Year in Montecito, 2023 by Montecito Journal

28 DEC ’23 – 4 JAN ’24 | VOL 29 ISS 52

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Editorial

Welcoming in 2024 by Gwyn Lurie

e at the Montecito Journal wish everyone in our local and world community a New Year filled with good health, movement toward world peace, and a willingness to see the shared humanity in us all. We thank you for your ongoing support, and we look forward to what promises to be an interesting and eventful 2024. Gwyn Lurie is CEO and Executive Editor of the Montecito Journal Media Group

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Jeanine J. Burford Senior Vice President Financial Advisor 805-695-7109 jeanine.burford@ morganstanley.com

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

– Wishes and thoughts Appraisals – 4 Editorial 24 Elizabeth’s Photographs give us a closer look for 2024 from MJ’s Gwyn Lurie at history

Beat – This is it – the final 5 Village In Memoriam – A look at some column of 2023 with the top 10 26 of the Montecitans we lost in stories – and also Kelly’s final column Entertainment – Andrew 8 On Lipke on NYE, laugh off 2023, and Marjorie Luke is turning 20

2023 with words and thoughts from community members

of Events – A 36 Calendar Christmas mystery, sock skating,

and some of the many ways to 10 Tide Guide celebrate the New Year Thoughts – These are the 11 Brilliant “ins and outs” of that very concept 38 Classiﬁeds – Our own Town – The art museum 12 Our has a new painting in honor of a special someone

Buzz – These are some of 14 Travel the sights not to be missed from Leslie’s trip to Mazatlán

Westmont – The second 16 Your class of nurses graduate, small art auction a big success, and more

Files – Just another story of 18 Food punks and pizza (I know, not again) Big Questions – How do 19 Robert’s you know what you know is true? Optimist Daily – New forest 22 The management strategies are having an eﬀect on preventing wildﬁres and this study proves it

Thyme – Love or hate 23 Foraging ‘em… Brussels sprouts are packed

with ﬂavor and healthy compounds

Montecito JOURNAL

“Craigslist” of classiﬁed ads, in which sellers oﬀer everything from summer rentals to estate sales

Meta Crossword Puzzles 39 Mini Local Business Directory Cover Illustration: Karen Folsom is a Santa Barbara-based illustrator and commissioned portrait artist. Her work includes several children’s books and promotional material as well as music, book, and magazine illustrations and covers. She wrote and illustrated The President’s Pet. Her concept and editorial work has been featured for clients in entertainment, hospitality, institutions, foundations, and private ventures. She is a member of The Society of Illustrators Los Angeles (SILA) and The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Village Beat

Montecito’s Top 10 Stories of 2023 by Kelly Mahan Herrick

he year 2023 was busy for the small enclave of Montecito, with many important and exciting events, milestones, and progressions. We’ve narrowed down the top 10 stories in the pages of Montecito Journal this year, from weather impacts to business happenings, retirements and promotions, proposed projects, and more.

#10: Welcoming a New Fire Chief In March we noted the retirement of Montecito Chief Kevin Taylor who gave more than eight years of service to the Montecito community, and 35 years to the fire service. The Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors appointed David Neels as Fire Chief on Monday, March 27. Neels began his firefighting career in 1989 in San Luis Obispo County while earning his bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. In 1998, he joined Santa Barbara County Fire Department as a firefighter paramedic. During his 21 years with Santa Barbara County Fire Department, he progressed through the ranks to Engineer, Captain, and Battalion Chief. In November 2019, the Montecito Fire Department hired Neels as a Battalion Chief. He was promoted to Division Chief of Operations in January 2021. Neels has worked with state Incident Management Teams for over 15 years, responding to major emergencies across the Western United States. In addition to

David Neels was appointed as Montecito Fire Chief in March

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

his role as Montecito Fire Chief, he currently serves as an Incident Commander for the Santa Barbara County Type 3 Incident Management Team. Chief Neels grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley and currently lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children. Chief Neels is currently working on updating the District’s evacuation studies and plans.

#9: Montecito Natural Foods Relocates

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A story we broke in April: Montecito Natural Foods, which was located in Montecito Country Mart for nearly 60 years, closed its doors in June, and reopened a small storefront in the Upper Village, next to Josephine’s Antiques in mid-July. The store, now dubbed Montecito Natural Health, has been owned by Gabe and Slim Gomez for 30 years, and has offered health food products, vitamins, beauty products, and more to the Montecito community for decades. We reported the store’s impending closure after being given notice that its lease was not up for renewal by Country Mart owner James Rosenfield, who declined our request for comment on the matter. The Gomez duo negotiated with Upper Village owner Norm Borgatello to move into the space once occupied by George Meta Jewelry. The pared-down space offers vitamins and supplements as well as beauty Village Beat Page 64 64

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Village Beat (Continued from 5) products, and still employs the same, longtime staff members. Food offerings have been eliminated, due to the reduction in space and the proximity to Montecito Village Grocery. Montecito Natural Health is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm, and is closed on Sundays. The address is 1470 East Valley Road, Suite Z. Call 805-969-1411 for more information.

#8 Coast Village Improvement District Happenings A group which we covered at length this year thanks to new leadership and new funding was the Coast Village Improvement Association, which held multiple events over the year. The former iteration of the group, Coast Village Association, was officially dissolved back in October 2022 to accommodate forming a 501(c)3 and creating a newly constituted Board of Directors. The change followed the Santa Barbara City Council’s vote to establish and form the Coast Village Community Benefit Improvement District (CBID), an idea that has been in the works since November 2020. The majority of Coast Village Road property owners voted in support of the CBID, which will allow local control of the street’s aesthetics, safety, and marketing ventures, filling the gaps in service from the City of Santa Barbara, which governs Coast Village Road. The CBID is funded by property owners as an additional tax assessment. New Executive Director Beth Sullivan was hired earlier this year, and a new board was seated in November. The board went from 10 to 12 Directors, and includes President Trey Pinner, Vice President Robert Miller, Treasurer Mike Chenoweth, Secretary Jason Copus, and directors Trish Davis, Francois DeJohn, Kevin Frank, Jeff Harding, Rob Kooyman, Michael MacElhenny, Thorn Robertson, and Suzi Schomer. The group has been busy re-marketing Coast Village Road, and hosted several meet-and-greets with property and business owners, as well as holiday shopping events, and the first-ever Coast Village Week, which promoted businesses along the road with pop-ups, sales, trunk shows, and art exhibits. The group is also preparing for physical improvements on Coast Village, slated for 2024. Loading zones and the crosswalk at the Chevron station will be improved in the spring, and a complete repaving of Coast Village Road from the Hot Springs roundabout to Olive Mill Road is slated for the fall. New landscaping is also planned, but it is

anticipated that a sizable sum of money will need to be raised in order to support the medians’ beautification. The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 18, 2024. For more information about Coast Village Improvement Association happenings, visit www.coastvillageroad.com.

#7 Sharon Byrne Steps Down from Montecito Association

Sharon Byrne stepped down as the executive director of the Montecito Association in July after five years; she was recognized as Citizen of the Year in November

In an announcement made in July, Montecito Association Executive Director Sharon Byrne announced she would be stepping down from her position in order to assume the leadership of the Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF), a national feminist organization. Byrne took the role of MA executive director in the early aftermath of the 1/9 Debris Flow, coming from the Coast Village Association, where she was also the executive director. She helped the community navigate the rebuilding process, serving as a liaison to County reps and insurance personnel, and played a key role in the messaging of subsequent evacuations during winter weather. Next came the pandemic, where she helped the Association navigate a new normal of remote meetings, sourcing masks and sanitizer, and supporting vulnerable community members. She has also been instrumental in starting the Hands Across Montecito Project, which has helped those affected by homelessness find resources, as well as informing the MA board during community projects such as the 101 widening, Randall Road Debris

Village Beat Page 104 104

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Flowers iver on a

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28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

On Entertainment Symphony’s NYE Host Lipke: Time Is on His Side GOODBYE 2023 & HELLO 2024! grateful for another year helping the wonderful members of our communit y

Here comes the popular NYE with the Santa Barbara Symphony (courtesy photo)

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ndrew Lipke makes his Santa Barbara Symphony debut Sunday night as guest conductor for the annual New Year’s Eve concert, but he’ll be doing much more than waving the baton around to close out 2023. The composer, arranger, conductor, guitarist, and vocalist will actually display all of those talents at the Granada in a program almost entirely of his own creation, one that largely reflects his love for rock and roll and a strong affinity for classical. The concert is sure to be a big left turn from the Symphony’s typical pops fare to close out the year. In fact, that word doesn’t even resonate for Lipke. “When I hear the term pops, it makes me think of a concert for your pops – an experience that’s a very safe, stick to the surface one,” he said. “What I’m interested in is music that reaches deep inside and moves people to their core. When rock and classical can be put together in a way that respect is given to both of them, it becomes something magical.” To create that magical experience, Lipke stays partial to the visceral energy that powers rock music he played earlier in his career even though most of his time is spent in the classical world, which has also always had a draw that goes deep and has broadened his professional avenues. “There’s so much emotional complexity and layers that I feel when I listen to beautiful classical music,” he said. “But I wasn’t going to be able to perform it, so I learned how to write it.” Lipke later turned to conducting out of necessity to have the chance to perform string arrangements and orchestrations he’d created for pop musicians in the Philadelphia area. Lipke has employed all of his talents to put together the NYE program for Santa Barbara around the theme of time as a witty way to reflect the ritual of ushering in a new year. Time and all of its aspects are either directly or peripherally involved in virtually all of the pieces, including a clever medley of orchestral arrangements of the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” Bernstein’s “Tonight” from West Side Story, and “Tomorrow” from Annie. Lipke has also turned the Byrds-via-Dylan classic “Turn! Turn! Turn!” into variations on a theme as a “sweet mini concerto for orchestra to showcase the individual instruments.” Other pop pieces will serve as surprises for the audience, including more than one where Lipke – who played for more than a dozen years in a touring Led Zeppelin tribute band – will trade the baton for his guitar to shred on a solo. Even the classical selections from Beethoven, Satie/Debussy, and Strauss are grouped to illustrate both meter and tempo to further illustrate the theme as the

On Entertainment Page 354 354

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

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Montecito JOURNAL

Basin, local building projects, and more. “I am so grateful, and honored, to have been able to serve the Montecito community for the past five years,” she told us in July. “We navigated through some of the worst times in Montecito’s history together. Montecitans are truly amazing, and deeply committed to this community, which is so inspiring to me. Our board was very kind and supportive to me, and I so appreciate them, especially Chair Megan Orloff, and all the incredible people here,” Byrne said. Byrne was later recognized as Citizen of the Year at the Montecito Association’s Beautification Day in November.

#6: Updates to the Rosewood Miramar In February, we broke the news that the Rosewood Miramar Resort intended to pursue all permits necessary to place a seasonal swim platform in the ocean off Miramar Beach in Montecito. The platform project is an attempt to recreate the beloved ocean swim platform that was once located off the shores of the historic Miramar Hotel; the platform was part of Miramar owner Rick Caruso’s original proposal when he resurrected the iconic oceanfront resort.

The swim platform, the size of which has not yet been determined, would be anchored to the ocean floor and would likely be in operation from May 1 through October 15 each summer, weather permitting. The platform would be available for use by the public. Later in the year we covered a new expansion project at the Rosewood that was born out of the desire to add new employee housing on site as part of the Santa Barbara County Housing Element proposal. In order to add new housing units for employees, the resort site would need to be reconfigured by relocating parking from the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes to the eastern portion of the property; significant utilities would also need to be relocated, according to project representatives. The project includes the addition of 16 employee housing units (adding to the four already on site), and the units would be a mix of studios and family units. The units would be located on the eastern portion of the property, and some would be located over storage areas. A parking deck is planned behind the units. In addition to the employee housing, on the western portion of the property (the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes), 12 resort-style shops,

including a café and a grab-and-go eatery, would be built, with 15 “resort apartments” built above, on the second and third floors. These market-rate apartments would offer long-term tenants the ability to “live at the Miramar,” with access to the amenities of the Resort. These units also contribute to Housing Element numbers, according to Bryce Ross, Caruso’s Senior Vice President of Development, who presented the project to both the Montecito Association and Montecito Board of Architectural Review in October. “The new construction will be absolutely consistent with the Miramar’s architectural style, finishes, quality of construction, and aesthetic,” Ross said. Landscaping, building orientation, and color palette will feel like a natural extension of the current resort, according to reps. According to County staff, modifications will be required for the new project’s height restrictions and setback requirements. There will be 482 parking spaces on the project site after the proposed development is built, but all parking on the site, including the employee housing, will be valet parking. The project did not go over well at MBAR, with board members voicing concern over the size, bulk, and scale of the new buildings, which will be three stories on the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus lanes. Others said parking and traffic are potential issues, and the location of the employee housing facing the freeway is of concern. Miramar reps are currently reworking the proposal, and will come back to MBAR in 2024 with new, modified renderings.

#5: Round & Round We Go A proposal by the Rosewood Miramar seeks to add shops and long-term rentals on the corner of South Jameson and Eucalyptus Lane, in an effort to offset the financial implication of adding 16 employee housing units. The project was in front of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review in October.

This year marked the majority of the construction for two important projects in Montecito: the roundabouts at Olive

MONTECITO TIDE GUIDE Day Thurs, Dec 28 Fri, Dec 29 Sat, Dec 30 Sun, Dec 31 Mon, Jan 1 Tues, Jan 2 Wed, Jan 3 Thurs, Jan 4 Fri, Jan 5

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Mill Road and San Ysidro Road. March marked the beginning of the construction of the San Ysidro Road roundabout, which began just after the reopening of the southbound on-ramp at Olive Mill Road after being closed for four months for construction of that roundabout. The majority of the Olive Mill Road roundabout was completed in the fall, with current construction focused on landscaping elements. The San Ysidro Road roundabout is still underway, with the northbound off-ramp at San Ysidro Road expected to reopen by the end of

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JOURNAL

Village Beat (Continued from 6)

newspaper

Executive Editor/CEO | Gwyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor Administration | Jessikah Fechner Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva Account Managers | Sue Brooks, Tanis Nelson, Elizabeth Scott, Bryce Eller Contributing Editor | Kelly Mahan Herrick Copy Editor | Lily Buckley Harbin, Jeff Wing Proofreading | Helen Buckley Arts and Entertainment | Steven Libowitz Contributors | Scott Craig, Ashleigh Brilliant, Kim Crail, Tom Farr, Chuck Graham, Stella Haffner, Mark Ashton Hunt, Dalina Michaels, Robert Bernstein, Christina Atchison, Leslie Zemeckis, Sigrid Toye, Jamie Knee, Elizabeth Stewart, Amélie Dieux, Houghton Hyatt Gossip | Richard Mineards History | Hattie Beresford Humor | Ernie Witham Our Town/Society | Joanne A Calitri Travel | Jerry Dunn, Leslie Westbrook Food & Wine | Claudia Schou, Melissa Petitto, Gabe Saglie Published by: Montecito Journal Media Group, LLC Montecito Journal is compiled, compounded, calibrated, cogitated over, and coughed up every Wednesday by an exacting agglomeration of excitable (and often exemplary) expert edifiers at 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108. How to reach us: (805) 565-1860; FAX: (805) 969-6654; Montecito Journal, 1206 Coast Village Circle, Suite G, Montecito, CA 93108; EMAIL: tim@montecitojournal.net

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Brilliant Thoughts Ins and Outs by Ashleigh Brilliant

s a general rule, it is always better to be In than Out. Of course, there are many obvious exceptions – Trouble, for example. But in most games, and certainly in politics, one would certainly prefer the status of “in.” One of the best places to be in is the mind, heart, or at least the memory, of somebody you care about – despite those wise or unwise words, “Out of sight, out of mind.” But, paradoxically, “in,” at the beginning of a word, often has a negative meaning. In my Webster’s New World College Dictionary there are 32 pages of words starting with “in” – from “inability” to “invulnerable,” many of them, like those two, having the meaning of “not” or “non.” But there are only three pages of “out” words, in some of which the “out” has a positive meaning – as in “outstanding” “outlast,” and “outdo.” When it comes to games, one of the reasons why I preferred Cricket to Baseball (which incidentally is derived from an English game called Rounders) was that in Baseball, no matter how well you hit the ball and run once around the bases, you are no longer “in,” and have to wait until your next turn to bat again. In Cricket, you can stay “in” as long as you can keep hitting the ball and running between the two “bases.” Most correspondence, especially in business, is also a matter of incoming and outgoing. Although email is still generally classified by our computers, or other electronic devices, as either Received or Sent, many office desks once had “trays” labeled “IN” and “OUT,” on the assumption that somebody would be coming by periodically to deliver and pick up your messages. And we must not overlook a third receptacle, which was usually beside the desk, on the floor – a container for TRASH. But we have other ways of expressing those same ideas by using certain prefixes. The letter “e” in front of a word (before its relatively new use, connected with something electronic, as in “ecommerce,” or “etools”) often means “out from.” One good example is the word “education,” which, in its Latin origins, indicated a “leading out,” particularly, one would suppose, from darkness or ignorance. There is a “fast food” chain with hundreds of locations, mainly in California, which calls itself “In-N-Out Burger.” That very name accentuates the idea of “fast,” giving the impression that there wasn’t even enough time to spell out the “and,” in the middle, which therefore had to be abbreviated to “N.” Another term for establishments of that kind is “burger joints,” although their offerings are also known, more flatteringly, as “convenience foods,” or, less kindly, as “junk foods.” The whole concept is very American. The traditional European idea of mealtimes, especially at mid-day and after the day’s work, was that they were times to relax, and eat in a leisurely way. Some countries still allot several hours to the noonday meal (followed by a “siesta”). The hamburger (despite the name, implying an origin in Hamburg, Germany

– just as “frankfurter” comes from the German town of Frankfurt) has become a staple of American culture. Only when the discovery was made, virtually within living memory, that discs of ground meat could be quickly fried in large quantities, did chains of places selling them, usually “sandwiched” in buns, begin to spring up, especially when they incorporated the very modern feature of having “drive-in” facilities – meaning that, to patronize them, you didn’t even have to get out of your car. Many foods are named for the places where they originated. In the U.S., we have, for instance, Boston Baked Beans and the Denver Sandwich. From elsewhere come Tangerines (from Tangier in Morocco), and Kobe Steak (from Kobe in Japan, where, to ensure tenderness, farmers massage the bovines by hand – according to a 1962 pseudo-documentary Italian movie called Mondo Cane – meaning “Dog’s World.”) Then there are Jaffa oranges (from an Arab town which once had Tel Aviv as a small suburb, but which is now itself a suburb of Tel Aviv). And finally, getting back to ins and outs, one possible reason for the exisAshleigh Brilliant born tence of doors is so that we can nearly England 1933, came to always be in or out of them. One of my California in 1955, to Santa epigrams, which you may find useful Barbara in 1973, to the for placing beside your own front door Montecito Journal in 2016. (as I have with mine) says: “If I’m not IN, accepting what I can’t change, I’m probably OUT, changing what I can’t accept.”

Best-known for his illustrated epigrams, called “Pot-Shots,” now a series of 10,000. email: ashleigh@west. net. web: www.ash leighbrilliant.com.

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Our Town

SBMA Acquires Iconic Artwork by Hammershøi Dedicated to Larry Feinberg by Joanne A Calitri

n a most progressive move, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) has acquired the iconic artwork, Den Hvide Dør (The White Door), 1888, oil on canvas, by artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864–1916), and has dedicated it in honor of Larry J. Feinberg, the SBMA distinguished Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Executive Director and CEO, who was at the helm from 2008 through November 2023. This rare and in pristine condition painting holds a strong place in the international art world and clearly upholds the SBMA’s global status for acquisitions in its permanent collection. The work also hallmarks the artist’s pre-visionary movement to what was later called the Modernist movement, unbeknownst to him being a Symbolist artist. In addition, the critics of Hammershøi’s art felt it had a Neuroaesthetics element, that being:

the ability to calm the mental states of those viewing it, again ahead of its time. The artist himself said in a 1908 interview, “It was the first picture of an empty room I painted. I have always thought there was such beauty about a room like that, even though there are no people in it, perhaps precisely because there are no people in it.” In the U.K. the Pall Mall Gazette, April 4, 1907, wrote, “It is to the modern of moderns, Wilhelm Hammershøi, that we must turn.” British critic, T. Martin Wood, in The Studio in September 1909, wrote of Hammershøi as the leading exemplar of a new genre of modern art, that is, the ‘modern interior painting,’ and the human presence merely inferred. “The painter [Hammershøi] is a poet, we find ourselves wondering what vanished presence is reflected still in the empty room.” The acquisition happened under the astute shepherding of Eik Kahng, SBMA Deputy Director and Chief

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Eik Kahng and Larry J. Feinberg with the newly acquired painting, Den Hvide Dør, 1888, by artist Vilhelm Hammershøi (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Curator, who shared in our interview, “We [at SBMA] had long recognized that the museum’s 19th and Early 20th Century European Collection was heavily weighted toward the French Barbizon School and Impressionism, so it seemed logical to add a significant painting by a Northern Symbolist Artist. We had specifically listed Vilhelm Hammershøi as a desired addition in our Strategic Plan, and when I came across this work, we immediately moved to acquire it. The painting is unlined (that is, no backing canvas was added for support, which often causes slight damage to the painting’s surface when it is applied), which is rare for a painting of its age. It requires no conservation at this time, and the frame is reproductive, meaning modern, but entirely consistent from a period point of view. The Collections Committee heartily embraced a decision to dedicate the work to Larry J. Feinberg as a fitting tribute to his long tenure of successful directorship, the longest in the history of the SBMA, coupled with his interest in symbolism as an art historian and curator himself.” I met with Feinberg and Kahng at the SBMA for a photo op with the Hammershøi. Feinberg and I talked at length about it. He shared: “This is an extraordinary find on Eik’s part because she has been looking for a major 19th century northern Europe painting for some time, which we needed to represent, and actually this artist was listed in our Strategic Plan. She did the utmost due diligence regarding the work before presenting it to the Collections Committee and myself during the last

few months before I retired. Due to our strong relationship with the dealers in London, I was able to immediately secure it for the SBMA. We were all very excited, and I am still excited about it. Already my colleagues in Chicago and NYC are calling about this acquisition! “The Symbolist artists were interested in dream and subconscious imagery to express the spiritual in everyday life. This painting has that quality; there is a sense of presence there even though it is devoid of people, something very moving about it, almost metaphysical. “I am absolutely delighted that the Museum has acquired this beautiful and very important painting in my honor. Hammershøi is the greatest of the Danish Symbolists. This is among the most significant acquisitions of 19th-century art that the Museum has made in decades.” The painting is on permanent display in the Ridley-Tree Gallery; do take your time while viewing and immersing in the not-so-empty room. 411: www.sbma.net

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

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

New Year’s Eve Champagne and Caviar Prix Fixe Menu White Truffle Custard House Made Crème Fraiche, Alba White Truffle, Chives Calvisius Tradition Elite Caviar Ranch Citrus Cured Arctic Char Tokyo Turnips, Radish, Pixie Tangerine, Yuzu Vinaigrette Imperia Steel Head Trout Roe Caviar New Zealand John Dory Celery Root, Granny Smith Apple, Mussels, Bloomsdale Spinach, Apple Cider Emulsion Ars Italica Sevruga Caviar Santa Barbara Spiny Lobster Star Anise and Local Uni Nage, Melted Leeks, Brioche Ars Italica Oscietra Classic Caviar Seared Breast of Poussin Flambéed Tableside Leg Confit, Carnaroli Risotto, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Natural Jus Calvisius Caviar Lingotto Japanese Kobe A5 Striploin Roasted Maitake Mushroom, Napa Cabbage, Mustard Seed, Dashi Consommé Calvisius Siberian Royal Caviar Hazelnut Croquant Candied Kumquat Tuille, Winter Citrus Guimauve, Meyer Lemon Sorbet 24k Caviar Champagne Toast Dom Perignon Brut, 2009, served from Methusaleh

First Seating: 5-6pm Five Course Menu: $325 Champagne Pairing: $210

Second Seating : 8-9pm Seven Course Menu: $425 Champagne Pairing: $250

San Ysidro Ranch 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Travel Buzz

Mazatlán: Part Two Gems of Mazatlán – What Not to Miss! by Leslie A. Westbrook

ith my Mazatlán tour underway, here are some of the highlights and special spots found along the way… 1. Observatorio Mazatlán 1873 – Set high atop a hill and accessed by a steep climb up the 260-foot slope or a ride on the 45-degree funicular, discover the extremely photogenic, historic observatorio. While the building shows the ravages of “time and wars,” it also offers stunning views of Mazatlán’s bay and is a gem not to be missed. The tour begins before your ascent with an informative short film, a condensed version of Mazatlán’s fascinating history that includes pirates, pearl seekers, and foreign invasions (a French flag flew here for two years). The city, known for big tuna fishing, also once hosted Hollywood stars like Tyrone Power and poet Pablo Neruda in a historic hotel that no longer exists. The building houses a small self-guided museum, an outdoor bird sanctuary where parrots, toucans, and pink flamingos provide great photo ops, and a stunning bar and café (open from 10 am – 10 pm) that offers romantic views of the bay below. There’s also a sweet gift shop with clothing, gifts, and other attractive and reasonably priced souvenirs. 2. Gran Acuario Mazatlán – This new aquarium, which opened in spring

See the sea life at the Gran Acuario Mazatlán (photo by Leslie A. Westbrook)

14 Montecito JOURNAL

Fish and good times can be found at Casa 46 (courtesy photo)

4. Dine at Casa 46 – With a view of the historic center, fine cuisine, cocktails, and wines served in a charming, historic second floor setting. From petit filet mignon to a seared sea bass over risotto and a fine tomato soup, the cuisine is refined and noteworthy. Visit Observatorio Mazatlán 1873 to get a view of what the area has to offer (photo by Leslie A. Westbrook)

of 2023, is the largest in Mexico and dedicated to the ocean life native to the Sea of Cortez, with a conservation theme. Set in a stunning new building designed by renowned Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, this new attraction is worth visiting for the architecture alone. Take a guided tour or wander on your own to enjoy the stunning displays of everything from sharks and jellyfish to rescued sea turtles. Popular feedings by divers who wave and interact with the crowd make for great selfies, as does the huge “wave” machine (that rivals MoMa’s AI art wall, Unsupervised), all safely viewable from vast glass aquarium walls that contain almost a million and a half gallons of water. Open daily 10 am – 6 pm. Thanks to Pueblo Bonito Resorts’ founder and Mazatlán native, Ernesto Coppel, who played a significant role in turning this vision into reality, hotel guests can visit the new aquarium free of charge. 3. Ángela Peralta Theater – Catch a performance at this restored opera house and theater built in 1874 with a storied history. Named for a famous singer/composer/musician who fled Mexico City due to a scandalous love affair for seaside Mazatlán, Ángela Peralta, aka “the Mexican Nightingale,” was married on her deathbed after contracting yellow fever – and it’s not quite clear if she lived to say, “I do.”

5. Order a Pacifico Beer – This beer was created by German immigrants who opened a brewery in Mazatlán in 1900. The Germans are also responsible for banda music – that can be heard at sunset on the beach in the “golden zone” in front of Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán hotel. 6. Buy a Bag of Suaves – A sweet treat, suave means “soft” in Spanish. Be on the lookout for these all-natural, handmade, unique pillow-soft coconut “marshmallows” created circa 1950 with a secret recipe. Sold from their current small factory (there are big expansion plans and may be coming to a Whole Foods near you soon) and local bodegas. A perfect souvenir, just be sure to tuck

The Ángela Peralta Theater offers a unique Día de los Muertos experience (courtesy photo)

gingerly in your carry on so the preservative free treats don’t become flat as a pancake. They will last 10 days in the open, longer if refrigerated when you get home. 7. Visit During a Celebration! Carnival and/or 2024 Total Solar Eclipse – Carnival is celebrated in a big way in Mazatlán and is said to be third in size behind Rio and New Orleans’ February celebrations. Mazatlán is also on the path for the 2024 total solar eclipse as a prime viewing spot, but many hotels are already booked for the April 8 event. Día de los Muertos – Day of the Dead in Mazatlán is a bustling community affair with fantastic decor in the historic district, dancers and music in the zocalo, and a delightful feast of performances in different spaces in the historic Ángela Peralta Theater house where the audience moves through the theater and is treated to delightful dancers and singers all culminating in a very moving display of exceptional ofrendas (altars to those who have passed) and angelic singing in the courtyard. Guests are given the traditional Day of the Dead orange-flavored bread and a flyer with poems when they “depart.” The short performances run in 20-minute cycles from 8 pm to midnight, and lines stretch long, so get there early or be prepared to wait! 8. Spend an Afternoon with an Iguana – Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán and Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay… I can’t think of any hotel in recent memory where I’ve encountered an approximately 4-foot long iguana lounging/co-existing by a hotel swimming pool. This fella (I assume the sex) was met with delight, iPhone cameras a clicking, and squeals. A Travel Buzz Page 354 354

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

WISHING YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2779 Padaro Ln | Carpinteria | 5BD/11BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $55,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

875 Park Ln | Montecito | 7BD/10BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $37,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

3055 Padaro Ln | Carpinteria | 4BD/7BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $63,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

13800 US Highway 101 | Goleta | 4BD/5BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $45,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

1104 Channel Dr | Montecito | 5BD/10BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $38,500,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

89 Hollister Ranch Rd | Santa Barbara | 5BD/6BA DRE 01397913 | Offered at $33,000,000 Emily Kellenberger 805.252.2773

595 Picacho Ln | Montecito | 7BD/11BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $33,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

13600 Calle Real | Santa Barbara | 6BD/10BA DRE 01447045 | Offered at $25,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

777 Romero Canyon Rd | Santa Barbara | 6BD/5BA DRE 01806890 | Offered at $25,000,000 Doré & O'Neill Real Estate Team 805.947.0608

303 Meadowbrook Dr | Montecito | 5BD/7BA DRE 01402612 | Offered at $10,200,000 Marcy Bazzani 805.717.0450

767 Las Palmas Dr | Santa Barbara | 5BD/6BA DRE 01509445/02003319 | Offered at $8,995,000 Gilles/Sanchez 805.895.1877

20 Camino Alto | Santa Barbara | 4BD/5BA DRE 02082960 | Offered at $7,499,000 Elizabeth Slifirski 805.222.0147

108 Pierpont Ave | Summerland | Commercial Property DRE 00780607 | Offered at $6,950,000 John Henderson 805.689.1066

929 Canon Rd | Santa Barbara | 3BD/6BA DRE 01806890 | Offered at $6,700,000 Doré & O'Neill Real Estate Team 805.947.0608

1120 Via Del Rey | Santa Barbara | 4BD/4BA DRE 00947199 | Offered at $5,200,000 Dianne and Brianna Johnson 805.455.6570

8107 Buena Fortuna St | Carpinteria | 4BD/3BA DRE 01397913 | Offered at $4,750,000 Emily Kellenberger 805.252.2773

821 & 823 E Pedregosa St | Santa Barbara | 7BD/6BA DRE 01107109 | Offered at $4,500,000 Julie Barnes 805.895.9498

1326 Hillcrest Rd | Santa Barbara | 1.81± Acres DRE 01447045 | Offered at $5,000,000 Riskin Partners Estate Group 805.565.8600

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All information provided is deemed reliable, but has not been verified and we do not guarantee it. We recommend that buyers make their own inquiries.

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Your Westmont

Nursing Graduates Earn Pins

Online bidding soared for Dug Uyesaka’s “Peck”

Westmont feted 18 new graduates of its nursing program

by Scott Craig, photos by Brad Elliott

estmont celebrated the accomplishments of 18 new graduates of the Westmont Downtown | Grotenhuis Nursing program at a pinning ceremony December 14 at Montecito Covenant Church. This is the second cohort to graduate from the 16-month accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program, housed at 26 West Anapamu. President Gayle D. Beebe, program director Dianthe Hoffman, nursing faculty member Laura Danhauer, and Provost Kimberly Battle-Walters Denu spoke at the event. Brandi Blackwell, Emily Castellanos, Sabrina Cerda, Mary Gray, Jacqueline Hernandez, Chloe Howard,

Nadia Lezada, Monika Lopez, Teagan Matye, Jacob Ochoa, Yujin Oh, Costanza Pauletto, Lily Perez, Ashley Reyes, Reyna Estrada Rioux, Elanna Tahan, Maria Vences, and Sofia Van Wingerden all received pins as they walked across the stage at the ceremony.

‘5x5’ Art Auction a Big Draw The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s exhibition and auction of 683 small pieces was a huge success. By the time the gavel came down December 15, the “5x5” fundraiser sold 617 unique art pieces, raising more than $41,000 for the Montecito museum. Ninetytwo percent of people who created an

account bid on works in the auction. The artists whose work garnered the highest bids include Jaune Quickto-See Smith, Craig Attebery, Dug Uyesaka, Jordan Pope, Carol Wax, Tim Hawkinson, Charles Arnoldi, Susan Savage, Karl Dempwolf, and Bruce Herman. The museum will open its doors again in 2024 to “Camille Corot to Orthodox Icons: Lady Leslie Ridley-Tree’s Gifts to the Collection” beginning with a free, public reception Thursday, January 11, from 4 to 6 pm. The show will run through March 23.

Students Reveal Physics Findings Two Westmont students presented their research at a joint meeting of the Nuclear Physics Divisions of the American and Japanese Physics Societies November 26-December 1 on the Big Island of Hawaii. Natalie Fogg ‘24 and Reese Toepfer ‘26 joined Robert Haring-Kaye, Westmont professor of physics and department chair of physics and engineering, at the event that

featured more than 100 undergraduates from both nations. Both students received funding from the competitive Conference Experience for Undergraduates program of the National Science Foundation that fully supported their conference registration, lodging, and travel costs. “This is a unique opportunity for our students because they are performing the same kind of research that graduate students would be doing at larger institutions, including complex data processing and analysis,” HaringKaye says. Both Fogg and Toepfer were investigating atomic nuclei that are either known or predicted to exhibit pear-like shapes as they spin, an unusual characteristic of the isotopes they were studying which had an odd number of protons and neutrons inside. Haring-Kaye presented research on a nucleus with energies that are not well reproduced by contemporary theoretical predictions. Although Fogg and Toepfer did not participate in the actual experiment that produced the data they analyzed and presented in Hawaii, next spring they will have the opportunity to help with the setup and operation of a new experiment at the particle accelerator lab at Florida State University. “It’s very rare these days for undergraduates to get hands-on experience with operating a particle accelerator and the associated instrumentation that’s used to measure the products of the resulting reactions,” says Haring-Kaye, who spoke at the conference. The research he and his students are conducting is important since we don’t fully understand how an atomic nucleus

Your Westmont Page 224 224

ciymca.org/2024

16 Montecito JOURNAL

Natalie Fogg, Robert Haring-Kaye, and Reese Toepfer at Hilton Waikoloa Village

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

R MA

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

A KOT

T E G RO

Montecito JOURNAL

Food Files

A Hardcore Passion for Pizza by Christopher Matteo Connor

hat does pizza and punk have in common? Maybe more than you think! Both can be cheap and fast, but also contain the potential to have lots of substance. There’s attention to the ingredients. It seems simple, but all put together, it can be something powerful and moving. And tasty… depending on what punk shows you go to. Is there more to this connection? Do people who have an affinity for aggressive music simply melt when it comes to a solid pie? Does the round shape of a pizza somehow trigger the desire to circle pit? What’s the connection between DIY and pizza by the slice? These are just some of the many questions I asked my close friend, Travis Farmer, owner of Back Bench Pizza, putting Travis Farmer, proud owner of the the final touches on his pizza masterpiece (photo by new Ventura pizza joint Back Bench Kelsey Brito) Pizza. From front man to two epic hardcore punk bands to head pizza man, Travis is bringing his love for hand-crafted, artisanal pizzas to the people!

18 Montecito JOURNAL

Before really getting into the kneady gritty of Back Bench, I wanted to reminisce with Trav about his background and all the stops along the way – big and small – that led him to slinging slices on a shop that faces Ventura’s Main Street. Full disclosure, Travis and I go way back. We went to the same shows, knew the same people, became friends, and he even eventually moved into the garage turned pack-in-as-many-people-as-you-can bedroom that was part of a foreclosed home that a group of us were living in rent-free called the “Hopeless House.” Yes, we were very dramatic! But that’s a story for another time… Back to Trav! What were some of his earliest kitchen jobs? He started out as a baker’s assistant at Hennings Cake Boutique, a bakery nestled next to Savoy. He made smoothies at Blenders in Montecito. He worked as a chocolatier at Twenty-Four Blackbirds, their decadent chocolates always on stock at Handlebar Coffee Roasters, where I worked at the time. And then what? Travis took a 10-year hardcore hiatus to focus on making and playing music. With his bands Minus and Fell to Low, Travis traversed all over the U.S. and Europe, screaming into the smiling faces of the eager youth. And when he got back, what was his plan of

Food Files Page 294 294

Flipping dough (photo by Kelsey Brito)

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Robert’s Big Questions Street Epistemology? by Robert Bernstein

recently attended an international Skeptics Society conference. One of the highlights was an interactive demonstration and experience of “Street Epistemology” by philosophy professor Peter Boghossian. Our current times are famously tense, with people choosing sides on a wide range of issues and digging in to defend their side. In many cases, the actual issues may be less important than tribal identification. Or, what is known as “virtue signaling”: Making statements to show that you are virtuous, rather than that you really believe them. This is unfortunate for many reasons. A functioning democracy requires citizens openly to discuss ideas in an honest manner. How else are we going to arrive at an understanding of problems? And if we don’t understand and agree on problems, how can we agree on solutions? Street Epistemology is a technique to facilitate respectful and honest conversation on any topic. “Epistemology” is the theory of knowledge. Before we can establish what is true, we first have to agree on what it means to know something. In short: “How do you know that is true?” Socrates invented a form of Street Epistemology (the Socratic Method), which teaches by asking guiding questions. Socrates famously was able to elicit a proof of the Pythagorean theorem from an uneducated slave using this method of guided questioning. The goal is not to change someone’s beliefs. The goal is to make someone question how they came to hold their beliefs. But the result may be that they do end up changing their beliefs. The result may even be that they change their entire way of thinking about all their beliefs, not just the one at hand. And their answers may also cause the questioner to change their own belief and/or ways of thinking! After experiencing the process for several hours and watching videos online, I am not sure there is a single formula to make this work. It seems more to be a matter of being respectful and listening and really caring what the other person is saying. It is also more about the process of thinking than it is about the conclusion. It can consist of these questions: What do you believe? Why do you believe it? How do you know it is true? What would it take for you to change your mind? 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

At the Skeptic conference, Boghossian laid out seven mats on the floor, labeled: Strongly Agree, Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neutral, Somewhat Disagree, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. He chose three participants. He made a claim and then people moved to the mat indicating their agreement or disagreement. He would ask someone: “What would it take for you to move one mat to the left (or right)?” This encouraged people to consider what factual information might change their view. One of the topics was the Climate Crisis. Two participants stood on the “Disagree” mat, indicating they had doubt about the Climate Crisis. Then I made the claim: “We should be doing more to avert the Crisis.” That caused one participant to move from Disagree to Agree. He had doubt about the cause and severity of the threat. But he agreed we should do more. The other participant simply repeated the Libertarian ideological view that people should be “free” to drive gas guzzlers if they want and not be “forced” to change behavior. I was disappointed at how many Skeptics at the conference held such extreme Libertarian views, without understanding the hidden subsidies and pressures that maintain the status quo. But I was encouraged that Street Epistemology was a way to facilitate learning, questioning, and considering other views. Anthony Magnabosco is a founder and current executive director of Street Epistemology International and offers hundreds of YouTube videos demonstrating the technique one on one. One critique against Street Epistemology noted that we know many things without remembering how we know them. How do you know that Washington chopped down a cherry tree? Well, it turns out that story was made up by “biographer” Mason Locke Weems seven years after Washington died. See? When you think about how you know things, you may find that some of what you “know” just ain’t so!

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

MONTECITO

ESTATE SALE to benefit

The highly anticipated community-wide Montecito Estate Sale to benefit Casa del Herrero will return in October 2024. Donations of fine furniture and linens, home decor, art, jewelery, collectibles, and other elegant goods can be dropped off at Casa del Herrero every Friday between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM or by appointment. Please call in advance for large deliveries or off-hour appointments.

NEW IN :

Holiday decorations in new or like new condition are also accepted this year. All celebrations and denominations are welcome. Holiday specific donations will be included in a special section of the Montecito Estate Sale!

We greatly appreciate your support of Casa del Herrero! 1387 East Valley Road Montecito, CA 93108 805-565-5653 casa@casadelherrero.org montecitoestatesale.com Montecito JOURNAL

Heal the Ocean extends our deepest appreciation to our Supporters

A special thank you to Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Gregg Hart for ecuring $500,000 in state funding or Heal the Ocean’s Summerland Oil Mitigation Study (SOMS).

$150,000

Nora McNeely Hurley and the Manitou Fund

$105,000

Mericos Foundation

for the Summerland Oil Field Geological Study

$30,000-$50,000

Paul and Patricia Bragg Foundation Leanne Schlinger/ Schlinger Family Foundation

$20,000-$29,999

ulia Louis-Dreyfus & Brad Hall Henry & Nanette Nevins/ The Nevins Family Fund on & Pam Shields

$15,000-$19,999

Brittingham Family Foundation Charles & Brynn Crowe/ Kirby-Jones Foundation Dan & Rae Emmett/ Emmett Foundation Abby Turin & Jonathan Gans am Scranton/Sam and Sherilyn Scranton Rev. Trust

$10,000-$14,999

Anonymous eanne & Robert Anderson/ RJA Foundation Amy Brown Roger & Sarah Chrisman/ Schlinger Chrisman Foundation Thomas & Nancy Crawford Roy E. Crummer Foundation Diskant Family Foundation Brian Hodges/WWW Foundation Holdfast Collective ohnson Ohana Foundation Adam & Kara Rhodes/ WWW Foundation Cheryl Tomchin/ Tomchin Family Foundation La Centra-Sumerlin Foundation

for HTO’s Styrofoam Recycling Program

$5,000-$9,999

Anonymous (3) B&B Foundation - Sterling, Curtis, Will, Wyatt, Sammie, and Brenna usan Baerwald & Marcy Carsey/ Just Folk Tom & Sheila Cullen

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David, Theresa & Summer Dolotta/ The Dolotta Family Charitable Foundation Steve Starkey & Olivia Erschen Steve Starkey & Olivia Erschen

in honor of Peter & Nini Seaman, Bill & Dani Hahn, Bob & Ann Diener, Valerie Hoffman, Art & Heather Tiddens, Duke Howard, and Dave & Pam Peterson

Tisha Weber Ford/Tisha Weber Ford Family Fund Frank & Joseph Gila/The Frank & Joseph Gila Fund Hotel Californian Judith Little/William B. Little & Judith A. Little Charitable Trust Jes MaHarry* Cece, James, & Caitlyn Morton/ Morton Family Foundation in memory of Hughes Morton

Pete & Jillian Muller/Dancing Tides Foundation John Muse/Muse Family Foundation Jack & Sheri Overall/Overall Family Foundation Poehler-Stremel Charitable Trust for the newsletter and public outreach

Blair & Steve Raber Pat & Maire Radis Garland & Brenda Reiter/ Garland and Brenda Reiter Family Foundation John & Suzanne Sanford/ Sanford Family Fund Nancy Glaze Schaub Peter & Nini Seaman/STS Foundation Robin Tost in honor of Nora McNeely Hurley and Michael Hurley

John & Lacey Williams

$3,000-$4,999

Advanced Veterinary Specialists for the HTO Doggy Bag Program

Rinaldo & Lalla Brutoco/ Omega Point Institute Dr. David Dawson/Montecito Pet Hospital/San Roque Pet Hospital for the HTO Doggie Bag Program

Pamela de Villaine Susan Harris John Jostes John & Gloria McManus Alex & Gina Ziegler

$2,000-$2,999

Larry & Wendy Barels Kathleen Borgatello Koeper Donald & Noelle Burg Elizabeth B. Denison/Denison Family Foundation Kathryn Denlinger Brad Fiedel/Dusenberry Fiedel Family Fund

Ken & Nancy Goldsholl/ The M and M Foundation Richard & Lois Gunther/Richard S. & Lois Gunther Fund-Jewish Community Foundation of LA Nancy Gunzberg/Nancy Gunzberg Fund Ruth & Ben Hammett in memory of Harriet Cowles Graham

Marla Mercer & Frederick Herzog/ Herzog & Mercer Living Trust Jill Taylor & Raymond Link Charles & Eileen Read Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing in honor of The Sandpoint HOA

Satz-Asbury Family Foundation Schaff Family Foundation Rob & Pru Sternin/Sternin Family Fund Karl Storz Imaging, Inc. Ray Link & Jill Taylor Patsy Tisch Travis Turpin/Turpin Family Charitable Foundation Steve & Robin Ward Jonathan & Elise Wygant

$1,000-$1,500

Brier & Kent Allebrand/Turpin Family Charitable Foundation American Riviera Bank Diane Beamer Rodney & Sharon Berle John & Caron Berryhill/Agnes B. Kline Memorial Foundation Rinaldo & Lalla Brutoco/ Omega Point Institute

in honor of Hillary Hauser, my HBS classmate

Deacon Shorr Nancy Smith-Tubiolo Michel Saint-Sulpice & Mary Staton Bill Tully in memory of Jane Tully

Hunter & Casey Turpin/Turpin Family Charitable Foundation Evan Turpin/Turpin Family Charitable Foundation in memory of Paul Turpin

Susan Venable & Charles Vinick Wildcat Lounge

$500-999

Peter & Rebecca Adams Keith & Paula Andersen

in memory of Frank Pedersen, MD

in honor of Hillary Hauser

Frank & Marlene Bucy/ Bucy Family Fund Ani Casillas Zora & Les Charles/ The Cheeryble Foundation Marcia & John Mike Cohen Greg & Della Cook Lloyd & Richard Dallett Susan Eng-DenBaars & Steve DenBaars Paul & Downing Denison/ Denison Family Foundation James & Wendy Drasdo/The Jim and Wendy Drasdo Fund Hannah-Beth Jackson & George Eskin Betty & Peter Gray Barbara Gural Doug Hamilton Trip & Lisa Proctor Hawkins/ The Hawkins Foundation Duncan Dylan Henderson Fred Herzog/Zog Industries Beverly & Preston Holmes K. Leonard & Melanie Judson Barbara Kamps Terilynn Langsev Kenny Loggins/Higher Vision Dwight & Kimberly Lowell

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause.” – Abraham Lincoln

Thomas Dabney & Darcie McKnight Sharon Metsch Mitchell Morehart/Racoon Point Charitable Trust Devon Geiger Nielsen/ B&B Foundation Oran Young & Gail Osherenko William J. Otto, D.V.M. Ann Linnett Pless Ron & Stacy Pulice/Pulice Trust Joan Pascal & Ted Rhodes/ Ted Rhodes & Joan Pascal Fund Melissa & Christian Riparetti-Stepien Dorothy Largay & Wayne Rosing Nancy Glaze Schaub

Fred & Roxana Anson/Pasadena Community Foundation MJ & Brad Bakove in honor of the ocean

Brian & Judi Cearnal Darlene & Savelly Chirman/ Chirman Family Fund Rich & Krista Coffin Curt & Sally Watling Coughlin Tom Evans in memory of Randall Barnes

Chris & Diane Gabriel/Gabriel Family Charitable Fund Louise Gainey Francesca Giannotta in honor of Pong for the Planet

Good Kitchen Products* Janice Kaspersen Richard & Connie Kennelly Marc & Julie Kummel Dorothy Largay Lennox Foundation Patrick Marr in honor of Michelle Rainville

Lyn Price & Jim Marshall Maribeth Hammond & Rob Martinsen N.E.W Fund Andy & Yvonne Neumann in memory of Barbara Stoops

Ojai Deer Lodge

16 – 23 November 2023

Susan Petrovich

We wish you all a very Peaceful New Year!

for the HTO Doggie Bag Program

Elvira Rose Catherine Rose Christine Ryerson/The Jim Ryerson Environmental Foundation Fund Sheldon & Alice Sanov Stantec Consulting Services Inc. The Surf Connection for the HTO Doggie Bag Program

Dana Justesen & Grant Trexler Gebb Turpin/Turpin Family Charitable Foundation Tracey Willfong Jay Winford Jim Winter in memory of Pearl Hudson

Bob & Leslie Zemeckis/The Zemeckis Charitable Foundation in honor of Steve Starkey’s Birthday

$250-499

Cynthia Allaback

in honor of our children and their children

Chipper & Kelly Bell/Surfclass.com 1% For the Planet Maria & Stephen Black Maria & Stephen Black in honor of Ann & Jim Black

Elizabeth & Dennis Boscacci Inga & Jack Canfield in honor of Bobby Marquardt

Terri Carlson MD Manuela & Rob Cavaness Cotty & Isabella Chubb Beverly Decker in memory of Larry Decker

Tom DeWalt Rick Doehring Edgar Eltrich Cinda & Donnelley Erdman Eva Haro

in honor of Shane Nazareth’s Birthday

Gordon Krischer

in memory of Sharon Krischer

Lama Dog Tap Room* Gretchen Lieff Vesta McDermott

in honor of Lt Col John A. McDermott

Zoe Morris Network for Good Donley Olson Peter & Shelley Overgaag Marsha & Al Roberson David Rockey Randy Rowse Anthony Allina & Christiane Schlumberger Justine Schreyer in honor of CA

Ed & Karen Shiffman Ron & Jeanie Sickafoose David Stengel

16 – 23 November 2023

Barbara Hirsch Susanne Humbel-Heierling Glenn Jordan Mike Kenny Lindy Kern Petar & Anna Kokotovic Jules & Mark Kramer/ Jules by the Sea SB 1% For the Planet donation Linda Krop Kathleen Laurain Sally Leon-Tondro

Thomas & Barbara Stevens Judy Stewart Sunrise Chiropractic Alan & Kathryn Van Vliet Libe Washburn Roe Ann White Hank Yeiser

$200-$249 Anonymous

in honor of Heather Hudson

Shane & Genny Anderson Jerry Hatchett & Susan Burns Manuela & Rob Cavaness

in memory of Captain Don Tondro

Jon & Sue Lewis Elizabeth Linde

for the HTO Doggie Bag Program

William & Jane Hall

in honor of CA

in honor of Lorraine Benton

Lisa Marranzino

Frank Hood J.T. Gerig John Lyon Mike & Mary Lynn Mallen in memory of Bill Poehler

in honor of Kalyee Boyle & Rayner Gomez Nava

Meridian Group REM, Inc. Penny Mathison & Don Nulty Pauline Paulin Eric & Kit Peterson Pam & Lily Poehler/ Poehler-Stremel Charitable Trust Judith Bennett & Stephen Schweitzer Pamela Scott Pam Anderson & Jerry Shalhoob Nancy Shutt Allen & Yurika Tupy Jon Wilcox in memory of Ephraim French

Robert & Carolyn Williams

$100-$199

Anonymous (3) Rachel Altman in honor of CA

Randall & Shelley Badat Jude Bijou Dianne Black Ruth Ann Bowe Jean Clark

in memory of Maxine Knight Clark

Mary Conrad Bob Cunningham in honor of CA

Karla Shelton & Bruce Dobrin Matt & Karen Dodson Anne Doubilet Cinda & Donnelley Erdman

in honor of My Parents Who Gave me the Beach

Diane Evans & Tom Farr Wendy Foster Jennifer Fry in memory of David Fry

William & Karen Gallivan

in honor Heather Hudson Crummer

Hall & Anne Healy

in honor of Dylan Henderson

Kate Mead & Marty Conoley

in memory Hercules, Santa Barbara Calendar Cat 1987

Sheldon & Janet Crandall

in memory of Christopher & Tim Cutler

Diane Dannelley

in memory of Randy Barnes

Christopher Dentzel in honor of CA

Larry & Marie Driggers

in memory of Ted Palermo

Story Eaton John & Marsha Elleston Rosemary Fatano Jodi & John Ferner

in honor of Corey, Ben, and Benji

Kathy B. Gallo Maria Gaspar

in memory of Randy Barnes

Ria Marsh Teresa McWilliams Dianne Miles Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Miller Tom & Kim Modugno Michael & Lisa O’Connell Julia Pizzinat Valerie & David Powdrell Stephane Rapp

Mark Schildhauer & Joyce Gauvain Natalie Gaynes Cliff & Nicola Ghersen Patricia Guilfoyle Richard Hummel IBM Employee Services Rob & Mary Ann Latham Wendy Lee

Eileen Rebstock William Reyner Carol Sawyer

Susan LeVine Lori Lynch Bruce & Sheila Marshall Horia & Jane Metiu George & Kim Morales

in memory of Randy Barnes

in honor of California

Loren Solin/Solin Design Reed & Yvonne Spangler Gary & Joni Strauffer David Turpin

in memory of Phillip Turpin

Hugh & Karen Twibell in honor of the Earth

Christy Venable Deborah & Lee Waldron in memory of Lori Kari

Cath Webb Harvey & Janet Wolf Anna Ylvisaker C.S. Young Caroline & Donald Young in honor of MA

Kevin Young

to $99

Terrie Adden Robert Andre George & Betty Baffa Norrine Besser Lisa & Jon Blake Deborah Burns Margaret & Bill Callahan

in honor of Lanny Wright, Zeuf Hesson, & Shelly Merrick

in memory of Tina Palmisano

Brad Nelson

in memory of Vera Nelson

Emily Nolan Kiersten Ozhelevskiy Lynne Sherman & William Paxson Chuck Place Craig & Merrie Rice Robert Sollen Family Trust Kitty Ryan in honor of Shauna Ericksen & Domenic Ethier

Theresa Schaul

in memory of Randy Barnes from the Chicago Family

Ronald & Carol Simon Logan Steele

in honor of Worn in Waves

Tisbest Philanthropy Tom & Deb Trauntvein Scott & Laurie Waters George & Gail White Richard Wilke Barbara Wolfe Theresa Yandell

HTO thanks the Phyllis S. Poehler/Walter E. Stremel Charitable Trust, St. Paul, Minnesota for the funds for our public outreach, including this tribute to our supporters.

*In Kind Donations received as of 1/1/2023-12/10/2023. Full donor list to be published in the HTO Annual Newslet

Montecito JOURNAL

Your Westmont (Continued from 16 16))

Prescribed Thinning and Controlled Burns Critical in Preventing California Wildfires

Head coach Joshua Ault poses with caddy/father-in-law John Froehlich after winning his first mid-amateur tournament

pioneering two-decade-long study in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains confirms the effectiveness of forest management strategies such as restorative thinning and regulated burning in reducing the state’s rising threat of catastrophic wildfires. This thorough study, conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, underlines the critical importance of these techniques in protecting forests and preventing wildfires from escalating. The national Fire and Fire Surrogate Study, titled “Forest restoration and fuels reduction work: different pathways for achieving success in the Sierra Nevada,” published in Ecological Applications, delves into a complete examination of forest management practices. This rigorous 20-year study attests to the significant success of these methods in reducing the likelihood of catastrophic wildfires. California has presented a comprehensive strategy to greatly increase the use of managed burns. By 2025, the state plans to expand the scope of controlled fire use to 400,000 acres per year. However, obstacles such as severe weather and a scarcity of experienced staff continue to impede the full-scale deployment of these proactive fires. Moreover, the study underscores the pivotal role of restoration thinning, substantiating its feasibility in tandem with prescribed fires without compromising forest health or biodiversity. Ariel Roughton, co-author of the research and Berkeley Forests’ research station manager, highlighted the multifaceted nature of these management strategies, stating, “Our findings show that there’s not just one solution – there are multiple things that you can do to impact the risk of catastrophic fire.” The vast research project lasted two decades and was carried out at the Blodgett Forest Research Station, which spans 4,000 acres and is located around 65 miles from Sacramento on Nisenan Tribal territory. The application and impact of restoration thinning, planned burning, and their combination on forest ecosystems were investigated in this long-term study. The study’s final analysis revealed a substantial increase in wildfire resilience within the treated experimental plots. When compared to the control plots, these managed areas revealed an impressive 80 percent probability of at least 80 percent tree survival. Restoration thinning demonstrated financial viability in addition to environmental benefits, as cash gained from the sale of larger trees helped offset forest management costs during the research period. In the future, the research team plans to broaden the scope of their study to include other experimental plots. In addition, they are actively involved in efforts to reintroduce Indigenous traditional burning and disseminate the knowledge gained from these thorough studies to a broader audience participating in forest management methods.

works. “Although there are no direct applications of this work, historically fundamental research in nuclear physics has led to critical advances in technology used for medicine, safety, and national defense,” Haring-Kaye says. “These include such things as medical imaging, cancer detection and treatment, smoke detectors, and monitoring cargo for contraband.”

Golf Coach Wins Tourney Congratulations to Westmont men’s and women’s golf head coach Joshua Ault, who won his first mid-amateur tournament in the AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational December16-17 at Corica Park Golf Course in Alameda. Ault finished at 2-over with rounds of 72-74. He led by one stroke heading into the challenging final two holes. Facing wind and rain, he made two pars to win by one shot. Ault, who started the golf program at Providence Christian College in Pasadena after serving as head coach at Maranatha High School, began

coaching at Westmont in 2021. He also holds a Titleist Performance Institute Certificate. Westmont women’s golf concluded the fall season in November by claiming a championship at the PCH Fall Invitational conducted at Quail Lodge Golf Club. In October, Warrior Peyton Hendricks won the men’s individual event to help lead Westmont’s men to a first-place team finish at the Westmont Invitational held at Sandpiper Golf Club.

Scott Craig is manager of media relations at Westmont College

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28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Foraging Thyme Brussels Sprouts by Melissa Petitto

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Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment; set aside. 2. In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients except Brussels and stir to combine. Add in the Brussels and mix until well combined. 3. Transfer to the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes, stir and return to the oven. 4. Turn the heat up to 425 degrees and cook an additional 5 minutes. 5. Serve hot or room temperature.

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he Brussels sprout, such a unique vegetable that many have a love/hate relationship with, even appearing on the ‘most hated vegetable list’ year after year. Brussels sprouts are a bitter vegetable in the cruciferous family. Named after Brussels, Belgium, where they were first thought to be cultivated in the 16th century. The very thing that makes these little veggies bitter, a sulfur containing phytochemical called glucosinolate, is the ingredient responsible for so many of its health benefits. When you cook a cruciferous vegetable and then digest it, glucosinolates break down into compounds called isothiocyanates. Research has shown that these compounds have anti-cancer effects such as protecting cells from DNA damage and preventing new blood vessels from growing The leafy, little bunch of love (or hate depending on your tumor cells. Eating Brussels tastes) known as the Brussels sprout (photo by Roger Prat via sprouts, as well as other cru- Wikimedia Commons) ciferous vegetables, may help protect the body against cancers of the stomach, lungs, kidneys, breast, bladder, and prostate. The carotenoids found in Brussels sprouts are great for eye health. Go pick up some delicious Brussels at the farmers market; Ebby’s Organic Farm has some gorgeous ones. We are making some roasted ones in the kitchen today.

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Elizabeth’s Appraisals Picture This: A Look at Casino de Monte-Carlo by Elizabeth Stewart

D sends me a seafront shot of what she thinks is a view of a church and a bathhouse (note both sections of the photo). I searched for a similar vintage photo, so that I could identify the seaside church with two spires and a Roman-style boathouse close to the shore. Come to find out, the church in the photo with the two spires is a kind of church, but not the religious kind (though the jury is out on that philosophical point); that building, so distinctive as seen from the ocean, is the Casino de Monte-Carlo. The photograph is a long, narrow panoramic view, an aerial photo; aerial shots in 1920 were the purview of a division of the French Armed Forces, called the Girard Observers or the “Observateur Fleury Seive” as these silver gelatin photos captured famous locations in the 1920s. There are two other shots of a similar photo, which are offered today at AbeBooks by “Bits of Our Past” photography sellers in Poynton, U.K. I was wrong about the two spires representing a holy place, but I figured the structure resembling a Roman Boathouse had to have something to do with water, and it in fact is part of the Oceanographic Museum. The Casino de Monte-Carlo is a complex of gambling, entertainment, and arts offices, housing the Opera de Monte-Carlo and Les Ballets de MonteCarlo. The whole complex is operated by the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Étrangers de Monaco, which translates to “the bathing and seaside society for strangers in Monaco.” Why strangers? The founder of the casino believed that the locals might be morally compromised if they worked

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24 Montecito JOURNAL

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View from the sky via a French military plane looking down on Monte-Carlo in the 1920s

in or gambled in the casino, so they were/are banned. It is a revenue-producing place taking foreigners’ money, and the income is received by the Royal Family of Monaco, who have since the mid-19th century owned the founding company. The genius behind this all was the Princess Consort of Monaco, Maria Caroline Gibert de Lametz (1793-1879), who became a Grimaldi after her marriage to Florestan I (1816-1856). When they met, both were having fun as actors in France; Florestan had no great designs to be a prince, especially since the Grimaldi family was poor by the standards of royalty in the day. Marie Caroline was destined to be a rich princess, turning the Grimaldi poverty into the Grimaldi fortune, and to do so, she amended the tax laws, and began the plan to imitate the greatest of all casinos, the Bad Homburg, in Monaco in the mid-19th century. She begged the entrepreneur François Blanc, responsible for Casino Bad Homburg’s success, to work for the Grimaldi family, persuading Blanc to move to Monaco, a place with few roads. Francois Blanc set up the plans for a great casino in 1863, with his major investors being the Bishop of Monaco and Cardinal Pecci of Monaco, the future Pope Leo XIII. Marie Caroline named the enterprise after her heir, the future Prince Charles/Carlo. Blanc had lent money to the French Third Republic so that France could complete the great Paris Opera House, and because of this he knew the greatest Beaux Arts architect of the day, Charles Garnier, who designed and built the Paris Opera House, now the Palais Garnier. His Monte-Carlo façade designs of 1878-79 are indeed the fabulous architecture we see today; the interior has been significantly altered. The Casino de Monte-Carlo has been the center of the world of high-style gambling for years. After all, it is James Bond’s favorite casino, seen in Never Say Never Again, and of course, in GoldenEye. Ocean’s Twelve was set there in 2004. And much more happened over the years, such as experiments in mathematical probability “The Monte-Carlo Effect,” where various notorious gamblers tried to beat the odds in such a palatial setting. The first gambler who tried to cheat the odds was celebrated in a popular eponymous song “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte-Carlo” (1892) by vaudevillian Charles Coburn, featuring an off-kilter roulette wheel. Another Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is attempt at breaking the casino’s bank a veteran appraiser of fine was celebrated in a book written by art, furniture, glass, and Ben Mezrich titled Bringing Down other collectibles, and a the House, and Busting Vegas, the cert. member of the AAA true story of a group of math geeks and an accr. member of attempting to break the bank by the ASA. Please send any counting cards – the exploits of the objects to be appraised to MIT Blackjack Team in 2003. Such a Elizabethappraisals@ famous place is featured in this 1920s gmail.com aerial photo, which is worth $90. 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Coming in 2024 Apr 17

Herbie Hancock

8 PM / Granada Theatre

Jan 31

Nita Farahany and Nicholas Thompson

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Everything 7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Feb 1

Renée Fleming in Recital 7 PM / Granada Theatre Mar 9

Tommy Emmanuel, CGP

Purchase tickets and see the full lineup of more than 30 events online.

(805) 893-3535 | www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

with special guests Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley 8 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Apr 23

Rhiannon Giddens, You’re the One 8 PM / Granada Theatre

Montecito JOURNAL

IN MEMORIAM by MJ Readers and Staff

Irma Jurkowitz photo by Priscilla

Barbara City College to pursue music. Gigging in NYC and Chicago, Crosby bumped into future Byrds bandmates Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, Michael Clark, and Chris Hillman. Splitting from that pioneering band in ‘67, a chance meeting with Graham Nash in Laurel Canyon would lead to the formation of CSNY, and Crosby’s celebrated second chapter. Impassioned about his music to the very end, Crosby died in his sleep of COVID complications during preparations for a tour. He was 81. (photo by Christopher Michel via Wikimedia Commons)

Milt Larsen Irma Jurkowitz – a local philanthropist and dear wife of husband Morrie Jurkowitz – had been a resident of Montecito for more than 50 years, and in that time quietly made a lasting mark on the community she loved. The private Jurkowitz Family Foundation is a funding source for various charity projects, and the Morris and Irma Jurkowitz Honors Program Award goes to Honors students enrolled in SBCC. Believing firmly in the life-changing aspects of live performance, the Jurkowitz Center for Community Engagement (JCEE) subsidizes ticketed performances for those who might not otherwise be able to attend a world-class performance at the Granada, a theater once owned by the Jurkowitzes. Through similar gifting, the JCEE makes the Granada’s McCune Founders Room available to local nonprofits for conferences, meetings, and gatherings. Irma was 89.

David Crosby

Greta Fairchild

writer Thomas Steinbeck produced the celebrated pictorial tome In Search of the Dark Watchers: Landscapes and Lore of Big Sur. A wry, gentle spirit who inhabited his days and nights with love and creativity, Brode passed peacefully from pancreatic cancer.

26 Montecito JOURNAL

Mary Ann Froley

Reuben Walker Eliyahu Smith

Milt Larsen – Santa Barbara resident, master prestidigitator, scion of a family of working magicians, and founder of The Magic Castle – exited the stage this year. Having grown up on the road with a family of traveling illusionists, Larsen became personally and professionally immersed in that community, in 1963 founding The Magic Castle with his brother Bill Larsen in Los Angeles. Repurposing an old mansion into a global destination for top-flight magic acts, the spot became the Academy of Magical Arts headquarters and a nexus for envelope-pushing sleight of hand. An attempt at a second Magic Castle venue in Santa Barbara was undone by COVID and a number of permitting issues. Mr. Larsen was 92.

Reuben Walker Eliyahu Smith was not just an artist but an integral part of the art community and the lives of everyone he touched. Reuben will be forever missed.

Bill Cornfield

Painter, adventurer, commercial fisherman, Navy seaman, prospector for gold in the remote jungles of Nicaragua – Ben Brode didn’t waste a minute. The son of artists and a deeply local artist himself, Brode designed logos for John Dory (later renamed Brophy Bros.) and Harbor restaurants, became a furniture and cabinet maker, and later took up landscape painting, mounting many art shows in Santa Barbara. His collaboration with

Mary Ann Froley, a/k/a Mary Ann Kovacevich, died at home on December 10, after a sudden illness. Mary Ann was a majorette, systems engineer, wife and mother, sailing buddy, and an intensely proud grandma. She loved her life and friends in Santa Barbara. A memorial will be held in 2024.

Kamala Mirpuri

Benjamin Fay Brode

David Crosby passed in January of this year, joining the ranks of foundational American rock and folk artists to leave us in 2023. Born in L.A. and raised in Santa Barbara, Crosby attended Crane School, Laguna Blanca, and Carpinteria High School, ultimately dropping out of Santa

We miss you so much Mom. Love, Paul, Andrew, Sara and Matthew

Well-known interior designer, shop owner, and friend to many, Bill Cornfield, died on September 9th.

August 17, 1933 to September 18, 2023 To our sweet Mom, Your bright smile and cheery presence will always be remembered by your family and friends all over the world who call you one of the kindest, most sincere souls ever met. You taught us to be flexible, understanding, hardworking, and kind. Thank you for everything and for your infinite love you gave us. We love you more, Your daughter and son-in-law, Sheela and Mark Ashton Hunt

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

IN MEMORIAM Born March 5, 1934, JoEtta G. McClintock passed away peacefully on September 7, 2023. Along with our deep sadness, we celebrate her colorful life and character, remember her laugh, and how she enriched our lives immeasurably. May she rest in peace. – The McClintock Family

James Allan Young

Denis Delaney Born 7-2-67 in Rochester, New York, to Donald and Gayle Young. Moved to Montecito April 1973. Attended Cold Spring School, Howard School, Santa Barbara High, and Brooks Institute of Photography, earning a bachelor’s degree and becoming a professional photographer. Diagnosed with cancer and died March 12, 2023.

John S Reynolds

Arborary Memoriam

16 February 1932 – 26 June 2023 John S Reynolds died 3-14-23 “Dancing the Night Away.”

Jane Spencer

JoEtta G. McClintock I lost, we lost, two of my most favorite Montecito friends this year. The Monterey cypress tree and the gigantic Morton Bay fig tree along the 101 – Daniel Seibert

us who knew her well. I could write a book. I vividly recall the invaluable support she provided during the nerve-racking process of learning to drive. My first year at University of North Carolina Charlotte brought us even closer; I was a freshman and Sojourner was a senior. Sojourner emerged as my unwavering rock, guiding me through the intricacies of college life and shepherding me through the initial stages of independence.” Sister Sharon Kincaid-Dula – “I affectionately reminisce about Sojourner’s unique dining habits, particularly her knack for devouring all the gravy when it made its appearance at the dinner table – a sight that left an indelible impression.” Brother J. Barron Kincaid – “I cherish the numerous conversations I shared with Sojourner about our family history and a wider perception of life. These interactions have inspired me to take on the role of the Family Historian. I am forever grateful to her for helping me understand life in a larger perspective and not just a small-town life. Sojourner’s impact on our lives is undeniable, marked by her support, unique quirks, and the lasting legacy she has left in the fabric of our family narrative.” Brother DeHaven Phillips – “My sister was amazing. She would call me day or night just to talk. Her subject matter always dwelled around her latest

In Memoriam Page 284 284

Sojourner Kincaid Rolle

Feb 13, 1949 – Oct 4, 2023 Beloved mother, grandmother, sister, friend. Active member of the Santa Barbara community for 25+ years with her husband Rudi Freimuth (dec). Former manager of the Rack at the Music Academy. Property Manager in Montecito. She is deeply missed, and we are grateful for the many memories she leaves behind. 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

1943 – 2023 In her exemplary, extraordinary life, from criminal justice to healing justice, from activist to artist, from playwright to poet, from mediator to mentor, and from historian to HerStory, Joy Sojourner Kincaid Rolle was also a beloved sister, aunt, cousin, and wife. To honor these rich relationships, MJ reached out to her family to share their personal stories as a tribute for Soj. Sister Vanessa Kincaid-Monroe – “My sister Sojourner ‘Joy’ holds a special place in the memories of all of

Sojourner’s first community speaking appearance in Santa Barbara, 1990 (photo by Rod Rolle)

Montecito JOURNAL

IN MEMORIAM In Memoriam (Continued from 27 27))

Sojourner’s graduation from Berkeley Law School, 1985 (photo courtesy of Vanessa Kincaid Monroe)

A selfie of Soj and Rod from Rod’s personal collection, 1990s (photo by Rod Rolle)

involvements. The events and meetings she attended were to benefit as many as possible. My sister very seldom said

Sojourner and her brother DeHaven (date unknown, photo courtesy of Rod Rolle)

28 Montecito JOURNAL

Female cousins at a family reunion in 1978. Picured: (back) Sharon Dula, (front) Kim Kincaid, Lisa Kincaid, Sojourner, Patricia McKinney (Sissy), Barbara Kincaid, Vanessa Kincaid-Monroe, and Julia McKinney (BooBoo). (photo courtesy of Vanessa Kincaid Monroe)

‘no’ to requests. Our long, yet wonderful conversations always ended on a positive note. She was a great listener who loved giving advice. SK Rolle will forever be unforgotten to those whose path she crossed.”

Husband Rod Rolle – Here is an excerpt from a poem by Soj that I chose, it is relevant for the times today, from her book, Black Street, Center for Black Studies Research, UCSB, 2009:

Cousin Janelle Marshall, Director of the Pathways Program for the state of Virginia – “Sojourner was a force and brought love and light to wherever she went. I’ll never forget that key moment in my life as a young girl when she interviewed me on Outrageous Women. She has poured so much wisdom into me over the years and I am forever grateful for her life and wisdom.”

Inseparable On contemplating the legacy of Mrs. Rosa Parks “…Each moment as soon as spent becomes a part of the great Our Past… We reach for that one glorious expression achieved by our composed action

Sojourner’s grandmother Curruth Kincaid, mother Carolyn Phillips, Sojourner “Joy”, father John Grayson Kincaid, and stepmother Dorothy Kincaid, 1985 (photo courtesy Vanessa Kincaid Monroe)

That our living not be for naught; That our striving not be in vain… Let this shining star be a sign unto us – All is not lost, we bask in reflected glory and continue.” A public memorial service for Sojourner is scheduled for Monday, January 15, 2024, from 12 pm – 2 pm, at the First United Methodist Church, 305 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 www.pueblodelreyfuneralservice.com/ obituary/sojourner-e-kincaid-rolle

August 2023, before Sojourner’s 80th birthday: Niece Christina Monroe-Godwin, sister Sharon Dula, Sojourner “Joy,” and sister Vanessa Monroe (photo courtesy of Vanessa Kincaid Monroe)

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Food Files (Continued from 18 18)) pizza action? “Out of necessity I started baking bread and making pizza because I was just poor, and I wanted to learn how to do it. And it cost a dollar to make a loaf of bread. Part of the reason I started working kitchens again is because when I started as a home baker making bread and pizza, I realized I wanted to do this. I wanted to have a tiny pizzeria.” So he started at the bottom and built his way up. Kinda like a pizza! He was hired as a baker and “general kitchen guy” at Handlebar’s kitchen on De La Vina. The thing was, he hadn’t worked in a kitchen in a long time. The head chef at the time, the take-no-prisoners Sandra Adu Zelli – a highly accomplished chef that’s worked with the likes of Bea Vo, Tom Kerridge, Jun Tanaka, and Yotam Ottolenghi, and now Pies and slices for the masses (photo by Kelsey Brito) is the chef owner of Gipsy Hill Bakery – totally put him to work. Travis puts it slightly different. “I came into a high-volume café and got the *expletive* kicked out of me. I caught on a little slower than anybody would’ve liked.” And it’s here that the name of his pizza spot came to be. “That’s where Back Bench comes from. Working at Handlebar, the kitchen is like eight feet wide, and I’m a big dude. There’s four to six people in there, and I would be in the way. And there were tables set up at the back of the coffee shop behind the roaster. So Sandra would say, ‘Travis you have to go work at the back bench.’ And that’s where I rolled pastries and shaped dough.” It was under the tutelage of the ever-patient Sandra that he got better at the fundamentals. Sure, he was the bottom of the barrel, but he was making doughnuts, pastries, and more importantly, he became the dough guy. Which really, was his ultimate dream. As his stint at Handlebar came to a close, Sandra threw him a solid and introduced him to Rachel Greenspan and Brendan Smith, owners of Bettina, who were about to transition from doing catering and pop-ups to opening their highly popular restaurant on Coast Village Road. This turned out to be a big step up, despite initially thinking otherwise. Reality check! Handlebar was a busy kitchen, but this was a totally different environment. If we’re thinking in pizza terms, it went from personal size to extra large. The stakes were higher. After all, it’s a restaurant that in 2021, won the Michelin Bib Gourmand Award.

“I was feeling pretty good about my general skillset and work ethic, and then I was just thrown into the meat grinder again. It was brutal for the first part of it. You have to deal with your own ego. I thought I was good at this, and I’m okay at best. And I had to just learn this whole other skillset.” But for two years, Travis kneaded and rolled and baked. “I was doing sourdough loaves, all the focaccia, and pizza dough. And I was given leeway to experiment with specialty loaves.” And then the pandemic hit. What was that like? “We were busier than ever when everything shut down. Because with pizza you can just come grab a box and go. When the dining room closed, we were making more food than ever. But there was the general stress of making more food, and also the outside stress of what’s going to happen in the world. Is this a societal collapse moment?” On the brink of the end of the world and he’s stuck making pizza dough. Go out doing what you love, as they say! And then he quit. In the middle of the pandemic. Travis, what were you thinking??? What were even you doing??? “I moved to Ventura, and I was sitting at home playing video games with you.” Oh, right. Haha, well… Remember readers, this was during the pandemic! Travis, uh, please continue. “But then I had to do something. I had a little bit of money, so I decided to make pizza out of the house. I got a Cottage Food permit from the City of Ventura.” “I was inspired by Side Pie in Altadena and Quarter Sheets in Los Angeles. A lot of people were furloughed from the food industry and had the same thought process I did. People wanted to do stuff. And there was a big wave of people doing stuff out of their houses. And I was like, ‘Yeah I could do that.’” And just like that, Travis started Back Bench out of his home kitchen. Making pizzas on Saturday and bread on Sundays. All you had to do was reserve a slot online and he would crank out as many pizzas as he could from his apartment. He passed pizzas out his front window, which was surrounded by Christmas lights to let everyone know where to snag Enjoy a slice with some beer on tap (photo by Travis Farmer)

Food Files Page 344 344

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28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

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Montecito JOURNAL

“Advertiser”: An Ordinary Word for an Extraordinary Group

n the year 79, Mt. Vesuvius exploded with a force of 100,000 atom bombs, burying unlucky Pompeii and some 20,000 inhabitants. When archaeologists began disinterring the ancient city 1,800 years later, they found something surprising: wall-to-wall ads. The ancient town’s homes and flagstones were covered with them. Advertising has been as central to human culture as the rope sandal, and for about as long – the consumer/producer symbiosis enriching the cultural blood flow for thousands of years. In the year 1995, Montecito welcomed its hometown paper of record, courtesy of the industrious, community-loving Buckley family. Today, the Montecito Journal’s ongoing legacy is largely the story of its supporters; the neighbors and friends whose paid “advertisements” have made the paper possi-

by Jeff Wing

ble – while providing a stirring visual document of our village’s life and times for nearly three decades now. Advertisers point us to our needs and wants. They also tend to pick up the check. Imagine: you’re standing at the door of a grand museum, one whose exhibits inform your daily life. How to get past the doorman? The fellow is insistent. No pay, no entry. You’re about to walk away when a grinning stranger taps you on the shoulder. “Hey, pal. I got this.” The stranger hands a fiver to the bouncer, who with a great bow of deference unhitches the velvet rope to let you in. “Thank you, merciful stranger,” you say with some trepidation. “Who the hell are you?” “I’m an advertiser. Your museum visit is on me.” The newspaper you’re holding – or straining to read on the floor

This is the first paid ad to appear in the The Gold Coast Montecito Journal – Volume 1, Issue 2 – in 1995. The paper’s name was later shortened to the more declarative Montecito Journal. Montecito Video owner Dana Newquist’s ad offers a nostalgic backward glance at the Upper Village’s shops and businesses of that day.

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28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

of your beloved parakeet’s cage – was not produced in a vacuum. To publish it, currency changes hands. It is your good fortune, and that of your parakeet, that none of that currency comes out of your pocket. “Free” magazines and newspapers aren’t actually free. The advertisers have paid the subscription for you. We live in a small seaside burgh whose main street has the almost suspiciously charming name “Coast Village Road.” The Upper and Lower Villages are separated by a forest dotted with verdant, shade-dappled parks, the glorious hamlet bracketed by a sun-bathed mountain range on one side and the preening

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Pacific Ocean on the other. In this picturesque village, our business owners and service providers are indeed our neighbors. They are our friends. The Montecito Journal wants to take this year-end opportunity to thank YOU – our swinging advertisers – for your partnership in bringing the weekly deets of our busy-cozy-beloved town to our readers. You pump oxygen into the lifeblood of our enchanted village. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

Montecito JOURNAL

Village Beat (Continued from 10 10))

A rendering of the San Ysidro Road roundabout, which began construction in March and is nearly complete

the year. Finishing work will continue on that roundabout in the beginning of the year. In related news, construction began on the highway widening through Montecito in June, as Caltrans seeks to add a new peak-period carpool lane in each direction in the Montecito corridor from the Romero Creek Bridge north to Olive Mill Road, along with new on- and off-ramps. There will also be northbound and southbound auxiliary lanes (lanes connecting on-ramps and off-ramps to improve merging) between San Ysidro and Olive Mill roads. New bridges will be built over Romero, San Ysidro, and Oak creeks. Construction is scheduled from midJune 2023 through 2026. Visit www. sbroads.com for continual updates on the highway widening and associated projects.

Commission seeking amendments to two of its 92 conditions of operation of the Biltmore Hotel and Coral Casino Development Plan, which were originally approved in 2005. Both luxury locations have been closed since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. The proposed amendments included reducing the number of hotel rooms at the nearby Biltmore Hotel from a maximum of 229 to 192, as well as allowing limited public use – 265 members of the public per day – of the existing second-floor restaurant at the Coral Casino,

#4: Coral Casino Updates Four Seasons Resort the Biltmore and Coral Casino owner Ty Warner was in the news this year regarding changes to the private club, the Coral Casino, on Channel Drive. In April, Warner’s team was in front of the Montecito Planning

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currently operating as Tydes. In addition, the proposed changes to the CDP include eliminating use of the Coral Casino by Biltmore hotel guests and their guests, reducing the number of allotted monthly memberships to reciprocal clubs, and eliminating the seasonal membership allowance for Biltmore guests. The amendments were approved and then immediately appealed by multiple Coral Casino members; the appeal was then resolved privately in June. In July, Warner announced a new partnership with seven-Michelin star chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller, who has been tapped to oversee all food and beverage operations at the Coral Casino. Chef Keller will elevate dining at the yet-to-be-reopened Coral Casino with a newly envisioned and seasonally inspired Continental menu, adding to the Casino’s reputation as a world-class private club and historical coastal destination. And for the first time, Tydes will open to the public so that everyone may enjoy Chef Keller’s Continental Cuisine menu. Improvements currently taking place at the Coral Casino for an impending reopening include expansion of Fins, the Club’s take-out juice bar, relocation and enlargement of the children’s pool, relocation of the spa and an added plunge pool, addition of a new member’s rooftop lounge, and upgrading of the private dining room. We received multiple letters regarding the increase in the dues at the Coral Casino, which are rumored to be increasing from $800 per month to $2,500 per month. The Biltmore is also undergoing alterations, including reconfiguration of the existing stepped terrace outside the La Marina dining room, and an increase in size of the middle and lower terrace. The dining patio is proposed to be staggered, with pockets of plantings to provide privacy between the tables. Reconfigurations of the windows are also proposed, including new double doors, which are proposed to be incorporated into the existing arched window on the south elevation and will match the existing window and doors at the Ty Lounge. Other proposed alterations include the addition of stairs and a new raised landing, and construction of pedestrian gates and existing easterly and westerly pedestrian entrances. There are also rumored changes to the kids’ pool area. There is no official date for reopening of either property.

#3: Recovering from a Wet Winter The beginning of 2023 was a wet and wild one: on January 9, 2023, exactly

five years to the day after the 1/9 Debris Flow in 2018, Montecito and Santa Barbara experienced a 25- to 50-year storm event. We received .7 inches an hour in Montecito during the worst of the storm, totaling 20 inches in the first nine days of the year, which is 200% of a normal year. Storm impacts were estimated to cost $71M, with 139 impact sites on local roads and 64 impact sites being managed by Flood Control. These impacts included washouts and road closures on East Mountain Drive from Coyote to Cold Spring and Cold Spring to Ashley, on Bella Vista from Romero Canyon to Ladera Lane, and a bridge closure on Padaro Lane. Twenty bridges needed a range of debris removal, slope protection, and abutment repairs. This is in addition to 124,000 cubic yards of material filling up our local debris basins and debris impacting culverts and creeks. The Randall Road Debris Basin, which was completed in October 2022, worked exactly as designed, protecting properties below Highway 192, as well as the freeway. “We were close to the system breaking,” said Scott McGolpin, Public Works rep, at the February Montecito Planning Commission hearing. “It bent but it held up. We are pretty proud of that.” There were 1,500 truckloads of material that fell in the Randall Road Debris Basin, with the National Guard helping to clear out the debris. Lake Cachuma went from 35 to 81 percent in 48 hours, and reached full capacity later in January. Because of the continued threat of flooding in Montecito, despite being over five years out from the most recent wildfire, the County is beginning a multi-phase project to investigate flood mitigation options, starting with developing a plan for the community of Montecito. A Flood Mitigation Master Plan will be created to guide the planning, design, and construction of improvements to mitigate flooding and flood water impacts to the community. The plan will investigate potential solutions and improvements for flooding in Montecito, for the drainage areas associated with Montecito Creek, Oak Creek, San Ysidro Creek, Romero Creek, and their tributaries.

#2: Iconic Cypress Tree Removed One of the most talked about and shared stories this year in Montecito was the removal of the iconic cypress tree in the highway 101 median just south of the San Ysidro Road exit. The beloved tree was removed in prepara28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

An iconic cypress tree in the median of the freeway in Montecito was removed recently in anticipation of the project to widen the freeway to three lanes in each direction. The tree was the lone survivor of seven to 10 trees which were originally planted decades ago. (Photo by Matt Mosby)

tion of the expansion of the freeway in both directions, and the removal spurred many comments in online and social media forums, with commenters lamenting the loss of the tree, which many called the symbol of “coming home” to Montecito. The project team from the Highway 101 project told us at the time of removal in November that the tree was removed as part of the clearing of the median, along with other landscaping and a large sycamore tree. Back in 2014 when the median widening design was studied as part of the Environmental Impact Review for the project, it was determined that expanding the freeway into the median was the best course of action, versus expanding on the sides of the current freeway, which would have entailed acquiring private property through the use of imminent domain. At the time, several landscape designers and an arborist were brought in to evaluate moving the trees – plural, as at the time there were several cypress trees still standing – but it was determined that the trees were not in optimal health and the chance of survival after replanting elsewhere was not good. Two of the remaining three cypress trees were lost during heavy storms in early 2017, and more vegetation was lost during the debris flow in January 2018. But still the lone cypress

remained, surviving fire, floods, and freeway closures. Its removal struck a chord with the community, with dozens of pictures of the tree posted online after its removal.

It’s Not Goodbye, It’s See You Later On a personal note, I have deeply enjoyed writing this column, Village Beat,

nearly every week since 2007. In 2024, I will pass the baton to someone new as I shift my focus to other endeavors. Thank you to the team at the MJ, especially Tim Buckley, who took a chance on me as a wee 20-something reporter, fresh off an internship at KEYT, and gave me the space and ink to cover some incredible stories over the last 16 years. I have cherished being a small part of this special little community. I can continue to be reached at kelly@homesinsantabarbara. com, and will continue to write about real estate and other special projects in this publication.

Kelly Mahan Herrick, also a licensed realtor with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, has been editor at large for the Journal since 2007, reporting on news in Montecito and beyond.

#1: Ring Nets Removed Despite record rainfall this past winter, and another year of higher-than-average rainfall expected this winter, the six steel debris flow nets that were placed in the canyons above Montecito in 2018 were removed abruptly in November. Prior to the removal, the citizen-led group which spearheaded the installation of the nets, The Project for Resilient Communities (TPRC), filed an application with the County of Santa Barbara to extend the five-year emergency permits for the nets to remain in place. All landowners who own the land where the nets are installed granted a fiveyear extension, and insurance had been secured for the next five years. The group had also applied for an extension with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, an extension with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and had FEMA evaluating funding for 94 percent of the costs to clean out the full net in Upper San Ysidro Canyon, which was filled during the January 9, 2023 storm.

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According to project spokesperson Pat McElroy, TPRC was eager to transfer the management of the nets – which includes the cleaning out of the nets after debris flows – to the County, to no avail. The group sought to donate the nets system as part of an overall strategy for Public Works infrastructure becoming more robust for the community’s protection. The nets were installed after the debris flow of 1/9/2018, as part of an overall disaster mitigation plan. This was done with essential support from private citizens and with County, State, federal, and environmental support, when the County was focused on other critical areas of recovery. In an article written by McElroy and fellow TPRC founder Brett Matthews, the duo thanked the community for the support of the ring nets the last five years.

The six steel debris flow nets that were placed in the canyons above Montecito in 2018 were removed abruptly in November

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Food Files (Continued from 29 29)) the cheesy, gooey goodness. “It started with just friends on Instagram. Then friends of friends. Then neighbors started looking out the window and would be like ‘Are you selling pizza?’ Then I had people totally disconnected from me that would order every week.” All the while his home pizza operation was firing off, Travis wandered around Ventura looking for empty places, imagining something bigger for Back Bench. Then Travis found his spot. Right on Main Street, near the movie theater. A prime location. Unlike a lot of restaurants, Travis is doing this independently. No investors. Which brings me back to our connection with punk, hardcore, and that DIY attitude. Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three people associated with punk and hardcore that have opened up pizza spots. I bring up my pizza/punk connection again, a connection I’m maybe a little too proud of. Does doing everything yourself stem from that DIY punk mentality? “Absolutely. From the beginning of every step, there’s a learning curve. The first time I booked a U.S. tour, I didn’t know what I was doing. We wanted to do it, so I called everybody I knew, and basically begged. Can we play in your basement or in whatever VFW? Can you make a show for us? When it came to printing merch, we just had to learn how to do that part. And when it came to the record label – I put five records out – they were all various levels of disaster. Because I was just guessing at what to do. And it’s been a little bit of the same with this.” But there’s a fulfillment that comes with that, right? With being a part of every process, of having your fingerprints all over everything. Travis agrees. “I’m really interested in the process of learning all this stuff. It’s worth the pain for me to then have them be my own. This could be a lot easier. I know people who own restaurant groups. I could have an investor. But I’m interested in this place being mine, and doing it the way I want to do it.” I ask him with all that time on the road, if he was thinking about opening up his own shop. Instead of counting Minor Threat’s black sheep to help him fall asleep in the tour van, did he dream of selling pizza slices? “Yeah, definitely. The first time I went on tour we went to this place called Brothers in Staten Island. And I was like, ‘Oh, it really is good in New York. I can just do that!’”

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That takes us to more of his pizza inspirations. What were some pizza places that got his oven going? Men and women of the dough that have steered him to the sauce? “Chris Bianco [chef-owner of Pizzeria Bianco]. That’s a guy who loves making food, he loves feeding people, and making some of the best pizza in the world. And he started in Phoenix, Arizona, of all places.” Which for Travis is inspiring because it shows that you don’t have to be in New York or New Jersey to have some seriously tasty ‘za. In fact, some of the best pizza he’s had is in California, like at Apollonia’s Pizzeria in Los Angeles. He goes on. “One of my main From the windows of a Ventura apartment to a shop on inspirations is this guy Joe Beddia Main Street, Back Bench is now open, serving up artisin Philly who made 40 pies a anal pies and slices (photo by Kelsey Brito) day in a walk-up hole in the wall in Fishtown.” At the time, Pizzeria Beddia was essentially a one-man band only serving full pies. No chairs, no way to call to order, no delivery, and you had to line up hours in advance to have a chance to get one of his coveted pizzas. “I tried to go. They start serving at, I think, 4 pm and I showed up at 3:30pm and there were 100 people in line trying to get pizza. If your product is good and people want to buy it, you can make a little living.” Beddia’s pizzeria reminded Travis it really can be quality over quantity. So is that what he’s going to do? Is he going to have a similar concept? “It’s go until I sell out.” Travis plans to start with 60 pizzas a day, some for slices, some for whole pies. Once they’re out, they’re done. Easy as that. According to Travis, 60 pies a day is nothing compared to a place like Bettina, where they would do something like 300-500 pies a day. Now, that’s a whole lotta dough! His collaboration with the vegan spot Rascal’s was an experiment in this type of pizza model. Owner of Rascal’s, Dalan Moreno, opened his spot to collab with Travis, and the duo got to doughing. “The pop-up with Rascal’s was insane. That was another thing that pushed me in this direction. That was the most pizza I’ve made in a night. We did 40, and we sold out in 15 minutes. It was three hours of me making pizza, with Dal helping. It went really well. People were really understanding. They were waiting for two hours. I didn’t get to go look, but some people said 50 to 100 people got turned away.” And that was the same successful story for his follow-up pop-ups at The Dutchess, with the help of pastry aficionado Kelsey Brito, head baker at that delicious and amazing Ojai restaurant. (Sidenote: the vegan crème brûlée they once served for dessert nearly brought me to tears.) Travis and crew slung out pizza slices as fast as humanly possible. It was evident: people want his slices. To make pizzas the way Travis wants to, he says you have to be a little delusional. You have to lie to yourself that you can do it, and then eventually, it just happens. “I don’t have any illusions about being a pizza mogul. I want to have a life for myself that is not work-centric. I don’t believe your job has to be the bulk of your identity. My goal with this is I want to have a life outside of this place. I want to be comfortable, and I want to make the people that work with me have a dignified, comfortable work-life balance.” That’s something surely every worker and aspiring pizza person wants to hear. But my mind is still on the Rascal’s/Back Bench collaboration. I’ve been waiting for this moment. I ask him, on the record, will Back Bench Pizza always have a Christopher Matteo Connor vegan option? is a writer and filmmaker. “Yes.” When he isn’t writing, And with that, Travis just stole a pizza watching movies, and workmy heart. ing on projects, you can Back Bench Pizza is located at 563 be sure he’s somewhere East Main Street and is open from 11 enjoying a big slice of am – 8 pm. vegan pizza. 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

On Entertainment (Continued from 8) minutes in 2023 dwindle away. In a nod to the Symphony’s tradition, both a traditional salute to the military and the closing “Auld Lang Syne” sing-along remain part of the show – but there’s also another audience participation piece that has a clever NYE connection. It’s all part of Lipke’s plan to not only put people into a festive mood, but also move them emotionally. “I want the audience to feel different at the end of the concert,” he said. “One of the great things is that no matter how old you are, no matter how convinced you are about how you feel, you can always be surprised, moved, and changed by music.”

Andrew Lipke hosts this year’s NYE event at the Granada (courtesy photo)

Holiday Show of the Week This past year has seen the revival of Santa Barbara Comedy Hideaway, the erstwhile series that imported comics from major venues and streaming services on a weekly basis at several different locations in town. While weekly shows are at 1203 State Street, the Hideaway steps it up to hang out at the New Vic Theatre for two special New Year’s Eve sets, featuring headliner Auggie Smith (San Francisco International Comedy Competition winner), Jennifer Jolly (NBC, ABC, Disney), Camilla Cleese (yes, John’s daughter), Maximilian Robert Lockwood, and Andrey Belikov. Visit www.sbcomedy.com.

Major Milestone for the Marjorie Luke It was shortly after the dawning of the new millennium that Santa Barbara Unified School District and a new nonprofit got together to upgrade the auditorium at Santa Barbara Junior High that had gone dark and fallen into disrepair. What started as a cleanup turned into a full-blown renovation of the historic Spanish colonial revival theater, originally built in 1933 by WPA craftsmen and artisans. The four-million-dollar project took two years to complete and included donor support from members of the entertainment industry, many of them alums of the school. The actor Anthony Edwards was offered naming rights for the upgraded facility but chose instead to honor his mentor, Marjorie Luke, the beloved drama teacher at Santa Barbara Junior High who had instilled pride and long-term respect for the arts in her students. Since its reopening in 2004 as a state-of-the-art performing arts venue, the Luke has hosted such nationally famous entertainers as Judy Collins, Mavis Staples, Canadian Brass, Stephen Stills, Arturo Sandoval, Melissa Manchester, The Muppets, and the creator and cast members of Glee, as well as local luminaries Kenny Loggins, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and James Cameron. Even more importantly, and true to its mission, the facility has also been utilized by over 200 local arts and education organizations, partly through the innovative rent subsidy program for other nonprofit educational organizations that makes the Luke one of the most affordable venues per capacity in Santa Barbara. As the calendar turns to 2024, the Luke has lined up a number of 20th Anniversary Headliner Shows, which get underway on February 3 with An Evening with Peter Sagal. The founding host of NPR’s comedy-news quiz show Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me! will be providing Steven Libowitz has covered behind-the-scenes insights on the a plethora of topics for the long-running podcast as well as his Journal since 1997, and now own brand of wit-filled humor in leads our extensive arts and his first appearance in town since entertainment coverage the show itself was taped live at the Arlington Theatre in 2010. Visit www.LukeTheatre.org for tickets and more information about the show and the theater. 28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Travel Buzz (Continued from 14 14))

The sunny, cozy room at the all-inclusive Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán hotel (photo by Leslie A. Westbrook)

tiny girl, who appeared to be about three years old, suddenly rounded the corner to happen upon the prehistoriclooking reptile, squealed, and ran to her parents, while a young boy in the pool used his water gun to coax the critter. I inched closer for a photo op and the green beast dove into the pool and swam to the other side, eliciting mixed squeals of both delight and fear. It’s not what one might expect at an “all-inclusive” Mexican hotel on the beach – who knew that all-inclusive includes wildlife? Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán is a festive, casual place popular with Mexican families. Daily sunsets on the crescent-shaped beach are often accompanied by a blasting banda band, while poolside games and a festive atmosphere prevail. It’s decidedly a place for the populace (don’t expect paparazzi or royalty here) – a mix of tourists, many from other parts of Mexico (Durango, Mexico City), families, couples and even a few solo travelers. The breakfast buffet is a standout – I recommend going into town for dinner at Casa 46. For the money, the all-inclusive resort is a heck of a deal. Daily rates can vary widely from $160 to $350 a night and up to $650 (depending on the season). Book a spacious room – the hotel recently underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, and the decor is casually chic. Request an ocean view room: the views are stunning – eat and drink whatever appeals and as much as you like and you’ll still have budget and time to explore other affordable but decidedly “foodie” dining options like Atol, which I wrote about in Part One of my Mazatlán Travel Buzz report, and the refined, historic and elegant Casa 46 (owned by the Pueblo Bonito Resorts and definitely worth the small upcharge for hotel guests). Although all meals are included at Pueblo Bonito Mazatlán, I suggest fueling up on a tasty breakfast (custom omelets, red and green chilaquiles, fruit, pastries, juices of many

flavors, and more) from the expansive breakfast buffet, then exploring some of the city’s more interesting restaurants for late lunch or dinners. Take an excursion to the small town of El Quelite for tasty Sinaloan food at El Meson de Los Laureanos served in a unique former home chockablock with Mexican decor, wandering roosters, and even the occasional orange and green iguanas in the garden. Digest your meal – which includes starters of tasty local farm cheeses – in rocking chairs on the front veranda.

Leslie A. Westbrook is a Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel writer and journalist who loves exploring the globe. A 3rd generation Californian., Leslie also assists clients sell fine art, antiques, and collectibles via auction. www.auctionliaison.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events by Steven Libowitz FRIDAY, DECEMBER 29 Countdown to Comedy – Yes, Virginia, there is comedy in Carpinteria, even some of the innovative type where the folks on stage make stuff up as they go along. Carpinteria Improv has a special end-of-year take on its performance on the eve of New Year’s Eve eve (I’ll wait while you do the math), with the dozen players doing their best to delete any depression with a delightful combination of laughter and ludicrousness. Watching a performance on the historic stage at the 95-year-old art deco-style Alcazar Theatre adds an extra air of authenticity to the experience. But don’t just watch: toss out suggestions to the cast as they elicit them for the shortform “games” that make up the bulk of the show, and even volunteer for some stage time yourself if the opportunity presents itself. Who knows? You might be up there joining them next year, or every week at the Tuesday night classes. WHEN: 7-9 pm WHERE: Alcazar Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria COST: $15 general, $12 seniors/students INFO: (805) 684-6380 or www.thealcazar.org/calendar

ONGOING Seaside Sock Skating – MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, stays true to its name with its newest attraction: rooftop sock skating. Mixing together scientific property and the spirit of the season, MOXI has installed a rink atop its lower State Street building that is constructed from artificial ice tiles that have the look and feel of the real frozen H2O stuff, meaning visitors can slip into their socks to slip and slide to their heart’s content, sans the sub-zero (Celsius) temperatures. The rooftop rink’s surface even reflects like a freshly-Zambonied hockey arena. What’s missing is the possibility of frostbite and any sharp objects – unless you’re partial to spiked socks – and the surface has a bit more friction than blades on ice, so it’s also unlikely you’ll take a tumble. The locale can’t be beat, either: while the ambiance might fall just slightly short of Rockefeller Center’s, gliding along while glancing at the ocean, mountains, and downtown buildings sure beats the inside of an arena. Best of all: sock skating is an all-ages event. WHEN: Open during regular museum hours through January 7 (weather permitting) WHERE: MOXI Museum, 125 State St. COST: Free with museum admission INFO: (805) 770-5000 or www.moxi.org

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31 Music @ Milk & Honey – Who knows what 2024 will bring? But at least the folks at Come What May Fest – who produce an annual semi-private festival in the Santa Ynez Valley each spring – are clear about what awaits on the final night of 2023, at least at the downtown bistro known as Milk & Honey. The event features a mixture of electro-pop, funk, soul and rap via live performances by Antonio Barret and Brayell, who both were on the lineup at Come What May 2023, plus vinyl mixing between sets by Val-Mar Records. The final bash of 2023 is aimed at keeping you dancing till long after the ball drops in Times Square. WHEN: 9 pm - 12:30 am WHERE: Milk & Honey, 30 W. Anapamu St. COST: $20-$25 INFO: (805) 275-4232 or www.milknhoneytapas.com

ENDING THIS WEEK Downtown Detectives Do December – Santa Barbara has a new outdoor puzzle game for teams to play that is available through the end of the year from the folks who previously produced “Mystery of the Coast.” While that puzzle asked sleuths to investigate what happened to the crew of an abandoned pirate ship that had appeared on the Santa Barbara coast with various locations around Stearns Wharf, “Holidays in Paradise” presents a Christmastime caper. While Santa relaxes in preparation for his big night, it’s up to Mrs. Claus to get everything in order. But the Grinch has worked some mischief and mayhem into Mrs. Claus’ plans. Fear not, for Santa’s clever wife has created a set of puzzles for you to solve to save the holiday, with the gamers’ goal of helping Mrs. Claus get the toy factory back on track. Participants will spend about two hours around the Santa Barbara County Courthouse solving the mini-puzzles, learning about local history, and fostering teamwork and device-free fun. It’s a perfect time to gather family and friends in teams of two to six (four is ideal). WHEN: Daily through December 31 WHERE: 105 E. Anapamu St. COST: $35 per person INFO: (626) 433-8328 or www.downtowndetectives.com

36 Montecito JOURNAL

New Year’s Eve Bar Crawl – Why choose just one place to ring in the New Year when you can say hello to 2024 over and over again for hours at various venues in downtown Santa Barbara? The parties are plentiful at brew pubs, nightclubs, lounges, and more during the New Year’s Eve Bar Crawl where you bounce from bar to bar at your own pace, with each location offering exclusive drink specials to toast to the occasion. Tickets include free or discounted admission to more than 10 different NYE parties, free welcome shot tickets at select venues, exclusive drink specials, and a pub crawl map to all participating bars, lounges, and nightclubs. Check in at Backstage between 8-10 pm for the pre-party and punch cards, then prepare to party into the wee hours of 2024 at such favorite watering holes as Sharkeez, Indochine, Night Lizard, Institution Ale, Sandbar, and many more. WHEN: 8 pm - 2 am WHERE: 409 State St. COST: $19-$29 INFO: www.nasstive.com/santa-barbara/newyearseve Ecstatic New Year – Do you cotton more to connection than cocktails, enjoy enlightenment over alcohol, or perfecting poses to prattling in a pub? You might want to head to Yoga Soup for an evening of celebration and connection hosted by Yoga Soup, Ecstatic Dance SB, Dance Hive, and friends. Immerse yourself in an ambiance of warm lighting and comfortable spaces with a vibrant dance floor that invites you to let loose or quietly connect internally or with others. Head over to the Connection Lounge to find a sanctuary for squish, offering ample space to unwind throughout the night. Indulge in rich conversations and luxurious cuddles amidst a backdrop of warm lighting and soft comfort with live musicians providing a gentle ambiance. There will be short, facilitated moments, creating a heartfelt container for the evening. Venture into the Ecstatic Room for transformative journeys starting with Ecstatic Breathing led by Yoga Soup founder Eddie Ellner then lose yourself in the rhythm of Ecstatic Dance with Ean Golden, a celebration of movement and freedom. As midnight approaches, all will gather collectively for an intentional and unifying transition into the New Year. Along the way take part in Tarot Readings, a Love Letters Station, Guided Massage, an “Authentic Relating” experience, and Intention Station. Free nibbles and treats include a delicious selection of “‘Eddie-style” foodstuff. You decide between deep connection and cathartic release. WHEN: 8 pm-12:30 am WHERE: Yoga Soup, 28 Parker Way COST: $35-$55 INFO: (805) 865-881 or www.yogasoup.com/events-page

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Our 56th Season!

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31 Leaving 2023 at La Paloma – Saddle up for a dazzling New Year’s Eve bash that blends the best of two worlds: Disco Cowboys. Groove to a live DJ spinning funky tunes while flaunting your disco-meets-western attire for a glittery, boot-scootin’ celebration. Indulge in delicious bites, crafted cocktails, and join the countdown to wrangle in 2024 in true La Paloma style. Admission includes the first cocktail, complimentary midnight toast with bubbles, and lite bites. WHEN: 10 pm - 1 am WHERE: 702 Anacapa St. COST: $45 INFO: (805) 966-7029 or https://lapalomasb.com

Starlit Rooftop Party – Kimpton Canary Hotel’s rooftop provides unparalleled views of downtown as a destination to dine and dance the year away in style. Ring in the New Year under the stars with a welcoming glass of bubbles and dynamic beats by DJ Danny Welch. Snuggle up with cozy blankets by the fire or boogie your goodbye to 2023 before enjoying the NYC Ball Drop on a grand screen. WHEN: 9 pm-12 am WHERE: 31 W. Carrillo St. COST: $40 or $110 with dinner INFO: (805) 884-0300 or www.canarysantabarbara.com Barbie-licious Bye-Bye – Get your glamor on in Goleta with the once-again It Girl of 2023 at Hilton Garden Inn’s New Year’s Eve celebration on its Rooftop Bistro & Bar. Dress to impress in your most dazzling attire and get ready to dance the night away with Barbie and Ken while enjoying delicious food, an epic dance floor, and a fabulous photo booth to capture all your 2023-into-2024 moments. Admission includes two drink tickets, vittles from the Late Night Snack & Dessert Bar and a special Midnight Champagne Toast. WHEN: 9 pm WHERE: 6878 Hollister Ave., Goleta COST: $55 INFO: (805) 562-1322 or www.hilton.com/en/hotels/sbahagi-hilton-garden-inn-santa-barbara-goleta

Local Artwork in Santa Barbara Since 1968

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 31 Goodbye to 2023 with Guffaws – Missed the Carpinteria Improv players two nights ago at their homeland of the Alcazar Theatre, or needing some more nyuk-nyuk on NYE? No problem. Just head another dozen miles or so down the 101 to Ventura’s Rubicon Theatre for Ventura Improv Company’s annual New Year’s Eve celebration that should make you laugh your silly heads off. VIC has been around since 1989, offering improvisational theater classes for people of all ages and experience levels and doing regular performances at various venues all over town – most recently a monthly madhouse at NAMBA Performance Arts downtown. The company grew out of the TheatreSports format, which does Whose Line Is It Anyway-style games and “competitions,” although nowadays VIC also ventures into reality improv, Playback, and other techniques, including musical improv – with content made up in the moment, as always. This year’s show will also pay tribute to co-founder and longtime VIC Artistic Director/musical accompanist Gary Best, who passed away in September, although we imagine it will be more like an Irish wake than a funeral. Admission includes a toast with bubbly, beer, wine, and soft drinks as well as hors d’oeuvres and other treats. And the event ends by 10:30 pm so that you can get home – or party elsewhere already lubricated with laughs for the long night. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Rubicon Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura COST: $25-$45 INFO: (805) 667-2900/www.rubicontheatre.org or http://venturaimprov.com

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

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PHYSICAL TRAINING & THERAPY

AVAILABLE RENTAL

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Fully furnished Montecito guest cottage for rent $3,400/month w/1-year lease, 1-bed / 1-bath, part of larger estate near Upper Village, 1 outdoor parking space. J.J. Gobbell, DRE#02063124 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (805) 403-5785 JJ@EstatesOfSantaBarbara.com www.EstatesOfSantaBarbara.com POLO FIELD CONDO FOR RENT

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8 – 15 JUN 2023 VOL 29 ISS 23

Shelton Remodel – Clark’s Oyster Bar in the former Cava spot on CVR gets a Jeff Shelton facelift and the ABR likes what they see, P.6 Exceptional Civilian – A Q&A after Sharon Byrne is awarded for her work with the Montecito Association and Hands Across Montecito, P.16

World Champions – Westmont’s baseball team wins its first NAIA World Series with details on the plays and players’ feels inside P.18 Stringed Fusion in Ojai – Pipa and banjo come together with Wu Man and her upcoming collaborations at the Ojai Music Festival, P.19

The Giving List

New Beginnings gets its own new beginning with the grand opening of their Collaborative Center, page 20

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA www.montecitojournal.net

Montecito’s Magic Man A Problem with Food Trucks?

GOT OSTEOPOROSIS? WE CAN HELP At OsteoStrong our proven non-drug protocol takes just ten minutes once a week to improve your bone density and aid in more energy, strength, balance and agility. Please call for a complimentary session! Call Now (805) 453-6086

Concerns and commendations on food trucks around Montecito has neighbors on both sides of the fence; here is why the subject is not so simple, page 9

1/bd furnished condo Ocean/Polofield views. W/D utilities pd. $3000/mo/Dep Available January 10th (805)717-1787 IN SEARCH OF REAL ESTATE

From a family traveling act to the father of the renowned Magic Castle, the legacy and final moments of Milt Larsen’s magical life are recounted by his wife and longtime collaborator, Arlene, and the MJ’s Jim Buckley (Story starts on p. 5)

We buy land and homes in any condition. Call 805-722-5792 for a free quote

Summer of 76

The Music Academy’s 76th Summer Festival kicks off! See inside for an overview of the 100+ activities and a rundown of the first week’s events, page 34

the best blowout in town experience a fab salon wash and style at the ranch salon plus the champagne is free

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AVAILABLE FOR RENT Photo Booth Rentals for any event or occasion www.TruMusicLighting.com Call or text Moi (805) 403-6275

TRESOR We Buy, Sell and Broker Important Estate Jewelry. Located in the upper village of Montecito. Graduate Gemologists with 30 years of experience. We do free evaluations and private consultation. 1470 East Valley Rd Suite V. 805 969-0888

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JOB VACANCY MERRAG Montecito Emergency Response and Recovery Group, is looking for recording secretary on the last Thursday of the month at the Montecito Fire dept. Approx. 2 hours at $25.00 per hour. Please contact Trish 805 886 0164. AUTOMOBILES WANTED

REVERSE MORTGAGES ATTENTION SENIORS!!! IS A REVERSE MORTGAGE RIGHT FOR YOU? • Access the equity in your home today • No monthly mortgage payments • You retain title to your home • Lump sum or monthly distributions • All inquiries are strictly confidential Gayle Nagy 805-448-9224 Gayle@dmfsb.com NMLS # 251258 / Company NMLS # 12007 Direct Mortgage Funding Santa Barbara Equal Housing Lender Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act

38 Montecito JOURNAL

EDC Mobile Sharpening is a locally owned and operated in Santa Barbara. We specialize in (No-Entry) House Calls, Businesses and Special Events. Call 805-696-0525 to schedule an appointment TILE SETTING Local tile setter of 35 years is now doing small jobs only. Services include grout cleaning and repair, caulking, sealing, replacing damaged tiles and basic plumbing needs. Call Doug Watts at 805-729-3211 for a free estimate.

AVAILABLE CAREGIVER Trusted, Experienced Caregiver, CA State registered and background checked. Vaccinated. Loving and caring provides transportation, medications, etc. Lina 805-940-6888

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KNIFE SHARPENING SERVICE

We buy Classic Cars Running or not. Foreign/Domestic Chevy/Ford/Porsche/Mercedes/Etc. We come to you. Call Steven - 805-699-0684 Website – Avantiauto.group

15 – 22 JUN 2023 VOL 29 ISS 24

Temp Fire Station – With all the construction sites around town, Montecito Fire has set up a new temporary station to provide quicker response times, P.11 Market Heating Up – After a bit of a lull, the real estate market is heating up just in time for summer, P.16

The Giving List

Growing the Roots – The Summer Solstice Festival is nearly here and these are the ways to help make it happen, P.18 Construction Roundup – One can get lost between the construction projects underway and those being planned; here is an overview, P.28

Take a peek at UCSB Arts & Lectures’ 2023-2024 season inside and see what’s in store for the stage, page 20

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA www.montecitojournal.net

ELECTRICIAN Montecito Electric Repairs and Inspections Licensed C10485353 805-969-1575

$10 MINIMUM TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD It’s simple. Charge is $3 per line, each line with 31 characters. Minimum is $10 per issue. Photo/logo/visual is an additional $20 per issue. Email Classiﬁed Ad to frontdesk@montecitojournal.net or call (805) 565-1860. All ads must be ﬁnalized by Friday at 2pm the week prior to printing. We accept Visa/MasterCard/Amex (3% surcharge) “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” — Anton Chekhov

LONG HAUL

HELPERS

A new documentary that you can be a part of… A specialized clinic… An administrative law judge… These are the people helping remove stigmas and provide solutions for those experiencing Long Covid and other long-term illnesses (Story starts on page 5)

Village Vibe

A new regular feature in the MJ for you to meet the neighbors and even jump in with your own voice, page 6

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Ridley-Tree’s Tête Toppers

It’s millinery mayhem at Moving Miss Daisy’s as Leslie Ridley-Tree’s mass of hats is auctioned off for a cause, page 8

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28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Mini Meta

Last Week’s Solution:

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

P A G E F I L E R L A I L A A N T I S G O O D

T L C T O U R P I E C E E M I R S T E N E T

F O R P E P U P S T E N O S C R A P T H A T

E M T G L U E S A T S E A G O I N G A N C

B L U E B L A N K V E R S E D A V E S T A R

S R O W I L Y A F L A T M T I D A S E A T

ERAS

TOUR

POP

MUSIC

STAR

TAYLORSWIFT

PUZZLE #1

PUZZLE #2

PUZZLE #3 4

1 4

Across 1 What mad people are said to see 4 20th-century king of Norway who ruled for 33 years 7 Haggard in a studio 8 Washington, Garfield, Johnson, or Ford 9 Unspecified news source, often

Down 1 The Eternal City, in the Eternal City 2 Give a seat to, maybe 3 Title of "Star Wars" films 5 Sheet that a penguin might rest on 6 Mondo, so to speak

Across 1 Alternative to Pinkberry or Red Mango 5 Bloody, so to speak 6 It's confusing when communicators get them crossed 7 "We ___ a Ghost" (2023 horror comedy film) 8 Binge-watched like crazy, say

1 6

Down 1 Genre of the hit series "One Piece" 2 "That should have been ..." 3 What many losers eat? 4 Irishwoman, e.g. 5 What Patrick Mahomes was for the 2020 and '23 Super Bowls

Across 1 ___ Five (nickname for the hosts of 6-Down) 4 "Hamilton" Tony winner Renée ___ Goldsberry 7 Put to rest, as fears 8 With 5-Down, it's often shaken out in a diner 9 Busted beyond repair

Across 1 Cool number? 4 With 7-Across, strategy 5 Things that jockeys might give the brush-off to? 6 Hot spot for slots 7 See 4-Across

Down 1 See 2-Down 2 With 1-Down, what a posh hotel might be given 3 Your replacement, at times 4 Really good time 5 Need for growing una planta

META PUZZLE

3 5

Across 1 Bay Area airport inits. 4 Drive home on a diamond 6 Source of tequila and mescal 7 Hookworms? 8 Karaoke singers' stand-ins?

PUZZLE #5

PUZZLE #4 1

Down 1 A-C-E, but not A-B-E, e.g. 2 Turn into a totem pole, perhaps 3 Canine classification 4 Cry accompanying a fist pump 6 A question of identity

Down 1 Many Guinness Book entries 2 Recipient of much praise in Pakistan 3 First name of a fantasy character who lives in Bag End 5 See 8-Across 6 "Queer ___" (Netflix series)

Across 1 Hebrew letters after alephs 6 General Assembly diplomat, in brief 7 Turn over and die? 8 She co-hosts "Live" with her husband Consuelos 9 Alternative to Amazon's Handmade

Down 1 Part of USB 2 Between, in Brest, Barcelona, or Brasília 3 Part of a person's inheritance 4 Gives backup to 5 Spread out and apart

LOCAL BUSINESS DIRECTORY

She’s Already In You Professional Coaching for Women Relationships Leadership Purpose GABRIELLATAYLOR.COM

28 December 2023 – 4 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Cheers to our clients!

Thank you for all you’ve helped make possible in 2023

48 YEARS

13 LOCATIONS

SANTA BARBARA & VENTURA COUNTY

290+ ASSOCIATES

BILLION $4M in prevented losses

MOBILE

Over $11 million in small business loans

in total assets

5400+

176 Nonprofits

Total Hours

Served in 2023

APP STORE Nonprofit Donations

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