Rig Reefs or Removal? by Montecito Journal

JOURNAL

Tea Time at El Encanto – Take an afternoon to enjoy Resolutions Resolve – Many have New Year’s some vibrant teas and tasty snacks at El Encanto, P.14

resolutions, but how do you actually keep them?, P.24

SERVING MONTECITO AND SOUTHERN SANTA BARBARA 4 – 11 JAN 2024 | VOL 30 ISS 1 | www.montecitojournal.net

The Giving List

The strength of the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, page 18

RIG REEFS OR

REMOVAL? THE OFFSHORE OIL PLATFORMS ARE DESTINED FOR DECOMMISSIONING. SOME WANT THEM COMPLETELY REMOVED. OTHERS WANT THEM CONVERTED TO ARTIFICIAL REEFS. BUT WHAT DO THE STUDIES SAY ABOUT THE LIFE TEEMING UNDERNEATH? (STORY STARTS ON PAGE 5)

Market Recap

With 2023 behind us and sales volume at an all-time low, here’s the breakdown of last year’s real estate market, page 6

Plunge into 2024 The New Year is here, and this group is jumping right into it with the 8th Annual Polar Dip, page 12

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4 – 11 January 2024

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4 – 11 January 2024

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Objections – The fate of the offshore oil platforms is being decided Big Questions – How do we keep our resolutions? Through one 5 Oandffshore 24 Rstepobert’s what happens to them can affect both our lives and the sea life underneath at a time. Maybe followed by a reward? You’ve earned it. eal Estate – Here’s a look back at the 2023 market numbers and how they 6 Rcompare to the past, plus a few homes still available

Appraisals – A trip to the flea market discovers a historic book 26 Eandlizabeth’s a story of Zen

n Entertainment – Funnyman Brad Williams returns to town, cover bands at Matter – Ring in the new year with these new books that offer a little 8 OSOhO, 28 Softories and Steven reflects on musical moments of 2023 something for everyone ocal News – The workers and customers at Prestige Hand Car Wash were Dear Montecito – Mission Scholars helps low-income students get into 10 Lgiven an unfortunate holiday surprise when the business unexpectedly closed 29 college and Isabela Contreras is here to talk about her experience Tide Guide

12 celebrate 2024

Our Town – The first baby of the year and the community takes a polar dip to

14 and an afternoon of charm

Society Invites – Stop in to El Encanto for a spot of tea, some sandwiches,

Daily – Toying around with the solution to urban loneliness 30 Tmayhe Optimist happen through unintentional play Travel – Santa Cruz Island gets some special visitors… see who 33 Ftheyar Flung are before the winds whip the winged ones away

Calendar of Events – 1st Thursday, art openings, nature walks, and so much 36 more happening this week Brilliant Thoughts – Did you hear that? It’s Ashleigh’s experiences with radio

16 and the messages on the airwaves.

18 ground on a truly visionary playground for all

The Giving List – The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation prepares to break

22 dish that is delish

Foraging Thyme – Take in the fleeting flavor of fall with this baked apple

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lassifieds – Our own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in which sellers offer 38 Ceverything from summer rentals to estate sales ini Meta Crossword Puzzles 39 MLocal Business Directory – Smart business owners place business cards here so readers know where to look when they need what those businesses offer

“Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings.” — Jonathan Lockwood Huie

4 – 11 January 2024

Offshore Objections

Oil Platforms’ Removal?: Reefing the Superior Environmental Option by Asher Radziner

eaching the end of their economic oil producing lifetimes, many of California’s and specifically Santa Barbara’s offshore platforms are in the process of being decommissioned. They can either be fully removed and taken to scrap yards on land, or they can be turned into state-managed artificial reefs through California’s Marine Resources Legacy Act. Why wouldn’t one take advantage of the marine habitat inadvertently created by our dormant oil platforms? The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) recently issued a Record of Decision (ROD) recommending the full removal of California’s 23 offshore oil platforms in federal waters, following a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) conducted to assess decommissioning options for platforms, California Sea Farms’ Habitat of Glass 45 feet pipelines, and other related infrastrucbelow Platform Hope (Decommissioned) (photo ture. However, upon close review, the courtesy of BobEvansPhotography.com) PEIS and ROD appear to have reached misguided and detrimental conclusions due to critical oversights in their analyses.

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“In the decades since their installations, the steel support structures of Santa Barbara’s offshore oil platforms have inadvertently become some of the most productive marine habitats on earth.” Most glaringly, the ROD bizarrely recommends full removal while also finding that partial removal and conversion of platforms into artificial reefs is actually the “environmentally preferable alternative.” The ROD justification for still pushing full removal cites “long-term risks” like entanglement and hazardous material leaching. But evidence suggests these risks can be safely managed, and regardless, they pale in comparison to the enormous environmental benefits of partial removal and reefing. Not to mention the monumental carbon footprint of unnecessarily dismantling the oil platforms all the way down to the ocean floor. In the decades since their installations, the steel support structures of California’s offshore oil platforms, 19 of which sit in federal waters off Santa Barbara, have inadvertently become some of the most productive marine habitats on Earth. The support structures, referred to as “jackets,” which stand in anywhere between 100 feet and over 1,000 feet of water, are crusted in life from top to bottom. Mussels near the surface give way to anemones, nudibranchs, copepods, and associated communities of rockfish in deeper water. The scale of the situation in California, however, is minor compared to the Gulf of Mexico where over 5,000 platforms have been both installed and removed. To date, over 570 have already been turned into artificial reefs managed by the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. In California, only a few small platforms have been removed from state waters and none have yet been reefed. California’s platforms are the consideration of a federal Programmatic

4 – 11 January 2024

Offshore Objections Page 104 104 Montecito JOURNAL

Real Estate

Revisiting the 2023 Real Estate Market Montecito’s Housing DNA: a market with good bones, strong(ish), and in for the long haul by Mark Ashton Hunt

heers to you all and Happy New Year, 2024! Thank you to the Montecito Journal team for providing me this forum, and to the readers who keep me on my toes to bring you the most up-to-date activity and trends month to month in our Montecito, 93108 Real Estate market. Throughout 2023 (much like at least the last half of 2022), the Montecito housing market started to cool (in terms of sales volume, anyway). While prices paid for homes continued to rise for the most part and estates over $10M kept up their never-before seen $ales pace. A good number of home sales in the 93108 are actually just people moving around from within town, changing addresses, renting out homes, selling their second homes, etc. That said, with over 1,000 homes changing hands since 2019, there are a lot of new faces from other places at Tre Lune for dinner. However, this frantic pace of 300 to 400 homes selling per year has now slowed to half that for the past two years in a row. A great time perhaps now to buy for those who were beat out of multiple offer scenarios in the past and for those who can purchase a home on their own, and are not affected by lending interest rates. As I type, we are at the lowest sales volume point in as long as I can remember (over 20 years). I didn’t go further back but might. It would be normal to have around 225+/- homes close escrow in a year in Montecito’s 93108 in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) with another dozen or so or more closing off books. This past year, 2023, only 148+/- homes closed escrow in the MLS. Allow for another dozen or two sales not recorded, but you get the picture. A down-in-the-sales

MARK ASHTON HUNT Representing Buyers and Sellers in Montecito Specializing in property valuation

If you would like me to make an appointment for you to view any home for sale in Montecito, or for a current market analysis of your home, please contact me directly.

numbers kind of year. That said… 2023 also showed us some of the higher prices paid for homes in various price ranges. Homes that seemed they could have been priced at $8 or $9M selling for $10M+, or a listing that seemed it would be $6.9M going for the high $8’s. Other properties that I felt should sell quickly when they were priced around $10 or $11M, stayed on market until lowering their price and finally finding new owners in the high $8’s or $9’s. Of the 148+/- homes that sold in the MLS in 2023 in Montecito and the 93108 zip code, here is a breakdown of price points. You can see that sales over $10M nearly equal the number of sales under $3M. That is unheard of prior to 2020. – 27 Under $3M – 42 $3 to $5M – 41 $5 to $8M – 14 $8 to $10M – 24 $10M and up Taking a look back at the last quarter in 2023, and pretty much in line with most of, if not all of 2023, we see the following: – Fewer sales per month than normal year-over-year the past 10 years or more. – Fewer multiple offer sales. – Fewer over-asking price sales than in the recent few years. – Properties selling under asking price whether on market a while or just listed. – Stagnant listings (those with no offers and no price reductions after months on market). – And lastly, we are seeing more, and sometimes sooner in the process, price reductions. We would normally see around 50 sales in a 4th quarter in Montecito. This year there were only 35 sales recorded in the MLS in the 4th quarter of 2023. There were of course other closed escrows handled “off market,” however many of those sales do end up in the MLS as well, so this is our best measure of sales and prices and the MLS nationwide is the fountain from which listing information flows to the likes of Realtor. com and Zillow. If you are looking to buy a home in Montecito’s 93108, here’s to hoping you are flexible on options, style, and price, as there are only a total of 41 homes and condos on the market as of this writing (December 31, 2023). This is near the lowest available inventory we have seen. Included herein are four homes I am surprised are still on the market. They might not be by the time you read this, but for now, these dreams do still exist. I will update everyone on January sales and listing stats and trends, in late January. Until then… Cheers and Happy New Year everyone and again, please keep Montecito friendly. Mark Real Estate Page 314 314

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“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey

4 – 11 January 2024

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On Entertainment The Long and Short of It: Brad Williams Is Very Funny by Steven Libowitz

omedian Brad Williams has fond memories of his first appearance at the Lobero Theatre almost a decade ago, when he recorded Fun Size, his first onehour special, at the venue. Things were a bit different then: Williams wasn’t yet all that well-known and the show wasn’t even close to sold out. “When you see the special, it looks like it’s a packed theater, but it wasn’t,” he recalled. “We creatively moved some people around so the camera could make it look like it was full.” The subterfuge didn’t stymie the show’s success: it became the highest rated comedy special on Showtime. But Williams wasn’t sure of that at the time. “There’s so many things going on in your head, it’s not just whether the audience is laughing,” he said. “I remember that one of my eyes was watering profusely because I got some makeup in it. And I was thinking, ‘Should I stop the show? Do I wipe my eye and just keep going?’ I powered through, but I was blinking a lot. It was crazy.” Of course, making adjustments is nothing new for Williams, as he was born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism. His condition has played a large part in both his life and his stand-up shows, which began when Carlos Mencia, who had made a joke about dwarfs and noticed that the folks near Williams in the audience weren’t laughing. “He says, ‘What, is one of them here?’ I raised my creepy little hand in the air and he called me up on stage and he started asking me questions. The first one was ‘What do you do for a living?’ And I said I work at Disneyland, which was true. But the audience snickered, and I turned to them and said ‘Shut up. I’m not one of the seven.’ That felt pretty good.”

Montecito JOURNAL

Williams is still wrangling laughs with a note of wry wit out of the Snow White angle. “The weekend that I’m in Santa Barbara, the Lobero will be employing more dwarfs than the movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” he said. “Just so we’re clear about that.” While we’re on the record, Mencia actually used the word midget, not dwarf. But apparently that’s not politically correct anymore, even if you pronounce it with a French accent. Not that Williams will object. “I’m offended by tone and intent, not terms. I wasn’t at the meeting when dwarf and little person were voted in,” he said, recalling a Brad Williams is back at the Lobero this time in Texas when a heckler who was ejected Saturday, January 6 (courtesy photo) drove up to him after the show and shouted, “Kill the dwarf!” at him. “I didn’t stop to say ‘Thanks for using the correct terminology. I really appreciate that.’” A decade since his last show in Santa Barbara, Williams can look back at a number of streaming specials, acting gigs, and even serving as the first stand-up comedian to headline a Cirque du Soleil show in their 30-year history in a three-month run of Mad Apple in Las Vegas. Living life as a little person is a thread through all of Williams’ stand-up appearances – any time he’s tried out a routine that doesn’t address it right away results in the audience just staring at him, he said. “It’s like, does he know? Yes, I’m aware.” But nowadays it comes up as part of drawing on his life for material, as do nearly all comedians. “I don’t worry about the balance,” he said. “I’m just always looking for something that’s funny and that will make strangers laugh. I’ve got ADHD anyway, so I’d get bored if I only talked about one thing.”

On Entertainment Page 344 344

4 – 11 January 2024

We took out this ad to celebrate 20 years, all thanks to you! This is our way of saying thank you for embracing us as part of the community for the past 20 years. For trusting us with buying, selling, and leasing your homes, your land, your buildings. For recognizing we put your interests first, above all else, and allowing us to prove it. For crediting us with knowing the neighborhoods, the people, the businesses, the properties, the market, and our local culture, because you know we live and work alongside you. For coming back repeatedly and for referring us to your friends and families constantly. For inspiring us to do our very best every single time. For giving us the confidence that we’ll be celebrating with you in another 20 years. We’ve been here 20 years for you, with you, and because of you. So consider this a celebration of us, and you.

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4 – 11 January 2024

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Local News

Offshore Objections (Continued from 5)

Prestige Car Wash on Milpas Street is closed (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

by Joanne A Calitri

anta Barbara, CA – The Prestige Hand Car Wash located at 524 N. Milpas Street in Santa Barbara has closed down unexpectedly, leaving employees and customers surprised. The car wash, opened in 1999 under previous ownership as Zipp Car Wash, was shut down just before Christmas on December 23rd. The 26 employees, including popular detailer “Woody,” were apparently not informed that it was their last day of work until the end of their shifts. The business is owned by one of the daughters of original owners Frank and Catherine Phalen, who have both passed away in recent years. It remains unclear why the lease was not renewed by the landowner, who also owns the adjacent La Pachanga bar. Local businesses and the Milpas Eastside Business Association have

expressed surprise and disappointment at the abrupt closure. Some customers were seen driving to the now chained-off car wash entrances after having purchased gift cards, unaware that the business had shut down. It is unknown if these customers will receive reimbursement. Rumors that developer John Price may have interest in the property were dismissed by Price himself in an email statement, though surveyors had recently been spotted doing underground soil testing there. Price believes the landowners plan to build housing on the site. His company just broke ground on a new 36-unit upscale complex on nearby Haley Street. The closure has sparked extensive discussion online, particularly on community site Nextdoor. Commenters have focused on the lack of notice given to employees before the holidays and the outstanding car wash gift cards that customers are left holding.

Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for Oil & Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf (POCS). The study is meant to be an overall, non-site-specific, analysis of environmental impact. The PEIS looks at four alternative pathways for decommissioning – including full removal, two versions of partial removal, and the pursuit of no action at all. Under both full and partial removal, an oil platform’s oil-related infrastructure would be decommissioned and its topside structure removed. There’d be nothing left to see above water. With full removal (“Alternative 1”), the remaining submerged platform jacket would be severed from the ocean floor using mechanical and abrasive cutting tools or, more likely, explosives and taken to shore for disposal and recycling. The two versions of partial removal would see the jacket cut 85 feet below the ocean surface and the lower portion either left in place or towed to an approved reefing site where it would become a state-managed artificial reef. The upper jacket, the first 85 feet severed, would then either be taken to shore for disposal (“Alternative 2”) or placed alongside the rest of the structure in the water where it too would live on as an artificial reef (“Alternative 3”). Finally, platforms could be left in place on the Santa Barbara horizon (“Alternative 4”), perhaps as a reminder of the lessons learned over the years with oil, perhaps to be utilized in some other way in the future. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) says they reviewed these alternatives but ultimately decided on recommending Alternative 1, full removal, as it is the alternative that best “ensures safe and environmentally sound decommissioning activities.” Yet, by their own calculations, they recognize that partial removal,

specifically Alternative 2, is the “environmentally preferable alternative.” Something seems strange right out the gate. However, upon reviewing the PEIS, it’s not surprising that the ROD yielded this result. The PEIS contains a few seemingly simple caveats and appears to be sorely lacking in its analysis. Let’s look through it.

The Numbers Not Being Considered First, the PEIS’ carbon emissions estimates are extremely low. For some reason, the PEIS makes the decision to only

JOURNAL

Prestige Hand Car Wash on Milpas Street Closes Unexpectedly

Executive Editor/CEO | G wyn Lurie gwyn@montecitojournal.net President/COO | Timothy Lennon Buckley tim@montecitojournal.net Managing Editor | Zach Rosen zach@montecitojournal.net MoJo Contributing Editor | Christopher Matteo Connor Art/Production Director | Trent Watanabe Graphic Design/Layout | Stevie Acuña Administration | Jessikah Fechner Administrative Assistant | Valerie Alva VP, Sales & Marketing | Leanne Wood leanne@montecitojournal.net 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

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“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” — Robin Sharma

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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

4 – 11 January 2024

Specializing in Fine Homes • CONCEPT TO COMPLETION Giant Plumose Anemones standing on mussels 75 feet down Platform Hilda (Decommissioned) (photo courtesy of BobEvansPhotography.com)

consider “air emissions ... that occur within the jurisdictions of the SBCAPCD, the VCAPCD, or the SCAQMD.” That’s to say Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange County. When looking into partial removal, this might yield an accurate number because removal of platform topsides could be accomplished in a much shorter period using smaller derrick barges with relatively low emissions. Yet, to fully remove platform jackets of the larger structures, seven of which stand in depths greater than 600 feet, the employment of massive marine construction vessels not found on the West Coast would be necessary. Heavy-lift vessels and semi-submersible crane vessels, the largest marine vessels in the world, are the standard for full platform removal in water depths exceeding 400 feet. According to studies from platform decommissioning specialists John Smith and Bob Byrd, full removal would require these vessels be mobilized from either the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Asia, or the North Sea. Many of these HLVs and SSLVs are too large to be able to pass through the Panama Canal requiring them to travel around the tip of South America. Furthermore, there are zero sites on the West Coast capable of processing the large volume of steel removed during a large platform decommissioning project, so it would have to be taken back to the Gulf or elsewhere for disposal and recycling. This would require the mobilization of a fleet of tugs and barges to transport the materials to the Gulf of Mexico through the Panama Canal. The emissions generated during this 5,300 nautical mile trip were also not considered in the PEIS. The PEIS therefore is missing the single largest chunk of emissions. Which seems like a rather large omission. The PEIS determines that the removal of Platform Harmony, the largest platform standing in 1,198 feet of water, would release the equivalent of 34,819 tons of CO2. Smith and Byrd’s 2021 study found that the removal of Platform Harvest from a comparably mere 675 feet of water would release the equivalent of 56,187 tons of CO2. That’s equivalent to consuming “nearly 120,000 barrels of oil ... or providing electrical power to 8,600 homes annually.” Yikes. As for partially removing Harmony, the PEIS says emissions would be the equivalent of 13,901 tons of CO2. Furthermore, the PEIS’ choice of language in this section is discouraging. It concludes that full removal would result in “temporary and minor impacts on regional air quality” but says nothing about the negative consequences of releasing massive quantities of CO2 into the atmosphere. Second, the PEIS concludes that full removal would cause “no more than moderate impacts” against marine fish and essential fish habitat. Their explanation states that “while potentially important locally, the loss of platform- and pipeline-related hard bottom habitat is unlikely to result in observable, long-term changes in marine invertebrate communities of the POCS.” This is true in one lens and false in another. If we take total habitat area as our only metric of value, then no, California’s OCS platforms are not important. Viewed alongside California’s natural reefs, the area contributed by platforms does not factor significantly. Yet, the ecological value and productivity of the habitats must not be overlooked.

4 – 11 January 2024

Offshore Objections Page 354 354

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Our Town

2024’s First Baby Eric Yang! by Joanne A Calitri

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he Montecito Journal is proud to present the first baby born in our town for 2024! Congratulations to this new human, Eric Yang, for making his journey on New Year’s Day, and to his parents Alyssa and Seng Yang, of Lompoc. The Yangs are first-time parents and were happy to share a photo of their newborn with the MJ and our readers! Eric arrived on our planet at 3:48 am PST, weighing in at 5 pounds and 15 ounces and measuring 19 inches in height. I asked the Yangs via the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital team how they are doing, and they replied, “Getting to start the new year with our first baby is such a blessing; we are so excited that Eric gets this unique honor of first baby of the new year.” The parents are a tad camera shy at this time, and taking a well-deserved rest after a long New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day birth! All the best to Eric and his parents. We look forward to his accomplishments to come!

8th Annual Polar Dip It was a beautiful 64-degree, sunny Californian day on January 1, as the 8th Annual Polar Dip, founded by our town’s Hugh Margerum, took its place in history with over 300 people from babies to

Our area’s first baby of 2024 is Eric Yang, born January 1 (photo courtesy of the Yang family)

seniors getting in the Pacific Ocean on cue at 11:30 am. The public beach on Cabrillo Boulevard across from the rainbow arch is the landmark of this annual favorite, which this year was being widely publicized with the appearance of John Palminteri emceeing on the shoreline, and our Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol monitoring the swimmers in the water while sending a greeting with their fire hose spray. A huge shout out to Harry Rabin, who came by via my request for

There’s a perfect place for your mom or dad. And we’ll help you find it.

Our Town Page 304 304

Hugh Margerum, Das Williams, and Adam McKaig (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

We know that finding the right senior care for your mom or dad is a big decision. That’s where A Place for Mom comes in. Our senior living advisory service ensures you’ll get a full understanding of all the options in your area based on your loved one’s care needs and budget. You’ll get more than just expert advice and recommendations. You’ll also get peace of mind. Start the conversation with one of our expert Senior Living Advisors today. Our service comes at no cost to your family. Connect with us at 866.333.4907.

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12 Montecito JOURNAL

INDEPENDENT LIVING

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Polar Dip 2024 line up (photo by Joanne A Calitri) “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

4 – 11 January 2024

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Montecito JOURNAL

Society Invites

Starting the New Year with Healthy Botanical Tea at the El Encanto SB by Joanne A Calitri

fter the holiday festivities and indulgences, it seems we head directly into healthy eating and activities in January. With that noted, the El Encanto – a Belmond Hotel in Santa Barbara – has their signature Botanica Afternoon Tea. What is intriguing about their afternoon tea service beyond the ritz, is that both the curated teas and menu options are on the healthy side, save the delicious pastries and final course – scones with cream. Pastry chef Pornpun Sangpen Luna creates three tiers of exquisitely prepared savory tea sandwiches, seasonal scones, and desserts. For the astrologically informed, the teas are astrobotanical infusions custom blended by Ojai-based ceremonial tea brand Magic Hour, and named for each of the twelve sun signs of the zodiac. There are black, oolong, and white teas infused with herbs and adaptogens, each with its health benefits and caffeine level listed. As we start the new year in the air sign of Libra, its “Tea for Beauty and Balance” supports the immune system, boosts collagen, eases PMS, and aids in digestion – indeed an influencer’s soon-to-be favorite. It is a white tea with pistachios, creamy vanilla, rose, and pecans. For the fire signs, try the Sagittarius “Tea of Good Fortune and Abundance”, boosting one’s mood while simultaneously calming, stress reducing, and relaxing the nervous system. It is a blend of oolong tea, citrus, ginger, sweet pomegranate and creamy caramel. For the Earth signs, the Virgo “Tea of Divine Details” supports heart health, is antioxidant rich, and increases clarity. This is a bold black tea with notes of rich chocolate and ripe berries. Water signs can taste Pisces “Queen of Intuition Oolong” tea made from both oolong and green teas, blueberries, florals and

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Afternoon Botanica Tea at the El Encanto (photo courtesy of El Encanto)

vanilla that benefits stress reduction, is anti-inflammatory, speeds metabolism, and aids in focus. Of course, there are eight more teas to taste during the tea service. Each arrives in a silver tea pot, refreshed as requested and with a three-minute mini-hourglass tea timer for steeping time. The tea is served in petite etched glass teacups. Food preferences like vegan are accommodated. The sandwich breads – beetroot levain, charcoal loaf, Pain de Campagne, and turmeric loaf – combine with such delicious ingredients as herbed chicken, smoked salmon mousse, farm eggs, and the classic cucumber tea sandwich. The desserts are miniature designer pomegranate cheesecake, spiced apple eclair, pecan jasmine tart, orange chocolate mousse, and an apricot thyme macaron. The third entrée is the buttermilk and sultana scones, served warm with strawberry basil jam, clotted cream, and butter with local honey drizzle. Not to worry if one cannot finish, as all the delights are boxed to take home. 411: https://www.belmond.com/hotels/north-america/usa/ca/santa-barbara/belmond-el-encanto/

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14 Montecito JOURNAL

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© 2023 Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties (BHHSCP) is a member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates LLC. BHHS and the BHHS symbol are registered service marks of Columbia Insurance Company, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate. BHH Affiliates LLC and BHHSCP do not guarantee accuracy of all data including measurements, conditions, and features of property. Information is obtained from various sources and will not be verified by broker or MLS. Buyer is advised to independently verify the accuracy of that information. CalDRE#: 00976141

4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Brilliant Thoughts Radio and Me by Ashleigh Brilliant

n all the history of Technology, I know of no more exciting story than that of Guglielmo Marconi, the young Italian who discovered how to send messages, not by sight or sound, and not through wires, but through empty air. At first – i.e. from about 1895, and for many years after – the messages could be sent only in Morse Code. It was not until about 1920 that actual voices and music could be transmitted – and soon after that, we had the development of regular “broadcasting” – casting messages so broadly that anyone with the right equipment could receive them. But it was not until about 20 years after that, that I myself, as a child, became aware of something wonderful called “radio.” The first radio sound I can remember hearing was a booming man’s voice, saying “CARRY ON, CANADA!” This was not a commercial for any carry-on luggage, but some sort of patriotic propaganda message. I was living in Toronto with my mother and sister. It was wartime (1940), and what was

most important on the radio was the news. The first “network” program I can remember was called Information Please, in which a panel of experts tried to answer questions sent in by listeners. But there was also a local kids’ quiz show in Toronto, called “Snappy Answers.” I have good reason to remember it, only because I didn’t get on it. My mother took me down to the studio, where there was a live audience of children. I was six years old and was somehow one of those called up to the front, and given a chance to answer a test question. I can’t even remember what the question was – but I didn’t have a snappy answer. So I wasn’t on the show – but I did receive a consolation prize of a quarter – 25 cents. My mother took me to a Woolworth’s store to spend the money. At her suggestion, I bought us each an ice cream cone. But that still left me with 15 cents. I decided to buy a little book called Wonders of the World, – which I still have, and which, from its descriptions of several western wonders (like the Redwood tree that you could drive through), may eventually have played a part, some years later, in bringing me to California.

Once my family was settled in Washington D.C. where I spent five years of my childhood, I became accustomed to a whole array of regular radio offerings. There were weekly evening comedy shows, like Jack Benny and Fred Allen. There were daily after-school kids’ adventure programs, like Tom Mix, the Lone Ranger, and Jack Armstrong. These were often sponsored by breakfast foods like Wheaties. Kids all across the country who listened to a particular program could join radio “clubs,” some of which offered prizes to members, like “decoder badges,” which enabled them to understand secret “code” messages given on the air. These items were hard to part with. I still have my Lone Ranger and Captain Midnight badges. In the earlier daytime hours, there were adult serials aimed mostly at housewives, which, because they were often sponsored by laundry products, became known as “Soap Operas.” One I particularly remember, because the introductory words were always the same: “Our Gal Sunday – The story that asks the question, can a little girl from a mining town in the West find happiness as the wife of a wealthy entitled Englishman?” Then there was “The Romance of Helen Trent,” which was specifically aimed at women of 35 and older (although the serial ran for years, Helen was always said to be 35). I wasn’t interested in sports, except possibly the thrilling live broadcast of

a big boxing match. The war news was not always interesting, but I knew it was important. (The first piece of writing I ever had published was in the newspaper of my elementary school and was about a big map we had on our classroom’s wall, showing the fighting fronts.) Also influential were the regular commentators – among them: Gabriel Heater (who I thought had a tired-sounding voice), Lowell Thomas (from whose signoff I learned the expression “So long”), and Walter Winchell (who had an exciting rapid-fire style of delivery, and always started by saying “Good evening Mr. and Mrs. North and South America, and all the clippers and ships at sea – Let’s go to press!) In those days before television, it was remarkable how much we could see with our ears.

Ashleigh Brilliant born England 1933, came to California in 1955, to Santa Barbara in 1973, to the Montecito Journal in 2016. 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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4 – 11 January 2024

Nestled above the Pacific Ocean on the American Riviera, Caruso’s draws inspiration from the bountiful seasonal ingredients of Santa Barbara’s rich landscape. We are proud to be a part of the Montecito community and with that, we invite our locals to savor a special offer with us. Join us for a memorable dining experience with $50 off the Chef's Tasting Menu and a delightful welcome glass of champagne. Valid January 1st through February 29th TO REDEEM, VISIT ROSEWOODMIRAMARBEACH.COM OR CALL 805.900.8388 @CARUSOS 1759 S JAMESON LANE, MONTECITO, CA 93108

4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

The Giving List

Gwendolyn Strong Foundation

Rendering of the playground planned by the foundation (courtesy photo)

by Steven Libowitz

ou’d be hard-pressed to find a local nonprofit that brought its outsized quest to fruition more speedily than did the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, which in its six short years of existence has already accomplished two major goals. Heartbroken but determined to make a difference when their young daughter was diagnosed with the rare neurological disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), parents Victoria and Bill Strong sprang into action. The couple launched into advocacy, contacting medical specialists and lobbying Congress to increase funding for research and testing, which has already resulted in a new gene therapy that can dramatically help future infants with SMA. But the Strongs didn’t stop there. Gwendolyn also exceeded the timelines of her dire prognosis, living to age 7 – along the way exhibiting an exuberance that proved utterly contagious to all around her. Although profoundly disabled, she took trips to places kids normally go, including playgrounds. The problem was, none of the family recreational spaces in Santa Barbara had been constructed with the physically challenged

child in mind. So the Strongs poured their attention into remedying that situation. That effort has now resulted in a fully-funded project to turn the timeworn Dwight Murphy Field near East Beach into Gwendolyn’s Playground; the first fully-inclusive play area in town. The intention is to both increase access and enrich the public space for the entire community, elevating play for all. “We’re completely reshaping what a community public play space can be,” explained Victoria Strong. “Children with disabilities will no longer be expected to just watch other children play. Now those kids can get much more involved. And parents won’t just have to sit on the sidelines and look at their phones while their kid goes up the slide twice and then the family heads Gwendolyn’s indomitable spirit and experiences inspired for home. It’s a multi-genera- the design of this playground for all (courtesy photo) tional meeting space with walking paths, gardens, public art – and attention to making it something for everyone, not just those with little bodies. That means multiple activities with larger sizes, so grandparents can get on the swing.” The project has a larger purpose than just having a good time. Rather, it’s about recognizing that playgrounds are vital public spaces for community connection and social development. Making the space an inclusive and integrated facility embodies a sensible approach to helping everyone belong, recognizing that bringing everyone together, no matter their physical abilities, helps develop a genuine understanding of the world and encourages appreciation of the differences between people. That insight came from their own experience with Gwendolyn, a bright and very social child who had insisted on attending school in the mainstream classrooms rather than in a segregated one for the severely disabled. “We got to see firsthand what true inclusion really looks like,” Strong said. “On her first day, the kids were all wanting to know about the machines and her wheelchair, but once those questions were answered, they moved on and Gwendolyn was just their peer. They started naturally changing their games on the playground at recess so she could be involved, navigating on their own without the adults showing them how, just because they valued her. That can’t happen if you don’t have an environment where people get to be all together. That’s what Gwendolyn’s Playground is looking to accomplish. It’s leveling the playing field, and it’s letting

The Giving List Page 244 244

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4 – 11 January 2024

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

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4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Jan 25 Back by Popular Demand

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo 8 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $35 / $19 UCSB students The world’s foremost all-male comic ballet company, the Trocks dances en travesti with razor-sharp wit and breathtaking pointe work, performing polished works that span the classical ballet canon.

Jan 27

Jan 28

Santa Barbara Debut

Zlatomir Fung, cello Benjamin Hochman, piano

4 PM (note special time) / Hahn Hall $40 / $10 UCSB students Program in includes Schumann, Marshall Estrin, Britten, Tsintsadze

Enduring Icon of Modern Dance

Limón Dance Company

Leaders in Tech, Media and the Law

Nita Farahany and Nicholas Thompson

Dante Puleio, Artistic Director

8 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $35 / $19 UCSB students

How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Everything

Celebrate more than 75 years of Limón Dance Company with this program of new and reconstructed works highlighting choreographer José Limón’s unique contributions to dance.

Lead Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold and the Arnhold A&L Education Initiative

20 Montecito JOURNAL

7:30 PM / UCSB Campbell Hall Ticket starts at $30 / $10 UCSB students Jan 31

Event Sponsor: Sara Miller McCune Corporate Sponsor: Sage Publishing

4 – 11 January 2024

Feb 3

Roomful of Teeth with Gabriel Kahane 7 PM / Hahn Hall $40 / $10 UCSB students Groundbreaking ensemble Roomful of Teeth joins forces with composer Gabriel Kahane for an evening of meaningful and adventurous new vocal music by Kahane and founding member Caroline Shaw

Live Taping! Produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting, Distributed by NPR Music

Feb 4

Mountain Stage with Host Kathy Mattea Featuring Brett Dennen, Craig Finn, Judith Owen, Raye Zaragoza and more 6:30 PM (note special time) / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $35 / $19 UCSB students

Feb 1 National Medal of Arts Recipient and 2023 Kennedy Center Honoree

Renée Fleming in Recital 7 PM / Granada Theatre Tickets start at $40 / $19 UCSB students Don’t miss this opportunity to hear radiant soprano Renée Fleming, “one of the truly magnificent voices of our time” (Los Angeles Times), lend her trademark warmth and unforgettable interpretive imagination to a rare recital program.

Major Sponsors: Audrey & Timothy O. Fisher and Sara Miller McCune Event Sponsor: Ellen & Peter O. Johnson

(805) 893-3535 www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu Granada event tickets can also be purchased at: (805) 899-2222 | www.GranadaSB.org 4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Foraging Thyme Apples

by Melissa Petitto

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22 Montecito JOURNAL

Yield: 4 Servings

K LUC

OLD TOWN SANTA BARBARA

Granola Stuffed Baked Apples with Apple Cider Sauce

KTAI COC OD - 65-7540 EAFO (805) 5 PS - S GE ROAD A CHO KS - T VILL STEA 1279 COAS

CAFE SINCE 1928

he apple is a food synonymous with health: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away!” There are so many varietals now that I have truly lost count, but what I do know is that the apple in all its many forms and varieties is delicious. Crisp, tart, sweet, sour, juicy, red, green, yellow, pink, the list goes on and on. While walking through the farmers market this week, the apples at Roots Organic Farm caught my eye and my tastebuds. Apples are used in baking, jams, salads, savory preparations, smoothies, or even just snacking. The apple is a nutrient dense fruit, meaning it is packed with tons Sweet and snappy – the Honeycrisp apple lives up to its of nutrients per serving. They are a name (photo by Evan-Amos via Wikimedia Commons) good source of fiber, especially when eaten with the skin, and have been shown to help support a healthy gut and help protect against chronic diseases. Apples also have a high amount of quercetin, which is a polyphenol that has been linked to a lower chance of type 2 diabetes. Quercetin is also highly linked in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, by protecting the brain from damage caused by oxidative stress. There have also been studies on the link between an apple’s fiber and antioxidant content and a lower risk of certain cancers, including lung and breast cancers. Today we are going to be using the Honeycrisp varietal. It’s my favorite for its sweet, crispy texture and it holds up so well when baked. This dessert will become a fall favorite for its simplicity and utter deliciousness.

4 medium apples, such as Honeycrisp 2 cups your favorite dried fruit and nut granola ¼ cup maple syrup 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted 1 ½ cups fresh apple cider

Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Have a 9x13 inch baking dish ready to go. 2. Using an apple corer, core the apple while leaving a little flesh at the bottom, so don’t cut all the way through the apple. Remove the core along with the seeds. Place the apples in the prepared baking dish. 3. In a medium bowl, stir together the granola, maple syrup, and coconut oil. Spoon the granola mixture into the cored Melissa Petitto, R.D., is an apples. Pour the apple cider around the executive chef and co-founder apples and cover the baking dish with foil. at Thymeless My Chef SB, 4. Transfer the baking dish to the was a celebrity personal chef oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove for 16 years, just finished the foil and bake for an additional 10 her 10th cookbook, to 15 minutes or until apples are tender. and is an expert 5. To serve, transfer apples to a bowl on nutrition and and spoon sauce over. Serve as is or with wellness. your favorite vanilla ice cream.

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Montecito JOURNAL

Robert’s Big Questions

The Giving List (Continued from 18 18))

Habits for New Year? by Robert Bernstein

appy New Year! Traditionally, a new year is seen as a time for a fresh start. Even if there is no physical significance to this time, it is an opportunity to reflect on where we have been and where we want to go. Many people make resolutions for the new year and, sadly, few last very long. I stopped leading hikes on New Year’s Day because the trails are too crowded. People vow to get out in nature more and get more exercise and that is the day to prove it. But it usually fades in days or weeks. Fortunately, there is a good science of what does help us change our ways. One thing we know well that does not work: Making big promises and trying to force ourselves to do them with “willpower.” What does work is to make very specific promises. Instead of “I will eat a more healthy diet,” make a promise to eat at least one vegetable or fruit serving each day. If you are trying to cut down on eating meat, start by committing to eliminating one meat entree per week. Instead of “I will exercise more this year” pick a specific way you will get more exercise. Start with one exercise a week. Most important, make sure it is something you enjoy! Even if you don’t enjoy any official “exercise,” there is probably some physical activity you enjoy. Perhaps dancing or gardening. I have a rather surprising inability to run very far, even though I can hike for miles up steep mountain trails. I now try to take short runs of even 100 or so steps when I am walking somewhere. Some research indicates even short bursts of intense exercise can have benefits. I may never be a competitive runner as my father was, but it is something. Don’t feel bad for what you can’t do. Just focus on one thing you can do. And make it a habit. Habits are key to changing behavior. Even a small reward can incentivize a habit. My wife and I often go hiking with friends on Friday mornings, on her day off. We then go for lunch downtown and walk around, checking out the shops on State Street. “Just say no” is sure to fail. Instead, say “yes” to something that gives a

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substitute reward. I try to reduce my driving by biking and using transit. I have to run errands anyway, so biking combines exercise with getting stuff done. When I get on the bus, I always have a book with me. It has become a habit and a reward. The bus has become a time to read things that I otherwise don’t make time to read. Did I mention that “willpower” does not work? In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus was warned of the perils of the Sirens who would lure him and his ship crew to death. He had his crew members plug their ears. And he had the crew lash him to the ship mast so that he could hear the Sirens’ songs, but not be able to go to his death. Your challenges may be less dire, but the method works. If you want to eat fewer cookies or ice cream, don’t have them in the house. Make it a special treat that you go out for on occasion. Perhaps after a hike! The most ambitious resolutions are about big goals. Perhaps you want to write a book or plan a career change or a yearlong trip around the world. Or change the world. Stephen Covey famously wrote The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People to emphasize that being effective is about forming good habits. Perhaps the most important habit is periodically to remember what are your biggest and most important dreams. It is so easy to be distracted by urgent matters, whether trivial or important, and never make time to take steps to achieve the goals that you really care about. A new year is a perfect time to write down those goals. And then to write down a very specific plan for how to get there. Happy New Year! Make the most of it!

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

The community and foundation came together to raise $6M to bring the playground to life (courtesy photo)

kids be our teachers.” The new playground will also have vastly improved baseball and soccer fields, upgraded bathroom and shower facilities, and a whole host of other opportunities not currently available at Dwight Murphy. There are plans to turn a vintage custom trailer into a snack shop called the Kindness Cafe that will employ adults and teens with disabilities alongside those more typically abled in a mentorship model to learn both work and social skills. “More than 80 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed, so we wanted to create an opportunity to really show the community their value and worth,” Strong said. No doubt Gwendolyn’s Playground is a virtuous vision, but as of late last year, it’s also about to become a reality. A fundraising campaign drew an array of donation types that ranged from kids operating lemonade stands to million-dollar gifts from a major foundation. Resources thus raised just topped the $6 million goal required to get the project underway, and it is now going out for bids. Groundbreaking is anticipated before the end of the year. Gwendolyn’s playground will be one of the larger play spaces in town, and so the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation is still fundraising. Their remaining $2.5 million goal assures innovative and inclusive programming going forward, collaborations with other nonprofits that serve the community, and the long-term maintenance and upkeep of a vast playground that will nearly be a bustling village unto itself. The Strongs have extended to January the original end-of-year deadline to join Gwendolyn’s Playground’s group of Founding Partners, with gifts starting at $2,500 earning a commemorative paver or plaque at the entry plaza. After that’s complete, and the playground is open and running smoothly, there’s the thought that the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation might sunset, a virtually unheardof process for successful nonprofits. But the organization is run by its founders with just a single part-time employee, and envisioning the foundation’s happily successful closure was on their minds from the beginning. “We really do look forward to the day when we’re no longer needed,” Strong said. “The focus has always been our continued advocacy if we’re needed, and relevant. But our goal is that the playground won’t require much oversight, and other nonprofits can step up and really run the ongoing programs. That’s something we’ve considered since we started.” Gwendolyn Strong Foundation https://nevergiveup.org info@nevergiveup.org (805) 203-0334

“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul…” — Gilbert K. Chesterton

4 – 11 January 2024

COMMUNITY REMEMBRANCE EVENT TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024 Montecito Union School 385 San Ysidro Rd. 6:00 p.m. As we approach six years since the 1/9 Debris Flow, our community is invited to gather together at Montecito Union School to commemorate the 23 lives we lost. Join us for this community remembrance event including: a short program of speakers & reading of the names Bell ringing from local churches and schools Searchlight illuminated at MUS as a beacon of community support and solidarity Hot beverages and cookies kindly provided by the Bucket Brigade

Need someone to talk to? Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness is here to support you. Contact the Community Wellness Team at 805-364-2750

Thank you to the Raising Our Light 2024 Event Sponsors

4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Elizabeth’s Appraisals The Zen of Publishing by Elizabeth Stewart

G scored this flea market book: Daisetz Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture – a classic printed in hundreds of languages. This 1959 edition was published by the Bollingen Foundation, known for publishing books of significant impact since 1940. This title has always been of value in the market since its first printing in 1938. In this 1959 edition, the author explains the revision of his classic: he begs the reader’s indulgence for adding 20 years of thoughts on Zen from 1938-1959 in three new chapters. The book’s title in 1939 was Zen Buddhism and Its Influence on Japanese Culture (pub. Eastern Buddhist Society of Otani Buddhist University at Kyoto). Instead of rewriting the book, Suzuki explains that he felt it important to include Daisetz Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture new chapters, integral to the understanding of Zen: Swordsmanship, The Art of Tea, and The Haiku. In those 20 years, he had become enamored of the relationship between those three topics and Zen. The new chapters are included in the section titled the “Japanese Love of Nature.” Suzuki says: “The artist’s work is of free creation from intuitions directly ... unhampered by senses and intellect. He creates forms and sounds out of formlessness and soundlessness.” Therefore, the 1959 edition is lavishly illustrated with ‘tipped in’ plates; photos of rock gardens, paintings since the 600’s, photos of shrines, and one amazing undocumented 18th century painting of the Buddha entering Nirvana under the trees; we see his mother Queen Maya carrying medicine with his disciple Mahākāśyapa, both arriving too late. All nature, human and non-human mourns; as Buddha dies, the trees burst into flower. Zen and Japanese Culture has been an enduring classic because Suzuki’s carefully chosen prose is used to illustrate Zen itself. His language is simple and poetic as it describes 2,500 years of Buddhist history and relationship to Zen. He makes the case in both his prose style and his content (parables) that Zen is unique because Zen influences every part of life, not merely the spiritual. Here’s a story from the book, written originally by Goso Hoyen (d. 1104). Suzuki writes, “If you must ask what Zen is like, I will say it is like learning the art of burglary: The son of an aging burglar asks to learn the art. Thus, the father takes the son on a

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The title page of this classic tome on Zen

burglary, and in the night during the act in the house, he locks his son into a large trunk, awakens the household, and leaves, unnoticed, to return home. The son lay in the trunk hating his father. He thought to make rat sounds; he was discovered and fled, hoisting a huge stone into the well in the courtyard as if to indicate his suicide therein. The master of the house and his sons dashed to the well, looked deep into the dark waters for the drowning burglar. All became quiet. All over. “Returning to his father’s house, the young burglar accosted his father ‘Father, WHY??’ His father said, ‘Son, don’t be offended, just tell me how you got out of the situation.’ Which the son did, and upon hearing his escape, the father said, ‘There you are, son. You have learned the art.’” Suzuki comments on this parable: “Satori (enlightenment) must be an outgrowth of one’s inner life, and not brought about from the outside.” The publisher, the Bollingen Foundation, was remarkable: it was founded by a husbandand-wife team in 1940, and over many years till 2002 the foundation awarded fellowships and an annual prize for poetry. The foundation had published 275 titles including the Wilhelm/Baynes translation of the I Ching, or Book of Changes; D. T. Suzuki’s Zen and Japanese Culture; Vladimir Nabokov’s translation of Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin; Erich Neumann’s The Origins and History of Consciousness; Mircea Eliade’s The Myth of the Eternal Return; Isaiah Berlin’s The Origins of Romanticism; Gershom Scholem’s Sabbatai Sevi; E. H. Gombrich’s Art and Illusion; and Kenneth Clark’s The Nude. This book was a gift: on the flyleaf, there’s a beautifully penned inscription from a friend named Shirley to Ann. This short haiku is taken from the book itself: “To Ann: If your eyes see,/ and ears hear,/ not a doubt you’ll cherish,/ Elizabeth Stewart, PhD is How naturally the rain drips from the a veteran appraiser of fine leaves!” Indeed, throughout the book art, furniture, glass, and Suzuki elegantly analyzes haiku such other collectibles, and a as this. Here is my favorite – what cert. member of the AAA I consider a symphony in simple and an accr. member of green after a rainfall: “A solitary frog the ASA. Please send any drenched in rain,/ Rides on a Basho objects to be appraised to leaf,/ Unsteadily.” Elizabethappraisals@ The value of the flea market treasure gmail.com is $100. SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA SANTA BARBARA HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH HOPE RANCH MONTECITO MONTECITO MONTECITO

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“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” – Rainer Maria Rilke

4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Stories Matter

ased on the true story of her grandfather, a sometime bandido, shot twice in his face, author Elizabeth Gonzalez James weaves a supernatural tale in The Bullet Swallower. Epic in scope, from 1800 and a tragedy that haunts the Sonoro family, to 1895 and the rise of Antonio on a quest to save his family in Mexico to 1964 and Jamie Sonoro’s quest to discover who the Sonoros really were. The books ask: Are we responsible for the sins of our ancestors? This is one fantastic ride through the Rio Grande and beyond. Both magical realism and historical fiction exposing politics and colonialism that does much to keep a family down.

New Year. New Books. by Leslie Zemeckis

appy New Year. My hope for all of us in the coming months is that we embrace more stories, smart stories, entertaining and transportive stories. I’ve set my reading goals high to bring you even more recommendations. There is power, solace, and joy that comes from books and I think this month I have found something for everyone.

iva by Daisy Goodwin captures the grit and glamour of opera singer Maria Callas. Caught between a doting, but boring, husband and the charismatic Aristotle Onassis, Callas chooses her heart. A woman who conquered the opera stages of the world, she seemed to have it all, but could not hold the elusive Onassis and it broke her heart. Goodwin’s portrayal of Callas brings understanding and empathy to a strong, determined woman who will prevail at all costs.

t is a family saga riding on a wave of gorgeous prose. Amy Jo Burns’s Mercury asks what family gives and takes from us. For Elise, the matriarch of a family of roofers, she has seen her hopes and dreams leached away by a demanding husband and their boys. For Marly, new to the town of Mercury, she is determined to have a seat at the Joseph family table, though ridiculed for being a “stray.” But when a body is found, long hidden secrets threaten to disrupt the tentative goodwill in the old, big home where they all live, avoiding long-simmering resentments. This is a story of suffocating, sometimes selfish men and the women struggling to be seen and heard and heal.

wealthy heiress seemingly controls her family from beyond the grave in Rachel Hawkins’ delightful The Heiress. I loved this dark gothic read. When Ruby, wealthy and rumored to have murdered her many husbands, dies, her adopted heir Cam reluctantly returns to the family home. With him is wife Jules, a struggling actress with her own secrets and ambitions. Why can’t Cam accept the wealth left to him? A trio of creepy relatives haunt the mansion on the edge of the woods and things quickly start getting spooky. No one is telling the complete truth in this one, everyone has an agenda and wants their hands on the inheritance. Ruby tells her own story, the truth of the dead husbands in a sheaf of letters left behind. This one is sure to delight thrill lovers.

elightful and a slow burn, You Only Call When You’re in Trouble from Stephen McCauley asks the question: Is taking care of someone else worth sacrificing one’s own worth and desires? Three main characters, Dorothy, Cecily, and Tom, have lost or are on the verge of losing their partners and their jobs because they spend so much time taking care of others. This one will get under your skin, and you’ll be rooting for all of them. A poignant exploration of family, relationships, and mistakes.

eanne Mackin does a brilliant job not only bringing Picasso to life in her latest, Picasso’s Lovers, but by portraying him with empathy and understanding, if not in a completely flattering light. Blending fictional characters with real (Sara Murphy), wives and lovers (Françoise Gilot and Irene Lagut), Mackin drops us on the beach of the French Riviera in 1923. There are long wine-filled afternoons centered around Picasso’s various affairs, women struggling for his undivided attention. Switch to 1950 and Alana – a journalist in search of the “real” Picasso and a story that might save her career if only she can solve the mystery of Sara and Picasso’s relationship.

uns and addiction and a desolate neighborhood in Arizona. Alexander Sammartino’s Last Acts is a brilliant tale about Randy, who would do anything to save his son, recently overdosed. Both men wish to “do good … but settled for what was better than nothing.” The author has a lot to say about our current state of affairs all with a biting wit and much emotion.

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he rumors of a lost Van Gogh, a self-portrait, is the impetus behind Jonathan Santlofer’s highly entertaining The Lost Van Gogh. Returning from Santlofer’s The Last Mona Lisa – Luke, INTERPOL agent Smith, and Alexis, a daughter of an art thief – all return in this nail-biting hunt for the missing art. Is the piece part of Nazi stolen loot as thousands of pieces were? Not just a thriller, Santlofer, an artist himself, gives us a lesson in Van Gogh’s genius and the sometimes-shady world of art dealing.

Leslie Zemeckis is an award-winning documentarian, best-selling author, and actor. The creator of “Stories Matter,” professional female authors mentoring the next generation of female storytellers, co-sponsored by SBIFF.

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go. They merely determine where you start.” — Nido Qubein

4 – 11 January 2024

Dear Montecito Isabela Contreras by Stella Haffner

oday’s topic: future physicians and an enviable education. Santa Barbara’s tourists dream about moving here for the great food, beaches, and shops. But as locals we know that one of the best things about living in Santa Barbara is the education available to our children. From worldclass extracurriculars at our elementary schools to a country-topping city college, we Santa Barbarans prioritize a strong, well-rounded education. Despite this, 90 percent of low-income students in Santa Barbara won’t attend college. These students already have the grades and gumption. What they need is advice on financial aid applications and support from adults who are familiar with the college application process. After participating with Mission Scholars, Isabela That’s where Mission Scholars comes in. Contreras is attending UPenn and planning to Founded by Cassie Lancaster and Katie work in healthcare Kinsella in 2018, Mission Scholars uses our community support to propel these talented students into the next step of their education. Here to talk about her journey into college and her aspirations in the medical sciences is Mission Scholars alumna and current student at the University of Pennsylvania, Isabela Contreras. Q. How did you first get involved with Mission Scholars? A. I grew up here in Santa Barbara. My parents moved here from Mexico, so I have spent my whole life here, attended school here at San Marcos – go, Royals! – and I met the Mission Scholars team during high school. Cassie helped me pick a course schedule that would be rigorous enough to interest colleges and helped advise me on the activities I could do during the summer that would help me in college later on. Now you’re a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, and you’re on the Pre-Med track, is that right? Yes! I always knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field, ever since I was growing up. You know as kids how you play house or family, I would also play doctor and make my friends be the patients! I remember imitating the things I had seen in my pediatrician’s office. So I always knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field but the big addition to my education was studying Spanish literature. In my senior year of high school, I took AP Spanish Literature and something about learning in Spanish for the first time really, really interested me. Growing up in the States, I learned everything in English, so I felt like I was lacking a part of my culture. In college I realized I had this opportunity to take time and explore that. I know for the rest of my life that I will be doing healthcare and medical school, so I thought “now is the time to explore my other interests.” So I decided to major in Hispanic Studies while on the Pre-Med track. I think that makes perfect sense. Certainly, you run the risk of getting “boxed in” if you only study medicine from your freshman year onwards. Do you think it is important that medical professionals have this well-rounded education? Definitely. I think it’s really important because as a doctor you are going to be working with patients who aren’t necessarily super STEM-oriented. And so you need to be able to connect with patients on a different level. If you only see things through the lens of science, you won’t be able to connect with most patients.

taken my intro to bio courses or my intro to general chemistry courses, it has helped a lot. The summer before my freshman year of college, I attended a summer bridge program where we took some classes before the start of term to get used to Penn and make the transition easier. During the program, I heard of another program called FERBS, which is First Exposure to Research in Biological Sciences. They introduced us to a couple different labs around campus, and I realized I wanted to be involved with a cancer lab, the Bernstein Lab. The FERBS program connected me with the lab and provided me with workshops on career and personal development. The directors have provided endless guidance and support during my journey at Penn. Why did you choose the cancer lab? I have always been interested in cancer because it has been in my family a lot unfortunately. I wanted to learn more about it, especially DNA repair. That’s actually what I’m focusing on in the lab right now: DNA repair and how different mechanisms lead to breast and ovarian cancer. I have been working there for a year now and this summer I stayed on full time. The summer is a very valuable time to be there without the demands of classes and other commitments because I am able to run complete start-to-finish experiments and get more data. Would you like to stay in cancer research long term? I honestly don’t know because the field of medicine is so broad. I feel like there are so many things I could do, and I don’t know enough to decide yet. But I do know I am interested in pediatrics. I worked with kids all throughout high school, doing zoo camps and farm camps. I really loved it. I also got to shadow a pediatric cardiologist in Santa Barbara and it was so great, I loved every minute of it. I know I want to work in pediatrics, but in the long term I am not sure if I want to do cancer or something different. You have two and a half more years at Penn. Will you be going straight into medical school after graduation? I want to take a gap year once I graduate because I feel like during undergrad it is hard to find the time to get all the experience you need. I would like to work as a medical assistant and acquire more experience, so during the gap year I want to find a clinic or hospital to work at, and I think I would want to do it abroad, maybe in South America or another Spanish-speaking country. I feel that as From the shores of Scotland, a well-rounded physician you need to Stella Haffner keeps be able to interact with many different her connection to her cultures and establish that trust with home in Montecito by your patient. This is the sort of experibringing grads of local ence I am looking for before I am ready schools to the pages of to start medical school. the Montecito Journal To find out more about the Mission Scholars program, visit missionscholars.org

ciymca.org/2024

I know that you started working in the biology labs when you got to Penn. That must have been very intimidating! How did you find your way into that position? Being a freshman in the lab is very intimidating! But everyone in the lab was very supportive and everyone was willing to explain whatever we were doing, and now that I’ve 4 – 11 January 2024

Montecito JOURNAL

Our Town (Continued from 12 12))

Combating Urban Loneliness: Restructuring Cities to Encourage Social Interaction

he way communities are constructed in today’s bustling cities exacerbates the loneliness many people feel. Andy Field, a British artist, observed a park teeming with people but with little connection amongst them while visiting Baltimore’s Mount Vernon Place. Field’s insights from his book, Encounterism: The Neglected Joys of Being In Person, emphasize the significance of casual encounters, citing their profound impact on mental health. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the “loneliness epidemic” affects people of all ages and demographics. In metropolitan regions, 79 percent of young adults aged 18 to 24 report feelings of isolation. Meanwhile, an increasing proportion of the population, elderly folks, struggle with infrequent social interaction outside their homes. These developments, together with the increase in single-person households, all contribute greatly to the current sense of disconnection. The built environment is critical in this socioeconomic dilemma. Postwar growth patterns, marked by car-centric neighborhoods and shrinking civic organizations, have resulted in fewer public areas and opportunities for face-to-face encounters. The pandemic’s aftermath worsened isolation, increasing distant transactions that avoid direct human interaction for convenience. Urban planning, on the other hand, can provide a remedy by enhancing “social infrastructure,” which includes libraries, parks, and commercial districts. Efforts to improve these places should go beyond simply establishing them, with an emphasis on purposeful design decisions that encourage interaction. Designing to combat loneliness necessitates nuanced approaches. Initiatives such as those in West Palm Beach, Florida, demonstrate the power of purposeful design interventions. Tactical adjustments – such as the addition of art installations, mobile furniture, and comfortable seating configurations – promote spontaneous connections. These small changes are intended to alleviate the stress of direct engagement, allowing individuals to engage spontaneously. An emphasis on visual complexity in settings creates a welcome environment for socialization by establishing a balance of openness and privacy. Experts also emphasize the importance of changing public culture in order to encourage inclusivity and safety within communities. While large-scale societal changes may appear intimidating, small-scale efforts can drive change. Andy Field proposes amusing additions such as tin-can telephones between park benches, intending to break down barriers to communicating with strangers through unintentional play. These initiatives to rethink our communities highlight the transformative power of urban planning in combating the loneliness epidemic. Each minor change adds to a broader, more integrated societal tapestry, where interactions and personal relationships are fostered – resulting in a more lively and inclusive urban landscape.

Polar swim takes off for 2024 at East Beach (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

Margerum, to do the first-ever drone footage of the event. Hopefully next year Heal the Ocean can set up a booth there and join with Adam McKaig, who is there annually to fundraise for his Adam’s Angels. New swimmers this year came from Santa Barbara Middle School, the Santa Barbara School of Squash, Santa Barbara Athletic Club Members, and Sol Seek Yoga who conducted a free yoga class before the swim. Margerum and Julie DeAngelis who helps out, said the event is founded on a single mission, “To bring people together by diving in the ocean every year on New Year’s Day. It’s great for comradery, it’s a great way to start the new year and its fun.” Certificates and a commemorative button were given for all who jumped in the ocean with no wetsuit and got completely submerged. This year, as the weather and ocean temps were so warm, most swimmers stayed in the ocean longer than usual. Post swim, it looked like a Beach Boys

beach blanket bingo with peeps celebrating as only us Cali-babes know how – selfies, champagne, and picnic food, with all doggies welcomed. Margerum is an abstract artist and promoter of creative community fun, and has been involved in the food and wine scene in Santa Barbara for many years. His art website is www. hughmargerum.com. 411: www.sbpolardip.com

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

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Adam McKaig and some angels at his booth with Katy Perry’s mom and dad, Mary and Keith Hudson (photo by Joanne A Calitri)

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — George Eliot

4 – 11 January 2024

Real Estate (Continued from 6)

937 Arcady Road – $5,295,000

Inspired by the renowned architects that shaped Montecito, exuding charm and character, offering the quintessential Montecito lifestyle, this classic home reminds us of a bygone era. Situated down a private drive, with careful attention to detail, the generous rooms with crown molding, French doors, tall ceilings, and arched doorways all command a sense of space and light. The dining room, formal living, and library open to patios overlooking the pool and grounds. Upstairs, the en suite bedrooms each have their own exterior spaces and views. The primary bedroom features a fireplace and sitting area with French doors leading to the veranda, highlighting Montecito Peak and the natural surroundings. Set on over an acre, with mature oaks, a guest cottage, and a pool, all within the Cold Spring School District.

be greeted by the allure of the expansive walls of glass that frame picturesque vistas, the soaring ceilings that create an open and airy ambiance, and the warmth of natural light that brings the outdoors in. The primary suite includes a marble-clad bathroom with a relaxing whirlpool tub, offering a tranquil space to unwind while taking in the mesmerizing mountain views. The chef ’s kitchen is equipped with top-of-the-line Wolf and Miele appliances, custom cabinetry, wet bar, and ample pantry storage. Multiple indoor and outdoor gathering areas make entertaining a breeze. Outside, discover three professionally landscaped acres, highlighted by a tranquil plunge pool, perfect for unwinding amidst the captivating beauty of nature.

777 Romero Canyon Road – Oakhaven Estate – $25,000,000

975 Mariposa Lane – $6,895,000

Ocean vistas create a powerful state of mind and place in this refined contemporary residence. Nestled on approximately 1± acre, this home, enveloped by majestic oak trees, offers a spacious open floor plan, featuring four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. Expansive windows frame ocean and island panoramas. The living room is graced by a vast window showcasing ocean and island views and opens onto a private deck. A chef ’s kitchen comes complete with a generous center island, quartz countertops, custom cabinetry, and top-of-the-line appliances. The formal dining room bathes in natural light, and the primary suite, with a walk-in closet and an en suite bathroom, seamlessly connects to a den room with beautiful ocean views. Additional amenities include a pool, built-in BBQ, wet bar, outdoor shower, and beautifully manicured gardens, all within the Montecito Union School District.

900 W. Park Lane – $7,795,000 Welcome to a modern oasis in Montecito’s prestigious Park Lane West, adjacent to the San Ysidro Ranch and within the Montecito Union School District. This five-bedroom residence offers ocean and mountain views and a serene connection with nature. Recently revitalized with extensive renovations, this home exudes contemporary sophistication and meticulous attention to detail. Step inside, and you’ll immediately 4 – 11 January 2024

Designed by renowned architect Robert Spurgeon Jr., this incredible estate rests on a 17± acre ocean view oasis in a close-to-town and beach location, surrounded by other estate properties. This 1927 Spanish Colonial Revival, Hacienda-style home in Montecito’s low-lying foothills comes replete with vast ocean and mountain views and the privacy afforded by a property of this size, rare in such a close-in location. The stage is set as you approach the home up a dramatically long driveway canopied with mature oaks. Timeless craftsmanship and unique to the era touches include a warm library with detailed wood paneling and fireplace, a grand living room which opens to both courtyard and deck, a primary bedroom gazing to a southwesterly ocean view and an expansive sunroom hallway where you will find access to several more bedroom suites that truly gives the feeling of a private retreat. The spacious dining room directly off the foyer, the cozy breakfast room, and large kitchen and butler’s pantry gives you a feeling of stepping back in Mark and his wife, Sheela time. Adjacent to the kitchen you will Hunt, are real estate agents. find a spacious laundry room and access His family goes back nearly to a separate two-bedroom wing of 100 years in Santa Barbara. the home with its own enclosed patio. Mark’s grandparents – Bill The opportunity to acquire this unique and Elsie Hunt – were estate is now available for the first time Santa Barbara real in 65 years and consists of three sepaestate brokers for rate APN numbers. All this within the 25 years. Montecito Union School District. Montecito JOURNAL

MONTECITO PLANNING COMMISSION NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING DATE OF HEARING: PLACE:

JANUARY 17, 2024 PLANNING COMMISSION HEARING ROOM 123 E. ANAPAMU STREET, RM. 17 SANTA BARBARA, CA 93101 IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

The following methods of participation are available to the public. 1.

You may observe the live stream of the Montecito Planning Commission meetings on (1) Local https://www.countyofsb.org/1333/CSBTV-Livestream; or (3) YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/user/CSBTV20

If you wish to provide public comment, the following methods are available: • • •

Cable

Channel

20,

(2)

online

at:

Distribution to the Montecito Planning Commission - Submit your comment via email prior to 12:00 p.m. on the Friday prior to the Commission hearing. Please submit your comment to the Recording Secretary at dvillalo@countyofsb.org. Your comment will be placed into the record and distributed appropriately. Attend the Meeting In-Person: Individuals are allowed to attend and provide comments at the Montecito Planning Commission meeting in-person. Attend the Meeting by Zoom Webinar - Individuals wishing to provide public comment during the Montecito Planning Commission meeting can do so via Zoom webinar by clicking the below link to register in advance. Register in advance for this meeting: After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing important information about joining the webinar. When: January 17, 2024 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada) Topic: Montecito Planning Commission 01/17/2024 Register in advance for this webinar: https://countyofsb.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_eIVgyFzdQdKu537S-XQHrA OR PARTICIPATE VIA TELEPHONE: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 213 338 8477 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 720 928 9299 or +1 971 247 1195 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 602 753 0140 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 470 250 9358 or +1 646 518 9805 or +1 651 372 8299 or +1 786 635 1003 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 267 831 0333 or +1 301 715 8592 or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0276 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0282 (Toll Free) Webinar ID: 862 7625 3838 The Commission’s rules on hearings and public comment, unless otherwise directed by the Chair, remain applicable to each of the participation methods listed above. The Montecito Planning Commission hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. The order of items listed on the agenda is subject to change by the Montecito Planning Commission. Anyone interested in this matter is invited to speak in support or in opposition to the projects. Written comments are also welcome. All letters should be addressed to the Montecito Planning Commission, 123 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, California, 93101. Letters, with nine copies, and computer materials, e.g. PowerPoint presentations, should be filed with the secretary of the Planning Commission no later than 12:00 P.M. on the Friday before the Montecito Planning Commission hearing. The decision to accept late materials will be at the discretion of the Montecito Planning Commission. Maps and/or staff analysis of the proposals may be reviewed at https://www.countyofsb.org/plndev/hearings/mpc.sbc or by appointment by calling (805) 568-2000. If you challenge the project(s) 23CDH-00032, 23RMM-00001, 23APL-00031, or 23APL-00033 in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice, or in written correspondence to the Montecito Planning Commission prior to the public hearing. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this hearing, please contact the Hearing Support Staff (805) 5682000. Notification at least 48 hours prior to the hearing will enable the Hearing Support Staff to make reasonable arrangements. 22CDH-00000-00032 Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Sections 15301, 15303

Kaliner Trust Additions

1086 Channel Drive Joe Dargel, Supervising Planner (805) 568-3573 Kathleen Volpi, Planner (805) 568-2033

Hearing on the request of the 2019 Kaliner Family Trust to consider: •

Case No. 22CDH-00000-00032 (Coastal Development Permit) to allow for the demolition of an existing detached garage and 100 feet of the existing single-family dwelling, construction of a new 485 square foot attached garage, an 85-square-foot addition to the single-family dwelling, a partially underground 2,165-squarefoot basement, and a new patio and cabana pursuant to Section 35-169 of the Article II Zoning Ordinance.

•

Determine the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15301 [Existing Facilities] and 15303 [New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures] of CEQA.

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. 009-282-035, located at 1086 Channel Drive, on a parcel zoned Zone Name (1-E-1) in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District. 23RMM-00001 Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 15305

Haas Family Trust Recorded Map Modification

Lemon Ranch Road Nicole Lieu, Supervising Planner (805) 884-8068 Henry Wakamiya, Planner (805) 568-3017

Hearing on the request of property owners Paul and Renee Haas (Haas Family Trust), to consider the following: • •

Case No. 23RMM-00001, for a Recorded Map Modification, to modify an existing building envelope from Tract Map 13,729 in compliance with County Code Chapter 21, Section 21-15.9 on property zoned One-Family Residential (2-E-1) to expand the existing 9,143-square-foot (0.21 acres) building envelope to 11,508 square feet (0.26 acres); and, Determine the project is exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guideline Section 15305 [Minor Alterations in Land Use Limitations].

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 007-510-008, located at 1950 Lemon Ranch Road, in the Montecito Community Plan area, First Supervisorial District. 23APL-00031 23APL-00033 Exempt, CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(a)

Babbit et al Appeals of Scibird Exterior Alterations

539 Periwinkle Lane Errin Briggs, Supervising Planner (805) 568-2047 Katie Nall, Planner (805) 884-8050

Hearing on the request of Babbit et al (Appellants), to consider the following two appeals in compliance with Chapter 35.492 (Appeals) of the Montecito Land Use and Development Code (MLUDC): •

Case No. 23APL-00031, an appeal of the Planning & Development Director’s decision to approve Land Use Permit Case No. 21LUP-00000-00292, which permitted exterior alterations consisting of removal and replacement of windows and doors, unpermitted exterior paint changes, and raising the roof in one portion of the existing Moody Cottage structure; and

•

Case No. 23APL-00033, an appeal of the Montecito Board of Architectural Review’s (MBAR’s) preliminary design review approval of Case No. 22BAR-00000-00187.

The application involves Assessor Parcel No. (APN) 011-220-003, located at 539 Periwinkle Lane in the Montecito area, First Supervisorial District.

Published December 27, 2023 Montecito Journal

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MONTECITO COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION RECORDING SECRETARY (568-2000)

“Life is about change, sometimes it’s painful, sometimes it’s beautiful, but most of the time it’s both.” — Kristin Kreuk

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Driver Luxury Transportation INC, 115 W De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Affordable Eco Auto Rental INC, 115 W De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 4, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002760. Published January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Affordable Eco Auto Detail, 115 W De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Michael D Driver, 219 W De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 20, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002884. Published January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Groove Pilates, 1235 Coast Village Road STE 1, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Bright Move LLC, 1491 Camino Rio Verde, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 14, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002641. Published December 20, 2023 and January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Montecito Plumbing, 2669 Montrose Pl, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. Montecito Plumbing LLC, 2669 Montrose Pl, Santa Barbara, CA 93105. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on December 11, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL).

FBN No. 2023-0002817. Published December 20, 2023 and January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Integral Health Bolivia, 1374 B Danielson Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Erik D Taylor, 1374 B Danielson Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 30, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002738. Published December 13, 20, 2023 and January 3, 10, 17, 24 2024 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT: The following person(s) is/are doing business as: Montecito Valley; Montecito Valley Estates; Montecito Valley Estates Group; 1101 Coast Village Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93108. Tyler Kallenbach Real Estate, 513 E De La Guerra St, Santa Barbara, CA 93103. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Santa Barbara County on November 9, 2023. This statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the Office of the County Clerk. I hereby certify that this is a correct copy of the original statement on file in my office. Joseph E. Holland, County Clerk (SEAL). FBN No. 2023-0002613. Published December 6, 13, 20, 2023, and January 3, 2024 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME: CASE No. 23CV00602. To all interested parties: Petitioner Kevin Brier Random aka Kevin Brierley Random filed a petition with Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara, for a decree changing name to Brier Kevin Random. The Court orders that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted. If no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing. Filed December 8, 2023 by Jessica Vega. Hearing date: February 7, 2024 at 10 am in Dept. 3, 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Published December 13, 20, and January 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024

4 – 11 January 2024

Far Flung Travel Nuthatch Nirvana

What birds will come next to Scorpion Canyon? A Red-breasted Nuthatch – the Spider-Man of birds

by Chuck Graham

uring the fall, when it’s hot and dry on the southeast end of Santa Cruz Island, cold, crisp, purple grapes are a must-have fruit on the largest isle off the California coast. It’s also a time for annoying, seemingly perpetual deer flies that seek moisture out of the ears, nose, and eyes. To momentarily escape those bothersome insects, I seek refuge in the guide shed. The shed is there for as many as 15 guides at a time sharing a 7’x7’ space, storing a yard sale of packs, kayaking gear, handheld radios, sea cave lights, coolers, and who knows what else. When I duck inside to escape from the flies, I keep the door open, but for whatever reason the deer flies don’t venture inside too often. This past fall, during a rare, cool September morning, I was enjoying one of those recent moments of calm away from the whining flies along with a sweet strand of cool, crunchy grapes. Suddenly, a surprise visitor arrived that I hadn’t seen in the rugged canyon for nearly five years. A tiny, adorable, red-breasted nuthatch flew inside the shed and landed on my weathered index finger. While I chomped on my grapes, the encounter was very brief, but for the next six weeks roughly 12 of those little cuties hung out between the lower campground and the old ranch house in lower Scorpion Canyon. I was in nuthatch nirvana. The influx of nuthatches was due to low seed banks from conifer trees in Northern California, forcing batches of hungry nuthatches to migrate south for alternative food sources. Nuthatches are the only non-woodpecker that makes cavities to store food. The only other occasion I had seeing a red-breasted nuthatch on the island was on the massive trunk of a lone Monterey cypress just east of the lower campground. Perpetual motion kept that singular bird investigating every crevice of loose bark as it easily crept up and down the burly tree like a feathered version of Spider-Man.

Dirty Days Coming and going from the islands, things change quickly out there from one three-to-five-day run to the next. Kayak guides cross paths with everyone’s schedules overlapping, so there’s always updated reports on the latest and greatest wildlife sightings. Fall is definitely one of those active times of the year because of migrating birds. It seems like every fall and spring there’s an amazing sighting of a bird we’ve never seen on the islands, or we only see it on the mainland. That’s why the islands This nuthatch is having a little treat 4 – 11 January 2024

are such an important pit stop for birds getting blown off course during migration, a pelagic refuge in open water. Over the years, some of my favorite sightings at Scorpion Anchorage and Scorpion Canyon include the Pacific loon, red-naped sapsucker, mountain bluebirds, sage thrasher, ovenbird, bobolink, merlin, American redstart, black-headed grosbeak, black-throated blue warbler, summer tanager, and painted bunting. The most recent influx of red-breasted nuthatches, though, was really entertaining, and they lived up to their avian moniker, “the Upside-down Bird.”

Yank-yank It’s kind of a nasally, high-pitched yank-yank. That’s how the Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes the calls of the frenetic, red-breasted nuthatch. I was hearing them before seeing them on the island. However, they move quickly, and maneuver in ways that other birds do not. This past fall, I saw a pair of nuthatches by the blue water spigot in the lower campground. They bathed in a muddy puddle despite yellowjackets buzzing around them. Their bathing was furious, and before I knew it, they hid themselves, air-drying in the eucalyptus trees hovering over the campground. During those six weeks, the lower region of Scorpion Canyon was abuzz with the birdsong of hungry nuthatches. One of their favorite places to hang out was inside the fencing of the Gherini family’s historic Scorpion Ranch House. Inside the fencing were tall, spindly stands of prickly lettuce. In the mornings heavy dew clung to the pokey leaflets of the non-native flora. The little nuthatches would be soaked with moisture while traveling up and down swaying stocks of lettuce. Just a mere finger-length away from me, they become so satiated that they appeared catatonic while perched on the adjacent fencing. A few even dozed off as if in a trance before resuming their quest for food.

Seasonal Shift Eventually though, their birdsong dissipated. With the arrival of daylight savings time, darkness falls quickly over Scorpion Canyon. Powerful northeasterly winds also play a hand in birds moving on, as big wind events can trigger migrating birds to continue on their seasonal sojourns. By early November their birdsong faded, and they were gone. It’s always a little somber in Scorpion Canyon when birdsong grows quiet Chuck Graham is a freeand migrating birds move on. However, lance writer and photograas the months pass, fall will loom on pher based in Carpinteria, the horizon once again, as anticipawhere he also leads kayak tion mounts. Who knows what might tours and backpacking arrive? It’s high alert for birdsong and trips in Channel Islands flashes of feathers on a chain of islands National Park that provide a reliable haven for tuck ered out migrators. Montecito JOURNAL

On Entertainment (Continued from 8) Fortunately, having already sold out the first show at the Lobero, he won’t have to focus on moving folks around again. Brad Williams will be coming to the Lobero this Saturday, January 6. Visit www.lobero.org for more information and tickets.

Ybarra Does the Beatles Over the years, we’ve seen Santa Barbara native Tony Ybarra in a wide variety of settings. One of the most sought-after Spanish/Latin guitarists on the West Coast, Ybarra is also an active composer and recording artist whose music has been featured in such TV shows as Dexter and Madam Secretary. He’s performed with jazz composer Maria Schneider and local legends Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald, including serving as guitarist, arranger, and musical director for some of the latter’s local concerts and albums. More recently, Ybarra has been hosting a monthly jazz gig every first Thursday of each month at The Blue Owl where the guitarist, stand up bassist Santino Tafarella, and drummer Matt Perko serve as the core trio for jam sessions that draw jazz instrumentalists and vocalists into the closest thing Santa Barbara has to something akin to a New York City jazz club. Local guitar legend Toby Ybarra takes This Sunday, January 7, though, Ybarra will bring on the (somewhat similarly legendary) his gifts and guests to SOhO for a special tribute to Beatles (courtesy photo) the Beatles that will feature frequent vocalist collaborators Melody Collins, Alison Tuma, and Leesa Beck along with bassist Ralph Lowi and drummer Elias Vasquez (both Ybarra’s former colleagues during his tenure at SBCC’s music department) and singer Karen Parkhouse. Expect lovely Latin rhythms and heavenly harmonies to give a whole new flavor to the Fab Four’s songs. Visit http://sohosb.com for more information and tickets

Nicks of Time Fleetwood Mac’s former heroine Stevie Nicks is still active on the road – the 75-year-old singer-songwriter having booked a series of dates starting in February. But none of those shows announced so far are west of Texas, so perhaps a close approximation will have to do. Diana Grace’s turn as the star of Stevie Nicks Illusion has been referred to as the most authentic sounding tribute to the icon around, full of haunting vocals and indelible melodies as Grace does her best to evoke the whirling wonder. Stevie Nicks Illusion traces Nicks from the early years of the 1970s as she helped turn Fleetwood Mac into a Singer Diana Grace channels her perennial pop music force, and continues through the inner Nicks this week at SOhO (coursinger-songwriter’s vast solo catalog. The band boasts tesy photo) guitarist/singer Monty Sommer echoing Lindsey Buckingham, keyboardist/singer Laurie Richardson channeling Christine McVie, drummer Dave Christensen taking on Mick Fleetwood’s role, and Brett Scott laying down the John McVie bass grooves. Is Diana as graceful in leather and lace as the actual songbird Nicks, who is on the edge of 76, or is she over her head dishing second hand news? Head to SOhO Restaurant & Music Club on Friday, January 5, to find out. Visit http://sohosb.com for more information and tickets

Musical Moments of 2023: Catching up, Concert-wise The last concert of the year, ending just two hours before midnight on December 31, found the Santa Barbara Symphony rocking out to close out 2023, a far cry from its usual New Year’s Eve pop concert fare as guest conductor/host Andrew Lipke led the chamber-sized orchestra-plus (with electric bass, drum kit, and Lipke’s own guitars). Although

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his extended chats with the audience felt a bit like the first week of a high school music appreciation course, Lipke – who arranged much of the material himself – put together a thoughtful program that displayed how time and its progression resonate in and around music. Meanwhile, his acoustic one-shot “Resolution Song” (supposedly crafted from audience input), was laugh-inducing rhyming fun, while the former Led Zeppelin cover band member absolutely shredded on Pink Floyd’s “Money.” Let’s make it an annual thing. The Symphony’s New Year’s Eve concert somehow wasn’t their rocking-est show at the Granada this year, as the orchestra also teamed with Montecito-based Doublewide Kings and several special guests in November for a rousing two hours of music by Celtic rock icon Van Morrison, a first for both organizations. Gotta imagine that experience elevated the ensemble for the energy required by the NYE engagement. More, please. Meanwhile, the Morrison tribute wasn’t even the trippiest time for The Kings in 2023, as back in September the fearsome foursome plus guest guitarist Jackson Gillies and fiddler Phil Salazar were deep into their closing set on the soccer field at Elings Park when a freak thunderstorm hit. With water coming down and lightning flashing, the show was cut short, but not before the boys whose specialty is ‘60s and ‘70s rock finished the final song, festival style, a flashback to Woodstock (not that I was there, mind you). The summer shower was merely the closing quirk of the concert, as earlier the environmentally-conscious acoustic bluegrass band Salty Strings, which features cello in place of fiddle, had repeatedly marveled at playing a plugged-in show when the sound board suddenly went silent. So instead, they climbed down from the stage to revert to their usual oeuvre of playing with no amplification at all, which is how they honed their chops over regular appearances at the cliff at the Douglas Family Preserve (née Wilcox Property). The audience gathered round festival style for two acoustic wonders, including the Strings’ jaunty cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.” Can’t wait till they’re all back in town again.

The Irony and the Ecstasy for Fogerty, Kudos and Candles for Parsons Former Creedence Clearwater Revival founder John Fogerty was one of the clear highlights of the fall’s One805 benefit bash, cranking out a few of his greatest hits just a few months after finally reclaiming the publishing rights to his old catalog. It brought back those good ol’ anti-war memories to hear the jubilant singer-guitarist belt out the lyrics to “Fortunate Son” in front of a huge crowd. The second verse had a little extra oomph given that it took place at Kevin Costner’s Padaro Lane spread for an audience that had paid a minimum of $350 for tickets to the show: Some folks are born silver spoon in hand Lord, don’t they help themselves? But when the taxman come to the door Lord, the house lookin’ like a rummage sale It ain’t me, it ain’t me I ain’t no millionaire’s son It ain’t me, it ain’t me I ain’t no fortunate one But there was also no little irony, as the Creedence captain is worth north of $100 million these days, which means his son Shane, who joined him on guitar, can’t make the same claim. The just-ended year also gave us a second rock concert benefit, this one a similarly-structured but much more intimate affair at the Lobero to celebrate British giant Alan Parsons on his 75th birthday. Local heroes lauding the legend included Michael McDonald, whose “I Keep Forgettin’” still packs an emotional pop wallop even as it takes on a different meaning, and Al Stewart, whose fun rendition of “Year of the Cat” was the night’s crowd-pleaser. Good stuff for a good cause: One805, the nonprofit that provides smartly-targeted funding and programs for the First Responders of Santa Barbara County. In music-related dance events, I thought I’d seen the performance of the year back in May when Mark Morris Dance Group performed “The Look of Love” with its Burt Bacharachvia-Ethan Iverson soundtrack played Steven Libowitz has covered live. But then Turn It Out with Tiler a plethora of topics for the Peck & Friends came to town in Journal since 1997, and now October and blew everyone away – leads our extensive arts and mind, body, and soul – with its depth entertainment coverage of scope, breadth of talent, and sheer exuberance. Sorry Swifties, for me it’s Tiler not Taylor.

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.” — Hal Borland

4 – 11 January 2024

Offshore Objections (Continued from 11 11))

Two Pacific white-sided dolphins race towards the viewer away from seven oil derricks behind them in the Santa Barbara Channel

Bocaccio and cow cod rockfish are economically important in California and, while not technically endangered, are considered overfished. The verticality of California’s deepwater structures provides a unique habitat vital to raising juvenile rockfish. Each year, 20 percent of the juvenile bocaccio that survive across the species’ entire geographic range from Alaska to Baja, live in the depths beneath the platforms. The platforms are so productive and contributory to robust marine life that a 2014 study from Jeremy T. Claisse of Cal Poly Pomona found them to be “the most productive marine habitats in the world per square meter.” Productive here as opposed to attractive, which would mean the platforms are becoming habitats for fish born elsewhere. California’s platforms are fantastic incubators and creators of life, not simple attractors. This is in part due to the fact that the platforms are not heavily fished. For the most part, they operate essentially as marine protected areas, working to repopulate California’s fish-depleted coastline. Near Anacapa Island, Platform Gail stands in 739 feet of water. Removal of its 1.3acre ecosystem would be equivalent to the destruction of 30.6 acres of average-producing Southern California cow cod habitat or 72.3 acres of Southern California bocaccio habitat. All of this is not to mention the plethora of smaller lifeforms that would be killed if the platforms are removed. To some, they aren’t worth accounting for. “It depends on your philosophy,” said UCSB’s Dr. Milton Love in one of our conversations. “There are millions and millions of animals living on [these structures].” The PEIS is not far off in its analysis here, but to say the platforms are only important locally minimizes their upside. Third, the PEIS downplays the environmental impact of removing a platform’s shell mounds. As mussels and scallops die or are scraped off the upper legs of California’s oil platforms, their shells drop to the sea floor. There they have formed shell mounds, fused together by waste muds and cuttings from the oil drilling process. While providing complex, productive habitat, the shell mounds also trap dangerous hydrocarbon pollutants. They have been found not to be toxic to surrounding wildlife, but if disturbed, would release their drill-waste into the water column. Under a scenario of full removal, shell mounds would be removed by dredging equipment. Partial removal would see them stay. The PEIS ascertains that the shell mounds are “non-hazardous waste”. Yet, according to Smith, this is misleading given the fact little is known about the composition of shell mounds as most of them have not been sampled or subjected to laboratory analysis. The PEIS is also misleading because the release of oil-based drilling muds and cuttings was not restricted until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began issuing the National Pollution Discharge Elimination permits for the discharges in the late 1970s. The possibility therefore exists that deleterious hydrocarbon contaminants and other hazardous materials may be present in the shell mounds of older platforms, five of which were installed and began drilling oil and gas in the late 1960s. According to Smith, in 1996, when Chevron removed four platforms (Chevron 4-H project) from California’s coastline, the shell mounds were left in place. Laboratory testing of shell mound cores detected elevated concentrations of metals associated with drilling muds (e.g., barium, chromium, lead, and zinc) as well as monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In addition, PCBs were detected at concentrations up to 1.6 parts per million in the mounds. The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers determined the shell mounds were not suitable for ocean disposal at approved offshore 4 – 11 January 2024

hazardous waste disposal sites based on the contaminants in the materials. It was too risky. The best option seems to be to let the shell mounds remain in place, allowing them to denature over decades versus trying to completely remove them and risk dispersing contaminants in the marine environment. If you’re beginning to notice a trend here, you’re on to something. The biggest problem with the PEIS lies at its foundation: the study judges the OCS’ platforms as a collective. Clearly, they each have vastly different circumstances. Some would be easy to fully remove while others would result in unnecessary and serious carbon emissions. Some provide extremely productive marine fish habitats, others less so. The removal of some risks releasing pollutants into the environment at a dangerous rate, Scuba diver explores an oil rig underwater – an impreswhile pursuing the same process at sive artificial reef in California (photo by Brandon Cole) others wouldn’t be risky at all. Luckily, the PEIS and ROD don’t directly decide anything. While some OCS platforms are still actively producing oil, many are shut-in. The ROD merely serves as a recommendation that will come into play in the next step of decommissioning: the preparation of environmental impact statements (EIS) for each individual platform upon their specific decommissioning. Those EISs will be far better at analyzing the environmental impacts of removing platforms than this PEIS could ever be. Hopefully they can remain objective following this premature and misinformed ROD recommendation. The most befuddling point of all is the ultimate recommendation of BSEE’s ROD itself. The ROD recognizes partial removal, albeit not the version of it I would have expected, as the most environmentally friendly approach towards handling the OCS platforms’ decommissioning. The only reasoning BSEE gives for its choice not to recommend that direction is this: Alternative 2 leaves some infrastructure in place that may pose long-term risks to other uses on the OCS, including entanglement and loss of gear to commercial and recreational fishing and contaminant leaching from potential hazardous materials present in shell mounds remaining around the base of platforms. The first concerns should be a non-factor considering the safety precautions required and the long successful history of reefing in the Gulf of Mexico. The second is based on a misunderstanding and is more a risk in the full removal scenario than the partial. Even if we accept these reasons, are they enough to sacrifice the upside of leaving the platforms in place? We haven’t even considered the tens of millions of dollars per platform the State of California would receive as compensation in the event an Oil & Gas operator did decide to pursue reefing as an option. These funds would of course go towards developing a state artificial reef program and managing any reefed platforms. I’m not saying all of California’s platforms should be reefed. Some of them probably shouldn’t. I’m just saying we should not close ourselves off to the possibility. A final consideration: what about Alternative 4? For some OCS platforms, it might make the most sense to just leave them in place. May it not be best to leave a few platforms on the Santa Barbara horizon as reminders of the local history with oil? Ideas have been floated around with the goal of redeveloping platforms into sites of aquaculture, research, or wave energy production. Asher Radziner What about putting a wind-turbine is a journalist and on a platform? Or even some use we environmental writer from aren’t yet aware of. Perhaps the OCS California. He currently platforms can be adapted from basstudies Environmental tions of extraction and environmental Science at Brown destruction to symbols of California’s University. commitment to the future and deter mination to learn from the past. Montecito JOURNAL

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Calendar of Events

ENDING SOON

by Steven Libowitz THURSDAY, JANUARY 4 Art Also Abounds – Sullivan Goss (11 E. Anapamu St.) has its official opening reception for The Sublime: Where Words Fail, the expansive survey on the concept of the sublime in American art. The show features works spanning the last 120 years that highlight how the concept of the sublime has been a recurring source of inspiration for artists even as art has moved from romanticism to realism, and representation to abstraction. Several of the 18 artists whose works are being exhibited are expected to attend… Faulkner Gallery at the Public Library (40 E. Anapamu St.) exhibits roughly 60 photographs that were taken by students participating in SBCC’s School of Extended Learning’s class “Digital Photography: Techniques and Creative Applications in Community-Oriented Setting.” The course is taught by veterans for veterans who build community while producing high-quality images… Mary Kay West hosts an open studio and exhibit of current work featuring her renowned classical realist trompe l’oeil and bird compositions. The member of the California Art Club will also do a live painting demonstration from 6-7 pm at her Mary Kay West Fine Art gallery (3 W. Carrillo St., suite 209)… Enjoy a glass of fine wine and live music at the Santa Barbara Historical Museum (136 E. De La Guerra St.) while exploring the galleries, including the latest exhibition, Seasonal Soirées: Santa Barbara’s Evening Couture 1880-1980, where you can stroll down the “runway” to view wear created by designers of national and international renown from the museum’s extensive collection. WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets COST: free INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday Library Lecture @ Museum Next to Library – The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is well known as one of the preeminent museums in the world, but its art library is also one to envy. The internationally acclaimed facility attracts users from all walks of life to its archive of over half a million ENDING SOON Seaside Sock Skating – MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, brings a merry close to the holiday season with the final weekend of its newest participatory 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. Having the look and feel of the real frozen H20 stuff, visitors can slip into their socks to slip and slide to their heart’s contents, 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

36 Montecito JOURNAL

ZooLights! Live – With the holidays in the rearview mirror, the reality-check jerk of early January has arrived. But there’s still time to forget all that and take the fam – or just yourself – to the hilltop haven known as the Santa Barbara Zoo, where sunset brings the last few days of ZooLights. The second annual spectacular turns the zoo into a winter wonderland filled with larger-than-life-size animal and wildlife installations formed out of tens of thousands of LED bulbs, with the critters and displays spread out over virtually the entire expanse of the zoo decorated with glowing handcrafted silk-covered lanterns. If that doesn’t brighten your spirits… WHEN: 4:30-8:30 pm nightly through January 14 (January 8-9) WHERE: Santa Barbara Zoo, 500 Ninos Dr. COST: $20-$32 INFO: (805) 962-5339 or www.sbzoo.org/zoolights

books, 16 million images of world art and architecture, extensive rare holdings, and an innovative program to make more digital resources on art accessible on the internet. Library staff help people learn more about the history of artworks not only in museums they visit but also ones they may own. Gregory P. J. Most, the gallery’s head of the Image Collections department, discusses the history of the museum and the varied resources of its research collections at our own esteemed Museum of Art, which stands next to our large downtown public library. WHEN: 5:30 pm WHERE: Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St. COST: $15 general, free for students INFO: (805) 963-4364 or https://tickets.sbma.net SATURDAY, JANUARY 6 Contemplating Nature in Chinese Painting – Today’s day-long lecture series in conjunction with the current exhibition, Flowers on a River: The Art of Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting, 1368–1911, brings expert art historians offering detailed glimpses into some of the many facets of the flower-and-bird genre in Chinese painting, including how these images of intimate nature can be thresholds to worlds rich with beauty and private emotions. Speakers include two professors and visiting academics from Yale, UCLA, MassArt, DePaul, American University plus Los Angeles’ LACMA. Each talk will be approximately 30 minutes followed by a Q&A session. WHEN: 9:30 am-5:00 pm WHERE: Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St. COST: $15 general, free for students INFO: (805) 963-4364 or https://tickets.sbma.net THURSDAY, JANUARY 11 Board Walk by the Sea – Channelkeeper Board Walks are occasional walks and talks around town to explore water from different perspectives designed for the whole community to understand our place in nature, especially with respect to life-giving water. Each event is led by a Channelkeeper board member, drawing upon their expertise as naturalists, hydrologists, nature film producers, native plant gardeners, or other marine-related specialties. In light of the huge swells that struck the area in late December, today’s tide pooling excursion at Rincon Beach Park will likely have an added relevancy. Learn about intertidal habitats and how our local marine life adapts to the dynamic environment on the short hike that will be led by board member Sarah Sikich. The walk includes a steep beach access stairway and uneven sandy and cobble terrain, so it is considered of slight to moderate difficulty. Partic-

“What the new year brings to you will depend a great deal on what you bring to the new year.” — Vern McLellan

4 – 11 January 2024

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4 Festive 1st Thursday – Performative art and entertainment jumpstart the new year at January’s installment of the monthly downtown art-and-culture walk. Kicking off its centennial year celebration, the Granada Theatre (1214 State St.) throws open its doors to the public. Stop in at the lobby for fine wine and refreshments and live music from the Santa Barbara Jazz Ensemble, a brand-new group of local musicians playing the downbeat stuff… Ensemble Theatre Company (33 W. Victoria St.) also hosts an open house via an invitation to tour The New Vic and learn about the history of the building and the project that turned it into a state-of-the-art 296-seat theater in downtown Santa Barbara, and discover some fascinating facts about theaters and how they work… The galleries at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (1130 State St.) feature floating performances of traditional Chinese instruments to highlight its current exhibit… SBIFF’s Santa Barbara Filmmaker series at its Education Center (1330 State St.) features John Klein’s Soul of the City, which centers around longtime local restaurateur Francisco Aguilera’s efforts to renew his lease for the shoreline favorite eatery East Beach Grill, now the more upscale chain Reunion Kitchen… Andie Bronstad, who almost four years ago won Santa Barbara’s door-opening Teen Star competition as a sophomore at San Marcos High School, provides the acoustic music in a cozy evening of treats, toddies (the non-alcoholic kind), and tunes at The Eddy Corner Store (137 E. De La Guerra St.)... Legacy Arts Listening Room (1230 State St.) is January’s host for the Downtown Santa Barbara Organization “After Hours” add-on to 1st Thursday, which features food and drinks plus live music from Jimmi wZ, a.k.a. James Wisniewski, a flutist from funky Muscle Shoals, Alabama, along with gallery artist Crispin Barrymore, an award-winning composer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer (7:30-9 pm). WHEN: 5-8 pm WHERE: Lower State Street and side streets COST: free INFO: (805) 962-2098 or www.downtownsb.org/events/1st-thursday

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ipants should dress in layers, wear sturdy shoes or rubber boots that can get wet, and bring sun protection. Plan to stick around after the official end of the event for the unparalleled views of the sunset. WHEN: 3:30 pm WHERE: Rincon Beach Park, accessible via the Bates Road turn-off from Hwy. 101 (Meet at the picnic tables next to the parking lot on the northwest side of Rincon Point) COST: free INFO: (805) 563-3377 or www.sbck.org MONDAY, JANUARY 8 Hannah on Hawks at Science Pub – Raptors roam all around Santa Barbara, as the area is home to incredible biodiversity that includes a range of native species featuring hawks, falcons, owls, and others. But many of the birds of prey can no longer survive in the wild, so they now make their abode at the aviary at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, where they help educate the public as part of Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s Eyes in the Sky program. Wildlife educator and master class falconer Hannah Atkinson, the program’s director, shares stories of the rescued raptors and discusses how we can help these species thrive. She’ll talk about the birds of prey’s role in our local ecosystem and the impacts of human activity on their wellbeing, sharing tales of rescue, training, and more in a fun and friendly conversation as part of the ongoing regular Science Pub series of free science talks. WHEN: 6:30-8 pm WHERE: Dargan’s Pub, 18 E. Ortega St. COST: free INFO: 805-682-4711 ext. 108 or www.sbnature.org 4 – 11 January 2024

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MONTECITOSHORESCONDO.COM 2BD/2BA • $5,850,000 Kathleen Winter, 805.451.4663 LIC# 01022891

900 TORO CANYON RD, MONTECITO 3BD/3BA • $5,295,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

126 LOUREYRO RD COTTAGES, MONTECITO 6BD/5BA • $4,995,000 Nancy Kogevinas, 805.450.6233 LIC# 01209514

1365 VIRGINIA RD, MONTECITO 3BD/2BA • $4,795,000 Josiah Hamilton, 805.284.8835 LIC# 01415235

161 LOUREYRO RD, MONTECITO 5BD/3BA • $3,295,000 Marsha Kotlyar Estate Group, 805.565.4014 LIC# 01426886

64 OLIVE MILL RD, MONTECITO 3BD/2½BA • $2,995,000 Cristal Clarke, 805.886.9378 LIC# 00968247

1938 N JAMESON LN #B, MONTECITO 3BD/2BA • $2,100,000 Ken Switzer, 805.680.4622 LIC# 01245644

@BHHSCALIFORNIA