Pruning the Poem

JOURNAL

The Giving List

15 – 22 JANUARY 2026 | VOL 32 ISS 3 www.montecitojournal.net

Voice of theV illage

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA

In the Spirit of King – Five days of marches, films, poetry, and dialogue honor Dr. King’s legacy while strengthening SB’s commitment to justice, P.12

Between Mountain and Sea – Twelve artists capture the coastline, cliffs, and why SB’s meeting of land and sea remains an endless muse, P.14

PRUNING THE POEM Greg Kitajima was a philosophically inclined beachfront bartender when his roomie mentioned a short-term laborer’s gig at a local garden. Ahead lay enlightenment with the great Frank Fujii – and an unsung family history illuminated at last. (Story starts on page 6)

On the right NatureTrack, page 16

Freedom Machine – Bicycles reshaped SB’s culture – challenging fashion norms, empowering women, and encouraging public spanking, P.22

Cal-a-Vie Life

Italian-inspired villas, tailored wellness days, and surprise friendships define Cal-a-Vie’s rare blend of serenity, luxury, and genuine warmth, page 5

Last Light, Dark Truth

A headless old friend, an uncooperative Sheriff, and a storm rolling in… Creek knows this case is the edge of chaos in Chapter Two of Last Light in Paradise, page 8

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Cal-a-Vie – A week at Cal-a-Vie reveals why 5 this Italian-inspired spa blends fitness, food, friendship, and five-star ease

eings and Doings – UCSB Philosophy Major 6 BGreg Kitajima was tending bar at the beach when that mischief-maker Fortune showed up with pruning shears.

Montecito Reads – Chapter 2: Creek puzzles over 8 Pony’s waterlogged, incomplete body in the Santa Barbara surf, and has words with the disinterested local Sheriff

The Giving List – Help NatureTrack open 16 nature for all – more docents mean more

field trips, Freedom Trax outings, and joyful discoveries

On Entertainment – Beethoven concertos, 18 rising piano stars, local theater launches,

mariachi favorites, and early buzz for SBIFF 2026

20

lizabeth’s Appraisals – From rodeo buckles E to Beyoncé, tracing the history, style revival, and value of classic cowgirl belts

News Bytes – Raising Our Light, UCSB The Way It Was – A look back at Santa 10 milestones, 22 Barbara’s Arise5K, book launches, and more bicycle craze, from tandem globeuplifting events shaping Santa Barbara Letters to the Editor – Praise for Jeff Wing’s colonoscopy prose and the lasting effects of sheep shearing Tide Guide

Our Town – Five days of MLK celebrations 12 spotlight unity, local voices, Black history, and a

14 4

trotters to women’s liberation on two wheels

Your Westmont – The museum hosts a unique 24 Ansel Adams exhibition, the Warriors land a new STUNT coach, and women’s basketball wins

keynote from Leah Weber King

Enter the RenAIssance – AI pioneer Zack 26 Kass on unmetered intelligence, human

BMM Paints – Where the Mountains Meet S the Sea at the SB Maritime Museum showcases Santa Barbara landscapes through the eyes of 12 local painters

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Montecito JOURNAL

potential, and why Santa Barbara could shape the next Renaissance

urator’s Choice – Wood duck C chromolithograph

Independent Mind – A sharp critique 30 of AnNew York’s new mayor and the dangers

Harding sees in democratic socialism’s renewed appeal Robert’s Big Questions – Is America already a dictatorship? Examining competitive authoritarianism, Trump-era power shifts, and the fragility of democracy.

ature News – A fierce January storm 31 Ntriggers landslides and flooding at Arroyo

Hondo, reshaping hillsides and closing the preserve

39 Sheriff ’s Blotter Calendar of Events – Lectures, live music, 44 museum openings, MLK celebrations, tribute

concerts, and literary talks fill a vibrant January week

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

ini Meta Crossword Puzzles 47 MLocal Business Directory – Smart business

owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

Cal-a-Vie

Discovering the Cali Spa Life in Vista The charming rooms offer ultimate comfort but the Cal-a-Vie activities invite one to explore all of the grounds (courtesy photo)

by Deann Zampelli

I

n a world of destination spas, Cal-aVie in Vista, CA, can certainly hold its own in this ever-growing luxury sector. This small but mighty 500-acre health spa makes each occupant of its 32 villas feel as if their every wish can and will come true. Just driving up to the Italian-style villa to check in was like being embraced by a distant-and-soonto-be-favorite relative. As they showed me to my unlocked room (they don’t have keys!), I was immediately taken with the immense quiet and feeling of welcoming solitude. It wasn’t forced, just naturally sedate. I soon learned that I was one of 25 guests staying for the week who had traveled from Washington, Boston, Texas, New

The 500 acres of Cal-a-Vie are filled with magical nooks and charming crannies (courtesy photo)

15 – 22 January 2026

York, Australia – and a few locals from neighboring La Jolla. Waiting for me on my cozy and immensely comfortable bed was a gift and a handwritten note welcoming me to the spa. I was given a brief description on who my fellow guests were with their first names and city of origin, and a schedule for the remainder of the day. I arrived in time for lunch, so I headed over to the outdoor dining room where a table had all the guests’ names written on elegant little plaques. The idea is that you sit wherever you like. I’d foolishly assumed I would be dining alone, as I was flying solo on this trip. But within minutes of sitting down, I met Paige; a Cal-a-Vie regular on her fifth visit and traveling with her bestie. Soon we were all talking like old friends and enjoying a lunch of Harissa Chicken Salad and Hibiscus Poached Pears for dessert. While this is by no means a weight loss spa, the menu is loosely based on a 1200-calorie day. However, if you finish your meal and find you are still hungry, they will gladly serve you all over again. Or, if you would like a double portion of protein, or don’t eat raw fish, etc. they will happily accommodate your every whim. After lunch I had a bit of downtime to explore the grounds before my first treatment started. Around every winding path there seemed to be another perfect spot to read, to write in your journal, listen to the fountains or watch the turtles in the man-made lake. While I arrived midday, a typical full day at the spa looks something like this. Overnight oats and coffee are available as of 6:30 am after which almost everyone meets for a morning stretch before embarking on your choice of walk, hike or nature trek all at different levels of

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Beings and Doings

Japanese Black Pine, Pinus thunbergii, before pruning (photo by Greg Kitajima)

Greg’s Vocation Lets Us See the Poem Hiding in the Tree by Jeff Wing

“O

ne of the first things I look at is what’s the essence of the tree that I’m working on? On a Japanese maple, for instance, in the wintertime it’s about the winter silhouette. In Japan they say when the tree goes dormant and loses its leaves, the tree is bearing its soul. Then when the Japanese Maple is in leaf, the essence changes…” Okay. Greg Kitajima is an APA Certified Aesthetic Pruner® – a discipline most plainly (and inadequately) described as half horticultural care and half creative expression. That’s an oversimplification, of course. Michelangelo once famously said “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free.” Now imagine the block of marble as dynamic, alive, and growing as you meticulously work – through the passage of weeks, months, and years – to reveal its elegant hidden truth. “Aesthetic pruning is really the science of arboriculture combined with an artis-

6

Montecito JOURNAL

Greg Kitajima and Frank Fujji at Lotusland (photo by Greg Kitajima)

tic vision of a tree or shrub,” Greg says. “We’re following the basic science, everything we’ve learned about trees through centuries of pruning and studying trees. But we’re asking ‘what’s the structure?’ With the Japanese maple, – considered the feminine form of the Japanese garden – it’s about bringing out the delicate look of the tree. I want to create this effect of dappled light coming through the leaves.”

both the role of empiricism in Hume’s epistemology and the rye-to-vermouth ratio in a Manhattan. “Yes, I graduated from UCSB with a philosophy degree. While still in school I got a job at the Brown Pelican” – today’s Boathouse at Hendry’s Beach – “where I eventually became a bartender.” Just ahead lay Kitajima’s artisanal destiny, and the uncontainable geist of a previous esoteric philosopher, singer, and human firework named Ganna Walska. When fortune rang, Greg answered the door. “I was just living in Santa Barbara,” he says. “I had no idea what my future or career was going to be. A guy that I

Greg Kitajima wandered almost accidentally into his artisanal mission. Signing up for a three-month day gig as a laborer to augment his evening work in mixology, Greg will ultimately spend some 14 years in the kaleidoscopic “garden” called Lotusland. There he’ll be drawn into the orbit of a certain Frank Fujii, founding botanical visionary and steward of both Lotusland’s Japanese Garden – and of Greg’s immersive (and philosophically colorized) expertise. It happened like this. More or less.

Arboriculture Shock Having completed his UCSB undergrad in Philosophy, Greg Kitajima knew

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Beings & Doings Page 434 434

15 – 22 January 2026

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15 – 22 January 2026

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Montecito Reads

very now and then, a story comes along that refuses to stay put. It lingers on your nightstand. It sneaks into conversation. For us, Last Light in Paradise is one of those stories, and we’re delighted to let it loose, one chapter at a time, in the pages of the Montecito Journal. Well, at least the first six chapters for the time being – then you can purchase the book at one of our beloved local bookstores (Chaucer’s, Tecolote, and Godmothers) or from the QR code at the end of the article. This book marks a first for us… Last Light in Paradise is the inaugural book published by MJ Media Group. Yes, we’re dipping a toe – perhaps a barefoot run – into the world of book publishing, guided entirely by our belief in a novel that is as cinematic as it is soulful, as local as it is timeless. Set against the luminous backdrop of 1930s Santa Barbara, this is a tale of love and loss, mystery and reckoning, populated by unforgettable characters and infused with the kind of atmosphere that feels both dreamlike and deeply true. We invite you to settle in, turn the page, and join us at the edge of paradise… just as the light begins to change.

Scan here for Chapter 1

Last Light in Paradise by Michael C. Armour

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Chapter Two The body without a head lay in the wet sand of a Montecito beach. It lay as the tides had apparently delivered it – jackknifed between large boulders, below the high bluffs and the big villa on top that claimed a quarter mile of beach above mean tide. The body had on pants, but no shirt, and no shoes. A grotesque thing, Creek thought, a nearly naked dead body with nothing but a disinterested cop smoking a cigarette twenty yards off not even watching over it. The cop merely cocked his thumb when Creek introduced himself as a proxy for John Penbrook. Creek let the man’s indifference go and followed the dozen shoe prints that made a trail to the body. He circled it, then reversed back along the same path and up to the road. No prints ventured out to the beach. They had apparently accorded the dead man enough professional interest to look at him, determine his identity, make a call, and then, per John’s request, leave the body where it lay, calling it a boating accident and not interesting enough to investigate. Maybe they felt, as Creek did, that John didn’t want the body handled by strangers or taken away, but brought straight home. Creek returned to the body, leaned over, and rolled it slightly to see the tattoo, then let the hardening corpse fall back into position. He patted the pants pockets, but they were empty. He studied the body for a while, the surroundings, then stood and walked back to the policeman. He was a young man, gaunt in his ill-fitting blues. Judging by the scatter of flicked cigarette butts, he was trying hard not to show how cold he was. “Where is Wade?” Creek asked. “He was supposed to be here.” “Well, he ain’t.” He looked away as Creek studied him. “Well now, smart boy, that might be the reason I asked.” “We been waiting for you. Out here in the cold wind. Couple of fuckin’ hours already. More ’n a couple of hours.” Creek walked closer to him. “I’m touched. And where’s that ambulance?” “Look, mister, I came on after everybody left, after the undersheriff took off. They said, ‘Leave the Indian till the Penbrook fella comes, which he still ain’t done, then tell him to make the call, and we’ll come and drive it out of here.’ Nobody wants this shit on a beach in a town like this, believe me. Wade more ’n anybody.”

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“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Montecito Reads Page 404 404

15 – 22 January 2026

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15 – 22 January 2026

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News Bytes

Letters to the Editor Kudos to Instructor Wing

by Joanne A Calitri

T

he Montecito community gathered on January 9 for Raising Our Light, the annual remembrance ceremony honoring the 23 lives lost in the 1/9 Debris Flow. The crowd assembled outside Montecito Union School, where speakers offered personal reflections and the names of the victims The searchlight shining over Montecito were read aloud. Twenty-three bells rang (courtesy photo) across local churches and schools, and Montecito firefighters lit 23 candles before the crowd observed a shared moment of silence. After the ceremony, attendees moved into the courtyard for community fellowship and refreshments provided by Rosewood Miramar, while a bright searchlight shone over Montecito as a symbol of unity and remembrance.

Hello from Richard! Montecito Journal’s Richard Mineards is recovering nicely and sends his pip pips and gratitude to everyone who has reached out.

New Chancellor and Two Nobel Prize Wins for UCSB Chancellor Dennis Assanis begins his Richard is in good hands with Aman Thind and work as the sixth chancellor of UCSB Quinn Larson (photo by Priscilla) starting January 2026. He is spending his first weeks around campus meeting with students taking selfies, holding sessions with faculty and staff, and of course meeting with local politicians. He holds a BA in Marine Engineering from Newcastle University England. At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he earned three master’s degrees: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (1982), Mechanical Engineering (1982), and Management (1986). Also at MIT, he earned a PhD in Power and Propulsion (1985). He received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Delaware in 2025. He is joined by his wife Eleni. The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics went to UCSB’s professors Michel Devoret and John Martinis for breakthrough work in macroscopic quantum mechanical tunneling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit – and for laying the groundwork for next-gen quantum technology.

Art Critic & Pulitzer Prize Author at SBMA Author Sebastian Smee will present his book, Paris in Ruins: Love, War, and the Birth of Impressionism, at the SB Museum of Art, Sunday, January 18, 11:30 am.

O

nly Jeff Wing could walk us through a crash course in evolution biology, anatomy, AND his own colonoscopy in the stand-up comedy mode, all the while lying on his side. LOL! The lesson: our gut health is so integral to the gut-brain axis, but pooping will always be hilarious. Sincerely, LeeAnn Morgan

A Lasting Lesson Learned Twenty-five years ago, I was on a cruise that stopped in New Zealand. One of our trips ashore included a sheep shearing expedition. Like Ernie of “Ernie’s World,” I thought it might be a fun new experience. We all sat in a large auditorium and were told that the man doing the shearing was going to show us just how fast he could complete the task. He wasn’t more than 10 seconds into his show when my curiosity turned to horror, as I watched the bleating, terrified sheep get treated as a non-being, cut and bleeding in multiple places, its shearer showing no signs of empathy, only a grim determination to beat whatever record he set for himself, no matter what the cost. This experience was the beginning of my passion for animal rights, speaking up for our fellow sentient beings who cannot speak for themselves, who are utterly helpless against the forces of man. The second experience that set my passion ablaze: getting my beloved dog, whose face I saw in every cow, pig, horse, sheep, you-name-it who happened to cross my path. If only we would treat every animal in the same way we treat our dogs and cats, there would be a lot fewer animals suffering needlessly… and a lot fewer sheep, terrified and bleeding, in the name of “entertainment.” Caryn Schall, Montecito JOURNAL

Raising Our Light

YOUR LETTERS MATTER!

Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña Administrative Assistant | Jessica Shafran VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Joe DeMello

The Montecito Journal thrives on community input…

Have thoughts on a local issue? Comments on one of our articles? Contact us at letters@montecitojournal.net

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

News Bytes Page 394 394

Montecito Tide Guide

Day

Low

High

Hgt

Low

Thurs, Jan 15 12:23 AM 2.7 6:50 AM Fri, Jan 16 1:06 AM 2.6 7:27 AM Sat, Jan 17 1:44 AM 2.5 8:03 AM Sun, Jan 18 2:21 AM 2.3 8:38 AM Mon, Jan 19 2:58 AM 2.2 09:12 PM Tues, Jan 20 3:38 AM 2.1 9:47 AM Weds, Jan 21 4:22 AM 2.0 10:24 AM Thurs, Jan 22 12:02 AM Fri, Jan 23 12:34 AM

5.5 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.9 5.7 5.3 4.1 4.3

02:31 PM 03:02 PM 03:32 PM 04:02 PM 04:30 PM 04:59 PM 05:26 PM 5:13 AM 6:13 AM

10 Montecito JOURNAL

Hgt

Hgt

High

Hgt

newspaper

Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz Gossip | Richard Mineards History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri Health/Wellness | Ann Brode, Deann Zampelli Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee

Low Hgt

-0.6 09:21 PM 3.3 -0.8 09:44 PM 3.4 -0.9 10:09 PM 3.5 -1.0 10:35 PM 3.6 -1.0 11:03 PM 3.7 -0.8 11:31 PM 3.9 -0.5 1.9 11:04 AM 4.8 05:54 PM -0.1 1.8 11:52 AM 4.1 06:23 PM 0.4

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108. How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

15 – 22 January 2026

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15 – 22 January 2026

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

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Our Town

MLK Jr. Day Gets Five Days of Events by Joanne A Calitri

M

artin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially recognized on January 19 in the U.S. Keeping his dreams and inspiration alive are five days of events planned by the MLK Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara (MLKSB) and Healing Justice SB (HJSB) in coordination with local churches and organizations. The highlight this year is a talk by Leah Weber King, a member of the MLK family. The full schedule also features a signing by Simone Akila Ruskamp of her book We Were Here, We Are Here: A Living History of Black Santa Barbara and author Wren T. Brown for The Family Business. There will be a Unity March up State Street, student poetry readings, a Ring Shout performance, screening of Sam Pollard’s film MLK and the FBI, and local faith worship services. In preparing this special news report, I reached out to Dr. Gregory Freeland PhD, the president of the MLKSB; the Co-Executive Directors of Healing Justice SB, Simone Akila Ruskamp and Leticia Forney Resch who have been at the forefront of many issues facing our Black community and integral to the events celebrating Black History; along with, of course, First District Supervisor Roy Lee; and for inspiration and healing, Dr. Leonie Mattison EdD. Freeland stated, “MLKSB’s keynote speaker Leah Weber King at the MLK Day Arlington Theatre program is a meaningful experience for our community. Leah, who is the widow of MLK’s son Dexter, will delve into Coretta

Gregory Freeland, Ph.D. President of MLKSB (courtesy photo)

Scott King as a theme for her presentation. Leah King is devoted to ensuring that MLK’s message of justice, equality, and nonviolence continues to inspire future generations. The mission of the MLKSB is to foster positive relationships between the many diverse groups in the SB community and the surrounding areas. The MLK Day observance and celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. accomplishes much of this through the student poetry and essay contest, the screening of a documentary on MLK and the FBI, and the unity march up State Street.” Healing Justice SB, “As a Black founded and led collective, focused on community education as a means for social change, we are honored to carry forth King’s legacy. We are still striving for many of the same goals King named decades ago and continue to use many of the same strategies and tactics that serve him and our many foremothers. Then like now, King stated that ‘… education has been a battleground in the freedom struggle,’ and we are honored to meet students and adults in classrooms and community meeting rooms to remind them of their worth, inherent dignity, and rights by teaching local Black history and organizing. We are now entering our third year of partnership with the Santa Barbara Unified School district and published our first children’s book celebrating Black pride and legacy in the region. We know that investing in this type of community knowledge will hasten our efforts towards equity in many areas (immigration, reproductive justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability justice, workers’ rights and renters’ rights).”

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Simone Akila Ruskam Co-Executive Director HJSB (courtesy photo)

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our Town Page 374 374 15 – 22 January 2026

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SBMM Paints

FEBRUARY 4-22

Mountains and Sea Get the Spotlight

Three legendary actors. One broken shark. The incredible story behind the making of JAWS.

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Ralph Waterhouse and 11 other artists capture the ocean and sea in the upcoming exhibit at the SB Maritime Museum

depth, and change. To me the meeting point of mountains and seas is a place of dynamic energy and transformation, thus the title of the exhibit. For our local artists the universal muse is often nature and its tapestry of ever-changing arrays of colors, textures, patterns and light. The thought of mounting an exhibit as an homage to Santa Barbara through the eyes of our local artists was my inspiration.” Transporting Falke’s inspiration to the walls of the museum, she invited a group of Santa Barbara’s local artists with whom she’d worked over the years to present works that showcased the vibrant palette and shifting moods along our coastline. Through the lens of the artist, each piece was to be a tribute to the stunning intersection of land and sea that defines Santa Barbara as well as the talent behind each image. Having just mounted Where the Mountains Meet the Sea on walls of soft winter hues just a few days before my visit, Falke noted that members of the museum community who’d stopped by as I did, pre-opening, reacted to the art in ways she’d hardly expected. “One person looked at a painting and gasped, saying that this was where she walked her dog every day. Another noted that Carpinteria beach was

photos & story by Sigrid Toye

W

hat happens when ocean mist meets mountain light? When a brush meets canvas, and local talent meets natural wonders? Where the Mountains Meet the Sea, a new exhibition of landscape paintings by 12 predominately Santa Barbara-based artists, is soon to be on view from January 22 through March 29, 2026. This absolutely ‘must see’ display, open for only a scant two months, will be presented at a gallery located at the heart of our beautiful harbor, the venue otherwise known as the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM). Art Lover that I am, I had the immense pleasure of a pre-opening visit to this most awesome exhibit of works devoted exclusively to the wonders of our Santa Barbara south coast environs. Happily escorted through the upper level of the museum courtesy of SBMM’s talented Curator, Emily Falke, I learned how she imagined this spectacular exhibition into being. “Within Santa Barbara’s natural terrain two powerful and contrasting forces converge: the mountains as symbols of strength, stability and permanence; the seas representing vastness,

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

SBMM Paints Page 184 184 15 – 22 January 2026

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15 – 22 January 2026

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FITNESS THAT MOVES YOU Join online or in person, December 15 - January 31!

The Giving List NatureTrack

Visit us during our Open House on January 24th and see all that we have to offer.

Over the last five years, NatureTrack added Freedom Trax so that users with mobility challenges can explore the great outdoors (courtesy photo)

ciymca.org/2026 *Hablamos español

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16 Montecito JOURNAL

give back, and be a part of something meaningful,” she said. “It’s fun, it’s easy, and it’s so rewarding to make a difference in students’ lives, children’s lives, and lives of people who have physical mobility issues.” To be sure, NatureTrack is running smoothly, providing the field trips to students that are the backbone of the organization. NatureTrack’s benefactors number more than 100 every school year, covering some 70 schools over the course of the nonprofit’s tenure. But there are also 15 schools on the waiting list – representing about 800 kids – who are waiting for their turn to venture out into nature as part of a class. More volunteers would mean more trips. “We are starting to run concurrent field trips, but it’s based on having enough volunteers so that we can maintain our ratio of five students to one volunteer/docent,” Eisaguirre said. “The good news is that we had 25 new volunteers sign up this year, including 18 college students. But we just always need more.” The Freedom Trax program is also motoring along, having expanded last year to provide weekly trips to the beach for 10 assisted-living homes and senior centers. A grant allowed NatureTrack to purchase an ADA-compliant van to provide transportation for the homes that do not have their own, saving the nonprofit from having to charter a bus. Nine new homes are also coming on board this year. As the ratio for these trips is just two-to-one, more volunteers means more trips. NatureTrack also lends Freedom Trax to individuals to explore on their own, both locally and on excursions out of town.

40

YEARS OF FUN

ew Year’s Day was more than a week ago, but NatureTrack founder and Executive Director Sue Eisaguirre hopes people are open to perhaps adding another point to their resolutions or intentions for 2026. Namely, getting involved with her Santa Barbara nonprofit organization dedicated to making access to the outdoors equitable for all by providing cost-free field trips for K-12 students throughout the county, and offering unforgettable experiences in nature for wheelchair users of all ages. Since NatureTrack was launched 15 years ago, the organization has created and chaperoned curriculum-based field trips for more than 50,000 students, primarily from underserved communities, who have explored local beaches and trails at no cost to the families or the schools. Over the last five years, NatureTrack added Freedom Trax, battery-powered devices that attach to manual wheelchairs so that users can traverse sand, snow, and trails on their own terms. The outings are also offered for free to anyone of any age with mobility challenges, whether those challenges are temporary or long-term. More than 80 volunteer docents are the lifeblood of the organization as NatureTrack continues to run with only three full-time employees. Adding to that cohort of docents would not only make Eisaguirre’s heart soar with being able to serve more students and disabled, but also provide lots of well-earned benefits for the individuals who volunteer. “It’s an opportunity to get outdoors,

“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Giving List Page 284 284 15 – 22 January 2026

“[Michael V. Drake] has used his decades of experience to advocate for better access to higher education for all Californians and has always fought for academic excellence.” – Governor Gavin Newsom

One of The New York Times’ 10 Best Books of 2024

UC President Emeritus

An Evening with

An Evening with

Miranda July

Dr. Michael V. Drake

Tue, Jan 20 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall “By tangling explicitly with reality across mediums, July pushes autofiction to new limits.” The Guardian (U.K.)

In Conversation with Dr. Susannah Scott Thu, Jan 22 / 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall “For an hour the audience sat spellbound by a display of focused virtuosity that was so extraordinary it shouldn’t have been possible.” The Times (U.K.) HHHHH

A Next Generation Jazz Legacy

Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane

Miles Davis and John Coltrane Centennial Tue, Jan 27 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre

Debut Performance of U.S. Tour

Nicola Benedetti, violin Director, Edinburgh International Festival Wed, Jan 28 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall

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

15 – 22 January 2026

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17

On Entertainment

SBMM Paints (Continued from 14 14))

Yi’s Evolving Art by Steven Libowitz

M

in Joo Yi earned a Master of Music degree and a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, and is currently a doctoral candidate in the Musical Arts program there. Prior to having embarked on these post-graduate studies, the pianist majored in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton. Not your usual path to a career as a concert pianist, but it never hurts to have a fallback in the competitive field. “Actually, I was pretty serious about piano before college,” she said over the phone from New Haven, CT, where Yi is completing a fellowship at Yale. “But it came down to Princeton and Julliard, and I decided it would be a good idea to pursue academics first, just in case I don’t make it.” Yi has no regrets, though, as the native of Korea learned valuable skills at the Ivy League school. Pianist Min Joo Yi returns to town after win-

Entertainment Page 364 364 ning MAW’s solo piano competition last year (courtesy photo)

Ambrecht & Martinez, LLP

Thomas Van Stein captures the iconic Harbor breakwater in this painting

her favorite, a place of fond family memories and solitary journeys. Others had similar feelings drawing them into the images which, to me, meant a great deal. This exhibit is meant to be not only a love letter to the beauty that surrounds us, but to our personal connections and memories.” Featured artists include Nancy Davidson, Rick Delanty, Camille Dellar, Rick Garcia, Derek Harrison, Wyllis Heaton, Ray Hunter, Craig Nelson, Ann Sanders, Ann Shelton Beth, Thomas Van Stein, and Ralph Waterhouse. Collectively, their work captures the ethereal glow of sunrise over the Santa Ynez Mountains, the golden calm of tide pools at dusk, and the quiet drama of coastal cliffs shaped by wind and time. I encourage you to stop by when this exhibit opens and have the treat of your Santa Barbara life!

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Elizabeth’s Appraisals

- Calf-clinging knee high, or short classic cowboy boots, decorated, tooled, or fringed. - Denim! The darker the better; high rise, straight legged pants, denim jackets and blazers, fringed, and paired with Western vests in colors of camel brown, ivory, rust and indigo. - Western belts, tooled, with extravagant buckles which are concho-shaped (a shape created by the Navajo) or rodeo style in German silver. These belts carry engravings: the date of a rodeo or festival, Future Farmers of America livestock events, a contest name (even a chili cook off!) and often the name of the prize awarded. These buckles are the reverse “pin” type, allowing for a greater surface area for words and designs. On the other hand, the essential elements of a classic belt buckle are the frame, the bar (or post/tongue), and the prong, which work together to fasten the belt with holes pierced in a leather strap. The frame provides the structure, the bar anchors the strap, and the prong secures it, with materials ranging from simple metals like steel and brass, to zinc alloys for durability and decorative finishes. The most prized buckles are made of chased sterling silver. - Fringed leather and Western belts are worn on top of bohemian flowing cotton dresses or short shorts, and velvet blouses. - Simple, minimal, clean lined felt cowboy hats, and button-down oxfordstyle shirts, with Zuni fabric accents. - An important element is long wavy hair - and loads of makeup, turquoise Native American sterling silver jewelry and bolo ties, and the occasional fur piece. Legs are long and boots have heels. The jeans must accent the posterior and the waists are cinched. The ‘look’ is not dusty or muddy working cowgirl; instead, think of that young attractive horsewoman who proudly carries the American flag; she rides out and negotiates a large circle in the competition ring, announcing the beginning of a rodeo.

Cowgirl Style

RM

has a 600 piece, 50-years-inthe-making cowboy clothing collection with vintage leather jackets and tooled western belts. She’s 70 now, and it’s time to sell these objects. She’s in luck: 2026 is the Year of the Cowgirl, especially in the American West at California’s music festivals. Classic Western boots, hats, denim, and endless fringe work are today fashionably paired with crop tops, bohemian dresses, tiny shorts, and Western belts. She is proud of her vast collection of belts. RM portrays three of her belts set against a leather turquoise dress and fringed beaded jacket from the 1970s. One belt is braided horsehair with a massive rodeo-style German silver buckle (known also as Nickel silver, this is a copper-nickel-zinc alloy with no silver content), the other is an embroidered Mexican vaquero ranch belt, and the third is a cobra The cowgirl belt is back… (courtesy photo) head snake belt with red glass winners. Such conchos of silver were eyes, all from the mid-20th century. The Western belt’s creation dates to first used as buckle fasteners on sadthe early 19th century work of Mexican dles and bridles. On a man’s belt these craftspeople, the intricate embellish- engraved rodeo buckles became symments acting as both symbols of iden- bols of identity and achievement in the tity and utilitarian tools for support- 1920s and ‘30s. Hollywood noticed, ing requisite gear around the waist. and the cowboy style of tooled leather Suspenders were difficult to wear on belts and large silver buckles was popuhorseback, and as the belt became nec- larized by Gene Autry, whose museum in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park features essary, trousers were given belt loops. With the advent of competitive rodeo his belt and buckle collection, as well culture in the late 19th century, the as the collection once belonging to Pat western belt went a step further. The Garrett (1850-1908), the man who buckle became bright silver, engraved, shot Billy the Kid. Another museum that has focused on and oversized – the “trophy” for rodeo the Western belt is in Cody, Wyoming: The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a Smithsonian affiliate. Their exhibition Join Jamie Knee, Petite Wine Traveler, Spur of the Moment, running October for intimate wine dinners, in home wine tastings, and unforgettable wine journeys 25, 2025, to March 15, 2026, at the inspired by her travels through the worlds McCracken Research Library, features most exquisite vineyards. Uncork your buckles and belts through the years. curiosity- book your next personalized Montana Silversmiths, the maker of wine experience today. RM’s buckle, will design a custom buckle, even if you are not a winner of a bull riding or barrel racing contest. What does Cowgirl style look like in 2026? The first 20th century “wave” of cowboy fashion happened in the 1970s with Southwestern style, and much of RM’s collection dates to that vintage. Cowgirl style 2026 is popularized at rodeos and music festival, arguably made famous by Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter album. Here are the style’s features: “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

The value of RM’s 600-piece Cowgirl collection? Almost Priceless!

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

15 – 22 January 2026

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21

Fresh Tracks, Fresh Fun!

The Way It Was

Santa Barbara on Two Wheels

SKI/SNOWBOARD RENTALS AND DEMOS TUNEUPS AND WAXES CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT CAR RACKS & LUGGAGE BOXES

Locally owned and operated for over 42 years 14 State Street | 962-0049 | Mon-Sat 10-6, Sun 10-5 mountainairsports.com

Photo courtesy of Obermeyer

Intended to promote the national movement for good roads, this photo shows the consequences of “normal” road conditions on American cyclists (photo courtesy of the Library of Congress)

by Hattie Beresford

They were certainly not the first tourists to pass through the town on bicycle. Wheelmen from Ventura and Carpinteria visited regularly. In 1891, Alex S. Gardiner of San Francisco, enthralled by California’s landscape, took 10 days to meander down to Santa Barbara. The Independent wrote that he arrived “with a well-tanned face and a splendid appetite.” Although the automobile would become the preferred method of wheeled transportation by 1910, it was the bicycle that initiated the Good Roads Movement in the United States. In 1880, bicycle enthusiasts, riding clubs, and bicycle manufacturers met in Rhode Island to form the League of American Wheelmen. They became a national organization in 1891 and a major force for improved roads. In 1892, an impassioned editorial in the Morning Press lobbied for better roads to bring out the true efficiency of the bicycle as a form of transportation. In 1897, the California legislature

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ooking neat upon the seats of a bicycle built for two, a duo of Italian wheelmen rolled into Santa Barbara on May 10, 1901. Carlo Reiter and Mino Galvini had left Florence, Italy, on July 5, 1899, after members of their biking club wagered 50,000 lire that they couldn’t ride 75,000 miles by Christmas Day 1902. Though the two rode as representatives of the Florence Courier and Milan Sporting Life, they had to cover their expenses en route through lectures, wrestling and fencing exhibitions, and photography sales. They carried with them an album filled with autographs of all the mayors of the towns they had visited as well as the governors of the states. The Italian globe trotters planned to write a book about their travels and live in affluence off the profits. The Morning Press could not refrain from remarking, “…Both men are splendid examples of manhood.”

“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Way It Was Page 324 324 15 – 22 January 2026

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. COMMITTEE 15 – 22 January 2026

MLK WEEKEND of EVENTS 2026 Santa Barbara, CA

Thursday, January 15 Eternal Flame Ceremony, 12 PM - 1 PM UCSB’s Eternal Flame, Buchanan Hall Lawn

Friday, January 16 Top Poetry Awardees Student Readings, 6 PM Friday Night Shabbat Service, B’nai B’rith

Saturday, January 17 Ring Shout, 11 AM A rich African American communal performance, with spiritual emphasis Trinity Episcopal Church, 1500 State Street, Santa Barbara The MLK/FBI Screening, 3:30 - 6:30 PM Documentary directed by Sam Pollard Wendy Eley Jackson will lead a discussion after the fi fillm Community Environmental Council, 1219 State Street, Santa Barbara

Sunday, January 18 Worship at a Service of Your Choice List of Faith Organizations found on our website: mlksb.org

Monday, January 19 - MLK Day Morning Program, 9 AM - 10 AM @ de la Guerra Plaza Unity March up State Street, 10 AM MLKSB Program, 11 AM - 12:30 PM Featuring Leah Weber King as keynote speaker The Arlington Theatre, 1317 State St, Santa Barbara Author Talk and Book Signing, 6 PM Wren Brown, The Family Business Chaucer ’s Books, 3321 State Street, Santa Barbara

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Photo Credit: Rod Rolle

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Ansel Adams, 1979 (© Al Satterwhite)

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott he Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art offers a groundbreaking exhibition that reveals a little‑known chapter of America’s most celebrated photographer in Beyond the Wilderness: Ansel Adams in 1940s Los Angeles, from January 15 – March 28. The museum hosts a free, public, opening reception for the exhibition on Thursday, Jan. 15, from 4-6 pm. While Adams has earned universal recognition for his majestic black‑and‑white landscapes and his pioneering Zone System, this show spotlights a body of work that diverges sharply from his familiar wilderness imagery. Many of the featured works in the exhibition come from the collection of the Los Angeles County Public Library. The photographer offered them a series

Westmont Page 374 374

“Lockheed Plant in Burbank From Afar” 1940 (Ansel Adams Fortune Magazine Collection/Los Angeles Public Library)

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of 217 negatives portraying 1940s Los Angeles in the lead-up to World War II. Adams shot the images on assignment for Fortune magazine to document the lives of workers in Los Angeles’ booming aviation industry driven by aircraft company giants Douglas, Lockheed, and Northrop. The exhibition includes many of his iconic wilderness images, including three of his most famous landscapes on view in large format. “Unlike many of Adams’ nature images, these offer us a raw and untouched glimpse into his eye for setting up and framing a photograph, instinct for finding rhythm and structure in everyday scenes, and willingness to experiment beyond the boundaries of his established aesthetic,” says Chris Rupp, interim museum director. Adams became well known for his love of nature, his pioneering efforts toward conservation and environmental stewardship, and his moral convictions regarding the United States’ internment of Japanese Americans. “Viewed together, the photographs in this exhibition remind us that Ansel Adams was far more than the maker of pristine wilderness icons,” Rupp says. “He was an artist attentive to the world as it was and how it ought to be. Whether documenting factory workers on the brink of war, confronting the injustice of incarceration at Manzanar, or shaping luminous visions of the Sierra, Adams used his camera to advocate for dignity, clarity and stewardship.” The museum is free and open to the public weekdays 10 am – 4 pm and Saturdays 11 am – 5 pm; it’s closed on Sundays and college holidays. To learn

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“Hate is too great a burden to bear.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

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25

Enter the RenAIssance

flourishing, touting the benefits of what becomes possible when human potential is unbound. He answers many of the working assumptions and fears surrounding AI with nuanced, non-obvious research, examining everything that becomes possible, for better and for worse, when intelligence is no longer scarce. Since leaving OpenAI, Kass has worked as an executive advisor, personally consulting with leaders in a plethora of industries around the world, including several Fortune 1,000 companies, helping them to effect strategic deployment of AI at scale while navigating the rapidly evolving landscape. Considering his industry, it’s almost surprising that what drove him out of town at 18 years old – and brought him back two years ago – are entirely human characteristics. “My grandfather was the chair of the radiology department at Cottage Hospital for a long time, and my dad ran the Cancer Center. Growing up, I was ‘Paul Riemenschneider’s grandson’ or ‘Dr. Kass’s son’, and I was so excited to leave Santa Barbara as soon as I could,” Kass recalled over the phone from a restaurant on the mountain at Jackson Hole, Wyoming. “Then I realized one day that Santa Barbara is the best place on earth and it’s where I wanted to be. I just woke up one day and said, ‘I keep telling everyone the only thing that matters in the future is the community in which you live; because so much will be automated, but being human will not be.’

Pioneering AI and Beyond with Zack Kass by Steven Libowitz

Z

Estates...

Gardens...

ack Kass has been at the forefront of the rapidly emerging field of artificial intelligence for nearly 20 years, entering the field shortly after graduating from San Marcos High School in 2005. After several jobs in the machine learning field, Kass joined OpenAI in 2021 as one of the first 100 employees. He served OpenAI as the head of their Go-to-Market – the business unit responsible for introducing a new product to consumers. In that role he built sales, partnerships, and customer success teams to commercialize OpenAI’s research and help launch ChatGPT, turning the company’s cutting-edge R&D into real-world business solutions. Having returned to his hometown two years ago, the AI pioneer will appear at the Granada Theatre on January 20 for a live conversation exploring the ideas and themes behind his new book, The Next RenAIssance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential. The book and the event draw on his 16 years in the field, exploring the arrival and continued

Zack Kass discusses AI and beyond at the Granada Theatre on January 20

expansion of Unmetered Intelligence (defined as AI’s ability to deliver limitless cognitive power at near-zero cost), and explaining how that phenomenon stands to reshape the foundations of work, education, science, art, and more. Kass comes from the point of view that the abundance of inexpensive intelligence can lead to a new golden age of human

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“We have a very clear understanding of what makes us happy (as humans): Community and purpose. And everything else is a means to it… A measure of a life well lived is barely correlated to how much money you make. So I came home with the idea that I would start this new life. What I built was an advisory business and a speaking business and now a technology services company. But my every intention, every part of my body, is to be in and contribute to Santa Barbara in a way that my parents and grandparents did, because I just knew that this is where I’m supposed to be.” That love for his hometown was a big part of our conversation last weekend

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RenAIssance Page 334 334

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stefanie@montecitolawgroup.com MONTECITOLAWGROUP.COM “Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

“Drawing on her formidable range of vocal color, DiDonato captures the drama within each song, and across the cycle.” The Guardian (U.K.)

LIVE MUSIC! “Sexy, sensuous, stylish and seriously impressive. This is an utter feast for the eyes and a riveting recital of physical poetry.” Broadway World (U.K.)

“With their staggering technique and freewheeling genrecrossing, it’s hard not to be swept up in the force of their contagious energy.” NPR on Time for Three West Coast Debut

Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano Time for Three

Following Sold-out Runs in London Two Performances!

Germán Cornejo’s

Emily – No Prisoner Be

Tango After Dark

Thu, Feb 5 / 7 PM / Granada Theatre FREE for all students (with valid ID)

Sun, Feb 1 / 2 PM & 7 PM / Lobero Theatre “The dancers and musicians manage to combine a high-gloss finish with a convincing air of spontaneous excitement.” The Independent (U.K.) “Sheer physical energy and beauty.” The New York Times

“Liu can do the impeccable glitter, but his playing is more than pyrotechnics. It is powerful, polished, and emanates from a disciplined mind.” The Telegram

Winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition The National Dance Company of the Republic of Guinea

Les Ballets Africains Fri, Feb 6 / 7:30 PM / Granada Theatre

Bruce Liu Thu, Feb 12 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Program includes: Ligeti, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel, Albéniz and Liszt

(805) 893-3535 | www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu Lobero event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 963-0761 | www.Lobero.org Granada event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 899-2222 | www.GranadaSB.org 15 – 22 January 2026

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Giving List (Continued from 16 16))

Curator’s Choice Wood Ducks

NatureTrack’s benefactors number more than 100 every school year, covering some 70 schools (courtesy photo)

I

t’s the time of year when Wood Ducks pair up! Audubon painted this lively image in New Orleans in 1821. He dramatized the courtship and nesting habits of this species while showing the remarkable patterns and colors of their feathers. The Wood Ducks are from the Museum’s collection of prints from the American edition of Audubon’s remarkable work on North American birds. The images were drawn onto lithographic stones and printed in color in the New York studio of Julius Bien. The revolutionary technique of chromolithography employed a series of limestone printing blocks to layer the colors and produce the final image. Mission Creek is healthy and running rapidly right now on the Museum campus thanks to all these rains. This means we’ll likely have plenty of ducks to look forward to in the Spring. Come check them out for yourself. “Summer or Wood Duck,” The Birds of America, Bien ed., John James Audubon, New York, 1858, chromolithograph. Gift of Wolcott Tuckerman.

The Santa Barbara Audubon Society hosts engaging talks from bird experts monthly at the Museum. Check the calendar for dates and details: sbnature.org/calendar

journaling prompts, which are a part of every field trip. The idea is that the docents feel completely prepared and at ease. Nobody has to lead a trip until they’re comfortable. “They can assist for as long as they want, even if that’s all they want to do,” Eisaguirre said. “We do what we can to take away any fear so they see how it works and that it’s enjoyable. Once you have that experience of seeing the expressions on the kids’ faces with something as simple as doing leaf rubbings, you’re hooked.” Even then, there’s no obligation, no minimum number of days or set hours, as volunteers only schedule trips for times they want. A volunteer can’t let us down. We expect them to only do it when it works for them.” The bottom line, though, is making a difference for both the students and yourself, Eisaguirre said. “Just being outdoors, in nature, helping other people have that experience and learn is a great benefit.”

“We had clients go to Joshua Tree, Yosemite, and Pismo Beach last year,” Eisaguirre said. “And Ms. Wheelchair California Aly Corvin, who lives in town, borrowed one and took it up the coast to Washington State and then on to Michigan for the national competition where she was first runner-up.” Eisaguirre stressed that volunteering with NatureTrack is a cinch, as the organization runs ongoing training and there are no requirements beyond a desire to get involved. “You don’t have to be a naturalist,” she said. “It’s just about sharing their enthusiasm for nature with the students to pique the curiosity to learn. We want everyone to notice nature, to wonder about what they’re seeing, and maybe what it reminds them of, so when they’re back in the classroom the recall goes up because they’ve got that mental picture. It’s very simple.” NatureTrack also offers optional free monthly docent classes that range from natural history information to CPR training. The classes also teach about

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“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

We Are Buying Watches, Jewelry, Diamonds Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds Gold, Platinum and Silver

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After attending Art Center College of Design Kyle pursued a career in design and advertising that lead him to work at John Moran Auctioneers for 15 years. It was here he became fascinated with American & California Impressionist art, fine jewelry and diamonds. For the last 15 years Kyle has owned a company in Pasadena brokering estate jewelry, fine art, buying and selling diamonds & cutting diamonds.

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15 – 22 January 2026

Alan Bedwell

Alan grew up working in the family jewelry business in London. That store is still located in the prestigious Gray Antique Market today. It was here that Alan learned the trade of fine English and American silver, signed European vintage jewelry and swiss watches. For the last 18 years Alan has been living in New York City and owns a business curating special pieces for stores all across the country.

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Mike is the owner of this company and host of the event. He has 36 years of experience in buying and selling new and vintage jewelry, wrist watches, pocket watches, currency and silver. Mike personally takes almost every call for the appointments and will be happy to answer all of your questions about the process and about what items are purchased.

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29

An Independent Mind

Robert’s Big Questions

by Jeffrey Harding

Robert Bernstein

I

Y

Welcome to the New New York City! thought I knew Zohran Mamdani, New York City’s new mayor, but I didn’t. My hope was that he was just another Bernie-clone promising free stuff who would move more to the less toxic liberal wing when he took office. I was wrong. He’s the real deal socialist, disturbingly so. He revealed his true colors in his inaugural speech. He proclaimed that he would rule as a democratic socialist. He takes guidance from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) of which he is a member. You should check out their website. It is about as hardline as a socialist could be. It’s all about Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto. Nothing democratic about it. Socialists, “democratic” or not, are utopians longing for a blissful socialist future. I don’t even have to do much to discredit this zany philosophy by merely pointing out those dirt-poor authoritarian regimes around the world who have embraced socialism. Socialist intellectuals who have the freedom to express their views (in capitalist countries) always excuse socialism’s failure. “It’s not real socialism” they say. But it’s always real socialism. The same philosophy whose adherents have murdered hundreds of millions of their countrymen in the drive for doctrinal socialist purity. Real socialism is nothing more than the quest for power by evil, ignorant men. It never works as they planned and they ultimately resort to violence to force their citizens to conform to doctrine. They are evil people believing in an evil philosophy. Mamdani is charming, young, articulate, and telegenic. How could he possibly be an evil man? “Evil” is a strong word to level at anyone. But what is “evil?” If you really cared about workers, wouldn’t you want to educate yourself about the philosophy, economics, and history of the things that actually have bettered mankind? Things which require reason, logic, and empirical data to prove what works and what doesn’t. Why would you follow a philosophy that has a terrible track record? Ever since we walked upright, poverty has been the plight of mankind. For millennia things never changed until the capitalist economic revolution. Those who embraced capitalism and the libertarian ideals of the Enlightenment (our Founders, for example) raised whole societies of workers out of poverty. Liberty and free markets created what is called the Great Enrichment. If you doubt me, please name one socialist country that isn’t mired in poverty, and ask yourself what the reason for that could be. Hint: It isn’t Sweden – they embraced capitalism. Mamdani sees people not as individuals but as members of groups (Blacks, Jews, Irish, Italians, Latinos, Muslims, Gay, trans, etc.). His pitch was that almost every worker in NYC is “oppressed,” held down by the “wealthy and well-connected.” He doesn’t like billionaires. He wants to put them in their place and make them atone for their sins by handing over their ill-gotten billions to pay for all his free stuff. Corporations, he says, “rip off consumers and employees alike” and, because of their greed, “are the cause of why wages don’t rise.” He even despises good grammar and civility which “masks agendas of cruelty” – whatever that means. The man obviously never studied economics. The kicker of the speech was, “We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.” What he means by that is that successful entrepreneurs, the ones whose ideas created jobs and things people wanted, will be reined in and their assets taxed to the max, and a board of party functionaries will allocate this newfound capital to programs and businesses they favor (the “common good”). I think it’s called “central planning,” a concept that has brought mass poverty to socialist societies. I don’t think he’s just saying stuff to please those who supported him. He has revealed himself as very hardline and he will push hard for rent control and tenant rights over property owners’ rights. Ditto with free public transportation, free childcare, and government-run grocery stores. He’ll start a war against billionaires to pay for it. Many NY politicians see Mamdani as having the wind at his back. Mamdani’s free-stuff utopian policies will ultimately fail as they always have. He’ll blame capitalism or that clandestine group that secretly controls everything (the “rich”) who sabotaged his dream of socialist progress. Socialists like Mamdani are either ignorant of philosophy, economics, and history, or they don’t care and just seek power. Or both. If they know it doesn’t work and they still impose a failed economic system which creates poverty, then – borrowing from Epicurus – whence comes evil? One million people voted for Mamdani. For the good of the city let’s hope his policies are rejected by the other eight million NYC citizens.

30 Montecito JOURNAL

Are We in a Dictatorship?

loyal to Trump rather than fulfilling their oath to uphold the Constitution. Dissenting members have been threatened with violence. Levitsky reminded us that this situation happened during Reconstruction after the Civil War. Except it was the Southern Democratic Party that killed democracy. Levitsky argues that it is all about 1) Fear of losing and 2) A sense of existential threat. Blacks were a majority in much of the South and whites could not imagine letting them hold power. Thousands of Blacks did briefly and successfully hold elected power during Reconstruction. The Klan was created to put an end to this democracy for almost 100 years until the 1960s Voting Rights Acts restored democracy. The current Republican Party knows it cannot win democratically. Since the 1960s its support comes primarily from white Christians and their percentage numbers have fallen ever since. White Christians were used to holding all power. Losing even some of that power feels like an existential threat. In a 2021 American Enterprise Institute survey 56% of Republicans said that force may be needed to stop this “threat.” Contrast our situation with what happened in South Korea when President Yoon declared martial law. Their Congress impeached him, and he is now standing trial. Members of his own party helped remove him. Brazil faced a similar situation when President Bolsonaro tried to overturn the 2022 election. The courts quickly prosecuted him. Levitsky argues that these countries remember what it was like to live under a dictatorship. The U.S. whitewashes its history and Trump is actively working to obliterate programs that teach our darker historical episodes. Levitsky argues that even though we are in a dictatorship, it is still reversible. But it will take the courage of those with power, and the concerted action of the people to fight back. Unfortunately, MAGA people don’t care unless they are personally hurt.

ou might be surprised that the short answer is: Yes. How can that be? There are no tanks or soldiers rolling down the streets of our major cities. Oh, wait. Yes there are. But we have elections. And legislators and courts. And private institutions and billionaires with their own power. And private media. When we think of dictators, we think of Hitler or Stalin. But modern dictators keep all of the trappings of democracy. Putin still has elections and there are still legislators and judges in Russia. And plenty of billionaires and profitable businesses. Even private media. But if they defy Putin maybe their plane mysteriously crashes. But we are nothing like Russia, are we? Within weeks of Trump’s 2024 election, every major tech company leader made major donations to Trump’s inauguration, and they were given front row seats in return. Major media corporations including ABC, CBS, Meta and Twitter “settled” Trump lawsuits that clearly had no merit. Trump created direct methods of bribery through his own cryptocurrency business World Liberty Financial. His methodology including the selling of pardons. He forced major law firms to give him millions of dollars in free services. In each case it is not just the bribery and forced payoffs that matter. It is their public nature. Signaling that the most powerful forces of possible resistance have surrendered their power. As for our government, Trump was quick to fire the referees who monitor legality. And he filled the Supreme Court with loyal toadies in his first term. The Supreme Court gave him full immunity to break the law at will. Harvard Professor of Government Steven Levitsky and University of Toronto professor Lucan Way coined the term “Competitive Authoritarianism” in their 2002 paper “Elections without Democracy.” “Competitive” means there is still the appearance of competitive democracy. Levitsky recently gave a talk making the case that we are indeed in such an authoritarian dictatorship now. Trump has weaponized the FCC to keep the media in line with his demands. His Justice Department openly fulfills Trump’s personal demands for revenge against his challengers. His pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists signals that violence is encouraged if it is in service to Trump. Congress is supposed to be the primary branch of government. But they are owned by the Republican Party. Totally

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Robert Bernstein holds degrees from Physics departments of MIT and UCSB. His passion to understand the Big Questions of life, the universe and to be a good citizen of the planet. Visit facebook. com/questionbig

15 – 22 January 2026

Nature News

The trees in the orchard are encased in over a foot of mud

The Night the Hills Collapsed at Arroyo Hondo Preserve Steward Gavin Spencer points out the level of the water at the height of the flow. He had to dig down to open the pump house door.

by Hattie Beresford

I

t was Saturday, January 3, and at 11:30 am in Santa Barbara the cell phones were dinging, the land lines ringing, and the emails zinging with messages from Ready Alert SBC and the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management. Flash floods were threatening, and word came of airport closures due to flooding and the closure of Highway 101 along the Gaviota coast due to landslides. At the historic Arroyo Hondo Preserve, Managers Jennifer Dunn and John Warner braved the rain to cut water bars as soon as the main part of

the storm had passed, before the next front of lighter rain hit. They wanted to minimize the amount of water being directed towards the slides and protect the Ortega Adobe. As the night went on, they recorded 4” of rain in five hours, and a neighboring rancher later reported 2” in one-half hour. All that night, sections of the hillsides of the Rincon Sandstone formation, engorged by the heavy rains of November and December, could hold the water no longer and gushed down to join Arroyo Hondo Creek. The creek itself was running so high, it swept over the bridge near the bottom of the canyon. The creek mixed with the adobe-sand slush and spread

The eastern slope of the Rincon formation at the base of the creek

Experience

The height of the flow reached over six feet as the debris caught in the tree demonstrates

wide, tumbling rocks and breaking trees and bushes along its way to the sea through the culvert under the highway. It roared through and under the barn, carried one port-a-potty across the drive, nearly toppled a side of the barn, and half buried the water pump shed. Waterlines and solar power systems were damaged. Luckily, damage to the venerable adobe had been averted.

By January 8 – the day of my visit to the site for a tour kindly given by Preserve Steward Gavin Spencer – the still anxiously rushing water was back in its creek bed, though the bed had been much altered. We couldn’t go far up the canyon because most of the trails were filled with adobe sludge and the orchard was covered with over a foot of sediment. J.J. Hollister’s old horse corral had become a sand box. The hill sides had stopped moving but stood poised to continue their dizzying slalom at the slightest provocation. The Preserve, which has educated thousands of school children about the flora, fauna, and land in Santa Barbara, in addition to providing hiking and other outdoor opportunities for thousands of people in a beautiful natural space, is currently closed for safety reasons. Assessment of the damage is ongoing and plans for recovery will soon be in the works. Recovery of the vital infrastructure and trails will be costly. Meredith Hendricks, executive director of the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, which owns the preserve, wrote in a recent statement, “Storms are part of the landscape we steward, and caring for Arroyo Hondo Preserve right now means prioritizing safely, patience, and longterm responsibility.” The Land Trust will be publishing additional updates in the coming weeks and those who wish to support Arroyo Hondo Preserve can do so at https://tinyurl.com/SBLandTrustDonor

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Way It Was (Continued from 22 22))

seven for bells, two devices for carrying pipes and matches, two for “toilette companions,” and one bicycling gourmand pitched a contrivance for carrying luncheons. In Santa Barbara, a Professor Morse was experimenting with inflating tires with various gases, but most destroyed the rubber in a few days. When he tried hydrogen it reduced the weight by eight pounds. He claimed that with aluminum frames and a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gas, a bicycle could weigh under 10 pounds. Once the center bar was dropped, the bicycle became suitable for women. Susan B. Anthony, pioneer suffragette and feminist, called it the “freedom machine” and said, “…it has done more to emancipate women that anything else in the world.” The bicycle craze also aided the movement for “rational dress” for women. In the 1896 “Local Outing,” the newsletter of Henry S. Short’s Bicycle Supply House and Repair Shop, Charles Dudley Warren (1829-1900) claimed it was “a landmark year for the progress of women and consequently the evolution of society.” Warren, an American essayist, novelist, and editor of Harper’s Magazine, believed bicycling led to an outdoor life that would broaden a woman’s life view, provide physical and mental health, and make her more cheerful and better prepared for her “duties of the day.” (You know, like washing, ironing, fetching her husband’s slippers. – Ah, Charles, and you started out so promising!) Bicycles even invaded the nation’s political life. Urged by the Republican National Committee, the Santa Barbara wheelmen held an illuminated parade to support William McKinley’s 1896 bid for the presidency. The Morning

High wheeled bikes had the advantage of a faster and smoother ride, but the safety bike appealed to a greater number of people. This intrepid trio was photographed in Isaac N. Cook’s Santa Barbara studio about 1885. (photo courtesy of SBHM)

authorized the creation of bicycle lanes and paths, so the Wheelmen of Santa Barbara circulated a petition to create a bicycle path leading from Santa Barbara to Carpinteria. (While it took over 100 years, it is now accomplished!) By 1901, however, the roads were not much improved, so one enterprising San Francisco wheelman decided to avoid them altogether. He modified his bicycle wheels to ride one rail, adding an outrigger-style flange for support from the other. He first rode south along the Central Valley line, covering 500 miles in two-and-a-half days. Then, taking advantage of the recently completed Coast Line, he cruised through Santa Barbara in April.

The Bicycle Craze The bicycle had taken Santa Barbara by storm by the 1880s, and by 1885 the Morning Press reported, “Bicycle riding has become more than a fad or popular pastime; it is a craze. Everybody rides – grandmothers, children, businessmen, ministers, and society women.” Stables became concerned when their businesses declined, and one wag said that local horses had tears in their eyes when Dixie Thompson, renowned host of the Arlington Hotel and avid equestrian, tried out a high wheeler. The switch from high wheelers to safety bicycles with equally sized wheels, pneumatic tires, and chain or

shaft drives, as well as the use of mass production techniques that brought the price down, had a tremendous impact on the popularity of the bicycle. The Pope Manufacturing Company, maker of Colombia bicycles, sold 200,000 bicycles in 1889 and one million in 1899. The bicycle’s popularity led to a plethora of bicycle-related inventions. In the third quarter of 1896 alone, the U.S. Patent Office received applications for over 1,000 of these devices. While the majority dealt with the mechanics of the bike – tires, brakes, chains, etc. – others dealt with the convenience of the rider. There were 14 applications for devices to secure women’s dresses,

Way It Was Page 344 344

The Wheelmen of Ventura arrived in Santa Barbara in 1888 (photo courtesy of SBHM)

32 Montecito JOURNAL

“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

RenAIssance (Continued from 26 26))

15 – 22 January 2026

sword because we are all descendants of people whose jobs were automated to our economic benefit. And what we don’t appreciate is that our lives are so great because our ancestors’ jobs no longer have any meaning or purpose.” Which means a shift in focus to the increasing value of employees who have non-cognitive capabilities, what we’ve traditionally called soft skills, Kass said. “In the new economy they’re going to be in far greater demand. The figures are quite remarkable. For the first time in a long while, you’ll be better off in this world with soft skills than with math alone.” Kass said AI’s more efficacious employment of technology will allow us to collectively achieve things previously curtailed by the limits of human intelligence. “These are the solutions that are actually starting to move the ball down the field and change our experience, in areas of novel science discovery, for instance. This is not being discussed nearly as much as it should be,” he said. “It’s less about bettering what we’ve already been doing. It’s about doing the things we’ve never done before. And when that starts to happen, people will deeply understand the positive implications of abundant intelligence.” Some of that will take place right here in our little town, Kass said. “I truly believe that Santa Barbara plays a very important role on the global stage over the next 50 years. We have an opportunity to prove that you can build housing so that it can be less expensive, so that it can be affordable to people who provide the necessary services in a community. We’re going to prove that you can rebuild education so that it can be great for everyone. And if we do it right at Cottage and other institutions that are really trying, we can prove that small towns can actually have world-class healthcare and that it doesn’t require charging people an arm and a leg. “I believe that Santa Barbara can be a castle on the hill. I think that Santa Barbara could be the Renaissance period Florence of the next era – a city whose comparatively small population belies its outsized impact on culture, political philosphy, and policy thought.”

Steven Libowitz has covered a plethora of topics for the Journal since 1997, and now leads our extensive arts and entertainment coverage

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over Google Meet – Kass munching on a meal built around bison meatballs, unwilling as he was to risk a burger lest the brioche be found wanting. Our chat veered from AI’s personal and global problem-solving potential, to the importance of soft skills in both business and baseball, to addressing the affordable housing crisis in Santa Barbara. “One of my major theses with AI and the fear of AI has to do with a broken relationship between humans and technology that is actually a very recent trend,” Kass said. “[That] it’s very pronounced right now is actually quite reasonable and really specific because for most of human history, technology catapulted us forward. People were afraid of fire, but people quickly realized it was how we were going to feed more and eat better. People might’ve been afraid of agriculture, people might have rejected change, and certainly the Luddites did. The real issue with technology in the last 200 years is that it has caused change at an unprecedented and sort of biologically terrifying rate. We are more physically similar to our biological ancestors than we realize. We remain sort of Neanderthalic in some respect… Technology is catapulting us now at a rate that is scary. [The way through] is to reposition and reframe our relationship with technology.” Specifically relating that issue to AI, Kass said that when he describes all the positive implications of generative AI, people go, “Yeah, that’s amazing, but what about all these other things?” “People are very willing to admit that as AI gets smarter it can help us solve our problems. They can imagine why AI – and what I call unmetered intelligence – will have profoundly positive implications. But they’re also terrified that it’s going to destroy the world because our relationship with technology right now is quite broken.” Kass’s long history in the field has given him a more optimistic viewpoint. “I have seen how bad AI was. I know how far the industry has come, so I know how far it can go. It’s less about the economic upside and more about the clear understanding of what progress actually looks like.” Kass has a clear understanding of exactly how AI is helping to solve problems that we’ve been working on for a long time. AI is doing that with a speed born of efficiency and with fewer people. “This is where a lot of the fear around job automation comes from,” he said. “I’m sympathetic to that… [But on the other hand], a major cost of being a small business owner approaches zero. And is that not the world we want to live in, where access to more goods and services is greater? Workforce transformation is very much a strange double-edged

33

Way It Was (Continued from 32 32)) Press reported, “There was a brilliant display of Japanese lanterns, red and blue lights, and the wheelmen went through many pretty maneuvers while going up and down State Street.” The

The Pope Manufacturing Company advertised two gear, chainless safety bicycles for men and women

music of bicycle bells was supplemented by a chorus of tin horns.

This rider, with his flower-encased bicycle, is ready for an 1890s floral parade. (photo courtesy of SBHM)

Go Fast, Young Man Put two men on two bicycles and there will be a race. By 1896, Santa Barbara wheelmen had their own bicycle racetrack. That year, the Floral Festival included amateur and professional races. Even Santa Barbara’s Chinese population got in on the act. The Independent reported, “The mile Chinese race was an interesting one and four of our local Celestials took part. The contestants are well-known riders of the wheel and … appeared in regulation racing costume and humped themselves like professionals. Jim Fong was the winner with Yee Yeh second and Sam Wah third. Best time was 5:21.” In August 1894, Harry Mitchell had set the record for “rapid bicycling” over mountain roads in the Central Coast. He rode to Ventura, enjoyed a repast of meat and potatoes, raced a horse and rider to Nordhoff (Ojai), left them in the dust, and returned to Santa Barbara in four hours and 45 minutes. His $50 Waverley and he were none the worse for wear.

Unfortunately, the safety bicycle wasn’t all that safe, and accidents – small and large – warranted press coverage. In 1909, Florence Baxter Eaton was seriously injured on State Street when she was knocked unconscious by a delivery boy on a bike. The wind had been blowing sand in his eyes and he did not see her. On the other hand, runaway horses trampled several bicyclists over the years. Carl Wood was run over by a runaway vegetable horse and cart in 1909 and knocked unconscious. Santa Barbara had tried to tackle the safety problem in 1894 with various ordinances. Bicyclists were prohibited from riding in Plaza del Mar “because of the habit of reckless younger riders to speed about without regard to the rights of pedestrians and sightseers.” Wheelmen were required to have bells, and it was suggested by one city council member that the type of bell be specified in order to prevent recalcitrant bicyclists from “carrying cow bells as a burlesque of the ordinance.” By way of compensation, the council raised the speed limit from seven miles per hour to ten. Nevertheless, the wheelmen complained bitterly about the ordinance saying bells startled the pedestrians who jumped into the way of the bike. Many claimed they’d rather sell their wheels than obey such an absurd law. While pedestrians usually ended up on the losing side of a bike encounter, the June 1896 Morning Press reported on one

In 1899, author Stewart Edward White wrote, “Canfield and I took a long trip on bicycles through some of the more unfrequented parts of Brittany. In many places we were looked upon as curiosities.” Canfield lived in Santa Barbara and White would soon move there as well. (photo courtesy of Stewart Edward White Collection; SBHM)

woman whom bicyclists just didn’t run into. The reporter wrote, “One man did it and wasn’t able to sit down for several days. He was going at a pretty fair gait along Chapala Street and ran into the above-mentioned woman. She did not wait to send a complaint to the council but just grabbed the young man by the nape of the neck, laid him across her knee and bore down heavy. As he crawled away with his wheel, she said, ‘I let you off pretty easy this time, young fellow, but if you ever run into me again, you’ll wish bicycles were never invented!’” Hmmm.

PUCK magazine’s take on the “New Woman” of the 1890s reveals the liberating effects of the “freedom machine” (photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

Note: This story was first published in 2007 and later included in my now out of print book, The Way It Was: Santa Barbara Comes of Age. (Sources: Contemporary news articles; http:// caviews.com/EarlyCalPhoto.html; and various online histories of the bicycle)

What some men thought would happen if women were allowed to ride bikes (photo courtesy of Library of Congress)

34 Montecito JOURNAL

Hattie Beresford has been writing a local history column for the Montecito Journal for more than a decade and is the author of several books on Santa Barbara’s historic past

A woman cyclist wears the liberating shirtwaist attire while peddling along a local street (photo courtesy of Stewart Edward White Collection; SBHM)

“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression by bad people, but the silence of the good people.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

Cal-a-Vie (Continued from 5) fitness and duration. While none is usually longer than a few miles, the undulating hills will get your heart pumping. After the walk, breakfast is served at 7:30 am during which you order off a menu that has something for everyone and beverages galore. Caffeine junky? No problem. Lactose intolerant? Covered. Ceremonial Grade Matcha? Duh. As we were eating, the excitement was palpable, we were about to be given our individual itineraries for the day. What was in store for me I wondered? The heavy card stock arrived with my name at the top, and I felt like an avocado toast eating member of the Bridgerton family. “Oooooh, I get a head and scalp elixir!”, “I have a Gratitude Yoga and TRX!” The day continues with offerings such as interval weight training, guided meditation, pickleball, Ballet at the Barre, aerial yoga, HIIT and Club Box. Educational classes were also on offer as well as keynote speakers such as me. While this might sound strange, the activities weren’t as randomly selected for you as it may sound. Prior to your arrival, a scheduling consultant spends a good 30 minutes or more on the phone with you finding out what you like, and what you don’t. Then, you talk about spa treatments. The resort packages are all inclusive. So, my four night-stay includ-

Journal by a pond, or hike through the undulating hills… Cal-a-Vie has you covered (photo by Deann Zampelli)

ed all food, all activities, and a good number of spa treatments that you can mix and match for similar value. But even the schedule is just a suggestion. My first day had Zumba on it for some reason, but I opted for the TRX instead. And even the spa treatments can be moved around if they’re able. The level of service and kindness was truly exceptional. This magical place seamlessly blends a five-star service experience without an ounce of pretension, and the word “no” is not in their vernac-

ular. I was tempted to ask for a unicorn one day just to see what they would do. As the afternoon unfolds, you embark on your spa treatments. I had a hair and scalp massage one day that was so mind-blowing, I scheduled it again the next day. I take my work very seriously. The great thing about this environment is that you can go to dinner in your spa robe, workout clothes, with your hair in a towel, and everything in between. The only night I “dressed up,” I had on Ugg boots with my lounge pants as we were doing a candlelit labyrinth walk after dinner. And it was awesome. Dinner started each night at 7 pm with appetizers starting around 6:30 pm and while Cal-a-Vie’s own wine was always available for purchase, it was only imbibed by a few. From the sunrise hike to the candlelit labyrinth there is something for everyone. The activities are all wisely curated during the first part of the day, with the spa treatments in the afternoon. This all-inclusive resort starts with three-night packages, and while I stayed four, I could easily have extended my stay to last the week. Cal-a-Vie seamlessly offers enough activities from sunrise to sunset so that you never feel bored – or pressured. You can do all or nothing, but something about this environment leans into the doing everything side of things, and isn’t quite the lounge-by-the-pool kind of getaway. You

Fancy yourself taking a nighttime labyrinth walk? (photo by Deann Zampelli)

certainly can partake of said lounging, it just feels like anything beyond a poolside read before aqua aerobics is somehow leaving adventure on the table. You are never bored and always looked after. From roaring fires in the dining room and sweet notes left in your keyless room to the respectful guests that become dear friends from the first hello, it’s got you covered. I cannot recommend this enchanting place enough. I miss it already and plan to go back as often as I can. There are so many little touches that make this spot unique – the daily complimentary laundry service, the morning call asking if you are coming to breakfast or if you would like a tray sent to your room, and the valet parkers who remembered to charge your car without ever mentioning it. Hey, just for fun, ask for a unicorn and let me know what color it is when it arrives. Health and humor in the MJ. National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach trained at Duke Integrative Medicine, Deann Zampelli owns Montecito Coaching & Nutrition. She also has a Masters in Clinical Psychology and has been a resident of Montecito since 2006.

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15 – 22 January 2026

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Montecito JOURNAL

35

Entertainment (Continued from 18 18)) “It was a very important experience for me to learn how to research really well,” she explained. “I look at musical scores in a very different way now having developed my research skills. I apply that all the time. And I was able to keep in touch with the piano. I co-founded the Princeton Pianos Ensemble, inviting all the pianists on campus to come play multi-piano, multi-hand work, to create community in what is very much an isolating field.” Yi’s full-time focus of course has been on piano ever since. Last summer, she emerged from the community of solo pianists at the Music Academy of the West’s festival to prevail in competition, the prize including a cash award and, more significantly, the opportunity to perform the winning piece with the Santa Barbara Symphony this weekend. The performances create something of a different kind of community, as the concert boasts five different solo piano competition winners from international events, each playing one of the five Beethoven piano concertos that span the composer’s early to middle periods – the phase during which Beethoven transitioned from a Classical to Romantic approach. The works are considered cornerstones of the piano repertoire, full of technical challenges but also emotional breadth and interplay with the orchestra. Yi kicks off the concerts on Saturday evening with “Concerto No. 3 in C Minor,” followed by Evren Ozel, bronze medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and an Avery Fisher Career Grant recipient, performing “Concerto No. 4 in G Major.” The keyboard marathon continues with “Concerto No. 1 in C Major,” with Dmitry Shishkin, a Silver Medalist of the International Tchaikovsky Competition and winner of the Geneva International Music Competition, followed by “Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major,” performed by Angie Zhang, an American Pianists Association Finalists Award laureate and 2022 MAW fellow. The weekend concludes with the most famous concerto, “No. 5 in E-flat Major, ‘Emperor,’” performed by Jonathan Mamora, a multi-international competition winner. “I’ve always wanted to be part of a marathon like this, and I think people are going to love it,” Yi said. “They won’t feel overwhelmed by Beethoven but (rather) be able FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MCLUB, 1106 Coast Village Road, Suite E, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. MONTECITO BANK & TRUST, 1010 State Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 8, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20260000040. Published January 15, 22, 29, and February 5, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: OUTPOST IV; OUTPOST COFFEE & KITCHEN; OUTPOST, 955 Embarcadero Del Mar, Suite F, Isla Vista, CA 93117. SIPS AND BITES LLC, 955 Embarcadero Del Mar Suite F, Isla Vista, CA 93117. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on January 8, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 20260000052. Published January 15, 22, 29, and February 5, 2026

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 25CV075566. To all interested parties: Petitioner MARILYN CLAIRE DRAGHI filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to CLAIRE DRAGHI KEMP. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed December 23, 2025 by Sarah Sisto. Hearing date: February 9, 2026 at 10 am in Dept. 5, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published January 1, 8, 15, 22, 2026 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SHENNIE SMITH AND ASSOCIATES THERAPY GROUP, 30 W MISSION ST, SUITE 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. SHENANDOAH SMITH MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST, INC, 30 W MISSION ST SUITE 4, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed

36 Montecito JOURNAL

with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 23, 2025. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2025-0002921. Published January 8, 15, 22, 29, 2026 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 25CV07046. To all interested parties: Petitioner JANET MARIE NICKSIC filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to JANET VIE. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed December 5, 2025 by Terri Chavez. Hearing date: January 28, 2026 at 10 am in Dept. 3, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published December 25, 2025 and January 1, 8, 15, 2026

to really appreciate everyone’s individual artistry hearing them all in a row.” The pianist said she was somewhat surprised to win the competition last summer because “Concerto No. 3” was new to her at that point. “I’d been avoiding it beforehand because there are some parts in the left hand that are a little larger than my hand span was comfortable with,” she said. “Playing it last summer went much better than I expected.” Now, Yi is thrilled to perform it with the orchestra in front of a much larger audience at the Granada. “There are definitely some tempestuous moments, and others that are heavenly, but I also want to convey more of a yearning feeling of the inner conflict where he’s trying to find inner peace,” she said. “It’s the only one of his concertos in a minor key, but it ends in C Major, so it’s a journey. It’s actually a little easier to convey that in a large hall.” As was the case in her MAW summer – when the pianist performed in a trio with faculty artists Erin Keefe and Julie Albers, and served as the solo pianist in one of Andy Akiho’s pieces featuring seven percussionists – Yi will be plenty busy during her return to town. She’ll play Beethoven’s “Sonata Opus 10, No. 2, in F Major,” and variations on an opera aria as part of a Symphony fundraiser on January 16, join Mamora in Sunday’s post-concert Dinner with the Artists fundraiser, and will stick around to play a special private recital on Tuesday at Casa Dorinda. Hopefully, she’ll also find a few minutes to revisit a favorite spot from last summer. “Butterfly Beach is so beautiful,” she said. “I’m really excited to go back.”

Classical Corner: Camerata Back with More Beethoven The weekend Beethoven bonanza actually begins on Friday night, January 16, when Camerata Pacifica’s “Beethoven 32” project continues with Principal Piano Gilles Vonsattel performing two more of the composer’s solo sonatas, including the less frequently heard “No. 27 in E Minor, Op. 90,” and “No. 19 in G Minor, Op. 49, No. 1.” The concert is part of the momentous three-year Beethoven cycle featuring Vonsattel playing all 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas in a hybrid blend of solo recitals and chamber programs. The concert at Hahn Hall also includes violist Che-Yen Chen joining Vonsattel for Schubert’s “Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor, D. 821,” and Schumann’s “‘Märchenbilder,’ Op. 113,” serving as sonorous companions to the solo pieces. Visit www.cameratapacifica.org.

Short Cuts: Reyna Reigns Again The first ¡Viva el Arte de Santa Bárbara! concerts of the new year bring Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles back to the county for four shows on successive evenings January 15-18, beginning at the Carpinteria Vets Memorial Building on opening night, and closing at Marjorie Luke Theatre. The all-female group, established in 1994, has long blazed a trail for women in a male-dominated musical genre, bringing sensitivity, warmth and vivacious spirit to the historic art of mariachi. Each concert features free admission and a meet-and-greet with the performers following the concert. Visit https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu/learn/viva-el-arte-de-santa-barbara.

Entertainment Page 424 424

The pioneering Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles performs four shows in town (courtesy photo)

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

Westmont (Continued from 24 24))

Our Town (Continued from 12 12))

Molly Garnand

more about the museum, upcoming museum events, or becoming a museum member visit: www.westmont.edu/ museum.

Leticia Forney Resch, Co-Executive Director HJSB (courtesy photo)

Warriors Welcome STUNT Coach Westmont’s inaugural head coach of STUNT, which begins in fall 2026, has deep roots in the Santa Barbara community and significant experience. Ariana Johnson is a sixth-generation Santa Barbaran and is in her third season as the STUNT head coach at her alma mater Santa Barbara High School. “I hope to create a beautiful program that encourages student-athletes to be good people and to have a passion to be the best athlete they can be,” she says. “I hope that within the next couple of years our program is thriving because athletes want to be a part of our success. I want to see Westmont as one of the top schools for STUNT.” After graduating from Santa Barbara City College, Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies at Life Pacific, and for the past 13 years, has served as a pastor in churches in California and Oregon. “I want to create a culture that’s centered on encouragement and on a hard work ethic,” she says. “Working hard and being tough, but having care and support is going to make good, healthy athletes. I also want it to be fun and exciting to try new things without fear. I want there to be excitement about every win – big wins and little wins.” She lives in Santa Barbara with her husband Ryan and her two-year-old son Mateo.

Garnand Leads Women’s Hoops to Win Junior forward Molly Garnand of Oro Valley, Arizona, tied her career scoring record with 22 points to lead Westmont Women’s Basketball (9-4, 5-2 15 – 22 January 2026

Ariana Johnson

PacWest) to a 62-49 win over the host Sunbirds of Fresno Pacific (5-7, 2-5). Garnand, who was 10 of 16 from the floor, also collected eight rebounds. “We started to see Molly stepping up offensively last game as far as getting rhythm inside and playing the way she is capable of,” said head coach Kirsten Moore. Sage Kramer added 12 points and four boards for the Warriors, while Lisa Kiefer continued her defensive prowess, tallying 14 rebounds (six offensive), three steals and two blocks. She also dished off four assists. The Warriors, who are in fourth place in the 13-team PacWest Conference, complete their threegame road trip on Thursday, Jan. 15, at Biola before returning to Murchison Gym Saturday, Jan. 17, at 1 pm against Fresno Pacific.

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

Leonie Mattison EdD (courtesy photo)

1st District Supervisor Roy Lee, “Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality and dignity for everyone. He understood that rights don’t mean much if they’re not real for all of us – for his family, my family, and our neighbors’ families. His legacy continues to push us to stand up for fairness and opportunity, and to make sure people feel safe, respected, and included in their own communities. And he reminded us of something important: real progress doesn’t come from speeches alone. It comes from showing up, taking action, and working together, day after day.” To conclude this special report on MLK Jr., is Dr. Leonie H. Mattison, EdD, MBA, whose research, poetry and statements continue to inspire us. She replied to my request as follows: “In his 1960 address at Spelman College, ‘Keep Moving from This Mountain,’ Dr. King offered words that continue to meet us where we are. He spoke to people carrying hope alongside fatigue, vision alongside burden. He reminded them, and he

• Voice of theVillage •

reminds us now: ‘Keep moving, for it may well be that the greatest song has not yet been sung, the greatest book has not been written, the highest mountain has not been climbed. This is your challenge. Reach out and grab it and make it a part of your life. Reach up beyond cloud-filled skies of oppression and bring out blazing stars of inspiration. The basic thing is to keep moving. “There is something deeply human in this invitation. Dr. King understood that struggle does not only press on institutions and laws. It presses on our inner life, narrowing imagination and arresting courage. His words speak directly to that inner place where people wonder if effort still matters. ‘Keep moving’ becomes an act of faith in what is still possible. “Here at the community level, honoring Dr. King calls us to notice the mountains we live with every day. Some are visible while others are quieter, shaped by habit, fear, or inherited ways of doing things that no longer reflect who we are becoming. His message invites us to move with intention, to widen the circle of belonging, and to keep choosing dignity for one another through our actions and decisions. “Across the globe, Dr. King’s voice feels remarkably present. We are living in a time of extraordinary change. Technology moves faster than visible wisdom as the future has arrived before we feel ready. His call reminds us that progress carries responsibility, and movement matters most when it is guided by conscience, care, and a deep regard for human life. “Dr. King trusted that history still holds more beauty than we can see from where we stand. I believe that our songs are still forming in a climb that continues onward. MLK Jr. Day invites each of us to keep moving with hope, courage, and a willingness to reach beyond the clouds toward the stars we have yet to bring forth.” 411: www.hjsb.org https://mlksb.org www.leoniemattison.com

Joanne A Calitri is a professional international photographer and journalist. Contact her at: artraks@ yahoo.com

Montecito JOURNAL

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NOTICE OF APPLICATION AND PENDING ACTION BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TO WAIVE THE PUBLIC HEARING ON A COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT THAT MAY BE APPEAL TO THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION AND APPROVE, CONDITIONALLY APPROVE, OR DENY THE COASTAL DEVELOPMENT PERMIT This may affect your property. Please read. Notice is hereby given that an application for the project described below has been submitted to the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department. This project requires the approval and issuance of a Coastal Development Permit by the Planning and Development Department. The development requested by this application is subject to appeal to the California Coastal Commission following final action by Santa Barbara County and therefore a public hearing on the application is normally required prior to any action to approve, conditionally approve or deny the application. However, in compliance with California Coastal Act Section 30624.9, the Director has determined that this project qualifies as minor development and therefore intends to waive the public hearing requirement unless a written request for such hearing is submitted by an interested party to the Planning and Development Department within the 15 working days following the Date of Notice listed below. All requests for a hearing must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Request for Hearing Expiration Date listed below, to David Billesbach at Planning and Development, 123 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara 93101-2058, by email at billesbachd@countyofsb.org, or by fax at (805) 568-2030. If a public hearing is requested, notice of such a hearing will be provided. WARNING: Failure by a person to request a public hearing may result in the loss of the person’s ability to appeal any action taken by Santa Barbara County on this Coastal Development Permit to the Montecito Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors and ultimately the California Coastal Commission. If a request for public hearing is not received by 5:00 p.m. on the Request for Hearing Expiration Date listed below, then the Planning and Development Department will act to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the request for a Coastal Development Permit. At this time it is not known when this action may occur; however, this may be the only notice you receive for this project. To receive additional information regarding this project, including the date the Coastal Development Permit is approved, and/or to view the application and plans, or to provide comments on the project, please contact David Billesbach at Planning and Development, 123 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara 93101-2058, or by email at billesbachd@countyofsb.org, or by phone at (805) 568-3319. PROPOSAL: HIDEAWAY TRUST WATER MAIN PROJECT ADDRESS: 240 MIRAMAR AVE, SANTA BARBARA, CA 93108 1st SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT THIS PROJECT IS LOCATED IN THE COASTAL ZONE DATE OF NOTICE: 1/9/2026 REQUEST FOR HEARING EXPIRATION DATE: 1/30/2026 PERMIT NUMBER: 25CDH-00008 007-290-034

APPLICATION FILED: 3/28/2025

ZONING: 20-R-1 PROJECT AREA: 1.89 acres PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Applicant: Hideaway Trust Proposed Project: The project is a request for a Coastal Development Permit with Hearing to allow for the construction of a new 6” water main to be connected to an existing Montecito Water District water main within Miramar Ave (a public street) for purposes of serving a new fire hydrant and 2 new residences along Miramar Ave (a private lane). No grading is proposed. No trees are proposed for removal. The parcel will be served by the Montecito Water District, the Montecito Sanitary District, and the Montecito Fire District. Access will continue to be provided off of Miramar Ave. The water main is proposed to serve 234 Miramar Ave, shown as Assessor's Parcel Number 007-290-008 (.6-acre lot), and 236 Miramar Ave, shown as Assessor’s Parcel Number 007-290-002 (.65-acre lot). The new water main will be located within a new utility easement located at 240 Miramar Ave, shown as Assessor’s Parcel Number 007-290-034 (1.89-acrelot). The new water main has been designed/engineered and will be constructed consistent with all Montecito Water District standards, and upon completion the new water main will be dedicated to the Montecito Water District. All properties are zoned 20-R-1 and are located in the Montecito Community Plan Area, 1st Supervisorial District. APPEALS: The decision of the Director of the Planning and Development Department to approve, conditionally approve, or deny this Coastal Development Permit 25CDH-00008 may be appealed to the Montecito Planning Commission by the applicant or an aggrieved person. The appeal must be filed within the 10 calendar days following the date that the Director takes action on this Coastal Development Permit. To qualify as an "aggrieved person" the appellant must have, in person or through a representative, informed the Planning and Development Department by appropriate means prior to the decision on the Coastal Development Permit of the nature of their concerns, or, for good cause, was unable to do so. Appeals must be filed with the Planning and Development Department online at https://aca-prod.accela.com/sbco/Default.aspx, by 5:00 p.m. within the timeframe identified above. In the event that the last day for filing an appeal falls on a non-business day of the County, the appeal may be timely filed on the next business day. This Coastal Development Permit may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission after an appellant has exhausted all local appeals, therefore a fee is not required to file an appeal. For additional information regarding the appeal process, contact David Billesbach. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Information about this project review process may also be viewed at: https://ca-santabarbaracounty.civicplus.pro/1499/Planning-Permit-Process-Flow-Chart Board of Architectural Review agendas may be viewed online at: https://www.countyofsb.org/160/Planning-Development

38 Montecito JOURNAL

Published January 15, 2026 Montecito Journal

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

News Bytes (Continued from 10 10)) Tickets required. The book links Impressionism with the particularly traumatic period from which the new form emerged. 411: www.sbma.net/events

ARISE 5K Walk/Run Returns

Grace Fisher Foundation Inclusive Arts Clubhouse. Grace Fisher, founder/ creative director of the Grace Fisher Foundation, is the book’s cover artist. The book’s chapters are by different authors, and a worksheet is included. Proceeds from book sales directly support the Grace Fisher Foundation’s inclusive arts and education programs, which serve individuals of all ages and abilities throughout Santa Barbara County.

411: www.gracefisherfoundation.org

The ARISE 5K Walk/Run returns to Santa Barbara on Saturday, January 24, bringing the community together in support of women rebuilding their lives after domestic violence, addiction, and other challenges. Now in its 19th year, the event welcomes participants of all ages to a USATF-certified course at Chase Palm Park. Proceeds will benefit Network Medical Women’s Center, which provides free reproductive healthcare, and the Santa Barbara Dream Center, supporting housing for women transitioning toward independence. With every step and every dollar raised, participants help create pathways to healing, dignity, and hope for women across the region.

Congrats President Limón

Sissy Taran and Tiffany Howard Book Launch

The SB Museum of Natural History’s Sea Center is joining the celebrations of “Underwater Parks Day” on January 17 with free admission for all. The event is from 10am to 3pm at the Sea Center on Stearns Wharf. It features their current exhibits, ocean educators, conservation organizations and community partners. No reservations are required.

411: www.arise5k.org

The Grace Fisher Foundation (GFF) invites the community to a book launch party celebrating We Are Resilient on Sunday, January 25, from 1-3 pm, at the

Senator Monique Limón has been elected by her colleagues to lead the California State Senate as the President pro Tempore. Senator Limón is the first Latina to serve in this role, and also the first mother to lead the Senate. The President pro Tempore presides over the chamber in the absence of the Senate President.

Underwater Parks Day at Sea Center

411: www.sbnature.org/visit/calendar

M

SHERIFF’S BLOTTER

Elder Abuse / 100 block of Evans Ave Tuesday, January 06, at 13:00 hours Deputies responded to a report of an adult son causing issues at his father’s home. The reporting party, his father, advised that his son was in the home refusing to leave and had an active warrant for his arrest. The warrant was for elder abuse, battery, and narcotics related violations. Alleged perpetrator withdrew further into the house when contacted and refused to surrender to law enforcement. His father suggested that subject could be violent and had previously fled and resisted arrest with another squad. Due to these factors the house was surrounded and K9 was paged. K91 and K92 arrived and subject surrendered. Misdemeanor Warrants / Lookout Park Tuesday, January 06, at 13:36 hours Subject was contacted as a potential suspect in an incident. While it was determined she was not involved in the incident, a records check did indicate she had two active misdemeanor warrants. She was arrested, transported, and booked at the Santa Barbara County Main Jail. Illegal Parking at Trailhead / E. Mountain Dr/Riven Rock Tuesday, January 06, at 21:49 hours One vehicle was towed from the Riven Rock Hot Springs Trailhead parking lot.

New Cottage Medical Clinics Include Pediatrics Cottage Health’s Grotenhuis Pediatric Clinics have moved to a newly built facility that brings all 15 pediatric specialties together under one roof, offering patients and families a modern and family-centered environment designed to support coordinated, high-quality care. The new location is on the second floor of the newly built Cottage Medical Clinics – Santa Barbara building at 2401 Bath Street, directly across from Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

411: www.cottagehealth.org

Start The Year On A Delicious Note. A new year calls for food that feels good and tastes even better. Seasonal ingredients, thoughtful preparation, and dishes designed to nourish and delight.

Open Container / 1200 Channel Drive Wednesday, January 07, at 01:25 hours Deputies contacted a vehicle with tinted front windows parked near 1200 Channel Drive, in violation of 26708 CVC. The driver mentioned he and his friend were hanging out. Two open containers of 24 oz “VMC” Jamaica Hibiscus Tequila Cocktail were collected from the vehicle. Subject admitted they were his, so he was issued a citation for an open container as a passenger in the vehicle – 23221(a) CVC. Subject signed the citation and both subjects departed without further incident. Theft / 700 block of Chelham Way, Montecito Friday, January 09, at 07:29 hours An unknown suspect walked down Chelham Way, sporadically turning his flashlight off and on. He gained entry into two of the victim’s vehicles and stole several thousand dollars’ worth of items and credit cards. He then went and made purchases with the stolen credit cards in Goleta. The investigation is ongoing.

15 – 22 January 2026

• Voice of theVillage •

1209 COAST VILLAGE RD MONTECITO, CA 93108 (805) 845-2457 LILACMONTECITO.COM

B R E A K FA ST | LUNCH | DI NNE R

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Montecito Reads (Continued from 8) “And nobody’s found the boat?” Creek asked. “What boat?” “And nobody’s found the head?” The man was confused. He looked over at the body as if for the first time. From where he sat, he could not see all of it. “What head?” “He’s missing a head. You didn’t know.” “Jesus. They didn’t tell me.” He took a drag on his cigarette and flicked it to the wind. “But they told you he was Indian,” Creek said. “They tell you his name was Charlie Russell, or ‘Pony,’ for short? Or that he was solid and good in every way a man can be?” “No. I didn’t know that.” “No,” Creek said. “They probably don’t tell you too much, do they? If they did, they’d tell you to get off your bony ass and go make that phone call. Tell your chief to get down here. And bring the body wagon. Fools didn’t even cover the poor man.” “You know, mister, that you’re talking to a police officer.” “No, son, I’m talking to a shirker. If you were a cop, you’d be protecting him and not the man who stole his head. Now go make that call.” “Jesus. You think he’s been … murdered?” The boy said it like he had a rank taste on his tongue. “Make the call. When you come back, don’t go near the body. Place is already dirty as a cow pasture.” Like most people, when Creek’s voice showed his disgust, the violence poorly hidden behind the words, the man complied and walked up to his car. Creek turned to the beach, looking for any signs that hadn’t faded from rain or sea. The surf was dead low. There was nobody up the coast or down and nobody on the road. Low tide meant it was roughly six hours since the body floated to where it lay, or to a prior high mark a day back. The sky was swollen and brooding, filled with distant lightning that came and went without sound. The wind was rising, and Creek hoped they would come with an ambulance before the storm broke. He walked back to the dead man. The body looked to have a few days’ bloat, the skin leached of enough color to suggest a few days in water. The elaborate block of ink work on the lower back was a nice piece of artwork, a wolf howling at the moon, but it was a poor replica of Creek’s own. Creek leaned down and began a deeper examination of the body. The head had been severed from the body mid-neck, the remaining rim of flesh appeared half chewed, half clean cut. There were marks that might have come from a thin wire or teeth or a rough blade. Maybe the teeth, he thought, of a big cat or a shark or an extra-large animal trap. The flesh was serrated, but not ripped. The fundamental cut was uniform, and he wasn’t sure if a shark or a lion could rip it apart so evenly. If wire had sliced him, no struggle had left a broader path of hematoma. And if teeth had chewed him, there didn’t seem to be chop marks on the vertebrae. There were bruises about the body, across his shoulders and back and right leg. Creek would save an undressing for later, but what he could see were oddly shaped bruise welts, about the size of the narrow edge of a brick. Someone or something had struck him. Hard. Two larger blood pools that crossed his back and rib cage pointed to violent concussion. Maybe he had been snagged on a mast wire, swung wide from pitch or struggle, and then slammed against the rail or hull or cabin before the garroting. Pony’s nails were dark and dirty. His feet and hands were creased and lined, deeply, from sun and salt, the grooves of finger- and footprints exaggerated rather than reduced from swelling. If he had fought his noose or chokehold, his hands didn’t show it. Maybe he was struck unconscious, the blow and the lashing coming at the same time, his body taken limp and compliant, making the severing painless. If not accidental, why was the head taken? An act of ritual? Of appropriation? Of blinding rage? Maybe staged? Without the head there was no identity and no way to examine the mouth or teeth or eye capillaries or skull. It would not be easy to find signs of drugs, weapons, or bullets without the head. In the traffic jam of sand prints there were no signs of dragging or scuffle. No blood on the rocks. Creek looked out to sea. It had to have been a fishing accident. Every reason a man might lose his head out there. John was right: a fishing boat was just a basket full of wires and knife edges, unexpected lurches and fogs, an unpredictable collection of sudden and often fatal dangers. The fishermen worked close this side of the islands for abalone, lobster, bass, shark, lingcod; worked deeper waters for swordfish, blue fin, bonito. The

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shore work was one- and two-man work. The bigger boats stayed farther out. The body was only few days, at most, in water. Longer and the flesh would have begun to float off muscle. If it was an accident, he must have been alone. But what the hell was Pony up to? He hated the water. Creek barely heard the men above the roar of wind and wave. They came down the path and onto the beach. He figured the large one to be Wade, the three others his deputies. A large crowd for a late Sunday afternoon outing from a small precinct. Sheriff John Wade had a sour look, like Creek had interrupted more than his dinner. He stood, fists to his hips, motorcycle boots planted wide. His voice had a Southern inclination, and Creek knew from the first words it would not go well between them. Wade said, “Wish John had let me know he wasn’t planning on coming down here, like he said, I’d of packed up this eyesore this morning. Damn fisherman’s folly, and four of us coming out here at Sunday suppertime.” Creek sorted through a number of replies, then said, “Nobody wants to look at a floater and never when it’s somebody you loved.” He had turned away from the fat man and out to sea. “Yeah, there’s that,” Wade said. “Still not real sure why he sent you, but if it’s all the same, we gonna get that thing off this beach.” He looked up at the high bluffs, at the tease of a villa visible through trees, then back at his posse and said, “Boys, bag it up.” “Hold up there a minute.” Creek said it to the men behind Wade. Wade was too surprised to object, but his shock was fast turning into something meaner. “You’re calling it an accident,” Creek said to Wade. “I see nobody’s been up the beach or down it. I see no boat, no head, no rigging. So, calling the death of John Penbrook’s ranch hand an accident, is that you being clairvoyant or just lazy?” Wade looked up at the villa above the bluffs, then at his watch, then back at Creek. “Well. Ain’t you a sassy fella,” he said at last. Creek heard the vowels get fatter and longer as the Southern leaked out with Wade’s anger. Creek figured Alabama. Creek said, “If you’re going to call it an accident, you need to make it plausible. You owe Penbrook that, if not this Indian.” “You’re Creek something, right?” Wade said. Creek nodded. “Creek …” Wade waited for a last name. Creek nodded again. “First off, Mister Creek whatever-your-last-name-is, I don’t ‘need’ to do jack shit. You want a favor, say it like you’s askin’ a favor. Second off, Penbrook’s just another Yankee rancher I barely know. Not some darlin’ cousin. Further – ” “It’s not a favor. It’s your job. What taxpayers pay you to do. And John isn’t Yankee, he’s American. But I am sorry for your loss.” “The Indian means nothing to me.” “I meant the war.” “The war.” “Civil War. Been seventy years. You’d think a redneck inbred might forget there even was a war, let alone who won it. You people hug that long lost shadow like it was your mama. A man of color just isn’t human to you, is he?” Creek could see intelligence in Wade’s eyes and some decency. He watched as the sheriff scanned the beach, the sky, the storm, then came to rest on Creek. Wade said, “It’s a resort town, buddy, for some very old money. They pay me to keep it holy as a church. And I do that. So, I like everybody to know who they are and who they are not. The junkies and the hillbillies and the overly ambitious? I have no love for criminals, so I beat them right out of their little scams and right the fuck out of my employers’ pretty seaside honeycomb. You and the islander wish to find the head that belongs to this body, then go about it. But don’t ever think that because you were somebody’s snoop in the army in ‘Frogland’ France, you are more than a farmer with a few acres of shitty dirt this side of the Atlantic.” He turned to his men and tipped his head toward the cars. “Get that damn carcass off this woman’s beach, and we’re done.” He turned away, and Creek let him waddle off through the damp sand. Creek was a tall man, and rangy; his strength was always underestimated because he was easy in his skin. “You take another step on my field of investigation, and I’ll put a bullet in your ass. You’ll waddle worse than you do now.” Wade stopped. His shoulders climbed up his neck. He turned, dumbstruck. “I’ll be damned,” he said. His men didn’t know what to do. One put his hand near his holstered gun.

“A right delayed is a right denied.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

Creek closed the distance. “Stand down, son.” Creek said it to the confused deputy. The sheriff started to speak but stopped when Creek held out his open wallet, the brass badge a foot from Wade’s eyes. “This badge means you just became second fiddle, fat man,” Creek said. “And this … ,” Creek pulled and planted beneath Wade’s nose his hand-forged sixteen-inch Buntline .45, “is my way of politely saying you need to honor Charlie Russell with a few minutes of honest cop work.” He held it there a long few seconds, then lowered the gun. “I report to the adjutant secretary of the Army,” said Creek, “who reports to the president of the United States of America. A foreigner, a red, on our shores, maybe a spy, makes you legally bound to my jurisdiction.” “Red my ass. He’s just a dead Indian. Penbrook’s cook, Christ’s sake,” Wade said. “He’s a spy till I say he isn’t.” “What do you want?” Wade said. “First, you will stop clopping all over this field of evidence. Second, one of you will walk a mile east, next man a mile west, looking for any sign of how this boy died and how he got here. Do your damn job, and you can take his body off your precious beach and give him an honest autopsy.” Nobody moved. “Autopsy?!” Wade said. “Everything about this says it’s an accident. The boat will show up, so will the head.” “Most likely is,” Creek said. “But that will be a conclusion based on proof. Not presumption. I am only forgiving the first time a man does stupid. You disrespect me again, and I’ll use this badge to slap you with a court summons.” The deputies looked at the two men. One finally spoke to Wade. “I read about him, sir. He’s legit. An army investigator.” “A hero, boss. Of the war,” said another. “That’s a bold gun, man, and some barrel,” the gaunt one added. “Hush up, women,” Wade said. He looked over at Creek. “These are hard times,” Wade said. “This is an unlucky circumstance. I’d try real hard not to make it any unluckier than it needs to be. He’s just a dead Indian. Make it any more than that and you’re upsetting more applecarts than you might wish.” He banked his anger, turned, and walked back to his car. The men watched Wade leave like confused fledglings, but only the gaunt one who had stood watch made to follow. “Go ahead, son. Go get the cold out of you,” Creek said, and the boy turned and followed Wade. Creek looked up at the villa just visible through trees above the high bluff. “Tell me about that, up there,” Creek said. “The old iron baron’s mansion. Senator Starbuck, from Montana. Only the daughter left, and she don’t leave the upstairs.” It was the deputy with the likable face. “Can’t face daylight,” one of them said. “What’s that mean?” Creek asked. “Don’t leave the house,” another one said. “Ain’t at all ugly, either. For a shut-in.” “An heiress. Was a famous debutante.” “And the bungalow,” Creek asked. “That belong to her?” He was looking at a small cottage just above the dunes, a hundred yards down the beach. “Yes, sir. I believe it does. She owns clear down to the cemetery.” “What are your names?” Creek asked. The deputy said, “This is Horton, sir, and Jay, and I’m Billy.” “We’re looking for anything might tell us a story,” Creek said. “Parts of a boat or its rigging. Unusual footprints. A weapon. It may be the head wasn’t wire-cut but chewed. Or struck, then severed. You two, walk up a good ways and back – see what you can see. And be vigilant. A boat tossed sideways can spill all kinds of debris and might tell us something important. Billy, you hang with me.” Horton and Jay walked off while Creek and Billy walked down to the hard, wet flats to gain a better view. The gray of dusk was turning to charcoal, and the squall line was overhead and looked ready to burst. He saw how the big mansion was set far back on its perch, enclosed by Monterey cypress and palms. Two south-facing wings jutted out so that each had views facing down the coast toward sunrise, and upcoast toward sundown. The villa was a big, faded-pink French monolith, twenty windows wide and three stories tall. If it was the one he’d heard about, it was famously private and famously coveted as the preeminent trophy by every wealthy Midwesterner who moved to town. Lightning branched and crackled behind them, and in the ghost white, 15 – 22 January 2026

Creek saw someone move behind one of the windows, a woman. There was rolling thunder and a curtain fell back into place. “You see that?” Creek said. “See what, sir?” “The window.” “No, sir. I was lookin’ for ditches, case that lightning comes any closer.” Creek smiled. An honest man. He waited for another flash, wondering if the old shut-in had watched as Pony was caught up and rolled over by the waves, slopped about in the tide flush, and finally left lifeless among the rocks. “Who called it in?” Creek asked. “The tip,” Billy said, “came from a beachcomber, an old woman, Jenny Primmons. She was down here walking her dog. The seagulls and crows were crowding around what she thought to be a seal but wasn’t. But she’s a good woman; she drove to a phone booth in town and made the call. Six a.m. Wade knew who it was right off. From the tattoo. He’s a better man than he seems, sir. He called Mister Penbrook and agreed to leave things till he could come across and see for himself and then take him back over.” Creek nodded and started back up to the body, and Billy followed. Creek knew that nobody in this postcard town wanted this kind of news, but was it an accident that a headless Indian had appeared, of all places, upon this private beachfront? In his second year of service, after the ambulance corps, when he was still green at investigating, Creek had seen how some of the wealthy Americans behaved while safely behind the lines, abandoning their pregnant women or overdosed buddies or car wrecks for others to fix as they slinked off behind bankrolled alibis. So, why was this odd recluse in the high window still peering down at the dead body? Billy said, “You know, some of these boys love to gamble. Some get rowdy and do stupid stuff; the others, well, most of ’em are quiet and private as dolls.” Creek smiled. He saw that Billy could not hide his frank love of the truth, nor his admiration for Creek. Billy wanted to be a policeman, and he wanted to do right. But he was hamstrung by loyalties. “Can I call you if I need to? Without it showing up in the Herald Tribune?” Creek asked. “I’d be honored, sir. Between us.” Creek stared down at the body. “Officer Billy,” Creek said, “can you case the harbor, see if any boat went missing or got rented or bought over the last week or two?” “Absolutely, sir. Today, sir?” “Not in this. Tomorrow’s fine. Well, then … ,” Creek said. “Sir, the thing with the chief – you just angry or you really think this might be a crime?” Creek hesitated. The head was missing, the pockets were empty, the man hated the sea, and as of yet, no boat had come ashore. “Well, I suspect the tides will bring us the rest of him, in time, and it will probably add up to a man who had no business being out there, good weather or bad. It’ll be a tall bridge or high mast, probably not a sailboat. Even with thin wire it’s a long fall to produce a cut that severe. He had a bad left arm, Billy. And a gimp leg. And he nearly drowned at sea as a boy on a day when his parents did drown. I can’t tell what killed him yet, but the last thing I’d have imagined Pony doing is buying a damn boat and going to sea.” “You made all that from the body, from just looking?” “No. We have some history.” As he said it, Creek turned to see the deputies returned from their beachcombing. One held an old cowboy boot. “Found this. Only one. It’s soaked.” Creek took it. He knew it to be Pony’s but didn’t wish to say that yet. “How far down?” he asked. “Hell. Quarter mile. Rode the surf to the dunes. Found it by the dunes.” “Nice work. Thanks.” A canon rumbled skyward, and they all looked as the blackened skies bloomed light, then burst as the wind and rain came suddenly and with a fury. The ambulance and gurney arrived, and the four of them collected the body, placed it in a canvas bag, walked it up, and slid it into the wagon. Soaking wet, the men climbed in after the corpse. Creek leaned in and said he’d swing by the station tomorrow, reminding Billy to ask the mortician for high magnification to get a better look at any grooves on the dead man’s vertebrae. He slapped the wet fender and they drove off. Holding the wet boot in the downpour, Creek stood for a final moment and studied the beach, trying to imagine the drag path of the body from

• Voice of theVillage •

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Entertainment (Continued from 36)

the tide. There were many exposed boulders, some pressure-wedged together, some hollowed into tunnels from years of water whorl. A bloom of white came from above the mountains, then the rumble. But he had seen a glint of light, like shiny metal, wink in the distance. It took him only minutes to find the wire strands, twisted like silver snakes within the sand and shallow water pool beneath two boulders. He knelt in and pulled it free. It was boat rigging. It was thin-gauge, not thick enough to be spool wire for a trawler net, and too thin and sharp to be stanchion, more like repair wire. He looked but found no cleats or fasteners, no screws or eyelets nearby. But there was a frayed end, and encrusted within the braid was blood. It was hardened enough within the troughs of ravel to have survived the passage through water. It was dispersed slightly across the six feet or so of length. Had it hardened prior to landing in the sea? Had it snagged, then freed? Had it been left hanging long enough for it to set up? He continued to walk the beach but found no more debris. If busted up, the boat might have come to rest miles from here. It might still be drifting, or it might have sunk. And what the hell was Pony doing wearing boots, on a boat, even if he only ever wore boots? Creek walked up to his Ford, got in, and toweled his head dry, then curled the wire into the towel and placed it on the seat. He rolled the window down and stared out to sea. He was thinking that he was making a mistake. Even agreeing to come and look. Because if you went against your deepest conviction, if you flip-flopped on your own vows, what you had left was the man you used to be. That wasn’t what he wished to be in this start-over life. But this was Pony. Humped up, headless, and half naked, alone and forgotten as a dog, left sunk in sand and seawater for most of a full day, no matter that a mansion the size of Fort Knox looked down upon him and not a soul had come down to inquire. Creek felt the burn rising and then the urge to wretch. Or put his fist into a stone. He had wanted to put the gun load into Wade’s fat, bigoted ass, drag him wailing back down to Pony, make him kneel and beg the humblest man Creek had ever known for forgiveness for not covering his body. Creek rolled his window up and fired up the old block. As he pulled out and headed home to tell John his findings, he knew the tide was rising and with it, diminishing odds of finding more evidence. Exactly the point, he thought: the erosion of drawn lines and with them, lost truth.

Out of the Limelight: Local Stages Launch Shows

Tune in next week for Chapter Three of Last Light in Paradise.

Michael C. Armour is author and original artist of bestselling Smithsonian children’s books Orca Song and Puma Range, and has been an award-winning writer/director for CBS documentaries, and many print and TV commercials for Honda and other companies. He comes from three generations of ranching, has been a horseman and motorcyclist most of his life, and has worked for years with released inmates under the direction of the Santa Barbara Superior Court and the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office.

Scan the QR code to purchase the full book online, or pick one up at your local bookstore: Tecolote in Montecito, Godmothers in Summerland, or Chaucer’s in Santa Barbara.

With the major local theater companies at rest in January, three smaller organizations are opening productions this weekend with wildly divergent genres. The newly-formed HappySad Theatre Company – from Santa Barbara-raised, SBCCacting educated Robert Rodarte and his wife, Riley, who met at Circle in the Square Theatre School on Broadway in New York – launches with The Effect, Lucy Prebble’s “clinical romance” about two participants in an anti-depressant clinical drug trial. The patients, played by the Rodartes, quickly develop feelings for one another, but aren’t sure if their romance is merely a pharmaceutical side effect. This creates complications for two psychiatrists played by Santa Barbara High’s theater director Gioia Marchese and Montecito’s Joseph Bottoms. The play, which was nominated for awards both in London and Off-Broadway, runs at Center Stage Theatre January 16-17. Laguna Blanca’s Theatre Department presents Charles Morey’s Laughing Stock, a hilarious backstage farce that offers a warm and witty tribute to the world of live theater, January 16-18 at Spaulding Theatre on the Laguna Blanca campus. The action takes place at a rustic, underfunded New England summer stock company that has scheduled a wildly ambitious repertory season of Dracula, Hamlet, and Charley’s Aunt. Audiences follow the earnest but overextended company from outlandish auditions to ego-driven rehearsals to opening nights that go disastrously off the rails. Visit https://tinyurl.com/LagunaBlancaLaughing for more information. Former Oscar nominee James Franco presents Desert Films, a new play he wrote, directs and stars in. Franco’s play was inspired by David Lynch’s Lost Highway, as part of a celebratory long weekend honoring the late visionary filmmaker at Ojai Playhouse. The play is a work-in-progress that blends a traditional stage performance with film projection in a surreal trip through fame, fantasy, and myth of the enigmatic Mystery Man character portrayed by Robert Blake in the film. The January 15-20 celebration also features free screenings of several of Lynch’s other films along with ancillary events. Visit www.ojaiplayhouse.com Also in Ojai, Santa Barbara’s Meredith McMinn stars in Simon Stephens’ Morning Sun. The show – Stupid Courage Productions’ first – will take the stage in Ojai, at Veritas Theater, 226 W. Ojai Ave., for two weekends, January 16-25. The play is a deeply felt exploration of the family bonds that shape our lives, and a poignant portrait of three generations of women set amid the turbulent backdrop of Manhattan from the ‘60s through the 90s. Visit https://tinyurl.com/yf5bssvd.

Focus on Film: SBIFF Sizzling Hot The big news since we last mentioned the upcoming 41st annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival (excluding the big January 14 announcement of the film screenings and such – frustratingly slated to drop well past our deadline, ahem) is the addition of a trio of true superstar actors collectively receiving the newly-named Hammond Cinema Vanguard Award. Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, and Benicio Del Toro will share the stage February 9 at the Arlington Theatre for a conversation with longtime SBIFF moderator Pete Hammond about One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s genre-busting allegory-thriller that has dominated the early awards season. The film topped the Golden Globe nominations, receiving nods for all three of the actors. While none of them took home a GG on Sunday night, Teyana Taylor, who will appear with seven other honorees at SBIFF’s Virtuosos Awards at the Arlington on February 8, did win the Supporting Actress award for her riveting 19 minutes in One Battle After Another. Meanwhile the film claimed one of the Best Picture Globes while PTA won for both directing and his screenplay. We’ll be shocked if he’s not part of the upcoming directors award at SBIFF. Other confirmed SBIFF honorees who claimed Golden Globes are Stellan Skarsgård, who earned Best Supporting Actor and will receive the Montecito Award on February 11, and The Secret Agent’s star Wagner Moura, one of the Best Actor winners, who is also part of the SBIFF Virtuosos. More are likely to be added before SBIFF opens on February 4-14. Meanwhile, Oscar nomination voting takes place this week, with ballots due by 5 pm on Friday, and nominees announced on January 22, the date of our next issue. Stay tuned.

Back to Nature: Lotusland for Less Each month, the magnificent Montecito garden expresses its appreciation of the community by offering a limited number of half-price tickets exclusively for Santa Barbara County residents. Reservations open for the year’s first batch of these Community Access Tickets on Lotusland’s events page January 20. If you’re hankering to do more than just look at the stunning horticultural displays in the 37-acre paradise, the garden’s Volunteer Program hosts a second Meet & Greet on January 21, an informal session to see behind the scenes at Lotusland, get introduced to the volunteer program, and connect with the team and fellow garden enthusiasts. Visit www.lotusland.org.

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“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

Beings & Doings (Continued from 6)

Same Japanese Black Pine after three-year G. Kitajima pruning process (photo by Greg Kitajima)

shared a house with was working at Lotusland. They were doing a renovation project in the Cycad Garden there, and they needed a couple laborers. They couldn’t bring in heavy machinery so everything had to be dug up by hand. I was like, ‘I’ll go spend some days out there and I can still do my bartending at night and on the weekends.’” What would follow from Greg’s threemonth gig as a day laborer? Bromeliads, mentorship, a new personal epoch, and a belated deep-dive into his family’s – and our country’s – troubled mid-century history. No big deal.

The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge “It was during the time I was working in the Cycad Garden that I met Frank Fujii,” Greg says with deceptive nonchalance. Storied Japanese gardener Frank Fujii came to Santa Barbara with his family when he was 10, in 1927. He later attended SB Junior High and SBHS, was a Gaucho at UCSB, and following the outbreak of WWII was imprisoned with his family on the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona. At war’s end four years later, the Fujiis, incarcerated Americans, were released. They returned to SB where young Frank Fujii found work at the Montecito estate of Louisiana cypress scion Kemper Williams. Fujii would work at the Williams Estate for years, but when he met the meteoric Ganna Walska in 1967, the die was cast. Which die? You name it. That year, Fujii became a part-time gardener at

Ganna’s horticultural fever dream, called Lotusland. Then in ‘72 Ganna would bring Fujii aboard full time. Alongside master stonemason Ozzie Da Ros, Frank Fujii would begin laying the groundwork for Lotusland’s globally renowned Japanese Garden and – some 28 years in the future – Greg Kitajima’s arboreal metamorphosis.

“I want to be able to work with Frank in the Japanese garden...” Greg Kitajima is a soft-spoken guy with a wave-tossed inner emotional life one can sense from afar. One day at Lotusland he was invited to a pruning session. Greg’s account of the invite is as understated as everything he says, but the moment was as loaded as a steamer trunk. Fujii got wind of Greg’s pruning interest and the clouds began to part in earnest. “Once Frank heard that I was interested in learning, I think my being of Japanese ancestry definitely created a connection between us.” An informal apprenticeship began to materialize. Here comes Greg 2.0. Cue the bugle-blowing cherubim. Kitajima’s Destiny shrugged into a dinner jacket, the Fates came gangling in with their “you rang?” grins, and helpful details fell curiously into place. It was something. “At the end of my three-month contract with Lotusland,” Greg says, “one of the gardeners taking care of the Bromeliad Garden resigned his position, so there was a full-time opening.” The increasing allure of the Japanese Garden and Frank’s

Reconstructed water tower with original water tank, reconstructed barrack, reconstructed guard tower and original barrack foundation in foreground, Granada Relocation Center [Amache], Colorado (photo by Greg Kitajima)

15 – 22 January 2026

tutelage to that point had so captured Greg that when offered the Bromeliad position, the guy presented his conditions. “Hey, look,” Greg said to his surprised interviewers. Picture them now, looking slowly up from their paperwork. “I’m interested in taking the job, but I want to be able to work with Frank in the Japanese Garden.” Taken slightly aback, the grounds superintendent was copacetic. “As long as you get your work done, we’ll allow you to spend one day a week working with Frank in the Japanese Garden.” Greg Kitajima took that ball and ran with it. After a year of Bromeliads, he moved to the Japanese Garden, and the apprenticeship of a new lifetime. “I was at Lotusland for around 14 years,” Greg says, “from 1999 to 2013. I actually worked directly with Frank for eight years. People say to me all the time, ‘Oh, you must have learned so much from Frank Fujii!’ I tell them the biggest lesson that I learned from Frank Fujii was the value of humility; never thinking that you know everything there is to know. Even at 90 years old he would say to me, ‘I learn something new in this garden every day…’” When Greg departed Lotusland to find his own path as a trained and certified Aesthetic Pruner and occasional Japanese Garden consultant, ahead lay a new perspective on the power a simple garden can wield.

Amache Greg Kitajima is a third-gen Japanese American (Sansei in the Japanese terminology) and knew little of his family’s wartime experiences. In the wake of Imperial Japan’s Pearl Harbor attack and the panic that ensued in the U.S., President Roosevelt signed order 9066. Most of Greg’s extended family, all American citizens, were removed to a Colorado prison camp called the Granada War Relocation Center. “My parents were seven and three at the time,” Greg says. To internees the place was known as Camp Amache. “This is a very Japanese thing,” he says. “My family never spoke about it. There’s a saying in Japanese, a phrase around the word Gaman, which means that you persevere.” He pauses. “And I think a lot of the Gaman is reflected in what they did at Amache, building all these gardens.” In 2016 a chance meeting at a North American Japanese Gardening Association (NAJGA) conference in Florida changed Greg’s life. Again. As luck would have it, Dr. Clark – University of Denver Professor of Anthropology – was leading something called the Camp Amache Community Archaeology Project. These things happen; to Greg Kitajima, anyway. Naturally, the two got to talking. “I told some of my family, ‘I met this professor and I’m going out to the site to volunteer with this archeology proj-

• Voice of theVillage •

Greg Kitajima today (courtesy photo)

ect.’ My dad’s older brother, my uncle Ken Kitajima, told me ‘Oh, you should come out to my house! I have boxes of information on the internment sites, especially Amache.” Ken Kitajima – 14 at the time of his family’s incarceration – would go on to serve with the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War. Mr. Kitajima passed in 2022, but not before spearheading preservation of Camp Amache as a Federal Historic Site – and infusing Greg with these missing pages of the Kitajima family’s legacy. Greg would travel to Amache, working to disinter long buried ephemera and marinating in filial gravity. “The three main elements of a Japanese garden are water, plants, and stones.” Greg offers a mordant laugh. “Those were in short supply in that place.” It all comes back to gardens; not just decorative and orderly little plots, but community power stations. The incarcerated worked determinedly with what was at hand. Rarely has shattered concrete been given so exalted a second life. “They broke off chunks of that concrete overpour from the barracks’ raised foundations,” Greg explains with some emotion. “They used those for garden stones. And the ‘soil’ there is literally just sand. It’s astonishing what they were able to grow there. We found eggshells in the sand that must have come from the mess hall, fish carcasses from the nearby river. They were tilling all this stuff into the sand, even nails for iron. They were creating soil structure…” Huh. The Japanese Garden as spiritual battery charger. Or as overexcited Billy Shakespeare once wrote, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Oh. To summarize – bartending philosophy major’s ditch digging side hustle takes him to previously unimagined inner and outer realms, a font of family, and a skill set ministering to Planet Earth. It comes down to flatware etiquette. You know, choosing the right fork. Greg? “Frank’s apprentice said one day, ‘Hey, I’m going to be teaching an intern some pruning after work. You’re welcome to come and spend time with us’. I said ‘Sure, I’ll do that.’” Montecito JOURNAL

43

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

MONDAY, JANUARY 19

by Steven Libowitz THURSDAY, JANUARY 15 The History of Coal Oil Point – Local Goleta historian and www.GoletaHistory. com creator Tom Modugno heads to the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum for an illustrated lecture on the coastal feature also known as Devereux Point. The favorite surf break and walking trail also holds a rich history, which Modugno will trace from its Chumash roots as P’ok’oy through the Rancho Dos Pueblos era to today’s shoreline and nature reserve, highlighting natural oil seeps, Indigenous innovation, and the changing uses of this iconic stretch of coast. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, 113 Harbor Way, Ste 190 COST: $20 general, $5 students and educators INFO: (805) 962-8404 or https://sbmm.org AD&A Museum’s Tiffany Experience – Tiffany Chung: indelible traces, which kicks off the new year at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum at UCSB, represents the first comprehensive museum survey of the Vietnamese American artist, bringing together more than 70 artworks that showcase the

SATURDAY, JANUARY 17

Castro Convertible – Rocking electric soulful blues, Tommy Castro has received – or should I say amassed – 21 Blues Music Award nominations from the Blues Foundation, the world’s largest blues organization. Nearly half of these awards recognize Castro’s annualized blues preeminence, including Contemporary Male Performer of the Year, Blues Rock Artist of the Year, Band of the Year, Album of the Year, and three times the top honor of B.B. King Entertainer of the Year. That conversion ratio of nearly 50 percent is but an asterisk in the Santa Barbara Blues Society’s decision to bring back the California-based Castro and his band, The Painkillers. After a hiatus of just three years, Castro and bandmates will once again throw down with wildly raucous blues-rock downtown, hot on the heels of Closer to The Bone, the most unvarnished, straight-ahead blues release of Castro’s career. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Carrillo Recreation Center, 100 E. Carrillo St. COST: $35 general, $45 VIP seating, $10 students INFO: (805) 668-6884 or www.sbblues.org

44 Montecito JOURNAL

MLK Day – Four days of sundry preliminary events lead up to today’s main memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his wife Coretta Scott King, celebrating the life and legacy of the civil rights leaders. This year’s theme, one of the most apropos in memory, is one of MLK, Jr.’s quotes: “We need leaders not in love with money, but in love with justice; not in love with publicity, but in love with humanity.” The quote serves as the overarching theme for the weekend including serving as the subject of the Poetry and Essay Contest, and a jumping off point for keynote speaker, Leah Weber King, daughter-in-law of Dr. King. The day begins at 9 am at De la Guerra Plaza with an opening prayer by Mia Lopez, leader of the Family of Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation, followed by a topical speech from Connie Anderson, and a selection of the younger students reading their top awarded poems and essays. Janet Reineck of World Dance for Humanity then leads the crowd out onto State Street for the Unity March at 10 am, as participants joyfully head up to the Arlington Theatre where they will be greeted by music from David Gorospe Productions. The program continues inside the venue with JoAnne Meade Young serving as emcee. She will introduce King‘s speech, readings from the secondary school students who placed in the top three spots with their inspiring poems and essays, and Wendy Sims-Moten leading the assembly on “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” considered the Black National Anthem. Drummer Sese Ntem leads a five-member group sharing the songs and rhythms of the Ewe people of Togo, Ghana, and Benin in West Africa to round out the program. Visit www.MLKSB.org for a full description of all of this year’s events. WHEN: 9 am WHERE: Plaza at 8 E. De La Guerra St. COST: free INFO: (805) 729-1143 or www.MLKSB.org

extraordinary breadth of Chung’s 25-year career. The new show of work by Chung, who earned her MFA at UCSB in 2000, features pieces that pointedly reveal histories that have too often been overlooked or intentionally ignored. She excavates the complex and often hidden entanglements of history, politics, geography, economy, and climate that accrue and shape landscapes, built environments, conflicts, and human migration. Best known for her intricately drawn and embroidered maps, a major part of Chung’s work interrogates the nexus of the climate-conflict crisis, which views climate disasters and armed conflicts as dual systemic causes of forced migration. Chung often mines the histories of single sites to reveal systems of power and cycles of transformation across stretches of geological and generational time, employing extensive archival research to fill in the gaps that official histories and popular discourses overlook or intentionally disremember. Ultimately, her artworks question not only how history is told but also who tells that history, who belongs within it, and who and what are excluded. The exhibit also features Spheres of Time, a site-specific, immersive sound and 3D video installation co-created by Chung in collaboration with the AlloSphere Research

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

15 – 22 January 2026

MONDAY, JANUARY 19

TUESDAY, JANUARY 20

Brown on his Black Family – Close out the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday with thriving Santa Barbara-based actor, director, entertainer, producer and author Wren T. Brown for discussion and signing of his book The Family Business: Four Generations of One Black Family’s Artistic Odyssey. The 2025 book chronicles the remarkable story of the Young and Brown families – a lineage that has significantly influenced American culture and the arts for over a century. Delve into a rich tapestry of history, personal narratives and striking visuals that capture the essence of perseverance – particularly during the era of Jim Crow – in a work that serves as both family scrapbook and cultural artifact. The book is an unapologetic tribute to the resilience and talent of Black artists who have bravely carved out their space in the entertainment industry. The lavishly illustrated tome features an extensive collection of rare, never-before-seen photographs and memorabilia drawn from Wren T. Brown’s personal archive. In honor of the MLK holiday, Chaucer’s Books will donate 10 percent of proceeds from all sales from 5:30-7:30 pm to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Committee of Santa Barbara. WHEN: 6 pm WHERE: Chaucer’s, 3321 State St. in Loreto Plaza Shopping Center COST: free INFO: (805) 682-6787 or www.chaucersbooks.com

Facility at UCSB. Organized by the AD&A Museum and guest curated by Orianna Cacchione, deputy director at the University of Richmond Museums, Tiffany Chung: indelible traces will embark on a national tour following the UCSB presentation. WHEN: Opening reception 5:30-7:30 pm tonight; exhibits continue through April 26 WHERE: UCSB campus, across from the lagoon COST: free INFO: (805) 893-2951 or www.museum.ucsb.edu SATURDAY, JANUARY 17-SUNDAY, JANUARY 18 Trio of Tributes – Acts that do their best to recreate three iconic rock bands arrive at three iconic venues over the weekend. On Saturday night, the Lobero hosts Prince Again, which channels the Minneapolis multi-instrumental musical savant through a wide swath of his hits including “Little Red Corvette,” “1999,” “Kiss,” “Cream,” “Diamonds & Pearls,” “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” and the hallmark “Purple Rain,” complete with the Purple One’s dance moves and stagecraft. At the same time, the Alcazar Theatre in Carpinteria goes back another decade or two to feature Led Zepagain, who play the music of the fearsome foursome in what has been called the “most true-to-the-original” Led Zeppelin tribute band, including unexpected praise from Jimmy Page himself on the band’s authentic sound and attention to detail. Sunday segues to SOhO with the return of Doctor 15 – 22 January 2026

July in January – Author, filmmaker and performance artist Miranda July’s accomplishments across an array of artistic endeavors, multiple disciplines, and media have underscored a career spent pushing creative boundaries. Known for a singular mix of vulnerability, humor and imagination, July received widespread acclaim for her 2024 novel All Fours, which topped multiple critics list of best books of the year, was a National Book Award finalist for Fiction, and is now in development as a series on Starz network. In other genres, July wrote, directed, and starred in Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), which won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival; created the seminal participatory website, Learning to Love You More; collaborated with Margaret Qualley on a performance art piece that took place on Instagram over multiple posts; and designed Eleven Heavy Things, an interactive sculpture garden. July was made a Guggenheim Fellow just last year. Expect the unexpected in a special evening at UCSB tonight, as July revisits highlights from her groundbreaking films, installations, and performances. In a wild ride through the artist’s creative process, July reveals her intimate relationship to risk, and provocative take on the evolving role of the artist in contemporary life. WHEN: 7:30 pm WHERE: Campbell Hall COST: $25 INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu Wu, the 11-piece band that features lead singer Tony Egan and a studio-tight four-piece horn section to recreate Steely Dan’s groove-laden, blockbuster hits sprinkled with deep tracks for the diehard enthusiast. WHEN: Saturday 7 pm (Led Zep); 7:30 pm (Prince); Sunday 7:30 pm WHERE: Alcazar Theatre, 4916 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria (Led Zep); Lobero Theatre, 33 E. Canon Perdido St. (Prince); SOhO, 1221 State St. (Dr. Wu) COST: $30-$40 (Led Zep); $58.50 (Prince); $28 (Dr. Wu) INFO: (805) 684-6380/www.thealcazar.org; (805) 963-0761/www.lobero.org; (805) 962-7776/www.sohosb.com

• Voice of theVillage •

Montecito JOURNAL

45

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TILE SETTING 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 TRESOR

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CONSTRUCTION General Building Design & Construction Contractor William J. Dalziel Lic. B311003 – 1 (805) 698-4318 billjdalziel@gmail.com

46 Montecito JOURNAL

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15 – 22 January 2026

te

Mini Meta

Last Week’s Solution:

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

WH A T H I S C O E N S B O R G E S L E E T

L A B N A V E A C T O R B I T I T U S E D

A N D P L A Y S R A D A R OM E N S F O R

C A F J AM E S E R N I E WR O N G E T T A

G A S C L A R A L I M E S O V E N S T E S T Y

B L E S T L AMA R A S O N E B E T T E S E A S

WHERE

BERT

AND

ERNIE

LIVE

SESAMESTREET

PUZZLE #1

PUZZLE #2

1

1

2

3

4

5

2

PUZZLE #3

3

4

1 5

2

6

6

7

7

8

8

9

Across 1 Well-known pen name 4 Get ready to snap, perhaps 6 What matzo balls often soak up 7 Draw forth 8 Lead-in to kingdom come?

1

Down 1 Crane high in the air, say 2 What you might say after a bad deal? 3 Something to angle for 4 Bill worth five Georges 5 Part of the musical initialism TMBG

7

Across 1 Not a lot of 4 Holi garments 6 Shaped like Humpty Dumpty 7 Comedian Kasher who wrote the memoir "Kasher in the Rye" 8 Before, of yore

Down 1 What the back-scratching is in "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" 2 Take out 3 A partner of 4 Not a lot of 5 Make out

PUZZLE #4

PUZZLE #5

2

1

4

3 5

6

2

4

Across 1 Its website has a "Fantasy" section 5 Alternative to "his" or "her" 7 Baked, in Bologna 8 Word before "Hungry," "Busy," or "Quiet" in Eric Carle book titles 9 Expert in heart hits?

1 5

7

8

7

8

8

Down 1 Shower alternative 2 Cat's reply to "You dig?" 3 Arrière-___ (group that's out of date, unlike the "avant" one) 5 One of a pair of elevators? 6 Disappeared, so to speak

2

3

4

5

6

6

Across 1 With 7-Across, Universal, Sony, and Warner, e.g. 4 Opera title boy who had "night visitors" 7 See 1-Across 8 Extra-crisp, in a way 9 Shower forcefully

Down 1 Stand-in for the rest: Abbr. 2 Push, after some escalation 3 Flying Pan 4 Energy source for a drag participant 6 Stinging seafloor swimmers

META PUZZLE

3

7

9

4

5

6

8

3

9

Across 1 Co. that lets you "Design your ultimate driving machine" 4 Mom on "Family Guy" 6 Hold 'em holdings 7 Influence 8 Influence unfairly

Down 1 With 3-Down, nine-time film role for Scarlett Johansson 2 Con game also known as "find the lady" 3 See 1-Down 5 ID that many U.S. residents memorize 6 Is sick with

Across 1 Like Mr. Burns on "The Simpsons" 6 Like people who go ballistic 7 Attorney or heir follower 8 Many introductory courses? 9 Indefinitely large

Down 1 It's usually avoided by journalists 2 Former Bears quarterback Kyle 3 Toast in Champagne? 4 Spherical bacterium, informally 5 Conifers with bright red arils

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15 – 22 January 2026

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WE SPECIALIZE IN CUSTOMIZED LUXURY FOR THE DISCERNING TRAVELER.

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Montecito JOURNAL

47

LUCKY’S brunch menu

• Morning Starters & First Courses • Bowl of Chopped Fresh Fruit with lime & mint 14 Giant Shrimp Cocktail ...................... 36 Grilled Artichoke with choice of sauce...... 18

• Sandwiches •

choice of hash browns, fries, mixed greens, Caesar, fruit salad

Lucky Burger, 8 oz., .................... 32 choice of cheese

Vegetarian Burger, 5 oz. ............... 22 choice of cheese (burger patty is vegan)

Burrata, seasonal marmalade, prosciutto .......... 25 French Onion Soup, Gratinée ............. 20 Matzo Ball Soup............................. 18

Fried Chicken Breast Sandwich....... 28 coleslaw, Carolina BBQ sauce, pickles

NY Cheesesteak Sandwich ...........................38 caramelized onions, mushrooms

Lucky Chili with cornbread, cheddar & onions ......26 Fried Calamari with two sauces .............................24

Pastrami Reuben ......................... 32 sauerkraut and gruyere on rye

• A La Carte •

• Salads and Other Specialties •

Brioche French Toast ......................................19

Iceberg Lettuce Wedge with Bacon .. 18 roquefort or thousand island dressing

with fresh berries, maple syrup

Waffle with fresh berries, whipped cream, maple syrup ...17 Cambridge House Smoked Salmon ............29 toasted bialy or bagel, cream cheese, olives, tomato & cucumber

• Eggs and Other Breakfast Dishes •

Arugula, Radicchio & Endive Salad ............18 reggiano parmesan, balsamic vinaigrette

Caesar Salad ............................. 18 with grilled chicken breast ....... 31 Seafood Louie ............................ 56 two shrimp, 2 oz. crab, avocado, egg, romaine, tomato, cucumber

choice of hash browns, fries, sliced tomatoes, fruit salad

Classic Eggs Benedict ..................... 26 with julienne ham and hollandaise

Charred Rare Tuna Nicoise Salad ... 55

Chopped Salad ............................ 26

Home Made Spanish Chorizo Omelet ...... 22

Cobb Salad tossed w/ Roquefort dressing 29

Wild Mushroom and Gruyere Omelet ... 22

romaine, shrimp, bacon, green beans, peppers, avocado, roquefort

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict ........... 28

Lucky’s Salad ............................. 28

California Eggs Benedict ................. 26 with spinach, tomato, avocado

with avocado

arugula, radicchio, shrimp, prosciutto, cannellini beans, onions

Prime Filet 6 oz. Steak, & two eggs any style 64

arugula, radicchio, endive and sauteéd onion

Huevos Rancheros, two eggs any style 24

Sliced Steak Salad, 6 oz., ............. 42

Corned Beef Hash & two poached eggs 26

Old School Chinese Chicken Salad .. 32

Prime Filet Steak Frites, 6 oz. ................ 64

Dos Pueblos Abalone (4pcs) ........... 58

Mixed Vegetable Frittata w/ Gruyere ... 22

Jimmy the Greek Salad with Feta ..... 20

tortillas, melted cheese, avocado and warm salsa

join us for brunch saturday and sunday 9AM-2:30PM and for lunch fridays 11AM-2:30PM reservations via OpenTable or by phone 805-565-7540 1279 Coast Village Road, Montecito