will cause more change for the better and is a real opportunity for the city to emerge stronger.”

The thought drives Brandon Ristaino to contemplate the essential nature of his craft and business.

“Does it make complete logical sense for someone to go into our bar and drink a cocktail they could easily make at home, at close to the level we’re doing it?” Brandon asks. “They’re coming for the social interaction, for the vibe, for the way that it makes them feel to interact with our bar team and other people in the community. I think it’s pretty much ingrained in this generation and the generation before it.”

As after that other plague, the black one, there will be a huge pent up need and demand for social activity. That demand will drive the adaptation to a new normalcy. The desire that happens when the breeze is blowing, and the sun is out, and friends are nearby, is not going to be stopped.

•MJ

• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

45

On Entertainment

by Steven Libowitz

Digital Arts Festival Takes Center Stage

Harout Aristakessian of Dance With Harout will be the Digital Arts Festival guest on May 14

Steven Libowitz has reported on the arts and entertainment for more than 30 years; he has contributed to the Montecito Journal for more than 10 years.

B

Chilean dancer and choreographer Mauricio Vera is on the Digital Arts Festival schedule for May 15

ack in late March, the Center Stage Theater was still hopeful it would be able to present scattered live shows at its “black box” venue in Paseo Nuevo by May, so it was still soliciting true, first-person tales for its periodic performances of “Personal Stories.” But the arts venue eventually accepted our “new reality,” and adjusted the requested submissions to include anything creative, which they thought they might perhaps share with audiences online. Quickly, though, CST again shifted and by April 6 had launched the Digital Arts Festival, which has become perhaps the most pervasive opportunity to not only stay in touch with creatives associated in one way or another with the theater, but also see some of their work and listen to a freshly recorded interview with the principal artist. There’s no live streaming, so no interaction with the audience, but the content is substantial. Each morning, CST adds a post to its new blog (https://centerstag etheatersbdotblog.wordpress.com/ blog-2/) featuring an extensive bio and description of the artist of the

46 MONTECITO JOURNAL

day and sharing significant samples of their work via pictures and/or video clips. Then at 7 pm, Center Stage updates the post with a link to a Zoom interview with the artist conducted by long-time Santa Barbara theater professional and radio personality Jim Sirianni. The conversations explore the creative process, either in relationship to a specific work or to their overall approach, including what inspires them, what excites them, and how their creative process is being impacted by the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, CST has extended the festival through at least the end of May, and more likely beyond as they’re still soliciting artists to apply for coverage and seeking out other entertainers or performers to supplement the submissions. The schedule during the first week of May was illustrative of the variety of artists being presented, with a visual artist from choreographer/producer Yulia Maluta, British playwright Kieron Barry, Santa Barbara School of Performing Arts founder-choreographer Dauri Kennedy, UCSB Dance professor

Brandon Whited, UCSB theater/ Launch Pad founder Risa Brainin, and painter and resident artist for the Granada Theatre James Paul Brown.

Last Monday featured Daniel French, a music teacher and audio engineer whose Chronosphere Fiction is a storytelling podcast where writers’ creations come to life with sound effects and music.

Last week brought an adjustment: the schedule now calls for new postings only Mondays through Fridays rather than seven days a week. But posting only the pre-recorded interviews, albeit earlier in the day, as well as examples of the artists’ work continues to be the entry point rather than live streaming of just the interview, or perhaps a chance for the artist to chat in real time with viewers.

“It’s actually better for the performers if it’s recorded,” said Center Stage’s Executive Director Teri Ball, who came up with the idea of the Digital Arts Festival and has worked with CST board members as well as Sirianni in selecting the artists for the series. “There’s a lot less pressure and they can focus on the conversation.”

Ball said the interview format is fairly consistent, although Sirianni is free to take the conversations in different directions as the talk progresses.

“The idea is to have them talk about their creative process to give audiences a view inside how the artist comes up with and develops their art or performances, something people probably don’t get to see in the final product,” she said. “We’ll ask about the creative process both in general and more specifically how it pertains

to the work we’re showing in the blog.

And of course, we’re going to ask how the quarantine has impacted them, and if they are doing anything special in response, and what they think the long-term effect of the pandemic will be on what they produce.”

Win-Win-Win on the Worldwide Web

The series, which zoomed past 35 events this week, has been a big plus for everyone involved, Ball said.

“It’s been quite a success for all of us. It’s really helped the theater expand our reach as well as our social media footprint, which will be great going forward. The artists absolutely love having the exposure. And from what we can tell, the audience seems to enjoy it.”

Ball pointed to April 30’s entry with a staged reading featuring UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work program as a highlight of the series. Late this winter, the program had staged a workshop production of Ice Breakers, by Nick Freedson, a theater graduate of UCSB who is now a member of Skypilot Theatre company.

At Ball’s behest, playwright Freedson returned to the script to make revisions based on the lessons learned from seeing the script performed, and the updated version was performed as a Zoom reading for the Digital Arts Festival. The posting includes both a video of the February workshop production and the new reading where the same actors all performed from their homes.

That experience was both exhilarating but also a bit frustrating, Ball said, because of the quirks and limitations of the Zoom platform. “We’re going to experiment with Skype and other software that might have more flexibility and interaction. But as we’re all learning, there’s a technique and well as limitations when you do things online.”

As of press time, there were just a 14 – 21 May 2020

few confirmed artists on the upcoming schedule, including a May 14 date with Harout Aristakessian, of Dance With Harout, a now-Santa Barbara based choreographer and performer who previously performed professionally all over Los Angeles with credits including Disney Channel (“So Random”) and most of the major venues. Harout has also appeared on Center Stage’s black box venue on numerous occasions, including for showcases of his relatively new company.

Mauricio Veral, the Chilean dancer and choreographer who has worked with State Street Ballet (he was instrumental in breaking the company to Santiago), is booked for May 15, while CST’s own Maggie Mixsell, artistic director of Speaking of Stories, which is still thriving with its Personal Stories events, and an instructor for UCSB’s dramatic arts program and SBCCs’ theatre arts program, will be featured on May 18.

Unlike many of the other online offerings from local arts organizations, all of the materials remain up on the CST blog page for viewing on demand for free, so having to curtail raising the curtain on new entries wouldn’t be a big issue. But Ball doesn’t anticipate having to shut down creating new original posts for lack of new faces.

“While it’s been true that some people are actually too busy with online classes and other new projects to get involved, there are many others who are so bored during isolating at home because they have nothing to do,” she explained. “We’re still getting lots of emails from artists who want to join.

There’s even been a few from out of town. We featured someone from Amsterdam and a dancer from Ohio.

But generally it’s people who live here, and usually have some sort of connection to the theater, other than the visual artists.”

Moving Forward

Once the county and city begin to emerge from the COVID-19 restrictions, Ball envisions keeping the series going in an expanded format.

“When the artists and companies are able to come into the theater, even without an audience, we can do something like live streaming or perhaps recording performances for Video on Demand, which lets us use more cameras and do some editing and has a higher quality.” she said.

“I imagine we’ll be able to have individuals or small groups on stage with just them in the theater before we can have any audience at all. So we’re equipping the theatre to make that happen. Eventually I’m sure we’ll have socially distanced audiences.

But even then, where we can, we’ll still want to do video for those who 14 – 21 May 2020

Dave Alvin and Eliza Gilkyson are two of the artists that appear on Tales from the Tavern’s vault of archived footage

might be at high risk and want to watch from home.”

(Access the full series and new postings at the Digital Arts Festival’s blog: https://centerstagetheatersbdotblog. wordpress.com/blog-2.)

Typically Sold Out ‘Tales From the Tavern’ Moves Online For Now

Tales from the Tavern, the singer-songwriter series that has drawn sell-out crowds in the Santa Ynez Valley for 18 years, has bowed to reality and begun an online series showing complete and excerpted concerts along with interviews culled from its archives that hits the web every Wednesday night, its usual time slot during our “old reality.”

The first episode on April 29 featured John Gorka, an early and often visitor to the series, even before it moved to the Maverick Saloon more than a decade ago. Gorka himself was tuning in for the livestream debut at his Minnesota home to interact with viewers and listeners in real time for the YouTube streaming. The guest for May 6 was Dave Stamey, who has been honored as Western Music Association songwriter, performer, and entertainer of the year many times. The stream included song performances, and stories from the stage and backstage interviews, and Stamey was also on hand to interact with viewers via video chat.

“We are so excited to start sharing information from this vast archive of materials gathered over the past 18 years through TFTT-TV (Tales From The Tavern Television),” Tales from the Tavern co-founder and co-producer Ron Colone said in an email, adding that he’s also adding short clips throughout each week, including posting one on YouTube (https:// youtu.be/n3jhnV98hxl) and Facebook featuring Kevin Welch, Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, John McEuen, Dave Stamey, and Michael Smith.

Colone said he chose to go the plumb-the-archives route rather than solicit live streaming events because TFTT has been recording and videotaping not only the concerts but backstage interviews with every artist since

the series’ inception, all at very high quality. Several concerts have already been edited and produced on DVDs, which formed the basis for the material in the online series’ first two shows.

“That was stuff that didn’t need much work,” he told me over the phone a few days ago. “So it made sense to start there. But we have 400 concerts we can draw from.”

But this week’s artist, Eliza Gilkyson – another TFTT favorite who has also appeared numerous times at the Lobero’s now-defunct Sings Like Hell series – is taking a bit more forethought, he said.

“After the last time she performed here, she wanted us to put together an anthology, a retrospective of her TFTT shows,” Colone explained. “So we were already starting that project, and had transcribed and cut together some of the interviews.”

As for upgrading the interaction to video interviews or chats over Zoom or another platform, Colone said all options are being explored as the coronavirus lockdown continues.

“We’d love to do something live, and it’s on the table. But we already have those amazing interviews which are very probing, way beyond something promotional. So there’s a lot of meat just in cutting together the episodes of songs, stories, and backstage interviews. Still, Zoom would take it to another level.”

Actually engaging the artist to perform something new seems appealing, but probably not in the cards in the immediate future.

“It seems everybody is already doing Facebook Live or something like it, and there’s almost always a quality issue with just using an iPhone camera in your living room.

This is more of a program, very highly produced and professional,” Colone continued.

Colone said about 200 viewers tuned in for the debut of the first program with Gorka, and 300 showed up for the Stamey event, including people from around the country and beyond.

“They’ve come from Australia, Afghanistan, Brazil, all over, joining in the chat with the artists,” he said.

“There’s so much enthusiasm, I can feel the energy just in reading the words. And the follow up response

• The Voice of the Village •

via email, social media and phone calls has been incredible.”

It’s also making some money for the artists.

“People everywhere and in all walks of life are having the same issues with having little or no income,” Colone said. “Artists are looking at six months or more of no work at all. Since one of our big missions has been to be artist advocates, this seemed like a good way to help the musicians.”

The archival events are initially streamed for free, but people are encouraged to donate to help support the artists, adding that a healthy percentage of viewers are contributing.

The first two events have remained up on the TFTT YouTube channel, but future deals with singer-songwriters who have major management or record company deals may require charging a fee for VOD on a different platform after a short window. “(Either way) we get to send the musician a check and it’s like them playing a regular gig. And we’ve also brought in several thousand dollars for our ongoing Artist Advocacy Foundation from people who have been hearing their stories. We’ve been able to give a lot of grants to artists who need this as well as serve the community, which is multifaceted, including our sponsors, season ticket holders, artists, and local people.

We’re hoping to build a community online like we have done with the concert series geographically, spiritually, and artistically. And maybe we’re creating new connections between people.”

In the works for future weeks are Steve Poltz, whom Colone called “flat out one of the best entertainers around; people who aren’t familiar with him will be blown away,” and Kenny White, the pianist for whom Santa Ynez resident David Crosby sang harmony on White’s last album, Colone said. (White has been confirmed for May 20.) A fresh take on Dave Alvin’s many concerts at the Maverick Saloon is also on the board.

Catch the live streams and view other materials online at TFTT’s YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/channel/UCk028ZJrWimGsjdaqYN9nQA) or visit https://talesfromthetavern. com/tftt-archives.

•MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

47

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 7)

Perfect Fit

$1,000… and beyond. By 8:30 that first morning one incredibly generous customer had purchased $3,500 worth of gift cards; $250 a piece for 15 merchants. By 9 am we hit the $10,000 mark. From there the generosity of our seaside town exploded, bringing in $230,794 by the end of the weekend; $66K of which was donated to the 93108Fund, which has been disbursing funds to Montecito’s hourly workers – think servers, retail salespeople,

and others – since the pandemic shutdown began.

On Sunday, May 3, a special Zoom happy hour was held, emceed by Billy Baldwin and featuring the musical talents of Zach Gill, Johnny Irion, Tina Schlieske, and Sofia Schuster.

Baldwin raffled off spectacular prizes donated by Coast 2 Coast, Beau Joie, Whiskey & Leather, hairstylist Edward Anthony, Botanik, Mountain Air Sports, Viva Oliva, Robitaille’s

Wendy Foster

Montecito Hardware

Here’s the Scoop

Montecito Coffee Shop

Jeannine’s

48 MONTECITO JOURNAL

Fine Candies, artist Jordan Pope, Marcus, and Riviera Towel Company.

Winners, who all spent $500 or more during the Cash Mob, include Martin Gore, Elizabeth Perry, Devon Nielsen, Kathleen Lavidge, Sally Holbrook, Shelley Badat, Brian Frons, Steffany Hall, Hal Saunders, Joseph Freeman, Penelope Bianchi, Susan Lichtenstein, Rand Rosenberg, Debra Geiger, and Hal Conklin.

Due to the great success of the Cash Mob, and the huge amount of work that went into planning it, it was decided that the event would be

extended through Sunday, May 10.

More and more sales came in, bringing the final total to $270,405. Of this, $87K is earmarked for the 93108Fund, and $183K was spent on Montecito businesses, by way of nearly 1,600 gift cards!!

Friday of last week, 114 checks were distributed to Montecito businesses for the first weekend of the Cash Mob. Six members of our Cash Mob team walked Coast Village Road and the upper village, happily handing out checks to the shop owners who bring life to our village on a daily basis. We 14 – 21 May 2020

behind the scenes of the Cash Mob, we want to extend a huge thank you for all those who participated in showing our merchants how much we love them. The success of the event exceeded every expectation, and every merchant who benefited was truly touched by the generosity.

Here are some photos of the recipients receiving their checks.

Crane Hosts Virtual Benefit

Via Vai

San Ysidro Pharmacy

Upstairs at Pierre Lafond

Imagine Artful Things

Pierre Lafond

William Laman Antiques

Village Wine & Cheese

did our best to deliver to all the merchants, but there were several who were not yet open for business, so we are in the process of getting ahold of those vendors.

In just the first weekend, our merchants sold a whopping 1,551 gift 14 – 21 May 2020

cards. While this is an INCREDIBLE number, and we are so grateful, it does take some time for the gift cards to be issued. Some of our restaurants sold nearly 100 gift cards! We encouraged all merchants to reach out to their customers as soon as possible to arrange

pick-up of the gift cards. Customers should watch their emails carefully for these instructions. Most vendors plan on having the customer pick up the gift card, while a few said they would prefer to mail them. The next round of check disbursement for gift cards purchased between May 4-10 will take place this week.

On behalf of the team of people

• The Voice of the Village •

Crane Country Day School typically marks the start of May with a successful spring fundraiser with an adults-only dinner and auction.

This year was very different, as the stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic forced organizers to abandon the original plans – which included a fancy dinner and dancing at the Coral Casino – with a virtual, low-key event.

“Clearly we saw the writing on the wall, and we began to pivot our plans,” said Crane Development Director Debbie Williams. “We decided to change plans completely, and make it a family-friendly event for both parents and students.” The virtual fundraising event, held on Zoom on Friday, May 1, was held early enough in the evening for even the kindergartners to join; all students were encouraged to join in their pajamas.

The event lasted less than an hour, and included a bingo game, singing, a dance party, a lip sync battle, and more. Emceed by music teacher Konrad Kono, the event allowed parents the opportunity to donate funds online, which are to be used for the school’s operational budget.

Sponsors from the original event were kind enough to transfer their dollars to the virtual event, and Williams expressed her gratitude for both corporate sponsors and parent sponsors who made the virtual fundraiser a success. “Not only was it worth our time for fundraising, but it was a great opportunity for our students to see each other and say ‘hi,’” Williams said. “It was super fun and low key.” The website for parents who were unable to attend the event is still available through Friday.

Meanwhile, Crane’s 251 students are showing excellent attendance in the school’s remote learning program, put in place when the campus was closed in mid-March. “Our teachers are going beyond the call of duty, and working much longer hours than a normal classroom day,” Williams said.

In addition to the core academic subjects which are taught every morning, specialists including art, music, PE, language, and theater teachers are providing curriculum through both live and taped instruction, so students can have the flexibility in accessing

VILLAGE BEAT Page 504 MONTECITO JOURNAL

49

VILLAGE BEAT (Continued from page 49)

the lessons. The school is utilizing video-conferencing platform Google Meets to conduct lessons and one-onone instruction. All programs, including presentations and the upper school play Peter Pan, are still on schedule, to be done virtually. “It’s been going really well, and the students are engaged and thriving,” Williams said.

For more information, visit www. craneschool.org.

Montecito Association Meets

Students from Kindergarten through 8th grade have adjusted well to remote learning, which was also utilized following the 1/9 debris flow in January 2018

Crane music teacher Konrad Kono emceed the school’s virtual fundraising event on Friday, May 1, engaging students and parents in a round of bingo, a dance party, and a lip-sync battle

The Montecito Association Board of Directors met via Zoom on Tuesday, checking in with community leaders who gave updates on their respective departments.

Dr. Anthony Ranii from Montecito Union School reported that new budget studies from the State show that there will likely be a negative cost of living adjustment of -2% to -19%, given the much lower tax base expected due to COVID-19. “There is going to be some very big changes with funding for public schools,” Dr. Ranii said, adding that the District is anticipating the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars over the coming years. Dr. Ranii said plans are in the works for a virtual graduation ceremony for MUS 6th graders, and a “reverse parade” on the last day of school, June 4. Teachers and staff will line San Ysidro Road (six feet apart) and wave at students driving by, wishing them a happy summer break. Dr. Ranii said it’s too soon to say what the fall learning environment will look like, given the pandemic. “Parents need to get their kids back to school. We are looking to make that happen in a safe way,” he said. During her report, Cold Spring School superintendent Dr. Amy Alzina shared similar sentiments, reporting that 37% of the school’s operating budget is expected to be cut.

Darcel Elliott from First District Supervisor Das Williams’ office

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reported that a temporary parking ordinance is in the works, to help mitigate the increased parking issues at County beaches and trailheads.

MA executive director Sharon Byrne, Cliff Ghersen, and Heal the Ocean’s Hillary Hauser all spoke at the Board of Supervisors’ hearing on Tuesday morning, advocating for such an ordinance. A draft of the ordinance will be in front of the Board of Supervisors next Tuesday, May 19.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Lieutenant Butch Arnoldi reported on the crime stats for Montecito in the last month. They include: a major residential burglary on East Valley Road, where two cars were stolen from the property; transient trespassing and littering on public property near the train tracks; and multiple parking violations. There has also been an uptick in mail and package thefts, with incidences reported on Santa Rosa, Miramar, Jameson, Lilac, Bella Vista, Toro Canyon, East Valley Road, Cielito, San Leandro, Coyote Road, and more. The suspects are conducting these crimes in the daylight hours, leading to identity thefts, check cashing, and more. Lieutenant Arnoldi said it is very important to report the crimes as soon as possible, at (805) 692-5743. It’s suspected that the perpetrators are a young couple, one of whom drives a white pick-up truck.

Montecito Fire Chief Kevin Taylor reported a 12% reduction in emergency calls. He also reported that fire season is expected to start on June 1. Fuel reduction programs, including neighborhood chipping, continue in the community. Defensible space inspections begin on June 15.

During the conference agenda, a discussion ensued regarding the mandating of wearing face coverings in public in the County. Elliot reported that she does not believe the Board of Supervisors would be in agreement to support such a mandate, given the advice of the Public Health Department. The Board agreed to distribute a letter outlining best practices and common sense regarding masks, to encourage community members to wear masks.

Also discussed: the increase in homeless encampments from Olive Mill to San Ysidro Road along the railroad tracks. The County, as well as the Sheriff’s Department, is unable to call for a cleanup of the area because it is on Union Pacific property. Elliott reported that she expects Union Pacific to respond in the coming days, and facilitate a clean-up of the encampments.

The next Montecito Association Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9. For more information visit www.montecitoassoci ation.org.

•MJ 14 – 21 May 2020

A Life to Remember

by Gretchen Lieff

Gretchen is founder and president of the Lutah Maria Riggs Society and Davey’s Voice, both Santa Barbara 501(c)(3) nonprofits. Gretchen sits on the board of the California Water Impact Network and is vice president of the board of the Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network. She is a former board member of the Granada Theatre and the Coral Casino Membership Committee.

A Lesson in Loss: It’s important to tell those we love how much they mean to us – don’t wait.

I

t was another death along the train tracks in Montecito as we waited anxiously for further details and circumstances.

Then we heard it was a local hair stylist.

That was upsetting.

And then the unfathomable – 37-year-old Victoria Vaccarello, a vibrant local treasure, was the girl who lost her life along the tracks.

My friend Judy Foreman knew Victoria as an 11-year-old who used to play soccer with her daughter at Santa Barbara Middle School.

“After beauty school, Victoria worked at the Biltmore with Kevin Charles and then at Red Studio on Coast Village Road. She was a very good hairdresser – very responsible and a good friend to a lot of people,” Judy said.

“Did she do your hair?”

“No, but I would see her quite often at Salon Montecito, and I found her to be very professional. There was no sadness in her at all, she was a very independent person. She played hard and she worked hard, and she loved to travel. She would go to Europe and rent a car and drive around. But she was not a sad person, at all,” Judy said.

I’m glad to hear that.

“Victoria had a great laugh. She loved flowers, especially roses. Her middle name was Rose. She loved baking. A year ago when my daughter Ashley got married, V baked the cake.

Victoria loved her dog Winnie – she 14 – 21 May 2020

was just crazy about that dog.”

Long pause.

There have been many train track deaths in Montecito.

“Yes, I know a lot of them, and all have been suicides – but not Victoria.”

No one would bring a lifelong companion, canine or not, to one’s demise.

“No, this was just a tragic accident, the waste of a great life. It’s a rotten shame – 37 years old and just a wonderful life to look forward to,” my friend Judy said.

According to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Victoria was walking on the tracks with Winnie when the train hit her. She may have been trying to wrangle Winnie. She may have been wearing headphones.

Winnie was on leash but survived.

Sierra Bingham runs Montecito Body and was one of Victoria’s best friends.

“We were close, as close as anyone can get to Victoria.” Sierra speaks very slowly.

“She was fearless; independent; she had incredible style. She was so gorgeous that guys would fall all over themselves, I loved walking behind her just to watch them. V was loving and kind. She was my accountability partner in working out and hiking.

She and Winnie and I would walk on West Beach early in the morning. Winnie’s a blue-nosed pit bull. V bought her a life jacket and taught her to swim.”

Sierra pauses and I wait for her to continue.

“V got Winnie five years ago – her uncle found the pup running scared on the streets of Compton in L.A. He caught her and brought her up to Santa Barbara to V. She’s a cool dog, very mellow. They lived for each other – V and Winnie.”

Sierra told me more about Victoria.

“She was private, no social media, nothing – no Instagram or Facebook.

It’s been challenging for friends and neighbors, you know, we want to come together. Part of the grieving process is to tell stories and laugh and cry. I’ve had to break the news to people all over who aren’t part of our Santa Barbara bubble.”

I was impressed by how Victoria traveled solo.

“Yes, she went all over the world on her own. Last New Year’s Eve she popped over to Spain – Barcelona.

She took a cooking class and in the evening the class took a bus to the Central Square and V sent videos of the fireworks. And then she flew over to London for a few days. She lived in the moment.”

Sierra pauses again.

“I don’t know if the investigation is ongoing or what will come out of it or what even could. But, yes, it was a shock. Because Victoria and I had plans, we talked about the future, starting a spa in Montecito.”

I can’t imagine the depths of a loss like this.

“The grief comes in waves,” Sierra chokes back tears, “We can’t bottle it up, or hide, life is short – shorter for some. And fragile. It’s important to tell those we love how much they mean to us – don’t wait.”

As Judy and Sierra – and so many others in our special community – are hurting because of Victoria’s death, I look for solace and discover Judith Viorst’s book, Necessary Losses.

The author explains loss as inevita-

• The Voice of the Village •

ble – and necessary. From the beginning, as we burst into the brightness as a crying baby, our existence is defined with the loss of the womb and then the loss of our childhood and then the loss of our youth.

Viorst warns that if we don’t deal with loss, we can’t deal with life.

My friend and mentor Daniel Flores helps people cope with loss. Daniel teaches classes in death and dying and is a hospital chaplain. According to Daniel, some people respond to loss in a healthy way. Many don’t. “Loss allows us to become fully functioning, giving and receiving human beings.

It’s what matures us. Loss is inevitable, everybody has loss — it’s how we respond that matters most.”

“We need to embrace life knowing that we’re going to lose it one day.

One day, life ends. Will it be a tragedy, a disease, an accident, or by your own hand – all of that’s in the cards.

“But they’re your cards.

“The very beauty of life itself and being a human being who is alive, that’s what life’s all about. We have a mind and a soul, we think and create and relate to others and help each other. Life is worth living and death makes life even more beautiful – while we have it.”

How can death possibly make life more beautiful?

“M. Scott Peck (The Road Less Traveled) says all of us should carry death on our left shoulder, to remind us to be fully alive. Death can actually spur us along to a better place by reminding us how precious life is.

“Life is a choice. A choice we need to make, in the face of loss and death.”

“That’s why the end of grieving is acceptance.”

Thank you, Victoria – for the reminder. * Winnie is currently with the family until they can find a secure home for her. If you might be interested in adopting Winnie, please email letters@ montecitojournal.net and we will send your information along to the family.

The Montecito Journal also invites readers who would like to share poignant pet stories to the same address: letters@montecitojournal.net •MJ MONTECITO JOURNAL

51

ON THE RECORD (Continued from page 44)

The Grade Debate

Unlike well-funded private schools and tiny, one-school-district public schools, public schools in the city of Santa Barbara are dealing with much more severe, real-world challenges when it comes to implementing remote learning. “People always ask me what new problems we are facing,” says Elise Simmons, principal of Santa Barbara High School (SBHS). “But the problems aren’t new. The problems are the same, they’re just amplified.” Although SBHS has a well-earned reputation for community and family outreach which has helped the school create a supportive atmosphere on campus, many students come from low-income families. The school recently completed a survey to determine how many kids lacked either a computer or iPad at home or had no reliable Wi-Fi access.

“We found that it was less than one hundred students,” she says.

“But that’s still five percent of our population, and who knows how many more kids will lose that access by the next week?”

For the past eight years, students and teachers have increasingly relied on technology in the classroom. “So our staff already knows how to use Neo, a learning management system that allows for distance learning, and this experience is helping us a lot now. At first we wanted to take advantage of the COVID-19 crisis to have more students learning about it in class,” she recalls. “But then we got feedback from students saying, ‘Please don’t talk about COVID anymore, anything but that!’”

According to Simmons, a major challenge has fallen on teachers, who had little time to prepare for remote learning as a full-time teaching concept. Their solution was to ask students for their feedback and incorporate that discussion into a more flexible, learn-as-you-go curriculum.

“We are now in a new space where learning is new for everyone,” says Simmons. “I am proud of our teachers for asking for that feedback. It’s awesome to see, but it’s exhausting for the staff; I can see it in their faces.”

At press time, Simmons and other public school administrators throughout the county – a group colloquially known as “The Cabinet” – were still busy working out various plans for how schools might reopen next year. “There are multiple scenarios and they are ever-changing,” she explains. “Do we reopen as usual, if the virus is gone and we are all safe? Do we reopen with remote learning like where we are now? Or is there something in between where we are able to explore ways to have

52 MONTECITO JOURNAL

less students in the space, possibly a different bell schedule?”

Another big debate: Whether or not to award letter grades this semester or simply implement a pass/fail system. After hearing from college admissions officials who said that they weren’t going to judge students for having poor grades this semester, Simmons argued that the school district should ditch letter grades.

But after worried parents, primarily of high school juniors, demanded letter grades, the county ultimately approved a compromise measure allowing willing students to opt to receive letter grades for the spring semester.

Whatever grading system is used, Simmons says her job is to ensure that remote learning doesn’t negatively impact the all-important connection between teacher and student. “It’s a time of innovation,” she says. “But how we are delivering instruction to the kids is the crux of it all. You present a problem or question to them and give some guidance and students can take it in the direction they’re interested in. Let them figure it out on their own.”

People of Montecito

by Megan Waldrep

How Did You Operate Business In Past Emergencies?

I

’ve owned the Bottle Shop since April 20, 1992. People depend on us. We were open through the earthquake, I stayed open through the fires and the mudslides when I had a chance to open. I opened to supply all I could to the community. During the fire, a lot of firemen and sheriffs came to town from all over California and Portland and there was no bathroom. There was no water. It was a ghost town. So, I Iet them use my bathroom. I gave them food, water…whatever I had. It makes you feel good to do something to provide for the community. It’s a great town and people become like family.

Morhaf Trad Bottle Shop •MJ

Uncharted Waters

With 21 schools and 15,000 students, the Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) is one of the oldest and largest in the state.

“Many families are really struggling,” said Laura Capps, president of SBUSD’s board. “We have kids taking care of parents who have COVID-19. This pandemic has really exacerbated all the inequalities that were there before it. Some kids have enough support, maybe even too much, and some don’t have nearly enough.”

After floating an unpopular and quickly-dropped plan to reopen schools in July, Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce a revised reopening date for later this year.

“It’s impossible to imagine a more fraught task than choosing an actual date for this,” Capps admitted. “As hard as it is to close schools, it’s even harder to reopen,” she remarked.

“How do we get students back in the classroom safely?”

Noting that Santa Barbara’s climate allows for outdoor instruction almost year-round, Capps hopes that schools can reconvene on campus perhaps under modified rules.

“I am not forecasting that, but it adds to the possibilities we have,” she said. “These are uncharted waters and if there are good ideas we want to hear them. This is definitely a learning opportunity and now is the time.”

Susan Salcido, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools,

The kids are alright

has already convened a team to examine options for reopening schools in the fall, but no specific date has yet been set. The priority, insists Salcido, is serving students in the most compassionate, effective, and supportive way.

“Not only did we want to educate students, but we were also thinking deeply about the need for food continuity, creating and maintaining social and emotional connections and serving our students with unique abilities,” she said.

“School district technology teams have distributed devices to students with help from organizations like Partners in Education, which has a ‘computers for families’ program,” Salcido adds.

So far, 207 refurbished computers have been distributed to Santa Barbara area families at no cost.

Meanwhile, because colleges and universities have pledged that their

acceptance policies would reflect an understanding of the challenges faced by applicants, Salcido is confident that students won’t be punished for their COVID-19-era grades or lack thereof, should they opt for the pass/fail credit.

“This allowed districts to make grading decisions for their student populations based on the ages and grades served,” she said. “It’s just one example of the weighty and challenging decisions that districts have had to make during this extraordinary time.”

“This is an unprecedented time in our world and in our schools,” Salcido continued. “There is no playbook on how to pivot all schools to remote learning in a pandemic. However, the lessons we learned during the Thomas Fire and January 9 debris flow helped prepare us to transition quickly and thoughtfully, working collaboratively and creatively as a group of twenty school districts.”

•MJ 14 – 21 May 2020

Around Town

by Joanne A. Calitri

Wildling Museum in Solvang Continues Annual Photo Contest

U

nder the positive can-do direction of its director Stacey Otte-Demangate, the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature is inviting everyone to reconnect to nature at this time. Get out those cameras or use your phone and submit five of your best nature photos for their 11th Annual juried photography competition titled “Critters of the TriCounty Region.” With more free time right now than some folks care to acknowledge, creative projects feed and inspire. Stacey’s team is keeping their museum motto going to keep us going: “Connecting people to nature through art, and inspiring a conservation ethic.” With the contest open to people of all ages, it’s a great family activity to do with kids, with your significant other, or just solo to find your inner artist.

The Wildling Museum also just completed the addition of new solar panels via a nonprofit program from the CEC, has the staff making masks for donation, volunteering with their local food bank, and sends a special thanks to Montecito Bank & Trust!

Here’s our e-interview: Q: Stacey, please share with us your background and being head of the Wildling Museum.

A: I’ve been the executive director here at the Wildling for 10 years now, which has flown by. Previous to that, I was the executive director of the Catalina Island Museum and lived in Avalon for 18 years. I’ve worked in museums my whole life and enjoy helping my institution be of service to its community and visitors.

How is the museum dealing with the lockdown order and what’s your plan going forward?

The stay-at-home orders have been hard on us, like everyone. We closed on March 13, like many other museums, and immediately began work with my team on how to move forward. Our days have been full of webinars and Zoom meetings. We keep in contact with our other countywide museum colleagues, which has been a great resource both of information and morale boosting. We did not immediately lay off anyone, given a very small staff, and my concerns that it might affect our PPP application. We thankfully did receive a PPP loan through Montecito Bank & Trust, which did a heroic job servicing all those loans and 14 – 21 May 2020

Overview of the new solar panels for Wildling Museum of Art & Nature in Solvang

Stacey Otte-Demangate, director of the Wildling Museum of Art & Nature in Solvang

applications. We’ve asked our supporters to help as they can, and we are gratified to say that many have stepped up with donations large and small to help us. We’re grateful, but we are also very concerned about our long-term finances as we move past the PPP funds and into summer and fall. We hope to possibly reopen in at least a limited fashion in June, but of course at the same time we need to make sure our visitors, staff, and volunteers will be safe.

In what ways is the museum being of service during lockdown?

Our assistant director Lauren Sharp has done a wonderful job getting all of our current exhibitions online so we have a Virtual Visit page that includes downloadable activity sheets for kids.

She’s very busy on our social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) sharing about our artwork and mission, and we’re developing some other ideas too. When I can, I take off on Tuesday afternoons to volunteer for the Foodbank at Bethania Lutheran to help distribute food, and I’m sad to say the line is growing longer every week. Our store assistant, Julie Mock, loves to sew so she’s been making masks (some on museum time) and contributing to the Coastal Quilters Guild which distributes them to all kinds of groups and individuals who need them. Individually, we’ve all made an effort to order takeout from our favorite local restaurants, too.

Tell us about the museum’s new solar

Winning photograph by Elliot Lowndes of the Eight-Legged Snowy Plover

panels...

Our mission is to use art exhibitions and programs to inspire a love for nature – but we needed to also demonstrate our belief in the need for all of us to live lighter on the planet. We’re excited to have finally completed the solar installation on our roof, thanks to the Solarize Nonprofits program by the Community Environmental Council (CEC). Because there are virtually no upfront costs, we were able to pursue this with them thanks to their partnership with Asteri Solar who helps finance the program. For six years we will pay a little more for our electricity, then in year seven the panels are fully ours, and all the electricity they produce is free. They estimated we could save over $150,000 over the lifetime of the panels. It’s a fantastic program, and our museum is a County and State certified green business, we felt it was so important to take our sustainability to the next level and go solar. California Solar Electric was our installer and did a great job.

Tell us about your photo contest, “Art from Home: Critters of the Tri-County Region – Wildling Museum Photography Juried Competition.”

We’re happy to be launching our nature photography competition and invite photographers young and old to participate. The theme this year is

• The Voice of the Village •

“Critters of the Tri-County,” so we are looking for images of insects, birds, local mammals, and more that can be found in their natural environments in Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Counties. All submissions can be .jpgs and emailed to lauren@wildlingmuseum.org. We ask for everyone to fill out a submittal form which can be found on our website, along with their entries and fees. For adults there is a $10 fee per entry and a limit of up to five entries per person. They are due July 6. Prizes for adults: $250 first prize, $150 second, $50 third.

How do the arts heal us at this time?

Art and nature are both wonderful sources of inspiration and rest from the crazy times we are all experiencing. It’s so important to take a break from the news and let yourself enjoy a moment of peace. Luckily, the museum is all about both of those things and I hope people take a moment to visit with our art of nature online – and maybe follow up with a quiet walk out in nature too!

Indeed!

•MJ

411: https://wildlingmuseum.org/ news/2020-photography-competition Wildling Museum of Art & Nature: 1511 B Mission Drive, Solvang CA 93463 MONTECITO JOURNAL

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Gayle Nagy 805.770.5515 gnagy@rpm-mtg.com

NMLS #251258 Lend US dba RPM Mortgage, Inc. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 NMLS #1938 – Licensed by the DBO under the CA Residential Mortgage Lending Act. | C-294 | Equal Housing Opportunity

ESTATE/SENIOR SERVICES THE CLEARING HOUSE, LLC FRIENDS, CLIENTS, and CUSTOMERS

MOVING MISS DAISY

“We are Working To Serve You During This Crisis” Free Grocery/ Pharmacy Shopping to Those in Need, Online Estate Sales and No-Touch Estate Auctions, Senior Relocation and Estate Liquidation Services. Licensed, Bonded, Liability Insured, Workers Comped, Certified

by The National Assoc Of Senior Move Managers (NASMM) and The American Society of Estate Liquidators (ASEL).

Call or Text Glenn Novack at 805448-3788 info@movingmissdaisy. com or www.movingmissdaisy.com Retired Vocational/Holistic Nurse looking for live-in caregiver position Cell 714-654-4669 Email: allnaturalprotocol@yahoo.com

ITEMS FOR SALE TRESOR

The Clearing House looks forward to serving our Estate Sale clients and customers in the near future. We are cautiously optimistic that doors will open soon and shopping our well-appointed estate sales can begin again.

We miss you!

Recognized as the Area’s Premier Estate Liquidators – Experts in the Santa Barbara Market! We are Skilled Professionals with Years of Experience in Downsizing and Estate Sales. Personalized Service. Insured.

Call for a complimentary consultation.

Elaine (805) 708 6113 Christa (805) 450 8382 email: theclearinghouseSB@cox.net website www.theclearinghouseSB.com

We Buy, Sell and Broker Important Estate Jewelry.

Located in the upper village of Montecito.

Graduate Gemologists with 30 years of experience. We do free evaluations and private consultation.

1470 East Valley Rd suite V. 805 969-0888 European Antique Furniture for Sale Several unique pieces. Early 19th century. Two hutches, two vanities and a side table.

All have been appraised. Prices range between $600 to $3,500/piece.

Please call to schedule viewing (805) 452-5992

$8 minimum Klutter Kutters of Santa Barbara.

Now running errands! Organize, DeKlutter, Move. We are Comprehensive Senior Move Management Specialists. Call Karen and Pam at 805-669-6303 www.KlutterKutters.com

54 MONTECITO JOURNAL

PHYSICAL TRAINING

SPECIAL SERVICES

Fit for Life REMOTE TRAINING AVAILABLE Customized workouts and nutritional guidance for any lifestyle.

Individual/ group sessions.

Specialized in corrective exercise – injury prevention and post surgery.

House calls available. Victoria FrostCPT & CES 805-895-9227

WRITING SERVICES CREATING A LASTING LEGACY The story of a person’s life, told properly, is a marvel. It can be preserved as family treasure, or it can fade away. I write biographies and autobiographies, producing beautiful books that are thorough, professional, distinctive, impressive and entertaining. Many of my projects are gifts to honor beloved parents or spouses. I also assist with memoirs or other books. David Wilk (805) 455-5980 wilkonian@sbcglobal.net Excellent references. www.BiographyDavidWilk.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY LET’S CONNECT! #follow @molasses_jones on Instagram Send ca$h support: 5708 Hollister #258, Goleta, CA 93117 Need help selling known art product on-line. Work on commission.

805 455 0699 PROLIFIC “HOW TO” HANDBOOK WRITER Seeking book advance for 6 to 12 monthly 85 page (or so) delivery.

Compelling subjects include How to Start a Non Profit & How To Tame Wild Fires. Google Clint Orr for Amazon author bio.

Contact clint4re@yahoo.com

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD

It’s Simple. Charge is $2 per line, each line with 31 characters.

Minimum is $8 per week/issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue.

Email text to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860 and we will respond with a cost.

Deadline for inclusion is Monday before 2 pm.

We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex “I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass.” – David Lee Roth

French Lessons All levels & ages welcome.

Regine 805-969-7554 Grocery shopping delivery services & errands available!

Stay home stay safe www.sbgroceryrun.com Patricia Guerrera 805-637-6334 Seeking live-in estate caretaker position: •NYC Contractor 15 years exp with building and design both commercial and residential •Proficient at all trades; finish carpenter •Int’l property management experience; currently mnge multiple properties in NYC, Germany & Portugal •Juilliard trained pianist, master chef, proud father & husband!

Contact details: Bjørn Brandt (917) 224- 2526 bjornbrandt@gmail.com

RENTAL WANTED 1 or 2 Bedroom, on bath with shower $600. 805-455 4485

DONATIONS NEEDED Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary Menagerie 2340 Lillie Avenue Summerland CA 93067 (805) 969-1944 Donate to the Parrot Pantry!

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

Volunteers Do you have a special talent or skill?

Do you need community service hours?

The flock at SB Bird Sanctuary could always use some extra love and socialization. Call us and let’s talk about how you can help. (805) 969-1944 Over 25 Years in Montecito

Over25 25Years YearsininMontecito Montecito Over

MONTECITO MONTECITO MONTECITO ELECTRIC ELECTRIC ELECTRIC

EXCELLENTREFERENCES R EFERENCES EXCELLENT EXCELLENT REFERENCES • Repair Wiring • Wiring • Repair Repair Wiring • Inspection • Electrical Remodel Wiring • Remodel Wiring • • New New Wiring • Wiring New Wiring • • Landscape LandscapeLighting Lighting • Landscape Lighting • • Interior InteriorLighting Lighting • Interior Lighting

(805) 969-1575 969-1575 (805) 969-1575 (805) STATE LICENSE STATE LICENSENo. No.485353 485353

STATE LICENSE No. 485353 MAXWELLL. HAILSTONE MAXWELLL. HAILSTONE MAXWELL L. HAILSTONE 1482 East Valley Road, Suit 147 East Valley Road, Suit 147 1482 East Valley Road, Suite 147 Montecito, California 93108 Montecito, California 93108 Montecito, California 93108

www.montecitoelectric.com www.montecitoelectric.com 14 – 21 May 2020

ADVERTISE IN THE LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY (805) 565-1860 The Result is in Our Name

Greg Brashears BUSINESS CARDS FOR

Proudly serving the Santa Barbara area for over 30 years, Blue Water Pools offers comprehensive pool, spa, and fountain service for both commercial and residential clients

RealDec Estate VOL 20#48, 10, Appraisals ’14

California Certified General Appraiser

Serving Santa Barbara County and beyond for 30 years Hydrex 805-962-3351 Mention this ad and receive V 805-650-9340 | EM gb@gregbrashears.com Merrick Construction your 4th month of service free info@bluewatersb.com Bill Vaughan Shine Blow Dry Musgrove(revised) Valori Fussell(revised) Sweet Wheel Farm & Flowers Lynch Construction Good Doggies 805.335.7009 Pemberly alex@botanicalandscape.net Beautiful eyelash (changeCL#1050257 to Forever Beautiful Spa) Luis Esperanza Simon Hamilton FARM DIRECTLY TO YOU OPEN DAILY IN SUMMERLAND 10 - 4 2285 LILLIE AVENUE ORGANIC PRODUCE, LOCAL BAKED GOODS & HEAVENLY SOURDOUGH BREADS SWEETWHEELFARMS@GMAIL.COM / 805 770 3677 / BOX DELIVERY AVAILABLE

SUN COAST RENTALS

What memories did you ďŹ nd in your COVID CleanOut?

Bring those gems in to DACvideo!

We will digitally convert them so they last forever.

Call 805-569-1337 or mail@DACvideo

for contact-free appointment.

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14 – 21 May 2020

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EQUIPMENT SALES

(805) 684-4173

FINANCIAL PLANNING AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE William T. Toner, Jr. CFP AIF

805-855-0292 www.plainscoastal.com bill@plainscoastal.com 1482 East Valley Road, STE 10, Montecito, CA

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• The Voice of the Village •

MONTECITO JOURNAL

55

LUCKY’S steaks / chops / seafood TAKE-OUT, CURBSIDE & DELIVERY NIGHTLY CALL IN YOUR ORDERS FROM 3:30-8PM YOUR FOOD CAN BE READY ANYTIME AFTER 5PM wine list available at a 25% discount cocktails available to-go with any food order!

(805) 565-7540

•

Seafood Appetizers •

Giant Shrimp Cocktail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Fried Calamari, with Two Sauces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 •

Warm Appetizers •

French Onion Soup, Gratinée . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Matzo Ball Soup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Mushroom Bisque . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Macaroni and Cheese . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Lucky Chili with Cheddar, Onions and Cornbread . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Grilled Artichoke (also available steamed or chilled). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

•

Salads •

Lucky’s Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 with Romaine, Shrimp, Bacon, Green Beans, Avocado and Roquefort

Chopped Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 with Arugula, Radicchio, Shrimp, Prosciutto, Cannellini Beans and Onions

Wilted Spinach Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 with Bacon, Mushrooms and Chopped Egg

Warm Goat Cheese Salad, with Hazelnuts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Caesar Salad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Mixed Farm Greens with Diced Tomato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Jimmy the Greek Salad with Feta . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Wedge of Iceberg with Roquefort or Thousand Island . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Arugula, Radicchio & Belgian Endive Salad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Reggiano Parmesan, Balsamic Vinaigrette

•

Steaks and Chops •

Aged USDA PRIME Served Exclusively

Filet Mignon

•

Sandwiches & Other Dishes •

Sliced Filet Mignon Open Faced Sandwich, 6 oz.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Mushroom Sauce, French Fries

10 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 12 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Petit Filet Mignon, 7 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Bone-in New York, 16 oz., Delmonico. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

New York Strip Steak

14 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 10 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Porterhouse, 28 oz., SLICED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Bone-in Rib Chop, 20 oz., SLICED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Double Cut Colorado Lamb Chops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 BBQ Pork Baby Back Ribs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 •

Special Steaks •

New York Pepper Steak, 14 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Filet Mignon Pepper Steak, 10 oz.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 New York Strip Steak, 14 oz., with Roquefort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Gene’s Filet Mignon, 12 oz., Red Wine Horseradish Sauce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Lucky Burger, 8 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Choice of Cheese, French Fries, Soft Bun or Kaiser Roll

Vegetarian Burger, 5 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Choice of Cheese, French Fries, Soft Bun or Kaiser Roll (burger patty is vegan)

Sliced Steak Salad, 6 oz. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 with Arugula, Radicchio and Sauteed Onion

•

Chicken, Vegetables, Seafood •

Roast Chicken, half, thyme au jus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chicken Parmesan, San Marzano Sauce, broccolini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Sauteed Tofu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Japanese Vinaigrette, Green Onions, Shiitake Mushrooms, Spinach

Dover Sole, Meuniére . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Sauteed Sand Dabs, Meuniére . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Swordfish Picatta ................................................................. 45 Spinach, Lemon-Caper Butter Sauce

Red Wine with Shallots • Ragoût of Mushrooms • Maître d’ Butter • Tomato & Herbs •Tartar Sauce • Brown Butter w/ Caper •

Potatoes •

Hashed Brown Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Hashed Brown Potatoes with Gruyére Cheese. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Baked Idaho Russet Potato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Lucky’s French Fried Potatoes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mashed Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Herbie’s Potato Skins with Sour Cream and Chives. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Sweet Potato Fries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 •

Side Orders •

Skinny Onion Rings . . . . . . . . . . ......................................................................... 15 Creamed Spinach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......................................................................... 14 Sautéed Mushrooms . . . . . . . . . . . ......................................................................... 17 Fresh Creamed Corn . . . . . . . . . . ......................................................................... 14 Broccolini with Garlic and Chilis ......................................................................... 14 Sugar Snap Peas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......................................................................... 15

Desserts •

Apple Crisp à la mode ................................................................................ 12 Pecan Pie à la mode .................................................................................... 12 Cheesecake with berry compote............................................................ 12

56 MONTECITO JOURNAL

•

Thank you for your support!

14 – 21 May 2020