The Village Legacy – Thirty years later, Village Properties continues building its business around people, philanthropy, and local relationships, P.34
New Energy Reality – As solar incentives disappear, CA homeowners face new questions about energy resilience, affordability, and independence, P.16
Friends Indeed – After a decade leading Friends of the
on community, stewardship, and lasting local impact,
FROM ORPHANED ORANGES TO SURPLUS LETTUCE, VEGGIE RESCUE STEERS METRIC TONS OF NOSH ONTO PREVIOUSLY EMPTY PLATES (STORY STARTS ON PAGE 6)
More Than Ballots
A
Surfing
Montecito
A new Montecito Country Mart exhibit celebrates local surf culture through iconic photography, film history, and coastal storytelling, page 14
Montecito Library, Pat Saley reflects
P.18
Montecito Union’s Annual Gala, page 12
Political – This may just be the most important local June 2nd election race you’ve
Beings & Doings – 744,000 pounds. Of what? You wouldn’t believe it if I told you, but here goes.
The Water Column – Seismic upgrades begin on the first of eight Montecito reservoirs Notes from Les – Alejandro Cartagena shows the reader (and museums) a different kind of carpooler
and
flavors bring fresh style to Montecito this season
Crunch – As incentives fade, California
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20 Body Wise – Modern life pulls us indoors, but the body still needs Vitamin N Montecito Musings – Snoring isn’t just annoying… it may be quietly wrecking your sleep and health…
22 Ernie’s World – It’s time for a new couch and Ernie takes on the challenge
26 Meet the Doctor – Radiation Oncologist Justin Voog, MD PhD
28 On Entertainment – Camerata Pacifica closes its season with a percussive flourish while Eleanor Roosevelt and Solstice take center stage across the arts scene
30 Elizabeth’s Appraisals – A mountain cabin fireplace reveals an unexpected blend of rustic stone and Art Deco design
32 Foraging Thyme – Stone fruit season kicks off with sweet, juicy white nectarines from Burkdoll Farms
34 Village at 30 – Three decades later, Village Properties continues building its business around independence and community connection
35 Your Westmont – Graduates urged to lives of global service and an alumna holds a book signing event in support of Turn the Page Uganda
36 Curator’s Choice – Shells from the Emerald Green Snail, Papustyla pulcherrima
37 Spirituality Matters – Anima performances, men’s circles, sound baths, and meditation retreats shape a spiritually focused month
39 Spotlight Coast Village – Specials and highlights along Coast Village Road in this new feature
40 An Independent Mind – Jeffrey Harding argues billionaire wealth fuels innovation, prosperity, and the growth of modern American life ‘Fred Ward’ – A poem by Henry J. Ohrtman
41 Robert’s Big Questions – Could climate activists learn something important from the anti-nuclear movements of the 1980s?
43 News Bytes – A bonsai showcase, an ocean celebration, a purified aquifer recharge, plus a dazzling MFA art show and other school doings highlight the week
44
Calendar of Events – Jeff Bridges, Philip Glass, Tom Selleck, and Mahler headline a packed cultural weekend across town
46
Classifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads
47 Mini Meta Crossword Puzzles
Local Business Directory
Purely Political
FAQ: The Most Important June 2nd Election Race You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
by Jerry Roberts
Q.Whew, I just finished checking out all 61 candidates for governor and I’m leaning towards the guy who traces his lineage to the Mayflower and sold his pest control company to become a chaplain. Now what else do I need to know about the June 2 primary?
A. Have you cast your ballot for Clerk, Recorder, Assessor and Registrar of Voters yet?
Is that a single elected office or a Rube Goldberg machine?
It’s one of those things you don’t really notice, like sewer pipes or silicon chips, that’s actually important. The office collects and chronicles the basic records on which our economy runs – business filings, mortgages, deeds, liens, births, deaths, marriages – and documents the market for our most important local industry: real estate. Oh, and they also run free and fair elections.
That sounds like more than a full-time job. Well, yes and no. The man who currently holds it, in office since 2002, hasn’t actually gone into work for a couple of years.
WTAF?
His name is Joe Holland and, sadly, he has a chronic illness and stopped showing up. It took a while to notice – probably because he was first elected five years before the iPhone came out and had been re-elected like clockwork ever since. This year, though, people began to notice.
Which people?
Notably, the Board of Supervisors, which oversees his $22 million budget. All five members have endorsed his opponent.
All five? When did they last agree on anything?
There was that time they unanimously passed a resolution commemorating the contributions of dirt, water, and sunlight to Santa Barbara County agriculture.
Who are they endorsing?
A woman named Melinda Greene, whom Holland hired 12 years ago to run the Clerk-Recorder division. She’s kept things running smoothly while he’s been, um, working from home.
Is she qualified?
She’s a technocrat who gets visibly excited about “increasing efficiencies,” “reducing redundant data entry,” and
“automation process interfaces.” She is not, however, much of a politician –she’s so nice that, despite being prodded by a troublemaking reporter, she wouldn’t utter Holland’s name, let alone mention that he works from home.
Define “working from home.”
Joe says he’s available 24/7 – “I’m available by phone, they can call me and I’m on it in a heartbeat,” he told supervisors at a recent, cringey budget hearing. When a couple of reporters checked in with him via Zoom, though, he seemed to be using a dial-up modem of 1995 vintage with what appeared to be car wax smeared on his camera lens.
Seems like a sad situation.
As a personal matter, it is. He has MS and is no longer the high-energy presence from his salad days of BlackBerries and flip phones. As a public interest matter, it’s a tougher call: he oversees a staff of more than 100, a voter roll of 250,000, hundreds of thousands of document transactions and 140,000 property assessments.
How much does he get paid?
Also, a sore subject. Holland earns $275,511 in salary and $48,677 in benefits, for total compensation of $324,188. He also collects an additional $43,000 in pension benefits from his pre-election years working in the office.
Wait, what?
All perfectly legal, though some supervisors have grumbled about “double dipping.” In their wisdom, the Legislature and governor decided years ago it would be unfair to prevent public employees from collecting a pension from a department they later got elected to run. Once elected, of course, they begin accruing additional pension benefits based on their highest-ever salary – payable when they finally retire. Or, in Joe’s case, if they ever retire.
How much does Greene make?
$220,205 in salary and $117,762 in benefits – total compensation of $337,967.
Those numbers make my head hurt. Why do I need to pay attention to this again?
You may have heard that Donald Trump has threatened to federalize elections, dispatch the National Guard or ICE agents to polling places, or otherwise disrupt the midterms. Some
Purely Political Page 184
DESIGN BY BECKER HENSEN NIKSTO ARCHITECTS
Beings and Doings
Veggie Rescue’s Playful Moniker
Fronts a Merciful Juggernaut
by Jeff Wing
“Last year we rescued 744,000 pounds of food, and we got that out to 73 nonprofits throughout Santa Barbara County.” As restaurant chit-chat goes, this is an apt opener. Eryn Shugart and I are sipping coffee (me) and tea (Eryn) at Merci; a lovely little place whose name is a French/ English cognate meaning (respectively)
“thank you” and “compassion.” Our conversational setting has thus teed up our discussion in more ways than one.
Eryn is executive director of Veggie Rescue. The nonprofit does one Herculean thing and does it well; “rescuing” surplus food from county growers, farmers markets, food distributors, and grocery stores and delivering this nourishing would-be landfill to people who need it. It is an uncomplicated mission of mercy. The logistics are not as uncomplicated as the mission, but that’s the nature of scaling benevolence.
“Our food donations help veterans, they help seniors, they help families with
young children,” Eryn says. “We deliver to (YMCA’s) Noah’s Anchorage Youth Shelter, serving teens and people in the foster care system. We serve the whole gamut of people who are food insecure.”
Yes, Eryn brings her work home – or more specifically to the grocery store. The food waste component that animates Veggie Rescue’s vision has a way of haunting the conscientious; which is anyone who glances even fleetingly at the numbers (see the first line of this story).
“Since I’ve been in this job, when I’m grocery shopping and there’s a chance I’m not going to use something before it goes bad, I don’t buy it. I’ve become a lot more mindful of that.” Understandably.
Okay, then. It’s time we answered the Dual Question implicit in all this earnest typing. Why do Veggies (of all things) need rescue, and from what fate are they being rescued?
Rescue
Veggie Rescue is a sort of double entendre. The nonprofit is indeed rescuing, or
more accurately diverting, veggies and other nourishing foodstuffs from… oh, what’s the place called again? Oh yeah: the city dump. Veggie Rescue then sees to the disbursement of those fresh and merchant-quality foodstuffs to the Food Insecure citizens of SB County.
“Maybe two thirds to three quarters of what we rescue is veggies.” Eryn says. “We also go to Ralph’s market in downtown Santa Barbara and Trader Joe’s on De La Vina. We go to Bob’s Well Bread up in the valley and in Los Alamos. We go to Hollandia. We have many partners that give us things besides produce, which is great. Our biggest food donor is Cisco down in Oxford. We get thousands of pounds of food from them every week. We have an
18-foot truck.” (they have three trucks) “I mean, we really are a logistics organization. We don’t warehouse food.” No, they give it to the hungry. And last year’s 744,000 pounds didn’t quite cover the need.
In Santa Barbara County – Veggie Rescue’s service area – over 215,000 people experience food insecurity. To use bureaucrat-speak, these SB County residents lack “consistent access to adequate food.” FOOD.
Thank goodness for our area’s (almost weird) density of nonprofits, our unique species of gold lamé-averse, obsessively giving gazillionaires, and for the Veggie Rescuing missionary zeal of Eryn
20 - 27, 2026
Gaudy Veggie Rescue trucks are not known for their stealth (courtesy photo)
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Montecito Miscellany
Tease of a Muse
by Richard Mineards & Friends
Downtown Santa Barbara was absolutely crackling with creative chemistry during 1st Thursday Art Walk, as the doors of “The Muse” briefly opened for a wildly glamorous sneak peek at what promises to become one of the sexiest cultural spaces our Eden by the Beach has seen in decades. And darling, it was less “construction preview” and more architectural seduction. For one deliciously fleeting evening, guests stepped inside the future downtown home of the Music Academy of the
West, set to officially open in 2028 at 901 State Street. The crowd buzzed excitedly as renderings and plans revealed a bold new vision for the city – one already inspiring architectural infatuation.
Designed by acclaimed architect Lawrence Scarpa and Brooks Scarpa Huber, the project arrives with serious pedigree. Scarpa is recipient of the prestigious 2022 American Institute of Architects Gold Medal – the profession’s highest honor – which, frankly, is the architectural equivalent of royalty. This man doesn’t merely design buildings; he causes swooning. And swoon they did.
Inside, guests admired glowing renderings of a sculptural interior inspired by the movement of music itself. Flowing ribbons of warm wood wrap the performance space like a symphony in motion, creating what Scarpa describes as a “jewel box” – understated outside, but filled with surprise, drama, and discovery within. Mayor Randy Rowse simply remarked, “Stunning.”
But the real flirtation of the evening was the reveal of the planned rooftop deck.
Future parties high above downtown will feature panoramic skyline views –the sort of rooftop destined for champagne, string quartets, and dangerously charming people lingering far too late into the night.
The evening carried the intoxicating thrill of seeing Santa Barbara’s future before everyone else does.
Then, just as Santa Barbara began
swooning, the doors closed and locked once more – leaving the city seduced until 2028. Positively wicked, really. by Lisa
Duncan
Mum’s the Word
Mother’s Day at the Santa Barbara Polo Fields unfolded in glorious Riviera style this weekend, with champagne flowing, complimentary rosé tastings for mothers, children twirling, and the manicured grounds positively blooming with fashionable families gathered to celebrate the extraordinary influence mums have on the lives around them.
Among the celebrity guests enjoying the festivities was NFL Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Robert Woods, accompanied by his elegant wife
Miscellany Page 334
A RARE OPPORTUNITY
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A limited selection of exceptional ponies is now available, ideal for young riders beginning their journey and building a strong foundation.
Sunnybrook offers a highly personalized program rooted in correct fundamentals, horsemanship, and a supportive, familyoriented environment.
Checking out the new Music Academy digs on State Street (photo by Priscilla)
Look what is in store for State Street (photo by Priscilla)
The Water Column Project Update: Seismic Upgrades on Track for First Reservoir
by Laura Camp
Construction is underway on the first of eight of the Montecito Water District’s existing water storage reservoirs which are slated for seismic retrofit and/or replacement to reduce vulnerability to potential future disasters such as earthquakes. Updates began December 2025 on Terminal Reservoir, originally completed in 1952. Terminal’s needed improvements include extensive reinforcement and replacement of concrete footings and walls, and a new concrete roof. “We’ve effectively doubled the strength of the reservoir” stated Blake Coffey, a representative from the MWD’s construction management firm, Water Systems Consulting (WSC), who provided an update to the board at their April 28th meeting reporting that this project is currently on schedule with no anticipated time delays or cost impacts.
“This shows the scale of project the Water District is able to do on time and on budget,” said Board President Brian Goebel . “The engineering here is quite impressive.”
Construction is underway on Terminal Reservoir, the first of eight essential water storage facilities to be upgraded through the MWD’s Reservoir Seismic Retrofit and Replacement Project (courtesy photo)
Construction timeliness is important to derive the most benefit from the favorable funding terms. “ASADRA” (Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act) funding was an exclusive, one-time funding opportunity available only to public agencies impacted by the 2017 Thomas Fire. This funding, provided by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and administered by the California State Water Board, is uniquely appropriate for the District’s ASADRA Reservoir Seismic Retrofit and Replacement Project.
While Terminal Reservoir is on track for completion in July 2027, the total project is scheduled to take approximately six years, with each reservoir requiring 12-18 months to complete.
Design plans are complete for all reservoirs, yet construction will be underway on only one or two reservoirs at any given time to ensure adequate water storage at all times. District reservoirs are distributed throughout the service area and are constantly monitored to provide operational flexibility and storage redundancy.
Notes from Les
A Different Kind of Carpooler
By now you know the new issue of our Riv architecture and design mag looks closely at the migrant labor force that turns our architectural fantasies into built reality.
Alejandro Cartagena is an outstanding photographer who brilliantly aims his lens downward from a freeway overpass and has now spent decades chronicling the daily journey of migrant workers in pickup trucks on their way to build other people’s dreams. Cartagena’s aerial shots looking down on this human cargo are poignant and provocative and empathic and give new meaning to the term “truck bed.”
Cartagena has been an artist-in-residence at the SB Museum of Art and just had a retrospective hanging at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. You can also enjoy Cartagena’s work in the new Riv magazine. On racks and in mailboxes and on well-heeled coffee tables worldwide.
Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Donna Roberts, Joe DeMello, Thomas Mock
Features | Jeff Wing
Proofreading | Helen Buckley
Contributors | Scott Craig, Chuck Graham, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Elizabeth Stewart, Leana Orsua, Jeffrey Harding, Houghton Hyatt
Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz
Gossip | Richard Mineards
History | Hattie Beresford
Humor | Ernie Witham
Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri
Health/Wellness | Ann Brode, Deann Zampelli
Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook
Food & Wine | Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie, Jamie Knee
Published by:
Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC
Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108.
How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito
Cartagena’s Carpoolers just wrapped a show at the SFMOMA but can still be found in the current Riv
Montecito Med Spa is Growing — Join Our Team
We are expanding and seeking estheticians, aesthetic nurses, front desk liaisons, and more. Please send your resume and information to info@montecitomedspa.com.
Our Town
Montecito Union School Foundation Annual Gala
by Joanne A. Calitri
The Montecito Union School Foundation (MUSF) held its annual fundraiser gala at the Rosewood Miramar Resort on Friday, May 1. The guests arrived in the gala theme of “An Evening in Olympia,” women arriving in stunning gowns adorned with a gold floral headpiece, men arriving in suits topped with a toga scarf and Caesar-head piece.
At the reception in the garden patio, everyone was upbeat and ready to fund the school as they bid on the silent auction items, joined a raffle, and geared up for the live auction – the prized item being a chance for their child to be “Principal of the Day” with MUS Principal Nick Bruski. The event was sold out.
The Event Co-Chairs were Casey Kallenbach and Mally Chakola. This is Chakola’s last year as a gala chair. Their event committee members were Naomi Yamada, Kendle Evans, Tanya Newlove , Natalie Mutz , Lindsay Parton, Saba Riley , Emily Grant, Taylor Kwok, Blaine May, Joy Perry, and Elisabeth Crain. Technical support was provided by Ben Hyatt. Following the reception, the dinner program commenced in the grand ballroom. I was delighted to be seated next to MUS Superintendent Anthony Ranii, along with his wife Lindsey; also at our table was MUS Assistant Principal Rusty Ito and MUS faculty.
Returning again this year as auctioneer was MUS parent Tim Morton-Smith. He had an opening comedy spin that
garnered much laughter, saying, “I put MUS into chat GPT, and it said the following, MUS doesn’t prepare you for the real world, it prepares the real world to adjust to you.” Through his concerted efforts, jokes, and audibly fraying voice towards the end of the auction, he raised over $200K via the live auction items and The Ask. Program remarks included those of the co-chairs and MUSF Board president. Kallenbach thanked the event committee, event sponsors, and key supporters, along with acknowledgements to the MUS faculty and staff. Chakola talked about it being an evening in Olympia to celebrate the accomplishments of the MUSF funding received thus far – “Your incredible generosity helped to refinish the track and create a play station.” She then introduced MUSF Board President Kendle Evans and Vice President Carolyn Fitzgerald They shared, “Thank you, your support is nothing short of incredible, and the Mustang Fund reached a record. We listened to you, and for fall 2026 we are supporting as follows: we are bringing back the professional development days for the MUS teachers for the next three years; grades 4, 5, and 6 for the farm horse trip; and all the programming that we have always supported, so artists in residency, Sowah drumming residency, Diversity Club, Book Lab, the MUS Carnival and more. All the funds received go directly to your kids and the MUS teachers and staff.”
I asked MUS Superintendent Anthony Ranii for his statement post event via
Our Town Page 354
MUSF Gala Co-Chairs Mally Chakola and Casey Kallenbach (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
The Society Edit
New Fashion Boutiques and Curated Art Arriving to Montecito
by Joanne A. Calitri
Hello Loves! For fashionistas and lovers of art with local history, this is for you.
Margaret O’Leary boutique is set to arrive this summer at 1235 Coast Village Road, (formerly the Whistle Club). The woman-founded brand has been in business for over 30 years and is independently owned. Their focus is on “timeless knitwear and pieces meant to be worn for years.”
O’Leary’s Director of Growth Marketing in San Francisco, Tracy Jankowski , reached out to me a few weeks ago. We are planning a proper introduction of the brand and spoilers for our readers soon! In the interim she shares, “Montecito has long felt like a natural extension of how we think about style and lifestyle, effortless, considered, and community-driven, and we’re genuinely excited about the
opportunity to become part of the neighborhood in that same spirit.”
On another front, La Ligne Clothes is planning to open at the Montecito Country Mart. The precise opening date has not been announced as yet, and the location is near Alma Fonda Fina. Press releases in local papers and online sites are stating that La Ligne is to open in Suite D, the George’s Pet Store space. These claims are not accurate.
As for the brand, La Ligne (aka French for “the line”) is the brand’s timestamp of striped – everything! The brand states that their, “…unique utilization of the stripe on a garment acknowledges the infinite forms that can take shape – from an iconic Breton stripe to a simple piping detail, to a bold color block. With this philosophy, La Ligne offers both timeless and seasonally urgent styles that enable women to distinctively make the stripe their own.” The brand is co-founded by former Vogue editors, Meredith
Melling and Valeria Macaulay, joined by Molly Howard (Rag & Bone). Seen wearing the clothes are Mark Ronson and Grace Gummer. 411: https://lalignenyc.com
I [HEART] Montecito Art Exhibit at the Montecito Country Mart.
The theme focuses on the local surf culture with film and photographs, curated by Olivia Joffrey . The exhibit highlights local surf stories, traditions, and spirit. Surfing photos included are Renny Yater 1969 Rincon Swell and a tribute to him, George Greenough , the “Yater Spoon” surfboard briefly onscreen in the film Apocalypse Now ( 1978, the classic war film co-written by Coppola and Big Wednesday writer/ director John Milius ), Pat and Tom Curren at Rincon (1974), Al and Britt Merrick , Shaun Tomson (1977), Big Wednesday at Hollister Ranch (1978), and more.
And just in case you need another reason to celebrate… National BBQ Day is happening on May 16. Looking for a steakhouse outside the area… but cozy like Montecito? Check out the award-winning smokehouse Whiskey ‘N Rye, Solvang, founded by Don Conner (he also owns Que
restaurant in SB). Connor is said to have studied regional barbecue from Kansas City to North Carolina before returning to California to craft his own West Coast style. Whiskey ‘N Rye’s Corporate Executive Chef is Bryan Aceves ., and the menu features bold, smoky flavors across brisket, pulled pork, and ribs. And yes, darlings – for vegans there is smoked spaghetti squash. There are also whiskey pairing events and a VIP club… 411: www.whiskeynrye.com
Till next week fans, Xx JAC
Olivia Joffrey curated the Montecito Country Mart’s surf exhibit (courtesy photo)
Virtuosi
international series
AT THE GRANADA THEATRE
SEASON SPONSOR: SAGE PUBLISHING
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2026, 7:30 PM
ORPHEUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Isata Kanneh-Mason, piano
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2027, 7:30 PM MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA
Thomas Søndergård, Music Director
Augustin Hadelich, violin
SUNDAY, MARCH 14, 2027, 7:30 PM ACADEMY OF ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS
Conrad Tao, piano
SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 2027, 7:30 PM SAN FRANCISCO SYMPHONY
Hélène Grimaud
FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2027, 7:30 PM JAMES EHNES, violin ORION WEISS, piano Isata Kanneh-Mason
Sir Donald Runnicles, conductor Francesco Piemontesi, piano
FRIDAY, APRIL 30, 2027, 7:30 PM LOS ANGELES PHILHARMONIC
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Vilde Frang, violin
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SEASON SPONSOR: ESPERIA FOUNDATION
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2026, 7:30 PM
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2026, 7:30 PM HÉLÈNE GRIMAUD, piano
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2027, 7:30 PM NIKOLAI LUGANSKY, piano
MORE THAN A PLACE TO LIVE, IT’S A PLACE TO COME ALIVE.
Discover a sanctuary of elegance and ease, that creates a space to feel liberated, celebrated, and authentic.
Call to book a tour or RSVP for our upcoming special event.
OPEN HOUSE & ART SHOW
SATURDAY, JUNE 13th • 12-3PM
Explore a curated collection of resident artwork, enjoy chef-prepared appetizers, and take a guided tour of our wonderful community
MARAVILLA
Energy Crunch Installing Solar and Batteries After the Incentives Change: A
practical guide to financing home energy in California’s new reality
by Marine Schumann
California homeowners are being encouraged to electrify their lives. Replace the gas furnace with a heat pump. Swap the water heater for an electric model. Purchase an EV. Install induction cooking. State and local programs continue to support many of these transitions.
On its face, the direction is understandable: lower emissions, cleaner homes, and reduced dependence on fossil fuels – provided the electricity powering that transition is increasingly clean, reliable, and affordable.
But electrification also increases a household’s dependence on electricity. That carries real consequences in a state where utility rates are already among the highest in the country and continue to rise. In Santa Barbara County, outage levels exceed state and national averages by roughly 53%. For many residents, electricity is no longer something noticed only when the bill arrives. It has become a question of comfort, continuity, and resilience.
Which raises an important question: if homes are being asked to rely more heavily on electricity, should policy focus only on helping families consume more of it, or also on helping them produce and store it themselves?
That question sits at the center of California’s current energy paradox.
Programs continue to support electric appliances and vehicles, including heat pumps, heat-pump water heaters, induction ranges, EV chargers, and EVs. Yet support for distributed solar and battery storage, technologies that can generate clean power at home, lower utility dependence, and provide backup during outages, has gone.
California’s move to the newer
Net Billing Tariff sharply reduced the value of exported rooftop solar. Batteries became the logical next step, and new storage incentives were discussed, but many homeowners saw those programs narrowed, delayed, or disappear. At the federal level, the residential tax credit that long helped families justify solar and battery investments was removed at the end of last year.
Viewed together, the result is clear: incentives remain for households to consume more electricity, while none remain for households seeking to generate and store their own.
At the same time, Californians are told rising utility bills are needed for wildfire hardening, grid modernization, and infrastructure upgrades. Those needs are real. But ratepayers may reasonably ask how that squares with record utility profitability. Southern California Edison recently reported net income of approximately $4.4 billion, up sharply from roughly $1.3 billion in 2024.
Yet here is the irony: solar and battery storage may make more practical sense today than ever before.
As rates rise, each kilowatt-hour produced on a homeowner’s roof becomes more valuable. Stored solar energy used during expensive evening hours can offset some of the highest-cost electricity on the bill. And as outages become more common, battery backup becomes less of a luxury and more of a preparedness tool.
Demand has not disappeared. It has changed.
When we founded Brighten Solar Co., many homeowners were motivated by environmental values and bill savings. Those motivations still matter. But over the past twelve years, we have seen growing demand for something deeper: control, resilience, and independence from systems that feel less predictable than they once did.
So how should homeowners finance solar and storage today?
Cash Purchase: For households with available capital, paying cash remains the most straightforward option. It typically offers the strongest long-term value because the homeowner owns the system outright from day one.
Loan Financing: Loans allow homeowners to preserve cash while still owning the system. This path can work well when payments compare favorably to avoided utility costs. But terms matter: review interest rate, total financed cost, fees, and prepayment conditions carefully.
Energy Crunch Page 364
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supervisors question whether Holland can manage elections in this charged atmosphere while checking in by text a couple times a day from home.
Is that a real concern?
Greene and the supervisors seem to think so. She argues that Trump’s threats may confuse or frighten voters away from the polls and believes the office needs an aggressive communications and social media campaign. Holland seems to feel less urgency: “This is nothing new with regard to what Trump or anybody else might do in this election,” he told reporters, having skipped the supervisors’ special hearing on the subject entirely.
How did we end up with an office with so many words in its name?
It started with the Assessor. The old boys who wrote the 1850 California Constitution figured it was wise to have someone other than the Board of Supervisors – who set the tax rate on real property – also determine the value of said property. As government grew more complicated, Sacramento required counties to have a Clerk and Recorder for the paperwork. Elections got folded into the Clerk’s office. Then in 1993, amid the Newt Gingrich government-is-bad revolution, a young conservative supervisor
named Mike Stoker consolidated the whole jumble into one office – to save money, naturally.
With all that power, competition for the job must be fierce.
Um, no. Holland is only the second person to hold it in 30-plus years, having succeeded the legendary Ken Pettit, who served from 1994 to 2002. Since then, Holland has cruised to re-election every four years with little or no opposition.
Haven’t we seen this movie before?
It does call to mind Joe Biden, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Senator Dianne Feinstein – all of whom spent decades assuring everyone they were as spry as ever and could handle things just fine. Until they couldn’t.
All right, guess I better make a choice. Where can I learn more?
https://tinyurl.com/JerryRoberts-Joe-Clerk
Jerry Roberts has worked in the news business as a reporter, editor, columnist, commentator and author for nearly 50 years, including a quarter-century at the San Francisco Chronicle, where he held a series of senior newsroom and executive positions.
Library Mojo
We Get by with a Little LOT of Help from Our Friends of the Montecito Library
by Jace Turner
After 10 years at the helm, Pat Saley reflects on the community effort behind one of Montecito’s most beloved spaces
For more than 60 years, the Friends of the Montecito Library (FOML) have been quietly – and sometimes not so quietly –shaping the library at the heart of the community. First mentioned in local newspapers in 1960, when the library moved from Montecito Hall (where the library is located today) to Montecito Village across the street, the Friends quickly became an essential partner in helping the library grow and adapt with a changing community. Their impact is perhaps best captured in 1979, when they rallied the community to raise nearly $100,000 in just a few months – securing the funds needed to renovate and preserve the Montecito Hall & Library as the library’s home. Over the years, they’ve supported the book collection, helped create the beloved Reppy
Reading Room, funded early computer systems, and made countless programs and improvements possible.
But the Friends have always been about more than fundraising. They’ve helped build
Mojo Page 344
Library
Friends of the Montecito Library Board
President Pat Saley (courtesy photo)
Body Wise
Did You Take Your Vitamin N Today?
by Ann Brode
Perhaps it was the prolonged screen time or too many sugar snacks.
The boys were antsy, grumpy, and looking for trouble. When I suggested we all go to the beach, usually a favorite destination, they both said it sounded boring. I countered with: “We’re not just going to the beach, we’re doing an experiment.” This ploy got them into the car. On the way I asked them to describe how their bodies felt. One said sad, the other mad. I told them we were going to see if the negative ions at the beach might change these feelings. They, of course, wanted to know what the heck were negative ions.
Negative ions are oxygen atoms with an extra electron. Created by the interaction of water, sunlight, and the Earth’s inherent radiation, these odorless, tasteless, invisible ions occur in various concentrations outdoors, in nature. When we inhale, they end up in our bloodstream and increase our levels of serotonin. As a neurotransmitter, serotonin
helps us feel really good – alleviating depression, relieving stress, and boosting energy. You’ve probably experienced this when you were in a funk and felt refreshed after a walk. You get a good dose of negative ions just being around plants and trees. You get a massive dose anywhere near moving water – walking on the beach, swimming, surfing, paddle boarding, or sailing.
“Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy” –
Pierce J. Howard, PhD, author of The Owners Manual for the Brain
After frolicking in the surf for a while, it was no surprise that the boys reported feeling happy and full of energy a short time later. Whether it was the exercise, fresh air, negative ions, or simply disconnecting from the grid, they could feel the positive result. In his book Last Child in the Woods, Richard Louv coined the phrase “nature deficit disorder” to describe the negative consequences of
Body
Wise Page 314
Montecito Musings Singlehood.
(It’s not a disease.): Part II How I Stopped Snoring Myself Awake (And So Can You!)
Many of you might remember the old Andy Capp comic strip from newspapers of yore, where we see Andy in a sleep coma, sawing logs after a hard night of snooker with the boys, his mouth lolling open, his big ol’ schnoz pointed to the ceiling. Classic cartoonery at its finest. It’s a universal comedy trope.
Granted, Andy did have a bit of a drinking habit which, as we now know, is a medical factor in chronic sleep apnea/snoring. No judgment, just the biochemistry of alcohol as a short half-life muscle relaxant, causing the tongue and throat muscles to collapse around your airway, resulting in your ceasing to breathe many times an hour during the night. Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, and some other Looney Tunes gangstas may have had the same issues. I’d have to review their medical records.
each night, where the body’s rest and repair happens, brain included. Enter “Nightmare Syndrome.” If you know, you know. And no, you’re not crazy. Seriously.
So, I fully woke up to my own snoring about three years ago, when a visiting friend camped on my couch for a few days. Around that time, I’d also begun to study the various root causes of certain sleep disorders. My own underlying insomnia could be traced back to a very high fever when I was 40, which then fried out my pineal gland – our brain’s melatonin factory.
“Hey, um, did I snore last night?”
“Yep. Big time.”
“Oh, for gosh sakes, why didn’t you tell me?!?”
“I didn’t want to wake you up. It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it. Everybody snores.”
Color me mortified. Maybe that’s why my mornings have felt so bad all these years…
To be sure, sleep apnea, aka snoring, can be present even if you don’t drink (me) even if your weight is fine for your height (me), even if you’re a high-level athlete (me), and even if you have zero allergies (me). It’s a sneaky, equal-opportunity offender.
He was so forgiving, but I could not override the fact that not everyone snores. I’m a pretty considerate person when I’m awake, but I was apparently quite a jerk after midnight, inflicting my snoring problem upon my good friend.
I then remembered that, when I was a child, my father would loudly rattle the rafters every night. This continued for decades. Ask each of his five ex-wives.
To my non-snoring readers with nightly snoring partners – you know who you are. You are absolute saints.
To the snoring party: be good to them, and to yourself, and sleep in another section of the house… at least until you can be evaluated and diagnosed by a pulmonologist. Separate sleeping is absolutely not a reflection on your relationship.
You’re welcome.
I currently live solo, with no one to shove me, roll me over, etc. For the past several years, I knew only that I’d awaken each morning exhausted, and then annoyed by the exhaustion. Damn. I’m too young for this. Lousy way to start the day. After coffee I’d be functional and forget about it until the next morning. Talk about the Myth of Sisyphus, snoring my rock up Insomnia Hill every night.
Bonus dammit: Snoring never gets us down into the restorative, Deltawave, later-sleep phase that otherwise occurs in four separate cycles
Reading Dad’s life backward, I then wondered if maybe his late-onset dementia was due in part to his lifetime of snoring. I learned that chronic, life-long snoring and late-onset dementia can orbit around each other, like two black holes.
The Google Machine recommended that I see a pulmonologist to be evaluated for sleep apnea. Because snoring like Andy Capp (or Fred Flintstone if you’re a Hanna-Barbera fan) every night for years is a symptom of something way worse: a long, slow descent into numerous chronic diseases, and… sudden cardiac death while not so peacefully asleep. Erph.
The Great Algorithm in the Sky also pointed me to the “SnoreLab” App. It records your breathing sounds all night, graphing the volume of each snoring event. Four colored volume
Art Deco Revival Diamond Emerald Tree of Life Day/Night Earrings
Ernie’s World
Some Assembly Required
by Ernie Witham
After I needed help getting out of our sagging couch for the umpteenth time, I said yes to my wife’s suggestion we shop for a new one. This was not easy for me. I’m a big believer in longevity, super glue and duct tape. When Pat and I got married one stipulation was that none of my existing furniture would be allowed in our new house. She said it was a safety factor with the kids and all, but I think she just didn’t like bean bags.
So, we headed off to the mega furniture store, a place with more couches than my entire hometown in New Hampshire.
“Whattaya think of this one?” I asked Pat , as I pushed the auto-recline button repeatedly. “Your end reclines, too. Plus the matching love seat reclines, so we can, like, have two friends over and we can all recline together. We can even have reclining races. See who can get up and down the fastest.” I awaited her accolades. “Too big. Try this one.”
Grumbling, but realizing all’s fair in love and major purchases, I sat. There were no buttons, no levers, plus I sank until my knees were above my chest. “Help!”
It went on like this for an hour. We left butt impressions on every couch they had – except of course the ones we
both hated. When it finally looked like I might be winning, Pat said: “You know, even if we got the reclining couch, you wouldn’t be able to recline it because the coffee table would be in the way.
She was right. Our modest living room had one floor plan that worked. And without a coffee table I’d have to hold my beer, chips, salsa and the three remotes. I was as depressed as our current couch back home that I slumped back into.
But Pat rebounded. “I found some couches online.” I looked. I didn’t hate them. Plus, they were way cheaper than those storebought ones and came with free shipping and next day delivery. “And if we don’t like them, we can return them for free.”
The next afternoon a large truck pulled up and delivered our two brandnew... boxes? On the side it said: “Some Assembly Required.”
I noticed several other things. First, the seven-foot-long couch was in a threeand-a-half-foot-long box. Second, in large type on top it said: Please note that returns can only be accepted in the original package. Finally, even though the box was sealed with copious amounts of tape, it was also strapped. I pictured three guys with a total weight of about a thousand pounds packing the thing – two sitting on it while the other strapped.
Always full of encouragement, Pat said: “Let’s get started.”
“You’re going to help?”
“As much as I can.” She held out her thumb which was conveniently encased in an aluminum brace. “I can at least cheer.”
I suggested that required pom-poms and a very short skirt but got no response.
I opened the box, removed all the items and grabbed the instructions.
Instructions used to come in a dozen languages, most likely the work of a wannabe novelist trying to keep wine on the table. Today, there is only a basic pictorial map. The last time I tried reading a map, I ended up in Bakersfield.
But, slowly, and with less than a dozen redos, it all came together. Pat was a big help, holding pieces while I screwed them together and sympathizing every time I stabbed myself with the little tool they provided.
All that was left were the cushion covers and the insides, which were compressed and sealed into quarter-inch pancakes. The instant I opened them they ballooned. I could visualize the guy who wrote “must be returned in same package” laughing, knowing that even if I gathered all my husky friends, we could never flatten them again.
The next 30 minutes were spent stuffing, getting my arms stuck several times and threatening revenge on couch makers worldwide. But I did it. Then I sat down, opened a beer and smiled. Pat handed me something: “Instructions for the loveseat. Should be easy now. What do you think?”
I did not tell her what I was thinking.
Ernie Witham has been writing humor for more than 25 years. He is the author of three humor books and is the humor workshop leader at the prestigious Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
Ernie braves the instruction manual
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Meet the Doctor
A New Series from Sutter Health
hat drives someone to spend a life in medicine? In this new Q&A series, a group of leading local physicians share the moments that set them on their path, the breakthroughs shaping their fields, and the realities behind the work. Their answers are candid, occasionally surprising, and grounded in experience. Together, they offer a clear-eyed look at the people delivering care in our community and what continues to motivate them every day.
Meet Radiation Oncologist Justin Voog, MD PhD
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine, and how did you select your specialty?
A. I was drawn to medicine following a ‘eureka moment’ of discovery as a summer intern at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. That initial spark ignited a primary goal to translate scientific discovery into improved patient therapies. Following completion of a Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD), I found Radiation Oncology to be an ideal specialty given my interest to combine cutting edge technology, scientific research, longitudinal patient care, and the opportunity to work with a multi-disciplinary team to fight cancer.
Can you share a moment in your career that profoundly impacted you?
A dated yellow note sits on my desk with my mother’s pathology results (ER-, PR-, Her2-), shorthand for a “triple negative” breast cancer. Helping my mother navigate care provided a new perspective on cancer. Her journey started with diagnosis in rural Minnesota, surgery at the Mayo Clinic, radiation therapy (RT), and immunotherapy in Santa Barbara. We gained insight into multiple facets of cancer management including early detection, access to care, patient advocacy, and (thankfully) surveillance – as she remains cancer free. The appreciation we have for her care team in Santa Barbara is unmatched.
What medical advancements, innovations, technologies do you incorporate into your treatment of patients?
My main clinical focus is caring for men with prostate cancer. I have extensive experience with various radiation therapy (RT) techniques including stereotactic body RT (SBRT) which relies on sophisticated technology to deliver short-course, high-dose, and sub-millimeter accurate treatment. Working with a talented team, we strive for continued enhancements in RT precision, speed, safety, and adaptability. I utilize recent advances in cancer imaging, genetic profiling, and artificial intelligence to tailor treatments for my patients. As a clinical investigator, I partner with research staff and medical colleagues to contribute to the design and evaluation of novel therapies. Our ongoing efforts include interrogating the role of RT in patients with metastatic disease, modifying treatment intensity based on tumor biology, and assessing SBRT in recurrent prostate cancer. These commitments are based on a desire to continually adopt superior treatments for all patients.
Who has been a mentor or role model in your life, and what did you learn from them?
Having confidence to ask important questions is paramount to discovery, and the ability to change direction based on evidence is the key to progress. An early mentor (Brian Kobilka, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry) was a model to combine curiosity and persistence to solve complex problems.
What is something you are currently learning or exploring outside of medicine?
Competitive sports were a big part of my life growing up, and it has been a joy to get back into team athletics with my children. I have recently started tennis lessons to keep up with my wife and kids on the court!
If you were not a physician, what is another career you could see yourself in?
A professor/director leading a research team towards the goal of high-impact transformative discoveries. Alternatively, GM of the Los Angeles Lakers.
As Sansum Clinic begins a new chapter as part of Sutter Health, we remain united by a shared mission: to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to the communities we serve. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare on the Central Coast.
EVERY BRILLIANT THING
On Entertainment Camerata Pacifica
by Steven Libowitz
Camerata Pacifica Principal Percussionist Ji Hye Jung has been a part of the Santa Barbara-based, internationally praised chamber music ensemble for more than 15 years. She’s held the position of associate professor of percussion at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music for more than a decade. Since she began performing in her native Korea at age nine, she has commissioned and premiered works by several important composers including Kevin Puts, Alejandro Viñao, Paul Lansky, John Serry, Lukas Ligeti, and Jason Treuting – several of which she premiered with Camerata Pacifica. She frequently performs with esteemed conductors and instrumentalists in symphonic programs, including serving as soloist under David Robertson’s baton for an all-Olivier Messiaen program at Carnegie Hall.
But rarely has Jung been as excited for an upcoming series of performances as she is for the concert that closes Camerata’s 36th season. The latest percussion-heavy programming brainchild from Artistic Director Adrian Spence includes the California premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich’s “Symphony No. 15, Op.144,” arranged by Viktor Derevianko for piano trio and percussion. As if that isn’t excitement enough, Jung will be playing alongside Treuting, Ayano Kataoka, and Svet Stoyanov. “They’re all friends from Yale from long ago, where we all did the master’s program. We know each other well, and I’ve worked with them on and off, but we’ve never played the four of us together,” Jung said. “So we are all very excited to make music together over the four performances of the program. It’s going to be a very special, rare event.”
Of course, the rest of the personnel for the concerts aren’t too shabby either, as Adam Sandler would say. Principal Cellist Ani Aznavoorian and pianist Gilles Vonsattel, and violinist Grace Park, who replaces the recently-departed former principal violinist Paul Huang, are familiar to Cam Pac audiences and treasured for their capabilities and camaraderie.
“I love making this really high-end music with people from all over, those I don’t normally play with,” Jung said. “But we rehearse and make magic happen and I treasure the whole time, and how the pieces transform with a different personality over our time together.”
The concert, on May 15 at Hahn Hall, opens with another installment in Cam Pac’s ambitious three-year “Beethoven 32” project, with Vonsattel taking on “Piano Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2.”
Next up is Thierry De Mey’s pure percussion piece “Musique de Table,” the title a sly musical in-joke as “table music” originally referred to light or diverting pieces to accompany feasts (scarcely comparable to today’s “background music” but you get the idea). Here, though, the tables are actual tables – rather tabletops that Jung has fashioned at home in Tennessee, honed to produce sound as the performers interact with the wood, including tapping, flicking, sliding, and more.
“It’s all gestures, and it’s his own notation,” Jung explained. “It’s three sets of hands dancing on the table, a highly remarkable musical piece but also very visual. Our hands are almost like dancing a beautiful ballet, although it’s complex music, rhythmically very intricate.”
Jung shared how when her mother saw a video clip of her performing the piece, smacking and brushing her hands along a table, she had her own humorous response.
“She said, ‘Oh, finally you’re doing things that I told you not to do and making a living.’”
Kenji Bunch’s Transcontinental, which pairs the percussionists with violinist Park (It was originally commissioned for Huang, and Jung played it with him at
Entertainment Page 334
Ji Hye Jung on the job (courtesy photo)
Philip Glass and The Poets
Featuring Music by Philip Glass (Philip Glass will not be performing)
Performed by Timo Andres, piano and Taylor Mac, spoken word with special guest appearances by Lucinda Childs and San Francisco Girls Chorus
Sun, May 17 / 7 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall
Free Community Concert
The Calidore String Quartet
Celebrating the Inauguration of Chancellor Dennis Assanis
Wed, May 27 / 7 PM / Lobero Theatre
FREE (registration required)
“Astonishing… the kind of sublimity other quartets spend a lifetime searching for.” Los Angeles Times
Wynton Marsalis: Selections from String Quartet No. 1
Korngold: String Quartet No. 3, op. 34
Timo Andres Taylor Mac
Lucinda Childs
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Elizabeth’s Appraisals Deco-Style Fireplace in the Mountains
by Elizabeth Stewart
recently purchased a tiny “fixer-upper” cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. During the remodel, he discovered that the 1,660-square-foot cabin was originally built in 1919, with an addition completed in 1927. He sent me an image of the fireplace in the main room – currently under construction – and asked whether the fireplace and its treatment date to the original 1919 structure or the 1927 addition. This is a question that spans two distinct eras of design; the Arts and Crafts style of 1919 and the Deco style of 1927.
Unmistakably, PE’s fireplace is a rustic, somewhat amateurish interpretation of an Art Deco design – far removed from Deco’s birthplace in Paris. The design is Deco; the materials are not. The first clue lies in the cast-iron vent covers, known as Heatilator grilles, which circulate air and protect the firebox from excessive heat. These vents are quintessentially Art Deco: flat, geometric, sym-
metrical compositions featuring zigzags, chevrons, and sunburst motifs.
Art Deco designers embraced repeating geometric forms to express modernity, speed, and forward movement. By contrast, the fireplace’s material – the local light gray granite and white quartz of the San Bernardino region – is anything but modern. This stone, likely formed during the Precambrian era some 300 million years ago, grounds the piece firmly in deep geological time.
Yet the form of the fireplace is undeniably Deco: square, angular, and assertively modern, anchored by a simple rectangular mantel. It’s an endearing rural interpretation of a Deco fireplace. If you imagine this same form reconstructed in black-veined Carrara marble, polished to a mirror-like sheen and paired with those Deco grilles, you can easily envision a refined Parisian example.
PE’s modest mountain cabin, infused with international Deco elements, stands in stark contrast to the glamorous Deco apartments of Paris, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles in the late 1920s. In those urban settings, a similar fireplace would be taller and more monumental,
set within ten-foot walls and crowned by an overmantel featuring a dramatic mural – perhaps sleek, sculptural female figures rendered in a stylized modernist idiom. One certainly wouldn’t encounter the charmingly “glamping” version PE has uncovered.
Still, the Arrowhead fireplace – with its planar surfaces and Deco ornament – demonstrates how one of the first truly international design movements resonated even at 5,500 feet above sea level in 1927. It’s entirely possible that the architect responsible for the cabin’s addition had worked in the Los Angeles Deco high style of the late 1920s before bringing a simplified version of that aesthetic to a mountain retreat.
Art Deco’s birthplace was, of course, Paris, and its defining moment came with the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a landmark world’s fair of design and architecture. Visitors were captivated by the pavilion designed by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, whose oval grand salon featured soaring 20-foot ceilings, silk wall coverings inspired by Egyptian motifs, an amboyna and ebony grand piano, and a monumental, black-veined marble fireplace. This fireplace was anchored by a mural of parakeets and stylized nudes and illuminated by a chandelier cascading with crystal spheres. The fireplace’s metalwork was created by Edgar Brandt, whose work helped define the Deco aesthetic. Brandt later worked in the United States, including New York City, where he designed an extraordinary set of metal doors for the Belmont Building on Madison Avenue. Like the anonymous Arrowhead designer, Brandt often incorporated Egyptian-inspired relief patterns – stepped, faceted forms influenced in part by the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb.
Thus, the enthusiasm and persistence of the modern Deco style in the 1920s traveled far beyond Paris, finding expression even in a small lakeside cabin in the California mountains. Here, local stone was used to interpret an international style – resulting in a uniquely regional take on Deco in 1927. However, the question remains: do you like it? PE’s fireplace may be a hybrid, but is it a good hybrid? In my opinion, the main problem is the squat of the fireplace: it might have a higher hearth for proportion. When performing a remodel the question is, does PE stick with the period, and if so WHAT period of design should guide PE’s decisions? The Deco flair or the rustic, earthy, rugged look of the stone. BOTH exist in this one fireplace. For added interest, PE also shared beforeand-after images of the fireplace following sandblasting. He welcomes any thoughts on the remodel – and perhaps, extra period furniture, lighting, or tile would be welcomed. You can reach him through my email elizabethappraisals@gmail.com.
This fireplace has an interesting blend of art deco details and rustic cabin charm
The fireplace after sandblasting
(Continued from 20)
too much virtual and too little real time. His recent book, Vitamin N, sites studies showing how spending time in the woods, on the seashore, or on a mountain trail rebalances the bodymind and supports well-being. As we discovered in our beach experiment, it clearly improves the mood.
Unfortunately, the therapeutic benefits of Vitamin N don’t come naturally when you’re immersed in the convenience, comfort, and distraction of life in the 21st century. Going outdoors seems unnecessary when you can access entertainment, news, shopping, and professional resources with a simple tap of the finger. Exercising happens in the gym and well-being is measured with an app. Even when you go outside, you don’t walk barefoot for fear of stepping on something. You don’t get your hands in dirt because… well, it’s dirty. And the stately pace of rocks, rivers and trees pales in comparison when high tech, rapid-response, and over-stimulation are the norm. As a result, you’re probably suffering from a bit of Nature deficit and feeling foggy, funky, and uninspired. In order to reset and regain your equilibrium, you may need to spend more time outdoors – at the beach, a park or, even in your own backyard.
For a little extra incentive, you could challenge your curious and playful self to do a Vitamin N experiment. To set it up, schedule time to be outdoors by yourself without your iPhone, for about 10 or 20 minutes. The only agenda is to be present and observe. Take a moment to note how you feel at the outset. Is your body tired, heavy, agitated, or numb? Is your mind flooded with busy-ness? Is there any negativity or impatience? Without judging or analyzing, let this be your “before” marker. Now, empty it all out as you walk or sit quietly, returning to your commitment to simply be present and
observe whenever you get distracted. To structure the time, you could do a Vitamin N meditation.
Vitamin N Meditation: Find a comfy place to sit and close your eyes. Feel the space inside your body – your belly, chest, head, arms and legs. Expand your awareness to include the space around you and all of the plant life therein. Feel your tension and word thoughts dissipate as your personal space gets bigger and bigger with each breath. Imagine there are lots of invisible negative ions floating all around and permeating every cell of your body. If your attention drifts, come back to the present moment and a pixilated image of ions flowing in, around, and through – connecting you to the natural world. When you’re finished, check in again to compare how you feel with how you felt just a few minutes ago. Do you feel lighter, calmer, more focused? Do you feel more relaxed, connected, and upbeat? Is your spirit renewed?
This isn’t just your imagination. Spending unstructured, focused time – near trees, rocks, water, and even dirt – is a good way to get a healthy dose of Vitamin N. When you take the time to do it, you’ll definitely feel the difference. And once you do, you’ll want to go back again and again. Just ask my grandsons.
levels are bar-graphed for each snoring session you have over the course of a night: “None,” “Low,” “Moderate,” and… “EPIC.”
Next day, you hit “replay.” To hear yourself snoring, even at “low” or “moderate,” is weird enough. But “EPIC??” I was aghast.
(Maybe that’s why you’re single… Nah, no way. That’s for sure not it. I’m happily self-partnered right now and have a perfect relationship with myself.)
Your nightly results are shown in color, with the real-time, bar-graph readout that rises and falls throughout the night. It retains your nightly data over weeks and months so you can track and compare.
Everyone should give SnoreLab a try, even if you don’t “think” you snore, or even if your non-snoring partner is a saint. The proof will be right there, in living sound and color, at a glance.
I hit “EPIC” six to eight times an hour. I was basically suffocating about 50 times a night from 11 pm to 7 am for years. The math is astronomical. When you snore, you stop breathing. Then your adrenal glands fire off, trying to wake you up. All without your knowledge or consent.
My subsequent consult with Dr. Z at Sansum Pulmonology fully confirmed my nightly multiple deaths from the SnoreLab read outs, after sending me home for a one-night sleep-study using unobtrusive, strap-on monitoring equipment, to record and analyze the data, like an overnight electrocardiogram.
My poor adrenal glands were in hyperdrive when they should have been in auto-repair mode at night, trying to wake me up so I could breathe. Same nightly deal with all your other endocrine glands and organ systems – your nightly Circadian rhythm. No wonder the morning exhaustion and drowning nightmares. I was flabbergasted. (Hey, women don’t snore, do they?? How… un-ladylike. Women don’t snore in cartoons! No girlfriend, that’s denial. Time to own it.)
Ok, so now what? Do I have to use a clunky, noisy, slobbery CPAP machine for the next 50 years? Spoiler alert: Turns out, in many cases, no, you don’t. We have a better option nowadays.
steady. My mornings have felt well-rested ever since.
The device is quite easy to acclimate to. Its thin, polycarbonate material is low-profile and the hinge is adjustable to your unique jaw anatomy. It’s easy to clean with a good rinse next morning using a special brush (your morning Zen practice) and then an all-day soak with a squirt of dish soap and water in its little container, until you rinse it off well again before bed (pre-bed Zen).
I use tiny rubberbands on mine – the kind often used with kids’ braces – to keep my mouth more closed for better “nose breathing.” This generates more nitric oxide, to coax your nervous system into that elusive para-sympathetic state – the absence of stress required for the restorative Delta-wave sleep phase we’re supposed to enter four times a night, to prompt our brain’s glymphatic drainage and reset other organ systems.
Even while awake, inhaling through your nose is far better than mouth-breathing.
Good nose-hair grooming aside, did you know that your nose hairs actually help generate nitric oxide on inhaling? Ask any Yoga-phile. But no Yoga is necessary. Consider it “Nose-Yoga.”
Even better, the device is covered by most insurance and Medicare. Because health complications from chronic snoring are not merely a noisy “inconvenience” that you and your saintly partner just have to “live with.” It’s an airway anatomy problem that brings long-term, downstream medical conditions.
Moral of the story: Your sleep is a major pillar holding up your overall health. Reclaim your well-rested, healthier self.
It’s your birthright. It’s still in there. You’re welcome.
about living fully in body, mind, and spirit. Visit www.annbrode.com
Dr. Z. referred me to a wonderful sleep dentistry specialist on the Mesa. I was fitted with a custom-molded, tinted-plastic, mouth-guard device shaped like a set of toothless shark jaws, with an adjustable hinge between the upper and lower parts. Similar to “Invisalign” retainers, the hinged device re-aligns your lower jaw during sleep, preventing your airway from collapsing and causing that esophageal flapping, jack-hammering, sleep-shattering snoring problem to begone.
My post-device SnoreLab data: Mostly “None.” Sometimes a few “Low” nasal inhaling & exhaling sounds, quiet and
The grandkids getting their dose of Vitamin N
Ann Brode has been a bodyoriented therapist for over for over 50 years. She’s the author of A Guide to Body Wisdom as well as numerous articles
Foraging Thyme White Nectarines
by Melissa Petitto
Stone fruit season is here and the white nectarine, my absolute favorite, is featured this week at Burkdoll Farms. Originally from China, the fuzzless skin of this peach varietal is caused by a recessive gene, not a cross between a peach and plum as some believe. These little nutrition powerhouses are packed with fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants. Their vitamin C content is excellent for skin health thanks to vitamin C’s role in collagen production. It also is great for our immune systems by supporting antibody production. The fiber content in nectarines helps support our digestive systems, preventing constipation, supports our overall gut microbiome, and helps to lower bad cholesterol. Its content of lutein and zeaxanthin protects our eyes from degenerative diseases and contains those incredible free radical fighting flavonoids. Nectarines also are a good source of potassium which helps to lower our blood pressure. These delicious and flavorful stone fruits are a summer essential, whether raw or eaten in salad or dessert.
Nectarine and Blueberry Crisp
Yield: 6 Servings
3 cups white nectarine (or yellow) sliced into ½ inch slices, pits removed
1 cup blueberries
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
D’ANGELO BREAD
- 12:00 PM
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Topping:
1 ½ cups old fashioned rolled oats
¼ cup almond flour
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ cup vegan butter or coconut oil, melted
½ cup pecans, chopped (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all fruit filling ingredients, nectarines through lemon juice, and toss to mix and fully coat. Add to an 8x8-inch baking dish and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, add all the crisp topping ingredients. Stir to combine. Add the crisp topping to the top of the nectarine mixture.
4. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the crisp is bubbly and the topping is beginning to brown. Remove from the oven and serve with your favorite vegan vanilla ice cream!
Take a bite of white nectarine this season (photo by Noodle snacks via Wikimedia)
the Kennedy Center), honors the Chinese workers who provided much of the manual labor for the first transcontinental railroad, offering a corrective to sanitized stories of the American West and correcting stereotypes about Asian men in American culture. The percussionists partially act out the day’s activities, while the violinist is the piece’s protagonist, expressing the feelings of the workers with a variety of techniques. Despite the serious subject, there is also a fun theatrical aspect and some lighthearted moments in the piece, Jung said.
“It’s really fun to play,” she said in anticipation of offering the piece’s West Coast premiere. “We act out the railroad spikes with a hammer and shovels, recreating the sound of the workers laying the rails. And it finishes with what Kenji does best, a bluegrassy sort of dance. It’s really beautiful in celebrating people coming from different places and making the best home as we can. At the end, it’s a celebration.”
The Shostakovich, the pièce de résistance that closes the concert, is well known as the composer’s last symphonic work, seen as both a valedictory farewell from a composer confronting death and exhibiting optimism for a recovery. The transcription for violin, cello, piano, celesta, and percussion is new to Jung as it has only been performed five times previously.
“The symphony is powerful and devastating and this version is too,” she said. “There are so many musical quotations. And with only a few musicians we percussionists get to do a lot and bring a lot of colors. It’s eerie, and beautiful, and at times almost funny. But it’s also very intimate.”
There’s No One Like You, Eleanor, Really
Veteran actress Kandis Chappell, whose theatrical credits pepper the country from Broadway to Los Angeles, leapt at the chance to portray Eleanor Roosevelt in the one-woman play by Mark St. Germain titled simply Eleanor. The former First Lady was frequently named one of the most admired women in America both during her 12-plus years in the White House and for many years after her husband Franklin’s death in office.
But the play, which runs at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura from May 16-31, doesn’t focus so much on that time in the public eye, a matter of historical record, but rather her inner life, her private thoughts, and the formative years that shaped who she was.
“Her political activity and the humanitarian things she was famous for are mentioned, and that alone is a great story, but here you find out what she lived through personally and what she became,” Chappell explained. “You get to know her personal journey, and when you realize what she went through – starting with her childhood – to turn into the person she became, it’s absolutely astounding.”
While she relied on the script and Director David Ellenstein, a frequent collaborator, to navigate the nuances of the one-woman show, Chappell also did some of her own research to gain perspective.
“I read a lot of books, and watched several videos, including Ken Burns’ Roosevelts and a miniseries with Jane Alexander as Eleanor. You also find clips on YouTube of her actually speaking, which helped me with her voice and mannerisms.”
The more she learned, the more the actress was impressed by Mrs. Roosevelt, noting “my own admiration for her just increased by leaps and bounds.”
Eleanor off the bat refused to be a White Housewife who was simply a domestic ornament, Chappell said.
“What she accomplished there and then in so many years after… I mean, I think of myself as a fairly strong person, but I’m not in the same league as Eleanor. The strength of character, the way she stood up for the people who don’t have a voice. Just amazing. If she were around now, I think she would be going a mile a minute in today’s political scene to make things better all the time.”
Eleanor is set in a cemetery in Washington, D.C., which Chappell said was a “getaway” location for the first lady during challenging times.
Alexandra Woods and their lovely little ones, charming daughter Shi Woods and adorable little chap Dash Woods, both dressed smartly for the occasion. Woods has shared that his mother encouraged his catching skills from a young age – even turning grocery runs into impromptu football drills. “When
my mom used to tell me to get the groceries, I’d toss up the watermelon and catch it,” remarked the star affectionately known as “Bobby Trees.”
Also attending was MMA fighter Jarred “Bear” Fiorda, who spoke movingly about his mother, Michelle Fiorda, and the tremendous influence she had on his life after the passing of his father when he was five years old. Fiorda was guided into martial arts by his mother, who worked extra jobs to keep him training during difficult years – dedication that transformed his future and ultimately steered him toward success.
The ladies arrived in floaty floral frocks, elegant fascinators, and sweeping hats fit for a royal garden party, while little girls skipped about in matching flowered dresses looking like tiny English garden sprites. Everywhere one looked there were babies, toddlers, expectant mothers, mums, and grannies basking beside the polo pitch beneath the honeyed sunshine.
Meanwhile, the match proved thrillingly neck-and-neck, with Santi and Theo Von Wernich battling it out with Nachi Viana before Carbenella claimed the towering three-foot silver trophy, hoisted by Ben Soleimani and sweaty, smoldering Segundo Saravi
And so, amid flying turf and flowing rosé, Mother’s Day at the polo became something far sweeter – a tribute to the mums whose love changes the course of lives. Brilliant. by Lisa
Duncan
Healing Heroes
With the soft morning sun casting golden ribbons across the sea, family, friends, and fellow servicemen gathered on the sand beside the Santa Barbara Yacht Club this week to honor retiring U.S. Coast Guard officer Julian Bell – and what unfolded was far more than a military ceremony. It became a moving meditation on fatherhood, courage, service and the quiet emotional strength so often carried by men.
The ceremony opened with a haunting sound bowl meditation led by Los Angeles healer Chris Christopherson, founder of the Conscious Man Community, whose work creates safe spaces for men to heal and reconnect emotionally. Christopherson described his work as helping men “turn life’s open wounds into something meaningful.”
Amid sailboats and rolling waves, Bell stood surrounded by shipmates, mentors, leaders, family, and friends as stories of honor and humanity filled the ocean air. There was pride, certainly. But there were tears.
The ceremony celebrated not simply a decorated career, but a man willing to transform pain into purpose. Bell
Miscellany Page 384
See Eleanor in all her First Lady glory at the Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura from May 16-31 (photo by Jason Niedle)
The Woods family (photo by Priscilla)
Summer Helene Morris, Bear Fiorda, and Dana Hansen (photo by Priscilla)
Sy Zahedi and Courtney Hauschild with Hayes (photo by Priscilla)
the sense of community and connection that defines the Montecito Library – facilitating gifts of art like Douglass Parshall’s Dead Live Oaks and even organizing volunteers to move the library’s collection back across the street into the Montecito Hall & Library, quite literally carrying it into its next chapter. Today, under the leadership of President Pat Saley, that work continues through advocacy, financial support, and close collaboration with local partners. After 10 years as president (15 years on the Board), Saley is passing the torch and reflecting on the role the Friends have played in keeping the Montecito Library a vibrant, welcoming place for all.
Please join us for the Friends of the Montecito Library Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 14, at 10:30 am at Montecito Public Library, 1469 East Valley Road.
Q&A with Pat Saley, Friends President
Q. Do you have a library origin story you’d like to share? Or what do public libraries mean to you?
A. My first memory of books and libraries is when I was a little girl in Canada. The Bookmobile stopped in front of our house, so I was always getting new books and reading voraciously. That love of books has continued throughout my life and I’ve passed it on to my kids (who are avid audiobook listeners). We discovered the Montecito Library when my kids went to the preschool next door.
What makes the Montecito Library unique?
In my experience and travels, I’ve found that every town’s library reflects the local community. In the case of Montecito, the library is in a historic building, it is very charming and welcoming, and it has a
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT:
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: PRICE, POSTEL & PARMA LLP, 200 E. CARILLO STREET, SUITE 400, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. CRAIG A PARTON & TIMOTHY E METZINGER, 200 E. CARILLO STREET SUITE 400, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 23, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0001065. Published May 7, 14, 21, 28 2026
wealth of options, opportunities and friendly people. In my years on the FOML board, I’ve felt really good about supporting the library and bringing assistance and resources to our community and beyond.
What’s an accomplishment you’re most proud of during your FOML tenure?
While I used to be the youngest board member, in my early days I pushed to have us change with the times where it benefited the library and community. As we provide a major grant to the County and City every year for library operations, I helped us develop a website (that we’re about to update) and invest the community’s generous donations with a financial planning firm. We have also been more effective in collaborating with the Montecito Association and Community Foundation, City and County of Santa Barbara, and other libraries in the County to the benefit of all.
What would you say to someone thinking about joining the Friends of the Library Board?
The one thing our board has in common is that we all love libraries in general and Montecito Library in particular. We are a volunteer board with directors doing much of the required leg work to support and advocate for the library. We are very collaborative and all board members pitch in to educate the community about what we do and why libraries are so important. Over the years we’ve had wonderful board members who have brought a wealth of experience to the community and board, which has helped us meet our goal to support the Montecito Library in any and all ways.
Upcoming events:
FICTITIOUS BUSINESS
NAME STATEMENT:
The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SUPERIOR MOBILE BRAKE & AUTO SERVICE, 214 S CANADA ST , 49, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. JOSHUA A KRZYWONSKI, 214 S CANADA ST 49, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on April 27, 2026. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2026-0001121. Published May 7, 14, 21, 28 2026
Village at 30 Community Building Over Three Decades
by Zach Rosen
Village Properties is marking 30 years in business this May, a milestone that reflects not only the growth of one of Santa Barbara’s most recognizable real estate firms, but also the enduring appeal of remaining independent in an increasingly corporate industry. Founded in 1996 by Renee Grubb and Ed Edick, the company began with a single office on Coast Village Road and has since grown into the region’s largest independently owned brokerage, recording more than $25 billion in lifetime sales across 14,500 local transactions.
For Grubb, who became the firm’s sole owner in 2018, the anniversary is less about scale and more about staying true to the culture the company set out to create three decades ago.
“We’ve stayed independent because it lets us answer to our clients and our agents, not to a corporate parent in another state,” Grubb said in a past interview. That philosophy, she explained, has shaped the company from the beginning. After working for larger firms during the recessionary real estate market of the early 1990s, Grubb decided she wanted to build something different.
“I kind of woke up one morning and thought it would really be nice just to have a nice small local company and not corporate,” she said.
Grubb in 2002. The organization has now distributed more than $2.3 million to local K-12 educators for classroom supplies, books and technology throughout Santa Barbara County schools.
Village Properties agents also support dozens of local nonprofits, reflecting what Grubb sees as a broader responsibility to help strengthen the communities where they live and work.
“Whether it’s selling a home or supporting a nonprofit, it’s all community building,” she said.
All events listed take place at Montecito Library (1469 East Valley Road). Open Tuesday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday 10 am to 2 pm. All Santa Barbara Public Library programs are free and open to the public, although some require registration. Learn more at sbplibrary.org/MontectioLibraryEvents
EARLY CHILDHOOD: Stay and Play | Tuesdays | 9-10:30 am
ADULTS: Knit ‘n’ Needle | Thursdays | 2-3:30 pm
ADULTS: Mah-Jongg Open Play (first session) | Thursday, May 21 10 am – 12 pm
ADULTS: Montecito Book Club Tuesday, May 26 | 2-3 pm Meets every fourth Tuesday of the month.
ADULTS: Montecito Poetry Club Thursday, June 18 Meets every other month.
ADULTS: Hot Off the Press: Watercolor Workshop Thursday, July 23 | 10 am – 12 pm
Village Properties opened its doors in May 1996 with 20 agents joining within the first week. According to Grubb, much of the company’s later expansion came not from aggressive growth plans, but from requests by agents in other areas who wanted to work within the firm’s collaborative culture.
Today, Village Properties operates offices in Montecito, Santa Barbara, and the Santa Ynez Valley while continuing to serve clients throughout the Central Coast. Eight of the company’s original 20 agents are still with the firm, a statistic Grubb believes speaks to the environment they have maintained over the years.
That sense of community extends beyond the office. Philanthropy has remained central to the company’s identity since its founding, even during its earliest years when resources were limited. Grubb said supporting local schools and children’s programs was always one of the company’s guiding principles.
Over time, that commitment grew into the Teacher’s Fund, founded by
While the local real estate market has changed dramatically over the past 30 years, Grubb believes the role of an agent has also evolved. She prefers to think of agents not as salespeople, but as advisers guiding clients through what is often the largest financial decision of their lives.
“There’s so much education and knowledge that goes into being on top of everything in the real estate world,” she said. “They have to trust us to get them through the transaction.”
That advisory role can involve everything from navigating competitive bidding wars to helping elderly homeowners transition into assisted living. Grubb emphasized the importance of understanding each client’s emotional needs as much as the financial details.
As Village Properties enters its fourth decade, Grubb said the company’s priorities remain unchanged. Independence, agent support, community involvement and client service continue to define the business she started in a small Coast Village Road office nearly 30 years ago.
Village Properties celebrates its 30th anniversary (courtesy photo)
Your Westmont
Rooted in
Love: Grads Encouraged to Global Service
by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott
Led by bagpipes under a blanket of fog, more than 300 Westmont graduates made their Last March from Kerrwood Hall to Thorrington Field, where they enthusiastically walked across the stage to get their diplomas at Commencement on May 9.
Commencement Speaker Henrietta Fore, who has served and led numerous government agencies and nonprofit organizations, challenged the graduates to lead lives dedicated to global service. Fore, a former director of UNICEF and USAID, urged the 356 graduates to apply their education toward solving international crises in health, education and digital connectivity.
Drawing from her experience managing humanitarian responses, including the distribution of two billion COVID19 vaccines, Fore emphasized that academic institutions have a unique power to help those in need. She highlighted the necessity for “graduates of character, confidence and courage” to address modern challenges such as mental health and food insecurity.
Fore reminded the new alumni that their time at Westmont provided them with a foundation that transcends a simple credential. “Westmont has given you something more than a degree,” Fore said. “It has given you something far more lasting. It is giving you an education. And an education has a remarkable quality. It stays with you wherever you go”.
She concluded by inviting the class to join a global effort for the common good. “So, come join us out in the world of doing good,” she said. “Bring your education and your dreams.”
President Gayle D. Beebe presented William and Nancy Kimsey with the Westmont Medal for embodying the principles associated with the character
of the college. William congratulated the graduates on reaching a critical milestone and urged them to uphold the “Westmont way” as they transition into a new chapter of life. He said their education has provided a solid moral foundation, which will be essential as they face many critical choices that lie ahead. “Nancy and I hope that each of you, as you face life’s choices, will always pause and think what would be the Westmont way,” William said.
Kaisa Lindman-Marshall, a religious studies graduate, shared her initial fears and longings upon arriving at college. Despite finding incredible friends, professors and a beautiful campus, she felt a lingering disappointment. A pivotal moment came when her sister Sierra pointed out her lack of belief in God’s love, leading Kaisa to a deeper acceptance of divine love. “Since then, it has been a process of me learning to accept God’s love for me, to sit before Him and let Him sift through my thoughts, peer upon my soul, to let him know me and to trust that even in all His knowing of me, He still wants me,” she says.
She emphasized that God’s perfect love, which she experienced at Westmont, will accompany her into the future, providing certainty and confidence in an uncertain world.
Anthony Gose, a chemistry graduate, shared a humorous story about gambling to illustrate the uncertainty of life’s paths. He referenced the class of 2026’s Bible verse (Ephesians 3:17-19) to emphasize that while we may not have a map for the future, we are promised God’s presence.
“So as we leave this place, this community that has shaped us, challenged us, and carried us to this moment, I want us to hold on to the love that we have already been given, a love, as Paul says, that is wider and longer and higher and deeper than anything we can fully comprehend.”
Westmont Page 384
email. He wrote, “I am simply blown away by the generosity of this community. Under Casey and Mally’s leadership, this year’s event was elegant, fun, and successful, resulting in generous contributions to MUSF to sustain treasured programs at our school. MUSF has been such a stalwart partner this year, and our students are the lucky beneficiaries. I want to thank Casey, Mally, and everyone who contributed to this year’s successful Gala!” Attendees included the MUSF Board members, parents of MUS students, and local supporters of the school. The MUS faculty were gifted free tickets to attend, and many did. I was informed that Music Specialist Pamela Herzog announced her retirement to the school, effective end of this school year. Herzog attended MUS while Pam McClendon was the music director. Herzog went on to complete her graduate music studies graduating cum laude from Westmont College in 1990 and returned teach at MUS in 2012 when McClendon retired after her 41 years at MUS. Herzog’s retirement follows that of her longstanding colleague at MUS, Music Specialist Ron Zecher who retired last year after 30 years.
Event music was by DJ Gavin Roy, and the after party featured dancing to DJ Samantha Ronson
This annual gala supports the MUSF mission, “…to enhance academic, athletic and arts programs, enrich the student experience with technology, curriculum, and improved classroom resources, and elevate our teachers through professional development and continuing education.” Donations can also be made via their website to the Mustang Fund. 411: www.musfoundation.com
Westmont Medal recipients Bill and Nancy Kimsey
Henrietta Fore and Gayle D. Beebe
MUS Principal Nick Bruski, Superintendent Anthony Ranii, and Assistant Principal Rusty Ito (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
MUSF Board President Kendle Evans and VP Carolyn Fitzgerald (photo by Joanne A Calitri)
Lease or Power Purchase Agreement (PPA): Under these models, a financing provider owns the system while the homeowner pays a monthly amount/ or for the electricity produced. Because providers may access tax credits, tax treatment and depreciation structures unavailable to many households, they can sometimes offer lower upfront costs. Contract terms, escalators, transferability, and buyout options deserve close review.
Prepaid Lease: A prepaid lease uses one upfront payment instead of monthly payments and can sit between ownership and traditional third-party financing.
There is no universal best option. The right structure depends on available cash, monthly budget, how long a family expects to remain in the home, and whether ownership is a priority.
But one reality is becoming harder to dismiss: California households are being encouraged to electrify while receiving less support to secure the clean, reliable, and affordable power source that makes electrification truly work.
For many families, the future of energy is not simply electric. It is electric, resilient, affordable, and increasingly local.
Marine Schumann, a renewable energy professional and co-founder of Brighten Solar Co., writes about solar, climate resilience, & the evolving electric grid, helping households & communities navigate the rapidly changing energy landscape.
Curator’s Choice
These strikingly green shells belong to the Emerald Green Snail, Papustyla pulcherrima . The species is endemic to (only found on) Manus Island off the shores of Papua New Guinea. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the species as near threatened. Habitat destruction is the primary threat, as the rainforest trees the species relies on are felled for logging and other industries. Because of the threats to their survival, these snails can no longer be collected, so preserving the specimens already in existence is particularly important for research and conservation. These specimens collected before the IUCN listing were donated to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History by an amateur shell collector. Many of the museum’s shells – over 2.5 million specimens in all – come from the donated collections of shell collectors who were most active in the twentieth century. Associate Curator of Invertebrate Zoology Vanessa Delnavaz , MA, helps scientists from around the world access specimens for research.
“She would go sit there and just be, so it’s where her spirit comes to sit and think, to try to find the answers to something in her life that she didn’t fully understand at the time.”
Along the way, the actress also portrays almost 15 other characters, including her husband and “Uncle Teddy,” the former president, as well as friends, family and other historical figures. The play runs 80 minutes straight through, but Chappell shows no signs of slowing down despite playing the character almost exclusively for more than three years.
“Even when I’m not doing the play, the character percolates in me when I don’t even know I’m thinking about it, so that each time I come to it, I find something new,” she said. “The person of Eleanor, and the play itself, combine to create an opportunity that makes you use all your muscles as an actor, all the tools at your command. I find that thrilling. The harder it is, the more interesting and exciting it is to me.”
And she hasn’t grown tired of Eleanor’s impact on the audience.
“Complete strangers wait to see me after the show so they can tell me their Eleanor stories,” she said. “People are so touched by her in this show because they’re learning a whole new side of her. That excites me every time.”
Theater Tidbits
A cast of 10 that includes Westmont faculty member Mitchell Thomas comes together for a dramatic reading of Queen of Cups, the new epic poem/play by Judy Grahn that will be presented over the course of three performances by the site-specific theater company More Theater Santa Barbara. Concerned about an eco-catastrophe, the Queen of Cups has called for a Conference of Changes, and among the attendees will be the mythological figures planet Earth Ma, the goddess of love Helena, Mary Magdalen, Whirling (played by company Founder Meg Kruszewska, who also directs), the half-bird/half-man boatman Oracle (Thomas), the Scientist Simon, the headless ghost of John, Boot the Dog, and a chorus of Microbes. Each performance covers a different section of the epic, although they also work as standalone pieces, with Introductions and Stories on May 16, The Gifts on May 17, and Evaluating on May 18, all at 2 pm, at the Balboa Building Conference Auditorium, 735 State Street. Visit www.moretheatersb.com
Out of the Box Theatre Co., which recently completed its 15th season with its first-ever revisited musical in Assassins at Center Stage Theatre, also goes off-site for a one-shot at The Blue Owl at 6:30 pm on May 16. The Best of Broadway features cast members new and old in an evening of favorite Broadway hits as part of OOB’s Songbook Series musical theater cabaret.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/OOTB-BlueOwl
Anima: Theater of the Feminine Underground, the ritual performance art collaborative that serves as a hybrid of theatrical expression and spiritual pursuit, returns to Center Stage Theatre for a pair of performances May 14-15 with an ever-expanding cast. See my Spirituality Matters column for details.
The area high school spring musicals bonanza comes to a close this weekend with the final performances of Curtains, the Kander & Ebbs Broadway backstage comedy caper, May 14-15 at 7 pm – Dos Pueblos High School’s Elings Performing Arts Center. Details and tickets at www.dphstheatrecompany.org/shows
Solstice’s Sizzling Workshop and Soirée
Although construction of floats, puppets, and other magical parade entries has already commenced at Santa Barbara Summer Solstice’s workshop, the official grand opening reception takes place this Saturday, May 16, at the CAW at 631 Garden St. Meet the staff, artists, and community members while peeking behind the curtain at the magic of how the annual parade comes together. Chat with prop and mask designers, professional costume makers, construction pros, and others about how you might join a group or make your own ensemble or float for the 52nd Summer Solstice Parade, slated for 12 noon on June 20.
Show even more support for our community’s celebration of (yes) the longest day of the year at Solstice’s Second Annual Spring Soirée, a fundraiser at 4 pm on May 23 at the above-mentioned workshop. The benefit art auction and cocktail party will again feature live music and dance performances, tasty savory and sweet bites from local restaurants & beverages from local wineries and breweries.
Visit www.solsticeparade.com for all things Solstice.
Emerald Green Snail, Papustyla pulcherrima, shells
The Solstice workshop has its official grand opening this Saturday, May 16, at the CAW (photo by Fritz Olenberger)
Spirituality Matters
‘Anima’ Attraction
by Steven Libowitz
Anima: Theater of the Feminine Underground is a ritual performance art collaborative where women spend weeks or months workshopping material prior to each semi-annual performance. In the performances themselves, the artists bare their souls and share some of their secrets, dreams, yearnings, hard-won truths, and more in the course of a wide-ranging evening. The experience holds the intention to inspire individual and collective transformation through creative expression, and to amplify the voice of the feminine spirit in all beings.
Founded by Lisa Citore a decade ago, the collaborative’s name is a Latin term for soul, breath, or vital force; a concept that in Jungian psychology represents the inner, unconscious feminine side, and the very embodiment of emotion, creativity, and intuition. Each new Anima production features both returning artists and first-timers who create pieces that are shared as individual rituals span media from theater, dance, and song to poetry, comedy, and visual arts. Anima performances are now under the direction of Teagan Rose, a frequent performer in the past, who last year explained that “There’s a layer of vulnerability and bravery that really has to take place for the artist to bring these pieces on stage. The process we’re all choosing to embark on is about transformation… You’re getting access to the souls of the artists, something that’s beautifully complex. (And) It’s an opportunity to view what you’re seeing as a reflection on yourself.”
The spring pair of Anima: Theater of the Feminine Underground performances at Center Stage Theatre take place May 14-15, and are open to all adults. The performances boast 11 new pieces with almost two dozen performers in all. Visit https://centerstagetheater.org or www. animaritualtheater.com
A Gathering of Men
Ishmiel Lounsbury and John Halcyon Styn host and lead the 2026 Gathering of Heart-Centered Men, a day of community connection for men to come together in honest, open exploration of emotions and more. Participants will examine the phenomenon of men – those who may lack the tools for healthy boundaries – turn to anger as the only language available. The cohort will discuss anger’s deeper roots, honor its protective instincts, and channel it in ways that build connection and strengthen relationships rather than harm self or other.
The group will also explore the longing to belong, to community, to purpose, and
to something greater than ourselves, and will address as well what happens when men make mistakes or feel judged, often pulling back from connection and turning that judgment outwards in an attempt to feel safe again. The gathering takes place over five hours on Saturday, May 16. Visit www.heartcenteredmen.org/productpage/men-in-community for more information and to register
Spiritual Stuff in Summerland
It’s no surprise that the seaside village just south of Montecito has an outsize interest in spiritual pursuit, given that it was founded in the 1880s as an actual Spiritualist community. Today, that tradition is carried on at places such as the Sacred Space; a destination at once both expansive and intimate. The Sacred Space is teeming with crystals, oils, tea, chimes, books, jewelry, statuary – the mesmerizing ephemera that speak to the pursuit of those penetrating truths that are not self-evident. Sacred Space is as well a welcoming and beloved space for events. This month’s activities include a special Mala Making Workshop on May 23, limited to 14, where participants will design and make a wood and bead mala –traditionally used in Hinduism, Buddhism and yoga for meditation for counting mantras or affirmations which they will take home from the experience which concludes with a meditation to bless and set an intention for your mala. May 22 brings the monthly donation-based Guided Healing Meditation with reiki healer Jody Neal. The event, offered on a sliding scale starting at $1, includes hot tea in the outdoor covered workshop space. Madeleine Pizey’s breathwork and sound bath takes place on May 16, while Brandon Kaysen offers two of his own immersive, one hour sound baths on May 17 and 31. All limited to 10 people.
Visit www.thesacredspace.com/events
Going Deep at Godmothers
Just four blocks north on Summerland’s Lillie Ave. is the community-forward bookstore/gathering space known as Godmothers, whose book talks and conversations often dive into spiritual healing and/or other forms of personal growth. Such gatherings this month include psychic, medium, and spiritual teacher Sean Collyns who will discuss his book Your Soul Is the Source of Your Power (May 15), which aims to demystify mediumship for the modern era. The book suggests that communicating with the spirit world isn’t a rare gift reserved for a select few but a power
that lies within every one of us offering the potential to transform your life, guiding you to live with purpose and clarity.
Author Oneika Mays, who spent more than a decade volunteering and working at Rikers Correctional Facility as their first-ever mindfulness coach, comes to Godmothers on May 20 to discuss her book Sit with Me: A No-BS Journey to Mindfulness and Meditation, described as a love letter to presence and a field guide for finding your way back to it. She’ll be joined by Jennifer Pastiloff, the bestselling author of Proof of Life, On Being Human, and more, for an evening offered to help people heal, improve communication skills, process forgiveness, and discover self-worth while teaching Loving-Kindness meditation.
In a Godmothers Grow event on May 24, experienced community circles and listening council guide Rendy Freedman offers a circle of compassion where participants will practice deep listening and authentic storytelling, honoring the richness of each other’s lives, and discovering the strength that rises when our stories meet. The workshop is intended to leave everyone with a renewed sense of connection, practical tools for bringing deep listening into your own communities, and the reminder that stories matter – yours, and everyone else’s.
Visit https://godmothers.com/events
Meditating with Mindful Heart
Longtime Santa Barbara meditation teacher and author Radhule Weininger’s Mindful Heart Programs offer multiple ongoing events every week, including a free session with music every Monday night at Yoga Soup that also streams online. Now she’s teaming up with similarly-experienced insight-trained meditation teacher, coach and attachment-informed practitioner Jessica Morey to offer a oneday online-only retreat on Compassionate Awareness. The facilitators will offer guided meditation, teaching, and reflection to explore how compassionate awareness opens the door to inner freedom on Saturday, May 16, over Zoom. Participants will be guided in self-compassion and awareness meditations, obtain tools for working with difficult emotions, move toward a felt sense of inner safety, support, spaciousness, and ease, and receive resources for continuing practice after the retreat. Weininger will be joined by MHP faculty including Michael Kearney, Andrew Smyth, Miranda Field, Karen O’Hara, and special guests for a workshop called “A Day on the Land at the Sedgwick Reserve” as part of the Deep Resilience program on May 30. Subtitled “Remembering Who We Really Are,” the event is an opportunity to connect with nature and your deep inner resilience to remember the human’s true essence as a luminous being. All this takes place at a
stunning natural reserve only accessible to the public on a limited basis. The day features an introductory lecture, guided meditations, guidance on sit-spot practices, outdoor time on the reserve for a nature-connection vision quest, and group-circle discussion.
MHP has also set a June 20 retreat with special guest Donald Rothberg, PhD, focusing on Loving-Kindness and developing a field of care and compassion. Rothberg, who has a half-century of teaching and practicing Buddhist meditation, and Weininger will lead participants in exploring two powerful resources to help us live with care, kindness and compassion – for ourselves and for others – during this day-long retreat in town. The goal is to develop loving kindness (metta), both as a meditation practice and as integrated in daily life, learning especially to manifest a center of radiating warmth and kindness and work with practices to develop a field of care and compassion for ourselves and our world. In each case, the focus will be on what works best for each person attending.
Unity of Santa Barbara Spiritual Community Center is launching a new Multi Dimensional Spiritual Healing Series with Dr. Lee Moberly offered on a bi-weekly basis starting May 24. The series of Sunday gatherings and workshops make up an ever-evolving journey into higher consciousness and deep inner transformation. Through experiential workshops, guided practices and gentle community sharing, participants will raise conscious awareness to release old patterns; heal body, mind and spirit wounds; and embody practical spiritual principles that uplift everyday life. Among the topics to be explored are past lives, soul continuity, shadow work, near-death experiences, and more.
Visit https://unitysb.org
Join Jamie Knee, Petite Wine Traveler, for intimate wine dinners, in home wine tastings, and unforgettable wine journeys inspired by her travels through the worlds most exquisite vineyards. Uncork your curiosity- book your next personalized wine experience today.
co-founded Safe Waters, a nonprofit organization assisting Coast Guard members who have experienced sexual assault within the service. Coming to this work through personal experience, Bell has dedicated himself to advocacy, emotional support, and helping survivors heal. The organization has already helped 72 military members.
In one especially moving moment, Bell turned directly to thank his two young sons seated in front of him and softly said, “Thank you for supporting and trusting me. I will always take care of you.”
At the closing sound bath, Christopherson spoke gently to the family as well, encouraging them to always “acknowledge the beauty of your emotions.”
As the ceremony concluded beside the shimmering Pacific, embraces lingered long after the applause ended.
Some ceremonies salute rank. This one honored the beauty in men’s hearts. Well done, mate.
by Lisa Duncan
Sightings
Katy Perry fresh off the announcement, our pop princess will headline the United States opening ceremony of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium on June 12. One imagines there will be fireworks, frocks, and enough glitter to send West Hollywood into orbit.
Sabrina Carpenter brought a touch of old-Hollywood seduction to our very own Coast Village Road on Mother’s Day, slipping into a chic steakhouse in a slinky satin spaghetti-strap number with skyscraper stilettos, and enough flirtatious curls framing her face to make half the dining room forget their filet mignon.
One suspects hearts melted faster than the butter on the brown bread rolls basket.
Jacob Elordi appears to be recovering in Riviera style. The towering Hollywood heartthrob was spotted departing Caruso’s on crutches this week, following reports of a foot injury that forced his withdrawal from Cannes Film Festival festivities. Waiting inside the car?
A mysterious brunette whose silhouette and flowing locks looked awfully familiar to fans of Kendall Jenner. Riviera romance rumors? Trés discreet.
Justin Bieber spent Mother’s Day entirely devoted to wife Hailey Bieber and their young son, Jack Blues, beginning with a family breakfast before serenading Hailey later in the evening with a surprise live mariachi band at sunset. The couple then slipped away to Nobu Malibu, proving once again that even global pop royalty occasionally prefers romance with a side of miso cod.
From Richard and Friends to all of you…Pip! Pip!
He concluded by wishing his fellow graduates divine protection, warmth and guidance as they navigate their future crossroads, highlighting the enduring love of the Lord as their guiding light. Sage Kramer and David Oyebade won the Dean’s Award for being outstanding scholar-athletes. Sophia Morton and Andreas Olvera won the Kenneth Monroe Award for their superior academic achievement, leadership and character.
Provost Kim Denu awarded the Bruce and Adaline Bare Outstanding Teacher Awards to Anna Jordan (English), Steve Julio (biology) and Coby Harmon (economics and business). Kristi Cantrell (chemistry) won the Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship. The First Seniors, who earned 4.0 GPAs throughout their Westmont careers, were Thomas Reed, Kateryna Kravchuk and Taylor Gray. In his final charge, Westmont President Gayle D. Beebe encouraged graduates to find stability and nourishment through a life lived in constant contact with God. Drawing from Ephesians 3:17, he emphasized the importance of being “rooted and grounded in love” to navigate future challenges. “Ultimately, Paul’s words offer a moral vision in which our life in Christ is no longer at the margins, but forms the core of who we are, making possible the kind of human flourishing God intended,” Beebe said. “May God be above you to bless you, below you to support you, before you to guide you and inside you to give you peace, strength, hope, and joy.”
Alum Helps Turn the Page on War
Westmont alumna Victoria Harbison (‘78) spent four decades in the classroom teaching local students, but her retirement has been defined by a mission to provide education to children half a world away. Harbison, the founder of the nonprofit Turn the Page Uganda, will host award-winning author Brian K. Barber for two local speaking engagements on May 17 and May 19. The events serve as a fundraiser for her organization, which has delivered critical textbooks to
more than 300 schools in war-torn Northern Uganda.
Barber will discuss his latest book, “No Way but Forward,” which chronicles the lives of three Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip over the last 30 years. While the book focuses on the Middle East, Harbison says the message of perseverance through conflict is universal.
“War is a terrible ordeal, and it’s easy for us to ignore because we live in such a peaceful environment,” Harbison said. “However, I’ve always felt that those with abundance should help lift up those who are suffering.”
Harbison’s commitment to Uganda was sparked by her master teacher, the legendary Westmont baseball coach Russ Carr, who first shared with her the devastation caused by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Since founding her nonprofit in 2010, Harbison has focused on the belief that education is the most effective tool for children to overcome the trauma of military constraint and loss.
The first event will take place Sunday, May 17, from 5 to 6:30 pm at Elings Park’s Godric Grove. A second signing and discussion will be held Tuesday, May 19, at 5:30 pm at Tecolote Book Shop in Montecito. Books will be available for purchase at both locations, and proceeds support the mission of providing textbooks to Northern Ugandan students. Those interested in attending the Sunday event are asked to RSVP to turnthepageuganda@ gmail.com. For more information, visit turnthepageuganda.org.
Student award winners Sophia Morton, Sage Kramer, David Oyebade and Andreas Olvera
Victoria Harbison with Santa Barbara volleyball legends Jon Lee and David Goss
Coast Guard ceremony for Julian and his family (photo by Priscilla)
Saluting the honoree (photo by Priscilla)
Coast Guard Julian Bell receiving his award (photo by Priscilla)
THE
INSIDER’S GUIDE TO WHAT’S GOOD
ments for Custom Design jewelry with Daniel. Please call or email or secure your appointment time.
• 27 Miles Montecito | 15% discount for the month of May if you order online at www.27milesmalibu.com and pick up in the store at 1137 Coast Village Road.
DINE
• Clark’s Montecito | Happy Hour: Every day from 3 to 5 pm | 1/2 off martinis, 1/2 off burgers, $5 Trumer Pilsner, $10 featured wine, $5 oyster shooters, $2 off oysters
- Wine Wednesdays: 1/2 off bottles of wine all day
- Oyster Shucking class: Friday, May 15 | Join us for an event that will feature a wine pairing with our Wine Director Matt Ahern and an educational session on oyster history and background led by Chef Jacob
• Lilac | Happy Hour: Tuesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Featuring $10 wines by the glass, including Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, and a GSM blend
- Introducing Afternoon Tea: Tuesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Featuring a selection of teas with petite pastries and tea sandwiches | $65 for two guests
• Lion’s Tale | Happy Hour: Monday through Friday from 4 to 5:30 pm All Night Happy Hour | Monday from 4 pm to 12 am Live Jazz | Every Wednesday from 6:30 to 9 pm Live Music | Every 3rd Thursday from 6 to 8 pm
• LOCAL | Happy Hour: Monday through Wednesday from 4 to 6 pm | Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 6 pm
• Monte’s | Happy Hour in the bar and lounge area: Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 5 pm | Offering a selection of snacks, $10 house martini, discounted select glasses of wine, and $5 Pacifico!
- Farmers Market: On the deck! Friday from 10 am to 1 pm
BEAUTY • Drybar Montecito | $10 off your first blowout (must be a new customer to us)
An Independent Mind
Billionaires, Socialism, and Envy
by Jeffrey Harding
On April 15 in a smugly gleeful video staged in front of investment CEO Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani proposed an annual tax on pied-à-terre (second) homes, especially those owned by billionaires like Griffin. Mamdani thinks billionaires are what’s wrong with America and he’s going after them.
Alexandra Ocasio Cortes (AOC) said in a recent interview that there’s no way anyone can “earn” a billion dollars without underpaying employees, abusing labor laws, breaking rules, and having monopoly power.
In California a service workers’ union, the SEIU, is sponsoring an asset seizure law to confiscate 5% of the wealth of billionaires with $5 billion or more. (“They won’t even miss it.”)
Billionaires are blamed for society’s ills because, they say, too much wealth is concentrated in their hands. The socialists believe wealth disparity is bad, considering the need to fund government social programs to help poor people. Animosity to billionaires has spread throughout America. Recent polls show that most Americans see wealth concentration as a problem and that government ought to do something about it. Some polls show that 69% of Republicans see wealth concentration as a problem and 93% of upper income Democrats agree. Ditto 60% of MAGA voters.
The reasons for these attitudes are complex. The underlying economic justification is that billionaires got there by nefarious means and their massive share of wealth shrinks the economic pie for the rest of us. They say it also gives them an unfair political advantage. The real underlying reason is envy.
The usual mantra is, “They need to pay their fair share of taxes.” Here’s the reality: the top 10% of taxpayers pay 72% of income taxes. The bottom half pay 3%. The top 1% pay 40% of taxes. And if you break it down to the top 0.1%, or 154,000 people, pay about 25% of taxes. These are the billionaires and centimillionaires whom the Bernies and Mamdanis wish to destroy. A system that relies on the very few to pay for the many is a fragile system.
I would ask those who wish to eliminate billionaires some questions. Do you use Google’s search app? Do you use Facebook or Instagram? Do you
use AI programs like ChatGPT or Claude? Do you drive a Tesla or take robotaxis? Do you drive a gasoline fueled car or fly on a jet? Do you have an iPhone or Apple laptop or iWatch or a Dell PC? Do you use MS Office or Google Docs or Sheets? Do you communicate by email or text? Do you buy things from Amazon or Walmart? Do you have an IRA or 401K investment account? Do you use medications that didn’t exist five or 10 years ago?
If you do, you are responsible for making the billionaires you despise. You did so voluntarily with your own money. You weren’t forced to spend on these products and services. And you had many product choices from different companies. So I will ask you, how have you been harmed by the billionaires you made? Let me suggest an answer: far from being harmed, you have greatly benefited by them.
It’s not like they stole your money. There is no fixed pie of wealth. Wealth grows and is created every day by the efforts of entrepreneurs who give us a cornucopia of products and services. The truth is that everyone (each income quintile since 2000) has become wealthier because of the billionaire entrepreneurs who have moved us forward. This is capitalism. Otherwise the economy would stagnate and shrink from inflation.
Despite the benefits that these billionaires have given us, then why do liberals-Progressives-socialists despise them?
It’s because of envy, one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy is one’s discontent or resentment from wanting something someone else has that you don’t have. Psychologists say it engenders a feeling of despair from the belief that life is unfair, that you’ve been short-changed, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Envy generates anger toward those who have what you want but are unable to achieve. Such as those billionaires who disgustingly flaunt their excessive lifestyles in front of a world racked with poverty and sickness. Socialists use that resentment as a political tool to seize and destroy the wealth that was created by successful entrepreneurs.
Greed is not what motivates entrepreneurs. They are motivated by the hope of success from their efforts. Success is hard to achieve and most fail. The wealth achieved by the successful is one of the results of their efforts. But without a capitalist economic system to incentivize risk-taking entrepreneurs we would be just another poor socialist country.
Fred Ward
A boxer’s nose and a walk made for trouble In his movies he’d outlast his body doubles As he did one day with me in the gym Doing squats with no rest, just no catching him
You showed me Chavela Vargas and the early Gypsy Kings Carlos Monzon was your man in the Ring. Meanness and strength can surely be virtues In a world full of people always trying to hurt you.
Cormac’s ‘Blood Meridian’ was another treasure That you surprised me with; a gift without measure It’s a book worth reading and reading again I paid you back with Hemingway’s “Fifty Grand.”
Papa would have liked you, he wrote about fighters, Short order cooks and those who were brighter Than their circumstances might have first showed Your path to Hollywood was an unpaved road.
You shone in Southern Comfort, a ‘Nam allegory Set in a swamp, great characters and story.
‘The Player’ was another good one too, When the studio had trouble, they came running to you.
Thanks for treating me so well, with your high-powered job Keeping in touch when you were back in Santa Barb Speaking music, movies, Chet Baker, the North Sea Elmore Leonard, Heraclitus and Peggy Lee.
People move around, fall out of touch
You remember their grace and can miss them so much Then they pass and it’s just a story on your phone The loss, the sorrow and the great unknown.
You once gave me a book called City Primeval Crackling dialogue and unspeakable evil On the inside an inscription – ‘Work hard; Stay strong.’ You knew a great movie only lasts so long.
by Henry J. Ohrtman
This is the harm of billionaire asset seizures. They must sell assets to pay the “tax.” Politicians take that money (capital) and distribute it to those constituents they deem to need it. Governments don’t create wealth and they are notorious for wasting money. Once spent it is gone. It can no longer be used to create new opportunities for entrepreneurs and more wealth for us. Bernie wants all billionaire assets seized. When gone, then what? It’s a golden goose thing.
Wealth seizures (taxes) have failed wherever they have been tried. They have led to stagnation and poverty and eventually were repealed. See socialist paradises like Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Bolivia, or North Korea as exemplars. We must fight against wealth seizures which lead to the destruction of an economic system that has made America the most successful country in mankind’s history.
Jeffrey Harding is a real estate investor and long-time resident of Montecito. He previously published a popular financial blog, The Daily Capitalist. He is a retired SBCC adjunct professor.
Robert’s Big Questions
Too Big to Solve?
by Robert Bernstein
After the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster in March 1979, a strong movement formed against nuclear power. Nuclear power had been pitched after the 1953 Atoms for Peace speech as “energy too cheap to meter.” Suddenly, the price was too high to meter.
I then attended a rally where a speaker noted that no one was doing comparable organizing against nuclear weapons. The speaker explained the likely reason: The problem seemed too big to solve.
It was relatively easy to organize to block construction of new nuclear power plants. But the entire system of nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence seemed vastly more complex and unsolvable.
Even though it was a far bigger threat, nuclear weapons got much less activist attention. At about the same time, MIT graduate student Randall Forsberg was working on an idea that just might transform the nuclear weapons threat into one that might gain traction with activists.
She drafted a four page “Call to Halt the Nuclear Arms Race” that was published in April 1980 in its final form. It became the basis of the Nuclear Freeze movement.
That same decade, British Labour Party politician Denis Healey popularized a 1911 expression called “The Law of Holes”: “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” He was promoting the idea of the Nuclear Freeze: Even if we don’t know how to achieve nuclear disarmament, let’s stop making things worse. Let’s stop making new nuclear weapons.
In the U.S., a Nuclear Freeze bill was introduced by Democrat Ted Kennedy and Republican Mark Hatfield. They published a book: Freeze! How You Can Help Prevent Nuclear War
The effort had widespread support across the political spectrum. The Freeze resolution passed the House 278 to 149. Local governments had also passed similar Freeze resolutions.
Reagan, of course, strongly opposed any such talk of a nuclear freeze. Until he totally reversed his position. He had said that a Freeze gave the Soviets an advantage. But then he said that a Freeze did not go far enough! He initiated the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty to actually reduce nuclear weapons for the first time. He could see which way the political winds were blowing and he wanted to be on the favorable side.
The genius of the Freeze movement was to take a problem that was too big to solve and find a piece that could be solved. Could something similar happen for the Climate Crisis?
There are similarities and differences. A nuclear explosion is a sudden disaster that can be visualized. In fact, we have film of the effects of the U.S. nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We have no way to visualize the effects of the Climate Crisis in the same way. It is a slow building problem that has limited effects. Until it becomes a global disaster on a scale that is beyond imagination. And then it is too late.
But there is another difference that favors solving the Climate Crisis: In the case of ending the nuclear arms race, a tenuous peace between the superpowers depended on the balance of nuclear threats. It was not clear how to reduce that threat without risking ending that peace.
But solving the Climate Crisis is a win-win with no actual downside. It costs a lot of money up front to invest in sustainable transportation and sustainable energy. But those are positive outcomes that we need anyway.
Could we apply the Law of Holes to the Climate Crisis? A Fossil Fuel Freeze? The answer is yes, and there is in fact a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. The idea is simple: Freeze Fossil Fuel Expansion. Fund the Transition.
The First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels just took place in April to promote this effort. The setting was Marta, Colombia, which is a major coal port. A visible symbol of the challenge and the success of the effort.
A “Coalition of the Willing” from 57 nations formed from the conference to develop concrete, national roadmaps for transitioning away from oil, gas, and coal. And toward a sustainable future. Much work remains to be done. But a Fossil Fuel Freeze is a good start.
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
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
Bids open at 2:00 PM on Thursday, May 28, 2026 for: FISCAL YEAR 2025/2026 PAVEMENT PRESERVATION AND PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE IN THE 1ST, 2ND, 3RD, AND 4TH SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICTS
COUNTY PROJECT No. 820810
General project work description: Pavement Preventive Maintenance
The Plans, Specifications, and Bid Book are available at https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874
The Contractor must have either a Class A license or any combination of the following Class C licenses which constitutes a majority of the work: C-12, C-31, AND C-32
Submit sealed bids to the web address below. Bids will be opened and available at the web address below immediately following the submittal deadline.
This project is subject to compliance monitoring and enforcement by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR).
A contractor or subcontractor shall not be qualified to bid on, be listed in a bid proposal, subject to the requirements of PCC Section 4104, or engage in the performance of any contract for public work, as defined in this chapter, unless currently registe red and qualified to perform public work pursuant to Labor Code (LAB) Section 1725.5. It is not a violation of this section for an unregistered contractor to submit a bid that is authorized by Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 7029.1 or by PCC Section 10164 or 20103.5 provided the contractor is registered to perform public work pursuant to LAB Section 1725.5 at the time the contract is awarded.
Prevailing wages are required on this Contract. The Director of the California Department of Industrial Relations determines the general prevailing wage rates. Obtain the wage rates at the DIR website https://www.dir.ca.gov/
Inquiries or questions based on alleged patent ambiguity of the plans, specifications, or estimate must be submitted as a bidder inquiry by 2:00 PM on 05/22/2026. Submittals after this date will not be addressed. Questions pertaining to this Project prior to Award of the Contract must be submitted via PlanetBids Q&A tab.
Bidders (Plan Holders of Record) will be notified by electronic mail if addendums are issued. The addendums, if issued, will only be available on the County’s PlanetBids website, https://www.planetbids.com/portal/portal.cfm?CompanyID=43874
By order of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Barbara this project was authorized to be advertised on 05/20/2025
Christopher Sneddon, PE Director of Public Works
Montecito Journal, Published May 14, 2026
Shugarts and company.
“What I love about our organization,” Eryn says, “is we’re getting food out to nonprofits. We deliver to 73 nonprofits in total, and probably half to a third of those we’re doing every single week. We donate food all the way up to Santa Maria.” Veggie Rescue is not a monolith but a fleet-footed food magnet. The amiably-named outfit will clamorously swarm, collect, and push out nourishment whenever and wherever it comes available. Be careful what you murmur around Eryn Shugart.
“Laura Wyatt had earlier in the week said ‘I’ve got a lot of fruit trees. Come and bring your group and volunteers and pick.’ And then one evening at a friend’s house, the hostess asked her friends too, and so we’re all going to go and do that, and then we’re going to get that food out to organizations that can take it.”
As you might expect, Veggie Rescue’s origin story has the simplicity of an Aesop’s Fable. It was in 2006 that longtime Santa Ynez Valley denizen Terry Delaney noticed that local farmers sometimes had a small quantity of surplus crop left in their fields after processing – and he wondered if some use could be made of it. Delaney got on the phone, wrangled a pickup truck, and started collecting and driving the surplus to Meals on Wheels. From such tiny, seedlike motivations are mountains moved (as Someone once remarked).
Word spread and farmers jumped aboard – among them early adopters Shu and Debbie Takikawa Local orgs Los Olivos Rotary and the Orfalea Foundation chipped in to fund a refrigerated truck. By 2010 Veggie Rescue was formally christened. Mitigating food waste is a gold-plated side effect of Veggie Rescue’s prime directive; getting food to people who need it. Metric tons of edible chow don’t get hauled to the city dump at the producer’s expense, mountains of food aren’t left to disintegrate into milieu-fouling methane, and hungry people get nourishment. This symbiotic trifecta is almost too good to be true, a frictionless flywheel of beneficence. Of course, a speed bump in the “good deed”
business is as inevitable as a natural law.
“We’re always looking for more food to get out to people,” Eryn says. “At this point in time, we have more demand than we have supply.”
Waste Not, Etc.
Food waste figures in the U.S. have a certain character of geometric horror-accrual. Few would likely guess that FOOD is calculated to be the number one categorical input to U.S. landfills, comprising an estimated 24% of the slop being churned by bulldozers (and rhapsodized by gangs of yelling seagulls in these parts – your peaceable contemplation of Jonathan Livingston notwithstanding).
All those decomposing club sandwiches produce methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide on a 20-year time frame. Methane’s comparatively short residence time in the atmosphere – about 12 years on average versus CO2’s generational loitering up there – makes methane the bogeyperson we can actually address. Veggie Rescue is doing their part.
“A secondary goal of ours is to reduce food waste,” Eryn says. “The amount of food we rescued last year helped conserve 300,000 gallons of water.” How’s that?
About 70% of the world’s fresh (non-saline) water is used to grow,
transport, and process the food we eat, and in counterintuitively striking quantities. Producing a kilogram of rice (2.2 lbs) takes about 660 gallons of water. Believe it. (Proteins are another story and one you’ll be glad we skipped.)
When food is trashed rather than eaten, the amount of de facto water waste can, ironically, make you weep. 2023/2024 data show that about 74 million tons of food went unsold or uneaten and trashed. That waste was about 30-40% of the total U.S. food supply.
In the VR model, water, fuel, and fertilizer used to produce food are not wasted, optimizing the food production system. To get all this done means a minimum of dallying.
“We’re on the road 363 days a year,” Eryn assures. “On a Thursday like today our driver goes to Rincon Hill Farm, Hollandia in Carp, which produces hydroponic lettuce. From there, they usually go to the Rescue Mission, they go to the Organic Soup Kitchen...”
For Whom the Belle Tolls
On May 21, Veggie Rescue is throwing itself a well-earned Sweet 16 Party at the
Bernat Vineyard and Café Farm. “Live Music, Local Bites, Exquisite Wines, Live & Dessert Auctions” are promised. At this writing, the event is sold out but does have a waitlist. This is a nonprofit with teeth, and allies in the wings.
“I was at an Open House by a nonprofit called Apples to Zucchini Cooking School,” Eryn says. “They help teach kids how to cook healthy food. Belle Hahn was in this same class and asked me ‘what do you do?’” Eryn explained and Belle almost literally jumped with enthusiasm. They met under more intentional circumstances sometime later.
“I gave a proposal for her to make a donation, and we’re going to get food every single week to La Casa de La Raza,” Eryn says. “And Belle just … warmed my heart so much. Then she made another donation in January. We’re going to do this for the rest of the year for this entire year through the end of 2026. She is just such a kind soul.”
And then there’s the unlikely Shepherd Farm. “A farmer named Tom Shepherd knew about Veggie Rescue – he’s at the farmers market Tuesdays and Saturdays – and said, ‘..we’re interested in funding a farm such that everything grown on that farm would go to hungry people.” Eryn now looks at me with wide can you believe this?! eyes.
“Tom Shepherd found a location between Buellton and Lompoc that’s 20 acres, and he’s already beginning to farm on it. We are going to be providing some volunteers. I’m a member of Rotary and there are four rotary clubs in SYV, one in Lompoc. I mean, it’s so exciting that we have this in the works!”
The world may occasionally slip off the rails, but nonprofits like Veggie Rescue – and the human empaths who throw their lot in with these orgs – they are our common backstop.
“A man who lives up in Toro Canyon called us a couple of weeks ago,” Eryn exults. Yes, it’s about fruit. “He’s like, ‘I just bought this property, and I have about 3,000 oranges on trees. Can you guys come and take them?’
And I said, ‘Yes!’”
Laura Wyatt foregrounds a harvest with Eryn (crouched next to truck), VR Adv Mgr Rhyn Hammargren, Board Member Minerva Ringland, beloved volunteers, and 500 pounds of produce (courtesy photo)
Board Member Chris Bashforth and Eryn pose with plucked treasure (courtesy photo)
Coastline Christian Academy middle school students at Belle Hahn’s property harvesting as part of service week – and garden variety service itself (courtesy photo)
Lady slings the dues. Olga Leatherbury as food delivering Sisyphus… (courtesy photo)
News Bytes
Chabad Montecito
by MJ Staff
Rabbi Chaim and Mushkie Loschak invite community to ongoing monthly events, from Men’s Night, Women’s baking and crafts, Bagels and Lox, to Torah and bimonthly Shabbos experiences. May 13: Corned beef and Cocktails 411: www.jewishmontecito.org
Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara at MUS
The Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara will host its 49th Annual Bonsai Show & Sale on May 16-17 at Montecito Union School, inviting the community to explore the artistry and tranquility of bonsai culture. The free event features an impressive display of sculpted trees from distinguished club members, ranging from beginner-friendly creations to remarkable collector specimens.
Guests can enjoy live demonstrations each afternoon by renowned bonsai artists Jonas Dupuich and Mel Ikeda, while browsing vendors offering trees, pottery, tools, and rare bonsai materials. For newcomers interested in trying the craft themselves, the club will offer a special $50 beginner package, including a starter tree, hands-on workshop guidance, and a discounted club membership. Designed for seasoned enthusiasts and curious first-timers alike, the annual event celebrates bonsai as both an accessible hobby and a centuries-old living art form rooted in patience, creativity, and care. 411: bonsaiclubsantabarbara@gmail.com
Carp Advanced Purification Project
In what will be viewed as a first in local water purification projects, Carpinteria has taken the lead. The project breaks ground May 18 at Olive and 6th streets, Carpinteria. Basically, purified water produced at the new Advanced Water Purification Facility (to be built) will be transported through a new pipeline to injection wells, where it will be injected into local groundwater basins. From there, it becomes a drought-proof reserve that strengthens Carpinteria’s long-term water reliability. The project is a partnership between Carpinteria Valley Water District (CVWD) and the Carpinteria Sanitary District (CSD) that will produce purified water to meet more than 25% of the community’s annual water needs. 411: www.cvwd.net/capp
Mental Wellness Center to Honor the Hahns
The Mental Wellness Center of SBC is hosting a weekend of fundraising and awareness events, May 30-31. The highlight is One Shining Night Gala, Saturday, May 30, at the Alma Rosa Estate, Santa Rita Hills. Honorees are Montecito’s Belle Hahn and Lillie Hahn Shining; and three generations of the Kelly Family. The Sunday hike starts at 9 am and ends with a wine tasting reception. 411: www.almarosawinery.com/events-list/one-shining-day
UCSB’s 2026 MFA Students Exhibit
The Art, Design & Architecture Museum and the Department of Art at UC Santa Barbara announce the 2026 Master of Fine Arts exhibition Fault Lines, featuring the work of graduating artists Tiffany Aiello, Alexis Childress, Hope Christofferson, Emily D’achiardi, Negar Farajiani, Vivek Karthikeyan, and KeyShawn Scott
The exhibit will open on May 23, 5:30-7:30 pm, UCSB AD&A Museum. 411: www.museum.ucsb.edu/visit
Cyclemaynia – May is National Bike Month
It’s time for the annual Cyclemaynia bike riding event during the month of May. Event partners are cities of Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Buellton, Solvang, Guadalupe, and Santa Maria, County of Santa Barbara, MOVE Santa Barbara County and BCycle. There are multiple events to participate in with prizes. 411: https://cyclemaynia.org/events
World Ocean’s Day
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Sea Center on Stearns Wharf invites the community to celebrate World Ocean’s Day with free admission and a full day of ocean-themed activities on June 6, 10 am to 4 pm. Community partners include The Nature Conservancy California, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, UCSB Marine Science Institute and Long-Term Ecological Research, Santa Barbara Surfrider Foundation, The Cultured Abalone Farm, Celebration Cruises (Lil’ Toot!), Sunflower Star Lab, Channel Islands Cetacean Research Unit, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, CSU Long Beach Shark Lab, and the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara. Each partner will offer unique insights into ocean research, conservation, and maritime culture.
Royal Pride Foundation’s Royal Ball
The Royal Pride Foundation brought together more than 240 community members for its annual Royal Ball on April 25, raising approximately $250,000 to support programs at San Marcos High School. Held at the historic Santa Barbara Club, the sold-out event celebrated student success while investing in academics, arts, athletics, and wellness initiatives across campus.
The evening featured a cocktail reception, dinner, and lively auction, with longtime supporter Andrew Firestone serving as emcee. Highlights included recognition of Community Leaders Stacey and Ryan Fell and Board Member Frann Wageneck for their contributions to student programs and campus initiatives.
Funds raised will help expand key efforts such as the Building Community Wellness Project and the upcoming Cottage Health Careers Academy, which connects student well-being with career pathways in healthcare.
Since its founding, the Royal Pride Foundation has invested more than $4 million into San Marcos High School, continuing to strengthen opportunities and outcomes for students across the campus.
Peabody Charter Tops Annual All School Track Meet
More than 400 student-athletes from schools across Santa Barbara and Montecito gathered at Westmont College on May 11 for the 13th Annual All Santa Barbara and Montecito Schools Track and Field Meet, a beloved tradition celebrating youth athletics and community spirit. Participating schools included Roosevelt, Montecito Union, Adams, Cleveland, Washington, Harding, Monroe, Franklin, McKinley, Cold Spring, and Peabody Charter.
Students in grades four through six competed in 11 events ranging from high jump to the 800-meter run, with Peabody Charter School earning the overall championship title, followed by Washington School and Monroe School.
The event, coordinated by Cold Spring Superintendent Dr. Amy Alzina in partnership with Westmont College track coach Russell Smelley, also highlighted the importance of introducing students to the college experience. Participants enjoyed lunch at Westmont’s Dining Commons following the meet.
A special School Spirit Award honored retiring Harding Elementary PE teacher Blake Garnand for his years of dedication and leadership.
Clay Beccue on Turner Foundation Board
The Turner Foundation has announced the appointment of Clay Beccue, CFA, CAIA, to its Board of Directors. A longtime Santa Barbara financial professional, Beccue is the founder of Presidio Financial Advisors and brings extensive experience in investment management, strategic planning, and community leadership.
Prior to launching his firm, Beccue held leadership positions with JP Morgan Chase, American Riviera Bank, Loomis Sayles, and State Street Corporation. Turner Foundation Board Chair Curtis Yates praised Beccue’s financial expertise and commitment to community service, noting his values closely align with the organization’s mission.
Founded in 1958, the Turner Foundation supports more than 300 Santa Barbara residents through affordable housing and resident support programs.
Come see the 49th Annual Bonsai Show & Sale on May 16-17 at Montecito Union School (courtesy photo)
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Calendar of Events
by Steven Libowitz
SATURDAY, MAY 16
Elevator Pitch – Singer-songwriter Johnny Irion has been back east living mostly in western Massachusetts’ Berkshires for several years, but he still maintains a close connection with Montecito and the Santa Barbara area, where he and then-wife Sarah Lee Guthrie were raising their two kids for a spell pre-pandemic. Santa Barbara is also home to one of his more enduring bands, U.S. Elevator, with which he recorded a couple of memorable albums over the years. The band’s recorded output dates to their self-titled debut album in 2015, which featured indelible songs whose formidable sources of inspiration included the Beatles, Neil Young, the Hollies, Gram Parsons, and many others. Irion’s rock sensibilities continue to link indelibly with his folk-mountain roots in almost every project, the band providing the harder edge missing from his solo work and blending indie rock, funk, soul, psychedelia, and more into the mix. Expect high energy and enthusiasm from both the stage and the audience at SOhO – a favorite haunt over time – as the show reunites the original lineup on this stage for the first time in years. Locals the Coral Sea, who are sporting a new EP, and Danny Vi$ta open. WHEN: 8 pm
WHERE: SOhO, 1221 State St., upstairs in Victoria Court COST: $15 in advance, $20 at the door INFO: (805) 962-7776 or www.sohosb.com
SATURDAY, MAY 16
Bridges to ‘Heaven’ – Tamsen Gallery is hosting the superstar actor Jeff Bridges’ exhibition of his photography – for his first full show in his adoptive hometown of 30 years. The Academy Award-winning onetime Montecito-based actor began taking photographs on his movie sets decades ago, including during the making of Heaven’s Gate. (That’s when his wife Susan had been granted complete photographic access to the set; a collection of those pictures comprised Tamsen’s previous exhibit.) Bridges has captured candid and creative images on virtually every film shoot since. The largescale photographs not only offer a unique look into the world of moviemaking from the perspective of a major participant, but are also almost exclusively shot with his beloved Widelux cameras, a mechanical swing-lens panoramic still camera with a 28mm lens that sweeps up to 180 degrees as part of a single exposure. The show was extended for a fifth month and now closes on May 30, but today is the rare opportunity to get up close and personal with Bridges during a pair of afternoon sessions. The events begin with a short screening introducing the WideluxX – the new version of the once-defunct camera that was revived by a group including Jeff and Susan Bridges – followed by a Q&A session moderated by his daughter, Jessie Bridges. Complimentary charcuterie, wine ,and beverages, and a 20% discount on exhibition merchandise round out the experience.
WHEN: 12 & 4 pm
WHERE: Tamsen Gallery, 1309 State St.
COST: $200
INFO: (805) 705-2208 or https://tamsengallery.com
SATURDAY, MAY 16-SUNDAY, MAY 17
Massive Mahler Season Send-off – The Santa Barbara Symphony brings its record-breaking 2025-26 season to a close with a large-scale performance of Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’” at the Granada Theatre. Under the baton of 20-year veteran Music & Artistic Director Nir Kabaretti, the Symphony’s offering of the monumental work features internationally acclaimed soloists soprano Johanna Will and mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes, and the return of the Santa Barbara Symphony Chorus in the finale of its second year. Often described by conductors and scholars alike as one of the most profound symphonic works ever written, Mahler’s “Resurrection” journeys from darkness to renewal, ultimately culminating in a breathtaking choral finale that explores the universal existential themes of life, death and transcendence. Performed without intermission, the approximately 80-minute symphony is a performance of grand scale and emotional impact, offering audiences a viscerally immersive experience. The performance also showcases the Santa Barbara Symphony Chorus, a dynamic ensemble of 100 voices drawn from across the community, alongside the full orchestra, and acclaimed guest soloists, forming an assembly of over 200 artists to create a sonic experience that is both intimate and magnificent. Patrons who purchase subscriptions for the upcoming 2026-27 season by May 16 will receive a pair of free tickets for “Resurrection.”
WHEN: 7:30 pm Saturday, 3 pm Sunday
WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street
COST: $45-$195
INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org
SUNDAY, MAY 17
Gripper & Khan – Indian classical music in a variety of musical settings has been finding a place at the table in town recently. Tonight brings a rare and remarkable collaboration between Alam Khan, son of the legendary Ali Akbar Khan, and Derek Gripper, one of South Africa’s most innovative guitarists. They’ve known each other scarcely more than a year, yet the pair have found a praiseworthy partnership as they focus on their respective immersion in deep classical traditions. Khan’s art bears the fruit of a long apprenticeship under his father, mastering the infinite art of raga improvisation within the Indian classical tradition. Gripper, originally trained in European classical and early string music, has spent years translating the complex language of the West African kora to the guitar by developing a unique language of cyclical improvisation. The process allows for using the polyrhythmic possibilities of classical guitar technique to re-imagine the beginnings of sound in string music – the proto harps and bows of the African continent. Together, Khan and Gripper
Philip Glass and The Poets – A few months before legendary American composer Philip Glass’ 90th birthday, UCSB Arts & Lectures celebrates extraordinary relationships and collaborations with poets in an evening’s performance co-commissioned by the arts organization. Glass has long drawn inspiration from poets’ words, lives and the depths of their creative practice, with poetry ranging from Rumi to Leonard Cohen playing a key role in the evolution of his music. American beat poet Allen Ginsberg –who posthumously celebrates his own centennial in 2026 – was one of Glass’ closest friends and collaborators. For this program, Glass composed original intimate chamber music for Ginsberg’s poems including “Wichita Vortex Sutra” and “Magic Psalm” to accompany previously unreleased recordings of Ginsberg reading the pieces. The evening features performances by longtime Glass interpreter, pianist and fellow composer Timo Andres – a 2024 guest artist at the Music Academy of the West’s summer festival, who memorably joined longtime pianist-colleague Conor Hanick in coaching the fellows and performing the complete collection of Glass’ 20 Piano Études – plus theater artist and MacArthur fellow Taylor Mac, Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony Award nominee for Best Play. Choreographer and artist Lucinda Childs, who won an Obie Award for her performance in the premiere of the landmark avant-garde opera Einstein on the Beach by Glass and Robert Wilson, will perform poetry excerpts from the piece, while members of the San Francisco Girls Chorus will also be featured. This tribute and celebration of collaboration across generations is not to be missed.
WHEN: 7 pm
WHERE: Campbell Hall, 574 Mesa Rd., UCSB campus
COST: $23-$43
INFO: (805) 893-3535 or https://artsandlectures.ucsb.edu
explore a re-imagining of great African songs and Indian melodies through the art of spontaneous improvisation.
WHEN: 6 pm
WHERE: Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High, 721 East Cota St.
COST: $39-$49
INFO: https://luketheatre.org/events
SUNDAY, MAY 17 & TUESDAY, MAY 19
SINGing ‘In the Menagerie’ – The Music Academy of the West’s Sing! program, its free after-school children’s choral ensemble available to Santa Barbara County students in grades 1-10, has grown to number nearly 300 participants from over 40 area schools. Over the course of two concerts
at different local venues, a representative group from the Miraflores and Rivera choirs, as well as the larger ensemble, takes listeners on a musical journey through the animal kingdom, the songs extolling species ranging from crickets and larks to frogs, crows and, yes, ponyfish. The young singers will weave together beloved poetry, folk traditions, and choral favorites in a wealth of languages including in French, Spanish, Italian, Malay and Japanese.
WHEN: 6:30 pm Sunday, 6 pm Tuesday
WHERE: Sunday at Hahn Hall, Music Academy of the West campus, 1070 Fairway Road;
Tuesday at Marjorie Luke Theatre at Santa Barbara Junior High, 721 East Cota St.
COST: $10; under 18 free
INFO: (805) 969-8787 or www.musicacademy.org
TUESDAY, MAY 19
Selleck Dishes with Danson – Octogenarian actor Tom Selleck ’s most famous role was the one that provided his breakout success – the eponymous private investigator in the hit 1980s TV series Magnum, P.I. Twenty years later, he scored big again as NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods . Along the way, Selleck played one of the bachelors in Three Men and a Baby and its sequel, appeared in a recurring role as Monica’s love interest Richard in Friends , and enjoyed some 50 other film and TV roles. In his 2024 memoir You Never Know , Selleck shares details about his journey from USC’s business school and basketball court to becoming one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, including a co-star turn with Mae West, his appearance on The Dating Game, and working alongside Farrah Fawcett in TV commercials. The actor and longtime NRA supporter clears up a lifetime of misconceptions and shares dozens of never-told stories from every corner of his personal and professional life. He reflects on what it meant to emerge as a mega-star in his mid-thirties—and on the deliberate choices he made to protect his family’s privacy and sense of normalcy amid the glare of celebrity. Now he’ll expand on those stories and share others in conversation with longtime friend and fellow Emmy Award-winner Ted Danson ; Selleck’s fellow actor in the Three Men series and best known for his iconic and beloved portrayal of Boston bartender Sam Malone on TV’s mega-hit sitcom Cheers. Danson has lived for years in Ojai and has appeared more recently as the devil’s disciple in The Good Place and as himself in Curb Your Enthusiasm . All tickets include a signed copy of You Never Know .
WHEN: 7:30 pm
WHERE: Granada Theatre, 1214 State Street
COST: $69-$89
INFO: (805) 899-2222 or www.granadasb.org
NOTE TO READERS
This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and entertainment events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next seven days or so. It is by no means comprehensive. Please also see my feature stories elsewhere in this issue for more events. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, please submit information – including hi-res photos –by 12 noon Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Email: slibowitz@yahoo.com.
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