American Tango

The best things in life are FREE Mineards’ 18 – 25 October 2012 MISCELLANY Vol 18 Issue 42 Rebecca Brand goes global with “Dinner Party Art Class”; Leslie Ridley-Tree co-hosts UCSB fundraiser with Michael Douglas (class of 1968) in New The Voice of the Village S SINCE 1995 S York City, p. 6 – Matt Middlebrook, THIS WEEK IN MONTECITO, P. 10 • MONTECITO EATERIES, P. 48 • CALENDAR OF EVENTS, P. 50 Caruso Affiliated (full story on page 6) AMERICAN TANGO Village Beat Fifth-generation Santa Barbaran Cinda McGraw launches Ciao Bella in former Lewis & Clark space, p. 12 The Sacred Valley California Gringa puts feet in Bronco’s stirrups, joins Peruvian chalans on the trail in Lima, p. 36 They came up from Coming Soon TO A poverty in Hell’s KitcHEN NEAR YOU! Kitchen to entertain as Veloz and Yolanda at America’s toniest supper clubs Your Westmont (story begins on p. 31) Dvorak’s New World Symphony inaugurates Westmont Orchestra’s 7th 93108 OPEN HOUSE DIRECTORY P.53 season at Hahn Hall, p. 34 – Matt Middlebrook,COVER PHOTO: Leila DrakeCaruso and Jack StewartAffiliated star in An American Tango (photo by David Bazemore) (full story on page 6) 2 MONTECITO JOURNAL • The Voice of the Village • 18 – 25 October 2012 The Premiere Estates of Montecito & Santa Barbara Offered by Newly Offered Rare Hedgerow Opportunity RANDY SOLAKIAN Montecito - $3,150,000 (805) 565-2208 www.montecitoestates.com License #00622258 Exclusive Representation for Marketing & Acquisition Additional Exceptional Estates Available by Private Consultation 18 – 25 October 2012 MONTECITO JOURNAL 3 Don’t trust your home to just any home entertainment “expert”, you want an experienced professional. We’ve been in business for over 20 years and we’ve installed thousands of home theater systems in Santa Barbara. The technology is changing everyday and it’s a full time job just to keep up with it. That’s where we come in, our highly trained staff will walk you through choosing the right components, making sure you get just what you need. From plug-and-play systems to customized whole house automation you can depend on us to deliver the ultimate in technology, performance and service. Stop by our showroom and experience the impact that lead- ing-edge audio and video can create. You don’t want just any old home entertainment BETTER PICTURE. BETTER SOUND. BETTER POPCORN. expert, you want Mission. m ission AUDIO / VIDEO TECHNOLOGY + PERFORMANCE + SERVICE TECHNOLOGY + PERFORMANCE + SERVICE Showroom open Tuesday thru Saturday missionaudiovideo.com 1910 De La Vina at Pedregosa, Santa Barbara 805.682.7575 INSIDE THIS ISSUE 5 Editorial Advanced Medical Hair Institute opens; Academic 36 Trail Talk Bob Hazard stresses the need for a 5-person Fire Performance Index released, showing Montecito Part one of Lynn Kirst’s adventures in Peru Board schools’ high scores; MFPD’s Geri Ventura informs 40 State Street Spin 6 Montecito Miscellany about emergency procedures Francie Lufkin elected by SB Yacht Club to serve as Rebecca Brand‘s “Dinner Party Art Class” TV 14 Seen Around Town first female commodore in its history; duck problems; show creates interest; John Cleese signs book CEC’s annual Green Gala; SB Rescue Mission’s CAF presents Día de los Muertos Dinner; Patti Bryant deal; Jerry Jones throws mega-bash; Larry Ellison “Downfield on the Bayou” fundraiser; Women’s jets to Hawaii to compete in Ironman competition; purchases ninth Malibu mansion; Leslie Ridley- Fund of SB members tour nonprofits; Patricia Hinds Simpson House Inn offers afternoon spot of tea Tree co-chairs UCSB fundraising campaign; displays artwork at Saks 46 Public Advertisements Studio 240 hosts film industry mixer; Ensemble 20 Sheriff’s Blotter 48 Guide to Montecito Eateries Theatre vodka party at Reds; SB Foundation Two burglaries; two individuals suffer from heat The most complete, up-to-date, comprehensive names Man and Woman of Year; Taste of the stroke on local trails listing of all individually owned Montecito Central Coast food and wine festival; CEC’s 27 Book Talk restaurants, coffee houses, bakeries, gelaterias, and Green Gala; Isaac Hernandez honored; Camerata Shelly Lowenkopf looks at The Waves, one hangouts; others in Santa Barbara, Summerland, and Pacifica performance; sightings of Virginia Woolf’s lesser known, but most Carpinteria too 9 Letters to the Editor experimental, novels 49 Movie Showtimes Steve McGlothen has questions about Montecito 31 Coming & Going Latest films, times, theaters, and addresses: they’re all Fire Department; Marge Gordon urges to vote yes Lobero hosts world premiere of An American Tango here, as they are every week on Measures A and B; Lou Segal surprises himself by 32 n.o.t.e.s. from downtown 50 Calendar of Events running for school board Jim Alexander announces candidacy for President as 53 93108 Open House Directory 10 This Week in Montecito part of Baloney Party Homes and condos currently for sale and open for Here’s the Scoop fundraiser; electronic waste 33 On Entertainment inspection in and near Montecito collection; Special Olympics Golf Classic; treasures SB Symphony launches 60th season; classical 54 Classified Advertising sale in Summerland; Greek music at UCSB; performances in town; SBCC Theatergroup presents Our very own “Craigslist” of classified ads, in C.A.L.M. Antiques & Vintage Show August: Osage County; theatre roundup; pop acts which sellers offer everything from summer rentals Tide Guide around town; two food and drink festivals approach to estate sales Handy guide to assist readers in determining when to 34 Your Westmont 55 Local Business Directory take that walk or run on the beach Orchestra premieres concerto by Diemer; two Smart business owners place business cards here so 12 Village Beat critically acclaimed Palestinian poets visit; observatory readers know where to look when they need what Cinda McGraw debuts Ciao Bella on Coast Village; offers public viewing those businesses offer 4 MONTECITO JOURNAL • The Voice of the Village • 18 – 25 October 2012 Editorial by Bob Hazard Mr. Hazard is an Associate Editor of this paper and a former president of Birnam Wood Golf Club Why We Need to Vote Yes on Measure F n less than three weeks, voters will decide whether the Board of the Montecito Fire Protection District (MFPD) should be expanded from three to five members. If Montecito votes in the affirmative, the four top vote getters Ifor the position will take a seat on the board. Our choices for the four seats available (current member John Venable is not up for reelection this cycle) are Susan Keller, John “Abe” Powell, Gene Sinser and Martha Collins. They have the strongest financial and entrepreneurial skills to provide community leadership, independence and transparency to the Fire District’s governing process. They will ask the toughest questions about fire regulations, equipment replacement, the need for Station #3, reciprocal agreements, community preparedness, evacuation plans, compensation, benefits, pensions and other urgent issues confronting the District. Why Increase the Fire Board Size from 3 to 5 Members? A five-member Board will allow the Board to act and avoid delay during an emergency if one member is absent or ill. It allows for community oversight and independence. It allows for working subcommittees to tackle financial and community issues. An expanded Board will also provide greater openness and transparency. Why New MFPD Leadership? The Board’s role is to deliver the best protection possible to a community susceptible to dangerous wind-driven wildfires. We want a fire department that continues to provide outstanding fire prevention programs, superior medical emergency services and world-class response times. But Board members also have a fiduciary responsibility to see that taxpayer money is being spent wisely and that District operations are sustainable and remain in the black. For almost 40 years, Roy Jensen, 87, a former firefighter, has dominated the decisions of the three-man Board of the Fire District. Director Jensen is a good and honorable man, but he will be 91 by the end of his 10th term, if re-elected. We are grateful for Director Jensen’s dedicated public service, but MFPD is now faced with tough long-range questions and needs a fresh approach to those problems. Is MFPD’s Pay Competitive? “Bewitching” Montecito’s current Fire Chief earns a base pay of $242,000 annually, roughly comparable to the Fire Chief of Los Angeles and about $100,000 more than most California Fire Chiefs. The Montecito Fire Chief dealt with 22 fires last year, less than two per month, counting all structure fires, car fires, vegetation fires and dumpster fires, and also serviced another 546 paramedic emergencies and 475 service calls and false alarms. The Los Angeles Fire Department, by contrast, responded to 826,924 calls last year, including 8,099 structure fires and 661,765 responses for emergency medical services. To put the current Montecito Chief’s base salary in context, the Mayor of Los Angeles earns less ($232,425 annually) to manage a city of 4.1 million people with 56,200 city employees and a budget of $7.2 billion. Also making less are the Vice President of the United States ($230,700); the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court ($228,500); every U.S. Senator ($174,000); the Governor of California ($173,987); and Santa Barbara County Supervisors ($84,200). Since 88% of MFPD’s budget is now spent on public pay and benefits, including pension payments, the Board has a vital oversight role in matching fairness David Palermo with fiscal prudence. Troubling Pension Commitments Photographer: Montecito firefighters may retire at 55 years of age and receive an annual defined benefit lifetime pension of 3% of their final year’s compensation mul- tiplied by each year of service.

Load more